When I met her I found something that I didn't even know I needed. Love, sounds simple doesn't it? But what I learned is that love is anything but simple...
Most people's lives are fairly routine, they wake up, go to work, come back home and go to sleep, then repeat. I thought my life would be like this, just another gear in the machine of society rolling along every day for my whole life. If it weren't for one certain surprise my life would probably have become just that. As I would soon learn, the best things in life are never what you see coming, but rather what you never imagined would happen, and meeting her was one of the best surprises of my life.
You ever have one of those days where you got to come home after a nice, relaxing day and get a good, peaceful night's rest? Yeah, well neither have I, and today would be no exception. I usually came home from school tired and feeling like I got hit with a shovel but today I really felt like just going to sleep for a week. School tended to be just a little more annoying to go through when people knew you were a brony, most were fine with it or just did care but now and again some dick in one of my classes would feel the need to treat me like the six year old girl he claims the show was meant for, as I was reminded daily about his ever so important opinions. When I came home today rest continued to elude me in the form of chores and enough school papers to make a campfire. Despite feeling almost dead on the inside I managed to get the chores finished early and I finished the school work at some time past midnight, I wasn't sure what time, I just know my head fell onto my desk right after I completed the gauntlet of meaningless, time consuming assignments and I finally drifted off into sleep, at least until Monday morning when the painful cycle repeats.
I slowly opened my eyes to prepare for yet another day, I was anticipating my alarm clock to go off like a car alarm at any moment but I never heard it ring, what I did hear however was...wait did I hear snoring? I opened my eyes more and right in front of me was a white unicorn asleep and sure enough, she was snoring.
Now rather than calmly assess the situation like a reasonable person, my first instinct was to scream, in hindsight probably not one of the smartest things to do.
"AHHHHH WHAT THE HELL!" I shouted at a painfully close distance to the mare next to me. In a near instant she snapped her eyes open and screamed even louder than me.
"AHHHHHH WHO ARE YOU!?" She yelled as she kicked me off the bed and straight into the wall on the opposite side of the room, knocking the wind clear out of me. The first thing she did was pull a pair of purple shades and put them on, then she scrambled out of bed and stood on four legs, walking towards me quickly.
"W-wait a minute, hold on! I have no idea what's going on!" I said as I held up my hands in- wait...where were my hands! I was holding up two hooves! I quickly looked over the rest of myself as well, I found two more legs and hooves, a tail and a pair of wings on my side. Apparently my skin color was now a tan or light brown as well. I felt upward and even my face felt different but I had no time to reflect on these revelations as a hoof was thrown right in front of my face accusingly.
"Who are you and how did you get in my bed!?" She looked like she was one wrong answer away from knocking my lights out. I was never the best liar so I figured telling the truth would be for the best...if only I knew just what in the world that was.
"I swear I have no idea how I got here! I was going to sleep last night and I woke up here, I'm even more confused than you are!"
The white mare tilted her head as if I started speaking a different language, but if nothing else she seemed to calm down a little. "Okay...I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt but so help me if you are lying..." she said as she narrowed her eyes and inched closer.
"I'm not, I really mean it. I just want to go home, I don't even know how I got here..." I told her, crestfallen that I had absolutely no idea where I was and how I became a pony.
Unfortunately she looked even more confused. "Look, I think you might have some form of memory loss, maybe I do too, seeing as how I always lock the door before I go to sleep, maybe getting something to eat will clear our heads and help figure this out."
I nodded as she went to open the door and gestured for me to walk out first, I smiled and thanked her on the way out but not before finally taking a glance at the room she we were about to leave, it wasn't very fancy or even that large but all over the room I could see instruments, recording devices, vinyl records and much more. It all seemed new yet strangely familiar and expected at the same time. I put it out of mind for the moment and followed the unicorn mare in front of me outside the door.
The door led directly into a club, there was a large dance floor in front of a new DJ table, to the right of the dance floor there was a fair sized bar and lined around the rest of the place were tables and chairs.
I could see light coming in from one of the windows, it must have been the morning still, which would have explained why no one else was here. Apparently I had been looking around for a while as my thoughts were interrupted by a loud "Ahem."
My impatient host was starting to tap her hoof on the ground as she waved me over to her table, not wanting to make her more upset than she already was I sat down across from her. I noticed that since she had gotten up she was wearing those purple shades, usually it was fairly odd to wear those indoors but considering the fact I was sitting across from a unicorn at the moment it didn't seem quite so unusual.
"Are you awake in there? You seem to be pretty distracted." She asked, trying to keep my attention for more than five seconds.
"Sorry...this is all pretty new to me, and I'm sorry about scaring you this morning, I really have no idea how I got here."
"Alright I believe you...for now, I'd know if you're lying so don't think you'd be able to get away with it. What's your name anyhow?" She asked me as she rested her chin on her hooves.
"Oh, my name is Anders, I don't have an occupation but I'm in college to become a pilot."
"Okaaaay...well my name is Vinyl Scratch, I'm a DJ, the one and only DJ PON3! Though I'm not sure what a pilot is." Wait a minute...I knew it all seemed familiar, then that would mean this was a My Little Pony universe, well that does give me one possible answer...I'm in a coma, it would be impossible to suddenly wake up and be here of all places.
It quickly occurred to me that if this really was like MLP then they probably wouldn't have the foggiest idea of what a pilot was. "Um, I'll explain to you later, it has to do with flying though."
"Oh, I don't know much about pegasi jobs, hope it works out well." Vinyl said, at least I wouldn't have to explain to her exactly what a pilot was, the last thing I wanted was her to think I was crazy.
"Alright...so do you own this place?"
She shifted upright before telling me "Yep, sure is! Well for now at least..." as she finished she slumped back down and starting to fiddle with her hooves.
"Wait, what do you mean for now?" I asked in concern.
She gestured to the building around us as she spoke. "This place is losing money, you know that changeling invasion that happened like five months ago? Well ever since then, Canterlot's tourism has been in the sink. Nopony wants to visit a place they think they aren't safe in, even my regulars that live in Canterlot don't show up much anymore and just stay inside more often than not. With all that, I lose money, this place doesn't run on sunshine and if customers don't start showing up like they used to within a few months I'm going to have to think about closing this place up or go bankrupt." After she finished Vinyl went and made a couple drinks from the bar since no one else was there. She carried the drinks back to the table with her magic and set them next to herself. It took me a moment to register that she was really using magic but the novelty of it faded faster than I expected, even so things like magic and talking ponies would take some getting used to.
"Behold, alcohol, the cure-all to stress." Vinyl waved her hoof in the air as she slid one of the glasses over to me with the other.
I paused as I reached for my glass to join her as she sipped from her own. "Careful, it's strong stuff." She said as she continued drinking.
I wanted to take a sip, one part to not leave her hanging and the second to wash away some of my own stress, the problem was, hooves tend to make you nervous about picking up glass. I reached for my drink regardless and my fears jumped to surprise as I picked it up with no problem, I examined my hoof wrapped around the glass that was somehow holding it. It was certainly not something I expected a hoof to be a capable of, but I let that go and raised the drink to my lips. Must be magic I thought to myself as I drank, only to nearly spit the alcohol back into the glass. She certainly wasn't kidding that this stuff was strong.
Vinyl saw this little scene and couldn't help but chuckle. I sat my glass back on the table, still in silent amazement of what hooves were actually capable of here.
Rather than drag on my attempt at trying to drink I would try to explain to her what I am or more correctly...was. "Hey, um Vinyl? There's something I need to clear up..."
"What is it? You in my bed really was an accident...right?" She narrowed her eyes at me, truly a fantastic start to getting kicked again if that was my goal.
