Chapter 4:

Carrot Top winced as, with a slight yelp, Touma successfully pulled the carrot from the ground, but in doing so, overbalanced and tumbled into the dirt. In the passing days, Touma, having had substantial experience with freeloaders himself, had tired of being a freeloader and had started trying to do odd tasks to make himself useful; the key word being trying. While his nimble hands made him quite adept at many fine tasks that most ponies normally found difficult without magical assistance, he was, as always dogged by that streak of bad luck that seemed to follow him everywhere.

"Fukou da," muttered the human as he pushed himself back to his feet, brushed what little of the loam he could off his clothes, and moved on to the next carrot. Carrot Top sighed as she watched him crouch down to take the next one. While his hands allowed him to get an effective grip on the orange taproots, which made pulling them out easier, the tradeoff was that the human's tall posture forced him to crouch down in order to reach them. It made his efforts quite awkward, with his high center of gravity often causing him to overbalance. But having someone to work alongside her made it worth her while, so she didn't mind in the slightest.

In any case, work was soon forgotten as Carrot Top's ears picked up the thunder of hooves against the road leading up to her house. Lifting her head up, her eyes widened at the sight of Trixie, her cape billowing behind her as she ran, charging straight for them. Carrot Top didn't like the panicked look on her friend's face in the slightest.

"Trixie! What's wrong?"

As Touma noticed the commotion, he straightened up, using his forearm to wipe the sweat off his forehead, not even realizing he left a streak of dirt behind.

"It's terrible!" exclaimed Trixie, looking mortified, "I was at the town council meeting and we were talking about Touma and how Princess Luna was trying to find a way to send him back and I..." she looked down, "...I let it slip that the spell that brought him here was Corona's and..."

Trixie cast a terrified look over her shoulder. Touma shaded his eyes to see what she was looking for. But then he noticed points of light coming from the town. "Uh...did they form a mob?" he asked.

"Yes," sobbed Trixie.

Touma let out a loud sigh. "Fukou da." Vaulting over the fence, he cast an almost bored look in the direction of town. "I guess I need to be going then."

"Where?" asked Carrot Top, "Why are you leaving anyway?"

Touma gave her a sad smile. "Well, they know I'm staying with you. So if I stay here, they're sure to come and find me. If that happens, then your house and fields could be damaged. I'd better be gone before they get here."

"But..." stammered Trixie, "...But what will you do?"

Touma shrugged. "I'll have to run away for now. I suppose I'll have to wait somewhere else while the Princess looks for a way to send me home." He turned around and set off at a light jog while Trixie and Carrot Top looked on aghast. They were stunned by the human's behavior. Even though it was his life on the line, his first thought was for their wellbeing.

"We have to do something," said Carrot Top.

Trixie ducked her head, trying her hardest to think quickly. The sounds of shouting could already be heard as the mass of angry ponies surged in their direction. Finally, she looked up, her eyes widening. "I have an idea!" she exclaaimed.

"What?"

"Distract them for as long as you can," said the showmare as she turned to look at the crowd of angry ponies in the near distance.

"What?" exclaimed Carrot Top, "That's your plan?"

"I just need you to buy some time," replied Trixie quickly, "Meanwhile, I'm going to find Cheerilee and Ditzy." She broke into a run, making sure to take a path that would allow her to skirt around the mob rather than try to run through it.

"What?" Carrot Top wanted to know more about just what her friend was planning. But Trixie was already gone. With a dramatic sigh, she turned to look at the mob that was nearly on her doorstep. How do I distract this lot?

Celestia's head snapped up, her blank white eyes focusing in the distance. Zecora did not know how Celestia was keeping track of events, but it was clear that she knew something.

"At last. My plan has borne fruit," she declared, "My ponies are showing signs of unrest. Clearly the beast has begun its rampage. It is time for me remind those foals why I am meant to rule."

With a flash of light, Celestia vanished, leaving Zecora behind herself. The zebra lifted a hoof to her face and groaned. "I know not how I can tell. But I truly feel this won't end well."

