Lessons from Another Dimension

by HolyOrdersOtaku

Chapter 1: The Twilight Zone

Chapter 1: The Twilight Zone

My whole life spins into a frenzy, and I’m stepping into the Twilight Zone…where am I to go now that I’ve gone too far…Can’t get through. Where are you?

Twilight Sparkle hummed happily to herself as she stepped onto the platform at the Canterlot train station. Normally she would have written a letter in advance to tell the princesses that she would be visiting, but she decided to surprise them. In her saddlebags were some left over friendship chocolates that her friends had given her for Hearts and Hooves Day. Since the theme for these particular chocolates was friends rather than romantic relations, she decided that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna could use some.

She began to walk, and a purple and green baby dragon followed closely; Spike. “Um, Twilight?” he said.

“What is it Spike?” she asked.

“What if they’re really busy today? I mean, I know your Celestia’s student and all, but surely they can’t just make time for you anytime you drop in unannounced.”

“Spike, that’s the point on being unannounced; to surprise them. If they are too busy to actually see me, I can still leave the chocolates in their rooms. I mean, I would like to talk to them for a bit, but I completely understand if they can’t. I’m just here to give them the gifts.”

“Isn’t a two hour train ride a little long just to drop of some chocolate and go home?”

“Oh, we’re not going home today, Spike.”

This was news to him. “We aren’t?”

“Nope. I thought we could take today as a holiday, stay at the castle, and go home tomorrow afternoon,” Twilight said with a smile.

Spike shrugged. “Well, whatever works I suppose. I’m not complaining.”

Twilight nodded and they continued to walk through Canterlot, slowly making their way to the castle. When they arrived, the guards let them pass, and Twilight entered the entrance hall with a sense of familiarity. She looked around and found who she was looking for; Butler Hoof.

He approached Twilight and gave a quick, curt bow. “Hello again, Ms. Sparkle. How may I assist you today?”

Twilight laughed. “Butler, how many times have I told you to call me Twilight. I don’t like be spoken to in formalities.”

“My apologies, Ms. Sparkle. Old habits, as they say, die hard.”

She nodded. “Well, I’d like you to have these delivered to the princesses’ chambers if you could,” she used her levitation magic to retrieve two boxes from her saddle bags; one had a sun, and the other had a moon, which were the respective princesses cutie marks. “Their gifts that I wanted to surprise them with.”

Butler nodded. “Of course,” he stomped a single hoof, and two maids came to him immediately. “Have these delivered to the princesses’ chambers, if you would my dears. And be sure they go to the appropriate princess. I’d hate for Princess Luna to get Princess Celestia’s gift, or vice versa.” The two nodded, and went to complete the given tasks. “Anything else, Ms. Sparkle? I’m afraid Princess Luna has already retired for the day, and Princess Celestia is quite busy today; I don’t know if she can make time for you, though I will not be so ignorant as to tell you she will or will not see you for certain.”

“That’s okay, Butler. I rather expected that, so I’m staying the night in my old room, if that’s okay.”

Butler nodded again. “Very well. It’s been kept exactly as you left it. Would you like me to escort you?”

Twilight shook her head. “No, I’m good. I’m sure you’re a busy pony, and I know the way to my room. It’s great seeing you again, though.”

“But of course. I’ll send somepony to fetch you when lunch is ready. Today’s meal will be glazed carrots, sweet potatoes, and fresh fruit salad with a bowl of spinach on the side.”

“Sounds wonderful. I’ll be sure not to miss it. See you later.” She waved her hoof as she exited to room, Spike following close behind.

Spike stopped and yelled back, “Hey, Butler. Make sure there are a few gems on the menu for me, okay?”

“Of course, sir. I shall have some sapphires ready for you,” Butler replied. He turned and went about his business.

“Oh, sapphires? That’ll be really good!” Spike stated excitedly.

“It does feel nice being back. I love Ponyville well enough, but Canterlot is still home to me,” Twilight said with fondness in her voice. They walked through the castle for about ten minutes, purposely taking the long way to her room. They arrived at the door and Twilight stopped. “We haven’t been back in here since I moved to Ponyville, have I?”

“No, I guess not. That’s been three years now. Almost four, actually. And Butler said they left it as it was when we left,” Spike replied.

“Well, no more delay! Let’s go in, Spike!”

“No need to make it dramatic, Twilight. It’s just your bedroom/astronomy tower/library/laboratory.”

She pouted for a moment. “Let me have my moment, Spike.” She finally cracked a smile, however, and giggled. “Alright, let’s go.” She opened the door and they stepped inside. She dropped her saddle bags and told Spike to head up the stairs and put them next to her bed.

He carried to bags up the stairs as instructed…and immediately came running back down screaming. “Twilight! There’s someone in your bed!”

“What are you talking about, Spike?” she asked with a look of skepticism. “Butler didn’t say anything about someone else here. Are you trying to pull a prank over me?”

“No!” he denied. “I’m serious! There is a stallion in your bed!”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Butler would have told us if Princess Celestia was letting someone else stay in my room, Spike.” She walked up the stairs. “See, there’s…a…stallion? There’s a stallion. In my bed.” The look on her face was total confusion.

