//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Life is an Adventure // by Floozer //------------------------------// Slowly but surely my mind came back from the dark void of unconsciousness and the world came into focus. First thing I noticed was the gray concrete ceiling so that obviously means I am lying on my back…again. However unlike last time I am still wearing all of my clothes which is a relief but instead of a bed I am laying on a pile of hay. Pushing myself into a sitting position I realize I am in a jail cell of some sort and around my ankles are shackles. I gave a few test tugs and sadly found them to be rather solid. I also had a pair of hand cuffs on but they were not linked together by a chain…no idea what purpose that serves but that just makes life a bit easier for me. Looking around I realize my current location is more of a dungeon than a jail cell. There are thick metal bars that line the forward all and built into them is the door. A single square hole that is also filled will bars is supposed to be my window. There is also a bucket in the corner but I don’t feel safe guessing what that is supposed to be for. I pushed myself to my feet and stretched out to the best of my ability. Strangely enough I didn’t feel sore anymore. After a quick check I realize that no bruises are on my person and I actually feel better than I have in a while! It was then that I heard heavy tumblers shift and the sound of a door open somewhere nearby. I sat down on the hay with my back against the wall and stared expectantly at the bars. Sure enough the purple unicorn from before shows up along with two larger…and armored ponies on either side of her. Both the guards glare at me and I shoot them my most business related smile…which only made them glare harder before the unicorn spoke up. “Can you talk?” “Yes.” “Well that makes this easier.” The unicorn floated a note pad and surprisingly enough a quill and ink set before returning her attention to me. “First off, who are you?” “Isn’t it the polite thing to do is give your own name before asking for someone else’s?” After rolling her eyes she spoke again. “I am Twilight Sparkle, who are you?” “Twilight Sparkle? That’s an odd name. You may call me Daddy Long Legs or just Daddy Legs if that fits your fancy better.” “Yet you claim for me to have an odd name? Alright then Daddy Legs, what are you?” “I think that is obvious isn’t it? I am a human.” “Ok, what exactly is a human? I have never heard of such a creature.” “Right, um, bipedal mammals with hair on top of our heads and on various parts of our bodies. Hands and feet. Can’t say I am a biology or anatomy expert so I can only state the obvious.” “Alright, why were you attacking Ponyville? Did we offend you somehow?” “Hold up a second, what do you mean attacking Ponyville? I wasn’t attacking anything.” “Then why were you fighting with Rainbow Dash when I showed up? That certainly sounds like attacking to me.” “I was fighting because…she... came out of nowhere and slammed into my side! What was I supposed to do just lay there and take it?” “You could have just told her that you didn’t mean any harm.” “Right, because after being assaulted that it totally the first thing on my mind. Look, I was just looking for answers when all of this happened.” “Answers to what?” So I began my story from falling out of the sky to fighting with this Rainbow Dash character. I told her every last detail and by the time I was finished she looked about as confused as I was. “So let me get this straight, you are not actually from Equestria but some other place called Earth?” “Yea, that’s exactly what I am saying.” “You only came here because a strange cloud thing sucked you here?” “Yes.” This only seemed to excite the unicorn further as her eyes lit up and she gave what I can only describe as a squee before rambling about a spell or something. Twilight went on and on about how her dimension spell had actually worked and several other things before I had finally had enough of it and caught her attention again. “I’m sorry Ms. Sparkle but, did you say that weird cloud thing was your doing?” “Well yes, it was supposed to branch out and find another dimension if it existed. I don’t know why it brought you here though.” “Ok then, while it has been a real pleasure I would love to go back home. I got things to do and places to be.” “Um, I don’t know how to send you back, the fact that you are here in the first place is a mistake in the spell. It could be any number of things and if I do it wrong you could…show up anywhere.” “So you are telling me that I am stuck here because of your incompetence?” “Wow, if you want to be rude about it then yes.” If it wasn’t for the dungeon cell and shackles I would have kicked that stupid look right off of her face! I gave a long drawn out sight before slumping even further down. Stuck in some crazy place ruled by ponies and I have no idea what to do, might as well be dead yea? Twilight continued to talk about who knows what and eventually I stopped her. If I am stuck here I need info on how things go and it seems that this pony actually has answers. I put on my business face and started to ask questions about the ponies here and how their culture worked in exchange for what information I could give about humans. We talked for what seemed like hours before one of the guards gave a quick harrumph which apparently was a signal of some sort as Twilight packed up her things. “Leaving so soon? Here I thought we were getting along famously.” “Sorry but we have to go, Princess Celestia is waiting for us and I have kept her waiting for far too long.” With a