We left the castle right away. They told me that in order for me to get my surprise, we had to walk a little bit.
So, we walked back into town, being mindful to use mostly alleyways and other smaller streets to keep me as far away from all the other ponies as possible, though I was pretty sure that by that point, everybody in town knew about me. Humans weren't really a common thing in their world, after all.
We walked for what had to be at least half an hour through the town, occasionally having to use the bigger street because there were no side streets, which had the slight disadvantage of causing quite the scene. The Elements of Harmony escorting a big, bipedal something? Chances were high that everyone thought I was some creature that escaped out of this so-called 'Tartarus'.
Not a good first impression, if you ask me.
Luckily we arrived quickly at the outskirts of town, finally escaping all the curious stares. We walked for another two or three minutes, closer to the forest with the creepy vibe, which concerned me quite a bit. The forest was, literally, radiating creepiness, and more than once I could've sworn that I saw something big moving behind the thick foliage, sending shivers down my spine.
Somehow I got more fearful with every steep we took into the direction of the forest, my heart starting to pound faster and faster, even though I knew that I was completely safe as long as I stayed close to the others - except for Pinkie Pie.
I still didn't trust her completely.
"Can you tell me where we are going now?" I asked Rainbow, who was hovering beside me the whole time.
"Nope." She simply said, not even turning her head to look at me.
"Why not? I'm getting kinda nervous that we're going into that forest. That would be the perfect place for Pinkie to kill me." I whispered into her ear, shooting a sideway glance at the bouncing mare in question.
I could feel how Rainbow rolled her eyes at that. "Will, we're not going into the Everfree Forest and Pinkie's not going to kill you, how many times do I have to tell you this?"
"I'm not trusting her, Rainbow." I whispered, my eyes still focused on the pink demon. "I swear that if I turn my back to her for one second and am alone, she'll kill me. Look at her!"
Rainbow groaned, doing the pony equivalent of a facepalm. "Look, we're not that far away anymore, just please, have some trust in Pinkie. She's not a bucking demon."
"If you say so..." I mumbled, looking to my right side at Fluttershy, who was also hovering beside me. "Hey Fluttershy, Pinkie's a demon from hell, right?"
"Uh, uhm, no? I don't think so?" She whispered back, nearly incomprehensible, taking a nervous glance at the pink mare.
"Will, are you sure that you're okay? You didn't hit your head too hard, right?" Rainbow asked, sighing loudly.
"Maybe, I don't know." I said, shrugging my shoulders.
"Aaaand we're here!" Twilight happily announced, stopping suddenly, nearly making me trip over her. She sidestepped and presented what their surprise was with one of her forelegs.
* * * *
"Uhhh... It's a house?" I asked unsurely, all my worries momentarily forgotten, replaced by confusion on what they were trying to show me. I started scratching my stubbly chin with one of my hands, deep in thoughts. '...Huh, I really need to shave again.'
"Pfff, no silly!" Pinkie told me, stopping her bouncing and giving me a big grin. "It's your house!"
Processing...
Processing.....
"Wha... Wha... What?" I stuttered intelligently after a minute of silence, my eyes wide open and a disbelieving look on my face. My brain was meanwhile busy figuring out what's happening, doing its best to make me believe that they were just fucking with me.
I looked at Twilight, a frown on my face. "You guys are kidding me, right?"
Twilight looked shocked at that, shaking her head furiously. "No, of course we're not! We built this for you while you were in the hospital yesterday!"
"You have to be kidding me, seriously." I said again, my face softening into a disbelieving look, not willing to accept the fact that they would do something like that for me. "Ser-iously."
"Nope-dope-lope!" Pinkie said, shaking her head in sync with every word.
"You are really serious about this? You really built this house?" I said, my teary eyes looking the wooden, newly build cottage up and down. At first glance it looked like a bigger version of the cottages that stood in Ponyville, only that this one definitely was built with a human stature in mind. The door was as high as the one of my home back at earth, as were the windows. It had to be mine, no one of these ponies would've needed such a big door. "You built this for me? F-for me? Like, for real?"
"Yep, completely' built with our own hooves', fer ya, sugarcube."
