Derpy is accidentally sent to another world, but bring something back with her. Teen for language
After accidentally interrupting one of Twilight's spells, Derpy is temporarily displaced into a different plane of existance. What nopony expected, however, was that she'd bring something back with her. As fate would have it, it was me.
...Not that I actually care though.
Set in a universe based on what I would probably be like if I hadn't been introduced to MLP: FIM
Rated Teen for occasional and occasionally excessive language.
This is a first person, self-insert HiE fic. If you don't like any/all of those categories, don't read it.
It started out to be a typical summer day in Australia. Now, I wasn't anything special or significant. I was 20 and ran a small boat hire business that barely made enough to get me by, because I wasn't particularly qualified for anything else. I never drove, even though I had a licence. I just preferred walking. I was just headed home when a storm came over. Again, nothing unusual about that for summer in South-East Queensland. So anyway, I kept walking, not particularly noticing or caring about the rain, my drenched clothes or anything else for that matter. Earlier that day, my girlfriend broke up with me through a text message, but I've been dead inside too long to care. It started when I saw the human race for what it truly is, as the last of my friends drifted from contact, but I didn't really die inside until I lost my entire family last year. Old age took my grandfather, drug abuse caught up with my father, my uncle lost to his cancer, my mother and younger half-brother died in a car accident that put my older sister in hospital where she died not long after my grandmother was taken by the grief. I attended all their funerals, but not once did I cry. I was sad, yes, and wanted to, but I didn't cry.
...But I'm digressing.
As I got to my small, two bedroom house that I was renting, I got into dry clothes and turned on the computer, despite the storm being in full swing now, to continue my usual mediocre procedure of dealing with misanthropy haters and looking into what was considered to be pseudo-scientific, crack-pot theories on time and space.
Now, I must have dozed off, because I woke up with my head on the desk with the computer still on. I checked the time and read it as either 10:37 or 11:37, but I wasn't too sure. Switching the computer off I looked out the window to check the storm, when there was a bright flash across the street, near the unfinished apartment building that was being built. At first I dismissed it as lightning and was about to call it a day when I realised that I couldn't hear any rain or thunder. Looking out the window again, I saw a small lump on the street and decided to take a look, throwing on a pair of black jeans, a black T-shirt and a grey overcoat. As I investigated the lump with my old boating torch, I saw that it was a blanket covering something.
As I lifted the blanket, I gave a yell and stumbled back, throwing the blanket away like it was a brown snake. There, sleeping in the street, was a tiny grey foal with a yellow mane and tail. But what really drew my attention was the tiny, feathered wings on its back. Apparently woken by the noise I made, the foal yawned and looked at me.
Those eyes. Those beautiful, amber wall-eyes.
Scared by the noise I'd made, she grabbed the blanket and pulled it over her body, leaving just her eyes and nose in view. I just knelt there with one hand out, whispering, "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you," over and over until she finally stepped out and cautiously came closer. After she sniffed my hand, I gently brushed her muzzle with the back of my hand and soon realised how cold she was.
Gently picking her up, I took her into my house, laid her on my couch and got her a fresh, dry blanket. As I placed the blanket over her, she almost immediately went to sleep.
The moment I walked away, the full gravity of the situation hit me...like a tonne of bricks. I started pacing, trying to make sense of it all. I was so engrossed in my thoughts, I never noticed the light slowly growing brighter from my couch until it consumed everything in the room, myself included.
I tried shielding my eyes, but I couldn't move. Then the only sensation I knew was a searing pain beyond all possible imagination. The best description I can give is having every cubic milimetre of flesh shredded by needles. And then...nothing.
The only way to describe it is 'bliss'. No more pain, fear or anger. No more joy. No more sorrow. No more anything.
All I had was a single recurring thought that didn't even seem mine. A familiar question.
'Why are we here?'
And then I found myself here. In a smoking crater. In a large field. In Equestria.
...Not that I knew that at the time
With the pain from the transition little more than a memory, my senses returned to me, one by one. Gentle sunlight on my skin. The smell of nature, not yet corrupted by 'progress'. The sound of a gentle breeze passing through branches. The sight of a perfectly clear sky. And finally, the taste of blood in my mouth.
Rolling over and getting to my hands and knees, I shut my eyes and spat out the blood and muttered one of my favourite lines.
"Ugh. My mouth tastes like high-school."
Slowly getting to my feet, I felt several familiar cracks from my spine before tilting my head left and right for the same result from my neck. As I opened my eyes, I was hit with an overpowering wave of nausea and proceeded to throw up bile, having not eaten prior to my displacement.
Wiping my mouth, despite it being clean, I looked down and made a mental note to clean my metal-capped boots at the first available opportunity.
Finally standing straight, I took in my surroundings. Everything had bold outlines and colours really stood out.
Thinking out loud, I said, "Well this is new."
As I spoke, there was a surprised squeak from behind me. Turning, I saw a small yellow pony on the edge of the crater. With more curiosity than rationality, I approached, only to have it hurriedly back away from me before finally stopping to cower under its forelegs, pink mane shifting slightly with its fearful shakes.
Before I could try and convey my lack of ill-intentions, another voice, this time to my left, drew my attention.
"Get away from Fluttershy, you monster!"
As I turned to face the new voice, I was blasted off my feet by a cyan pegasus, which then proceeded to pin my shoulders and glare at me, even as some of the techni-colour hair fell in front of the left eye.
"Nopony hurts Fluttershy and gets away with it," the mare said, threateningly.
Acting on instinct, I quickly wrapped my legs around her waist and started trying to crush the breath out of her.
As she gasped at the sudden force, the pressure on my shoulders lessened and I explained, "I'm not a pony, and if I wanted to hurt her, you wouldn't have been able to stop me." With a twist that strained the joints in my shoulders in a way I'd never felt before, I quickly slammed her onto her back and pinned her still flapping wings with my hands
At that moment, rope made its way around my neck and pulled me off, restricting my breathing. As the blue pegasus quickly got up and hurried over to me, my last thoughts were, 'Fate must really hate me' Looking up, I saw the blue pony's hoof descending before my vision flashed red and I was surrounded by darkness with the 'taste of high-school' back in my mouth.
[-]
With the 'monster' unconscious, Rainbow Dash went to Fluttershy who was still trying to hide under her forelegs. "It's okay Fluttershy. The creature's knocked out...for now anyway," Rainbow said with a sideways glare at it.
As Fluttershy slowly stopped shaking, Rainbow made her way over to Applejack, who was awkwardly trying to retrieve her rope without directly touching the creature. After extricating her rope from its neck, she proceeded to tie bind its limbs.
Without waiting for AJ to finish, Rainbow said, "I'll go get Twilight. She might know what this is," and took off, leaving the farm pony with no idea of what she should do with the bleeding creature.
"Fluttershy, it's bleedin'. Could ya help me stop it."
[-]
Upon arriving at the library, Rainbow Dash heard Twilight's voice at the speed it usually went when she panicked. Upon entering, however, she soon found that the unicorn was interrogating the local, muffin obsessed mail-mare, who never got the chance to answer a question before getting asked another three.
