Chapters Waking Up in Equestria: Redux
The very first sensation that came to me was the feeling of the suns' warmth as it came down on me, wrapping me in its' warm embrace. I gave a lazy smile as I accepted the warmth and curled up under my already warm bedsheets. Sleep nipped at the fringes of my mind, but there was something that kept it some-what awake.
My mattress was unusually stiff. It felt like I was laying on the ground.
Feeling was the second sense to come to me, connecting to each point in my nervous system, relaying messages to my brain with lighting fast speed. I shifted and rolled onto my side, trying to find a soft spot in the mattress, but to no avail. As I struggled, my sense of smell kicked in as I took in a breath. The scent of leaves and grass tickled my nose as I laid there. At this point, my sleepy mind began to have a minor fit of confusion as it gathered the information given to it.
A bird chirped nearby, followed by the returned chirps of other birds.
My ears twitched and turned to the- wait a minute.
My hands shot up to the sides of my head, expecting to feel my ears there. But instead of them being there, I simply patted at my cow licked hair, having to move up farther my skull.
Closer...closer...closer...
Since when did I have horse ears?
My eyelids shot open, revealing the world above me to my blurred gaze. I was laying in a forest clearing, staring up at a fading night sky. I could see the lighter colors of a rising sun peaking from behind the trees to my right. Blinking, I crossed by eyes for a moment and stared at my nose, seeing that it was longer and a bit more broader, covered in a toffee colored fur. I raised a had and patted at the snout, seeing that it too was covered in the same colored fur. My hand continued up and lightly patted, expecting to feel my glasses. Not feeling them there, I looked to my left and spotted the black, blocky frames. Grabbing them, I set them on my face and jumped a bit. They were larger than usual, the nose pieces having been spread out farther to accompany my broader nose. Blinking, I sat up, letting the blanket covering me fall off my frame, my back popping in a crescendo of breaking air pockets within my spinal cord.
Looking down, I examined my arms in wonder. They were entirely covered in the same toffee fur, moving up and under my Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon shirt. I assumed that the rest of me was covered in the fur, so I didn't bother to continue looking. Giving a sigh, I began to stand up, only to fall back down to my rump, my legs sending messages to my brain that something was very wrong. I threw off the blankets to look at my legs, gasping at what was revealed.
Instead of feet and toes poking out at the bottom of my pajama pants, there were two solid hooves. Instead of two knees, I had four total in sets of two. There were two front knee joints, connected to a rear set of knee joints. I flexed my legs, watching how they moved and rotated.
"This is very wrong..." I mumbled as I sat there, dumbfounded by what was before me. The nerves in my back began to send messages of major confusion to my brain, telling it that they were very cold and being weighed down on by something on my back. Looking over my shoulder and down at my back, a glint of silver caught the corner of my eye. I twisted my back, trying to see more of the silver object I'd seen. A hiss of air was heard, soon followed by the sounds of small gears and motors powering something. I could feel additional weight being added to my back and my arm shot back to grope around as the weight continued. My fingertips brushed against cold, solid metal that ended in sharp angles. I turned my head again and was suddenly met by the sight of metallic feathers shaking slightly from some tension being released within the mechanics. The wing span was longer than my arms, going out past my fingertips.
"This is very wrong indeed..." I said aloud to the surrounding forest. Under the orchestra of chirping birds was the sounds of a running creek. However, there was another sound that was beginning to over take the creek and the birds.
Someone was singing, and quite beautifully I might add.
I glanced down to my fe- erm, hooves and frowned a bit. Walking with these is going to be a bit of a challenge. Pushing my self up and onto my hooves, I staggered a bit as my weight adjusted itself to my new legs, throwing me forward and backward a bit. When I got centered, I took a shaky step forward, then another, and another. My double-jointed knees shook and quivered as I began to nail down the new rhythm of walking. My hooves took me to a group of bushes, where the majestic singing was coming from behind the bushes.
Reaching forward I pushed aside a clump of leaves and peaked at who the singer was...
Then I retreated from said bushes in a jump of shock.
"There's no way..." I mumbled to myself, peaking up from behind the bushes again. I ducked down again and blinked, confirming what I was seeing: Fluttershy was singing to her animal friends as she took care of them in her backyard.
