“There wasn’t a portal that opened and let ponies and people walk through to trade knowledge.
There wasn’t a planned mission from either side to explore new worlds.
There wasn’t a snap and a flash of light that moved a certain group of ponies to a specific place.
One night, as the sun was rising, ponies just appeared as the morning sun rose. They were wearing what they had on when they went to sleep, which meant nothing for nearly all of them. They awoke in the streets, parks, malls, and yards of people across the planet. Nearly two thousand were accounted for in the America’s, an unknown number were thought to be lost to the oceans as remains were sadly found at sea.
Language wasn’t an issue, either. When a new species appears, a lot of things are going to come across as barriers, language, for example. Except this time, as every pony spoke English, which helped more than hindered them in most cases.
There weren’t any leaders that came through, even though the ponies pleaded to Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and even Cadence to save them.
It became clear after the first weeks that these ponies were taken from their home, a world wildly different from ours, without their plans or knowledge. Today, we’ll dive into the lore and history of the origins of ponies on earth and some of their own history and…”
With a click the television turned off and Alex sighed as he lay back into his tan loveseat. “Eight years and they’re still putting this crap out? Seriously, hop on the penguin train and move on,” he said with a roll of his eyes and a quiet burp. He rocked to get up and stood tall, stretching to crack his back without luck before he went to his kitchen to throw away his can of soda and grab an apple to snack on.
The fan over his table buzzed and hummed as it ran while his thoughts wandered to the last few years after the ponies arrived. He’d met several and seen hundreds, but not many wanted to live in Northern Minnesota, which didn’t bother him much. He could turn on the streaming media apps and watch dozens of shows that have ponies in them now.
Kid shows were staffed by colorful ponies expounding the joys of equality and living in peace and harmony with each other and their neighbors. More adult shows had ponies in them as aliens with extra appendages like antenna glued to their heads in science fiction, guest stars in dramas, or as victims of murderers looking for a quick kill in certain shows or movies.
Something about watching ponies die, or even finding a pony worth taking such a role, was hard to do, even for a hard core horror movie fan. Their cute natures and sweet dispositions made it hard to watch them die.
Alex bit into his apple as his mind raced with bipolar thoughts and his mind went to thinking about what it would be like to have a real pony as a friend, not some weeb pretending on social media to roleplay a fantasy.
“There’s no way an earth pony can type that fast.” Alex mumbled as he recalled meeting a pony on a casual dating site before he caught onto the fact it was a Nephew of the Princess scam. “Only one pony can claim that, and he’s not here anymore.”
Alex took another bite of the apple and inhaled deeply while chewing. “I wonder what it’d be like to have flat teeth in front, too.” He tried chewing in front, like that would change the experience of eating an apple.
Farting loudly, he moved from the kitchen to the living room and leaned against the back of the couch. “Why’d I turn the TV off?” He turned it back on and the documentary popped up again. Bored, tired of doing nothing inside, he sighed and finished his apple, turned off the TV again, slipped on his shoes, and went outside after making sure he had his phone and keys. He didn’t want to walk three blocks to get the spare key to unlock his door ever again.
“Okay, I’m outside… now what?” He asked himself as he took in the fall air and started to move.
He walked to his car and climbed in, started it, and then backed into the street before driving into town. It was a small city supported by a large college and air force base, but without those two, it was just a common midwestern city in the Lake Agassiz basin; which means it was flatlands.
No hills or mountains, no valleys, no anything really to discern one location from another using natural landmarks. Alex drove in silence and wondered where he was going to go first.
Did he need groceries? No, he went shopping a couple days before and he was stocked on bachelor junk food for days. Did he need hygiene supplies? He lifted an arm and sniffed. No, he was stocked and had showered the night before.
“Ah, fuck it,” he said and turned left onto a main street, “let’s see if the thrift shop has any good shit, then I’ll hit the dollar store. It’s like Wal-Mart, only I leave with more stuff and pay less.”
A few minutes passed and he drove into the thrift store lot with a smile, knowing the dollar store was only a couple businesses down.
“Well, let’s see if I can find some pants that fit this time, or maybe a nice piece of junk I can look at for a while, carry around, then change my mind on last minute, like usual.”
Climbing from his car he saw a pony stallion on a digital billboard advertising a coffee place he didn’t get to read because it changed on him. “I could use a coffee after this, too. Starbucks or Caribou? Why am I always talking to myself? Because I’m the best listener I know.” He answered himself with a smirk. He then remembered a movie wherein an old Model-T was talking to herself and he smiled.
