Chapters Have you ever had one of those days where your whole life was flipped upside down? Where everything you knew and loved seemed to change in an instant? Today was one of those days. I suppose I should start by saying this, the craziest shit always seems to happen to me. I try and live in this dull world like any other person, yet excitement always seems to find its way into my life and make it even worse than before. Today though, today just takes the metaphorical Birthday cake and shits all over it, ruining another Birthday like a drunk relative or a shitty gift. My name is Tiberius Bernfield, and this is my story.
The day started off normal enough; I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock, already dreading having to get out of bed. I tiredly sat up, leaned over and very gently slammed my fist onto the top of the clock, smashing it to pieces. That was the third this week. I dragged myself up and into the bathroom, the bed sheets being strewn about on the floor for the time being.
I stopped in front of the mirror to get a quick look at myself. My long brown hair was sticking out in every direction, looking as if it had been attacked by a wild animal in my sleep. I had planned on getting it cut earlier in the week but my barber had cancelled on me, scheduling me a new appointment for next week. I let out a small chuckle before hopping into the shower. I let my mind wander as the hot water pounded against my chest. I always seemed to do this whenever I showered, thinking about the good things in life. Things like the internet, video games, music, and my loving girlfriend, Serena.
Serena and I had known each other for as long as I can remember. Even when the first school I ever went to shut down, we managed to somehow find ourselves seated together in a whole new school. It wasn't until around the senior year of Highschool that I finally had the courage to ask her out on a date. It wasn't anything too fancy, just a simple dinner and a movie, but it managed to get our relationship started well enough. Today was actually our four year anniversary and I was planning on taking her out for a bite to eat at one of the fanciest places in town. I even used one of my sick days to get out of work just for the occasion. Hell, I was so excited about it that I didn't even worry about my daily workout. Today was entirely devoted to the love of my life.
With that happy thought I turned off the hot water and stepped out of the shower. I grabbed my towel from the towel rack and quickly dried myself off. I brushed my hair back away from my face, taking a couple seconds to run the brush through my hair. Once I was done I quickly brushed my teeth before making my way out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom. I made my way over to the closet and opened it up, smiling as I pulled out my red tinted suit. I set it on the bed for now while I slipped on a pair of boxers. I stepped in front of the full body mirror that was hung up on my door. I couldn't help but smirk as I flexed in front of it. I wasn't exactly the most muscular person, but I could definitely be considered above average.
I was interrupted from my fun as I heard my phone vibrate on my computer desk. I made my way over and picked up the phone, noticing the text from Serena.
Hey Ty!
Hello gorgeous~!
Excited for the big 4 years? c:
Of course, I've been waiting for this day all month.
Haha, I know, you wouldn't stop mentioning it :P
I'm going to start getting ready now, I'll pick you up around 6.
Already? The dates not for hours!
You know I don't need a reason to dress up in a suit.
Haha, fair enough, I'll see you then <3 ;)
I chuckled as I put my phone back onto the desk and made my way back to my bed, taking my suit pants and slipping them on. There was more than one reason I was dressing up in my best suit tonight. Sure, the whole anniversary thing should have been enough, but even then I probably wouldn't have gone with my best suit. No, tonight I was planning on finally asking the most important question of my life. That's right, tonight I was going to ask her to marry me.
It was at that time that I noticed the feeling of nausea in the pit of my stomach. I simply ignored it, believing it to just be nerves. It wasn't until I had gotten the rest of my suit on that I started to feel the pounding in my head. I clutched my head in agony, the headache refusing to die down. I tried to ignore it, making my way towards the mirror. It was at that moment that I witnessed one of the most terrifying things I had ever seen in my life up to that point. My eyes were glowing a sickly looking green, some sort of purple flames flowing from them. That was the last thing I saw before passing out, the world around me fading to darkness.
Author's Note
A somewhat short prologue to set the story. The next chapter should hopefully be longer.
I awoke with a groan, my hand finding it's way to my pounding head. What the fuck happened? I forced myself to open up my eyes, taking a quick look at my surroundings. And where the fuck am I? It was almost too dark to see, the only light source being the small amount of moonlight that filtered through a barred up window placed high up on the wall. The walls around me were made of stone, as was the floor beneath me. I turned my head around to see prison bars, a look of confusion on my face. How the hell did I wind up here?
I sat there for about five minutes before the pain in my head began to subside. Once the pounding in my head had dulled I pushed myself to my feet. As it turns out, that was a bad idea. I placed my hands against the prison wall to catch myself as a wave of nausea passed through me. The only thing that stopped me from upchucking right there was the fact that I hadn't eaten. I let out another low groan as I pushed myself away from the wall, making my way to the bars. I took the bars into my hand, trying to shake them to no avail. Damn, won't even budge an inch. With that observation, I moved onto a new tactic.
"Hey, is anybody out there!?" I shouted, trying my best to peer out of the bars and into the long corridor. I didn't receive an answer so I just sighed, making my way towards the back wall of the cell and placing my back against it, letting myself slide down onto my ass. I brought my hands to my head with a sigh. How had I even gotten there? I did nothing wrong, so why would I be in a cell? It was then that I remembered the moments before passing out. I shuddered, thinking back to my zombie like, green eyes. What was up with those flames? I've never seen anything like it.
