Chapter 3: The Others
Fluttershy and I came into Ponyville, my forehead beginning to sweat. I finally felt relieved once Fluttershy pointed out Twilight's library. As we descended near the door I quickly dropped down the last twenty feet, landing hard and dropping to my knees as I panted heavily. Fluttershy landed next to me, worried about my sudden rough landing.
"Oh my goodness, are you okay?" Fluttershy asked, putting a hoof on my shoulder.
"Yeah," I panted, "I'm good. Just not used, to flying, for so long."
"Are you sure?" Fluttershy asked, now putting her hoof on my forehead.
"Yeah, don't worry," I said, slowly standing up.
I struggled to get upright, my legs shaking and numb, my heart pounding.
"Gee, flying really takes it out of you," I said, now on my feet, "Shall we?"
Fluttershy still had a concerned look on her face, but nodded as she approached the door, knocking three times.
"Oh, um, you may want to stand off to the side," Fluttershy said.
I nodded as I stepped beside the door. A few seconds later Spike came to answer the door.
"Hi Fluttershy, what brings you by?" Spike asked.
"Hello Spike, I've come to speak with Twilight, is she here right now?" Fluttershy asked.
"Sure, she's looking through some books right now, Rainbow Dash is here too," Spike said.
At that moment Twilight walked up to the door.
"Hello Fluttershy, did I hear you needed to speak with me?" Twilight asked.
"Yes, I have a new friend I'd like you to meet," Fluttershy said with a smile.
"A new friend where are..." Twilight began.
Twilight stuck her head out of the door and began looking for this 'new friend' when she looked over and locked eyes on me. For a second or two she stared at me as her eyes grew wider and wider. I felt a small shiver of panic as I feared she didn't like the look of me.
"Heh, hi there," I said with a small nervous chuckle.
Twilight jumped back a little bit, her eyes still wide with surprise. Spike poked his head out of the door to catch a glimpse of me as well.
"Whoa, what the?" Spike uttered.
"Don't worry, he's nice," Fluttershy said calmly to Twilight and Spike.
"Fluttershy, what is that thing?" Twilight asked.
"You can call me a human, or a saiyan... I don't know which actually," I said.
Twilight's horn began glowing for a second, a terrified look on her face gave away her intentions.
"No no! Wait, please," I began holding my hands out, "I'm just looking for help!"
I was engulfed in the purple glow of Twilight's telekinetic magic as she lifted me a few feet in the air. I braced, preparing to be thrown by her.
"Fluttershy, you brought a potentially dangerous creature into Ponyville! Why?!" Twilight lectured, holding me far away from them.
"Twilight, put him down, he's nice, and he's lost," Fluttershy began, "I found him last night during the storm, he was lying on the ground cold, soaking wet, and unconscious. I just want to help him"
Twilight looked back up at me with a squint of uncertainty. She looked me up and down intensely, assessing how much of a threat I could be.
"It's true," I began, "I don't really know how I got here, but I think I'm gonna be here a while, I might as well learn more about this place?"
Twilight could detect the uncertainty of my statement. She frowned a bit, lowering her eyebrows, as she fully processed my words. At that moment her horn stopped glowing as she dropped me to the ground. I flailed around as I fell, hitting the ground with all the grace and beauty of a sack of potatoes.
"Alright mister, but you watch yourself," Twilight began, "We may look harmless, but me and my friends are the Elements of Harmony. One false move and you get turned into stone."
"Good deal," I said, sitting up brushing myself off.
Twilight opened the door and let Fluttershy in. I slowly headed to the door, looking all around me to see if any other ponies had witnessed the event. Thankfully it appeared no one was around, it was still very early and Ponyville seemed like a quiet little town. Turning back to the door I walked in, ducking my head a few inches below the door-frame, my hair brushing against it.
As I walked in I noticed Rainbow Dash sitting at a table relaxing, casually reading a Daring Do book.
"Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy is here, and she brought her new friend," Twilight said, bracing for Rainbow Dash's reaction.
Rainbow Dash glanced up from her book, waving a hoof at us dismissively before making a double take to look back at me with wide eyes. I quickly sat down, crossing my legs, to try and immediately make myself less threatening.
"Whoa!" Rainbow Dash shouted, "What is that thing?!"
"According to what it said it doesn't really know," Twilight said.