Touma finally came to a halt, gasping for breath. He was fortunate that he had quite a bit of practice at running. His habit of trying to help people had gotten him into trouble before. And though Kamijou Touma was confident of being able to win one-on-one and maybe two-on-one, when the odds were three against one, it was best to run. Of course, since an entire mob was after him, the last thing that Touma wanted to do was stand and fight. It didn't help that he had no desire to hurt these ponies. So running really was his best option at the moment.

Regaining his breath a bit, Touma straightened and looked around. The area around him was barren and devoid of any sign of civilization, pony or otherwise. It was bare, even of vegetation, with only a few bits of scrub growing here or there. Looking at the looming cliff nearby, Touma saw signs of excavation and guessed that this place was either some sort of quarry or mine. Either way, it seemed an ideal place to hide out while he waited for the stormy situation to pass. And speaking of stormy situations...

"Touma!" The spiky-haired human looked up in surprise to see Raindrops swooping down towards him, her eyes wide with fear. Before he could react, she slammed into him, knocking him off his feet and onto his back, wrapping her forelegs around him and holding tight. "I was so worried!" she said, rubbing her head against his collarbone, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," replied Touma, smiling slightly as he reached up with his hand an gently ran his fingers through Raindrops' mane, a gesture he knew tended to calm her down.

"It's terrible," she said, "Ponies were saying that Corona was the one who brought you here and that you needed to be driven away or even destroyed."

"It's true, I think," said Touma, prompting a mortified look from Raindrops, "About the spell," he added quickly to clarify, "At least, that's what Princess Luna told me."

"I know," said Raindrops. Trixie had told them about Corona being the one to cast the spell that brought Touma to Equestria. Raindrops had always thought that the mad alicorn had botched the summoning somehow, ending up with Touma rather than what she had intended. However, many of the other ponies in Ponyville didn't seem to share that sentiment. "But how did they find out?"

"Trixie said that she accidentally let it slip during the council meeting," explained Touma.

"What?" Raindrops' voice was a snarl as she lifted her head, glaring in the direction of town. "Why that little...I'm gonna...!" Her articulation seemed to fail her as the jasmine pegasus' mind ran free with thoughts of how she would express her anger.

"R-Raindrops?" stammered Touma, looking more than a little troubled that her temper was getting the better of her. She had already climbed off him and was beginning to stalk back in the direction of town.

"That Trixie," hissed Raindrops, ignoring Touma's voice, "She's screwed up. She ruined everything."

"Raindrops..." Touma tried to make his voice firmer. However, it had no effect on the irate mare, who carried on with her angry mutterings. Touma sighed. He had to do something before Raindrops decided to take action. He slapped two hands together in fervent prayer. Forgive me Raindrops and please have mercy on this poor soul! Reaching out, he gently grabbed the leading edge of Raindrops' wing.

She froze instantly, her body going completely rigid. Touma immediately let go, but the damage had been done. Whirling about to glare at Touma, her cheeks flushed a vivid scarlet in rage and embarrassment. The boy let out a weary sigh. Oh well...

"TOOOOOUUUUUMAAAA!!!"

THWACK!

"FUKOU DA!!!"

When Raindrops' senses returned, she realized she was standing over the prone human, her body trembling with rage, which quickly evaporated when she saw the welt on the side of his face. "Oh no!" she exclaimed, "I did it again didn't I?"

Rubbing the side of his face, Touma groaned and sat up. "You did," he admitted, "But I kinda deserved it this time."

Raindrops blinked as she remembered him grabbing her wing. She also remembered what she had been about to do when he had done that. She had been prepared to fly off, to find Trixie and then... A choked sob escaped her. She'd been so angry over what happened, she'd been about to attack one of her best friends over a simple mistake. It had happened again. Touma had stopped her by focusing her ire on him rather than let her go and do something she'd regret. Come to think of it...