---

Princess Celestia was holding day court. It had only just started a few minutes ago, a little after ten in the morning. She was about to get things underway when Butler Hoof, one of her oldest and most loyal castle staff members entered. “Pardon the intrusion, Your Highness. I just thought I should tell you of an unexpected, but pleasant, guest.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Who might that be, Butler?” she asked, curious.

“Twilight Sparkle, Your Highness. She expected you’d be too busy to see her anytime soon, so she went to her old room to rest from her trip here.”

Celestia smiled, eager to be done with the day’s work now so she could see Twilight. “Well, tell her that I’ll see her as soon as…” she paused, remembering a very crucial detail. “Wait, did you say she went to her old room?”

“Yes, Princess. Is that a problem?” Butler asked.

“WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!” The sound of Twilight’s voice echoed throughout the room, the castle, the city, and even the entire world of Equestria. Frankly, Celestia wouldn’t be surprised if Twilight accidentally woke a few slumbering dragons on the other side of the globe.

“Yes,” she finally said, trying to keep her composure. “As it just so happens, that is a problem. One that I must fix myself.”

---

“Twilight, calm down! Remember to breath!” Spike said, trying to keep Twilight from going insane like she had been known to do on occasion…but only on occasion.

Twilight tried her hardest to do as Spike said, but it didn’t change the fact that there was an USI (Unidentified-Sleeping-Individual) in her bed. “Okay,” she said to herself. “Keep calm, Twilight. He’s just sleeping. He’s not stealing, breaking, killing, or harassing anything or anypony, so it’s not all bad.” She stepped forward to get a closer look at him. His coat was a light blue, and his mane was a deep purple. His cutie mark depicted a dark blue four string bass guitar, which told her that he was a musician. “At least his cutie mark isn’t a bloody dagger, or a black mask or something sinister like that,” she whispered to herself to where not even Spike could hear.

Spike approached slowly behind her. He whispered, “I’m amazed your scream didn’t wake him. My ears are still ringing.”

“Sorry about that,” Twilight whispered back. “Who is he?”

“Bass Chord,” said an angelic, gentle, mother like voice. Twilight turned to see Princess Celestia. “At least that’s what Luna called him. We actually don’t know his name.”

“Wha-“ Twilight started.

But Celestia cut her off. “I’m afraid I can’t answer any questions you may have about him. He appeared in the maze last night. We woke very briefly this morning, discovered his situation, and promptly fainted. He hasn’t opened his eyes since. He’s been out cold for several hours. I put him here because we had nowhere else to put him.”

Twilight laughed nervously. “Why not the hospital? Canterlot General isn’t that far away,” she said.

“True, but his origins are strange. I found my curiosity took the best of me, and I neglected that particular option. I’d rather like to find out who he is and where he’s from.”

“What do you mean?”

Celestia stepped closer to the bed. “Based on what little information I was able to get through deduction, for he never plainly spoke anything in his confusion, he may not be from this world.”

Twilight’s jaw dropped. “An alien? But he looks like a pony!”

“Nnngh!” muttered Bass. His eyes slowly opened. He looked around slowly, studying his surroundings. “Damn it!” He yelled. “This really isn’t a dream! This day is turning out better and better by the second!”

Twilight stepped back, surprised by his attitude to his situation.

“Nice to see that you’re awake, Bass,” Celestia said.

“Bass?” he asked. “As in the guitar?”

“Well, my sister called you that based on your cutie mark.”

He stared at Celestia with pure confusion etched onto his face. “My what now?”

“It’s the sort of tattoo looking object on your flanks,” Twilight said, trying to sound calm.

“Uh huh…” he replied. He looked over at his own rear and saw the dark blue bass guitar. “What exactly is that doing there? I don’t remember getting any tattoos.”

“It’s a mark that comes to every pony in Equestria. It marks their special talent for all to see, so that everyone maintains a constant sense of uniqueness.”

He seemed rather calm considering his confusion. “Well, I guess it makes sense for mine to be a bass. I always did love playing mine. I’m still confused as to why I even have one, let alone the fact that I’m a freakin’ pony.”

“You said as much this morning when you first woke up. What are you supposed to be, if not a pony?” Celestia asked.

He returned his gaze to her. “Human,” he said plainly.

“Human? Never heard of that before. Have you, Princess?” Twilight asked.

She looked deep in thought. “It sounds familiar, but I can’t place where I’ve heard it.” She looked back at Bass. “Oh, I almost forgot. We only called you Bass because of your cutie mark, but we don’t actually know your name. May I ask what it is?”

He looked around. “Before I answer,” he said after a few minutes. “How did I get here? And I don’t mean in this room. I have enough deductive reasoning to conclude that some poor sod carried me. I mean to this world. What did you call it?”

“Equestria,” Celestia answered.

“Yeah, that. How did I get to Equestria?”

“My sister, Luna, would know better than I, which still isn’t saying much considering how little we do know. Her account of the event was she saw a bright flash of light in our maze in the gardens. She went and found that it was burned and glassed as if it had been super heated, but you were at the center of the chaos unharmed for whatever reason. We were hoping you might know some more about it, really.”

