Chapter 8

Tommy has been enjoying his new life in Equestria for a few days now. Each day he was getting stronger, thanks to his working on the farm with Applejack, and getting a more impressive physique. Strangely, his body didn't reflect his actual strength. His body was that of a professional athlete, while his abilities were more on par with one of the many earth ponies around Ponyville, not the Apples, but he was closing the gap.

Before his daily run to Sweet Apple Acres, yes, run, he would have breakfast with Twilight, Spike, and Starlight. Thankfully, Starlight had started to put on more clothes at these times. Unfortunately, her idea of more clothes was to simply put a pair of small boxer shorts over her panties, which was something Tommy had always found more sexy somehow. However, due to their size difference, it also made him feel super creepy. He would say something about it, but it was far too much fun to tease Twilight every morning.

The ponies of the town had quickly gotten used to seeing his towering figure around and no longer galloped off in a panic. They not only stopped hiding their foals from him and let them talk to him occasionally. That was thanks in large to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The trio had been accepting of him from the very beginning, largely thanks to something they kept referring to as the 'Zecora incident'.

He had met Apple Bloom on the farm and she introduced him to her friends when he plucked their kite from a tree. Since then, anytime the trio met him, they insisted he play with them or help them help other foals get their cutie marks. It was a new sensation for Tommy. The world he left behind was an extremely untrusting one. No one let their children out of their sight and certainly never let a stranger play with them. Sadly, the humans' fears were not always without merit.

Tommy was missing Earth a lot less than he thought he would.

"Tommy!" three feminine voices cheered out. They were followed by a small male, "Good day, Mister Tommy!"

"Oh, hey girls, and… Pipsqueak, right?" Tommy responded.

"That's right, sir."

"Good. So, what's up, guys?"

"We're trying to help Pip get his cutie mark, but we've tried just about everything we can think of," Sweetie Belle explained.

"I'm starting to think I'll never get my cutie mark," Pipsqueak whined with his thick accent.

"Don't give up, Pip!" Scootaloo cheered.

Tommy reached down and picked the small colt up and sat him on his shoulder. "That's right. You never truly lose as long as you keep trying. Besides, you're having fun, aren't you?"

Pipsqueak nodded, "Mmhmm."

"Would it cheer you up if I threw Scootaloo?" Before anyone could get out more than a 'huh', Tommy had grabbed Scootaloo and tossed her straight up into the air. They all shaded their eyes to block the sun while watching the screaming pegasus filly tumble through her accent. "Hehe, do you think she'll figure out how to fly before I have to catch her?"

"Catch her!" they all screamed.

"Relax, I was gonna." Tommy casually held his arms out just in time to catch the still screaming Scootaloo. "You can stop now, I gotchu."

Scootaloo stopped and opened her eyes. She looked around and calmed herself. She looked into Tommy's face and said, "Again! Do it again!"

"Hey, Tommy. What're you up to?"

"Hey, Dash," Tommy replied without looking at her. "I'm just practicing my juggling."

"Juggling? But you don't have any balls."

"And how would you know?"

Rainbow blushed at the comment. "Shut up!"

"Hang on." He outstretched his arms and caught a giggling Apple Bloom, whom he set on the ground.

"Huh? Apple Bloom? Where'd she come from?" Rainbow looked up into the sky and spotted the others with her incredible eyesight. "What are they doing up there?!"

"Um, having fun," Tommy answered as he caught Pipsqueak.

"You can't just throw foals around like toys! Wait, how can you throw foals around like toys?"

"Don't know. Working on the farm…" Sweetie Belle came down, laughing, "...must be a better workout than I thought."

"After a week? There's no way you could build up that much that quickly," Rainbow took off and snatched Scootaloo out of the air.

"Hey, Rainbow," Scootaloo greeted between her giggles.

"Hey, kiddo. You okay?"

"Yeah! We're having tons of fun."

"Good. How about you and your friends run along while I talk to Tommy."

"Aww… okay." Scootaloo and the other foals trotted off, laughing loudly.

Rainbow hovered in front of Tommy. "Alright, spill it! Twilight says you're not a monster or anything, but that's not true is it!" Rainbow jabbed Tommy in the chest with her finger, feeling no give at all, pushed herself backward a few inches. "I know we ponies don't know anything about hoomins, or whatever you call yourself, but I know you weren't this strong when you got here."

"Like I said, working on the farm is doing me a world of good. Look," he reached over his head, grabbed his collar and slipped off his shirt in one fluid movement. "Even in the prison I never saw anyone get this jacked this quick. I bet nobody would ever even think about trying to make me pick up the soap if I were ever back in there."

Rainbow looked upon Tommy's bare chest. He was clearly strong, but he wasn't as built as Big Mac. If he were a pony, Rainbow would have found the sight more appealing, but he was too foreign and way too tall for her tastes.

Not to mention too masculine.

