Chapter 3: Dawn of a New Day
I wake to an early day, morning sun glaring into my eyes. A small groan escaped my mouth as I realized it would be nearly impossible to get away from the day ahead of me. As I slowly lifted my head off the pillow, I noticed something off. I wasn't in my apartment flat. Oh yeah. The psychedelic little event yesterday. Alright, I'm up. I've made it part of my morning routine to stretch a little and get the blood pumping. It's a good wake up method for me. I look over at the vanity and see the four-to-seven books she picked out for me last night right before I fell asleep. I carefully unstack the tower and skim the titles. “Pony Anatomy for Students”, “Basic Unicorn Magic”, and more educational books. These are in a broad spectrum of Kindergarten books, to Medical School info. Maybe later I’ll find the library and cozy up with one for some learning. Speaking of which, what about Twilight and the others? What will I do in this town? Well, I’ll worry about that later. I gotta get dressed, prepped, and meet Twilight for info.
~About half an hour later~
Alright, time to find Twilight. As I leave the room, I suddenly remember the notepad. I should probably take this, just in case. Who knows when I’ll need it? The corridors aren’t too hard to navigate, and within a few minutes I find her breezing through the hall near the library. Of course I would find a bookworm near books. “Good morning, Twilight! How are you?”
“Oh, hey Charlie! I’m doing great, thanks for asking! So was there something you needed?”
“Well I want to go into town and explore a bit, but I’m afraid that I’ll generate another mass panic. Also, I have no clue where anything is. Hehe…” With that last statement I awkwardly scratched the back of my head.
“Ah, yes, the townsponies. I’ll tell Mayor Mare to gather them in front of town hall for a public meeting. We’ll still go around, just stick with me. Where would you like to go?”
“Well I was hoping we could check on the other five, then maybe that meeting will clear my conscience. From the list I made with the group’s help, I think just going down the list would work, starting with Pinkie.After that we visit Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and finally Fluttershy. Huh. I’m starting to think I spent way too much time thinking about this.”
“Don’t worry, you’re in the same boat as me, and I like a man with a plan.” She blushed a nice cherry red, while her volume diminished at the last few words.
“What?”
“Nothing! Let’s go meet Pinkie.” She immediately straightened herself out, and together, we left the castle. ”About the meeting, I was able to schedule it before you woke up.”
“Really? Well, I can’t doubt it too much. A mayor has to wake up early to tackle those political duties.” I wasn’t done yet, it seemed a little too convenient for that to happen.
“Right. Anyway the first one on your list was Pinkie, right? So we’re heading to Sugarcube Corner, the local bakery. It’s got a very distinct look, so I think you’ll know when you see it.” I simply nodded my head to show understanding. About a couple minutes in our walk, I decided to ask a few more questions while I could. I think she saw me pull out the notepad because she cleared throat in a defining manner. “So. Any questions you need answered?”
“Well, I have a few. First of all, you mentioned a princess. Celestia, if I’m correct. Since you said you’re a princess, I’m assuming you must be related?”
“What? No! Why would you think that?”
“Well, in my world, it doesn’t work like that. A king or queen monitors the nation, while princes and princesses are brought in by blood, a son or daughter. New ones are appointed with each generation, with the eldest son, in olden times, would become the next king. Marriage would also affect this. If a prince married an ordinary woman, and that’s rare on its own, or another country’s princess, she would become a princess of the prince’s country, and vice versa. Get all that?”
Twilight looked at me like I just told her magic doesn’t exist. Oh. It doesn’t where I’m from. Welp, I’ll just put a pin in that. Maybe in a month or something.
“Well, politics aside, what about animals? Like beasts or monsters.”
“Charlie, the girls and I have battled so many creatures, we lost count. you want examples though. We’ve fought a creature called the Cerberus.”
“Ah yes, the legendary three-headed dog.”
“Your world never ceases to amaze me, Charlie.”
“We’ve got to have a lovely chat in the library tonight. I’m sure you’re as interested in my world as I am yours.”
We both had a good laugh as we made our way through the bustling city, catching the either disapproving or curious eye of the citizens. On our right, a large building was approaching with probably the worst architectural design I had ever seen. It was made of candy.
“Ah, here we go. Sugarcube Corner is on our ri… what are you doing?”
