Simba woke up and almost immediately realized that he was sleeping on something very soft. He did not open his eyes, perfectly content to curl up on his mother’s fur. With a soft grunt, he adjusted himself, ready to go back to sleep.

“Is he waking up?”

“Shh!”

Wait, thought Simba. Those voices didn’t sound like his mother. Where was… Oh. Slowly, Simba opened his eyes, dreading the truth. He was not in his den at home. Everything that had happened was not a horrible nightmare. It was all too real.

Simba found himself in a very strange-looking cave with the six ponies who found him in the desert. The walls were different colors and didn’t even look like stone. They were also very flat, not a curve in sight. Truly, it was the most bizarre cave he had ever seen. He would even go so far as to call it unnatural. The thing he was lying on felt soft like fur, only flat and on top of some other thing that he had no point of reference for.

“How are you feeling, dear?”

Simba turned his head to see Rarity. Fluttershy and Applejack were there with her. “Um, I’m okay.” That was a lie, of course, but he wasn’t about to tell the truth. They were being so nice, after all, and part of him didn’t want it to end. He was a coward. “Where am I? Is this your den?”

“Our what?”

Simba was confused. Did she not know what a den was? “You know, where you sleep?”

“Oh! Well, sort of.”

“We don’t live here,” explained Applejack, “It’s just a little room we’re rentin’ fer while we’re here.”

“What’s a room?”

Rarity’s eyes widened considerably. “You’ve never heard of a room before?”

“No. Is it like a cave?”

“Something like that,” replied Fluttershy.

Rarity gasped. “You live in a cave?”

She sounded so distressed, thought Simba. What was wrong with living in a cave? They were great shelter during thunderstorms. “Yeah. Well, I did, but…” Simba shook his head. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“Oh, dear.”

Hoping to change the subject, Simba looked down at what he was laying on. “What’s this thing?” he asked. “It feels really soft.”

It was the wrong thing to say, however, as Rarity suddenly looked very distressed. “Oh, dear, dear me!”

“I’m sorry!” Simba cried, “I didn’t mean to upset you!”

“Ya got nothin’ ta say sorry about,” Applejack interjected. “That’s just Rarity bein’ prissy.”

“I am not!” Rarity protested before taking a deep breath. “I am simply surprised that the poor dear doesn’t know about the bliss that is a warm blanket.”

“Sorry,” Simba lamented. His ears pressed flat against his head. Why couldn’t he do anything right?

“No need,” said Rarity. “I’m sorry for upsetting you. Here, let me tell you what this is.”

The soft thing that Simba was sitting on began to glow a very light blue and part of it rose into the air by itself. Rarity’s horn shone with the exact same glow. The young cub found himself enraptured by the magical sight.

“Woah!” Simba exclaimed, suddenly filled with wide-eyed wonder. “How are you doing that?”

“With magic,” she replied. “Everypony has it. Unicorns can cast spells and move things without touching them.”

“An’ earth ponies know how ta work the land an’ are real strong,” Applejack added.

“A Pegasus can fly and walk on clouds,” said Fluttershy.

Simba found himself grinning in amazement and giddiness. “You can walk on clouds?” Fluttershy nodded with a hum of affirmation. “That’s so cool! What do clouds feel like?”

“Well, they’re really soft and fluffy, but a little wet if you stay on them for too long.”

“Wow! I thought only rainclouds were wet.”

“All clouds have water in them.”

“Cool!” Simba turned to Rarity. “Do you make those big, soft things with magic?”

She chuckled and held up the object in question. “We call it a blanket, dear. It’s woven from various fabrics and it keeps you warm.”

That did sound useful, but Rarity’s explanation left Simba with even more questions. “What’s woven mean?”

“An’ here we go,” commented Applejack.

What followed was a lengthy speech about fabrics, where they came from, and how they were woven together to make such things as blankets and clothing.

“It’s made out of plants?” Simba asked, feeling confused. “How can you get something that feels like fur out of plants?”

“Plants and other things,” Rarity replied. “Wool, imagine a special type of fur, can also be used to make something especially warm. It can be quite complicated.”

Simba found himself even more lost than he was before Rarity’s explanation. “Sounds like an awful lotta trouble when you’ve already got fur.”

“It’s well worth the trouble, I say. It can get quite cold during the winter, you know.”

Simba tilted his head. “Huh? What’s winter?”

This time, even Applejack looked surprised. “Ya don’t know what winter is?”

