“Well, how about we start with this? Full name, please.” Twilight said, holding the quill to the paper with her magic.
Braxton raised an eyebrow at the slightly odd question to start off, but nonetheless shrugged and obliged. “My full name is Braxton Relius Carr.” He said.
Twilight scribbled the name down and paused as she read it again. And then again. She looked back up at him with bemusement on her face. “Relius?” She asked. He nodded. Twilight read the name again. Then looked back at him with the same expression. “Really?” She asked in disbelief. Braxton just smiled and nodded again.
Rainbow Dash took it upon herself to properly voice Twilight’s thoughts. “Pfft! What kinda stupid name is-- OMPFH!” Dash’s speech was cut off by Rarity shoving her hoof in Rainbow’s mouth.
“I believe what Rainbow Dash means to say,” Rarity began, throwing a harsh glare Dash’s way, “is that the name is very, er... unique, darling.” She said, flashing an off-putting smile.
After giving Rainbow Dash a moderately heated glare of his own, he turned back to Rarity and chuckled. “Yeah, so I’ve been told. It’s a family name.” He said, hoping that they would leave it at that for fear of having to go into some of the more... personal details of his life.
Thankfully, they did. Shrugging her shoulders, Twilight accepted the answer and moved on to the next question. “Okay then, let’s move on. You’ve already told us how old you are, so how about now you tell us a little about yourself. You know, your likes, dislikes, hobbies, things like that.” She said, getting excited about learning more about the human’s lifestyle.
Braxton leaned back on the couch and crossed one leg over the other. He put a hand to his chin and thought for a moment before speaking. “Hmm, where to start? Okay, well, my main hobby is traveling. In fact, you could say I’m something of a nomad. I can’t get enough of it! I’ve been around my world a couple of times over, but I’m still nowhere close to being done.” He said with a cheerful smile.
“Wait,” Twilight interjected, “you said you’re a nomad? That means that... you don’t have a home, right?” She said with a concerned expression. The ponies and dragon around her bore similar expressions upon hearing this, except for Rainbow Dash who honestly couldn’t care less.
Braxton waved a hand dismissively and chuckled again. “Technically, no. I don’t have a permanent home, but that doesn’t mean I live on the street or anything. There is usually a hotel or inn that can accommodate me during my stay at any given location, and if not, then I go camping. But believe me, I’m never without shelter.” He said. Twilight and the others seemed to accept this, but it was obvious that they weren’t totally without concern regarding his lifestyle.
Regardless, Braxton moved on to the next topic. “Aside from traveling, one of my favorite things to do is take pictures. I’ve been into photography ever since I was a little kid, and my travels only made that fondness grow. Every time I arrive in a new place I can’t help but take a few pictures as mementos.” He said. As he spoke, he unslung his red backpack and began rifling through it.
Finally, he found the item he sought. A large, brown leather bound book that he used as his travel journal. The book was filled with pictures from around the world, from India, to Moscow, to Hong Kong, and many more places in between. Each picture had a caption underneath detailing when the picture was taken, from what location, and what it was about. To top it off, on the cover of the book was a simple two word inscription, one that Twilight was quick to point out.
“What do these letters mean?” Twilight asked. “I can’t read any of it..." Suddenly, she gasped in realization. "Is this the language of your people?! Can you translate for us? What does it mean?!” Twilight’s eyes shimmered with excitement as her curiosity was more than a little piqued, and Braxton grinned a little at the unicorn’s eagerness.
That grin transformed into a slightly sadistic smirk as he remembered a similar conversation about a book he had with the unicorn earlier, and Braxton decided he would have a little fun with her. “Oh, well, gee Twi, you can’t read it? Well, that’s a darn shame, huh? Too bad it’s not written in Equestrian, am I right? Then it would be no problem for you!” He said with his smirk growing even more evil than before.
Twilight’s excited smile dropped and her shoulders sagged. “W...W-What are you saying?!” She asked fearfully.
Braxton turned the book over repeatedly in his hand and said, “I’m saying that it’s not so much fun when the language barrier shoe is on the other hoof, now is it? Maybe I should just let you figure out what this says on your own...” He waved the book in front of Twilight’s face teasingly, causing her to bite her lip with anxiety.
“N-No, please!” Twilight begged, “I-I have to know, I’ll do anything! I’ll even teach you to read Equestrian if you want! Just please, you have to tell--” Twilight was cut off by a sudden laugh from Braxton.
“Hohohahaha! Relax, Twilight, I’m just messing with you! Of course I’ll tell you! No need to get your tail in a twist, girl.” He said with wry grin replacing his previously sinister smirk.
Twilight looked a little embarrassed at her outburst, with her purple cheeks taking on a red tint. “Hehehe... right. I-I knew that, I was just... playing along! Yeah, that’s it...” She said, smiling sheepishly.
