A/N: Welcome to another chapter of Rebirth. Good news, everyone. There's going to be an early chapter on Wednesday. Also, that new story I announced a while ago will be available on either this or next Monday.

Kyguy - I have the perfect chance to reference Pulp Fiction, but I'm not going to take it.

I follow Twilight to Carousel Boutique. I knock on the door. It opens in a few seconds. "Oh! Mark and Twilight, what a pleasant surprise." Rarity says. "I nearly have your wardrobe complete, Mark. Are you here to see it?"

"No, actually." I reply. Rarity's ears droop slightly. "Twilight and I have a request for you to join us on a shopping trip."

Rarity's ears return to their original position. "Oh. I would love to. Give me some time to get ready." She closes the door.

I lean against the building. "Oh, Twilight. I meant to ask about the pictures on all the ponies' flanks. Are they tattoos or something?" I wouldn't be surprised if they were something similar. I've heard of cultures and even families where tattoos are practically mandatory.

"These?" She gestures to hers. "These are Cutie Marks. Every pony has a unique cutie mark. They display what each and every pony is skilled at."

I remember the Cutie Marks of the ponies I've met so far. "So… You're skilled at… Magic?" She nods with a prideful smile. "Rarity's good at… looking good?"

"Well, yes, she is. That's not what her Cutie Mark is about, though. It's actually about finding gems." She corrects

"Pinkie's good with setting up decorations? No, parties." I say. Twilight nods. "Fluttershy's good with animals, that I know. Applejack's good at farming." I think about what Rainbow Dash is good at. The Sonic Rainboom she did and her last name kind of imply she's good at moving fast. "Is she a racer?"

"That she is." Twilight says, giving me a metaphorical pat on the back. "You're good at that."

"What about the mare with the bubbles for a Cutie Mark?" I ask, referring to the mail mare with the wall eyes. Her name escapes me. "What do those mean? She's good at swimming?"

Twilight looks up in thought. "I don't actually know. I don't know her very well."

Huh. "If I see her, I'll ask about her Cutie Mark." Would that be disrespectful? Asking somepony I don't even remember the name of about their destiny? I don't think it would be.

The door of Carousel Boutique opens, revealing Rarity with a large bag and several smaller bags. I can tell the small ones are filled with bits. "I'm ready!" She says in a singsong voice.

"You don't have to bring any money. I've got some." I hold up my bag.

She looks at it, almost with a glare. "I can spend my own money, thank you very much." She says. "In fact, I have enough money that I'm willing to spend for the three of us, I'm sure."

"How much?"

"Just over a thousand bits." She says with a smile.

"I've got three in here."

Her glare shifts into astonishment. "W-What? In that small bag? How? And how did you get it so soon?"

"Princess Celestia was just here. She gave this to me." I reply. "I'm guessing Princess Celestia put an enchantment on the bag to make it bigger on the inside or something." Or maybe there's coins of different values. I know that the United States has bills over $100, but I've never seen one in person. Equestria could easily have bits worth more than just 1.

Rarity almost faints. "And I missed her…" Just in case she actually does faint, I take a step closer to her and get ready to catch her.

"She only stayed here for about a minute." Twilight says. "Only Mark, Fluttershy, and I saw Princess Celestia. Everypony else missed her, too."

That seems to reassure Rarity enough so that she doesn't pass out. Rarity lets out a breath of air. "Oh well… It's not like I haven't met Princess Celestia. It would be quite an honor if I could again. Though, knowing Mark is an honor itself. I'm sure many ponies would do nasty deeds to even look at him for a second, and I am friends with you." She glances at me. I think I see a faint blush on her cheeks.

"Thanks, Rarity. It's actually pretty cool to be labelled a mythical creature." I say. Rarity seems to take my comment badly. I can tell by the faint look of discomfort on her face. "That's a compliment. Not sarcastic. Sorry if I said it harshly."

"Oh, it's quite alright, Mark." Rarity replies. If there wasn't a blush on her face, there is one now. I can tell this one's due to nervousness or something else.

Twilight jumps in. "Sorry to intrude, but aren't we going to go shopping?"

"Yes we are. Sorry. Got kinda lost in the conversation." I say. "Pinkie's up next, right?"

