In Another World

Morning came soon after the party ended late at night. Lazlo opened his eyes, only grunting, seeing that the sun is barely above the horizon. He looked around. The walls were basically bookcases. Beside his bed, there was a nightstand, he also saw another bed and a basket close to it. In the mornings his brain usually went autopilot. It didn't reach him that he wasn't even in his own home. He just got up, and even though he saw Twilight and Spike, his mind didn't process the information and he just walked out to do his morning routine.

Like most people, the first trip is to the bathroom for him as well. Lazlo observed yesterday that the buildings, the furniture were similar to what humans have. Not only that but the same plants, fruits, vegetables, etc. The bathroom looked also the same as one in a human apartment. There was a shower, surprisingly big considering the size of the ponies using it. However, the toilet was a little small for the man, which could be a little problematic, but still manageable.
After the shower, he was closer to an awake state than just a sleepwalker. It finally struck him, he was in a place inhabited by ponies.

Taking back the same clothes after a shower wasn't really appealing for him but since whatever brought him here, didn't teleport his stuff, he had to wear what he had.

I hope Rarity really could make me something. Just need to think about something to give her in exchange.

The moment he stepped out of the bathroom, he heard knocking. Wondering for a minute who could that be and why.

Maybe somebody forgot here something and wanted to have it back. Or maybe the library supposed to be open now.

As he walked to the door, he began to wonder again about his behavior and how he handled the whole situation. He knew he should be more surprised, more cautious, and less caring for them.

Care. An interesting thing in this situation. He could only guess what would humanity do if one of these ponies somehow ended up on Earth. Probably the actions would be different and not in a good way. But these ponies. They treated him like he was a friend to them already. No matter how many sentient species living on this planet, an unknown creature, sentient or not should raise some caution. Yet the first thing they did was some cultural knowledge exchange and then an invitation and offer for living with one of them and a welcome party. Lacy was honest with them so far and he believed they didn't lie to him either. Yet there was still the worry in his mind that something was wrong. And this something was his own mind. His own behavior. His own personality.

He opened the door. The sight was something Lacy will never forget. A pony. Twice the size of every other adult equine, about the same height as the man. Pure white coat. Multicolored mane and tail, flowing constantly, like winds playing with it. Golden horseshoes. Golden necklace. Golden crown. Long horn. Wings folded on her side.

He remembered Twilight tell about her mentor, the ruler of this land. But words couldn't describe that majestic sight she was and the aura she had around her. It calming but at the same time demanded respect.
Lazlo just stood there like a statue, his brain tried to process the whole thing.

"Good morning!" her voice was just as majestic as her looks and calming like her aura. Full of love and care. In any situation on Earth, if a human, like her would speak to him, Lacy would be more aware that she only wants to use him, that she has too much power and very dangerous. But not here. Not her. For some reason, Lacy knew that she was that benevolent and beloved ruler, Twilight claim to be. That everything she says and does is genuine and does for her subject she truly loves and cares about.

"May I come in?" her question pulled back the human to the reality and without a word, he moved aside, so the monarch could enter. He then remembered, that since she's royalty, he should at least bow to her.

"Your Majesty." he didn't sound sure like he didn't know if this expression is used here but since they spoke the same language, he hoped, that every word here has the same meaning to them. He had to speak to somebody about this. He made a mental note to ask Twilight later.

She slowly walked inside, then her gaze turned to the man, who was still standing at the door.

"Would you join me?" she asked him.

"Sure." he closed the door, then followed the princess inside the kitchen, where she sat down at the table. "Do you want anything to drink?" he asked automatically, like every time he had a guest. Then he realized again that it still wasn't his home, although he was sure, Twilight wouldn't mind it, since it was the princess and in her case, her teacher, that came to visit.

"Tea would be lovely, thank you," she answered politely.

Although Lacy almost never drank tea, he made it often, usually when his friends decided to visit him and didn't want to drink alcohol, or when he had a girlfriend.

"Thank you." said the alicorn to him, when he put down the cup before her. "You don't drink one?" she asked, as she saw there wasn't another cup in his hands.

"Not a tea drinker," he answered, then yawned as the tiredness suddenly came back to him.

"Not a morning person?" the princess asked him, after a chuckle.

"The problem is not the morning but the lack of sleep."

"I see. Hope it wasn't me who woke you up."

"No, I was awake when you knocked, Twilight, and Spike are still sleeping. Should I wake them?" Lacy asked.

"It won't be necessary." she shook her head. "Well, I think an introduction is in order then. I am Princess Celestia. Welcome to Equestria."

"Lazlo Kis. Thank you, Princess." Lacy gave a light bow to the princess then sat down beside her.

"Please tell me how do your kind welcomes each other?" she wanted to know more about human culture.

"I think that depends on many things, Your Majesty. The culture, the gender, the age, the situation."

"I see. Then please tell me, how would you welcome me, if I were a human female, we're both adults, first time meeting in a friendly get-together."

"Usually kiss on both cheeks, but if it's uncomfortable for one of them, then that person offers something else, like a handshake," Lacy explained.

