One
Crash! Bop! Snap! A young blond man falling from the sky crashed through the trees just outside of Ponyville. He stood up, brushing himself off. He was dressed moderately, wearing a pair of jeans, a shirt inspired by the Union Jack partially covered by a blue vest. Yes, this man is English. He looked up into the branches of the tree.
“Augh, Not again….” He said, looking at his twin sickles held together by a chain dangling from the highest branch. “I knew I should have climbed more trees when I was a kid.” He shrugged before wrapping his arms around the tree. “Ah well. Might as well try.” He said before trying to climb up the tree. He didn’t get too far, though. He climbed, at most, six feet up before falling back down. “No good, huh? Well…. Maybe I’ll be able to stay out of trouble this time…” Even though he said it himself, he didn’t sound too convinced that he could. “No use in standing around. I might as well find someone who can help me out here.” He tightened his red headband then wandered off.
As the man wandered into Ponyville, he noticed something strange. “There’s nobody around, just these odd colored horses... Just what era did I slip into?” He wondered aloud. “They’re all staring at me… It’s kind of unnerving.” He said as he looked to one side while he walked. Soon, he bumped into something, causing him to fall backwards.
“Why, hello there! You’re new, aren’t you?” A pink horse said to him. “I know you’re new because I know absolutely everypony in Ponyville, and I don’t know you so that means you must be new here! Though, you’re not a pony, are you? You sure don’t look like a pony. You look... different from anypony I’ve seen before.” She would have kept yammering on, but the man interrupted her.
“Wait, you’re a horse, but you can talk?” He asked, confused.
“Why of course I can talk, silly. Do you live around pony mimes or something?” The horse said. “But, I’m an Earth Pony, not a horse. My name’s Pinkie Pie! What’s your name?”
“Ah, my name’s Axl. Axl Low.” The man said. “So, miss, ah, Pinkie Pie. Do you know what era I’m in?”
Pinkie Pie looked at Axl, a confused look on her face. “I’m not sure what you mean by ‘era’, but I think I might know somepony who does! Come on! I’ll introduce you to her!” She said and, before Axl could object, began hopping off towards the library.
“Ah, wait, There are only, uh, Ponies around?” Axl asked, walking right behind Pinkie Pie. “No humans? No gears?” He looked around, and that certainly did seem to be the case. He saw nothing but hors—ponies around. He thought it was strange, not seeing any humans around. No matter how many times he’s slipped, he had never been to an era without humans. “Just how far forward did I go…?” He mumbled.
They arrived at the library and Pinkie Pie led him right on in. “Twilight! I’ve got somepony here who wants to know about eras!” Pinkie yelled out as she walked in. She looked around, not seeing Twilight in the room. She assumed she was upstairs.
“I’ll be right down, Pinkie.” Twilight called from upstairs. Axl heard as she walked—no, trotted—down the stairs. “So, who’s the pony who wants to know about eras?” She asked.
Axl stepped into the library, ducking just a little to get in the front door, because he was just a little bit too tall. “That would be me, but, I’m not a pony. I’m a human.” Axl, finally getting a look at Twilight, noticed something strange. She was a unicorn. “Wow, unicorns too? This is starting to get interesting. What’s next, a pegasus?” He said aloud.
“If you want to meet a pegasus, I’d be happy to introduce you to Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie said.
“That’d be nice, but first, I really need to know what era it is.” Axl said. He walked over to Twilight, kneeled down to look her in the eyes and begun to explain to her what happened. “You see, I’m just your everyday ordinary guy who just happens to have the worst luck ever. Now, I’ve got something called Involuntary Timeslipping. In short, I keep moving through time when I get fired up. It’s kind of annoying. I just wanna get back home and see my girlfriend again.”
“So, you mean you can travel through time? For long periods of time?” Twilight asked, her eyes shining with curiosity. “I know I couldn’t travel for more than a few minutes, so is it just a human thing?”
“Well, where I’m from, I haven’t heard of any time traveling ponies, if that’s what you’re asking.” Axl responded. “I’ve only met one other time traveler, and she’s human too. At least, I think she is.”
“That’s too bad.” Twilight responded. “If it’s just a human thing then I’m afraid I can’t help you. Maybe I’ll do some more research on time travel some other time.”
Axl was, understandably, upset. “Ah man. You mean you can’t help me?” He said. “Then I guess I’ll just hang around here for a little bit. I might just start slipping on my own.” He stood up and looked at Pinkie. “Hey, Pink, you seem to know everything about this town. Mind showing me around?”
