//------------------------------//
// Musings of a lonely man 
// Story: Home 
// by Jazzaman 
//------------------------------//

	The chilly, early winter air bit into your skin as you walked home from the railroad station. You had just overseen the newest development on a prototype locomotive that you had a hand in designing.

Well less design and more sharing your knowledge of how a Walschaerts gear works to the ponies. Nevertheless, it seemed to be working and you would be able to live comfortably of the profits you would attain from patenting it to the rest of Equestria.

Equestria. You smirked at the name, such a strange land. You had never quite been able to wrap your head around all the oddities that seemed to be part of the natural order of things around here.

Grass grows, birds sing and tartarus opened its gates bi-weekly. That’s just how things went.

Despite this however, you couldn’t help but think that Equestria was easily the most peaceful place you could ever imagine. It was a far-cry from the dangerous streets of your hometown.

An audible sigh escaped you as memories of home flooded back. When you had arrived in Equestria (through some ‘cosmic anomaly’ as Twilight put it and ‘The Universe taking a dump on you’ as you put it.) You were afraid, scared and very homesick. 

During one particular week during Equestria’s version of February, the loneliness had reached a head, and it hit you hard.

The small guest room in Applejacks’ home had become a no ponies land. It was your daughters birthday back on Earth, and the thought of not being there to see her grown up hurt you more than any injury ever could.

Your heart ached when you thought of your little girl. And when you thought of your fiancee whom you had engaged to just a few months prior to your ‘accident’ you felt an immeasurable sadness overcome you.

That was over two years ago, and by the time you finally vacated the small room, you were met with nothing but warm smiles and sympathetic words from your pony friends.

After that, the six of them, as well as nearly everypony else in Ponyville had gone out of their way to help you through your strife.

It was only then they began to realize just how alone you felt here and how alien you really were. How you had no idea of the norms here, leading to more than a few faux pas on your part.
They all strived to help you out, to show you that you weren’t an alien, you were one of them.

A friend.

And in all of their own special ways the did just that. 

Pinkie constantly invited you to her famed parties but never once trying to single you out, allowing you to mingle with the other party goers, for once not being the center of attention.

Rarity... well she did try, she had insisted that if you wanted to be more like ponies, then you would have to disrobe. Seeing as wearing clothes symbolized power and authority. (Of which you had neither) And some ponies would think less of you for believing that you thought less of them.

        While it certainly made sense and was probably a good idea, you were just never gonna be able to shake that particularly deep-rooted human custom. However as you think back on it now, did you make the right choice?

A shrill wind picked up around you rustling your heavy jacket, the cold now becoming a tad more invasive, even through your warm clothing.

        Oh yeah you made the right choice.

Fluttershy, being the kind soul that she was, seemed to go out of her way to listen to you whenever you had an off-day. Which in the early months had been quite frequent.

Her calm demeanor, soft face and warm, soothing voice, helped greatly when you just needed to let it all out. To explain your plight to somepony. And Fluttershy was most definitely willing to lend an ear.

Applejack had been kind enough to let you stay at her house until you had gotten your own. Because you ended up living with her she became the one who would comfort you when you cried to yourself in your sleep. She would sit on the bed beside you, gently stroking your hair, lulling you back to sleep the same way a mother would a child.

Surprisingly she had also been the most accepting of your diet. While other ponies were put off when you mentioned you had a set of canines, she simply gave you a pat on the back.

“Stallions gotta eat, sugarcube. If you gotta eat meat I ain’t gonna judge ya. After all ya can’t choose who you are.’


That small sentence alone became your unofficial motto, when times became rough. And whenever somepony questioned you about meat that was all you ever said. Minus the Sugarcube part.

Twilight Sparkle had been probably the greatest help to you when it came to fitting in. Seeing as she was the one who convinced Princess Celestia to release you from Quarantine.

‘Whatever he is, he's scared, alone, confused and keeping him locked up in a laboratory, isn’t helping. What he needs now is friends. Ponies who can help him.”


It was undeniable that Twilights ‘lessons’ in friendship definitely paid off there.

Not only that, but she had also helped you learn of Equestrian society and history. Knowing as much as possible about the world you were stuck in had helped a great deal.

Finally, there was Rainbow Dash. A smile tugged at your lips as you thought of the rainbow mare.

She was... She was something else. 

When you had appeared, all the ponies, Dash included, were very weary of you. But the pegasus quickly warmed up to you and became your guide to equestria.

Where Twilight shoved your head in book after book, Dash took you out to see the world. She became the first pony to truly understand you, and the first pony you could call a friend.

The time you spent with each other became the highlight of the otherwise sad chapter in your life. When you cried for home she would be there for you. When she doubted herself, you would be there to hold her.

After your self imposed exile in Applejack's home, you discovered that she never once left the bedroom door. Standing vigilant, waiting for you to either come out, or let her in.

After that the two of you had grown closer. You struggled to recall a day when she wasn’t beside you. She even became the one to tend to you when you fell ill one Winter. Much to the protest of Fluttershy.

