The damp, yellow towel was cool against the horseshoe shaped bruises on my cheeks, offering a sharp relief to the heat outside. While in Canada it was mid-autumn, in Equestria it was the beginning of what was apparently going to be a very hot summer. The ponies were outside, apparently discussing what they should do with me. Where I was going to stay, whether they should just bring me straight to Canterlot (whatever that was), how I was to be sent back home, etc.
I sighed as I listened to the gentle murmur of voices coming from outside the door, and tried to put together what I knew so far. From talking to Twilight Sparkle, it seemed that the world in which I found myself in was blessed magically. Despite my initial reluctance to accept that, Twilight had quickly made sticks shoot off of the ground and reassemble themselves in a tree, creating a small birdhouse.
I frowned, squeezing the cool towel against my face and wincing a bit as I considered this bit of information. Earth didn't have magic. Or, if it did, it was lost many years ago, or it was hidden, or something. Equestria did have magic. I was willing to bet that there wasn’t anything on Earth that could send me to another world. Therefore, it stood to reason that my transportation here was magical. Was there something, or someone that summoned me here? I sighed, recalling what I had heard when the six friends approached the clearing in which they had found me in. Did Twilight say something about mysterious lights? Was it magic? I made a mental note to ask her about it as soon as possible.
I got up and walked to Fluttershy's sink, deeply surprised that they had such a modern amenity. Now that I thought about it, this world had a strange amount in common with Earth. Pinkie had mentioned cupcakes earlier, and her butt tattoo had some balloons on it. Looking around, I suddenly realized how strange this whole thing was. It felt like I was still on Earth. An Earth with talking Ponies. And Dragons. And Griphons.
I threw the towel away, and poured myself a cup of water. Thankfully, while everything else in this world seemed to be smaller, glasses, doorknobs, and the like were Earth sized. I’m guessing because the bigger the object, the easier it would be to hold with hooves.
Downing my drink, I rotated both of my shoulders, trying to get a feel for where I was at physically. My muscles were still very sore, but the four hour nap I was allowed to take at the cottage combined with the food and drink I was provided was quickly putting me in good spirits. I smiled to myself, and put wooden cup into the sink.
I glanced at my horrifically dirty fleece sweater on the floor, and decided against donning it. It was way too hot, and the way my luck was, it would probably catch fire or something. Chuckling to myself, and wondering vaguely why none of this bothered me as much as I figured it should have, I looked out of the window above the kitchen sink. The Everfree forest bordered the edge of Fluttershy’s yard, and a few stray bunnies hopped to and fro inside the fence. After watching them for a bit, I decided to head outside and see what my new comrades had decided.
As I turned, however, something out the window caught my eye. I squinted into the tree line surrounding the cottage, trying to focus on the ominous figure hiding amongst the trees. Another pony? Maybe. Whatever it was, it looked like it was wearing some kind of hooded cloak. And, while it was mostly covered by the deep shadows of the trees, I could swear it was looking back at me through the window.
I swallowed, and continued staring at it, squinting. Was it spying on the animal sanctuary? Maybe, but unlikely. I couldn’t imagine a scenario in which watching Fluttershy feed her animals would give someone a tactical edge. Unless they were like… bunny racist or something. So was it here to spy on me? The more I considered this, the more suspicious I became. Whether it was spying on me, or on Fluttershy, there were questions to be answered.
Suddenly, the figure seemed to shrink, as if whoever or whatever it was had decided it had seen enough, and it would retreat for now. That wasn't going to fly with me. If there was even a chance that it knew why I was here, I had to take it and find out what information it held.
I started towards the door, quickly pulling on my hiking boots. I stole a glance back out the window. The figure was quickly disappearing into the trees. Time to pick up the pace. I burst out of the door to the cottage, nearly smashing the door off of its hinges and slamming my head into the low door frame.
“James! What’re you-“ Rainbow Dash began, as all the ponies quickly turned to see what had crashed through the door with all of the grace of a runaway carriage
“Back in second!” I called, already sprinting towards the forest. I vaulted over the brush, and found myself immediately surrounded by trees. Thankfully, they were tall enough that I had a fairly clear view of my adversary. Fairly clear by forest standards, anyways. There, in the distance!
“FREEZE!” I called out, doing my best to sound intimidating. The creature turned its hooded head to look back at me, and then broke into a run, attempting escape, cloak flapping up around him, and revealing four hooves. So it was a pony after all. Only afterwards I reasoned that it might be better to not scare creatures I was trying to talk to, as my alien appearance would probably already make them uncomfortable. Oh well.