Pinkie Pie smiled and said “Okie-Dokie-Lokie!” She started leading Axl out and about town, still talking. “First, I want to introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Cake down at Sugar Cube Corner! That’s where I live and work. Then, I’ll introduce you to Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and all my other friends. Though maybe not all at once, cecause that’s the entire town. But I’m sure Lyra would love to meet you. She’s a nice pony, once you get to know her. Laid-back, too. Maybe a little bit like you. Oh, Yeah, She’s a unicorn, just like Twilight. Except green, and with a different cutie mark.”
Axl stopped walking right when Pinkie Pie said ‘cutie mark’. “Wait, wait, wait. I’m not from around here, so just what’s a cutie mark?” He asked.
Pinkie, happy to explain, said “A cutie mark’s a mark that everypony gets when they find out their special talent. My special talent was throwing parties, so I got these balloons, See?” She punctuated her sentence by looking at her own cutie mark. “Lyra’s cutie mark is a Lyre. She’s very good at playing one of those.” Pinkie stopped talking, if only briefly, because they had finally arrived at Sugar Cube Corner. “Oh, look, we’re at Sugar Cube Corner already. Maybe I’ll tell you how I got my cutie mark some other day. It’s a real doozy of a story!”
Axl followed Pinkie into the store, ducking once more to get in through the door. “Man, I really am tall…” He observed, looking back at the doorway. He then noticed a blue pony in the store. She looked fully grown, but was still quite short compared to Axl. “Or maybe ponies are just short.” He mumbled.
“Oh, hello there Pinkie. Who’s your new friend?” The blue pony asked Pinkie.
“Hello Mrs. Cake. This is Axl Low. He’s a human, and doesn’t seem to know anything about Equestria.” Pinkie responded. “Where he’s from, ponies don’t talk.”
This was obviously surprising for Mrs. Cake. “Really, now? I’ve never heard of anywhere where ponies don’t talk. It must be hard finding out what they’re trying to tell you.” She said, trotting over to Axl. “Wow, you have fingers! I don’t suppose those could be helpful when you’re cooking, can they?”
Axl looked at his hands. “Well, when I’m cooking, not really, but I’m not very good at cooking. But where I’m from, hands are used for pretty much everything. Except walking and stuff.” Axl crouched down, sitting on his feet. “I’d really like to go back some day, but I’m not sure when that day will come. Not even sure how I’d go about making my way back there.”
“Don’t worry. I’m sure that you’ll find a way.” Mrs. Cake told Axl. “In the mean time, Why don’t you stick around for a little bit. There are some ponies coming over to pick up an order who I know would love to meet you.”
“Well, All right.” Axl said. “I might as well, seeing as this town seems pretty peaceful. Nothing to get me really fired up around here.” He and Pinkie spoke at length about the various ponies that live in Ponyville. Well, Pinkie did most of the talking. Axl mostly listened, asking the occasional question when he could manage to get a word in.
Pinkie had just begun to describe Lyra when, as if on cue, she trotted in. “Mrs. Cake, I’m here for—“ She cut her sentence short when she saw Axl sitting down while talking to Pinkie. She spoke nothing more nor did she close her mouth. She slowly trotted over to Axl, then, with eyes wide, asked him, “Are…..Are you a Human?”
Axl, not knowing what to make of this, replied with one simple word. “Yes.” Then, it hit him like a small horse. He was knocked flat on his back, and he was staring straight up at the ceiling. Lyra had pounced upon him and was hugging him tightly.
“I knew it! I knew humans were real! I just knew it!” Lyra said. Then, she realized how silly she must seem to Axl. She backed off a little bit, blushing. “S-Sorry.” She said. “It’s just that I thought humans were just made-up… You have hands, right?”
Axl looked at his hands once more. “Yeah, I have hands, but…. Are humans a rare sight here in, ah, Equestria, right?” He asked. “I noticed some ponies were giving me some strange looks while I wandered into town, but I didn’t think much about it.”
“Rare? Not at all.” Lyra said. “Humans are only in books and stuff, fiction an whatnot. But, since you’re here, then humans must be real!” She sounded really excited as she spoke about humans with Axl. This was backed up by the fact she seemed fascinated by the way he looked. “It’s just like in the story….” She said, looking over Axl. “No fur, short mane, clothes everywhere… You’re a boy, aren’t you?” She smiled expectantly.
“Ah, yeah, I’m a guy.” Axl said, not really knowing what to say.
