Under The Blue Sky

"My name is Alfred Crow. I am 36 years old. I have a wife, named Debra, and a son named Luke. I live in England and I work as a shop assistant."

"Good. Tell me more about where you live."

"I live in England. England is a country. It is also part of Europe, which is a continent. There are seven continents and a large number of countries."

"Where are these continents?"

"There are seven continents and they form a planet called Earth."

"I see. Alfred do you know where you are now?"

"No."

"You are in a place called Equestria. Equestria is a place where earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi live in harmony. I am their ruler, Princess Celestia. You've already met Applejack and Applebloom."

"Yes"

"Good. Thank you for answering my questions. While we try to get things sorted out, Applejack and her friends would like to introduce you to everyone. Are there any questions you would like to ask before you leave?"

"Yes. How would I return home?"

"I'm afraid I don't have an answer to that right now, but I can guarantee that you will receive one in time. Is that all?"

"I suppose."

"Good. I shall see you again Alfred." And with that Princess Celestia rose from her seat and proceeded further into the castle. Alfred watched silently as she left. He then moved his head forwards and continued to stare into space.

He wasn't confused anymore. He had many questions but he wasn't confused. Alfred understood that he would be stuck in this place for a while, as much as it unsettled him. He thought about her reactions to his answers. She had looked incredibly puzzled by everything he was saying. How could Alfred find anyone who actually understood him? He then realised how alone he actually was. There was no one to relate to him. No one to help his problems, or so he thought. In this situation he was the alien who landed, and didn't seem to have a way back.

He didn't know what to expect from this new world. The only thing that Alfred could definitely assure himself of was that this place was different. It possessed an almost childlike charm but still was grounded and flawed in its ways. It was familiar yet unlike anything he had ever seen before.

Applejack entered through the large doors and spotted Alfred sitting alone with his back turned to her. She started to approach him slowly and with great caution. He just continued to stare into space, expressionless. Alfred didn't even notice her until she was almost breathing down his neck. He quickly looked up to her.

"Hey, uh were all waiting outside. Are ya ready?"

Applejack said this with a nervous smile that calmed Alfred. He weakly smiled back and nodded his head. He got to his feet, adjusted his glasses and started walking alongside Applejack.

"I'm sorry for all this rushing about. I guess this isn't how you wanted to spend your first day. Your welcome to just come back and sleep for the rest of the day if you'd like to."

"No, I'm...I'm fine."

"Ya sure," she asked with concern, "you seem a little tired. At least let me hold your bag for ya."

"No I'm good."

"Well that's great! I really want you to meet my friends. They're a real bunch of characters."

Applejack opened the great doors to a group of similar sized ponies. They all had different colours and pictures on their flanks. Alfred wasn't sure what that meant but it interested him greatly. Some had wings, some had horns, Applejack and another didn't have either. One had both. They all looked pretty nervous to be standing among the only human, except for one. She had purple fur that seemed to be very relaxing. She also had a horn among her darkened hair along with a set of wings by her side. She looked the most confident of the group which gave Alfred some reassurance that they were friendly.

"So, you already know me, I'm Applejack. This one here's Rarity, she's a unicorn."

"Good evening."

Rarity was the only one dressed in an outfit. It was a nice and smooth blue dress complete with a pattern of white shapes and a stylish hat. It all looked a bit too much honestly for Alfred but he was pleased with her approach. He figured that she wore these kind of outfits on special occasions which slightly flattered Alfred.

"Good evening, uh Rarity."

"This little goofball is Pinkie Pie."

"Hello! Hello! Hi! Howdy! Wazzupp...mph!"

After Alfred shot back quickly Applejack cut Pinkie off with swift hoof to the mouth.

"Yeah, hehe, she's a talkative one."

Although he had first been surprised by this pink little bomb, he appreciated her welcome. She was completely pink from head to hoof. Alfred came to the conclusion that she was the very opposite of his wife because where she would only portray rage and hate, Pinkie would only show joy.

"Hi, I'm Rainbow Dash! High hoof!" She raised one of her hooves high in the air. Alfred was only confused by this sudden motion. Once his brain started functioning again he guessed it was like a high-five, but before he could bring his hand up she brought it back down. "Oh sorry, I forgot."

Alfred quickly bumped her hoof like a fist-bump. She was puzzled just like he was for a second and stared at her hoof. She then realised what he had just done and looked up with a friendly smile. Alfred smiled back as Applejack ushered him onto the next pony.

"Alfred, say hello to Fluttershy."

"Hello, Fluttershy"

Fluttershy blushed incredibly and struggled to answer back. It looked like she was almost sinking into herself when she finally managed to blurt out her greeting in a timid voice.

"Hi!" Immediately after she said this she covered her mouth and tried to look away. Alfred felt sorry for her because he could relate a little too well. Memories of him as a child started coming back to him like an oncoming train. Alfred was always a shy boy, he never could truly say what he wanted to because he feared of what others might think. As a young kid he was always surrounded by judging eyes that would never leave him. Alfred then thought about how these experiences affected his life later, and then he was sadly reminded of how he ended up with a miserable job. He had tried to keep these memories locked away for years and years. He felt the urge to start crying but suddenly remembered where he was. He returned to Fluttershy with a gentle expression. By bringing back all these memories he could feel a special bond between him and Fluttershy. He Almost wanted to thank her.

"And this here is Twilight Sparkle."

"Hi! I've heard all about you!"

Alfred wasn't sure what to think of this. Should she have heard about him? He figured that a human wasn't a normal sight for them but he still wondered who else knew about him. Was this all secret or did he just become the face of a huge problem? He tried not to let that worry him too much and replied graciously.

"Hello, Twilight."

"Now that you've met us all would you like to come to my library with us? I'm sure you're full of questions." Alfred was suddenly reminded of a very important question that he still needed an answer to.

"Uh sure but I'm still waiting on Princess Celestia to give me a very important an..."

"Oh don't worry about that. I probably should've mentioned this earlier but I'm a princess as well so I'll be sure to give you the answer when it comes. Anyway we've got some things to talk about."

Alfred was relieved by this and all of his worries started to fade from his mind. With all of this now free space he started to come up with more ideas and questions but there was one that would refuse to die out. It was the one question that needed his absolute attention. He looked back to the doors of the castle and then back to his new found friends.

He knew what he needed and he knew it wouldn't come soon, so in that moment he decided to free his mind from all the stress. Stress used to always be present. His life revolved around his stress back home. The life that was left behind was defined by nothing but stress. At that point Alfred realised that it was exactly that. The life that was left behind.

He was a new face, a new individual, a new man. He realised that his past could be forgotten and he could be whoever he wanted to be in this world. There was no nagging wife to prevent him from speaking his mind. There was no horrible wife to trap him in his guilt. There was no annoying boss to constantly insult him. There was no dead end job to be present at every single day. There was no one to hold him down.

There was no son for him to hold.

Alfred destroyed whatever thoughts crossed his mind and focused on what was important.