• Published 9th Jul 2012
  • 3,920 Views, 140 Comments

Spice on the wind - xscar10



A human arrives in Equestria. He arrives with no idea how he arrived, and deals with... changes, too

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a long day

I slept, but as always, I had only nightmares. I hadn't had a dream in years. I thought, maybe since I was in this whole new world... but no, that hasn't changed. All that... horror, in my head. It never goes, but then I wake up, and the world reabsorbs me. The light breaks through to my face, and I feel the warmth of the Equestrian sun. A light smile graced my face. I curl my arm around the form beside me, and as I roll over I smell apples in her hair...
That's when I remember I went to bed alone.
I open my eyes, and everything was a blur, but as it came into focus, a familiar shape was curled in my arm.
"Apple bloom?" Confused, I picked her up, and gently shook her awake.
"Hey... Hey kiddo..." I held her up, and she started to yawn.
"Is it mornin' already?" She asked rubbing her eye.
"Yeah, it is. Care to tell me what you're doing in my bed?" I asked, holding her by her crest.
"I had a nightmare." She said nervously.
"So you ran out of the safety of your house, into the dark. Instead of sleeping with AJ, or Big Mac, you run to a stranger?" I asked, not believing her for a minute, but not sure what to think.
"Well... I... feel safest with you." She said innocently, and I couldn't help but grin.
"Alright, I'll let you off with a warning, but don't do that again. I'd hate having to explain it to Applejack... or worse, Big Mac." I shuddered at the thought. "From now on... just go sleep with Applejack when you have a nightmare. Alright?" I set her down, and put my hand in my pocket.
"Mmhmm!" She nodded and trotted off. I accredit what just happened to my scent, which apparently did affect her... Though not in a way I had expected, obviously.
I brushed myself off, and took off my jacket. I had always slept with my clothes on, but last night it was for warmth. I had even kept my shoes on. With a warm day and a cool breeze however, now was the time to get a good sweat going. I took off my shoes, and shirt, and climbed up to the support beams in the barn with a bit of my new-found strength. I curled my legs over the beam, and started counting my crunches.
I could do over double what I used to. As I pulled myself up I could feel my sweat drip down to the floor, but no drip ever sounded. I look up (or would it be down?) to see standing under me was Applejack.
"Oh, uhh... don't mind me. Just keep on with whatever you're doing." She said with a nervous laugh.
"It's fine, I'm done anyways. Was there something you needed?" I hung down from the beam with one hand.
"I was just wonderin' if you'd want to have breakfast with us is all." She smiled, and I dropped down from the rafters. Landing in front of her, I quickly wiped the sweat from my brow.
"Sure thing, I could go for something to eat." I walked over to my bed, and grabbed my clothes.
"You're gonna put those back on?" She sounded a mixture of confused and a little disappointed.
"Yeah, humans usually feel... indecent without clothes on. Going without a shirt or shoes is fine, but not for an extended time in front of strangers." I put my shirt on and hung my jacket over my shoulder.
"Ponies don't often wear clothes unless it's a special occasion." She walked up beside me taking a deep breath and letting out a sigh.
"Yes but remember humans don't have a lot of fur, clothes are essential to us." I said, and we turned to start walking toward the door, luckily I didn't have to duck though this one.
"Ya do have your mane, and some on your muzzle though." She said matter-o-factly. "Yeah, I can't exactly explain why without going into human culture, but we have to." I chuckled, opening the door for her.
"Well, I wouldn't want to insult your society, so I'll leave it be." She walked out with me shortly behind her. We came to the house, which was hard to distinguish from a barn itself, and sat at the table. Apple Bloom was already finished eating, which made me wonder how long Applejack was watching me.
We sat down, talked and ate. Soon I came to the realization that I'll need to find a way to make money. Applejack brought up my title as "Taskmaster", and how that spread around town would be a pretty good way to make money.
"Taskmaster's service? Actually doesn't sound half bad." I scratched my chin, putting my jacket on the back of the chair.
"Yeah, we could plaster your name all... over... Ponyville... I can't believe I never asked ya your name." AJ said surprised with herself. I could be anybody... anypony. I didn't need to be who I used to be, I could even give myself a new name.
"...Well everypony around town knows me as the hairless ape... Except Fluttershy, who knows me as a bear/monkey." I said, trying to avoid my name.
