My Little Pony: The Foreigner's Destiny

Part 2

        I awoke all of a sudden with a painful headache. I could barely even remember what had happened to me. All I knew was that, at one point, I was in that room with the portal and I stepped in. I didn’t know where I was or why. As I rubbed my eyes, I began to check my surroundings. I was in a building of some kind that was filled with hay, a few saddles, and crates full of something that looked like fruit. I must have been in some sort of barn. Or at least from what I could tell. I noticed that I was laying on a pile of hay that was made into a makeshift bed. Whoever found me must have brought me here so that I

wouldn’t be left out in the cold. As I tried to get up, I heard a faint snoring sound not too far from me. I looked around, but I couldn’t see anything except for a little pink bow sticking out of one of the hay piles. Not wanting to disturb whatever it was, I quietly got up out of my “bed” and made my way over to the bow. I shuffled through the hay for a few seconds until I came across something that I never would’ve expected. I saw a little, bright yellow pony with that pink bow in its red hair fast asleep in that hay pile. I had to do a double-take, but I still wasn’t convinced. Gently, I poked her a little to try and get a response.

When she sleepily slapped my hand away with her hoof, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that she was real. I guess the shock of it all made my headache disappear. I tried to get up silently and sneak out of the barn, but I suddenly heard a gasp from that little pony and she ran out of the barn. I panicked. My first reaction was to get out of there as fast as I could. I made

the mistake of opening the barn doors and my eyes were blinded. Whatever this place was, it was a lot brighter and more colorful than Earth. I stumbled around to try and get away when I suddenly felt my body being pulled together by something. I went face first into the ground. Luckily, I landed under a shady tree so that my eyes could recover.

         “Whoa there, bucko! We cain’t have ya leavin’ just yet!” a Southern feminine voice said.

         I rolled onto my side to see where it came from. I saw that little yellow pony again along with two bigger ponies. One was a gigantic, red pony with a piece of straw in his mouth, and the other was an orange pony with cowboy hat in her blonde hair.

         The orange one told me, “Sorry bout that, pardner. But, we’re just tryin’ to make sure that ya don’t go causin’ a ruckus down in town.” She moved closer to me and looked me dead in the eye. “Now, just who and wut in the hay are ya?”

         I told her, “My name is Danny Johnson, and I’m a human.”

         She looked at me with a more confused look as if she had never heard of a “human” before. But, before she could speak, the little yellow pony jumped into my line of sight and started talking in a more high-pitched Southern drawl.

         “Well, it don’t matter who or wut ya are, Mr. Danny! We’re all just happy yer still alive an’ kickin’! An’ we were gettin’ worried cuz ya’ve been asleep for three days now!”

         I looked at the yellow pony in disbelief and I asked the big red pony, “Is she serious?!”

         He just responded with a simple, “Eeyup.”

         Then, the yellow pony suddenly gasped again saying, “Oh sorry! Wut happened to our manners?! My name’s Applebloom, this here’s mah big sis, Applejack, and mah brother, Big Macintosh.”

         Big Mac gave me a nod and Applejack gave me a tip of her hat.

         “I’d be happy to properly introduce myself. That is, if you could please cut me loose.”

         Miss Applejack gave a blush and quickly undid the ropes. As I finally managed to stand up, I realized just how tall I was compared to the ponies. That Big Mac guy was pretty big, but even he probably thought that I was a giant! I looked to see where I was at. To put it simply, it was breath-taking. It was apple trees as far as the eyes can see! “Do you all own this property?”

         “We sure as sugar do! This here’s Sweet Apple Acres, the pride and joy of the Apple family. We work our hooves to the bone to manage all this, but it’s all worth it in the end.”

         “You’re telling me that you manage this all by yourselves?!”

         “Eeyup,” Big Mac answered.

         “Wow! That’s amazing! Anyway, I know this is gonna sound weird, but where am I exactly?”

         “Ah’m not surprised. Ah know fer a fact that ya ain’t from round here. Mr. Danny, welcome to Equestria!” Applejack said.

         On the inside I was as giddy as a tween girl at a Justin Bieber concert, but I just gave her a smile and a nod at her answer.

         Suddenly, we all heard a loud bell ring across the fields. “Soup’s on, everypony!” an old but still somehow loud voice called.

         I guess that the sound of that reminded my stomach that I hadn’t eaten that much in three days, which resounded to Apple Bloom and her siblings. She and Applejack giggled a little while I stood there embarrassed.

         Then, Big Mac finally said, “We might wanna get some food in yer belly.”

