//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1. Arrival 
// Story: Dimensional Shift 
// by SilverFlame 
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Dimensional Shift

Being pulled from my home dimension was both more, and less than I expected. Less in the fact that it happened almost before I realized something was happening, but more in the way of the blinding pain that left me crippled and unmoving for who knows how long afterwards. One instant I was sitting at my computer and felt a tug, the next, I was looking out at a forest before my chair fell a few feet and the pain hit me, bringing me tumbling out of my chair to the ground.

I heard some crashes nearby, the sounds echoing in my tortured skull, the light burning my eyes even when they were squeezed shut. The hard ground felt like an unforgiving brick wall and every breath felt like I was inhaling glass shards. Eventually the pain started to fade, replaced by a blessed numbness. The sounds had finally stopped and I carefully opened my eyes. The light was still blinding from the midday sun.

My mind hadn’t been playing tricks on me. I was in the middle of some woods and all around me were the contents of my room, scattered about as if dropped out of the sky. My computer desk was laying on it’s side, all it’s contents spilled about, most of them cracked, including the monitor.  The rolling chair was on it’s side, but intact, even the bed was here, the frame busted but the box spring and mattress seemingly ok.

TV, alarm clock, game systems, even some of the artwork from off my walls and a few of my swords that I bought for looks were there, lying on the ground. Even that stupid puzzle ring I got from my brother and an unopened bag of potato chips next to an empty glass that used to have water in it. I looked around at the huge mess that was once my room and did the only thing that made sense, I sat down on what was left of my bed and smacked myself, hard.

Nope. Not awake. And that had hurt. Shit.

Looking around the mess I spotted my cell phone, still attached to it’s charger. I picked it up and flipped it open, everything seemed to be working fine, and it was still the same day. Not even an hour since I last checked the computer’s clock. I looked around a bit before shaking my head. Yea, this place didn’t look like anywhere within a one hour drive from home, “So how did I get here?”

I didn’t really expect an answer, and after taking a few calming breaths I decided to do the smart thing and at the very least gather up everything important before it got blown away or something. Grabbing the chips and glass first and setting them on the bed I continued gathering. A lot of this would be left behind if I moved from here I knew. So a lot of it got shoved in the computer desk’s drawers. Some I just left there on the ground, like the TV and gaming systems. They were too big to store and looked to be already broken.

I grabbed my sunglasses, cracked in half and useless, and sighed. I liked those. My hat was nearby and I grabbed that too. Putting it on I tossed the rest of what I wanted to keep onto the bed in a pile and mumbled to myself, “I’ll sort it in a bit.” Finally I had the little dusty area cleaned up. It took a lot longer than I thought it would, the sun was starting to go down behind the tall trees already, and I quickly sorted what I had grabbed, racing the fading light. Thankfully I found my flashlight, and it still worked. Even had extra batteries. At least I wouldn’t be running around in the dark.

So here I was, lost, with no clue how I had gotten there, with all my stuff around me. I’m out in the wilderness and it’s starting to get dark. Grabbing one of those swords, it suddenly felt so very flimsy, like it might as well have been made of tin foil and cardboard.  I quickly grabbed the cover off my pillow to use as a bag and shoved everything I needed in it. Looking around quickly I tried to make out what direction to go. My only clue was that the forest seemed to be slightly thinner in one direction, so grabbing up the makeshift bag I started off. Hoping for the best. I had no clue what was in store for me or I might have just stayed in that clearing forever.

I never was one for just sitting still anyways. Right before I made it to the treeline I turned back and quickly set up a few of the heavier pieces of junk I was leaving behind to make an arrow pointing the way I had gone. That way if someone came back for me they would know which way I had gone. Nodding to myself I started off again, passing into the trees without a second thought, bag of stuff in one hand slung lazily onto my back and a flashlight in my pocket. The trees were widely spaced, and there wasn’t much ground cover, so it was an easy hike. A few birds flying off every now and then as I walked too close was the only real excitement there was.

Having nothing else to do and feeling bored of the scenery after a few minutes of no real change except the sun dipping below the treeline I started humming in time with the march, no real melody in mind, and it showed as the tones bounced all over the place like a sugar crazed kitten with ADD. But, it was a good way to make time pass faster, and before I knew it I had reached the edge of the woods again, and what I saw made me pause and go completely silent. What I saw before me at that moment made me start seriously doubting my sanity.

For right there, on the side of a huge mountain, was a castle. One I recognized, but only from artwork and a show I considered a guilty pleasure. Almost not daring to look I turned to the right a bit and saw a village, nestled in a beautiful valley. Again, my mind ground to a halt. This should not be here. This should not exist. My bag falls from my numb hand to the ground behind me with a dull thud, finally shaking me from my stupor. Looking over the town, my brain giving names to all the places that shouldn't be there. “The library tree, Sugarcube Corner, Carousel Boutique, I think I even see the edge of Sweet Apple Acres over there...”

Suddenly my legs gave out, dropping me onto the ground right next to the bag. “It’s official. I’ve entered crazytown. There is no way that this is what it looks like.” I pinch myself hard, but the crazy vision doesn’t even shimmer or anything. It seems to be quite stubborn about the fact that it is real. Which only makes this that much worse. If this wasn’t a hallucination or a dream, then that means either I had gone completely off the deep end and was in some sort of psychotic fantasy, or this was real. Both options horrified me quite a bit.