"True, but we can't rightly hang up a sign sayin' 'Hairless Ape Taskmaster' now can we?" She said, with a light laugh, and with that came a knock on the door.
"I'll get it." I said, and quickly walked to the door. As I opened it, the familiar figure of a light blue pegasus stood in front of me.
"There you are!" Rainbow-Dash exclaimed. "I need you to do something." She grabbed my hand pulling me out the door.
"Ok! OK! Later AJ!" I stumbled out after her, nearly hitting my head on the door frame, and saw Applejack shaking her head and laughing. Dash pulled me out to a table with two chairs. "You want me to do what exactly?" I sat in the chair, and her across from me.
"Hoof wrestle me... or would it be called hand wrestle?" She asked, putting her fore-hoof up on the table.
"Actually humans call it arm wrestling, but to answer, you got yourself a challenge." I said, positioning my arm, and grabbing her hoof.
"Yes! We go on three. One... twothree!" She said and caught me off guard; I probably should have expected it though. I held my own easier than I thought; Dash started to push my arm down, but I actually began to recover. Not only did I recover, but I turned the tables. I looked down to see my bicep actually rippling. I force Dash's hoof down, and I noticed at that moment I was even stronger than I was yesterday.
"Wha... wha... WHAT?!" Rainbow-Dash stood in shock, she wasn't expecting me to win. She probably came to test out her training.
"Wow, I guess I'm even stronger than I thought." I looked at my arm, and the muscle really looked better than it used to.
"Whoa, human muscles really stick out." She said placing a hoof on my arm.
"Like I said, we're apes; apes display their muscles, to intimidate others, and attract mates." I flexed my muscle and shrugged.
"Well it's working." She said, and soon realized how it sounded.
"I-I-I mean, I'm intimidated!" She blushed and chuckled nervously.
"Well I could imagine I look pretty scary to you." I rubbed the back of my head.
"Scary? You? Nah, nothing scary smells like you." She said, punching (...or would it be kicking?) my shoulder.
"You know, I've been meaning to ask; what exactly do I smell like? Because a couple ponies have mentioned that." I leaned back in the chair.
"Oh... umm... you kind of smell... how do I put it... spicy. Like a sort of, sweet musk." She took a sniff, and it became obvious, if not by what she said, then by the blush on her face, my scent affected her too.
"Hmm... duly noted. Well if you don't need anything more, I just remembered I have to go see Twilight about something." I hopped up out of my seat and rested my arms behind my head.
"Go ahead, but I'll be back for my rematch!" She pointed at me. "Sure thing Dash, looking forward to it!" I chuckled, and started running. Fast. Very fast. I leaped up over a sign, and used it to vault onto a rooftop. The houses were short, but it was still impressive. From there I just ran across roofs, leaping from building to building. Finally landing in front of Twilight's house, and knocked on the door.
As I waited for Twi, I started to hum... then sing... it was completely voluntary, but I was compelled to for some unknown reason. Then I heard Pinkie singing nearby, and chalked it up to the strange occurrences in this world. If someone is singing, you not only feel compelled to join, but also know the words and tune to the song...
After Pinkie's song ended, the compulsion to sing ended, but now I couldn't stop thinking of songs I'd listen to back home. I actually started singing "Love me Cheerilee". Half way through the song the door opened, and Spike gave me a weird look.
"O-oh... umm... Hi Spike." I chuckled, and stood with my hands in my pockets.
"You must be that new guy in town, huh?" Spike looked up with an expression that just said 'Crap, you're huge!'.
"Yep, that'd be me." I said ducking and walking in.
"Go ahead and have a seat, Twilight'll be back soon." Spike had to jog a little to keep up with my large steps.
"Forgive me if I stare. I've never seen a dragon before." I said, smiling, and sitting on the floor.
"There aren't dragons where you came from?" Spike asked, pulling up a chair and sitting in front of me.
"Well actually I don't know. We had legends that dragons existed hundreds of years ago, but if they did exist they're extinct now." I said, with a sigh.
"Extinct? Dragons? How is that possible?" Asked Spike, and I just shook my head shamefully.
"Truthfully? The legends say the bravest, and strongest of us humans would hunt them down, and slay them in the name of honor." I said, leaning on my hand.