Braxton’s grin only got wider as Twilight’s blush grew. “Alright, Twi, whatever you say.” He said, leading the unicorn to furrow her brow and pout. Applejack and Pinkie Pie could be heard giggling behind her, but they were quickly silenced by a glare from the lavender mare. “Anyway,” Braxton continued, “To answer your question, no, this isn’t English, but a language that English is heavily derived from, Latin. The inscription reads ‘Carpe Diem’,” He pointed to each word respectively as he said them, “and that means to ‘seize the day’.” Twilight wrote all of this down without missing a beat, while Applejack raised an eyebrow questioningly.
“‘Seize the day’? What the heck’s that s’posed to mean?” Applejack asked.
Twilight answered on Braxton’s behalf. “It essentially means to live life to the fullest, Applejack. Not a bad motto to live by, I must say.” She said with approval.
“Okay, that’s all fine and dandy, Twi. But why is Carp whatever on the cover a’ that book?” She asked Braxton, turning the group’s attention back to him.
“It’s very simple, my dear Applejack. This is my travel journal. It contains pictures from all across my world, as well as details about them. I just figured that ‘Carpe Diem’ would be an appropriate phrase to slap on the cover, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Ooh, ooh! If that book’s full of pictures from your world, do you mind if we take a look? Oh, pretty please with extra sprinkles on top?!” Pinkie asked merrily, bouncing up and down with glee.
The others muttered much calmer words of agreement as they gazed at the journal with curiosity. Braxton shrugged and said, “If you all are really that curious, then sure I’ll show you.” He opened the book and began flipping through the pages. “Let me just find an interesting one for you all... Ah! Here we go, a classic!” Braxton held the book out for all to see, and they bunched in close to get a good view. The ponies and dragon gasped at what they saw, as they had never seen anything quite like it.
“Whoa, look at all those billboards and ads!” Spike exclaimed.
“I know! There’s so many pretty lights and colors! It looks like one big party!!” Pinkie cheerfully pointed out.
“And just look at all of the hustle and bustle! It’s almost as busy as Canterlot! And, those are more humans, correct? Why, they all look just like you, Braxton!” Rarity said, infatuated by the scene laid out before her.
“So, you gonna tell us what we’re looking at, or what?” Dash said, masking her mild interest with indifference.
“This, Dash, is a place known as Times Square, located in the very heart of Manhattan, one of the boroughs of New York City.” He said proudly.
In almost perfect unison, the ponies shifted their eyes away from the picture and looked at Braxton like he had just spoken in an alien language. “Uhm, I think you mean ‘Manehattan’ and ‘New Yoke City’, don’t you?” Twilight said, raising an eyebrow.
Now it was Braxton’s turn to look at her funny. “...Nooo, I meant what I said. It’s Manhattan and New York City.” He said.
Applejack shook her head. “Maybe where ya’ll come from, sugarcube, but in these parts, it’s Manehattan. Ah should know, Ah spent some time there when Ah was young’un.” She said.
‘Huh. That’s one hell of a coincidence.’ Braxton thought, shrugging. “Alright, well, what do you say move on to another photo?” He said, flipping through the journal.
He came upon another he thought they would enjoy, one with a lot of history behind it. “Okay, how about these ones?” The ponies gathered around and almost immediately let out a chorus of “oohs” and “aahs”. The pictures in front of them were filled with old looking castle-architecture juxtaposed with newer, sleeker technology, and the focal point of one of the pictures was a statue of a man in green garb holding a bow and arrow.
“My, my, who’s this sharply-dressed gentlecolt?” Rarity said, admiring the statue.
Braxton smiled and said, “That, Rarity, is folklore hero Robin Hood, and this is his home city of Nottingham.”
Once again, the ponies and dragon looked at him strangely. “Er, darling, I do believe you mean Robin Hoof of Trottingham, right? Why, I’m proud to say that I own nearly every novel chronicling his adventures! Oh, the drama, the romance, the swashbuckling heroism, it’s simply divine!” Rarity continued to gush about Robin Hoof and his band of Merry Mares, but Braxton had long since tuned her out.
‘Wait a minute. Manehattan, New Yoke City, Trottingham, and Robin Hoof? ...No. No, it can't be. There’s no way that can be a coincidence!’ Braxton thought, flipping once again to another page.
“How about this one?” Braxton said, cutting Rarity off. The picture this time was of a large hill where the word ‘HOLLYWOOD’ was spelled out in giant, white letters.
Rainbow Dash pointed to the sign and exclaimed, “Hey, that looks just like the Applewood sign!” Braxton clenched his teeth in frustration and flipped to another page.
“What about this? Las Vegas?” Braxton said.
