"Hey, what day is it?" I asked the room, a man in a suit walking over to meet me. "Hey, you--"
"December ninth, why?" He asked, looking at the wall of listings with me. "Oh, you're actually going to do it?"
I looked at the map of Equestria. "Yeah, but there's only like ten people left." I flipped through the guide listings, "Isn't this someone special?" I asked, taking a note off the wall. It looked new. "A.K. Like the gun?" I looked over the note. "Back from...huh...."
The man with me leaned in. "What's up?"
I stuffed the note in my pocket. "Says she just got back from some serious stuff in Saddle Arabia."
The man shrugged. "Ponies are weird dude." He turned away, leaving me to scan the map once again.
The massive paper wall was daunting. I had a sponsor, I had a guide, now all I was missing was a location. I could go anywhere, Equestria, Saddle Arabia, islands and towns, all of them were open to me. There wasn't a patch of land I wasn't allowed to roam. But I had no idea where to start.
I looked around the town hall. It was busy, not a year after the portal was opened and humans were flooding in. People were getting placed, the ponies around the city were going mad trying to sort everything out, and here I was getting ready to leave everything behind save a backpack and some clothes, and spend years wandering and building.
I didn't know a thing about A.K. Yearling, I didn't know a thing about Equestria past what I read, I had no idea how to build. But I knew I could learn. All that was left, picking the first place, waiting for Yearling and heading off towards whatever Equestria had in store for me.
I felt jittery. My heart was beating out of my chest as I thought about everything that might happen. I might get killed, I might fall in love, I might kill, discover, I had no idea, and it scared me. I felt stiff, my legs stuck into the ground like tent poles. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, all I knew is it was the most exciting thing to happen since I almost got hit by a car.
I had to move though. I had to start packing. I pulled my legs out of the ground, shaking them out to try and loosen up. Each step along the hard floor of the town hall felt heavy, the cold was settling against my shoulders as the constant click of my shoes rang on. The only thing louder were the ponies, their hooves clopping up and down the room, constant, beating, like colonial drums.
I hurried through the main hall, rushing outside and taking a deep breath of cold air. I looked out over Ponyville, staring at the thatched roofs and wood smoke billowing out of a few homes. It felt right, like a medieval village had sprung to life before my very eyes. Like I was thrown back in time, yet here I was, surrounded by humanity, albeit in pony form, but it was humanity none the less.
My mind buzzed as I headed towards Thunderlane's. How many places would I go? How long would I be out there? Could I make it? Would I make it? How many people would I meet? Could I even pronounce their names? It was maddening, a constant swirl of worry bouncing around my head as I walked.
But I felt alive, excited. The depression I'd felt for years was slowly burning away, smells were picking up, light felt brighter, touch felt more vivid. And beyond it all I felt warm. It was snowing outside, my breath constantly curling before me, yet I was warm. I was ready, if not for the adventure, then for a change. Equestria was my new world, my chance to explore like the settlers of Virginia.
But I still had no idea where to start. Bad enough I would be going to the north during winter, but being lost wouldn't do me any favors. I had to find someplace that wouldn't ruin me right away. I'd heard stories about the north west, all of them talking about how beautiful they were in the snow. I was ready to go, ready to face the extremes, I had money, I was strong, young, and eager to get to work.
Thunderlane had told me to find a place that I'd fit in, and I was damn sure going to find it.
I hurried past the crowded streets, ponies of varying height zooming past as I walked. I felt tall, most ponies ending up around chest to shoulder height. It went a short ways to keeping me calm. Ponies this size couldn't build too big, and that meant I could probably get away with not knowing too much.
I zipped onto the snow covered lawns of my street. It reminded me of my arrival, only that much colder. These ponies, they would take you in, they refused to leave you outside on your own. And without Thunderlane, without his help I wouldn't even be here anymore. I would have ended up in some bunkhouse in Canterlot, waiting to get shipped off to some crappy fast food job in the city.
