Heading Out(Part 1) (Day 1)

Location: Canterlot Train Station

Date: May 8th

Time: 9AM

After the little... chat, I had with Luna, I had decided to take her up on her offer and, well, move into Ponyville. Now, I wasn't by myself, mind you, being accompanied by the six female ponies, or mares to be more accurate, I guess, that I had a habit of running into time and time again. I've gotten a little better acquainted with them, for the most part, since we had first gotten to this train station. After all, what else was I supposed to do with all of my free time here? Watch as the ponies stared at me? Anyways, I actually managed to get their full names this time, rather than the small bits that I had managed to gather. Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Apple Jack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and last but not least, the same pink pony that had been a longtime mystery to me, and still is, in a way, Pinkie Pie. Funny how her name matches her look, huh? I don't know how I could have missed that one. It was practically staring me right in the face and I didn't pay any mind to it! Darn, I’m usually more perceptive than this...Im starting to get off subject.

Where was I? Oh, right! The mares and I were sitting at the station, patiently awaiting for the next train to arrive. On our way here, which, might I add, was accompanied by many odd stares in my direction,I had absentmindedly put my mask back, hiding my face once again. The station was, from what I could tell, a lot like waiting in the metro ways back at New York. The only problem though, is that, in this station, there was nothing to do other than stare at the clock at the center of the plaza. I remember how, in New York, the train stations there at least had music playing, and was at least stimulating enough for you to bear the wait. Though, I suppose the difference is to be expected. This world, or universe, or whatever, was still much less advanced than mine, technologically that is, so expecting otherwise would probably just be idiotic.

Glancing to the clock for what had to be the one-hundredth time, I saw that the time was 9:20AM. According to what Twilight had told, the train wouldn't arrive until 9:30, so I had a good 10 minutes to kill. Leaning further back into my seat, I was ready to take a short nap, when-...

“Hey James?” I heard the tomboyish voice of Rainbow Dash ask, my eyes peering open as I glanced to her.
“Hmm?” I muttered as a reply. By the looks of it, she seemed rather excited, so I could honestly only be left to guess what she wanted.

“So... Um... D'ya think you show me some those moves you made over at the castle?" She asked. "I think that I could use some of them in this totally awesome trick that I'm trying perfect!" Raising my brow at this, I silently thought through her request as I adjusted myself in my seat, sitting myself up straight and stretching out my arms.

"Eh, what the heck. It will give me something to do anyways. Besides, I forgot to do my morning exercises earlier today in my rush to get here, so I guess this will just have to do." Shrugging my shoulders, I stood myself from my seat, my back and neck cracking in approval as I did so, before turning to her.

“Sure," I said, "it'll be a good way to pass the time.” She cracked a big smile at this, practically launching herself into the air as he wings began to beat faster. Excited, I take it?

"Alright, let's see... By 'moves', she must have meant what she saw when I was trying to disarm my jet... Ah, the triple back somersault! That could probably do it!" I gave myself a mental nod as I crossed my arms looking to her, my own small smile being given, though she couldn't really see it below my mask.

“Okay, here is my most standard evasion maneuver. It's called the triple back somersault.”
I said, adjusting my footing and position for the movement as Rainbow Dash looked on intently.
This maneuver consisted of a couple of somersaults, as the name mostly implied, before transitioning into one back flip, usually used in the case of avoiding oncoming fire from a weapon, mainly a firearm, obviously... But, considering I had yet to see even a handgun in this world, I'd say that I wouldn't have much need for that regard. Nonetheless, during this movement of mine, I would usually use my gained opportunity in the air, during the back flip portion, to immediately draw one of my many throwing stars, throw them at my opponent and, if done correctly, disarm him long enough for me to take him down. Easy, especially since most criminals that carried a firearm were a lousy shot, or just had a hard time trying to hit a moving target.

Taking in a breath, I pushed myself back off the ground, landing back with a quick movement, allowing me to roll backwards a couple of times, and, using the same momentum, I propelled my arms into the ground, bending my body to the movement as I launched myself upwards, flipping myself back onto my feet with a soft thud. I crossed my arms confidently as I looked to the wide eyed, and smiling Rainbow Dash, before, much to my surprise, the other mares of the six, along with a few random ponies as well, began to stomp their hooves on the ground, cheering as they did so.

"Hmmm... Must be the human equivalent of clapping... There are a lot of links between this world and mine, aren't there?" As the cheering came to an end, a blush of embarrassment being covered by my mask as I absentmindedly scratched the back of my head, the loud sound of a train's whistle blew through the air. Sure enough, as I looked to my left, I could see an oncoming train along the tracks. It, for the most part, looked like an old steam locomotive, a small trail of smoke coming from it's exhaust pipe on top as it soon came to a halt in front of the station, letting out a loud screech and hiss in doing so.

