A World Away

by Hodd

Chapters

Chapter 1; Life As Usual
Chapter 2; An Unexpected Voyage
Chapter 3; A World Of Difference
Chapter 4; Day 1
Chapter 5; Starting Anew
Chapter 6; Not as it Seems
Chapter 7; Friends

Chapter 1; Life As Usual

A World Away
By Hodd.
Credit to Mihaaaa for the Cover Art

Warning; This fanfic does have some strong language.

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Chapter 1; Life as Usual

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I awoke with a jump, and focused on the clock hanging just above the chalkboard. Good I only dozed off a couple minutes. Maybe Mr. Nix didn't notice. I glanced around the room at all the cheesy posters, half-assed projects, randomly assorted beakers, test tubes, and graduated cylinders. Chemistry class. God, how I hate chemistry class. Every day was the same old thing, come to class, take notes, sleep while he drones on about something totally irrelevant, fail the test, repeat. I watched, as he wrote equation after equation up on the board, adding up to well over twenty. Above, the word "homework," was written. Homework. Wonderful. I glanced over at my friend, Nick, who was equally disdainful. This blows, I mouthed to him. He smiled a bit, and turned back around to face the front, not wanting Mr. Nix to get on our case for being distracted in class.

I stared at the clock once more, focusing on the second hand, willing it to go faster. It kept its normal cadence, however, and ticked round and round, slowly shaving off time until the bell. Time always seemed to move especially slowly in chemistry class. Perhaps it was the fact that I hated chemistry, or maybe because my teacher was a complete ass. Whatever the reason, Father Time seemed especially keen on making the torture drag on as long as possible. Keeping my gaze on the infamous black and brush steel clock, I took note of the time. Eight forty.First period lets out at nine fifteen. Thirty five minutes. Awesome.

Mr Nix called out over the class, making a feeble attempt at a drumroll with his hands. "Well, it's the moment you've been waiting for! You're tests have been graded!"

Mr Nix always had an affinity for theatrics when it came to handing graded tests back out. I cringed slightly, remembering the exam. I never did terribly well when it came to chemistry, but this last test had been particularly brutal. When it was finally my turn to receive my test, he gave me that kind of "should have studied harder" condescending look.

Just give my damn test, I thought to myself. He handed it to me, and I eyed the top of the page. Sixty-seven. My heart dropped. But I studied for hours on this. What happened? I put my head back into my hands with a sigh, and let my hair fall down over my eyes. In no time at all, I was drifting back off to sleep.

The bell was what woke me. Its loud and obnoxious ringing would be enough to bring Sleeping Beauty back to consciousness. All the other students began to funnel to the back, as was ritual, crowding for the door. I scrambled to grab my things, and hastily stuffed them in my backpack. Maybe if I hurry, Nix won't get the chance to grill me for sleeping. I blended with the crowd, and eventually found myself almost at the door.

"Oh, Mr. Wade," Nix called out after me. I cringed at the sound of my name being called out into the crowd. "Perhaps since you are so keen on sleeping in my class, you'd enjoy a nice little detention slumber party after school on Wednesday?!" he continued, easily loud enough for what was left of the class to hear.

"Can't wait, Mr. Nix!" I called back, making sure to go heavy on the sarcasm.

I made my way through the door, and started down the hallway; Dammit. I'm never gonna hear the end of this. Mom had always hated it when I did poorly on tests. She was adamant about me going to college, and would do whatever it took to make sure I got good grades, even if it means controlling all aspects of life.

From behind me, I heard Nick approach. "Oh, hey Nick," I said to him.

"Hey dude," he responded. "You catch the new episode?"

"Yeah, man," I chuckled. "Amazing season finale. It's a little weird that they didn't mention Shining Armor earlier though."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Well, I gotta get to class, Miss Turner hates it when I'm late."

"Okay," I said again with a chuckle, and returned the brohoof gesture that he made.

Nick was the other brony of the school. We always talked about the new episodes, the songs, the writing, voice acting, plot, animation, references, memes surrounding My Little Pony, so on and so forth. To be honest, we may have been a little too into it. After all, the average brony doesn't learn the Flim Flam Brothers duet with his friend.

The day dragged on, as it always does. Every minute seemed like an eternity, as the second hand crept along, knocking off a minute after every sixty ticks. World History was about eventful as it sounds, and German II had little to offer in terms of excitement. This was how I lived life at school. Scrape by, waiting for the bell to sound, sprint to my next class, and repeat. To most people, it would be maddening, but for a high school student, it was just another school day.

Finally, the final bell of the day sounded, and not a second later, I was out the door of seventh period, and on my way to the front atrium to wait for my ride. After about fifteen minutes of waiting, I saw a familiar plain grey sedan pull into the school. Seconds later, it sped around the parking lot, and pulled into the student pick up and drop off line. I walked up to the car and began placing my books in the back seat, when I noticed she wore a familiar face of frustration and anger. Great. She's pissed. About halfway home, she broke the awkward silence that had formed.

"So I got an email from Mr. Nix. You failed another test."

I sighed aloud. And so it begins...

She was still on her tirade, and showing no signs of stopping when we walked through the front door of our house, a small, one story place, fit for just the two of us.

"What am I going to do with you Damien? You fail tests, you sleep in class... What's going on in your head?" she asked rhetorically.

I simply stood there, as the verbal barrage fired down on me like howitzer cannons. These had become a regular occurrence since I began high school, two years ago. I'd do well in the first semester, and then bomb the final months of school. April was winding down, and finals were the only saving grace that could bring my grades back up. It was a near carbon copy of what happened last year.

She continued on with her fiery ranting. "For god's sake, you're sixteen years old! I'd think you'd be able to get your damn grades up! Is that so much to ask for!? You're just like your father; lazy!"

That last statement stung. Ever since Dad passed, Mom had to take care of me. I'd always loved my Dad more than anything, and always chose him as my role model. I'd never been close to my Mom, and to be honest, preferred to be with Dad. I looked Mom in the eyes.

"Don't talk about Dad like that."

She was slightly taken back at my retaliation. "I'll talk about whoever I want, however I want! But you will not speak to me like that! Go to your room, and don't come back out! I'm tired of dealing with your shit!"

I complied, and walked down the hall, and entered my room, making sure to put extra emphasis on slamming the door. Every day with this crap. Life as usual, I guess. I sighed, and walked over to my computer. The screen flickered on with a push of the power button, and soon the familiar images of Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash were displayed.

Night after night, I spent watching this show. What was it about this particular show that intrigued me so? Sure, the animation was wonderful, but a lot of shows have good animation. Voice acting was good, but again, other shows had that too. Whatever the reason, I always found myself entranced, as images of ponies, and dragons, and what-have-you flickered on my screen.

