"Wait, tomorrow? Like, tomorrow tomorrow?"
Wayland was standing outside Twilight's Library, looking down at the little purple pony. She had just told him when they were leaving for the royal city of Canterlot.
"Yes, tomorrow, silly. We can't keep the princesses waiting forever, can we? And its such a trip, I have to pack. You should go see my other friends, they'll definitely help you out with your preparations." Twilight smiled wide, then walked back inside with spike in tow, rambling a list out at light speed much to the dragon's dismay.
"Do these ponies wanna give me a heart attack, meeting royalty after like, two days in whatever world this is? Christ..." He looked at the tiny note she had left with him, the name of one of her other friends he should meet and what they were to help with.
"So...Rarity...new clothes?" He looked down at the tattered holes strewn throughout his clothes and sighed, making his way toward the boutique. "No, yea, this is fine, just go meet up with a bunch of horse royalty looking like someone set you on fire, I'm sure its FINE. They'll LOVE it, crown me king of the scruffy nerfherders. GOD I gotta stop fuckin' talking to myself like this..." He looked around, noticing the odd looks the other ponies were already casting his way. "Everyone already looks at you like you've got mental issues.."
Wayland walked up to a high, round, shop, stopping outside, and grimacing at the choices of decoration adorning the building.
"Carousel boutique..? More like gaudy as hell.." He knocked on the door, hearing a strangely more civilized voice coming from inside.
"Just a moment, darling!"
Darling..? He shrugged as the door opened and a white unicorn looked up at him, eyes widened.
"Oh my.." She invited him inside, looking him up and down. "Twilight said she was sending me a strange creature before we met up for our trip, but this..."
"I have a name you know..It's Wayland.." He looked down at the purple-maned pony, expecting surprise. He wasn't surprised, though she was.
"You can talk?!" She gasped, looked at him, mouth agape.
Wayland waved it off, walking inside more and looking around. "Yes yes, weird non-pony creature, vocal capacities, this is like, the third time, already. So, Twilight sent me here for..clothes?" He could have guessed that considering the miles of fabric and accessories littered throughout the area.
Oh my gods. He didn't think her eyes could even get bigger, or sparklier. "Uhh...you CAN make clothes..right..?" He began to edge away slightly. Those eyes... those special eyes..
"Oh darling, if its clothes you wanted, you came to the best place in Equestria! Just let Miss Rarity take care of everything!" Her horn began to glow and tape measures began flying around him, wrapping him up while she scribbled furiously on a notepad. After a few moments, he could feel nearly every inch of his arms, legs, and torso being measured and rechecked. This was going to take a while, wasn't it?
It was.
Wayland walked out of Rarity's store a few hours later, wearing fairly identical clothes, minus the personal touches he had on his last ones, and feeling fairly violated. "Oh gods... I am never going near measuring tapes again.."
The train ride the next day was only almost done and already Wayland wanted out. Hadn't these ponies been to..what was it, Canterlot? like a million times already? He doubted it was disneyland, so why was everyone so excited? He covered his ears and tried to drown out the noises, but to be honest, the smells were more overpowering.
"Rarity, we aren't even there yet, WHY are you putting perfume on?" Wayland risk a question amidst the din of ponies.
"Because i have to smell fabulous all the times, darling, and honestly, you don't know who could be watching us at this moment!"
"Probably no one, we haven't even passed the mountain yet. Pinkie, WHY are you eating an entire cake??"
"Because you didn't finish it all at your party last night, silly!"
Oh gods the party. Wayland was all for having fun, but THAT was not fun. THAT was a nightmare, and will not be spoken of for millennia to come. He just had to find pinkie's camera before she-
"OH! Here we are!" Twilight shouted excitedly as the train finally pulled around the edge of the mountain and Canterlot came into view. All the other ponies leaned their heads out the window in excitement, looking up at the gleaming towers of the royal castle, and Wayland couldn't help but join them. It really was a feat of architectural engineering. Not only was an entire city built onto a shelf in the side of the mountain ridge, but they managed to fit an entire castle in behind it. Looking down he could just barely make out the magically enhanced support ridges set into the hillsides, keeping the whole city from sinking to the valley below.
