A Time Traveler's Perspective

There’s the sound of the door closing, and it sounds like it might just be sealing. I don’t even know if I like the sound of that. It makes it seem like I’m stuck in here. Of course, it’s just a scanner. It isn’t like there’s a lot that can go wrong with a scanner. At least there’s not a lot that I can think will go wrong. I doubt she’s going to put me in here if there’s a giant health problem, anyway.

“Don’t worry, I think I’ve fixed the problem where it blows up after a few minutes.”

Do my ears deceive me, or am I standing in something that had previous versions that blew up? Are the words that she just said that she thinks she fixed the problem? This sounds like something that she should know about, that she should be sure. “You think you fixed the problem? Couldn’t you have told me this before I stepped in?”

“Nope, then you might not have stepped in.” That’s true, but that isn’t a good defense. I should be able to make a decision like this with the knowledge of my potential demise. It actually makes it a little worse.

“You’re darn right I wouldn’t have.”

“Might as well get this done as quickly as possible, then. Afterwards, you can go read up on Equestria while I get to look over the results.” Curse you, Twilight. Curse you and your machines. I’m stuck on here now, can’t really do anything. She does have a point about how we just need to get this done as quickly as possible, though. If she can get it done before the possible explosion, then I can go figure out what I’m doing next today.

I know what she wants me to do, but that might not be what I choose to do.

A few buttons are pressed, and there’s a strange sound. I don’t know if the machine is supposed to sound like a growling wolf, but it does. Actually, that might only be something that worries me because of what she told me. If Twilight hadn’t told me about the problem with the explosion, I would probably feel a lot more comfortable right now. Ignorance, at least in this case, is something that I wish she would have allowed me.

But the knowledge is out there, and now I’m worrying.

Next come the lights, bright white lights. I actually have to close my eyes to make sure that it doesn’t hurt them. It hit me so fast, though, that it takes a second for me to actually react. Oh boy, bright lights definitely hurt my eyes. I wish there was some sort of warning, because my eyes are burning. This is the type of thing that is likely to hurt until I open my eyes again and maybe blink a few times, cause my eyes to tear up. Something tells me that isn’t such a good idea right now.

Even with my eyes closed, I can see the light well enough.

Beyond the feeling of light in my eyes, I don’t actually feel any different. The capsule is a little warm, and I’m of course still rocking my birthday suit, but beyond that, this is nothing. I don’t know what I might have expected to feel, though. This is just a scanner, it isn’t any sort of medical device. Well, I suppose that it is a medical scanner. It isn’t anything that does anything more than simply scan a person. Actually, I don’t even know what it scans for. Or even if it’s a proper medical scanner.

She told me she made this herself.

Suddenly, the groaning becomes a high pitched screech. The light starts to pick up, and then suddenly the light shuts off. I wonder if this means that the scanner is done.It must mean that the scan is done. Either that, or something went wrong and I’m dead but just don’t realize. That likely would have come at the hands of some sort of huge explosion. Part of me hopes that if this kills me, this machine, that it is with an explosion.

I want to do some damage when I go.

“That’s it, Roger. You can step out now and go upstairs. The fiction section is to your left as you exit. It’s the first few shelves.” Twilight doesn’t even bother to look at me, it’s almost as if she just hopes that I follow her instructions to the letter. It’s also like she trusts that I’m going to do exactly as she instructs without any deviation. “And the nonfiction is past that.”

She must really think I’m going to read.

I have to admit, that idea does seem like a good one.

I walk up the stairs, open the door, and take a few steps into the room. It isn’t a large library; that is certain. I wonder if there’s some reason why the library is so small. Maybe the town doesn’t need a larger library. I don’t know how many ponies are in this town, so I can’t possibly guess how many of them actually come here to read books. Another few steps, and then I see that there’s a certain little dragon staring up at me.

He still doesn’t look happy, not at all.

“Do I have something on my face?” I have to wonder why he’s just staring at me. It isn’t a glare, but it is something that is incredibly close. Spike ends up standing up and taking a few steps toward me. I don’t know if he thinks he’s being intimidating, but he isn’t. If anything, the word that I would use to describe Spike right now is adorable. Of course, I don’t think that he’ll like it if I end up telling him that.

Maybe I’ll tell him later.

