Maneworthy is waiting patiently outside when I emerge.
I decided on formal. Choosing anything else for a meeting with royalty would be a foolish notion.
With that in mind, I’ve got long pants and a buttoned shirt. They both fit well, and keep with dark colours. I have to say that the similarity between Equestrian-made and Earth-made human clothes is unsettling.
Rarity is very good at her job.
“Excellent choice.” Maneworthy compliments the clothes, although his voice is still tinged with confusion.
I don’t have time to explain all of the strange quirks and nuances of human society, and make do with a weary look.
The doctor nods, and then turns to lead me up the hall. “We must hurry. I believe that they’re expecting us.”
“It’d be bad form to leave the princesses waiting.” I agree, falling into step with Maneworthy – which is harder than you would think. Walking with him is simple enough, but if I happen to focus on the doctor’s hoofsteps, then I get thrown off.
The halls in the clinic are so clean. It’s unbelievable how immaculate every last surface is.
I like it. It’s a shinning example of how much… better… Equestria is than earth.
“So, have you been enjoying yourself?” Maneworthy starts up some idle chitchat.
‘Why not? I can gab a little.’ I think to myself, before replying with a nonchalant “Well enough – although things are kinda boring. I’m going a little stir-crazy.”
“I can imagine.” Maneworthy chuckles. “Personally, I think you’re well enough by now to go out and spend some time in the city – with a carer, of course.”
“The city, eh?” I return the chuckle. “That’s a big step. No-pony’s even let me out of the ward yet.”
I pause. Now it is starting to sound like I’m complaining. Time to change the subject.
“What about you, doctor? You haven’t told me much about yourself.”
“Neither have you.” Maneworthy responds cheerily. It isn’t enough to disguise the point to his jab, but I still ignore it.
“True.” I unsubtly deflect the question. “So, are you married? Any ki- Uh, foals?”
Maneworthy nods, accepting that I’m still not willing to talk. “Married to a wonderful mare – Light Wing.”
“A Pegasus?” That interests me. I would have thought that their lifestyles would be too different.
“Yes.” Maneworthy hums thoughtfully. “My family didn’t exactly approve. They thought marrying a Pegasus would get in the way of my career.”
I grin. “And here you are. Personal physician for Celestia herself.”
“Indeed. Needless to say, the family reunion that year was a little awkward. It didn’t help that there were no other Pegasus.”
“Love is blind.” I look around. I haven’t been in these halls before – although they still look a lot like the ones around my room. The only change is in the signs and names on the doors. “So, any foals?”
“Soon.” Maneworthy seems to bristle with pride. I may not be a full adult myself, but I can always appreciate the radiant happiness that a soon-to-be father always gives off while they’re boasting. “Only two more months.”
“Congratulations.” I nod enthusiastically. “I’m sure you’ll be very proud. I doubt your wife could be in better care, all things considered.”
“Oh yes. I’ll make sure Light get’s everything she needs – and because we live in the palace, she gets waited on hoof and hoof.”
“The perks of the job, eh?” I’d be lying if I said I was still engrossed in the matter, but I’m too polite to change the subject so quickly. Right now I'm more interested in the expression 'hoof and hoof'. It sounds ridiculous.
We come to the stairwell, and Maneworthy starts to lead me downwards, still talking.
“To be honest, I’m not sure why she insists on having a midwife. She’s in the palace, and I’m always available. Taking care of you is the most work I’ve had to do in quite a while – after all, the princess doesn’t get sick all that often.”
“Mmmhmm.” I hum, looking around at the immaculate stairwell as we arrive at the ground floor. “So, this meeting is at the palace, right?”
“Yes.”
“Great.” I tug at my shirt, adjusting my collar ever so slightly. “Looks like I finally get to go outside.”
The lobby is just as clean as the rest of the hospital. By this point, I should probably stop mentioning how clean everywhere is, and instead only take note if something is dirty.
The receptionist smiles at both of us. She’s a rather standard looking young mare, complete with a generic cutie-mark and a dark blouse. A background pony if ever I saw one.