Walking into the thrift store he looked around and noticed it wasn’t very busy but the clothes seemed to be filled out nicely in the men’s section for once. He first went to the side room to look at the large items. He wandered through passing a woman carrying a clearly used vacuum while he looked around. He didn’t see anything that caught his eye.
Well, this is a bust so far.
He returned to the main room and began looking through shirts and then pants without much intention of buying anything when he heard a nicker. “This won’t fit me without a lot of work, Amy. Let’s just get this one and I can combine the two to cover me.”
“But that would look weird.” A woman said looking down to the first speaker, way down.
Alex stopped looking through clothes and moved closer to eavesdrop and spy on the pony. Maybe he could offer some clothing advice or something, too. To help a pony would be great for his mental well being, he believed. He grinned when he saw who it was. “Starlight Glimmer?”
Starlight and her human friend looked at the man in confusion. “Who are you?” Starlight asked, bluntly. Her eyes were narrowed but seemed to be off somehow.
Alex smirked. “I remember you from TV when you were trying to gather ponies to cast a return spell in Manhattan, you don’t know me. I’m Alex and I’m a fan.”
Starlight smiled weakly. “You remember that? It’s too bad almost nopony showed up to help. A few humans did, but humans can’t use magic like unicorns, so that plan failed, like everything else I tried.”
“Hi, I’m Amy,” Starlight’s friend introduced herself with a held out hand. Alex shook it.
“So, why are you here and thrift shopping?” Alex asked the pony.
“Because times are tough. I’m wearing two table clothes lines with towels to stay warm through this cold I’ve got,” she smiled weakly and averted her eyes. Amy held a small cup with a straw to Starlight, who took it in her magic and sipped.
She offered it to Alex, who shook his head. “I’m good for now, I was gonna hit up the dollar store next door to get some stuff next.”
“So, uh, what’re you doing here, besides shopping? I thought you’d be doing something big in Manhattan.”
Starlight motioned with her head and passed the cup back to Amy, who held it gingerly. “Well, I need fabric to make some outfits that’ll fit me, but since I failed in Manehattan I moved to Maneapolis to try to do something with ponies there. Most ponies in Mane- er, sorry, Minneapolis, are pegasi and earth ponies, not so many unicorns, so I failed there, too.
“I was done failing so I tried my hoof at a few jobs, but all my skills and talents in my life have been magic related. I can’t use technology as well as some ponies and I can’t do much but clean or help with some manual labor, which is too taxing on what little magic I have at my disposal… so I don’t have any income…”
Alex let the silence hang before he asked something personal. “So, where do you live? I know there’s some housing through Section-8 here.”
Starlight blushed and pawed at the carpeted flooring. “I’m homeless right now, I’ve been staying in a tent by the river with a few other humans and ponies for a couple months. But, don’t worry, I’ve applied for housing in the pony apartments and I should be approved soon.”
Alex frowned. “That’s terrible, why shouldn’t you be approved by now; or as soon as you got here?”
Amy spoke up. “Because there’s a waitlist that doesn’t favor ponies anymore.” She explained. “Laws passed recently that force ponies out of refugee status and put them on normal lists that don’t show favoritism, also the pony apartments only have six units available right now, and they’re all occupied. They’re converted human apartments, after all.”
“Wait, wait, wait, that doesn’t make any sense,” Alex said loudly enough to garner a couple looks from other shoppers, “why can’t you just use a human apartment until-”
“They’re not set up for ponies,” Starlight interjected. “The bathrooms aren’t designed for our anatomy and everything’s too high for me to reach. Don’t you think I’ve tried to get a normal apartment?!” Starlight started to raise her voice. “The crappy ones want a thousand dollars down, at least, just for me to have a chance of getting in because ponies shed our coats and hooves damage the flooring. Then there’s the-”
“Excuse me,” an employee said as she approached, “but can you keep your conversation a little more private?”
Starlight nickered in frustration and Amy apologized for her friend.
“So,” Alex asked, “what do you do now for work? You have some skills, I’m sure.”
Starlight frowned. “I’m a part time janitor at the college, I use a friend’s address so I can get my checks, but they’re pretty small since they pay shit wages.”