After a few hours, I took a look at the time up in the top right corner of my monitor. Eleven thirty-eight. It's amazing how slowly time scrapes on when you're miserable, and how quickly it flashes by when you're entertained. With a yawn, I powered down my computer, and trudged over to my bed. Soon, my eyelids fell closed, and sleep came and took me in its calming embrace.

Chapter 2; An Unexpected Voyage

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Chapter 2; An Unexpected Voyage

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It was a Tuesday. School had been the regular seven hour torture chamber it usually was, and being grounded for the second week for failing that chem test didn't help either. Overall, things were pretty bleak. I didn't have much to look forward to, nothing to do at the present, and the past was full of screw-ups and stupidity I'd like to leave behind.

The time was 5:49. School had been out for two hours, and already I found myself painfully bored, sitting in my room, reading a book that I despised simply for the sake of Lit class. I sighed, and placed the book on my desk. Looking around the room, not much intrigued me. I had my guitar, but I never got around to learning to play very well, and I'd already read all the books on my bookshelf. I glanced back at my desk, and eyed the empty spot in the center where the monitor would've been. She really did mean grounded from everything; computer, Playstation, phone, all gone.

I sighed, and walked out of my room, through the living room. Not much in here either. Looking outside, clouds hung low, and small flashes of lightning flickered in the distance. As if I wasn't bummed enough already. I grabbed my rain jacket from the living room closet, and pushed open the front door.

Mom apparently heard this from the other room and questioned, "Where are you going?"

"Out for a walk," I replied.

"I want you back in ten minutes."

"Fine!"

"Ten minutes!"

I stepped out into the front yard, and began surveying the neighborhood. It had definitely seen better days. The house directly across the street from us was the worst of all. It's bare wood exterior had splintered, and began to chip away, revealing sheet rock and plaster beneath. Useless junk and random boxes were stacked up to the ceiling of the car port, and the front door slammed open and shut in the wind, it's deadbolt and handle broken off long ago.

Without much further thought, I began advancing down the steep road in front of our house. The neighborhood had been built in the early seventies, and many were in states of disrepair. Gaudy yellows mixed with beige and white was the main color scheme. Plain colored cars sat in driveways, indicating no sense of creativity from its owner.

For sale and foreclosure signs dotted the sidewalk, indicating that the recession was still taking its toll. The population of the small neighborhood had dropped from almost one hundred, to just over thirty. The roads that once were filled with people and children walking animals were now all but deserted.

I walked further, trying to ignore the bleak setting. To the left of the road lay a large forest, stretching for miles. During the summers, my friends and I would always go in there and explore. It was a very thick forest, barely letting light in through the canopy. Small streaks of light shot through, dotting the ground with luminescence. To the right were more houses, each one eerily similar to the next, with the occasional for sale sign stabbed into the front lawn. I walked another hundred or so feet, until I reached a small access road on the left. It led between two houses to a clearing, and just beyond that was Lake Lanier.

I began to advance down the access road, until I was beyond the two houses, and approaching the small clump of forest that lay between the lake and our neighborhood. Birds chirped, and butterflies hopped from flower to flower, performing their natural duties. I sighed, and let a small smile form on my face. Whenever times were tough, I'd go down to the lake, and just take in all the nature. Birds could always be heard singing their cheery songs, squirrels would jump from tree to tree; it was always a good place to come to relax. During the summers, I could lie there for hours, looking up at the sky through the trees.

Looking up now, however, the sky was grey, but the balmy warmth of May still hung. I continued regardless. Soon the shimmering of the Lake was in sight. I jogged down to the shore and looked out. Boats were speeding across the surface, water skiers skimmed along after them, and families ate lunch on pontoon boats. My smile faded, however, as the boats began to clear, and the sky darkened. I looked up, and was promptly struck by a drop of rain. Crap. I gotta get home. I turned around, and began the trip back home, but began taking note of the increasing frequency of raindrops striking my head.

Flipping up my hood, I continued. Before long, I began hearing the low rumbling of thunder. Every few seconds, another rolling wave of bassy booming would erupt from the sky. Before long, however, the deep reverberating tones began to emerge as claps of lightning, and I could see the jagged outlines forming into wicked lines only miles away. I wasn't even halfway home, when a massive crack stood the hair on my neck on end, and clashed to the ground only a hundred feet away, falling a tree. My ears rang in pain, as my hearing slowly began to recover.

My steady walk soon became a hurried sprint, as the rain pelted harder and harder, and the wind sent rain drops flying like tiny missiles. Another tree fell in front of me, blocking off my path. My mind raced, and my heart pounded in my chest. Oh, no no no no no no! After struggling over the fallen tree, I resumed my sprint out of the forest, thunder clapping all around, and debris striking me all over. Soon, the empty pasture between the forest and the neighborhood was visible.

I hurdled over fallen trees, and dodged branches, and soon found myself just fifty feet from the pasture. Another tree fell just behind me. Forty feet. Lightning exploded a tree a hundred feet away, shooting splinters out like bullets. Thirty feet. A sudden gust whips rain in my face, and sends a branch just over my head. Twenty feet. I could only hear my own breathing. The pasture was so close. My feet pounded against the ground, sending me forward as fast as they would take me. Ten feet. Before I knew it, I was in the open, staring back at the forest in triumph, a dopey smile on my face.