“Ya mean Las Pegasus? Hoo boy, that place sure is a hoot and a half!” Applejack declared.
Braxton furrowed his brow and turned to another page, his irritation steadily growing. “Okay, this one! Saudi Arabia!” He said, holding out the picture.
“You mean Saddle Arabia, dear.” Rarity corrected again.
“No, I mean... ugh, fine! How about... Frankfurt, Germany?” Braxton held out another picture and grinned, thinking he’d stumped them this time.
“Close, but it’s Flankfurt, Germaney here.” Twilight said.
Braxton’s eye twitched and his grin drooped into an annoyed scowl as he found yet another page. “Grrr, alright! Glasgow!” He said.
“Glascow, dude.” Spike said.
“Oh, you gotta be... Niagara Falls?!” Braxton tried desperately.
“Ooh, I like this game! Wait, wait, don’t tell me! You mean Neighagara Falls, am I right?!” Pinkie guessed.
“AARRGGH!” Braxton shouted, startling the ponies. He clapped his journal shut in frustration and said, “C’mon, you can’t be serious! Is every location in this world just a version of mine but with a ridiculous pony pun slapped on it?!” As he said this, the group around him took on offended expressions.
“Ridiculous?! I’ll have you know that those are some of Equestria’s greatest landmarks!” Rarity scolded.
“Yeah, Rarity’s right! How would you like it if we said that you're world’s places was copyin’ ours, but with some silly human spin put on ‘em?” Applejack added, pointing an accusing hoof at Braxton.
Braxton sighed heavily and returned his journal back to the backpack resting at his feet. “Alright, look, you’re right. I shouldn’t have belittled your country like that. It was uncalled for and I’m sorry." He sighed again. "Let’s just forget about the journal for now, okay? Is there anything else you wanted to ask me, Twilight?” He asked.
The ponies seemed to accept his apology as their expressions quickly softened. Twilight looked over her notes again and said, “Well, in your pictures I noticed a few... strange things. For example, in the first one you showed us, there were so many lights that it looked almost blinding. Why do your people feel the need to light so many candles?”
Braxton’s face broke into a wide grin as he fought the urge to laugh at the lavender unicorn. After pushing down the giggles, Braxton spoke. “Uhm, those weren’t candles, Twilight. They were lightbulbs.” The ponies stared at him blankly.
“...You know, hanging fixtures? Neon lights?” Still blank stares from the group.
“...Electricity?” A chorus of comprehending noises came from the ponies as they finally caught on with what he was saying.
“But wait,” Twilight said, “How did you manage to harness so much electricity? Can your people control the weather like pegasi can?” She asked with curiosity.
“No, we can’t. We make our own electricity. Also, pegasi control the weather here?” Braxton asked, confused.
Spike nodded. “Yep! In fact, Rainbow Dash here is our head weather manager here in Ponyville!” He said, praising the mare.
“Heh! You better believe it! And not only that, but I’m the fastest flyer in all of Equestria! I can clear rainclouds up in ten seconds flat and I’m the only pegasus to ever pull off a Sonic Rainboom!” She announced, never one to miss an opportunity to brag. She flew right into Braxton’s face wearing a smug grin. “Jealous?” She asked him.
Braxton gave her a deadpan look before letting loose an exaggerated yawn, which greatly annoyed Rainbow Dash. “Not really.” He said. “If this ‘Sonic Rainboom’ is anything like a regular sonic boom, then we have some flying machines called airplanes from my world that can actually do double that. In fact, there was one human who did it on his own, without the aid of one of those machines.” He said, now wearing a smug grin of his own. He heard the sound of impressed mutters from the group, except Rainbow who continued to scowl at him.
‘Of course, he was basically dropped from orbit, but still.’ Braxton thought.
“Wow! So you have flying machines in your world, as well?” Twilight asked, amazed.
Braxton nodded. “Of course we do. How do think I got to all of the places in my journal? Walking? Hohohaha!” Braxton chuckled at the notion.
“Braxton, your world sounds like a bastion of technological achievements!” Twilight said, still writing everything down. Suddenly, she stopped writing and donned a contemplative look.
“Is, uh, everything alright, Twi?” Braxton said after a moment.
Twilight looked up from her notes and nodded. “Yes, everything’s fine. It’s just... well, this may be a long shot, but... do you happen to have any pieces of technology from your world with you now?" She asked hopefully.
Braxton leaned back and thought for a moment, before realizing that he did, in fact, have what Twilight was after. “As a matter of fact, Twilight,” He said, digging into his duster pocket, “I do!” He finished as he pulled out a black, rectangular object.
Twilight’s eyes sparkled with excitement upon seeing the object, but the others just looked at it with dumbfounded expressions.
