Twice an Alien

Ch. 4 Getting Started

I awoke feeling extremely rejuvenated from the ordeals of yesterday. As small as this bed of Twilight's was it was very comfy. Sure maybe I hung over the edge a bit but the cozy atmosphere of this upstairs loft made that inconvenience seem trivial. Not to mention that Twilight let me stay here for free yesterday so I can’t complain. Speaking of Twilight I really need to go see here soon. I promised to answer her questions today and I intend to keep my word. However before I left to go downstairs I decided that a quick meditation session was in order. I wanted to think about what I needed to do today before throwing myself into this new world without any semblance of a plan.

I crossed my legs and sat on the bed breathing deeply. First thing I needed to do was acquire basic necessities for survival. This meant I needed to find somewhere to permanently live, collect or ensure a supply of food and water, and at least get some basic clothing. Unlike these ponies I don’t have a fur coat to keep my temperature steady during season changes. As it was nearing the end of summer this wasn’t an issue at the moment but I don’t know how long I’ll be here.

Next I need to make a list of things that I can hopefully accomplish today after necessities are taken care of. I suppose answering Twilight and her friends questions is definitely first on that list. After that I should probably see if this world has an established currency and how I can acquire it. Maybe I can get a job somewhere around here? That’s assuming everyone around this town would accept and even hire me…...

My meditation was interrupted by a rather loud *GURGLE*. I looked down at my stomach and frowned realizing that it had been more than a day since I’d had any real type of food. Once I actually thought about it I suddenly realized I was quite ravenous. Looking up away from my stomach I saw out the window and noticed that sunlight was already flooding into my room. It had to be around noon at least. “I guess I overslept. I didn’t realize I was that tired.

Well no use lollygagging around. Time to go see Twilight. Maybe her offer for food from yesterday still stands. As I stood up I felt the sad remains of my shirt flap around my upper half. Frowning I realized that this shirt was pretty much useless at this point. If anything It was just going to flap around and annoy me, not to mention catch on things as I walked past. Taking off my shirt and putting it next to the bed I remembered my bandages.

I wondered if my cuts and scrapes from yesterday were healed yet. Deciding to take a peek I started to undo the bandages in the hopes that I would see my torso back in it’s pristine condition. After letting the bandages fall to the floor I beheld a completely normal and healthy looking front half. “Those bandages of Fluttershy’s must have had some really awesome healing ointments on them.” I healed a little faster than humans do, due to my strange heritage, but my body's abilities were nowhere near fast enough to close wounds and remove all traces of scarring and scabbing overnight. Again it seems I owed Fluttershy another favor. It appears meeting her after running away from AppleJack yesterday was a rather fortuitous turn of events.

*Gurgle*. Well I suppose it’s time to stop thinking and start doing. I opened the door to my room and started my walk down the stairs. I appears Twilight had been waiting to hear these sounds as she called up from the bottom floor.

“Good morning Cicero! I know you’re probably hungry after yesterday so I had Spike save you some breakfast.” As I reached the bottom floor I saw Twilight sitting at a table reading a book.

“Good morning Twilight. Thank you again for letting me stay the night yesterday. Thank you also for saving me some breakfast, I hadn’t intended to sleep as late as I did but I suppose I was a little more tired than I thought.” Twilight looked up from her book at me and raised her eyebrows in slight shock.

“Cicero what happened to your shirt? And where did your bandages from yesterday go?”

I smiled and said, “Fluttershy's healing ointment bandages fixed me right up. I feel as good as new!” I slapped my stomach to emphasize my point. “As for my shirt, the thing is basically useless at the moment.” Twilight frowned at this revelation. “Humans don’t need to wear clothing we just do as it helps us regulate our body temperature and keeps us free of dirt and such. Also because it’s the societal norm on my planet.”

“Well I’ll take you to see rarity today. I’m sure she’d love to be the first fashion designer on Equestria to design clothing for a human. She loves new challenges and chances to find inspiration in different things.”

“Excellent. I was just wondering earlier where I could get some new clothes. I suppose it makes sense to ask Rarity if she could help as I at least know her.” Twilight smiled at my words but seemed to be shifting on her hooves uncomfortably. Not one to miss obvious signs of distress I voiced my concern, “Is everyone alright Twilight?”

“Well. I don’t want to pry but do humans not have eyes? Your body seems to be structured to have eyes but I don’t think I’ve ever seen you open them.” Ahh that. I guess with all the strange things that happened yesterday she and her friends had been too distracted to ask or perhaps they were just being kind and decided not to ask. I know How strange people on Earth get around those with disabilities so i’ve seen varied responses to my eyes.

“Yes Twilight humans do in fact have eyes. Most use them the same way you ponies do. Let’s just say I have a medical condition that requires me to keep my eyes closed. But don’t worry I can still see you as you do me.”

“Fascinating. I’ve never heard of that type of condition. If you want perhaps we could take you to some of the unicorn doctors in Canterlot. They have a lot of very cutting edge magical spells being developed every day. Perhaps they can look at your eyes and fix the problem.” While I appreciated her willingness to help I had to decline.

“Thank you for the offer Twilight but i’ve lived with this condition all my life and as It doesn’t effect my vision I just consider it to be a part of who I am at this point.”

“Well it’s your choice. Either way we need to get you some breakfast before we start our day.”

My stomach gave a very loud *GROWL*. “Well it would seem as though my stomach agrees with you. Please lead on.” Twilight laughed at my stomachs response and led me to the kitchen. As we entered the kitchen I saw spike cleaning some dishes in the sink. Spike had on a pink apron with fluffy frills that proudly displayed a large purple heart as it’s centerpiece image. I tried to contain my laughter at this, I really did. Unfortunately my body got the better of me and I let out a, “BWAHAHAHHAHA! Are you kidding me?!” Twilight and Spike seemed surprised to hear my loud laugh and looked at each other. I saw this and addressed them.

“*snort* I’m sorry you two it’s just *snicker* I’ve always been told tales of dragons as large terrifying fire breathing creatures. But then *hehehehe* I come into the kitchen and here’s the cutest tiny purple dragon i’ve ever seen in the most adorable pink apron. My god I swear everything in this world is adorable.” I then remembered the manticore from yesterday. “Except the manticores here. Fuck those guys.”

Twilight giggled along with me once I’d finished my explanation. Spike however seemed to be embarrassed and a little mad at my words. “I’m not that cute… I could be dangerous if I wanted,” he very adorably pouted.

“Man Spike you are not helping your case if you’re trying to look intimidating. But don’t worry about looking cute now you’re still a youngling. Use it to your advantage while you can. I don’t know much about dragons in this world but the natural order of living things is to grow larger and stronger with age. I’m sure you’ll be a majestic flying firebreathing terror in no time.” Spike smiled and puffed out his chest at my words. “Just make sure you change your battle garb when you get a little older. That apron is only going to make your enemies want to cuddle you.”

Twilight laughed while spike narrowed his eyes at me. Not wanting to agitate the dragon who had supposedly prepared me food I just smiled back. “So Twilight tells me you made breakfast this morning. Is there any left? I’m pretty much starving right now.” Spike's face lit up as he grabbed a plate from the counter apparently having already forgotten that he was mad at me.

“I made pancakes today so you’re in luck! I always make too many and we have leftovers for days.” There seemed to be about 10 hand sized pancakes left on the plate.

“Awesome. Do you happen to have any syrup or butter for these bad boys?” Spike grabbed a bottle and tub from an overhead pantry and put them next to the plate on the table. Not wanting to wait any more I quickly kneeled down next to the table and with a hasty, “Thanks Spike,” I started lathering my pancakes with butter and syrup. I took a first bite and froze. “Holy cow! These pancakes are the best I’ve ever had.” Spike seemed very pleased by this news and grinned widely. I ravenously started tearing into the pile of pancakes. Quickly disposing of this mountain of food stopped kneeling and leaned back sitting on my butt.

It was slightly strange to not use chairs at a table due to how normal that was in my society back home. Having experienced other cultures on Earth that almost never used chairs I wasn’t that surprised that these ponies didn’t have them. Considering how easy it is for a quadruped to stand comfortable for long periods of time I guess it makes sense that this society doesn’t have any. Although i’ll admit I did prefer chairs when eating. “Well Spike that was the best meal i’ve had in quite a while and that’s not just my hunger talking.”

