The Music Guides Meby SquidgyManChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 1Everything was dark. I've never felt the sensation of floating, but I'm pretty sure I was. Very faintly, I could hear I'm Alright, by Rynx echoing through my mind. This was the last song I remember playing on my Pandora as I drifted to sleep. The music slowly trailed off, leading me to believe that I was falling deeper into my sleep. Suddenly, a growing pain spread from the center of my spine, and throughout my body, as if an unseen force was twisting my body. All of the air escaped my lungs, and my eyes shot open as I gasped. Life quickly returned to my body, although it didn't feel that way. I laid there in... wherever I was, catching what little breaths I could. Subconsciously I reached for my glasses. Instead, I got a handful of grass and dirt. I confusedly whipped my head to where I was reaching to see myself in a field. Okay... I thought to myself. I distinctly remember falling asleep in my apartment, so I immediately wrote this off as some sort of dream. With that knowledge in mind, I closed my eyes and imagined my glasses being on my face. When they open, the world was still a massive blur of green and blue. I fiddled in my pocket and pulled out my phone, thankfully my earbuds were still wrapped around it. At least it was something to keep myself sane in this maddening silence. I gently pushed the earbuds into my ears and pulled my phone about four inches from my face before I punched in the password and scrolled through my music library. After what seemed about a lifetime of scrolling, I finally settled on a song. Miki - Devilman Crybaby OST A happy sigh escaped my lips as the sound of music flowed through my mind. I began to take in as much of the environment as I could. The sun wasn't terribly hot as to bake my flesh, but it felt as if it were transitioning into the fall season, with the cool breeze blowing through my ridiculously curly hair. Before I knew it, my legs were leading me aimlessly through the field. (My anxious pacing had already begun as I waited for this dream to end.) The air was extremely refreshing, the perfect point between dry and humid. Now that I think about it, this dream was rather vivid. I've had my fair share of lucid dreams, but this was breaking all kinds of personal records. My eyes opened, and I looked up to the skies. A gentle gray blanket of clouds spread across them, as if the world were inverted, I'd still be on solid ground. However as I continued to stare, I saw a singular, blurry, black dot zip across my vision. At first I wrote it off as just a bird, but as my mind replayed the image over and over, I realized that dot was much too big to be a bird. As the music continued to play in my ears, I decided not to trouble myself with overthinking it. Before I took another step, a shadow swept over me. As if by instinct, my knees bent down and I looked straight up. Again, my eyes caught a black blur soaring through the sky. I traced every which-way it was flying. For a bird, its flight pattern was pretty erratic (don't ask me how I know this). Suddenly, the "bird" stopped moving, but the blur was getting bigger. At this point I realized it was coming straight at me. The music playing in my ears slowly turned to a garble as this blur began approaching me rapidly. The same unseen force I felt when I first woke up came over me again. My heartbeat quickly rose as the blur became... a bright neon blur? Before I knew it, the blur was only a few feet from crashing straight into me. My eyes slammed shut, and my arms flew upwards to shield myself, and a huge gust of wind collided with my body, causing me to lose my balance. My earbuds were ripped from my ears, and I did my best to catch them before they flew away completely. I noticed that I was hyperventilating, and my heartbeat had escalated drastically as I desperately clung to my earbuds. "Are you alright?" asked a voice. The voice was scratchy, and tomboyish, but definitely female. Oh God... social interaction, with a female no less. The thought alone terrified me. As saddening as it may be, I've had very minimal interactions with another human being. "I-I... uh... what's happening?" I stuttered. "Well for starters, you're standing in a field, pathetically shielding yourself from me," the voice replied, "which brings me to my next question: what exactly are you?" That question prompted me to slowly pry open my eyes. Albeit a jumbled mix of color, I could still make out a figure. Though this was not just any figure, her stature alone was what kept my mouth shut. She stood at least two feet taller than me, and was pretty built. What intrigued me was the fact that her limbs seemed abnormal, and her face resembled a human's, but... not at the same time. Also she had fucking wings. "Uhm... I... human." I answered. "Uh-huh. Well I can tell you're definitely not a pony." Wha-, p-pony? I squinted my eyes, and surely enough she was definitely not human. Her face slightly resembled that of a "pony's", except it was more refined and curved. She had a set of magenta eyes, and her skin- er, coat, was a bright cyan blue color, and her mane and tail were rainbows, at least from what I can tell. Sporting a workout tank-top and white striped gym shorts, she retained a lot of human qualities, but this woman was definitely not human. "W-where am I?" I asked. "Right now you're on the outskirts of Ponyville, but I have a feeling that's not what you're asking." I replied with a nod. "While I would love to explain all of that to you, I don't really feel like it at the moment." she sighed. Typical. "I don't suppose you know anyone who does, do you?" I inquired. "Yep, I'm pretty sure Twilight would just love to meet a creature from another world." replied the pony, "If anything she's probably the reason why you're here." The way she spoke made this whole thing seem less and less like a dream. The thought didn't excite me too much. Being trapped in a world full of "ponies" without my glasses was not the most ecstatic feeling. Thankfully I had my earbuds, the ultimate form of comfort for an introvert such as myself. My train of thought was interrupted by an abnormal hand being waved in front of my face. "Hello~!? Equus to Human!" I blinked a few times before replying, "Erm, what?" "I was taking you to Twi?" "Oh, right. Lead the way." She raised a brow and gave a slow nod before turning around. I watched as she began walking forward, allowing a small gap between us. After a good distance, I plugged my ears with the earbuds again and brought my phone to my face once more. I didn't scroll through too much as to not lose sight of the vibrant creature in front of me. With the volume cranked up, I followed the mare through the fields. El Huervo - Rust The beats thumped against my eardrums, and the groove ad me rocking my head back and forth as I got as good of a look as I could at my surroundings. I caught a few glimpses of the mare glancing behind her to see if I was still following. Eventually we ended up on a trail with a wooden sign with two arrows pointing in opposite directions. Thanks to my poor eyesight, I could read what was etched into them, but the mare (lord it's so weird referring to her as that) turned in the direction of, what I assumed was "Ponyville". I yanked the earbuds from my head and called to the mare. "Oi, pony-lady. I don't think I caught your name." "First off, it definitely isn't "pony-lady", it's Rainbow Dash. Secondly, I didn't get your name either." replied Rainbow. "Caleb. Just Caleb." "Well then Caleb, pleasure to meet'cha." "Pleasure's all mine, Rainbow Dash." I heard Rainbow give a short chuckle as she slowed down a little to match my pace. I didn't notice because I was staring at my phone again. It wasn't until her face was as close as mine was to the phone that I noticed she was walking beside me. At this point, I wasn't bothered by the fact that I had a seven foot tall anthropomorphic pony standing over me, staring in awe at the shining black rectangle in my hand. I glanced over to see her confused face and sighed. "Here." I said, raising an earbud. "What's this?" she asked. "Put it in your ear." "Why would I-" "Just do it." She gave a disgruntled sigh and snatched the earbud from my hand and pushed it into her ear. I couldn't help by look up at the wire leading into her animalistic ears. As I continued to scroll through my phone for a song that wouldn't sound too weird to her, I eventually found a decent enough song. "Don't be too freaked out." I warned her. "Nothin' freaks me out." replied Rainbow. I scoffed and played the song. Stand By Me - Florence and the Machine Rainbow Dash suddenly yanked the earbud out and gave me a look mixed with confusion and fear. I couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction and shake my head. "Relax Rainbow, it's just music." I told her, holding out the earbud again. "Where was it even coming from?" she asked. "Obviously this thing." I answered, shaking my phone in the air. Rainbow reluctantly took the earbud and pushed it into her ear again, and I started up the song once more. As the soft melody continued to play, I could see Rainbow's frustration slowly fade away. Although I'm sure she was still plenty confused, I allowed her to enjoy the song with me without interruption. The song conveniently ended as we approached the entrance to Ponyville. As I looked up at the massive sign, I stopped dead in my tracks, while Rainbow kept walking. She stopped when the earbud was pulled from her ear, and she turned around. "Caleb?" she called. "I'm about to be the biggest center of attention than I'd like to be, and quite honestly I don't enjoy that." I could feel the anxiety creeping up my spine as thoughts of anthro-ponies piercing my soul with their gazes flooded my mind. For some reason, the fact that I'm an alien to this species never crossed my mind until now. What would they think of me? Would they be fine with someone, something like me living among them? My foot began incessantly tapping, and I quickly opened my phone before scrolling through my library. "Caleb!" Rainbow shouted my name in my face and placed her hands on my shoulders. "Jeez kid, you alright?" "Yeah. Yeah I'm good, I just..." I began fumbling my words, and my eyes darted everywhere, as if searching for an excuse to grab out of thin air. "Whadda'ya have to be worried about? Trust me, you'll be fine. You're with me after all, so nobody will say a thing." Rainbow assured me. I nodded my head and stuffed my phone into my pocket. "Alright. Alright." Rainbow gave me a reassuring smile before turning to the entrance. I gave a determined sigh, and stepped forward. It was like taking my first steps all over again. Taking my first steps into a new life. Though technically I had already done that a few hours earlier. As I followed close behind Rainbow, I saw the general populous of Ponyville digging into me with their stares. However, it wasn't too bad. Just like Rainbow said, nobody said anything. While their stares were definitely that of concern, they weren't horrified. If anything, I resembled them, except I was shorter, and less fur. "Almost there Caleb." I heard Rainbow say. My attention turned to Rainbow Dash, and I looked past her. In what seemed like the center of town stood a massive tree that seemed to be renovated into a house of sorts. "I'm guessing that's Twilight's place?" I asked. "Yep. Princess Celestia had her own private library built in town. She's a huge nerd." answered Rainbow. "Hey, for your information I happen to be a little bit of a book worm myself." "Heh, don't let her hear you say that. You'll never hear the end of it." "Noted." With that, we finally reached the one and only "Twilight's" house. Which also happened to be a library. Rainbow also mention a "Princess Celestia". Something tells me I'll be meeting with her very soon. Rainbow gave the door a few good knocks before a voice could be heard from inside. "Coming!" the voice called. After a few seconds, and what sounded like stumbling over many objects, the door flung open. Behind it stood a lavender colored woman, with a mane and tail of navy blue, each had a streak of purple and pink throughout the length. Her most notable feature was the horn protruding from her forehead. Besides that, she wore a white button-up shirt, black overcoat, and a plaid skirt. Not going to lie, the short-ish skirt combined with her long legs, was a little odd to me. "Oh hey Rainbow Dash! What brings you..." her voice trailed off as her eyes met mine. "...here, of all... places?" I slowly raised my hand and gave a slight wave. At that moment, I could practically see the excitement spread across her face. She began to hop up and down and squee like a giddy schoolgirl. "Ohmygoshomygoshohmygosh, i-is it real?! Like really real?!" she asked Rainbow, practically gushing with enthusiasm. "As real as I'll ever be." I plainly replied. She gave another squee and said, "Rainbow, do you know what this means? I need to tell Celestia about thi-" All of the excitement vanished from the girl's face, and a frown quickly formed. "Celestia..." she gasped. Twilight whipped around, appearing to look at something. I peered inside to see a staircase. I'm pretty sure everyone was looking at the stairs at this point. Not too long after, a set of bright white legs wearing a pair of golden shoes elegantly made their way down the stairs, revealing more of the owner to said legs. As she came down the stairs, a song couldn't help but play inside my head... Your Love - The Outfield She wore a soft yellow sundress that draped perfectly over her tall and curvy body. Her mane and tail seemed to flow just as elegantly as she moved, and her fierce magenta eyes seemed to stare directly into my soul. I noticed that she had something that these two ladies didn't: a pair of wings, and a horn. Another thing she bore that I couldn't help but notice was a decent sized rack. What? They may not have been human, but they retained human qualities like I said. Don't judge. "What did you have to tell me Twilight?" the beaut asked, looking over at Rainbow and I. "Ah, Rainbow Dash! What a pleasant surprise." The mare, who stood even taller than the other two beside me, looked directly at me. For whatever reason, I felt extremely intimidated by her stare. My eyes wavered from hers, before falling to the ground. She gave a soft giggle, one that'd I give anything to hear again, before taking a few steps towards me. "You've brought a guest I see." she spoke. "Yeah, I kinda just found him wandering around in a field on the outskirts of Ponyville." Rainbow replied. Celestia placed a hand under my chin and lifted my head. My eyes met her's once more, and the intimidating feeling turned to one that I've never felt before. Before long I felt myself drowning in those pools of magenta. I snapped out of my hysteria when she spoke ever so softly to me, blessing my ears once again. "I'm curious as to who you are, young one." she said. Chapter 2 Remember to open the link to the songs in a new tab so you don't lose where you are in the chapter. My anxiety was spiking at this point. I sat in a wooden chair with three women staring me down, one of them being the supreme god ruler of this realm. The other two were practical heroes that have saved the world at least three times. My life seemed to get smaller and smaller by the minute. It felt embarrassing as the mares watched my drummer feet bop up and down rapidly. While they definitely seemed like the understanding bunch, anxiety isn't a very nice person. He liked to fill my mind with rather negative thoughts. It took a while before one of them decided to break the silence with a question. "So Caleb," Celestia started, "I'm sure that this is a very peculiar situation that you're in." "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be so awkward." I chuckled nervously. "Well, given the current circumstances I'm sure anypony would feel the same way you would." said Twilight. "No, no. I've always been like this to be honest." "Like what?" asked Rainbow. "Well, y-you see the thing is, I've never had too much social interaction," at this point my voice trailed off into a mumble, "so I'm sorry if I come off as awkward, or weird... or annoying..." My eyes never met any of their's for that entire sentence as my feet continued to