A Measure of History

Twilight Sparkle gazed down curiously at the creature before her, her insides bubbling with excitement. What was this new animal? From whence had it come? Had anypony else ever discovered one before?

The answer to the latter of the three questions should have been obvious—none of her books, guides, or bestiaries had ever detailed such a being before, and although it bore a remarkable similarity to a few already known species, such as minotaurs, apes, or the like, she had determined that the creature on the table in front of her was entirely new, never before discovered!

That, alone, forced Twilight to resist exploding in exhilaration and anticipation. To be the pony to have discovered an entirely new species of animals in Ponyville, throughout the entirety of Equestria’s history! It was a wondrous thought to such a pony ingratiated within research and academia.

But where had it come from? The Everfree, perhaps, or maybe from lands afar? Twilight had no idea, and though the Everfree was a dark and mysterious place of arcane anomalies, she doubted that such a creature could survive in it.

“What do you mean, this thing couldn’t survive in the Everfree, sugarcube?” An orange-coated earth pony, Applejack, questioned, her head tilted at an odd angle as she looked over the strange animal. “The forest is the only place I reckon a critter like this could have come from.”

Twilight shook her head in response, holding up a magnifying glass. “But that doesn’t make sense, Applejack. Look,” she pointed to the creature’s bare flesh. “It doesn’t have any sort of fur besides on its head and on specific parts of its body—the Everfree gets very cold at night, so something like this wouldn’t be able to survive in the forest without heat.”

She trotted over to the other side of the table, her hooves poking at the creature’s chest. “Though, it does look like it’s been in some sort of combat or fight before,” she said, tracing a set of scars. “But that doesn’t make sense either, because these scars look very surgical.” Shaking her head in frustration, Twilight left the body for the time being, turning back to her friends arrayed in front of her. “Do any of you have any idea what this thing is?”

Rarity frowned, raising an eyebrow. “No idea, I’m afraid. But there’s something I don’t get—the poor thing was wearing those drenched clothes, all full of water and mud,” she questioned, her tongue sticking out and her face distorted in disgust. “But it was wearing clothes—why would a random animal from the Everfree be making clothes?”

Indeed, Twilight and her friends had found the strange creature draped in drenched clothing, salty water filling the cloth’s fabrics. Underneath, its flesh had been deathly cold, its bare flesh curious to the touch.

“Maybe,” a soft-spoken voice started, belonging to the demure Fluttershy. “Maybe it’s somepony’s pet, and it got lost.” The yellow pegasus began to fret, pacing back and forth. “Oh, who could have lost the poor thing? It could have gotten hurt!”

“Girls, girls! I know we all have our questions and worries, but for the time being, we need to find a solution to this problem. Spike!” She called, a purple dragon promptly sliding into the room.

“Here, Twilight! Watcha need?”

“Has that letter been sent to Princess Celestia? I think we may need her as soon as possible—who knows what this creature is, and what it’s capable of?”

Spike nodded his head. “Yes, ma’am! She replied pretty quickly, too. The Princess said she’ll be here within the hour.”

Twilight nodded her head in satisfaction, turning back to her meek friend. “Now, Fluttershy, I don’t know if this creature is dangerous, or what it’ll do when it wakes up, but can you do something for me?” Twilight began, smiling warmly at Fluttershy. “You’re good with animals, so can we keep this creature here in your cottage until it wakes up? You could calm it, in case it wakes up confused, scared, or otherwise.”

Fluttershy looked unsure at first, shuffling her hooves before responding. “M-maybe, Twilight. I don’t know?” Fear gripped the pegasus as she looked at the unconscious creature on her dinner table, beginning to tremble. She had no idea what this animal was—she didn’t know if she could handle such a big job!

“I can stay here with you if you need me to, Fluttershy!” A rainbow-maned pegasus exclaimed, holding a hoof around her compatriot’s shoulders. “And if that thing attacks you, I’ll just knock it out!”

At that statement Fluttershy seemed to calm down, somewhat reassured by her bold friend’s words. Turning back to Twilight, Fluttershy nodded timidly, before her eyes caught movement.

