Author's Note

Welcome, welcome. Here we are with another chapter. Let us observe what happen this time. Hopefully, Duncan won't have to deal with anything too bad this chapter. You'll see it because I already know what'll happen. Comment and all that good stuff.

“The human race has only one really effective weapon and that is laughter.”

-Mark Twain.

Step 3: Laughter

Duncan tossed and turn in the bed, intent on ignoring the assault he was unfortunate enough to experience.

''Wakey, wakey, Duncy!''

And that would be dealing with Pinkie Pie at any time during the morning until after 12. He had to admit, from time to time he would find himself telling a decent joke here or there and getting the laughs out of pretty much anyone around him, but Pinkie took it to a whole different level. He gave props where props were due.

''Ok, okay. I'm up; now what sweet-induced terror will I be thrown into? Throwing cupcake bombs? Using frosting bags as nunchucks? Or wait, let me guess; using pies for shields?'' Duncan laughed a bit, causing Pinkie to thwack his leg.

Rather hard.

''No, silly; but that did give me a good idea for my next confectionary party, so you just helped me secure victory in that,'' Pinkie chuckled and produced a glass of water from pretty much nowhere for him to drink.

''I'm not drinking that,'' Duncan said, gently pushing the glass back.

''But it's water,'' Pinkie smiled, intent on helping her friend with the chronic dry mouth that he complained about whenever he woke up.

''That you pulled from nowhere; which I still don't get even though I haven't been here long.''

''Apples and oranges! But we should be getting on our way with the day; we need to help the town get used to you if you're gonna stay here for a while,'' Pinkie trotted towards the stairs, as she gave her friend some space to get ready for what was to come. Thanks to Princess Celestia derailing the plans that Twilight and her friends set forth, there was a need to change the pace. ''Where do you want to start first?''

That would be tough to decipher. With the notion of Equestrian Humans being a fragment of the past, it would be the equivalent of him seeing a Neanterdal in the present-day back on Earth, so it would be hard to convince those who already did not hold some belief in their existence. And there would also be the possibility of how they may react to seeing him.

''I guess the ponies who might be the most receptive to believing that Humans are in Equestria, for one.'' Duncan stretched and brought a hand to his chin in thought.

Hmm, ponies that might be able to believe that Equestrian Humans are in Equestria. . .

Nope, nothing.

''We'll just have to try our luck,'' Pinkie said, wanting to get the events of the day rolling. And certainly, anything to get their minds off of what happened with Celestia and Duncan. ''Follow me,'' Duncan trailed behind after taking care of his teeth and washing his face of any crud.

''So what do you think we can expect from the locals? What do you think of the general public?''

Pinkie had to stop and think about that; a lot of the town from her knowledge never really know much, so it would be on a case by case basis when introducing Duncan. She wouldn't say this when Princess Celestia was here, but she also wondered about what exactly caused her to make the Equestrian Humans to be banished to wherever they were sent to; it didn't make sense for the history books to mention them so vaguely; not even an entire chapter talking about anything concrete. Pinkie even didn't believe that they really existed since there were no actual pictures to go off of.

''Well, I think they should be open to understanding. Ponyville has never been the kind of place that ponies are known for being mean. Even with the Parasprites, but if Twilight and the girls believed me, we could have had the entire problem under control quicker,'' a grumble came from Pinkie as she sulked for a moment.

''The what?'' Duncan asked, looking confused. ''And how sure are you of that claim?''

''Nothing!'' Pinkie suddenly beamed back to life as if nothing happened. ''But I guess the first pony on our list would probably be Cheerilee! She teaches school for all the fillies and colts in town, so she might be the best pony for you to meet,'' the sounds of her hooves and Duncan's shoes hitting the ground filled the air, kicking up dust and crunching under pressure. ''And she might be the best besides Twilight to discuss Equestrian Humans with.''

Duncan thought about that phrase; Equestrian Human. He knew what it meant, humans who have been born in Equestria and their following generations. What he did not take much into account would be if there were any significant or distinct differences due to evolving or harsh theoretical conditions. And furthering diversifying the gene pool of humans could also spell disaster for cross-breeding if there were to be any adverse effects to breeding if that ever happened.

He would also commit himself to help the actual story of his people for those to come. If there was one thing that he hated, it had to be inconsistency.

''Sure, why not. It'll be better than twiddling our thumbs waiting for the biggest death threat ever.''

Sitting outside of Cheerilee's room gave Duncan a very confusing feeling. The Ponyville Schoolhouse was just like he figured one to be back on Earth, just not as small and not as bright. The small chair he was in made him feel like he was back home and he would be sent to the principal's office for doing harmless pranks. It was always in good fun; he definitely had a laugh out of lighting an m80 under his teacher's desk when he wasn't looking.

“He should have been quicker,” Duncan chuckles to himself, letting himself relax for a moment. The last few days were indeed stressful; arguing with Twi, being shell shocked to a whole new world, and almost getting the crap beat out of him made him just want to crawl in a hole and lay there.

