Chapters Chapter 1: Welcome to Equestria
Chapter 1:
Welcome to Equestria
“HELLO?! ”
My echoing call reached far out into the darkness. I had been walking for what felt like hours. But still, endless darkness stood before me, sinking my heart into disrepair. No one was around, not even a bird.
“This isn't funny,” I quietly said to myself, half hoping for a response. “Look, I don't know what stupid game your playing,” I shouted to the darkness. “I don't know what you pricks did, but . . .” I continued, only to trip on a rock.
Hitting the ground with a hard thud, I quickly began bracing myself for the pain I knew would quickly follow. I was surprised to feel next to nothing. It felt as if most of my body had gone numb.
“Damn,” I muttered, coming to a cold realization. There was only one thing that could explain what was going on. “They drugged me,” I blurted out to no one.
It made the most sense. My body felt weird and numb in most places, I couldn't see, I had no idea where I was, and I desperately wanted a burger. Actually, that last one was something I always wanted.
I continued walking for another hour, complaining as I walked. I was always up for a hike, but this was ridiculous. Branches continuously blocked my path and I kept tripping over rocks that were hidden within the darkness Then, a small sliver of light began to shine in the distance.
“Thank god,” I yelled as I began walking faster. Not only was there light, but I could just feel that I had finally made it out. Although, once I got closer, I had to stop.
At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. But no matter how I looked at it, things didn't look right. There was enough light to see my surroundings and nothing looked like it should have. Everything looked like it had been taken out of some kids cartoon. Everything around me, by what I could see, was rounder in shape and was colored brightly. There also seemed to be darker lines to define the edges.
“What the hell did they give me,” I asked myself as I reached to touch a nearby tree. It looked like a two dimensional picture, yet possessed a shadow that gave it a third dimensional look. I pulled back instantly. My hand wasn't my hand.
“WHAT THE FUCK ,” I yelled as I looked myself over in the light. “This isn't happening," I mumbled to myself in worry.
My hands were now white claws, covered in scales. Quickly, I tried taking my jacket off, but something on my back prevented me from doing it fully. Reaching back, I felt two large things protruding from my back. “Fuck,” I groaned bringing my hands to my face in stress, only to feel something interrupt them.
Feeling the small portion of my face that was protruding forward, I knew instantly that it was a snout. Dropping my hands to my sides, I looked back at my butt. As I expected, a long white scaled tail could be seen protruding from a rip in my pants.
I stood in complete silence. I didn't move, I didn't speak, I could barely even breathe. I was oblivious to everything. Finally, a few words escaped my mouth.
“So this is what its like to be high. . .”
As I walked, I began to check my pockets, hoping to find a clue as to what had happened. Besides a few pens, I had a flip knife, $35 cash, and my phone. But, try as I might, I couldn't unlock it. “Stupid heat sensor,” I complained as I pocketed the phone and looked at my new claws. It felt weird, in a sense that I could still feel, yet I also felt numb. But I didn't want to fry my brain at this time. Things were already confusing enough.
“Wow, a dragon,” a voice suddenly bellowed from nearby. It was a female voice, yet its one that sounded oddly familiar. But that was the least of my concerns as I began looking around with hope filled eyes.
“Oh thank god,” I nearly cried, glad to just hear another person's voice. As I turned around, I immediately stopped and stared in complete confusion. Floating several feet off the ground was a gray furred, yellow maned pony with wings.
"Hi," the strange pony said. So many questions began to run through my mind as I stared at the ponies misaligned eyes. What was I given? Where the fuck was I? When will I wake up? But, only one thing escaped my mouth as everything began to fade.
“Derp”
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“Are you awake yet Mr.Dragon,” the familiar voice echoed through my head. It sounded very familiar, yet I couldn't figure out whose it was.
First thing I realized was that I was laying in a bed. I began to believe that I had come down from whatever it was I on. But, that thought faded when something began to shake me heavily back and forth.
“Hello,” the voice asked getting closer to my face. I could feel their breath against the side of my head. It was warm and smelled of frosting.
“Please stop shaking me,” I grumbled as I began to sluggishly open my eyes. The first thing I saw was a pair of amber colored eyes. They were very big as well as crossed at odd angles. I immediately jumped back with a scream, falling off the bed and hitting the ground with a thud.
“Are you ok Mr.Dragon,” the strange pony from earlier asked poking its head over the side of the bed. Even if I could respond, I wouldn't. Pain and confusion began filling my mind as my right shoulder began to hurt around the wing bone.
Before I could do much else, the strange pony had come around the bed and walked behind me. “What are you,” I wheezed through the pain, when suddenly, the pain disappeared.
“Uh, thanks,” I mumbled as the pony came into my line of sight.
“No problem,” the pony replied as she gave a reassuring smile. It was then that I realized who I was talking to. “I'm always hurting my wings, and my hooves, and my. . .,” the pony began ranting. But, by this point, I had stopped listening to what she was saying and began punching myself in my face.
“What are you doing,” the pony yelled in confusion as she grabbed my arm, preventing me from continuing my self assault.
“I'm trying to wake up Derpy,” I yelled as I ripped my arm from her odd grasp. I was going to continue, but it had hurt more hitting myself than I thought it would. I could already feel a small amount of blood dripping from my nose.
“What . . . but. . . how do you know my name,” Derpy asked looking at me with a worried and confused look. I said nothing as I wiped away the blood with my sleeve.
In response to my silence Derpy angrily scrunched her face and stomped her hoof demanding an answer. I could tell she was angry, but the way she looked actually made me laugh. But I quickly stopped when I saw Derpy’s continued stern look.
“Sorry,” I mumbled as I stood up. She said nothing as she continued to watch me. Then, as if nothing had happened, she put on a caring smile and said, “Oh, that’s ok. Everypony needs a good laugh at least once a day.”
At the mere mention of the word 'Everypony,' I felt all hope fade away. “But that still doesn't answer how you know my name,” Derpy said, cutting into my hopeless thought.
I tried to think of a reply, but my stomach interrupted my thought process.
“How about we get you something to eat first,” Derpy replied, completely oblivious to the fact that I still hadn't answered her question. “Come on Mr.Dragon," she chuckled as she walked towards a nearby door. "If you're hungry, I think know where you can get something to eat.”
With that, Derpy began to lead me out of the room, only to stop and look back at me when I didn't follow. "This way," she chirped as she led me out of what had to be her house.
As we walked outside, I was amazed to see that it was still light out, even though the sun was beginning to set and twilight was about to set in. "Come on Mr.Dragon," Derpy repeated as she began walking down a large dirt path.
"The names Chris," I told her as I moved to catch up. Being called 'Mr.Dragon' was beginning to annoy me. Every time Derpy called me that, I could feel something inside of myself weaken. But I quickly pushed those thoughts aside and followed Derpy down the path.
“What time is it,” I asked as we walked down a dirt road. I couldn't help but watch the sun slowly move through the sky as its lights began to create amber colors in its once blue scenery.
“Oh, around five, five thirty, I think,” Derpy replied as she led the way. The sun wasn't high in the sky, so this answer did nothing but confuse me a little.
“So Chris, what were you doing hanging around the Everfree forest? Were you lost,” Derpy asked looking back at me.
“I'm sorry,” I said not really wanting to talk to her. “I don't wanna sound mean or anything, but I don't know." A nagging thought began to form in the back of my mind. It told me to keep my distance because this was not reality, and it could only lead to problems. "And also, I'm not a dragon."
“Well of course you are. You look like a dragon,” Derpy replied as she began trotting next to me. " So you must be one."
“Look, I'm not a dragon. I'm human,” I replied as looked down at her. It was at this point that I noticed our height difference. It was weird that the thought popped into my head. But as we walked beside one another, I noticed that I was a few feet taller than her.
“Hue-man,” Derpy said as she scrunched her face.
“Yeah, don’t think too much into that,” I sighed, noticing that Derpy was getting very confused. “So, where are we going,” I asked, trying to change the subject.
“Only the best place in all of Equestria,” Derpy said with a smile, accepting the change in subject. She quickly took to the sky and did a looped da loop before coming back down, looking a bit embarrassed.
“Let me guess,” I said knowing what she would say.
“Ponyville,” we both said in unison. Her voice held a tone of happiness while I dreaded the thought. I couldn't help but feel like this was all some trick my brain was trying to play on me.
.
After a moment or two, I saw the town come into sight. “There's a unicorn named Twilight Sparkle who has a dragon,” Derpy said breaking the short silence. “I'm positive that she'll have something for you to eat.” But by this point, I didn’t wanna talk, listen, or do much of anything.
I kept trying to understand what was going on. Either I was inexplicably high, which I've never been before, or I was in a coma. A coma would make since. Except I've never had such in-depth dreams. "Maybe if I. . ."
“Here we are,” Derpy said, interrupting my sentence. Looking forward I wasn't surprised to see a familiar looking library. It looked to be several stories tall and was built out of a large tree. As I continued to inspect the strange looking building, Derpy knocked on the door. Which, after a few moments, a small purple dragon answered.
“Oh, Derpy,” the small dragon said looking a bit worried as he opened the door more. He stopped once I came into view.
“Hi,” I mumbled, looking more at the tree then the young dragon. I could feel a nagging feeling trying to get me to interact with him. I loved dragons and the chance to actually see one would be amazing. But, that would mean accepting it as a form of reality.
“Another dragon,” Spike nearly stuttered. Rushing out of the library, Spike nearly pushed Derpy over as he made his way over to me.
“I'm ok,” she said moving next to the young dragon. Although, Spike ignored Derpy's statement and continued to stare at me.
“Another dragon,” Spike whispered as he looked up at me. His slitted eyes grew rounder and rounder as he stared in amazement.
“Anyways Spike,” Derpy said catching Spikes attention. “Do you have anything for him to eat? I don't know what dragons eat and,” Derpy began before Spike ran back into the library, only partially listening to her. He quickly returned holding several gems and a cupcake.
“Here you go,” Spike said holding the items out. "Dragons eat just about anything edible, as well as gems."
I looked at the objects Spike held for a second then took the cupcake with a simple thanks. Spike continued to hold out one of the gems which I decided against. The thought of even trying to eat a rock made me laugh a bit. So I stayed with the cupcake instead.
As I ate, Spike began asking questions, “So where are you from? What species are you? Why are you wearing cloths? What,” he continued before I shushed him. I had no intentions of answering any of his questions, only to ask my own.
“Where's Twilight,” I asked, realizing that she was nowhere in sight. The statement caused Spike to pull back a bit in confusion.
“She’s gone for the week,” Spike replied, a little disappointed that I wouldn't answer his questions. "She went back to Canterlot for a family visit. I stayed to watch the library."
“Damn,” I replied as I finished the sugary treat. It actually tasted really good.
“I can get a letter to her if you need,” Spike quickly replied as he dropped the gems he was holding and produced a quill and paper out of nowhere. “Oops,” he said looking at the gems he dropped.
I merely stared back at him in confusion. My mind was telling me that I was either high or in a coma, but It also told me that I needed to have a plan encase this was all real. But that would mean accepting this all as reality. Which, if it wasn't, would make me look really stupid.
“Could you just ask if there's a spell for transporting someone . . . through dimensions,” I said to Spike as I tried to think. Spike wrote down what I said and more and then sent it with his magic flame.
“Anything else,” he asked with puppy dog eyes. “ No, but thanks,” I replied as I took a step back. At first I though Spike was just helping out someone he believed to be a fellow dragon, but the way he acted seemed to confuse me. He seemed to hang onto every word I said, as if waiting for me to say something.
“Anything to help out another dragon,” Spike said with a smile. “Now, about my questions,” he quickly continued.
“Sorry, I’d tell you if I could but,” I replied, taking another step back.
“Completely understandable,” Spike said with a hint of disappointed, but he quickly perked back up and gave a smile. “It might not be until tomorrow, but where can I find you once Twilight replies,” Spike asked as he began picking back up the gems he had dropped. Derpy helped as well, but Spike seemed to take the gem she handed him as if it were about to explode.
“Heh, thanks Derpy,” he chuckled. “So, you’ll be where Mr . . .?”
“Just call me Chris,” I replied looking down at Spike. “And I’ll be . . .,” I began, only to catch myself. I actually didn't have a answer. I didn't have any money that would work in this world so a hotel was out of the question, and just asking someone would be too rude.
“At my house,” Derpy said, Answering Spikes question for me.
“What,” me and Spike both said in unison.
“Its ok with me,” Derpy said with a continued smile. I was going to deny the offer, but If I did that, I doubt I would find somewhere to stay for the night. So, I accepted her offer with a simple nod of agreement.
“Ok then, I’ll be at Derpy’s,” I told Spike. At first, Spike looked like he was about to say something but instead, he handed me a gem and walked back towards the library door. with one final look, he closed the door behind him. I couldn't help but feel that he was worried about something.
“That was fun,” Derpy said, catching my attention. Looking at her, I noticed that she was looking straight at me with both eyes.
“So you aren't always derp eyed,” I said, mildly amused.
“Nope,” she giggled in reply. But after she blinked, both eyes went back to their prior positions. “Where are we going now,” I asked Derpy as she randomly started walking down a nearby street.
“We have to go pick up my little sister,” Derpy said as she began humming a little tune.
“So, Dinky then,” I asked without thinking.
“Ok,” Derpy said instantly as she continued walking down the path. “How do you know her name,” Derpy continued, yet again becoming confused.
“You wouldn't understand even if I told you,” I said, trying my best to be sincere. I still wasn't sure on whether or not to accept where I was and what was going on.
“Ok,” Derpy said with a bit of a stern look.
“Look," I quickly replied. "I promise to explain everything as best I can once I figure out what's going on myself,” I continued, trying to ease her worries. I didn't wanna hold the truth from her but there is still to many what if’s to put into account before fully reacting to the situation.
Looking around as I walked, I couldn't help but think. Was this really Ponyville, I mean, except for Spike, no one was around, especially the pink furred pony know as Pinkie Pie, who would have been dragging me to a welcoming party by now.
“We're almost there,” Derpy said, cutting into my train of thought. As she said this I began to hear something in the distance. “See that,” Derpy said pointing down the path.
Looking in the direction, I could see a large amount of apple trees and a big red barn. “That’s the Apple family farm. They farm,” “apples,” I said cutting into her sentence. “Yep,” Derpy said happily as she began to walk faster towards the farm.
As we got closer, I could hear a large commotion from the farm. From the festive sounds, I figured it was a party, which was why no one was in town. “Pinkie Pie’s holding a party for the town on the farm to celebrate something or another,” Derpy said. Although, I wasn't listening.
“So. Many. Colors,” I mumbled as me and Derpy walked past a group of pony’s. All of which, stared at me in amazement. I on the other hand, stared at them as if I were seeing the impossible; Which, in my mind, was the case.
“Come on,” Derpy said moving into my staring path.
“Right,” I blurted out as I returned my attention towards the front. The party seemed to be in full swing, but I seemed to draw a lot of attention.
I'm not one for getting embarrassed, but I hated drawing to much attention, and at that moment, it was all I was doing. “So, Derpy? Where is . . .,” I began before freezing in mid sentence. Something was coming right at me, and fast.
Before I could even think of what to do, my body took action. As my chest hit the ground, I felt something brush past my back. Then before I could even focus right, I was hopping back to my feet. Whatever had flown over me had landed in a large puff of dirt several feet in front of me, drawing the attention of everyone around.
“That was . . .,” a familiar and very energetic voice began from behind a cloud of dust. “AMAZING,” a pink pony bellowed as the dust finally settled. She wore a pair of large green sunglasses, and a equal as large smile. “Do it again” she exclaimed as she launched herself forward. My first instinct was to lean back, although as I felt myself start to free fall I began to regret it.
I hit the ground hard and felt a familiar pain suddenly issue from my back left wing bone. “Are you ok,” both the pink pony and Derpy asked looking down at me. I replied only with a wince as I sat up straight. The increased pain of moving prevented me from standing up.
“What in the hay,” another familiar voice said in a strong southern accent. “Pinkie Pie, What in tarnation is going on over here?” A orange pony said as they came into view. The thing that stood out the most was that it was wearing a stetson hat. She quickly froze once she saw me sitting on the ground.
“You should've seen it Applejack,” Pinkie Pie said excitedly as she hopped over to the frozen Applejack. “I was being super de duper quiet, cause I was going to give him a welcoming Pinkie Pie hug when,” Pinkie continued as she explained the events that just occurred. From there she continued into a random conversation on something else, but I was to preoccupied to listen.
The pain in my wing bone was increasing and I couldn't figure out why. “Flapping your wings won't help ease the pain,” Derpy said as she walked behind me. “But, I'm not . . .,” I stammered through the pain. But just like the last time, the pain disappeared and Derpy came back into view in front of me.
“What did,” I muttered, trying to figure out how she did that.
“Like I said, I'm always hurting my wings, so,” Derpy began to reply, before Pinkie Pie interrupted.
As to what she was saying, I have no idea. She was speaking so fast that the most I could make out were the words ‘welcome,’ ‘cake,’ and something about a shot of pastrami. All that I was one hundred percent on was that it was a form of welcome to Ponyville. Which, she ended with a blast of confetti in my face, leaving large amounts of it in my hair.
“Wow. Why if it ain't another dragon,” Applejack said walking up to me with a confused stare. She seemed to be studying me. I couldn't help but wonder if I really stood out that much. Then I realized that it wasn't me she was looking at. It was my clothing. “I ain't never heard of no dragon wearing such clothing,” she said poking at my jacket.
To make sure I wasn't wearing anything stupid, I quickly looked down at myself. I was actually surprised at what I was wearing myself.
Usually I wore printed label shirts that had a joke or something. Yet this time, it was a simple dark gray shirt. Over that, I had on a simple black windbreaker I had bought recently. I had on a basic pair of bluejeans and a old pair of boots I had. Nothing that I found confusing. But then again, ponies don't normally wear cloths.
“Well, no use worrying over such things,” Applejack said, catching my attention. “So what can I do ya for Mr. . .,” “Chris,” I quickly replied as I looked around. It seemed everyone else had gone back to what they were doing except for Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Derpy. “Well Chris,” Applejack chuckled. “What can I do ya for?”
