//------------------------------// // Chapter One // Story: Sven Grimmok in: Equestria // by RadBay //------------------------------// “Hey, the thing is starting to wake up!” a young child-like voice echoed in my ear, along with multiple steps coming closer to me. I attempted to open my eyes, but lacked the strength to move a single muscle. My feared mind was to think that the current form I was in would be noticed by the public, and I don't believe they would react well to someone that looks...supernatural. “What is this thing? A freak from the Everfree Forest maybe?” another voice chimed in with a rude tone, which made my blood turn cold. Maybe they're seeing my cursed form right now? It was only a matter of time before the government was going to chase me down again. “Don't be ridiculous.” a voice with a leadership tone said sternly, “The Everfree Forest is on the other side of the town. And besides, Fluttershy witnessed the whole thing, but she is too BUSY to tend to her chickens to make sure none were in the coop when it crash landed right on the thing!” wait, what!? Crash landed? Did I end up somewhere else in the world? Must be, I've never heard of this Everfree Forest. “UGH! That explains why it's covered in cuts, bruises, dirt, and hay!” a posh-like voice also joined in the conversation. How many people are around me? Suddenly, I felt an immediate pressure on my stomach and chest, like someone's using the palms of their hands to squeeze me, forcing me to exhale and breathe normally. After which, a voice with a southern accent was heard, “Well, least it's alive. When it wakes up, Ah have a few questions that Ah need answerin.” “We all need answers, Applejack. We just have to be patient.” the leader-like voice replied. Applejack? Fluttershy? Where in the world did I end up in? I felt my strength coming back to me with each breath, which was more than enough to open my eyes. I opened my eyes, but I was still trapped in darkness. My eyes felt like they were covered by some sort of cloth. Hopefully I'm not held hostage. I managed to mutter a few words, “Am... I... blind?” I said with a raspy and dry tone. After I asked the question, the voices around me dramatically gasped, and heard people taking a few steps back with caution. Without warning, the most cheerful and upbeat voice was heard with a giggle, “OH! Why hello there! Of course you are blind, silly! Blindfolded!” I somehow still lacked the strength to take the blindfold off my eyes, so I made the best attempt to wiggle my fingers and speak, “Can someone... please... help?” There was a long silence until I heard a happy-go-lucky “Oh!” to the left of me, and heard someone walk over and take the blindfold off. Immediately, the sun shined brightly against my eyes, which made me quickly shut my eyes. Slowly, I opened my eyes, coping with how bright the sun is. My first sight was probably the most shocking moment in my life, up to this point. A small purple dragon was sitting on my chest, both of his hands on my lungs to wake me up. I continued to stare at him in disbelief. I thought dragons didn't exist? All made up for a bedtime story! This is impossible! And what makes it even weirder; he looks so... cartoon-like. When the dragon saw me staring at him, he quickly got off my chest and ran away from my sight. When I put my head back down, I was greeted with yet another unexpected surprise. A pink pony with a wild pink mane, and blue-eyed pony was staring straight at me, with the most unbelievable smile across her face. Her teeth were holding onto a party horn, “SURPRISE!” she exclaimed, blowing the party horn in my face. I must have made a concerned face, for the pink pony was pushed aside by a purple pony, with pink highlights in her mane, also giving off a concerned but annoyed look. She has a horn in the middle of her forehead. First a purple dragon, now a purple Unicorn!? The purple Unicorn spoke, “Pinkie, I believe that's the wrong surprise this thing is having right now. Look at how shocked and afraid he is. Now is not the time for your jokes and party gags.” the purple pony turned to face me, “I'm terribly sorry for the randomness, she does that. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and the dragon that was sitting on your chest is Spike. What's your name?” What in the world have I fallen into? Am I hallucinating? An illusion? My strength started to slowly come back to me, and I was able to sit up and speak, “Sven. My name is...” my mouth stayed open in disbelief, once again, to what I saw as I sat up. Three other ponies were a few meters away from me, with the fact of another off in the distance, tending a group of chickens and a damaged chicken coop. The ponies were of different colors. The first was an orange green-eyed pony, with blonde mane and a cowgirl hat. She has a few freckles on each of her cheeks, giving me the death stare, like she wanted to beat the snot out of me. The second one next to the orange pony was purely white and elegant, blue eyes, and her purple mane perfectly done and curled. What's more surprising was that she had a horn in the middle of her forehead, a Unicorn like the purple pony. She gave off the most disgusted look I have ever seen, in which I guessed she was probably the one that talked about my destroyed clothing. The Third pony was very odd, as she was a blue pony with what looked like wings on her side, presumably a Pegasus. The blue, violet-eyed Pegasus has a colorful mane of all sorts of colors that would make a rainbow proud. Her attitude was surprisingly calm. There was another pony that was way off in the distance, a very pale yellow color, with wings on her side as well, also appeared to be weeping. She had a very neatly made pink mane. She was also huddled with the group of chickens. I looked at the damage I've done to the chicken coop, which has a massive hole on the roof and side. I looked away in embarrassment and shame. My voice made it obvious I was shocked at what I was witnessing right now, “What... how... where am I?” I asked. The pony that called herself Twilight Sparkle quickly answered, “Why, this is Equestria!” she seemed pretty eager to answer my question. “Well this place doesn't seem to sound familiar.” I remarked, “Definitely not from Earth...” I muttered under my breath, “I'm Sven Grimmok.” I greeted myself with a half-attempt of a smile. The orange pony spoke up, which I assumed to be Applejack, “Well, the question Ah have in mind, is what you are? You certainly don't look like no pony, or anything that Ah have ever seen.” I looked at my hands and body, nothing seems to have changed. I still had the same short brown hair. My face is still normal than before, my eyes still bluish-green. I sighed, “I'm a human. Haven't you ever seen one before?” Twilight looked puzzled, “A human?” she thought for a moment, “No, can't say that I have.” she turns over to the other ponies, “Have any of you ever heard of a human?” she asked. All of the ponies exchanged looks of confusion, and then looked back to Twilight Sparkle, shaking their heads. I tried my best to look happy, but even that was hard to achieve, as I was still weak, “I'm a first, huh? Well what an honor.” I sarcastically replied and chuckled. Immediately, there was a sharp pain on my right side after I chuckled. Great, injured myself when I crashed landed. I set aside my black leather duster and lifted up my shirt to find a big piece of wood stuck in my right hip, blood slowly trickling down. All the ponies gasped at the sight of the injury. The white pony stepped closer to examine my injury, “Oh, my! You're hurt! We better get you some help quick, darling!” she exclaimed. Applejack took that as her cue, and ran off with incredible speed to get help before I could stop her. “Wait! It's nothing; I've had worse, trust me. I can walk. I just gotta...” I tried to get up, but as I set my right foot on the ground, immense pain shot up throughout my body. I sat back down, gritting my teeth, “Okay, so I can't get up...” I blushed, feeling humiliated. The response was unexpected. The rainbow-haired pony started snickering and then laughed. She kept laughing until the white pony nudged her side, “Um... you should rest. My name is Rainbow Dash.” The white pony took her turn of introduction, “I'm Rarity, and all of us seeing a human for the first time, I must say it's a pleasure to meet you.” she well-mannerly said. I weakly waved, and then I looked beyond over to the pale yellow Pegasus, now silently weeping, which caught Rarity's attention, “Oh, and that's Fluttershy.” I shook my head, “How can all this be possible? This can't be real!” Twilight trotted to where I could face her, along with the rest of the ponies. Pinkie Pie was slightly distracted, as she was still hopping around and blowing her party horn. Fluttershy still remained at the chicken coop. Twilight spoke, “Well I was hoping you would explain that to us. What happened before you woke up?” I was unable to remember most of the details, everything seemed to be