Samuel was driving over to his friend Roger's house for the bi-monthly party. Roger had gotten a reputation for throwing wild parties, to such a point that he called the police to forewarn them of any potential problems. Roger knew all the cops on a first name basis at this point in his young life. Samuel reflected that for them both being 28 they had had pretty well set up lives.
He had a well set up position at a huge law firm, he lived in a great apartment in Chicago, had an amazing girlfriend and... well he wasn't sure how Roger made his money. As for the party he knew it would be the same as every other party Roger threw: He'll get there early; Get drunk off his arse; and pass out hopefully after Roger. Roger had a tendency to prank the people that passed out at his parties. Samuel recalled when he made that mistake; he ended up duct taped to his ceiling. Though they did end up thanking Roger for that little event because if he hadn't been taped on his ceiling he wouldn't have met Jenny. She was moving into the apartment across the hall that day and heard him calling for help, and after an awkward conversation about how he got there she got him down. As his token of thanks he helped her move in and insisted on taking her out for dinner, and since then they have been dating.
Samuel (Lets call him Sam for now) pulled up to Rogers house. As with every time he pulled up to the house he wondered how he made that much money to buy a home that large, let alone all the booze he needed for his infamous parties. As he approached the door he was wondering if he should have brought Jenny to meet Roger. 'On second thought, Roger will probably just try to get her to sleep with him.' He grimaced at that thought. He reached the door, checked his pocket watch (What? Pocket watches are cool) and started knocking as loud as he could. Whenever Roger had a party he liked to warm himself up with one of his two passions: music, or women. Sam noted that he couldn't hear anything on the inside of the house. The door opened to reveal a half dressed and rather peeved Roger.
"What the hell you doing interrupting my music!? Get in and wait in the party room dude. I'll be right down."
Thus the cycle of the night began as it did every other time. The drinks started to flow, the music breaking noise codes, and the night (and Sam's vision) began to turn into one great alcoholic blur. He was having a great time until he lost consciousness, then it turned into a good sleep.
Sam awoke feeling warm, a cool breeze wafting over his face. 'I must have fallen asleep in his back yard.' He felt the grass against his head and found himself enjoying the sensation. That was what told him something was very wrong; he wasn't hung over like he should have been. He opened his eyes and was met with a sky that wasn't his. As he stared at the sky he just couldn't find a way to describe how it was off, but it was... bluer? Was that even a word he could use? He sat up to look around and found that the usual headache he got from the party wasn't there. How could that be, he had drank enough to kill a mule. Twice. He looked around and noticed something that made him hate Roger even more. He had been pranked again, and this time duct tape would have been preferred. Roger had dumped him into an open field in the middle of nowhere. 'I'm going to kill him when I get back.'
That then raised a question in his mind. Where was he anyways? He took in the surroundings and saw a forest in the distance. 'Well he chose a beautiful spot at least.' He started to search for any signs of a road nearby. After a failed search he headed for the highest point he could see, a small hill off in the distance. On his way to the hill he couldn't help but look at the grass, it was off as well. It was greener... no, brighter than any grass he had ever seen in a long time.
'I need to get out more, maybe start going to a park'
He reached the hill in two minutes and was greeted by a most welcomed sight, a dirt road leading north and south, if his judgment of direction was to be trusted. 'Now I'll just head north and hopefully I'll run into a farmer or something.' He was thankful that Roger had dumped him somewhere near a road. He started off at a brisk jog, heading north was a sure fire way to get closer to home. As he was walking a nagging feeling of familiarity set in as he felt like he had seen it all before. That couldn't be possible on any level. He hadn't been camping since he was 12 and he hated it with a passion, besides this looked nothing like the campsite. Plus when he thought about it he hadn't been to a park in two or three years. So why did this feel like a repeat experience?
He decided to put the thought from his mind for a more pressing matter, the road was turning off to the east and he could make out what looked like rows of trees. ‘A farm! Now I'll just ask them to borrow the phone so I can call Jenny, I bet she's worried... wait I have a cell I'll use that.' As he reached into his pocket he felt his spirits drop, he never brought his phone or wallet into Rogers house when he threw a party. He had made that mistake before, he would have lost a 100$ phone and 200$ in cash. It was a good thing Roger caught the guy or else he would have been screwed.
