• Published 13th Mar 2013
  • 9,439 Views, 120 Comments

A Few Moments with Twilight - Haliton



A human is lost in a new land and has one pony become many things for him. Incredibly self-indulgent HiE Human x Twilight

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Awakening in Midnight

As I awoke, I reflected on the unsettling dream I had the night before.

I dreamt that on one of my wanderings, on the way home from a journey, I had gotten myself lost, only to find myself somewhere I could not quite place as real.

The place was filled with an air reminiscent of childish imagination, fit to be a setpiece of a storybook. I wandered, tired and thirsting, till I found a town that could shelter me. Then I could remember no more other than that I was found and I spoke with my saviours a little before passing out; benefactors robed in the colours of the rainbow that shone more beautifully as they approached violet.

It was a fascinating dream, one that I would not mind having again. If I knew sleeping would lead to things like this most of the time, my health would be faring much better. It slowly dawned on me then, as my mind cleared, that I wasn't home as I thought. The bed was definitely different, feeling a bit softer than what I was used to. My feet easily touched the end, which considering my height must mean this was a smaller bed. Looking around, the room appeared to be some sort of infirmary, with a stand opposite holding my used clothes, meaning that I was naked.

I had some time to myself for now to come to terms with things. My head was being ravaged by some dull pulse, the same headaches that wracked me on weeks spent burning midnight oil studying. In this state, even my own hand felt unnatural as I put it on my forehead trying to soothe myself as I looked more around me. While I was now clearly warded in a hospital, this meant nothing. The walls didn't look like any hospital near my home. Neither the bed, table, door or just about anything. I knew that in this sort of ward, I wouldn't have a window with which to look out to the city, and in my hometown, there wouldn't be so much nature.

There was so much grass outside. Even something as simple as swaying grass could keep me captivated as my head failed to gain any more sense. Grass was used for thatched roofs on houses that didn't belong in cities. I was in a rural place, far from home. With no roads leading anywhere I could see, I would have a hard time leaving too. I'd be damned if I had to trek through the jungle on the town outskirts just to get to somewhere civilised. The headache here intensified as if in response, and with my own newly realised hunger, I could only sit back on the bed, holding my head with both hands.

"Um.. is everything alright?"

A female voice. A nurse! An accessory perfect for a hospital room. Looking up, instead of the voluptuous, sultry caretakers that pervaded fantasies or the wrinkled, haggard matrons that generally occupied reality; some quadruped creature stood in the doorway, wearing something recognisable as a nurse's hat. It was white in entirety save its large eyes, which had blue irises, and pink... hair, for lack of a better term. All this was somehow enough to distract for just a moment from its pink tail of hair.

"Ah—ahem. Excuse me. Are you—are you the nurse?"

Something about the numbness of the mind in headaches made surprises like this less impactful and more readily accepted. If it could speak English, at least one major problem was out.

"Oh-yes, yes. Can-can I help you with anything?"

Doing my best to ignore how apprehensive she looked, I responded.

"Yeah. Will... lunch be served soon? And I'd like something for headaches, please. You see, I have an awful one right now."

"Yes, actually, I was here to bring you your food! If it's, well suitable. As for headaches, um...well, we have a few pills, if you know which one can help you. I'm sorry, I looked through the records, but we've never had anyone like yourself come in here before."

No one like myself here before?

Either way, if I was being treated with hospitality, the only thing I could do was accept. The creature pushed a cart into my room, then with its mouth, lifted a tray onto my bedside table. Some rice, potatoes, the standard hospital fare, except that there was no meat at all. Again, with its mouth, the creature passed me some separate bags of pills, the labels of which had no meaning. Their effects were clearly stated: RELIEF OF FEVER AND HEADACHES FOR PONIES AGED 4 AND UP, but their names were in some language I had never seen before. My mind managed to clear up just enough to suggest that taking 'medicine' I knew nothing about from a place so alien was a bad idea, so I turned them and the nurse away in hopes that decent food and water would be enough to last this through.

