His eyes snapped open when he heard the screams. The screams of a woman in pain. He found himself in a circle of fire and metal chunks. He could see the figure that the screams were coming from, set ablaze by the surrounding flame. Any attempt to move was halted by the large piece of metal that covered his legs. He couldn't help her. He couldn't save her. He closed his eyes in desperation, trying to make everything go away. His wish was granted, but from an unlikely source.
"H-hey, are you okay?"
He awoke with a gasp. He was breathing heavily, desperately trying to regulate his breath and calm himself. He's had that dream before. Many times, in fact.
After he sufficiently calmed himself, Matt turned his attention to the voice that woke him. To his shock, across the room, was the sky blue, rainbow maned horse from last night's other dream. She was looking at him suspiciously, but also with concern.
"Are you okay over there? You're making a lot of noise..."
He could feel his heart begin to race as his mind did the same.
"This... This isn't possible." he thought, "This was a dream, nothing more." he took a look around and found that he was still in the library from the dream, except that it was morning now. "Maybe I've finally cracked. That's the only rational explanation. I'm insane."
As he continued to have a rational meltdown, Rainbow Dash had gotten up to inspect him closer.
"Hey, do you even hear me?"
Her words had made him pause his mental breakdown and stare at her with a look of confusion and fear. After a few seconds he nodded his head slowly.
"Bad dream or something?" she asked, stretching her legs and wings.
He quickly concluded that he must have woken her during his nightmare. He merely nodded his head again.
"It's still pretty early. Twilight and Spike aren't up yet..."
Matt was still going through possible scenarios in his head, trying to find a rational explanation to his current surroundings. The only possibilities that seemed more and more logical were that this was reality somehow, or he had lost his mind. He began leaning toward the latter when he remembered something the one called Twilight had said last he saw her.
"I was attempting a spell that creates a dimensional rip that allows you to peer in on other dimensions, like a window... I guess instead of a window... I made a door?"
"No. Dimensional travel is just science fiction. We don't even know if there are other dimensions. Then again, that would account for most of the current situation and it would mean I can still trust in my sanity. All I need to know is how... Wait, how was that purple one levitating that book? Magic or something?"
As questions kept entering and leaving his mind, Rainbow Dash merely watched him in confusion.
"Are you sure you're okay? You're still kinda... twitchy."
Lost in his thoughts, he had forgotten that he wasn't alone. He had also forgotten that his mind and body were still in shock from his nightmare, combined with waking up in a place he thought was a dream. He realized that the night before his behavior was radically different and he was now likely to draw even more suspicion from the blue Pegasus who seemed to already distrust him.
"Sorry, I... I guess the shock finally caught up with me. It's a bit unnerving to wake up somewhere so... different from your home." he said whilst sitting up.
Her eyes shifted a bit and her expression lightened.
"Oh c'mon, how different can it be?"
He smirked at her question.
"Well, for one, the horses didn't talk."
"Really? You have ponies that can't talk?"
Ponies? They were in fact half the size of a normal horse. Pony really was more appropriate.
"Not exactly. Our version of your species is about twice your size. They can't have wings or a horn either. Nor are they as... colorful. And no, they can't talk."
Rainbow Dash gave a wide-eyed expression and her ears drooped back a little.
"Seriously?"
"Mhmm. Humans are the dominate species where I come from. What are they considered here?"
"Beats me. I've never even heard of a 'human' before you."
"No humans? At all? Does that mean ponies are the replacement? And where does that leave cats?" he thought. He decided to ponder that later and continue his conversation.
"Interesting. What else can you tell me about this place? I'd like to know at least something about my new, temporary domain."
Though hesitant, Dash began to tell him virtually everything he needed to know in order to make his stay easier. She explained that there are three different types of ponies, Earth Ponies, Unicorns and Pegasi, and that the town they were in was a part of a country called Equestria. She also explained that the country was a monarchy under the rule of two sisters, Princesses Luna and Celestia, and that herself and her five friends were the 'Elements of Harmony' and often protected their small town of Ponyville and the capital city of Canterlot.
