Waking up in Equestria

My hooves were screaming at me to stop walking. I looked down slightly and noticed that my sneakers were torn apart at this point, the soles worn down to the fabric. But, I simply ignored the pleas of stopping and continued to walk.

I wanted to get away from things for a while.

Looking around, I noticed that I was coming up on coastal land features. Small sand dunes, dune grass, etc. Along with the slowly changing land features, the local buildings started to change from a small town look, to a fishing village look. Suddenly emerging from the nearby tree line, I watched as a large shrimping vessel steamed right through the road ahead of me. It was then that I realized that the bridge ahead had been lifted to allow the boat passage.

Nearby, a sign caught my attention, and I read:

"Welcome to Cape Harmony; the fishing center of Equestria!"

With a deep inhale, my wing servos could be heard whining happily as I took in the scent of sea salt and fishing bait. A small smile crawled across my lips as I let out the breath.

"Hey!" called a voice. Snapping out of my trance, I looked around for the source of the voice. "Ova' here!" called the voice again. My ears snapped to the source, leading my head to turn in that direction. My eyes landed on a pegasus mare. Her face was thin, with large brown eyes. On top of her chocolate mane, a red baseball cap sat there, the stitched logo worn, an obvious sign of continuous use. Her coat was a light cream, with a cutie mark of an wooden ships' wheel.

"Who, me?" I ask dumbly. The mare simply rolled her eyes and nodded.

"Yes you. Who are ya', and where are ya' from?" she asked, her accent sounding that of a New Englander.

"Er, name's Harry." I reply, approaching the mare. Her eyebrows slightly arched upwards as I approached, realizing my true height. "As to where I'm from? Ponyville. Kinda ran into some issues and I've been walking for almost three days." I admit with a shrug. The mare nodded and looked me over.

"Would ya' like a job? Nothin' like manual labor ta' take the mind off things." she said. Mulling it over, I scratched the back of my head.

"What would I have to do, exactly?" I asked.

"Oh, takin' care of the nets, loadin' up the bait. The normal tasks for a greenhorn." she said. "What do ya' say?"

Giving a shrug, I nod in response. "Yeah, sure. Why not?" I say, offering my hand for a shake. The mare took it and gave one, firm shake and pulled her hoof away.

"Alright then. Get'cha ass on my boat. We're headin' out now." she said, turning and walking down the street a bit to the docks. Following right on her tail, I fall into step next to her.

"Got a name?" I ask. She looks at me and chuckles.

"Name's Perfect Storm. I know, funny name. But I seem to do better with fishing when the weather is bad." she said with a shake of her head. "Crazy luck I guess."

"Actually, stormy waters stir up the local fish populations in some cases." I reply. Storm just looked at me with a scowl.

"How about you jus' work, and believe that it's crazy luck, okay?" she asked, her tone edging on annoyed.

"Yes ma'am." I reply with a sheepish tone.

"That's more like it."

*     *     *

The waters were calm, allowing the boat to travel easily. In the steering house, Storm stood at the wheel, watching the waters for anything like bad weather. I was on the back of the boat, dropping baited markers into the water. I had learned that the boat was called the Lady Grace.

"I dedicated it to a friend of mine who was lost durin' a really bad storm a couple years back." Storm had explained to me, after I asked about her boat.

There was something about this whole situation that reminded me all too well of a movie I had seen a while back. But, the skies were clear, and I was in no danger of ending up re-living said movie.

After the last fishing rigging hit the water with a splash, I retreated back into the living quarters that sat under the wheelhouse. Hearing hooves clacking down the stairs, Storm joined me at the small table.

"All set?" she asked. I nodded and took a sip of water.

"Yeah, all set. When do we retrieve them?" I asked.

"I'd give 'em about three, eh, maybe four hours. Plenty of time to relax and catch the Red Colts' game." she said, tapping a nearby remote. A small, low-def TV crackled to life, tuned to the local sporting channel.