bounce. I checked my phone for the time, and saw that I only had 34% battery life left. Apparently my look of distress was bad enough for all three mares to lean forward. I could feel their stares, their eyes clawing at me despite being out of utter concern. My feet bounced faster. My hands nervously fiddled with the stand on the back of my phone case. I couldn't tell the expressions on the trio's faces anymore as I instinctively turtled. "Young one..." Celestia said with a soft, motherly voice. "Hm?" I finally looked up at her. "Are you alright?" Normally my response would be, "yeah, I'm alright". But what actually came out surprised me, as well as the other three people in the room with me. "No." I answered, shaking my head. A fake smile couldn't help but form itself on my lips as I tried to hide the fact that I just gave an answer I didn't want anyone to know. I gave another chuckle, and my gaze fell back to the floor. Before I knew it, tears began to stream down my cheeks and fall onto my knees. I hadn't noticed I was crying until now since my vision was already blurred enough. Why am I crying? I thought to myself. Oh God, this is embarrassing. Fuck I must look so pathetic. I hastily wiped the tears from my eyes and took a deep breath. My body leaned forward as I covered my face with my hands, and gave a sigh. As I recovered myself mentally, I felt a hand gently place itself on my shoulder. I looked up to see Celestia, giving me the most reassuring smile I've ever been given in my life. Who was I to be so deserving of something so pure? I found myself lost in that smile of her's. I don't know what kind of face I was making, but it must have been something to earn myself a giggle from Celestia. "Whatever the problem may be, you can always come to us." she said. There was something about her. The sight of her filled me with such vigor and energy to make all my exhaustion seem so non-existent. Her voice was a blessing upon my eardrums that assured me that no matter what, everything was going to be okay, and her eyes... There was something about them that I couldn't describe. All I knew was that this woman, mare, whatever she is, was the light I never had. Mind you, my life was not filled with extremely traumatic events or anything like that. Isolation pays a heavy price on one's mind. I looked into the goddess's eyes and nodded, wiping away the remaining tears from my eyes. Rainbow took this opportunity to chime in. "See? I told you everything would be alright!" "If one thing's for sure, it's that opening up to your friends really helps." Twilight added. I smiled before replying, "Unfortunately those aren't something I had a lot of back home." "It concerns me that you're able to say that with a smile." Celestia commented. "I never really bothered to worry about it." I sighed. "That's also pretty concerning." said Twilight. "Is it okay if I say that I don't feel like going into it right now?" I asked. "While I don't quite understand what keeps you from opening up about your past, we won't force you." Celestia replied. "Thank you." I said. "Now I don't mean to be imposing, but how are we handling my living quarters?" The three mares looked to one another before pondering at the question. "Well you can't bunk with me, I live in the clouds. As far as I know, you can't walk on clouds." Yeah, no. "I do not wish to frighten the people of Canterlot, nor do I want the guards watching your every move." Understandable. "I've already got Spike here with me, and I'm sharing my room with him." Shame. "So basically what you're all telling me is that I'm SOL." "'SOL'?" asked Twilight. "I'll explain it someday." I replied with my face in my palm. With that, the four of stood up simultaneously, which caused me to sit back down. I didn't feel like being embarrassed again with how short I was. Celestia noticed this, but kept quiet with a smile that melted my heart. Don't ask me why I feel these things with her, it's not something I can explain too well. "Question." I started, "I have really bad eyesight, is there anyway you could get me some sort of glasses?" "I'm positive we have someone who can do that for you." answered Twilight. Oh thank God. "Great! Just one problem." "What is it?" Rainbow asked. "I'm from another world, quite possibly another universe, so I'm not very liquid at the moment." I deadpanned. "Fear not young one, I'll personally find one for you." "Caleb." I corrected, "And you don't have to do that." "Why shouldn't I?" I shrugged. "Good point." "As I thought." said Celetsia. "I will inform an optometrist of your needs. Until then, I have royal matters to attend to in Canterlot." "I appreci-- uh, I thank you for your help Princess Celestia." It completely slipped my mind that she was in fact a princess until now. "Oh please Caleb, no need to be so formal." Celestia laughed with a wave of her hand. "I was taught to respect my elders." "Are you saying that I'm old?" "Well I-I didn't mean it like--" Oh boy, here we go with the stuttering. It came to my attention that Celestia is pleasantly amused by my awkwardness, judging by how hard she was trying to hide a smile. Eventually she gave a short laugh, causing my fumbling to come to halt. I felt the burning sensation in my cheeks and I sighed. "My apologies. It's simply that I've never met somepony struggle with their words since Shining proposed to Cadence." she stated. "I have no clue who those two are, but I'll try to work on my social skills." I replied. "Very well. I shall see you all again soon." With that, Celestia made her exit. I turned to the other to ponies (I don't think I'm ever going to get used that) in the room with me. "What now?" I asked. "I believe we should get you familiarized with town." Twilight answered. "Yeah, that's a good idea." added Rainbow. "We'll start by visiting the rest of the Elements." "Elements? Is there like a fire level in this place?" I said with the utmost sarcasm. "She means our other friends, elements is her way of saying 'friends'." Rainbow sighed. "Sorry." Twilight said with a sheepish grin. "Closest would be Pinkie Pie." Fuckin' hell with these names. I thought. "Where can I find her?" There was a sudden knock at the door. Twilight called to it and quickly rushed over. When she opened the door, my vision suddenly flooded with-- "Pinkie!" Yeah. That. "Pleasure to meet ya! What's your name? Caleb? What a nice name! I was already on my way over when I saw you walking Rainbow Dash and I got distracted by this really weird thing I saw! So then I--" Please. Stop. The hyperactive mare continued to ramble like a psychopath, zipping around me, left and right, seemingly defying physics. I felt my head throbbing as the world began to spin around me. Pinkie's voice became a muffled echo as I closed my eyes and shrank deeper into my chair. As my mind completely tuned out the world, I plugged my earbuds into my head and scrolled through my plethora of songs. It didn't take long for me to find something to fit the mood. Wishy Washy - Devilman Crybaby OST As I threw my head back over the seat, the headphones played the medley of sounds to me. I couldn't see it, but I knew the pink mare was still zooming around me as she spoke nonsense that I refused to listen to. I knew fully well that it was rude, but if you knew me, this was for the best. "What'cha listening to?" her voice seemed to leak through the headphones and into the song. "Jesus!" I yelped, falling out of my chair. "Jesus? Never heard of him." Pinkie said, tapping her chin and thinking a little too hard on the subject. "Alright Twilight, who's next on the bucket list?" I asked. "Well, from closest to furthest, I believe Rarity is next." Rarity huh? Definitely not the weirdest name I've heard all day. "That'll be an easy two'fer!" Rainbow cheered. "What will Rainbow Dash?" asked Twilight. "He can meet Rarity, and she could tailor him some clothes!" "Huh? Why would she do that? Can't he just wear some of our clothes?" Pinkie chimed. "Pinkie, c'mon! He's like half our size." Rub it in why don't you? "He could wear some of the children's clothes!" Pinkie said with a giggle. "Oh, please spare me the embarrassment of imagining that." I muttered as I stood up. "So it's off to this, 'Rarity', I'm guessing?" "It would seem so." Twilight said. Fantastic. Hopefully I could ask this "Rarity" to tailor me a hoodie so I could hide my face. Maybe then I'd get less stares than I usually do whenever I walk around town. I couldn't put in my headphones to block them out in case one of the ladies called for me, and I don't do that one earbud shit. I prayed that we could get this over with quick so I could get my hourly music fix. "This is the place." Rainbow said to me, turning my attention to the massive boutique. My eyesight may be bad, but I'm pretty sure that's a little too much purple and white. Oh boy, wonder what her accents are going to be. Twilight knocked on the door and a refined voice emanated from the inside. "Just a moment darling!" Maybe a little bit too refined. After just a moment, the door slowly opened to reveal a rather gorgeous looking mare. Again, the first thing I noticed was the horn on her forehead. Her coat was a soft white with a purple tint to it. Her deep purple mane and tail curled elegantly at the ends. She wore a baggy black, open knit sweater with a light gray shirt underneath, along with a pair of joggers that hugged her lower-half tightly, showing off her fine curves. Her light-ish blue eyes darted between her friends. "Twilight? Rainbow? Pinkie? My, my, what brings all of you here?" Then to me. I saw the excitement on her face slowly drain as she continued to stare. She hastily pulled Twilight inside and shut the door behind her. I didn't need to hear what they were saying for me to know what, or who they were talking about. As we waited, Rainbow slithered an earbud from around my neck and plugged her ear. I smiled and did the same before finding a song to wait to. Guided Meditation - Old Future Fox Gang The lounge-like music made all the waiting seem less awkward as we stood outside in the Fall weather. It was also nice to find someone who enjoyed my music as much as I did. Although I'm sure she might still be freaked out by my phone. Soon enough, Pinkie wanted to hear some of my music as well. I reluctantly gave her my earbud, as to not ruin it for Rainbow, but I still listened to the song in my head. The door suddenly flew open, revealing Twilight and Rarity in the doorway. "Alright Caleb, come introduce yourself!" Twilight said gleefully. "I think you just did." I chuckled. As I stepped forward, I could still see Rarity's worrisome face. Taking what little knowledge I learned of her at Twilight's house, I put my James Bond knowledge to work. Very gently, I took her hand in mine and bowed down before planting a soft kiss on it. This changed her worried look to one of slight approval. I don't care how ridiculous I made myself look in this moment, I needed her to feel comfortable. I knew that much about being social. "It's a pleasure to meet you, my dear." I said with the utmost confidence I could muster. "And to whom do I owe this fine pleasure?" asked Rarity as she turned her body and raised her shoulder. "Caleb, Caleb Johansen. Charmed I'm sure." "Quite." Rarity said with a smile. "Twilight darling, where on Equestria did you find this gentlecolt?" "In a field." Rainbow chimed. "Well, that would explain the attire. Come Mr. Johansen, let's dust you off and clean you up." "I would appreciate that greatly." I followed. After we entered the boutique, Rarity used her magic to close the door behind us. The interior was littered with spools, spindles, and sewing machines. Massive scraps of cloth were found draped over the tables and hanging from the walls. I noticed her mannequins were all based off of the anatomy of a pony. Tailoring my clothes was probably going to be a bit of a challenge for her. "I'd heard you had a sense of fashion." I said in awe of the multitude of suits, dresses, and other miscellaneous clothing products. "'Sense' is an understatement darling." Rarity complimented herself. Well if you're going to be in this industry, you've gotta have confidence I guess. I took this moment to learn a little more about Rarity. "How long have you been tailoring for Rarity?" "Ever since I was a filly. It was my dream to craft the most magnificent pieces of clothing, worn by the finest ponies in Equestria." "Well, that's definitely one helluva dream." I said. "How about yourself Mr. Johansen, what was your dream job? Where are you even from? Surely somepony from a different world has some stories to tell?" "Well for starters, my world is just called Earth. It's been there for a while so I won't go into details about everything. As for exactly where I came from, I came from a place called Texas. All you need to know, is that I wear that fact with the utmost pride." Oh boy, have to hold back all my pride. "Sounds like quite the place to be." Rarity giggled. 'Honestly for lady such as yourself, definitely not. That's if you can't handle the blistering heat, the bipolar weather, the fact that all four seasons manage to fit into one day..." "You make it sound like Texas is sentient." Twilight said. In a way, she is Twi... more than you know. "Besides my home, my dream job was to be a veterinarian." "Humorous, bookworm, gentlecolt, loves animals," Rainbow listed off my qualities as if I wasn't standing in the room with her, "what's next, you're gonna be great at baking and was raised on a farm?" "As for baking, I make a mean lasagna. Being raised on a farm however, not quite." "Hard to believe you're socially awkward." Did you really have to remind me? I thought I was doing good so far... Ignoring what Rainbow had just said, I turned my attention back to Rarity who was rummaging through her drawers. She gave an, "Aha!" and pulled out a long strip of measuring tape. "Alright darling, before I get to work I need to make some measurements." she said. "That's fine." I replied. "Perfect! Now, strip." "I'm sorry?" The events that transpired were too awkward for me to explain, but if you want the short version I can do that easily. After I had stripped down to my underwear for Rarity, it was about ten minutes of nobody saying anything. Afterwards I was told to leave so that she could get to work. What happened next gave me some clarity. "Well girls, I think I've had a long enough break. Time to get back to my workout." said Rainbow as she extended her wings and flew off. "I agree. I have to get back to the library to continue my studies, plus Spike should be coming home soon." added Twilight. She gave me a smile and wave as she departed from the group. "I've gotta get back to the bakery to see if my cupcakes are burning!" shouted Pinkie, who suddenly vanished from my sight. And with that, I was left to my lonesome. Just as I was about to plug my ears, I heard Rainbow call out to me. I looked around confusedly before she called me again. I looked up to see her hovering in the air. "If you wanna meet Fluttershy, she lives in a cottage in the forest. You can find it down that path." she pointed to a dirt path that led to a tree grove. "As for Applejack, she lives on the apple farm in the opposite direction. Who you wanna meet first is up to you." "Alrighty, thanks Rainbow." I said with a smile. "Don't mention it." Rainbow replied with a smile of her own. As she took off into the skies, I plugged my ears and did my routine scrolling. A few moments later, I picked a song and made my way to the one known as Fluttershy. Chapter 3 Remember to open the links to the songs in a new tab so you don't lose your place in the chapter. Ethereal - Nosaj Thing x Pretty Lights The day had entered early afternoon hours, turning the lighting from a soft grayish to a warm orange. My mind seemed to wander as much as I did through the forest. I had almost forgotten that I was on my way to see... Fluttershy, I believe it was? Because the word "shy" was in her name, I had a feeling she was going to be a little bit of handful to deal with. I didn't have any of the other girls with me to explain things, so I had to improvise my words carefully. Plans and I don't mix too well, but whenever I wing it, things always seem to work out better that way. Most of the time anyways. Before long, I reached a small bridge that arched over a stream. Just on