She then took the time to go into great detail about herself and her accomplishments.
"About two and a half years ago, I won Best Young Flyer in Equestria for my awesome sonic rainboom. And then, not too long ago I became top of my class in the Wonderbolts Academy. And I have a couple of novels I'm working on..."
She continued on for quite some time, while Matt just listened in fascination. But one thing was gnawing at him.
"Wait, a sonic rainboom? Is that anything like a sonic boom?" he asked.
"Well, yeah. It's kinda in the name."
"So what you're saying is that you've broken the sound barrier with no protective equipment and somehow stopped yourself without sustaining any major injuries?"
"Yep."
"That's... astounding." he said. "And impossible."
Her mouth turned into a prideful grin.
"I know, right?"
It had been nearly an hour since she began talking, and Twilight wasn't awake yet. Rainbow was, probably for the first time, tired of talking about herself and decided to learn more about her new acquaintance.
"So, uh, why don't ya tell me a little about yourself?"
Matt was slightly surprised. She had seemed perfectly content talking about herself.
"Ah, well, my life is really very boring."
That wasn't the whole truth. He just didn't want to talk about it.
"It can't be too boring. My friend Applejack kicks trees all day."
Persistence. He somewhat expected this from her. She seemed quite headstrong.
"Well, growing up I was usually more invested in my studies than anything else."
"Oh, so you're like Twilight."
That made sense to him. He assumed that this was Twilight's library, and she did in fact live here. She must be quite studious. However, Dash wasn't finished.
"Does that make you an egghead too?"
A what?
"... I suppose that's one way of putting it."
"It's no big deal. I read a lot too, ya know."
They continued talking about reading and Dash's feats, among other things.
Twilight Sparkle awoke to the sound of voices from downstairs. She recognized one as Rainbow Dash, but couldn't quite place the other. She then saw a gray book in front of the bookshelf nearest her bed. The happenings of the previous night came back to her; accidentally summoning a friendly creature from its home dimension and Rainbow Dash staying to keep an eye on him. She remembers the creature, named Matthew Nabal, had this book resting on his chest when he arrived here. It was a diary of sorts, and she couldn't resist her curiosity and had taken the book to read later. Now was a good as time as any. She felt bad, but she needed to know more about her new house guest. She opened it to the second entry.
"I had a visit today. My father's best friend and his daughter. I've known both of them since I was very young, and they were some of the few people I called 'friends'. He wanted to know if I was alright here alone, suggesting that I go and stay with them and their family. I told him that I just wanted to be left alone, that I preferred it this way anyway. He knew I was lying, but respected my choice anyway. His daughter didn't say a word while they were here. She just looked at me with sad eyes. I suppose she felt sorry for me. But I don't need her pity, or anyone else's."
At the bottom, the page was signed and the date was marked.
"Matthew Nabal, 7/21/12"
Twilight was surprised. He had seemed so polite and well-mannered, not at all like the person who wrote those words. The words made him seem anti-social, but she could still hear him chatting with Rainbow Dash in the next room. Was he putting on an act? She kept these thoughts in mind as she descended the stairs and opened the door.
The door to Twilight's room opened, and the Horned-Pegasus emerged. Rainbow Dash turned to her immediately.
"Hey Twilight, you were right. This guy's pretty cool."
Matt smiled to himself. He had succeeded in earning her trust. Maybe he could get some sleep without the feeling of being watched now.
"Good morning, Miss Twilight." he said. Judging from what Rainbow had told him, they were a group of six really close friends. One down, five to go.
"Good morning. And please, just Twilight is fine." she said. "Did you sleep alright? I imagine it couldn't have been easy."
"To be honest, the realization didn't really hit me until I woke up. It's still pretty difficult to wrap my head around, though."
"I'm sure Pinkie Pie will be able to help you adjust. And you'll have plenty of time to meet everypony at the party later."
He remembered Pinkie spouting some nonsense about a party yesterday, something about welcoming him to town. He saw this more as a nuisance than an actual event. A thought crossed his mind. Exactly how big was this town? How many people would be there?
