Friendship is Alien

Dominic didn't believe it. Somehow, inexplicably, Twilight had proven correct. As they went into the town, there wasn't a soul in sight, which wasn't to say that it wasn't awkward. No, anything but that. Every building there was strange, in the brightly colorful style that seemed to be the given rule for this place. Moreover, they were all... Fanciful. Like a fairy tale brought to life. He even saw one building that looked like a house based off of a merry-go-round, and there was worse as they went on. Eventually, Dominic found himself in front of a tree house. Not a house built in the branches of a tree, but doors and windows carved into the tree, which was still green with life somehow.

"You live in a tree." Dominic said, still trying to make sure that he was seeing things as they actually were.

"You have a problem with that?" Twilight asked, throwing open the door and heading in. She let out a breath she'd been holding, unable to believe her luck in actually getting here without being spotted.

"No, not at all. I'm just a little surprised, but the doors are a bit small." Dominic said as he ducked to get in, shutting the door behind him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to come across as rude, I'm still trying to sort all this weirdness out."

Twilight somehow shrugged, without falling over. "Don't worry about it, I would have been freaking out a lot worse if it was me."

Somehow, Dominic could imagine that pretty clearly. Rather than comment on that mental image, he changed the subject. "So, here we are. What's next?"

Twilight's horn glowed again, a quill floating past Dominic, causing him to jump slightly. "I write a letter, and as soon as the Princess sees it, I'm sure she'll see to this situation."

And so Dominic spent what felt like a a lot longer than it actually way, getting introduced to a strangely vocal owl as Twilight wrote away at her letter.  "Spike!" Dominic rubbed his head from having hit his head. He seriously needed to unwind, this whole scenario was crazy...

He came back into the main room in time to see the dragon puffing green fire that seemed to incinerate the roll of parchment twilight had handed him. "And now, we wait."

Fortunately, they didn't have to wait overly long. There was a slam as the door crashed open, and another voice declared. "Don't worry, Twilight! I've been researching how to beat these things!" Just then, Dominic had time to ponder why his side hurt, and why he seemed to be floating through the room. Then there was a wall, and Dominic realized that he wasn't floating, he had been flying into a wall.

"Pinkie! What in Equestria are you doing?! Why did you roll a barrel into my house?!" Dominic had re-acquainted himself with gravity, and with the floor comforting his bruised side, he was able to observe what had happened. A pink mare, with a pinker mane that could only be described as 'poofy' stood in the doorway. Along with her, she had several barrels, and a large sledgehammer. And was she wearing... "Overalls? With a red shirt?" He was going to have to talk to her, when the room stopped spinning, and his lungs found themselves again.

"I saw that weird monkey thing following you through town, and dive into the house behind you! I ran off to check my sources, and by the time I got back, I heard you screaming for spike, when I saw the fire, I thought he'd gotten you for sure! You're not hurt, are you?" She said, practically bouncing around the purple mare. No, wait, not practically, literally bouncing as she rambled on.

"Pinkie! Settle down! This is Dominic, and he's a guest, from really far away, and he's injured!" She said, turning to start seeing to Dominic, but somehow, Pinkie was already over there.

Dominic thought himself doing rather well, being confronted by this singularity of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and managed not to scream, or even whimper as the thing appeared in front of him. "Who are you? Twilight said Dominic, but that doesn't tell me anything! Where are you from? Are those clothes? Rarity loves clothes! Why are you a strange monkey thing? Are there more of you? Where do you come from? Why are you just laying there? Ohmygosh, do you like par-" The questions were all blurring together, as Twilight began bodily dragging Pinkie backwards.

"Not right now, Pinkie, he's injured, we need to make sure that he's all-" The mare was trying to explain, but she was cut off by another flash of energy. It was a swirling blend of pastel colors on the cooler end of the spectrum filled with miniscule motes of light like stars, or minerals sparkling in sunlight. The colors seemed to start from no one direction in paticular, existing only in the peripherals of their vision. It spread in every direction swiftly, entering their proper vision as it enveloped them. Then with a flash of white light, all three were gone.

To Dominic, he recalled the situation as similar to being under anesthesia. It was a sense that a great deal of time has passed, with no recollection of it. He found himself in a large room, several points sinking in at once.

The room was made of white stone, it was decidedly lacking in windows, lit by several braziers up against the wall casting light to see the occupants. He was there, with Twilight, and 'Pinkie' as well as one other. This one got his attention for two reasons. Firstly, it was distinctly different from all the others, it's build slimmer, and standing much taller, taller than him even. It had a shimmering mane that seemed rainbow hued in pastel colors, as well as being adorned with both wings, and a horn.

The other reason it demanded attention was because it was standing in between him and the only door in the room, with a rather unpleasant looking expression on its face as it looked at him. Then, something hit him like a ton of bricks.

This... Thing, it evoked an emotional response in him. Dominic considered himself a very skilled individual at controlling his feelings, with little to no trouble in managing his emotions back home, but he felt nearly overcome staring at this thing.  It made him angry. He felt his fists clenched, his pulse racing, and... His knees shaking? He wasn't just angry, he was terrified, and awed by this thing. He barely pulled himself together enough to pay attention when it began to speak.

"I know of your kind," It said, and Dominic was caught off guard again. It's voice sounded motherly. Stern, almost disappointed, but motherly, and it most certainly sounded female. "Do not try to lie here, I will know what harm you are bringing unto my realm and my subjects!" She didn't raise her voice, but the force in her command was clear. Flabbergasted, Dominic pulled his anger around him to steady his knees, and make sure his voice didn't quake. "What?! What harm I bring?!"

Okay, maybe this was too far, I hadn't meant to sound that angry. "Lady, I've just been abducted by I-don't-know-what, smashed into someone's pie-making supplies, in a world filled with strange, alien creatures that apparently speak my language, and you just drag me off here to demand what harm I'M planning?"

Mouth, what are you doing?  "I got news for you, Lady, No one's been anything but helpful, and I don't mean to harm anyone, so you can go ahead and stop looking at me like I'm some stain on your little hoof there."

MOUTH STOP.

dominic blinked then, finally seeming to get the message from his panicking brain. He took a step back, his face caught between emotions, noticing how Twilight seemed to be trying not to faint, and Pinkie's Jaw was on the floor. "Right... My apologies, Ma'am, apparently, I'm just a liiiittle more stressed out than I thought I was." He said, but when he looked back to the bigger one, she was smiling. Smiling, after that outburst? Where had the glare gone? Why couldn't he keep up with these people and their flittering emotions?!

She shook her head, and began to speak, and Dominic felt himself relaxing, his fear-anger complex seeming to slide to the back of his mind. "I have heard tales of your kind, so I had to goad you to speak here, in the vicinity of a truth spell to know whether you were a problem or not."

Twilight was still frozen in a state of shock, but Pinkie was already processing this. "Wait, a truth spell? So that means I can't say ---- -'- - -------?" She said, the last words silent, through her mouth moved. Smiling, she began to speak more and more, though no words came out, a little disturbing to look at, as distracting as it was.

Dominic looked back to the Regal pony as she spoke again, her smile was still there, but he'd say she looked almost sad, if he was judging the expression right. "I am Princess Celestia, Diarch of Equestria. And you, are our first Guest in a very, very long time. Welcome to Equestria."

Oh.