Chapter 3
“We’re here!” Twilight called out, looking behind her. For a moment, there was no sign of movement from the forest. Finally, the brush rustled and Rainbow Dash emerged, followed a second later by Spike and an exhausted-looking Kyle. The walk had taken longer than anticipated, and the effects of Kyle’s Energizing Brew were quickly fading. He was leaning on the branch he had elected to bring along with him, using it as a walking stick as he spoke to Spike. A red lump had formed where his head had slammed into the tree.
“So… you’re a… a dragon?” Kyle stammered as he stumbled over a tree root. Spike nodded in confirmation. “Where I come from, Dragons look a bit… different.” Kyle continued as he walked towards Twilight. “Even the whelplings have wings, and can at least hover at birth.”
“Alright, that’s enough. Save your energy.” Twilight silenced him. She flicked her tail towards a nearby cottage. It looked almost as if someone had picked up a small hill and deposited it on top of another small hill before hollowing it out and building a house inside of it. As Kyle looked, an owl flew out of a window, giving a loud ‘hoo’ before flying out towards the small town Kyle could see not far away.
“Nice place you got here.” Kyle said tiredly. Not that he cared much what the house looked like on the outside. At the moment, all that mattered was whether it had a spot for him to lay down and sleep.
Twilight chuckled lightly. “It’s not my house.” She replied. “This is where my friend, Fluttershy, lives. She’s kind of a caretaker and doctor for non-pony creatures. And don’t even try to tell me you’re fine.” she added as Kyle opened his mouth. “You could barely stand when we first met you, and you’re barely standing now.”
Not feeling like wasting his energy arguing, Kyle merely nodded and slowly followed Twilight up the path leading to the front door. He leaned against the wall of the structure as Twilight raised a hoof and knocked on the door. From inside, Kyle could hear the sound of hooves against a wooden floor, and a moment later the door opened, flooding the front walk in light.
“Oh, hello Twilight, Spike, Rainbow Dash.” a timid voice came from the doorway, only slightly louder than a whisper. “What are you doing here?”
“Hello Fluttershy.” Twilight said with a smile. “We were hoping you could help us out with something. We found an unusual creature called a human, and we were hoping you could take a look at him. He’s hit his head pretty hard.”
“Oh my, of course I’ll help the poor thing.” The voice said. From the doorway emerged another pony. This one had wings as well, with a butter-yellow coat and pink mane and tail. She looked between Rainbow and Twilight. “Where is he?”
Rainbow Dash nodded towards Kyle, and Fluttershy turned, seeing him for the first time. “Eeep!” she squeaked, taking several steps backward. Kyle tried to give a reassuring smile, feeling guilty that he had somehow startled her. Instead, It came out as a pained grimace. His hand slipped off of the wall and he tried to stand on his own. However, his Energizing Brew had worn off, and he lost his balance and fell to one knee.
Kyle began to fumble with the pouch around his belt, but a hoof stopped him. He looked up to see Rainbow. “I know that… stuff… seems to help you.” She said, shuddering as she remembered the foul stench. “But it doesn’t seem to last very long. Hiding your problem behind that stuff is just gonna make it that much harder to deal with it later.” Kyle merely sighed and grasped the branch with both hands, pushing himself to his feet again. He took a step forward, relying heavily on the branch to help him keep his balance.
CRACK! With a jolt, Kyle found himself sprawled in front of the doorway. The branch had finally given out under his weight. Within seconds, Fluttershy was next to him, nosing at him. “Oh my goodness, what happened to you?” she asked, concern flooding her voice. Kyle merely pointed at his head, the red welt showing up clearly.
Twilight walked over to Kyle, who was pushing himself to his knees again. He wobbled slightly as he looked at her. “I could pick you up and put you on the couch.” she offered, her horn glowing with that same purple aura. Kyle hesitated for a moment, uncertain whether or not to take her up on the offer.
“Alright.” he finally said, his fatigue winning over his caution. With a nod, Kyle was encircled by the same purple aura. A feeling of weightlessness washed over him as he floated in the air and into the cottage.
The first thing Kyle noticed as he floated into the room was the number of animals, most of whom were asleep or preparing for sleep. There were numerous birds in bird houses, rabbits, squirrels, a couple of deer and… no. No way. That could not have been a bear walking up the stairs.
Twilight carefully lowered Kyle onto the couch. As his head touched the soft material, Kyle felt waves of sleepiness washing over him. However, he was to be denied for a while longer. Fluttershy walked into the cottage behind Twilight, followed by Spike. Rainbow Dash, however, remained outside. “Sorry guys, but I gotta split.” she announced. “Tomorrow’s rain shower isn’t gonna start itself.” With a flap of her wings, she took off, flying towards the town.