“I see. So, based on what little we know about my arrival, how much do we know about my departure?”

Celestia gave him a curious look. “I assume you mean a way home?” He nodded. “We don’t know a thing. Knowing how you got here would most likely help, of course, but that still leaves us with nothing.”

“Last thing; give me some examples of names here on your world.”

“Well, the lovely young mare next to me is Twilight Sparkle. We have a butler named Butler Hoof.”

Twilight nodded. “We also have ponies named Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, etcetera, etcetera. Why do you want to know?”

“You said you called me Bass, right?” he asked.

“Bass Chord, actually,” Celestia answered.

“Then that’s my name.” he plainly said.

Twilight gave him a confused look. “Why can’t we have your real name?”

He sighed. “Based on what little information any of us have on how or why I’m even here, it’s clear that I’m going to be here for a while, and I don’t know how long ‘a while’ actually is. So, while I’m here, I might as well learn how this world’s society works and blend in until I can go home.” He shook his head. “I honestly don’t like it, but I guess having the conscience to look at both possibilities at once is helpful. Either I get to go home eventually, or I’m stuck here until I die.”

“Either way, you’re stuck here for a while. Is that what you’re saying?” Celestia asked.

“Yup. So,” he looked at the mare and the goddess like ruler. “What are your names? I know the tall, freaky haired one introduced the purple one here, but I like ‘official’ introductions.” He cleared his throat. “I’m…what was it? Oh, right. I’m Bass Chord. In spite of my predicament, I’m pleased to meet the both of you…even though you are talking horses.”

Twilight was about to point out how rude he was being, but she thought of his situation and the fact that he was, from his perspective, on an alien world. “Ahem. I’m Twilight Sparkle.”

“And my name is Celestia, Princess of the sun, and co-ruler of Equestria,” Celestia said.

“I assume the sister you mentioned earlier is the other ruler?” Bass asked. The two mares nodded. “Well, that’s out of the way. What do I do know?”

Celestia met his gaze. “You said that, no matter what the outcome of your stay here, you’ll need to understand how society here works, correct?” He nodded in return. She smiled. “Twilight, have you studied anything new lately?”

Twilight thought about it. “Aside from reviewing Sea Fare’s Complete Guide to Marine Biology and reading the new Daring Do, I haven’t studied that much in the way of new material.”

“Bass, would you have any qualms with telling us about your world.”

“What for?” he asked.

“You’ve proven that there are worlds besides our own by coming here, whether you intended to or otherwise. If you could teach Twilight about your world, and she in turn teach you about ours, then that will give you something to do while I have my best researchers looking into anything that may relate to your appearance on this world.”

“But, Princess, I am your best researcher,” Twilight protested.

“I know Twilight, but you’ll have a lot on your hands explaining our world to Bass. I can’t have you overworking yourself. Is that understood?” Celestia asked.

Twilight thought for a moment before nodding in agreement. “Yes, Your Highness.”

“Good,” she said. “While it is nice to see you again, I’d like you to return to Ponyville today to rest up. Begin your mutual lessons on the morrow.”

Twilight nodded. Celestia bid them farewell, as well promised to pass greetings on to Luna, and left the room. “Oh, great!” Spike exclaimed. “I was actually kind of looking forward to staying for those sapphires.”

“I’ll get you some when we get back to the library, Spike. I’m sure Rarity will have some spare sapphires,” Twilight said.

Bass stared at Spike curiously. “What? Is there something on my scales?” Spike asked.

“What the hell are you supposed to be? I can’t figure it out,” Bass stated.

Spike hmphed in response. “I’ll have you know that I’m a ferocious, fire breathing dragon!”

Without missing a beat or cracking a smile, Bass replied swiftly with, “My cat, Little Dude, is more ferocious than you, and all he does is sleep on my couch for hours on end.”

“Hey! That’s mean!” Spike responded.

“Hey, chill out. I was just teasing. Is there no sense of humor on this world?” he asked Twilight.

“Spike’s just sensitive about his appearance from time to time. He’s still a baby dragon.”

“I’m, like, fourteen-years-old, Twilight. Plus however old my egg was before you hatched me.” He retorted.

“Yes, but your living years aren’t counted until you hatch, and dragons age differently than that of other races,” Twilight said in a matter of fact fashion.

Bass yawned and clumsily stood up, clearly not used to his body. “This is gonna take some getting used to,” he said. “So, when are we leaving?”

Twilight smiled. “Right now.” She was eager to learn from Bass, even if he was just a strange pony from her perspective. Whatever he had to teach would be interesting, though. She knew that for a fact.

Author's Note:

I had a decision to make. This is the second piece of the story I've written today. My options were keep writing, or drop it for a while and mow the yard...I chose this story over my yard. *sigh* I guess I'll have to mow when I come home from work tomorrow. Oh well, the prologue and this chapter were both designed to set the stage. Thus, why I call this story "Lessons from Another Dimension." Please be patient. I'd like to have chapter 2 out by tomorrow (August 26, 2013) but with work and my yard needing some desperate attention, i won't make any promises.

Comments

[The_Whovian16]

I like it! I can't wait for the next chapter! (Please be soon! )