//------------------------------//
// Introductions 
// Story: Alternate Geoverse #1: To Learn Is Human 
// by GeodesicDragon 
//------------------------------//


CHAPTER TWO


Introductions


The first thing I noticed upon waking up was that I appeared to be lying across four beds which had been pushed together to make one big one. The second thing I noticed was the pony lying on a chair next to me, whom I immediately recognised as Cheerilee. She was fast asleep, her chest slowly rising and falling as she breathed.

D'aaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwww... wait, did I really just think that?

I looked around some more, trying to take my mind off the sudden overload of cuteness. The room I was in was purely white. White walls, white ceiling, white floor, white furniture. I realised that I must have been in a hospital.

The door opened with a click and a pony entered. It was brown, wearing a white coat and had a stethoscope around its neck, as well as a horn, which made it clear that it was a unicorn. As well as all of that, there appeared to be a marking on its flank — a needle with a red cross in the background.

"Ah, good morning." the voice was unmistakeably male. "I was just coming to wake you up, but it would appear you beat me to it."

"It would certainly seem that way." I replied. "I assume you are the pony who treated me?"

"I am." the pony responded. "I am Doctor Haywick, and you must be Geo. I know your name because Miss Cheerilee there told me. I have to admit I never thought I would see anything like you in my life... no offence, of course."

"None taken." I said, waving my hand dismissively. "Because I never thought I'd see anything like you ponies in my life."

"What do you mean by that?" Haywick asked.

I twiddled my fingers nervously.

"Well, it's just that where I come from, ponies aren't exactly... sentient. Nor do they have horns. They are... how can I put this?... used by humans for manual labour, such as pulling things, as well as leisure, such as a ride in the country."

I decided to leave out what I had heard about horses and ponies in France. I doubted that Haywick would be interested in that particular slice of information.

"You need not worry about offending me." Haywick replied. "I am fairly certain that there are many differences between this world and yours. Though, since you said the ponies in your world don't have horns, I assume you have pegasi?"

"Pegasi?" I asked. "You mean ponies that can fly?... No, we don't have those either. Just plain, ordinary ponies. Ones that can't talk, fly or do magic... speaking of which, how long have I been here? I feel right as rain."

Haywick levitated over a clipboard which had been sitting in a container attached to the end of the bed.

"Given that we've never seen this type of injury before," he said, "it took a fair bit of healing. You've been here for... two days. And Cheerilee there has hardly left your side."

I looked over at the still sleeping Cheerilee. And I wondered... why she had even bothered to stay? Maybe because she was the one who saw me first, she wanted to make sure I was okay? As I processed this, something else forced its way to the front of my mind and I snapped my head back towards Haywick.

"I've only been here for two days?!" I half-shouted, startling Haywick with my sudden outburst. "It's only taken me two days to recover from a bullet wound near the spine?"

Haywick nodded slowly as beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. I saw this and realised I had went a bit overboard. Even more so when I saw that I had woken Cheerilee as well.

"You're awake then." she mumbled. "What's with the shouting?"

"Oh, it's nothing." I said coolly. "I'm just surprised that it's taken me two days to recover from a wound that would either kill a human, or put them in the hospital for months, sometimes even years. Two days must be some kind of record."

Cheerilee smiled.

"In Equestria, two days is far too long to spend in the hospital. So yes, it is a record..." she said, "... for longest hospital stay."

I returned her smile.

"I'm sorry, Doc." I chuckled. "I didn't mean to snap. It's just a bit surprising to recover so quickly from this sort of thing."

Haywick's nervous disposition vanished, and he put on a smile of his own.

"Not to worry." he replied. "Now, I came in to wake you up because you have a visitor... eight of them, in fact."

I did a double-take.

"Eight?" I said. "Wow, aren't I popular? Who are they?"

"The six ponies who hold the Elements of Harmony," Haywick said, "as well as Princesses Celestia and Luna."

"Princesses?" I said. "Oh, crap."

Haywick chuckled at my reaction.

"Don't worry yourself." he said. "The Princesses are the fairest ponies in all of Equestria, and the nicest sisters you could ever hope to meet. And the Elements of Harmony are heroines, having saved the land twice from certain doom!"

Heroines? Great, I'm about to make an ass of myself in front of eight females.