"I see. Nice to meet you Lazlo." she then leaned to give Lacy the kiss on the cheek welcome. Without realizing that it was still the ruler of this land, Lacy automatically leaned towards as well. After this, his heart rate skyrocketed.
He didn't know how to behave correctly when royalty is present, but this mare's presence gave him the feeling, that everything will be alright, just be himself. Although now, that he was unsure whether he was truly that person, who he was before he got here.

"Lazlo. Hmm... Interesting name. Never heard something like that. May I ask what does your name mean?" asked Celestia and then took a gulp from her cup.

Lacy watched as her magic surrounded both her horn and the cup. Yesterday he saw of it from Twilight as well as from other unicorns at the party but still, it was something worth watching. And at the same time gave him that feeling, that he is alone here, no matter how much similar this world to his, it was still another world, he was in the wrong world. Alone, among creatures who shouldn't exist, things that shouldn't exist. He didn't have anything here, not even his own personality.

"It's an old name. My first name, Lazlo, is a widespread name in the country I came from. I don't know the origin, but I remember, that it means 'power and glory' or something like that."

"And what about your other name?" the princess continued the questioning.

"It's my surname."

"Surname?"

"Yes. It's basically the family name. Kids got their father's surname usually. It has different types. Some of them are from a profession, like 'Smith' or 'Tailor'. Others are marking the place where the family originates. Again others are just adjectives, like mine. 'Kis' means in my language 'Small'."

Celestia was listening to his explanation with that same smile, she wore ever since Lacy opened the door. She found it interesting how names worked in somewhere else.

"You talk about countries and languages. Are there multiple of these in the lands where you're from?"

"Planet Earth is where I'm from. Most of the planet is water, but there are continents. On the continents, hundreds of countries, every one of them inhabited by humans, most of them use different languages. There are of course more common ones, like what we're speaking right now. It's called English."

"Fascinating. We speak the same language and you just happen to be one from your kind who speaks that special language among the hundreds. It also seems lucky to me. Although here this language is called simply the 'Common Language'."

"Well it's not my native language but I need to know it because of my job and also for other things not accessible in my language."

"I see. It's certainly interesting. Sadly as much as want to learn more about your homeworld, that's not the reason I'm here." she emptied her cup then refilled it before Lacy could offer her to do it. "I can see, that you don't have any ill intentions to my little ponies and I hope that you being here doesn't affect any of us, nor you."

"Thanks, I guess. Although, I think that's not entirely correct, your Majesty. My behavior and reaction to things are different."

"What do you mean?" asked the alicorn a little surprised.

"I know myself. I know I wouldn't take this so easily. I would be more cautious, more skeptical. I mean they told me that you raise and set the sun, wheater is created and controlled by pegasi, magic is real and is everywhere, and so on. It's so different from my world, yet I believed them the moment they said when I should question the logic behind it, especially after I know why and how these things work in my world. Creatures that are only appeared in myths and legends. I should be wary of my words in your presence, fearing that I might say or do something to upset you and be worried about your reaction to that. Yet I'm sitting here, talking to you, like you are a friend of mine, while you did arrive alone, maybe putting on some magical defense, I don't know."

As he finally finished ranting, he realized another thing changed in him. He just opened up to somebody completely stranger to him. He never would've done that. He only opened up to one friend and sometimes his parents or grandparents, but not even to them completely.

"You don't need to worry about it." her voice calmed the human down. "I always welcome a friendly chat, even though it's rare since I have to run a country, and while I'm glad, that my sister finally returned to me, she is still adjusting to the modern things and I don't want to overwhelm her with too many duties at once," Lacy remembered, what Twilight told him about the royalty, about Celestia and Luna. It was just a short summary according to Twilight but Lacy got the picture. "Anyway, I am also here to ta-"

She was interrupted as they heard somepony descending on the stairs. It wasn't hard to guess, that it was the purple mare, who lived here.

"Morning Lacy. You woke up early, I didn't expect it, after all, the party lasted rather late. You have to tell me about human sleeping habi-" she finally got down and saw that there was a guest in the library. "Princess Celestia!" she exclaimed rather loud, then hurried to her beloved mentor and gave her a hug which was returned by the alicorn. "I didn't know you would come this early after getting my letter last night." then she turned to the human. "Lacy I hope you treated the Princess with respect and-"

"Don't worry my faithful student, your friend here is a great host" Lacy chuckled a little but the others didn't seem to notice it "he made me tea and is a great chat partner."

This seemed to calm down the unicorn. But then started panicking again, this time about the state of the library. Celestia watched her student with a motherly smile on her face.

"She always gets like this," she told Lacy quietly, so Twilight wouldn't hear it. "Twilight!" hearing her name, made the unicorn stop and looked sheepishly at her mentor.

"I am sorry princess."

"It's alright Twilight, but if you don't mind, I would like to get to the point. I'm here to see how can I help to Lazlo." The man turned to the monarch.

"Oh... I'm uhh... I'm flattered, Princess. Thank you for helping me." he bowed his head a little.

"Of course. I'm willing to help anypony." she gave a quick laugh. "Or other creature in this case. But I must warn you, that there is a chance that I won't find any way to send you back to your world." Lazlo nodded, and even though he feared that that'll be the case, he hoped for the best. "Could you tell me what were you doing before you got here?"

