A young man gets a stroke of really bad luck when a magical shooting star crashes into him, and he somehow ends up in an entirely different world, and in a completely different body. How will he adapt to this change?
Alex, a normal, everyday college student from Texas, has been put in a situation that will change his life forever. After being hit by a mysterious comet that has never been seen before, he is somehow transported to another world that isn't his own.
But that's just the beginning. He has also found himself in a completely different body. More specifically, a dragon.
Going under a new identity, he tries to fit in to this alien world, and there will no doubt be many adventures to come.
IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST TIME READING THIS OR A RETURNING READER, I DID SOME MAJOR RE EDITING TO SOME OF THE OLDER CHAPTERS OF THIS STORY THAT I'VE BEEN PUTTING OFF FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS. I BASICALLY MADE IT SEEM LIKE MY OC ARRIVED TO EQUESTRIA AROUND THE TIME COVID HIT, SO THAT SHOULD CLEAR UP AS TO WHY IM MENTIONING IT IN A STORY THAT WAS UPLOADED IN 2018.
It was a typical end of summer afternoon here in College Station, Texas; So freaking hot to the point I shouldn't even be wearing a shirt!
I'm only 3 months into my first semester of my junior year here at Texas A&M. It's pretty overwhelming, considering how fast the last two years seemed to have passed by, and also the fact that I'm a few steps away from enduring the psychological torture that will be adulthood. Then again I almost had to since we had a worldwide pandemic to worry about. Despite what I think will happen to me in the not too distant future, it's good to know that I won't be going into the real world alone, because all my friends, who have been stuck with me since orientation, will go through all the pain with me.
It was the Friday before gameday at College Station, and every one of my friends are going to be getting drunk so bad I'm willing to bet my entire life savings that one or two of them might either be sent to the hospital, or get arrested. I will unfortunately be spending the entire night at the library trying to catch up on a project due after the weekend. It would take forever and a half, so I figured I'd get as much of it done as possible before the game tomorrow.
I was in my apartment bathroom, having just gotten out of the shower, wrapping a towel around my waist. I looked into the mirror and looked at my reflection, my green eyes staring right back at me through my reflection. I was ruffling up my brown hair a little bit, which reached down to around chin length, so it was fairly long. I then scrubbed a smaller towel around my upper body. I can't say that I'm the most athletic person, but I had a pretty decent image if I do say so myself.
I walked to my room and put on a clean set of clothes that would be appropriate for this ridiculously hot weather. I started packing up my things in my backpack: laptop, textbooks, all the essential stuff. Before I could finish, I hear my phone ringing on my desk. I look at the screen and it says the name Jonathan, my best friend from elementary school. I answered the phone and put it on speaker.
"Whattup, John?"
"Yooooo!! Where you at, bro?!", he asks me in a loud and obnoxious manner, and I think I hear some other people with him, most likely other guys we met since coming here. I love the guy to death, but geez, stop day drinking!
"Are you already trashed?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer.
"Nah man, I *burp* only had like......uuuhhhh....."
For real?
"JOHN!!"
"AAAHH!!! Dude, not so loud!! I've only had a like a six pack."
Yeah, whatever, freaking liar.
"Uh-huh. What do you want, you freak of nature?" I asked in a teasing way. Come on, what kind of best friend would I be if I didn't give him crap?
"Haha, screw you bro! We're getting the guys together and going out... you know, for good luck tomorrow." Geez, he's really not good at this. "So get your ass down here and let's get hammered!!"
"Sorry dude, you know I have that Econ project due Monday."
"Oh come on! You almost never go out!"
"Hey that's not true. I went out with y'all last week." Lame excuse and even his drunk ass knows it, but it was worth a shot.
"Yeah, for only like an hour. You only had 2 beers, and you even ordered a glass of water!"
"Shut up! I had an 8 am lab that next day, even you should understand that. Plus I like to save money." I may have lied about that part, I order take out every chance I get, but come on, who doesn't?!
"Uuugghhh, whatever nerd! If you're not coming tonight, I better see your ass at the *burp* game tomorrow, or you won't hear the end of it!" I'd rather spare myself the pain and suffering of his ranting.
"Yeah yeah, keep your hair on your head, Bossy McAssface. You do know that we came to college not just to drink, right?"
"What? I'm sorry, I can't understand people that are lame and boring." Love you too, bro.
"Ouch, thou hath wounded me."
"Haha, go do your egghead work. I'll see ya tomorrow, Alex! Let's go boys!!" I heard cheering before I hung up the phone. I sighed, knowing that doofus is gonna hurt himself one day, however I couldn't but laugh a little bit.
Without further interruptions, I put my phone in my pocket and started packing the rest of my stuff into my backpack. I then put on my A&M Aggies hat on. Gotta represent and all that. I put my backpack on and walked out of my apartment, and headed to my car, driving to campus for the library.
It wasn't a very long trip, which is surprising considering how bad traffic usually is before and during gameday, but it's the Friday beforehand so I'm not all that surprised about it. I parked my car in front of the library, and started heading to the front door.
While walking to the library, I heard my phone go off in my pocket again, so I picked it up and turned it on to see what it was. I saw on my screen it was a text from Jonathan. It was just a selfie he took of him and a bunch of other guys, possibly going bar hopping. I chuckled a little at the ridiculous photo.
Not gonna lie, I kinda wish I was with them. I hate feeling left out of fun things. But this damn project is calling my name, so I need to do as much as possible before the game tomorrow.
I was about to respond to John's text, not realizing I wasn't looking where I was going. Before I could finish my text, I found myself bumping into someone, who let out a yelp and fell to the floor.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I wasn't..." I tried to apologize, then when I got a good look at the unfortunate victim's face, it was a girl I recognized immediately. "Megan?!"
"Uuuuggghhh" she groaned. I felt much worse than I already did, so I immediately helped her up.
She was a couple inches shorter than me. She had red hair that went down past her shoulders. she was wearing an Aggie T-shirt and brown skirt. She was finally able to gain her composure and looked at me, and I could only stare at her blue eyes, and I'm pretty sure I can feel heat rising in my cheeks.
"Alex?" she asked in shock.
"Meg, I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going!" I apologized frantically, flailing my arms around. Pretty sure I looked like a complete idiot in front of her.
Unexpectedly, she actually laughed. "It's ok, Al. I'm fine. I've taken worse falls. Whatcha doin'?"
I calmed down a little, knowing she was ok. "Well, I was just about to go to the library to do some of my Econ project, before... well, ya know."
"Yeah, hehe..."
There was a bit of an awkward silence between us. I could do nothing but rub the back of my head and look away.
I heard her clear her throat. "Listen, I need to catch the bus before it leaves."
This caught my attention, because I know she has a car. "Bus? What happened to your car?"
"Ugh, the transmission gave out. I knew it would happen sooner or later. Stupid piece of crap."
I thought about that for a second, and I knew what I had to do. "Do you need a ride?"
She looked at me in confusion. "What?"
"Yeah!" I gave her a bright smile. "I'd be more than happy to give ya a lift."
She looked at me with wide eyes. And was that a blush? "Oh, uh.. I could never let you do that. You just got here."
I laughed a little. "Haha, I can come back."
She closed her eyes for a second, probably to think about what she wants to do. She then opens her eyes and looks at me. "Look, Alex. I really appreciate that, but I'm just gonna take the bus tonight."
"...Oh." Yeah, I was a little disappointed.
"I'm gonna miss it if I hang around too long, so I'll see you later, ok?" She walked past me without looking at me, and I could only look at her walking away. However, she stopped all of a sudden, and turned around to look at me. She looked at me with those beautiful blue eyes, and smiled sweetly."That was really sweet of you, Alex. I won't ever forget that."
This made me have a warm feeling in my heart, and maybe a little rise of heat in my facial regions, so I smiled back at her. "Anytime, Meg. Though if you ever need a lift, my offer always stands."
She giggled lightly, and sent me a wink. "I might take you up on that offer. See ya!" She waved and ran to the bus hub.
"Later!" I waved back. I sighed and turned back to the library, ready to get this damn project over with.
But first, never ever forget that coffee.
"Oooooohhhh myyyyy goooooood."
6 freaking hours later, I finally did it. I've spent about $20 on coffee and had about 4 bathroom breaks. But it's finally done. I was only planning on doing a good portion of it, but the more I did it, the more motivation I had to just finish it. I think it was about to hit midnight. I walked out the front door and, of course, it was a super starry night. Thank the Lord it was an afternoon kickoff tomorrow.
I was about to walk towards my car, but I actually wanted to stop and take a moment to view the infinite amount of stars in the sky.
"Geez, I don't think this view will ever get old."
Oh god, I'm talking to myself.
As I was looking at the stars, I managed to spot something I've never seen in my life. It looked like a shooting star, and a pretty big one at that. While most shooting stars pass by in the blink of an eye, this one was moving very slowly. For some reason, that kind of creeped me out, but it was still a cool sight. Another thing that stood out was that instead of a white trail some shooting stars usually leave behind, it had many colors of a rainbow. I took my phone out and opened the camera app and took a picture of the shooting star.
"Might as well have some proof. Nobody would ever believe me."
As I was about to take another picture, I noticed something about it while looking through the screen. It actually looked like it was changing course, which is odd because shooting stars just pass by, no matter how fast or slow they're going.
"Hmm... maybe it's nothing" I said while I put my phone away, because I knew that when they enter the atmosphere, they evaporate within seconds. So since I had nothing to worry about, I started walking to my car.
I was several yards away from reaching my car, but as I got closer, I noticed the entire area around me was getting brighter, and as each second went by it slowly got brighter than before. "Huh? What the hell?" I said as I stopped walking, trying to figure out the cause of this. There weren't street lamps or anything, so those were out of the picture.
Before I could put my detective skills to anymore use, I actually started hearing something behind me, and it sounded like flames during a forest fire or something. Of course my first instinct was to turn around, and when I did, I was partially blinded by multicolored light, covering my face with my arm. When my sight finally adjusted, I saw the source of the brightness being adjusted around campus...
It was the shooting star... but at this point, it looked like a giant meteor being scorched by rainbow-colored fire... and it was coming right after me. I could only stare at the humongous and yet... somewhat beautiful object as it gets closer.
...Yeah, this is the point of a situation like this where I should SNAP THE HELL OUT AND RUN!
After snapping myself out, I rapidly pressed the unlock button of my car fob and then turned tail, fearing for my life. However, because I was so eager to not die, I didn't watch my footing, and somehow out of stupid luck, I tripped and fell into the hard pavement of the parking lot, my arms and legs stinging from the impact.
"Ahh, goddammit!"
I was able to get up on one knee. However, I looked up once again, and I saw the giant fireball of rainbows just seconds away from colliding in my area.
"Son of a bi-" Before I could finish that sentence, everything turned black.
Am I dead?
I don't think I am, but boy do I feel like I'm at Death's door.
I'm... in.... so much pain.
I barely had enough strength to open my eyes. Of course everything was a complete blur.
I couldn't move a damn muscle. I wouldn't be surprised if I was paralyzed. And to make the situation so much better, I could hear a very aggravating ringing in my ears, making my pain worse than it already is. I tried looking around, but my blurry vision couldn't let me identify where I was. However, I could very faintly see that everything around me was more... colorful?
What the hell? Is this heaven?
Then at that moment, I saw a couple blurry figures approaching me. I may not be able to see very well, but I could definitely tell that they weren't human. I started hearing muffled voices, but I couldn't understand them since my hearing is basically below zero at this point.
Please... the pain... I... can't...
I slowly felt myself drifting away. I guess I really am about to-
"Fear not, young one..."
What the.... who said that?! I can't even hear or see... Wait... Was that in my mind?
"Indeed it is. But please, do not be afraid. I will help you."
The voice sounded female...and very... reassuring and gentle... like she really wants to help me.
Please... help me...
"I assure you. You will live."
And then finally, I blacked out again.
Beep..... Beep.... Beep.....
Is that a heart monitor? Am I in a hospital?
I groaned and moved my head around. I flinched a little, knowing now that I have a small headache. I still had my eyes closed, but I did notice that I was lying in a bed, with the sheets covering my whole body
"Am I... alive?" I asked out loud to no one in particular, believing I was alone.
"Indeed you are, son."
I yelped and opened my eyes, but quickly shut them and hissed in pain from the headache.
"Easy there, sport" the masculine voice said to me, but I didn't look at him since I'm still in slight pain. "You shouldn't move around so much. You're still recovering from... well, whatever happened to you. We still haven't figured that out unfortunately. But you were in pretty bad shape when the guards found you."
'Guards?' How the hell did I find myself in medieval times? I must really be dead then. I finally opened my eyes and noticed I was in a pale white room. I looked around a little, but I couldn't really move my head a lot since I had a headache and I was under the covers full body.
"Where am I? How did I get here?"
"You're in the Canterlot Hospital, and a couple travelers found you unconscious just outside the city gates, and you were basically half dead at that point."
'Canterlot?' Just where the hell am I?!
"I'm sorry, but... did you just say Canterlot?"
"Yessir, I did." I noticed his voice had a bit of pride in it. "The finest city in all of Equestria."
Canterlot? Equestria? Ok, this is getting ridiculous. I had to take a look at this guy and ask him myself. I threw the covers off my body, and turned slowly so I can finally look at him.
"Just what the hell are you... what... the...." I felt my eyes widen and my mouth hang down after seeing what was sitting beside me.
A horse... I'm looking at a freaking horse...
He was male, obviously from his voice. He had brown fur, and a gray mane, and he was wearing a white doctors coat and... wait... is that a tattoo... of a syringe... on his butt?! But then what really should've driven me to the point of insanity was the horn on his head.
A unicorn... Yep. I'm dead.
"Is there something wrong, son?"
I know I've been talking to this horse for a minute... BUT HOLY CRAP THE HORSE JUST TALKED!
"Y-Y-You're a... you're a talking horse!"
He raised an eyebrow at that. "Um, I'm actually a pony... a unicorn to be exact." He poked his horn to emphasize his point, and then looked at me with visible confusion. "Are you telling me you've never seen a unicorn before?"
Oh yeah, we have plenty of those back at home.
Wait, does he not know I'm not really from... whatever the hell he said? I should probably keep that in the down low for now, so I gave him a simple head shake saying 'no'.
He put a hoof to his chin. "Hmm, very interesting... could be a case of amnesia, considering the shape you were in when you were brought in. Give me a minute and I'll be right back." He got up from his chair and clip-clopped to the door while i just stared at him with eyes still wide and mouth still open. He unexpectedly stopped and turned his head to look at me. "I'd say rest for a bit, but you seemed to have recovered well, aside from the mild headache, so you can move around the room if you want. Just be careful." He then fully exited the room.
I was still staring at the door with wide eyes and a lower jaw that should be touching the ground, because I just witnessed a horse who just conversed with me. I lightly shook my head in hopes what I just saw was a hallucination.
I decided to take 'his' advice and get out of the bed slowly. But as soon as I got on my feet...
THUMP..
"OW!!"
I found myself face first into the ground. Why the hell did I lose my balance like that? I know I just recovered for who knows how long, but I should stand fine. I sat up and groaned in pain and annoyance. My headache came back and I put my hand on my head, rubbing it.
Wait...
Why does my skin feel different? Why does it feel so... rough?
I removed my hand from my head and...
"WHAT THE F-" I quickly shoved my hand across my mouth to stop myself from finishing that sentence. I noticed my mouth felt a bit... longer. Like I have a muzzle or something. I'll worry about that later.
I slowly brought my hand in view from my face.
It wasn't human that's for sure. It was a dark, bluish color and was covered in scales, which explains the roughness. I also saw that I had claws, but they looked like little stubbles, which looked kinda pathetic.
Feeling myself about to have a panic attack, I frantically looked around the room to see if there was a mirror or anything, and I managed to spot one in the corner. I tried running to it, but I quickly tripped after my first step and stumbled and rolled across the floor, landing on my stomach, but I got close to the mirror.
I desperately tried to get up and try to get a look at myself in the mirror. I managed to reach my scaly hands on the counter top, and pulled my upper body in front of the mirror.
"HOLY CRAP!!" I quickly jumped and landed on my back as soon as I saw the monstrosity that was my reflection.
I was panting heavily and felt my heart beat a million miles per hour. I quickly got up and wobbled around the room.
I felt my face and noticed I indeed had a snout of some kind.
"No."
I felt the top of my head and felt that I had a small tuft of hair.
"No!"
I was jumping around on one foot like an idiot while grabbing my clawed foot.
"NO NO NO NO NO!"
I stopped and turned around, noticing I had wings and a tail, which I wiggled around from left to right.
....
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
I heard the door slam open. I saw three unicorn ponies galloping toward me with worried expressions. The stallion I met earlier came up to me first.
"Are you alright?! What happ-" He couldn't finish his question as I grabbed him by the face.
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO ME!?"
"Hold him down!" I heard one of the nurses yell before I felt myself being pulled to the ground by an unseen force.
"What.... the hell's... going on? I... can't... move." I could barely lift my head up to look at the source of my struggle.
I saw both the unicorn nurses looking at me with furrowed eyebrows, and their horns were... glowing?! Are they using magic?!
I saw the stallion walk up to me with what looked like regretful eyes as I saw him lift a syringe with his... magic.
"Don't even think about it, horse face!" I warned venomously as I was still struggling to move. I wasn't even thinking about what I was doing or saying. Obviously it's the panic attack.
"I'm sorry, son. But this is only for you're own good." He began moving the syringe closer to my neck, and it was only inches away.
"Poke me with that thing and I swear to God I'll... I'll... uuuggghh..." I felt the needle in my neck, and the effects were obviously kicking in very fast.
My vision was getting blurry, and I think I felt magic around me cease. Then right at that moment, it became black again.
I slowly but surely felt myself starting to wake up, and I prayed to Jesus that that whole experience was just a dream, and I'll find myself back in Texas, in my soft bed, and will be able to go to the game with my friends.
I opened my eyes, and found myself still in a white room. I tried to get up, but I couldn't move my hands. I looked at them and saw that they were strapped down tight. Yep, I'm still in this nightmare.
"Oh, well this is just perfect."
I heard the door open and saw the same unicorn that I met the first time I woke up.
"Hello, son. How are you feeling?"
I gave him a deadpan expression. "Oh, I'm just fine. I wake up to find myself as a freakin' dragon, and learn that I've been transported to a world full of talking ponies, and I'm also tied up to a bed like I'm in an insane asylum. But other than that, I'm good." I'm not usually a sarcastic person, but that was a stupid question on his part. I also just realized that I mentioned that I wasn't from this... world, but his expression didn't change, so he must have missed that part thankfully.
He gave out a sigh and walked toward me. "I know you must be going through a lot, but please understand that we are helping you as best we can."
"And you're idea of helping is to inject me with a syringe and tie me up to a bed?!"
He facepalmed...facehoofed... whatever, and let out an obviously annoyed groan. "Look, I don't know what you've been through and I understand you must be very confused, but your sarcasm is not going to make things easier. I came in here and found you panicking like a madpony, not to mention my face was a little sore after that whole schpiel. I had to take action, and what I did was necessary for you and for us. Now I'm going to ask you very politely to please cooperate with us, and we can help you. Can you do that at least, son?"
I was getting lectured by a freaking pony. If I'm not dead at this point, then I've really gone insane, or John must've spiked my coffee with LSD or something. Although, I would be lying if I said I didn't see his point. Me acting like some mad mental patient isn't gonna help me get the answers I want.
I let out a sigh and gave him a soft look. "You're right, doc. So much has happened to me, and I wasn't thinking straight. I'm somewhere I'm not supposed to be and I just got really freaked out. I'm sorry if I scared you and those nurses. I'll be fully cooperative if it'll get all my questions answered. I just... really need to soak all of this in, ya know?"
We stared at each other for a moment, then he gave me a friendly smile. "Thank you, son. I'm glad you were able to listen to reason."
"Honestly I'm surprised I was able to listen to anything at all." I was partially joking about that part, but then again I was somewhat honest about it. "Would ya mind untying me, please? This is a little uncomfortable, hehe. I promise I won't go all psycho again. I also wanna take a look at myself in the mirror."
He raised his eyebrow, but then sent me another smile. "Sure, son. But pull a stunt like before, we'll have to double the restraints. Got it?" I quickly nodded, and he did the same. I saw his horn glow, and the restraints were covered in a yellow aura. Soon enough the restraints were released from my hands. I gave an exaggerated sigh as I rubbed my left wrist with my right hand.
"Were they too tight?" he asked worriedly, but I just laughed it off.
"Nah, I've seen people do that and I thought it looked cool." We both shared a short laugh, but he quickly looked at me with confusion.
"Wait, 'people'?"
I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, and realized these ponies aren't actually 'people'. "Never mind." He simply shrugged. Then I realized that I really wanted to know something. "By the way, how long was I out?"
"After that little scuffle, about 2 hours. But I bet you were wondering how long after you were dropped off here. You've been in bed for 2 weeks."
My eyes widened after hearing that. "Are you serious?! Was I that bad?!"'
"As far as we can tell you had severe cranial trauma, the rest is a complete mystery. You wouldn't happen to know how that happened would you?"
"I... don't remember... everything's a blur right now." I had to lie about that. I didn't want to risk mentioning to him that I was never a dragon to begin with again.
He nodded. "I understand. Maybe everything will come back to you in time." He stepped away from me, probably to give me room
I slowly started climbing out of the bed, and placed my hind legs on the cold ground. Unlike before, I prepared myself for the fall and landed on my forelegs, but it didn't stop me from wobbling to the right. The stallion was able to catch me from falling.
"Take it easy. Don't go hurting yourself again." He said with a smirk, to which I chuckled sheepishly. I noticed that he was probably an inch taller than me when I'm on all fours. "You know, I think you're the first dragon that I've seen that walks on all fours like us ponies. It's very interesting."
"Umm... thanks? Wait... you mean there're other dragons?!" I couldn't believe it when I heard it. He looked at me as if he couldn't tell if I was serious or not.
"Umm... yes?"
Crap, I did it again. This is probably gonna be harder than I thought. "Right, hehe, silly me."
He looked at me suspiciously, but I ignored it and made my way, or at least attempted to, to the mirror. I balanced my upper body to the counter top and looked at myself in the mirror. And yep. I'm a dragon alright. But why would I be a dragon when I could've been a pony. That doesn't make sense. Then again, nothing does at this point.
I looked at myself carefully. I noticed that I still had my green eyes. but what kinda freaked me out was that my eyes were as big as dinner plates, like the stallion. I was right when I thought my face felt longer, because I noticed I had a snout. It looked like it was as long as the stallions. My body was a dark bluish color, and I had an underbelly section that was green in color. I looked at the top of my head and saw that I had a small tuft of green hair. Do dragons even have hair? I thought they usually have horns... why am I thinking about this so much?!
I decided to try to get a good look at the rest of my body. I saw on my back that I had a pair of dark blue, bat-like wings with green highlights running down on the bony parts of it. Not gonna lie, the wing part's pretty cool. I'll have to ask how to use them. The last thing I noticed was that I had a tail. It wasn't incredibly long, but it looked like it was as nearly as long as the rest of my body.
"By the way." The stallion's voice caught my attention. "I don't think I've ever introduced myself. I'm Doctor Saddles."
Why did I know it was gonna be a horse pun?
He held out his hoof. I stared at it for a bit, because I couldn't tell if he was going for a shake, or a bump. Using my instincts for when I'm with a bunch of my friends and meeting new people, I decide to bump his hoof with my fist.
"Nice to meetcha, doc." I gave him a friendly grin.
"Haha, not exactly what I was going for, but I welcome it. And what's your name?"
Ah crap. Should I just tell him? I don't think it'll hurt anybody.
"Alex... Alex -" Before I could say my last name, the door slammed open and one of the nurses from before came running in with a piece of paper.
"Doctor! This letter's for you! It's-" She stopped after seeing i was standing and awake, and gave me a glare, which made me flinch.
"Relax", Doctor Saddles walked up to her. "He's harmless and has been very calm and apologized for earlier. No need for the dirty looks." The mare softened her look toward me while I gave her friendly smile.
She then turned her attention to Saddles. "Doctor, this letter came from the castle. I think it involves the patient."
The doc grabbed the letter with his magic and started reading it. After about a minute he turned towards me and looked at me with a nervous expression.
Dr. Saddles kept staring at me with those humongous eyes. It was honestly becoming a little uncomfortable.
"It's the princesses!" His sudden shouting caused me to jump back a bit, and because since I couldn't keep my balance in this new body, I fell on my rear. "They sent this letter and asked to see you as soon as you wake up!"
I got back on all fours. "Yeah, yeah, I got that part down, genius. Who're these princesses and why do they wanna see me?"
"You've never heard of the princesses?!" Suddenly the nurse intervened, and in a split second she ran up to me and grabbed my cheeks with her hooves. "How could you never have heard of the rulers of Equestria!?"
I really need to tell these freaking ponies that I'm not actually from here sooner rather than later.
"Hey, HEY!!" I tried saying as my face was getting crushed, so I hastily removed her hooves from my face. "Personal space, would ya?"
"Easy there." The doc walked up to us. He inhales deeply and lets out a large breath, then looks at me with a much calmer expression. "I apologize for our sudden reaction. It's just that it's a bit of a surprise that the princesses would be asking for a stranger as soon as he woke up from a two week coma."
Really? I would've expected royalty to go through weird crap all the time.
He lifted the letter with his magic and hovered it toward me. I'm not sure if I'll get used to magic being real. I took the letter and started reading it.
Dear Doctor Saddles,
I'm aware that your patient, who was the mysterious dragon that was found unconscious outside of our city gates by two travelers, has finally woken. Also I've heard that there was quite a scuffle between you and a patient, so that was a pretty obvious hint.
I know he must be going through troubling times at the moment, and he is very confused. My sister and I are going to help him as best we can.
I'm sending one of my royal guards to escort him to the castle. He'll be there by the time you release him from the hospital. I told him he shouldn't be weary of our new guest, so there won't be any problems between the two.
I've already taken care of the bill, so there's no need to hold him much longer.
Tell him he has nothing to be afraid of, and I look forward to meeting him
Yours truly,
Princess Celestia
Yeah that last part didn't really assure me all that well. I'm pretty sure I was having another panic attack. Oh yeah. Heavy breathing, heart pounding like it's about to burst, and entire body shaking? I'm probably gonna pass out.
"Alex? Are you okay?" The doctor walked up to me, a worried expression on his face.
"Oh yeah. You know, it's no big deal. I was just asked to meet royalty. Tooootally normal. Hehehe."
He sighed and placed a hoof on my shoulder. "I completely understand you are nervous. But I promise you, the princesses are the kindest and wisest beings in all of Equestria. If there's anypony that can help you find the answers you need, they are the ones that can do it."
I was still a little scared, but my breathing started to slow down a little. I let out one last large breath, and I looked at Dr. Saddles, and gave him a nod, letting him know I was thankful for his reassuring words. He smiled and nodded back.
"Doctor." Our attention was back at the door, and another nurse walked in. "A royal guard is waiting outside. He's here for the patient."
He looked back at me. "Are you ready, son?"
I looked at the door again, knowing that if I take one step outside this room, my life could change in more ways than one. I closed my eyes and let out a deep sigh. I then looked up at the doctor. "Thanks for everything, doc. I owe ya big time. Maybe we'll run into each other again soon."
He gave me a warm smile after I said that. "Then I look forward to our next meeting." I smiled back at him.
He then stepped to give me some room. I looked at the nurse, who smiled and nodded, while I did the same. I looked at the door, and took a step forward.
THUMP
"Ouch."
Dammit.
After embarrassing myself enough already, I finally managed to get a little used to walking on all fours. What the hell did I do to get to this point in my life? I was walking toward the lobby of the hospital, and already a bunch of these colorful ponies are giving me stares. I know I'm a dragon and all, and I pretty much appeared out of nowhere, but this is all still pretty new to me too. Trying to ignore those enormous eyes staring right at me, I made my way to the door. I pushed open the door, while trying to keep my balance. It's gonna be awhile before I get used to being a quadruped.
"GAHH!!"
I should've seen that coming, because as soon as I opened that door, I was immediately and painfully blinded by the sun. I shut my eyes tightly and covered my face with an arm. 2 weeks stuck in a bed can do that to you, I guess.
Suddenly, I heard laughing a few feet away from me, but I still had my eyes shut, so I couldn't see who it was. I groaned in annoyance. "Hey, you try being stuck on a bed for 2 weeks. Trust me, it's not as comfortable as ya think."
"Nah, I'll pass this time." The voice sounded male, and younger, like he was around my age or something. "You did it so I wouldn't have to, haha."
Ok, this guy's just getting annoying. "If all you're gonna do is laugh at my misery, then you best just mind your own damn business and go away."
"Well I can't exactly do that since I was sent for you."
Oh yeah, apparently a guard was sent for me. "Right. Almost forgot. Just gimme a sec, would ya?"
I didn't hear him answer, but I assume he obliged. I lowered my arm and slowly started opening my eyes. My vision was blurry. What a huge shocker. My sight was starting to come back to me, and when it started to get clear enough, I immediately widened my eyes, staring at the sight before me.
"Woooaaaahhh."
It was a city, that much was obvious, but what stood out was that everything was so freaking colorful. I don't think I've ever seen so much color in my life. However, I'd be lying if I said this place wasn't beautiful.
"Is this... Canterlot?" I asked no one in particular, still in shock at this view.
"Yep! Sure is!"
I looked to my right and saw the pony I was talking to a few seconds ago. A stallion, obviously from his voice. He was wearing some sort of golden armor, which obviously means he's a guard of some sort. His coat was sort of a yellow color, but a different tone. If there's an actual name for it, I wouldn't know. He was wearing a helmet similar to that of a Spartan. There was blue hair sticking out, so I'm gonna assume that's his mane. I'm pretty sure he has a tattoo on his butt, but it's covered by his armor. But what really caught my attention was that on both sides of his back were a pair of wings. A pegasus... Not gonna lie that's pretty cool. I've always been a sucker for Greek mythology when I was younger, so I might be able to tolerate ponies that can fly.
"I'm gonna assume you're the guard?"
He gave me a sly smirk. "Me? Nah, I wear this armor all the time in public. Really let's out my character."
Yeah, I had that coming, but it didn't make it less annoying. "Oh, you're sooo funny. I almost forgot to laugh."
He laughed again. "Chill, dude, I'm just messin' with ya. I'm Flash. Flash Sentry." He held up his hoof, and he was wearing gold horseshoes of some sort.
I lifted my arm and grabbed his hoof, shaking it. "Alex. Alex..."
Ah crap. I don't wanna give away my real last name. I need a name that seems like it'll blend in with this world. I already met someone named Doctor Saddles, so it shouldn't be too hard.
"Umm... Alex..." ...
OH. I got it!
"Flame!" I said that a little louder than I should have, and that made him jump a little. "Alex Flame."
Not the best I could've came up with, but it'll do.
He looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Alex Flame? That's a weird name, dude."
"Yeah, okay, Flash Sentry." I kinda said that without thinking, but I don't think the talking pony had any room to talk about my name. He looked at me with a glare, and I did the same.
Our staring contest have been going on for several seconds. Then all of a sudden, his smile returned. "HA! I like you!" Okay that definitely wasn't the response I was expecting. "I'm sure we'll have a lot to talk about on the way to the castle."
"Rrrriiiiight.", I was still processing that whole interaction, but I brushed it off. "So, you're takin' me to these princesses I've heard about?"
"Yep, they sent me as soon as you woke up." His smile quickly deflated.. "Wait, what do you mean 'heard'?
'Uhh..." Suddenly, he grabbed me by the cheeks. Not again.
"Are you saying you've never heard of the princesses before?!"
Yeah great idea, just yell out the fact that I'm basically an outsider here. Before I could come up with an answer, I realized we were still in a public area, and I'm sure Flash did too. We both looked to my left side and saw a bunch of ponies looking at us in confusion, even some pegasi stopped in mid flight to stare at us.
I looked back at Flash, and grabbed his hooves, pushing them away from my face, and looked at him with an annoyed expression. I whispered to him, "Sure, why don't you yell loud enough so the entire freakin' city can hear you!"
I could see a blush on his face, and he laughed sheepishly. "Hehe, sorry about that. But how could you have never heard of the princesses before?"
My expression softened up. "Let's just say I'm not exactly... from around here. Don't ask, it's a long story."
"Uhh, alright."
I wish I could tell him more, but it's just not the right time. I noticed all the ponies went back to their business, so I could speak normally. "Ok, so we goin' to the castle? Where is it?"
He gave me a smirk, then turned around and pointed. "Right over there."
I walked up to him, and looked where he was pointing, and my eyes widened and jaw dropped immediately. As if the view from before wasn't enough, this was just insane. This could give Cinderella's castle a run for it's money. I kept staring at the castle dumbly. I suddenly felt my jaw close against it's will. Obviously Flash closed it.
"Come on, we don't want to keep the princesses waiting." Suddenly he lifted himself in the air, and started flying in the direction of the castle.
Umm...