"Twilight, come quick! There's an unknown creature near Sweet Apple Acres that tried to attack Fluttershy!"
At that, Twilight stopped her barrage of questions, paused to look at Rainbow and process what was just said before returning her attention to the letter-carrier.
"Stay here while I deal with this. If you ask, I'm sure Spike will make you some muffins," she said while grabbing several books.
Then, with a bright flash, Rainbow, Twilight and the books she had were gone. Soon after, Spike walked in from an adjoining room.
"Hey Derpy, where'd Twilight go?"
With a shrug, the grey pegasus said, "She said I could have muffins."
As realisation of what she implied hit the dragon, his smile dropped.
"Oh crud."
[-]
At the Carousel Boutique, Rarity was adding some detail to her latest design, when her vision suddenly became filled with pink.
When I came to, I was once again met with the taste of blood.
'Yeah. Just like high-school.'
"Fluttershy! Ah think it's wakin' up!"
The sound of a voice snapped me back to reality and I immediately noticed my hands and ankles were bound together and I was, apparantly, suspended from a particularly thick tree.
After picking at the knot I thought was holding my feet, I found myself falling backwards before finding out the hard way that the branch I was tied to was lower than I am tall.
As the top of my head scraped along the ground, my eyes watered and I momentarily forgot my predicament, shouting, "Son of a bitch!"
I immediately regretted my outburst as a pair of orange hooves filled my vision. Looking up (which from my position was down) I saw a pony wearing what appeared to be a stetson hat.
"What in tarntion...Did you jus' speak?" it asked with what I identified as an American 'southern' accent.
Without thinking of the potential consequences, I responded sarcstically.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Was I being too subtle?"
In response to this apparantly shocking revelation, the pony's eyes to rolled back into its head and it fell sideways.
[-]
Fluttershy wasn't too far away talking to a few of her animal friends, reassuring them that the new creature was harmless, when she heard Applejack call her.
As she made her way over, she saw the creature with its head on the ground, legs still tied to the tree, and Applejack collapsing in front of it.
Remembering what happened earlier with Rainbow Dash, she hurried over to the creature with every intention of giving it a very stern talking to.
[-]
Rematerialising outside the gate to Sweet Apple Acres, Twilight turned to her fiend and said, "Rainbow, why don't you go ge-"
"Heya, Twilight!" Pinkie interrupted, appearing out of nowhere with her usual level of excessive glee.
"Pinkie," Twilight explained, "we're kinda-"
"Oh, I know. You're here to see what the extra super interesting thing happening at Sweet Apple Acres is, riigghht?"
"Well, yes, but-"
"I knew it! I already told Rarity, so she should be here any moment now."
Having her intentions already put to action, she decided to wait for their last friend to arrive.
[-]
After a few moments of watching the unconscious pony, I realised the complication that had arisen as she fell.
...
I was hanging from a tree by my feet with no means of releasing them and had a dull throbbing on the top of my skull.
"Well, shit."
"And just what do you think you're doing?"
Turning my head to the new voice, the yellow pegasus I first saw upon arrival, I gave no response.
Not waiting for one she continued, "How dare you-"
"Lovey," I interrupted, "As much as I would love to hear the lengthy, and most likely demeaning, tirade you will probably give me, I am in too much pain and a too awkward position to actually care."
Clearly startled by my statement, she started stuttering as she tried to form a sentence.
After about a minute of this, my patience ran out.
"Just untie my feet."
"Oh, I-I don't th-think tha-"
"Please?"
"B-b-but you...," she said with a vague gesture towards the orange one. With a slight frown, I responded, "I didn't do anything. She fainted."
"Umm... O-okay."
As she, somehow, untied my feet with her hooves, I saw four more ponies approaching from a relatively short distance. With this in mind, the second my feet were free, I rolled onto my knees and slowly stood up to my full height, eliciting an 'eep' from the pegasus beside me, drawing my attention.
Looking at the quivering mare awakened a feeling within me that was almost akin to what I remembered as an emotion, so I did my first rational thing since arriving.
Crouching to seem less intimidating, I asked, "Do you have a name?"
"I-I'm F-F-Fluttershy."
"Fluttershy... My name's Connor. Pleased to meet you."
After I finished introducing myself, I returned my attention to the ponies who were approaching and stood up again. When they got close enough to see their faces, I was able to pick out the familiar blue one, and she was pissed.
When she saw me standing, she lost it and came charging at me through the air. A few seconds before she was about to make contact, I threw my feet back and let my entire body drop, grazing my palms as she harmlessly flew over me and hit the tree head first.
Getting up again, I checked on her to see her sitting like a dog with eyes spinning in opposite directions.
Somehow acknowledging me, she said, "Both of you hold still so I can-," and whatever she intended to threaten me with was lost as she fell forward, hitting the ground with a small cloud of dust.
Before I could do anything else, I felt an intense pain in my left shoulder and all my muscles tense up. When they relaxed, I could tell that my left arm was numb and I felt the unpleasant 'pins and needles' sensation across my upper back.
Losing myself to instinctive aggression, I wheeled around, shouting, "What the fuck?!"
As the words left my mouth, a blast of purple energy passed my face, missing by a couple of centimetres. Looking towards the source of the attack, I saw a lavender unicorn mare with with a myriad of thick books on the ground behind her. Her head was lowered threateningly and her horn emitting a soft glow of the same colour as the missed bolt.
Rushing at her, I quickly covered the distance between us and brought the inside of my right boot to the left side of her head, knocking her cold instantly.
When I turned to the white unicorn, who appeared to be too shocked to respond, I was blindsided yet again with a powerful kick to the back of my legs, putting me on my hands and knees.
"Whater ya are, ya leave mah friends alone! Ya hear me?"
Getting into a crouch, I spun on the ball of one foot and kicked her in the jaw using the heel of my other.
When I had both feet on the ground I noted that the one I just kicked orange one was the same one that fainted earlier and, depite the kick I gave her, she was still standing, albeit extremely unsteadily. As she staggered in my general dirction, I took advantage of her disorientation by grabbing her head and kneeing her, putting her out of commission like her two companions.
Ignoring the white one because she didn't seem like much of a threat, I headed back towards Fluttershy, who had once again taken to hiding under her forelegs.
After a few steps, I slowed down because the adrenaline had worn off and my various injuries started to hurt, but before I could actually identify them, I was attacked from behind for a third time.
I heard a lound bang and saw streamers fly past before feeling the air pressure around me change. As my ears popped, white spots swam in front of my eyes and motions blurred. I managed to stagger a few more steps before collapsing onto my hands and knees. As darkness crept into the corners of my vision, I saw a yellow blob fly over to me and heard it say something, but whatever was said was lost through the ringing of my ears. Before I slipped into darkness, two teal eyes somehow separated themselves from the chaotic blurs and, for reasons beyond my comprhension, I felt comforted.
[-]
Regaining consciousness, Twilight shifted her head enough to see Applejack fall in the wake of the creature before it started to make its way back to Fluttershy. Still too weak to act, she could only watch and assume the worst until it very obviously slowed because of injury and weariness.
