Anon had a large grin on his face as he left the fancy Italian restaurant. It was not the sort of place he was normally seen. However, he had been tasked with a special challenge. He strolled down the street eager to get to work. A heavy set griffin with a black moustache and chef’s hat waved him off from the doorway behind him.

As he walked, Anon took in the scenery. Small red birds danced in the city parkland below him, and their chirps could be heard across the brisk spring air. There was just something about the way the sun shone that made the world seem especially beautiful. The sky was a notably deep shade of blue which was more reminiscent of the ocean than the sky.

‘Today is going to be a good day,’ Anon thought to himself.

He walked along, humming a tune to himself as he always did, but something just seemed off. Ponies were staring at him, sometimes blatantly, and sometimes just glancing out of the corner of their eyes.

‘Hmm that’s strange, do I have something on my face?’ he thought. He glanced all over himself and felt his face to try and figure out what was wrong. Then he remembered he wasn’t like everyone else. He was a human. Of course they were going to stare.

Anon suddenly remembered he was in the city of Canterlot, the capital of Equestria. ‘Dur, of course’, he thought to himself. His mind must have still been half asleep.

He thought back to how he got to the magical land of Equestria. Him ending up here had no discernible cause at all. One minute he was sat at his desk at home, the next *poof* he had suddenly teleported straight into a pony’s shower. It scared her half to death, the poor thing. Anon had received a mighty beating with a toilet brush, before ultimately being subdued by the royal guard.

It had been a year since then. A hard year. Building an entire life from scratch was not easy, but Anon was just about getting his life on track. He had a place to live, clothes on his back and a good occupation.

Ahh yes, finding a job had been a challenge. Although the ponies were friendly enough, nobody in Canterlot or otherwise would hire him. He felt like it wasn’t a racial thing though, or err… species thing. No, there was no malice in these creatures. He was just unusual to them. It certainly seemed that way as he walked down the street towards the market. The looks they were giving looked as if he was disabled in some way. The same looks someone in a wheelchair gets when going out in public. Not malicious, just different enough to catch people’s eye.

The ruler of this land had not been particularly generous when he arrived. Not in his previously spoiled mind anyway. She had given him the right to stay in the city, and the lower bunk in an army barracks. Anon supposed she was much more forgiving than she could have been, but there was a certain disinterest there, like an unenthusiastic waiter taking an order for a sandwich. He supposed it was just her job really.

Anyway, this meant he had no money, and he needed money, for food and to improve his life. Things were looking bad. No one would hire Anon and he was often going to bed hungry. One night, lying in a room with 50 other ponies, on a bed that was too small for him, he thought to himself.

“What do I have on these ponies?”

“What can I do better than they can?”

“What will they pay me to do?”

The next day he found an old ladder someone had dumped. He took it with him, went to an up-market part of town and found a house which looked run down but not unkept. None of these things were difficult in Canterlot to be honest. A kind elderly stallion answered the door and jumped at the chance for Anon to repair the guttering and repaint his house. The only thing the old stallion was unhappy about was payment in advance. Anon had to insist since he had no tools or paint. Begrudgingly, the old pony agreed, and he set to work.

A day later he had cleaned, re-set, and resealed the guttering, and had painted the house. The old stallion was overjoyed with the effort, and Anon was two hundred bits better off. He set off doing other “handy man” work and quickly found out that he was grossly undercharging for his services. It turns out that ponies are not very stable up a ladder and he could do the work in half the time they could, whist being much safer.

Anon quickly saved money and his skills improved. After a month he needed a storage locker, and after 3 months he could afford to rent his own workshop. His work slowly started to change as well, from manual tasks to designing and building. He learnt how to machine and forge metal, and make effective structures out of wood. He started receiving orders for knives and blades, as well as bespoke furniture and kitchen appliances.

All this while, he had been living in a little boarded off corner of the workshop, and just a month ago he was finally afford an apartment. Not much, but enough to get out of the dust of the workshop. Anon was also grateful to get his own shower instead of using the local gym were all the ponies would take turns staring at his junk. They weren’t discrete about that sort of thing.