the other side was the small cottage that Rainbow had mentioned to me. It was a cozy little place that seemed to be made mostly out of shrubbery, and was covered in assorted flowers. Seems like a nice place. I thought as I crossed over the bridge. The closer I got, the more nervous I became. I've never dealt with girls before, let alone shy ones. All of my encounters have been short and awkward. Thinking about dealing with a girl as socially awkward as I was gave me a headache. As I approached the door I pulled my earbuds from my head and gave a sigh. Was everything in slow motion, or was I just raising my hand that slowly? Before I knew it, I was knocking on the door. Moment of truth. My hand lowered, and I heard an soft voice call from the other side. The voice was so soft that I'm sure all the damage done to my eardrums was healed. "Just a moment!" I noticed the reoccurring theme of calling out to visitors. Minus Rainbow and Pinks. Not a moment later, the door opened just a crack. I instinctively looked upwards to see the mare tower over me, only to be left utterly confused. My eyes trailed down the opening before my eyes met with the inhabitant of the house. The moment our eyes met she gave a squeak and quickly shut the door, surprising the hell out of me. That was weird. Did I finally meet someone shorter than me? Feeling as though she wouldn't open the door again, I gently knocked a few more times. "Hey, Fluttershy? You can open the door, I'm not going to do anything to you. My name's Caleb and I'm a friend of Rainbow Dash's." I stood there at the door, listening to the stream gently flow behind me. After a minute of standing in awkward silence I hung my head back and sighed. "Please?" A few seconds passed before the door opened again, but a little more so than last time, giving me a good view of the woman behind it. The first thing I noticed about her was her bright, crystal blue eyes. One of them was hidden behind her soft pink mane that cascaded over her shoulders and just past her chest. She was wearing a plain, baggy white sweater and pajama pants over her gentle yellow coat. In her arms she tightly clutched a tiny white bunny that seemed a little annoyed. Was it even possible for a bunny to look annoyed? "U-um, hello." she spoke. Please, continue talking. I couldn't help but stare. What do I say next? Rainbow, Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity, and Celestia usually did most of the talking. With her, it was just silence where neither of us really knew what to do. She noticed my staring, and her gaze fluttered from mine. A light blush formed over her cheeks as she fidgeted ever so slightly. I'm sure my heart would implode from cuteness overload. "Please, come in." again she broke the silence and stepped aside. "Right. Thank you." I said. Still holding the bunny to her chest, Fluttershy closed the door behind me. The interior was exactly what you'd expect from a cottage; mostly wooden carved furniture and a lot of tablecloth. There was a singular bookshelf, a couch with an end table that had a green lamp on top. In front of the couch was a small fireplace with a chair to the side, perfect for leisurely reading time. Fluttershy took a seat on the couch, her eyes glued to the floor. Without being too awkward, I sat on the opposite end and threw a foot over my knee. Tired of the awkward silence, I decided to lead as best as I could. "So I heard that you've got a soft spot for animals." I said. "O-oh. Yes, I can't help but fawn over them." Fluttershy replied, the ends of her lips curving upwards slightly. "I can relate. I was training to become a veterinarian back home." "Really? That sounds great!" I smiled at the progress I had made before continuing. "Unfortunately I didn't get to complete my training before I ended up here." "Oh... You're not from here are you?" she asked. "What gave it away?" I chuckled. "I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure you would have been a great caretaker." "Thanks Fluttershy. At least I got a good chunk of knowledge before hand." "That's good." "Yeah." Shit. I had just ended the conversation in the worst possible way. I looked over at her to see her eyes had never left the floor. Only for a moment did she glance over at me, only to shy away behind her hair. "Cute." I thought out loud. Fluttershy looked at me with a deep blush on her face. She seemed just as shocked as I was that I just said that. We stared into each other's eyes for a moment before quickly looking away. "S-sorry, I just--" "No, no, it's okay. I appreciate it." "That's good." Our legs began to bounce in almost perfect synchronization. "I'm sorry for being so awkward." said Fluttershy. "It's fine really. I'm just as bad, if not worse." I assured her. "You're not that bad. You seem to be better than I am at talking." "I could honestly say the same for you." The two of us went back and forth for a few minutes. Eventually we laughed it off. I noticed that Fluttershy was looking at me rather than the ground and decided to respectfully give her my attention. We talked about the little things, like our favorite animal, our experiences with them, and a about our little awkward tendencies. After a while, I finally decided to ask her about staying with her. "So, I don't mean to seem to imposing but... Since I'm not really from around here, is it okay if I stay here for a while, at least until I find my own place?" "O-oh! I'm not sure, I only have one room which is mine, and I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable on the couch." "It's not that bad." I lied. "Still, I could never do that!" she said assertively. "Trust me Fluttershy, I've slept on much worse. The couch is fine." Fluttershy's gaze fell to the floor once again. Her face looked as if she was uncertain about what she was about to say. She gently nodded her head and looked back to me. "I'm sorry, but I honestly don't feel too comfortable letting you stay with me." Her face seemed pained as she said those words. As much as she wanted to let me stay, her gut feeling wouldn't allow it. While it did hurt a little bit, I understood, and respected her wishes. I looked outside to see that the evening hours were slowly taking over. "That's quite alright. Thank you for at least considering." I said as I stood up. "I'm sorry Caleb." I hated hearing those words. Not because I was annoyed with them, but because there was nothing to be sorry about. I turned to Fluttershy and gave her a gentle smile. "It's fine Flutters." It seemed like she didn't quite accept my words. Then she smiled. "I'm sure that Applejack would surely have a place for you to stay! She lives at Sweet Apples Acres, it's a nice big place so I'm positive she'll have room for you." "Thank you Fluttershy." I said. "You're welcome Caleb." Fluttershy replied. She then walked me out and said her goodbyes. Before I started my trek to Sweet Apple Acres, I plugged my ears and lazily hit random playlist on my phone. Soon after, the music started. Evenings - Idealism Perfectly ironic. All of the lanterns around Ponyville flickered to life as the sun vanished beneath the horizon. My feet started to feel swollen with all this walking I've been doing today. Hopefully I could find a place to stay soon, or else I'd be sleeping on a bench in the cold. My current attire consisted of my work shirt, joggers and a pair of sneakers. Not suitable for sleeping outdoors. It was also at this point that I started feeling hungry. Thankfully I had my music to keep me distracted from all the problems that life throws at me. If only I had been so lucky as to have my glasses with me as well. Nighttime and darkness aren't a very good mix. At least the lanterns provided a decent amount of lighting for me to see where I was going. For the most part at least. There weren't too many ponies still on the streets, giving me more clarity to stroll by my lonesome. This was the most leisure time I got to myself since going to see Fluttershy, so I was soaking it up as much as I could. I glanced at my phone and cringed when I saw that I only had 18% battery left. It was like watching my own lifeline slowly drain away. I need to have Twilight zap my phone or something. I thought hopelessly. Before I knew it, I was at the outer fence of Sweet Apple Acres. I could just barely see a large barn in the shadows, along with a few other buildings that I couldn't make out. The only other thing I could see was the dimly lit farmhouse. Feeling tired, and a little bit lazy, I hopped over the fence and made my way to the home. As I grew closer, I could hear voices from the inside, letting me know that thankfully someone was still awake. I walked up the porch steps and pulled out my earbuds before knocking on the screen door. "Now who in the world could that be?" Again... The voice was indeed southern. Coming from Texas, I'm pretty sure I could tell a country accent when I heard one. Country as in, "hardworking, no bullshit, and respectful farmer". I could see a silhouette on the opposite side of the door, whoever it was matched me in height. "Who in tarnation are you? More specifically, what?" Choose your words carefully Caleb. "Good evening ma'am, my name is Caleb Johansen, and I mean no harm. I'm a friend of Fluttershy's." I answered. This seemed to earn myself a bit of her trust. She slowly opened the screen door and stepped outside, leaning against the doorway. "What made ya come here?" "Fluttershy told me you might have a place for me to stay, since I'm not really from around here." "Which brings me back to my first question: what are you? Definitely aren't a pony from the looks o' ya." "Well you're definitely right about that." I chuckled. "I'm a human, from a world called Earth. Specifically Texas." "You seem like an honest folk Mr. Caleb." "I'm from the south after all." I took this opportunity to relate to her. If it's anything I've learned from my mother about making friends, it's to relate to someone. "No kidding? Come on inside, we'll talk with Gramma about gettin' you a place to stay." The mare walked back inside, holding the door for me. I stepped through and shut the door behind me promptly. As I followed behind who I assumed was Applejack, I get a good look at her figure. Her coat was a mix of orange with a slight hint of caramel. Her blonde mane was braided with a red ribbon, and rested over her left shoulder. I noticed while talking to her that she had emerald green eyes as bright and pristine as the gemstone itself. She didn't have wings or a horn, but she did have an incredibly toned body hidden underneath her white apple-patterned pajamas. Her hips had a distinct sway that I couldn't help but find myself a little bit mesmerized by them. "It ain't polite to stare sugar." Applejack chuckled, pulling me from my thoughts. "Sorry..." She gave another short laugh before pulling a chair out from under the dining room table. As she took a seat, she prompted me to take one as well. I pulled out a chair and sat down, sinking deep into the wooden chair. "I'm guessin' Fluttershy told you who I was?" she asked. "Applejack, right?" I replied. "One and only. So what brings you around these parts? To Equestria I mean." "No clue, I was brought here against my will, and in my sleep." "Well that doesn't sound too pleasant." "It really wasn't." I laughed. "This whole situation must be pretty hard on ya, huh?" "Not the weirdest one I've been in, but it has its moments." "Like?" "The fact that everyone is a pony for one." Applejack gave another soft laugh and quickly hid her smile. I couldn't help but give a smile of my own. For some reason it felt refreshing to talk to someone like her. It was like I was back home, if only for a little bit. AJ's laughter finally stopped, and she stood from her seat. "You hungry? If you want me to whip something up quick we've got oatmeal." she offered. "That sounds fantastic." I replied. The fire sparked under the stove. Applejack and I made conversation, talking about home. "Tell me about Texas, sounds like the kinda place I'd like to visit." she said. "I'm sure someone like you would love it. To be honest with you, I don't think I've ever seen a place with people so proud to live there like the people of Texas." "Now why wouldn't people be proud of where they live?" "A lot of reasons really. Weather, law, even the people that live there. It changes wherever you go." "Makes sense, I guess." "What about you AJ, I'm guess you've lived in Ponyville all your life." "And you'd be right. Sweet Apple Acres has been my home since I was a filly. Wouldn't trade it for nothin'." "That's the same kind of pride us Texans have." The topic of home continued as Applejack slid a bowl of oatmeal in front of me. I quickly scarfed it all down like a rabid animal, drawing some shock out of the mare beside me. I looked at her and shrugged before continuing. My body was hungry, and I was going to show it. I don't think I've ever eaten something that fast in my life, because before I knew it, the bowl was empty. "Long time since your last meal?" asked AJ. "Longer than you think." I replied with a heavy sigh. "Then it must be a long time since you've slept huh?" "Been awake almost all day as far as I know." AJ nodded her head slowly and smile. "Well, we don't have anywhere in the house for you to sleep, but you can camp out in the barn. It's pretty cozy in there." "At least it's not outside right?" Afterwards, AJ pointed me towards the barn, handing me a lantern. I stepped through the large door and held the lantern high. If anything, it was a lot warmer in here than it was outside. I jumped a little when Applejack crept up behind me with a few blankets, earning myself a laugh from the mare. "Here ya go sugar, fresh blankets. Now make yerself and home, and get some sleep ya'hear?" she said. "Thank you very much ma'am." "'Ma'am'?" Applejack looked around before turning back to me, "You must be thinkin' of someone else." she joked. We both laughed at the little joke. Then she gave me the sweetest smile. I felt something in my chest, something I couldn't describe. We caught ourselves staring and turned away from each other quickly. "You have a nice night Caleb." she said. "And you as well, Applejack." I replied. She gave me another smile before walking back to the farmhouse. After she was out of earshot, I gave an exhausted sigh before entering the barn. Walking past all the stables, I climbed the ladder to where all the hay was stored. Once I found a good enough spot, I tossed a blanket over a pile of hay before flopping down with another on top of me. I've never slept in barn until today, but it wasn't all that bad. Before I succumbed to my exhaustion, I scrolled through my phone. I didn't look too long before I settled on a calming song to help me sleep. The Mighty Rio Grande - This Will Destroy You Chapter 4 Remember to open the links in a new tab so you don't lose wherever you are in the chapter. Also this chapter is going to contain a little bit of risque content. You've been warned. A familiar feeling returned to me as I slept. I felt like I was floating again in complete darkness. Everything was quiet, to the point where I could hear my blood flowing through my own veins. I tried to open my eyes, but they felt glued shut. My body wouldn't respond to what I told it to do. Again, an unseen force began to squeeze my hips together, as if my body were a soaked rag. The air was slowly pulled from my lungs, and I desperately tried to gasp for air. My panicking increased as I felt the life being sucked out of me. A set of fingers slowly crawled up my back before clasping onto my shoulders. It's time to wake up. I woke up in a cold sweat, gasping for air. The weight on my lungs was lifted, relieving my lungs. I used the blanket to wipe away the sweat on my face before getting my bearings. My breathing finally turned to normal and rummaged through my pocket. Much to my dismay, when I brought my phone to my face, the screen didn't light up like it usually does. "Son of a bitch..." I sighed. I stretched out my body with a groan before rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Every muscle in my body felt sore, but I had things to do. Like get my damn phone charged... I swept my hair back and threw the blankets off to the side. As I stood up I heard an awkward creak to my right. I looked over to see a small pony's head poking up from the ladder. I couldn't tell if it was male or female because it was so dark, and my vision was blurred horribly. 