Not In Kansas Anymore

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1: New Aquaintances
Chapter 2: Making A Friend
Chapter 3: Doctor Fluttershy Is On The Case
Chapter 4: Past Fights, Current Books, and Future Parties
Chapter 5: Fitful Slumber and Pleasant Conversation

Prologue

I awaken with a jolt because something landed on my face. I try to open my eyes to see what it is. Ow. My eyes seem to have not adjusted to the light. I cringe my face and groan at the sudden discomfort in my eyes. It is only then that I become aware of various other things wrong about me. I have a splitting headache and my body is sore like I slept on the floor all night.

It’s then that, despite my body’s discomfort, I reach up and grab what was on my face. Even though I can’t see, I can tell the touch that it’s a leaf. With that revelation, I feel the area around where I am lying. And that’s when I discover yet another disturbing fact:

I had been sleeping on the floor all night. Specifically the ground. Outside.

Racking my brain for answers, I try to remember all that had happened the night before. All I remember is being on my college campus. I had hung out with my friends after all my classes, went out to eat, studied for my exam, and then I was walking back to my car. You see, I lived off campus, in a multi-roomed, shared house. It was pretty much like a normal house, only multiple students lived in it, each with their own bedroom and bathroom. We had to share the sink, fridge, and cabinets though.

Anyway, I distinctly remember walking towards the parking lot, but I don’t remember reaching my car at all. Had someone snuck up behind me and knocked me out? This question led me to check my pockets for my stuff. My wallet felt full, and my keys and phone were present as well. This made me wonder what had happened to me even more.

After this time of thought, I decided that my eyes had adjusted enough for me to open them. And if not, then it’s as good a time as any to get them adjusted. Besides, I seriously needed to get the lay of the land so I can find my way back home. I slowly opened my eyelids. It hurt like heck, but it had to be done eventually. Slowly would just make it less uncomfortable overall.

My eyes met an even more curious sight. Trees. Lots and lots of trees. Trees enough to make a forest. I was in a forest! I looked behind me. Even more trees. Yep, I was definitely in a forest. A pretty dense one at that.

The strangest thing about this forest was: there wasn’t any forest close to the campus I was at. Or near the house I lived at, for that matter. So I was seriously afraid of where I was and how I got there. It’s then that I get an idea to call 911. They can track phone signals, right? They could help me figure out where I am and maybe help me get back home, if I need it. I quickly pull out my phone and dial the number while looking about. I put the speaker to my ear. And I hear nothing. Not even a ringing tone. I look at my phone then.

No bars. No signal whatsoever. This is just fantastic.

The only good that comes from using my phone is I get to know what time it is. 5:34 P.M. Which means I don’t have much time to get out of this dang forest before it starts to get dark. And I do not want to be in this forest when it becomes night. I can’t explain why, but I had this constant sensation when I was there that I shouldn’t be. That this place is more dangerous than it seems from my current perspective. I needed to find a way out. And quickly.

I seemed to be standing on a beaten path, so there were only two logical directions to go. One direction seemed to be giving off more light than the other, so I decided to go that direction. I figured the light that was coming through was because of an exit to the outside somewhere along the line. If cartoons have taught me anything, it’s that if you have a choice on which path to take on a road, pick the less scary-looking one. Just ask Phillipe from “Beauty and the Beast”.

And it seems cartoon logic has saved me, because the further I walk, the brighter the light becomes. I must be getting closer to the edge of the forest. Things start to look up for me.

That is, until loud animal growls can be heard behind me.

Every instinct is telling me to run. Run. Run from the growling things. Don’t even look behind you. Just get out. Every single instinct is screaming at me. But instead I ignore them. Fear has frozen me in place as I slowly look behind me. But when I do, I wish I hadn’t.

They were wolves. It was like my worst fears come into being. Through most of my life, I had been pretty wary of canines. The bigger the canine, the further I wanted it to stay away from me. Wolves, now that was just a million times worse. Didn’t help that these wolves were about 4 feet tall. But the scariest thing of all was that they looked like they were covered with stick, no, that they looked like they were made out of tree limbs. These were not even normal wolves, and their otherworldly-ness just made them that much more terrifying.

One of the wooden wolves put one of its paws forward a step. I took this time to obey my primal instinct and run like it’s no tomorrow. Unfortunately, the wolves decided it was a good time to follow their urges as well, and chase me.

I don’t know how fast I was running, but all I know is: I wouldn’t be able to run this fast ever again. And even then, it wouldn’t be enough. The noises behind me are getting louder. They’re gaining on me. In no matter of time, I’m going to die because of these things. I can’t even scream. I’m spending all of my energy trying to flee. It’s now that I regret being out of shape. Who knew that loving food so much was what was going to make me food for something else?

My legs are starting to give out. My chest is burning from breathing. There’s not enough air getting in and out. But I know I have to keep going, for my life’s sake.

Thank the heavens above that I saw an opening from the woods. With some newfound hope, I gunned it even faster than I had before. I hoped that they wouldn’t chase me too far from the forest, because I knew I couldn’t keep this up much longer. As I cross the edge of the woods, the wolves continue suit. Crap! Now I know I’m doomed.

As I flee with the last few seconds of energy I have left, I see that the forest has let out into more trees. Except these ones are placed in perfect rows, like an orchard. Great, so I make my way to a farm, and I’m going to die this close from finding shelter. My thoughts are interrupted as my foot catches a dip in the ground, and I fall head over heels.

Several things happened in those few seconds. I twisted my ankle from the catch, I felt my right arm scrape against the bark of a nearby tree, and I landed face-first into the dirt. The pain was pretty bad, considering I normally don’t get injured that much. But there was one thing I knew: those wolves were still chasing me, and I had fallen. I felt tears well up as I knew my end was near and prayed that it didn’t hurt that much.

But the end never came. Instead I heard a few whines and then heard the wolves retreat. I had did it. I had survived. I was going to live another day.

As I laid there hurt and completely exhausted, I heard some loud clanging noises from the direction I had be running towards. It sounded like a cowbell, or pots and pans falling on the floor. Was that some kind of an alarm? Was it a rescuer? Was that what had gotten the wolves to leave me alone? I had no idea.

I did know one thing, though. I knew I had no more energy left, and before I knew it, I had slipped into unconsciousness right there on the orchard grounds.

Chapter 1: New Aquaintances

Chapter 1

Running. Got to get away. Creatures are chasing me. Getting closer. So tired. My lungs are burning. My legs are cramping up. The sounds behind are getting louder. Suddenly pain in my left leg. Something’s got me. It’s crushing me with its powerful grip, lifting muscle from bone. It’s almost too much to bear. I start to black out as something clamps down on my neck…

“Aaah!” I jolt awake. Thank goodness, it was only a dream. But something is amiss as I attempt to open my eyes. I can’t see. Something is covering my face. I reach up to feel what it is. It feels like bandages. My whole body aches now that I’ve been moving it, mostly concentrated on the face, right arm, and right ankle. Now everything is starting to make sense.

Sure, that dream may have been a dream, but what I can remember before the dream seems to have actually happened. The waking up in that forest, the running for my life from those wolf-like abominations, the damage I received right before blacking out…it started to come back to me. One last thing came to mind: the noise I heard just before blacking out. I remembered that it sounded like pots and pans being hit together, or something like that. It must’ve been what got the wolves to back off.

I’m lying on a bed. Only the bed seems a bit short for me. I can feel that the lower half of my legs is over the edge of it, but something wooden is holding them up under my feet: most likely a chair or end table. There feels like there’s bandages wrapped around my right ankle and forearm. Just another indicator that what happened I remember happening last night really did happen. That noise must’ve been the owner of the orchard I stumbled into. He or she probably heard my shouts and the howls of the wolves and come to check out the noise and scare the wolves of their property. It was just lucky for me that they showed up when they did. Then they must’ve found my body and carried me home and bandaged me up.

The one thing that bothered me the most was the wolves themselves. I still distinctly remember their horrid appearance. It was almost like a pile of branches broken off from a storm came to life and took the shape of a gigantic wolf. Those piercing eyes still haunted me too. I stook my head and tried to pretend I didn’t see what I saw…besides, wolves like that don’t really exist, right? I was just imagining things, wasn’t I?

The sound of a door opening snapped me out of my deep thoughts. Even though I couldn’t see, I still looked in the vague direction I heard the noise coming from and decided to try to sit up a little. My right arm argued with me the whole time I put my weight on it, but I just grunted through the pain and finally got my legs all the way onto the bed.

“Whoa there, partner,” A female voice called out, “Ya don’t wanna’ strain yerself too much. Ya’ll were in mighty bad shape when we found ya in the apple orchard.” The voice had a southern accent. Was that Texan? Heck if I know, but all I know is it was southern and she sounded friendly.

“Sorry,” I shyly said “My legs were asleep. And I also didn’t want to seem rude by laying down when someone else was in here.”

“Shoot, that’s mighty considerate of ya, but ya’ll don’t have to do that on my account. Ya’ll still need yer rest. Especially that leg of yours. It’ll need to stay elevated.”

“Even so, I still need to thank you for saving my rear back there. I coulda’ sworn those wolf-things were gonna get me back there, but the noises coming from your house must’ve scared them off.”

The female voice started sounding a bit surprised. It was disconcerting. “W-wait, ya’ll were being chased by them timber-wolves from the Everfree Forest? Shoot, now I know you’re lucky.”

I raised an eyebrow, even though she couldn’t see it. “What do you mean by that?”

“What I mean is, them timber-wolves are pretty vicious when it comes to bein’ in the forest, but they don’t normally leave it unless they see something they want. Granny’s usually outside makin’ noise with them pots n’ pans durin’ this harvestin’ season. Timber-wolves seem a bit more ornery durin’ this time, because of the storms over the forest. The noise keeps them away from the farm for the few days that happens.”

I was starting to get where she was going with this. “So, you’re saying that if I was being chased any other time, they wouldn’t have stopped at the forest?”

“Exactly. I don’t think me an’ Mac woulda’ gotten to ya’ll in time if it weren’t for my Granny’s crazy habits durin’ this time of year.”

“Mac? Who’s Mac?”

