//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Formal Introductions // Story: The Element of Hope // by Shootingstar212 //------------------------------// The birds chirping noise can be heard outside of my window. my eyes slowly open up, to be greeted with sunlight flushing into my room. I let out a groan. "Ow... Everything hurts..." I complain to myself. well, it is my fault after all. Slamming yourself into a Changeling at full force can do that to you. I lay on my back, staring at the ceiling. "That was the first fight I've ever been in. I'm not sure whether or not my Grandpa would be pissed, or would be proud." I say aloud. One thing's for certain, I know that people still hate me in this town. I place my hands over my face and exhale loudly. "I can't believe this. I risk my life and get scolded in return. Rainbow Dash called me a freak..." I sit up on my bed slowly. my arms and legs are extremely sore. I should lay off of doing anything taxing for a while, I don't want to actually hurt myself. I get off of my bed, and walk outside of the bedroom I slept in. I finally get to see a clearer version of the establishment. The dark brown planks of wood for the floor creak with every step I take. Paint that used to be beige, is peeling off the wall. This place is a dusty mess. I use my finger to swipe some dust off of a counter surface. "The last thing I wanted to do today, was clean a house." I groan in disappointment. my stomach lets out a grumble. That reminds me. What time is it anyway? I walk downstairs with the goal in mind of finding my backpack. If I remember correctly, I left my pocket watch inside one of the front pouches. The bag is exactly where I left it. There's a new addition though. Cobwebs. "I really dislike spiders..." I grab my bag from the mess of webbing and wipe it off with my sleeve. I've never liked spiders, ever since I was a kid. I remember being scared out of my mind when my Grandpa was watching a movie about a giant spider attacking the ponies of a fictional village. My Grandpa tried to convince me it was just all made up, but I never believed him when I was younger. Some of the webbing gets stuck to my hand. I quickly wipe it off on the closest wall. "Ew, Ew, Ewww!!!" I'm not paying attention to where I'm wiping my hand. But I feel another sticky substance touching me. I take a look at the wall and notice that there are even more spiderwebs on this wall. "Oh my... You've got to be kidding me?" I'm more annoyed than grossed out now. I remove my hand from the wall and just go with the easy solution, wipe the webs on my clothes. I need to get changed anyway. I open up the front pouch of my bag and look for my watch. It takes a couple of minutes, but I feel the familiar circle shape. I pull the bronze watch out by the chain link. It's one that's meant to be worn around the neck. I flip the watch open to be greeted by the picture of my Grandpa and me together. We were out at the park that day, that's a day that I'll always cherish. There was no harassment, insults, or anything negative. It was just me and him. That may be the reason why it was so special, I was with my family. I let out a side smile while looking at the image, then I take a look at the Roman numeral clock that is on the right side. "11:45?" I say to myself surprised. I never sleep this long. It seems like I'm going to be skipping breakfast. I look through all of the doors, cabinets, and closets in the house. Well. I can confirm, that there is absolutely no food in this house. What should I expect? Grandpa hasn't lived here for over twenty years. From what I remember, I don't have too much money on me... I may have to get a job. It's going to be difficult, who in Equestria would hire me to do anything? that would probably just disgrace the image of the Pony. I'm so lost in thought, that I didn't hear the hoof knocking on my door. I snap back into reality, and I hear a voice call out to me. It sounds familiar. "Excuse me? I know you're home. It's Twilight Sparkle. You know, from last night?" Twilight Sparkle? Why would she come to visit me? I lean up against the door and listen to what she has to say. I don't want to open the door for someone who's going to be rude. "I'm sorry about my friend. She was just a little freaked out by you. don't worry, I just want to talk for a bit." I lift my head up at that. Why would she want to? I mean, I did help out. Maybe it's just a Thank You? I unlock the door, and slowly open it. Peaking my head out to just make sure she's alone. Twilight Sparkle is standing outside of the door. Her bright purple coat is eye-catching, to say the least. Her eyes share the same colour if a bit darker. A dark purple mane with a magenta stripe going across it horizontally. She has a