The day was reasonably sunny outside. Birds danced about in the air, flowers in full bloom, and all the trees were proudly displaying their colors. I watched the clouds gently drift overhead as I walked down the street. Not being in any particular hurry worked well for me in this sense. I was able to keep my legs and hooves going the all the right directions and I blended in better with passing ponies. Regardless of my blending of course, I still heard hushed whispers as I passed. Usually they involved either my flank or talk of cutie marks directly. Sighing, I tried not to pay them any heed as I considered names. I had to call myself something after all.
Regardless, there were only two ponies I had yet to introduce myself to out of Twilight's five friends. Blushing, I considered Fluttershy and thought better of it. In my current state of comfort with my nakedness, there was liable to be an accident which would embarrass both of us. That left only one choice.
Finally arriving, I stood in front of a small door to the Carousel Boutique. Rarity apparently owned this establishment and from what I heard, held herself highly respectably. Less chance of accidents, I'd assume. Bracing myself, I knocked lightly on her door.
As I waited, I contemplated how to greet a pony like her. She was one of the Elements of Harmony after all, and held herself in more of a regal light. I'd have to try and remember my manners and politeness. Didn't want to screw up this first impression after all my prior mistakes!
The door opened and I bowed politely in an instant. "Good afternoon, Miss. I was told I could meet you here," I greeted as properly as I could muster. I was more than a little nervous.
There was a light giggling instead and I raised my head curiously. A light gray filly with a purple and pink mane greeted me instead. Oh! "Oh, Sweetie Belle?" I re-greeted, recalling her from before.
"You remember me! Yay! I'm Rarity's little sister. Are you looking for her?" She asked, giving me a warm smile.
I nodded and smiled back. "Yeah, I'm trying to get to know ponies so I figured I'd start with those Twilight was already friends with. It's well, easier for me?" I tried to explain. You mean safer, right? Friends of a nice pony are more likely to be nice and less likely to think I'm a nut. I chastised myself for the white lie.
Sweetie Belle nodded immediately. "It makes sense. I'm sorry for my friends chasing you the other day, by the way," she offered, turning and leading me back into the house.
"Don't worry about it. I wasn't exactly in the best mindset anyway. I wouldn't have run otherwise," I explained. I wasn't going to hold it against a few young children, regardless.
Sweetie Belle stopped suddenly and I almost smashed into her. A few seconds later she turned around, eyes getting watery. "Can you please help my friends and I find our cutie marks? If there's a chance we can simply not get them, I'd..." She started to rapidly spill out.
I put a hoof to her muzzle and nodded. "I'll help you as best I can. And don't worry. I think I'm something of an exception," I assured her.
Her expression shifted to a smile and she nodded to me before wiping her eyes with a hoof. She was worried about it, obviously. This mark must have been a really big deal! A door further down the hall cracked open, suddenly.
"My, my, good with foals and kind. Very nice indeed," a soft, lightly accented voice spoke. A pure white mare exited the room into the hallway and smiled at me. Her mane was a beautiful purple color, both long and stylized professionally.
My eyes widened and I bowed politely. Again. "Miss Rarity I presume. An honor," I spoke quickly, if a little shakily. Giggling ensued from the filly to my left now, as she pretend bowed as well.
"Oh my, and he has manners!" She exclaimed, a tone of amusement and fake shock dancing in her voice. "What brings you to my lovely Carousel Boutique?" She asked eloquently.
"I'm going to be staying at Twilight's for a while and wanted to get to know some ponies in town," I started to explain.
"So he decided to start with friends of Twilight!" Sweetie Belle added with a small bounce.
Rarity slowly circled around me a couple of times, seemingly sizing me up. I blushed and tried to remain as still as possible, regardless of feeling awkward as hell. "A good idea of course. Friendship is very important. Hmm. No Cutie Mark indeed," she muttered, mostly to herself.
Sweetie Belle nodded rapidly. "Yeah, I was telling the truth, Sis! But the Cutie Mark Crusaders are gonna help him get his," she reminded, batting her eyes up at me.
I nodded weakly. "Yeah, it's true. No cutie mark, no name, and very, very little memories of anything past three days ago," I agreed, watching her finally come to a stop in front of me again.
"That's very unfortunate. Hmm. Has Twilight any thoughts as to what happened or if you can get your memories back?" Rarity asked, not really looking at me, but looking around the hallway instead.
Curious as I was to what she was looking for, I had to prioritize lest I offend her. "Well, she wants to investigate where I woke up at and she's been using her magic to help me try to remember things, but not much luck yet," I explained, getting a bit distraught as she suddenly pranced into the room she had just exited.
"Oooh, measuring?" Sweetie Belle asked, sprinting after her sister in an instant.
Flustered, I had no idea if I should follow after her or wait in this hallway. It was awfully dark here, which I thought was weird as she should be open this time of day. Wait, did I enter through the right door? Slapping my forehead with a hoof, I suddenly realized that in all likelihood, I had entered through a side door. That would be why I had to knock rather than seeing shop windows or something.
Feeling rather stupid, I slunk towards the open door and peeked in. Sure enough, it was a large Boutique filled to the brim with beautiful looking dresses! My eyes widened as I stuck my head in and peeked around. The store largely catered to females it would seem, but that made sense. She probably wouldn't get nearly as much business keeping a half to half ratio.
"Do come in, Silly! And let me welcome you to my Carousel Boutique. Please, have a seat and some of my delicious tea," Rarity requested suddenly, in an assured voice. My eyes locked onto her in a plush looking lounge chair, relaxing pleasantly. Another similar chair was across from it with some sort of elegant coffee table between. I idly wondered if they had coffee here. The way she was sitting just oozed elegance and her triple diamond cutie mark was proudly displayed on her flank as she lounged. A clipboard drifted up in front of her by itself as she motioned with her horn.