“Good morning Doctor Maneworthy.” She says politely, before suddenly stumbling over my greeting. “Good morning – uh, Piano Man.”
I smile ever so slightly. Random ponies passing in the street shout those words at me every day, and even though it does make me cringe mentally, I refuse to hold it against him. In the hospital, everypony tip-toes around me like I’m made of fine china. She’s the first pony from inside the hospital to refer to me as anything since I woke up.
In conjunction with the taboo I’ve perceived to be associated with those words, Maneworthy’s head snaps around.
“Miss Manila, you of all ponies shouldn’t need to be reminded that we are to…” He trails off, and glances at me. “Oh, uh… Why not go have a look outside? Don’t move to far or fast, and sit down if you need to. I’ll be along shortly.”
“Sure.” I produce a grin that looks roughly on par with a grimace. “But really. It’s not that bad.”
“Be that as it may, but instructions are instructions.” Maneworthy responds. “And in this case, they have not been followed.”
“I hardly think not mentioning that… name, needs to be an instruction.” I can already tell my inability to actually voice the words has doomed my argument.
“Indeed. It’s obvious enough that anypony should know not to do it without being told twice. Please, just go ahead.”
I shake my head in disbelief, and then shoot a sympathetic glance at the receptionist, who has been sitting in a nervous silence during the exchange. Maneworthy can show some real backbone when he wants to, and arguing with him when he does is hopeless.
I decide to push the matter from my mind, and simply allow the doctor to berate Miss Manila. She did disobey instructions, so who am I to interfere in a job I don’t even understand?
I briskly walk away, feeling extremely sorry for the young mare. I don’t even get to hear the beginning of the lecture, as Maneworthy waits until I am well out of earshot – as in, outside the doors.
As soon as I’m outside, I forget about the young mare anyway. The air is cool, and the sun is bright. Another perfect day in Canterlot.
There’s a certain amount of freedom in being out in the small plaza without barely anyone around. Of course, I’m already enjoying the wonderful sensation of freedom, and have been for the past three days. This is a different kind of freedom, though.
This is a freedom from my carers. For the next minute or so, I won’t have Maneworthy or some nurse breathing down my neck about not overstressing myself. I know my own limitations, and I have my walking stick. As far as I’m concerned, I’m fine for a bit of a stroll.
I take a few hobbled steps forward, the action looking strangely humorous with my wooden walking stick, young face and moderately formal attire. In a way, I look like a walking contradiction – which of course has nothing to do with the fact that I’m the only human in a world full of colourful talking ponies.
The air is slightly warmer down in the plaza, where the mountain winds have a harder time getting at me than up on my balcony. I’m not complaining either way, but it’s just something to observe and take note of. It’s the small details like that which convinced me I was really here. You never take notice of things as minute as the wind or the way sunlight reflects of an object in a dream.
I open my mouth and take a deep breath. The ponies in the street haven’t noticed me yet, but they probably will. I have a very distinct figure, believe it or not. I can’t do what celebrities do, and just slap on some sunglasses and a trench coat. Then I’d just be making a fashion statement.
Now that I think about it, getting around is going to be a pain. It doesn’t matter if ponies talk to me or not. They’ll stare, though. Everypony – by which I mean the ponies that look up at my balcony - always does. Sometimes that silent stare is worse than any cheesy comment that these ponies could think up – and I’ve heard some pretty bad ones.
I slump against my walking stick, allowing it to carry most of my weight as I look out from the shadowed awning of the hospital entrance. Such a nice city, filled with such nice ponies.
It’s funny to think that eight days ago, all I wanted to do was kill them.
Slowly, I shuffle out into the sunlight. I should really enjoy it while I can, because apparently there’s a heavy rain scheduled soon. I don’t really remember when.
I lean against the wall of the hospital, soaking up the sunlight. Maneworthy will probably be out to escort me soon.
“Oh wow! It’s you!”
‘Shit.’
Two teenage stallions and a mare – all of them unicorns - quickly trot over. They look to be roughly the same age of the Mane Six – but that’s just my thoughts. Sometimes It can be a little hard to tell the ages here, as ponies age differently to humans.