My eyes suddenly widened as I remembered something, "Fuck, what about my date? What time is it?" I looked around my cell, hoping for there to be some sort of clock that I had missed. As expected, there was none.
It was at that time that I began to hear the sound of footsteps, a lot of footsteps. I made my way back to the bars to peer out of them, hoping to see my captors. What I hadn't expected to see was some colourful horses making their way towards my cell. What. The. Fuck. There was three of them in total, each one of them sporting a pair of wings along with a horn that sat atop their heads. Alright then, not normal horses. The smallest of the bunch was purple in colour, her mane being mostly a dark indigo. The other two were a little different, their manes fucking flowing in an invisible current. There wasn't even any drafts of wind in here. The smaller of the two was blue in colour, her mane being a lighter shade of blue. Then there was the third one, she was huge, being even taller than myself. I suppose I should say this, the blue one was around chin height with me, her horn making up the rest of my height. The purple one only came up to just above my armpit.
They stopped in front of my prison cell, turning towards me. The purple one seemed to have a bit of fear in her eyes, though the other two seemed relatively calm. I crossed my arms, giving the group a glare. The white one was the first to speak up, "It seems the creature is awake." I would have been shocked if it wasn't for me being so pissed off, being called a creature by these damn horses. I managed to hold my tongue, deciding it would be better to remain silent for the time being.
The purple one looked up towards the tallest of the group, "Is it dangerous Princess?" She looked back towards me. I just glared at her, a small smirk finding it's way onto my face when she took a small step back.
"I'm not sure Twilight, we've never seen anything like it." I continued to glare at the mare that was apparently named Twilight. My glare shifted to the white mare as she stepped closer to the bars. "It could be dangerous or it could be completely harmless, but I'm not willing to take the chance until we know." I was getting tired of being referred to as an it, my glare turning more fierce.
The blue mare that had yet to speak took a step forwards, "Celestia is right, we wouldn't want this thing escaping the dungeon and running around Equestria if it's dangerous."
It was at that point that I had enough, "I'd appreciate it if you stopped referring to me as a thing." I let out in a growl.
It was at that point that I saw the two larger mares step back, seemingly surprised, the purple mares eyes simply went wide. The white mare spoke up, "It would seem that it can talk. Tell us, what are you, who are you, and what are you doing here?"
I spit on the floor at their hooves, "You haven't done shit to earn my name. I also have no idea how I got here, so unless you feel like either letting me out of this damn cell or telling me what happened, you all can go fuck yourselves." With that, I made my way deeper into the cell leaning back against the wall with my arms crossed.
Twilight stepped forward, putting on some sort of bravado, "Hey, show the princess some respect!"
It was at that point that I finally snapped, making my way forward and gripping the bars in anger, "Respect? Why the fuck should I show any of you respect? I have absolutely no idea where I am. One minute I'm getting ready for the night of my life and the next I'm in some damn prison cell surrounded by talking fucking horses. So fuck you!" I pointed my right hand towards Twilight, giving her the finger, "Fuck you!" I pointed my left hand at the unnamed blue mare, giving her the finger as well, "And a huge fuck you to you too!" I moved both of my hands so that both fingers were pointing right at Celestia. I would have laughed at the looks on their faces if I wasn't so unbelievably pissed.
Twilight looked like she was about to yell at me again but was cut off as Celestia took a step forward. Her horn glowed and an audible click could be heard as the cell door unlocked. I can't lie, I was surprised. She opened up the door, "You're right, it isn't fair of us to mistreat you this way and expect you to answer our questions. If you would follow me, we can continue this discussion elsewhere."
I took a moment to stare at Celestia before responding, "Fine. Lead the way." She began to trot off down the corridor as I followed her, the other two mares sticking behind me, probably to make sure I wouldn't try anything. We were out of the dungeon a few moments later, entering a large throne room, guards could be seen standing around, looking towards our group. I looked around confused, "Why is your throne room connected with dungeons? Isn't that dangerous?"
She smiled, "Magic keeps the prisoners from escaping, not that we have many. Even if we did, the guards would be able to stop them before they escaped. You're the first one to sit in one of those cells for quite some time now." I looked towards one of the closer guards, he was wearing some golden armor and wielding a spear. I wasn't much of a fighter, but I did know enough about fighting to notice his tense stance. He was ready to leap into battle, all I needed to do was give him a reason. I decided I'd prefer to not die today, so I just followed Celestia towards the throne. She took a seat on the throne, the other two mares standing off to the side, each one taking a different side. Celestia spoke up once again, "So tell me, what exactly are you?"
I stood in front of the throne, looking like a man on trial, though I suppose I was in a way, "I'm a man, or more specifically, a human." She had a perplexed look on her face, so I continued, "I'm also not from around here if you couldn't guess." She nodded, "Now I have a question for you. What the hell are you?"
Twilight decided she was going to field this answer, speaking up, "My name is Twilight Sparkle, and these two are Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. We're ponies." I slowly nodded, not caring enough to question it. "What is your name?"
"I suppose I can answer that now. My name is Tiberius Bernfield." Twilight mumbled something that I couldn't quite make out. I looked around my surroundings. "Where exactly am I?"