“Inspecting the integrity it. Why is it made of candy, and why hasn’t it collapsed, yet?” My interest is getting to the better of me, because I’m asking way too many unessecary questions.
“I…don’t know for once. It never really came to mind. However, know that I’m noticing it, yeah it is strange. Enough of that. Let’s head inside and meet Pinkie.”
Walking inside, I see the bustling bakery with two ponies managing the shop. A light blue pony is quickly handing boxes to other ponies. Another orange pony with a horn is levitating boxes to the others as well.
“So. Are these the owners of the shop? Wait. Hold on. The Cakes’, right?”
“Yeah! These guys make the best stuff. How’d you know?”
“When I was asking the girls about some basic info, Pinkie said she with worked with two ponies named the Cakes’.”
“Ok, then, want anything? My treat.” She looked at me with a smile only comparable to a seven-year old child on Christmas getting his first video game. Ah, memories. Unfortunately my sweet tooth isn’t as needy as it used to be.
“No thanks, I’m not as much as a sweets guy as I used to be. I will, however, meet the owners to be friendly.” As they were serving customers, I waited idly for the rush to die. Thankfully, it did soon. I walked up to the counter and introduced myself to the surprised folk. “Hi. Great job on the bakery, it looks like it’s a popular hangout.”
The Orange one greeted me first, still awestruck by my presence. “Thank you very much, kind sir! We’ve been at this for Celestia knows how long, but we’ve enjoyed it for the whole ride. How’d ya hear if this place, anyway?”
“Pinkie Pie told me about Sugarcube Corner, and I thought I’d check it out. Wasn’t disappointed at all.” As if on cue, Pinkie emerged from the kitchen doorway.
“Boy, it’s been a busy day hasn’t it? I’m going out to…oh hey Charlie!” She came and embraced me in a tight hug. “What in the world are you doing here?”
“You said you worked here, so naturally I’d want to check it out. Nice place!”
“You haven’t seen the half of it. Up here! I’ll clock out in a second guys!” She lead me upstairs into a bedroom. So I guess you could say they work at home. “This is where I sleep. Pretty neat that I get too work at home, don’tcha think? I spend most of my time planning up here.” After admiring the bedroom for a while I explained my plans for today to her. She understood completely, not bad for a girl with ADHD. I said she could come, and she gladly accepted. After we went downstairs, she talked to the blue Cake for a second, then ran to us with a hearty “Let’s go!” Along the way I decided to ask her about her family.
“So are those your parents?”
“No, but they’re like a second family to me. They gave me a job, a place to live, and happiness. You see, I was raised on a rock farm for the longest time, until one day, I saw a huge rainbow explosion in the sky. Seeing so many colors other than grey gave me a goal. I wanted to make ponies as happy as I was when I saw that. I planned a party for my entire family that day. They eventually heard music coming from a silo, and that was the first time I had seen my family smile.”
“That’s a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing it with me. Also, how did we go from being a bustling town to going through ranch gates?
“’Cause, silly we’re advancing to the next part of the story!” I gave Twilight an inquisitive look, she just simply gave me a range of body language from “I don’t know.” to “Forget about it.” I looked back at Pinkie and she responded with just a smile.
As we approached Sweet Apple Acres, I started to take in my surroundings. Apple trees were set for at least a mile. I stared in awe as I realized the only crop was apples. How is this even possible?! This must have taken years to develop. When we walked through the gates we were greeted by a small pony. I assumed this was part of Applejack’s family. “Hi, there. Is Applejack here? We’re here to see her.”
“Oh, yeah. Gimme a sec. Come on in! Mah name’s Applebloom, Ah’m Applejacks little sis. I work with Applejack in the fields. Lemme go git ‘er. She ran into a barn-looking house. I heard her illicit a loud scream from inside the house. “Applejack! You got visitors!” Ok, she’s a loud one. I looked over the area and it seemed cozy enough. However, I do wonder what they keep in the other barn.
Applejack came outside rubbing her head, probably from the piercing scream that she heard. “What’s all tha commotion. She looked towards us with surprise and excitement. “Oh howdy!” She ran to us with excitement, probably excited to show us around.” Welcome ta Sweet Apple Acres, my pride an’ joy. Around here ya can see apples for miles!” Well, there’s no doubt about that. She looked at Pinkie. “Did you ya bring tha pie?”