“Maybe he just has a different word for it,” Fluttershy suggested.

“Maybe,” said Simba. “What is it?”

“It’s that time o’ the year when it gets real cold outside and there’s snow everywhere,” Applejack explained.

Simba thought for a moment. “Well, it can get cold at night, but it’s always warm or hot in the daytime. What’s snow?”

“Ya know, that cold, wet, white stuff that falls kinda like rain, but slower, and covers the ground?”

“Uhh, I don’t think we have that.”

“Ya don’t?”

Fluttershy spoke up. “Excuse me, but did you just say that it’s always warm or hot where you come from?”

All this talk of weather was making Simba feel homesick again, but he answered nonetheless. “Yeah.”

“But surely you have seasons,” said Rarity.

“Yeah, we have seasons. There’s the wet season and the dry season. It rains a lot during the wet season, but it’s a lot hotter during the dry season and there’s not much rain. The hippos really like to crowd the water hole then.” Simba could just picture Zazu making the report to his father, saying that the hippos needed a talking to. He sighed and lowered his head in shame.

Fluttershy moved closer. “What’s the matter?”

Simba turned away. “Nothing.”

“Don’t look like nothin’,” Applejack observed. “Yer awful sad about something’. We can see it.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“That’s alright,” said Fluttershy, “We understand.” They didn’t, but Simba kept that thought to himself.

Rarity broke the silence that was about to ensue. “Perhaps we should let Twilight and the others know you’re awake. There’s something we would all like to ask you.”

Simba looked up, wondering what these ponies wanted with him. “Okay.”

“Alright, then. I’ll be right back.” Rarity walked up to a tall object that appeared to have been cut from a tree and her horn shone. Her aura surrounded a small, shiny shell on the side of the tall wooden thing and Simba heard a strange clicking sound. The entire thing, shell and all, swung to the side, revealing another part of the den, or “room,” as the ponies called it. Rarity stepped out and turned to the right, closing the tall thing behind her.

“What is that big thing?” Simba asked, pointing to it with his paw.

“The door?” asked Fluttershy.

“I guess so. What’s it do, and what’s that shiny thing on it?”

Fluttershy patiently explained the purpose of a door and its knob, how it helped with privacy and shelter. Simba saw no need for such a thing. It just got in the way. One would have to stop to open it before they could go anywhere. If someone wanted privacy, why couldn’t they go behind a rock? How bizarre these ponies were.

True to her word, Rarity soon came back with Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie. “I have so many questions!” exclaimed Twilight, who looked positively giddy. “You only have two seasons? How often does it rain during the wet season? How cold does-”

“Twilight!” yelled Rainbow Dash. “Important question now, egghead questions later.”

The purple pony looked quite embarrassed. “Sorry.” She turned her attention back to Simba. “Okay, we know that you’re probably a long way from home.” Simba’s ears flattened against his head. He couldn’t go back. “And you’re definitely lost, so… do you want to come and stay with us? At least until you’re ready to go home.”

Simba was taken aback. They had already showed him so much kindness and now they wanted him to live with them? He didn’t know what to say. He knew that he didn’t deserve their help, yet he felt drawn to them. Perhaps it was curiosity about their strange world, or maybe he was too much of a coward to go on alone. He turned to look out at the open space that was covered by a clear barrier of some sort. Somewhere out there, beyond the desert, was his old home. It couldn’t be his home anymore. “I can’t go back,” Simba said to himself.

“Ya say that now, but ya’ll change yer mind sooner or later,” said Applejack. Apparently, he had said that out loud. No matter.

Simba turned back to face the six ponies. Could they be his friends? It was selfish and cowardly, but the need to be close to others clawed at him. They could never know the truth about his past. They’d throw him back out into the desert. “Okay,” he mumbled.

“Yay!” Pinkie cheered. Without warning, she grabbed Simba and hugged him, spinning around as she did so. “You’re gonna love Ponyville! It’ll be so much fun and you’ll have the best Welcome to Ponyville party ever!”

Simba couldn’t help but giggle at the spontaneity of it all. He shoved his guilt to the back of his mind and focused on the now. Maybe, just maybe, he could be happy in this strange new world.

Author's Note

Man, this was tough to write. We take our modern day comforts such as blankets and doors for granted. Imagine trying to describe them as if you’re seeing them for the first time with no frame of reference.

If I’m on the right track or doing something seriously wrong, please let me know in your reviews.