'Morning." I groggily spoke. "G'mornin'! Applejack said to come get'cha for breakfast." replied the mare. "Alright, tell her I'll be down in a minute." The tiny pony gave a confirming hum and jumped from the ladder. A satisfied sigh escaped my lips as I stretched my legs. I shuffled my way to the ladder and climbed down. When I turned around, the light from outside blinded me. My eyes quickly adjusted and I stepped outside, taking deep breath of the morning air. As I inhaled, my nostrils caught a whiff of something extremely pleasing. Pancakes... I don't think I've ever moved so fast and with such motivation after waking up in my life. My feet carried me to the dining room where a gigantic stack of pancakes was practically waiting for me, while more were still being made. There was a separate stack for each flavor; butterscotch, blueberry, strawberry, and my personal favorite... Chocolate-mothafuckin'-chip. "Go on ahead, dig in Texas!" AJ said from behind me. She still wore her pajamas and had her mane braided, but was slightly disheveled, compared to my hair which was in a constant state of messy bedhead. Combine that with long curly hair and you've got yourself a nightmare. The scent of pancakes filled my mind, and as soon as I went to grab a few, an elderly voice interrupted me. "Not just yet young'un. Go wash your hands, the bathroom is upstairs, down the hall and to the left." I turned to see an elderly mare, slowly walking into the room with a cane. Her gray mane was tied back in a bun with a red ribbon. She too was in her pajamas that hung loosely from her light green body. "That's Granny Apples, caretaker of Sweet Apple Acres." said Applejack. "Pleasure to meet you ma'am." I gave a respectful nod to the lady. "Pleasure to have ya, young'un." Granny Apple replied with a smile. "I assume you already met with Applebloom." "Sure did!" a familiar voice said. I turned to see the small filly that greeted me when I woke up. Now that the lighting was better, I could actually see her somewhat. She had a coat that was a soft yellow similar to Fluttershy's, and her maroon red mane hang freely down her back with a single pink bow tied behind her head. She wore a white, short-sleeved, plaid shirt with the very top button hanging loose and blue suspenders. "Thanks for waking me kiddo, name's Caleb." I introduced myself. "Applejack told me all about ya' before we went to bed last night. You sure are a strange one." I get that a lot. "You'll probably get to meet Big Mac soon, he went into town earlier this morning." said AJ. "I've got a lot on my plate today unfortunately. Maybe I'll run into him while in town." "Where're ya off to?" asked Granny. "I have to get whatever clothes Rarity has ready for me first, then I've gotta see if there's an eye doctor that can finally get me a pair of glasses. I also need to see about getting this thing charged." I shook my phone before stuffing it in my pocket. "What even is that?" AJ asked, staring at my pocket. "I'll tell you after breakfast." I sighed before going upstairs. I reached the bathroom and locked the door behind me. As I turned, I surprised myself in the mirror (a thing I do daily). I quietly laughed and approached the sink. "You look like shit pal..." I told myself. While washing my hands, I decided to get a good look at myself. I stared hard into my oak-brown eyes before looking further down. I could definitely use a little shave to get rid of the disgusting neck hairs, other than that I enjoy my barely visible half-goatee. With my wet hands I desperately tried to push my long brown curly hair back and flatten it. Flyaways popped up everywhere and I violently shook the water from my head, poofing my hair. "Dammit..." I grumbled. Despite being so young, my life has decided to drastically take a turn. Fresh out of high school with dreams of becoming a veterinarian. Instead I find myself in a world filled with technicolor, anthropomorphic ponies who seem awfully friendly with an alien creature that they barely knew. It felt like a dream, but something in the back of my mind wouldn't let me believe that. My mind started creating random conclusions as to how and why I ended up here. Neither Twilight nor Celestia know how I got here, so it couldn't have been one of them. Is this some sort of punishment? Did I do something to end up here? Or was it just that I'm unlucky? "Caleb! You alright in there?" AJ shouted through the door, effectively startling me. "Y-yeah! Yeah, I'm good!" I replied. I hastily dried my hands and stepped from the bathroom to see AJ standing off to the side. "C'mon, let's eat." she said with a smile. "Of course." I replied. After breakfast, Applejack decided to tag along on my little adventure to get clothes. As I sat on the porch waiting for her to finish getting ready, I fiddled around with my phone. Hopefully I could find some way to get my phone charged, or else I would need something to keep me seriously distracted. Besides talking with the girls. The sound of the screen door creaking open caught my attention. I turned to see AJ standing there in her new attire. She wore a orange and white plaid shirt with a white tank-top underneath, along with a pair of blue jean-shorts that revealed her rather alluring legs. Despite the fact that they had hooves, a leg man is a leg man. Always. "Alright sugar, you ready to head out?" she asked. "Ready as I'll ever be." I answered. "Mind if I join you two?" AJ and I looked up to see Rainbow Dash, hovering upside down above us. She was wearing a black and white track jacket, a dark blue t-shirt and sweatpants. "When did you get here, Rainbow?" "Been waiting for the both of you for hours." "Sorry to keep you waiting." I chuckled as I walked down the steps. "So~," Rainbow started, "did you two get nice and cozy last night?" "The barn was pretty comfortable." I answered. "Sorry again." AJ said. "Don't sweat it. It really wasn't that bad." We weren't walking for too long before we ran into another familiar face. Fluttershy was on her way to Sweet Apple Acres to check and see if I had found a place to stay. That was a first. A cute girl checking on me to see if I was alright. After she joined up, we continued on our way to Rarity's place. The girls did most of the talking, I simply looked forward and walked. At this point, it'd been three full hours since I had actually heard music. I did my best to try and play the song in my head, but it just wasn't the same. My earbuds blocked out the outside world entirely, leaving me to myself and my music. However it was a little hard to do that with three females behind me talking about... whatever they talk about. "What about you Caleb?" asked Fluttershy, pulling me back to reality. "What?" "If you had to choose one animal to have as you pet, what would you choose?" she repeated. "Definitely a ferret." "Ferrets are so cute! I just can't get over their smell." said Rainbow. "I used to live in a place that smelled worse than them, plus it doesn't bother me all that much." "In what place did you live that smelled worse than a ferret?" "My cheap apartment complex." "Why didn't you move out?" asked AJ. "Well, you have to remember, I only recently graduated high school and was on my way to being a Vet. Money was not something I had a lot of." I answered. "That tells me, how old are you Caleb?" "I am a whopping nineteen years old." "By Celestia, you're awfully young!" Fluttershy said. "Tell me about it, and here I am in a different world, with absolutely no clue what's happening with my life." "Don't worry sugar, I'm sure Celestia and Twilight are cookin' up something to get yerself home." AJ assured. "Hopefully." I sighed. "Cheer up kid, we're almost here. Wouldn't wanna ruin Rarity's image of you, would ya?" Rainbow asked. "I guess not." I replied, straightening myself up. We walked for a few more minutes before finally reaching Rairty's boutique. I knocked on the door and got the usual response before the door shone blue and flew open, revealing the white unicorn. Her face lit up when she saw me and she waved us inside. "It's magnificent to see you again Mr. Johansen! Your clothes are all fresh and ready to worn." she pointed to a basket of clean clothing sitting in the corner. Before I could retrieve the basket, Rarity magically slapped a folded piece of paper against my chest. I took it and folded further and placed it in my pocket. Her face came uncomfortably close to mine as she stared into my eyes. "Now, before you go and start wearing my clothes around, I recommend you get a bath taken first so you don't smell like you slept in a barn." "Actually Rares, he kinda did." AJ chimed. "Well... who would have thought?" Rarity smiled. "What's the note for?" I asked. "That's my voucher for the Spa Sisters. Tell them yours truly sent you, darling, then show them that note." Rarity then levitated the basket into my arms. "Now, I did do my best to try and accommodate for your, 'relaxation' clothing. If anything feels too tight or too loose, let me know and I'll fix it right up!" "Thank you Rarity, I really appreciate it." I said. "Oh please, don't mention in darling." "If there's anything I can do to repay you, let me know, please." I insisted. "I'll be sure to take you up on that offer, come a time if I were to need it." "Alright, enough bein' gushy. Now go get a bath Caleb." AJ interrupted. "Speaking of, where is the spa, exactly?" I asked with a smile. Since it was closest to her, Fluttershy graciously led me to the bathhouse. We said our goodbyes and parted before I stepped inside. The smell of lavender washed over me and I was welcomed simultaneously by two mares. One of them had a blue coat with matching eye color, and a pink mane that was slicked back. The mare beside her had a reversed color scheme, but matching eyes. "I am Lotus Blossom," said the blue mare. "And I am Aloe," the pink mare added. "And we're the spa sisters!" "Um, hi. I'm here for a bath, Rarity said to give this to you." I mumbled as I handed them the note. The two of them took the note and their eyes scrolled through it. Both of their faces grew a smile and they looked at each other, then to me. They walked from behind they counter they stood behind and led me to the changing room. Before I got the chance to choose which clothes I wanted to wear, the two of them began to undress me. "Whoa, whoa, hang on a minute." I said as I clung to my clothes. "Oh, would you rather do it yourself?" Lotus asked. "Of course." I replied. "Our apologies." Aloe bowed her head. "It's fine, I just don't feel too comfortable with that." "We understand." said Aloe. Awkwardly, the two of them exited, allowing me to strip myself down. I was impressed with how well Rarity made all of my clothes in one day, despite having never tailored clothes for a human. Wrapping my waist with a towel, I entered the bath. The warm, humid atmosphere clung to my exposed skin. I quickly stepped down into the water, uncaring about the stinging heat. My body quickly became numb to the pain. I took a deep breath as I sank deeper, letting the various scents flood my nostrils before sighing. My mind was never clearer before this moment. It was still relatively early, and my body was still affected by sleep, and my muscles still stiff. My eyelids fluttered as the warm waters lulled me to sleep. What woke me up was the sound of someone else entering the bath. Thanks to all the steam and the poor eyesight, I couldn't see who it was. Although the voice that spoke soon afterwards made me wish I never found out. "C-Caleb?" "Twilight?!" "My, my. What a pleasant surprise!" Twilight nervously laughed. I don't think pleasant is the right word for this situation. "Ah jeez, Rarity didn't tell me this was mixed bathing." I murmured. "They don't really have a sign out there for it either." The awkwardness of the situation increased as Twilight sank into the bath with me. She sat to the left of the bath, just out of my peripheral view. Right next to me, in a bathhouse, is a completely naked female, covered in a single thin white towel. This cannot end well. Despite the calming atmosphere, it still took every ounce of my willpower not to think about Twilight's nude body. But since I'm a guy, that's literally impossible. Thoughts of Twilight suddenly succumbing to her carnal desires filled my mind. All I could do was watch through my blurred vision as she slowly stood up, letting the towel slip into the water. A force I'm all too familiar with held my body in place as the mare sauntered her way to me before straddling me. Now that she was this close, I got as much of an eyeful of her body as a man could only dream of. Her damp hair gently brushed over my face as she lowered herself on my lap, brushing against my unnoticed bulge. She leaned forward, pressing her squishy B-cups against my chest, which caused my bulge to twitch. She giggled into my ear before giving it a playful nibble. I felt her groin gently grazing over mine, prompting more anticipation from my member. Her breathy moans sifted through my ears as her breasts stroked up and down my chest. I could feel two little nubs getting harder as they brushed past mine. Twilight's moans became louder as her humping became more rapid. The only thing I could do was sit there and watch as it all happened. I closed my eyes and hung my head back as I succumbed to the pleasure. "Caleb?" My eyes shot open, and the naked Twilight was no longer on my lap. Instead, she was back where she first was with her towel wrapped tightly around her body. "Hm?" was the only sound I managed to make. "It'd be bad if you fell asleep in the bath." "Right." Before the conversation was able to go anywhere, I turned my body to hide my awkward boner, and pulled myself from the bath. Twilight said something that I wasn't able to understand, which I felt bad about, as I made my way to the showers. I made it quick so that Twilight didn't join me again. As I dried myself off, one of the spa sisters came into the changing room behind me. "Was the experience pleasurable sir?" In ways you couldn't imagine. "Well, I would have liked it if you told me that the baths were mixed before hand. Other than that, it was pretty relaxing." "I apologize for the inconvenience, but we made the mixed bathing confidential as to allow all of the client's stress flow freely." the mare replied. "'Stress'?" I asked. "Of course! Stress has many forms, and our baths which are mixed with certain minerals, allow for a truly stress relieving experience." After giving it some thought, I reluctantly asked, "What kind of forms are there?" "A few include physical, mental, traumatic, chronic, and sexual." That explains the dream. "I see..." "Will that be all for today, sir?" she asked. "Yes, thank you very much." I answered. "It's our pleasure!" she said gleefully. After she left, I began to dress myself in my new clothing. Besides the awkward situation I found myself in earlier, I felt extremely refreshed. The only things I had left to do was charge my phone and get a new pair of glasses. As I made my way out of the changing room, a certain mare stopped me. "Oh! U-uhm, hello again Caleb!" "Hey, Twilight." The two of us looked into each other's eyes. A knot formed in my stomach when I saw a blush form on Twilight's cheeks. Her eyes wavered from mine, and she brushed her hair behind her ear. "S-so... are you finished?" she asked. "Uh, yeah. Yeah I-I am." I replied, slipping my arms into the sweater that Rarity made for me. "Oh. Well that's good." "Yeah..." An awkward silence took over the room as we stood there. My eyes trailed down her body before they realized she was still only wearing a towel. "Did you... enjoy it?" "W-what?" I stuttered. "The bath, I mean!" "Oh! Y-yeah, it was great... what else did you mean?" Twilight's eyes widened and darted everywhere. Her lips curled inwards as she thought of an answer. I saw her blush deepen before she brushed past me and into the changing room. All I could do was stand there, speechless. What I had hoped to not happen, happened. She was thinking of the same thing I was. I shook the thought out of my head before adjusting my sweater. Whatever happened today, I wanted to make damn sure I forget about it soon. I quickly exited the building before making my way back to Sweet Apple Acres, my basket of clothes in tow.
