Chapter 5

“Now, girls, he may look a little different, but the princesses believe he is not a physical threat.” Twilight and Tommy had been greeted by the other Element Bearers at the train station. After their introductions, Twilight was trying to assuage their concerns over this newcomer to their town. Not only was he a species they had never seen before, he was also almost twice their size. “I admit to not knowing him too well, but from my time with him, I believe Tommy could turn out to be a good friend.”

‘Is that so?” Applejack asked as she approached. Tommy did his best not to notice her ample bosom being put on display by her tank top and flannel shirt, the latter of which had the sleeves rolled up and the hem tied together just below her bust, giving support. Both tops and her jeans showed signs of wear; holes, stains, and tears. He tried, but he hadn’t seen a body like hers in many, many years. Her muscles, obviously earned from years of hard work, made her look like one of the sexier models from those workout magazines the inmates liked so much.

“Sure! Anypony can be a friend if you only give them a chance!” Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing up to him and squeezing him around the waist. With this one, he had no chance of not watching every bounce, ripple, and jiggle her movements caused to pass through her over-inflated breasts. Her body was very difficult to place into one category. Her upper body was that of a very overweight woman, but her tummy was merely full-figured. Her arms were toned, but her legs were packed with muscle and sinew. Judging by the apron and pink and white striped dress she had on, she was some type of baker or cook. Testing her products might explain how she got the extra fats and her strange habit of bouncing in order to move about. Plus, her pudgy cheeks and big blue eyes were just too cute.

Rainbow Dash pulled her incautious friend away from Tommy. “Pinkie, you need to learn to be more selective with your hugs.” Rainbow was the paradigm of a tom-boy. Her build was very athletic and lean. Her spandex outfit and running shoes made it very clear that that was intentional. She couldn’t be described as the picture of feminine beauty like Rarity or Fluttershy, but she was far from unattractive.

“She’s right, Pinkie dear,” Rarity stepped forward. Her black pencil skirt and white blouse radiated professional and lady-like while showing off her every curve and finely-toned figure. Her finely styled hair framed her gorgeous face perfectly. “Although, I’ve always somewhat admired your open approach to meeting new ponies.”

“Me too,” Fluttershy muttered from behind Rarity. Her large bust was hidden in a puffy sweater and her shapely legs were concealed by denim pants. Her body wasn’t as toned as Rarity’s, but also not as full as Pinkie Pie. One could tell she was used to hard work, but also enjoyed some pampering. Her long, pink hair complemented her bashful demeanor to make her more cute than sexy.

Tommy looked at all the oddly beautiful girls with fur covered bodies, tails, equine-like faces and ears, hooves, and completely unnatural color schemes. His brain couldn’t figure out how to handle the situation, which was quickly becoming the norm. He settled for addressing the only other male present.

“Uh, Spike, what’s with these chicks?”

“Huh? Oh, them? They’re Twilight’s friends. They’re cool. They go all over the place helping ponies and saving the world and stuff.”

“Saving the world? What, like, they’re activists or something?”

“No, man. I mean they literally save the world.” Spike started counting on his claws, “There was Nightmare Moon, Queen Chrysalis, Discord, King Sombra, Tirek, Starlight Glimmer (who’s our friend now), and Chrysalis again. All of them bent on taking over, changing, or destroying the world.”

“Bullshit,” Tommy sneered. “First off, how the hell could there be any single individuals with the capability of effecting the planet that much on their own? Second, even if there were, how the heel are these six girls supposed to be able to stop them? There’s no way.”

“Um, okay… You came from the palace, right? You met Celestia and Luna too?”

“Yeah?”

“Everyday, those two literally move the sun and moon with little more effort than a thought. Twilight here once ripped a tree out by its roots, launched it fifty feet straight up, and planted it again from inside it on accident. Rainbow Dash kicked off winter, which normally takes a whole crew of pegasi over a week, all by herself in less than an hour. Fluttershy shamed a dragon enough to make him give up his cave. Pinkie pie…” Spike shuddered, “it’s probably best not to think about what she can do.”

“What about you? What awesome, amazing, feats of daring do can you perform?”

