A New Teacher

by Sparky Brony

Chapter 6. Another Meeting, Another Friend?

The sun is in the far western sky, it will be down soon. I finally am able to take my leave of Twilight Sparkle's residence. I'm not fifty feet from the door to the Golden Oak's library when I hear hooves slam into the ground behind me.

"You've only been a pegasus for a few days now, how in Luna's name can you fly so fast already?"

Ugh, I know that voice. "Hello Rainbow Dash, so, you must have been napping on that cloud while I was talking to Twilight." These ponies should invent air conditioning, so it can be tolerable inside without having to open windows.

I turn to see the rainbow maned pegasus stalking towards me, an angry look on her face, and her wings spread out. The wings reminded me of a bird in a threat display, I wonder what other emotions the wings will signify for pegasi. As I am one of them now, I had better be careful with my emotions. She pushes her snout right into mine.

"I asked you a question buster." She repeats herself.

I chuckle. "I don't know, just a natural I guess. I've always had excellent balance and very good bodily control. Once I figured out how to move my wings, Everything…just…worked. I guess."

She sits down, she still looks angry. "There are pegasi who have completed junior speedster camp and can't fly like you can."

I'm starting to get irritated myself. "Well, I haven't figured out landing yet, I've landed twice as a pegasus, and both times were a crash. One of those, you caused."

Her wings finally fold back in place. She can't help it, she falls over laughing. I beginning to not like this pegasus. "My dad taught me that the hardest thing about flying is the landing. Taking off isn't that hard, and once you are in the air, it's pretty much a breeze. But landing without crashing is a learned behavior." I say defensively.

She stops laughing and sits up. "My dad taught me something like that." She stops and looks at me seriously. She starts prancing around me. Looking me up and down.

"Why don't you have a cutie mark?"

"I've been in your world for a few days." I look around, no pony is in the immediate vicinity. I look up at the few clouds, no pegasi that I can see. "I don't know if I've figured out any special talent for me to get a picture of it on my flank."

She keeps looking me up and down. "Uhh, Rainbow, you know it's rude to listen to others private conversations." She simply smiles at me. "I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone, or any other pony about what I told Twilight."

"Well, duh. I can keep my mouth shut. I was just taking a nap, and my cloud floated near the window. I really wasn't trying to listen in." She actually has the presence of mind to look abashed, a faint blush appears on her muzzle. Finally she sighs loudly, "I'm sorry for eavesdropping on your conversation."

I look at her hard. Is she messing with me? Or is she sincere? I finally decide on the latter. "Fine, apology accepted." I turn to go. Daisy sandwiches really didn't appeal to me, Twilight gave me a small sack of coins, saying I'll find a way to earn them, but I should get a hot dinner, she had other plans, she said she had a letter to write.

I'm walking towards one of the apparently many restaurants in this little town of Ponyville I notice that Rainbow Dash is trotting next to me.

"Can I help you?"

A smirk. "No, just decide where you want to eat already."

"I don't recall inviting you to dinner."

"I don't recall you having a choice."

I frown as I sit down on an outside café table. She plops herself into the seat across from me.

"I don't have that much money, and it's all I've got until I find a job. And somehow I've got to find a place to live."

A laugh from the cyan pegasus. "You'll be staying with Twilight, didn’t she make that clear?"

"Uhh, no, she didn't. And I don't want to impose."

"Do I have to drag her over here? I'm one of her best friends, I know that mare. She didn't say anything because she expects you there. After you eat, go back there."

"Thanks, but no thanks, Rainbow Dash. Maybe I'll curl up on a cloud, I can do that now."

"Fine, it's your funeral."

I order from the waitress when she finally appears. They have a vegetable stew that smells heavenly, I noticed the smell as I passed. Rainbow orders the same.

"You, know, Rainbow, I'm not able to pay for your meal as well."

A grin, I swear this pegasus has mastered the art of the shit eating grin. "And you aren't paying for yours as well. Consider this one on me. All you have to do is listen to me until the food arrives."

I consider her words for a minute. I looked at the prices on the menu, and the amount of money Twilight gave me, though I consider it a loan until I get some sort of income worked out, was actually quite generous. "Fine. What do you have to say, Rainbow."

"You are a good flyer. And given your time flying before you came to Ponyville." She's a smart cookie, able to talk about my situation without letting any pony know that I'm not from this world at all. "I think you would be good working for the weather bureau. The pay is pretty decent, I'll pair you with some of our better fliers, and I'll even help you with landing. You have everything else down pretty good. Oh good, that was quick." She says as two steaming bowls of a thick vegetable stew are placed in front of us. The spoons have a sort of band on them, watching Rainbow, I fit mine around a hoof, allowing me to spoon the stew into my mouth.

Wow, what a taste, I think it would be better with some venison. Then again, these herbivores would probably faint if I told them I hunted for meat back home. I polish off the stew and order another bowl. Finally, with a full stomach, I walk away from the restaurant with Rainbow Dash beside me.

"Well, if you like my idea, go ahead and meet me at town hall in the morning. Sound good?"

I shrug my wings. "Sure." She takes off like a bullet. Damn, that mare is fast. I trot through town, keeping an eye to the sky for a likely cloud, though it looks like all the clouds have been gathered together into one huge mass. The wind is starting to come up. Uh oh, a storm. As I'm walking the sky decides to open up. In moments I'm drenched. Though I notice something nice. Pegasi aren't really affected by the cold that much. The cold water really doesn't bother me. As a human, I would be shivering and miserable, as it is, I'm just wet, it's not that bad. It starts to get late as the rain keeps pounding down. I end up on the outskirts of town.