Rolling off of her side, she watched it as Pinkie Pie appeared behind it and slammed her 'party cannon'. As the streamers flew past, it had the most peculiar reaction she'd ever seen.
Astounded, she thought, 'Not even the changelings could take that and not be blasted away,' as it brought its upper appendages to its head, took a few haphazard steps and fell forward.
Trying to sieze the opportunity, Twilight quickly got to her hooves, but was met with a wave of dizziness that blurred her eyes for a few moments. When her vision cleared she saw Pinkie Pie bouncing away like nothing happened and Fluttershy trying to drag the creature away.
Calmly walking over, Twilight lifted it with magic, and said, "I'll take it Fluttershy. It can't hurt anypony else if its held in magic. Where were you taking it?"
"To my cottage. But Twilight, I-"
"Your cottage? That's brilliant! If we take it there we won't have to worry about sending the whole town into a crazed panic."
"I guess, but I jus-"
"Don't worry. I'll go ahead and set up. You can tell the others when they come to." And with that the rope from earlier floated over and vanished with Twilight and the creature in a bright flash.
"I wanted to talk to it a little," Fluttershy told the empty space befoe turnig her attention to Rainbow Dash, who was groaning and mumblinging in her half-conscious state.
[-]
After appearing inside Fluttershy's house, scaring several small animals in the process, Twilight bound the creature's upper and lower limbs and placed the rope behind its claws on a vacant ceiling hook, that was probably intended for a birdhouse, and stared at it intently s it hung a few inches above the ground.
The longer she observed it, the more questions came to mind.
'What is it? Is it a new species? Is it some kind of hybrid? An escaped experiment? Where did it come from? Why does it have clothes? How intelligent is it? Is it fully grown? Why aren't its claws sharp? Are there more?'
As the last question drifted through her mind, she thought of how aggressive it was and started pacing, immediately feeling nervous and decided to get Spike to send a letter to the princesses when the others arrive.
Lost in thought, she failed to notice its eyes open.
[-]
As I came around yet again, I could feel gravity in my shoulders. Curious, I slowly opened my eyes, looked up and down and noticed that my feet couldn't reach the floor and my hands were suspended. Turning my attention forward, I saw the purple unicorn from earlier pacing back and forth, apparently thinking too deeply to see my glare following her from one end of the room to the other and back.
Not wanting to let her know I was fully aware of what she was doing, I resolved to wait until Fluttershy returned before saying anything.
It wasn't long until the purple one stopped her pacing and looked at me, jumping back with a surprised yelp when before she gathered her senses and returned it with a vengeance.
Niether one of us were backing down and we were so keen on intimidating the other, that we didn't notice the door open and The cyan one fly in followed by the orange one, the white one and the pink one.
It wasn't until the orange one cleared her throat we acknowledged their presence.
After giving them a once-over, the purple one approached the cyan one, and said, "Rainbow, could you please go tell Spike to come here with a quill and paper for me?" while I watched Fluttershy as she crept into the room.
With a mock-salute, the cyan one flew off faster than the eye could follow and the purple one turned back to me and asked, "Can you understand us?"
"Uh, Twi?" the orange one started.
"Hang on Applejack," came the response and I smiled inwardly at the oncoming cliche.
"My. Name. Is. Twi-light. spar-kle. Can. You. Un-der-stand. Me?"
With a long sigh, I began, "You know, I find it collectively cliched, pointless and aggravting that you would enunciate your words when addressing me under the assumption I do not comprehend your speech."
Pausing for a breath, but not giving them time to respond, I continued, "If I didn't understand, the enunciation would be less than useless, because it would not make you any easier to understand and I could potentially interpret it as a cultural ocurrence when greeting."
Another breath, "And I find it aggravating because you, inadvertedly, send the message that you are attempting to superioritise yourself over me with a sub-textual implication of inferior intellectual capacity on my part."
The ensueing stunned, awkward silence was broken by a young, male voice in the doorway, that said, "Wow Twilight! That thing can use as many big words as you can."
Looking to the purple, bipedal lizard-creature that spoke, I tilted my head back slightly and grinned.
"Come outside Spike. I need you to take a letter," the purple one said with a sideways glance at me before walking out, taking Spike with her and shutting the door.
When I righted my neck, The cyan one flew up to my face and asked, "What are you? Are you an alien? Are you here to invade us? How many of you are there? what are you planning? Answer me!"
As she yelled that last line, she was surrounded by a purple aura and yanked back as the purple one walked back in.
"You're into too much science-fiction," I stated, eliciting a poorly stifled snicker from the orange one before the purple one spoke up, and a sense of seriousness entered the room.
"Why did you attack us?"
"I didn't," I deadpanned.
"You knocked out Applejack," she said with a gesture to the orange one with small hints of anger drifting into her voice.
"She struck me first," I responded in level voice.
"You kicked me in the head," she said as the anger became obvious.
Still with level tone, "Because you hit me with that bolt."
"Because you attacked Rainbow Dash!" She yelled.
Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I said, "No. She charged me and hit the tree before collapsing. I was simply seeing if she was okay. YOU struck first. All I did was retaliate."
As I finished, a tense silence settled over the group.
Deciding to be the one to break it, I said, "As fun as this is, could you let me down... Preferably before my shoulders get dislocated."
"As fun as this is, could you let me down... Preferably before my shoulders get dislocated."
Even after breaking the silence, they continued staring into space.
"Earth to quadrupeds, assistance required."
More mindless staring.
"HEY!"
It was almost amusing to watch them all flinch when I yelled, but the spreading numbness in my arms was putting a bit of a damper on my sense of humor.
"Could you please let me down?" I asked again.
"Why? So you can run away? Is that it?" the blue one asked, surprisingly.
"I said let me DOWN, not let me GO... not that I'm saying I don't WANT to be let go."
"Do you promise you won't hurt us?" the purple one asked with obvious concern.
Looking her in the eye, I replied, "Yes."
With a sigh, her horn lit up and I felt my hands tingle as I was lowered to the ground before the ropes started to untie. The moment they were of I started rubbing my wrists to get the feeling back while the purple one was shuffling her hooves awkwardly.
"So um...," she started.
I looked towards her and asked, "Yes?"
"What uh... What are you, exactly?"
With a heavy sigh, I walked over to the window answered, "Human. Scientific name, Homo Sapiens Sapiens. Genetic sub-group to Homo Sapiens," and as they processed this information I muttered, "Monsters," under my breath and turned back to them.
I was briefly taken aback when the purple one vanished in a flash of light and re-appear a few seconds later with several books.
After spending several minutes looking through them, during which I had returned to staring out the window, she looked up and said, "According to my books, there's no known record of 'humans' in Equestria."
Putting a palm to my chin, I tilted my head left and right and felt the release of tension as several cracks sounded, before asking, "And exactly, where on Earth is this 'Equestria'?"
"Earth? What's that to you?"
"The name of the planet. What else would it be?"
"I'm sorry, but you must be mistaken. The name of the planet is Equis. It's almost as if you're suggesting that...you're...from another..."
You could have heard a pin drop in the silence that followed as we all came to the same conclusion and a faint smile started to form on my face.
