Thunder rolled across the Everfree forest as you sat inside the cottage, you and Fluttershy both enjoying fruit salads for breakfast. The start of the day hadn’t been nearly as quiet as that moment; you had fallen asleep the night before while checking and crossing out facts in Twilight’s book, and Fluttershy had come across you sleeping halfway off the couch and on the floor, book in hand. She startled you awake while doing her best to do so quietly, and the crash of thunder near the cottage almost immediately after made you both scream. Back and forth you both shouted in fear, for just a couple seconds, until you and Fluttershy simultaneously realized what was going on. The awkward silence that followed as you pulled yourself up to the couch and made room for her was the longest you’d ever experienced in your life thus far, but was eventually broken by snickers, then chuckles, and gradually crescendoed into genuine laughter. You found yourself wondering if interactions between you and the yellow pegasus would ever become normal. Part of you wished they wouldn’t change.
You had picked up the book off the floor and closely inspected it, hoping that no stray marks or drool had gotten onto the pages. You were also satisfied to see that nearly the whole book was completely filled with pencil check marks and large Xs. Fluttershy spoke up quickly about the book, and had asked you if she could finish the book with you and clear up the mess from the night before. With whiteboard in hand, you relinquished the book and let her read it and your changes aloud, confirming your corrections and writing down any details you could not. Many of the more intimate sections had taken several minutes, and you had to explain to her thoroughly that, at no point in your time with her, had you tried to court her by means described in the book. Her remark that it didn’t bother her much didn’t help. Nevertheless, after almost an hour, you had reached the end of the book, certain that you had brought it up to date with what you could remember about humans.
Breakfast afterwards had been relatively simple to prepare, and Fluttershy had been more than grateful for you taking over dicing some of the melon she had purchased the day before. You were glad to be able to help with meal preparation for once and feel like you were contributing more than just manual labor. You reminisced on this and the events of the past couple days as you both ate, watching the rain pour endlessly outside. Occasionally, the silence would be broken by Fluttershy expressing concern for the creatures of the forest, a short story about how grateful they were for the nests you had helped make, and the occasional thunderclap. What caught both of you off-guard, though, was the unexpected knocking at the door as you finished your meal. As Fluttershy rose to answer the door, you instinctively ducked behind the couch, which was barely big enough to hide your profile as you laid down on the floor.
“Oh, Twilight, please come in!” Fluttershy remarked, quickly stepping aside to allow her in. On Twilight’s back was another purple creature holding an umbrella above their heads. It more or less resembled a dragon, however amusingly small. It hopped off and shook the water off the umbrella outside, before closing the door and leaning the umbrella against the doorway.
“Thanks, Fluttershy. Where’s Anon?” Twilight asked, looking around the room. Taking your cue, you pulled yourself up from the floor and walked around the couch to greet her. She smiled warmly at you, and you tensed up as her horn glowed and you felt a tingling sensation around your neck. Your fears were alleviated when you felt the choker unclasp itself and float away from you to the table.
“Whoa! He IS huge, just like you said!” The dragon shouted in awe.
“Remember, be nice, Spike. Celestia might have said he would be dangerous,” Twilight replied, looking at the choker wistfully. “But I think we know better, now.”
“That’s a relief to hear, isn’t it Anon?” Fluttershy said cheerfully. You nodded in return. If Fluttershy hadn’t proposed having you wear the necklace, though, you might have been able to get Rainbow Dash or Applejack to vouch for you. Suddenly, you became aware that the choker would have shown Twilight everything that happened while you were wearing it. Judging by her expression, the incident with Rainbow Dash probably wasn’t on her mind, and you hoped it would stay that way.
“By the way, did you finish up with those corrections I asked for?’ Twilight asked, casting a glance to the book on the table. You had forgotten to put the choker back on last night, and had only put it back on at breakfast, so it was unsurprising that she wasn’t aware of your session with Fluttershy earlier. You reached over to pick it up and held it out to her, and she levitated it out of your hand to start skimming over. You swore that, on a couple pages, her eye twitched involuntarily, but aside from that she was definitely pleased to see it completed.