"Humans slay dragons? You're big, but not dragon slaying big." He said, not buying it.
"We didn't have to be big, we were smart. We built suits of armor, and weapons, specifically made for dragon slaying. So if dragons ever did exist, then humans have a lot of sins to repent for... or even more than we thought." I pulled out my pocket knife, rolling it between my fingers.
"Well why would they hunt dragons anyways?" Asked Spike, probably more than a bit confused, after all genocide was unheard of here.
"Well... they supposedly ate us." I said, and scratched my head.
"Ate you? Why would we do that?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Treat someone like a monster long enough, they just might start to believe it." I answered, and as I did Twilight walked in.
"Oh good! You're here! I was just wanting to do some experiments with you!" She said trotting up next to Spike.
"Yeah, it's all she talked about yesterday." He retorted with a chuckle, and Twilight nudged him.
"Experiments? Sure, I'm all for the advancement of science." I said, standing up.
"Great! Follow me." Twi said, trotting into the next room, so I followed.
"This is called the astral amplifier, it increases the strength of certain spells." She said, and levitated what looked like a longer wooden version of her horn in front of me. "I asked Princess Celestia if it would be alright if I borrowed it, and she said given the circumstances it would be fine." She slid it down over her horn, and the glow changed from it's usual pink/purple glow, to a deep midnight blue.
"Wait a second... you told Princess Celestia there was an alien on your world, and she didn't come herself to investigate?" I asked, surprised by the idea that she wouldn't mind me running around Ponyville.
"Yes, she said she was dealing with something extremely important, and trusted I could handle it." She said with pride in her voice.
"Alright, understandable... but on to the matter at hand. Exactly what spell will you be preforming on me?" I asked, only partially worried.
"First I'm going to try an examination spell. It's usually used for medical magic, but for us it'll be a way to dissect your anatomy." She explained, and my stomach started to feel queasy.
"Please, I request you refrain from using the term dissect when referring to me, unless you would enjoy cleaning up my breakfast." I covered my mouth and hiccuped as my stomach turned.
"Sorry." Twilight chuckled.
"I guess you'd prefer the term examination then." She said, and I nodded.
"Alright, no sense in wasting time, let's get to it." She said, and her horn glowed deep blue. I started to levitate, and I felt magic rush through me. At first it felt kind of cool to float in the air, but after a few minutes I felt what was like liquid fire run through my body. It wasn't painful, quite thrilling actually, but from the look on twilight's face, I could tell something was wrong. After a moment I noticed it, she wasn't using her magic anymore, but I was still levitating. After a few seconds I dropped to the ground, and saw steam rising from my skin.
"What just happened...?" I managed to mutter, and regretted saying it. My throat felt like sandpaper. I stood up wobbly and gained my balance by grabbing hold of the bookshelf.
"I haven't felt energy like that since..." Twilight stopped wondering just what happened.
"Since what?" I asked, getting a glass of water.
"Since we sealed discord away using the elements of harmony..." She looked as if she'd seen a ghost.
"So, what, do I have some connection to discord then?" I asked confusedly.
"No, you have a connection to the elements of harmony, but not our elements of harmony... Why is your shirt glowing?" Twilight extended a hoof toward my chest, and I looked down to see a white light fade from my torso.
I took off my shirt, and saw, lo-and-behold a cutie mark... on a human.
In the center of my chest was a book with a star over it. "Umm... I think I'm the first human ever to have a cutie mark." I said bemusedly, but in a gruff and still pained voice.
"That cutie mark... I've seen it before." She pulled the astral amplifier off her horn, and walked over to the bookshelf. Then levitated a book in front of her, and flipped through the pages. "Here. That was the same cutie mark as the great Solemn Oath. He was said to be among the wisest of ponies in history. King Solemn's cutie mark represented his search for wisdom." She read from the book, and I couldn't help but think "Am I seriously supposed to believe that my destiny is to just be wise?" . I'm not even that wise. I mean sure I gave people advice, but I'm still just a janitor.
"He amazed thousands with his wisdom, especially because he started as a simple farm pony." Twilight said, and caught my attention. "As an earth pony, he wasn't viewed as one that would be a source of wisdom at his time, but eventually came to give counsel to even Starswirl the bearded." Twilight said, and then I started to rethink it's meaning.
