Welcome to Ponyville
When I say that Pinkie bounded away, I really mean ‘bounded away’. She didn’t trot or gallop, she bounced. I’m not joking; she hopped forward like a pronking deer on all four hooves, as if they were made of rubber, humming a merry tune as she did so. It was all I could do to keep up with her. In fact, I was so focused on keeping pace that I didn’t realize we had walked right into the town called Ponyville. I stopped short, unable to believe what I was seeing. I was surrounded by numerous ponies, all of them gazing at me.
They were all a very colorful variety, every color imaginable in their coats and manes, which would have been impossible for normal equines. All had different mane styles, ranging from curly, coiffed, and well-combed to messy, unruly, and unkempt. They were all various sizes as well, from tiny foals to large stallions, but most were about Pinkie’s height and size. I could just see the slight differences between the colts and mares; the females had large eyelashes, curvier figures, and rounded snouts, while the males were more straight-bodied, had no visible eyelashes, and had blunter snouts. Just as Pinkie had said, too, much to my utter amazement, I picked out several unicorns and pegasus ponies among them. They looked just like the other ponies, except the unicorns had pointed horns on their foreheads, and the pegasus ponies had wings on their backs. Creatures thought to have been the product of mythology and little girls' fantasies, and they were in abundance in this land! No one would ever believe it! Even I couldn't believe it!
Lastly, all of them, with the exception of the youngest among them, had those weird marks on their flanks. They all looked like the preview images you’d see at a tattoo parlor, and I wondered just what the heck those images meant. Were they a fashion trend?
The diversity aside, I became once more aware that they were all looking right at me, some out of curiosity, others out of apprehension. A little foal tried to approach me, but a mare, probably its mother, pulled it back. They seemed to be waiting for me to say something, to do something. It was clear that they were on the same level of intelligence as humans, like Pinkie, otherwise they wouldn’t have their own town or country. Still, why couldn’t someone else break the ice? Anything to get rid of the silence.
A brief diversion came in an unexpected form. Over on a park bench, a cream-colored Earth pony with a fluffy blue and pink mane was sitting with a pale-green unicorn with a messy green and white mane. The Earth pony had an image of three wrapped candies on her flank, while the unicorn had one of a harp. Or was that a lyre? The unicorn had been gazing at me intently for a while, and now she let out the most excited gasp I think I’d ever heard before. She grabbed her companion around the neck and was hugging her close to herself, almost crying with joy. I could barely make out that she was shrieking,
“I knew it! I just KNEW it!!”
No other pony seemed to pay her any mind, and all were still gazing at me silently. I felt like I was an animal in a zoo, being gawked at by visitors, come to gaze at some oddity of nature. It was funny how that seemed to be the case when they were the ones I would have found odd. At that moment, Pinkie returned.
“There you are!” she said. “What’s keeping you?”
“Well, it’s kind of hard to keep up with someone who bounces like you do," I said. "Besides, I feel like I just spooked your fellow townsfolk.”
Pinkie glanced about at the other ponies.
“Ooh! This is perfect! I can introduce you to everypony! Everypony, this is Dave, my new friend! He fell from the sky!”
Well, what a way to introduce somebody…
“Hello...everyone,” I said, meekly.
Pinkie had said ‘everypony’. Was I supposed to have said that, too? This was just too weird: I was talking to a bunch of ponies, ponies that could talk back!
The staring didn’t cease, but some looked relieved, others wary. No one made a single movement, either towards or away from me. All we were waiting on baited breath.
“I’m not here to cause any harm,” I said, hoping this would be encouraging. “I come in peace.”
The ponies began muttering excitedly to each other, and while I didn’t catch everything, what I did catch didn't sound unpleasant.
“He’s very polite,” one mare said.
“He doesn’t seem dangerous,” added a stallion.
“It’s a human! An honest-to-goodness human!”
"I thought they were just a myth..."
“I wonder if Princess Celestia knows…”
Suddenly, I felt a tug at the leg of my jeans. Pinkie had attracted my attention to point at a pony approaching. She seemed a middle-aged mare, tan with a gray mane and half-moon spectacles. The image of a sealed scroll decorated her flank. She stopped in front of me and gazed up at me in a scrutinizing manner.
“You’re a human, are you not?” she asked, crisply.
“Yes.”
“What do you call yourself?”
“Dave, ma’am.”
“Well, Dave, as mayor of Ponyville-”
At this, I stiffened. I was addressing the mayor? Things just got serious.
“-I can say with certainty that, if the stories hold true, you are the first human in Equestria in many, many years, and certainly the first ever in Ponyville.”
So they did know about humans, to an extent. Did that mean I was still on Earth, and just on some long-forgotten continent no one bothered to map, or was I in another world entirely, flung from the comfort of home into an alternate universe? Both sounded extremely far-fetched, but then again, I was talking to pastel-colored equines with pictures on their rears.
“Then, I’m not the first ever?" I asked.
"Not to my knowledge," said the mayor. "Understand that we ponies know very little about your kind, even in past times. If you do come in peace, then perhaps you can give a proper account of yourself. Where do you come from, and why are you here?"