He continued his walk for another five minutes before he saw the fence of the farm.' Almost there. Maybe I could work on the farm to earn a ride into the nearest town, which would at least make me even with the farmers.' He decided to pick up his pace; the sooner he got home the sooner he could get his revenge on Roger. Something involving his car would be perfect.
"Where’s that gate, there's always a gate to the farm... Aha! Gottcha."
Indeed he did find the gate; he quickly approached the gate and saw that it was closed. 'Well I can't wait here for them to come and welcome me. If I gave it a push...' Low and behold the gate opened easily. His spirits were at an all-time high, if they left the gate unlocked they must be very trusting. He was all but guaranteed a ride home. He might not have to work at all! He looked up at the sign that hung above the gate out of curiosity and saw a name that made the nagging feeling all the stronger. 'Sweet Apple Acres... huh I think I bought some produce from here before.' He set off the road he hoped lead to the house. The path was flanked on each side by apple trees with the largest apples he had seen. The sight of those apples made him realize just how hungry he was at that moment. Maybe asking them for food would be something to try.
He reached a red farmhouse that made the nagging feeling in to a screaming voice. This was all too familiar, but where had he seen it all. He hadn't ever set foot on a real farm, so there was no way he could remember anything like this. 'That nagging voice just needs to shut up.' He walked up to the door and heard voices inside.
"Ah told y'all once Ah'll tell ya again you're not gonna earn your mark as a fire juggler!"
"But AJ I really want my Cutie Mark!"
Sam froze at that. Cutie Mark? Now he knew he had heard that before, and now things we're sliding into place... and those voices. No that wasn't possible. He had to knock on the door and use a phone to call Jenny. His imagination was getting the best of him. He knocked hard, hoping that they would be kind enough to allow the use of the phone.
"Ah'll be right there! Eat your breakfast while Ah deal with this."
'Sounded like a mother to her child. I need to relax.' He stood there when a sudden thought drove the final nail into the coffin of his suspicion. 'Wait... when was Chicago near apple growing country... or down south?' That's when the door opened, and he found himself looking at an equally shocked Applejack.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
Now to say that they both received a shock would be an understatement. However they both reacted in different ways. She recoiled and reared up on her hind legs; he stumbled backwards and fell onto his back.
"What are you?"
Applejack may have been frightened but to her credit she managed to keep a calm head when a strange creature interrupted her breakfast. Sam quickly got back up, keeping his hands in front of himself in case she decided that he was a threat but he never got the chance to protect himself from her. Within the instant he got back up something fast, red, and very solid hit him in the left side of his chest. The resulting impact sent him into the air and made an impressive snap to accompany the kick. Now when one is launched into the air very rapidly the senses take time to process the fact that one was just launched rapidly into the air. However the landing is a very different story. Sam landed hard on his right shoulder flipping over sending his feet over his head. Said feet slammed hard into the ground and prevented and further flipping. With all the momentum now diffused he only slide another five feet before coming to a stop. In total the he was, for lack of a better word, displaced a grand total of 30 feet. When he came to a full stop on his back his senses came back in full force. Pain racked his chest, right shoulder, and his right ankle. His hearing also seemed to turn back on.
"What'd go and kick it for? It didn' do anythin' to me!"
"All Ah heard was you screaming and Ah saw him rising at you! It looked like it was lungin' at you. What did you want me to do wait to see if it'd kill you before Ah react?"
“No! But you didn’ need to buck it into next week. You probably just killed the thing!"
Sam lay there listening to them argue over whether Big mac had done the right thing. He then tried to sit up but as a fresh pang of pain stole over his body he let out a ragged gasp. 'Yeah that's a broken rib. Damn that hurts.' Now Sam had had bones broken before but that was his wrist from playing too rough in street hockey and this was a different breed of pain.
"Big Mac, go get Fluttershy. She might be able to help the poor thing."
"Fine but don' get near it."
