• Published 10th Apr 2013
  • 4,886 Views, 357 Comments

My Dear Shy - Life in Equestria - Keeper-of-Harmony



Rick Gartners begins a new and vivid life in a mythical world he knows not much of.

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Chapter Two

After the torment of having my daughter relocate my dislocated shoulder, I prepared the day by changing out of my flannel pajamas and into my normal clothes, and then I gathered some stuff and put them inside Fluttershy's saddlebag which I've currently borrowed.

I took a quick inspection of the bag to assure I hadn't forgotten what I needed to bring.

Twilight's book to return. Check.

Spare jeans with a torn hole needing to be patched. Check.

Map of Equestria. Check.

Some dead twigs, flint, and a fishing spear. Check.

I fumbled around the items thoroughly, seeing if there was anything else I didn't miss.

Special sauce... Check.

All items accounted for, and without delay, I headed for the front door and opened it swiftly. Taking several steps outside, the morning sun hovering above the sky was briskly yellow and incredibly hot. This is the season of summer, after all. I furrowed my brows and crossed the small bridge, meanwhile following the dirt road leading to Ponyville.

A few feet further down past the bridge, I noticed my daughter was watering her beds of lilies and daisies to my left. She was lullabying happily, content in her blissful singing that I stopped to briefly admire her angelic tone. Her melody was invigorating, my whole body could just melt from her soothing voice.

"Alright, Fluttershy," I shouted to her softly, waving an arm in the air. "I'm going over to Twilight's, then Rarity's, then the lake. I'll probably be back..." I paused to estimate. "Around four to five hours."

Fluttershy heard as she gently lowered her watering can with her mouth. "Just a second," she said, trotting towards me.

Pretty much every time or every day, Fluttershy always would stop me to hug me and wish for my safe travels before I'd leave, and whenever I'd return home she'd also be waiting at the front door and welcome me with her ever contagious smile. How it warmed my heart each time I'd see that smile.

Fluttershy wrapped her forehooves around my left leg, smothering it. "Come back home safely." she cooed as she released my leg.

"I will," I said with a chuckle.

------------------

After several minutes of walking, I finally made it to Ponyville. Ponyville was a nice and quiet town, littered with ponies and foals of various kinds; pegasi, ponies who were able to fly and could alter conditions of the weather by using their wings. Unicorns, ponies who could cast and use varying levels of magic with a spark of their horns. And there were your average earth ponies without wings nor horns.

Some locals I passed by would gesture a welcoming wave or shoot a friendly shout if they noticed me. Others plainly would look away or act like I was inconspicuous. Being disregarded bothered me, but I'd shrug and just go along my business as well.

Two weeks ago, Celestia did offer to turn me into a pony so I would fit in better. However, I had told her I'd rather die if that were to happen because being turned to a pony didn't seem pleasing. Plus, I wouldn't get used to it. While it seemed a bit rash that I had said that to her, she respected my decision nonetheless.

Unfortunately, whenever I had to say her name in public, I'd have to pronounce her formerly as Princess Celestia so her servants, followers, and loyal subjects wouldn't get offended. It was annoying but there wasn't much I could do anything about it, although I will continue to call her Celestia in this diary.

Continuing. This village was lively, and at least a couple of ponies of Ponyville were kind enough to point me the location of Twilight's house when I asked for directions. No thanks to those who ignored me, of course...

Twilight, and the rest of her friends, including my beloved daughter, were pretty well known throughout town from their heroic deeds. I heard they stopped Nightmare Moon from bringing an endless night and turned Discord, a spirit of chaos and disharmony, completely to stone; preventing him from reigning over Equestria.

There was another story about Shining Armor's (Twilight's Big-Brother-Best-Friend-Forever. Try saying that three times fast...) wedding in Canterlot.

Twilight suspected that her brother's fiance, Cadence, princess of the crystal kingdom, was acting unusually... "bitchy". It was an imposter named Chrysalis, a changeling queen who had the real Cadence held captive and wanted to rule Equestria. She was very close too, I'd say closer than Nightmare Moon or Discord, but Shining Armor and Cadence's love somehow triumphed and repelled Chrysalis and her invasion.