“You know, I’ve been wondering,” Fluttershy piped up. “Why is it, exactly, that Celestia doesn’t trust humans? It seemed like she was trying to avoid the topic before, and it’s been bothering me. I’ll bet it’s been bothering Anon, too.” She looked at you with mild concern, and you shrugged. It hadn’t really been on your mind much lately, but you were curious. Twilight set down the choker and shifted in place uneasily, not looking at either you or Fluttershy.
“Yeah, Twilight, what’s the matter? He seems pretty nice to me,” Spike chimed in, strolling to your side and looking you up and down. You knelt down to his level and held out your hand in comparison to his tiny, scaled claws.
“Well, I suppose you deserve to hear that much, at least. But it’s not the most pleasant story,” Twilight muttered. “And you have to promise me that you won’t tell anypony- that includes you, Spike.”
“Of course!” Fluttershy and Spike replied in unison. You gave her a short nod and returned to your seat on the couch, while Twilight sat in the chair next to you.
“Well, I’ll tell the story in a way Anon can understand,” Twilight began. “A long, long time ago, our princesses, Celestia and Luna, fought against a creature named Discord, a draconequus who embodied the spirit of chaos and disharmony. He had ruled Equestria by putting everything and everypony into a chaotic state that he alone could control, until the princesses used the Elements of Harmony to defeat him, imprisoning him in stone. Together, they undid the twisted magic that he had brought to the world, and ensured that everypony could live in peace. However, Discord had a number of idols and other artifacts he had made solely for toying with ponies further, that made them behave strangely or made their lives more difficult, in general. Celestia put many of her followers in charge of obtaining and securing the artifacts, and within a century of Discord’s imprisonment, she was certain that all of them had been found.
“Strangely enough, Celestia received word from a desert village in the far south, in what are now known as the Badlands, about a strange occurrence that they believed was caused by another artifact. The area had been one of the slowest to recover after Discord’s magic destroyed most of the few crops they depended on to survive, and were extremely grateful for the princesses’ bravery. So grateful, in fact, that they held a festival every year to celebrate, with fireworks and feasts and all sorts of other things you’d expect at a festival. According to the letter, though, just as the village’s unicorns began their fireworks display, a bright glow appeared that nearly blinded the entire village. Afterwards, there was a huge crowd of mysterious creatures: humans, estimated at 200 to 300 strong. They were dressed fearsomely with pelts and carried what looked like weapons, the humans were surprisingly calm and benevolent, although just as scared and wary of the ponies as the ponies were of the humans.
“Over a few weeks, the humans had established their own camp, not too far from the village, and interaction between the two species flourished. The humans had brought seeds and plants that grew at an alarming rate in the ponies’ fields, so fast you could actually see them grow over the course of hours. The ponies, in turn, supplied the humans with what food they had stored, as well as building material to shelter themselves from the harsh daytime sun and freezing nights. While most of the humans were able to speak, everything they said was completely unintelligible to the ponies, but the experience wasn’t mutual; a few humans started learning the ponies’ language, and soon served as translators for the two groups.”
“It sounds like the humans were pretty friendly,” Spike interrupted. “But what happened after that?”
“I was about to get to that, Spike,” Twilight retorted. Fluttershy shushed him gently, and scooted up against your leg. You instinctively placed your hand upon her head as Twilight cleared her throat to continue.
“Upon finishing the letter, Celestia initially wanted to teleport herself and her personal guard to the village, but opted for the more diplomatic option of being transported by carriage, as was customary then and now. She knew that travel by carriage to the village would take a week, at the very least, and had a messenger travel ahead with her own letter, indicating that she wanted the town to search for any mysterious items that had been found before the festival, and that she wanted to meet with the humans personally. Unknown to her in her travels, the messenger passed along the message, but would never return to her afterwards.
