Chapter 5

I was frozen like a deer in headlights and my eyes felt like they bugged out more than one of those stress toys you squeeze. The sight before me was something completely unexpected as there were multiple ponies all standing at attention and smiling at me. There were balloons in midair here and there, a large table filled with various treats and hors d’oeuvres off to the side, and a big banner hanging above that read “Welcome to Ponyville, William Saber!” That last bit on the banner made me blink after several moments. Was this all for me? No, it couldn’t be. From the group of ponies, a familiar pink mare came hopping toward me with a wide smile on her face.

“Hiya, Willy!” Pinkie chirped.

“Uhh…h-hi?” I said back, still looking surprised.

“Well? Were you surprised? Huh? Were ya? Were you surprised, Willy?” she asked as she hopped excitedly in place.

“Surprised is one word for it,” I nodded, making her smile wider, if that were possible. “What is all this?”

“It’s your ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party, silly!” Pinkie said.

“Me? You put all this together for me?” I asked, and she nodded happily.

“Yeah! I always throw parties for any new friend I meet! Especially when there’s a new friend in Ponyville!”

“It’s true,” I heard Twilight say as she came into view from behind me. “Pinkie threw Spike and I a party like this a couple days ago when we first moved here.”

“You got that right.” From the crowd, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack emerged from the crowd and approached me. “Pinkie is well-known to throw awesome parties like this. She even threw one for us when we all first met,” Rainbow said.

“Indeed, Pinkie Pie’s soirees are most enjoyable,” Rarity commented.

“Never been to a shindig of Pink’s I never not enjoyed,” Applejack nodded.

“Do you like it William?” Fluttershy wondered.

I looked around the room as all the ponies continued to smile at me. Pinkie had set all of this up for me and I didn’t even ask her to. I placed a hand on my chest as a warm feeling within my heart spread, a feeling of happiness. I had only been here for a mere two days and they already threw a welcome party for me.

“I…I don’t really know what to say,” I said slowly. I looked at Pinkie and smiled warmly at her. “Thank you, Pinkie Pie. You didn’t have to do all this for me, but I very much appreciate it.”

“Aaaawww!” Pinkie said as she hopped over and wrapped her arms around me, giving me a nice big hug as she buried her face into my chest. “You’re super duper welcome, Willy!” She let me go and twirled around to face the crowd. “Alright, everypony, LET’S PARTY!”

“YEAH!!”

Music soon began to play from a couple of speakers in the room and the party was officially a go. Ponies were mingling with each other while some were dancing in the middle of the room. Meanwhile, I was busy making small talk to any pony who decided to make the effort to come and talk to me. It wasn’t all bad at first, but I couldn’t help feeling a little awkward from the whole situation. Sure, this party was thrown for me, but I didn’t exactly feel like I was getting the attention Pinkie had intended for me. This wasn’t something I was unfamiliar with since I never really attended many parties back on earth. The only kind of celebration I ever had for myself was for my own birthday. I remember that my mother and step-family would either celebrate it with me on our own or they’d invite some of the neighbors as an added bonus. Although my birthday would always be a bittersweet event for me on account of what had happened before with my birth father.

“Hey, Will!”

I was brought out of my thoughts when I looked to see a familiar mint-colored unicorn pony approach me with a wide grin. Trailing behind her was another mare who looked pretty annoyed for some reason. She had beige colored fur, pigment blue mane and tail styled with small swirls with a rose pink streak, and cerulean blue eyes. She wore a simple yellow t-shirt and jeans as Lyra dragged the mare towards me.

“Hello, Lyra,” I said to her.

“You remembered my name!” Lyra smiled. “Hey! I wanna introduce you to my friend! See, Bon Bon, I told you humans exist!”

“I can’t believe I let you convince me to come here and you won’t drop that stupid conspiracy!” the other mare grumbled, rolling her eyes. “I keep telling you, humans don’t-!” Her rant was cut short when her eyes finally set on me. It took her a moment, perhaps several to fully comprehend the very sight of me as her eyes slowly widened. “-…exist?”