blank “I... was fighting... my most sworn enemy. A Demon King named Vetis. I was atop his tower where he leads his henchmen to battle. A war between Earth and Hell took place across my world, as Vetis and I fought to the death...” I started to notice all the ponies, besides Fluttershy, closely paying attention to what I was explaining. Even Pinkie Pie stopped hopping around and was paying attention, her party horn loosely hung around her bottom lip. I continued my story, “I searched for him all across the world, as it was his little game he came up with. His little game was that if I managed to find him and catch him within ten years, he would have to fight me to the death. Winning the battle was important, and his death meant victory for Earth. I succeeded in finding and catching him on the second year. Of course, me being the good guy, I expected to win. But before I could land the finishing blow, he did an uppercut to my face, grabbed me, and launched me into the stormy sky. After that, all I remember was being entrapped in everlasting darkness. I thought he trapped me into his little prison for all eternity. After waiting what I thought to be an eternity, life was beginning to form around me, being stretched to replace the darkness. What I first saw was the sky, then the clouds, and then crashing head-first into land. And then here I am, explaining the story to you.” I finished my story with a deep sigh. There was a long silence; all the ponies around me began looking at one another, trying to take in what they just heard. The silence broke when Pinkie Pie rocketed up into the air, “What a story! I thought you would get him, but what a twist in the end!” Twilight looked at Pinkie weirdly, and then to me, “That is so terrible to hear, you being sent off from your own world to this one. Is there anything we can do to help?” I opened my mouth to answer, but I was interrupted by Applejack. Behind her were paramedics, “Ah got back here as fast as Ah could! Is he alright?” Applejack turned to Twilight. I answered for Twilight, “I'm alright, still got a stick in my side though.” forcing out a chuckle. The paramedics immediately went to work, using their hooves and mouth to attempt to get the stick out of my side to prevent further injuries. I gritted my teeth as they prepared to pull it out. Not out of pain, but out of fear I might... lash out, my non-human side unleashed, chains flailing out and everything. That's something I didn't want happening. As my thoughts traveled on its own, one of the medics pulled out the stick in the split of a second, giving me no time to react to the pain. Thankfully, my non-human side didn't unleash itself, and I was grateful for that. The medics patched me up with bandages, and went happily on their way back to their headquarters. For ponies, they sure knew what to do. And they didn't seem like the unhappy medics back at home. After a short while talking to the ponies, I've managed to get half of my strength back, and I stood up with ease. Before I could start walking, Twilight stood in front of me, “Where do you think you're going? I believe you have an apology to make.” she points over to Fluttershy, curled up in a ball, surprisingly still weeping. I took a deep breath of annoyance. I don't have time for this; I need to find a way out of here, and fast. Vetis cannot regain his strength, or else it means the end for my world. But the look on Twilights face assured me that I wasn't going anywhere without apologizing. I slowly walked towards Fluttershy. I saw her ears perk up, and curled up into an even tighter ball before I was even near her. I shrugged and began to walk away, but something clicked inside me. I looked at Fluttershy, her shaking in utter fear, her crying and whimpering could make the toughest man choke with tears. Even I had a lump in my throat. My mind told me to help her. I assumed she's very shy and easily afraid. I must take this approach very down to earth, perhaps literally. I slowly lowered myself down onto my knees, grunting in pain with each movement I make. I eventually made it down to where I'm sitting like a dog or a cat. I could hear Rainbow Dash in the distance, already in mid-sentence, “... Not only did he almost harm her chickens, but he's also something she has never seen!” I ignored Rainbow Dash, for I was more focused on helping Fluttershy, “Hello, your friends say you're Fluttershy, am I correct?” I said in the softest voice I could possibly do. The only reply I got was a startled shiver, but