> Spider-Man into the Ponyverse
>  by The saiyan brony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> You got mail! (Prologue)(Updated)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Parker, get in here!!!" I quickly walked into my boss's office after being paged over the intercom, ready for whatever task he was going to give me. "I need you to deliver three crates in the loading docks over to the central park zoo. And I want them there by yesterday!! Do you understand me!?" My overly annoying boss demanded while smoking his cheap cigars.

"Yes, Mr. Fredrickson, loud and clear. I'll get right on that." I forced a smile on my face as I answered him through gritted teeth.

"Well, then, get moving!! I'm not paying you to stand around and look stupid!!" He shooed me away while he went back to counting his money at his desk. What a fucking tool. If it wasn't for the fact that this job paid so well, I would have taken that job as a pizza delivery boy instead. I made my way from Frederickson’s office down to the loading docks to pick up my assignment for the day. I work in a delivery service; we deliver everything and anything within the fine city of New York. Whether it be from Manhattan or Queens, we will deliver anything requested of us. 

"Sounds like Fredrickson has you on another tedious assignment, huh, Ben?" Tony Thompson, one of my coworkers and my best friend. He's five years older than me and we attend the same college. It's actually thanks to him that I got this job in the first place. "He's usually never this obnoxious with the others. What did you do to piss him off?"

I shrugged. "I think it's because I do my job so well that he has to pay extra for making sure his business stays afloat. He won't let me go over forty hours a week because he doesn't want to pay me for overtime." Fredrickson’s was a total cheapskate when it came to paying us what he deemed worth it. We don’t get hazard pay, any benefits, vacation or even sick pay. Honestly it was a wonder how the union has stepped in yet to throw the book at his sorry ass.

I continued walking toward the loading docks area with Tony following alongside me. "So, me and a couple of the guys from the office were planning on hitting the local clubs for some drinks tonight. Want to tag along?" 

"Can't man, remember? I'm twenty years old." 

He winced a bit, since this wasn't the first time he's asked and forgotten. "Ooh. Right, sorry dude. I keep forgetting. But don't you turn twenty-one this year?" 

"Yeah, in August." After a while, we pushed through a set of double doors and down some stairs that led to the loading dock area.

"Well, even if you can't drink, you could always come for the fun, party with us and hit the dance floor. Who knows? Maybe you'll meet a girl there, too." He playfully teased while nudging my shoulder with his elbow. 

I returned his playful nudges with a light punch to his shoulder. "While that offer is nice, I'm not really looking to get into a relationship after what happened with my ex."

Tony's expression turned somber. "O-oh, dude, I forgot about Morgan. Hey man, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories." Tony was a cool guy and all, but he has a bad habit of forgetting certain touchy subjects, but I don’t really harp on it since I know he means well.

I waved it off. "Forget about it. You were only trying to be a good friend." I tried to put on a smile to help convince him that everything was okay, but I wasn't fooling him. The memory of my ex still enrages me to this day, but I try not to think about her since it doesn't help with my mood.

"Still, I'm really sorry about what happened. She seemed like an okay lady, but I guess we were wrong, huh?" 

"Yeah, well, let's just put that thought out of my mind for now." We had just entered the loading docks, where up to ten to twelve trucks were being loaded and unloaded with the products we were charged to deliver. "So, what is it that I'm delivering today?"

Tony, who happened to be my supervisor, was in charge of keeping track of my deliveries and routes I would take to get to my destination. Grabbing the clipboard on the wall with my name on it, Tony flipped through the paperwork to see what my assignment was going to be, and the items I would be delivering . "Looks like souvenirs and plushies. Nothing big, but the roads that lead to the zoo will be crowded around this time."

I shrugged since New York's streets are always crowded, rain or shine. "Meh, what can you do?" When we got to the truck I was meant to drive, I saw that it hadn't been properly loaded yet. Two of the three crates were inside while one was still sitting on the ground. 

"Hey, why hasn't this crate been loaded up yet!?" Tony shouted, approaching a nearby worker, who was sipping coffee.

In this business, we have three types of workers. There was Tony, who worked in a cubicle, who manages the technical stuff like destination, inventory, and delivery workers like me. I'm in the delivery category, our jobs are pretty simple: pick up or drop off the product businesses need when requesting our services. And finally, there's the loading team; their job is also simple. Basically, they stay in the loading docks, waiting for guys to drop off and deliver the cargo we are tasked with. All they have to do is load and unload the trucks, it’s that simple.

After chewing out the worker, Tony came back, still looking upset. "So, apparently, one of the new guys was about to finish loading the truck, then had to stop when the power jack lost all power after not charging it last time." I watched as he rubbed the temples of his forehead. 

"Did you get the guy's name?" I asked, hopefully trying to help calm him down. Tony’s usually a laid-back kind of guy, but he always made sure his work taken care of. 

"Yeah. Some guy by the name Edward Brock. I'll have to have to find another power jack to help load the last crate." He flipped through the papers and checked the numbers on the crate. "If this is right, it should just be a load of plushies."

The crate itself was about five feet tall and similar in width. 'Well, then. This should be easy.' I walked over to the crate while rolling my shoulders, trying to warm them up. I moved up to the crate, crouched down, and gripped both sides. Once I had a firm grip, I pushed up with my legs and lifted the crate up, carefully walking over to the truck to setting it down with the others. When I was finished, I dusted my hands and hopped inside the truck to secure the crates to make sure they didn't move around. When all that was finished, I turned back around to see that most of my coworkers were slacked jaw, all except Tony.

"I'm telling you man you need to show me your work out regiment is. You lifted that thing like it was no problem at all.” Tony praised me unaware of my little secret.

“Pft it wasn’t that heavy; you just need to stop hitting the bars and start hitting the gym.” I wasn't lying either; the crate wasn't all that heavy given the content inside. “Besides I’m as strong as your average person.”

Tony rolled his eyes as he gave me a playful pat on the back. “Dude you seriously need to start giving yourself more credit. If you out your mind to it I’m willing to bet you could find a much better job then this place.”

While I waited for the truck to warm up, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning to my left, I saw Tony leaning on the window frame. "Hey, I meant what I said back there. You could have a chance at working with something much better than this place. Heck, I'm willing to bet someplace that pays better too. You’re stronger than you give yourself credit, and you’re a wiz when it comes to science." He gave my shoulder a firm pat before backing up once the truck was ready. "Just give it some thought, dude." 

I knew he meant well and all, but while I do find this job somewhat tedious, I wasn’t gonna risk losing when I’m so close to my goal.










After work, I head straight home to blow off some steam. Thankfully, I had the next two days off, which was rare for me. My home wasn't anything fancy or classy. If anything, it was the exact opposite. It's a one room apartment with a small kitchen, the living room was my room and the couch was a foldable bed, and thankfully a bathroom with a shower. I could afford a better place, but the rent is cheap, which helps me save my money for my goal. I want to save enough money to move out of New York and buy my own house.

I sat down on my couch/bed and pulled out a book from my backpack. The last day of school for the semester had ended last week, but that didn't mean I couldn't study for the next one. While reading, I would occasionally glance to the coffee table in the middle of the room. There were pictures of my parents from when I was young, and from when they were still alive. It’s been a long time since I lost them both along with my godfather, leaving me with no family whatsoever.

Soon, memories of my past plagued my mind, memories that only brought me pain and suffering. I jumped to my feet after putting my book away, moving over to my dresser to put on my blue jean, red T-shirt and red running shoes. Before leaving, I walked over to the bathroom to brush my teeth and comb my hair. Whenever I look at my reflection, I'm constantly reminded of my parents. I had chocolate brown eyes like my father, Peter, and red hair like my mother, Mary Jane. At times, it was too much for me to bear, but I tried to suck it up and keep moving on with my life.

After changing  my clothes, I made my way out of my apartment building and started to jog to my local park. Along the way, I would catch a glimpse of the occasional crime: carjacking, muggers, drug dealers, the works. But none of that was my problem. Sure, I could easily stop them with the powers I inherited from my father, but then again, why would I? 






Eventually, I made it to the park and walked around the pond to let my mind wounder. The sun would be setting at any moment, but I didn't care since I could handle whatever second-rate crook that dared to try and pick a fight with me. Besides, I like the city during the night, especially while in the park. I found a nice patch of grass to laid down in. I stared up at the sky as I watch it turn from orange to purple as the sun set. And while you can't really see the stars all that well in a large city, the lights from the surroundings skyscrapers are a very close second for me.

For a while, I was starting to feel a lot better. But the moment was spoiled when the sound of thrusters filled the air. "Good evening, Mr. Parker." A familiar voice called out.

'And just like that, my evening was ruined.' Looking up, I saw a human-shaped suit of armor hovering above me, the armor’s color being gold and red. I knew exactly who it was who decided to ruin my night. "It was, until you showed up.” I rolled on to my side and pushed myself up to face the suit of armor. "What do you want, Stark?"

The armored human's thrusters cut off just as their feet touched the ground. Said armored human raised its hands up to its head, removing the helmet to reveal a woman with long brown hair and brown eyes. "Come on, Ben, do you really have to be so cold?" This was Morgan Stark the current leader of a team of young superheroes known as The New Avengers. And she also happens to be my ex. 

"Well, it's not like you tricked me into a relationship for the sole purpose of trying to get me on your team, right?" I added, not bothering to hide my anger. “Oh wait you did.”

Morgan stepped out of her suit as she walked toward me. "Ben, listen, I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to hurt you. I just wanted you to use your powers for good." This wasn't her first attempt to try and apologize to me, but I wished it was the last time.

Slipping my hands into my pockets, I turned on my heels and started to walk in the opposite direction. The memories of how we first meat soon popped in my mind. We met up in high school at Midtown High. I was sixteen and she was seventeen at the time. Back then I was labeled as a nerd and a loser meaning no one wanted to partner up with me in class. Which wasn’t a problem for me since I was a straight A student. The she came along. She had transferred to our school and we shared the same science class. At the time everyone had already partnered up show she was stuck with me. I told her that I could handle the assignment on my own since it was an advanced project. But she surprised me when she pointed out some minor mistakes, I made that I normal would have caught sooner. In one period we had managed to finish what should have taken us a whole week. The look on our teacher’s face was hilarious. From there we started working on more projects together and getting to know each other better. After a year we started going out on a few dates talking about working on some future science projects. For the first time in a long while I didn’t feel alone anymore. 

That is until I turned eighteen and was considered an adult.

Morgan had decided that it was about time that she invited me over to her place to meet her mom. While we were dating, I hadn't once been where she lived. I thought it was just her wanting to wait for the right moment to introduce me to her Mom. It was then that I found out her true identity. Before, she went by the name of Morgan Pots, but that was the name she used while attending school when her real name was actually Morgan Stark. Turns out the reason she went out with me was because she knew that I was the son Peter Parker(AKA Spider-Man), and had inherited his powers. She wanted me to join her team of superheroes. Much to her confusion, I not only turned her down, but decided to cut all ties with her. If I didn't hate heroes before then, I do now.

"What I do with my powers is none of your concern, because you know just as well as I do that I try to avoid using them. Hell, I wish I never had them to begin with!" I started to head home so I could escape having to deal with my ex.

"You know, your father wouldn't act this way. He would have used his powers for the greater good!" She called out.

Those words managed to strike a nerve as I stopped, my blood boiling hot. "The greater good?" I turned back, marching toward her. "Do you know what 'the greater good' got my father? I'll tell you! It got him buried six feet under, along with the rest of my family!!!" I was beyond pissed.  

"My father gave everything to this city!! He went through hell trying to make enough money to survive, or to have a love life, all while trying to be a hero that wanted to protect this city!! But the moment some mustache-wearing, money-grubbing, newspaper-owning mother fucker says he's a menace to society, they turned against him on a dime!!"

"I've lost everyone who's ever mattered to me: my dad, my mom, and my godfather. They all died because they wanted to try and help people, and in the end, it got them killed, and I was left alone in this world!!" 

The world around us went silent as I started breathing heavily. My mind was plagued with rage and hatred toward this city, and everyone who lived in it. Morgan, who I guess got the picture, started to walk back to her suit. "You know, Ben, it may not mean much, but I bet your dad was proud of the hero he was, even if no one else was." Her suit quickly formed around her, leaving only the face plate up. "And I'm sure he would have been proud of whatever choice you made with your life." And with that she pushed off and into the air, flying back to her team.

For a good while I was left alone to my thought, which were soon consumed with rage. "Now I'm gonna go to bed angry, something I'm told isn't good for anyone’s health." Shoving my hands into my pockets, I started the long walk back to my apartment. 

While walking, I couldn't stop thinking about everything Morgan said to me. I remember a time when I wanted to be a hero, just like my father and his partner, Miles. I even had this silly idea of forming a Spider-Man trio. But that all changed when I was seven.

My dad had just stopped the Vulture from robbing a bank, and he did it without causing any collateral damage. But no matter how much good my father did, there was always one person who tried to bring my father down: J. Jonah Jameson.  That greedy bastard always tried to turn the city against my father, even after saving people's lives while risking his own. But no matter how many cruel or filthy lies Jameson spat out of his mouth, my father would always go out and save the day. That is, until one day, when he went out to save the day, he never came back. 

