In the early hours, the Apple family was awakened by the crowing of their prized cock. It wasn’t soon after that first crow that Applejack kicked open the doors of Apple Bloom and Big McIntosh’s bedrooms,
“Alright, Sugarcubes! What are ya waiting for? Breakfast in bed? Another glorious day on Sweet Apple Acres! Every day on this farm is like a day in paradise! Every meal is a banquet! Every apple worth a fortune! Every chore a parade! Ah LOVE this farm!”

As Big Mac got out of bed, he simply muttered an almost inaudible “Eeeyup!”

Apple Bloom on the other hand still was sleepy in her little bed,
“But Applejack… It’s Sunday morning…”

Coming back into the room of her little sister, Applejack smiled,
“The earlier ya get up, the more time to spend crusadin’…”

The little filly got up with this and grinned broadly,
“Oh yeah!” As the little filly made herself ready for the day, her big sister had already gone outside to prepare for yet another day of farm work. As preparations were done, she went back inside to have breakfast with the rest of the apple family.

By then Tyler had almost woken up as two hard objects rubbed vigorously against him,
“I swear… Those damn raccoons raiding the camping places…”

Twilight, who had been trying to wake him up for thirty minutes now by shaking him awake with her front hooves, arched back. 'Raccoons? Oh, he still thinks he is in his place…' She thought with rolled eyes, then she took a deep breath,
“TYLER!!!”

Her yelling into his ear prompted him to bolt up. As he looked at her, he shrieked, and fell out of his bed. Then he remembered,
“Oh… oh yeah… Equestria…”

Twilight came to his side of the bed,
“You sure sleep soundly, big guy… So, what are you going to do today?”

As he dressed himself he looked outside,
“Earn a bit or two… You know I promised Applejack to help out on the farm. So I thought I give this a try and come back to my feet. I don’t have any money and begging on the streets is for losers.”

Twilight nodded,
“Good thinking. And bringing in your talents might also show you enriching Ponyville. Yeah, I like that idea!”

Giving a chuckle, he looked at her,
“I guess you like any form of logical thinking, Twilight.”

After a short breakfast, Tyler went along to Sweet Apple Acres. Twilight on the other hand returned to her research,
“Now… where was I…? Oh yeah! ‘Bestiaries of old – extinct species of Equis’” As she browsed through the pages, near the end of the book, she finally found the entry she looked for. “Ah-hah! ‘Void beings… While the precise origins remain unknown, the lore has it that these creatures, being of diverse anatomy than the rest of Equis animals are not from this world. I, Princess Celestia can only assume that these beings live in a realm between this world and others. A realm I do not wish to know. These creatures bring great misery among the kingdoms of Equis. Luckily for our world, these creatures cannot enter our world unless some foalish soul creates an embodiment of evil for them to begin their cycle. Lurking in the shadows they will wait for the right moment and lay havoc upon the lands, turning them to ashes.’”

Twilight tipped her chin as she read lines two more times,
“Embodiment of evil? Oh, silly me! Not Tyler! He doesn’t fit into that part. I mean the prophecy tells about a bipedal being fighting evil, not bringing evil… This doesn’t sum up right.”

As he entered the orchard, Tyler noticed a big red stallion that looked like a real workhorse,
“Excuse me, sir. Is this Sweet Apple Acres?”

“Eeeyup!” That answer was as short as it was precise.

“Thank you. You know I offered to help out on the farm. You think I can find the earth pony named Applejack in the farmhouse up the hill? “

Another “Eeeyup!” was the answer. Not very chatty… Tyler thought, but gave the stallion a friendly nod as he went along the way up the orchard. On his way to the farmhouse he saw Applejack and went directly to her.

As she noticed him, she gave him a smirk,
“Howdy there pardner! Ah see yer holdin’ ya word! Lookin’ good. So, are ya ready to go to work?”

Tyler looked around,
“Sure thing what’s left to be done?”

Giving a nod, the orange earth pony started to list the chores,
“Well, it’s Applebuck season, meanin’ the apples have to be bucked down from the trees.” Giving a demonstrative kick to a tree, the apples on said tree fell into large wooden buckets. “We then get the buckets into the cart and pull that cart to the barn. Rinse repeat... until the whole orchard is harvested!”

Tyler nodded with an arched brow,
“Well… I won’t lie to you… If I hit the tree full force with my hand or foot, the bones in them will surely break. I don’t have hooves like you do, so no buckling the trees from my side. Sorry…”

Applejack smiled,
“Aw, don’t sweat it, sugarcube! Ya can still lift the buckets into the cart and help pulling the carts. That’s good and honest work too! Also, there are some maintenance issues that need to be done on the barn and the farm house. We can look later on that. Mah brother Big McIntosh can tell ya more of the details. Why don’t ya lend me a hoof here with those buckets so Ah get the cart ready faster?”

Not wasting time, he took the buckets and placed them into the cart. They were heavy, but it was bearable. Applejack corrected her Stetson a little while watching him working,
“Not bad! Ya get this done faster than a pony! Those… What are those? Claws? They sure are working fine!”

Chuckling a bit, Tyler presented his hands to her,
“These are hands. And each of these pointy things is a finger. They can perform soft gestures…” He playfully tickled her ear and caressed her neck with his fingers, before he got the last bucket into the cart. “And they can grasp things tight to lift them, even when they are heavy.”

Applejack chuckled a bit,
“My, ain’t that some useful stuff to have! With such agile little fellers at yer disposal, ya'll be a great enrichment to the farm. Come on, pardner! Let’s get to the next tree.” As he pulled the cart, he had to exert a large amount of effort to get the cart into motion, but once it was moving it was easy to pull. “Don’t overdo it, Tyler! Ya don’t have to impress me by overexerting yerself. If it’s too heavy for ya, help otherwise. Ah’m not mad at ya, Ah promise!”

But Tyler shook his head,
“It’s alright. I have the feeling I can become stronger while doing this. Extra training, you know? Also I want to earn some money so I can buy several things. As of now I don’t have any spare cash yet.”

As they filled the cart, they went to the farm and Tyler felt the muscles in his arms burn. But the hard work made him feel good. On their way, Applejack noticed the muscular arms of the human while trotting besides him,
“For a figure so slim ya sure know how to pull the cart well, Tyler. Those muscles of yers, did ya need long training to get them?”

A drop of sweat ran down Tyler’s forehead,
“It takes hard training for several years… and for your strong legs?”

With a proud chuckle she smirked at him,
“Years of applebuckin’!”