“Yep! I have it right here!” She pulled a box out of her saddlebag, and handed it to Applejack “Thanks for letting me use your apples for the pie!”
“No prob, nothing beats your bakin’! Yeah, so should I show you around, Charlie? Or are ya too busy to deal with a farm pony.”
I pulled out my notepad and started flipping through pages randomly. I’m nearly booked, but I can squeeze you in.” We had a good laugh, and she showed me around. And her impressive track record of first place medals. Everything looked nice and neat for a farm.
“Well, that’s Sweet Apple Acres for ya. Here, have a free sample.” She looked at the apple-filled cart that was overloaded with apples, and swiftly pulled one out. “On the house, just tell me how it is.” She eagerly awaited my response, and after looking at the apple for a second to check for bruises, I took a bite. My eyes widened in shock after that.
“Holy crap! That was probably one of the best apples I’ve ever eaten!” I took a large gulp. “How do you do it?!”
“Well, pal, it’s simple. Good old tender, loving care. Quality caretaking means quality finish. Thanks for tha review. Let’s me know what I’m doin’ right. I guess I’ll see ya guys later, I’ve got work to do. Need anythin’ else?”
“One thing, Mayor Mare is having a town meeting later, and you should come. It’s about the whole town’s freak out yesterday.”
“Alright, I’ll be there. See ya later!” As we waved goodbye, I went over the next place we need to go to.
“Next on the list, we meet Rainbow Dash. Anyone know where we can meet her?” Twilight was the first to speak up.
“Rainbow Dash’s whereabouts are mainly a mystery, but she likes to practice fast flying in the fields, so let’s check that out. If she’s not there, then we’ll check out around town.” Not much happened in the ten minutes it took to get to a plain, grassy area. It would also seem that luck is on our side. We see Rainbow Dash using her free time to practice her flying skills. And, wow. She’s not half bad at it. Performing maneuvers like there’s no tomorrow. I’m the first to call to her.
“Hey! Rainbow Dash!” She hears this sudden call, and gets surprised, unable to control. She does a dive similar to crashing World War Two biplanes. “Oh crap!” I start running towards her destination, and miraculously, she pulls up and out of the crash. She flies straight towards me, with exponentially decreasing speed.
“Hey! Nice to see ya. How’s it hanging?” What? She’s not going to even acknowledge the fact that she almost died?
“What in God’s name was that?! You nearly crashed!” She gained an evil smirk. This frightened me.
“I know. It’s a new technique I’ve been working on, and that was the response I was looking for. It’s a fake out method. Those tend to leave everypony in shock and awe. More like shock and awesome, amirite?”
“No! I was seriously worried you were gonna die! Don’t ever scare me like that again!” She gives me a very apologetic look, and with her big red eyes, stares directly back at me.
“You were actually worried about me? Geez, I’m sorry. Look, I won’t do it again, deal?” She stuck out her hoof and I gladly shook it. “So, what’d you came out and see me for? Awesome moves? Twilight’s flying lessons?”
“Actually I came here to check on you. And I have a little notice thing. Mayor Mare’s holding a town meeting for my arrival and the havoc caused yesterday by my appearance. You’ll be there?”
“Totally, then maybe we could all hang out tonight?” I looked at Twilight and Pinkie for confirmation, and they gave me the look of “It’s your choice.” I returned to Rainbow’s attention to tell her I was ok with it.
“Yeah sure, we’ll gather together after the meeting. The meeting! We still gotta tell Rarity and Fluttershy! Gotta jet, Dash. Talk to you later!” And like that, we were on our way to the fabled Carousel Boutique. Since we were just outside of town, it didn’t take long to get there either. Fortunately, Twilight has been leading the whole time, lord knows I don’t know where anything is.
As we entered the boutique, the vibrant smell of fabric sucker punched me right in the nostrils. If I’m going to be here awhile, I better get used to it. It seems they grown used to the smell, and god knows how long they’ve been here. We see Rarity bounce out from around the corner and greet us with a shop owner’s welcome. “Welcome to Carousel Boutique! How may I…oh Charlie!” She trotted up to us in excitement. “I’ve had a few ideas for some designs, but I never got your measurements. Is now a good time? It’ll only take a minute or two.” Not long later, she had me standing in a T-pose. It reminded me of the ragdolls from Garry’s Mod. The whole thing was under way, and I couldn’t move. She knew I couldn’t wait like this for a long time, so she asked some questions to hopefully speed things by. “So, what brought you out here? My fashion expertise?”
