Myth
The pony named Rainbow Dash continued to stare at me with determined caution from her little cloud. I can't describe how annoying it was, but I'm going to try. It's like when a fly lands on your face, and you swat at it, telling it to piss off, but it continues on and on to land on your face. I don't pose any kind of threat to her friend, Fluttershy, and wouldn't even think about harming her after she helped me for no reason. But this stubborn, multicolored horse continues to land on my face. I had just about enough of it. I stood to my feet, and casually walked inside, doing my best to ignore Rainbow Dash. I moved towards the center of the living room. There was a nice selection of books placed inside of a neat bookshelf. Being the curious man I am, I decided to take a look. "Let's see. We got... books about animals. And here I was hoping for some Stephen King." I sat down on the floor, legs crossed, disappointed that I had absolutely nothing to do. The animals around the place crowded around me with curious eyes. I have never been a animal person, nor will I ever be, but I didn't seem to mind them. As long as they don't get there nasty muddy paws on my very expensive coat, they would be easy to ignore. "Speaking of which, where is the rest of my equipment?" I got a little scared. I may have not remembered how I got here, but I always bring my equipment with me wherever I go. Always. If Fluttershy found my staff, she must've found the rest of my stuff too. Something also told me that innocent pegasus has never seen a gun before, and therefore, she could accidentally hurt herself or someone else. I needed to find them before that happened. I spontaneously stood to my feet, scaring some of the animals that crowded around me. I almost ran up the stairs in fear of one of the animals shooting themselves if she placed it some easily accessible. The first place I went to investigate was the room I woke up in. I searched to room, but also tried to be respectful to the items here. I also didn't go through the drawers since that would be a huge invasion of privacy. I search the corners, under the bed, under the dressers, and even behind the dressers. I couldn't find anything. Sighing heavily, I was just about to give up on this room before I noticed the closet. I thought for a moment, debating whether it is a good idea to check inside of it, or that is was an invasion of privacy. I made a decision. "Just look to see if my stuff is in there, then get out." Quickly, I grabbed the handle on the door. I counted to myself, just to to fill me with a little suspense. I turned the knob, open the door, and sure enough, my equipment was sitting on the floor on top of a cloth sheet. Sighing in relief, I took the corners of cloth, and used it to wrap up my items. I slid out of the closet, as happy as I could be, until I was face to face with that Rainbow Dash pony. She looked very pissed off at me.
"What the hay do you think you're doing?" She snarled. If looks could kill, then I would've have been ripped limb from limb.
"I am collecting my items."
"Your items?"
"As a matter of fact, yes." I moved pass her to the bed, and carefully placed the cloth wrap on top of the sheets. "See?" I pointed to my stuff to prove that they were mine. I doubted that Fluttershy owns a gun "How did you even get in here?" Dash pointed towards the now opened bedroom window. I smiled a bit to annoy her. "You know that's breaking and entering. Right, Skittles?" There was a slight redness of anger under the cyan fur on her face.
"Oh, you are soooo gonna get it." She braced herself to charge at me. I sighed in annoyance. I needed to ended this. One enemy here is one too many.
"Look, I'm sorry. Seriously I am, but can you look at this in my perspective?" She looked like she was ignoring me, but I continued. "I somehow ended up here, and I don't remember how. I just want to go back home, and I guess I was lucky enough to find someone who could. Now if you just be patient, I could talk to this Twilight person, and if she can help me, then I can get out of your hair. So, in a way, we could both benefit from getting me help to get home." I smiled, and held out my hand for a handshake. "What do you say? Let's be friends until I get home, then we could forget each other forever. Deal?" I outstretched my hand waiting for a response. She looked at my hand suspiciously, before rolling her eyes as she made her decision. She placed a hoof in my hand.
"Deal." She twitched when I clasp my fingers around her hoof, but relaxed after I started shaking it. I smiled in relief.
"Daemon Mercer, by the way."
"Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in Ponyville." She said with a prideful smile. I let go of her hoof and decided to go outside to relax in the warm sun again. "And what does "Skittles" mean, exactly?" She asked with a little anger in her voice. I chuckled.
"Skittles is a an assortment of multicolored candies back where I live." I grabbed the cloth and made my way down the stairs. Dash followed closely behind me. I noticed differences between her and Fluttershy besides their appearances. Dash is not afraid to start a fight, whereas Fluttershy is calm and kind. But I guess it was for the best. After all, she only confronted me because she thought her friend was in danger. I opened the door and, once again, felt the sun's rays on my face. "Man, it's such a beautiful day today." I mused. I've never been raised in the rural parts of America, but I bet they aren't this bright and colorful during the day. I took a second to marvel at this place's beauty, then sat on my spot next to the front door. I laid out the cloth which concealed my equipment. It seemed like everything was there. My pistols had a few scratches on them, but other than that, everything was fine. I slid the pistols in there said holsters, and took the crucifix and wrapped it around my neck. I rested my head against the wall of the house. I noticed Rainbow Dash look over at me and started snickering. With nothing else to do, I strike up a conversation.
"What are you laughing about?"
"Don't take this the wrong way, but aren't you a guy?"
"...Yeah... Why?"
"Well, it's just that you are wearing a sparkling necklace..." She started snickering again. "What's it suppose to be, anyway?" I smiled. She just gave me a huge opening to say something smart, and I was going to take it.
"Oh nothing really. It just resembles a thing that was used to torture and kill a man just for being born." From the reaction she gave me, I think I nailed it.