“We came to get Dinky,” Derpy chipped in from behind Applejack. At the sound of Derpy's voice, Applejack quickly took a step back and began scanning the skies. She continued moving back until she actually bumped into Derpy.
“Oh, there you are Derpy,” She sighed in relief. “Sorry for acting like that, just didn't want another silo incident.” As Applejack said this, I couldn't help but notice what looked like the remains of a old storage hut or something on a nearby hill.
“Its ok Applejack,” Derpy said with a smile and a reassuring hoof on the shoulder. “That’s why I walked here.” “”Yay Derpy,” Pinkie Pie randomly interjected, catching both Derpy's and Applejack's attention. They merely smiled and laughed in response.
“Well, if your lookin' for your little sis,” Applejack said as she collected herself. “She should be with the youngins playing in the barn.” From there, Applejack lead the way to the large red barn farther up the path.
“So what's the party for anyways,” I asked Pinkie Pie as I watched ponies enjoy the festivities.
“Just the end to a good day is all,” She replied as she hopped next to me. “But don’t worry, your welcoming party will be super awesome too.” Hearing this did cause me to worry a bit, but I decided it would be best to just go with the flow on this one.
Watching Pinkie Pie bounce along side me, I was surprised just how much energy she had. I expected that it would be a lot, but it felt almost as if it was overflowing.
“So Chris,” Applejack asked as we neared the barn doors. “What brings you to Ponyville?” Even though I was expecting the question, it still caught me off guard.
At first I stuttered, trying to think of an answer. Then after a moment of thought I said, “Lets just say that I'm really lost."
“Is that why you asked Spike where Twilight was then,” Derpy asked as she stood right outside the barn doors. I could hear the voices of young children inside. “Because, I could've given you directions if that was what you were looking for."
"I'm pretty sure that you wont know where the place I want to go is," I replied. "If anyone does, It'll be Twilight."
“Darn,” Pinkie Pie said looking a little sad. “Twilight left this morning for a visit to her family for a week.”
“Yeah, that’s just about what Spike said,” I replied. From there, I told them about what happened at the library. I was sure to leave out the part of what the letter actually said. I didn't need to be asked questions I wouldn't be able to answer yet.
“Well, I'm sure Twi will answer back real fast,” Applejack replied optimistically as the barn doors seemed to open on their own.
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS AWAY,” three young fillies yelled as they ran out. Each wore a small cape made by hand. They didn't get far before they noticed me and froze in their places. It was easy to recognize who they were with their different colors and what not, although all the different colors did cause me to get a little confused.
"Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo,” I said as I pointed out each one of them before realizing what I was saying. Quickly, I closed my mouth and covered it, but the damage was already done.
“Now wait a gosh darn minute,” Applejack said looking right at me. She looked both confused and worried. “How do you know their names?”
“He knew mine and Dinky’s name to,” Derpy said with a smile. She obviously had no idea that she was making matters worse. I was speechless. I hadn't meant to do that but I couldn't help myself.
“Really,” Applejack asked Derpy turning her attention to her. “Yeah,” she replied with a smile. “I asked why he knew but he said he didn't have an answer yet.”
“And that didn't worry you,” Pinkie Pie squealed as she took refuge behind Applejack.
“He hasn't done anything to cause me to worry,” Derpy said, obviously confused as to why everyone was worried.
Applejack's stern gaze softened a bit, but not by much. “you haven't done anything to cause us worry yet either,” Applejack said to me. Hearing that caused a knot that had been forming in my chest to loosen. “But I do have my eye on you,” and with that, her gaze softened and she began talking to the crusaders.
“Do you girls happen to know where Dinky is? Her sisters here to take her home,” Applejack asked caringly . “She’s with Fluttershy,” all three said together as their gaze switched from me to Applejack.
“Pinkie Pie,” Sweetie Belle said turning her attention to Pinkie. Her purple and pink main bouncing as she moved. “Are you still going to show us how to do that trick with the peanut butter,” she continued, giving Pinkie a big eyed grin.
“Of course. Lets go,” Pinkie replied as she turned and began hopping off, the three crusaders following close behind.
“Come on,” Derpy said to me, making her way into the barn. I followed close behind, Applejack soon after.
It was what I expected, several groups of kids were scattered around the barn playing games like tag and hide and seek. In a corner, a familiar looking pegasus pony sat telling stories to some younger looking ponies.
I don't know if it was the sudden silence or the sight of me, but we hadn't even made it close enough to the corner to talk before the pony that had been telling stories was half way into a pile of hay. “ Whoa there sugarcube,” Applejack said rushing past everyone and pulling the pegasus pony out of the hay by her pink colored tail.
“Hay sis,” a young female voice said to my side. Looking over, I saw a young unicorn walk up to Derpy. The two shared both eye color and mane color, yet while Derpy was gray furred, the young unicorn had a light purple coat.
“Hi Dinky,” Derpy replied giving her sister a hug.
“Dinky, let me introduce you,” Derpy said walking Dinky over to me. The moment her eyes set on me she stared in awe.
“Wow, a dragon,” Dinky exclaimed as she began looking at me. At this, several other young ponies began to group together and stare at me.
I didn't know how to respond, so I just looked down at all of them and waved. A few took several steps back as I did this. “This is Chris,” Derpy continued as she talked to Dinky.
“Hi Chris,” Dinky quickly said in reply, getting closer so as to better look at me and what I was wearing. As I watched Dinky, I almost didn't feel the tapping on my shoulder. Turning to look, I saw that it was the pegasus pony Applejack had been pulling out of the hay. Pieces could still be seen in bother her mane and in her fur.
“I don't mean to interrupt,” she almost whispered. “B. . . bu. . .but my names Fluttershy and well, I was wondering,” Fluttershy continued, only getting quieter and quieter.
“Yes,” I asked as I looked down at her. I don't know why, but it made me feel bad having to look down to talk to her.
“Well, I was wondering if,” Fluttershy continued, regaining her voice. “Are you really a dragon?”
This question caught me off guard, but I was glad to hear it. “Oh, I'm sorry,” Fluttershy quickly said as she noticed the change in my expression. “Its just that, you don’t really look like a dragon wearing those clothes and glasses so,” She replied, her voice fading out again.
“I'm still wearing my glasses,” I questioned reaching for where I would normally put them. I was amazed to feel the familiar square pieces that were my glasses. As I took them off I was suddenly blinded by a bright light. “Ow,” I said, quickly putting the glasses back on, causing the blinding light to disappear.
“So, are you,” Fluttershy respectfully repeated. I was about to answer when Derpy did for me.
“No, he told me that he’s a hue-mane,” she said with a confident smile. This just caused everyone around me to look even more confused.
“Does being a hue-mane have anything to do with knowing our names,” Applejack asked, becoming a little intrigued in the matter. Chuckling at their mispronunciation, all I could do was say, “kind of.”
“Well, I trust you'll tell us when you can,” Applejack said walking past Fluttershy. Who, looked about as confused as the young ponies surrounding her.
“Well, I'm gonna take Dinky home now,” Derpy said to Applejack before turning to leave. Dinky quickly began to follow behind.
I was about to follow behind when something grabbed what I believed to be my tail. “And where do you think your going,” Applejack asked as she released my tail.
I didn't know what to say. It was obvious the Applejack didn't trust me, and I knew that if I told her that I was leaving with Derpy things would just get worse.
“Come on Chris,” Derpy said turning to look back at me.
“Wait,” Applejack questioned. “ You're going with Derpy?” “Yeah, I said it was ok to stay at my place,” Derpy replied, walking back over towards where I stood.
"Look here sugarcube,” Applejack said walking closer to Derpy. She whispered something in her ear and then waited for a response.
“Its ok,” Derpy said with a smile . “I trust he won't do anything bad,” Derpy continued as she began starring strait eyed at me. No one paid any mind though and the conversation ended there with Applejack giving me one last stare down.
“I got my eye on you,” she said walking back past me. With that I quickly turned and left with Derpy and her sister. I don’t know why but having heard something like that from Applejack shook me to my very core.
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“Oh, don’t let her get to you,” Derpy said, noticing my worried look. Dinky, who had yet to leave my side nodded in agreement. “Applejack is one of the best ponies ever. Once you figure out how to answer, everything will be fine,” Derpy said with a smile.
Suddenly, Derpy turned her eye, to the sky. Her right eye actually. “Hay Rainbow Dash, come meet my new friend.”
“Its a bit early for the term ‘friend’ Derpy,” I said as I looked up at the sky. As I expected, a blue furred pegasus pony with a rainbow colored mane and tail could be seen laying on a cloud doing a whole lot of nothing.
As if to respond to Derpy, a loud snort issued from Rainbow Dash. Then, there was a mumbled statement followed by the sound of snoring. “Yeah, she’s dead Jim,” I said with a chuckle, remembering what a old web browser said every time it crashed on me. Suddenly, Derpy took to the sky.
“RAINBOW DASH ,” she yelled as she just about landed on top of her, a worried look on her face. This was quickly followed by a startled scream as a rainbow colored blur zipped several feet away.
“Don’t scare me like that Derpy,” Rainbow Dash sighed, now wide awake. “I'm just glad you're alright,” Derpy quickly replied as she flew over and gave Rainbow Dash a hug. Which caused Rainbow Dash to push Derpy back a bit.
“Why wouldn't I be ok,” Rainbow Dash asked with a chuckle.
“Well, Chris said ‘she's dead Jim’ and I was worried that he was talking about you, and I know my name's not Jim but,” Derpy began to rant before Rainbow Dash put a hoof to her mouth to quiet her.
“Who,” Rainbow Dash asked with a confused, yet oddly stern look. Derpy merely pointed one of her hooves at me, Rainbow Dashes hoof still covering her mouth. From there, Rainbow Dash looked towards where me and Dinky stood. “You need to be more careful with the thing you say,” Rainbow Dash almost yelled as she flew down to me. Derpy stayed where she was, although she did begin to spin in circles.
“I only meant it as a joke,” I said, trying my best to sound innocent. But what had just occurred made me want to laugh. Although, it was obvious that Rainbow Dash didn't find it funny.
“Sorry,” Rainbow Dash then said with a sigh as she rubbed her temples with her hooves. “Its been a long day and I don’t like it when I'm woken up like that.”
“Who does,” I joked. Rainbow Dash quickly followed with a annoyed look. Then, she put on a smile and hit my shoulder. “Your all right,” she chuckled as she went back to her cloud to continue her nap.
“See ya around,” Rainbow Dash said before quickly falling back to sleep.
“Night Rainbow Dash,” Derpy said as she landed next to me and Dinky. Then, without a word, we continued on our path.
We hadn't gone more than a few feet until I heard a little yawn come from next to me. Looking down beside me I could see that Dinky was getting tired. “you want me to carry you Dinky,” Derpy asked also noticing how tired she was getting. But before Derpy could do anything, I reached down and carefully picked Dinky up and set her on my head. I was amazed just how light Dinky was. But it made it easier to balance her as she snuggled up to my hair. A few moments later, I could hear the soft breathing of someone who had fallen asleep. “Thanks,” Derpy whispered with a chuckle.
After a little while longer, we arrived back at the house from earlier. “So this is your house,” I asked as we walked in.
“Yep,” Derpy simply replied as she led me through the house towards one of the rooms.
The room itself wasn't that big but it was obvious that it was Dinky’s. Even in the fading lights I could see that the walls were painted pink with small flowers here and there. As I placed Dinky into the small bed, I noticed a small chest with several stuffed animals falling out. It actually brought a smile to my face.
Before I left the room I was sure to pull the blankets up to Dinky’s chin. It felt strange to do but also felt very familiar. It actually reminded me of all the times I had babysat my younger siblings and cousins, except this was a pony. Only after I was sure that she was good, I turned to leave the room. Passing a small desk with some paper and crayons on it.
“Awww ,” Derpy said as I left the room. I just looked away as I partially closed the door. Everything that had just happened seemed to remind me of home. “Come on,” Derpy said as we walked down a hall towards another door.
As we walked in, I recognized it as the room I had woken up in earlier. “This is my guest room, so this is where you’ll be staying,” Derpy said looking at me with a smile. “If there's anything you need, I'm at the other end of the hall.” With that Derpy turned and began to walk out.
“Actually,” I said, stopping her before she could leave. “I wanted to know. . . why are you begin so nice to me?”
The question just seemed to confuse Derpy. It looked like she didn't have an answer, but then a smile appeared on her face. “Because it’s the right thing to do for somepony in need,” She replied after a moment of thought.
“Yet how do you know you can trust me when I haven’t even told you where I'm from,” I continued, trying my best not to sound arrogant.
“Should I not trust you,” Derpy asked, looking a little sad.
“Well, no, you can trust me. But,” I began. But before I could finish, Derpy held a hoof up to silence me.
“Then I trust you," she said with a smile. "Anything else?"
“Actually,” I said, feeling a sudden urge. “Wheres the bathroom?”
Chapter 2: A Mildly Warm Welcome
Chapter 2:
A Mildly Warm Welcome
The slight vibration in my pocket was just enough to wake me up from a dreamless sleep. Its familiarity just seemed to annoy me.
As I pulled out my phone, I couldn't help but wonder why my phone had been in my pocket rather than on my floor or a table in the first place. Looking at the lit screen, I was surprised to see my morning alarm going off. At first, I thought my mind was playing tricks on me like always. Every weekday morning, my alarm would sound at five, easily early enough for a quick shower, if I wanted one that is.
Sitting up, I moved my thumb over the screen to dismiss the alarm. But no matter how many times I tried, it wouldn't work. I looked to see what was wrong but my eyes were still adjusting to the difference in light. Quickly getting fed up, I decided to just open my phone and removed the battery.
As I began to put it back together, I got out of bed and headed towards the light switch. But I quickly hit a wall.
“Ow,” I yelped as I began feeling around for a light switch. "This wall shouldn't be here," I said to myself.
All I could do was follow the wall with my hands. If there was a window, there was no light coming from it and the room I was in was almost pitch black. After a second, I found the light switch and flipped them on. After a moment, I flipped them back off, then back on.
I was in a unfamiliar room that looked like it were part of some kids cartoon. I continued to flip the light on and off, thinking it would help, but it didn't.
"I'm still asleep," I mumbled as I looked around the small room. I tried to figure out what was going on, but the more I looked at the room, the more confused I got.
As I scanned the room, memories began to return from the prior day. Once I remembered everything, I felt my heart sink deep into my chest.“Damn,” I said as I slowly looked down at my hand. As I expected, it was a white claw.
Taking a seat on the bed I continued to look at my hand. My mind was, in a sense, shutting down and I knew that I was beginning to losing it. The idea of this being some twisted form of reality began to feel more and more believable. All I could do, was sit there and try to make sense of everything.
I don’t know how long I sat there. It could've been hours, yet I didn't care. I could feel the world caving in around me. My mind couldn't handle this for much longer.
"But what if this all real," I asked myself. But my mind quickly pushed that thought away.
A knock on the door snapped me to attention.
“Are you awake,” Derpy asked as she pushed to door open just enough to fit her head in. She was smiling and looked very well rested.
“Yeah, I'm up,” I replied as I stood up and walked over to the door. I just glad that I was still fully clothed. Hell, I hadn't even taken off my shoes.
“Good, because you're welcome to join me and Dinky for breakfast,” Derpy said as she opened the door all the way.
“Really? Thanks,” I said actually getting a little happier. I was just starting to realize how hungry I was. With that, Derpy lead the way to a small kitchen where Dinky already sat eating. But as I looked at the table, I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. There were several plates, each filled with different types of muffins.
“Help yourself,” Derpy said as she took a banana nut muffin and began eating it. “Thank you,” I said as I took a muffin I believed to be blueberry.
Before even taking a bite, I sat down between Derpy and Dinky.
As I began to eat, I noticed Dinky looking at me with amazement. “What is it,” I asked as I finished my first bite.
“Nothing,” she quickly replied as she looked back at what was in front of her. She, unlike me and Derpy, had a bowl of plain looking cereal rather than a muffin. “You want some,” Dinky then asked as she noticed my stare.
“No. . . I'm good,” I said as I continued eating the muffin I had. It was actually really good. But before I could tell Derpy that, there was a loud knock from a door.
“Who could that be,” Derpy questioned as she scrunched her face. “Not used to early morning visitors,” I asked as I finished the muffin. “Not on Saturdays,” she said as she got up and left the room.
“Reminds me of the days my grandmother used to visit,” I said to Dinky as a grabbed another muffin at random. The muffin made it as far as the tip of my snout before I dropped it in realization.
“SATURDAY?! ”
My sudden outburst startled Dinky and she almost spilled what ever remained of her cereal. “Sorry,” I said, trying my best to recollect myself. But I could've sworn that the day prior had been Monday, not Friday. "Maybe there's a time difference," I quietly muttered to myself, picking back up the muffin I had dropped. Just then, Derpy walked back in, closely followed by Applejack.
“So, you are here,” Applejack said blatantly when she noticed me. She seemed to be trying her best at preventing eye contact, while, at the same time, keeping an eye on me. I knew she didn't trust me, and with everything that was going on, I wasn't even sure if I should be trusted myself.
“So, like I was sayin', The party's in a few hours,” Applejack said to Derpy.
“Pinkie's having another party already,” Derpy questioned as she returned to her seat.. “You know Pinkie,” Applejack said with a soft chuckle. “Has to throw a welcoming party for everypony. Even if they aren't go'in to be around for long.” “Or aren't even a pony,” I said hoping to get a laugh.
“Yeah well,” Applejack said without even a chuckle. “Anyways, just be sure to be a Sugar Cube Corner by ten.”
With that, Applejack began to leave, but quickly stopped just short of the kitchen door and looked back at me. “And I’d appreciate it if you explained yourself afterwards.”
“O. . .ok,” I stuttered, watching Applejack leave. I continued to stand in place motionless until I heard a door open and then close. “Never thought a pony would strike fear into me," I whispered to myself.
“Do I get to go,” Dinky asked with a hopeful smile. She seemed really excited about it, and to be honest, I couldn't blame her. Not to disrespect her party's, but by what I knew, Pinkie Pies parties definitely favored children rather than a adult.
"I don't see why not," I told Dinky as Derpy began to clear the table.