“Hey there.” I force out weakly, plastering an equally transparent smile on my face.
“Wow, I can’t believe we’re meeting you!” One of the stallions gushes. “You’re amazing!”
“Yeah!” The mare joins in. “I wish could play as good as you!”
I smile and thank them both, before the other stallion speaks. He seems markedly less jubilant than the other two.
“I’m, uh… sorry, about… Trixie.” He says softly, jarring the other two into silence. “We… we aren’t all like that, you know.”
My smile has turned much weaker, but I still manage to pat the stallion on shoulder – well, the general shoulder area.
“I know. It’s… It's fine. I’m being taken care of.”
The three teens are silent, shifting awkwardly on their hooves.
“Hey!” The awkward situation is interrupted by Maneworthy, who still seems to be in defence mode. “What are you three doing?”
I turn to Maneworthy as he canters over, his face fixed in a irritated frown. "It-"
“He isn’t well enough to be putting up with this. Get out of here.” He snaps at the teens, all of which turn and gallop away before I can say that I don't mind.
I sigh and close my mouth, watching dejectedly as the teens race off. That's three alienated ponies right there.
“Is it just me…” I ease myself off the wall with a little groan. “…or am I getting everypony in trouble today?”
“They should really know better.” Maneworthy has clearly been placed in a bad mood by morning’s events. “We should go. We’re running late.”
“Yeah. Sure.” I really don’t feel like arguing. This is the first time that I’ve seen the doctor behaving as anything aside from a cheerful and friendly pony. It would seem that he has a low tolerance for incompetence.
We begin our slow walk through the city, with any pony that tries to approach immediately warded-off by one of Maneworthy’s vehement glares. We’d be making much better time if I was a little more mobile and a lot less stiff.
After a few minutes of what I can only describe as an angry silence, I feel compelled to try cheer Maneworthy up – even if it was simply to alleviate the tension.
“Canterlot truly is beautiful.” I remark awkwardly, making a point of exaggeratedly looking around. “Everything is so beautifully crafted, and quite clean.”
“It isn’t all like this.” Maneworthy replies, his voice still laced with irritation. “I’m sure you’ve guessed that this is the most upscale district in the city.”
“Mmm…” I nod, glancing at one of the many ponies who are needlessly wearing the shirt halves of tuxedos. “How bad do they get?”
“Not so much as ‘bad’.” Maneworthy replies without a hint of snobbishness. “…Just more in the way of being less glamorous. You’d be able to criss-cross every single street in the city, and never find one as clean as these.”
“Except for the palace, of course.” I add. That’s a given – and it’s also why Maneworthy isn’t speaking with the intolerable level of pride the show portrayed Canterlot ponies as possessing. He lives in the palace. How the rest of the city looks is of no real concern to him.
“Except for the palace.” The doctor agrees. His voice still isn’t prideful, but it also now lacks the irritation it held earlier. Progress if ever I casually listened to it.
***
“Wow. The palace is nice.” I speak softly, looking up at the graceful archers and turrets of Canterlot’s biggest structure. It’s much more impressive and far more beautiful from this angle. The view from the hospital does it no justice at all compared to this.
“Like I said… The best kept part of Canterlot.” Maneworthy still doesn’t look exactly ‘happy’, but he doesn’t look ready to slap somepony either. For now, that’s enough.
I nod, and follow him inside. My nerves are mounting. It’s time to meet the princesses. The princesses. The two that control the sun and the moon, and hold undisputed rule over all of Equestria. Will Cadance be there?
What am I supposed to say? What am I supposed to do? I don’t have the proper social training to converse with royalty. I can’t even carry myself with grace – not with this wound so fresh.
Looking down at my clothes, I realize that they aren’t nearly fit enough for royalty. I had a damn tuxedo, and I chose this crap. I should have dressed as smart as I possibly could have. What was I thinking? What is wrong with me?
Maneworthy gives me an odd look as we arrive in the lobby, and I realize that my face must be fixed in a mask of outer mortification.
“Are you alright?”
I am definitely not alright. I’ve practically curled over my walking stick, and I’m starting to panic.