It was a battle between my father and the Green Goblin, who had been hired by Wilson Fisk to kill my father. Fisk, also known as the Kingpin, was sent to jail because my father finally had enough evidence to put him behind bars. The fight between my father and the Goblin went on for hours, even with my Godfather, Miles Morales, who was known as Kid Arachnid. My father made the ultimate sacrifice that took both him and the Goblin down. On that day, the world lost an amazing hero, and a great dad.

I slammed my fist into the closet tree, snapping the trunk in half, causing it to fall over with a heavy thud. With my enhanced strength, I didn't even feel a thing, but the memories were painful enough to cover any pain.

"Please! Someone help!!" I heard a call from across the park. I could see a masked man cornering an elderly woman into a nearby alleyway. 

Any other day, I would have just walked away not giving a damn. However, after my talk with my ex, I was in the mood to blow off some steam in a healthy and clinical way: beating the shit out of someone.

"Listen, granny, you can either A: give us all your money and walk away, or B: we slit your throat and take the cash." The mugger threatened, holding out a blade toward the elderly citizen.

"Or how about C: the lady leaves with both her life and her money, and you get a beating." I added, causing the mugger to turn in my direction. "Heya, buddy." I gave him a polite wave while smiling. 

The mugger quickly pointed his knife at me while holding the elderly lady by her shoulder. "Listen up, kid. Unless you want to end up dying while playing the hero, I suggest you beat it."

The moment I was referred to a hero, my smile quickly disappeared. "Oh, I think you guys got the wrong idea. I'm no hero. I just had a shitty encounter with my ex, and I need to vent off some steam." With a push of my left foot, I quickly got up in front of the thug. Before he could react, I grabbed his wrist with the hand holding the blade. "And, unfortunately, you’re gonna be my punching bag."

I tightened my grip around his wrist, easily forcing his hand to drop the knife. But even though the blade was no longer in his hand, my grip never loosened. He screamed, trying to pull away, clawing at my hand to force me to let go, but I wasn’t going to. I continued to squeeze harder, forcing him on his knees. "Please, stop!" He begged. 

"Aww, what's the matter? Have you already had enough?" With another squeeze, I heard a satisfying cracking noise, telling me that I broke his wrist. When I let go, he fell to the ground screaming as he gripped his broken wrist. "Then maybe you should have thought of that before threatening those weaker than you." I pulled my arm back, backhanding him hard in the face, sending him flying back.

It took him a minute to recover before he started to crawl backwards, looking straight at me."Pl..ease...st..op." He slurred, gripping his bleeding mouth.

"Are you really begging for mercy?" I quickly moved my left hand to grip his face and lifted him up until his feet weren't touching the ground. "Do you really think you deserve mercy?" Pulling back my right hand and making a fist, I slammed it into his gut, knocking the wind out of him. "The only mercy you deserve is death's embrace."

I continued to punch away at the mugger's gut, making his body jolt with each impact and making him gasp with each strike. While I wasn't in the most pleasant of moods, I made sure that each punch was not fatal. When I saw that he was no longer responding, I checked for a pulse to make sure I didn't overdo it. Luckily, the scumbag was still kicking. Seeing that he had enough, I tossed his body into a garbage bin.


After taking out the trash, I checked to see if the old lady was hurt. I may not want to be a hero, but that doesn't mean I can't be kind. When I turned, I half expected her to be shaking like a leaf; instead, she was standing there sitting on one of the trash cans. "A bit on the unorthodox side, but there is still hope to make a hero out of you yet." Before I could even respond, she disappeared in the blink of an eye. "The pains of your past weigh heavily on your heart, making it cold and bitter." I looked around, trying to see where her voice was coming from. "But there's still a chance for you to make a future for yourself."


Before I could get a word in, a red mist filled the alley, obscuring my vision. “What the fu-” My thoughts were cut short as my body started drop through the ground. “-uuuuuuuck!!!!"







I felt like I was falling for hours, my body free-falling through a void that seemed to endless. For a moment, I thought I would go insane wondering when my body would hit the ground and go splat. As if this void heard my thoughts, a light shone beneath me. The sensation of wind whipping through my hair and the sound of the city were the first thing I noticed, the second being the pavement getting closer. I shut my eyes, waiting for the end and hoped it would be quick and painless. But after waiting for a good thirty seconds, nothing happened. When I peeked to see what happened, I saw that I was hovering inches away from the sidewalk. 

"Huh? Well ...this is weird." I reached my hands out so that they were touching the ground. The moment they did, whatever force that was keeping me up vanished, letting my feet touch the ground. Getting back up, I noticed that something was off. "Wasn't it nighttime before I fell?" When I took another look, I saw that it was now daytime as sunlight shined down into the alley. "What the hell is going on?"

Walking toward the end of the alley, my vision had to adjust as I stepped out into the light. When I could see, I thought I was losing my mind at what I saw. Ordinarily, in the city of New York, you see some crazy things: a green giant, aliens, or people in high tech suits. But this was completely out of the ordinary. It looked like I dropped into a kid's cartoon, seeing bipedal, multi-colored ponies. What was weirder was it looked like they were animated, almost like they popped out from said cartoon. 

I thought I was losing my mind, so I gave myself a quick slap on the face. When the stinging pain in my cheek faded, I took another glance to see if it was a dream. But to my disappointment, nothing had changed, and when I glanced down at my hands, they also looked animated like I had jumped into this cartoon-like world.

"What the hell is happening to me right now?" I walked back into the alley, trying to make sense of everything. Leaning against the closest wall, I slid down till I was in a sitting position. "The last thing I recall was helping out that old lady. After that, I got sucked through the ground and landed here."


"I'm quite surprised by how well your taking all this, Mr. Parker." The voice from before echoed through the alley, prompting me to get into a defensive stance. "Fear not, Benjamin. I am not your enemy." The alley slowly started to fill up with the same red mist that appeared before. Looking ahead, I could see the elderly women from before, but her appearance was much different. She wore a black sash across her eyes while wearing a red dress that extended pass her legs. The dress had a white spider logo, its legs stretching out across the dress. She was sitting on some kind of spider-based throne with a spider web around it. "Hello, Ben. I am Madame Web."


Madame Web? Why do I feel like I've heard that name before? "So, can you tell me why exactly you brought me to this place? Because last time I checked, I never gave you my consent to bring me here. Speaking of, where is here?"

"Forgive me for the abrupt abduction, but it is in your best interest that you were to come here." She extended her hand out and twirled it in a circle, creating a monitor. I could see anthropomorphic ponies walking about outside, but what's more, I even saw a few humans as well. "You are in the country known as Equestria, on the planet Equis." 

'Wait, did she say planet Equis? A planet that isn't earth?' I asked myself, trying to keep my cool.

"That I did, young Mr. Parker." I jumped a bit as she clearly read my mind. "Forgive me. An old habit of mine." She took a moment to clear her throat. "Now, I know you may not like what I have to say, but this world is in need of your gift."

"Hmm. You know, you're right. I don't like what you had to say." I started to lose my friendly demeanor as I stepped toward her. "So, how about we cut the chit chat and you send me back home so I can live my life?"

"I'm afraid I cannot do that. You are destined to play a part that will help save this world and those who would wish to disrupt the peace." 

"And why should I care whether or not this planet is happy or not? It's not my world, nor is it my problem, so send me back before I get really mad." I clenched my fists, knowing that I had yet another individual trying to get me to fight a battle that is not mine. "Besides, what's in it for me? Even if I were to possibly agree, what do I have to gain for helping?" Not a word was spoken, Madame Web just sat there on her creepy throne. 'Hmm. Figured as much. People always want something, but never plan to give anyth-'

"Closure." She answered, cutting off my thoughts.

"What?"

"I can offer you closure, the kind you so desperately desire." With a snap of her fingers the image on the monitor changed. "This is a broadcast of the news that will happen later in the day. I believe it's in your best interest to have a look."

While I still wanted to go home, I'd be lying if I said her words didn't peak my interest. Moving closer to the monitor, my eyes sprung open at the image on the screen. Wearing a bulky armored suit that almost resembles a rhinoceros, I saw a villain from my father’s past. "Is that the Rhino!?!" I shouted as I watched the villain on-screen tear his way through a police blockade.

The Rhino was a villain that my father put away in prison with no chance at parole. Last time I checked; he had committed suicide due to being in solitary confinement for so long. "What the hell!? I thought he was supposed to be dead!!"

"Perhaps in your universe, he might be dead, but here in this universe, he's very much alive." My focus was now back on Madame Web as she continued. "You see, Mr. Parker, in this universe, there is another earth, one that has formed a connection with this world."

The image on the monitor changed once more, showing yet another figure from my past, and a rage that could make magma feel like ice. Wearing a white suit with a black bow tie, standing at three feet taller than the average man, was the once revered crime lord. "Kingpin."

"That is correct. He, along with a handful of enemies that your father and Godfather had faced, exist in this universe, and they are just as terrible as the ones you knew." 

While so many questions plagued my mind, I still had one goal: to get back home. "Well, this sounds like a problem for the local heroes. So why don't you contact them and se-?"

"There are no heroes in this world." Madame Web stated.

It took me a minute to grasp what she said. "What? What do you mean there aren't any heroes in this world? You're telling me not one of these humans or ponies have a hero among them?" She nodded. "How? If there are super villains just like the ones from my world, surely there must be heroes, right?" For me, the idea of any universe without a single hero left me baffled, but considering I grew up in a world where superheroes were practically the norm, I believed it to be true for any universe.

Leaning forward with her hands clasped together, Madame Web continued her role as an exposition dues ex machina. "I'm afraid the only heroes that exist in this universe are helpless to fight against these villains." Suddenly, the world around us started to waver and the mist slowly started to seep away. "Alas, that is all I can say for now. You will have to find out the rest on your own. It will be some time before we may speak again, young Benjamin."

"Wait, what!?" I just realized that she had no intention of sending me back home. "Now hold up! You can't just leave me here!! I don't belong in this world!! I don't have a home or money, let alone any identification to prove I'm legal!!" 

I tried to run toward her, thinking if I grabbed onto her, I would go home with her, but when I wasn't budging an inch, I knew it was hopeless. "Fear not, my warrior of the web, everything will turn out well for you when you next awaken. Farewell, Mr. Parker, and do watch out for that postal box." Her voice started to fade, the red mist that surrounded the void around me disappeared, and I found myself back in the alleyway. 

I quickly ran out to the street, hoping that she had actually put me back in my world instead. But when I was greeted by the sun instead of night sky, I knew that it wasn't so. "So, this is really happening?" I asked no one in particular. I looked around the streets, seeing people and ponies walk around like nothing was wrong. 

I wanted to literally scream my head off from the situation I had gotten myself into. 'This just further proved my point about being a hero!!' I grasped my head with my hands and ruffle my hair furiously. 'This is my own fault. I could have just walked away and let that stupid mugger get away and left the old lady alone. But no! I decided that I had to vent my rage and save that old hag, and what ended up happening? I get spirited away from my universe by some creepy spider lady and are now I’m stuck in another freakin universe!!' 

Rather than continuing my mental rant about the consequences of my heroics, I made the decision to try and find a way back home. With or without help from Madame Crazy Webs.

The first and most logical thing I could come up with was to find the local library and see if anything in there could help me solve this dellma. 

Walking down the streets of an unfamiliar city felt incredibly weird, I tried to take in my surroundings as I headed in a random direction. The buildings around me seemed incredibly fancy, and much cleaner compared to New York. Even the roads looked sparkling clean, something you wouldn't see in my old city. 

Then there were the residents. When I looked at these anthropomorphic ponies, I noticed three things about them. The first was that they came in many different colors, their tails and matching their hair while their coats were different. Thank goodness they wore clothing like me, otherwise it would have been quite embarrassing seeing them casually nude. Second was the markings on either their thighs or shoulders. Each one was a unique image, even some of the children had one. Lastly was that some of the ponies either had wings, horns, or none of the above.

Aside from the slightly protruding muzzles, ears on the top of their heads, and extra appendages, these ponies didn't seem that much different from humans. Speaking of which, during my walk, I saw no more than five to six humans within four blocks.

Once in a while, I would see a couple of the horned one’s unicorns I imagine would turn their noses up as we passed each other. Judging by the fancy clothes, and a stick that seemed to be jammed far up their butts, I bet they were the spoiled rich folks of this city. And it was obvious they were judging me, whether because I'm human, the way I'm dressed, or both. I was wearing blue jean pants, a red T shirt, and red running shoes, ironic because these colors were worn by my father while he dressed as a hero.

After walking aimlessly for what felt like a good thirty minutes, I took a breather when I saw a park nearby, sitting down on the closest bench I could find. I took in more of the city's image as I leaned back on the bench. Unlike my New York, which was a bit gray and dull when it wasn't under attack, this city and its residents were bright and colorful. While I wanted to get back home, I'd be lying if I said this place didn't seem that bad. I closed my eyes and inhaled the crisp clean air.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" A gentle feminine voice broke me out of my trance. When I opened my eyes, I turned to face who it was that spoke, and could feel my cheeks heating up bit. Wearing a violet dress was a mare with snow white fur with a light pink mane and tail. She had a perfect hourglass figure, which her dress hugged perfectly. I couldn't see her eyes since she was wearing sunglasses, along with a large sunhat.

"Um, yeah, s-sure." I scooted to one side of the bench, trying to give her as much space, mainly for myself. 'Why the hell did I just blush? She’s a horse, for God’s sake, Ben!!'