Sweetie Belle sat at the foot of the other chair, looking towards me expectantly with a tape measure floating next to her. Wait, they were taking measurements? Why? I suddenly started to panic, worried that they thought I was going to purchase something!
"Uh wait, why are you taking measurements?" I asked, hesitantly walking towards the empty lounge chair.
Rarity gave a pleasant smile before responding with, "In case you need any orders in the future of course. Plus, stallions of your size are rare around these parts and with you as a model; I might be able to appeal to more of the city-type with my suits."
"Of my size?" I asked, breathing a slight sigh of relief now that I realized she wasn't expecting to acquire some of my non-existent currency. Future note to self, look up the name of the currency here. Pity it wasn't in any of the books Twilight had let me borrow.
Rarity gave a suddenly blank look. She recovered rapidly however and shook her hoof repeatedly. "Oh, think nothing of it at all, Silly. You just have a more slender build. Anyway, do sit down on the chair. Sweetie Belle will take your measurements while I record them. And I simply must hear your story from the beginning! Feel free to share while we work," she rapidly excused.
I raised an eyebrow and glanced down at my body as I lay down in the chair. My stomach was almost non-existent and I could count several of my ribs still. My mind wasn't adjusting to this vegetarian diet very well and I doubt I had much to eat before I came to this world. Was she referring to my gaunt, deathly appearance or something? A little irked, I looked back up at her as she was starting to look flustered.
"No, no. You have a very um, healthy looking shape. Most of the stallions around here are all big and burly so it's uh, nice to have a change of pace?" she tried explaining, giving a weak 'reassuring' smile after.
Sighing, I lay my head down on the chair cushion and just let the little filly work out measurements. "It's fine. I think I get it, anyway," I muttered, feeling a bit disheartened at my appearance now. Ug, I really needed to do something about these hormones. Why were they suddenly so much stronger than before? My old body was well past puberty after all. I think.
Rarity looked a little flustered still but I decided to change the topic by launching into the story she requested. Hopefully I could still recover her impression of me.
* * * * *
It took over an hour, much to my surprise. For the most part, that was because of the measurements distracting me and Sweetie Belle's almost insatiable curiosity about the various situations. Rarity surprised me by only commenting or asking questions when I paused, or when it truly fit. It wasn't too bad, though. Rarity's tea really was quite good, even if it took me a bit of practice to sip with the teacup. She politely showed me how best to hold it and manipulate it with my mouth to drink. Well, drink without accidentally inhaling it or spilling it all over the place. Sadly, that took me a couple of tries.
The measuring was done long before my story was concluded but both mare and filly listened intently to the very end. The attention and focus made me feel kind of awkward, but not in a bad way. Rarity must have noticed my blush towards the end and raised an eyebrow.
"My, you must have either a bit of a flush or are terribly uncomfortable about something," she concluded, still wearing her pleasant smile.
Chuckling, I shook my head. "Well, no. I'm just not used to this kind of attention. I don't remember what my life was like before but I have a feeling I was never really the focus of attention," I explained.
"Aww, but your story was interesting. I wanted to pay attention," Sweetie Belle reassured, smiling happily.
Rarity nodded, adding, "Indeed. You needn't be humble, although it is a praiseworthy attribute. You must stand out, however! Hmm. I think you'd look amazing in a lightly tapered dress coat. Something simple with a solid coloring. Maybe some gemstone buttons to offset, even!"
My eyes widened. Gemstones?! I swallowed painfully. "As much as your assurance is appreciated, I don't think I'll have enough currency anytime in the near future to purchase something as well, amazing as these clothes. The quality looks far, far out of my budget," I muttered, gesturing around myself at all of the colorful clothing and dresses adorning the stands and walls.
Rarity's eyes widened momentarily but she recovered very quickly and almost seemed to puff up. "My! You certainly know how to give a mare compliments. You almost look like you didn't realize you're doing it," she praised, looking amused.
I blinked in confusion, unsure of what she was talking about. Compliment? My empty pockets and lack of employment was depressing, not something really to be celebrated and this level of expertise was way out of budget. Rarity stared blankly at me for a few more seconds, suddenly matching my confused expression. Then a light blush drifted onto her cheeks.
"Oh, or you didn't realize that was a compliment," she corrected gently.
Uh oh. Did I screw up again? "Uh, I'm sorry, Miss Rarity. If I offended, I didn't mean to," I rapidly apologized, bowing my head gently.
"No, no! There's no reason to apologize. That just means that you were being truthful instead of striving to compliment. That's much, much better!" she reassured, smiling again then.
Sweetie Belle giggled and sat up on the floor next to my lounge chair. "Oh, and our currency is called bits," she added.
My mind momentarily lagged out until I remembered that I had said currency a little while back. "Oh, thank you Sweetie Belle," I replied, smiling as I glanced down at her.
"Oh yes, thank you, dear sister. I'd momentarily forgotten that he likely didn't know that," Rarity added, also smiling at her. She looked proud as punch and puffed up on the floor. For a moment, I noticed she looked a lot like Rarity when she did that.
I nodded weakly, wishing I could read more books on the subjects I was missing. It was weird, being a fully grown adult but having next to no information about the world around me. "I just wish I knew all of the basics. It gets frustrating not knowing what everypony else takes as general knowledge," I muttered, looking around her shop still. All of the gemstones adorning the outfits were amazing and I wondered how she could afford the overhead of all of this. She must be quite well off indeed.
Rarity nodded politely. "Well I will happily fill you in on anything you so desire. You know you can always make new memories rather than lamenting the lost ones. Besides, I'm sure Sweetie Belle will agree but your presence is very much welcome here, worry not," she spoke, causing me to shift my attention back to her and smile.
