//------------------------------// // 5. Face the Chaos // Story: Face the Unexpected // by Hakuno //------------------------------// For the third morning in a row, Daniel woke up in a completely new room. This one was twice the size of the other two rooms together, and it still had space for a bathroom. The walls were grayish white with a golden pattern in the corner with the ceiling. There were some ornaments hanging in the walls such as swords and shields, and the night table beside the bed had a sculpture of a horse. ‘At least something here does look like a horse’. The bed was really big with dark purple sheets with red and golden patterns. He remembered how last night Princess Luna told him to use one of the royal rooms to have some sleep. He wondered if the blue alicorn was being really nice or if it was just that the castle only had royal rooms. And then he realized that he didn’t even see Twilight since his outburst in the throne room. He wasn’t going to apologize, he didn’t care if they were royalty. He had all the right to act that way since he now had to accept that he was stuck in a world filled with talking animals. There was a knock in the door and Daniel slowly sat up in the edge of the bed. “Come in” He said trying to make the tiredness go away from his eyes with his hands. The door opened and a light blue mare with a maid outfit entered the room pulling a small metallic cart with food trays on it. The unicorn gave him an awkward smile, politely bowed at him and turned around. “Wait a minute” The maid froze in her place. “I didn’t order any food” He said exaggerating the confused tone in his voice to not scare her. The maid turned to face him still with a small smile. “The princesses sent it” She said obviously trying to not make eye contact with him. If it was because she was told to do so or because she was scared, he never knew. Daniel smiled at her and told her to leave. When she did so, he stretched his arm and pulled the cart to him so he would be able to eat the food sitting in the bed. He sighed, preparing himself for whatever kind of pony food that was hidden under the trays. But when he opened one of them, his face lit up at the sight. It wasn’t exactly the kind of royal food he expected, just a stack of pancakes with butter and maple syrup decorated with pink petals. But what caught his attention was the bacon at one side of the pancakes; perfectly cooked and well sized bacon. He remembered that Big Mac had told him that ponies didn’t eat meat, but their allies such as griffons did. With a shivering hand he took one piece of bacon. It made sense, he was in the castle of the rulers of the pony land, if they were allied with carnivorous creatures, they had to have meat in their menu for royal visits. He carefully bit the bacon, and then he was in heaven. Daniel enjoyed the food, it was all indescribably delicious. In another tray were some fried eggs with slices of ham and toasts. In the third tray was a cupcake with the colors of the rainbow, and it was amazingly perfect, sweet and creamy but not too much sugar so it didn’t pall. Once the food finished, Daniel went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, it still amazed him that ponies had such things obviously made for creatures with hands. But he decided to not think much about it and just took one of the new toothbrushes. He wondered how he was going to pay for all that, but then shrugged. It wasn’t like he had anything better to do, not in this world at least, so he could just get a job or something and pay for the service. He walked to a chair near the door where he placed his stuff and put his vest on. The clothes were starting to itch for the lack of cleaning. It was annoying, but he thought that if he could make some money, he would be able to buy some clothes. After all, he saw that the ponies in Canterlot liked to wear them, so it couldn’t be that hard for him to get custom suits. He then put his quiver and bow in his back and walked to the door. Daniel was greeted by a gentle breeze when he walked out from the room, it came from a nearby window in the corridor. It was a really big window coming from the floor to the ceiling, though only a small part was open, big enough to ventilate the indoors. Daniel looked through it and saw the city below. “And now what I’m supposed to do?” He said muttering to himself. Even if Luna had been really nice, he couldn’t count that she would let him live in the castle, not after how he left the throne room. In his world, such attitude in front of a member of the royalty, or a politician for that matter, would cost him a few years in prison, or worse. He sighed, maybe he could try to get a job and rent something small, but Canterlot seemed to be the kind of city where everything was really expensive. He groaned as every thought on how to have a decent life in that place seemed to be impossible. Even if he