“...Okay, so what’s it do? It just looks like a hunk of plastic to me.” Spike said, disappointed.
“Spike! This is no simple ‘hunk of plastic’! This is an incredibly sophisticated piece of alien technology!” Twilight berated the young drake.
“It does kinda look like a hunk of plastic.” Rainbow Dash said.
“Yeah, Ah gotta agree with Dash an’ Spike on this one, Twi.” Applejack concurred.
Braxton said nothing, opting instead to let the object speak for itself. He pressed the ‘ON’ button on the side and let the ponies watch as the device lit up. The screen displayed the animated welcoming image as the group gathered around, mouths slightly open in amazement.
“W...What is it?” Rarity asked in astonishment.
Braxton smiled and said, “This... is a cell phone.”
Over the course of the next twenty minutes, Braxton showed them the ins and outs of the device, from the touchscreen, to the numerous apps, and even some of the music he had stored. After he was done the ponies were even more in awe than before.
“Well, that was somethin’ else.” Applejack said, those being the only words she could think of to describe what she had just witnessed.
“I know, right!” Pinkie exclaimed, “I really liked some of the games! Especially the one with the birds and the slingshot! You know, where they hit the pigs? That was so funny!” She let out one of her signature giggles, punctuated by a small snort at the end that Braxton found utterly adorable.
“Yeah, and that music was awesome! What did you call that again? Heavy Metal or something? It was great! Right, Rarity?” Spike asked, still rocking out to it in his head.
“Hmm, yes, well I much preferred the more classical pieces, thank you very much.” Rarity said, giving her elegant mane a toss.
Spike went wide-eyed for a moment before saying, “O-Oh, uh, yeah! Me too! Sooo much better!” The other ponies rolled their eyes at the young dragons attempts to win over his crush.
‘Heh, so that’s how it is, huh? Little guy’s got a thing for classy ladies. Well, best of luck to you, pal. You’re gonna need it.’ Braxton thought with a smirk.
Braxton looked at the time on his phone again. ‘What the hell? It’s still reading 12:00 A.M.? Ugh, now I know this thing’s busted.’ He thought angrily.
Twilight noticed the angry glare he was giving his phone. “Braxton? Is something wrong?” She asked him.
He looked at her and nodded. “Yeah. I think the time on my phone is glitching on me. It’s not working right.” He said with a frown.
Twilight smiled as she got an idea. “Oh, is that all? I can fix that easily!” She said with confidence.
“Really? You can fix this?” He asked tentatively.
She nodded. “Sure! I have a time altering spell I designed to set the clocks around the library. All I have to do is apply that spell to your phone and it’ll be good as new!” Twilight said.
Braxton still wasn’t fully convinced. “You sure about this, Twi? I mean, this is a lot more complex than a clock.” He told her.
“I’m positive! Don’t worry, magic is my special talent, after all.” She turned to the side to show off her cutie mark, a purple six-pointed star with five white stars around it.
Braxton recalled back in the woods that Sweetie had mentioned cutie marks, and said that they represented what a pony was the best at in life. At the same time, he realized that the ponies around him all, indeed, had cutie marks of their own. ‘How the heck did I miss that? I guess I just wasn’t paying too much attention to their flanks.’ He thought, making a mental note to ask them all about their own cutie marks later on.
Turning his attention back to Twilight, Braxton shrugged and sat the phone on the coffee table, figuring that there was no better pony to trust with magic than one whose special talent is magic.
Twilight’s horn lit up with her usual lavender aura, and that same aura soon engulfed the phone as well. Twilight closed her eyes in concentration as the glow around her horn and the phone grew. Then, there was a flash of light, and when they all opened their eyes again the glow was gone.
The phone sat on the table like nothing had ever happened. “Did it... did it work?” Braxton asked.
“I think so. Go on, try it out.” Twilight said encouragingly.
Braxton reached over to grab the phone, but just as he was about to touch it, the phone released a small spark of electricity. Braxton jerked his hand back and stared at the phone. When nothing else happened, he reached for it again. This time, the phone gave off two sharp sparks. And then three. Then, multiple sparks started flying off the device. The group backed away from the phone as it discharged more and more, before finally coming to a sudden stop. The room was deathly quiet as they all stared at the phone in stunned silence.
“...I think that--” Twilight started, but was cut off by a loud...
*BOOOOOM!!!!*
The phone on the table had exploded, erupting in to a miniature mushroom cloud of smoke and plastic bits. After the explosion had died down, the only thing left of the phone was a rectangular piece of rubble with a smoking crater in the middle.
The room was dead silent once again as none of them knew what to say or do. They just stared at the once functional device with blank expressions. As the last bits of plastic rained from the sky onto the table, one voice spoke up to say what they were all thinking.
“...Well. That’s a shame.” Braxton said.