"I can see how you got the Element of Generosity, Miss Rarity. Thank you," I thanked softly, feeling less awkward. She certainly had a way of defusing uncomfortable thoughts.
"Just Rarity, please. You're a friend now so formalities aren't needed. You mentioned you were staying with Twilight, right? Does she have a cot or anything for you to rest in?" she asked, closing her eyes softly and making a quiet humming noise after.
Sweetie Belle looked at her questioningly, before asking, "Wait, doesn't she have a big bed?"
My blush peaked and I immediately wanted to bury my head in the cushions. Rarity just giggled however, and shook her head. "I'm sure Twilight would like her comfort zone intact so a cot or hammock would be highly recommended," she explained democratically, smiling down at her little sister.
"Yeah, I couldn't agree more," I muttered, closing my eyes and trying to fight back the blush, before answering her prior question, "And no, she doesn't have one. I think she was going to ask somepony before Pinkie Pie distracted her."
Rarity sighed and shook her head. "Yes, I heard the outburst earlier before she oh so rudely stole my assistant, Spike. But it is no problem, I'm sure. Applejack will be at the party as well, no doubt. I'm sure she'll have no issue securing a cot for you," Rarity added, sounding a little irked with Pinkie.
I swallowed and shook my head. "I'm not so sure she'll be there. I kind of made a bad impression with her, remember?" I reminded weakly.
"Oh hardly. Applejack might be stubborn sometime but she's an honest, hard working pony who trusts her friends," Rarity argued, frowning at the implication.
"She seems to be nervous that I did something to her sister," I informed, unsure of what to believe exactly. This was the second pony who thought I was worried for nothing and I didn't think it was a good idea to jump to more conclusions.
Sweetie Belle looked shocked, however. "Hey, you didn't do anything to Apple Bloom! I was there and well, we just ended up chasing you into a rock. Applejack didn't believe her?" she asked incredulously, also sounding a little embarrassed.
"Sometimes a pony's worry for their loved ones overwrites common sense, Dear. It's alright. She'll come around soon enough," Rarity assured Sweetie Belle, smiling down at her.
Sighing, I shook my head. "Honestly, it was my fault. If I hadn't been so scatter brained and freaked her out at the clinic, she probably would be alright," I explained, feeling a tad on the stupid side again for screwing up the first impression. Second impressions seemed a lot harder to make.
"You had a concussion and amnesia, Silly. It's not your fault that you didn't make as much sense as you had wanted at the time and I'm sure she understands that," Rarity disagreed, nodding softly to herself.
"That's when somepony hits their head too hard, right?" Sweetie Belle suddenly asked, looking up at Rarity questioningly.
A silent coo went through my mind and I caught a chuckle before it got out. Little foals were so adorable. Well, most of the time. I wondered if I had had any siblings. Something told me I didn't have a mate, so children were a tad out of the question. It bugged me that I couldn't remember. Sure, it would be more painful now but it felt like I was doing everyone I had known a disservice by not honoring their memory.
"Yes, that's right. But it wasn't the rock, Sweetie Belle. He had amnesia before that, remember?" she reminded. I saw a brush of purple light go through Sweetie Belle's mane and the young filly cooed. A telekinetic brushing? Very interesting.
Sweetie Belle nodded softly, after opening her eyes again to a half-lidded state. "Yeah. I'm glad it wasn't us that caused it but still…" she added, looking backwards and up at me.
I smiled down at her and shook my head. "Not your fault at all, Sweetie Belle. And you and your sister have been a big help to me so far," I assured, alongside Rarity.
Sweetie Belle grinned and nodded, looking backwards and upside down at me. Rarity snickered and then smiled up at me instead. "Very good with kids. You'd make a good foalsitter, if you needed some bits on the side," Rarity pointed out, gesturing with her forehoof.
I laughed. "Yeah, if I'm ever going to be able to afford some proper clothes, I might have to," I joked, causing Sweetie Belle to snicker again. Rarity just smirked.
"Don't worry about it. I've prepared dresses for my friends so if I have some free time, I might like to try my hand at designing a suit or similar for you. Or at least a saddle bag, no?" she suggested, tilting her head at me.
My eyes widened a little and I was surprised. How had she known that I liked the saddle bag earlier? Chances are she didn't and it was just speculation. "Oh, well I'd hate to be a burden or anything. You're probably very busy with clothing orders after all. I definitely wouldn't mind a saddle bag," I admitted, blushing lightly.
For some reason Rarity blushed again, lightly this time, after I mentioned clothing orders. I didn't fully understand this mare but she was a lot more relaxed than most of the ponies I'd met so far. Rainbow Dash seemed really high strung, like dynamite with legs. Pinkie Pie was like a spastic ferret on sugar. Rarity however just seemed relaxed and confident. It was kind of refreshing. I made a mental note to visit her when she wasn't busy.
"Oh, it would be nothing to make you a saddle bag. Complimenting your colors would be easy enough too. We must be stylish after all! I'll see what I can surprise you with, later," she agreed, smiling now and looking as if she looked forward to it. Well, she was a designer so she probably enjoyed her work.
I nodded quietly, still blushing at the generosity. "Thank you, Rarity. Although I've been here a while, and was also going to go see Fluttershy before I'm supposed to be back at the Library," I explained, feeling a bit bad that I had to go so soon.
Rarity smiled contently however and nodded. "I truly understand. To be honest, I do have a bit more work to do before I'm clear for the party tonight but I'll definitely be there, worry not," she assured properly, puffing again.
I chuckled and nodded towards her, starting to find her puffed pose a little cute. "Alright. I look forward to seeing you two tonight, then," I agreed, looking down at Sweetie Belle as well.