Oh, and work is picking up which wasn’t necessarily bad, just more time he would be without time to himself, but he had a debt to pay off.

“And then Princess Celestia told us that we weren’t going to get any help from her, so we figured to introduce Duncy to the town to hopefully change her mind,” Pinkie Pie’s voice sounded as it got closer to the door. He doubted Celestia would be able to change any part of her mind when it came to him, but the girls had faith so he would at least try.

“I still don’t believe you, Pinkie,” Duncan assumed the other voice was Cheerilee. She spoke somewhat softly, not quite to the level of Fluttershy, but more of a mothering, warm voice that would hear you out before chewing you out. She sounded unimpressed with whatever Pinkie told her, but it sounded like she would only do this if to get the mare to leave. “I have papers to grade, so if we can get this little charade out of the. . .w-way. Oh, buck; you were right.”

Turning to his right, Pinkie stood in front of the human, smiling and bouncing up and down, the sound of a spring sounding every time she jumped up from the ground. Weird. Next to her was Cheerilee, who stopped and held a hoof to her mouth in shock. She sized Duncan up and down, slowly backing away but still curious nonetheless.

“Told you!~” Pinkie sang, bouncing over to Duncan’s side and laying a hoof on his shoulder. “Duncy, meet Cheerilee. Cheerilee, meet Duncan. The first Human in Equestria since the Exodus.”

Cheerilee narrowed her eyes when Duncan just stared at her, waiting to see what would happen. The look of pure confusion in his eyes pooled out like a wave. She immediately noticed a few things in her mind that the books did not talk about.

“No claws, are those. . .nails? A-And his mane; it’s cut pretty short to his head. Humans do wear clothes to keep themselves warm, but it’s not constructive.” Cheerilee thought. “He looks uncomfortable sitting like that, and he-“ Duncan stood up to his full length, appearing as tall as Princess Celestia as he spoke.

“Hi. I know I’m interesting, but could you at least say something back?”

Oh! How rude of her. He. . .didn’t seem as bad as the books made them out to be. Perhaps a little imposing, but she didn’t feel any bad intentions off of him from here. And while Pinkie’s judgment on making certain friends can be questionable, she didn’t look in any danger.

The first Human to set foot in Equestria since the Exodus. . .why was he here? He should be with his kind.

“Hello, it’s. . .nice to meet you. I apologize for being speechless. It’s just the stuff I seen in the books; it’s-“

“-Let me guess,” Duncan waved his hand back and forth with a frown on his face. “Over exaggerated and full of mumbo jumbo about me being violent?”

“The opposite, actually. Well, here and there,” Cheerilee admitted but pushed on despite her initial fear. “We haven’t been given pictures, just vague descriptions to go on, but it never spoke to how. . .majestic you are.”

“Huh? What am I a Dragon or something? I think I’m the farthest thing from that.” Duncan said, snorting a bit. “Well, it’s nice to know the first pony I meet beside the girls aren’t scared of me.”

How wrong he was.

“Yes, well I am a teacher, so it is my job to and make sure I understand as much as I can about a subject so I can teach it to my students,” Cheerilee giggled. So far, he didn’t seem so bad. But she would still be wary. “What’s this I hear about Princess Celestia attacking you?”

Duncan began to laugh, catching her off guard. His laugh. . .was full of life, not mindless shouting anger. He sounded just like a pony, gestured like one, but wasn’t one. He was Human.

“I think it’s best if we sit down and talk about it; plus I wanna see what these books got wrong about us,” Duncan said, Pinkie nudging him and giving him a smile.

“I’d like that,” Cheerilee said, her tone becoming less scared and more friendly. “Did you want some tea?”

SugarCube Corner.

“Hmm, his scent is going cold, where did he run off to?”

A push of the door and the sound of hooves clipped and clopped until they came to a stop at the front desk, ringing the small bell that was put out to alert the owners.

“Coming!~ Welcome to SugarCube Corner, what can I get for ya, dearie?” Mrs.Cake asked, balancing a tray of freshly baked peanut butter cookies on her head.

“I’m looking for Pinkie Pie; have you seen her or know where she’s gone?”

Pinkie? She wasn’t still here, was she? She said something about taking a friend to see Cheerilee at the schoolhouse, only she was never told who the friend was. Just where they were going.

''They went to the schoolhouse on the other side of town; you can't miss it. Are you a friend of hers, perhaps?'' Mrs. Cake asked, putting the tray down and looking at the pony who- ''Dearie?'' Mrs. Cake asked to see the pony that disappeared.

Strange. It was almost like they were never there.

Duncan had no idea how much time had passed, but it didn't matter. Once he sat down and relaxed with Cheerilee, he found that she was a chuckle a minute, laughing at the tales that he told her about the less than perfect plans when back on Earth. As for the state of the book that talked about Humans, there were a lot of things either wrong or just not true in the slightest. The ponies that wrote this book was obviously lied to.