"Yes, she is. She'll be at Sugarcube Corner right about now." Twilight replies.

The three of us head to Sugarcube Corner. I get several different looks from ponies. Most are either looks of fear or disgust. I can count on one hand the looks that are remotely positive. One of them comes from Lyra. I'm going to have to talk with her later, if she's so interested in humans.

Fortunately, none of the ponies are trying to drive me out of town. I guess they don't have any pitchforks and torches.

When we get to Sugarcube Corner, Twilight knocks on the door. It doesn't open, but something pink lands in the bush next to the door. Pinkie sticks her head out of the bush. "Hi! What's going on?" She asks.

Twilight has a face on that says something along the lines of 'what the hell did I just see.' Rarity's implies that she's used to this kind of action. "Mark, Rarity, and I wanted to know if you wanted to go shopping with us."

Pinkie steps out of the bush and walks over to the door. "Not today. I have things to do." She opens the door. "Could you pick up some balloons for me, though? I ran out." Pinkie looks up at the balcony she fell from with a grimace.

"Yeah, sure." I say. "So, why did you fall from there?"

"It's the reason why I need balloons…" She says simply. "I'll need exactly 53 balloons."

"That's pretty specific. I don't know if they'll have exactly 53 balloons for sale." I've never heard of anybody selling such a strange amount of anything on Earth. I don't expect that to change with Equestria.

"I don't know of any stores in Equestria to be like that. Good luck, you three!" Pinkie says before phasing through the door into Sugarcube Corner.

I stare at where the laws of physics have just been broken. "What the hell did I just see?"

"That was Pinkie being Pinkie." Twilight explains. I use the term 'explain' very loosely. "Sometimes, I think she does that more than Discord."

"Who's Discord?"

"Just an all-powerful spirit with the ability to alter the world around us." She says with a wave of her hoof. "You don't have to worry about him. Fluttershy made him good."

Alter the world? Like that one guy from Star Trek? I think he's from Star Trek, at least. I'll admit that I haven't seen many episodes of it. I prefer Star Wars. "So where do Applejack and Rainbow Dash live?"

"Applejack lives at Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow in Cloudsdale." Rarity says. Cloudsdale. Like Clydesdale. I manage to keep myself from laughing, but I can't wipe the smile from my face.

"What's funny about that, Mark?" Twilight asks in an almost accusatory tone.

Are there not any Clydesdales in Equestria? I guess it would make sense. I've only seen four different species of ponies here. "Ah, don't worry about it. It's just something that reminded me of something from Earth."

We head over to Sweet Apple Acres. Like I expected, Applejack denied the offer. At least I'm pretty sure that's what happened. The sheer size of the place kind of made me blank out for a bit. Since Applejack isn't following us, I'm assuming she said no.

After leaving the farm, we ran into Rainbow. She gave us the same answer that Applejack did. Once again, I'm just assuming. She didn't follow us, either.

"So, where are we going shopping?" I ask once my mind decides to function normally.

"Wasn't it your decision to go, Mark?" Rarity asks.

"You know Equestria better than I do." I point out.

"There's a small market in the center of town." Twilight says. "It's far from a mall, but there are some stalls I regularly buy from."

"Is this where Rainbow Dash almost accidentally sold Fluttershy?" Rarity asks.

"What? Did I hear that right?" I ask. "How do you accidentally sell somebody?"

"Almost accidentally." Rarity corrects me. "It's a long story, Mark."

I bet it is. "I'll have to hear it sometime. I also want to know more about that Discord guy."

I follow the mares to the market. They tell me the story about their last trip to the market. I'm still trying to wrap my head around how Rainbow 'almost accidentally' sold Fluttershy into what may or may not have been slavery. Maybe just ignoring that would be best for the state of my mind. On that subject, they also told me about Discord. From what I gathered from their description of his appearance, he looks like something either Pablo Picasso or Salvador Dali would paint. His mind is slightly more intact than Sheogorath's. Also, he was sealed in stone at least twice. The way Twilight and Rarity said, it implied he was sentient during those times. That reminded me terribly of that song by Metallica, One. Since the song is now stuck in my head, I find it on my iPod and play it.

