The group exited the library and made their way to City Hall. The ceremony is set to take place inside. The Princess was in front. The Mane Six and dragon were grouped up behind her. Swift Blaze was in the back. As they got closer, the red Earth stallion saw other ponies heading inside. None of them stood out of the ones he knew from the show, nor the ones that fans named.
Princess Celestia stopped in her tracks. She turned her head to the other and said, “Ok, everypony, Blaze and I are going to the backstage. He can meet with you all again afterwards.”
The mares and dragon looked to Blaze with cheerful smiles. He said, “It’s ok, everyone. I'll do my best to handle whatever reaction the townsfolk might do. I'll stay calm about it. All they need is time for them to get to know me as it did with all of you."
“Ok, Blaze. We know you can handle yourself. But, please be careful.” Twilight said. The others nodded in agreement.
The stallion nodded his head back. Then, he followed the Princess to the back. There were a couple Royal Guard ponies standing on either side of the back door. They bowed their heads as the Princess went inside. Blaze was about to follow, when the two guards stopped him. They pushed him back a bit with the back end of their spears. “Halt! You are now allowed to enter here. Only the Princesses, the mayor, and the new guest may enter. Go back to the front entrance,” one of the guards said.
Blaze replied, “I happen to be the guest of Equestria. So if you would step aside and let me . . .”
“HA! You can’t be the guest! We were told it was a strange and freaky creature. You are a normal Earth pony wearing odd clothing,” the other guard said.
“Freak!? Did you just call me a FREAK?” Blaze said in a louder tone. His left eye started to twitch. He looked at them and said in a serious tone, “Last chance. Please, step aside, so I can be introduced to the town.”
“Move along or we will have to force you!” they both said.
Blaze stood up on his hind hooves. He placed one fore hoof pointing straight at them. The other was pulled back so it was near his head. With a smile, he replied, “Like to see you try.”
The guards charged at the red stallion in an attempt to tackle him to the ground. Blazed jumped up and backwards to avoid being hit. In the middle of the flip, he transformed back into a human and landed on his feet, repeating the same position it was in before.
Those guards skidded to a stop in their tracks. They went from strong guard to full frightened mode. Blaze shifted his stance to a more offensive position, in case they charged again. The guards started to back up to the building.
“I thought you were going to force me to go to the front entrance? Or, did I scare the shit out of you?” said Blaze.
“Um, sorry about the confusion, sir. Your body as a pony was so realistic, we couldn’t detect it was an illusion spell,” one of the guards said with fear in their voice.
“Yeah, we really thought you were just another earth pony trying to get a back stage access,” the other guard said with the same tone.
“Next time, ask the Princess that just entered before me if I'm with her.” Blaze transformed back and walked to the entrance. As he passed by the scared stiff guards, the Earth Pony noticed a small, wet area beneath both of them.
Blaze saw the Princess was looking at a couple note cards. He walked up to her and said, “Excuse me, Princess Celestia, why didn't you stop the guards and tell them about my pony form?”
She turned her head to him and replied, “I wanted to see their reaction as well as yours. You are defiantly agile. I think you might do very well in our Royal Guard.”
“If that is the best of them, I think your training needs an overhaul. Let’s get through this first. I'll probably scare these ponies the same way when I go human form. I'll think about your offer and get back to you.”
“Very well, wait for my signal to come onto the stage.” She went around the backdrop and stepped onto the stage. Blaze heard all the ponies cheering for her. “Hello citizens of Ponyville! Today is a grand day. A new creature has come to our world and would like to be part of the community. Now don't be afraid of him. I know he's nothing like we've seen before, but I assure you that he means us no harm. You may have noticed him already and didn't realize it. He disguised himself as a pony so he could learn about the town and our customs. Please, allow me to introduce to you, Swift Blaze!”
The red stallion came around the backdrop and onto the stage. The cheers died off when the crowd saw his pony form. Only ones that continued to cheer were Blaze's current friends. All the ponies had confused look on their faces. One pony in the back yelled, “That's no strange creature. That's just an Earth Pony wearing some odd clothing.”
Blaze stood up on his hind legs and replied, “Really! Then let me show you my true form!”
He released the jutsu. A cloud appeared around his form. Once it dissipated, a human was now standing there. All the ponies gasped at seeing him change. Blaze thought he saw a few faint in the middle, but none were Rarity. He cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. “Your Princess did say I was in a pony form to blend with the town until this introduction could happen."
Once the crowd calmed down, Blaze resumed his speech, "First off, I would like to thank you, Princess Celestia, for the nice introduction. I think I should explain some things about myself that you might be wondering about. I would only ask if you can please hold all questions until I'm done.”
Some nodded while others whispered between themselves. “Ok then, let's start off with that my species is called human . . .”