Big Mac ran off down the path to do as Applejack had asked but he kept turning his head to make sure she wasn't moving toward Sam. Seeing that Sam hadn't moved he galloped off at full pace. Sam just lay there unwilling to move in fear of causing himself more pain, content just to stare at the sky between the trees. Applejack took his lack of motion as a sign that he wasn't going to cause any trouble.
"Y'all okay?"
Sam just lay there wondering if he had it in him to talk. "Not really."
'At least I can talk. Too bad it hurts like hell' Looks like his manners and good will held out.
"Anythin broken?"
"I think my ribs might be broken and my shoulder and ankle are killing me. Other than that I'm just great."
Sam hadn't meant to put that much venom into that last part but people say stupid things when they were in pain. Applejack didn't seem to notice, that or she was thinking along the same line.
"Ah'm really sorry about Big Mac, he is a gentle giant when you get to know him. It musta looked like you were gonna attack me or something to him."
"Yeah I've run into his type before, protective."
As an awkward silence fell between them, Applejack took the opportunity to get a closer look at him. She figured that since he did interrupt her breakfast it was the least he could let her do. She approached slowly though, she had to stay cautious when dealing with an unknown creature.
"So... um what are you?"
Both Applejack and Sam jumped as a much higher voice broke the silent void. Sam lifted his head to see a yellow filly with a red mane. 'Apple... bloom. Yeah that's right.' Sam found that he was surprised that he could remember her name.
"Hello there... little one."
Sam stopped himself in time, best not to raise suspicion by parading the fact he knows everybody, no... ponies, name when they haven't told him that. Better to play dumb then get them pissed at him. He was in no condition to have a bunch of angry ponies attacking him, or worse. As he looked at the pair of ponies he started to remember all the things he had seen in the show. The curiosity of Applebloom came to the forefront of his mind and he decided to feed it. If anything it kept his mind off the pain.
"I'm a human, my name is Samuel. Oh, and I live in the city of Chicago."
Short, sweet, punctual, and to the point. His boss would be so proud. In perfect unison they both asked the question he was expecting.
"What’s a human?"
"That's what we're called. And I was at a party with my friends before this happened, then I wake in a field and walk to a farm and then get kicked by a large red pony; that about sums up my day."
Sam waited for a response but when he didn't receive one he realized that he had rambled on and seemed to lose them in his rant. 'I should probably apologize for that. I didn't mean to vent on them like that.'
"So... um how much longer till Big Mac gets back with Fluttershy?"
"About another five minutes if they are both going their fastest, knowing Fluttershy she is probably moving faster than Big Mac. You're quick on the names there Sam."
"Yeah I'm a smart one."
"You ain't too bright if you went and got yourself kicked. Applebloom get out of the tree!"
Sam followed her gaze and found out that Applebloom was indeed in a tree. ‘Why is she in a tree? Oh right to get a better look at me... wait that makes no sense.'
"Ahh but AJ Ah’m looking out for Fluttershy and Big Mac. ooo look its Rainbow Dash!"
'Rainbow Dash? Wonder why she coming over here... oh well at least I get to meet another of the Mane 6.' Sam found himself to be in a surprisingly good mood for a man with a broken rib. Judging by the pain he would guess two ribs.
"Hey AJ I heard you got some kind of weird looking th- HELLO big guy, yeah Big Mac was right it is weird looking"
"He is weird lookin'... you are a he right?"
Applejack turned to him to get a confirmation. Sam was busy however looking at Rainbow Dash as she landed with ease and was right in his face. Just as soon as she was done staring at his face she moved on to the rest of him.
"Yeah I'm male."
"Okay then, he's a he. But what is he?"
Sam got a nagging suspicion that he was going to get that particular question a lot in the next couple of hours. Fortunately Applebloom saved him from answering it the second time in a minuet, Good thing too as another pang of pain swept over him. It took all of his control not to cry out in pain.
"He's a Huu-man! And he says he’s from a place called Chic-a-go."
Rainbow Dash walked back over to his head so she could look him in the eye. He found himself staring deep into those large eyes of hers, those deep pink eyes.
"And what does a human do exactly? I mean why would you be so tall if you didn't use that height for something. Can humans fly? What about magic?"
Sam felt like he was being put under a microscope. But the interest Rainbow Dash was showing was out of curiosity and with a quick look at both the apple family members that were present it seemed they wanted to hear this answer.