“Yeee! I’m right!!” She squealed. “I can’t believe it! It really is just like in the story!” Then, she thought of something. “The things I can see right now, anyway. Do you have toes? How many toes do you have? What’s your favorite food? What kind of house do you live in? Do you like the city or the country? Do you have a pet? What’s your favorite color?!” Lyra asked quickly before Axl even got a chance to answer any of them.
“Ahhh…. Yes, ten, apple pie, small, I like both the same, no pet and…I guess I’d have to say my favorite color is…Blue.” Axl responded. “Do you usually ask so many questions?” He laughed slightly going from his seated position to kneeling on one knee.
“Sorry, sorry.” Lyra apologized. “But, you know…. You’re a human! And, I just… You’re just… It’s all so unreal! But Pinkie Pie is here, so it all makes sense! I don’t know how, but it just does! You’ve got to meet my friend! Her name’s Bon Bon, and I’ve been talking to her about humans and stuff! She never believed in humans, in you, but now... Now… Well, she’ll just have to believe!” Then, something occurred to her. “Oh, yeah! I almost forgot! I came here to pick up the pie for our picnic! You should come too, Human! Bon Bon will be there and then I’ll get to introduce you to her!”
“Wait a second now, I may be the only human around, but my name isn’t Human. My name’s Axl Low.” Axl said and was about to say more when Lyra interrupted.
“Oh, sorry about that, Huma—Axl Low. But you should still come with me.” Lyra then trotted up to the counter, paid for her order and, with pie in her saddlebag, trotted out the door. “Come on, Axl!” She said.
Axl got up and said “See ya Pinkie, Mrs. Cake. I’ll see you later, I guess.” Before ducking out the door and following Lyra to the park.
When they got to the park, they saw a beige pony sitting, or rather, laying, on a bench. She had a Pink and dark blue mane and tail. “Over there’s Bon Bon.” Lyra said as she pointed at the pony on the bench. “Stay here for now. I want to see the look on her face when she sees you.” With that, Lyra went over to Bon Bon.
When Bon Bon saw Lyra, she said “Oh, Hi Lyra. You bring the pie?”
Lyra smiled and said “Of course. It’s not like I’d forget.” She brought the pie out of her bag. “Oh, and I hope you don’t mind, but I brought a friend I’d like you to meet.”
“A friend?” Bon Bon asked. “You finally find somepony else who’ll put up with your talk about humans?” She smiled slightly, elbowing Lyra teasingly. “I’d love to meet them.”
Lyra laughed. “Well, I’m sure you’ll be surprised. He’s quite unique.” She said, pointing in Axl’s direction. “He’s right over there.”
“Oh, a stallion, is he…?” Bon Bon said, smirking and narrowing her eyes at Lyra. “Perhaps you’ve got a crush on him?” She laughed a bit before looking over to where Lyra pointed. When she saw Axl, her jaw dropped. “I-Is that… A… A human? I thought they didn’t exist. I thought they were just….”
“I know.” Lyra said. “I was shocked to see Axl over there too. But, he really is standing over there and he really is a human.”
If Bon Bon heard Lyra, she didn’t show it. She just slowly trotted over to Axl, her mouth still open. She tried to say something, but could only stutter incoherently.
“Ah, Hello. You must be Bon Bon.” Axl said. “Lyra told me a little about you on the way here.” Axl braced himself for a torrent of questions, but he was surprised when they didn’t come. Instead, Bon Bon fainted. Though he wasn’t expecting it, Axl was quick enough to catch her. When she came to, Axl asked her “You okay there? You just fainted.”
“Uh…Huh…” Bon Bon said, looking into Axl’s eyes. “So…You’re really a human…?” Bon Bon asked Axl, to which he just nodded. “Lyra was right about you… You really are unique…”
“Ahh, thanks?” Axl said, unsure if that was good or bad. “Can you stand now?” He asked, not letting go of Bon Bon just yet. He wasn’t entirely sure if she was okay yet.
“Uhh… Yeah… Yeah, I’m okay now.” Bon Bon said, standing up on her own. “Thanks for asking, Axl.” She trotted over to Lyra and, in a hushed tone of voice, said “Lyra! You never told me he was a human!” She was astonished that the friend that Lyra mentioned not only put up with her talk about humans, but was one himself!
“You never asked me about him” Lyra responded. “You only teased me, saying I had a crush on him.” She smirked. “So, maybe, you should spend less time making fun of me, and spend more time getting to know what, or who, I’m talking about.”