Tyler grinned as he locked his eyes on the barn,
“I bet… Well, what can I say? A girl doesn’t have to be too slender or too corpulent to appeal to me. Athletic girls, well trained… That’s the kind of girl for me.”

This prompted Applejack to blush,
“W-well trained? Aw come on, pardner… Quit the fancy talk! Every colt just wants a mare he can protect.”

As they arrived at the barn, he shook his head and turned his face to her,
“Well, I’m not a colt, so allow me to have my own opinion. And I say a country girl can have her charms as well!”

This prompted her to blush and she used her Stetson to cover her face a bit,
“Ya mean it, pardner? There are girls over at yer home who work hard like me and still catch yer eye?”

Tyler nodded,
“Honest truth, Applejack! I won’t have any reason to lie about that either. You know who you are and what defines you. I’m simply telling you that where I’m from, girls like you are damn attractive for some.”

By now she seemed to think about that for a minute,
“Attractive, huh? Well, waddya know… Ah’ve been praised for a lot of things… Honesty, reliability, helpfulness… To name only a few! But being attractive? That’s new… Thanks, Tyler!”

As they unloaded the apples and returned for the orchard two times again, Tyler was now pretty knackered,
“Alright, pardner. That’s enough hard work for today. Come with me, Ah’ll give ya yer payment.”

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he looked to her,
“But I just worked for three hours!”

“Well, it’s yer first day and yer not quite used to it. Ah see ya have potential to work here on a daily basis, takin’ into account that ya can pull the heavy carts on yer own. That means with yer help Ah can fill two carts at once. It saves me a lot of time, pardner!”

But as they arrived at the farm house, the headache came back, becoming a painful migraine. It was like a sharp blade through his mind, causing him to hold his head, leaning against Applejack,
“Oh shit… My head…”

Startled at first, she immediately helped him to keep balance,
“What in tarnation? See there, Sugarcube? Ah told ya to pace yerself! Come on, sit down!” Helping him to the stairs of the house, she raised her head. “Granny Smith? Ah need yer help right now!” It was soon after that that an old mare with lime green coat stepped outside.

Tyler turned his head to her and nodded in salutation,
“Ma’am?”

This prompted the old pony to smile upon him,
“My, ain’t that a well-behaved young colt?”

Applejack rolled her eyes,
“Granny, he almost fainted right now! He worked too hard! Can ya watch him for a moment while I get inside?”

With a frown, the old mare turned to Applejack,
“Now, silly goose! Quit yer gawkin' and move yer caboose!” As Applejack galloped into the house, Granny Smith raised her hoof to push Tyler’s hand from his forehead. A stern face was glancing down into his. “Ah say… Ah never saw one of yer kind in mah entire life, mah boy! Yer sure ya belong here?”

Bringing up a slight smile, he shrugged,
“Can’t say that I was born here, Mrs. Smith. But this place sure is lovely.”

With that her stern face melted into a smile while she looked down to him,
“That it certainly is, mah boy!”

Only one minute later Applejack returned with a big glass of water,
“Here ya go, pardner! Drink up, it will do ya good!”

As he drank the water in one sweep, he rubbed his temples,
“I don’t know… Somehow…This headache turned into full pain as I neared the farmhouse… There has to be something in the environment that makes me feel all dizzy…”

As three fillies ran from the barn down to Ponyville, Applejack yelled after them,
“Apple Bloom! Make sure yer back home to supper!”

One of the little fillies stopped and turned around.Tyler could see she had a yellow coat and a bright red mane,
“Will do, sis!”

As they ran to a scooter, the little Pegasus of them gave them a ride into the town, Tyler slowly got up as his mind suddenly went clear again like a burden was being lifted from him,
“It’s getting better again… Thank you…”

Applejack then got something out from her saddlebag and presented Tyler a little pouch with some money with it,
“Here ya go, pardner! The pouch is on the house. Workin’ for the Apple family is almost like bein’ part of the Apple family.”

This caused him to chuckle,
“I hope I’m not part of the family as of yet. That would mean you would be my sister, Applejack. And then I couldn’t give you the same sorts of compliments.”

She gave him a playful punch on the arm,
“Oh, Ah said quit the fancy talk, pardner. Ya make me go blush!”

Tyler chuckled once more as he went down the stairs,
“Great! I can flatter Ponyville’s number one Country girl! Yee haw!” As they both shared a laugh, he bowed before them. “Applejack? Mrs. Smith? I’m happy I can work here!”

As he went further down the road, Applejack watched him leave, only to realize that Granny Smith gave her a big smile,
“Ah say, mah girl… It was about time yer bring a fine gentlecolt back home!”

Applejack’s jaw dropped straight down,
“What? Now Granny, listen! He isn’t a colt to begin with!”

“And what are ya defending yerself now, mah girl? He sure is a well-behaved young feller! And a hard worker as Ah can see. Ah wouldn’t mind if ya stick with him.”

Now the orange mare blushed deeply, reaching shades of red even darker than her brother’s coat,
"Granny!"

* * * * *

Meanwhile the three fillies rode along the streets in their scooter and wagon,
“Great! Now we have the bits to get the materials together!”

“Yes! Enough to buy some gold from yer big sister, Sweetie Belle. And we can borrow a book about goldsmiths from Twilight. All thanks to yer idea, Scootaloo!”

As they stopped, the little Pegasus filly looked to Applebloom,
“But it was you who found that great shiny gem, Apple Bloom! Now, let’s organize our stuff, so we can go back to the clubhouse! I can’t wait to get my cutie mark as a goldsmith!

As Tyler went down the road back to Ponyville, he counted the coins. 15 bits. That’s what this currency was called. Another small little detail to adapt to. As he reached Ponyville, he decided to get himself a meal in a restaurant and then buy some supplies for himself afterwards, depending on the prices on the menu. As he sat down, it was not long until the waiter came with the menu. A quick overview showed Tyler that all of the food was vegetarian.

Unfortunately, most meals seemed to include either hay or flowers, but there were several meals that fit the human taste,
“I think I’ll have the potato soup for 4 bits. Yes, that would be nice.”

The waiter nodded and took the menu,
“Good choice, sir.”

Shortly after that, the waiter brought some bread. After eating two bites of bread, his soup was served. As he began to eat, he closed his eyes. This was so good. The flavor was so natural one could taste the vitamins on the tongue. Way different than the soup they served on Earth. Then suddenly Rainbow collided with him, cleaning off the table.