on the bright side is she wasn't crying anymore. Her ears perked up again. I assumed she's now listening to what I have to say, “Hey, it's alright, there is no need to be scared of me. I'm not here to hurt you or your animal friends.” she continued to shiver, but slowly uncurled herself, lying down. Her eyes remained out of contact of mine, “I just want to apologize for any damage I've done. For the chicken coop, of course. I just hope I didn't hurt any of your chicken friends, which would be horrible to hear if I did. Did I hurt any of your animal friends?” I asked. Fluttershy only gave a few shakes of her head, but now no longer shivering, “Well hey, how about I make it up to you? I'll rebuild your chicken coop, and do any sort of help around the place. What do you say?” I backed up a couple meters to give her some room, despite the distance between me and her was already a lot to begin with. She sniffed and looked at me; the saddest look on her face was more emotionally shattering than I thought. The sad look turned into a soft small smile, and she nodded her head. She slowly got up and walked towards me as I stood upon my knees, the same level as her, “Um... yes, you can help. If that is alright with you...” I nodded my head, stood up, and walked over to the other ponies. They all looked at me in disbelief. Twilight's face turned into an impressed look, “Wow, I've never seen anyone go down on Fluttershy's level like that. How did you do that?” I shrugged, “I've had experience with shyness back in my world, dealing with my kind that has a rough time coping with the world. Even when I was a little kid, I had trouble being open and out of my shell. All it takes is a little patience to get a shy person, or pony, to be open to you.” Pinkie, with her giddy smile, leaped right from under between Twilight and I, “YAY! Ya know what this calls for!? Since we have a new best friend here, I'm gonna throw the best party ever!” Applejack chuckles, “Pinkie, you always say that before you throw a party for somepony new.” Rainbow Dash also partook in the conversation, “Yea, are you sure this will be the best party ever?” she asked with skepticism. “Well DUH! The first human ever to come to Equestria deserves only the BEST PARTY EVER!” Pinkie shouted with happiness, and then hops away to prepare for the party. Rarity walked over to me, closely examining my clothes, “UGH! Where did you acquire such dreadful attire? Come by my boutique, and I shall make you something better than those dusty old hand-me-downs!” and with that, she gallops off to Ponyville. I look down at my outfit. My black leather outfit was utterly destroyed, torn holes everywhere, and completely dirty. The only part of my outfit that was intact and unscathed was my black leather duster. Maybe she was right, but I was almost afraid what sort of outfit Rarity was going to give me, probably an uptight tuxedo. I hate tuxedos. Applejack looked at Twilight, “Hey, why don't you show Sven around town, Ah'm sure he is gonna get quite a welcome from everypony there. Ah gotta head back to Sweet Apple Acres, those apples don't buck themselves, ya know! Yer welcome to visit anytime, Sven, maybe even help around a little, if you feel up for it! Ah'm sure you humans have some sort of special technique to take down them apples!” and she gallops off as well. All that's left is Twilight, Spike, and Rainbow Dash. I left out Fluttershy, since I assumed this is her place. Rainbow Dash began to hover in the air by her wings, “I got some cloud busting and some practice I need done. Hey Sven, you should come hang around, you seem like a cool person to hang out with!” She dashed off in the blink of an eye. With all of the ponies except Twilight gone, I suspected she's to lead me to this place called Ponyville, so I gave her the motion to lead the way. With Spike riding on her back, Twilight trotted along to give me a grand tour of Ponyville. Before I completely left the place, I looked over to Fluttershy, who is picking up the pieces of wood around the destroyed chicken coop. She then looked at me, a concerned and sad look on her face. I stopped, told Twilight I would be right back, and walked up to Fluttershy, “I'll be back to help around, I promise. Leave the work to me. It'll be done in a jiffy, don't you worry.” I said cheerfully. She slowly made her frown to a heartwarming smile, and walked into her cottage, and she shut the door. I then walked back to Twilight and Spike, and the three of us went over to Ponyville.