“Oh, he’s my older brother. He’s the one that carried ya’ll in here. I was the one who found ya, and I woulda’ carried ya in here myself, but I don’t think I coulda’ managed it, honestly.”

I smiled a little and replied. “Yeah, all my friends tell me I should lay off the junk food.” The voice chuckled at that.

“I wasn’t talkin’ about yer weight there.Ya’ll are just a lot taller than me. Mac had to carry ya in because he’s a lot taller than me. Or anypony else in my family, I reckon.” Wait, what was the word she used? It didn’t sound like “anyone”. My ears must be playing tricks on me. “‘S why we usually call him ‘Big Mac’.” I hear her walk back to the door as she yells out, “Big Mac! Get yer rear up here, our guest is awake!” She walks back closer to the bed and says, “Oh, and I just plum forgot. I never asked yer name! Awful rude of me.”

“That’s fine, a lot has happened today.” I responded with a smile, “I’m Vincent Martin. People who know me usually just call me Vince, though.”

“Well, a pleasure meetin’ ya, Vince. My name’s Applejack. Call me Applejack or AJ, whichever works better.”

“Applejack? Never heard that name before. But nice to meet you.” As I’m finishing my sentence, I hear the door open again.

“Ya called for me sis?” This voice also had a southern accent, but was male. And an extremely deep male voice at that.

“Yep! Big Mac, I’d like ya to meet Vince.” So this was the Big Mac she mentioned earlier. Dang, his voice even sounded worthy of his name.

“Pleased to meet yer acquaintance, Vince. Ya’ll were in pretty nasty shape out there when we found ya outside.”

I nodded. “So I’ve heard. And nice to meet you too, Big Mac.” I switch to a teasing grin, “I feel like I know ya already, because of Applejack over here.”

Applejack responses with a light chuckle, “Well shoot, there’s a lot more to my big bro here besides the fact that he can lift big things.”

“Eeyup, I also keep my sis’s bull-headed in check,” I hear a thumping sound, “Ow.”

I let out a hearty laugh that echoes of the walls, “Heh, I think I like you guys already. Tell ya what, why don’t I take off these bandages off my eyes? Actually, now that I think about it, why do I have these on? I don’t remember exactly damaging my eyes when I fell yesterday…”

“W-well there’s a story behind that. Um…” Applejack began to stutter out. How strange.

Big Mac interrupted her, “When we found ya out there, yer face was nicked up pretty bad like. Figured it’d be best to just be best to cover it all up with bandages.” I heard Applejack let out a breath she must’ve been holding during that time.

This all wasn’t making sense to me. It sounded like they were lying to me about this. But why would they do that? Was the damage worse than I thought and they were just sugarcoating it for me? Or maybe they were telling the truth, and I was just misinterpreting things I can’t even see in the first place. I figured I’d give them the benefit of the doubt, seeing as they were the reason I was even sitting here now. So I just dropped that part of the subject.

“Alright-y,” I finally got out, “But…can I still remove these eye bandages? I don’t feel any pain, at least above the nose, anyway. I’d like to be able to see stuff.”

“Errrr…sure thing, sugarcube,” Applejack replied while I heard her and Big Mac step back a bit, “Just be sure not to freak out too much when you finally can see.”

I stopped my arms right as they were about to undo the knot to the bandages behind my head, “…What do you mean by that, exactly?”

“You’ll understand when you get the bandage off.”

Now I was a little frightened. What did she mean that I’ll understand when I can finally see? Was I right with my previous thought that the damage was far worse than I had previous thought? Would I open my eyes and be blind in one eye? Or worse, both eyes? I started to undo the wrapping fiercely and haphazardly now. I just wanted them off so I can see what has happened to my sight. As the last of the bandages fell from my head, I sat there apprehensively for a second with my eyes shut. Light. I can see some light coming through my eyelids. That’s a decent sign at best. I slowly open my eyes so they can adjust properly. I can see through both eyes, after the few seconds it takes for them to adjust. I slump a little and sigh in relief.

What I didn’t expect next was what I saw after opening them. There was an orange female pony standing in the room. Seeing this made my eyes open a little wider and I jumped a little in surprise. It had a Stetson on its head, and its blonde mane and tail was held by rubber bands on the ends. To its right, with its head sticking partially out the door was another pony. This one was male, much taller, and had a red coat with an orange mane. My mind had refused to connect the dots just yet, so I looked between these two ponies a bit, furrowed my brow a bit and yelled out while looking about the room, “Hey, Applejack! Did you and Mac leave the room or something?”

“No, sugarcube, we’re right here,” came Applejack’s voice. From the direction of the female pony.

“HOLY CRAP!” I yelled in surprise as I tried to scoot frantically back against the wall behind me. The only thing is, with my legs kicking furiously in order for me to get away, my right ankle made contact with the bedpost. I stopped squirming and yelled out in pain as I held my leg.

“Careful there, sugarcube!” the mare called out as it reached out with one of its front hooves and tried to rub my ankle where I had struck it. I instinctively pulled back from the touch, which made me wince a bit in pain again.

“Would ya hold still? It’s me, Applejack! Big Mac is right over there! Didn’t I tell ya’ll to not to freak out when you took off them bandages? This was why.” She stood there and stared at me adamantly, but I saw a bit of compassion in her eyes. I looked over at Mac and saw he was wearing the perfect poker face. But he was standing near Applejack. Probably just in case I freaked out again.

It was only after hearing her say their names, I started to understand and calm down just a little bit. Applejack resumed caring for my twice-damaged ankle. It started to feel a little better, thanks to that.

I looked between them too and laughed just once to myself, “Heh, talking ponies. That doesn’t happen where I’m from. Sure I’m not dreaming or anything?”

She looked at me strangely, but her face softened to a smile, “I reckon not, partner. We’re about as real as you are. Talking ponies are a normal occurrence around these parts, though. I’m figuring you’re not from Equestria.”

“Nope, I’m from a country called the United State of America.”

“Never heard of it. Kinda makes me wonder how ya’ll got here.”

“Same here. I’m definitely not in Kansas anymore.”

“Beg pardon?”

“What? Oh, sorry. It’s an expression from where I’m from. It just means I’m definitely not anywhere I know or recognize.”

And I was true. I definitely wasn’t any where I recognized. This…Equestria? I hadn’t heard of it, like how Applejack hadn’t heard of where I’m from. I started to wonder: am I in a new world? And if so…how did I get here? And even more importantly: how, if at all, would I get back?

Chapter 2: Making A Friend

Chapter 2

Morning came sooner than expected and reminded me of something important: that I am not a morning person. Stupid rooster waking me up at sunrise…

Last night had taken a toll out of me, and Applejack suggested that I get some much needed shut-eye. I thanked her, and asked if the bed was anyone’s. She nodded and told me it was Big Mac’s, seeing as it was the biggest bed they had in the house. This bothered me, and I told her that I wasn’t comfortable taking someone else’s bed.

Applejack just chuckled and said “While that’s mighty considerate of ya, ya’ll will need the bed. Besides, we got another bed for guests. Mac’ll sleep there for tonight, until we can get everything situated.”

I still wasn’t convinced, but a few words from Mac telling me that he didn’t mind at all and that I did need it more tonight got me to let the issue go. So I laid there and tried to get to sleep, which was difficult since my right leg hurt like crap and both were practically hanging off the bed anyway. I also found it hard to sleep simply because the day had my mind spinning. I was in a different world. It didn’t matter if it was a different planet, dimension, or universe…I was a far ways from home. I thought back to my family and friends: all the people I was leaving behind while I was stuck here. I wondered how long it would take until people noticed I was missing. Would my family think I was dead? I couldn’t destroy their lives with that.

No, I was going to find a way home no matter what. Sure, these ponies seemed nice…well, Applejack and Big Mac seemed nice, at least. I wonder if most of these ponies are. Regardless, I wasn’t planning on staying. I still had family I’ve known for over two decades and friends that I’ve gotten to know that I want to return to.

Even as I kept running these fears and ambitions through my thoughts, I still eventually succumbed to the peaceful embrace of sleep.

After the rooster crowed and woke me up, I glared out the open window to my left. The sun was up, but not very high in the sky at all. Assuming we had similar seasons, and with the height of the sun over the horizon, I guessed it was…7 in the morning? Surely enough time for me roll over and get some more sleep. And that’s exactly what I did. I rolled over on my side so my back was to the lit window and managed to get back to sleep.

It didn’t seem that the rest lasted that long. Whether it had been 30 minutes or a few hours, I was awoken to someone poking the back of my ribs with a hoof. I groaned and threw the blanket over my face in protest. Darn it if I wasn’t going to get more sleep.

“Come on, sugarcube,” I heard Applejack quietly say, “I know you’re tired and had a rough day, but even noon is a bit pushin’ it for the sleepin’ department.” She chuckles to herself and continues, “Get up, we’re fixin' up lunch right now. I bet yer hungry after all that happened to ya.” No argument to that. I was so hungry right now I could eat a…well, let’s say I could eat a whole lot right now.

“Alright, you’ve convinced me. Point me to where the food is.” As I pulled the covers off of myself and sat up, the first thing I heard was the loud popping of my stiff back. The next thing I heard was Applejack laughing. I turned to see what she was laughing at, and I saw she was looking at me, but a higher than my eyes. “What’s so funny?” I asked.

“Oh, ‘taint nothing’. Just got some serious bed mane going on there.”

“Mane? What do you mean by- …oh.” She must’ve been talking about my hair. I tend to get some nasty bed head when my hair is longer. “Heh, yeah. Do you have a mirror and comb I could borrow?”

“Sure thing, partner. Just use the wash room up the stairs to the right. Should all be there for ya.”

“Thanks, Applejack,” I replied with a smile. At that I hobbled as best I could out the door and down the hall. I found the stairwell pretty easily, but the stairs themselves were a different monster altogether. The steps were steep. Very steep. I mean, even with the fact that I have pretty small feet, I could barely could fit a whole foot on any step. I figured the only reason I could fit a foot on one at all was because they needed steps wide enough for ponies like Big Mac to climb them.