She took her seat and seemed to be enjoying the scenery like me. "It's a lovely day, no?" When she spoke a second time, I noticed she had a slight French accent. 

"U-uh, yeah. Very nice." I had no freaking idea why I just stuttered. But I quickly got control of my nerves, realizing that this could be my chance to get some information from the locals. "Is it always this nice?" I asked, trying to make small talk.

The mare tilted her head to the side. "Is this your first day in Canterlot?" She asked, seeming surprised, but in a good way.

'Canterlot? Is that the name of this city?' Taking a moment to think of my alibi, I took a deep breath. "Yes, actually. I'm here on vacation for a day or two." I answered with a smile.

She let out a surprised gasp. "Really!? And how are you liking Canterlot?" She asked with a genuine smile.

"Well, I sorta just got here this evening, and so far, this city is much brighter and cheerful compared to back home. Although, a few upper class-looking ponies gave me the stink eye, but I’m used to that."

What I said wasn't a total lie. After the incident with Thanos and the blip, some companies in New York changed their business to help in recovery whenever any destruction by super villains occurred, which was a lot. Those businesses became incredibly wealthy, and as a result, there were rich, snobbish businessmen and women walking down the street thinking they were better than everyone else. 

After I mentioned those ponies, the mare scrunched her nose in disdain. "You mean the nobles." She said, sounding a bit disappointed. "Do not let them get you down. While they are called 'nobles', they are nothing more than rich foals who don't care about you if you’re not well connected to others higher than them. The real nobles are the princesses."

"There are princesses here?" That was actually kind of neat.

The mare looked at me with a shocked expression before taking a moment to recompose herself. "Um, did you not look up anything about Equestria before coming here?"

'Shit! What do I say now? If she finds out I'm not here by legal means, I could get arrested and never get home.' It took all my will power to make sure that I didn't freak out in front of her. All I have to do is tell her the truth, while also bending it into a white lie. "Well, the thing is, a new friend I made recently sorta dragged me here for my vacation days, without telling me anything about this country." 

"Oh, I see. And what happened to this friend of yours?" The mare asked while glancing around the park.

"Um...my friends sorta ditched me not long after we got here, and now I'm completely lost." I gave a meek shrug. Like before, it wasn't a lie, all I did was leave out the key details.

This managed to get the mare to cup her hands over her muzzle in shock. "That's terrible. I can't image a friend doing that to another, especially when you don't know your way around the capital, of all places."

'So this was the capital? Ok, so they seem to be ruled by princesses, plural meaning more than one. And that this city known as Canterlot is the capital, which probably means those princesses must live here. Well, it looks like this mare could give me all the knowledge I need. Maybe she'll know a way for me to get home.'

"If you’d like, I could try and help by telling you everything I know?" She offered with a smile.

I was a bit surprised by her offer. "Oh, well, I wouldn't want to take up your time, miss."

"It's no trouble at all. I'm happy to help anyone in need." She held out her hand to me while still smiling. "My name is Fl-"

CRASH!!!



Our conversation was brought to an abrupt stop from the sudden crash, followed by screams of fear and panic. Moments later, I could hear what sounded like police sirens. 

"Oh, no. Not one of them again." The mare said while cupping her muzzle again, looking in the direction of a pillar of smoke that started to rise above the buildings north of the park. 

In the back of my mind, I felt this nagging feeling like I had forgotten something important. 'Something about what Madame Web showed me earlier.' I tried to recall every second of our conversation until it hit me. I remember she was showing me a live video broadcast about- "Oh shit. Hey, listen lady, we need to get as far away from here as poss-" I noticed that she was already running, but unfortunately, to my surprise, she wasn't running away from the possible danger; she was running toward it. "HEY! ARE YOU CRAZY!?"

I called out, but she was already past the park and ran around the corner of the building that was near the action. "Well nuts to this. I'm out of here." I was about to turn tail and run when, for some odd reason, my legs wouldn't move. 'Are you really going to let her go in there alone?' My conscience asked.

"It's none of my business what she does with her life." 

'Even though she was trying to help you out?'

"Nobody asked her to. I should be trying to get back home." 

'You're right. No one asked to try help your sorry ass, which is all the more reason for you to do the same. You know you can save her because you have the power to do so. Remember what dad always said? With great power-'

"Aghhh! Fine, I'll go help her!!! But this is the last time I'm doing anything heroic." I shouted at myself as I quickly started running after the mare from before.






It took me a couple of minutes to reach the disaster zone, and what I saw was just like I had seen earlier. In a big mechanical suit that was shaped like a rhinoceros was the Rhino.

I could see a few officers, both ponies and humans, taking cover behind a blockade, ready to open fire on the armored villain, but for some reason, they hadn't started shooting yet. "What are they waiting for?"

I then heard the distant cry of what sounded like a little girl. Glancing past the Rhino was the mare from before, along with a crying pony child she was holding onto, trying to keep the child between herself and the villain. 'That's why they’re not shooting; they’re afraid they might shoot them too.'

"Alright, you Canterlot pigs, unless you plan on firing and risk hurting the little ladies behind me, then get out of my way!!" The Rhino ordered while slamming his mechanized arm into a nearby carriage, sending parts flying, some of which flew too close to the two ponies behind him, making the pony child cry loud. "Shut up, you little brat, or else I'm gonna squash ya!!"

Okay, that is where I draw the line! Sprinting forward, I jumped over the blockade and straight toward the Rhino. "Hey, get back here!!" One of the officers behind me shouted.

"Oh, look. Someone is trying to play hero!!" Rhino laughed as he extended one of his arms out, aiming it at me. "Okay kid, let's see what you look like with your body splattered across the street." At that moment, a small missile shot out and headed straight for me.

While I continued to run forward, I could feel my spider sense kicking in, making it feel as if the world moved in slow motion for a few seconds. I quickly pushed off my right foot, dodging the missile at the last second before it impacted the ground behind me and exploded.

The stunned face that the Rhino was making behind his visor was priceless. Using his stunned shock as an opportunity, I picked up the pace, closing the distance between us. He quickly got back to his senses, winding his arm back and swinging it at me. 

Seeing this come from a mile away, I used my speed and momentum to slide both under his mechanical fist and between his legs. Once I had made it past him, I got back on my feet and darted forward until I was close enough to the two ponies, scooping them both up in my arms. I held the mare in my arms bridal style while she held the child close to her chest. I glanced around, trying to find a spot to take cover. I quickly saw a black and white metal carriage, no doubt this world’s equivalent to a police car, flipped on its side next to another blockade. Focusing all my strength into my legs, I pushed off until we had taken cover behind it.

"FIRE!!!" One of the officers shouted, followed by the sound of guns firing and pelting against metal. A few stray bullets hit the carriage, but luckily, the vehicle seemed to be bulletproof.

When the gunshots finally came to a stop, I heard what sounded like heavy footsteps. "Oh, crap. Get down!!" I moved on top of the two ponies so that my body could shield them. 

In the next moment, the carriage we were hiding behind was tossed aside as the Rhino started to run in the opposite direction of the police. Thankfully, he managed to miss the three of us. I rose up, watching him run while the cops gave chase after him. I turned my attention to the two ponies, both of them slowly getting back up. "Are you two okay?" The two nodded rather fast, no doubt in shock from the whole ordeal they went through. 

All seemed well until I heard a high-pitched whistle and a tingling sensation in my head; my spider senses were going off. Without even thinking, I quickly pushed the two ponies back before turning to face whatever it was that had triggered my spider sense. But when I turned around, I saw nothing but a big blue postal box. "Motherfu-"



WHAM!!



The impact sent me flying onto my back, my vision beginning to blur as I looked up at the sky. Before I lost consciousness, I saw the blurred image of the pony from before looking down at me. It looked like she was saying something, but it all sounded muffled. Eventually, I couldn't keep my eyes open and finally passed out from the impact.
> Chapter 1: Fresh Start
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1: Fresh Start


(Ben POV)

 

The first thing I noticed as my senses started to come back to me was that the upper half of my body was slightly sore; my head to be more specific. Next was that I was laying down on what I had to guess was a bed, which was really comfy. With my mind beginning to fully awaken, I was able to slowly regain control over my limbs and nerves. I slowly began to open my eyes, only to quickly shut them from the bright light over my head. “Ffffffuck that’s bright.”

After letting my eyes adjust to the brightness of the room, I saw that I was staring up at a plain white ceiling. I glanced around to confirm my suspicion. “I'm in a hospital.” Which made sense, considering I was hit by a large blue postal box, a full one at that if the pain on impact was any indication. I winced a bit just thinking about the whole thing. “Ugh, this is a good reason for everyone to switch to emails.”

Taking a moment to go over a mental checklist of my body, I was happy to report that all my limbs were still intact. Other than a mild headache, I was doing okay, but I did notice that something was attached to my right arm when I moved it a bit. Glancing down, I saw that I had an IV in my arm, which meant that I was unconscious for more than a day. To my left, I could see that I was also attached to a heart monitor.

Just as I was going to speculate how long I had been here, the sound of a door clicking open grabbed my attention. Wearing a white coat with a whitish pink doctor’s uniform was a mare with grayish blue fur and a silver mane. She had been looking at her clipboard when she walked in and took a moment to look up to see me staring back at her. "Oh, you're finally awake?" She smiled as she walked over to the side of my bed while looking at her clipboard again. "My name is Swift Recovery. How are you feeling, Mr. Parker?"

For a moment, my heart sank as she already knew my name. They probably looked through my wallet for identification. Why would this be a problem? The reason is that I don't have any possible medical records or legal documents to state that I'm a citizen of Equestria, or this universe’s version of Earth for that matter. And if this was like any other country, no passport either means being deported (To an Earth that isn’t my own.) or being sent to prison. And without any friends and family (Not that I have any.), I’m as good as screwed.

"Um...I'm doing okay, so far as I can tell." I answered, trying to maintain a calm tone.

Swift smiled as she flipped through her clipboard. "Well, after we checked your medical records and did a check for any signs of permanent damage, I am happy to report that you should be able to be discharged from here whenever you’re ready."

'Wait, what?’ They checked my medical records, which means that I have some in this universe? “But ho-?" Suddenly, Madame Web's words about not having to worry about my existence here made some sense. 'Did she make it so that I was a legal being in this universe?'

With that dilemma now on the backburner, I could focus on some other questions that were on my mind. "So, doc, seeing that I have an IV in my arm;" I pointed to my right arm "I can assume I've been out for more than a day?"

Swift slightly cringed a bit. "Well, you're lucky to be alive after a hit like that. But as for your question, you've been unconscious for about five days."

"FIVE DAYS!?" I could hear the heart monitor beeping rapidly as my fear increased my heart rate. Now the obvious question would be: why would I be scared? If you thought it was because I was unconscious for fivedays, then you're wrong. No, the real reason I'm scared is simple; the hospital bill. 'I'm not sure how much it costs for a night in a hospital, but I know it's not cheap. Add that and the fact I've been attached to an IV means the price went even further up.' I took a moment to quickly regain my heart rate so I could think more clearly. 'Okay, the average human can last three whole days without water, and they said I've been out for only five days. That means I've only had two days’ worth of IVs…I think. Never been in a situation like this before.'  Then a new set of questions started to come up. ‘Shit!! What if they don't accept human currency!? Or what if this universe’s currency is something completely different, like bottle caps!? Or dirt!? 

A few taps to my shoulder managed to snap me out of my hysterical mental rant. Swift was holding out a clipboard with some paperwork on it. "I just need you to sign this and you should be set to go anytime you're ready."

'Wait, what?' I blinked a few times, trying to make sure I was still conscious and heard her right. "Um, aren't you gonna ask me how I'm going to pay for the medical care I was given?" A part of me was screaming to shut the hell up and how they could have forgotten, and I wouldn’t have had to pay anything.

"Hmm? Oh! I forgot." Yep, should have kept my mouth shut. "Somepony already took care of that for you, so you don't need to worry." She gave a joyful smile, and unless my ears were playing tricks, I could have sworn I heard a squeaking noise.

"B-b-but who?" I was completely bewildered.

"I'm afraid I can't say. I was told to keep that a secret." Just when I was about to ask why, I saw that Swift's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh! I just remembered. You have a visitor who's been waiting for you to wake up. Would you like to let her in?"

'A guest? For me? That's weird. I don't know anyone here.' My sense of curiosity got the best of me. "Sure, go ahead." She gave a quick bow and walked out, closing the door behind her. 'Now who would be visiting me? I've only been in the city for a day, not including the days I've been unconscious.' A couple knocks on the door snapped me back to reality. "Come in."

The door handle twisted, the door opened, and I saw a familiar face come walking in. With fur white as freshly fallen snow, her mane and tail were two shades of light pink, stood the mare who I had met in the park. She wore a white skirt that barely passed her knees with a light blue sleeveless top. Unlike before, she wasn't wearing a sun hat, which allowed me to see that she was actually a unicorn. And she wasn't wearing a pair of sunglasses either, so I could now see her pale purple eyes with matching eye shadow. Even though she wasn't a human, I would be lying if I said she wasn't beautiful. For a pony, that is.

"I'm glad to see you're well, monsieur. I don't believe we had the chance to properly introduce ourselves." She walked over until she was near the side of the bed, then cleared her throat and slightly bowed. "My name is Fleur de Lis."