“Thanks Cicero! I almost never get to cook for anyone else so it’s nice to see my cooking is appreciated and not taken for granted,” he said eyeing Twilight.

“Spike I don’t often complement your food because it’s just such a given that it’s incredibly tasty!” Twilight said looking slightly guilty and nervous.

Spike however didn’t seem to notice and cheerily responded, “Thanks Twilight.” As Spike turned away I noticed Twilight letting out a relieved sigh.

Twilight turned to me and said, “I’m surprised you managed to eat all of those pancakes you must have been really hungry.”

“Ehhh it had been about a day or so since I’d eaten so I guess it makes sense. Also I’m about twice the size of you ponies so logically i’ll normally eat more.”

“Well I guess we can head over to Rarity’s now to see if she’d be able to make you some new clothes.”

“Awesome I was really wanting to ge-”

“BUUUUUUUUUUT,” she interrupted me, “since you made me wait to ask questions yesterday I get to at least study you and record some information before we go.” Well I guess i’m not surprised.

“Alright then Twilight what do you want to know before we leave,” I asked hesitantly.

“Well I received a response to the letter I sent the princess about you last night. Like me Princess Celestia and Luna seem very interested to learn about humans as we’ve never encountered your kind before. They asked me to include a detailed description of your physical appearance in my next letter to them. They also said they would come visit at some point but that ruling the country takes first priority. Oh and they told me to mention that they are looking into how it was that you came to be here and if it is possible to send you back.”

Well that saves me the trouble of having to find a way to meet the two Princess demi gods. And I didn’t even have to ask them about getting home. Twilight thought to ask them before I could even collect myself enough to ask her. Still though, the fact that beings of such power have taken an interest in me is slightly unnerving. Best not to think about it too much I suppose. What will happen will happen. “When you send that letter to the Princesses please tell them that I am excited to meet them too and that I send my regards.” Twilight smiled happily at me but then quickly shifted her face into a semi serious state.

“Alright then, let’s get this documenting started so we can get to Rarity’s. Spike are you ready to take some notes?” Spike popped up behind us both with a quill, ink bottle, and long piece of parchment at the ready.

“You betcha Twilight!” Dang that little guy is prepared.

Twilight started to walk around me in a circle. “Subject is around 6 foot 3 inches with semi short black hair on this head. Subject appears to be a male based on contextual evidence.”

“Errr yes I’m definitely a guy.” I said slightly offended. But then again I had issues determining these ponies genders when I first saw them. Now that I think about it all of the ponies minus that red one I saw yesterday seemed to be female. I guess that makes sense considering they all seem to be close friends. Twilight was surprised that I interrupted her and blushed slightly.

“Sorry Cicero. Sometimes I forget I’m dealing with living beings and get a bit too zoned out from reality.” I nodded my head for her to continue. “He has two arms and two legs. The arms appear to end in some strange soft clawlike appendage.” I reached over and poked Twilight in the nose. She shook her head in confusion not expecting my actions which made me curl my lips into a wide smile.

“You think those are weird check out these.” I pulled my socks and shoes of quickly to show her my feet. She hovered over them looking for a few seconds.

“Cicero also has small soft appendages at the ends of his feet as well. Almost like his claw appendages but much smaller.”

“The ones on my feet are called toes while the ones on my hands, not claws, are called fingers.”

“Fascinating.” she said.

“Human toes aren’t very dexterous,” I said displaying them limited mobility, “but our hands are rather versatile.” I finished as I wiggled my fingers around. I then reached over and ruffled her hair while continuing to smile.

“What pleasantly soft claw- I mean hands. How interesting.”

“Welp i’ll give you a belly rub or massage or something later to show you what these little devils can do. As for now please continue.”

She scrutinized my teeth and her eyes widened. “Cicero's teeth are apparently varied between flat teeth in the back with a row of rather sharp looking ones in the front. These combined types of teeth usually denote *gulp* predators.”

I suddenly threw my hands in the air and yelled, “WITH A APPETITE FOR PONY FLESH!”

“EEEP!” Twilight squeaked falling backwards as she lost her footing while panicking.

“Hahahahahahahah! Oh man I can’t believe you fell for that!” I keeled over laughing. “Come on Twilight if I’d have wanted to eat you i’d have done it last night while you slept.” I finished lowering my laughs to small chuckles. Twilight looked sheepish and stood back up.

“My apologies. I guess I just wasn’t thinking straight.”

“Naw it’s cool. Humans are actually omnivores. We can eat both meat and plants pretty well. Of course they are limitations but we have a very wide diet. Eating sapient beings is against my, and most humans, moral code though. So don’t worry I won’t eat you or any of your friends. Ignoring that though, again please continue.”

Twilight nodded her head and said, “Cicero has no fur on his body and appears to have the same beige skin color in all locations. His general body appearance seems to be reasonably healthy but it’s impossible to tell without other humans to compare. Another note of difference, compared to ponies, are that all his muscles appear to stand out much more than normal ponies.”

I put my hands behind my head and flexed my body saying, “See something ya like cutie?” Twilight blushed furiously at these words and looked away.

“I-I-I-I….” she stammered.

“HAHAHhahaha! I’m sorry Twilight. I don’t mean to keep derailing your study session.” I said while winking at her. This caused her to turn red yet again. “But you ponies are already so gosh darn adorable. And when you get flustered it’s just that much better.”

“Yes well.” she coughed regaining part of her faces normal purple color.

“Anyways now that we’re done do you mind if we go to rarities? I would like at least one shirt before the day ends.”

“Wait but we still haven't covered your lower half!”

“Well some things are better off left a mystery. Besides humans have pants to cover our lower half as that’s where are private parts are.” Before Twilight could inevitably sink into another blushing session I quickly followed up with, “Perhaps one day I’ll do the noble thing and reveal my glorious manhood for science, but for now I’d just like to get a shirt if you wouldn’t mind.” Twilight only slightly blushed this time while I chuckled at her expense.

“Alright then. I just need to send this note off to the princess with what you said and then we can be on our way. Walking over to spike she took the quill and parchment with her magic and started to scribble something down. Finishing quickly she said, “Thank you for your help Spike. Can you please send this to the Princess?”

“Can do Twilight.” Spike grabbed the scroll and blew out some green fire, turning the scroll to ash.”

“Awwww man. What’d you do that for?” I said. “Now we’ll have to make another one.” Twilight laughed at my confusion.

“Don’t worry. Spike has a special fire which can transport things between two places instantaneously. He just send that letter to the princess.”

“Huh, that’s a pretty neat power ya got there Spike. It’s almost like text or instant messaging.”

“What are those?” Twilight predictably asked.

“Ehhh I’ll explain later. If I tell you then you’ll just want to learn more and more and we’ll never leave.”

“Fair enough I suppose. Spike we’re leaving the library for a while. Please watch the house while i’m away.”

“Sure thing Twilight.” replied spike with a little salute.

“Alright then, let’s go Cicero.” I followed Twilight out the door of her library, crouching so I wouldn’t hit my head. As Twilight started off towards wherever Rarity lived I dutifully followed behind and took in the sites as we walked along. As I had noticed yesterday this area around Ponyville was a very peaceful looking land. All manner of life, be it animals or plants, seemed to be thriving. Perhaps pollution doesn’t exist in this world? Maybe any that does is extremely small in scale? I guess it could also be that Ponyville is an exception. I haven’t seen much in the way of actual buildings so far so maybe it’s just too small of a town to warrant the pollution that comes along with development.

“You alright back there Cicero? You’ve been awfully quiet since we left the library.”

“Yeah I’m fine Twilight. I’m just amazed by how vibrant and healthy all of the wildlife that i’ve seen so far is.”

“Well of course it is! We take very good care of our whole town here in Ponyville. As she mentioned yesterday, Fluttershy typically takes care of all the animals around Ponyville while various other ponies are tasked with keeping the plants and trees healthy. Isn’t that how it is on Earth?”

