Fighting Freedom

We stared at each other for a few more awkward seconds. In all truth the young dude looked just as confused as I felt. I'm sure I looked the same. I decided to break the ice with a little humor.

"Actually it's Socrates, but close enough."

The small guy couldn't help himself and he giggled. He stopped instantly and went a little red. After this he said, "How do you know my name? And what's with the get up?"

"Oh so Martin is your name then. I just heard some stallion mention it when he saw me. I assumed that since your another human he thought I was you. He must really not have seen that much of me though. As for the toga, I was in need of some quick clothes."

Martin said nothing in response, but continued to eye my leafy toga. Before I could say anything more, the door opened again. We both looked to the door to see Twilight closing the door behind her.

I took in every detail that I could. I had always debated with people about ponies vs. my little ponies. I was glad to see that I was a little bit right. Her body was somewhat like a real pony, but it was the head that really stuck out. It wasn't a human head on a long neck, but it sure wasn't a normal elongated pony head. It was much more round and she her nose and mouth stuck out a little bit. Besides that I couldn't see much else.

"Martin I'm ba…." She stopped talking as soon as she saw the two of us. She simply just stared at me for a few minutes. Personally I think it was the toga that had everyone silenced.

Finally she broke the silence by saying, "Martin is this a friend of yours? From Earth?"

Well at least that confirms Martin is a Earth human. Also that he was not a natural inhabitant of this place. There always was the possibility.

Martin spoke up, "No. I've never seen him before. In fact he looks like he came from the past of my world."
I just tried to make myself as unnoticeable as I could. Which with a toga is very hard to do.

Twilight turned to me and said, "Hi I'm Twilight Sparkle. What's your name?"

I nearly told her my name before stopping. I did that comical open my mouth and raise a finger, then stop moment. I thought about it long and hard, before deciding to stick with an alias.

"My name is Socrates"

Twilight smiled at me while Martin smacked his face with his hand, "Well Socrates, it's nice to meet you. Would you mind telling me where you came from, and how you got here?"

Before starting to explain myself I commented, "It didn't go this smoothly when you met him did it?" I jerked my thumb over at Martin when I said this.

Twilight smiled again, but Martin said, "Not by a long shot."

I thought about how I was going to explain this. I usually tell the truth, but sometimes a lie is more believable. I couldn't really told them I got crushed, woke up in a not place, met up with a rice cake eating lizard and a tree named frank, and then ripped a whole through the fabric of the universe to drop in. (If you didn't read the prologue… I want to know what you think of that paragraph.)

Instead I said, "I don't really know. I went to sleep one night, but this annoying buzz was keeping me awake. So I got out of bed and looked for the source. Apparently there was a crack in my wall that was emitting the noise and a blue light. When I touched the crack I ended up here." (A crack in the wall. How original.)

Twilight wrote all this down on some paper and most likely more. She rolled it up with magic and the scroll flashed out of the room in purple light.

Before she could speak I turned to Martin and said, "Just curious, how did you end up here?"

Martin pointed at Twilight, "All her doing. I was just sitting at a park by myself when I felt something grab me. Then I started seeing two different things at once. I could see the park, but I could also see this library. I thought I was dying or something."

Twilight took over at this part, "I had been trying out a spell that could apparently connect two different worlds when he just dropped in my room. I may have overreacted a little."

Martin laughed, "A little? She screamed and teleported me outside. I had to explain myself through the window."

I poked Twilight and said, "Bet you had a headache too."

Twilight gave me an odd look, "Well yes, but I don't see…"

I laughed at my own little joke. Then I turned to Twilight, "So did you keep working on that spell?"

She shook her head, "No. After I dragged Martin in I decided it would be bad if I accidentally dragged someone else in. I'm just lucky that he wasn't upset, and that he doesn't mind staying here."

"How long have you been here Martin?"

"Only about a week now. I've been out and about a lot though. So all the ponies know about me. It was an awkward first few days though. Had the mayor call a town meeting and everything."

Twilight inserted herself in the conversation, "Well before you get too comfortable Socrates and explain yourself, I want you to wait. I don't want you to have to retell your story 5 times or more. I sent Princess Celestia, who is one of two princesses of Equestria, about your arrival. I'll round up anyone else I think should know this stuff, and then you can tell your story."

She raced out the door before either me or Martin could say goodbye. When the door closed I looked back at Martin. Assuming that he knew everything about My Little Pony that I did, we had to have a little talk.

