Defenders of Harmony

by chillbook2

Equestria

The pain in my side and head is what woke me up. Opening my eyes, I saw… nothing but fuzz. My contacts were dried out. I needed to get my saline solution. I got up and began to walk to my bathroom. As soon as I stood up, a wave of nausea swept over me. I sat down quick, trying to regain control of my stomach. After a few seconds, I stood back up, convinced I would hold onto whatever I had eaten recently. Standing up, I was able to tell immediately this wasn’t my home.

“Where am I?” I asked no one. What happened? How did I get here? I racked my brain, trying to put the pieces together. Suddenly, I remembered. “Mathew.” I said to myself. “He stabbed me. Wait a second.” I looked down and, for the first time, realised I was shirtless. Looking at the right side of my body, I saw a bloody bandage wrapped across my ribs. Someone patched me up. “Hello? Is anyone home?” I called. “Anyone? How did I get here? Please help me!”

“Oh. You’re awake.” called a quiet, feminine voice behind me. “I was worried for a while. I’ve never seen anything like you before, so I had no clue what to do for you. I just stitched you up, which was enough I guess.” Never seen anything like me before? That was certainly an odd thing to say.

“Well, thank you very much for the help, but I still need you for something. I can’t see.” I replied, turning to try to make out who this woman was. From my blurred vision, I could see that she was a bit curvaceous. She wore a yellow sweater and grey sweatpants. She had pink hair, parted to one side. She was incredibly tall, a little over 6 feet. The strangest thing about her was her skin. It seemed to be yellow.

“Oh no! You went blind! I must have done something wrong! Please forgive me! I’m so sorry, I just couldn’t leave you there on the edge of the forest. Who knows what would have happened to you?” she said, flustered and panicked.

“Nonono. I’m not blind. My contacts are just dried. Do you have any saline?” I asked.

“Oh thank goodness. Here, I have some right here.” she said, handing me a small bottle. I dropped a couple drops into each eye, blinking hard after. It wasn’t until then did I process what she said.

“Wait. You found me by a forest?” I asked confused.

“Yes. What happened to you?” she replied, genuine worry in her voice.

“How did I get by a forest?” I said, ignoring her question. “I guess I’m not in Kansas anymore.”

“Kansas? What’s Kansas? Is that the name of your kingdom?” she said interested.

“What? No. It’s a joke. And what do you mean kingdom?” I said, vision finally returning. Now I can see who this dane is and go home, I thought. Taking a good look at her for the first time, I saw that her eyes were a beautiful cyan. Her face was breathtaking, albeit a little horse-like in structure. Her face even protruded out a little, almost like a muzzle. Her skin was definitely yellow, but upon further inspection, was covered in some sort of fur. “What’s your name? I like to know the people I owe my life to.” I said, trying to figure out who she looked like. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was…

“My name is Fluttershy.” she said quietly.

“Come off it. Seriously, what’s your name?” I said dubiously.

“I’m Fluttershy. Did you want someone else?” she replied, insecurity filling her already scared voice.

“It’s cool you’re a pegasister, but I want to know your actual name. The one your parents gave you.”

“Pegasister?” she inquired. “I don’t have a sister, but I am a pegasus.” Taking my breath away, she spread out wings, big yellow wings. “If you don’t mind me asking, what are you? I’ve never seen any creature like you.”

“Y-y-you have wings.” I stuttered. “You have honest-to-goodness wings.” I walked around to her back and almost tripped over her pink tail. I touched her right wing, feeling the feathers against my hand. “What forest did you say you found me in again?”

“The Everfree Forest. Not the best place to take a nap.” she said.

“I was in the Everfree Forest?” she nodded. “So now I’m in your cottage? In Equestria?” She nodded once more, perplexed at my confusion. “Ok, Chris. Logical explanation time.” I said, more to myself than anybody, as I sat down in a nearby chair. “First explanation: I’m dreaming. That would explain why I couldn’t remember what happened with Matt. But I would have had to have seen this before in order to dream about it, so that’s out. Second explanation: I’ve lost my mind and I’m in an asylum. That has the same problems as the dream. I’d have had to have seen this before. Third: This is a cruel joke. The only people who would do this are Matt and Pat. They don’t have the money or the knowledge of Equestria to pull this off. Plus, Matt wouldn’t have stabbed me, he’d have knocked me out. Final, and least likely, explanation: Somehow, I made it to Equestria. So, I’m in Equestria when I shouldn’t be. Who do I go to? Ah-ha!” My argument with myself over, I turned to the woman calling herself Fluttershy. “Can you take me to see Twilight Sparkle?” I asked.

“How do you know Twilight? From what it sounds like, you’ve never been to Equestria before.” she asked.

“Let’s just say I’ve heard a lot of it. I’m basically a citizen.” I said, dodging the question. “Did you happen to recover my hoodie?”

“Yes, but I’m sorry to tell you it’s ruined. Covered in bleach and your blood, I’m afraid.” Fluttershy said, pointing to the mess that used to be my hoodie. The mane and wings ripped off, and you couldn’t see anything other than a yellow mess. If I ever got home, I would murder those two scumbags. Fluttershy seemed to be working up courage to ask me something. “I’ve told you my name, now will you tell me your’s?”

“Saying my real name might cause some complications.” I said, racking my brain to come up with an alias. Suddenly, something came to me. “So you can just call me Silver Rift.”

“That’s an interesting name. Why do you want to go see Twilight?” asked Fluttershy. She seemed genuinely interested. I felt really bad about concealing information from her, but I had no choice. If I told her my name, I’d have to tell her where I came from, then I’d have to tell her how I know of Equestria. I would think that hearing that thousands, maybe millions, of people watch your life unfold would freak oneself out. Lying was definitely the best course.