When I turned to face them again, they all had melancholy expressions and the purple one said, "I'm so sorry."
"Sorry?" I asked a little sharper than I intended. "Why would you be sorry?"
"Because you're so far from home and might never see your world again?" she offered, a little confused.
"Why should I care?" I asked with a dark chuckle. "My world is corrupted and dying and my species is what caused it. Countless innocent animals have been rendered extinct because of them. And you apologise?"
Fear crept into her voice. "Um... yes?"
Taking a more serious tone, I said, "Don't. My kind has perfected the art of killing...the art of war. They built weapons that could destroy entire cities, countries even, within seconds, at the press of a button. My own kind disgusts me. You shouldn't apologise. Not when I'm glad to leave it all behind."
"But what about your friends and family? Don't you miss them?"
Turning away once more, I said, "I'd need to have them to miss them."
As I finished the sentence I heard them all gasp, so I gave them a side-long glance, only to end up fully looking at them in order to accept that they all seemed to be crying. The white and purple one were sniffling, the blue and orange were looking away with tears brimming in their eyes, the pink one appeared to be have great spouts coming from her, the water vanishing as soon as it hit the ground, but what really got me was Fluttershy gently sobbing behind her mane.
I went over to her and brought myself down to her level, looked her in the eye and said, "I'm not crying about it, so why are you?"
"Because you must be sad and lonely," she said with a sniffle.
"The loneliness passed and I haven't been sad for a long time," I explained with a reassuring smile.
The tears stopped, but she still sniffled, "How can you not be sad?"
Looking away I answered as cryptically as I could. "I've had to deal with something more painful than grief."
Turning my attention towards the others, I saw that their tears had stopped too, but as I looked at the talking reptile he had his mouth covered like he was about to be sick.
Chuckling, I decided to lighten the mood. "Too many feels going around for you, mate?"
Lowering his hands, he belched a green flame that materialised into a scroll, which the purple one caught in her aura. As she read it, she became increasingly distressed.
"What is it, sugar-cube?" the orange one asked.
"Princess Celestia AND Princess Luna are coming to... remove the creature that attacked us... TODAY!"
"But doesn't she know we attacked first?"
"I may have missed that detail."
In an instant, the blue one was inches from Purple, shouting, "Then send another letter."
With no idea or interest in the implications, I started towards the door saying, "If she's already on her way, are you sure it's such a good idea, Blue?"
She shot me a glare. "Of course I do, and the name's Rainbow Dash."
"Remind me to ask again when I care," I stated as I opened the door.
"Where are you going?" Purple asked as she realised I was outside.
"Somewhere to amuse myself," I responded before gently closing the door behind me.
[-]
"What do you think it meant by that?" Rarity asked after she thought the 'human' was out of earshot.
"I'm pretty sure it's a 'he', Rarity," Twilight answered, "And I'm not sure."
"Doesn't he realise it's HIM the princesses are coming for?"
"Ah don' think he cares, Rarity," Applejack interjected, "Ah mean, did ya hear how he spoke about his own kind?"
"Oh please, Applejack, he simply HAD to be exaggerating. The idea of being able to destroy an entire country in seconds is... well, it's preposterous."
Working her way back into the conversation, Twilight said, "Destroying cities and countries in seconds does sound a bit far-fetched, but even I know he was being serious when he said how he felt about them."
"Does this mean I'm NOT throwing him a party?" Pinkie asked.
"I guess we'll just have to wait and see."
[-]
"I fail to see why both our presence is required, sister," Luna said watching the ground pass beneath their chariot as she looked with her head draped almost lazily over the side.
"Curiosity, Luna. I wish you to observe the responses the creature gives to my questions," Celestia replied, never taking her eyes off their destination.
"But that doesn't explain why you want me. You could have asked one of your guards."
"True, but I also believe it would be less inclined to lie with both of us there."
Turning her attention to Celestia, Luna argued, "If it is tied up, as your pupil said in her letter, I do not believe I can make that significant of a difference."
"You doubt yourself far too much, Luna"
"Why must you hide the truth from me, sister?"
"Very well. The truth is I'm nervous. There is simply too much we don't know. Too many variables."
"Thank you. I must admit, I'm a little nervous too."
After giving her sister a warm smile, Celestia looked ahead again, saying, "Fluttershy's cottage isn't much further. I hope you're ready."
"Of course, Tia," Luna replied, bringing her attention forward as well.
[-]
After walking out on the ponies who found me, I explored around Fluttershy's place and quickly grew bored. soon enough I found myself about twenty metres from the house, sitting on the ground, my back leaning against a tree with my eyes shut and just slightly too aware to be asleep.
I had not quite developed a train of thought when I heard the sound of something heavy hitting the ground.
As I looked around the tree, in the general direction of the noise, I saw several white stallions wearing armour-like gold plating in front of a golden chariot. I continued to watch as two significantly larger ponies approached the door and went inside.
A few moments after the door closed I got up and walked around the tree.
[-]
"Twilight Sparkle, as glad as I am to see you un-harmed, I thought your letter said you had the creature tied up," Princess Celestia said when her prized student rose.
"It's called a 'human', Princess, and we did."
"Where is it? I'm most curious about it."
"It left, Princess, not long before you arrived."
"Did you see where it went?"
Before the small unicorn could respond, the door opened as a guard walked in and whispered to Celestia, who quickly turned to the open door to see the human leaning on a tree with the other three guards in a tight semi-circle around it.
[-]
I watched intently as a large white pony with both wings and a horn made her way over to me with a determined expression on her face.
When she was standing just within the group of armoured ponies she spoke up.
"Are you the creature that attacked my little ponies?"
As a plan formed in my head, I smiled and asked, "Who wants to know?"
"I am Princess Celestia of Equestria."
"Then probably."
"Probably what?"
"Do you need to ask?"
"Not anymore."
"I didn't think you would."
"Why won't you give me a straight answer?" she asked with a frown.
With the most genuinely innocent smile I could muster, I responded, "Would you like to know the rules?"
[-]
As Celestia interrogated the human, Luna turned to the ponies and asked, "It didn't hurt any of you seriously, did it?"
"No Princess, he didn't," Twilight said as she watched her mentor anxiously.
Noticing this, Luna said, "Do not worry, Twilight Sparkle. I doubt any harm will come to my sister."
"It's not Celestia I'm worried about."
[-]
"What rules?" Celestia asked with growing curiosity.
"Don't you want the answers?" I replied, still smiling.
"I don't understand."
"Then let me tell you the rules"
"Why do I need the rules?"
"How else do you expect to play the game?"
After she took a few moments to make sense of it, she gave an exasperated sigh and said, "Okay then, we'll do it your way. Tell me the rules."
With a grin I said, "They're quite simple really. You ask a question and I'll answer with a question. You answer my question and I'll answer yours and there must always be a question to answer or I simply won't respond."
"That's it?" she asked in disbelief.
"Were you expecting more?"
"Yes."
"There isn't any more to it."
[-]
"What do you mean?" Luna asked, confused.
"I mean he didn't attack us. He retaliated against us," Twilight said, looking away in shame.
"But, your letter..."
"I sent that before I really had a chance to talk to him."
