//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: A Star that burned out to quickly // by nathanmcb //------------------------------// You slowly awake, your head is throbbing with a slight ringing in your ears.   You feel your baggy pants and shoes being dragged ever so slightly under you, yet it feels like your arms are outstretched and the upper half of your body was being forced to stay up. You feel the lower half of your body slope down onto a cold hard floor. 'Why the hell am I clothed, I know I took them off before sleeping?' After a short period of time, you come to a halt and are placed onto the floor. You slowly open your eyes, and see that you were being dragged across smooth, glorious, marble tiled flooring which reflected your shabby face. You slowly rise from the ground as if by magic; your vision is met by the small purple pony, whose horn is glowing and the orange pony which knocked you out and gave you this painful headache. The orange one spoke, it had a southern female accent.                  “Howdy partner! I see you’re finally awake, I was starting to get worried my kick might of done more than just knock you out!” The orange creature says with an almost enlightened tone to it’s voice. Placing your hand on the back of your head and feeling the giant lump; you snarl.                  “Jesus, that was a kick... it feels more like you threw a cinder block at the back of my head...” You scoff. The orange pony tilts her head at your remark.         “What was with you before, why did ya’ freak out n’ kick Twilight like that?” The orange pony asks. You give the pony a funny look.         “The hell is a ‘Twilight’?” you ask, slightly confused. The orange pony simply points at the purple one who is looking at the two of you with a confused look.         “Oh I am sorry... Twilight, just seeing you talk startled me.” you say while looking at the purple pony supposedly named Twilight. Before she could say anything another voice could be heard, it was another female voice, this one much more posh and elegant.         “Please, bring him in” The Orange pony put her hoof on your back and pushed you to a door. The door itself was not too special, just a white door with carvings of spirals on it. You place your hand upon the door and slowly push it open, revealing a giant room. The walls were a simple grey; in between the walls were huge, stain glass windows with various pictures printed on them, the floor was similar to outside, apart from the red velvet rug splitting down the middle.  At the end of the rug was a beautiful, golden throne with red velvet cushions that matched the rug perfectly. You look in awe at the perfection of the room, slowly stepping inside, your eyes widened the more you looked at the room. Two ponies catch your eye.  They started to walk towards you, so you position yourself in a discrete, defensive position. Both of the ponies walking towards you were bigger than all the other ponies. They both had wings, a horn, a crown and a necklace.  One of them was slightly bigger than the other and had a white, lush coat, wore a mark of the sun and had a rainbow colored mane which waved peacefully in the wind, she has a bright smile on her face.  The smaller one was completely different, she had a dark purple coat, mark of the moon and an even darker mane which also waved in the wind; but the main difference you could see is that she was not smiling. They got about an inch away from you, the smaller one was about the same size as you, while the bigger one was much bigger; this made you feel very intimidated.         “Hello there, this is Princess Luna, my sister, and my name is Princess Celestia, together we rule over the land of Equestria and all the creatures inside it,” Celestia said. Luna nodded and sighed. “We have never seen a creature like you before, may we ask where you come from?” You look at them both, a little annoyed with the question.         “I am from a place known as Manhattan.” You say. Celestia gives you a look of surprise.         “You are from Manehattan?” Celestia asks confused. You look at the pony with a confused look on your face.         “Manehattan?  I said Manhattan.” you say. The look on her face turns back into a smile.         “Oh ok, I understand, I have never been there.” Celestia says with a slight tone of confusion.         “Are you not afraid of us?” Luna suddenly spoke out. You take a second to think about it.         “I wouldn’t say I was afraid, cautious...  We do not have creatures like you that talk where I am from but I have come to understand that violence will not solve anything and will most likely end up with me being kicked in the back of the head.” you say.         Luna laughed a little as Celestia started to walk back to the majestic throne.  Luna followed soon after.  Time passed slowly, the two ponies talking amongst themselves, you could not hear a word that was uttered.  Soon after they came back to you.         “We have decided to let you stay in our land until you can find your way home.  You can stay in the castle but you must pay rent and earn money on your own.” Celestia said.         You smile and little and look at her.         “Thank you...”         She smiles back at you.         “Luna please show him to his room” Celestia turns to you  “Oh and Please; while you are staying here, do not harm any more of my students.”         You give her a nod and follow Princess Luna out of the doors and into the room where the the purple and orange ponies once were.  You follow Luna up to the room that is going to be yours until you can get back to your miserable life in Manhattan. -----------------------------~*~*~---------------------------- You walk with the dark coated horse down a long marble hallway and out a large wooden door. The horse creature known as Luna lead you down a flight of stairs towards another wooden door. This door looked heavy and old. Luna put her hoof on the door and pushed it open.         “Here you are...” Luna says, sounding a little stressed.         You look at her, analysing her expressions.         “Luna, was it?  Are you ok?” You ask the pony.         She looks at you with deep blue eyes you only just noticed.         “I am fine, just a little under the weather.” Luna says in a rushed tone         You give her a slight nod and walk into the room.  It was pleasant. Lavender wallpaper covered the walls, with the exception of a single window with purple curtains guarding it. It mixed well with the light wooden laminate flooring and red rug. A simple brown wardrobe hid in the corner of the room, a king-sized bed with neatly made covers was placed on the far end,a few feet away from the wardrobe. Next to the bed was a simple teak end table. As you look around the plain and simple room you cannot help but notice the fact that this single roomed place with no toilet, washroom or kitchen was still better than your Manhattan apartment. Luna forces a smile “Enjoy your stay” she says as she walks away You notice her leaving “Luna!” you say quickly.  She turns to you in confusion.  You smile at her “Thank you so much...” She looks a little shocked but her smile turns much more humble.  She nods and turns back and continues to go down the stairs. With a close of the door and a shut of the purple curtains, you climb into the bed, messing up the perfectly made covers.  You lay your head onto the fluffy pillow and slowly begin to think. Life is about to get a lot more interesting... Damn I forgot to ask about the bathroom... I guess it can wait until tomorrow.