Celestia smiled softly, "You're in Canterlot. What many consider to be the main capital of Equestria." Yep, not on Earth.
"From where dost thou hail and art thou dangerous?" Luna asked.
I rose an eyebrow at her strange way of speaking but answered the question, "I'm from the planet Earth, from a land known as Canada, and of course I'm dangerous. Anything can be dangerous given the situation. Don't give me a reason to hurt anyone and you'll be fine." After answering the question, I decided to ask what I considered the most important question, "How did I get here?"
Celestia's smile disappeared, being replaced with a small frown, "We're not sure. All we know is that you had a large amount of dark magic in your body when you first got here. It seems that when we put you in your cell it dissipated, which means something used a spell to summon you here, though we're not sure who or why."
"So there's no way to get me back?" I asked, fearing the answer.
She gave me a look of pity, "Not until we find whoever cast the spell, and even then we might not be able to get you back. We've never seen this sort of spell before." I felt my hands clench into fists, the urge to punch something growing as I ground my teeth together, Why did it have to happen today of all days? Why did it have to be me? It seemed the guards had noticed, as I was surrounded by two of them, both of them pointing their spears towards me. Celestia held up a hoof, the guards turning to look at her. She motioned for them to back off and they did so, their gaze turning back to me. She began to walk towards me. I took a defensive stance, my fists still clenched. Then she did something unexpected, yet not entirely unwelcome. She hugged me. I just stood there as she wrapped her wings around me, "It's alright, you're going to be fine."
I didn't want to be angry, I really didn't, but I couldn't help it. I spoke, my voice barely above a whisper, "What the fuck do you know?" She let go of me, moving back with a look of confusion, "I just had one of the most important days of my life ruined. I might not see any of my loved ones ever again and even if I do, they probably wont be the same. They probably think I'm dead right now, and you think I'm going to be fine?" I looked her dead in the eyes, speaking in a dull, flat voice "I'll never be the same again." I turned around and walked out of the throne room, nobody trying to stop me as they thought about my words. I let out a sigh as I sat down, my back pressed against a wall.
I had a few minutes to myself before Twilight made her way out of the throne room and smiled sadly towards me, taking a seat next to me. I didn't say a word, let alone look towards her, I simply continued to look across the room. She waited a few seconds before turning towards me, "The princess wants you to come live with me in Ponyville until we figure this whole thing out." I didn't respond with words, merely turning to look at her. I gave her a small nod. She let out a soft sigh, "I'm sorry about what happened. We'll do our best to figure this out."
"Sorry isn't going to send me back. Let's just go. I don't want to be in this castle anymore." I pushed myself up to my feet. Twilight stood as well, beginning to trot towards the throne room. I followed her, not questioning where we were going.
She smiled up at Celestia, "He agreed, but I think it would be best if we got there unseen."
The princess nodded, "Say no more, I'll teleport you both." I saw Celestia's horn light up, encasing the both of us in a magical aura. Celestia gave us both one last smile before we disappeared. That was the last I saw of Canterlot for quite some time.
Author's Note
There was quite a bit of swearing in this chapter, but to be fair, I'm pretty sure anybody would react like that in this scenario. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you find any mistakes please let me know. c:
There was a flash of light that lit up the main room of Twilight's house as she and I appeared in the center of the room. I gave the room a quick look over. It looked like a nerds paradise, dozens of books lining the many shelves around the room. The building itself seemed to be made entirely of wood. I looked out of the window to see ponies going about their day. I didn't stay in that spot long, moving away from the window so I wouldn't be seen. I made my way over to one of the walls and seeing as there was no couch to be seen, sat down on the floor.
I turned my head to see Twilight staring at me with a curious look on her face. I simply stared back at her, "Take a picture, it lasts longer."
She gave me a sheepish smile, "Sorry, but I've just never seen anything like you before. I have so many questions I want to ask but I don't even know where to start."
I let out a small sigh, "Look, can it wait until later? I really don't feel like answering anymore questions right now." A small frown found its way onto her face but she gave me a nod. I leaned back, trying my best to get comfy, "So where exactly am I going to be sleeping?"
She blinked, "Didn't really think that part through, the only spare room I have right now is the basement, if that's fine with you." I simply shrugged.
"Just like when I lived with my parents. It'll do, but I'm going to need a bed, there ain't no way I'm sleeping on a basement floor."
"Fair enough. I'll stop by Quills and Sofa's on the way back from grabbing the girls and order one."
I rose an eyebrow, "Quills and Sofa's? Why such a specific name if they sell more than just those?" Wait, did she say..? "What do you mean by grab the girls? I thought nobody was supposed to know I was here?"
"I never really understood the name either. You'd think they would make it less confusing." She made her way over to the door, picking up a small bag of what looked to be coins, "And I have to tell the girls, they'd find out eventually anyways with how often they visit. I wouldn't be surprised if Pinkie somehow knew you were here already."
I rose an eyebrow, "How would she know I'm here?"
"Pinkie is..different. She doesn't really abide by the laws of physics." Well that was a cause for concern, "I'd find it stranger if she didn't know you were here."