I started after it, trying not to overexert myself too quickly and end up losing him. I grit my teeth as my already sore muscles screamed at me for being exerted again today, and I realized that I wouldn't be able to keep this up. I needed to find a way to end this, and now.
Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice beside me.
“Hey!” Rainbow Dash called, flying next to me with relative ease. “Where are you headed in such a rush?”
I glanced over at her, dodging the tree trunks as she kept pace with me. She was nimble. She was fast. That was good.
“Hey, you looking to apologize for smacking me around earlier?” I called back, panting heavily.
“No. But I’m listening.”
“That pony up there! Can you catch him?”
“Sure, I can catch him. The question is, why should I?”
I suck in more air greedily. I kept myself in good shape, but today was really not a good day to be going for a run. “I’ll explain… later…. Just get him! Please!” I say through sharp intakes of breath, my leg muscles threatening to give out beneath me.
She stares at me for a second, eyes full of… what, exactly? Suspicion? Hatred? I couldn't tell. But then her expression softens and she zooms off after him. I watch on as the rough and tumble Pegasus tackles the pony to the ground, and I pick up the pace, eager to question the runner.
“There!” Rainbow Dash grunts as she pins the mystery equine to a bed of fallen leaves. She turns her head towards me, her voice full of exertion “Hurry up! This guy is- ungh!- feisty!”. Dash is clearly having trouble holding our captive, and I pour on my last little bit of energy. I’m almost there, mind racing with questions.
Suddenly, a luminous, dark purple beam shot out from the mystery prisoner’s forehead, blasting Dash right in the chest and sending her flying backwards, crashing into the trunk of a tree with an audible crunch. Rainbow Dash's eyes went wide for a moment, before slidining down the trunk and laying unmoving at its base.
“RAINBOW!” I yell, rushing over to her, all thoughts of the unicorn who blasted her shelved for the moment. But then, I see her assailant get up, and, prioritizing, I lunge at him, teeth bared. My righteous anger is quickly replaced with unrighteous embarrassment, however, as my feet get caught in a root, and I fall hard onto my front, arms scrabbling for purchase of my adversary.
Today was just not my day.
He turns and begins to run, but not before I can grab his cloak. The unicorn strains against my hold for a few moments, before opting instead to just ditch his garment all together, leaving me with a fistful of cloth, and no prisoner.
I grit my teeth in anger, and watch the now undisguised unicorn gallop away. He has a butt tattoo as well. What had Rarity called them? A Cutie Mark. His was difficult to see in the shade of the forest, but I can vaguely make out what looks like a large, red circle that contained a strange glyph. Who was this guy?
Remembering Rainbow Dash, I get up and walk over to her, intending to check for a pulse. I instantly feel a wave of guilt as I behold the blue mare, lying on her back, her rainbow mane spreading out around her head in sharp contrast to the forest floor. Does CPR work on ponies? I wasn’t sure. First things first, though. I could at least check for breathing, and then maybe a heartbeat.
Placing my ear against her muzzle, I looked down at her chest, using the two most sure-fire methods to see whether or not she still breathed. A small gust of air tickled my ear, and I could see her chest moving, the singed fur rising up and down in time with her airflow.
That was a good sign.
“Rainbow! Hey! Can you hear me?” I call loudly into her ear, slapping her face gently as I did. “Rainbow! Hey! Those uh… Wondershots…? Are here! They’re recruiting!” I call out again, trying to rouse her from her unconscious state.
“… They’re called WonderBOLTS, you clod,” Rainbow mutters weakly, bringing a huge sigh of relief out of me. “And for the record, next time we’re chasing somepony down, you can take the magic blast.”
“Fair enough,” I mumble, grinning apologetically down at her. “Now then can you walk? We should get back to the others.”
“Mhm…” she mumbles getting up on all four hooves and shaking her head a little. “Who was that guy? He sure packs quite the punch,” she said, rubbing her hoof over the blast mark on her chest.
“I dunno,” I admit, shrugging. “He was staring at me through the window of Fluttershy’s cottage, and I thought maybe he knew something about how I got here.” I pick up the cloak again, trying to examine it through the darkness of the forest, before giving up and starting back towards the shack.
“Wait… So you started chasing this guy down because he looked at you funny?”
