I swear, it felt like I was in a friggin' Mexican Standoff with this room; every single pony there just stared at me...

Some in mid-chew, too.

I gulped; it was really the only thing I could do that hopefully wouldn't send the whole place into a panic

“All right, you lot. Give the poor fella a break. Looks scared out of his wits.” An obviously male voice spoke up.

I looked to where it came from and saw a surprisingly square-jawed pony at the counter with a brownish-yellow coat. Looking at the hat and apron, I guessed he was either an employee or owner. He looked at me and patted a spot on the counter. Didn’t seem to have too many options so I went over, keeping my eyes on the counter itself and trying to ignore some of the chatter.

Could swear I heard one of the kids (at least it sounded like one) ask if I was a minotaur.

“Take a seat. Rainbow already paid, so take your pick.”

Given how the place smelled, I chose some donuts and a glass of milk. Wasn’t much, but it’d at least shut my stomach up.

“To be honest, I’ve never seen a...a…” He looked at me after setting a plate and glass down, “If you don’t mind me asking; what are you exactly?”

“A human.”

In hindsight, that might’ve been the wrong thing to say since I heard at least three spit-takes behind me, along with one of them sounding like they required the Heimlich.

“Those are a myth!” One spluttered.

“Well, I’m sitting right here. Also, where I’m from, unicorns and pegasuses...pegasi...horses with wings are myths, so there.”

A little childish, yeah, but I was really too hungry to give a damn right then. In hindsight, I should’ve ask why they thought that since this Twilight Sparkle had gone into a portal to find them.

The counter pony chuckled, “So, what’s your name, Stranger”

“Spike Dracson” I mumbled around a powdered donut. As I did, I found myself wondering why these pony beings were scarfing down baked goods to begin with. Last I recalled, those of the equine persuasion usually ate hay, grass, and the occasional apple. Of course, they didn’t have hands, horns, wings, or the ability to talk either.

Had to admit, these donuts were pretty good, though.

“Huh. Never expected to meet someone else named Spike.” He replied, getting my attention. That was the second time someone said that.

“No offense, but you’re oddly calm about me being here, kinda like that Nurse...what was her name again….Redheart.”

He chuckled, “Compared to the other things that’ve happened in this town, you’re pretty mild in comparison. Though, if you’re gonna be here a while, you might wanna keep your guard up. There are a few ponies who’ll straight panic at the most absurd thing.” He gave a mild glare to a trio of female ponies at a nearby table, "That goes double for you and your sisters, Roseluck."

"We-we're not that bad...!" the one in question protested...kinda weakly, I might add.

He just rolled his eyes before looking at me, "Oh, before I forget, name's Carrot. Carrot Cake. " I gave a nod of acknowledgement with half a cruller in my gob and he continued, "Say, just outta curiosity, how'd you get to Equestria anyway? Rainbow Dash said Fluttershy found you out in the Everfree, but that's about it."

"Well, originally my day had started with me working on an extra credit project...I'm a college sophomore." I added, feeling a little relieved at the comprehending look on Carrot's face, "Anyway, I had found a meteorite a few years back while camping with my dad. Figured with the equipment the school had, studying it would be a good idea. Had just cut it open and was trying to take a sample out of the center when...well, I think it might've exploded somehow when I hit it when a chisel."

Carrot almost dropped the cleaning rag he was holding, "E-Explosion!?"

"Yeah, it was pretty big too, considering it threw me back a bit." Glad that was all it did, too, "After that, I woke up in a glade with Fluttershy nudging me." I finished off the last donut, "To be honest, aside from that, I don't have a clue how I got here. Unfortunately, that means I don't know how to get back either."

It looked like Carrot was about to say something else, but I didn't get a chance to find out because our conversation was brought to an abrupt end by a flash of purple light in the middle of the room. Well, I thought it was a flash; caught a bit of it out of the corner of my eye.

"Um, do-do I wanna know...?" I asked Carrot hesitantly. Part of me was pretty curious, but the other part was muttering 'Don't move, just sit there and maybe you won't be noticed' over and over.

"You probably better turn around." He replied, "She staring right at you."

The chant was quickly replaced with 'Fuck!'

It took me a moment to collect what resolve I could; but taking a deep breath, I slowly turned around in my seat, ready to hit the floor if need be. What-or who-greeted me when I looked was...well, I'd say 'unexpected' but after everything so far, that'd probably be getting a little old by now.

A pegasus with a horn? Unicorn with wings? Whichever she was, she was apparently the source of that light. A lavender pony girl with a dark indigo mane and tail. Dressed in a dark red pleated skirt and violet sweater, she stood a few inches taller than Fluttershy.

I had to admit, she was actually pretty cute, too.

"Um, hi?" I said, not really sure what else to say, given the wide-eyed stare she was giving me.

"You...you really are one."

Don't know why, but when she said that, I had a feeling my life was gonna be a bit more different. Well, compared to what I'd been through so far.

Author's Note

Heh, for a while I wondered if I'd ever manage to get back to working on this.