"Doesn't that seem..I don't know, dangerous at all? She sounds mentally unstable."
She merely let out a small chuckle, "I'll admit that Pinkie is weird, but that pony wouldn't hurt a fly. At least, not on purpose."
I decided not to question it anymore, everything in this pony universe was already weird, why not add an insane, physics breaking pony to the mix? "So you're just going to leave me here alone and bored out of my mind?"
"Of course not, Spike will stay here with you."
"...Who's Spike?"
It was at that time that the front door opened and a small purple dragon entered the room, "Hey Twi, I'm ho-" He had a couple seconds to look surprised as he looked up at me. Of course, after the shock wore off, he let out a small scream, "Twilight, what is that thing!?"
And just like that my slowly growing mood sunk back down into anger. I was getting sick and tired of being referred to as a thing. Twilight didn't seem to notice my anger as she smiled, "Spike, this is Tiberius, he's going to be staying with us for a little while."
"Umm, Twi, I hate to burst your bubble, but have you looked at him lately? He doesn't exactly look like friendly company."
I glared down at him, my eyes narrowing, "Keep talking like that and I'll make sure that I'm not." His eyes widened in surprise.
"Whoa, sorry dude. I didn't know you could talk." He said, somehow thinking that would make me feel better about his previous statement. "What even are you?"
"Not of this world if that's what you're asking. I'm a human." He gasped.
"So you're, like, an alien? Cool!" There was a dull slap as I facepalmed.
"No, I'm not an alien. If anything I'm an interdimensional being. I don't even belong in this universe."
"Whoa, that's even cooler than an alien. Can you shoot laser beams from your eyes? Oh! Or do you have super strength?" I let out a groan, massaging my temples.
"No, I'm not a superhero, I'm just a guy. I can't do anything special like that." He seemed to deflate slightly at that.
"Aww, well that's kinda boring."
It was at that moment that Twilight opened up the door, "It's nice to see you two having fun-" Fun. Right. "-but I should go collect the girls. I'll be back in a bit." With that she closed the door and she was gone, making her way down the streets. I turned to look at Spike.
"So what about you? Can you breath fire or anything like that?" He smirked, letting out a belch of flame. I clapped lightly, "That was actually pretty cool. So what else can you do?"
The next two hours were actually pretty fun all things considered. Spike and I ended up chatting about a variety of topics. He mentioned his ability to send messages with his dragonfire and plenty other things about himself, while I talked a bit about the mythologies from my world. He seemed to be really interested in the topic of dragons such as himself. When I asked him why he was so interested he mentioned how he didn't really know anything about dragons other than what the ponies taught him, which wasn't much. I made a mental note to teach him more about the dragons that I learned about from my world, maybe it worked the same way here? Either way, we continued our discussion and eventually started talking about Twilight and her friends.
"So what can I expect from all of them?" I asked, hoping to be prepared for their personalities.
"Well, you already met Twilight. She's pretty much the leader of their friend group. She's also really smart and a magical prodigy, her magic being her secondary focus behind her friends. Fluttershy is really quiet and shy, but she's one of the nicest mares you'll ever meet. She can befriend basically any animal and lives in a cottage near the Everfree Forest. Rainbow is kind of brash, and very cocky. She's also one of the best fliers in Equestria and one of the most loyal mares you'll ever meet. Applejack is more laid down to earth. She lives up at Sweet Apple Acres just outside of town. She's very competitive just like Dash, but she's definitely more humble. She's extremely honest, but in a good way. Pinkie...where do I even start? She's a little weird, able to break reality, but she's super fun to be around. She loves to throw parties and can make anypony smile. Then there's Rarity." His eyes literally became hearts as his smile grew. Yeah, I was confused too.
"What's Rarity like?" I asked, easily able to tell how he felt about her.
"She's amazing. She's beautiful, stunning even. She works at the Carousel Boutique, making dresses and suits. She's also super generous, always giving things to others. She can be a little overly dramatic from time to time, but I feel that's just part of her charm. I'm sure you'll love her." I chuckled softly, I feel like you already beat me to that, kiddo.
We continued to talk for a few more minutes before the door opened up, Twilight walking in followed by her five friends. Before anyone could even say anything my vision was invaded by pink, the pink mare that I could only assume was Pinkie, holding me down and staring down at me.
"Wow Twilight, you're right, he does look strange!" I looked over to Twilight with a glare. She simply gave me a sheepish smile in return. I rolled my eyes and looked up the the pink mare.
"Would you mind getting off of me? You're getting hair all over my suit." She was about to respond before the white unicorn in their group used her magic to lift her off of me. "Thank you."
"Oh, don't mention it darling, we wouldn't want that fabulous suit you're wearing to be ruined." I looked around at all the mares staring at me. Spike walked up and pointed towards the mares.
"Pinkie," he pointed towards the bouncing mare that had tackled me before, her fur coat pink and her mane another, darker shade of pink. She really lived up to her name. "Rarity," his clawed finger moved towards the mare that had lifted the previously mentioned mare off of me. She had a very stylish looking purple mane and her coat was a pristine white. "Rainbow," he pointed towards a cyan pegasus who was currently hovering in the air, her mane as colourful as her name. "Applejack," his hand moved to an orange mare, her blonde mane done up in a ponytail. She also wore a cowboy hat, tipping the brim of the hat down as her name was said. "And that's Fluttershy," He pointed towards a yellow mare that was currently hidden behind Applejack, her head sticking out to reveal her light pink mane.