I looked back and stared at my wings. I tried to wiggle my back and see if anything would happen. I couldn't flap them, but I did feel a little movement in my back, and it caused my wings to fidget a little bit, much to my surprise.
"Yo." I yelped and looked back to see Flash hovering above me with an annoyed look on his face. "You comin' or not? You're a dragon aren't you? Flap those wings, you dunce." I stared at him, moved my eyes in both directions,, then back at him.
Well this is awkward. Obviously I can't say 'I've never flown before in my life cuz I was never a dragon in the first place.'
"Umm..." I'm just gonna have to lie. "Uhh, the doctor said I should... uhh... lay off on the flying. Cuz... you know... I was in pretty bad shape when I got here."
His face softened up immediately after I said that. Crap, I think I made him feel guilty about a lie. He rubbed the back of his head with a hoof. "Oh. Alex, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to act like a jerk. I just assumed you'd be ok with flying, being a dragon and all."
I feel bad for lying to this guy. I don't like it one bit, but I'm just gonna have to roll with it just a little longer.
I gave him a smile. "Don't sweat it, dude. I should've told ya sooner. Plus I need to stretch my legs. Being in a bed for two weeks gets ya in that mood, ya know?" I emphasized my point by doing a stretch a cat would do, but of course I stumbled a little bit, but I managed to catch myself.
Flash landed in front of me and smiled. "I totally get that! I'm always in the air, being a pegasus and all." He gave his wings a little flap. "So I don't mind a stroll every now and then. I could even show ya around town a little bit on the way."
"Sounds good to me." Just as he started to turn and walk away, a thought came to me. "Wait!" This got his attention. "There were supposed to be two others that were with me. Apparently they're the ones that brought me to the hospital. Have you seen 'em?"
He simply shrugged. "Sorry, dude. This is the first time I've met you, so I haven't seen anypony else."
I looked down to the ground disappointed. I was hoping to thank them. "Oh."
"Hey, don't worry." He tried to reassure me. "I'm sure they're still in Canterlot. They probably wouldn't just up and leave ya like that."
"I don't know Flash, it's been two weeks. I doubt they're still here."
"Well, you never know." He said with a smirk. "I bet we might run into them on the way here."
I chuckled at that. "Fat chance, but alright. So, we ready to go?"
"Ready whenever you are."
I nodded, and we both started our walk to the castle.
Hold up... Did he just say 'anypony?'
"And right down this street is Restaurant Row."
"Wow. How original." I said in an emotionless voice.
He laughed at that. "Trust me, I thought so too, but you forget about that as soon as you try all the delicious food they have."
I wouldn't be surprised if they considered hay with a side of carrots as a 5 star meal, but I won't tell him that, in case that's pony racism or something. "Yeah, I think I'll pass." I honestly said. "I doubt you ponies have any food a dragon could eat without spitting it out."
"Yeah, you got a point there."
"HEY!!!" I heard a cheerful voice coming from behind me. Before I could see the pony shouting to me, I felt myself being tackled like I was hit by a cannon ball, knocking the wind out of me. Suddenly, I was being lifted in the air, and being squeezed like I was being constricted by a python, so I couldn't breathe. "YOU'RE OKAY!!!"
"Lyra, put him down! Hasn't he been through enough?!" I heard someone else shouting at my attacker.
"Huh?"
Does she seriously not realize that I'm about to choke to death?!
Then at that moment, I felt the pressure go away and found myself on the ground again. I breathed in as much oxygen as I could.
"Oh my gosh, I'm sooo sorry! I'm just so glad to see you're okay!"
After I finally managed to catch my breath, I looked to see who was hugging me so damn hard. She was a unicorn, who I assumed was Lyra. She had a light green coat, and her mane and tail was a mix between light gray and white. She also had a small tuft of fur on her chest. Her eyes were the same color as Flash's coat. She had a tattoo of a heartstring- thingy instrument on her butt.
Why do all these ponies have tattoos on their butts!?
"I mean, seriously. Are you trying to put him back in the hospital?!" Her friend trotted up to us with an annoyed expression. She was a pony. Like... a regular looking pony. No wings and no horn. She had a tannish coat, and her mane and tail was dark blue with pinkish stripes, while also sporting a tuft of fur on her chest. I'm just gonna assume all mares have tufts of fur on their chests in this world.
"Dude, are you ok?" I heard Flash ask, but I think he asked in sort of a teasing manner. "That looked like quite the power hug."
"Shut up." I said while still panting.
"Sorry about that. Here, let me help you." The normal looking pony walked up to me and held out her hoof. I grabbed it and she lifted me back up. "My friend here can be a a little jumpy." A little?! "But yeah, we're really glad you're ok."
Why is she talking to me like she knows me?
Wait a minute...
"I don't think you've ever met us, since... well, you know."
Oh my god, it's them.
She clears her throat. "Hi, my name's- OOF!" I didn't let her finish, because I wrapped both of them in a hug as tight as I could.
"HOLY CRAP IT'S YOU GUYS!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!"
I could hear Flash bust out laughing, but I couldn't care less. These two saved my life.
I felt Lyra return the embrace happily, but the other one was kinda struggling for some reason. I felt her hoof tap on my arm."
"Need... aaaiiirrr."
Well this is kinda ironic.
I immediately let go of them. Lyra smiled brightly at me, but the regular looking pony was breathing heavily.
I rubbed the back of my head and smiled sheepishly, and I'm pretty sure I felt a little heat in both my cheeks. "Sorry about that. I just can't believe it's you two!"
Suddenly Lyra came up to me, pressing her snout against mine. "Me neither!! I can't believe you're awake!!"
"Me neither!!" I yell back, ignoring the fact that I'm basically touching noses with a pony.
Before this happy moment of ours could continue, Lyra and I realized that her friend was still sitting on the ground, panting. I walked up to her and held out a hand and giving her a friendly smile. "Guess it's my turn to help you up."
My smile turned into a frown. Why the hell did I say that? I sound like I should belong in a cheesy romance novel.
"Smooth." Dammit, Flash.
Lyra's friend looked like she caught her breath, and grabbed my hand with her hoof... well, in a way ponies can even grab.
"Thanks." She said sweetly. "As I was saying, my name's Sweetie Drops, but everypony calls me Bon Bon. This is my friend Lyra."
"Nice to meetcha!" Lyra held out her hoof.
"Alex Flame." I grabbed it and shook it, and did the same with Bon Bon. Now that I finally ran into them, I thought it would be a good time to tell them something I've been wanting to tell them for what they did for me. "Listen you two. If it weren't for you, I don't think we would even be having this conversation. You two saved my life, and if there's any way for me to repay you just say the word. I..." Oh geez, don't tell me the water works are coming. "Thank you... so much."
Bon Bon smiled at me humbly, but Lyra looked like she was about to burst into tears.
Soon enough, I felt myself being hugged by Lyra again, but this time I could still breathe. "You're so very welcome!! We couldn't just leave you like that!"
I happily returned the embrace. These ponies are surprisingly good huggers.
After a while, we broke away from the hug, and I just realized something. "Hang on, did you two stay here this entire time I was in a coma?"
"Yeah!", answered Lyra. "We didn't want to just up and leave ya like that." She basically said the exact same thing Flash said. I looked at him side-eyed, seeing a smug grin obviously saying 'guess I won that bet.' Jokes on him, we never made a bet in the first place so HA! "So we stayed at my friend Minuette's house this whole time."
Then Bon Bon spoke up. "If I'm going to be honest, I wanted to leave here as soon as we were done with our business here in Canterlot, but Lyra convinced me to stay until you woke up." Lyra held up her head with pride, then Bon Bon rubbed left foreleg with her right, with a guilty look on her face. "I'm so sorry, Alex. I shouldn't have been so selfish."
I felt the need to reassure her, so I put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, don't beat yourself up about that. To be honest, I'd hate to be a burden on ya. What you did for me was enough, and you didn't have to wait here for my sake."
Bon Bon smiled at my words. Geez, when did my Speech level increase to 100 in pony world?
"Of course we did!" Lyra wrapped a foreleg around my neck. "We wanted to make sure you were still alive and kicking. And I'm pretty sure we got our answer." She emphasized that statement with a thump to my shoulder. "Now me and Bon Bon can go home!"
"Oh yeah? Where do y'all live?" I was definitely curious, I wanted to see these two again.
"We live in a small town not too far from here." Bon Bon answered. "It's only a train ride away. If you ever head in that direction I'm sure you'll know it when you'll see it."
"Well if I ever head that way, I'll look you two up. Thanks again for everything."
Lyra gave me a quick hug. "No problem! See ya, Alex!!"
I watched the two walk away. I had a warm feeling in my heart, feeling good about myself. I know I'll repay those two someday.
I turned around and faced Flash, who had the same smirk on his face that annoyed the crap out of me. "What're you lookin' at?"
"I've never expected a dragon to be such a softy."
I felt heat rising in my cheeks, so I huffed and walked past him. "Zip it, let's just get to the stupid castle."
It took several minutes, but we finally managed to make it to the castle, and as expected, it was huge.
Flash and I walked up to the doors, and we saw a couple guards on each side. They were both unicorns wearing the same styled armor as Flash, and they both were holding large spears
Before we could get any closer, our path was suddenly blocked by said spears.
"Halt, who goes there?!" One of the guards demanded with furrowed eyebrows, the other one doing the same. Are they always like this to even one of their own?
"Easy fellas." Flash stepped in. "This is the guy the princesses asked for. Might have heard of him? The dragon that was found passed out outside our gates?"
Both guards looked at each other, then back to us. I was a little intimidated, but Flash didn't look bothered in the slightest.
After staring at us for a while longer, they finally lifted their spears back up. "Apologies. We've only been acquainted with one dragon in the castle before. You may proceed. The princesses are expecting you."
"Thanks, dudes!" Flash said in a carefree manner as we walked past the guards into the castle.
We stepped through the doors, and when we walked into this huge lobby room, with red carpets, ancient art, everything a castle is expected to have. As we were making our way to what I assumed to be the throne room, I felt my nerves beginning to pick up again. The idea of meeting royalty from a world that isn't mine is really not the most relaxing thought for me.
I heard Flash chuckle a bit. "What's the matter? You act like you've never met royalty before." Not the best time, you jackass.
"Gee, what gave it away? The fact that I'm starting to shake, or the fact that it feels like my heart is going to explode? I could go on all day here, buddy."
Flash didn't respond to that, but I ignored that. Suddenly, I felt myself being stopped, and felt a hoof on my shoulder. I looked at Flash, who looked at me with the most sincere look I've ever seen since I've been with him. "Look, I know you must be nervous. Trust me, I was too when I met the princesses for the first time. But believe me, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. The princesses are the kindest ponies in all of Equestria, and I could tell that they want nothing more than to help you. So please, trust me when I say you have nothing to be afraid of."
I was absolutely flabbergasted to hear this guy give me helpful advice. Nonetheless, I really appreciated his reassurance. I took a deep breath, and let it out. then looked at Flash with a smile and nodded, to which he returned with one of his own.
We found ourselves in front of two gigantic doors.
"Well, this is where I gotta leave ya to it."
Normally I would've pleaded for him to stay, but his advice helped me be more confident in myself, so I decided to agree. "Yeah. It was cool gettin' to know ya, Flash."
"Same here, Flame. Come find me when you're done talking to the princesses. We should hang out." He held up his hoof to me.
"Will do." I lifted up my arm and gave him a fist/hoof bump.
He turned around and flew away, leaving me, and the giant door way.
I hesitated for what seemed like hours, looking at what could potentially be my incoming doom.
"No!" I felt the urge to scold myself. "Don't you dare think like that, Alex. You heard it yourself. They only want to help you... and I really need it."
I finally mustered the courage to walk up to the massive doors, and reached out. But before I could even lay a claw on it, they suddenly opened themselves.
I was still frozen in place, until me losing my balance slapped me out of my shock. I shook my head rapidly, and started making my way down the long corridor.
While I was walking, I took a moment to look around the area. It was beautiful. It looked like everything was made of crystal. What really caught my interest was the stained glass windows. They looked like they were depicting events that happened a long time ago. But the one that got my attention depicted some sort of weird looking monster being defeated by six ponies. Two unicorns, two pegasi, and two regular ponies.
I realized that I wasn't looking where I was going, so I looked forward and continued down the corridor. And once I got closer to where I was supposed to go, what I saw instantly made my heart race.
It was them.
The Princesses.
They were both sitting in the respective thrones. From what I could tell, they were much taller than any normal pony I've seen so far. The taller one had a white coat, and was wearing a golden crown, a collar, and horseshoes. She had a super long horn on her head, and a pair of large wings. What is she supposed to be? A winged Unicorn? A horned pegasus? But what really stood out from all of those features was her mane. It was moving like it was a wave in the ocean. It was somewhat... relaxing to look at. I saw the tattoo on her butt, and it looked like the sun. I'm going to guess that this one is Celestia, the one everyone keeps mentioning
I looked at the other... whatever kind of pony these two are. She was shorter than Celestia, and almost every inch of her body was a very dark blue. And her mane literally looked like the night sky, with stars and everything. Her tattoo was that of a crescent moon.
I stared at the two for what felt like an eternity, until the sound of a loud clang snapped me out.
A looked at a pegasus guard, who looked at me with an intense glare. "You will bow to the presence of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, dragon!!"
"Heed your tongue! That kind of treatment will not be accepted here" The one I assumed was Luna shouted in a literally booming voice. It was so loud my ears were starting to ring again even tho I was covering them.
"Y-y-y-yes. I apologize your majesty." The guard's demeanor was quick to change after that little outburst, and rightfully so.
Geez, imagine having her as a mother.
Then at that moment, Celestia rose from her throne, and spread out her large and honestly beautiful wings, but I still felt a little intimidated from the sight. Suddenly, she began lifting herself in the air, and hovers right toward me.
I backed up a little too fast, and I tripped over my tail, causing me to roll back a few times until I was on my stomach.
So I pretty much embarrassed the hell out of myself in front of royalty. Awesome.
I opened my eyes, and the first thing I saw was a pair of large hooves in front of me. I quickly sat up and looked up, and saw Celestia towering above me, and looking at me with an expressionless face.
Sorry, Flash. You're words aren't working anymore.
I don't think my heart has ever beaten this fast, and all I could do right now is look at the princess with abnormal fear. She stared at me for a minute. But what she did next really blew me away. She takes her hoof and places it on my chin, and tilts her head down, and gives a warm, friendy smile.
I haven't uttered a single word since she spoke. I've just been staring at this... goddess for who knows how long. All I could feel was the aching muscles in my jawline and my eyes wide open.
The princess let out a soft giggle. "Please do not be afraid, young one. I mean you absolutely no harm."
Her voice was so... soothing. Not gonna lie, my rising fear that I had when I walked through those doors were starting to drop significantly.
I blinked twice, then shook my head rapidly. "Uuhh... I-I'm sorry... Your Majesty." I did a slight bow, but before I could do it full on, I lost my balance and landed face first.
God, this is humiliating.
I heard the darker princess, Luna, from behind Celestia chuckling at my embarrassing action.
"Do not be embarrassed, Alex." Celestia said while helping me back to my feet. "I'm sure you'll get used to this body soon enough."
Wait. She already has me figured out?! She knows I'm not from here!?
I quickly looked up to her, and gave her a shocked expression. "You... you already know that I'm not actually from here!?"
She gave me a nod, and then I heard flapping sounds coming from behind her. Luna landed next to Celestia and looked at me. "'Tis true, we know of your true origins, but how you arrived here is a mystery, even to me and my sister." She spoke to me in a normal voice unlike that megaphone she made from her vocal chords earlier.
Wait... that voice... it sounds... somewhat familiar.
"Excuse me, Your Majesty, but... were you that voice that was speaking to me before I passed out when I arrived?"
She looked confused by my question. "Umm... I don't recall doing something like that. But even if I had such a power, I would do so immediately after knowing of your arrival here."
"Huh." I responded simply before I had an actual question to ask. "Well... by any chance would you know anyone capable of doing that?"
Before Luna could give me a straight answer, Celestia lifted up her large hoof. "Let's discuss that later. I've asked the staff to prepare us some snacks in the dining hall prior to your arrival. Please join us, you must be starving."
Right at the nick of time, I felt, and heard, my stomach growl. Both princesses giggled, while I felt heat on my cheeks and chuckled embarrassingly, rubbing the back of my head.
"No need to feel embarrassed, Alex. Lying in a bed for two weeks can work up an appetite, does it not?" She asked that with a wink. Was that a tiny sense of teasing coming from this goddess?
"Hehe, yeah."
"Please, follow us." Luna started to walk away from us. "We shall dine together!"
That last part was a little unnecessary. I looked back up at Celestia, who still didn't get rid of that smile. She looked down at me, and simply shrugged, causing both of us to giggle, and we both started to follow Luna.
I was walking down the massive hallway of this huge castle, and I was in between both of the rulers of this world. We were also being accompanied by several guards, which didn't really surprise me. I can't fault them for their loyalty, but they could kinda take it down a notch, especially that pegasus guard that demanded I respect the princesses.
Saddles and Flash were right. I don't know what the heck I was freaking out about earlier. These ponies are the rulers of this alien world, and they are the nicest ponies I've met since I've been here. We've only known each other for a few minutes and we've already shared a few laughs, and they haven't tried to kill me.
We walked in silence, and I felt like I needed to ask more questions. I looked up to Celestia. "Excuse me, Your Majesty, but how did-"
"Uh uh uh." Pardon me, what? "No questions until you've had a full belly." She looked down at me and gave me a wink.
I blinked twice, but nonetheless I nodded.
"No need to worry, Alexander." Luna decided to speak, somehow knowing my full name. "Whatever questions you have for us, we will do our very best to answer them. Though we might have a few questions of our own, that is if you're comfortable with that."
They pretty much know who I am anyway, so I feel like I don't have anything to hide. I simply shrugged. "Sure, I don't mind."
Luna smiled and nodded, and we continued our walk.
"Though I am curious." Celestia spoke, catching my attention. "We requested you'd be escorted by our guard Flash Sentry. I trust he didn't give you any problems?"
"HA! Anything but. Sure, he has a bit of a mouth on him, but all of that aside he's pretty cool. I'd like to hang with him sometime."
Celestia gave me a smile and a nod. "That's a relief to hear. Sometimes he has a little trouble with... authority. But he's a very valuable addition to our royal guard."
Sounds like John, alright. He's an idiot, that's a given. But when he actually uses his brain for once, he's actually pretty useful.
"Besides, thanks to his ancestry to Flash Magnus, it would be completely foolish to decline him." Luna decided to chime in.
Wow. They make this Magnus guy sound like a really big deal. "Huh, didn't expect to hear something like that. Who was this Flash Magnus?"
"He was part of the ancient Royal Legion of Cloudsdale, the hometown of all pegasi." Cloudsdale? There's actually a city in the clouds in this world?! Here come the Empire Strikes Back flashbacks.
"He was quite a legend back in the day." Luna spoke. "Now he's a drill sergeant for the Royal Guard here in Canterlot."
Wait... now?
"Uhh, didn't you say he was Flash's ancestor?"
Luna looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Yes? He was brought back from limbo along with the other Pillars of Old."
Limbo? Pillars of Old?! This is too much information to take in. I'm pretty sure I felt my eyes roll around in every direction, and I think my headache's starting to come back. I have more questions than I already have.
I heard Celestia laugh a bit. "Luna, please. You're confusing him. He's not from Equestria, remember?"
I saw a blush on Luna's face, and she laughed sheepishly. "Uhh, my apologies. It's easy to forget not everypony's up to date with today's current events."
Yeah, either that, or the fact that I'm not a pony, or the fact that I'm not from this world, but I won't take my sarcasm out on royalty. I'll save that for someone like Flash.
"Hehe, it's okay, I guess."
"Ahh." Celestia suddenly exclaimed. "We are near the dining hall. I think you'll enjoy our sweets, Alex."
And before I knew it, all three of us were in front of a double door, but not as big as the ones to the throne room.
Celestia lit her horn up, which was covered in a yellow aura, and opened both the doors. What I saw beyond the doorway made my eyes widen and my mouth was starting to water.
The dining hall was fairly large, but nowhere near as big as the throne room. There were stain glass windows just like the previous rooms, but I don't think they were mentioning anything important like the one I saw before I met the princesses. But of course the main attraction was the extremely long dining table in the middle of the room, and on it were many trays, plates, and bowls filled with many varieties of fruits, vegetables, and sweets. Never did I ever think they would make anything look this delicious here in pony world.
"Come, Alex." Celestia's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "They look delicious, don't they? I'd hate to have to eat them all by myself."
Luna looked at her with a confused expression. "Uhh sister, I'm-"
"Shh!"
Not gonna lie, Celestia's got a sense of humor, but she's not getting those sweets unless I have something to say about it.
Like a dog who's anxiously ready to get their food, I started running to the dining table. But of course since I haven't fully gotten used to being a quadruped, I tumbled headfirst to the surprisingly clean and slippery floor, and managed to slide all the way to the chair, and I stopped as I bumped my nose against one of the legs. I heard both princesses laughing, and I think I even heard some of the guards snickering. Honestly, I'm way too hungry to care that I just made a fool of myself again.
I managed to get up on my own for once, then climbed up the chair and sat my hungry rump down. I noticed I was in a middle section of the table, and the Princesses each sat on the other sides, Celestia to my left, and Luna to my right.
"I think you'll find these quite tasty." Celestia's horn glowed once again, and a handful of pastries and fruits hovered on a plate, then the entire dish was levitating toward me. "Please... before I eat it myself."
I picked up what looked like a blueberry muffin and sniffed it a little. Yep, a blueberry muffin. And was that vanilla extract? I guess being a dragon must heighten my senses or something, but I don't really feel a difference. Either way, it smells like a normal muffin to me.
I opened my surprisingly wide mouth, and lifted up the muffin, and took a large bite and started chewing.
Oooohhh mmyyyyy gooood.
"This is... THE BEST MUFFIN I EVER HAD!" Without even thinking, I dove my face into the plate, and started shoving these gifts from the gods down my throat. I probably looked like an animal... as ironic as that sounds.
I only just started to realize now what I was doing. I stopped my feeding frenzy and slowly lifted my head away from the plate, some crumbs and juice from all the pastries and fruits dripping off my face. I saw the princesses look at me with shocked expressions, and even saw the guards looking at me with wide eyes, as if I just committed a serious crime in front of the princesses. I don't think I've ever felt my cheeks this hot before.
"Umm..."
I honestly didn't know how to react right now.
Then at that moment, I started hearing snickering. I looked at Luna, who was covering her mouth with a hoof. Then I looked at Celestia, who was biting her lower lip, and I think I see her eyes watering. Then a few seconds later, both of them start laughing out loud. It wasn't very long until I joined in, and I even heard a few of the guards laughing as well.
A minute or two has passed, and we all eventually calmed down. Celestia wiped a tear with a hoof, and looked at me still trying to keep her composure. "I hehe think it's been a hehe long time since anypony made me hehe laugh so hard."
"Indeed." Luna spoke, noticeably a little calmer than her sister. "It felt good to let that out. Thank you, Alexander."
I rubbed the back of my head. "Well I can't lie to ya, I've always been kind of a goofball back at home. I guess that's one of the few things that never left me when I get older." I picked up a chalice and started drinking what I'm pretty sure was punch.
"I completely understand that." Celestia spoke. "Me and Luna try our best to be like our youth despite being thousands of years old."
POOSSSSSHHHH
I coughed up a storm after spitting out my drink. I looked back and forth between Celestia and Luna with a mind-boggled expression. "Did you just... What are... You both are over a thousand years old?!"
"Ten thousand, to be exact." Luna said in an 'as-a-matter-of-fact' way.
This is heavy. They don't look like they've aged even a day over 15... horse life spans are usually around 30 years. "That's... that's amazing! I can only imagine what kind of stories you two must have if you've lived that long."
"Yes, but... some we choose to... keep to ourselves." Luna said that in kind of a more solemn tone. It kinda caught me off guard.
"Right... sorry."
Luna gave me a friendly smile. "Don't be sorry, Alexander. It's just something I'd rather keep to myself. I hope you can understand that."
I gave her a nod. "Yeah, I gotcha. And please, call me Alex. The only one who ever called me by my full name was my mother whenever I got in trouble, hehe."
Luna giggled. "Ok... Alex."
As much fun as I'm having, I think it's about time we finally get down to business. "If it's not too much trouble, Your Majesties, but I think it's about time we all got down to brass tacks." They both looked at me with raised eyebrows. I guess human sayings haven't made their way to pony world. "It means let's get to the point."
They both changed their expressions as if they got what I said.
"And as I said before." Luna spoke. "We will answer them as best we can, and hopefully it will be to your satisfaction."
I gave out a sigh, and I have a feeling I finally might be able to get the answers I've been looking for this whole damn time I've been here. "Ok then, well then I guess I'll start off with this. Where exactly am I?"
"You are in the Kingdom of Equestria. It has been our home for thousands of years." Celestia said in a proud manner. "Overall, you're on the planet Equis." Horse puns. Big surprise.
"Alright, simple enough." I tried to think of which one of my bajillion questions I wanted to ask. Now that I think about it, there was something I wanted to ask Celestia. "When we first met, how exactly did you know my name."
She looked at me with an almost emotionless face. "Because I can read your mind." She said in a pretty sinister voice. It actually scared me. However, her face lightened up and she laughed a bit. "Gotcha. The truth is that word spreads around a lot here in Canterlot when something strange happens. A mysterious dragon wakes up from a coma two weeks after being found outside the city gates, and introduces himself as 'Alex Flame'. Forgive me if I'm being blunt, but I wouldn't call that the most well thought out name." Geez, is this gonna be a running gag for me? Just because I didn't think hard enough on what my name should be?
I waved her off. "Yeah, yeah. It was the first thing that came to mind. And I was under pressure, ya know?! I didn't want Flash to think I was a lunatic, whatever good that did."
Luna chuckled. "I agree it may not be the best name, but I don't mind it one bit."
I felt a tiny bit of heat on my cheeks. "Hehe, thanks. Oh, I almost forgot! I mentioned I heard a disembodied voice before I passed out. I know you said it wasn't you, but do you have any idea who it could've been?"
"Ahh yes, that." She lifted her tea cup with her magic and took a sip, then looked back at me. "There is only one individual in the thousands of years we've been alive that had that kind of power naturally. However, she has been dead for many millennia, so it can't possibly be the case." I would ask who it would be anyway, but it really doesn't matter if she's dead. But then again... the voice was female.
"Hmm... well alright then.", I said simply before I was ready to ask the next question. "I know you're both princesses and all but what exactly is your role as the rulers of Magic Ponyland?"
Luna giggled at my joke. "I am known as the Princess of the Night. My job is to walk through the dream realm and visit ponies while they sleep and protect them from nightmares, as well as raising the moon and filling the night sky with bright stars."
The only response I could give her was wide eyes and an open mouth. I mean for real?! She can visit whoever she likes through their dreams?! And what was that crap about raising the moon?
I looked at Celestia, begging her to tell me she was joking. However, she simply just shrugged! "So then I guess that means you lift up the sun?" I asked in a semi-sarcastic manner. But the only answer I got from her was a nod. I stared at her for a few seconds, and blinked. "Excuse me for a bit." I picked up the chalice again, and took a sip of the punch.
POOSSSSSSHHHHH
I wiped the rest of the punch off my lips. "That's just not possible! You can't just physically move the sun and the moon! They should only be moving depending on a rotating reference frame. The planets rotation is what depends on the rise and fall of the sun and moon!" Honestly I don't know if what I said was 100% accurate, but I know how it works thanks to my astronomy class.
Celestia gave out a chuckle. "I can assure you, my dear dragon, that we can do exactly that. After we're done with this meeting, we can show you what we can do, since it's almost that time anyway." Did I sense a bit of a challenging tone in her voice?
"To answer your question." Luna grabbed my attention back to her. "The reason I was able to talk to you telepathically was because you were in a state of consciousness where I would effectively be able to communicate with you for a short amount of time, seeing as it wouldn't be long until you were comatose. It's not exactly the easiest thing to explain, but I hope it at least gives you and idea."
It was a little confusing, but I did get the gist of it. "Yeah, I guess it does. Now, another thing that has me curious. Why exactly did you ask to see me, and what was it about me that caught your attention?"
"Yes, your arrival was indeed a surprise to us both." Luna spoke, then looked at Celestia. "However, there was... something else about you."
I looked at her with a raised eyebrow, because I have absolutely no idea what she meant by that. I turned my head to Celestia. "Uhh, do ya care to elaborate on what she meant by that?"
She took another sip of her tea. Apparently sipping tea builds up tension. "When you arrived in Equestria, Luna and I... felt something from you. For some reason, it felt slightly... familiar, but at the same time we can't exactly put our hoof on it. I'm sure we'll find out soon enough, but right now it's a complete mystery."
Well... that's interesting. Apparently they felt something from me when I arrived in this world. I wouldn't be surprised if they told me I was the next Dragonborn.
I thought about what exactly it was they felt from me, but I doubt I'll ever figure that out. Then suddenly, another question popped in. "While we're on the topic of me arriving here, do y'all know exactly how I got here?"
Celestia and Luna looked at each other, both with uncertain expressions on their faces.
Luna was the first to speak. "Unfortunately we do not know of how you got here. When we sensed your arrival, that was the first time we knew of your existence.
"You wouldn't happen to remember what happened to you before you arrived in Equestra by any chance, do you?" Celestia asked, obviously curious.
I had to think back two weeks ago when I got done with my Economics project. It was the night before I was supposed to go to the game with my friends. God I can only imagine what they might be thinking of me right now. They probably think I'm dead... I'll worry about that later.
"I remember I got done with some schoolwork, and I was ready to go home. I stopped to take a moment and look at the night sky, enjoying the view of the stars. Then at that moment, some giant, rainbow colored comet crashed down on me. Next thing I knew, I was in Canterlot Hospital." I grabbed the chalice once more and took a sip of the punch, but this time I didn't spit it out. It was actually really tasty, and I'm pretty sure it was fruit punch flavored, which is my favorite. After I put the chalice down, I noticed it was unusually quiet. I looked at both the princesses, and they were looking at me with wide eyes. It was kinda making me uncomfortable. "Uhh... what?"
"Forgive me." Celestia spoke first. "But if I heard correctly, did you just say that before you arrived, you were hit by a rainbow colored comet?"
"That's... exactly what I just said, yeah."
They both looked at each other, still holding their shocked expressions. "Sister, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Luna asked.
"I don't want to believe it, but I don't think it's anything else."
Okay, what the heck is going on now?
"But we haven't seen nor heard from it in thousands of years!" Luna exclaimed in a more concerned tone.
"Excuse me, your Majesties!" I grabbed both their attention. "Sorry for interrupting, but can any of y'all tell me exactly what's going on?"
They looked at each other once more, then back to me. Celestia spoke. "Alex, I believe what you have encountered was Althea's Comet." Of course, why wouldn't it have it's own name?
"And that is..."
"There's an old legend." Luna grabbed my attention. "It is said that Althea's Comet is a random event that occurs every few thousand years. However, it doesn't stay in this world. It is said to have so much magic energy that it has the ability to supposedly teleport to different worlds. We never knew what exactly it could do, but I suppose we're looking at it right now, or rather... 'him'." So in nutshell, a magical, colorful shooting star that transports anyone to pony land and gives them a new body. Wonderful. "There has to be a reason why it chose you." Chose?! Could this be any more insane?!
"Are you saying I'm in Equestria because I was chosen by a shooting star? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard since I've been here, and trust me, that's sayin' something."
"I understand that you have more questions after hearing that, even we do, and we are more than willing to answer them." Celestia spoke, while standing up from her chair, causing Luna to do the same. "However, that will have to wait until tomorrow. It is time to raise the moon."
"Normally I'd object since I have more questions, but I gotta see this." I climbed off the chair and walked towards Celestia.
"Then follow us, and we will show something I think you'll find quite amazing."
Oh, this oughta be good.
After climbing many, many, many flights of stairs, we finally managed to make it to the balcony. I really need to get these wings working as soon as possible.
My whole body was aching, and I was still panting. "Couldn't... we just... use the... front door?"
Both Luna and Celestia laughed, and the latter spoke. "And did you really want to miss this view?" She emphasized her point by pointing a hoof in front of her.
I managed to catch my breath, and walked to where the princess was pointing. What I saw next absolutely blew me away.
Not only did I manage to get a great view of the city, but it was what lied beyond the city that caught my eye. As far as the eye can see, there was nothing but several rows of large mountains, and in between them was a fairly long river.
"It's... beautiful." Both the princesses were looking at me with humble smiles. But before I could enjoy the view more, I noticed that the city was in fact really high off the ground. I looked back and saw nothing but a wall of stone, and turned back to the princesses. "Are we... on a mountain?" I wasn't all that scared of heights, but this really caught me off guard.
Celestia chuckled at my question. "Yes we are, but no need to worry. This city has stood tall and strong for thousands of years." Well that's a relief. "Now, I take it your ready to see what we can do?" I looked at her with a raised eyebrow, then I nodded, ready to see if they were all talk or not.
