Rebirth

I wander around Ponyville aimlessly. I'm mostly trying to learn the layout of the town. It's nowhere near the size of Seattle, which makes my goal easier.

After some time, I bump into Twilight. "Hey, Mark." She says to me.

"Hi, Twilight. Are you doing anything?"

"I'm just walking and getting some fresh air. What are you doing?"

I shrug. "Wandering around. Memorizing what the town looks like."

"Would you be willing to answer some more questions?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Okay!" Twilight says. "I'm going to get a friend to join us, if it's okay with you."

"Alright. Who is it?"

"Lyra Heartstrings."

"The green unicorn?" Twilight nods. So that's Lyra's last name. "Yeah, she can come. Besides, it would give us a chance to properly meet." I say, recalling our meeting. Passing out doesn't necessarily make a good impression, but it will certainly make you remembered.

"I'll let her know. You can head over to my house while I go find Lyra."

"Alright. Is Spike over?"

"Yes he is."

I head over to Twilight's castle. Because I'm not an asshole, I knock on the door instead of barging in. The door opens, revealing Spike. "Hi, Spike. Can I come in?"

"Twilight's not here."

"I know. I just talked to her before coming over. She's getting Lyra so I can talk with them."

"Oh. Okay, then. Come on in." Spike says, opening the door further.

"So, what do dragons do in a land of ponies?"

"Others stay away. I'm a lucky one. I was born here, so I'm just like a pony."

"But in a dragon's body." I say, knowing where he's going. "You're Twilight's assistant, right? So what do you do with that?"

"I mostly find books and other stuff. I can also send letters to Princess Celestia or other ponies." Spike says with pride.

I can't help but smile at his enthusiasm and cuteness. Damn. Even the boys here are cute.

Are there any pickle jars nearby so I can open them up and regain my manliness?

The two of us talk a bit, mostly about Spike's past as what could be considered Twilight's little brother. Twilight and Lyra walk in shortly after his backstory ends.

"Wow…" Lyra says, looking around the castle. "It's so…"

"Big? Yeah, I get that a lot." Twilight finishes.

"I was going to say shiny, but yeah. It's also big." Lyra locks eyes with me and smiles. I wave at her. She trots over to me with Twilight on her tail. "Hey, Mark. How's it going?"

"Good. I just talked with a baby dragon, so that's cool." I say. "How are you two?"

"I'm doing great." Lyra says, trying to suppress her smile. The key word here is 'try.' The only thing her attempts did is make her face look like she just ate something sour.

"Alright, so let's ask some questions." Twilight says impatiently. "Let's go to my room for this. Spike, could you make us something to eat? Maybe some sandwiches?"

"Sure, Twilight." Spike says. He turns to me. "What do you eat?"

"I'll have what they're having." I say. I might regret saying that. I don't really know what ponies eat. Oats, or something. Carrots, too, I think. Whatever. I can play a non-deadly version of Russian Roulette.

I follow Lyra, who follows Twilight, to the violet unicorn's room. The two of them jump on her bed, which is pretty big. If I had to guess, the size would be Queen. Big for a human and even bigger for a pony. It's a good size for a Princess.

Twilight gets a clipboard and pen in her aura. I don't know where they were before. "So what kind of myths are there?" I ask, kicking off the discussion.

"A lot." Twilight says. "Lyra, would you like to ask the first question?"

Lyra, who's practically vibrating in excitement, nods frantically. "Is it true that humans killed dragons?"

"Starting off with that, I see? It's good that Spike isn't around." Twilight says.

I shrug. "Dragons were mythical on Earth. I mean, aside from a species with dragon in its name, they were. Those ones aren't anything like the mythical ones. Firebreathing flying badasses. Those were mythical, yes. There were also myths of humans killing dragons. I guess the answer's yes and no." Twilight writes that down.

Spike comes in with a plate of at least 10 sandwiches. How did he make them that fast? Twilight takes the plate in her aura and thanks him. Spike leaves the room. "Did humans make things by hand?" She asks.

"Yep, for the most part."

"What do you mean, 'for the most part?'" Lyra asks.

"Humans made things called robots, which are things made of metal that can be told what to do, that can make things that are too hard to make by hand. Things like automobiles or other robots. They're also used to handle dangerous things, like stuff that's radioactive or really hot."

"Wow." Twilight says, writing that down. "Do you know how to make a robot?"

"Not really." I admit. "I'm not really good at making things by hand."

"Did you have magic or wings?" Lyra asks.