"So it was only acting in defense?"
"Yes. I'm sorry it came to this before I could set the record straight."
[-]
"Did you attack Twilight Sparkle?" Celestia asked after what I felt was a hilarious ten minutes of her trying to adjust to my impromptu game.
"Which one's that?"
"The purple one."
"I retaliated," I stated as bluntly as I could.
"You retaliated?"
"Are you being rhetorical?"
"No."
"She attacked under a false assumption and I responded how I felt necessary at the time."
"And what of the others?"
"What about them?"
"Was it retaliation?"
"What do you think?"
"I wouldn't have asked if I knew."
"It was."
"Could you tell me exactly what happened?"
"Will it make a difference?"
"It might."
"I could."
After a brief pause, "Are you going to tell me?"
"Are you going to give me the right statement?"
She took a few minutes to think it through, before coming to the right answer.
"Please tell me what happened."
[-]
"Should things take a turn for the worse, I'll intervene. Is that alright with you, Twilight Sparkle?" Luna asked after receiving the explanation that Twilight was given.
"Thank you so, so much, Princess Luna," Twilight said with some of the tension visibly leaving her.
"It is no trouble Twilight, but I no longer think it will come to that."
"What makes you say that Princess?"
"The fact that they're still talking."
[-]
After I explained everything that happened since my arrival, Princess Celestia seemed to be struggling with how to proceed, so I said, "The game is finished. I do believe you won."
Clearly confused, Celestia asked, "How do you figure?"
"You followed the rules and still got the answers you initially sought," I explained.
"I'm seriously considering having you thrown in a dungeon, just to keep other ponies from having to put up with that," she said, humorously.
Chuckling, I ran a hand through my copper hair and said, "You have to admit, it was more fun than you initially expected."
"Yes, but I think it would be more fun to initiate."
Turning, she started to walk away, before looking back to me saying, "Wouldn't you like to be there when I tell the others my plans for you?"
"Seeing as I can't seem to figure out if it's going to be good or bad, I can't decide."
She smiled at me warmly and said, "I wouldn't worry too much about my decision. I'd be more concerned about Pinkie Pie if I were you."
"What do you mean?" I asked with a frown.
"You'll find out for yourself soon enough," she said with a chuckle as she continued walking towards the house.
With an incoherent grumble, I followed her towards the cottage.
[-]
As Celestia started back towards the cottage, human in tow, Twilight and Luna were still discussing what would happen.
"Twilight, even if he is from a different world I doubt my sister would send him anywhere outside of Equestria," Luna explained for the third time.
"But how can you know?" Twilight pleaded.
"Because she would want to keep a close eye on the human, if only for the fact that he seems to be the only one in existence."
Before Twilight could make her counterpoint, Celestia was in the doorway, sayin, "I have reached a decision."
[-]
"I have decided to let the human stay. He will be put under the care of Twilight Sparkle and her friends. I would also like for you to record anything you learn about him and his species in the time he is with us. Can I trust you with this?"
Feeling slighted for not being asked if I would mind being watched by these ponies, I asked, "Don't I get a say in this?"
With barely a glance in my direction, Celestia said, "You did hurt my subjects, so I'm entrusting you to them to ensure any future outbursts can be contained, even though you acted out of self-preservation."
Before I could make a rebuttal, Twilight spoke up and said, "Don't worry, princess. You can count on us!"
Upon hearing that, Celestia and the other large pony walked out. As the slightly smaller, dark one passed me, she said, "I'll speak to you myself soon."
As I watched their chariot take to the skies, I couldn't bring my mind off of what the darker one said.
Dismissing it as simple nervousness, I turned to the ponies who were gathered and said, "Now that that's taken care of, how about some proper introductions?"
Maintaining an air of likability, I said, "Fluttershy already knows, but my name is Connor."
The second I finished the sentence, my sight became limited to an enormous pair of blue eyes.
Stepping back, I watched the pink one land on her hooves with a casual disinterest of my personal space before she said, "Hi,I'mPinkiePie.Doyoulikeparties?WhatamIsaying?Ofcourseyoudo.Whowouldn'tlikeparties?*gasp*Ineedtothrowyoua'welcometoPonyville'partyandinviteeveryponyintown!" before rushing out the door, leaving an after-image.
After watching the pink blur disappear from sight, I turned back to the others, who didn't seem surprised, and asked, "Did any of you understand that?"
A collective of shaking heads was all I got for an answer.
"Should I be worried?"
"Do you like parties?" the purple one asked.
Frowning, I answered, "Not particularly. I've never gone out of my way to attend any."
"Then you should probably be worried," she said with a sly smile.
I opened my mouth to respond, but closed it and rubbed my eyes, saying "We're getting off topic."
Staring over, I said, "My name is Connor. What are yours?"
Purple spoke up first.
"I'm Twilight Sparkle. The town librarian and personal protege of Princess Celestia. Again, I'm sorry about earlier."
As I dismissed the apology with a disinterested swipe, the orange one stepped forward, saying, "Name's Applejack. Ah run Sweet Apple Acres with mah family."
With a sharp nod, I said, "pleased to meet you," before the white one introduced herself.
"I am Rarity," she said with an eccentic flair.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance," I replied. "And what is it you do, exactly?"
A small grin crossed her muzzle. "I own and operate the Carousel Boutique. My dresses and designs are known all across Equestria"
Disregarding her ego, I asked, "So you're a tailor?"
"Umm... essentially."
"I see."
Looking to the blue one, I was met with a glare that could curdle milk before she deadpanned, "I don't trust you."
The corner of my mouth twitched up a little at the statement before Applejack elbowed (or at least the pony equivalent) the blue one in the ribs, saying, "Rainbow! Be polite."
With an exasperated sigh, she gave in and said, "I'm Rainbow Dash. I work with the weather team. Speaking of which, I've gotta start bringing in snow clouds."
And with that she flew out the door leaving a multi-coloured trail. As the trail faded, Applejack let out a sigh.
"Ah'm sorry 'bout Rainbow. She can be a might stubborn when she wants to."
"No worries, mate," I responded.
"Mate? A-Ahm flattered 'n all, b-but Ah don't, uh...," she stammered.
Realising how she must be interpreting what I said, I groaned and raised my hand to shush her, before explaining how the word 'mate' is used in my society.
What originally started out as a breif explanation to Applejack, however, quickly escalated into an in depth summarization to Twilight.
[-]
As the chariot headed back to Canterlot, Princess Celestia was frowning as her thoughts dwelled on the new arrival. Noticing this, Luna voiced her concern for the elder sister. With a weak smile, Celestia said, "I'm fine Luna. I'm just thinking about our guest."
"What about him?" Luna asked, tilting of her head slightly.
"When we were talking he would smile and laugh and generally SEEM normal."
"And what is the problem with this?"
"His eyes."
"I am not sure I follow."
"When he smiled or laughed, it was as if he was merely going through the motions."
"Perhaps he was hiding sorrow. He IS far from home Tia"
"But his eyes weren't sad either. They were... empty."
"Empty?"
"Like his appearance of emotion was little more than a ruse."
