Pinkie Pie's party had drawn to a close, and all the guests had departed to their homes. Luna's moon shone over Ponyville, guiding them on their way. Swift Wing, his saddlebags secured to his back, made his way towards Humble Hoof Boarding, following Twilight's instructions.
He smiled faintly as he thought back to the events of the party. He'd expected Pinkie to throw him one as soon as he showed up. It was in her nature. Just like in the show, she'd had the idea in her mind the second she'd seen him. He had to admit, even if it wasn't his thing, he'd enjoyed the party. It was a nice way to introduce himself to the town. Plus, it had saved him the trouble of wandering around town, asking for housing and work.
Arriving at Humble Hoof Boarding, Swift Wing pushed the door open, finding a simple lobby. He immediately took notice of a desk managed by an older, grey unicorn mare with a faint blue mane. Swift Wing approached the desk.
"Hello?" he ventured, prompting the unicorn to look at him. "I-I was hoping to board here, but I don't have any bits right now. Princess Twilight said that there was a way I could stay here until I find work?"
"Good on Princess Twilight," said the unicorn, "bringing us new business. Anyway, here at the Humble Hoof, we pride ourselves on being compassionate enough to give ponies from all walks of life a chance to get on their hooves. I'll tell you what: we'll let you stay here rent free for a week, as long as you look for a job."
"Fair enough," replied Swift Wing. "I'll do my best not to let you down."
"Great!" said the mare. Her horn lit up, and from under the desk, she levitated a key attached to a thin, metal hoop, and held it out.
Swift Wing hesitated. He wasn't exactly sure what the proper etiquette was for this. Should he put his leg through the hoop, or bite it? She didn't expect him to snag it with his wing, did she? He'd only had the things for a couple of hours, he didn't have that kind of dexterity yet. Sweat dripped down the back of his neck, and, to make matters worse, he realized he was making this more awkward by waiting around and doing nothing.
Desperate, he bit the ring, shivering as the feeling of cold metal met his tongue. Fortunately, the mare didn't react, so he hadn't broken pony protocol or anything.
"You're room is the first one at that top of the stairs," she informed him. "Have a good night."
"Ank ou," Swift Wing replied around the metal loop. He walked across the lobby to the staircase, climbing up to the first door. Now came the hard part: figuring out how to use the key with hooves. Swift Wing groaned as he looked down at them. Even if he'd truly wanted this, there was no denying he missed his fingers. They made tasks like this infinitely easier.
After thinking for a few moments, he shook the ring, making the key drop down to the bottom of the loop. Reaching up with one hoof, he pushed the teeth of the key upwards, so that it was pointing forward, and carefully attempted to guide it into the keyhole. It took a couple of tries, but he eventually managed to get it in, and turning it was easy. Swift Wing entered his new room, closing the door behind him with a push of his back leg.
He took a look around the room. It was fairly simple, with a bed, desk, and a relaxed looking chair, but no other furniture. Swift Wing supposed he shouldn't complain, considering he'd been given this place out of trust, when nobody (or nopony) in town knew him at all. Walking over to the desk, he dropped the key ring, and pulled his saddlebags off his back. He popped them open, and looked down at the few possessions he'd brought with him.
There was his phone, which he'd only really carried with him out of habit. It was useless in this world, anyway. He eventually decided to shove it under the mattress, so nopony would ever see it. It would just raise too many questions. Then there were the photographs. Swift Wing felt a pang of guilt in his chest as he looked down at the smiling faces. He knew he shouldn't have brought them, considering he'd left that life behind completely, but he'd been unable to stop himself. He carefully replaced them in the saddlebags, preferring not to face the problem now.
The last object was the familiar necklace. A simple length of black cord, with a piece of jade hanging from it. Looking at it, Swift Wing wasn't sure it would fit around his neck anymore. Sighing, he put it back in the bags, closing them up.
Trotting away from the desk, Swift Wing looked at the clock tower through the window. The hour was late, and he supposed he should get to bed pretty soon. But before he did so, there was something he wanted to try. He made his way to the middle of the room, where there were no obstacles to get in his way.
Standing up straight, Swift Wing attempted to spread his wings. A seemingly simple task, but, of course, he was used to only having four limbs. The muscles and nerves of wings were entirely new to him, and trying to move them felt like trying to move his ears. The feathery appendages lifted ever so slightly off his back, but he had to grit his teeth and tense up his entire back to get them to spread out. Even then, they weren't evenly spread. One tilted to the side.
Tensing himself, Swift Wing decided to try flapping them for the first time. He bent his knees a little, and the wings followed, bending towards the ground. A similar effect occurred when he stretched his legs to appear taller, causing the wings to point upwards. He closed his eyes, trying to figure out how to move the wings all on their own. He eventually figured out he could get them to flap by clenching his back muscles and focusing on his shoulders. It was kind of surreal, he had to admit. He could at least get them to flap up and down, though not enough to get him off the ground.
Swift Wing groaned as he allowed his wings to fold back into his sides. He'd have to practice this. It would only attract suspicion if it went around that he was a pegasus that couldn't fly. Mentally making a note, he crawled into bed, his head dropping down onto the pillow. He calmly thought over the day's events, hoping he'd made a good impression on these ponies. His tired brain soon drifted off to sleep.
Swift Wing stared at his strange surroundings. There was a night sky hanging over his head, but not that of Equestria. It was the sky of his home world, but there was no moon. He found himself standing on a dirt path, surrounded on all sides by grass, with a fork in the road up ahead of him. Swift Wing's ears folded back along his skull as he stared at the two paths in front of him. For some reason he couldn't quite put his hoof on, he didn't want to take either of those paths.
"You seem...troubled, my little pony," came a voice from above.
Swift Wing flinched. He instantly realized this was a dream, and that meant there was only one possible pony that voice could belong to. Desperate, he put on a neutral face, and turned around to face the source.
The moon had appeared in the sky. Well, perhaps it wasn't a moon, but a moon-shaped portal. And coming through was the midnight-blue alicorn he'd been expecting, all decked out in her princess regalia.
"Um...hello, Princess Luna," he said, awkwardly waving one hoof.
Luna eyed him critically, her eyes drifting. Swift Wing was suddenly grateful his wings were fluffy enough to cover his Cutie Mark. He sure wasn't willing to share that with her.
"I don't believe I've entered your dreams before," Luna commented. "What is your name, my little pony?"
"Swift Wing," he replied. "Listen, I appreciate you dropping by, but you really don't need to be here. I can handle this dream."
Luna looked over his shoulder at the fork in the road. Watching her, Swift Wing could tell she was beginning to doubt him. Then again, the scene was innocent enough. Luna was probably more used to dealing with ponies being chased by giant monsters, or faced with horrifying body alterations, or other things in their dreams. This looked tame by comparison.
"Very well, Swift Wing," Luna finally replied. "I respect your privacy. Are you certain you can face this alone?"
"Sure, sure," he answered, then mentally kicked himself for speaking too fast, "just a decision I've been putting off. Honestly, there are probably ponies who need you way more than I do."
Luna nodded, before taking off into the night sky, flying towards the moon-shaped hole in the sky. She passed through, and the moon disappeared, leaving Swift Wing alone.
He took a deep breath, and looked back at the two paths. Neither of them looked appealing.