"Yes but you see, I'm not really a pony, I'm a human. I went to sleep last night in my home and woke up here, I've never had hooves, a tail, and no wings either." I said, gesturing to the respective body parts.
"Uh huh...sure, what's a human anyway? And I can see plain as day you're a pegasi." She eyed me suspiciously.
"Well right now I am, but I don't know how. You see humans walk on two legs and have hands in place of hooves, we have no magic but are good at inventing."
"So...like a minotaur? I saw one a while ago while visiting Ponyville, they sound like that."
"Well, kind of, but the top half is different, and we have no horns, and inhabit a planet called Earth, I specifically lived in a place called the United States." That would probably be about the most I'd tell her...for now at least, it had taken up to now but I was sure that this place is almost exactly like Equestria, and I'm not sure how I'd take being told that in another world my entire civilization was in the contents of a children's show.
She nodded and looked as if she was recalling something from memory, better than what I had expected at least so far.
"You must be pretty far away then, I've never heard of either place, but I have heard of spells going wrong and ponies have ended up going from Manehattan all the way to the edge of Everfree. Seeing as you can't use magic someone must have used it on you, did you feel anything unusual when you went to sleep?"
"Well not really, I thought I heard someone speak but I was probably dreaming it." I sighed, if I was lucky Vinyl would be able to help me get back home. If unlucky well I guess I'd have to learn to love vegetables, then I remembered I'd probably never have meat again in that case, and the thought of never touching bacon again was almost enough to make me cry a little.
"Hey, look, we're going to get you home, I promise." Vinyl put her hoof on my shoulder.
"Thanks, I appreciate it, but how are you taking this so easily? If the same thing happened back home they would have said that guy was crazy!
"Trust me, in Equestria crazier things happen like every few weeks, especially since Discord's supposed reform. He's not trying to spread evil or anything but that evidently doesn't mean he won't wreak chaos, but at least most of it seems to be pranks and jokes." The mare in front of me then made a short list of increasingly random pranks and jokes he had played this weeks alone, one seemed to be temporarily turning Luna into a guy at one point but did reverse it after a few hours during which she got caught on camera, unfortunately for her.
"Princess Luna is awesome but I gotta admit, that was priceless! At least ponies seem to get over stuff like that quickly, I would have tried to strangle him if he turned me into a stallion." She laughed just before downing more alcohol.
"I'm not sure what I'd think if I was turned into a mare." I shrugged
"Hm, I don't know I think you'd look pretty cute as a mare." She said as she eyed me over, then we shared a brief moment of silence staring awkwardly at each other. As if on cue, we both burst out laughing so hard I'd swear I was about to cry.
"Ha, so only if I was a mare huh? Didn't know you swung like that." I told her with a mischievous grin on my face.
"Huh? W-wait no, it's not like that, you know what I...grrr, come on!" She said tripping over her own words. An obvious blush appeared, turning her normally white cheeks rosy red.
"You set yourself up for that one and you know it." I smiled innocently while she desperately tried to hide her blush.
"Yeah well just, oh shut up. Just wait I'll get you back." She said, no doubt planning something already.
"Oh who am I going to tell? Besides, you look cute when you're blushing." We looked at each other for what felt like several minutes, the awkward tension persisting until Vinyl spoke up again.
"Well uh, thanks, that's really nice of you...um hey I got an idea to figure out how you got here, let's talk to Twilight Sparkle, we're friends and she knows lots about magic." She said nervously.
"Yeah, okay that sounds like a good start." I stammered back, relieved that the awkward situation was over at least.
"Okay cool, there's a train leaving for Ponyville at noon, that one leaves in an hour. We can get lunch and catch the train, it's a two or three hour trip and I know from experience their food on board is terrible."
After leaving the club we looked around for a cheap restaurant that served decent lunch. I learned what a daisy sandwich tasted like which surprisingly, was pretty good. That probably had to do with the fact I was know in the body of an herbivore so it would make sense I found plant material tasted better than I remembered.
Vinyl and I discussed all sorts of things ranging from her ideas to where the changelings came from to my idea of trying to me trying to figure out how the first languages would have been created, it's not like you can say something like yarp would mean fish, because you wouldn't be able to tell them since there was no language yet.
We had lost track of time while eating lunch and it was only by a sheer stroke of luck that we made it to the train station moments before it was preparing to leave. Since I didn't have a single coin on me Vinyl thankfully paid for the ride, we didn't get great seats but at least it was quiet seeing as we were the only ones in the car. I had noticed this pattern ever since we left the club, most places we went had no more than a few ponies and those that were there didn't seem to be in any kind of a rush, like if you had a whole Sunday to yourself and your sole responsibility was to make sure you fed the dog before you went to sleep.
As we settled into our seats I figured I should ask Vinyl about it. "Why was there hardly anyone around today?"
She pondered this for a moment before telling me. "It probably has something to do with the Wonderbolts show today, it's mostly a pegasus thing but it still draws huge crowds wherever they do a show, normally there's always plenty of room but sometimes if it's in Canterlot or Manehattan though they get sold out. Also remember that there's less tourists here than usual because of the changeling invasion."
"Right, that does make sense, well at least it's not crowded anywhere, I hated crowds back on Earth, it was always hot and people would be pushing or shoving and it was awful if it was like that all day."
Finally I felt a tug below us and I could tell the final passengers had boarded and that we were on our way.
"Yeah, I've never been a fan of crowds either, I mean at the club it would be a good thing for business but if i was trying to get somewhere and there were ponies everywhere it got annoying fast. Anyway I'm going to take a small nap, I went to sleep pretty late last night after trying to fix the club's lights and after we reach Ponyville the conductor will sound the whistle which should wake me up pretty easy."
"Ah, I might take one too, I don't have anything better to do."
"Alrighty, chat in a bit then." She yawned as she stretched out taking up her entire seat, then she removed her glasses and levitated them onto the floor beside her, despite my best efforts I still couldn't see her eyes and I was afraid to ask in case she was sensitive about it, like had a glass eye or something. Like her I laid out comfortably on my seat but wouldn't fall asleep just yet.
As Vinyl fell asleep I took the time to really look at myself, my wings really did look nice, it had always been a dream of mine to have wings but I never imagined it like this, not that I was complaining. My hooves were...well hooves, not much to them other than how incredibly well they could be used in place of hands.
What I was really curious about was about what my face looked like, and when I looked in the window I was able to see my reflection. Though I couldn't judge whether I was attractive by pony standards I thought I looked fairly handsome actually. I was still tan or light brown, not sure which color it resembled closer. I also noticed my eyes were deep blue, rather than the brown I had always seen in the mirror as a human. My hair, or mane as I should say was a dark brown. I didn't know what my hairstyle would look like in pony terms but it did look nice at least, not fancy or ratty but it was decent which I couldn't complain about. After content that I'd recognize myself If I looked at a picture of myself I settled back into my seat to go to sleep, it would still be a good while before we reached Ponyville.
As I closed my eyes I couldn't help but gaze at Vinyl a little, she really was a beautiful mare and she had been pretty nice to me under the circumstances. I just wish I could have seen her eyes, those were really the most interesting and beautiful parts of most anyone, pony or human. It was a little odd that she hadn't taken off her shades once since she woke up and trying to see through from the other side was like trying to see the wall behind a mirror.
You can really tell a lot about someone from the look in their eyes, so why would she hide them?
"Hey, hey,wake up, we're here. You got 5 seconds to get up and don't think I won't drag you off that seat. 5...4...3..." A mare's voice woke me up from my sleep. My eyes adjusted from the blur of slumber just enough to confirm it was Vinyl Scratch reaching for my legs, ready to fulfill her promise.
I tried my best to wake up quickly but I was just a moment too slow and found my face about to collide with the floor. Luckily Vinyl seemed to be in a good mood since she used her magic to stop me just a few inches from the ground, then set me down gently.