“Language,” Amy chastised. “Also, she’s right. The pay is designed for students, not creatures trying to make a living outside of that environment. I’ve tried to get her a job in a couple other places, but she doesn’t get technology outside of her phone.”
Starlight used her magic to pull a cell phone and stylus from under her clothing and turned it on. She held it in front of her and facial recognition unlocked it. She tapped the stylus to the screen and swiped around before she looked up to Alex. “What’s your number so I can call you? If you don’t mind, that is. Don’t worry, I won’t ask for money or anything.”
Alex thought it over for a couple seconds that felt like a minute to his brain before he gave it to her. “Just text me with your name and I’ll know it’s you. So, need any help shopping, ladies?”
“No, thank you,” Amy stated, “I think we were doing just fine before you-”
Starlight bumped Amy’s leg with her hip nearly taking the woman down. “Actually, once you’re done can we go to the dollar store? I could use some stuff for back home.” The phone wobbled in her weak magic and Alex remembered that back on their homeworld ponies were supposed to be magical powerhouses compared to their life now.
Some of the few ponies that had become famous weren’t known for their magic but their skills in singing, acting, or dance. Even then, after eight years, the wonder and mystery of ponies had dulled, especially since they were essentially citizens with limited rights, at least in America. They couldn’t vote or run for office, they had to pay taxes on any income earned, and they were treated like refugees from an unwanted country now that they weren’t seen as being as special.
Alex gave Starlight his number and then joined them in a little shopping, but went his own way for a little while, looking at various plates and cups he’d never buy but still caught his eye. “We’re done,” Amy announced across the store to Alex, who met the two empty handed. He waited while they paid noting Starlight take out a debit card to pay for her clothing and a small child’s toy made of plastic that had various rings on it.
“What’re you going to do with that toy?” Alex asked the unicorn who let Amy take the bag it was offered in.
“Magic practice. I’ll just put the rings on the cone in order when I feel like I have the energy, plus it’s good to stay in practice, just in case I get my power to better heights.”
Amy led them out into the strip mall and they turned right and went to the dollar store where a sign was posted saying ponies must be accompanied by a human. Each of them glared at the sign before Alex opened the door and let the females in ahead of himself. “Such a gentlecolt,” Starlight giggled as she passed him.
“I heard it’s more of a mare’s thing to hold doors back in Equestria, right?”
“Yeah, but that’s there and this is here. Oh, hearths warming, er, Christmas stuff! Let’s get some tinsel for the tent, Amy!” Starlight beamed and hurried to the displays.
“She does know there’s over a month before it’s that season, right?” Alex asked.
Amy nodded. “I’ve known her for a few months and she’s always been big on the local holidays. Easter and the bunnies, Thanksgiving and the birds, even though she won’t eat much, and Christmas. I think because it all reminds her of home. Yeah,” Amy said to the mare as she levitated two packages of tinsel of different colors onto her back, “that’s a nice choice. Let’s get a cart and we can grab a few things before you use up your funds.”
“You’re on the card program? I thought you had a good job.” Alex asked the mare as he reached her while Amy grabbed a cart.
“It’s only a couple hundred a month, but it’s better than nothing, which is what I earn hourly. I’m not pleased to say it, but I got scammed out of the bulk of my money back in Minneapolis and that’s why I’m… where I am now.”
Alex nodded. “Another pyramid scheme targeting ponies, I take it?”
Starlight laughed quietly. “I really thought there was a princess of Nigeria that needed my help. I only sent her a couple thousand dollars, but that’s what I had saved up at the time. I was investing, too, in pony companies that all fell through when the recession hit.” She frowned and tossed the tinsel into the cart. “I knew a few ponies that live locally and they said they’d put me up, but their landlords don’t allow couch crashers…”
“So, she ended up moving next to me, and that’s how we became friends,” Amy said as she walked past Starlight to grab a couple ornaments. “I hooked her up with some shopping advice and got her a tent and sleeping bag and taught her how to stay warm on cold nights when sleeping alone, and in exchange she gives me company and buys me soda and snacks when I need them.”
“Oh, hush you,” Starlight said with a smirk, “you know you and I share when I buy stuff. Speaking of which, let’s get shopping! I have enough for each of us to get eight things and I wanna start in the candy aisle.”