“During the weeks that passed between the village’s letter being sent and its arrival, relations between the humans and ponies started turning sour. The crops that the humans grew were plentiful, but the seeds that fell from them withered away at an extreme pace before they could be replanted, and eventually the humans were left without anything of their own to grow. Some of the villager leaders were willing to donate more food for the humans, but many other members were concerned about their own well-being. At the rate that the humans were consuming their food and materials, it would only be a matter of time until tensions grew between them and the villagers. On the day that Celestia’s messenger arrived, the thin strands holding dissenting humans and villagers apart snapped.
“According to one of the survivors Celestia’s convoy found, it had started with a simple argument between a young stallion and a male human. The human, fluent in our language, demanded food for his ailing family, and for his children in particular. The stallion, however, refused and berated the human for not being able to take care of them. Saying things got physical quickly is an understatement, as the fight began and ended suddenly. The stallion had gotten a swift kick in the human’s abdomen, and the human retaliated by hurling a nearby log at him. The stallion was crushed instantly, in front of his family and the crowd of humans and ponies that had gathered nearby.” Twilight’s voice had lowered considerably as she spoke, and she watched the rain outside with a forlorn stare. You realized that Fluttershy was quivering under your palm, and you stroked her mane reassuringly.
“Many of the ponies present either lashed out against the humans, or fled to their homes. The humans, taken off-guard, defended themselves in what seemed the only way they knew how: with force. Several of the humans that served as translators managed to calm their brethren down, but not before more lives were lost--including Celestia’s messenger--even on the humans’ side. According to the survivors, the humans carried away their fallen with loud, songlike cries, which could be heard even throughout the night. The human leaders attempted the next day to speak diplomatically with the ponies, but to no avail. The villagers took it upon themselves to take arms against the humans, and made it known that they were no longer welcome. Unbeknownst to them, the humans were making their own plans for battle. In the face of the humans’ unimaginable strength and speed, the ponies’ clash with the humans lasted only hours. The few survivors left, mostly pegasi, had fled to the nearby hills.
“Those ponies, on seeing Celestia’s chariot, returned to the then-scorched remains of their village, and told her about what had occurred. The humans had moved on through the desert in search of food, and most of their shelters had been taken with them. Celestia immediately sent out members of her convoy to contact other settlements nearby, and worked tirelessly over the following days to track the humans down. She evacuated several thousand ponies from the Badlands, and within a week had assembled a large force to capture the roaming band of humans. She had no intention of hurting them, but wanted them to pay for their crimes. When she had finally managed to find the humans, however, her significantly larger army was no match. The humans displayed a resilience against magic, and their sheer brute strength laid waste to any forces that stood in their way. Even with her own powerful magic, she was only able to detain them for so long. Before Celestia and her crippled army withdrew, she managed to cast a tracking spell on one of the injured humans, and ensured that any ponies that were in their path were notified by messenger to flee.
“She later enlisted the aid of her dragon allies to help capture the humans. While there weren’t many dragons available to help at the time, Celestia persuaded them by pointing out the mutual threat they shared. The dragons, equally resistant to magic and just as strong--if not stronger--than the humans, spent months raiding the humans at night and abducting them, tens at a time, trapping them in dense, metal cages that not even the dragons could break. According to the dragons’ reports, the humans had grown both paranoid and exhausted, and eventually surrendered themselves to their assailants. Celestia, after convening with Luna and their closest advisors, had roughly fifty of the most diplomatic humans transported to Canterlot, and had left the remaining hundred or so living humans to be imprisoned by the dragons. She had hoped that the humans left in Equestria could learn more about Equestrian culture and law, so that they could pass on their knowledge to their brethren, and the humans could live peacefully elsewhere without further fighting. At that same time, she decreed that all information about the humans would be confiscated and compiled in the Canterlot Library, and that all other records would be destroyed.”
“I don’t understand, why would she destroy information about the humans?” Fluttershy asked.
“I don’t know, she wouldn’t tell me. If I had to guess, she didn’t want panic to spread throughout the rest of Equestria about what had happened. Much of the population at that time was focused in the northern areas of Equestria, and it would have been easy to cover up bringing humans to Canterlot. You can imagine that nopony would react well to their arrival if they knew what had happened at the village, even if it wasn’t actually the humans’ fault.”