Sweetie Belle perked up instantly and nodded. Rarity smirked down at her, before sighing. "Fine, as this is a special occasion, you can stay up past your bed time. But I want no complaints when we get home, okay?" she offered, laying down a harsh ultimatum.
Sweetie Belle threw a perfect salute however. "Yes, Sis! Thank you!" she gushed, smiling happily.
Rarity patted her gently on the head and nodded to me as I got up off the couch. "Thank you, you two. I'll see you later, then!" I thanked, feeling a lot better than when I came.
Rarity nodded in a courtly fashion towards me as I headed out the door. The front one, this time…
* * * * *
Finding Fluttershy's house was reasonably easy for me. I'd technically already been close to it once and the memory was very fresh in my mind. But even if I hadn't, the sheer volume of animals in the proximity would have given me quite a scientific estimate to go with. Walking quietly along the path, I stopped to sniff at several of the flowers along the path. The smells wafting along the breeze were pleasant to say the least, and I felt more relaxed. I couldn't tell if it was because of the smells directly or if the visit with Rarity had been more therapeutic than I had thought.
There was a light tickling sensation and I sneezed suddenly, knocking myself off my yet untrained feet and landing on my rear. I rubbed my nose with my right forehoof and sighed. Walking was still a little bit of a, well, challenge. I didn't trip often but I still wasn't exactly the most stable thing to grace the landscape.
Standing up again, I used my tail to dust my rear off and continued down the path. It was difficult to ignore the small squirrel in the tree that almost sounded like it was laughing at me. Were all of the animals largely sentient here? There didn't seem to be much in the way of natural predators at all and I wondered at the state of their ecosystem. Still, I wasn't exactly trained in those matters so I had to let the thought go. I was still surprised that a majority of the animals paid little to no heed to my presence. Maybe they were used to ponies being gentle and not doing anything to them?
Or yet again, it might be some sort of proximity to her that does it. I noticed a huge amount of birds near her house, seemingly content with chirping amidst themselves. Walking up to the door, I noticed them stop and watch me quietly as if unsure of my being here. Trying to not get nervous again, I quietly knocked on Fluttershy's door.
Moments passed uneventfully. I yawned, suddenly a little sapped of energy after all of my walking and looked up towards the sky tentatively. She was a pegasus, right? Maybe she was out and about flying and whatnot. Did she have weather duties too, like Rainbow Dash? My eyes locked onto a rogue cloud suddenly and I frowned. What was that? I lowered my eyelids and looked closer, shadowing out the sun with my left forehoof. A small tuft of rainbow coloring was extending off the side of the cloud. My eyes weren't tricking me after all. Well, that seemed highly unnatural for a cloud. Unless they were issuing some sort of tagging system that I didn't know about, chances were that was a mane or tail of a pony. And, having not seen any other rainbow colored ponies around, I guessed wildly that it was Rainbow Dash up there.
I vaguely recalled that pegasi could walk on and interact with clouds. If it wasn't a conscious thing, could one sleep on a cloud? I pondered quietly, sitting on the front walk while looking up. Having wings would be really awesome. Pity that it would increase my likelihood of death by fatal velocity by a few thousand percent. On the first attempt at flight.
Flattening my ears back, I sighed weakly. Fitting in wasn't something I was so good at, it would seem. Even in a new world with a new body, I was adjusting very slowly. While reading, I'd hoped my new knowledge would let me just slide into place but it wasn't as easy as I thought. I felt tired after just an afternoon of talking to ponies. How was I expecting to ever have enough energy to work a full time job on a farm? I suddenly felt extremely weary just thinking about it.
There was, abruptly, a sharp intake of breath from somewhere to my left. Huh? Turning and looking over my left shoulder, I noticed a very lovely creature looking towards me. Her yellow coat shone brightly in the sunlight and her pink mane and tail accented her shape very nicely. I suddenly caught a blush as Fluttershy blinked once, and remained frozen there.
There was an incredible sensation of déjà vu, as we locked eyes and stared at each other. It went on for I have no idea how long. Minutes, or maybe hours. No, hours were a bit extreme. I think I would have noticed the sudden hunger I'd undoubtedly get and the light shift from the sun. Eventually, her eyes softened a little and she thawed, stepping out of her prior frozen appearance, mid-stride.
Slowly, I rotated in my sitting position to face her, still eye-locked. She didn't even seem to blink as she continued watching me carefully. Her pose was more relaxed now however and she gently, yet fluidly sat down on her haunches, tilting her head somewhat. I had no clue suddenly what to say at all, my tongue feeling like it swelled to impossible sizes and gummed up my mouth.
She looked about as nervous as I did and we sat there for even longer, simply staring at each other. Her sky blue eyes were so soft and gentle looking, and I caught myself starting to get a heat in my cheeks as I couldn't look away. The gentle slope of her mane, the tender tucking of her feathered wings against her sides, and even the way her tail curled around her flank as she sat there. It was all so graceful, radiating a gentleness that I hadn't seen before. My eyes widened a little as her cheeks started to turn a little pink as well.
Her eyes immediately widened alongside mine and I saw a bit of concern in her expression, as if she was suddenly worried she had offended me because of my slightly surprised shift. I smiled at her, trying to re-assure her. Her eyes softened again, and she smiled timidly back at me.
Wham! Something collided with the back of my skull and I went from smiling to shock in an instant briefly, before smashing my face into the dirt of her walkway. Fluttershy let out a startled yelping noise and I felt scurrying to my right, suddenly. "Oh no! Oh… oh no! A-Are you ok-okay?" I suddenly heard, in a very tender voice to my right. Ow. Instead of responding, I just lay there contemplating just going to sleep and never waking up. Massive head trauma was apparently my number one chance of dying, still. My left eye opened painfully to get a brief glimpse of the dirt and a really detailed pebble, before looking up and out from the ground a little. An apple landed in my field of vision, with a newly formed bruise on one side and rolled away from me. Damn you, apples!
