The Armaments of Harmonyby ShadowsciverChaptersArrival (edited)In which things begin to progress (edited)Getting kicked really hurts, doesn't it?War is the least of your worries, kidSo you almost blew up the Princess. Now what?Arrival (edited)"BOY, WAKE YER ARSE UP, THERE'S WORK TAH DO!!" Wayland woke with a start, groaning and falling out of bed. He rubbed the new sore spot on his head as he stood up, catching himself in the mirror. His pants were ruffled and his tousled black hair stood up in the back, proving his uncle's point about his restless sleeps. Wayland had been up all night fixing a crack in one of the villager's rifle's. They - Wayland and his uncle - lived in a small village up in the very northern part of Scandinavia, where technology was evident, but the old ways were still going strong. The village had internet and phones, and most regular electrical appliances like fridges and televisions and toasters, but larger icons, like automobiles, were scarce. If one needed to get somewhere, they walked, or took a cart. Cars and trucks were usually reserved for the wealthy or powerful. It wasn't the most advanced of homes, but it was still home nonetheless. Wayland himself was a blacksmith, along with his uncle, Ulric; they handled all of the smithing jobs, from tools to jewelry to weapons. "I SAID GET YER ARSE OUT OF BED!!" Ulric shouted from downstairs in the forge, banging loudly on the anvil. "Yes Uncle, I'm coming!!" Wayland called back, stretching and pulling his clothes on, running a hand through his very short black hair. He slipped on some heavy duty boots, adding a dirty t-shirt on top. A year back, he had reinforced the pants and shirt himself with a few old metal plates for practice, but they made for good decoration, and helped to solidify his image as a blacksmith. He made his way downstairs, grabbing a piece of toast that was set out for him and pulling on the thick leather apron of his kind. stepping out the side door, Wayland entered the shop, which was nothing more than another solid stone room on the side of the house. it was outfitted with everything it needed: forge, anvil, tools, workbench, even a lathe. Walking up next to his uncle, a massive man who had taught Wayland the antiquated art of smithing from a young age, he yawned, stretching and cracking his back. Wayland looked over at his uncle's anvil, seeing that he was working on a decorative sword for the mayor of the next town over, setting gemstones into the hilt. "It looks amazing, uncle," he mentioned, looking it over. It really did; it was razor sharp, and had just enough curve in it to make it deadly quick too. His uncle didn't even bother looking up at his remark, only replying, "Looks? Bah, It'd look better if it could save yer life. All these gemstones are just dead weight.." "Well then i guess its a good thing I spent an hour touching up the edges last night, huh?" Wayland shot back, grinning. Uncle Ulric only nodded, a little gleam in his eye. "Aye, and ya shoulda spent three, boy." Wayland sighed, knowing that was the closest he was going to get to a compliment from the gruff man. He turned back to his workbench, setting out his tools and moving the now fixed rifle onto the table marked 'completed' "By the way, yeh've got a commission today, lad. Some fancy-pants wants ya to make something for him. Its in that briefcase over there." Ulric nodded towards the door, a briefcase and an envelope sitting on one of the side tables reserved for materials. Wayland picked it up, reading to himself. Dear Mr. Wayland Elricsson, Thank you ever so much for repairing my niece Stephanie's bike. Though she may be young, it brings me joy to see her happy. She, however, is not why I am writing.; rather, it is the job you did in the bike. Rarely have i seen such craftsmanship displayed in such an.. old art. As such, I would request of you, an article of jewellery be made. I care not what type of piece is made, be it ring, necklace, bracelet, what have you. I ask only that it be made out of the ingot enclosed with this letter. I came upon it recently in my travels and wish to have it as something I can take with me. If the quality of your work is really what i believe it to be, than you can be assured that you will be paid handsomely. Regards, Sir Arthur Bierly Wayland set the letter down, cracking his neck as he set up the specific tools needed to work in the forge and shape the metal Uncle Ulric spoke up, putting on his jacket and moving his lumbering frame towards the doorway. "Lad, this sword is all ready. I'll be deliverin' it ta tha mayor personally, so ye'll be on yer own fer tha rest of tha day. Don't fuck up the shop again, else it'll be yer hide I make the next saddle out of." He smirked, and walked out the door only to stop before he completely left the portal. Quietly, he turned around. "Yeh'll be the one of us to do great things, laddie," he said, leaving a smudged hand print on the wall as he disappeared out the door. Wayland stared after him, an eyebrow raised quizzically. What had he meant by that? He shrugged, opening the briefcase at last. Inside was a single gray ingot, but yet he couldn't place what metal it was. He picked it up, turning it over in his hands as he examined it. He had always had a way with metal. Ever since he was a child, he loved watching his uncle in the forge. After handing one of the hammers and taking a few hits at a lump of iron, he had had a fascination with taking things apart and figuring out how they worked. Improving and forging even some of the more difficult items was easy for him - he could swear he heard pieces speak to him, as if they were telling him what they wanted to be made into, what secrets they held in them. He had always been like that, ever since he rearranged the toaster into camping stove when he was five. Machines were just his thing; he got along much better with them than he did with people, that much was certain. But this ingot.. it was almost silent, as if it had yet to know what it wanted, or decided on. Well.. armband it is, I guess.. He thought to himself, smirking and setting the coals ablaze, putting the ingot into the fires. After it had gotten to a sufficient temperature, it began to glow, but not the usual white heat he had come to know. Wayland knit his eyebrows together, glaring through the fumes at the anomaly in his oven. This piece glowed black, a deep abbysal black which grew in intensity the farther from the edges he looked into it. The light coming off of it, however, glowed white, but not normally; no, it was more luminescent and pure. The colors contrasted each other so much, he worried the metal would break apart, but it began to fade back to grey as he hammered it into shape. Wayland chalked it up to just being a different kind of metal, as some metals turned different colors when they burned. After a few rounds of heating and hammering, the base shape was finally done. He sighed, wiping the sweat from his brow and admiring the work he had done in his trance-like state of smithing. It looked rather intricate and fancy, but the loops were in fact fairly simple. Wayland sat down and began to carve out the patterns and whorls in the metal. With each line he etched, a little of that luminescent light leaked through the dark steel. He had gotten the inspiration for the designs from old Celtic knots and tapestries, and he was quite pleased with it when he finished. He stood up, slipping it onto his arm to make sure it fit, and that there were no points that could catch clothing or skin. Suddenly, the armband began glowing abyssal black and luminescent white, just like it had when he was initially shaping it. He grimaced, expecting it to burn, but it was still cool to the touch. In fact, it was growing colder every second, until again it felt like it was burning into his skin. His head began throbbing, and he could hear himself screaming, but it sounded far away, like he was listening through a waterfall at the end of a long tunnel. The ground under him began to split into small fissures, and the walls began to pull apart. Wayland stumbled to his feet, falling down onto his anvil as a hole opened up beneath him, and he could feel himself tumbling through oblivion. He fell, and fell, the wind whipping past him as he plunged deep into the void, a tiny pinprick of light seemingly miles beneath him. The blackness gripped at him, causing him to finally succumb to peaceful unconsciousness. It was several hours later. The sun was just setting below the mountain ridge line as Wayland sat up, gripping his head, looking around him in confusion. he was sitting in the dirt, unsure of what he was doing there. "Oh... Thor's banjo, what the hell happened..?" He looked himself over, but everything seemed normal, though slightly bruised. The armband, however, was glowing slightly, a dark, yet warm glow, pulsing on his bicep. Looking around, his anvil sat next to him, and his tools and various pieces of the smith and the house were scattered around the forest clearing he had woken up in. "Aww MAN, uncle Ulric's gonna MURDER me..." And at this point, his brain decided to remind him of the fact that there were now suddenly mountains and a forest nearby, the house had exploded itself into a smear across a woody clearing, and he was nowhere close to what looked like home. Unconsciousness came back to say hi, and figured it'd give the brain the night off. Though this time, it decided to use the anvil as Wayland's pillow. Author's Note (edited 1Feb2016) In which things begin to progress (edited)Everything was dark. Wayland could only make out small flits of light in the distance, tiny whispers. "H..Hello..?" he asked uncertainly to the blackness, not expecting an answer. Life, however, tends not to follow expectations. "Greetings, strange one," a gentle voice emanated back at him. "It would seem thou hast fallen unconscious. Dost thou require our assistance?" "Uhh... no?" Wayland almost whispered in reply. "I think I'm just gonna-" "Wake up?" the voice interjected, finishing his thought for him. Wayland's eyes shot open, those last mysterious words still echoing in his head. Which, incidentally, was now throbbing and sore. He could feel the dull edge of metal digging into the side of skull as he shifted himself. "Ugh.. by the Valkyries, I gotta stop sleeping on tools..." Wayland sat up, rubbing the back of his head and looking around him. Debris was strewn here and there in a large radius around him. He could see bit and pieces of the entire house scattered over the clearing, hanging out of trees at the edge, half-buried into the earth, even stacked in odd piles. "Gods damn..." He got to his feet, his joints and muscles protesting in discomfort. Standing back up to his full height, he looked down at himself, somewhat astonished at what he saw. He was mostly unharmed, although his clothes were torn here and there, and he still had his tool belt on. Looking immediately around him, he discovered he had indeed been cuddling up with an anvil. And had there always been a crater where he had been sleeping? Wayland ran a hand through his hair, slightly surprised. None of the air or scenery smelled like his home. There was no scent of automobiles, no sound of people milling about the streets. Everything felt natural, untouched. 