//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 - A New world // Story: A New Life // by TwilightLuna //------------------------------// The next morning... Andrew's mind snapped back into consciousness as he let out a gasp. His eyes shot open and he quickly sat up on the bed that he was on. Pain immediately shot through his head, making him regret the sudden movement. He winced and placed his left hand against his forehead before laying back down. His head felt like someone had smashed it with a cinder block.  The throbbing pain was enough to keep him from wanting to open his eyes for the moment. A minute or so passed before the pain in his head started to fade away. He tried sitting up again, more slowly this time. His thoughts started to go back to what happened before he had blacked out. The memories of the previous night started to come back to him in bits and pieces. While he played back the events over and over again in his mind, he barely heard the sound of clip clopping coming towards him. "Thank Celestia, you're finally awake." A feminine voice suddenly said, startling the human. Looking to his left, Andrew's eyes widened in shock at seeing a unicorn by the side of the bed. She had a purple coat and a magenta mane  with purple stripes. Staring back at him were a pair of violet eyes, still trying to determine what he was. All he could do was stare back at her in shock, his mouth hanging open until he finally let out a shout. "What in the hell is going on? Where am I?" Andrew backed up in the bed, trying to get away from the creature in front of him.  Surprised by his sudden outburst, Twilight took a couple steps back. She raised her hoof and spoke, "It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you. I'll try to explain everything to you if you give me a chance." She looked at the human who had backed up against her headboard and continued. "I found you outside in a field last night. You were unconscious so I brought you here." She said trying her best to sound calming and reassuring. "A talking unicorn? I must be dreaming." Andrew said, not believing what he was both seeing and hearing. He pinched the skin on his arm until it hurt just to be sure. "Ow! I guess not. Damn it." "I can assure you that you are not dreaming. Just take a deep breath and relax." Twilight said with genuine concern. "My name is Twilight Sparkle." She said holding a hoof to her chest. " What is your name?" Andrew took a few deep breaths before answering. "My name is Andrew." "Its nice to meet you. I'm sure like me, you have a lot of questions. Do you remember anything about how you got here?" Twilight asked the human. Andrew rubbed his chin with his hand, trying to recall the events of the previous night . "Well, I was walking home from work and then I saw something strange in the park. Next thing I know, I woke up here. Sorry but my memory still a little hazy at the moment." He looked around before continuing. "Where is here anyway?"  "You are in the Golden Oak Library here in the town of Ponyville." Twilight replied. Andrew racked his brain trying to figure out what was going on. "Ponyville? What in the hell are you talking about?"  "That's right. It's located in the land of Equestria." Twilight nodded. "Wait a second. I'm sorry but this is just a lot to take in at the moment." After taking in a deep breath, Andrew continued. "Let me get this straight, I'm in a place called Equestria where horses can talk?" "Actually, we're called ponies, not horses." Twilight corrected the human. "More specifically, I'm a unicorn and there are other creatures here that can talk as well.  Can't ponies talk where you're from?" She  asked with her head tilted to the side with a puzzled look on her face. "Well, where I'm from, ponies certainly can't talk. Creatures like unicorns only exist in children's books and fantasy novels." Andrew replied, rubbing his forehead with his hand. "Wait, so you're not from Equestria?" Twilight asked. "I think that's pretty obvious." Andrew raised an eyebrow and let out  a light chuckle. "I'm what's called a human from a planet called Earth. "By Celestia, this is not good at all." She placed a hoof on her chin for a couple moments before she turned to look at him again. "Well, I promise you that I will look into getting you back home. In the meantime, would you like something to eat or drink? I was about to head to the kitchen and make myself some breakfast." Andrew could tell from the sound of Twilight's voice that she was genuinely concerned for him but he needed some time to process everything that she said. "No, thank you. This is a lot for me to take in right now. I think it would be best if I was by myself for a while." He replied, trying his best not to come off as being rude. "I suppose that you're right. This has been a shock for you. I'll give you some time alone." Twilight nodded and turned away from him. Twilight walked over to the steps, before stopping to turn her head  and look back at the human. "I