Chapter 1Everything was dark. I've never felt the sensation of floating, but I'm pretty sure I was. Very faintly, I could hear I'm Alright, by Rynx echoing through my mind. This was the last song I remember playing on my Pandora as I drifted to sleep. The music slowly trailed off, leading me to believe that I was falling deeper into my sleep. Suddenly, a growing pain spread from the center of my spine, and throughout my body, as if an unseen force was twisting my body. All of the air escaped my lungs, and my eyes shot open as I gasped. Life quickly returned to my body, although it didn't feel that way. I laid there in... wherever I was, catching what little breaths I could. Subconsciously I reached for my glasses. Instead, I got a handful of grass and dirt. I confusedly whipped my head to where I was reaching to see myself in a field. Okay... I thought to myself. I distinctly remember falling asleep in my apartment, so I immediately wrote this off as some sort of dream. With that knowledge in mind, I closed my eyes and imagined my glasses being on my face. When they open, the world was still a massive blur of green and blue. I fiddled in my pocket and pulled out my phone, thankfully my earbuds were still wrapped around it. At least it was something to keep myself sane in this maddening silence. I gently pushed the earbuds into my ears and pulled my phone about four inches from my face before I punched in the password and scrolled through my music library. After what seemed about a lifetime of scrolling, I finally settled on a song. Miki - Devilman Crybaby OST A happy sigh escaped my lips as the sound of music flowed through my mind. I began to take in as much of the environment as I could. The sun wasn't terribly hot as to bake my flesh, but it felt as if it were transitioning into the fall season, with the cool breeze blowing through my ridiculously curly hair. Before I knew it, my legs were leading me aimlessly through the field. (My anxious pacing had already begun as I waited for this dream to end.) The air was extremely refreshing, the perfect point between dry and humid. Now that I think about it, this dream was rather vivid. I've had my fair share of lucid dreams, but this was breaking all kinds of personal records. My eyes opened, and I looked up to the skies. A gentle gray blanket of clouds spread across them, as if the world were inverted, I'd still be on solid ground. However as I continued to stare, I saw a singular, blurry, black dot zip across my vision. At first I wrote it off as just a bird, but as my mind replayed the image over and over, I realized that dot was much too big to be a bird. As the music continued to play in my ears, I decided not to trouble myself with overthinking it. Before I took another step, a shadow swept over me. As if by instinct, my knees bent down and I looked straight up. Again, my eyes caught a black blur soaring through the sky. I traced every which-way it was flying. For a bird, its flight pattern was pretty erratic (don't ask me how I know this). Suddenly, the "bird" stopped moving, but the blur was getting bigger. At this point I realized it was coming straight at me. The music playing in my ears slowly turned to a garble as this blur began approaching me rapidly. The same unseen force I felt when I first woke up came over me again. My heartbeat quickly rose as the blur became... a bright neon blur? Before I knew it, the blur was only a few feet from crashing straight into me. My eyes slammed shut, and my arms flew upwards to shield myself, and a huge gust of wind collided with my body, causing me to lose my balance. My earbuds were ripped from my ears, and I did my best to catch them before they flew away completely. I noticed that I was hyperventilating, and my heartbeat had escalated drastically as I desperately clung to my earbuds. "Are you alright?" asked a voice. The voice was scratchy, and tomboyish, but definitely female. Oh God... social interaction, with a female no less. The thought alone terrified me. As saddening as it may be, I've had very minimal interactions with another human being. "I-I... uh... what's happening?" I stuttered. "Well for starters, you're standing in a field, pathetically shielding yourself from me," the voice replied, "which brings me to my next question: what exactly are you?" That question prompted me to slowly pry open my eyes. Albeit a jumbled mix of color, I could still make out a figure. Though this was not just any figure, her stature alone was what kept my mouth shut. She stood at least two feet taller than me, and was pretty built. What intrigued me was the fact that her limbs seemed abnormal, and her face resembled a human's, but... not at the same time. Also she had fucking wings. "Uhm... I... human." I answered. "Uh-huh. Well I can tell you're definitely not a pony." Wha-, p-pony? I squinted my eyes, and surely enough she was definitely not human. Her face slightly resembled that of a "pony's", except it was more refined and curved. She had a set of magenta eyes, and her skin- er, coat, was a bright cyan blue color, and her mane and tail were rainbows, at least from what I can tell. Sporting a workout tank-top and white striped gym shorts, she retained a lot of human qualities, but this woman was definitely not human. "W-where am I?" I asked. "Right now you're on the outskirts of Ponyville, but I have a feeling that's not what you're asking." I replied with a nod. "While I would love to explain all of that to you, I don't really feel like it at the moment." she sighed. Typical. "I don't suppose you know anyone who does, do you?" I inquired. "Yep, I'm pretty sure Twilight would just love to meet a creature from another world." replied the pony, "If anything she's probably the reason why you're here." The way she spoke made this whole thing seem less and less like a dream. The thought didn't excite me too much. Being trapped in a world full of "ponies" without my glasses was not the most ecstatic feeling. Thankfully I had my earbuds, the ultimate form of comfort for an introvert such as myself. My train of thought was interrupted by an abnormal hand being waved in front of my face. "Hello~!? Equus to Human!" I blinked a few times before replying, "Erm, what?" "I was taking you to Twi?" "Oh, right. Lead the way." She raised a brow and gave a slow nod before turning around. I watched as she began walking forward, allowing a small gap between us. After a good distance, I plugged my ears with the earbuds again and brought my phone to my face once more. I didn't scroll through too much as to not lose sight of the vibrant creature in front of me. With the volume cranked up, I followed the mare through the fields. El Huervo - Rust The beats thumped against my eardrums, and the groove ad me rocking my head back and forth as I got as good of a look as I could at my surroundings. I caught a few glimpses of the mare glancing behind her to see if I was still following. Eventually we ended up on a trail with a wooden sign with two arrows pointing in opposite directions. Thanks to my poor eyesight, I could read what was etched into them, but the mare (lord it's so weird referring to her as that) turned in the direction of, what I assumed was "Ponyville". I yanked the earbuds from my head and called to the mare. "Oi, pony-lady. I don't think I caught your name." "First off, it definitely isn't "pony-lady", it's Rainbow Dash. Secondly, I didn't get your name either." replied Rainbow. "Caleb. Just Caleb." "Well then Caleb, pleasure to meet'cha." "Pleasure's all mine, Rainbow Dash." I heard Rainbow give a short chuckle as she slowed down a little to match my pace. I didn't notice because I was staring at my phone again. It wasn't until her face was as close as mine was to the phone that I noticed she was walking beside me. At this point, I wasn't bothered by the fact that I had a seven foot tall anthropomorphic pony standing over me, staring in awe at the shining black rectangle in my hand. I glanced over to see her confused face and sighed. "Here." I said, raising an earbud. "What's this?" she asked. "Put it in your ear." "Why would I-" "Just do it." She gave a disgruntled sigh and snatched the earbud from my hand and pushed it into her ear. I couldn't help by look up at the wire leading into her animalistic ears. As I continued to scroll through my phone for a song that wouldn't sound too weird to her, I eventually found a decent enough song. "Don't be too freaked out." I warned her. "Nothin' freaks me out." replied Rainbow. I scoffed and played the song. Stand By Me - Florence and the Machine Rainbow Dash suddenly yanked the earbud out and gave me a look mixed with confusion and fear. I couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction and shake my head. "Relax Rainbow, it's just music." I told her, holding out the earbud again. "Where was it even coming from?" she asked. "Obviously this thing." I answered, shaking my phone in the air. Rainbow reluctantly took the earbud and pushed it into her ear again, and I started up the song once more. As the soft melody continued to play, I could see Rainbow's frustration slowly fade away. Although I'm sure she was still plenty confused, I allowed her to enjoy the song with me without interruption. The song conveniently ended as we approached the entrance to Ponyville. As I looked up at the massive sign, I stopped dead in my tracks, while Rainbow kept walking. She stopped when the earbud was pulled from her ear, and she turned around. "Caleb?" she called. "I'm about to be the biggest center of attention than I'd like to be, and quite honestly I don't enjoy that." I could feel the anxiety creeping up my spine as thoughts of anthro-ponies piercing my soul with their gazes flooded my mind. For some reason, the fact that I'm an alien to this species never crossed my mind until now. What would they think of me? Would they be fine with someone, something like me living among them? My foot began incessantly tapping, and I quickly opened my phone before scrolling through my library. "Caleb!" Rainbow shouted my name in my face and placed her hands on my shoulders. "Jeez kid, you alright?" "Yeah. Yeah I'm good, I just..." I began fumbling my words, and my eyes darted everywhere, as if searching for an excuse to grab out of thin air. "Whadda'ya have to be worried about? Trust me, you'll be fine. You're with me after all, so nobody will say a thing." Rainbow assured me. I nodded my head and stuffed my phone into my pocket. "Alright. Alright." Rainbow gave me a reassuring smile before turning to the entrance. I gave a determined sigh, and stepped forward. It was like taking my first steps all over again. Taking my first steps into a new life. Though technically I had already done that a few hours earlier. As I followed close behind Rainbow, I saw the general populous of Ponyville digging into me with their stares. However, it wasn't too bad. Just like Rainbow said, nobody said anything. While their stares were definitely that of concern, they weren't horrified. If anything, I resembled them, except I was shorter, and less fur. "Almost there Caleb." I heard Rainbow say. My attention turned to Rainbow Dash, and I looked past her. In what seemed like the center of town stood a massive tree that seemed to be renovated into a house of sorts. "I'm guessing that's Twilight's place?" I asked. "Yep. Princess Celestia had her own private library built in town. She's a huge nerd." answered Rainbow. "Hey, for your information I happen to be a little bit of a book worm myself." "Heh, don't let her hear you say that. You'll never hear the end of it." "Noted." With that, we finally reached the one and only "Twilight's" house. Which also happened to be a library. Rainbow also mention a "Princess Celestia". Something tells me I'll be meeting with her very soon. Rainbow gave the door a few good knocks before a voice could be heard from inside. "Coming!" the voice called. After a few seconds, and what sounded like stumbling over many objects, the door flung open. Behind it stood a lavender colored woman, with a mane and tail of navy blue, each had a streak of purple and pink throughout the length. Her most notable feature was the horn protruding from her forehead. Besides that, she wore a white button-up shirt, black overcoat, and a plaid skirt. Not going to lie, the short-ish skirt combined with her long legs, was a little odd to me. "Oh hey Rainbow Dash! What brings you..." her voice trailed off as her eyes met mine. "...here, of all... places?" I slowly raised my hand and gave a slight wave. At that moment, I could practically see the excitement spread across her face. She began to hop up and down and squee like a giddy schoolgirl. "Ohmygoshomygoshohmygosh, i-is it real?! Like really real?!" she asked Rainbow, practically gushing with enthusiasm. "As real as I'll ever be." I plainly replied. She gave another squee and said, "Rainbow, do you know what this means? I need to tell Celestia about thi-" All of the excitement vanished from the girl's face, and a frown quickly formed. "Celestia..." she gasped. Twilight whipped around, appearing to look at something. I peered inside to see a staircase. I'm pretty sure everyone was looking at the stairs at this point. Not too long after, a set of bright white legs wearing a pair of golden shoes elegantly made their way down the stairs, revealing more of the owner to said legs. As she came down the stairs, a song couldn't help but play inside my head... Your Love - The Outfield She wore a soft yellow sundress that draped perfectly over her tall and curvy body. Her mane and tail seemed to flow just as elegantly as she moved, and her fierce magenta eyes seemed to stare directly into my soul. I noticed that she had something that these two ladies didn't: a pair of wings, and a horn. Another thing she bore that I couldn't help but notice was a decent sized rack. What? They may not have been human, but they retained human qualities like I said. Don't judge. "What did you have to tell me Twilight?" the beaut asked, looking over at Rainbow and I. "Ah, Rainbow Dash! What a pleasant surprise." The mare, who stood even taller than the other two beside me, looked directly at me. For whatever reason, I felt extremely intimidated by her stare. My eyes wavered from hers, before falling to the ground. She gave a soft giggle, one that'd I give anything to hear again, before taking a few steps towards me. "You've brought a guest I see." she spoke. "Yeah, I kinda just found him wandering around in a field on the outskirts of Ponyville." Rainbow replied. Celestia placed a hand under my chin and lifted my head. My eyes met her's once more, and the intimidating feeling turned to one that I've never felt before. Before long I felt myself drowning in those pools of magenta. I snapped out of my hysteria when she spoke ever so softly to me, blessing my ears once again. "I'm curious as to who you are, young one." she said.
