Chapters Another
By C4TCHFire
Nothing was out of the ordinary.
He was in the abandoned classroom on the second floor once more; a nice spot, in his opinion. The room stayed warm in the winter and cool in the warmer seasons, large amounts of sunlight filtering from the row of windows on one side of the space. The peaks of the pink, blossoming trees tickled the bottoms and sides of the windows, giving whoever was on the inside a pleasant view of the foliage during it's proper season. A number of oddly vintage-looking tables and chairs were arranged around the room (left there by someone who clearly didn't need them, as he had first discovered them with a considerable inch of dust on them).
He himself had taken to the liberty of adding bookshelves around the room to compliment the furniture, and together, with the help of some friends, filled those bookshelves with books. Every day, after the dull tones of the bell had punctuated the end of school, he went to this room, let his bag down, and read. And that's exactly where he was once more, turning the pages of a light novel he had bookmarked at it's third to last chapter the previous day, eager to finish it. Again - very important - nothing was out of the ordinary.
"Hey! Man, this guy is so boring!"
Something firm and simultaneously sort of cushy prodded at his head. A hoof. He distinguished an aggressive, boyish voice, and the color of light blue dissipating from the corner of his eyes. She'd been jabbering the entire time, and caught the last bit of her rambling,
"..could've been at least sorta interesting, but now he's all about books, just like egghead Sparkle over there!"
"I'm not an egghead , Rainbow Dash! And please, leave him alone!"
"Goodness gracious, darling, your hair is lovely and all, but it could really do with some combing.."
Another hoof prodded tentatively at one side of his head, Rainbow Dash busy with the other side. The voice belonged to the ivory pony, the one with extravagant and, in his opinion, much too curly purple hair.
He closed his eyes. Realizing his muscles were tense, he tried to relax and continued reading.
"E-excuse me mister, but what kind of food does a 'human' eat? I.. um, I got some vegetables from the garden.. and some of these oranges that were meant for the frugivores.."
The softly vanilla-colored one was offering something bright in front of his face.
"I have to say, Twilight, this ol'.. er, what's it again. The 'he-man'..?"
"That's 'human,' Applejack."
"Well, this fellow here sure ain't very sociable, is he?"
The orange, apricot colored pony had trotted up to him with a resounding "clip-clop" sound ringing against the wooden floor and gave him a hard shove.
"Y'know, you've been here a few days, I think you can lighten up a little there, partner!"
"Deary me, what's that dreadful strand of hair doing sticking up there? I do apologize, but if I don't fix it it will be quite the death of me, I assure you.."
"Heeeey! Egghead! Done reading yet?"
"Oh! I'm so, so sorry! Do you not like oranges? I knew I should have just left those at home - oh, t-try one of these mister! Everyone likes a good turnip.."
Twilight Sparkle looked up from her studies, staring across the room at the boy, surrounded by a great canvas of different colors. He sported an ordinary teenager's look, averaging a moderate height for a high schooler (Twilight herself barely up to his chest) and relatively in shape - however, sitting down, all the other ponies were free to approach him unhindered by something like size difference. His slightly messy, medium-length maroon hair complimented a pair of expressive, dark eyes, which she noticed had a certain shine to them when something interesting had caught his eye - however, they looked positively lifeless to her at the moment, as if forced to focus on the pages in front of him. And he was dressed in the same clothes he was wearing the day he arrived in Equestria (granted, it had been washed). A dark uniform comprised of a white dress shirt, a yellow sweater, a dark pair of pants, and an unbuttoned, black coat laced with shades of azure and gold that oddly seemed to work. He didn't have any fur, scales, hair, or anything else either - weird, considering Twilight usually ran into creatures that had a coat of something on their bodies to keep them warm during colder times. The boy's own skin was a delicate, creamy color, and mostly unblemished - but his personal features were nothing to marvel at. He wore the expression of a person who had lost all meaning to live, and rigidly sat, his eyes scanning the same sentence on the same page numerous times.
Rarity sat directly behind him, poking and prodding at his maroon hair, sometimes using magic to work out any kinks that she herself couldn't do with a hoof. Rainbow Dash fluttered above him, forcefully tapping on him, clearly trying to provoke a reaction of some sort; Fluttershy awkwardly held various foods in front of his face, anxious but clearly curious. Pinkie Pie was busy at Sugarcube Corner that day, thank Celestia for that - meanwhile, Applejack sat nearby, staring at him with a frown, as if gazing long enough at him would tell her exactly why he sat in such a stoic manner, the stocky book cradled in his hands, seemingly ignoring her and all the other ponies.
Nothing was out of the ordinary.