Spike let out a jet of green flame a yard long. “You remember I’m a dragon, right? I eat gemstones, swim in lava and will one day grow to the size of a mountain.”

“Uh-huh,” Tommy snarked as he flicked the green spines on Spike’s head. “The only thing I know for sure is that Celestia has a smokin’ hot body and a short temper. Especially when you mention thte little blue-ow! What the fuck, dude?” Tommy demanded as he rubbed at the fresh scratches on his leg.

“Do. Not. Mention. Her,” Spike stage whispered. “To anyone. You got that? There’s only a few beings that even know about her and they were all sworn to secrecy. You stumbled onto the most closely guarded pony in Equestria. Frankly, you’re lucky Celestia didn’t just wipe your mind.”

“Alright, one of these days, someone is going to tell me all about that girl,” Tommy growled.

“Nah, you’re better off forgetting you ever saw her.” Spike leaned in closer and cupped a hand around his mouth, “Besides, there are plenty of cute girls right here.”

Tommy looked around at the six girls Spike was referring to. The tallest one was Applejack, standing a couple inches above the next tallest, Fluttershy, with Rainbow being the shortest. They were certainly cute, but the fact that they didn’t even reach his sternum added to that fact. True, their legs were still fairly equine and their hands looked little off, they also had pointy ears on top of their heads, small snouts and big eyes, but none of that mattered to Tommy. Besides, he was still about thirty percent sure this was all a dream his brain had cooked up while he was in a coma brought on by an explosion at the teleporter test site.

“You got that right!” Pinkie yelled from within the huddled fillies. “You got a bevy of hotties right here!”

“Uh… what’s wrong with her?” Rainbow asked while she hovered over the group.

“She’s prob’ly just bein’ playful or somethin’. Don’t even worry ‘bout it,” Applejack responded. Applejack then turned her keen eye up to Tommy. “So, what did ya’ll do before ya came here?”

“Nothing really. I was working as a stock boy at the local Super Duper Mart until I ran up too much debt tryin’ to live above my means. That landed me in debtor’s prison for way longer than I liked. To earn my freedom, I volunteered for a little science experiment that would have saved my people. Then I somehow wound up here. Safe money is still on this all being a dream.

“What’s ‘debtor’s prison’?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“An old-world practice that was revived during our shitty economy. The basic idea is that you go to prison and ‘work off’ your debts doing menial labor without pay until you’ve paid off your debts.” Tommy shrugged dismissively. ”It sucked, but that was the hand I was dealt.”

“How horrid,” Rarity looked like she was on the verge of being sick. “And yet you seem to be so nonchalant about it. I feel I must commend you for being so tough-skinned.”

“Oh, it was no big deal. Really.” Tommy grinned at the girls.

“No. Don’t do that,” Pinkie pleaded. Her eyes seemed to be full of pain.

“Pinkie? What’s wrong?” Twilight asked.

“He’s faking!”

“She’s right,” Applejack confirmed. “Ah don’t know exactly what he’s fakin’, but he isn’t being completely honest with us.”

“No, I am. I was locked up because I racked up too much debt.”

“That’s not what I meant!” Pinkie moved in and wrapped her arms around Tommy’s waist. “You’re trying to hide it, but I can see you’re in a lot of pain. I don’t know what happened to you, and I won’t ask, but I will listen. We’re friends now after all.”

Tommy was at a loss. He thought about pushing Pinkie off of him, but couldn’t seem to bring himself to do so. On one hand, he was not fond of unknown people touching him, but on the other hand, this hug was very reassuring. Although he would never have admitted it, the time he spent in that hell hole had been very hard on him. He had seen, heard, and experienced things that didn’t bear repeating.

“Uh, thanks, Pinkie, but I’m not a fan of… this.”

Pinkie released him. “Okay, but I’m gonna break through that candy shell of yours!”

“Alright,” Twilight pulled Pinkie off of Tommy. “Remember how we talked about not hugging everypony we meet? You’re making him uncomfortable.” Pinkie let out a sigh but nodded in consent. “Okay, everypony, let’s move this over to my castle.”

“What a lovely idea, Darling,” Rarity said.