However nothing, and I mean nothing, could compare what my daughter did to save the town one time; she stood up to a full-grown, fire-breathing dragon! I heard Twilight and her friends had to get rid of the mythical creature. Otherwise, the black smoke it created would shadow Equestria for the next one-hundred years! When Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, failed to convince the dragon to leave, it was my daughter who persuaded the lizard to leave! Heck, she even reformed Discord when he was freed from his statue prison and Celestia herself said she was the only one capable of doing it.

Unbiological though we were, I was still extremely proud of her; proud as much as a father of his daughter could.

With the help of a few pointers, I found Twilight's humble abode that was her treehouse. When the ponies mentioned treehouse, I took the term like it was a teeny, tiny house built on top of a tree. I was dead wrong. I realized that when they said treehouse, literally they meant that it was an actual tree. A big, bulky tree refined as a livable home. It had glass windows, a balcony, including a door with a 'welcome' mat lying out front.

I walked, stood, and wiped my black Nikes over the mat, then I loosened my shoulders to ease up a little. Three weeks ago, the first time I visited her place, I felt pretty awkward when Twilight and I discussed why my culture needed clothes to stay warm and how it kept them from looking at our "special" areas. What was terrifying was that Twilight seemed fascinated by our anatomy and said she'll want to perform experiments (as she called it) on me one day.

I shuddered from that unsettling memory, praying it won't happen. Couldn't blame her, though. She was always eager for learning new things.

Shaking off the awkward memory, I knocked on the tree's wooden door and waited for a response. From the other side, I heard clopping sounds, getting closer and closer, thus the door opened and standing before me was the egghead (a word I abducted from Rainbow Dash) herself, Twilight Sparkle.

Her horn glowed an aura of lilac, vibrant like a lit candle, synced to the door's knob. Yes, quite frankly, she had a knob on her door this time...

Twilight immediately acknowledged who I was and the corner of her lips rose to a cheeky smile. "Oh hey there, Rick," she said in a gleeful tone. "I take it you're here to return a certain thing you've borrowed?"

"Heh, you presume correctly," I quipped. "So, are you going to let me in?" I asked, raising a brow.

"Of course, of course," Twilight happily obliged. The witty unicorn trotted aside, granting me a clear entry into her lovely home. I nodded appreciatively and stepped inside.

"How was the story?" Twilight began, looking at me curiously.

"It was good," I replied. "Although I'm not entirely into horror or thriller stories. More of an action type, you know. A good read nevertheless."

Twilight closed the door with another spark of magic. "I thought it was interesting. Then again, I find all books interesting," she added.

"A lonely filly meandering around Everfree Forest, trying to find her way back home, then encounters a strange pony with a magnifying glass for a cutie mark." I quoted in a ghostly tone, wiggling my fingers while adding a bit of an 'Ooo' for more eeriness effect.

Twilight childishly giggled at my silly charade. "I wouldn't say it like that, but it probably would've been scarier if I read it that way." She then went over to me with an innocent smile plastered on her face. "The book, if you please?" she asked politely.

I pulled the weighted novel out of the bag and handed it to Twilight. "Here you go."

With another glow of her horn, the aura enveloped the book as it levitated from out of my grasp and onto one of the bookshelves that were ultimately aligned with even more assorted books.

"Anyways. Have you obtained a letter from C- I mean, have you obtained a letter from Princess Celestia about the permit?" I inquired.

"Not yet," Twilight replied discouragingly. "But I'm sure it'll be around today!" she said cheerfully.

"I understand you're trying to cheer me up, but I'm still pretty anxious if the council doesn't approve," I said, walking back and forth with a hand planted over my mouth.

"You really shouldn't worry. I have faith that Princess Celestia will convince them."

"But it's been two weeks now!" I exclaimed. "And I'm not sure what to do if I don't get the permit. I don't like living in my daughter's house as a freeloader. It's unfair to her."

"I'm sure Fluttershy doesn't mind. Really," Twilight smiled reassuringly. "She is the element of kindness, after all. More importantly, she's your daughter. If there is any problem, she'll support you all the way because-"

"Because she loves me," I cut Twilight off. "With every ounce of her beating heart. Still, I just can't bear the thought of taking up space- let alone have her wash my clothes for me."