"Greatness from small beginnings..." I nod, and my throat started to feel better. "This is all very interesting, but what does it mean?" Asked Twilight, trotting over.
"Only one way to find out... more tests." I said, dusting off and getting ready.
I spent hours with Twilight, after several dozen tests and a letter to the Princess, come noon I was already exhausted. I had done more before noon, than I usually do all week. The worst part was the physical tests, not because they were hard, but because they made me sweat and... affected twilight, which made it hard to concentrate on the task at hand. We stopped testing to break for lunch, and there was a knock on the door. Spike answered it, and in came Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity.
"Hey Pinkie, have you stopped panicking every time you see me?" I asked, with a smile.
"Yep! Fluttershy, Rainbow-Dash, and Rarity explained everything." Pinkie, said hopping around the room.
"W-we came becau-" Fluttershy was cut off by Pinkie.
"Whoa! You smell amazing!" Pinkie had appeared on my head. She wasn't heavy, but it was uncomfortable having her hooves wrapped around my neck, and on the back of my head.
"Yes... about that... Twilight?" I said patting Pinkie on the head.
"You see, we did some tests, and apparently in his bodily oils he secrets a pheromone that affects mares within a certain age. If you smell it, then it gives you a slight endorphin rush, and not only makes you trust him, but attracted to him as well." Twilight said, and everyone blushed except me and Pinkie.
"Oh how weird!" Pinkie took in deep breaths. "It makes me want to just sleep in your hair." Everyone in the room was now looking at Pinkie...
"Moving on..." Said spike, breaking the awkward silence.
"Like I was saying, we're here because we heard Twilight was making an announcement today." Fluttershy said, walking up to my feet.
"Ah, I almost forgot! I was going to tell everyone in town about your welcoming party." Twilight said, and Pinkie jumped up.
"The welcoming party I'll be throwing!" Pinkie said, leaning over my head and looking me in the eye.
"A famous Pinkie pie party? Sounds fun." I looked down to Fluttershy.
"I suspect everyone will be there?" I kneel down.
"Of coarse! Everyone's invited to your welcoming party. You can even wear the outfit I designed!" Rarity said, flipping her hair fabulously.
"Speaking of, I was going to ask when I'm going to have to pay for that, because I won't have money until people start hiring me." I crossed my legs, and unconsciously started petting Fluttershy on the head.
"O-oh, I was u-unaware you had a job." Fluttershy seemed to be enjoying the petting.
"Yep, I'm a Taskmaster. I'll do just about anything you need done. From fixing your roof, to running errands, or even babysitting." I started scratching Fluttershy behind the ears.
"O-or giving m-massages?" Fluttershy asked, getting weak at the knees (or... elbows?). "Well I could, but I think I'd have to take it up with the spa twins first." I said, looking up.
"Well, feel free to pay whenever you have the time, or of coarse you could always work off the debt in the boutique with me." Rarity trotted over and swished her tail.
"A job doing anything sounds like it could be very demanding. Is it normal for humans to have jobs like that?" Twilight asked, pulling up a chair and sitting down.
"Not to many of us, but I'm one of the people who takes pride in my work." I pet Fluttershy between her wings, she let out a breathy moan, and her wings flew open. At that the room fell silent. Fluttershy's face turned bright red, and she hid behind me. At that I realized that it was my fault, and laughed. Pinkie decided to interject here, and jumped off my head.
"Wait a second! If you'll do anything, what if I hired you to party with me all day?" Pinkie sat in front of me.
"Heck, I'd do that for free." I chuckled, and ruffled her hair.
"Really?! Pinkie promise?!" She did a back-flip.
"Cross my heart, and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." I said covering my eye, as was tradition, and Pinkie's eyes were wide with surprise.
"You already knew how to Pinkie promise?!" She said questioningly, and everyone in the room looked at me in amazement.
"Come to think of it... You knew a lot about Ponyville, and Equestria for that matter." Twilight said, raising an eyebrow.
"How could you know all those things, when you just got here?" Rarity asked, a little less accusingly than the others.
"Umm... It is a little odd..." Fluttershy said, poking her head out from behind me.
"Oh, yes, right... you see... The truth is... Where I come from... We watched your adventures on a device called a television. We just thought it was fiction." I said hoping the universe wouldn't explode upon telling them.