Looking back, Raindrops realized that this wasn't the first time Touma had done something like this. In the past few weeks, during the times they had been together, whenever she had been on the verge of losing her temper, Touma had stepped in and either said or done something stupid, which simply made her lose her temper at him. And when it was over, he'd go straight back to the way things were, as though it had never happened. Every time...

Touma blinked as Raindrops dropped down on his chest again, tears streaming from her eyes. Gently, he wrapped his arms around her neck and began to stroke her mane.

"Why?" she choked, "Why am I always so angry. I try and try and try, but nothing I do ever seems to work. Even when you stop me, it's always because you make me redirect it at you."

"There's nothing wrong with being angry," said Touma gently.

"There is," said Raindrops, "When...when I was just a filly, I...snapped. This colt had been teasing me about being such a slow flyer. All that frustration that I'd had to deal with just came out..."

Touma held her just a little bit tighter.

"When I came to my senses...I'd beaten him to a pulp. They'd had to take him to the hospital. And now, no matter how hard I try, whenever I try different things to deal with my anger, they never work. My own friends and family are afraid of me. My brother gets teased at school because ponies think I beat him at home."

For a moment, Touma seemed to be thinking about something. Then he lowered his eyes and looked gently at Raindrops. "Are you angry at yourself."

"Yes!"

Lifting a hand away from her mane, Touma reached up and brushed the tears away from her eyes. "Well that's part of the problem. If you think about it, the reason that you're always angry is because you're angry with yourself."

"But...I..." Raindrops' voice trailed off, unsure of where Touma was going with this.

"Let me ask you this; will being mad at yourself change what you did?"

Slowly, Raindrops shook her head.

"And your friends? Are they mad at you for all the times you snapped at them?"

Again, Raindrops shook her head. "But they are nervous around me, because they're always afraid of setting me off again."

"You can change that," said Touma, "Not right away. But you can change so that they won't have to be afraid of you anymore."

"How?"

"You have to stop being angry at yourself. You have to forgive yourself for what you've done."

Her eyes widened in shock. "How could I do that? All the ponies I've hurt...After what I've done! I don't deserve forgiveness."

To her surprise, Touma chuckled. "Actually, you remind me of someone back home. He did something terrible...something so awful that it makes your outbursts look like nothing. When he realized what he had done, he felt like he could never atone for it. He tried to leave it all behind, to walk the "path of the villain" or something silly like that, feeling that he didn't deserve happiness after the things he'd done. But...

"But all the same. There were people who loved him, people who were happy and wanted to share that happiness with him. And ultimately, I think he came to the conclusion that if he was always trying to pay for the crime he'd committed, he'd never be able to truly move forward.

"It's like that with you. You have friends and family who love you with all their hearts, who are happy to forgive you when you do something wrong. They don't want you to pay for something you did in your distant past, they don't want you to spend the rest of your life atoning for a few mistakes." Reaching up, Touma brushed her mane away from her eyes. "They want to share their happiness with you. And they want you to be happy too."

Raindrops sat back, uncertain of how to proceed. She'd seen countless ponies, counselors, psychiatrists of every type, to try and find a way to control her anger. None of the methods they had proposed to her had worked. But, considering what Touma had said, was the problem really so simple. Was the reason she had so much difficulty controlling her anger the fact that she was always angry at herself?

"Don't worry too much about it," said Touma, "It's not like you can change your habits all at once. That guy I told you about; to be honest, he hasn't changed completely. He's still bad-tempered, antisocial, and has a hard time getting along with others. But he's still come a long way. And he did it a little at a time. So you can too."

Raindrops relaxed a little. "Okay, I'll try," she said before smiling earnestly at him, "Thank you Touma."

Touma was about to open his mouth to answer when he saw Raindrops' ears twitch and her body go tense. A few seconds later, he realized why. Now he could hear the sounds of a large number of approaching ponies as well. With a groan, Touma got to his feet. "So they're still coming eh. I guess I'd better get going."