“Nice to meet you,” I said, raising my hand to her. “Name’s William, William Saber, but you can call me Will if you like.”

“U-Um…y-yes, it’s nice to meet you, too,” the mare said, slowly reaching for my hand. I gently clasped it and shook it slowly as I continued to smile nicely at her. “I-I’m sorry, but are you really a human?”

“Well, let’s see,” I said, raising my hand away to count with my fingers. “I do not have a snout, my ears are small and are not on top of my head, I don’t have fur growing all over my body, and I have feet instead of hooves.” I listed each of my characteristics while pointing to each one. “Not to mention, I also have no tail.”

“This is…this is just…” she tried to say, but the words seemed to die in her mouth as she pinched the bridge of her muzzle. “I really wish Lyra was wrong about you.”

“Why’s that?”

“HA! I TOLD YOU!” Lyra boasted and turned to the rest of the crowd. “I TOLD ALL OF YOU! HUMANS DO EXIST! YOU ALL OWE ME SO MANY BITS!”

“That’s why.” I let out a sheepish chuckle before she took a breath to calm herself. “Anyway, I guess now I shouldn’t be so quick to judge Lyra when she comes to this kind of stuff. You’re an actual human when everypony else always believed they were nothing but an old ponytale.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” I joked, making her giggle.

“Nah, it’s fine, but now I’m just not looking forward to her constantly berating me about how she was right about humans. Anyway, my name is Sweetie Drops, but everypony calls me Bon Bon for short.”

“I wish you luck on whatever Lyra has in store for you and her victory boasting,” I said.

“Gee, thanks,” Bon Bon rolled her eyes with a coy smile. “Come on, Lyra, let’s go get some punch.”

“I was right! You hear me?! I was right all along!” Lyra continued to say as they walked away.

“I know you were, alright! Just get over it!”

“Never!”

I laughed at the two as Bon Bon dragged her friend back toward the crowd. Seeing how these ponies were happy and friendly toward me set me at ease. As the party went on, I was invited by Pinkie to play some old school party games, like pin the tail on the donkey or bobbing for apples in a barrel. I managed to make them all laugh when I accidentally placed the donkey’s tail on its face. Another fun party game I played was a good old fashioned game of darts, which was surprising to see in this world. I was facing Applejack, since she challenged me, and we were down to our last darts and turn. Applejack was aiming her dart very carefully as she had one of her eyes closed and stuck her tongue out. The surrounding ponies watched as I stood on the side, waiting for her to throw her dart. She exhaled and threw it as it hit the line that gave her 11 points.

“Shoot! Ah meant 14,” she grumbled. “Ah’m just shy of 1 point, so if ya miss, I win!”

“Guess we’ll see,” I said as I aimed my dart.

I had my eyes set on the line that would score me 12 points. I just need to hit my mark and I’d win the game. I took several deep breaths and drowned out all the noises and music around me. My eyes were set on my target as I held my dart close to my face. I focused so much that I could almost hear my heart beating as I readied my aim. With one last, deep breath, I threw my dart once I was absolutely sure it would hit where I wanted it to. We all watched the dart fly as it soon struck the circle, and to my satisfaction, right on the 12 point line.

“He did it!” a stallion cheered.

“Wow! I didn’t think he’d do it!” a mare said.

“Yes! Now pay up!”

“Damn…there goes my 20 bits.”

“Gotta admit, partner, ya can toss ‘em darts,” Applejack said as she held out her hand to me, to which I smiled, took it, and gave her a friendly shake.

“Good game, Applejack.”

“How’d you get so good?”

“I used to play darts with my dorm mates during my college years. I certainly wasn’t as good as I am now when I first started playing, that’s for darn sure.”

“Well ya sure impressed me, Will,” Applejack said with a wink.

“Great playing, Willy!” Pinkie chirped as she hopped up from behind Applejack. “Hey! I just got a super duper idea! Why don’t you go sing us a song?!”

“Er, what?” I blinked, confused. “You want me to sing?”

“Sure! It’s easy! Just grab the microphone and start singing away!”

