December 15
That was the most awkward party I’ve ever been to… All five minutes of it, I thought to myself during my morning routine. The events of last night ran through my head.
It was like they blamed me for Dash’s kiss. I tried explaining what happened (Dash passed out before she could), but they just told me to stay away from her. Equestria is not what I expected at all.
Hopefully today will be better. I’m starting at the café and will be making my own bits. Then, I’m meeting Pinkie at The Corner (my name for Sugarcube Corner F.Y.I.) for some kind of surprise. After that, I’ll probably find a history book and read up on the real Equestria before bed.
I decided to end my morning Tai-Chi early and make breakfast myself. Spike would appreciate it, and Twilight could see I wasn’t kidding about my kitchen skills. I walked into the kitchen and began rummaging through the fridge and pantry.
“What’cha doing, Shiro?” asked Spike as he walked in.
“I’m making breakfast,” I said rather bluntly. I mean, it’s kinda obvious.
“Oh, cool. Need help?” he asked.
“Sure, I don’t really know where anything is.”
Spike smiled. “What do you need?”
“Eggs, flour, buttermilk if you have it…” I listed off several things and the purple dragon rushed off to get them. The two of us began whipping up a storm. I mixed together some real, southern style biscuits, just like nanny taught me. While I did that, Spike began beating the eggs and adding the spices as I instructed.
The smell of cooking food must have filled the whole library, because soon enough Twilight came in and grinned at the sight. “So, we finally get to see if you can cook. Smells pretty...” She cocked an eyebrow as her gaze shifted to just above my head. “Where did you get the chef’s hat?”
“What chef’s hat?” I asked. I looked at a mirror hung behind the sink and, sure enough, I had a chef’s hat on. “Where the hell did that come from?” I asked looking at Spike.
Spike looked as confused as I was. “Dude, that wasn’t there a second ago.”
Weird, but fuck it. I shrugged and continued beating the eggs and poured them into a waiting pan.
After another few minutes I had laid out six fresh, fluffy egg and cheese biscuits. Nothing fancy.
Twilight looked at them with a rather amused expression on her face. “Sandwiches for breakfast? Now I know you’re nuts.”
“Oh, I’ve always been nuts, just not for the whole ‘other world’ thing. That’s still true.” She rolled her eyes. “What? Pinkie and Dash know it. Soon, you will too.”
“I doubt that,” she responded.
We ate in silence, but her face told me she approved of my morning ‘insanity’. “See? Maybe I’m not as crazy as you thought.”
“I’ll admit, that was good,” she said. “But sometimes crazy can be good, like Pinkie Pie. I still think you’re crazy, but at least you’re a good pony.”
“He’s probably a better person.” And Spike steps up for the defense. Sweet. That’s one more down.
Twilight groans. “Not you, too? It’s impossible to travel to other worlds.”
“And so is time travel, but you did it twice,” Spike said.
Yet another unknown fact. “Wait, twice? I know you went back once to try and warn yourself not to panic. Of course, past you wouldn’t shut up so future you could talk. Anyway, what was the second time?”
Twilight stared at me in shock. “How did you…? Never mind.” You would think they would be used to me knowing these things. “The second time, I forgot where I left my favorite quill so I went back to watch where I put it.”
“Glad to see the gift of time travel is being used for such noble causes,” I said.
“Thanks,” she said, completely missing the sarcasm, “but that was something entirely different.”
I just rolled my eyes. She was stubborn, and I would just be wasting my breath. Plus, I had to go. “Well, I’m off. I don’t want to be late for my first day.”
As I stood to leave, Twilight jumped up to walk me to the door.
“Now remember,” she said, “behave and keep the whole ‘other world’ thing to yourself for now. It could incite panic.”
“Yes mom,” I shot as walked out the lavender glowing door. Twi rolled her eyes and shut the door behind me. I chuckled and headed toward the café.
“I’m mad at you right now,” Rainbow Dash said, appearing beside me, making me jump a little, ice pack on her head and sunglasses on her eyes. “I have a hangover like you wouldn’t believe, and I blame you.”
I just smiled at her. “First off, you decided to down that moonshine like that, and second, I was told to stay away from you.”
“Yeah, the girls said I shouldn’t get attached to you ‘cause you’re not right in the head,” she said. “They just couldn’t believe that kiss was a joke.”
“You girls make it a habit of not listening to each other, don’t you? Y’all didn’t listen to Pinkie about the parasprites, y’all didn’t listen to Twilight about Princess Cadence,” I said. “Although the kiss was pretty nice.”
Rainbow’s brain took a bit to catch up to the sudden shift in topic, but she recovered rather nicely. I attributed her quick recovery to hanging around Pinkie. “Really? I wasn’t even trying. I guess it’s just another thing I’m awesome at,” Dash said in her normal bragging tone.
“Maybe we should do it again,” I said, wiggling my eyebrows.
“In your dreams. That was a one-time thing. I’ll catch ya later; gotta get back to work. See ya!” she said and flew up to take care of her clouds.