Of course, that's about as untrue as any lie could possibly hope to get, because though Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia's faithful student, and the world around her had not changed much since the arrival of this human, everything was out of the ordinary for the maroon haired youth sitting at the other end of her library, and it wouldn't do much good to keep pretending. It was a shame, really, because the daydream he was having moments before was quite a good one, accurate too.
Finally fed up with the constant prodding from all directions, he let out a deep sigh and let his book down on the miniature wooden table in front of him, letting the book snap shut on it's own. He didn't get angry often, and certainly he wouldn't today, not in this company. However, it wasn't like he could force himself to keep reading any longer in this situation, and therefore gave up his facade, his fatigue now very clearly visible. Excited to have gotten a reaction out of him, Rainbow Dash backed off and gazed at the back of his head expectantly, all the other ponies backing off for a moment at the sight of signs of life within the boy.
I haven't been able to think for the past few hours.. so, let's start from the beginning, just for the sake of my sanity.
His name was Kirigaya Hiro - or, since most people put surnames last, Hiro Kirigaya. He was a sixteen year old high school transfer student from Kawagoe City, located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. His blood type was B+, his nationality a mix of Japanese and English descent, and he had been attending a public school in Manhattan only days before everything changed, when he had been plunged headfirst into this new, different, rather pastel (in his opinion) world.
Rainbow Dash had gone back to tapping on his head ferociously,
"Hey, nerd! If you're done reading, why not come out and play? I'll show you some of my new tricks, it'll be totally sweet!"
Rarity clapped her hooves together in excitement, "You know what you would look positively lovely in? A dress ! Say, if you're done reading, why not join me in the Boutique?"
"O-oh, I don't suppose all animals like turnips as much as I thought.. u-um, a nice sunflower maybe..?"
"Y'know, er.. 'Hero,' is that right? We're harvesting some apples today! And, y'know, the whole family's helpin' out and all, but I could use an extra hoof - er, pony- no.. hye-man to help out!"
Applejack followed up her broken and hesitant words with a hurried afterthought, "O-of course, I'm not askin' you to do this for free! You can feel free to stick around for dinner after, y'know? The harvest's really good this year! Real good.."
The orange-colored pony sat there awkwardly, still trying to figure the maroon-haired youth out.
Twilight was beginning to feel sorry for Hiro when a small (his height still dwarfed by Twilight even sitting down), had trotted into the room with a tray of drinks and set one down next to Twilight's study. Spike observed Hiro from a distance, a rather pitying look in his eyes as he whispered,
"He's getting it rough, isn't he Twilight?"
Before the purple mare could even open her mouth, the door to the library burst open in an explosion of pink and confetti, upsetting about a dozen books from the bookshelves around the room.
"Heeeeeeeeeeeere's the party! "
No matter how hard Hiro focused, he couldn't return to the memory of the soft-shaded, pleasant room he had visited every day after school. In the light of all that was happening, his past life was fading away faster than he'd have believed it.
"H- hey, what are you doing?!"
"Relax, honestly! We just wanna look!"
"Are you kidding me?!"
He was almost screaming.
The location had shifted, Hiro and a few of the ponies had congregated in Fluttershy's cottage for the afternoon. Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be seen, having had flight practice that day, and weather duties later. Rarity was attending to business back at the boutique, which left the maroon-haired youth alone, again, with Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. The hour was late afternoon, Hiro barely able to tell what the time was ever since he'd arrived in Equestria. He hazarded a guess at 1 or 2 PM. The habit of meeting during the afternoon times and lounging together had become something of a habit ever since Hiro came to Ponyville. Of course, circumstances had changed somewhat in this particular scenario.
Hiro and friends were in the cottage, and he was being (n/a) very violently.
Despite the fact that she was very roughly handling his (n/a) , Fluttershy's voice remained unfailingly soft-spoken and very Fluttershy-like.
"I-I'm sorry mister Hero! It's.. i-it's just that..
(Inaudible) !"
He was flat on his back, unable to move his limbs and surrounded on all sides. Despite the situation, Hiro actually admired how nonchalantly Fluttershy was able to say such things. Out of some wild reasoning, Hiro considered the situation - Fluttershy thought of him as an animal, a way different species entirely, and therefore, was obviously anxious to (n/a) him. However,
"And why is that important?!" he cried incredulously, pulling his sleeve away from a ferocious Applejack, "And what's wrong with you!?"
"C'mon, sugarcube! This won't hurt one tiny lii' bit!" she said, her strained voice filtered by her clenched teeth, tightened hard on his (n/a) . "Y'know, I'm kinda curious too!"
It's already hurting plenty!