“Huh, that was fast. Time sure does fly, doesn't it?” I said in a joking tone, the girls all smiling in return. Soon enough, a pony, who I assumed to either be the conductor, or the ticket checker, came out of one of the train cars, a comically large hat on his head, reminiscent of old train workers. Ponies practically flooded in and out of the train, myself and the six mares somehow making it through this chaos with little to no issue as we made out way to the colorful and large machine. Probably had to do with the fact that I, in comparison to the ponies here, was a good height higher, and maybe a bit of wariness from the other ponies.

The train worker, though slightly bothered by me, asked the seven of us for our tickets, which we quickly gave to him, each of them courtesy of Princess Celestia and Luna. Looking the tickets over, the pony gave us a nod, telling something to Twilight, though I wasn't really able to hear it, as she then gestured for us to follow, the pony moving aside as we moved into the train, myself ducking slightly at the door height, and sought out a good place to seat, eventually finding an empty car, each of us taking our own seats with a sigh. It was about six minutes afterwards that I finally heard the customary 'all aboard' of the train conductor, the train's whistle loudly echoing as we began to move.

“So...” I said as I glanced out to the now moving landscape. "What's the plan?"

Looking to me, Twilight smiled as she began to answer. “Well, I was thinking that, when we get there, we could go to town hall organize an introduction of you to Ponyville, and maybe find a place for you to stay.” Raising a brow, I mentally looked over this suggestion of hers, a smile coming to my face as I did so.

“That… doesn't sound half bad. Nice thinking there." I said, drawing a gleeful smile from the purple unicorn. "Then, how long till we hit Ponyville?"
"Oh, about a half hour." She said simply, myself raising brow in confusion at this.
"Only half an hour? I'm pretty sure that, when I first got here, I was asleep on that train for a longer time than just thirty minutes... Then again, it was the last run of the train that day. Anyways, shrugging my shoulders, I sat myself further back against my seat, the soft bumps and movements of the trains slowly lulling me... Just... A quick... Nap..."
********************************************
'Strange', was the first word that came to mind as I looked around the... whatever it was I was in. It was dark, extremely dark. Heck, I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face, despite my attempts.
It was silent, for the most part, and, oddly enough, I felt as though I couldn't move. As though... I was floating. This went on for what felt like hours, until, finally, I began to hear something. Whispers. Faint, and almost inaudible, but then.

“...James...” I heard, a voice that sounded like a woman's echoing through the black void, a small chill accompanying it.

“...James...”

“ Who are you? What do you want?”
I asked aloud, muttering in confusion as I noticed that my voice didn't echo, like the woman's.
My question seemed to fall on deaf ears though, as, opposite of what I wanted, the void became silent. It stayed like this for I don't know how long as I floated there.

Eventually, the voice once again returned, though, this time, it was garbled, giving mixed messages, saying things that didn't make sense at all. It was as if it was playing the same transmission twice over again, interlacing with one another, and creating an almost continuous loop.
“ConductorsstaffheroofworldsthegoldengaurdianthedarknesshasbeenliftedIamyourswordIamyoursheildthelegendofthesillouetedarknesscomesontheroadaheadstarswirllthebeardedyouwillbecomethesymboleandfullembodymentofjustice…” It just kept on, and on, some its messages making little to no sense while the others just went by too quickly for me to understand. Some, though, came through clearly. Few, but still.

Soon enough however, a portion of the voice became magnified, sounding louder and louder as it gave out a single word.

“James…”

“James…”

“Wake up you silly little colt!" I heard a high-pitched, and, might I add, hyper sounding voice exclaim, myself groaning as I slowly opened my eyes.

“No wait, you're not a colt... Yourrrrreeeee... A big, fun, two-footed, flippy-dippy, super duper colt!" Now fully opening my eyes, I-

“Crap!" I yelled in surprise as I came face to face with the smiling figure of Pinkie Pie, flailing in surprise before, ultimately, falling flat on my face. Good thing I had my mask on, of that would have hurt a lot more. “Ouch.” I said as I began to pick myself up off the ground, the girls laughing, which I honestly couldn't blame them for, as I dusted myself off.

“We're here, James. You ready?” Twilight asked, trying to keep her composure, despite the laughs that obviously fought against her to escape.

“Ready.” Glancing out through the window, observing out new surrounding. “Yeesh. Like I said, time really does fly. Especially when you're asleep." Giggling, Twilight yet again gestured for us to follow, the six of us slowly filing out after her into Ponyville.
Leading us out of the train station, and further into the small village that I had first arrived near, we made out way to what I guessed to be town hall. As I figured would happen, I began to get some mixed looks from the townsfolk. Some were scared, as could be expected, some were astonished, likely interested in the fact that there was a 'new species' among them, a few of them even waved, to my surprise. Maybe they had heard about the fire.Or, if I'm lucky, they were just friendly.

Though, on our way, there was this one mint green mare, who just seemed to ogle at me, almost without blinking. Creepy. Ignoring this small issue, I continued with the girls, eventually reaching a large building, bigger than any of the others, that sat at the center of the town. Likely, our destination, Town Hall. The door let out a ring as it hit against the bell that hung near the door, signaling the entrance of somebod- pony- Man, I've got to train myself out of that.- as they entered. The secretary pony who sat behind the desk, or at least that was the best that I could describe her as, didn't seem fazed by this, continuing her paperwork as Twilight walked up to her, the other ponies sitting in the waiting area while I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall.