“It is. I suppose it’s not the fact that it all looks healthy, it’s more so the intense level of health that everything displays. I noticed it yesterday on AppleJacks farm as well. All her apple trees looked incredible full and healthy. Each one looked like it was the pinnacle of Apple Trees. Maybe the land around here is just naturally healthier and more bountiful than on Earth.”

“It could be the in inherent magic in the land. I was always told by Princess Celestia that the lands of Equestria held a vast amount of natural magic throughout them. She said it was a large factor in the decision by her parents to build the Equestrian nation in these lands.”

“What!? He parents built this nation? How old is Equestria?”

Twilight seemed surprised by my outburst but answered, “I believe Equestria was founded around 6500 years ago. Princess Celestia and Luna have been running it for around 3000 years since their parents abruptly died.” My mouth fell open at this.

“3000 years!? Holy hell! Is that a normal lifespan for you ponies?!” Twilight chuckled at my bewildered expression.

“No. The princesses are just special. As alicorns they have a vast amount of magic within their bodies that helps them live much longer lives. All normal ponies usually live around 100 years or so depending on the factors in their lives. How long do humans normally lives?”

Damn 3000 years. I can’t imagine anyone living that long. Mother used to tell me tales of the diverse lives of our people. She said some could live incredibly long lives until they’d fulfilled their purpose, but i’d never heard of anyone living nearly that long. Realizing that Twilight was still waiting for an answer I stopped thinking on the Princess’s life spans.

“100 years is generally the apex lifespan of humans. The actual average lifespan of humans varies greatly in my world. This is due to a massive variety of reason from where they were born to the genetics of their bodies. I’d say the average lifespan of people in my country is around 80 years. But as human technology advances so does the average lifespan. We don’t have magic so we have to use machines and electronic devices to keep us healthy. Maybe one day we’ll match the average lifespan of ponies, but not right now.”

“Humans always sound so different whenever you talk about them. It’s amazing how diverse your people are.”

“Well there’s about 7 billion of us so I guess it’s not surprise.” It was Twilight's turn to drop her jaw.

“s-s-s-s-SEVEN BILLION!? How is that even possible! That’s so many! How do humans even function with so many different people?”

“Well to be honest, pretty poorly. There’s too many people and not enough resources and sometimes this leads to w-” *WHUMP* *SLAM*. I was knocked off my feet and had the air knocked out of me as something crashed into my diaphragm. My first instinct was to latch onto whatever had hit me as I slammed into the ground.

“Cicero! Are you ok!?” Twilight yelled nervously.

*Wheeze wheeze* “Yeah I’m *wheeze* ok. What the hell just hit me?” I looked down and beheld a small light grey pegasus with a yellow mane and tail. The pegasus uncurled herself from the ball she was in and looked around.

“Hi Twilight! Hi strange warm creature!” She happily said to us both. Twilight giggled.

“Hello Derpy, on your daily mail flight I see.”

“Yeah! I was almost done for the day too but I needed to deliver a letter to you! I kinda lost my balance and was about to slam into the ground when I crashed into this soft warm thing!”

“Yes, well this soft warm thing has a name and it’s Cicero. Nice to meet you miss Derpy.” I said from below her. Derpy hooved a pink letter out of her bag and handed it to Twilight. How the hell she grabbed the letter with her hooves I’ll never know. Twilight used her magic to open it and then read it. She smiled after a few seconds and somehow made the letter disappear entirely.

Derpy then turned back to me and said, “I’m sorry for crashing into you but I have to admit i’m rather glad I landed on instead of hitting the ground. You’re much softer!” Derpy tried looked up at me but her eyes only ended up looking in random directions. Attempting to make puppy dog eyes she said, “You not mad are you?”

I was fighting tooth and nail to keep the internal squee going through my body from becoming external. After taking a second to combat the waves of cute coursing through my body I finally collected my thoughts. I reached over, picked up the pegasus, and hugged it tight against my chest.

After 20 seconds Twilight finally spoke up, “ummmmmmmm.”

“Shhhhhhhhh. I’m trying to absorb the cuteness Twilight. This is a magical moment. Nothing this adorable should be able to exist.” I had expected Derpy to pull away after I had hugged her but much to my delight she just seemed snuggle further into my hug.

“Come on Cicero we need to get to Rarity’s and I’m sure that Derpy here has to finish her mail route.” Begrudgingly I internally agreed with twilight and released Derpy.

“To answer your previous question, no Derpy i’m not mad. Honestly even if you walked up to me and punched me in the face I’m not sure I have it within my body to be angry at something as adorable as you.” Derpy gave a wide smile.

“Thanks Cicero! I’m glad you’re not mad. Thanks for the hug, you’re a really good hugger!” I didn’t even realize you could be a good or bad hugger but I’m pleased to learn my hugging skills were up to par. “Sadly Twilight is right and I do have to finish my mail route. I hope I see you around again though!” She flapped her wings a few times and started drunkenly flying around towards the edge of a town that I hadn’t seen until now.

“What a nice girl. I hope I see her again. Although I’m a bit concerned for her health considering the haphazard way she just flew off…..”

“Don’t worry. Derpy has been like that for years, she’ll be fine. Anyways we’re almost at Rarity's let’s keep going,” Twilight said as she started trotting towards town. I picked myself off the ground and followed along behind her again. As we entered town I saw a lot of ponies milling about talking or doing random things with each other. Some stopped and stared at me as I walked past but most just went about what they had been doing after a little while.

“You ponies seem to be a very accepting sort. I can tell you that if any of you walked through my town it definitely wouldn’t be going as smoothly as this is right now.” Twilight looked back at me with a small ashamed look on her face.

“We’ve had other strange visitors come into town before and we didn’t handle it very well the first time. Most people have probably learned from that mistake.”

“Wish humans could learn from their mistakes like that. I swear our civilization just keeps making the same mistakes over and over and over. Some people just never learn.” As we continued walking through town I noticed that all of the homes throughout the village were just as flashily colored as the equines themselves. The whole town looked like someone had dropped a color swatch into it and the ponies had just decided that everything and everyone would get a different color from the swatch.

Another strange thing I noticed seemed to be that just about everyone here was female. I still wasn’t very adept at identifying their genders but at this point I had seen enough of them to be able to usually spot the differences. I decided I should ask Twilight about this discovery but she spoke up first.

“Here we are! This is Rarity’s store and home, the Carousel Boutique.” Wow. This whole place was a crazy combination of purple, white, blue, and every shade in between. The bottom floor looked decently normal but the upper half of the house seemed to have an actual carousel theme going on. The house didn’t look bad, per say, it was more that the whole appearance gave off a strange princessy vibe. It’s hard to describe. It wasn’t too my taste but I could definitely appreciate the solid theme the building had.

“Your friend Rarity has some very uhhhhhhh…. Unique tastes in her house design.”

“Yes Rarity has always had a thing for flashy designs. Just wait until you see her clothes though! You’ll definitely agree that her taste for flashy designs is for the best!

“I suppose we’ll see I guess. Shall we,” I said making ushering motions towards the door. Twilight stepped forward and walked into Rarity’s place with me close behind. A small bell went off somewhere when we walked into the store.

“I’ll be with you in a moment!” Called a voice from upstairs.

“Hey Rarity! It’s me and Cicero here!” Twilight called back. I heard the sound of frantic hooves coming down the stairs followed shortly by a flustered looking Rarity with glasses on her face.

“Twilight i’m so glad you’re here! And you brought Cicero, how perfect!”

“Were you expecting us for some reason Rarity?” Twilight asked confused.

“No, but after seeing Cicero’s shirt yesterday I knew that he’d need at least one new shirt so I went ahead and created it! I was about to bring it to you. But now that you’re here he can try them on and I can make sure they fit.”

“Rarity while I appreciate you making a shirt for m… wait did you say ‘they fit’? You didn’t make more than one, right?” I asked slightly nervous.

“But of course I did darling! I was struck by inspiration last night after seeing you. I’ve never made shirts for somepony like you before and I was determined to do my best. Now you can be the first human to wear all of my magnifique designs!”

“Wow that’s extremely kind of you Rarity! I’ll admit I came over here to ask you to make me a shirt. I’m surprised you beat me to the punch. However I have to let you know I don’t have any money at the moment. I’m not sure how long I’m going to be here but I was hoping to at least get a temporary job somewhere around here. If you can wait I’ll pay you back when I get some money.”