"Hmm," Twilight hummed, staring at the floor like she was brainstorming. "Well," she quickly rose her head back up. "If anything happens and you don't get your permit, why not look for a job? Applejack or Rarity will be more than happy to hire you."

It was rather ironic; Twilight and her suggestions of what jobs I could apply, reminded me of Tina back on Earth. Tina... I usually thought about her from time to time throughout the entire month, wondering how she was handling life that I'm no longer around. I mean, the entire month I'd been on Equestria, it should be thirty years on Earth. I couldn't imagine how many things changed; Tina probably should be old by then, or maybe dead. I don't know. But I shouldn't dwell on the past anymore. What was done was done; water under the bridge. On Equestria with my dear Shy, that was all I ever wanted, and I'm glad I made that decision.

"I appreciate it. But I'm not the type of man who enjoys physical labor. And I'm not particular to cosplaying as a barbie for a fashionista."

"I-" said Twilight before she suddenly paused, cocking a brow. "'Barbie'? What's that?" Twilight questioned, staring at me bemusedly yet also curiously. And I knew the moment she had asked that question, something made me guess that I was going to stay here longer than I estimated I would...

"Ah jeez..." I muttered, face-palming.

------------------

"That's entirely what they are. Toys. Plain and simple."

Twilight and I were still standing at the center of her living room, and I had finished explaining to the curious unicorn about Barbie Dolls for which she was curious. There wasn't much to talk about, really; I only knew what they looked like and nothing else, although Twilight wanted to know more about me and my world. She had asked question after question regarding Earth. What was our food like? What different types of languages were we able to speak? How did we evolve from the primitive era to the revolution of advanced technology? So many things I couldn't answer quickly. It was just like the time when we first conversed.

I didn't know how long time had passed, so I lifted an index finger and put it on Twilight's lips to hush her.

"Hold on a second," I said as I looked through a window where the sun was setting nearly at mid-point in the ocean-blue sky. "Oh great, it's a quarter over noon!" I exclaimed. "Sorry, Twilight, but I must be going to Rarity's while it's still bright out. Perhaps we can continue this at ano-"

Suddenly, I was interrupted when a blur of purple and green bolted down the stairs and stopped right between me and Twilight.

"You're going over to Rarity's?!" exclaimed Spike, hopping up and down like an excited school girl.

Spike was a baby dragon and Twilight's number one assistant (so he proclaimed). He had purple scales and green spikes with a pair of sharp, emerald eyes. Being a baby dragon he was, he could only spew jets of tiny flames. But he had another unique talent; he could send corresponding scrolls to Princess Celestia by using his magical flames. He could also belch out messages from Princess Celestia. He had been living with Twilight ever since he was born, so their bond to one another was that of a brother and sister. They were pretty inseparable.

This was the second time I met the scaly dwarf. The first time we didn't get to acquaint ourselves due to "things" that I dared not to speak of it again.

Spike was practically down on his knees, tugging on my blue jeans. "Did you say you're going over to Rarity's?! Can I come?! Please, please, please!" he pleaded.

He was really serious about wanting to go with me. I shrugged cluelessly while staring at Twilight who just stood there rolling her eyes.

"Well," Twilight began with a smile. "Since there are no things needed to be done for a while, I suppose you can follow Rick to Rarity's. That is if he doesn't mind?"

"Long as we get there soon, I have no problem with that." I comply, nodding.

"Then what are we waiting for!?" hollered Spike while pushing me impatiently.

"Okay, okay. Stop shoving would ya. I guess I'll see you next time." I said, waving dismissively at Twilight.

"Alright. I'll see you later then." Twilight replied, hollering.

Just like that, I was finally shoved outside as Spike and I marched onward to Rarity's place.


So there I was, sitting boringly on a green and small wooden stool with crossed arms and a tapping foot, waiting for a certain fashionista to finish some dress she had been designing for nearly thirty minutes. Spike, who accompanied me on the trip to Rarity's boutique, had been gawking at the unicorn-like eye candy ever since we'd got there.