Celestia stared at the horizon for a few seconds, then closed her eyes. Her massive horn lit up in a yellow aura. I looked at the sun for a bit. but it didn't move. Eh, I figured as much.
Wait... It moved down a bit.
And now it's moving faster!
My eyes widened and mouth locked opened at the sight that I'm seeing... She wasn't kidding! She's actually moving the sun!
The sun was completely out of view when it moved under the mountains. I looked at Celestia while holding the same expression, and she gave me a smirk saying 'told ya'.
"Now it is my turn." I turned to Luna, who already had her eyes closed. Her horn was engulfed in a dark blue aura. I instantly looked at the mountains.
A few seconds have passed, and finally, there it was. A humongous, crescent moon has risen from behind the mountains, and at the same time, the sky turned dark, and was filled with an infinite amount of stars.
Absolutely none of this made sense, but it was amazing nonetheless.
"Wow... I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything." Celestia spoke. "Just enjoy the view." With pleasure.
We all stared at the sky for a few minutes, and after the time passed, I let out an audible yawn, which caught the princesses' attention. "I guess two weeks in a coma wasn't enough." They both giggled at that.
Then to my surprise, Celestia laid down in front of me, and gave me a smile. "Climb on. I don't think you want to walk down those stairs."
"Yes, ma'am." I climbed on her back and laid down on it.
Then we all made our way to the stairs.
We ended our trek down the stairs. Celestia laid down again to let me off. I jumped off her back, and of course I stumbled a little bit, but I managed to stay on my feet. I think I'm starting to get the hang being on all fours.
"Thank you for coming to see us per our request, Alex." Celestia said sweetly, giving me a friendly smile. "I had a great time getting to know you today."
"I agree." Luna spoke. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Alex."
I gave both of them a bow, and this time I didn't fall on my face. "Thank you, Your Majesties. It was a pretty interesting day."
"Please, no need for the formalities anymore." Celestia said, causing me to look up to her." You're our friend now. You may call us Celestia and Luna. But if you insist, you can call us princess."
I didn't know what to say at first. I just met two of Equestria's rulers not even an hour ago and they already consider me their friend?
"I... Well, thanks Your Ma- I mean... Celestia."
She nodded and smiled. "Now, no doubt you must be tired." She looked to her left and gave a head motion telling someone to 'come here'. "I'll have one of my guards escort you to the guest room. I trust it will be to your liking."
I gave her one last bow. "Thank you."
Celestia gave me another nod and a sweet smile before turning away and heading to what I'm guessing would be her bedroom. Luna soon followed suit, but not before giving me one last look. "Sweet dreams, Alex." She gave me a wink.
I sent her a smile. "Night, Luna." Next thing I knew, both Princesses have left my sight. Those two really are incredible. I seriously can't believe I was so afraid to meet them before.
I heard clip clopping coming from my right, and looked to find the source. It was that same pegasus guard that yelled at me before. I kinda frowned as I saw him. I don't normally hold grudges, but this guy didn't really give off a good first impression.
"Please follow me, sir." He said in a gruff voice.
Oh, so now he calls me sir. How polite of him.
I let out a sigh, and looked back at him. "Lead the way, then." I said in an emotionless voice, but he didn't pay any mind to it, and gave me a nod.
The walk was honestly pretty uneventful. I think we've been walking for about 10 minutes. I was walking behind this guy and we didn't exchange a single word. I just want to go to bed already.
"We're here." His voice kinda startled me, since we've been walking in silence this whole time.
We stopped in front of a somewhat tall door.
"This is your room. I believe you'll find it comfortable."
I shrugged in response. "Thanks I guess."
"And if I may, sir. I'd like to apologize for my behavior earlier." That was honestly unexpected. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "I wasn't thinking when I said those things. I uhh... take my job very seriously. I will do anything to protect the princesses."
I know this guy was probably a bit of a grouch, but I definitely can't fault him for his loyalty. I might give him a chance, so I gave him a smile. "Eh, don't sweat it, dude. You were just doing your job, so I can't fault you for that."
He smiled and gave me a nod. "I'll let you get comfortable. Have a good night, sir." And after that, he walked away, leaving me alone.
I walked up to the door and pushed it open, and the other side revealed my bedroom. It didn't look like it was anything too special. But what I could see was a door leading outside, so it must have a balcony. But of course the main reason I'm in here was the bed. It looked queen sized, which is the same sized bed I have back at home. I walked to the bed, and laid a hand on the sheets. I believe it was silk, and it felt very soft. But there was only one way to test that out.
Placed both hands on the bed, and climbed up on the bed.
Hooolllyyy crap. These are probably the softest sheets I've ever laid on.
Without wasting anymore time, I pulled the covers over me, and found myself a comfortable position to sleep.
Man, what a day it's been. I can't imagine what tomorrow's gonna be like.
I know these sheets are really comfy, but it's so damn hard to sleep in a new body.
Having a pair of wings is really not making a good night's sleep easy. I really miss my human body.
"Ahh, screw it." I sat up and stared at the wall for a good minute. I decided to climb out of my bed. I looked at the window, and saw it was still night time. I groaned and rubbed my head a little. I looked at the balcony door, and had an idea. "Ehh, I guess a little fresh air could do me some good."
I walked to the balcony door, and pushed it open. I was greeted with a small breeze, which actually felt pretty good. I looked in the direction the breeze was blowing, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath, and let it out. I looked toward the ledge, and walked up to it. I lifted up my upper body, placing my forelegs on the cold stone, crossing them and laying my head on them, looking down on the still lit city. As I was staring at the city lights, I couldn't help but think...
My home...
My family...
All of my friends...
...Megan.
I can't even imagine how everyone back at home must be feeling right now since I'm not there. I'm not sure if there's a time difference between my world and this one, but I've been here for two weeks. What if that means years must have gone by, and everyone I know died a long time ago? I feel like I'm in Interstellar, but instead of falling in a black hole, I found myself in a world full of talking ponies, and on top of that, I turned into a freaking dragon!
"Dammit." I cursed under my breath.
Why the hell did all of this happen to me? This doesn't make any damn sense! I could be at home right now, under the company of some of my best friends in the whole world. But no! Some random, magical shooting star apparently 'chose' me for something, and took me away from everything important to me, and not even the princesses, who are supposed to be the wisest beings in this damn world, knows why!
"DAMMIT!" I yelled out, while also uncontrollably pounding the stone ledge with my fist. Now that I feel my hands burning, I felt myself calming down. I felt tears running down my face. "Why me... why did this happen to me?"
"Alex?"
I was startled by her voice. I turned around and saw Luna, standing there with a worried expression on her face. I was still upset with everything that's happened to me, so I simply turned around and faced the city again. "What do you want?" I asked quietly.
"What is the matter? You seem... sad."
"Really?" I said in a deadpan, sarcastic manner. "What gave it away?"
I heard her sigh. "Listen, I know you're upset-"
"Upset!?" I quickly turned to face her, and saw she jumped back at my sudden outburst. "Upset doesn't even begin to describe what I'm feeling right now!" I felt the tears coming back. "I was just having a normal day like everyone else, but the next thing I knew, my life changed for the worst when a damn shooting star crashed onto me, and two weeks later, I'm stuck here! In an alien world, while also in a different body! Everyone I care about is probably worried sick about me! Hell, they probably think I'm dead! So saying I'm upset is really putting it mildly! In fact, I'm pissed off!"
I was panting heavily, still holding an angry expression to the Princess of Night, who was staring at me with a remorseful look. I felt my legs shaking, and eventually found myself laying on the stone ground, tears streaming down my face. "Why did this happen to me... It's not fair... I just wanna go home." I covered my face with an arm, trying to hide my sorrow from the princess, whatever good that did.
A few moments of an uncomfortable silence passed through, but I didn't care. I eventually hear clip clopping coming in my direction, but I didn't bother looking up. What happened next caused me to quickly open my eyes and lift my head back up. Luna wrapped her foreleg around me and pulled me in for a hug. I froze for what felt like forever, still shocked at her gesture. A few seconds passed, and I finally got the strength to return the embrace. We held each other for a good minute, and I eventually felt myself calming down after my outburst.
We broke away from the embrace, and I wiped away the tears from my face. I looked at Luna, and saw a friendly smile on her face. "Feel better?"
I chuckled a little at that. "Hehe... yeah, a little bit." I frowned once more. "I just... I don't know how long it'll be until I've soaked all of this in, ya know?"
"I understand... Try to get some sleep. There's still plenty of time before Tia raises the sun."
At the nick of time, I let out a yawn. "Yeah, I suppose you're right." I began walking back to the door, but I stopped midway, and took a glance back at the princess. "Thanks for that, Luna. And sorry I yelled at ya like that."
She still didn't wipe that smile off her face. "No need to apologize. You've been holding all that in for too long, and needed to let it out." Her smile deflated, which caught me off guard. "I don't know if this will make you feel better, but... you're not the only one who felt like he has lost everything."
I raised an eyebrow, trying to decipher what she meant by that. Nevertheless, I nodded and made my way to my bed. "Night, Luna."
"Goodnight, Alex." As I walked through the door, I heard wings flapping behind, telling me Luna has left for the night.
I was sill thinking about what she said before she left. During our talk with her and Celestia, she mentioned she had something that she would rather keep to herself. I wonder if that had something to do with what she told me.
I reached my bed, and climbed up on it. I managed to find myself a comfortable position under the sheets, despite my wings being in the way. I closed my eyes, and felt myself beginning to doze off.
Thump Thump Thump
I jolted awake, startled by the loud knocking. I groaned in annoyance, and rubbed my head a little. "Can't a guy sleep in for a change?" I may have been in a coma for two weeks, but that doesn't count! I still need my beauty sleep, especially after everything I've been through so far. I slowly climbed out of bed, and let out a loud yawn. Out of my control, my yawn turned into a brief roar, like one a lion would make when it yawns. "Whoa... Didn't know I could do that." I shrugged and made my way to the door.
Thump Thump Thump
"Yeah, yeah, keep your horseshoes on, would ya?! I'm coming."
I reached the door and pushed it open, still keeping an annoyed expression. I was greeted by a familiar face, and that smirk that annoys the crap out of me now.
"Sup, Flame?"
"Flash? What time is it?"
He thumped me in the shoulder with a hoof. "Time for you to wake up, ya lazy bum. The princesses made breakfast and they asked me to get ya. Besides, I doubt you know where you're going in this castle, so you're gonna need a pro to help ya around." He lifts his head up proudly after that last remark.
I formed a smirk. He left himself wide open after that. "Alright then, so where is he?"
"Huh?" He raised an eyebrow at me.
"This pro you mentioned. He coming?"
"What? But I... I just said..."
I held back a pretty hard snicker. This guy is a lot easier to mess with than I thought. "Easy there, dude. I'm just messing with ya. I can't believe that went over your head."
A small blush was on Flash's cheeks. He chuckled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "And I thought I was the one with all the jokes." A sly smirk grew on his face. "I guess you're not as boring as I thought you were."
A smirk made it's way on my face. My cocky side's starting to show, isn't it? "Don't like the taste of your own medicine, eh? You kinda set yourself up for that one. I couldn't miss the opportunity." We both shared a brief chuckle. I felt my stomach began to gurgle. "Hehe, I guess I'm a lot hungrier than I thought."
"I hear that. Let's get going then. This is a breakfast you really don't wanna miss." He turned away and started walking to the dining hall as I followed behind him. "So." I looked at him as we were still walking. "I'm gonna guess your meeting with the princesses went smooth. You are still alive, after all."
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You were right. Sure I was still pretty nervous meeting them, but overall, I had nothing to worry about."
"HA! Told ya!" He bumped my shoulder. "You really looked like you were about to wet the floor."
I punched him back. "Hey, it didn't sound like you were better off your first time either. You told me yourself."
"I said I was nervous. I never said I was scared to the point I needed toilet paper." Toilet paper. Thanks for triggering my PTSD.
"Pfft, yeah ok, tough guy. I'll take your word for it."
I know Flash has been kind of a pain in the neck since I've met him, but I've met much worse. He really is good company, and probably one of the only reasons why I'm still managing to keep my sanity in check while I'm here in pony world. However, I've basically been lying to him about me, trying to keep the stuff about me not being from this world. I frowned at the thought.
"You ok there, Flame?" His voice snapped me from my thoughts, and I looked at him. "What's eatin' ya?"
Well, now's a good time as any. I sighed. "Flash... we're friends, right?"
"Heck yeah, dude!" He nudged me with a wing. "I know I can come off as a bit of a smart mouth, but I take my job seriously, so it's nice to be able to hang out with somepony to share my sense of humor... or somedragon in your case, hehe."
I chuckled, feeling a bit better about what I'm about to do. "Well, this should be easy then. Flash, I gotta come clean with ya."
He raised an eyebrow. "What's up?"
I let out a sigh once more, ready to finally let this all out. "When I first met you, I haven't been... entirely honest with you."
I heard he stopped walking, and I turned to face him, noticing the confused expression on his face. "What are you saying, Flame?" He asked in what I could probably tell was a disappointed tone.
"Remember when I told you that I wasn't exactly from Equestria?" He nodded. "Well, that part's true, but... It's a lot more complicated than that."
He furrowed his eyebrows a bit, causing me to wince a bit. "Flame, if you've been keeping something from me, I wanna hear everything."
I sighed. Yeah, this is gonna be harder than I thought. "Ok... this might take a while."
I explained to him that I used to be a human, a species of intelligent primates. I was from a planet called Earth, and lived in Texas. I told him that, according to the princesses, I was 'chosen' by Althea's Comet, a random event that occurs only once every thousand years or more. I told him that the princesses already knew that I was never a dragon to begin with, and that when I arrived, they said that they 'felt' something familiar about me when the comet hit me, but they couldn't put their hoof on it. "And... well, that's pretty much it." I obviously didn't mention anything about COVID, in case it starts a panic or something even though I don't have it.
Flash was rubbing his head with both hooves, obviously trying to process everything that I told him. "So let me see if I got this whole thing down. So, you were never a dragon in the first place, but something called a human."
"Yeah."
"You're from a planet called Earth, and a land called Tex-Ass."
"Not how you pronounce it, but yeah."
"You were struck by a magic comet that apparently occurs randomly every few thousand years."
"Yep."
"When you arrived the princesses already knew that you weren't from here."
"Correctamundo."
"And apparently they felt something from you."
"Yes, yes, and yes."
He blinked twice, and kept staring at me with wide eyes. I honestly don't know if I'll ever get used to how humongous these ponies' eyes are.
"Dude..." I prepared for the inevitable. I wouldn't be surprised if he wouldn't wanna see me ag- "THAT'S SO COOL!!!"
It was my turn to blink twice and stare at him with wide eyes. Did I just hear that right? "Pardon me, what?"
"Yeah!" He walked around me in a circle. "In the name of Celestia! I don't think I ever imagined meeting anypony from another world."
"Soooo... you're not mad?"
"Are you kidding me?!" He hovered a hoof across my neck. "I mean... sure, I kinda wish you were honest with me from the start, but after everything you've told me, I could care less about that! If you want my honest opinion, this makes you much cooler in my book."
Ok, this is starting to scare me a little. "You sure you're ok with this, Flash? You're taking this way too well."
"Well lucky for you, a lot of weird stuff has been happening in Equestria. So you're not exactly a big surprise, but definitely one for sure."
As much as this is kinda starting to creep me out, I couldn't help but smile at his silly display, feeling better that he doesn't hate me for not being honest with him. "Thanks, Flash. I was afraid you'd hate my guts since I kept this all to myself. That's a weight lifted off my shoulders."
"No problem, Flame. What are friends for?" He lifted up his hoof toward me. I got the message, and gave him a fist bump.
At that moment, I felt my stomach beginning to gurgle again. "Hehe, we've been talking a little too long. Let's get that breakfast you've been boasting about."
"Right behind ya!" Before we could move on, he caught my attention. "Hold up, I just realized something. When you said that the doc advised you to lay off the flying for you to recover, do you really mean..."
"Yeah..." I said in a somber tone, looking back at my useless wings. "I really can't fly."
"Dang." He put a hoof to his chin, then a smile formed on his face. "Hey! Maybe I can show you some tips after we're done with everything. It shouldn't be too hard for ya, I bet you'll get the hang of it."
I chuckled at that. "Easy for you to say. You've been flying your entire life. I didn't realize I had wings until yesterday."
"Yeah well you never know." He nudged me with a wing. "I'm sure you're a fast learner."
I nudged him back. "Obviously you're not a good judge of character." We both shared another brief chuckle. "Come on, we shouldn't keep the princesses waiting. Besides, I'm starving."
"Right this way, sir," He said in an obnoxiously sarcastic manner. I still laughed at it.
"We're here!"
Flash and I walked through the dining hall doors, and saw both the Princesses on each side of the table. Celestia looked at us and a smile grew on her face. "Aahh, there you two are. We were wondering if you'd ever show up or not."
I chuckled sheepishly and rubbed the back of my head. "Yeah, sorry about that. I had to... clear some things up with Flash."
"I see." Luna spoke up. "I assume you told him everything about who you really are?"
"He sure did, Your Majesty." Flash stepped beside me. "And forgive me for being forward, but that's bucking awesome!"
Both the princesses rolled their eyes and chuckled. "Well I'm glad you're taking this whole thing well, Flash." Celestia spoke. "Thank you for bringing our guest. You're excused."
Flash did a salute with a wing, then faced me. "I'll catch ya later, Flame."
"Later, dude." We shared one more fist/hoof bump before he flew away from us. I walked toward the table and climbed on the chair in the middle. I noticed my plate was empty, leaving me disappointed and my stomach angrier.
I heard Celestia giggle. "Don't worry, Alex. Yours is still hot." Her horn glowed, and she hovered an object toward my plate. What I saw made me salivate on the table.
It was a stack of 4, fluffy looking pancakes. The top tier was decorated into a smiling face. Raspberries made the smile, blueberries made the eyes, strawberries made ears, and there was a swirl of whipped cream that made hair.
"This looks amazing! Did you make this yourself?"
"I did!" She smiled brightly. "I always enjoy making my own pancakes. It's an old family recipe."
"And it has never once disappointed, sister." Luna commented sweetly. "Now let's dig in."
She didn't have to tell me. I took a large bite out of the fluffy, culinary piece of art. These are the best pancakes I ever had! Who would've thought that food made by ponies would be the best ever? Without thinking, I decided to dive my head into my food like last time.
I heard Celestia giggle. "I take it you enjoy them."
I lifted my head from the pancakes and looked at Celestia. 'Thrr Urrmurrzn!" I realized I had a mouth full of this fluffy goodness, and the princesses laughed at my silly antics. I struggled to swallow the whole thing down, but I eventually succeeded. "Hehe, I mean they're amazing! These are probably the best pancakes I've ever had in a long time!"
Celestia smiled warmly. "It means a lot to hear somepony say that... well, somedragon in your case."
We continued to eat our food in a comfortable silence. I ate mine in a calmer manner. I still can't believe they're casually letting me behave this way. Back at home, if I behaved like this in front of Queen Elizabeth, I'd have a restraining order from all of England. It's almost like this is normal behavior from them.
"By the way." Celestia's voice caught my attention. "Luna told me about your... breakdown last night."
I stopped eating, and let out a sigh. "Yeah..." I spoke in a somber tone. "I couldn't sleep well at first, so I figured a little fresh air would do me good. I guess when I really thought about it, it made me realize just how much of a crappy situation I got into. I just didn't think I would get so upset. I't's just that all of this happened so fast and very unexpectedly. I don't think I've ever gotten that upset before."
"Your outburst was completely understandable Alex." I faced Luna. "You were taken away from everything you hold dear to your heart. You have every right to be upset."
I nodded at that. I then just realized that there was one more question that I wanted to ask them yesterday. "I know this is probably a long shot, and I'm not entirely sure you can pull it off. But... is there any way you can help me get back to my world?"
Both the princesses looked at each other, both of their faces bearing a regretful expression, which pretty much answers my question.
"We do have..." I immediately looked at Celestia, hope building up inside me. "Something below the castle. It's an ancient mirror that let's anypony pass through, and takes them to a dimension different from ours." I smiled brightly, and was about to ask if it would work. "However..." She lifted her hoof, causing my smile to deflate. "It only works when it is part of our multiverse. You are from a completely different universe from ours. So..."
"So... I'm stuck here."
She nodded. "I'm so sorry, Alex."
I knew it was a tall order, but it is what it is. I'll never see my family and friends again. I felt a tear run down my face.
"We knew you would ask us that sooner than later, and your reaction would be as it is now." I faced Luna. "Which is why my sister and I came up with a solution."
I wiped the tear from my face, anxious to know what they had planned for me. "A solution? What does she mean by that?" I turned to Celestia to get a more specific answer.
"We decided it is best we put you under the care of one of our subjects. More specifically, my former student, Twilight Sparkle. She lives in Ponyville, along with the rest of the Elements of Harmony. I've already informed them of your arrival. They are a wonderful bunch. I'm sure you'll get along with them just fine."
So. Many. Questions! I think I felt my eyes roll around in every direction.
I heard Luna giggle. "We assume you have more questions, but when you get to Ponyville, Princess Sparkle will have an answer to all of them."
I widened my eyes after hearing that last part. "Wait, you two aren't the only princesses!?"
"Yes," Celestia spoke. "There is also our niece, Cadence, who rules a different empire here in Equestria, along with her husband, Shining Armor. I'm sure you'll meet them soon enough."
"Right... so, when do I leave for... Ponyville?" I'm not sure I'll take that name seriously any time soon.
Luna spoke. "We decided that you will leave first thing tomorrow morning. We figured you would enjoy Canterlot at least one more day."
I suppose another day here wouldn't hurt. I actually do wanna check out more of the city. "Yeah, I guess I could stay here another day."
"Excellent." Celestia stood up from her chair, lifting the remains of her breakfast with her magic, and dumping it in a nearby bucket. "Now, I believe we've came up with a reasonable plan for you. I think I'll take my leave. Duty calls."
Luna also stood up, throwing away the remains of her breakfast as well. "Agreed. Being the Princess of the Night means I may sleep during the day. So if you may excuse me, I bid you all good day."
Both the Princesses walked away to their respective posts, leaving me alone at the dining table. Celestia stopped before she could get any further, and turned around to look at me. "I promise you, Alex. Everything will work out for you in the end." She lowered her head, and I noticed a regretful expression on her face. "I just wish we could help you more."
I lowered my head and sighed. "I'm not gonna lie to you, Princess. I really do wish you and Luna had the power to take me back home. But... I guess it was too much to ask." I raised my head back up to look at her, giving her a small smile. "Don't worry. I won't hold anything against you. It's just gonna be a while until I fully accept the fact that I'm stuck here."
Celestia gave me a warm smile. "I'm very relieved to hear you say that. It would be terrible if this situation jeopardized our friendship. And like I said, Twilight Sparkle is a former student of mine, and is very smart and very kind. I think you will get along with her and her friends just fine."
"Hmm... well, I guess I'll find out once I get there."
She nodded. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must get to my duties. Good day, Alex." She turned around and walked away, leaving me to myself in the dining hall. There were still several guards.
I've been staring at my messy plate for who knows how long. But nothing will ever be as messy as the situation I'm in now. I was just told that I'm stuck in this world for probably the rest of my life, and there's no way to get me back. I closed my eyes tightly, feeling the tears coming down again.
"Tch." I clenched my teeth hard and formed a fist, trying to resist the urge to break the closest object near me. I took in a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, then let it out. I wiped away the tears from my face. I grabbed my plate of leftovers and dumped the remains in the bucket near me.
I realized I still didn't know my way around the castle, and Flash could be anywhere. I walked to the nearest guard. He was a gray coated unicorn, who was probably a couple inches taller than me. "Yo." He slightly turned his head to look at me. "Can ya help me out? I'm tryna get outta here. I... really need some fresh air right now."
"Of course, sir." He tilted his spear down, pointing at the double doors I walked through earlier. "Just keep going down that hallway, then make a right. The stairs will be right there, then you're out of here."
"Thanks." And with that noted, it's time I got some fresh air.
After a few missed turns in this damn castle, I finally managed to make it to the main lobby, and walked up to the large double doors. One of the guards opened it for me so I could get out. I was met with a nice breeze and the brightness of the sun, only this time it didn't blind me like I did last time.
As great as this view is, I still can't get everything that I've been told out of my mind. The thought of never seeing my friends and family again is one of the worst things that's ever happened to me in my life. I don't know how I'm keeping my sanity in check, because I really wish this was all just a nightmare.
"I figured you'd be out of there by now." I looked to my right and saw Flash hovering above me. He wasn't wearing his armor this time. His blue mane was a little swept back, as if the wind blew it back as he was flying. I saw the tattoo on his flank, and it looked like a yellow lightning bolt with a shield in the background.
"Hehe, yeah. I don't think I'll ever be able to find my way in that place. It's like a labyrinth in there."
Flash landed in front of me. "Yeah, you're not wrong about that. It took me a while, but I pretty much know every inch of it now." He suddenly gave me a quizzical look, causing me to raise an eyebrow. "Dude, are you alright? Your eyes are pretty red."
Crap. I didn't think anyone would notice. Then again I almost forgot my eyes are gigantic now, so I guess there's no hiding it. I looked away, feeling my uneasiness return. "It's... nothing."
"Yeah, that's definitely not nothing." He didn't buy my lie. "Come on, Flame. You're my friend now. You can tell me anything. What's got ya down?"
I looked at him through the corner of my eye, and I could tell he was definitely curious . I'm honestly surprised he cares so much about my problems. These ponies can be too damn nice sometimes. Even though it's not entirely his business, I'd be lying if I didn't appreciate his concern. I sighed, and fully faced him.
"Okay... well, I was talking to the princesses and having breakfast. It was delicious by the way." I let out a short and quiet chuckle. "So I figured it would be a good time to ask them if there was any way for them to send me back to my world... long story short, it was pointless."
Flash's eyes widened. "Wait... so, you're saying..."
I lowered my head to the ground. "Yeah... I'm stuck here."
It was silent for a moment. I doubt he would really have anything to say to make the situation better anyway.
"Alex?" I looked back up to him, and his face had a sorrowful expression. "Are... Are you gonna... be alright?"
I sighed and turned away from him. "I don't know, Flash... No... No, no I'm not." As if it came out of nowhere, I felt myself starting to get angry. "I was just taken away from my home. From everybody I know and love. And now I'm stuck here! All because of so-called 'chance'! Why me?!" I turned to Flash with furrowed eyebrows, causing him to step back. "Why did it have to be me?! All of this!" I waved my arm around, emphasizing everything around us: The city, the castle, this whole damn world. "This shouldn't be real! You shouldn't be real! All of this... IT'S BULLSHIT!"
I was panting heavily after my rant. Flash kept looking at me with the same gloom expression. I felt my legs shaking again. I fell on my rear and sat there with my head hanging low, tears running down again. I'm pretty sure any other pony around us heard that, but I didn't care.
There was an uncomfortable silence between me and Flash. I inhaled one more large breath, composing myself after my outburst. I slowly looked up at Flash, who looked away from me, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm... I'm sorry Flash... I didn't mean to yell at you... I'm just... I just wanna go home."
Flash looked back at me, and surprisingly, walked up to me, and put a hoof on my shoulder. He gave me a small smile. "Don't worry about it, Flame. I don't know what you're going through, but you have every right in the world to be angry about all of this. If I were in your position, I don't think I would be able keep my head on straight. And don't think you're gonna be alone in this. You have me and the princesses. We got your back."
This guy never ceases to surprise me. One moment he's a wise cracking pain in the ass, and the next thing I know he's as wise as Celestia. I still can't get these lingering thoughts out of my mind, but I'm feeling a sense of easiness through Flash's words. I gathered the strength to lift my self up from the ground. I gave Flash a smile. "Thanks, Flash. I've been an emotional wreck, haven't I?"
He chuckled. "I'd be lying if I said you weren't, but with everything that's happened to you so far, I don't blame ya. Hey, I got an idea. Why don't we go grab a bite. There's this curry place that's been getting a lot of buzz around town. I'll buy."
I was still kinda full from the pancakes, but I suppose I could fit something else in there. "Sure, why not. I'm surprised you ponies have curry in this world." We began to start walking.
"Yeah, I'm sure there's a lot of things about us that'll surprise ya." Suddenly his face brightened up more than usual. "Oh! When we're done, we gotta get those wings working. You don't know what your missing out on."
I looked back at my immobile wings, which are still folded up to my sides. "Yeah, I've really been wanting to test these babies out."
"Trust me, it'll be awesome."
We started to make our way to town. I don't what this world has in store for me, but it's definitely gonna be an interesting journey, I can say that much.
Flash and I walked out of the curry place called The Tasty Treat. As I predicted, most of the stuff they had was for ponies. There were oatcakes and stuff with hay and grass in them. However, they did have a spicy flat noodle soup, which was probably the best soup I ever had. I don't know how, but so far some of the stuff I've had here in pony world was better than the food back at home. As we talked, I finally got my answer as to why all these ponies have tattoos on their butts.
"Yep! They appear as soon as somepony figures out their special talent. Once it's been discovered... Boom." He points to his cutie mark, emphasizing his point. "This baby appears." He suddenly gives me a quizzical look. "Do you humans not have cutie marks?"
I gave him a deadpan look. "...No, Flash. We don't have tattoos that magically appear on the sides of our asses."
He let out a chuckle. "I suppose it does sound pretty ridiculous to you, but it's been like that since... well, pretty much forever. How do you humans know what your special talent is?"
"Well... we kinda just... do, if that makes any sense. At a young age, we become interested in a certain thing, and we set that as a goal. Once we go to college, we have to study hard for it if we want that certain thing to be our job. So it's kinda similar to how you ponies do... well, you know... without the tattoo appearing on your butt, hehe."
He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so."
"Also we have talents that we like to do for fun. For example, I played guitar a lot back at home." I said that with a bit of pride. I've always loved music back at home. "I don't want to do it for a living. It's just something I enjoy doing on my own time."
Flash nudged with a wing. "Dude, that's awesome! It's always nice to have a hobby."
"Ain't that the truth."
"By the way, I never asked ya before. Since you're... uhh, well... you know..."
"Stuck here?", I said in an emotionless manner.
He chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah... So what's your plan? What are you gonna do?"
"Well the princesses said that they're putting me under the care of someone named 'Twilight Sparkle' in 'Ponyville'. Apparently she's really close to them." We were still walking around town, and I realized that Flash hasn't said anything in the last few seconds. I looked over to him, and I'm pretty sure I saw a bit of red on his cheeks. "Uhh, you ok there, bud?"
He quickly looked up to me. "What? Oh, uhh... yeah I'm-I'm fine." He rubbed the back of his head.
"Are you sure? You haven't said anything since I mentioned..." I can't believe I didn't realize it sooner. After I said that pony's name, Flash hasn't said a word. A smirk made it's way across my face, and I leaned in closer to Flash, who's cheeks were still a little red. "Ooooohhhh, I see what's happening."
Pretty sure the red on his cheeks just got even brighter. "I don't... know what you're, uhh... talking about."
I nudged him with an elbow. "Does Mr. Wise Guy over here have an itty bitty crush on a certain someone?"
He let out an annoyed grunt and pushed me away from him, but my smirk never went away. "Watch it, Flame."
I let out a soft laugh. "Or what? You gonna put me back in the hospital?"
He looked at me with a glare. "Keep it up and I just might do that."
Ok, I get that I may be having a little too much fun pushing his buttons, but that was pretty aggressive, considering he probably could take me down since I haven't gotten fully used to my body yet. "Geez, dude. I didn't mean to get ya all riled up like that. I was just messin' with ya." I looked away from him, feeling the uneasiness around us.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't afraid that he would keep his word. I took a quick glimpse back at him. However, to my surprise, his glare on me vanished. He took in a deep breath, and let it out. He then looked back at me with much calmer expression. "Yeah, I know, Flame. Sorry I kinda snapped like that. It's just... If you really must know... Yes, I do have a bit of a crush on somepony... Let's just leave it at that."
I smiled lightly, feeling better that there's no bad blood between us. "Fair enough."
We continued our walk in a more easy silence. However, because we stopped talking for once, I noticed that Flash and I have been getting stares from the other ponies around town, but of course most of them were targeted towards me. Have they been staring at us the entire time we've been walking through town? Some of them looked at me as if I was this new phenomenon that no one has ever seen before. Others looked at me with what I could recognize as fear and disgust. I shouldn't be all that surprised. These ponies aren't gonna get used to me as quick as Flash and the princesses did. I looked back at Flash. "Seems I became quite popular, haven't I?", I asked in a deadpan sarcastic tone.
He chuckled a little, and looked back at me. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just try to ignore them." Easier said than done.
"Ugh." I turned my head to see who did that. It was a unicorn mare, whose coat was a yellowish color and mane was twirled up like a bun. She was looking at me through the corner of her eye in a way that was kinda ticking me off, but quickly shut it and raised her head up while walking away with what looked like her husband, who was also a unicorn, with a light blue coat and a mustache that would've passed in the 1800's. "That pegasus should really keep a leash on that ghastly creature.", she spoke in a really snobbish tone.