“I won’t hear anything about money Cicero! I made these shirts for you because I wanted to and I don’t expect any money in return for them. They’re a gift.” Rarity saw me open my mouth obviously to complain but she cut me off. “And don’t you argue with me. These clothes are now yours for free and that’s that!” I smiled at her words. I put my hands to my sides and bowed.

“Thank you very much Rarity. This level of kindness to strangers is a rare thing in my world. Your generosity is unparalleled.” I raised my body to see her smiling.

“Well I am the element of generosity so giving things away is simply part of who I am. You’re very welcome though Cicero.” I stared at her confused.

“You’re the element of what now?”

“I’ll handle this one Rarity.” Twilight chimed in. “Rarity is the element of generosity which is part of a set of 6 elements of harmony. My friends and I, including Rarity, are all a different element of harmony. Fluttershy is kindness, Rainbow Dash is loyalty, Pinkie Pie is laughter, Applejack is Honesty, and I’m Magic. When we all come together, with each of our corresponding elemental jewelry, we can combine our powers to create an evil purifying magic! The princess says it’s a pure magic created by our friendship.”

I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. Well I guess that answers that question from yesterday. I figured she was being metaphorical about friendship magic but once again I am completely surprised that such power exists.

“Cicero dear whatever is the matter?” Rarity asked.

“Probably the fact that every other time I ask a question you guys respond with a reality breaking answer. It doesn’t help that when you ponies answer you make it seem like your response it the most normal thing in the world. Although I suppose to you lot in the land of dragons, pegasus, and unicorns this is probably par for the standard.” I looked back down from the ceiling. “Still though the ability to purge evil is definitely an amazing power. Honestly I wish I could do something like that. The humans desperately need a power like that.”

“Why do humans need that power so much?” Twilight Asked. “Do your people have a lot of evil monsters roaming around?”

“You could say that. Although the only evil monster on Earth is pretty much humans themselves. Some argue that it’s part of human nature to be a little evil. Some say it’s just how certain people are born. Bad apples if you will. Me? I think it’s because humanity has done it to themselves. We consume resources but don’t replenish them. Corporations pollute the environment but don’t clean it up. The rich fill their stomachs but let those with less starve. People constantly fight over every little thing. Countries start wars with each other for no other reason besides greed. The list goes on and on and on. So yes there is a large amount of evil on Earth. It’s a shame that through our actions and inactions we’ve created and allowed this evil to thrive.”

I finished my tirade and looked over to Twilight and Rarity. They were both looking down with tears in there eyes. “Ah shit, i’m sorry you two. I didn’t mean to lower the mood so much. I just get frustrated sometimes when I think about how much help the humans need. Not to mention it’s easy to see how troubled Earth is compared to the awesome parts of this that world that i’ve seen so far. The disparity between the two make it easy to focus on all the great things you guys have that we don’t. But I suppose even after all I said the large population of Earth is also a boon to us.” Both girls looked up.

“For each hateful person that lives another human full of love exists.” I smiled at Rarity and said, “For each greedy person another one of great generosity exists. In humanity's darkest moments, no matter how different we all are from each other, we band together and find out that our species has a lot more good than bad to offer if we only try.” I then looked at Twilight. “You could say that our ability to combine all of our different cultures is our form of magic. Some of the most amazing things humans have ever created only exist because some strangers met and decided to try working together to make something great.”

Both girls smiled at this final thought. “Alright enough of this heavy emotional stuff. Let’s try some clothes on. If your designs are as amazing as Twilight says I’m hoping to leave this place looking simply faaaaaaabulouuuuuuuuus!” I said the last part while flipping my hair and then doing a small pirouette with my arms wide out. Twilight and Rarity both laughed at how ridiculous i’m sure I looked.

“Trust me darling. Once you leave here with my designs you’ll never want to go back to the old you’s fashion! Follow me dear.” She then excitedly trotted up the stairs while Twilight and I followed after her. I have to admit that I was looking forward to seeing Rarities human clothing designs. I got to the top of the stairs and…… oh good lord. In a row in front of me stood Rarities newest human style clothing designs.

First, I will say I was extremely impressed at how well she had done in recreating human looking clothing considering she had only seen me for short while yesterday. The issue was more so the colors and flashy patterns on the clothing. Apparently the theme she had decided to go with was gems. Almost every single pair of pants and shirts that she had designed were adorned with multiple different sized gems. Rubies, Emeralds, Sapphires, Topaz, and Amethyst, each of varying colors, adorned the clothing. Each set of shirts and pants had a color theme that accented the precious stones that adorned them.

“I can see your speechless at my newest masterpieces! Go on dear try them on!” Rarity happily said. You know what? I blame myself for this. I jokingly asked to be fabulous earlier and in return fate rewards me with a set of flamboyant clothing Elton John himself would be envious of. I sighed. Alright well let’s get this fashion show over with. I walked over to the first clothing set that was covered in a wide variety of purple amethysts.

“Do you have somewhere I can change Rarity?”

“There should be a changing panel behind the mannequins dear.” I looked behind the now bare mannequin and saw what she was referring to.

“Thanks Rarity, I’ll be back in a moment.” Hopping behind the panel I quickly disrobed and pulled on the gem encrusted clothing. To my pleasure I once more was surprised by the very comfortable feeling of this clothing. I wasn’t just a close match to my body structure, it was as if the set of clothing was tailored to perfectly match my appearance. This feature was further accented by the fact that the pants and shirt were both extremely smooth feeling pieces of what I’m guessing was cotton. Well her designs might be too flashy for my tastes but her workmanship is sublime.

“Come now Cicero, don’t keep ladies waiting. How does the clothing feel?” Rarity called. Man this clothing is really really comfy. I need to find some way to tell her I’m not comfortable with the clothings style while still seeming grateful for the obvious work that was put into these. I can’t make them wait any longer though. I guess I’ll just have to wing it. I stepped out from behind the changing panel with a pleased look on my face.

“It feels wonderful Rarity! In fact this is one of the most form fitting and comfortable pieces of clothing I have ever received!” Rarity beamed. “However….” her face fell slightly. “I feel it might be just a little bit more eye catching than what I’m used too. While I have already expressed how honored I feel to receive such a gift, might I humbly make a small suggestion?”

“But of course darling!” said Rarity.

“Half of the reason you wish for me to wear this clothing is so that i’m seen wearing it in public correct?”

“Well that was one benefit I had foreseen when making your clothing.” she said blushing slightly.

“There’s no need to be ashamed rarity. I would be honored to wear your fine work in public and spread word of your talent. However to do your clothing justice I feel as thought I would need to be in a completely relaxed state so that all could see how incredibly comfortable I am in your clothes. As such, for the sake of fashion, I request that the bulk of the gems be removed and perhaps just one or two be strategically placed somewhere on the clothing. You need not use eye catching gems to sell your clothing when the beauty of it’s natural designs stand out far better than any cheap gimmick to trick the eye.”

“No matter what you decide it was rude of me to suggest that I knew better than a master seamstress such as yourself and I humbly apologize for my verbal transgression.” I said as I bowed. I didn’t hear any response so I looked up to see how Rarity had taken it. I was taken aback when I saw Rarity was in fact blushing, not in anger, but embarrassment. I didn’t have to ask what was wrong as she finally spoke up.

“That was without a doubt the most wonderful response I have ever received for creating a new set of clothing. You’ve managed to quickly admire my design, suggest an improvement, complement my work relentlessly, and act like a complete gentlecolt whilst doing so. I would be very happy to take your suggestions and implement them. As I’m only removing a few gems and rearranging the rest it shouldn’t take me but until tomorrow to have them done.” Too my surprise rarity then did what I believe was the equivalence of a pony curtsy while saying, “I extend to you my heartfelt gratitude and want to let you know I greatly appreciate those silver tongued compliments of yours.”

Wow that went way better than most of the times I try to wing something. Not wanting to break the charming streak I had somehow stumbled into I decided to lay the last part on thick. As Rarity had so far shown that she appreciated proper gentlemen and interactions I figured I might as well go the rest of the way, even if it was slightly embarrassing. I went over to her and knelt down to grasp one of her hooves. I pulled its top to my lips and gently kissed it. Still holding her hoof I looked into her eyes and said, “Lady Rarity it is indeed quite the pleasure interacting with you. Your magnanimousness truly knows no bounds.”