“She might be able to help shed light on how I got here and how I can get back home.” I answered. “Would it be too much to ask for you to bring me there?”

“Of course not. I have to go return Twilight’s book on mythical creatures anyway. I think we should go around Ponyville to get to the library. Ponies might stare at you.” replied Fluttershy.

“Whatever you say is best, Fluttershy. Hold on. Do you have my shirt?” I asked.

“Yes. It was ripped from the knife, so I sewed it up. It’s right here.” she said, holding up my black t-shirt. She tossed it to me. I caught it and put it on. It kinda hurt my side to put on my shirt, but I got over it. Getting to my feet, I take last look around the cottage.

“So, can we go?” I asked, ready to get answers.

“Yes. Come on, we are leaving through the back door. Follow me.” she said, turning around and walking to to her back door. I followed behind her, mesmerised by the swinging of her tail. Swish-swish. It was really distracting. Stop staring Chris, I yelled to myself, It’s not cool.

“How exactly did you end up with that nasty wound?” asked Fluttershy, snapping me out of my stupor.

“I had a… disagreement… with a guy. I may have kicked his friend in the stomach. When my back was turned, he stabbed me. He probably thinks I’m dead.” I said, wondering how Mat was dealing with my sudden disappearance. I hope he feels horrible. He probably will, after Robert finds out. Fluttershy led me through the brush of the forest. We didn’t go in too far, just enough so that no-pony would see me. I looked around, taking in the beauty of the forest. I looked to the left and right, trying to capture every single detail I could. Not looking where I was walking, I ran into something.

Crash!

I fell to the ground on my butt, dazed and confused. Rubbing my head, I looked around for whatever I ran into. Looking directly ahead of me, I saw a figure of pink in a pink shirt and skirt. A little shorter than Fluttershy, her hair (I mean mane) was puffy and pink, like cotton candy. A bit on the plump side, she had the happiest smile I’ve ever seen. She looked at me and gasped.

“OhmygoshwhoareyouareyounewtoPonyvillemyname’sPinkiePieareyougoingtoseeTwilightcanIcome?” she said quickly.

“I’m Silver Rift, yes I’m new to Ponyville, hello Pinkie, it’s nice to meet you, we are indeed going to see Twilight and you can come if you don’t tell anypony about me.” I replied. I took that moment to realise that I just responded to a stream of speech from Pinkie perfectly. Just the little things.

“How long are you staying?” asked Pinkie as we continued walking.

“I dunno.” I said. “It depends on what Twilight says. If I can stay here, I will for as long as I can.”

“Where are you from?” said Pinkie with a smile.

“Can’t tell you. It’s a secret. It might destroy the universe or something.” I replied.

“Ooooh. That sounds cool. Are you sure you can’t tell me?”

“Not until I ask Twilight her opinion.”

“Well, that can be arranged, considering we are here.” said Fluttershy. I looked up and saw a big tree, with windows and doors and balconies. Twilight’s library in all of it’s majesty.

“We got here fast.” I said, marveling at our speed. “ Time sure flies when you’re having fun. One of you should probably knock. She doesn’t know me.” Pinkie Pie jumped at the opportunity and pounded on the door.

“Coming!” called a voice from inside. I heard some shuffling and a few seconds later, the door flung open. In the doorway stood a lavender-haired unicorn… mare? I guess they are technically ponies. Yeah. Ponies. She had a straight-cut purple mane with pink highlights. She had on a button down blue blouse. She was a lot thinner than Pinkie and a bit taller than Fluttershy. Twilight stood in her doorway, reading a book. Not looking up, she said, “Hey, guys. What’s up?”

“We made a new friend!” said Pinkie. “He’s not from Equestria and he needs your help!”

“What are you talking about Pinkie? Who’s not from Equestria?” asked Twilight, looking up from her book. Looking around at us, she stopped on me. “What is that thing!?”

“This thing has a name, ya know?” I said, displeased by this less than warm welcome.

“Oh, my. You can talk! So sorry, I can be a bit scatter-brained when it comes to creatures I’ve never seen before. What is your name?” said Twilight apologetically.

“I can’t tell you.” I said sheepishly. “Just call me Silver Rift for now.”

“Why can’t you tell me your name?” she asked.

“It’s… complicated. The only thing that really matters is that I am not from Equestria and I need to get home.” I said, carefully selecting my words.

“Where are you from? If I can get some information on your world, I may be able to help.” said Twilight with anticipation.

“Er… I probably shouldn’t tell you that either. I have no clue what is dangerous to let slip.” I said.

“Okay.” said Twilight slowly. “Can you tell me your species?”

“Probably not.” I replied, aware of how stupid I must sound.

“So, you want me to find out how to get you home, which is a place you won’t tell me about, while I have no information whatsoever of you, your world or your species?” she asked irritated.

“More or less.” I said, growing dizzy. “I’m sorry. It’s just that… that… t-that.”

“Are you ok?” asked Fluttershy softly.

“Yeah. I’m fine.” I said weakly. My vision grew fuzzy and the room began to spin.

“Are you sure?” asked Twilight, worry overtaking her previously annoyed voice. “Is this normal for your people?”

“Not normal, no. Nothing about today is normal. I just… need to… sit down.” I said, falling to my knees. Over a loud pounding in my ears, I heard Pinkie’s gasp of concern, the ruffling of Twilight searching through a book, and Fluttershy’s gentle “Oh my!” The room began to darken, the pounding intensified, and a burning feeling ran throughout my body. What was happening? Was I dying? If I had to die anywhere, I couldn’t have picked a better place.

“G’night” I hear myself say as the room disappears and I black out once more.