“I’m not sure who you are, or what you are, but I am watching you. “ With that, he takes a few steps backwards and sits down. The way he looks at me tells me that he is completely serious. The first and second make perfect sense - there is no way that he can know what I am. The idea of humans seems to be one that is mostly myth. Lyra sounded like she has been insulted for the belief. Twilight knows, but she is student to Princess Celestia. I don’t know how Princesses Celestia knows, but maybe she has some books that no other pony has.

I decide to play along. “And I’m watching you.” I stare right back at him. There is something about his gaze that makes me want to look away, but I don’t. Instead, I try to space out while I continue my stubborn staring contest. I just can’t let myself lose one of these things to a purple dragon that is even smaller than the ponies around here. It just doesn’t bode well if I can’t win this.

Ten minutes of this staring contest pass by without either of us giving in.

“So, what do we do now?” Even as he asks what we should do, he isn’t blinking. I don’t know how he’s able to do this. I have been cheating; one eye was always open me practically winking every so often to keep one of my eyes moist at all times. The questions that he asks, though, is a good one. If we keep staring at each other, nothing will happen. The only problem is that I have no clue what we can do around here aside from read.

Which is what Twilight wants me to do.

“I don’t know. In case you can’t tell, I’m not exactly from around here. Twilight thinks I should read some books.” I look at the collection of books, then to him. I can tell that he isn’t the type who would like to sit and enjoy a good book. That is a real shame, reading can be fun. Right now, though, I am simply enjoying the idea of running into another creature that isn’t acting like I’m the next biggest threat to come to this land. “That sounds like a good idea, but maybe later.”

“That isn’t the type of thing I think Twilight would like to hear…” When he starts to chuckle, I can’t help but join in. She does seem like an incredibly serious pony, at least compared to most of the others I have run into. I can’t take most of them seriously, not even the one that decided to try to kick my face in. Twilight seems serious about things that actually matter, though. She seems serious about the things that aren’t likely to end with violence.

“What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.” is the best reasoning that I can think of right now. I shrug, then look at the books once again. I might have to get some of the books to read for later. I have always loved learning new things, and it seems quite obvious that those books contain a lot of information that I don’t know. I can learn about the history, about the holidays, and about the culture in general.

Maybe I’ll start off with learning about the Princesses.

“So, what are you anyway?” That is actually a question that I have answered a lot recently. I don’t know if I want to answer it again. Then again, maybe it is best if I just lay it out. I’m trying to get them to stop being afraid of me, and stop kicking me, so the best way to do that is to answer basic questions. I answer what I am, who I am, what I want, and eventually the hurting will stop. That is just the way that it will work, I just know it.

“Human.”

“Never heard of humans. Where are the rest of you?” That is the difficult part. I know, part of me knows, that this could turn out bad. I am trying to keep my secret to a need-to-know basis. Up until now, I can count on one hand who knows about it, I have to ask myself if Spike is a good addition to the group of ponies that know my secret. Well, group of ponies and a dragon if I decide that it is a good idea to actually go through with it.

Better question, the one that I can’t answer, is why shouldn’t I tell him? For all I know, Twilight will tell him anyway.

“We’re from around here, just about a long time ago.” He gives me this look, like he doesn’t understand what I just said, I probably need to work on my wording. Maybe I should just be completely blunt about it. “I don’t know if I should tell you this, but I’m from the past. All of the humans are dead. I’m here because I made this.” I show off my wrist, which still has the device on it. This seems to trigger some understanding. Maybe I should finish it off by letting him know what I’m going to do. “And then I’m going to bring my parents here if I can get Twilight to make every one of those ponies calm down.”

Before now, the thought that I’m naked with a wrist machine never came to mind.

And now it is right there, in the back of my mind.

“Whoa! That sounds so cool! I wish I could travel through time.” I do have to wonder what it would be like if he could travel through time. I wonder what he might do if he could go backwards, if he could see what it is that humanity did during their prime. The only downside would be that they might not take too kindly to a small purple dragon. “I could help out with Nightmare Moon.”

That is a name I remember, though I quickly put it aside. Another thing that comes to mind is that Spike seems genuinely nice. He isn’t thinking about what he could do for himself, he’s thinking about how he can help others better. That is something that separates us, I don’t think I’m that nice. “You’re too nice for your own good, Spike.” He looks at me as if the idea of being too nice is a foreign concept. “Don’t ever change, though. The world needs nice people, or it’ll collapse.”