Twilight asks me what the headphones are. Rarity explains it to her. "Mark, the technology from your world must have been absolutely amazing!" If we weren't walking, she'd probably have fainted by now.

"Yeah, it was pretty cool. There are ways to talk to people on the other side of the planet with these little rectangular things called phones."

She stops for half a second, then continues. "Phones?" She asks. For a second, I think she's familiar with them. I very much highly doubt she does. If so, they would have to be primitive phones from when they were first invented.

"Yep. Short for cell phones, which is short for cellular telephones. A few years before I came to Equestria, on Earth, they could only be used to talk to other people at distances. Now, they're used for pretty much everything. Playing games, taking pictures, calculating basic math problems, drawing. writing, and so on."

"Wow." Rarity says. "I'm certain they could be used for several types of business…"

"Definitely. Cell phones were pretty much just basic portable computers. Don't let the name confuse you. Computers do a lot more than just computing things." I sound like an advertiser.

"How long were these devices around before you… You know."

Before I died. I know why she doesn't want to say it. "Before I came here, you mean." Rarity nods with a twinge of sadness for touching on the subject. "They were around for around 50 years. The size of them, for both, has changed a lot. Computers used to take up the size of the main room in Carousel Boutique."

"By Celestia, they must have been very powerful!" Rarity says. Her eyes open to the size of dinnerplates. Mind the cliche, but it's very accurate. I feel like I'm in an old cartoon. The talking technicolor ponies would certainly be a hint.

"Very. Computers were actually made to be used to get into orbit around the planet." Twilight stops dead in her tracks. I do too, followed by Rarity. Twilight opens her mouth, but nothing comes out. "Are you okay?"

Her response comes a few seconds later. She shakes her head rapidly. "I don't know."

I smile and almost laugh. "I'll tell you more about it later, then. If just that gets you to be like this, just wait. You'll have to sit down for it."

"I would like to know more about your world as well, Mark." Rarity says.

"I can do that. I'll tell the other ponies, too." Rainbow Dash would definitely be interested in something that can send something into orbit. More specifically, the amount of speed involved. Applejack and Fluttershy probably wouldn't be too interested. As for Pinkie, I have no idea what goes on in her mind. Lyra would just want to know everything about Earth, if what I know about her is true.

Now that I think about it, I don't have a lot of friends here. Just Twilight, the other Elements of Harmony, and Princess Luna. I could find a friend in Lyra. The only other ponies I've met and know by name are Princess Celestia and that mail mare, Derpy. I don't think I could pull of a regular friendship with the leader of the country. Since that's the case, I could probably scratch Luna off the list of my friends. She's at least an acquaintance. Even if she isn't on the list, I still have more friends here than I ever did on Earth.

Spike is somewhere on the list. I don't know where to put him, though. I'd like to get to know him more. How many humans can say they're friends with a dragon?

Sometime during my ride on the Train of Thought, we arrive at the marketplace. It's not very crowded or big, and is certainly not Pike's Place. I can count the amount of shops here on both of my hands.

"I think the most necessary stand would be Colgate's. I don't think you've brushed your teeth yet." Twilight says. A blush forms on her face. "I mean, I don't want to disrespect you, but-"

"Yeah, I get you." I interrupt. Twilight's right. I haven't brushed my teeth since I got to Equestria. My mouth probably smells worse than Comic Con in a submarine.

The two mares walk up to a small stall. The unicorn mare working at it has a coat similar in color to Rainbow Dash. Her two toned hair is dark blue and ice white. I notice that her cutie mark is an hour glass, rather than the expected stethescope or tooth. She's also pretty cute. Why are all of the ponies here cute? Not that I'm complaining.

"Hello, Colgate." Rarity says to the unicorn at the stall.

"Hello, Rarity." The unicorn, Colgate, looks up at us. She almost jumps back when she notices me. Her breathing is heavy. It takes a second for it to return to its normal pace. "Did you talk to Lyra?"

"Sort of. She fainted after seeing me." I say. The memory of it makes me smile.

Colgate does, too. "She's gonna talk to you again soon. If I know anything about Lyra, she's got an interest in humans. I think Twilight's got some competition."