I managed to get up the stairs with minimal problems, except a few times where I had slipped and stumbled. My knees would take the brunt of those impacts. And they hurt. But all in all I survived my second enemy of this new land I was in. First, wolves, and now stairs. I was on a roll. I opened the door to the wash room and was glad to see it looked mostly like one in my world. Toilet, sink, tub. They were all there. Sure the toilet was a bit longer and wider than ones I’m familiar with, and everything is closer to the ground than I would have liked, but I was glad to see there were still similarities.

I walked to my left and found a comb near the sink, which I preceded to use to wet down and comb my hair until the ugly bed head had been vanquished for today. Satisfied, I dropped my arms down to my sides and turned to go back downstairs.

“Wait, that’s weird…” I said aloud to myself. I dropped my hands down on my pockets again, where they had landed on my sides previously. My pockets were empty. I panicked just a tad. Did I lose my stuff during my flight from the timber-wolves last night? I hoped not. I didn't plan on going back into the Everfree. Or did Applejack or somebody else remove them when I was unconcious? I decided to go downstairs and ask…it wasn't like I wasn’t heading downstairs anyway.

I returned to my old nemesis, the pony-sized stairs. I quickly decided against trying what I did to go up. Especially with this limp I have in my right leg. All that would equal out to would be me falling down a flight of stairs. So I sort of…sat down and skooched myself down the stairs. Sure, it looked retarded to any bystander, but I made it through this battle to fight another day.

It wasn’t until I was about halfway through the original hallway that a wall of tantalizing smells punched me right in the face. I smelled apples. And well, more apples, but it was different kinds of apple-y smells as well. Made sense that if you grew so many of them on a farm, you’d eat them a lot too. I just wondered how you could keep from getting sick of them if that's what you ate most of the time. My stomach decided to voice its opinion of “go get some freakin’ apples, stupid!” and I sped up my pace to locate the source of these odors. It wasn’t like I was going to ignore such a good argument from one of my best friends. I mean, really.

I rounded the corner through an open arch and found the kitchen. Jackpot. But then that all fell back on my priority list when I heard a young voice perk up from the table in the room.

“Applejack wasn’t kiddin’. Ya’ll do look pretty strange.”

“Applebloom!” Applejack scolded, “That's not a nice thing to say to a guest. Now apologize.”

“Sorry, mister.” Applebloom said lower with a bit of a blush on her face. Even with that, I had to smile. She must be the youngest sibling of Applejack and Big Mac. I could tell she was really young just by looking at her size compared to the others. But obviously I was assuming Applejack was an adult, or at least pretty near that. Applebloom was just a kid. And like any kid, she wouldn’t know tact if it bit her in the rear. I could understand that. I walked up to the table and kneeled in front of it, to make myself shorter. It was time to cheer someone up.

“Yeah, I can understand that I look strange to you,” I smirked, “But to me, you look pretty strange too. How about we strange friends?” I softened the smirk to a regular, old smile and held a couple of fingers to shake her small hoof with. She looked at me, puzzled, for about a second and then put her hoof in my hand. I shook it up and down gently.

“Applebloom, was it?” She nodded her head, “I’m Vince.”

“Hi, Vince.”

"Oh, and by the way, no hard feelings. If I was held completely accountable of what I say before I think it through, I'd probably be in a lot of trouble by now." She seemed to get a kick out of that.

“Well ain’t this guy a sweetie. You can tell a lot about somepony by how they treat kids.” I turned around at this new voice and saw an elderly green mare with a white mane enter the kitchen. She had a big, but weathered smile on her face, wrinkles tracing where she’s laughed, cried, or gotten angry.

“Ah, you must be Granny Smith!” I turned around to meet her, “I heard it was those pots and pans you use to make noise around this time that saved my life. I just wanna’ say thanks.”

“’Taint no problem, dearie. I’ve been scarin’ off dem darg-tootin' timber-wolves for decades. Ever since I ran into them when I was a young’n, I learned they don’t like the loud noises of metal clangin’.”

“So, where did you learn that?” I asked.

“Now that is a story.” She smiled as I had apparently just open the story floodgates, “Now why don’t ya sit down and eat while I tell ya all about it?”

And so I did. I sat down and began to eat the simple lunch that had been prepared. All I had was a few pieces of bread with apple butter on it, but it was filling and, more importantly, delicious. As I ate, Granny Smith regaled me with the tale of how her family originally traveled all across the land looking for a permanent place to call home. I learned that this place was controlled by a monarchy, specifically when she mentioned they had met Princess Celestia, who granted them an unused but fertile plot of land next to the Everfree. Granny Smith had ventured into the forest alone to find food. I thought that was brave. I don’t think I would be going into that forest again anytime soon after what happened to me in there. However, she was desperate for food back then, and it was in the forest she found a kind of fruit she later named zap apples.

She told me that after she found them, she was discovered by the timber-wolves and chased out of the forest. She must know somewhat what I went through then, being chased by those terrifying things. But unlike me, she did something other than running. She told me how grabbed a nearby pan from outside their house and made noise to warn her family of the danger, which inadvertently seemed to scare the timber-wolves away. But what truly amazed me was when she recalled how the zap apples’ popularity in foods is what brought more settlers and business to the area, and eventually resulted in the founding of Ponyville, the town near where we were now. She helped found this town? How old was she, anyway?

I sat there as she finished the story, and she smiled as she must have noticed the awed look on my face. I looked over to Applebloom. She was smiling wide at her granny. You can see a lot of love there. Next to her is Applejack. She has a smile on her face, but I can tell from her eyes that she’s probably heard this story about a thousand times already, so it was old hat to her by now. I looked around and noticed Big Mac was missing. I decided to bring it up.

“I know it’s kinda’ late to ask now, but where’s Big Mac?”

“He’s outside, working.” Applebloom spoke up, “He usually likes to wake up and eat breakfast and lunch earlier than us so he can plow the fields.”

“Ya’ll can talk to him later after he’s done. Now, Vince?” Applejack saying my name got my attention, “I figured that as long as yer stuck here and all, I’d think it would be good for ya to meet my other friends. I’m planning on us going to the library to meet Twilight and Spike first and having the rest meet there too.”

I must have had my apprehension written all across my face, “How many friends are we talking about? I'd like for it to not be a big group. Big groups make me kinda’ nervous.”

She smiled a knowing smile like she knew just how I felt and replied, “Oh not many at all. Just six others. Twilight and Spike live in the rooms above the library, and like I said, yer gonna’ meet them first. Then I’ll go get Rarity, Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie and bring them on over later. They’re good friends. I doubt ya’ll will have problem talkin’ to them at all.” She looked at me expectantly. She even gave me a sad face. Drat. Double Drat. Confound this pony, she drives me to get out of my comfort zone. I caved.

“Fine, fine. I’ll go. But just because I trust you.” I think she appreciated that. I meant it, too. To be fair, I'm a normally trusting person. “Oh, and before I forget, would you happen to have my shoes and all the stuff I had in my pockets? I found out they weren't with me a while ago. ”

“Sure, they're on the counter right here and yer shoe’s are right outside.”

I nodded and headed over to the counter. I took a hold of my cellphone and shut it off. It’s not like I can really use it. Plus, when I finally get back to my own world, I’m probably going to need it then, and it being dead wouldn’t help at all. Applejack looked at the phone like she wondered what the heck it was. I ignored it and put it and my wallet alongside my keys in my pants pockets. I said farewell to Applebloom and Granny Smith as I followed Applejack out the door and then slipped my shoes on out there.

Sufficiently prepared, her and I set out towards Ponyville. We both walked down the dirt path to the outskirts of their property. I looked to my right and I could spot Big Mac working the field. He wore a pulling collar around his neck which was hitched to an old-style plow. I yelled out to him, “Hey, Big Mac!” He stopped and looked my direction. “Me and your sis are gonna’ head toward town! Talk to ya’ later!” He nodded to me and continued what he was doing.

“It should just be about a ten to fifteen minute walk from here,” Applejack spoke up we returned to our walking.

“Great,” I said. But as we continued on, I noticed she was getting further and further ahead. I just couldn’t keep up with my injured ankle. A snail could have passed me at this pace. “Applejack, can we slow the pace a bit? I can only limp so fast…” I tried to smile to cover the fact that I was hurting pretty bad right now.

Applejack looked back and noticed how far ahead she was. She laughed like she was embarrassed and replied, “Heh, I’m sorry, sugarcube. How about ya’ll set the walking pace?”

“I’d like that very much.” She walked back to where I was and matched my deathly slow pace of a walk. “I guess this means that it’s gonna’ take more than fifteen minutes now, right?”

“I reckon,” she smiled back. As we walked, it started to get a little quiet. That wouldn’t do at all. If we were gonna’ be walking as long as we were, I was gonna’ make sure that time went by with us talking.

“I was thinking…”

“Yeah, Vince?”

“Is this a good idea?”

“What wouldn’t be a good idea?”

“This whole ‘taking me into Ponyville’ thing. I mean, I’m not exactly from here, if you couldn’t tell. What if people, er- ponies freak out because I show up?”

“Freaking out isn’t a whole lot of what the townsponies would do. Well, except for the flower sisters, but they do stuff like that all the time." She laughed at a memory. "The worst most do is just stay in their houses. At best, they’ll stare. But I doubt it’ll be a problem, seein' as yer nice and all.”

“You mean that?” I looked over with a surprised smile.

“Yup! I gotta’ confess, I was kinda’ afraid of ya when we first found ya, but seein’ ya there all hurt…I couldn’t leave anypony, or…well, what exactly are you kind called? Seems like I’ve known ya forever and I’ve never asked.”

“Oh, we call our species ‘human’.”

“Okay. So, as I was sayin’, I couldn't leave anypony…or in this case, anyhuman there all hurt, so we took ya in and bandaged you up. I came up later on ‘cuz I heard ya screamin’ and all.”

“Yeah, I sort of had a bad dream. Timber-wolves will do that.”

“When I opened the door and saw that you were looking my direction, even with yer eyes covered, I figured ya'll were intelligent, so I went on a hunch and decided to try talkin’ to ya. I was kinda’ glad ya talked back.”

“I’m glad that you guys can understand me too. I think I would go insane otherwise.”

