//------------------------------// // A dash of regret in the air // Story: The new arrival in Equestria // by Blazer787 //------------------------------// It had seemed like I was gone for an eternity, just floating in purgatory for years gone by. Yet somehow it also seemed like an instant, just one quick flash of darkness and I was back. In a flash a familiar light blue pony appeared inches away from me with the most furious look you've ever seen. "You just had to go and fall didn't you! Why'd you have to do that huh!" Her rage quickly fell as did her expression, turning into a quiet sad tone. "We…We all thought you were dead." I didn't have the nerve to say a thing as I spotted a glistening tear swell up in the corner of her eye. She stormed off in a mix of tears and rage. Half way it turned into a run as I heard a whisper of sobbing. I couldn't even begin to imagine what she was feeling; having believed someone lost for a whole week... Time passes abnormally slow when you're neutral, truly neutral, with not a thing win the world to do but think and wonder. And at a time like this it seemed fitting. As I laid there waiting anxiously for everyone to walk into the room with a disbelieving look on their faces, something came up in my mind. One of those things that your mind shuns because you can't bear to think it…Shuns it right out of existence. I realised that these ponies even though brilliant, are incredibly ignorant and stupid. I never wanted to think any of that after all they had done for me, a complete alien to them. But looking at all the facts it seemed true. They have all the technology and understanding to make television yet they don't the same goes for computers and refrigeration. Not that they would need refrigerators but the point still stands…These ponies know so much and have come so far, yet they see so little. "Wow, it's amazing how philosophical you can get when just lying in bed." I said to myself still wrapped in the loose white sheets. I always talked to myself back home and a lot of people thought of me as weird for it. I always thought of it as healthy, or maybe I was shunning some deep fact about home. Well it wouldn't matter now anyway, I can't even remember what 'home' looked like, and the closest thing I could get was the country. Hmm…Home…Maybe; just maybe…This was my home now. It sure felt like it, and is most likely better than anyplace back on Earth. Yes…I've been stuck- no not stuck. Living, I've been living on this planet for over two weeks now and it was only then I realised that this place, this 'Equestria' had become more of a home than Earth ever was to me. The doctor was defiantly taking his time getting the others. I can't really blame him, not so often you fall from a cloud and survive. Being the kind pony that I made her out to be, that blue dentist pony had decided to keep me company. "So…What were you doing when I woke up?" "Like I said, I'm the dentist here in Ponyville. But working with pony teeth can get boring sometimes. And ever since you arrived I've been wondering how different you are from us. So when nurse Red Heart let me in, I went for it." "So…A complete alien is in a coma and without any permission or know-how of what you were doing. You just decided to do a routine check-up?" "Well…Y-yeah." She said that in one of those cheery tones you use to cover up something awkward. "Oh well, no turning back the clock I guess. So find what you were lookin' for?" "What are the spikey ones for?" Her eyes shined with curiosity. She seemed like the kind of mare that always wanted to know more. I have no idea why she got into dentistry; it wasn't even the right mark thing…Yeah it's kind of hard remembering all of these pony terms. Instead her mark was an hourglass, just like that doctor pony had…I'll need to talk with him soon, he seems to know a lot more than he says. "Well, we're omnivores so we have teeth both like yours and spikey like a wolf. So we usually use these to grind up meat." As I looked up she had the strangest look on her face. Shock, horror, disgust, concern, I don't know what to call it. "Oh don't give me that look I've been dead for a week. And it's not like we chose to be this way it's just evolution. But we do what we need to survive. Oh and I never really got your name, what was it again?" "C-Colgate. My n-names Colgate." She took a noticeable step away from the bed. "Oh come on Colgate, you don't really think I'm going to try and pounce and eat you do you?" That joking question rose a concerning pause. Maybe she did think I was some kind of monster, do all of them? "Well…" Suddenly Colgate was interrupted by a pink blur that flashed into the room, followed by the others