As a Brony, meeting any of the Mane Six would've been an amazing experience. But in the current situation, having woken up and in a strange place and suddenly seeing Fluttershy as she sang, this encounter was a bit alarming to my already confused mind.
But seeing Fluttershy has confirmed one thing: that I had woken up in the Everfree Forest, and that I was somehow teleported to Equestria.
"Well...I better say something..." I said, clearing my throat. "U-Uhm, hello?" I called out. Fluttershy's singing trailed off a bit, with a small 'Hmmm?'. "I-is anyo-erm, anypony there?" I asked. I heard the soft approach of hooves coming towards the bushes. Then, Fluttershy's quiet voice spoke up.
"H-hello? Are you b-back there?" she asked curiously.
"Uh, yeah! Listen, uhm, I'm kinda lost and need some...help. Think you can help me?" I asked, a bit nervous.
"Well how can I help you if I can't see you?" Fluttershy asked kindly. I could tell by the tone of her voice that she had a small, eager smile on her face. Thinking about that, I sighed and poked my head up again and looked at her.
I swear my heart froze at the sight of her and her helpful gaze. Her eyes met mine and her smile broadened a bit more.
"Oh! Hello!" she chirped sweetly.
Yep, definite heart failure.
"H-hi...mind uh, stepping back a bit. I uh...don't want to alarm you." I said, hoping that she'd understand. Her head tilted to the side a bit in slight confusion and she stepped back, keeping her eyes on me. With another sigh, I rose to my full height and stepped out from behind the bush, watching her eyes widen in surprise as she looked me over, a hoof raised a bit as her jaw sat agape.
"O-oh...my..." she squeaked.
"Yeah...I'm not exactly from around here." I said simply, giving a meager shrug.
* * *
After Fluttershy had gotten over the initial shock of my appearance, she had invited me in to her home and offered me some tea. Not wanting to be rude, I accepted her offer for tea and sat down in her kitchen as she went to get a book from her bookcase. When she returned, she sat down and looked me over again, this time in a scrutinizing manner.
"Well...you're obviously part pony..." she mumbled, flipping through the pages. "But I can't quite find what you've been mixed with..." she continued.
"You're making it sound like I'm some lab experiment." I pointed out. Fluttershy looked up at me with a look of slight hurt.
"O-oh...I'm sorry...it's not everyday that a new species of pony is seen..." she said sadly.
Great, nice job Harrison. Now you've gone and hurt her feelings. Great first impression!
I gave a sigh and shook my head. "No, you're fine. But like I said, I'm not from around here." I reached across and patted her hoof to reassure her. She smiled a bit and took a second glance at my hand.
"Wait a minute..." she said softly, pulling back her hoof and flipping to the front of the book. She stopped on a section labeled 'Ape'. She looked at the diagram of the ape and back to me, comparing her observations. "It looks like you've been mixed with a monkey and a pony. What an interesting combination." she said, closing the book with a satisfied smile.
"Do you always classify new creatures?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh yes! It's important to determine the relations between currently cataloged species and new ones! It's how I determine how to take care of a new friend!" she said happily. My eyebrows shot up at the last part of that sentence and scratched my head a bit.
"Uhm...what do you mean 'take care of'?" I asked, hoping she wasn't going to keep me prisoner all of a sudden.
"Oh! I obviously don't need to take care of you. You look like you've been able to do that yourself just fine." she said as she got up and returned her book to the shelf. She turned to look at me. "I know this is sudden to ask, but do you need a place to stay? I can let you stay here if you'd like." she said, giving me a smile before jerking a bit and mumbling "If that's okay with you."
I smiled and gave a shrug. "Sure, why not?" Fluttershy nodded and smiled. "I'll go get the spare room ready then." she said as she went up the stairs. Sitting back, I gave a small sigh.
"I just met her and now she's offering a place to stay. Things certainly work fast around here." I said, letting myself relax. I could see Angle Bunny giving me the stink eye in the other room as I sat there. I raised an eyebrow and gave Angel a rude hand gesture that made him scowl and return the same gesture. I blinked in surprise as he smirked and hopped away just as Fluttershy came back down the stairs.
"Oh, I've been meaning to ask you something." she said as she retook her seat in front of me.
"And what's that?" I asked.