“No, no.” I mumble. “I chose the wrong clothes. Not good enough. Do we have time to go back?”
Maneworthy stares at me like I’ve gone mad – although I understand why. It took thirty minutes for me to hobble over here, and I doubt I’d be able to handle another round trip anyway.
“You must be joking.”
I turn away, tugging at my collar. “Damn it, what was I thinking?” My voice is strained. “I’m not ready to meet the princesses! I’m not in the right clo- Oh my god, I haven’t had a shower since I woke up.” My hand comes up to my face. “I need to shave… Shower… my teeth…”
“Calm down.” Maneworthy says slowly, and I can see the other ponies in the entry hall looking worried. Of all the things to have a breakdown over, why this? “Everything’s fine. It doesn’t matter how you look.”
“What do you mean it doesn’t matter?” I exclaim incredulously. “I’m meeting the princesses!”
I see a white guardpony in the corner of my vision. He looks on-edge, and uncertain. Having to learn the possible dangers for a strange species such as humans must be a security nightmare.
Maneworthy’s horn lights up, and I feel my arms becoming constricted.
The presence of the doctor’s magic has two effects on me. It manages to jolt me back to reality, but at the same time, it infuses me with an intense sensation of Claustrophobia – one of the more noticeable mental scars of my ordeal.
My panic attack interrupted, I go rigid, tensing up as Maneworthy stares at me with concern.
“Maybe we should have waited until after the psychological profiling to bring you outside.”
“No, no.” I take a deep breath, refusing to look down at my arms. “I’m fine. Everything’s… I’m fine. Just give me my arms back. Please.”
Maneworthy stares at me with more than a little scepticism.
“Doctor, we…” I flex my wrists. “We have a meeting to get to, and…” I take a nervous gulp. “And if you don’t let go of my wrists right now, then I’m probably going to just freak out some more.”
Maneworthy nods, now understanding what is happening, and releases me. I refrain from stretching, which is what I really want to do at the moment, and simply give a little sigh.
Everypony is watching my shame unfold in all of its glory, and it’s all I can do not to curl up in a ball, or slam my head through the marble floor like some sort of super-ostrich. I’ve managed to thoroughly humiliate myself over practically nothing.
I’m in a bad condition. I know that, Maneworthy knows that, and Twilight knows that. It would be surprising if the princesses didn’t also know, so why would they care how I look?
Maneworthy guides me over to a sitting cushion, and gets me to sit down. “We can spare a few minutes, Catch your breath for a section.” He speaks soothingly, leaving me to my thoughts.
I sit in place numbly, looking down at my crossed legs. Most of the ponies in the hall are still looking at me. What are they thinking?
I listen disinterestedly as Maneworthy crosses the hall, and speaks to a pair of the guards and a few other ponies.
“I’m very sorry. His condition isn’t exactly stable, but he’s here to meet the princesses.”
So now he’s covering for me. That really raises my self esteem.
Well, except that he isn’t.
Who am I kidding? I’m still in terrible condition. It took so long to hobble my way over here, and it barely took a nudge to send me into a panic. It doesn’t matter if my wound’s healing well, what I need is to see a psychiatrist, or a psychologist, or a therapist. Hell, I have no clue which one deals with what.
I've been listening to Maneworthy since I woke up, taking everything he says as the ‘word of god’. It only occurs to me now that he is a physician, and I shouldn’t listen to anything he says regarding my mental state.
It’s not like I think any less of him now. I’m actually more pissed-off at myself. This is what happens when I don’t think – I have a humiliating breakdown in public that I can only bear to acknowledge because everypony will attribute it to my ordeal.
It’s only when Maneworthy begins to speak once more, keeping his voice slow and measured like the day I woke up, that I realise he has returned.
“Are you feeling alright?”
“I’d be lying if I said yes.” I reply glumly, uncrossing my legs and leaning back slightly. “But I’m okay for the meeting, I promise.”
“Okay then, if you feel that you’re able to continue, then let’s go meet the princesses.”