Oh no... She... Didn't!
I actually let out a growl while holding a furious expression on my face. "I'll be right back."
"Flame, no! Get back here!", he whispered intensely, but I ignored him as I walked towards that nag.
"Hey, Bun-head! Ya got somethin' to say to me!?"
She looked back at me with an expected shock on her face, and placed a hoof on her chest and gasped rather... dramatically. "How dare you speak that way to a lady!"
My mouth curled into a smirk. "Oh I'm sorry. I had no idea I was talking to a lady."
I heard several gasps around us, and I'm pretty sure I heard a few snickers. Suddenly, that nag's husband came up to me, eyebrows furrowed and his face inches away from mine. "You should be ashamed of yourself!", he spoke in the same snobbish tone as his wife. "No one talks to my wife that way! Apologize immediately!"
"I ain't apologizin' to anyone, gramps!"
His glare deepened. "Why you scaly vermin! Apologize, or else!"
"Do your worst, you pompous asshole!"
"Flame, that's enough!" Flash pushed between me and the stallion and dragged me away. "They're not worth it! You're drawing too much attention!"
My eyes never left that old hoot's sight as Flash was keeping me from doing anything I might... keyword, might, regret. I looked at Flash, who was staring at me with those wide eyes, as if he's begging me to stop. I let out a huff, slapped Flash's hooves off of me, and quickly turned around and walked off. I didn't know where to exactly, but anywhere is better than here.
"Guard business, go back to your shopping," I heard Flash say to the crowd around us before he trotted back up to me. I kept looking straight, my face still scrunched up in anger. Who the hell did those snobby glue products think they were? No one talks behind my back and gets away with it.
"Look, Flame, I know they were way out of line, but you can't draw attention to yourself like that. You being around is enough of a scene as it is." I ignored him and kept walking, not in the mood to talk about what just happened. "Flame... FLAME!"
"WHAT!?"
For a split second there, I felt heat spread across my body. Flash jumped back after I snapped and looked above my head. Curious as to why he was looking above me, I raised my head up, and saw smoke inches above me, rising to the sky. Whatever kind of anger I had before immediately switched to shock and confusion. Did my body catch on fire for a second? I looked back at Flash, both of us looking at each other with dumbfounded expressions on our faces.
"Uhh...", was all I could say at the moment.
"Uhh...", Flash was just as speechless as me.
"You uhh... do you... know what happened?" He nodded. "Do you... wanna tell me?"
"Y-your... y-your wings just... just caught on fire for a second!" My eyes widened. Is he serious?! "And your hair just glowed orange too!" What the hell is this body doing to me? Do I catch on fire whenever I get pissed? Is this normal for a dragon in this world?
I shook my head rapidly, trying to snap myself out of my thoughts. "Look, let's just try to forget about all this and get back to the castle. I think my headache's starting to come back."
"Yeah... sounds good to me."
We both started our walk back to the castle in silence.
We finally managed to reach the castle, and walked up the steps, trying our best not to talk about that little incident that happened on Restaurant Row.
"Hey." I turned to Flash, who was looking at me with concern. "You good? I'd understand if your pretty upset."
I let out a sigh. "I don't know Flash. My life is just so screwed up now. I don't think I'll ever get used to this."
"Yeah, I get that." Then suddenly, his face just brightened up, causing me to flinch a bit. "Hey! I think I know what might cheer ya up."
I raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"
"We gotta get these babies working." He flicked one of my wings. "It really isn't that hard. Come on, I know a place." He trotted inside the castle. Did he just magically forget about what happened not too long ago? That pegasus never ceases to surprise and confuse me. Nevertheless, I followed him to wherever he was taking me.
"Here we are."
It definitely looked like it was a training room of some sorts, but it was huge! It was probably three times bigger than the gym I used to go to back in Texas. There were several rows of armor, weapons and shields. And there were a few weight lifting machines, barbells and everything. But ponies don't have any fingers. How are they supposed to grab onto anything?
I whistled. Good to know I can still do that even with a new body. "Pretty impressive gym ya got here."
"I know right? Me and some of the boys will come here and do some lifting whenever we got time off our hooves." He suddenly lifted himself off the ground, hovering right above me. "Alright, Flame. You ready to get those wings workin'?"
"Heck yeah I am!"
A grin formed on his face, and slowly started flying circles around me. "Good. Now, listen to me carefully. Since your body structure is pretty much built like mine and everypony else's, you should have the same basic muscular patterns on your back. Have you ever felt anything tingly yet since you've been here?"
I had to think back when I walked out of the hospital and first met Flash. "Yeah, I actually did. I was trying to see if I could at least move them by shrugging my shoulders a bit, but nothing happened. Eventually I felt a little movement in my back, and my wings kinda fidgeted a little."
"Bingo!" They say that here? "Those are the muscles used to provide movement for your wings. Shrugging your shoulders won't do anything for you except make ya look like an idiot." I frowned. That wasn't really necessary. "Now the key is don't be too tense. That'll cause you to clench your muscles and you won't get any smooth patterns when you flap." Dang. For a wise-ass, he really knows his stuff. "Now, go ahead and try to flare them open."
I closed my eyes and got into a decent position, and tried to focus my will on my back muscles. I could feel a little movement in my back, and I could feel my wings starting to move around a bit.
"That's it.", I heard Flash encouraging me. "Just remember, don't be too tense. Just relax."
Then right on que, I felt my wings rapidly unfurl off the sides of my back. I quickly opened my eyes and looked back. They were pretty much what I expected them to look like. They were bat-like, with 5 "fingers" and a light green membrane that goes from the tip of the forearm to the side of my back. I also noticed they weren't exactly big. They were the same size as Flash's wings and pretty much every other pegasus I've seen.
I looked up at Flash with a large smile. "Hey, I did it!"
"Good job, dude! Now the fun part. In order to get nice, even flaps, ya gotta make sure you're using both your muscles calmly and evenly. Lose focus, and you're gonna land in the dirt face first."
I nodded, ready to give this a shot. Focusing on my back again, I felt my wings slowly start to move up and down, but it was terribly uneven. My wings were flailing all over the place. I heard Flash laughing in the air, causing me to look up to him and give him a glare.
"Haha, sorry. Like I said, don't lose your focus, and your flaps will be nice and even."
I closed my eyes once more. My wings were still flapping unevenly. However, I began to feel my muscles on my back, and they were contracting in a more even manner. At that moment, I actually felt my wings began to flap much more evenly, but I didn't want to jinx it and lose my focus.
"There ya go. Now try to go faster."
I obliged, feeling my wings increase in speed a little, but I still kept my eyes closed, trying not to lose my focus. I made my wings flap even faster. Barely able to keep on concentrating, I felt myself beginning to slowly lift from the ground.
Holy crap! This is actually happening! I think I'm flying!
A few seconds passed, and I finally opened my eyes, and I was at eye level with Flash. He was looking at me with a prideful smile. I looked back and saw my wings flapping evenly, then looked down, and saw that I was 10 feet off the ground. "I... I did it... I DID IT! I'M FLYING!"
"Heck yeah you are! High hoof!"
As I was about to slap hooves... hands... with Flash, I suddenly lost control of my flight, and twirled to the right, crashing to the floor. I felt dazed, eyes rolling all over the place, and my headache is definitely back for sure.
"Dude, are you ok?" My vision was a little wonky, but I could see the concerned look on Flash's face.
"Uuugghhh." I rubbed my head while also brushing my little hair tuft. "...That hurt."
Flash chuckled a little. "I bet. It could've been a lot worse , though." He held out his hoof, which I grabbed. He lifted me up, but I was still a little dizzy from the fall, so I was wobbling around a little. "You doing alright there?"
I shook my head rapidly. "Hehe, yeah, I'll live. But did ya see that! I actually flew!"
"Yeah you did! But there's a lot more to it than that. I may be a decent flyer, but if you really wanna learn how to do all the fun and reckless stuff, talk to Rainbow Dash when you get to Ponyville. She's got quite an ego, but she's the best flyer I know. Just try not to get yourself hurt. She tends to go overboard sometimes... no, always."
Rainbow Dash, eh? It sounds cooler than most names I've heard in this world, I'll give it that much. "Interesting. I'll keep that in mind."
"That really was impressive, Alex," a gentle voice came from behind us.
Me and Flash looked to the doorway and saw both the Princesses standing there with smiles on their faces.
"Your Majesties," Flash said as he quickly bowed down. I followed suit, and this time I managed to stay on my feet. I might finally be getting used to this, aside from running.
"Rise, my little pony... and dragon." Celestia ended that with a giggle. Me and Flash stood up and looked up at both of the rulers. "Like I said before, I was very impressed by how quickly you've learned to get yourself off the ground."
I looked back and flared my wings open. I felt a little pride build up inside me. "Yeah, for real. It might take a while for me to actually get these things working properly." I closed them and looked back up to the princesses. "But I think I can pull it off. That'll probably be what I look forward to most about being a dragon."
"I'm quite sure there's more to it about being a dragon than just flying," Luna said as if she was completely sure. "Now, it's almost time to raise the moon. Me and Tia also decided it would be fitting for you to have one last meal here before your trip to Ponyville tomorrow. Flash, you're more than welcome to join us."
"Thanks, Your Majesty, but I'm gonna politely decline. I gotta go talk to the old timer before I head home."
This caught my interest. "Old timer?"
"Yeah. My great great... uhh, well, my grandfather, Flash Magnus."
"Oh yeah, apparently some old heroes that got released from some sort of prison. I think the princesses told me about that yesterday."
"Yep, that's them. But if you really want to know more, talk to Twilight." His cheeks turned a light red after he said her name again. Geez, this guy is so lovey-dovey. "Anyway, I gotta get going. Good job on those wings, Flame. Before you leave tomorrow, come find me." He lifted his hoof toward me.
"Will do." I bumped is hoof with my fist. Soon after, he flies away from me and the princesses.
"So..." Celestia's voice caught my attention. "Shall we?"
A smile grew on my face, ready to see what the princesses have prepared. "We shall."
After another dinner that consisted of fruits and sweets, I decided to call it a night and wanted to go to bed. Obviously a guard escorted me to my room, because I still didn't know my way around the castle. I opened the door to my room and immediately went for the bed. I climbed up on it and got under the comfy sheets, trying to find myself a decent position, since my wings kept getting in the way.
Before I dozed off, a sudden realization came to me. That town that Lyra and Bon Bon mentioned that's not too far from here... I wonder if what they were talking about was Ponyville. "Huh... maybe I'll see them again sooner than I thought." I guess I'll find out tomorrow. And without further hesitation, I closed my eyes and felt myself dozing off, preparing myself for the next chapter in my new life here in Equestria.
I slowly opened my eyes, and the only thing I could see was the light blue ceiling. I know today's the day I leave Canterlot, but I really don't want to leave this bed, considering it's the most comfortable bed I've ever been in in my life. This reminds me of back home, when I had to wake up for an early morning class, my alarm went off, but I tried to force myself back to sleep, even if I had to rush myself to get ready for class.
I groaned to myself, really not wanting to climb myself out of bed. Not only is it super comfy, but I also realized that if I get out of this bed, then it's going to be the start of the next chapter of my new life here in Equestria. I might as well just get it over with, because I'm not starting anything if I stay in this bed forever.
Very reluctantly, I slowly pushed the covers off of my body, and began to climb off the bed onto the cold but clean floor. I managed to stay on all my feet without any problems. Obviously it's going to take a while until I've really got this new body under full control, but I think I've gotten fully used to the basics. I mean I've gotten my wings working for God's sake. Not all the way, but it's definitely a start thanks to Flash. But apparently if I really want to know how awesome it feels to fly, I should talk to this Rainbow Dash when I get to Ponyville... I still can't get over how silly that sounds.
Actually, speaking of God, since I'm probably going to be living in this world for pretty much the rest of my life, I wonder what kind of 'deity' these ponies look up to.
Now that I think about it, I remember when I told Flash about where I was actually from, and he said something like 'in the name of Celestia.' Do these ponies view the princesses as some type of goddess? Very interesting. Then again I thought the same thing when I first saw them.
I let out a yawn, but this time I did't let out a lion-like roar like I did the last time. At that moment, I heard knocking coming from the door. I ruffled the tuft of hair on my head a little. "Well... let's do this." I walked toward the door, and opened it. The source of the knocking was my favorite pegasus guard from the throne room. "Sup," I said in a somewhat deadpan tone.
"Sir. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna would like to see you in the throne."
I gave out a short chuckle and bumped him in the shoulder. "Dude, don't call me sir. It makes me sound old. Just call me Alex... or Flame... whatever floats your boat."
He raised an eyebrow. "Uhhh... ok then... umm, Alex."
"Alrighty then. So, we headin' out?"
"Yessi- uhh I mean..." He let out a large breath through his nostrils. "Never mind. Let's just go."
I laughed while I walked beside him. "You know, take away all that grouch and serious demeanor, you're actually not a bad guy. You should lighten up, live life a little. But don't do it as much as Flash. Don't want two of him runnin' around in the world."
As much as I didn't want to believe it, he actually let out a brief chuckle at my joke. "Yeah, you're right about that."
I was curious about something else. "By the way, I don't think I ever got your name."
He looked at me with a bemused expression. "You're really interested in getting to know me? After all I didn't exactly give off the best first impression." He ended that with a sheepish chuckle. Does this guy really feel bad for how he spoke to me when I first met the princesses?
I simply shrugged. "Eh, no biggie. You were just doin' your duty. Besides, I believe in second chances, and you don't seem like a bad guy." I stopped walking and fully faced him, causing him to follow suit. "So whaddya say? Let's start over." I extended my hand toward him. "I'm Alex Flame, but I'm sure ya knew that."
He looked at my hand with a raised eyebrow, then looked right at me. He then gave me a small smile. "You really are an interesting character, ya know that?"
I simply shrugged. "You're not the first one to say that to me. I had that certain effect on people back at home."
He shook his head, but didn't wipe the smile from his face. He than raised his hoof and 'grabbed' my hand, and started shaking it. "The name's Nova Sky."
"Heh, pretty cool name ya got there."
All of a sudden, a cocky looking smirk formed on his face. "If I'm gonna be honest, your name isn't exactly the most well thought out."
I formed a deep frown. For real? That's never not gonna be brought up in this world, will it? "Ugh, come on, let's go see the princesses already."
He let out a laugh. "Right this way... sir." He gave a hand... hoof gesture telling me 'after you'.
I already miss the grouchy and serious persona. This guy's a lot more like Flash than I give him credit for.
"So it really took seven overtimes?!"
I figured if I wanted to get to know this guy, then why not tell him what happened during the greatest college football game ever. I smiled with pride. "Yep! And all it took was Kellen Mond passing it to Kendrick Rogers for a 2-point conversion and we won the game. I don't think I've ever screamed so much in my life." I'm 100% positive he had absolutely no idea what I was talking about, but it's nice to see that he's getting a kick out of the story. That game is gonna go down in the history books, I can say that much.
He looked at me as if his mind has been blown to pieces. "That's amazing! It sounds like these Aggies were the best team back in your world."
I frowned at that, knowing as sad as it sounds, it wasn't true. "I wish that were true. Unfortunately that prestigious honor goes to either Alabama or Clemson." Those two names make me wanna burst into flames. "I wouldn't be surprised if they faced off in the championship game again this year."
"I may not know anything about sports back in your world, but I'm sure your team will make it to the top one day."
I chuckled at that statement. "Oh trust me... I do too."
"Hey, we're here. You go on ahead, I'll hang back."
He stopped walking, but I walked a little further until I stopped to face him. "Alright, then. It was cool talkin' to ya, Sky."
He gave me a smile. "Yeah, same for you, Alex Flame. I wish you good luck on your life here in Equestria. I'm sure things will go well for you in the end."
"Preciate that, Sky. I'm gonna need all the support I can get." He responded to that by giving me a nod, then turns around and goes about his business. At least it's nice to know I made a new friend. I faced the direction of the throne room and started walking down towards said place.
I could see Celestia in my line of sight, and I saw that she was reading a letter or something while sipping her tea cup. She then noticed I was in the room and looked at me, a smile growing on her face. "Ahh, hello Alex. It's nice to see you up this early in the morning. I thought you would never wake up."
I let out a short laugh, ruffling my hair. "Believe me, that was one idea I had in mind. That bed was so comfy, I just wanted to lay in it forever." I looked around, noticing that someone was not present. "Where's Luna?"
"Being the Princess of the Night, it makes sense that she would sleep all day. Before she went to bed, she wanted me to tell you that she wishes you the best of luck on your new life."
"Tell her I said thanks then." I know it probably isn't my business, but I was a little curious as to what the letter says. I tilted my head a little. "Whatcha readin' there?"
"Oh this? My former student, Twilight Sparkle, wrote back to me regarding you." She floats the piece of paper towards me. "You can read it if you like."
I took the paper in my grip, and started reading it:
Dear Princess Celestia
I wanted to thank you for trusting me with this huge assignment. I know I will not let you down.
I still can't believe somepony from another world is here in Equestria! I have so many questions that I want to ask him regarding his world and what it's like!
I think he will fit in to Ponyville just fine. Me and my friends will make sure of that. I also think he will be an excellent addition to the School of Friendship. He will make so many new friends there, I'm sure of it.
Please tell him that me and the others are really looking forward to meeting him, and that I hope we will become good friends.
Always,
Twilight Sparkle
I folded the paper as I was done reading it, and Celestia grabbed it with her magic, pulling it toward her. "She seems really nice. I can't wait to meet her."
She giggled. Did I say something funny? "If I may give you a warning; Don't be fooled by how calm it seemed when she wrote that. I'm pretty sure as soon as she got my letter, she probably jumped up and down all over her castle, and screaming out loud about how she's going to meet somepony from another dimension. Don't be surprised if she immediately bombards you with over a hundred questions as soon as she lays eyes on you. But yes, she truly is a sweetheart. She values friendship more than anything in the world. I guarantee you two will become fast friends along with the others."
There was one part of the letter that kind of caught my attention. "What's that part about a 'School of Friendship?'"
"Ahh, yes. I completely forgot to mention this to you. Twilight is also the headmare of a school that is home to many different creatures across Equestria. Dragons, Griffons, you name it. It has become quite famous, and many different creatures attend the school to learn the values of friendship."
This world keeps getting more interesting. "Wow. Friendship is really somethin' to be taken seriously around here, ain't it?"
"It may sound a little silly to you since you're not from here, but here in Equestria, friendship is one of the most cherished things in the world. It's about as strong as love."
Surprisingly enough, I think this makes sense. I made a small smile through the corner of my mouth. "To be honest, Princess... I get it."
She looked at me with a confounded expression. "Really?"
I let out a short chuckle. "Yeah... I had some of the best friends anyone could ever ask for, and I don't know what kind of person I would be if it wasn't for them." I sighed, lowering my head to the ground, my happiness slowly deflated as an obvious realization came to me. "I can't imagine what they might be thinking right now since I'm not there."
"Don't you worry, Alex.", she said in a reassuring, motherly tone. "Once you get to Ponyville and be part of the school, you'll see friendship in ways I bet you never thought possible back at your world. Besides, the school should be fully functional now after rebuilding from the incident a few months back."
I raised an eyebrow at that. "Incident?"
She closed her eyes... to build the ambiance? "Yes. The school was taken over by a power hungry pegasus filly, who conspired with one of Equestria's greatest villains in order to harness the magic of every living being in the world. If you want the full story of what really happened, Twilight and her friends will tell you." A power hungry villain taking over a school in order to get what they want. Sounds very familiar. If there's really more to it than what Celestia's already told me, then it's definitely gonna be an interesting story. "Oh, and before I forget, Flash requested that you meet him outside the castle. He has one more thing he wants to show you before you leave for Ponyville."
I chuckled at that. Why wouldn't he want to see me? "Alright then. I'll head out there now."
"There's a pegasus chariot waiting for you near the city gates. Whenever you're ready, head that way and they will take you directly to Ponyville." I gave her a nod, and as I was about to turn around, she caught my attention again. "Listen. I just wanted to say that it was a pleasure getting to know you these past few days, Alex. I'm sure in the not too distant future we'll see each other again."
A smile made it's way across my face. "Thanks, Princess. You and Luna have been great company and I really appreciate y'alls hospitality. I'll have Twilight write ya sayin' I made it to..." I can't believe I'm about to say this out loud. "... Ponyville."
She let out a short laugh. "I take it that you can't exactly take that name seriously. I understand. But I'll have you know that you won't find anything so quiet and peaceful anywhere else in Equestria. You will fit in just fine and will be friends with everypony."
"I'll take your word for it. Tell Luna I said bye. Thanks again, Celestia. See ya around." I turned around and started walking to the exit, ready to give this new life a try.
"Farewell, Alex Flame. May good fortune find you soon." That might take a while, but I'll take what I can get.
I walked outside the castle, feeling a nice breeze making it's way across my body. I looked up at the blue, cloudless sky, feeling a certain kind of peace looking at it. I closed my eyes and breathed in deep, inhaling the peaceful ambiance this world really gives off, then breathed out.
"Enjoying yourself there?"
I opened my eyes and saw Flash, giving me his signature annoying-ass smirk. I decided to give him my own. "Yeah I was until I saw your face."
He rolled his eyes. "Very funny. Follow me, I wanna introduce ya to somepony."
"Oh yeah? And to whom do I owe the pleasure?"
He chuckled a little bit. "You'll know soon enough." He turned away from me and started trotting, then all of a sudden he stopped, and turned his head around to look at me. "Hey. Why don't we fly there?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"
He turned fully to face me and smiled brightly. "Yeah! It'll be another test run for ya. Besides, it'll get us there faster."
I rubbed my hair a little bit. "Hmm... I dunno, Flash." I looked back at my wings and gave them a small twitch. "I just started getting these things workin'."
A disgruntled expression formed on his face. "Dude, seriously? You're not gonna get better at flying if you don't fly at all. Now we're gonna fly there whether you want to or not. Got it?"
I gave him the stupidest salute I could. "Yeth thir," I said with a lisp while sticking my tongue out.
He groaned in response, then lifted himself off the ground. "Just start flapping."
I laughed a little. "You get riled up too easily, ya know that?" I started to slowly use my back muscles, and my wings started flapping. They were a little out of sync at first, but I managed to get them nice and even. I started to flap them a little faster, and felt myself lifting from the ground. After a few seconds, I was at eye level with Flash, and gave him a smirk. "'Sup?"
He smirked back at me. "Nice. I guess you're starting to get the hang of it. Though it's probably gonna be awhile until you've mastered it."
I shrugged. "All well. I'm a patient guy. I'm not in a rush to be the best flyer ever."
He chuckled a little at that. "Don't let Rainbow Dash hear ya say that. It'll go through her head."
"Noted. So we gonna go meet this guy?"
He swiftly turned around. "Yep! Let's go. Don't worry, I'll go slow enough for you to catch up. Also I forgot to tell you in your lesson. If ya wanna move around while flying, just tilt your body and you can go in any direction you want. Just don't tilt too strong. That's a good way to land face first into the ground."
I nodded, ready to get this show on the road. "Alright, let's go." Flash flew on slowly, while I very slowly and very carefully tilted my body forward, and the next thing I knew, I was following Flash. "Hey! I di- Woah!" I nearly jinxed myself as I nearly lost control of my flight.
Flash laughed as he slowed down and flew by my side. "Yeah, don't get too excited there. That's something I learned when I was in flight camp. Just concentrate for now until you've got full control of your flight, then you can do whatever you want." All I did to respond to that was nod.
We continued our flight in silence. I know this definitely won't be first time I'm going to say this, but flying is freaking awesome! I never would have imagined in any point of my life where I get sent to this new world and be put in a new body that actually lets me have the ability to fly. I remember when I always wanted to wear those wingsuits and glide at high speeds up in the mountains. Now I know that at some point in my time here in Equestria, that dream will become a reality. As me and Flash were flying, I couldn't help but look down to see many ponies leaving my line of sight as I flew forward. I let out a short chuckle. "I think I can get used to this."
"Hey, we're here." Flash started flying down as I did the same.
However, I tilted my body a little too much, and felt myself diving to the ground. "AHH CRAP!" The next thing I knew, I landed belly first into the stone pavement. Thank the Lord I wasn't too high off the ground, because I'm pretty sure I would've been injured, and I've been through plenty of pain since I've been here.
I felt a little dazed, but I saw Flash land in front of me, and saw an expression on his face as if he found my humiliating display amusing. "That could've been worse, I'll give ya that."
I looked up to him, a deadpan expression on my face. "I'm fine, thanks for askin'."
He laughed. "Sorry. Here, lemme help ya." He reached his foreleg down to me, and I grabbed it before he pulled me up.
I twisted my neck in several times in different, and I felt a pop. I then shook my head rapidly. I looked at Flash, who never wiped that smirk off. I groaned in annoyance. "Stop lookin' at me like that. Let's just meet this guy so I can get outta here."
He waved me off with a hoof. "Yeah, yeah, cool your scales off. He usually comes around these parts at this time, so he should be here any second now."
We were standing in the middle of the town square for about a few minutes. The longer we waited for this guy, the more I think if he's even going to show up at all. However, at that moment, I was starting to hear what sounded like marching.
"Hey, ya hear that?", Flash asked, and I gave him a nod. "They're here." Suddenly, a large battalion of royal guards marched right out of a corner, and are now marching in our direction
"TROT, TWO, THREE, FOUR! TROT, TWO, THREE, FOUR!" I got a glimpse if their sergeant, and I'm gonna assume he's the guy Flash wants me to meet. "Come on, rookies! I've seen older mares that have better form than you!" He looked exactly like Flash, same colored coat and everything. His armor looked really old, as if it was worn for thousands of years. For some reason he was only wearing one horsehoe on his left hoof. From the color of red coming out of his helmet, I'm gonna assume that's his mane. I also noticed that his short tail was tied in a knot. His wings were flared up, and I can see a few knicks and scars on them. This guy must have been through a lot. From what I've been told, I'm pretty sure this is Flash Magnus.
He and his battalion started closing distance between us, and when they were close enough, Flash Magnus noticed our presence. "Visitors on sight! COMPANY... HOLT!" In very perfect sync, every single soldier came to a halt, and they all saluted their sergeant, who then walked casually up to us. With a familiar smirk on his face, he thumped Flash in the shoulder. "Am I gonna have to see your face everyday now?"
Flash Sentry gave out a sarcastic laugh. "You're hilarious, gramps."
"You do know that I'm technically not that much older than you, right?"
"I think time will disagree with you there, old timer." Magnus could only respond with a roll of his eyes. Flash then turned in my direction. "Before I completely forget... Gramps, I wanna introduce ya to somepony... or somedragon in my friend's case."
Magnus looked at me, a dubious expression forming on his face as he laid eyes on me. I kinda winced at the way he was staring at me. I looked at Flash, and tilted my head to the left, telling him to come here. He walked toward me and leaned in closer. I whispered, "You did tell him that I was a dragon, right? I really don't like the way he's looking at me."
He gave me a bashful smile, which pretty much answers my question. "Hehe, I uhhh... kinda left that part out. Back in his time, he wasn't very fond of dragons." Wow, thanks for the freaking warning. All I could do was groan and give Flash a glare, which he responded with a sigh. "Just gimme a minute would ya?" He turned back to his grandfather, who never took his eyes off of me. "Listen, gramps. I know he's a dragon, but don't let his appearance fool ya. He's completely harmless. The Princesses and I can vouch for him. You can trust him."
Magnus responded by raising an eyebrow. He suddenly walked up to me, and started walking circles around me. I looked at Flash with a raised eyebrow and confused expression, while he could only shrug. Suddenly, Magnus was directly in front of me. He put a hoof on his chin. "Hmm... Well... You don't seem to be too bad. You don't look like any dragon I've ever seen in my time..." He kept checking me out, then suddenly shrugged. "Ehh, what the hay. You seem harmless. You're not exactly the most intimidating dragon I've ever seen."
I raised an eyebrow. "Honestly I don't know if I should be relieved to hear that, or offended."
Magnus let out a chuckle. "Might as well take what you can get. However, as harmless as you might look, I'm still gonna keep an eye out for ya. A being from another world turned into a dragon? It isn't exactly the most normal thing."
I couldn't help but smirk. "Well neither is being freed from an eternal prison after who knows how long."
Magnus actually laughed at that, much to my relief. "That's true enough! But still, I'm gonna be watching you, even if you aren't here in Canterlot. I have my ways. But let's not have this be a way to meet one another." He reached his foreleg toward me. "I'm Flash Magnus, but I'm sure you knew that already. Flash never mentioned you by name."
I reached his hoof and shook it. "Good to meetcha, Magnus. I'm Alex Flame."
He raised an eyebrow at that. He's going to find it stupid like everyone else isn't he? "Alex Flame, eh?" He suddenly smiled. "I like it. Kinda unique in your own way."
Well it's about freaking time! "Thank you! Do you have any idea how many of these ponies have been saying that my name is stupid to me these past couple of days?!"
"I honestly don't really blame them." I formed a frown. "But I dig it. Don't let anypony else talk ya down. You do what you wanna do."
I placed a finger on my temple. "I'll keep that in mind."
He gave me a nod, then turned back to his squadron. "Well, as much of a pleasure this was, I need to get these hooligans back in tip-top shape. It was good meeting you, Alex Flame. Good luck with whatever you're about to do. I'll see you later too, Flash."
"Take it easy, gramps. Don't go breaking a hip." Not gonna lie I had to stifle a laugh. I'll give him credit, that was pretty funny.
Magnus groaned, but brushed it off and turned to his squadron. "COMPANY... MARCH!" Me and Flash stood in place as we saw Magnus and his squadron marched away from us.
"Well..." I looked back at Flash, who had somewhat of remorseful expression on his face. "Guess this is where we part ways, huh?"
He was my first friend since I've been here. I'm not letting him say goodbye that easily. I thumped him on the shoulder. "Dude, don't be such a sap. I know we'll see each other again."
He let out a short chuckle. "Yeah, you're right. When you get to Ponyville, tell Twilight I said hi. She'll know what it means."
I formed a smirk. "Ya sure she's gonna be able to crack that code?" We both shared a little laugh.
"Listen, Flame. I know I can be a pain in the flank from time to time, but honestly, it's been awesome hanging out with you these past couple days. I wish the best of luck to you trying to get on your feet here in Equestria."
Probably one of the nicest things I've heard him say to me. "Thanks, Flash." I lifted my fist toward him. "Try not to cause more trouble than ya already are."
He gave me a smirk. "No promises there, bud." He bumps his hoof with my fist, then gives me a salute. "See ya!" He lifts himself from the ground and flies away, leaving me alone.
I let out a sigh. I know I've been here for about two weeks, but I actually 'experienced' it these past few days, and so far, I like what I'm seeing, aside from those snobby pricks me and Flash met at Restaurant Row. "Well... Time to get started on this new life." I flapped my wings and slowly lifted myself from the ground. I then found myself hovering above the ground, smiling to myself with pride. Now I'm ready to go to the chariot at the city gate Celestia mentioned.
Wait...
Where's the gate?
"Dammit."
After asking a few ponies around, I was finally pointed in the right direction, so I flew to the city gates. I spotted the chariot that Celestia told me about. I landed maybe a few yards away from it. I could see there were two pegasi strapped to the chariot. Both of them had white coats like Nova did. One of them noticed me and faced his head in my direction. "Ahh, you must be Alex Flame."
"The one and only."
"Go ahead and climb on. By the order of princess Celestia, we will take you directly to Ponyville."
I stared at the chariot for who knows how long, because I just realized... If I get on that chariot... It'll be the start of a new beginning of my life. I lifted my hand in front of my face and saw that it was shaking. To try to stop the shaking, I formed a fist and put it back on the ground. I took a deep breath, then let it out, then slowly made my way toward the chariot. I climbed into the seat and sat down.
"Are you ready, sir?"
I breathed in and out once again, then looked at my two pilots.
I could see the city of Canterlot moving farther and farther away from my sight as the chariot flew, until after several seconds, it eventually became a tiny speck. I'm not gonna lie, I'm really gonna miss that place. I know I'll see it again in the not too distant future, it's just a matter of when exactly.
I sighed, and turned my head back to my two pilots, who were flapping their wings as if their lives depended on it. I figured it would be a really boring trip if I just sat down and did nothing, so I figured why not add a little small talk.
"So..." They never turned their heads. This might be harder than I thought. "How long have y'all been guards... or pilots."
"About 3 years now.", the one on the right answered me.
I looked at the other one. "And you?"
"Just about to hit 5 years." I gave a nod, basically saying 'Cool, cool.'
A few seconds of awkward silence went by. This is getting ridiculous. "So... what're your names?"
"Call me Cloud.", the one on the left said.
"How 'bout you?", I asked the one on the right.
He turned his head slightly and looked at me from the corner of his eye. "I'm also Cloud."
Umm... what?
I blinked twice and moved my eyes back and forth between both pegasi. "So you're both named Cloud?" They didn't answer me.
I groaned and lowered my head. It's too bad interdimensional travel didn't bring my phone with me, because this is gonna be a boring trip.