“See ya later, Skittles,” I called.
That little chat put a smile on my face as I walked the last half-block to Ponyville Café. As I walked through the door, a chiming sound rang out.
Whoever's selling those bells must be making a fortune.
“One moment!” cried out a voice with what sounded like a French accent.
“Ah, you must be Shiro,” a slightly pudgy unicorn stallion greeted as he stepped into view. He had a coat the color of wheat, a mane the color of milk chocolate, and a skillet over fire for a cutie mark. “Miss Sparkle told me you believe you can cook.”
“Well, my friends like my cooking, and I think I’m pretty good,” I replied.
“Then we shall see,” the unicorn said with a smile.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Twilight was reading a book on theoretical magic. She had been searching for anything that could hint to the possibility of inter-planar travel, but so far all she found was a few notes about unicorns who had attempted it and met with catastrophic results. She remained convinced about the impossibility of it.
A part of her wanted to believe him, but logic overpowered that notion. It was weird enough that he knew so much about her and her friends. His striped coat and slitted azure eyes didn’t help, either. He was different; that much was certain.
“How could he have kissed her?” she said to herself.
“She kissed him.” She forgot Spike was in the room. “And she said it was just to prove a point, though I don’t know what she could have to prove with a kiss. To be honest, it sounds like you’re jealous.” The dragon’s eyes narrowed and he got a cheeky grin. “Do you like Shiro, Twilight?”
“What? No! I mean, yeah, he’s kind of cute, but he’s not really my type. I just don’t think he’s right for Rainbow Dash, that’s all,” she said.
“Riiiiiiight,” Spike said.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
My first day of work went alright. I didn’t get to cook anything as I needed to learn how Souffle ran his kitchen first, but he said I would tomorrow. Since I was done, I decided to see what Pinkie wanted, so I headed toward the famed bakery.
I opened the door to The Corner. “Hello, Pinkie, it’s Shiro,” I called out, only to be assaulted by a suffocating pink ball of fluff locking me in a death grip. This mare was too damn strong. I could feel my ribs bending to the point where they probably should have broken.
“Hey, Shiro, you made it,” she said. “When did you turn blue… oh, sorry.” She released me to suck in a much needed breath of air and my color (or lack thereof) returned.
After I got some oxygen to my lungs, I spoke. “You wanted to see me for something?”
“Yeah, I was going to ask you if you want to be my date for the Hearths Warming Day celebration.” I was shocked. Pinkie Pie just asked me out on a date… I think.
“What’s the Hearths Warming Day celebration?” I asked. “I mean, I know the story, but I don’t really know how it’s celebrated.”
“Well, everypony finds a date, somepony you don’t know very well, and you spend the whole day getting to know them,” she explained. “You’re the only pony in Ponyville I don’t know very well, so do you want to go with me?”
“That makes sense, and yes, I would love to go with you.” A chance to hang out with Pinkie Pie for a whole day? No way am I passing that up.
“Great! Let’s go to see Rarity so we can get you a suit,” she said grabbing my hoof with hers and pulling me out the door.
Carousel Boutique was only a few blocks away, so we got there rather fast.
“Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, where…” She saw it was us as we walked in. “Pinkie, Shiro, come in. To what do I owe this visit? Let me guess, Hearths Warming outfits?”
“Yep-a-roonies,” Pinkie said. “Shiro’s going to be my date!” She threw a hoof around my neck.
“Well that’s good to hear. I’m glad you have a new pony to go with this year. Let’s see what I can do.”
We spent the better part of three hours with fittings and idea swapping. It took about an hour to convince her to forgo the jewels on mine.
After we finished, Rarity made some tea and invited us to stay. The conversation started on the weather schedule and new recipes of Pinkie’s. Then it drifted toward me, and of where I came from.
I told them about the same things as I told Dash the day before, eventually coming to the show. I told them about how Gil was called Gilda and was female, and how most of the more graphic moments were... would ‘cut’ be the right word? I mean, I’m still not sure if the producers are watching us through some dimensional window or if they just dream about us. Holy crap, will I be in the show?! Oh my god, that would be awesome! Ahem, sorry. Let me just, uh... Anyway, I told them about why people thought Dash was gay and mentioned that was why she kissed me.
“Oh my, I don’t know if I like the possibility of thousands of pon… people watching me, but I suppose if it’s edited for foals it’s not that bad,” Rarity said.
“I think it’s cool. We have fans, Rarity!” Pinkie said.
“That is nice to know, but it’s too bad we can’t meet them,” Rarity said.
“What are you talking about? You met one of them,” I said waving a hoof like I'm trying to get their attention.
Rarity chucked. “I suppose we have.”
“Oh, wow, it’s already dark. I better get home. The Cakes are probably wondering where I am.” With that, Pinkie shot out the door in a blur.
I stared after her for a bit before my brain rebooted. “I better go, too,” I said as I stood up to leave. “Thank you for the tea, Rarity. It was delicious.”