"I'm a male, you can call me 'he'," I clarified, "I know I don't have the manliest build, or voice, or features..."
Rainbow Dash quickly set her book down and leapt into the air, spreading her wings to glide over to me and Fluttershy. She landed beside us and stared at me, checking me out from head to toe.
"Whoa, you're weird looking," Rainbow Dash said, studying me, "Almost like some big monkey. But with less hair and more clothes."
"Thank you," I replied flatly.
"Rainbow Dash, that wasn't nice," Fluttershy interjected, "He has feelings too."
"Come on, he said 'Thank you', and he doesn't seem that upset," Rainbow Dash snapped in defense.
"It's okay," I began, "I know I'm a strange creature, to you guys I do look weird."
"Wait, how can you speak our language anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked.
I paused for a minute here, considering telling a joke, but I decided against it. After all, I doubt they were friendly enough already that I could joke with them about learning their language by saying I sucked out a ponies brain or something. I'm sure they would've taken that literally.
"Well, I don't really know, it's a strange coincidence," I explained, "Where I come from the language is called English. Many human people speak it, though there are others."
"Interesting," Twilight mumbled softly.
I could tell Twilight would be very interested to learn more about my world.
"Twilight was it?" I asked, pretending not to know her name.
"Yes?" she replied.
"Would you like to know more about my world?" I asked.
"Certainly," Twilight replied, a smile growing across her face.
Her horn glowed for a few seconds as a book and quill pen floated up from behind her. She sat down in front of me, book and quill before her. A bottle of ink floated over and landed on the floor beside her, the quill dipped in a few times before returning to it's position over the blank page.
"Oh boy, where should I start," I said, putting a hand to my chin.
"Well, what is you're society like?" Twilight began, "Or your people? Your world? Magic?"
"Ah, well, for starters we don't have any magic," I said.
Twilight's eyes grew wide as the quill began to scribble down some notes.
"Interesting..." Twilight began, "Then how do your people get anything done?"
"Um, well. We have machines, and technology. For a long time there was a lot of labor, we lived much like the Earth ponies I guess," I said, trying to explain.
"I see," Twilight mumbled, jotting down her notes, "Wait, how do you know about the Earth ponies?"
I felt a nervous chill shoot down my spine.
"Uh," was all I managed to say.
"His people have the ability to watch our world, he told me they know a little about us," Fluttershy explained.
"That's strange, how do you accomplish that without magic?" Twilight asked.
"Um, it's really hard to explain, but I could tell you some other time I guess," I replied quickly, "Also, you may want to right down that the name of my world is Earth."
"Earth? Like the Earth ponies? How?" Twilight asked, "That's impossible."
"Yeah, this is really fun and all, but I'm getting a little bored," Rainbow Dash interrupted.
"Rainbow Dash, this is important! Not to mention this is technically the first contact with an intelligent species much like our own, it's history in the making!" Twilight scolded. "Don't you see the significance of this situation!?"
"Yeah, okay, you're right," Rainbow Dash began, "You have fun with your alien, I'm gonna go stretch my wings a little."
"Wait!" I called out after her, standing up quickly.
"Whoa! Back up Jack!" Rainbow Dash shouted, putting up her fore hooves.
"No wait, I'm not gonna hurt you, I just wanted to ask a question," I said.
"Well spit it out," Rainbow Dash said.
"Is there anyone you know who could organize, a gathering of sorts, to welcome me into Ponyville?" I asked, trying to drop a hint.
"A what now?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"You know, someone who could throw a, I guess you could say, a welcome party?" I asked, trying to be less subtle.
"Heh, if there's anyone in Ponyville who can throw a party, it's Pinkie Pie," Rainbow Dash chuckled.
"Cool, can you get her to invite everyone in Ponyville to meet me at a welcome party?" I asked.
"Sure, but what for?" Rainbow Dash asked.
I looked down for a moment, resisting the urge to face-palm, as if my intentions weren't clear enough already. I looked back up at her with a smile.
"Well, I may be here for a while, and I'd like my stay to be comfortable," I began, "So, I want everyone here to see me in a safe, happy environment, maybe meet me and get to know me, that way, no one will be scared of me if they see me and I could live here like a regular."
Rainbow Dash's face lit up.
"Ah, I gotcha! Hey, why didn't we do that with Zecora after we got to no her?" Rainbow Dash thought out loud.