I looked from her to the ponies gathered around. All were looking straight at me again. What was I supposed to say? What could I say? I’d already tried to remember what had happened and why I was here, and had come up blank.
"Well?" asked the mayor.
"Well, see, that's the thing. I'm from Earth-"
"Are you saying you don't think this is Earth?" asked the mayor, shrewdly.
"No, no! I never said that! I mean, I don't quite know how this happened, either. I don't even remember what I was doing before I got here. It’s all one big blur."
The mayor raised an eyebrow. This was clearly not a satisfactory answer.
"I know, I know it sounds bad," I said, "but I swear, I don't remember. All I know is I woke up outside of town, and Pinkie Pie here found me."
I gestured to the pink pony, who smiled.
"She says I fell out of the sky, which even I have a hard time believing, but I can't see any other way I could have ended up here."
The mayor continued to look at me long and hard. Some ponies began talking among themselves, some even laughing.
"I see," said the mayor. "Well, if that's all you have to go on, there is not much else we can do about it. If Pinkie Pie here agrees to claim responsibility for your well-being, then that will have to suffice."
Then, inexplicably, a small smile appeared on her face.
"You don't seem like a bad sort, so I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. After all, you're the first human we have had the honor of having in our little town. Welcome to Ponyville, Mr. Dave."
As if urged on by her words, many ponies in the crowd burst into sundry exclamations of “Welcome!” and “Hello!”, their faces lighting up with bright, cheery smiles.
It was such a warm welcome, and by such good-natured creatures, that I hardly knew what to say. Even after the mayor's suspicions, she was still allowing me to stay, at least until I got some answers, and had even encouraged such behavior in her townsfolk. It seemed too good to be true.
I looked down at Pinkie, who was beaming up at me. I returned the smile, the first genuine one I really had since this whole mess started. The ponies dispersed back to their doings, though they occasionally glanced back at me and Pinkie, talking excitedly.
“They like you already!” said Pinkie.
“Wow. I must admit, that went pretty well. I was afraid they’d think I was dangerous. But there really have been humans in Equestria before?”
“I guess so. Twilight’s usually the one to turn to for that smarty-brainy stuff.”
“Twilight?”
“She’s the friend who might be able to answer your big ‘what-happened’ question! She’s one of my bestest best pals! And I’ve got 6 of them!”
“Wow. That’s quite a lot.”
“I know, right? I’m gonna introduce you to all of them!”
“Well, now, wait a minute," I said. "I just want to know how I got here and how to get back. I don’t want to cause a huge hassle here.”
“Aw, please?” asked Pinkie, pouting sadly.
Now that face was too cute to just say no to. Besides, she seemed very earnest about it, and seemed to trust me enough to introduce me, so what else could I do but humor her? I sighed.
“It would be an honor to meet your ‘bestest-best’ friends,” I said, with a gracious bow.
“YAY!” she squealed. “First stop, Twilight’s house: the Golden Oak Library! Come on, Davie, time’s a-wasting!”
With that, and again, without waiting for me, she bolted off. Sighing wearily, both from this, and from having somehow earned the nickname ‘Davie’, I hurried after her.
***
At the mention of a library, I was actually quite interested. I was an avid reader, especially of the classics, and if this ‘Twilight’ had something to do with the library, she might be a pony I wouldn’t be sorry to meet, if not just for the possibility of answers.
As we went, Pinkie pointed out various landmarks, like the mayor's office, or the sweet shop. She must have been trying to give me a tour along the way. However, she was so far ahead of me that I could barely make out which building she was talking about at what time.
In due course, we arrived at what looked like a large tree, but it was outfitted with a door, balcony, and several windows. There was even a sizable beehive hanging from one of its branches. Pinkie bounced right up to the door and knocked. No one answered. Undeterred, she knocked again.
“Twilight? Spike?” she called. “Anypony home?”
“Spike? Who’s Spike?” I asked. “Her pet dog?”
“Don’t be silly, silly! Spike’s Twilight’s dragon friend!”
She said this completely matter-of-factly, but that didn’t stop me staggering back in shock.
“D-Dragon?? There’s dragons in this country??”
“Yepperoony!”
She turned to look at me, and saw how pensive I was.
“Oh. Sorry, I should have said before. He’s only a baby dragon.”
“Er…how much consolation is that, exactly?”
Pinkie giggled.
“Relax, silly! If he were dangerous, would he be one of my friends?”
This dragon was one of her friends? Looking at how nutty this pony seemed to be, I shouldn’t have been surprised.
“I suppose not,” I said.
“He’s just the sweetest, cutest little guy you’ll ever meet! But it doesn’t look like they’re home.”
She peered through one of the windows.
“They usually never leave the library at this time of day, and even then, Spike’s usually here to watch it. Ohh, I really hope nothing bad happened. Twilight hasn’t been hitting the books, has she? I told her she should just read them instead of hitting them…”
I cast Pinkie a quizzical glance at this statement, but decided to drop it. It figured that the one pony who could possibly answer my question was not answering her door. Did this mean I wasn’t going to be going home anytime soon? What was I supposed to do?
