//------------------------------// // November 16, 1914 // Story: A World Away // by StratoPegasus //------------------------------// After the shelling incident two days ago, the trenches have been surprisingly quiet. The mess was cleaned as best we could, and life has returned to how it always has been. Much to my relief, Wilfred’s position was not in the line of fire, and his troupe should be making their way back to our section of the trench as I write this. More and more I find my thoughts, and this journal, being dominated by my accounts of my dreams. I’m beginning to think I should dedicate it to that purpose alone, the dreams themselves being a wonderful escape from trench life. I’d like to recount these tales to Elizabeth, to my friends and family, when I return home, and I don’t want to scar them with too many graphic stories of war. That is my cross to bear, not theirs. I returned to...”Equestria”...again last night. This time, though, the dream seems to have advanced in time. I didn’t find myself in the field, rather, I found myself on my feet, standing on the edge of that village, with “Fluttershy” by my side, her seemingly unaware of the abrupt ending several nights ago. It was a perfect continuity. These people...ponies...that are inhabiting my mind, seem completely unaware of what is occurring on the other side of my own existence. We walked into town, her people were...aware...of my presence, but they were not afraid. A healthy curiosity dominated them. They had never seen a creature like me before. None of them approached me, but they did watch from where they were standing. We walked in the direction of that large tree-house that I had seen so many times before. As we approached, a cooling breeze rustled the leaves, almost heralding our arrival. Fluttershy knocked on the door, her hoof making a solid knocking noise against the oak it was made of. After several seconds, the door opened, revealing the amethyst-colored unicorn who inhabited it on the other side. She had a mane of a deep purple and pink. Her eyes - as big and magnificent as those possessed by the others - shimmered with a gleaming purple. She too had a symbol on her thigh, what looked like a large purple star, surrounded by white stars. Fluttershy addressed her as “Twilight.” She asked if we could come in...Twilight, though wide-eyed with shock at the strange creature before her, was happy to oblige. We entered, though I had to duck to make it through the low door. The inside was just as fanciful as everything else I’ve seen in this land. The walls of the home were dug-in, creating bookshelves that were filled to the brim with books of every shape, size, and color. I glanced at a section as I passed it, and while many of the books were in a language alien to me, that I could only presume were from this land’s ancient times, a few were in English, and I was able to make out words like “spells” and “magic.” It was clear I was in the home of a unicorn, and a proficient one at that. Twilight had the same look in her eyes that most of the ponies outside had...though with the mark of a scientist. More than just curiosity, but true scientific inquiry. She was trying to understand me in a quantifiable way. “This is Sky. in the fields outside of town, he says he’s not from here...from Equestria, I mean,” Fluttershy spoke to her friend, breaking her concentration. “I can see that. I’ve never seen anything like...it?...before.” “He” I spoke, Twilight a bit shocked that I spoke English. After several more moments of quiet observation, Twilight spoke again. “So you say everypony reacted well when you brought him into town? No incidents?” To which Fluttershy nodded, “everyone just seemed very curious. I think he’ll be safe for now.” (“Everypony?” They even have their own dialect!) “We’ve encountered unfamiliar creatures before, we can handle this. The whole Zecora incident taught us a lot. For now, let’s just try and get him acquainted with Ponyville. Go show him around town a bit, show him how we live. Eventually I’ll organize the Elements of Harmony together and we’ll take him to Princess Celestia.” (They’re going to take me to their Princess?) Fluttershy motioned for me to follow her out the door. We walked outside, in the direction of what looked like a gingerbread house, crossed with a quant country cottage. The tan walls were topped by a dark brown roof, outlined in white icing and peppered with large hard candies of every color. On one edge of the roof was a weathervane, an image of a pony clutching a candy cane. In the center of the roof, a cupcake-shaped watchtower jutted high into the air. “That’s Sugarcube Corner, it’s a bakery run by the Cakes...they’re bakers, and Pinkie Pie. She’s one of my friends, one of the Elements of Harmony that Twilight mentioned, I’ll go introduce you to her, first. Oh, and sorry about Twilight Sparkle, that's her full name by the way, she can be kind of...analytical...in situations like that. She's very nice when you get to know her.” "Quite alright," I replied, as we neared the building. We reached the door and Fluttershy gave it a push, a bell ringing as we walked through. Almost immediately another pony, a pink pony with a pink, puffy mane and tale galloped up to us. She had three balloons - two yellow, one blue - on her thigh. Sure enough, this was Pinkie Pie, as she soon addressed herself. “Hey, Fluttershy!...who’s this?!,” she said, in the most cheerful voice I had heard in a long time. She seemed almost unaware that I was a different species than her. It didn’t seem to matter. “This is Sky. He’s not from Equestria...he’s new around here, and Twilight told me to show him around Ponyville.” “Well, you picked a great place to start! Welcome to Sugarcube Corner, the best bakery in town! Here! Have a cupcake, on me! Consider it a welcoming gift!” The pony trotted behind the counter momentarily before returning with a blue-icing cupcake, still warm from the oven. Thanking her, I took a bite of the sugary gift, Pinkie staring back with a smile. The first bite sent a wave of energy through my taste buds. It was the most incredible thing I had tasted in a long time...maybe my whole life...and it wasn’t even real. I awoke again, that same feeling of satisfaction that marked every journey to Equestria lingering for a moment before reality fully set in again. The trenches are still quiet.