“Yeah, I haven’t had a good ruby sandwich in days,” Spike added.

“Simple motivation, but straight forward. I like it. Lead the way, Spike,” Tommy said.

As they walked through the quant town, the mares pointed out all the landmarks they came across; city hall, Sugarcube Corner, the spa, and several others. They had to take a detour, school was letting out soon and there were children to collect.

“Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo! C’mon now, we’re headin’ ta Twilight’s place!” Applejack called out to the three little fillies.

The three little, little ponies sprinted up the group. They froze three yards away and stared in confusion and mild horror at Tommy. They were shorter than the other girls, but they barely came up to this new being’s hip. The only reason they weren’t more frightened of him was because their respective sisters seemed to be okay with him being in close proximity.

“Uh… hey Appljack. Who’s, uh, who’s this?” the one with red hair, pink bow, and overalls asked.

“More like what is this?” a purple haired girl with torn jeans and a t-shirt showing three ponies in blue suits flying through the sky added.

“Scootaloo!” the third girl with pink and purple striped hair and an adorable white dress squeaked. “This… stallion? It may be different from us, but there’s no need to be rude.”

“Well said, Sweetie Belle,” Rarity complimented as her sister ran up to her and hugged her tightly.

Tommy squatted down next to Rarity and placed a hand on Sweetie Bell’s head. “Thank you for coming to my defense there, cutie. And you have a pretty good eye, I’m a male, but for my kind, a stallion is slang for a guy who… never mind. For humans, males are called men.” He turned to Scootaloo. “As for you, never stop being honest with the world. Life is a lot more fun that way.”

“Honesty is all well ‘n’ good, but uh little decorum never hurt nopony,” Applejack rebutted.

“Yeah, whatever,” Rainbow said as she somehow lounged on her back five feet off the ground. Tommy may not know much about wing, but he knew they shouldn’t work that way. “Tip-hoofing around everypony’s feelings will just make you tired and an introvert. I say you should be upfront with everypony.”

“Um, but-” Fluttershy started.

“I’m not saying you should be a jerk about it,” Rainbow defended as if she knew what Fluttershy was going to say, “just that you should say what you feel.”

“Couldn’t agree with you more, Skittles,” Tommy said.

The comment caused sufficient pause in Rainbow to cause her to fall to the ground. “Skittles? What the hay is Skittles?”

“Skittles are a type of candy where I’m from. They were so delicious that they managed to survive many serious economic downfalls. They’re colored similar to your hair.”

Rainbow picked herself back up off the ground and floated eye level with Tommy. With a scowl, she stated, “Just what are saying?! Are you calling me candy or something!?”

“Mmmm… Rainbow flavored candy,” Pinkie said as a shadow fell upon her face.

“Wrong,” Tommy plainly said as he looked down at the creepy, pink, creature. “I wasn’t saying anything about your personality, just the cool hair style you got goin’ on.”

“Alright, alright, everypony, let’s move this into the palace where there aren’t as many eyes,” Twilight looked around at all the ponies that had stopped to stare at the huddled group. Understandable considering their history.

*****

“Was it so wrong of me to drop this burden upon Twilight?” Celestia asked as she sipped at her tea.

“Twilight Sparkle is a very capable pony, Sister. She and her friends are fully able to not only get Tommy adapted to his surroundings, but also prevent him from causing any troubles,” Luna sipped at her own tea and looked sideways at Celestia over the rim, “which is what I know you’re most concerned with.”

Celestia didn’t respond, she simply drank from her cup, which she had actually already emptied.

*****

“…from a magic box from a magic tree you say?” Tommy Looked up at the high ceilings of Twilight’s palace. They were so high that they made even him feel small. “Sounds like bullshit to me, but what do I know.”

“Nope, all true,” Applejack said as she passed by Tommy and head to the library. No one had said that would be their meeting place, but she knew her friend very well.

“It was bizarre. The box just flew off the roots, planted itself in the ground, and this palace sprang forth from it. Good thing too, Spike and I needed a new place to live after Tyrek destroyed the Golden Oaks Library.”