friendly smile, wide-eyed, and overall friendly looking. Her mane is properly brushed, almost like she's been up for a while. I assume someone like her would be awake early in the morning. "Good morning!" She greets, "Or, should I say afternoon? because it's almost noon." she corrects herself. My blank expression doesn't change. "Not much of a talker, are you?" She cocks her head. I'm at a lost for words, I'm not sure how I should greet her back. should I be polite? or cool sounding? "I-I, umm... I'm not too good around people I don't know." I stammer out. I'm pretty sure that this is extremely awkward for her as well. "Oh really? Have I been too forward? I'm extremely sorry!" Twilight quickly apologizes to me. "No! I- I mean. It's fine. I'm just a little confused at the moment." I try to convince her that she did nothing wrong. "Confused at what?" "Well, I'm just not used to having Ponies come up to my door. Considering..." I open the door all the way and take a step back. I let Twilight take a good look at me. How I stand up on two legs, Have claw-like hands, but they aren't pointed. How I have to wear clothes all the time. I see Twilight Sparkle study me with her eyes. Taking down mental notes, attempting to remember every detail about me. "Amazing..." Twilight says somewhat quietly. she starts to take steps into my house. "I mean. I've heard stories about how you look. How different you are from everypony in Equestria. I've always wanted to see what you look like in person. Here you are, right in front of me." She sticks a hoof out and pokes my hand. trying to feel the flesh on me. "Your claws. They feel soft and warm..." I let out a fake cough. This causes Twilight to recoil with a blush on her face, "Oh, I-I'm sorry. I got a little distracted" her eyes dart around. I let out a little chuckle, "It's perfectly fine." I scratch the back of my head. Twilight starts to sniffle, then lets out a little sneeze. Twilight looks around the room and notices how dirty, and dusty it is, "Quite the place you got here." "Yeahhhh... I just moved in last night. I haven't had the chance to clean yet." I respond while looking around with her. "You moved here?" She asks looking back at me. "Yeah, just for the year. This used to be my Grandpa's place." "Grandpa? There's more than just you in Equestria?" Twilight sounds excited I laugh, "No, don't get the wrong idea. It's my rescuer's house. I just call him Grandpa because he's my family" Twilight raises an eyebrow, "Well... If you don't mind me asking? What happened to your real family." This topic brings up bad memories of not having a real family. Never knowing my parents, or even seeing them I look away from Twilight and place my hands on the table nearby. Looking down at the flat surface. "I-I never knew my real family. All that I know is that I was found in the Everfree forest when I was a baby. That's probably why everypony hates me. Because I'm a wild creature found in the most dangerous place in Equestria. How can I be treated like a real pony if I'm considered dangerous? The only pony nice to me is my rescuer. He adopted me, raised me like his own. He never saw a freak, but a baby that needed a home." I decide to not bring up the note that I was informed about on my birthday. I might start to tear up if I do. "The only thing I do know about my old life is my name. Travis..." I quiet down. I can't think of anything else to say. I hear the sounds of hoof steps approach me. I turn to face them and see an extended hoof. "Well, Travis. My name is Twilight Sparkle, It's a pleasure to meet you." Her warm smile catches me off guard. Twilight is offering her hoof out to me. I look down at her hoof, then up to her face. she has a genuine look of kindness on her face. A smile grows on my face. I take her hoof in my hand and shake it. "It's nice to meet you too." My stomach lets out another grumble. Twilight giggles at the noise, "Someone is hungry." Twilight is still laughing. I chuckle at her remark. "well, I've not been up long. I was going to buy some food before I cleaned the house." Twilight's ears perked up, "Oh, I can take you out!" She offers almost immediately. "You don't have to, It's okay." I try to reassure her. "Nonsense, you helped Rainbow Dash and me last night. If you didn't show up. who know's what would have happened?" Twilight is very determined about taking me out for lunch as a thank you. "Well, if you really think that's gonna make us even. Then, yes." I agree to go out with her. "Trust me, Travis. You're gonna have a great time." Twilight trots her way out of my house. I leave with her, taking my bag with me. I make sure to shut and lock the door on the way out. We walk along the path into Ponyville. It's just a basic dirt path. The colour