I've never flown at night or in the rain as a pegasus, and I know the dangers of doing so in an airplane. So I keep myself grounded, even though I would love nothing better to do than fly up above those clouds and sleep on top, but my practiced eye says they are about ten thousand feet up, a bit of a fly. I look around. I've trotted into a park. I find some bushes around the perimeter of the park. Well, I heard what Rainbow said, but Twilight did not say anything about me coming back after dinner, maybe she assumes I'll get a room or hotel or something. I'm trying to save that money for necessities. I can live without shelter, I've got a good resistance to cold, nice fur coat. I can handle some time out in the elements. I crawl into a bush that gives me some protection and finally curl up and fall asleep.

***

"Nick!" I hear a voice, it penetrates my sleep fogged mind. I open my eyes and pop my head up. The sun is just peeking above the horizon.

"Nick!" That sounds like Twilight. I stand up.

"Nick, where are you?" She seems upset, her voice is nearly frantic.

"I'm over here." I call out as I extricate myself from the bush. I shake my body, just like a dog, or maybe a pony, I guess. I'm still damp, but I feel fine.

Twilight runs over to me. "I've been looking everywhere for you!" She bowls me over with a hug. "I was worried! I've been searching for hours." I get a good look at her, she has dried tear tracks down her muzzle, her mane is a mess, dark bags are under her eyes.

"Oh my God Twilight, what happened to you?"

She sniffles as she lets me up. "You didn’t come back after you went for some food, I stayed up waiting for you…"

I'm not good with these hooves, but I manage to smooth her mane with it. "Twilight, that is not my home, I'm going to get a job, and look for a home, but I don't want to impose."

I get a hard hoof to the side of my face. Did she just slap me?

"You scared me Nick. As you said, this isn't your world. I thought it went without saying that you can stay with me until you get on your hooves."

I look at her. She certainly is sincere. I've never even had a girlfriend that was this worried about my welfare. I really don't know how to react to that.

I guess how stunned I am comes through to Twilight. She giggles. "Alright, just promise you won't be stupid like that again."

That elicits a smile from me. "I can't promise that, my capacity to do stupid things knows no boundaries. But, until I find a place to live, I'll stay with you. Deal?" I hold out a hoof.

She bops my hoof with hers, and giggles again. "Deal."

I stretch out my wings and yawn.

"Wow!" I hear from Twilight.

I look around. "What?"

She gently extends my wing with her magic. What an odd feeling. "Your wings are huge."

"Well, they are the ones I got when I got here. Is that a problem?"

She looks thoughtful. "I don't think so, Nick. Pegasi usually have about the same size wings, with the exception of Bulk Biceps, he has extremely small wings, yet he is actually a pretty good flier. A pegasus usually only flies with the addition of their innate magic. That magic also allows them to walk on clouds. Your wings are exceptional. You were a pilot before you came here, maybe that has some relation. Can you hover for me." She releases her magic.

I dutifully flap my wings and remain in place. It takes a lot of concentration to keep my wings slow enough for me to stay airborne without taking off like a shot. It almost feels as though I'm treading water, with slow, deliberate movements, rather than the much faster movements I've learned to fly with.

"Hmmmm…" She ponders for a moment. "You are moving your wings about half the speed any other similar pegasus would to hover like that. So, you most likely have the same magic, even though you aren't of our world. How does it feel to hover like that?"

"Kind of weird, I've only flown fast before, this is really odd for me." I can feel myself itching to truly take off and speed up. But Twilight wants to examine me, so I'll stay still. I'm looking around though, the sun is well and truly up. We are just at the edge of town, and Rainbow Dash said this morning, and to meet in the town square, so I told Twilight.

"Oh, Nick, Rainbow Dash is not an early riser. It's not even seven in the morning yet. I guarantee you, she's still snoozing, look around. There aren't any pegasi in the sky working on clearing out the remains from this storm." I concede her point, and accept her offer of breakfast.

Soon I'm sitting in Twilight Sparkle's kitchen, powering through a stack of waffles made by, I shit you not, a dragon. His name is Spike, and he was very nice while I gawked. I've never seen a dragon before. Twilight informed me he's a baby dragon, and that he's been her apprentice for over ten years.

"No offense Spike, but how are you still a baby dragon if you are over ten years old? In my world, a ten year old is nearly at puberty, and certainly couldn't be called a baby."

The small scaled dragon chuckles at me. "Dragons live for a very long time, it will be a while before I'm not a baby dragon anymore."

I turn to Twilight, "Dragons are mythical in my world. European dragon mythology has them as serpent like, and are dangerous. Oriental dragons are different, in many parts of the Orient, dragons are symbols of wisdom, strength, and beauty. And they are common here?

"Well…" She gazes fondly at Spike, "not exactly common, but there are a lot of them."

I'm blown away, from what I've been learning, almost every mythical creature lives in this strange world of Equestria.

I glance at the clock and jump up. It's almost ten in the morning, I hope I haven't missed my opportunity to get a job. I hug Twilight as I rush out the door, noticing a faint blush as I do so. I know I've got my mission from their ruler, but I've got to worry about immediate needs first. I rush out the doors of the Golden Oaks library.

Comments

[The Cosmic Consciousness]

"Fine, it's your funeral."

I bet his funeral is already being planned back home.

[Tryhard McFatface]

5436091
That's a bit depressing.

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

Looks like Nick's about to get a job from the speedster of the Mane 6