I nod. Maneworthy is an excellent doctor – I mean, he healed me when he’d never treated a human before – but he’s definitely not trained in dealing with mental issues. I’m sure any licensed practitioner would force me back to the hospital, lest I hurt somepony.
I really have to appreciate the way this world works. Back on earth, I’d be in a padded cell by now, what with the whole 'talking ponies' angle. In comparison, Maneworthy is still willing to let me go and see the princesses, even after a minor breakdown.
I just hope that it won’t be a choice he regrets.
Author's Note:
So here we have the Piano Man showing the first scraps of mental trauma. What better way to do that, than with a very public breakdown?
Your feedback. I want it.
:D
This is good. Though, I would have expected him to have more of a reaction to magic being used on him.
Heh, being paraded about town in a monkey suit...
i712.photobucket.com/albums/ww128/thepwnzor1337/moar.jpg
Seems legit enough to have him wigging out. When it comes to mental trauma it really doesn't take much to set a person off. It will be very interesting to see what happens when he does meet Celestia and Luna. All and all, a good chapter.
Loving it so far, it is going swimmingly and I see no mistakes.
1073951
Not surprising... what I am curious to see is how the princesses handle him (throwing apologies, giving him something, etc)
Have a moustache !
Has it really been 3000 words ? Time goes so fast while reading !
Oh ! I noticed a minor error : “ I'm in a bad condition. I know that. Maneworthy knows that, and twillight knows that“
'what I need is to see a psychiatrist, or a psychologist, or a therapist'
Why not all three?
I am loving the story the darker bits are nice to see in a fanfic when they are done well.
1073951 You want feedback?
Gimme a cookie first.
1073951 Very good, you've made me really curious as to how he's going to be able to explain his knowledge of Equestria without tripping over several of his new scars, especially since he really doesn't want to annoy/disappoint the Princesses.
1073901 Ach, sorry bro! It looks like Trollestia has struck again. Nice perfect story you got there... Be a shame is something, *click* were to happen to it.
1073951 The following picture represents the feedback of the majority of those reading this:
pawsru.org/paws/src/paws1798_fc25601_Moar.jpg
Interesting.....even more so when he gets to a piano again. Excellent tunes or trauma?
''...''
no words should be needed to say that this is again a asome piece you wrote togeter...
is it still to late to let my reaction on page 3 of your first piano man story come tru?
it needs some gore but thats yust silly me
Why would someone on Earth be put in a padded cell for being under stress when he underwent torture, man this guy is over stressing and looking at Equestria as though its "better than Earth" really annoyed me, you don't go from I've been tortured and had my free will stolen from me by a psychotic unicorn to "oh equestria is so nice".
Really him saying that Equestria is better is just so out of character, not so much as him respecting the city and how it's beautiful but him going back to his Brony way of thinking, where Equestria is the best even though he was tortured there, he should be wanting to leave without a second guess in his mind, so what's this want for him to stay there, where any Unicorn can just torture you again or steal your free will
1074459
My only explanation was that he interrupted himself because he was so flustered.
It still confused the hell out of me.
1072437 well you made it to spot 3, you're getting close.
I think that part of his ability to look at Canterlot and Equesteria this way has to do with the fact
that things are starting to look the way he expected in the first place. Plus he knows that both Rarity
and Twilight, both unicorns fought, Trixie the moment they found out that he was sentient. Another
item I can see happening is him having to help repair the effects of all this on Cadence. She is after all
a high level empath, and was hit with all of his emotions as well as the fight with Trixie.
MOARRRRRRR
1074911 I'm pretty sure most of the change of heart goes to him realizing "Oh wait a second, every pony in Equestria doesn't condone slavery, and they had little way of knowing I was a slave due to the only bitch unicorn that caused all this."
You can also look at what 1075091 said.
1075488
But then he should quickly realize, that any Unicorn can take control over him in an instant, no questions asked one spell and you are theirs, how does that not scare the living hell out of him?
He is surrounded by creatures that can steal his will and do just about anything they want to him, Trixie seemed stable in the show but look how she really turned out, how can he even go near a unicorn knowing that they have that much power over him?