"Huzzah-what, now?" came from somewhere above, in a sleepy sounding, Rainbow Dash voice.
"Uh, um, Dash? You dropped an apple and uh, hit somepony. Could you maybe come down here and at least get your apple, if it's not too much trouble?" I heard Fluttershy ask quietly. Wow, if Rainbow Dash heard that at all it would be an absolute miracle.
There was a flapping noise however, and I felt a brief burst of air behind me. I slowly tried to get my forehooves under me again, currently spread eagle and in a very prone position feeling a little flattened. "Oh what the hay?! Why is it that whenever I drop something lately, you try to catch it with your face?" Rainbow Dash asked behind me, dripping with sarcasm.
"Oh my! This um, isn't the first time?" Fluttershy asked rapidly, sounding worried.
I glared back at Rainbow Dash, who had her forelegs folded over her chest and was wearing a similar expression. She felt grumpy to me and I looked over at Fluttershy, who was staring at her now instead. Rainbow hadn't told her? I sighed but decided not to say anything, partially out of respect and partially out of desire to not get blown up. Defeated by myself this time, I looked away.
Rainbow glared at me for a few more seconds before rolling her eyes and slapping a hoof to her face. "Okay, let me try that again," she requested, thinking for a moment, before continuing with, "Sorry for hitting you with an apple."
Shaking my head, I suddenly wished I hadn't as it gave a sharp throb. I must have winced as Fluttershy made a quiet 'Eep' noise. Suddenly, I was yanked sideways faster than I could react and unceremoniously deposited onto a soft couch. Rainbow snickered as she hovered inside Fluttershy's house as well and watched as Fluttershy rapidly gathered up a few medical supplies. "It's alright, Rainbow," I muttered, once my head stopped spinning.
She landed gently next to the couch, still watching Fluttershy zipping around gathering medical stuff. I didn't actually feel all that bad except for my headache. "You should totally stop trying to catch things with your head, though," she reminded, winking at me.
I gave her an irked glare and she simply grinned. Fluttershy zipped over suddenly, and gently wrapped a towel around my forehead, with an ice pack in it. She fussed with the edges, hovering in front of me, before darting away again. "She likes helping injured things if you couldn't tell," Rainbow Dash added, returning to watching her.
"I'd noticed. She seems very shy though," I muttered, watching her as well with light blush.
Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Normally she's a lot worse than this. But you aren't exactly the most intimidating pony, so I guess it's easier for her?" she offered.
"Hey!" I protested, crossing my forelegs irritably.
She just snickered at me as Fluttershy came back with a bit of what appeared to be salve. She carefully slid up the cold pack and bandage and applied some to the new bruise I imagined I had on the side of my head. "Now just h-hold still, please. You'll be feeling better in no time," she assured quietly, smiling at me.
I looked up at her and smiled back and she suddenly seemed taken aback, remembering that she was treating a pony instead of a woodland creature. She blushed and did a small, fluttering hop away from me, landing on the armrest of the couch. Rainbow Dash started laughing. "Oh come on, Fluttershy! You were fine before. Besides, doesn't he look familiar?" she asked, looking back at me.
Fluttershy tilted her head and looked at me for a few more seconds. Her eyes locked with mine again and I tried smiling at her. Her eyes suddenly got considerably wider! "Oh, you're the pony with the gentle eyes that was under my tree," she muttered, earning a nod from Rainbow Dash. "Wait, didn't Rainbow blow you up?" she then asked, looking back to her friend.
Rainbow looked momentarily stunned and then averted her eyes towards the ground in front of me. "Ah uh, yeah, I had forgotten about that part. But he's fine, as you can see!" she distracted.
Fluttershy looked skeptical but turned her attention back to me. Now I was blushing lightly and lay down on the cushion, tucking my legs under me as gently as I could. For some reason, I was seriously nerved out, as if I was walking on egg shells over a pit of lava. I didn't want to disturb anything in the house so I just stayed as still as I could. Maybe I was just afraid of offending or scaring her?
After a few seconds, Fluttershy smiled and plopped down on her rug. "See? He's a nice stallion, Fluttershy. You don't have to worry about him," Rainbow Dash declared, grinning and flopping her left foreleg over my back. It felt warm, so I just let it rest there.
"As long as there are no apples or other falling objects near me, I'm reasonably safe," I muttered, holding the side of my head with my right hoof.
Fluttershy made a little giggling noise, barely audible but still there, before timidly asking, "Um, do you think you could tell us how you came here? I mean, i-if you have time, of course."
Smiling, I chuckled and shook my head. "I can if it won't bore you two lovely mares to tears," I added, averting my eyes and giving a weak sigh. Were they all this curious, or just polite?
Rainbow Dash gave my side a shove and stuck her tongue out at me. "Nah. I'm sure we have time to kill before the party, regardless," she pointed out. Wait, Pinkie had managed to get invitations out already?! I was suddenly even further scared of the pink mare.
Swallowing my reservations, I nodded and broke into my second recount of the tale, today.
168156
UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE!
Let's throw a party!
Seriously, finerally an update and it was amazing. Thank yoooooooou Kiroberos
PS Your computer breaks a lot. Wonder why.
And I was just about to go to bed..
Oh well
Another excellent chapter. This guy gets all the pegasi!
Can't wait to see how the Fluttershy thing develops...and the party...
Great chapter here once again, Kiro. 10 more chapters? Have you written them all? Or are you writing as you go?
Anyhow, looking forward to more soon.