Kyle raised an eyebrow, raising his head to look at the two remaining ponies. “What did she mean… start itself?” He asked.
Fluttershy and Twilight exchanged looks. “Well, somepony has to move the clouds into position and start the rain.” Twilight said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“So you mean to tell me…” Kyle began, but was forced to stop to stifle a yawn. “... You mean to tell me that you ponies… control the weather?”
Twilight gave Kyle an odd look. “...Yeah. Don’t they do that where you come from?”
Kyle shook his head. “No. Some of our more talented mages can cause a localized Blizzard, and Shaman can call down some Healing Rain, but those are over small areas… probably 5 yards in diameter at most. Even that requires extensive practice and a lot of natural magical ability. We could never control weather on a large scale. It just… works on its own.”
Twilight paused for a moment, looking down. Fluttershy took the opportunity to move towards Kyle. He glanced over at her and she stopped, uncertainty in her eyes. He gave a weak smile and nodded, and Fluttershy walked over to him, examining his arms for injuries. Kyle’s eyes began to close, hoping that he would finally be allowed to drift off.
Twilight began to speak again, crushing that hope. “So where you come from, the weather acts like it does in the Everfree…” she murmured, more to herself than to Kyle. She then looked back up. “Well here in Equestria, every town and city has its own dedicated team that controls the local weather. Rainbow Dash is one of the managers for the Ponyville weather team.”
Kyle nodded sleepily. “So… this place is called ‘Equestria’?” he asked. Twilight nodded in reply. “Alright... can all ponies fly?”
Twilight looked confused for a second, but soon realized what Kyle meant. Since he had arrived, Kyle had only seen three ponies, and all of them had wings. “No.” she explained. “There are three types of ponies. Pegasi have wings and can fly, Unicorns have horns on their heads and can use magic, and Earth ponies have neither wings nor horns, but are generally have greater physical strength and connections with the earth.”
“What about you? You have both wings and a horn.” Kyle asked, propping himself up on one elbow as Fluttershy began to check his legs for injuries. He was still sleepy, but curiosity drove him to figure out more about this strange new land. Clearly he was no longer on Azeroth, but some new, uncharted world.
“Oh, right.” Twilight paused for a moment before continuing. “I’m what we call an Alicorn, a pony with both wings and a horn. We can fly and use magic, and share the Earth Ponies’ connection with the earth.”
“Sounds like you get a pretty sweet deal.” Kyle responded with a chuckle.
“I guess.” Twilight replied modestly.
Before the conversation could continue, Fluttershy moved over to speak to Kyle. “Alright, mister human. You’ve got a few cuts and bruises but nothing too serious. Now let’s check out that head of yours.” She motioned for Twilight to come over, and whispered something in her ear. Twilight nodded, and her horn glowed. “We’re going to check your eyes and make sure they’re responding normally.” Fluttershy explained. “If… if that’s okay with you.”
“Go ahead.” Kyle responded. Twilight stood off to the side, and a thin beam of light shot from her horn, similar to the way sunlight would break through openings in clouds. She directed the beam into Kyle’s right eye and held it there for a moment before moving to his left eye. Kyle tensed up against the pain as the light aggravated his headache once more.
“Well, your eyes seem to be responding normally.” Fluttershy said with a soft smile. She noticed Kyle’s grimace, and her smile vanished into a look of concern. “Oh no, did I hurt you?” she asked
“Just a headache.” Kyle explained. “It came back when the light hit my eyes.”
Fluttershy looked back at Twilight, who nodded. “Well, you have a concussion.” She began slowly. Kyle nodded slightly - that much he had already worked out on his own. “Your eyes are working fine and you don’t seem to have any cognitive difficulty, so it’s probably not too severe. Still, you should rest for at least a couple of days, and see how you feel then.” Before Kyle could reply, a knock from the door resonated through the room. Twilight walked over to the door and opened it.
On the other side stood a massive pony, easily a head and a half taller than Twilight, and about the same size as one of the horses back on Azeroth. Her horn and wings identified her as another Alicorn. Her coat was as white as pure snow, and her mane and tail shone with multiple shades of blue and purple, flowing in a non-existent breeze.
Fluttershy and Twilight quickly dropped onto their front knees. “Princess Celestia!” Twilight exclaimed.
Princess Celestia smiled warmly. “How many times must I say that you need not address me so formally now?” she said softly, her voice expressing kindness and wisdom. Just the sound of it made Kyle feel more at ease. “We are equals now.”
Twilight quickly rose from the ground, looking embarrassed. Fluttershy rose as well, staring at Celestia with wide eyes. “Uh… He-hello Princess Ce-celestia.” She stammered. “Wh-what brings you h-here?”