"No. Magic didn't exist on Earth. I'm pretty sure, at least. Some could argue that computers are kind of magical." I say. I think I see Twilight nod in agreement. I know I didn't, though. There's no way she's seen a computer. "As for wings, we didn't have any. We've wanted them pretty much all the time, though. We've managed to build things called airplanes, which are basically giant metal birds that can hold people inside." I give a quick description of planes.

"That's… amazing." Twilight says. She remembers to write that down. "How long were they around?"

"Before I came here, you mean?" Twilight nods. "A little over 100 years. Good ones, by my description, came around about 50 years before I came to Equestria." I say.

"Did you have any music?" Lyra asks.

I smile. "Of course we did. I've actually got some." I show her my iPod. "Want to listen to some?"

"Yes." She says. I hand her my iPod and headphones and tell her how it's used.

Twilight sighs. "Okay… I guess that counts as a 'myth.' Did humans follow any deities?"

"Yeah. Some follow many. Some follow one. Some don't follow any. Some don't know who they follow. Some just don't care. Didn't you ask this before?"

"Sort of." Twilight admits. "Did you believe in any deity?"

"Before coming here, no." I say, having Epona in mind.

"What do you mean?" Twilight asks.

I still don't want to bring up the fact that I talk to a literal goddess in my dreams. "Aren't Princess Celestia and Princess Luna goddesses?"

Twilight smiles. "That's debatable. I consider them to be." She sighs. "And then there's Discord and Tirek…"

I've heard of Discord, but not Tirek. "Who?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know about Tirek." She says hastily.

She turns to Lyra, who still has my headphones on. Lyra is bobbing her head to the tune of the song I can't hear. Twilight taps Lyra's foreleg. Lyra turns to her and takes off the headphones. "What?" Twilight points to me. "Oh. Uh… Is it true that humans hunt for food?"

I sigh. I knew I'd have to answer that question eventually. "Yeah. Just animals like deer and elk, mostly. Never ponies or horses, so don't worry about it."

Lyra looks scared. "I… I meant stuff like berries…"

"Oh. Fuck. Oh. Well, we do that, too." I say sheepishly. It doesn't help her expression. "Lyra, I never hunted any animals. Most people hunted only for food, alright? Only for food. Only if they were desperate for it."

That calms her down slightly. "Okay…" She says. She looks down.

"I think that's all we should do for now." Twilight says, fully aware of what Lyra's feeling. I would do the same if I was in her position. "If you want to do this again, Lyra, please tell us. I'm sure Mark would be willing to do this again."

I lean forward and put a hand on Lyra's shoulder. She jumps and blushes slightly at the touch. "I would. I'll be careful of what I say around you from now on."

Lyra looks back up at me and smiles. "Thanks, Mark." She jumps off the bed. She gives me back my headphones. "I'll come back later. I don't know when." She trots out the door.

I lean back and sigh. "I can be so stupid sometimes." I admit, mostly to myself.

"That wasn't stupid, Mark. Sure, maybe a little callous on accident, but not stupid. It was a mistake. You shouldn't worry about mistakes."

"I try not to." I say. "Wait, what does callous mean?"

"Don't worry about it." Twilight says quickly. She looks around. I can tell she's trying to change the subject.

"Whatever."

"Uh… Did you get your house from Princess Celestia yet?"

"Not yet. Probably soon, though. I don't even know where I'll be at yet."

"I'd be willing to wager that it's going to be close to my house." Twilight says with a smile. "I'd like it to be, at least."

"I'd also like to be close to here. Close to the middle of Ponyville, I mean. Partially so I won't half to walk half way across the town to get a sandwich." I say.

"That reminds me. Have you been to any restaurants yet?"

"Not yet." I reply. "Do you recommend any?"

"I like Hay King."

"Hay King?"

"Yeah. It's a restaurant that has amazing hay burgers. They call them Mammoths. Fitting name, because they're really big." Hay burgers… They probably won't go down my throat comfortably. "There's also Colt in the Box as an alternative."

I don't like how that sounds. "Hay King's fine."

I follow Twilight to Hay King. Twilight orders a Mammoth. I do too, mostly out of experimentation. Also, I have no idea what else they have. The burger is bitter, but better than I expected. The hay is edible, but a major contribution to the bitter taste. "What do you think of it?" Twilight asks after I finish the burger.

"Not the best." I admit. Twilight looks a little disappointed. "Hey, don't blame me. Blame my biology. I've never had hay before."

"It's good to experiment, though. Wouldn't you rather find out you don't like something than never find it out?"

"Yeah, I would." I say. She's got a point. Humans wouldn't have made it very far if they never experimented. We'd probably still be living in caves and have nothing to cook meat. My stomach growls at the thought of meat. I look at it as if to say 'shut up belly, you had your chance.'

