"So, that should about cover it... I guess?" Twilight glanced at Miles from the corner of her eye, trying her damnedest to read his blank expression. "Of course, there's a lot more for you to know and learn, and I so desperately want to dump everything on you, but..." Twilight pawed at her desk for a moment as she desperately resisted the urge to splurge anything and everything about her world to this alien newcomer. Miles folded his arms and leaned back in his seat.

"Don't worry, Twilight. Thank you for the introduction. I'll have my answers prepared when the test comes around." Twilight's ears perked upon hearing this, and she shot bolt upright with a poorly concealed grin rippling across her features.

"O-Oh, the t-test?! Did I mention a...?" Twilight trailed off before shaking her head. Miles took note of how her mane somehow seemed to remain kempt in spite of the erratic movement. A spell of some kind? "W-Well, how about we have the test nex-"

"-Don't worry, Twilight," Miles said, holding up a hand, "I was kidding; I remember everything you told me just fine."

Twilight looked somewhat deflated, yet swiftly returned to her friendly-princess smile with practiced fluidity. "Ah, I see... We've been here for a while now, so I guess we can chat about your world next time."

Miles stood from his seat and wandered over to the window behind Twilight, addressing her as he gazed across the open landscape before him. "So, I'm lost in a world of various sapient creatures, of which some can use magic. You mentioned that there is some way for non-magical creatures to also make use of magic, but that it's complicated..." Miles whirled his eyes back over his shoulder, glaring at Twilight as she looked shyly down at her desk, unaware of his gaze. "My experience with 'magic' thus far has been..." he trailed off into a breathy whisper to himself, "Less than pleasant..."

Twilight looked over her shoulder to meet his gaze, and Miles turned himself to face her. Twilight seemed perplexed by part of his comment that she heard. "You've experienced magic already...?"

Miles raised an eyebrow at her in confusion and said, "Yes - you teleported before we entered this room; I witnessed Discord appear from behind me earlier; I was supposedly brought here via magic... Need I go on?"

As though caught with her hoof in the cookie jar, Twilight's ears jerked upwards for a moment before flattening down onto her scalp in embarrassment. "O-Oh, yeah... Silly me. Hehe..." She folded one hoof over the other and looked off to her right at nothing in particular.

Returning his attention to the window, Miles began to drum his fingers along the windowsill in contemplation. After a few moments, he continued. "As for your offer to allow me to take refuge in your castle, I am indeed very grateful. It will do until I can find my own footing."

"Ah, yes! I'll let you have a portion of my royal stipend to keep you afloat," chirped Twilight.

"Thankyou, Twilight. Well, this may be a strange new world, but I do have skills I'm sure could be put to use... Even despite your 'magic'." Miles narrowly avoided spitting the last word with all the venom of a striking cobra.

"Ah, that's great to hear!" Twilight beamed up at him happily.

Miles leaned down to Twilight's level once again. "So, shall we be off then to visit the others?" Miles purred into her ear. "I'm dying to make everyone's acquaintance with a little more intimacy." He offered an outstretched hand to help her to her hooves.

Twilight hopped off her seat as though she had been sitting over a pit of hot coals and hurriedly trotted around behind Miles before turning to face him, leaving him looking where she just was in surprise. He withdrew his hand with a grimace and turned. Twilight seemed somewhat hurried. "Y-Yes, of course! Hold still for a second..." she murmured. Before Miles could so much as open his mouth, Twilight charged up her horn and blipped them both into the living space once again.

Miles looked unsteady once they appeared, putting a hand to his head for a brief moment in frustration. "Still not used to this accursed teleportation..."

A nervous giggle rang out beside him, followed by the clip clop of hooves as Twilight made her way over to a seat behind him. "S-Sorry! I'm sure you'll get used to it in no time."

Turning to glance around the room, Miles saw trepidation written across the faces of most of those present; Twilight, however, was struggling to meet his gaze, her face slightly flushed. Miles smirked slightly as he felt a bite on his lure, but the moment was short lived as he realised he was once again the centre of attention, being the lone person in the room to not be yet seated.