Bon Bon blushed. Lyra was right; she did tease her too much. “A-Anyway, let’s start the picnic.” She said, pulling a blanket out of her own saddle bag, which she spread out near the bench.
Axl looked on as Lyra and Bon Bon set up for their picnic. Axl, though he wasn’t even hungry, thought of how some of the things he saw would taste, specifically the sandwiches made with flower petals. He has heard that rose petals were edible, but he, himself, never tried any. He decided to go sit on the bench that Bon Bon had been sitting on and relax a little.
“You know, Bon Bon, this would be a lot easier for you if you had hands.” Lyra said. Lyra was doing just fine with her unicorn telekinesis, but Bon Bon had trouble moving things with her hooves and her mouth.
Axl laughed a little bit. “Hey, Bon Bon, would you like me to help instead? After all, I do have hands.” He held up his hands in a gesture that looked like a cross between a shrug and some sort of taunt.
“Wow, such a gentlecolt.” Bon Bon said.
“Gentleman.” Lyra said, correcting Bon Bon.
Bon Bon half-ignored Lyra. “It’s nice seeing such courtesy from ponies.”
“People.” Lyra corrected Bon Bon again.
Bon Bon obviously heard Lyra, but tried to ignore her. “So, do you live somewhere near Ponyville?” She asked Axl as he took her place setting up for the picnic.
“Well, I’m not really sure.” Axl said. “I took an unexpected trip today, and ended up crashing through a tree just outside town. Not really sure how to get home, either.” He shrugged. “Never bothered me before, though, so I guess I’ll just be camping out again.”
Lyra dropped the pie, the last thing that needed to be set up, when she heard what Axl said. Fortunately, she was so close to setting it down already; it just plopped on top of the picnic basket. “No place to stay? That’s no good!” Lyra said then looked over to Bon Bon. “We can’t let that happen, now, can we? I’d be willing to sleep on the couch, so why don’t we let him stay at our place?”
“Huh, you two are roomies?” Axl asked, looking between the two of them.
“Yeah,” Bon Bon said. “Lyra needed a roommate to help with rent, but she couldn’t find anypony who’d put up with her constant talk about humans. It doesn’t bother me too much, though, so she and I split the rent.”
“Yeah, yeah, nopony’ll put up with me. We get it already.” Lyra said, waving a hoof at Bon Bon. It did annoy her a little bit that she kept bringing it up, but it was true. “So, what d’ya say, Bon Bon? Can he stay with us?”
“I suppose so.” Bon Bon said. “He seems nice enough. I mean, why not?”
“Wow. Thanks, you two.” Axl said. “You’re both so nice. Why go through so much trouble for someone like me?” He asked, rubbing the back of his head.
“I just know I’d regret it if I didn’t.” Lyra replied. “After all, I may never get another chance.” Lyra paused, then, softly repeated to herself “I may never get another chance…”
“Huh? Another chance for what?” Axl asked before sitting back onto the bench. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
“Ah, it’s nothing.” Lyra said. “It’s just that you just might be the only human I’ll ever get to see.” She pushed the plate in front of her about with her hooves. She nudged the chamomile-on-rye with one hoof, thinking about having hands. “I’d rather have no regrets.”
“Yeah, I hear you.” Axl said. “‘Live your life so you’ll have no regrets.’ I live by that code myself. That’s why I don’t waste any time feeling sad or sorry for myself.” He leaned back into the bench again. “So many things you can do if you try to keep a positive outlook.”
“I see what you’re getting at.” Bon Bon said. “At least, I think I do. Does that mean you just do what you want, when you want? Or, am I not getting it after all?”
“Well, pretty much, but I try to avoid doing things that’ll come back to bite me.” Axl said. “Still, I usually end up doing them anyway. It’s kind of hard to tell what’ll turn on ya and what won’t. Probably doesn’t help that I’m kind of a risk taker.”
“I see now.” Bon Bon said, and was about to say more when Lyra interrupted.
“Just don’t take too many risks.” Lyra commented. “After all, your luck’s bound to catch up with you. Trust me on this.”
Axl laughed. “What, are you a gambler, or something?”
“Actually, she is.” Bon Bon said. “She wins more often than not, but when she does lose, she looses big time.”
“I know how that feels…” Axl said. “But, I’m tired about talking about myself. I’d like to know more about you two.”
“Well, all right.” Lyra said. “But, only because you asked.”
They spent the rest of the picnic in this fashion; Lyra and Bon Bon spoke about themselves, Axl occasionally asked a question about them. Lyra was always happy to answer about herself, but Bon Bon would sometimes dodge the question. Axl wouldn’t pursue it, though. They stayed out well after the picnic was finished, losing track of time until the Ponyville bell tower rang Three.