“Actually, no. I wanted to visit to see what the Carousel Boutique was, and to tell you something. There’s going to be a meeting held by Mayor Mare about the whole incident yesterday. I’m assuming the only reason they didn’t run today was because I’ve had Twilight showing me around.”
“Ah, well, first of all thanks for showing up to even check out the place. It just lets me know that I have a potential buyer! Secondly, I still have some clothes to finish up, so I don’t know if I have time to go, but I’ll try my best. Enough with that, though. How are you doing? Especially knowing you’re in a place you don’t know? I see that Twilight and Pinkie are showing you around, but you probably won’t remember everything. I’ll be right back.” With that, she walked into a room that, from what I could see, had dress-making tools and fabrics. This gave me some time to stretch and get ready for more measurements. Fortunately, I don’t think I’ll wear any dresses, and if I did, it probably wouldn’t fit, or the anatomy wouldn’t match mine. She came back out with a small pocket map. “Here, this should help you out for a bit while you learn the town. There’s no need to return it, so you can keep it as long as you need. And with that, I think we’re done here. Two questions. Are you allergic to any fabrics, and do you prefer any style of clothing?”
“Well, I have no allergies, just if I wake up and it’s cold, I’ll get all sneezy for like the first one or two hours of the day, then go back to normal. And usually, I prefer a very casual wear, like this one.” I emphasize with pointing to the clothes that I’m wearing, which is just jeans and a T-shirt.
“Ok, thanks for staying for a while, is there anything else you need?”
“No. Thanks for promising a new wardrobe. We’ll be on our way.”
We were walking out the door when she piped up from behind us. “I didn’t promise anything!”
“Of course you did, why else would you get my measurements and preference of clothing?” I left with a smirk on my face, getting a last glimpse of Rarity getting red from her huffiness and her embarrassment. Can’t say I didn’t feel a little guilty after that, but it felt good to use some good old logic. I walked next to the girls and Twilight spoke up before I could.
“Alright, Charlie. Looks like the last place is Fluttershy’s cottage, a little bit of warning, she takes care of a lot of animals. So, if you feel uncomfortable, we can head out and prep for the meeting”
“Ok, but is there any reason why I should feel uncomfortable?”
“Well, I think we should just wait and show you.’ This frightens me. What’s gonna happen? Is she weirdly obsessed with animals? Is she actually a government spy who’s loaded with weapons? What if she’s the leader of a cult of a higher being for great skin? The possibilities are endless, but there’s one way to find out.
~Fifteen minutes later~
Well, that wasn’t too bad. The walk gave me some time to calm down, and rationalize with the options. Being on the other side of town might cause it to be a little bit of an inconvenience, but it shouldn’t be too much trouble. The first thing I notice is the giant forest behind the small house. “Hey, guys? What’s with the huge forest?” They stopped with a concerned look on their face. Twilight is the first to speak.
“That…is the Everfree Forest. Never, and I mean under no circumstance, go in there without one of us to guide you. That forest is huge, and we might never get you back. Just, please, don’t go in there.”
“If it’s that much of a problem, I’ll obey and not visit the spooky forest. It even looks dangerous from the outside.”
“Ok, let’s head to Fluttershy’s.”
As we approached the cottage, I noticed many different types of birds in the trees she has planted around her house. I was able to recognize a few different bird types from my old days living in Arkansas. More than a few moves later, and I see even more birds. Not only did she have many different birds in the trees, but I saw a lot of little critters, like squirrels and chipmunks. That’s real neat.
“Alright, let’s head in I suppose.” I knock on the door, and a few moments later, Fluttershy opens the door and invites us in. I instantly get freaked out. There’s some sort of creature there. He looks like a mish-mash of different animal arms. “What, uh, what animal is that, Fluttershy?”
“Animal? I’m no animal, I’m a god of chaos! If anything, you’re the animal here, pal. But if you must know, I’m a draconequus.”
“Erm, Fluttershy? Could you help me out here?”