“Uh…well, it’s not like I can just break out into song. Plus, I’m not that good,” I tried to say, but Pinkie just grabbed my hand and pulled me toward where the mic was.

“Aw come on, Willy! It’s not that hard! If everypony in Ponyville can do it, then so can you!”

“I question that logic of yours.”

We eventually found ourselves in front of a table where a unicorn mare stood between two speakers. She had snow white fur and blue, two-toned mane and tail. She wore a white top with jet blue lining and a picture of two bridged eighth notes. She wore skinny jeans that seemed to hug her waist nicely, not that I would know, and she wore a pair of snazzy looking sunglasses and headphones on her head.

“What’s up, man!” she said cheerfully. “Saw you play a mean game of darts with Applejack! You got some skills! Name’s Vinyl Scratch, but tonight, I’m DJ-Pon 3!”

“Nice to meet you too, DJ-Pon 3. I’m Will,” I greeted back.

“Hi, Vinyl! Willy here is gonna sing a song for us!” Pinkie chirped.

“Is that right? Well by all means, let’s hear those pipes of yours!” Vinyl said as she handed me a microphone.

“I’m still not so sure about this…” I said hesitantly.

“Trust me, Willy, it won’t be as bad as you think! Want some advice? Just sing from your heart!”

“Well…when you put it like that, I guess I can give it a shot. But just fair warning, I’m no superstar.”

“I’m sure you’ll do great, dude,” Vinyl reassured me.

“Real quick, do your speakers have some kind of audio jack?”

“You mean this?” she asked, holding up a cord.

“That’s perfect! Just give me a moment.” I pulled out my smartphone and scrolled through my playlist. If I was gonna do this, I had to pick a song that would be a memorable one. I soon found what I was looking for, took the audio jack, and handed my phone to Vinyl. “When I give you the thumbs up, press this button here and I’ll take it from there.”

“Whatever you say,” she nodded, taking a moment to examine my phone.

I nodded as I walked toward the center of the room, and every pony in the room now had their eyes on me. I gulped nervously as I pulled my shirt collar and waved at them timidly.

“Um…hello everyone,” I said into the microphone. “Not sure why, but I guess I’ll sing a song for you all. Fair warning, I may not be as good as I hope to be, so bear with me.” They all laughed a little and I closed my eyes and took some breaths to psych myself up. Not wanting to keep them waiting, I looked over to DJ-Pon 3 and gave her the thumbs up. She raised her thumb back and pressed the button on my phone

As soon as I heard the first note, I immediately began singing the song. I tapped my foot on the beat of the song and began having fun with the music that played. I found myself bobbing my head and weaving my body from side-to-side and danced a little. The ponies were watching me sing and dance, some a little surprised since this was the first time they had heard a song like this. When I reached the part where I had to hit a high note, I jumped up on the small table with a horse bust on it and started to really get into the singing.

The ponies cheered for me a little as I sang and Pinkie began tossing confetti around me. I felt an exciting feeling in my soul as I sang that made me smile. I had never sang like this before, and here I was singing like there was no tomorrow. It had been a long time since I had this much fun, and right now, I was having a blast. Soon, the song came to an end and I looked at the crowd, who stared back at me in silence. They all soon cheered all at once and clapped for me as I hopped down and gave them a small bow.

“Bravo!”

“That was such a great song!”

“Great job, Will!”

“Wow, thanks everyone,” I said with a smile.

“WILLY!” I felt something jump on my back as I looked over my shoulder to see Pinkie Pie smiling widely at me. “THAT WAS SUPER DUPER AMAZING! HOW COULD YOU SAY YOU AREN’T A GOOD SINGER?!”

“First of all, ears please,” I said as she hopped off me and I rubbed my ear. “Second of all, I honestly didn’t expect to sing like that. I used to sing on my own all the time and that was the first time I actually performed for anyone.”

“Well, we think you did a marvelous job, darling!”

From the crowd, Rarity, Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Spike walked up to me.

“That was some sick singing, dude!” Spike said.