I gave the group a wave, "Nice to meet you all I suppose. I'm sure Twilight told you about my situation?" I got some nods in response, "Good, I don't have to tell you that I'm not exactly happy to be here. That being said, don't be a dick to me and I'll try my best to do the same." I pushed myself up to my feet, my legs a little sore from sitting on the floor for so long, "Oh, and when is that bed supposed to get here, Twilight?"
"Oh, I nearly forgot, I teleported that in from the shop, I thought it would be easier than hiring somepony to move it."
"You can just do that? I mean, I don't understand this magic at all, but I feel like that would be difficult."
"It took a while to learn, and even longer to get it right, but it's worth it for when I don't feel like carrying something all the way back."
"Whatever works for you I guess, I'm going to go hit the hay then, or at least go think a bit."
She gave me a nod as I made my way towards the basement, the last thing I heard before I shut the door was Pinkie asking a question, "Why would he wanna hit hay?" I simply shook my head, making my way down the stairs and into the rather sizable room. The temperature of the room was a little chillier than the rest of the house, which I didn't really mind. I never really had a problem with the cold, and I had trouble sleeping if it was too hot. There were no windows, the only light coming from a small desk lamp that sat next to the bed. There was no other furniture in the room, which would have to change if I was going to be living here for quite some time.
"Home sweet home I guess." I let out a sigh as I collapsed onto the bed, looking up towards the ceiling. This day had been hectic, full of so many different emotions. I just wanted to relax, and maybe, just maybe, everything would be better in the morning.
Author's Note
Sorry it took so long to write this chapter. I ended up getting stuck part way though, trying to decide how I would make Tiberius react to the others. Mix that in with all of the Holiday stuff that was going on and I could barely get any writing done. I was hoping to make this chapter longer, but there was only so much I could do before ending the day. Chapter 3 should easily be longer with what I have planned so far, so be prepared for that I suppose. As always, if you notice any mistakes feel free to let me know. I'm my own editor, so it's rather easy to miss things.
I sat up with a groan, looking around my surroundings. I appeared to be back in my room, and I don't mean that basement, I mean my actual room. I was sitting on the hardwood floor, everything around me looking the same as it did earlier. Was...was it all a dream? I pushed myself up to my feet, making my way out of the bedroom and into the bathroom. I turned on the tap, splashing some water into my face. I mean, it couldn't have been, it all felt so real. I turned off the tap and finally looked into the mirror to get a look at myself...only, that didn't go as planned. There was no reflection in the mirror at all. I held up my toothbrush that sat on the side of the sink, noticing that it had its own reflection, seemingly floating through the air.
I took a step away from the mirror, looking around the room. That's when it happened. The walls around me began to crumble, turning to dust and being replaced by nothing but darkness. I tried my best to look around, but I was barely able to see three feet in front of me. A beam of light suddenly shot down out of the sky, landing on a particular place in the distance. With no other options, I began to trek towards the light. It was then that I started to hear a faint whisper of a voice. The closer I got to the light, the louder the voice became. It wasn't until I was standing directly in the light that I could tell what the voice was saying.
Ah, Tiberius. I'm so glad we can finally meet like this.
I looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. When I saw nothing I looked up towards the light, "Who are you, and where am I?" There was a small chuckle that echoed from all around me.
Who I am isn't important just yet, we'll get to that in due time. To answer your other question, you're in a dream, or at least, something similar.
"If this is a dream then none of this is real, right? I can just pinch myself and wake up."
Not quite, you see, I've melded our minds together for the time being. You're stuck here until I allow you to wake.
"Okay, then why are you doing this? I clearly don't know you, so you must have some sort of intentions."
All in due time, my friend. For now you must simply be aware that I'm watching over you, watching over your dreams.
"How exactly are you doing that? Are you in my head, or?" Another chuckle erupted from around me.
No, I'm nowhere even close to you or Equestria. I'm merely using magic, a magic nearly forgotten. Only one other pony in Equestria knows said magic, and that's because it's their specialty. Even now, I can feel her trying to force her way into your dream, into your mind, to try and check on you.
"Check on me, what do you mean?"
It is Princess Luna's job to watch over the dreams of her subjects, and you, now living among her kind, are considered to be one of her subjects.
It was my turn to let out a soft chuckle, "Man, fuck that. I don't bow to nobody, especially royalty." There was a moment of silence before the voice spoke once again.
It makes sense, the way you've lived your life. You would never bow to royalty. Now then, I must bid you farewell. If the Lunar Princess asks, the whole barrier keeping her out was just part of being human.
I thought for a moment, did I really want to keep this hidden? What if this guy was dangerous? I took a few more seconds to think it over before speaking, "Very well. I have one last question. What shall I call you?" There was a small moment of silence before the voice spoke again.
For now you can simply refer to me as your brother in arms. Farewell, Tiberius.