Fluttershy seemed ready to go on a long lecture. “Of course, Charlie. Discord is, as he said, a god of chaos. After his defeat a while back, Princess Celestia gave him to us, as to work on a path of forgiveness. He’s really helped us out before, so I personally think that he’s past his waiting time.” He turned and looked at me with a smile on his face.
“So, you’re a god of chaos? What exactly does that entail?”
“Well, before I was imprisoned oh so long ago, my duty was to spread chaos throughout the land, and to get power anyway I could. However, my time has come and gone, and I’m mostly done with all that. Mostly. Take a look, this one’s one of my favorites.” He conjured a glass of chocolate milk. I was about ask something, but he pulled up his pointer finger in order to tell me to wait. I took a seat on the couch across from him. He started drinking the glass itself, like drinking molten, unshapen, version of glass. I could only stare in awe as he performed this feat with such ease. He left the shape the chocolate milk would have been in, and completely swallowed it. I jumped up from the couch with great applause.
“What was that?! That was freaking amazing! And this is only a fraction of what you can do?! You are super cool.”
“Aw, well at least I’m not making clouds of cotton candy and making them rain chocolate.”
“Cool! Anyways, I just remembered the reason I came over here. There’s going to be a town meeting held by the mayor in a bit, dealing with my appearance, and I’m sure I’ll have a chance to get up there and redeem myself.”
Fluttershy spoke with a sigh of relief. “Ahh. I’m so glad that you’ll be able to apologize for accidentally scaring everypony.”
“Yeah, it’ll be starting soon, so I better get going. It was real nice to meet ya, Discord!”
We left, and I was mentally prepping myself for the small speech I may or may not give. I was in deep thought about my “apology” when Twilight said something. “You got that, Charlie?”
“Oh, what? Sorry I was thinking to myself, I’ll pay attention this time.”
“Ugh. Alright, get don’t let it happen too often. When we get to the meeting, try not to scare everypony. Say the right words, however, and I think they’ll warm up to you. Try not to offend anypony. Since you don’t know much about them, just say you’ll learn about how we work around here. Did you get it this time?”
Sounds like a mini-game from something like Rhythm Heaven “Absolutely. In fact, I was planning on saying something along those lines.”
Pinkie Pie spoke up for the first time in forever, which is a little odd considering her “explosive” personality “I think everypony will love you as much as we do! You’re so charming, I don’t think that anypony can resist you!” She caught herself as she finished the last sentence. “NONONOIDON’T MEANITLIKETHATIMEAN’TTHATI MEANTTO.”
Twilight covered her mouth to calm her down. “Pinkie, it’s ok. I think he gets it.” She gave a sigh of relief, and instantly calmed down to her normal state. “In any case, I think that you should be ready for anything.”
“Right. I think I’m ready.”
“Good. The meeting is happening in a few minutes, so we’ll let you collect your thoughts and you should be ready in about five minutes.”
With that, they left talking about something I didn’t really want to listen to, so I just sat on the given platform and waited. I’ve been preparing for this the last couple of hours, so I don’t think I have too much to worry about.
I idly wait for the meeting to happen and see ponies gather around the town hall, waiting for the meeting to start. I get very mixed glances as the ponies start crowding. I see a whole range of emotions ranging from scared, confused, and angry. I completely understand how they feel seeing the “monster” that terrified and terrorized them not even 24 hours ago. This makes me uncomfortable, seeing the faces of the townspeople who I’ve terrified, and had them running for their lives, albeit from an unhostile creature.
I see the only six friends I have come up to me. At least these guys are ponies that absolutely don’t hate me. I think. Oh no. I do not need that kind of anxiety now. I have friends. That’s all that matters right now. Twilight seems to be thinking, as her face doesn’t match the happy reactions of the other 5. I speak up about this. “Twilight? Is there something on your mind?”
“Hmm? Oh, it’s nothing really. Besides, you have a whole town of ponies that are waiting for you! We just need Mayor Mare to show up and take care of business. And speaking of which, here she is!”
The grey-haired, tan-coated pony walked up to me. “I assume you’re the reason Princess Twilight called this meeting?”
“Yes ma’am. It’s a little apology meeting for accidentally scaring the town. Hopefully this will better my reputation with the others.”
“Well, let me just say I don’t think you’re that bad. In fact, I might call on you to do some handiwork for me.”