================================================================================
“So,” Derpy asked as we walked down the semi busy street. Every now and then, one of the colorful ponies would look at me. Some in amazement, while others with confusion. But they would immediately look away when ever I looked back. “Do you have and answer yet,” Derpy continued, mostly watching the bouncing young unicorn at her side.
“Hopefully,” I sighed, fully knowing what Derpy was talking about. I had spent the last hour trying to come up with an answer that would make sense. "To be honest Derpy," I said as a knot began to reform in my chest. "I don't think it'll be enough."
“Well, I'm sure you’ll do your best,” Derpy replied just as we made it to the door of a large building. I recognized it immediately as Sugar Cube Corner. Already, I could already hear voices from inside.
Derpy and Dinky proceeded to enter while I stayed outside. Thoughts began to form in my head. I knew that if i walked into the shop, I would have to accept all of this as reality. I also knew that if I didn't, I would probably never make it home.
“Wheres the main guest,” Pinkie Pie asked Derpy as she entered the building. "He's right behind us," Derpy said, believing that I was still behind her. Tuning to look, Derpy was surprised to see that i had, in fact, disappeared. "But he was just right here," Derpy said as she became confused.
“He’s still outside,” Dinky chirped as she rushed passed her sister and Pinkie, strait for a group of ponies talking with one another. “Wait for me,” Derpy replied as she followed the young filly, leaving Pinkie Pie alone.
“He must be shy,” Pinkie Pie said to herself with a smile. “I know exactly what to do.
================================================================================
Pinkie stood, hidden just behind the far corner of the shop. She knew exactly that she would do. If she launched herself just right, she could make me retreat into the building, forcing me to be part of the party. But her plan was crushed into shambles when she took a peak around the corner.
I was nowhere to be seen. "Did he run away," Pinkie pie asked herself as she walked around the corner. At first she looked around, hoping to see me nearby, But when she couldn't see me, she began to stand completely still. i knew that she was trying to find me with her 'Pinkie sense.'
I thought it looked funny, even though it just meant she'd find me easily. All I had done was walk around the building and wait nearby the back door. I had just happened to walk there as I tried to decide what I would do. Then once Pinkie had left to set up her plan, she ended up walking around the other side of the building.
After she stood there completely motionless for several moments, she turned and began to hop around the building again. Just as she was turning the corner, I calmly walked back up front and in through the front door.
“There you are,” Derpy said with a smile as I walked in. “Pinkie Pie was looking for you,” Derpy continued. Ten minutes later Pinkie Pie walked in looking even more confused. She quickly trotted over to Derpy.
“Are you sure he's not here,” She asked. Derpy just stared at her, also becoming confused.
“What do you mean,” she responded. “He’s right over there,” Derpy continued pointing a hoof in my direction.
I merely smiled and waved back from the spot I was standing at. “H. . .how,” Pinkie Pie stammered as she trotted over to me. It was obvious that she was just plain out shocked.
“Sorry Pinkie,” I said as I began scratching the back of my head.
“What's there to be sorry about,” Pinkie quickly responded with a smile. “Not many ponies know how to get past me like that.”
I was about to respond when a cry caused everyone to look towards the front door. There, a white furred pony with a styled purple mane and tail stood motionless, her gaze fixed on me.
“Hi Rarity,” Pinkie Pie said as she greeted her friend. Shortly after, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash walked in.
“You ok Rarity,” Rainbow Dash asked waving a hoof in front of her face.
“Is she going to be ok,” Fluttershy quietly asked out of concern for her friend. Applejack simple sighed and made her way over to a nearby table.
Gripping the tablecloth in her mouth, she pulled it off without disputing anything that it held. “Cool,” I said as she made her way over to me, tablecloth still in her mouth. Then, without a word, she through the cloth over me. Completely covering me from sight.
‘What . . . was that . . . that . . . thing ,” Rarity stuttered as she began to regain herself.
“That, is Chris,” Applejack flatly replied. “You know, the dragon I was tell'en y'all about.”
“That crime against fashion,” Rarity questioned in a huff.
“I heard that,” I said angrily as I pulled off the table cloth. Again, Rarity stared right at me, but this time she kept herself from completely zoning out.
“I'm sorry, how rude of me,” She replied as she broke her gaze. “But those bland colors do nothing to compliment your white scales and yellow hair,” Rarity said trying her best to keep her calm.
“Plus, all these rips,” she continued as she moved behind me. “I'm just amazed that these things,” she snapped as she indicated my cloths. “ Haven't just fallen off.” I said nothing as Rarity walked back into my line of sight. “But please, take no offence from that,” she continued.
"And I wont," I said sarcastically. Although, Rarity didn't seemed to notice.
“Its just hard for me to see such dark colors where something far brighter should. Maybe a nice sky blue, to help bring definition to your,” “I think he gets it sugarcube,” Applejack said cutting into Rarity’s sentence.
“Yeah, we're here for a welcoming party, not a fashion show,” Rainbow Dash said as she walked up to me. “So, are you a good flyer,” She asked as she pointed to my wings. “Because I'm the best flyer in all of Ponyville.”
“All of Ponyville!? You mean all of Equestria,” Pinkie Pie snapped happily.
“Yeah, well,” Rainbow Dash said getting a little embarrassed. “I was just trying to say that if you wanted, I could show you the best places to fly.”
“Thanks, but,” I began before Pinkie Pie cut in. “But, we have a party to throw.” With that Pinkie through up some streamers and put her party into full swing.
To be honest, the party wasn't that bad. Aside from the fact that it was meant for a preteen. There were some games, but they were definitely meant for kids, yet Pinkie Pie participated in each one. There was also plenty of food, but they were mostly sweets, as well as what I believed to be sandwiches made from grass and flowers.
The only real thing I enjoyed was that even though it was a party meant to welcome me to Ponyville, I wasn't the center of everyone's attention. As the party progressed, several other ponies showed up, all were ones I had never seen before.
Yes, I got some stares but for the most part I was just there. Although I did feel very uneasy. I mean, I was surrounded by ponies, what was I supposed to feel? Sad, worried, homicidal, happy, accepting, aroused?
“Wait, why did I think that last one,” I asked myself.
“That last what,” Fluttershy asked from a nearby seat. “Nothing,” I quickly said, turning a little red. “Ok,” Fluttershy said, accepting my quick reply.
“Why aren't you hanging out with everyone else,” I asked Fluttershy, even though I knew the answer before hand. “I just don't want to interrupt everypony's fun,” she said caringly. But, as if to respond, Pinkie Pie trotted over to Fluttershy wearing her pair of big green sunglasses.
“Come on Fluttershy, I need your help with pin the tail on the pony.” From there, Pinkie Pie continued to literally drag Fluttershy towards the group of young ponies.
“I gotta see this,” I chimed as I walked over to the game.
Sweetie Belle was first up, she tried using her magic but missed the picture of the tailless pony by a few feet. Scootaloo was next. She did a little bit better but that was because she decided to just charge forward. Apple Bloom did the best as she used the tip of her nose to find the edges of the paper and place the tail where she believed it should be. Although, she did put it on the wrong side of the paper.
As the game continued, even the older ponies played. After awhile, I saw why Pinkie Pie needed Fluttershy’s help. Several ponies ended up pricking each other with the tails and Fluttershy was the one tasked with putting on the bandages.
“Your turn,” Pinkie Pie's voice echoed from behind me as everything went black. Next thing I knew, I felt myself being spun around and something soft being put in my hand.
Before I could even catch my balance, a multitude of voices began giving me directions, all of witch gave different ones, so I decided to just reach forward and pin.
After making sure the pin was in deep enough, I took off the blindfold. I had done the worst out of everyone, I had actually pinned the wrong wall entirely. “Sorry,” I chuckled as I removed the pin from the wall.
Soon after, the party began to die down and ponies began to leave. After an hour, the only remaining ponies were Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, the Crusaders, Derpy, and Dinky.
“Its been fun, but I really must be going,” I joked as Applejack closed the door behind the last pony.
“No your not,” Applejack said sternly. “Now then,” She continued as she walked up to the Crusaders and Dinky. “Why don’t y'all go upstairs and,” “Oh, gummy could use some company,” Pinkie Pie interrupted with a smile.
“Ok,” Apple Bloom said with a smile as she proceeded to lead the others up a set of nearby stairs.
Once they were out of sight, Applejack turned her attention back towards me. “So,” she said looking back at me. “You think you can answer our questions now.” I simply nodded in agreement as I pushed away a knot that had been forming in my chest.
“I'm sorry dear, but whatever do you mean,” Rarity asked Applejack. From there, Applejack explained how I seemed to easily recognize the young crusaders when I had never met them before. This just caused more confused stares, but this time they were directed at me.
“So you knew their names before ever meeting them,” Rainbow Dash asked as she referenced the Crusaders. She seemed to not understand what the problem was with the situation. “He also knew mine and Dinky’s name and I never even told him,” Derpy said adding in her part.
“So does that mean you knew our names before meeting us,” Fluttershy asked. All I did was nod, which caused Fluttershy to pull back a bit in worry.
“So,” Applejack said taking a breath. “How is it you know our names when we've never even met you?”
“Well,” I said as I took a seat on the ground. The others did the same. “For you to understand how I knew your names,” I said mostly directing the statement towards Derpy. “I should probably tell you where I'm from.”
“I thought you were from the Everfree Forest,” Derpy asked remembering where we first met.
“No,” I replied a little annoyed with her answer. “I'm from earth.”
“Yeah, not to burst your bubble or anything,” Applejack said interjecting. “But this is earth.”
“It is,” I said agreeing with Applejack. “But this is the land of Equestria and on my earth, there is no land of Equestria.” This just caused more confusion from the group. Derpy looked so confused that if it were possible, smoke would be coming out of her ears.
“Ok, how about I explain it like this,” I said drawing all of their attentions. “I’m from a different dimension.” This caused all of them to understand a bit but not by much.
“What does that have to do with where you're from,” Rainbow Dash asked, obviously getting annoyed.
“Because one theory behind the thought of different dimensions is that there are in fact, a infinite amount of possibility's," I began to explain. Although, it was obvious that they didn't really understand.
“So,” Fluttershy said as she tried making since of what I had just said. “Your from a earth . . . where things are different?”
“yes,” I said, quickly accepting Fluttershy’s simple answer.
It was at this point that I wished Twilight was around though. She would've been able to explain it to them better. “That still doesn't answer my question,” Applejack snapped as she cut into my thoughts.
“I'm getting to there,” I said in a huff. “Well,” I continued as I quickly cleared my throat. “On my Earth, there's this TV show. . ."
================================================================================
It took an hour, but I was able to explain enough about the show and my world for them to understand that I didn't mean any harm. Only that I knew who they were and just some general things about their world. But, even as I finished, everyone remained silent for several moments.
“Ok, that’s kind of creepy,” Rainbow Dash said, breaking the odd silence. I had left a lot out of what I told them. I did my best to just tell them enough to understand. But even then, I could tell that they were still a bit unsure about me.
“Well,” Applejack then said putting on a forced smile. "You at least answered my question." But it was obvious that something else was still on her mind. "But there is one other question I have,” she said, but I already knew what she was going to ask before she said it. “Why are you here in our world then?”
“That, I don’t know,” I said as I stood up. “I had some thoughts, but the way things are going, I can't help but just accept this all as real. But, this can't be real.” With that I walked to a nearby window and looked out onto the streets.
“Are you ok,” Fluttershy asked caringly. I couldn't help but smile as she asked this.
“Yeah, just a little homesick,” I replied turning back to face the ponies. “My old job usually called for me to move around every now and then, so I haven't been home in a long time. But this is a whole other story right here.”
“Well, don't you worry,” Applejack said walking up to me. For the first time since I met her, she looked as if she truly trusted me. “Now that we know this situation, we can help.”
“I was hoping you would," I said thankfully. “But to be honest, I think we'll need Twilight Sparkles help.”
“I think he's right,” Rarity said as she walked over. “Without Twilight's vast knowledge of magic, there's not much we can do to help.”
“But Twilight won't be back for a week,” Pinkie Pie said overreacting a bit. Applejack was about to say something when there was a knock on the door. As Pinkie Pie went to answer it I looked over at Derpy and Rainbow Dash, who were still very confused.
“Hi Spike,” Pinkie Pie said as she opened the top portion of the door. Walking over, I saw the little dragon on the other side with a roll of parchment in his hands.
“Hi Pinkie, hi Chris,” Spike said once he saw me. “I came to tell you that Twilight sent a reply.”
“Really,” I said instantly, almost pushing Pinkie Pie over.
“She said that she hasn't heard of spell that does what you asked," Spike said, holding the letter up. "But not to worry because she'll be back tomorrow.”
“She’s coming back early,” I asked as I opened the door all the way for Spike.
“Yeah, her brother Shining Armor was suddenly called back to the castle for some reason. So they cut the family thing short,” Spike said as he handed me the parchment. It basically said everything Spike had just told me. As well as a short to do list for the library.
“I wonder why Twilight's brother had to go back to the castle,” Fluttershy said becoming concerned.
“You don't think it has anything to do with you,” Applejack asked me as she watched Spike move over to a table and begin eating sweets.
“Spike, manners please,” Rarity said as she noticed how messy Spike was eating. “Sorry,” he said getting a little embarrassed. “I just finished everything I needed to get done at the library. So, what I miss?”
"Not much," Applejack said as she began re-explaining what I had just told them.
“Ok,” Spike said not really understanding anything that was said. “So, what's wrong with them,” Spike asked as he pointed at Derpy and Rainbow Dash.
“Oh, they'll be fine,” Applejack said as she headed for the stairs. “I’m going to go get the youngins.”
“Oh, can you also tell the Cakes that they can come down now,” Pinkie asked Applejack with a goofy smile.
"They've been here this whole time," I questioned. Pinkie just nodded her head in reply. "This place is weird," I silently mumbled to myself.
“So," Rainbow Dash said as she finally regained her senses. "You can't fly?”
“No," I moaned, a little disappointed myself. At the same time Derpy began looking around as if she had given up trying to make sense of the situation.
A few moments later the Crusaders and Dinky came running down the stares closely followed by Applejack. Ignoring everyone else the ran straight towards me, asking me questions about my earth.
“Now wait a gosh darn minute,” Applejack said, noticing the topic of their questions. “Y'all were listening in on our conversation? Weren't you?”
“We’re sorry,” Apple Bloom said apologetically as she kept her gaze on me.
“We didn't mean to, but we thought that he might know something that can help us find our cutie marks,” Sweetie Belle said quickly as she looked up with gleaming eyes.
“I'm sure they would've found out at one point anyway,” I said in their defense. I couldn't help but want to as I looked down at them.
“I know that," Applejack said with a sigh. "But they know its wrong to listen in on conversations that aren't meant for them,” Applejack replied.
“We're sorry,” the young fillies quickly replied as they lowered their heads in shame.
Applejack accepted their apology and sent them outside to play. Dinky, who asked permission from Derpy first, followed close behind.
“Well,” Rarity said as she attempted to change the subject. “ Since Twilight won't be back until tomorrow," she continued as she turned her attention to me. "You wouldn't mind if I worked on your outfit now, would you?”
I began to think about it and at first didn't see much harm in it. But I quickly decided against it when I remembered the kinds of things Rarity normally made. “I’m sorry but I'm good with what I got,” I replied trying my best to hide the fear in my voice.
“Oh poo,” Rarity replied rather dramatically. “Well, at least come to my shop so I can fix those rips.”
“I guess that’s ok,” I said as I felt the rips in my clothing. They were definitely getting bigger, and if not taken care of soon, would destroy them. "But I don't have any money for repairs," I continued, not wanting to have Rarity work on my clothing for nothing.
"Oh, don't worry darling," Rarity said gracefully. "We'll figure something out after all is said and done."
“Well then, lets go,” Applejack said as she headed for the door. In reply, everyone else began to follow Applejack towards the door.
“Wait, your all coming,” I asked as I watched them leave.
“Why not,” Rainbow Dash replied. It was obvious to me that they saw nothing wrong with this. “Not like we have anything better to do.”
"Don't they have jobs," I quietly asked myself as I followed them out.
“So tell me Chris,” Rarity asked as we walked. “does everypony wear clothes like that where you're from or is there something else to it.”
“Well, there's different styles, but everyone wears clothing where I'm from,” I replied. as we continued to walk, Rarity continued to ask me about the clothes and dresses of my world. I told her what I could, but by no means was I a fashion expert. After awhile though, her questions stopped and her shop came into view.
As we all walked in I couldn't help but notice the mannequins that were placed around the main store. I wondered if they were made of a soft fabric or plastic like ones I had seen at stores back home. I was about to check, before Rarity drew my attention and directed me towards a nearby work table.
“If you please remove your clothing so I can get some measurements,” She said as she levitated a tape measure into the air.
“Fat chance,” I said as I looked around at all the ponies. I could feel my face getting red. "Can't you get it while I'm still wearing them?"
Rarity merely sighed as she pointed a hoof to a nearby changing room. “Look," She began with a huff. "I completely understand where you're coming from, but if you're really that embarrassed, you can go back there. There's a sheet to cover yourself if need be, as well.”
It took a bit more convincing, but I finally agreed and entered the small room. All that was inside was a small bench and a vanity mirror. "Oh, look, horns," I said noticing a pair of horns on my head. They were on both sides of my head and located just above where my ears had been. From there, I began removing my clothes, although I was a little hesitant when it came to the pants.
But a few more things did surprise me as I undressed. One, was that my boots were useless now, purely cosmetic. Even though I thought I had been walking in them, my feet were now three toed hind legs. Only the lower portion of my feet were in the boots.
Also, somewhere along the way, I had gotten a tattoo on the left side of my chest. It was a tribal dragon wrapping itself around a tribal sword. I couldn't help but stare at it in confusion as I felt around the area. I've never had a tattoo, but if I did, this one would of been it.
Other than that, my socks and underwear were as good as trashed. Besides, I wouldn't want Rarity working on my underwear anyways.
“What's wrong with you,” Rainbow Dash asked as I walked out wrapped in the sheet, carrying my cloths in one hand. “Its gone,” I softly moaned. When I had gone to the bathroom the night before, It was there. But for some reason now, it was nowhere to be seen. “Whatever,” Rainbow Dash said as she walked away.
Suddenly, I felt my clothes lift out of my hand and watched as they floated over to the workbench Rarity stood at. I was sure to follow close behind.