“Twilight here sent me a letter not long ago.” Celestia explained. “She told me about a very unusual discovery that she had made. A strange creature, never seen before. She told me that she would be bringing this ‘human’ to you so that you could tend to its injuries.”
“I’m over here.” Kyle said, raising his right hand and waving. With his other hand he pushed himself upright into a sitting position. Celestia turned her head to look directly at him. Kyle suddenly felt incredibly vulnerable. It was as though Celestia was staring beyond his mortal body, staring directly into his soul.
Celestia walked over to Kyle. “Greetings, Kyle Slater.” She began, speaking very formally. “I am Celestia, Princess of Equestria. I hope you are finding this land to your liking.”
“I… uh… I haven’t had much of a chance to look around.” Kyle replied awkwardly. He had never been one for speaking to royalty, preferring to leave it to those who knew how not to embarrass themselves. “But what I’ve seen so far has been… nice.”
Celestia looked Kyle over for a moment, and Kyle felt a trickle of sweat run down the back of his neck. What if she said he couldn’t stay? He was in no condition to be wandering around in the wilderness; he couldn’t even stand on his own without falling on his face.
Finally, Celestia looked back into Kyle’s eyes. “May I see your teeth?” she asked suddenly. Kyle was confused, but nodded and displayed his teeth for the Princess.
Celestia took a sharp breath and stepped backwards. “Carnivore.” she stated, her wings flaring out defensively. Twilight and Fluttershy both gasped and backed away, fear clear in their eyes.
Kyle began to panic, realizing what had happened. She had seen his incisors, which were present only in creatures that consumed meat. Ponies were obviously herbivores. Celestia was afraid that Kyle would see her citizens as food!
“Woah woah!” He exclaimed, holding up his hands in the air. “Calm down, I’m not going to hurt you! Let me explain.” Celestia looked at him warily, but folded her wings up once more.
“Very well, Kyle Slater. You may explain yourself.”
Kyle sighed in relief. “First of all, I’m not a carnivore.” he explained. “I’m an omnivore. True, we humans can eat meat, but we also eat plants.” To prove his point, he opened his mouth and used a finger to expose the molars in the back of his mouth. “Secondly, I’m not going to eat you. We have horses and ponies back in Azeroth, but they are not food. We humans have developed a symbiotic relationship with them - We protect them from other predators, and they help us transport ourselves and our goods.”
“So ponies are beasts of burden to you?” Celestia demanded.
“No! Well, yes… but… again, let me explain.” Kyle stammered, cursing himself. “Ponies in Azeroth are not intelligent like we are. You and I have the capacity for higher thought - language, architecture, and so on. Ponies on Azeroth do not. Which brings me to my next point.” Kyle took a breath before continuing. “We Humans are not the only intelligent life on Azeroth. There are others… Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes… Many more. We live alongside many of them as allies As such, eating any other intelligent creature is highly taboo. I couldn’t do it. I promise you, you ponies are not the type of creatures we eat.”
Celestia glared at Kyle, and he notice that her horn was glowing with a golden aura. He closed his eyes and braced himself for the end.
It never came.
Kyle dared to open one eye and saw that Celestia had closed hers. After a few long moments, Celestia’s horn stopped glowing and she opened her eyes once more, her expression much softer than before. “Very well, Kyle Slater.” she stated, the harshness gone from her voice. “I can sense no dishonesty in your words. I will hold you to your word that you do not intend to harm my ponies.” Kyle nodded vigorously, wincing again as the movement reminded him of his headache.
“However,” Celestia continued, “I am afraid that meat is very difficult to come by in Equestria. You may have already guessed, but we ponies do not consume meat. To obtain it, one would have to travel across the seas to the Griffonian Empire. Would a lack of meat be a problem for a Human?”
Kyle closed his eyes. Loath though he was to part with eating meat, he realize that he had narrowly dodged a bullet on the whole carnivore situation. Pressing his luck would not be wise. “Humans can survive without meat.” he explained. “The lost nutrients can be replaced by eating beans, nuts, and… do you ponies eat eggs?” he asked. Celestia nodded. “And eggs as well.” he finished.
“And are there any foods that we may eat that Humans cannot?”
Again, Kyle closed his eyes, trying to recall anything a horse might eat that could harm him. “Well… the only thing I can think of is hay and other grasses.” he finally replied. “We can technically consume them, but we can’t digest them properly. No nutritional value.”
Celestia nodded turned to Twilight and Fluttershy, who were looking relieved now that Celestia had declared Kyle not a threat. “Twilight Sparkle, I would like a report within the next two days about anything you can learn about Kyle Slater, these humans, and this… Azeroth.” she said, to which Twilight bowed. “Miss Fluttershy, I would like you to continue to care for him until he has made a full recovery, at which point we will decide what to do.” Fluttershy nodded, looking very nervous. “I would like to keep this incident a secret until then. The other element-bearers may know of this, but nopony else.”