She nodded to that. “But then when we all got to talkin’ before you could see again, I noticed how you didn’t seem bad at all. Ya'll didn't act vicious, just curious and confused. Totally acted just like anypony I’ve met. And then this morning I noticed that ya weren’t just okay, ya’ll were pretty nice. I saw that with how you reacted to Applebloom's talkin' and Granny Smith's story. Ya didn't get angry at my sis for speakin' with out thinkin' and ya listened to my granny's story. I just wanted to say that I think ya’ll will do fine with my friends. And I know Ponyville will come to accept ya when they get to know ya.”

All I could do was smile at what she just told me, “Thanks, Applejack. That means a lot to me.”

“Think nothing of it. It’s the truth, and if there’s one thing I always do, it's that I say it how I sees it.” I put my hand on the top of her hat and patted down on her head with a smile. She returned the smile and patted me on the back with her hoof. We walked and talked all the way to the outskirts of Ponyville.

I may be far from home, but making a new friend along the way can always help.

Chapter 3: Doctor Fluttershy Is On The Case

Chapter Three

I know that I had let Applejack know I was feeling fine, but now I wasn’t so sure. We were relatively close to Ponyville by now, but my ankle would have no more of this walking nonsense. One step and I winced at the pain that shot up my leg. I tried to catch myself, but my other foot slipped from under me and I ungracefully fell to the ground...on my face. I guess I gave Applejack quite a scare, because she quickly turned around.

“Ya’ll alright?” She asked, holding a hoof on my back. I struggled to get off my chest and get into a more comfortable sitting position. I rubbed my face when it hit the ground. Hopefully a broken nose wouldn't be added to my growing list of injuries. Merely moving was giving me troubles with the afflicted area of my ankle. I tried to sooth the pain a bit by massaging where it was swollen. Bad idea. Just touching it made me hiss through my teeth.

“I’m fine…sort of. My ankle wasn’t bothering me that bad when we first started our little trek here. But I guess it’s in worse shape than I thought. The walking didn’t help make it better, I can tell you that much.”

“Well shoot, can you still make it at least to the library in town? It’s about ten minutes with the pace we’ve been going at.”

“Let me see,” I tried to get up, but the second I put pressure on my ankle, a fell down again. I let out a grunt of pain. Nope, this wasn't happening. “I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure it’s not gonna let me put pressure on it anymore. It might actually be broken, I think.”

She inspected closer. “Let me see the ankle without the shoe or bandages.” I nodded to her request and removed my right shoe, sock, and then the wrapping that Applejack and Big Mac had put on me when I was unconscious last night when we first met. She looked on at the bare foot and grimaced. “Dang, that looks a mite worse than when I first saw it yesterday. I expected it to not look pretty, but I didn't think it would be quite this bad.” She looked up in thought, then her eyes lit up and she smiled. She must have just came up with an idea. She looked at me and asked, “Hey, do ya mind if I go get my friend Fluttershy? She takes care of a lot of creatures. Pretty good with general first aid and all that. Maybe she get you good enough to get ya to Ponyville? We can get a doctor then,” She smirked, “or a vet.”

I stuck my tongue out at her at her little joke, “Haha, very funny…” She chuckled at my sarcasm. “I don’t see why not. Go get your friend.” I scooted over to get myself propped up against a tree. “It’s not like I can do anything else, anyway.”

“Sure thing. I’ll go get her and bring her over as quick as I can. Seeya in a little bit.”

“Bye.” And she took off back in the direction we came from. I guess this Fluttershy lives near Applejack’s farm. Or at least, in the same direction. Whatever the case, I felt like I was going to be sitting here for a little while. Might as well make myself comfortable.

One of the benefits of being here alone now was now I has some actual time to think. I couldn’t really remember how I came to be here when I had first woken up the day before, but then again, I didn’t really have time anyway. Those cursed Timber-wolves made sure of that. Then I was unconscious for a time, and then there’s the whole shock of waking up in someone else’s bed, only to find out that those people really aren’t people, and you aren’t even in the same world you thought you were. Now, there was time to think back, to remember what happened before this all started.

I distinctly remember what happened two nights ago, considering the day I left my world and the day I showed up here were in fact the same day. I was at college, just getting out of a late night class. I hung out with my friends for an hour or so, before we parted ways and I decided to go home.

I had grabbed a snack from one of the cafeterias nearby, and quickly started my walk to my car. I had about ten blocks to walk, and the sky was looking overcast, so I wanted to get to my vehicle and get home before it started to rain. I really hate getting caught in the rain.

About halfway to my destination, the wind started to pick up. I started walking faster so I could get out of the beginning of this storm faster. And…there was a flash of light and a loud thunderous noise. I tried to remember what exactly happened. I think it was a bunch of lightning hitting the ground at once. The force knocked me onto my back, and I lost my backpack in the process. As I tried to get up, the area where the bolts hit started to crack like glass, light shining through the ground. The cracks webbed out and reached where I was getting up. I started to run from the cracks in the ground, but it was too late. The ground gave out, and I tumbled down an endless void of white. And the next thing I remember was waking up in the Everfree.

I’ve gone from home for officially a day now. I wondered how long it would take for my family to realize I was gone. A week? Maybe a week and a half? I know there’s been times where I would forget answered my phone in a couple of days, because they call at weird times like while I'm in class and calling back would slip my mind, but I wondered how long it would be until my unreturned calls would make them worried. I bet they’d call the place that owns the house I’m renting from after a while. And then they would know I’m missing. And then what? They’d probably search for weeks without finding me. They’d think I was dead. That’s something that I didn’t want to put my family through. I’d have to find a way home. Sooner if possible than later. The thought made me shed a tear.

I guess you really don't appreciate something like being able to see your family until you actually can't.

My thoughts were interrupted by calling out my name. I looked out to my left back where we came from and saw Applejack waving at me with one of her front legs. I waved back and called out to her yelling hello, trying to clear my throat and wiping any tears from my eyes before she notices. Applejack started her walk towards me, and that’s when I noticed the pony trying to hide behind her. That must be Fluttershy. She has a yellow coat and a long pink mane. And she has wings…pegasus? There’s pegasi too?

Better yet, why does this new information surprise me? I mean yesterday I was introduced to talking horses. Well, ponies. This shouldn’t really be much of a stretch.

“We’re back!” Applejack announced. She looked at me with a smile. I must've hid my sadness from a bit ago well. She never asked if I was okay. “We didn’t know what to bring for ya, so Fluttershy decided to bring a bunch of the essentials for first aid.” She motioned over to a wooden staff tied to her back, “I also threw together a crutch for ya. I figured it’d be easier for ya to walk if you can keep the pressure off the foot as much as possible. That was her idea.” She points over to Fluttershy, who so far has been keeping her distance, looking at me, then the ground, then me again, all while hiding most of her face behind her hair. I wave my hand slowly towards her, but then she looks back at the ground again.

I hear a sigh from Applejack, which draws my attention back to her. She looks at me and speaks in a hushed tone. “Sorry about this. Fluttershy can be a bit…well, shy, in front of new ponies, or humans in your case. She’s really nice though. I’ll go talk to her for ya.” I nod and she turns around to Fluttershy, pulling her into a huddle and starts talking to her. I really can’t hear what either of them are saying, but I’m guessing Applejack is trying to speak on my behalf to get her to help me. Applejack finished talking, Fluttershy nodded, and they both came back to me. Fluttershy took off the bags she had strapped to her sides and started pulling out all the stuff she had packed. She pulled out a small pillow and placed it on the ground near where I was sitting.

“C-could you put your leg on this, please?” I told her "no problem" and laid my lower leg on the pillow, which propped my foot off of the ground. She looked at the injury with a concerned look in her eyes. “Oh dear, the swelling is pretty bad. Does it hurt?”

“Only when I touch it or try to walk on it, really. It’s just sorta sore right now.”

She nodded at my information and turned to Applejack. “I think it’s a really bad sprain, but it could be broken, like you thought. Just a second…” She pulled out a jar filled with a light blue paste. “This should help for now.”

Applejack asked what I was thinking, “What does that stuff do?”

“It’s a ointment from this plant Zecora showed me once in the forest. It should help reduce the swelling. And the pain, hopefully.” She picked up a rag and plopped right in front of me. She had a look of concentration on her face now, like she was thinking only on taking care of me, an injured creature. I noticed that ever since she saw my injury, she started coming out of her shell. Maybe taking care of things is what really gets her motivated? At least she doesn’t seem afraid of me right now.

She pulled a wet rag and started to wipe down my lower leg, ankle, and foot, being extra careful not to press down too much on the swollen area. Next, she wiped down her front hooves until all the dirt from walking around was gone. Satisfied, she opened up the jar of ointment and took a dab of it on her hoof.

Fluttershy started speaking slowly and quietly towards me. “Now this may hurt for a little bit. I’m going to have to put pressure on the swollen area of your foot to rub this in. Just try not to move.”

I nodded and said, “Sure thing.” She took that as my permission to continue, so she started working the ointment in. The stuff felt cool and tingly to the skin. Her hooves pressing against the bruising areas, however, did not. “Ow,” I said.

“Sorry! I’ll try to be more caref-”

“Don’t worry about it,” I interrupted her, “just do your thing. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay…” She went back to what she was doing. From then on I tried to suppress any vocal indication of my pain. I could wince, I could grit my teeth, because she couldn’t see those while she worked, but I didn’t make any noise. I didn’t want her worrying and apologizing for just doing what she was doing. Especially since she’s just being helpful. I mean, really, she doesn’t have to help me at all. She doesn’t even know me. Heck, Applejack has known me for only a day, and yet they’ve both helped me.

It’s kinda nice to see that these ponies are so kind to strangers.

The pain slowly decreased as she continued her work, until it was just a mildly uncomfortable pain. I looked down at my injury, and was amazed to see the swelling had gone down significantly. I could even move it a bit. I started to roll my ankle a bit, trying to work the kinks out.

“Wait, don’t do that,” Fluttershy pressed down on my foot to get me to stop moving it. “It may be better, but you shouldn’t be moving it. It’s got to heal, and moving it a lot will make it go back to how it was before. We have to bandage it back up.” She walked back to her bags and removed some gauze. She came back, and as quick as a pro, wrapped my ankle back up. Applejack brought over my crutch and with a little struggle, got back onto my feet. I slipped the shoe back on pocketed the sock for now.

