Previously titled "Trust is not a Trivial Matter"
“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”
~Ernest Hemingway
This story follows Alex Mathius as his life takes a drastic turn when he ends up in Equestria.
The inhabitants of this strange new world have no idea what he is, and that brings complications!
Accepting his fate, he tries to cope and continue on with his life in a world that's not his own.
However, it soon comes to light that his knowledge and understandings are of great value, involuntarily sending him into a spiral of political schemes and at the centre of an ancient struggle for power.
Can Equestria and the other countries of this new world handle the presence of an ambitious human being? And more importantly; will Alex be able to handle all that's been laid out for him, or do his wounds run too deep?
This is his story, his journey.
Important!
Trigger Warning: [OC's!]
The story goes at a slow pace, so take your time and get some coffee.
Even though there's a big [ADVENTURE] tag on this story, the first bunch of chapters are more drama-like, don't let this discourage you; this is the first story arc.
Hmm, a drama tag wouldn't be out of place on this site.
The [ALTERNATE UNIVERSE] tag is there to prevent the argument of a certain character seeming OOC.
Plus: I've only watched the show until the end of season three, so guess in what time span this story takes place. I also did not watch Equestria Girls, if that's relevant.
Furthermore I wish to mention that this is my very first piece of (fan)fiction I've ever written, so constructive criticism is very welcome indeed.
Cover-art by Anima-Dos. He/She apparently has removed all of his/her artwork for some reason.
They need to compensate him for how he was treated and he shouldn't have to tell them crap!
3476867 Hehehe. You're in for a treat.
~RuD
''So in his defence he will say that he knew I could handle it.'' Poor excuse really.
He might be able to resist magic to an extent but that doesn't mean that you can use a lethal spell on someone.
So yeah, I'm going with 'The Valeyard' on this. A mere apology won't be enough to justify what they did. And ofcourse Celestia says that she is sorry, that is what they all do!
I hope there is a lot of insults and yelling ready to launch at Shining. Maybe even a demotion! Typically if you attack a person who is a first contact and is now seen as an ambassador, then you better expect an immediate demotion, a big time pay cut, black marks on your record, or at the very least a discharge from the military. Whether it is standard or dishonorable depends.
Well, people. With season four released I am now basically forced to add the "Alternate Universe" tag since my story won't add up with the stuff to come.
Was to be expected but meh. Also, it will allow me to write whatever the hell I want, which is good, right? Doesn't mean that Shining will- Whoops! Almost spoiled something there.Will add said tag and maybe edit some parts from previous chapters I'm not happy with when publishing the next chapter, which will be not too long from now.
But, damn. Getting everything to add up and getting the characters right is very hard. I don't know how some people do it, uploading 15k chapters every week seems impossible to me, not to mention said chapters are mostly proofread AND edited by a third party.
Maybe I'm just a scrub. Hell, I don't care.
Now I'll shut up and continue writing.
~RuD
Nooooooooooo! Don't go with the ponyville cliché stuff.
He meets the mane six. They have a rocky start and eventually they become friends or something close to it.
Here I thought that he was staying in the castle, secluded into his own room not knowing what to do. Perhaps those 6 ponies could visit him once a while.
Ah well.
P.s.
What Shining did was also incredibly stupid. If he was an ambassador of the human race and they managed to kill him... Lets just say that the one thing that he tried to prevent was actually coming true and on a scale that Equestria cannot even fathom. To bad he didn't come to that conclusion himself :(. And with the humans 'anti-magic' field it would make said conflict even harder.
Yes!!! justice has been served.
3537461 Wait a second, relax. We're not there yet. You sure you don't have some weird-ass powers of clairvoyance? Because you just partially said what I was planning.
Also keep in mind that Alex's mind is fucked up at the moment.
Forgive my harsh language.
~RuD
3537516
I would have made it go that way if I were to write this story :).
If you want I can remove the 'p.s.' part in my previous post so that the others can't see the info.
3537551 I had to re-read your post scriptum several times before finally understanding it, which makes me feel like a total moron. I blame it on the sleep deprivation.
And no, I want you to keep and savor it because it makes you look like you have quite the intelligent mindset.
Oh, and it won't ruin the story.
Most impressive. +1 kudo's for you, fine sir.
~RuD
I feel like you could add more detail but it's a great chapter.
The Captain couldn't possibly have perceived me as a threat as I clearly had no idea where I was, nor did I make any attempt towards harming anyone."
3570046 Yep, this is what I was waiting for. I thank you. Will fix now.
~RuD
Deleted my previous comment since it's of no more use.
I finally started using the blog thing on my profile so I don't have to post comments on my own story about how I'm doing...
Wondering why the actual I'm not updating as much as you'd like?
Check the blog window on my profile.
(Oh, I edited another one of my obsolete comments into this.)
Letting you guys know before you get suspicious about the date.
~RuD
There haven't been many errors in this story, the one I would like to point out is sapient vs sentient. The word they should be using is sapient. Sapience means to think and use reason and sentience means ability to feel. It is true that humans are sentient, but sapience is what separates us from cats, dogs, horses, and other animals. I could buy the guards saying it and Alex too, but Twilight or the doctors would use it correctly.
3598239 Thanks a lot for clearing that up, I appreciate it.
As also mentioned on my profile and the story description, English is only my third language, so every heads up means a lot to me.