"Well humans can do a lot of things, like farming for instance. We can't fly on our own but we do have machines that fly us around. We also enjoy sports. We hold jobs, and enjoy sports I guess..."
Sam finished somewhat lamely. He was hoping that Fluttershy and Big Mac would get back soon his ribs and shoulder was really starting to hurt. He could barely breathe as well, so why on earth was he talking so much anyways? Applejack asked the next question and he found himself surprised that it wasn't about humans in general.
"So what'dya do for a job then mister Sam?"
"Well I'm a lawyer at a big— Why did everything go pink?"
As he stated Sams vision became a pink blur as Fluttershy move over to his side to inspect the damage Big Mac had caused. Her arrival caught them all by surprise as she had moved so fast no-one realized she had even joined them.
"Oh you poor thing, where does it hurt? I hope I can fix you up, I would feel just awful if I couldn't."
Sam found himself under a gentle assault of prods and pokes. Fluttershy was inspecting him with the lightest of touches and he could barely feel her at all. He also found himself unable to answer her question; his brain seemed to be taking an extremely long time to process that he was being touched by a pony that shouldn't exist in the first place. 'Wait I can't accept Fluttershy helping me but I can accept Big Mac kicking me? Sometimes I wonder if my mind works at all.'
"Wha- Oh yeah right, my ribs and my shoulder hurt the most. My ankle hurts too but not as badly. When did you get here by the way?"
"Well I got here a couple of seconds ago and when I saw you lying there so I rushed over to help..."
She suddenly stopped checking his limbs and looked him in the eyes.
"I need you to um, if it’s okay with you I mean, to um..."
The stuttering she was making may have been lost on the others but Sam caught the meaning of it all quickly. She needed him to remove his jacket and shirt so she could check on his ribs. He started to sit up and was once again surprised by the yellow pegasus once more. Without a sound she moved to help him up and supported his weight and helped him into a sitting position with minimal pain. He reached over with his left hand and started unzipping his jacket when a thought crossed his mind.
"I... uh..."
They all stared at him as he trailed off.
"Yer gonna have to speak up there big guy."
"I need help with my sleeves. Please. Can't move my arm much."
Both Fluttershy and Applejack moved to help him with the sleeve. After the jacket came the shirt naturally followed but what followed after that was probably the most awkward silence in Sam's life. They were all staring at his bare body, and he suddenly felt very self-conscious about a small crowd staring at his bare torso. He was by no means fat or skinny but he wasn't built. He was average in most respects when it came to his physique. Fluttershy quickly went back to checking him for injuries and returned to the right shoulder.
"Oh my... This might hurt a little. If that's okay i mean..."
"Do what you have to Miss Shy."
He regretted those words very quickly. Her touch went from gentle and light to suddenly very firm and full of pressure. With a loud POP as his shoulder returned to its socket. Despite trying to not startle the ponies around him he couldn't stop himself from screaming out in pain. Most of the group jumped back, Fluttershy stayed where she was, but Big Mac put himself between Sam and the rest of the ponies. It seemed he was still cautious about him.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you. I was just trying to help!"
Through pained gasps Sam answered her "No your fine I told you to do what you needed to do. Just give me a warning next time please."
He tried as hard as he could not to put any malice or pain into his words. 'Why am i trying not to hurt her feelings?' He found his answer in her eyes; she was on the verge of crying. 'She thought she hurt me and I would be mad...' Fluttershy continued her work in silence and the rest of the group simply watched her as she worked. 'She left her home at...' He used his left hand to reach into his pocket to grab his watch. '7:58 in the morning. She really is the living embodiment of kindness and mercy.' All that from watching her work and looking into her eyes. Fluttershy pulled some cloth from a small bag she brought with her and started to make a sling for his arm. After what seemed like an eternity to Sam the silent void that had formed was finally broken by Applejack.
"Hey RD, how did you know that Sam was here anyways?"
Sam and Fluttershy looked at Rainbow Dash to hear the answer, but if Sam could read anything from Fluttershy's expression it was that she knew the answer to the question.