I let out a breath of relief after my near collision; I've fallen face first on the floor before and it was not pleasant.
"Oh come on, you know I'm not that cruel, but you do need to get up, I've fallen asleep on the train before and ended up all the way in Phillydelphia." Vinyl chimed as she led the way off the train and into the station.
Just as we walked away from the train station she turned around to tell me something. "I know I said Twilight could probably help but I don't know for sure, even if she does it'll probably be a while before you can go home."
"It's alright, I suppose I can find somewhere to sleep" I breathed, I had no clue where I'd stay, not only was I a stranger here I was completely broke as well.
"Well if you'd like, you're welcome to stay at my place, there's plenty of room in it." Vinyl offered kindly.
I perked up right away now that I wouldn't have to sleep in an alley or something. "Don't get too excited hotshot, I'm not that easy." She winked back at me before laughing to herself, leaving me with a dumb looking expression of embarrassment and confusion.
"Take it easy, I'm just having a little fun with ya, let's hurry up and get to Twilight's though, no sense in standing here all day." She said before leading the way once more. Before I knew it we had reached a huge tree-house like structure in the middle of town. If things in the show really did correlate to this place then that would be Twilight Sparkle's place.
Vinyl knocked on the door and we waited for only a breath of time before the door opened revealing Twilight Sparkle, she promptly greeted us and gestured us inside.
"Welcome Vinyl, who's your new friend?" Twilight asked right away.
"My name is Anders, it's nice to meet you!" I smiled warmly, trying to give a good first impression.
"Mine is Princess Twilight Sparkle, welcome to the Golden Oaks Library!" She smiled.
"Yo, Twilight, there's actually something specific we wanted to talk to you about, we thought you might be able to help." Vinyl said, straight to the point.
"Oh? What is it, there's certainly plenty of things I can help with." Twilight said before looking as if she had forgotten something important. "Oh! Please excuse me, I can be so careless! Please take a seat, I'll be right back with refreshments."
While she was gone Vinyl and I took her suggestion and sat down. In an unbelievably short amount of time Twilight was already returning with the drinks. "So what is it you need help with?"
"Well you see, the thing is, Anders isn't exactly from this world...technically he's an alien." Vinyl did her best to explain. Twilight gave me a puzzled look while I waved awkwardly, trying to not seem like a scary alien.
"I gotta say, he's kinda cute for an alien, bit of a big head if you ask me." She said while rubbing her chin. Honestly I wasn't quite sure whether to feel complimented or insulted, maybe a bit of both.
"How did he get here?"
Vinyl blushed when she explained it "Well...he kinda woke up in bed with me..."
"Vinyl! I know its been a bit of a dry spell but-"
"No, no not like that! He just woke up in my bed this morning! I swear he wasn't there last night, right Anders?" Vinyl looked at me, pleading for me to back her up.
"I don't know Vinyl...last night was pretty good..." I flashed an evil grin
"Vinyl! You haven't even known him that long! I mean-"
"He was kidding. He really did show up next to me this morning and we're trying to figure out how, he doesn't know how he got there anymore than I do." When she was done talking to her she looked back and whispered to me. "Remind me to strangle you later."
"Oh, well that is odd. Even I'm not sure how that could have happened. We might need to talk to Princess Celestia about it. I'll write her a letter now, I won't be long, feel free to sit here and chat if you'd like." Twilight said as she walked upstairs to begin writing no doubt.
"Thanks Twilight!" Vinyl shouted up to her.
"You know, for an alien you sure don't seem to be freaking out much." Vinyl commented.
"I'm not one of the kind of people to get freaked out easily, I'm more of the kind that finds it all interesting and it just makes me want to explore one, it's exciting." I mused.
"Cool, I'm like that way too. New can be pretty exciting, even with the changeling invasion sure it was kinda scary but it was also kinda exciting at the same time.
"Yeah and anyway..." I began to speak but got distracted with one of my other thoughts.
"Anyway...what?" She asked.
"I just realized I'm naked."
"Yeah, someone's slow on the update and so?"
"I've never been naked in public before. It's a cultural taboo where I come from." I said, now more conscious of how exposed I felt.
"Well no one will really notice unless you're laying on your back if that bothers you. I understand it might have been taboo where you're from but it's not a big deal here." she explained.
"Guys, she wrote back." Twilight said as she came walking back into the room. "She said she'll come here personally to meet him, she said that the culture shock could be a bit much for his first day."
"Sweet, she say when?" Vinyl asked enthusiastically.
"She should be here in about an hour." Twilight said, reading from the letter she had received. "She encouraged you two to remain here until she arrives, until then make yourselves at home." She smiled before plucking a book off a shelf and laying down to read it in silence.
"Alright, cool." Vinyl said, turning to face me. "So, anything you want to talk about?"
"Actually, yeah. I was wondering, why do you always wear those shades over your eyes, even indoors?" I finally asked.
"Oh...um okay, here I'll show you, just promise not to freak out or anything." She pleaded as she took off her shades, though her eyes were still closed. When she opened them it revealed a pair of vibrant, crimson red eyes, in truth they were unique but very beautiful.
"Wow..." was the first word to come out of my mouth.
"I know it's not normal, please don't make fun of them." She told me.
"No no they're actually really beautiful, I've just never seen anything like it, I can't understand why someone would make fun of them." I had never seen someone with red eyes before, in truth they were hard to not look at.
"Thank you, I'm glad you think so. Though there's something else you should know..." Vinyl leaned in to whisper closely. "I'm a vampire..." She grinned as I knocked myself out of my side trying to back up, before laughing to herself.
"Ahahaha, the look on your face! Sorry, it was the only chance I'd get to do that. Besides, we're even now." She said with a smile still on her face.
"I'll admit that was a good one." I said trying to not act embarrassed.
"Yeah, you have really nice eyes too you know?" She said kindly.
"Thanks, you wouldn't say that though if I still had my old eye color, brown eyes, I never really liked having brown eyes personally."
"Oh brown eyes aren't bad, at least they don't scare children." She said dismissively.
"That has happened before? And don't tell me it wasn't the least bit fun."
She couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "Okay I have to admit, though I felt guilty it was kinda funny. Nightmare night is fun."
"Heh, well you could steal souls and probably not scare people as much as one of my friends. He told me last Halloween, the equivalent of Nightmare night, that he laid in the grass as still as possible to look like a prop and whenever a kid got close he'd leap up and scare the poor guys half to death! Robert was a great guy I hope I see him next...time..." I say as my mind catches up with what I said.
What if there isn't a next time? What if I can never go back, what if I can never see home again? I began to think to myself while holding a long stare against the wall ahead of me.
This might be a nice place, at least from what I've seen and I like meeting new and interesting people but...I have family, close friends like Robert. Would everyone think I was dead? Would they care? Is there even a way back home?
"Anders. Anders! Are you okay?" My attention snapped to Vinyl as she started calling my name. I realized a lone tear had begun to roll down my cheek and that I had spaced out for a bit.
"Yeah uh...I'm fine, really..." I choked out a lie.
"I'm good at spotting liars and as it happens it looks like you kinda suck at it. What's bothering you?"
"I haven't stopped to think about it much until now but...what if I can't go home. Imagine waking up, without warning, in an alien world without a clue as to how or why or if you'll ever return. Just dropping everything, friends, family, all of it. It's lovely here, you proved that the people here seem to be kind as well. A strange person wakes up in bed with you and rather than call the authorities like many back where I come from would you decided to hear me out and give me a chance, something I'm grateful for."
Quietly I felt myself pulled into a hug. "It's alright, where there's a will there's a way. Try to think about the positives." she encouraged me.