While she knew Celestia wasn't telling her everything, Luna decided it would be best to leave it for now, saying, "I see. I will watch him tonight. If he dreams I might find answers for you there."
With a sigh, Celestia softly said, "Thank you."
[-]
After what I would have guessed to be about three hours of questions, during which Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie left, and Twilight discovered it would be easier to find a needle in a haystack than get answeres out of me, I noticed that it was dark out.
Curious, I returned my attention to Twilight and asked, "Would you happen to know what time it is?"
Lifting her attention from the pages of notes she had taken, she looked outside and said, "Oh my. I wasn't aware we'd been here this long. We should probably get back to the library."
"Why would you be going to a library?"
"Because that's where I live."
"You live in a library?"
"Yes."
"With a down-scale furnace face?"
"What?"
"Your little fire-breather."
"Huh?"
"Him," I said, pointing to Spike.
[-]
Upon her immediate return to the castle, Celestia made her way through the corridors to a door that seemed out of place, considering the only thing that should be behind it is a long drop to the courtyards. As she approached the door an eye appeared on it before blinking twice and vanishing again. Not waiting for an invitation she opened the door and walked into the room and cleared her throat, before asking the maid, whose uniform was disappearing a piece at a time, to leave. As the door closed, the room's occupant asked, "Why did you have to interrupt my... 'private' fun, Tia?"
Ignoring the question, Celestia turned to him and said, "I need a favor, Discord."
[-]
After an explanation and a rather intense debate about the physical improbability that is magic, we left Fluttershy's cottage and made our way into town, with Spike eagerly going ahead of us. A few metres outside of town, I voiced my concern over being seen by the rest of the town. Not stopping, Twilight explained that ponies rarely went outdoors after sunset.
As if on que, a pink-ish, purple-ish mare stumbled around a corner near the centre of town the second Twilight finished her assurances.
Standing unsteadily, she looked between Twilight and the space immediately beside me before hiccuping and continuing straight past us.
Watching the mare stagger away, I turned to Twilight and raised an eyebrow. "Rarely out after sunset, eh?" I asked.
With an uncertain chuckle, she responded, "I wouldn't be too concerned about her. While generally a nice pony, Berry is almost never sober at night. In fact," she looked back the way the mare headed, "I'm a bit surprised she's even standing at this time of night."
As soon as what she just told me was processed, and the implications were filtered, I pressed my palms togeth, looked up at the night sky and mouthed 'thank you' to whatever deities existed.
Soon enough we approached the tree she mentioned earlier as her home. Stepping inside she walked over to a low-set table in the middle of the room, set down her saddlebags, picked up a note and read it.
"What's that about?" I asked, with no genuine interest.
"Apparantly Derpy Hooves, our letter carrier, had to pick up her daughter from school, so she wasn't able to wait for me to come back to ask the questions I was going to."
By the time she finished the sentence, I was skimming through a random book I pulled off a shelf.
Placing the note back down, she gave me a quick run-through of what rooms were where and went up a set of stairs along the wall, shouting, "Spike, come and help me set up the spare bed."
Following her up, I watched the dragon crawl out of what appeared to be a dog basket as the unicorn levitated over several pieces of wood.
Instantly losing interest, I walked out onto an adjoining balcony and rested my elbows on the rail, thinking about the circumstances of my arrival and whether or not I could act upon some of my more destructive impulses... specifically, my pyromaniacal ones.
As I got deeper into these thoughts, I soon found myself rubbing my temples in an attempt to allieviate the headache that was forming.
Lowering my hands, I turned my eyes skyward as I looked intensely at a familiar formation.
Redirecting my attention to the purple pony, I her out and asked about the constellation.
Briefly glancing at it, she asked, "Luna's Shield? The Princess only made it last year, in honor of the re-creation of her own royal guard. Why do you ask?"
"It looks a lot like a constellation from my world."
A slght tilt of her head. "Really?"
"Yeah. If you flipped it horizontally and vertically, it would look exactly like what my world calls the Southern Cross."
"Could you tell me more about it?"
Smirking, I replied, "Maybe another time, if I feel like it."
Walking back inside, I made a vague gesture to the recently assembled bed, posing a silent question to the unicor beside me.
Picking up on it instantly, she nodded with a faint smile before climbing onto her own bed.
Removing and folding my coat, I placed it just under the edge and sat on the bed, silently hoped that my dreams would be separate from my memories for a change, before bringing my legs up into a bent position and lowering my back onto the too short bed.
[-]
As she trotted through the castle, Luna was plagued by questions.
'What is the real reason Tia seems worried about the human? Why was she in such a hurry after we landed? What is it about the human that has her acting like this?'
Banishing these thoughts, she made her way to her room, not bothering to take in the beautifully crafted fruniture, and removed her tiara and other royal attire before halking out onto her private balcony that overlooked Canterlot and many of the towns and cities of Equestria.
Standing on her balcony, Luna's horn ignited as she searched for the mind she wished to enter.
Finding it, she said, "Now then, our most unusual guest. Let's see what your mind creates while you sleep."
Closing her eyes, she projected herself midway into the dreams of the human, thinking she knew what to expect.
[-]
Connor was sitting in the hospital room, his chair facing the foot of the bed where his sister lay comatose. The steady beep of the heart monitor lulling him into a state of half-consciosness while he covered his face with his hands.
He was forcibly removed from his trance-like state when a doctor walked in. Lifting his head from his hands, Connor watched as the doctor made his way over to the monitoring equipment, looking between them and the clipboard he was carrying.
"Well, Doctor?" Connor asked with a voice hoarse from lack of use.
Flinching from the sudden sound, the doctor turned to him saying, "On a positive note, there doesn't seem to be any mental deterioration in the six weeks she's been here, but I'm sorry to say your sister doesn't seem to show any signs of improvement either."
"Anything else?"
"The results of the assessment for the spinal damage are in."
"And?" Connor asked, voice and expression clearly showing his loss of patience.
"Even if, against all probability, she comes out of this coma, she'll be paraplegic. The only thing that can really be done is turn off her life support and let her go peacefully."
Getting out of his chair, Connor gently placed his hand over his sister's and apologised, before looking at the doctor, saying, "I know what she would have wanted. Turn it off," before turning and walking towards the door.
A little surprised, the doctor asked, "You don't want to... do it yourself?"
Stopping at the door, Connor released a breath he didn't know he was holding and shook his head before opening it, walking through and gently closing it.
Turning away from the door, he looked over at his comatose sister before slowly walking over to her and placing his right hand over her limp left one, saying, "Hey Sis. I'm sorry I couldn't get back here sooner."
With a heavy sigh, he looked over where her belly was under the thin hospital blankets. "If they'd been able to save her, I would have taken her in. You know that, right?" he continued, knowing he wouldn't get a response.
With no idea of what else to do or say, he made his way over to the seat that faced the foot of her hospital bed and rested his forearms on his knees, staring at the ground before finally bringing his hands up to cover his face, listening to the heart monitor while he waited for a doctor to come in and check on her.
[-]
Luna watched the scene repeat itself another three times before finally pulling herself out.
