A shroud of silence falls over the street after my encounter with the bright pink pony. Some of the ponies that had been nearby scattered at the sound of my raised voice, while the remainder are looking at me with fear and anger, as opposed to the fear and wonder I was getting earlier. I wonder if yelling at that pony is what made them angry?
I glance back towards where the pony had run into me to see that she’s gone. There’s no sign of her no matter where I look. Was that pony someone that the other townsfolk are fond of? If so, that would explain the glares I’m getting now. I suppose I should thank her. It makes my job easier if I don’t have ponies trying to be friendly all the time.
More importantly, I check my side. It’s throbbing painfully, as though I’m being repeatedly struck with a hammer. I sigh in relief once I determine that I’m not bleeding hard enough to soak through the bandages. I’d be furious if that damned pony had injured me again. I don’t know if these ponies have a decent medical system. If anything, it would be similar to early industrial medicine. I wince; if that’s true, then I am extremely lucky to have found an herbalist to treat me.
Now, I should move on to the task at hand. Ahead of me is the large tree house. Now that I’m this close, I notice that the sign hanging beside the door has a smaller image of a stack of books. There’s no question; this is the library.
Just as I start to approach the tree, the door opens to reveal a normal pony with a brown coat. This one looks noticeably different from the other ponies I’ve seen so far in that it’s larger and its muscles are more pronounced. Additionally, its jaw is rougher and squarish. Is this what a stallion looks like in this world?
“Thanks for the help, sir. Do give my regards to Twilight, will you?” the pony calls back into the library. Sure enough, his timbre is instantly recognizable as male. He sounds remarkably well spoken as well, each of his words articulated clearly. The stallion traipses out from the threshold with a pleased expression. I also notice that he’s wearing a set of saddlebags similar to what humans would use to store cargo for long distances. Inside of them are the books that I assume he just checked out. He swings his head forward. “What a nice young lad!”
The stallion opens his eyes to see me standing to the side of the street ahead and to his right, my curious eyes resting on him. He slows down stops dead in place, his jaw falling open. “My word, is that a… oh dear, how fascinating,” he emits with awe, stepping somewhat closer.
“Do I look like some kind of zoo exhibit? Turn your gaze,” I respond irritably. I don’t appreciate how he seems to be regarding me like some sort of exotic animal. If anything, that’s how I should be viewing him, if I had the time or desire.
He jumps, startled at my sudden speech. He dips his head apologetically. “Oh, pardon me, I did not mean to offend. I’ll just get out of your way,” he retracts hastily, and then he breaks into a canter, moving around me and out of sight.
I approach the still open door next, glad to be rid of the interruption. This place doesn’t look that big for a library, so I’m hoping there won’t be any more ponies getting in my way. Judging from what the stallion said, however, there’s likely two ponies in there.
There’s also no way to ease myself into the introduction like I did with Flitter, so there’s no point in hesitating. I ignore the hint of dread that I’m feeling and step through the door. I have to duck to avoid hitting my head on the door frame, due to it being made for ponies about half my size.
I close the door behind me, and then I get my first look at the inside of the library. Just like Zecora’s hut, the room appears to have been carved directly into the inside of the trunk. Unlike Zecora’s hut, however, the surfaces appear to be smoothed and polished, making the risk of splinters almost non-existent.
Shelves stocked full of books of varying colors and thicknesses are set into the walls all along circumference of the room. Paper tabs jut out from between books at regular intervals. I can’t read the text on them, but it’s easy to figure out that they’re used to organize or categorize the books for ease of use.
The shelves are probably pretty high by pony standards, but the top shelf only rests about a foot or two above my head, such that I can easily reach it with my arm.
Directly in the center of the room is a table carved from a stump that was likely once the heartwood of the tree. Surrounding it are six blue cushions to be used as seats, I assume. On top of the table is a large horsehead idol carved from a different type of wood, appearing lighter in color than the rosy wood surrounding me. The surface of the table and idol both are spotless, devoid of any blemishes or dust. In fact, the same could be said for the rest of the room. It’s immaculately clean.
Looking up, I notice the expansive mural of a blazing golden sun stretching across the majority of the ceiling. I remember Zecora mentioning something along the lines of a “Solar Princess.” I wonder if that and this mural are connected in some way. Come to think of it, I’m certain that’s the case. Zecora told me Twilight was the personal student of the Solar Princess. What would someone so important be doing out here in the country?
I take a few steps forward, continuing to look around the interesting interior. Whether or not I care for ponies, their architecture gives me the feeling that I’ve walked into a fantasy, and it’s spectacular.
There’s a flight of stairs that curves inward and climbs up the far wall, leading to a second floor. Just behind the stairs, I notice an open archway that leads to a kitchen that looks surprisingly modern, given my assumption of pony technology.
The sound of a book hitting the floor startles me out of my thoughts. I look around to find a most peculiar sight. Standing at the corner made between the stairs and the wall is a purple creature standing on two feet, complete with green spikes climbing up its back. It looks reptilian in nature due to the scales lining its body, but it doesn’t look like any reptile I’ve ever seen. What on earth is that?
The lizard widens its eyes, and its jaw drops in horror, leading me to believe that this creature is also sapient. Its claw is open and trembling, the book resting open on the floor just beneath it. Unlike the ponies in the street, the lizard shows nothing but fear for me.
Before I can say anything, the lizard scrambles up the stairs at a breakneck pace. “Aaaah! Twilight, there’s a monster in the library!” it screams in a panicked young male voice, confirming my suspicions about its sapience. This world just never ceases to confuse me.
“Give me a break… I should be saying that to you,” I grumble, resting my face in my palm. After all, he looks more monstrous than I do. I stand still with my hands in my pockets, waiting for the lizard to return with Twilight.
The door to the second floor slams open and a pony mare bursts out, leaping down the stairs and transfixing me with a determined glare. The horn on her head lights up a bright magenta. It gives me an ominous feeling, so I try to distance myself from her, but I find that I’m completely unable to move.
“What the…” I grunt and strain, but no matter how hard I try, I can’t even so much as twitch a muscle. I then realize that I am completely encompassed in the same magenta aura that’s shimmering around her horn. Is she doing this?
She has to be. I remember Zecora telling me that Twilight was skilled in magic. Assuming this is Twilight, she must be using magic to immobilize me. I can’t help but have flashbacks to the spell I saw Sombra casting in the stairwell of my school.
I feel strange. All of the hairs on my body are standing on end, goosebumps forming on my flesh. I feel the air humming all round me, as if it was charged with static electricity. Additionally, I feel a strange pressure in my chest that hadn’t been there before, emanating directly from the center of my torso.
Because I’m completely unable to move, I focus on the pony in front of me instead. Like the other ponies I’ve seen, her coat isn’t a natural color, being a shade of soft lavender. Her mane and tail are a deep blue, with two regular stripes of purple and magenta running through them. Her orderly mane is groomed and curls around one side of her head to rest neatly on her neck. Her large violet eyes are fixed on me in a glare that quickly turns to surprise and awe once she gets a clear look at me.
“That’s… that’s not a monster, Spike, that’s a human! I can’t believe it!” Twilight gasps, a wide smile slowly forming on her face. The lizard, whom she addressed as Spike, peeks out from behind her, looking no less afraid.
“What’s a human? How can you tell?” Spike questions, his voice still trembling.
“It’s easy! Humans are bipedal and have thinner skeletal structures than a standard minotaur, but don’t have curved spines and elongated skulls like the diamond dogs do, so this has to be a human!” Twilight analyzes me with a single look before I can even think of a response. She looks up at me, addressing me directly. “Are you intelligent? Can you talk?”
I try to move my mouth and find that I can. “Yes, now that you’ve given me a chance to get a word in edgewise,” I snap, causing the both of them to flinch. “Is this how you treat all of your guests? I don’t exactly feel very welcome.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry, I just reacted when Spike yelled,” Twilight apologizes quickly, and the glow from her horn dies away. I grunt uncomfortably as I feel the magic dissipate, my muscles tensing up instinctively now that they’re free to move. The pressure in my chest also fades away, so I put it out of my mind, assuming that was an effect of the magic.
“Well how was I supposed to know? All the two legged things I’ve seen haven’t exactly been friendly,” Spike retorted defensively. “I still don’t know what a human is.”
“Ask your friend later; I didn’t come here to be gawked at like an animal on exhibit.” An edge creeps into my voice, revealing my growing irritation to the two of them.
“Yes of course, I’m sorry,” Twilight apologizes again, her ears folding back. “But can I ask you one tiny little question?”
“What?”
“I am correct about you being a human, right?” Twilight questions nervously. I give her a nod of confirmation, much to her relief. Her smile reappears and widens, and the mare bounces up and down on the tips of her hooves. “This is so exciting! I thought you were all extinct! There have been no humans in Equestria for over three thousand years!”
“Don’t get too excited; I’m not here to ease your scientific curiosity,” I warn her. Then, her words register in my mind. My breath catches in my throat, and my blood runs cold. “Wait. Humans haven’t been seen in how long?”
