//------------------------------// // Chapter Three // Story: For Lack of a Better Word // by Gunsmith //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash trots through the door ahead of me, looking back to make sure I'm following. I notice that she is only about stomach-height at her head in comparison to me; though I am fairly tall, these things are definitely too small to be actual horses. Even for ponies, they're pretty short. My musings fade as I duck through the doorway, out into the open. It is still bright outside, the sun only a little past its midpoint. The air is warm and clear, and the day seems nice. My focus is quickly diverted from the good weather as I nearly go into information overload. A town filled with these 'ponies' lies before me. They mill about, conversing with other ponies, going in and out of the various houses filling the area, which appear almost medieval, and seem to generally go about their daily business. There is quite the variety of them, in all colors, some being normal-looking ponies, some with wings, some with horns. My mouth falls open as I look about, watching them do everything ponies should not be able to do. One pony is holding a broom in their mouth, brushing dirt off of their front porch. Another is guiding a pair of smaller ponies, foals, through the activity of the area. I see a group walking along, laughing amongst each other. What shocks me the most is that everything they do looks so...human. My eyes wander around, absorbing all of what I see. Eventually I turn around; I see that I am standing before a very large tree, which seems to have windows, doors, and even a porch built into it, a literal tree house. I gape at the tree for a while, then turn back to the town full of ponies. I see a few beginning to look in my direction with curiosity. A few taps on my leg direct my attention downwards. "Hey, c'mon! Everypony's starting to look!" Rainbow Dash says sharply, beckoning with a light blue foreleg for me to follow her. I take a last look at the colorful creatures, then quickly follow her away from the library. She trots between a few small houses, eventually coming to a clearing. The Pegasus jumps into the air, flaring her wings and beating them to keep herself aloft. I watch in awe for a moment; a flying horse isn't something you see every day. At least, not for me. "What?" she questions, watching me as I watch her. My focus goes to her face, and I shake my head, waving my hand dismissively. The hovering pony looks at me a second longer, then continues. "We're just going to go around Ponyville. Probably the fastest way to get to the school, seeing as you don't have wings an' all." I nod, and she begins flying forward. I can't help but watch her out of curiosity as she flies along. She'll look back every once in a while, and I'll glance away, afraid she'll be insulted from me staring at her. People usually don't take kindly to awkward staring, so I doubt these things do, either. After a few minutes of silence, something I'm fairly familiar with, she speaks up, maybe sick of the quiet. "Uh...sorry about thinking you were Bighoof." I wave my hand again, as if to say it was a mistake anyone could have made. Sure, anyone could mistake me for a mythical creature with big hooves and a lot of hair, despite the fact I have neither. I seem to end conversations fairly quickly, being that I can't carry one too well without a better form of communication than my hands. Should've learned sign language. I think for a moment. Suppose that wouldn't help me much here, though. I frown to myself. God, where am I? Talking, mythical, colorful ponies that don't even look like ponies? How did I even get here? I mentally make a note to ask Rainbow Dash about that once I found something better to write with. Upon another thought I check my pockets, finding them empty. Damn. The small notepad and pencil I usually keep on me are gone. I always have those on me...I look up, slightly dismayed. I see what looks like an old one-room schoolhouse a little ways away. I look up at the light blue Pegasus pony, but her focus remains on the school. She looks bored; escorting an unfamiliar creature who can't talk to a school isn't my idea of a fun time, either, though. We approach the front door of the school, and Rainbow turns to me. "I'll go inside and get what you need, don't need you freaking out any foals." I snort in laughter, smiling in agreement. "So, what, you need a pencil, stuff to write on?" I nod in reply. She nods back, settling down on the ground before trotting inside. I lean up against the outside wall of the schoolhouse, taking care to stay away from windows. After a few minutes, the light blue pony comes back out. She holds a yellow pencil and a small stack of blank paper in her mouth. I smile in gratitude, kneeling down to take the items. The pony spits out the writing materials into my hand with a 'pleh'. I take one sheet of paper off the small stack, folding the rest and sticking it into my pocket. I fold the sheet into a smaller, stiffer form, grasping the pencil in my fingers and scribbling for a moment. I show the folded paper to Rainbow Dash. Thanks. She nods. "Yeah, no prob'. Should probably get back to Twilight, now." I stand in agreement, and she again takes to the air, leveling out at eye level with me. We begin heading back to the tree house, keeping away from the eyes of those living in the town by skirting around it. I begin writing again, starting right below my first