Going to sleep? I think not!
wonderful. keep them coming ^.^
Oh man this story is great
Damn You Apples!
It's 3am... "Memory Pending" updates... BUCK SLEEPING!
-Glassed
"Wait, didn't Rainbow blow you up?"
OH GOD I CANT BREATHE!!!!!
"Pinkie Pie was like a spastic ferret on sugar" That is the best description of Pinkie Pie I have ever heard
FFS RAINBOW STOP HURTING HIM OR ILL HURT YOU
*studying for exam*
*update appears*
*notices again that exam is coming up*
*reads anyway*
168376
You wouldn't dare.. I mean it wasn't rainbow dash's fault. If you had to blame anyone BLAME ISAC NEWTON!!!
Also fluttershy is best pony.
You sir, have one of the best senses of humour out of all the authors I've tried. Last fan fic I read made my cry, this one has as well, only this time form laughing.
"She likes helping injured things if you couldn't tell." Somehow I read that line as "You're going to be spending a looot of time with Fluttershy."
So let's see, Applejack's the last of the Mane Six that he hasn't really met properly yet, but so far he seems to be inadvertently endearing himself with the rest of them, in one way or another. Maybe that means Applejack will somehow end up as the surprise romantic twist, considering the romance tag. Well, probably not. More likely she'll agree to hire him just so she can say, "Ah got mah eye on yew."
It's funny how open the possibilities still are for that romance tag, though. Of course the strongest implications point toward Flutter-shipping, but I could still see it going several other ways. Rarity appears to have gotten a pretty good opinion of him, and Twilight seems to view him favorably too. Even Rainbow seems to like the guy well enough in her own way, although I think I picked up hints of potential Appledashery earlier, so I don't know about that. Plus he'd probably be too concerned about his personal safety around her for romantic inclinations anyway.
Oh oh oh! Idea! He seems to have a bizarre connection with apples, and it sounds like he's about to go work at Sweet Apple Acres. As an earth pony, maybe he can channel his magic into the apple trees. Make 'em like, glow or something. Giant apples? Apple grenades! His cutie mark will be an exploding apple. In any case, though, he'd better wear a hard hat once he starts working there. Or just for everyday walking around, really.
Damn it man, I just finished a long chapter from another story and was meant to go to sleep when I saw that this had updated! Staying up all night/early morning reading fanfics until I fall asleep on the couch can't be good for me...
168295 I know that feel, bro.
Raven is happy, thanks for updating this awesome story so soon. you rock!
This is easily one of my favorite stories right now, and i read and keep track of over a thousand stories... good job and thank you for writing such a good story!
I like his interaction with the mane 6 quite alot, fluttershy in particular, but shes one of my favorites anyway, so i may be biased.
Pinkie is terrifying. This is indisputable. But she IS fun. In controlled quantities.
*wakes up early, and checks mail* HOLY BUCK! I've gotta say "pinkie pie is like a spastic ferret on sugar" woke my family up XD can't wait for the next chapter!
MOAR, these endings are killing me!!
Spastic ferret on sugar. Forever using that to describe her now
Oh, can't wait to see what happens his first day of work on THE APPLE FARM! HAHAHAHAHA!
Another great chapter! :D
168583 I doubt that Newton is responsible for this world. there must be somepony else to blame..
169096 Difficult to say.
He and Fluttershy sure have some 'thaw me out of me shell'-thing going,
he sure shares the valuation of books with Twi, but it remains to be seen if that causes her to see something else in him than a point of scientific interest.
I personally see the highest potential in Rarity, as he pretty much starts to live up to what she imagined Blueblood to be before the Gala.
I assume he already got up to 'worthy suitor'-status by now. She is gonna sit back and watch as things play out.
Other than that, he's no longer terrified by RD, but he DID get the impression for good that she can't be good for his life-expectancy.
And as usual, nopony has any idea what's going on in AJ's head..
Let's see if any of them make a first move..
I love this story. Strangely enough that does not change even though the situation keeps changing.
(and I'm looking forward if the principle of 'internal casting' works out. (ooooh, the implications/possibilities!) Doubt it though somehow.
Oh and yes-
I can almost imagine discover his cutie-mark to be a hard-hat the way things are going.
I hope for him not, that would pretty much oblitterate his self-esteem. (My place in this world is under falling objects! YAY! )
Thanks for all the positive feedback, ponies. It makes the EqD thing a little easier to swallow. Ah well. I saw it coming.
168194
Heh. I'm glad you liked the update. Sorry again for the delay. Leftover damage from the virus. It's running smoothly now.
168200
Yeah, that happens to me all the time.
168248
Hey, he hasn't gotten Rainbow. Well, unless that actually means 'been blown up by'... And Fluttershy's just a little more comfortable around him, is all. Party is next chapter, though.
168261
They're all written already. I'm editing as I go. There are also two epilogues. One for each different ending. Well I should say, you can stop at the first epilogue and have an 'ending' for the story perfectly fine. The second continues after the first epilogue and leads in to a different story setup that I'm currently writing. I'm glad you're liking, though.
168264
I've interrupted another pony's sleep? *feels badly* Well I hope it's worth it! I'm trying my hardest to make everyone happy.
168272
Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it. And agreed. Apples seem to hate him.
168281
Dun mention it. I felt badly because I was late by a day due to the computer reformatting thing. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
168295
Glassed! I was hoping you'd comment again. We must have some serious timezone differences. I posted it in the afternoon here.
168318
Hee. I liked the lines in this chapter. I'm glad you're finding his horrible suffering amusing.
168338
Well it's true! I mean, I totally could have used other descriptions but that would have fallen short of the awesome ball of fun that is Pinkie Pie. Not saying she's short or anything, because that would be just insulting, and I'm not that kind of pony. Of course, technically I'm not a pony at all and I just like using characterized nouns, but that's just me. I'm a little crazy like that.