“Three thousand! You’re the oldest civilization we know of, dating all the way back before early pony civilization. Yet you’re also the most influential, because…” Twilight pauses when she sees my shaking shoulders. She tilts her head. “Are you okay?”
Everything is starting to fall into place in my mind. King Sombra sent me to the future; that much is undeniable. However, I was wrong in assuming that it had only been eighty years. Humanity fell in eighty years or more, but it’s been much longer than that. Three thousand years...that’s such a staggering number. Not only does that explain why my old college looked like an ancient ruin, but it also explains why the landscape is so drastically different than I remember. Zecora was right… humans, and everything we were… are really nothing but dust now.
I back up, leaning on the table in the center of the room. My mind is rebelling against this entire situation. How am I supposed to deal with this? Two days ago, my biggest worry was recovering from poor performance on my last exam. Now I’m the only living human three thousand years in the future.
I resist the urge to break something. Once again, I question how any of this is fair. What is the point of me standing here, in Equestria, right now? Why did Sombra send me here in the first place? Why in god’s name did it have to be me?
“Um… sir?” Twilight stepped a bit closer, looking at me with confusion. When she still doesn’t get an answer, she swallows and tries a different tack. “Where did you come from? Are there still humans hiding away somewhere?”
“No,” I tell her in a low voice. I thought I would be more upset by this. I thought that I’d feel something more about the fact that I’ve left everything I’ve known far behind. Instead, I just feel a dull emptiness. The only other emotion I feel is a burning rage deep inside of me that’s been steadily growing, directed towards this whole situation, and Sombra himself. “There’s no humans left. It’s just me… and don’t look at me like that, I didn’t ask for it.”
The moment I said I was the last human, Twilight’s eyes grew wide and she started to look at me with sympathy, which is what prompted me to snap at her. An awkward silence falls between us. Eventually, Spike starts to sidle away.
“I’m… just gonna go make some tea,” he stammers, and then he zips into the kitchen so fast he leaves a dust cloud behind.
Twilight brightens up at that. “That’s a wonderful idea! You must have come to me for a reason; why don’t you share your story with me over a warm cup of tea?”
I rub my chin, considering her offer. I have no interest in sharing anything with her, but I’m not stupid enough to think I can get anything out of her without doing something in return. I don’t necessarily care for tea, but I am thirsty.
“Do whatever you want. I just have a few questions I want to ask you,” I answer her finally, crossing my arms.
“Great! I have a multitude of questions I want to ask you as well! Oh, this is going to be so much fun!” The apathy in my voice doesn’t seem to faze her; instead, Twilight just beams and turns the other direction, her tail brushing the table as she went. “Come on, I’ll lead you to the kitchen.”
I wordlessly follow Twilight into the doorway behind the stairs, getting my first look at the kitchen. As I noted before, the technology here seems to much more modern than I originally anticipated. The reason I say that is due to the large refrigerator tucked into one corner of the room. It looks similar to one I’d see in a typical human household. Yet, that implies that ponies are further than the industrial era. Refrigeration in homes wasn’t achieved until the early twentieth century.
Confused, I continue to observe the room. A counter stretches out from the refrigerator, complete with drawers, overhanging cabinets, and a dual sink. Beside that what looks suspiciously like an electric stove, complete with dials. I spot a toaster as well on top of the counter, along with a coffee maker.
To further compound my increasing confusion, there’s one extra anomaly that all of these appliances share: each of them has a translucent, faintly luminescent orb made of a material I can’t identify set into where their circuitry should be. Additionally, there are no LCD displays on any of these devices, unlike a modern kitchen. Furthermore, the toaster and coffeemaker I notice don’t have any cords. I finally have to admit that pony technology makes no sense to me. Do these appliances use something other than electricity as a power source?
Spike stands atop a wooden footstool beside the stove, where he is no doubt brewing the aforementioned tea. A dark green kettle rests on the stove in front of him, steaming gently from the spout. He gives a lazy wave to Twilight as she enters with me. “The tea is almost done!” he announces.
Twilight nods and leads me to a decently sized table made of a lighter shade of wood. Seven stools are situated around it, one of which Twilight sits down in. As far as I can see, only she and this lizard live here, so the number of stools seems rather excessive to me. Either way, I lean my rifle against the wall and then take a seat across from her without waiting for an invitation.
The table is a little low, but not so low that I’d struggle to eat from it. Glancing at Twilight reveals that our sitting height is relatively the same, give or take a few inches. That’s likely because half of my height comes from my legs; Twilight can sit on her haunches like that and maintain most of her own height.
I look back to Twilight. An infinite maelstrom of questions concerning pony civilization and technology rages in my head. I’m curious, but none of the answers are relevant in the end. They won’t help me find Sombra.
Twilight coughs nervously beneath my focused gaze. “Could I start by learning your name?” she requests, trying to push past the awkward silence between us.
“Seth Rogers,” I respond curtly. That much I can give her.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Rogers,” Twilight returns happily with a nod and a smile. She offers her hoof out for me to shake. “I’m Twilight Sparkle.”
I eye her outstretched hoof with veiled surprise. That looks like she’s asking for a handshake, but that doesn’t make sense to me. Handshakes are human, and were supposedly invented as a means of showing another that an individual was unarmed. The fact that she’s offering that to me suggests that at one point in pony history, they were capable of wielding weapons in their hooves. Looking at the underside of her hoof, there’s nothing to suggest a gripping mechanism of any kind.
Twilight’s smile falters when I don’t make any indications of accepting her hoof. She withdraws her hoof and gives a nervous laugh. “So… you said you had some questions to ask me?”
“You first,” I decide, crossing my arms. It would be best to take care of that first. I don’t intend on staying long once she’s helped me determine where Sombra can be found.
“Are you sure? I uh… I have a lot of questions,” Twilight admits with a sheepish grin. A moment later, I hear the kettle whistle as the water inside reaches a boil. Spike leaps down from the stool he’s standing on and carries a tray of delicate porcelain cups over to us. Once he gets close enough, the tray is encompassed by a magenta glow and lifts itself out of Spike’s claws.
I watch with interest as Twilight levitates the tray onto the table without any sign of strain, her horn glowing the same shade of magenta. Magic indeed… scientists could never do something like that without the use of an exterior force, and certainly not to that degree of precision. The tray never even wobbled once.
“I obviously won’t let you keep me for very long,” I retract. I don’t miss the look of disappointment that briefly flashes on her face. I realize I’m being vague about that, so I decide to be more specific. “Three topics. That’s all you can ask me about.”
“Only three? Can’t I persuade you to raise that to maybe five? Or seven? Ten?” Twilight can’t help but protest that, though I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. It’s not hard to tell what kind of person she is. “...Twenty-three?”
“Absolutely not. I’m being more than generous already, considering I only have one question that I particularly need answered,” I cut across her firmly before she can try to raise that number to even more absurd heights. Twilight’s resulting disappointment is so visible that I could swear I’m looking at a dog whose food was just eaten in front of it. “Besides, you didn’t get a scholar or an engineer. I’m a student. I’ve done my fair share of reading, but all I can give you is random facts at the most.”
“I understand that, but what I’m most interested in is your culture and society. You said you were a student? Already that raises scores of questions about your educational system that only you could answer!” Twilight argues, her rump practically bouncing in her seat. She proceeds to give me a pleading expression, her eyes wide and liquid. “What if I offer to answer some questions about pony society? Can I have at least five topics? Please?”
“I bet you just want to write a book on what I tell you and get rich,” I point out, unmoved by her vain attempts to be cute. “What other reason would you have to ask me so many questions?”
“Write a book? I suppose I could, but first and foremost, I want to learn from you. You possess a veritable wellspring of potential knowledge that I’d love to research, and nothing would make me happier. That’s my reason!” Twilight at first looks taken aback by my cynicism, but it isn’t long before she’s excited again, leaning over the table somewhat.
I don’t buy that for a second. If I’m truly a precursor race about whom little is known, then anything I tell her would be worth a great deal. As if I’d really believe that she just wants to learn for learning’s sake when it comes to humanity.
“I’d just tell her what she wants to know, buddy. Otherwise she’ll just chase you around,” Spike chimes in with a wry grin, hopping up on a stool beside the two of us. He withers beneath the glare that I send his way.
“I don’t remember asking for your input,” I snap at him, irritated at the interruption. I then turn my stare back onto Twilight. “You get four. That’s all I’m willing to give. If you ‘chase me around’ like your lizard friend said, it will not end well for you.”
“Hey, I’m a dragon!” Spike protests indignantly. Upon hearing that, I glance at him in shock, taking in his features once more. It’s true that he looks nothing like any lizard I’ve seen, but these ponies also don’t look like any pony I’ve seen. My skeptical thoughts are stifled when Spike opens his mouth and spits a mild tongue of green flame into the air that swiftly fizzles out.
I try to sort out this new information in my head. Ponies, pegasi, unicorns, minotaurs, diamond dogs, zebras, and now dragons? Just how many new sapient species am I going to discover? It’s almost as though mythology is coming to life before my eyes.
Twilight sighs sadly. “Don’t worry, I won’t do anything of the sort. I’ll respect your decision.” Thankfully, she seems to have gotten the idea that I’m in no mood to be interrogated.