“Hello. I would like to speak to mayor mare. There's a new resident in Ponyville that I would like to introduce, and maybe a house for him to stay?" Twilight requested, pony momentarily stopping as she glanced to Twilight.

“Ah, yes, Twilight. I will see if Mayor Mare is open to see you.” The pony said as she stood from her seat, walking to a nearby door and, with a quick knock, addressing the pony behind it.

“Mayor Mare, Twilight and her-" Glancing back to us, the mare's eyes suddenly widened as she finally noticed my presence, myself waving to her nonchalantly as she slowly, and awkwardly, waved back to me.
“... Friends, are here to see you."

"Alright. I'll be out in a moment!" I heard another mare say through the door, followed shortly by the sound of trotting hooves.
The door creaking open, a tan furred mare came out, with a white and gray mane. She wore what looked like a collar, with an odd green bit of cloth attached to it, seeming like a ball of fluff. Looking to the six mares, her expression eventually changed as she looked to me through her glasses, an honestly hard to read emotion about her. Seriously, I couldn't tell if she was terrified or didn't mind the sight of me at all.

“Mayor Mare, I'd like you to meet James!” Twilight said, gesturing to me. "He's moving into Ponyville, and would like a place to stay, and a residency." Shaking her head, Mayor Mare looked to Twilight.

“Oh- Um, of course? Let me just, um, take a look at what's available." She said, walking back into her office as she did so. The sound of rustling papers and the like could be heard though the door as the seven of us patiently awaited for the mare's return.
“Let's see... ta-ta-ta... Ah-ha! Here it is!" Soon enough, the mare came out, holding what looked like a file in her... Mouth... Well, I guess that they have to hold their stuff somehow without any fingers.
"We have four houses that are vacant, but two of them are currently being worked on. As for the other two, one's relatively close to the Everfree forest, so I'm not that sure the you'd like that one. The other is in the town itself. It's two stories, and it faces the marketplace." Mayor Mare said, pointing out the different properties. As she had mentioned the second house though, a smile came to my face.

“So James, which would you like?" Twilight asked, looking away from the papers and to me.
Nodding, I made my way over to the two. "Actually, yeah. Personally, I'd prefer this one." I said, pointing to the house near the Ponyville marketplace. After all, if it was as busy as I thought it was outside, it would be just about as similar to New York as I could hope, with all the business and bustle.

“Excellent choice. I hear that house is very spacious and comfy." Mayor Mare said.
"Heh, I like it already. Say, is the house furnished, or not?" I asked.
“Sorry, but the house is unfurnished. You'll need to purchase furniture of your own, I'm afraid."

"There's always a catch isn't there" Nodding, I stood myself up straight again, continuing to look at the paperwork for the property I wanted to purchase as I began to miss to myself.
“Hm... Guess I'll just have to find a good place to work then, huh?” I said.
Almost immediately, Apple Jack spoke up. “Y'all could come work fer me and mah family, if'n ya like.” Turning to the orange mare, I smiled as I have her a nod.

“Yeah, that could work. Though, Im probably going to need some new clothes. I'm not going to be wearing this thing 24/7." I said, gesturing to my combat suit. "I’ll need a new wardrobe for work clothes, regular clothes, and some casual clothes, for home.” At the mention of clothes, Rarity's eyes seemed to widen, a smile coming to her face as she stood from her seat.

“Oh! I run a boutique in Ponyville! Perhaps I could prove to provide some assistance in the regard of clothing!” Well, that's convenient. Now, the only thing I'd need would be to raise enough money for a bed.

“Okay then, I've made up my mind then. I will take the two story house near the market.” Mayor Mare nodded as I said this, closing the file again and gathering up the papers.

“Excellent! I will fill out the proper paperwork and, after the down payment, you'll be able to move in!" Oh, right, the pay... The princesses are covering this, right?

“Well, now that we have you settled in, I think its about time to introduce you, don't you think?" Twilight said.

Honestly though, I just hope that this goes well.

Noon

Mayor Mare sat behind the podium before what I surmised to be the whole population of Ponyville, having gathered them together at record time after being requested to do so by Twilight. As for me, I was behind the 'stage' that she was using, awaiting for my que to head up. I was nervous, to say the least, but, hey, if this was really the best way to introduce myself, then, so be it... I guess.
“Mares and Stallions of Ponyville, I’d like you to meet our newest resident, you're new neighbor, James!” Here we go.Taking a deep breath, I walked onto the stage with a smile, my mask off since I didn't really have any reason to have it on, and several of the ponies stomping their hooves in what I guessed to be a polite applause.

“Hello everypony," I greeted. "glad to make your acquaintance. Now, I myself am not really good with speeches, so instead I’ll answer any questions you may have."

... What? I'm serious, I'm really bad at speeches.

Author's Note

ok I'm on my way to writing part 2 it shouldn't be long