As the train pulled into the station, Wayland and the other six - seven if you counted Spike riding on Twilight's back, reading a scroll, - walked out and made their way up the street towards the castle.
Canterlot was a lot different than he had expected. He was thinking medieval and dirt roads, but this was more...modern. The roads were perfectly paved, ponies were dressed in what looked like fancy clothes and suits. There were shops and stores and carriages everywhere.
They all made their way up the streets to the castle, Wayland still noticing every pony staring at him like he was some sort of sideshow exhibit. He let out a sigh, putting his hands in his pockets and doing his best to keep his head low, just like he always did in public. When they finally reached the gates, the guards let them in, escorting them to just outside the throne room.
"Wait here," the guard gruffly said, knocking on the door and whispering to the stallion who opened it from the other side a crack, and closing it again. The muffled sounds of an announcement were heard on the other side of the door, and it opened up onto a large, long, spacious hall. There were stained glass windows depicting scenes out of what Wayland guessed was history lining both sides. A thick red carpet ran up the middle, ending in a raised dias upon which sat a large throne and two majestic looking ponies, or at least as majestic as two ponies can look from down the hall. Alicorns, that was the word, Wayland thought to himself. Guess they're considered royalty here..
Making their way forward, Twilight, Wayland, and the others got halfway across the hall before a regal yet gentle voice stopped them.
"You all may stop there. Creature, you may come forward."
Creature again... He stepped tentatively forward as one of the princesses strode forward, standing before them. She was much larger than the others, but slimmer for her size. Her flowing mane and tail were the color of pastel rainbow, and her coat was bright pure white. She had on what looked like armor; a chest piece and horseshoes, matching her crown, which sat just behind a fairly large, pointed horn. The pattern of the sun was stamped onto her flank. She stood a little above about his own height, but her regal demeanor made her seem to stand taller.
"My name is Princess Celestia, Co-Ruler of Equestria and Bringer of the Morning. Step forward." Wayland stepped up, standing in front of her a little nervously. "So, you are the creature that has come into my kingdom? I have heard you can talk. Is that true?" Her voice was firm and just. Lying would only get him in trouble, but he wasn't sure she would believe the truth..
"Yes, thats true," he said, standing up. "My name is Wayland, your.. highness?" If he was gonna represent a species, he might as well not look like some idiot fuck-up. Way to start it out not even getting her title right.
"Princess Celestia will do. Tell me, who..what are you and how did you come to be here? The is no record of your..species.. existing in this world."
So humans weren't just non-local, they were non-existent. "Oh boy.. well.. I come from a different world - at least I think its a different world, anyway - where I lived and worked as a blacksmith with my uncle. We lived in a village in the northern part of the world, where blacksmiths actually had purpose. I'm a human, is what I guess you're trying to ask, and as to how I got here? I'm not entirely sure myself.. "
Celestia looked him over, 'hmm'ing to herself. "You may continue."
Wayland thought back to just a few days ago, what seemed a week, trying to replay how things went in his head. "Someone asked me to make something out of some weird glowing ingot they had found, and when I tried it on to make sure it fit, I heard some kind of explosion, or implosion, or something. Then I woke up here. After wandering in a forest for a while, I stumbled on Fluttershy's house. She introduced me to Twilight, word spread and here I am." He spread his arms, looking at Celestia. "Wherever here is, at least."
Celestia thought hard, eventually looking back up to him, curiosity staining her gaze. "You said you made something of that ingot. Do you still have it? May I see it?"
Wayland pulled up his sleeve a little, revealing the slightly lit-up armband. "Huh..thats strange. It wasn't doing that before.." He tugged on the armband, intent on examining it closer, but it wouldn't budge from its home. "Stupid..thing..must be..stuck!" He grunted, trying to pull it off, but it wouldn't move no matter how hard he tried. He tugged harder, not noticing the black glow intensifying until it was too late.
"Wayland, look out!" Twilight yelled, rushing up to him as he was taking out his hammer and continuously hitting it, to no avail.
Suddenly, the build-up of the glow surrounding the armband erupted , tossing him to the side and against the wall, knocking him unconscious once again.