statement. Do you know how I got here? Rainbow reads through the question, then looks at me, frowning. "Nah, just found you in my field." I rub a hand on my chin, both in apprehension and in thought. I attempt to think of another question to ask, but the only ones I can think of would likely sound...well, stupid. Why are ponies talking? Why doesn't anything look right? Why am I here? Why? I sigh quietly. Maybe a question less direct, explain a little at a time instead of all at once. My hand jerks around above the paper, and I raise my arm to show it to the flying pony. You're a Pegasus. How? The Pegasus in question gives me an odd look, as expected. "Whaddya' mean, how? I was just born with wings, I guess. I don't choose whether I want to be a Pegasus, Unicorn, or Earth Pony, it just kinda' works out that way. Not that I'd want to be anything else; being a Pegasus is totally awesome," she adds with a confident smirk. I smile back, then continue writing. Pegasus, unicorn, earth pony. Explain? Rainbow Dash raises an eyebrow, chuckling softly in disbelief. "Really? It's not that hard, is it? Pegasi can fly, mess with clouds and make the weather, Unicorns can use magic and spells and whatever, and Earth Ponies are really good at growing stuff." I nod in understanding, despite little of it making logical sense. Returning my gaze forward, I spot the large tree in the distance, sticking out amidst the various homes that sit much lower to the ground. My mind wanders to another question. What is Spike? The rainbow-maned pony looks at me. "He's a baby dragon...are you telling me you've never seen a dragon?" My eyes widen a little. So, talking ponies and dragons. I shake my head 'no', starting to feel numb, maybe brain-dead. I glance back at the tree, slowly nearing, then up at Rainbow Dash. I recall her comment before I passed out, how it seemed like she thought I was trying to race her. Maybe I'll humor her. She's bored, anyways. Graphite (or maybe lead; I make note not to chew on my pencil) spreads about the surface of the paper. Race you there. She looks at me, smirking. "You know you're gonna lose, right?" I give a lopsided smile, shrugging as if to say you never know. "Alright, but I'm not going easy." I stop, lowering to the ground in a semi-exaggerated racing stance. She drops down a foot or so, narrowing her eyes and focusing on the tree house. "Okay...ready...set...go!" As soon as she says 'go', I feel a blast of air beside me. I begin sprinting forward, a little stunned. Looking ahead, I can see a flat streak of rainbow trailing her, marking her path. The pony now appears as a small blue figure at the end of the rainbow, stopped beside the tree. Damn, she wasn't kidding. I continue running, watching with a bemused smile as Rainbow Dash starts to come towards me. She stops a few feet ahead, hovering backwards and matching my speed. "Wow, you are really slow. Really, really, really, really...sssloooooow," she jokes, dragging out the word 'slow'. I just chuckle and continue running steadily. To my amusement, she begins flying circles around me, still managing to keep my speed even while messing around. I can't say I'm not impressed. I eventually reach the base of the library, and slow to a stop. The light blue Pegasus trots around me, heading towards the front door. "Sheesh, Tank could beat you in a race..." I assume 'Tank' is someone who is very, very slow, and give a snort of laughter between my panting. I follow her into the tree house. Twilight Sparkle sits in the middle of the main room, and a book hovers before her face. Spike quickly walks over to Rainbow Dash and I, holding a claw to his mouth. We oblige, waiting quietly while the violet unicorn mumbles to herself, a frown growing on her face. After a minute, she gives a sigh of disgust, setting the book down on a tall stack using her light purple magic. She seems to just now notice we've returned, and her face brightens a little. "Rainbow Dash, Mark, you're back! Did you get what you needed?" In response I pull out the folded stack of blank paper and the pencil, smiling. "Good!" Twilight's smile begins to fade. "I have some bad news. I haven't been able to find anything on you or your kind, Mark. They seem to be nonexistent in Equestria. Until now, that is." I nod solemnly. I'm not even from here. And no one else is with me? I'm alone? The thought sinks deeper into my mind. I shake my head in an attempt to clear my thoughts, feeling a tinge of hope. I pull out my pencil and current piece of paper, using my hand as a flat surface to write on. I walk over to Twilight, pointing out my question among the other writings on the paper. Found any way for me to get home? Inter-dimensional travel, inter-planetary, how did I get here? Her frown returns. "No, the most I've found is on teleportation, time-travel, things that only involve Equestria, not other planets or dimensions. I don't know how you got here, Mark, I'm sorry." I nod again, internally scolding myself for getting my hopes up even a little. "However, I did write a letter to Princess Celestia, and she may respond at any--" Twilight is cut off by what sounds like someone about to throw up. I turn towards the noise, and see Spike, clutching his stomach. I start to approach him, but am held back by a purple hoof against my leg. Glancing over at Twilight Sparkle in worry, I see she is just watching Spike with...anticipation? Confused, I look back to the small dragon. To my surprise, he gives a loud belch; with