Twilight grunts. "I beg to differ, Colgate. I know more about humans than Lyra does."

"Maybe you do, Twilight." Colgate's smile grows. "I'm guessing you didn't come here to just talk."

"Right. Mark here needs dental work."

"You came to the right mare. I'll need you to fill out some papers, Mark." Colgate says. She hands me some papers, a feather, and an inkwell. I tell her that I already have a pen. The ponies look at my pen like almost like it's some deity's artifact. Ignoring their looks, I fill out the papers and give them back to Colgate. She takes them and tells me to come to the stall in a few days.

The next stall we go to is a general store. I get a straight razor and some shaving cream. Even if they had some of those safety razors that I'm used to, I'd still get a straight razor. One of the reasons is if I ever become a barber and need a few meat pies…

God, I need to visit a psychiatrist. Unfortunately, there aren't any around. The only other stalls in the area is one belonging to a blacksmith. A real blacksmith.

Twilight sees me nerding out over the thing that would make any fantasy fan nerd out. "Do you want to talk to her?"

Oh. She probably thinks that I think the mare working at the stall is cute. I mean, she is. The earth pony has a dark chestnut coat. Her mane, unlike most of the other ponies, resembles one from a horse on Earth. Her mane looks like it hasn't been taken care of. On a human, I find that to be attractive. From this distance, I can't tell what her cutie mark is. It's probably a hammer. Though, if Colgate is any foreshadowing, it could be anything unrelated to blacksmithing. Maybe a shoe, or something.

The smithy catches me looking at her. I guess I'm obligated to talk to her, now. I shrug. "I'll talk to her, I guess."

I walk up to the stall. "Hello, human." She says to me. I can't exactly place her tone. Bored is probably the closest I can get. "Yeah, I pay attention to the news. I also saw you looking at me."

"I'm still getting used to the talking horses." I say. "I haven't seen one running a forge."

The smithy smiles. "Get used to it. I just moved to Ponyville a few days ago. I've been everywhere, man. Appaloosa. Canterlot. Manehattan. Vanhoover, even."

"Alright, Johnny Cash."

"What?" She asks. "My name's Hammersmith Apollo, not Johnny Cash."

I need to remember to stop referencing things. "Right, right. So, Apollo-"

"Just call me Hammer."

"Hammer, then. What do you sell?"

She shrugs. "Hammers. Screwdrivers. Sledges. I make tools for construction."

Then I don't really have any reason to be here. I should get something so I don't seem like I'm trying to get Hammer in bed. "I'll take a hammer."

"Any kind you prefer? Ball-peen? Claw? Sledge? Lump?"

I only recognize two of those. "Uh… Claw."

"13 bits." She says. I give her the amount and she gives me a hammer.

When I return to the mares, Rarity looks at the hammer and shakes her head. "And here I thought you were developing a crush."

"Maybe I did. If I did, who's to say it was on Hammersmith over there?"

"And you even know her name. I think you do have a crush on her!" Rarity accuses.

I'm pretty sure Rarity's going to keep on this for a while. So why not have a little fun? "I've got a crush on somepony, sure. It's not Hammer, though."

"You've even got a nickname for her."

"It's not my nickname for her, Rares." I say, putting emphasis on the last word with a chuckle.

A deep blush forms on her face. She tries to say something, but just fumbles with her words. I laugh, and so does Twilight. "...Are you saying that you have a crush on me?"

"You say that like nobody's had a crush on you yet."

"Nopony." Rarity corrects. "And I know that several ponies have had crushes on me before. It's not just exclusive to stallions. Or ponies."

I don't know any creatures here in Equestria that aren't ponies. Just Spike. I doubt she's referring to him, though. I mean, dragons eat horses. Although, after seeing him at the table and not seeing anypony freaking out about him kind of implies that's not how dragons act in Equestria. They probably eat something else. Gems, maybe? With Rarity's talent, that could easily be what Spike eats. He'd have an easy food source.

During my ride on the Train of Thought, I notice that the sun is starting to set. I also notice that I'm really tired. I bid the two mares a temporary farewell as I head to Fluttershy's home.

I'm too tired to engage in a real conversation with her. I will in the morning.