I looked to the side of the chariot, and I can't believe I didn't notice it before, but the view is absolutely breathtaking. There were green fields with a variety of beautiful plants, tall mountains that could touch the clouds, rivers that had no end to them, and... Is that a rainbow? That's a freaking rainbow! And It was arching over the mountains!
I couldn't help but smile at the beautiful scenery. I'll give this world credit; What it lacks in common physics and astronomy, and at times common sense, the landscape is probably the most beautiful I have ever seen. "You ponies have a beautiful world, that much I'll give ya", I said to myself, thinking it would be pointless to try and form a conversation with both Clouds... that would've sounded ridiculous if I said that out loud.
I put my arms on the side of the chariot, resting my head on them as I continued to enjoy the view for the remainder of the flight.
As if it came out of nowhere, looking at this view suddenly gave me the urge to whistle the opening verse of a particular song that I really enjoyed back at home. As I finished the last of the verse, I then decided to let it out:
Somewhere... over the rainbow Way up high And the... dreams that you dream of Once in a lull... aby~
Somewhere... over the rainbow Bluebirds fly And the... dreams that you dream of Dreams really do come true~
Someday, I wish upon a star Wake up where the clouds are far behind... me~ Where trouble melts like lemon drops High above the chimney top That's where... you'll find me.
Somewhere... over the rainbow Bluebirds fly And the... dreams that you dare to Oh why, oh why... can't I~
I never really thought of myself as much of a singer back at home, but whenever I would have downtime from studying or if I feel like having a moment to myself, I would sing a song or two, and sometimes it would take out a lot of stress that I had during test week or something. Playing guitar also helps me take out that stress as well.
I turned my head and looked at both pilots, just to see if they even acknowledged my existence, but nope, their eyes were still on the... air, and were flapping their wings intensely. I groaned and laid my head back on my arms.
As we were still on our way to Ponyville, I saw something that actually looked rather... unsettling, and in a very uncharacteristic way for this world. I lifted my head from my arms and really got a good look at it. From what I could obviously tell, it was a really, really large forest... literally nothing but trees for miles and miles. But what makes this forest so edgy were the clouds above it. They were very dark clouds, giving the forest it's really gloomy appearance. It was honestly a little cliche, but it was still pretty creepy.
I was actually starting to feel a little uneasy the more I looked at it. During my short time here in Equestria, I've literally felt nothing but a comfortable and peaceful ambiance in the air. This forest... it definitely isn't giving me that same vibe. I physically and emotionally felt myself shudder at this.
I turned my head to both my pilots. "Yo, uhh... err... Cloud?" Both of them slightly turned their head to look at me. I pointed in the direction of the forest. "There a story behind this creepy forest?"
They both looked at the forest for a second, then at each other with nervous expressions, then back at me. "That's the Everfree Forest.", Cloud 1 spoke. "One of the most dangerous places in Equestria. Nopony ever goes there unless they're looking for trouble."
"If you had a quarter of a brain," Cloud 2 voiced, "then you would be smart enough to stay far away from that place. No good ever comes to anypony when they step hoof into that wretched place."
I looked at the forest once again as we continued our flight. "What's in there?"
"The real question is what isn't in there. It's home to every dangerous creature imaginable.Timber Wolves, Manticores, Hydras... Ursa Majors."
So basically Equestria's home to pretty much every single mythical creature I've read about when I was younger. But what was that about an Ursa Major? "Isn't that a constellation in the sky?"
Cloud 1 looked at me through the corner of his eye. "No... They're gigantic bears the size of a castle. The only ones that are capable of defeating one are the Princesses. Other than that, they're basically invincible to any ordinary means of defense." I actually gulped at that. Suddenly, a smirked formed on his face. "So yeah, if I were you, I would stay far away as physically possible from that place if you value your life that much."
I took one last glance at the forest as we started to fly further away from it. "Noted."
"We've arrived."
Not much longer has passed since we flew by the Everfree Forest. The next thing I knew, we've finally arrived at my destination, and the next chapter of my life here in Equestria. I'm not sure if I'm entirely ready for this.
As the chariot descended from the clouds, I inhaled deeply, then let the air out as I could see what could potentially be my new home. It's basically what I expected it to look like: not exactly a big village, but it looks really peaceful just from the sight of it. There were multiple buildings of different sizes and... pretty unusual shapes. They looked a little topsy-turvy, but other than that, it seemed like a normal town. But what stood out the most for me was this really large structure on the other side of town. It looked like a castle, and it was made completely out of what looked like crystals. I had a hunch that's where I'll find Princess Twilight.
Both Clouds landed the chariot near Ponyville. It didn't look like too far of a walk to the castle unless I felt lazy and decided to use my wings. I climbed out of the chariot, and did some stretching in the same way a cat would. To my surprise, I was able to keep my balance while stretching in this ridiculous way. I twisted my neck in multiple directions, hearing cracks and pops with every turn. I inhaled another large breath through my nose, then let it out of my mouth. I walked up to my pilots. "Well, I can't say that was a very eventful trip... but I appreciate you two helpin' me out."
"Just doing our duty, sir.", Cloud 2 responded. Suddenly, he perked up about something, then reached for an object on his back. "Oh. Before I forget, Princess Celestia wanted me to give this to you." He grabbed what he was talking about, and stretched his hoof out, and there was something dangling from his foreleg.
I raised an eyebrow. "Ummm... saddlebags?"
"Yessir. Princess Celestia wanted you to have something to get yourself started on your life here in Ponyville. There's some food in there suitable for a dragon's diet, and 1000 bits."
"Bits?"
He gave a nod. "It's our form of currency. The Princess said it should be enough for food and anything important, so spend it wisely."
Never expected her to give me money since I barely know her, but I appreciated it nonetheless. I simply shrugged and grabbed the saddlebags off of his hoof. "Preciate that Cloud. Thanks again for the ride." They both nodded, and they started to turn the chariot around in the opposite direction. They both began galloping faster and faster, and eventually lifted off, heading back to Canterlot and leaving me alone with my new saddlebags. I sighed.
I put the saddlebags on the ground, opened one of the bags and began rummaging through it, seeing what Celestia so generously gave me. The first thing I felt was something solid and round. I managed to grab hold of it and pulled it out of the bag, and what I saw was... so... shiny!
It was a large green gem that was sparkling from the suns reflection. I'm pretty sure my eyes were also sparkling from the reflection of the gem. Why did Celestia give me these? These things could be worth so much money! I'll ask Princess Twilight what I should do with them when I see her.
Snapping out of my bewildered state, I put the gem back in the bag and closed it. I grab the other bag, and started hearing a bunch of clinging sounds as if there's nothing but coins in it. I slid my hand in the bag and I felt myself digging through a pile of what definitely felt like a large stash of coins. I grabbed a few of them and took my hand out of the bag. I opened my hand and saw thick, golden coins. I'm guessing these are the bits Cloud 1 mentioned... or was it Cloud 2? Dammit, I already forgot which on was which, but that doesn't really matter. Doubt I'll really see them again, honestly.
I put the bits back into the bag and closed it. I couldn't find the food Cloud mentioned. I'll worry about it later, so I simply shrugged. "Okay... Now how the hell am I supposed to put this thing on?" I tried to lift it over my head so it could slide down from the back of my neck and onto my back, hoping it won't mess with my wings too bad. I managed to toss it over my head, and the bag slid down my back and was placed rather smoothly, right behind my wings. "Huh... that was easier than I thought." With that all good and done, I then gave my wings slow and even flaps, and eventually picked up speed. A few seconds later, I was a few feet off the ground. I smiled with pride. I then flew forward. However, I heard a loud thump from behind me, and also felt I wasn't carrying any weight. I turned around and saw my saddlebags on the ground. I sighed and facepalmed. "Never mind... this is gonna be harder than I thought."
After many numerous and very annoying attempts to keep these saddlebages on a stable position on my back while flying, I decided to walk all the way to Princess Twilight's castle. "I swear to God, this whole trip better be worth my time."
While what happened was probably one of the most frustrating things I've ever dealt with in my life, I felt myself calming down as I walked across a small bridge that leads into town. I got a good look at what was around me.
In front of me was a large building that kinda looked like a giant carousel or something. Don't really know if it's anything important, so I just walked around it. I'm gonna be here a while, so I'll check it out later.
As I walked around the large building, I got a good look around everywhere else. The first thing I noticed was the crowd. There were many different types of ponies: Unicorns, Pegasi, and normal ponies. Do the normal ponies have an actual name for them? I need to start figuring all this stuff out. Every single one of them were talking amongst each other and had smiles on their faces as they headed where they needed to go.
I walked closer to a crowd of ponies, a few of them gave me looks, but then immediately went back to their business. Yeah, this place is definitely a lot different from Canterlot. The looks I got there were basically that of disgust, but here it's like they're saying 'Oh hey, he looks new'. I guess Celestia wasn't kidding when she said this place was peaceful.
"Alex?!"
I looked around to find the source of the ecstatic voice calling my name. I eventually looked to my left, and saw a very familiar mint green Unicorn, who had a bewildered but joyful look on her face. I felt a very wide smile forming on my face. "Hey, Lyra!"
She suddenly bolted right after me, and it wasn't much longer until she wrapped her hooves around my neck and squished her cheek against mine. My smile never left my face because of her gesture, and I decided to return the sudden embrace.
We finally broke away from the hug while laughing, and Lyra still had the same gleeful look on her face. "What're you doing here?!" She suddenly formed a snide smirk and nudged me with an elbow. "Did you come here cuz ya missed us that much?"
I rolled my eyes, but my smile never left. "While I can't deny I wanted to see you and Bon Bon again, don't go flatterin' yourself there." Now that I mentioned Bon Bon, she wasn't with Lyra. "Speakin' of which, where is she?"
"Oh, she's just running some errands. I basically have the day to myself." She suddenly perked up about something. "Hey, you wanna hang out or something?"
I rubbed my hair a little bit. It would be pretty nice to chill with Lyra, but I still need to see Princess Twilight. "I don't know Lyra. There's a pretty good reason why I came here."
She gave me a pout, but I doubt it was for real. "Oh come on, dude! Just for a little bit? Pleeaaaassseee?" She kept looking at me with those wide puppy dog eyes. I scrunched up my face, trying to resist the urge to say yes. Suddenly, she lifts herself up and down rapidly, like an eager child wanting to play. "Please please please please please please-"
"Okay, okay!", I yelled in between chuckles, grabbing her shoulders and stopped her from jumping, giving in to her plead. "Calm down, would ya?" I let go of her and shook my head while chuckling at her child-like demeanor. "Sure, we can hang out, but only for a little bit. There's something important I gotta do. I need to meet with Princess Twilight... uhhh, Sprinkle?"
Lyra laughed out loud, thumping me on the shoulder. "It's Twilight Sparkle, ya doofus. She's actually an old friend of mine. Don't let the Princess part scare ya. She's just like everypony else."
"Well that's a relief to hear. So, whaddya wanna do?"
She put a hoof on her chin, obviously thinking about what we should do together. She suddenly smiled brightly again. I swear she's the happiest living being I've ever met in my life. "Hey, I have an idea! There's this place that has the best hayburgers ever! Let's go ahead and grab a bite."
I blinked twice. Did I hear that right? "Did you... just say 'hayburgers'?"
"Yeah! You mean you never..." Her smile faded away as if she realized her mistake. She chuckled sheepishly. "Oh, right... you're a dragon... so I'm guessing hay isn't exactly a part of your diet." You don't say. "That's alright. This place has plenty of stuff for you to be able to keep in your mouth."
I simply shrugged. "Guess I'll believe it when I see it. Lead the way."
Before she began walking to our destination, Lyra looked behind me and pointed. "By the way, you probably don't wanna forget that."
I looked behind me to see what she was talking about, and I saw my saddlebags on the ground once again. I felt veins on my head and neck beginning to pop. "Seriously?!", I whispered venomously, trying to make sure I don't cause much of a scene in this peaceful town.
Lyra let out a hearty laugh. "It must've fallen when I hugged ya. I take it you don't wear saddlebags a lot?" All I could respond to that was a groan. She chuckled once again, and her horn suddenly glowed a bright gold color. The aura engulfed my saddlebags and lifted it up off the ground. It was then levitating towards me, and it was eventually over my back. The gold aura dissipated, and the saddlebags dropped on my back, causing me to grunt a little bit at the weight. My saddlebags were placed over my wings, so I gave my back a wiggle, and to my surprise, the saddlebags were in a stable position. "There ya go!" I turned back to Lyra, who had her eyes closed and smiled brightly. Not gonna lie, it was pretty adorable.
I couldn't help but smile back. "Preciate that, Lyra. This thing's been a pain in the neck... and back, hehe. So, we ready to go?"
"Yep! Follow me. I could even show ya around town on the way there." She started to walk in the other direction, causing me to follow suit and walk beside her. "By the way," she catches my attention, "Why do you need to see Twilight?"
"Well, Princess Celestia had me-"
"Woah woah woah woah, hold up!" She unexpectedly cut me off while both of us stopped walking. "You met with Princess Celestia?!"
I raised an eyebrow at her question. "Uhhh, yeah. Did I not tell ya that back in Canterlot?"
She shook her head saying no. "You kinda left that part out."
"Hehe, my bad." We both started walking again. "She and Luna asked to see me as soon as I woke up from my coma."
She tilted her head, curiosity obviously taking over her. "How come?"
I opened my mouth to answer her, but at the last second I realized that she doesn't know that I'm actually not from this world. I looked away from her. "That's a... long and complicated story." I looked at her once more. "I'll tell you about it later."
She seemed to be confused by what I said. "Uhh, alright then. So, why did you need to see Twilight again?"
"Celestia is letting me stay with her until I figure things out here."
She raised an eyebrow. "Why? Can't you just go home?"
That question caused me to stop walking. Lyra was a few steps ahead of me, but she stopped and fully faced me. I closed my eyes and sighed, feeling myself becoming downhearted.
"Alex?" I opened my eyes and saw a worried expression on Lyra's face. "Why can't you go home?"
I looked away from her and lowered my head. "That's... part of that long story."
"Oh." I looked at Lyra, who had her head facing the ground out of sorrow. Crap, I think I made the happiest pony in this world depressed.
A few seconds of awkward silence passed by, but thankfully it ended after I heard my stomach gurgle. I chuckled a little. "I just realized I forgot to eat before I came here."
Lyra looked at me and raised her head up, and she let out a soft laugh. "Yeah, not exactly the best idea there."
I rolled my eyes, but never wiped away my smile. "Yeah, yeah. This place ain't too far, is it?"
"Nope! We're almost there. Come on." Lyra and I continued our journey for food.
Lyra and I made it to the restaurant she kept boasting about, and it was literally called the Hay Burger. A+ for originality.
As we sat down, Lyra got herself two hayburgers. I just ordered a plate of fries, or to be more specific, hay fries, and I made sure to order them extra crispy. I don't know how, but these fries taste exactly the same as regular fries back at home. This world really doesn't make sense.
As me and Lyra walked here, I got to see some very... interesting buildings. "Again, who's the genius that decided to combine quills and sofas in a store?"
Lyra swallowed her food. "That's Davenport for ya. He has a weird mindset when it comes to business." Ain't that the truth. I took a handful of fries and shoved them into my mouth. "So... about that long story."
I stopped chewing for a moment, closed my eyes and sighed through my nose. I swallowed my food and opened my eyes, seeing a curious expression on her face, her elbows on the table and hooves under her chin. "Well, to start off..." Here it goes. "I'm not actually... from this world."
Lyra just stared at me with those wide eyes. Very unexpectedly, she actually started snickering, causing me to give her a 'what the hell' look. The next thing I know, she starts laughing out loud, and I'm pretty sure I saw water in her eyes. I moved my eyes in both directions, and I saw every pony around us looking at us with raised eyebrows. I frowned, because Lyra had probably been laughing for a good minute.
Her laughter finally started to die down. She wiped away a tear with a hoof. "Phew. I don't think I've laughed that hard in a long time. That was way too funny. Are you seriously trying to tell me that you're from another world?" I kept staring at her with an emotionless face, not even thinking about smiling, and hoping she gets the message. Lyra's smile slowly started to deflate. "You... are joking, right?"
I sighed and rubbed my hair a little. I then crossed my arms on the table. "Get comfy, Lyra. This is gonna take a while."
I basically told her the same story I told Flash. I was originally a human from Earth, and I got sent here because of Althea's Comet, and there's no way for me to get back. Lyra hasn't said a single word throughout the entire time I was telling the story, so I'm guessing she's taking me seriously this time. "... And that's what happened to me. Still think I'm joking?"
Lyra was rubbing her head, obviously trying to let everything sink in. "I... I'm finding this really hard to believe."
I snorted. "Trust me, you're preachin' to the choir on that one. I'm still tryna convince myself that this is all just a dream."
She stopped rubbing her head, but she still looked absolutely dumbfounded after hearing my story. "I... really don't know what to say."
I crossed my arms and leaned back on my seat. "There really isn't anything to say. I was taken from my home, and I probably won't ever get back." I lowered my head, basically staring at my plate of fries. No matter how much I try to not think about never going back home, it always finds a way to be fresh on my mind.
"Alex?" I looked back up at Lyra, who was looking at me with a more remorseful look. "Are you... gonna be okay?"
I sighed, rubbing my hair again. "Well, I haven't lost my sanity yet. I just need to accept the fact that I'm stuck here."
Lyra gave me a small smile. "I'm sure everything will go well for you in the end."
I looked at a window, seeing a bunch of ponies outside with smiles on their faces.
"Yeah... me too."
Lyra and I paid our food and started walking to where I was supposed to be this entire time. Hopefully Princess Twilight won't be too upset that I took longer than expected.
It wasn't a very long walk, and after maybe about 5 minutes, I found myself standing on a hill, and maybe about a football field's length away from us, was Princess Twilight's castle. And my hunch was right: It's made entirely out of crystals. I whistled. "Pretty impressive."
"Yeah, for real... So..." I looked at Lyra. "Guess ya gotta go in, huh?"
"I guess so." I looked back up to the castle. Not gonna lie, I started to feel pretty nervous. Not as nervous as I was before I met the princesses, but I still felt my heart beat a little faster than usual. Suddenly, I felt a hoof being placed on my shoulder. I looked at Lyra, who stared at me with a concerned expression. I gave her a small smile, letting her know I'm ok. "Don't worry, Lyra. I'll be fine."
She returned a smile, and the next thing I knew, she lightly wraps her hooves around my neck and presses her chest against mine. I had no other choice but to return her hug. We broke away after a little while, and Lyra never let go of her smile. She then lightly thumped me on my chest. "Hang in there, dude. Everything'll be ok."
I chuckled lightly. "Preciate that, Lyra. Thanks for showin' me around. See ya soon?"
"Yep! Tell Twilight I said hi." She turned around and started trotting away. "See ya!" She moved farther away from my sight, leaving me alone on the hillside near the castle.
I kept staring at the castle, not moving a muscle. I still can't believe this is about to happen. Right now, I'm looking at the next step to my new life here. No matter how much I want to deny that this whole thing is real, I still try to convince myself that this whole thing is just a really long dream. I inhaled deeply, then let it out, and then reluctantly, I started walking towards the castle.
As I was walking down the hill, I looked to the right, and saw a completely different building on a hillside. If I had to guess, I would assume that this was the School of Friendship Princess Twilight mentioned in her letter. It basically looked like if Hogwarts was designed by the people who made the Barbie dolls. Celestia mentioned that a power-hungry villain took over the school, so I guess it might as well be Hogwarts. I also didn't see anybody around. Is it already the weekend? I kinda lost track of the days after I woke up from my coma.
After nearly a minute of walking, I made it the stairs just before I found myself in front of large double doors. "Okay... here it goes." I lifted up a fist, and started knocking on one of the doors. The knocking left an echo, so hopefully someone heard it.
Not even a minute had gone by, and so far nobody answered. I knocked the door again. I placed my ear on the door, hoping to hear any footsteps coming this way. The doors are probably too thick, so I couldn't hear anything and pulled my head away from the door. I rubbed my hair a bit. "Huh... Guess nobody's home."
I started to turn around and leave, hoping to come back a bit later. However, right before I was about to turn around, the door suddenly opened slowly, and then I heard, "Geez, would ya cool it with the knocking?!" The voice sounded really young, like a little kid, and also pretty irritated. The source of the voice walked out of the door, and what I saw caused me to widen my eyes. It was a little dragon! "You're disturbing my--" He immediately stopped talking after laying eyes on me, and reflected the look I was giving him.
He was a lot different from how I looked. The biggest difference was that he was standing on two legs instead of four. He had a row of spines starting from the top of his head all the way down to his short tail. He had a frill on each side of his head where his ears should be. I also saw a pair of wings folded up on his back.
We both did nothing but stare at each other with dumbfounded expressions on our faces. I blinked twice, and at the exact same time, he did too.
Alright, one of us has to break the ice.
I cleared my throat. "Umm... hi?"
"You're him, aren't you?"
His sudden question caught me a little off guard, causing me to move my eyes in both directions. "Uhh--"
In a split second, he flies right in front of my face, his eyes inches away from mine. "HOLY CELESTIA, IT IS YOU, ISN'T IT?!"
"Woah, what the--"
"Holy hay!" He suddenly starts flying circles around me. "I knew you were a dragon, but you look nothing like I imagined!" Suddenly, he grabs a little bit of my hair, causing me to wince at the stinging. "Why the hay do you have hair?! I've never met a dragon with hair before!"
"Yo, would ya let go of my--"
"Woah! You walk on all fours?!" He flies lower and lifts up my left forearm. "I've never seen that either! Well, except for Lord Torch."
"Who the hell is Lord To--"
He flies right in front of me. "Hell? What does that mean? Is that a place from your world?" I facepalmed and groaned. "This is so cool! A lot of weird stuff has happened in Equestria, but you are definitely something el--"
"YO, KID!"
My yelling caused him to yelp and stop flapping his wings, causing him to fall to the ground on his behind. I know I may have went a little overboard with the shouting, but if this kid keeps yapping on, my headache might come back. Trying to keep my composure, I breathed in deep, then let it out. I looked at the kid, who was still sitting on the ground, and stared at me with a somewhat frightened expression. That actually kind of made me feel bad. I sighed. "Look, kid. I'm sorry I yelled like that, but I've had a pretty rough couple of days, or weeks if ya wanna count the whole time I was in the hospital. I'm really tired, and I need to see Princess Twilight."
He stood back up, rubbing the back of his head and chuckling sheepishly. "Sorry about that. I just never thought of meeting somepony from another world."
I raised an eyebrow. "You mean somedragon?"
"Hehe, yeah. I'm guessin' that's not the first time somepony's said that to you?"
"You'd be correct."
He lifted himself back up in the air at eye level. "Well let me be the first to introduce myself: I'm Spike, Twilight's number one assistant and friendship ambassador of the Dragon Lands." I hope he realizes he's not the first one I've met here. He then reaches his open hand towards me.
This little guy's demeanor caused me to smile a bit. I lifted my hand and grabbed his, shaking it. "I'm Alex Flame."
"I know! It might not be the coolest name I've heard, but I don't mind it."
I shrugged at that. "Eh, I'll take it. Better than what everyone else has been sayin' about it."
He then turned towards the door. "C'mon. Twilight and the others are waitin' for ya."
Others? "Hold up. I thought I was just meeting with Princess Twilight."
"Well after she got that letter from Princess Celestia, she immediately told the other Elements of Harmony."
I frowned. "Oh... great." And I really need to ask what that even means.
"Well, c'mon!" He already flew inside the door. I sighed, and walked inside the castle.
As I walked through the doors, the only thing that I could see was a fairly long and wide corridor. Each side had three green glass windows and support columns made of crystal. At the end of the corridor was another pair of double doors like the ones that lead outside.
Spike landed in front of me and pointed right at the doors. "Just go on through those doors and they'll be right there."
I twisted my neck a few times, trying to prepare myself. "Well, here it goes. Thanks, Spike."
He puffed his chest out proudly. "No problem. They don't call me the number one assistant for nothing." He then sent me a wink.
That caused me to chuckle a bit. "Ain't that the truth." And with only a little hint of hesitation, I started walking toward the doors.
As I made it to the doors, I was just about to push them open, but before I could lay a stubby claw on them, I started to hear voices from behind. I pressed my ear on the door, hoping I could listen better.
"Oooohhh! I really hope he gets here soon!" This voice sounded like it was both anxious and excited. "The opportunity to meet somepony from another world is too much!"
"Wasn't he supposed to be here like a half hour ago?" This voice sounded really scratchy, and obviously annoyed. "What's keepin' 'im?!"
"You don't think he got lost, do you?" I could barely hear that one, because it sounded timid and quiet.
"This here castle's the biggest darn thing in Ponyville." Not gonna lie, the southern drawl I heard from that voice made me chuckle a bit. Reminds me of home. "There ain't no way he could be lost."
"I certainly hope he hasn't forgotten about us." This voice had some kind of elegance to it. It kind of reminded me of those snobs back at Canterlot, but it was different in some way. "It's not very gentlecoltly to keep a mare waiting, let alone six." Eh, close enough.
"Do you think he likes cupcakes?! Or regular cakes?! Or ice cream cakes?!" Geez, talk about hyper. "THIS IS SO EXCITING!!!" That caused me to move my head away from the door, because it was surprisingly loud.
I breathed in another deep breath, and let it out, preparing to introduce myself. "Ok... moment of truth."
I placed my hand on the door, and slowly pushed it open. When the doors opened, I slowly walked in and looked around at what was around me. This had to be a throne room without a doubt. When I turned my head directly in front of me, what I saw caused me to stop moving. In the center of the room was a round table, and on it looked like a holographic projection of something. It kind of looked like a map of some sorts. Around the table were six tall, crystalline chairs with different symbols on them. The main reason I stopped moving was when I saw what was on the chairs; They all had a pony sitting on each and every one of them, and they were all staring at me with wide eyes.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, they all stood up from their chairs and started to make their way toward the front of the table and formed a line in front of me, still staring at me with the same bewildered expressions.
Knowing I'm gonna have to break this uncomfortable silence once more, I cleared my throat, lifted my hand in the air, and gave them a nervous smile.
That was the only response they could give to my nervous greeting. They were still staring at me with those bulging eyes, and I'm pretty sure their irises have shrunken considerably. I was looking at each and every one of them, hoping they would say something by now. However, they just kept staring into the void, a.k.a. me. I frowned, kind of starting to get annoyed.
"Alright, one of y'all has to say somethin'."
Then right at that moment, one of the ponies slowly moved forward and stopped in front of me, while the others stood still, holding the same facial expressions. She's noticeably taller than the others, however I still had about an inch on her. She has a lavender coat, and a dark purple mane and tail with magenta streaks. Her cutie mark is a six-pointed star, and there are five smaller ones circling around it. The biggest eye-popper about her was that, like Celestia and Luna, she has both a horn and a pair of wings. She must be the pony I'm looking for. She cleared her throat, and opened her mouth to speak. "Y-you're... you're him, aren't you?"
I responded to her question by simply nodding. She continued to stare at me in silence. Suddenly, her eyes slowly widened even more, and a toothy grin started forming on her face, causing me to look at her with a somewhat frightful expression. I was preparing for her to explode any second.
"OHMYGOSH OHMYGOSH OHMYGOSH!", she yelled out rapidly as she jumps up and down, and then starts jumping in circles around me. "I can't believe it's really you! This is so amazing!"
"Oooh! I wanna join!" For some reason, the pink one joins in on the jumping and yelling. I looked at Spike, giving him a face saying 'What the hell's going on?' He had a grin on his face and simply shrugged. Is all of this normal for him?!
Suddenly, my head gets forcefully pulled in, as the purple one grabs my cheeks with her hooves and squishes my nose against hers, making me stare at her hyper, violet eyes. "Do you have any idea how exciting this is?!"
I blinked twice. "Uh--can anyone give her a kilogram shot of Thorazine, please?"
She backed herself away from me and lifted herself in the air, flying around in excitement. "I can't believe it! The chance to meet somepony from another dimension! I have so many questions!" She then stops her frantic flying and hovers right in front of me. "THIS IS SO EXCITING!" She then stares at me with a beaming smile and wide eyes. I honestly didn't know how to react at this point except move my eyes around while still holding a nervous expression.
"Uhh, Twi?" We both looked at the tan pony wearing a stetson hat. "You're kinda freakin' 'im out a tad bit."
Her smile quickly deflated, as if she just realized what she's been doing the whole time. She giggles sheepishly and lands in front of me. She then clears her throat, trying her best to act more professional, but I think she's having a little trouble trying to calm down. "Sorry if I kinda seemed a bit out of line there. It's just so exciting to meet somepony from another dimension!"
Before I could correct her like I did with Spike about me being a dragon and not a pony, a raspy voice yelled out, "Now hold up!" Suddenly, the blue pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane flies toward us and hovers between me and the purple one. "How do we know he's really from another world, huh?" She suddenly hovers just an inch away from my face, causing me to lean my head back as she stares at me with a suspicious glare. "What if he lied to the princesses? Or what if he mind controlled them with evil magic!?"
This pony's accusations caused me to form a bewildered expression. "Are... Are you serious?" I looked at the purple one and pointed my thumb at the pegasus. "Is she freakin' serious?"
"Rainbow!", the purple one shouted as her horn glowed a raspberry-like color, and the pegasus was suddenly covered in a raspberry colored aura, and was forcefully pulled back from me, back in line with the other ponies. I'm guessing she's the one that Flash mentioned back in Canterlot. "Don't be ridiculous! Does he look like he can cast evil magic?!" The pegasus huffed, crossed her hooves, and looked away, still keeping an irritated-looking expression. "Besides, Princess Celestia told me herself, so it has to be true." The purple one turned back to me. "Sorry about her. She can be a little... forward." That's putting it mildly. "Anyway, allow me to introduce myself. My name's Twilight Sparkle."
Since she's a princess, I did the respectable thing and bowed down to her. "It's an honor, Princess Twilight." At that moment, I started to hear multiple giggles. What's so funny? Is it the way I'm bowing?
"Oh, uhh... Please don't bow."
Her unexpected request caused me to lift my head up and look at her with a confused expression. "Huh?"
She rubbed the back of her head, and I think I can see red on her cheeks. "I'm... not that kind of princess. You don't need to bow."
I stood back up. "Oh, uhhh... alright then. Not even a Your Majesty?"
She shook her head. "Not even a Your Majesty."
I rubbed my hair. "Gotcha. It just made sense to show respect to a princess, ya know?"
She nodded. "I understand. But you don't have to be so formal with me." She then turned around to face the other ponies. "These are my friends." She pointed to the tan pony with the stetson hat. Her blonde mane and tail had a hair band wrapped around them. Her cutie mark is a trio of apples. "This here is Applejack." As in the drink? Oh geez.
The one called Applejack walked up to me with a friendly smile and extended her hoof toward me. "Pleasure to meetcha, partner." I grabbed her hoof, but then unexpectedly, she grabs my hand with the other one and starts shaking it rapidly along with my entire body, much to my discomfort. "It's always nice makin' new friends."
She finally stops shaking, but my body was a little disoriented from her surprising strength, and I'm pretty sure my eyes were rolling in every direction. I rapidly shook my head, trying to get my senses back together. Well the good news is I'm not dizzy anymore. I let out a soft chuckle while twisting my wrist around. "You got a pretty hard grip there, I'll give ya that."
She crossed her right leg over her left and lifts her chin up, probably out of pride. "It pays off when ya work as hard as I do."
"This is Rarity," Twilight said as the white unicorn with a purplish, curly mane and tail walks up to me. Her cutie mark is that of a trio of light blue diamonds.
She lifts her hoof up to me in a way a noblewoman would introduce herself. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, darling.", she says in that elegant tone I heard earlier.
I could tell she was definitely surprised by my action, because I can see the blush on her white coat as clear as day. Nevertheless, she lets out a rather adorable giggle. "My, my... what a gentlecolt." I guess she must have already forgotten that I came here later than usual.
Right after she said that, I heard grunting. I looked to my right and saw Spike looking at me with a very irritated expression, arms crossed, and tapping his foot rapidly. What the heck did I do?
Then it hit me.
Is he... jealous?!
Rarity laughed heartily. "Oh, don't worry about him." She walks up to Spike, who's expression changed from angry to lovestruck immediately after laying eyes on her. She then starts rubbing his head. "Everypony knows he's my little Spikey Wikey." The kid has a crush on her. I really shouldn't be that surprised. I shook my head while holding a grin.
"This is Fluttershy." I looked behind Twilight, who was pointing at a yellow pegasus with a pink mane and tail, and a trio of butterflies as her cutie mark. "Don't feel bad if she doesn't talk a lot. She can be a little... shy when she meets somepony new." She was sitting down, covering half her face with her mane and rubbing both her hooves against each other. Yeah, she definitely looks pretty nervous around me.
I gave her a friendly smile, letting her know I mean her absolutely no harm. "Hey there," I said softly. "It's nice to meet ya. I'm Alex."
She started rubbing her mane, and gave me a coy look. "Umm... hi.", she said very quietly. It was actually pretty cute. Hopefully I'll get to know her a little more once she gets used to me being around.