"Well, I guess it would be rude of me to keep them waiting." I said. "I am ready to speak to them now."

Haywick nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him.

"Do you want me to go?" asked Cheerilee.

"No." I replied. "Haywick told me you've been here since I was admitted, and for that I thank you. And anyway, I need somepony to vouch for me. Having you, a respected teacher, on my side will make this a lot easier. The last thing I want to do is piss off a couple of princesses and a group of heroines."

Cheerilee giggled.

"Well, I've stayed this long." she said. "I think I can stay a little while longer."

"Thank you." I replied. "Though, if you don't mind me asking, why did you stay with me?"

Just as Cheerilee was about to reply, the door opened and six ponies entered, each of them eyeing me warily. There were two unicorns, two pegasi and two ordinary ponies.

"Hello." I said, eager to make a good impression.

"Huh." said a blue pegasus. "So it can talk. I guess the rumours were true. That still doesn't mean I have to trust it."

She flew up into my face.

"Try anything funny, bub, and I'll kick your flank. Nopony messes with Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty and the most awesome pegasus ever!"

Element of Loyalty? More like Element of Ego.

"Rainbow Dash!" Cheerilee hissed. "Leave him alone. He's not a threat, and he's been through a lot in the last few days."

"Cheerilee?" a purple unicorn spoke up. "Why are you here?"

"Because I was one of the first ponies to meet him. And I honestly think he's a decent man who wouldn't hurt anypony. If he wanted to hurt somepony, I don't think he would have tried explaining himself to me and the Crusaders."

"You mean mah sister has met this thing?!" an orange pony spoke up. "She never told me about it!"

"Can I just say that I don't like being referred to as 'thing' or 'it'?" I interjected. "My name is Geo, and I would really appreciate it if you addressed me as such. And if you tell me your names, I will gladly do the same. Oh, and while I'm talking and you're listening, I also resent the implication that I'm dangerous simply because I'm a different species than you. Miss Cheerilee is right, as soon as I saw her and the Crusaders, I tried to explain that I wasn't a threat. Granted, they were scared of me at first. But once I began talking, they warmed up to me. And if they can, I'm pretty sure that the rest of you can as well."

My tirade over, I looked at the six of them as they stood staring at me, clearly not expecting such an outburst.

"Such passionate words." the voice was soft and almost angelic. "Nopony with evil in their heart would speak like that."

I looked over at the still open door as two more ponies entered. These ones, however, were much taller than the others, though still not as tall as me — and even then one was taller than the other — and were sporting wings and a horn. One was pure white, the other was a dark blue. Their manes moved of their own free will, despite the fact there wasn't a breeze in the room.

"I'm assuming that you are the Princesses?" I said, bowing to them in a show of respect. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is all ours." the smaller one said. "It's not everyday we get to meet a new species. I am Princess Luna, and this is my sister, Celestia. We are the rulers of Equestria, and the bringers of the moon and the sun."

"... you mean you control them?" I asked.

Luna nodded.

Oh shit. Not only are they Princesses, they're also goddesses. Whatever you do, don't piss them off!

"Wow. That's... amazing." I said weakly. "Where I come from, the sun and the moon control themselves. I can't really explain how though — science was always a weak spot for me."

I saw the purple unicorn drop her head and put on a pout. I assumed she was about to ask me a ton of questions about our sun and moon, but thankfully I managed to dodge the bullet.

Heh, dodge a bullet. If only you had have done that earlier, you wouldn't be here now.

I ignored my brain's feeble attempt at making a joke and turned my attention back to the six ponies who first came into the room. I pointed at the blue pegasus.

"Thanks to Cheerilee, I know that your name is Rainbow Dash. Now, how about the rest of you? I am keen to establish a rapport, in hopes that we can be friends, especially since I'm now stuck here... no disrespect, of course."

"Yes," Celestia said, "I was going to say that we would be unable to return you home, since inter-dimensional travel is not something we can do at the drop of a hat. It is extremely dangerous, and carries a high risk factor, such as ending up in deep space, or even the wrong dimension."

I nodded.

"However, I can sense that you are not a threat, so I will allow you to stay with us. You will need to find a job, though."

"I can help with that, your Highness." Cheerilee said. "The Crusaders have been telling their friends about the 'cool new alien' they met. Needless to say, foals will be foals, and nopony believes them. I think that, if he wants to, Geo can come to the school and one, prove the Crusaders right and two, teach us all he knows about where his species, and where he comes from."