''I just can't believe any of that stuff!'' Duncan guffawed, his laughs echoing throughout the entire school. It sounded like a siren, and he held his sides and rocked back and forth in his seat. He could definitely see now why Humans may seem more myth than reality. ''You actually believed all that dumb stuff about us?''

Cheerilee had to swat his nudging hand away and look away with a smile on her face. ''No, of course not! It was just the only material I had, so I just thought-'' a harsh interrupting cough stopped her as he wiggled his index finger slowly.

''-Stop lying; you believed it. It's fine,'' another round of giggles left his mouth after a moment. He couldn't blame her, but he had to poke some fun. All in all, just meeting her for these few hours felt like a lifetime because of their chemistry. He didn't feel defensive or worried, even though it's only been a short time. Cheerilee slowly began to let her misplaced fear melt away. The book made a comparison of Humans to a wild bear with some kind of disease. He seemed to have a gentle giant personality. She. . .wanted to get to know Humans more. She wanted to get to know Duncan more.

And to set the record straight. For whatever reason Princess Celestia attacked him, she really wanted to get down to the bottom of it. And while she wouldn't admit it out loud; from what they talked about and how he acted. Their laughter helped to connect them further. It helped them to ease any tension, it made them feel more alive. It was like a well-needed medicine.

One thing that failed to creep away from the mare's mind was something that slowly began to spark since they began talking and she began to see the similarities between the two.

Cheerilee thought he was a little cute.

''No, bad thought! Bad thought! Focus.'' Cheerilee said, mentally slapping herself. '' I just met him, I can't be thinking that. Wouldn't it be. . .wrong?'' Duncan was busy chatting it up with Pinkie Pie when she reminded him about what they talked about earlier, something about a pastry party. She couldn't focus on that; this new feeling in her chest overtook that thought. It was warm, inviting. New and stimulating. But also inherently wrong according to the law of the land. She couldn't try and pursue that option.

''-rilee!'' Duncan called, knocking the mare out of her delusion.

''Wha?''

''Are you ok? Pinkie asked, walking over to the mare and waving a hoof in her face. ''You were just staring at Duncan for a few minutes.''

''Y-Yes, of course. I was just thinking about something.'' Cheerilee said, making up something on the fly he would believe. She hoped he didn't notice her acting so weird.

''You're lying aren't you?'' Duncan asked blankly.

How did he know so quickly?!

''N-No!'' Cheerilee asked he got closer to her face, pursing his lips as he gave her a sideways glance. ''I really was just thinking; my mind wanders sometimes, you know?''

''Hmm. . .if you say so. We just wanted to let you know that we were gonna go and meet up with Rarity later, so we wondered if we could do this again another time?'' Duncan asked, pushing in his seat and finishing the last of the lemon tea that she made for the duo.

''Oh, sure. No problem. I should be free this Thursday if you want to come back around and talk some more.'' Cheerilee said as Duncan smiled, showing off his pearly white teeth.

''Sure; it was nice meeting you today. I hope I didn't scare you when we first met,'' Duncan held out his hand for her to shake.

''At first, but I got over it; you seem more like a teddy bear, minus the bear. And the fluff,'' Cheerilee joked back, putting her hoof in his hand. It felt warm and soft. She liked it. After bidding the pair goodbye, she had to sit down and replay the events in her mind. She was one of the first ponies to meet a Human face to face and survived. he was not as bad as the outdated, unreliable book made Humans out to be.

He was nice, loved to have a laugh, and seemed like any other pony. She had a hard time understanding whatever it was that made the entire situation revolving around them to happen. And what these feelings in her mind meant. She would have to before something embarrassing happened while he was in front of her.

''So, what did you think, Duncy?'' Pinkie asked the human as they walked outside the school, turning onto the main road to lead back into the town square. The sun slowly began to set, providing a warm yellow glow that covered everything sight with its inviting warmth. The brightness began to dull as the clouds began to retreat. ''Think the rest of the town will be like Cheerilee?''

''If they are that amount of nice, then maybe. But Ponyville looks like it had quite a few ponies; I get the feeling it'll take a minute before I have a sit down with everyone,'' Duncan stretched his arms to the sky, his upper body shaking before relaxing as he sighed in contentment. One pony beside the girls and Spike, and he had a positive experience. He guessed the old saying was true; laughter is a universal language.

Walking down the road, their conversations continued as they laughed and Duncan began to chase after Pinkie as she bopped him on the nose for a game of tag. Leaning behind a tree they passed, the figure from earlier stood up and watched the pair run off in the distance. How fun things looked. . .for the moment, anyways.

''Laugh while you can. Before you know it, you'll be in front of Princess Celestia, begging for death. . .and that bitch's spot as Celestia's favorite will be mine.''