"Oh. Well, it's nice to meet you, Miss de Lis. My name is Benjamin Parker, but you can call me Ben for short." I held out my hand for a shake.

She happily took my hand in her own. When she did, I could feel her soft, smooth fur on my palm. She gave a warm smile as she shook my hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ben, and please, just call me Fleur. There's no need to be so formal with me."

"Um, okay, Fleur. It's a pleasure to meet you, too." I couldn't help but return her smile. "Um, may I ask what brings you here today? Not that I’m not grateful for the visit and all, but I feel like there must be a reason to do so, right?”

After letting go of my hand and taking a seat that was next to the bed, Fleur fixed her dress by moving her hands along it to remove any wrinkles before giving me her attention. "Well, I'm here to give the stallion who saved me a proper thank you." After hearing her reason for being here, I started to look around the room, turning left and right, and even looking under my pillow. "Is something wrong? Did you lose something, Ben?"

"No. I'm just trying to find the stallion you mentioned." I set the pillow back down, shrugging my shoulders. "Nope. No stallions here. Just your average human man."

For a moment, the room was silent until Fleur cupped her hand over her muzzle, trying to stifle a fit of giggles. "Oh, forgive me. Pft...I seem to have made a mistake. I wish to thank the ‘man’ who saved my life." She corrected herself, putting emphasis on the word “man” while still giggling to herself.

I couldn't help but chuckle a bit myself. "Much better." I said with a satisfied nod of approval. Despite my current predicament, I still had a small sense of humor, something I must have inherited from my father.

 "Yes, well, I'm glad to see you have a good sense of humor." She cleared her throat, trying to regain her composure. "So, as I was saying, I wanted to show you my thanks for saving me and the filly from the other day." I guessed that “filly” meant the little girl she risked her life to help the other day. I get the feeling that these ponies have a whole set of adjectives I’m gonna be hearing often.

I quickly remembered the little gi…I mean, the little filly. "Oh, that reminds me. Is she okay?" While I wasn't aiming to be a hero, that didn't mean I was completely heartless to leave a child in danger or worry about their wellbeing.

"Yes, she is fine. As a matter of fact, she, along with her parents, came to visit you while you were unconscious." She then gestured for me to look to my left.

Sitting on a table that I had failed to notice were my clothing along with the items I had in my pocket. Beside those was a piece of paper that was folded. Leaning over, I picked up the piece of paper and proceeded to unfold it. When I looked to see what was written, I was a bit surprised to see it was a picture of me. Now, you would have expected that, being from a child, it would have been done in crayon, but that wasn't the case here. Sketched with a pencil was my face from what I had guessed was the filly’s point of view when I saved her and Fleur, like she had taken a picture from below. The picture was of me looking straight ahead with a determined expression with sunlight in the background to give my face more shading. "Are you sure she drew this?” I asked Fleur while tapping on the sketching. “She must be some art prodigy or something."

"She did draw this picture of you, and it's actually because of you that she drew it so well." Fleur added while moving her finger to tap on a corner of the page. On the bottom right, I saw a note.



Thanks for saving me and helping me earn my cutie mark. You're my hero.

Love, Feather Sketch.



"Seems like you've made a little filly’s day, Mr. Parker." She lightly jabbed at my side in a playful manner.

I couldn't help but blush a bit since I was never used to getting this kind of praise. "Honestly, I just did what came naturally to me is all." Even when I didn't want to be, I somehow ended up being the hero. As I read the note again, I found myself with a question. "What does she mean by, ‘I helped her earn her cutie mark?’"

At first, she gave me a questionable look like I had asked a ridiculous question, but that look was short lived as her eyes widened and she gently tapped her palm on her forehead. "Oh, I forgot that you've only been in Equestria for a day." She then raised her hand to her right shoulder to point to some images on her shoulders. There were three fleur de lis symbols, which is ironic since that's what her name was. Two were pink while the third was golden. "Here in Equestria, when a colt or filly finds out what their special talent in life is, their cutie mark will appear that matches that talent of theirs." She then tapped the picture in my hand with a smile. "Apparently, after she had drawn this for you, her cutie mark had finally appeared, telling her that her talent was sketching art."

'Well...that's weird. So they’re not tattoos, but markings that magically appear? This world might take some time to get used to.' I sighed and leaned back into my pillow, still grasping the fact that I was no longer in my world. 'Geez, the Parker family luck sure doesn't know when to skip a generation, now does it?'

I was contempt to wallow in my unfortunate luck until Fleur spoke up. "Oh, I guess we got off topic just now. I still have to show you my gratitude for saving both our lives that day."

"Huh? Uh, that's not really necessary, Miss de Lis. I-."

"Fleur. I told you that you can call me Fleur." She quickly cut me off by placing a finger to my lips, giving me a stern look that told me there was no budging on the matter.

When she had taken her finger off my lips, I cleared my throat to continue "Right, sorry. Um, Fleur, while I do appreciate the offer, I'm gonna have to politely decline."

She didn’t seem to care for that answer as her cheeks puffed out for a moment like a child about to throw a tantrum. “But why not? You risked your life to save me and that little filly. The least you can do is allow me to show my gratitude.”

‘Ugh, she is a persistent one. Why can’t she take the hint?’ I groaned internally. It seemed like this mare was going to be bothering me until I gave her a legit answer. ‘I could just tell her it’s a matter of pride…Nah, she doesn’t seem to be that kind of gir…er, I mean, mare to take that kind of answer.’ I was left to ponder what I could say to change her mind. That’s when my father’s voice echoed in my mind with him saying the same phrase he would always say in times like these. I let out a long sigh as I looked at her. “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Fleur seemed to be taken a bit off guard by that phrase. “What?”

I let out a long sigh. “That was something my dad used to tell me a lot. It can have more than one meaning. But in the case of me saving you and that filly, it means that if you have the power to save someone, then you should use that power to do so. Or at least that’s what I think it meant at the time.” To be honest, I never really understood the true meaning of that saying, but dad said that someday, I will. But to me, I feel like he let that simple phrase run his life. Just because one has the power to do something doesn’t mean you are obligated to do anything. If a man has a black belt in karate and his fist is registered as a lethal weapon, and if he sees a police officer being ganged up on by some criminals, is he obligated to go and help just because he has the skills? The answer is no, he doesn’t. There is no reason he should go risk his life for someone who has been trained to handle situations like these. And yet my father believed that no matter the threat, whether it be a mugger or a mad supervillain, he always had to go and try to save the day.

There was a long moment of silence between me and Fleur as she sat there taking in my words. I wasn’t even sure if I used that phrase at the right time. I just didn’t feel like having someone thinking they owed me anything. But despite my protest to her offer, Fleur still had the same determined look on her face. “Well then, by that logic, I don’t really need a reason to not do something nice for someone.” And just like that, I was somehow at a loss for words, wondering if that phrase could be used that way. “So, let us get you checked out of here and go for a walk. I’ll think of something to show you my thanks as I give you a tour of the city.” Before I could try and protest, she was already out the door.

As the door shut behind her, I was left dumbfounded as I sat in my room all alone. “What the fuck just happened?”





After I dressed myself and checked out of the hospital, I made my way out the doors to see that Fleur was waiting for me, only this time, she was wearing the same sunhat and sunglasses from yesterday. I looked up to the sky to see that it was partly cloudy and barely even bright out. “How come you're wearing those again?” I gestured to the two accessories. “It’s not that hot out, nor is it that bright.”

She puffed out her cheeks again before turning away. “Dearie, it’s considered rude to question a mare’s outfit. You should support a mare on their decision with whatever they wear, no matter if it is a bit excessive.”

I wasn’t sure if that was true or not given my first and only relationship never brought up this kind of problem, mainly because at times, Morgan would act like a total tomboy. She wasn’t afraid to get down and dirty. She wasn’t a slob, but she wasn’t so petty to worry about her appearance all the time. I gave the mare a cheeky smile as I made my way over to her. “So, you just admitted that what you are wearing is excessive.” That little bit made her cheeks fluster a bit as she looked over to me and blew a raspberry. “You know, for an adult, you sure act childish.” I couldn’t help but tease. Which was rather odd since I usually try to keep a calm and almost introverted attitude. I wasn’t sure if it was because of this world and its brighter atmosphere compared to New York, or because of this mare.

Before I knew it, Fleur was marching over to me with a blush still on her muzzle. “Listen here, little man, I’ll have you know that I’m not childish. I’m just free spirited. If a mare wants to wear more clothing than it is needed, then that is her choice. As a gentleMAN, you should always compliment her no matter what decision she makes.” I could tell she wasn’t mad by her tone as she lightly poked me in the chest. I was going to comment on her remark for calling me a little man, but I noticed that, as she stood next to me, she was a good foot taller than me. I hadn’t really noticed before since this was the first time we had ever stood up this close to one another. It was kind of intimidating in a way since I was almost six feet tall. Either the mares of this world are all this tall, or she was exceptionally rare.

Seeing that this was a battle that any sane man knows when he’s beat, I raised up my hands defensively. “Okay, I’m sorry. You look good no matter what you wear, whether too much or otherwise.” At first, she was still glaring at me like she was ready to rip my throat out, but then suddenly switched to a bright, cheery smile and raised her hand to pat me on the head before turning away to continue our trip. ‘Jesus. Lookslike no matter what universe you go to, females will always be scary and intimidating.’

I was considering ditching this mare and trying to find a way back home, and I was about to until I felt the collar of my shirt being tugged. I looked down to see it enveloped in a pale pink aura. I tried to wipe it off, only for my finger to go right through it like it was air. Before I could try again to bat away this mysterious aura away, my shirt was yanked forward, which managed to get the rest of my body to follow suit. When I looked ahead to see the direction in which I was being pulled toward, I saw that it was to Fleur. She looked over her shoulder with a coy smirk as I watched her raise her hand, and with her index finger, make a ‘come here’ motion. “Come now, Ben, dearie. If you don’t pick up the pace, we won’t be able to see most of the city before sundown.” Her finger beckoned once more, which caused the collar of my shirt to get tugged once more.

With no other options available to me, I complied with her request and picked up my pace until I was walking beside her. ‘I can’t help but feel like this could be considered as kidnapping.’ I glanced over to my forceful tour guide and saw that she had a rather pleasant smile on her face. ‘Though, as far as kidnappers go, she is rather bea-…What the hell am I thinking?!’





We spent the next hour walking around the city, taking in the different sights and shops as we passed by them. During that time, Fleur gave me a summary of Equestria’s history. She told me about the three pony tribes and what they excelled at. Earth ponies were strong and knew how to tend to the land, making them great famers. Pegasi were fast and nimble and could control the weather. And Unicorns were considered great scholars and capable of using magic to cast spells and other stuff. Because Fleur is a unicorn, she can use magic, but she stated that not every unicorn could cast the same kind of spells. Some unicorns whose special talent revolved around magic could cast a wide range of spells while the average unicorn could do the simplest of things, like grabbing and levitating something with their magic, or even summoning objects and teleporting. I got to experience unicorn magic firsthand since Fleur used her own to pull me by my shirt earlier.

Another thing that happened during our walk was Fleur’s phone going off almost every five minutes. She would check it and then quickly deny the call. She did this for the first six or seven calls before asking me to wait for her as she answered the phone when it rang for the ninth time. While I waited for her to finish her conversation with whoever it was on the other line, I noticed a stand that was selling newspapers. On one of the covers, I saw a picture of Wilson Fisk with a smile on his face as he was shaking hands with a pony. This pony had both a horn and wings while wearing a very elegant dress. Her mane was rather pretty with its bright, colorful streaks. If I remember correctly from what Fleur told me, that was one of the princesses, who was an alicorn, a race of pony who had all the attributes of the three pony races combined. I was honestly ticked off after seeing that man’s face as his image alone brought back so many painful memories, and what made his picture even more irritating was the title of the article.



Wilson Fisk, an upstanding human citizen shaking hands with the princess of Equestria



The title alone made me want to barf. These ponies and people had no idea what kind of man he was. And if that bald-headed bastard was anything like the one my father and Miles had to deal with, he was keeping his true nature a secret by putting up a front, making him seem like he was a saint. I tried to take my mind off that son of a bitch by looking at the other newspapers the vendor was selling. He seemed to have them all organized by dates. As I was looking at the different headlines, I saw one that mentioned the Rhino, but due to it being too far away and the print being so small, I couldn’t properly read it, but I saw the word “Supermodel” in there. But just as I was about to try and get a better look at the article, I felt a light tug on my shirt and turned to see Fleur was behind me. “Sorry for the wait. That was my ma-…eh, I mean friend on the phone. I didn’t tell her where I was going today, and she was worried about me.”

I couldn’t help but quirk a brow at that. “Sounds like a really clingy friend if she needs to know where you are all the time. Are you dating or something?”

That made her cheeks turn a light shade of pink as she held out her hands in front of her and waved them around. “What!? N-no, that’s not it at all!” I had to admit, seeing her get this flustered was kind of cute and funny. After she managed to get her composure back in order, Fleur explained to me what she meant. “You see, we both work together as partners, so for me to up and leave without telling her is an inconvenience for her. If anything work related should come up, she’ll need my input on decision making.” She explained. As she looked past me, for some reason, her pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks, and she was beginning to sweat a bit. “Uhm, so, are you sure there isn’t anything I can do to show my thanks for before?”