He turned towards where Twilight had been sitting moments earlier, beginning to plead,
"Come on, Twilight, tell them to sto--"
She wasn't there.
And suddenly, another force was pulling at him, this time invisible, a seemingly invisible pair of hands tugging on his (n/a) . Not quite invisible, though - there was a light, violet, sparkling glow where the pressure was focused.
"You too ?!"
Twilight was standing directly behind him, her horn showing obvious signs of magical use, her neck arched in an attempt to get a closer look at what was under Hiro's layer of clothing.
"I'm sorry, but it's (inaudible) , honest! I just need to.."
An extra hard yank elicited a panicked noise from Hiro's throat, sounding much like a moan than a remark of surprise.
Pinkie Pie had joined in on the (n/a) too, taking hold of his (n/a) with her hooves and somehow getting a grip on them.
"I have no idea what's going on, but this looks like fun," she giggled, "just like a game!"
Which part of this looks fun, or like a game?!
Hiro's face was flushed with red, and the attack coming from all sides was driving him insane. All four ponies were getting more and more excited as they (n/a) away at Hiro's (n/a) , an almost ravenous look in everypony's eyes now. He clenched his eyes, feeling as if steam were coming out of his ears, and cried,
"Stop it already! Please, I'll do anything! Just stop trying to (inaudible) me!"
3: Where did you come from? (1/2)
"Aaah..."
"Aaaaaaaaaah!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!"
Probably, I'm dead.
That was the only thought running through his mind as Hiro fell through an infinite blackness; a dark, swarming hole filled with the unknown and the dangerous. This was nothing like a dream, because the wind cut into his body fiercely like a knife, the experience very, very real. Why though? He had no reason to die. Kirigaya Hiro was an ordinary boy who had been attending a boarding school in Manhattan for a year and a half running, and so far, nothing had killed him so far. No accidents, no murders, nothing. So, in all honesty, there was no way he could be dead. But there he was.
Why?
He had no choice but to face the impending darkness below.
Why is this happening? Why?!
"Ah--"
And he woke up. The alarm clock beeped 7:30 AM, and some sunlight was filtering in through the shades of his dorm room. Despite the terrible nightmare, there was no cold sweat, no racing heartbeat, no heavy breathing.
Just the calm of the sun.
..No, there wasn't any calm. Hiro looked around wildly to find that, despite the similarities, he wasn't in his dorm. The bed he was sleeping in wasn't the slightly rigid, light blue mattress with layers of thick blankets, but something that oddly resembled a sofa - given, it was a little smaller than he was used to (was that hay on the interior?) and what looked like a colorful, fluffy towel spread over him. It, too, was fairly small, and just barely stopped at his shins, the ends of his pants and his socks visible beyond.
"Where.. where am I?"
Hiro had a soft spoken voice, but a clear one. It rang, slightly, in the empty room, save for some boxes and barrels stacked in the corners and a random assortment of furniture around the place. His body ached all over, he'd noticed, as if all his muscles had been completely exhausted the night before doing something he shouldn't have. The maroon-haired youth felt a terrible fatigue wash over his entire being. Despite his body screaming in protest, Hiro strained himself to stand from the comfortable, but dusty sofa sidling along one of the walls of the room and stretched. Finally over his initial tiredness, he observed the room around him in further detail.
Really.. where is this place?
The sun filtering in through the ragged curtains.. it was different from the light he was used to. But he wasn't sure how. The beams of light weren't superficial, but at the same time, they seemed much more tangible, much thicker than regular sunlight.
It's like I've left planet earth completely.. but that's not possible, is it?
Hiro observed the room in greater detail, his eyes searching for some possible reason why he was there. The room itself, as he already gathered, was on the shabbier side, barren and with a few cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, some dust bunnies huddled in the corners, if only distrubed by the various pieces of furniture and boxes lying around in an arbitrary pattern. Hiro's nose was filled with mixed scents - a sort of old, musty smell, but at the same time, a waft of chamomile and rose petals. If he didn't know better, Hiro would have assumed he was in a flower shop.. well, pursuing the matter at hand, however, there was a door on the other end of the room.
He brushed some hair out of his face and walked up to it. Even the doorknob was way too out of place for him - it was much lower than he was used to, and was oddly crooked, as if designed by someone who couldn't quite draw a circle right. Hiro reached for it when -
"Just a moment!"
A woman - put into better words, a female's voice, sharp and sort of singsong-y rang from the other side of the door, which Hiro's hand was inches away from opening. Footsteps approached from a small distance.. no, not footsteps like he knew them. They were more, sort of, clop-like, definitely harder against the wooden floor than his feet and socks. However, in wild desperation, the maroon-haired youth decided in an instant he really did not want to be caught then and there. As quietly as he could, Hiro took shelter behind the nearest stack of crates and hoped that the tip of his head wasn't poking out.