'Well, better start figuring out where I am , or if I can at least find somewhere safe to sleep tonight.' Wayland absently picked up a hammer and slipped it through the loop on his tool belt. Running his hand over the worn hand, he began walking towards the setting sun, through the forest. About an hour later, as the moon was rising above the mountains, he began to see faint lights through the trees. Wayland breathed a sigh of relief as he pushed through the foliage towards them, earning several cuts and scratches on the way. After a few moments, the trees thinned and he beheld... a tree house. Or was it a house tree? Whatever. It was a tree someone turned into a house. There was a small stream gurgling softly outside, and he could hear faint voices coming from inside, so he climbed the pathways and knocked on the door. "Oh, just a minute." A small voice inside practically whispered from the other side. "Wow, you think somepony wants to throw US a surprise party!?" A very excited, louder voice echoed back. "Some..pony..?" Wayland muttered, taking a step back as the door suddenly swung open, revealing a shy yellow.. horse? She had a light pink mane, and a picture of some butterflies across her flank. She stared, open-mouthed, at him as he stood there, blinking and speechless. Peeking his head inside, he looked around the quaint little home, expecting to see any other people. "Hello? Is anyone here?" "You can talk!?" The yellow pony blurted out. "YOU can talk?!?" Wayland remarked, recoiling back, awestruck. "WE CAN TALK!!" Another bright pink pony shouted, bouncing up to the door and smiled widely at him, standing next to the other one. After a few moments of the two of them staring, and the pink one still grinning, Wayland sighed, looking to the sky. "Alright, so.. I'm dead. that's it. I am pretty fucking dead if I ended up here.." He sat down on the stoop, dropping his head into his hands and sighing deeply. "Oh no, actually, um..y-you're not.. uhm.. dead.." The yellow one finally spoke up, if speaking up was the right way to phrase it. She barely spoke above a whisper, not even making eye contact. She walked out next to him, sitting a couple feet away. "You're just outside of Ponyville. My name is Fluttershy. I take care of all the animals and little critters around here, but I've never seen one that looks like you.." "You've never seen a human before? That's... new. And I'm Wayland. Nice to meet you Fluttershy." The idea that there were no humans anywhere near here was a little disconcerting, but he didn't want to end up having a panic attack in front of Fluttershy and.. the other one. "I'm Pinkie Pie!!" The pink one exclaimed, almost as if she was reading his mind. She came up behind him, bouncing lightly. "I like cupcakes and tubas and throwing parties for everypony and *GAAASP*" Pinkie Pie suddenly raced off into the night, leaving the both of them alone, blinking and confused. He turned to fluttershy, hoping for an explanation, but she only said, "Pinkie," and shrugged. "So...Ponyville, huh?" Wayland stated after their pinkie moment. He reclined back against the wall of the house, looking up at the night sky. "Mhm. It's a small town a little ways that way. All my friends live there. I can show you tomorrow, that is, i-if you'd like.." Fluttershy said, looking down, hiding behind her mane bashfully. After a moment, he nodded, smiling a little. "Thank you, I'd like that. You know, its not often you meet someone willing to go out of there way for a total stranger. Where I come from, everyone just sort of keeps to themselves, unless they want something." He smirked, memory pulling up a couple old events from back in his village. Fluttershy smiled a little wider, opening the door and turning back to Wayland. "You can sleep in here, if you'd-" She stopped as she noticed he was already asleep, snoring softly on her porch. She smiled gently, heading back inside Wayland pushed open the large door slowly, cautiously looking inside. The doorway dwarfed him, though it seemed to be made of moonlight, and was light as a feather, but sturdy as if it were made of metal. The interior was that of a throne room, but darker, and unpopulated. Or rather, dark was the wrong word. It was.. night. The floors were made of smoothed obsidian, with twinkling gems underneath like the stars, mirrored overhead. The roof was open, and he could see a clear night sky, stars stretching into eternity, with a great glowing moon shining down upon it all. A regal carpet ran from the door to the other end of the room, where a throne towered above him. He walked forward, looking around him until he got to the base of the stairs before the throne, where a firm, female voice suddenly echoed outward. "Welcome to night court. We would have you spea- ..What in equestria..?" Wayland looked up, half-surprised to see yet another pony sitting upon the throne, looking down at him. This one seemed bigger than the others, with a dark blue coat to match the scenery, and a mane made of the stars. "Nice place you have here," Wayland remarked, looking around. "So I'm guessing I either really AM dead, or, I'm asleep and this is a dream. And if this is a dream... hmm..." He began to concentrate, holding out his hand, until he started going blue in the face. "W-what art thou doing in my presence, creature?" The blue pony spoke up again, uncertainty in her voice. "Trying to see if I can summon up something. Should be possible if I'm dreaming." He replied, exhaling and putting his arms down. "And whats with all the ponies thinking I'm some kind of mythical creature? Haven't any of you ever seen a human before?" "We can tell you now, thou art not dreaming. Thou hast sleepily wandered into my Night Court, ..somehow. And to answer thine question, nay, no pony has heard tale of this 'human' you claim to be, before." "Huh..that's weird. Well, I'm still asleep apparently." As he spoke, the sun began to peek over the horizon, lighting up the tips of the mountains. "Well, there goes a perfectly good night.." Wayland sighed, turning and making a polite wave to the pony he had been conversing with. "See you round," And he pinched himself on the arm. Wayland woke with a start, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, and noting that the sun was indeed poking above the mountains. He also noticed that there was a blanket around him and a pillow behind his head. He chuckled, looking back and smiling at the door of the sleepy little cottage by the woods. Getting kicked really hurts, doesn't it?Fluttershy was floating along gently, talking to the birds on the path as she led Wayland out of the forest. She was leading him Ponyville, the home of the ponies, who seemed to be the dominant species in this...dimension? Was that the right word? Meh, close enough. He'd figure it all out later. The trees cleared and the sun shined down on a quaint little town a few hundred yards away. He could see a couple ponies milling about the streets, but it was still early morning, so he guessed not many were up yet. He and Fluttershy walked up to the town, where she began showing him around. "Welcome to Ponyville, the happiest little place in Equestria. Over there is Quills and Sofas, where they sell sofas and quills. To the left is Sugarcube Corner, where Pinkie - the pony from last night, you remember? - lives." Fluttershy was drifting back and forth as she talked, but Wayland wasn't paying as much attention. As the morning was progressing, more ponies began to inhabit the streets. Sort of. Every pony they passed took one look at Wayland and either went the other way, turned down an alley, or just plain went back inside. He could see the fear and confusion on their faces plain as day. "Guess humans really are some kind of fantasy here.." He said, ducking his head a little lower, his eyes doing their best not to meet the gazes of the onlookers. "Hey, Fluttershy, how come you don't see me like all the other peop- err, ponies do?" "Oh, uhm, th-thats because I want to be friends with every creature, no matter what." God that smile could have melted a block of ice three feet thick. Though.. I'm still seen as a creature.. Half an hour later, at the end of a rather nice, albeit uncomfortable, tour, Wayland felt anything but fairly nice. Rather gruesomely socially awkward, to be exact, given the amount of ponies left on the street behind them - exactly two, and one of them was blind. But, they had ended their tour at yet another tree house/house tree. This one was located more towards the center of town, and seemed a little more, how would he put it, urban. "This is where my friend, Twilight, lives. She's the smartest among all our friends, so I'll leave you in her care so you can learn whatever you need, i-if thats alright with you, um, Wayland, was it?" The small yellow pony shuffled awkwardly behind him, hiding behind her hair yet again. "Yes, thats right. And you were Fluttershy, yea?" Wayland stuck his hands in his tattered pockets, looking up at the tremendous tree. It was like a force of nature combined with inventive ingenuity. These kinds of things always interested him; he was always trying to figure out how things worked and the best way to process situations. Strangely enough, he was processing this entire situation fairly well. Maybe it was just a calm demeanor, maybe it was some kind of fate, maybe it had yet to finally click and when it did would send him a spiraling depression of panic and unholy fear. But he guessed it was just because he never felt like he belonged anywhere when he was in the other world, so the feeling kinda persisted in this one. Nodding and smiling at his last remark, Fluttershy knocked on the door and, a few moments later, a small purple dragon (Wayland guessed it was a dragon, it fit at least the description, though not the size) opened the door. "Hi, uhm, Twilight...?" Wayland waved, a little awkwardly, but it just shook its head and turned around. "Hey uh, Twilight..? I think you better come here.." The dragon said nervously, closing the door a little and walking back inside. Voices could be heard arguing back and forth inside, and a few minutes later, the door opened of its own accord, and a purple pony stepped out. This one had a darker mane, and wings too, but the horn on her forehead caught his attention a little more, remembering the odd dream he had when he had first arrived. "Spike, this had better be good if you're interrupting my- oh. Well then." Twilight said, walking out of her house, a look of utter astonishment on her face, and began spinning around Wayland, looking him up and down. "Just what are you? I've never seen such a fascinating creature in Equestria before!" "I'm a human. And my name is Wayland, so, its nice to meet you," he said, noting again her initial reaction of gaping mouth wide eyes. "So are you Twilight, or are more ponies gonna come walking out of there?" He stuck his hand out to shake, not really knowing what else to do, but then something else happened. Instead of from inside the house, a blue blur came flying out from the sky, landing on the ground and kicking him square in the back, sending him