"I think you've already been... acquainted with Rainbow Dash.", Twilight said as I looked up at the blue pegasus, still hovering above the ground, hooves crossed. Does she ever get tired of flapping those things for so long?
I saw her cutie mark was that of a rainbow colored lightning bolt descending from a cloud. She was looking at me through the corner of her eye, probably still pretty suspicious about me. I gave her an upwards nod, basically saying 'sup'. She did the same thing, then immediately looked away. It's probably gonna be a while before she warms up to me, isn't it?
"And finally, this is..." Twilight looked around, looking confused. "Huh. Where did she--"
"HI!"
"WHOA!" I jumped back and landed on my rump, because this big, fluff of pink just popped out of nowhere! This one's cutie mark were trio of balloons.
"How ya doin'!? I'm Pinkie Pie!" She then starts jumping circles around me. "This is really exciting! Are you really from another world!? Were you really not a dragon your whole life!? Oooohhh, that means I can throw you a 'Welcome to Ponyville!' and 'Wow, you're an Alien!' party! I'm going to make it the best party you've ever had!" I could only just stare into the void as this pony was bouncing around me and asking rapid fire questions one after the other. I looked at Twilight and the others, who were just giggling at this whole shindig. Suddenly, the hyper ball of pink was directly in front of me. "Do ya like parties!? Do ya like cakes!? Huh!? Huh!? Huh!?" Her face was pressed pretty firmly on mine, and our eyes were probably less than a centimeter away from touching. This was getting pretty uncomfortable.
"Uhhhh..." Before I could even think of a rational response to the walking, talking piece of cotton candy and her jibber jabber about parties and cakes, she was suddenly covered in a raspberry aura and was forcefully pulled back from me, and joined the others. Thank you very kindly, Twilight.
"Calm down, Pinkie.", said Twilight. "I think it was pretty overwhelming when I went all... well, me, on him. You'll have time to throw him a party later."
"Okie dokie lokie!" She ended that with a wide smile, and I think I heard a squeaking noise when she did it. Yeah, what I said about Lyra was a lie: this is the happiest living being I've ever met in my life.
Once again, I rubbed my hair. "Well... It's a pleasure to meet all of you. I'm Alex Flame, but I'm pretty sure y'all knew that."
"If I'm gonna be honest with ya there, partner?" Applejack suddenly caught my attention. "Twilight told us that ya came up with that name... Not exactly the most creative." I frowned. Are we seriously gonna talk about this?
"I'm not a very judgmental pony when it comes to little stuff like that.", Rarity said as kindly as she could. "However, I do have to agree. It is a rather... peculiar name, if you don't mind me saying." Yep, we're talking about this.
"You got a pretty weird name, dude." Rainbow's rather blunt opinion caused me to frown even more than I already am, along with my right eye twitching.
"Umm... I don't mi--"
"I like it!" Pinkie shouted, interrupting Fluttershy's quiet opinion. "It definitely says 'Grr, I'm a big, scary dragon'!" She said that with a deep, growly voice. What the heck is up with this freaking pony?
"Ok, ok guys, leave him alone." Twilight came to my rescue once again. She stood in front of me while facing the other ponies. "I'm sure he's heard how ridiculous his name sounds from every other pony." I raised an eyebrow at that. Se turned her head towards me and looked at me with a sheepish smile. I think she realized what she just said. "Uhh... no offense." I could only roll my eyes as a response. "Besides, I'm pretty sure our names sound just as silly to him."
"Ain't that the truth." I said that as quietly as I possibly could.
"Now... I'm sure you all want to get to know him, but I think it would be best for him to get settled in. He's had a... bit of a rough time." Oh you have no idea how rough it's been.
Applejack was the first to walk up to me as she was leaving. "I got some work to do at the farm anyway. If you're feelin' like it, y'all should swing by."
I shrugged. "I don't see why not." She gave me a nod and walked away.
"If it's not too much trouble, darling...", Rarity said as she walks up to me. "I was hoping you wouldn't mind visiting me at my boutique."
"I suppose I could after I get settled in. Whaddya need from me, if you don't mind me askin'?"
"Oh, you'll find out when you get there." She ended that with a wink, causing me to raise an eyebrow as she walks away as well.
"You should totally stop by Sugarcube Corner!" Pinkie just popped up out of a portal or something. I looked back to where she was last standing, only to find nothing there, and then looked back at Pinkie, who was bouncing up and down with excitement. "We could have so much fun!"
I blinked twice. "Uhhh... sure, Pinkie. Why not?"
She suddenly hugged me very tightly. "Yay!" She then quickly let me go, and started bouncing away. "See ya later, Flamey-Wamey!" Did she seriously just call me that?
As I watched that hyper ball of fluff leave, I noticed the yellow pegasus, Fluttershy, walk past me through the corner of my eye. I turned my head fully to look at her. She stopped walking, and turned her head to look at me. She had the same coy look on her face as she did earlier. "Umm... bye."
Her shyness caused me to lightly smile. "See ya." And with that, she walks away to what I assumed to be her home.
I turned my head to face Twilight, but instead, I saw intense, magenta eyes staring into my soul. I yelped a little bit and jumped back a few feet, and saw Rainbow hovering above the ground and staring at me like she has been the entire time I've been in the room. "Just remember, buddy..." she warned me firmly. "No funny business while you're in my home." She then decides to bump her nose against mine while keeping her glare on me. "I've got my eye on you."
She backs away from my face. I gave her a sarcastic smile. "Duly noted." She snorts aggressively, then flies away, blowing wind at my body. I couldn't even see her fly out the door. Dang... Flash told me she was fast. I turned my head back to Twilight. "Well ain't she full of sunshine and rainbows, as ironic as that sounds."
She chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah... But don't worry about her. Just give her some time. She'll warm up to you soon."
I shrugged at that. "Yeah, I guess." Suddenly, an idea came to me. "Hey, Twi. Do you have a piece of paper and pen I could use? I wanna let Celestia know that I've arrived in Ponyville."
"Sure! Spike?"
"On it!" He dashed away in the blink of an eye.
I chuckled lightly. "He's one loyal dragon, I'll give 'im that."
"Hehe, yeah. I've been taking care of him since I hatched him for Celestia's School of Magic. He's basically my little brother."
I never had any siblings growing up, so their relationship made me kind of jealous. It would have been nice to relate to someone on a daily basis besides my friends.
"Here ya go!" Spike returned rather quickly with what I asked for. He placed them on the crystalline table in the middle of the room.
"'Preciate it, Spike." I walked up to the table and lifted my upper body on it. I noticed that instead of a pen, they gave me a quill with ink. Never thought I'd use one of these. I shrugged, then dipped the quill in the ink, and started writing the letter:
Dear Princess Celestia,
Just wanted to let you know that I've arrived in Ponyville. The ride here was a little uneventful if I'm gonna be honest. You can thank both Clouds for that.
I'm here with Princess Twilight. I've also met her other friends as well. They're a rather... interesting bunch. But I'm pretty sure I'm gonna get along with them just fine. Just might take a while for me to get used to their lifestyle.
Anyway, just wanted to let you know that I got here safe and sound. Tell Luna I said hi.
Sincerely,
Alex Flame
I placed the quill in the ink jar, and rolled up my letter. I turned to Twilight and Spike. "Alright, I'm ready to send this. There a post office I can send this from?"
Spike suddenly flew up to me. "Please, allow me." He reached his hand out to me. I was a little confused as to what he was about to do, but I gave him the letter anyway. He puts it in front of his face, and took a deep breath. He spat green fire out of his mouth and... burnt the freaking letter!
"DUDE!"
"WHAT!?" He yelled back, startled by my sudden outburst.
"Why'd you do that!?" I actually kind of felt myself getting mad.
"What the hay are you talking about!?" He started to get a little defensive.
"You just burnt my letter!"
My answer caused him to snap out of his defensive state. He and Twilight looked at each other, and the next thing I knew, they both actually started laughing, causing my right eye to twitch. Twilight walked up to me, still giggling. She then hovered a hoof around my neck. "Oh, Alex. He didn't burn your letter. He has magic fire that allows him to send anything to Princess Celestia?"
I blinked twice. "Say what?"
"Yeah!" Spike flew up to me once more. "Celestia gave me that ability for me to send Twilght's reports to her." This world just keeps getting better.
"Oh..." I rubbed the back of my head, kind of embarrassed about how I acted. "Umm... Sorry I kinda yelled at ya like that, Spike."
He waved me off. "Nah, don't worry about it. I shoulda told ya sooner."
I giggled lightly, then all of a sudden, I lightly yawned. "Hey Twi, you mind if I get settled in before you ask me any questions about me and my world? I'm more tired than I thought, and could use a nap or two, hehe."
She gave me an understanding grin. "Of course! Take your time. Spike will take you to your room. Spike?"
Said dragon gave her a salute. He flew in the other direction, and picked up something on the ground. It was my saddlebags. It must have fallen off during my meeting with the other ponies. I really shouldn't be that surprised. He flew up to me, and placed my saddlebags on my back. He gave me a wink and a thumbs up. I did the same to him.
I turned back to Twilight. "It was great meetin' ya, Twi. Once I get settled in, you can ask me whatever ya want."
She smiled warmly at that. "Thanks, Alex. It was great meeting you, too. I'm sure we'll become great friends."
Not gonna lie, I felt a little heat on my cheeks after she said that. "Hehe... Yeah, me too." I looked at Spike. "Shall we?"
"We shall."
He slowly flew forward as I followed him. Suddenly, I just remembered something. "Oh, and Twi." That caught her attention. A snide smirk formed on my face. "Flash Sentry says hi."
I suddenly saw red on her cheeks. What a shocker. "Oh, uhhh... He did, did he?"
I chuckled. "Yep!" And with that info given to her, I followed Spike.
We've been walking around this castle for a few minutes. I know it's not as big as Celestia's castle, but it's still like a huge maze. It's gonna be a while before I find my way around this place.
I looked at Spike, who was flying by my side in silence. I don't think it would kill anyone if I tried to start a conversation. "So..." That caught his attention. "Your friends seem pretty interesting."
"Ooooh, you have no idea."
I chuckled at that. "That bad, huh?"
He waved that off. "Nah, nothin' like that. We've been through so much that it'll probably take forever to tell you the whole story. And if i'm gonna be honest, I was surprised by how they reacted when they saw you, because a lot of crazy stuff has happened in Equestria. You should've been in the norm for them."
That actually grabbed my curiosity. "Wait, are you saying I'm not the only one from another world?"
He kinda shrugged. "Well yes, but actually no." I raised an eyebrow, not entirely sure what he meant by that. "That's really all I can say about that. You wanna know more? Talk to Twilight about it." I shrugged as we continued our walk.
As we were walking down the hallway, I noticed there were multiple doors on every side. "Do other ponies live here?"
"Nah, just one other pony lives with me and Twi. She's off doing something with a friend of hers. You'll meet her soon, though." As he flew, he perked up at something. "Hey, we're here!" He flew up to a door as I caught up with him. "This is where you'll be staying. Need any help with your stuff?"
I looked back at my saddlebags. "Nah, I think I can manage from here." I looked at Spike. "'Preciate the help Spike. It was great meetin' ya."
"Same here, dude." Suddenly, he looked around, as if he was trying to make sure no one was around. He flew closer to me. "Just between you and me, it's about time I got more guy friends. I've been around these mares for way too long." That actually garnered a laugh out of me. I can only imagine what that's like. "Anyway, I hope we get to hang out some more."
"Me too, big guy." I lifted my fist toward him, and he immediately responded by pounding it with his own.
"See ya!" He the flew away from me, probably just to do his own thing.
I walked up to the door, and pushed it open. I got a good look around the room that I'll be staying in. It wasn't exactly a huge room, but definitely looked cozy. The entire room was covered in different shades of blue, kind of like me. Did Twilight intentionally give me this room?
As I laid eyes on the bed, I immediately took off my saddlebags, letting it run down my tail and onto the ground. I walked up to the bed, and climbed up on it. It was just as comfy as the bed I slept on at Celestia's castle. I managed to find myself in a comfortable position with my wings not being in the way too much. I already felt myself dozing off.
Well... this is it... my new life has officially begun.
I slowly started to feel myself wake up from my nap. Hopefully I didn't sleep for too long, because I want to enjoy the day and look around town. Now that I think about it, what day is it even? I have a bad habit of forgetting to ask simple but surprisingly important questions. Maybe I'll ask Twilight while she interviews me.
As I sat up, I heard something that kind of sounded like wind chimes. I looked to my right and saw Twilight lifting a bunch of tapestries on the walls of my room with her magic while holding a smile on her face. Maybe she's decorating the room to make it more lively for me? That's sweet of her.
Without looking in my direction, she walks toward a desk on the other side of the room, and was levitating by the looks of them were writing supplies and books out of the saddlebags she was carrying with her.
She probably doesn't know that I woke up. Having thought about that, I felt myself forming a mischievous smirk on my face.
I slowly lifted the covers off my body, and softly stepped onto the stone cold floor, trying my best to not make any noise. I began to very slowly and carefully walk toward her, like I was a lion stalking it's prey. It's a good thing this floor isn't made of wood, because the creaking it would make would give me away.
As I stopped right behind Twilight, I slowly and very quietly inhaled deeply, and right as the last little whiff of air enters my body...
"BOO!"
"YAAAAHHHH!" She rapidly jumps in the air, and halts herself by flapping her wings.
I couldn't hold it in anymore. The next thing I knew, I was laying on my back on the floor, laughing harder than I ever had in quite a while. I could hear Twilight panting after I scared her, but I was too busy holding my stomach because I was laughing so hard.
"Alex!?" I heard her call my name in a shocked manner. She was obviously expecting me to be in bed while she was decorating. "I thought you were asleep! You scared me half to death!"
"I know.", I said in the middle of my childish giggling, however I felt myself starting to finally calm down. I looked up and saw Twilight cross her hooves and formed a disgruntled look on her face. I sighed, thinking I probably went a little too far. "I'm sorry, Twi. It was just too much of a golden opportunity that I couldn't resist. Hope you're not too mad at me."
She raised an eyebrow for a second, then sighed. She formed a small smile. "No," she said sweetly as she floats down and lands in front of me. "Honestly, I should be used to it by now."
I raised an eyebrow at that. "Whaddya mean by that?"
"Well when you have friends like Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, and on some occasions Spike , you'll get pranked maybe once or twice on a weekly basis."
I laughed a little while rubbing the back of my head. "Well it's nice to know that pranks are still a thing, even in another dimension." I looked at the desk and noticed the books and supplies. "What're these for?"
She perked up at that. "Oh! I just wanted to lend you some of my books and supplies in case you ever get bored. I was gonna wait until you woke up, but I decided to risk it... kinda wish I waited."
I chuckled at that. "Yeah, you probably should've." She rolled her eyes as a response. I turned my attention to the things Twilight brought and walked toward the desk. "Let's see what we got here."
I lifted my upper body on my desk and observed my new things. What I noticed first was the quill and ink, along with a couple pieces of paper... and by a couple, I mean a couple hundred if not more. Does she think I'm gonna write an essay or something on my spare time? I mean never say never, but still.
The next thing I saw was a pile of books. I lifted one of them and got a look at the cover. It shows a pegasus pony wearing a safari vest and hat hanging from a vine while crocodiles are trying to eat her... or are they alligators... either way she's hanging for her life while holding some weird looking statue. Yeah, it's not like she has wings or anything. There's probably a good explanation in the book if I ever decide to read it. I looked at the title. "Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone?"
"Yep!" She seems really excited about this one. "It's one of my favorite books of all time... along with the rest of them, hehe. It's about an adventurer who goes on these dangerous quests in search of valuable artifacts from ancient ruins all across Equestria." Gee, I wonder what this reminds me of. "I think you'll love it. I picked these out just cuz I think it'd be something you'd like."
"Huh...", I said out loud. "So she's basically this world's Indiana Jones? That's pretty dope."
"Who?"
I looked back at Twilight, who was looking at me with a confused expression. "Oh." I laughed sheepishly. "My bad. He's a famous movie character from back home. Fair warning for ya, I'm probably gonna be making a lot of references that you or anyone else will never get."
She suddenly smiled brightly. "That's amazing! So your home basically has characters similar to ours?"
I shrugged. "I guess, yeah. But for me, it's the other way around."
Twilight lifted her hoof to her chin. "That's very interesting. I can only imagine what else I'm about to learn!" She suddenly turns around and starts walking to the door. "Follow me."
"Huh? Where we goin'?"
She stops and turns her head toward me. "To the library, silly. I still want that interview, remember?"
"Oh, uuhhh... alright then. By the way, would it be ok if I also ask some questions? There's still some stuff I'm in the dark about."
"Of course! Ask whatever you want. I'm pre-tty sure I'll have the answer." She ended that with a wink. It's pretty obvious she'll have all the answers to my questions.
I chuckled while we both started walking out of the room and made our trek to the library. "I believe it. Also, what day is it today?"
She looked at me with a raised eyebrow, as if she's wondering if I'm joking or not. "You don't even know what day it is?"
I chuckled sheepishly. "Yeeeaaaahhhh, apparently I have a bad habit of not askin' simple questions that're actually pretty important."
"Hmm... well, today's Friday. It should be sometime after 2."
I widened my eyes a bit, because that's actually really good info. Also it's good to know I wasn't sleeping for very long. "Y'all have the same time periods as us? That's pretty convenient."
She seemed flabbergasted by that. "Are you serious?! This is amazing! I really need to write this down."
"Let's get to the library first." She nodded as we both continued our walk.
It took a few minutes, with the castle being big and all, but we finally made it to the library. It's pretty big, but honestly it's not really anything special. If it was like that library from Beauty and the Beast, then I'd be really impressed.
The first thing I noticed about the library was the really tall and long bookshelf that's pretty much the same width as the majority of the room. In the middle of the library were 5 round tables. I also noticed Spike sitting on a pile of books, reading what looks like a superhero comic book. The kid's got good taste. I loved that kind of material back at home.
In the middle of reading, Spike raised his eyes toward us, and perked up at our arrival. "Oh, hey guys! What's up?"
I waved my hand. "Whattup, big guy?" I took one more glance at the bookshelf. "Pretty impressive setup ya got here, Twi."
"I know, right?!" I smiled at that. Someone's a little proud. She suddenly lifts herself in the air and starts flying around the bookshelf. "Everything is all organized alphabetically and perfectly, only by yours truly." She set herself up to be arrogant, but I'm pretty sure it was just for laughs.
"Ach-hem."
I looked at Spike with a raised eyebrow. He was looking at Twilight with a look of disproval. I heard Twilight giggle. "And you, of course."
"Mmm hmm." He went back to reading his comic book.
Suddenly, Twilight landed in front of me, and lifted a quill, ink, and a few pieces of paper out of her saddlebags. "Alright, let's start the interview, shall we?"
I made a sly smirk and gestured my hand toward one of the tables. "After you, Your Majesty."
She rolled her eyes at my light teasing, and walked to the table. She sat on one side, so I sat on the other. There weren't any chairs, so I had no choice but to plant my rump on the ground. Twilight placed the paper and ink cup in front of her and lifted the quill, ready to write. She then lifted out a rolled up scroll. "Okay, so the first thing I wanna ask you--"
"Hold up, Twi." I lifted my hand, stopping her and causing her to look at me with a confused expression. "If you don't mind, I'd like to ask some questions first. This whole interdimensional travel thing is just as... well, exciting for me as it is for you."
"Oh, uuhhh... Yeah, sure. Whaddya wanna know?"
I looked in my brain for questions that I forgot to ask Celestia and Luna. After thinking for a bit, I found one. "Oh, well first thing I wanna know is what kind of pony are you and the princesses? Are you like a pegacorn... or a unisus?"
That actually made her laugh for a bit. She suddenly formed a snarky smirk. "You really don't know anything, do you?" All I could do as a response was give her a sarcastic smile. Once again, she laughed it off. "I'm just kidding. We're called Alicorns. It means we have the traits of a unicorn, pegasus, and earth pony all in one."
Earth ponies. I guess that makes sense. Well it's nice that I now know what to call the regular looking ponies. "Celestia mentioned there's another one a' y'all?"
"Yep! My sister-in-law Cadence."
That grabbed my curiosity. "Sister-in-law? Celestia and Luna didn't say you have a brother."
"That's correct! He used to be the Captain of the Royal Guard in Canterlot." Damn. I better not get on his bad side then. "Since he married Cadence, he's technically a prince now. They both rule over the Crystal Empire." The more I really think about, I'm basically tight with royalty. The thought garnered a chuckle out of me. This caused Twilight to look at me confused. "What?"
"Nothing... It's just that never in my life I thought about being close to royalty, let alone from another dimension."
Twilight giggled lightly. "Yeah, I'd be pretty dumbfounded if I was in your hooves-- er, I mean claws, hehe. So, anything else you wanna know?"
I put my finger on my chin, trying to think of what else I forgot. Almost immediately, I found a question. "Oh yeah! A lotta y'all keep mentioning these things called the 'Elements of Harmony'. What are they?"
She seemed happy that I asked that. "Oh, that's easy! The Elements of Harmony are ancient and powerful artifacts that represent a certain aspect of harmony. There are six of them. They represent magic, honesty, kindness, laughter, generosity, and loyalty. Me and my friends had to stop a villain from creating eternal darkness in the world. So with the combined power of the elements and our friendship, we stopped her."
My eyes widened. Just what the hell goes on in this world. "I'm kinda afraid to ask how many times y'all used 'em."
She chuckled sheepishly while rubbing the back of her head. "We may have used it a... pretty significant amount of times."
I blew out a spat of air in shock. "Just how much crap happens in this world?"
"Way too much, dude." I looked at Spike, who decided to chime in. "Waaayyyy too much."
I ruffled my hair a bit out of disbelief, because it seems impossible for a peaceful world like this to have so much crazy crap happen. "Geez..." I looked at Twilight. "So I take it you represent the element of magic?"
"Yep! Applejack is honesty, Fluttershy is kindness, Pinkie Pie is laughter, Rarity is generosity, and Rainbow Dash is loyalty."
I crossed my arms. "That's a little convenient that you met five ponies that just so happened to represent each element."
Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but suddenly closed it. She started rubbing her head, as if a realization had come to her. "Huh... I actually never really thought of it that way."
I simply shrugged. "Ehh, it's no big deal. It was just a funny thought, really. Anyway, I think it's about time you started askin' stuff. I know you've been waitin' a while."
She lifted her hooves in the air and sprouted out her wings. "YES!" That caused me to jump back a bit, startling me. Twilight noticed my shock, and lowered her hooves and wings, chuckling sheepishly. "Hehe, I mean... yay." She ended that with an adorable smile and lightly clapped her hooves together like a child, causing me to chuckle. She then partially rolls down her scroll. "Okay, first question: What were you before your arrival to Equestria?"
I scooted up to the table and crossed my arms on it. "Well, I was once a human. We're basically upright, talking monkeys. We just don't have hair all over our bodies, except for the head and..." I looked back at Spike, who was still reading his comic book, then back to Twilight. "... other places." She then starts rapidly scribbling her quill on the paper, writing down what I said. I raised my eyebrow. "Are you gonna write everything I say?"
"Duh!" She never took her eyes off the paper. "I'm not missing a word." I simply shrugged as a response. "Okay, second question: Have you noticed anything weird since you turned into a dragon?"
I thought back to when I was with Flash in Canterlot. "Actually... yeah, I have." This caused Twilight to scooch up closer to the table and placed her hooves on it, staring at me with curiosity in her eyes. "When me and Flash went to Restaurant Row to grab a bite, we ran into some snarky pricks. Things got a little heated, but we left before anything serious happened. Flash told me during my scream-fest, my wings caught on fire for a split second, and my hair apparently went from green to orange."
Unsurprisingly, Twilight looked bewildered by my answer. "Are you serious!? Was it like... like magic?"
I shrugged. "Honestly Twi, I have no freakin' clue. I really don't know if it'll even happen again."
"Hmm... well if it ever does happen, I'm sure we'll figure it out. Anyway, next question. Hang on a sec." She starts rummaging through her scroll, trying to find a decent question. As she was scrolling, I noticed the scroll wasn't getting any shorter. "Ah, here's one! Oh wait, no. I'll save that for later." During her brief excitement, she accidentally drops the lower section of the scroll. To my absolute bewilderment, the scroll kept on rolling and rolling, and a few seconds later, it rolls out the door. I looked at Spike, who also watched what was happening. He looked back at me with a blank expression, and simply shrugged.
My right eye started twitching. This is gonna take while.
Twilight's been asking me questions for a solid hour or so, asking about my world's government, modes of transportation, animal life, sources of entertainment, pretty much every topic period. I even mentioned COVID, but I assured her that I didn't bring it with me. I answered all of her questions to the best of my ability, and she wrote down every single word. What's she planning on doing with this information? I also found out that there are cities with similar names to my world, but some words are replaced with horse puns. This world is absolutely ridiculous.
Twilight was rummaging through the scroll of eternity. "Ok, last question of the day."
"Wait, what?" That actually surprised me, because I thought she was gonna go through that entire list in one sitting. "You're not gonna ask all questions at once?"
Twilight chuckled. "Of course not! I wouldn't make you sit down all day while I ask questions. I know better than that."
"Sure ya do.", Spike quipped out.
Twilight groaned, but she brushed it off . "Anyway, last question, and this actually depends on if you remember it: Do you know how you got here?"
I ruffled my hair a bit. "Well, I was doing some school work one night, and as I was walking to my car to go home, I noticed a shooting star with rainbow colors. It was getting closer to me, and then everything went black. A two week coma later, I found myself in Canterlot Hospital."
That caught her interest. "A rainbow-colored shooting star?"
"Yeah, and when I told the princesses about it, they apparently think it's something called Althea's Comet."
"Althea's Comet?" Suddenly, Twilight drops her pen on the table and flaps her wings, lifting herself in the air. She goes to the very top left of the bookshelf, probably to look for something in the A section. She takes out a book and rapidly flips through every page. "Nothing." How the hell does she read that fast? She tossed the book away and starts scrimmaging through another one. "Nothing here, either." She tosses it away as well. She takes out another one. "No." She's kinda starting to sound stressed. Then right at that moment, she actually tosses the book toward me, albeit unintentionally. I yelped a bit and moved out of the way before the book can hit me. I better stop this before it gets hectic.
"Twi, I think you're just wasting your time!" I had to speak up in case she couldn't hear me up there. She turns her head towards me. "When I told the princesses, they were about as shocked as you are. I think this is the first time they've heard about this in quite a while."
Twilight sighed, stopping her book scrimmage. "Yeah, you're probably right." She lowers herself down to the ground and lands back near the table. "I'm still gonna ask Princess Celestia about this, though." Suddenly, she looks at me with a small smile. "Thanks for the interview, Alex. I've really learned a lot about you and your world."
I smiled lightly. "No problem, Twi. Although I'd be lying if I said that when I saw how big that scroll was, I was really not lookin' forward to it."
She giggled lightly. "I totally understand. I'll ask you more questions some other time. So, what're you gonna do for the rest of the day?"
I put my finger on my chin, thinking about what I should do. "Hmmm... well, I could visit your other friends, while also exploring the area. I know Rarity asked me to help her with something, so I'll probably do that. I don't know where she's at, though."
"Can I go?!"
"Yike!" I jumped when Spike just randomly showed up and screamed in my ear. I twitched my finger in my ear, trying to stop the ringing. "Dude, that wasn't cool."
"Hehe, sorry. But seriously, Twi. Can I go with him? He needs a guide, and I'm just the dragon for the job." He ended that with a confident puff of his chest, causing me to stifle a laugh.
Twilight was obviously contemplating on whether he should go or not. "Hmmm... well, I guess that doesn't sound like a bad ide--"
"Perfect! Come on, Flame! Let's go!" He suddenly zoomed right out of the library, obviously very excited.
"Hold up, would ya!? I barely know how to use these wings!" I sighed and turned back to Twilight. "I'll make sure he doesn't get outta my sight."
Twilight giggled lightly. "Thanks, Alex. See ya later?"
"Yep! See ya!" I turned to the door and started to run. However, I completely forgot that I couldn't even run properly, so not even a couple steps in, I trip over my limbs and fall on the ground, sliding on the clean floor for a second.
This is humiliating.
I managed to get myself up, but as I did, I started to hear snickering behind me. I looked and saw Twilight holding her hoof on her mouth, trying her best not to laugh out loud. I formed a disgruntled expression and felt heat on my cheeks. "Spike, wait up!" I yelled out as I started walking.
I walked out of the library, and started heading to the front door so I can join my new companion.
Twilight watched as the alien dragon exited the library and out the front door while he was struggling to keep his saddlebags on his back.
While still staring in that general direction, the alicorn princess couldn't help but giggle at the dragon's silly antics, even if it wasn't intentional. Even though she's only known Alex for a couple hours, she can instantly tell that he will be great company, with his outgoing and goofball personality being an excellent addition to her friend group. However, there was something on her mind that she still couldn't shake away.
"Althea's Comet." She rubs a hoof on her chin, thinking about what exactly this comet could be, and why there's very little information about it, even for the princesses. "That's it!" She suddenly perked up. "Even if there's little to no information about Althea's Comet, the princesses have to know something, still."
She trotted to the table where she had her interview with Alex, grabbed a piece of paper and ink quill with her magic, and started writing on it.
Dear Princess Celestia
I just got done getting acquainted with Alex. He really is an interesting dragon, but I know he'll be great company. I still have more questions about his world, but I know he still has a lot on his mind, so I'm going to give him some space.
There's something about him that really grabbed my curiosity, and that would be how he got here. He said it was because of something called Althea's Comet. I tried looking through some of my books to see if I could find any information on it, but Alex told me that even you and Luna knew very little about it.
If there's absolutely anything at all that you do know about it, it would be very helpful to me, and I can help Alex in any way I can.
Always,
Twilight Sparkle
After she set aside the quill, she rolled up the piece of paper.
"Spike, can you send this to..." As she turned around, she realized that she was all alone in the library. "Oh... right." She sighed, then levitated the letter, and put it in her saddlebags. "All well. I guess it's nothing too urgent. I'll send it when they get back."
She then trotted out of the library to do her own thing.
[AF]
"I swear these saddlebags are gonna be the bane of my existence," I said right after I finally managed to put these damn bags of torture on my back.
"You'll get used to it. I'd suggest a satchel, but that probably wouldn't be that much better for you." Spike was hovering next to me. He had a satchel draped from his right shoulder to his left foot. It was a bit big for someone of his size, but he was in the air, so I guess it really didn't matter.
"Yeah I don't really have the proper body structure for that anymore. It'd just slide on the ground the entire time, which'll get annoying really fast.
Spike flew to my side and flicked one of my wings. "Well it's a good thing you got these bad boys, right?"
"Yeah but I can barely work these things. I only know how to get myself off the ground and fly forward, nothing else."
Spike flew away from me. "I'm sure you'll get the hang of it. Besides, it's really not as hard as ya think. I've only had my wings for a few months."
I widened my eyes at that. "Wait, really?! You didn't get them immediately after you hatched?"
He shook his head. "Dragons go through a phase when they reach adolescence. It's called the Molt. It's painful and annoying, but it's worth it in the end, cuz I got these babies." He points back to his wings to emphasize his point. "It didn't take me very long to get used to 'em, so it shouldn't be hard for you. Besides, lucky for you, you don't have to go through the Molt, since you already came here with fully working wings, so that's pretty convenient."
"Oh yeah, super convenient," I said in a deadpan matter. "Yeah, I mean sure, I was taken from my home, but hey, at least I got functioning wings in the process."
Spike rubbed the back of his head while sheepishly chuckling. He probably realized what he just said, but I know it wasn't meant to hurt my feelings. "Hehe, sorry. That sounded a little better in my head."
I waved it off. "Nah, I knew you didn't mean anything by it. Anyway, since ya got used to your wings pretty quickly, think you could gimme some pointers?"
He shrugged. "I mean I could, but I'm not exactly the best teacher. All I know is that at the tip of each wing, there's a muscle that allows you to bend it, and it gives you better movement when you're in the air."
I raised an eyebrow at that. "Huh." I decided to flick open one of my wings. I put whatever force of muscular contraction I could into my wing, but nothing happened. Literally all I'm doing is just straining my body, and it's doing nothing for me but giving me another headache. I gave up, panting at how much effort I was trying to put into something so useless.
Spike flew to me and patted my head. "Easy there, big guy. Don't hurt yourself. Besides, I bet if you asked Rainbow Dash, she could help you out."
I was able to catch my breath, and looked back up at Spike, feeling a little uneasy when he brought up Rainbow Dash. "Yeah, I'm pretty convinced that she doesn't trust me. I'm sure you saw the way she looked at me."
"Don't worry, she always acts like that around new visitors."
Yeah, I don't buy that one bit. "And by 'new visitors', you mean aliens from another dimension?"
"Yeah, pretty much." He said in a nonchalant way. "Just give her a little time. I'm sure you two would actually hit it off pretty well." The only thing I could do to respond to that was sigh. "Oh, by the way, I almost forgot to give this to ya."
