It is time. Or it will be shortly, at the very least.
I am currently standing in Carousel Boutique, hoping that I can drop the current pose that I am in so I can take a little lunch break before we head off to Canterlot. Currently, Rarity is adjusting my tuxedo for the Gala itself, something that she has been doing for a few hours now; frankly, I'm starting to get a little impatient about it. She's worse than my dad and a camera – seriously, that man has to take a dozen pictures before he gets one he likes – and I'm getting a little sore just standing here. "Are you almost done?" I ask.
Rarity gives a slight harrumph and maneuvers a few more pins around the jacket. "I probably would be if you weren't so oddly proportioned. Do your legs really have to be so long?"
"Yes, yes they do," I respond.
Rarity rolls her eyes at me and measures my arm for the 50th time. "I'm almost done, darling, so you'll just have to be patient for a little while longer."
"Our train leaves in five hours. You'd better be done by then."
"Oh ha ha." she mock laughs dryly.
"Seriously, though, when--"
"All finished!" she announces.
I breathe a sigh of relief and Rarity uses her magic to remove my jacket. I jump off of the stool that she's been having me stand on and go to change back to my normal work clothes before she changes her mind and says that she needs to adjust the length of my pants a few millimeters or something like that. Once I'm changed, I sling my bag over my shoulder and walk back to Rarity's workroom. She is adjusting something or other on the jacket. I fold the shirt and pants and place them back on the stool.
Frankly I'm not so sure why she's making such a big deal out of my tuxedo. I don't really care about looking nice at the Gala tomorrow. If everything goes super perfectly, I'm not coming back to Ponyville – Celestia will just send me back to Earth from there, these ponies will go back to being fictional, and I'll go back to being a normal human in a normal human world.
Of course I'm aware that nothing ever goes that perfectly. But hey, a man can dream, can't he?
I see that Rarity is in 'the zone', but I clear my throat a bit to get her attention anyway.
"What do I owe you for the tuxedo?"
"Oh, nothing at all, darling," she says with a wave of her hoof. "I made my friends their Gala dresses last year for no charge."
"Uh, wouldn't that mean you lost a decent amount of money on materials and such?"
Rarity shakes her head with a small smile. "With the fashion show I put on and the backing of Hoity Toity, I more than made up for my losses with commissions from the publicity."
"I see."
I stretch out before checking the bag to see if I put my lunch in there like I originally planned. Good, I have; No need to go back to my house to get it. I say goodbye to Rarity and walk out the door towards the Everfree Forest. Normally I wouldn't go there, what with the locals' tales of how dangerous it is and all, but I was walking by one day and I noticed a clearing that wasn't too far in; A perfect place to have a meal alone without the risk of intrusion by a nosy pony or the like. Suffice to say, I need an hour to myself every day, and these ponies don't help.
In about fifteen minutes, I reach the clearing with every intention of relaxing for an hour or so. However, when I reach the place, I find that somebody else apparently had the same idea. A pink, hyperactive somebody, as a matter of fact. It's one of the strangest sights I have seen during my time in Ponyville: Pinkie Pie reclining on a rock eating a sandwich.
Much to my surprise, it looks like it isn't loaded with sugar like everything else she eats all the time. It looks like a decently healthy sandwich, to be honest. Not only that, but I've never seen her so... calm.
She looks relaxed.
Well, Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie means I'm not observing her for more than a few seconds before she notices. When she sees me, she sits up and flashes me a smile like she always does; However, true to her current demeanor, it's more reserved than the normal smiles. "Hey, TD," she says. Gosh, even her voice is less squeaky.
"Uh, hi," I say. "What'cha doing?"
"Oh, just relaxing for a bit during my lunch break."
"Gotcha," I respond.
The clearing is dead silent until I ask the question that has been burning in my mind. "Is something wrong? You seem a bit more reserved than normal."
Pinkie Pie lets out a quiet little giggle and turns to face me. "Nothing's wrong," she reassures me. "I'm just here to recharge a bit. You see, I come here every so often to be alone for an hour or two; It helps me stay focused and energized for the day."
