I woke up with a face full of ethereal rainbow hair, which by the way makes for a great pillow. I would have tried convincing Celestia to sell that stuff but I doubt she could make enough hair to market it. Anyway, crazy get-rich-quick schemes aside, Celestia had insisted she carry me back after my fainting spell. Apparently it had just been due to exhaustion, which made sense what with everything that had happened.
Ponyville was in full swing when I awoke, celebrating the return of Princess Luna. Ponies sang and dance and just enjoyed the sun that was nearly taken from them. I started off staying by the princesses as I explained what I knew about the Shen Gong Wu and what was going on.
“So that’s just about it.” I finished. “It’s your average 'guy get’s thrown into pony world with a scroll that detects magical objects' scenario.” Alright, so that definitely wasn’t my best joke but give me a break! I had been through more in the past twenty four hours than I had in my entire life. Besides, despite how shaken up I was Luna seemed to enjoy it as she giggled some more. Celestia just nodded, obviously deep in thought with all the information I had just dumped on her.
“I see. Might I see this scroll of yours?” I instinctively grabbed hold of the strap across my chest. Celestia seemed to sense how tense I had become and added “I promise you I will not damage it, and I will give it back right after.” Though I felt a bit like a child being chided into giving his favorite blankie for cleaning, I begrudgingly pulled the scroll off my back and held it out to her. She picked it up in her golden magic before pouting a bit.
“I cannot open it. How odd.” I watched her focus intently on the scroll in front of her but as far as I could tell nothing happened. With a sigh she floated it back over to me. “Would you mind opening it for me?” I shrugged and pulled the two halves open with an ease that seemed to double the confusion on Celestia’s face.
I watched her horn glow a bit as she looked over the characters written on the paper but she only sighed once more. “It seems this scroll is beyond me. The words written upon it refuse to be translated magically. I can find no sign of these magical objects you have stored within. And on top of all else I don’t even understand how you opened it.”
I closed the scroll and returned it to its place on my back. “So you mean you can’t get the Shen Gong Wu out of it yourself?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m afraid not. It is some form of magic I have never seen, which is surprising when you are as old as I am.”
I was surprised to hear she was old. She certainly didn’t look it if Applejack’s grandmother was considered old. “How old are you two?”
Luna gave me a look of faux shook. “Now Allen, you never ask a mare how old she is!” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes with a smile along with Celestia.
“If you must know, we are both a little over fifteen hundred years old.” Maldita sea! What kind of health care plan are you on?!
“Wow. You definitely don’t look your age, I’ll give you that.”
“I have my ways. A mare has to look her best after all.” She said nonchalantly before sipping some of her tea. “Now than, I think we’ve held you up long enough. Go enjoy the festivities with your new friends. We’ll talk more about this on a later date.” I left the two princesses at their podium, waving goodbye to Luna before heading off to search for the other ponies. It didn’t take long though as I found Pinkie Pie. Or rather, she found me.
“Ally!” was the only warning I got before the pink blob of fur landed on my back and wrapped its hooves around my neck and waist. “I was wondering when the princesses would be done talking to you. I’ve got to show you something!”
I shifted Pinkie a bit so that I was more comfortable before asking, “Oh? And what is this thing you have to show me?”
“It’s a surprise silly. Now mush! Onward to Sugarcube Corner!” she declared as she pointed in front of us. I just chuckled and followed her instructions, though I’m pretty sure we were going in circles for the first twenty minutes. Sugarcube Corner turned out to be a bakery shaped like a gingerbread house, and right outside was Fluttershy.
“Hey Fluttershy.” I greeted her as Pinkie jumped off my back. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh… well, Pinkie Pie told me you were going to be coming by and I wanted to make sure your head was alright after everything that happened. I mean, if that’s okay with you.”