"I was talking to Fluttershy about joining me for a Wonderbolt show. We we're also trying to come up with a good birthday gift for Twi. When we saw Big Mac coming we met him at the door and after he told us what was going on I rushed ahead and left them in the dust I guess."
Applejack looked over at Fluttershy to get some confirmation on Rainbow's story but seeing as she was busy fixing up Sam's ankle, she simply let it drop. 'I bet she’s thinking the same thing I am. Whatever it is they will tell when it’s ready to be told.' He was taken out of his pensive mood by Fluttershy tapping him on his good shoulder.
“I can't really do anything about your ribs, I'm sorry, but the hospital should be able to help you."
"Okay that's fine with me... Wait how are we going to get me there? I mean if we went through town I would attract a crowd."
At mention of going through town she seemed to be thinking about how get him through without being seen when her train of thought was derailed by Rainbow Dash.
"That's easy, let’s get Twilight to teleport him over to the hospital. I'll go get her, just meet us near town."
And with no other words she lifted off toward Ponyville. Sam looked around and realized that they were now two short of the full group they had a couple of seconds ago.
"What happened to Applebloom?"
At that simple question both of the present members of the apple family started to panic and yell for Applebloom, only to be answered by her return with a bag of apples. Big Mac just simply stood there for a second and then walked off toward the barn without a word. Applejack was much more vocal in her scolding.
"Why'd you run off like that? And what’s with the apples?"
"Ah thought he would be hungry seeing as he came to our door at breakfast... you’re not mad are you?"
Applejack showed her answer by simply walking over and hugging her little sister. Sam looked on to this little family moment with only the sudden realization that he was indeed hungry. Applebloom walked over and handed him an apple. 'I'm gonna have to try and figure out how they hold things without fingers' He took a bite into the apple and almost cried. It was the single greatest apple he had ever tasted, that or he was much hungrier than he thought. They watched him eat the first apple, which he did with great enthusiasm. Sam was on his third apple when Big Mac returned with a stretcher.
"Well let’s get him to the hospital."
After some quick debate over who should carry Sam they decided on Applejack and Big Mac, after all as Applejack pointed out he was hurt because of them. They loaded him into the stretcher without a hitch but as they started to set off down the path leading to the road Applebloom and Big mac got into an argument that she needed to stay home and let Granny smith what had happened. Applebloom was looking mutinous but Sam promised that when he was better he would visit the farm again, and hang out with her the whole day if she wanted. Thrilled at the prospect she went back to the house.
"That was mighty kind of ya to give up a day like that. Are you sure you want to do that though, she can be quite the hand full, even more so when she is with her friends."
"No, it’s not problem at all Applejack. I think I can handle her for a day. Besides they will be too busy asking me questions about what I am to make trouble. I hope."
They got to the main road quickly and started down it at a less than great pace. Both the Apple family members carrying him didn't want to go so slowly but Fluttershy insisted that they went as slow as possible. To say the least this got a small argument going about how heavy Sam was and that the pace would make them collapse. Sam stayed silent, he was lost in his own thoughts of how was he going to get home, if he couldn't get home then how would he live here and so forth. He was broken from his thoughts once again by Fluttershy. 'She keeps doing that. It’s like she knows when I'm thinking just so she can interrupt me.'
"Do humans have Cutie Marks?"
"No. Why?"
"Oh, well I was wondering because of the mark on your back. It's really pretty."
Sam was lost on what she meant. Mark on his back? Then he realized that she meant his tattoo he got at 19.
"That's a tattoo, humans get them whenever they feel like but not everyone has one. People get them if they want them. In a way I guess they are like cutie marks. Mines the Ying and Yang, it means for every positive there is a negative."
Fluttershy's eyes grew wide at his explanation. "That's fascinating. How do you earn it?"
"We don't. We pay someone to put them on us. I got mine when I went to college."
"So what'dya get when you learn your talent then?"
Sam turned to Applejack. "Nothing you just kinda show it by doing whatever it is... or you just tell people if they ask."
They continued down the road for about 10 minutes before they came to an odd sight, for Sam at any rate. A pair of ponies were sitting down on the grass and in full swing of an argument. The pair was out of sight due to a hedge and a turn in the road. The Apples looked at each other and silently decided that they would just have to walk by and try to ignore the couple.