“Now, if you would at least move the sheet to your waist,” Rarity asked, again levitating the tape measure as she moved behind me. I complied and proceeded to tie the sheet around my waist. Although, as I looked down at myself, I couldn't help but feel that the sheet was useless for what I was using it for. But I kept it on anyways.
“What's that,” Fluttershy asked, pointing at my tattoo. Quickly, I explained to her what a tattoo was while Rarity took some measurements of my wings. “Did it hurt,” Fluttershy asked after I finished my short explanation.
“I don't even remember getting it,” I sighed in reply.
“I need to get the base of your tail,” Rarity interrupted from behind me.
“Can't you just guess,” I said trying to figure out how to position the sheet.
“Really now,” Rarity said as she began measuring as much of my tail as she could. “what could you be embarrassed about?”
“I am not embarrassed,” I yelled as I turned to look at Rarity, releasing the sheet in the process. “Thank you,” Rarity simply said as she walked back behind me to measure the base of my tail. I merely dropped my head and looked at the nothingness. “Its gone,” I whimpered.
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“So, how are they,” Rarity asked as I finished putting back on my cloths.
She hadn't done much, but what she had done made putting them on a whole lot easier. She cleaned up the rips and then run them all the way down both the jacket and shirt. Then, she placed several button snaps along the bottom portion of the lines just under the lower portion of my wings for both the shirt and jacket. The pants were done in the same fashion, only, there was a single snap just above the top portion of the base of my tail.
“Well, they were easier to put them back on,” I said thankfully. From there, I did some stretches to test just how well they were done. It was actually easier to move around in them now then when I had first bought them.
“Well , I’d like to do more, but if you really don’t want me to,” Rarity just about pleaded, looking at me hopefully.
“I'm good,” I quickly replied, not wanting to be part of some crazed fashion experiment.
Just then, the stores door opened to four young fillies, completely covered in mud. Before they could even take one step, several towels went flying toward them. “You all know the drill,” Rarity said sternly. Without a word, the four young fillies began to clean off as much mud as possible.
“Better,” Rarity said once the young fillies had cleaned themselves off as best as possible. It was obvious that she wasn't fully satisfied, but decided to worry about it later.
“So, what did you guys do,” I asked, although I was quick to regret it. Without a seconds rest, the four quickly began explaining something about pigs and truffles. I tried my best to understand, but their words seemed to jumble and mix with one another without making much sense.
“Wait,” Applejack said, somehow understanding the fillies jumbled rant. “You let Old Bessy just run off,” Applejack questioned the fillies.
“Well,” Apple Bloom mumbled looking down.
“When we fell in the mud she kind of . . .,” Sweetie Belle said trying to tell Applejack what happened only to become a little intimidated.
“She ran off,” Scootaloo said, finishing their sentence.
“I'm sorry,” Dinky quickly cut in, looking like she was close to tears. “I was supposed to be watching her but when everypony fell in the mud. . . I tried to help and fell in.”
“By the time we all got out, she was gone,” Apple Bloom finished, putting a reassuring hoof around Dinky.
“Is that all,” Applejack said with a chuckle. She seemed less worried than I thought she'd be in this kind of situation. “Well, shoot Apple Bloom, you know Old Bessy. She’s probably already back at the farm. Come on y'all, let's go check.” With that, Applejack made her way to the front door to leave.
“I hope you don’t mind if I stay behind Applejack,” Rarity said as she began pulling out some papers from her desk. “I have this . . . project I would like to start on right away.” As she said this I could feel her haunting glare directed right at me.
“Wait for me,” I quickly said trying to make it out the door with everyone else.
“I only need some basic measurements,” Rarity said as she zipped in front of me, tape measure floating nearby. I was hesitant at first, but agreed since she had been so kind as to fix my clothes without asking for anything in return.
“Fine,” I sighed as I turned and walked back into the store.
It didn't take long, but once Rarity was finished, she zipped off somewhere into her house saying that I was free to go. So, with the ok, I left the shop. But as I expected, everyone else was gone. I was about to walk back inside and ask for directions when I decided against it.
“It’s a apple farm,” I said to myself as I began to walk down a nearby road. ‘It can't be that hard to find.”
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“Where the hell is that damn farm,” I complained to no one. It hadn't been long, but I knew I was horribly lost. Somehow, I had left Ponyville as I followed a path I believed would lead to the farm. But after awhile, I found myself at the edge of a small pond rather than a apple orchard.
Immediately, my attention was directed towards a single tree to the side the pond that hung just over its edge. A tire had been hung off of one of its branches and was gently rocking in the wind. Looking at it, I began to pull off my jacket.
Then, in one swift motion, I hopped onto the tire swing and began swinging just past the edge of the lake. I had no intention of jumping in, but I had stripped off my jacket just in case the rope broke.
Slowly, I began to close my eyes. As I swung, I started blocking everything around me out. I was in a happy place that had no confusion. It was just a blank canvas that had me as its painter. But just as I began to paint an image in my head, a strange feeling swept over me.
This strange presence slowly began wrapping itself around me, choking me in fear. As soon as I could, I opened my eyes and checked my surroundings. I was still alone, swinging on the tire. But that dark feeling was still making its way into me.
Jumping back on shore, I began looking around. The feeling only seemed to intensify as I continued my search. After searching for several moments, I began to notice that the feeling was coming from a certain direction. I had to find out what it was and make it stop.
"Before I . . ."
“There you are,” Rainbow Dash said as she and Derpy dropped in front of me, cutting off my train of thought. Rainbow Dash looked happy while Derpy’s face was scrunched up with worry. “You weren't with us when we got to the farm, so me and Derpy came looking for you.”
“. . . Sorry,” I replied as I tried to look past the two. The moment they had landed, the strange feeling disappeared. Almost as if it had never existed. When I didn't see anything behind them, I decided to brush the feeling off.
“Sorry nothing,” Derpy said, looking even more worried. “What if you got hurt or something and no pony could. . .” “Calm down Derpy,” Rainbow Dash said cutting into Derpy's worried rant. It actually surprised me how worried Derpy seemed.
“I'm sorry I worried you,” I said to Derpy, trying my best to calm her. This softened her mood a little, but was quickly replaced with a stern glare.
“Just don’t let it happen again,” She said. I was about to say something but the look on Derpy's face just caused me to smile and chuckle.
“Good to see you care Derpy,” Rainbow Dash said putting a hoof around her. This just caused Derpy to blush and divert her gaze. To be honest, I thought it looked cute.
After putting back on my jacket, I followed Rainbow Dash and Derpy back into town and to the Apple family farm. This time I was sure to recognize some basic landmarks so I knew my way if I ever need to come back alone.
“Sorry about leaven ya like that,” Applejack said as she noticed the three of us. “Kinda forgot that you don’t know your way around yet.”
“Its alright,” I said. “I should've asked someone for directions, but I thought I would be able to find the farm. That, and I hate asking for directions.”
“Well, I'm just glad that you're ok,” Applejack replied. Just then, the Cutie Mark Crusaders ran by as a pig carrying Dinky on its back, chased them. I was about to chase after them when I noticed that no one else was worried. In fact, everyone else was watching with a smile on their face.
“Wait a minute,” I snapped suddenly. Besides Rarity, who had stayed back at her shop, one other pony was missing. “Where's Pinkie Pie?”
“Here I am,” Pinkie chirped as she stuck her head out from a nearby tree. The fact that she was in a tree seemed to annoy Applejack.
“Pinkie, how many time do I gotta tell ya? Stay out of the trees, you’ll cause some of the apples to fall prematurely.”
“Oh, I'm sorry Applejack,” Pinkie Pie replied as she hopped out of the tree with a smile. “Its just, I thought I saw something.” As she said this Pinkie looked back into the sky with a smile. “But I guess it was just my imagination.”
“That’s Pinkie Pie for ya,” Rainbow Dash chuckled, obviously amused by the whole thing. “Yeah, well,” Applejack sighed.
“What do y'all say bout stayin' for dinner,” Applejack said with a smile, mostly directing the statement towards me and Derpy. I accepted the offer with a smile, while Derpy seemed thrilled.
“Derpy, what's gotten into you” Rainbow Dash asked as she tried to calm Derpy, who had begone doing backflips.
“You act like this is the first time you've ever been invited to someone's house for dinner,” I joked just as Derpy began to take to the sky.
.
“It is,” she replied with a smile almost landing on her head in the process. This just cause everyone else to get confused. Each tried to correct her, saying that they've invited her over before. Then, each realized that they never really got to it.
Whenever Applejack was going to offer, Derpy would cause a problem by accident which resulted in her forgetting to. Whenever Rainbow Dash planned on it, she would end up getting distracted with a flying move or just sleeping though it. Pinkie, on the other hand, hosted plenty of party's but wasn't much for just a formal dinner. Fluttershy, who looked the most ashamed, realized that she hadn't ever thought of asking in the first place.
“Its ok,” Derpy said after everyone gave an apology.
“But aren't you always hanging out with . . . Carrot Top and . . .,” I began asking Derpy.
“We've had lunch together, but I don’t go to many other ponies houses,” Derpy said looking a little sad. “I tend to get really clumsy when I'm excited.”
Just then, the four young fillies walked over with smiles on their faces. “Is it ok if they all stay for dinner,” Apple Bloom asked Applejack as she indicated the other fillies.
“Only if they want to,” Applejack replied with a chuckle. At this, all four fillies seemed to jump for joy.
“ Hey, maybe we can have a sleepover to,” Scootaloo said aloud, intending for everyone else to hear. This was quickly accepted by the other two crusaders who quickly turned their attention to Applejack with pleading eyes. Applejack merely responded with a nod, which the three crusaders happily took as their answer.
“Can I stay too,” Dinky asked as she ran up to Derpy. Her eyes shined in the light and were full of hope. Derpy on the other hand began to look worried. “I . . . don’t know,” she began stuttering, trying to make a decision.
“I'm sure she’ll be fine,” I said to Derpy. I had noticed that Dinky’s hopeful eyes had faded the moment Derpy began to stutter.
“Don’t worry Derpy, I promise to keep an eye on her,” Applejack said as well as she walked over and stood next to Dinky.
“Well,”Derpy said, scrunching her face. She stood thinking for a moment. At first it seemed like she wasn't going to allow it, but as she looked down at the hopeful Dinky, she could't help but give in.
“I guess its ok,” she said as she put on a forced smile. After Derpy said this, Dinky began jumping for joy as she made her way back over to the Crusaders, joining in on their conversation on what they were going to do.
“Well,” Applejack said happily. “Now that that’s settled, lets grab some grub.”
With that, we all made our way towards Applejack’s and Apple Bloom’s house.
It was actually very quaint. The entire house seemed to favor a old county type theme. It reminded me of my grandmothers house and how she always liked things to be simple.
The dinner wasn't anything special though. But I did get to meet Big Mac and Granny Smith, who were both very nice and didn't bother me with any frivolous questions. Except Granny Smith’s did seem to mistake me for Spike at first. Other than that, the only problem I really had was with the food.
There were plenty of apples, which I ate. But everything that didn't involve apples seemed to involve hay, grass, or flowers. I was actually beginning to crave a burger. Although, I knew not to say anything since that conversation couldn't end well.
After awhile, the dinner ended and everyone began going their own ways. Derpy was one of the last to leave as she said her goodbye to Dinky with a hug. After that she began walking down the path, waiting only to see if I would follow.
Which I did, after giving a quick goodbye and thank you to the Apple family.
Chapter 3: What The Next Day Brings
Chapter 3:
What The Next Day Brings
"Today was a good day," Derpy proclaimed as she entered the house. I followed close behind, happy to hear that Derpy enjoyed her day.
"It was alright," I replied as I walked into Derpy's living room.
Derpy just seemed to ignore what I said and took a seat on a small couch. I decided to just take a seat in a chair near the rooms entrance.
"You can sit next to me if you want," Derpy said as she pointed a hoof at the seat next to her.
"I'm good," I quickly replied. The couch wasn't that big and I knew that I would be scrunched up next to Derpy.
"I promise that I won't bite," Derpy replied as she tried to make a joke. "I just wanna ask you something."
I began to feel a knot form in my chest as Derpy continued to indicate the seat next to her. "How about I just sit here and look pretty as you ask your question," I asked, not really wanting to leave my current seat. But, after Derpy asked several more times, I got up and took a seat next to her.
"Yay," Derpy chimed as I sat down. As I sat next to her, Derpy kept her gaze fixed squarely on me as she began smile.
"Well," I asked Derpy, breaking several moments of silence. "Well what," she asked back, keeping the smile. "What was your question," I replied, a little annoyed.
"Oh yeah," she said as she began scrunching her face in thought. "I wanted to know what you think of Ponyville so far," Derpy asked after some thought.
"Really," I asked, raising an eyebrow. Even though Derpy had asked her question, she looked like she actually wanted to ask something else. "Ok, then. I guess Ponyville is fine," I began to say.
"And the ponies," Derpy quickly asked before I could continue.
"The ponies are nice," I mumbled. I could tell Derpy was trying to get to something, but whatever it was, I couldn't tell.
"What about. . .," Derpy began before her sentence trailed off. Her question seemed to linger in her head rather than escape through her mouth. "About . . . about," she began to stutter.
"How about I ask you some questions," I said, interrupting Derpy's stutter.
"O. . .ok," Derpy said as she accepted my offer. "What do you wanna know?"
"Basically, whatever you can tell me," I replied. "I know about Ponyville and about you and the other ponies, but who's to say that there aren't any differences from what I know and what is. . . real." I could feel the hesitation in my voice as I said the word 'real'.
My mind kept telling me that this couldn't be reality. That any moment now, I would wake up in a bed at home or the hospital. I would see my family and tell them of this crazy dream and they would laugh.
"Like they always do," I whispered to myself. making sure Derpy couldn't hear me.
"What do you mean by that," she asked as she got up from the couch. She was trying her best to understand what I meant, but I knew I was going to have to explain.
"Remember how I was talking about different dimensions today," I said as I watched Derpy leave the room. She returned several minutes later with a plate full of muffins on her back.
"Yes," she replied as she set the muffins on a small table.
"Well, it got me to thinking that this may not even be the same Ponyville that I know about," I continued, taking a muffin from the plate.
"Well, I guess that kind of makes sense," Derpy said as she returned to her seat.
From there, I began asking some general questions about what kind of things happened ever since Twilight first came to Ponyville, and even though Derpy didn't know many specifics, she told me what she could. It didn't take long to see that I wasn't going to get far.
There were to many things that Derpy didn't know about outside of what happened directly in Ponyville. But, by what she could tell me, there weren't many differences from what I knew. The biggest though was that the Twilight of this dimension wasn't an alicorn.
"So, Twilight is just a regular unicorn," I asked in shock.
"Yeah, why wouldn't she be," Derpy asked, obviously confused by my question. By what Derpy had told me, everything that had lead up to Twilight becoming an alicorn happened. Only, she never became an alicorn.
"Its nothing," I replied. I knew it would be a bad idea to introduce the concept into this Equestria, even if it was only Derpy who would know.
"So, are there any differences," Derpy asked, noticing the end of my questions.
"A few," I replied. "But nothing that really changes what I know. As long as I just act off of what I do know, everything should be alright. "So, did you figure out what you wanted to ask?"
Derpy seemed to be taken off guard as I asked this, obviously thinking I had forgotten that she still wanted to ask me something.
"Oh, it was just a silly little question," Derpy said turning a little red. "There's no need for you to answer it."
"I can't decide on whether or not I'll answer it if you don't even ask," I said, only mildly amused by Derpy's embarrassment.
"Ok," Derpy said as she began looking around the room. "I was wondering, you know, because you knew my name and all," she began, as she looked at me hopefully. "Am I a big part of the show from your world?"
I actually didn't know how to answer. She was, by what I could make out, a 'wheres Waldo' character placed in the show. She never really showed up for more than a second. Even the one time she actually talked, the episode was changed because she was found offensive.
Either I could tell her that, or not at all. As she continued to look at me hopefully, I almost wanted to tell her, just so she would know. But, I decided on something else instead.
"Lets just say, you were in almost every episode," I said in all truths. This seemed to excite Derpy as she began asking me more questions. All centered around her character.
"DERPY ," I yelled, stopping her from continuing her questions.
"What, " she quickly responded with a large smile.
"Calm down. I'll answer your questions, but only if you calm down," I told her straight out.
"Ok," Derpy said, getting embarrassed again. "Its just, to know that I'm known by so many ponies is just." She stopped talking and started daydreaming.
"Humans," I said, trying to correct her. But she was caught up in her own little world.
"So, am I just like my character in the show," Derpy asked after regaining her composure. "It depends," I said getting worried. She was never showed long enough to make a accurate reading of her.
"Are you a mail man. Uh, mare, I mean?"
"Yes," Derpy replied as she began to jump up and down in excitement.
". . .You really like muffins," I asked. Although, by this point, a question like that was redundant. She seemed to eat nothing but muffins all day. But I was quickly running out of things to say or ask. Even the whole mail thing was just something I had read on the back of a card.
"I love muffins," Derpy quickly responded. She obviously didn't notice the look on my face, because I knew I had a forced smile going.
"What about Dinky? Is she in the show with me," Derpy asked as she hopped off the couch. "Yeah," I replied with a chuckle. Remembering all of Dinky's so called appearances.
"Whats so funny," Derpy asked as she noticed me laugh.
"Oh, its just that, its believed that Dinky was your daughter," I said. I expected to hear Derpy laugh as well and then ask another question, except she never did.
Looking, I noticed that her happy expression had been replaced and she was staring at me with a stern look in her eyes. "That's not funny," she said angrily. "Yes, Dinky is my sister, not my daughter," she began to say as she poked a hoof into my chest. "But that doesn't make it ok to laugh at the idea of it." Then, before I could respond, Derpy stomped off and left the room. Several moments later, a door slammed.
"That was weird," I said as I got up and left the room after her.
Walking towards the origin of the door slam, I wasn't surprised to see that it was Derpy's room.
"Derpy?"
"What," she snapped as she quickly opened the door. She still looked mad,but I had to apologize.