I chuckled at Fluttershy’s… well, shyness before giving her a light pat on the head. “Sure thing. Let’s head inside first and see what Pinkie’s surprise is about and then I’ll let you make sure I haven’t cracked my head open further.” With that we followed the energetic mare who had already bolted inside. Inside the place was packed as ponies waited in line to get their sweets. Despite the height difference my claustrophobia found reason to kick in, causing me to back up into Fluttershy for a moment.
“Oh, sorry Fluttershy.” I shrunk into the nearest corner of the room in an attempt to get as much space around me as possible. “I’m just… not good with crowds.”
“Oh my. Here, I’ll go see if Pinkie can bring her surprise outside for you. You shouldn’t have to push yourself after everything that happened.” I just nodded to her before she flew above the crowd into the kitchen behind the counter. Once she was out of sight, I darted back out the door, grateful for the fact that most ponies were either celebrating or eating at this time. After a deep breath of air to calm my nerves I found a nice spot on the nearby fountain to sit.
“Hey Allan!” I heard someone call. It sounded like Rainbow Dash but when I looked around I saw no sign of the usually stand out pegasus. “Up here!” I glanced up to see the she was peeking over a cloud as if she was sitting on it.
“Hey Rainbow Dash.” Seeing that she finally had my attention, she flew down and landed next to me so we wouldn’t have to shout. “What’s going on?”
“So you got that magic dragon thing when you kicked that guy’s butt, right?”
I scrunched up my face in confusion before it dawned on me what she was talking about. “Oh, you mean the Longi Kite I won in the showdown?”
“Ya, ya. That thing. You got it?” Rather than just saying yes, I pulled the Kite out of my scroll and into my hands. The thing was pretty big, around the size of a large dog.
Rainbow just watched the entire thing with a focused gaze. “And this thing lets you fly?”
“Well, that’s what I’m guessing. It’s what it did for Flim. Why all the questions?”
Rainbow grinned. “Awesome! That means you and I can go flying together. That’ll be so cool!”
I was genuinely surprised at this. “You want to fly with me? Didn’t you say I was a clutz or something like that?”
“Well ya, but that was before I saw you in action! The way you handled the robots and the moon challenge was pretty awesome. You’ve got to have some guts to pull off stuff like that.”
“Um, thanks, I guess.” Maybe I didn’t look as stupid as I thought I did.
“So come on! Strap that thing on and lets see what it can do!”
“Sorry Rainbow, but I’m waiting for Pinkie to come outside. She had some surprise for me but the place was packed.” Just as I said this, the pink enigma herself landed before us with a cake box balanced on her head.
“I’m super sorry about that Ally. If I had known you didn’t like crowds I would have just brought the surprise to you in the first place.”
I took the box off of Pinkie’s head as the Longi Kite returned to its place in the scroll. “It’s fine Pinkie. You couldn’t have known. So what is this?” I noticed Fluttershy move around to take a seat next to me. I could feel the feathers of her wings begin to fiddle with the bandages.
“Open it silly and find out!” I decided not to waste any time and opened it to find a single red frosted cupcake sitting in the box with the words ‘Welcome To Ponyville Ally!” written in black frosting.
“I still need to give you a proper ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party but since everyone’s going to be partied out for awhile after the celebration I figured I’d give you this for now!” Pinkie’s smile quickly grew infectious and I looked down at the sugary treat.
“Thanks Pinkie. Looks delish.” I took the cupcake out of the box and took a bite. To say it was amazing almost sounded like an insult as it was just… mmmmmMMMmm so good! Dios mio! This place really can’t be that bad with cupcakes like this!
When I was finished with the cupcake, I noticed my head lacked the feeling of tight wrappings. A quick check with my hand confirmed Fluttershy had removed the bandages, so I gave her a questioning look which she was happy to answer. “I don’t know how but your wound has healed really quick. Well, at least for ponies. Do you know how long injuries take to heal for your kind?”
“With what I had, probably would have been at least a week or two before I was fully healed. Wonder what caused it to heal so quickly?”