"Wait, soap? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, just an old legend about how some guys would make other guys… you know what, probably best you didn't know," Tommy slipped his shirt back on. "Let's just say I wouldn't have any problems with bullies."

"O-okay. Hey, quit changing the subject! How'd you get so strong so quick?"

"Dunno," Tommy shrugged.

"Don't give me that! You were tossing foals like they were hoofballs. Big Mac once dragged a house and even he doesn't have enough control to throw something straight up enough to be able to catch them without moving."

"He needs more practice, I Guess."

"Shut up! The last time I saw anyone get this strong this fast was Tirek, and he nearly took down everypony in Equestria. There's no way I'm gonna let someone threaten my home, my country, or my friends again," Rainbow growled, raising her fists.

"And if I were to say I'm no threat, would you believe me?"

"Of course not!"

Tommy turned and began to walk away. "Then why should I say anything?"

A gust of wind blasted past him a Rainbow, once again, floated before Tommy, spread eagle, blocking his path. "We're not done here!"

"Look, I don't want to waste my time arguing with bigots, so either accept I'm not against you, or get the hell away from me." Tommy's glare left no question as to what would happen if she pushed him too far.

Rainbow was trying her best not to let her feelings show. "I'm no bigot, I'm just protecting my-"

A swift swat at her feet from Tommy caused Rainbow to spin like a pinwheel only to be caught, upside down, by the human. He set the dizzy pony on the ground and continued on his way. "Then leave me alone."

A few minutes later, Tommy ran into another of the famous Element Bearers. Or to be more precise, he was assaulted by one.

"Stop right there!"

"Huh? Oh, hey there, Rarity. Something wrong?"

The pearly unicorn stomped her way into Tommy's path. "What do you think you are doing? You are a guest of Equestria and a representative of your race."

"If you say so."

"So why are trudging through Ponyville dressed like some vagabond?"

"Huh?" Tommy pulled at his shirt and appraised his attire. "It's all I've got. If you prefer, I could just wear what I arrived in."

"Oh, and what was that?"

Tommy leaned in closer and whispered in a drawn out voice, "Nothing~."

Rarity stepped back in disgust. "Ugh, please remember that you are in public and that you are talking to a lady."

"Alright. Then you should remember that you are talking to a fellow hu-… per-… uh, free-thinking adult."

Rarity brought herself to her full height, which was barely above Tommy's naval, and straightened her dress. "Fair enough. Still, I cannot allow you to continue to parading around in such rags. Allow me to make you something more suitable."

"Only if you're willing to do it for free. I haven't got any bits to pay you with."

"Normally, I would offer to give a set of clothes to somepony in need without payment, but as you are so crass, that will not be the case. Instead, you will work off the cost by assisting me. Spike is often very useful, but he lacks the necessary strength to move some of the larger stones.

"Stones? Alright, sounds fair." Tommy flexed his are in front of himself. "I could always use more exercise."

"Very well. Meet with me here in the morning."

"Tommy!" Sweetie Bell's voice rang out over the crowd. "Oh, Rarity!"

"Sweetie Bell, hey," Tommy said as he swept the filly up in his arms. "You done playing with your friends?"

"Yeah. We couldn't get Pip his cutie mark though."

"That just means you guys will have to try again later. That should be fun, right?"

"Yeah. Oh, speaking of fun…"

"Alright, but just once."

Tommy adjusted his grip on Sweetie Bell and, once again, threw her into the air. He was watching her flight carefully when he felt something hitting him in the stomach. Daring to take his eyes off Sweetie for just a few seconds, he looked down to see Rarity punching him in the stomach.

"What are you doing?"

"You monster! How dare you do that to my sister! I'll get revenge on you, so help me, Celestia!"

"Hang on a second," Tommy interrupted her to, once again catch a giggling Sweetie Bell. "There you go, Sweetie. Now, run along with your sister and be good."

"Okay. See you later, Tommy."

"Bye, Sweetie. Bye~, Rarity."

"Um, goodbye, Tommy."

Tommy made it back to the castle in time for dinner. He sat in his normal seat and quietly ate his meal. He thought back on the day's events. He got along well with Applejack and her brother, the foals were a bunch of fun, Spike was cool, but the rest were a different story. Twilight seemed to tolerate him and Starlight didn't appear to acknowledge him more than what was needed, Fluttershy was rarely seen and Pinkie was always off in the background helping other ponies except him. The big question was what was he going to do about Rainbow and Rarity?

Rarity at least seemed to realize that she had jumped to a conclusion that he would have done anything to hurt a child. He liked kids, not as much as those guys in isolation, but still. Besides, the children here were the size of human toddlers, and instincts would make him protect them, not harm them. Though he would admit that throwing them straight up into the air was not entirely safe.

Then there's Rainbow Dash. Who the hell did she think she was? Just because he got way strong freaky quick and had better control than others in the town somehow made him some kind of a monster? The more he thought about it, the more pissed off he got.

"Tommy! Snap out of it!" Spike pinched Tommy's arm to bring him back the Equus. "We've been trying to get your attention for forever."