"Really?"
"Yep," she nods. "Don't get me wrong, I love being around other ponies making them smile is something I adore, but do you know how much energy that takes? A pony can burn out very quickly if they're not properly rested. That's why I take a few hours out of every day to be alone for a while; It helps me organize my thoughts a little and just be me, Pinkie Pie. It can get tiring to be around other ponies all the time. If I can be alone for a bit, then I can be the happy Pinkie Pie that the ponies around here know and love."
"So, is the overly hyper and random personality an act to make other ponies smile?" I ask.
Pinkie shakes her head. "No, that's still the real me. If I was being fake around other ponies, then my element wouldn't work very well, would it?” She giggles a bit at her own joke. “Besides, ponies like me for being me, and I want to give them the most genuine version of me that I can. It's just that, to support that part of me, I need some alone time every now and then."
"I get that,” I admit. “I came here for pretty much the same reason."
Pinkie's eyes widen, and she's quick to put her sandwich back down on the paper bag she brought it in. "Well I can go find somewhere else to eat if you want to--"
I cut her off with a wave of my hand and a shake of my head. "No need, I'll just go home to eat. You were here first, and even if this was my rightful spot, I wouldn't kick you out."
She smiles gently and picks her sandwich up again. "Thanks, TD."
"Don't mention it."
I notice that an uncomfortable look crosses Pinkie Pie's face. "Something wrong?" I ask.
She sighs and looks down at the ground. "I just...I dunno..."
"You can tell me if you want," I say.
Pinkie sighs again, but she makes eye contact this time. "TD, I'm just worried that you're still mad at me for when I set you on fire, like you don't really know how sorry I am for crossing that line."
Ah, this again. "Well, you did buy me a house,” I say with a snicker, “and you send me hayless 'I'm super-duper sorry' cupcakes every week, so–"
"But I'm worried that you don't see that as me saying that I'm really super-duper sorry! I'm worried that you see that as me trying to make myself feel better. You know how some ponies – humans too, I guess –, sometimes they say that they're sorry so that they feel better about themselves instead of making the other person feel better!" Her voice doesn't waver, but I feel like she's fighting back tears.
I lean back on a tree, stunned for real. "Yeah, I get that," I finally respond. "And to be honest, yeah, I was probably mad at you for longer than I should have been."
Pinkie's ears flatten and she looks dejectedly at the ground once more. "I know you were mad at me for that and I deserve it, but I didn't want you to be mad at me when I did it," she whimpers.
"Well, nobody likes it when somebody is mad at them."
"But what I did was very wrong!” She almost yells as she looks back up. “I was only thinking about how it would only hurt you physically and I forgot to think that even thinking you're on fire is a really scary thing. Besides, you didn't know what a Pinkie Promise is or how sacred they are!” Then, her eyes shoot back down to the dirt. “I guess I should have realized that you wouldn't understand that right from the start just because you'd seen a few episodes of the show before getting here..."
"You know about that?"
Pinkie manages a smile at this. "Twilight told me.”
"Ah."
"She told all five of us, actually, but she made us Pinkie Promise not to spread it around town until she talked to the Princess and figured out what to do with what you told her and the foals."
I nod. "Good."
"But that aside," she resumes. "I shouldn't have assumed that you'd understand how serious a Pinkie Promise is."
"Well, it's not like I'm completely clean on that, either," I say. "A promise is a promise, even if it isn't a Pinkie Promise. I still shouldn't have skipped it like that. So yeah, I'm sorry for that too."
Pinkie's smile returns at the apology part. "Aw, thanks TD, but I've already forgiven you for that. We all make mistakes."
"Yeah, guess we do."
As both of us mull over what to say, there's no sound to speak of. It is Pinkie that breaks it. "TD?"
"Yeah?"