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I awoke with a start, sitting up from my spot on the floor. It seemed at some point during that dream, if you can even call it that, I fell out of the bed. I pushed myself up to my feet. I sighed as I looked down at the suit I was still wearing. Guess I'll need to commission some new clothing. Add that to the shit I don't want to deal with list. I made my way to the basement door, pressing my ear against it. Hearing no voices I made my way out, beginning to explore the house a bit.
It didn't take me long to find what I was looking for as I closed the bathroom door behind me. I slipped out of my suit and folded it up, resting it on a small counter. My shower that morning took a little bit longer than usual, partially because I really didn't want to start my day in Ponyland, but also because I was lost in thought. It just didn't make sense to me. How did I end up here? I know Celestia said that it was a type of magic, but how did that manage to get into my world, where there's no magic anywhere?
Ugh, my head was starting to hurt just thinking about it, so I decided to step out of the shower, quickly drying myself off with a towel that I really wished would have been a bit bigger. I slipped back into my clothing and stepped out of the room, feeling mixed emotions when I saw Twilight sitting down with a book. She looked over at me with a smile.
"Good morning, Tiberius. Did you sleep well?" She asked as she set her book down, making sure to bookmark the spot she was on before doing so.
I shrugged, "As well as I could, I guess." I thought about telling her about the strange dream I had, but decided against it, still unsure of what my so called 'brother in arms' was talking about.
It looked like Twilight was about to speak again before she was cut off by the sound of my stomach rumbling. She chuckled softly, "Sounds like somepony's hungry."
I shook my head in response, "No, I'm not a pony. I am hungry though. What do you have to eat in this place?" She rattled off a list of things, most of which didn't sound very edible. I didn't feel like eating hay or flowers after all. I cut her off as she started talking about the different types of meals you could make with dandelions, "I can't really eat that stuff, do you have any fruits or vegetables?" I almost asked if she had meat, but thought it would be better to not tell the prey animal that could probably vaporize me with magic in seconds that I was a meat eater.
She gave me a smile, "Of course, there's some apple's in the fridge, or some carrots if you prefer those." I responded with a shrug and went into the kitchen, grabbing an apple before coming back into the room and sitting down next to her.
I got through the apple quickly enough, throwing the core into a nearby trash bin before turning back to Twilight, "So, when am I going to have free range to move around town? I need to do some things, commission somebody for some clothes, maybe get to know the area a bit since I'm going to be stuck here."
"Well, Princess Celestia never said anything about you not being seen, so I suppose it would be fine to go out. Just don't go getting into trouble." She said, a small smirk on her face.
I responded by rolling my eyes and making my way to the door, "I'll do my best." Before she could get another word in I opened up the door and walked outside. I couldn't help but wince a bit at all of the bright colours. I thought the castle I was in was bright, but this was crazy. The sky was much brighter than the likes of my world, nearly enough to hurt my eyes from the different contrast. Hell, even the grass was colourful, rather than the dull, dead grass that sat in the backyard to my house.
I eventually got over the bright colours enough to begin my walk through the small town. It wasn't long before the towns citizens began to notice the strange bipedal creature walking through their town. The stares that I got were unreal. The last time I was stared at like this was back in high school when I lost a dare and was forced to wear nothing but a pair of short shorts and an overly tight muscle shirt for the whole school day. The stares now though, they were looks of confusion and looks of fear. It made sense I suppose, if a strange creature that I had never seen before had shown up back on Earth, you bet your ass I would stare. I would have been fine with the stares if it wasn't for one simple thing.
I was lost. I hadn't thought to get directions and I had next to no idea where I was going. Sure, this place was smaller than where I lived, but it was also entirely new, and I had no idea what to look for. I stopped in my tracks to look around, still noting that I was the center of attention. I locked eyes with one of the ponies and let out a sigh, realizing what I had to do. I began to make my way towards the mare, only to let out a sigh when she booked it, instantly running off when she saw I was heading towards her.
I was about to give up and just head back to the library when I heard someone yelling. I turned my head to see two stallions yelling at some grey mare. I watched for a moment and was just about to leave when the mare cried out for them to go away. I then saw one of the stallions push the mare over, the other choosing to simply laugh at the knocked down mare. Now, normally I'd stay out of things that weren't my business, but two guys picking on a girl was never cool, even if they were magical horses. Besides, I've been in a situation similar before. That being said, I made my way over to them, the small group that had been watching the two now looking towards me.
I cleared my throat when I was behind the two, "Excuse me, but I think she asked you to leave her alone." My voice seemed to capture their attention as the two turned towards me, their eyes widening once they saw me. The first stallion, a dark brown Pegasus with a light grey mane, managed to put on a brave face pretty quickly. He began to circle me, which caused the other stallion, a light grey Pegasus with a dark grey mane, to do the same, circling me from the other side.
The brown stallion spoke, "Oh, and are you going to do something about it, freak?" The other Pegasus let out a laugh, "Yeah, you're a freak, just like Derpy over here." The mare whimpered a bit from her spot on the ground. I didn't look towards her, choosing to focus fully on the two stallions.