flying away from the others. "Get away from my friends, whatever the hay you are!!" After rolling around with the grass and obscenities, Wayland looked up and saw a sky blue winged pony with a rainbow mane and tail glaring at him, charged up to strike at him again. "Yea you wanna go??" It kept yelling at him, taunting him. Wayland stood up, ignoring the pain in his chest, cracking his neck and hands and sneering back. "If you're gonna be an asshole and attack me for no reason, then yea, come at me, bro!" "Bro?? I'm a girl, genius!" "Really? I couldn't tell!" "Oh, now you're asking for it!" "Try me!" Wayland would have blocked the blue pony's charge, but they were both suddenly being levitated in a strange purple aura, with Twilight walking up between them. Wayland flailed around and spun awkwardly in the air, not having been exposed to magic before. "Enough of this you two. Obviously you both got off on a bad hoof, so just sit down and behave." She set them both back down, turning to the other pony. "Rainbow Dash, this is Wayland, he's a friend of Fluttershy. He was introducing himself, not attacking us." Rainbow dash just grumbled and agreed with her, then turned to Wayland. "Alright, but I'm watching you." She then took off, leaving a rainbow trail behind her, looping around the clouds and off into the distance. Fluttershy had left in the chaos, so Wayland was invited inside to talk things over. The inside of the house was a lot different than he expected; it was humble, and comfortable, but the mountains of books everywhere attested to the personality of their owner. He sat down in the library, with Twilight opposite him, hovering a notepad and quill as she looked him up and down, taking notes. "Before you start the interrogation," Wayland spoke up, calling her attention and pointing at the notepad, "Just how are you doing that? And what happened outside too, that was you?" "Oh this? Unicorns can use magic to do all sorts of things, from levitation to teleportation." Twilight was so excited, she kept grinning and taking notes constantly, observing his every tiny movement. "Teleportation...so, then it was you that brought me here, to this..Equestria world??" He glared at the oblivious pony, to no effect. Wayland looked down, going through all the memories in his head of the past day and a half. "What?! Well first, no, I didn't, and second, you're from a different world?? Whats it like there? Are there other humans? What are they like? Do they look like you? Can they-" "Whoa! Hey, one at a time. I'm not magic." Wayland sat back, noticing the dragon, Spike, was sitting on the stairs watching them. "To start, I guess, yea, I'm from a different world, I think. My world is a lot different from yours. There's no magic there, so we have to do everything by hand, or with tools. But that world seems to have progressed scientifically a lot faster than this one. There are no unicorns, or pegasi, or mythical creatures that we know of living there, but they exist in stories. Yea, there are more humans, a whole planet full, and no, I'm the only me there is , I hope." He was looking up at the ceiling, but his mind was very far away, traveling among the cloud of a still familiar, now far off land. "As for the rest of us...we're all different kinds of people. Big, small, smart, dumb, some friendly and some... not so much." A trail of smoke was rising from Twilight's quill as she took notes, flipping through pages so fast it made a breeze. "So tell me, Twilight," Wayland spoke up, leaning forward a little. "You said unicorns can use magic, but I've never heard of a unicorn with wings?" Twilight kept writing for a minute, then looked up at him, flexing her wings. "That's because I used to be a unicorn, but because of the Princess' magic, I'm now whats known as an alicorn." "Alicorn.." Rolled off the tongue easy enough, but it was the first he'd heard of the term. "So, you're the only one of your kind too, huh?" Wayland stretched his legs, looking a little sympathetically at her. "Nope." Aaand no more sympathy. "The Princesses, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence, are all also alicorns. I myself, am the Princess of Friendship. We each have some aspect we reign over." Twilight was looking a little prideful, being able to teach yet another person something they didn't know, when she was interrupted by a noise from the corner. "*BURP* "Uhm, speaking of the princesses, you have a letter from them, Twilight." Twilight and Wayland both turned to see Spike walking up with a rolled up piece of parchment, a little smoke curling out of his nostrils. "Guess word travels pretty quickly, huh?" Twilight read the letter, then turned back, looking excitedly at her strange guest. "Well, it would seem the Princesses want to meet with you! How exciting!" "i'm more interested in how they already know i'm here.." Wayland stood up, cracking his neck and grinning slightly. "Though I've never met royalty before. I guess I better learn some manners, huh? Don't wanna declare war on an entire dimension." War is the least of your worries, kid"Wait, tomorrow? Like, tomorrow tomorrow?" Wayland was standing outside Twilight's Library, looking down at the little purple pony. She had just told him when they were leaving for the royal city of Canterlot. "Yes, tomorrow, silly. We can't keep the princesses waiting forever, can we? And its such a trip, I have to pack. You should go see my other friends, they'll definitely help you out with your preparations." Twilight smiled wide, then walked back inside with spike in tow, rambling a list out at light speed much to the dragon's dismay. "Do these ponies wanna give me a heart attack, meeting royalty after like, two days in whatever world this is? Christ..." He looked at the tiny note she had left with him, the name of one of her other friends he should meet and what they were to help with. "So...Rarity...new clothes?" He looked down at the tattered holes strewn throughout his clothes and sighed, making his way toward the boutique. "No, yea, this is fine, just go meet up with a bunch of horse royalty looking like someone set you on fire, I'm sure its FINE. They'll LOVE it, crown me king of the scruffy nerfherders. GOD I gotta stop fuckin' talking to myself like this..." He looked around, noticing the odd looks the other ponies were already casting his way. "Everyone already looks at you like you've got mental issues.." Wayland walked up to a high, round, shop, stopping outside, and grimacing at the choices of decoration adorning the building. "Carousel boutique..? More like gaudy as hell.." He knocked on the door, hearing a strangely more civilized voice coming from inside. "Just a moment, darling!" Darling..? He shrugged as the door opened and a white unicorn looked up at him, eyes widened. "Oh my.." She invited him inside, looking him up and down. "Twilight said she was sending me a strange creature before we met up for our trip, but this..." "I have a name you know..It's Wayland.." He looked down at the purple-maned pony, expecting surprise. He wasn't surprised, though she was. "You can talk?!" She gasped, looked at him, mouth agape. Wayland waved it off, walking inside more and looking around. "Yes yes, weird non-pony creature, vocal capacities, this is like, the third time, already. So, Twilight sent me here for..clothes?" He could have guessed that considering the miles of fabric and accessories littered throughout the area. Oh my gods. He didn't think her eyes could even get bigger, or sparklier. "Uhh...you CAN make clothes..right..?" He began to edge away slightly. Those eyes... those special eyes.. "Oh darling, if its clothes you wanted, you came to the best place in Equestria! Just let Miss Rarity take care of everything!" Her horn began to glow and tape measures began flying around him, wrapping him up while she scribbled furiously on a notepad. After a few moments, he could feel nearly every inch of his arms, legs, and torso being measured and rechecked. This was going to take a while, wasn't it? It was. Wayland walked out of Rarity's store a few hours later, wearing fairly identical clothes, minus the personal touches he had on his last ones, and feeling fairly violated. "Oh gods... I am never going near measuring tapes again.." The train ride the next day was only almost done and already Wayland wanted out. Hadn't these ponies been to..what was it, Canterlot? like a million times already? He doubted it was disneyland, so why was everyone so excited? He covered his ears and tried to drown out the noises, but to be honest, the smells were more overpowering. "Rarity, we aren't even there yet, WHY are you putting perfume on?" Wayland risk a question amidst the din of ponies. "Because i have to smell fabulous all the times, darling, and honestly, you don't know who could be watching us at this moment!" "Probably no one, we haven't even passed the mountain yet. Pinkie, WHY are you eating an entire cake??" "Because you didn't finish it all at your party last night, silly!" Oh gods the party. Wayland was all for having fun, but THAT was not fun. THAT was a nightmare, and will not be spoken of for millennia to come. He just had to find pinkie's camera before she- "OH! Here we are!" Twilight shouted excitedly as the train finally pulled around the edge of the mountain and Canterlot came into view. All the other ponies leaned their heads out the window in excitement, looking up at the gleaming towers of the royal castle, and Wayland couldn't help but join them. It really was a feat of architectural engineering. Not only was an entire city built onto a shelf in the side of the mountain ridge, but they managed to fit an entire castle in behind it. Looking down he could just barely make out the magically enhanced support ridges set into the hillsides, keeping the whole city from sinking to the valley below. As the train pulled into the station, Wayland and the other six - seven if you counted Spike riding on Twilight's back, reading a scroll, - walked out and made their way up the street towards the castle. Canterlot was a lot different than he had expected. He was thinking medieval and dirt roads, but this was more...modern. The roads were perfectly paved, ponies were dressed in what looked like fancy clothes and suits. There were shops and stores and carriages everywhere. They all made their way up the streets to the castle, Wayland still noticing every pony staring at him like he was some sort of sideshow exhibit. He let out a sigh, putting his hands in his pockets and doing his best to keep his head low, just like he always did in public. When they finally reached the gates, the guards let them in, escorting them to just outside the throne room. "Wait here," the guard gruffly said, knocking on the door and whispering to the stallion who opened it from the other side a crack, and closing it again. The muffled sounds of an announcement were heard on the other side of the door, and it opened up onto a large, long, spacious hall. There were stained glass windows depicting scenes out of what Wayland guessed was history lining both sides. A thick red carpet ran up the middle, ending in a raised dias upon which sat a large throne and two majestic looking