"I wasn't laughing at the idea. I just thought . . .," I tried saying before trailing off. I Couldn't really think of a proper response. In all truths I did find it funny. More People believed them to be mother and daughter rather than sisters. I even remember seeing some things that suggested that she was adopted.
"No. . . I over reacted," Derpy said, preventing me from coming up with an answer. The anger in her eyes fading away. Derpy then moved to the side, letting me walk in.
The room was about as big as Dinky's, but far more bland. The walls where a shade of gray that almost perfectly matched Derpy's fur. A bed was pressed up in a far corner of the room with a open window just above it. The sun could be seen setting through it. Other than that, the only other thing in the room was a desk littered with papers and quills.
"Its just, whenever it comes to Dinky, I always tend to over react," Derpy said as she hopped onto her bed and took a seat.
"I understand," I said as I took a seat on the bed's edge.
"I remember when we first came to Ponyville," Derpy said as she looked out the window at the setting sun. From there, Derpy began telling me everything that had led up to her and Dinky living alone at the edge of town.
Because Dinky was a unicorn, Derpy and her family couldn't stay in Cloudsdale any longer because unicorns cant naturally stand on cloud's like pegasi can. So, while Derpy watched Dinky, their parents went down to Ponyville to find a home for them, but they never came back. Derpy wouldn't say what happened to them, only that she decided to take care of Dinky from then on.
She had to get a job, but in the end, she found a place that she could afford to stay in with Dinky. They originally lived closer to the center of town, but moved because some ponies thought something was wrong with Derpy because of her eyes. She knew that they didn't mean to upset her, but she couldn't handle the constant stares every time she walked outside.
"I don't blame any pony, but I couldn't keep going like that," Derpy said as she ended her explanation. She had been keeping her cool, but I could tell she was close to tears. "So, what about you," Derpy continued as she tried changing the subject. "What's your family like?"
"Their like any other family," I said, trying my best to be sincere. Talking about my family wasn't something I liked doing. "My mom left when I was young. She would show up every now and then, but I haven't seen her in awhile."
"Is your mom still alive," Derpy asked as she put on a caring smile.
"Who's to say. I gave up on her after the last time she disappeared," I said with a smile.
"So, you're ok with that," Derpy asked, a little confused.
"I had a step-dad who cared enough to raise me as his own flesh and blood and younger brothers and a younger sister. So I'm perfectly fine," I responded happily.
"Ok," Derpy replied, obviously a little uncomfortable with my answer. "So, How old are you then," She then asked, looking confused.
"Lets see," I said thinking a bit. It had been awhile since I had bothered thinking of my age "I left home when I was eighteen, and that was around . . . two years ago this coming May."
"So, your twenty years old," Derpy nearly yelled. "That would make you almost fully grown."
"Yeah," I replied, not really seeing the problem with that. I was about to say something when I remembered that full grown dragons of this world were usually the size of small mountains.
"Lets change the subject," I said, trying my best not to add another question to the hundreds I already had.
"Ok," Derpy replied as she began to think again. “Do you have a special somepony back where you're from?”
At first, I laughed. I was completely caught off guard and was almost unable to answer. “No,” I said as my laugh turned into a chuckle. It was the last kind of question I thought Derpy would ask.
“Oh,” Derpy said scrunching her nose obviously confused. “Why not?”
“I just haven't,gotten to that point in my life where I need someone like that” I replied. “Next question,” I quickly said trying to change the subject. Although her next one just made it worse.
“So then you've never, well. . .” at this Derpy became very red as she began knocking her hooves together. It took me a second, but I quickly realized what she meant.
"I'm outta here," I said quickly moving toward the door. I was about to walk out when I heard Derpy laughing from behind me.
"I'm sorry," she wheezed through her laughs. "I promise I wont ask something like that again. I just thought it would be funny to ask."
"Fine," I sighed as I sat back down on the bed's edge. "But if you ask something like that again, I'm going to tie you up in a embarrassing position and leave you there for the night."
================================================================================
It wasn't my phone that woke me up this time, but a warm breeze that seemed to be hitting me just under my chin. I quickly recognized it as someone's breath. This realization caused me to quickly open my eyes.
I was about to sit up, but there was some weight on my chest. It wasn't heavy, but it was definitely annoying. After a moment, I realized what was going on.
I remembered laying down as Derpy continued her questions. She had been asking a lot about me and where I was from and I must of fallen asleep. Derpy, who must of fallen asleep soon after, deciding to just leave me laying there.
Looking down at her, I couldn't help but remember my uncles old dog who would sleep on my chest when ever I slept over. Although, thinking of Derpy like that caused a knot to slowly form in my chest. I quickly pushed that feeling aside.
Laying my head back down, I brought a hand up and began scratching Derpy behind one of her ears. It didn't wake her, but she began to shift a bit. After a while, I felt Derpy begin to wrap her hooves around me.
I quickly began working to pull them apart, but this only resulted in her wrapping them up higher, around the top part of my chest. Her face mere inches from mine.
“Uh, Derpy,” I said, trying to wake her calmly. Her face was so close to mine and I could smell her breath. She definitely needed to brush more.
“Derpy,” I said a little louder. This time, she slowly opened her eyes and gazed at me. At first, she smiled. Then she began to turn a bright red and a look of fear spread over her face.
“What are you doing in my bed,” She quickly yelled as she shoved me off the end. Her face was even redder as she looked down at me on the floor. She looked far more embarrassed than angry.
“I was sleeping,” I muttered from my position on the ground. “Also,” I said as I began to sit up. “Brush your teeth will ya?” Derpy replied to this by throwing a pillow in my face.
“You just. . .,” Derpy began as she began scrunching her face. “B. . .better not of tried anything funny.”
“So I can't keep the pictures?"
“Pi. . .pic. . . pictures,” Derpy began stuttering, glowing redder than an apple. It seemed she was close to tears. she quickly began rocking back and forth as she began mumbling to herself in worry.
“Wait, it was a joke,” I said quickly trying to correct my mistake. The knot that had been in my chest was now replaced by a feeling of self loathing and a incredible urge to laugh.
“I’m sorry that I said that,” I told Derpy as I got up and returned her pillow to the bed. Although it did little to help. She had regained her composure, but looked very embarrassed. “Is there anything I can do,” I asked hoping to put her at ease. By this point, I was trying my best not to laugh at the situation.
“Breakfast,” Derpy mumbled under her breath. Simply nodding, I left the room and headed into the kitchen. But as I closed her bedroom door behind me, I quickly began to laugh.
It took a while at first, but I found everything I believed would help make a good breakfast. "Milk, orange juice, pancake batter, eggs and a little seasoning would lead to a . . . great . . .breakfast.
“Wait a minute,” I said staring at the ingredients. “Why the hell am I doing this?”
I quickly began to question why I was even contemplating on the idea of making Derpy breakfast. Memories of all the times I had embarrassed people began flashing through my mind. I had done it countless times, in public even. Yet this time, I actually felt bad for doing it. I was about to go back and tell her that she can forget about the breakfast.
I made it to the kitchen door before stopping. With a sigh, I turned back around saying, "And people think chivalry is dead."
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“Ok,” Derpy said to herself as I left the room.
“Just calm down, there's nothing wrong,” she said to herself. “nothing happened.” She quickly repositioned herself on her bed so that she could lay her head on a pillow. She could tell she was still blushing.
“Pull yourself together Derpy,” she continued to tell herself as she began hugging a pillow tightly. “He was joking about the pictures. I mean, he doesn't even have a camera,” Derpy explained to herself, trying her best to calm her nerves. But then a thought popped into her head.
“What if he does have pictures?!” Derpy’s mind began to fill with thought of what possible pictures could have been taken. "I was asleep, what if he touched me?
“He wouldn't do that,” Derpy told herself as she lifted her body with her front legs. Deep down, she wanted to believe that I was someone good. “Besides,” Derpy quietly said to herself. “Why would a dragon ever want to be with a pony?”
This thought hung in Derpy’s mind for several moments before she pushed it away. She didn't need to think of such things. But try as she might, the thoughts continued. What if I was flirting with her? What if it was all just an act? What if I was planning dirty things?
Each thought made her blush more and more. She felt as if she was about to explode.
A sudden knock on her room door did little to help the situation. “No ones home,” she chirped as the door began to open.
“Then why are you answering,” I chuckled as I walked in holding a large tray. It was packed with different things to eat that I had made. The only things I thought it lacked was some bacon and sausage. But I decided it would still be good enough.
As I set the tray on the bed in front of her, I couldn't help but notice just how red she was. “Are you feeling sick,” I asked her.
Ignoring my question, she quickly began eating what I had placed in front of her. After awhile, her face’s color turned back to normal.
“This is all really good, but,” Derpy said after finishing half of what I had put in front of her.
"But what," I asked, afraid that I had undercooked something. It was hard to tell since an animated world didn't give much leeway for cooking.
"Wheres the muffin's?"
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“So, by the time we reach the farm, Twilight should be almost at the train station,” I asked Derpy as we walked.
“I don’t know,” she responded, trying to work out the times in her head. “She should be,” she continued after some thought. But I could tell that she wasn't really sure.
“Well, I hope she is,” I replied as I looked down at her. I still didn't know if this was all real, but if it was, the sooner Twilight showed up, the better.
“So, when Twilight does show up,” Derpy began to ask as we walked on the farm. “How long do you think it will be until you find a way home?”
“Hopefully not to long,” I replied without a second thought.
“Well, you’re still welcome to stay at my house until we find you a way home,” Derpy said a little weakly. “And I’m sure Twilight will know exactly what to do. She's the smartest pony I've ever met."
“Yeah,” I agreed. I knew that if anyone could help me, it was going to have to be Twilight. Although, I was sure that the princesses would know how to help to. But Twilight was still my best hope.
"But, what if she doesn't know how to get you home," Derpy asked as the Apple family home came into view.
Derpy's question caused me to stop where I was. If Twilight didn't know how to get me home, then what would I do? Twilight would've asked the princesses for help before giving up on me. But what if they didn't know either?
"Hay," Derpy said as she cut into my thoughts.
"Oh, sorry," I said as I began walking again. "If Twilight can't help me, I'll figure it out on my own."
"And I promise to help in any way I can," Derpy replied with a smile. Just then, Applejack came into view. She looked to be hard at work as she was tending to the apple trees.
"Good morning Applejack," I said as we walked up to her. Happily taking a seconds rest, she turned to greet us.
"I don't know about it be'in morn'in and all," Applejack said as she indicated the sun, which was at its highest point. "But, good afternoon. So, how was your night?"
"Fine. Just fine," Derpy quickly stated as her face began glowing red. This just caused Applejack to look to me for a more precise answer.
"She's just embarrassed because she woke up in bed with me," I clearly stated. At first, Applejack accepted the clearer answer, but quickly froze up when she realized exactly what I said.
I was about to laugh at the way she stared frozen, but several apples being launched my way prevented me from doing much of anything.
"Stop talking," Derpy yelled as she continued her apple assault. Her face were as red as the apples she was throwing at random. It was only when a stray one hit Applejack that she realized what was going on.
"Derpy?! I just bucked those," Applejack said as she stopped the apple barrage. The moment the attack stopped, I fell to the ground laughing. I was laughing so hard that I could barely breath.
"That's not funny," Derpy said as she smashed her front two hooves into my lower gut. Thanks to my scales, most of the pain was blocked, but the strike was still enough for me to lose what little breath I still had. "Nothing happened," she continued as she turned her attention back towards Applejack.
"I believe ya, but," Applejack said as she looked down at me. I had regained my breath quickly, but continued with my laughing fit. "Whats up with him? He wasn't like this yesterday."
"Sorry," I said as my laughing began to subside. Standing up I brushed the dust off my cloths. "I tend to get like this sometimes. But don't worry, It just means that I feel like I can trust you," I said truthfully. When ever I knew I could trust someone, I always ended up trying to joke around more than necessary.
"It's good and all that you're getting to know us," Applejack said, not really amused. "But could ya tone it down a bit. I wouldn't want any of the youngins hearing something like that."
After promising to try my best, Applejack turned her attention back to Derpy. "You're here to check on Dinky right?"
"Of course," Derpy said with a smile. From there, Applejack lead the way into the apple orchard.
After a while, a small clubhouse could be seen nestled between a few trees. Several voices could be heard from inside.
"How much longer," Scootaloo's voice echoed out.
"They were heading this way," Sweetie Belle's said soon after.
"Who do you think will open it first," Apple Bloom chirped.
"My sister for sure," Dinky said, finishing the conversation.
"You all heard that, right," I quietly asked the other two. They nodded back, each giving a small wink. Then, Applejack directed Derpy to circle around to a side window with her hoof. She then headed for the other side, pointing to the front door as she walked past it.
Sighing, I walked up to the front door and began to open it. At first, I expected to be hit by a pie or a water balloon. I was surprised to see the four young fillies instead standing by two hanging ropes. Each rope lead to a window on opposite sides of the room.
"Buckets connected to the ends," I said pointing at the ropes.
"Yep," both Dinky and Sweetie Belle said as Apple Bloom and Scootaloo pulled on one each. Almost instantly, I heard two loud splashes.
"APPLE BLOOM ," Applejack yelled as she popped her head through the window. I expected to see her dripping wet, covered in water. But in fact, she was covered in syrup.
"Scootaloo, I thought you filled them with water," Apple Bloom asked in desperation as she turned her attention to Scootaloo. Scootaloo barely had time to answer before Applejack jumped through the window looking sternly at the fillies.
"Actually," Sweetie Belle said as she raised a hoof. "That was my bucket." As if in response, Derpy flew in through the other window, dripping wet.
"You ok Applejack," Derpy asked as she noticed her. Applejack merely looked back at her with a look that showed little means of compassion.
"I'm ok," Applejack said turning her gaze to Sweetie Belle. "But make sure its water next time."
Sweetie Belle just smiled back, trying her best to look innocent. Which, she did quite well.
================================================================================
"Twilight," Spike called as a purple furred unicorn exited the train.
Without saying a word, The unicorn walked over to Spike and gave him a small hug.
"Hi Spike," she said as she finished her hug. She looked well rested and seemed happy to be back in Ponyville. "Where is everyone," she proceeded to ask as she noticed that Spike was the only one there.
"Rarity had to work on orders, Rainbow Dash is asleep on a cloud over by the library, and Fluttershy had to feed her animals lunch," Spike quickly said in one breath. "Pinkie Pie has to watch the twins. But Applejack said she'd be here once she finished her morning work."
No sooner had Spike said this than Applejack walked onto the platform, closely followed by me and Derpy.
"Welcome back Twilight," Applejack greeted. Twilight was about to respond, but then her eyes fell on me.
At first, I expected her to stare in confusion like everyone else. She would ask several different questions, followed by an incoherent rant about how most of what I said would be impossible. But when the questions never came, I felt like something was wrong.
Within seconds, I could feel an invisible force forcing me to the ground. "What in the name of . . ." I sputtered before the force on my body made it too hard to talk.
"Twilight!? What in the name of Celestia are you doin'," Applejack yelled at Twilight. Twilight's horn was glowing brightly as her spell held me to the ground. Derpy could barely form words as she watched what was going on.
"What are you doing here," Twilight demanded as she ignored Applejack. I felt the force on my body lighten just enough for me to talk.
"What the hell are you doing," I quickly yelled, looking up at Twilight. I began pushing against her spell with shear force, hoping to make it to my feet. It was at that moment that our eyes met and she released her spell.
"Your eyes," she began. "Their blue? But, they should be red. Then your not," she stuttered as a look of shame spread on her face.
"What was that for," I angrily asked as I got back to my feet. Seeing it as the best time to leave, several ponies in the area quickly ran off. Others continued to watch, which only seemed to annoy me.
"Yeah, Twi," Applejack said as she tried to make sense of what happened. "You slammed him down harder and faster than most professional bull wranglers."
"I am so sorry," Twilight quickly replied. "Its just that," she said as she levitated a old book out of her saddle bag. "I was reading this book the princess sent me and well. . . " Twilight then began flipping through the pages, until she found the one she was looking for. Holding the book out, we all looked at what it showed.
The writing was old and faded, and was written in a language that I clearly didn't know. But the thing that caught all of our eyes was a picture place within the margin.
"It looks just like you," Spike said pointing at a mildly large picture of anthropomorphic looking dragon. He was right, except for a few differences. One was that the dragon in the picture wasn't wearing clothing. Another thing was that because the book was so old, that some of the colors were faded and were almost impossible to discern. Finally, I noticed the largest difference between myself and the picture.
I knew that my eyes were blue, which they had always been, even as a human. But, the dragon in the picture had blazing red eyes. They were the only things that had kept their color throughout the ages. It was only a picture, but looking at them caused a shiver to run down my spine. I could feel myself being drawn into them as a familiar feeling began to wrap itself around my mind.
"Chris, are you ok," Derpy asked as she broke through my stare. looking around, everyone seemed to be staring at me with worried looks.
"Again, I am so sorry," Twilight said, breaking everyone's worried looks. "Its just, when I saw you, I was worried that it was this dragon in disguise."
"But why," Applejack asked. This was quickly followed by a explanation from Twilight.
While the book was written in a forgotten language, Twilight had been able to interpret some of it, mostly by using the pictures. The book detailed the existence of a strange dragon. A dragon that had the ability to perform amazing feats of magic that even some unicorns could not.
"I haven't been able to interpret the writing. But the book seems to end a few years after the Princesses came to power," Twilight said as she put the book away. "I had to make sure you weren't the same dragon. So while I held you down, I also performed a spell to remove any disguises."
"And that's why you were so shocked when you saw my eyes," I said, realizing what she meant.
"Exactly," Twilight responded, happy to see that I understood.
"That's all fine and good," Applejack said as she looked around. Allot of ponies could hear our conversation and were looking at me with fear filled eyes. "But lets finish this conversation back at the library."
Agreeing with Applejack, we all left the station and made our way to the town library.
Chapter 4: First Glimmer Of Hope
Chapter 4:
First Glimmer Of Hope
As we made our way towards the library, I decided to explain to Twilight my situation. She seemed to understand what I meant, even though I didn't understand most of it myself.
"Wow," Twilight squealed in delight. "I've heard stories of cross dimensional travel, but to actually meet somepony that's done it, is well . . . amazing!" As I had expected, Twilight easily understood what I was talking about. She didn't even press me for questions about my world. Although, I could tell that she had them. The look on her face was a dead give away.