I cracked my knuckles, an action that made the two Pegasi flinch and take a step back much to my amusement. I stood my ground, not letting either of the two get behind me, "Maybe I will. I've been meaning to let out my aggression ever since I got here, and it seems I found two volunteers." The two backed up away from me further, giving each other nervous glances. I grinned, "What's wrong? I thought you two were tough? I mean, clearly you were tough enough to put your hands on a poor, defenseless girl. Perhaps I should show you how it feels."
I took a step towards the brown stallion, causing him to trip over his own hooves and fall onto the ground. I heard galloping behind me as the other Pegasus ran off, the first one calling out to him for help. I smirked down at him, "Your friend is gone, dude. Now, tell me why I shouldn't pound your face in for what you did to this kind mare?" It still feels weird to say that. He didn't respond merely staring up at me in horror, "I'm waiting. I don't have all day you know." He pushed himself and tried to run off but I grabbed his tail before he could, "Hey, I didn't say you could go anywhere."
In an unexpected turn of events, he suddenly bucked his back legs towards me. I just barely managed to back away far enough to avoid the hit, letting go of the tail in the process. I brought my fists up, fully prepared for a fight, ready to let out my aggression on this asshole. He ran, which I'll admit made me frown a bit. I had expected the attempted hit to spark a brawl, not send him running off. I let out a soft sigh as I turned to walk away, ready to look for Rarity's place once again.
"Wait!" I stopped in my tracks, turning around to see the mare pushing herself off the ground. The mare was grey, as mentioned before, and was a pegasus much like the two bullies. Her hair was blond in colour, though the thing that stood out most were her eyes. They were close to golden in colour, but that's not what was strange about them. The eyes looked in two completely different directions, one looking upwards while the other looked towards me. It was kind of cute in a way. The mare smiled towards me, "You saved me."
I shrugged in response, "Sure, I wasn't going to let those two act like complete assholes." I let out a soft chuckle, "I'm sure if I hadn't stepped in someone else would have." To my surprise she shook her head, a small frown appearing on her face.
"Everypony was just watching. None of them were going to help" She looked around at the small group that was still looking towards us. The mares and stallions that made up the group gave sheepish grins before sauntering off. She looked back to me, a smile appearing on her face again, "You didn't have to help, you could have easily just watched or walked away. I may not know what you are, but thank you." She held her hoof up towards me, "My name is Ditsy, but most ponies call me Derpy."
I looked at her hoof for a minute before reaching up and meeting it with my fist, "I'm Tiberius, my friends call me Ty for short." I felt a small smile appear on my face as I realized that the mares and stallions that were previously staring at me were finally going about their business, seemingly not as worried about me. I suddenly had a thought, "Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where Rarity lives, would you? I was actually trying to head there before I noticed your situation."
Derpy gave a me a quick nod, "Of course, the Carousal Boutique isn't too far from here actually. I can lead you there if you'd like. It would give me time to learn about my hero."
I couldn't stop myself from letting out a soft chuckle, "Sure thing Derpy, lead the way." Her smile grew and she gave me another nod before starting towards Rarity's. I made sure to fall into step beside her, beginning to tell her a bit about my world and about how I had wound up in Equestria.
Author's Note
It has been FAR too long since I've written anything. While it feels good to be back, I feel I should mention that this isn't my only story in the works as of right now. I have a second story planned, one that's more of a more naughty story. This will most likely be my primary focus, but expect some chapters of another story soon. Also, I know I said this chapter would be longer, but I decided to split it up into two separate chapters. As always, if you see any mistakes or have any idea's for how I should improve my writing, by all means let me know. c:
"And that's when I found those two asshats bothering you." Derpy gave me a quick nod as she swallowed the small bite of banana muffin before speaking.
"Sounds like you've had a pretty rough time here so far." I nodded, taking a small bite of my own muffin. Derpy had decided to duck into a cafe to buy her 'hero' a thank you muffin. In reality, I feel she just wanted to get one for herself, but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. I was rather hungry anyways, and I've always loved muffins, even more-so than cupcakes.
We talked for a couple more minutes before we reached the boutique. The building itself was...interesting to say the least. Compared to all the other building in the area, and that I had seen on the way, it seemed to have a more fancy feel to it, which made sense when you thought about who lived there. The name was pretty accurate as well, the building looking much like a carousel.
I gave Derpy a quick farewell and another thank you for the muffin before knocking on the door to the boutique. Inside I heard someone call out in a singsong voice, "Come in darling, we're open!" I pushed the door open and made my way inside, the bell above the door ringing as I did so. My eyes began to wander around the interior of the boutique.
The inside, much like the outside, had an elegant feel to it. The room that I was currently in was rather large, and was mostly various shades of pink and purple. There were some mannequins...Marrequins?...There were some pony shaped mannequins sitting around the room, adorned in various dresses, suits and other types of clothing. Mirrors sat against the walls, which made sense I suppose, seeing as it was the living space of a fashionista.
I didn't have anymore time to look around before Rarity came waltzing out of the back room, smiling once she saw me, "Oh, hello darling. I didn't expect to see you here so quickly." I shrugged and gave the white mare a small smile.
"It certainly wasn't the first thing on my list originally, but I figured it was important to get some more clothing." She seemed a bit shocked by my comment.
"But darling, why would you ever want to wear anything but that fantastic suit?" I rolled my eyes at how dramatic she was acting over a simple attire.