The blast sent Tyler to the ground and his meal to his face as the bowl of soup was spilled out and the bowl rested on his head. As Rainbow turned to him, she couldn’t but laugh about the situation,
“Oops! Sorry, T-man… I guess the prank got a bit overboard…”

As she approached him, he still was lying on the floor, while the other guests stared at the scene,
“Is he alright?”

“Mommy? Why did Rainbow Dash do that?”

“Hush, Sweetheart, I guess he’s alright… I hope so…”

Chuckling nervously, Rainbow stood beside Tyler,
“Ahehe… Come on, Tyler…. It wasn’t that hard of a collision…” A silent mumble sounded from the soup bowl. As she lifted it swiftly and leaned forward, she listened very closely. “Yes? You alright?” With a whispering voice she heard him say something. It was very quiet though, so she leaned in even closer.

Suddenly he stood up and shoved her out of the way. The movement was neither caring nor gentle and after tumbling down to her back with a protesting "HEY!!!", Rainbow could see that he towered over her, staring angrily into her face. After this glare, he looked at himself. His clothes were a mess, stains on his shirt and jeans. That’s when he slammed four bits onto the table and left the restaurant. Rainbow raised her hoof after him,
“Hey, Tyler! Wait!”

But he went on and Rainbow bowed her head, ashamed of the mistake she made. She wasn’t the type of girl abandoning friends for pranks. Seeing Tyler getting so upset about this made her regret the prank instantly. He didn’t even raise his voice. No scolding, no harsh words, he left her alone with her mistake. That was the worst part for her. The silent fury of his disappointment buried deep within, only giving her this unforgiving look. He didn’t yell at her or call her names. He didn’t raise his hand to hurt her in return. He just abandoned her. And Rainbow understood that this was probably the worst punishment she could think of. She was being left alone.

Not long after that Rainbow walked on the streets of Ponyville, where she could hear the bouncing of that one particular pink set of hooves Ponyville knew all too well and Pinkie's voice became audible.
"Hey Rainbow Dash! Why the loooong face?"

"Hey Pinkie... Umm... You remember when we pranked some ponies together, right?"

"Sure! That was so much fun." Pinkie replied with a beaming smile.

"Yeah, well... I pranked Tyler, but seemingly that prank wasn't so good and backfired."

Inspecting Rainbow's dirty coat and roughed up feathers, Pinkie pointed at her with the right hoof while rubbing her chin with the left.
"You look like you were lying in the dirt. Did you two brawl?"

Shaking her head, Rainbow then sighed.
"No! No, I think this is worse..."

Pinkie's eyes widened in terror.
"He hit you?"

By now Rainbow's eyes narrowed.
"No, Pinke! All he did was shoving me aside. Brawl... Pffft! I'm used to worse from my time in Cloudsdale! Nah... There wasn't even a slap to it. What I mean is: I made him mad at me! But I don't want him to be mad at me. The last thing I need is the image that I pick on creatures from a far away place, just because they are on their own. So what do I do?"

Pinkie, listening with closed eyes, nodded in thought.
"Hmmm... hmmm... Much to learn you still have, young ponywan. Rainbow, pranks can be fun, but fun is only fun if both sides deem it fun. If one side takes this seriously, then there's a problem and no fun for anypony!"

Upon hearing this fast paced sentence with growing confusion, Rainbow arched a brow. All she heard was the constant mention of the word fun.
"What?!?"

But all of a sudden, she was in a tight embracement from Pinkie. Gently caressing the wild mane of her friend, Pinkie didn't recognize the narrowing eyes of the Pegasus mare.
"You need to set things right, Rainbow! More so because Tyler is new around here! The laws of pranking demand it!"

Looking up partly confused, partly afraid of Pinkie, Rainbow nodded with an uncertain glance.
"Alright, alright! Pinkie? Can I go now?"

* * * * *

Tyler went along the road, trying to calm down and to release some steam as he noticed the Carousel Boutique. 'Of course! Someone like Rarity has a changing room where I can get rid of these…' he thought. As he entered the boutique, he looked around,
“Rarity?” The place had plenty of space, maybe the unicorn used her magic to levitate whole dresses and display dummies around.

At the other end of the boutique the seamstress handled a sewing machine.
“Just a minute!” she chirped in a melodious manner.

Approaching her, he waved his hand dismissingly.
“Oh take your time! I only need a changing room for now.”

As she turned towards him with a smiling “Oh? Why’s that?” Her face suddenly turned into a terrified expression.
“TYLER!!! Stains!!! Soup stains! What did you do to your clothes?!? What! Did! You! DO?!?”

He rolled his eyes in annoyance while gritting his teeth,
“I was having soup while some Pegasus thought it would be cool to prank me while eating.”

Rarity narrowed her eyes, and then arched a brow,
“Rainbow Dash?”

Tyler waved the thought away,
“Pranks… Well I’m fine with such things, but not while I’m eating… I need to clean those, and I thought of you. You know… to bring you the clothes, not only to wash them for me, but to study the fabric as well.”

“But of course! Please right this way!” Presenting him a changing room, the white unicorn looked up to him. “How thoughtful of you to remember my invitation and my curiosity about the fabrics. Surely I’ll fix this for you.”

As he undressed, he gave her each piece of cloth,
“These are all made out of cotton, so there you go. The fabric isn’t that much of a wonder where I’m from, it’s just a way to weave cotton into a sturdy fabric. It used to be a fashion for hard workers in the Wild West a couple of hundred years ago, but nowadays ‘jeans’ are casual fashion.”

Rarity’s eyes widened as sparkles shined in them,
“My… hundreds of years of development, and I have the privilege to harvest the fruits of human fashion…”

Tyler peeked out from the curtain and looked down to her,
“But, Rarity?”

With a smile she looked up from the clothing,
“Yes?”

He looked around to all the dresses and suits decorated with gemstones and diamonds,
“If you redo the jeans, don’t add glittery stuff to it, OK? I only want my jeans.”

This made Rarity giggle and she waved it away,
“Don’t be silly, Tyler… I can see your taste of fashion already. It’s durable and practical, yet beyond a dirty working outfit. I’ll be right back! Let me get this clean first.”

As Rainbow entered the boutique, Tyler went utterly silent again, staring at her in the same angry way, prompting her to cower away as she came near,
“I… I bought you the soup again… it was my fault it was spilled on your clothes.” Not speaking, he maintained his stern gaze. So she continued. “I don’t want to lose you as a friend! I’m…” She bowed her head, tears welling in her eyes. She was glad her wild mane hid those tears. “I’m sorry! I’m not that kind of a pony.”