"Well, not completely with our hooves, we've gotten a little help." Said Rainbow, a big smile on her face, pointing to my side with one of her forelegs. Standing there were not only the Cutie Mark Crusaders, as they called themselves, but also none other than Princess Celestia.
Freakin' Princess Celestia.
I was left speechless, totally and utterly speechless. Not only did ponies that I barely knew built a house for me (except for Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack and Scootaloo, of course), but one of them was also the ruler of a whole fucking country! She took some of her precious free time and helped building me a home!
Why she did that, I had no clue. She probably had more important matters to tend to, but she chose to help built me a home instead!
This world was way too kind in comparison to earth. On earth, I was just another one out of more than seven billion humans. One out of over seven billion humans, just think about it.
But these ponies... Sure, some of them were crazy or just deep down maniac, but they made me feel like I wasn't just another one out of seven billion - they made me feel like I was something special. Regardless of how corny this may sound to you, it was the truth. I knew that they cared about me deeply because they actually built me a fucking house in the matter of a single day, just because I did something that seemed right to me. I knew that they cared about me because they tried to help me to adjust myself to my new life.
I did the only thing that seemed logical for me at that point; I grabbed the next pony and took it in a bone-crushing hug, which, unfortunately for her, was Fluttershy.
"Oh my god, thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" I said, tears of joy cascading down my face, swinging her rather light body wildly around. She 'eeped', trying to free herself, which I didn't notice at all, but to no avail - I had a too strong grip on her.
* * * *
After a minute of me swinging her around, shedding a few tears of joy, I put her back down onto the ground. She immediately collapsed, breathing heavily, desperately trying to pull long missed, fresh air into her lungs, though I don't think she was really mad at me that I nearly hugged her to death.
I then made sure to thank everyone who helped to built my house - my new home - thoroughly. Celestia, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Spike, hell, even Pinkie Pie - I just couldn't thank them enough.
Saying that I was grateful is definitely an understatement.
With happy cheers and a good mood, we walked inside the house.
The first room we entered was the living room. It was nothing special, just a regular, although pretty big living room, with a couch, two armchairs and a table in the centre of it, standing in front of a cozy fireplace, which could turn out to be quite useful in the colder seasons. All in all, it looked a lot like the one I had back on earth, minus the TV and all the other electronic devices.
There were two doors, one leading to the kitchen, which, quite frankly, was pretty much a copy of the one I had back on earth (again without all the electric devices), and the other one leading to the staircase. Upstairs were four rooms: three bedrooms, one of which I could use as a perfect guest room, another Scootaloo could use as her bedroom, and a rather big bathroom with a shower, a bathtub and a toilet (fortunately the toilet was made for a human) - nothing special.
Though one of the bedrooms had a king-sized double bed in it, also, like nearly every damn thing in this house, like the one I had back on earth, but I had no clue why I'd need a double bed at that point. It wasn't like I had someone to share it with.
... Right?
Anyways.
I was alone in the bathroom (I don't know when the others left me), looking how everything worked (luckily they really thought about everything), when a loud boom startled me. It sounded suspiciously like...
Like a cannon going off...
'Oh hell no.'
I sprinted out of the bathroom, over to the staircase, hurrying down the stairs in an effort to get downstairs as soon as possible. I threw the door to the living room open, only to be confronted with something I really didn't want to see for the rest of my life.
Yes, a party.
My heart started pounding harder and harder, seeing how everyone was looking at me with big smiles on their faces. Above their collective heads hung a large banner, on which stood 'Welcome To Equestria, Willy!'. Thankfully Pinkie chose to shorten the party's name a bit, or else they probably would've needed a lot more than just one banner.
At that very moment, my brain told me to run for my life, my heart told me to stay, because of everything they did for me, and my bladder told me to go to the toilet, or something very bad and embarrassing would happen.
What a man I was, fearing something that should normally bring joy to people. I couldn't help myself, though. Parties seemed to be the third most scary thing in my life at that moment, coming right after the Everfree Forest and Jocelyn Wildenstein's face.
Seriously, her face is fucking scary.
