Chapter 4: Humiliated
Good news travels slowly, but bad news has wings. Like him. Unfortunately, bad news could actually use those wings. Clearly, word had gotten out that he was a complete idiot. They would whisper to one another when they thought he had his back turned, but his hearing was sharper than they thought. He heard their leering, their sneering, their taunting remarks. He did his best to endure it, but he grit his teeth unconsciously as his brow furrowed into a dark scowl. This life was turning out very similar to his previous one. Luck would make it even more so when a very strong looking stallion bumped into him at that moment. He grunted and retreated a few steps backwards. Despite doing his best to ignore the infuriating gossip, it had managed to distract him from paying attention to his surroundings.
“Hey! Watch where you’re going, squirt!” growled his assailant.
“Hey! It's not just my fault, you should have been looking too!” He protested.
“What didtchoo just say?” growled the brawny pony.
“Ah, erm, well I was just saying that we should both be more careful in, um, the future, ha...ha...” his voice trailed off into nervous laughter as he perceived only blankness on the face of the stallion.
“Oh yeah? You know what I think? I think that you just insulted me.”
“Ah, no, I didn't mean it that way, I was just saying that-” he fumbled over his words, desperately trying to avoid confrontation.
“Wait...aren't you that completely moronic Pegasus? You're dumber than Derpy aren't you? You don’t even know what a cutie mark is!” The stallion grinned evilly, showing two rows of glistering teeth that could have belonged to a shark.
“Erm...well..I suppose that’s true...” He felt the tides being turned on him.
“Hey everyone! This is the stupid guy! The one that doesn't know what a cutie mark is!” the stallion sneered at him after getting the attention of everyone in the area. He felt their stares bore into him, even when he couldn't see them. Each pair of eyes felt like a pair of scorching suns, and sweat began to drip from his forehead. Now would be a good time to skedaddle, he decided.
Escape was no easy task when you are surrounded by a crowd of sniggering ponies. He spun around as best as he could without embarrassing himself any further. He had to escape, or there was going to be trouble. There! A group of ponies was huddling together, listening to their clique leader entertain them with his ridiculous fabrications about the new pony. Their leaning caused a slight shift in the tide of ponies, leaving him a small gap to run through. He wasted no time in using this opportunity to break out of the encirclement. But now what? Angry shouts followed his every step as he desperately tried to escape. The giant tree! He ducked inside as everyone started laughing. How they taunted him. Teased him. His shoulders gave an involuntary shudder as he took a shaky breath.
“Hey there!” called out a voice. The blue Pegasus whipped around, expecting another jeering face. Instead, he saw a draganoid creature clad in purple and green scales. Big green eyes blinked at him, as if expecting a response. “Hi, um, so, sorry for just barging in here like that, I thought maybe it would, uh, be empty, but, um, I was just wondering if I could stay here for a bit?” His face flushed as he stumbled over his words yet again. The small dragon closed his eyes, resting his head on his fist. After a moment's consideration, he said: “Well, I suppose you could stay here...I'd havta ask Twilight though.” Twilight! That name again. Wasn't the pony at the hospital named Twilight Sparkle? He desperately hoped that it wasn't the Twilight he was thinking of..
It was. At first, he thought that the ponies waiting outside would go away after he hid inside, but he could see from the window that they were still crowded around the door, playing the waiting game, waiting for him to come out. He felt his pulse pounding in his forehead, but as far as he could see, he was trapped. The creaking of a floorboard jolted him out of his despairing introspection. He jumped, and slowly turned around, expecting more trouble. Instead, he heard:
“Oh, there you are. We’ve been looking for you!” Twilight Sparkle was smiling at him, the draganoid at her side.
His pupils dialated in embarrasement. The memories of him breaking the window at the hospital were still burning in his mind.
"Hi! Um, sorry about the window, I didn't mean to, erm, well I mean I did, but I didn't really mean to, but, um, you see, I was just really, um, frustrated, and it, um, I mean, I'm sorry...” He mumbled, ducking his head and trying to brush past her.
“Hey, where are you going?" Twilight grabbed his shoulder, effectively terminating his rather ill-fated escape.
"Okay, okay! How much do you want? I don't have any money, but, um, I'll work really hard, and I'll do overtime everyday, so it's okay, right? Right?" He was getting desperate. Was a stupid window really worth that much? Why couldn't they just let him go?
