//------------------------------// // Looking Glass(warning: self Harm) // Story: Man in a Pony’s World // by Nugget27 //------------------------------// Sitting, alone, in a cave was a creature. A creature not native to Equestria. His body was covered in bruises, cuts, scars. The shirt and pants that had once covered its body were torn and shredded. It had been a rough few years for the creature, but it was surviving. The human sat near a burnt out fire, its stomach grumbled. Now that it was permanently night, for whatever reason, the creature… The human was struggling to even find food. And with nobody to talk to in almost two years… He was going a little crazy. The human grabbed his spear, something he had stolen from one of the many bat ponies he had encountered. He examined it, poked his pointer finger with it, before nodding. He was going into a nearby pony settlement, that he had been watching for weeks, to try and steal some food. The creature nodded to itself, before running out of the cave… only to begin to start walking slowly. While humans were rather dangerous, especially due to how intelligent and cunning a single human can be, humans were not nocturnal. Seeing was rather difficult, but this creature in particular had no problem with that. Tonight, he would need to be sneaky anyways. The night allowed for the human to steathily go from town to town, grab whatever food he needed, and run away without detection. Before, when both day and night were a thing, if he were to attempt what he were doing during the day, he would be attacked. Once upon a time, he was once chased down by ponies in golden armor… They never caught him, but they went missing. The human assumed that he had eventually crossed borders of another country, as the golden-wearing ponies were replaced by batponies.  Several hours later, the human soon found himself regretting his confidence in being able to approach the settlement, which more resembled a giant… castle for some reason. The human had ducked under another branch as a spell whizzed just over where his head had once been. He was immediately spotted by a bat pony, and he ran. He kept on running. That’s all he had been doing for the last hour. Years of being on the run had luckily prepared him for times like this; he usually outran his pursuers pretty soundly after the first dozen getaways. The human was far more agile than most of the horses that chased after him, after all. The human jumped when a flash of rainbow flew over his head. The rainbow was attached to a pony, and it was moving quickly. The human nodded to himself. “Fucking ponies, dude… I need to stop talking to myself. But I’ve got nobody to talk to, just me!” The human made a left, before quickly breaking right, avoiding another spell.  He soon found a cave… he ran into it and skidded to a stop. “Fuck…” The human groaned as he fell to his knees and set his spear aside. “Usually this trick-” “It’s in the cave!” A feminine voice shouted. “Shit…” The human chuckled humorlessly. “Well, I guess I’ll get to see what happens if I die in a land full of magical, talking ponies… Maybe I can go home. Or just die. Really, there… isn’t a point in living if I can’t see my family again.” The human laid on his back and waited for the cave to be stormed by horses. “Has thou found thy creature that tried to break into my castle?”  “Yes, your majesty, we found… the creature. It ran into that cave. Would you like us to eradicate it?” “Nein, I shall behead it myself after I get a good look at it,” Bob went dead silent, his breathing stopped as he heard hoofsteps get closer to his hiding spot. He grabbed his spear and tossed it to the side; he might as well try and not look like a threat. “Creature, I, Nightmare Moon, know you are in there. You shall present yourself to me this instant, or I will drag you out myself. And trust me, I will not be gentle.” The human figured it would be best to… not test whoever was speaking. It was the apparent leader of the horses that had just chased him, after all. The human stood up, and slowly, but surely, made his way out of the cave. Standing before him, was a whole squad of the batponies he had grown accustomed to seeing. They all had their spears pointed at him, glaring at him through their helmets that hid their faces. At the forefront of them… was a horse that was significantly taller than the rest. She had pure, black fur and a starry, flowing mane and tail that moved in their own wind. She was wearing a helmet that went down to the back of her neck, and obscured most of her head. Each hoof was wearing very ornamental looking horse shoes, and she was wearing… a mixture between a necklace and a breastplate. “That is what has been assaulting my citizens and stealing food across Equestria?” The horse asked… her mouth was full of fangs, canines, and whatnot… she was terrifying. The human almost took a step back. “Rainbow Dash!” One of the ponies, who notably had regular, feathered wings, jumped. “Tell me, why have my guards been unable to capture this human? Not too long ago, it reportedly killed two of them in… with one of their own spears.” “Those guards were improperly trained, your highness. I will see to retrain the guard!” “See to it, or you will be replaced, Captain Dash.” The tall horse slowly turned its gaze onto the human. “Praytell, why should I not kill you?” “I really don’t have a reason,” the creature spoke. “Honestly, I don’t even know why I bothered keeping myself alive.” The human spoke in a rather monotone voice, much to Nightmare Moon’s surprise. He wasn’t quivering in fear. “Last time I spoke to another human being was… a few years ago? I can’t tell anymore with it permanently being night. It’s pretty nice, seeing the stars with me being a city boy and all, but it makes it hard to tell how much time passed, y’know?” “...You can speak. You are able to speak, yet you did not seek a more legitimate way to get food?” “Been there, tried it. Got an arrow in the leg and a lightning bolt to the chest when I tried being nice. Are you gonna kill me yet, or-” the human’s mouth was