Instead of running, or pissing myself, I chose to face what they had in store for me - I just hoped cannons weren't a part of all this.
"Surprise!" They all shouted together, confetti exploding behind them.
"Hehe, thank you girls...and...uh, guys!" I chuckled weirdly, nearly forgetting about Spike and the big red stallion, rubbing the back of my head sheepishly. "You shouldn't have!"
"Dear, this is the least we can do after all you've done for Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo." Rarity said, coming up to me and putting a comforting hoof on my... knee.
"It's nothing, really. I did what I thought was right." I told her with a smile as she let her hoof fall back down onto the ground. "They helped me more than I did help them."
"Oh dear, I heard all about it! I'm so sorry for what happened to you!" She said over-dramatically, faking to fall unconscious. "It must've been horrendous!"
"It was, but I'm good now... At least I think so." I said, my mood worsening for a second. I shook my head, frowning slightly. "But that's in the past now."
"Enough being sad, let's get this party started!" Pinkie shouted into my face, suddenly appearing right between me and Rarity.
* * * *
I learned rather quickly that, what those ponies understand as partying, is something that definitely isn't partying on earth. It's more like a child's birthday - not saying that I wasn't grateful that they even took the time to throw one for me.
It was boring, but exactly the thing I needed after the past two days.
I was reclining on the wall besides the door that lead to the kitchen, watching how Twilight and Applejack were doing some really weird dance moves on the improvised dancing floor, suppressing my giggles with a hand in front of my mouth, when none other than Princess Celestia walked up to me.
"Are you enjoying the show, William?" She asked me, looking equally amused.
"Please, just Will's enough." I said, lifting my hand down and coughing into my hand once, trying to stop giggling like an idiot. That failed as soon as I took another quick glance at the two dancing ponies, snorting once and lapsing into another fit of giggles. "Yea-yeah I-I am!
"Clearly you are." She said, lifting one hoof to cover her mouth, stifling one giggle of her own.
I looked around the room, trailing my eyes away from the awkwardly dancing mares. I spotted Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash having a quiet conversation with one another at the other end of the room, the latter occasionally taking quick glances into my direction.
I mentally shrugged, not exactly feeling curious. They didn't do anything bad to me, not like another certain pony.
Speaking of the pink demon, where was she? Not that I cared anymore, as I was convinced that she wasn't actually trying to kill me, at least not anymore. I was just curious.
And maybe, just maybe a little scared that she was going to try anything stupid like... I dunno, starting an indoor campfire.
"William, are you not feeling well?" Celestia asked me, a concerned look on her face.
I shook my head, snapping myself out of my thoughts. "Nah, I'm good, just thinking about where Pinkie could be."
"Oh, she volunteered to go to the orphanage to tell Miss Heartsong, the owner, that Scootaloo is going to stay at a 'friends' house for the night." Celestia said, winking at me. Then her smile fell, turning into a sad look. "Will, we have to talk about something."
"Shoot." I said, already not liking where this was going. I didn't like the somber tone she was using, nor did I like how she was looking at me.
"There will be problems with you adopting Scootaloo, Will." She stated, turning herself around, looking at the three fillies that were darting around the room with happy smiles on their faces, Spike trying to chase them down, but failing miserably because of his short, stubby legs.
I moved up to Celestia's side, also looking at how they were running around the whole living room, nearly bumping into the still dancing Twilight. My eyes fixated themselves onto one special, orange filly. "What's that?"
"You're not an official citizen of Equestria, which means that you aren't allowed to adopt a foal." She explained, giving me a sideway glance. "Legally speaking."
'Does...does that mean...?'
My heart sank into the pit of my stomach. I held my breath, afraid of what answer I was going to get to my next question.
"But...you can surely help me, right?" I asked, looking at her with a glimmer of hope in my eyes.
She sighed, shaking her head slowly. "I'm afraid I can not help you with this matter."
"Why?" I simply asked her. I got angrier out of nowhere, my voice going sour. "You're the ruler of this country, why can't you help me with something as simple as adoption? It can't be that big of a deal!"