Tyler then closed his eyes and spoke to the Pegasus,
“There are times when you eat and there are times when you prank. But there are no times you prank someone who eats! This can end unfortunately! One unlucky incident with a fork, knife or spoon and that’s it! One less friend to have! Do you want to risk our friendship that easily?” He then gazed down to her. Rainbow shook her head, not daring to look up to him. With a nod, his stern look softened a bit. “You promise never to do that again?”

She vigorously nodded, looking up to him now,
“I promise!”

He then bend down to her, giving her a hug,
“Stupid! Why were you doing something like that in the first place?”

“I… I wanted to have fun with you!”

He held her cheeks and smiled,
“And we will have fun! But not like this, RD… I am also sorry for shoving you around like that. You OK?”

She nodded and gave him the soup bowl she got from the restaurant. It was then she recognized he was undressed except for his shorts,
“I… take it Rarity is off to wash your clothes?”

He saw to the door Rarity went through,
“I think so. Well then! While she’s gone, I’ll eat the soup and you will tell me something. He sat down on the ground and folded his hands to say grace. ”Bless us, O Lord, and these your gifts, which we're about to receive from your bounty. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.”

Rainbow blinked with widened eyes as she looked at him,
“Dude… What was that?”

As Tyler looked up, he chuckled,
“Aw, it’s just a prayer before the meal. An eating habit some of us humans do, you know?”

Rainbow inspected his folded hands closely,
“Cool! That’s some sort of eating ritual then? You show gratitude for the food to someone?”

Tyler chuckled and got the spoon,
“That’s the idea, right. But don’t ask me who gets the gratitude…”

Hearing this caused her to cock her head,
“Why not?”

“It is a very long story, Rainbow. Faith in the human world, you know?”

She sat down and nodded,
“I see… You don’t want to bore me. OK, maybe you’ll tell me later. But now, dig in!”

As Rarity came back a little later and was beaming widely,
“Success! I cleaned all of these stains out of the ‘jeans’!” She then noticed Tyler and Rainbow sitting together and harrumphed briefly before giggling a bit. “Back to work! I must create!”

While she took measurements of Tyler’s now standing body, she took note of every measure. After some time she looked up to Tyler. “This piece of clothing has to go as well, Tyler.”

He looked down to Rarity and arched a brow,
“No… It won’t! The shorts will stay on!”

Rarity blinked several times, not fully understanding what didn’t make him comply this time,
“Now, for complete measurement I need you to get it off!”

“And for the dignity of myself, I say it stays on!”

Rarity gasped and closed her eyes,
“Why won’t you comply? I thought you-” She was interrupted as Rainbow whispered something into her ear. “It covers his WHAT?” The white unicorn stared at Rainbow Dash with wide eyes, as she pointed a hoof to Tyler’s crotch. This caused the unicorn to gasp deeply, again, standing on her hind legs and putting her front hooves on his chest. “I am SO sorry, Tyler! I’m not that kind of a unicorn! Please don’t think badly of me!”

Tyler rolled his eyes playfully,
“You are forgiven… just take measures with them on and take a few millimeters off.” With a nod, she then did precisely so and Tyler put his clothes on again shortly after. As he took a look on the clock, it was just noon.

* * * * *

Meanwhile back on the farm, the three fillies stood together and gave their creation scrutinizing looks. Apple Bloom arched a brow,
“Hmmm… This is supposed to be a necklace?”

Giving a brief shake with her head, Sweetie Belle closed her eyes,
“It looks more like a collar to me…”

Scootaloo narrowed her eyes,
“A dog collar? But we were up to make a beautiful necklace!”

Applebloom shook her head,
“Winona would never wear this thing… But wait! Did it work?”

Checking their flanks, they lowered their heads,
“No…”

“Not for me either…”

“Darn… And I thought this was going to work!”

It was then when Apple Bloom had another idea,
“I know what we could try next!” Leaving the collar back behind, the three fillies ran outside. By then the gem on it began to shine again in all colors of the rainbow. A dark chuckle sounded, originating from within the gem.

Leaving the Carousel Boutique, Tyler and Rainbow both went towards the park,
“With Rarity doing her fashion magic, my wardrobe should fill quite well! Now I need to get in better shape if I want to make a difference on Sweet Apple Acres! Currently the work is a notch too hard. What do you say, Rainbow? Will you help me get in shape?”

Rainbow grinned broadly,
“You’re on, T-man! I wanna see what you can do!”

Tyler smiled up to her hovering friend. Then with an orange, a yellow and a white flash, three punches slammed him down,
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADER HUMAN TAMERS! YAY!!!”

Rainbow Dash was as puzzled as Tyler was, but he recovered fast from the three blows from the cute fillies who had tossed him over and now sat proudly on top of him. Grinning, he winked at Rainbow before whimpering in front of the girls,
“Oh! Oh, spare me, little masters! Here I lay in the dust before you! Pity!”

Wholeheartedly the girls smiled in success,
“You think he’s tame now?”

“He sure is!” But one brief check on their still blank flanks prompted them to sigh.

Rainbow nudged the little fillies off from Tyler before striking a pose,
“He was tame in the first place, kids… I tamed him!”

Tyler now got up and chuckled at Rainbow,
“Did you? Or did you teach me to be wild? I think I’ll spend some time with the three little energy packs here. You go and look awesome as always!”

Sharing a laugh, Rainbow then flew off,
“Alright, Tyler! See ya at the park in a few hours!”

After he waved her goodbye, he looked down to the three fillies,
“Now… What little bundles of love do we have here?”

As the three of them smiled, three golden halos hovered above their heads,
“We are the Cutie mark crusaders!” Apple Bloom beamed while Sweetie Belle nodded vigorously.

“And we are on a crusade!”

Scootaloo bounced around him,
“Until we get our cutie marks!”

“I’m Applebloom!”

“I’m Sweetie Belle!”

“And I’m Scootaloo!”

Tyler smiled gently at the girls,
“I see… Well for your sake I hope you will find your cutie marks all three at once.”

The three fillies looked up to him,
“Why is that?”

He patted them for a while,
“Well, I don't know much about you for now. But let me tell you something: I see three good friends now. If only one of you gets a cutie mark, the other two are still struggling. That’s what makes you guys so special. You three stick together no matter what. That’s a very deep bond of friendship you have there. Instead of you three envying the others for their cutie marks, the others should envy you for your friendship.”

Scootaloo looked down, blushing while she did,
“Gosh, Mr. Human… You are a nice guy.”