Either way, I most likely would never see my family again. If I wasn’t sitting before, that would have dropped me to the ground. I sat there, contemplating what to do when a warm breeze suddenly rushed up the small rise I was on. Looking up I saw the sun about to set and the grass blowing in the breeze, a lingering scent of sweetness coming with it from the village, Ponyville. I looked over the sleepy town, finally realizing where I was, Whitetail woods. Relatively safe. I could probably sleep here and try to introduce myself in the morning. It wouldn’t do to have some strange new monster walking into town at night and terrifying the entire town. No, there would be enough running and screaming tomorrow without it being dark. Giving a deep sigh I leaned back against a tree and pulled my bag close, hoping to sleep.

Little did I know I had already been spotted. One of the weather team had witnessed my crash landing, and of course had sent the bravest pony they knew to check on it. It seems they had just caught up with me after searching my landing site and the trees in the area. My eyes were closed when I felt another breeze, this one much stronger. Cracking open an eye to look at the sunset I instead met the gaze of a powder blue pony with rose colored eyes and a rainbow mane. I stopped breathing. This was not what I expected at all. Slowly I opened my other eye and slowly released the breath I had been holding.

I made sure not to move anything I didn’t have to as I quietly looked her over. She did the same. Her wings were flared and ready to propel her away at a moment’s notice, or possibly straight at me. Rainbow Dash wasn’t one for backing down from a challenge after all. Seeing no other options left I did what came naturally when you come face to face with a multicolored flying pony. “Um... Hi?”

The look on her face was priceless. Shock to confusion to anger and back to confusion. All in the span of a few seconds. After a moment more she tilted her head to the side and said... something. I had a basic idea of what she might have said, but it looks like there was going to be a language barrier, and truthfully I had no idea how to conquer it. So, I acted the fool. I gave her a bright grin and tried speaking again. “Hello.”

This time she seemed to get the gist of what I was saying, and gave a small nod of her head and a smile of her own. A small one, but it was progress I guess. Very slowly I moved a hand up, she glared for a moment and took a step back before thinking better of it and standing her ground, but watching me closely as I pointed slowly at Ponyville with a small tilt of my head, as if asking about it. She seemed to know what I was pointing at without looking and realizing her normal venue of yelling was out she stomped her hoof and shook her head no vigorously. Looks like I wasn’t going to town, at least not right now.

She pointed at me with a hoof before pointing at the ground where I was sitting. She repeated it a few times before I got the message. “Stay here.” I nodded and made a show of getting comfortable against the tree. Another small smile and a nod was my only warning before she took off again in a burst of speed that actually left a rainbow afterimage. I followed the trail to see where she was going and tried to keep track of her. Thankfully she was flying mostly straight, so it was easy to see her destination was the library. Seems I get to meet Twilight as well tonight. Lucky me.

I closed my eyes and tried to get comfortable. I didn’t know how long they would be, but knowing Rainbow Dash it wouldn’t be long. I was right, as just a moment later there was a flash of light visible through my eyelids accompanied by a pop. Even expecting it I was slightly taken aback as I opened my eyes and saw a violet unicorn staring back at me.

We both stared for a moment, neither of us quite ready to break the silence. Thankfully I was starting to get used to the strangeness of it all and offered a small wave. She seemed to take my moving better than Rainbow Dash did, giving a bright smile in return. Speaking of Rainbow Dash, she chose that moment to make her grand entrance, landing next to Twilight in a rush of dust and wind. Needless to say my wave turned into more of a flail against the wind to try to keep my eyes clear.

My hat got flung off in the wind and landed on my makeshift bag, finally drawing attention to it.  Being careful not to make any sudden moves, I grabbed my hat and put it back on before pulling my bag over, somehow, from just the few minutes on the ground it already was starting to look beaten up and dirty, as if I had been traveling a long time. As I did this both ponies watched me curiously.

I opened the bag, deciding to grab out the chips and try to make friends with a snack. I was kinda disappointed that I didn’t find Pinkie Pie in there, but then again, I almost expected to, and you can never really predict her. Grabbing the bag of chips and opening them, I made a show of eating one before offering some to the mares in front of me. Thankfully it seemed that my offer was understood, Dash came forward and grabbed some with barely a thought. Twilight being a bit more reserved grabbed one with her magic while chastising Dash, I guess for being rude or something. I just shrugged with a smile and leaned back against the tree again.

Watching the two interact made me a bit homesick. Sure, this was kind of a dream come true in a way, but it still meant I wouldn’t see my family for a while, if ever. Lost in memories I looked out beyond them, watching the sun go down over the sleepy town and realized, I really had nowhere to go here, much less a place to sleep.

My expression must have given something away because the chatter between the two dies off without me noticing and the next thing I knew I was being poked, relatively gently, by Dash. Looking back to them I noticed they both had a slightly confused look on their faces. My initial reaction was to just blow it off as nothing, but something made me stop. Their eyes.

Something about the way they were looking at me told me that they actually did care, and wanted to help. This shocked me a bit, I barely knew them, and yet they wanted to help. This place truly was wondrous. But how do you pantomime losing everything? No. That could wait. First things first.

I pointed to myself and said “I.” Might as well try introducing my language a bit as I explained. Pointing to my head I continued, “Was thinking,” next I made a show of putting my head on my hands and closing my eyes, “About sleeping,” and patting the ground I said “Here.”

This got a very confused head tilt from Rainbow Dash, but Twilight seemed to catch on and chattered at her friend for a bit. After a moment Dash flushed slightly and chattered back before repeating the motions she made to me earlier about staying there. Twilight actually covered her face with a hoof for a moment. They actually thought I was going to stay here because Dash asked me to? Before I had time to consider this further, I had two ponies trying to drag me to my feet. After a moment of tugging and a laugh from me I got up, grabbing my bag again. They smiled brightly and started back towards town, motioning me to follow.

It seems my night just got a bit more interesting.