Cheerilee looked at me and smiled.

D'aaaaaaaaaa... stop it.

"I'd be happy to assist you." I replied, returning her smile with one of my own. "After all, you've helped me. It's only right that I help you in return."

"Then it is settled." Celestia said. "You will be Miss Cheerilee's new assistant. You will be paid fifty bits a week for this work. Now, as for a place to stay..."

"I have a spare room." Cheerilee said. "He can stay with me... if he wants. I'm not pressuring you or anything, it's just that I live alone, so I could really use the company."

"And I will need somepony to tell me all about Equestria's history." I said. "Who better to do that than a teacher? I'd be more than happy to accept your offer of accommodation."

Unbeknownst to the others, but not to me, Cheerilee let out a small squeal of joy.

That's an odd reaction... ah, whatever. She said she lived alone, so she's probably glad she has someone to share the house with.

"Okay." I said. "I have a job and somewhere to live, but I still don't have the names of these six mares. If they're with you, Princesses, they must be important."

Celestia indicated the purple unicorn.

"This is Twilight Sparkle." she said. "She is my most promising student, and holder of the Element of Magic."

"The what now?" I asked.

"I'll explain it later." Cheerilee said.

I nodded.

Celestia then introduced the rest of the mares, pointing at them as she did so.

"Rarity, the Element of Generosity. Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness. Applejack, the Element of Honesty. Pinkie Pie, the element of Laughter. And you already know Rainbow Dash, who is the Element of Loyalty."

"Nice to meet you all." I said graciously.

They nodded in reply.

"Come now, girls." Celestia said. "Geo needs his rest. There will be plenty of time to get to know him once he leaves the hospital."

"And then I can throw him a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party!" Pinkie Pie squealed. With her bright pink mane and equally pink coat, she certainly lived up to her name.

With the exception of Cheerilee, every...pony left the room, saying her goodbyes as she did so. I waved to each and every one of them before throwing myself onto the pillows as the door closed.

"Jeez." I said. "That went better than I thought. I was sure that I'd be treated as a threat and either jailed, exiled or killed."

Cheerilee raised an eyebrow at me.

"Didn't I say earlier that the Princesses were the fairest ponies in all of Equestria, and the nicest sisters you could ever hope to meet?" she asked. "Because I'm pretty sure I was right."

I laughed.

"Yeah, you were." I replied. "Thanks for putting my mind at ease. In fact... thanks for everything you're doing. I'm sure a lot of ponies will think you're insane, bringing an alien into your home. And they'll think you're even more insane when you take me to school to meet the kids."

"Let them think what they want." Cheerilee replied. "But once they've gotten to know you, they'll treat you like one of their own. Of course... I need to get to know you first."

I nodded.

"Can't it wait until school?" I asked. "In fact, why not get everypony in town to come there for my little Q&A session? Once they've gotten some answers out of me, I'm sure they'll be a little bit more welcoming. I'm pretty sure that Rainbow Dash doesn't trust me as far as she could throw me."

"That's a good idea!" Cheerilee said. "I will arrange it for the week after you get out of here. That will give you time to explore Ponyville, and it will give me time to teach you all about our history! I've always enjoyed teaching, and the chance to teach somepony new... it's wonderful."

I saw the smile spreading across her face and felt one tugging across my own. Soon, the two of us were smiling away, both eager for me to get out the hospital so that I could start my new life in Equestria, and so that Cheerilee could share her passion for teaching with me.

But are you sure that its just her passion for teaching that she wants to share with you?

I shook the thoughts from my mind as I yawned.

"I'm gonna get some sleep, Cheerilee." I said. "You go home and prepare for my arrival."

She nodded and trotted towards the door. As she opened it, she turned to face me.

"I hope that this is the start of a wonderful friendship." she said. "I can't wait for you to teach me about your world, just like I can't wait for me to you teach you about ours."

"Likewise." I said. "We both have so much to learn from each other. This could be the start of something wonderful."

"Yes," she replied, "a wonderful working relationship. Goodnight, Geo. I'll see you in the morning."

As she closed the door, she left me to my thoughts.

Thoughts which turned to dreams as sleep took me.