Chapter 2 Remember to open the link to the songs in a new tab so you don't lose where you are in the chapter. My anxiety was spiking at this point. I sat in a wooden chair with three women staring me down, one of them being the supreme god ruler of this realm. The other two were practical heroes that have saved the world at least three times. My life seemed to get smaller and smaller by the minute. It felt embarrassing as the mares watched my drummer feet bop up and down rapidly. While they definitely seemed like the understanding bunch, anxiety isn't a very nice person. He liked to fill my mind with rather negative thoughts. It took a while before one of them decided to break the silence with a question. "So Caleb," Celestia started, "I'm sure that this is a very peculiar situation that you're in." "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be so awkward." I chuckled nervously. "Well, given the current circumstances I'm sure anypony would feel the same way you would." said Twilight. "No, no. I've always been like this to be honest." "Like what?" asked Rainbow. "Well, y-you see the thing is, I've never had too much social interaction," at this point my voice trailed off into a mumble, "so I'm sorry if I come off as awkward, or weird... or annoying..." My eyes never met any of their's for that entire sentence as my feet continued to bounce. I checked my phone for the time, and saw that I only had 34% battery life left. Apparently my look of distress was bad enough for all three mares to lean forward. I could feel their stares, their eyes clawing at me despite being out of utter concern. My feet bounced faster. My hands nervously fiddled with the stand on the back of my phone case. I couldn't tell the expressions on the trio's faces anymore as I instinctively turtled. "Young one..." Celestia said with a soft, motherly voice. "Hm?" I finally looked up at her. "Are you alright?" Normally my response would be, "yeah, I'm alright". But what actually came out surprised me, as well as the other three people in the room with me. "No." I answered, shaking my head. A fake smile couldn't help but form itself on my lips as I tried to hide the fact that I just gave an answer I didn't want anyone to know. I gave another chuckle, and my gaze fell back to the floor. Before I knew it, tears began to stream down my cheeks and fall onto my knees. I hadn't noticed I was crying until now since my vision was already blurred enough. Why am I crying? I thought to myself. Oh God, this is embarrassing. Fuck I must look so pathetic. I hastily wiped the tears from my eyes and took a deep breath. My body leaned forward as I covered my face with my hands, and gave a sigh. As I recovered myself mentally, I felt a hand gently place itself on my shoulder. I looked up to see Celestia, giving me the most reassuring smile I've ever been given in my life. Who was I to be so deserving of something so pure? I found myself lost in that smile of her's. I don't know what kind of face I was making, but it must have been something to earn myself a giggle from Celestia. "Whatever the problem may be, you can always come to us." she said. There was something about her. The sight of her filled me with such vigor and energy to make all my exhaustion seem so non-existent. Her voice was a blessing upon my eardrums that assured me that no matter what, everything was going to be okay, and her eyes... There was something about them that I couldn't describe. All I knew was that this woman, mare, whatever she is, was the light I never had. Mind you, my life was not filled with extremely traumatic events or anything like that. Isolation pays a heavy price on one's mind. I looked into the goddess's eyes and nodded, wiping away the remaining tears from my eyes. Rainbow took this opportunity to chime in. "See? I told you everything would be alright!" "If one thing's for sure, it's that opening up to your friends really helps." Twilight added. I smiled before replying, "Unfortunately those aren't something I had a lot of back home." "It concerns me that you're able to say that with a smile." Celestia commented. "I never really bothered to worry about it." I sighed. "That's also pretty concerning." said Twilight. "Is it okay if I say that I don't feel like going into it right now?" I asked. "While I don't quite understand what keeps you from opening up about your past, we won't force you." Celestia replied. "Thank you." I said. "Now I don't mean to be imposing, but how are we handling my living quarters?" The three mares looked to one another before pondering at the question. "Well you can't bunk with me, I live in the clouds. As far as I know, you can't walk on clouds." Yeah, no. "I do not wish to frighten the people of Canterlot, nor do I want the guards watching your every move." Understandable. "I've already got Spike here with me, and I'm sharing my room with him." Shame. "So basically what you're all telling me is that I'm SOL." "'SOL'?" asked Twilight. "I'll explain it someday." I replied with my face in my palm. With that, the four of stood up simultaneously, which caused me to sit back down. I didn't feel like being embarrassed again with how short I was. Celestia noticed this, but kept quiet with a smile that melted my heart. Don't ask me why I feel these things with her, it's not something I can explain too well. "Question." I started, "I have really bad eyesight, is there anyway you could get me some sort of glasses?" "I'm positive we have someone who can do that for you." answered Twilight. Oh thank God. "Great! Just one problem." "What is it?" Rainbow asked. "I'm from another world, quite possibly another universe, so I'm not very liquid at the moment." I deadpanned. "Fear not young one, I'll personally find one for you." "Caleb." I corrected, "And you don't have to do that." "Why shouldn't I?" I shrugged. "Good point." "As I thought." said Celetsia. "I will inform an optometrist of your needs. Until then, I have royal matters to attend to in Canterlot." "I appreci-- uh, I thank you for your help Princess Celestia." It completely slipped my mind that she was in fact a princess until now. "Oh please Caleb, no need to be so formal." Celestia laughed with a wave of her hand. "I was taught to respect my elders." "Are you saying that I'm old?" "Well I-I didn't mean it like--" Oh boy, here we go with the stuttering. It came to my attention that Celestia is pleasantly amused by my awkwardness, judging by how hard she was trying to hide a smile. Eventually she gave a short laugh, causing my fumbling to come to halt. I felt the burning sensation in my cheeks and I sighed. "My apologies. It's simply that I've never met somepony struggle with their words since Shining proposed to Cadence." she stated. "I have no clue who those two are, but I'll try to work on my social skills." I replied. "Very well. I shall see you all again soon." With that, Celestia made her exit. I turned to the other to ponies (I don't think I'm ever going to get used that) in the room with me. "What now?" I asked. "I believe we should get you familiarized with town." Twilight answered. "Yeah, that's a good idea." added Rainbow. "We'll start by visiting the rest of the Elements." "Elements? Is there like a fire level in this place?" I said with the utmost sarcasm. "She means our other friends, elements is her way of saying 'friends'." Rainbow sighed. "Sorry." Twilight said with a sheepish grin. "Closest would be Pinkie Pie." Fuckin' hell with these names. I thought. "Where can I find her?" There was a sudden knock at the door. Twilight called to it and quickly rushed over. When she opened the door, my vision suddenly flooded with-- "Pinkie!" Yeah. That. "Pleasure to meet ya! What's your name? Caleb? What a nice name! I was already on my way over when I saw you walking Rainbow Dash and I got distracted by this really weird thing I saw! So then I--" Please. Stop. The hyperactive mare continued to ramble like a psychopath, zipping around me, left and right, seemingly defying physics. I felt my head throbbing as the world began to spin around me. Pinkie's voice became a muffled echo as I closed my eyes and shrank deeper into my chair. As my mind completely tuned out the world, I plugged my earbuds into my head and scrolled through my plethora of songs. It didn't take long for me to find something to fit the mood. Wishy Washy - Devilman Crybaby OST As I threw my head back over the seat, the headphones played the medley of sounds to me. I couldn't see it, but I knew the pink mare was still zooming around me as she spoke nonsense that I refused to listen to. I knew fully well that it was rude, but if you knew me, this was for the best. "What'cha listening to?" her voice seemed to leak through the headphones and into the song. "Jesus!" I yelped, falling out of my chair. "Jesus? Never heard of him." Pinkie said, tapping her chin and thinking a little too hard on the subject. "Alright Twilight, who's next on the bucket list?" I asked. "Well, from closest to furthest, I believe Rarity is next." Rarity huh? Definitely not the weirdest name I've heard all day. "That'll be an easy two'fer!" Rainbow cheered. "What will Rainbow Dash?" asked Twilight. "He can meet Rarity, and she could tailor him some clothes!" "Huh? Why would she do that? Can't he just wear some of our clothes?" Pinkie chimed. "Pinkie, c'mon! He's like half our size." Rub it in why don't you? "He could wear some of the children's clothes!" Pinkie said with a giggle. "Oh, please spare me the embarrassment of imagining that." I muttered as I stood up. "So it's off to this, 'Rarity', I'm guessing?" "It would seem so." Twilight said. Fantastic. Hopefully I could ask this "Rarity" to tailor me a hoodie so I could hide my face. Maybe then I'd get less stares than I usually do whenever I walk around town. I couldn't put in my headphones to block them out in case one of the ladies called for me, and I don't do that one earbud shit. I prayed that we could get this over with quick so I could get my hourly music fix. "This is the place." Rainbow said to me, turning my attention to the massive boutique. My eyesight may be bad, but I'm pretty sure that's a little too much purple and white. Oh boy, wonder what her accents are going to be. Twilight knocked on the door and a refined voice emanated from the inside. "Just a moment darling!" Maybe a little bit too refined. After just a moment, the door slowly opened to reveal a rather gorgeous looking mare. Again, the first thing I noticed was the horn on her forehead. Her coat was a soft white with a purple tint to it. Her deep purple mane and tail curled elegantly at the ends. She wore a baggy black, open knit sweater with a light gray shirt underneath, along with a pair of joggers that hugged her lower-half tightly, showing off her fine curves. Her light-ish blue eyes darted between her friends. "Twilight? Rainbow? Pinkie? My, my, what brings all of you here?" Then to me. I saw the excitement on her face slowly drain as she continued to stare. She hastily pulled Twilight inside and shut the door behind her. I didn't need to hear what they were saying for me to know what, or who they were talking about. As we waited, Rainbow slithered an earbud from around my neck and plugged her ear. I smiled and did the same before finding a song to wait to. Guided Meditation - Old Future Fox Gang The lounge-like music made all the waiting seem less awkward as we stood outside in the Fall weather. It was also nice to find someone who enjoyed my music as much as I did. Although I'm sure she might still be freaked out by my phone. Soon enough, Pinkie wanted to hear some of my music as well. I reluctantly gave her my earbud, as to not ruin it for Rainbow, but I still listened to the song in my head. The door suddenly flew open, revealing Twilight and Rarity in the doorway. "Alright Caleb, come introduce yourself!" Twilight said gleefully. "I think you just did." I chuckled. As I stepped forward, I could still see Rarity's worrisome face. Taking what little knowledge I learned of her at Twilight's house, I put my James Bond knowledge to work. Very gently, I took her hand in mine and bowed down before planting a soft kiss on it. This changed her worried look to one of slight approval. I don't care how ridiculous I made myself look in this moment, I needed her to feel comfortable. I knew that much about being social. "It's a pleasure to meet you, my dear." I said with the utmost confidence I could muster. "And to whom do I owe this fine pleasure?" asked Rarity as she turned her body and raised her shoulder. "Caleb, Caleb Johansen. Charmed I'm sure." "Quite." Rarity said with a smile. "Twilight darling, where on Equestria did you find this gentlecolt?" "In a field." Rainbow chimed. "Well, that would explain the attire. Come Mr. Johansen, let's dust you off and clean you up." "I would appreciate that greatly." I followed. After we entered the boutique, Rarity used her magic to close the door behind us. The interior was littered with spools, spindles, and sewing machines. Massive scraps of cloth were found draped over the tables and hanging from the walls. I noticed her mannequins were all based off of the anatomy of a pony. Tailoring my clothes was probably going to be a bit of a challenge for her. "I'd heard you had a sense of fashion." I said in awe of the multitude of suits, dresses, and other miscellaneous clothing products. "'Sense' is an understatement darling." Rarity complimented herself. Well if you're going to be in this industry, you've gotta have confidence I guess. I took this moment to learn a little more about Rarity. "How long have you been tailoring for Rarity?" "Ever since I was a filly. It was my dream to craft the most magnificent pieces of clothing, worn by the finest ponies in Equestria." "Well, that's definitely one helluva dream." I said. "How about yourself Mr. Johansen, what was your dream job? Where are you even from? Surely somepony from a different world has some stories to tell?" "Well for starters, my world is just called Earth. It's been there for a while so I won't go into details about everything. As for exactly where I came from, I came from a place called Texas. All you need to know, is that I wear that fact with the utmost pride." Oh boy, have to hold back all my pride. "Sounds like quite the place to be." Rarity giggled. 'Honestly for lady such as yourself, definitely not. That's if you can't handle the blistering heat, the bipolar weather, the fact that all four seasons manage to fit into one day..." "You make it sound like Texas is sentient." Twilight said. In a way, she is Twi... more than you know. "Besides my home, my dream job was to be a veterinarian." "Humorous, bookworm, gentlecolt, loves animals," Rainbow listed off my qualities as if I wasn't standing in the room with her, "what's next, you're gonna be great at baking and was raised on a farm?" "As for baking, I make a mean lasagna. Being raised on a farm however, not quite." "Hard to believe you're socially awkward." Did you really have to remind me? I thought I was doing good so far... Ignoring what Rainbow had just said, I turned my attention back to Rarity who was rummaging through her drawers. She gave an, "Aha!" and pulled out a long strip of measuring tape. "Alright darling, before I get to work I need to make some measurements." she said. "That's fine." I replied. "Perfect! Now, strip." "I'm sorry?" The events that transpired were too awkward for me to explain, but if you want the short version I can do that easily. After I had stripped down to my underwear for Rarity, it was about ten minutes of nobody saying anything. Afterwards I was told to leave so that she could get to work. What happened next gave me some clarity. "Well girls, I think I've had a long enough break. Time to get back to my workout." said Rainbow as she extended her wings and flew off. "I agree. I have to get back to the library to continue my studies, plus Spike should be coming home soon." added Twilight. She gave me a smile and wave as she departed from the group. "I've gotta get back to the bakery to see if my cupcakes are burning!" shouted Pinkie, who suddenly vanished from my sight. And with that, I was left to my lonesome. Just as I was about to plug my ears, I heard Rainbow call out to me. I looked around confusedly before she called me again. I looked up to see her hovering in the air. "If you wanna meet Fluttershy, she lives in a cottage in the forest. You can find it down that path." she pointed to a dirt path that led to a tree grove. "As for Applejack, she lives on the apple farm in the opposite direction. Who you wanna meet first is up to you." "Alrighty, thanks Rainbow." I said with a smile. "Don't mention it." Rainbow replied with a smile of her own. As she took off into the skies, I plugged my ears and did my routine scrolling. A few moments later, I picked a song and made my way to the one known as Fluttershy.