My smile faded, however, as I heard a crackle from beneath me. The hairs on my neck stood straight out, and time slowed to a near stop. I couldn't tell what was happening, but it hurt. My jaw clamped down, and all my muscles seized up. An intense burning started at my shoes, and shot through my chest, and a white light flashed in my vision. Then it all went black.

~~~

When my eyes cracked open, I was laying down in some sort of forest. But something was off. It wasn't the forest I was just in. It was darker. After standing up, a piercing ringing plagued my ears, and my head ached. Looking down at my shoes, I saw that the fronts were singed, and tracing my gaze up to my shirt, I saw a large scorched hole. What happened? Last thing I remembered was running through the forest in a massive storm, and then... blank.

I shook my head, and tried to get my bearings. Looking to my right was just deeper forest, and directly in front of me was a large rock wall of some sort. Turning around, I discovered that I was near the ledge of a large cliff. Looking over the edge, I could judge the fall to be easily a hundred feet. Likely more. Once I looked out on the horizon, however, I saw a town. Something was familiar about it, but I couldn't quite tell, mostly because of the distance. It looked to be a couple miles away.

I scanned to the right, and noticed that the landscape was mostly empty pastures to what I now discovered was West, judging by the sun. However, in the center of a large orchard, located adjacent to the pastures was what looked to be a farm. Without hesitation, I turned to the right, and trekked down through the forest. The insects, and noises from the forest seemed to be similar to what you'd expect in South America, so I knew I was nowhere near home.

After an hour or so of walking through dense forest and thick undergrowth, I saw a light ahead. Walking further, I discovered that it was the edge of the forest. Without hesitating, I sprinted forward, desperate to get out of this place. The vines, and thickets hung low, and continued to grab at me, and whack me in the face. After a little while of this, I started running headlong, not even looking ahead of me, tired of being struck with vines and branches.

I ran into something- soft? Whatever it was, it was enough to trip me, and send me sprawling to the ground. It hit me at about waist level, so whatever it was, it was at least smaller than me. I reeled back to face the thing I ran into. It too, had been sent to the ground, and was recovering from the fall. Before I could get a look at it, a bright purple light shone from it, and blinded me.

It had a female voice, one that was so familiar, but I couldn't quite place it.

"I don't know who you are but you better explain yourse-" she was cut off.

"Where am I?" I said, not able to find any more appropriate response.

"You- you can talk?" she replied, obviously in astonishment.

"Of course I can talk."

The bright light dimmed, until only a small glow was irradiating from its- horn!? I jumped back, and tripped over a log that was behind me, letting out a pathetic yelp.

"Are you ok?" she called after me.

I formed the courage to peer over the log to get another good look at her. She was purple, and stood on all fours, and had a horn adorning the front of her head, which was casting a gentle light on me.

"Good evening," she began clearing her throat. "I'm-"

"Twilight Sparkle," I said, cutting her off.

She looked at me with apprehension. "How did you know that?"

Chapter 3; A World Of Difference

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Chapter 3; A World Of Difference

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Explaining the show to Twilight Sparkle was, understandably, no easy task. I mean, it'd be the equivalent of an alien landing on my planet, and telling me that I'm a TV show to him.

"It doesn't make sense," Twilight began. "I don't want to believe you, but... You do seem to know things that only ponies should know. I mean you know about Canterlot, Discord, Celestia and Luna, Nightmare Moon, You've mentioned the names of my friends, you know about the Elements of Harmony, Hearth's Warming Eve, It's unfathomable!"

"I know it's strange. Believe me, coming from Earth, this place is strange too," I replied.

"Did you say Earth?"

I cocked my head a bit in apprehension. "Yeah... why?"

"Follow me. Quickly."

I didn't have time to ask why, before Twilight was running down the long dirt road we'd been walking along for the better part of half an hour. God these ponies can run fast on all fours, I thought to myself, struggling to keep up with the purple unicorn. It wasn't long before I started recognizing things. I glanced off to my right, and saw a large barn with an apple insignia just above the door.

"Is that Sweet Apple Acres?" I called out to her.

She didn't answer, but just kept running.

"Where are we going, anyway?"

Once again, no response. We kept running, me, of course, a few feet behind Twilight. Before long, I stopped paying attention, and began to try and recognize some sort of familiar structure. I tripped over Twilight, who'd stopped quite abruptly. She grabbed my shoulders, and pulled me back behind a bush.

"Ponyville is just beyond this bush. I'm not sure how the other ponies are going to react to you, so I want you to stay close, and be calm."

I obliged, and followed her closely. It was obvious that these ponies had never seen a human before. They'd come within a few feet, then back away, as if I were dangerous. Some of the more adventurous ones would come up, and take a close look, to which I'd respond with a "hello," or "hi, what's up." Some were terrified, but some gasped and talked to me with complete interest. We finally reached the library door, and Twilight made a head motion, signaling me to enter.

"Can I stay out here a little while and meet everyone?" I asked, still in a crowd of ponies.

Twilight put a hoof to her chin, as she did when she pondered any situation. "I would've had to have shown you to the rest of Ponyville anyway... So I guess it's fine." With that, she strode into the library shutting the door behind her.

The pony that I recognized as Lyra was one of the most interested of them all, even dragging Bon-Bon with her to talk with me. At this point, I decided to have a little fun. When Lyra and Bon-Bon had both finally approached me, I raised my hands in the air and made an announcement.

"I, Damien the Great, will now read the minds of these two ponies!" I called out, pointing to Lyra and Bon-Bon.

They both gasped in both apprehension and excitement. I pointed toward Lyra, and rubbed my temple with my other hand, eyes closed, doing my best to impersonate a mind reader.

"I'm getting something... You're name is.... Lyra!"

Lyra and Bon-Bon recoiled a bit with excitement. Bon-Bon approached with a wide grin.

"Oh, me next! Do me, do me!"

I laughed to myself and resumed my sudo-mind-reader stance.

"You," I began. "You are called Bon-Bon."

Lyra, and Bon-Bon and the rest of the crowd all murmured together in excitement. Just then, Twilight poked her head from the library door.

"Damien!" she called out to me. "Come inside! I have to show you something!"

"But I'm just starting to meet all the nice pony-folk!" I responded.

"Now!" she replied, her authoritativeness once again shining through.

"Ok, everypony, I gotta go."

I exited the crowd despite the various "aww's" coming from several disappointed ponies. At least I was making a good first impression. I trodded over, and knelt down to fit inside the door. The inside of Twilight's Tree-library-house-thing was just about exactly the same as the TV show. A desk and a large oak table were the only furniture visible in the lower level, and a large, leather bound book lay open on the table. She approached the table, and motioned me over to it.