Overall, his life was really looking up. If he was to describe himself, he would say he was an engineer, but most ponies knew him as that crazy inventor human that could solve anybody’s problem with cool gadgets.

It felt nice to be appreciated. Anon’s good mood continued as he snapped back to reality. He had arrived at the market. It was bustling with mares and stallions, and venders were selling all kinds of wares. Food, flowers, soaps. He needed to get to the utilitarian side of the market. Striding through the crowd with a ten inch advantage over even the tallest pony, his destination quickly came into view. An industrial materials store, specialising in bulk materials. Mainly timber, stone, and steel, but other materials were sold as well.

Anon walked in through the large door. ‘Curious’ he thought, that all the doorways and ceilings for that matter, were so much bigger than they needed to be for a normal sized pony. Not that he was complaining. He very much enjoyed not having to stoop when indoors. Anon had always suspected that ponies get claustrophobic easily, although it was just a hunch at this point.

“Good morning Anon, my dear friend!”

A light blue Stallion with swept back grey hair spoke to him in a thick Russian accent.

“Ahh Victor Steel. Feels like only yesterday since I last saw you,” he said enthusiastically, walking over to him.

“It was only Yesterday,” the merchant mumbled from behind the counter. He wasn’t one for humour.

“What do you need?”

“Magnets! I need the largest magnets you can give me! Oh, and a roll of 20 gauge copper wire.”

He was perhaps overly cheerful considering the dull subject, but Anon was genuinely excited for this project.

“I’ll get that for you,” said the calm stallion, and he wondered off to get the request from the warehouse out the back.

Anon was keen to make good progress for his new client. He had agreed to get the cooking device ready for his newest client by the end of the week. Only a few days away.

Yes, he was trying to build a microwave. Anon had received a commission from one of the finest restaurants in Canterlot. They wanted a way to cook food which would set them apart from other restaurants in the area. Anon was rather confident that a microwave would delight them, looking like magic, with no magical input. Nobody needed to know that back in his home world it was seen as a lazy and cheap way of heating up food.

The thought of microwave meals being served as fine dining made him chuckle.

Victor soon came back with the order and Anon stuffed them into his backpack. He charged fifty bits for the pleasure.

“See you tomorrow Anon,” the stallion said.

“Actually, I’m having a day off tomorrow. I will not be working.”

“Yeah sure,” Steel said sarcastically, his facade breaking and a small smirk spreading onto his face.

It was true. Anon often planned time off, but end up working anyway. Things would come up, and he was more than grateful, since he didn’t really have any hobbies outside of making stuff, and just hadn’t found any pony to hang out with. Saying goodbye to Victor, he left the store and headed for his workshop. It was a tiresome walk, and he had to get going.

The workshop was one of a dozen lots, rented out to ponies for a variety of different purposes. The lots were about 20ft across the front, and at least twice as deep. They lined the edge of a beautiful cobbled courtyard, had whitewashed walls, and large wooden double doors for each lot. The doors were painted royal blue, and it gave the place a joyful feel despite the hard labour that went on there. It was located in a cheaper part of town, but it was just that. Cheaper. Not dangerous. Nowhere in Canterlot was especially dangerous, just more convenient and less convenient. The 20-minute walk from the centre of town irritated him, but not nearly as much as the extra rent would have.

Arriving at the workshop, Anon opened both doors to let the light and air in. They were locked in place by long hooks Attached to the wall behind the door. He walked over to the bench and emptied the contents of his backpack out onto it. He pulled up a stall and clapped and rubbed his hands together as if he was about to actually do something productive.

“Right, let’s get on with this then,” he remarked to himself

As soon as Anon reached for the measuring callipers, he heard hoof steps getting louder. They reached a crescendo before falling silent. The room imperceptibly darkening as the figure entered the doorway. Anon was irritated that his work would be delayed, but still, someone actually wanted to see him.

He turned around with energy, but his excitement was quickly tempered, as it was not who he hoped it would be.

It was Florentine Lightning, his landlady. She was a small Pegasus mare with a dark golden coat and a curly purple mane. Her cutie mark was that of a pen and paper, which honestly could have meant anything. She had a cute bounce in her step, and Anon noted how she always seems to be cheerful when he saw her.