"Even if I wanted to wear this suit all the time, I would still prefer to have a few more sets of clothing. Besides, I prefer wearing a more casual attire." She seemed to accept that as an appropriate reason as her horn lit up. I was going to ask what she was doing before I was practically assaulted by measuring tapes, "Rarity, careful with those! That one almost hit me! Not so f-" I was caught off guard as the tapes reached certain areas, "Watch where your grabbing with that magic!"
I would have said more, but some tape was put over my mouth, "Honestly darling, stop complaining. I can't do this right with you squirming about so much. Now sit still and let me get your measurements." I glared at Rarity but complied, finally sitting still. The next few minutes were awkward, weird and felt like they took way longer than they should have. It didn't help that Rarity was still talking to me, asking questions that I couldn't properly answer with my mouth covered. I let out a sigh of relief when she was done and the tape was removed, "There, that wasn't so bad, was it?"
I shuddered a bit, "I think you managed to put that tape in places I didn't even know I had." She rolled her eyes at me as she made her way towards a table in the back room. I followed behind her, seeing her grab a marker and start sketching up a couple different designs. I watched her for a moment before speaking up, "So, got any good ideas?"
She turned her head towards me, momentarily halting the sketching process, "How do you feel about more suits?"
I stared at her for a moment, "Rarity, I said good ideas, not stupid ones. I already have a suit, I don't need another right now. I want something more casual, maybe some shorts and a simple shirt." She didn't seem overly happy with the choice, but she shrugged.
"I suppose I can do that. If you come by again tomorrow I will have them finished for you."
I rose a brow, "Only one day? That's way faster than I was expecting. I don't exactly have a way of paying right now though.." She simply shook her head.
"Nonsense darling, consider it on the house. You just got here, and I never make my friends pay for their outfits." I was a little shocked that she already considered me a friend, but I still wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth...God, that's such a weird phrase to be using in this place.
"Alright, I owe you one Rares." She looked like she was about to comment on the nickname I had given her, but I was already heading out the door.
The streets were still bustling with movement. Mares, stallions, and even a few colts and fillies wandering around their town. I started to get a few more stares from those that hadn't seen me earlier, but it wasn't nearly as bad as before. I'm sure word about me had gotten around by now. Not really knowing what I wanted to do next, I decided to just wander a bit, hoping I would find something at least semi-interesting to keep me busy. Life was weird without my electronics.
After a bit of walking I found myself on some sort of farm. There were acres and acres of Apple trees far as the eye can see. It was amazing to look at honestly. I followed the pathway until I found myself staring at a large red barn. Somewhat in the distance behind it sat an orange house. I was about to turn around and walk away when I heard a familiar voice call out to me, "Well howdy there, didn't expect ta see ya round these parts Tiberius." I turned around to see the orange mare from earlier walking towards me. It took me a second before I remembered what her name was.
"Hey there Applejack. To be honest I wasn't exactly looking for it. I was just wandering and happened to make my way here." I looked back at the fields of apple trees, "You've got an amazing farm here, I can safely say I haven't seen anything like it." Applejack chuckled softly.
"Well shucks, that's mighty nice of ya to say, Ty. The Apple family have been workin' together to make this farm into the finest place it can be."
"Apple family? How many of you live here? It has to be quite a bit if you have all these trees." I turned back towards Aj.
She scratched at the back of her head, "Well, only four of us actually live here, but we do get the occasional help from some other relatives, and Twi and them help out if we need it as well. Fer the most part it's just us though." I was honestly shocked. Only four of them and they manage to maintain this much land. She chuckled at my expression, "As long as we Apples work together, there ain't nothin' we can't accomplish."
I smiled softly, "It's nice to see others care about their family so much. Back in my world, most of my friends hated their family, and wanted nothing more than to move away." Applejacks eyes widened as I continued, "We were a very different type of people it seems. Not all humans thought this way of course, but there were a lot that did. I never understood it myself." Aj just shook her head. It seemed she didn't understand it either. "As much as I'd love to stay and chat some more, I think I better look around some more. I'm trying my best to learn the layout of the town.
She gave me a nod and saw me off, giving me a wave as I started to make my ways back down the path I came from. About halfway back I began to hear footsteps behind me, or, hoofsteps I guess. I ignored them at first, but it became harder to do as I heard whispering, reminding me of the dream I had earlier that day. This lasted for about another minute or so before I turned around, only to see nothing. Huh... I turned back around, only managing to stop myself from walking into two little fillies that were staring up at me with wide eyes. I stared back at them, the only movement being the three of us blinking.
"Uh...hi?"
I would have continued, but something thumped me in the back of the head, knocking me down and making my vision fade to black.
Author's Note
Well then...it's been a while, huh? Over a year in fact. I'd give excuses as to why I hadn't written anything/continued this in so long, but I don't really have any. I just kind of stopped. having a full-time job paid a big factor for sure, as I don't get too much time to myself, and when I do, I usually prefer to relax or sing. For some reason I got a huge urge to write though, and I remembered this story. After reading through the chapters and laughing a bit at some of the things I had written, I decided I wanted to try and continue. So here is a quick chapter that hopefully means the start of Actual updates on the regular.