Once inside the library, they all plopped themselves down on cushions and beanbags. When Tommy sat down, Pinkie climbed into his lap, looking like a child sitting with her father. Without even thinking about it, Tommy reached up started to scratch behind her big ears. Before long, Pinkie was humming and drifting in and out of consciousness.

“Well, you seem to have gotten used to Pinkie’s antics quickly,” Spike pointed out.

“Huh? Oh, look at that. Honesty didn’t even think about it. I’m used to kids doing things like this. I used to help out in the child care center at work and little kids would do stuff like this all the time.”

“Well, that seems nice,” Fluttershy commented. “Do you have any pets?”

“No. I mean, I always wanted one, but only the well-off could afford them.”

“Why’s that?”

“Too damn expensive. With the bad environment, food became harder to grow and therefore more expensive. Many families could barely afford to keep food on the table as it was, let alone feed a dog or cat. So no pets for me.”

“Oh, that’s so sad,” Fluttershy lowered her head in grief.

“It is, but we’re not here for sadness, we’re here to try to get to know Tommy and vice versa. So, can you tell us about your home, Tommy?” Twilight asked.

Tommy sighed and then proceeded to recap the same information he gave Celestia. He couldn’t help but notice the looks of horror spreading across their collective faces. To him, Earth’s decent into destruction at the hands of its own population was normal. He couldn’t even imagine how this must have sounded to someone who spent their whole lives in a utopian environment. Due to their sizes, he couldn’t help but think of them as children that will get nightmares from this, but they did ask him and he was an honest man.

“What about your world? How does a world filled with magic even work?” Tommy asked.

Twilight’s face lit up in excitement. “Ugh, you’ve done it now,” Rainbow take a nearby pillow and covered her head as she buried her face into her own cushion.

“Ooh~, I can’t believe I get to give a lecture to an alien visitor,” Twilight clapped and squeed. She then turned to a chalk board that Spike had wheeled into the room without being prompted. Tommy settled in and tried his best to not pass out.

*****

It had gotten late, they had eaten, and now the girls were getting ready for bed. They were apparently having something called a ‘sleep-over’. Tommy could hear giggles coming from behind the closed door to Twilight’s bedroom. Having nothing better to do, Tommy went back down to the library to help Spike clean up.

“So you’ve Twilight hatched you from an egg when she was just a little kid and you’ve been with her ever since?”

“Yep. She practically raised me herself.”

“So then… she’s, like, your mom… or something?”

“…I guess, though I think she prefers to imagine us as more siblings than mother and son.” Spike shivered and rubbed his shoulders. “Jeez, just thinking about that is making me feel… creepy.”

Tommy chuckled at Spike’s reaction and went back to re-shelving the books that Twilight had used as references, despite the fact that Tommy couldn’t read Equestrian. While he was doing that, one caught his eye. It was separate from the others, bigger, older, and, most importantly, under glass.

“Hey, Spike? What’s up with this book?”

“Huh? Oh, that one? That one’s a real head-scratcher. It’s believed to be written by Starswirl the Bearded, but nopony knows for sure. Whoever really wrote it, wrote it in some weird secret language or something. All that’s known for certain is that nopony’s been able to translate it in a thousand years.”

“Can I take a look at it?”

“No, nononono. Twilight will peel your skin off if anything happened to it.” Spike then reached for a book on the bottom shelf. “Here. This is a copy of it. They printed thousands of these so there’s no risk of her getting mad. Hay, she even has four more copies.”

“Thanks, Spike.”

Tommy went into the little spare bedroom and settled down onto the bed. He had turned off the main light giving crystal and turned on the small one on the table next to his bed. He was propped up against the headboard and picked up the book. The cover had a strange design of spirals and stars with that strange Equestrian language overlaid on top.

“Alright, let’s see what we’ve got here.” He opened it to the first page. “Huh? Weird.” Tommy began to read. “The people of this world know me by the name Starswirl the Bearded, but that’s not who I really am.”

Author's Note

For those wanting to know ho I imagine the ponies of this Equestria to look, I see them as the creations of Pia-sama. For example:


By the way, Rogue Diamond is an amazing fan-art comic book.