Rainbow Dash didnât know what to think.
âŠ
An alien. An actual alien. Right in front of her. In the flesh.
She blinked. Itâer, his name was Brick. She wasnât going to call him by his full name because one, it was a mouthful in her eyes, and two, he probably wouldnât like it if she did that, right?
She shook her head and took a step back to really get a good look at him. The pasty white alien had his hand cupping his jaw, while he tilted his head just enough to cr-ack his neck. Then, he turned his attention to the fire and sat down on a rather large log near it. He took a shaky breath and threw a nearby stick into it.
It incinerated almost immediately.
She sighed.Â
Brick looked just as stressed as she was! Why was she standing here doing nothing but staring at him? Not only did she need to make sure he wasnât going to make the fire bigger, but also, if she left him alone, she didnât know what he was going to do! Even though he made it clear he didnât want to burn the forest down, he could just be saying that to play on her good side! Nopony was going to manipulate her. Not even a non-pony like him.Â
Cautiously, Rainbow Dash tiptoed her way up to him. Each step felt coarse under her hooves but each step meant one step closer to ensuring a not-burnt-up Everfree Forest. The fiery aftermath clouded her vision, which made her tightly shut her eyes for a brief moment. She needed to get rid of this brain fog and fast.
So what was she tiptoeing for?
Mentally groaning, Rainbow Dash stopped and actually walked like normal, if her normal was still somewhat forced, her leg cramping as she took another step. With a tremendous amount of effort and her lip sucking in the pain, Rainbow Dash clip-clopped her way over to him, going behind him instead of in frontâgetting thwacked by a large stick was not a fun way to introduce a possible friendshipâand hopped over the log.
âBrick?â
He looked over at her and blinked. âYeah, Rainbow Dash?â
âIs it cool if I sit here?â
Her wings itched as she asked that question. Celestia, her flight or fight instinct was firing all at once and she was not having it right now. And neither was Brick as his nostrils flared and his brows furrowed andâ
âSure. Itâs a free countrââ He stopped himself and snorted. âSorry, itâs a saying where Iâm from. Yeah, you can.â
She was about to sit when she decided it would be best to lay down instead, so she carefully flopped onto the log and set her head on her forehooves. She then looked up at him and smiled (at least she hoped, her upper lip was about to fall off with how much it was twitching). âThanks.â
He looked away from her. âY-Youâre welcome.â
The two stayed silent for a bit, just watching as the fire raged on.
Then, Rainbow Dash mustered up enough awesome to change that. âSo, what did you do back home?â
She could feel his gaze on her. âWorking for the summer camp that you probably heard me ranting about.â
âI heard some of it. Eric was really mean to you, huh?â
Brick snorted. âHeâs like that with most people. His âMy fatherâs richer than yours!â attitude is about as insufferable as it gets.â He grabbed another stick from his pile beside him and rolled it in his hand. âAnd now that Iâm not there, Iâm hoping he doesnât screw up anything else for the camp.â
âSounds like some pony I know.â
âGuess trans-dimensional douchebaggery is consistent no matter where you are.â
âThose were words?â Rainbow Dash asked, feeling her ears go numb all of a sudden.