Celestia then turned back to Kyle. “As for you, Kyle Slater…” she began. Kyle instinctively flinched back. This pony had an indomitable presence; he doubted even Garrosh could stand strong against her.
“Welcome to Equestria.”
With that, the Princess walked over to the door and stepped outside, closing the door behind her. The soft rustling of wings could be heard as the Princess took off, flying away into the night.
Kyle let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Twilight, meanwhile, approached him once more, more cautious than before. “So… do you really… eat meat?” she asked apprehensively.
Kyle nodded. “Normally yes, though I suppose I’ll be living without for now.” he replied. There was a long, somewhat awkward silence. “Say… where did Spike go?” he asked, looking around. He hadn’t seen the dragon since he had entered the house.
Twilight looked around a bit, concern covering her face for a moment. However, it was quickly replaced with a warm smile. Spike had curled up on a pile of towels in the corner of the room and fallen asleep, presumably before Princess Celestia arrived. “We’d better get home.” Twilight said, levitating the sleeping dragon softly onto her back. “He’s had a big day, and he’s still just a baby dragon after all.”
As she walked over to the door, Twilight turned around again. “I’m going to bring a couple of my closest friends over tomorrow and introduce you to them.” She said to Kyle. “You’d probably better get some rest. Good night.” She stepped out into the cool evening and closed the door behind her.
As soon as Twilight left, Fluttershy got to work. Within a minute, Kyle had a pillow behind his head, a warm blanket draped over him, and a glass of water on the table. “If you need anything, you just call for me and I’ll get it.” she said, smiling. A tinge of nervousness was still there, but not nearly as bad as before. Apparently, Celestia’s trust (wary though it was) was enough to calm her down.
“Thanks, Fluttershy.” Kyle said sleepily, taking a sip from the water before laying his head down. Seconds later, he was out cold, lost to the sweet bliss of sleep.
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Eh, bit iffy on them reacting so afraid about carnivores. Fluttershy's been seen carrying fish for her animals, and Celestia is thousands of years old so I have a hard time picturing her freaking out about that, or not being able to notice a human's molars; face it, our canines are puny and likely to be overlooked. Only one that reaction would really make sense for is Twilight.
But that's just a small thing. Still great.
4953405 the afraid of omnivore/carnivore trope has been used a bit too much....
Celestia and Luna has lived in less than pleasant days, rainbow is or was friend with griffon, fluttershy taking care of a bucking bear and friend to a manticore...
Why are they always such brainless idiots?
Horned Horses
Swift Zhevra, Quel'dorei Steed, Zhevra
Winged Horses
Celestial Steed, Hearthsteed
Horns and Wings
Invincible
He has seen them before. Many times. These are not rare.
5252102 I'd have to call the Lich King's horse pretty rare, at least these days. The winged ones were more spectral wings; they weren't actual flying horses. Yeah, though, i'll concede the zhevras and such.
I'm apparently just echoing the sentiments of others here, but the carnivore thing wasn't well done. Ponies are herbivores, not idiots. Princess Celestia especially is a diplomat with 1000+ years of experience dealing with other races, including the clearly carnivorous Griffins. Fluttershy treats all manner of animals, including carnivores. Applejack owns a dog, Rarity owns a cat, Twilight owns an Owl, Dash was formerly friends with a Griffin. We know from The Equestria Games that some Griffons live in Equestria, apparently as full citizens. The mere fact that he's an omnivore should neither be a shock nor much of a cause for concern, at most there should be a discussion of diet that covers the fact that meat isn't easy to find and eating it in front of ponies could make them uncomfortable.
5349749 Yeah, I've gone back and looked at that several times and I agree that I could have handled that better, but I was pretty inexperienced with writing at the time. I might go back at some point and fix it to make it more... realistic? Less forced? But for now, it's gonna stand as a testament to my early fuck-ups :P
I do not play WOW. What am I doing here.
I would really like a confrontation between Garosh (I think I wrote this right?) and Celestia. The ensuing confrontation would be so laughable, I mean Garosh would get his ass kick so much that the rest of the horde will feel his pain.
Wow, was not expecting him to be able to tell Twilight about an AoE spell!
Actually noted shamans such as Thrall have been known to effect the weather on much grander scales. And Malfurion, a Druid, battled against the elementals causing havoc in Darkshore to calm the storms. On the same note, Kyle should know about elementals and their great effect on the weather after Cataclysm.
I agree with Europa, the ponies should be more conscious of the fact other species eat meat.
I don't play WoW either but I like the stories. I even have a few of my own I'm working on.
it would be interesting to see how Twilight and Jania get on.