Either that, or it will have a lot of ponies kicking others in the face.

“I’m nothing special. The ponies around here are generally really nice.” I can’t help but break that lie with what has happened to me.

“Way nicer than that Bon-Bon.” I feel kind of bad, throwing her under the metaphorical bus like that, but she is the worst offender. “She kicked me in the face. It’s why I can do this right now.” I take a deep breath and breathe out my nose. There is a whistling sound. “That’s after all the ponies here ran away from me like I have some plague. Just because I’m different, just because I eat meat.” Spike looks at me concerned. “Well, used to. I don’t think I’m going to anymore, it would be impossible. There doesn’t seem to be a non-sentient animal around here. And eating a sentient animal just feels … wrong.”

“Non-sentient?” Is this really a concept that escapes him? “There are non-sentient animals where you come from?” I think he is expecting that I’m going to tell him I’m joking. There are some concepts that we just don’t like, ones that go outside of our understanding of the world. This is one of those, or at least it seems to be one of those, for Spike.

“Afraid so. Evolution at its finest, really.” I say with a bit of sarcasm. “I’m guessing that I guessed correctly, then. There are no non-sentient animals around here.” I simply get a shake of the head. That could prove to be incredibly annoying. I’m not obsessed with meat, not by any stretch, but I do enjoy it. The idea of never being able to eat meat again is one that I feel is going to be incredibly difficult to get over. “Well, guess that means I get to go vegetarian.”

“You could always try gems.” Spike rushes over to a box and pulls out a single gemstone. I really don’t know what to think of it, as he hands it right over to me. I know that the old me, on old earth, couldn’t eat gems. They are just too tough. There is always the chance that I can here, though. Everything seems to be completely different. I look down at the gem, then back to Spike for a moment. “Go on, that one of my favorites.”

This is one of the kindest gestures that any of these ponies have shown so far.

I do bite down on it, though, and it just hurts my teeth. “I thought this might happen.” I rub my jaw, as if that will stop the tooth ache. It doesn’t, but it is the gesture that counts. “I did get a taste, and it tastes good. But I can’t really bit into it.” I can still taste the gem in my mouth, the first part is not a lie. To me, it tastes like a rock. I really don’t think that rocks are anything good to eat. I know better than to say that, though.

Besides, he is being nice to be. I have to guard the few creatures that are actually being nice to me.

“So, what should I call you? I mean, ‘human’ just sounds wrong. Imagine if everypony went around calling me dragon.” I see a shudder, as if that isn’t just an example. I wonder what he would say if I were to ask him about it. “We all have names for a reason, they’re part of what gives us an identity beyond what we are. Dragon is what I am, not who I am. Human is what you are, not who you are.”

This little dragon is smart.

“I’m Roger Fleitas. That’s what my parents named me anyway.”

Spike nods his head. “Awesome name there, Roger.” I don’t know if he really thinks that, or if he’s just being nice. Either way, I’ll take it. If somebody is being nice for the sake of being nice, it is much better than the alternative. So far, he is being way better than all of the ponies that are out there. I can’t help myself at this point, though, a question escapes.

“Why are you being so nice?” There seems to be a growing number of creatures here that are nice enough and, I know that it might sound weird, but they’re ruining my ability to classify everything in one giant box. I need more rude ponies, it might help everything go back to being me against everything. Of course, the upside to this change is that it might continue. It might just end with there being enough creatures being nice that they convince the others to be nice as well.

The answer I get, though, isn’t what I expect.

“I know what it’s like to be seen as an outsider, to be treated like a threat for no real reason.” There is no smile as he says this. I kind of feel bad for asking, it seems to be the thing that brought about line of thought. “And I just don’t want to be the reason why anypony has to deal with something like that. I just can’t be.” I can’t help myself, I walk over to him and give him a hug.

“And you won’t be. That just doesn’t seem to be who you are.” Spike looks up at me a doubting expression on his face.

“You hardly know me.”

“Didn’t I tell you? I’m an excellent judge of character.” I have never said that, mostly because it isn’t true at all. I stop hugging him, take a few steps back, and turn to see Twilight standing there. She has this smile on her face, and I can only wonder how much of this she has seen. “And just how long have you been there?”