"Thank you, means a lot. So what's the most stressful thing that has happened to you?" I asked out of curiosity once the hug ended.
"Oh I would have to say the opening night of my club. Even with my friend Octavia helping I was terrified. The place was packed and rather than stay up at the DJ table the entire time I let some songs just go on their own and I was pacing around making sure it all ran smoothly. The bar, the lights, the dance floor and everything else. There are a lot of moving parts to opening up a club and anyone of which could have spelled disaster, the stress only mounts when you invest most of what you've got into it." she explained, it was clear that even the memory of the event brought back a little stress with it.
"But you did it, and you said there was an invasion but I'm sure it'll pick back up soon." I said encouragingly.
"Thanks, and ponies are returning in growing numbers, hopefully I'll be able to survive off of something other than noodles soon." Vinyl chuckled lightly.
"Yeah...so anyway we've still got awhile before the princess gets here...up for checkers?" She asked with a smile that dared me to say yes.
So with that we found one of Twilight's checkerboards and played on the floor across from each other.
About forty minutes and several humiliating defeats later I slumped in defeat while Vinyl beamed in proud victory as her 5 kings descended like vultures upon my lone piece.
"I don't get it...I'm not great at checkers but I am fairly good...just...how? You didn't even pause!" I said in confusion.
"First off, never let me pick whatever the competition will be of. I practiced checkers until I could do it blindfolded just for situations like this." She stated proudly.
"You're joking"
"Am I now?" She grinned mischievously.
"Hey, Princess Celestia is here!" Twilight called out from where she was reading, it was right by the window and she must have caught them landing.
Without more than a couple moments of delay there was a knock at the door and Twilight rushed down to admit Celestia inside. Two royal guards stood watch outside.
"Good day, Twilight, I received your letter. Is this the pony you mentioned?" The tall white alicorn said as she gestured to me.
"Yes, Princess Celestia." Twilight bowed politely, Celestia returned the gesture.
"So tell me, you have never been to this world before correct? And Twilight mentioned you said you were a human before arriving here." She asked in a gentle tone.
"Yes. I erm...woke up in bed with Vinyl this morning completely unsure of how I got here or why I was a pony." I admitted.
"Interesting...I believe you accidentally ventured through a dimensional portal. They are known to pop in and out of existence unless properly sustained. They can take the traveler to another dimension, based on what they have subconsciously chose." She explained as if this happened at least once in a while.
I sat almost dumbstruck for a moment before speaking up again. "But this happened after I fell asleep. And other dimensions exist!?"
"You are here, aren't you? One must have appeared where you slept and taken you with it. That also makes sense why you arrived here in the same fashion. Believe it or not this does occur though not with any real frequency or predictability. If and individual fell through the portal they fall here and if they are running, they are usually running when they arrive here."
Some of what she said was finally starting to sink in, though that seemed to bring up just as many questions. "You said I subconsciously chose this place? I didn't even know it was real." I confessed.
"Hmm...Twilight, Vinyl. Would you mind if I went on a short walk with..."
"Anders."
"Yes, would you two mind if I walked with Anders? We will be back shortly." She politely asked them.
"Sure. We'll just discuss things ourselves until you return." Twilight smiled as Celestia guided the two of us outside.
Once we were a short distance away from the library Princess Celestia picked up the conversation. "Anders, I understand what you might want to say something but I equally understand how awkward it could feel. Am I close?"
If I didn't know better I'd be ready to say she was psychic, though being thousands of years old must give you some incredible insight.
"Yes...where I came from, this entire world is just a story, a children's show actually." I continued to tell her more, explaining all of it, from what bronies were to how big the fandom was. Even admitting that I had a few posters and had written a few stories about it, leaving scarcely a detail behind, even if one of the stories I wrote happened to be a romance story about Vinyl. It was without a doubt the most awkward moment of my entire life. At least Celestia seemed to be very understanding.
"That's quite fascinating, not likely you ever expected to ever meet the subject of your stories, did you." Celestia helped herself to an easy smile while I continued walking with rose red cheeks, evidence as to how embarrassed I felt.
"No kidding..."
"Well if it helps you to feel any better, remember that there are virtually infinite other dimensions, countless numbers of which your world is a story to them. In some of those worlds there are those writing romance stories about you!" Celestia grinned shamelessly as she watched the look on my face transform into one of near impossible awkwardness. Right now, somewhere, some guy was writing about my love life like some sick puppet-master. Maybe there was one where Vinyl had written a similar story about me. It really felt like a lot to take in at once.
Our conversation smoothly transitioned into topics about what life was like here in Equestria as he found our path back to the library. Once we were back inside I realized that apparently I still looked the same that I did when Celestia told me about the other dimension thing.
"Um Princess? I think you broke him..." Vinyl said as she cautiously waved a hoof in front of my face, snapping me from my stupor.
"I'm fine I uh...the princess just told me some stuff that caught me off guard a little..."
"So, young Anders, do you wish to tell them or do you desire me to do so?" My heart sank as she asked. I was silently hoping, even if just somewhat to keep it a secret...though I doubt that was going to happen.
"Go ahead please...I'll go find a pillow to hide under..." I moaned as I found the largest pillow within sight. As Celestia began telling them I buried my head so deep I wondered if I'd ever find my way back out again. Through the pillow I could still hear most of the conversation.
"So you're saying that he-" Vinyl began as I tried to will my ears to not work.
"Posters? That kinda-" I caught Twilight speakin up
"That's kinda flattering, in a way." I heard Vinyl admit.
For what felt like hours, though was probably closer to several minutes Celestia told them everything I told her. Every. Last. Detail. Even through the pillow I could sense the questions Twilight was itching to ask as well as hearing Vinyl biting back the urge to burst into laughter.
As soon as they finished talking I withdrew my head from the pillow, my rosy red cheeks leaving me feeling vulnerable. Once they were in view Vinyl rolled on her side and laughed until I would have sworn I saw a few tears. Twilight held a bemused expression though she seemed a little unsure what to think at the same time. Vinyl and Twilight began talking to each other about it and sharing their personal thoughts while Celestia whispered to me.
"Sorry Anders, it felt like it would benefit you the most in the end if they knew. In regards to if you can return home...it's possible but it might be awhile. When I return to Canterlot I'll put out an alert for the guards to keep an eye out for strange portals, anomalies or disturbances."
"Thank you very much, and I have to agree I suppose. I appreciate how understanding you are."
"Alright, well I should be going." Celestia said. "If you have any more questions, write them in a letter and ask Spike to send them. I shall respond as quickly as I can. Oh and one more thing" Her voice sank down to a whisper. "Good luck." Celestia looked at me, then Vinyl while she was still occupied talking to Twilight. She smiled when a familiar look of embarrassment found its way to my face. "By the way...most mares love dinner dates." Celestia winked. I swear, she was enjoying this.
Celestia stood up tall and addressed all three of us now. "Farewell to each of you, unfortunately I need to return to my duties in Canterlot. It was a pleasure to meet you, Anders." She nodded as we returned our our goodbyes before departing.
With Celestia to no longer act as a barrier I felt like a death-row inmate. Mercy would not come soon.
Vinyl was the first to begin the torture.
"So how was my story like?" She asked, barely able to contain her laughter again. I looked to Twilight for help.
"Twilight...help...please..." I begged.
She rubbed her chin for a moment before responding with an absolutely evil smile. I had a decent guess as to the kind of thing she'd say. I silently weighted whether I could reach her in time to cover her mouth with a pillow. I only made it half way with the pillow when she said it.
"You two should go on a date!" She blurted out.
"What!?" I cast a defeated look her way. I don't remember Twilight being this cruel in the show. She was the true villain!