Christ on a stick, this mare is persistent. Are all mares this pushy, or is it just her? “Look, I really appreciate you wanting to thank me and all, but it’s not-”

GYUUUUUUUUM

My stomach’s loud gurgling interrupted me, which had my face burn a bright red. I hadn’t realized that I was that hungry, but then again, I have been unconscious for roughly five days. I’m just surprised I only noticed up till now.

“Ah haaa~, somepony’s a little hungry, aren’t we?” She asked with half-lidded eyes and raised eyebrows, which made her more attractive from how seductive it looked with that small grin of hers. Wait…did I just think she was attractive? “Then how about you let me treat you to some lunch, and then we can call it even? Is that alright with you, dearie?”

Honestly, I was really hungry, and if it will get her off my back, then I might as well go along with it. “Sure, I guess that would be an even trade.” I may seem like I’m being rude to someone-er, somepony who is trying to be nice and show me a good time and all, but I really just want to find a way back home so I can go back to living my normal life. The longer I stay in the world, the more likely I’ll bump into another one of those supervillains like the Rhino. This may seem irrational and a dumb reason to want to ditch Fleur, but I just don’t want to be a pawn in Madam Web’s little game of hero versus villains.

“Wonderful! I know just the place to go, and it’s close by.” Without warning, she grabbed my hand and pulled me along down the street. And just like that, we were off again with her leading me around like a dog on a leash.





After another three blocks, we had reached our destination. And, well…‘What the actual hell is this?’

I was expecting something simple like a café or a diner, maybe a ma and pa kind of restaurant. Instead, I’m standing in front of a large, pearly white two-story building with ivory columns. There looks to be a balcony on the second floor where guests can sit outside to enjoy their meal. To add this godly looking building, it had gold trimming to accentuate the clean white columns. Written on a gold plaque was the name of the restaurant: “La couronne d'or”. I only took one semester of French class, but I’m pretty sure that name translates to something that means, “This place is way out of your price range, dude.” Hell, just looking at this place is burning a hole through my wallet. I get that I saved her life and all, but this was a level of generosity that I was both not used to and felt uncomfortable with accepting. “Um, Fleur, I know you wanted to show me your appreciation and all, but don’t you think this place is a bit much? I don’t want you to go broke trying to because you think you owe me or anything.”

She giggled a bit and waved her hand a bit. “It’s alright, Ben. I promise that you have nothing to worry about. Besides, I know the owner of this restaurant.” And like before, she gently pulled me along by my hand into the restaurant.

Much like the outside, the inside of the restaurant was incredibly posh with the floors being made from polished marble and the walls painted white with gold trimmings. ‘Seriously, thisplace looks so freaking expensive that I’m willing to bet they use gold seat covers in their bathrooms with hundred-dollar bills as the toilet paper.’

We got up front to the host’s podium where they marked down reservations for those who called ahead of time. “Welcome to the Golden Crown. How may I…?” The brown-colored stallion host stopped when he looked up and squinted a bit before cracking a smile. “Why, Miss de Lis! What a pleasant surprise!” He exclaimed in a cheerful tone. I guess he has seen her enough to see past her disguise, which then begs the question: How many times has she been to this place? “Not that I’m not happy to see you today, but what brings you here? You usually make your reservations days in advance.”

Seeing that her disguise wasn’t needed anymore, Fleur removed her sunhat and sunglasses and gave the stallion a pleasant smile. “Sorry for showing up unannounced, but I’m here to treat my new friend to a meal. If it’s not too much trouble, could we get a balcony table today?”

The stallion glanced over at me, giving me a puzzled look as he raised a brow before shaking his head and smiling back to Fleur. “But of course, Miss de Lis. If you two will follow me, I’d be happy to show you two to your table.” The stallion stepped from behind his podium and gestured for us to follow him. He led us to an elevator that took us up to the second floor and guided us outside to a table that was close to the balcony’s edge. The table gave a beautiful view of the city, plus the land that extended beyond the horizon. Both Fleur and I took our seats as the host set down two menus in front us before giving a small bow. “Somepony shall be with you two shortly. Please enjoy your afternoon.” Before he left, the stallion gave me a sideways glance with a strange look, something I’m sure I’ll see more often the longer I stay in this world.

Fleur was the first to open up her menu as she looked through it to see what she wanted for lunch. While I, on the other hand, was looking at her with a curious look. “So, they seem to know you quite well here if they can see through your disguise, Fleur.”

I noticed how her smile seemed to have faded a bit before she looked up to me. “Like I mentioned earlier, I know the owner of this place very well.” I guess that explains why that stallion didn’t try to say something about me being a human. I was half expecting a hairless ape remark from him. “Have you decided what you’ll be having, Ben? I know that humans have a different diet then us ponies, but this place should have a wide variety of food that should be able to satisfy you. And remember, it’s on me, so don’t hold back.” She said with a warm smile.

“Oh. Well, thanks, Fleur.” I decided to stop overthinking things and opened my menu, only to have my eyes nearly pop out of their sockets when I saw the prices on this menu. ‘How much just for a bowl of pasta?!’ The price alone for one of their entrees could pay half a month’s rent back on earth. Don’t even get me started on their main course. I was starting to sweat bullets just looking at the menu. Does this mare even KNOW what she is doing right now? I know she offered to pay, but I can’t take advantage of her kindness. I glanced around the menu, deciding on the house salad since it was the least expensive item, which isn’t saying much. “I think I’ll have the house salad. Um, do they serve bread too?”

“Oh yes, the garlic bread here is to DIE for in Canterlot. You will not be dissatisfied, I promise you that,” she said before looking at me with a worried look. “Are you sure a salad and bread are all that you’ll be having for tonight though, Ben? I would imagine that you’d want something a bit more filling.”

Man, this mare is so nice. Makes me wish there were more people like her back home. “Yep. I’m positive that will be enough for me.” Besides, it’s not like I’m used to eating big meals anyway. Back home, I tried to spend very little on things I don’t need, mainly due to me trying to save up my money.

“Huh. Alright then,” she replied while shrugging her shoulders. “I actually like the salad here, too, so I’ll be having that as well. Would you like some wine?”

I shook my head. “No thanks. I’m only twenty, so I’m not old enough to drink till September.”

Fleur tilted her head a bit as she looked confused. “Dearie, the legal drinking age in Equestria is eighteen.”

Well…shit. ‘Hmm. Should I give it a try?’ I gave the idea some thought and shrugged my shoulders. “Sure, why not? I’ll trust your experience and let you choose.”

Soon, a waitress came by with our garlic bread and glasses of water to start us off. Like the host earlier, she also gave me a questioning look, but probably didn’t comment because Fleur was at the same table. We made our orders before she let us be, and I tried the garlic bread dipped in olive oil they provided. Fleur giggled at my reaction to the god-like taste of the appetizer as I savored every bite afterwards. She wasn’t kidding when she said this stuff was to die for. I may consider ordering another round.

While we waited for our food to arrive, Fleur decided to make some small talk with me. “So Ben, are you sure you’re feeling alright?” I looked up at her while I was biting into my bread. She giggled a bit before continuing with her question. “I mean, after taking that blow to your head when you saved me and Feather Sketch. The doctors said you would be fine physically, but they were worried how the hit could affect you mentally.”

Now I understand what she’s talking about. With any normal person, that much trauma could do some brain damage. Thankfully, I wasn’t a normal person. However, I could probably use her concern to my advantage right now. “Eh, you know, I don’t think I’m having any difficulties remembering important things like my name and family. But there seems to be gaps in my memories of certain events. Like that Rhino guy. I mean what’s the deal with him and that mech suit? And are there more guys like him in this world?”

I think she bought my act as she seemed deep in thought for a good while. I didn’t like lying to her about me having memory issues, but this is completely harmless, and she might tell me how all these villains that my father and Milles put away are somehow running amok in this world. “It started around two years after our two worlds became connected. At first, humans would have to undergo a screening process with their backgrounds being checked, and then one of the princesses would speak to the individual humans to see why they are coming to Equis. After getting the seal of approval, they are given a passport for which they can use to come and go as they please. Because of this, there are roughly around two hundred humans here on Equis.”

Huh, that was interesting. But if this planet is as big or bigger than Earth, two hundred humans is practically nothing. “If what you say about how humans getting here is true, then how in the world did all these villains get here?”

“I was about to get to that.” Fleur let out a sigh as she leaned back in her seat. “You see, the method in which humans get here is via portals. These portals have popped up in your world and connected to Equis. Of course, the princesses quickly managed to get these portals under control and set up guards to prevent any humans who didn’t make it through the screening from coming through. However, despite their efforts, there was a portal they had no idea of which these hardened criminals came from.”

Figures that the villains would find some way to get here. Hell, I’m willing to bet they made their own portal, which could explain why the princesses didn’t see them coming. I then remembered something Madam Web mentioned before she ditched me the other day. About how this world had heroes, but none that could stand up to the supervillains. “So if you guys have supervillains here, then I’m guessing you have some heroes to fight against them…right?”

Fleur’s ears folded down as her expression became somber and she let out a sad sigh. “I’m afraid that the ones we have are no match for these awful people.” She raised her glass of water to her lips and took a few sips from it. “You see, our greatest means of defense were a group of ponies known as the Element Bearers. They were the ones who embodied the power of friendship.” It took all my willpower to not burst into laughter then and there. I kept my composure since something like that doesn’t sound too ridiculous. “They had bested mainly foul and evil creatures here in Equestria in the past, but when they tried to confront the villains from another world, they found that their magic was being drained away and could not activate their powers. The villains somehow had the power to absorb the magic of any creature who tried to stand in their way. And without our magic, we are completely helpless.” Fleur looked down into her glass of water with the same sad expression as before. “Neither the Elements of Harmony nor the princesses could stand against these fiends. The villains have powers and technology that are capable of besting the best of our kind. And that’s even with the other humans trying to help us stop them.”

‘So basically, this world is like their personal playground.’ I honestly felt bad for these guys. I knew how hard it was for my father to try and take them on his own, but these guys’ only means of defense are useless. But something didn’t sit right with me. If the villains can do as they please, then how come this city doesn’t look all that damaged? I’m not complaining, but I remember when my dad told me when the Kingpin was put away in jail for some time, the city’s lower-ranked criminals ran amok, throwing the city of New York into chaos. “If what you say is true about how no one can stop these criminals, then how come they aren’t running this city into the ground?” I quickly realized how wrong that sounded and tried to correct myself. “I mean, not that I’m complaining or anything. I just mean if they can do what they want, I’d imagine I would have seen more distractions or the villains themselves, you know?”

Smooth, Parker. Real smooth.

Thankfully, she didn’t take any offense to my question. “To be honest with you, we don’t know ourselves. Whenever the villains attack, it usually lasts less than half a day. Normally, they just go and steal what they want and just leave, or at the worst of times, they will go on a rampage and do as they please. But that happens rarely, and you usually don’t see the same villain twice in a row or two of them at a time. We have no idea why, but due to this pattern, we can sometimes guess when they may appear, and in which order.”

This had to be the work of Kingpin, I just know it. Speaking of. “By the way, while I was waiting for you to finish your phone call with your friend, I saw on a newspaper something about a guy named Wilson Fisk. What can you tell me about that guy?”

“Oh, Mr. Fisk is a great man. After the villains showed up, he came along and offered his aid to Equestria. He helped bring our country into almost the same age of modern technology as earth while also incorporating our magic. He’s also generous enough to aid in the reconstruction of any buildings and businesses that may have been destroyed during the villains’ attacks. The man is such a kind soul, he asks for nothing in return.” Fleur looked at me and looked a bit worried. “Ben, are you alright? Your shaking.”

I was indeed shaking while also forcing a smile, but not because of it being too cold or out of fear. No, I was shaking with absolute rage. ‘That bald mother fucker! I see his game now!’ I should have figured this was the reason he was considered an “upstanding citizen”. He's playing these guys for fools, and the worst part is they have no idea what he’s really like. A typical Wilson Fisk move. Gets everyone around him to seem like he’s a good guy, only to use their trust for his own personal gain. I tried to calm myself down since Fleur was looking very concerned. “Oh, I’m just shaking with admiration for him is all. He sounds like an amazing fellow.” I strained to keep a straight face as those words escaped my lips. ‘I want to violently rinse my mouth out with acid for saying that.’ Thankfully, Fleur seemed to be none the wiser of my pure hatred for the man and smiled happily.

Eventually, our waitress came back with our food and a bottle of wine with two wine glasses. It looked new as she popped the cork from the chilled bottle before she poured red wine into our glasses. She gave us a polite bow. “Please enjoy your meals.” And with that, she turned and left.

I glanced down at the salad and saw that it looked pretty damn good. There were croutons, olives, and some sliced hard-boiled eggs. I glanced at my glass of wine, gently picked it up, and lifted it to my nose to take in the scent. Due to it being my first glass ever, I wasn’t sure how to properly appraise the smell it gave off, but it definitely has a pleasant aroma. I looked back to Fleur, who seemed to be enthralled by my action and watched with anticipation. “Go on. You don’t have to wait for me. I’m curious to see what you think. I chose this particular wine since it’s both tasty and not too strong for those starting out.”

