Chapter 3 – An unfamiliar ceiling and new beginnings
Consciousness lapped at my mind like waves upon a shore. Sometimes it would crash upon me as cascading torrent of sensation, at others it gently came upon me and smudged its imprint in my memories, full of blurry shapes and disfigured sounds. Though, it always faded away in the same fading fashion – much as you don’t know when you appear in a dream I didn’t know when I faded into reality or illusion.
When I finally awoke, aching all over, I squinted directly ahead of me for a short time. I assume it was short. It could have been hours and I wouldn’t have known.
At the time, I had no recollection of the events that transpired after killing the manticore and announcing my victory, my memory left with a void.
The first thing that consciously came to my mind were the words unfamiliar ceiling. I must have made these musings aloud, as I then overheard someone saying “Quick, Fluttershy, ah think it’s waking up!"
My heart skipped a beat.
Did I hear that right..? Fluttershy?
Turning my head to look at whoever had noticed my stirring I gazed upon three forms.
The first one that my eyes rested on was a small white rabbit. Not small by a rabbit’s standard, actually from the way it stood as a biped it was quite tall for one of the Leporidae family.
A suspicious, for lack of a better term, expression seemed to be plastered to its face and its eyes screamed to me that I was constantly under their scrutiny. The motions to show that its eyes on me weren’t necessary – I got the message.
The next form was actually three fillies closely held together, glued by a mixture of wonder and excitement that was obvious from the collective glowing of their eyes.
The one on the left was small (like all three of them, actually) with a white coat, a curly pink/lavender mane and sea-green irises. There was also a horn atop her head but that didn’t sink in for several seconds. An orange filly with a pinkish purple mane along with lilac eyes and small, disproportionate wings flanked her on the right. The central filly, however, somehow caught my attention the most.
Her coat was a light yellow, contrasted but not clashing with her crimson mane which was topped off with a pink bow. But what hooked me the most was the expression in her deep, orange, windows to her soul.
The other two had a hint of fear as they inspected me but this one had an expression that cried out for adventure. They called out to the world I’m going to explore every inch of anything that catches my interest, and no amount of danger is going to stop me!
I recognised them well – they were the eyes that closed each night when I tucked my little brother in and told him a story to finally make him fall asleep. I didn’t miss him at that point, too caught up in my own adventure.
The final figure that my eyes rested on was a grown Pegasus, hovering a metre or so off the ground, covered pale yellow fur and donning a long mane of light pink. She had a determined yet inquisitive expression on her face, though this was betrayed by the tepidness in her emerald observers.
I looked at them for a second before shifting my gaze in hope of finding who called that name.
And then it all clicked. The wings on their backs, the horn on one’s head. The fact that they were the only ones there so only they could have spoken. And the fact that I recognised each and every one of them; it all, in one instant, clicked.
“What the bloody hell!? This can’t be possi-”
I had shuffled away from them instinctively and ran out of room on the bed on which I was situated. Falling for half a second my weightless state was interrupted when I landed with a *THUMP* on the wooden floor.
“Argh! Bollocks that hurt!”
I immediately tried to get to my feet but had to rely on my recently vacated mattress for support, not least because of the aching pain that throbbed throughout my body if I attempted otherwise.
Settling for being able to being able to sit up I popped my head up over the bed to find all of the figures looking startled but still where they previously had been, either frozen out of fear or standing resolute in defiance against the strange creature that I was.
“See Scootaloo, I told you it could talk!” squeaked the little white filly.
“Hello, um, excuse me, but, um… can you… understand us?” asked Fluttershy, slightly cowering behind her mane.
My slow nod was reaction enough, my head still reeling from the fall and spinning from the realisation of where I was.
It wasn’t a dream – far too vivid based on the manticore fight and other sensations. I didn’t recall dying; though having been napping previously I doubt I would. That left me either in a coma or having been genuinely and inexplicably transported to my current location.
I had to face it – regardless of what form of reality or ream of illusion this was, I was in Equestria. Fluttershy’s cottage, to be precise. There was no point fighting it so I thought I might as well just go with the flow, stickin’ to the status quo.
Hehe, that rhymes.
“Um, if I might ask, what exactly… are you? I-I-If you don’t mind answering that is…”
“Not at all.” I reply as I shake my head and smile, trying to come up with a solution to my current predicament. “And as to what I am, is a very good question. I,”
I gave a slight pause, though only to add to the tangible suspense,
“am a human.”
“What’s a hew-man? ‘Cuz ah’ve never met one of you before”
“Look out Applebloom! It could be dangerous!” shouted an evidently terrified Scootaloo, who to her credit quickly tried to recover her supposedly ‘fearless’ reputation by adding “I mean, eerrr… I’d fight you head on human!”
“You sure?”
“Definitely!” Her expression seemed more resolute that before but her bravado was clear for all to see.