“Thank you for coming to help. Fluttershy, right?” I knew it already, but I wanted to break the ice. She nodded. “I’m Vince. Nice to meet you.” I held my hand open in front of her. She looked at it strangely for a second, not knowing what to do right away, but then she raised a hoof and slowly placed it in my palm. I lightly grasped the hoof and smiled. She looked back at me and slowly a small smile crept on her face too.

“Nice to meet you too.”

Applejack stepped up. “We should get a move on if we want to get to Ponyville soon. Fluttershy, you’re welcome to come with us if ya want.”

“Oh, that’d be nice,” Fluttershy said as a she looked at me. “I’ve never seen anything quite like you before. I’d like to talk and ask some questions…if that’s not too much trouble, that is.”

I released her hoof and nodded, “I don’t mind at all! Besides now I have two to talk with now.” I leaned in towards Fluttershy and faux-whispered, “Applejack can get kinda boring to talk to, ya know?” Applejack hit my left leg with one of her front hooves. Fluttershy giggled at the display.

“Hey, careful with the leg. She’s the only one I got left,” I teased.

Applejack just shot back a cocky grin and replied, “Just be glad I hit that one.” I stuck my tongue out at her. She just laughed at me. “Like I said, we should be headin’ on over. Wanna’ get ya’ll acquainted with the others before it’s time to hit the hay and all.” She helped Fluttershy pack up her things and we started walking towards Ponyville…again.

As I could now walk faster with my newly made crutch, I picked up the pace. At least we can get to Ponyville faster now.
“Soooo, Fluttershy. What kind of things did you want to talk about?”

“Well, I wanted to know wh-”

“Fluttershy!” I heard a loud voice call out. I started to look around for the source of the shout. I noticed something colorful flying through the air far away.

“Down here, Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy yelled. Well, as much of a yell as her quiet voice seemed to be able to make. She walked quickly off and started to flutter her wings, slowly lifting her in the air towards what I only assumed was another pegasus, this “Rainbow Dash”. I think I remember Applejack mentioning about Rainbow Dash too. Must be one of their friends.

The speck in the sky got bigger as the pegasus sped towards Fluttershy. I was kinda surprised just how quickly she got over here. This pegasus must be fast. The pegasus stopped just short of crashing into Fluttershy, and started talking to her, obviously not having noticed me yet.

“Oh hey, Fluttershy! I was just looking for you. I saw that your cottage had a ‘will be back soon’ sign in front of it, so I started looking for you. I was wondering if-” She stopped short of finishing her sentence as her eyes meandered toward me. Yep, she definitely knows I’m here now. Rainbow Dash’s eyebrows furrowed a bit as her mouth opened.

“Who’s that?”

Chapter 4: Past Fights, Current Books, and Future Parties

Chapter Four

“Who’s that?”

Fluttershy flew closer to Rainbow, gave her a hug, and then turned to talk to me. “Vince, this is Rainbow Dash. She’s a very good friend of mine. Rainbow, this is Vince. He’s new to Ponyville. Actually, to all of Equestria.”

Rainbow Dash took this opportunity to fly (quite quickly, might I add) right towards me. She stopped just short of crashing into me, which blew the large gust of wind that was trailing her right into my face. I flinched, partly because of how quickly she closed the gap, and partly to make sure no dirt that gust had just thrown had gotten into my eyes. As I opened my eyes again to Dash looking at me. Her eyes searched me over and then shot back to my gaze.

“And…just what are you supposed to be?” She asked.

I straightened and dusted myself off. “I’m a human.”

“Never heard of a human before,” she said quite frankly.

I tried to smile. She may seem apprehensive of me now, but if I show myself as a friendly being, maybe she’ll calm down a bit. “Well that’s because I’m not from around here, like Fluttershy said. About two days ago I was pulled into this world by something. I lived in a city where a lot of other things like me live too.”

“And how did you meet my friends?”

“Applejack found me unconscious after I had ran from some timber-wolves. I originally woke up in the Everfree Forest. Applejack asked Fluttershy to help patch me up.” I tapped my hand on my right leg for emphasis.

Apparently something I said had gotten her attention, because her ears perked up. “So you came from the Everfree Forest, huh?” She looked at me suspiciously, then turned to Fluttershy. “Did you know that too?”

“Well, I heard it from Applejack. I helped because he was hurt, and Applejack seems to trust him enough.”

“So, AJ, did you see if he was from the forest or just was in the forest?”

“To be honest, I didn’t see. He was already in our fields when me and Mac found him.”

“So how would you know if he’s not from the forest? He could be lying.”

“Now that’s just not fair, Rainbow. What about giving everypony the benefit of the doubt?”

“Except he’s not a pony.”

Applejack punctuated her mood with a snort and a stomp of one of her front hooves. “Dangit, Dash, you know exactly what I mean. Stop being so stubborn and just give him a chance.”

“Sorry, but I don’t just hoof my trust to just anypony. If they want my loyalty, they have to earn it.” She huffed and crossed her forelimbs, looking away from AJ. “You understand, right, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy shrunk a little bit as we all turned our attention to her. “Well, I u-understand why you don’t want to. But…he does seem like a nice pony…er…human. Just try?”

I finally decide to speak up. “Hey, Dash.” She slowly turned around in the air to face me again. “I get it. I’m strange looking. And I know it seems suspicious that I was found near that forest. I mean, I was only in there for a few minutes, and I got into some deep trouble. If the rest of the forest is quite like that, filled with all that danger, I can understand if you don’t trust me.” I stuck my hand out to try to shake her hoof, as a sort of peace offering. She just stood there and eyed my outstretched hand. “Oh, you’re supposed to shake it.”

“I know what I’m supposed to do. I just don’t wanna.” I frowned a bit.

“I’m a stranger here, so I don’t know how I’m going to survive here while I search for a way home. I’ll have to rely partly on the kindness of others, an attribute I see in those two friends of yours. I understand the value of trust, and I know I wouldn’t want to squander what trust I’ve received so far.” I extended my hand again to her. “I hope to one day gain your trust too. I hope I’m worthy of it.”

Dash contemplated my words and then quickly slipped her hoof in and out of my hand’s grasp, not quite a hand/hoof shake, but it seemed good enough.

“Sure, whatever.” She looked right into my eyes again, her own eyes getting more intense. “Just remember, I’m loyal to my friends first, not you. I don’t want to hear about any funny business about you, or else you and me are gonna have problems. Got it?”

“Sure. I know not to cause trouble.” And at that, she nodded her head and then shot off into the sky, effectively ending the conversation.

“…Well that could have gone better.” Applejack decided to add.

“Could’ve gotten worse, too. She could’ve gotten really mad and try to hurt me even more. At least Fluttershy’s here to patch me up, right?” I laugh.

Fluttershy smiles. “Yeah. Hey, Vince? Sorry about how Rainbow acted. She’s a good pony once you get to know her.”

“Like I told her, I understand. I mean, I’m pretty sure that if I met something almost twice my size, that I know just came from a dangerous place, I’d be more than apprehensive about trusting it myself.”

“That don’t mean nothin’. We trusted you and we’re just fine,” Applejack said.

I shook my head. “You’re just lucky it was someone like me who came here. Most of my kind would be nice to you ponies if they ended up here like I did, but I won’t deny that there are many humans that would take advantage of your trust.”

“Well, I know a thing about honesty. I can usually look into a pony’s eyes and tell if they’re bein’ sincere or not. And I know for a fact that when I met you, your kindness was sincere.”

“I appreciate that, Applejack, but I just want to make sure you two aren’t too hard on your friend for not throwing her trust in my direction the moment we met. I think I can win her over just by not causing trouble.”

Fluttershy nodded. “It’s just like with Zecora. We never trusted her because she was from the forest too, but once we saw she was nice and wasn’t causing trouble, we were fine with her.”

“Heck, and she’s even a decent part of the community now.”

“So, who’s Zecora, anyway? I remember you mentioning that name when you had that healing salve stuff.”

“Yes, Zecora is a zebra, who lives in a hut in the Everfree Forest. Most ponies stayed away from her because of that. It actually took Apple Bloom to show us that she was just wanting business in town and she wasn’t an evil enchantress, like many believed.”

“See? All I have to do is act normal, like that Zecora lady and I should have no problems with anyone. That’s the plan, at least.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Applejack replied.

I nodded my head to both of them and then said, “Well, not that this hasn’t been fun, but if I remember, we were heading towards town before this all went down, correct?” Applejack and Fluttershy responded in the affirmative. “Good, then let’s get going again. I’m starting to get tired from all this excitement, and I want to introduce myself to the rest of your friends, at least. And I would be lying if I said I wasn’t rather hungry right now.” I finish with an awkward smile.

Applejack just grinned. “Well then let’s get this show on the road!” She looked over to Fluttershy, who then landed on the ground and started to follow her as she followed me.

And with that, we were traveling…again. Hopefully we didn’t meet any more delays before we got into town. Truth be told, I just wanted to get the day done and over with, so I can rest. I felt pretty drained so far, seeing as I had an injury, and I just had to diffuse a mildly tense situation. A little relaxation would hit the spot right about now.

A realization dawned on me. “Oh yeah. Fluttershy, before this all happened you wanted to ask me questions.”

“Oh! Well, I figured now it’d be better to just get to the library first. I think Twilight will want to know about you too. You know, so you don’t have to answer anything twice, if that’s fine with you.”

“Sounds fine to me. Lead to way.”

After walking for a little while longer, we finally arrived at the outskirts of Ponyville.

As we walked through the streets, I stayed silent and took in the sights, as Fluttershy and Applejack told me about several of the important places in town. I figured that if I’m gonna be here for a while, I may as well get the landmarks memorized. It’ll make my life easier.