in the thing most opposite of a flash. And I was greeted with an oh so familiar voice. "MICHAEL! Your awake you're awake!" Pinkie threw her arms around me in a tight hug. But something was off about her. She had a straight, darker mane instead of her usual overly puffy and curly style. Tears had stained her face making it go a slightly darker shade than her normal optimistic pink. "Michael! You're awake!" Called out Applejack, she had a tone of renewed hope. A tone you only get when you wish for something just hard enough and it comes true. She reminded me of myself when it turns out all…This was real. "How do ya feel sugarcube?" "You see? He's all right!" Rarity encouraged Fluttershy who was also crying. I'm not sure if it was out of grief or joy. "Hey everypony!" As Pinkie still clinging to me tightened her grip, as surge of pain shot through my chest. "Aarrgghh!" I cried out. "Michael are you okay?" Pinkie pulled herself off me, little droplets of tears still glistening in her eyes. "I-I'm fine Pinkie, don't worry." "It's because you hugged 'm to hard," said Applejack in an annoyed tone. "Oh…" Pinkie stared at the floor embarrassed. "If you don't mind me asking, what was it like?" Twilight asked, her eyes gleaming with curiosity. "What? Being in hospital for a whole week?" "Yes, what was it like being dead for a whole week?" "Woah wait, are you sure I was dead? Not just in some sort of coma or something?" "Nurse Red Heart wouldn't let us see you; we all just assumed that…" She trailed off in that last fragment. "To be honest not much really, one minute I'm at Rainbows house, next I'm in hospital with a pink pony using me as a trampoline." Pinkie looked away, embarrassed as soon as I brought that up. "Have you noticed that he has really sharp teeth?" Colgate said as she sprung and held my mouth open. "Pointy teeth?" Twilight asked. "That means h-he's a v-vampony!" Pinkie quickly backed away; maybe they did all think I was some kind of monster. I guess that thought spread all over my face as Applejack said: "Ah cheer up Michael, yer aint any kind o' monster to us. Even if Rarity did want to get her hooves on yer clothes" she said in an accusing tone. "What did she just say?" I thought. "Well excuse me for taking up such a gleaming opportunity" said Rarity in her usual esteemed voice. "Ya'll could have at least waited 'till he'd woken up yet." "W-w-wait a second, hold on. You ponies have clothes I've seen them, why'd you want mine now?" "Your clothes and our clothes are completely different designs, and just imagine if I were the first to discover them" she sounded like someone describing a plan to become famous. "Oh that reminds me, why do you wear clothes all of the time Michael?" Twilight asked, with Spike ready to take down anything I said. "Ohhh" I sighed along with a face palm. "Twilight if only you knew how awkward that question is." "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you or-" "No, no, no it's fine. Just a bit awkward is all. Humans wear clothing because of decency for the main reason. Not to mention its illegal back home." "Then how come ya'll were just fine with me seein' yer with no shirt?" Interrupted Applejack Oh boy, this is getting more awkward by the second. "Do I really have to go into human anatomy and Biology? That's like trying to explain sex to a child." Were they planning to ask me all this? When I can't walk off and avoid the question? "As for an answer it's much better for a male to walk around without a shirt than a girl." "How about a less awkward question for it guys?" Twilight froze suddenly realised what she had said. "It? I was only gone for half a week and we're already back to this?" "M-maybe it's best if we just go." "Hey no wait," they all halted and turned back to face me. "Did any of you see that pirate at the train station?" "Pirate?" They all said in unison, maybe they all did plan this. "Michael, you must just be seeing things. It's not every day that someone like you comes to Equestria." "Yes but I hadn't seen him before and…" Speaking of that pirate, there he was again, standing right in front of my hospital bed, totally anonymous. With that creepy cheery smile, waving that me like this whole thing was a big joke. "Hey you!" I called out, pointing to him. "You guys see him now?" "Michael dear, there isn't anypony there." Looking back I could clearly see he was still there. With a very amused look on his face, "how can you not see him!" "Just take a few days to get yet bearings partner." Said applejack patting me on the shoulder, "come on now everypony. Let's leave him to rest; he might be a few apples short of a bushel." That last part was obviously whispered, but somehow I still