Seeing that she was excited to see my reaction, I saw no reason to wait any longer. I slowly brought the glass to my lips and took a small sip of the wine. At first, the taste was overwhelming despite Fleur saying how it was a wine for those who were new to drinking. I allowed the liquid to stay in my mouth to allow my tongue to get used to the taste before swallowing it. Fleur was giggling up a fit as she watched me quickly take a swig of my water. “Are you alright, dearie?”

It took me a moment, but after another gulp of water, I felt somewhat better. “I thought you said this stuff was for beginners.” I asked while looking back at the red liquid.

That only got Fleur to giggle even harder as she lightly clutched her stomach with one hand. “It is. You're just too inexperienced to handle it yet.” She said with a playful smirk, followed by a wink. I wasn’t just gonna take that sitting down. I raised the glass back to my lips and took another swig. Thankfully, I knew what to expect and was properly prepared when I swallowed. I looked to Fleur, who seemed impressed and gave an approving nod.

We went on to enjoy our meals in peaceful silence with the only exception being the city noises around us. The funny difference between this city’s noise and New York’s was there wasn’t nearly as much horns honking or people cursing about traffic. I may want to go home soon, but I can’t help but enjoy the atmosphere this world had. The air is fresher, and despite the villains that lurk in the shadows, the world had a peaceful feeling to it. It’s a shame I’ll have to leave it, but I knew I didn’t belong here. Of course, the only question now is how in the world am I going to get back to my earth.

“Ben?” I was brought out of my thoughts when I heard Fleur call out my name.

“Hmm?”

“I don’t know if you heard me or not, but I was asking you if you and I could be friends?” Well, that was out of left field. Where did this come from? My confused expression must have been obvious as she tried to elaborate. “It’s just I’m really grateful for you saving my life, and you seem to need somepony to help you around Equestria.”

I was taken aback by her offer. A part of me wanted to accept it, but I knew there would be no point to it. “Fleur, I’m touched by your offer, but there’s a bit of an issue.” She seemed to look slightly sad if her ears drooping were any indication. “I never meant to come to Equestria. I don’t have any money, or at least not the kind you probably use here. And I still need to find a way back home.”

She lowered her head a bit, which was kinda sad to see. “Oh, I see.” Her voice sounded disappointed, but she looked up, trying to put up a happy front. “Well, either way, I would still like it if we could be friends, even if you decide to go back to Earth.” Her smile seemed more genuine, which made me feel like a total ass for not just accepting her friendship right away. “So do you plan to call your friend who brought you here to maybe pick you up?”

“Yeeaahh, that might be a problem.” Fleur tilted her head in confusion. I reached in my pocket, pulled out.my flip phone, and set it down on the table. The thing was practically smashed with some of the plastic chipping off.

“Um Ben, what is that?”

“It’s my phone.”

“That’s a phone?” She asked while leaning in to lightly poke at it with her finger. “But it’s so… blocky.” She pulled out her smartphone, which now that I look at, has the same color case as her mane with her cutie mark on it. “It looks nothing like the one I have.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle a bit as I picked up my broken fossil of a phone. “That’s because it’s not a smartphone like yours. It doesn’t connect to the internet like yours does. It’s only meant for making phone calls.” I carefully opened my phone up, only to have a few of the number keys fall out. The thing was only held together by the wires that connected the dial pad and the screen.

Fleur found my broken phone rather interesting, carefully taking it as she inspected it closely. “Forgive me for asking, but couldn’t you afford a better phone than this one? If it doesn’t connect to the internet like you say, then how do you check your Emails or send businesses your resumes?”

“Simple. I either use the computer lab at my college, or I head down to the local library to use theirs. And as for why I don’t save up for a new phone, well, I wanted to save as much money as I could. See, I wanted to save enough to eventually move out of New York and go someplace more quieter and rural.” I smiled as I remembered the second reason I kept that old thing. “And because it was the first phone my dad ever got me.” Fleur looked up at me as I stared at the old device. “It’s funny. I remember begging my dad for a cell phone because everyone in class had a smartphone. When he gave me that phone, I was a little bit disappointed. But my dad told me that I was a bit young for a smartphone, and that a phone was really meant to make phone calls, not play games about birds being shot at pigs.” Both Fleur and I couldn’t help but chuckle at my dad’s logic. “He made me a promise that if I took care of this phone for a whole year without losing or breaking it, he and mom would get me my very own smartphone.”

Fleur had a warm smile on her face as she examined my phone some more. “He sounds like a great man.”

In that moment, all the happiness I was feeling washed away. “Yeah. He was a great man.”

The look of shock on Fleur’s face came as no surprise as she knew what I implied. She looked down at the busted phone in her hand and moved a finger to gently rub against the broken screen. “Ben...I’m sor- Gah!”

Her apology was cut short when my phone let out a few sparks before an electric voice played. “Y-you h-h-have two m-m-missed me-as-asges. Firs-tt-t message.”

There was a beeping sound before the voice of the last person I wanted to hear from today came through. “PARKER!!” The loud voice made Fleur jump up a bit as she dropped my phone on the table. It was my boss, Fredrickson, and as usual, he didn’t sound happy. “You were supposed to be back at work three days ago!!!” Ah shit, he’s right! I forgot I was unconscious for five whole days! “I will not tolerate a single missed day, let alone THREE!! That’s one strike for every day you’ve been gone, and much like in baseball, you’re OUT!!”

The message left me completely dead silent. I had just lost my job. A job that wasn’t easy to get. ‘Could this day get any worse?’

The phone beeped again. “N-ee-xt-t-t-t-t meaaa—sssage.”

The phone beeped again as the next message played. “Hello, Mr. Parker, this is the New York fire department.” Oh please tell me they are calling to tell me that I won tickets to the fireman’s ball. “We are calling to inform you that the apartment complex you were staying at has unfortunately been destroyed by a fire.” Of fucking course it has. “A resident on the lower floors had unfortunately caused the fire and the entire building was set ablaze. Thankfully, no one was severely hurt in the fire, but any and all items within the building have been burnt to ash. I’m sorry to have to bring you this news and hope that you are with friends and family who you can hopefully stay with till you find a new place to stay. I wish you the best of luck, sir.”

The phone finally gave out on me as the screen went black and died, leaving me alone to my thoughts. ‘So, not only am I jobless, but now I’m homeless. All in a single afternoon…The Parker family luck REALLY doesn’t know how to skip a generation.’ I wanted to just scream my lungs out and break down right then and there, but I knew it wouldn’t do me any good. I had tempted the universe by jinxing myself. So instead, I gently slammed my head down on the table, barely missing my salad and silverware. ‘Everything is gone. My job, my home, and everything inside. My picture of mom, dad, and Miles. It’s all gone, and I’m all alone on a different planet.’

I wanted nothing more than to wallow in my sadness and just die so I could end my misery, but I felt a warm, gentle feeling on my shoulder, which got me to look up. Fleur was looking at me with tears welling up in her eyes, which surprised me since she had no reason to be crying. “I’m so sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing? This wasn’t your fault.”

She shook her head and wiped her eyes with a napkin with her free hand. “It is. If you hadn’t come to my rescue when you did, then you would have been able to go back home in time to not lose your job, or save your belongings before your home burnt down.” She sniveled a bit with her shoulders shaking.

‘Great. Way to go, Ben. You made her feelguilty and cry.’ I wasn’t sure what I should do, but I knew feeling sorry for myself wasn’t gonna be one of them. I gently took her hand in my own and gently caressed her hand with my thumb to try and make her feel better. “Hey now, don’t cry. I don’t blame you at all.” She looked up at me and sniffled a bit before wiping her eyes again. “It wasn’t your fault I was dragged here by my friend and then suddenly ditched afterwards. You did nothing wrong. You tried to make me feel welcome here and offered to be my friend. If anything, you were probably the only good thing that came out of this whole thing. And I’m grateful for that, Fleur de Lis.” I gave her my best reassuring smile to try and help comfort her.

She finished wiping her eyes before regaining her breath. “So what are you going to do now, Ben?”

That was actually a good question. What am I gonna do now? “Well, given the fact that I’m both jobless and homeless, I guess the best course of action would be for me to try and find a job. Which won’t be easy, since I’m not sure if this world employs humans, and if you guys do, then it will still be difficult without having a resume on hand. I guess I’ll have to try and find a computer and print it up.” That is, if I can access the same internet from my earth. And even if I do, by some miracle, get my resume printed up, there is still the fact that all I have are the clothes on my back, and they aren’t appropriate for interviews or work.

“If you’re looking for work, I might be able to help.” I looked up to Fleur with a glimmer of hope. “If you can access your resume on my phone, I could take a look at it. With any luck, I could help get you a job today.” I was at a loss for words as she slid her phone over to me with her internet browser up. I couldn’t really say anything as I nervously tried to gain access to my Email. And with yet another miracle, I was actually able to connect to it. I opened up the file with my updated resume. I always made sure to keep it updated every six months in case I ever decided to quit working for Fredrickson, or if he decided to fire me, which he just so happened to do. I slid Fleur back her phone with my resume. She took a moment to look through it, humming curiously as she scrolled through the page. “You seem to have some background in photography. Can you tell me about that?”

“Oh, well...uh...back in high school, I was part of the photography club. They said I had a natural talent for it and put me in charge of taking photos for any major events, like pep rallies, sports games, and dances.” Funnily enough, after I joined, my dad told me how he used to be a photographer too. Of course, that was back when he worked for that dick, Jameson.

She looked through my resume some more and smiled a bit. “And it seems you have a rather grand grade point average when you graduated.”

“Yeah, but I’m not sure if it’s the same as it was when I graduated.” Truth be told, I wasn’t sure if I was that smart because of my powers or if it was because growing up as a kid, mom and dad made learning the basics fun.

I remember how dad asked me to help make some of his web fluid before he would go out to fight crime. There was one time I wanted to do a little experiment where I added red food coloring to the web recipe to see if the webs that would shoot out would be the same color. What I didn’t expect was for him to take it out with him before I had tested it. When we saw dad on the news, he must have loaded the cartridge I made because, instead of shooting out red webbing, he fired out pink webbing. When mom saw that on the news, she was on the floor laughing. Thankfully, that happened on the same day for breast cancer awareness. When dad got home, he was laughing too, saying how the people thanked him for supporting breast cancer awareness. I miss those days.

“Ben?” I was quickly snapped back to reality when Fleur called my name. “You okay? I’ve been saying your name three times now.”

I nodded my head, trying to regain my composure. “Sorry, I was just lost in some memories is all. What were you asking?”

“I was asking to see how well you are at writing down schedules and notes.”

Hmmm. That was something I rarely ever did back on earth. But then again, all you had to do was write down the time of appointments and writing down important notes. “I think I would do pretty well at that since it doesn’t seem like a hard task to perform.”

“Would you say you’ll work as hard in your new job here as you would back on Earth?” Fleur asked. I turned my attention back to her, and she was looking at me with a serious looking expression in her eyes while resting her arms on the table.

“Of course I would. Maybe much more,” I answered. “Jobs were hard to come by back on Earth. I was barely lucky enough to land the job I had thanks to a friend. I doubt I’ll find another job that easily back on Earth. Having a job is a privilege, and I would do whatever I can to keep it in order to get around.” Especially for me, since it’s either I find a job quick or find a cardboard box to sleep in.

Fleur nodded her head in satisfaction while picking up her glass to take a sip of her wine. “I like your attitude, Mr. Parker. What if I told you I knew of a job that would not only provide you with a great pay, but also offer you housing?”

I was completely baffled by what she had just said. A job that pays well and gives you a home to sleep in? “I’d say I’m dreaming and to not pinch me awake.” She started to giggle a bit as she gently set her wine glass down. “Are they willing to take in human workers?” She nodded her head, which made me sigh in relief.  “So, who is the pony I have to go talk to about getting this job?” I asked while raising my glass of wine for another sip. I was actually starting to get used to the taste.

“You’re looking at her,” she replied with half-lidded eyes and a smile. “Since you’re new to this world, it would make sense that you don’t know my own background, so allow me to introduce myself once more. My name is Fleur de Lis, and I make a living as a well-known model.”

The wine I was drinking went down the wrong pipe as I gasped in shock, quickly looking away from Fleur while trying to cough out the alcohol I inhaled rather than drank. After I caught my breath, I turned back to her with that same expression she had on her face before. “A m-model?” I asked. “As in…doing photo shoots to advertise products? THAT kind of modeling?”

“That and others, dearie,” she replied. “You see, I had to let go of my secretary recently because she wasn’t doing her job, and it was affecting my career in a negative way. My manager has helped me through some tough times, but she can only do so much by herself. So now I’m without a good secretary who could organize agendas, record appointments I need to attend, take letters, and whatever other projects and chores outside of my career that would cause me a bit of stress before going through my photo shoots. What’s more is that my normal photographer, Photo Finish, says I should look into hiring a personal photographer to help me when she isn't around, and who can take pictures of me at any place, any time.”

Fleur looked over my resume once more, then looked back to me with a smile. “After looking through your resume, AND taking into consideration how fast you came to save me and Feather Sketch from that horrible villain, you may just have the qualities I need in a secretary and photographer to help make things a lot easier for me. I’d like to offer you a chance to take that position and help me get through my career as one of Equestria’s top models. Since I’ll need you by my side most of the time, I’ll be offering you the guest room my previous secretary used in my home to keep you close by. We can work out your starting pay, a proper interview, and how you’ll be doing your job with my manager once the three of us get together. What do you say, Mr. Parker? Would you be interested?.....Ben, are you alright?”