They pointed out a few specific buildings in particular, like the three-story building created to look like a colorful mult-decker carousel. It didn’t surprise me that it was called “Carousel Boutique”, which was apparently where their friend Rarity lived and worked, making clothes for ponies all around. They also pointed out a building that looked like it was an actual gingerbread house. They called it Sugarcube Corner, which is where their friend Pinkie worked as an apprentice to the couple who owned it, Mr. and Mrs. Cake. They also pointed out places like a general store, a few other specialty stores, and town hall, but they didn’t go into much detail with those.

All the while, we were getting stares from the populace. Scratch that, only I was getting stares from the populace. At least they weren’t running or screaming like if I was Godzilla in Tokyo or something. I guess having Applejack and Fluttershy with me might have something to do with that. I’m assuming those two are pretty well respected members of the community, so seeing them okay with me must have satisfied their suspicion for now.

Doesn’t stop them from gawking though. I wave and smile awkwardly to as many ponies as I can as I hobble along on my one leg and crutch. If I’m gonna be the five hundred pound gorilla in the room, I might as well make a good first impression. My slight torture finally ended as they told me we had arrived at the library. I looked up and was surprised to see a tree.

A tree that had a house in it. And it’s somehow it was still alive. How that works, I don’t think I’ll ever know. All I do know is that it reminded me of the Keebler elves.

Applejack walked ahead of me and stood in front of the door, preparing to knock. I decided to stand beside the frame, out of sight of whoever was at the door. Fluttershy just lingered near Applejack, but a few steps back from the door. As Applejack started to knock, a most sinister idea popped into my head.

Should I? Sure. My laughed a bit to myself at the thought. Applejack gave me an amused look and asked, “What’s so funny?”

“Oh, nothing of interest. You’ll see.” I put a finger to my mouth and 'shhh'd with a smile. My smile apparently didn’t foster much trust.

Applejack was about to protest at whatever I had thought until the top half of the library door swung open. I couldn’t see who was there, but I heard another female voice speak up. “Oh, hello, Applejack,” and then there was a small pause, where I assumed she noticed the pony behind her, “and hello to you too, Fluttershy. What brings you here today?”

Applejack's eyes focused on me for a half second before going back to the door. “We have somepony…for you to meet.”

“Oh, a new face? Where is she?”

Applejack laughed at her assumption. “Oh, he is here somewhere.”

“Oh...He? Who is it?”

Fluttershy amazingly decided to enter the conversation. “Oh, well his name is Vince. We found him…well, Applejack found him, on the edge of the Everfree Forest. Hurt pretty badly.”

“Fluttershy helped me patch him up as best we could. Oh, and before you meet him…he’s not exactly a pony.”

“So, a griffin or something? What do you mean? I mean, 'Vince' doesn't exactly sound like name for anything I know of.”

“Well that's the thing. I'm meaning that he’s none of those things.”

“A new species,” spoke Fluttershy.

Her voiced picked up at that. “Wait, a new species? Now you’ve got me interested. I’ll have to get my scientific equipment. Where is he? Can I see him?”

This was it, the perfect moment for me to enact the idea I had a moment ago. I quickly leaned over (as fast as one can with crutches) so that my face was exposes to the owner of the voice in the library. I gave a quick smile and said “Hi!”

She yelped at my sudden appearance and quickly slammed the upper half of the library door. This was all too good. I started to let out an uproarious laugh. Applejack looked on me with an unamused look, but my laughter must’ve gotten to her, because she started to chuckle as well. Fluttershy let out a few small giggles as well. After my mirth died down, Applejack spoke up.

“That wasn’t too nice, you know.”

“Sorry,” I tried to seem as innocent as possible with a sheepish grin. She wasn’t buying it. “It seemed like a great idea at the time.”

She just shook her head. “What are we gonna do with you?”

“You could always throw me in jail like all the troublemakers.”

“Don’t tempt me.”

I just stuck my tongue out again and knocked on the door myself this time. A little more time passed than I would have liked, but eventually I heard a voice speak from the other side of the door. She didn’t open it this time. “Hello?”

“Hi,” is all I could think to say.

Another pause. “Who’s this?”

I chuckled again. “This would be Vince, the guy your friends were talking about…and the one who scared you too.”

“Oh, well sorry about slamming the door. You sort of scared me. A lot.”

“Sorry for that. I used to scare my younger brother and sister all the time, mostly because they would do it right back. It just felt like the right thing to do at the moment, seeing as there was someone who actually didn’t expect it. But yeah, I have a tendency to act without thinking. And like I said, I’m sorry to have frightened you. Chalk it up to childish stupidity.”

She opened the top half of the door again a crack, and as she looked at me yet again, standing in front of the door in full view, I waved. Her eyes floated over to her friends, and she seemed to calm down, opening the top half all the way. She then looked at me with a puzzled expression, since she now had a good look at what I looked like.

The first thing that I noticed about her was the color. She was purple. Everywhere. Her coat, her mane, even her eyes had different shades of the same color. The only thing not purple was one of the highlights in her mane. That was pink. The second thing I noticed is that her bangs were parted with a horn. A unicorn.

So not only talking ponies, but pegasi and unicorns too. It was like a fairy tale book had come to life and I was in it. I have a feeling I was wearing the same perplexed face she was, so I shook my head to snap myself out of it.

“Hi, again…I’m sorry, I forgot your name. I know your friends have said it a few times, but for the life of me I've just blanked.”

“Oh, my name is Twilight Sparkle.”

“And hello to you, Twilight Sparkle," which I accented with a slight bow. "I'm Vincent Martin. Most just call me Vince, though.”

“Nice to meet you, Vince. You know, I’ve never seen anything like you before. What are you, if I may ask?”

I grin. “I've gotten that a lot, recently. And I'm a human. The only one here, from what I can gather.”

Her eyes floated towards me and then back to her friends, then she noticed the crutch under my right arm. Her eyes lit up like she just had an idea. “Oh, I’m sorry. Why don’t you three come on in? You can sit down somewhere, if you'd like.” And with that she walked further in. And the door’s bottom half opened. By itself.

How does that even work? I just shrug to myself. I figure I’ll find out later. Until then I just resigned to say, “Oh, I definitely need to sit down. Get my weight off this leg and all.”

“That’s fine. There’s a sofa right over there.” She pointed to the small couch (small to me anyways) on the right side, in front of the only not-shelved wall on this floor. I looked about. There was a decent amount of books here, for a place this small. I remembered living in a small town about ten, maybe eleven years ago. Its library was about this size, but it’s book selection kinda sucked.

“Thanks,” I finally said as I limped over to the couch and took a load off. I sighed instantly in relief of getting off my feet. I started to massage my legs, starting with the bad one.

I decided to start some small talk. Might as well make up for that dumb prank deal from earlier. “This library has an impressive amount of books. Especially considering the library’s size. Are a lot of them yours?”

She seemed to light up. I figured talking about books was something she liked, living in a library and all. “It’s nice that somepony is impressed by this little library, but no, most are not mine. Most of these were here when I arrive here a few years. I just tend over the library, lending books to other ponies who need them. Although most of the time I think I’m the only one who seems to read them.” She ended that with a sort of sad look on her face.

“Well, I do dabble in reading a little bit. Besides, I’ll probably have to learn a good deal of stuff about this place as quickly as possible. Maybe you could help?”

“Well, sure! I’d be happy to help somepony else learn new things…even when they aren’t a pony,” she smiled sheepishly at how she ended that sentence. “Anyway, I was wondering if I could learn more about you and where you’re from. How about we sort of…trade information of sorts?”

“I wouldn’t be against that, though it’d be better if it were tomorrow. I’m bushed.”

“Most certainly. I’ll have many questions, wouldn’t want you falling asleep in the middle of it all, now would we?”

“Most certainly not,” I finished with a laugh, which was interrupted by a ruckus from outside the library door, in the form of furious knocking.

“Who is it? Everypony should know by now that the door is always unlocked during business hours,” Twilight said.

A pink pony slammed the door open with a crash. “Twilight! I heard about the new thing that walked into town and was headed this way so I ran to tell you an-” she suddenly stopped her torrent of words as her eyes quickly spotted me in the room. What followed was the most overly exaggerated gasp I have ever heard, followed by the rush of air of the pink pony dashing towards me. She stopped just short of my face, not unlike Dash from earlier. Only this time the pony in question had an even lesser grasp on the idea of personal space.

“Omigosh, you’re real! I heard there was some tall creature! Well, some didn’t say creature, some said ‘thing’ or ‘strange fellow’. Maybe one or two ‘monster’s in their but now that I see you, I know you’re not a monster, you’re just different! And new! And if you’re new that means you need to meet as many other ponies as you can so you can have friends, and do you know what calls for?”

“Um…no?” was all I could pathetically say. No words could describe how uncomfortable I was right now. In the corner of my eye, I could tell the others knew what she was going to answer her own question with.

“A…party!” she practically bellowed in my face. I checked my ears absent-mindedly for hearing damage.

“Pinkie?”

“Yes, Twilight?” she said as she held the largest smile she had from earlier.

“A…party might not be the best idea.” Before she could even finish that sentence, I saw Pinkie’s face lose a bit of that smile, but Twilight quickly recovered. “And by that, I mean not now! He’s pretty tired right now. Maybe tomorrow would be better?”

“Well that would be rightfully fine-a-roony with me!” She dramatically jumped off the couch seat next to me onto the wooden floor of the library. “Well, I’m off to venture forth on my quest to make…wait, what’s your name again?”

Even though I had never said it once to her, I let that issue drop. “I’m Vince-”

“-Vince’s day-after-I-showed-up-in-Ponyville party is the best party he’s ever had! I hope you like cake and ice cream, because there’s gonna be a lot of that.”

“Sure, I love those. I like vanilla cake the best. Chocolate ice cream, though.”

“Wise choice. I like you already.” She flashed yet another huge smile and bounced, not ran, but bounced outside.

“…Well that was the strangest experience I’ve had so far. Let’s hope it stays that way.”

Applejack just laughed as she slapped a hoof into my shoulder. I winced a bit, but kept my outcries of pain to myself. “Well that’s just Pinkie Pie. She gets some getting’ use to. Besides, around here, I’m pretty sure that’s gonna be the least weirdest thing by the end of the week.”

“Your ability to inspire confidence astounds me. Is…she really gonna throw a party for me?”