Chapter 3 Remember to open the links to the songs in a new tab so you don't lose your place in the chapter. Ethereal - Nosaj Thing x Pretty Lights The day had entered early afternoon hours, turning the lighting from a soft grayish to a warm orange. My mind seemed to wander as much as I did through the forest. I had almost forgotten that I was on my way to see... Fluttershy, I believe it was? Because the word "shy" was in her name, I had a feeling she was going to be a little bit of handful to deal with. I didn't have any of the other girls with me to explain things, so I had to improvise my words carefully. Plans and I don't mix too well, but whenever I wing it, things always seem to work out better that way. Most of the time anyways. Before long, I reached a small bridge that arched over a stream. Just on the other side was the small cottage that Rainbow had mentioned to me. It was a cozy little place that seemed to be made mostly out of shrubbery, and was covered in assorted flowers. Seems like a nice place. I thought as I crossed over the bridge. The closer I got, the more nervous I became. I've never dealt with girls before, let alone shy ones. All of my encounters have been short and awkward. Thinking about dealing with a girl as socially awkward as I was gave me a headache. As I approached the door I pulled my earbuds from my head and gave a sigh. Was everything in slow motion, or was I just raising my hand that slowly? Before I knew it, I was knocking on the door. Moment of truth. My hand lowered, and I heard an soft voice call from the other side. The voice was so soft that I'm sure all the damage done to my eardrums was healed. "Just a moment!" I noticed the reoccurring theme of calling out to visitors. Minus Rainbow and Pinks. Not a moment later, the door opened just a crack. I instinctively looked upwards to see the mare tower over me, only to be left utterly confused. My eyes trailed down the opening before my eyes met with the inhabitant of the house. The moment our eyes met she gave a squeak and quickly shut the door, surprising the hell out of me. That was weird. Did I finally meet someone shorter than me? Feeling as though she wouldn't open the door again, I gently knocked a few more times. "Hey, Fluttershy? You can open the door, I'm not going to do anything to you. My name's Caleb and I'm a friend of Rainbow Dash's." I stood there at the door, listening to the stream gently flow behind me. After a minute of standing in awkward silence I hung my head back and sighed. "Please?" A few seconds passed before the door opened again, but a little more so than last time, giving me a good view of the woman behind it. The first thing I noticed about her was her bright, crystal blue eyes. One of them was hidden behind her soft pink mane that cascaded over her shoulders and just past her chest. She was wearing a plain, baggy white sweater and pajama pants over her gentle yellow coat. In her arms she tightly clutched a tiny white bunny that seemed a little annoyed. Was it even possible for a bunny to look annoyed? "U-um, hello." she spoke. Please, continue talking. I couldn't help but stare. What do I say next? Rainbow, Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity, and Celestia usually did most of the talking. With her, it was just silence where neither of us really knew what to do. She noticed my staring, and her gaze fluttered from mine. A light blush formed over her cheeks as she fidgeted ever so slightly. I'm sure my heart would implode from cuteness overload. "Please, come in." again she broke the silence and stepped aside. "Right. Thank you." I said. Still holding the bunny to her chest, Fluttershy closed the door behind me. The interior was exactly what you'd expect from a cottage; mostly wooden carved furniture and a lot of tablecloth. There was a singular bookshelf, a couch with an end table that had a green lamp on top. In front of the couch was a small fireplace with a chair to the side, perfect for leisurely reading time. Fluttershy took a seat on the couch, her eyes glued to the floor. Without being too awkward, I sat on the opposite end and threw a foot over my knee. Tired of the awkward silence, I decided to lead as best as I could. "So I heard that you've got a soft spot for animals." I said. "O-oh. Yes, I can't help but fawn over them." Fluttershy replied, the ends of her lips curving upwards slightly. "I can relate. I was training to become a veterinarian back home." "Really? That sounds great!" I smiled at the progress I had made before continuing. "Unfortunately I didn't get to complete my training before I ended up here." "Oh... You're not from here are you?" she asked. "What gave it away?" I chuckled. "I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure you would have been a great caretaker." "Thanks Fluttershy. At least I got a good chunk of knowledge before hand." "That's good." "Yeah." Shit. I had just ended the conversation in the worst possible way. I looked over at her to see her eyes had never left the floor. Only for a moment did she glance over at me, only to shy away behind her hair. "Cute." I thought out loud. Fluttershy looked at me with a deep blush on her face. She seemed just as shocked as I was that I just said that. We stared into each other's eyes for a moment before quickly looking away. "S-sorry, I just--" "No, no, it's okay. I appreciate it." "That's good." Our legs began to bounce in almost perfect synchronization. "I'm sorry for being so awkward." said Fluttershy. "It's fine really. I'm just as bad, if not worse." I assured her. "You're not that bad. You seem to be better than I am at talking." "I could honestly say the same for you." The two of us went back and forth for a few minutes. Eventually we laughed it off. I noticed that Fluttershy was looking at me rather than the ground and decided to respectfully give her my attention. We talked about the little things, like our favorite animal, our experiences with them, and a about our little awkward tendencies. After a while, I finally decided to ask her about staying with her. "So, I don't mean to seem to imposing but... Since I'm not really from around here, is it okay if I stay here for a while, at least until I find my own place?" "O-oh! I'm not sure, I only have one room which is mine, and I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable on the couch." "It's not that bad." I lied. "Still, I could never do that!" she said assertively. "Trust me Fluttershy, I've slept on much worse. The couch is fine." Fluttershy's gaze fell to the floor once again. Her face looked as if she was uncertain about what she was about to say. She gently nodded her head and looked back to me. "I'm sorry, but I honestly don't feel too comfortable letting you stay with me." Her face seemed pained as she said those words. As much as she wanted to let me stay, her gut feeling wouldn't allow it. While it did hurt a little bit, I understood, and respected her wishes. I looked outside to see that the evening hours were slowly taking over. "That's quite alright. Thank you for at least considering." I said as I stood up. "I'm sorry Caleb." I hated hearing those words. Not because I was annoyed with them, but because there was nothing to be sorry about. I turned to Fluttershy and gave her a gentle smile. "It's fine Flutters." It seemed like she didn't quite accept my words. Then she smiled. "I'm sure that Applejack would surely have a place for you to stay! She lives at Sweet Apples Acres, it's a nice big place so I'm positive she'll have room for you." "Thank you Fluttershy." I said. "You're welcome Caleb." Fluttershy replied. She then walked me out and said her goodbyes. Before I started my trek to Sweet Apple Acres, I plugged my ears and lazily hit random playlist on my phone. Soon after, the music started. Evenings - Idealism Perfectly ironic. All of the lanterns around Ponyville flickered to life as the sun vanished beneath the horizon. My feet started to feel swollen with all this walking I've been doing today. Hopefully I could find a place to stay soon, or else I'd be sleeping on a bench in the cold. My current attire consisted of my work shirt, joggers and a pair of sneakers. Not suitable for sleeping outdoors. It was also at this point that I started feeling hungry. Thankfully I had my music to keep me distracted from all the problems that life throws at me. If only I had been so lucky as to have my glasses with me as well. Nighttime and darkness aren't a very good mix. At least the lanterns provided a decent amount of lighting for me to see where I was going. For the most part at least. There weren't too many ponies still on the streets, giving me more clarity to stroll by my lonesome. This was the most leisure time I got to myself since going to see Fluttershy, so I was soaking it up as much as I could. I glanced at my phone and cringed when I saw that I only had 18% battery left. It was like watching my own lifeline slowly drain away. I need to have Twilight zap my phone or something. I thought hopelessly. Before I knew it, I was at the outer fence of Sweet Apple Acres. I could just barely see a large barn in the shadows, along with a few other buildings that I couldn't make out. The only other thing I could see was the dimly lit farmhouse. Feeling tired, and a little bit lazy, I hopped over the fence and made my way to the home. As I grew closer, I could hear voices from the inside, letting me know that thankfully someone was still awake. I walked up the porch steps and pulled out my earbuds before knocking on the screen door. "Now who in the world could that be?" Again... The voice was indeed southern. Coming from Texas, I'm pretty sure I could tell a country accent when I heard one. Country as in, "hardworking, no bullshit, and respectful farmer". I could see a silhouette on the opposite side of the door, whoever it was matched me in height. "Who in tarnation are you? More specifically, what?" Choose your words carefully Caleb. "Good evening ma'am, my name is Caleb Johansen, and I mean no harm. I'm a friend of Fluttershy's." I answered. This seemed to earn myself a bit of her trust. She slowly opened the screen door and stepped outside, leaning against the doorway. "What made ya come here?" "Fluttershy told me you might have a place for me to stay, since I'm not really from around here." "Which brings me back to my first question: what are you? Definitely aren't a pony from the looks o' ya." "Well you're definitely right about that." I chuckled. "I'm a human, from a world called Earth. Specifically Texas." "You seem like an honest folk Mr. Caleb." "I'm from the south after all." I took this opportunity to relate to her. If it's anything I've learned from my mother about making friends, it's to relate to someone. "No kidding? Come on inside, we'll talk with Gramma about gettin' you a place to stay." The mare walked back inside, holding the door for me. I stepped through and shut the door behind me promptly. As I followed behind who I assumed was Applejack, I get a good look at her figure. Her coat was a mix of orange with a slight hint of caramel. Her blonde mane was braided with a red ribbon, and rested over her left shoulder. I noticed while talking to her that she had emerald green eyes as bright and pristine as the gemstone itself. She didn't have wings or a horn, but she did have an incredibly toned body hidden underneath her white apple-patterned pajamas. Her hips had a distinct sway that I couldn't help but find myself a little bit mesmerized by them. "It ain't polite to stare sugar." Applejack chuckled, pulling me from my thoughts. "Sorry..." She gave another short laugh before pulling a chair out from under the dining room table. As she took a seat, she prompted me to take one as well. I pulled out a chair and sat down, sinking deep into the wooden chair. "I'm guessin' Fluttershy told you who I was?" she asked. "Applejack, right?" I replied. "One and only. So what brings you around these parts? To Equestria I mean." "No clue, I was brought here against my will, and in my sleep." "Well that doesn't sound too pleasant." "It really wasn't." I laughed. "This whole situation must be pretty hard on ya, huh?" "Not the weirdest one I've been in, but it has its moments." "Like?" "The fact that everyone is a pony for one." Applejack gave another soft laugh and quickly hid her smile. I couldn't help but give a smile of my own. For some reason it felt refreshing to talk to someone like her. It was like I was back home, if only for a little bit. AJ's laughter finally stopped, and she stood from her seat. "You hungry? If you want me to whip something up quick we've got oatmeal." she offered. "That sounds fantastic." I replied. The fire sparked under the stove. Applejack and I made conversation, talking about home. "Tell me about Texas, sounds like the kinda place I'd like to visit." she said. "I'm sure someone like you would love it. To be honest with you, I don't think I've ever seen a place with people so proud to live there like the people of Texas." "Now why wouldn't people be proud of where they live?" "A lot of reasons really. Weather, law, even the people that live there. It changes wherever you go." "Makes sense, I guess." "What about you AJ, I'm guess you've lived in Ponyville all your life." "And you'd be right. Sweet Apple Acres has been my home since I was a filly. Wouldn't trade it for nothin'." "That's the same kind of pride us Texans have." The topic of home continued as Applejack slid a bowl of oatmeal in front of me. I quickly scarfed it all down like a rabid animal, drawing some shock out of the mare beside me. I looked at her and shrugged before continuing. My body was hungry, and I was going to show it. I don't think I've ever eaten something that fast in my life, because before I knew it, the bowl was empty. "Long time since your last meal?" asked AJ. "Longer than you think." I replied with a heavy sigh. "Then it must be a long time since you've slept huh?" "Been awake almost all day as far as I know." AJ nodded her head slowly and smile. "Well, we don't have anywhere in the house for you to sleep, but you can camp out in the barn. It's pretty cozy in there." "At least it's not outside right?" Afterwards, AJ pointed me towards the barn, handing me a lantern. I stepped through the large door and held the lantern high. If anything, it was a lot warmer in here than it was outside. I jumped a little when Applejack crept up behind me with a few blankets, earning myself a laugh from the mare. "Here ya go sugar, fresh blankets. Now make yerself and home, and get some sleep ya'hear?" she said. "Thank you very much ma'am." "'Ma'am'?" Applejack looked around before turning back to me, "You must be thinkin' of someone else." she joked. We both laughed at the little joke. Then she gave me the sweetest smile. I felt something in my chest, something I couldn't describe. We caught ourselves staring and turned away from each other quickly. "You have a nice night Caleb." she said. "And you as well, Applejack." I replied. She gave me another smile before walking back to the farmhouse. After she was out of earshot, I gave an exhausted sigh before entering the barn. Walking past all the stables, I climbed the ladder to where all the hay was stored. Once I found a good enough spot, I tossed a blanket over a pile of hay before flopping down with another on top of me. I've never slept in barn until today, but it wasn't all that bad. Before I succumbed to my exhaustion, I scrolled through my phone. I didn't look too long before I settled on a calming song to help me sleep. The Mighty Rio Grande - This Will Destroy You