Brian.EXE has shut down. Would you like to restart? Yes or No?

After letting my brain reboot, it took me a minute to process the offer Fleur made. Not only would I have a job, but I would have a new home, AND I would be working with a model. A MODEL! I wasn’t sure if this was just a dream after hitting my head on the table earlier, but I wish I would never wake up from it. Being a secretary for somepony like Fleur de Lis? Who knows what my future has in store for me? “Fleur, I would be honored to work for you.”

Fleur clapped happily in response. “Marvelous! Then let’s celebrate with a toast.” We held up our glasses in the air with content smiles in our faces. “To a bright and happy future that lies ahead of us, and our time working together. Until we get everything with you settled, you’re officially hired as my new secretary.” We then clinked glasses and took a drink. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m used to the taste or because I have a stroke of good luck, but the wine tasted even sweeter as it went down my throat.

‘Maybe my luck is finally changing for the better.’
> Chapter 2: A new job, a new home, and a new friend
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After we had finished our dinner, Fleur paid for our meal while also leaving behind a tip before we left the extremely expensive restaurant. I would have offered to help pay for the meal, even though I didn’t have any of this world’s currency. While we waited for a taxi to come and pick us up to go to her house, Fleur went on to explain what this world’s currency was, and thankfully, it wasn’t bottle caps and dirt. The currency here was known as bits (Bits of what? I don’t know.), and get this. They are coins made of gold. That’s right; GOLD. These guys live on the gold standard! Fleur went on to letting me know what the denomination of a bit is compared to a U.S dollar, which is simple: one dollar equals one bit. She told me that I could go down to the local bank to convert the money I have saved up into bits and get a credit card that will hold them. I wasn’t too sure if my bank account from my earth would be connected here, but given that I was able to get phone calls from my world and access my Email, I didn’t feel a need to worry about it.

I actually liked this world’s form of currency for one reason. And no, it’s not because of the gold. It’s that there isn’t any change. Meaning that you pay in an exact, solid number every time.  Why is this a big deal to me? Because now I don’t have to worry about carrying loose change or have to do the math when I buy items that are like seven dollars and something cents, or eighteen forty-five. I just pay the amount and that’s it. It may not seem like a big deal, but I never liked carrying loose change around. Can you honestly name a time when you went shopping multiple times in one day, and had the exact amount of money every time without splitting a bill?…Yeah, I didn’t think so.

When our taxi finally arrived, I decided to try and be a good friend by opening the door for Fleur to let her in. She smiled and thanked me, and I hopped in right after her. As I rode in the taxi, I looked out the window and saw that the sky was getting darker. I hadn’t realized it was already so late. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched the sky turn from orange to a violet blue; I was in such a great mood. But then again, that could be due to the fact that I landed a job working for a famous model as her secretary/photographer. I kept pinching myself every few minutes to make sure I wasn’t dreaming or something. This was the kind of thing I fantasized about doing. Well, minus the fact that it was for a human model, but still. Hell, the more I look around seeing pastel-colored ponies who could fly and cast magic, the more I thought this was a dream. I went from being sent to a whole new world, knocked out by a mail bin, to losing my job and home in such a short time. And just when I think all hope is lost, this beautiful mare sitting next to me offers me a home and a job. Like an angel sent from heaven.





By the time we reached our destination, it was already nightfall. I didn’t see many stars in the sky mainly due to the city lights and all, but the ones I could see far exceeded the ones I would have seen back in New York.

“Here we are, Ms. De Lis,” the driver said, which snapped me out of my thoughts. Fleur reached into her purse to pay the bits needed for the ride before I stopped her.

“Hey, do you take human currency?” The driver nodded and I quickly pulled out my wallet and handed my card. He swiped the card through his scanner, got a green light, then handed me back the card. I then stepped out of the taxi and opened the door for Fleur. “Madam,” I said with a polite bow.

“Such a gentlecolt…er, I mean, gentleMAN.” I honestly found it funny how she was having as much of a problem as me using the right term for my species. She stepped out of the taxi and we watched it leave before she turned around and smiled. “Welcome to my home.”

When I turned to face where Fleur was looking, I felt my jaw drop and my eyes bulging out. ‘Sweet merciful crap!!’ Fleur’s home was like any home you’d expect a celebrity would stay in. It was a large, uniquely designed, amazing two-story building. It was painted the same color as Fleur’s fur, mane, and tail. The outside walls were white while the two roofs that separated the two floors were a barely distinct shade of pink. On the side, I could also see a swimming pool that lit up from the lights underwater. There were also a couple lounging chairs along the poolside, and a hot tub that was currently turned off.

I was snapped out of my dumbfounded trance by the sound of Fleur giggling. “I hate to interrupt, but I’d like to get inside so I can show you around, if you don’t mind?” she asked while making her way down along the path leading to her front door.

I gulped nervously as I nodded my head. “Uh…right behind you.” I power walked as I tried to catch up with her. ‘This has to be a dream. I just know it.’ I was already beginning to have doubts, and that was just from me walking up to the front door alone. There is a part of me that’s saying this is some cruel joke, and that any minute now, I’m gonna wake up back in the alley I was in when I fought that mugger. ‘Something bad is gonna happen, I just know it.’

Fleur unlocked the door before we went inside, and she flicked the lights on. What I saw in the room just made my jaw drop a second time tonight. The floors had a soft purple carpeting that filled most of the floor, including the set of stairs that led to the upper level. Not wanting to be rude, I took off my shoes and set them by the door. I walked into what I assumed was the living room that had some comfortable leather chairs and matching couches that I’d probably be sleeping on for the rest of my time here, and I was okay with that. The floor changes to white tiles as the kitchen neighboring the living room was quite big to walk around. There was also a sliding door that led to the pool in the back, and along the walls were some fancy looking and most likely expensive paintings. There was even a widescreen T.V. above the fireplace, probably another one of the few thing’s humanity gave to Equestria.

I felt like Annie for a moment as I walked around the living room. That’s when my eyes saw a lone table in the corner of the room. There were some personal photos of Fleur and another unicorn that had white fur like hers, a styled blue mane and mustache, and a monocle over his left eye. They looked close as some pictures portrayed them having a good time in different locations that looked very extravagant. “So, the guy in these pictures with you, is he your boy- eh, I mean, coltfriend? Man, that is gonna take some getting used to.”

Fleur couldn’t help but giggle before answering. “You’d be surprised how many times we’ve been mistaken for such. No, he’s actually my older brother named Fancy Pants. He’s the one who owns the restaurant we went to earlier.”

That makes sense given how they treated her at the restaurant. If my boss’s sister came over, I would definitely want to give her special treatment, lest she complains later and I end up fired. Top that off with the fact she’s a famous model, and you have yourself a double threat. Which also explains why the staff looked at me like some kind of stray animal. Compared to Fleur, I must have looked so plain and out of place being next to her. Kind of like right now when I think about it. This feels almost too good to be true, like I’m still in the hospital dreaming all of this, and at any second, I’ll wake up and be without a home and a job.

I was so deep in my self-loathing that I jumped a bit when I felt a hand touch my shoulder. “Ben, are you alright?” Fleur asked with a concerned look on her face.

I tried to shake away those depressing thoughts out of my head and put on a smile for her. “Yeah. I-I just kinda zoned out for a moment. So, what were you saying just now?”

Looking a little relieved, Fleur pointed to the photo of her brother she showed me before. “I was talking about how nice my brother is and how I would like for you to meet him one day.” She looked to the photo with a sense of fondness, a look I recognized back when mom and dad were still around. The nights me and mom would wait by the open window for dad to come home so we could hug him knowing he was safe. I wished I had cherished those times more back then. “He loves to meet new ponies and people who are new around Canterlot. There was this one time he met a unicorn named Rarity. She was a mare from a little town not too far from Canterlot. I unfortunately forgot the name of it. She is one of the elements of harmony that I told you about; she and her friends are well acquainted with the princesses. That’s how we met them before.”

So this Fancy Pants is a social butterfly when it comes to the higher ups and well known figures. Makes sense considering that knowing the right people can sometimes help you get ahead in life. Something tells me that owning a restaurant is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this guy. Most of this stuff usually goes over my head, but this is obviously the same rule you would see on Earth.

“Well, I hope he is as kind as you say he is, Fleur, because if he’s anything like you, I’m sure we’ll get along.” Fleur smiled and nodded her head happily, and for some reason, seeing her like this is really soothing. “So, would you mind telling me about this place? If you’re really gonna let me stay here, I’d like to know where everything is.”

“Hmm, let’s see. On this floor, there is a kitchen, one bathroom, and the dining room.” She hummed for a moment before she continued to lead me to a set of stairs. “Up here are the bedrooms, and if you would like, I can show you to the room you will be staying in.” I nodded my head and followed her up the stairs. Once we had reached the top, I noticed there were two hallways, one to the left and to the right. She led me to the right, and the first room that we saw turned out to be the one I would be staying in. When she opened the door, I was surprised by the size of the room itself. It had to be three, maybe four times bigger than my apartment. Not to mention there was a queen-size bed in the middle of the room and a large desk in the corner. I also saw two other doors and walked over to the first. Inside, there was a toilet and sink with no bath or shower, but I wasn’t really complaining. The second door was a walk-in closet. I honestly wasn’t expecting a walk-in one, just a normal closet. Heck, my old home didn’t even have one, or even a queen-size bed!

“After we get you fully hired and your first paycheck, you’re more than welcome to decorate as you please. I’ve always wanted to see how you humans like to arrange your surroundings.” I gave the room one last look, still baffled that this is where I was gonna be sleeping. It’s as fancy as a hotel room. And I’m not talking about those cheap ones you stay in while your house is getting bug bombed. I’m talking about the kind you rent when you’re on vacation…not that I would know since I’ve never been on one, but I’ve seen enough pictures to know. “Come on, Ben, I still have to show you the rest of this floor,” Fleur called out and I quickly moved till I was walking beside her.

On the other side, there was another bathroom, this one having both a tub and a shower. We then moved to the other hallway, where she showed me a room filled with exercise equipment, like a treadmill, a rack filled with dumbbells of different weights, a yoga mat, and an exercise ball. ‘Hang on a second. Wouldn’t it be safer to have this kind of stuff on the first floor?’ I shrugged my shoulders, chalking it up to rich people stuff. Something I also noticed was that none of the equipment was dusty at all and was used regularly. This may not seem like a big deal, but I’ve read enough articles on how some celebrities tend to have this kind of stuff in their house, but never get around to using it.

“Last, but certainly not least, the final room in this wing of the house: my room.” She opened the door, and I was allowed a look inside. Words had seemed to fail me as I gazed upon the massive master bedroom. I had thought the room I was staying in was big, but this was a whole different story altogether! The floor, unlike the other rooms I’ve seen so far on this floor, had a royal purple carpet. On one of the walls was a massive flat screen T.V., like the kind you would see in a home movie theater. Then there was the queen-size bed that sat in one corner of the room near a window. The bed itself had a royal kind of look to it with its purple silk blankets that were the same color as the floor’s carpeting. There were also some decorative-looking pillows with the same images as her cutie mark on them. In front of the wide screen T.V. was a long, velvet red couch, perfect for sitting down to enjoy a movie or two.

Then there was the large, antique-looking desk in the other corner of the room with a computer that looked brand-spanking new, like she had just bought it today. Close to the desk was a bookshelf filled with a variety of books and magazines. She had a personal bathroom, one that had its own bathtub. It looked like you could swim around in that thing. Next was her own walk-in closet, however, unlike my own, it was filled to the brim with stylish clothes of different and various designs, which shouldn’t be surprising given that Fleur is a model after all. I’m sure she either gets a big discount or free clothes from the companies she models for. Lastly, there were the walls and ceiling that were painted a light shade of purple that complimented the darker shades that made up the floor and drapes by the window.

“And this should conclude our little tour of the house. You may use anything within these boundaries that isn’t in my room, of course.” She smiled at me with her hands behind her back. “So what do you think, Ben?”

“Fleur, there aren’t enough words in any dictionary that can describe how amazing your home is.” I took one more look around the room before letting out a sigh. “And that’s what has me worried.”

“What do you mean by that, Ben? Is my home not to your liking?” she asked with a confused and concerning look.

I waved my hand, trying to put her worries at ease. “No no, that’s not what I meant.” I groaned as I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to think. “Look, I’ll be honest with you. Growing up as a kid, life was kinda hard. Back when I still had my parents, we lived in a really crappy apartment, but despite that, it felt like home because I had my mom and dad.” I took a seat on the couch as memories of my childhood started to flood back to me. “But even then, my father always wanted me and my mother to have the best things in life. Our very own house where we each had our own rooms and bathrooms, a big backyard for us to play in. He worked so hard, and yet whenever we felt like we had a chance at something good like a new oven or T.V., life had a messed up way of screwing us over. The Parker luck, as dad would put it.” I huffed a bit as back then, I had no idea what he meant, but now that I’m all grown up, I wish I didn’t. “I’ve always fantasized about living in a fraction of this amazing house, but even when I was back on earth, I knew better than to dream big. I was saving enough money to get a simple home, and that’s it. All I ever wanted was to have a nice home to live in, where I could relax after a nice, long day of work.” I stared at my hand as I wondered when this was all gonna come crashing down on me. “After living on my own, I realized that for me to dream of living in a place that nice was all it was ever gonna be; a dream. A dream I had no choice but to give up on and settle for a shit hole, where I could barely afford to pay rent.”