With her levitation magic, Twilight lifts the kettle and pours the still steaming tea into each of the three cups. The liquid is a greenish brown and doesn’t look very appetizing. Contrary to that visual assessment, it smells pleasantly of citrus.
Once she’s finished, Twilight and Spike take their respective cups, the former with her levitation and the latter with a claw. I notice them looking at me, so I reach for the third cup. It’s smaller than what I’m used to, but the handle is wide enough to encompass my whole hand. It seems as though this handle was made for hooves.
I take a tentative sip of the drink and find that it tastes similar to how it smells. It’s just sweet and fruity enough to be appealing. It also leaves an earthy aftertaste in my mouth once the citrus fades away. I smack my lips with surprise. I’ve never tasted a tea quite like this. What sort of plants did the manufacturers use to make this?
Once I’ve sampled the beverage, I set the cup down and stare at Twilight. “Go ahead and start asking. Best get this out of the way sooner rather than later,” I tell her. Despite how uncaring my words are, it’s like I flipped a switch. Twilight’s excitement returns with full force.
“Yes, of course! Give me one moment, I’ll be back in a flash!” Twilight’s horn lights up and then she winks out of existence with a magenta flash of light and a minor burst of ethereal wisps swirling in the air where she once sat.
I blink, at a loss. What did I just witness? One moment she was there, and then she was gone. Spike doesn’t seem perturbed at all by her sudden disappearance, either, so I suppose this is another magical ability she’s capable of?
A moment later, Twilight reappears back in her stool with a similar burst of light. Before the light fades, an assortment of notebooks, parchment, inkwells, and quills arrange themselves on the table. Twilight quickly lifts a quill, unscrews the top of an inkwell, and dips said quill inside, all with her dextrous levitation.
This is too much. First immobilization, then levitation, and now teleportation? Everything she does defies every known law of physics that I’ve ever studied. What else is this one unicorn capable of?
“First, I want you to tell me if any of these facts are wrong. This is a summary of the knowledge I have on humans,” Twilight begins, opening up a notebook on her left. Inside, as she flips through it, I see pages and pages of carefully written notes, though I can’t read any of it. “Humans are an upright sapient species equipped with dextrous extremities and opposable thumbs, allowing them to create small, yet infinitely complex technological constructs retaining a great deal of data,” Twilight begins, talking faster as she relates all of this information to me. “Judging from detailed studies of the human skeletal structure, it’s been determined that they are omnivores, and appear to be physically weaker than the average minotaur when compared side by side. These observations led us to conclude that humanity must possess some less evident means of evening the odds in their favor.”
Twilight just isn’t stopping. She flips through her notes rapidly, talking so fast that it’s difficult to understand everything she says. However, everything she’s describing seems to be spot on. She knows far more about humans than I do about ponies.
“That’s how we came to the conclusion that humans must have access to some manner of offensive magic in order to ward off more physically fit predators. We hypothesize that the magical core is located within either the skull or the bony center of the ribcage, as both areas possess sufficient bone density and proximity to the rest of the body to support such.” Now, Twilight dips into the subject of magic, and half of what she says means nothing to me. I’m not entirely sure what a magical core is supposed to be, but I do know that she’s wrong. “Therefore, I’d be very interested in…”
“Stop,” I say, holding up a hand as if to halt the flood of words coming towards me. Twilight pauses and blinks with a bemused expression. “You’re talking so fast that even if I wanted to tell you something, I wouldn’t be able to.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Twilight giggles sheepishly, adjusting her bangs with a hoof. “I just got so excited to share all of this with you, the first human in Equestria in three millennia!”
“Gee, I never would have guessed.” The sarcasm practically drips from my words, causing Twilight to look even more sheepish. Beside her, Spike is snickering behind a claw. “Also, you’re wrong.”
“I am?” Twilight’s eyes go wide, and then she frantically flips through her notebook, her quill at the ready. It’s rather surreal to watch, as she’s doing it all with her telekinetic abilities. “About which facet? Oh, I was sure I researched everything correctly…”
“Stop freaking out. It’s not just you that’s wrong. You’re all wrong. Humans don’t have magic,” I finally correct her, rubbing my forehead. I wish Zecora had warned me that Twilight would be so neurotic. It’s giving me a headache. “We never have.”
“What? But all evidence seems to support that theory! Multiple scientists have all come to this same conclusion!” Twilight protests. She zips from the table and returns in a flash with a stack of books that she pulled from the main room. The tea cups rattle as she plonks them all down on the table at once. “Here’s where I got my sources, you’ll see that…”
“Put those books away. I couldn’t care less about what your scientist ponies have said,” I interrupt her again, my irritation starting to show in my voice. “Why are you trying to argue with me anyway? I am a damned human; are you trying to suggest you know more about my kind than I do?”
Twilight’s ears flatten, chastened by my words. “Oh no, I’m sorry. It’s just that if you never had magic, then that would disprove a long held theory. Not to mention, hundreds of textbooks would have to be recalled. I can imagine the archaeology and science departments would have to completely alter their approach...” she explained hastily.
“I get the picture,” I interject wryly. This has to be the wordiest person I’ve ever met, the fact that she’s a pony notwithstanding. I notice that she’s now scribbling in her notebook, the quill scratching audibly on the parchment. “You’re right, we were physically weaker than our predators. So we improvised with our intellect, using the environment to our advantage to craft weapons and armor that steadily rose in complexity as time went on. To put it simply, our society was built on science and technology, not magic.”
Twilight nods and scribbles furiously, writing down everything I say and then more. Once she’s done, she lifts up the quill. “Science… so you’re referring to electricity and machinery, correct?” she questions.
“This is your second topic,” I tell her calmly, sipping from the cup of tea some more.
Twilight bristles at that. “What? No it isn’t! This all part of one singular branching topic; the verification of my research!” she protests.
“You wanted to know about our nonexistent magic and our technology. Those are two different topics,” I argue back, setting down the tea and transfixing her with a stare.
Twilight stubbornly shakes her head. “No, those are two different questions, all pertaining to the topic of my research. You said four topics, not four questions,” she reasons.
“That is what you said,” Spike agrees with her, the little dragon having just finished his tea.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I groan. I can’t believe this damned pony just used the wording of our agreement against me.
“Hey, it’s your fault for being vague,” Spike remarks. “If there’s a loophole, Twilight will find it.”
“Spike!” Twilight chastises the dragon with a scandalized expression. As much as this makes me angry, I can’t argue with it. I did specifically use the word “topics.” I mentally berate myself for slipping up like that.
“Fine, whatever,” I give in with bad grace. “To answer your question, yes, I am referring to electricity and machinery. I’m surprised you know about all of that. I haven’t seen anything electrical since I arrived.”
“Of course! Most of our technology is based off of yours, who came before us. We’ve discovered some of your technology deep in human ruins. Unfortunately, what we find is usually too deteriorated to be of much use, but we have managed to reverse engineer some of it and integrate it into our existing magical constructs,” Twilight explains excitedly. I nod, finding that to make sense. That would explain why Ponyville looks very similar to a human settlement. “We have managed to recreate electricity, but it’s a costly avenue of research that requires a great deal of natural resources and infrastructure. Because of that, only the richer ponies can afford to use it. After all, we have magic as a power source, and it’s infinitely more cost-effective than electricity, as we produce it within our own bodies.”
“I see. That explains why none of your appliances have any cords.” My gaze travels over to the appliances in question. Judging from what she’s telling me, those run on magic. I suppose that explains the glowing orb set into each of them. This raises a lot more questions, however, such as how magical energy is stored and what materials are necessary to store and use magic. I’m also curious if there’s magical circuitry that works similar to electric circuitry. “Now, do you have any further questions about our technology that relate to your research? I don’t want to be here all night, so make them quick.”
“Yes! I’d like ask you more about human technology as well as your development over time; for example, we know you possessed computing technology, but our discoveries hint at…”
“Twilight!” I interrupt. She closes her mouth, looking a bit put out. “What did I just say?”
“That you didn’t want to be here all night,” Twilight repeats, the mare blushing with embarrassment. “Okay, I’ll move onto my second topic. I’m… actually a little nervous about asking this.”
“What?” I ask with suspicion. At first I think she’s going to ask me about human mating habits or something equally disturbing, but then after looking at her face, I notice that she’s starting to sweat a little, a hint of fear entering her eyes.
“I know you’re omnivorous, but… what sorts of… um… food do you eat?” Twilight timidly asks.
“Not ponies, if that’s what you’re asking,” I tell her dryly, picking up the meaning of her question. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why her mood suddenly changed. Sure enough, her sigh of relief is clearly visible. “Let me guess, you’re all strictly herbivores?”
When Twilight nods, it’s my turn to sigh. I like my greens as much as the average person, but I also greatly enjoyed meat such as hamburger and the like. If I’m suddenly living in a world of vegetarians, I’ll have no choice but to adapt, because I know nothing about hunting. Plus, I’m pretty sure hunting wouldn’t be viewed well here. I’ll have to make sure I can get a decent source of iron and protein.
“Look, it’s really not important. I’ve eaten meat before, but if it isn’t readily available, I’ll adapt as best I can to your diet,” I tell her impatiently.