"You said you were from Earth, correct?" she asked me. I nodded in return. "Ok. I've only ever heard of Earth once, and it was in this book." I peered down at the large, seemingly ancient book. Sure enough, it was written in English.

"It says here," she began. "That Equestria is one of few worlds formed by the Creation."

"The Creation?" I asked skeptically.

"The Creation was when everything in existence was... well... created. It says here that more than one world was created, the one known being Equestria. It also mentions that certain worlds were kept running by different forces, ours being magic. Another surprising thing it mentions is the possible characteristics of another world, whose name in what has been translated from the Old Language, sounds strikingly similar to Earth.

"You see in the Old Language, the 'th' sound we use didn't exist, and was instead replaced with the 't' sound. The book details 'Ert' to have striking similarities to Equestria, but at the same time to be altogether different. It says while our world is held together with magic, 'Ert's' bonds that keep it in check are more... 'automated and physical.' It goes on to say that all of these worlds have a certain bond between them; one greater than magic, or any other natural force."

I stood there, mouth agape, reading the same page over and over. Sure enough, "Ert" was written several times on the page, detailing how reactions on "Ert" were performed automatically, by some force other than magic. Every good brony knows that the Sun and Moon in Equestria are raised and lowered by the two Royal Princess Sisters. This book, however, was able to accurately determine the force that kept the forces on "Ert" in tact.

Twilight kept reading. "According to this, Ert and Equestria are two completely different worlds, with some kind of bond that goes beyond the bounds of magic and science."

"So what you're saying," I said, still trying to grasp the situation, "Is that I'm on a completely different planet?"

Twilight looked at me, and shook her head slowly. "No. According to the book... You're in a different realm of existence."

Chapter 4; Day 1

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Chapter 4; Day 1

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"So you're telling me that I'm in some sort of crazy time-space paradox or something?!" I asked Twilight, halfway between frustration and bewilderment.

"I don't know what happened, so I can't give you an answer," she replied in a tone that was surprisingly calming. "I've searched all over my library, and I couldn't find anything about traveling between worlds. As far as I'm aware, nopony even knows that there are other worlds besides Equestria. I doubt that even the Princess knows anything. You may be here for a long time."

I sat down on a bench that was clearly too small for me, and shook my head. Sure, it's every brony's dream to come to Equestria, but to be stuck here? What if I were stuck here for the rest of my life? What if I had to live among an alien species for the rest of my days? Was this what I really wanted? Don't get me wrong, Equestria was a wonderful place, and if I were to live there forever, then I guess I'd be perfectly okay with that, but something about leaving your old life, no matter how uneventful it is just seems... strange.

"So what now?" I asked the purple unicorn. "I mean, what do I do?"

Twilight shrugged. "Adjust," she said plainly.

"Adjust?" I repeated.

"You know, meet ponies, make friends, talk to the neighbors... You don't seem like any kind of threat, so I'm not concerned about that..."

"Where am I going to live until this all blows over?" I asked incredulously.

She gave the pony equivalent of a shrug. "I'm sure I can arrange for one of the town Inns to let you stay." She walked up to me, and placed a hoof on my shoulder. "It'll be all right," she said, obviously struggling at sympathy.

I could only look at her, and let a half-hearted smile out. "Thanks, Twi."

I got up, and began to head for the door.

"Where ya going?" she asked.

"Adjusting," I said with a little smile. I opened Twilight's door, and walked out into Ponyville town square with a sigh. Well what do I do first? I didn't have time to answer myself before a pink blur crashed into me. I landed flat on my back with a loud oomph and opened my eyes. There, mere inches away from my face, were the eyes of a familiar rambunctious pink party pony.

"Hi!" she said, obviously eager to make my acquaintance.

"Uh, hi," I replied, allowing a small laugh to escape.

"I'm Pinkie Pie, who are you?"

"I'm Damien, bu-"

"Nice to meet you Damien, how are you?"

"Um, I'm under a little bit of pressure," I replied, glancing down at my chest, which Pinkie was currently standing on.

"Oh... Right, sorry," she said sheepishly, as she stepped off my chest, and allowed me to stand once more. I dusted myself off, and faced Pinkie, who was already preparing her verbal barrage of sentences.

"Soooo you must be new here, because I've never seen you before, and I know every pony- and I do mean eeeeeeevery pony in Ponyville, and the fact that I've never seen you just doesn't add up!"

"Uh-huh..."

"And since you're new here, that must mean you've never met anypony here, I mean, unless you have family here, but judging by your appearance, and the fact that nopony in Ponyville looks like you, that's not the case, and if that's not the case, then that means you haven't made any friends yet, and if you haven't made any friends yet, I figure I could get a couple friends and meet you at Sugarcube corner, now doesn't that make sense?"

"Makes sense..."

"Good! I'll see you at Sugarcube corner at eight!" With that, she was off.

Guess I should've seen that coming, I thought to myself. With a heavy exhale, I started down what I assumed was the main street of Ponyville. Lyra and Bon-Bon were both sitting on a bench just off the road, and waved, and I, of course waved back. In the distance, I could see the Cutie Mark Crusaders playing some sort of tag game in a field. The smell of baked goods wafted from Sugarcube corner, and teased at my nostrils. In my trance, I hadn't even noticed a certain grey mail pony flying directly at me. I couldn't react in time, and we collided with a rather heavy thud. By the time I was up and dusting myself off, Derpy was firing off apologies.

"I'm sorry, so sorry. Sorry sorry sorry. Please don't be mad," she said, scrambling to pick up the various letters that had fallen out of her bag.

"It's fine. No harm done," I said to her, as I started picking up the letters. Her mood picked up immediately, as she faced me, the familiar grin on her face a little contagious.

"Hey, could you help me with all this?" she asked, her smile widening.

I couldn't help but to smile in return. "Uh, sure. Why not?"

"Yay!" She took my hand, and tugged, dragging me along.

"Hey," I laughed, "where exactly are we going?"

"I still have to deliver the mail to the West side of Ponyville," she said with a cheery tone.

I looked up at the sky, and took note of the position of the sun. "But we're going North!"

After about a good four hours, our job was complete and Derpy's mailbag was finally empty. We'd begun to walk back to Ponyville town square when she turned to me, mouth agape with a gasp of excitement.

"I have an idea!"

"Lay it on me, Derpy," I said, still being won over by her over-excitable nature.

"We should go see Rainbow Dash!" she shouted, now, tip-hoofing in a manner similar to what I'd imagine a small filly would. Rainbow was one of my favorite ponies, and I was supposed to acquaint myself with the town, so it would be an opportunity to familiarize myself.

"Uh, ok, sounds fun," I said.

Once again, she took hold of my hand, and begun dragging me along, eager to introduce me to her favorite pegasus.

"This is going to be so much fun!" she said, mouth once again parted in a somewhat childlike manner. "We can tell scary stories, or make macaroni art, or bake muffins!"

"I like muffins," I replied, playing into her excitement.