"Um... You see, it was New Year's Eve."

"New Year's Eve?" asked the princess. "When is it?"

"That reminds me, could you tell me about how time works in your world," Twilight added, and suddenly there was a notepad and a quill levitating near her.

"There are four seasons. Spring, summer, autumn, winter. There are three months in each season. Each month lasts thirty or thirty-one days, except one, which lasts twenty-eight days, or twenty-nine on every fourth year. New Year starts at the second month of the winter." Lacy summarized shortly. Twilight wrote down everything.

"Interesting. A little complicated if I may add." gave Celestia her opinion.

"It wasn't me, who worked this out," Lacy said.

"Here the calendar is a little simpler. Although it is surprising that the names of the seasons are the same. Maybe that's the case with the months and days as well." Celestia told him. Lacy just waited for her to continue. "Three months in each season but for us, every month lasts thirty days. A new year starts for us when winter ends and spring begins." the princess explained. "But we can discuss this later, now please continue telling us, what happened."

"Alright. I was at a party with some of my friends. To be honest I don't remember much. We drank a lot, but I don't think that's the reason for my missing memories. It wasn't that much."

"How much alcohol do you drink, that you forgot things? It must be like liters of it." Twilight asked.

"We had some pretty strong stuff, but we usually don't drink that much, that we knock ourselves out completely. Anyway, as I said, I don't remember much. There are only pieces of talks and games and I also remember, that I went to sleep on a couch. And then I woke up here. That's all I remember." I summarised my memories from my last night on Earth.

"Did you notice anything strange while you were at the party? Or even before?" asked Celestia, while Twilight continued taking notes.

"Nothing, though as I said my memories are incomplete but I don't think there was anything unordinary or should I say unnatural."

"I see. Well, I have a spell, which allows us to rewatch your memories." Celestia stated, surprising the human. "It allows me to take your memories out of your head, and rewatch it. Don't worry, you won't forget anything, it's like... Hmm... What can I compare it to..."

"Like watching a movie?" asked Lacy, still unsure what to think about it.

"I don't know what a movie is. What I thought would be the best explanation is it's like a play in the theatre, at least that is the closest thing I can compare to."

"Well a movie is like a play just recorded with a camera, I saw Twilight use one." started to explain it Lacy but the looks of the ponies gave him the idea, that they probably on the level of taking pictures only. "It's like taking several pictures every second, with voice recording, then rewatching it whenever you want."

He knew this was something that Twilight will question more later, like everything else.

"In that case, Lacy, yes I will be like a what you call a movie, though we will see everything through your eyes. Of course, I will only be doing this, if you agree to it. I won't do anything you don't want me, but there is a possibility, that we will see something that will give us some information about your arrival here."

Lacy didn't need to think much about that. Even though he wasn't really himself right now, he knew he wanted to go home. To back to his apartment, his work, his friends, his family. Right now he needed to grab every opportunity he could. He just hoped he could return the favor to these ponies somehow.

"Okay. But-" he got cut off by Twilight.

"Wait! Mind if I bring the girls here before you start? I'm sure they're curious about this as well. After all, we will see your world and your friends right?" Twilight looked pleading at Lacy, Celestia turned her gaze to the human as well, awaiting his response.

The moment he gave an agreeing nod, Twilight run out of the library.

"How does that even work?" he decided to ask about this more while waiting for Twilight.

"You shouldn't worry." the princess tried to calm him. "It won't do any harm to your mind."

"I mean can it show things I don't remember correctly, or at all?"

"Every moment is saved in the brain," Celestia explained. "Just there are things that won't be accessible, since that'd require too much effort and energy, which the body cannot provide. That is why we cannot remember every moment of our life." Lacy recalled reading about a syndrome, that allowed somebody, to be able to do that, but didn't want to cut in the princess' talking. "This spell however can access it. It just needs a starting point and then it can go as long, as the caster can hold the spell. It's a rather difficult one, but I can manage for hours, I hope that'll be enough"

"Around five or six hours, if I remember correctly."

Twilight got back, with her friends. They all looked tired, expect for Applejack and Twilight.

Celestia summoned a whiteboard out of nowhere, giving a shock to the human, but he quickly recovered.

"Before we start, I just have to tell you, that what you will see is that my true self. Since I got here, my behavior changed, and though in a positive way, as most of the people would say, it's still doesn't represent the real me. Also, you will probably see me eating meat or doing something that may be inappropriate for you, also saying things that can be shocking to you." he warned them, but everypony assured him, that they won't judge him for being from a different world, species or culture. They were also excited about seeing the world their new friend came from.

With that Celestia light up her horn, Lacy could feel her power going into his mind, trying to find his memories. It was a strange feeling. It gave him a little headache, but it quickly disappeared.

"Please tell me something you can remember before the party and we can start from there. But not too early, we can do this to noun only, for I have only this morning free, so we should have plenty of hours, but not the whole day." the princess informed him.

"Okay, let me see. I remember packing the stuff I bought for the party in my car before my friend arrived, so we could depart together..."