I'd been watching him following her like a dog on a leash, and it was no surprise to me why he was acting that way. When we had time alone, I talked to him about his huge crush on the mare. He was utterly shocked how I figured it out (not sure why he would be, his demeanor was readable as a book) but he had me "Pinkie Promise" to never tell anyone or anypony. I'm sure Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy (maybe the entire damn village) may have already known for a while now, although I'm surprised Rarity hadn't. Maybe she did and didn't tell Spike. I wouldn't know for certain.

For another ten minutes, I sat, bored out of my mind, waiting while the unicorn was in her private quarters for the near passing hour, and after all that time I still hadn't received a message from Celestia.

Twilight did say it was to arrive very soon, but I had major doubts. Speaking of Twilight... I noticed how she had been so obsessed with my world and my kind lately. I would understand her undying thirst for knowledge but she was acting far too fascinated. Heck, I was scared if it'd come to a point where she'd want to... mate with a human being. I wouldn't think it's wrong, not when our worlds share some similarities. But, a human and a pony in a relationship? It just doesn't sound right.

Then, the doors of Rarity's quarters squeaked as they opened, which made me sprung up in anticipation.

"I'm done!" chimed Rarity musically, opening and trotting out of the said door with a pair of my jeans levitating beside her. And there was the gullible baby dragon, following behind her in pursuit.

Rarity was one of Twilight's best friends and the bearer of the 'Element of Generosity'. I did admit, for a pony herself she looked pretty stunning. She had a pristine, pearly white coat with a dark purple mane and tail. Her diamond-cutting blue eyes allured me with interest, and I found myself intrigued by the profundity of her accent as well. Her curly mane and tail were bouncing up and down vigorously as she trotted toward me.

"About time," I groaned as I rose up, stretching my aching back. "I was getting drowsy there for a minute."

"You can never rush work of art. Here you go, Darling," said Rarity, levitating the patched-up pants over to me. "I did what I could, but you'll have to pardon if the patch's colors are... unmatched."

That said, I examined the back of the jeans and saw a circular, white patch sewn on the left back pocket of where the damage used to be.

"If I may ask... did you get that hole by some sort of fire incident?" She added.

I hadn't given her an answer right away. Rather, I took a moment looking over my jeans seeing Spike's cheeks glowing pinkish red while he fiddled guiltily with his claws.

My face was as deadpanned as a professional poker player when I stared at Spike, who gulped nervously. I jerked back my sight at Rarity and raised a sly smirk.

"Yeah," I replied nonchalantly. "I was out fishing one day when suddenly I tripped backward and landed on my small fire pit. Next thing I knew, my pants were on fire. Thank God I was near a lake. If I wasn't, I would have lost my wallet along with a good pair of jeans."

I was always a pretty good liar, and I had to thank my foster father for that reason.

"Goodness gracious," Rarity gasped dramatically.

"No joke." I agreed curtly as I stuffed the patched jeans in Fluttershy's saddlebag. "Well, thanks for helping out with the jeans and whatnot."

Rarity flicked a hoof. "No thanks are necessary, Darling. After all, the other girls and I greatly appreciate what you've done for Fluttershy."

"Mhmm." I hummed, nodding. "And much as I'd like to stick around for the message I have other plans in mind."

"I understand," Rarity replied. "But if there is anything else I can do for you please don't be afraid to ask."

"Well," I stroked the bottom of my chin. "If it's not too much to ask; do you think you can make a couple of clothes for me?"

"Of course!" Rarity answered gingerly. "I'm gonna need to measure you in order to make them," then a vibrant aura of blue glowed around her horn and a yellow measuring tape covered in the exact aura was taken out of a nearby drawer and floated next to her.

"Oh, no, no, no," I shook my head. "Sorry but I don't mean right now; seeing that I'm a tad late on certain things, why not we do this at another time or day?"

"Very well," Rarity said with a pinch of disappointment. "I was kind of eager to make something I've never made before. But I'll be glad to set up an appointment."

"Cool," I said, walking out toward the door. "Ciao." I two-finger saluted.