“That’s a relief. The other omnivorous species we know of aren’t that friendly,” Twilight responded, wiping her brow with a hoof. It’s weird to see all these human mannerisms coming from a pony. “Now then, how many times do you eat a day? Are there social aspects to eating together? How about...”
I mentally groan, realizing exactly what I’ve gotten myself into. Twilight’s thirst for knowledge is insatiable. She continues to ask me more and more branching questions, to which I respond with short, clipped answers. Eventually, I have to push her to move onto the next topic.
She asks me next about our educational system, as she remembered that I called myself a student. It’s a harmless topic, so I proceed to tell her about the different levels of education, starting from primary school all the way up to college and graduate school. Twilight fervently writes down everything I tell her, filling up several pages worth of notes.
I also learn a bit about pony education. They have colleges like we do, though they’re mostly free except for the room and board, and are generally only available in the larger cities. Other than that, they have varying levels of schooling depending on the town. Once they come of age, the ponies choose whether or not to start work or go to a university. All in all, it seems like a simpler educational system than ours, though it sounds just as hard.
“You seem awfully willing to share details about your civilization to me,” I can’t help but point out after we finished talking about education. I never asked for her to give me all of this information on pony society.
Twilight beams. “Certainly! You don’t seem to understand; if you’re the first human we’ve ever met, that makes what we’re doing right now similar to a cultural exchange! We’re sharing information with one another about each other’s respective species!”
“It would only be considered a cultural exchange if there were other humans that would learn from this,” I remind her coldly, causing her smile to drop from her face. “In case you’d forgotten, it’s just me. Once I’m gone, humans are just going to go back to being extinct.”
Once more, Twilight’s enthusiasm is snuffed out, and she lowers her head apologetically, her ears drooping. “I know you said you didn’t ask for it, but I’m sorry nonetheless. Everything about your kind is so fascinating and wondrous,” Twilight says to me, giving me a sympathetic look that only serves to anger me. Before I can snap at her, however, she continues. “That actually leads me to my fourth topic, one I’ve been saving for last. If you’re the only human left, how are you here now?”
“I was wondering when you were going to ask that,” I remark, settling down now that the subject has been changed. “Good, this ties into what I was going to ask you, so I’ll take care of both at the same time.”
I finish my tea in a few quick gulps, and then I set the cup down on the table. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, doing my best to dispel the fury I feel rising just from thinking about the root cause of this whole situation.
Twilight watches me expectantly, no doubt wondering why I’m taking so long to answer her. When I open my eyes, she winces, taken aback by the sudden intensity in my gaze.
“You consider yourself to be well-informed?” I begin, surprising myself with how level my voice is. Twilight confirms that with a nod. “I want you to tell me everything you know about someone called King Sombra, including where I can find him.”
“King Sombra? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone like that.” Twilight’s answer causes my spirits to plummet and my frustration to rise. Zecora led me to believe that Twilight would have the answers to all of my questions, considering she’s the student of the “Solar Princess.”
Twilight look to Spike curiously, only for the dragon to shake his head and hold up his claws in a shrug. She glances back to me. “Who is that? Is he a pony, or is he a human like you?”
“I was hoping you would be able to tell me that,” I respond, an edge creeping into my voice out of frustration. “He wore the shape of a human, yet he was anything but.”
“What do you mean?” Twilight asks curiously, writing more lines in her notebook.
“Firstly, his coloring was off. Humans range from a very dark brown to a pale tan, but Sombra’s skin was ash gray,” I describe to her, knowing full well that most of that wouldn’t make sense to her. Twilight lit up at the mention of human skin color, such that she flipped a few pages and scribbled that fact down.
“Could it have been a genetic mutation?” Twilight intelligently suggests.
“It would have been possible, if unlikely. However, the kicker is that he used magic; as I explained earlier, humans can’t use magic,” I reveal to her. “That’s why I’m here. He used some sort of spell to send me through time to this era. Therefore, it follows that he is from this era as well.”
“He sent you through time!?” Twilight gasps in shock, her voice rising shrilly. I give a terse nod. “Of course, you’re from the past! That would explain why nopony has ever seen you before, and how you appeared to come from nowhere. But how is that possible?”
“Time travel? Twilight, didn’t you do something like that in the past?” Spike rejoins, looking interested and somewhat smug for some reason. “You know, when you were convinced you had to prevent some disaster from occurring?”
Twilight flushed with embarrassment. “Spike! Mr. Rogers doesn’t need to hear about that,” she scolds him hastily, causing Spike to snicker beneath a claw.
“I think I do. You make it sound like you went to the past yourself,” I lean forward, feeling a faint trace of hope emerge from the emptiness inside of me. If Sombra used a spell to bring me here, it follows that there may be a spell that could do the opposite. “I will sit here for as long as you need me and answer every question you have without rest or food, as long as you get me that spell. I want to go home.”
Twilight looks taken aback by the fervor in my voice. I grow anxious when I see her expression turn somewhat shifty. She looks down at the table. “Look, Mr…”
“Stop calling me that. Just Seth is fine,” I interrupt her before she can continue. It just feels wrong when she addresses me like that.
“Look, Seth, do you remember how far back in the past you came from? Twilight questions me after correcting herself
“Over three thousand years, according to you,” I remind her. Twilight’s face falls.
“I have some bad news for you. While the spell in question certainly does allow for travel into the past, it’s not very efficient. Not only does the spell require an initial mana expenditure that increases exponentially proportional to the distance in time the user wishes to travel, it also requires a constant mana upkeep of a similar amount in order to remain at the destination,” Twilight explains to me.
“What exactly does that mean?” I question her impatiently. I understand most of what she’s saying, but I’m curious as to why she’s suddenly using the word “mana” instead of magic. Is there a difference between the two? Furthermore, a sense of dread is starting to form.
“Let me put it this way. The spell isn’t permanent. When I attempted to use it, I used nearly all of my mana just to send me back as far as a week, and even then, I couldn’t remain for more than a few moments before my mana was completely expended,” Twilight reveals.
“And Twilight is one of the strongest unicorns in all of Equestria!” Spike chimes in, only to be immediately hushed by a flustered Twilight.
My dread quickly turns to despair. Is she trying to tell me that not even magic can return me to my time? “You can’t expect me to believe that. Perhaps you’re right and this particular variant of the spell is inefficient. Somehow, Sombra traveled three thousand years into the past and remained there for several more years. Then, he sent me into this time through another spell,” I tell her frantically. “If traveling that far back is impossible, explain that one to me!”
“I don’t see how that’s possible. The amount of mana necessary to perform such a long distance trip for that duration would be astronomical! It’s just not feasible, even if you had all of the magic in Equestria on your side!” Twilight returns, her voice unconsciously rising to match mine as well.
“It has to be possible! If he did it, I should be able to do so as well!” I shoot right back at her, standing up. When Twilight tries to open her mouth to respond, I cut her off. “Don’t you get it!? I want no part of a future where I’m the only one of my kind and I’m surrounded by ridiculous technicolored ponies! I want to go back!”
“Please calm down, Seth!” Twilight tries to plead with me. “I understand you’re in a rough situation, but I just don’t think it’s possible to send you home!”
“You…!” I start to say, but then I fall silent. I feel anger, frustration, hopelessness, despair, and sorrow all mixing together into a maelstrom of raging emotion deep inside of me. Despite all of this, I can’t think of anything to say. Just like before, I was stupid and let myself get hopeful. Each time, when my hopes are crushed, it justs get worse and worse. Why haven’t I learned, even after all these years?
I struggle to keep calm, but I just can’t take these feelings anymore. All of my emotion seems to condense into a single fiery white hot point, to the point where I can physically feel it as a growing pressure in the center of my chest. I grab the nearest object, which happens to be my empty teacup, and hurl it with all of my might towards the other side of the room.
“Fuck!” I shout helplessly, venting all of my feelings out through that one curse. It feels good, but even that doesn’t quell the wave of emotional pain rushing through me.
Twilight yelps and manages to catch the teacup with her telekinesis just before it hits the wall, saving the dish from being shattered against the wooden surface. Spike is cowering beneath the table, hanging onto one of the legs.
It takes every ounce of willpower that I have not to break something else. As I stand there and breathe heavily, the surge of emotions subsides, to be replaced with the empty, dull pain that’s been with me ever since the school. It stings much more than before, serving to show me that finding and killing Sombra is the only path left for me now. Only pain awaits me if I lose sight of that goal.
“Hey…” Twilight tries to get my attention. “I can’t send you home, but I can at least help you find out more about this King Sombra. If you don’t mind waiting in town a little while, I’m sure I’ll find something about him in my library.”
“Don’t bother,” I retort sullenly, taking her aback. “You’ve already fulfilled your obligation to me. I wanted one question answered, and you did that and more. You no longer have any reason to help me.”
“That’s not true. I do want to help you. I promise it won’t be any trouble at all,” Twilight protests.
“I don’t believe you. Why would you do anything further for me, a stranger who’s not even the same species as you?” I remind her, crossing my arms.