will be downstairs if you need anything. Hopefully we can talk more later, if you are feeling up to it. I would like to learn more about where you're from." She gave the human a small smile. Andrew nodded with a small smile on his face. "Thank you, Twilight." With one last look at him she nodded and walked down the stairs. Once the sounds of hoof steps stopped, the room as quiet except for the human's breathing. After a while, Andrew sighed and turned his head towards the large window to his right. The golden glow of the sun already began to permeate through the window. The unicorn's words kept playing over and over again in his mind. Equestria? Ponyville? This doesn't make any sense. Why did this happen to me? I didn't ask for this. What am I going to do? How am I going to get home? Andrew didn't know how long he sat there staring out of the window until something caught the corner of his eye. Something that peaked his curiosity. An unknown time later, Twilight was downstairs pouring over some book laid out in front of her, looking for any reference to the creature upstairs. Stacks of books surrounded the lavender pony like a makeshift fort. She didn't know how long she had been in her research mode, as Spike called it on more than one occasion. Since coming to Ponyville, she had tried to curb some of the bad habits that she had from when she used to live in Canterlot. Thanks to her friends, they showed her that there was more to life than keeping her nose in a book. "No. No. No. No. No." Twilight shut the book in frustration. "Ugh. There's no mention of these 'hewmans' anywhere in The Guide to Ancient Equestrian Beasts and Magical Creatures." Twilight tapped her chin with her hoof for a moment to think. "Though it could be that they don't have any magic. Maybe I'll have better luck with a book about creatures outside of Equestria. Not much is known about the creatures beyond the Badlands but it's worth a shot." The chiming of the clock above the fireplace perked her ears. Twilight turned her head, "I didn't realize how long I was reading. Perhaps I should go upstairs and see how he's doing. Some lunch will probably do us both some good." After stretching her legs, Twilight trotted up the stairs to her bedroom. "Andrew, it's me Twilight." The unicorn paused before calling out again. "I wanted to see how you were doing." There was no response which worried the unicorn. "Andrew, are you.." Twilight got to the top of the stairs and was surprised to see the human sitting on the window sill reading one of her books. "I'm sorry, Twilight, I didn't even hear you come up." Andrew looked up from the book at her sheepishly. "I hope that you don't mind me reading one of your books. Twilight sighed with relief and shook her head, "No, its alright. How are you feeling?" Andrew closed the book before responding, "I am feeling a little bit better, thank you. Like I said before, this is a lot to take in." "That is good to hear. I can't begin to imagine what you're going through but I'm going to do what I can to help you get through this.  You're not alone in this." Twilight trotted over and placed a reassuring hoof on his shoulder, smiling at him. "I appreciate that, Twilight. I really do." Andrew looked at her with a small smile.  "You must be hungry. Would you like to join me for some lunch?" She asked, taking her hoof off of his shoulder. After everything Andrew just saw and heard today, he didn't feel much like eating anything. “Well, I..” Before he could finish his response, a rumbling sound emanating from his stomach interrupted him. His eyes widened as he quickly placed his hands over it. A shade of red covered his face.  "I'll take that as a yes." Twilight giggled. "Sorry about that. I haven't eaten anything since yesterday." Andrew admitted as he hopped off the window sill and walked over to the bed to put on his shoes and sweatshirt. "If you don't mind me asking, how do you like the book?" "It was pretty good. I was surprised that you ponies have your own Indiana Jones here." Andrew responded causing Twilight to stop in her tracks. "Who's Indiana Jones?" Twilight turned her head to the human with a raised eyebrow. "Nevermind. I'll explain later." Andrew waved his hand as he continued walking. The two of them walked down the stairs to the next floor that had some more windows that let more natural light into the room. There were shelves along the walls that looked like they were built into the oak walls of the library, filled with books. A stone fireplace set along one wall with a sofa nearby it.  