“Who cares!” Rainbow brashly declared. “If you are all healed up then let’s fly. I really want to see what that thing is capable of.” I rolled my eyes before getting up and bringing out the Longi Kite again. This time it appeared affixed to my back over the scroll.
“Well let’s see what happens, I guess. Longi Kite!” The wings on the dragon stretched out and flapped as soon as the command was given, pushing me into the air. Thankfully the Kite seemed to understand what it was doing more than I did as I stopped rising around fifteen feet in the air, which was about where I was aiming for.
Wow! This is awesome! I continued testing what I can do, finding that it was pretty simple to control. Soon I was flying around in circles with Rainbow watching from above while Fluttershy and Pinkie watched below.
“You’re flying Ally! You’re flying!” Pinkie cheered and bounced around below. Fluttershy seemed impressed by the act while Rainbow not so much.
“You don’t seem very fast.” She declared, spinning around me as if looking for more.
“I’m guessing the Kite isn’t built for speed, though there might be other Wu that are faster.”
That didn’t seem to brighten Rainbow’s mood at all she slumped over in mid-air. “Well that stinks. How are we going to get those?”
I shrugged. “Just going to have to wait until they reveal themselves. I can’t control it.” Rainbow just grumbled more as a light wing flapping came up next to me. Turns out it was Fluttershy.
“Well I think it’s great you can fly. With this and the ruby, it’s like you’re an alicorn.”
Rainbow snickered. “Allen’s a princess?” She managed to hold her laughter back for about two more seconds before letting it loose.
I just gave her a smirk and said “Hey, I might look great in a dress and tiara. You don’t know.” That got everyone else, including myself, laughing. Once everyone had calmed down, Fluttershy poked my side to get my attention.
“Since you can fly, maybe you should try some of the pegasus games they have set up for the celebration. I mean, if you’re interested.” I was about ready to say yes when I glanced down to check on Pinkie. Turns out she had disappeared, leaving me with just the two pegasi.
With a shrug I said “Sure” and followed Fluttershy and Rainbow, all the while just enjoying the feeling of weightlessness.
* * *
“Pleeeeeeeeeeeease?” said the purple demon as she tried to give me the puppy dog eyes.
“No Twilight. Also, those don’t work on me. I had a little sister and three younger cousins who all tried just what you are doing.” After hanging out with Fluttershy and Rainbow for awhile before growing tired. I looked around for a place to relax only to find Twilight, and instead of taking a load off I was just telling her to buzz off.
“But why? I thought you wanted to learn more about these shin gone woohoo.”
“It’s Shen Gong Wu. And if I want to learn more I’ll just read the scroll. There’s still a ton of paper in there I haven’t read. Besides, Princess Celestia herself couldn’t figure them out so what do you think you will learn from them?”
“Anything!” she jumped up. “It’s a whole new type of magic. Not only that but we’ve already seen you use them to do things that should be impossible unless you are a unicorn or pegasus. If I could figure out how to replicate them-”
“No way! Stopping the crazy train right here! Having one of each of these things is already enough. There’s supposed to be hundreds of them and I don’t envy keeping track of them all.” She tried the puppy dog eyes in a last ditch effort before grumbling.
“Fine. But I still want to hear more about the world you came from.”
I noticed Rarity walking up behind her. “I promise I will tell you all about it, but later. I doubt Rarity will want to hear me go on and on about every little detail of my world.”
Rarity seemed to catch on to what I was really saying, which was ‘help me get away from the crazy book mare’. “Oh of course. Besides, I need to take Allan’s measurements. He’ll need more clothes if he is going to be staying with us.”
“Clothes?” Twilight quickly looked me up and down. “I just thought you were wearing those for some ritualistic reason.”
“Nope. Humans don’t go naked. It’s actually against the law in some parts.”
“Even if that is true, it’s not like you can’t now. Everyone else doesn’t wear clothes.”