"Where are you from? You said you're not from around here." she said, leaning forward to hear what I had to say, very curious about my origins.
"Well...how do I explain that I'm from an alternate world and that I suddenly woke up here when I went to sleep in my own room last night?" I asked. Fluttershy blinked once, twice, then a third time. Silence fell around us as she stared at me. "I didn't break you did I...?" I asked worriedly.
"No...I'm just...trying to take in what you said..." she mumbled.
"Want me to put it in simple terms...?" I asked. She nodded a bit and I sighed. "I'm from a different world. In my world, people are just big, upright apes with not as much hair on them. I went to sleep last night in my world, then woke up here. I have no idea how I got here, or why I look like this." I restated. This seemed to register with Fluttershy's mind a bit better as she gave a slow nod.
"Well...I can talk to a friend of mine who can help you out..." she offered.
"Who is this friend and what would they do?" I asked. I had a feeling that Fluttershy was going to answer with Twilight.
"Her name's Twilight-" Bingo. "-and she would probably do a spell to detect any magical residue." Fluttershy said. I nodded then looked at her.
"Just her, okay? I don't want news getting around town that an alien that looks like a pony-ape thing is in your home." I said in a serious tone.
"Oh, I understand completely." she said with a nod, getting up once again. "I'm going to go get Twilight now, okay? I'll be back soon." she said. When I nodded, she trotted out the door and off to town, leaving me alone.
"Well, what's the worst that can happen?" I mumbled. Suddenly, a blur of white zipped across my face and my vision was immediately blurry. I patted at my face, expecting to feel my glasses. Feeling that they weren't there, I squinted my eyes and spotted Angel standing in the doorway, my glasses gripped in his little paw. "Give those back!" I demanded, getting up and going for the rabbit. Angel gawked at my height and scurried away, hoping up the furniture and out the window with my glasses. "YOU LITTLE RODENT!" I bellowed as I charged out of the cottage in hot pursuit of the little thief.
Waking Up in Equestria: Redux
Twilight's Investigations
My hooves pounded against the dirt path that ran along the outer edge of Ponyville as I chased Angel. The bunny had my glasses in his mouth, using all his might to escape his pursuer. The bunny ducked under hedges and through fences as I ran along side him. Looking ahead the best I could, I spotted an open intersection. One way led into town, while the other crossed a bridge and away from Ponyville.
"Perfect." I thought mentally. Pouring on the speed, I spotted Angel as he began to approach the intersection. At the last second, my wings flared and I lunged, tackling the bunny, sending the both of us tumbling into a small flower cart. The flower mare screamed in terror as Angel and I scuffled amongst the wooden shards and destroyed roses. I managed to get a grip on my glasses and rip them from his mouth before grabbing Angel with a free hand and hoisting him up.
"Heel rabbit!" I ordered angrily. Angel seemed to take offense to being called a 'rabbit'. In response, his little mouth opened up, then slammed shut down on the knuckle of my thumb. I could feel his teeth digging in deeper and deeper. With a roar of pain, I began to shake Angel around as if he were some small purse dog that had gone rabid. To those watching this scuffle occur, this would've looked very comical; a large stallion shaking around a little rabbit that was biting him. Eventually, Angels' jaw began to weaken and he let go, but as a result, he was flung clear over the roofs of some nearby buildings. His little shriek of terror could be heard as he soared into the skies.
I think there was a little twinkle in the morning sky immediately after he vanished.
"Damn rodent..." I said, putting on my glasses. Pain shot through my thumb and I looked to it, seeing that the appendage was a bloody mess with a large gash going from side to side. With a groan and a roll of my eyes, I looked to the flower mare who watched the whole event unfold before her. The mare turned out to be Rose Luck. She glared at me through watering eyes as she collected the shattered remains of her prized flower cart.
I gave a meager shrug and an unease chuckle. "Mind uh...helping me out...?" I asked, gesturing with my bloodied hand.
Rose Lucks' glare intensified. "I don't know. Are you going to pay for a new cart and a whole months' worth of stock!?" she asked, her voice rising to an angered shriek. I could hear the sounds of flapping wings approaching us and I looked to my right to spot Twilight and Fluttershy flying up to us. Twilight stopped in her tracks and landed when she spotted me, her jaw dropping in shock.