I watched as Rarity furiously blushed and simply said, “Oh my.” Deciding that any more than that would be too much I let her hoof gently fall back to the ground as I stood back up.

“As much fun as this has been Rarity I feel bad that I’ve taken up so much of your time. I assume you have orders to fulfill, not to mention a store to run.” Rarity snapped out of her stupor at these words.

“Oh my goodness you're absolutely right! I have a few outfits that need to be finished before this weekend. I’ll see you and Twilight later today,” she said giving Twilight a conspiratorial wink.

Deciding it was best not to pry I simply said, “Thank you again for the gifts today. Now if you’ll excuse me I need to go try and find a permanent residence before tomorrow.” I nodded to Twilight and we walked our way downstairs and out of the shop. We got about 5 yards before Twilight Spoke up.

“You know you don’t have to find an inn or house in town yet. We don’t even know how long you’ll be here depending on the princesses answers. You can just stay with me for the time being if you wish.” She gave me an encouraging smile. Again I’m shocked by the generosity of these ponies. One night was one thing, but to offer a place of residence to someone who is almost a stranger is not only kind but almost worrying. I truly appreciated what Twilight had done for me so far but I worry about her naivety.

What if I had been a terrible person? What if I had tried to hurt her or steal things while she slept? I wonder if she had even considered these things. However Twilight struck me as a very studious and intellectual individual. Surely someone with such a sound thought process would have considered these possibilities? Unless….. Perhaps this land doesn’t just appear paradisiacal, maybe it truly is. Maybe these ponies have never had to deal with the wars and evil created by their fellow citizens as the humans have.

What a wondrous thought. If that was truth then this lands existence was an incredible anomaly from what my mother had told me. She always said that our people were sent to lands where they were needed the absolute most. Visions of the absolutely horrendous fates that had befell some of my people on nightmarish worlds had been given to my mother. Mother told me our people passed on these stories as a warning to future protectors.

I unfortunately had been given these visions at one point. I’ll never forget some of the things I learned that day. The universe is truly a disturbingly cruel place. I have seen horrible things that even the humans couldn’t dream of doing to each other. Too bad our people found out that other species could. In defense of my peoples traditions I will also never forget the lesson that each protector died to teach me. This land was too pure, too untainted. Maybe my coming here was truly just a fluke. What use could a peaceful land such as this have for a protector?

Deciding that I would meditate on this later I realized that Twilight had been waiting for my answer. “Apologies for taking so long to respond Twilight. I was merely thinking about how I wouldn’t want to burden you further than I already have.”

“Burden? Nonsense Cicero! I’m happy to help you. Not to mention It’s a valuable opportunity to learn all of the things you know. The closer you are the easier access I have to that knowledge!”

“So that’s all I am to you?!” I said in mock hurt. “Just a source of knowledge that you’ll drain and throw to the curb whence done?!” I turned away. “I thought I had found a friend in you Twilight.”

“WHAT?! No! Cicero I didn’t mean it like that! I’m so sorry for implying I was only interested in your knowledge! I truly want to…..” At this point Twilight had noticed my shaking shoulders and stopped.

“BWAAHAHAHAHAHA! Got ya!” I said mirthfully. Twilight just gave a huff and glared at me. “Hehehe sorry about that Twilight but passing up an opportunity to rile you up would just be a waste.” Twilight continued to glare. I sighed. “Alright maybe I took it a little too far. Sorry about that Twilight.” I then kneeled down and pulled Twilight into a light hug. I rubbed her back while she returned the hug. After a few seconds I pulled away. “Forgive me?”

“Alright i’ll let you off the hook this time.” She smiled. “But only if you tell me about a neat human invention tomorrow in return!”

“Ha! Of course I will. Oh and to answer your question I would be happy to stay at your place if you truly don’t think it will be a bother to you.”

Twilight giggled. “I wouldn’t have offered to let you stay if I wasn’t sure I wanted you there silly. Anyways you mentioned that you wanted to find a job at least temporarily while you’re here, correct?”

“Yes I’d like to be at least slightly self sufficient while i’m here, even if I can’t continue on with my past skillset.”

“Well it just so happens that Applejack needs some extra hands on her farm. She mentioned that her apple trees were bearing a much more bountiful harvest this year. I’m sure if you offered your services she would be happy to take you.”

“Excellent suggestion Twilight! Do you have any idea where I might find Applejack at this time of day?”

“She’s usually in the town bazaar selling her farms produce. Do you want to go see her now?”

“If you wouldn’t mind. I had a few things that I’d hoped to accomplish today and getting a semi stable source of income was high on the list. Please lead the way.” Twilight happily trotted off towards what I assumed was the direction of the town bazaar. I was slightly hesitant to head in the direction of what I assumed would be a highly pony populated area but I really wanted to get a solid source of income if possible. Ignoring the nagging reluctancies at the back of my mind I followed twilight towards the town center. The rest of the ponies seemed to be fine with my presence so far. I’m sure it will be fine.

Not to long after we set out we reached the heart of the village. I was surprised to see a thriving market in the middle of town. It’s not as if I didn’t believe Twilight when she said the town had a bazaar, it’s more that the outside of town seemed to imply that large areas of development weren’t the norm. Yet while the outside of town had been given to nature the center appeared to have all of the features of a metropolis compacted into a very tiny area. Restaurants, shops, spas, produce stands, and everything in between circled the supposed heart of town.

I was slightly overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of so many ponies going about their daily life. Thankfully Twilight noticed I had stopped following her and bumped into my hips in an attempt to get me moving again.

“Don’t worry Cicero I had the same reaction when I first came to Ponyville. I used to live in Canterlot before I moved here so I was very used to how normal cities looked. The rapid shift between Ponyville’s rural outskirts and compacted urban in the center completely threw me off the first time I entered the market. It’s actually one of the best features of Ponyville! We have the diverse selection of goods you’d find in a city combined with nature's natural beauty throughout the town.”

The rapid shift from small town to bustling market had indeed thrown me off for a second. But at Twilight's encouragement I remembered we were here for a reason. I let my sight wander over all the stores the market had to offer until I beheld a small Orange pony with a stetson atop her head. She was standing behind a small yellow stand that was almost overflowing with apples.

“Hey I think I see AppleJack,” I said pointing over towards her stand.

“It must be nice to be so tall. Being able to look over everypony must come in handy.” Twilight said as I started walking towards Applejacks stand.

“Well back on Earth my height was pretty normal. I guess I was a little taller than average but not by much. It was useful in helping me reach things that were up high up but not really much else.” I looked around the market to see ponies staring at me again. Some even stopped talking and shopping just so they could observe me with their full attention. “Here, amongst you ponies, it just seems like a burden. I already stick out enough as a different species from another planet but my height just makes me even me of a spectacle,” I said glancing towards a group of gawking ponies.

Twilight followed my gaze and seemed to register what I was talking about. “Don’t worry about them Cicero. As I said before, Ponyville has learned not to judge other by their appearance. However we don’t get that many visitors into our town, let alone one as different as you. I’m sure they don’t mean anything by their stares. Their probably just curious.” I suppose that made sense. Hopefully this unwanted attention would die down soon though. I wasn’t used to walking around for so long without a shirt and I felt particularly vulnerable to their gazes. I could practically feel all of their eyes scrutinizing every inch of my body.

I didn’t have to think about it for any longer as we’d finally reached Applejacks stand. She had just finished selling some apples to a customer that was walking away. “Make sure ya’ll come back next time ya need some fresh apples,” she said while waving at them. Her gaze turned to find us standing in front of her stand. “Well howdy there Twilight, Cicero.” She said giving us a nod. “What brings you round these parts? Ya looking for some fresh apples?”

“As much as I would love to eat some more of your delicious apples I can’t as I have no money to offer in return. I actually came here to find you because I was hoping you could help me change that.” Applejack raised her eyebrows as this statement but I continued. “Twilight mentioned your farm's harvest was particularly bountiful recently and that you might need an extra worker to help. I have come to offer you my services in response to this.”