Chapter 4 Remember to open the links in a new tab so you don't lose wherever you are in the chapter. Also this chapter is going to contain a little bit of risque content. You've been warned. A familiar feeling returned to me as I slept. I felt like I was floating again in complete darkness. Everything was quiet, to the point where I could hear my blood flowing through my own veins. I tried to open my eyes, but they felt glued shut. My body wouldn't respond to what I told it to do. Again, an unseen force began to squeeze my hips together, as if my body were a soaked rag. The air was slowly pulled from my lungs, and I desperately tried to gasp for air. My panicking increased as I felt the life being sucked out of me. A set of fingers slowly crawled up my back before clasping onto my shoulders. It's time to wake up. I woke up in a cold sweat, gasping for air. The weight on my lungs was lifted, relieving my lungs. I used the blanket to wipe away the sweat on my face before getting my bearings. My breathing finally turned to normal and rummaged through my pocket. Much to my dismay, when I brought my phone to my face, the screen didn't light up like it usually does. "Son of a bitch..." I sighed. I stretched out my body with a groan before rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Every muscle in my body felt sore, but I had things to do. Like get my damn phone charged... I swept my hair back and threw the blankets off to the side. As I stood up I heard an awkward creak to my right. I looked over to see a small pony's head poking up from the ladder. I couldn't tell if it was male or female because it was so dark, and my vision was blurred horribly. 'Morning." I groggily spoke. "G'mornin'! Applejack said to come get'cha for breakfast." replied the mare. "Alright, tell her I'll be down in a minute." The tiny pony gave a confirming hum and jumped from the ladder. A satisfied sigh escaped my lips as I stretched my legs. I shuffled my way to the ladder and climbed down. When I turned around, the light from outside blinded me. My eyes quickly adjusted and I stepped outside, taking deep breath of the morning air. As I inhaled, my nostrils caught a whiff of something extremely pleasing. Pancakes... I don't think I've ever moved so fast and with such motivation after waking up in my life. My feet carried me to the dining room where a gigantic stack of pancakes was practically waiting for me, while more were still being made. There was a separate stack for each flavor; butterscotch, blueberry, strawberry, and my personal favorite... Chocolate-mothafuckin'-chip. "Go on ahead, dig in Texas!" AJ said from behind me. She still wore her pajamas and had her mane braided, but was slightly disheveled, compared to my hair which was in a constant state of messy bedhead. Combine that with long curly hair and you've got yourself a nightmare. The scent of pancakes filled my mind, and as soon as I went to grab a few, an elderly voice interrupted me. "Not just yet young'un. Go wash your hands, the bathroom is upstairs, down the hall and to the left." I turned to see an elderly mare, slowly walking into the room with a cane. Her gray mane was tied back in a bun with a red ribbon. She too was in her pajamas that hung loosely from her light green body. "That's Granny Apples, caretaker of Sweet Apple Acres." said Applejack. "Pleasure to meet you ma'am." I gave a respectful nod to the lady. "Pleasure to have ya, young'un." Granny Apple replied with a smile. "I assume you already met with Applebloom." "Sure did!" a familiar voice said. I turned to see the small filly that greeted me when I woke up. Now that the lighting was better, I could actually see her somewhat. She had a coat that was a soft yellow similar to Fluttershy's, and her maroon red mane hang freely down her back with a single pink bow tied behind her head. She wore a white, short-sleeved, plaid shirt with the very top button hanging loose and blue suspenders. "Thanks for waking me kiddo, name's Caleb." I introduced myself. "Applejack told me all about ya' before we went to bed last night. You sure are a strange one." I get that a lot. "You'll probably get to meet Big Mac soon, he went into town earlier this morning." said AJ. "I've got a lot on my plate today unfortunately. Maybe I'll run into him while in town." "Where're ya off to?" asked Granny. "I have to get whatever clothes Rarity has ready for me first, then I've gotta see if there's an eye doctor that can finally get me a pair of glasses. I also need to see about getting this thing charged." I shook my phone before stuffing it in my pocket. "What even is that?" AJ asked, staring at my pocket. "I'll tell you after breakfast." I sighed before going upstairs. I reached the bathroom and locked the door behind me. As I turned, I surprised myself in the mirror (a thing I do daily). I quietly laughed and approached the sink. "You look like shit pal..." I told myself. While washing my hands, I decided to get a good look at myself. I stared hard into my oak-brown eyes before looking further down. I could definitely use a little shave to get rid of the disgusting neck hairs, other than that I enjoy my barely visible half-goatee. With my wet hands I desperately tried to push my long brown curly hair back and flatten it. Flyaways popped up everywhere and I violently shook the water from my head, poofing my hair. "Dammit..." I grumbled. Despite being so young, my life has decided to drastically take a turn. Fresh out of high school with dreams of becoming a veterinarian. Instead I find myself in a world filled with technicolor, anthropomorphic ponies who seem awfully friendly with an alien creature that they barely knew. It felt like a dream, but something in the back of my mind wouldn't let me believe that. My mind started creating random conclusions as to how and why I ended up here. Neither Twilight nor Celestia know how I got here, so it couldn't have been one of them. Is this some sort of punishment? Did I do something to end up here? Or was it just that I'm unlucky? "Caleb! You alright in there?" AJ shouted through the door, effectively startling me. "Y-yeah! Yeah, I'm good!" I replied. I hastily dried my hands and stepped from the bathroom to see AJ standing off to the side. "C'mon, let's eat." she said with a smile. "Of course." I replied. After breakfast, Applejack decided to tag along on my little adventure to get clothes. As I sat on the porch waiting for her to finish getting ready, I fiddled around with my phone. Hopefully I could find some way to get my phone charged, or else I would need something to keep me seriously distracted. Besides talking with the girls. The sound of the screen door creaking open caught my attention. I turned to see AJ standing there in her new attire. She wore a orange and white plaid shirt with a white tank-top underneath, along with a pair of blue jean-shorts that revealed her rather alluring legs. Despite the fact that they had hooves, a leg man is a leg man. Always. "Alright sugar, you ready to head out?" she asked. "Ready as I'll ever be." I answered. "Mind if I join you two?" AJ and I looked up to see Rainbow Dash, hovering upside down above us. She was wearing a black and white track jacket, a dark blue t-shirt and sweatpants. "When did you get here, Rainbow?" "Been waiting for the both of you for hours." "Sorry to keep you waiting." I chuckled as I walked down the steps. "So~," Rainbow started, "did you two get nice and cozy last night?" "The barn was pretty comfortable." I answered. "Sorry again." AJ said. "Don't sweat it. It really wasn't that bad." We weren't walking for too long before we ran into another familiar face. Fluttershy was on her way to Sweet Apple Acres to check and see if I had found a place to stay. That was a first. A cute girl checking on me to see if I was alright. After she joined up, we continued on our way to Rarity's place. The girls did most of the talking, I simply looked forward and walked. At this point, it'd been three full hours since I had actually heard music. I did my best to try and play the song in my head, but it just wasn't the same. My earbuds blocked out the outside world entirely, leaving me to myself and my music. However it was a little hard to do that with three females behind me talking about... whatever they talk about. "What about you Caleb?" asked Fluttershy, pulling me back to reality. "What?" "If you had to choose one animal to have as you pet, what would you choose?" she repeated. "Definitely a ferret." "Ferrets are so cute! I just can't get over their smell." said Rainbow. "I used to live in a place that smelled worse than them, plus it doesn't bother me all that much." "In what place did you live that smelled worse than a ferret?" "My cheap apartment complex." "Why didn't you move out?" asked AJ. "Well, you have to remember, I only recently graduated high school and was on my way to being a Vet. Money was not something I had a lot of." I answered. "That tells me, how old are you Caleb?" "I am a whopping nineteen years old." "By Celestia, you're awfully young!" Fluttershy said. "Tell me about it, and here I am in a different world, with absolutely no clue what's happening with my life." "Don't worry sugar, I'm sure Celestia and Twilight are cookin' up something to get yerself home." AJ assured. "Hopefully." I sighed. "Cheer up kid, we're almost here. Wouldn't wanna ruin Rarity's image of you, would ya?" Rainbow asked. "I guess not." I replied, straightening myself up. We walked for a few more minutes before finally reaching Rairty's boutique. I knocked on the door and got the usual response before the door shone blue and flew open, revealing the white unicorn. Her face lit up when she saw me and she waved us inside. "It's magnificent to see you again Mr. Johansen! Your clothes are all fresh and ready to worn." she pointed to a basket of clean clothing sitting in the corner. Before I could retrieve the basket, Rarity magically slapped a folded piece of paper against my chest. I took it and folded further and placed it in my pocket. Her face came uncomfortably close to mine as she stared into my eyes. "Now, before you go and start wearing my clothes around, I recommend you get a bath taken first so you don't smell like you slept in a barn." "Actually Rares, he kinda did." AJ chimed. "Well... who would have thought?" Rarity smiled. "What's the note for?" I asked. "That's my voucher for the Spa Sisters. Tell them yours truly sent you, darling, then show them that note." Rarity then levitated the basket into my arms. "Now, I did do my best to try and accommodate for your, 'relaxation' clothing. If anything feels too tight or too loose, let me know and I'll fix it right up!" "Thank you Rarity, I really appreciate it." I said. "Oh please, don't mention in darling." "If there's anything I can do to repay you, let me know, please." I insisted. "I'll be sure to take you up on that offer, come a time if I were to need it." "Alright, enough bein' gushy. Now go get a bath Caleb." AJ interrupted. "Speaking of, where is the spa, exactly?" I asked with a smile. Since it was closest to her, Fluttershy graciously led me to the bathhouse. We said our goodbyes and parted before I stepped inside. The smell of lavender washed over me and I was welcomed simultaneously by two mares. One of them had a blue coat with matching eye color, and a pink mane that was slicked back. The mare beside her had a reversed color scheme, but matching eyes. "I am Lotus Blossom," said the blue mare. "And I am Aloe," the pink mare added. "And we're the spa sisters!" "Um, hi. I'm here for a bath, Rarity said to give this to you." I mumbled as I handed them the note. The two of them took the note and their eyes scrolled through it. Both of their faces grew a smile and they looked at each other, then to me. They walked from behind they counter they stood behind and led me to the changing room. Before I got the chance to choose which clothes I wanted to wear, the two of them began to undress me. "Whoa, whoa, hang on a minute." I said as I clung to my clothes. "Oh, would you rather do it yourself?" Lotus asked. "Of course." I replied. "Our apologies." Aloe bowed her head. "It's fine, I just don't feel too comfortable with that." "We understand." said Aloe. Awkwardly, the two of them exited, allowing me to strip myself down. I was impressed with how well Rarity made all of my clothes in one day, despite having never tailored clothes for a human. Wrapping my waist with a towel, I entered the bath. The warm, humid atmosphere clung to my exposed skin. I quickly stepped down into the water, uncaring about the stinging heat. My body quickly became numb to the pain. I took a deep breath as I sank deeper, letting the various scents flood my nostrils before sighing. My mind was never clearer before this moment. It was still relatively early, and my body was still affected by sleep, and my muscles still stiff. My eyelids fluttered as the warm waters lulled me to sleep. What woke me up was the sound of someone else entering the bath. Thanks to all the steam and the poor eyesight, I couldn't see who it was. Although the voice that spoke soon afterwards made me wish I never found out. "C-Caleb?" "Twilight?!" "My, my. What a pleasant surprise!" Twilight nervously laughed. I don't think pleasant is the right word for this situation. "Ah jeez, Rarity didn't tell me this was mixed bathing." I murmured. "They don't really have a sign out there for it either." The awkwardness of the situation increased as Twilight sank into the bath with me. She sat to the left of the bath, just out of my peripheral view. Right next to me, in a bathhouse, is a completely naked female, covered in a single thin white towel. This cannot end well. Despite the calming atmosphere, it still took every ounce of my willpower not to think about Twilight's nude body. But since I'm a guy, that's literally impossible. Thoughts of Twilight suddenly succumbing to her carnal desires filled my mind. All I could do was watch through my blurred vision as she slowly stood up, letting the towel slip into the water. A force I'm all too familiar with held my body in place as the mare sauntered her way to me before straddling me. Now that she was this close, I got as much of an eyeful of her body as a man could only dream of. Her damp hair gently brushed over my face as she lowered herself on my lap, brushing against my unnoticed bulge. She leaned forward, pressing her squishy B-cups against my chest, which caused my bulge to twitch. She giggled into my ear before giving it a playful nibble. I felt her groin gently grazing over mine, prompting more anticipation from my member. Her breathy moans sifted through my ears as her breasts stroked up and down my chest. I could feel two little nubs getting harder as they brushed past mine. Twilight's moans became louder as her humping became more rapid. The only thing I could do was sit there and watch as it all happened. I closed my eyes and hung my head back as I succumbed to the pleasure. "Caleb?" My eyes shot open, and the naked Twilight was no longer on my lap. Instead, she was back where she first was with her towel wrapped tightly around her body. "Hm?" was the only sound I managed to make. "It'd be bad if you fell asleep in the bath." "Right." Before the conversation was able to go anywhere, I turned my body to hide my awkward boner, and pulled myself from the bath. Twilight said something that I wasn't able to understand, which I felt bad about, as I made my way to the showers. I made it quick so that Twilight didn't join me again. As I dried myself off, one of the spa sisters came into the changing room behind me. "Was the experience pleasurable sir?" In ways you couldn't imagine. "Well, I would have liked it if you told me that the baths were mixed before hand. Other than that, it was pretty relaxing." "I apologize for the inconvenience, but we made the mixed bathing confidential as to allow all of the client's stress flow freely." the mare replied. "'Stress'?" I asked. "Of course! Stress has many forms, and our baths which are mixed with certain minerals, allow for a truly stress relieving experience." After giving it some thought, I reluctantly asked, "What kind of forms are there?" "A few include physical, mental, traumatic, chronic, and sexual." That explains the dream. "I see..." "Will that be all for today, sir?" she asked. "Yes, thank you very much." I answered. "It's our pleasure!" she said gleefully. After she left, I began to dress myself in my new clothing. Besides the awkward situation I found myself in earlier, I felt extremely refreshed. The only things I had left to do was charge my phone and get a new pair of glasses. As I made my way out of the changing room, a certain mare stopped me. "Oh! U-uhm, hello again Caleb!" "Hey, Twilight." The two of us looked into each other's eyes. A knot formed in my stomach when I saw a blush form on Twilight's cheeks. Her eyes wavered from mine, and she brushed her hair behind her ear. "S-so... are you finished?" she asked. "Uh, yeah. Yeah I-I am." I replied, slipping my arms into the sweater that Rarity made for me. "Oh. Well that's good." "Yeah..." An awkward silence took over the room as we stood there. My eyes trailed down her body before they realized she was still only wearing a towel. "Did you... enjoy it?" "W-what?" I stuttered. "The bath, I mean!" "Oh! Y-yeah, it was great... what else did you mean?" Twilight's eyes widened and darted everywhere. Her lips curled inwards as she thought of an answer. I saw her blush deepen before she brushed past me and into the changing room. All I could do was stand there, speechless. What I had hoped to not happen, happened. She was thinking of the same thing I was. I shook the thought out of my head before adjusting my sweater. Whatever happened today, I wanted to make damn sure I forget about it soon. I quickly exited the building before making my way back to Sweet Apple Acres, my basket of clothes in tow.