I briefly considered how fortunate I was that my meal was familiar human fare before thinking back on the nurse and medicine bag. I was in no mood to pay attention to the nagging thought about eating the food of another world and being bound there eternally as I began feeding myself. 'Ponies?' 'Pony?' The hunger keeping the confusion away dissipated through a surprisingly decent meal, leaving nothing to distract me from having to confront the strange situation I was in.

What was the nurse that tended to me? A pony? It did look like some form of horse, as if it were a cartoon come to life. Then there was the medicine bag that stated it very clearly. Where the hell was I? I looked out the window again and saw a train station that would hopefully bring me to an airport fast enough. Maybe a society inhabited by pony-people had just slipped my notice while being common knowledge in the rest of the world. Maybe I could call a friend and have them look things up for me, or at least just to hear a voice I knew.

No service. It would figure. Not even the emergency dial worked. The time on my phone was also drastically different from the time shown on the wall clock. While both the sky outside and the clock on the wall showed clearly that it was two in the afternoon, my phone had just struck midnight. I felt a great chill as another layer of resistance peeled off and I came closer to realising that I knew absolutely nothing about where I was, or how I even came here. Lying in bed and focusing on the white paint above helped stave away thoughts of how my missing might be affecting Sis, until finally the stillness was broken by the nurse returning.

"Just put this under your tongue..."

A thermometer to take my temperature. The red liquid within went up to about a third of the length, enough to guess that I was fine even if the units of measurement there were alien to me. Thirty six... something.

"Right.... Anything else, then? Any pain or dizziness?"

"No, I think I'm fine now."

"You do seem like you're a bit cold with all you're wearing, but... sure, I guess we could have you out soon. Just wait for us to finish filing everything."

Soon after, another creature came in. It was slightly larger than the Nurse and was a light brown colour, with darker brown hair. It wore a pair of spectacles on a face more rigidly defined than the Nurse and spoke with a clearly male voice, with a distinctive hum as it-or he spoke my name. It wore something approximating a doctor's outfit, with a white coat and green shirt, but fitted for creatures like itself.

"Right. Now, it seems like you're feeling better and shouldn't have any problems, so it should be safe to discharge you. Just take your things and walk down to the reception area on the first floor to finalise things," it calmly explained, as if my landing here was just another day's work.

Trying to think any more would probably shatter the delusion of normality that kept me going, so I picked up my bags and walked out, following the signs along similarly-decorated corridors like the ones in my ward. I came across more of these creatures, mostly the females who also were outfitted as nurses, receiving the odd stare every now and then from those not busy enough. Though it had the key traits of a hospital, the choice of aesthetic these creatures used were whimsical and colourful, as if the whole place were a children's ward. Considering the wooden hearts here and there carved into the paneling, perhaps a girl's ward.

"Right, just sign here..."

The receptionist handed me a form and quill with her mouth, and looked quite interested in how I signed it. It did take a few moments to figure out how to hold a quill, though.

"How much do I need to pay?" I spoke, a little less worried than I should have been. I thought that carrying a good sum on me would surely cover however long was I out for.

"For a night's stay, food and medication? Well, normally this would be around seventy Bits, but, regarding your situation... we have a hospitality fund for those unable to pay. Can you?"

Of course. Why would they be using my currency? Whatever the conversion rate, I should have enough.

"What is the conversion rate from this to.. to Bits? Is this enough?"

The receptionist creature stared at my banknotes for a few moments before shaking her head.

"I'm afraid we can't accept that. So if you need to use the fund, just sign here."

She gave me another form, most of which was in English, though paragraphs here and there were in another language.

"Oh, don't worry about that, it's just stuff for us to follow."

The receptionist must have noticed my confusion as I held the quill over the signature line. Signing it seemed to take a bit of weight off me.

"And there's that! Best of luck!"

"Thank you. But, um..."

I asked her if she knew the fastest way to get home.

"Huh? I'm afraid I've never heard of that place."

Never heard? I even said what country and continent it was in. Where was this, anyway?

"Huh? Oh, right. When you were found we took you in, you were barely conscious, but you told use your name and that you were lost. This is Ponyville. You know, in Equestria?"

I had to take a few seconds to process those names. This whimsical aesthetic was not confined to the hospital itself. Not that it was unpleasant, but it was unlike anything I had ever been.

"I.. see. Who found me, though?"