1074083
1074731
1075443
What these guys said
1073951
The man needs a hug. Yeah, I know it seems underwhelming given what he went through, but don't underestimate how much a perfectly timed hug can help a troubled mind.
1075594 Yes, because all the other unicorns he's met so far are so eager to get their crack at taking him over.
(Not disrespecting ya btw. Just saying.)
Huh. So you did deliver after all. I really wasn't going to get back to your stories, TSC, but it's hard to not notice the warning you have here when the fic has been featured, and I gotta say, I'm extremely pleased with how things turned out both here and on the first fic.
Just remember to warn the readers when your stories take such a depressing plunge it doesn't look like it's coming up for air ever again. As you noticed, it tends to turn a fair share of people off, which you showed is something you don't want.
1073951 With his knowledge of Equestria and the ponies inhabiting it, he's bound to slip up and reveal that he knows something he shouldn't, whether he wants to hide it or not shouldn't matter too much. I'm also looking forward to the meeting. This seems like a perfect time for some CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT Also for the revelation of the fact that Earth 'observes' Equestria to the point that some ponies might not be comfortable with. This would also cause the princesses to possibly look at him in a sort of 'awe,' as if he's a higher power. There's my feedback. Whether you actually read this or not, I will probably never know; although, I hope it wasn't all for not.
Poor Piano Man. I hope he gets his real name out there hehe.
am i the only one reading this in zero-punctuation's voice
Okay, let's do this! SUPER MASS-REPLY GO!
Firstly...
---
Message to all readers:
Stop it. Don't applaud chapter two. I posted it in the morning, and did not properly proof-read it. I decided to download the published chapter onto my phone, and read it a little bit later. The amount of mistakes and errors I found was not only atrocious, but also unacceptable. The chapter did not meet my fairly lenient standards of writing. After this comment, I'm going back and fixing errors - Most importantly, the dialogue mess noted by 1074459.
---
1074062 I didn't want to have him totally freak out and start breaking tables, ETC. That doesn't really help the story.
1074156 Thanks. Will fix.
1074216 Because I am NOT wasting time writing this if most of it is going to just be him alternating between different shrinks.
1074249 The darker bits give it a little more depth, and make things slightly more interesting.
1074276 NO. MY COOKIES. Get your own.
Fly away, Mr. Dragon Man! Go back to your story with twice as many views as this!
1074334 That's the entire reason I made this a whole new story. I wanted something that didn't have a dark tag, and I needed a new story to do it.
1074358 Just one of the many plot ideas that shall be explored.
1074632 If the Piano Man decides he can keep playing the piano, then undoubtedly there will be a prominent role played by Octavia. As for Vinyl... We'll see. If we have time, monsieur. If we have time.
1074662 *slap*
1074731 Yeah, that seems about right.
1074737 *shrug*
1074769 And that's the way it will stay. No gore in this, just teen-level sarcasm and cursing.
1074911 1075091 1075488 I'm going to deal to that in the next chapter - but the thing is, none of the normal citizens know that they can control the Piano Man so easily. It's only the Mane 6 and the princesses that know.
As for his sudden change of heart, it is mostly because he recognizes that it was only Trixie that was that... fucked up. He does consider Equestria better than Earth because of how he's been treated since then, with nothing but friendliness and sympathy.
1075005 Nope. I just screwed up.
1075012 Got all the way to spot two... and then My Little Stashie happened. -_-
1075704 Hugs all round!
1076044 And now I'm even happier. Thanks for coming back to the story, and don't worry: There aren't going to be any depressing plunges in this story.
1076392 Oh no. I would NEVER make the princesses see the Piano Man as a higher power. There's no fun if he's being treated as a god. Then it's just bland.
1077012 ...
files.sharenator.com/rainbow_vomit-s251x193-183984.jpg
1076924 and that brings me to my second mass-message...
---
Message to all readers:
I haven't decided on the Piano Man's name. I have a few ideas, but I am always looking for more. If you have ANY ideas for his name, no matter WHAT they are, feel free to drop me a comment or a message,
And there we have it. Good god, this is a long comment.
