Rebirth

Rarity follows me to my house. She takes about a third of the clothes with her magic. I have to use good old manual labor to drag the rest to my home.

I open the door. I really need to put a lock on it. I don't think anybody here would steal, but I can never be too certain. I know nopony I've met would steal from me.

"Quite the large home you have, Mark." Rarity says once she enters.

"Yeah. It's not the biggest house I've lived in, but it's definitely spacious. Even more without any furniture." I sigh. "Damn. I don't even have a dresser or anything to put the clothes in…"

"Really?" Rarity asks. I nod. "We can't just leave these clothes on the floor."

"I know. I don't think I have enough money to get a dresser right now." I rub the back of my head. "I guess we could just leave the clothes on the couch for now. Could I stop by Carousel Boutique and work for some money?"

"I could just lend you some money. Or, I could give you a dresser for free."

I want to refuse, but I'm in need of it. "Thanks, Rarity. That's very generous of you." I flash her a smile.

Rarity smiles. "I'll get that dresser for you over here soon." She trots out.

Shortly after she leaves, there's a knock at the door. I open it to reveal Rainbow Dash. My stomach refuses to digest the butterflies that have just occupied it. "H-Hey, Rainbow."

"Hey, Mark." She says. "Why was Rarity in here?" I gesture to the large pile of clothes on the couch. "Oh. Is your thing charged?"

"I think so." I say. "I'll go get it." I move to my room and grab the iPod. It's charged enough to get a few hours out of it. I go back to the entrance. I should ask if she's a lesbian. I mean, if I'm seriously interested in her, I should at least know.

I let out a deep sigh. I feel like a teenager about to express his feelings towards a girl he likes. At least I think. I've never actually admitted love to anyone in my teenage years. Either way, it's actually pretty scary.

"Rainbow? I've had something on my mind for a while."

"What is it?"

"Alright, since I don't know how to say it, I'll just come out and ask. Are you a lesbian?" I ask, more blunt than a lead pipe. I've never been good at being subtle.

Rainbow Dash is caught off guard by my question. She recovers and just laughs. "I get that question all the time. You asking because of the mane?"

"And the coat color." I admit.

"That's a new one." Rainbow says with a toothy grin. "Nah. I'm not a lesbian. I'm straight, but I've experimented a bit."

It's my turn to be caught off guard. "That's… actually kind of hot." I admit.

"I was actually thinking you were gay."

"Really? Why?"

"You haven't gone out with anypony yet."

"Huh."

"So are you asking me out or something?"

"I... guess so?"

"Alright. There's a Wonderbolts show in a few days. Wanna go?"

"Yeah, sure." I say, despite not knowing what a Wonderbolt is. Is it a band or something? It sounds like it could be a band. That, or some sort of school mascot. Maybe a school band?

"You're gonna love it, Mark." She says, playfully punching my shoulder.

A black pegasus with a tinted blue mane in the shape of a mohawk lands behind her. "Rainbow, did you forget? We've got weather patrol."

Rainbow turns to the pegasus, who's seemingly ignoring me. "Sorry, Thunderlane. Yeah, I forgot." She turns to me. "I gotta go. See ya at the show."

"See ya." I say.

After Rainbow flies off, I chuckle softly to myself. That was the easiest date I've ever scored. I wasn't even trying to get one, either.

Wait. I'm going on a date with a pony. A pony.

Not a human.

I can feel a tightness in my chest. Bestiality is one of the worst laws to break back on Earth. I know, I'm not on Earth anymore, but… Damn. It's still a moral and ethical thing.

I breathe in and out in hopes to calm me down and stabilize my heart rate.

"I'm just going somewhere with a friend." I tell myself. "It's not a date. Just a trip with a friend. It's not a date."

"Why the fuck did I agree to that?" I tell myself again. "No… I didn't 'agree' to it. I asked her out." I hit my head against the wall. It hurts a lot. I feel my forehead. No blood. "Ugh… Okay, I just need to cancel the date."

But I've never canceled a date before. Would that be disrespectful to do that? I think so. Especially since it was arranged just a few minutes ago. Even if I decided to, how could I even contact Rainbow? I don't have a phone to call her with. I know she doesn't have one. There's probably not even any reception here.

Maybe I could write her a letter. I have no idea where she lives, though. I could ask Twilight. If anypony knows where everypony else lives, it would be Twilight. Or Pinkie. I get a weird vibe from that pink pony.

Dammit, mind, stay on track.

Okay… I'm going on a date with a horse. Not only that, but I'm attracted to said horse. Not only physically, but emotionally. It's very illegal to 'be with' an animal in Washington. And, if my memory serves me correct, a horse was involved in that law coming to be. That doesn't soften the blow to this moral dilemma.

But I'm not on Earth anymore… Morals are likely different here. Does that mean I can 'be with' a pony? I might be able to. I don't know if I'd want to be, even if I can. I don't really care about appearances and focus more on personalities, but dating a pony is a bit of a stretch.

I think I'm forced to go on this date with Rainbow Dash. Where was it to? I don't even remember. A concert, or something. I can go to a concert.

Maybe I'm just overthinking this. Sure, Rainbow called it a date. Maybe it's not a romantic one? It has to be, though. Concerts can be romantic. What was the band called? Overbolt, or something. It sounds like a punk band. So it's probably not a romantic thing. At least, I doubt it is. I mean, has Sex Pistols ever made anything remotely romantic?

So it's not romantic. I feel a massive weight being lifted off my shoulders and chest. It feels easier to breathe.

I sit on the couch and look out the window. The blue sky quickly changes into overcast. It looks like it's about to rain soon. How'd the sky do that?