The pegasus let out a muted cry, her eyes widening. She pointed towards the creature upon the table, and slowly, and ever so slightly, an arm moved, the digits at the end of the limb twitching madly. Fluttershy’s exclamation of alarm caught the attention of her friends, the arrayed mares turning to face the new development. Twilight gasped, watching closely. The exotic creature awoke slowly, a groan escaping its lips.

James Volker groaned in pain as sensation returned to his body. His arms ached, his skin felt cold, icily painful, and his chest burned in agony. His breaths were short and forced, pained heaves of air pushing out of his lungs. Opening his eyes, James immediately regretted the action, bright rays of light piercing through his eyelids. His mouth tasted like salt, disgustingly so.

He was cold, pained, and confused—where was he?

The deep, dark blue, the coils of bubbles dragging him down into the depths. Death awaited him, the sunken man.

A dry gasp left James’ lips and his eyes snapped open, fear gripping him as he sought to remember where he was. He seemed to be laid down upon a surface, hard, cold, and uneven, soft pricks digging slightly into the bare skin of his back. He shifted his weight, feeling whatever it was beneath him squeak under the pressure. A wooden table, perhaps?

Was he dead? No, he couldn’t have been—the pain he felt seared through his nerves, proving his living status. Then where was he?

Slowly, agonizingly so, James attempted to turn his head, his neck cricking. He seemed to be in a small house, its walls wooden and warm. Holes and gaps filled the walls and floors, small enough for rats or mice, and feathers sat here and there, the room very much akin to a bird’s cage. His gaze blurred, but James gave his eyes a brief rub before shifting his view down to his body.

He was laid upon what seemed to be a coffee table, indeed of cold, dark, wood, and he was dressed in… nothing? Indeed, besides the standard grey of his briefs, he wore nothing and, almost immediately, his senses of modesty took over, his mind blanking. Putting his lack of dress to the side for the time being, James looked to his left, noting the multi-colored figures that stood before him—

Suddenly, James cried in alarm, his eyes widening. Purple, orange, yellow, blue—six animals, seemingly horses of some sort, staring at James with alarmed stares. They almost looked as if they had popped straight out of a child’s picture book, pastel cartoons of a common sort. And yet, they were alive, frighteningly so, and panic began to grip James.

He attempted to scramble off of the table, thoughts of carnivorous horses filling his mind. His breath grew short, urgency and fear apparent in his wheezing. The table collapsed under his strained movement, his body falling to the cold, wooden floor as pain shot through his body. James gasped in discomfort, but he pushed the matter away, clambering to his feet. His hands were splayed out in front of him in an attempt to ward off the colorful creatures, but James tripped over an object, falling back to his rump.

One of the horses, a lavender-coated being with a dangerous-looking horn, gestured to one of the winged ones, pushing it forwards towards James. He gritted his teeth, cornered like an animal, watching the yellow horse with wary. It grew close, and James stared into its eyes, fear and defiance mixed together.

“Um… hello? Are you okay?” Almost immediately, James’ willpower and resolve crumbled, the horse's voice soft and demure.

“It’s okay, there-there. I won’t hurt you.”

James failed to respond, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. The soft-spoken creature seemed to take his cease of movement as a good sign, inching closer. It extended a hoof. “See? There we go, it’s okay. I don’t bite!”

“You—you can talk?” James whispered, his eyes shifting to the pale-gold appendage approaching him.

The winged horse—a pegasus, perhaps—spoke again, its voice soothing and serene. “Well, of course I do. I—” suddenly, its eyes snapped wide, its mouth dropping open as it stared incredulously back at James. “Did you just speak?”

Like a minor stampede, the horse’s companions rushed forwards, their stares unnerving as they observed James. The purple horned one seemed, to James, to be their leader, standing at the forefront of the group. “Wait, what? Fluttershy, did you just hear that?”

Fluttershy, the one that had originally approached James, nodded meekly, backing away slowly from the pale-fleshed creature before her. “Y-yes, Twilight. It… it spoke!”

Nodding, "Twilight" took the lead, nearing James. “Hello? Sir? Can you… can you understand me?” It asked, its voice distinctly feminine. James, still caught off-guard, took a moment to respond, merely nodding his head. The unicorn, upon seeing James’ reply, continued. “Can you speak?”

