-Kicks door down-

I'm BACK baby! First of all, I would like to thank everyone for allowing me to indulge in my selfishness and give me a chance to take a break from this story to refresh myself. It was well needed and allowed me to do some other things and get them out of my system. I'd also like to thank Readerfever and thegoldenboss for their favs even during a time when I wasn't updating. I'm glad you like this story enough to trust I wouldn't give up on it.

AND I SHALL NOT GIVE IN! I always make it my mission to finish an idea I get, no matter what. You guys deserve it. I've seen all sorts of ideas abandoned to their fates, some good, some bad, but all deserved to be finished. Yes, even the badly written ones, because you should commit to your ideas. They are your precious plot bunnies, you have to treat them with love and care or at least put them up for adoption.

So! With all that said, let's get right back into it! It's a bit short, but I was really hoping just for something to get me back into this rather than some super-long drawn out thing. It's serving its purpose, so ONWARD!

My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic: Interlocking Stories

By: Snidne

MLP & Characters © Hasbro

Standard Disclaimer:

All characters are copyrighted to their respective owners and do not in any way, shape, or form reflects the nature of said owners (Unless, of course, they actually do).

This story is a work of fiction and is not meant to resemble any person, place, or situation outside of sheer coincidence.

Due to the nature of this story, it is intent for Mature Audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.

You have been warned.

We now present you our Feature Presentation with no commercial interruptions. Enjoy the story!

Chapter 8: Infinite Possibility

"Ok! Roll call! Sweetie Belle?

"Here!"

"Scootaloo?"

"Yup!"

"Alex?"

"Present."

"And me, Apple Bloom! Okay that's everyone. 'Ah hereby call this meeting of the Cutie Mark Crusaders to order!"

Alex sat between two young fillies in a surprisingly large treehouse that resided in Applejack's farm. Applejack herself had asked him to watch over her sister and her friends while she took care of the daily chores around the house, seeing as the fillies had no school today. As far as he knew, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were Rarity and Applejack's sisters respectively. Scootaloo had no siblings, but idolized Rainbow Dash and the mare did see her as something of a younger sister.

Together, the three fillies called themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders, with the express goal of finding out what Cutie Marks they would get by trying anything and everything until they found the answer. In many ways, Alex thought, this reminded him of how some humans were, seeking out the answers to their lives by experiencing it as much as possible. Thinking about it made him wonder how life was going back home.

Which brought him to the fact that he was now an 'honorary' member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. While he would never have a Cutie Mark, being a human from another world after all, Sweetie Belle had convinced the other two that the simple fact he couldn't get one didn't automatically exclude him from joining since the main purpose behind the club had been to unite together under the fact that they had no Cutie Marks to call their own yet. In complete honesty, he would have no problems not being included in all this, considering it didn't really apply to him all the same, but he was glad they were willing to involve him in some way. He chalked it up to the fact that people needed to feel accepted by those around them, and not the fact that his latest challenge had him feeling isolated from just about every pony in town.

Really.

Ideas were thrown about between the Crusaders, some having already been tried, others too demanding or beyond their current limits. Alex listened to it all, only half-paying attention to what was said until his name came up. "Maybe Alex has some ideas on what we can do," Scootaloo said.

"Hey yeah," Apple Bloom said with excitement. "You think there is something in your world we could try here? It's worth a shot."

Alex gave it a bit of thought. Truthfully he couldn't think of anything different than what these girls might think of. Then again, he thought to himself, I forget I need to redefine what is seen as 'normal' here. Looking around the clubhouse, he set about gathering a few things here and there. The three fillies looked in silence and wonder, as he gathered items before presenting…

"A doll. Egh, so girly," Scootaloo said in distaste.

"A puppet," Alex remedied, holding the doll by its strings. "I remembered seeing one before and I thought it looked neat. Of course, I don't remember exactly how these things work." He moved some strings, causing the puppet's body to move its hooves and torso around in odd ways. "Maybe one of you might have a talent in this?"

The girls decided to take the chance and go with it, at least for now. Once each of them had a puppet, made to resemble them as close as possible, they began to practice. Apple Bloom seemed to have the easiest time of it, though the movements were still very clunky. Sweetie Belle was having a hard time moving the puppet properly, and Scootaloo was simply swinging hers around as if in an attempt to make it 'fly'.

Unfortunately, the orange coated filly lost her balance after a few spins and accidently swung her puppet into crashing with Sweetie's. "Hey Scoots, watch it!" The strings became tangled up as the two tried to pull themselves apart.