Miles felt an odd chill run up his spine as he noticed a bright pink pony with a very fluffy mane was looking at him with stars in its eyes... Literally. He shook his head slightly and thought little of it as he made his way over to the space available between an orange pony and a white pony. Someone looking at him funny is far from the most bizarre thing to happen to him today, after all. After a few moments of silence, the orange pony turned to address him. "Howd-"

A lone finger pierced the air with all the speed and silence of a bullet whipping across an empty plain, slicing through the words of the orange pony the instant she began to speak. Everyone in the room gasped slightly and leaned back in surprise, unsure of what such a sudden gesture could mean. Celestia even jumped off of her seat and looked about ready to run Miles through for a moment. Miles had opened his own mouth to speak as his finger raised, however the reaction from those in the room had left him somewhat bemused, as he glanced at Celestia for a moment before she coughed in embarrassment and returned to her seat.

"So... Before I get to know you all personally, as I am quite eager to do, I should add; I'm afraid I have a burning question on my mind." Miles lowered his finger and the others in the room immediately relaxed. Miles leaned forwards slightly, smiling ever so slightly as several others in the room mirrored his movement. "Judging by your appearances, everyone in this room besides me is a female, correct?" He then winced as a squeaking shout dug into his skull with all the subtlety of a bulldozer.

"Yeperoo!!!" The pink pony leapt into the air and somersaulted herself over and past him. She then bolted across the room several times, moving faster than his eyes could follow. She came to a sudden stop, standing in front of him with her nose touching his as he leaned forwards in his chair. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! The super-duper-bestest-partyest-est pony party planner in Ponyville!"

The room went deadly silent for a moment, with the pink mare grinning to high heaven and seemingly frozen in space-time as Miles met her gleeful expression with one of masked irritation. However, his expression quickly became one of major alarm as he felt a sudden yet forceful impulse coarse through his body; he had recently been denied that which he craved the most, after all. It felt as though molten magma was burning him from the inside out, trying its absolute best to bust its way through his superego in a fit of carnal rage. The silence was ringing in his ears like a cacophony of tortured wails.

He discreetly reached into his pocket and ran his finger across the tip of the broken quill therein as he began to frown; his eyes shrunk into pinpricks and the beginnings of a wretched smile tugged at his cheeks. The gleeful smile from the pony in front of him waned ever so slightly at his reaction.

This pony was so small and innocent. So irritating... Such an easy target... Thoughts of his mother barraged their way through his internal war.

Seconds passed like minutes as Miles felt his inner impulses battle it out for supremacy when suddenly, the tiny reptile shouted across the room, slicing through the silence like a rocket through the atmosphere.

"Pinkie! We are not all girls, remember?! I'm here too!" Their stare-down was broken as quickly as it had started.

Pinkie gasped and looked over at her favourite little dragon, bouncing over to greet him.

Miles sighed quietly as he straightened out his already-straight collar to recompose himself with steady breaths. It would spell the end for him to lose his composure so early.

"Oh, Spike! Of course I remember, silly!" Miles noted the little lizard's face turn from angry to terrified in the blink of an eye as the mare's rapid bouncing seemed not to be slowing as she approached him.

Miles felt a hoof land gently yet firmly on his shoulder, and he turned to face the orange mare it belonged to. Pinkie and Spike were causing chaos on the other side of the room as the mare spoke.

"Never mind them, sugarcube. My name's Applejack, an' it's a pleasure ta meet ya!" Applejack then offered him her hoof and shook his hand vigorously.

"The pleasure is all mine," Miles replied.

Applejack then pointed back over his shoulder. "This here's Rarity." The small yet elegant looking mare waved daintily at Miles as he turned to greet her.

"How do you do, darling?" asked Rarity.