Patting her on the head he smiled down to her,
“Don’t sweat it, kid. You three are adorable. Tell you what: I may not know much about cutie marks, but I might give you a different approach to your crusade. Maybe that will bear more fruit.”

Now they beamed at him, standing on their hind legs and their front hoofs on his legs,
“You will?”

“Really?”

“Awesome!!!”

Tyler sat down with them,
“Hmmm... So from what I understood from Twilight's lectures about Equestria, cutie marks appear when you excell in something, right? What you must look for is something no pony in Ponyville is able to do. Look what’s missing in the grand design and you might find your cutie mark that way.”

Sweetie Belle cocked her head,
“Grand design? Like the things my sister Rarity does?”

Tyler raised an index finger and winked at the fillies,
“In a manner… A single thread in your sister’s dress, despite its bright color and shine can never see its purpose in your sister’s grand design. Isn’t that right?”

The little white filly thought of a moment, until it nodded,
“I guess so!”

With a smile he caressed her mane and turned to Applebloom,
“And the Apple that hangs up there in the crown of the apple tree’s mighty face… Do you think it’s more important than the roots that hold the trunk?”

The little yellow filly shook her head whirling her red mane wildly while doing so,
"The roots are very important!"

“You see? It’s about the grand design. You have to take a step back and see what’s missing. Something you can’t find anywhere else.”

Scootaloo bowed her head in frustration,
“But we already tried so many things. And anything we can do, there are dozens of ponies who can do it better.”

Tyler sat down beside her and caressed her mane,
“But there is only one Scootaloo! You are unique, my little filly. We all are unique. I guess earning your cutie mark is to find out who you really are. And nothing is harder. Even we humans tend to oversee of who we truly are. In time, you will manage to see into your own heart, Scootaloo and you will earn your cutie mark.”

The little Pegasus filly looked up to him, not completely understanding, but he was nice to her. Somehow she knew it was meant that way,
“But… I do know who I am. I’m Scootaloo!”

The human now touched her torso with his hand, feeling her heartbeat,
“Oh it goes deeper than your name, kid. It’s about the very essence of Scootaloo. The very fire you have to kindle within yourself.”

Apple Bloom thought about those words for a minute,
“But mah sister was in town, homesick when she was a filly. And when she saw Rainbow Dash’s Sonic Rainboom, she returned home to Sweet Apple Acres, earning her cutie mark. How does it work?”

Tyler let go of Scootaloo and turned to Apple Bloom,
“As far as I understand it, your sister learned that she belonged to this and only this place as it was the only place her heart felt right and would ever be the place she could call home. You see? It’s about what makes you unique!”

“Unique, huh? Unrivaled failures that is!” Two further fillies appeared the little group.

Apple Bloom frowned as she saw them,
“Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon…”

"How is it going, you blank flank losers?" the gray filly with the glasses mocked them. "Found another blank flank to be friends with?"

As the three fillies hid behind Tyler, he looked to the two in front of him. 'Bullies...' he thought as his glance hardened. Pointing at them, he raised his voice.
“Hey… You two there! Stop giving others a hard time! Besides! Who said I was blank?” With this he pulled of his shirt, presenting his tattoo. “You know, we humans may have no cutie marks, but we still can have something to make us stand out from each other. Even if the earning of a tattoo is a painful thing.”

While the crusaders looked at the tattoo in awe, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon giggled at it,
“Still, your flank is blank!”

The human put on his shirt again and looked down on the two loudmouths,
“You watch it, young lady! Or I’ll report to your parents the whereabouts about your fixation over the flanks of others! Including those of adult males!”

This visibly enraged the little filly,
“You what? My… I swear, if my daddy would be here, he would-”

A sudden voice interrupted the young filly,
“I would do what, young lady?” An amber coated male earth pony arrived behind Diamond Tiara.

Taking a short overview on the scene, the businesspony shook his head in disappointment,
“Not again, Diamond Tiara! More complaints about you? Seems to me I have to have a word with you at home!”

“What? But daaaaad!”

Now with an even stricter look he gazed upon her,
“Don’t you ‘but dad’ me! You’ve heard me, young lady! Now go home!” As she trotted away in silence, the stallion glared upon her,
“Strictness is needed sometimes… Especially with such a lively young filly. But this is my business, not yours. Don’t you think?”

Tyler's eye twitched a bit. That stallion had a sharp tongue and an even sharper mind. He reminded him not to interfere with things not his own. Giving a nod, Tyler was out to give in just a bit for peace sake.
“No one likes bullies. Maybe these three here needed a one time backup before rising up on their own. But I get your point. Kids need to figure it out themselves or they'll never grow independent. Maybe we should agree on that, Mr.…”

“Rich! Filthy Rich!”

Tyler chuckled a bit,
“That’s a quaint forename you have there, Mr. Rich. Mind if I stick to Phil? It is more personal, but not so… negative.”

At first, Rich was baffled at these words, but then he rubbed his chin with his hoof,
“Phil? Hm, Phil… Yes! That sure has a nice ring to it! Most ponies tend to stumble over my forename.”

This prompted Tyler to give a sly smirk,
“Nothing filthy in earning some honest money with some wit I guess. Being a businessman seems to have some disadvantages both on Earth and Equestria.”

With this the amber coated stallion nodded,
“Ah yes! They said you were from that other place… I met a decent looking unicorn feller who warned me about you, though. Said you were a troublemaker."

Tyler's eyebrow twitched in slight anger.
"And that feller didn't happen to have a certain green coat and a blonde mane?"

Filthy Rich nodded in confirmation.
"I see we are talking about the very same pony. Seeing how you interfere with issues not concerning you, I'm inclined to agree with said pony."

"Only if you're not willing or daring enough to make your own point of view, Phil. I for one would never give something about a single opinion and would rely on at least a second one and a certain gut feeling. You wouldn't be so wealthy if you would blindingly follow the advice from others."

Rich gave him a thoughtful nod,
“A wise politic you have there, Mr…”

Tyler held his hand to Filthy Rich,
“Jones! Tyler Jones. But please, call me Tyler.”

Filthy Rich gave Tyler a shake,
“Tyler… Yes, I can sense you have a nose for business. You certainly know how to present yourself, even when there are negative rumors about you. We should have a meeting or two so I can show you ‘Rich's Barnyard Bargains’. A presentation cannot hurt for a future customer.”

“True! I’ll give it a look as soon as I have the time. Until then! Goodbye!”

As the stallion trotted away, the three crusaders approached Tyler,
"That was awesome!”