He laughed at her misery. âYeah. Just made them now. Look at me. I got teleported to another world and Iâm here teaching a pony, language.â He shook his head. âIf only my college professor who gave me a C in English 101 could see me now.â
âHey, just because I didnât know what that meant doesnât mean Iâm dumb or something!â
âYeah, I figured. Were you a linguistic wiz in your language class too?â
She cleared her throat. She totally aced her Equestrian class! She didnât want to make Brick feel badâyeah, thatâs it. âOf course! Iâm the best at speaking Equestrian!â
She could hear Applejack calling her a weaselly little liar in her head. âBe honest to him! He deserves that much.â And then Pinkie would jump in just to tell her sheâs not getting cupcakes for the next couple days (sheâs using them as weapons currently in their prank war anyway [a war named Sweet And Sour II: Party Harder for some reason], so Rainbow Dash would let that slide). Also Fluttershy would glare at her and say, âItâs not nice to lie to somepony!â While Rarity would just flip her mane at her and sheâdâ
She was getting off topic now and Brick was looking at her like she grew a second head! Sheâll leave that friendship lesson for later.Â
âRightâŠâ He threw another stick into the fire. âAnything else you want to talk about?â
She nodded. âSo what are you?â
âA human.â
âA human?â
âYep. Ever heard of them?â
âNoâŠâ Her eyes widened. âAnd you said you were from a place called Earth?â
âYep.â
âYou really are an alien.â
âGuess so,â Brick chuckled and continued, âNever thought Iâd be an actual alien to someone.â
âReally?â
He nodded. âWeâre the only species that can talk back where Iâm from. I think itâs a load of crap though. Dogs, cats, and even dolphins totally have their own secret languages, we just canât interpret them.â
She laughed. âWe have pets here too, and they donât talk either.â She craned her head up to look at him. âSounds like Equestriaâs a bit like Earth, donât youâŠâ
She paused as she watched him lift his hand up toward her head. His fingers stretched out almost as if he was going to reach for her, but then he stopped, his hand almost frozen in place. Without a second more to comprehend it, Brick pulled his arm back. His hand propped him back up, making him grunt. âSorry.â
What was he going to do there? His hand was hovering over her head and then he took it away. âItâs okay.â
She gulped and shakily moved her forehoof towards his hand. She could see how it flexed while his other one moved through his shaggy mane.Â
âCrazy how Iâm having a casual conversation with a pony.â
âItâs crazy that youâre not Bighoof, Brick.â
He laughed. âBighoof? You thought I was a yeti?â
She threw her forehooves into the air. âCan you really blame me? How else was I supposed to explain what I was seeing?â
âLengthy pasty white thing frolics with fervor through the forest?â
She glared at him. âNo. You werenât frolicking.â
He facehoovedâpalmedâwhatever it was called and sighed. âYouâre right. Frolic is a terrible word for walking.â
She chuckled. âTwilight would agree with you there.â
âTwilight, you mean the movie?â
Rainbow Dash tilted her head. âNoâŠ? I didnât know she got her own movie. She didnât tell me!â
Brick raised a brow. âOkay, so who is this then? One of your friends?â
She slowly nodded, but realized what she had just told Brick and waved her hooves out in front of her. âYou canât see her though!â
âI canât⊠see her?â
âY-Yeah!â
âŠ
âWhy?â
She couldnât help but play with her forehooves. What was he going to tell him? Sorry, because youâre an alien Iâm afraid my friends would be allergic to you! Hmm⊠no, that wouldnât work. Maybe tell him that too many ponies could give him radiation? Nah⊠that wouldnât work either! She rubbed her chin before channeling The Egghead energy and grinning. This was going to be the best way to explain her hesitation away! And then heâll not ask that question again andâ
âBecause you need a special pass!â
âA pass?â
âY-Yeah⊠A pony pass!â
Brick was blinking like a strobe light at one of Vinyl and Octaviaâs raves. She just made him think he needed a pass to even talk to them. How did she come up with that? That wasnât what she was thinking of! All she had to say was âThey were on vacation and wonât be back until next week!â What was she going to say now?Â
Rainbow Dash waited as Brickâs expression stayed frozen, unmoving. He was staring at her now, almost like he was trying to process what she said and instead, he wasnât. Her heart stirred and her feathers burned an itch more annoying than the pony she was referencing.
âRainbow Dash, I have never in my life heard of someone needing a pass just to talk to someone else.â
She nearly facehooved, but she decided to give herself a headache instead, and mentally facehoof instead. She grimaced, holding her head for a second, before looking at him. âAlright, you got me. Iâm just⊠worried about what theyâd say.â
âWhy? Are they rude?â
âNoâŠâ
He hummed to himself. âAre they⊠too busy?â
âI mean⊠it depends on the dayââ
âAre they allergic to me?â
âNo! Iâd be sneezing around you right now if that were true!â
He nodded. âTrue, trueâŠâ A hum, again. What was he doing? Revving himself up or something?Â
Suddenly, he frowned and sighed. âAre they opposed to other species?â
Not only was that not true, but also opposed? Really? If somepony said that to her about⊠letâs say, Gilda, sheâd make sure theyâd hear her and then some! But here, it was an alien trying to understand Rainbow Dash and her friends. And eventually everypony else. All creatures.
Her mind couldnât wrap itself around the whole thing. Gah! She just needed to make sure she wasnât leading him in the wrong direction again. Public speaking wasnât the coolest thing about her and thankfully the Wonderbolts didnât require her to do a whole lot of it. Unless it was media day. She hated that day. Sheâll just let her flying do the talking for her.