"No!" snapped Raindrops, jumping in front of him before he could get started, "I won't let them do anything." She turned to face the sounds of the approaching mob. "You told me that you'd fought to save a lot of people back in your own world. But now, I'm going to save you."

"Um Raindrops," said Touma nervously, "I don't really want anyone to get hurt. It might be better if I kept away."

"You don't deserve to be run out like this," snapped Raindrops, "You're staying right here."

Touma looked up and gulped. He could see the shapes of ponies moving through the underbrush at the edge of the quarry. At this range, the only direction he could really run without getting cut off was towards the sheer wall at the back of the quarry. And the precious time he would need to scramble up the near vertical slope would allow them to catch up to him in no time.

The bushes parted to reveal Carrot Top as she sprang out onto open ground, galloping for them as fast as her hooves would take her. She ground to a stop before Touma and Raindrops, panting. "I'm sorry," she said between gasps, "I tried to distract them for as long as I could."

Winged shapes burst out of the treetops as runners rushed up from the undergrowth. Several pegasi soared above, looking ready to swoop down and attack at any moment. Numerous earth ponies, with Applejack at the lead, moved forward, forming a line that curved in front of the three. Behind them, unicorns could be seen, many already lighting their horns in preparation for spells.

In reality, the situation didn't seem as bad as all that. While the ponies at the front, Applejack in particular, certainly looked like they were spoiling for a fight, the ranks behind them appeared to be composed of indecisive bystanders who had been swept along by all the hubbub. Even the pegasi hovering above were keeping their distance, most of them content to watch the situation warily. Though that may have had more to do with the jasmine mare crouched in Front of Touma, as the members of Ponyville's Weather Team had quite a bit of experience with Raindrops' temper and strength.

Carrot Top and Raindrops stood their ground, keeping Touma behind them. Raindrops glared out at the crowd, as though daring them to come any closer. Quite a few ponies balked at her expression and the fearsome reputation that preceded it. However, no one retreated. Applejack in particular snorted and stepped forward.

"Stand aside you two," she growled, "We ain't lettin' one 'o Corona's monsters get away."

"He's not a monster," Raindrops growled back, "You're not going to hurt him."

"Raindrops, if ya don't move, Ah'm gonna make ya move."

"I'd like to see you try."

The two mares lowered their heads, glaring at one another, each daring the other to make the first move. Touma and Carrot Top eyed the rest of the crowd nervously. A fight between Applejack and Raindrops was one thing, but getting charged by that mob was a whole other. If the rest of the crowd joined in on the fight, they wouldn't stand a chance.

Then the front ranks of the mob parted to allow a well-dressed earth pony to advance. "Please," begged Filthy Rich, looking imploringly at both Raindrops and Applejack, "Ladies, lets not get violent. We should at least try to solve this peacefully."

Though Touma couldn't agree more, he noticed the emphasis that Filthy Rich had placed on the word "try." To make matters more disheartening, he couldn't help but notice that nobody had addressed him yet. The spiky-haired boy got the distinct feeling that he was more the object of the discussion rather than a participant in it.

"Look," continued Filthy Rich, "There is no reason for us to fight. All we want is for that creature to be taken out of Ponyville as soon as possible. If we can agree to that, then we have nothing to fight over."

"I'm not agreeing to that," said Raindrops, training her glare on Filthy Rich now. The stallion flinched and took an involuntary pair of steps back. "Touma's a good person. More importantly, he's my friend. He's never done anything to harm anypony. All he's ever done is try to help."

"None 'o that matters," shouted Applejack, "That lyin' snake was brought here by Corona, which mean's he's one 'o her minions. He's probably just bidin' his time, waitin' fer the right moment to strike."

"That ability of his is a matter of concern," remarked Filthy Rich, "A great deal of our infrastructure is maintained by magic or with the assistance of magical energy. If he touches the wrong thing, that human could do unthinkable damage. He doesn't have to be an aggressive monster. One act of sabotage could bring the entire town to its knees."