"But I wonder who it was that brought you her," Twilight began to question.
"I kno. . .wait," I said, not sure if I had heard Twilight right. "Someone brought me here?!"
"Well yeah," Twilight said as she turned to face me. She seemed confused by my response. "I mean, yeah, I've heard that very, very rarely, a portal will scoop somepony up, but . . ." Twilight's sentence seemed to trail off.
"But what," Derpy asked as a look of worry spread over her face. She hadn't spoken since the train station and decided that now was a good time to get involved in the conversation.
"But those tend to lead into the void," Twilight said realizing that she trailed off. "Without somepony directing the flow of magic. . . a cross dimensional portal would lead towards nothing. So that means that somepony would have to have intentionally brought you to our dimension."
"But how is that even possible Twilight," Applejack asked as she looked up at me. I was now standing motionless, staring down at the ground. This was all too much for me to take, my mind was slowly beginning to shut down again.
"I don't know Applejack," Twilight said as she turned back to the door. "But there's bound to be a book that will help us figure it out."
"SURPRISE!!! "
As soon as Twilight opened the door, a large group of ponies shouted out to Twilight. Pinkie Pie, as expected, had set up a welcoming party for Twilight. I wanted to question how she was able to plan so many parties, but with how jumbled my brain was, I could do little but stare in confusion as the party began.
Luckily though, the party lasted about half an hour at most, as most of the ponies had been scooped up by Pinkie as they attempted merely to check out a book or see if Twilight had returned yet.
"Thanks for coming," Pinkie yelled as the last pony left through the door. She was disappointed that the party had been so short. But she was glad to know that it had still surprised Twilight.
During the party, I had enough time to collect my thoughts and regain what little composure I could muster. I didn't fully understand what was going on with my life. But I knew that I needed to keep my calm. Over reacting now would just make getting home impossible.
"That was a fun party," Fluttershy admitted as she walked over. Her,Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Derpy were the only one to have remained after the short party. "Not too long, not too loud, it was just right."
"Yeah, well," Pinkie responded, looking proud of herself. "Throwing party's three days in a row ain't as easy as you think." With that Pinkie began to clean up the little after party mess. "Although, I wish more ponies had come."
"Its ok Pinkie," Twilight said as she began to clean as well.
"I'd just hate to be a bother Twilight dear," Rarity said as she stood as far away from the mess as she could. "But what happened to cut your family visit so short? I mean, you were there for barely a day?"
"Its the strangest thing," Twilight said as she finished her part in cleaning. "A palace guard came with orders for Shining Armor to return to the castle.
"He was also instructed to give me this book." With that, Twilight levitated the book about the strange dragon out of her saddlebag and re-explained everything she had said back at the train station.
"He really does look like you," Rainbow Dash said, also noticing the similarities. "Do you think this dragon has something to do with Chris being here?"
"Maybe Rainbow Dash," Twilight said as she set the book down on a desk. She then turned her attention towards the shelves of books around her, looking for one in particular. "If I can get this translated, I may be able to learn more." With that, a smile spread on Twilight's face as she found the book she was looking for and levitated it over towards me.
"Languages of the Unknown: Reading The Past ," I read out loud. Flipping through the pages, I noticed that it contained several sections dedicated to translating languages, I could only guess, were not commonly used.
"So with this, you should be able to read that book right," I asked. At first, Twilight did not answer as she was levitating several other books from around the library and setting them down on a nearby desk. Each book had a title related to the topic of different dimensions and alternate universes.
"Hopefully," Twilight said as she took the book she had given me with her magic. Calling me over towards the desk where she had set the books, I began to look them over.
Opening the very top one, I skimmed its pages. It seemed simple at first. It discussed the mathematical and scientific theory of the fourth dimension. "But how will these help me find a way home," I asked as I stared at the remaining books.
"Well, once you can understand enough about the links between dimensions and the universe," Twilight began to answer as she looked through her translation book. "You should be able to use magic and open a portal that can get you home."
"But I don't know how to do magic," I said, laughing at the thought. "Where I'm from, magic is performed through illusions and tricks of the mind. Actual magic isn't possible."
After a few moments of silence, I could hear Twilight begin to laugh. She obviously thought that I had been joking about not knowing magic.
"Twi," Applejack said, cutting into Twilights laughing fit. "I don't think he's pulling the wool over your eyes for this one."
Looking at me with a confused stare, I merely stared back, feeling a bit annoyed. "I'm sorry," Twilight quickly said. "I mean, a world without magic? I can't even comprehend it. But now what do we do? I want to help you find a way home, but I also want to get the book translated."
"Well, if thats the case," Fluttershy said, gaining everyone's attention. "Why not have Chris translate the book while Twilight works on the whole dimension thing."
"Thats a great Idea Fluttershy," Twilight said with a smile. "This way, not only will the book be translated, but this is a great chance for me to learn about cross dimensional travel."
"That all depends on if I can even translate it," I quickly said. I was never any good at reading different languages, even with a dictionary.
"Don't worry," Twilight responded, brushing off my doubts. "I've got plenty of books to help with interpreting different languages, it should be easy."
"And what about us," Pinkie Pie asked, indicating the rest of them. They all wanted to help in whatever way they could. But even I knew that they wouldn't be able to do much besides helping to research. So Twilight said that it was ok for them all to leave and that she would handle it.
After some discussion, everyone decided to leave for the day. Even Derpy left, saying that she'd like to spend the rest of the day with Dinky. But, each of them promised to return later to see how things turned out.
"Ok," I sighed as I watched the last of the group leave the library. I really didn't want to sit around and translate some old book. But I was getting closer to going home, so it was ok.
"If you need help with finding anything, I'll be over here," Twilight told me as she and Spike walked over towards the desk of books.
"This is gonna be annoying," I whispered to myself as I began to work.
================================================================================
"You think they figured anything out," Applejack asked Rainbow Dash. It was nearing sundown and everyone was making there way towards the library.
"Maybe they found out how to get Chris home," Pinkie Pie chirped, already planning an awesome going away party.
"Oh, I do hope he doesn't have to leave just yet," Rarity said, a little worried. "I was ever so hoping he would try on a few outfits that I'm making for him."
Just then the library came into view. Derpy and Dinky could be seen standing patiently outside the door. As everyone walked up, Derpy and Dinky both greeted them with a smile.
"How long have you been waiting," Fluttershy asked the two.
"About ten minutes," Derpy said with a smile. She didn't seemed to mind the wait. Although Dinky seemed to be losing interest and was staring off into space.
"Well, that don't sound right," Applejack said as she began knocking on the library door. After a minute, Applejack knocked again. When there still wasn't a reply, Applejack proceeded to open the door.
"Twi, you in here," Applejack asked as she peeked inside. What she saw caused her to chuckle.
Twilight was standing in front of one of the libraries desks, surrounded by large piles of books and papers. Spike was asleep on one of the piles that had fallen over. He was using several papers as a blanket.
"That's our egghead for ya," Rainbow Dash said as everyone began entering the room. Even as everyone made their way in, Twilight paid them no heed as she continued reading out of the book in front of her.
"Where's Chris," Derpy asked as she and Dinky walked in and looked around. It was at that point that everyone noticed that someone was missing.
"Chris should be in the back room," Twilight said as her gaze was still fixed on her book.
"What did I tell ya," Rainbow Dash said as she poked at Spike, hoping to wake him up. "Total egghead."
"I'll go get him," Fluttershy said as she headed towards the back room. The door was just under the stairway leading to Twilight's room. Twilight used it to store books that either weren't that popular or she wanted to read herself.
"Hello," Fluttershy called as she slowly opened the door. The room was larger than expected and was littered with books. A clear path could be seen in between the piles that lead to the back of the room. "Chris, are you back here," Fluttershy asked as she made her way in.
Once she made it through the small maze of books, she found a desk with several books, papers, and a lit lantern all set up by the back wall. But I was nowhere to be seen.
"Chris," Fluttershy called again as she began to get scared. The room was beginning to close in on her and she had begun to hyperventilate. She began calling out to everyone as the fear clouded her mind from the path out of the room.
"Anypony," she whispered as she backed up into a pile of books. Before she could even scream, the pile fell over and crashed to her side, closely followed by me.
Fluttershy stared down at my motionless body in fear. She couldn't tell if I was breathing or not. At first, she seemed to be taking things calmly. Then, she ran through several piles of books, screaming as she left the room.
"Fluttershy?! What's wrong," Twilight asked as Fluttershy burst out of the room. The general commotion had pulled her from her book and she now looked at the scared Fluttershy in worry.
"Chris! He! It? Not moving," Fluttershy began sputtering out. She was breathing hard and looked as if she were about to faint.
"What's with all the yelling," I groaned as I walked out of the back room. The only response I got was a strange look from Fluttershy, followed by her fainting. "Was it something I said," I asked as I walked over towards the group.
"Just Fluttershy being Fluttershy," Pinkie Pie chuckled. "So, how did the translating go?"
"Well you see," I began, wiping the sleep from my eyes. "You see, the translation thing. . . its. . . well. . ."
"What about you Twi," Applejack asked, noticing my hesitation.
"I've been researching as much as I can," Twilight began, indicating all the books she had been reading. "But this whole cross-dimensional thing seems more complicated than I originally thought." With that, she levitated a few pieces of paper over towards me and everyone else. Each were full of highly detailed notes and equations that I could only guess, involved the topic of different dimensions.
"But don't worry," Twilight reassured me. "I'll figure this all out in no time. So? What did you translate so far?"
"Yeah, about that," I began as I pushed the papers aside. At first, I didn't want to say it, but as I looked at everyone, I caved. "I actually can't fully translate it."
"Why not," Rarity asked first. "It can't be that hard. I mean, doesn't Twilight have the books needed for it."
"Well," I said as I ran into the back room and grabbed several books and papers. "At first, I thought it would be easy because of all the different translations the translation book had." With that, I placed the book about the dragon and the translation book down.
"But why not," Twilight asked as she herself began looking over what I had. She quickly realized the problem.
"What the problem Twi," Applejack asked as she walked up to the now confused Twilight. She looked down at my notes as well, but quickly became confused herself.
"Oh, Me to," Pinkie Pie chirped as she joined in on looking at my notes. Although, she kept smiling.
"What in the name of Celestia is going on," Rainbow Dash asked me as she stared at her friends.
"Its not written in a different language," I began as I flipped through the books pages.
"What do you mean by that," Twilight asked as she looked at me. My answer seemed to confuse everyone.
I then explained what I found out. The writing was done using the alphabet of what seemed to be two different languages, while at the same time, was written using a completely different dialect.
"What," Applejack said, looking confused.
"Just about every other word is written using a different languages letter alphabet, yet each word that I could decipher, was written in plain english, or equestrian as you know it.
"The main problem I had was that while I figured out one language that was used, the other wasn't in any of the books." From there , I stopped flipping through pages and landed on the section of the one language I could figure out.
The title read The Ancient Tongue: Word of the Unicorn . It was a entire section dedicated to the translation of the old language of the unicorns. The language itself was very complicated, but the book explained enough for me to at least figure out what each letter of its language meant in plain english.
"So, you're saying that half is written using the olden language of the unicorns," Twilight asked in confusion. "I mean, that language hasn't been used in almost eight hundred years? Could this book be that old?"
"If that's the case Twilight," Rarity said as she stepped towards the books. "The Princess must of had it stored professionally. I mean, just look at it. It looks almost new"
"Well," Twilight said with a smile. "Princess Celestia must have something to decipher the rest. I'll just add it into the letter I was going to send her."
"You learned a lesson on friendship without us," Pinkie Pie said in shock.
"Thats not it," Twilight said with a reassuring smile. "I just need her help with this whole cross dimension thing." From there, Twilight began to explain what she learned from her research. Although, no one understood a single word she said.
"She couldn't figure out exactly what happened in the first place to send Chris here," Spike said as he explained things in a easyer way to understand.
"What," Applejack questioned.
"It's mostly because of what Chris said earlier about magic not being possible in his world," Twilight said, trying not to sound too overly smart. "I'm trying to understand how a magic portal could even open in a world without magic in the first place, because I'm going to have to re duplicate it in his world. Like a doorway of sorts."
"Oh," Fluttershy said as her nerves calmed down fully. Although, It was obvious that everyone didn't really understand what she meant. Even I only understood about half of it. "Well, I'm sure the Princess will know how to help."
"Exactly," Twilight chimed. "Spike?"
"Already done," Spike said confidently as he held up the letter. After giving it a once over, Twilight had Spike send it with his magic flames. From there, Twilight began asking her friends what they had all done throughout the day. At first, I was going to stay and listen, but I didn't really care what they had done.
"Where are you going," Derpy asked.
"Just going out to look at the stars," I said with a smile.
"Oh, wait for me," Derpy said as she began to make her way towards the door.
"Actually Derpy," Twilight said, stopping Derpy in her tracks. "I need to talk to you about something."
"Ok," Derpy hastently said as she turned back around. "Dinky, why don't you wait outside with Chris." Replying with a smile, Dinky rushed over towards the door and walked out into the cool night with me.
================================================================================
"So how was your day Dinky," I asked as we took a seat in the grass. We were just a few yards from the library and a perfect view of the stars could be seen. Even animated, the stars looked amazing.
"Same as any other," she replied as she took a seat on the ground and looked up. As I sat next to her, I could see that something seemed to be bothering her. But it wasn't my place to pry so I just continued to look up at the stars.
"Can I ask you something," Dinky asked as I continued to look up at the sky. I was trying to see if I could make out any constellations.
"Sure," I replied, not fully listening. I was sure that the stars were slowly moving. But I couldn't be sure.
"What do you think of my sister?"
"What," I asked, not sure if I had heard her right. After she repeated her question, I couldn't help but laugh.
"What's so funny," Dinky asked. She seemed confused by my reaction.
"Oh, sorry," I began as I collected myself. "Nothings funny. Derpy's a good person, and I'm glad that I met her. Why?"
"Well its just," she replied looking a little shocked. "You don't find her weird or anything?"
"Dinky? What do you mean," I asked. I was starting to get confused and her hesitation wasn't helping me to understand what she was talking about.
"Its just that," she said, only to hesitate again. "You're the first guy to spend so much time around my sister." From there, Dinky explained how Derpy had a problem with causing guys to keep their distance. "Every time she tries to spend time with a stallion, she ends up doing something weird and they always run away."
"And you're worried that she won't find someone to be with," I said thinking I understood what she meant. But Dinky's stern glare told me that I was wrong.
"Thats not the problem," she snapped. "Its that whenever she isn't working, and I'm not a school, she spends all her time with me."
"And what's so bad about that," I said with a laugh.
"Its just," Dinky said, yet again hesitating to answer. "I kinda wish that she would find a stallion to spend her time with other than me," Dinky said with a sigh.
"Glad to see you care for your sister as much as she cares for you," I said with a smile. It was obvious that Dinky wanted the best for her sister, even though she didn't want to admit it. "Want me to try and help solve that problem?"
"What," Dinky asked. She seemed confused and was trying to understand what I had said.
"I'll help you find Derpy a special somepony. ok," I said looking down at her. "If anything, it should atleast give me something to do while I wait for Twilight to finish her research."
================================================================================
"Are you sure about that Twi," Applejack asked Twilight as concern filled her eyes.
"You know I'm not Applejack," Twilight said, giving a concerned look at Derpy. While everyone else had looks of worry and concern, Derpy seemed on the verge of collapse.
"Don't worry Derpy," Rainbow Dash said, trying to ease Derpy's worry. "I'm sure we can figure out what to do before it happens."
"Thats not what I'm worried about," Derpy said as she regained some of her strength.
"What do you mean by," Fluttershy tried to ask, only to be interrupted by me and Dinky re-entering the library.
"What's going on in here," I asked as we walked in. I had gotten bored with looking at the stares and decided to just go back into the library.
"Sis, are you ok," Dinky asked Derpy as she noticed her worried face. At first, it looked like she was about to say something, but as her gaze shifted towards me, she fell completely silent.
"So who died," I chuckled as I looked at everyone's faces.
"No one died silly," Pinkie Pie chirped. "I mean, there was a dragon attack on Canterlot but. . ."
"PINKIE!!!!! "
"Woah," I said in surprise. "A dragon attack on Canterlot? Wonder what caused that? When did it happen?" At first, nobody said anything as they looked at me. Their looks of worry, was now replaced with confusion. "Was it something I said," I asked after several moments of silence.
"Aren't you worried about what ponies will think when they hear about that," Rainbow Dash said. "I mean, it hasn't reached Ponyville yet. But when it does, they may get worried."
"Really," I began, confused by Rainbow Dash's response. "Why should I care what others think of me due to someone elses actions. Heck, didn't you learn about this or something in a lesson or whatever on friendship?"
"Thats not why," Pinkie Pie began to respond, only to be hushed by everyone else. I decided to shrug it off. Pinkie Pie was probably just going to make a irrelevant comment again anyways.
"You know what," Twilight said, gaining my attention. "Its getting late, and everyone has things to do tomorrow. So, why don't we call it a night and. . ."
"But what about Celestia's reply," I interrupted. "I mean, doesn't she answer right away or as soon as possible?"
"Yes," Twilight said angrily. "But even the Princess has to sleep, so she may not be able to answer until tomorrow."
"Oh. . ." I said, a little embarrassed. I couldn't believe that I had just been scolded by Twilight.
"Well," Applejack said with a yawn. "If thats all, I think I'm gonna head home and hit the hay. Night y'all." From there, everyone began to leave the library. But as each of them left, I couldn't help but notice their worried expressions as they left.
"See you tomorrow Twilight," I said as I began following Derpy and Dinky out of the library.
"I hope so," Twilight whispered to herself as she closed the library door.
Chapter 5: Tension Spreads
Chapter 5:
Tension Spreads
"What is this?!"
My voice echoed through the darkness. I was talking to someone, but in the same way, I wasn't.
"This isn't what you promised!"
Again my voice rang through the darkness. That was my voice for sure, but I wasn't the one saying it.
"You cant do this to me . . . I wont let you."
Was I actually saying this? I tried to call out, but as I tried to speak. no sound came out. Suddenly, I heard a new voice. It was oddly soothing, but held a dark melody.