“Well, I guess I’ll starting mentally preparing myself. I’ll get back to these guys.”
“Alright, I’ll get the meeting going, then after I’m done, you can say a few words, then I’ll dismiss everyone.”
She walked away and I gave the only six friends I have in the world a look of both determination and anxiety. Pinkie walked up to me and gave me some comfort. “Look, Charlie. You have totally, absolutely, extremely got this. We all believe in you, and we all believe that you can do this.” Everyone behind her gave me a short response of encouragement.
“Guys.” Tear started welling up in my eyes. “Thank you. Thank you for being by my side. Most of my life I had no one I could really call my friend. Other than the couple co-workers I regularly hang out with, no one was really my friend. Now that I have you guys. I’m not sure that I want to leave.” They all embraced in a group hug. Twilight started speaking for their leave.
“Well, we got head into the crowd. We’ll be watching the whole thing. You can do this.” With that they were off. I stood up and leaned against the wall of the towering building, patiently awaiting my turn to speak. The whole crowd was talking, then Mayor Mare stepped up to the podium.
“Ladies and gentlecolts! We are here because a new, friendly creature would like extend a few words on what happened yesterday. I know a lot of people were giving him odd looks as he went throughout his day, as I even saw the Princess escorting him myself. Apparently, he meant no harm! I’m going to let him take over the meeting, then I’ll come back for the closing.” She looked and motioned me to go to the podium. I slowly creep towards the podium. As I gain distance, I realize that the podium and stand are too small for me. I just stand to the side of the podium to compensate.
“Um, well, hello! I know a lot of you are skeptical, but just give me a chance. I’m the creature that ‘terrorized your town, but, erm, did I do anything wrong? I literally walked into the town, and was greeted with screams of horror. I can see some of you looking at the ground with a sheepish frown on your face, but don’t worry. All is forgiven. All I ask is that you welcome me with open arms. You can call me Charlie, but if any nicknames are given, I’ll accept any of them. As long as they’re not offensive. I’m currently residing in Princess Twilight’s castle, but I’m free to work and earn some money so I can get my own place. I don’t want to be a burden on anyone and a little independence never hurt anyone. I will help anyone if they just ask. I’m a man of morality, though. Don’t ask me to do anything illegal. I only want to help the city, help you guys. I can’t do that if you don’t give me a chance. Let me hear it. Who’s with me?”
I get a moment of silence, then I hear a lone trotting sound. Then more. Suddenly the whole crowd starting cheering and stomping the ground. Everyone’s giving me a chance. This feels great. I haven’t felt this good since I got my first video game. Speaking of which, I need to know what tech they have, and if I can use it. I gotta have my vidya. This, however, is way more important. I let Mayor Mare take over, but the rest of the words drown in the warm feeling I have in my heart, this bubbly-ness I have, this dopamine rush just doesn’t want to stop. I settle down, somewhat, and patiently await the end of the meeting, While I was in that euphoric state, she had already ended the meeting, and I met up with the girls. Pinkie Pie instantly tackled and pinned me on the ground. “Oh my good golly gee wiz, you were amazing out there! I’ve haven’t seen anything get the crowd worked up like in forever! Hey, what’re you do…WOAH!” I had slipped my hands around her torso and threw her upside-down on my lap, similar to that of laying on a therapy couch.
“Gotcha. Thanks for pinning me on the ground by the way, that gave me my first opportunity to pull something like that off. But yeah, I was really surprised at the response I got. I thought I was awkward, but I guess not. So, what’re we doing now? I could go unpack, some clothes, or something.” Rainbow Dash immediately shot that idea down.
“What? No! We gotta go get something to eat and celebrate!” There was a resounding “Yeah!” among the group and later, we ended up getting to a restaurant where I could finally eat first time in like a day and a half, besides the apple I had earlier. I can’t live off of fruit forever, could I? Maybe. But yeah, let’s see what ponies eat. I mean, it can’t be that bad.
~Half an hour later~
“Here we are!” Everyone approached a restaurant, which looked very good for being a spitting image of a 1950’s diner made with renaissance era material. After starving myself for nearly two days, I need this. When we entered, the smell of hard work, good food, and disappointment filled the room. Ah, the nostalgic smell of high school.
“Alright, let’s find a table. I’m sure it can’t be too busy.”