"So that's it," snapped Raindrops, "You're just going to condemn him on the basis of something that he might do. By that logic, why haven't you thrown me out of town?" She lunged forward, causing everypony to take an involuntary step back. "I know what you think about me. I know what you say behind my back. You think I'm dangerous. Hay! You spread rumors that I beat my own family. Why aren't you coming after me huh?" To emphasize her point, Raindrops lifted an angry hoof and slammed it into the hard ground, cracking it open.

Touma looked up and saw several pegasi backing off. He recognized some of them as the ones he saw Raindrops working with on occasion, including her manager. It seemed that her tirade had caused several members of the weather team to rethink their position. Some of the ponies on the ground seemed to be wavering as well. However, Applejack still looked determined.

The apple farmer turned her eyes on Carrot Top. "Ya understand don't ya?" she asked "We can't trust this thing enough to let it live in Ponyville."

Carrot Top rolled her eyes in annoyance. "In case you haven't been paying attention, he's been staying in my house. Do you understand? I let him into my home. Do you honestly think that I think he's some minion of Corona's."

The dissension among the members of the mob was starting to spread, several of them appearing to rethink their positions. After everything she had gone through and done to support the town, many ponies couldn't help but admit that they trusted Carrot Top's judgment. But Applejack wasn't having it.

"Ah ain't buyin' it," she said, "Carrot Top, Ah know yer always helpin' out. But ya'd let Corona herself sleep on yer couch if she asked nicely enough. Ah don't care how well-behaved that thing is, it's a threat and Ah'm doin' somethin' about it."

Carrot Top's eyebrow twitched in irritation. "Of all the stubborn..." she muttered angrily under her breath.

"Then you'd better do something about me!" yelled Raindrops, falling into a crouch, "'Cause that's the only way you're getting him."

"Fine then," growled Applejack, matching Raindrops' posture, "If that's the way ya want it..."

"STOP THIS AT ONCE!!!"

Everypony...and Touma...jumped in shock at the sudden intrusion of the very loud voice. Turning as one, they saw a dust cloud raised by dozens of hooves. Several ponies rushed in, placing themselves between Applejack's mob and Touma's little group. When the dust settled, they saw Trixie, along with the rest of the Elements of Harmony, as well as several other ponies, including Cheerilee's entire class of foals.

Applejack rocked back on her hooves at the sudden arrival. "What the hay are y'all doin' here." When she examined the new arrivals, her jaw dropped. "Apple Bloom? Big Macintosh?"

The little yellow filly waved cheerily at her sister, while the eldest child of the Apple Family replied with a simple "Eeyup."

"What in the hay are y'all doin' here? And why in Luna's name did ya bring the foals. This ain't no place for 'em."

"Because Touma's our friend," announced Dinky, "He's a nice person and shouldn't have bad things happen to him just because he got taken from his own home and thrown here."

"EXACTLY!" Boomed Trixie, who then froze when screams (and one muffled whine of "Fukou da!") erupted around her, causing the mare to realize that she'd accidentally left her voice amplification spell on. "OOPS! SORRY!"

As one might expect, her apology was greeted with even more exclamations of dismay. Ponies fell to the ground clutching their ears. Trying to fix her mistake, Trixie lit her horn and tried to undo her own spell...but encountered some difficulty. "STUPID SPELL. WHY WON'T IT SHUT OFF? MAYBE IF I..."

"Trixie!" snapped Lyra, looking up from her prone position next to Bon Bon, who looked ready to murder Trixie on the spot, "Work it out, but do it without talking."

Trixie opened her mouth, but cut herself off when everypony flinched away, glaring at her. Her jaw snapped shut and she spent a silent moment fuming as she worked to undo the spell. After a moment, she seemed to succeed. Coughing carefully, she whispered something that sounded like "Testing...testing," before clearing her throat and turning back to the mob.

"As I was about to say," she said, "As you can see, there are plenty of ponies who are willing to put their trust into Touma. I understand you might not consider that as proof in and of itself, but consider this...one of those ponies is Princess Luna herself. She was the one who asked us to allow him to live here in Ponyville, knowing full well that the spell that brought him here was Corona's."