"No, you don't just leave things running for an hour and expect it to just turn off, that's why we had that fire three weeks ago!"
"Nothing even got burned except a couple of dumb books anyways, and they were not even really important."
"NOT IMPORTANT? Those were my favorite sci-fi novels."
The group came around the bend and walked by an opening in the hedges and saw the pair of loud arguers. Sam recognized the pair but the names escaped him at that moment. A bright turquoise unicorn and a cream earth pony returned his interested gaze and matched it with one of equal parts embarrassment and disbelief. Sam just absent mindedly waved to them as the group walked by. The turquoise one simply looked ecstatic at the simple motion. The pair didn't move but their eyes stayed glued on Sam until he passed the opening. "I told you that those novels weren't silly."
They continued down the road without mention of the little fan club that joined them for the journey. The turquoise one had followed them and after two minutes of following got the courage to confront the group on what they were doing and told them her and her friend’s name: Lyra and Bon-bon. Sam answered the normal questions of what he was and why they were carrying him on a stretcher and to his and Fluttershy's amusement every time he answered Lyra lets out what he could only describe as an excited squeak. So the little group had become a small crowd, and Sam was finding that he didn't really mind that he was being carried in a stretcher, had broken ribs, a painful shoulder, and a sprained ankle. He was content with his situation, something he wouldn't have been if he was back home in Chicago. He would have screamed, howled, and used words that would make a sailor blush with shame. But here he was quiet and though he couldn't figure out why, he was at peace.
They reached the edge of town but couldn't see Rainbow Dash or Twilight anywhere. Applejack and Big Mac decided that putting Sam down would be the best thing for them both. 'I must be heavier than I thought. I don't know if I should be insulted or not.' Sam settled on not to be. They did just carry him roughly 2 miles from their home in the middle of breakfast. Fluttershy was the one to voice the very thought on the minds of the original group, Lyra and Bon-bon were too busy getting a look at Sam now that he was at ground level.
"Wonder what’s taking them so long."
"They're probably still at the library Ah bet Twilight is looking through all the books for somethin' on humans."
Sam looked over at the town. 'Looks just like the show. Even the colors are the same. Still a bit off though but that’s probably because I'm used to smog everywhere.' He began to wonder what everyone else was doing in the town and as he thought about that his mind drifted off to when he was younger. He had watched the show for the longest time and he thought of the silly plots of the episodes, how each episode ended in a little life lesson. 'Good times, too bad I had to grow up.'
"Now I know we are in a rush but that's no reason to not be read up on this kind of creature. I mean what if he could shoot spines when in danger? Or if it could burst into flames when it heals itself."
"It's a he Twi. Besides he seems really nice and if he could shoot spins I don't think Big Mac would be perfectly fine."
The group all turned to see Rainbow Dash hovering above a tired but excited Twilight Sparkle. She had three books floating around her and she was attempting to read them all at lightning speed. She was so buried in her books that she hadn't realized she had joined her friends and Sam. That was until one of her books hit Sam in the face, followed by her face into the book. 'Yeah, that seemed planed. Still funny.'
"Oops sorry about that, let me just... OHMYGOSH you're that human!"
Sam could almost hear the squee emanating from Twilight. She was practically bouncing in her excitement. She quickly started circling him and studying him from every angle talking to herself the whole time.
"Tall, no fur, bipedal, flat face, hands but no claws and very skinny. Hmm... you don't mind if I ask you question do you?"
"No problem, but after you get me to the hospital please. Still in pain here."
"Oh right of course. Now I don't know if I can make it that far with this many ponies so its just going to be me and you for this one. Don't want to end up teleporting half of someone and leave the rest of them here. Okay let’s go then, see the rest of you later."
Sam only had time to close his eyes and hope all of him made it. With a loud FUOMP they were gone. Sam experienced many strange things during that short trip. First his shoulder, ribs, and ankle all felt like they had been dipped into boiling lead. The pain was so intense that he wanted only to scream, but couldn't. He felt like his lunges had been drained of air and left to shrivel. The rest of his body seemed to have been turned to nothing more than jelly and sucked down a narrow tube but at the same time like water being spun in a large bowl. Just as quickly as his mind came to experience all these sensations they ended. He reopened his eyes to see they were indeed in front of the hospital. Sam then turned away from Twilight to vomit. A quick "EEK" from Twilight confirmed that she disapproved of this but he couldn't help it.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah I'll be fine. Shame though."