I began speaking right away before he could say anything, "Alright Martin, a few quick questions. One, is this basically normal Ponyville except for you? Two, have you told them anything about the show or anything? Three, Anything important I should know? And finally, who is your favorite pony now that you've lived here for a week?"

Martin stood there with his mouth open waiting for me to finish. Once I did he finally spoke, "I was going to suggest we take seats, but since you seem so eager. One, if by normal you mean cannon, then yes. My arrival is the only thing out of place. Two, no and I would appreciate it if you didn't. Three, not that I can think of. And four, nice try, but no."

"I think we should tell them about the show. A hidden lie only does more damage with time."

Martin raised an eyebrow at me (I can't even do that), "Then why did you lie about how you got here? Come on, a crack in the wall? Had Dr. Who written all over it."

Smart boy. In response I said, "Well honestly, the truth is a bit much."

Martin took a seat on a nearby couch and said, "Try me."

I took a seat on the couch next to him. It was a bit small as it was meant for ponies, but we managed. I told him everything from how I got crushed to my troubles with falling. As I told him more and more, his face showed more and more disbelief.
When I finished all he said was, "Ya, I think the lie was better. So does that mean you died?"

I shrugged, "I can't really be sure, but I'm going to say yes."

Martin just thought on this for a long time. I didn't say anything while he pondered as I realized that it might take some time to sink in. I just thought about how odd it was that I get to Equestria, and there is already a human here. I don't get my own little world. Then again maybe there is a good reason for this. Knowing that there is another human here could make things a lot better.

I broke the silence by saying, "So before you came here, what was life like?"

He paused on that for a little bit, as if choosing his words carefully, "I don't want to say horrible, but it wasn’t lovely either. I know you probably don't want a sob story so I'll just say this. When I saw Twilight's library, I nearly cried from happiness. I mean who wouldn't want to come here."

I looked down at my toga and said, "People who have left much behind."

Martin was proving to be smarter than the average teen, "Did you leave someone important behind?"

I laughed, "If your implying a romantic someone, then guess again. Nah, I'll just miss some friends for awhile. I mean at some point I'll go back and visit."

Before we could continue talking further Twilight busted back into the room. She looked at both of us and said,

"Well the princess sends her regrets that she can't arrive today. She's busy with her royal duties. Same with everyone else actually. Everyone seems to be busy. I must say Socrates you're handling this very well. Now that I think about it you too Martin. If I ended up in a world with creatures that were completely different from me, I would freak."

I spoke up saying, "Well you see Twilight there is something I actually need to tell you…"

Martin interrupted me, "Which can wait for later. Did you tell your friends about him Twi'?"

Twilight looked between us before saying, "Well… yes, but most of them are busy at this time of day. I'm sure we can all meet up tomorrow or something. Now Socrates if you want I can start looking for a way for you to get back to your own world. Martin refused this offer so I don't have anything yet."

It was probably a horrible idea for me to go back right now. If I was in a coma than there might end up being two mes. If I was dead than obvious reasons are obvious. So I simply said,

"Don't worry about it. If there comes a time I need to leave, then I will have a way."

Twilight looked like she doubted this and said, "And what way is that?"

Oh see I have this neato sword that can rip the fabric of the universe! I actually said,

"An old man has his ways."

Twilight gave me another once over and said, "You don't look that old…"

"Well I'm older than both of you."

Twilight scoffed, "I doubt it. I'm 17, how old are you?"

It was my turn to scoff, "Well that's rude. Regardless I'm at least a few years older than you which gives me age rights. So get under me."

I didn't really want to point out that my age was debatable at this point. I mean who knows if this body really is the same as mine on Earth.

Twilight looked confused, "Why would I get under you…?"

I decided not to make any jokes seeing as we just met, so instead I said, "It’s a saying we have where I'm from. Basically it means I'm better than you. I'm just messing with you though. They say laughing is good for you y'know."

I spent some time talking with Twilight and Martin. I answered any questions I thought appropriate. I did assure them that I was not actually from the past Earth. I did have to retell the story of the toga. When I told Twilight about when I first arrived here with the falling thing, she just told me she had no idea.She tried asking me a lot of questions about Earth, but I refused to answer anything too sensitive.

When Twilight was pestering me about cars, which was kind of a sensitive topic for me, the clock in the house chimed. Twilight looked at the clock and said,

"Well look at the time!"