After observing her demeanour for a moment, Miles reached out and grasped her waving hoof, bringing it to his lips as he kissed the tip and then clasped his other hand over the top of her hoof with a gentle nod. He uttered not a word, and while her initial reaction was one of surprise, she visibly relaxed at his action, even shuffling in her seat slightly as she got comfortable. Miles then glanced across the rest of the room, allowing each pony to introduce themselves in turn.

"I'm Starlight Glimmer." Miles noticed this one sounded somewhat deadpan as she spoke. He had expected her to add more, but was left disappointed.

"And I'm Rainbow Dash, the fastest flyer in Equestria! I'm also a Wonderbolt a-"

"-You've already met myself and Pinkie Pie, as well as I believe Fluttershy and Discord. Those two aren't here right now, but at least you've made their acquaintance," Twilight interrupted Rainbow. She ignored the irritated protests of the cyan blue pegasus as she spoke to Miles.

"I suppose you could say that..." Miles muttered to himself.

"Hmm?"

"Nothing. Please, continue."

"Okay, then... I don't think Spike is really in a position to introduce himself right now." Twilight glanced over at the commotion on the other side of the room as Pinkie Pie gave Spike what looked to be a playful yet painful noogie to his head. "He's a baby dragon, and serves as my personal assistant around the castle. We've known each other for all of his life."

Miles listened patiently before turning his head upon hearing someone clear their throat to his left. To Miles's irritation, it was the large, white pony. She addressed him with all the warmth of ice-water flowing between his toes. "My name is Celestia; I am Princess of the Sun and joint ruler of Equestria with my sister Luna, here." Celestia signalled over to her sister, who nodded in Miles's direction, yet offered no words.

Having 'met' everyone in the room, Miles decided to address them all at once. "I must admit, I'm still very much confused and shocked about this whole situation. For all I know, I may well be dreaming..." He placed a hand to his chin for a moment in thought. "Hmm, I suppose that hardly matters; I'll be getting to know you all and your world in good time, and Twilight has offered to let me stay here in the castle until I sort myself some stability." Starlight and Celestia shot concerned glances the way of an embarrassed-looking Twilight.

"Y-Yes, so I think we should all probably go home for today so Miles and I can finalise our living arrangeme-"

Poof!

Twilight was cut off as Discord and Fluttershy blinked into existence in the room mid-conversation with each other. "And then you know what I told him?!" Discord asked Fluttershy excitedly.

Fluttershy looked as though she was about to burst out laughing. "W-What did you say?" she forced out between suppressed giggles.

"I told him that I hid it behind his left ear, but when he felt to check, I made it appear on his nose! Ohohaha!"

"Oh, Discord, you're so mean!" Fluttershy scolded, yet couldn't help but giggle at whatever it was they were discussing.

Discord looked up to meet the eyes of an irritated looking Twilight. "Oh, well hello there, Twilight! Ah, and the rest of the gang, too! You're all still here." He opened his arms wide. "Thankyou for waiting for us. You're such good friends..." Discord's arms extended and weaved around the room, surrounding the ponies and pulling them towards him like fish in a net. "Group hug!"

Miles noticed, with gratitude, that he had not been included in the hug. He carefully observed their varied reactions to the surprise embrace. Twilight and Rainbow Dash appeared furious, while most of the others merely looked like they were waiting for it to be over.

Fluttershy's cheeks flushed and she was looking up at Discord's face with a gentle smile as she embraced the hug, holding onto his torso tightly. Discord himself hadn't noticed this, since he was busy chuckling at the group's collective annoyance.

Rarity was desperately covering her mane with her hooves in an effort to keep it pristine; she seemed desperate and close to tears. Pinkie Pie was giggling with joy while somehow still holding onto Spike, who looked about ready to spiritually pass on to the next plane of existence any second as the eternal noogie continued.

"A-Actually, Discord, we were just about to all go back home for the day..." Twilight struggled and yelped as she tried to free herself from Discord's grasp. Eventually, he gave in and let everyone go.