“HA! I KNEW THEY EXISTED!” Lyra Heartstrings yelled somewhere in the crowd. "YOU ALL LAUGHED AT ME, SAYING THEY ARE MYTHS! HUMAN! HUMAN! I HAVE LOTS OF QUESTIONS!" Two Unicorn guards walked up to her. "No! I will not quiet down! I must get some answers from him before he gets away!" They placed her in a bubble barrier and took her out. "Hey! Stop this! I need to get my answers! HUMAN! I WILL FIND YOU!" The doors closed when they exited the building.
“Anyway, the place that I come from, there is no magic. We are a technological race where we used science to help with everyday living. We walk on two legs and don’t have hooves. The bottom parts of my legs are called feet, and at the end of my arms are what are called hands,” Blaze said as he pointed each body part out. “These tiny things at the end of my hand are called fingers and they allow us humans to grab things as well as other stuff,” he said as he flexed them about.
“Now then, I am not your typical human. I've discovered that I have certain abilities. While you have magic to do some unique things, I use a different energy source within me. One of which allows me to change my form mimic the appearance of anypony. You've just seen me in my own pony form. I think I'll demonstrate by looking like another pony in this room.”
Swift Blaze looked over to the Princess and give her a wink. She nodded as she had a good guess who he is going to do. The human placed his hands together is some formation. A cloud again covered himself. When it disappeared again, another Princess Celestia was standing there.
The ponies were gasped again. The real and fake Princess of the Sun mirrored each other’s movement. They circled around each other so much, the crowd lost track of which one is real. With them panicking, Blaze decided to end the charade and go back to his human form.
Once the cloud dissipated, Blaze raised his arms as he worked on calming everyone down. He said, “I'm making this promise to you citizens, right now, that I won’t use these techniques to cause any harm."
"For another skill I discovered this morning, any ponies here that were in or near the park?" A couple hooves shot up. "So you saw that Rainbow Dash, one of my new friends, was in a race with an unknown pony." More of the crowd nodded their heads. "Well, I was the pony she was racing."
A Pegasus that was off to the side shouted, "I don't believe it! You came in here as an Earth pony. There was no way you could have out flown her. Even Unicorn magic would not allow you to keep up. She's the fastest thing in Equestria."
Blaze replied, "I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but, " he started to hover above the stage high enough so they all could see. “I was that pony Rainbow was racing. It was just a test to see how fast I might be able to go. Be proud of her as she had me really pushing this skill. I've never seen a creature back on my world that can move as fast as she did. To even perform that sonic rainboom, I almost lost my concentration. I'm glad to have her as a friend. Don't worry, she already had me promise to a rematch in the future.”
The ponies started to chant Rainbow’s name. She flew above the crowd to accept the chant. Then, returned back to sit with the other new friends Blaze had made.
“That is pretty much the basics about me. Does anypony have a question for me?” the human said as he scanned the crowd
“How did you arrive here?” asked a pony somewhere in the middle.
“It hurt a lot as I fell from the sky.”
Another pony said, “You just showed us that you can fly. Why didn’t you do that when you were falling?”
“I didn't know how to when I arrived. These abilities, I'm still learning about what I'm capable of." Blaze looked to another section of the crowd. "Next question?” he asked.
“Why do you wear clothing all the time?” A Unicorn mare asked.
“Well, humans don’t have fur all over their body like you ponies do. We do have hair on our head for the same reason you stylize your mane. The other reason is because," he cleared his throat as he started to blush. Blaze said the next thing very fast, "human males can’t hide a certain body part like colts can. NEXT!”
A several mares in the front giggled as their eyes looked the human over. Seeing this, Blaze thought, Oh, I think I'm going to regret that in the future.
“What is your special talent?” A little filly asked from the back.
“Well, I don't know if you would call it a talent. To me, it's more of a belief. I didn't have one until I was magically transformed into an Earth pony by Twilight Sparkle." Blaze rolled the sleeve up on his right upper arm. His cutie mark was revealed as he turned it towards the ponies. “As you can see, this symbol has two rotating pools. One of them is white, while the other is black. They are in perfect balance to each other. Back in my world, they called this the yin and yang symbol. It basically means balance. But, for me, I think this cutie mark means the balance of the body and the mind. That means I do a fair amount of work on my body to keep it fit. And with the mind, I keep it sharp so I am able to react fast to almost any situation. Everywhere you look, there is a balance in play. Here are just a few examples: the sun and moon, chaos and harmony, good and evil, and so on. The universe, like everything in balance so if something tips it too far, the devastation will follow." Blaze rolled the sleeve back down. Then, he said, "Who else as a question for me?”
“Do you have a special somepony?” A mare yelled from the crowd.