“That was a nice song, William. At least, that’s what I think,” Fluttershy said timidly as she hid her face behind her mane, but I could see that she was smiling a little.

“You sure know how to bring the house down!” Applejack smirked.

“I agree, that was a very nice song you sang, William,” Twilight agreed. “I’ve never heard of that song before.”

“It’s actually a song from my world. I have plenty of others stored on my playlist on my phone.”

“Playlist?” Rainbow asked, tilting her head curiously.

“I’ll explain later. I’m just glad you all enjoyed my little performance.”

“You bet we did! Now let’s continue the party!” Pinkie chirped.

“That, I can agree to.”

The party dragged on until it became late in the night and the rest of the ponies from town had to go home. Soon, it was just the six pony girls, Spike, and myself as we all pitched in to clean up.

“Man, I can’t remember having this much fun at a party before,” I said as I swept up the floor with a broom.

“Get used to it, cause the next party Pinkie throws will be just as fun,” Rainbow said.

“I look forward to it.”

“Don’t you have parties in your world, William?” Twilight wondered as she used her magic to take the streamers that were hanging down.

“We do, but it depends on the party. There are tons of things we celebrate that call for a party in my world. Although, the only party I’ve ever celebrated was my birthday.”

“You weren’t invited to other parties?” Pinkie asked.

“Afraid not.”

“How come?” Spike wondered.

I paused my sweeping and blinked as a small frown formed on my lips. “My, um…childhood wasn’t exactly the most pleasant.” Everyone stopped their cleaning as I sighed to myself. “Let’s just say my parents split up when I was very young, and it sort of messed with my psyche ever since. I didn’t really socialize with many people during my teen years until I entered college, so being invited to other parties was sort of rare for me.”

“Oh darling, I’m so sorry for you,” Rarity said sadly.

“You don’t come across as somepony who would go through something like that,” Twilight said.

“It was a long time ago,” I shrugged. “I’ve learned to not let it bother me anymore. Besides, my mother had remarried to a more respectable man and he was more of a father than…him. I even managed to gain a sister afterwards.”

“You got a sister too?” Applejack asked.

“Yep. She’s older than me and we were as close as any other sibling in a family.”

“What is her name?” Rarity inquired.

“Rachel. Rachel Saber. And I considered her to be my actual sister rather than just a step-sister.” I smiled fondly at the memory of Rachel, but then became sad again and hung my head. “I just wish I had a little more time before I left to say goodbye…”

The mares around me looked at each other before Twilight walked up to me and placed both hands on my shoulders. I raised my head to look at her, and she gave me a comforting smile.

“I can’t speak for your family, William, but I’m sure that they miss you as much as you miss them. Though your current situation was unaccounted for, you should always remember the memories you shared with them.”

“I agree,” Rarity added. “You should not dwell on what could have happened, for it would most likely wane on your noble soul and you would do more harm to yourself than good.”

“Ah’m sure if yer family knew what happened, they’d understand, partner,” Applejack said.

“Yeah! And don’t forget how much fun you had and how happy you were during the party!” Pinkie pointed out.

“You could also think of it as a fresh start,” Spike suggested.

I thought about their words and found myself smiling more and more. I nodded to them all and faced the lavender mare in front of me.

“Thanks for the words of confidence, everyone. I’ll try to keep all you said in mind.”

They all smiled back at me as we continued to clean the library. It took a little while, but we managed to straighten the place up real nice. The rest of the mares later went home for the night after taking some leftovers from the party, Pinkie taking most of them with her as she literally balanced them on her head. As Spike was in the kitchen preparing some tea, I sat on the sofa as Twilight sat on the chair beside me.

“Tonight sure was fun,” I said with a yawn.

“I agree,” Twilight nodded. “It was just like how Spike and I first arrived not a couple days ago.”

“Oh yeah, you’re also kinda new in town. Where’d you say you were from?”

“Canterlot, the royal capital of Equestria.”

“Canterlot? Huh, sounds almost like Camelot,” I chuckled.

“What’s a Camelot?” Twilight asked.