Celestia gave me a look of sympathy before looking forward again. "Yes, I'm the ruler of this country, and yes, it would be simple to help you out with this."
I was about to open my mouth, to scream at her to help me, but Celestia spoke up again. "Do you know what it feels like to be the ruler of a whole country?"
"W-What?" I stuttered, even though I understood her perfectly. It was a simple question, like 'Do you know what it is like to be blind', and yet, it completely caught me off guard. It was a rhetorical question, one that she was sure I couldn't answer because I had no clue what it felt like.
"Do you know what it feels like to be the ruler of a whole country?" She repeated, looking me into my face, and unreadable expression on her face. "Do you know the strains of having to think for the majority? Do you know what it feels like to have a whole country looking up to you, always expecting you to make the right decision, regardless of the matter? Do you know what it feels like to be seen and practically be worshiped as a god, even though you are not nearly as perfect as they make you seem to be?"
"I...uh..."
"William, I had to do some really bad things in the past 9000 years. I had to start wars, just another ruler offended me or my kingdom. I had to pass laws that only benefited the nobility, leaving the poor at the brink of existence. I had to banish my own sister, just because she was possesed by something dark."
"The worst of all?" She continued, pausing for a moment, exhaling audibly. "I had no say in the matter, or else there would have been massive uproars. The nobles, Equestria's real government, would've tried to overthrow me. Pointless bloodshedding, I had enough of that in the past."
"It's because of that reason that I can't help you, William. Nobility would get angry at me just because I made you, an alien, an official citizen of Equestria for seemingly no reason. They wouldn't know what you did for Twilight and her friends, and even if I were to tell them, they wouldn't believe nor me nor would they care. They only have two things in mind: their own financial situation and power."
She sighed again, looking back at what was happening at the party. "They just don't care about ours, as long as they get what they want."
"Then... What should I do? I can't just tell her that I can't adopt her." I told her silently, seeing that Scootaloo was coming into our direction, the other two Crusaders and Spike in tow. "Celestia, I know what she went through, at least to a degree. I'm her father now, and a stupid law can't just take that right for her to have a father away from her. Not only she would be devastated, I would be too."
I motioned for Scootaloo to stop when she was about a two meters away from me, not wanting her to hear what we were talking about. She did just that, stopping midstep.
"Celestia, is there any way for me to adopt her? I don't care about the consequences, just give me one, god damn way!" I asked her in a hushed tone, trying to hide my worries behind a faked smile as I looked at Scootaloo, which she thankfully didn't seem to notice.
"It's either you wait one year to officially become an Equestrian citizen, or..."
"Or what?" I hissed through my teeth, seeing uneasiness creeping up Scootaloo's face.
"Dad, everything okay?" Scootaloo asked nervously, shuffling over to me.
"Yeah, everything's fine!" I said, maybe a bit too loud, trying my best to hide the mix of emotions I was feeling at that moment.
"Or someone else adopts her for you, taking care of her for the time being. That would get her out of the orphanage, at least." Celestia whispered into my ear, ending her sentence.
Celestia walked away, excusing herself and saying that she had to go back to something called 'Canterlot', muttering something about having a job to do. Scootaloo walked over to me, her three other friends staying behind.
"Dad, what's up?" She asked me, poking my shin with one of her hooves, which got my full attention immediately.
"Huh? Oh, nothing, just had an...interesting talk with Celestia." I said, thinking about what exactly Celestia told me.
"O-kay-" Her tone said that she was anything but convinced. "You want to play tag with me, the other Crusaders and Spike?"
"Uhm, yeah, why not?" I asked, not really wanting to think about what Celestia told me.
'Maybe a peaceful little round of tag would make me forget about everything that happened today...Especially that talk with Celestia.' I thought, shrugging mentally.
"You're it!" Scootaloo shouted, she and her other three friends all darting off into a different direction, leaving me standing there with a dazed expression on my face.
"Hey! Unfair!" I shouted, looking around me, trying to spot any of the little troublemakers. I spotted one of them, tail disappearing behind the door frame that lead to the staircase.
I ran after the mysterious pony, being careful to no trip over any pony that stood in my way, all my worries quickly forgotten.