managed to hear it. Almost perfectly, like my senses were sharpened by that crash. "Hey come on I can prove it. If you would all just come back and listen to me!" "Ah don't worry there humany wumany. I said the same thing a while back." Pinkie half laughed, wrapping her arm around my neck before walking off. It was strange how she could have gone from crying with straight hair, back to being pinkie with poofy hair all in that instant. Well this world was just like a roller-coaster I guess. "Now would you look at that?" Said that pirate, still standing over me, "they don't believe you, I wonder why that is." "You tell me, you're the stalker pirate here. But who are you anyway?" "Oh I could tell you who I am, but that would just take the fun out of it. Furthermore did you hear what they said? They called you crazy, 'it', they called you a monster." "Well…It's not every day I just drop out of the sky you know, literally." "Face it Michael, they hate you, you're a monster to them and you can't run from that. Humans are always monsters." "But…But you're a human to though." "Well you could say that, but at least I know I'm a monster. It will just be all the more sad and maddening when they finally throw you away. After all they don't like you, they don't find you interesting. To them you're just an abomination, and they'll abandon you Michael. Use you then throw you away like all of Rainbows plans back at her house." "Wait how did you-" "But that's a shame; it really is, being a circus freak for the rest of your life in this alien world." "No! It's not like that!" I could feel my throat closing up, chocking me like when you cry. "They aren't like us, they're better than us! You're not even real!" I shook my head in frustration and denial. "Alright then, you can just keep pushing those facts deeper and deeper, we'll see where that gets you when they come right back up, and you know they're true." And with that final comment he walked straight out, not a single word more. What was even worse than that whole lecture was the fact that he was right. It's something I never wanted to even think about but...Deep down I knew all of that I guess…But after all they did for me I couldn't bear to think any of it. "No…No I just need to clear my head is all. Then tall of this crap will be outta my head for good." As I tried to get up the crippling pain came back, but I couldn't stay in here. This room felt heavier now, like something evil had swept over it, which for all I know had just happened. My persistence paid off in the end as I finally got up, slowly easing myself into the pain and awkwardly getting up with as little bending as possible. Not much else happened for the rest of that day, nothing worth mentioning anyway. Just walking, thinking, talking with Lyra, and trying to avoid nurse Red Heart. By the time it got to sunset she eventually found me, but it was all worth it for the adrenaline rush of hiding and skulking. I didn't sleep well that night either so the day was all pretty crappy. But something strange happened when I was asleep. You see normally my dreams are only flashbacks of my life, faces, buildings, and rooms that all came out blurred and fuzzy when I tried to recall them. But tonight was different; this dream was so crystal clear I could remember every detail when I woke up. "Hey wake up!" Someone said, shaking me awake. "Is this game really that boring to you?" As I looked up I saw his face again, that pirate. We were both sitting at a table with a chess board in mid play there. I looked around and it was like we were on a huge chessboard ourselves, right on the centre square. "You didn't fall asleep when we started. Feeling a little uneasy?" He picked up his knight and swung it around knocking over one of my pawns. "Your move" he said with a smug expression. I swung up in bed, gasping for air like I'd just race a marathon. Looking to the side I could see Nurse Red Heart who had stumbled back in surprise, my guess is she had been leaning over me at the time. "Oh hello, come to examine the crime scene?" I said jokingly. "Of sorts," she responded writing down reports on a clipboard. For the next half an hour it was just medical test after test after test, but something was troubling her all the way through. It was written all over her face. "What's wrong? You don't seem like yourself today." I asked out of concern, partly for my results, but mostly for her. "We barely know each other Michael." She said not bothering to look up from her results. "Yeah but…You have that look in your eye, the look that something's not right." "If you really want to know take a look at this." She floated the clipboard down on my lap. I picked it up and