“I don’t see a stranger standing before me; I see someone who’s lost and alone in an unfamiliar world. Please, let me help,” Twilight persuades. As kind as her words sound, I know better. Nobody helps another without anything in return. In fact, it’s easy to tell what her angle is.
“All you want is to know more about humanity to further your own pursuits. No doubt you think helping me out is the only way to get that information out of me,” I conjecture to her, unmoved by her pleading expression.
“What? No!” Twilight responds, looking offended. “You’re right in that I do want to learn from you, but that’s not why I want to help you! Hasn’t anyone in your time ever helped you just out of kindness?”
I make a derisive scoff. Now that’s something I’ve stopped believing in, ever since middle school. “Of course not. Why would they? I was just one insignificant speck in an ocean. Everybody would and should care about themselves,” I answer her without missing a beat.
Twilight lowers her head, a sorrowful expression forming on her face. “That’s… that’s a horrible way to think. Do all humans think like you do?” she asks, though she looks like she doesn’t want to hear the answer.
“How would I know? Probably. There were probably those that didn’t, but they were in for a rude awakening.” I’m quickly growing tired of this conversation. I didn’t come here to be questioned on the way I think.
“How can you believe that? I used to think something similar, about how I didn’t need friends, but then…” Twilight persists. Finally, I lose my patience.
“I don’t care about your story, or whether or not you approve. I certainly didn’t ask for you to stick your nose in my business,” I growl, causing her to shut her mouth and shrink back. If this is where the conversation is going, I’m done here. This whole trip was one gigantic waste of time.
I grab my rifle from where I left it and walk out of the kitchen without another world. Unfortunately, it isn’t quite that easy.
“Wait, where are you going?” Twilight cries, leaping out of her seat. I try to ignore her, but she appears in front of me with a flash of magic, causing me to pause. I forgot she could teleport at will.
“It’s getting late, and there’s nothing more to be said here. Get out of the way,” I assert, stepping around her. This time, she doesn’t try to follow me.
“But… where are you going to go? You said you were alone here; do you have someplace to stay?” Twilight persists as I reach the door. I pause with my hand on the handle, recognizing that question for what it is. I grit my teeth; she’s backed me into a corner. If I tell her that I don’t have anywhere to go, she’s likely going to offer me a place here, which I’m certainly not going to accept. If I tell her the opposite, it would be a lie, and I hate lying.
“I’ve got it covered,” I bluff. It’s not entirely true, but it’s the best I can give her without having to directly lie to her.
“Oh… okay,” Twilight replies haltingly. She doesn’t look as though she’s entirely convinced, but she doesn’t bother me further with it. “Where can I find you if I find information on King Sombra?”
I look at her and quirk an eyebrow. “I already told you that you don’t need to do that,” I remind her, exasperated. Twilight returns my gaze with a stubborn pout.
“I know you did, but I’m going to look anyway. If he’s really from this era, then it’s unacceptable that I don’t know anything about him. Somepony with the ability to travel that far back in time must have some sort of record of his existence,” Twilight asserts, looking at me with a hint of smugness in her expression. “I have all of the latest encyclopedias, biographies, and textbooks. You can’t complain about me taking some time for my own personal research. After all, what I do on my own time is my business, isn’t it?”
Twilight is now smiling. I give her a glare, knowing exactly what she’s trying to do. She seems to have a habit of using my words against me, such that I can’t argue back without seeming like a hypocrite. However, if she’s going to play that card…
“If it’s your own personal business, knock yourself out. However, that also means you can’t hold it over my head,” I warn her.
“Hold it over your head? Why would I do that?” Twilight appears genuinely confused by my warning. I honestly hope she isn’t being serious. She’d have to be desperately naive to not know the answer to that question.
“Nevermind.” I decide not to pursue that line of thought. In the end, if she chooses to do that research on her own time, it’s no business of mine. I open the door and step out into the rapidly darkening streets.
“Wait! You never answered me. Where can I find you?” Twilight asks one more time, following me as far as the doorstep.
“You won’t. I’ll return here tomorrow sometime. It’s not as though I have anything better to do,” I tell her. Without another word, I pick up my pace and leave the library behind, faintly hearing Twilight bid farewell to me.
I shake my head. That couldn’t have gone much worse. Not only was Twilight difficult to deal with, but I essentially wasted my whole evening answering questions, only to learn minor details in return. To make matters worse, I still don’t know where to find Sombra.
My next immediate objective is to find someplace to sleep. The sun is already dipping beneath the horizon, suggesting that it’s getting close to eight or nine. In fact, my guess proves to be correct. Not only does my phone verify that, but there is also a rather noticeable clock tower jutting above the tops of the houses nearby. There’s two hands: one long and one short. If the format of the clock is similar to how it was in my time and the numbers are in the same places, then it is also telling me it’s about eight thirty.
I can’t just pick anywhere to sleep. The air is chilly and smells of winter, suggesting that it’s only going to get much colder. There’s a frigid breeze rolling through the town, chilling me even further. I need to find someplace in town that’s sheltered from the wind. It seems I’ll just have to accept being cold; I’m not about to beg one of these ponies for a room.
For now, it might be a good idea to familiarize myself with the area. I stride forward, retracing the route Flitter and I took previously. The streets are noticeably emptier now that the workday is assumedly over. I’m not certain if ponies work the same hours that humans do, but so far everything about them appears to work like human society, despite the fact that they’re all ponies and have magic.
It’s uncertain how long my stay in Ponyville will be, so it’s best to get situated. Unfortunately, this means I’ll need money in order to afford lodging. Seeing as the alternative is freezing to death as it gets closer to winter, it doesn’t seem as though I have any other choice than to look for a job.
I divert from the streets and head towards the large building in the square. Due to the lack of ponies in the streets, now is the best time to explore. Walking beneath an archway between two buildings, I find myself in the square, standing at the foot of the cylindrical building that I assume is the town hall.
The buildings nearby are all arranged along the circumference of the square with their entrances pointing inwards. The river I crossed earlier borders a good fourth of the area, such that there’s two bridges nearby and a third one further down the far street that allow passage.
The building next to me forms an archway with the adjacent building, and appears to be a bar of some sorts. I say that because the lights are on inside and I can see a counter and stools similar to what I’d see in a human bar, complete with a brown stallion bartender. I scowl and turn away. Bars have never been my favorite places.
There’s a circular fountain several paces away from me around which benches are situated. The sculpture in the center is of a normal pony rearing up with a happy smile on its carved face.
I shake my head and walk the circumference of the square, making sure to stay close to the buildings. Despite it being so late, the streets still aren’t entirely empty, so I don’t want to attract undue attention. Despite my caution, a pony mare spots me in the shadow of a building. Unable to make out what I am apart from my height, the mare screams and gallops away.
Continuing on my exploration, I leave the square by crossing the river to the south. From here, I can see the dim shape of a barn sitting atop a hill far in the distance, along with the silhouettes of trees.
It’s getting too dark to see, so eventually I give up and start looking for a place to sleep. If worst comes to worst, I can hunker down beneath one of those bridges. It’ll be cold, but at least the wind won’t be able to reach me.
As I turn back to the north and skirt the edge of the square, I start to hear faint traces of music. I stop, suddenly curious. If that’s loud enough to be heard from here, that could only mean there’s live music somewhere. Interested in seeing what pony music is like, I pick up my pace and try to track down the source of the music.
The closer I get, the more of it I can make out. The music is unmistakably electronic due to the heart pumping bass and the fast paced synthetic drum beats. If I were to make an educated guess, I’d say it sounds vaguely reminiscent of the electro genre. When electronic music is performed live, it’s usually done by a DJ of some sorts. Before I go to sleep, I think I’ll take a quick look.
Following the music leads me to a building near the edge of town, where ponies are still congregating. Light shines from the windows, shifting through every color of the rainbow. The music is blaring from the open door. If I had to guess, I’d say this is a club of some sort.
It probably isn’t a good idea to expose myself to more ponies than necessary, but my curiosity gets the better of me. I would always listen to my music back in my time, and I even dabbled in some piano here and there, so it’s safe to say that music is one of my personal interests. Even though this has absolutely nothing to do with finding Sombra, I decide it couldn’t hurt to at least take a look.
Just as I approach the door, two ponies emerge from within, the two of them laughing at some shared joke. From their voices, I can tell they’re both female. The first one is a unicorn, judging by the horn, and her coat colored a soft mint green. Her mane is simply styled, with her bangs resting atop her head and her tresses cascading down her neck and stopping just short of her shoulders. Both her mane and tail are a similar color to her coat, with the exception of a single white streak running through them. The mark on her flank appears to be of a lyre, interestingly enough. Is this pony also a musician?
The second pony has neither wings or a horn, and her coat is a beige color. Her mane appears to be more meticulously styled than her companion, each bang curled and placed neatly atop her head. Her mane and tail are colored a mixture of dark blue and magenta, where each color forms a uniform stripe separate from the other. The mark on her flank consists of three wrapped candies. Clearly these marks aren’t insignificant; every pony I’ve met has one, and they’re all different.
By chance, the two end up walking directly into my path. It’s too late for me to hide, so I slow my pace to a casual walk and keep moving. Unfortunately, that does little to temper their reactions.