At that moment I did do a small, subtle face-palm, gently putting my hand on my forehead as I struggled to keep smiling.
"Alright, you got it!" Rainbow Dash said, "See you around monkey man, I'll let you know when the party starts!"
Rainbow Dash walked out the door and took off into the air, a rainbow streak following her.
"So, are there any other friends or yours who I could meet?" I asked Twilight and Fluttershy.
"Well, there might be Applejack. I think your chances are best with her, she doesn't strike me as a pony who'd run away from or attack you," Twilight began, rubbing her chin with a hoof.
"What about Rarity?" Fluttershy suggested.
"Oh no, absolutely not," Twilight began, "If I were you I'd probably wait until that party you were asking for."
"Wait, what about Pinkie Pie?" Fluttershy asked.
"I don't know," Twilight began, thinking very hard, "I don't think she'd run. She is a very different pony. Who knows? Again, I'd wait."
"And I'll take your word for it," I said to Twilight.
"So, what are you going to do now that you're here in Equestria?" Twilight asked.
I thought for a moment. I knew I had planned to stay a while, and because of that I wanted everyone to get to know me. However, I didn't really have a concrete plan... I knew I'd probably have to get a job or do something around here to stay somewhere.
"Well, I don't really have it all figured out yet," I said.
"Well, if you ever need a place to stay I'm sure I can find somewhere for you to go," Twilight said with a warm smile.
"Thank you, I'm not sure, but I think I might stay with Fluttershy for the time being," I said.
I looked at Fluttershy whose eyes were now wide with surprise.
"Me? Oh, well, I guess you could," Fluttershy began, staring down at her hooves, "I did find you and rescue you."
I could tell she wasn't immediately thrilled by the idea. I turned and kneeled down in front of her.
"Hey now, I won't make you let me stay there," I said softly.
She glanced up to look me in the eye for a moment.
"Well, you don't really have anywhere else to go," Fluttershy began, "And you seem nice. I don't want you to feel like I'm kicking you out or anything."
"Are you sure? Maybe Twilight could let me stay with her," I said.
I looked over my shoulder at Twilight, to see her nod once.
"But only for a little while," Twilight said, "This is a library, not a hotel."
"Understood," I said, turning back to face Fluttershy.
"Okay, well, I think I want you to stay," Fluttershy said, "You did save me that night, I suppose I could repay you with a place to stay."
"Oh no, I was just doing the right thing, you don't have to feel obligate because of that," I said.
"No, I want to let you stay," Fluttershy said, "It's where you spent the night, and it's the only home you know here, I want you to be comfortable, like you said."
I remained silent for a moment, taking it all in, appreciating her kindness. It was one of the nicer things anyone has ever done for me, perhaps the nicest.
"Thank you, Fluttershy," I said, slowly hugging her.
I felt her jump a bit, startled at the sudden hug, but she understood I was grateful, and let me hug her for a few seconds.
"Your welcome," Fluttershy said.
I stood up and looked back at Twilight who was staring intently at us. I couldn't really read her emotion, but it was probably one of surprise or astonishment.
"Okay..." Twilight began, "Looks like you two are friends now. Guess you won't have any problem winning over the citizens of Ponyville?"
I felt a nervous lump in my throat, and swallowed hard.
"I sure hope not," I said softly.
Twilight sensed the worry in my voice.
"Hey there, don't worry about it, I'll make sure to say some good things about you at the party," Twilight said.
"Thanks," I replied.
"Oh my goodness," Fluttershy said, looking at a clock, "I have to get home, it's time to feed my animals again."
"Alright then," Twilight said, "See you later you two."
Fluttershy and I headed for the door.
"See you," I said, "I don't suppose you know anyone who could make me a tuxedo or something for the party?"
"Actually, Rarity could," Twilight replied, "But you might wanna wait on that."
"Alrighty then," I said, "See you then."
Fluttershy and I waved goodbye as we walked outside. We slowly took to the air, and headed back to Fluttershy's cottage. I felt a small sense of relief that I'd made a couple of new friends here already, but I still felt very nervous about this party. I've never been a party person, and more importantly, I wasn't so sure the other ponies of Ponyville would be so warm and accepting of me. Keeping all that in mind, I was prepared for the very real possibility of torches and pitchforks