         It was the most words he had ever spoken to me since we met! We all walked across the field to a little old house. I could smell the fresh scent of apple desserts being cooked.

         “Wait till ya try Granny Smith’s cookin,” Apple Bloom piped up. “Those pies’ll knock ya dead!”

         “Not literally,” Big Mac reassured.

         As we entered the house, it reminded me a lot of the typical farm house back home. Handmade furniture, hardwood floors, and a little modest kitchen. Speaking of the kitchen, I saw a light-green pony cooking in it. She turned around to see us all come in and said, “Mornin’ lil’ ponies! And Ah don’t think Ah seen yer face round these parts.” She spoke in a Southern accent that was different from the others; it was in a way that reminded me of my grandmother from Arkansas.

         Applejack formally introduced us, “Danny, this is Granny Smith. Granny Smith, this is Danny.” Granny Smith didn’t move a muscle. She just stood with that same look and stared at Applejack. “Ya know, that thing that we volunteered to take care of since Twilight found him.”

         I perked up at this. Twilight? As in Twilight Sparkle? So, she’s the one that found me first! I’ll have to find her and thank her when I’m done here.

         “Oh, that’s right! Sorry, sonny boy. The ol’ noggin just ain’t wut it used ta be. It’s a pleasure ta meet ya!” the old pony said.

         “Pleasure to meet you too ma’am.” I said in response. Granny Smith then set a big plate of apple cobbler on the table and proceeded to cut into it. Remembering my old ways, I made the sign of the Cross with my hands and started to pray. When I had finished, all the ponies looked at me strange. “Oh! Sorry.”

         “Wut was that, mister?” Apple Bloom asked curiously.

         “Well, it’s just a tradition that we have where I come from. It’s no big deal.”

         “This is gonna take a while ta cool down, sonny,” Granny Smith said. “We got all the time in the world.”

         As if on cue, Apple Bloom scooted closer to me to get every last detail. “Well, I’m part of a group within my kind that believes in an all-knowing being called God. He watches over us and protects us in our time of need. And the thing that we do is saying grace before every meal. Basically, it’s thanking God that we can enjoy the simple pleasures in life another day.”

         “Well, that’s a mighty fine tradition there, sugar cube,” Applejack said. “Would ya like to lead us in ‘sayin grace’?”

         I was a little hesitant, but they all nodded their heads saying they wanted to. “Alright then. Close your eyes and bow your heads.” They all complied. “Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for the blessings that you have given us this day. Thank you for allowing me to find such an incredible family and that I could share a meal with them. We ask you to bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies, and the hands-I mean hooves, that prepared it. We ask this in your Most Holy and Precious Name. Amen.”

         When I stopped speaking, they immediately turned their gaze to me.

         “Nicely done,” Big Mac said.

         “Thank you.”

         Granny Smith then cut into the apple cobbler again and it even smelled the same way as how my granny made it back on Earth! This nostalgia was cut short when I saw that I didn’t have any utensils and that everyone else was eating it with their faces. So, I had to make due and joined with them. They all laughed when I got more cobbler in my face than in my stomach. Then, Applebloom broke the laughter up by starting to lick off what was all over me. Everybody yelled at her and she looked so innocent that I couldn’t help but giggle a little. I could already tell that this was gonna be more fun than I could possibly imagine!

         Once we were all finished, Applejack spoke up. “

         After a long day on the farm, I decided to hit the hay. Applejack gave me a room in the house instead of the barn. Finally, a warm bed. As I started to go to sleep, I woke up because I just remembered that I hadn’t contacted that Tesla guy in three days now. I pressed the only button on the “mic-watch” and said “I want to send a message to Sergeant Tesla”. It then beeped and I gave him the news. “Hello Sergeant Tesla! Sorry I haven’t sent you a message in a while. Apparently, that machine of yours left me unconscious for about three days. Anyway, I’ve only met a few of the ponies in Equestria and

nothing seems to be out of the ordinary here. Or what counts as ordinary in this place! I still can’t believe that I’m actually here! I wish you could see what I was seeing Sarge. It is so sublime! I’ll keep sending you messages until I’m called back.”

As I said “End message and send to the Sarge”, it beeped again and I took that as the signal that the Sarge had gotten the message. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

         I was awakened the next day by an old alarm clock and it was still pretty early in the morning. I prepared myself for another day of work, but Applejack walked into the room I was staying in as I was getting ready.

         “Whoa there sugar cube! Ah know yer eager but there ain’t no work to be done today!”

         I looked at her confused and said, “Then why did you set my alarm for so early?”