The moment they spot me, the two of them react in completely different ways. The beige pony screams and backs up against the wall, her eyes wide. “Lyra, get away! It’s a monster!” she screams, being the second one today to make that assumption.
The other mare, who I’m assuming is Lyra, doesn’t scream, panic, or even move upon seeing me. She just seems curious. When her companion screamed, she just looks confused. Lyra turns back to scrutinize my face, upon which is an irritated scowl. “What are you talking about, Bon Bon? It doesn’t look like a monster at all,” Lyra questions, much to my surprise. Ignoring Bon Bon’s panicked warnings, she approaches me tentatively. “I’ve never seen anything like you though.”
I sigh in annoyance. They’re both in my way of the door, so I can’t just push past them. “If it’ll stop your friend’s screeching, I’ll tell you that I’m human,” I inform the two of them. “Now kindly move; you’re in the way.”
“Human? Oh wow, I’ve heard of you. It’s amazing that you’re standing here right now,” Lyra responds, putting on a friendly smile. She apparently didn’t hear or is choosing to ignore the fact that I told her to move. She gives me an appraising look and licks her lips, making me instantly uncomfortable. “I have to say, I didn’t think humans would look so… unique.”
I’m just going to pretend I didn’t hear that. Just as I’m about to repeat myself, Bon Bon seems to get over her sudden case of fright and moves to stand by Lyra, looking annoyed by something.
“Humans? Wasn’t there a book series of some sort about them?” Bon Bon questions. When Lyra nodded, she turned her gaze to me. “Weren’t you all extinct?”
“That’s a stupid question.” Something about the way she said that rubs me the wrong way. I’m probably overreacting, but judging from her tone of voice, it seems like she’s unhappy that I currently exist. “If we were all extinct, I wouldn’t be here. Secondly, we just met. Shouldn’t you be introducing yourself, instead of immediately greeting me with, ‘shouldn’t you be dead?’”
There’s enough of an angry edge in my voice that Bon Bon steps back, her eyes growing wide. Lyra on the other hand, steps in front of Bon bon and giggles nervously. “Oh, I’m sorry about that. My name is Lyra Heartstrings, and I’ve been interested in history for most of my life, so the fact that you’re here is simply astounding,” she introduces, reaching out a hoof.
“I’m Seth Rogers, and you wouldn’t be the first to show a scientific interest. Twilight practically tried to interrogate me, and frankly, I’m not in the mood,” I remark, ignoring her hoof. I just want to get this conversation over with. I’m starting to regret going out of my way to come here.
Lyra laughs at that, withdrawing her hoof when she realizes that I’m not going to shake it. “That seems so like her! I grew up with her, and research was all she wanted to do,” she reveals to me. “No, if anything, I want to know about…”
“Did you not hear me? I said I’m not in the mood. Plus, I didn’t come here to socialize,” I cut across her before this can turn into another questionnaire. Lyra looks suitably chastened, the mare uttering a soft apology. Bon Bon on the other hand is transfixing me with a glare. “I just wanted to take a look to see where that music was coming from.”
Lyra brightens up again. “Oh, you’re interested in Vinyl Scratch? She’s our town’s resident DJ!” she reveals to me, confirming my earlier suspicions. Vinyl is a rather strange name for a pony though. It’s probably a stage name, considering it relates to her job. “If you want to meet her, you better hurry, her set’s almost finished.”
“Not that it’ll matter. She does all the loading and set up on her own, so she takes a while to leave,” Bon Bon rejoins, notably talking more to Lyra than to me. “That’s when all the stallions try chatting her up, remember?”
“And they get nowhere,” Lyra agrees, chuckling. I could push past them right now, but Bon Bon’s words sound interesting. If that’s right, maybe this Vinyl wouldn’t mind some extra help. Perhaps coming here will be beneficial to me after all. “I get a real kick out of seeing them try though!”
“If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go and do that now,” I tell them emphatically, stopping them before they waste my time with an unnecessary tangent. “If you’ll just move out of my way.”
“Oh, whoops! Sorry,” Lyra apologizes sheepishly with a giggle. She presses her head against Bon Bon’s side, nudging her out of the way at last so I can walk past them. Lyra watches me go with poorly hidden interest. “Just look for the pony with the shades on; you can’t miss her. Good luck in there! You’ll probably need it.”
“Whatever.” I walk past them, leaving the two mares behind. However, just as I’m about to walk in through the door, I hear Lyra call out to me.
“Hey, Seth! Don’t be a stranger!” she calls. All I give is a scoff in return. Between Twilight, Zecora, and now Lyra, these creatures are being overly friendly. What they all fail to realize is that I’m not here to waste time playing friends with them.
I’m just here to kill Sombra. Everything else is just a means to that end.
With my mind thus made up, I slip through the front door into the club. The music is extremely loud, making it feel as though my whole body is resonating with the bass. It’s also very dark in the spacious room, making it difficult to make out the individual features of the crowd of ponies inside. The only light comes from the stage, which is the next thing that catches my attention.
In the far corner of the room is a raised portion of the floor, where the DJ is set up. From here, the first thing I notice is that her setup is once again surprisingly modern. She’s sitting behind an extensive set of turntables that are covered with switches and dials of all kinds. Like the appliances in Twilight’s kitchen, the turntables don’t seem to be plugged into anything. Unlike said appliances, however, a series of thick black cables spider out from beneath the tables and connect to modern speaker systems and LED lights all over the club. I can only conjecture that the cables must channel magic, because Twilight was quite clear that electricity wasn’t cheap or widely used.
The DJ looks to be very into her music, her entire white-coated body moving in time to the pounding beat. Her horned head bobs constantly and rhythmically, her unkempt electric blue mane snapping back and forth. The most distinguishable part of her appearance, however, are the purple tinted sunglasses that obscure her eyes and cover the majority of her face.
That seals it. As if the turntables weren’t already a dead giveaway, the shades fit in line with Lyra’s description: That’s Vinyl Scratch. Planting my back against a wall, I wait patiently for the song to end.
The music isn’t bad. Electronic music isn’t really something to which I go out of my way to listen, but the beat is solid and the energy in her performance is palpable. The other ponies think so as well, as a majority of them are out on the dance floor, moving their bodies to the tempo. It’s strange and somewhat amusing to see the pony version of dancing.
When the song comes to a smashing finish, Vinyl lets out an enthusiastic whoop while the crowd erupts with cheers. The LED lights turn white momentarily to allow for ease of vision so that ponies can find their way around.
Unfortunately, one of the lights passes over me in the process, allowing the pony next to me to get a good look at me. She gasps and backs away, running into the mare behind her. That, in turn, gets her attention, such that she’s the next one to see me. Just like that, ponies all around start to notice my presence.
The reaction isn’t mass panic, thankfully. The ponies closest to me give me a wide berth, and some of the ones I can see are whispering and pointing their hooves at me. It’s not that hard to spot me either, as I stand about twice as tall as the average pony.
Eventually the strange behavior of the crowd gets Vinyl’s attention. She sets down the record she just levitated back into a case and peers over the turntables. Once she spots me, her jaw drops and she gazes at me with an awestruck expression. Just as I’m starting to think that I should leave, Vinyl grins.
“Awright, change of plans everypony! As it turns out, I won’t be performing ‘Final Blast’ tonight,” Vinyl announces to the crowd in a rough alto voice, a mischievous expression on her face. Her words manage to distract the crowd due to the cordless microphone in front of her. Her words elicit disappointed cries from them all, suggesting that “Final Blast” is a song that she usually plays by tradition. “Come on, don’t give me that! This is a special occasion; There’s a human in the house! Where do you think I pull inspiration from?”
I blink, taken aback by the calming effect that her words are having on the crowd. Just like that, the ponies are growing more accustomed to my presence, trusting Vinyl’s words. Is she really that influential? More interesting is the fact that she claims to have drawn inspiration from us. Has music from my era survived long enough to be seen by pony eyes?
“This is like, the best chance to hear what an actual human thinks about my work!” Vinyl’s horn lights up a soft magenta as she eagerly levitates a record out from the case beside her and sets it on the turntable. She adjusts the needle, sets it on the record, and then she looks directly at me. “I learned this from you guys, so do me a favor and rock out!”
The music blasts back through the speakers a split second later. Waves of reverberating bass surge through the room with an unrivaled intensity. The style is unmistakably dubstep, much to my utter shock. That is definitely a human style. I can’t help but find myself shaking my head wryly. I don’t mind this style of music; I’m just amazed that it’s lasted this long.
In the wake of this new music and Vinyl’s boundless enthusiasm, my presence goes forgotten and the ponies slowly relax and mingle with one another. It isn’t long before the dance floor is populated with ponies once more.
I return to leaning against the wall, bobbing my head appreciatively to the beat. If this is her last song, I don’t mind waiting through it. Staying up late is of no concern to me anymore. I have nothing for which to wake up early anymore.
As I listen, I close my eyes, losing myself in old memories. I’ve been to a scene like this once before, back in my own era. Standing here like this, I can’t help but be reminded of that time. The scent in the air is that of sweaty ponies, but the sights, sounds, and atmosphere are all causing me to reminisce.