The clock read about 11 p.m., but it wasn't like I was tired or anything. I had just been stuck talking all day. Although come to think of it I hadn't eaten yet. That's when my stomach decided to make its situation known. Twilight heard my stomach and laughed. I feel weird saying this, but she has a really nice laugh. Huh, go figure. She handed me some bread and what might as well have been grass. Life was going to be very difficult if all I was going to eat was bread and grass.

They both began munching on their small meals while I just eyed the food warily. I don't like being rude to someone who is having me as a guest, but this was a bit ridiculous.

"Do you have anything more substancey?" I asked.

Twilight said, "I'm sorry, but I don't usually have much to eat here. Tomorrow though I'll show you around town and I'll pick something up."

I looked at Martin curiously. I wondered if he had a job or something.

Twilight looked at me again and said, "Oh and feel free to stay the night tonight. I know it can't be easy being thrown into a different world. We'll talk more tomorrow about your situation though. For now just get some rest."

She closed the door to her room and I began munching on the bread and grass. The bread was normal bread, and was perfectly fine. I hesitated on the grass though.

Martin saw me hesitate and said, "Eat it, trust me."

I picked up a small bundle and brought it to my face. After smelling it and eyeing it I decided it was just normal grass. I stuck it in my mouth just for the hell of it. I tasted… absolutely nothing. Seriously I was chewing it, but nothing was there. I gave Martin a sour look.

Martin laughed and then said, "I know right? It's packed with nutrients though. The stuff grows everywhere I hear. It's already all around here. I've been told that it can even grow in snow and ice conditions. Seriously you never need to buy food, this stuff has it all. The only problem as you can see, or rather taste, is the lack of one."

I swallowed the rest of it without problem. "So Martin do you have a job around here?"

Martin stuck his chest out, "I'm the mailman! I do my rounds every day, well except Saturday. I even got an official mail bag. I'm just lucky ponies don't send to much mail. Although Twilight says I can stay here for as long as I need. Since its her fault I got stuck here."

I was thinking it was more of the fact that he was still a kid. I'm certain Twilight wasn't about to let an older guy like me bunk with her. For some reason this didn't really bother me. Hell if this grass really did grow everywhere, what was the point of getting a job? Sure this stuff doesn't taste… at all, but its free!

"At some point Martin we're going to need to have a serious talk, but not now. Is there a blanket or something I could have?"

Martin handed me a blanket and then went to his own respective room. At least I hope he did. Otherwise we would need to have a serious talk of a whole different type. I went outside and smelled the fresh night. The moon shone down on me bathing me in its light. I found a nice patch of grass and laid down. I pulled the blanket over myself. Martin came outside to join me for a little bit after a few minutes.

"So... Socrates. What are you going to do tomorrow?"

"I honestly don't know right now. Some part of me is comforted by that."

"So really, what is your name?"

"I can't answer that either. It's almost as if I don't have a name. I'm starting a whole new life, maybe several. I'm not the same as I used to be on Earth, Maybe I'm just being difficult. I'll tell you this though. See all those stars? I'm going to visit every single one someday."

Martin looked at me carefully, "When you told me about Scales, you told me that you gave him that name. I think you need someone to give you a name."

I turned my head to face him, "And you're that someone?"

Martin shrugged, "Maybe. If you're so focused on those stars, maybe you should be named after them."

I shook my head, "I don't think Sagittarius or Scorpio would fit me. Although Orion is pretty cool."

Martin laughed, "Not exactly what I meant. Besides I don't think those constellations are up there. I'll have to ask Twi' some time. No... how about Silver?"

I pondered this. It was almost as if it couldn't have been anything else. The name just seemed to really appeal to me.

"Silver it is. I like it. Simple, but meaningful. Thanks for coming out here Martin, but I have a feeling tomorrow will bring strange winds."

Martin laughed again then said, "Whatever that means. Nice talking to ya Silver."

He got up and headed back inside. For a first night it seemed really…. laid back. I mean here I was in a whole new world, but for some reason it wasn't super exciting. Maybe the full reality of it had yet to hit me. Then again, was I just trading one world for another by staying here? I was thinking too much. I simply closed my eyes and cleared my mind. Concentrating instead on the sounds of the night.
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ERGHH. Every time I write this it feels wrong. Either I feel that I'm not covering everything, or that it isn't how it would happen. I'm giving up on this chapter because I'm fed up with it. Hopefully the future will bring better times.

Well this one got through the edit pretty much unchanged. Odd as I hated this one the most @_@