Unfortunately, she canât let her flying talk her way out of this one. She needed to make her point clear. SSlloowwwly, she started talking, âNo⊠theyâre not going to be opposed to you. Theyâre just⊠sensitive. J-Just like everypony else!â She suddenly bit her tongue and scrunched her muzzle. âActually, scratch that. Only some ponies are like that. I mean, I almost came out of that bush and rammed you butââ
âYeah⊠you almost did.âÂ
She snorted. âIâm just saying! My friends are justâŠâ She groaned. âI canât think of a really good way of saying this, Brick. Iâm sorry.â
He slightly smiled. âI get it. Youâre just worried that theyâll do something that theyâd regret.â
âKind of⊠I know them really well, but this is a whole different thing. Like, a whooollle different thing entirely! I donât want them to be too worried, yâknow?â
âI guess. I mean, I donât know how Iâd be if you were put on Earth. The FBI probably would investigate or something.â
âFBI?â
Brick took a moment to think it over, at least, he was looking elsewhere, so she didnât get a great view of him, but it looked like he did that, if his brow twitching meant anything. âPolice but with way more funding⊠and a rather elastic history.â
She blinked. âOoookaaaayyyâŠâ She frowned. âI donât think thatâll happen here, but I donât want to get you in any trouble. After all, itâs not normal to be making friends with an alienâ
âA human, in this case.â
ââwhatever! Being friends with a whole new species is just not normal soâŠâ
She twiddled with her hooves again. Wow, the side of her hoof felt a bit sharp. Gotta be careful with this oneâwait, why was he humming to himself now? And why was he tossing another stick into the fire?
CL-UNK!
Her ears flicked up high after that toss. That was a loud one!
âSorry, I had to get that big one out of the pile I collected. It was taking up room.â
She rolled her eyes. âDonât be. Look, I think itâs best if we get you set up out here. Then, if you really want to meet my friends, I can get them to meet you one by one! Donât want to scare ponies off, yâknow?â
He sighed. âAlright. Plus, it might help me with my mental health at the moment.â
âGreatâwait, what do you mean by that?â
Brick looked at her like she just said something so incredibly insane it was not even funny. What? Was asking a question a bad thing now? He didnât look angry at her, thatâs at least something going for her.
He cleared his throat. âI⊠itâs nothing.â
âItâs not nothing if youâre just casually mentioning it!â She flicked her wings out (although her one closest to the fire remained a bit more furled than unfurled. Charred feathers were not something she wanted right now!) before she continued, âI know I get in my moods some days butââ
âItâs not a mood thing. Itâs justâŠâ He trailed off, his voice shaking like a leaf on a tree. She could see him visibly shiver. âIâm alone. Iâm just here. Like I said, casually talking to a pony isnât something youâd do unless you owned a stable and they were your pet or something.âÂ
That image alone made her wince. âI⊠I see what you mean butââ
âAnd on top of that, Iâm stuck here for the foreseeable future.â He leaned down to pick up a couple sticks and toss them in the fire too. âI donât get it. Why me?â
âNopony knows, Brick.â She brought one of her wings and gently laid them on his shoulder. He looked at her rather suddenly, which made her think she did something wrong, but then he looked back into the fire. âBut youâre wrong about being alone. Iâm here, right?â
He sighed. âYouâre right. Itâs just⊠Iâm here, youâre here, and this is actually happening.â
âYepâŠâ
She pulled him closer with her wing and stayed there. She stayed there while his face did not change. And then he frowned again, just as she was thinking he was fine, and said the words that she dreaded to hear:
âI hope Iâm not stuck here.â
Suddenly, all that warmth disappeared. The fire was still burning, but none of it gave her warmth. She shivered as she held the distraught human.Â
Maybe this was more than she could take on.
Maybe this was just something that she needed her friends help with.
Maybe she was not the pony to help him.
Maybe she was notâ
Gritting her teeth, she let out a growl that made Brick nearly jump out of her wingâs grasp.
âWhoa, Rainbow Dash, did I say something wrong orââ
âYeah, you did. You wonât be stuck here! And even if you are and we donât know it yet, Iâm not abandoning you.â
âAbandoning? I didnât say anyââ
âYou were thinking about it! I saw how your nose crooked up andâsee, youâre doing it now!â
Brick uncrooked his nose and put his hands on his head. She let him have his moment, as he growled out whatever anxiousness was there. She would probably do the same thing if she was in his hoovesâer⊠feet. Right. Not a pony.
âAm I really that easy to read?â Brick said as he peeled his hands off his head.