 It became quite common for her to invite you to one of her ‘air shows’. To wow all the small fillies who admired her, however on arrival to the secluded field where she performed, you never saw anypony else.

You voiced this concern multiple times to her, afraid it would bruise her ego, but she never once appeared concerned or even the slightest bit disheartened when you became her only spectator.

The shows themselves however seemed to change when you were the only soul watching. Instead of the fast paced, adrenaline fuel stunts she loved to pull, it was more of a slow, graceful, air ballet.

She would always look back to you warmly as she flew. Her landings always had that slight flourish at the end that you couldn’t quite place the meaning of, and more than once you swore you saw her shape a cloud into the shape of a heart.

The mystery only deepened when you spoke to Scootaloo one afternoon after school, about why she hadn’t been showing up, and you were surprised to hear, (Through the fillies small sniffles) that she didn’t know anything about these shows.

That was when it clicked into place, Dash liked you. This revelation suddenly turned your already wacky world on its head and threw up huge red flags in your mind about whether or not it was right to like a different species. And try as you might it was difficult to get some time away from her so you could formulate an answer.

Because of your crippling homesickness and the fact that Twilight wished to know more about you, A psychologist had become one of your biggest investments. Even though you spent a small fortune on him, the stallion knew what he was doing and helped you break through the mental filters you had put on yourself. Everything he said just made sense. And slowly, session after session you felt less apprehensive about a relationship.

It was during the upcoming Ponyville Ball that you confronted Dash about it. You needed to know how she felt, and if you we’re ready to start a relationship

In truth you knew you were. She lit up your day like no other, and she was enough to suspend the sadness you felt from being forced away from your family.

It seemed a bit corny now that you look back at it but that day was one of the happiest of your life. When Rainbow did end up confessing her feelings there were no fireworks, no serenade, no deep and passionate kiss like those god-awful romance novels would have you believe, it was just you and her, in one of the warmest embraces imaginable.

And so, you gave into her affections, and many a day afterwards was spent out with her. Not that that was much different to how things were before but now you could file them under ‘dates’ instead.

Another thing that the Romantic stories lied about was all the drama. There were no scuffs with ex-colt friends, and the largest tiff you and Dash ever had was over where to go to lunch one afternoon. Sure you got odd looks from ponies who weren’t as open to inter-species relations as Dash was but that never bothered either of you.

A few weeks later, when you had saved enough to purchase your own home was the first time Dash kissed you. It wasn’t anything too involved just a loving smooch that still to this day, almost a year later warmed your heart.

As you rounded the corner onto your street, you noticed that snow had begun to fall. Instead of picking up the pace and legging it back to your house you stopped and looked skyward. Letting the small flakes of snow fall and rest on top of your closed eyes, now lost deep in thought.

Dash really did love you long before she said it. You wouldn’t give her up for anything. Not even a chance to go back.

However one thing still nagged you. Your fiancee and your beloved daughter. While you had come to terms with the fact that you would never see them again it still hurt when you thought of them. Dash was a major factor in helping you let go of them but something about that just didn’t sit right with you.

Could you just forget them? Just leave and start over here? And not only them, but your family, friends, co-workers hell even your enemies. Could you just forget about the some odd twenty years you spent with them all?

No. You couldn’t. As much as it hurt, they were still very much a part of you. Those people shaped you into who you are now. 

The things we put behind us. Are the things that define us. You couldn’t forget them, but you could let them go.

And as if a great weight had been released from your conscious, you felt... Lighter.

It was finally time to move on. It had been three years, you were most likely presumed dead. And although they would have grieved, time heals all. You were sure your fiancee would have moved on, being a single mom wasn’t easy. You didn't feel remorse because of that though, after all, you had. Besides, your daughter needed a father in her life.

Your daughter would never know her real daddy, but that was okay. It meant she didn’t have to endure the heartache.

Your parents... well knowing them they would have keep strong, but deep down they would be hurting. You knew your mother probably had the guest room set up and waiting, on the off chance that you might return to your home.

Home. 

You paused at this thought. Was Earth home anymore? It didn’t seem to fit, the last three years of your life had been spent here, in Equestria.

In that time you had made friends, earnt more money than sense, bought a house and even found love again.

But could you really call this place home? Was it right? Could you choose Equestria over Earth? Ponies over people?

Was this your home?

You were so lost in thought you didn’t notice that you were already unlocking the door to your house and entering. There, sitting on the couch warming herself in front of the fireplace was Rainbow Dash. The pony who had forever changed your life. Upon hearing the door unlock she looked up from the book she had been reading to meet with your eyes.

“Hey.” She said warmly, fluttering over to you as you put down your jacket on the hat stand, wrapping her hooves around you, burying her muzzle into your sternum.

“I’m glad you're home.” She mumbled lovingly, not looking up from your chest, instead intent of burrowing further into your chest.

You wrap your arms around the small mare, reveling in her amazing softness and warmth. Taking the time to look over your living room, before looking back down to the mare you loved who was cradled in your arms.

“Yeah,” you say softly as you tighten your embrace around her. 

“So am I.”