Twilight started a spell to lift his stretcher off the ground, and as Sam could tell she wasn't use to ponies, or anything for that matter, of his weight. The strain was clear on her face but as a testament to her control she lifted him off the ground and they headed off to the hospital doors.
"What’s a shame?"
"Those apples Applebloom gave me. I really enjoyed them. Shame that's what happened to them."
Twilight looked like she was about to say something but she lost the chance when the doors opened up and a pair colts slightly smaller than Big Mac came out and put the stretcher on their backs. A pony in a lab coat walked out and started to look at Sam.
"Take him to the X-ray room. We need to see what shape those ribs are in."
Sam looked at Twilight with a confused look. "How did they know I'd be here?"
"I sent them a letter telling them to get ready after Dash told me about you."
Sam simply sat there in dumbstruck silence; she was organized to the extreme. No wonder she was the wedding planner for her brother. 'Wonder if that has happened here yet.'
The next 20 minutes of the tale I, your Narrator, shall sum up into a short and to the point form. If you have ever been to a hospital then you know how they work. If not then I shall simply tell you this, they took the x-ray, sent him to his private room and gave him some pills. I shall try to refrain from doing this in the future but if I see the need then I will step in, I shall return you to our heroes in the hospital.
"Now then Mister Sam I will need to warn that this will cause some discomfort for you. But it will help your ribs heal quicker."
"Just do it Doc. I have a promise that I would like to keep as soon as possible."
Sam saw the horn of his assistant glow bright orange and he felt something like a hand in his chest. It grabbed the broken ribs and pulled then back into their proper place. They had thankfully waited to the pain killer to kick in or he would have been screaming like a banshee. All he felt was a strange dull snap in his chest and he let out a ragged gasp.
"There we go. Now you should be out of here in a week. After that I would recommend you take it easy for at least a month. I'll be back later to check up on you."
Sam lay there unable to talk for a minute before he looked at Twilight.
"Twilight can I tell you something?"
"Sure what do you want to tell me?"
"What I'm about to tell you is probably the strangest thing you will hear ever. Where I'm from all of this is a T.V. show, a way to entertain people all over my world. None of this should exist but somehow it does. And now I'm here with no way home. Now that I think about it this is starting to sound like a really crappy fan fiction."
He looked over at Twilight and saw nothing but confusion at his words but then he saw the student in her take over and go back on the offensive.
"Okay that is the strangest thing I've heard but I'm sorry I just can't take your word for it. What’s T.V.? And how can you prove anything that you’re saying? Also what’s a fan fiction?"
"Well T.V. is a form of entertainment, like movies except on a smaller screen and no need to change film on it. You just get shows based on a schedule. Fan fictions are when a fan of something writes a story based on whatever they are a fan of. And I can prove this is all a show where I'm from if you give me a second."
He started to think of something that would prove that he knew it without being shown.
"You are very close with your brother Shining Armor, you are the star pupil of Princess Celestia and you have to write her a letter about friendship whenever you learn one, your pet is an owl, your assistant is a dragon named Spike, Nightmare Moon is really Princess Luna. Need I go on?"
Twilight could only just stand there. How could a creature that had never met any of them know so much about them, let alone personal things like her brother or who Nightmare Moon really was? She slumped to the ground awestruck by this revelation. He had to be telling the truth.
"How did you get here?"
"I wish I knew. But however I got here means this is as real as my world. Kinda makes you think what other worlds are out there to find, maybe with the right spell you could get Rainbow Dash and Daring Do in the same room."
Sam smiled at Twilight to show that he was making a joke. It had a desired effect, she smiled and she rose from her sitting position. She looked at him with a worried look that made his smile falter.
"Have you told anyone else?"
"No. I was hoping you would pass this along to the princess and ask her for help. I have friends back home that I would like to see again."