“Ooh, ouch, Twilight. They’re gonna need some ice for that burn.” I wasn’t gonna let that opportunity for a joke slide by.
“Ha ha, Charlie. For real. Let’s sit down and eat, you chucklehead.”
As we found a spot near the left-most wall, a very casually dressed waiter came and greeted us with a large smile. “Hi! It’s a real honor to meet you Princess Twilight! I’m Elias, and I’ll be your waiter this evening. Can I get you guys started with some drinks?”
“I’ll just have a water.” I said this because I don’t think their technology matches soda yet. Usually, I’d have a Coke, or something.
“And what about you guys?” The waiter said this in a jittery-attitude, probably star struck from seeing a princess and her posse. I mean, I’d act in the same way if I ever saw the Game Grumps, or ProJared in person. They all unanimously wanted water as well, but my anxiety said they ordered it to make me feel more comfortable. Either way, I’m hungry. He left menus for all seven of us while he…did something.
The menu. Oh my lord the menu. Hayfries, flower burgers, and more. There’s…there’s no way! All of this food is vegetarian food! The only thing that I can eat is cheese pizza, but I can’t live off of that! It’s unhealthy! I should’ve expected this, they’re horses for God’s sake. Well, this is going to be an awkward topic. I need food, though. Augh, it’s so conflicting! Well, there’s no use beating around the bush. I need to talk to Twilight.
“Um, Twilight? Can we talk about something right quick?” I quickly got up and waited for her to follow me near the bathrooms. “Listen, Twilight, I really appreciate everything that you’re done for me, but, um, there’s an issue. A sort of big one.”
“Really? Is it that bad? Well, what’s wrong?”
“Ooh, boy. This is gonna be awkward. Well, Twilight, lemme get one thing out of the way.” Twilight gave a very concerned look towards me, attentive to my plea. ”You guys are great, and I don’t think I’ve been this happy in years. However, there are many things different from your world that I’m not used to. That includes certain eating habits. You see, where I come from, we eat…meat. Like, animals. Our history shows us eating deer, rabbits, cattle, pigs, and more. I’ve been raised into this lifestyle, and it seems that all your food as focused on plants. Is there any way we could do something about this?”
“Well, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a meat-eating creature before. Hmm…It seems that we’re at an impasse. Eat a salad for tonight, and I’ll talk to Princess Celestia about this. You’re going to have to tell me everything you can about your species. In fact, forget the “creature and species” shenanigans. What are you?”
“Well, it’s a bit complicated, but just call me human for now.”
“Alright, good. We’ll discuss everything later, let’s get back. First, while I’m right here, excuse me so I may use the restroom.”
As I walked back to my seat, I could overhear the girls talking about something. “…well he’s a sweet guy, I don’t see why not.”
“’Cause, Rarity, he’s not a pony! He may seem like a good boyfriend at first, but he doesn’t belong here! He’s gonna have to go home at some point!”
“Well, Applejack, I~ think that if he only has a short time here, we need to make it the bestest, funnest time he’s had in years!”
“Yeah, Pinks, that’s for sure. I mean, if he goes thinking that he had a horrible time here, we might not ever see him again.” The whole crowd gasped at that response. Then, all went silent for a bit. Fluttershy was the first to speak up.
“Rainbow is right. We want to make him feel at home the best we can. That way he has a good time here, and remembers us for what we did right.” The group nodded in unison. I walked out in front of them to sit back down.
“Oh! Darling, you’re back! Is everything alright?” Rarity and the rest of the group genuinely looked worried.
“Oh, yeah, everything’s fine. Just had a small problem, and Twilight helped me with it. Speaking of which, she went to the restroom, so she’ll be back in a bit. There’s no need to worry about me.” The whole group blushed ever so slightly, at their quick-to-react response. “So, have you guys figured out what you wanted yet? I’m just getting a salad for now.” For a while we just talked about very miniscule subjects, like normal break-the-ice starters
The dinner, in itself was pretty uneventful, except for one important question that popped up out from almost nowhere, that would be if I hadn’t crept in on their earlier conversation. Rarity, the one who I assumed wanted to be my girlfriend, I think, was the one to ask. “So, Charlie, do you have any idea when you might be leaving?” This single question made everyone drop their utensils in surprise.