Alex shared a pleased look with Amy and they followed Starlight to the candy aisle. While Starlight shopped several shoppers noticed her and either watched her for several seconds in interest or frowned at the pony as she picked through items with her magic. After nearly half an hour, they all had more than they had planned for and went into line.
“Why did they let a pony in here? Doesn’t it know that it should be on a leash?” A woman snarked.
Starlight’s ears lowered as she ignored the comment but Amy turned to face the woman. “Look, Karen, keep it to yourself before I-”
Alex placed a hand on Amy’s shoulder and squeezed, interjecting himself. “Miss, are you saying the holocaust was okay?”
The woman frowned. “What the hell does that have to do with anything?!”
“It all started by a few people saying others were below them and should be treated differently. Before too long the oppressed were treated terribly and put in camps, just like people like you suggest; so either you’re in support of racism or you’re not. Which is it?”
The woman fumed and stormed away down an aisle. There were supportive smiles with a couple disapproving looks directed at Alex. Starlight’s tail flicked and she looked back with slightly sunken eyes at the man. “Um, thanks for that,” she said quietly.
The cashier began to ring up the female’s order and Alex put his stuff on the conveyor, too. Starlight paid for their purchase and they waited for Alex to finish before they all left the store.
“Well, it was nice to meet you, but we’ve got a long walk home,” Amy said as she hefted all the bags in her hands.
“No, I’m going to give you a ride and I won’t hear anything about how proud you are. I’m not going to let two lovely ladies walk at least four miles in the fall air carrying groceries with a clear conscience.”
“But-”
“No but’s, Amy. What do you say, Starlight?” Alex asked the mare.
Starlight looked between the humans before nodding. “You seem like a good man, so I’ll trust you for now.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? I thought we were getting along just fine,” he mused before leading them to a white car with a dented rear. He opened the trunk for Amy to put her stuff in while he set his in the back seat.
Amy opened the passenger doors for her and Starlight to get in.
Starlight lay on the back seat and her horn lit again, pulling out her phone and stylus from under her clothes. She laid the phone on the seat and held it in place with her hoof while Amy buckled up and Alex started the car. “So, do you live close, or are we taking you out of your way?”
“I live past the river so you’re on my way, although I wouldn't mind seeing where you live, maybe I can help you get a place somehow, especially before winter really hits and you have to survive a brutal northern winter.” Alex said.
Starlight’s phone clicked like she’d just taken a picture and he glanced back to see her holding the phone up in her magic. It wobbled but stayed up and she snapped another picture of him. “Just for posterity. You’re the first man that’s been nice to us, so far, without wanting anything in return. I’d like to have this image to use as your phone picture.”
“You can take a better one than that, then.” Alex said and smiled into the phone’s camera. She snapped another picture and then layed it back down onto the seat. “Okay, seatbelts?”
“I’m buckled up,” Amy said, then looked back to Starlight. “I don’t think you have pony seatbelts, but she’ll be fine, right, Glimmy?”
“Just don’t stop too suddenly or I’ll fall onto the floor,” Starlight advised.
“Got it. So,” Alex said as he started the car and backed out of the space, “I always wondered about pony magic, can I ask you?” Starlight grunted in agreement. “Well, you’re supposed to be super powerful magic users back on your world, why not here?”
“There’s almost no ambient magic field here. Earth ponies can’t farm as well, pegasi can’t fly or walk on clouds, and unicorns can’t cast complex spells. It’s public knowledge, why are you asking?” Starlight finished with a quiet cough.
“Well, I was thinking about when you tried to gather ponies in Manhattan and what would happen if you all cast that go home spell.”
Starlight laughed ironically. “Getting ponies to come together during an event like that is like pulling teeth from a hungry timberwolf. We’re herd animals, sure, but once we started new lives here I realized our herding instincts bonded us with our nearby friends and not just one another. It’s something about the pony xenophobia trait that’s inherant in all of us. Only, it’s not really applicable when we’re surrounded by other beings that aren’t going to eat or harm us. I’m rambling, sorry.”
“No, go on, I’m actually interested.” Alex said.
“Okay, well, when we appeared here we weren’t often together with other ponies. That led to the panic of many and desire to seek one another out. We were lucky that most people were accepting of us and tried to help us understand what happened, just as we did the same. I postulated that there was a dimensional overlap that drew us from our reality to this one, but without magic to test theories they were just hypotheses that had no grounding.