Applejack looked me up and down for a little bit. “You know working on the farm is really hard work right? Usually the only ponies that can handle that level of work are earth ponies.”

“Well I’m not an earth pony but I promise that I’m a very hard worker. I can’t honestly say how humans would fare in comparison to earth ponies but I’m rather confident in my strength and stamina. Besides I used to work on a farm back on earth. It may have been a while since I had that job but I can at least say I know what I’m getting myself into in terms of workload.”

“Hmmmmm, well you seem to know what to expect if you get hired. Not to mention it would be useful to hire somepony who already had experience and knowledge of farm work.” She looked me up and down once more. “You do look like a decently sturdy and muscular fella so I guess why not. You’re hired!”

“Excellent! I promise you won’t regret this Applejack. When do I start?”

“How about tomorrow morning. The faster we get you to work the fresher we can keep our produce. Just show up on the farm sometime around daybreak. Assuming you're still at Twi’s all you have to do is head right down the path when ya leave her house. I’ll promise i’ll give ya a fair price for the work you do.”

“Thank you very much Applejack. I can’t wait to get started tomorrow.” Applejack chuckled at my enthusiasm.

“Well since ya don’t have any money fer now, how about a free apple for my newest employee?”

I turned to look at Applejack’s apple stand. “Do you have any Kiku apples today?” I asked hopefully.

“Sure do partner!” She reached in the back and grabbed an apple with her hooves. FUCKING HOW DO THEY DO THAT?! “Here ya go Cicero.” Remembering how amazingly delicious her apples had been before I reverently took the apple in my hands. Raising it up to my mouth I took a bite out of the side.

“Uooooooooooohhhhhhhhhh god there even better sober.” I embarrassingly moaned. Not wasting another second I wolfed down the apple at breakneck speeds, not bothering to eat around the core. Right after I took the last bite I remembered that I had company. I solemnly raised my head to look at the girls. I saw Twilight barely holder back her laughter at my rather uncharacteristic display. Applejack, however, looked rather excited.

“Hot diggity! I ain’t never seen anyone but an Apple family member get that excited about an apple before! You ate that thing faster than a dragon in a gem pile!” Twilight could no longer contain herself and started laughing.

My cheeks turned rather red as I said, “Yes yes enjoy your laugh Twilight after all I got a good laugh this morning when you tried to sneak a glance at my naked body.” Twilight stopped laughing and blushed. I swear if I made that girl blush anymore she’d develop rosacea.

Applejack opened her mouth in shock and said, “She did what now?”

“It was for science Applejack! The princess asked me to document his physical appearance,” she said trying to defend herself. The users of Reddit would have applauded Twilight's defense. Unfortunately Applejack didn’t seem to buy it.

“Whatever you say sugarcube,” she said with a knowing smile.

Twilight let out a frustrated, “Uggh! Believe what you will.” She turned to me, “It’s getting late and I need to stop by the stationery store before I go home. Do you want to come along Cicero?”

“Sure. I had wanted to see more of Ponyville today if it was possible. Also if I’m seen around town more today perhaps it will help stop the staring of other ponies sooner.”

“Alright then. We’ll see you later Applejack,” Twilight said giving another conspiratorial wink to Applejack. Well that was strange. That’s the second time today i’ve seen a covert wink exchanged between Twilight and her friends. They couldn’t be planning something could they? I thought back on another lesson my people had shown me. I didn’t want to remember the particularly gruesome death that protector had suffered but I did recall the lesson I had learned from it. Innocence can be an effective camouflage for those with deadly intentions.

Surely that didn’t apply to Twilight and her friends right? They had been nothing but kind so far. Sadly I remembered that in the vision the protector had said almost the exact same thing. I suppose it’s safer to keep a close eye on the situation. Nothing wrong with being prepared. I escaped my thoughts for a moment to glance at Twilight as we walked to our destination. As much as I hated to admit it, Twilight would be a large threat to me if she decided to fight me.

While protectors have an interesting set of abilities there are some things we’re better at handling than others. Forward confrontations of power are difficult but manageable. Magic however opened up a plethora of deadly options to enemies that my people could neither replicate or easily handle. That’s why each protector is given the visions. If we can’t use magic ourselves we can at least share our knowledge and options to combat it. But perhaps I was just being too suspicious. After all if these ponies are truly as innocent as I believe then it could be nothing more than a whimsical wink between friends.

“We're here!” Twilight said yanking me from my thoughts. I looked up to behold a rather large building dotted with paintings of quills, notepads, inkwells, and other various writing apparatus. The building itself was beige and looked rather gimcrack, almost as if the owners had decided to make it themselves rather than hire a professional. Who knows, perhaps they actually had. Icicles Ink Emporium and Pansies Parchment Palace was emblazoned in bright white letters on the store front.

“This place seems nice. I don’t know how much I trust the stability of this store however. It looks as though it’s been here for ages.” I pointed out slightly unnerved that Twilight wanted to go in there.

“It has actually. This store was hoof made a long time ago by the original owners and it’s been passed down through the ages to each subsequently born family member.”

“That’s nice. Most family run and operates businesses don’t exist in my world anymore. They can’t compete against the deals and power of larger corporations so they end up shutting down. I guess survival of the fittest is a theory that exists in all facets of life.”

“Survival of the fittest theory?” Twilight questioned. Oh god I gave her more things to ask me about later. Damnit Cicero.

“I’ll explain later Twilight. Didn’t you want some ink or something?”

“Indeed I did. It shouldn’t take too long. Let’s go.” We entered the store and I was a bit underwhelmed by what I saw. The outside of the shop had seemed rather large and as such I expected something interesting I suppose. All I could see at the moment were rows and rows of various parchment stacks and multi colored ink bottles. Wait ink bottles? She meant actual ink containers it seems. I guess they don’t have pens or pencils in this land. I thought it was strange when Spike wrote with an old fashioned quill pen this morning.

“Hello again miss Twilight,” said a very old decrepit looking red mare. She was sitting behind a counter at the back of the store. “The usual package I presume?” she asked looking at Twilight.

“Hello again Bookwell! You’re correct! I’m preparing for all the new notes i’m going to have to take. My friend Cicero here is from another planet and he’s promised to detail all sorts of inventions from his world to me!” Twilight finished practically bouncing in place. Interesting. We only met yesterday but she already considers me a friend. Again it’s either pure naive intentions leading to this declaration or her attempt to lower my guard by making us feel closer. Hmmmmmm.

The old red earth pony from before had just now noticed my presence next to Twilight. “An alien you say dearie? My my how interesting. I don’t think i’ve ever seen a creature even remotely like you before boy. Of course as you're an alien I guess that makes sense,” she lightheartedly chuckled at her own realization.

“Hello mam, my name is Cicero and you haven’t seen anything like me before because I’m a human from a planet called Earth.”

Bookwell looked to Twilight again. “Did you mix up a spell and summon another poor creature to Ponyville from afar?”

“That was only one time! I figured out a way to send it back an hour later anyways….” Twilight finished in a mumble.

The old mare chuckled. “Not before it darn near burned down half of that tree house of yours deary.”

“Yes. Well. Mistakes do tend to happen during magical experimentation. And I fixed the library so no harm done.”

Bookwell sighed. “Just be careful Twilight. I would hate to lose you to one of your experiments accidents someday.” She said seriously.

“Thank you for your concern of my well being Bookwell but I promise that I always take every precaution when I experiment.” Twilight said reassuringly.

Bookwells face cracked into a wry smile. “You’re welcome dear but as you're my best customer I was more so worried about my finances if you stopped shopping here.” Twilight's mouth fell open.

“Damn!” I said in awe. “That was savage Bookwell!” I held up my hand to Bookwell for a high five. I then realized that Bookwell was obviously very old and probably didn’t do childish things like that any more. I was pleasantly shocked when Bookwell reached over and slapped my hand with her hoof.

Bookwell happily said, “Still got it.” and let out a loud laugh at my words combined with Twilight's shocked face. Twilight recovered and harrumphed to show her displeasure at being the butt end of Bookwells facetious words. Bookwell saw this and said, “I’m sorry dear but i’m an old mare. Who knows how much longer i’ll be around. I have to get my laughs while I still can.” Twilight smiled back at her words.