"You're doing it wrong! Pull this way!"

"No, you gotta pull THIS way!"

"Hey girls, 'ah think I almost got-." But whatever Apple Bloom was about to say was interrupted as Sweetie gave a particularly strong tug and managed to drag Scootaloo forwards, knocking the two into her. Alex winced as he spied all three of them in a pile, string now wrapped around them, with their puppets perched perfectly on top of them in a line.

"Okay, maybe this was a bad idea…"

After cutting them free, Alex bid them farewell, claiming he had things to do. The fillies waved him goodbye, until Scootaloo began to think. "Hey, what do you think he actually does all day?" The other two thought about it, until they realized they had no clue what Alex did in his spare time. Apple Bloom had seen him around the farm a few times, Scootaloo would hear about Rainbow Dash hanging out with him occasionally, and Sweetie sometimes caught him leaving Rarity's shop one day. And they knew he lived with Twilight at the castle. Other than that…

"Hey, maybe we should follow him," Sweetie Belle suggested. "It couldn't hurt to learn more about humans after all."

"I don't know," Apple Bloom said, having some doubts.

"Come on, what's the harm? Besides, maybe we can get our Cutie Marks as detectives," Scootaloo said.

"Well… 'ah guess that wouldn't be too bad."

"Cutie Mark Detectives, go!"

Following Alex turned out to be much easier than it seemed. As the only human in a town of ponies, he stood out immediately. Moreover, he was completely focused on wherever it was he was going to bother looking around. However, they hesitated when they saw him enter the Everfree Forest. "Uh, girls, maybe we shouldn't go after him after all," Apple Bloom said.

"But what if he gets in trouble and needs help," Sweetie said.

"But Applejack always said never to go into the forest, especially by ourselves!"

"So, we got three of us," Scootaloo said. "Besides, I'm not afraid of this forest! If Rainbow Dash can go in here, then so can I!" Though she hid her fear behind her bravado well, both her friends could see from her posture that she wasn't too keen on entering the forest. She would brave it, so long as her friends did though.

"Then let's just go see Zecora," Sweetie suggested. "She lives here, so she can help us, right?"

"Well, if it's Zecora…" Apple Bloom had placed a lot of trust in the zebra before and she had not let her down yet. Plus being with her meant she would have adult supervision, and that would be good enough for her sister, right? "Let's give it a shot."

And so the three took to the path, making sure to keep an eye out for any dangers. It was still the middle of the day, so many of the creatures of the forest wouldn't be likely to enter the open area the girls were walking. Still, a few would likely be watching them, hoping to catch the fillies off guard.

As they spotted the hut where Zecora lived, they noticed Alex leaving it, holding a bottle filled with a lavender liquid. The two spoke to one another for a few brief moments, before Alex took off the beaten path and into the forest proper. Apple Bloom ran up to the door to the hut and knocked on it.

The zebra who opened the door looked much like a typical zebra would with black and white striped patterned fur and a tribal marking on their flank. Her mane was styled in a Mohawk design and she wore large golden earrings. "Well, well, hello to you dear Apple Bloom, is there something I can help you this fine afternoon?"

"Howdy Zecora," the young filly said smiling. "We were wondering what Alex was doing here by himself. We're trying to become Cutie Mark Detectives!"

"Ah yes, the human did want me to assist. He had a problem that truly persists. He sought something to give him peace, a potion to ensure his power would cease." The fillies looked confused for a moment before Zecora explained, "Alex contains a magic most dark. Controlling it is no easy walk in the park."

"Dark magic," Sweetie asked curiously. "No way! Wouldn't Twilight know about it if he did have that kind of magic?"

"Alas my children, I should not say any more. It's not a tale that should be told at my door. Now it's best you all be going home. For this forest is not someplace to carelessly roam." With that, the three fillies were back to square one.

"What now," Sweetie asked, a bit disappointed. "We don't know where Alex went…"

"We can't just give up now," Scootaloo said determined. "I mean, we didn't even learn anything about him yet."

"But we can't just go into the forest to find him…"

"But what if he's in danger too?"

"I'm sure Alex can take care of himself though. He's bigger than all of us put together!"

"But even your sister doesn't go into the Everfree Forest by herself!" To that there was no argument. "Come on, you're with me on this, right Sweetie? He's an unofficial member of our club, and we gotta stick together!"