1077307 Okay. *munches on cookie*
Also, you want me to leave? *crosses arms* I refuse.
1077307
Williams? Samuel? Samus? Daniel? Bob? Zachary? Anderson? Cooper? Jeremy? Clark? Richard? Hamilton? Alfy?
. . .
Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All?
1077307 How about Tobias? Ben? Samuel? Henry? Alexander? Dominic? Tyreese? Lisa? Dakota? Paxton? Tyler? I could keep going!
Need a name for Piano Man, eh?
How about Steve? I know it sounds plain, but hear me out.
An ordinary man placed in extraordinary situations and having endured the level of pain that he did would be more than enough to break most individuals.
Not him.
Not only is he on his way to recovery, but he is also wise enough not to judge every pony for the sadistic actions of only one of them. To me, that makes this feller a unique individual.
Which is exactly why Steve would mesh so well with him: it's all about dichotomy, dude.
1075866
Nah I get yeah, but just that utter feeling of powerlessness he had in Trixies situation, would he really just want to surround himself by the creatures that could do such things? or worse had they the same idea's Trixie had?
1075866
I'd have to agree with OminousTen. It's like a woman who is a victim of a horrible rape would never be comfortable around men for a while and even then for the rest of her life she may always be put on edge by being near a guy. It doesn't matter that 99.99999999999% of men she had met never tried to do it but that it happened 1 time is enough to cause severe psychological trauma. So even though none of the other unicorns tried to take him over it doesn't mean he is going to be fine with being near them, at least not for a long time. If what Piano Man went through was half as horrible as we read about the second the doctor's magic touched him it would replay all the other moments magic has touched him and most if not all of those memories are awful. Immense fear bordering on panic would be the expected result.
1077490 1077567 An easy way to handwave this is that we are talking about ponies. With him being a brony, he's more inclined to give the ponies a second chance.
Oh, and I have to say: Would you rather I wrote a story where he freaked out every time a pony looked at him? That would be terrible.
1077615
No I'm just saying it wouldn't make perfect sense for him to feel uncomfortable being around unicorns just a couple days after being tortured and used for nearly a month straight after Trixie showed and gloated about how easily she could do it. Like how he froze up when the doctor's magic touched him, that made perfect sense and is what you'd expect from someone suffering from PTSD.
I look forward to the next chapter
1077615
No course not I trust your writing, this is a nice well done story, I just don't won't to see Piano man be in a delusional state of "I'm in Equestria and never want to leave"
Sure he can be happy about being there that's a given but to say
Why doesn't he want to go home? As far as we know he has a loving family and the luxuries of a first world life and all that Equestria has given him is a life long traumatic experience and some apologies in medical care. I can understand a bit about his life forever changed knowing that Equestria is real but is that real cause for him to just stay there?
I just brought up the whole Unicorn = Bad thing for him to try and understand what his motivation is for wanting to stay in Equestria, I know he hasn't decided and is conflicted but the positives of staying in Equestria are far and in between to the negatives, culture shock itself and the loneliness of being your only kind to name a few.
It's just really coming off as a stupid teenager saying an even stupider thing for a selfish reason
AAAHV GAWT SUM SUJESCHIONS FER HIS NAAEM!!!!
Charlie? Chuck Norris?(wait...forget that name) Bill Cosby? Obama? Stevie? Rambo? Jet Li? Jackie Chan? Vladamir Makarov? Shepard? Abraham Lincoln? John Kennedy? Chuck Testa?
Ooh... OOOOOH AAAHV GAWT AN AWSUM NAEM FER HIM!!
....
Thatdudethatgottorturedjusttoforcehimtoplaythefuckingpiano?
DID YA LIKE EM??!! DID YA???? DIDYADIDYADIDYADIDYA??!!!!!
I know you did... Because...
ih2.redbubble.net/image.4261943.4318/sticker,375x360.png
1077870 Well, there isn't that much culture shock in a world created by modern day humans - but that aside, consider this. By coming to Equestria, he's realizing a dream of many-a-brony. I wouldn't exactly call it a 'stupid teenager makes a selfish and stupid choice', so much as I would call it him simply making an arbitrary choice on a matter he hopes he won't have to deal with.