Blaze did his best to hold his composure as he replied, “Special somepony? I don’t know the entire lingo here, but if you referring to a girlfriend, then I do not. I haven't been in this world for even a week yet. It's too early for me to think about that. I don’t know even if I want one right now. So sorry ladies, this guy is keeping his single card for now."
Blaze raised one of his arms as he said, "I think that's enough questions now. I'll see you all in Ponyville at some point. I'm here to who knows when!” He started to wave. The ponies applauded and cheered for him. The human was about to walk off the stage when . . .
“Just hold it for a second there, Swift Blaze. There's something else the mayor and I would like to give you.” Princess Celestia said. She then turned to the crowd to address them. Her horn lit up as she revealed an open scroll. “To help you get started in this fair town, Mayor Mare and I would like to give you this deed to three acres of land outside of town for you to build a house on and to your spec when you want to.” She rolled it up and levitated it to Blaze.
He grabbed onto it and started to tear up. This was the biggest generosity he had ever received. “I don't know what to say. Thank you, Princess Celestia and Mayor Mare, for the generous gift, I really do appreciate it.” The ponies started to cheer again as the human finally left the stage.
Blaze went outside and waited for his friends to show up. He saw them coming around the building very quickly. There was no time for him to dodge as Pinkie collided with him first, causing the two to land on the ground. “What an amazing gift to receive. I've never seen anypony get that from the Mayor and Princess. You're so lucky,” Pinkie said while on top of the human.
Applejack said, “Come on Pinkie, get off of him."
Pinkie jumped off of him as quickly as he was tackled.
The orange mare said to Blaze, "Would you let me see that deed? I think I can show ya where the land is at.”
Blaze got up and gave the deed to her.
“Ok, partner, follow me and I'll show you where your land is at.”
The group followed Applejack out of town to a nearby hill. The human recognized it, as it was where he has been training each morning. Blaze smiled at the thought that this land was his now. Hmm, Princess Celestia must have been spying on me each morning. I would like to figure out how and why. Maybe think of a way to teach her about how it's not nice to spy on others.
Rarity said, “What a lovely piece of land. It was nice of the Princess to give this to you.”
“You are not far from my cottage. You can come by whenever you want to, if you don’t mind,” Fluttershy said.
Applejack added, “Blaze, you're also close to my farm. If ya need anything, come on over, sugarcube.”
“So, when are you going to get in contact with an engineer to design and build your house?” asked Twilight.
“Let’s not think about that right now. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm starving,” Blaze said.
His stomach growled in agreement. Everyone laughed at this.
The group headed back into town and made their way to a restaurant. Blaze stayed in his human form. He figured this would be so the town ponies will need to get used to it. Upon entering the place, the chatter from the ponies already in there suddenly stops as every eye in the establishment looked at the human.
Blaze cautiously said, “Uh, hi. Can I get a booth for me and my friends?”
The hostess was a yellow Unicorn mare with a pink mane and tail. She stared at him with a big deer eye look.
“Hellooo, anypony home?” he asked. The human waved his hand in front of her face to get her out the daze she was in.
The mare shook her head. “Oh! Sorry about that. How many in your group?” She asked.
“There are eight of us. Can we get a booth, please?”
“Right away, sir. I'm sorry for staring at you. I have just never seen how, unique you are in that form." She levitated eight green menus to another mare. "The waitress will take you to your booth.”
“It's no problem. I figured this will be happening for the first week or two. It's not everyday a creature from another world comes to your nice town.”
"Thank you. I hope you enjoy your dinner."
The waitress led the group to a big, round booth. The human sat in the middle as best as he could. Everyone else were on either side of him. The chatter in the restaurant came back to normal. Blaze thought that some of the conversations might be about him.
Being back in human form, his choices were limited on what he can eat. While looking through the menu, he thought Need to get some meat soon. Maybe I will ask Fluttershy for some meat tomorrow. He decided on a simple garden salad, with no flowers, a vinaigrette dressing, and some bread. The other girls and Spike placed their orders. Once the waitress left, they all turned their heads and looked at Blaze.
"What? Do I have something on my face?" he asked.
Twilight replied, "Well, we were wondering what spell it was that you were going to show us next."
"Hmm, I honestly don't know what 'jutsu' I will learn. I don't exactly have full control of the learning aspects of it. They have been occurring in my sleep. Every time, it surprises me."
"Oh! I love surprises! One time . . ." Pinkie said as she goes into one of her odd stories. Everyone else at the table nodded at different intervals as they listened. ". . . and that is how Equestria was made."
Now that randomness is out of the way, Blaze looked to the white Unicorn and said, “Anyways . . . So, Rarity, would you mind if I come over tomorrow morning? I'm going to need a set of human clothes. Don't want to continue wearing the same thing every day. I still would like them to be like this gi, but I'll let you choose the two colors for each set. Just one tiny request, please don't do any pastel or girly colors. Also, I will pay for these, once I can find a job.”