"I... well, I know that the only reason you agreed to go to the Gala is because you want to see if Princess Celestia can send you home, so I just want to tell you that... Well, if she can send you home and we don't get a chance to see each other before she does, then I want you to know that it was super-duper awesome getting to know you, even if we had some rocky parts in our friendship."
I grow a smile of my own. "Thanks, Pinkie, thanks."
"I do have one question, though."
"Shoot."
"If Princess Celestia can't send you home, what would you think about that?"
I let out a sigh and begin rubbing my temples. "Pinkie, before I answer that, I want you to know that I don't hate any of you anymore. Maybe Celestia, but if she does send me home, then I'll forgive her because she did right by me in the end. But I want to make it perfectly clear that getting back to Earth is my number one priority. I'd choose Earth over even the best life I could ever have here any time.
“When it comes down to it, I don't belong here. I can't have a family, I can't relate culturally to anyone and the last thing I want is to die before going back. Whatever happens here, I know that I belong on Earth with the rest of humanity.
“Don't take that personally, but... you know," I finish awkwardly. Even with the sugarcoat, those are harsh words.
Pinkie takes a deep breath, then she nods. "I understand."
Neither of us says anything for a moment.
"Well, I guess I'll let you have your alone time, then,” I say. “I'll see you at five for the trip to Canterlot."
"See you then," she waves.
I wave back and turn around to go back to my house, but I don't make it more than a few steps before Pinkie Pie stops me once again. "I hope you don't think I mean to be rude by wanting some alone time. I don't want you to get the wrong idea about this: you're my friend and I like spending time with you."
I shake my head once more, amusedly this time. “I thought we'd cleared that out already, Pinkie: I have no problem with someone wanting their alone time." I reassure the little pony. "Like I said, I get the need to be alone for a while myself. You go ahead and hang out here, and I'll see you later."
"Thanks TD, you're a real pal," she says.
As I walk back to my house for lunch, I reflect on the rather unique experience I've just had.
* * * *
The rest of the day goes by pretty quickly. Once I finished my lunch I began packing for the few days we'll spend in Canterlot, making sure to pack everything I have from home – pretty much just the laptop and the scooter now that my cellphone is a donated asset to Twilight's research, as well as a few changes of clothes and my toothbrush. I've always packed pretty light.
It doesn't take long before I'm ready to go with the crew to set up this Gala. From what I've gleaned during my interactions with them, they've got some pretty elaborate stuff planned. Come 4:00PM, I head out for Twilight's house, where the seven of us have agreed to meet beforehand to get everything settled. We'll be talking a lot on the train about what we're going to do, but just from the preliminary stuff that I've heard, I know I'm just going to be a helping hand. I'm going to be drafted by Rarity the most for sure, but Pinkie Pie might get me to help too.
At any rate, I arrive at Twilight's tree house about five minutes later. I knock on the door, greeted after a few seconds by the unicorn herself, and let in. The other five are already there as well, chatting away excitedly about this and that. I walk over to them and sit down on the floor.
"Okay, now that we're all here, let's go over everything," Twilight commands. "The train leaves in forty-five minutes, so let's make sure that everyone is all packed and ready to go."
"I'm ready," I say, pointing to the satchel currently slung over my shoulder. The other five give their confirmations as well.
"Good," Twilight says as she jots something down on a piece of parchment. "I still have a few things left to pack before I'm ready, but it shouldn't take me more than ten minutes. Once I'm ready, we'll be off to the train station!"
"Sounds good to me," Applejack nods. I copy the gesture, while the other five start up their excited chatter once again, I lean back a bit on the floor.
As I look around Twilight's library, I see a trash can nearby with what looks like several dozen letters overflowing out of it. Normally I don't snoop around, but knowing Twilight, it might be something mildly amusing. Besides, I have nothing else to do right now; I don't really have the knowledge to contribute to the conversations the others are having.
The first letter is, to say the least, interesting.
Dear Princess Celestia,
Today I shadowed Cheerilee's class where TD was lecturing and, long story short, I found out that we are an entertainment show in his world. I don't know how that's possible, but I kind of want to question him a little more about it.