"Window? Oh! You mean that one! You sure were in a hurry to get out of there, weren't you! Don't worry, I fixed it up already. Next time, remember to use the door, alright?" Twilight smiled at him.
"Ah, um, yeah, okay...I mean, I will! Yeah! Definitely! I'll use the door next time!" His confusion turned into gratitude as he realized that his vandalous actions had been pardoned. A big grin broke out on his face.
"But anyways, what cloud did you drop in from? It doesn't seem like anypony really knows you around here." Twilight changed to a more serious tone as she studied him once again. It was a fair question. He didn't know the answer himself. If he answered her question improperly, it might result in him being sent to a mental institution of some kind. But he trusted her. Taking a deep breath, he began.
"Well, um, you see, I wasn't joking when I said I was a human." He squeezed his eyes shut, expecting disbelieving backlash.
"A human? Even I don't know what that is, and I've read pretty much every book in the Royal Library!" She gave him a questioning glance. Not good. He had to step up his game.
"So, I guess this is a completely different dimension then? Basically, a human is like...well, we stand on two legs, and we have hands instead of these hooves. An-" He was brutally interrupted by Twilight shoving her face in front of his.
"DID YOU JUST SAY A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT DIMENSION?" She was nearly screaming, but it was out of excitement. Her eyes were wide with anticipation, and he could see her body quivering with nervous energy. He grimaced. Was that the wrong thing to say?
"I...suppose...I said something...like that...but wh-" Once again, Twilight's animated antics cut him off before he could finish.
"Wow! Another dimension! I'm talking to a creature from another dimension! I've got to tell the Princess about this!" She ran out of the treefort that had sheltered him from the mob outside for all this time. He tried to call after her, to tell her to wait, but she was gone before he could untangle his legs.
The mob had dispersed outside of the tree, having finally lost its momentum. He was glad, since he could finally move about somewhat freely within the town again.
“Excuse me, did a lavendar unicorn happen to um, pass through here?” He walked up to one of the local townsfolk, hoping to get some answers.
“Oh, you mean the Princess' protege? She was running that way, last I saw. She runs pretty fast for an egghead, doesn't she?" The pony cracked up at his own joke. But as he calmed down and took another look at him, he cocked his head, asking: "Say...aren’t you-” He dashed away before the cycle of doom repeated itself. He sauntered along in the general direction that the pony had directed him. Luckily, he was able to ask ponies along the way to redirect himself. Eventually, he got the sense that he was going towards something called "Canterlot". He ignored the fact that it was clearly a blatant rip-off of King Arthur's famous castle. It's not plagiarism if it's in a different dimension, right? Now with destination in mind, he was able to acquire much more specific instructions as to where to go.
“Excuse me, but would you happen to know where or what Canterlot is?” The stallion that he had asked turned around, incredulity in his features.
“What are you saying? Who doesn’t know where Canterlot is? I mean, come ON! It’s where the Princesses live! Are you new or something?” He felt himself slipping into the exact same situation that he had encountered when questioning Rainbow Dash.
“Um, am I new? I suppose you could say that...?” He winced at his awful attempt to defuse the situation before one of multiple disastrous histories repeated itself. To his relief, the pony gave a snort, content with his excuse.
“Well that would explain it. Canterlot is right over there. See that giant, unmistakeable, unmissable, super-obvious castle over there that dominates the landscape for hundreds of miles in every direction? That’s it.” Despite the stallion's rather accusatory word choice, his instructions were clear enough for him to follow.
He sighed, both in exasperation and at his own ignorance. Had that giant, unmistakeable, unmissable, super-obvious castle always been there? It was still quite a distance to get there though, especially for him. He decided he would have to get used to his new body for the time being, until he could find a way back home. He gave a start. What had he just been thinking? Was he just thinking about how to get home? He had killed himself to escape the very home he now yearned for! He had ended his existence to escape that world! He grunted in annoyance at the conflicting emotions inside him. For now, he would stick with what he had. Perhaps being a pegasus wasn’t so bad after all.
He struggled forward, step after unsteady step. Many times, he tripped. Many times, he fell. Sometimes he could save himself with a few flaps of his wings, sometimes he was doomed to bite the dust yet again. Every time, he pulled himself off the ground to continue his journey. Arduous journey conclucded, he finally arrived in Canterlot, only to find that more obstacles awaited him.
“Halt! State your purpose or turn back now!” Barked out the guard patrolling the outskirts of the castle. The guard's spear glistened with menacing light, reinforcing his message.