I think that black pegasus said something about the weather. Weather patrol, I think. So pegasi can manipulate the weather? That's pretty damn cool. Pretty much any creature with wings is lucky. So are the ponies with horns. I mean, damn. Magic.

Earth ponies seem to have nothing special. There's got to be something to kind of balance out the powers, or whatever. Maybe they're stronger. Applejack can knock all the apples off a tree. I could only knock one down with a running start. AJ didn't even have to take a step. Yeah, earth ponies are probably stronger than unicorns and pegasi.

I stand back up. I open the door and walk outside. Sure, it's overcast and will probably rain soon, but I lived in Seattle for most of my life. I'm used to the rain. I think I've seen more rainy days than sunny days while living there.

I wander around Ponyville. I'm mostly out to look for a bar. After an hour, I couldn't find one. There might be one in Canterlot. I think I have enough money for a ticket.

It would also give me an excuse to find Princess Celestia and Princess Luna and talk to them again. I've never talked to them at the same time and I'd like to see how they act together. I'd like to see how a good relationship between siblings is. I mean, I know Princess Luna attacked Princess Celestia, but that was a millennium ago. And from how she acted around me, I'm assuming she's changed for the better since then.

At least, I'm assuming the two Princesses have a good relationship. I'd like to see one. I've never even had much of a relationship with my brother, what with him being in the Canadian Army and practically living in Iraq. It's a damn shame I won't be able to make our relationship any better. Unless Epona gets kind enough to bring him here. I don't think that'll happen. I doubt I'll ever see a human again.

I reach into my pocket and pull out my wallet. I take out the money I have. Just over $50 is inside. In a world with a different kind of currency, I don't need Earth's money. I'll keep this on me just in case I'm desperate for it. Maybe for a fire, or something. It probably won't do much to help me in that case.

I walk around more, still with no set destination in mind. I could go to a library and read up on Equestria and its history. Twilight’s got a large collection of books in her castle. I’m a bit disappointed in myself for not doing that earlier. Her home isn’t that far away, so I don’t even have an excuse to not stop by.

The walk over there is brief. A few ponies say hi to me. Even more so than people did on Earth. I think it’s for the best that I died. That’s not something I say every day. I doubt I’ll ever get used to mentioning my death.

I knock on Twilight’s door. It opens a few seconds later to reveal Spike, the dragon I met a while ago. “Hi, Mark. What’s up?”

“I just stopped by to say hi, and maybe to read up on Equestria.”

“I think Twilight would appreciate that.” He says. “Hey Twilight! Mark’s here!” He shouts into the castle.

Twilight shows up in less than five seconds. “No need to shout, Spike. I was just in the other room.” She sighs, then turns to me. “I think I heard you. Here to read some books?” She smiles.

“Yeah. I’m also here to say hi.”

“Hello. You can come in.” Twilight says. I walk inside.

I look around and admire the massive size of the castle. It feels like it’s smaller on the outside.

“I’m still getting used to it, too.” Twilight tells me. I overhear a sigh that I don’t think she meant for me to hear. “What kind of books are you looking for?”

“Something with mythology. I’m a living myth, so I should know more about my ‘siblings.’” That gets a giggle out of Twilight. I sit down in a chair.

“I have plenty of mythology books. Is there anything you’re interested in? Creatures? Deities?”

A book on deities, eh? I have the chance to get more information about Epona. And that Discord guy too, probably. “Let’s start with deities. I think it’s the most important. I don’t know a damn thing about Equestrian mythology, and gods are probably the most basic part of them.”

“True. I have a few books on Equestrian deities. Spike, can you help me find them?” Twilight asks the little dragon.

“Can do, Twilight.” He replies. “How many are there?”

“I don’t know, actually. At least seven.”

“I doubt I’ll need that many.” I say. “You can just start me off with the one with the best information.”

Twilight rubs her muzzle in thought. “I think Deities of Equestrian Mythology would be the most informative… It’s also the first mythology book I put in my current library.”

"Alright. I'll start with that one." I reply. Twilight walks into another room and returns shortly after. A book surrounded by lavender aura is floating next to her. Her horn's also surrounded in the same aura. I'll never be able to get used to the whole magic thing.

I grab the book and open it up. There's a list of deities at the beginning in alphabetical order and a brief description. I'm assuming more in depth descriptions are in later pages. Epona, Discord, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna are the only names I recognize. I read the ones that interest me the most.

Aria
Preferred Species: Pegasus
The goddess of weather. As her mood shifts, the weather does, too. Aria is the absolute origin of pegasi. Her ability to control the weather has been passed on to the entire species. Pegasi don't have quite the same strength as Aria does when it comes to weather control, however.

Epona
Preferred Species: Alicorn
The goddess of harmony, honor, nobility, and peace. Although Epona is genderless, she prefers to take the form of a female Alicorn. She has been known to travel to different planets and sometimes different galaxies to speak to those she determines to be worthy.

Thylacine
Preferred Species: Unknown
The deity of existence. Thylacine's appearance and sex are completely unknown. It is sometimes displayed as an alicorn, a unicorn, or a different creature altogether. Thylacine is believed to be the creator of the world and the galaxy itself.

"Could I rent this?" I ask Twilight after reading some of the passages.

"Of course you can, Mark. I am rebuilding my library, after all. What use is a library if other ponies can't use it with you?" Twilight replies.

"Thanks, Twi." She blushes faintly at the nickname. I stand up. "I got some good information out of this." I look back at the list of deities. I'm curious about this Alaric fellow. The one named Aria is also interesting. Something's kind of drawing me towards them. They stand out more than the others.

I head back home and set the book on my dresser. I need more furniture. Just a bed, couch, and dresser isn't much to live with. I look out the window. The sun moved faster than I thought it was. It's almost night. I also realize that I'm almost unbearably tired.