“Wow, it’s that late already?” Lyra muttered to herself. “We really lost track of time, didn’t we, Bon Bon?”
“I guess so.” Bon Bon responded. “I guess it’s easy to lose track of time when you’re among friends.”
Axl laughed once causing Lyra turned to look at him. “Hmm? Why’s that so funny…?”
Axl just shook his head. “It’s just that time usually loses track of me.” He said. “I don’t always get time to just talk, is what I mean.” He stood up and stretched. “It’s nice, though, having time to just relax.” He yawned a bit. “Though, I’m kind of tired...”
“Lyra, why don’t you take him back to the house? Let him take a nap.” Bon Bon said. “I’ll catch up with you two later, there’s something I’d like to get before tomorrow.”
“Ah, Well, I was just going to take a walk…” Axl said, before being interrupted by Lyra.
“You can walk on the way there.” Lyra said. “There’s something I’d like to show you.” She excitedly nudged Axl along, trying to sort of herd him towards her house. “It’s nothing all that special, but… Well, it’s a picture that I like. It’s not something anypony was able to explain yet. It’s a Mysterious Hidden Creature.”
“MHC?” Axl abbreviated in a questioning tone. “I’ve heard of UFO’s, Unidentified Flying Objects, but never MHC’s.” He was walking in front of Lyra, being half-pushed, half-driven through Ponyville. Every so often, Lyra would get a little too excited and her horn would jab into his back, causing him to hop forward a bit.
Eventually, they came to Lyra and Bon Bon’s house. Lyra opened the door and led Axl through the house. “My room’s this way. Bon Bon’s room is just across the hall, so don’t get them confused. She hates it when anypony goes in without permission.” She stopped just beyond two doors. On one side of the hall, there was a door with a lyre hanging off of it; not a sign, but an actual lyre. Across the hall from that door, as just as Lyra had described, there was a door with a sign hanging off of it that said ‘Do Not Disturb’. The sign itself was decorated to look like it was made out of peppermint, lollipops and little pieced of individually wrapped candy. “I play the lyre on occasion. I’m pretty good at it too, but I haven’t been able to find the time lately.” Lyra said, opening the door to her room.
What Axl saw when he looked into the room surprised him. Not because it was something he had never seen before, but because it was something he’d seen a million timed over. It was a plain room, with a human-sized bed, a desk with a rotating chair, with arms. There was a fan hanging from the ceiling, and a lamp on the nightstand next to the bed. “Wow, this is not what I expected.” He stepped into Lyra’s room, noticing that he didn’t even have to duck to get through the doorway causing him to realize that he didn’t have to duck to get through any of the doorways in the house.
“What, are human rooms much different?” Lyra asked.
“No, that’s not it.” Axl said. “It’s that human rooms look just like this. Sure, there may be more or less furniture, but if I didn’t know any better, I’d say a human lived here.” He sat down on the bed as Lyra went over to the desk.
“Really, now?” Lyra asked, sitting down in the chair. She opened the drawer of the desk and started shuffling through it. “Never knew that humans and ponies had the same taste in furniture… Aha, there it is.” Using her magic, she took out a photograph from the drawer and passed it to Axl. “It’s not a very good picture since I took it in a rush, but I got a picture of what I wanted to.
Axl lay back on the bed, keeping his feet off of it, while he looked at the photo. “Well, now, just what could this be…?” He asked himself aloud. It was a photograph of something, perhaps more than one something, seen through the trees. “Kind of looks like a giraffe fighting a monkey.” He said. “But there are some things in this picture I’m not so sure about…” He tossed the picture onto the desk then folded his hands behind his head.
Lyra looked back to the picture. “Yeah, I wish I had taken more time to take the picture. Then I might be able to tell what’s actually going on.” Lyra said, starting off what could have been a long discussion. “I thought that, sine you’ve seen different things, maybe you might be able to see something else in the picture. So, was there anything that stuck out to you?” She asked. There was no response.
Lyra glanced over, back at Axl. She saw he was already asleep. “Wow, I guess it’s true. Humans really do tire easily.” She said, smiling. She pulled Axl further up onto the bed, putting his head on the pillow and wrapped the blanket around him. “I’ll be back later. Have a nice nap.” She said, walking out of the room and closing the door behind her. She stood out side of her room, mouthing a phrase that Axl had said earlier that day before trotting off.
“No regrets.”