I looked back up at Spike, who was rummaging through his satchel, curiosity building up in me. "Whaddya got for me?"
He pulls out a rolled up piece of paper. "Princess Celestia wrote back to you. I would've given it to you sooner, but you were napping, and I didn't wanna wake you up. Anyway, here ya go." He hands me the letter, and I rolled it open, reading Celestia's reply:
Dear Alex,
I apologize for not writing back sooner. Luna and I have been trying to find whatever information we could on Althea's Comet and its 'connection' with you, as well as any potential ways to reconnect you with your world, but so far with no success.
I'm pleased to hear that you have arrived to Ponyville safely. I apologize for those two. They take their jobs way too seriously. If I'm going to be honest, I wish some of the guards would act like Flash. At least he makes the place more lively.
I'm glad you're already getting along with Twilight and her friends. As I said before, you'll never find any friends more kind and loyal than them. I have the utmost confidence they will be the light in the dark tunnel you are currently walking through. I can assure you, everything will get better.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to let me know.
Yours truly,
Princess Celestia
"Wow," I said as I rolled up the letter.
"What?" Spike asked.
I suppressed a little chortle. "It's just that even what they said would be impossible, they're still tryna find a way to get me back home."
Spike crossed his arms. "I dunno what's so surprising about that. They are the princesses, after all. Dontcha wanna go home?"
What kind of a question was that? Home is the only thing I've been thinking about since I've been here. While I really do appreciate the princesses' help, they said it's next to impossible to take me back. I sat down on the dirt path, sighing as I felt myself slowly becoming depressed every time someone mentions home. "More than anything."
He flew at my side and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Like the princess said, everything's gonna turn out ok for you in the end." I wasn't entirely sure if I believed him fully, but I appreciated his reassurance, so I gave him a smile to let him know that. "Now c'mon. Rarity's isn't too far from here."
Now that I really think about it, every time someone mentions Rarity in front of him, his mood becomes a lot more... excessive. "Just what about her makes you so crazy about her, exactly?"
He suddenly looked at me as if I just asked the stupidest question anyone could have ever asked. Then in a split second, he zooms right up to my face, and grabs my cheeks while I could only stare into his green eyes. "Are you serious?!"
I placed my hand on his face and pushed him away from me. "Boundaries, dude."
He pushes my hand away from his face. "I mean come on! The real question is what doesn't make me so crazy about her?" His eyes suddenly grew wider as if he got shot by cupid's arrow. "She has the most beautiful white coat." He suddenly lays on top of my head, rummaging my hair. "The most elegant purple mane. Everything about her is just perfect!"
Honestly, the entire time I was listening to him boast about Rarity, it kind of reminded me of how I felt around Megan. Granted I wasn't this crazy about her... at least I hope I wasn't, especially from her point of view. I really wanted to at least try to make something work between the two of us, but if the princesses can't find a way to bring me back, then I guess I'll never get the chance.
"-and don't even get me started on her eyes." Spike's continuous love-talk snapped me out of my thoughts. "If the ocean were in the form of eyes, they'd be Rarity's." What the hell does that even mean? "I could go on all day talking about her!"
Before he could list out anything else that's perfect about her, I grabbed his head, pulled him off my head, and made him face me. "Yeah, yeah, okay Casanova." I let him go, but he quickly flapped his wings, keeping him in the air. "I get it, she's the total package. Now we goin' to her place or not?"
"Yep! Her boutique isn't far. Let's go!" Spike moved on while I shook my head while chuckling at this kid's obsession with a unicorn.
Before I could take a step forward, I suddenly heard a slight gust of wind above me. I looked up to find the beautiful blue sky. There were a good amount of clouds up there, but it didn't change the pretty view. However, I saw a rather... snack-sized cloud, and on top of that, it was maybe only about 30 feet away from the ground. I looked around to see if there were any others like it, but nope, it's the only one. I don't know why, but for some reason it looks a little suspicious.
"Yo!" I turned around and saw Spike a good distance away from me, but I could tell he was a little impatient. "Ya comin' or not!?"
I looked back up at the cloud for a little bit, then finally decided it's probably nothing and I'm thinking about it too much. I sprouted out my wings, gave them a few good flaps, and found myself off the ground. I looked back to check on my saddlebags, and saw them actually in place for once. "Heh. Now you decided to cooperate, eh?" And with that, I flew toward Spike as we made our trip to Rarity's.
"Phew, that was close. I nearly gave myself away."
Rainbow Dash stood up on her cloud after being in a prone position, hiding from Ponyville's newest guest. She watched as the alien dragon joined Spike, and they both flew off to wherever they were going.
An expression formed on her face, a mix of suspicion and resentment. "You may put on a friendly face, but nopony has me fooled. I'm gonna make sure you don't cause any trouble in my home, or else you're gonna have to deal with me."
With that, she grabs her cloud from the bottom, and flies away to catch up with the two dragons.
[AF]
The trip only took a few minutes, obviously thanks to me and Spike having wings, and we arrived at what definitely looked like a boutique.
"Here we are! The Carousel Boutique!" Spike said in his best tour guide voice. "Owned by only the most beautiful pony in all of Equestria."
I observed the tall building in front of me. Like it's name, it had the look of a merry-go-round one would find at a fair or something. It was primarily cylindirical in shape, with decorative pillars and pony sculptures taking up the upper and lower portion of the building.
I whistled. "Pretty impressive, if not just a little over the top. We goin' in?"
"Yep! Right this way." He lands in front of the door and pushed it open, then walks in nonchalantly.
I followed suit, and got a good look at what I walked in to. It looked like a workroom, and it's pretty much stocked with materials and supplies used in the fashion business, such as decorative mirrors, dress formed mannequins, sewing machines, etc. There was even a small display stage in a corner of the room near the front door.
"Rarity?!" Spike suddenly yelled out. "It's us!"
"Just a minute~!" I heard Rarity yell out from upstairs in a high-pitched, sing-song voice.
"Oh, hey Spike!" A high-pitched, squeaky voice chimed in. I looked to my left and saw a white unicorn filly walk up to Spike, and good grief is she freaking adorable! "How's it goin'?"
"Hey there, Sweets! Just paying your sister a visit."
She gave Spike a snarky grin. "Oh yeah? That's nothing new."
He laughs sarcastically and booped her on the nose. "You're hilarious."
She giggles adorably, then right after, she looks in my direction, noticing my presence. Unsurprisingly, there was shock in her expression, but at the same time she seemed a bit curious. She slowly makes her way toward me, and finds herself only a few feet away from me, still holding the same expression on her face.
I blinked twice, then cleared my throat. "Uhh... hey there."
She kept staring at me with the same expression. Then at that very second, she suddenly looked confused. "You're a weird looking dragon."
I frowned at that, and I heard Spike snickering behind her. I gave him the stink-eye for that.
"Sweetie Belle! That's no way to speak to our guest." I looked at the staircase and saw Rarity walking down, scolding who I'm going to guess is her sister. "Now run along. Besides, it's your turn to feed Opalescence."
The filly known as Sweetie Belle lets out an exasperated groan. "Fiiiine. See ya later Spike." Yeah sure, don't pay any mind to me. Still having a pouty face, she walks upstairs to do what her sister told her to.
"Do forgive my sister for her rudeness, darling." Rarity spoke as she walked up to me.
I waved her off. "Nah, it's really no big deal. I got a little cousin who's like that."
She smiled lightly. "Hmmm... anyway, thank you ever so much for coming by, Alex."
"Ummm, I'm here too." Spike said, sounding offended as if we forgot he was in the room.
Knowing this is a perfect opportunity to mess with him, a devious smile crept on my face. "Uh oh. Careful, Rare. I think someone's feelin' a little left out." And as expected, he looked like he wanted to murder me, but that didn't change my attitude.
Rarity then walked up to Spike. "Oh I would never forget my favorite dragon." Was that a hint of teasing in her voice? Now that's a surprise coming from a pony of such class, but I welcome it nonetheless. "Now do me a favor and go help Sweetie with Opal? Pretty please?" She ended the question by rapidly blinking, fluttering her eyelashes.
"Yes ma'am." He saluted, then in the blink of an eye, he flew right up to my face, and that actually did make me lean back in shock. He was giving me the stink eye, and then gave me the classic 'I'm watching you' gesture. And with that, he flew upstairs.
I looked back at Rarity, who was still looking in the direction where Spike went. "You were playin' along, weren't ya?", I couldn't help but ask with a small grin.
She turned to face me while giggling. "Oh, but of course!", she responded rather ecstatically. "I love Spike to the end, but what kind of friend would I be if there wasn't just a tad bit of teasing involved."
"Heh. Not to sound rude or anything, but I didn't take you for the teasin' type."
"Oh, pish-posh. Yes, I may be a mare of class and elegance..." She emphasized that by flipping her curly mane and posing in a lady-like way. "... But I like to let loose every now and then. Besides, if you've known the others as long as I have, they rub off on you in the best way possible. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be the pony I've become."
"Hmm..." I simply responded. I get that on a spiritual level. if it wasn't for the people I've met along the way through my school years, I wouldn't be who I am now. I sighed, my homesickness returning. That's gonna be a daily routine for me, isn't it?
"Is something wrong, darling?"
I looked back at Rarity, who looked concerned. I sighed again, sitting on the ground while letting my saddlebags slide off my back. "No, it's just... I get what you're sayin'." Rarity walked up and sat next to me, ready to listen to what I'm about to say. "Back home, I was a pretty awkward kid in my younger years and through the first half of high school. It probably wasn't until I was about 17 when I finally came out of my shell, and it was thanks to all the people I've met along the way. So when I left for college, I was confident enough to finally be myself without caring about anyone judgin' me for it." I stroked my hair a little bit, trying to get these depressing thoughts out. "I'd do anything to see my family and friends again."
"I..." I turned my head to Rarity, who never looked away while I was reminiscing. She then placed a hoof on my back"... I can only imagine what you must be going through, darling. My friends and I have been through a lot, but to be taken from my home and away from everypony I loved... that scares me more than anything."
"Heh, well it definitely ain't a walk in the park, that's for sure", I quipped, trying to lighten the mood.
She laughed softly while still keeping a somber expression. "Well, in any case, everything will get better for you. I'm sure of it."
I smiled softly. "Thanks, Rare. I appreciate that."
She rubbed my back like a mother would, then stood up. "Well, now that that's out of the way, time to get to business," she said as she walked away from me. "Wait right there for me."
I stood back up as well, then remembered what it was that I came here for. "Oh yeah. You said you needed help somethin'?"
"Indeed. It won't take long, so give me just a moment."
She walked to a knitting station and a chest across the room, leaving me standing in the center of the shop. I looked around the place once again, and my attention was caught by the mirror. Now that I think about it, it's been a minute since I looked at myself and got a good look at my new body. I walked up on the display stage, stood in front of the mirror, and saw what was in front of me.
I still can't believe out of all things I got turned into a dragon. I turned my body to the side to get a full view of it. As I was checking out this scaly vessel, I realized I look similar to something. I'm basically like a bootleg version of Spyro, but with obvious changes. Instead of purple, my body's a darker shade of blue. Instead of horns, I have green hair for some reason. I also had pointy ears, but they were pointing backwards, and I can't seem to move them. My wings looked the same, but like the rest of my body it was dark blue, and the membranes between the bone were green. My body structure was more similar to a pony sort of, except I had clawed hands and feet instead of hooves, and a solid tail. My snout was about as short and thin as a pony's as well, if not just a tad thicker.
"I still haven't even figured out if I can breathe fire or not." I decided to say out loud. "I should probably ask Sp-ACHH!" I was interrupted when I felt a sudden force of pressure on my neck, but then it went away after a couple seconds. I turned around and saw Rarity with glasses on, and looking at tape measure she was levitating with her blue magic. "The hell was that for?!"
"Oh don't be such a grouch. I'm just taking your measurements. Could you lift your right arm, please?"
I didn't appreciate her choking me while I was thinking out loud, however I still obliged. "Well a heads up would've been nice. So why're you doin' this, again?"
"Oh, I'm just taking you're measurements for when I make you formal attire when the time comes." She wrapped the tape measure around my arm, then removed it quickly. "Other arm, please." I did as she told me, and she took the measurements. Suddenly, a clipboard and quill hovered next to her. She was scribbling down on it, obviously writing down my measurements. "Well, you're certainly skinnier than a normal dragon would be."
"Well I ain't a normal dragon." I said in a deadpan manner. "Hell, I don't think I should even call myself one. I barely know how to work this body."
"I suppose I can't argue with that logic." She stated as she removed her glasses. "Well that's all I needed from you."
I was actually kinda surprised to hear that. "Wait, really? You just needed my measurements? You don't need me to help tidy up or move some stuff around?"
She put her materials away, and put the measurements in a file, probably to save it for later. She then turned to face me. "That's very sweet of you darling, but no. That's why I have Sweetie Belle. All I needed was your measurements."
"Oh..." I honestly didn't know what to do now. "Well I'm... glad I could be of assistance?"
She giggled. "Besides, I want to make you something before the April decour becomes unavailable."
Excuse me, what?! "Hold up!" That actually made Rarity jump. "Did you just say it was April?!"
"Y-yes, I did", she responded uneasily because of my sudden burst, but then looked like she eased up. "Whatever is the matter darling."
I exhaled sharply while rubbing my head out of pure disbelief. "Well back at home, it was late November. Winter was just around the corner! And my birthday was last month too!"
That caught her attention. "Are you serious?! How could that be?"
"I dunno. I'm not an expert on interdimensional time zones."
She rubbed a hoof on her chin. "Hmm, that really is strange. Unfortunately, I don't have an answer for that. I'm not a genius like Twilight." I couldn't really respond to that, since I was so dumbfounded by this information. "Well, either way, I want to thank you for your patience, Alex. When the time comes I'll make you something fit for a gentlecolt."
I snapped out of my bewilderment, and actually felt a little uneasy about what she said. "Uhhh, once again, not to sound rude but..." I looked at the mannequins that were donning very stylish and... expensive looking dresses. "... Everything looks way out of my budget."
She waved that off with a hoof. "Oh don't be silly, darling. First purchase is on me. No trouble."
"Wait, really?!" I don't know if I should thank her or try to convince her to let me pay for it. "I mean I don't wanna inconvenience you since you're running a business and all."
"Alex..." She said as she walked up to me and placed a hoof on my shoulder. "From what you've been through, it's the least I could do. You're my friend now, so think nothing of it."
I'm absolutely baffled by the generosity of this pony. She would just give someone she just met a couple hours ago and give me probably a really expensive outfit? "Wow... that's... really generous of you, Rare... Thank you so much."
She smiled heartily. "Of course, dear." Out of nowhere, we started hearing a lot of noises upstairs, like things being toppled over, and I'm pretty sure I just heard a cat screech. "What in the world are those kids doing?" Rarity asked herself.
"Would you keep her still?!" I heard a high pitched voice coming from upstairs. It sounded like Rarity's sister. "You're letting her get away!"
"Me?!" That's obviously Spike. "She's your cat, not mine!
"You got wings dontcha?! Use em!"
"Speak for yourself, Ms. Magic Pants!"
Me and Rarity just looked at each other in disbelief. Suddenly, I felt the urge to laugh at whatever was going, and she laughed along with. I looked back at the stairs, and my laughing immediately died when I suddenly saw a big ball of fur zooming at my face, and then struck me down. "WOAH, HEY! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" I kept swinging my arms and moving around sporadically trying to get this fluffy monster off of my head. I think it's scratching off some of my scales. "YO, RARE! A LITTLE HELP WOULD BE NICE!"
"Opalescence, stop that this instant!" Suddenly I felt weight lifted off my head and the scratching stopped. I was laying on the ground, panting heavily as I felt like my life was about to end. As I stood back up, I looked at what she was lifting with her magic, and it was a very fluffy and pimped up cat. She was lashing around in the air trying to get out of Rarity's magical grip. The aura around suddenly disappeared, and the cat dropped to the ground and landed on it's feet. The cat looked up at me, hissing and fur standing up. Without even thinking about it, I decided to growl back. Then in a split second, the cat just zoomed out of our sight, probably anywhere it could hide around here.
"Now you've done it, Spike." We both looked up and saw Spike and Sweetie Belle walking down the stairs, and they both were covered in cat fur.
"What?! It's not my fault you don't know how to train a cat!" Spike fired back as they both faced each other with glares.
"Well if you just kept her still, then none of this woulda happened!"
"I didn't know it was my responsibility to take care of your cat!" Suddenly they were both nose to nose and having an intense staring contest.
"Both of you, that's enough!" Rarity yelled out, much to my surprise. Both kids snapped out of the staring contest and looked at Rarity, who trotted intensely to them. "I don't care who is at fault, but I know that both of you were involved in whatever mess you made upstairs. Now you're going to go back up there and clean up. I don't care how long it takes as long as everything is put back where they belong. Am I clear?"
Both kids looked at each other, then both sighed, calming down from their bickering. "Yes, ma'am," they both said in unison quietly.
"Good, now march on upstairs you two." They both did what they were told, and slowly made their way back upstairs silently. Not gonna lie, that little interaction garnered a chuckle out of me. Reminds me of the simpler times when I would get in trouble from my parents.
Rarity turned back to me, her mood softened up. "I sincerely apologize for that, Alex. Are you hurt?"
"Nah, I'll be fine." I responded honestly. "It was just a shock factor. Never had a cat attack me like that before, hehe."
"Hmm... Well, I don't know how long it will take to clean up whatever disaster they've made up there, but it might take some time." She suddenly perked up about something." Oh! Why don't you and I have a cup of tea to pass the time?"
"Been a while since I've had a nice cup of tea. Sure! Lead the way, m'lady." I gave her a hand gesture for said phrase.
"Why thank you, my kind sir." We both walked to the kitchen while laughing, and I was ready to enjoy a tasty beverage with my new friend.
"Well you certainly know a way to a woman's heart, eh big guy?"
As Spike and I walked out of the boutique, I couldn't help but poke a little fun at him. After all, I'm sure during the time he's known these mares and from what I've been told, he's no stranger to playful banter. "Yeah, yeah, you can laugh all you want." He was hovering next to me while swiping off any leftover cat fur he still had on his hide, letting the wind blow them away. He then had a smug look on his face. "Besides, I doubt you'd have any better luck with somepony like her."
"Not from this world, remember?" I reminded him in a deadpan tone. "Besides, I don't really know how interracial... or in this world's case inter-species taboos work, but I'm not exactly comfortable hitting on an individual out of my own biology."
"Eh, that just sounds like another excuse to me," he scoffed back.
He's obviously trying to downplay my charm... or lack thereof. He's not entirely wrong, but I'm not going to give him the satisfaction. "Well I do know for sure that if I wanna try and woo her, destroying her room while chasing her cat and arguing with her little sister ain't the way to do it."
"Alright, alright. Point taken." He seems to have surrendered, his smug attitude dropping immediately. Damn, it took me being transported to an alien world to awaken my sharp wit. Suddenly, he looked concerned about something, and was patting his whole body as if he forgot something, and it seemed he remembered. "Ah, haystacks. I left my satchel in the boutique. This is gonna be awkward."
"Heh, totally. You go on ahead, I'll just hang out here." He responded with a nod and flew back in the boutique, and I just sat on the ground, awaiting his return.
"A-CHOO! Darn cat fur!" I heard a scatchy voice yell out in irritation.
I looked around to find the source of the sneeze and voice. I couldn't find it anywhere around my area. Suddenly, I felt something soft land on my nose. It was a tuff of that leftover cat fur Spike was trying to wipe off of himself. I felt the fur actually tickle the inside of my nostrils. My face was starting to scrunch up as I felt pressure in my nose. "A...A...A-CHOO!" I saw the piece of fur fly away from my face, and was being blown away by the wind. In that same direction, my attention was caught by an abnormally bite sized cloud, similar to the one I saw at the castle. It was as high off the ground as the boutique was tall. Is there someone up there spying on me? I gotta get to the bottom of this... or top.
"Yo! Anyone up there?!" I didn't get a response, but I'm not letting it slide that easy. "Come on, I know someone's up there! I heard ya sneeze, so ya ain't foolin' me!" It was silent for a few seconds, then I heard a sigh, and not much longer afterwards, a head pops out, revealing a familiar face: it was the blue, rainbow-maned pegasus I met at Twilight's castle a few hours prior. My suspicion went away as soon as I saw her. "Oh, it's you. Uhhh... Rainbow Dash, right?"
She flew to ground level, but was still hovering above me. "Yep. The one and only," she said in a rather unenthusiastic tone while crossing here hooves, a pretty obvious hint that she still hasn't fully accustomed to my appearance here in Ponyville.
I rubbed my hair a little. "Hehe, right... Sooo, what's up?"
She shrugged. "Nothin'. Just flyin' around..." A glare starts hardening on her face. "... Making sure you don't cause any trouble."
I sighed. My hunch was apparently true. "So you were spyin' on me."
"Don't act surprised," she said in a smug tone, with the smirk to match. "I told you I was gonna keep an eye on ya."
I rolled my eyes slightly. "Riiight, how could I forget?" Probably not the best idea, but I should have a little fun with this, so I mirrored her smirk. "I always appreciate it when someone warns me they're gonna stalk my every move. See anything ya like?"
She leans closer to me with a glare. That obviously riled her up. "Cut the smart talk, wise guy. You might've earned Spike and Twilight's trust, but I'm not easily fooled, ya know."
My smirk and smart ass demeanor went away. "Why're you so suspicious of me? In case you're not aware, I'm literally an alien in this world. I barely know how this body works, and I'm pretty sure I'm the one who gets hurt more than anyone else, so what's so threatening about me?"
She decides to hover in circles around me. "Well maybe it's because the princesses, the most powerful and smartest ponies in Equestria, just welcomed you, a being from a totally different dimension, into their castle without even askin' any questions..."
"I mean they asked like 5, but I didn't keep cou-"
"Hey!" She zoomed up to my face in the middle of my sarcastic remark. "I said no smart talk!"
This is getting annoying now. "Will you just get to the point, already?!"
She backed away, but didn't get rid of her gaze. "My point is that them trusting you right off the bat doesn't make any sense."
"From what I've seen so far and what I've been told, nothing about this world makes any sense."
She opened her mouth to speak her counter-point, but then just sighed. "Ok, I can kinda see where you're going with that..." I'm surprised she admitted that. "... But that still doesn't change my mind. I've met ponies who put on a friendly face and gained everypony's trust, but they turned out to be the complete opposite of what they say they were, and there's no reason it won't happen again."
Geez, this pony's so persistent. "The worst thing I've ever done was steal a bag of chips from a gas station when I was a kid." Even to this day, I still regret that. "Also, you're makin' it sound like I came here on my own free will. I was literally taken from my home."
She enters my bubble again. "You can use that as an excuse all you want, but I'm not giving up that easy. When I find out you hurt anypony in my home, I'll be there to take you down." She said that in a more threatening tone.
I furrowed my eyebrows, letting her know I'm not afraid of her. "Well then Ms. Tough-feathers, I hope you're prepared to be disappointed."
She was then inches away from my face. I could tell she was feeling more competitive, because she suddenly smirked. "Oh, I'm always up for a challenge. But I gotta warn ya... I always win..." She emphasized that by firmly thumping my chest with her hoof, but I was still standing my ground. "... Remember that, Alex Flame." I could feel the toxicity when she said that. Then suddenly, she zoomed away from me, a strong gust of wind blowing at my body.
"Okay, good talk!" I yelled sarcastically as I saw her fly away. "We should do this again sometime!" As she disappeared from my sight, I actually let out a sigh of relief. I don't doubt that she'll keep her word, but at the same time, I'm not gonna bend over to some hot headed winged pony who thinks she has me all figured out. I'll prove her wrong one day.
"Alex?" I turned around and saw Spike hovering towards me with his satchel over his shoulders. "I came out just in time to see Rainbow Dash fly away. Everything alright?"
That question caused me to snort. "Oh yeah. We seem to be gettin' along just fine." I said that in the most mocking tone I could muster. "I bet we'll be besties in no time."
Spike sighed, obviously catching the sarcasm in my voice. "She still doesn't trust ya, huh?"
I simply shrugged. "Eh, I'm sure I'll get through to her at some point during my time here. She can't hate me forever, right?"
Spike looked like he wasn't entirely convinced by that. "I dunno about that. That's easier said than done. She's a pretty hard pony to crack. Especially when it involves everypony she cares about."
"Hmm... Well, I definitely can't fault her for her loyalty," I honestly said. "But I'm not too worried about her..." Despite that note, I looked around the area, but mostly the sky. "... Well, ya know... except when she's watchin' my every move, apparently."
Spike chuckled at that. "Well, if you say so, but if you want my opinion, just give her some space, and as time flies, I'm sure she'll realize you're really nothing to be intimidated by."
I turned my attention back to Spike with a quizzical look after he said that last part. "Not sure if I should be relieved or insulted by that."
He shrugged while having a smug grin. "Well, you can take it anyway you want." I only responded with a groan and roll of my eyes. "Anyway, where to next?"
"Well, that depends. Who's closer?"
"Well we're still in the middle of Ponyville. If it were up to me, I think Sugarcube Corner would be our next stop. Pinkie works there, so we could probably hang out with her for a little bit."
"Sounds like a plan to me. I'll follow your lead." I lifted myself in the air, and started following Spike to our next destination. I'm really surprised how much easier this is getting. With a little more help, I should be used to this no problem, but it'll take a little more time before I've completely mastered it.
We arrived at our next stop in almost no time at all thanks to our wings. As I was staring at what was in front of me, I felt the need to ask myself a question... "How in the HELL did I not notice this before!?"
The only way I can describe what I'm looking at is that it is literally a giant gingerbread house, and it could attract Hansel and Gretel a hundred times over! It was layered with gingerbread cookies, frosting, and the tower is literally just a giant cupcake, and it even has candles on it! Honestly I was very tempted to take a bite out of it, but I'm pretty sure it's not real, and I would look like an idiot in front of all these ponies.
"Quite a sight, huh?" Spike asked, nudging me with an elbow, but I was still looking at it wide eyed and jaw dropped.
I shook my head rapidly, trying to come back to my senses. "I'll say! I can feel my mouth starting to water just by looking at it!"
"Well if that's the case, I doubt you'd survive when you walk through that door. But there's only one way to find out. Come on!" Spike hovered inside while I slowly followed him, still in awe at the design of this building.
We walked through the doors of this world of pure imagination, and if I'll be completely honest..... it's kind of disappointing.
The outside may cause my saliva to build up on astronomical levels, but the inside looks like literally every candy store I've been to back at home. Despite that, I'll give this place the benefit of the doubt. From all the food I've had during the time I've been in this world, I'm sure I won't be disappointed by the sweets they sell here.
"Mr. and Mrs. Cake?!" Spike suddenly yelled out while ringing a bell on the counter, "You there?!"
Honestly I wasn't okay with that, so I pulled him away from the counter. "That's a bit rude, dontcha think?"
Spike looked at me like I didn't know what I was talking about. "Dude, relax. It's okay, I've been here enough to last a lifetime. I'm basically family here."
"Oh, hi Spike!" Someone yelled out at that moment. I got a glance behind the counter and saw an earth pony walk up. I could tell because she didn't have any wings nor a horn. Her fur was a shade of blue, and has three cupcakes as a cutie mark. "What can I-" She stopped talking when she set her sight on me. "Oh! Hello there!" Okay that definitely wasn't the reaction I was expecting. "You must be the new umm... visitor."
"Guess I'm already the talk of the town, huh?" I quipped politely.
"I guess you could say that," She responded. "Your name's... Ash Blaze, correct?"
Wow... That actually kind of sounds better than the name I came up with. Too late to change it, unfortunately. "Well you were kinda close. I'm Alex Flame."
"Ah, I see." She said that in a polite way, but I could tell she was kind of disappointed... and honestly I don't blame her. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure, dearies?"
"Well we were hoping to see if Pinkie was around." Spike answered.
"I had a feeling that was the case. Wait right there, I'll go get her. However, I wouldn't be surprised if she knew you were here already." With that last statement, she goes upstairs to fetch the pony we came to see.
"Guess word travels fast around these parts, huh?" I asked Spike.
"That's a huge understatement," he replied. "I wouldn't be surprised if everypony in Equestria already knew you were here."
From what I've heard about Spike and the others, I had to ask. "How do y'all handle that much attention? It must've been overwhelming for you."
"Nah, we get by just fine," he answered, nonchalantly waving off my theory. "It's really not as bad as you'd think once you get used to it. You'd actually be surprised how laid back ponies can be around us... well, except for that one time."
"Whatcha talkin' about?!"
"AAHH!" Me and Spike yelled out in unison as the giant piece of pink cotton candy just appeared literally out of nowhere, at least from my perspective.
"AAHH, yourselves!" she responded simply and loudly. Before I could ask her anything and look for whatever portal she just jumped out of, Pinkie suddenly zoomed into my personal bubble and locked me in a deathly tight hug around my neck. "FLAMEY! I'm so glad you're here!"
"...Pinkie..." I tried to muster out as I felt my spine being cracked and my windpipe being crushed. "...choking... not breathing."
Before I could knock on death's door, the logic-defying earth pony released me, her face telling me she just realized what she was doing as I was breathing in air as if I never have before. "Hehe, sorry Flamey. I'm just so excited that you're here!"
"No kiddin'," I responded while I was panting lightly and rubbing my neck. "If that's you when you're excited, I can only imagine what would happen if I got on your bad side."
"Pfft, bad side, schmad side." She said while waving off my assumption. "There's only one thing that'll make me mad, but I'm sure you'll never have to worry about that."
I know that was meant to reassure me, but I'm not getting that vibe. "Dear lord, I hope not."
"Hey!" She suddenly bursted out in front of my face, lightly spitting on me. "Why don't we go up to my room!? I can give you a tour and we can hang out!" She then started bouncing up and down in excitement.
I wiped the spit off my face. "I couldn't be anymore excited than I already am."
"Of course you couldn't!" She obviously didn't catch my deadpan sarcasm. "It's upstairs. Let's go!" Without even giving me a chance to say another word, she literally zoomed upstairs out of our sight in a second as if she was freaking Sonic the Hedgehog!
"Wha... where did... how did she-"
"Alex." Spike called me before I could have a mental episode trying to process what just happened. He flew up to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Take it from me, my friend. Whatever Pinkie says or does, don't ask any questions. Just roll with it."
How can I just roll with it when it doesn't even make sense!? "That's a lot easier said than done. I mean did you see how-" Spike clamped my mouth, and just shook his head, obviously telling me what he said earlier, which made my eyes start twitching.
"Ya comin', Flamey?!" I turned and saw Pinkie poke her head out from the corner upstairs, smiling like everything she's doing is normal.
"Uhh... yeah just... gimme a sec, alright?"
"Okay!" And in the blink of an eye, she was gone again.
I inhaled deeply, and exhaled heavily, trying to keep myself from asking any questions that will never be answered. I lifted myself up and hovered toward the stairs. I tried to pull myself up to get to the next level, however instead, I actually just crashed myself into the middle of the stairs! I started sliding down, my chin hitting each step down. "Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow." Am I seriously this much of a rookie at flying I can't even pull myself up?!
I started to hear what sounded like snickering. I looked at Spike, his eyes starting to water as he tried to contain his laughter, but it didn't work, because he started holding his stomach because he was laughing so hard. "You really have a lot of learning to do," He quipped in between giggles. I smiled wryly and lifted up a certain finger. This caused him to look at me as if I was doing something stupid. "Aaaand what's that supposed to mean?"
A smug grin made it's way across my face. "Trust me, my guy. You'll know in due time." He shrugged and started to hover somewhere else in the store, and I got back up and started walking upstairs to Pinkie's room.
I made it to the top of the stairs, and got a glimpse of what Pinkie wanted to show me. From what I could see, the room was- "HI, FLAMEY!"
"OKAY," I landed on my butt after that little jump scare. Is she going to do that every time she sees me?
"What took ya so long?!" I opened my mouth to answer, but Pinkie immediately shoved a hoof in my mouth. "Never mind that! Lemme show ya around!" She dashed away from me to the middle of the room, letting me spit out any fur left on my tongue. "Welcome to Casa de Pinkie!" She then dashes to her bed. "This is my bed! It's super comfy. And you can jump on it!" She starts bouncing on the bed, and every other second she bounces much faster, and in a way I can barely explain, she actually sinks into it, but not much time has passed, she launched herself in the air! "WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-" Holy crap, she just flew right through the ceiling! I just kept staring at the hole in the ceiling, hoping she would come back. Then it was then and there I heard faint screaming. "-eeeeeEEEEEEEEEE!" She landed perfectly on her bed. "That was awesome! You should try that!"
I shifted my line of sight between her and the hole. "Uh, you do know you just broke your ceiling, right?"
She looked above her, noticing the visible hole. "Oh, that's nothin'. I can have Twilight help me with that. It's an easy fix." That wasn't her first time?! Before I could ask any more questions, she zooms up to the second floor of her room. "This is my own little balcony! And the best part about it, IT'S PERFECT FOR SHOUTING!!" The room actually shook when she started yelling. Has she been hanging out with the Greybeards or something?!