“Yep,” was the general consensus of the group.

“And she’s gonna invite everyone in town?”

“As many who usually decide to show up, yeah,” Twilight said. “That’s about thirty regulars, usually. More, if it’s a special occasion.”

“Joy. I’m gonna really need that sleep. Mind if I take a nap, now?”

“No problem at all. You can use the guest bed. It’s downstairs.” As I got up to follow her downstairs, I turned to the others. “Well, see you girls later. Hopefully I'll wake up early enough to do something around here before nightfall.”

“Seeya later, Vince!”

“Um…bye. It was nice to meet you today.”

I nodded to them and slowly continued down the stairs. Evil nemesis, we meet again. But this time I have a crutch! Haha!

“My little brother Spike is out helping Rarity with her monthly gem-finding venture,” Twilight said as she stood at where I considered my destination. “I’ll tell him that you’re here so he won’t freak out or something.” She laughed at what I could only imagine is the mental image of that event. “Anyway, you’ll be able to meet him when you wake up, and then maybe Rarity later today or tomorrow. But here you go! I hope the bed isn’t too small…”

“Trust me, I slept on a small bed yesterday. With the amount of fatigue I have now, sleeping shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Well good, I’ll let you get right to that. Sweet dreams!” And then she walked back up the stairs and closed the door.

I plopped on the small bed, and felt instant relief, like the craziness of these last few days were finally oozing out, through my skin. I took a deep breath and shifted to get myself confortable. It took no time at all for me to drift into subconciousness, maybe about thirty minutes.

Hopefully what I’ve got here doesn’t get any crazier, which means that it probably will be.

Chapter 5: Fitful Slumber and Pleasant Conversation

Chapter Five

Beep……beep…….beep…

I awaken to the sound of constant beeping in my ears. My eyes struggle to get open, pain when the lights from the ceiling hit them. My mouth is incredibly dry and I have aches all over. I pretty much feel like crap. I might as well have slept on a rock. I bet even my arms and legs are aslee-

Wait a minute.

I look around. The bed I’m in is actually long enough for my legs to be supported on. This isn’t that spare room that I was sleeping in. The walls and ceiling are all white. I finally find the source of the beeping noise: there’s an EKG to my left, keeping track of my heartbeat. I’m also wearing a very thin hospital gown.

…why am I in a hospital?

If that wasn’t strange enough, my right ankle is completely fine now. Heck, any bandages on my legs are on my left one, mostly around the arch of my foot. I try to sit up, but a sharp pain shoots through my chest. I look down towards my chest and notice my entire ribcage is wrapped up in bandages. I can see traces of burn marks on the outermost edges of the tape around me.

What the heck is happening!?

The door to the room opens, and a doctor comes in. A human doctor. A human doctor! I’m back! Oh thank heavens, I’ve somehow gotten back! Oh man, I bet I was freaking the doctor out with how happy I was getting. He just adjusted the glasses on his face and said, “Oh good, you’re awake. You know, you gave us quite a scare earlier. You’re lucky to be alive, son.”

My celebration was instantly derailed, “What…do you mean by that?”

“I mean you just survived a nearly-fatal lightning strike! It’s very lucky that someone found you when they did and got you here, or else we wouldn’t be having this conversation!”

Lightning strike? Since when was I ever struck by lightning? “Um, where did this happen exactly?”

“Just outside of the college campus. You attend there, right? The people who found you said that you were about eight blocks from the start of the campus buildings. Hm, are you experiencing any memory loss? We can always do some test to see if you sustained brain injury from the accident.”

I quickly snapped to and shook my head. “No, no, doc. I’m just a little out of it, that’s all. Thanks, though.”

“No problem at all. Well, seeing as you seem to be fine so far, I’ll leave you to rest. A nurse should be checking in occasionally to make sure your condition is stable.”

“Sure thing,” and at that, he left.

Which left me to my thoughts. Since when did I get struck by lightning right outside of college? I can’t remember any time I was really ever caught out-

Wait.

That storm! The one I tried to outrun when I was running to my car! It must’ve happened then. But, that’s the same storm that hit the ground in front of me, and transported me to…Equestria.

And yet I’m here. In the human world. With humans. So, was that whole world of talking ponies a dream? The last thing I did was fall asleep in that small bed. Maybe that was the end of the dream and now I’m awake here? But…there was that whole part where the ground split under my feet when the lightning hit. I couldn’t have just made that up. Or could I have? Maybe my mind is just trying to fill in the blanks or maybe that was just part of the dream too.

All I know is I couldn’t be happier to be in a hospital than I was right then.

I laid back and watched some of the television that hospitals always have attached to the walls, and I basically did just that for about an hour, maybe two. I was interrupted when the doctor came in again and announced that I had visitors. I perked up at that and looked at the door, awaiting whoever was going to come out.

The first person who walked through the door was a woman with red hair like mine, but with blue eyes, and glasses in front of those. Both of our faces lit up when we recognized each other. She came running up to my side and wrapped me up in a tight embrace.

“Oh, Vince, I’m so glad you’re okay!”

“I’m fine, mom. The doctors took good care of me” I fought for control over the tears in my eyes, as I returned her hug. She had no idea how much I missed her.

The rest of my family came in. I saw my dad. He’s the brunette with green eyes and a full goatee and slightly graying hair on the sides. Then my two siblings came in behind him. There was my younger brother Matt, a blonde with blue eyes, and my youngest sister, Liz, a brunette with blue eyes. All three of them joined my mother at the side of my hospital bed.

“When we got the call from the hospital that you had been hurt, your mother just about died of fright. We picked up your brother and sister from school and rushed over as fast as we could.”

My mother held me tighter, “We’re just glad that you’re alive. When we got the call, they told us you were struck by…lightning! We feared the worst!”

“Like I said, I’m fine. You don’t have to worry anymore, mom.” I thought now was a good time to return the hug.

My brother and sister walked up now. “Hey, squirts, did you miss your bro?”

“A little,” my sister teased. My brother, however, wasn’t as calm. He climbed up and gave me a hug.

“Yes,” he said loudly. I smiled at that, messing up his hair. I moved over a bit on my bed.

"I missed you guys too. You wouldn't believe the crazy dream I had while I was out. I was somewhere far away, and I thought I wouldn't see you all again." I patted beside me. “You can sit here if you want, bro. You too, sis.” His smile got even bigger, and then he climbed up. I looked at my sister .She nodded and got up on the bed as well.

And then we all just sat like that: me, with my brother and sister sitting by me. My dad even walked over to my other side and gave me hug. Normally this much family sappiness would have my siblings gagging. Me? I was just happy to be alive, and most importantly, with my family.

The doctor’s voice came from outside the room’s door, “Mr. Martin? You have another visitor.”

“Another visitor?” I looked at my family, and they just shrugged, “Um…send them in, I guess.”

The room suddenly dimmed a bit. I looked about to see what happened to the lights. I looked at my parents at my sides and by siblings on the bed, and they weren’t moving. As in, they were grayscale like the room was becoming, and they were as still as stone, like an old-timey photo. I tried to shake one of them awake, and nothing was happening.

And then the door opened, and my eyes opened up wide at who I saw. Rainbow hair, wings, and blue fur. Rainbow Dash.

“So this is where you want to be, hm?” She asked in a condescending tone.

“Rainbow Dash!? What the heck’s happening? How are you even here?”

She completely ignored me. “You’ll never see them again, by the way.” She pointed towards my family.

“What are even talking about, they’re right he-“ I looked to my sides, and my brother and sister weren't there. Instead, they were standing on either side of the bed, alongside each of my parents. The room started to stretch out into all directions from where I was, and my family was drifting even further and further from me.

“How are you doing this?! Give me my family back!”

She lifted herself into the air with her wings and landed on the foot of my bed. She walked up towards me as I was propped up against the wall. “Don’t you see? They were never even here! You’re never gonna see them again!” The room became even darker still, until it was only myself and Dash whom I could see. “You’ll never make it outside of your own world.”

“You mean Equestria? I can survive long enough to get home. I’ve got those kind ponies to help me.”

“And what if you never find a way home? You gonna live in their world? You know I don’t trust you. Sure, those acquaintances of yours may trust you, but on the whole grand scale of things, do you think more will trust you than mistrust you? You wouldn’t even last a week!”

“As long as I have one pony to help me, I can make it.” I tried convincing myself with that line. It didn't seem to help much. The darkness shifted away, revealing a forest. The Everfree Forest.

Dash just smiled, but her lips parted to reveal a row of sharp teeth. “Just stop fooling yourself. Nopony will truly be your ally in this world. You’re too different. You’re going to die in this world, alone, never seeing your family ever again.”

I shut my eyes closed as I yelled at the top of my lungs, “No!! I won’t believe that! I trust them! Even though I’ve only known them for the shortest of times, I trust them!” I opened my eyes and in place of Dash was a timber-wolf. I screamed in fear and tried to escape, but I backed into a tree. The wolf came closer and spoke in Dash’s voice, but it sounded heavily distorted. Its breath stunk as it exhaled in my face.

“Fine, then die in that misplaced trust.” The wolf lunged at me, teeth bared, ready to snuff out my life. All I could think of was:

“I’m so sorry, mom and dad.”

“Ahh!” I yelled as I jolted from my slumber. My eyes quickly looked about. I was back where I was before. Thank goodness that was all a nightmare. I looked at my limbs and noticed the bandages were in the right places. Never in my life have I been so happy to see an injured ankle before. I sighed in relief and my eyes drifted over to the left taking in my surroundings, anchoring me back into reality. Let’s see, there’s a few boxes, some science-y equipment (most likely Twilight’s), and a rather large, winged, purple lizard.

My mind blanked at that last revelation, and what followed was that I yelled again, which seemed to surprise the lizard, making it yell as well. I instinctively kicked at it, but was stupid enough to use the right leg. When foot landed on scale, I grunted with pain, pulling my leg back to me in reflex. I have to stop things like this, or I’m gonna lose that foot for sure.

“Whoa, you alright man?” The lizard asked. That’s it, this is definitely some twisted fairy tale and I’m stuck in the middle of it. The door at the top of the stairs opened.