“Hi there! Sorry to intrude like this, but um, well, I was looking for Twilight Sparkle, and all the people- I mean ponies I asked said she was going to, um, Canterlot, so...uh, would it be ok if I went inside to look fo her? Please?” He struggled through one of his longest spontaneous sentences yet. None of these situations had ever come up in his formal social training. Spontaneity was not something that was appreciated among socialites. Luckily, the guard smiled.
“Sure thing! All you had to do was ask!” The guard stepped aside and let him in.
Where’s an easy button when you need one, huh?
He slowly advanced through the halls of the castle, feeling strangely at home among the extravagent paintings and lavish furnishings. Canterlot was truly a castle of wonders. Although it lacked the overpowering feeling of luxury that many patrician homes gave off, each furnishing, each piece seemed to fit into place perfectly. Instead of oppression, the entire castle gave off an aura of serenity and harmony. Finally, in the main throne room, he found Twilight Sparkle. She seemed to be in deep conversation with the one that he assumed was “Princess Celestia”. Should he try and get their attention? Breaking in on royaty was usually a big no-no. The "off with your head" kind of no-no. But the decision was taken out of his hands when they noticed him of their own accord.
“There you are! We were just about to send the guards out to find you!” Twilight beamed at him, oblivious to the large number of ways that her sentence could be interpreted.
Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead. He gulped nervously. She was about to send the guards after him? Did he accidentally break a law? Did she care about that window after all? What did he get himself into this time? Convinced that he was about to be tossed into the royal dungeons, he staggered backwards, panic in his eyes.
“Do not worry, she had no ill-intent in her words.” Princess Celestia smiled warmly and assured him gently.
"Um, ah, is that right?" he laughed nervously, still slightly distrustful. "So um, what did you want, erm, Your Majesty?" He hastily tacked on an honorific at the end of his sentence, remembering he was speaking to royalty.
“Twilight tells me that you hail from another dimension. I wish to affirm this statement. If it proves to be true, then we shall need to carefully analyze the implications of your arrival.” Her voice was soft, and yet he could hear it loud and clear, even from the other end of the throne room.
“Er, well that's great and all, but, um, how exactly would you confirm that I was from, you know, another dimension? Ah, I mean, I apologize for my insolence, your majesty, I assure you I meant no disrespect, so, um, please don't throw me into the dungeons!” Realizing that he had just commited verbal treachery by using an incorrect tone of voice, he hastily tried to amend his error. The Princess gave him a questioning glance, and Twilight laughed.
“Don't worry, silly! You don't need to be all "your majesty" this and "your majesty" that! Just talk normally, please, for the benefit of all of us." Twilight seemed to have no qualms about speaking her mind in front of royalty. But again, that stallion had called her the Princess' protege. He supposed that was a permanent "get out of jail free" card.
"Anyways, the Princess is just going to do a bit of magical psychoanalysis, it's completely painless. Don't worry, it's so safe that we do it at the hospital on an outpatient basis!" Twilight eagerly began explaining all the intricacies involved with magical memory viewing, but his eyes glazed over after a few sentences. The Princess' voice sent him back in full-alert mode.
“The process involves a full disclosure of your memories. If you feel uncomfortable with this, it is alright to try and deduce your origin with another method." She looked at him with concerned eyes. But he was just glad to be hearing English again.
"Ah, no, it's perfectly alright. Do I need to do anything to prepare, your majesty?" He glanced at Twilight as he spoke. He grinned smugly as he saw her give a hmph of annoyance.
Princess Celestia beckoned for him to follow as she walked into another room. He hastily dashed after her, catching up without any embarrasing incidents, to his relief. They walked down a long hallway, adorned with all kinds of paintings on the walls. He tried to observe every painting, but to his disappointment, the Princess' pace did not allow for him to take more than a fleeting glance at each. From his superficial inspections, he could see that they seemed to be paintings of past members of Royalty. It was not immediately obvious, but he had a sense for these kinds of things. Each portrait emitted the same kind of power, the same kind of authority that the Princess did.