"It's the bottom of the Ninth, with two outs, bases loaded. The Manehatten Yankees are in the lead, five to three, over the Red Colts. Batting for the Red Colts is Saltlicklamacchia. Hell of a name, hell of a swinger. This young unicorn stallion has a point two-three-five batting average. On the mound for the Manehatten Yankees, Chamberlain."

"Here's the pitch."

"Strike!"

"Strike Two!"

"COME ON SALTLICK! I KNOW YOU CAN HIT IT!" Storm yelled angrily to the television, slamming a hoof down on the small table, making anything on its' surface give a jump of fright.

"Chamberlain eyes Saltlick. The batter simply returns the glare. The pitch."

CRACK!

"By Luna's stars, the ball is outta here!"

"YEAH SALTLICK! THAT'S HOW YOU DO IT!" Storm yelled, throwing her hooves into the air with happiness. I couldn't help but chuckle at her mannerisms.

She reminded me all too much of my mother on Earth, during a Red Sox or Patriots game.

Thinking of my mother immediately brought depression to me.

Shaking my head of the glumness, I smiled to Storm, and she returned the smile.

*     *     *

After a couple of hours, we retrieved the baited hooks, bringing in a pretty decent haul of swordfish. Afterwards, we threw our catch into the ice chambers below decks, and headed into port. As we docked, I turned to Storm.

"Listen, I gotta keep going. It was nice to get off the road for a day, but I still have things to think over." I told her, giving a shrug. Storm nodded and chuckled.

"Well, it's was nice ta' meet you. Good luck with, whatever you're doing. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to drop by. I'll have some work for ya'." Storm said, offering her hoof. I took it and gave a single shake.

Turning, I placed my hands into my pockets, and resumed my journey, walking away from Storm.

*     *     *

Fast forward about a week later, and the reader will find Twilight sobbing. Around her, her friends had gathered around her in the main part of the library. Applejack sat with the weeping mare, a foreleg around the unicorn to comfort her.

"Don' ya'll worry hun. Ah'm sure everythin' will be alright." she said, rubbing Twilight's back.

"I-I-It was all-l-l my fa-fault!" Twilight moaned, continuously wiping tears from her red, puffy eyes. "H-he pro-probably hates me!"

"Twilight, sweetie, you must not be so harsh on yourself. How long ago did he leave?" Rarity asked.

"Almost t-t-two weeks!" Twilight said, sniffling and resuming her crying.

Over those two weeks, Twilight had been creating stories as to why Harry wasn't around. She usually used the excuse of being at work or out and about as an excuse, but one mare can only make up so many cover stories. It was only recent that Spike had brought up the fact that he could hear Twilight trying not to cry every night to the others. Immediately, the other Elements had encountered Twilight and made her spill the beans, revealing the truth as to why Harry hadn't been around.

"Shouldn't we, I don't know, go look for him?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"He could be anywhere by now...it's like looking for a needle in a haystack..." Fluttershy said quietly.

"Nonsense! How long did it take us to look for Spike when he ran away? Only half a day! I'm sure we could find Harry." Rarity said, trying to get their spirits up. Twilight sniffled a bit and wiped away some tears.

"I just h-hope he's okay..." she said sadly. Suddenly, a scroll appeared in the center of the group, an odd looking seal on it. They all sat there, looking at the scroll with uncertainty. Reaching down, Rainbow picked it up, her eyes going wide.

"Twilight, it's for you." she said quietly. Immediately, Twilight's horn flared to life, taking the scroll from Dash's grip. The scroll unrolled in its' lavender force field and Twilight began reading. Slowly, her eyes began to widen, her jaw dropping. Dropping the letter, Twilight stared at the floor, her mouth agape.

"Twilight, what is it sugarcube?" Applejack asked worriedly. Twilight's jaw a quivering a bit as she stared.

"He's..." she said quietly.

"He's...What, dear?" Rarity asked, tilting her head to the side.

"He's...he's..." Twilight continued.

