~~~ CHAPTER ONE ~~~
~~~ A SUMMER DAY ~~~
It was a warm and peaceful summer day, and you couldn't have been more content. The warm breeze kept you cool as you sat in the shade of an old oak tree, and you sighed happily as you sipped on a glass of lemonade while the birds sang and the world passed you by.
This isn’t too bad, you thought. Today you had managed to get the day off work and were spending time with some of your closest friends, relaxing in the great outdoors. It was fairly similar to your summer breaks back when you were in school, actually Only, you supposed, perhaps this was a little different thanks to the fact that -
“Cannonball!” Came a raspy shout from somewhere in the air, and you didn’t have much more than a second to react before a sky-blue blur splashed down into the lake, sending a giant sploosh everywhere. This was followed by a loud ‘yee-haw’ and a second impact, and then just a moment of calm before two two ponies - Rainbow Dash and Applejack - surfaced and began a massive splash war, laughing all the while as two other ponies - a snow-colored unicorn and a yellowish pegasus - yelped in alarm and swam quickly away from the ensuing naval combat.
Okay, maybe it was a little more different than you had originally thought. Your old job, your old house, your old friends, your old life... They were all on your old planet, and for the longest time, you had had no idea where it had gone, only that you had been flung far from home into a world full of magic and talking horses that you were utterly unaccustomed to.
It had all happened in the blink of an eye. One moment you had gotten up from your couch to grab a drink, and the second, you had landed on your ass in the middle of a field overlooking a small, quaint, medieval-looking village. Convinced you were having some kind of sudden-onset psychedelic episode – maybe even an aneurysm - you had wandered into town only to be met by several colored horses who all seemed shocked and terrified at your sudden presence. In under an hour, you had been tossed in a small jail cell by one of the armor-wearing horses, and that evening you had been summoned to a giant palace on the edge of town where you had been presented to –
“Girls!” The pony next to you shrieked as a fairly large splash landed merely inches away from the book she had been engrossed in. Growling, Twilight Sparkle sent a small wave of magic through her horn and wiped the pages clean. “Could you please splash in the other direction? This is a first edition History of the Griffon Unification Wars that you’re getting wet!” For emphasis, she waved the book in the air at the two offending ponies.
“Sorry Twi’,” Rainbow called back, chuckling and grinning sheepishly before resuming her splash battle (if a little less intensely).
A small grin played at the corners of your mouth you looked over at your neighbor, who had already seemingly forgotten the incident and had refocused all her attention on her book. Twilight Sparkle had been the first pony who had properly introduced herself to you. Heck, she had probably saved your sorry hide. It had been her you had been presented to, and it had been her who had ordered your release once she realized you could speak.
Twilight had become your very first friend in this land of magic and ponies, and you were beyond thankful for that. For the first few days and weeks, she had been almost obsessive in her search for answers regarding your arrival and clues that could help get you back home.
It was during this time that you began to make more friends. The ponies were a kind… people, you supposed, and had quickly warmed to you as soon as you had proven you weren’t – as Rainbow Dash had said - ‘a giant monkey monster from the Everfree here to eat us all’.
You had spent a few weeks living off of Twilight’s fairly generous budget, however after a while you had decided you wanted to earn your own money. Thankfully, you didn’t have to look far. As it turned out, opposable thumbs were a luxury in this world, and you eventually decided on a job working at the local post office under a pleasant, happy-go-lucky mare named Derpy Hooves.
It had been on a dull, rainy workday while you were getting a shipment of mail ready for the next train that Twilight had come to see you. Her ears were drooping and her expression was solemn. You figured that she must have had bad news for you regarding your homeward journey. Mentally you had been preparing for it ever since she began her research. However, what she told you then – that the anomaly that had brought you here had been a one in a trillion occurrence and that she didn’t think she could trigger it again even if she tried – had still hit you hard, and had sent you into a weeks-long depressive spiral only made worse by overindulgence in Applejack’s hard cider and Pinkie Pie’s rum cake. It had been so bad, actually, that you doubted you would ever come out of it.
That was when Twilight, proving herself worthy of her title as Princess of Friendship, really came through for you. She had knocked on your bedroom door and, as soon as you had opened it, trotted in and sat down on your bed, telling you that she was there to keep you company and that you were going to talk about your loss and grief because she couldn’t bear to see it eat you up anymore. You had cried, and she had cried, and you both apologized and cried some more, and you had realized just how much she blamed herself for her not being able to get you home. You had given her a long hug and promised her that you would make the best of hand you had been dealt.
She had seemed to like that.
That had been almost a year ago, and in that time you had recovered. The days had become easier, and your smiles had long since started to reach your eyes again. A lot of that had been thanks to your new friends. Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, all of them had helped make Equestria feel just a little more like home for you. However, there was one friend who towered above the rest. That nerdy, adorkable bookworm named Twilight. You loved all your new friends, of course, not to diminish their role in your life, but it was Twilight you looked forward to talking to more than anyone else, and when you got to spend time working on experiments with her or just reading in her library together, you knew for a fact your day was going to end far better than it began.
“Hey,” Twilight asked, using the edge of her hoof to nudge your knee, breaking you from your reminiscing. “Are you okay? You seem a little out of it.”