The door opened.
"Oh Celestia, I can't believe I forgot to order another batch of those! Let's see if any of these still have.."
The very first crate she removed, incidentally, was the one shielding Hiro's upper body. He tried very, very hard not to flinch, because what stood before him was so, so very odd that he couldn't quite bring himself to believe that it - she was actually there. Despite all the obvious differences, Hiro could describe in no other way other than with the word "pony." It was, in the very least, a creature on it's four legs with prominent equine-like features, like a snout, mane, and tail. But something was very, very off.
"Ah."
It wasn't a statement, just a remark, a reaction at best.
"You're eyes are huge."
That was a statement.
So, what's one to expect? Roseluck the earth pony, dutiful and proud owner of Ponyville's flower shop, screamed.
4: Where did you come from? (2/2)
"So.."
The chair was a little small for him, but Hiro managed to get comfortable in it. Anyways, it was exactly built for him to sit in, so he didn't have any reason to complain.
"You're not from.. this place, Equestria, that's right?"
"R-right."
"And you're telling me that you're real home is on.. er.. Err-ff..?"
"Earth, it's Earth."
"Yeah! And, uh. You say you got, um.."
"Transported here.. somehow."
Hiro gestured his hands in the air, Roseluck gazing at him curiously.
"See, there's this thing called.. um, a universe. And there's lots and lots of universes - and what I think happened is I sort of.. somehow got from this universe here,"
He made a somewhat understandable diagram of his explanation with his fingers.
"To here."
Hiro gestured again, "which is this.. Eck.. Equi.."
"Equestria, it's Equestria."
"Yeah! And.. so that's that."
He was almost ashamed of how awkward he was being. The ruby-haired pony's head, however, went on a tilt, her eyebrows scrunched up in confusion.
"Then how'd that happen?"
"I," he sighed, setting down his cup of water, "have no clue."
"I don't remember anything about how it happened at all.. just that I was, all of a sudden.. you know,"
The youth massaged his forehead with one hand, looking slightly disgruntled.
"..here."
The rose colored pony appeared to have given it an appropriate amount of thought for a moment; then, seemingly coming out of a serious stupor, clapped her hooves together and smiled,
"Well, while you're here, you can make yourself at home!"
Hiro stared.
For real?
"Ponyville's a great place, you know. I mean, you're different and all, but I'm sure you can learn to get along with everyone else..!"
Either she has a really small attention span, or she doesn't really care about how I got here at all..
At the very least, Hiro decided while finishing his water, she was kind. Kindness was good.
Luckily, Roseluck was the only pony who noticed Hiro a half hour before, nobody else hearing her scream or caring. He'd woken up in the spare storage room in Roseluck's flower shop, scarcely used for anything much, as the pony already had a perfectly good storage room to use on the opposite end of the hallway. She'd had a customer who wanted a batch of roses, and on that particular day, Roseluck had placed an order for every flower save for roses. Shocked and simultaneously not wanting to disappoint her customer, she'd looked desperately in the room Hiro had woken up in for an old batch of roses she might have held onto. That, of course, was when she discovered a human standing inconspicuously behind the first pile of crates she went to investigate.
Roseluck closed shop early that day in light of the situation. It took a little bit, but once she realized that Hiro wasn't a monster and - coincidentally - could talk, the rose colored pony lightened up some more.
"..Still don't know how you ended up on the spare bed, but I guess we won't know that anytime soon!"
Hiro scratched his head nervously.
"Oh, pardon me! We go through all this complicated stuff and I never even introduced myself!"
"O-oh, right."
Although the creature sitting across the table from him wasn't exactly a human girl, she was a girl nonetheless. So he decided to be a gentleman and speak first.
"I'm Ki- I mean, Hiro Kirigaya. It's a pleasure to meet you."
She stared.
"Come again?"
"Uh.. Hiro. Kirigaya. Last name, you know?"
"K.. Ckee.. Keeree.. What now?"
Hiro sighed and leaned back in his chair. He couldn't say that he wasn't expecting it.
"Well, that's sort of a mouthful, huh? Think I can just call you.. er.. what was that first one now.."
"Hiro."
"Hero, right!"
"N.. no, it's Hiro ."
"Hero?"
"Hiro. Sort of.. a stronger 'r' sound."
"..Hero?"
"Nevermind."
Hiro Kirigaya was known from that day on - not from just Roseluck, but from nearly everypony in Equestria as - "Hero," the human in Equestria.