"Still hungry?" Twilight asks.

"Yeah. Sorry, but that hay burger wasn't very filling." I admit.

"What's there to apologize about? It's a biological thing, right? You don't eat hay. I'm sure we have food here in Equestria that you eat."

"Well, Princess Celestia did say she'd get meat from somewhere else." I reply. "So yeah, there is stuff for me to eat here."

"I was talking about foods that are easier to obtain. Like apples."

I nod. "Yeah, humans eat apples. It's a shame there isn't a place around that farms apples. It's an even bigger shame that said farm isn't 100 meters away."

Twilight giggles. "Quite the shame, indeed."

"Indeed?"

"Indeed."

"Okay, then." I say. I'm not going to judge her use of archaic words. It's fitting for her smart personality, but I don't want to, or expect to, hear her reciting Shakespearean quotations. Except she would need a skull for that. 'Alas, poor Pinkie. I knew her, Celestia.'

"So, should we head over to Sweet Apple Acres?"

"I think I'll be alright."

"Are you sure?"

"I think so. Humans can go around two weeks without food." I think it's two weeks, at least. I've never gone more than two days without food. That was a pretty bad weekend.

"So, you're like camels." Twilight smiles.

I've never heard that comparison. "In that sense, yeah. We can only go around three days without water, though."

"I take that back, then."

The night arrives shortly after. It's too dark for me to comfortably walk to Fluttershy's, so I stay over at Twilights for the night.

"Have you ever played chess?" Twilight asks.

"A few times with my brother. I'm no expert. Do you want to play?"

"Yeah. I don't get many chances to." She rubs the back of her neck.

"Alright. Let's play."

Twilight gets a chessboard out and we set up the pieces. "I'll go easy on you." She says and moves a pawn forward. I start off with a knight. "Ooh. Interesting tactic." Twilight says. She moves her pawn again. I have the chance to take her pawn out with my knight, which I take.

The rest of the game is short. I manage to win. It's actually the first time I've ever won a chess game. "Haha! In your face, Twilight."

Twilight smiles. "Want to play again?"

"It's your funeral."

“Bring some tissues, because you’re going to be the one crying.”

The next game ends a few short minutes later. I'm still amazed that she managed to put me in checkmate in only eight moves. I couldn't even take a pawn of hers. She took out my queen and both of my bishops. She could have taken me out in four turns, but I guess she just wanted to rub it in. I guess it's karma.

"Mark, have you ever looked at the night sky? I know you mentioned you lived in a city." Twilight says, changing the subject.

"Yeah, I did. And no, I haven't really seen the sky here yet." I say.

She smiles. "You should. It's an amazing sight."

We both stand up. I walk out onto the balcony and look at the sky. "Holy shit…" I say. I try to say something more, but I can't. I've never seen anything even remotely like the night sky in Equestria. It's covered with stars. There's easily over a million stars in the sky.

There's a band of gas similar to a nebula going all the way across the planet, almost like a ring. I realize that it's the galaxy itself. There's even a faint blue aurora going on far in the north.

"Never seen anything like this?" Twilight asks.

I shake my head. I'm still stunned by all of these stars. I've seen pictures of the night sky, but seeing it in person is amazing. I feel a smile form on my face. I don't hold it back. "No. I've never seen the sky like this. It's probably because of all the light in Seattle. I don't think I've ever seen more than 20 stars at once."

"Really?"

"Really." I wonder what Los Angeles or Dubai were like at night. They were probably as bright at night as they were at day. "I think seeing the sky like this just once is worth dying for. Just all of these stars and that aurora there… It's beautiful. Seeing this in person is thousands of times better than seeing a picture, and even pictures of this are beautiful."

"This is actually a pretty common sight in Equestria, Mark."

"Damn. I wish I was born here." Being reborn here is an acceptable alternative. "Are there any uncommon sights that I should see?"

Twilight strokes her muzzle. "There is a rare event called ball lightning."

"I think I've heard of that. Is it that thing where there's lightning floating around the air?"

"Yes."

"I don't think I've even seen pictures of that. Just descriptions." I say, still looking up at the sky. "Anything else?"

"Changelings."

"What?"

"Changelings." Twilight repeats. Her voice has a mix of hatred and depression in it. I never expected to hear either of those coming from her. "They're creatures that can shift their appearance. They look like insectoid ponies when not in anypony's form."

"Damn." I say. I think about that for a second. I might have encountered a changeling already. I hope not. If I haven't been paranoid before, I am now.

"You don't have to worry about them, Mark." Twilight says, sensing my paranoia. "They aren't very common."

"Ugh. Good." I sigh.