“Long enough.” I want to tell her that the words ‘long enough’ aren’t a good enough answer, but it’s likely that she wouldn’t agree. A piece of paper floats over to me. Printed on the sheet is an image of something. “This is the picture of one of the many things that interest me about you.” I don’t quite understand what I’m supposed to be seeing, really, so I just stare at her blankly. “This is a picture of you as seen by the scanner. There are a lot of things that just seem weird. We should start with the top and go down.”

I really don’t think I like this idea.

“The top is the brain and skull.” I look at the picture, only to soon find that she levitates another over to me. This one is just of what I’m guessing is my brain. I really wouldn’t know, this would be the first time I have gotten a picture of my brain. “The skull is extremely dense, which might be why you were able to be kicked without it doing much more than breaking your nose.”

I simply nod - it seems like the best idea.

“Actually, the more interesting thing is your brain. It is huge, almost taking up your entire skull.” The idea that I have a huge brain is something that I like. It makes it sound like I’m incredibly smart. “More importantly, this is the most complex brain I’ve ever examined.” I really don’t know what that means, so I just look at her with a confused expression. “I don’t understand it much either. But when I had you move your body, only these portions lit up.” Her hoof points to a few areas.

“And when I gave you that test, these did.” With that, she motions over the rest of the picture of the brain. “With the emotional responses all coming from this section.” One of the sections of the brain that she had just pointed to gets pointed to again. “And that is just going by your brain. I might be wrong, though, your entire species might be like this. Everything that we ponies have two of, you have four, and everything else you have two. You have a lot of spare organs, Mr. Fleitas.”

I don’t know if I like the idea of them being called spares. I also don’t know if I like the idea of having so many organs. I remember being told that I’m normal, and until now I haven’t looked into it. I don’t think my parents are going to be happy when I ask them about this. I look down at the picture. “If my guess is correct, I have two livers.” I look up to see her nod. “Humans only have one liver.” I take another look down, there are several things that just look wrong.

“You’re also missing normal lungs.”

I can’t believe that has escaped me all these years.

“I don’t know how you function. You’re a mystery.” I hear a hint of excitement in her voice, as if she wants to try to figure me out to eight. I don’t even know if that’s possible, I still have to head back and get some sleep at some point. “Other than the enlarged brain, the extra organs, and the lack of lungs … well, that seems to be enough for a day, but I have to wonder if it said anything else. I really don’t know a lot about medical science, so these things mean very little to me.”

I look out the window and see that the sun is setting. Apparently, the day is almost over. Then, my body loudly reminds me that I haven’t exactly eaten much today.

“I should probably head back. Cloudkicker is probably wondering where I am right about now. And she might have some dinner.” I look to see a sad expression on Twilight’s face, but there isn’t much that I can do. Then I look to Spike, who just has a grin on his face. I don’t know why, but I am kind of afraid of the answer. I need to know, though.

Luckily, he tells us both.

“I’m going to go make some dinner for the tree of us.” That isn’t something that I would expect. “After all, Twilight, you need to know about his eating habits. And you could hook up the machine to check over him while he’s asleep. Who knows what his brain does?” I want to just tell him that I dream, and then tell Twilight that I just eat like a normal creature, but I get the feeling that he just outsmarted me. I don’t even know why he wants me to stay here.

“Oh, this is going to be so much fun.”

I don’t know if fun is the way I would describe it.

~

Two meals with sandwiches in just as many days. This is something I am going to have to get used to. There is no meat, there are only plants and eggs, on occasion. Vegetables and fruits and hay are the plants that I know they eat. Flowers are clearly something they eat, too, considering this is yet another time when I have eaten a sandwich made with flowers as the insides.

Next is bed time.

Or so I think. Before that is me being hooked up to a machine after a makeshift bed is created. I look up at Twilight, who simply chuckles. “Just think about it this way. All of the big tests are out of the way. Tomorrow, we’re just going to have a normal discussion. That way, I can learn about your species and you can learn about Equestria.” I look over as she starts to walk away, and there is an extra piece of paper tha she picks up as she walks away.

“What’s that?”

For a second she stops, then she turns and looks at me with a smile on her face. “Nothing major, just some notes that I took about this whole thing. Some of the answers you gave, some of the things you said, and some of the things I saw, just gave me a few new ideas to think about.”

I know she’s hiding something, but I don’t know what.

I will figure it out eventually.