“Well… Ya.” I say, guiltily reflecting on just how little that was to go on. “But you saw! He ran when I came outside!”
“I would too, if I was him!” She pauses for a second, before correcting herself. “Well, I wouldn’t but most ponies would! You’re an alien, James! You probably just scared him.”
“But then, what was he doing hiding in the bushes outside of Fluttershy’s place? Even if he didn’t know anything about me, he still could have been a threat to her.”
This stumps Rainbow Dash, and she thinks for a moment. “Well,” she starts, considering this, “That’s true. I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to ‘Shy.” She stops again, glances at my dirtied clothes, and then looks around at the forest. “Come to think of it, nopony really lives around here, except her and a couple guys down the road. He didn’t look like any of them, so what was he doing here?”
The two of us approached the edge of the forest, and we emerged, blinking in the sunlight. I’m suddenly painfully aware of all of the leaves and dirt that cover my clothes, and I attempt brush them off. What a shame. I had only just gotten them reasonably clean from the last time I wound up on the forest floor.
A little squeal snaps me back to the situation at hand, as Fluttershy sees the burn mark on Rainbow’s coat. She then turns and looks at me and squeaks again. I guess I took more of bruising than I thought when I fell.
“What happened to you two!?” The little yellow pegasus murmured adorably, and I could feel my heart melt a little bit. Rainbow Dash, perhaps because she was used to Fluttershy’s inherent cuteness, or perhaps because she was grumpy that her flawless coat had black singe marks in it, remained decidedly unaffected by it.
“Paranoid Pinkie here decided to chase somepony down who was spyin’ on him through your window.” Rainbow stated plainly. “I flew him down, but he managed to get off a decent blast on me, and got away. James nabbed his cloak though.”
I nod, confirming her story, and glance around as the others filter back out of little yellow pegasus’s home. “I wish we could have caught him though… ” I add ruefully. I notice Applejack looking up at the sky, and do the same. The sun was beginning to set.
Twilight Sparkle stepped forward, and cleared her throat. “James, I understand that this must be… Difficult for you, but we promise, we’ll do everything in our power to help you get home. Until that time, however, you need a place to stay. Applejack has kindly offered for you to stay in one of the guest rooms at her farm,” Applejack beamed at me again, and I felt myself grinning back. Out of all of these ponies, I had definitely bonded the most with her on the way to Fluttershy’s.
“I’ll write a letter to Princess Celestia tonight, and let her know about your situation. She might know about how you got here, and she might even be able to send you home.”
“Thank you, Twilight. I appreciate it. Thanks to everyone, actually. I’m really grateful for how much you’ve all done for me.” Turning to Rainbow Dash, I began blushing a little. “And uh… Sorry for dragging you into that chase back there.”
Dash stands on her two hind legs and performs and exaggerated shrug. “Meh, it was no big deal. Besides, it’ll make a great story! But maybe I’ll replace the unicorn with a dragon. And you might have to be foalnapped.”
“Fair enough. Well everyone, I think I’m ready to go when you are. And thanks again for your hospitality, Fluttershy.”
We all finished saying goodbye to our pink haired host, and turned to walk down the road to town. Twilight and the others fell into a conversation about the upcoming Summer Sun Festival, and I absentmindedly started playing with the cloak. It was a deep, rich purple with golden patterns printed all over it. If only I hadn’t tripped up on that root…
Suddenly, I was struck by an idea. “Hey, Rarity!” I called out.
The white mare looked back at me over her shoulder, and slowed her pace to walk beside me. “Yes, James?”
“Is there anything out of the ordinary about this cloak?” I asked, wondering what her professional eye could discern.
“Well other than the fact that it seems custom made, not a great deal, I’m afraid. Whoever was wearing it was probably quite rich. If you’d like, I can take it back to the boutique tonight and do a bit more research, though.”
“That would be awesome Rarity, thank you.” I hand it to her, and she levitates it in front of her with a look of slight disgust on her face. I guess she noticed the dirt stains I ground into it. Oops. I squint at it, and realize that one of the glyphs on the back matches the cutie mark of the pony I took it from.
“Hey Twilight, do you know what this symbol means?”
She too drops back to walk with Rarity and I, and looks at it for a second. Her eyes light up for a moment, but only for a moment, before her expression becomes grim.
“It’s an ancient Equestrian word,” she says. “It means ‘Discord’.”