It was the only question I could think of asking that wouldn't be futile at this point. If I remained dumbstruck, I would break down.

"The librarian, the one who lives in the library. If you look for a really large tree, that's our library. It'd be nice of you if you said hello!"

With nothing else I could think to be done. I headed through the opened doors into the sunlight.

A gentle breeze welcomed me as I stepped out of the hospital, inviting me to take a good look at the town. Pleasing to the eye with a good mixture of colours in architecture, with a refreshing air one might only find in a rural community. My worries were relaxed a bit as I took in the atmosphere. Some creatures gave me stares as I walked down streets of dirt in lush grass, but most just went about their business. Some bore horns, while others bore wings, either walking on the ground or flitting about, handling clouds as if they were clumps of cotton candy.

As long as I didn't think too much of it and treated it as some walk in an immersive amusement park, I could remain in this sort of unfettered state. The bright buildings passed the sides of my view like they were flat panels just sliding in my direction, while the creatures were little more than coloured blobs that tried not to get in my way. Things blurred. I still wasn’t sure if I was seeing whatever it was that I was seeing. I could hardly tell if I was still asleep somewhere and having a mad dream I’d laugh about later, or if I really had woken up here in some wonderland.

Impossible, of course. I was letting my fears get the better of me. Somehow, even as I let my mind retreat as I wandered in the vague direction of the large tree, I found it. Shaking myself a bit so that my vision would clear, I had a good look at the sign right outside the tree. It had... an image of a large book, but no wording on the sign at all. It was nice that this library thought to cater to the needs of the illiterate. Maybe this tree-house was a popular landmark for them, with a door just barely tall enough for me and windows around, accented with ornaments and even a beehive.

Now, why was I here again? To.. thank the one who found me? How would these creatures even do that? I did well enough assuming the hospital staff would act like any other person, but perhaps it was their extraordinary professionalism at work. Should I just knock on the door and ask for- wait, I didn't even get their name. Bah, it wasn't as if I had much else I could do anyway. I knocked on the door, and waited for a very long few seconds.

"Yes, we're open! Come in!"

A female voice. A young lady's, it seemed, but unfortunately for me the one behind this door, if I were to extrapolate based on all the 'pony' creatures I found about town, would be a creature like them, too. A pity, because if anything, I needed some company right now.

Right as I reached for the door, it came open. In the doorway was another one of those creatures. Purple in fur colour, with long, straight hair, at least, relative to the head. It had a single horn on its head and on its back legs it bore a mark resembling a six-pointed star.

"Oh! You're the, um, person who got lost outside town the day before! Well, glad to see you're okay! Sure was lucky you were right where I and a couple of others were, huh?"

So this one was the one who found me? At least I wouldn't need to ask.

"Yes, I thought I should thank you in person. How... should I address you?"

Was it even appropriate to call it 'Miss'? Everything I had overheard through my stroll over town was spoken in contemporary English, but as a foreigner, one could never be too sure.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle! But you can just call me Twilight. I don't think I ever got your name, either."

Twilight... Sparkle? What sort of name was this? These creatures had names so.. flamboyant? Stunned as I barely managed to reply with my own name, I didn't even consider how mine would sound in comparison.

"Huh? Well, I... can't say I've ever heard of a name like that before."

For a second, its face held an expression of sheer confusion, enough to guess that my own name evoked the same reaction in it.

"So, anyway, do you have a bit of time? Because I've just been pouring over my books, trying to find any information of, um, who you might be, but the most I've been able to find were a couple of ancient myths where people who were kind of described like you were mentioned. And I thought that it'd be a great opportunity if could just ask you directly, so do you want to come in for a bit?"

Now it wore a face of interest, which was at least advantageous for me. What could I do but accept?

"Great, great! Just make yourself at home! Here, have a seat. Looks like you can fit in our chairs, at least!"

I stepped into the tree's interior, revealing a large circular room filled with books to the ceiling around the walls. A staircase to the side lead upwards, aligned against the curved walls of the tree's interior, while ornaments here and there added to the decor. The creature-Twilight Sparkle, pulled up a chair and motioned for me to sit, which I complied with as soon as I set down my bags. A notebook and quill suddenly began surrounded in some magenta light, floating in front of it, while its horn also glowed with that same light.