is a bright brown, and the crunching noise the path makes while we step on it is satisfying. On the way, we talk about random things, such as books, and movies. Twilight then brings up the topic of magic. "Travis, I was too amazed last night to ask you this before, but. How exactly are you able to perform magic? You're not a unicorn, as far as I'm aware." Twilight does have an interesting question. But, I don't necessarily have the answer. "That's actually a really good question, Twilight. I'm not exactly sure why I'm able to perform magic. My hands seem to function the same way as a horn when I do use magic. I don't know any spells outside of the one that shoots the gust of air out of my hand. I believe that it's because we all have a little bit of magic inside of us. But, You and I are able to harness that magic, and manipulate it." I give Twilight the best answer I got for the question. Twilight thinks for a moment, "Well, since you can perform magic... Maybe you have the capability of learning new spells?" "New spells? That sounds like something Grandpa would be proud of me for learning. He's also a Unicorn after all. I've just never learned any spells in my life." "But, the magic from last night? How were you able to do that?" Twilight has a look of interest and confusion on her face. "I never really gave it any thought, if I'm being honest. It's just something I could do since I first used my magic ability." "Interesting... There's something I'll have to look into then, later..." Twilight is getting lost in thought. "The point stands, I'm not sure if it's going to be hard or not." I adjust the straps on my shoulders and place my hands in my pocket. "It's going to be hard at first, but you'll get the hang of it! I can even help you learn!" Twilight offers. I think about the offer for a second. This could be an opportunity for some great things. The Element of Magic herself is offering to train me. "Just a quick question. Why are you being so nice to me? I haven't done anything that good for you." Twilight turns her head to me and looks me in the eyes. "I don't mean to beat the topic in. But you helped me last night. I saw how Rainbow Dash treated you just for being there, It made me feel a little sorry for you. So, I want to get to know you a bit better." I'm taken aback. Twilight Sparkle really just wants to get to know me better? "And if it's alright with you..." I raise an eyebrow at her, "Can we go back to my place after. I really want to take notes on you." Wait, what? "Why do you want to do that?" "There's no information written down on you that seems factual. I really want to have some sort of encyclopedia on your species." Twilight looks away from me when she asks that. She might be thinking she's asking too much. I think I should get on her good side if I want this to continue. I can't shake the thought of Twilight just using me for her own gain. I've been lied to in the past, how can this situation turn out differently. "Yeah, that's fine." Twilight's ears perk up, "I was looking for a reason to stay out of the house today anyway. The last thing I want to do is go back to that dusty hole." "Thank you very much!" Twilight smiles. This could be a good way to check out the town too. I really need to know my surroundings if I'm going to be living around this area. We continue down to the front of the town, and I stop. Looking up at the entrance. "Travis? Is there something wrong?" Twilight asks me. stopping in place herself. "I mean... I'm not sure if I should yet..." I start to take some steps back. Twilight looks at me with a concerned look in her eyes. "Travis, It'll be okay. Don't let some old experience bring you down. If the other ponies see you with me, I'm sure they'll get the message that you're not dangerous." "I guess... But, they won't like me still." I cross my arms and look down. Twilight walks in front of me and looks up into my face "Friendship takes time, Travis. You can't just rush through it. Not everyone is going to like you right away, you have to prove that you're someone worth liking." Twilight gives me a smile. "From what I've seen of you so far, You're a nice Pon- I mean. Person. That's what matters most. just ignore the Ponies that hate you for no reason. Let's enjoy our afternoon out." I inhale and exhale. An attempt of getting rid of the anxiety I built up, "So... Where do you want to eat?" I ask Twilight with a smirk. She smiles back. "Anywhere you want." "Know any good soup places?" I ask. Twilight has to think for a second. "There's one by my house. It's pretty good. They use different varieties of spices to add some extra flavour." She suggests, "Why not?" I say. We walk into town with the destination in mind. Hopefully, this doesn't go down in flames...