"Oh, well that's a shame... I was hoping to chat some more with my dear new friend Miles over there." Discord looked up at Miles and their eyes met for a brief moment. Miles's expression was blank, but Discord held his usual cocky smirk the entire time. Twilight looked deep in thought for a moment before she lit up with an idea, giving Discord a smirk of her own.

"Hmm, well... Maybe you can meet up soon or something... Oh, I know! He could join you and Fluttershy on one of your weekly get-togethers! How does that sound, Miles?" Twilight asked. She looked over to Miles upon her offer, and he shrugged in response.

"I suppose I wouldn't mind getting to know the two of them better. Besides, I feel as though Discord and I got off on the wrong foot," said Miles.

"The wrong what?" replied Twilight.

"Never mind," Miles sighed.

Discord squinted as though he had just sucked a thousand lemons, about to berate Twilight for even suggesting such a thing, as well as having the gall to suggest Miles come to their get-together when it's not her place to offer it. However, he eventually tsked as Fluttershy placed a hoof upon his leg and gave him a reassuring smile. "You know what? Fine, why not?! But just this once... Just this once." Discord narrowed his eyes at Miles. Twilight sighed in exasperation.

Discord finally snapped his talons and disappeared, yet reappeared a second later, looking down at Fluttershy with an excited smile on his face. "Oh! I almost forgot; would you like me to take you home, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy looked around the room for a moment before gently shaking her head with a shy smile. "O-Oh, um, thank you for the offer, Discord, b-but I think I'll have a walk home today with the others. I'd like to get some fresh air as the day wears on... I-I'm sorry..."

Discord blew a raspberry and hit the back of his own head so that his eyes came tumbling out. Princess Luna looked horrified and gasped in terror for a moment, receiving a raised eyebrow from Celestia. Surely Luna should have been used to Discord's antics by now?

He caught the eyeballs in his paw and rolled them across the floor to Pinkie, who picked them up and rolled them over in her hooves for a moment before jumping in the air like a cat as their pupils became mouths. "Yah!!!" They then jumped back across the floor to Discord using their tongues before he popped them back into his head. "Fine, fine, I understand..." He folded his arms for a moment and pouted before resuming. "Have a fantastic rest of your day, everyone. Adieu!" With another snap, he was gone.

There were collective sighs of relief from most in the room once he was gone. Fluttershy shook her head and giggled slightly.

Eventually, everyone else said their farewells and parted ways, leaving just Miles, Twilight, Starlight and Spike behind.

"So, Miles. How's about we sort a room out for you to stay in for now?" Twilight offered.

Before Miles could reply, Starlight interrupted, "Yeah, well, I'm gonna go back to the school to get my stuff ready for the new week's start." She immediately set off for the door without waiting for a reply, making her way out of the castle.

"O-Okay..." Twilight looked somewhat concerned at how bored Starlight sounded. Why was she not excited and intrigued about this entire inter-dimensional event with Miles? No matter, she could have Spike help her out. "So, Spi-" When Twilight glanced down, the little dragon was already gone, clearly not wanting to deal with Twilight putting him to work to serve their new guest. Twilight looked up at Miles and laughed nervously as her ears flattened against her head. "Ehehe... A-Alright, this way, please. We'll set you up in one of the guest bedrooms for now."

Miles watched her trot away, his mind racing. All the work he had done back on Earth had all gone to waste. However, this new world was supposedly a lot smaller than Earth, so he would hopefully have less trouble. It was only a matter of time from there. However he would need to be more careful about keeping his urges in check; he had to make sure he did everything by the book.

Miles clenched and unclenched his fist as he set off to follow Twilight. His mind flooded with possibilities, making the outwardly silent journey between the two towards the bedroom quiet and awkward for one, but hopeful and exciting for the other.

Life had just thrown Miles a curve-ball, and he couldn't wait to get to work on driving it into a home run.

Author's Note

29/09/2024 - Polished up with some additions/rewrites.