returned to Ponyville, he didn’t want to bother the Apple family. It was winter and it was obvious that they had enough food stored to allow him to stay with them without any problem, but it just didn’t feel right. In winter farm work was at its minimum, even more if the farm was completely covered in snow. He just wouldn’t be able to pay them for a room and food. “Did you sleep well?” Daniel was suddenly taken back from his train of thoughts and he just couldn’t hide his surprise. He then turned around. Standing there with a warm smile was Twilight. She didn’t look upset as Daniel thought, she didn’t even look sad or angry. She was just smiling at him, as if nothing had happened. But after a full minute of silence, she looked down. “I’m sorry” ‘What?’ “I was so excited because I had the opportunity to study something that science didn’t even have the slightest record, that I forgot to even ask you if you are comfortable…” “Twilight-“ She interrupted him with a motion of her hoof. “You’re right, if we never figure out how to return you to your world, you would be locked in the library for the rest of your life…” She then looked directly at his eyes. “So I want to propose you something.” The alicorn smiled again. “You can still live in the library if you don’t have anywhere else to go, but you are free to go wherever you want, whenever you want” She made a small pause to take a deep breath. “But know this, I will never stop the research, and someday I will find the answer of how you came here, and how you can go back to your world” Silence again. Daniel’s jaw was slightly dropped, but he closed it when Twilight stopped talking. The breeze that came through the window made the alicorn’s mane move in waves, and somehow, for less than a second, Daniel thought that she looked beautiful. He then quickly leaned on his knees and hugged her. Twilight widened her eyes in surprise, but didn’t move. “Thank you” He whispered softly, and she lifted her foreleg to return the embrace resting her head on his shoulder. ~~~~~~~~ “So you’re not going to punish me?” The way back to the throne room has been silent, but it wasn’t awkward, it was actually reassuring. Now Daniel was once again in front of the majestic princess of the sun, who was looking at him with the warmest smile. “I mean, not that I’m giving you any ideas but-“ “Don’t worry, Daniel” Celestia’s voice was soft and tenderly. “It was a perfectly normal reaction, in fact, I expected a little more anger from you” She looked at her right where her sister was, sitting in a throne the same size as hers but with the colors of the night. Daniel couldn’t help but notice that it looked forced in the place, as if it wasn’t mean to be there. “And Princess Luna told me that she talked to you. She believes that you are not a bad person” It was obvious that she wasn’t familiar with that last word. “And I trust her.” Luna’s smile seemed to grow bigger. “So, I must ask, what are you going to do from now on?” “Twilight says I can stay with her at the library” The human looked at the purple princess and quickly turned to Celestia again. “I will find a job and when I get enough money, maybe I’ll rent something in Ponyville. I…” He bit his lip for a second, trying to find the proper words. “I… I don’t know what else I’m going to do… I suppose that my only option is try to fit in…” Celestia nodded and looked at Twilight. “Then I guess he is in good hooves” Twilight let out a nervous giggle, she really loved when her former teacher flattered her. Luna agreed with her sister. “Then I think you should be going back to Ponyville. But remember that if you have any question, you can always send me a letter and I will answer as soon as I can” Daniel thanked to both princesses and soon found himself walking to the train station with Twilight at his side. It was midday, the sun was trying its best to warm the air, but the snow in the streets made it rather impossible. Daniel was never a chilly guy, but as the minutes passed it was getting colder. He shivered a little, it wasn’t too much, but Twilight noticed it anyway. “Are you ok?” “Yeah, I’m just not used to this cold” He smiled at Twilight, who had a concerned expression in her face. “But don’t worry, the train has heating so I’ll be just fine” And it was true, but he wondered how long would he be able to endure the cold. If this world had the same rules as his, it was just going to get even colder at least in the next two months. And he didn’t want to prove his theory without proper winter clothes. So the first thing he was going to do was find a job and try to get the cheaper prices, at least a scarf and a pair of gloves would do the thing. Fortunately, the station was just a few blocks away from the castle. The train was scheduled to arrive in fifteen minutes, so they sat in a bench, Daniel carefully placing his bow and quiver to his side. They waited for just a minute, but it seemed a lot more for him, since the cold was getting worse. He did his best to not show it, but it really wasn’t that hard to see that he was shivering. ‘So I pop here in a snowy night and I’m cool, but in a perfectly sunny day I’m freezing?’ He didn’t notice that Twilight sat up and walked away. ‘I’m really going to kill the responsible of this nightmare’ And suddenly he saw a familiar pink glow to his right, he didn’t even have to move because it got closer to his view. It was a plastic cup with a straw. “It’s hot chocolate” Twilight sat down again in the bench. Almost unconsciously Daniel took it with both hands and the magical aura disappeared. “It’s not the best in Equestria, but it will help you nonetheless” Daniel took a careful sip trying not to burn his mouth, it tasted terrible. “Thank you” ~~~~~~~~ The Friendship Express needed two hours to go from Ponyville to Canterlot, but only one and a half in the other direction due to the position of the capital in the mountain. Daniel tried to have his mind busy with the implications of the height of the city and the cold. That way it was easier to ignore all the stares at him in the train. So the time went really fast and they arrived to Ponyville. When they disembarked the train, they were greeted by five familiar mares and a dragon. “So what’d the princess say?” Rainbow Dash was the first to talk, flapping her wings so she could stand in the air. It was amazing, Daniel grew knowing that only humming birds were able to do that. But then again, he still had to get used to the term ‘magical talking horses’ “She didn’t have a clue either” Twilight said with disappointment. “Then why she made you go there? Couldn’t she just say that in a letter?” “She wanted to meet him and make sure he isn’t a threat to Equestria” She looked at Daniel expecting him to frown at this, but he was just serious as always. “And as you can see, that’s not the case” “N’ whatcha gonna do Twah?” Applejack’s accent made the human smile a little. “Well, I’m still going to search for information” She paused and motioned a hoof to Daniel. “He will still be living in the library for the time being, but not so I can study him, but for him to have a place to stay” Daniel cleared his throat. “And I’d like to know if you can help me” Every pony –and dragon- turned to him. “I need to get a job. I can’t just live out of Twilight’s money” The lack of physical activity was starting to make him shiver, but he did his best to not show it, so he started to lean his body slowly from one side to another. “Any idea of where I should look first?” “I could always use an extra hoof-err hand at the boutique” Rarity said without even thinking too much. Spike narrowed his eyes and glared at the human, who still didn’t want to look at the dragon’s direction. “Dun’ get me wrong but Ah dun’ see him makin’ fru fru dresses, Rares” “I never said he would be making dresses, that’s my job” Rarity said putting a hoof in her chest in a sign of proud. “These days I’ve been getting more requests I just can’t say no to, and even with Spikey-wikey’s help there’s just too much work that needs to be done” She then looked directly at Daniel’s eyes. “Of course I can give you a generous compensation for your work” Daniel was hoping that Applejack offered him a job, he was more used to that kind of work than with sewing stuff. But since the farmer only raised an eyebrow and none of the other ponies said anything else –which he found really weird-, he just smiled at the unicorn. “Sure, though I don’t have any experience with that sort of stuff, I learn really fast” “Oh don’t you worry about that, darling” Rarity waved a hoof in the air. “I’m the one who does all the hard work. Now, I’d like not to waste any more time. Let’s go to the boutique and I’ll tell you everything you need to know” She turned around waiting for him to follow her. “You shall start tomorrow morning” The human blinked twice, if only in earth was that easy to find a job. He said goodbye to the other ponies and followed Rarity to the boutique. Daniel looked to the ponies in the streets, there were less ponies watching at him, as if they didn’t even know he was there. Maybe because it was starting to snow again and the ponies were more concerned about their own lives at the moment. He was starting to shiver again, it was getting really annoying. They finally got to the boutique and it was bliss for him. It was warm inside, not too much so he wouldn’t sweat, but just enough so he wouldn’t feel the cold of winter. “Hold on here, darling” She said and disappeared to another room. Daniel used this moment to look at his surroundings more consciously, since the last time he didn’t even want to pay attention. And he found the patterns in the walls rather interesting, not exactly his style since he liked more just flat colors, but it wasn’t unpleasant either. Rarity came back just moments later levitating