“Are you ok, Davie?” Pinkie asked. “You look worried.”
“Huh? Oh, sorry, Pinkie. I was just thinking. What if this Twilight doesn’t have the answers I’m looking for? What if we’re back to square one about my situation? I could be stranded in an unknown land, all alone for who knows how long…”
“But you’re not all alone!” said Pinkie, coming to my side. “You’ve got me, and I’m not going to just abandon you like that. What kind of friend would I be if I did that?”
I looked down at her in some surprise.
“You actually want to be my friend?” I asked. “I know you said so earlier, but I didn’t think you were serious.”
“What do you mean?” asked Pinkie. “I always mean what I say.”
“But why? I’m nothing like what you ponies are used to. I don’t have hooves or a coat of fur or one of those butt symbols or anything!”
“Butt symbols?” Pinkie asked, puzzled, before exclaiming, in realization, “Ohh, you mean our cutie marks!”
Cutie marks? Oh, good grief...
“Yeah, those. Point is, what makes me stand out to you as a friend, when you don’t know anything about me, and all I’ve done is freak out and scream?”
Pinkie stepped away from my side and sat in front of me, on her haunches, looking me straight in the eye with a sober expression that belied her silly appearance.
“Because I feel like I can trust you. I can see something in your eyes, in your face. You’ve got a ‘nice guy’ face to you, one that wouldn’t belong to a meany-pants.”
Curious, I felt my face, along my chin and cheeks. It was true, I had been told I looked ‘harmless’, but I hardly knew what that was supposed to entail: kind of pouchy cheeks, soft brown eyes behind a pair of glasses, heavy brows, thin beard. I figured mine was a typical “nerd” face, belonging to a quiet, sort of geeky type of person.
Pinkie, still with that oddly serious expression on her face, reared up, and put her forelegs around me.
“I’ll be here for you,” she said, softly, “and look after you until we find the answers you need. That’s what friends do, and I want to be your friend.”
I stared down at her, surprised. She was dedicating herself to the well-being of someone she barely knew, someone who literally dropped out of the sky before her, someone who could have been potentially dangerous, not even asking for anything in return.
“You really want to be my friend?” I asked again. “You want to look after me?”
“I do,” said Pinkie. “Will you be my friend too?”
She looked up at me with with those big, baby-blue eyes and that smile. Now I knew what she meant when she spoke about faces one could trust. I could really see someone I could rely on in this pony: a companion, a protector...a friend.
“...Yes,” I said, finally. “However long I may be here, I would be honored to call you my friend.”
Pinkie’s face lit up like a lighthouse beacon, and she tightened her embrace, while I in turn put my arms around her. Her tail wagged happily.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
I don’t know how long we stood that way, but eventually we released each other, and I was feeling a little better.
“Well, if Twilight’s not home,” I said, “what do we do now?”
“I know exactly what we can do!” said Pinkie. “I can introduce you to the rest of my friends! They shouldn’t be too hard to find.”
Well, there was nothing else to do for now, so it was the only option we had.
“Lead on, then, Pinkie,” I said.
“Yes, sir, Davie, sir!” said Pinkie, saluting.
With a bound, she began bouncing away again, and all I could do was rush after her, trying to keep up.
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That line "This has 'Twilight Sparkle' written all over it" is genius. I can't stop laughing even after reading the rest of the chapter. Also, it's a nice take on Equestria where they've already seen humans. Don't think I've ever seen that before.
-SoI
Are you my....twin?
1142934 Let's be honest, it's usually a true comment also.
Lyra being obsessed with humans? He's not in canon Equestria
“Oh…Sorry, I should have said before. He’s only a baby dragon.”
“Er…how much consolation is that, exactly?…”
Pinkie giggled. “Relax, silly! If he were dangerous, would he be one of my friends?”
YES.
I'm going to laugh if Twilight and Spike accidentally got sent to Earth in place of Dave because of equal mass or something.
2734156
This is fanfiction, not alchemy :3
2820347
indeed,
altogether it would be slightly amusing if Twilight came back missing 2 legs and with spike's soul put in a suit of armor.
2927967 THIS NEEDS TO BE A THING. LIKE SERIOUSLY.
I know she said Dragon, but I'm not sure if I would even be affraid, I mean she is intelligent, talking an nice, since she knows Spike I would maybe even only be a bit nervous and actually expect a nice Dragon. (not someone that wants to kill me)
You already did one thing right, she can be more serious or heartfelt if she needs to be. It is not only the hyperactive or perverted one which were born around 2016 as far as I noticed.
Those two versions of her mostly looks as original as those mirror clones.
Nice job. I still hope you maybe do some romance later. I mean if you took so long to built up an awesome friendship between them, then maybe it looks even better if you slowly let them think of each other in that way.
I tried to figure out how to say this a few time, but with how nice this already feels and if the friendship continues for a long while this the newest chapter, than I think a romance could look even better with this long friendship as a background.
Aww, her tail wagged. SO CUTE