James’ eyes flicked back and forth over the small party in front of him, his mind bewildered and his nerves numb. Where was he? Some crude, insane imagination of his? Or could this have been heaven, and he had truly died below the Hudson River? Realizing that this… Twilight, he assumed, was still awaiting his answer, he cleared his throat before beginning.

“Ye-yes, I can speak. Where… where am I?” His throat felt dry, like sandpaper, and his voice came out raspy, croaking through his cracked lips. James watched as the collective horses leaned back in surprise, seemingly unable to comprehend his speech. They whispered amongst themselves, unsure how to deal with this new revelation.

Twilight recovered first, looking straight into James’ eyes. “You are in Equestria, in my friend Fluttershy’s cottage.” She gestured towards the gentle pegasus before continuing. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends. Now, your turn. Who are you, and where do you come from?”

The word, the country, Equestria—it felt foreign, unknown, to James’ ears, and he felt well and truly lost. If this land wasn’t some figment of insanity or death, then the ex-marine did not know what it was. Looking back at Twilight, James replied. “My name is James Volker. I’m from… New York City.” Confusion wrought the equine’s expression, and James continued. “In the United States of America?” Still confusion. “Earth?”

The unicorn's face contorted in confusion, her lips pursed. James continued, his mind doubtful and his brain skeptical at his situation. “Am I dead? Dreaming? Or have I gone insane?” He asked, more to himself than his new acquaintances. Twilight, however, shook her head.

“No, we’re very much real. But,” she began. “What’s this Earth you’re talking about? Is it a country?”

James shook his head, disbelieving of Twilight’s answer, yet choosing to amuse his perceived insanity. “No, it’s a planet."

At his answer, Twilight’s eyes bugged out, her mouth letting loose a short whinny of surprise. “What?! You’re from a different planet? World?” She turned around, her movement frantic. “Spike! Take a letter!”

Much to James’ astonishment, a small creature, purple and green, raced forwards, parchment and a quill in his hands—no, claws. James watched as Twilight dictated a letter of some sort, the small, clawed reptile, of sorts, writing presumably what she spoke. After a few moments, they had finished, the reptile holding the letter up in his claws. What was he going to do?

Suddenly, a bright green flame erupted from his mouth, its light partially blinding James. Shock took him as he fell backwards, his face feeling warm. A dragon? Pegasus, unicorns, talking horses, and now dragons? Indeed, James must have been held within a child’s fantasy book—there was no other explanation.

Looking back at the dragon, James noted how the letter had seemingly disappeared—something to note, for later. The creature looked sheepishly at James, Twilight giving it a hard stare. “Sorry, dude. Didn’t mean to breathe into your face.”

And, it seemed, the dragon could speak too. At this point, James was hardly surprised—what else did he expect? He nodded his head in response, merely acknowledging the dragon’s apology. James looked back at Twilight, a question on the tip of his tongue.

“So, Twilight, right?” The purple unicorn looked at James, expecting him to continue. “You—you guys aren’t going to eat me, right?”

Twilight looked horrified at James’ question, her expression aghast. “No, of course not! What makes you think that?”

“Don’t worry about it,” James muttered dismissively. “But, who’d you send that letter to? And why?”

“Oh,” Twilight began. “That letter was for Princess Celestia—she’s the ruler of all the ponies in Equestria. I asked her to come here, to Ponyville, so that we could find out what exactly you are, and where you came from. But, for the time being, you need to stay here, where we can keep an eye on you, until Princess Celestia arrives.”

Oh, of course, princesses—expected, at this point, from a place like this. And, apparently, they were not horses, but ponies. Even better. Now, there was nothing else for James to do but wait for this princess Twilight spoke of, and pray that it—she—whatever this Celestia was, decided to let him live—if he was even alive. Most likely, he could not run, as the pegasus could likely catch him with their flight, and the horns the unicorns bore likely had a use—skewering humans, for example.

Still, James had yet one more question—an important one, very much so. “Twilight?”

“Yes?”

“I need clothing.”