“Well, to be honest, I have no clue. I could be here a month, or even a year. There’s also the possibility that I might…not leave. Gimme a second.” This question made me sit back and contemplate that I might not ever leave. Oh no, no I can’t stay here, I have a job, my own apartment, hell, I was on a plane before…I fell asleep. I fell asleep and ended up here. Who’s to say I can’t go back within tonight. That thought depresses me even more. What about the friends I’ve made here? I can’t simply just abandon them, not now. This is so conflicting! “Well, guys, I’ve got some bad news.” Everyone sorta jumped out towards me in painful attention. “I don’t know how I got here, but I just remembered something. The last thing I remember before I got here, was that I was on a plane.” Everyone looked confused, wondering what the world a plane was. “Forget the plane thing for now. We were just taking off, and I knew that the entire trip would take about a day, and I was stuck on the plane for a whole 18 hours. I started listening to some music, then I fell asleep. Who’s to say sleep can’t bring me back?”
Everyone slowly sat down, in shock at the fact that I could leave in my sleep tonight. Everything went silent for a while, then Pinkie spoke up. “Well, let’s just hope that doesn’t happen!” Yeah, Pinkie, you’re right. That’s all we can do. Hope.
After everything settled down, we carried on as normal and Twilight covered the check, which was greatly reduced thanks to Twilight’s political power as princess.
Everyone went their own way, and Twilight and I started heading towards the castle. Something’s not right. “Twilight? Where’s Spike?”
She nonchalantly answered with a yawn. “He’s back at the castle working with other ponies on your bedroom arrangements, he hasn’t been with me all day, and now you’re asking?”
“Well, it just looks like he’s your number one assistant or something, and yet, I’ve barely seen him. In fact, how much do you want to bet that he’s sleeping as we speak?”
“I’ve never been one for betting, but you may be right, he’s been working hard all day on making your bedroom a little more… boy-ish.” Ohhh, she did not. If my room, is filled with a bunch of “Bro” stuff like sports, I’m not gonna do much, just take down the stuff I don’t really like. What? I’m not one for fighting. Just a little rearranging should make my room a little more fitting.
~Five minutes later~
As we enter the castle Twilight yawns, with me following. “So, should we have that talk?”
“Sorry, Charlie. I’m too tired, and besides, you gotta check out your room.” She’s right. It’s time to see how it looks. We wave goodnight, and head our separate ways. When I approach the door, I try as hard as I can to mentally prepare myself for the new “improvements”. I pull my key out and open the door.
I stand in amazement as the room as lit before me. Instead of the massive amount of sports memorabilia I expected, everything looks…normal. I’m just glad it’s not the cold, dark interior of the crystal castle. The bed’s been replaced with a bigger model, and the sheets were changed to an astronomical design. Not gonna lie, it looks really neat. I could’ve stopped there, and went to bed, but I wanted to admire to workmanship of the bedroom. The vanity was replaced with a more wooden appearance. Same with the dresser and a lot of things in the room. The hard, crystal floor finally gained a rug, which was a huge improvement. The rug had an intricate design, similar to what I saw in Rarity’s shop. It looked nice paired with the rest of the room. Speaking of which, I think the room looks really nice, compared with what it used to be. It feels less boy-ish, and more home-y. Spike must know what he was doing. I take a peek outside the window, and I spot the clock tower. Eleven O’clock? Geez, we’ve been everywhere today, and it still feels late. I put the notebook on its rightful place on the vanity. I pull out the pocket map and place it on the table. It might make a good poster once I’m done with it. Right now I just really need to sleep. It’s too late for me to be thinking about this. But, I do want to reflect on.
What were they talking about at dinner? I think Rarity wants to be my girlfriend, but why? I don’t really know. The others acted the same way, the way they moved, talked, tripped over themselves on words, is this really happening? Am I actually developing a harem? I thought something like this happened in anime and dating sims. Heh. But, they’re ponies. Well, that’s going to be something I’ll have to get past if I actually want to pursue a relationship with any of them. It seems the hardest nut to crack will be Applejack due to her sturdy nature. God, why am I even thinking about this? It’s probably because I finally have a chance of a relationship outside of the dozens of dating sims Oh well. Whatever. I’ll let whatever happen. It’s too late for this thinking. Or probably the best time. I need to sleep.