“Yeah,” came your quick response. “Just thinking about stuff, I guess. You guys, really.”
Twilight gave you a quick, happy ‘hmm’ and a warm smile before turning her focus back to her book. You smiled back, and couldn’t help but sigh happily as she scooted in just a little closer to you as she resumed reading. Time seemed to pass by in a daze as you sat there, and all thoughts of your old home seemed to fade away as you enjoyed the midsummer breeze and the laughter of your friends as they played in the lake. Clouds came and went, and as the clear blue sky gave way to the brilliant golds and pinks of sunset, Twilight and the rest decided to call it a day.
Slowly you rose to your feet, yawning and groaning as pins and needles rushed in to fill your legs as they woke up from their sleep. Still, you weren’t about to let a little pain keep you from helping out, and the cleanup was done fairly quickly.
The road back to Ponyville wasn’t terribly long, and the time it did take to get back home was made far more amusing by Rainbow’s enthused explaining to Applejack of all the tricks she had thought up while swimming, and by Twilight trotting by your side, as she eagerly summarized what she had learned from her book. You didn’t know a thing about the Griffon Unification Wars, but you found it didn’t matter so much to you as the fact that she enjoyed telling you about it. The display of passion she so openly gave every time she learned something never failed to make you smile.
Eventually your group dwindled as you passed Fluttershy’s cottage and Pinkie’s bakery, and Rarity’s boutique where the alabaster unicorn hoped beyond hope that her younger sister and her friends had behaved themselves during the day. The group became smaller and smaller, and eventually you and Twilight came to the Friendship Castle, the place you now called home.
Following a quick shower and a small evening snack, you found Twilight sitting in one of the many small libraries she liked to haunt, curled up on a couch that was too big for her and holding a mug of hot cocoa and two large books suspended in the pink glow of her magic.
“Hey,” you offered, and she audibly gasped, setting her cocoa and books down.
“Hey! I didn’t hear you come in!” Twilight answered, looked your pajama-clad body up and down. “Off to bed?” She asked.
“Yeah, I’m beat. Today was real fun!” You said and glanced over at the two books she had seemingly been trying to read at the same time. “What are you up to?”
Twilight’s ears perked, and she picked the books back up. “Oh, not much,” she said, “I was just rereading my book from today and comparing it to the most recent version on the same subject! I’ve been working on a paper trying to see how the progression of time and changes of social views in academia can cause changes in how history is told!”
You offer a quick mhm and a warm smile as you sit in a nearby chair and Twilight goes on. “For example, during the reign of King Grover’s grandsons and the Cold War between Griffonia and Equestria, Grover was seen by ponies as a warlord and despot seeking to gain power over all the Griffon tribes by any means necessary. However, modern scholars argue that the kingdoms were plagued by war and economic turmoil and that Grover’s conquests were supposed to solve those issues by bringing a common union to all their kingdoms, giving the griffons a figurehead to rally around and a common goal to work towards!”
“And which version is true?” You ask. To be honest, you didn’t care much, you just enjoyed hearing the enthusiasm in Twilight’s voice.
“Who knows?” Twilight offered, once again setting the books down upon a nearby table. “Only Grover really knew his reasons, and I’ve never heard of anypony ever coming across a diary of his. It’s up to us to analyze what accounts we have and figure out the hows and whys as best we can.”
You nodded slowly, tiredly, and you realized you’ve lost track of time as the clock in the library began to chime. Quickly, you rose from your chair and cleared your throat. “Hey Twilight,” you begin, but you trailed off, unable to figure out what exactly you wanted to say in that moment. “Thanks,” is what you settled on. “For today. For letting me tag along.”
“Aw, you’re welcome!” A kind smile came across Twilight’s face and she walked forward before rising up on her back legs and wrapping her forelegs around you in a warm hug. Ponies weren't as heavy as you thought, you realize, and as you wrapped your own arms around Twilight, you leaned your head in and closed your eyes, relishing in the embrace and in the warmness of Twilight’s coat. In that moment, you realized, you felt truly happy. More than happy, actually. Safe. Secure. Content. In fact, you’d wager you haven’t felt this nice since…
Your heart seems to stop, and your eyes go wide as you begin recognize just what you’re feeling. ‘Oh, no.” You gulp, and your throat seems much tighter than it had been a moment ago.
“Are you okay?” Twilight asked, dropping down to all fours again and giving you a concerned look. “You just went all tense.”
“Y-Yeah, I’m okay,” you replied, looking down at the bookish pony. “Just… tired. I think I’m going to bed now, if that’s okay?”
“Of course it is,” Twilight said, and her lips pursed in a semi-frown as she looked you over. “You sure you’re okay?” Her eyes seemed to lock on yours, and you tried your best not to get lost in them.
“Yeah,” you nodded, hopefully not as jerkily as you feared, and you made your way to the door. “Good night! I’ll – I’ll see you in the morning!”
“Okay! Sleep well!” The alicorn’s voice echoed through the hall as you sped toward your room, your heart racing.
Only once you had reached your bedroom and had locked your door did you exhale. Your mind raced a million miles a second as you tried to come to terms with what you knew you were feeling.
You were falling for Twilight Sparkle. Your best friend, and the only friend you knew you couldn’t bear to lose.
“God damn it…” You muttered.