I felt insignificant the longer I stood in this house, like I was a cockroach crawling around a place I had no business being in. “And now you’re telling me I get to live here and get to work for a model?” I chuckled while shaking my head. “This just seems too good to be true, or even real for that matter. And to add to the guilt, I feel as though I haven’t earned the right to be in this house for even a second. I get that you feel grateful for me saving your life the other day and how you need a good secretary and photographer, but I don’t think I’m that deserving.” I looked around the room once more before looking back to Fleur. “Everything I could have fantasized about having is in this whole house, like lady luck decided to cut me a break and drop it in my lap. But I know all too well that at any second, the Parker luck is gonna spit on me right in my face as it’s all taken away.” I found myself getting lost in my own emotions. “Everything that I ever owned back on earth I believed to be a luxury and a privilege. Hell, I thought it was a luxury when I got an expensive tube of toothpaste for half off at the market. And what's different about this is that I felt like I earned those things on earth, but here…I didn’t. I just got lucky to be in the right place at the right time.”

Any other person wouldn’t dare question this kind of situation, just let it happen, and live the life of luxury with no questions asked. But deep down, I knew if I tried to accept this, it will only feel worse when it’s all ripped away. “I just gotta know…Why me? We’ve only known each other for less than a day, and yet you treat me like an equal. You not only offered me a job, but a home as amazing as this to stay in. There must be ten, maybe even millions of people or ponies who would be more qualified than me. I don’t want you to give me this job just because I saved you. You don’t owe me anything, let alone all this.” I gesture to the house we were sitting in. “The dinner was one thing, but this is more than anyone could ask for. Wouldn’t it have been better for your image to hire someone from your own species? I’ve seen the looks I get from some of the ponies here, and I don’t want to ruin your reputation. I highly doubt that being your photographer and secretary, any of that will cease. This is how things would work in my own world, and I’m more than positive that such things aren’t a foreign concept here either. So I’ll ask again: why are you doing this for me? What in the wild world would make you decide on doing this for a complete stranger?”

Fleur took a seat next to me and stayed quite for a while, no doubt taking in everything I have said so far. Maybe she was reconsidering her offer now that she realizes how crazy the offer is now, and I wouldn’t blame her. In my time since my parents and godfather’s death, I’ve never met a single soul as kind as the mare that is sitting next to me, and I will not take advantage of her kindness. After a while of thinking, she turned to look at me with those purple eyes of hers. “Ben, would you be opposed to me trying something for a moment?” I was curious as to what she had in mind and shrugged my shoulders before giving her a nod. “Merci.”

Before I knew it, she had scooched closer to me, moved her hand up to one of my cheeks, and turned my gaze to stare into her own. The suddenness of it had caused my body to freeze up as I could feel her warm, soft hands against my face. I wasn’t sure how long we stayed like this, but it had felt like hours as we stared into each other’s eyes. The longer we stayed like this, the more I found myself captivated by her purple eyes. With me being this close, I couldn’t help but admire them. Despite having lived in a world filled with heroes, villains, gods, and even aliens, I thought nothing would really amaze me as the eyes I was staring into right now. It made me wonder what it was she was trying to accomplish by staring into my blue eyes.

“When we first met that fateful day at the park, I was curious to meet a member of your kind. I had seen many humans on the news and walking down the streets, but never had the pleasure to meet one. I wasn’t sure how your kind would react to meeting me since the ponies of my own world would view me as a celebrity first and a normal pony second, hence the disguise I wore when we first met and after leaving the hospital earlier today.” I guess that answers my question about that. “When I took that seat next to you, I was incredibly nervous because I wasn’t sure how you would react, or if you would see past my disguise. But when we talked, you acted like everything was normal despite what you had been put through before we met. As we talked, I found myself enjoying our conversation, so much so that I was willing to risk my identity by telling you my name.” She let out a sigh before slowly pulling away and letting go of my face. “And then that brute showed up.”

“The Rhino.”

She nodded her head solemnly. “Yes, that tête de cochon,” she huffed as she said something in French. “I was so worried that the innocent ponies would have been hurt that my body acted on its own and I ran to see if I could help.” How could I forget? While I was opting to turn tail and run, she was charging toward the danger. “When I got there, I saw that fiend was destroying a building and fighting off the police, and there were ponies yelling and screaming, trying to get away. It didn’t seem like anyone had gotten hurt and had gotten away safely, but then I saw that poor filly crying on the ground for her parents, I rushed to get her out of there. That’s when that brute had corned us and the police tried to stop him, but with myself and the child as his hostages, they couldn’t do much.” Her frown slowly disappeared as she looked back to me with a smile on her face. “Then you came along. Like a chevalier dans une armure brillante, you came running despite knowing the danger that stood before you. I was so scared when I saw that first missile, I wanted nothing more than to scream for you to run away and save yourself. But like a miracle, it missed, and you somehow got past the fiend and scooped me and the little filly in your arms before carrying us to safety and shielding us from danger.” She moved one of her hands to gently stroke my cheek as a few tears rolled down hers. “When you held us in your arms, we felt safe, and the heroic look in your eyes brought us both peace of mind.” She pulled her hand away and then held it to her chest as her smile dropped for a moment. “And then, for the second time that day, you saved us when you pushed us out of harm's way when that postal box came flying and you took the hit for us.” She lowered her head, and I could see her shoulders shaking and teardrops falling onto her lap. “I thought you had died when you blacked out and the ambulance came to take you to the hospital.”

I felt so guilty. Not just because I worried Fleur, but because I honestly don’t deserve her pity. I had only wanted to get the hell out of there and leave the problem to the cops. Had it not been for my own guilt, I would have left, and Fleur and that kid could have been seriously hurt. I was a selfish coward, the exact opposite of my own family.

She wiped her tears away with a handkerchief she pulled out of her pocket. “I was so relieved when the doctors told me that you were going to be alright, and both Feather Sketch and I were told we could visit you. We came by almost every day before you had woken up. And, well, you know the rest.”

‘Yeah, definitely feeling that guilt now.’ To think that I was going to leave this mare on her own that day. I’m an embarrassment to my father’s legacy. “Honestly, Fleur, you really shouldn’t be shedding any tears for me. Back then when you went charging off to go see if you could help, I wanted nothing more than to run away and save my own sorry skin. I’m a selfish coward.” I won’t lie to this mare; she deserves the truth to make the right decision.

And for a while, she just sat there quietly. If she decided to change her mind now, I wouldn’t blame her for a single sec- “That’s not true.” She cut off my train of thought. “I know it’s not true, because in the end, you came running to save us, despite being scared and wanting to get away. That makes you all the more courageous.” I was gonna try and argue with her point, but she quickly moved a finger to my lips to put a stop to that. “When I was looking into your eyes just now, I could see something that made you unique. Something I’ve never seen from other ponies.” She lowered her finger from my lips before continuing. “The ponies I meet in this line of work often have something in common with one another, whether it be future clients, investors, or fans, I could often see in their eyes what they wish to gain from me: either fame, riches, or to use me to sate their own lust and desires. But you, Ben, when I stare into your eyes, I can see that you have been through your fair share of hardships and losses, though I don’t know the full details. What I do know is when I stared into those blue eyes of yours, I saw no hint of any of the  things I see in others of my kind.”

I was left completely speechless. I wasn’t sure how to respond. Do I try and argue with her to change her mind? Or do I accept her offer? I had no idea. “That being said.” I looked at her as she continued. “I’d also be lying if I said I didn’t do all this with one ulterior motive myself.” She looked a bit nervous, seeing her tapping the tips of her fingers together. “Do remember what I asked you back at the restaurant?”

“The restaurant?” She nodded. I tried to think back to earlier today on what she had asked me, and for a while, I wasn’t sure what she meant until it finally hit me. “You wanted us to be friends, right?”

She gave a big smile as she nodded. “Oui. Because, while it’s true I do need a photographer and secretary, I also need…well, a friend, too.”

That last statement left me rather confused. “Don’t you have friends? I mean, I remember you being on the phone with one earlier today, and given how kind and sweet you are, I’d figure you must have tons of friends.”

I could see Fleur’s cheeks flush a bit from the compliments as she twirled some of her mane around her finger. “T-Thank you, Ben, but as I mentioned to you before, there are ponies who only want to be near me for their own personal gain. Sadly, some of my friends fall into that category as well, though I’d be a lair if I said I didn’t sometimes call upon them for special favors, too. But I would like them, even if they weren’t rich or famous.” She held up one of her hands and spread out her fingers. “I could quite literally count the number of ponies who care about me over my career as a model on one hand.”

I couldn’t help but wince at the lower number. ‘Yikes. That bad?’ Though I’m fairly certain that the bigger a star you are, the lower number of true friends you will have.

“The one I was on the phone with earlier, my manager, is of those handful of ponies, and happens to be the closest of all the ponies I know. Well, besides my brother.” She let out a soft sigh as she leaned back into the chair. “When I meet a new pony, they never try to really take the time to get to know me or ask how I’m doing. They just like to spend time with me so they can brag about it later or spread rumors. An example would be the secretary that I had told you about. She never once tried to get to know me as a pony, but viewed me as her boss and nothing more. She would rather go off and spend time with her own friends than try and get to know me, even when I tried to make an effort to be friends with her.”

“Wait, does this mean that all this was because you wanted to make friends with me?” I pinched the bridge of my nose and took a deep breath before letting it all out. “Look, Fleur, I really appreciate you doing all this, but it was totally unnecessary. I get that I was in a bit of a pickle and had no place or no one to turn to, but you didn’t need to do this just to be my friend. Honestly, had you kept the part about you being a model and being rich a secret, I would have loved to have you as a friend. Being stuck here would have been worth it because I knew I would have a reliable friend to count on.” And I truly meant every word. I knew for a fact that, because of Madame Web, I was going to be stuck in the world long before I met Fleur, and one of my concerns besides money and a roof over my head was the fact I didn’t know a single person in this whole world. Then Fleur comes along, and I suddenly don’t feel so alone. “But um, back to the whole being friends with you. I just want to make this as clear as possible. Whether you’re a model or just a mare who works at a fast-food place, I would want to be your friend. Because when all the other ponies saw me as some hairless ape walking around like I have rabies, you saw me as someone who not only needed help, but a friend.” I smiled as I moved my hand to take her free hand and raise one of her fingers. “Now you can count the number of true friends on two hands.” I tried to lighten the mood with some light humor, but I honestly wasn’t sure if it would work. My dad was better at this than me.

Her eyes widened as she smiled warmly at me. “Y-you mean it?” I gave her a smile of my own and nodded my head.

“I sure do. And even if the interview with your manager doesn’t go well for me, I hope we can still be friends regardless,” I said as I held my hand out.

Fleur looked down at my hand before glancing back at me. “…I should probably tell you, but we don’t shake hands for that around here,” she said, which made me feel somewhat embarrassed. Given that this is a new world, it would only make sense that they had different customs. Before I could ask what they do, I found myself being hugged tightly by Fleur. “We prefer hugging over a handshake, I hope that is alright with you?”

I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t blushing right now, especially since I could feel two large, warm mounds pressing against my chest. I don’t care what species or universe you come from; big boobs are still big boobs. I timidly hugged her back while trying to keep the blood to my face rather than downstairs. “I-It’s fine. I don’t mind.” The longer Fleur and I hugged, the more I realized something. When was the last time I was ever hugged like this? The feeling felt warm and soothing, like all the world’s troubles didn’t exist. For a while, I had a hard time remembering until it finally hit me. This feels almost like the hugs mom used to give. I remember the last one she gave me before I lost her…I missed this feeling.

We stayed like this for a while before I heard the sound of a doorbell ringing. We both pulled away, and I could hear the doorbell being rang again and again. Whoever was at the door sounded like they were either impatient or panicking. We both looked at a clock that Fleur had hanging on her wall, which showed it was five minutes till midnight. Wow, where did the time go? “I wonder who would be here at this time of the night? Ben, dear, do you think you could answer it for me? I’d like to change out of this dress and into more casual clothes. Just let whoever is at the door into the living room till I finish changing.”

I nodded my head and exited her room, closing the door behind me before making my way down the stairs to the front door, where whoever was on the other side was still ringing the bell. ‘Alright alright, I’m coming! Geez, this has to be some pushy salesman.’ I opened the door to see a mare with a light purple coat and light blue mane that was tied in a bun. From the lack of wings or horn, I guessed she was an earth pony. She was wearing a pair of black sweat shorts and a baby blue tank top. I noticed that she was holding a leash, and followed it and- ‘Is that a Saint Bernard?’

The mare suddenly glared at me and let go of the leash before pointing to me. “Hugo, sick ‘em!” The massive dog snarled before charging straight for me.

‘Oh, hello there Parker family luck, I was wondering when you would show up again,’ was all I could think up before being thrown onto the ground by the massive canine as it brought it’s jaws to my face “AAHHHHHH!!!”