It was dark in the streets, the sun having long since set. It was the end of a long day of difficult classes for the both of us, and we were both looking to blow off some steam. Unfortunately for me, it was Amaryllis’s turn to choose what we would do.
That was how we ended up standing just outside one of the area’s only nightclubs. We had to show our IDs just to get in the place. “Amaryllis, why are we here again?” I complained as I followed my more confident friend into the half-drunken crowd. “Seriously, places like this make me extremely uncomfortable.”
“It would be easier to list the things that don’t make you uncomfortable,” Amaryllis returned with a smirk. “That’s why I brought you here. It’s my turn, and I’m going to broaden your horizons. Have you ever danced before?”
“Danced? What are you talking about? Of course I haven’t,” I retorted, quirking an eyebrow as we headed deeper into the club. Much like I expected, the club was filled with a large amount of people. Drinks were being poured, and more than a few were already drunk. There was a DJ there tonight, so the main lights were dim and the air shimmered with the rays of various LEDs. I then realized that she was leading me to the dance floor and my mind shut down. “Amaryllis, what the hell are you doing? I’m not going to dance. No way in hell.”
“What, are you too scared of being shown up on the dance floor?” Amaryllis teased me with a grin as we near the dance floor. “Do you care about what other people think so much?”
Just then, Amaryllis stepped out onto the dance floor and started to move her body to the beat, effectively joining the throng of other dancing people. I gape at her in dismay, wondering who this woman was and what she did with Amaryllis.
“What? No, but this is beneath you! Come on, let’s just go,” I try to plead with her, but that line alone gets her to glare at me.
“What the hell are you on about? Beneath me? Why?” Amaryllis’s voice cracks out at me like a whip, causing me to wince. “I’m just trying to have fun with my only friend doing something that I enjoy. How is that beneath me?”
“Because every other college student goes out and parties like this! I thought you were different,” I snapped at her, starting to get a little angry. Amaryllis’s stare turned to ice after that.
“Get over yourself, Seth. We worked our asses off today, so we deserve a little time to blow off steam. Why are you bringing other people into this? Who cares what they do? Tonight’s about us,” Amaryllis expressed vehemently, approaching me. Her smirk returns. “Or, perhaps this is because you actually do care about what all these drunk people think. Is that it, princess?”
I groan at her usual nickname for me and shake my head, backed into a corner by her words. Before I can stop her, Amaryllis reaches out and grabs me by the wrist, dragging me unwillingly towards the dance floor.
“Lighten up a bit, okay? Worry about the here and now… where there’s a pissed off bitch wanting you to dance with her,” Amaryllis quipped, gazing directly at me. Her words, her sudden proximity, and her intense gaze on my face caused my face to heat up rapidly. “Don’t worry, I won’t say a word when you inevitably suck.”
“That’s it. Keep talking trash, Amaryllis. Now I’m going to show you how to really dance,” I blurted out before I can stop myself. Amaryllis broke out into a grin and she laughed heartily, starting to dance once more. This time, I joined her, awkwardly moving to the rhythm.
Thankfully, Amaryllis was patient with me, and occasionally adjusted my position with her arms until I was able to move more fluidly. Eventually, I was able to tune out the other people and just have fun, focusing entirely on her.
Of course, Amaryllis was quite attractive, so there was inevitably one or two drunken men who tried to get in on the dance, but she disposed of them quite quickly with well placed kicks to their groins. Amaryllis was brutal when she had to be, but I’m fine with that. Nobody else could get between us at that moment.
Even now, that memory is one of my fondest with her. Thinking about it makes me smile sadly, as I know that memories is all I have left of her. Sorry Vinyl, I won’t be dancing to your music. I don’t think I’ll be dancing ever again. Amaryllis was the only one I’d ever do something so silly with, and she’s gone now. She was such a strong woman…
I shake my head vigorously, ridding myself of those thoughts. I can’t let myself be bogged down in memories. I’ll have all the time in the world to reminisce once Sombra is dead.
It’s a relatively long song, but it eventually comes to an end, marking the end of Vinyl’s performance. The crowd’s reaction is most telling; they erupt into tumultuous cheers of adulation. As they applaud her, I remain where I am until ponies start to filter out of the bar. This time, some of the ponies tentatively offer friendly greetings to me, but I never return them.
Instead, I wait until the floor is clear enough, and then I make my way towards where Vinyl is starting to pack up. Just like Bon Bon said, I notice a stallion trying to talk to her, and there are several others nearby looking as though they want to do the same. It’s not hard to tell she’s bothered by their presence.
The stallions see me coming. Perhaps it’s because I’m moving relatively fast and directly towards them, but they scatter when I get close. Vinyl notices me coming pretty quick, but the stallion talking to her is still clueless until I’m right up behind him.
I clear my throat, getting his attention. The stallion turns around and gulps, noticing how I’m towering over him with the rifle clenched in my hands. “I have business with her, so if you don’t mind, take your flirting elsewhere,” I growl at him. That’s all it takes for him to scatter like the rest.
“Thanks for that, dude, I was getting ready to tell him to shove off,” Vinyl addresses me with an appreciative nod. She gets back to coiling up her cables with her telekinesis. “Pretty rad to see a real human. How did you like my tunes? Did I get your music right?”
“More than right, I’d say. More inspired than anything I’ve heard in the genre,” I tell her honestly. Granted my opinion doesn’t mean anything because I haven’t heard much dubstep, but I decide to leave that part out. I’m hoping to get a job helping this mare out, so I should attempt to be polite. “I should thank you for saving me the trouble of dealing with a panicking crowd. That would have been more than irritating.”
“Hah, I hear that. You gotta forgive them. We’ve all heard of your kind, but nopony really knows what you look like. If my mother wasn’t an archaeologist, I wouldn’t have known either,” she reveals to me conversationally. Well, that explains how she knows what I am. “Anyway, the name’s Vinyl Scratch.”
“So I heard. My name is Seth Rogers.” I return her introduction with one of my own while I determine how best to broach the subject of a job.
“It’s a pleasure, Seth. Do you care if I call you Seth?” Vinyl asks, speaking in a very casual and laid-back manner. I shake my head as an answer, thankful that she saved me the effort of telling her to do so myself. She grins and extends a hoof to me, like every other pony I’ve met so far. Unlike every other pony I’ve met, it’s in my best interests to accept. Just for that reason, I awkwardly reach out my hand.
“Yeah!” Vinyl emits, rearing up slightly. To my surprise, when she goes for my hand, her hoof dexterously curves around my palm, clasping it rather tightly. Before I can take a closer look, she lifts my hand and tightens her grip briefly before releasing me and standing back on all fours again. She gave a laugh. “My mom would be so jealous of me right now. Anyway, you said you had business with me. Do you care if I pack while I listen?”
“Not really,” I reply. Vinyl nods and gets back to packing up all of her equipment. I take a quick glance around the area, noting just how much work Vinyl has to do. Her cables stretch all over the place, her speakers and LED stands look as though they weigh a great deal, and that’s not even counting her turntables. The banners hanging from the ceiling also seem to be hers due to the fact she’s pulling them down with her telekinesis. “It seems like you’ve got a lot on your plate here.”
“You could say that. It’s no big deal though,” Vinyl returns with a good natured chuckle as she folds up a banner and sets it aside. For storage, Vinyl has a spacious black cart nearby made of plastic in which multiple labeled tubs are neatly stacked. A few of these tubs are sitting open on the stage. The banners that Vinyl is folding are placed into one of them, suggesting that she has different tubs to hold different items. “Takes me a bit though, so if I sit around too long, I’m here all night.”
“I can see how it would take you a while. Have you thought about taking on extra help?” I insinuate casually. Vinyl doesn’t seem to think anything of it though.
“Yeah, actually, but who would I take on? I’ve always run my show solo,” Vinyl responds with a shrug. “Besides, I’d want somepony who gets just as passionate as me about this line of work… and isn’t just in it for selfish reasons. How much do you want to bet that if I asked one of those stallions to help, they’d do it in a heartbeat?”
“I’d bet nothing. I’d go bankrupt in a second,” I remark with a disgusted scowl. It’s both reassuring and disappointing to hear that male ponies share the same habits as male humans. “I get what you mean though. So if you were to take on a helper, you’d want another musician who doesn’t want to flirt with you the whole time?”
“Pretty much hit the nail on the head!” Vinyl agrees as she hops off the stage. I follow her to one of the speaker constructs set up along the edges of the room. They’re strangely constructed; from what I can see, the woofers are larger and set on the ground, and have a hole in the top. The tweeters and drivers are smaller and rest atop a metal pole that’s anchored into the aforementioned hole. Her horn lights up and the speakers atop the pole rise from their position, albeit slowly. I notice immediately that Vinyl appears to be having trouble. She’s sweating and grunting with exertion, the speakers moving slowly and wobbling in their trajectory. “But… there’s nopony in town that’s a musician, a mare, and willing to help… gah!”
I step in and catch the speaker in midair, taking some of the load off of Vinyl. I’m not sure how telekinesis works, but just from this one display, I determine that the heavier the target, the more strain it causes. However, being so quick to help isn’t the best decision on my part either, as the speaker is rather weighty. The strain on my body causes my side to light up with white hot pain, causing me to gasp and struggle to keep from dropping the speaker.