"I'll do that for you. So what do we do now? I mean if anyone else finds out you might not be welcome."
Sam looked at her. He could only hope that this stayed between him, her, and soon to be Celestia. "Then I guess there is no need to tell the others. I know that this is a bit of a secret to keep from them but I would like to meet them for myself. You can't always believe what you read on someone if you really want to know them right?"
Twilight smiled at him and nodded. "I should go write that letter." She looked at the clock. "Oh and visiting hours are over anyhow. I'll let the others know that you’re okay."
"Thank you, and tell the others thanks as well. Oh and ask Applebloom to bring an apple when she visits. Please."
"I will."
Twilight walked out the door and closed it. Sam lay down so that he could get some sleep. He was surprised that he could be so tired after only being awake for five hours. 'Well to be fair it has been a full five hours. And being full of pain killers doesn't help.' Sam closed his eyes and found himself losing consciousness rather quickly. Then the bliss of sleep took him.
*****************************
Sam opened his eyes to a great expanse of white. The first thing he felt was nothing. No throbbing ribs no aching shoulder, just nothing except the floor he was laying on. He stood up to look around seeing nothing in every direction. 'Where am I?' He looked around trying to spot anything that might be a landmark. 'There!' He spotted what looked like a mannequin and started off in that direction. As he approached the Mannequin appeared to be changing. As he got closer he started to recognize details. Whatever it was it was in a suit of some kind, black pants, navy blue coat, and the shoes were red on its left foot and green on its right. He was ten feet away when it turned around to face him. It had snow white skin that blended in with the whiteness around them, its hair was jet black on one side and grey on the other. The black side was slicked back and was neat. The grey side looked like something from a mad scientist cartoon. its eyes yellow, the irises a glowing red. And on its mouth a large smile.
"Why hello there my little play thing. How did you enjoy you first taste of Ponyville? I'm certain you loved it just as much as I have."
Sam could only stare. Whatever this thing was it really like to move while it talked. He had to keep turning himself to keep it in view. 'What the hell is it, and what-'
"-Do I mean by first taste? Why my dear human child, where are my manners, I am Mister. At least that's what you'll have to call me for now. I really don't think that giving you my name will help this little game along. I'm the one that brought you here. All for good fun of course."
"So you can read my mind? Great. Okay so what are you then? And where am I?"
Mister moved within a foot of Sam to make his answer. He whispered it into his ear.
"I am a very bored me, and you are in the space between space, if you will. And because of my boredom I decided to play a game with you humans again. Last time I played with humans they started those Crusade-thingy’s. No fun that lot was. But then a wonderful idea popped into my brain. What if I brought one of you silly humans to a world full of these ponies? OH and you haven't disappointed me yet."
Sam recoiled from Mister. He was starting to get creeped out by the fact that this thing had no sense of personal space. It did however make him wonder though...
"So what happens now? You send me back and watch me in amusement?"
The Mister floated four feet away from him. "No! I'm sending you back to your world. But that's the point little man. This whole game comes down to one simple choice for you." A wicked grin took over the mouth of this wicked creature, a smile that just screamed evil.
"What choice? What was the point of sending me there if you were just going to put me back?"
The grin Mister put on only grew wider at his confusion. "Why my dear lad, you must choose which world you want to stay in of course! And I thought you humans had gotten smarter. Oh well."
"And if I made my choice now?"
"Not allowed: All contestants must spend a week in both worlds after the game has begun before a choice can be made. You have six and a half days to go in Equestria before you can choose. Now you need to return to that party you had passed out in. WAIT! What am I doing you need to know the rules first. Rule one: You cannot tell any other humans about this game. Rule two: You cannot wear plaid. EVER. Rule three: Keep your shirt on. I don't want to watch a human prancing about shirtless. If I wanted that I would watch your crappy human vampire movies for that. Rule four: Feel free to share this with the ponies. Only they can know."
Sam stood there unable to process rules two and three as being real but the other two he could. The Mister quickly crossed the small gap between them and put his fingers onto his forehead.
"What are you..."
Sam collapsed once more into the darkness of unconsciousness for the third time that day. And as he fell Mister merely laughed. The Game was indeed going to get good really soon.