"So, where you come from, there's a dimensional window into our world?" Twilight said with amazement.
"Well yes... but I was worried telling you would make the universe collapse." I said, and obviously it didn't as everything was still alive.
"Are all humans so paranoid? Magic opens holes between dimensions all the time." Twilight giggled.
"Really? Well that's how I can tell you about the name of your mail-mare without even meeting her... by the way it's Ditzy 'Derpy Hooves' Doo. A muffin obsessed pegasus, with bubbles for a cutie mark." I said and now everyone was wide eyed.
"That's... so... cool!" Pinkie cheered, pulling out a cake (from where I don't know) and setting it down in front of me.
"So this will be the first human welcoming party EVER!" Pinkie didn't explain the connection between the two, but we didn't ask. "It's going to be HUGE!" Pinkie seemed even more giddy than usual.
"I don'-" I started but was cut off by Rainbow-Dash bursting in.
"You! I want my rematch!... What's everyone doing here?" She stopped, flying just in front of my face.
"We're discussing my welcome party." I answered, and was given a smiling glare in return.
"Oh, well buster, you'll have to let them take care of it, I need you!" She said with surprising vigor, pushing me out the door. This time I did bump my head.
"Alright, this time we run to the edge of the Everfree Forest!" She positioned herself, ready to begin. I decided this time to take off my shoes, and shirt for the run; I wouldn't want to drench them down to much. "Alright... Onetwothreego!" She took off fast as a bullet. This time I anticipated her quick start, and started with her. I was more than surprised, I was astounded by my own abilities.
I was passing Rainbow-Dash!
Of coarse she was on hoof, but still a feat to marvel!
We had run faster than ever;
feeling the thrilling rush of adrenalin;
each powerful motion of our muscles;
each bead of sweat sliding down our bodies,
all leading up to the last few seconds, and the desperate need to finish...
When suddenly we reached the end of the race.
Dash skid to a stop, I unable to do so, rolled over my shoulder and stood, and I could hardly believe it.
"I won?" I said questioningly.
"How did you get so fast in just a day?!" Rainbow-Dash Zipped over, and stared me in the face.
"Honestly? I didn't. Twilight said that the magic in this world is not only bringing me to peak physical condition, I will soon have the bone density and strength equal to that of an earth pony of my size." I said, flexing my bicep as demonstration.
"In other words I'm a superhuman." I said, and at that moment I noticed Dash's eyes as she stared in wonder at me.
"So cool... I-I mean that's alright, if you like... awesomeness, and all." She crossed her fore-hooves, and tried to look cool, a blush escaping onto her face.
"Well I'm not that great; I mean look at you, you're Rainbow-Dash, you invented the sonic rain-boom. I may be tough, but there's no comparing to that." I said, meshing my fingers behind my head.
"Oh stop, I'm not that great." She said, her blush deepening.
"No I'm serious, no one says swag like Rainbow-Dash. You're cool incarnated, dying, and reincarnated 20% cooler." I said with the warmest smile I could muster.
Suddenly I felt something soft and warm against my face. Then I feel steamy breath against my skin, and a hoof behind my head. When I quickly open my eyes I see Rainbow-Dash's closed eyes, I slowly realize...
I'm being kissed.
This was unexpected... it feels... blissful, soothing even... other than my feeling of utter shock that is. She pressed her chest to mine, and her fur rubbed smoothly against my skin. Then she broke the kiss, and opened her eyes.
"Whoa... Now THAT was awesome." Said Dash, giggling with her eyes seductively half open. She was barely flapping her wings enough to keep her up, in fact they looked stiff. She started to land, but her knees gave out, and she fell flat.
I was still so shocked I hadn't even reacted since the kiss broke. Eventually I shook myself back into reality.
"Umm... Wow... that was..." My voice cracked a little. "That was unexpected." I said, and I could still feel Dash's sweat still sticking to my chest. I cleared my throat and sat down. Dash stood up wobbly, and walked over leaning on my shoulder.
"Yeah, I didn't expect the day to turn out this way either, but hey, I'm not complaining." She giggled, and I awkwardly chuckled.
"Will you be able to walk back to Ponyville...?" I ask eyeing her wobbly legs.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Just give me a minute." She said flapping her wings and fanning herself.