There was also a writing table with a bottle of ink and quills on it. A door off to the side led outside which looked like to a balcony. There was another set of stairs going to a lower floor. "The kitchen is this way." She said with a smile, motioning with her hoof. Andrew followed behind Twilight as she opened the door to the kitchen. It looked just like any other kitchen with cabinets and drawers along the walls as well as appliances and a refrigerator and a sink. In the middle of the room was a simple square table with four chairs. It had already been set with two plates and silverware in the middle of the table was a silver vase with flowers in it. "Do you like salad? I picked up some ingredients at the market yesterday," Twilight asked, turning her head to look at the human. "Sure. That sounds good to me." The human shrugged his shoulders. “Alright. I don't know what humans eat. I guess I should have inquired about that earlier." She remarked while putting  lettuce into a bowl. "That’s alright. We eat pretty much anything, except for hay and flowers. Humans can't process hay as well as ponies can." Andrew leaned against the table, placing his hands in his pockets. "Is there anything that I can help with, Twilight?" "Sure, there are some salad dressings in the refrigerator. Can you get them out for me?" She pointed to the refrigerator with her hoof. Inside the fridge, Andrew found two bottles of dressing; ranch and a blueberry vinaigrette. He grabbed both bottles and closed the fridge door. When he turned around, he stopped in his tracks not believing what he was seeing. Twilight was cutting vegetables but she wasn't using her hooves. The knife was floating in front of her. It was surrounded by a purple glow floating in the air. Twilight's horn was glowing the same color as well. "Wha?" Andrew's eyes widened and his mouth opened from shock, almost dropping the bottles of dressing. ""W-wait a minute. How..how are you doing that?" Twilight looked over at Andrew as she continued cutting, and giggled. "Do you mean what I'm doing with the knife and these vegetables? It's a simple levitation spell. It's one of the first spells I ever learned." Twilight said as her face beamed with pride. Andrew nodded profusely. "Yeah, how are you doing that? The handle of the knife is glowing the same color as your horn." He blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes. "It's like you're using magic.” "That's because it is magic." Twilight chuckled, placing a hoof over her mouth. "I'm sorry. It's just that I'm guessing from your reaction that you've never seen any magic before?" "Well, on Earth, there is no magic. We have magicians who appear to make things move and disappear but that's no real magic. It's all illusion and slight-of-hand." Andrew explained. "No magic at all? That's very interesting." Twilight momentarily wondered what Equestria would be like without magic but quickly shook her head to get rid of that unpleasant thought. "Can everyone in Equestria use magic?" Andrew inquired. Twilight closed her eyes and tapped her hoof on her chin. Her guest wasn't from Equestria so she had to think of a way to explain how magic worked in a way that he could understand. After a few moments of trying to find the right words, she opened her eyes and finally responded. "Everypony in Equestria can use magic to an extent. For instance, earth ponies are considered to have a magically ingrained connection to the earth that makes them better at growing things like crops and other plants. Pegasus ponies also have a magic that allows them walk on clouds and manipulate the weather. To put it another way, both earth ponies and pegasi have passive forms of magic but unicorns, like myself, can actively perform magic like I just showed you. There are other creatures, besides ponies, that can use magic.” "That's really fascinating. Maybe you can show me more sometime." Andrew remarked, picking up the bottles from the floor. "Really? I would love to show you!" Twilight exclaimed before realizing how excited she sounded and turned her head in embarrassment. Twilight turned back to the counter to finish cutting the rest of the vegetables and mixed them in the bowl with the lettuce. After she was done, they both sat down at the table and enjoyed the salads. They both chose the vinaigrette dressing. Andrew stabbed some of the salad and put it in his mouth. Despite his current situation, he had to admit that it was the best he's ever had! There was an awkward silence in the air as the human and pony didn't say anything as they finished the last of their meal.  Occasionally, Andrew caught Twilight glancing over at him with those violet eyes but then she would immediately turn her head away. He could tell that she wanted to ask him some more questions but something was holding her back. Maybe she didn't think he was comfortable talking about it yet. Andrew decided that he would let it all out there for her. "It's  alright Twilight. You're probably wondering what I am and how I got here.” He let out a deep sigh and folded his arms across his chest.  “I've been thinking about the later part myself." "I am very curious. Can you tell me anything that you remember from before you woke up this morning?" Over  the next several minutes, Andrew described how yesterday was a regular day for him. That was until the portal appeared in the park. He didn't leave out any detail about the face that he saw in the portal, what it said to him, or the fear that he felt as a force sucked him inside of it. Twilight listened  intently while writing everything he said in her notepad, not  wanting to miss anything. "I don't remember anything after that until I woke up here." "That is very interesting," Twilight said holding a hoof to her chin.  "From what you described, it sounds like some form of inter-planetary  travel but I'm not familiar with what you described. I'm also curious about that face you saw. You're sure it was a unicorn?" "That's right." Andrew nodded before continuing.  "The horn on its head was  glowing as it spoke but I couldn't understand everything that it was saying. Some of it was garbled and to be honest, some of it is still a little hazy. Do you have any idea of who it could have been?" "I'm afraid not." Twilight shook her head until she saw Andrew's face all at her response. She knew that she needed to help lift his spirits. "But don't worry though, I will do my best to figure it out." "Thanks, Twilight. For this and for bringing me here and helping me." Andrew said with a sincere smile. Despite Twilight's friendly nature and hospitality, all Andrew could  think about was getting home. His family would start to worry about him soon when they don't hear from him. He couldn't imagine what it would do to them when he suddenly disappears without a trace. Would they think that I ran away or that I was dead?  No, he can’t think like that now. He needed to have faith that Twilight or someone there could get him back home. His half smile turned into a look of melancholy. "You're quite welcome but I didn't do it all by myself actually. After I brought you back here, you were still unconscious. Unfortunately, I know very little about healing magic. So, I teleported to the Ponyville Hospital and asked Nurse Tenderheart if she could take a look at you. She was able to heal some of the injuries you received from the fall." Twilight explained. "Well, If I see her, I will have to thank her as well. " Andrew said. "I'm sure she would appreciate that. In the meantime, would you like to go out for a walk with me? While you were resting, I realized that I need some supplies and I can show you around Ponyville." Twilight asked, breaking the silence.  "Going outside? Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, wouldn't I stand out and draw attention? I don't want to cause any trouble." Andrew asked, sounding a little apprehensive about the whole thing. "You have nothing to worry about.  The ponies in Ponyville are some of the nicest ponies you will ever meet. It'll be fine." Twilight responded with a smile. "Well, if you're sure...then I  will go with you." Andrew  said as he stood up and carried his plate  over to the sink. Twilight  carried her plate to the sink as well and  they left the kitchen. "That's great. Normally, I have Spike go with me but he's with a friend of ours right now. So, your help and company would be appreciated." "Of course. Wait, who's Spike? Andrew asked. "He is one of my best friends who lives here with me. I guess I should warn you though...he's a dragon." She responded back. Her response caught Andrew a little off guard. "A dragon? Wait, you live with a dragon?" First, talking ponies and now dragons. What's next, griffons and zebras? "Don't worry about it. He's a baby dragon. We've known each other since the day he hatched. He's like a little brother." Out in the main entrance to the library, Andrew stood in the middle of the room a gasp at all the books surrounding him. Despite his current situation, he was tempted to spend time reading the books. In the middle of the room, there was a round wooden table with a wooden bust of a pony's head on it . Off to the side, there was an adjoining room with even more shelves and books.  A few moments passed before he gave into temptation and approached the nearest shelf. Oh well, one look couldn't hurt. Could it? Andrew was so engrossed at reading the titles on the spines of the books that he almost didn't become aware of some giggling behind him.  "See something you like?" Twilight grinned at the human. "Sorry, I..uh.. couldn't help myself." Andrew responded sheepishly. "It's quite alright. I sometimes get lost in reading books too, especially with books about magic. Those are my favorite books. History is a close second though." Twilight declared with a big smile on her face. "I like to read about history myself. It's one of my hobbies. Maybe you will teach me a little about your world's history as well.” "I would really like that. Maybe later?" Twilight smiled.  "Sounds good. Well, shall we go then?" Andrew motioned towards the door with his hand. Twilight  nodded as she used her magic to lift a pair of saddlebag onto her back.  They were gray and embroidered with her six-pointed star, just like her  cutie mark, on them. The door glowed violet as it opened. She trotted  through first as he followed behind her. The door closed and locked  behind them.