The biggest issue here, is the MASSIVE difference between the worlds. In Equestria, he gets the royal physician and more sympathy than you could shake a stick at because of his trauma. On Earth, he's designated as an all-out nutjob, and instead of getting care for his emotional trauma regarding his enslavement, is treated for believing in a place that he has spent a month living in.
This is factoring out his family, of course. We'll leave that out for now.
So with that in mind, which place seems like the better choice at the moment?
1077910
I've always been a pro-Earth kind person so I will be the first to admit I'm a little biased on my choices with the option of worlds
But to name a few things, there is a lot of culture shock, explaining why someone has to wear cloths and to be judged by that, yeah that's culture shock, if that doesn't make someone feel awkward I don't know what will.
That aside I can see the temptation posed by Equestria but I think his whole fear of being judged on Earth is impeding his decisions, psychologists can and would help him, not believe his case maybe but they can help the damage and they don't condescend him for talking to them.
I really just don't want to lose emotional attachment to this character in this kind of story, and that happens a lot with me when characters make brash decisions with huge consequences as though it's nothing
still enjoy the story
Interesting part. I had expected the younger foals to ask him if the walking cane was to stop him from falling over, since he only has two legs
It's going to be interesting to see if he breaks down when he meets Celestia -- she is portrayed as having a lot of 'presence', so this might be too much for his still fragile psyche. It's also going to be interesting to see if she can give him some macguffin or ward to stop any unicorn with curiosity and no manners from manhandling him.
And I know this makes no sense, but every time I read about the protagonist playing I keep having a mental image of Dr John playing Cold Shot
...I had an idea...Well, you're going to add at least a little bit of comedy to this right? You need to add in a bunch of misunderstandings. Funny misunderstandings that make the piano man (Thinking on it, you could probably make his name P.m. ...I know it's an obvious joke, but maybe his friends all called him that?) look like a god in the eyes of ponies. And personally, as for his knowledge of Equestria, well if I let something slip I'd probably say something about how there are a ton of parallels between Earth and Equestria...Such as the puns and everything.
"I decided on formal. Choosing anything else for a meeting with royalty would be a foolish motion.
With that in mind, I’ve got long pants and a buttoned shirt. They both fit well, and keep with dark colours. I have to say that the similarity between Equestrian-made and Eath-made human clothes is unsettling."
should probably be notion
should be Earth
1077307 A name huh? Well...I got a "few" names IF your interested for the Piano-man.
Tyler Lynch - My Name I prefer 'Archangel' to my real name since everyone I know in town calls me by that. I rarely use my real name anymore.
Tyler King
Archangel Just say that all his friends and family call him that.
Tyler Fitzpatrick
Bill or Billy Gallant
Jamie Hyland
Ryan Brown
Matty Cripps
Ryan Johnson
John Sheldon
Brett Malone
Nick Leggatt
Jeff Veno
Jarred Shanahan
Nathan Girouard
Colby Cormier
Liam Campbell
Kennedy Stade
Aaron Maher
Dustin Taylor
Matt Gorman
Devan Brealieu
Derek McLaughlin
Colin Henderson
Lyndon Pugh
Garret Gosse
Matty Moses
Mackenzie Powers
Jesse Thomas
Christopher McGee
Safwaan Houssain
Mike Dunnett
Gabriel McDonald
Braydan McDonald
Aidan McDonald
Alex Creamer
Louis LeBail
Cody Dolye
Patrick Foley
Alexsander Poitras
Trevor Carroll
Scott Carroll
Kieth Carroll
Josh Whiffen
Mitchell Skidd
Devon Buckley
Matt Bursley
Brandon Dickson
Brandon Giesbrecht
Justin Salamon
Hope these help!
*Activates hipno-cat* "Use this list! Destroy the Cattleprod"
Hey, Flamesinger599! Pass me some cookies you greedy little bugger, SHARE DAMNIT! *Lunges at Flamesinger599*
OMG I loved the first part!
I remember reading it a couple days ago with my phone while I was on vacation