“Good morning Anon,” she said, inviting herself in.

“Just doing the rounds. Good to see all my boys working hard today.”

Her tone sounded motherly, although it was a bit creepy referring to her tenants as “her boys”.

“Actually, I have something for you,” Anon said, grabbing a letter and walking over to her.

“Rent, for next month”

He gave her the envelope and she stowed it in a small brown saddle bag.

“Rent a month early? Wow I must not be charging enough,” she joked

“No, just had some spare cash and thought I’d get ahead. Besides, I could easily move somewhere else if prices were to become unfavourable”

Both of them looked over to the huge milling machine sat in the corner, and simultaneously broke out in laughter. There was no way that thing was going anywhere. It would take 10 men to lift, and transportation would be a nightmare.

“Ok ok you’ve trapped me,” he said, his laughter petering out.

“Haha, yeah I have. You’re not going anywhere!” she joked.

“It’s not like I’m physically tied to the place, I could move if I really wanted to,” Anon retorted

“Yeah yeah. Still, good to know you’ll stick around for a while. Good tenants can be hard to come by. It’ll be good to keep you around.”

A frown formed on her face as she thought deeply.

“Hey Anon… err what are you doing on Saturday?” she asked as calmly as she could.

Anon knew this game all too well. He always told ponies he was busy on the weekends. They would always want him to do things for them. He just wanted to be left alone for a day or two.

“I’m sorry I’m busy then,” he said with faux disappointment.

Florentine looked momentarily sad, before it was replaced by a stone cold expression.

“That’s a shame I was hoping you could help me move some furniture,” she said with just a hint of venom. “Anyway, I’ve got things to do. Have a great day.”

She walked slowly and deliberately out of the shop. There was no longer a bounce in her step.

‘Weekend successfully defended!’ Anon thought as the mare walked off.

He couldn’t think of anything worse than moving furniture on the weekend, even as a favour for Florentine. Anon thought her possessiveness of him was a bit weird, but she was nice enough, and as a landlord about as good as he could hope for. He found it strange that a small pegasus pony, who had to still be in her 20s, would be the landlord for a bunch of industrial workshops. Maybe she inherited it, although she seemed too young for her parents to be dead and she didn’t seem like the spoiled type.

The day wore on and he had started to make progress on his work. Hours passed, and he used a whole manner of precision machines to sculpt his creation. He turned on the pillar drill. Using the lever, Anon lowered the drill bit. The tip perfectly lined up with the mark he had painstakingly made on the work. Just a hair breath away. He made one final check to make sure it was lined up correctly.

“HELLO Anon!”

Anon jumped back a mile, letting go of the handle of the drill, the shaft springing upwards at increasing pace, before bouncing multiple times on the bump stop. He immediately reached to turn the drill off before letting out the breath that was caught in his throat.

“Holy hell Amp, don’t scare me like that!” he shouted as his heart returned to a normal pace.

Standing before him was a well-built stallion called Amplified Wave. The most defining feature of this unicorn was pink. The pony had a pink coat, an even pinker mane, and purple eyes. He looked much like Pinkie Pie, the element of harmony, but with a shorter mane and of course a long pink horn. He was also a lot more muscular. Anon could only imagine that school bullying had been inevitable for the poor guy, and was what had probably led to everything else about him being very manly. He owned the lot next door, and specialised in making speakers and customised sound systems. He laughed at Anon’s skittishness before peering at his work, trying to figure out what he was up to.

“I’m taking a lunch break and thought I’d come and see how you’re doing,” he said in a husky tone which defied his appearance.

Anon thought that it was also a good time to stop for lunch so went over to his backpack and pulled out a packed lunch.

“So, what is that you’re working on?” Amp said, pointing with a hoof over to the work bench whist picking up a sandwich with his magic.

“I’m making a microwave. It’s a cooking device from my home,” he said matter of factly.

“They asked me to create an ‘amazing way’ to cook food”

He held his fingers up when saying ‘amazing way’ mocking it. Amp just stared at Anon, confused.

“What are you doing with your hands?” he asked.

“Ohh, there quotation marks. It’s meant to mock what they said.”

Anon had forgotten that ponies didn’t have hands, and a surprising amount of gestures and phrases were therefore lost on them.