The letter ends here. I imagine Twilight didn't like what she had written thus far.
I sigh and put the letter back in the trash can. Apparently she didn't take the news as well as it seemed; Maybe I should question her on it later. Right now, I'm going to let her focus on organizing the Gala. No need to exacerbate an existential crisis right in the middle of one of the biggest events of the year.
At any rate, Twilight takes another five minutes, then the seven of us, plus Spike, are off to the train station.
As the six of us are walking, I turn to Pinkie Pie. "Hey, Pinkie, how long is the train ride to Canterlot anyway?"
"As long or short as it needs to be," she replies simply.
Wait... What?
She giggles a bit, noting my confusion. "I think it'll be about four or five hours on this line."
"Gotcha."
Shortly after I receive that bit of bizarre information, we arrive at the station. The place is so packed with ponies of all colors and sizes, I have difficulty in keeping track of where we're going. Thankfully, Twilight leads us towards the proper line. Somehow I've been drafted as Rarity's official luggage carrier: I'm carrying so many bags and suitcases, I swear a Navy SEAL would flinch in sympathy. They're all pretty light, which makes me wonder what the heck she has in them anyway.
It takes about a half hour before we actually get everything loaded onto the train, thanks to Rarity feeling the need to take the contents of her whole house for the trip. I silently thank the Lord that I pack light enough that the other six members of our party aren't irritated with how long it takes me to load everything. It's not like my baggage is an issue; I can just carry my pack on the train at any rate.
Our ride pulls out of the station at 5:45 PM – trust trains in Ponyville to be late like that. It's not like Earth trains don't leave late sometimes, unless they're in a society run by a fascist dictatorship... which means I'm not sure why the trains here don't run on time. Huh.
The eight of us have all settled in a private train car at this point, paid for by Celestia as far as I know, and the chat swerves back to the preparations. From what the others have been telling me so far, Applejack is in charge of the buffet, Fluttershy of bird choirs and music in general, Rarity will take care of decorations and somehow Pinkie Pie got put in charge of entertainment, games and such. Based on what they've told me about the Gala last time, I'm not entirely sure that it will go over so well, what with the main attendees being snobby, rich socialites – gee, I can't wait to interact with them –, but I keep quiet. They're having too much of a blast for me to feel good about being a party pooper.
Finally, Twilight and Spike are the managers, the people in charge of making sure everything runs smoothly. Celestia would do it herself, they say, but being the sun goddess of all of Equestria means that she's too busy for it.
That tidbit makes me doubt that I'll have too much time to talk to her beforehand, if any at all. However, this does not dissuade me from my goal. I will talk to Celestia and I will get her to tell me if she can send me home or not. I don't really care if it's dangerous at this point; I'm willing to risk whatever I have to, to get home. I just hope that she can confirm my theory about reversing my translocation, because... In truth, it's all that is keeping me going by now.
The six ponies and dragon chatter excitedly about their plans while pouring over diagrams that Twilight, in her perpetual perfectionism, has drawn out to organize everything. The conversation doesn't really interest me, so as I tune them out, I stretch out with a yawn before leaning back on my slightly too small seat on the train. I don't know why I'm tired all of a sudden, but now seems as good a time as any for a short nap.
With a few adjustments to make myself more comfortable, I lean my head against a nearby window and let the sandman take hold.
Yay! Update! (Two seconds after I checked, but hey, UPDATE!)
EDIT: Iswear, this is one of the onlyy stories that gets my memories mixed up. It seems so much like this other popular one at times (can't remember the name so I will just put details now. Nearly raped by Lyra, screws Chrysalis, and marries Applejack are some of the few qualities that I can remember is different [for sure anyways...])
I would like to apologize for how long it took to get this to you. I know that this chapter is short, but I Pinkie Promise that the next chapter will be much longer and the chapter where a lot of awesomeness that you came to this story for happens. I am better at keeping Pinkie Promises than my fictional counterpart.