The ponies forming the mob seemed to fall back. Many clearly did not want to be part of a riot with the foals' eyes on them. Even Applejack seemed to be losing her resolve, the likely reason being that her sister and brother were now part of the barrier keeping her from the human. "Ah still think..." she said.

"Applejack, please?" pleaded Carrot Top, "You can trust Princess Luna."

The orange mare's mouth worked up and down a few times as she tried to come up with some response. Then, with a final huff, she lowered her head mournfully. "Fine."

The tension seemed to evaporate into the air. Their reason for being there having been stripped away, most of the ponies began to turn around and leave for Ponyville, leaving behind Touma, the Elements, and a few others. Trixie slumped in relief. "Thank goodness. I wasn't sure we were going to make it."

"Yeah about that..." Trixie froze at Raindrops' words. The jasmine mare's icy tone made it clear she wasn't happy. Suddenly the tension, for Trixie at least, redoubled. Turning around, her eyes widened as she saw Raindrops stalking towards her.

"All of this happened because you messed up," she growled, "You were the one who let the cat out of the bag."

"I'm sorry," whined Trixie, covering her eyes, "Please!"

"You!" The next thing Trixie knew, an arm was around her and she was pulled into a crushing hug. "You're also the one who got us out of trouble," said Raindrops, her tone much more gentle now, "Thanks."

Trixie let out a sigh of relief. But then Raindrops' arms began to tighten. The showmare turned representative let out a startled squawk, even as her bones began to creak. "That doesn't mean you're out of the woods entirely," growled Raindrops, her tone actually a little playful before she let Trixie drop. The mare slumped, limp to the ground.

Turning her head, Raindrops gave Touma a playful wink. "Baby steps right?"

Touma scratched his head a moment before chuckling. "Yeah. Just a little bit at a time."

The rest of the present ponies watched the interplay between the two for a moment, trying to figure out what had happened between them. It was Bon Bon who broke the silence. "Well, I don't know about you, but I've had enough excitement for one day. We should head back."

"Right," agreed Trixie, "You know, we were pretty lucky to have that end without anypony getting hurt."

Before she could even blink, Touma grabbed Trixie's shoulders and shook her violently. "Please don't say that!" he yelled frantically, "That's the kind of thing you say before things get really bad!"

"What are you talking about?" demanded Trixie, her voice warbling with each shake Touma gave her.

With a groan, Touma stopped shaking her and slumped, his head dipping down to point towards the ground. "You know how unlucky I am. A line like that is destined to cause trouble."

"Oh come on," said Lyra, rolling her eyes at Touma's dramatics, "This isn't some kind of cheap fiction. There's no way that-"

Lyra's voice was cut off by the sound of an explosion from behind them. Turning as one, the group looked up at the top of the quarry wall, where a blast of fire bloomed like a monstrous flower. The explosion seemed to swallow the sky before coalescing upon itself and taking the form of a very familiar and most unwelcome figure.

"TREMBLE IN FEAR FOUL BEAST! FOR TODAY, THOU FACES THE SUN HERSELF IN ALL HER GLORY!" Corona's voice boomed across the flat expanse of the quarry. Her wings flared dramatically as a halo of fire swirled around her.

Touma took in the sight of the mad alicorn rather calmly, before directing a dour look at his friends, who gave him an apologetic look back. Then, Touma slumped again, a sigh like the sound of air escaping from a balloon leaving his lips before he groaned out two words. "Fukou da."

Author's Notes:

It seems that medical professionals with years of education behind them have nothing on Shonen psychiatry. Yeah, if only it was that easy. Once again, I hide behind my banner of non-canon for any mangling of Raindrops' character that may have resulted from this chapter.

Poor Applejack. As if the Lunaverse hasn't abused her enough, she's become my go-to character for knee-jerk reactionary behavior in response to unwelcome revelations. Oh well...

And finally, the thrilling climax of the story...next time...