clamped shut. “You best not speak to me in that tone, creature. Tell me, why should I allow you to live?” “Still don’t really know how to answer that one, your highness. I guess if I wanna live, I can be a really good masseuse? The few ponies that I’m able to interact with, in a friendly manner, said my hands are the best back scratchers they’ve ever had.” Nightmare Moon paused for a brief moment. “I guess that isn’t a good reason, is it?” “I shall see to giving you a chance. Should you fail, you will be killed. Understood?” “...Sure.” Several hours had passed. It was nearing the time of the night that Nightmare Moon resigned from her duties for the day to relax just a little bit before going to bed. First, she went down to the dungeons to find the human, who had told her his name was ‘Bob’, a fake name if she ever heard it. He was sitting on the floor, picking at a plate of food. “Did the guard poison your food?” Nightmare Moon asked. “I dunno. I can’t eat flowers, or hay, so I can’t tell. It’ll kill me if I eat them eitherway, but…” “That is no way to treat a prisoner!” Nightmare Moon growled. “Praytell, what do you eat?” “Anything that isn’t flowers or hay. I can eat bread, apples, fish, nuts and meat.” “I shall rearrange your meals should you prove yourself useful for what you say you are useful for.” Nightmare Moon opened the door, grabbed the human, before promptly teleporting them to her room. She quickly removed her regalia and her helmet, and set them aside as she laid on the bed. “Well?” “I figured I should ask for permission, with you being the Queen and all.” “I shall grant you the right to touch me.” The Nightmare nodded. “I may be mean, but I am an understanding mare, Bob. I understand that you have… been shunned by ponykind and rejected the opportunity to obtain food via more… legal means. However, you are to find a good reason, such as massaging me, so that I do not execute you, understood?” “Yes ma'am.” The human promptly stood on his knees, before slowly making his way around Nightmare Moon. “I’m a man of my word, I guess. If I say I’ll massage you, I’ll try.” The human proceeded to put his hands on the alicorn’s back. “Fur’s soft,” he murmured to himself. That got the Queen to blush ever so slightly; nopony had called her that before. Before long, Nightmare Moon was resting his head on a pillow, allowing the human to scratch her back, wings, neck, and even her ears. It did… feel nice. “I believe I shall allow you your freedom. However, you are to live in the castle, be fed proper meals, and expect to be teleported to me should I need stress relief. Understood?” Bob nodded. “I shall need your race name, and your age.” “I think I’m seventeen, and I’m a human.” “...I see. You are a child. Perhaps I will be a bit more… gentle with you.” Nightmare Moon opened a wing. “Do you wish to sleep in my room tonight? It would be uncomfortable to sleep in the cold dungeons, especially when you do not have fur.” “And you’re being nice to me because?” “Sometimes, I do wish that I have had foals in the past; I’ve no offspring to speak of. You are a child… a criminal, but a child. I am offering you a grant; be my massagist, my child, and you will never go hungry. You will have a place under my wing, and you will be crowned Prince of the Night. Does that sound enticing to you?” “...It doesn’t sound awful, I guess. You won’t mind me sleeping under your wing?” “Would I have asked if I minded?” “I dunno… I don’t wanna overstep any boundaries.”  Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes, before using her magic to lay the human by her side, before a wing was promptly draped over him. “Rest well. When we wake, I shall try and accommodate your needs… whatever they may be. Sleep well.” The human nodded, before abiding with what Nightmare Moon had told him to do. He drifted off to sleep, or tried to, while wondering if this truly was… the best outcome he could’ve asked for. Sure, he would have food, but he had no family despite what this horse had just said. The human shrugged, before pulling himself out from under Nightmare’s wing, and walking over to a nearby balcony. Taking a moment to count his odds, he threw himself over the railing. The world turned into nothing the moment he had hit the ground. Somewhere, a lavendar alicorn, with a purple dragon riding on her back, was running towards the castle, her eyes widened at what she had just witnessed. she needed to get back to her time as soon as she could. so far, none of the worlds she had seen had ended well for her favorite human, but this was the most... horrifying one she had witnessed. so, here is another author's note. this is just a bonus chapter, and isn't actually cannon. nightmare moon... would probably treat bob well, since I like to believe that under all that hatred and jealousy, Luna is still there. and with time, Bob could probably bring Luna back, however, in this universe... Bob was left alone for far longer and had gone through far more than he had gone through during just the year. overtime, he would just surivive to survive, not to live. so once discovered, even if offered a chance to live life, he definitely wouldn't want to keep living after what else he's been through, along with the added bonus that he won't see his family again. Twilight and her friends, in the actual timeline, actually helped Bob stay grounded, believe it or not. and eventually, gave him a reason to keep living in Equestria. That took course over several weeks to get Bob to genuinely care about Twilight. A bond between Bob and Nightmare Moon would not sprout as soon as she declared Bob his child. anywho, this is the third bonus chapter... next chapter will probably take place in the future. long after Celestia and Luna retired from being Princesses. in otherwords... the end of this story. with that said, thank you all for reading. thank you all for joining me along, commenting, enjoying what I've written here. this was... genuinely one of my more favorite works that I've made thus far, and I'm pretty happy with how it's turned out. again, thank you, for reading.