I saw disappointed to find it was all in Cursive writing. (The type with all the curly fancy letters.) Even when I did make some of it out, they were all extremely complicated medical terms. "Uhh…Hate to break it to ya, but I'm not really a doctor. Also I can't read cursive very well." "What do they teach you in schools back where you came from?" "Wouldn't you like to know" I taunted. Then realised how stupid that sounded. She sighed and said: "In basic terms over a third of your damage that you sustained has been healed. I'm not really sure how fast you people heal so I didn't bother very much with it." "Wait a second…How bad was I injured?" "Well, none physically. Your body was in perfect shape when we found you. Not even a starch. But something was keeping you from waking up. Nothing mental either, from what we could make out of that mess you can call a mind." I grunted at that fact. Our minds are more complex than any of these ignorant ponies could imagine…Well that pirate hasn't gotten out of my mind yet. "It was something else, Twilight was the only one I allowed to see you and not even she could figure out what it was." "But what about the pain I get from when I try to sit up, and pinkie's hug?" "We couldn't explain that either. You're a real mystery you know that?" "Any good news then?" "Actually…Yes, I took a look inside you, not literally of course. But like I said whatever was causing your pain has almost gone now. You should be good to leave the hospital. But don't try to run or do anything strenuous." "Really?" I slowly leaned forward and didn't find a single hint of any pain. "Well would you look at that! If it's all the same with you, I'll be leaving now." "Alright, come back if anything else happens." I got up and stretched as much as I could. Being stuck in bed for a week can get your bones pretty stiff. On my way out she called back to me again; "Oh and Michael, try not to fall off a cloud again." And with that I stepped outside. It was nice to feel the warmth of the sun again, and not just have a portion of it leaking through curtains. I let the golden rays spill onto my face as I stood there, my eyes focusing to a clear picture of everypony doing their own thing. Living their own little lives in this slice of heaven. But above all this is something of greater importance that requires my attention… "RAINBOW!" I shouted at a lone, dark cloud looming over a calm, empty, lusciously green field. "I know you're up there!" How did I know, well…The sky is clear, and Rainbow seems like the kind of pony that wants to prove herself whenever and however she can. And if she's cleared the sky then why is this cloud the only cloud in view? "What?" Said rainbow in an annoyed, angry tone, poking her head out the bottom of the cloud "haven't you done enough already?" With that she burrowed back inside the cloud, or on top I wasn't really sure from this angle. "Come on Rainbow, I just want to talk. What's got you so down today?" "If you guys are so great you tell me!" "What are you talking about?" "You always say humans are sooo smart, but you can't even figure this one out! Why don't you go ask your little girlfriend Twilight?" "Girlfriend…What" I muttered to myself. I sighed in defeat and walked back towards ponyville, knowing that she wasn't going to say anything to me anytime soon. As I walked back there was a flash and a crack sound from being me, "I'm going already sheesh." Turns out Rainbow had tried to hit my foot with lightning…A pony girlfriend huh? I didn't even want to think about how that would possibly work. I felt the need to go out and do something, anything really. Ever since this morning I'd felt a rise in energy, ironic how I haven't had any meat in two weeks, but I just felt this craving for work. "Well I do have the rest of the day with myself, and I've been asleep for a week so…Wait dammit the doctor said not to do any hard work dammit!" I stood there wondering what to do; I was a complete alien in this world…Then a familiar pony came up to me again, well a familiar Pegasus. "Telegram" he said holding a note in his hoof. "Oh it's you again." It was once again that black and white pony who had been following me almost ever since I got here. Well stalking is a better word for it. I took the letter from him and hesitated to open it. It was then I decided something. "No…" I said, before he could run off again. "What?" "No, I don't want anything to do with anything anymore!" I tore up the note without even reading it. "Every single day since I arrived here it's been nothing but mystery and my sanity slipping away!" "Aww, are you getting mad again?" The prate had appeared right next to him without the black pony even