"Oh, yes, a-about that. How many... guests... do you think will be there?" he asked, preparing for the worst.
Rainbow Dash interjected before Twilight could.
"Knowing Pinkie, everypony in Ponyville'll show up."
Fantastic. His first day and he already has to deal with one of his greatest fears.
Seeing the distress on his face, Twilight tried to calm him.
"I wouldn't worry about it, I'm sure everypony will be happy to meet you."
"Or they could assault me in fear and panic, like your friend here did." he thought, but decided to keep his snarky comments to himself and just nodded his head.
"It's already noon. The party's starting soon." said Rainbow.
Twilight seemed a bit embarrassed.
"I guess I overslept..." she chuckled."I'll go wake Spike up and we'll go."
She ascended the stairs back to her room to get her small reptilian companion, leaving Rainbow Dash and Matt alone again.
"So, Dash, if you don't mind me calling you that, how many is, uh, 'every pony' in Ponyville'?"
She thought about it for a moment, placing a hoof under her chin.
"I dunno, somewhere over a hundred."
Matt could feel his stomach start to churn and his eyes go wide.
"A-a-a hundred, huh? G-great."
"You okay? You're getting twitchy again."
"I'll be fine." he said. "If I don't vomit from the nervous tension and paranoia, that is."
Before he knew it, they were on the way to their destination. Spike still seemed nervous around him, and Rainbow Dash took off ahead of them. It was an awkward walk. They kept attracting attention from passersby, which Matt had expected. Though they weren't always staring at him, but at Twilight Sparkle, who was walking a few feet ahead of him. Was she a celebrity or something? He decided to inquire about it later and just focused on trying to keep his composure with all those eyes on him. The walk was made worse by the fact that he hadn't any shoes and he was sure it was late autumn.
They arrived at the shop named Sugarcube Corner and Twilight went inside, motioning for Matt to follow. He took a deep breath and entered. The ceiling was quite high despite its short residents, and the room was filled with ponies. Earth Ponies, Pegasi, and Unicorns in all sorts of different colors were chatting and eating and the like, but they all stopped dead whenever he entered the room. Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be found and Twilight and Spike were standing next to a white Unicorn and an orange Earth Pony wearing a Stetson-style cowboy hat, both of which were staring at him in bewilderment, much like the rest of the room was. He felt like he was going to be sick.
Before he could, however, the silence was broken by Pinkie Pie, who had just noticed he had arrived.
"Oh, you're here! Come on in!"
She quickly got behind him and pushed him further into the room. At this point, the ponies had started talking again, most of them about him, he assumed. Pinkie had pushed him over to a table that had a huge spread of varying types of sweets, all the while rambling on far too quickly for him to understand.
Twilight merely watched as her new friend was dragged into the party by Pinkie Pie. The way he totally froze worried her, so she'd have to check on him in a little while. Her two friends, Rarity and Applejack, had just stopped staring and turned to her.
"What in tarnation is that thing?" said Applejack.
"That's the 'person' I was just telling you about. His name is Matthew Nabal, and I accidentally brought him here yesterday."
"Well, that's mighty fine sugarcube, but what is he?"
"He says he's called a 'human'."
"A hu-what? Y'know, that doesn't exactly answer my question..."
Her other friend, Rarity, began to inquire as well.
"How on earth did you bring him here, Twilight?" she said.
"Oh, well, I was trying this new spell I came across and..."
Rarity and Applejack both looked at her with an 'of course' look, and Twilight just sighed.
"Look, it doesn't matter, he's friendly."
Before she could continue, Pinkie had shoved Matt over to them and began introducing him to her other friends.
Matt had just been pushed all around the room, being introduced to nearly everyone there by Pinkie Pie, whom he now began to dislike immensely. She finally stopped for good when she pushed him over to Twilight and the two ponies he saw earlier.
"And this is Applejack, and this is Rarity. There, now you know everypony!"