So decided to have a little fun
“Even though I killed that manticore where you found me?”
“Even though you-”
The four of them realised what I had just said and gasped in surprise. Scootaloo made an audible gulp. I was about to crack up laughing but Fluttershy began to stammer:
“B-b-b-but why would you do such a thing?”
I thought about how to respond for a second or so. I only meant to have a little fun observing their reaction but I’d blatantly gone over the top.
“Well, firstly, I didn’t just kill it for no good reason – it did try to eat me first. I at least try to avoid harming things unless I’m provoked.”
The group before me visibly relaxed, but only slightly. I had still taken out one of the big-bads of the Everfree Forrest. Trying to diffuse the situation faster I quickly added:
“And also, I don’t have any natural weapons like claws or poison. So before you ask how, it involved sharp wits and a lot of luck.”
The knowledge that I had no inherent natural devices to harm them with caused them to relax even further, with Scootaloo releasing a breath I doubt she knew she’d been holding. Sensing that they’d calmed down a bit I decided to continue, though making sure to tread carefully.
“Now if I might ask a question, where am I?”
“Uhm, you’re in Equestria silly.” Was the quick and patronising response that left Sweetie Belle’s lips.
“Equestria huh? Well, never been here before. Guess I’ll need someone to show me around.”
“Some-what?” was the next quick response from the same white filly.
“Someone.”
“Ah think you mean somepony…”
“Ah,” I quickly corrected myself, “now that I’m in Equestria, I now do indeed.”
Leaving the inquisitive fillies with their confused expressions I decide to stand up.
“Wait,” cried Fluttershy, “we only brought you here twenty minutes ago! Your wounds haven’t healed!”
Guess I wasn’t out for hours then. Time really does crawl when you’re semi-conscious and bored, doesn’t it…
Requiring no great effort I managed to reach my full height without experiencing any pain. Deciding to check my sustained injuries I looked down at my bare chest to find it thoroughly bandaged, covered in strips of bloodied cloth.
Curious that I didn’t notice that until now I thought to myself. Then again, there have been more pressing concerns, like a TV show coming to life and me being stuck inside it…
While at my full height I observed that the three fillies each came up half-way along my thigh while Fluttershy, no longer hovering, reached the bottom of my ribcage.
No wonder they were intimidated, I must seem almost like a giant to them. That and I killed a manticore. Actually, the manticore thing probably takes precedence.
“So, um, if I may ask, what’s your name?” Fluttershy asked me.
“It’s polite to introduce yourself before asking the name of others.” I teased in response.
At this she became slightly flustered and a faint blush appeared on her pale yellow cheeks.
I already knew all of their names, of course, though as a new arrived alien it’d probably be creepy for me to have this knowledge before being enlightened by them in person. Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is to know not to put it in a fruit salad.
“Well I’m Appleblewm.”
“Name’s Scootaloo.”
“And I’m called Sweetie Belle”
“And together we are,”
Better brace myself for what’s coming next…
“THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS! YAY!” the trio shouted out in perfect unison.
The noise reverberated throughout the room and I swear the sound waves were actually visible. Those three fillies sure were talented at making a racket, that’s for sure.
“Uuuuuuuuuh-huh. And you are, Miss…?”
“It’s, um, Fluttershy.”
“I'm sorry, what was that?”
“My name’s Fluttershy.”
"Didn’t quite catch that."
“I’m called Fluttershy.”
"One more time?"
“ Fluttershy.”
I looked to the fillies to see if they could help me with the slightly irritating, albeit unbearably adorable, problem I was having.
“Hehe. She’s Fluttershy, and in case yah didn’t notice, she’s kinda shy.”
“I did indeed pick up on that fact Applebloom.”
The four looked up at me as if they were expecting something.
“Well?” Scootaloo inquired.
“Well what?”
“Well, what’s your name?”
I chuckled and responded “Well that is only fair seeing as how you’ve introduced yourself. I’m –”
My speech was cut short as I observed my reflection in a window across from me, on the other side of the room. My gaze was focused on my dog-tags, there for appearance only. They were dented right where the name was meant to be stamped in, probably damaged during my fight with the manticore.
I could be anybody… I mused to myself. I could be a fighter, a scholar, and adventurer. This is the world I’m in right now and nothing to do with the old one holds purchase. No-one knows me, or my name. I am a completely blank slate.
First things first, new name. I don’t dislike my old name. Actually I quite like It and find it quite fitting for my character, but this is a new world. A brave new world with new rules. So I’ll be needing a new title.
I racked my brain thinking of names I could call myself by while a blatantly obvious one stared at me straight in the face. I’d only done one significant thing in the time I’d been there and it had a name that coalesced with it very, very well.
“David. Call me David.”
I looked out of the window and my mind flashed to the sensation that I had when I first awoke in the Everfree. I had the feeling that something was out of place, and now it was plain for all to see.
The thing that was out of place, was me.