"Oh… sometimes I really hate being right," Sweetie bemoaned. But it was true, Alex was a part of their club and thus he deserved to have the CMC looking out for his best interests and being there for him when needed. "Alright I'm in."

"Then I guess I'm in too," Apple Bloom said. "Let's get going girls!" Determined once more, the group set out to find the human again. This time though, they were having much more trouble as he had a bit of a head start and there was no sign on him on the path. Moreover it would be dark in a few hours and the dangers of the forest would multiply tenfold in the cover of night. They would have to give up the search and find one of the grown-ups and tell them about Alex being in the forest at night.

Before they could even plan that far ahead, there was a growling noise behind them which caused them all to halt and turn around slowly. On the path behind them, a large lion-like beast with sharp fangs and horns was staring them down, its long tongue licking its lips in anticipation. Behind it, a tail in the form of a snake hissed at them, taking in the scent of their prey. The girls were momentarily paralyzed with fear, not expecting something so big had managed to sneak up on them so quickly.

Finally Sweetie managed to shout, "Manticore! Run!"

The trance-like spell of fear that pinned them down was broken as the fillies began to run for their lives. The Manticore let out a large roar and began to chase them down, unwilling to let such an easy meal get away. Adrenaline helped push the fillies to new speeds, but it would only last for so long, and none of them would be able to fight off the beast, even if they worked together. Even knowing they couldn't outrun it forever, they were scared to leave the barely visible path to try and lose it in the trees without the even more dangerous risk of getting lost themselves. Moreover the beast was chasing them further into the forest itself, away from home and safety.

One of them tripped, falling to the floor.

"Apple Bloom," came the concerned and panicked voices of her friends. The Manticore lunged at the fallen filly, intent on making her a snack. But before it could trap her in its jaws, black flames shot out of the ground to form a wall between them. The beast was surprised and stopped itself just in time to avoid colliding with the flames. Then a cold voice spoke.

"Leave. Before I decide to incinerate you." Alex stood behind the Manticore, blade held up. The black flames surrounded the sword, as he glared at the creature before him. He was radiating malicious intent, and everything around him could feel it. The beast stared down the human, but Alex did not flinch or break eye contact. It was enough to make the creature back off and head into the woods, unwilling to deal with what was clearly more trouble than it was worth.

"A-Alex," Sweetie said fearfully. She couldn't help it, the flames had yet to die down and he still held a fierce look on his face. Alex closed his eyes, which the girls realized were not his normal color but instead had been red, and took a deep breath, letting go of his sword and allowing it to fall to the ground. The flames dispersed and malicious aura faded. When he opened his eyes again, they were normal once more. "Alex?"

"Are you three… okay?" He sounded tired, picking up his weapon and putting it away. "You three shouldn't be here you know… I don't need Rainbow Dash and your sisters on my case."

"Never mind that, why were you here," Scootaloo asked. Alex motioned for them to follow him, to which they started making their way out of the forest.

"I came here to help me train my power. It's dangerous and this forest is really the only place I can go without risking hurting anyone."

"So… you really do have a dark power," Sweetie asked, somewhat fearful.

"Yeah… not that I ever wanted this power though. But since I have it, I have a responsibility to make sure it doesn't hurt anyone."

"Then, what was that potion you got from Zecora," Apple Bloom asked.

"Ah… it's just something that allows me to keep my wits about me. Otherwise I would just mindlessly start setting everything on fire." They passed by Zecora's hut, meaning they were getting closer to the edge of the forest.

"Hey, Alex," Apple Bloom began, somewhat unsure. "Do you think… we might get Cutie Marks we won't like?"

"What makes you say that?"

"Well… you have that dark power. And you said you didn't want it. So maybe…"

"Don't be ridiculous," Alex said. "I don't know much about Cutie Marks… but I do know they are a part of who you are. This dark magic of mine isn't the same thing. It wasn't something I was looking for, just forced on me. Don't worry too much about it. Keep trying, keep striving. You'll get there, eventually."

"Well, so much for being detectives then…"

"Oh and… well, perhaps it would be best not to tell the others about what happened in the forest…"

"We promise!"

Chapter 8 End!

A Cutie Mark... The path to oneself is long and dangerous, and sometimes there seems to be no end in sight. But seeking that part of oneself that makes you whole is worth everything you put time into doing. With reassurance to both Alex and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, will Alex continue to find the strength to follow his path to the end?

Tune in next week for more, Interlocking Stories!