He was trembling at this point, and desperately trying to keep himself collected. He felt something grab his right hand, and shake it vigorously.
"Howdy pardner!"
She seemed quickly accepting, not making a point to ask him any questions or cut right to the point. He also noted that she had a southern accent. The language here seemed identical to his own. When Applejack let go of his hand, the other pony extended her hoof hesitantly.
"Hello, it's a... pleasure."
He extended his hand and grabbed her hoof softly, shaking for only for a few seconds.
"I-it's nice to meet you." he said weakly.
Just then, Rainbow Dash had entered the room, along with a scared-looking yellow Pegasus. When she saw him, she gasped, but didn't stare. She just followed her friend over to them, all the while avoiding eye contact.
Matt felt a tad at ease. At least someone he knew was here now. She flew over and dropped down next to him, the other Pegasus right behind her.
"Hey Matt, this is Fluttershy. She and I go way back."
The Pegasus called Fluttershy let out a soft and fearful 'hello' and nothing else. Matt responded in kind as another awkward silence ensued. Applejack was the one to break it this time.
"So, uh, Matt was it? Why don't ya'll tell us a bit about yourself?"
Why was it everyone he met here so interested in him?
"I... suppose I can do that." he said. As much as he hated talking about himself, he thought it would help him relax. He took a seat on a nearby stool. "I'm from a really big city called New York. M-my father was an esteemed business-man and my... my mother was a retired veterinarian. I have two sisters who moved out when I was younger. I graduated top of my class earlier this year after twelve years of education. Anything else?"
The group before him was stunned. He was clearly uncomfortable, but quickly listed off facts about his life as if they were just that; facts. He hadn't paused to elaborate on anything he said. Twilight, on the other hand, was just curious the moment he said 'education'.
"Twelve years? That sounds similar to the grade system we use." she said. "What did the curriculum consist of?"
"Mainly mathematics and literature with a few different kinds of sciences mixed in. Chemistry, biology, astronomy, etcetera."
"What about magic? Are there special courses for magic training?"
Magic? He recalled her talking about spells and such earlier, even citing a spell as the method he was brought here.
"No. We don't really have 'magic' where I come from. However we do have fairly advanced technology, which is 'magic' in itself."
Twilight seemed disappointed that she couldn't discuss magic, but was still eager to learn all she could and Matt was beginning to see why Dash referred to her as an 'egghead'. Before they could continue their educational and technical jargon, however, they were interrupted by Applejack trying to get back on topic.
"Anyways, how're ya taking to Ponyville?"
He paused for a moment to pool all the information he was told by Dash and his own observations together. The town seemed old, and from what he's seen their greatest technological feat were trains. It was quiet. Peaceful, even.
"I do quite like this place. The air's much cleaner than where I come from, and the residents seem nice enough." he said.
Applejack wasn't too keen on his machine-like responses, but let it slide because she didn't know how his kind was supposed to talk.
"Well, uh, that's good."
Another silence. Unexpectedly, it was Rarity who piped up next.
"Pardon me, darling, but what in Equestria are you wearing?"
He looked down and saw that he was still in his solid black long-sleeved button up pajamas, minus any type of footwear.
"Clothes...?"
"Hmm..." she began to look him up and down. "No, no, no, dear, black simply isn't your color. I think you'd look good in a nice, vibrant red. You really should come by my boutique and let me take care of you."
"Oh, uh... okay?"
Everyone else in their little corner of the room began giggling at their little exchange.
"Sorry 'bout that, sugarcube. She does that to everypony." said Applejack.
He smiled while Rarity frowned at her friend's comment. They really did seem like close friends. Part of his mind reminded him that his days of caring for other beings were over. He would only earn their trust so his short stay was comfortable. He could watch them, though. Watch the interaction he was starved for.