“It’s just about some fictional story about a legendary city ruled by King Arthur. He and his Knights of the Round Table were said to be the protectors of one of the greatest kingdoms ever to exist. I remember writing a paper about it back in high school.”

“Amazing. Are there any other stories like that in your world?”

“Tons, too many for me to count or recall. And it sounds like this world has its fair share of stories and legends as well. Especially with all these cool looking books you got shelved all around.” That last statement seemed to perk Twilight’s ear.

“Do you like books?”

“Sure. Anyone who’s anyone enjoys a good read from time to time. I sometimes frequented the school library to find a good book to read, so I guess you could call me somewhat of a bookworm.”

“Oh great, another book lover,” Spike complained as he lifted the kettle to pour the tea.

“Hush, Spike!” Twilight snapped. “I keep telling you that there’s nothing wrong with enjoying a good book!”

“And why’s that?” Spike wondered sarcastically.

“Because, according to an old saying from my world: knowledge is power,” I answered.

“Exactly! Finally, somepony who gets it!” Twilight said happily as she stood up and sat herself down next to me. “I’m so glad that there’s another book lover besides me! I’d be honored to recommend a few starting books from the library!”

“Er, thanks?” I said sheepishly as I gazed into her amethyst purple eyes.

“Well now you’ve done it, dude,” Spike sighed as he brought over a few mugs with him. “Once you get her talking about books, nothing can stop her.”

“So tell me, William, what kind of books do you like?” Twilight asked, ignoring Spike, as she leaned in close while I tried to back away on the sofa. “Literature? Science? Agriculture? History? Literature?”

“You said literature twice,” I pointed out.

“Told ya,” Spike said as he set the mugs down on the coffee table before sitting down in a chair.

“Woah, woah, take it easy, Twilight,” I said, raising my hands defensively. “Now while I do enjoy reading on my own terms, there’s still the matter of where and how to start. While I do appreciate the sentiment, I think it’s best I go at my own pace. There’s plenty of books around here after all, so I’ve got plenty of time to do so.”

Twilight blinked at me and pulled back, clearing her throat to compose herself from her rambling. “Apologies. It’s just I was afraid I wouldn’t meet anypony else in Ponyville who enjoys books as much as I do.”

“It’s cool,” I shrugged as I picked up my mug and took a sip.

Mmm, never really had tea before. Is that honey?

“So just curious, is it really okay to be crashing here? I know that princess lady told you to take me in, but I’d hate to be a freeloader.”

“Freeloader?! Celestia, no!” Twilight yelped. “I’d never consider you in such a way. Aside from Princess Celestia requesting I take you in, I already said that I was more than happy to do so. In fact, I would even allow you to live here as long as you want.”

“Wow, now that’s consideration if I’ve ever seen and heard it,” I smiled admirably. “Be that as it may, I’d still like to somehow pitch in instead of just lounging around. Regardless of your hospitality.”

“So what do you suggest?” Spike wondered.

“Well, considering I’m in a town full of ponies, there’s bound to be some businesses around, right?” I asked and they nodded. “So I’ll just do what any responsible adult my age would do: look for a job.”

“You want to work in Ponyville?” Twilight questioned before taking her own sip from her mug.

“Might as well start somewhere,” I shrugged again. “Princess Celestia said that they’d call us over to Canterlot so that they could explain why I’m here in this world. So until then, I’ll just be pulling my weight by working.”

“You sure are dedicated to that,” Spike commented.

“My step-dad always told me that honest men earn an honest living.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more,” Twilight smiled.

We all enjoyed our little small talk together until we finished our tea and it was time to go to bed. We all said goodnight to each other and I climbed the stairs and entered my room. I kicked off my shoes, threw my pants, shirt, and jacket on the chair in the corner and plopped myself on my bed. As I lay there, I thought all that was happening was still some kind of prolonged dream and my mind was taking longer than it should’ve to wake me up. But if that were the case, then I most likely would have woken up by now. I grabbed my smartphone from the nightstand and switched it on. I opened my contacts list and saw my parents and sister’s phone number. I hesitated, but decided to try and call my sister as I tapped her name and held my phone up to my ear.