168376
She doesn't mean to. P-please don't be mad at Rainbow. Well, if-if that's alright with you. She's a n-nice pony.
168419
Ooooh! Been there, done that! Ya probably needed a break anyway, right?
Splitting time!
170358 Oh I don't doubt that timezone-thing for a second! I'm always behind here in the cold Scandinavia
And of course I'm commenting. You know full well that I've been here since the beginning, and I'll stay to the end
Even if I'm not commenting, know this: I'm still with ya
-Glassed
168583
Hee. Gravity can be a real pain in the flank sometimes, you're right. And is that a vote for Fluttershy x OC I see?
168616
Heeeee. I'm glad you're enjoying it. I love it when I make people laugh especially.
168842
Heh, I'm glad you like my humor. Still, I'd hold onto that thought of crying for now. It gets a bit... bad later.
169096
Periphery! Oh my, you are now securely in my favorite reader's circle. I didn't expect ponies to start trying to figure out the romance tag this soon. And where'd you pick up Appledash? Hmm. I didn't think I was too blatant about any shipping in prior chapters. Not to say anything about the two pony models I have 'almost kissing' on my computer desk in front of me as I type this. Your observations are VERY interesting, however. I can see the Rarity potential, as well as the Fluttershy of course. Twilight is interested in him, but that might just be out of scientific fascination. Rainbow... I dunno. She seems to be more akin to giving him blunt head trauma than snuggles.
Oh... oh dear! Can I get permission to write your apple grenade idea into the second story? That sounds so epic!
169165
Dang. I'm keeping a lot of ponies up. Well I stay up absurdly late writing too, so I know how you feel. We must have wicked timezone differences.
169247
I'm glad Raven is happy. And I'm very honored that you're enjoying my story. I love entertaining ponies, so it means a lot to hear that. Plus, "controlled quantities" and Pinkie Pie seems kind of like an oxymoron.
169252
Wooops! Loud laughing I hope? And hey, at least I didn't wake ONE pony up, confirmed!
169367
I'm sorry! I still feel badly about missing my deadline. Tell ya what. I'll post the next chapter tomorrow instead.
169390
Ooh, another pony quoting that line. Everybody seems to love Pinkie. She'd be so happy right now.
169506
Aww. THAT you're going to have to wait for a bit.
169975
Thank you.
170111
Oooh, another pony trying to speculate. Admittedly, if you're looking for pairings with the mane six, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Twilight currently hold the best hands. Hoofs? Poker would be interesting in Equestria... But I digress. I can safely say that Rainbow will more than likely NOT be a candidate. Applejack is also doubtful. To further cover all bases, Pinkie really hasn't gotten to know him very well yet, either. She seems to be too busy planning his party so far. I will also go so far as to say there is another pairing portrayed in the story that has nothing to do with our main character.
Anyway, I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I couldn't have him fleeing in confused terror forever, of course.
170371
WHOA! I bet that's even colder than it is here. I'm glad you've been here since the beginning, though. It really does mean a lot to me when I know people are liking the story. I hope you give the second story a try too when the time comes. *remembers seeing a story on your profile as well* Hmm. I'll also have to peek at yours, I think.
170440 Haha, don't expect much of it It needs a serious rewriting, but I just don't have the time right now
It's more or less just my drafts right now
-Glassed
170432
Yeah, I pretty much listed them in order of what I thought was most likely to least likely. Fluttershy and Rarity both have high potential; Twilight is possible, but could easily have other motivations; and Rainbow Dash pretty much just can't be completely ruled out as outright impossible quite yet--I think her opinion of him is a platonic, "This guy's not too bad when he's not trying to get me arrested for involuntary pony-slaughter." As for Pinkie Pie...well, trying to make predictions about her is like trying to use the sun for target practice on a cloudy day while aiming with your feet--silly to even try.
The Appledashery speculation came from how much the "romping" suggestion by Pinkie Pie apparently embarrassed Dash (I wouldn't expect her to silently blush unless there was some truth behind it, plus Pinkie likely knows what she's talking about), and Applejack's shocked reaction "hinting at something else" when she misinterpreted the main guy's fears as wanting to "tussle with Rainbow of all the mares?!" I'm guessing it was a touch of, "She's mine and yew can't have 'er!" even though they probably haven't exactly admitted it yet.
Also, you actually want to use the apple grenade idea? I definitely want to see that. "How d'ya like them apples?!"
Eagerly awaiting. Nothing like stories that effect you emotional. Makes me feel alive.
EDIT: Sry directed at Kiroberos. Not sure how to reply on this site.
QQ
Thats all im saying
Another awesome chapter, can't wait for the next. I do hope there is more humor like in this one
Another great chapter! As a British man I shall express my love for this story in my native tongue: jolly good tale old chap, please continue wont you? that would be smashing if I do say so!
♫♥I look forward to reading what happens next in your story♥♪
170460
Understandable. Writing does take quite a bit of time. Although you shouldn't sell yourself short.
170818
Hee. Even though one pairing is already planned out, I like to keep an ear on what others are thinking. I might shift it one way or another based on that, after all. Your prediction for Pinkie however, while not actually a prediction, was pretty much spot on. And I totally forgot about those two parts! Dang, I'm slipping.
As for the apples, heck yeah! Normally I chuckle in amusement from time to time, but I deeply value the things that actually get me to laugh out loud. As long as you wouldn't mind, yeah. I have a beautiful scene already planned to write them up for.
170954
There's a reply button in the upper right corner of each post. And all of my story tags are mostly accurate, so anticipate it to get a tad sad from time to time. I'm glad you like, however.
171459
171497
Ah love meh some humor, so dun worry. I'm glad you're enjoying!