"This is really getting outta hand," I said to myself.
The crazy pony all of a sudden appears right in front of me with a... cannon?! "This is my party cannon. Fire in the hole!"
"WHAT THE FU-"
BANG
The last thing I saw before my vision got blocked was just a storm of confetti jetting right at me. I felt confetti covering my whole face, as well as having a mouthful of it. "So whaddya think?!" I heard Pinkie ask nonchalantly as I shook all the confetti off my face and spat the ones out of my mouth. "Yeah, it's pretty great, isn't it?"
"Look, Pinkie-"
"So whaddya wanna do now?!", She interrupted as she started bouncing around me. "You wanna play a game? Wanna help me do some baking?"
I started to feel a vein pop out of my head. "Pinkie."
"Ooh, do you wanna help pull some pranks?! Do you have pranks back in your world?!"
I can only hold my composure for so long. "Pinkie!"
"Oh there's just so many choices and they all sound so much fun! Choices choices choices choices-"
"PINKIE PIE!!" She yelped and stopped bouncing, landing on her flank in front of me, and I was ready to let it all out. "Ugh, there's just too much goin' on right now!" I started rubbing my head, trying to make the headache go away. "Spike told me to just roll with whatever the hell you do, but I just can't! I swear if I have to hear you ramblin' for more than a second my head is gonna freakin' explode, so can you just give me some damn space!?" I was panting after my outburst, but I took a deep breath in and out, feeling myself calming down.
"I... I'm sorry." Her voice sounded like it was trembling, so I looked at Pinkie, her big, blue eyes watering and her mane actually deflated, going from a poofy mess to a straight, droopy hairstyle, and I think even her coat became a tad darker. I was both confused and felt my anger go away immediately. "I just... I just wanted to have fun with you. I thought you and I could be best friends." Now I feel like an ass. I was just so overwhelmed that I wasn't thinking straight when I yelled at her. Honestly it's absolutely heartbreaking seeing this pony cry, especially since she's so full of life. "You can... You can go if you want." She turns away from me and walks toward her bed. She jumps on it and starts crying.
I can't believe I just did that. I don't think I've ever yelled at anyone like that before. I sighed, then slowly walked up to Pinkie's bed. I just somberly looked down at the whimpering pony, trying to think about what I should say. "Pinkie, I..." I sighed again. "Pinkie, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. I was just so overwhelmed by what was happening in the last few minutes that I lost my composure. I really wish I could take it all back." She was still whimpering and sniffing, but she lifted her head and turned to look at me, staring at me with those big, watery puppy dog eyes. It was heartwrenching to look at, but I was glad that she was listening. "The thing is everything around me, and I literally mean everything, is all new to me. I was taken from my home and I'm not sure if I'm ever gonna get back." That was enough to get her to wipe her face and cease her crying, and it seems she's now looking at me in a more sympathetic way, and it even got her to get off her bed and sit in front of me, which I mimicked. "You really do seem like a nice pony. A little out of the ordinary if I might add..." That caused her to giggle quietly but adorably, which caused me to smile lightly. I then decided to place a hand on her shoulder. "But I can definitely tell you're a good soul, and nothing would make me happier than to be your friend."
Her mane went back to her poofy and messy style, and her coat went back to her normal shade of pink, much to my relief. "Really?"
I nodded. "Really."
"You promise?"
"Absolutely."
"Pinkie promise?"
I lightly rolled my eyes, but never wiped my smile. I lifted my hand and extended out my pinkie. "Pinkie promise."
She then looked confused as she was staring at my pinkie. "Ummm... what're you doing?"
I wasn't really expecting that reaction. "I... I-I'm givin' you a pinkie promise. Y'know... pinkie finger?" I wiggled my pinkie to emphasize my point.
She lightly giggled at that. "That's not a Pinkie promise, silly. Here, lemme show ya. Cross my heart." She crossed her chest.
"Cross my heart." I repeated the gesture.
"Hope to fly." She flapped her hooves.
"Hope to fly." I flapped my arms.
"Stick a cupcake in my eye." She proceeded to literally stick a hoof on her eye.
I blinked twice at that, however if I'm gonna be true to my promise, I have to oblige. "Stick a cupcake in my eye." I placed my hand over my right eye, to which I assume my promise is now in full effect.
She seemed satisfied by that. "There ya go. You just made a Pinkie promise." She then proceeded to wrap me in a hug, but this time around, it was just a normal hug. It was actually quite nice. I didn't hesitate to return it. I said it before, but these ponies are really good huggers.
After a little while, we broke away from the hug, and a thought occurred to me. "Hey, I know what'll cheer you up. Wanna hear a joke?"
"Ooh, I love jokes!" She rapidly grabs a stool and slouches on it, eager to hear my joke.
I chuckled at her eagerness, and proceeded to tell it. "Ok, so an arrogant genius makes a bet with an idiot." She nodded at that, acknowledging her attention. "The genius tells the idiot, 'Every question I ask that you don't know the answer to, you have to give me five dollars'."
"Dollars?" Pinkie asks in confusion.
"It's my world's version of bits."
"Ah, gotcha. Continue."
I proceeded, "The genius then tells the idiot, 'Every question that you ask and I don't know the answer to, I'll give you fifty dollars'. The idiot agrees. So the genius asks first, 'Approximately how many people are on this planet?'. Of course, the idiot didn't know the answer, so he gave the genius five dollars. Now it was the idiot's turn. 'What animal stands on two legs but sleeps on three?'. The genius tried very hard to find the answer, but eventually gave up and gave the idiot fifty dollars. The genius says, 'Darn, I lost. By the way, what was the answer to your question?'. The idiot gave him five dollars."
The punchline caused Pinkie to laugh uncontrollably, and it was even enough to make her lean back and fall off the stool, but she just kept on laughing hysterically. Honestly, I didn't think my joke was that funny, but I'm really glad I lifted Pinkie's spirits back up. She then got back up and walked up to me, draping a hoof over me. "That was hilarious! You're really funny, Alex." That was probably the first time she called me by my name. I didn't care to comment on it though, because I didn't want to ruin the moment.
"Glad you and I could work things out, Pinks."
"Yeah, me too." She walked away from me and perked up. "Hey, let's go downstairs and see what Spike's doing. Besides, I think I have a good prank we can pull on him."
I smiled sadistically at that. "No need to convince me to tag along. I'll follow your lead."
We both started walking to the stairs. "By the way," Pinkie caught my attention. "I know you haven't been here for very long, but it kinda feels like you've been here for months."
That caused me to stop walking, and she followed suit. I wasn't sure what she meant by that. "Really? Howd'ya figure?"
"Well it may be just me, but it feels like you've been putting us off for months and just got really lazy and didn't really want anything to do with us, and when you try to, you lose interest very quickly, and it seems everypony else noticed too."
"I... uhhh..." I was't entirely sure how to respond to that.
"But, I'm probably wrong." She thumped my shoulder. "I'm sure you'd never do that to anypony. Now come on! Spike's not gonna prank himself!" She then dashed out of my sight to the lower level.
I was still trying to process what she meant when she said that, but I simply chuckled. "Just roll with it, Flame." I immediately frowned after I said. Great, now I'm referring to myself by my fake name.
I made my way downstairs to join my new pink friend to help pull her prank on Spike.
"You are so gonna pay for that," Spike said in frustration, wiping off any frosting left on his face as we walked out of Sugarcube Corner together.
I laughed as he was still cleaning himself up. "Hey, come on, you know full well that Pinkie was the one behind it all. I just tagged along while she did all the work." I took a bite out of a vanilla cupcake with pink frosting with sprinkles that Pinkie gave to me for free. So delicious.
"Yeah, but that makes you an accomplice," he shot back after wiping the rest of the frosting off, "and that makes you just as guilty as her. I'll have my revenge, just you wait."
I sighed, but didn't wipe away my smile. "I suppose I'll deserve it whenever that time comes." I took a couple more bites until the cupcake has disappeared completely.
He just huffed at my response, but then his attention was grabbed by my saddlebags, more specifically the right bag. "Y'know, I never asked whatcha got in there," he said pointing at my bag.
"Oh yeah." I reached into the bag and grabbed one of the gems that Celestia gave me. "How could I have forgotten these?" I pulled out a green gem. "I was s'posed to ask Twilight what these are and what I should do with 'em. Wonder how much these babies're worth?" I tossed the gem up and down like a baseball, but then in a blink of an eye it just disappeared. "What the what?!"
I looked to my left and saw Spike hovering above the ground while holding my gem in front of his face, staring at it with wide eyes and drool dripping from his mouth for some reason. "Whoa, this looks sooo good!" What the hell does he mean by that? "I want a bite!" He opens his mouth wide, but I actually managed to snatch it out of his arms right before he chomps down. "Hey!"
"Just what the hell d'ya think you're doin'!?" I asked after witnessing what was about to happen.
"What does it look like, genius!?" He snapped back, expecting me to know what he was doing.
"It looked like ya got hit with that pie a little too hard!"
He zoomed up to my face with a scowl. "Not another word about that. Besides, you owe me for that!"
"I told you that wasn't me!" I yelled, matching his scowl.
"Just lemme have a bite!" He was about to try and snatch the gem from me again, but I placed my hand on his face and kept him from getting near it. Seeing as it was my only free hand, I was standing on my hind legs. However, I wasn't struggling to keep my balance since the force of Spike's relentlessness is actually helping.
"Dude, cut it out! You're being ridiculous!"
"NEVER!" He yelled with a muffled voice as I still had my hand on his face. He actually tries to force himself to the gem, extending his tiny arms out as far and desperately as he could, and to my surprise, he's actually stronger than he looks. He pulls away from my hand, causing me to lose my balance and fall to the ground. He quickly flew to the other side of me, knowing I was still holding the gem in my right hand. I tossed the gem to my left hand right before Spike tried to grab it, and then I rolled to the side, and that actually helped me get back on my feet quicker. "Hold still!" He demanded.
"Not happenin'!" I yelled back, protecting the gem at all costs at this point. He zoomed toward me, but I quickly ducked before he made contact. He quickly stopped and turned back around to face me, and then flew back to me. However, instead of trying to tackle me, he actually made his way behind me, and that's when I felt my scalp stinging. This little runt was pulling my hair! "OW! ARE YOU CRAZY!?" I yelled through the pain.
"Just give it to me and this'll be over!" He said while still pulling my hair.
I clenched my teeth and hissed, deciding that enough was enough with this kid. Trying my best to fight through the pain, I reared up and reached my free hand behind me and got a hold of Spike's head, causing him to yelp in pain. "LET GO, YOU DAMN PEST!" With whatever strength I could muster in this situation, I actually threw Spike away from me. He tumbled on the ground for a bit, but regains his footing and balance by digging his claws into the ground, skidding to a halt and stopping his movements. His head was lowered, but then lifts it up and stares at me with a piercing gaze. I moved my body sideways to where the gem was out of sight, and looked at him, mirroring his gaze. Through my peripheral vision, I could see ponies around us watching the ruckus that Spike and I got ourselves into, but I was a bit too focused on Spike to pay any mind to it.
We were about 20 yards apart from each other, just staring each other down, waiting on whoever's going to make the first move. This literally looked like a scene out of an old western movie. The only things that are missing are a tumbleweed and Ennio Morricone's music playing in the background, however I did feel a little breeze.
"This could've been a lot easier for the both of us, Flame." Spike said in an intimidating tone, making this scene more cliche than it already looked. "You will give that to me."
"Over my dead body" I responded in an equally cheesy tone. He was still in a position where he looked like a jaguar ready to pounce at its prey, and I was readying myself for whatever comes next.
"Um... excuse me?" I heard a soft voice and turned my head to the source. It was the shy, yellow pegasus with a pink mane. The expression on her face was a mix of both worry and confusion, and honestly it was really adorable.
Realizing I let my guard down, I quickly turned back to Spike, who launched himself at a high speed toward me. Without even thinking, I extended my wings out, and gave them the hardest flap I could muster while also exerting force from my arm and legs to give a boost, and I soon found myself rocketing to the air, dodging Spike's tackle, backflipping a couple times, then landed perfectly on my arm and feet, still holding the gem in my left hand.
What. Just. Happened?
I honestly felt like I just blacked out for a second. I moved my eyes in every direction, seeing a bunch of bewildered faces all around us, including the yellow pegasus. "Did I... Really just do that?" Snapping myself out of my shock, I remember hearing what sounded like crashing during my little stunt. I turned around and saw Spike lying on the ground not moving in front of a random building, obviously crashing into the wall, which left an indent of him. "Ahh crap," I said, whatever angry feelings I had toward Spike disappearing immediately, however I'm still gonna wanna have a little chat about what just happened. I dropped the gem that started this whole fiasco and jogged toward Spike, surprisingly keeping my balance this time around. I sat down and gently picked Spike up, holding him like a baby. "Spike! C'mon buddy, wake up."
"Oh my goodness!" The yellow pegasus was by my side, obviously concerned about the little guy. "Is he okay?"
"He better be, or Twi's gonna rip my wings off." Out of desperation, I rapidly but softly tapped on his face. His face scrunches up, much to my relief knowing he's awake.
"Uuuggggghhhh... what happened?" He asked, obviously still in a daze after crashing into the wall.
"You went freakin' ballistic, that's what happened." I said bluntly. "Can you walk... or fly?"
He rubbed his head some more, then opened his eyes fully. "Uhh... yeah, I can walk. It actually doesn't hurt as much as it should." I put him down, letting him stand on his own. He still looked a little dizzy, but he didn't seemed to be hurt at all. However, I was still kind of upset about the way he acted, especially when he pulled my hair. He looked up to me and obviously noticed the disapproving face I gave him. He giggled sheepishly and wiggled his claws together, obviously embarrassed. "I uhh... wasn't exactly myself, was I?"
"That's puttin' it mildly there, kiddo." I replied in a monotone voice, and turned back and looked at the gem that I dropped. "Do dragons go crazy whenever they see somethin' shiny in this world?"
"Well... in a way, yes," Spike answered, causing me to look back at him. "But not like that. I was just hungry and... a little upset about the whole prank thing earlier." He rubbed his head and had a somber expression, a clear sign he regrets the way he acted, which lowered my anger a little bit, but also confused me about another thing.
"Whaddya mean you were hungry?" I had to ask, because something didn't add up to me.
He looked at me like I was talking crazy. "You really don't know, do you?"
"Do I really need to remind you, again?" I asked in a deadpan tone.
"Umm..." Me and Spike turned to the yellow pegasus. "S-Sorry if I'm interrupting but... I think I should take Spike back to my cottage. I have something that should help with his headache."
"Thanks, Fluttershy." So that's her name. I forgot what it was since I didn't really get to chat with her back at Twilight's castle. "But really, I'm ok. It doesn't hurt that bad."
"Well it's better to be safe than sorry. And I won't take no for answer, so let's go to my cottage." Her voice was still soft, but I could hear a bit of assertiveness.
He sighed, obviously giving in. "Okay, you win. I suppose it wouldn't hurt more than it already is."
She then looked at me. "Oh, umm... y-you're welcome to join us umm... I'm sorry, I forgot your name."
Her shyness immediately returned, and it actually made me smile lightly. "Don't worry about it. We didn't get a chance to talk earlier anyway. I'm Alex." I extended my arm out to shake her hoof.
She hesitated slightly, but she reached out her hoof and let me get a grip on it, and we shook. "I'm Fluttershy."
"Nice to meet ya. So, you said you had somethin' to help the little nutjob here?" I gave him a side glance after saying that, causing him to smile sheepishly and I think I see red on his cheeks.
"I do!" she exclaimed softly. "It's something I give my animals whenever they're in pain, but it should still work on Spike. My cottage is outside of Ponyville, but it's not too far. Follow me... umm, please?"
I chuckled a bit at her shy politeness. "Sure, lead the way. But one sec." I walked up my saddlebags that obviously fell off my back during that whole fiasco, and threw it on my back. I then walked up to Spike, then knelt down to his height. "Hop on."
He actually looked flabbergasted by that. "Wait, what?"
"Look, I believe you're not too hurt, but I'd cool it with the flyin' for a bit, at least until you get what Fluttershy's got for ya. It's like she said: better to be safe than sorry. Now hop on."
He still looked like he couldn't believe what I was doing, but then he sighed, and climbed up on my back. "I suppose it's the least I could do after putting you through that."
I smiled at his statement. At least he's trying to own up to it. "Glad to hear it, big guy." I then extended my wings out and gave them a few flaps before I lifted myself a few feet in the air, and Fluttershy followed suit. "After you."
She nodded, and we flew at a steady pace on the way to her cottage.
We were a bit of a distance away from Ponyville, but I could still see it from our current location. We decided to make the rest of the trip on foot so it could give us the chance to talk about what happened earlier.
"So they're part of a dragons diet in this world?!" I exclaimed out loud, baffled by this revelation.
"Yeah!" Spike answered, who was still sitting on my back. "I still can't believe that part of us went over your head."
"You really didn't know?" Fluttershy asked while she was walking right beside me.
I groaned. "Do I seriously have to keep reminding everyone?" I tried not to sound too aggressive, especially to Fluttershy. "I've only been in this world for a couple weeks, even though 95 percent of that time was in a hospital."
"Really? Cuz it kinda feels like you've been here way longer than that." Spike deduced. Pinkie said something along that line earlier. But why, though?
"The point is I know next to nothing about this world. The only thing that makes sense to me is that nothing makes sense... if that makes any sense."
Fluttershy opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but then closed it and looked away from me, a remorseful expression forming on her face. I raised a brow at her in confusion.
"Hey! I can see the cottage from here!" Spike jumped off my back and was hovering in the air next to me, pointing at our destination, which I can see clear as day.
Sitting across from a tiny bridge over a small river, was a large, woodland style cottage. It was covered in grass and moss, and laying on it's roof, as well as on small trees in the area, were multiple nests and birdhouses of different shapes and colors, and rabbit burrows on the path leading up to the door, and there was a burrow with a small dock under the bridge. But of course the thing that need to be addressed was that every inch of the property was littered with different kinds of animals. Birds, rabbits, raccoons, the list goes on.
A small group of birds flew up to Fluttershy, and a family of raccoons ran up to her, greeting her cheerfully. "Oh, hello everyone!" She said gleefully. That's probably the loudest I've heard her talk. "I'm so sorry I took longer than usual. I got a little sidetracked."
They all looked in my direction, then suddenly the animals made their way toward me. I actually stepped back a bit, startled by their sudden approach. "Oh, uhhh... hey there." I gave them a friendy smile, despite still being a bit on edge. One of the raccoons approached my hand, lifted it and shook it, making a chittering sound with a smile on it's face. I guess not all animals talk in this world. I laughed a bit. "Well it's nice to meet you, too." The birds swirled around my head for a couple seconds, then one of them stopped in front of my face. I lifted my finger, and it perches itself on it. A few soft chirps came out of it's small beak, probably to say 'nice to meet you.' "Heh, well this ain't something I'd see everyday back home."
"Wow!" Fluttershy exclaimed softly. "They really seem to like you! I don't think they've ever warmed up to strangers this fast."
I was about to make a joke about my charm, but then the bird on my finger got startled and flew away from me and hovered behind Fluttershy, and the other birds and the raccoons followed suit. "Uhhh... are they oka-" I suddenly felt a heavy gust of air brush the back of my head, making me rub my hair. "Geez, Spike! Sneeze somewhere else next time!"
"Umm, Alex." I turned my head toward him... on my right. "That wasn't me."
Before the realization hit me, I heard a low growl coming from behind me. After gulping hard, hoping it isn't what I think it is, I very slowly turned around to see what's behind me, and what I saw made my heart stop beating and froze me in place. It was a large, hulking brown bear, staring at me with malicious intent. It then proceeded to lift it's clawed hands and reach out for me.
Knowing this is my inevitable end, there was only one thing that came to mind that I could say out loud. "OH FU-" Before I could finish that last word, I was pressed against it's massive chest, and felt an unbearable pressure squeezing my spine. I heard and felt this thing actually purring. Is this bear... hugging me?!
"Harry! Don't be so rough with him!" I heard Fluttershy exclaim in a surprisingly loud tone.
"Hrrr?" I heard the bear grunt out while also feeling the pressure go down.
"He's been through a lot lately." Her assertive tone dialed down a bit. "So if you could please put him down, it would be much appreciated."
The bear, evidently named Harry, set me down after releasing me from his bear hug. Not sure if that was pun intended, but there's a reason why it's called that. He even had the courtesy to fix my ruffled hair. He grinned in a shy way, even giggling with his low growl while tapping his fingers together. He's definitely a friend of Fluttershy.
I cranked my neck a few times, trying to get my bearings straight. Ok, why do I keep making bear puns? "Damn." I said out loud, "I thought Pinkie's hugs were life threatening, heh." I should be surprised I just got a hug from a huge bear, but after everything I've experienced, I've learned to brush it off.
"I'm so sorry about that Alex." Fluttershy walked up to me. "Harry gets a little too excited when he meets new ponies... or, well... you know."
I actually smiled a little bit. "It's ok, Shy. I'm actually fine bein' around him, now that I know he's not tryna eat me." I walked up to Harry and extended my hand. "Good to meetcha, Harry. I'm Al-" He grabbed my hand shook it up and down, or to put it in any other way, me. "OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!"
"Harry", I heard Fluttershy say in a way an assertive mother would call to her kid to behave. Harry stopped shaking me, dusted me off again, a toothy but sheepish grin formed on his face, and he walked away.
"Ow." My headache's back with a vengeance. I rubbed my head a bit, whatever good that did.
"Oh I can't with him sometimes." I heard Fluttershy walking closer to me, "But he's a sweetheart. If you couldn't tell, he really likes you."
"Heh, I... noticed." Normally I would have been more of a smartass, albeit playfully, but I toned it down a bit. I want to wait until I'm more comfortable around her, and vice versa. I was still rubbing my head. "You wouldn't happen to have any Tylenol, would ya?"
"What's that?" She asked in a confused manner, eyebrow raised.
"Different world. Duh." I mumbled to myself, even though I was partially joking about that question. "Never mind. All I'm sayin' is my headache's back."
"Oh, I understand!" She exclaimed softly. "Come on in and I'll give you something to help you with your headache. You as well , Spike." Spike responded to that with a nod, and we all made way to the cottage.
We stepped inside the cottage, and I got a good look at the interior. It honestly looked like a very basic suburban home. Carpet in the middle, lounging area in the back, kitchen on the left, and stairs that I'm going to assume leads to her bedroom. I'm also seeing a few birdhouses and mouse holes. She even let's some of these animals in her home? Not that I mind or anything, it's her house so she can do whatever and let whoever she wants in, but back home it's not exactly in the norm.
"Your house seems pretty cozy, Shy." I said out loud, "I can tell just by looking at it."
"Oh, thank you so much!" Her quiet exasperation at my compliment really tugged on the heartstrings. "I try to keep the place tidy as possible, even with the company I have. Make yourself at home while I go get some medicine for you and Spike."
"Sounds good to me. Besides, I wanna have a little chat with Spazzy McGee here." I made a side glance toward Spike. He noticed me, and rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish grin.
"Oh, ok." Fluttershy said with a bit of concern. "Just... don't be too hard on him, ok?"
I turned back to face her. "I won't lecture him, Shy. Just gonna have a casual, mature talk. Mano y mano." She stared at me with obvious confusion at that last part. I just stared back with a deadpan look. "We'll be here when you get back." She responded to that with a nod and made her way to the kitchen.
I walked up to the rather small couch and climbed up, positioning myself in a comfortable posture. Spike hovered over to the chair and plopped down. He was twiddling his thumbs like a kid ready to be scolded by his parents. "Alright, big guy," I said. "Let's talk."
[FS]
Fluttershy entered the kitchen, looking for medicine to give to her dragon guests.
The yellow pegasus lifted her upper body onto the counter to reach for the cabinet that she keeps the medicine for her animal friends. As she opened the cabinet, she froze for a second. She let out a sigh, and looked back at the direction of the living room, a melancholic expression formed on her face.
"I can't imagine what he must be going through." She said to herself sorrowfully, thinking about the situation Alex is in. She can tell that he's not exactly in a right state of mind. Even though it seems like he has a good head on his shoulders, it's obvious that he's coping with the fact that he was taken from his home. The thought of that almost made her want to cry.
Earlier when she and the dragons were making their way to her cottage, she wanted to ask him a question. However, she stopped herself because she was afraid that she would put more sad thoughts in his head. While he has been very polite to her and gentle with her animals, everyone has a side of themselves that would rather be unseen, herself even.
After feeling like she had been daydreaming, she proceeded to grab 2 small pills. "These should do the trick." She said to herself, "They help with mild headaches and bad migraines, so they'll feel better in no time." She then filled two plastic cups with water, wrapped them around her right arm, and hovered her way back to the living room.
[AF]
"So you went from being 2 feet tall to 50!?" I was absolutely flabbergasted by what Spike said about dragons getting greedy.
"Yeah, it's a long story." Spike said, rubbing the back of his head out of embarrassment most likely, "But that's not the same." He sighed. "I really am sorry for that Alex. I really don't know what came over me at the time. I really hope you can forgive me."
How could I be mad at him, even if he's giving me the pouty bat face. However, I can tell he's being sincere with his apology. I hoisted myself up from the couch and walked up to him, still sitting on the chair. I placed my hand on his head and gave it a reassuring rub. "Water under the bridge, brother. Ain't no thing." A sincere smile formed on my face, and Spike mirrored with one of his own, obviously glad I'm not mad at him.
"I'm back!" I heard a soft voice exclaim from behind me. Fluttershy was hovering towards us. I saw two small pills on her left hoof and two cups of water on her right.
"Oh, hey, let me help you out." I said without thinking as I lifted myself up to her level, seeing that her hands... hooves... were full. I grabbed the two cups of water and one of the pills from her.
"Oh, thank you so much.", she said as if she was surprised by my assistance.
"Of course." I responded as I handed one of the cups and the pill to Spike, who immediately took it. I flopped back on the couch, and I proceeded to flick the pill Fluttershy just handed me in the air like a coin. I stuck my tongue out, and the pill landed on it perfectly. I then drank the water and swallowed, then let out a soft 'aaahhh'.
Fluttershy grinned joyfully while softly and adorably clapping her hooves at my 'trick'. Then at that exact moment, we heard a roar from outside. It was obviously Harry, but it sounded like he was in pain. Fluttershy sighed out of frustration. "Again?" She asked herself as if she knew exactly what that roar meant. "I'll be right back."
"Hold up, Shy." Spike said all of a sudden. "Let me take care of it."
"Oh, are you sure?" Fluttershy asked, obviously taken aback by his offer, and honestly, I was too. "I couldn't ask you to do that."
"No need to ask." His words were definitely genuine. "You've done more than enough for us, so it's the least I could do. Besides, I've taken care of your animals before, so it's no problem." He lifted himself up from the chair and hovered his way to the door. "You two just hang out here. I'll be right back." He made his way outside before either of us could respond. Normally I would be concerned about Spike trying to help a freaking bear. But after the previous encounter, I'm positive he'll be fine. Fluttershy proceeded to sit on the chair as we were both waiting for Spike to finish up.
We were both sitting in silence, and honestly, it's kind of uneasy how quiet it is. "Thanks again for the pill, Shy." I said, trying to start a conversation, while also being sincere with my gratefulness. "I'm sure I'll feel better in no time."
"Of course!" She exclaimed softly. "I'm happy to help."
It was silent again as we broke eye contact. I tapped my hands on the couch while making popping sounds with my lips. She was softly rubbing her mane. "So..." I tried to break the silence again. "Your world definitely seems beautiful."
"It truly is.", she responded. "I'm glad to call it home." It went silent again as I slowly looked away while keeping a blank expression on my face. Some time today would be great, Spike. "Umm..." That simple 'umm' was more than enough to grab my attention, and I was ready to hear what she had to say. "Can I... never mind."
Yeah, I don't think so. "Talk to me, Shy. What is it?"
She seemed like she was unsure if she wanted to say what's on her mind. "Oh no, I don't wanna seem rude if I asked."
I'm not letting this slide that easy. "Trust me, Shy. If I'm curious about something, I'll go to the end of the earth to find out, so you might as well tell me."
She sighed, an obvious hint that she gave in to my persistence. "Alright..." She then looked at me in the eye, her expression looking remorseful. "Are you okay?"
Not gonna lie, that left me dumbfounded. "Huh?"
"I mean... You've been through so much in such a short amount of time. I can't imagine what must be going through your mind right now." I looked away from her as I was processing what she was saying. "If I were in your position, I'd be a nervous wreck. I wouldn't know how to cope with the situation I'd be in. So... are you okay?"
Looking back at everything that's happened, from being hit by a giant comet to find myself ending up in a magical, colorful world of talking animals, there's only one answer that could come to mind as I closed my eyes and exhaled heavily through my nose.
"No... no I'm not okay."
My response made her get up from the chair and onto the couch, sitting right by me. It feels like I'm in a therapy session. I never needed any of those back home, since I had a lot going for me. But now... not so much. "I mean... how could anyone be okay in my position?" I was ready to let it all out. "I was just having a normal day at college like everybody else, and then in the blink of an eye, I'm... this." I gestured to all of me for emphasis. Even though I have a lot to say and maybe a few emotions to let out, I composed myself because I didn't want to sound aggressive to Fluttershy. "Sure, some of you ponies have treated me nicely and welcomed me into your life with open arms, it hasn't really changed anything for me. I've been taken from my home and I might possibly never get back. I really don't know what else to do." I placed my hands on my face out of frustration while scoffing. "Why did this happen to me?!" Again, trying not to be too loud and scare Fluttershy. "I'm lost... I'm scared..." I slid my hands off my face, starting to feel tears coming. "... I'm all alone."
I felt something being placed on my shoulder. I looked to my left and saw Fluttershy's hoof, and saw a sad yet somewhat reassuring look on her face. "You're not alone, Alex." I simply just stared at her light blue eyes, ready to listen to what she has to say. "I may not know what you're going through, but I'm gonna let you know we'll all be with you the whole way. Me, Spike, the other girls, and anypony else if that's what it takes to make you happy again." Hearing her, who was timid and quiet when I first met her, talk this freely and with so much care in her voice got rid of any stress or fear I was feeling. I felt like I was being hypnotized by her kindness and empathy. "It truly breaks my heart to see somepony, or... well, you, like this, and I'll do whatever I can to help. I promise you, everything will be better. Take it from me." I don't know how long that will take, but I will take her words to heart.
I responded to her caring words with a gentle smile, letting her know I'm truly thankful. Then, to my bewilderment, she leans toward me and wraps her hooves around me in a hug. Despite my initial surprise, I welcomed it and returned it, feeling safe in her warm embrace.
As we were still holding each other, I heard light, rapid thumping noises. We broke away from each other to find the source, and it didn't take long to locate it, because it was right in front of us. It was a small, purely white rabbit, and it was rapidly thumping its big foot, while also crossing it's small arms and looked at us with a less than pleased expression. What's this little guy's problem?
"I know, I know, Angel..." Call it an educated guess, but I'm sure he isn't one. "I'll get your food ready, I just needed to help my new friend here. Alex, this is Angel." He then had his full attention on me with no change on his face.
I blinked twice, but I still put on a friendly. "It's uhh, nice to meet you Angel." i extended my hand out to him for a shake. However, right as my hand reached him, he hopped up to it, opened his mouth, and then chomped. Luckily I was fast enough to yank my arm back before he could bite down on my finger. 'Woah! Talk about sna-ppy"
"Angel!" Fluttershy yelled softy at the little demon. "Don't be rude to him. He's already been through enough." Honestly I don't think it would have hurt since I have scales, but I didn't want to test that theory out." Now run along if you want to eat today." The rabbit gave me the 'I'm watching you' gesture before hopping away, thankfully.
"Yeah, pleasure was all mine, Carrots!" I exclaimed at the rabbit sarcastically, which garnered an adorable giggle out of Fluttershy.
"I'm sorry about him, Alex." She said as I looked back at her. "He can be protective and... honestly, a little spoiled."
I looked at the finger that almost got bit. "Yeah, you didn't need to say anything for me to know that." I sighed as I looked back at her. "But I'm not gonna hold a grudge against a little animal. Not worth the time and energy."
Right at that moment, the door slammed open, causing us both to yelp in unison. In the doorway was Spike, who was leaning on the door, panting heavily, and covered in dirt and brown fur from Harry no doubt. What the hell is going on out there? "Fluttershy... outside... now."
The aforementioned pony grunted out of frustration. "Ugh, I guess it is as bad as I thought." She climbed down from the couch and walked towards the door, but then stopped and turned her head to me. "You can come to if you want. We might need the extra help."
"Sure, no problem." I said genuinely, but then again I also don't want to wait for that rabbit to come back and bite my face off. "Lead the way." I then proceeded to follow my new friend outside, and after the sun temporarily blinds me from it's brightness, I saw what had happened. Harry's foot broke through the small bridge, and now he's stuck. He noticed us and had a sheepish smile on his face. There was only one thing I could say about this. "For real?"