         She giggled a little and said, “Cuz you got to go to Ponyville and meet everypony including mah friends!”

I was excited at first, but then wondered how all the ponies would react to seeing a human for the first time. Reluctantly, I walked around with her in Ponyville. The first pony that I saw was pink colored with a pinker, curly mane. I was still trying to adjust to everything and I shyly said hi to her. I was caught by surprise when she gasped and immediately ran off. I was even more surprised when I found that her hair smelt like cotton candy when she rushed past me.

         “Don’t worry. That’s just Pinkie Pie”, Applejack stated.

         “Does she do that very often?” I asked.

         Applejack rolled her eyes and said, “Unfortunately, yes.”

         Hopefully, I would be able to meet this “Pinkie Pie” again and actually talk to her. Our next stop was going to be at the cottage of a pony named Fluttershy, but then I was knocked to the ground by a mysterious force. As I struggled to get up, I saw a Pegasus pony with a rainbow-colored mane with a worried look on her face.

         Then, I remembered, “Hey! You’re that pony who found me when I first got here!” I vaguely remembered the name of a pony with rainbow hair. “You’re Rainbow Dash!”

         She then started to beam when I remembered her, but for some reason she didn’t get weirded out when I knew who she was. Instead, she said, “If you know my name, then that must mean I’m famous not only in Equestria but also wherever it is you come from!” Her proud grin got even bigger when she said this.

         “By the way, I’m Danny.” I stuck a hand out for her to shake and she shook it violently with a hoof.

         “Nice to finally meet you Danny!” I started to question why ponies weren’t staring at me, but at the moment I just went along with it.

         I walked with Rainbow Dash and Applejack to Fluttershy’s cottage and we saw the Pegasus while she was taking care of her animals. She said hi to Dash and Applejack, but when she saw me she hid behind the other two ponies. They shoved her towards me and we were both so shy that we couldn’t look each other in the eyes!

         “Umm…hello. My…name is…… Fluttershy”, she said in a barely audible voice.

         “Um…hello there. My name…is Danny”, I responded in a slightly louder voice. There was an awkward silence between the two of us before Applejack finally spoke up.

         “Fluttershy, he’s the one who got here all of a sudden a few days ago.”

         At that, her face suddenly brightened up and she suddenly flew towards me with the brightest smile in the world. She then started to rant in a fast-paced but still very soft voice, “Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry! I didn’t want to talk to you because I didn’t know what you were, but when Applejack reminded me that you were the one that Rainbow Dash found I’m suddenly curious as to what a human looks like.”

         Those last words definitely caught me off guard. “Wait! You know that I’m a human?!” I shouted.

         Then, Fluttershy backed off a little bit and said, “Oh! Did I upset you? I’m sorry.”

         I then told her that she didn’t do anything wrong and it was just that that was the first time that any of these ponies knew what I am. Rainbow Dash then gave herself a “face-hoof” as she remembered something important.

         “I forgot to tell both you and Applejack about what happened after I found you. When I saw a blinding white light and somepony coming out of it, I yelled for help and two other Pegasi helped me carry you to the hospital. It was being swarmed by other ponies who wanted to see you, so we had to call in the Royal Guard when you were released. Then, we took you back to Applejack’s farm so you could rest and all of a sudden, Princess Celestia appeared! She announced to everypony that a creature known as a human had suddenly appeared in Equestria and that he wasn’t to be disturbed.”

         Applejack then brightened up a little bit in saying, “And Ah didn’t see her because Big Mac and Ah were carrying you into the barn while Applebloom was making yer hay bed. Then, when we got back outside, everypony was gone! It all makes sense now!”

         As I started to process this information, I didn’t know who Princess Celestia was. When I asked the ponies, they had looks on their faces that said, “Yeah, he’s definitely not from around here”.

Fluttershy spoke up as much as she could in that quiet voice saying, “Well, um, Princess Celestia is the ruler of Equestria and she is in charge of raising the sun at day. She also has a sister, Princess Luna, who is in charge of raising the moon at night.”

Rainbow Dash flew in front of her and said, “She’s all powerful, all royalty, and all around awesome!!”

         I could already tell that this “Celestia” was probably equivalent to a god in Equestria. After meeting Fluttershy we decided that we should go around and introduce me to everyone else since this was my first time in Ponyville.

         This time, I decided on where to go next. I really wanted to check out the library that Twilight Sparkle was staying at, so that’s where we went. When we first stepped in, I saw that it was much bigger than what I saw on my monitor on Earth. Then, I saw a purple unicorn pony reading a book at her desk while another creature with green eyes was on a ladder re-shelving books.