As her consciousness fully returned to her physical body, she wiped the wetness from her eyes with the back of her hoof, because while she was little more than a passive observer, she was still in HIS mind, and as a resullt, she felt everything he did.
And through it all she couldn't understand something about the memory she witnessed.
At the end, right before he opens the door to leave, something would change. At the start she would feel his emotions separate from his state of mind and his feelings, and become increasingly distant throughout, but at the end it was as if they were gone completely.
The feelings of regret and his state of self loathing would remain, but the accompanying emotions were simply gone, and she couldn't understand it.
Gazing out from her balcony at the distant town of Ponyville, she took a deep breath and said, "I will see you in person tomorrow night. Maybe you can explain it to me... Connor."
[-]
Slowly waking and getting out of the small bed, I pushed aside the memory of the sadness I had felt, walked passed Twilight's sleeping form, out onto her balcony and sat with crossed legs as the darkness of night was pushed aside for the dawn.
Despite my somewhat raw state, I had to admire the beauty of watching the stars disappear one by on as the sky slowly grew brighter.
As I watched I reflected on the feelings I'd felt when I saw Fluttershy so filled with fear the previous day.
While she hadn't actually made me feel it, she made me remember what true emotion felt like.
She made me remember... I don't even remember exactly what it was she'd made me remember, but I knew it was pleasant.
When I tried to figure out what it was, it eluded me.
I couldn't understand it.
I knew I had feelings and states of mind, but I only ever got brief memories of emotions, and even those were vague.
The only emotions I could recall were anger and sadness. Nothing else seemed to have been there.
But Fluttershy... She seemed to open a memory of something so distant, I wasn't even sure it could be called a memory any more.
I began considering how much of myself I had willingly lost and brought forth a combination of a feeling and a state of mind.
Twilight awoke slowly to a faint metalic smell. Dismissing the thought, she tried to yawn, only to discover that she couldn't open her mouth at all. Sitting up in alarm she swivelled her head left and right before flattening her ears to the sound of an obnoxious laughter she hated.
Still chuckling, Discord materialised in front of her and casually said, "Twilight, really. I would have thought you would be used to that joke by now," as he pulled the copper muzzle off her.
Free to respond, she shot back, "And I would have thought you'd at least have the decency to hold off until I was awake."
Stroking his goatee with his talon, he shrugged conceded, "I suppose it WAS rather discurteos of me... But since you ARE awake, I assume you would want to know my reason for being here, correct?"
Releasing the yawn she was denied, she gave him a flat stare. "I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it involves my newly apoointed house guest."
"Yes. Dearest 'Tia decide to request that I observe its reactions under the various trying situations that seem to gravitate around you and your friends. She seems deeply concerned about it interfering with some plan of hers," the hybrid creature responded, all while clapping with an exagerated slowness.
Opening her mouth to inquire about what he meant by that statement, she was interrupted by soft, heavy impacts on wood, as her human guest made its way upstairs.
When she redirected her attention forward, Discord was gone, leaving her with more than a few questions that she knew she wouldn't get answers for.
[-]
As I reached the top of the stairs, after heading down from the balcony and taking the time to explore the library, I looked at the seemingly alarmed Twilight and stared for a few seconds before silently returning down-stairs to peruse through the library's collected written knowledge.
After pulling a random book from what seemed to be the history section, I started reading absent-mindedly while listening for the sound of my designated keeper. After acknowledging that Twilight had moved past me and into her kitchen, I began to doubt the book was intended to be shelved with the history books, as it mentioned pendants and talismans and other such artifacts with 'magical attributes', though there were a few which piqued my interest.
A couple of these were the 'Alicorn Amulet', with its corruptive nature, and the 'Elements of Harmony', which while I found their whole concept utterly ridiculous, it was also somewhat amusing.
But what I was really interested in was the many seemingly useless objects, such as scepters, spheres and the like, created by an entity known as 'Discord', which I also found ridiculous, and while most were measured to have seemingly limitless magic, none of the known species could use them as anything more than a fancy tools to smack others with.
Why did I find the seemingly useless artifacts fascinating? Because they were seemingly useless, which for some absurd reason, amused me.
[-]
Spike watched from the kitchen doorway as their guest leaned up against a wall, book in hand with an unreadable expression on his face.
There was something about this creature that unnerved him, and it wasn't just that he was able to beat Twilight and her friends into submission. It was because he seemed...off, but Spike couldn't quite place how.
He was interrupted from his ponderings by a sudden knock on the library door.
After opening the door only slightly to see who it was, he opend it wide and smiled at the mint green unicorn.
"Hey, Miss Lyra."
"Hey, Spike," The unicorn responded warmly.
"I'm here to return this," she continued, pulling out a rather worn looking tome.
"Could you please thank Twilight for me for lending... me her copy... of..." she trailed off looking past the diminutive dragon.
Following her gaze, he mentally face-clawed at his recklessness.
[-]
As the two went quiet, I turned my head in their direction to see a look of immeasurable joy spread across the unicorn's face before she gasped and ran off, letting the book she was levitating drop without a thought to it.
As the dragon slammed the door and started hyperventilating, I let a small smile cross my features and said, "I won't say anything if you don't," without looking directly at him.
I almost laughed as he visibly snapped back to the present and said, "What?"
"I said I won't say anything if you don't."
"...Okay?"
Ignoring the confused dragon, I closed the book and set it on the small table in the middle of the room.
[-]
Tripping repeatedly in her rush to get home, Lyra acquired a collection of scratches, a couple of them with thin, crimson trails.
Bursting throught the door and startling her room-mate she started frantically searching for her camera and research notes.
She'd found one.
[-]
Walking into the library's kitchen, I watched my purple host move from place to place before getting a glass of water and returning to the many books that seemed potentially interesting.
As I looked through the shelves, I heard Twilight enter the room and turned my head only slightly in her direction as an acknowledgement of her presence.
After she cleared her throat in what was evidently an attempt to get my attention, I asked, "Can I help you?"
After a brief pause she said, "It was Connor, wasn't it?"
"Yes."
You could almost feel her relief. "Oh good. Um, anyway, Would you like some breakfast, Connor?"
"No, thank you."
"Why not?" she asked with a confused frown.
"I don't usually eat breakfast," I responded as I read the spines, sub-consciouslly following my sight with my index finger.
"Is it a human thing, to not eat breakfast?"
"No, it's a personal decision that changes on a semi-regular basis."
"Why?"
"Why not?"
pause. "Consistency?"
Somewhat surprised to have recieved a logical answer, I looked away from the books and watched the unicorn out of the corner of my eye. "You make a valid argument, but it's not a significant enough reason for me to adjust my personal mannerisms."
"What makes you say that?" she rsponded.
Returning to the books I quipped, "Nothing makes me say it. I simply do."
"So it's pointless?"
"Pointless is an opinion. Nothing more."
"Okay... So, would you like some breakfast now?" she asked.
Chuckling, I answered, "Good try, but no. I will gladly have a cup of coffee, though."
Pleased to just have a result, she exclaimed, "Sure! how do you have it?"
"Black with three teaspoons of sugar."
With that she trotted back into her kitchen.