Twilight spoke up, “Oh! Princess Celestia wanted me to give you this and this note about it.” The purple Unicorn levitated a pouch from her sack. It had a scroll note attached to it.
The human grabbed onto the pouch. Once the magic was released, he felt some serious weight with it. “What’s this?” he asked.
“Read the note on it, silly.” Pinkie said.
Blaze placed the bag down onto the table and pulled the note off. The contents read:
Hello Bob/Swift Blaze,
If I know my student, Twilight Sparkle, I figure you are getting this after the ceremony, at some restaurant, and after you mentioned needing to get a job to get money. To help you along, I'm giving you this pouch of 7,000 Bits to help you pay for any expenses you are going to need to pay, until you're able to find a job.
Your Sun Ruler,
Princess Celestia.
P.S. You’re pulling to your right a bit in your morning training. You should work on it.
Blaze immediately thought, Ha! I knew the Princess was spying on me. Now then, I will have to pay her back, somehow.
The human rolled the scroll back up. Then said, “Well, that was definitely a surprise." He looked towards Rarity. "How much would you charge to make seven gi and fourteen undergarments?”
Rarity replied, “Give me a minute, darling.” The white Unicorn mumbled some stuff to her as she did the calculations in her head. “For a normal customer, I would charge One Thousand Bits for what you requested. But, for being one of my close friends, you would only have to pay Five Hundred Bits.”
“Thank you for the discount." Blaze directed his attention back to everyone else at the table "Could someone explain me how your money system works here?”
“Our money is called Bits and comes in four different increments.” Twilight stated. “A copper bit is worth One Bit. A silver bit is worth Twenty-Five Bits. A gold bit is worth One Hundred Bits. Finally, a platinum bit is worth One Thousand Bits. Would you mind telling me why you are interested when you have no money?”
“What do you think the Princess gave me?” The human said as he shook the money bag.
He reached into it and pulled out Six gold Bits and Two silver Bits. Blaze closed it back up and passed the money to Rarity.
“Here is the money for the clothes. Plus, a little tip for the work you have done and will be doing in the future.”
She counted the money and quickly said, “Oh my! I could not accept that much of a tip. Having you as a friend is more of a tip I need.” Rarity tried to send a gold Bit back to him with her magic.
Blaze held his hand up to stop it. Then said, “No, Rarity, I insist. Plus, this won’t be the only clothing you will need to make for me. I'm going to need a tux for the gala, clothes for when it gets cold, and rain gear for when it rains. Please, accept the tip. I'll only be going to you for all my clothing needs.”
Rarity nodded her head. Then, she levitated all the Bits and placed them in her saddlebag.
The human saw a Unicorn waiter carrying eight plates of food with his magic. The stallion was heading to their booth. “Looks like the food is here. Let's dig in.” said Blaze.
They ate the meal in silence as everyone was too busy chewing their food. It was another great meal as they all had smiles on their faces. Once done, the waiter came back, collected the plates, and left the check.
Just as the mares started to fiddle with their saddlebags to get their money out. Blaze said, “Wait a sec, you've treated me to several meals already. Please, allow me to get this one.”
Twilight said, "We don't mind, Blaze. You are our guest and new friend."
"Then let this friend take care of this meal. It's the least thing I can do."
The mares all nodded as they put their Bits away. Blaze picked the check up and looked at it. Then, counted out the right amount of coinage to include a tip.
They left the restaurant and made their way to the town center square. Before the human said it, Rainbow Dash said, “Ok, Blaze, which one of us are you going to ask to stay at their place for the night?”
“Let's see, I've stayed at Fluttershy and Twilight already." He turned and looked at the blue Pegasus. "I’m sorry Dash, but I can’t stand on clouds. My flying skill requires concentration to keep me up. Plus, I don't feel like falling out of the sky again."
"It's no problem. Just one day, remind me to show everything about the Wonderbolts. You may like them as much as me."
"I'll take you up on that." He turned back to the others. In a game show style voice, Blaze said, "So, the contestants are Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. Who will take a strange creature to their home?”
Applejack spoke up first, “I think ya should come to the farm. My sis was asking me questions about ya while at the ceremony. Plus, I can show ya to the rest of my family.”
“Then I'm coming home with you if there are no better offers.” Blaze looked and no other pony said anything. “Nope? Then sold to the orange pony with apples for a cutie mark! Come on down and claim your prize!” he finished with the game show voice.
The girls started to laugh at this while Applejack started to blush.
“Come on now. Stop it. Before I buck you to the next town." The group quieted the laughter down, but they still had a big grin on their faces.
"Ok, let's get going. I shall see the rest of you tomorrow," the human said as he waved goodbye.
Applejack and Swift Blaze headed to her farm while the rest went to their homes.