Fluttershy, however, landed continued her gallop to me. Her eyes widened with worry as she spotted the blood covering my hand.
"Oh dear! Are you alright? What in the world happened?" she asked as her hooves took my hand, her eyes rapidly scrutinizing and examining my injury.
"I'm fine Fluttershy. Angel was being a little punk. He stole my glasses and went running off with them. He bit me and I flung him into the sky." I said simply. Fluttershy gasped in horror at the last part. Behind her, Twilight approached me, her eyes looking me over with an observational glint in them.
"This is your new friend?" she asked Fluttershy. The pegasus nodded and returned to worrying over my bite, signalling for Rose Luck to assist. I lost sight of Twilight as she paced around me. I could hear her stop behind me, rearing up to get a closer look at the wings that adorned my back. "Impressive mechanics..." she breathed stepping back as she came to the front of me. "Mind kneeling down, please?" she asked. I shrugged and knelt down, letting her get a better look at me. She raised her hooves to my face, gripping it and then turning my head from side to side.
And all the while, I could feel my mind go numb as I looked at her scrunched up face. The way she squared her jaw as she looked me over, the calculating nature of her gorgeous lavender eyes, and the minor scrunching of her muzzle.
Good God above I think I'm in love.
Twilight released my face and backed away, giving a final look over as she sat down on her rump. She tapped her forehooves tentatively before speaking. "Would you mind coming back to my place so that I may ask you some questions?" she asked, smiling and rolling her eyes away.
"Depends on the nature of your questions." I said simply. I looked over to Fluttershy who was wrapping my hand in a strip of medical gauze from a small first aid kit that Rose Luck had salvaged from the wrecked cart. Once tapped down, Fluttershy gently patted the wrappings and looked to Twilight.
"Uhm...may I come along? I would love to hear about him." she said, patting the side of my thigh as I knelt there.
"Of course you can! And don't worry, the questions are very basic. Nothing extreme." Twilight assured as she got up and began to trot happily to her home. "Come along you two." she called. I got up and looked to Rose Luck.
"I'll...uh...try and do what I can when I come into some money." I said. Rose Luck blinked at me, then gave a sigh and waved a hoof.
"Oh, you're fine. I hated that cart anyway. The wheel kept wobbling and felt like it was gonna come off at any moment. And I can always grow some new roses while I sell off my stock of violets." she said simply. After asking if she were sure and getting a confirmed answer, I took my leave from Rose Luck and joined Twilight and Fluttershy as we walked further into town.
* * *
As we walked, I looked around at the bustling townsponies as they did their shopping or chatted with friends. Some, mostly the younger ones, stopped and stared at me, even giving me a wave from time to time. I smiled and looked down at the two mares walking before me, then up the path to where we were heading.
Now that was a big crystal.
"Whoa...nice place..." I muttered. Twilight looked over her shoulder and smiled.
"Yeah, kinda too big for my liking, but it's a definite improvement from the original. But it still lacks the hominess of being inside a tree." she said with a tone of fondness.
"If only that bully Tirek hadn't been so mean." Fluttershy said with a small pout. I remembered back to watching that finale on TV for the first time, and being blown away by the unexpected amount of action that they added into it. Upon approaching the door, it opened up by itself to show Spike on the opposite side.
"Hi Twilight! Hi Fluttershy!" he said happily to his friends. Then his eyes panned up to me and his eyebrows shot up. "Whoa. Who's the big guy?" he asked, pointing to me. The three of us passed through the door way and Spike closed the door behind us.
"Spike, this is-" Twilight blinked looking to me. "I'm sorry, I didn't get your name!" she said.
"Oh, it's..."I trailed off. "Oh jeez...do I use my normal name, or the name of my OC...?" "Well...see, I have two different names..." I said in an uncertain tone.
"Oh, well just tell us the one you're more comfortable with!" Twilight said with a smile.
"Ugh."
"It's Harrison. But, I'd like to be called Timeless." I said simply, rolling my good hand as I explained.
"No problem, Timeless!" Twilight chirped, giving a small giggle as she looked at me.
"What?" I asked simply.
"You started blushing after I said your name." she said stopping her giggles. "Anyway, Spike, Timeless is here so that I may ask him some questions. He's new here." she explained to baby dragon. Spike gasped and looked at me in panic.