"My favorite muffin is banana," she said contently.

"I'm more fond of blueberry, myself."

"Rainbow Dash!!!"

I was a little bit surprised by the sudden shout, but looking ahead, I realized what she was calling for. About thirty feet up, sleeping lazily on a small puff of a cloud was a fimiliar cyan and rainbow colored weather pony. The slumbering mare perked up, and peered over the cloud.

"Oh, hey Derpy- whoa... What's that?" she asked, pointing a foreleg at me.

"Nice to meet you too," I called back, adding a bit of not unfriendly sarcasm.

Rainbow floated down to ground level, and circled around me, inspecting up and down, as if I were some sort of ancient statue.

"Sorry," she began. "You just look... Well, weird."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Well where I'm from, you guys would look little weird too." Derpy stood to the side, not paying much attention to the conversation, but instead choosing to carefully track the movements of a butterfly that had drifted over.

"Fair enough, but where are you from anyway?" she asked me. "The Everfree Forest or something?"

"I'm from far away," I responded. "You can ask Twilight if you want the whole story."

"Ehh, I'm not exactly in the mood for a lecture."

I laughed, and glanced at my watch, which, to my surprise, still worked. "Oh, crap."

"Crap?" Rainbow repeated. "What's that?"

"It's something we say when we're frustrated where I come from."

"Why are you frustrated?" asked Derpy, who was now wandering back in to the conversation.

"Pinkie said she wanted to meet me at Sugarcube Corner at eight. It's almost eight now, and I don't want to be late. Pinkie doesn't seem like the kind of pony you'd want to keep waiting."

Rainbow simply slipped her forelegs under my arms, and took flight, bringing me along with her.

"Come on, Derpy!" Rainbow called back to the grey pegasus.

"Hey, whoa! Be careful!" I shouted, as we lifted a good fifty feet in the air.

"Just relax. And welcome aboard Dash Air."

I laughed inwardly at the corny joke, but was filled with terror as she blasted off, screaming through the air just feet above the shingled roofs of the town.

"Slow down, a bit!"

"You'll be fine! Besides, we're almost there!"

I looked ahead, and sure enough, Sugarcube Corner was nearing fast. We approached it, and Rainbow landed; much more smoothly than take-off, I might add. She set me down, and I eventually found my land-legs. Derpy was staring at me with a simple smile. Oh, Derpy, I thought to myself, shaking my head. I recovered from my mild stupor, and approached the door of Sugarcube Corner. The windows were dark, and not a single sign of life could be seen.

I knocked on the door, half expecting the place to be empty; the door creaked open. All was dark inside. I stepped into the central area near the stairway, Rainbow Dash and Derpy following shortly after.

SURPRISE!!!

In an instant, the entire space was bright, and at least a hundred ponies seemed to appear from nowhere, all smiling and laughing. Streamers hung from the ceilings, punch and soda sat on various tables around the room. Pinkie even got DJ Pon3 to show. Beats thumped through the room, sending energetic vibes all around. My initial reaction of surprise, or, well... terror, was replaced with amazement. Pinkie was the first to approach me.

"How do you like it?" she asked happily.

"Pinkie, this is amazing! I really can't thank you enough for this!" I knelt down to her level and gave her a big bear hug.

"Glad ya like it! Hey, you still haven't met the rest of the gang!"

With that, Rarity, Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy all approached.

"Nice to meet ya, stranger. I'm Applejack." She extended a hoof, and I grabbed hold. I didn't expect a creature as small as her to have such a firm handshake- err, well, hoofshake, and was taken a bit off guard.

"Likewise. I'm Damien," I replied, still recovering a bit from the greeting.

Next to approach was Rarity. "I've never seen such an interesting creature. I can't wait to make some designs for you!" Classic Rarity.

Fluttershy pushed Applejack and Rarity apart, and unlike her normally shy nature- or, at least, that's what the show indicated- inspected me, and blasted me with a myriad of questions.

"Oh, my goodness, what species are you? What do you eat? Why is your species so tall? How did you get here? Oh, I have so many questions."

Applejack grabbed her by the shoulders, and plopped her down next to her. "Now, now, I'm sure that Damien has had a long day. Let's just let him enjoy the party."

I smiled to all six of them who, by now, were in their familiar group. "Thanks, you guys. Really, you didn't have to do this."

"Oh, but we did, Darling," replied Rarity, "it's only fit that we greet such a special guest properly." I could only smile in response, as everypony dispersed and mingled. I turned around to close the door, and noticed Derpy standing near the door, looking down at the floor.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked.

"I wasn't invited... I- I better leave," replied Derpy, voice close to breaking.

"Well, Derpy, consider yourself officially invited! It is my party isn't it?"

Her eyes lit up, and a smile from ear to ear formed on her face.

"Really? You mean it?"

"Of course," I laughed. "Now, come on. Enjoy the party!"

Chapter 5; Starting Anew

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Chapter 5; Starting Anew

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Darkness slowly gave way to a widening sliver of light, as my eyes cracked open. My head throbbed, DJ Pon3's beats still thumping in my head. I closed my eyes again, willing the light away. When this failed, my eyelids rose once more. I was still in Sugarcube Corner, I knew that much, blurry images of pink beginning to focus. Mere inches ahead of me, however, was a round, mint-green shape emblazoned with a small image of a harp-like instrument.

"Ugh, Lyra, get your flank out of my face!" I protested, but to no avail; she wasn't waking up any time soon. I pushed her rear end away, and sat up, scanning the room. Must have been one hell of a party, I thought to myself. The place was a disaster. Ponies lay scattered across the floor, half empty drinks sat strewn all around, and even DJ Pon3 herself had passed out, now laying across her turntables, glasses half falling off.

I waded through the ocean of debris, and made my way to the nearest couch, sitting with a thump. Judging by the light, it was well past noon, and only just now, did everypony begin to stir. I placed my head in my hands, and sat for what seemed like an eternity. I looked back up to see that most of the guests had left, and a few still remained unconscious. The rest wandered about, searching for items they'd left behind, or trying to find the pony they'd come with.

Me, I sat there, quite frankly because I had no idea what to do. What does a teenage kid from Earth do in Equestria? That was simply a question I had no answer to. So I sat. And I sat. And I sat. The next time I looked at my watch, it was 3:24. I'd been sitting for two hours. By that time, Sugarcube Corner was all but deserted.

I finally stood, and limped towards the front door, still sore from partying. The sun is what struck me first. God, since when was the sun so bright? I laughed a bit inwardly as I realized how stupid that sounded. With a sigh, I began to walk. I wasn't sure where I was going, but I walked nonetheless. As I passed through Ponyville, I saw a multitude of things: two parent and their young foal playing in a meadow, ponies hard at work selling their goods or tilling fields, and even a wedding.

It was then that I realized something; if I'm stuck here, I have to make a whole new life for myself. Sure, Equestria is practically a dreamland with almost none of Earth's major problems, but having to start a whole life anew was... Spooky. Sixteen years of life prior to now, for nothing. I felt my stomach clench as the thought bounced around in my head. A whole new land of opportunity but... Where to start?