"I said. You two. Should go. On a date." She spoke up slowly, in a crystal clear, unmistakable tone while I glared daggers at her. Oh I will get even.
"Ooh, maybe we should." Vinyl added, joining Twilight's sick, twisted game. I wasn't quite sure whether they were actually serious or joking. Either way my mouth spat out the first thing my poor, confused brain could come up with.
"Uh...okay, where would you like?" I stammered, apparently it caught them off guard as it took a few full moments to respond.
"Ummm...I guess that restaurant a couple blocks from the club? I've always wanted to go but never actually went, maybe this Friday I guess..." She nervously said. The awkwardness in the room was thick enough to be cut with a knife.
"Well...I should find a book on electronics maintenance, some of the stage lights haven't been working properly and I don't know why." Vinyl said as she rubbed the back of her neck.
"Mind if I stay here a while too and look at some books?" I asked Twilight.
"Uhhhh...Oh! Sure. Sorry, for us teasing you. I didn't see that coming, best of luck to you two. I'm going to go back to reading, if you get hungry we have plenty of food, but please keep it in the kitchen, don't want the books getting messy.
Finally left with some time on my own I decided to start reading up on Equestria, there was bound to be plenty of things worth knowing that weren't mentioned in the show or were completely different. Maybe Sombra was actually a good guy for all I knew.
For most of the day I read various books about culture and history in Equestria. All of the customs and traditions and taboos. There were many similarities but there was also a lot of things that were easily different here. I learned a number of interesting things. I didn't know that many stallions referred to "cutie marks" as "talent marks" which really shouldn't have surprised me. Equestria seemed to be a very fair place, there was very little racism or sexism to my relief, though this affected a number of things.
In most parts of the world human society is patriarchal or male-dominated. Equestria isn't patriarchal or even matriarchal but somehow balanced. Back on Earth I know it was very taboo for a man to hit a woman, even if she had cheated on or stole from him. Yet if he hit her for virtually anything at all, most of the community would ostracize him.
In Equestria, neither was true, while violence was less common and not encouraged, stallions hit mares just as often as the other way around. Rather than either be ostracized it appeared most ponies simply try to figure out why the other would do that and try to work to a solution, seems like ponies are much more forgiving and understanding than most people. I found a book that gave a summary on the numerous other sentient races in the world. Apparently any culture having one gender dominant was a rarity. Though with dragons some of the cultures seemed to border on matriarchal.
Interestingly it also seems that gems here are distinctly different from Earth, they are far more common and usually more beautiful than back on Earth and they even grew. That's why they cost only a fraction of the amount they do back home. Apparently gems seem to grow fairly abundantly, though some of the larger races, most notably dragons. They eat gems as a secondary food-source.
Before I knew it night had already descended and I had barely scraped Equestrian culture. I saw Vinyl getting up from where she was reading and looked like she was ready to head home so I'd have to finish what I was doing as well. Vinyl checked out a couple books on music theory and similar subjects I'd be hopelessly lost with. I checked out probably half a dozen books on culture, history, social structure and physiology on most of the sentient races in Equestria, which there evidently seemed to be many of.
After saying goodbye to Twilight we head outside to the train station and back to Canterlot, the bright moon was just climbing to its rightful place in the sky as we marched on. After boarding the train we found an empty car and settled into the cozy velvet seats just as rain started to break through the sky, filling the air with the steady, yet comforting sound of rainfall. Within only minutes Vinyl was out like a lamp. I continued reading more about the different sentient races of Equestria before quickly letting the almost musical tune of the rain sing me to sleep.
On the ride back to Canterlot I had some of the most interesting dreams of my life, some of them, I never would have expected...
I found myself darting through the forest, sweat ran down my neck as I ducked under branches and jumped over roots. A short distance behind me a behemoth of a creature charged through the woods hellbent on catching up to me. It bellowed an earth-shaking roar while it continued to claw through the trees and foliage with a primal rage.
I chanced a peek behind me only to notice the creature inching closer, its sapphire blue scales reflected the soft moonlight that peeked through the canopy like a rare gem. I looked where I was going just as my foot was caught under a tree root, before I could react I was rolling down a steep dirt hill immediately after it. I rolled down, catching a mouthful of loose dirt and plant material as I did. Soon I stopped at the entry of a large clearing, the trees lining around the night time earth like a hidden arena.
I picked myself up and began running again in a heartbeat, my feet zipped across the small field like lightning. As I neared the tree-line the sound of a great wing-beat battered my ears as I saw two massive fans of a deep azure hue enclose around me and pull me closer to my captor.
I was pressed against a wall of scales that were surprisingly gentle to any that it touched yet they were anything but delicate. I could hear the dragon's great heartbeat as her neck craned down behind me.
"What are you running from?" she asked in a gentle voice.
With the silence following her question I could hear my own heartbeat in my ears, my panicked mind still telling me to flee for my life.
"You are safe with me. Please don't be afraid." She sang in an almost angelic tune.
"Why!? Who are you?" I nearly shout in fear, the soothing tone of her voice served to conflict my occupied mind. My muscles itched, ready to resume the chase.
"I'm Nova. Don't worry, I just want to help you." she cooed.
"I'm fine! I don't need help with anything..." I replied sheepishly
For a moment the only sound to be heard was the night wind blowing softly through the trees like a natural symphony.
"How did I even get here?" I asked more to myself than her. I pause for a moment and really try to think, finally capable of it now that I was starting to relax a little. "Is this a weird dream or something?"
"You're half right on that, Anders." A different voice spoke from farther away. Nova lifted a wing to reveal Luna standing not far from us.
"Pardon me if it seems like I'm invading your privacy. I wished to speak with you. I already know about your brief time in Equestria, and my sister told me about what you discussed." she said plainly.
"Oh um...nice to meet you, Princess Luna...what exactly is going on?"
"This is a dream but it is also a medium for me to communicate with some. The dream as a whole is yours but this is actually me talking to you...as well as Nova here. I must say, it's rare to meet another that is capable of dream walking." she said as she looked at Nova curiously.
"How do you know Anders anyway?" Luna tilted her head slightly as she patiently walked closer.
"I cannot say with him here, but know that I am a friend and I only wish to help him." Nova confessed as she glanced back down at me, her wing still at my back .
"I shall not pry here then, but I would wish to discuss something with you privately. I shall try to find your dream after I am finished here." Luna calmly explained.
"Would someone please explain to me what's going on!?" I pleaded. It was one thing to have information hidden from you, it was another for it to happen in your own dreams.
"I apologize, Anders. I nearly missed the very reason I came here. I come with a warning." she declared. "I am aware that your home-world is mana-dead, magic has not been used there is such a lengthy extent of time by any of the living creatures that without it cycling naturally through the world it became more difficult to use until it became impossible. Humans are naturally capable of magic and were able to be very talented magic users. However, ideally you would have been born with mana flowing around you, it may not of had time to seriously influence you just yet but it will soon. If you had been born here and grew up with magic you'd be able to control it very well, like unicorns do, but being introduced to it immediately once you are mature, you will have great raw potential but little to no real control of it." Luna warned.
I took a moment to look down at my hands in a new sense of wonder, examining them as though they would reveal yet another great secret.
"You may discover many new things about yourself, but I would ask that you refrain from making any attempt at using any abilities you may find for the time being. Tomorrow you will have some time to allow what you've been through to sink in. I know this all may have come at a great shock to you, try to stay calm tomorrow, I am confident that miss Vinyl Scratch will be happy to help you if you need help adjusting. The day after I would ask that you come to the castle at your earliest convenience. Now I fear I must be going. I bid you farewell, goodnight Anders." Luna said before her form began to turn translucent and fade from my dream. Now it was just Nova and myself.