ponies, or at least as majestic as two ponies can look from down the hall. Alicorns, that was the word, Wayland thought to himself. Guess they're considered royalty here.. Making their way forward, Twilight, Wayland, and the others got halfway across the hall before a regal yet gentle voice stopped them. "You all may stop there. Creature, you may come forward." Creature again... He stepped tentatively forward as one of the princesses strode forward, standing before them. She was much larger than the others, but slimmer for her size. Her flowing mane and tail were the color of pastel rainbow, and her coat was bright pure white. She had on what looked like armor; a chest piece and horseshoes, matching her crown, which sat just behind a fairly large, pointed horn. The pattern of the sun was stamped onto her flank. She stood a little above about his own height, but her regal demeanor made her seem to stand taller. "My name is Princess Celestia, Co-Ruler of Equestria and Bringer of the Morning. Step forward." Wayland stepped up, standing in front of her a little nervously. "So, you are the creature that has come into my kingdom? I have heard you can talk. Is that true?" Her voice was firm and just. Lying would only get him in trouble, but he wasn't sure she would believe the truth.. "Yes, thats true," he said, standing up. "My name is Wayland, your.. highness?" If he was gonna represent a species, he might as well not look like some idiot fuck-up. Way to start it out not even getting her title right. "Princess Celestia will do. Tell me, who..what are you and how did you come to be here? The is no record of your..species.. existing in this world." So humans weren't just non-local, they were non-existent. "Oh boy.. well.. I come from a different world - at least I think its a different world, anyway - where I lived and worked as a blacksmith with my uncle. We lived in a village in the northern part of the world, where blacksmiths actually had purpose. I'm a human, is what I guess you're trying to ask, and as to how I got here? I'm not entirely sure myself.. " Celestia looked him over, 'hmm'ing to herself. "You may continue." Wayland thought back to just a few days ago, what seemed a week, trying to replay how things went in his head. "Someone asked me to make something out of some weird glowing ingot they had found, and when I tried it on to make sure it fit, I heard some kind of explosion, or implosion, or something. Then I woke up here. After wandering in a forest for a while, I stumbled on Fluttershy's house. She introduced me to Twilight, word spread and here I am." He spread his arms, looking at Celestia. "Wherever here is, at least." Celestia thought hard, eventually looking back up to him, curiosity staining her gaze. "You said you made something of that ingot. Do you still have it? May I see it?" Wayland pulled up his sleeve a little, revealing the slightly lit-up armband. "Huh..thats strange. It wasn't doing that before.." He tugged on the armband, intent on examining it closer, but it wouldn't budge from its home. "Stupid..thing..must be..stuck!" He grunted, trying to pull it off, but it wouldn't move no matter how hard he tried. He tugged harder, not noticing the black glow intensifying until it was too late. "Wayland, look out!" Twilight yelled, rushing up to him as he was taking out his hammer and continuously hitting it, to no avail. Suddenly, the build-up of the glow surrounding the armband erupted , tossing him to the side and against the wall, knocking him unconscious once again. So you almost blew up the Princess. Now what?Alright kid, wake up. Its your inner voice talking, that one that tells you when you fucked up big time? Yea, I'm finally speaking up, cuz shit's gone south. Wake UP, You've got shit to do. "Wait.. what?" Wayland's head hurt. A lot. "Who are you, what is this place?" Inside your head, dumbass. Remember what I said? Yea, you fucked up. Like, big. "Ugh.. what did i do?" He felt like he was floating, but everything was black. No sights, no smells, just black and noise. Well, to put it simply, you almost blew up what equates to the queen. Way to fuckin' go. "...fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck...ME!" You'll have to take a rain check on that. It sounds like you're in for a rude awakening. Wayland shot up with a start, slamming his face into the book Twilight was levitating there. "Ahh, Gorlog's beard!!" He was clutching his face, lucky for it not to have been scarred up any further. He looked around and saw the Ponyville ponies standing near him, looking worried. He would have been happy for their concern for him, until he saw where they were looking and followed their eyes. "Ssshhiiiit....." Wayland whispered as he saw Princess Celestia standing by her throne looking very shaken up, but relatively unharmed. The trails of hoof-shaped skid marks leading to her from where she had been were still lightly smoking. When she raised her head to look at up at him, he could see a mix of fear, confusion, and anger in her eyes. "I'm going to die, aren't i?" He asked, more to himself than the others. "Worry not, human, our sister is not so keen on the ways of violence as thou might think." A new voice chimed in, sounding younger, but firmer than Celestia's. "We cannot say the same for ourselves, though. Violence used to be fun, until a certain somepony called us out." Celestia turned her head and spoke to the shadows behind the throne. "Come out, Luna. I told you we aren't going to resort to violence as soon as things happen unexpectedly." As Wayland stood up, brushing himself off and rubbing the back of his head, a dark blue pony walked out from behind the throne, stepping down near Celestia. Wings.. and a horn? Must be another alicorn. So...what, the other princess? She did say she was the co-ruler of this place... This one was smaller than her sister, though still taller than all the other ponies. Her mane and tail however were like the night sky, filled with stars and galaxies and nebulae instead of the sunny rainbow of Celestia's, and instead of a sun on her flank, there was a crescent moon. She looked familiar though, but he couldn't place where he had....wait... "You!" Wayland shouted, pointing at the new pony. "Me?" She shouted back. "Her?" Celestia said surprised, her previous anger replaced by confusion. "Pinkie!" Pinkie Pie joined in, grinning. "Yes you, I've seen you before, haven't I? On my first night here?" Wayland walked up closer, halfway to the throne. In fact, this whole room seemed familiar, but he only just now remembered. "I saw you, and this room, but it was nighttime and darker,and better looking." "Hey, that one was a little uncalled for.." Celestia shook herself off, standing by her sister as she looked at her. "Luna, you know this.. human?" She said, trying out the word for herself. Luna scrunched up her face, then suddenly pointed a hoof back at Wayland. "Thou!" "Me! Wait, me?" He replied, now confused as well. "Pinkie!" This time, the other five ponies just sighed, and Celestia just facehoofed. "Thou didst show up in mine night court, yes, though we are curious how it was so easy for thee. Most ponies have had months since it was opened, with little success." "Luna, you can talk about that to it later. For now," Celestia turned to Wayland, her royal face now now returning to its usual glare of disapproval, "I would like to know why you decided to explode in my face." Backing up a little nervously, he could only shrug at her words. "I don't even know how this thing works, you got me. Maybe it'd be best if i returned to ponyville and kept trying it out.." Celestia put her hoof down, her golden hoof guard leaving another mark in the floor. "No. You and that thing are too dangerous to be around other ponies. You should stay here in the dungeons where you can be monitored." "But Princess, think of what we could learn from him!" Twilight stepped forward, interjecting on his behalf. "Besides, he hasn't done anything bad since we found him." "Twilight, Id rather not have it running around randomly exploding anypony else. You know my first duty is to my little ponies." "Hey, I'm not an it.." Wayland tried to speak up, but couldn't get a word in edgewise. He began fiddling with the handle of his hammer, which he always did when he got nervous. He could hear them bickering back and forth, two princesses trying to figure out some solution to him. Twilight was standing up for him, but Celestia.. why did she keep having to call him an 'it'? He sighed, standing there, alone again with his thought. Wayland slowly began to shake, memories of his childhood flooding back to him as the other village members would just turn away from him like he wasn't there, never acknowledging his existence as anything more than just some faceless service. He gripped the handle tightly, shaking more now. He could hear them, still arguing. Celestia was still doing it.. Wasn't she supposed to be a kind ruler? The others had told him she was warm and benevolent but this wasn't kind at all, and he had had enough. "I am not an it." Wayland finally spoke up, looking at his feet. "Excuse me?" The two ponies looked over at him, cocking their heads. "I. AM NOT. AN IT." Wayland looked up, the fire in his eyes turned to rage. Rage he had never been able to direct at those back home, at those who always turned away from him and treated him like a dog. His hammer was in his hand now as he threw it at them, missing anyone completely and hitting the ground between them all Suddenly, a three meter wide patch of flooring shattered, having turned completely to ice and shattering with the force of impact. Wayland could only stand there and gape, staring at what just happened. The princesses, his pony friends, and even the two guards who had jumped at attention from outside the door all looked at Wayland incredulously. He stepped forward, sheepishly and nervously picking up his hammer, but it wasn't cold at all. He could feel the fire of his earlier rage subsiding and the hammer growing warmer, then suddenly bursting into flames and shattering in his hands. He threw the remains down with a yelp and covered his hand, dousing the flames as everyone continued to stare at him. "Uh... Am I still in trouble..?" He asked, looking around. Luna walked over to her sister, whispering in her ear for a moment before Celestia nodded, stepping over to Wayland. "At the advice from my sister, we have decided that the dungeon would not be the best of choices. Therefore, we will employ your services as a blacksmith, keeping a very close eye on you. However, you will not be returning to Ponyville." "So then where am I supposed to live, huh?" Wayland stood back up, having withered slightly under her authoritative gaze, but now could feel his spine returning. "Am I to assume there's no place for me in this world either?" "Oh no, we have a place for you. The Canterlot Smithy has been closed since its last forge-master retired, and we haven't been able to find a replacement. So until you can learn to be a little less destructive - as well as paying off the repairs for the floor you broke - you will be put into royal service as the new Canterlot blacksmith. "New world, new start, huh?" Wayland thought to himself, looking at the hole in the floor, his mind racing. Just what am i getting myself in to?