"Now, then, um.. how did you get to Ponyville anyway? Judging from everything you're carrying, it looks like you were traveling?"

I noted just how sharply upwards its ears were pointing while it gave me this interview. Then as I began to explain my situation, they slowly drooped down until they finally became limp, matching the falling of her eager expression to one more sombre.

"Oh... I see."

It stood up, and paced around the room.

"So you're lost, and don't know how you can even go back home. Actually, I've never even heard of this place you're from..."

It seemed a bit frustrated, as it gritted its teeth. Again a magenta glow manifested, this time on some books in the walls that floated over to Twilight. Their pages began to flip seemingly on their own as it then began looking through a multitude of books, mostly atlases.

"Yeah. There's no record of anything at all."

That was I going to do?

I was here, stuck away from any hope of going home. Judging by the sky, it was soon going to be evening, there were problems more immediate than being lost.I had some food packed away, at least. Maybe I could camp somewhere out of town while I continued to try and figure things out. Maybe there was a usable park bench somewhere. Maybe...

"In that case, why don't you stay here in Ponyville for a little while? I mean, if you have nowhere to go, you might as well try and figure things out here."

Twilight Sparkle's invitation was a stark ray of light in the sheer confusion of everything that had happened recently. Then again, what other option did I have? Even if I had to deal with living alone among a foreign... race, whose customs and culture were probably incomprehensibly alien, it still was a better option than wandering out into the wilderness alone no matter how I looked at it.

"I can't thank you enough for your offer. But I hope I don't impose."

"It's nothing! In fact, why don't you leave your bags here while I go see a few friends who might be able to help you?"

My bags started glowing with that same shade of magenta with Twilight Sparkle's horn, and they were levitated over to a side of the library where they would be out of the way. Was it... moving things with its horn?

"All done! Let's go, I can show you around a bit..."

The one called Twilight Sparkle led me out of the library and back into town. Across bridges over streams, walking on roads, while this purple creature made note to me things I might find useful. Food, clothing, a friend of hers I could plead help from, maybe. More creatures looked on at us, while some even made to ask Twilight Sparkle who its 'friend' was. There were brief introductions between a town inhabitant and myself, until we reached yet another building that looked remarkably distinct from the rest.

"Rarity? Are you in?"

Twilight Sparkle knocked on the door to large, round building resembling a walled carousel. Decorated in manner similar to the more elaborate buildings of the town, with more elaborate decoration and patterning. A creature similar to Twilight Sparkle came out, though different in colours, with variation in the way its hair and was styled.

"Hello, Twilight! And.. who is this? Friend of yours?"

Twilight Sparkle briefly went through my situation, after introducing me to this other one.

"Oh.. and you're saying he has no place to go? Don't worry, Twilight, we'll figure something out! "

'Rarity' turned to me. She looked at me intently, as if scrutinising my attire for a few moments, before turning away to lead us all to other locales in town. It asked me more about myself, though mainly focused on my clothing, starting with the odd topic of why I was wearing them in the first place. I was apparently very raggedly, and required a new set of clothes as soon as was reasonably feasible. Between all this I was still finding myself overcome with bouts of occasional fatigue, so my attention lapsed much while I was brought around for my two acquaintances to meet their acquaintances.

Either way, come evening, I had myself a room. Though I had to bend a bit to fit through the doorway, the interior was not too small to be confining. Not yet, anyway Twilight Sparkle offered to help bring my belongings over, somehow it was done in a few minutes. Her friend spoke with the landlord of the apartment building I was in, explaining in more detail why I wouldn't be able to reimburse costs of occupying a room, and making for arrangements. It came to that I would be housed here at least temporarily at no charge, giving me more time to figure things out. How much time I would need, or how I would figure whatever I needed to out eluded me for now. All I could want to do was wake up from whatever this was.

The creatures left, wishing me well. I laid down on the bed and, without thinking any more, retreated back into sleep again.

Author's Note:

Honestly, some of this is in need of heavy editing considering most of it was written in states of being half-asleep. I might redo it.

EDIT: After a few eternities of inactivity, some of it is redone