I scratched the back of my head. How do I explain this without being too blunt? “I’m just not comfortable with the idea. How would you feel if you went your entire life clothed and suddenly were asked to walk around naked?”
Twilight put a hoof to her chin in thought. “I suppose I can see your point. Getting more clothes would seem like a priority in that case.” She stamped her hoof on the ground. “Just don’t forget mister! You promised after all.”
“Don’t you worry Twilight.” Rarity spoke as she walked around behind me. “I’ll make sure he’s at your door bright and early tomorrow morning. Isn’t that right Allen?” I was about to argue against it before a horn jabbed me in the back.
I suppressed a small yelp before saying “Sure thing. Tomorrow morning.” Twilight accepted the time and walked off, leaving me with a prissy unicorn still poking me in the back.
“Come now dear. Let’s get to work on your new clothes.” Once I started moving Rarity took to walking next to me rather than behind.
“Maldita sea Rarity. What’s the rush?” I chuckled.
“My apologies Allan. I’m just excited is all! I’ve never had the opportunity to work my craft on someone other than a pony.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Other than a pony? You say that like there are other body types out there. Is it not just ponies across the world?”
“Oh of course not Allan! There’s minotaur, diamond dogs, saddle arabian horses, pandas, iguanas… Honestly, there are so many races it’s a small wonder why we see so few of them in Equestria. Why do you ask though? Are things not so diverse on your world?”
“Not really. I mean, everything you just listed exists in my world, but they’re animals. The only sentient species on my world was humans. We had just as many nationalities however.”
“You’re world must be quite the peaceful place if you only have one race.”
I grimaced a bit as we turned onto the walkway leading to the front door of Carousel Boutique. “You’d think, but it seems my kind will find any reason to fight each other. Well, they don’t have magic so they can’t threaten to blot out the sun but they find ways to compensate.” I pushed the door open, the bell above ringing as I let Rarity by.
“Rarity!” A tiny voice spoke as she entered. I looked for the source in confusion to find a pony smaller than the normal pony hugging one of Rarity’s forehooves.
“S-sweetie Belle! Why are you here?”
The tiny pony stepped back and pouted at Rarity. “Did you forget? Mom, Dad and I are visiting for the sun celebration. ‘Cause you weren’t here, they decided to go out and look for you while I waited in case you came back.” I closed the door behind me, the bell attracting the Sweetie Belle’s attention. Her eyes went wide as she looked at me. “Woah! Are you a minotaur mister?”
I chuckled as Rarity chided her. “Sweetie Belle! That is no way to treat a guest. Honestly, I thought my sister would know better.”
Sweetie looked down at the floor dejected. “Sorry Rarity.”
Deciding that seeing such cute girl… or is it filly? Gah! These horse pronouns are going to be a pain to learn. Anyway, I made it my mission to step in and keep her from being sad. “Relax Rarity. She’s just curious is all.” I kneeled down in front of her and ruffled her mane lightly. “I’m not a minotaur, little filly. At least, not that I’m aware of…” I playfully suggested. “Quick! Check to see if I’m growing horns!”
I bent my head down as Sweetie giggled before her hooves began brushing aside hair. After a few moments she gave me her diagnosis of “Nope. No horns at all.”
I got up, making a show of wiping sweat from my forehead. “Phew! I was a bit worried I’d have to go guard a maze sometime soon.” That got another giggle out of her as I noticed Rarity roll her eyes with a smile behind her.
“Sweetie, how about you continue talking with Mr. Rhodes here while I find the measuring tape? I’m sure he’ll appreciate the company.” Dios mio, I never saw someone so excited just to talk to me. Her eyes lit up with the same child-like wonderment Rachel would get whenever Mom and Dad brought home a new book for her on animals.