171601
Thank you for the high praise! I'm glad you're liking the story. I don't pretend to be a professional, but I'm content that my readers are getting enjoyment. And thank you for pointing out the mistakes. I have gone through and fixed Sweetie Belle's name and a few other spelling errors I found.
171964
Whoa! I don't think I'm THAT good of a writer. But I'm very surprised that word of mouth is also advertising for my story. It's a good kind of surprised, though. I'm glad you like.
172493
Oooh, Jolly good indeed. I myself am Irish. I know a compliment when I see one, though! Thank you, good sir.
172994
Look no further. Chapter six goes up in a few minutes as soon as I get the formatting done on it.
... I like how the author writes comments almost as long as the chapters. Awesome.
Good fic so far, but maybe you could trim some of the wetting self references?
I don't know, it just seems kind of childish, and the rest of your fic is rather well written
Lol the apples strike again! I love this story so far. Great read.
I like how natural this story is, like in life, while still holding that sense of curiosity it brings the readers. What is going to happen to this malnourished nameless pony?
ok. angry comment time.
1: love the story theres nothing wrong with it so thats not what im angry about.
2: i am VERY very very very angry at the fact that you obviously spell checked the story YET there are multiple times that you use the WRONG word like you're constent use of the word mudder or mumble i can't seem to remember the exact one you used. well that word in like 90% of the times you used it was actually supposed to be the word said. "said quietly", or could have just been removed entirely. like i know that me ranting about you're grammar and spelling is a little ridiculous what with my grammar and spelling going to be horrible in this comment. but really at least mine has a reason. aka im very pissed off at the fact that you did it so many times that its obviously nothing but trolling.
you use so many words wrong and so many times that it can't be anything but trolling. hell you even use 2 words to end a sentence that when spell checked either do not exsist or the actually none typo words do not even mean anything close to what the sentence was even fucking about. not only that but at multiple times you put a sentence without " " so i had to reread it like 50 times just to figure out what the fuck it was even saying.
land you wanna know the worst part. what makes all this even more pathetic. you obviously spell checked it. you obviously checked to see if this made sense or if they were spelt correctly. YET there are hundred literally Hundreds of times where they are miss-spelt and not only that but some words are spelt multiple times all with different spellings like winced, winceing. wincing and winc ?.?. wtf. 1: winced dose not mean what you think it means. 2: winceing and winc? are not real words. 3: the fucking word you are trying to spell is wink winking also wince and winced : actual term in the dictionary :
• WINCE (noun)
The noun WINCE has 2 senses:
1. the facial expression of sudden pain
2. a reflex response to sudden pain
• WINCE (verb) "aka winced"
The verb WINCE has 2 senses:
1. draw back, as with fear or pain
2. make a face indicating disgust or dislike
jesus christ at least look the fucking words up in the dictionary before fucking using them. GOD.
im not finished no no im not done. you actually DROPPED A BOMB when he went to Raritys place and that is he had never. NEVER untill this point even heard of the elements of harmony. you know what i could be wrong since i did skip 2 or 3 paragraphs due to how fucking bad they were spelt that i couldn't even understand them or because of how i skip really super un-necessarily awkward parts.
OK. positive feed back.
i loved how you made it so that applejack thinks hes a pedophile XD. that was so funny i almost wet myself. other then that it really is a good over all story but REALLY im so pissed off at how you are trolling us.
oh and i didnt even mention the fact the Raritys "CASUAL" Boutique. is not fucking called Carousel Boutique.
I muttered is the words. they are wrong and should not be used 90% of the time in this XD.
"A silent coo went through my mind" ?.? 0_0 FACEHOOF
"Thank you, you two. I'll see you later, then!" ?.? 0_0 FACEHOOF
About that next comment being after I read it all...I lied.
That bit of romantic looking between them was, in all honestly, perfect. It fits both of them, but Fluttershy especially. The way you wrote it made it sound so perfect, not dramatic and flashy. It sounds natural, quiet. No one talking about electricity going through their body about the deathly attraction they felt to the person. It's just...natural. Natural is a pretty good word for all of this. Despite his past, and despite what we know, you can easily get lost in it. I applaud this sort of thing. Honestly man, I hope your writing takes you somewhere good.
730037
You, sir, are a moron. If you cannot even use proper English in your comment, how can you expect anyone to take you seriously. You probably don't even know what "Show & Tell" refers to, do you? And that wincing thing. I laughed so hard. Is English your first language? Do you know how to grammerzorz?
I am going to go ahead and assume that this post is a poor attempt at trolling, and say good day to you, sir.
Oh, and for Haha's: Carousel Boutique, retard.
Midway through, I feel the need to point out that ponies likely wouldn't call their foals "kids", as goat younglings are already called "kids". They wouldn't want a mix-up.
ugh so far its been reading non-stop for 5 stories straight and its late and im tired and review for chapter ah he does learn to get it and how much purpose did Rainbow use to hit him with that apple ? and I at his akwardness he was as bad as fluttershy this chapter had alot of truths in it thought and personalities are well developed this gets an
As you should be!!! She is more chaotic than Discord!!
1284087
You call yourself a "True Critic" yet you cant even formulate a coherent sentence.
I have to say I was a bit hesitant when I first started reading your story. Chapter one and two were bit jarring. I felt that you were still trying to get a feel for your main character. However, as I move further along I'm finding it to be a rather pleasurable read. Your characterizations of the main six as well as the Crusaders is spot on. Your OC is becoming a bit more natural and fleshed out as well and I seee a lot of potential there. I also like (from what I've gathered so far) how you've made the human plain structured as a dystopian fascistic police state due our race being in constant war with an unknown enemy. It has a certain Ender's Game feel to it.