As usual, Fluttershy's home was bustling with animal life. Squirrels were climbing up and down every structure, birds hovered in the sky and rested upon trees, Berry the Bear kept himself preoccupied with the bee's and their mystical honey; For Fluttershy, it was just another day in paradise. Unlike most days though, she had company. Unfortunately for her, this company wasn't entirely welcomed, not that she'd ever say it out loud.

Ryan sat with his ass buried in Fluttershy's couch, drunker than an Irishman on Saint Patrick's Day. It wasn't as if she didn't like him, she just didn't like how he acted a lot of the time, especially when he was intoxicated. What was bad at one point would become catastrophic when mixed with enough alcohol to kill a small elephant. Which, in all honesty, isn't that much seeing how their livers can't process alcohol.

But still, he's pretty far gone.

Luckily, Ryan wasn't the one she was stuck with, it was her good friend Rarity; Who just so happened to be complaining about Ryan. This has been going on for several minutes. If she had the heart, Fluttershy would have tuned out Rarity just seconds after the rant began. However, she couldn't summon up the courage to do such a thing. Instead, she listened to her friend bicker and whine about his behavior.

The conversation itself was mostly one-sided, if not completely. She was paying attention the whole time, but her interest in the topic didn't pick up until Rarity brought up one specific topic. "I didn't want to believe it at first, but everything points to him singling me out." She said, sounding almost upset by this small fact, "It's not like it bothers me...Okay, it does. But, more in a 'Why me of all ponies?' kind of way. Do you know what I mean?"

Fluttershy was becoming rather encaptivated by the conversation now, but couldn't say that she sympathized with how Rarity was feeling. "I think so?"

Rarity let out a loud groan before burying her face into her palms. "Celestia, what am I gonna do?"

Feeling sorry for her friend, she felt inclined to offer her a helping hand. "If you would like, I can watch over him for a bit while you recuperate."

Rarity appreciated the offer, but she wouldn't wish that kind of torment on such a close friend. "I wouldn't hear of it, darling. You know me; I just need to rant for a moment then I can start to collect myself. " She explained, not quite including all of the details as to why she came to this particular friend's home with the human.

Speaking of...

Ryan stumbled into the room that Fluttershy and Rarity had taken refuge in. He was dressed in a pair of old blue jeans, a green shirt with the words 'Shamrock Pub' printed across his chest, and a grey herringbone, wool hat. As he stumbled into the room, he couldn't help but notice the look of discontent on both ponies faces as they spotted him.

Both ponies cared for him, as they do their other friends, but seeing him in this state was just disgraceful. Drinking to have fun was one thing for him, but doing it out of defeat was just shameful.

He took the hint that they didn't want him around them, so settled with leaving the two in peace once more. However, unknown to the mares, he took it a step further by leaving the cottage all-together. Once outside he was welcomed by the bright shining sun and the cool air. A small sense of relief washed over him as he stepped out into the world and started walking towards Ponyville.

Obviously, it was a silent trip. Not like he had any company, aside from his own mind, but he was too plastered to hear what was going on up there. Each step he took was as graceless as the last as he struggled to continue moving in one solid direction. Before too long he found himself back in the town he called home.

A bit of nostalgia made itself known as he thought back to small towns like this in his world. Most of the ones near him were filled with the sound of sirens and gunshots, but it was still home to him. That was the life he knew and had grown to tolerate. He could appreciate the amount of peace in this world, as well as the colorful landscape and friendly faces. But, it just wasn't the same. He may not have liked his old world that much, but he couldn't help but miss the small things about it.

All in all, he was practically a reflection of all of the places he had grown up in. His bad attitude from living in the ghetto, his strength and determination from living on a farm, his survival skills from being homeless; Everything he did was a reflection on the lives that he lived prior to this one. Most of them he found upsetting though, so thinking back to them didn't do him any justice. With these depressing thoughts in mind, he could only settle on one thing to help him clear his mind.

Another short walk later, he found himself at the hidden pub Rarity once introduced him to. It was still early, so the small bar was pretty much empty, aside from two or three ponies likely in the same state of mind as him. Only a depressed alcoholic would be in a bar at two in the afternoon.

His eyes scanned the area as his brain replayed the events of the last time he was here. Everything was exactly as he remembered, aside from the bartender. Unlike the last one, this pony seemed much more approachable and kind. Seeing that to be as good a welcome as any other, Ryan walked over to the counter, taking a seat in between two stallions larger than him.

On his left was a pony who could only be described as a brick-shit house. He was pure muscle with a coat as white as snow and a blonde mane with a military style cut to it. Ryan felt like this guy's shirt was going to explode with how much muscle was just slapped onto this one. On his right was another pony, this one not as built, but no less intimidating with his massive size and defined muscles. His fur coat was a light shade of red and his mane was dark grey, almost black.

"Did I miss the memo on roiding out before coming in today?" Ryan asked unintentionally, quickly earning both stallion's attention. "Seriously, y'all make inadequate as fuck."