"Dude, run! Run while you can! When she starts, she never stops!" Spike said, running to me and trying his best to push me out the door so that I may escape Twilight's supposed madness.
But, he was just a baby dragon, and I was a six foot tall anthromorphic pony, so I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.
"Spike, that's not nice to say. I'm only going to ask him a couple questions." Twilight said with a deadpanned expression. Spike stopped trying to push me and looked up to me, his eyes tearing up as he gave me a crisp salute.
"Even though I just met you, I'm going to miss you. Good luck soldier." he said, trying to hold back tears.
I stiffened and returned the salute. "Thank you sir." I said professionally. I looked to Twilight as she rolled her eyes, her horn flaring up and enveloping the door in a lavender glow.
"Spike, go see if Rarity needs help with anything." Twilight said in a motherly tone. Spikes' mood instantly improved and he gave an eager nod.
"Yeah! She did say she needed help with some new dresses the other day." he said, running out the door in an eager manner. The door closed behind him, leaving just me and the two mares. Silence fell between the three of us as we gave awkward glances and shuffled our stances.
"Should we sit?" Fluttershy asked quietly, gesturing to a nearby table. Twilight nodded and we all went to the table and took our seats.
"Soooo...where do we begin?" I asked, scratching the back of my ear.
"Well, tell us about yourself. Where are you from?" Twilight asked, leaning forward in anticipation.
"Oh, he said he's from a different world." Fluttershy said. Twilight's eyebrows raised in surprise.
"A different world? What is that like?" she asked.
"Honestly, it's not much different from your world. Except instead of talking ponies, my home is populated by a race called Humans. Humans are a descendant of apes. But people insist that a greater power created us and it's all just a big, messy argument on that topic." I said in a nonchalant tone. Suddenly, the sounds of an alarm began to wail within the room. Twilight and Fluttershy cried out in surprise and began to look around to spot the source.
Why is the M-COM armed, and why is no one stopping it? I thought we had a squad defending it!
Oh, right...
"Hang on you two." I said, patting my pajama pants, feeling the item within one of the pockets. Reaching in, I withdrew my iPod and slid option to turn off the alarm. "Heh, had an alarm set." I said, putting the device away.
"What was that?" Twilight asked.
"It's the M-COM alarm from Battlefield . I react to that sound better than any other and it gets me awake quicker." I explained. Twilight and Fluttershy looked at me with looks of pure confusion.
"I was talking about the thing you pulled out..." Twilight said.
"Oh! Well, it's called an iPod. A company called Apple made it. It's basically an entertainment and communication device. It can hold your music, photos, games, and contacts." I explained.
"May I see it?" Twilight asked. I shrugged and passed the iPod to her. Twilight's horn flared up and levitated the item, rolling it over and over as she examined it. "So simple looking..." she said. "Can it really do all you said?" she asked.
"Yeah, but mine is a generation behind so it's starting to crap out on me." I said with a disgusted voice. "But it's held up well for the five years I've had it." I added with a shrug.
"Tell me, how advanced is your race?" Twilight asked, passing the iPod back to me.
"Well, we have machines that can can take us through the skies, across oceans, and across the land when we want to go somewhere. Our cities span for miles and light up the night skies. We've landed on the moon that orbits our planet, and we're well on our way to exploring the possibility of colonizing one of the planets in our solar system." I explained. "It's not all that different than here." I said.
"How fascinating! You're surely a very long way from home, aren't you?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah, but at the same time I feel like I am home..." I said, trailing off. Twilight and Fluttershy exchanged glances and looked back to me.
"Don't worry. We'll find a way to get you back to your home." Fluttershy said, reaching over and patting my forearm. I gave a smile and patted her hoof in return.
From that point on, Twilight asked me a few more questions about my homes' government and other various topics such as wars and the cultures that inhabit the world. After Twilight was happy was happy with her answers, it was beginning to draw close to dinner time. After saying goodbye to Twilight, Fluttershy and I took our leave and returned to her cottage. Once we had eaten, Fluttershy led me up to her guest room and bid me good night, leaving me all to my lonesome.