"Why would you wear something like that?"
"Calm down. The story goes that He was killed because he was the son of God. It says that He died for all of our sins. Three days later, He rose from the dead, and told his followers to preach the teachings that he taught them before going to Heaven. The cross is a symbol for His death and his Resurrection." I smiled and held up my crucifix for emphasis. "Even though it was the instrument used to kill Him, we use it to remind us that He is still alive." She was silent for a moment.
"That is a weird story."
"Well, it makes sense to me. That story and more are all in this book." I held out my Bible before placing that in it's slot in my coat. "I remember most of them."
"You read that whole thing and remember it? You're almost as bad as Twilight."
"Speaking of which, I hope she'll react well to me. The last thing I need is a bunch of ponies with torches and pitchforks out to hunt me down." She scoffed at me.
"Ponyville is that bad at all. The worst they'll do is hide in there houses until you go away."
"That still doesn't sound uplifting..."
"Pfft. You are so dramatic."
"Whatever. all I want is to go home." I sighed. "No offense, but I just want to get out of here as soon as possible. It's been a miracle that I have been this calm." She stood silent. I stared off into the horizon and came across a familiar sight. Off in the distance, I recognized Fluttershy. She brought company with her too. Once they got closer, I could see the other pony's features. It was lavender, with a dark blue mane and tail complete with a magenta and purple streak running through them. It was different from the first two ponies I have met. Instead of wings, it had a horn. "A unicorn? Just how many mythological creatures live here?" Rainbow Dash called out to the two of them, waving a hello. Once the unicorn noticed me, I expected it to run away in fear. She didn't. In fact she seemed excited once she spotted me. They stopped right in front of me. The unicorn smiled when she saw me up close.
"We're back, Mr. Mercer." Fluttershy greeted softly.
"Hiya. So this is... Twilight, right?" I responded. The unicorn perked up once I spoke. Even more so when I said her name.
"Yes, This is Twilight."
"Um, forgive me for being so forward, but are you a human?" Twilight asked spontaneously. It caught me off guard that she even knew the word "human", but it did give me a little hope.
"Uh, yes. I am a hu-"
"OMIGOSH! A real live human! I knew I should have brought some parchments with me..." She continued talking to herself.
"Uh, is she alright?" I asked to no one in particular. Rainbow Dash simply shrugged, almost confused about the situation as I was.
"I have so many questions to ask you! What do humans like to do? Do you have families like ponies? Why did you have so many wars? How did you build enormous cities without magic? What-"
"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down. I asked for you so you can help me get home. If you can help me, then I can answer as many questions as I can." I seemed to grab her attention. She blushed with embarrassment before clearing her throat.
"Oh. I'm sorry... hehe... Well, uh, my name is Twilight Sparkle."
"Daemon Mercer. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
"Daemon Mercer..." She repeated my name, showing some fascination to it. "Sorry about that, again. You see, I read a lot of mythology books when I was a filly, and humans were one of my favorites..."
"Humans? Isn't that what Lyra talks about all the time?" Rainbow Dash asked. Twilight simply nodded as a response.
"You see, humans were interesting creatures..."
"Okay, here we go." Dash commented before sitting on the floor with a bored expression on her face.
"In the stories, humans were one of the dominant races on the planet. They were everywhere in the whole world, building giant cities everywhere they went. The legends also say that they were the ones who gave the knowledge of language and mathematics to Ponykind. They were a smart race, but not always a peaceful one. Because there were so many humans who were so diverse, they had different governments who didn't always see eye to eye. As a result, they had many wars against each other. After the wars, however, they always became peaceful again and rebuilt the war torn cities.
"But then Discord came along and changed everything. He enslaved or killed all of the humans in existence during his reign on the throne. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna tried to save them, but it was too late. Once they defeated Discord, the human race became extinct." She stopped for a breath. "I always thought they were just silly stories."
"Are you done now?" Dash said plainly.
"Yeah, I don't think those stories are anywhere near true." I started. "I think I would have noticed it when we gave ponies sapience, or became enslaved to this Discord." I argued subtly. She looked at me weirdly, as if offended. "Anyways, do you think there is way to get me home?"
"Well, there might be a spell I could use back home. You can follow me home!" There was two things wrong with that suggestion. One, I would have to walk right in the middle of a town full of sapient ponies, and two, she was a girl asking me to follow her into her house. But I really wanted to go home, so I had no choice in the matter.
"Okay, then." I stood up to my feet.
"Great! I'll take notes on you and then find a way to send you home."
"I really don't like where this is going." Rainbow Dash stretched a bit after listening to Twilight's mythology lesson.
"Well, I gotta go. The weather ain't gonna do itself ya know. See you guys later." And just like that, She was gone. Fluttershy approached me.
"Before you go, you had some stuff that I put in my closet..."
"Yeah I know. I already found them.
"Oh, okay. Well, goodbye Mr. Mercer."
"Yeah, goodbye. And thanks. For everything." She nodded before going inside of her home. I never thought I'd say this, but I was probably going to miss her. I turned to look at Twilight, who was smiling at me.
"So, uh, ready to go?" She asked gleefully
"Ready as I can be. Let's go." And so we left Fluttershy's little cottage. It took us a while before we could see the town. Off in the distance, I witnessed the ponies who lived there do their daily errands. I knew that I was going to disturb the peace there in a minute. I sighed and waited for the inevitable. "I hope it all goes well."