I opened the door, letting a rush of warm air thaw the ice on my brow. "Hey, close the door!" Thunderlane shouted, leaning over his couch. "Celestia's taint, damn cold."
I slammed the door shut. "That's no joke man." I took off my coat, hanging it up. "Oh, before I forget I found a guide!" I ran over, boots thudding against his floor. "Someone named Yearling."
Thunderlane watched me, eyes open wide. "Neat. Now when do you leave?" He poked his back leg towards my boots. "You're tracking snow in here, you douche."
I looked down, finding myself standing in a small puddle. "Oh...well shit."
Thunderlane laughed. "Yeah, kind of a dick move."
I threw my hands up. "I didn't know!" I hurried back to the front door, taking off my boots and leaving them sitting there. "Anyways, I got a sponser, I got a guide, it's all set for Tuesday."
Thunderlane nodded proudly. "So, where ya gonna go?"
I froze, "Uh...no idea."
Thunderlane snapped his head to me. "Seriously? Didn't you go to look at the map?"
I shrugged. "Doesn't mean I know where to go!"
Thunderlane rolled his eyes. "Got an idea?"
I plopped down next to him. "North, north west, somewhere like that."
Thunderlane sighed loudly. "It's a start."
"That's all I need man, that's all I need."
I sat on a train, everything was arranged. Yearling would meet me on the ride to the coast, we'd take a boat over and get to work right away. The train was chugging along, towards Vanhoover, and somewhere with me Ms. Yearling was somewhere in a cabin, waiting for me to find her. I looked down at my back, stuffing my belongings inside and hurrying to zip it all up and move on. "...Hope I brought enough." I hoisted my bags over my shoulders, hurrying towards the next car.
The wind rushing past as I stepped between the cars was immense. We were booking it towards Vanhoover, like a bat out of hell, or flung free from an angry batter. I chuckled at the mental image of a bat flung into a crowd. "That's not in poor taste, right?" I asked myself, heading through the next pony filled car. I got a few strange looks, but aside from that no harm or hassle.
I carried on, wandering past the personal rooms. Yearling said she would leave a note for me, something attached to the base of the door. And as I walked down the line of doors, I spotted a small piece of paper folded up against the edge of an otherwise unassuming door. I walked up to the door, tapping it lightly with my knuckle. "Ms. Yearling?"
A loud sigh came from within. "Yes, come in."
I peaked in. "Is now a bad time?" I spotted a yellow-brown mare looking out the window. "Are you alright?"
Ms. Yearling looked over at me. "I'm fine, a bad time in Saddle Arabia." She looked towards the window again. "One of your kind stole something important...but, he's got to sort it out." She moved her hooves to her stomach. "Now I have a question...something I've never managed to ask, what is the human fascination with sex?"
I frowned hard. "Uh...we just met." I closed the door behind me, slowly finding a seat across from her in the small private room. "Are you saying you got raped?"
Yearling looked down. "No...somehow being raped would be a little less shameful than what actually happened." She rubbed her lower belly. "But, it happened, nothing left to do but move on."
I felt my eyes open wide. "Uh...wow, so, hi, I'm Leo, short for Leon." I sat back, rubbing my thighs. "I feel like I just stepped into some serious shit."
Yearling sighed loudly. "Sorry, it's been on my mind for a while."
I looked the mare up and down. "You're not wearing a coat...." I started to rummage through my bags.
Yearling looked back out the window. "I'm fine. And sorry, like I said it's--"
I cut her off, standing up and draping a thick cotton coat over her. "There, you seem like you need it more than I do."
Yearling looked down at the coat, finding herself completely covered. "Uh...I--"
"Seriously, you looked cold." I sat back, zipping my bag back up. "It's not that big a deal anyways."
Yearling looked down at my coat. "You know if you're trying to suck up to me, it's a good start." She laughed. "Glad to see you're not all vile."