Arrival (edited)"BOY, WAKE YER ARSE UP, THERE'S WORK TAH DO!!" Wayland woke with a start, groaning and falling out of bed. He rubbed the new sore spot on his head as he stood up, catching himself in the mirror. His pants were ruffled and his tousled black hair stood up in the back, proving his uncle's point about his restless sleeps. Wayland had been up all night fixing a crack in one of the villager's rifle's. They - Wayland and his uncle - lived in a small village up in the very northern part of Scandinavia, where technology was evident, but the old ways were still going strong. The village had internet and phones, and most regular electrical appliances like fridges and televisions and toasters, but larger icons, like automobiles, were scarce. If one needed to get somewhere, they walked, or took a cart. Cars and trucks were usually reserved for the wealthy or powerful. It wasn't the most advanced of homes, but it was still home nonetheless. Wayland himself was a blacksmith, along with his uncle, Ulric; they handled all of the smithing jobs, from tools to jewelry to weapons. "I SAID GET YER ARSE OUT OF BED!!" Ulric shouted from downstairs in the forge, banging loudly on the anvil. "Yes Uncle, I'm coming!!" Wayland called back, stretching and pulling his clothes on, running a hand through his very short black hair. He slipped on some heavy duty boots, adding a dirty t-shirt on top. A year back, he had reinforced the pants and shirt himself with a few old metal plates for practice, but they made for good decoration, and helped to solidify his image as a blacksmith. He made his way downstairs, grabbing a piece of toast that was set out for him and pulling on the thick leather apron of his kind. stepping out the side door, Wayland entered the shop, which was nothing more than another solid stone room on the side of the house. it was outfitted with everything it needed: forge, anvil, tools, workbench, even a lathe. Walking up next to his uncle, a massive man who had taught Wayland the antiquated art of smithing from a young age, he yawned, stretching and cracking his back. Wayland looked over at his uncle's anvil, seeing that he was working on a decorative sword for the mayor of the next town over, setting gemstones into the hilt. "It looks amazing, uncle," he mentioned, looking it over. It really did; it was razor sharp, and had just enough curve in it to make it deadly quick too. His uncle didn't even bother looking up at his remark, only replying, "Looks? Bah, It'd look better if it could save yer life. All these gemstones are just dead weight.." "Well then i guess its a good thing I spent an hour touching up the edges last night, huh?" Wayland shot back, grinning. Uncle Ulric only nodded, a little gleam in his eye. "Aye, and ya shoulda spent three, boy." Wayland sighed, knowing that was the closest he was going to get to a compliment from the gruff man. He turned back to his workbench, setting out his tools and moving the now fixed rifle onto the table marked 'completed' "By the way, yeh've got a commission today, lad. Some fancy-pants wants ya to make something for him. Its in that briefcase over there." Ulric nodded towards the door, a briefcase and an envelope sitting on one of the side tables reserved for materials. Wayland picked it up, reading to himself. Dear Mr. Wayland Elricsson, Thank you ever so much for repairing my niece Stephanie's bike. Though she may be young, it brings me joy to see her happy. She, however, is not why I am writing.; rather, it is the job you did in the bike. Rarely have i seen such craftsmanship displayed in such an.. old art. As such, I would request of you, an article of jewellery be made. I care not what type of piece is made, be it ring, necklace, bracelet, what have you. I ask only that it be made out of the ingot enclosed with this letter. I came upon it recently in my travels and wish to have it as something I can take with me. If the quality of your work is really what i believe it to be, than you can be assured that you will be paid handsomely. Regards, Sir Arthur Bierly Wayland set the letter down, cracking his neck as he set up the specific tools needed to work in the forge and shape the metal Uncle Ulric spoke up, putting on his jacket and moving his lumbering frame towards the doorway. "Lad, this sword is all ready. I'll be deliverin' it ta tha mayor personally, so ye'll be on yer own fer tha rest of tha day. Don't fuck up the shop again, else it'll be yer hide I make the next saddle out of." He smirked, and walked out the door only to stop before he completely left the portal. Quietly, he turned around. "Yeh'll be the one of us to do great things, laddie," he said, leaving a smudged hand print on the wall as he disappeared out the door. Wayland stared after him, an eyebrow raised quizzically. What had he meant by that? He shrugged, opening the briefcase at last. Inside was a single gray ingot, but yet he couldn't place what metal it was. He picked it up, turning it over in his hands as he examined it. He had always had a way with metal. Ever since he was a child, he loved watching his uncle in the forge. After handing one of the hammers and taking a few hits at a lump of iron, he had had a fascination with taking things apart and figuring out how they worked. Improving and forging even some of the more difficult items was easy for him - he could swear he heard pieces speak to him, as if they were telling him what they wanted to be made into, what secrets they held in them. He had always been like that, ever since he rearranged the toaster into camping stove when he was five. Machines were just his thing; he got along much better with them than he did with people, that much was certain. But this ingot.. it was almost silent, as if it had yet to know what it wanted, or decided on. Well.. armband it is, I guess.. He thought to himself, smirking and setting the coals ablaze, putting the ingot into the fires. After it had gotten to a sufficient temperature, it began to glow, but not the usual white heat he had come to know. Wayland knit his eyebrows together, glaring through the fumes at the anomaly in his oven. This piece glowed black, a deep abbysal black which grew in intensity the farther from the edges he looked into it. The light coming off of it, however, glowed white, but not normally; no, it was more luminescent and pure. The colors contrasted each other so much, he worried the metal would break apart, but it began to fade back to grey as he hammered it into shape. Wayland chalked it up to just being a different kind of metal, as some metals turned different colors when they burned. After a few rounds of heating and hammering, the base shape was finally done. He sighed, wiping the sweat from his brow and admiring the work he had done in his trance-like state of smithing. It looked rather intricate and fancy, but the loops were in fact fairly simple. Wayland sat down and began to carve out the patterns and whorls in the metal. With each line he etched, a little of that luminescent light leaked through the dark steel. He had gotten the inspiration for the designs from old Celtic knots and tapestries, and he was quite pleased with it when he finished. He stood up, slipping it onto his arm to make sure it fit, and that there were no points that could catch clothing or skin. Suddenly, the armband began glowing abyssal black and luminescent white, just like it had when he was initially shaping it. He grimaced, expecting it to burn, but it was still cool to the touch. In fact, it was growing colder every second, until again it felt like it was burning into his skin. His head began throbbing, and he could hear himself screaming, but it sounded far away, like he was listening through a waterfall at the end of a long tunnel. The ground under him began to split into small fissures, and the walls began to pull apart. Wayland stumbled to his feet, falling down onto his anvil as a hole opened up beneath him, and he could feel himself tumbling through oblivion. He fell, and fell, the wind whipping past him as he plunged deep into the void, a tiny pinprick of light seemingly miles beneath him. The blackness gripped at him, causing him to finally succumb to peaceful unconsciousness. It was several hours later. The sun was just setting below the mountain ridge line as Wayland sat up, gripping his head, looking around him in confusion. he was sitting in the dirt, unsure of what he was doing there. "Oh... Thor's banjo, what the hell happened..?" He looked himself over, but everything seemed normal, though slightly bruised. The armband, however, was glowing slightly, a dark, yet warm glow, pulsing on his bicep. Looking around, his anvil sat next to him, and his tools and various pieces of the smith and the house were scattered around the forest clearing he had woken up in. "Aww MAN, uncle Ulric's gonna MURDER me..." And at this point, his brain decided to remind him of the fact that there were now suddenly mountains and a forest nearby, the house had exploded itself into a smear across a woody clearing, and he was nowhere close to what looked like home. Unconsciousness came back to say hi, and figured it'd give the brain the night off. Though this time, it decided to use the anvil as Wayland's pillow. Author's Note (edited 1Feb2016)
In which things begin to progress (edited)Everything was dark. Wayland could only make out small flits of light in the distance, tiny whispers. "H..Hello..?" he asked uncertainly to the blackness, not expecting an answer. Life, however, tends not to follow expectations. "Greetings, strange one," a gentle voice emanated back at him. "It would seem thou hast fallen unconscious. Dost thou require our assistance?" "Uhh... no?" Wayland almost whispered in reply. "I think I'm just gonna-" "Wake up?" the voice interjected, finishing his thought for him. Wayland's eyes shot open, those last mysterious words still echoing in his head. Which, incidentally, was now throbbing and sore. He could feel the dull edge of metal digging into the side of skull as he shifted himself. "Ugh.. by the Valkyries, I gotta stop sleeping on tools..." Wayland sat up, rubbing the back of his head and looking around him. Debris was strewn here and there in a large radius around him. He could see bit and pieces of the entire house scattered over the clearing, hanging out of trees at the edge, half-buried into the earth, even stacked in odd piles. "Gods damn..." He got to his feet, his joints and muscles protesting in discomfort. Standing back up to his full height, he looked down at himself, somewhat astonished at what he saw. He was mostly unharmed, although his clothes were torn here and there, and he still had his tool belt on. Looking immediately around him, he discovered he had indeed been cuddling up with an anvil. And had there always been a crater where he had been sleeping? Wayland ran a hand through his hair, slightly surprised. None of the air or scenery smelled like his home. There was no scent of automobiles, no sound of people milling about the streets. Everything felt natural, untouched. 