“So then what happened?” Spike interjected, leaning on the edge of Angel’s basket bed on the floor.
“Well, during her visit to the village, one of the survivors gave Celestia wooden idol, saying that it had been found just before their celebrations. It was shaped like the humans, and Celestia felt the latent magic it gave off. She kept it with her the whole time she had been in the Badlands, and began to study it personally as soon as she arrived in Canterlot. It definitely belonged to Discord, but didn’t respond to her magic at all. It didn’t react to any of the humans kept underneath the castle, either.”
“Underneath? You mean, like in a dungeon or something?” Spike said, gasping.
“Yes. Those were older times, and it was the only option Celestia had offered the humans. They had been receptive at first and willing to comply with her, but soon enough, they too began to grow tired of their prison, if you could call it that. They were free to roam the castle during the day, but were forced to wear jewelry with special stones in it, much like the choker I gave Anon. These gems react to magic, and can paralyze anything wearing them.”
“Why not just use them on all of the humans, then?” Fluttershy interjected.
“There just weren’t enough ponies that Celestia trusted with the humans. Even though the humans got along with ponies most of the time, many of them started to become distrustful of her and Luna, demanding to know how the other humans--still with the dragons--were doing. Celestia hoped to appease them by sending for a report from the dragons’ homeland, but the news she received was… less than favorable.
“Like the crops that the humans had brought, the humans showed significant signs of aging within days of reaching the dragon lands. Nearly all of them had passed away in the time that Celestia had spent in Canterlot, despite the aid and care that they had been given. Researchers in the castle had suggested that the latent magic in Equestria was what kept them alive, and the humans who had been taken to an area nearly devoid of magic suffered as a result. Celestia, instead of telling all of the remaining humans at once, relayed the news to one human she trusted most, who went by the name of Imuss. She was fond of his ability to quell the anger of his fellows with his considerate words and leadership, and felt that he would best be able to convey the tragedy to them. With a heavy heart, he set about informing the other humans that their kin’s passing was out of anypony’s control. That night, however, the humans’ bottled-up anger turned to unrest, and eventually to rebellion.
“The dungeon doors and bars weren’t actually made to keep them in, like the dragons’ cages, and the humans flooded through the castle to confront Celestia. The castle guards managed to incapacitate many of them, but the trinkets the humans were given were torn off by those who managed to escape. They rushed to confront the princesses, carrying with them the branded traitor Imuss, whom they had beaten mercilessly. They presented his body to Celestia and Luna, and demanded their freedom. Celestia bitterly accepted their request, and gathered the Elements of Harmony. With the Elements’ powerful magic, Celestia promised them that they would be transported to a place where they would never be bothered again.”
“Where did she send them?” Fluttershy asked meekly. Twilight looked at you, and her face contorted as she diverted her gaze to the floor.
“She teleported them to the dragon lands, deep in the mountains,” she replied quietly. “The humans were never heard from again.”
You felt your heart drop into your stomach, and leaned back with an exhale as silence filled the room. The fact that Celestia hadn’t tried to kill you on the spot when she first found you was even more surprising now, having listened to Twilight’s story. You questioned whether or not trying to gain Celestia’s approval would actually have any effect, even if your arrival had occurred long after the events Twilight spoke of and you were nothing like those humans.
“Wait, so what about Discord’s idol, then? If she had it in Canterlot, how did you find it in that cave in the Everfree Forest?” Spike questioned, scratching his head.
“Well, first, we weren’t the ones who found it. A group of geologists were studying the cave last week, and their leader recognized the idol from an old mare’s tale she had heard as a filly. She had them evacuate the cave and contacted Celestia, who enlisted me to aid her.”
“But what was it doing in the cave, then?”
“After Celestia had cast the spell on the humans, the idol was nowhere to be found. Nopony had taken it, as it was held in her private quarters at the time. She guessed that it had suddenly responded to the magic teleporting the humans away, and had all of Equestria searched, in case more had come, but none had arrived. The idol was nowhere to be found, either.”