I would also like to say that I added some stuff to chapter 1 which I hope you will like so you can check that out if you want.
This story now comes with its own TVTropes blurb! http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FanficRecs/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicHumans
TD is calming down and getting more comfortable...
Is that a sign that the story is winding down, or am I just being paranoid?
Tell that to Lero and he'll probably scold you for complaining.
I don't know, I can't relate to TD but I feel like we're not supposed to.
AWWWW... THIS STORY IS COMING TO A CLOSE. ALSO, I AM TALKING IN CALS CUZ I WANT TO.
1681847
You better keep that promise...*holds up flamethrower*
1681847
I wonder when it'll get it's own page.
awww its about to get real [puts on dubstp. starts bobing heads]
Love seeing this get an update and this chapter does not disappoint!
Only thing I noticed was:
I'm guessing that should be every.
T.D. trolling rich people?
A most enjoyable chapter. Thank you!
I hope things work out for TD.
1681936
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
You bet.
If TD was sent to X's bizzare socially structured horsefaec version of Equestria I think he would have had an aneurism by now.
Or worse if, god forbid, a flippin pony actually came on to him.
Thank goodness he's in a properly showlike universe.
1682246 I'd actually prefer to go to the X universe than the showlike one
but yeah, Lero is made out of pretty tough stuff compared to TD.
The GGG is next, can't wait to see how that will turn out.
i just adore your story i red all the chapters. sorry for the poor grammar .any who keep up the good work
1682276
Really? Well that's your preference I guess.
I'd prefer to be in the showlike one because, you know, the show is the whole reason I like ponies.
As much as I enjoy all the derivatives and alternates in fanfiction, if it came down to it, I'd say "F*** that noise!"
OH MY GOD SOMEONE NAMED THE SANDMAN HAS TD
MOAR. I can appreciate a bit of development here and there though. Can't wait for the hilarity to continue .
1681842 Screw Chrysalis? Where ?:D
Seems to be a random line-break here.
I suspect that there is a 60% chance of shit getting real within the next chapter.
By the way, how did Equestria Daily take your fanfic? (Rejected, most likely, because they're just hypocrites like that. )
TD: I can't have a family
Glad you see that issue was pointed out, as I just can't see a romance option for this guy at all if he's given the option to stay. That would be a big problem if I were in his place, even though I like human x pony in fics, it's not really a practical thing especially for a non-brony. If he is stuck there, maybe he could hook up with a hand lover? dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Lyra2.png
Aside from that, I'm eager to see how the Princess will react to them being a show. I knew from the start that revealing their existence in his world would be a bad idea. Let's see what happens.
1681936 Well, for starters, this isn't the Xenophilia 'verse.
Secondly, the ponies have made a much worse first impression than they did with Lero. As a result, and because of the "kid's show characters" stigma, he doesn't like ponies, let alone in a romantic sense - at best, he tolerates them and their antics. Unless you forgot the hell of a chew out he delivered to the mane six in "Show And Tell".
And thirdly, even if the former two didn't count, he hasn't spent nearly enough time in Equestria for a pony to get a crush on him. And it would have to be that way, since he doesn't admire any pony so far in the slightest romantic sense.
1682865 She knows that already. How she's dealing with it is still on the table
1682412 Sir, our opinions match.
I humbly request a brohoof.
cdn.tasteofawesome.com/2012/4/26/tasteofawesome.com_243856_1335967207.jpg
/)
1682948 How? Before or after he told them in school? I hope it will rustle her jimmies a bit considering she screwed him over, even though it was a mistake. As for the comment you made a above concerning Atlas_Nebula, I think you hit the nail on the head. Well put sir.
Sir, i dont know what you have planned for the next few chapters, but if this story is nearing the end I strongly would like to request goodbye hugs. XD
1681847
1683101 It's stated in the last chapter that Celestia's received a letter about the whole 'interdimensional fiction correspondence' thing.