“Spike?” I could recognize Twilight’s voice. “Are you and Vince alright? I thought I heard yelling.”

“We’re alright, Twilight. He must’ve just gotten a scare…from him kicking me, I figure it was because of me.”

“He’s probably never seen anything like you before. You probably scared him,” Twilight said as she descended the stairs.

“More like he was intimidated by my awesomeness.”

“Keep telling yourself that, Spike.” Spike just kept his grin.

The name finally clicked in my head. “So, you’re Spike? Twilight, I thought you said he was your brother.”

“He is. At least, my adopted one.”

“Oh,” I finished lamely and then looked at Spike, “um, sorry for kicking you. I didn't hurt you, did I?”

He just laughed, “Nope! Thick scales. Didn’t feel a thing!” He hit his knuckles on his scales to demonstrate. “So, you’re Vince, huh? Nice to meet you,” and he held out a clawed hand to me. I gladly shook it, somewhat happy to have an actual other hand to shake, scaly as it is. “Anyway, I came down here to bring you food when I heard you talking. You hungry?”

“You bet, I am!” Spike handed me a tray holding quite a few different foods and started to wolf down the contents, starting with some toast, then moving on some fruit. Twilight seemed to be put off by my eating, but Spike seemed amused. I didn’t really care at the moment, I hadn’t eaten in around two days.

I washed down the full mouth of food I had at the moment with some water. After I calmed down and belched silently into my fist (see? I still have some manners), I asked, “You said you heard me talking? When was that?”

“Oh, you were apparently talking in your sleep,” Twilight responded. “Spike told me he heard you from the ground floor and was going to get some food and bring it down to you, since he thought you were awake.”

“You were talking pretty loud. Something about wanting somepony to come back, and you ended with ‘I’m sorry’, right as you woke up. Sounded like a pretty bad dream. You alright, dude?”

I looked up at Spike and then looked back to the floor. That dream. It was pretty jarring, I have to admit. I know none of it was real, but it’s the idea behind it that was sticking with me. What if I never got home? What if no one here will trust me? Sure, even if I got Rainbow Dash on my side, and the rest of Applejack’s friends, that’s still like…seven? that trust me. Would that be enough? I just sighed and said, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Twilight asked.

“Yes!” I snapped. Twilight seemed taken aback from my sudden volume increase. “…Sorry. It’s just something that I’ve been thinking about ever since I woke up. I’d rather not talk about it.”

“Well alright then. I won’t pry.”

“Thanks,” I said as I took my last bite of food. I started to get up. “I’ll just put this tray up.”

“No, that’s alright. Allow me,” Twilight’s horn started to glow a pink hue, and then the tray in my hand did the same.

“Ah!” I let go of the tray in surprise, but it didn’t fall down. Instead, it proceeded to float towards Twilight. “What the heck? How are you doing that?”

She looked at me with a perplexed expression, like I had just asked an obvious question. “It’s just magic. All unicorns can use it.”

I shook my head and just pretended like nothing happened. “Sure. Magic. How silly of me,” I deadpanned. Twilight just looked at me strangely again and then resigned to walking up the stairs to the kitchen, tray in tow.

“Well that’s just great. I feel like I’m going insane.”

“What’s the problem?” Spike asked.

“Oh, you know, just the fact that creatures similar to ones in my world talk in this one, creatures I believed to only be myth or legend exist, and I learned just now that magic is real too. Other than that, I feel like I’m just fine! It would be funny, if it weren’t for the fact that I’m not waking up from a crazy dream right about now.”

“I take it your world is very different than ours.”

I let out a short sarcastic huff, “Heh, that’s about the understatement of the year. Thing is, I don’t know what will happen now that I’m here. Will most accept me as I am here? Or will I eventually get run out of town like a freak? I hate to be the pessimist in a situation, but that whole thing with Dash makes me afraid that I’m not going to fit in as long as I’m here.”

“What happened with Dash?”

“She told me she doesn’t trust me, and she’s keeping an eye on me to make sure I don’t do anything to her friends.”

“I’m sure she’s just being cautious. For as long as Twilight and I have known her, she’s not quite that trusting right away, but those she does trust, she’d do anything for them.”

“While that may be true for her, but that doesn’t amount to much when you account for the rest of the ponies in town, let alone all of Equestria.”

“Well, I’m not a pony either, and everypony seems to accept me. Don’t sweat it. As long as you treat everypony nice, they’ll see you’re not a bad guy and will accept you too.”

“Thanks for the encouragement. I’m pretty sure I’ve been told that stuff before, but hearing it again makes me feel better anyway.”

“No problem! Just happy to help.”

I gave a genuine smile, which disappeared when I had a thought. “Where’s Twilight? I didn’t think putting up dishes took this long.”

“Hmmm…Twilight!” He called up the stairs, “Whatcha’ up to?”

“Coming!” I heard he yell. She appeared at the doorway. “Sorry I took so long. I put up the dishes, but then I saw some books on the floor and went to reorganize the whole shelf. You know me,” she finished with an embarrassed smile…or was it guilt?

I’m going with embarrassment.

“So, since you’ve gotten your food, how about we all go outside? There’s still about two hours of daylight left.”

“Sounds like a plan to me! Just go on ahead, I’ll need to get ready. I’ll catch up eventually.”

“Alright,” she finished with another smile and walked briskly up the steps. Spike was just about to leave after her before I got his attention.

“Spike?”

“Hm?”

“Can we keep my whole ‘fear of rejection’ discussion between us? I’d rather not have others worrying too much about how I’m feeling.”

“Sure, but then why did you tell me?”

“Heh, I really don’t know. I guess I felt the need to tell someone, and you happened to be it, I guess. Feels great to get it off my chest, though.”

“Should I feel honored?” He questioned with a smug grin.

I countered with a grin of my own. “Whatever floats your boat, I guess. Come on, let’s get going.” I got out of the bed and grabbed the crutch back into my grasp, then proceeded to hobble back up the steps, but much quicker than usual. The nap and food really did wonders on how I felt, I guess. If it weren’t for my injuries, this would be a slightly not-sucky day.

Spike got up the stairs first, obviously, with me tailing behind. Once I finally got back to the main floor, I got outside and met Twilight out there. She suggested just a nice stroll through town. She thought it was a good way to get my legs working again, and a quick way for most of the townsponies to be aware of my presence, maybe meet a few. I felt that a little unnecessary, since my arrival earlier probably got most of everyone’s attention already, and the ones who didn’t see me probably heard about me from the ones that did. But despite my desire just to go back inside, I relented to what Twilight had planned.

So there we were, walking around town, and drawing as many eyes as possible upon me. Again. I felt like this was a bad idea, and now I was mentally kicking myself for going along with it. Even with that, I still managed to act nice and wave to anyone who stopped to stare, or stare as they walked past.

There was one pony, though, who wasn’t as freaked out as the others. A grey pegasus with blonde hair was flying past, when she stopped and looked at me. But it wasn’t a scared look, but more of a curious look. The first thing I noticed was that her eyes, which were gold, were crossed. I waved to her like all the others, but the main difference here was, she waved back. And smiled, just before she took off again, her blue backpacks in tow. That actually made me happy, happier than I had been all day.

It gave me hope that this wasn’t a lost cause after all. Maybe I can get along with these ponies, and with their help, find a way back home.

With that as the highlight of my day, we just continued on a route that went in a circle around town, until we finally made it back to the library. The sun was getting ever closer to its setting time, so we decided to retire for the day.

We spent the rest of the night just having pleasant conversation, Twilight, Spike, and I. Twilight asked me if I could tell her about what my kind are like, so I tried to give a brief overview of humans. It’s hard, you know? Talking about your own species to someone else who doesn’t really know anything about them. It’s not like talking to another human, because they have a good idea already seeing as they are human themselves. There’s things you never have to explain. Here? It’s like you have to start at a kindergarten level again. I didn’t even know where to start.

I gave as good as a description as I thought possible at the time, minus the fact that I neglected to mention humans were omnivores. I figured, ponies being vegetarian and all, I didn’t want to mention that quite yet. I had no idea how Twilight would react, despite being the more sensible kind that I assume she is, but I still didn’t like taking a leap of faith for others. Not yet.

In exchange, via our little deal earlier this afternoon, Twilight told me a little bit about pony culture, so I wouldn’t seem as quite as out-of-the-loop as I was now. I learned a bit about ponies, and how they all have magic, although the unicorns are the only ones that can use spells. Pegasi and earth ponies have magic in their bodies that allowed them to do other things, which were more subtle than what unicorns could do.

She also told me about the two princesses of Equestria, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and how they controlled the heavens to bring about day and night. My mind was reeling after that piece of information.

“So let me get this straight. Princess Celestia controls the sun?”

“Yes.”

“And Luna controls the moon.”

“Yep! By themselves, too. In the time before Equestria, the unicorns controlled day and night, and it took a sizeable group of them to bring both day or night about.”

“That’s impressive, I have to say. I mean, the energy required to rotate and move a planet or the moon is something I never imagined anyone ever accomplishing.”

“Well, how do humans do that?”

“We don’t. Day and night happen on their own.”

“What? Really?” She seemed genuinely surprised, like I was when I learned magic was real earlier.

“Really.” I started to explain to her the mechanics of how my world worked, and how day and night cycled where I came from. I told her all about the elliptical orbits of the sun, moon, and earth, and how the rotation of all of them during all this is what made night and day happen.

It’s funny, I never expected that some stuff I learned in junior high and high school could captivate someone who is (and by that I mean acts. I didn’t know how old Twilight is yet) as old as I am. She sure seemed interested in learning about stuff from my world, but I guess anyone would be curious about stuff like that. Besides, I felt the same way when learning about Equestria. I guess unfamiliarity with something usually makes it seem interesting.

As fun as it all was, getting to know someone new, I regrettably had to go to sleep, seeing as it was getting late despite the fact that I had that nap. The others probably were even more tired than I am. So for their sake, and mine, we all retired to our beds. I went back downstairs again and laid in the bed, attempting to get to sleep. This time it was harder to do than when I was dead tired before my earlier nap, but again, I finally gave into the fits of slumber. Besides…

I’ve got a party to attend tomorrow.