noticing, like a ghost. "How cute, little Michael thinks he's tough." "Both of you get the fuck out of here!" I shouted at them, we were far enough out that only maybe Rainbow could hear us. "Both?" The black pony questioned. "Either tell me who the hell you are, or just piss off and stop stalking me!" I stormed off not really knowing what I was furious about. Was it the fact I was an outsider? That people have been stalking me? Maybe I just finally snapped and neither of them are real at all. I just wanted to get it over with, but I didn't really know what to get over. So the rest of the day I spent wandering around and around aimlessly. It was already past lunch so Sugar cube Corner wouldn't be getting much business; Rainbow was pissed at me, I didn't have the patience to go to the library or Raritys, and Fluttershys personality would just piss me off even more right now. By the time it was sunset I eventually ended up on a hill overlooking ponyville and as I collapsed under a tree. All my aggression and fear and anything else I was feeling came out in a single whisper. "I just want to go home." I burrowed my face into my knees and tried to imagine being back on Earth with my family and friends, waking up one day like this was all just a dream. I didn't care if life back there was boring and repetitive, it was still my life. A human's life and it always will be. But part of me didn't want to go, and I think that that part will always be there. I could hear something drop in front of me. I didn't look up though; it would either be one of my hallucinations, another pony, I wouldn't have evened cared if it was a bear I just didn't have the nerve to look up. Eventually though I did, and lying in front of me was that same piece of paper two weeks ago, I didn't know how I could tell but I just could. I unfolded it and sure enough, that same saying there: "Never forget, never regret" maybe that was a saying I had back there. But that little slip of paper no matter how unimportant it was to anyone else was more valuable than any diamond in the world to me at that moment. That little sentence gave me new hope to push on. With the sun almost gone and the sky in twilight, I picked myself up and walked back down to the dusty pathway with the paper still in hand. Then it hit me…How could a tiny slip of paper make so much noise? Before I could even start of think about it Twilight appeared from the shadows with a bag swung over her back. "We need to talk" she stated. We walked along the dusty trail with the sky slightly illuminated over our heads. I don't know why but I could smell something sweet in the air, like cupcakes or something else Pinkie would make. "So, can you remember anything about your past?" She asked. "Not really my past. I can only remember general stuff about my world but nothing personal." "Well what about humans, what are they like, Cultural, religious, magical?" "Twilight why did you really ask me out here?" "What do you mean?" "If you wanted to know about humans you could have asked me at any time, or back in the hospital" "I-I had things to do Michael." "I can see it in your eyes Twilight, and the way you walk and talk, there's something else you want." "Why are you so quick to the jump the barrel Michael?" "You're a smart pony but not terrific at lying." "How did you figure all that out from that one sentence?" "I…I don't know really. I couldn't do that before…Anyway why are we out here?" "It may sound silly but…I think you've caught something." "Like some pony virus? Is that even possible?" "Well…It's more of a myth than a virus." She opened her satchel and levitated out a book. "A myth…Wait does Pinkie think I'm some sort of vampire just because of my teeth?" "Why would pinkie put me up to this?" "You can't smell it? You smell like you've been eating at Pinkies" "That was this morning." "Either way I can smell it. Twilight I might be going insane but I'm sure I'm not some kind of monster." The argument bounced back and forth as we came into town. I tried to convince her that humans can't turn into pony myths and fairy tales, and the fact that we live in completely different universes. But yet she refused to ignore all the strange things that have been happening. Just as we stepped onto the bridge I heard a familiar voice again. "Out on a little date are we Michael?" Looking up I could see, you guessed it, the pirate lying on top of a roof. "Hey it's not a date! And I told you to quit following me!" "D-date? Michael who are you talking to?" Suddenly I felt exhausted. "Here we go again." I said just before I blacked out. I opened my eyes, shot up, and hastily looked around. Instantly I could tell I was in Twilight's library.