And thank you very much
1683204 I know I just thought I missed something that she knew before hand. And you're welcome.
1682779 Those guys think they are Equestria. I won't even bother with those guys considering all the negative stuff I've heard from them.
1683235 True that. I hate Equestria Daily with a passion.
1682779 We haven't yet. We'll do a thorough pre-reading of the entire thing together and only then we'll even consider submitting it.
1683252 Good, and don't get your hopes up, because Equestria Daily can be real jerks/snobs/hypocrites when it comes to fanfictions.
1683286 Heh, you be preachin' to da choir, breda.
I didn't, and won't, even bother submitting either of my own two fanfics for them to take a look. And I'm pretty confident they would pass if their quality level alone was enough for that. Alas, stingy bigoted pre-readers, so no dice.
1683311 They rejected my "Jon Lajoie in Ponyville" fanfic for the sole reason that they didn't think Jon Lajoie was funny. Surely I have a right to be angry?
1683330 'course you do. Personal opinions should NOT interfere with the approval process.
If those jackasses think they are being professional, ha ha. Shame and a bucket of lard on their heads.
I only go to EqD to get the Youtube links for the new chapters, to be fairly honest. Their fanfic selection is as bland as distilled water.
1683354 I don't ever go there, period. Honestly, I don't listen to the brony music (most of it is just crappy remixes anyway), I can always find the new episodes on YouTube, I don't need hearing what happened at the newest convention (because I don't like a constant reminder that I DIDN'T GET TO ATTEND THEM), their hatred of HotDiggedyDemon just sickens me, and the fanfics they post there are only the 1% of all the brony fanfics ever submitted (and the crappy 1% with very small amount of selection too). To sum it up, those rump-holes (ha ha I just said it) can kiss my ass.
1683354 This is why I love this site so much, where everypony gets a fair chance at their work being viewed, where the readers decide if it's good or not. EqD rant's aside this story is interesting.
To BronyWriter, I look forward to the next chapter.
1682932 *scratches his head*
Um, sorry I guess?
I don't know, you're acting like I was implying something that I didn't intend to.
1683892 I'm simply pointing the differences between Lero and TD, mostly circumstance-wise. Apologies if I sounded too harsh.
1683909 I was gonna point that out but yes
they are VERY different characters
TD is more of an average joe while Lero is more of a hippie
considering that the X universe felt like a world full of hippies, Lero fit right in
TD on the other hand . . .
1682973
Alright! YEEEAH! I think I know how this works. Let me just...
BROH--
nautilus-solar.net/sellyme/Ponies/Images/Individual%20Characters/Mane%206/Fluttershy/Brohoof%20Fail.png
--OOF!
I feel like pranks are about to occur; sleeping in public spaces like a train, especially around friends, is always risky.
1681878>>1681969>>1683143 Let's just say that I have plans. I don't want to sound like I'm ripping off somepony, but when Fimfiction is in ashes and nopony cares anymore, THEN this story has my permission to die. That's not to say that I'll be dragging this thing on forever, but you'll be seeing a decent amount of TD Harrison Powell. Again, this storyline isn't going to be 100 chapters or anything...but yeah, I have plans.
If TD is stuck there he would have to take a loooong time before he is comfortable dating a pony. I don't see romance happening in this story any time soon. Just friendshipping.
1681842 the vauge description of the similar story you were talking about made me say 'wat' and now i want to read it. Whats it called?
1684315
If TD reduces the gala to ashes, do i have your permission to cry? Just kidding, I'll probably be laughing my head off. Anyway, i didnt expect it to go on forever but its one of those situations where "Hey, I just got here.." Theres still so much shinanigans to be had! please dont correct me if i misspelled shinanigans.. Havent used it in a while XD
1683949
denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw7801-mlfw3311_medium.jpg
1682672 http://www.fimfiction.net/story/57231/My-New-Life-In-Equestria. For all those wondering about the Chrysalis thing it is the chapter titled meeting the queen. All credit for the story goes to MaxBreezy.