“Thank you for the company,” she replied. “And thank you for taking Pinkie out. It’s so rare for her to have a date with a nice stallion. Who knows, a lot of ponies find their dates to be their special somepony at the Hearths Warming Day celebration.” She gave me a smile and a wink.
I laughed. “I don’t think that’s going to happen. See ya later.”
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
I had a strange dream that night. I was walking through the forest, stalking a deer. It was totally oblivious to my presence as it lazily ate leaves from a bush.
Without making a sound, I circled it until I was down wind and crept closer and closer. When I was in range, I struck.
I burst from the underbrush and was on the deer before it had a chance to run. I latched onto its neck with my teeth and with a jerk, it snapped. When I felt its pulse stop I let it go and began feeding.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
December 16
I woke up feeling refreshed, and I was kind of glad to find myself in my bed and not in a meadow covered in blood. That would have been weird.
Spike was already cooking breakfast. We had agreed that he would cook breakfast and I would do dinner. Though I didn’t tell them that it’s because I don’t really know any good vegetarian breakfast dishes.
“Shiro, I’m glad you’re awake,” Twilight said as she came into the kitchen. “I got a letter from Celestia last night. She’s coming to visit today for dinner. Will you be able to make something extra special for her?”
My eyes went wide. “The princess is coming here? Is Luna coming too?” She nodded. “Awesome! I’ve never met royalty before.”
I thought about what to fix for a moment before I turned to Twilight and smiled, “I know just what to make.”
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
After work I went to the market with a few bits I borrowed from Twilight to get the necessary ingredients for an eggplant parmesan and rushed back to the library.
I spent the rest of the time before the royals arrived preparing the meal. Truth be told, I wasn’t worried about them not liking it. Considering the fact that they were used to eating food prepared by world class, five star chefs, they were going to love this. After all, five star food sucks, no flavor and tiny portions.
A knock came from the front door. “I’ll get it,” Twilight said before the sound of her hoofsteps trailed toward the door.
I heard the door creak open. “Hello, Celestia, Luna. Come in.” Apparently they were on a first name basis.
“Greetings, Twilight, we are pleased to see you again.” The voice sounded regal and powerful, but lacked the motherly tone I expected from Celestia. It could have been Luna, but seeing as none of them sound like they did in the show, I had no way of knowing.
“Dinner will be ready in a few minutes,” I called out. They sat in the dining room and spoke quietly.
After a bit I served the waiting mares, laying out several plates of fresh-off-the-stove deliciousness.
“It smells divine,” said Celestia. “May I ask the name of this dish?”
“It’s called ‘eggplant parmesan with dirty rice’.” At their wide eyed expressions, I cut off any possible questions. “No, the rice isn’t actually dirty, that’s just the name,” I said, and sat at my own place. I waited for the princesses to begin before I dug in to my own food.
I used all the manners my grandma whipped into me. I figured it was only proper. That, and to be honest, I was still afraid that she'd find me and put me over her knee. I love her, but she could be scary.
After we finished I asked, “Is anyone ready for dessert?” I received nods, two very enthusiastic and one more reserved, so I went into the kitchen and brought out four plates.
“What are these?” Celestia looked at them almost drooling.
“It's marshmallow in between two graham crackers and dipped in chocolate. They're called Moon Pies.” Luna looked especially pleased by the name.
After what probably sounded to outsiders like an orgy, the moans of delight ceased, and the Moon Pies were no more. With a food coma no doubt on its way to each of us, we sat silently around the table. Moving was out of the question at this point.
Celestia gave a content sigh. “Those were incredible. I may have to ask you to make more for me to take home.” With that I went into the kitchen and returned with an already prepared box.
“One dozen Moon Pies,” I said placing the box in front of the alicorn.
“I like this one,” Celestia told Luna.
“You favor anypony who gifts you with chocolate,” Luna said with a smile.
“You’re right about that,” she replied. “Now, Shirotora, forgive me for getting straight to business but we don’t have too much time. I would like to speak to you about who you are. My student has told me what she knows and now I would like to hear it from you.”
I figured this was why she had come. I told her everything that happened between my arrival and the whole knife incident. I also spoke a bit about Earth and MLP. She was in deep thought the whole time.
“Twilight thinks that it’s impossible, but I’ve always hated that word,” I finished.
“That’s not entirely true,” she said. “It may be possible to travel between worlds.” Twilight looked at her teacher in disbelief. “There are times that the boundaries of the worlds collide and become intertwined. At these moments it is possible to travel between worlds but it only lasts a few minutes and it doesn’t occur but every 1300 years.”
An icy pit formed in my stomach. I already knew what her next words would be before she even said them.
“If you are from another world, then I’m sorry,” Celestia gave me an apologetic look and brushed her wing along my side in a comforting gesture, “but you can never go back.”
As her words sunk in, I slowly backed away, as if putting distance between myself and the bearer of the news would make it no longer true. My back side hit the corner and I just collapsed. My heart was crushed. My friends, my family, and my home were all gone. I’ll never see any of them again. The thought was too much. I put my face between my hooves and cried.