As she waked back into her kitchen, she levitated the book the green unicorn dropped earlier onto a shelf, giving me reason to re-evaluate my previous assumptions about some of the artifacts I had read about only a few minutes prior.
Tearing myself from my thoughts, I looked out the window to see a mint green horn barely in view.
[-]
Camera in hoof, Lyra was determined to get a picture. For years ponies had called her mad for believing in humans, and now there was one. Here in Ponyville.
After hurrying back to the library, after recieving a talking to from her room-mate for nearly scaring her to death, she attempted to be as inconspicuous as possile and ultimately peek through the many windows in an attempt to see her prize.
Getting lucky on her first window, she saw it leaning against a wall and conversing with Twilight.
As soon as Miss Sparkle moved away from the human, Lyra raised her camera, but just as she was about to press the button, the human looked her way, causing her to duck involuntarily.
[-]
Walking over to the window, I thought over my approach to this situation and decided to try the one I felt was least threatening.
Standing to the side of the window, I announced in a casually disinterested tone, "I know you're there. You don't need to hide."
I almost laughed as the unicorn from earlier slowly lifted her head with a sheepish grin.
After an awkward laugh, she half mumbled, "Umm...Hello. Nice to meet you?"
"Yes, hello," I said quickly, "If you want to talk, come inside. It's awkward enough talking to you throught a window, but I'm concerned that you'll attract attention."
Another sheepish grin. "That might be better, thank you."
The moments that followed included an awkward attempt to climb through the window and face-planting with enough force to make me wince, but we soon found ourselves seated across from each other, but not before taking a photograph to compare to her sketches. Me waiting for her to open dialogue and her squinting at me with her tongue poking out the corner of her mouth, like I was a puzzle she couldn't figure out.
AWKWARD SILENCE!!!
Pinkie, go home. My story.
Aww.
Yes, well anyway, when several minutes of the afformentioned awkward silence had passed, Twilight returned with what was presumably my coffee. Upon seeing Lyra, her eyes widened and the mug dropped as both it and her horn lost their aura.
Looking at the dark, traslucent fluid spreading on the floor, I stated with my still-neutral tone, "I was looking forward to that."
Oblivious to my comment, Twilight exclaimed, "Lyra! What are you doing here!?"
"Did you honestly expect me to NOT find out you had a human here, Twilight?" Lyra deadpanned, fixing a similarly flat expression on the lavender unicorn.
Ignoring the question, Twilight rushed over and, essentially, begged Lyra to not share knowledge of my existence. When those attempts fell short, she turned to me and asked me to reason with her.
Amused by the situation, I shot her a near-imperceptible smirk and responded, "I never agreed to hide."
She was slightly taken aback by this. "But princess ordered it."
"No she didn't. That was YOUR decision. Celestia only wanted data."
"Excuse me," Lyra interrupted, "I'll keep quiet about him for you, Twilight, so long as you share your research with me and let me compare notes on what little information I've already gathered."
Turning her attention to Lyra, Twilight answered, "While that DOES sound reasonable, I think it's no longer relevant now that Connor's decided to go out, regardless of what I want."
I frowned. "I never said I was going out."
Eye twitch. "But, you just-"
"I said," cutting her off, "I never agreed to stay a secret. But that in no way indicates any desire to venture outside. Until I find a reason I deem acceptable, I will remain indoors."
"...Why couldn't you just say that from the start?"
"Because, sooner or later, you would start to assume you would be able to predict my intentions."
Neither of us noticed when Lyra left the library around this point.
"Why do you assume that?"
"It is in nature of all sentient beings, regardless of developmental stage."
"Well, that's a little judgemental. Not to mention, mean."
"I'll give you truth, not consolation. If you want consolation, talk to a friend."
"You mean we're not friends?" Twilight asked with tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
"While I feel that you will not truly understand the cynical philosophy that I live by, I will share it with you."
I released a heavy sigh and turned to face her.
"'There is a vast difference between what we know, what we see and what is.' You know friendship is valuable. You see me as needing a friend. But you fail to see and understand what is when it comes to me."
Pause.
"You're right, I don't understand you."
Smirk. "Nor would I expect you to. When you figure me out, then you might have a chance of befriending me."
"But how do I do that?"
"You're smart. You'll find the answers in due time. I'm sure of it."
There was a brief, but not uncomfortable pause as she processed everything I had just told her.
As she came out of her thoughts, she looked up at me and asked, "Would you like me to make another cup of coffee, seeing as you never got your first one?"
With a slight chuckle, I nodded the affirmative and watched her trot happily back into the kitchen.
[-]
While all this was happening, Discord was upstairs, listening in. When Twilight went to make another coffee, he willed himself to the throne room in Canterlot, almost pushing Celestia into a cake that had just been brought out.
Noticing what he'd almost done, he bowed mockingly, saying, "My sincerest apologies, Celestia. I was unaware you were about to add more mass to your... sun."
Wiping the icing off her nose from the piece she was levitating, she replied, "While I am willing to tolerate your pranks and... 'accidents' ...I would appreciate it if you kept your comments about my sweet-tooth AND the size of my posterior to yourself."
Rolling his eyes, literally, Discord relented, "Fine. I suppose petty insults ARE beneath me, anyway."
Placing her slice on a small plate to the side, celestia gave Discord her full attention. "I assume you came here for a reason?"
"Yes, it's about your student and the human," Discord said, pickling up one of his eyes and putting it back where it belonged.
"What about them?"
"He has, for the moment, rejected her friendship while she seems to be determined to attain it."
A look af mild confusion crossed her face. "What does this have to do with anything?"
"While I may not know what you're planning, I know you intend for it to be soon. I highly doubt this human will have accepted her by then."
"What makes you so sure?"
Moonwalking out of the room through a wall, he answered, "There's just something about him. Little Luna might have a better idea though."
Looking to the stairs that lead to her sister's room, It took Celestia a whole minute to decide on a course of action.
After declaring day-court postponed until further notice, she made her way to Luna's room, ignoring the myriad of saluting guards as she passed them, and upon entry, she immediately saw the balcony doors were open and Luna just staring in the direction of Ponyville.
Concerned, she approached slowly, and asked, "Luna? I everything okay?"
Fidgeting slightly, Luna didn't turn her attention, but replied, "Yes, Sister, I am quite fine. I am, however, concerned for another."
Celestia took up a position beside her. "The human?"
"In his dreams, I saw something. Something I don't quite understand."
"What was it you saw to affect you like this?"
When no response came, she turned to her younger sister. "Luna, please tell me. What did you see?"
"I am sorry, Tia, but it is not my place to share what I saw. I intend to visit his dreams again tonight, and ask him about it."
"Very well then, Luna. I'll leave it to you for now," Celestia relented
As she was leaving the room, she turned her attention back to her sister and said, "Please be careful, little sister. We don't know what could set him off or what he could do if something does."
Turning her head towards Celestia, Luna answered, "I share your concerns, sister. I, too, am worried."
When the door had shut, the Princess of the night moved to her bed so as to conserve energy before it came time to raise the moon. As she lay her head on the pillow, she said to herself, "But, I'm more worried about what he would do to himself before he's finished."