âI donât know, it just looked like it was a tell.â She shook her head. âLook. No more brooding. We need to get your mind off this whole alien thing.â
He tilted his head. âAnd how do you suppose we do that?âÂ
She scrunched her muzzle up for a brief moment, before relaxing and clopping her forehooves together. âWe got work to do.â
âWork? On what?â
âSetting up camp, duh! If youâre going to be living out here, you need a place to sleep! You were working for one, right?â
âYeah, but setting up a camp is different than working at one, Rainbow Dash.â
âOkay⊠so you know how to make one, right?â
He nodded. âYeah butââ
âThen letâs make one. You and me!â
âBut we donât have the necessary equipment to make one!â Brick shot back, waving his arm around the site. It was true, they had nothing but a large fire pit, but everypony starts out with nothing too at one point in their life, right? âI left majority of my gear in South Dakota andââ
She rolled her eyes. âCome oonnnn, dude! Thereâs a way to easily solve that problem! Iâll just get you some. What do ya need?â
Brick began to rev up again, and it made sense to her this time! He tapped his chin with his hand. âSome rope⊠a knife⊠maybe some food to tide us over and some stuff we can use to sleep with?â
âLike a blanket and a pillow or something?âÂ
He snapped his fingers and gave her a smile. âYeah, thatâll work!â
She grinned and retracted her wing from his back. âEasy! Iâll get all that and some more stuff I just thought of faster than you can say XavlegbmaofffassssitimiwoamndutroabcwapwaeiippohfffX!â
âWas that even a word?â
Rainbow Dash wiped away her muzzle with a hoof. âSorry, I sneezed. What I meant to say was that I would get it faster than you could even use up the rest of the wood you got for the fire!â
Brick laughed for a bit before calming himself down. âAlright, well Iâm glad it wasnât you choking on something. And, by the way, what did you mean by âmore stuff?ââ
âItâll be a surprise, Brick! I canât tell you. Think of the other stuff as a welcome to Equestria gift!â
âYouâre something else, you know that?â
She just giggled in her hoof. âAwesome is the word youâre looking for.â
âAlright there, awesome,â Brick said with a chuckle. He folded his arms together. âHow are you going to get everything here and back?â
âFlying, duhhh.â She punctuated this by flexing her speedy pups on her back. They were itching to get some more flying in! âWhat do you think these puppies are used for?â
He blinked. âI mean I havenât seen you really fly soâŠâ
âWell, watch this!â
Turning around from him and hopping off the log, Rainbow Dash landed on all fours. She craned her neck just to make sure he was watching (which he was) and smiled. âAre you ready?â
She could feel her tail wag as he gave her a thumbs up. âReady as I can be!â
With a little wiggle of her back, she popped off the ground and zipped through the nearby canopy of the trees. She did a little loop around the clearing where the smoke was emerging from, before zipping back down to land just a bit beside him.Â
âSee! I can fly andâoof!â
Brick picked her up and hugged her close. âThat was awesome, Rainbow Dash! Wow, I didnât know you could actually fly, let alone like that!â
Hot. She felt hot. Really hot. In her cheeks. Was she blushing or did Princess Celestia just do a solar flare? No, no-no, not even Twilight could do that, and she knew a princess wouldnât just mess with the sun like that! She shook her head to get rid of the thought that just burned her. âAhhh yeah, I do that all the time. Professionally too!â
âReally?â
âY-Yep!â Stupid stutter. The burning sensation in her cheeks was so annoying! It wasnât going away! Ugh. âAnyway, Iâll come back in a few. You just need to stay here and keep that fire going!â
âGotcha,â he said, before letting her go, setting her down on the ground again.Â
She cracked her neck and stretched her legs. Phew! Brick could hug with a vice grip! âYou definitely did.â
âToo strong?â
âMy leg almost cramped up there.â
âMy bad,â he muttered and snorted. âWell, you better be off. Weâre burning daylight, right?â
She nodded. âYeah, probably. Iâll see you in a bit, okay?â
âYep!â
âDonât go wandering off. Donât need to find you getting in a fight with a bear or something!â
He waved her off with his hand. âDonât worry, I donât plan on wrestling a bear. Not even once.â
Thatâs not what she meant! She let out a brief blow. âAlright, see you!â
âYep!â
âŠ
The two couldnât stop looking at each other. It was weird. It was awkward. It was definitely not his fault, it was totally hers. She snorted and turned around.
It didnât take long to pop off the ground and flap her wings when she wasnât looking at him.
Egh. This was going to be a whole thing, wasnât it?
Â