“Cool!”

“Tremendous!”

Tyler chuckled,
“What? I only befriended someone…”

Apple Bloom smiled up to him with huge eyes,
“Until now, Diamond Tiara always gave us a hard time! But you showed her dad her real face! Maybe now she’ll leave us alone for some more…”

"Yes, but Mr. Rich is right. 'm not supposed to guard you or interfere when they bully you. I'm not related to you, I'm a stranger here. This is none of my business." Tyler saw their glum faces then and rolled his eyes, only to lower his voice a bit. "Oh, but where would be the fun in leaving three cute kids hanging?" Giving a grin, he then kneeled down and hugged Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, who gladly gave him a group hug. Scootaloo however just pointed her hoof to her mouth as to gag on something. This prompted Tyler to laugh and he raised the filly and let her lay down on his shoulder, an arm over her back and caressing her neck,
“You’re not the type of girl to cuddle? Come on! Everyone loves some affection once in a while.”

Scootaloo rolled her big eyes and pointed towards the sky,
“Not Rainbow Dash! She’s way too cool for that!”

Tyler gave this a smile,
“She sure is cool. Do you guys know she saved my life once?”

The three crusaders gave a “Whoa! Really? Cool!” in unison.

Scootaloo jumped off from Tyler and fell in line with the other two crusaders,
“That’s right! That was yesterday when I fell into this world! Since then, we both are buddies! Which reminds me… I have to go, girls…” The girls nodded and waved goodbye before they went on galloping to their next attempt to earn their cutie marks.

As Tyler reached the park, Rainbow already waved at him. “Over here, T-man!” As he approached her, they shared a smirk, “Waiting long?”

“Nah… I had weather patrol stuff to do. So let’s get started!” And so they began Tyler’s brutal training. The human did his best to improve and although he couldn’t best his Pegasus friend in terms of speed, his iron will and endurance brought forth big improvements. While Rainbow first won the first several tug-of-war rounds, Tyler slowly began to match her strength over the days.

* * * * *

Several days of training passed. By the time he considered himself back in shape, he would lift Rainbow Dash onto his shoulders to run along his training grounds. With a roaring laughter the cerulean Pegasus cheered for him. After that he made pushups with her still on his back and while his arms burnt and sweat was running down his forehead, Rainbow rewarded each pushup with another count as Twilight took careful note of the capabilities of the human while watching his progress.

The determination of his species left her curious and she was interested in Tyler’s full potential. As they both talked about humans, Tyler stated that humans can’t use magic and don’t have wings to fly. Twilight suggested that a strong body and a sharp mind could account for the survival of humans in their world.

As for the strength she considered her theory right. What she didn’t expect was that Tyler himself was surprised by his new amount of strength and that he could lift far more weight than before. She had spent an entire evening with him talking about this matter and was surprised, that he actually theorized that the ‘gravitational pull’ in Equestria was lower than on Earth.

While the conversation continued, Twilight felt confirmed about the high intelligence as well. He spoke of scientific terms and physics. It wasn’t like he was giving her a lecture in physics, but he managed to explain complex terms to her. Wherever this human was from, science meant a big deal. This again made her heart race in excitement. And it made her report to Princess Celestia far more frequently than usual.

The days passed, and they roped in Fluttershy for the training because Tyler and Rainbow had the idea of competing against each other while the human was in training. As Spike brought Twilight a drink and some fresh scrolls of note parchment, he looked down at the training grounds,
“So Twilight? How’s he doing?”

Twilight shook her head in disbelief,
“He’s been training for a week now… Like a Minotaur… His diet consists of vegetables of all kind, bread, fish, some sweets once in a while, beans and meat…“

“So that makes him a predator, right?”

“Not a carnivore, Spike… An omnivore! Unlike us ponies, he can eat anything”

“Y-you mean…?” The baby dragon looked a bit spooked.

Rolling her eyes, Twilight chuckled,
“No Spike… He won’t eat us.”

“Well… That’s not my concern, you know?”

With a deep sigh she smiled and looked towards her assistant,
“No, he won’t eat your diamonds and gemstones either.”

A broad smirk grew on the little dragon’s face,
“Great! That means more gems for me!”

Right now Tyler and Rainbow shared a rivaling stare,
“You give up?”

“That word doesn’t even exist in my vocabulary, Mister!”

He then smirked at her,
“Oh, is that so? Well, you are forgetting one thing there, girl…”

With a challenging glare she looked over at him,
“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

“The cute one on top of me!” Rainbow’s eyes widened all of a sudden. He was right. Not only was he doing pushups with his own weight but also Fluttershy sitting on him, who was shouting a cute little ‘Yay!’ once in a while to cheer for them both..

Now while Pegasi were agile, slender ponies with wings, they were only of moderate weight. Rainbow was considered ‘in peak condition’ for a Pegasus mare. Highly trained but not over the edge. And still this human could lift her friend as well, making him equally strong as an earth pony. But already his arms were trembling, he was tired already. This made her grin wide. A few pushups later, his arms gave in,
“YES!!!” she yelled in victory. “Victorious again! But you had extra weight so I guess we should call it even.”

As the yellow Pegasus raised into the air, Tyler got up,
“Fine then… I think I’ve had enough training for today. Let's not overdo it.” Shortly after toweling up, he turned around, walking towards Twilight.

It was in this moment that he bumped into and accidentally knocked over Trixie,
“Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to…”

As Trixie got up, she jumped two meters, yelping in surprise,
“What in Celestia’s name? Shoo! Shoo! Be gone, creature!”

Tyler frowned upon this tone,
“Now wait a second! No need to be rude!”

As Twilight approached them, she looked at the blue unicorn,
“Trixie! I take it, you’ve met Tyler?”

Trixie looked at Twilight with big eyes,
“Twilight? You… you know this creature?”

Twilight shrugged,
“Why, yes! Since he fell into our world he lives at my place.”

Tyler rolled his eyes,
“Thanks to this Rainbow Gem what brought me here…”

Trixie saw up to Tyler,
“You WHAT?!? R-r-r-rainbow GEM???” The blue unicorn was grinning broadly. “AH-HAH!!! I did it after all! I, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE, DID IT!!!” Beaming at Twilight, Trixie brought herself into pose. “Oh, Twilight! I can’t wait to let everyone hear that I have evidence my spell really worked out OK!”

With that Trixie was grabbed by Tyler and he looked at her with a grim face,
“So, you’re the one who made the thing that brought me here! How nice! Now… How do I get back home?”