“So, what made the idol bring Anon here, then?” Twilight’s ears flattened at Fluttershy’s remark, and she looked at you, embarrassed.
“I was using my magic to light the cave, and when we finally found the idol, it…yeah...” she trailed off. It appeared that Twilight had accidentally caused the idol to react, bringing you from Earth into Equestria. Part of you, deep down, wanted to scold her, even yell, but you only gave her a blank stare and another shrug. Quite frankly, there wasn’t much you could do about your situation, and being mean or spiteful wasn’t going to solve anything.
“Why… how are you acting so casual about this? It’s my fault that you were taken from your home, with no means of getting back!” Twilight shouted suddenly. She looked like she was fighting tears. After a moment to think, you reached into your pocket to pull out your whiteboard and held your marker over it. In retrospect, you weren’t certain how to convey your feelings. Were you angry? Definitely not. Sad? A bit, but you couldn’t remember enough to really know why. You looked over towards Fluttershy, who was watching you in anticipation. Her cheeks were already stained with tears, and she did her best to quiet a sniffle. You turned your head back to the whiteboard and started scribbling. You held the board to your chest to show it off to everyone in the room: a stick figure of you, with rough doodles of all the ponies you had met in the past couple days--even Celestia--all smiling.
“What? What does that mean?” Twilight wondered. Spike sat up from his seat, squinting at the drawing.
“It looks like him and Fluttershy, and some of our other friends, and Celestia. And they’re all happy.” he replied with a nod.
“I see that, Spike. But why?”
“Well, he’s smiling, too- maybe he’s actually happy here?” Spike suggested. Twilight wiped her face and stared at you quizzically.
“He couldn’t be… Anon, are you seriously happy living here, with Fluttershy?” You gave her a half-hearted mumble in response. Sure, you hadn’t entirely been comfortable with the situation at first, but you were appreciative of Fluttershy’s hospitality and friendship. Even now, you could imagine living a decent life in Equestria, provided you didn’t wither away into dust anytime soon. You cringed inwardly at the thought, but put on a brave face for Twilight.
“Well, alright, then,” she chuckled, shaking her head. “Even after what you’ve been through, if that’s what you want, I certainly won’t stop you.” You felt Fluttershy exhale heavily and lean into your side, and gave her hair a ruffle. Twilight stood up from her seat and levitated the book on the table over to Spike.
“What are you going to do now that we’ve finished with the book?” Fluttershy questioned.
“I’ve still got a report to make for Celestia. It was her idea to give Anon that choker, after all. I’m sure she’d be happy to hear what I’ve got to say.” Twilight replied. She stretched her legs and flexed her wings as she strolled to the door, and you were suddenly reminded of something. You snapped your fingers loudly, and started scribbling on your whiteboard.
“Uh, Twilight? I think Anon has something for you.” Fluttershy peeped, craning her neck to see your drawing. You turned the board around to reveal four drawings of ponies, one with wings, another with a horn, and the third and fourth with both, which vaguely resembled Twilight and Celestia, respectively. The third and fourth ponies was surrounded by question marks.
“Is that… supposed to be me and Celestia? Who are the pegasus and the unicorn?” You pointed directly at the pegasus drawing, and then to Fluttershy.
“Fluttershy is the pegasus?” You nodded, and pointed two fingers at both the pegasus and unicorn, to the Celestia drawing, and then forwards to Twilight.
“I’m both? Ohh, you want to know what Celestia and I are? We’re called ‘alicorns.’ Is that what you wanted to know?” Twilight asked with a grin. You gave her a hefty nod and grunted in approval. You would work to remember that word, ‘alicorn.’
“I’m glad I could help, but I’ve gotta get going if I want to get this report done on time,” the purple alicorn remarked, levitating her umbrella to Spike as she opened the front door. “You’ve got pretty good drawing skills, by the way!”