It suddenly felt like a needle had jabbed itself into my heart as I remembered my family. I wonder how they are taking my disappearance? Do they even know? I zoned out as the worry ate away at my stomach, not hearing any of the conversation until I felt something poking my leg. I looked down to see Sweetie pawing at my ankle with a worried look on her face.
“Are you okay Mr. Rhodes? You don’t look so good.” I gave her a small smile despite the heaviness in my heart before moving to sit crosslegged next to her.
“It’s fine, little chica. Just a little homesick is all.” She put on a thinking face, looking me up and down as she fell back on her butt.
“You’re from really far away and can’t get back, aren’t you?” Nothing could hide my shock at how well this probably around eight to ten year old pony had just figured that out by looking at me. Well, she is Rarity’s sister. Guess it runs in the family.
“Yes. I’m from another world as far as Twilight and the princesses have been able to tell. How I got here though is still up in the air though.” I sighed, leaning my head against my hand which I propped up using my elbow against my knee.
“Well don’t feel sad. Just because you can’t get back home doesn’t mean you can’t have a home here!” She poked my chest with a hoof. For a moment I looked at the little filly’s face, a small smile and eyes full of life.
You know, she might be young enough to be in Rachel’s grade in school, but they both have that strange adult level of smarts. I smiled. “Thanks Sweetie. I’m glad you told me that.” She smiled brightly before sitting back in her seat. It wasn’t long though before an awkward silence fell, and myself the one being counted on to break it.
“So… do you have any games you play while you’re here?”
Sweetie shuffled a bit on the floor. “No, not really. Rarity is usually working or something. It can get pretty boring.”
“No games huh?” I glanced around the room’s various piles of fabric, my grin only growing larger as a plan formed. “I think I’ve got the perfect thing we can do.”
* * *
Rarity moved about her sewing room, picking up parts of the mess that covered it, all the while looking desperately for her measuring tape. “No… no… no, not there… oh, where did I put the blasted thing… Aha!” In triumph, she pulled the end of it out from the bottom of a pile of fabric, flipping over onto the floor in the process.
Rarity sighed at the sight. “I really must clean up once the celebration is over. I swear, it becomes busier every year around this time.” She walked out into the foyer of her shop, calling out she entered. “Allan, I found the-”
Before her stood a patchwork castle, slightly smaller than what an actual castle would be but it still took up most of the foyer nonetheless. She stared agape at the fabric building until she heard her sister’s voice call from the top of the thing.
“Hi Rarity!” she said as she waved. Rarity was about to throw the obvious questions at her when suddenly the entire castle took on a red glow and began to collapse. Before she could figure out what was happening, all the fabric had returned to piles strewn about her shop, with Sweetie sitting on the shoulders of the newest human member of Ponyville holding a large ruby.
“Allan!” Rarity spat out in shock. “How the… I don’t get… what in the world?!”
Allan grinned as he replied “I’ve got a lot of little siblings. You learn how to entertain with what you’ve got on hand.” The ruby in his hand disappeared as he said this. Rarity just stood there, not knowing what to say until Sweetie Belle spoke up again.
“So… can we make a dragon next?”
* * *
After Sweetie and mine little adventure (and a small break to let Rarity calm down), we got the measurements for my clothes done as quick as can be. When she asked what style of clothes I wanted, I was about to go with my old clothing before stopping with a quick glance at my current attire. This thing held together rather well. Much better than my old clothes would have.
“How about just more robes like this?”
“I thought these weren’t the clothes you normally wore though?” Rarity asked with a raise of her eyebrow.
I shrugged. “I guess they’ve just grown on me. Besides, it’ll be way easier for you to make more of something you’ve already seen instead of me trying to describe my normal clothing to you.”
Rarity gave me a glare. “Are you saying I’m not up to the task?”
I rose my hands defensively. “Of course not. I just don’t want to give you more work. You’re already housing me on top of making new clothes. Keep this up and I’ll start to feel like a freeloader.”