"Oh, sorry."

"What were you thinking about?" Starlight asked.

"Just some things that happened today. Nothing worth talking about. Anyway, I need to get up early tomorrow to help Rarity in the morning. She said she'd make me a new set of clothes if I did that.

"What!? But that's my job," Spike whined.

"Relax, Spike. I'm not gonna take your girlfriend. I'm just doing her a favor in return for one from her. She's all yours when that's done." Tommy stood from the table. "Alright, guys. I'm going to bad. See ya tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Tommy," Twilight replied. Once he was one from the room, she turned to the others, "You guys saw that too, right?"

"Yeah," Starlight answered. "There's definitely something bothering him."

"I guess we'll have to wait 'til he's ready to talk about it," Spike added.

"What are you talking about? We need to talk to him now. Something's bothering him and we need to help him," Twilight said.

"For any of your other friends, I'd agree," Starlight answered, "but this isn't Applejack or Fluttershy we're talking about here. Tommy came from a much harsher world than Equestria and we need to keep that in mind."

Twilight looked to the door. "I guess you're right."

Magic. Honest to God magic. I don't know how or why, but magic is a real thing now. One day, no magic, the next day, magic. It came as a bit of a shock when I saw a unicorn pluck an apple with little more than a thought. Somehow, she had figured out how to use telekinesis.

I watched her carefully and tried to figure out how it worked. The best I could come up with was that somehow her horn had transformed her will into reality. I didn't have a horn of my own, but I still tried to help Hannibal and Faust learn how to do it themselves. Faust was a quick study, but Hannibal did catch on eventually. That poor squirrel didn't deserve what happened to it.

I figured that if telekinesis was a real thing, then maybe some other forms of magic could exist too. I tried to use magic myself over and over, but couldn't do it. I was able to coach Faust and Hannibal in using such magic as defensive shields, orbs of light, offensive blasts of energy, and even pyro kinesis. I hadn't given up though. I still had hopes that I would one day be able to use magic myself. At least I had an understanding of how to use and even create magic.

The pegasus ponies, that I've decided that the plural would be pegasi, have learned to fly. Some of them have some pretty extreme speed too. They also seemed to be prone to competition. The pegasi liked to race and fight. Stranger still, they seemed to have the strange ability to not only tread upon clouds, but also shape them into different structures and even manipulate the weather. Unfortunately, they seemed to enjoy tormenting the ponies on the ground by flooding their gardens or ruining their picnics.

The earth ponies, strength and all, seemed to be the most peaceful. They all seemed to be happy to simply grow their crops and tend to the forests around their homes. In fact, they were so good at their crop growing that they were able to share them with the two other races. Better yet, thanks to a little planning from the unicorns who were more educated, they were able to store the water dumped on them by the pegasi in reservoirs that they would later use to water their fields.

Hannibal, Faust, and I watched from a distance. We were concerned that our size and appearance might have some influence over their development. Instead, we would continue or travels. There were many lands to see and life was short. Well, it was short. Ponies everywhere seemed to follow along the same template. But that didn't always hold true. Ones near dragon land learned to build their homes from stone and make offerings of gemstones to appease their neighbors. One group even learned how to change their appearance, though it seemed to leave them drained of all energy.

Actually, thanks to studying their methods, I was able to teach Hannibal and Faust to hide their features enough to blend in, if only their wings or horns. Maybe I'll be able to do the thing someday.

We returned home to where Canterlot Ranch used to be and found a magnificent palace instead. Not huge, just beautifully crafted. It clearly contained an observatory, evidenced by a telescope through the ceiling, high stone walls, and elegant towers. From what we could see, unicorns were in charge, pegasi were their defenders, and earth ponies the serfs. Sadly, this hierarchy also brought about bigotry, with unicorns on top of the totem and earth ponies being the base. This caste system seemed to work out for them, though not always in favor of the lower class.

Strangely, every day at sunrise and sunset, the unicorns would all gather together and stare into the sun or moon. It was as if they were raising and lowering it themselves. Also, there hadn't been a winter in many, many months, perhaps even a year or more. If Earth still acts like it did before the meteorite strike, which I will simply call the Event from now on, nature will compensate brutally.

Addition: It seems I was right. Winter hit the land and it hit with a vengeance. Crops died out, supplies ran low, and ponies grew desperate. I saw this as an opportunity and seized upon it. I had Faust and Hannibal speak with the leaders of the three tribes in secret, each bringing only their most trusted advisors. They explained how to better plan for such events in the future. Rotating crops and seasons, forming a single government instead of several smaller communities, and even sharing their wisdom with other lands in the hopes of fostering peace and prosperity.

They were reluctant at first, but with encouragement from their advisors, they agreed. They decided, on their own and unexpectedly, to name Hannibal and Faust their new king and queen. When they asked from a name for their new land, Faust excused herself from the table and sought my advice. I could only think of one name, Equestria.