         When Twilight noticed that we had come in she shouted, “Spike! We have visitors!” The creature named Spike looked directly at me and waved. Then, he suddenly lost his balance and started to fall. As if by instinct, I jumped and slid across the floor to try to catch him. When he didn’t land in my arms, I looked up and saw that he was covered in purple energy and was floating in midair! Twilight’s horn was glowing with the same energy and she simply said, “You really need to be more careful Spike.”

         The energy dispersed and Spike landed with a thud right on my head. He said thanks and I managed to make a muffled, “Don’t mention it.”

         I got a closer look at Spike, and saw that he resembled something like a dragon. I wasn’t really surprised since I was already in a realm with candy-colored talking ponies. As I got up, I started to introduce myself to Twilight, but she said, “I know who you are, Daniel Johnson”. I was surprised by this, but I let her continue. “And I know why you are here. You’re here to help us with our troubles in our dimension. The Princess has been expecting you.”

         I was so shocked that I backed up into the bookcase and fell to the floor in a heap. Not only did she know my name, but she knew that I was from a different dimension!! Everybody rushed to my side to see if I was okay. I tried to explain to them that I’m not a hero and that I’m here on a documentation assignment from my dimension. But, Twilight stubbornly told me that the Princess is never wrong and always knows best. I told her that I wanted to meet this “Celestia” character so I could give her a piece of my mind.

         After that interesting conversation, the ponies told me that I still needed to meet some of the others. They then took me to a place called the Carousal Boutique to meet their friend Rarity. At first glance, I thought that the purple-maned pony was very beautiful. I mentioned this to Spike and he stared at me with an angry glare.

         He pulled me down and whispered in my ear, “You might wanna keep your hands off buddy! You see I already called dibs on Rarity, so you better not get any ideas.”

         I then blushed and whispered back, “I didn’t say that I have a crush on her! I was just saying that she’s very attractive!”

         Spike let go, but he still kept his eye on me just in case I made any moves on his woman. Rarity then saw that her friends had arrived but was taken aback by my…somewhat dirty appearance. She spoke in a way that reminded of a 'Broadway queen from the Bronx', “Oh my stars! What happened to you my dear fellow?!”

         I told her that I helped out the Apple family on the farm yesterday to which she replied with a look of disgust. Typical of a drama queen to not want to get her hands dirty. Or hooves in her case. She immediately pushed me upstairs and ordered me to take a shower while she prepared some nicer clothes for me. Of course, Spike rushed up there to keep me in close proximity. I was surprised that the shower could actually fit me, but barely.

         While I was halfway finished, she opened up the door and told me that I could come out whenever I wanted to. “Excuse me, darling, but I don’t believe I caught your name!”

         I stuck my head out and answered, “Daniel Johnson, Mademoiselle Rarity!” She giggled a little, probably because she thought I was gentlemanly. Then, I saw Spike duck his head in with an angry look and I smiled nervously. When I was finished in the shower, I put on a robe to not make it awkward for any of us. When she showed me the clothes she had made for me, I was surprised to see that they looked like a nicer version of my usual “Casual Friday” clothes. When I put them on and went downstairs, everybody looked at me as if I were a new person.

         I thanked Rarity for all that she had done to which she responded, “Anytime at all darling!”

         I asked Twilight where Celestia lived, but she said that we couldn’t go there yet because there was one more pony that very much wanted to meet me. The ponies then led me to a place that they called “Sugar Cube Corner”. The room was dark and right when I turned on the lights I jumped at the sound of a great big “Surprise!!!” There were ponies everywhere with hats, party blowers, and a smile on every face. Then, that same pink pony that I first met bounced her way over to me and started talking like she was on a caffeinated high.

         “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie and I threw this party just for you! Did I surprise you? Did I?! Huh, huh, huh?!”

         I glared at her all bug-eyed and said, “Of course you surprised me! I saw my life flash before my eyes!”

         Pinkie Pie nodded with a grin as if she were proud of her 'achievement'. She then led me to a buffet full of desserts that instantly made my mouth water. There were apple pies, chocolate-covered marshmallows, sugar cookies, and, of course, cupcakes! When I first tasted the desserts, my heart started to melt with the fact that they were so good and that someone would throw a party like this for me just because they met me. I turned to Pinkie, bent down, and gave her the biggest hug I had ever given. Then, for some reason, her body let out a SQUEEEE sound and I looked at her with a concerned look on my face.