The soft sound of tiny critters filled the background as I pondered what to say next. Nova sat down and waited patiently, her head moving idly around to examine the peaceful setting we were in. She was the first to break the quiet that stood between us.
"You can tell a lot about someone from where their dreams are and what happens in them. A calm, beautiful forest...I like it. But when I came here you were already being chased by something. Your mind just replaced its presence with mine since it was about as large as I was. As much as I would like to talk to you more right now I should leave myself so you can rest naturally. But I must tell you one more thing." Nova began as she brought her face in front of me so she could speak directly.
"I am residing in a cave on the opposite site of the mountain Canterlot rests upon. When you can, come and find me, but be careful, it's a big mountain and you may want to carry a spear for protection. You'll likely be perfectly fine if you come to see me but there's always a chance something could hurt you. I know you don't know who I am or why I'm here or much of this matter at all but all shall be explained in due time. For now, rest."
As she finished talking a kind smile appeared on her face and she began to fade away. I wandered around the forests alone for a while, no longer feeling like I was in danger.
After a time the world itself began to fade and I could start to feel to steady, predictable motions of a train underneath me. I could feel the cool air on board wash over me as my body began to wake up and warm itself. Soon I was waking up to a new dawn in Equestria.
"Anders! Get your ass up, dude!" I heard Vinyl shout as she nudged me in the gut. I stumbled to my hooves at last and found we were back in her club. Telling from the light outside it already looked like it was well into the morning.
"I already carried you here from the train, what's up?" She asked.
"Oh...uh...just a strange dream..."
"Must be something. You rolled off your seat and didn't even wake up, nor all the noise at the train station. And Octy said I could be a heavy sleeper..."
"Yeah, I'm usually easy to wake up which is odd."
"Well anyway have you heard the news? The changelings are being officially welcomed into Equestria! They can become legal citizens. Queen Chrysalis and Princess Celestia have been meeting to make arrangements and they're hoping that it will go without a hitch, though some are probably still going to be sore about when they invaded. You know what this means though!?" she said excitedly.
"I'm gonna finally have customers again! Maybe even some changelings will find the club and like it, I don't have anything personal against them." she said more to herself than me.
"Oh I have to prepare for tonight, probably going to have a rush of ponies coming in."
"Hey, Vinyl. That's great and all but there's something I need to check out. I should be back by tonight." I told her as I scratched at the floor with my hoof, which continued to remain an odd sensation in itself.
"Um, sure I suppose. Have fun with whatever you're gonna go do. See you later." she waved a hoof as I walked out the door. It took some navigating but eventually I managed to find a route that led out of the city and directly toward the mountain itself.
Soon virtually all signs of civilization disappeared. Half a mile away from the city's exit there was no sign of any roads or buildings or similar indications a city was nearby. It didn't look like it from the train to Canterlot but it really was a large mountain. I watched the day slowly pass by as the sun crawled to the horizon. I wasn't sure exactly where my destination would be but I had a feeling I would know it when I saw it. The better part of the trip seemed uneventful as the minutes dragged onto hours and before I knew it it seemed to be well into the afternoon. I began to doubt if there was a cave back here, that my dream was just that. A dream.
And still I carried on. I ended up ascending further up the mountain with only the stones around me and the cool mountain breeze for company. Eventually a cave came into view. It wasn't the cave I'd expected to find the dragon from my dream, it seemed far too small. She was easily twice my height at least for starters. I peeked my head in and saw a green pair of eyes open and gaze back, three more pairs of green eyes opened as well and crept closer. As they exposed themselves to the sunlight I realized what they were. Timberwolves. Needless to say, I ran like hell and they hunted after me.
I raced around the side of the mountain, my blood surged with adrenaline as one hoof impacted after another. I tried to spread my wings in an attempt to fly, though I have never actually flown. With them catching up I was running out of options fast, I leaped immediately to my right with my wings spread out. I glided for a few brief seconds before I lost control and tumbled furiously down the side of the mountain. I impacted the side of a rock and finally stopped my death roll. I looked back up the slope and saw they weren't shaken, they were running down the slope. The best I had managed to do is buy a little more time.
I worked myself back up to a full pace as I found a new path around the mountain. I ran faster than I thought was possible but no matter how fast I went they were just a little bit faster and soon they'd be nipping at my heels. I turned a sharp corner to the left and I darted past a large cave and dove into a bush before the timberwolves did the same. Just as they turned the corner, however, they were engulfed in an inferno that seemed to come from the darkness of the cave itself. Within seconds the flames licked away all of the wood that formed the strange creatures, leaving nothing but dust and ashes.
I shrank further into the bush for fear of catching the attention of whatever the flames had erupted from. Rather than some ear-splitting roar or deep growl I was surprised when a softer tone called out.
"Do not be afraid, I won't hurt you. It's safe to come out." came a voice from within the cave. It sounded...oddly familiar as well. My suspicions proved to be well founded when she stepped out of the shadows and stood in front of me. I suppose it wasn't just a crazy dream after all. Confident that I was safe as she said I was, I stepped out of the bushes.
"N-Nova?"
"Ah, Anders. I thought it was you. I'm glad you arrived this quickly. I regret that you had to encounter those vile creatures. I thought I cleared all the caves around here last week but another pack must have crept in. It's good that you're unharmed. I suppose you'll be wanting answers."
I nodded in response.
"Very well, but first let's talk in my cave, there's much to discuss." she said as turned back towards the cave.
"How would I see in there?" I asked as I stepped closer to her.
"Like this." she said as she waved a claw over the darkness in front of her. I saw several torches illuminate a cavernous hallway that seemed to lead deeper into the mountain. "Unicorns aren't the only ones that can use magic you know." She led the way into her home, guiding me through a few intersections that seemed to branch off into other areas that appeared to function as rooms for her like a kitchen or bedroom. Eventually we came to what looked like a private library or study. Books were scattered on desks or in rows on shelves that ran along the cave wall. She plucked a few books from a shelf and laid them on a desk in the center of the room with expert precision, gentle enough to not damage any of the books, she pulled open a drawer and neatly slid them inside. She gestured for me to sit down as she did the same beside the desk.
"This...is my home. I hope you like it, it's not luxury but it's comfortable for me." she said with a smile.
"It's nice."
"Right. Anyway I know you came with questions, don't worry for I have answers. But understand I might not be able to answer all of them." she said, clasping her claws together.
"Okay...to begin with...how do you know who I am?"
"You are close to someone that is...very close to me as well." she said with a faintly sad expression. "He has spoken highly of you, you know. That you have a lot of potential and can change so much."
"Who? How would anyone I know have met you?"
"That is...hard to explain. I can spend days here talking about the future, destinies, things like that just as I can about astronomy or reliable smithing techniques. You might know him as Michael."
"How? How did he get here, how did you meet? Why did he never tell me?"
"He knew you would not believe him, he did wish to though. To get to your other question though I have to explain something else. I was taught by a very wise, very old dragon years ago about a useful meditation techniques. Most will never master it but for those that can the benefits are rich indeed, it's a lot more likely if you have a good teacher as well. He was one of the best at it. Anyway when you become very good at it you can perceive things that most others cannot. If I focus I can see into alternate universes, just as Celestia and Luna can. In it I saw another scenario is which Michael and I met, it is one in which he pursued a lost friend of his through a portal. There are few consistencies between all alternate universes due to their very nature, but one of them is your soul. Who you are at the core." She said, tapping lightly on my chest with a claw. "As well, if I prepare properly and focus hard I can travel to that universe, but it's exhausting to do.
"I've seen you. I've seen lives you've lived as a dragon, gryphon, human and even changeling. Through most of them though you were compassionate, persistent and fiercely protective of those close to you. Admirable qualities."
"So you really have quite the grand perspective."