Not understanding him for a second, Trixie looked at Twilight for a moment, only to see her face staring back at her strictly,
“Don’t look at me, Trixie, it was your spell and you performed it yourself. Didn’t you research the outcome thoroughly enough?”

“Why, of course I did research, Twilight! I wanted to create a Rainbow Gem and this I did, did I not?”

Tyler’s grip hardened,
“Yeah… And your precious gem left your world, it entered mine and when I touched it, it brought me here! Now, how do I get back into MY world?”

Trixie cringed at his sharp words,
“I don’t know… It shouldn’t have sent the gem anywhere! And sweet Celestia, it shouldn’t have brought something back! Twilight… Please! Tell him to put me down! I’ll reread the book to fix this, I swear!”

Twilight laid a hoof on Tyler’s arm,
“Let her be, Tyler. Scolding her right now won’t solve your problem. Trixie, what book did you read?”

Tyler put the blue unicorn down and looked angry at her, stabbing his fingers at her,
“You’ll fix this… one way or another!”

Trixie cringed some more before Twilight stepped in front of her, giving Tyler a stern look,
“That’s enough, big guy! I understand your anger, but this is not the time for this. We’ll fix it, I promise!” Tyler nodded, calming down as he walked away. Twilight now looked down to the blue unicorn. “Trixie, the book title please! What book did you read?”

“Um… You won’t get mad OK?”

The lavender unicorn rolled her eyes annoyed,
“Ugh, fine! Talk already!”

“Well… you see… I got the spell from ‘Myths and mythology of the ancient void beings’ and-”

Twilight interrupted her with wide eyes,
“YOU WHAT?!? Trixie! That book is on the restricted title list in the Canterlot library! Princess Celestia won’t even give one of them to me! And I’m her Number One student!”

The blue showmare now cringed even more,
“I know… I know!!! Twilight, I messed up again! But I wanted to show some real magic this time to settle down in Ponyville! You know, to prove that I’m more than a boasting and lying showmare! Doing something useful! And a transformation spell of that magnitude was just what I needed!”

Twilight shook her head in shock,
“I don’t believe this! You broke into the Canterlot library, took a book which is forbidden to read by the Princess herself, came to Ponyville and performed a spell which not only creates the wished result, and I deem this to be the most harmless part, but also vanishes and brings back a being from another world which could be Celestia knows what! Have you any understanding of what you’ve done, girl?”

Tears welled into Trixie’s face as she looked up to Twilight,
“I- I wanted to be friends with everyone!” Then the dam broke and she began to cry bitter tears.

Twilight sighed and hugged her,
“Trixie, you are some unicorn… You’re always getting yourself into trouble! Get me the book and I’ll try to find out what happened over time. In the meantime you go and look for this Rainbow Gem. I figure it is a key element to the spell that brings Tyler home.”

Still sobbing, Trixie looked up,
“Thank you, Twilight… I’ll do that. But won’t that put you into trouble as well?”

“If Princess Celestia hears about the human you brought to Equestria in my next report, I’m sure me trying to solve the problem by reading this book will be the least of our concerns. So you better do your best to find this gem and make up for the trouble you’ve caused. But I’m not sure how she’ll react to the theft of a forbidden book. This is a thing you will have to see through for yourself…” Those words made the blue unicorn gulp in fear.

Twilight then stepped into the library,
“Spike! I need a full study equipment set! Bring me several scrolls, quills and ink! No, wait! Make that a lot of ink! I will need your notes as well, Trixie! Seems to me I have to reconstruct your spell and think of a way to reverse it. Oh, the thought alone of how many facts I have to trace back makes me fear the upcoming checklists…” The little dragon brought several things at once in the three runs he performed through the library. Twilight’s mind went into overdrive as she thought of the remark of the void beings.

Slowly, she formed up the theory that this Rainbow Gem might be the embodiment of evil the book told her about. ‘Luckily for our world, these creatures cannot enter our world unless some foalish soul creates an embodiment of evil for them to begin their cycle.’ In her mind the facts swirled around and as she worked out one checklist after another, she thought of the prophecy of Tilerions as well. Unintentionally Trixie had make the prophecy come true, bringing both villain and hero to Equestria. But somehow, something was missing. The gem. It was the last piece to the puzzle, wasn’t it?

After a long day of research, Twilight went out to the balcony. Trixie stood there, still bowing her head,
“Trixie?”

As Twilight laid a hoof on the showmare’s shoulder, she looked up,
“I just realized how bad I bucked up, Twilight. If your theory is correct, this human, this Tyler is a foretold hero who shall defeat beasts and dragons of creatures living in a realm between his world and ours. If that’s true, I doomed us all!”

Twilight shook her head,
“Come on now, Trixie… He’s capable of so much more…”

“No he’s NOT! Just look at him! So weak! He can’t even use magic… I mean you are the bigger magician of us two and deservedly so! But even I can wield greater magic than he does. How do you expect someone like that to defeat a dragon?” Leaving the balcony sobbing, Trixie left the library as well and went back to her wagon.

By then Tyler stepped outside to the balcony, stroking Twilight’s back. As he looked down to Trixie, his smile faded,
“So… what are we going to do?”

Giving a sigh, Twilight looked up to him,
“Trixie read a book which was forbidden by the princess. I’ll send a letter to her reporting the situation. Don’t worry though. You never harmed anypony despite Wheat Wacker claiming that you're a threat, so you won’t have reason to fear her. She may be wary or careful, but she trusts me in many matters. In the meantime, you should go on as usual. You did well until now, so it should be enough to prove your intentions.”

He looked down to the lavender unicorn,
“I overheard you both talking about a theory… What’s this all about?”

Twilight looked up into the night sky,
“It’s just that I think that this Rainbow Gem might be big trouble. Not that it brought you here… Other trouble.” With a brief “Mhm…” he looked into the Everfree Forest.

* * * * *

As the next morning arrived, Tyler was awakened by the loud call of fanfares. This caused him to fall out of bed again. Having been in Equestria for a week now, he rose up and dressed up quickly,
“Damn! Twilight? What’s the entire ruckus outside? Twilight?” Getting into his boots, he tied them on the doorsill. “Twilight? What’s going on? Is there a parade or something?”

“You were right, Twilight… He seems to be friendly enough to be an enrichment to the town.” There was this calm female voice that soothed each and every muscle in Tyler’s body. As he raised his head, he saw her. The white coat sparkled in the sunlight and the mane was moving as if caught in a nonexistent breeze. A golden tiara was shimmering behind a large pointy horn and as the large alicorn approached the six young mares were already assembled in front of the library, bowing down to her. So this was this princess the girls were talking about. She truly was a sight to remember.