'Well, better start figuring out where I am , or if I can at least find somewhere safe to sleep tonight.' Wayland absently picked up a hammer and slipped it through the loop on his tool belt. Running his hand over the worn hand, he began walking towards the setting sun, through the forest. About an hour later, as the moon was rising above the mountains, he began to see faint lights through the trees. Wayland breathed a sigh of relief as he pushed through the foliage towards them, earning several cuts and scratches on the way. After a few moments, the trees thinned and he beheld... a tree house. Or was it a house tree? Whatever. It was a tree someone turned into a house. There was a small stream gurgling softly outside, and he could hear faint voices coming from inside, so he climbed the pathways and knocked on the door. "Oh, just a minute." A small voice inside practically whispered from the other side. "Wow, you think somepony wants to throw US a surprise party!?" A very excited, louder voice echoed back. "Some..pony..?" Wayland muttered, taking a step back as the door suddenly swung open, revealing a shy yellow.. horse? She had a light pink mane, and a picture of some butterflies across her flank. She stared, open-mouthed, at him as he stood there, blinking and speechless. Peeking his head inside, he looked around the quaint little home, expecting to see any other people. "Hello? Is anyone here?" "You can talk!?" The yellow pony blurted out. "YOU can talk?!?" Wayland remarked, recoiling back, awestruck. "WE CAN TALK!!" Another bright pink pony shouted, bouncing up to the door and smiled widely at him, standing next to the other one. After a few moments of the two of them staring, and the pink one still grinning, Wayland sighed, looking to the sky. "Alright, so.. I'm dead. that's it. I am pretty fucking dead if I ended up here.." He sat down on the stoop, dropping his head into his hands and sighing deeply. "Oh no, actually, um..y-you're not.. uhm.. dead.." The yellow one finally spoke up, if speaking up was the right way to phrase it. She barely spoke above a whisper, not even making eye contact. She walked out next to him, sitting a couple feet away. "You're just outside of Ponyville. My name is Fluttershy. I take care of all the animals and little critters around here, but I've never seen one that looks like you.." "You've never seen a human before? That's... new. And I'm Wayland. Nice to meet you Fluttershy." The idea that there were no humans anywhere near here was a little disconcerting, but he didn't want to end up having a panic attack in front of Fluttershy and.. the other one. "I'm Pinkie Pie!!" The pink one exclaimed, almost as if she was reading his mind. She came up behind him, bouncing lightly. "I like cupcakes and tubas and throwing parties for everypony and *GAAASP*" Pinkie Pie suddenly raced off into the night, leaving the both of them alone, blinking and confused. He turned to fluttershy, hoping for an explanation, but she only said, "Pinkie," and shrugged. "So...Ponyville, huh?" Wayland stated after their pinkie moment. He reclined back against the wall of the house, looking up at the night sky. "Mhm. It's a small town a little ways that way. All my friends live there. I can show you tomorrow, that is, i-if you'd like.." Fluttershy said, looking down, hiding behind her mane bashfully. After a moment, he nodded, smiling a little. "Thank you, I'd like that. You know, its not often you meet someone willing to go out of there way for a total stranger. Where I come from, everyone just sort of keeps to themselves, unless they want something." He smirked, memory pulling up a couple old events from back in his village. Fluttershy smiled a little wider, opening the door and turning back to Wayland. "You can sleep in here, if you'd-" She stopped as she noticed he was already asleep, snoring softly on her porch. She smiled gently, heading back inside Wayland pushed open the large door slowly, cautiously looking inside. The doorway dwarfed him, though it seemed to be made of moonlight, and was light as a feather, but sturdy as if it were made of metal. The interior was that of a throne room, but darker, and unpopulated. Or rather, dark was the wrong word. It was.. night. The floors were made of smoothed obsidian, with twinkling gems underneath like the stars, mirrored overhead. The roof was open, and he could see a clear night sky, stars stretching into eternity, with a great glowing moon shining down upon it all. A regal carpet ran from the door to the other end of the room, where a throne towered above him. He walked forward, looking around him until he got to the base of the stairs before the throne, where a firm, female voice suddenly echoed outward. "Welcome to night court. We would have you spea- ..What in equestria..?" Wayland looked up, half-surprised to see yet another pony sitting upon the throne, looking down at him. This one seemed bigger than the others, with a dark blue coat to match the scenery, and a mane made of the stars. "Nice place you have here," Wayland remarked, looking around. "So I'm guessing I either really AM dead, or, I'm asleep and this is a dream. And if this is a dream... hmm..." He began to concentrate, holding out his hand, until he started going blue in the face. "W-what art thou doing in my presence, creature?" The blue pony spoke up again, uncertainty in her voice. "Trying to see if I can summon up something. Should be possible if I'm dreaming." He replied, exhaling and putting his arms down. "And whats with all the ponies thinking I'm some kind of mythical creature? Haven't any of you ever seen a human before?" "We can tell you now, thou art not dreaming. Thou hast sleepily wandered into my Night Court, ..somehow. And to answer thine question, nay, no pony has heard tale of this 'human' you claim to be, before." "Huh..that's weird. Well, I'm still asleep apparently." As he spoke, the sun began to peek over the horizon, lighting up the tips of the mountains. "Well, there goes a perfectly good night.." Wayland sighed, turning and making a polite wave to the pony he had been conversing with. "See you round," And he pinched himself on the arm. Wayland woke with a start, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, and noting that the sun was indeed poking above the mountains. He also noticed that there was a blanket around him and a pillow behind his head. He chuckled, looking back and smiling at the door of the sleepy little cottage by the woods.
Getting kicked really hurts, doesn't it?Fluttershy was floating along gently, talking to the birds on the path as she led Wayland out of the forest. She was leading him Ponyville, the home of the ponies, who seemed to be the dominant species in this...dimension? Was that the right word? Meh, close enough. He'd figure it all out later. The trees cleared and the sun shined down on a quaint little town a few hundred yards away. He could see a couple ponies milling about the streets, but it was still early morning, so he guessed not many were up yet. He and Fluttershy walked up to the town, where she began showing him around. "Welcome to Ponyville, the happiest little place in Equestria. Over there is Quills and Sofas, where they sell sofas and quills. To the left is Sugarcube Corner, where Pinkie - the pony from last night, you remember? - lives." Fluttershy was drifting back and forth as she talked, but Wayland wasn't paying as much attention. As the morning was progressing, more ponies began to inhabit the streets. Sort of. Every pony they passed took one look at Wayland and either went the other way, turned down an alley, or just plain went back inside. He could see the fear and confusion on their faces plain as day. "Guess humans really are some kind of fantasy here.." He said, ducking his head a little lower, his eyes doing their best not to meet the gazes of the onlookers. "Hey, Fluttershy, how come you don't see me like all the other peop- err, ponies do?" "Oh, uhm, th-thats because I want to be friends with every creature, no matter what." God that smile could have melted a block of ice three feet thick. Though.. I'm still seen as a creature.. Half an hour later, at the end of a rather nice, albeit uncomfortable, tour, Wayland felt anything but fairly nice. Rather gruesomely socially awkward, to be exact, given the amount of ponies left on the street behind them - exactly two, and one of them was blind. But, they had ended their tour at yet another tree house/house tree. This one was located more towards the center of town, and seemed a little more, how would he put it, urban. "This is where my friend, Twilight, lives. She's the smartest among all our friends, so I'll leave you in her care so you can learn whatever you need, i-if thats alright with you, um, Wayland, was it?" The small yellow pony shuffled awkwardly behind him, hiding behind her hair yet again. "Yes, thats right. And you were Fluttershy, yea?" Wayland stuck his hands in his tattered pockets, looking up at the tremendous tree. It was like a force of nature combined with inventive ingenuity. These kinds of things always interested him; he was always trying to figure out how things worked and the best way to process situations. Strangely enough, he was processing this entire situation fairly well. Maybe it was just a calm demeanor, maybe it was some kind of fate, maybe it had yet to finally click and when it did would send him a spiraling depression of panic and unholy fear. But he guessed it was just because he never felt like he belonged anywhere when he was in the other world, so the feeling kinda persisted in this one. Nodding and smiling at his last remark, Fluttershy knocked on the door and, a few moments later, a small purple dragon (Wayland guessed it was a dragon, it fit at least the description, though not the size) opened the door. "Hi, uhm, Twilight...?" Wayland waved, a little awkwardly, but it just shook its head and turned around. "Hey uh, Twilight..? I think you better come here.." The dragon said nervously, closing the door a little and walking back inside. Voices could be heard arguing back and forth inside, and a few minutes later, the door opened of its own accord, and a purple pony stepped out. This one had a darker mane, and wings too, but the horn on her forehead caught his attention a little more, remembering the odd dream he had when he had first arrived. "Spike, this had better be good if you're interrupting my- oh. Well then." Twilight said, walking out of her house, a look of utter astonishment on her face, and began spinning around Wayland, looking him up and down. "Just what are you? I've never seen such a fascinating creature in Equestria before!" "I'm a human. And my name is Wayland, so, its nice to meet you," he said, noting again her initial reaction of gaping mouth wide eyes. "So are you Twilight, or are more ponies gonna come walking out of there?" He stuck his hand out to shake, not really knowing what else to do, but then something else happened. Instead of from inside the house, a blue blur came flying out from the sky, landing on the ground and kicking him square in the back, sending him flying away from the others. "Get away from my friends, whatever the hay you are!!" After rolling around with the