"I suppose you could say that, don't though, makes me feel old." she said with a smile.
"Anyway, some time ago. I lost him. He isn't dead, no. He's back on Earth and short of accidentally finding one of the rare portals there like you did, he's not coming back. It's hard to explain right now but you can help me get him back." she said eagerly.
"Wait, why couldn't he just travel here? Or you travel to Earth and get him."
"Neither would work out. Understand that for every microscopic little choice ever made by everything, there are alternate universes for what happened. If I poked you in the shoulder right now, there would be a billion alternate universes in which I poked you in very slightly different areas. Trying to do what you suggested would be the ultimate game of needle in a haystack, him getting here would be just as difficult. Many of those universes may have a Michael, but not mine. Understand?"
"I think so."
"Good. Now with proper training you can do what I can as well. All three of us originate from this universe, but only the two of you were born on Earth."
"Wait, I thought Earth and Equestria were in alternate universes themselves?" I asked in confusion.
"Well...saying that wouldn't be technically correct. Sometimes alternate universes and planes get mixed up in usage. I do it myself without thinking at times, like I just did. My Michael is in this universe, but on a different plane, yet if I tried to find him I'd still be looking through the entire multi-verse. Imagine being in a world with nothing but boxes and they all have plates with different boxes in each, each of which then has a different ring inside. It's a little bit like that. You and I are of the same universe but we originate from different planes. You could build a rocket and travel all over your universe but never reach another plane in your universe. There can be dozens or even hundreds of planes in a given universe, sometimes that number is far higher but it is finite, while in the multiverse there are virtually infinite universes. Only through portals or advanced meditations can someone reach other planes in their universe. I know this might be a little confusing to you." Nova said, crossing her claws guiltily.
"Um...keep going I'll get it...eventually." I said as I rubbed my head to try and soothe my new headache.
"I have never been to Earth. You've been to Earth and Equestria. If I taught you, you would be able to go back to Earth and bring him back with you."
"How would I be able to carry him back?"
"You two share a natural bond, the closer two individuals are, the easier it is to find them during astral travel, which is what you are doing when in deep meditation. I can't reach him how I normally would since we're currently on different planes but go back to Earth and you'd be able to do it. You're linked to your plane and home planet so you can find it sub-consciously in deep meditation. If I had been to Earth before I'd be able to do this on my own."
"Man my head hurts...still...from what you're saying it sounds like he lived with you for years yet I don't think I've gone more than a few weeks without seeing him. Plus he's a human, I'm not sure how it would um...work between you two..." I shrugged.
Nova laughed briefly before answering. "After he arrived he found out a way to turn into a dragon shortly after using magic after he honed his skills enough. Though here that would have been almost a hundred years ago. But he spent most of that hundred years as a dragon, for those that can change form, you only age whatever form you are using and dragon can live for countless years. There is no confirmed age limit for a dragon."
"That still doesn't explain the time difference. I know he didn't disappear for a hundred years. I saw him two days before I came here."
"I don't know when it would have been in your time but at some point he came here. From what I've gathered time flows differently between the two planes. If you went back now to Earth you'd have barely been gone a couple minutes. Even for Michael it's probably only been a matter of months since he's seen me and I haven't seen him in at least thirty years. From the Earth perspective time is racing by here. You could become an old man before he even celebrates his next birthday." she stated plainly.
"Okay, Nova, I think I get that part. Wait. So Michael could use magic and could change form you said. You can use magic, can use change form?" I asked.
"As a matter of fact, yes. It was hard at first to turn into a human since the only one I had seen was Michael but after seeing other universes I was able to get a better idea of what humanity as a whole looked like. Eventually I was able to do it with ease." Nova said as she closed her eyes and appeared to concentrate on something.
The first thing I noticed were her wings and tail disappearing and her size shrinking down to just shy of six feet, her form shifted for a few seconds until standing before me was a stunningly beautiful woman that looked to be in her early twenties, she had long blue hair that flowed past her shoulders and she possessed the eyes to match it. I also quickly noticed that she was naked.
"Um...Nova?"
"Yes?" she asked, though she realized it pretty quickly.
"Oh shit!" she cried out. She dove behind the desk as quickly as she could, I heard the sound of drawers being opened and fabric moving as I waited. A few moments later she reemerged dressed in pants and a shirt that unfortunately seemed just a bit too small for her, it looked like it was almost intent on squishing her breasts.
"Sorry, wasn't supposed to be that awkward. By the way, this is why breasts are a pain in the ass." she said as she gestured to herself with a scowl.
"Why does it bother you if you're naked as a dragon anyways?"
"Because I feel more exposed as a human, and it's ridiculous how easily nipples get cold." She said dismissively with a wave of her hand.
"Anyway you get the idea. And yes I know blue isn't a natural human hair color but that's one of the things about changing forms, unless you were born a naturally shape-shifting creature like the changelings there are certain things that will carry over to most of your forms. Even if you practice and practice you're probably not going to be able to change more than a few details but those will still carry over to your other forms. As you may have noticed most of my as a dragon is blue, so as a human I'm pretty blue though I have white skin. Some things like that can be rather hard to explain and I think you already have a migraine from me talking this much. Oh and before I forget, this is what I usually look like as a dragon but there are different sub-species of dragon like ice dragons. What I've found odd is that someone could be like me and say they were green, they might turn into a purple ice dragon. Yeah, I don't know how the hell that works either."
"Again, I know this can be a lot at first." She added.
To say my head hurt a little would be the understatement of the year. It now felt like there was a monkey rampaging in my skull with a sledgehammer, hellbent on hitting every spot possible.
"Do you still have any questions?" she asked.
"I do but now I'm afraid to ask them..." I confessed.
"Well you already asked all the difficult questions so anything else you ask should be simple to explain."
"Okay...so if you and Michael can use magic, can I? I think Luna said it's possible." I said hesitantly, doing my best to remember exactly how last night's dream went.
"Yes, but as Luna warned it will be hard for you to control. It's hard for you to tell but there's mana flowing all around and through us here. The mana on your Earth is dead from lack of use. Theoretically it's possible to make mana start flowing again there but you'd need to be able to cast magic, yet the problem is you couldn't because of the lack of mana."
"She seemed worried that I'd lose control of magic but I don't even know how I'd use it."
"You were a human but arrived as a pony, correct?" I nodded in response.
"Odd. Okay sometimes there are basically these cosmic "glitches", this must be one of those. I think you are changing back into a human. I'm going to try and accelerate so one, I can try teach you enough that you don't set the nearest building on fire on accident and two, I have clothes here I can give you so you aren't running naked through town. Speaking of which, turn around for a moment. Human clothes have always annoyed me, the clothing designer I got these from can never get the shirts quite right." I did as she asked and looked away while she undressed before turning herself back into a dragon. Once I sensed she finished I turned around and Nova flicked the clothes she had been wearing over to me.
"These might fit you better, I'm going to try to change you back into a human ahead of time basically. If you remain as a pegasus when mana hasn't flowed through your natural form it could be damaging to your health. Ready?"
"Sure, whenever you are." A moment later a soft blue aura became visible in one of her claws and it drifted over to me before seemingly dissolving onto my skin. It wasn't long before I felt my spine adjust and my hooves start to turn into hands and feet. After a few more awkward moments of watching myself turn back into a human the changes stopped and I was my old self again. Though I was still naked. I reached for the clothes that were now on the stone floor and put them on. The clothes didn't fit all that well but it was close enough to not cause great discomfort at least.
"Here, take this too." Nova said, pulling a long brown robe out of a drawer and tossing it to me to wear. I put on the robe and it helped to keep me somewhat warmer, in addition to providing a hood and a more uniform appearance.
"Thank you."