this belch, a gout of green fire shoots out of his mouth, evaporating harmlessly into the air. Once the fire clears, I see a scroll, emblazoned with a golden seal that resembles a sun. Spike walks over to Twilight, handing her the scroll while rubbing his stomach. I try and wipe the mild horror off my face, focusing on the scroll. The purple unicorn unravels the scroll with her magic, horn softly glowing as she does so. Her eyes dart back and forth, reading through the scroll quickly. After a moment, Twilight Sparkle looks at me with some confusion, and levitates the open scroll towards me. I grasp onto the thick paper, holding the scroll open at the top and bottom as Twilight releases her magical grip. I begin reading through the letter. To my ever-faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, The creature you describe is indeed not one present in Equestria in great abundance, if any at all. Sadly, I do not know of any way to return this being to where it came before. Perhaps we can discover a way. Until then, 'Mark' is to be treated like everypony else; as a friend. Show him the magic of friendship, Twilight, as you have so many others. And please, give this new Equestrian the knowledge that I would like to speak to him personally, as soon as could possibly be. I apologize again for not being able to help, but I feel you and your friends will be of more help to him than I could ever be. An elegant signature is scrawled across the bottom of the letter. I roll the scroll shut, handing it to Twilight Sparkle. As if my reaction has yet to set in, I decide to ask another question, removing my pencil and makeshift notepad again. Who is 'Princess Celestia'? Twilight looks at me as if I have committed blasphemy; I wonder for a moment if I have. "Princess Celestia is the ruler of Equestria, alongside her sister, Princess Luna. Celestia raises the sun each day, and Luna raises the moon each night. Both are omniscient and wise, and are the most powerful beings in Equestria," she tells me factually. My mind begins churning, and I start writing once more. Like goddesses, except they are tangible? The unicorn frowns. "I...suppose so? What is a 'goddess'?" It's my turn to frown. All-knowing, all-powerful female being that is believed in, but is not proven to exist. "Well, then, yes, because the Princesses do exist." I stare blankly at Twilight, trying to comprehend the idea of a world with gods that are actually living, breathing things. And they raise the sun and moon? What about gravitational pull? What about...? I carry on for a while, questioning just about everything there is to question. My mind conflicts with itself, unable to decide between what I have been taught is reality my entire life, and what I see before me, my current reality. If magical talking ponies exist, why shouldn't they be able to control the sun, and the moon, and the weather, and everything? I try to tell myself that it's because they aren't possible, that none of that is possible. My senses deceive me, though; everything about this place feels real, is real. I slowly sit down on the floor of the library. And if a goddess says she has no clue how to get me out of here, or how I even got here...A numb feeling begins to spread throughout me. I see some movement out of the corner of my eye, and focus on it. I see Rainbow Dash standing near me, only a trace of worry on her face. "You alright, Mark? You don't look so good..." I hold her gaze for a moment. Her large, cerise eyes seem so friendly, welcoming...I blink a few times, nodding lightly. She nods as well, seemingly reassured. I glance to the floor, taking in a deep breath and sighing it out. "Rainbow Dash?" I look up, over at Twilight. She has a sheepish look on her face. "You have the day off tomorrow, right?" The sky-blue Pegasus gives a look of confusion at first. "Yeah, the team doesn't have anything planned for tomorrow. Why are you--?" A look of realization crosses her face, and the pony glances down towards me. "Really? I was going to practice tomorrow! He's way too slow, I can't watch him all day!" I brush off the insult, showing Twilight Sparkle a look that says 'she's right, you know'. "Just keep an eye on him. Make sure he doesn't go wandering into the Everfree or anything. You can still practice your tricks while watching him from the air, right?" Twilight pleads. "I need to keep looking into this, and nopony else knows about him. Maybe you could show him around, introduce him to everypony?" She smiles big; I swear her pupils triple in size. Rainbow Dash holds Twilight's stare for a long time, then sighs, relaxing her shoulders. "Fine..." "Thank you," Twilight responds cheerfully. She faces me. "Now, Mark, you can stay in one of two places. Here, in the library, or with Dash, in the clouds. And I really don't see how we can get you up there without the balloon and a cloud walking spell, and the balloon takes a few hours to fill. It looks like you'll be staying with me for the night." *** I lie down on a makeshift bed composed of a few blankets and a pillow, positioned off to one side of the main room of the library. After some stern, silent refusal from me, Twilight eventually agreed to take her own bed for the night, allowing me to sleep on the floor. I think I heard her mumble something about me being 'more stubborn than an applejack', but I didn't really understand that. I find it hard to get to sleep, my mind constantly reliving the events of the day, trying to sort things out.