“Well hopefully you’ll be around for a long time Bookwell. I’m not upset. Now about that package.” Twilight inquired.

“Ah yes. One moment dear.” Bookwell got up and expertly started collecting a large backful of supplies that I assumed Twilight wanted. She finished rather quickly and came back to the counter. “That’s 27 bits as usual dear.” Twilight used her magic to make 2 yellow, 2 white, and 1 brown coin appear on the counter. Man magic sure would be useful to have…. Holy shit is that gold?

“Twilight what are those coins and is the yellow one made of gold?”

“These are called bits. They’re what we use as currency in equestria. The yellow one is worth 1 bit and is in fact made of gold. The brown one is worth 5 bits and is made of copper. Lastly the white one is worth 10 bits and is made of Silver.”

“WOW. On Earth if a had a small bag full of just the yellow ones I could probably live the rest of my life pretty darn comfortably. Gold on my planet is pretty rare, not to mention it’s used frequently in a lot of electronics devices due to its conductive and corrosion resistant properties.” Twilight just stared at me when I finished. “What is it Twilight?” I said looking back at her.

“There are so so many things I want to ask you after what you just said but I know you’ll just wave your hand and tell me that you’ll explain it later.”

I smiled at her. “You learn quickly Twilight.”

Twilight smiled back and said, “You know i’m keeping a list of all the questions I want to ask you right? It’s about a 5 feet long scroll so far.” My face fell. “Well after that statement it’s probably going to be 6 feet.” I let my face fall into my hands.

“My god what I have I done.”

“There’s another half page. You keep mentioning this god and other deities. We’ll have to talk about them at some point.” I shut my mouth before I gave twilight any more questions. I then crossed my arms and gave her a pouty face. She laughed at my reaction. “Oh come now it won’t be that bad. Anyways it’s time to head home.” Using her magic she levitated the bag of supplies off the counter and I assume teleported them home.

“Man i’m so insanely jealous of your magic. That would make my life so much easier.”

Twilight wisely responded, “The grass is always greener on the other side Cicero. We always want what we don’t have. But it’s these limitations that make us strive for greatness.” I thought on her words as we both said goodbye to Bookwell. We then proceeded out the door of the shop and got back on the path we had used to get into town from Twilights home.”

We didn’t get very far before Twilight froze in place and said, “Oh my goodness I completely forgot something back in town Cicero! Why don’t you continue on this road back to the library while I go and get it.” She then quickly teleported away before I had a chance to say anything. Alright that was weird. I would have offered to go with her back into town just so I could see more of it. She seemed really quick to teleport away…..

Warning bells were going off in my head as the phrase, ‘Beware the seemingly innocent’, flashed through my mind faster and faster. As much as part of me yelled to trust Twilight and her friends an even greater part of me screamed to not abandon the combined knowledge of my people. I decided on a half measure between both. I wouldn’t act as if I thought Twilight had nefarious intentions but I would surreptitiously strengthen my body for any danger I might run into.

Following another lesson learned by my people I acted hastily. I quickly dived into my body and found the core of my energy. Focusing on it I called upon a few skills I hadn’t needed to use in a while. Forcing energy from my core throughout my entire epidermis I caused my cells to harden in an attempt to combat any physical attack that might occur. Next I used my cores energy to increase the bloodflow to my adrenal glands and create a steady adrenaline stream throughout my body. Using the newfound clarity from my minds adrenaline I decided last to deposit pockets of energy behind my primary movement muscles in case I need to retreat extremely fast.

I would not allow myself to become another lesson to my people, I refused. As I was prepared for combat I decided that maybe I could surprise whatever attackers may be waiting at the library if I reacted fast enough. With this in mind I viciously sprinted down the dirt path towards Twilights house. Reaching the house within 30 seconds I rapidly skidded to a halt. While surprising your enemies is nice, stealth is an even better tactic.

I was having a hard time deciding what to do though. I stood in front of the library and realized I really wasn’t sure if Twilight was just an innocent pony or a devious enemy. I decided that perhaps I could gather information about her intentions if I listened outside her house. I inaudibly tiptoed my way to a place below her window as it was the thinnest piece of material between me and the inside. Using my ears, which were enhanced by the massive flow of adrenaline in my body, I overheard some quiet whispers inside.

“How long do we have until he gets here Twilight?” Said a voice that I couldn’t quite place.

“It shouldn’t be that long. I left him about 5 minutes away so that we could prepare.” Said a voice I recognized as Twilight. My god she lied to me. She didn’t go to the market, she came here to prepare something.

“I’m so excited! I can’t wait till he gets here! It’s been so long so long since we’ve had someone to surprise! He’ll never know what hit him!”

Enough. I would listen to this farce no longer. These ponies had tricked me and I would see them confronted. How could I have believed this uncannily happy planet was anything but a lie. The words of another visions lesson flashed through my mind. ‘Do not take things at face value, but perceive your surroundings calmly and deduce the truth’. Again this knowledge led my mind to a further fractured thought process.

Perhaps I was overreacting and acting under the influence of my adrenaline boost? But what if I was initially right and when I entered that front door the supposedly kind ponies had prepared a ghastly surprise? Damnit I didn’t know and I couldn't make a firm decision but I was losing the element of surprise. The longer I waited the more they were prepared for my imminent arrival. I needed to act. If the truth couldn’t be perceived from my thoughts and spying then the only option left was direct confrontation.

I stood quickly and walked over to the front door. Taking a deep breath I let it and my tension out. Being rigid mentally or physically during this encounter wouldn’t help me. Being as ready as possible I steeled my resolve and opened the door. I took a step in and my heart sank as I realized all the lights of the house were out. Shit. It’s an ambush. I desperately wanted to believe tha-

“SURPRISE!!!!!!”

The lights flickered on and in front of me stood all of the ponies I had met yesterday night. As the adrenaline was still coursing through me, my eyes frantically flew around taking in as much as possible until it hit me. This… this was a surprise party…. for me. Recognition dawned within me and I felt my body start to slump. They had no ill intentions, they were just an innocent group of ponies who wanted to throw a party. I couldn’t hold my body any longer and I slumped to the ground. I released all of my excess energy and let my muscles uncoil as I relaxed into a tired state.

“Alright I’ll admit it, I had absolutely no idea that this was coming.” I said exhausted from the buildup.

Fluttershy, who was present at my party, looked panicked and rapidly flew over to me. “Are you alright Cicero!? I told them that a surprise party was too much for someone who had just appeared in Equestria yesterday! Please be ok! Can I help you? Is yo- *whump*”. I reached up and quickly pulled Fluttershy into a tight hug. I was too tired to deal with her panic at the moment and decided to calm her with a soothing hug.

“I’m alright Fluttershy. In fact I think i’m more alright then I have been in a long time.” No words were exchanged as I tightly hugged Fluttershy and ran my hands over her back. I felt so at peace. For one of the rare times in my life I had assumed the worst of others and been proven wrong, one hundred times over. These ponies were something beyond what my people had experienced before. A true anomaly within the universe, if you will.

There was no nefarious purpose behind their interactions with me. They simply wanted a temporarily displaced stranger to feel slightly more at home. To show their goodwill they had thrown a party with a massive banner proudly displaying , ‘Welcome to Equestria/Equis/Ponyville Alien Cicero!’ I don’t think I’ve ever felt such a profound happiness before. I had only met these ponies two days ago but I could practically feel the goodwill radiating off of them.

I realized that Fluttershy had stopped anxiously fidgeting. I looked down and saw her contentedly resting between my chest and arms. “You ok now Fluttershy?”

“Yes I’ve calmed down. Although I feel like I should be asking you if you’re alright. You are ok right?”

“Yeah I’m good.” I released her from my arms and stood up. “Sorry about that everyone I was just a little surprised and lost my balance.” I chuckled. “It seems as though the surprise part, of this surprise party, has so far been a complete success.” I looked around the library to see streamers, games, and party food had all been set about the room. “Judging from the awesome decorations it seems as though the latter part of the surprise party will also become a success.” I smiled at everyone.