grass and obscenities, Wayland looked up and saw a sky blue winged pony with a rainbow mane and tail glaring at him, charged up to strike at him again. "Yea you wanna go??" It kept yelling at him, taunting him. Wayland stood up, ignoring the pain in his chest, cracking his neck and hands and sneering back. "If you're gonna be an asshole and attack me for no reason, then yea, come at me, bro!" "Bro?? I'm a girl, genius!" "Really? I couldn't tell!" "Oh, now you're asking for it!" "Try me!" Wayland would have blocked the blue pony's charge, but they were both suddenly being levitated in a strange purple aura, with Twilight walking up between them. Wayland flailed around and spun awkwardly in the air, not having been exposed to magic before. "Enough of this you two. Obviously you both got off on a bad hoof, so just sit down and behave." She set them both back down, turning to the other pony. "Rainbow Dash, this is Wayland, he's a friend of Fluttershy. He was introducing himself, not attacking us." Rainbow dash just grumbled and agreed with her, then turned to Wayland. "Alright, but I'm watching you." She then took off, leaving a rainbow trail behind her, looping around the clouds and off into the distance. Fluttershy had left in the chaos, so Wayland was invited inside to talk things over. The inside of the house was a lot different than he expected; it was humble, and comfortable, but the mountains of books everywhere attested to the personality of their owner. He sat down in the library, with Twilight opposite him, hovering a notepad and quill as she looked him up and down, taking notes. "Before you start the interrogation," Wayland spoke up, calling her attention and pointing at the notepad, "Just how are you doing that? And what happened outside too, that was you?" "Oh this? Unicorns can use magic to do all sorts of things, from levitation to teleportation." Twilight was so excited, she kept grinning and taking notes constantly, observing his every tiny movement. "Teleportation...so, then it was you that brought me here, to this..Equestria world??" He glared at the oblivious pony, to no effect. Wayland looked down, going through all the memories in his head of the past day and a half. "What?! Well first, no, I didn't, and second, you're from a different world?? Whats it like there? Are there other humans? What are they like? Do they look like you? Can they-" "Whoa! Hey, one at a time. I'm not magic." Wayland sat back, noticing the dragon, Spike, was sitting on the stairs watching them. "To start, I guess, yea, I'm from a different world, I think. My world is a lot different from yours. There's no magic there, so we have to do everything by hand, or with tools. But that world seems to have progressed scientifically a lot faster than this one. There are no unicorns, or pegasi, or mythical creatures that we know of living there, but they exist in stories. Yea, there are more humans, a whole planet full, and no, I'm the only me there is , I hope." He was looking up at the ceiling, but his mind was very far away, traveling among the cloud of a still familiar, now far off land. "As for the rest of us...we're all different kinds of people. Big, small, smart, dumb, some friendly and some... not so much." A trail of smoke was rising from Twilight's quill as she took notes, flipping through pages so fast it made a breeze. "So tell me, Twilight," Wayland spoke up, leaning forward a little. "You said unicorns can use magic, but I've never heard of a unicorn with wings?" Twilight kept writing for a minute, then looked up at him, flexing her wings. "That's because I used to be a unicorn, but because of the Princess' magic, I'm now whats known as an alicorn." "Alicorn.." Rolled off the tongue easy enough, but it was the first he'd heard of the term. "So, you're the only one of your kind too, huh?" Wayland stretched his legs, looking a little sympathetically at her. "Nope." Aaand no more sympathy. "The Princesses, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence, are all also alicorns. I myself, am the Princess of Friendship. We each have some aspect we reign over." Twilight was looking a little prideful, being able to teach yet another person something they didn't know, when she was interrupted by a noise from the corner. "*BURP* "Uhm, speaking of the princesses, you have a letter from them, Twilight." Twilight and Wayland both turned to see Spike walking up with a rolled up piece of parchment, a little smoke curling out of his nostrils. "Guess word travels pretty quickly, huh?" Twilight read the letter, then turned back, looking excitedly at her strange guest. "Well, it would seem the Princesses want to meet with you! How exciting!" "i'm more interested in how they already know i'm here.." Wayland stood up, cracking his neck and grinning slightly. "Though I've never met royalty before. I guess I better learn some manners, huh? Don't wanna declare war on an entire dimension."
War is the least of your worries, kid"Wait, tomorrow? Like, tomorrow tomorrow?" Wayland was standing outside Twilight's Library, looking down at the little purple pony. She had just told him when they were leaving for the royal city of Canterlot. "Yes, tomorrow, silly. We can't keep the princesses waiting forever, can we? And its such a trip, I have to pack. You should go see my other friends, they'll definitely help you out with your preparations." Twilight smiled wide, then walked back inside with spike in tow, rambling a list out at light speed much to the dragon's dismay. "Do these ponies wanna give me a heart attack, meeting royalty after like, two days in whatever world this is? Christ..." He looked at the tiny note she had left with him, the name of one of her other friends he should meet and what they were to help with. "So...Rarity...new clothes?" He looked down at the tattered holes strewn throughout his clothes and sighed, making his way toward the boutique. "No, yea, this is fine, just go meet up with a bunch of horse royalty looking like someone set you on fire, I'm sure its FINE. They'll LOVE it, crown me king of the scruffy nerfherders. GOD I gotta stop fuckin' talking to myself like this..." He looked around, noticing the odd looks the other ponies were already casting his way. "Everyone already looks at you like you've got mental issues.." Wayland walked up to a high, round, shop, stopping outside, and grimacing at the choices of decoration adorning the building. "Carousel boutique..? More like gaudy as hell.." He knocked on the door, hearing a strangely more civilized voice coming from inside. "Just a moment, darling!" Darling..? He shrugged as the door opened and a white unicorn looked up at him, eyes widened. "Oh my.." She invited him inside, looking him up and down. "Twilight said she was sending me a strange creature before we met up for our trip, but this..." "I have a name you know..It's Wayland.." He looked down at the purple-maned pony, expecting surprise. He wasn't surprised, though she was. "You can talk?!" She gasped, looked at him, mouth agape. Wayland waved it off, walking inside more and looking around. "Yes yes, weird non-pony creature, vocal capacities, this is like, the third time, already. So, Twilight sent me here for..clothes?" He could have guessed that considering the miles of fabric and accessories littered throughout the area. Oh my gods. He didn't think her eyes could even get bigger, or sparklier. "Uhh...you CAN make clothes..right..?" He began to edge away slightly. Those eyes... those special eyes.. "Oh darling, if its clothes you wanted, you came to the best place in Equestria! Just let Miss Rarity take care of everything!" Her horn began to glow and tape measures began flying around him, wrapping him up while she scribbled furiously on a notepad. After a few moments, he could feel nearly every inch of his arms, legs, and torso being measured and rechecked. This was going to take a while, wasn't it? It was. Wayland walked out of Rarity's store a few hours later, wearing fairly identical clothes, minus the personal touches he had on his last ones, and feeling fairly violated. "Oh gods... I am never going near measuring tapes again.." The train ride the next day was only almost done and already Wayland wanted out. Hadn't these ponies been to..what was it, Canterlot? like a million times already? He doubted it was disneyland, so why was everyone so excited? He covered his ears and tried to drown out the noises, but to be honest, the smells were more overpowering. "Rarity, we aren't even there yet, WHY are you putting perfume on?" Wayland risk a question amidst the din of ponies. "Because i have to smell fabulous all the times, darling, and honestly, you don't know who could be watching us at this moment!" "Probably no one, we haven't even passed the mountain yet. Pinkie, WHY are you eating an entire cake??" "Because you didn't finish it all at your party last night, silly!" Oh gods the party. Wayland was all for having fun, but THAT was not fun. THAT was a nightmare, and will not be spoken of for millennia to come. He just had to find pinkie's camera before she- "OH! Here we are!" Twilight shouted excitedly as the train finally pulled around the edge of the mountain and Canterlot came into view. All the other ponies leaned their heads out the window in excitement, looking up at the gleaming towers of the royal castle, and Wayland couldn't help but join them. It really was a feat of architectural engineering. Not only was an entire city built onto a shelf in the side of the mountain ridge, but they managed to fit an entire castle in behind it. Looking down he could just barely make out the magically enhanced support ridges set into the hillsides, keeping the whole city from sinking to the valley below. As the train pulled into the station, Wayland and the other six - seven if you counted Spike riding on Twilight's back, reading a scroll, - walked out and made their way up the street towards the castle. Canterlot was a lot different than he had expected. He was thinking medieval and dirt roads, but this was more...modern. The roads were perfectly paved, ponies were dressed in what looked like fancy clothes and suits. There were shops and stores and carriages everywhere. They all made their way up the streets to the castle, Wayland still noticing every pony staring at him like he was some sort of sideshow exhibit. He let out a sigh, putting his hands in his pockets and doing his best to keep his head low, just like he always did in public. When they finally reached the gates, the guards let them in, escorting them to just outside the throne room. "Wait here," the guard gruffly said, knocking on the door and whispering to the stallion who opened it from the other side a crack, and closing it again. The muffled sounds of an announcement were heard on the other side of the door, and it opened up onto a large, long, spacious hall. There were stained glass windows depicting scenes out of what Wayland guessed was history lining both sides. A thick red carpet ran up the middle, ending in a raised dias upon which sat a large throne and two majestic looking ponies, or at least as majestic as two ponies can look from down the hall. Alicorns, that was the word, Wayland thought