The Princess suddenly stopped, opening a particularly elegant door, laced with gold trim. As he expected, she merely used her magic to open it. Of course. Because opening doors with your hands is too pedestrian. But too his surprise, instead of some kind of laboratory or testing facility, the door opened into a room that was much more homely looking. There were tables and stands around the outskirts of the room, each topped with strange artifacts or documents. Beneath a window overlooking the rest of the castle was a stylish desk with a large pile of papers accompanied by an inkwell and quill pen. He almost made the mistake of assuming this was her office, but then he saw the bed in the center of the room. Um...isn't this her bedroom? Well, I suppose it's fittingly decorated. But I woud have expected a few portraits or a fireplace within the room itself, rather than just in the hallway. Maybe having someone watching you sleep at night was a little too unnerving.
He noticed the Princess looking at him, seemingly expectantly. What? What does she want me to do? This isn't in the "How to be an Aristocrat" book! Looking up, he saw that Celestia was sitting on one side of the bed. His danger sense was tingling big time. Bad bad bad. And then she beckoned for him to come over. He gulped. He was afraid, but he was even more afraid of dungeons. He slowly scooted over, one small step at a time. But clearly the Princess wasn't content to wait for him to mosy over, as he was pulled onto the bed in a quick burst of magic. He scrambled to get up. His brain was about to fizz out. What did she want from him? Wasn't this supposed to be some kind of mental examination? This was turning out to be an exexexanimation, to put it one way.
His worries were unfounded, as it turns out. She touched her horn to his forehead, sending a shock through his brain. It turned his vision white, and seemed to turn off all of his other senses. All he could feel was his own mind, and another presence approaching. The entity radiated with ancient might, but the power was not brutal. Instead, it reminded him of the sun. Overpowering might, capable of consuming all that approached it, and yet it chooses to use its power to nurture life instead of destroying it. Celestia, huh? What a fitting name. And then it was gone. As the warmth retreated, he felt himself missing it. After all, the world seems so much colder in the absence of the sun.
“Well? How did it go?” He was eager to find out whether she believed him.
“I certainly believe that you are not of this world." She averted her eyes, deep in thought.
"But?" He sensed that there was something she wasn't saying.
"But?" She looked at him with a questioning glance.
"But what? There's something else, right?" He was determined to find out what it was. The Princess sighed as her features became more tense. After a moment's consideration, she seemed to decide.
"The reason behind your appearance seems to be the doing of an ancient and powerful force." She spoke slowly, choosing her words carefully.
"But you're an ancient and powerful force too, right?" He said. Then he realized that he had just described her using a word that you should never use when describing any woman, much less all-powerful royalty.
"Oh! Um, I mean, but that doesn't mean you look ancient! You're still really pretty! You look really young, don't worry! It's ok to be ancient, ancient means more wisdom, right? You don't look ancient at all, there's no problem!"
"Of course not. But if I may continue, the matter becomes much more complicated when ancient and powerful forces are involved, correct?" She was mad. She was definitely mad.
"Yeah, definitely! It always gets more complicated!" He chuckled nervously, trying to appease her.
"Tch. And thus, I cannot simply interfere with the magic that is coating your mind."
Did she just "tch" me? She definitely just "tch'd" me. I'm so sorry, Celestia, I really am!
"In order to prevent dimensional transfer incompatability, many of your past memories have been magically archived. More memories will continue to be archived, until only the memories necessary for survival, as well as the memories you have made in Equestria remain.”
His eyes widened as his jaw dropped slightly. No way. I was polymorphed into a mythical creature, and on top of that, now I have chronic amnesia? Come ON! Can't I be a Gary Stu, just for a little while? It's just not fair!
“How can I get my memories back?” Shaking her shoulders, he asked Princess Celestia frantically. She turned her face away with downcast eyes.
“I am sorry. You are the first case. Our experience with this type of magic is shamefully limited. Perhaps if you were able to obtain a source of magic more powerful than the spell, you could break it. But think carefully. The spell is there for your own benefit. It prevents corruption of your own memories due to incompatability with this environment. It may be for the best that you are to lose those painful memories of the past."
He felt a cold knife slice into his heart, reopening wounds that were still raw. Blonde, unkempt hair. A brash personality.
"Watch out!"
"Thank you."
"You're the only one..."
It came too fast and hit too hard. A torrent of bitter tears erupted from his eyes. A sob escaped his lips, sending a shudder through his body. And then it all came out. He wept without restraint, not caring that he was in the presence of royalty. He felt someone put their arms around him, but he didn't care who it was. He was in his own world of darkness and pain. Sharing memories is both a blessing and a curse. Perhaps both in this case. A few tears pattered on his face. They weren't his own. He might not have known at the time, but Celestia was crying with him.