As the door creaked shut, you noticed that the rain outside was lighter than the torrential downpour of the early morning. You patted Fluttershy lightly, who shifted away from you to let you stand up. You walked into the kitchen and opened the back door to the garden. A calm walk in the rain sounded nice, and you wouldn’t stay out too long that you’d become drenched. Just before you could step outside, though, you felt a light tap behind you on your thigh.
“You mighf wanf thif,” Fluttershy mumbled over a large umbrella in her mouth, placing it into your open hand. “Could I, um, come with you? I don’t know where you want to go, but I don’t want you to get lost.” The puppy dog-like look she gave you made your chest tighten, and you opened up the umbrella outside the door for her. After ensuring the door was fully closed, you wandered past the garden and into the forest, walking along the creek that passed by the cottage. The air was cool and heavy, full of the pitter-patter of rain on leaves and bird calls you didn’t recognize. Despite the heavy amount of rain, the ground was firm beneath your feet, with only a few puddles scattered here and there. You didn’t really know where you were going, and that was perfectly fine; with Fluttershy walking close to you under the umbrella, you let go of your worries and enjoyed all the sensations you could take in.
You both had walked for roughly ten minutes or so, until you came upon a clearing in the trees that opened up to a shallow, grassy valley. You scanned the area, and found a smooth, firm patch of grass near the edge of the slope, and patted the ground next to you as you laid down. Fluttershy quietly acquiesced, sitting upright next to you.
“It’s funny you came here, this is one of my favorite spots to visit in the forest,” Fluttershy purred. She took a deep breath through her nose and exhaled contentedly.
You watched her pink mane wave gently, and started thinking about Twilight’s story and what it meant for you. You still had hope that Celestia would acknowledge your efforts to prove that you were trustworthy, that you weren’t a threat to anyone--or anypony--here. The thought of going home was scarcely on your mind, given the throbbing headache that would return anytime you tried to think about what ‘home’ was, and at the moment you were pretty alright with where you were. Of course, you were saying this after having been in Equestria for three days, now. You never expected that the colorful, adorable ponies you’d seen were capable of the acts in Twilight’s story, especially war. Who knew what would lie in store for you later on? The ponies seemed almost human, and you imagined that there were surely ponies who weren’t anywhere near as kind or helpful as those you’d already met. Still, as you watched Fluttershy’s eyes drift shut and her serene expression, you started to doubt that it wouldn’t be worth living with that kind of risk.
What would living here entail, though? You couldn’t just mooch off Fluttershy forever, despite how likely it would be that she’d argue that you weren’t. Celestia had named her your ‘caretaker,’ after all. Fluttershy, although quiet and sometimes reserved, had a deep-seated determination for caring for others that you knew wouldn’t waver. At the same time, if you could gain Celestia’s favor and be able to travel outside the cottage, you could possibly earn your keep and help Fluttershy out, working odd jobs around the town- Ponyville, wasn’t it? If Fluttershy and the others weren’t completely put off by your presence, getting a job didn’t seem impossible.
Your train of thought stopped in its tracks as you noticed Fluttershy started to lean towards you, and you reached up with your free hand to catch her. She jumped at your touch, but didn’t seem to notice you otherwise; the rain had lulled her to sleep, and she squirmed in your grasp. You lowered her down onto your lap agonizingly slow, careful not to disturb her. The yellow pegasus yawned cutely and wrapped a foreleg around your hand, cuddling and rubbing her face into it like a pillow with a sleepy mumble. Ignoring the shattered remains of your heart falling into the grass, you closed your eyes and laid your head back. This kind of situation had become common for you both in the past few days, and you wondered how long it might last. You had no knowledge of how relationships or living situations worked for ponies, and the thought of having romantic feelings--or being the subject of romantic feelings--for one still felt peculiar. Not unwelcome, but strange. You didn’t like to dwell on the subject, and your discussions with Fluttershy thus far indicated that she wasn’t exactly a fan of it, either. Perhaps it would be best to let it be.
You recounted everything you had been worried about thus far, and came to the same conclusion: maybe, just maybe, it would be best to let it be.