The brown stallion on his right was the first to speak up. "What even are you?" He asked in a deep, almost threatening tone. "You look like a monkey that just shaved off all of its hair."

Normally Ryan could take this kind of punishment, but with how he was feeling at the moment, it only further reminded him that he didn't belong here. "Can I get a god damn drink already?"

The barkeep nodded, grabbing a beer from behind the counter and placing it in front of the human. Ryan twisted the lid off, taking a generous sip of the beverage.

"Give the guy a break, Tone." Said the stallion on the human's left, "I know he looks weird, but he's a stand-up...uh, thing." He explained, not really knowing what Ryan was either. "A real party animal, fun to be around; When he's not like this, at least." The muscley stallion scanned the human beside him, quickly noticing his melancholy appearance. "What's got you so down?"

Ryan set his drink down, not bothering to look at either of them as he answered. "Just realizing that I'm as useless here as I was back in my own world." He said bluntly, not really offering up much else in his defense.

Toned Biceps' curiosity on the creature was only growing. It claimed to be from a different world, which isn't hard to believe, nor was it something that occurred very frequently. Despite this, he only found himself becoming aggravated by the human's depressing tone. "Quit your whining." He said, taking a drink from a large wooden mug in front of him. It wasn't that he had something against this particular character, but he was sick of those who complained about what they don't have. "You should be happy with what you've got and appreciate it while you still have it. It's not like whatever it is is gonna kill you."

Ryan let out an annoyed sigh, feeling as though an argument was about to break out. "I know, but that doesn't stop me from feeling like shit about the things I can't do." He explained, his tone of voice picking up defensively. "I'm content with what I have, but when the only thing I'm good at is thrown in my face like a pile of shit on the road it tends to make me feel pretty fucking useless."

Toned didn't like Ryan's attitude, but one look from his brother kept him from starting an all-out massacre in the little pub. Rather than ash out, the pony fell silent, focusing only on his drink.

Ryan took another sip of his beer, thinking about what the pony said to him. He told him that he was happy with what he had, but that wasn't entirely true. Part of him loved this place while another missed his home world. Granted, there wasn't much for him to go back to. Hell, going back home would likely result in him living under a bridge again. In comparison, his life here was a thousand time better. He wasn't homeless, he didn't have to worry about being mugged or shot on a daily basis, and he had friends that were willing to back him up and do anything for him so long as he asked. Yet, here he was, sitting at a bar, moping. And why? Because he couldn't bone one of the mare's he had an interest in.

That burly stallion may be a dick, but he was right. Ryan was letting all of the good in his new life be overshadowed by something so insignificant that...Well, he didn't even know what to describe it to, which only made it that much more obvious how little of an impact it really had on his life. So he couldn't fuck Fluttershy, so what!? So this world isn't the one he was born in; Oh fucking well! It beats the fuck outta the other one anyway, so why complain?

As this revelation kicked in, both of Ryan's hands came up and smacked into his face as he tilted his head back and took a sharp inhale. "Oh my fucking God, you're right!" He yelled, making the small number of ponies in the pub jump from the sudden vocalization. "What the hell is wrong with me?"

Toned took advantage of this, using it as leeway to insult the creature once again. "You're a little punk who doesn't know how to handle failure."

Bulk, on the other side of Ryan, was about to speak up. However, the human jumped off of his stool, keeping himself in the white stallions way. "Right again!" He confessed with a much more upbeat tone. "With that in mind; How about you two aid this quivering pussy-" Ryan threw up his hands, pointing both of his thumbs at himself. "in having a good time right here, right now?"

Fluttershy was overwhelmed with feelings of guilt as they continued to find no sign of their human friend. "Why did we ignore him like that?" She asked herself, "We should have known he would get upset and leave." She continued speaking to herself as she searched in the most ridiculous of places that Ryan could be hiding in. "I feel so terrible! What if he never wants to see us again? What if he hates us now and ran away forev-"

The unnaturally frantic mare was silenced as Rarity forced a hand over her mouth. "Fluttershy, darling; Please calm down! I understand your distress, but I don't think the situation is that extreme." She explained, doing her best to calm her normally timid friend. "I'm sure he hasn't gone far. If anything he went home, which would be a blessing for the both of us."

Fluttershy nervously grabbed at Rarity's hand, pulling it from her muzzle. "I still feel bad though. Maybe we could go by his house and see if he's okay?" She all but begged, hoping that their friend wasn't out getting himself into trouble, or severely upset with them.

Rarity sighed, seeing this as the only way to calm her down. "Fine, we can go check on him."

It wasn't too long of a trip to Ryan's place. The normally slow Fluttershy moved at a fairly brisk pace to make sure they made it to Ryan's house as quickly as possible. Once there, rarity grabbed the key to his house from her purse, which earned her an odd look from Fluttershy.