I found myself walking to Twilight's library. I didn't really know why. I mean, why not? What else could I do? I could walk to Sweet Apple Acres, meet the Apple family, or perhaps pay a visit to Fluttershy's cottage. Despite all this, I kept walking. Soon, I found myself looking up at a large tree adorned with a large door and a sign marked 'Library.' A jingling from the bell hanging on the door took Twilight a bit off guard.

"Oh, hello Damien. What can I do for you today?" Her tone was cheery, and comforting.

"Um, well to be honest, I don't know."

"You don't know?" she asked with mix of amusement and skepticism. "How do you not know?"

"Well, as you can imagine, coming from a world that's so different, this place is a bit of a shock. I don't even know where to begin, well, living."

Twilight looked at me. I couldn't place her expression. "What's Earth like?"

I was taken slightly off guard by that. "I- Huh?"

"What's Earth like?" she repeated.

I small knot formed in my stomach. "Well, Earth is... Imagine Equestria, but..." I trailed off. "Earth is nothing like here. It's full of us- people. So much so, in fact, that some people can't even eat. Disease and famine ravage much of the world, and some find it acceptable- even when they have the resources to help- to sit back, and ignore it. Every day, wars are fought, and people die for petty, unnecessary reasons."

Twilight recoiled. "You lived there?"

"Well, I didn't live in the bad parts. I lived in a neighborhood. Things were okay there. I never had to worry about food or anything, I mean."

"I see... So, living conditions vary around your world?"

"Oh, of course. The richest of people ate well, and lived in huge mansions, while the poorest of the poor starved in the streets," I replied.

"That's awful..." She looked at the ground, obviously struggling to imagine what I'd described to her.

"That's why I'm so confused on where to start here," I began. "This place is amazing. I mean, if I am stuck here- oh yeah that reminds me, any progress on how I got here?"

"Oh, um... No. I did a search in the archives of all the libraries I could find, and none had anything relevant."

"Okay," I replied simply. Inside, I felt like rejoicing. Perhaps I could stay here after all! My mind snapped back, when I realized Twilight was watching me intently.

"What were you saying earlier?" she asked.

"Oh, sorry. I was just asking you what I should do now. Should I look for a place to stay, get a job, make friends, what?"

"From what I hear, Applejack is always looking for a helping hoof- or whatever is on the end of your arm," she said, pointing a hoof to my hand.

I chuckled a bit. "This is my hand, Twi."

"You mean like what Spike has? But, you don't have claws. You have whatever those things are."

"Those are fingers. Similar to claws, but without the talons."

"Your race really is strange," she said, face twisting in observation of my limbs.

"I could say the same about you." I gave a small laugh to indicate that I was joking, and bid farewell to Twilight.

It was late afternoon when I reached Sweet Apple Acres. The sun had just started to wain, casting long shadows across the ground. Applejack was in the South Field, bucking apples as usual.

"Applejack!" I called out.

She heard me, and trotted over. "Oh, howdy there, Damien. What brings you 'round these parts?"

"Well, actually, I was wondering if you had any work available. I need to pay for a place to stay," I replied.

She rubbed her chin in thought. "Hmm... Tell ya what, partner, if you can work the cider press, I'd be happy to let ya stay in the guest room!"

A smiled a bit. "Well, I've never worked a cider press, but hey, how hard can it be?"

"That's the spirit! Come on, I'll show you your room."

I followed Applejack into the farmhouse. It was about what you expected from a typical farmhouse, not counting all of the apple themed decorations adorning the walls, furniture, floorboards, molding, paintings, bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchen, so on and so forth. We made our way upstairs, and found ourselves in the doorway of the room I was to stay in.

"Here you are. Shelter for the weary traveler," she said, giving a joking wink.

The room itself wasn't much, but it was something. A simple bed lay at one side of the room, and a plain dresser and mirror occupied the other side. A single window near the bed was what caught my attention. In the distance, the sun finally lowered, extinguishing the last tendrils of orange light before finally to darkness. A fair distance away, the lights of Ponyville flickered through the trees. I turned around to see AJ standing by the door.

"Hey, partner. Just checking to see everything suits ya right," she said.

"Everything's fine, here Applejack. Oh, and thanks again for letting me stay here."

"Aw, don't you worry yourself about that, Sugarcube. If anypony should be doin' the thanking, it should be me. It ain't often we get visitors, not to mention a visitor that works," she added with a smile. "I'll make sure to wake you up for breakfast."

"Thanks, AJ."

With that, she walked down the hall, and entered her own room, closing the door soon after. I gave an exhausted sigh, and fell back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. In what felt like an instant, my eyelids slid shut, bringing the day to a close, as I drifted away.

Chapter 6; Not as it Seems

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Chapter 6; Not as it Seens

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A loud knock jarred me from my sleep. A familiar voice followed suit shortly after from behind my door.

"Wakey, wakey! Rise n' shine!"

I grumbled aloud. "AJ... What time is it?"

"Well, I reckon about six AM. Why?" she inquired, entering my room.

I grumbled again, and turned over in protest. AJ cocked an eyebrow, before ripping off my sheets.

"Now, come on, don't make me do this the hard way."

"But it's so earrrrlyyyy..." I complained. AJ didn't bother with a reply, but instead, chose to bite down on the waistline of my pants, and pull me away from my fluffy domain of comfort down onto the far less fluffy and comfortable floor with a loud thud.

"Ok, ok. I'm up, I'm up!"

"Good. Breakfast is waitin' downstairs."

With that, I stretched, admired myself in the mirror a bit, and made my way downstairs. The smell of hot cereal with- of course- apple slices filled the downstairs of the farmhouse. I entered the kitchen, and sat at the table. Directly across from me sat Applejack, to the right of me, Big Macintosh, and just beyond him was Granny Smith. I glanced to my left and noticed Applebloom, gazing at me with skepticism.

"So, where are you from mister?" She asked with bewilderment.

"Well," I began, trying to figure out exactly how to explain it to her. "I'm from far away."

"I could'a guessed that..."

From across the table, AJ stiffened. "Applebloom! Where are your manners?"

"Sorry, Sis..."

I laughed a bit, and resumed eating. When I looked back up, I saw Applejack eyeing me rather intently.

"Uh, something wrong, Applejack?" I asked.

"Ain't those the same clothes you wore yesterday?" She asked me with a critical look. I looked down at my pants and shirt, and realized that they were, in fact the same clothes I had arrived in.

"Uh, yeah, I suppose," I replied plainly.

"Well, Sugarcube, we can't have you walkin' 'round town in those messy duds," she said in a tone that somehow made me feel welcome and accepted. Could the simple fact that someone in this alien world cared for me in the slightest have such a large effect? I came back from thought when I noticed AJ looking at me intently from the other side of the table.