Rainbow, who already was bowing, harrumphed up to Tyler,
“Bow down, big guy! Show some respect!”

Tyler gave Rainbow a quick look before he turned his eyes to the princess again. But in the meantime she was almost an inch away from him,
“Hello… Well? Won’t you bow?”

Tyler made a displeased grimace and looked into her eyes,
“I’ll bow to no queen, king, prince or princess… Where I come from, those people tend to misuse their power!” As she gave him a puzzled look and arched an eyebrow, he smiled and bowed. “…but I’ll bow to a beautiful lady any day…”

Now receiving a hoofkiss, she returned to her warm smile,
“My, my… What a charmer this fine young lad is… Twilight? Aren’t you going to introduce your new friend to me?”

The young unicorn leaped up and stopped besides Tyler,
“Certainly! Princess Celestia? This is Tyler Jones from the land of humans called Earth…”

“Planet, Twilight… Earth is the name of the planet.” Tyler corrected her, stroking her mane.

The brows of the princess arched quizzically,
“I must say, this is hard to believe… An extraequian? That’s new even to me! Your journey must have been very rough and tiring…”

As they conversed, Rainbow leaned toward Twilight,
“Hey, Twi! What did she call him? An extra what?”

Twilight sighted and turned to her Pegasus friend,
“Extraequian, Rainbow. He’s not only not from Equestria, odds are he doesn’t come from Equis either! A whole different world is his origin.”

Hearing these words prompted Rainbow to gaze at the human with widened eyes,
“Whoa… That’s awesome! And to think that I saved him!”

Tyler overheard the Pegasus mare and grinned,
“Otherwise I would be human pancake right now! Yes, Rainbow truly saved my life.”

Reaching up to her and messing up her mane made the cerulean mare chuckle,
“Stop it, T-man!”

“What? It’s true! You did great when I first bumped into you.” With a look of concern he turned to the princess. “Am I the only human who ever came here? Or am I the first?”

With a brief shake of her head the princess closed her eyes for a blink,
“I am sorry, but you are the first and only human being I’ve ever met. And due to my knowledge no humans ever lived or appeared on Equis.”

Tyler nodded,
“Maybe it’s better that way. Not every human would be as peaceful as I am. In fact I advise you to secure and contain any further human being until I can get to speak with him or her. Human nature is… hard to explain and from what I’ve heard and saw, by far more violent than the ponies I’ve encountered.”

The princess cocked her head very slightly and arched her brow again. Tyler felt she was accepting him in her realm as of now, but still was wary and doubtful. Not that he could have blamed her for it,
“Are you saying humans are evil?”

Tyler shook his head immediately,
“Not evil, just violent. Scare the crap out of someone and he goes berserk, wanting to break free. Actually I’m amazed I didn’t faint when I saw Rainbow Dash.”

The Pegasus mare landed now, raising her head high,
“Yup! I do have that effect sometimes…”

Princess Celestia nodded kindly and gave Tyler a smile,
“Twilight? Luna will come on one of the next nights to greet Tyler in person as I do today. As you reported so vigorously about him, I couldn’t help but come and see him with my own eyes. I think Luna is equally curious about him. Please prepare for her arrival accordingly.”

“Yes, Princess!”

As Celestia gave Tyler another look, she lowered her head to a regal nod,
“Tyler Jones? Speaking to you revealed some things about you for me. I’m sure now you won’t harm my subjects willingly. Which is good…” Giving him a playful smirk, she added “…for you…” She winked at him and went back to her carriage, Twilight following her.

This whole scene prompted Tyler to blink in astonishment. 'Was… Was she flirting with me?' He shook his head and waved the thought away. 'Don’t be silly! A pony goddess able to move the sun and flirting with you? What are the chances?'

As he and Twilight went back to the library, Twilight looked up to him,
“She said she likes you. This means a lot, big guy. You seemed to have made a good first impression. Except the part about the bowing. She isn’t sure what to think about it.”

Tyler gave a nervous chuckle,
“I think I was too honest there…”

As they entered the library, a zebra was talking to Spike. The little dragon then waved to Twilight,
“Oh, here they are!”

Twilight brightened up,
“Zecora! I’m glad you could come at this time." Both the unicorn and the zebra hugged before Zecora laid eyes upon Tyler. Her eyes widened at his towering appearance.

“My, oh my…
What approaches my very eye?”

Tyler gave her a smile,
"Hello..." Holding the palm into the air before her, the zebra was first puzzled, but then Twilight whispered something into her ear and she laid a hoof into the palm for a shake.

“Never before have I seen a being like him,
But Twilight told me about your situation so very grim.
If you wish I can try to look deep inside
For what I find might help turn the tide”

Tyler cocked his head,
“A spiritual search for the answers? Sure, why not? Anything that can help me is most welcome, Zecora.” With this both the human and zebra sat down and she started to burn a few herbs in a small wooden bowl. As they both inhaled the fumes, Zecora grabbed his head with her hooves, rubbing the temples. Her eyes began to glow yellow as they both gazed into each other’s eyes.

“A power most terrifying will live in you.
To save your life, hear now what to do.
To avoid the massive and irrevocable sin,
The answers you seek lie deep within.
To save what is dear the bridge you must burn,
Close down your point of no return.
This is my warning. Act soon, human friend.
If your choice is poor, this is Ponyville’s end.”

With this the connection between them ceased and Tyler leaned back,
“Bridge? Choice?” He shook his head. “I must say this doesn’t make sense right now, but I thank you for this riddle. I shall think about it.” With this Zecora nodded and grabbed a potion out of her bag.

“Twilight also told me of your occasional agony.
So I’ve mixed this potion as a slight remedy.
I lacked information to help fight the cause,
But surely this potion makes the pain hold and pause.”

Tyler took the potion and nodded,
“Thank you. As soon as this headache comes again, I will drink it up.”

With this the zebra stood up,
“Now you must pardon, I bid you farewell,
I must return home now or my hut goes to hell!”

With this, Zecora left the library and they waved her goodbye. While Twilight went inside already, Tyler gazed after the zebra for several minutes. 'Choice… She said the problem would be choice… But what choice?'
Perplexed, he went inside the library and closed the door.
Meanwhile in the clubhouse of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, the Rainbow Gem started to pulse in anticipation. Another dark chuckle emerged from it...

proofread by Fourfire