to himself. Guess they're considered royalty here.. Making their way forward, Twilight, Wayland, and the others got halfway across the hall before a regal yet gentle voice stopped them. "You all may stop there. Creature, you may come forward." Creature again... He stepped tentatively forward as one of the princesses strode forward, standing before them. She was much larger than the others, but slimmer for her size. Her flowing mane and tail were the color of pastel rainbow, and her coat was bright pure white. She had on what looked like armor; a chest piece and horseshoes, matching her crown, which sat just behind a fairly large, pointed horn. The pattern of the sun was stamped onto her flank. She stood a little above about his own height, but her regal demeanor made her seem to stand taller. "My name is Princess Celestia, Co-Ruler of Equestria and Bringer of the Morning. Step forward." Wayland stepped up, standing in front of her a little nervously. "So, you are the creature that has come into my kingdom? I have heard you can talk. Is that true?" Her voice was firm and just. Lying would only get him in trouble, but he wasn't sure she would believe the truth.. "Yes, thats true," he said, standing up. "My name is Wayland, your.. highness?" If he was gonna represent a species, he might as well not look like some idiot fuck-up. Way to start it out not even getting her title right. "Princess Celestia will do. Tell me, who..what are you and how did you come to be here? The is no record of your..species.. existing in this world." So humans weren't just non-local, they were non-existent. "Oh boy.. well.. I come from a different world - at least I think its a different world, anyway - where I lived and worked as a blacksmith with my uncle. We lived in a village in the northern part of the world, where blacksmiths actually had purpose. I'm a human, is what I guess you're trying to ask, and as to how I got here? I'm not entirely sure myself.. " Celestia looked him over, 'hmm'ing to herself. "You may continue." Wayland thought back to just a few days ago, what seemed a week, trying to replay how things went in his head. "Someone asked me to make something out of some weird glowing ingot they had found, and when I tried it on to make sure it fit, I heard some kind of explosion, or implosion, or something. Then I woke up here. After wandering in a forest for a while, I stumbled on Fluttershy's house. She introduced me to Twilight, word spread and here I am." He spread his arms, looking at Celestia. "Wherever here is, at least." Celestia thought hard, eventually looking back up to him, curiosity staining her gaze. "You said you made something of that ingot. Do you still have it? May I see it?" Wayland pulled up his sleeve a little, revealing the slightly lit-up armband. "Huh..thats strange. It wasn't doing that before.." He tugged on the armband, intent on examining it closer, but it wouldn't budge from its home. "Stupid..thing..must be..stuck!" He grunted, trying to pull it off, but it wouldn't move no matter how hard he tried. He tugged harder, not noticing the black glow intensifying until it was too late. "Wayland, look out!" Twilight yelled, rushing up to him as he was taking out his hammer and continuously hitting it, to no avail. Suddenly, the build-up of the glow surrounding the armband erupted , tossing him to the side and against the wall, knocking him unconscious once again.
So you almost blew up the Princess. Now what?Alright kid, wake up. Its your inner voice talking, that one that tells you when you fucked up big time? Yea, I'm finally speaking up, cuz shit's gone south. Wake UP, You've got shit to do. "Wait.. what?" Wayland's head hurt. A lot. "Who are you, what is this place?" Inside your head, dumbass. Remember what I said? Yea, you fucked up. Like, big. "Ugh.. what did i do?" He felt like he was floating, but everything was black. No sights, no smells, just black and noise. Well, to put it simply, you almost blew up what equates to the queen. Way to fuckin' go. "...fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck...ME!" You'll have to take a rain check on that. It sounds like you're in for a rude awakening. Wayland shot up with a start, slamming his face into the book Twilight was levitating there. "Ahh, Gorlog's beard!!" He was clutching his face, lucky for it not to have been scarred up any further. He looked around and saw the Ponyville ponies standing near him, looking worried. He would have been happy for their concern for him, until he saw where they were looking and followed their eyes. "Ssshhiiiit....." Wayland whispered as he saw Princess Celestia standing by her throne looking very shaken up, but relatively unharmed. The trails of hoof-shaped skid marks leading to her from where she had been were still lightly smoking. When she raised her head to look at up at him, he could see a mix of fear, confusion, and anger in her eyes. "I'm going to die, aren't i?" He asked, more to himself than the others. "Worry not, human, our sister is not so keen on the ways of violence as thou might think." A new voice chimed in, sounding younger, but firmer than Celestia's. "We cannot say the same for ourselves, though. Violence used to be fun, until a certain somepony called us out." Celestia turned her head and spoke to the shadows behind the throne. "Come out, Luna. I told you we aren't going to resort to violence as soon as things happen unexpectedly." As Wayland stood up, brushing himself off and rubbing the back of his head, a dark blue pony walked out from behind the throne, stepping down near Celestia. Wings.. and a horn? Must be another alicorn. So...what, the other princess? She did say she was the co-ruler of this place... This one was smaller than her sister, though still taller than all the other ponies. Her mane and tail however were like the night sky, filled with stars and galaxies and nebulae instead of the sunny rainbow of Celestia's, and instead of a sun on her flank, there was a crescent moon. She looked familiar though, but he couldn't place where he had....wait... "You!" Wayland shouted, pointing at the new pony. "Me?" She shouted back. "Her?" Celestia said surprised, her previous anger replaced by confusion. "Pinkie!" Pinkie Pie joined in, grinning. "Yes you, I've seen you before, haven't I? On my first night here?" Wayland walked up closer, halfway to the throne. In fact, this whole room seemed familiar, but he only just now remembered. "I saw you, and this room, but it was nighttime and darker,and better looking." "Hey, that one was a little uncalled for.." Celestia shook herself off, standing by her sister as she looked at her. "Luna, you know this.. human?" She said, trying out the word for herself. Luna scrunched up her face, then suddenly pointed a hoof back at Wayland. "Thou!" "Me! Wait, me?" He replied, now confused as well. "Pinkie!" This time, the other five ponies just sighed, and Celestia just facehoofed. "Thou didst show up in mine night court, yes, though we are curious how it was so easy for thee. Most ponies have had months since it was opened, with little success." "Luna, you can talk about that to it later. For now," Celestia turned to Wayland, her royal face now now returning to its usual glare of disapproval, "I would like to know why you decided to explode in my face." Backing up a little nervously, he could only shrug at her words. "I don't even know how this thing works, you got me. Maybe it'd be best if i returned to ponyville and kept trying it out.." Celestia put her hoof down, her golden hoof guard leaving another mark in the floor. "No. You and that thing are too dangerous to be around other ponies. You should stay here in the dungeons where you can be monitored." "But Princess, think of what we could learn from him!" Twilight stepped forward, interjecting on his behalf. "Besides, he hasn't done anything bad since we found him." "Twilight, Id rather not have it running around randomly exploding anypony else. You know my first duty is to my little ponies." "Hey, I'm not an it.." Wayland tried to speak up, but couldn't get a word in edgewise. He began fiddling with the handle of his hammer, which he always did when he got nervous. He could hear them bickering back and forth, two princesses trying to figure out some solution to him. Twilight was standing up for him, but Celestia.. why did she keep having to call him an 'it'? He sighed, standing there, alone again with his thought. Wayland slowly began to shake, memories of his childhood flooding back to him as the other village members would just turn away from him like he wasn't there, never acknowledging his existence as anything more than just some faceless service. He gripped the handle tightly, shaking more now. He could hear them, still arguing. Celestia was still doing it.. Wasn't she supposed to be a kind ruler? The others had told him she was warm and benevolent but this wasn't kind at all, and he had had enough. "I am not an it." Wayland finally spoke up, looking at his feet. "Excuse me?" The two ponies looked over at him, cocking their heads. "I. AM NOT. AN IT." Wayland looked up, the fire in his eyes turned to rage. Rage he had never been able to direct at those back home, at those who always turned away from him and treated him like a dog. His hammer was in his hand now as he threw it at them, missing anyone completely and hitting the ground between them all Suddenly, a three meter wide patch of flooring shattered, having turned completely to ice and shattering with the force of impact. Wayland could only stand there and gape, staring at what just happened. The princesses, his pony friends, and even the two guards who had jumped at attention from outside the door all looked at Wayland incredulously. He stepped forward, sheepishly and nervously picking up his hammer, but it wasn't cold at all. He could feel the fire of his earlier rage subsiding and the hammer growing warmer, then suddenly bursting into flames and shattering in his hands. He threw the remains down with a yelp and covered his hand, dousing the flames as everyone continued to stare at him. "Uh... Am I still in trouble..?" He asked, looking around. Luna walked over to her sister, whispering in her ear for a moment before Celestia nodded, stepping over to Wayland. "At the advice from my sister, we have decided that the dungeon would not be the best of choices. Therefore, we will employ your services as a blacksmith, keeping a very close eye on you. However, you will not be returning to Ponyville." "So then where am I supposed to live, huh?" Wayland stood back up, having withered slightly under her authoritative gaze, but now could feel his spine returning. "Am I to assume there's no place for me in this world either?" "Oh no, we have a place for you. The Canterlot Smithy has been closed since its last forge-master retired, and we haven't been able to find a replacement. So until you can learn to be a little less destructive - as well as paying off the repairs for the floor you broke - you will be put into royal service as the new Canterlot blacksmith. "New world, new start, huh?" Wayland thought to himself, looking at the hole in the floor, his mind racing. Just what am i getting myself in to?