"Kinda tiny..." I mumbled to myself as I looked around the room. It was simply decorated with some random art pieces. The furniture was spartan; just a bed and a desk with a chair. The window over looked the walkway that led up to the cottage. Off to the east of the path was the Everfree Forest, while the outline of Ponyville could be seen against the setting sun to the west. Looming to the north was the familiar mountain that Canterlot rested against.
No doubt that right now, Celestia was retiring to her quarters while Luna took over the night shift. Spotlights began to flicker on around the city, illuminating its' magnificent spires and rooftops. Right now, Canterlot's night life was beginning to stir, with Vinyl Scratch at the helm while Octavia entertained a more civilized crowd in some musical hall tucked away in one of Canterlot's parks. Meanwhile, down here in the valley, Ponyville was beginning to turn in for the night. Young colts and fillies were getting ready to sleep before school in the morning, while their parents sat beside a fire and cuddled while reading a good book. I watched as the lights in the town began to wink out, drawing darkness into the town.
Across the hall, the sounds of Fluttershy going to bed could be heard as she walked up the stairs and enter her own room, quietly closing the door as to not disturb me. With a light sigh, I turned away from the window and looked to the bed. The pillow and blankets seemed to be inviting me to join them in a nocturnal journey of warmth and dreams. Tossing the covers up, I laid myself down and pulled them over me as I rested my head on the soft pillow. Much to my displeasure however, the bed was very tiny, making me have to curl my legs up to even fit on the bed.
As I laid there, a feeling began to creep up on me.
It wasn't the feeling of being lost or trespassing though.
I felt...
At home.
Soon though, sleep began to nip at the edges of my mind, and I eventually gave in to sleeps' loving embrace.
Waking Up in Equestria: Redux
Morning came with the blaring alarm of my iPod as it sat on the nightstand next to the bed. The familiar sound of the M-COM wailing away stirred me from my sleep, forcing my hand to commence a hunt for the wailing device. Once my hand found its' prey, I half-opened an eye and slid the alarm off, allowing my hand to drop to the side of the bed and just dangle there.
About five minutes later, the iPod began to wail again, forcing me to shove it under the pillow with a grumbled "Fuck You", silencing the offending device.
If this kind of behavior doesn't show that I'm not a morning guy, I don't know what does.
It was at this time that a knocking came from the bedroom door, increasing my aggravation.
"Mom! Leave me alone! Another ten minutes for Christ sake!" I yelled before dropping my head back onto the pillow, trying to grab the fleeing reigns of sleep.
"O-Oh, I'm so sorry Timeless!" came the frightened voice of Fluttershy from the opposite side of the door. Now, if it wasn't for the fact that Fluttershy had just called me by my OC's name, I would've most likely been under the impression that the events of yesterday were just some fever dream brought on from a long nights' worth of gaming. But, the apology was enough to get me to bolt upright and look around the guest room of Fluttershys' cottage. A quick observation of my being confirmed that I was still half pony.
"I-I'll come back later...if that's okay with you..." Fluttershy mumbled. With a sigh, I swung my legs out from under the sheets and stood up.
"No, you're fine Fluttershy. I'm awake anyway." I said approaching the door and opening it to reveal the yellow pegasus staring up at me. "Sorry that I yelled at you." I added.
"Oh, it's okay. Angel yells at me when I try and wake him up early for his morning exercise." she said with a small smile.
"Yeah, I've never been a morning guy. I prefer the night in all honesty." I said with a chuckle. Fluttershy shared the small laughter and turned towards the stairs.
"What would you like for breakfast?" she asked kindly.
"Uhm...are you opposed to making some scrambled eggs on toast?" I asked.
"Of course not! I can just grab some eggs from the chicken house outside. Go ahead to the kitchen, I'll start breakfast once I have enough eggs." she said as she trotted off, a small tune on her lips as she hummed. After she had left, I turned back towards the bedroom and grabbed my iPod from under the pillow before making my way downstairs.
* * *
Breakfast went quite well for Fluttershy and I. We talked about the plans she had for today, mostly going out for a few errands then seeing if she could meet up with Rarity for their weekly spa trip. She had offered me to tag along, but I kindly declined, saying that a spa wasn't the type of place for me. Fluttershy just gave a light giggle and countered with the fact that she sees Thunder Lane in there on some of the days that she and Rarity were there, saying it was quite normal for some bucks to go to the spa.
Point taken.