It's a thing I should have known, since we are called 'Homo Sapiens' after all.
~RuD
Edit: Corrected it, along with some other misspellings I failed to notice.
Cadence isn't really acting like a princess at the moment. Keep your personal feelings out of your job. And it is a good chapter ;).
I feel like when they talk there should be more detail in it and plus this is just but I don't like the "my lady " thing but like I said that's just me you can still do it if you wish. Good work btw
3603121 Hehe, I have no problem with Cadance. Just look from her perspective, and at the story's title, might make you realise what I'm planning.
~RuD
3603155 Thanks, I see you commented before stating that you want more detail. I'll keep it in mind now.
And yes, punish me by saying you don't like the "my Lady" bs.
It was the idea of some friend on Steam to make Alex call them that all the time. I didn't mind, but now as I re-read the chapter and see your comment, I see it might be annoying to some people since it seems forced.
I know just the way to fix it.
~RuD
3603187 ok thanks for reading my comment and sorry if I was mean with the "my lady" thing I was just saying
3603315 No, it's all right. I actually prefer it when people don't sugar coat their opinions. Just say what's on your mind and I will listen. (Or read... Aww, hell. You know what I mean.)
-RuD
3603368 oh ok then but I won't be a duck about it
Cadance does seem to be a bit bullheaded here, i understand why but in my Eyes she seems to be the Always neutral party.
3640575 I would agree if Cadance actually had a personality in the show.
~RuD
3642655
Got that right.
so, how come the new chapter requires a password?
3700821 Sorry, my man. It's for the proofreaders.
Once they give me the green light you'll be able to read it.
When, you ask?
Tomorrow. (In approximately twelve hours.)
Hang in tight.
-RuD
3700865 But I don't wanna.
NEXT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have a feeling that his sleep is gonna be with dreams.
Please no more formalities with ugh royalty
Btw if you even try to put in humans are evil or bastards then you'll get tons of hate fair warning
3717475 Can you please elaborate on the "no more formalities", please?
And when you're at it, could you also explain why you think I will give Alex an evil persona?
-RuD
Alex does not seem evil to me. A little ticked off and fairly easy to rub the wrong way, but it is understandable enough with what he has gone through. He is befriendable so long as you avoid pushing the wrong buttons, and doesn't seem to hold a grudge very long unless you are or you try to kill him.
3717563 i mean yeah it's nice to be respect to royalty for a while but if you keep being submissive to them then
3718274 That causes a problem.
Alex is not very submissive, after all he basically told Luna to piss off. He's being respectful towards the persons who rule the lands he is in.
So, if he stops showing respect, he'll turn into a jerk. Which you warned me about since a huge sh*tstorm will be inbound if that happens.
Any thoughts?
~RuD
3720513 ''Btw if you even try to put in humans are evil or bastards then you'll get tons of hate fair warning''
I think that he meant humanity in general.
Like all those humans are evil and greedy beings. And I never liked humanity in general stuff.
3721197 Well, good thing that I didn't let Alex tell them the bad stuff.
Now that you say it, I remember a lot of hate on a chapter in the "Your Human And You" story.
The character was comparing Equestria to Earth and came up with all kinds of stupid stuff to come to the conclusion that Equestria is better.
I get it, and appreciate the (few) tips you guys give me, I really do.
~RuD
Try to use "who" i place of "which" when referring to Alex or the Princesses -- other than that, this is keeping my interest and I look forward to more.
3732642 Right you are.
"Which" is used when referring to an object or animal.
Thanks for pointing it out.
~RuD
*Edit
Fixed.
People, I'm an idiot. I accidently pressed the publish button, which bumped my story.
I apologise for this.
Edit: the next chapter will be uploaded tuesday or wednesday. (In the week of januari 27th.)
The author's notes will contain my pathetic excuse for the long time that has passed. Seriously, it has been a rough period.
~RuD
Hoping he doesn't allow Twilight to experiment on him...
Great chapter! Can't wait for the next :)
I think he should be using circumference to describe earth, not diameter.
Circumference of earth is 40,075 km.
somethin something.....asshole
This is a great story. I must honestly say, in my personal opinion, this is one of the much better HiE fics I've read. And I've read tons. A quarter of them are crap, half of them are decent but not entertaining, and some of the rest are just the shows script with little bits added in. But there's the few HiE fics like this one that are, in all context, true stories (or short stories). The character encounters an issue (or multiple), and atempts to solve said issue, and has some character development, whether or not they solve said issue. I do hope this stories continue like so. Even if the author takes a month or two to post a chapter, I won't mind. Just as long as he gives it his best, and doesn't fall into the whole demand of readers wanting more chapters, and just releasing a bunch of crappy chapters tht ruin the story. Quality over quantity some times. Bah, I'm rambling like I generally do sometimes... anyways, great story, and I hope it continues to be!
Hah! In the next chapter his trust for the ponies will go down again because of Blueblood. And maybe because Celestia and Luna won't do a thing about it.
They probably didn't mean to, but they make him sound like a mindless animal they're going to dissect and study.
Don't worry, the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air would be happy to assist her in any way possible.
I, too, sometimes imagine Applejack speaking with a thick Colombian accent!
I'm getting the sinking feeling that they'll try to declare Alex mentally incompetent or something along those lines to support Shining Armor.