"When did you get a key to Ryan's house?" She asked curiously, being unaware that any of her friends were in possession of one. To her knowledge, Ryan like to be left alone a lot of the time. "Is he giving on to all of us?"

Again, Rarity felt herself becoming flustered by the idea that Ryan was singling her out among all of his other friends. She had assumptions and theories as to why, but would need to have a stern talking with him to be sure. Pushing those thoughts aside, she unlocked the door and they searched the house.

It was empty.

Fluttershy started to panic again. "Oh no! Where could he be?" She asked no pony in particular. "He could be lost, or hurt, or-" As she continued to rattle on about all of the bad things that could happen, Rarity stood off in the background, analyzing the area to find a clue as to where Ryan may have gone.

There were signs that he wasn't even here, her ability to pay attention to detail told her that much, seeing how nothing looked as though it had moved, not even the beer bottles decorating the floor. "Wait a minute..." She muttered to herself, eyeing the empty bottles. Suddenly, it were as if a light bulb had turned on above her head. "I think I know where he is."

Rarity didn't know why she hadn't figured it out before. Ryan clearly wasn't in the right state of mind and so far he's done nothing but drink to help himself cope. His house was devoid of many alcoholic beverages, what with him sucking them all down like a fish with water as of late, so there was only one possible conclusion.

The unicorn led her friend to the discreetly present bar in Ponyville, feeling sure of herself that she would find him there. He'd probably be passed out on the counter, but at least they'd have found him. Upon entering it was nearly an exact repeat of when she came here with Twilight. However, there were a few key differences.

For one; Ryan had all of his clothes on and wasn't on the counter. For two; The number of ponies was dramatically reduced. Other than that, the scenario wasn't too much different. There was music playing and in the center of the room two stallions and one human stood off against each other, each one dancing oddly.

"Well, swing a little more! Little more! O'er the merry-o!"
Ryan was moving his legs every other direction, focusing all of his movements purely in those appendages while his arms remained crossed behind his back. They would swing around each other, bending to some uncomfortable, yet intentional, angles at a speed that matched the song's. His feet tapped against the floor just hard enough to elicit a tap at his toes met with the solid ground with every step.

"Swing a little more Little more! Next to me..."
The stallions on the other side of the room were trying to mimic and keep up with the movement in his legs, failing miserably and occasionally stopping because the awkward movement caused their legs to become sore or cramp up. Their arms were outstretched, in an attempt to keep themselves balanced as they tried to copy his moves.

"Swing a little more! Little more! O'er the merry-o! Swing a little more, on the devil's dance floor! Swing a little more on the devil's dance floor! Swing a little more on the the devil's...dance...floor!"
As the song came to an end, so did the dance. Ryan finally stopped, letting his feet rest and outstretching his arms in a cocky manner as the stallions took a few deep breath to recollect themselves.

Ignoring the other ponies, Rarity and Fluttershy made their way to the human, looking shocked by his sudden change in mood. For the first time in a good while, Ryan was beaming with happiness. He was having fun.

When the mare's were less than a foot from Ryan, he finally took notice of them. "Top of the mornin' to ya, lassies." He said in an odd accent, one that sounded as if he lived among the thestral ponies in the northern mountains. "What brings ya ta my side'a town?"

"Ryan..." Rarity all but muttered in disbelief. "You look so..." She paused, not knowing exactly what to say.

"I am feelin' much better about meself, yes." Ryan said in the same accent, knowing what his friend was intending to say. He grabbed Rarity be the waist and pulled her close to him, to which she responded by letting out an adorable squeak. “And you bein' here is just a bonus." He planted a firm kiss on Rarity's lips.

Though surprised at first, Rarity found herself more than willing to return the gesture. Her confusion of how he felt about her and how he was acting earlier completely vanished as she let herself melt into him. The shy pegasus who accompanied her could only watch, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

Ryan broke the kiss, his bright blue eyes staring into Rarity's. His stomach started to turn, but in a good way. It was the feeling you would get when you finally learn that someone you cared deeply for cared equally for you. He was happy with what they had and didn't want to risk ruining it. He knew she cared for him, but wondered if it was in the same way. Though he hoped she did, he'd never confess such a thing to her.

At least, he wouldn't in a clearer state of mind. Just as he was about to spill his guts out to her, he felt a familiar presence nearby. Almost out of instinct, he glanced up to the pub's entrance to see Rainbow Dash standing there with tears in her eyes. She didn't say anything; Instead she closed her eyes and stormed away, quickly taking to the skies.

For the first time in a hot minute, Ryan's brain actually started functioning properly.

I have a bad feeling about this for some reason...

Author's Note

Okay! I'm drunk! What do you expect? It's Saint Patrick's Day and my family comes from Ireland. I have a god damn excuse! Let me know if I fucked up anywhere in here, I'm my only editor, so I know I did.

Remember to beat the shit out of that like button and leave comments. I feel special that way :P