After offering again, I shrugged and accepted the spa trip. Fluttershy happily clapped her hooves together and said she'd swing by to grab me after her errands. Once we had finished our meals, I offered to clean up while Fluttershy got ready to head out.
And that's when he showed up.
"Are you sure you can handle it all?" Fluttershy asked as I gathered the dishware and headed towards the sink.
"Fluttershy, I wash the dishes every night after dinner." I said. "While my parents sit on their asses..." I muttered under my breath.
"I didn't catch that." Fluttershy said.
"Oh nothing. Don't worry, I got this." I countered as I began to wash the dishes. Fluttershy gave a small shrug and left the kitchen, leaving me to myself. But I was soon joined by Angel as he hopped up to the window ledge, giving me the stink eye as he watched me do the dishes. "Fuck off rodent. I don't want to destroy Fluttershys' kitchen if you start shit again." I growled. But to my surprise, Angel shook his head and pointed to one of the smaller dirty plates. "Oh, you want to help?" I asked. He nodded and hopped his way down to the sink where he grabbed the plate and began to clean it.
I was just about to say 'Thanks' when he decided to give me a rather large splash of water to the face.
Growling again, I thrusted my hand forward and it wrapped around the rabbits' throat, hoisting him high. Angel struggled to free himself from my grip, but to no success. With a malevolent grin, I carried gave Angel a quick dunk in the water before taking him to Fluttershy's ice box. Opening the door, I plopped the soaked rabbit inside and closed the door before he could escape.
"Now sit in there and freeze your little balls off." I said with a chuckle.
Now, this may have seemed like animal abuse to some, but you have to admit, no one really likes Angel as it is; he's simply a jerk to everyone except Fluttershy and maybe Spike, but was about time someone put him in his place.
After drying myself off and finishing the dishes, I perused a nearby bookshelf for something interesting to read while I waited for Fluttershy to return. When nothing caught my interest, I simply plopped down on the couch and watched as the birds began to flit about Fluttershys' living room, going from bird house to bird house. About and hour later, Fluttershy returned with a couple bags in tow.
"Hello Timeless!" she chirped sweetly.
"Heya. How were your errands?" I asked as I sat up from the couch.
"Oh they went quite well. The market is particularly busy today." she said as she made her way into the kitchen to drop off her bags. "Have you seen Angel? He usually comes right to the door when I come home." she said with a slightly worried look on her face.
"Oh, I'm sure he's around here somewhere. He's probably chilling out with some of his friends." I said with a chuckle.
I could almost picture the little twerp screaming his voice out in anger as he hits at the ice box door.
"Oh, well I hope he doesn't get too far. Are you ready to go?" she asked, looking to me. With a resigned sigh, I gave a small shrug and joined Fluttershy at the door. Once we were ready, the two of us left her home and proceeded to make our way to Ponyville.
* * *
"I must say, you're under a lot of stress. Your shoulders' are stiffer than boards!" Lotus commented as her hooves worked their way over my shoulders and upper back. My wings were opened and sprawled out over the sides of the massage table, dangling limply as I laid there. Laying on the massage table next to me, Rarity was receiving a hooficure as she read through the local paper. Fluttershy was reclined in one of the spa chairs, her face covered in a green mud mask while her mane was put up into a towel.
"Well, for a buck his shape and size, I'm not at all surprised that he's carrying a lot of stress!" Aloe pipped up as she began to place hot stones along my back. I jumped at the sudden warmth, but relaxed as I felt my back muscles release the built up tension.
"Whatever could you be stressed about darling?" Rarity asked as she flipped to the Gossip section of the paper. My response, however, was a mumbled garbling. "What was that? I didn't quite catch what you said." Rarity said. Aloe peaked her head down to look at me, then pulled back and covered her mouth with a hoof, suppressing a giggle.
"He looks as if he's off in dreamland! We must really be doing a good job!" she said, gently poking my shoulder. "Wake up sleepyhead!" she cooed gently. My ear twitched in the direction of her voice.
"I'm...awake..." I mumbled, lifting my head slowly, blinking the sleep from my eyes. "Is it time for lunch...?" I asked, smacking my lips as my stomach gave a rumble of agreement.