         She then told me with a smile, “Oh don’t worry. That happens whenever somepony hugs me really hard or whenever I’m just really happy.” That smile of hers made me so happy that I couldn’t help but smile. I then asked her why she threw this party for me in the first place and she must have talked for an hour explaining how she throws a party every time somepony new arrives in Ponyville. The party lasted until it got dark outside and all the ponies left to go home.

         Then, Applejack came up to me and said, “Mighty sorry sugar cube, but that room you were stayin’ in was mah room. Ah had to spend the night with Applebloom and apparently her snores are louder than the timber wolves durin’ zap apple season.”

         I didn’t know what she meant but I took it that I couldn’t stay on the farm anymore. I gave her a nod and a smile and she returned it. As she started to walk off, I wondered where in the world I was going to stay now.

         Twilight came up to me and said, “If you want to, you could stay at the library with Spike and I. If you don’t mind sleeping on a couch.” I gladly accepted her offer and said goodbye to Pinkie.

         As Twilight, Spike, and I entered the library again, I told her something that was on my chest for a while, “This is quite a collection of books you have here Twilight.”

         “Yeah it is pretty big. Of course, I’ve read through this entire library seven times and counting.”

         It took me a while to process what she had just said and I stared at her in disbelief. Spike assured me that it was true and I literally felt my jaw drop to the floor. Spike jumped up and shut it for me, which snapped me out of it. As the night went on, I waited until Twilight and Spike were asleep to send my message to the Sarge. I didn’t want my new friends to get too involved with my own personal affairs. “Hey Sarge. It’s Danny again. Well, I’ve managed to make friends with just about

every pony in Ponyville. Tomorrow I’m going to go and see this Princess Celestia woman because she thinks that I have a destiny to be fulfilled in Equestria. Wish me luck as I try to convince her of the opposite. Talk to you again tomorrow. End message and send to Sergeant Tesla.”

         I waited for the beep before I fell asleep. I started to dream about what the Princess would be like. Would she be a kind, loving soul like Twilight and the others said, or would she appear to me as a cruel, uncaring tyrant? As these images floated through my head, they started to turn into nightmares about what would happen to me after I confronted Equestria’s ruler. I found it difficult to get any real sleep. Twilight woke me up in a cold sweat and she asked me if I had a nightmare. I

lied saying that I didn’t because the last thing I wanted her to know was that I was like this just from nervousness. At high noon, I went to Canterlot with Twilight and Spike to seek an audience with the Princess. When we tried to get in, the guard ponies blocked me off but let Twilight and Spike pass through. She explained that I was a good friend of hers and I had important matters to discuss with the Princess.

         When they finally let me through I asked her, “Did they let you through just because you’re a girl?”

         “Possibly, but also because I’m the Princess’ prized protégé.” She never told me about that! If that was the case, we could have gone at any time. I shrugged my shoulders as we all trekked up the stairs leading to the Princess’ throne room. I expected the Princess to be a small pony just like the others, but I was, once again, taken aback in surprise. This time it was because of the fact that she was as big as I was. She was a white-colored horse with a flowing rainbow mane that seemed to have a mind of its own. I wanted to properly introduce myself to her, but she stopped me with a hoof.

         “I already know who you are, Daniel.” I’ll admit that she impressed me by knowing my name. Then again, that was to be expected of Equestria’s equivalent of God. “I also know why it is you are here. I take it that my student Twilight has already explained what I see in you.”

         I stepped forward, “Yes Princess. But, surely if you know why I’m here, then you must know that I’m only here to keep an eye on your people. I serve a purpose much like Twilight in that I send a daily report to my higher officials detailing what has happened during the day. I’m not a hero! I’m just a…chronicler of sorts!”

         The Princess then smiled and said, “And surely you must know that you and Twilight are similar in many ways.” She came closer to me as she spoke. “She too doubted that she had anything to do with the fate of Equestria. And like Twilight, I can sense a strong power within you even though you may not know it. That is why you were really sent here. To aid Equestria in the banishing of the great evil that is yet to come.”

         Twilight became surprised at this. “But you didn’t tell me that there was another great evil coming! I mean, we’ve already defeated both Night Mare Moon AND Discord. What could possibly be more evil than that?!”

         “I’m not sure Twilight. But whatever it is, it will be unlike anything we have ever faced before. That is why we need your help Daniel. If there is ever a time that you suspect something is wrong, then do not hesitate to send a letter to me. You can send one to me at any time. Now go! I have my own matters to attend to.”

   We all bowed and left the Princess to her affairs and I started to question my purpose here altogether.