“The number you have reached is not available. Please check your device’s-”

“Tch, figures,” I grumbled as I hung up the call. I then tapped my phone’s recent calls and saw that the last message I received was from my mom. I tapped the message and held it up to my ear.

“Hi William, it’s Mom. Just checking in to make sure you’re at Ivan’s and to make sure you’re going to be home soon. I know you said not to call and that you would call me, but you know how I am. Rachel wanted me to tell you that she wants you to stop by the convenience store to buy those sour gummy octopuses she likes so much. You know how she is,” Mom giggled in the message. “Anyway, call me or text me when you can so I know you’re on your way home so I can begin preparing dinner. I’m making your favorite: homemade pizza with salami slices and olives! Take care honey, I love you.”

As the message ended, I felt drips of liquid drop from the sides of my face. I reached up and rubbed my cheek to see that they were my tears. I ended up crying at the sound of my mother’s voice, and how this message was the only source of hearing her. I closed my phone and set it on the nightstand and laid my head on the pillow. I blinked as a few small tears managed to escape my eyes and I slowly closed my eyes.

“…I love you too, mom,” I whispered as I drifted off to sleep. “I’m sorry we couldn’t be together like we promised.”

3rd POV
Canterlot Castle

Within the mighty palace that sat on the side of the mountain and loomed over the royal capital, the two princesses were searching within the royal archives as stacks of scrolls, books, and other old documents filled the area. Celestia used her magic to skim through an old scripture as Luna read three different scrolls at the same time.

“Oh f’r moon’s sake…” Luna sighed as she rolled up the scrolls. “Sist’r, we has’t been searching f’r ov’r a day and night anon. We has’t yet to findeth aught about yond human and his ‘rigin.”

“Patience is a virtue, dear little sister,” Celestia remarked as she scanned the bookshelves. “You and I both know why we must do this. The words told to us are still fresh in my mind, as I hope they are in yours. I am positive the text we seek is here, and we must find it.”

“How doth thee knoweth yond the booketh we seeketh is still in these fusty archives? Our teachest’r may has’t been quite the did light’rate one, but yond doesn’t cullionly that gent hath kept ev’rything.”

“I beg to differ, most of these books were written by our old teacher to begin with. So I doubt he would ever want to be rid of his own work.”

Luna rolled her eyes as she went back to searching. She checked the top shelf of one of the many bookshelves, but realized that she had already read from this section and huffed in irritation. Before the lunar princess left to search elsewhere, her eye caught something in the very back. Luna then used her magic to light up her surroundings to see there was another very old looking text, caked with dust and riddled with cobwebs. Curious, she engulfed the book with her magic and pulled it out, trailing dust behind it, making her scrunch her muzzle and cough a little.

“Something the matter, dear little sister?” Celestia called out. “Are your old allergies bothering you once again?”

“Nay-cough…We hath found this,” Luna said as she carefully levitated the book to her elder sister. Celestia took the book with her own magic and examined it. She waved her hand as the dust blew away and she could make out the title on the cover, which made her gasp a little but then smile proudly.

“Well done, little sister, you have discovered what we have been searching for,” Celestia said as Luna walked up and stood next to her.

“It hast been a longeth timeth since We has’t seen this fusty text,” Luna said fondly. “But sist’r, couldst that gent truly beest the one? The bodement spoken to us bef’re our moth’r’s disappearance, couldst yond timeth beest upon us already?”

“It would appear so, and we must do our part as the Princesses of Equestria to fulfill our mother’s wish,” Celestia said as she brushed her hand along the cover. The book itself was an old text that looked to be over a thousand years old. It had a symbol of a sword that went over a shield and above it read the title of the book.

The Legend of Sir Rokai Stourmborne
The Equestrian Guardian

Author's Note

A party to remember.

Side Note: I’m back and better than ever! The artwork, and any future ones you will see, was created by Zahira96! The same talented individual who made the cover art!

Hope you all enjoyed!

~WurkyWilk has left the building…