Rarity’s smile quickly returned. “Oh Allan, don’t feel like you owe me. I don’t mind being generous for a friend.”
“I’m glad you feel that way, but I still feel like I should do something to help you in exchange.” I crossed my arms in thought until I thought of something. “How about I help you keep the place clean?” Rarity’s glare returned quickly. “Not that you aren’t a clean pony! It just seems the holiday outside has left you with little time to keep the place as tidy as it could be. Plus, if you aren’t worrying about cleaning up after every order, you can get your job done faster.”
Rarity seemed ready to object to this before closing her mouth and pondering for a few seconds. In the end she sighed and said “Alright Allan. If you really feel the need to help, I suppose I won’t stop you. If you like, you can even babysit Sweetie Belle since she seems so fond of you.” I moved to pull out the Ruby but she caught me before I could call it. “Not today though! I want you to rest for today. The mess will still be here when you wake up tomorrow.”
At the moment there was a knock on the door. Rarity called out “Sweetie Belle! Could you get that for me?”
A quick “Yes Rarity” was all that we got in response before Rarity turned back to me.
“Now Allan, is there any other-”
“Um, Rarity?” Sweetie called out. “I think you should come in here.”
Rarity headed for the entryway into the foyer, grumbling “Sweetie Belle, just what could be so important as to- Princess!” She bowed in the entryway as I came up behind her. Just as she said, there was a princess in the house. Luna specifically.
“Good day Miss Rarity. I was hoping if I could borrow Allan. There are some things we must discuss.” I rose an eyebrow at this before shrugging.
“Lead the way, princesa.” I followed her outside to find the sun was beginning to set after the long day. I wonder if Celestia lengthened the day to make up for the crazy long night?
We began walking through the town, the place having quieted down to some degree as ponies went to home to rest. “So, what did you need me for?”
“We wished to discuss a few things with you about your unique situation. Considering you are the only one who can understand that scroll of yours, we believe it would be best if you were assigned to collect and safeguard these… what did you call them?”
“Shen Gong Wu. And do you not remember how awkward I was in the showdown? I can bet that any one of your guards could have done better than I did.”
“That is why we have called upon someone to come to Ponyville and train you. It was not easy to find someone who can train a biped like yourself, but my sister and I have many contacts. Also…” Her horn glowed a dark blue and her amulet slid off of her neck and in front of me. “We believe this would be better guarded under your protection.”
I took the amulet and looked at it in shock before raising an eyebrow at her. “Didn’t you just say I need training? Why are you giving me this?”
“Simple. Only you can access the objects in your scroll. It would only make sense to keep it in a place that only someone I trust can reach.” She gave me a small smile.
I looked back at the amulet once more before closing my hand around it. The amulet turned into golden light and slid out of my enclosed fingers and into the scroll. “I’ll keep it safe princess. You can count on me.”
“Please, just call me Luna. I would much prefer it.”
“Well Luna, I promise you this. The Lunar Locket isn’t leaving my scroll unless you ask for it.”
She nodded before turning back in the direction we had been walking. I looked as well to find Celestia sitting in her carriage, watching us approach with her trademark motherly smile on her face. “I see you have informed Allan of everything he needs sister.”
Luna nodded before taking her seat next to Celestia. “Yes. You were right to believe he would take the assignment. He has a good heart.” I blushed a bit before walking up next to the carriage.
“So how should I contact you guys if I need something? I’ll probably want to keep you informed on what Wu Wuya has as well.”
“Just ask Twilight or Spike to send us a letter. After all, she is my student.”
As the carriage began to move, Luna turned and shout “Farewell Allan! Your trainer should be here at the end of the week!” And then off the carriage flew into the air, soaring off into the distance.
Leaving me to just stand there as every law of physics was broken in front of me. Surprisingly enough though, I wasn’t all that shaken by it. I chuckled and turned around to head back to Rarity’s.
“Guess this place grows on a guy.”