“I still don’t get it,” Amp said. “I mean it seems pretty cool to me.”

“Ohh yeah,” Anon said as he rubbed his chin.

“Y’see, in our world it’s seen as… an uneducated way of cooking food.”

Anon couldn’t really think of how to explain it, but it was definitely not an item that should appear in a fine restaurant.

“Well it seems like a great invention to me,” Amp said with gusto.

It sounded like Amp was trying to cheer him up, but he didn’t need it.

“No no, I’m sure it’ll be a great success, and it’s a pretty cool piece of technology. It’s really all about the marketing in the end.”

He nodded, finally understanding why Anon was so dismissive of the invention but at the same time was really excited about it.

“So what have you been doing recently,” Anon said changing the subject

“I’ve spent the last few days setting up for a big party at the weekend. It’s going to be crazy! I’ve already laid out at least a mile of wiring,” he said with a spring in his voice.

“Hey, I’ve got a spare ticket. You should come along.”

Anon knew where this was going, a serious sense of dejavu was hanging in the air.

“No thanks Amp. I’m busy at the weekend,” he said indignantly

Amplified Wave’s face fell, before looking back up. He had a serious look about him.

“No, you’re not,” he said with a rock-hard voice

“Err, what?” Anon murmured, confused

“Your not busy. You never are! You just say you are. Anon, how are you ever going to make any friends if you don’t meet any other ponies.”

Now it was Anon that was staring at the ground. He knew deep down that Amp was right. He slumped down in his seat.

“Yeah you’re right” He said in a dejected tone. “I just find it hard making friends you know. Especially when everyone is so different. It just doesn’t feel like I’d be welcome.”

Anon looked up at Amp. He was smiling.

“That’s what’s bothering you?” Amp said as if he was relieved. “I assure you that everyone is welcome there! There are all sorts of ponies, …I mean characters, some with much weirder stories than yours.”

Anon’s thoughts eased a bit. At least Amp really knew what was bothering him. He could read him like a book.

“Ok I’ll go. It’s very rare that someone’s able to change my mind you know.”

“You talk a load of shit sometimes Anon,” Amp said with a smirk. “Great to hear you’ll come though; you might find yourself a lady friend.”

“Ohh come on now!” Anon said angrily

“This again?”

“Ok I’m sorry. Last time a promise. I won’t do it again,” Amp said apologetically. “I’m just saying that you’re the only human in this world, at some point you’ll have to date a pony if you want to date at all.”

“I’ll date if and when I want to thanks,” he said, not amused by the subject matter.

“Come on Anon, I’ve seen you staring at that mares flank when she’s peering under the carts she repairs,” Amp commented, referring to the mechanic who runs a shop across the yard.

“I do not,” Anon said, his face suddenly feeling hot.

“She seems to do that a lot when you’re around. Maybe she’s trying to tell you something,” Amp said with a sly grin.

“You win alright. Stop with the teasing. I already agreed to go to the party. Don’t kick me whist I’m down,” he said actually finding this a little bit funny, although still embarrassing.

“Ok I’ll stop. But not because you told me to. I’ve got to get back to work now.”

He gave Anon the ticket to the upcoming party he was holding. Anon chucked it over onto the table with the rest of his belongings and promptly forgot about it.

And just like that, Amp got up and left the workshop, walking with a cheerful skip.

His words however, still remained. ‘You’ll have to date a pony if you want to date at all’. Anon’s thoughts were heavy as he finished his lunch. He had made a decision. He would go to the party, and he would talk to the prettiest mare there. Anon would also not accept any attempts at wingmaning, lest the cringe would make him want to shrivel up and die… like last time.

He went back to his work. He had to do some electronics now.

It was a warm spring afternoon. The air was still and quiet. Anon felt relaxed once more. Solder smoke, which he was sure he should not be breathing, floated up from his work as he concentrated. It danced about and was suddenly highlighted by the sun along with wondering dust particles. He liked this time of day. Everything was calm.

Author's Note

The artist did the sketches before I decided Amp should be a Unicorn. He has gone afk now so you'll just have to imagine. Hopefully the links to them won't break for a while yet.