"He's what!?" Pinkie asked bouncing.

"Right. Behind. The. Door." Twilight said, charging to the door and ripping it open. She looked up at the figure standing at her door. A sheepish smile on his lips.

"I'm back." said Harry, giving a small wave. Silence reigned over the library, Twilight simply staring at Harry, the others sitting in anticipation of what's going to happen.

"Girls. Would you kindly leave Harry and I alone?" Twilight asked tonelessly. The others exchanged looks of surprise and slowly stood up, filing out of the library.

Eventually, it was just Harry and Twilight, staring at each other. Harry shifted uneasily on his legs, scratching the back of his head. Twilight continued to stare at him, as if she were trying to burn his soul.

"So, uh. What's new?" Harry asked. Immediately, his ears flattened against his skill, his lips formed a deep frown, and his eyes became wide as dinner plates.

Twilight was floating in an aura of fire.

"You...run off...worrying me and the others...and all you say is 'What's new'?" Twilight asked, fire slowly over taking her mane and tale, turning them into hellfire. Her coat had started to turn stark white, her lavender eyes flaring up into pits of fire.

"Um...yes?" Harry squeaked.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" Twilight roared, her voice echoing into the night. Harry fell to his ass, quickly trying to back away from the flaming mare. "OH NO YOU DON'T!!" she screamed, her horn flaring into a fiery point. Harry screamed as an orange aura enveloped him, dragging him back into the library.

"NO! NO! GOD ABOVE, SAVE ME!" Harry cried out.

"YOUR GOD CAN'T HELP YOU NOW!" Twilight retorted angrily. Just as Harry passed the threshold of the library, the door slammed shut, muffling any and all screams of terror and pleas of mercy that came from the stallion inside.

Inside the library, fire roared all around the place, setting fire to the shelves of books. In the center, Twilight stood over a cowering Harry, glaring fiery daggers into his soul.

"I'm sorry..." Harry squeaked. Slowly, Twilight leaned down, her eyes burrowing further into him. "I really am!" he added. Twilight raised both forelegs into the air, causing Harry to flinch and seize up. But, just like before he left, not hit came. Instead, Twilight's forelegs wrapped around Harry like a vice grip, and he felt tears staining his neck and shoulder. The fire around them ceased immediately, revealing no damage had been done to the library.

"Don't w-worry me l-like that again!" Twilight wept. Slowly, Harry embraced the mare and held her close, rubbing her back to calm her.

"I'm sorry Twi. I just needed sometime to think. I didn't mean to worry you." Harry said honestly. Silence filled the air as the two hugged. Suddenly, Twilight moved in front of Harry.

It took the boy a couple of seconds to realize what he was experiencing. Something soft was contacting his lips, and a pair of hooves had wrapped around his neck. Then it clicked.

He was being kissed.

Shyly, Harry pulled Twilight closer to him, returning the kiss. Twilight pulled away, a furious blush on her cheeks.

"S-Sorry..." she mumbled. Harry chuckled lightly and tasseled her mane.

"Silly girl, I'm not mad. Just surprised. However, I'd like to go to bed. I'm, like, seriously exhausted from my small journey." Harry said, properly giving a loud yawn. Twilight giggled and nodded, getting up from the embrace.

"I understand. But I want all the details tomorrow over breakfast, understand?" Twilight asked. Harry nodded and stood up, stretching his limbs.

"Alright then, I'm off." Harry said.

All it took was one step, and he faceplanted to the floor, snoring loudly. A couple of his fingers twitched erratically as he laid there. Rolling her eyes, Twilight picked Harry up in a levitation field and carried him to his room, gently setting him on the mattress and tucking him in. Leaning down, Twilight gave the stallion a small kiss on the cheek and patted his head, taking his glasses and putting them on the nightstand.

"Good night." she said gently. Harry's response was him simply rolling over onto his side, his back to her, the snoring continued.

Turning, Twilight left Harry's bedroom.