"And just what are you going to do to stop me?"
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I woke up to the early morning, sunlight flooding the room. The memories of the strange dream still lingered in my head as I stared up at the rooms ceiling. That other voice sounded so very familiar, yet I've never heard it before. But like all dreams, it began to fade from thought. Although, I wished it wouldn't. Something about the dream seemed to draw out something that felt like a memory. But I couldn't tell if it was a good one or not.
Without another moment's hesitation, I got out of the bed and left the room. It was still early in the morning and the sun was just barely breaking the horizon. But as I entered the living room, I noticed that the house was empty except for me.
"Where is. . ." I began only to stop when I remembered something. Derpy had told me the night before that she and Dinky would probably be gone by the time I woke up. "So Derpy's at work and Dinky went to school," I mumbled to myself.
At first, I thought of getting something to eat. But I was never one to just go and take food without asking. Even if I was given permission. Besides, I was getting tired of nothing but fruit, grains, and sweets and I could feel a dire craving for meat.
After a few moments of trying to think of what to do, I decided to just go and see if Twilight had a response yet. It was better than sitting around in a empty house. So with that, I left the house, making sure the door was locked in the process.
As I made my way down the semi familiar path towards the library, I thought of what I would do first when I got home. As the library came into sight, I decided that my first stop would be a diner that served burgers.
"Hello," I called as I began knocking on the door. It wasn't soon after that a sleepy Spike answered the door. "Did a response arrive?"
"I'm sorry," he said as he stared at me in confusion. I could feel my hopes crumble as I stared down at Spike. Then he said something that confused me. "Who are you?"
". . .what," I questioned. Then a look of surprise popped onto Spikes face.
"Oh, its you Chris," Spike said, still staring at me in confusion. "Where are your cloths?"
"What," I nearly yelled. Looking down, I saw what he meant. I wasn't wearing a shirt or jacket. Although, I was lucky enough to still be wearing pants. I had forgotten that I had taken them off the night before when I went to sleep. "I guess I forgot them," I told Spike, mildly embarrassed.
"I completely understand," Spike replied with a smile. "Rarity's always making me cloths and because of my scales, its hard to tell when I'm wearing them or not."
"yeah, well," I chuckled. I didn't really care about the shirt at this point. I just wanted to know about the letter. "So, did a reply come?"
"Oh, yeah," Spike said, ending his little speech. "Sorry Chris, theres still no reply."
"And what about Twilight?"
"Sorry to say, she just went to sleep," Spike said with a little chuckle of his own. "But don't worry, if it comes, I promise to come find you." Then, without another word, Spike closed the door, leaving me alone outside the library.
"Now what," I questioned as I began walking away. I originally thought of going back to Derpy's house to grab my shirt, but then I remembered that I had locked the door as I left. "Looks like I'm going shirtless today," I grumbled as I began walking in a random direction.
"Hi Chris," three familiar sounding voices echoed unanimously. Turning to look, I wasn't surprised to the Cutie Mark Crusaders all standing outside the Carousel Boutique.
"Hello," I replied as I walked over to them. "Shouldn't you be at school?"
"We were just about to leave now," Scootaloo said as she began to walk past me.
"We just wanted to get something from my sister," Sweetie Belle said as she began to follow Scootaloo. I could hear several things banning against each other from her saddle bag as she walked past.
"Wheres your shirt," Apple Bloom asked, completely changing the subject. I quickly explained how I forgot it and that I wasn't able to go back and get it. I was actually starting to miss it.
"I have an idea," Sweetie Belle said as she zipped into the shop. After some loud bangs, she returned holding a red shirt. As I looked at it, I quickly realized that it was meant for me.
"Rarity made this," I questioned as I took the shirt. Giving it a quick look over, I was actually shocked at just how normal it looked. I wasn't going to put it on at first, but decided to anyways.
"Don't worry," Sweetie Belle said as I began putting it on. "My sister was going to get rid of it because she made it half an inch too short on one sleeve."
Inspecting myself, I was happy at just how well the shirt fit. "Never worn something this tailored to fit before," I told the young fillies. I also looked at the sleeves, but they looked fine to me.
"So what are you doing," Scootaloo asked me. It was obvious by my sudden silence that I had no idea.
"Why not come to school with us," Apple Bloom said with a little hop.
"School," I chuckled. I wanted to tell them about how I hadn't been to school in years, but I quickly realized that this could be a good idea. "Sure, why not? Might be able to learn something in the process."
"Well then," Sweetie Belle said as she began to lead the way. "Lets go!"
================================================================================
As I first walked in, some of the young students made comments. Some in complete wonder, others just seemed to make comments about the attack on Canterlot. But still, Cherrilee completely ignored them and allowed me to stay. It actually worried me just how accepting Cherrilee was with me attending the class for the day.
"I can't believe Miss Cheerilee would just let that thing stay," a pink pony wearing a tiara said to a gray pony with glasses. "I mean, what if he attacks us like his kind did to Canterlot." While the students around the two heard their comment,Cherrilee seemed oblivious to it. In the end, I just smiled and gave the pony a little wave. She turned her head in a huff and proceeded to look towards the front.
"Brat," I whispered to myself.
"Did you say something," Cheerilee asked, stopping her current lesson on math. I just shook my head as I took a seat on the side of the room. It confused me that she had heard my whisperer and not the pony's comment.
As the class proceeded, I noticed the similarities the lessons had with the ones I had back in grade school. She ended up doing a few lessons on math and english. Each, reminded me of my childhood and how much I would sleep in class.
The biggest differences that I saw was when it came to history. I knew that would be the case. But, it was nice hearing a little about the history of this world. Some of the things she talked about reminded me of things that had actually occurred in my own world. Soon after that, Cheerilee decided to release her class for an early dismissal. Which all the young ponies happle accepted.
"Mr.Chris," Cherille called as I made my way towards the door. By the time I made it close enough to talk, the room was empty except for the two of us.
"Yes," I asked as I looked down at her. She quickly produced a newspaper out of her desk and held it out to me. I took it and quickly skimmed the front page.
"It described the attack on Canterlot?"
"I thought that you would like to read it," Cheerilee said with a smile. "And please, do come again. I was planning a field trip next week and would be thrilled to have another chaperone to help out."
"Ah, yeah. Sure," I said, not really listening to what she was saying. I was already deep into the article about the attack. It described that several small dragons lead a assault on the castle. The dragons were chased off and there were no casualties. But the main point of the article was the mere fact that dragons had attacked the castle in the first place. The author kept questioning why they would attack in the first place.
"I wonder why they were so hesitant to tell me about this last night," I said to myself as I left the building. I couldn't help but remember the fact that Twilight talked to everyone about it a full night before it reached the paper.
"Hay, Chris," Dinky called, cutting into my thoughts. Looking over, I saw her, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom standing next to a tree with a swing hanging off of one of its branches. "They said that they'll help with our plan."
"What . . .plan," I said in confusion. Then I remembered what I had said to her the night before. "Oh right. Helping your sister find a special somepony." I could tell my face was getting red as I remembered making the promise to Dinky.
"Yeah, we'd love to help find Derpy a special somepony," Sweetie Belle said with a smile. Although Apple Bloom and Scootaloo didn't share the feeling.
"Didn't we nearly kill my brother and Miss Cheerilee last time we did this," Apple Bloom said. I couldn't help but chuckle as I remembered the episode they were talking about.
"And won't it be another one of those things where we have to watch a bunch of lovey dovey stuff," Scootaloo sighed.
"Oh come on girls," Sweetie Belle protested toward her friends. "Maybe we went about it the wrong way last time. But with Chris, it should be easier."
"What's that supposed to mean," I asked as I stared down at Sweetie Belle.
"Well, you are a guy," Apple Bloom said as she scratched under her chin with one of her hooves. "Maybe this time it will work!" Apple Blooms realization caused the spark of excitement to flare in Scootaloo as well.
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER MATCHMAKERS!!! "
As the three crusaders yelled this, Dinky proceeded to join in as they all clapped one of their front hooves with one another in a circle. Then, without another word, all four of the young fillies began running towards town.
"I really hope this doesn't go as bad as I think it will," I mumbled to myself as I began chasing after them. I was so preoccupied with catching up, that I didn't notice the two other fillies following closely behind.
================================================================================
"Maybe he would be a good choice," Sweetie Belle said as she pointed a hoof at a stallion standing just outside the flower shop. This was the fifth one that the young fillies had pointed out and thought would be a good choice.
"Nope," I said as I continued walking. This was my answer for the last four as well.
"But why," Dinky asked as she followed close behind me.
"Yeah, thats the fifth one you said no too," Scootaloo said in confusion. "I'm starting to feel like you don't want to find Dinky's sister a special somepony."
"Should we even call them a special somepony," Sweetie Belle questioned. "I mean, Hearts and Hooves day past a long time ago."
"Who cares," Scootaloo groaned. "It still doesn't change the fact that the one guy in the group isn't helping like he had said he would."
"Hey," I said, a little insulted. "I have my reason for saying no to all of them, and when I see him I'll explain."
"Him," Apple Bloom questioned me with a confusing stare. I merely kept walking forward, one target in mind. When I didn't answer, Apple Bloom turned to everyone else with hope on getting an answer. They merely shrugged, equally confused.
"Don't worry. He has to be around here somewhere," I said as we walked into the towns center. A large fountain stood in its center surrounded by several groups of ponies. Including the one I was looking for. "There he is," I said as I pointed toward him.
The sudden silence from the fillies caught me off guard as I turned to look back at them. They were looking at me as if I had just dug up a grave.
"TIME TURNER ," each nearly yelled in unison. Their outburst ended up catching the attention of all the surrounding groups of ponies, including that of Time Turner. Who, at this point, was making his way over.
"Did someone say my name," the brown stallion asked with a easily noticeable british accent. At first I didn't know how to respond. It wasn't the fact of who it was that caught me so off guard, it was the fact that he had a british accent. Although, something in the back of my mind was telling me that he was faking it.
Looking over at the fillies, I was surprised to see that they had taken several steps back, looks of fear in each of their faces.
"Wait a minute," I said as realization quickly swept my mind. "You just said 'someone' didn't you?" It had been the first time I had heard the term used in this crazy world by someone besides myself and I knew it had to mean something.
"Yes," Time turner said as he became confused. "It is a common term used when asking about an unspecified or unknown person."
"You just said 'person'," I said with a smile.
"Are you alright," Time Turner asked. He seemed to confused by my reactions and couldn't seem to understand the situation.
"What's your name," I quickly asked. I knew at this point I was just mindlessly saying things. I should've been asking different things that would help me figure out if he would do well with Derpy or not.
"It depends," Tume Turner said as he brought a hoof to his chin. "Where are we at this moment?"
"What," I questioned. That definitely wasn't the answer I was hoping to hear. ". . . Ponyville?"
"And who might you be," he asked, still not answering my prior question.
"Chris. . ."
"Is that short for something or is that. . ." "Its short for Christopher," I blurted out in an unknown rage. Even though I had interrupted his sentence, he still kept talking. Turning to look back at the young fillies for some kind of clue as to what to do, all I saw was all four of them running down a nearby street.
It was at this point that Time Turners rant had stopped and a strange feeling crept over me. Turning back to face Time Turner, I was met with a different scene. The once confused looking pony now had a look of seriousness. "What is my name," he said in a low whisper.
"W. .wh. .what," I questioned. I was beginning to feel a sense of fear slowly taking over my mind. He repeated the question once again, but I could do little but stutter a fragmented response.
"D. . .Do. . .Doctor . . H. . .Hooves."
Suddenly, the look of seriousness on the pony's face was replaced with a caring smile. "Then thats my name," He chuckled as the fear in my mind was replaced with confusion.
"I mean, as long as I have a definitive name, I don't care what it is," he said. "But I need you to understand a few things about me." From there, he moved towards the side of my head and began to whisper something in what I guessed was where my ear was.
"There are differences in what we know and what we think we know," he said without a british accent. "And I know you've been hanging out with that mail mare Derpy, and just so you know, she's not my type."
With that, he walked away humming a merry tune to himself, leaving me more confused than I had been since I had arrived in Equestria. Turning to go find the four fillies, I couldn't help but ponder how everything he said made sense while making none at the same time.
"Wait a minute," I quickly snapped as I realized what he had said before leaving.
"How did you know what we were doing," I yelled as I tuned to question Time Turner, or Doctor Hooves, or whoever he was. But as I turned to look, I was surprised to see that he was gone.
"And here I thought I could easily make it canon," I mumbled to myself as I returned in my pursuit of the young fillies. Again, I was too preoccupied with my thoughts as two fillies followed just behind me, hidden from sight.
================================================================================
"I'm not so sure of this Diamond Tiara," the small gray filly said to her pink friend. The only response she received was a angered glare from her as she continued her pursuit.
Turning her attention back on her target, Diamond Tiara, went over her plan. Her goal was get the town to throw out the strange white dragon that was walking with four blank flanks. She couldn't make hide nor hair of what they were doing, but to her, it didn't matter. Memories of that morning began flashing through her mind. The clearest was the snide comment of calling her a 'Brat'.
"No pony calls me a brat and gets away with it," Diamond Tiara told her friend. "You know what to do Silver Spoon?"
"I don't think this is going to work," Silver Spoon replied as she adjusted her glasses. Again, the only reply she got was a angered glare. "O. . .ok," she stuttered as she began to walk off in a different direction.
Diamond Tiara watched as her friend moved just ahead of the group, hiding just out of sight by a stack of barrels. Each barrel was stacked vertically on top of one another and while she hadn't had much time to come up with the plan, but she knew it would work. All she needed to worry about now was that she wasn't spotted before she could set up her part. It would take some acting and a little dirt, but she was ready for it.
Just as she expected, the white dragon passed close enough to the barrels that an onlooker would suspect that he hit them. It was in that moment that Silver Spoon kicked the pile of barrels just enough to cause them toppling down, causing everyone to look around in confusion.
Just as the barrels rolled past her, Diamond Tiara rolled out, caking herself in dirt and mud in the process. To someone caught in the confusion, it looked as if she had been just about ran over by a barrel.
Letting out a forced moan of pain, everyone around turned to see the young filly in the dirt. The surrounding ponies quickly began to move toward the injured looking filly as questions flew through the air.
"Does anyone know what happened?"
"Why did the barrels fall like that?"
"Did someone push them over?"
"He did," Silver Spoon said from a nearby position. She had moved away in the confusion from her spot by where the barrels were originally and was pointing an accusing hoof at the white dragon standing nearby.
================================================================================
"Wait. What," I quickly questioned as I stared at my accuser. I had no idea what was going on and wasn't anywhere near to figuring it out when I was being accused of something.
"I saw him," the small gray filly known as Silver Spoon continued. "He pushed the barrels over when he walked past them."
"I did not," I yelled back at the young filly. But my statement was overpowered by the angry yells of the surrounding ponies as they began advancing forward, demanding for the police. This was a fight I wasn't going to win.
Even I knew their tensions would be high from the news about the dragon attack in Canterlot. It was clouding their judgment and preventing them from letting me explain. Before I could even try to run, I could feel a force begin to force me to the ground. It felt the same as when Twilight used her own magic to hold me down back at the train station, only weaker and on individual areas. I could see several unicorns with glowing horns in the increasing crowd.
"Yeah, Chris didn't do it," Sweetie Belle said. Although, she quickly hid herself behind me as the crowd grew.
"Yeah," Scootaloo said as she moved in closer to Silver Spoon. They were face to face and Scootaloo looked ready for a fight. This was quickly followed by Apple Bloom pulling her back by her tail.
I wanted to tell the fillies to just go and find someone that could help calm everyone down but one of the unicorns had my mouth sealed. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't open it. All I could do was make muffled sounds, but the surrounding uproar downed even those out.
"What in the name of Celestia is going on here," a familiar voice said from above. At first the voice was ignored, But as a gray blob crashed into the middle of the crowd, everyone fell silent. Laying on her back was the mail mare known as Derpy. He face scrunched up in a scowl and her eyes staring in opposite directions.
Almost immediately, a five foot radius was created around her as she got back on her feet. But it did little to stop the crowed from continuing their shouts towards me. As I looked, I could see Derpy trying to tell ponies to calm down and that I did nothing wrong. But everyone just seemed to ignore her.
Suddenly she took off again, zig zagging towards a large tree in the distance. Again the crowd fell silent as she flew off, scanning to make sure she wasn't flying in their direction. Within a few minutes a purple flash of light flared in between me and the crowd, revealing Twilight.
"What is going on out here," she yelled over the crowd. Almost instantly, the crowd fell silent. The only other sound was that of Derpy landing next to Twilight a few moments after she had appeared.
"This thing blatantly attacked my daughter," A light brown stallion said as he separated himself from the group. He wore a white color and a red tie with a money symbol on it. I couldn't help but wonder when he had arrived.
"What do you mean Mr.Filthy . .. I mean Rich," Twilight said calmly. It was obvious that she was doing her best to keep everyone calm. Quickly, Filthy Rich explained what he and all the other ponies believed happened. After hearing his explanation, Twilight gave a glance back at me and made her way towards the small pink filly. Who, by this point, was merely watching the entire event with a devilish smile.
"Diamond," Twilight said looking down at the young filly. "What happened?"
Without a second thought, Diamond told her side of the story. It coincided with Filthy Rich's but began to become choppy when it came to describing her injuries. She said the her sides hurt and that her right fore hoof felt numb, although she held her left hoof up as if it were the hurt one. It was instantly apparent to most that she was perfectly fine, even though she gave some fake moans of pain.
At this, some began to clearly doubt the story, but most were still to riled up to see it as a false accusation. "See," Filthy Rich said as he walked over to his daughter. "That beast should be caged up for what he did to my daughter."
"Please don't take this the wrong way," Twilight began as she began to talk to Filthy Rich. "But your daughter, is perfectly fine. She obviously lied to you about being hurt. As to why, I do not know.
"But if everypony would stop and think for a second, they would realize that those oh, so dangerous barrels, are made of paper mache." With that, Twilight pointed to the now destroyed pile of barrels that lay several feet away. They had broken apart upon hitting a tree and revealed the insides to be that of old newspapers.
"So thats why they were so easy to kick," Silver Spoon said from inside the group.