a big piece of fabric. It took him half a minute to realize that the thing was actually a coat. “I finished it just a few hours ago. Your body is really similar to a minotaur’s so it wasn’t really hard to make it” She said with an obvious tone of pride in her voice. “Though I mostly make dresses for ponies, so it may have some things that require a fixing hoof” She brought the coat closer to Daniel. “I need you to put it on” Daniel took the coat, he didn’t realize that his jaw was dropped until he needed to move it. “I… I don’t know what to say… How much-“ “It’s a gift” Rarity interrupted. “You don’t need to give me any money for it.” “Oh this is just the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen!” Both human and unicorn turned their heads. Daniel just couldn’t grab the coat anymore. In front of him was the most disgusting thing he had ever seen. It was an amalgam of different animals. Every part of it was just odd, its tail, its feet, its serpentine body, its arms, its wings, its horns, its yellow eyes with red irises, and of course, its impossibly enormous grin. “Discord? I thought you were taking care of Fluttershy’s animals” Rarity sounded annoyed by the presence of the unexpected guest. “Little Angel bunny said he doesn’t want me to be his new daddy” Discord said with a non convincing sad tone in his voice. The amalgamation of animals made appear a stone heart in his paw and then the sculpture suddenly transformed into dust. “Woe is me! He broke my heart!” Rarity had a deadpan expression. “Why don’t you go whimper to Fluttershy as you always do?” She groaned. “Don’t you see I’m busy?” The draconequus suddenly appeared at Daniel’s side, making him jump in surprise. “Oh, but I do see it. You got a really good slave this time, darling!” He said smiling at a really stunned human. “He’s not a slave, he’s my new employee. And I really would appreciate it if you just leave us alone” Discord made his way at Rarity’s back, using her as she used her favorite divan, he even dared to put his paw in his head in a dramatic pose. “You are oh so harsh to me! What, pray tell, did I ever do to you to make you treat me like this?” He put a finger in her lips before she could even open her mouth. “No no, don’t answer that” The whole display was just too much for Daniel. Talking horses was one thing, but that… That just didn’t make any sense. Not only because of how it looked, but something on Discord was really odd, as if he was emanating a different aura. Something sinister, but at the same time playful. Discord noticed that the human was staring at him, so he appeared in from of Daniel, hovering without even flapping his wings. “Oh I’m sorry, where are my manners?” He extended his paw to the human. “The name’s Discord, Spirit of Chaos, Master of Disharmony and all that” Daniel looked at Discord’s paw, then at his eyes, then at his paw again. “I’m Daniel” He said and shook the paw. “I’m a human” “A human!” Discord extended his arms in the air, but then scratched his beard with his toes looking at Daniel with a thoughtful expression. “I never heard of that. Are you from a new breed of the minotaurs?” And for the longest time Daniel only stared at him. He finally shook his head. “Come on now, Discord” Rarity said with suppressed anger in her voice. “Fluttershy must be looking for you. You don’t want to make her worry, now do you?” Discord turned to Rarity with a goofy smile. “Oh I just wanted to meet our new friend!” He then slowly flexed his body to be eye level with the white unicorn and narrowed his eyes. “One day you won’t be able to use Fluttershy against me” He said in a whisper only Rarity could hear. “When that day comes you won’t annoy me anymore” She replied with a sarcastic grin. “And maybe I will actually invite you to a tea party” The draconequus fell silent for a few seconds, then snapped his toes once again, and the dust from the stone heart along with himself disappeared in a flash of light. “That’s an interesting... acquaintance of yours, Rarity” Daniel said after a few seconds of awkward silence. She sighed of tiredness and looked up at the human with a warm smile. “Well, let’s finish your coat and then I’ll show you what you’re going to do, shall we?” It couldn’t be more obvious that Rarity didn’t want to talk about Discord, and Daniel wasn’t going to push the subject, he still needed the job. He took the coat from the floor and noticed that he was holding something with his hand, the same hand he used to greet Discord. He opened it and instantly closed it. “What is it, darling?” Rarity said noticing his sudden movement. “Uhh nothing, nothing at all” He laughed nervously, which only made Rarity look at him with an eyebrow raised and a stern glare. He sighed in defeat. “It seems that Discord put this in my hand” He showed the unicorn what he was holding and her cheeks suddenly changed color to a bright red. It was a condom.