"No, no. Allow me." I said, wrapping my arms around her, curling her legs underneath her, and lifting her up. I was trying to be as gentlemanly as possible, but given the circumstance the protocol was hazy. She curled her head into the crook of my arm, and I carried her about halfway back to Ponyville before she insisted on flying.
The whole way I started wondering what had just happened. At first I was just thinking about her being a pony, but it's not like she's an animal, more like another race. Then I thought about how this might effect the others. After Rainbow Dash started to fly, all noise seemed to muffle, and a light cough escaped my lips. The light cough grew was then accompanied by blurred vision. The eerie feeling of being watched came back as I rubbed my eyes.
"Hey... are you ok?" Dash asked, and everything cleared. I was fine, not even a tickle in my throat.
"Oh, yeah. I'm fine." I said, and Dash flew just over head.
"You sure, that cough sounded rough." She said, concernedly.
"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine." I reassured her. In reality I was actually very worried. That felt like there was oil in my lungs, and then it was just... gone...
Later at my welcoming party, I decided to tell Twilight what had happened, maybe she can make sense of everything.
"So Rainbow-Dash kissed you, and you felt sick?" She asked, at we waded through the crowd of ponies flooding the streets of Ponyville. Pinkie thought it'd be fun to make my welcoming party a block party.
"No, there was a pretty good amount of time between the two. I don't think they're connected." I waded through the endless sea of mares welcoming me to town, and only a few stallions.
"So it seems the more you sweat the more you affect others around you." Twilight cantered next to me.
"And the coughing?" I found myself constantly looking over my shoulder, what for, I don't know.
"You seem kind of jumpy, is everything alright?" Twi tilted her head curiously.
"Everything's fine- have you ever felt like someone's watching you?" I said quickly, deterring from her question.
"Hmm? Watching me? Why?" Twilight stopped in her tracks.
"I just have this feeling... that I'll turn around and somebody will be there." I said, looking down to her.
"You mean somepony." She said correctively. "No, somebody..." I said more grimly than I would have liked.
"You mean a human? Here?" Twilight looked confused.
"I think you're getting paranoid." Twi smirked up at me.
"You're probably right." I sighed. "Now that I think about it, it's probably just because I haven't taken my medicine in a few days." I said, unfortunately not noticing I hadn't told Twi about needing medicine.
"What medicine?" Twi asked more concerned than curious.
"Huh? Oh! Uhh.. t's really nothing, I took medicine back home that helped me stay calm." I said trying to brush it off.
"If you took medicine for it, it's not nothing!" Twi said, her expression slightly angry.
"Why didn't you tell me about this?!" Twi started but was followed by Vinyl Scratch spinning her next record. I had to speak louder to talk over the music.
"Because I'm fine, I doubt the meds even worked anyways." I tried to smile, but Twi's glare however killed my hopes of calming her.
"You know that's a lie." She shook her head.
"What's a lie?" Asked Applejack, and I knew hope of escape was lost.
"He says he doesn't need his medicine, medicine he had to take back home." Twi turned to Applejack.
"Oh really?" AJ gave me a look that I would translate as 'you're about to get a whoopin' you ain't gonna forget'.
"Ladies, it's fine really. I've done fine since I got here right?" I said straightening my jacket. You have to give it to Rarity, for somepony who's never made human clothes, these looked absolutely marvelous.
"That may be true now, but it won't be forever." Twilight said, and I kneel down to eye level.
"I'm perfectly fine, and if you insist on doing something; it can wait until tomorrow. Right now we're at a Pinkie Pie party. Have fun." I smiled at them.
"Fine, but we're gonna talk about this first thing tomorrow mornin'." AJ said, half smiling, and twilight didn't say anything, she just nodded. As they walked away, I looked up to DJ-pon3 who was raising her shades. I shrugged, and she laid down a new record with a wink. The night went on, we partied on, and all had a pretty good time; better than any party back home. That's when I first decided, if this is my life, I don't want to go home. It may seem a little hasty after just two days... but I was genuinely happy here. Whatever caused me to be here I am curious, but I wouldn't go back. I started to feel content with that, but then asked myself, what exactly do I want to stay for?
The happiness?
The friends?
The power?
Am I just being selfish?
Most of all, I wondered... Do I really belong here?