"No, thank you, there's a reason I don't turn into a human much, it's a lot easier for me to get cold which gets annoying. Now where were we?"
"You told me about magic and all of the multiverse stuff and gave me a headache." I told her as I rubbed my temples.
"Oh yes, I was going to teach you. Now I want you to focus on just creating a small light in your hand. Any color you choose. Focus on nothing but the light in your hand." Nova demonstrated by effortlessly creating a small red light in the middle of her claws. I concentrated on trying to create a light that matched the color of her scales so it would be easier. I glared at my hand and tried to "will" light to appear but it did nothing whatsoever.
"No, no. Feel it in your body and mind, don't force it. Let it flow. Imagine as if it's flowing through your veins into the palm of your hand. Take your time." She told me patiently.
I tried to picture it how she told me to, I imagined myself pushing it through my veins and into my hand. I held my hand out expecting a soft glow. Instead I got a blast of force that threw me an impressive twenty feet away on my ass near one of her bookshelves.
"Ahhhhhhh...holy...fuuuuuck that hurt..." I groaned as I lay on the ground, trying to comprehend what I screwed up this time. I heard Nova calmly walk over as if she expected this to happen.
"You alright?"
"Just peachy."
"Great, now get up. I told you, let it flow. Don't force or push it unless you WANT to get knocked on your ass."
"I can't move...the pain..." I moaned as a I helplessly lay on the floor. She rolled her eyes and picked me up in her claw, holding me as if I was a toy.
"Wow. Humans really are soft and squishy." She commented as she squeezed me slightly.
"Please don't."
"Fine, relax. You're as soft as a puppy from my perspective by the way."
"Great..."
"Here, how about I hold you and you try casting another spell so that way if you would be hilariously thrown on your ass again I can just hold you still and make fun of you."
"Um...fair enough I guess? That was pretty cool though still. That's the first time I've ever used magic." I said as I looked at my own two hands.
"It is pretty exciting first, and I promise to teach you some really interesting spells in the future but for now we'll just focus on control and a few that could be used for utility."
"Sounds fair enough."
It didn't feel like it at the time but I spent hours under Nova's tutelage, learning the basics of spells. She wasn't kidding when she said that it could be dangerous since I wasn't used to mana. The first hour or so involved numerous explosions and fire incidents, as well as accidentally freezing one of her books solid. Eventually we returned outside to practice something akin to a flare spell and I realized that night was already fast descending. After quickly teaching me the spell I told her that I would try to make it make by nightfall, otherwise Vinyl might get worried.
"Oh, should have told me sooner. Well I think it is time to wrap up here today. Come back here any time, as often as you can and I will teach you how to reach an advanced stage of meditation and how to master magic. I would advise you come here most during the evenings. I've found it's easier to focus at night."
"Alright, and thank you so much for what you taught me. Things have been...strange since I've gotten here. I had better start walking back anyway. Goodbye." I smiled and waved as I turned to leave.
"Wait. Let me fly you back to just outside of the city at least. Let alone the creatures it can be risky to travel here in the dark. Bring a torch or something next time you come here."
"Thanks, I appreciate it."
"My pleasure, now just hold still and don't scream." she said plainly.
"Wait...what do you mean don't-" I was cut off as she leaped into the air and grabbed me by the arms with her front claws. I was dangling from the air as she flew me back along the route I walked. It was completely terrifying, but exciting at the same time, sort of like the first time I went on a fast roller-coaster when I was little. It wasn't long before I was dropped off at just where the roads began that led to the city. It would only be a short walk from here.
"Anders, one more thing." she whispered to me. "Keep your hood on for now and keep a low profile, it's dark enough that people can mistake you for a minotaur or bipedal dragon. Equestria hasn't seen humans since Michael and believe me you won't want that kind of attention right now. Seek audience with one of the princesses tonight if you think you can though I don't know how likely that is to work, hopefully Luna will find you in your sleep anyway." For a moment Nova looked up at the air as if she were about to forget something.
"Oh, before I forget I grabbed a book that might help you. It's not the most advanced thing you'll find but it's great for beginners, it's also one of the few I had on basic magic that weren't for unicorn foals." she said as she handed me a book that was hidden on her back.
"Oh, thank you. How'd you carry it? Is that part of another spell or something?" I asked as I examined her claws, it looked possible but would probably be difficult for her to have carried if without falling if she carried me. She gave me a slightly confused look before she started laughing.
"Actually I taped it to my back while I was in the cave. Magic is nice but sometimes all you need is just a little bit of thinking. Now I should go. Good night, Anders. Don't practice in public areas though, if you're say alone in a field or in a specifically designed magic training area then feel free but watch out for others, both so you don't hurt them and the other way around." After she was done she turned around and ran off the cliff as fast as she could. Using her momentum she spread out her wings and flew back to where her home was. With her gone I quickly found my own way back to Canterlot. The route back was a lot faster at least but that was due in part to because from a fair distance I could see the multi-colored lights radiating onto the streets and the distant beat of music in the air.
I walked towards Vinyl's club, just now taking note of how much different Canterlot looked at night. The streets themselves held an almost artistic beauty with how they blended seamlessly with the walls and buildings. I made sure my face was well obscured with my hood as I progressed. When I reached the club there was a long line to get into the place with a bouncer out front that looked like he could chuck me ten feet into the air without even trying too hard. I could guarantee that I'd get some crusty looks from the ponies waiting in line but they didn't sleep here, though I couldn't help but wonder how far off that would be. I walked up to the bouncer and he responded "back of the line." without even looking up.
"It's Anders." I told him, hoping that would make a difference.
"Oh, it's you. Vinyl mentioned you'd probably come around tonight. Head on in." He gestured to the door while keeping his eyes on the list in front of him. As soon as I opened the door a blast of music and lights hit me like a train. I took a moment to get acclimated before heading further inside. Dubstep music pulsated with an addicting beat as ponies, as well as a number of gryphons and even changelings danced, though I noticed the bulk of the changelings danced in their own group they were slowly merging with the rest of the dancers. Of course I saw Vinyl at her DJ tables with her trademark shades. She was grinning ear to ear as she saw how energetic the place was. She was a queen and this was her throne. I waited patiently until the song ended before I walked up to her.
"Heyyy! Wanna make a request or somethin?" She asked in a cheery tone as she kept her eyes focused in a box full of vinyl records.
"Vinyl, it's me, Anders. Don't freak out just...I'll explain everything after you're done tonight. Is there anywhere I can go that won't be in the way." I whispered carefully.
She turned around with a curious expression and looked up at me, before we were about equal height but now I was almost a head taller than her.
"I uh...okay. I hope it'll make sense because I have no idea what happened to you. Did you stumble into some poison joke?"
"Well...no. It's complicated. When does the club close?"
"In another three hours or so. You're welcome to party or you can head on into my room. Don't worry it's sound-proofed. I'll probably crash asleep in there when this is done anyway. If I come in and I look like I'm already half asleep just tell me whatever you need to tell me in the morning."
"Alright, great. Have fun, Vinyl. Goodnight." I told her as I walked towards her bedroom.
"Oh I most certainly will...nighters." She waved back to me as I walked away.
As soon as I closed the door behind me I could feel the pulse of the music cease, all I could hear is a faint hum if I stayed near the wall. I walked over to the bed I had woken up from when I came to Equestria and slipped under the covers, taking up only as much room as I needed. After such a long day I was out like a light and drifted off to sleep, my mind barely registered when I felt Vinyl lay in bed beside me, though it felt like she was dropped on the bed than crawled into it.
I let myself drift off completely to sleep, the days events replayed in front of my eyes as if it had been a dream in itself until the real dreams began to take hold. It's something else when life starts to become stranger than your own dreams...