She continued. "You know what? I'll bet Rarity'll fix ya up somethin' mighty nice. She's always excited to try out different looks, and you're, well... Different." I didn't take the last statement too seriously, and shrugged it off. This was Applejack, after all, the element of Honesty.

After breakfast, I made my way through Ponyville town square, and once again the smell of fresh baked goods wafted by. Before long, I found myself in front of a familiar carousel shaped building with a large set of wooden doors marking the entrance. I walked up, and knocked on the door, awaiting a response.

"Just a minute!"

The voice was, no doubt, Rarity's. It was easy to distinguish even with such a small sentence, due to her tendency to enunciate far more clearly than most ponies, and the rather amusing sing-songy quality it possessed. Not a minute later, the door swung open to reveal a familiar white coated, purple maned unicorn standing with a pleasant smile.

"Oh, you must be the new resident! The mailpony was quite exuberant with her explanation of you- oh what was her name? Derpy, I believe it was?"

"Oh, Derpy mentioned me?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, but of course. You must've made quite the impression." With that, she came a bit closer and hushed her tone a bit. "Not many ponies around here are too kind to the poor dear. I'm glad to see you're being so friendly to her."

I backed up a bit in surprise. "Wait, there are ponies who've picked on Derpy?"

Rarity cocked her head a bit. "Now, from Twilight's description of your world, I do understand how this may seem like a simply wondrous place, but do understand that not all is as it seems."

"What do you mean? I thought this world was supposed to be full of love and compassion," I responded, quickly realizing just how naive the statement sounded.

"Look around, dear. Look past all of the smiles, and laughter. Look past all of the superficial, and observe. You'll soon find that despite its pleasant exterior, our world still holds many of the problems your world faces as well."

I looked at the ground, and thought it over a bit. I looked up, and noticed Rarity was beckoning me inside.

"Well? You want to look marvelous don't you?" She asked, her voice returning to its pleasant tone.

The next couple hours were a blur. The impact of that statement had hit me hard, and my mind had spent the entire time coping with it. Could Equestria really have anywhere near the cruelty or prejudice of Earth? I shook the thought out of my head. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get the thought of Derpy being excluded from my mind. I wasn't sure why it held so much impact, but the thought lingered on.

By the time I walked out of the Carousel Boutique, my arms were full of pants, shirts, socks, and even underwear, all tailored by hand- or, well, hoof. Waiting for me, just outside, was Big Macintosh, hooked up to a wagon. He perked up upon noticing me, and motioned his head backwards, toward the wagon.

"Hop in." The statement was short and to the point, as was Big Mac's usual style of speech.

Without hesitation, I threw the stack of freshly sewn clothing in the back, and hopped in, closing the tailgate behind me. The ride back was much more pleasant than walking. What had taken me twenty minutes to do earlier, had now taken less than half that. Before long, we pulled into the barn. Big Mac unhooked himself from the wagon, and walked towards the farmhouse, me pursuing closely after.

Upon entering the large wooden structure, I was immediately struck with the mouthwatering aroma of what I assuemd to be dinner. I meandered through the living room, and found myself peering into the kitchen, observing the careful process of Apple Family cooking. Near the stove was Applejack, stirring away at a stew of some sort, and just to the left of me, pulling a pie- apple of course- out of the oven was Granny Smith. AJ, turned slightly, and motioned for me to sit at the table, which was already set with plates, spoons, forks, napkins, and glasses.

"Need any help, AJ?" I asked.

"Oh, don't worry yourself, none, Sugarcube. Dinner's about ready."

With that, I took a seat near Applebloom, who'd already found a spot to her liking. It didn't take her long to turn to me, and explain, in detail, her misadventures for the day. Despite the near endless drone coming from Applebloom, I found myself listening, nodding, agreeing, answering questions, and even asking some myself. A tiny, strange warmth stirred in me. It was a feeling I haven't felt in a long time, and It was hard to place.

I didn't have time to recall exactly when and where I'd felt it, before several pots, platters, and dishes were laid out on the large oak dining table, pushing out all other thoughts than of food. Despite the Apple Family's renowned reputation for, well, apples, several dishes consisted of greens, potatoes, corn, wheat, and a myriad of fruits and vegetables

Several plates, three glasses of apple cider, one belt, and twenty minutes later, I'd had enough. Even the heartiest of eaters was no match for a heaping round of Apple Family cooking. With a full belly, I trodded upstairs, bound straight for bed. After what seemed like an eternity, my door came into view, and with a heavy thud, I fell onto my fluffy domain of comfort.

Sleep, however, did not come easily. After hours of tossing and turning, desperately fighting consciousness, the beginning tendrils of sleep began to take me. Choppy images of cruel laughter interrupted my slumber however, gnawing at the pit of my stomach. A grey shape lay shaking, the object of the laughter's torment. The grey shape came into focus, revealing it to be a familiar figure, and my heart hit the pit of my gut. A heavy pang of guilt was all I felt before slipping into a deep sleep.

Chapter 7; Friends

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Chapter 7; Friends

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The sun, as usual, was what woke me. I swung my legs to the side of the bed, and peered outside. Judging by the sun, it was somewhere around eight o'clock. Well... Time for work, I thought to myself, almost regretting the deal I'd made with AJ. With a grumble, I stood and stretched, preparing for the long day ahead.

After walking downstairs, I was once again bombarded with the fresh smell of an Apple Family breakfast. That's gonna take a little getting used to, I thought to myself, only now realizing how hungry I was. Breakfast was the usual affair, with the standard dishes of grains and fruits- most of which being apples, of course- and the occasional conversation interrupting the silence.

Before long, the food ran out, and plates piled up in the kitchen sink, signaling that breakfast had come to a close, and the day was about to begin. When the dishes were all washed and put away, and the table was cleared, Applejack walked over to me and began detailing the chores for the day

"First off," she began matter-of-factly, "We need to slop the hogs, then we gotta replace the old barn door, and then you, Damien," she said shooting me a mischievous glance, "get to try your hoof- er... hand- at apple buckin!" I almost choked on the apple cider I'd been sipping when the last item came up.

"Apple bucking? Me? No offense, Applejack, but have you seen me? I'm not exactly built to kick trees," I replied incredulously.

"Aww shucks, Sugarcube," she replied, placing a hoof on my shoulder. "You'll do just fine." Before I could protest, AJ was scooting me along. The warmth of the sun was the next thing I felt, signifying the beginning of the day. With a sigh, I walked to the barn to start the day.

I stood back and eyed my handiwork over one last time before nodding to myself, satisfied. The old barn door was now discarded, and replaced by a new, much more appealing one. Wiping a bit of sweat off my brow, I turned to start back to the farmhouse, when a voice stopped me.

"Hold on now, Damien. Day ain't over yet!" It was Applejack. I grimaced a bit, for I knew what was to happen next. "The South Field needs buckin' and I sure could use your help!" I begrudgingly followed Applejack to the South field, eying the trees with apprehension.