"Silver," Diamond Tiara yelled at her friend. Although by this point, both of them were surrounded by several ponies who were looking down at them with a bit of annoyance in their eyes. "But he called me a 'brat'," Diamond Tiara tried to say, only to be scooped up by her father.
Quickly, the ponies began to disperse. Some saying sorry's as they walked past me, while others just huffed off. It was by this point that all the different forces holding me in place eased off and allowed me to move freely again.The last pony to give their apologies was a downtrodden looking Silver Spoon as she followed both Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara.
"That could've gone . . . worse," I grumbled as I looked at the six remaining ponies. It was the four fillies, Derpy and Twilight, and except for Twilight and myself, everyone couldn't seem to comprehend what had just happened.
"Why did everyone act so irrationally Twilight," Apple Bloom asked.
"Yeah, I mean," Sweetie Belle began as she moved from her cover behind me. "If they had just looked, they would of know that the barrels were fake and that Diamond Tiara was faking."
"It was because of the dragon attack on Canterlot," I replied before Twilight could answer. "It caused people to distrust me, and in a situation like this, it become easy to overlook simple thing."
"So you're not mad," Scootaloo asked. "Not really," I replied as I rubbed the back of my neck. "I mean, yeah I'm annoyed and I didn't actually think something like that would happen. But in the end no one actually got hurt, right Dinky," finishing with my question, I turned to look for Dinky, who had remained silent since this whole thing had began. I was actually shocked to see her in a heated discussion with Derpy.
"You know that you're not supposed to walk around town without me if school lets out early," Derpy said to Dinky with a small scowl. Dinky tried to reply, only to be interrupted by Derpy. "You're just lucky I was on my lunch or who knows what could've happened to you."
"She would've been fine Derpy," Twilight said moving up next to Derpy.
"Yeah," I said as I also moved closer. "They were after me, Dinky wasn't involved at all."
"But what if something did happen and she had gotten hurt," Derpy questioned, thoughts of what could have happened running through her mind.
I could see where she was coming from. There had been a very large group of ponies and if something had happened, Dinky as well as the other three fillies could've gotten hurt for just being around me.
"Look, if you're going to be mad at someone, make it me," I said grabbings everyones confused stares. "I should have told the four of them to leave as soon as the incident began."
"And leave a friend behind," Apple Bloom said with a smirk. "As if," Scootaloo finished as she brushed her hair back with her hoof.
"No," Derpy said with a reluctant sigh. "I know it wasn't anypony's fault, well except for the pink ones, but I do worry about Dinky, you know?"
"We know," Twilight said with a hug and a smile. "Now, why don't you get back to work? I'll watch Dinky and the others, ok?"
Looking back at Dinky, Derpy gave a weak smile and nodded in agreement. Shortly after she took to the sky, narrowly missing the corner of a nearby house in the process.
"Now then," Twilight said once Derpy was out of sight. "Let's all head back to my library for something to eat? What do you say?"
All four fillies quickly cheered in agreement as they began running toward the library. Twilight began to follow, only stopping and looking back to see that I hadn't moved.
"Aren't you coming," she asked with a caring smile.
"In a moment," I said as I looked over at the paper mache barrels. "Why were they made out of paper mache in the first place," I asked out loud, not really expecting an answer.
"Because," Twilight said with a giggle. "That store," she continued as she pointed towards the building the barrels had been behind. "Its a joke shop, the barrels are part of its inventory."
"Oh," I said as I looked down at the destroyed fake barrels. It was at this point that a dark furred stallion showed up and began cleaning up the mess. "How much weirder can this day get," I asked myself as I began to walk with Twilight towards the library.
Chapter 6: Take To The Skies
Chapter 6:
Take To The Skies
"I thought Princess Celestia's letters came with a red seal," I said as I looked at the letter in Spikes hand. The whole incident with the town had occurred just an hour ago, but now I was being faced with a new challenge. "That seal looks blue."
The letter did in fact have a blue seal, adorned with a crescent moon on it. The parchment also looked to be of a darker shade than what I expected it to be.
"Because its from Princess Luna," Spike said with a smile. Unrolling the letter, Spike cleared his throat and began to read, only to be interrupted as the four fillies crashed through him. But he quickly recovered and continued to read.
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
We are happy to hear from you so soon after your departure. We feared that the recent assault on the castle would have caused problems with your return to Ponyville.
While our sister is currently too busy with current affairs to reply, we would be happy to provide you with our knowledge.
But we must admit, we were surprised to hear about your questions about a world without magic. If that is the case though, It must be a part of the book our sister sent you.
While we do not know much of said books history, we do understand your dilemma in translation. So, we are sending several books from the royal library that we believe should prove useful in deciphering the rest. They are as old as the book itself and contain languages that are not to be viewed by anyone but you Twilight Sparkle. This is very important. For your other topic, we shall also be sending another book specific to your questions. We have not had the time to read it ourselves, but it should hold the incite you need.
If you have any other questions, please do not be afraid to direct them towards us until our sister has handled the current state of affairs.
Princess Luna
P.S: We regret to inform you that the castle is currently restricting entry to all visitors.
"Never would've thought Luna would be the one to answer," I said as I watched the young fillies. They had stopped running around the room to listen to Spike as he read the letter. But, the looks on their faces revealed their confusion to the situation.
"Its actually quite understandable," Twilight said as she took the letter from Spike with her magic. "Ponies are scared because an attack like this has never happened. Granted, I would've liked an answer from Princess Celestia, I'm still happy to receive Princess Luna's help. Even if it is a few books."
"But why didn't the Princess just answer your questions in her letter," Scootaloo asked from nearby.
"She probably didn't have enough time," Twilight said as she re-read the letter. "It would explain why it took so long to reply in the first place."
Just then, a knock could be heard from the library door. Opening it, Twilight was greeted by a dark furred pony wearing dark blue armor and had a pair of bat wings. Without a word, they handed Twilight a stack of several books and flew off without a second glance.
"That was fast," I commented as Twilight set the books on a desk. I was about to pick up one of the books to look at, but as my hand just about reached the top one of the pile, Twilights hoof slapped it away. "What was that for?"
"You remember the letter," Twilight said as she got in between me and the books. "Princess Luna got these from the royal library and said that only I am to look at them. I know you want to help with this so you can get home. But don't worry, I'll figure it all out in no time.
"So how about you take the fillies home for now while I get to work. Ok?" There wasn't much I could do by that point. I did want to help, but I guessed that all I could do was trust in Twilight.
"Alright," I sighed as I turned and looked toward the fillies. "Come on, lets get back to what we were doing earlier."
With confused stares toward each other, the fillies nodded in agreement and made their way outside. "Lets just hope things go better this time," I said to Twilight as I left the library as well.
"What was that all about," Sweetie Belle asked as I met them outside the library.
"Don't worry about that," I said with a smile. " Now come one, lets go find Doctor Whooves."
"Who," Dinky asked. "I think he means Time Turner," Apple Bloom responded. Again, all for fillies stared at me in confusion.
"But why him," Dinky asked. "I mean, by what all the other ponies in town say. He's kind of . . ."
"Crazy," Scootaloo said blatantly. "I hear, he spends all his time working on things besides clocks, and he never make any sense when you ask him a question."
"I hear he fights crime and is always protecting ponies and the world," Sweetie Belle said with a smile. Suddenly, we were all laughing. It only lasted a few moments though.
"Actually," Scootaloo said. "How about we try doing something else for the rest of the day?"
"What do you mean by that," Apple Bloom asked.
"I'm not saying that this isn't fun," Scootaloo said rolling her eyes. "But I wanted to see something."
"And what would that be," Sweetie Belle asked as Scootaloo made her way over to where I stood. "I wanna see you fly," Scootaloo said as she looked up at me.
"But what about my sister," Dinky asked.
"Derpy's been good this long," Scootaloo said. "Besides, have you looked at his wings? I bet he could fly while carrying all of us. Imagine what we could do."
"Wait a minute. I promised Dinky," I tried to say only to be blocked by the other crusaders. They quickly began coming up with ideas and theories, all centered around using me as a pack mule. Looking over at Dinky, I was surprised that she seemed to like the idea too.
"Well, sorry to burst your bubble," I said as the fillies finally quieted down. "But I don't even know how to fly in the first place so . . ."
"Thats ok," Scootaloo said with a large grin. "We can just ask Rainbow Dash for help."
"Yeah," the other three fillies said in unison. Then, before I could respond, the fillies took off in search of Rainbow Dash.
"This will not end well," I sighed as I began to follow.
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It didn't take long to find Rainbow Dash. Seeing as she was napping on the only cloud that was within three stories from the ground. It only took seconds to convince her to help me learn to fly.
"But you have to promise to race me before you leave," Rainbow Dash said menacingly. "You got that?"
"I can't promise anything," I said with a smug smile. I was beginning to get nervous. The thought of flying was exciting me. But the fact that I would end up several stories in the air, caused a knot to form in my chest.
"Don't worry," Rainbow Dash said as she made a lap around the fillies. "Its not that hard at all. And with those wings, you should do great."
As she said this, I took a look back at the large set of wings I had. They were very large, but being that I never had wings to begin with, I couldn't figure out how this would be easy.
"Now first," she continued as she flew back to inspect my wings for herself. "Lets see how they move. Now, tell me when it hurts." Suddenly, I began feeling a strange rotating feeling coming from the center of my back. Every now and then, there was a small singe of pain, but other than that, it actually felt really good.
"Well," Rainbow Dash said as she moved back into my line of sight. "There isn't anything wrong with your wings. So, try flapping them. If you don't know how. . ." she tried continuing, only to trail off. The fact that she didn't know how dragons flew was catching up to her.
"Hold on," I said as I began to flex my back muscles. In my head, I thought that all I would need to do is try to create a continuous feeling from the position on my back that had been rotating. It was actually a lot easier than I thought it was because as I started flexing the region, I could feel the wings flap and watched as dust began to stir in its cross wind.
"Yeah, like that," Rainbow Dash said as she watched me flap my wings. They were currently moving up and down and I could already feel myself losing weight as I began to lift off the ground. "Now flap harder."
Without a second thought, I put some added force into my flapping, and regretted it immediately. The one beat of my wings launched me well into the air and sent both Rainbow Dash and the fillies tumbling backwards. Looking down, I guessed that I had to be a good fifty feet up in the air and I was still going.
The sheer distance from the ground had brought out a long time fear of heights and it had started to cloud my mind. My mind had set my wings into auto pilot and I was gaining altitude fast. I had gone past several clouds by the time I noticed the shaking.
Rainbow Dash had apparently been shaking me for the past hundred feet out of the good three hundred I had already flown. "Hay, you have to calm down," she said as she finally gained my attention. "Just slow your wing beats and you should be able to ease yourself back down."
"Ok," I quietly said, only now noticing how cold the air had gotten. I began to forcefully slow the wing beats. At first, the process was working as I dropped ten feet smoothly. But then, a rogue gust of wind caught one of my wings, catching me off guard and causing me to stop flapping.
I was now free falling straight down. Fear clouded my mind as I tried to remember how to flap my wings. Rainbow Dash was trying her best to catch me, but out of pure fear, I was flailing my arms, hoping to find something to grab that I knew wasn't there. I closed my eyes and waited for the inevitable.
THUMP
I had hit something that felt strangely soft, but was solid enough to still support my weight. I knew that this couldn't be the ground, It was far to soft.
"So this is heaven," I softly said to no one. Opening my eyes, I stared straight into the light of the sun. "And as I stare upon the gates of heaven, will they open?"
"Uh, Chris," A voice from below me called. Looking down, I saw the four fillies standing several feet below me. "You landed on a cloud," Scootaloo said, pointing up at my savior.
Looking back down, I was shocked to see that I had in fact landed on a cloud, and it was slowly sinking towards the ground due to my weight. Within seconds, I was standing back on the ground with the excited fillies and a shocked looking Rainbow Dash.
"There something on my face," I asked Rainbow Dash as I noticed her expression. She began to stutter a response to only be overpowered by the fillies excited comments. Each began jumping up and down, begging to be brought up into the sky. Suddenly, the fillies fell silent, turned and ran in different directions.
"Where's everyone going," I asked as I looked behind me. I turned just in time as a gray blob came crashing into me. Brining me with it as it tumbled into a nearby tree.
"That was amazing," Derpy chirped as she looked down at my legs. "Chris," Derpy asked in confusion as she looked for the rest of me. Looking down at where she was sitting, she realized that she was just about sitting on my face. "I am so sorry," She said as she jumped to her hooves and moved a few feet away, her face glowing red.
"There really is nothing there," I whizzed as air filled my lungs and the world around me began to fade.
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I was surrounded by darkness again. At first, the silence was deafening. I tried to call out, but like the last time, no words could be formed.
"Don't worry baby, I'll protect you."
The voices sudden appearance caused something inside of me to stur. It was a new voice to me. I could tell that it belonged to that of a woman. It seemed to be doing its best to give comfort, but was obviously seeking it themselves. Then, another voice broke the awkward silence. It sounded like that of a childs. But it said no words, only cried in fear.
"Don't worry," the dark voice from last time began. "It'll all be over soon enough."
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"NO," I yelled as I sat up, my eyes clenched shut. Reaching forward, I grabbed the closest thing I could. My mind still clouded, I began acting on pure instinct as I drew the object in close to me. A sudden urge to protect swept over me as I tried to shield the object from an unknown assault.
Suddenly, something began pulling on my arms, trying to break my grasp. But it did little but cause me to increase my grasp.
"I CAN'T LOSE YOU!"
"You don't have to," a familiar voice said as it broke through my clouded mind. then, something began to wrap itself around my body. Opening my eyes, I was shocked at what I saw.
I was in the middle of Twilight's library, surrounded by everyone. They each looked at me in complete shock and confusion. Dinky was the only one with a smile.
"What are you smiling about," I asked as I looked down. I immediately got lost in a combination of yellow and gray. Releasing my grip without a second thought, I began pushing Derpy away. This only caused her to intensify her hug.
"Hay,Derpy," I chuckled as a knot began forming in my chest. "Why don't we bring this to the other room," I continued, hoping to get a laugh or two.
Suddenly, all the wind was knocked out of me as Derpy rammed both of her front legs into my gut. She continued to do this until Rainbow Dash pulled her off. Her face was as red as an apple.
"I thought I told ya not to say that stuff around the youngins," Applejack scolded as she stepped up to where I sat. I merely laughed as I watched the embarrassed Derpy try to escape from Rainbow Dash's grasp to continue her assault.
"What time is it," I asked as I directed my attention towards a window. I could just see the sun poking over the horizon.
"About seven o'clock," Pinkie said as she began to hope around me.
"Thats not that bad," I said as I stood up.
"In the morning," Fluttershy said in a whisper.
"Oh, so i've been asleep for. . . OVER SIXTEEN HOURS?! " My mind was completely clouded as questions ran through my mind.
"Yeah, you passed out after Derpy rammed into you," Rainbow Dash said as she released a more calm Derpy from her grasp. "We got worried when we couldn't wake you up so we brought you to Twilight."
"Then, you started mumbling something in your sleep," Rarity said with a flick of her hoof. "We were all quite worried."
"Well, thanks for making sure I was alright," I said as a few questions still ran through my mind. "But if you don't mind, Could you answer me one question?"
"Sure," Twilight said as she inspected somthing on my face.
"Why am I on the floor of your library and not a hospital bed," I asked, directing the question towards Twilight. Immediately, the room fell silent once again and everyone stood frozen in place. "Thanks for calming my nerves," I said weakly.
"Well, you started to," Sweetie Belle began to say only to be silenced by Rarity. "What she means," Rarity said trying to take charge of the answer.
"No one in Ponyville knows how to take care of dragons other than Twilight," Applejack said rather quickly. "You were on the floor, because you were too heavy to get in a bed. We had to drag you here."
"But I thought," Apple Bloom began to say, only to be shushed by her sister. But the damage had been done. I knew they were hiding something.
"I know you're all hiding something," I said with a stern face. Everyone looked down towards the floor when I said this. After a moment of silence, Twilight took a step forward.
"You have to understand," Twilight began. She was about to continue when I held a hand up to silence her.
"You obviously have a reason for keeping whatever secret you have," I said, doing my best to keep calm. "If I don't need to know, then dont tell me."
Before anyone could respond, I ran out of the library. No one followed as I launched myself up into the sky. Shifting my weight, I began flying away. For it being my second time in the air, I felt oddly natural compared to the last time. From my position in the sky, I could see everything. The ponies going about their morning routine, the edge of town, the morning sun, and a familiar looking lake.
Within minutes I was closing in on the lake. I hit the ground rolling, since I had no idea how to land. But I didn't care about that as I got up and headed for the tire swing. To say I wanted to calm my nerves was an understatement. My entire body was shaking as I got in and started swinging.
The tension in my body immediately started to dull as I felt the rhythmic changes in gravity. Closing my eyes, I felt all the stress seep out of my mind and body.
Yet again, the empty canvas lay before me, ready to reveal the images in my mind. Random thoughts and images flew through my canvas. None of it having any relation to what was going on with my life.
I couldn't define how long I was swinging. But by the time I opened my eyes, the sun was almost at its highest point in the sky. I wanted to continue, but I knew that I had to get back and explain myself for my sudden actions. It was at this point that I heard an obnoxious chuckle come from behind me.
"You gonna keep swinging or what," Rainbow Dash asked as her chuckle turned into laughs. Looking from my seat in the tire, I saw Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Fluttershy standing a few feet away.
"How long have you all been here," I asked as I jumped out of the tire.
"Only a few minutes," Fluttershy said weakly. "We were going to get your attention, but you looked really happy and we didn't want to disturb you."
"Well, thank you very much for that," I said with a smile, walking over to the three. While Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy seemed happy to see me, Twilight seemed to be having a mental debate about something.
"Sorry, I ran like that," I said with a mild chuckle. "Theres only so much someone can take before snapping."
"Are you kidding," Rainbow Dash said with a large grin. "You were amazing. I mean, it was only your second time in the air and you flew like a natural."
"Its ok," Fluttershy said with a caring smile. "I usually go home and have a nice cup of tea with my animal friends whenever I feel stressed."
"Your body's not real," Twilight said as calmly as she could.
"Well, I'm just glad you all . . .WHAT!? "