flicker of her horn the door to my cell slid open. “Ah, I guess that us means you and me, not you and those guards behind you.” “That’s right, I was given time to acquire information from you before the princess talks to you.” “Well I certainly hope the princess doesn’t mind that fact that I look and smell like some kind of wild animal, it has been far too long since my suit and I have had a good cleaning.” “Minor details Daddy Legs. Come along now.” I pushed myself to my feet and shuffled along behind Twilight as the guards continued to glare at me. We walked down long grand halls of what I can only assume to be a castle. Everything looked amazing, the pictures, the tapestry, everything. If only I had shown up here rather than above a forest, things might have gone a lot different. After a little bit more walking we come up to a pair of giant double doors that obviously blocked the path to the main chamber. With a nod from the guards the door swung open and inside was the throne room. Massive decorations hung from the ceiling and vibrant flower pots lined the walls. We walked along a red carpet before coming to a halt before the throne and Twilight gave a bow to the figure sitting there. Atop the throne was a much larger pony. This one had a white coat with massive white wings and a horn on her head. She sported gold regalia which I assumed was part of being royalty. This is clearly Princess Celestia and I had to admit I was rather impressed by how regal a pony could possibly look. She gestured for Twilight to approach and the two started sharing words while I simple stared at them. Not long had passed when Twilight stood at Celestia’s side and both of them turned to face me. “Well Daddy Legs, it seems like you have had a rather interesting journey. Twilight has filled me in on what you are and how you came to be here. I am afraid to say that you are indeed stuck here in our world until we find a way to send you home. This raises the question, are you safe to leave among my subjects or will your time here be spent in the dungeon?” “To be fair Princess, anyone can be dangerous, not just me. As comfortable as your dungeon is I would much rather have freedom to move as I please. So yes, I will behave like a good boy” “Your attitude could use some work as could your sarcasm. As to your remark, it is true that anyone can be dangerous, but when a strange individual appears that can apparently keep up with a Pegasus in full motion…one has to be carefull.” “Of course. So does this mean you will let me go?” “Almost, I find myself curious about you so while you will have the freedom to move as you please I am going to assign you to my student Twilight Sparkle for observation. Should she find you to be less than favorable then it is back in the dungeon for you.” “Fun, I get to have a babysitter for the duration of my stay. Very well, don’t suppose I could get these shackles off? They are really uncomfortable.” With a nod one of the guards approached me and removed the shackles and wrist cuffs. I gave a stretch and sent the princess a smile. The rest of my conversation with the princess was just her telling me what was ok and what was not. Every now and then she would pop a question about human culture and I would answer to the best of my ability, anything to get this over will. After a while her questions were exhausted and I was on the verge of doing something stupid. Thankfully she dismissed Twilight and my time with her began as we gradually left the castle. When Twilight and I had finally left the castle grounds and entered a place Twilight called “Canterlot”. This was clearly the pony version of a big city and tons of ponies were walking about going in and out of stores doing some shopping or some such activities. As we walked along I could feel the stares of many ponies all which had the same thought of “what the hell is that thing?” For every glare I received I gave it right back and that was enough to send most of them on their way again. Finally we reached a train station and Twilight motioned for me to take a seat. While we waited for the train to arrive Twilight started to ask more questions about human culture; once again we began a trade of information and I was beginning to feel that I might be able to smooth my way into this place which to many hitches. If anything this place would raise my patients as I got the feeling that I would be repeating myself over and over again as each and every pony that was brave enough would surely ask what I was. Time flowed on and sure enough the train we were waiting for pulled up to the station. The ride back to Ponyville was long but silent for the most part. Twilight was swamped with writing down every last detail I had given her and I was more than a little tired of talking. Not many ponies were on the train so I didn’t really have to worry about glares. A while later the trained pulled to a stop and both Twilight and I left the train and started walking back to her house. The sun had already set and most everyone was inside so we didn’t see anyone while walking back. There must be some sort of appeal to it because as we neared Twilight’s house I saw that she lived in a tree just like Zecora did. I didn’t bother to ask why but only asked where I would be staying. She had a room off to the side with a spare bed I could use. As it turned out the bed was way too small for me to fit in it so took the mattress off the frame and put it on the floor. Most of me could fit but at least half of my legs were hanging off. Sleep came quickly as the mental fatigue took over, at least I made it through the day without blacking out.