I pulled back. "Uh...vile, wow. Really didn't have a good first--"
"I had sex with one of you, got drugged and hoofcuffed to a tent pole." She stated quickly. "Really I just felt like an idiot more than anything else."
I looked towards the window. "Bummer." I crossed my arms, watching the snowy woods zoom by. "That's really rough. Glad to see you're not dwelling on it too bad."
Yearling leaned back, letting my coat cover her chest and forelegs. "He wasn't a bad person, just, he's got some strange views on life. Some less than perfect reasons for doing what he did."
I rubbed my hands together. "So...Fetlock, you ever--"
Yearling turned to me with a smile. "Kid, if you can name it, I've been there."
I laughed softly. "You're probably not that much older than me."
Yearling cocked an eyebrow. "Really? Do I look that young?"
I clapped my hands together. "You do, and I'm just older than I look. Not, old, but older."
Yearling cocked her other eyebrow. "How old--"
"Nearly thirty." I stated without a second thought. "Twenty seven, but I call it near thirty."
Yearling's eyes shot open. "Oh...you're really not that much younger."
I shrugged. "I tried to stay in shape. Failed, but I tried."
Yearling laughed. "Tell me about it. You spend half your life in temples and ruins, then you have one hayburger and suddenly you feel like a tub of fatty, fat, fatflank."
I looked back to Yearling, "Uh...so, Fetlock?"
"Oh right." Yearling sat upright, my coat falling into her lap. "It's an island chain. Three major islands, one urban, one rural, and one devoted almost entirely to farming."
I scratched my head. "Sounds like England, or, the kingdom, whatever they call it over there."
Yearling looked at me with a bit of worry. "So you're really new to Equestria aren't you?"
"I am."
Yearling started to grow a sly smile. "And the first place you picked was Fetlock?"
"Yep."
She started chuckling. "You know the ponies there are about three times our size, and probably about twice yours."
I felt a hitch in my throat. "Uh...what, like a draft horse?! Holy crap."
Daring nodded. "Yeah, I mean, I know we're not that different. Just bipedal verses quadruped, but a Fetlock pony is going to tower over you."
I rubbed my throat. "Yeah, but that means they'll be bigger than you too!"
Yearling smiled wide. "Yeah, but I can fly." She flipped out her wings, stretching them wide. "Seems like you're a bit more ground based."
I took a deep breath, my stomach fluttering from the thought of giant ponies. "Oh god...this is gonna be so weird."
Yearling nodded. "Weirder than talking to a monkey? Because it's still kinda weird for me."
I scratched my head. "Wait, mon--"
Yearling started snickering. "Oh wow, you scratched your head just like one of the chimps at the zoo!" She started chuckling, snorting a raspy snorting laugh. But all that joy popped up into a sharp whinny. "I- oh...." She looked down at her hooves. "Hmm."
"So yeah, still kind of weird talking to horses too." I smiled sharply. "But you get used to it."
Yearling shot back a defiant smile. "Pushing your luck, I can take it, but you'd better watch out around Fetlock, they might accidentally step on you."
We both laughed. It slowly died out, giving way to the constant tunk tunk tunk as the train went from rail to rail. "That's- uh...that's really funny...." I rubbed my mouth, wiping away my smile. "You don't think they're actually going to step on me, right?"
Yearling shrugged. "Stay away from any mare with a hoof fetish and I think you'll be alright."
I felt my cheeks flush slightly. "Uh, to be honest I wasn't really thinking about that too much."
Yearling shook her head, chuckling softly. "Humans are all exotic right now. You know there's going to be mares out there who like to try new things."
"Like you?" I asked, honest as could be. But my honesty seemed to land hard, crumbling Yearling.
"I guess so." She slumped back, pulling my coat up her chest.
I looked out the window. "I'm really sorry."
Yearling shrugged. "It happened. Better not to dwell on it."
"I'm still sorry."