Hours passed, and Matt found himself relaxing more than he had in months. The party had started to wind down, thankfully. He had learned quite a lot about his new 'friends'. Rarity was a dress maker, Applejack a farmer, Rainbow a 'weather-pony', whatever that meant, and Pinkie Pie, surprisingly enough, was a talented baker. At this point he found himself relaxing in a corner, watching the actions of those attending. Studying, in a sense
Just then, he noticed a pony wearing a bow tie he'd not seen before making its way through the crowd. It was somehow holding a small bronze-ish rod in one of its hooves and was pointing it at everyone it passed. The tip of it would glow and make a small noise, and then it'd move onto the next pony. When it noticed him, it trotted over quickly and began doing the same to him. It waved its hoof around until It flicked the rod abruptly, making the small tool extend. It stopped suddenly with a grin on its face.
"What universe did you spawn from?" it said in a sarcastic British man's voice. It caught him off guard, seeing how at this point he thought the entire species was female.
"… Certainly not this one." he replied.
"It speaks English! Because of the TARDIS, no doubt." he said, seemingly excited.
At this point, being referred to as an 'it' had gotten insulting.
"I'm not an 'it', my name is-"
"You're a human." the British pony said matter-of-factly."A human, on a planet of all ponies. Brilliant."
Now that caught his interest.
"Yes, but how would you know what I am? More importantly, who are you?" Matt asked.
The pony straightened his bow tie.
"I'm the Doctor."
Short of not making much sense, this served only to bewilder Matt further.
"Doctor… what, exactly?"
"Just the Doctor."
Just then, the annoying pink mass of energy known as Pinkie Pie was bouncing around them, once again babbling on near incomprehensibly. The Doctor, however, seemed to have no problem understanding every word she said.
"Oh, he didn't introduce himself."
"Not like I had a chance to." Matt thought.
Pinkie spurted out more gibberish, and 'The Doctor' adopted a grim expression.
"No, I never have…"
The clear tone of melancholy in his voice suggested whatever she asked him was a sore subject. Pinkie stopped her bouncing and looked down, unsure of what to say next. A yell was heard behind her.
"Pinkie!"
Pinkie Pie stopped bouncing and looked towards the voice. Twilight stood a few feet behind her, looking at her with disapproving eyes.
"I'm sorry about that, she really likes meeting new people." said Twilight.
"Tell me about it..." Matt muttered.
"It's fine. I once knew someone who could talk just as fast." he said.
" , uh, my name is Twilight Sparkle. I haven't seen you around before, what's your name?"
"I'm The Doctor."
"Doctor... who?"
"It's just The Doctor."
She stared at him blankly for a few seconds before blinking.
"Okay then..."
Before any kind of conversing could be continued, two ponies grabbed The Doctor from either side. One was a cream color and the other a mint-green. They began to drag him out of the building, all the while whisper-yelling at him. Twilight watched them until they were gone.
"Alright, that was just weird." she said.
"Agreed." said Matt.
"What was he talking to you about?"
"Something called a 'tardis'. Everything else seemed like crazed rambling."
"Well, on that note, we should be heading back. It's getting kind of late and Spike needs his sleep."
The dragon in question was already asleep near empty plates of Pinkie's confections. Twilight scooped him up onto her back, on top of her wings. Matt had to wonder how uncomfortable that probably was.
She said goodbye to her friends and they departed. The night was beginning to set in, and the temperature had dropped. Matt's feet were starting to feel numb. He'd have to ask about getting some shoes later.
When they got back to the library, Twilight put Spike into his small bed at the foot of her own.
"There's a storage room you can use." she said to him. "We should have an extra bed somewhere in there."
He smiled sincerely.
"Thank you. I really appreciate your hospitality to an odd stranger."
"Oh, you're not a stranger anymore. You're a friend now."
He chuckled to himself. The rate at which these ponies accepted another was astounding.
"Ah, one more thing. Where's your bathroom?"
"Second door on the left."
"Right. Well goodnight, Twilight."
"Goodnight."
He opened the door to the bathroom and was horrified by the lack of something very important. A toilet. He'd just have to hold it.
Matt went to the room that would be serving as his and quickly found the bed Twilight was talking about. It was rather small, but he eventually found a comfortable position and drifted off to sleep, thoughts of the day's events swirling in his mind.