"Not for another two hours dear." Rarity said as the foam spacer was removed from her hooves and set aside by Lotus. With a satisfied nod, Rarity moved herself to the floor and walked over to me as Aloe removed the hot stones on my back. "I would, however, love to get your measurements!" she said, giving me a large smile.
"And...why's that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "You know all too well why she wants to!" I chided mentally.
"Why, to give myself a challenge! One should always take the chance to challenge themselves with an interesting task." she said as she began to circle around me, estimating my measurements with calculating eyes.
"So you basically want to dress me up like a doll." I deadpanned.
"Oh sweetie, I'm going to make you look stunning! You will be no doll for me to play with." she said, patting my head with a reassuring hoof. I furrowed my eyebrows as she patted my head, giving her a look of 'Please stop. I'm not a dog.'. With a embarrassed smile, Rarity lowered the hoof and looked away, pretending to be preoccupied with the drapes surrounding the spa. With one movement, I swung myself off the table and stood up, making sure to keep the towel secured around my waist.
Last time I had to stand up was when the three of us were leaving the sauna, and my brain derped, forgetting to make sure I secured my towel.
Needless to say, the ladies caught a brief glimpse at what I was packing, but were quick to forgive the incident and brushed it off as if it were nothing.
But their cheeks were still apple red for about ten minutes after.
"And besides, I would like to ask you about the fashions from your home! What does your royalty wear? Oh! What's the current look?" Rarity asked, but I stopped her before she went into a fashiongasm.
"I'll answer what I can Rarity, but please, do calm down. You're getting a bit excited there." I said with a chuckle. Rarity gave a lady like cough and composed herself.
"I apologize for that. It's just that I live for fashion! I often dream that my name is known across the land, and that everypony is wearing an original Rarity piece!" she said, casting her hoof across as she went off into a trance like state, a smile spreading across her lips.
"Maybe one day Rarity. I'm going to get changed, I'll meet you two out in the lobby." I said, gesturing to the dressing rooms. The two nodded and trotted off as I turned and made my way to the back of the spa. As I entered the small hallway, a cream earth pony buck with a blonde mane and blue eyes watched me as I entered the changing room, then came out a couple minutes later in my pajama pants and Pink Floyd shirt.
"Uhm, sir. Hold on a moment." he called. He trotted up to me, his eyes scanning me over. "That top with those bottoms?" he asked, looking up to me. "I applaud your attempt at leisure fashion, but I recommend staying away from the dark plaids. And maybe a brighter top color to make everything pop!" he said, giving me an easy smile.
"Actually, I was on my way to Rarity's to get some measurements done." I said, pointing my thumb back to the rest of the spa.
"Oh! Well, when you get there, tell her that Masseuse said 'Crescendo of Color'." he said, turning away to resume whatever chore he was doing before stopping me. With a small shrug, I turned and made my way back to Fluttershy and Rarity. After paying the expenses, the three of us left the spa and made our way to Carousel Boutique.
"Oh, Rarity." I said.
"What is it, dear?" she asked, looking back at me as she trotted along.
"Crescendo of Color." I said simply. Rarity looked confused for a moment, then her features lit up with recognition.
"Oh!" she said. "I must thank Masseuse the next time I see him." she said as we reached the front door of her store, leading Fluttershy and I inside.
* * *
After a few hours of constant measuring and trying on clothing prototypes, Fluttershy and I left Rarity to complete her project, saying that she will give me the clothing free of charge when they were ready. After checking the time, Fluttershy and I stopped at a small cafe for a quick lunch, then walked around the town market for a while. At one point as we walked, the two of us passed by Lyra and Bon Bon as they walked out of a candy shop. Fluttershy introduced me to them, but I made sure to make quick talk with Lyra, avoiding her increasingly eager gaze. Her golden eyes kept wandering over my form, practically visually molesting me.
We all know how she is. No explanation is needed.
As we walked away from the pair, I could hear Lyra say "I gotta talk to him!" followed by Bon Bon saying "No, stay away from him! We don't need another incident!"
What happened before my arrival? What had Lyra done?
"What would you like to do Timeless?" Fluttershy asked as we stopped at the path that led to her home.
"I think I'm going to go talk to Twilight. I have some questions to ask her." I said. Fluttershy nodded and bid me goodbye as I turned and walked towards the towering crystal palace that belonged to Twilight.