Forming Loyalties

by Mat the Brawler


Chapter 1

Here We Go

                I stood silently at my doorstep as the car pulled away and disappeared around the corner of our suburban street. A month. A month of soul crushing loneliness. Ever since I started high school, I’ve had crippling anxiety. As such I had to switch to virtual schooling, a better but lonesome alternative. I had online friends which helped but didn’t fill the void quite as much. Over all my parents we’re more or less my only human interaction. But now, my parents were going on their second honeymoon for a whole month!

        I sighed and turned into my house. I walked besides the yellow walls. I sat in my living room and booted up one of two PS3s in the house. As I started up Sonic Generations I heard a strange droning hum from out side. I thought little of it, assuming a neighbor was mowing the lawn and selected a level.
        
        Suddenly I heard a popping sound followed by a thud coming from my backyard. I pause the game and sprint outdoors. Outside something immediately catches my eyes. Sitting on the ground passed out, is a rainbow haired girl. And she was completely nude.

‘“Great.” I spat. “No fantastic. This is just my luck.” I wanted to just turn around and ignore her but I couldn’t. She needed help and I was the only one that knew she was there. So I went to my bathroom to grab a towel. Soon I was back outside where she still lay, motionless. I wrap the blue cloth around her doing my best (and admittedly failing) not to look at or touch her less than modestly sized breasts.

After she was covered I lifted her with a hand under her knees and the other on her back. I slowly and carefully carried her inside. I sighed in relief as I sat her down on the khaki leather couch, though she had a bit of dirt on her. She hadn’t woken up while I wrapped or carried her so I doubted I could or even should wake her myself. So I turned to the television I grabbed the playstation controller and restarted the “City Escape: Act 2” level.

        As I did heard the girl, who looked to be a few years older than I am, (16 almost 17) mubble something. I looked over to see her eyes still firmly closed but she shivered slightly. I got up to grab a blanket, and tossed it over her. My attention turned back to the large television in front of me as I continued to play the game.

        Soon I was at the truck section of the level, boosting frantically away from a demented vehicle.  Unbeknownst to me at the time, the girl next to me started to stir in her seat. Her eyes slowly opened and as they did she gazed in awe at the display of speed on the television.

“Woah.” She choked out.

        As I paused the game and turned to look at her. She was looking at her arms. As my gaze fell on her, her eyes flicked to my direction and hardened.

        “You, what am I doing here?!” She sprang up and pinned me to my seat. “What did you do to me?! Where are my friends?!”

        “I-I found you outside, passed out and alone.” I stuttered in shock. I thought I was going to be the one asking questions but apparently not. “You were naked on the Grass so I wrapped you in that towel and took you inside.”

        “You aren’t keep anything from me you, you what are you?! What am I?! What are we?!” She shouted the rage in her voice starting to subside, but not gone altogether.

        “I have no idea, what you're talking about you seem normal besides, your hair.”

        She let go of me. “Well thanks for taking me in, I guess.” The girl huffed.

        “I couldn't just leave you outside.” I sighed with the relief of being free. “Whats your name?”

        “Oh,” She blushed. “Sorry, I guess I should introduce myself. I’m Rainbow Dash, sorry for that whole thing I just kinda freaked out.”

        “It’s fine, I guess I really ca-” What she said just clicked. “Rainbow Dash? Really?” I was skeptical.

        “What you’ve heard of me?” ‘Rainbow Dash’ gave a cocky smile. “Well I’m not that surprised I did win best young flyer and I am in the wonder bolts reserve.” Her pupils shrank. “Oh my gosh!”
        
        “What.”

        “Where are my wings? What happened to my wings?”

        “Wings, Really now?”
        
        “What? How are you so calm at a time like this?”
        
“Okay,” I sighed. “Who put you up to this?”

"What are you talking about?"
        
        “You show up at my house naked and claim to be one of my favorite characters. I’m clearly being punked.”

        “What do you mean character?” She was quickly getting mad.

        “Oh right, so you don't know about,” I turn the TV to my cable box and play an episode of My Little Pony from the “On Demand” listings. “This?”

        “What are you talking abou-” She was cut off by the image of Twilight reading a book outside the library. “Twilight!” She then saw “herself” zoom by. “Wha-” She looked stunned. The episode played on. “Thi-This already happened!” She turned to me tears welling in her magenta eyes. “Ha-Have you been spying on me?”

“Oh please, drop the act!” I crossed my arms.“You know as well as I do that it’s fiction.” To what lengths would she go?

“This doesn’t make any sense.” She fell to her knees with her legs pointed out and hands on the ground, choking back sobs. “What is this? Where am I? Why am I here? What have I become?”

My face softened. Either this girl was the best actor I’ve seen, or this was genuine. I sat next to her. “Okay, lets say you are the real Rainbow Dash,” I was probably being pranked but I couldn’t stand seeing anyone in tears. “What was going on before you got here?”

“I was with Twi,” She searched her memory. “She was practicing a new teleportation spell and-” Her pupils became the size of pin pricks. “THAT EGGHEAD! Its her fault I’m in this weird place in this stupid wingless body!”

I’d seen enough. “You’re serious?”

“Of course I am!” Her face softened after a bit of thought. “Though, It was kinda hard to believe that Daring was real when I first met her, guess its kinda the same deal here.”

There was only one way out of this, just accept it, if its a prank it will be over sooner, if by the slightest chance  its real we’ll go from there.

“Alright Rainbow, I believe you.”

“You do?” Her worried look was now hopeful.

“Yeah I do,” I sighed. “Tell you what, you can stay with me and I’ll help you get by here on Earth. I’m Matheus, by the way, you can just call me Mat.”

“You’d let me stay here?”

“I can’t just leave you out in the cold harsh world.”

She suddenly wrapped her arms around me. “THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!” She awkwardly let go. “I mean, that’s cool of you.”

I chuckle “Go take a shower and I’ll see if I can’t get some of my moms clothes, for you than we’ll talk.”

“Clothes? Why?”

‘Oh right, pony.’ “Humans where clothes pretty much all the time, since we don’t have coats to keep us warm.” I could feel my cheeks flush at the next part of the explanation. “That and we consider being naked in front of each other a sign of sexual attraction and infatuation.”

“Oh, okay.” Dash looked pensive. “I guess that’s why you wrapped me in this towel. Anyways where’s the shower?”

“Let me take you there.”

With that I led her to the guest bathroom and went to my parents room. I found a blank blue shirt and some shorts that looked about the right size. I laid the clothes out for Dash in the guest room. This was going to be a long day.