"Are you sure this is such a good idea AJ? Humans and ponies aren't built the same, you know," I said, trying my best to get out of the task. Before she could answer, we were at the first tree. I stared up at it, looking for a weakness, some way for me to shake it. I looked down at AJ, one eyebrow cocked.

"Go on," She said. "Just take a good whack at it."

I looked back at the tree. Most things here were slightly smaller than on Earth, and the trees were no exception. Apple trees on Earth easily soared twenty feet, but here, they rarely grew past twelve. With sigh I balled my fist and reared back. My hand struck the tree, and sent a huge wave of pain through my arm. I cried out in pain, but was cut short by something that surprised me. Nearly ten apples fell from the tree neatly into the buckets that had been placed there earlier. My small victory glow was interrupted by Applejack.

"No, silly! No wonder you were so fond of skippin' apple buckin! You're doin' it with your hands!" I looked at her exasperatedly.

"But you said take a good whack at it!"

"With your feet," she replied with a laugh. "You got two of 'em. Just give it a good, solid kick."

I shook my head, and backed up a bit from the tree, kicking myself mentally. I reared back again, and this time, drove my foot forward, striking the trunk of the tree with a dull thud. This time, the impact was much less, and didn't hurt. To my surprise, nearly all the apples fell out of the tree in a shower around us. I looked up in wonder, and then back at Applejack, who was almost as surprised.

"Good gravy, Damien! You got a mean leg on ya! Even Big Mac couldn't empty a whole tree his first time. Glad I decided to keep ya around!" She added the last statement with a small wink. I couldn't help but smile a bit, proud at my work.

"Now," Applejack began, cutting off my victory glow yet again. "For the rest of the field." I looked in the direction she pointed with her hoof, and was instantly deflated. There stood upwards of two hundred trees, waiting to be bucked.

"Better get movin," Applejack stated. "It's nearly two, and this'll take us a couple hours."

Wonderful.

It was around four o'clock when the job was finally done. Everything from my waist down was aching, and I was more than glad to sit down to a refreshing cup of cider. As the day was winding down, however, I grew restless. Sure, relaxing out on the front porch of a farmhouse was nice and all, but a nice evening sampling Ponyville's activities appealed to me more, so I decided to head on down to the town square and check out the local spots.

Walking through Ponyville town square, the usual places stuck out; Twilight's Library, Sugarcube Corner, Rarity's boutique, the list goes on. With a little hesitation, I decided to sit at a nice little restaurant across the street to the library. I found a nice little booth, surveyed the menu, and grimaced. Oh yeah... Herbivores. My waitress, a pleasant mannered yellow mare with short, red hair, approached, and with a sigh, I decided upon the potato stew. I'm gonna die if I only get to eat-

"Hi, Damien!" cried a familiar voice. I looked to where it came from and immediately discovered it's source a few tables over.

"Oh, hi Derpy," I responded. While she was a bit on the goofy side, Derpy always put a smile on my face. She trotted over, smiling widely.

"Hi Damien," she repeated. "Is it ok if I sit here?" I smiled, and pulled out a chair, patting the seat.

"Of course, Derpy."

"Thanks for letting me sit here. I don't like the table over there. There are too many ponies near it," she replied.

"Oh, don't mention it Derpy. That's what friends do," I added with a smile. She immediately gasped and looked at me.

"We're friends?"

"Of course we are," I replied with a small laugh. She gasped a little more, and her eyes widened.

"Yay! I have so many fun things we can do! We can watch movies, and go hang out with Rainbow Dash, and bake muffins!" I laughed.

"Ok, ok. Hold on a minute. We gotta eat first." Derpy popped back from her excitement, and blushed a bit.

"Oh yeah. Sorry."

"So what do you want to do first, Damien?" Derpy asked me excitedly. I looked around and exhaled a bit, leaving my full stomach a bit of room. Next time I'll go easy on the potato stew. I snapped back from thought when I noticed Derpy eying me expectantly.

"I don't know Derpy. It's a little late in the evening. What is there to do?" I asked. She rubbed her hoof on her chin bit, and furrowed her brow.

"I've got an idea! You could come over to my house. We could make muffins!" I thought about that for a little while.

"Hmm... I guess Applejack won't mind too much," I said, pondering that idea. "Sure. Why not have a little fun?" With that, Derpy squealed a bit with excitement.

"Oh it's going to be so much fun! What's your favorite kind of muffin? I like the blueberry ones the best, but banana nut are also really good," she said energetically.

"Well Derpy," I responded. "I'd have to say that blueberry are my favorite." Her mouth opened in an almost filly-like smile.

"Me too!" she responded with excitement. I chuckled to myself.

Before long, we reached a somewhat small, yellow house with standard Ponyville thatched roof. Near the front door, various lawn ornaments and bobbles dotted the small grassed area in random locations and directions. Only one window was lit, and looking through it, I could make out the shape of a bare light bulb hanging from the ceiling.

"Well, here we are," stated Derpy, opening the door. The interior of the house was much less than what I expected. A single red rug lay in the living room, and only minimal furniture adorned the small room. Flipping on the light switch, I noticed that there were no paintings or pictures on the shelves or walls. Normally, a Ponyville home's shelves would be adorned with pictures of loved ones, but here, the shelves remained barren. The bookshelf that stood in the corner near one of the two chairs in the living room held only two books- both very basic by the look of it. A small chill ran down my back, and my stomach knotted up a bit. The house was a massive contrast to its occupant, a bubbly, happy-go-lucky mare.

As we entered the kitchen, she threw open the cabinets, and tossed various ingredients onto the counter. The kitchen was a standard room. It had a refrigerator, an oven, and a sink, and yet, there was still a vague emptiness to it. I grew more uneasy. Derpy began throwing the ingredients in a bowl, and stirring happily. I eyed her with confusion. How can she live here? It doesn't add up, I thought to myself.

About twenty minutes passed, and the oven sounded its bell, signaling that the muffins were ready. Derpy let out a small squeal of joy, and opened the oven door, grabbing the baking pan, and placing it on the countertop. We let them cool a bit, and then sat at a table located just across from the oven. We ate in silence, until I got up the nerve to as her a question that nagged my mind since I got there.

"Derpy," I began. "Why don't you have any pictures of your family?" Derpy stopped eating, and looked down. My heart fell into my stomach. Oh, God, what did I do? She was silent for a while before answering.

"I don't have any family." My heart skipped a beat, and my stomach lurched when she said this. Her tone had gone from merry, to sorrow in a matter of seconds.

"Why don't you have any pictures of your friends, then?" I asked. Her gaze dropped further, and tears formed in here eyes. Once again, I was slammed in the stomach with guilt.

"Oh, Derpy... I'm... I'm so sorry," I said, voice cracking a bit.

A tear dropped from her face and landed on the table. I couldn't think of anything to say, so I wrapped my arm around her, and embraced her. After a minute or so, she squeezed back, and the tears stopped.

"Thank you."