“HOORAY! Cicero likes my party decorations!!!” Pinkie Pie said bouncing around excitedly. “Now I can add planning parties for aliens onto my super duper awesome fun party list.” Pinkie Pie pulled out a massive scroll, again using her strange powers, and checked a box on the list.

Instead of fighting my confusion I just laughed. “Even if I studied you for years I don’t i’d ever comprehend how you do the reality breaking things you do Pinkie.”

Pinkie Pie grinned. “Now you’re getting it!” she said. I smiled in return and shook my head.

“I’m amazed you managed to set all this up so fast. Twilight and I weren’t gone for that much of the day.”

“That’s because I didn’t do it alone silly. I had helps from all of my friends. Setting up parties is fun but doing it together with friends is even better!”

“And if you want something done fast, even if it’s setting up parties, you call the fastest pegasus in Equestria,” Rainbow dash proudly said. I grinned at her words.

“Well I really appreciate all of the work you guys did to set up this party for me on such short notice. After everything you girls have done for me since I arrived here I believe I owe each of you a debt, and I always repay my debts. If you ever want or need anything from me please don’t hesitate to ask. I will do my utmost to fulfill any request you give me.” Normally I wouldn’t give such a blanket favor to people in the fear that they would misuse it. However ponies had proven their good intentions to me through their recent actions. Trust is a two way street and I needed to do my part as I wasn’t fulfilling it with the suspicion I had just shown. Even if I didn’t completely trust them yet I felt it was prudent to show some of my good will towards them.

Twilight spoke up. “Cicero thank you for the offer but you don’t need to do that. We didn’t plan this party to garner your fa-”

“I want a race!” Rainbow Dash yelled over her. Twilight turned and scolded Rainbow Dash. “What? He said said he would give us a favor and I want to race against a fast opponent. It’s been too long since I had a challenge.”

Before Twilight could chastise Rainbow Dash I decided to cut in. “Twilight don’t worry about it. I didn’t offer because I felt obligated. I apologize if it came out that way. I offered because I’m truly grateful for the help you girls have given me and because I want to be kind in return.” I then looked at Rainbow Dash. “Are you sure that’s what you want Rainbow Dash? When my people offer a favor it’s the equivalent of a contract.” I was of course speaking of my true heritage and not the humans. Offering a favor as a human didn’t hold nearly as much significance in human society. “If you truly want a challenging opponent to race I will go all out against you.”

“Heck yeah! Let’s see what you can do!” Rainbow dash zoomed around the room excited at the prospect of a good race.

“Very well. We’ll have it sometime later this week. I need to get adjusted to Ponyville and prepare for it.”

“Enough about favors silly! This is your party and we should be having fun!”

“Haha damn right! Let’s get this party started!” And party we did. For the next couple of hours the girls showed me how parties were done in Equestria. For the first hour they showed me how ponies danced. It was interesting to see the heavy differences between pony and human dance styles. While each girl had their own unique way to dance the general mechanics of pony dancing were much more subdued than humans.

Even though the girls were much more flexible than any ponies you’d find on earth, their quadrupedal bodies limited their movement radius. So while humans would gyrate their entire body around ponies generally stuck to waving their legs and necks about. Dancing with them at first was a bit strange, but as it was all in good fun I didn’t mind looking a fool. Based on the moves they displayed while we danced I figured I probably wasn’t the only rookie on the dance floor.

The next hour the girls showed me some of the more common party games they played in Equestria. These included pin the tail on the pony, bobbing for apples, charades, musical beanbags, and many more. While most of these games seemed to be better suited for children I still found myself having a blast. Perhaps it was the childish innocence of the ponies that seemed to inject every game we played with an extra dose of fun. No matter what it was I decided it didn’t really matter as long as everyone was having a good time.

Around the third hour Pinkie Pie had decided to show off her collection of party foods she had made. Homemade punch, cupcakes, and snacks were aplenty. I reached over and grabbed one of the red velvet cupcakes Pinkie Pie had brought. Taking a bite my eyes lit up in joy. This cupcake was perfect! Not to soggy or too firm. Sweet but not painfully so. Just enough icing to accent the cake's flavor but enough to overwhelm it. I had to say something.

“Pinkie Pie this is the without a doubt the best cupcake I have ever eaten. In fact it might just be the best baked good i’ve ever had as well. If all of your baked goods are this good have you considering opening a bakery or selling them somewhere?” Pinkie Pie laughed at me.

“Silly Cicero! I work at a bakery in town. So anybody can come and get my yummy pastries and cakes whenever they want! Didn’t I mention that to you yesterday?”

I laughed. “I think you were so excited about meeting an alien yesterday that you forgot to mention what you did. I figured I’d find out at some point so I didn’t pry. However now that I know and I’ve had one of your delicious cupcakes I promise to come by once I get some money.”

“Hooray! I can introduce you to my bosses. Maybe they’ll even let you in the back so you can show me some human baked goods.”

“Who knows. If they let me in the kitchen I’ll do my best to show you what I know but i’m warning you now, my skills in this area are barely proficient. While I may have a decent collection of treats memorized I never really had the skills to bake them.”

“That’s ok. No matter what baking with a friend is always better than baking alone!” Pinkie Pie happily bounced away to go talk to Fluttershy who looked like she was trying to sink into a corner and disappear. Guess her nervousness wasn’t because of me, or at least not entirely so. She’s probably a natural introvert. I grabbed a glass of Pinkie’s homemade punch and took a sip. Just like her other creations i’d tried so far the punch was also delicious.

“So what’s the deal with your eyes?” Rainbow Dash boldly questioned. “I know you offered to race me but if you’re blind won’t you just go crashing around into things?” I choked on my punch as I laughed. Swallowing what was in my mouth and coughing I turned to Rainbow Dash still chuckling.

“Contrary to what you might think I am not in fact blind. While I do keep my eyes closed I can see perfectly fine and as such will not go crashing around into things, as you said. I have a medical condition that requires me to keep my eyes closed. Most people that I meet find it strange but usually get over it rather quickly. Also might I say it’s rather refreshing to not have someone dodge around a question like you. Most people refuse to directly mention or talk about my eyes in conversations. They only allude to related subjects in the hopes that I’ll talk about my eyes on my own.”

“Cicero darling please don’t encourage her,” Rarity called. “She’s uncouth enough as it is without you praising her lack of tact.”

I cracked up at Rarity's words as Rainbow Dash retorted, “What’s the big deal? If you have a question, you ask it. I don’t see the problem.” Rarity went off on a tangent about manners and acting proper as a mare should. Rainbow Dash seemed to be trying to ignore her without hurting her feelings. I noticed the other ponies had stopped and were staring at the two’s interactions with smiles on their faces. Well at least they heard what I said about my eyes. Now I won’t have to deal with that question again for a while.

Eventually Rarity stopped her tirade and let Rainbow Dash go. After another hour of general party revelry all of the girls realized how late it was. Each one of them gave me their individual goodbye along with promises to hang out again and then left. After all was said and done it was just Twilight and I left in the library. “So why didn’t Spike come to the party?” I asked.

“As a baby dragon Spike gets tired easily and decided to go to bed early.”

“Well at least Pinkie left us some cupcakes. We can give him some tomorrow since he didn’t get to party with us.”

“Good idea Cicero,” Twilight said yawning, “but for tonight, as everypony else said, it’s late and I’m tired. I’m going to go to bed now. I’ll see you later in the day when you get back from Applejacks. Night Cicero.”

“Goodnight Twilight. Thank you again for today.” She smiled back at me and trotted up the stairs to her bedroom. Realizing that I should get to bed soon if I wanted to be rested for work tomorrow I climbed the stairs up to the third floor shortly after Twilight had ascended them. I entered my temporary room and made my way over to bed. I thought about meditating before bed but remembered that farm work, while exhausting, is also usually extremely repetitious.

I figured after AppleJack showed me the ropes tomorrow I could probably meditate on what I had learned today while working. Even if the work might be repetitious I was still looking forward to working on her farm tomorrow. It had been a long time since I had worked on a farm. Most people didn’t like all of the hard work and sweat that came with the job but I was quite fond of it. There’s something about working with the land that grants your mind a simple sense of peace. With this happy thought in my mind I laid my head down and promptly fell asleep.