With both Vinyl and I working together, we manage to get the speaker up onto the stage and into the cart. Vinyl pants and wipes the sweat off of her brow with a hoof. “Thanks. It’s always harder to do the heavy lifting after a show. I use my mana to power everything for several hours, so I don’t have much left over,” she explains to me, confirming my hypothesis that everything she uses runs on magic. I am interested as to what the difference between magic and mana is though. I’ve heard both words from different ponies now.
Vinyl suddenly does a double take. “Wait, you just helped me, and you brought up all this talk about extra help,” she realizes aloud, looking at me directly. I can’t tell what she’s thinking due to those dark shades covering her eyes. “Are you trying to get me to hire you?”
“That’s about it, yeah. I just… arrived… in Equestria a few days ago, and I could use the money,” I admit with a shrug.
Vinyl takes a break from her packing to give me a once over. “Well, I can’t say I was expecting this tonight,” she responds with a laugh. “Even after all the requirements I listed, you think I’ll hire you? Also, why me specifically? I know Applejack is constantly looking for help on the farm.”
“Those are hardly requirements to worry about,” I state sardonically. As far as job requirements go, those are nothing special. “You said you wanted a musician; I’ve dabbled a bit in piano, as music is a passion of mine. I’m asking you because you’re the first musician I found. Secondly, and I can’t believe I have to explain this, but I’m hardly attracted to ponies.”
Vinyl wrinkles her nose a bit and laughs again. “Awright, fair enough. If you think you’re up to it, I can give you a shot. I have gigs about two or three times a week in the evenings, sometimes more if Pinkie Pie throws one of her spontaneous parties,” she describes to me. I nod, satisfied that I’ve managed to land a job. With luck, I’ll have enough money to afford temporary lodging soon.
I also can’t help but note that I’ve heard those words, “Pinkie Pie,” before, from Flitter. At the time, I assumed it was a dessert, but Vinyl is talking about them as though they’re a name. There’s seriously a pony out there called Pinkie Pie? That’s just ridiculous.
“So here’s the deal; if you help me with all of this, I’ll pay you a cut of the earnings. Say… twenty-five percent? Depending on where I travel, I make anywhere from thirty to over two hundred bits,” Vinyl reveals to me. “Sound good?”
I have to assume that “bits” are the Equestrian currency. I can’t tell if she’s giving me a good deal or not, as I don’t know how bits compare to US dollars in value. If it’s on a one to one basis (which I highly doubt it is) then that would mean I’d make between seven and fifty dollars per gig. That’s not great, but I don’t have any other options. Additionally, this is only temporary; I plan to quit once I find out where Sombra is hiding.
“That works for me. You make it sound like you travel to other towns,” I notice.
“Oh yeah, not often, but it does happen. Sometimes the ponies up in Canterlot get tired of playing nice and want to rock out. Once I got a gig from Trotsdale too… that was nice,” Vinyl relates to me.
I stop paying attention halfway through her sentence because of the name of the first town she mentioned. Canterlot? Is… did she intentionally make a pun off of the human mythological city, Camelot? Or is that honestly what the city is called? Every second I remain in this strange era, I discover information that just raises more and more questions that I can’t get answered.
“Anyway, I guess I’m your boss now,” Vinyl expresses with a wry grin. “Don’t worry about tonight though, I got this. Tomorrow’s a Pinkie party though, so I’d like your help then. Where you holed up?”
That question catches me off guard. I didn’t tell Twilight that I didn’t have any place to stay, but I can’t exactly do the same with Vinyl. She’s my employer now, so she has to be able to find me for work. There’s nothing I can do except tell her the truth.
“I don’t have anywhere to stay, or any money. That’s why I’m here,” I tell her honestly, already bracing myself for her response.
“Wha-really?” Vinyl’s ears fold back and her jaw drops. “That’s… not cool at all. I can’t pay you enough to regularly afford a hotel right off the bat, so what are you going to do in the meantime?”
“Sleep outside. Not seeing any other options here,” I reply with a shrug.
“What? This close to winter? When the snows come, you’ll freeze to death!” Vinyl returns sharply, her voice sounding more and more upset. “Come on, you’ve got to have other options. You’re human, one of our great precursors. You could probably get a room in Canterlot Castle of all places if you really tried.”
“What, you want me to freeload off of some random pony just because because I’m human?” I retort, irritated by just the very suggestion of such a thing. “Not a chance. If I can’t pay my way, I’ll sleep outside.”
“I have a spare room I could offer you. It gets wicked cold during the winter, so freeloading or not, it’s better than freezing, right?” Vinyl then proceeds to give me the very offer that I wanted to avoid so much that I nearly lied to Twilight.
“I’m not budging on this. I won’t accept charity, no matter what the alternative is,” I state firmly.
Vinyl sighs heavily, and then stares back at me with a stubborn expression. “And I won’t let you just freeze to death out on the streets. There’s gotta be some kind of way that’ll work for you,” she argues vehemently.
It’s now my turn to sigh, this time with annoyance. I honestly don’t see why she cares that much whether or not I have a place to stay. It’s not really her business, apart the fact that she needs to find me. “There really isn’t,” I tell her, equally as stubbornly.
“I can’t just accept that, dude. It’s just not right,” Vinyl asserts, the mare obstinately refusing to back down. “I’ll let you off tonight because there’s nothing I can do on such short notice, but I’mma think of something by tomorrow evening.”
“I still don’t see why it matters, but whatever. You do that,” I relent uncaringly, just happy to get her off my case for the time being. If it becomes too much of a problem by tomorrow, I’ll just quit and find an employer who won’t care about something so silly. “If you want to find me, I’ll probably be hiding out beneath a bridge near the town square.”
“Alright, it shouldn’t be too hard to find you then,” Vinyl responds, a frown on her face. “Can I at least lend you a blanket?”
“No,” is my immediate response, causing Vinyl to groan.
“Agh, you’re so stubborn!” Vinyl complains, stamping her hoof. “Thankfully, the weather is mild tonight, so you should be fine. Though my door’s open if you get too cold.”
“Noted,” I utter simply. Our business is settled and the conversation appears to be over, so I turn on one heel and make my way out of the club. Thankfully, Vinyl doesn’t call after me.
I shiver once I step outside, a chill breeze running over my skin. I rub my arms, goosebumps forming. This is not going to be a very pleasant night. To compound matters, my stomach is growling frequently; I haven’t had anything to eat since I left Zecora’s house, and it doesn’t look like finding food will be an option as long as I don’t have any money. At the very least, keeping hydrated won’t be an issue with the river nearby.
As I walk, I keep thinking about how hard Vinyl fought to keep me off the streets. There’s just no reason for her to do any of that. It would make sense to keep me in one piece if I was her contracted employee and she couldn’t do the job on her own, but that isn’t the case. It’s obviously not out of kindness, so the only reason I can see is that she’d use her lodging as leverage to get more out of me than I originally agreed to. Vinyl said her mother is an archaeologist, which means she would probably be extremely happy to get her hooves on me. I’d probably be worth a fortune. No doubt if Vinyl housed me, she’d find someway to get me to agree to that.
I clench my hands into fists, somewhat angry just at that thought. There’s no way I’ll let that happen. I’m not stupid enough to believe that any of these offers are genuine; that simply doesn’t happen with strangers - especially not in this situation.
It’s completely dark out now, and the streets are empty. Even the square is completely devoid of ponies. Because of that, I take a moment to sit on one of the benches and rest for a moment. All of this walking and exertion has my side aching. Checking the bandages reveals that there’s no blood still. I start to wonder if the wound has scabbed over already. That hardly seems possible; it’s only been a few days since I received it. What kind of herbs did Zecora use to make her treatment so effective?
There’s no lamps or anything to shed light on the streets. The only light comes from the windows of some of the nearby houses and from the moon above. Speaking of which, I’ve never been anywhere that didn’t have any light pollution of which to speak. I look up at the night sky… and my breath is taken away.
I’ve never seen anything like this. There are countless stars covering the entirety of the blackened sky, softly shedding their light on the land below. I can make out constellations that I’ve never been able to observe before, and even note the existence of a distant planet or two. The gorgeous moon hangs in the air as well brightly and unobscured by even a single a cloud.
I stare up at the wondrous night sky for a long time, until finally I start to grow drowsy. I even doze off momentarily, but it isn’t long before the breeze chills me awake. I wrench my eyes away from the sky and walk over to the nearest bridge. As I expected, there’s a small ledge beneath the bridge, just at the edge of the river. As long as I remain relatively still, I should be safe from the wind.
Grunting, I crawl beneath the bridge. First, I drink my fill from the river, and then I lay down on my back. It’s not very comfortable at all; I can feel rocks digging into my back, it’s somewhat stuffy down here, and the crickets are rather loud. Looking up from my position, all I can see is the stone underside of the bridge. This is going to be a miserable night. I let out a deep breath and close my eyes. Despite how cold and hungry I am, it doesn’t take me long to finally get to sleep.