“I tried to work with the government, then private financiers, and finally on my own, but nearly all my skills are magic related and I can’t understand your advanced technology enough to create a bridge between magic and technology like I could have back home. I’ve tried to combine my magic with other unicorns but all I’ve managed to do is get a small boost to my already dismal magic field.
“Even if we got every unicorn on earth together, I figure we’d be able to cast one simple teleport spell that would move some of us a mile, maybe. That’s not enough to open a portal, even. All I can do at this point is make due day to day until we’re found by a rescue party or we completely adapt to life on earth.”
“That kinda sucks… have you tried human magic? Some people say we humans have some magical abilities.” Alex asked.
Starlight groaned. “Yeah, like reading hands or seeing the future in the stars. Pseudo-magic, we call it. Not much more than stage magic,” she went silent for a few seconds, “and even then I knew a pony that was really good at stage magic and still needed her unicorn magic to make some of it work.”
“So, you’re saying humans don’t have any magic, ponies have almost no magic, and you’re completely hopeless?” Alex asked rhetorically. “I don’t buy it,” he stated firmly. “I believe there’s always a way, you just haven’t found it yet. Maybe it won’t happen soon, but eventually there’ll be a breakthrough that will give you all hope again.”
Starlight nickered. “If you’re going to start trying to convert me to your religion you can drop us off right here.”
Alex laughed. “No, I’m not into that invisible man in the sky stuff. I don’t believe there’s a plan, just things happening in certain ways by chance, like us meeting and becoming… well, I don’t know if we’re friends, but I’d like to think we’re laying the foundation, all three of us.”
Amy sighed. “If only it were that easy.”
“It can be,” Starlight said, “all we need is trust to start a good friendship. That’s what my mentor Twilight said, anyway.”
“That princess? You knew her? Well, obviously since you said she was your mentor… that’s pretty cool, I didn’t know you were famous back home.”
“Alex, I was infamous for a while, then I just fell into a role that harmony had set for me. It took a long time, but I was able to work my way into the good graces of many of the elite and royalty before this happened.”
“So, were you in any movies or anything?” Alex asked.
“No, movies were still pretty new and were all sappy or foalish; not like movies here. I went to a few, but there’s so much happening in some of them I can’t keep up, others are violent, and others make me long for home too much… it’s just a lot to think about when I see ponies in movies, too.
“I have to wonder what they’re going through to make these stories happen and if they’re actually actors and actresses, or are just playing along to fit in. Following their marks, basically. It’s confusing for me and without being able to analyze it, I just can’t get into it properly.”
“So, Starlight, why didn’t you go into some kind of research program? You sound like the researching type of mindset.” Alex asked.
“Because my skills aren’t focused on technology nearly as much as magic and alchemy. I can’t use a computer because the keys aren’t set up for hooves, my magic’s too weak, and I couldn’t read English back when I had the chance!” Starlight’s voice raised. “Now I’m broke and homeless and living like a bum.”
“Hey,” Amy said calmly, “you’re not that bad off. In a couple months you might get an apartment and then we can both move in together and get real jobs. All we need is an address and then we can get on our feet, finally.”
Alex was silent and the car lapsed into a quiet for a moment before Alex spoke up. “I can get you an apartment where I live. I’ll call a friend who works with the county and she’ll pay your first couple months. I promise I can do this for you if you’re willing. My landlord’s kind of a dick when it comes to anything with fur, but he’s legally bound to rent to you under the equal housing act.”
Amy and Starlight stared at the man in contemplative silence for nearly half a minute before Amy turned in her seat to face him. “Can you promise me, us, that you can get us a home? Or is this just some trick to get on our good side before she goes into heat?”
Alex frowned at that. “I give you my word that I’m not trying anything funny. I have two friends that need help and I’m going to do what I can to help. It might take a week, but I promise you’ll have a home. I know because I was homeless before I ran into the programs that are offered.”
He slowed to a stop at a sign near their end goal and reached a hand to Amy, who hesitantly shook it. He turned and reached a hand back to Starlight, who looked at his hand hesitantly before she took it to shake it. When their bodies touched, Starlight gasped and her horn sparked before glowing a brilliant baby blue.
The light died out quickly when Alex pulled his hand back to look at the slightly more vibrant pink unicorn. “What the hell was that?” Amy and Alex asked in unison.
Starlight’s eyes seemed healthier and a smile crept onto her lips. “We need to stop somewhere, I think I just got my magic back.”