> Where Humans Don't Belong > by WritingFromEquestria > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Colorful Ponies? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “See you later!” I call to my friend as i head to the front door of my house. I spent the whole day with her, working on a school project. i had my laptop with me and my laptop charger. i carried them with a beige bag which i usually used for packing clothes. As my friends car drove away, i began to get lightheaded. I stumbled a bit, and right as the car drove out of sight, i dropped to my knees. I felt as if the ground were spinning and i was about to be sick as a white light appeared in front of me, overcoming my sight. “What’s going on?” I thought, wishing the pain in my stomach would die away. I began to vomit, the ground fading into nothingness, and the light taking the place of the faded ground. Everything goes dark. ------------------------------------------------ My brain slowly turns back on, and i begin to feel warm sunlight shining on my skin, slightly relieving the headache I some how managed to get. I let my eyes flutter open, taking in the surrounding area. i sit up, grunting with effort, my stiff muscles screaming for relief. I stretch heavily and stand up, my head pounding. “How in the world did i get here?!?” I thought, confusion settling in my brain. “I read in a book that you’re suppose to wait where you are instead of move around. that way someone can find you.” I say to myself. “But I am kind of hungry...” I think, my stomach gurgling quietly. I look around to see if there might be a decent area for looking for food, and see that behind me is an apple orchard. “Just one...” I think to myself. “They won’t mind. they have a whole field of them”. I reach the apple orchard, scanning over the trees to see which one has the best apples. I pick a tree with bright red apples, their skin shining in the sun. I jump as high as i can to reach the apples, and fall down emptyhanded. “Damn.” I curse. “I’m too short”. I move on to another branch, trying my luck with this one, but to no avail. “Maybe i’ll just go to the barn first then. I’m sure they’ll be kind enough to spare a few already picked apples”. I make my way to the barn, weaving in between rows of apple trees. As i reach the barn, i realize how small it is, the doors only being tall enough for a child to go through without bumping their head. I knock anyway, hoping i’m lucky enough to get an answer. After a few moments, I begin to hear muffled footsteps heading towards the door. As the door opens, my eyes go wide. There’s a small yellow pony with red hair and pink bow answering the door. -------------------------------- My headache intenses, my brain trying to work out the confusion. A small pony, answered the door, looking up at me like a real human being, confusion settling in her stare as well. “Sis...?” she calls cautiously, fear starting to show in her expression. the yellow pony steps back a few feet as an orange pony trots up to the door. “Holy moly...” She mutters a few seconds before she slams the door. “What in tarnation IS that thing?!?!” She says rhetorically. “Uh... you can... talk?” I say through the door. “Well of course we can, but how about you? What in Equestria are you?!” She counters, fear showing in her expression as well. “I’m not here to hurt anyone, i’m just... lost.” I say carefully, making sure now to say anything that would frighten them. Opening the door cautiously, the orange pony looks at me for a minute, carefully examining me. “What’s yer name?” she asks, one hoof on the door incase. “I’m Kelly. And you?” “Applejack. And this is my sister Applebloom. now that we got that out of the way, ah’ should probably take you over to Fluttershy’s cottage to see if she can figure out what kinda’ animal you are. “I’m not an animal, I’m a Human.’ i explain. “A Hoo-man?” she asked, trying out the word. “Yeah, I come from Earth. where is this anyway?” I ask, awaiting a response. “We’re in Equestria, rules by Princess Celestia and her little sister Princess Luna. “I’ve never heard of any of those things...” I say matter-of-factly. “Then you got a lot to learn.” she adds. “We should probably get you over ta’ Fluttershy’s cottage now.” she says, turning to Applebloom. “Applebloom, go to Twilight’s and tell her to come to Fluttershy’s cottage. An’ tell ‘er it’s an Emergency. Also, could you get me a saddlebag?” “Kay’, Sis.” she says, walking up the stairs and to Applejack’s room to get what she requested. Applebloom comes back with the saddlebag, slipping it onto Applejack’s back, making her back bend slightly under the weight. “Alrighty, let’s get going.” she says enthusiastically before beginning to trot down the path leading to a gate. I follow swiftly behind, making sure to keep up with her fast pace. We soon arrive at a small cottage covered in different houses for birds and other animals to stay in. We reach the door, Applejack reaching out with her hoof to knock on it. As she does so, we hear a few animals make scattering noises, as if we'd startled them. A few seconds after, we hear hoofsteps coming towards the door. The door opens, revealing a light yellow pony with silky pink hair. She has a tender look to her face, and a weak stance to her. She looks up at me with confused eyes, which quickly become the look of fear. She squeaks softly and closes the door, hoofsteps trotting away from us. "Sugarcube! It's me, Applejack! please come back, she's not here to hurt you!" Applejack yelled through the door. No answer. "Gosh Darnit, we'll just wait for Twilight then, i guess." Applejack muttered. > Meeting Fluttershy > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A magical aura enveloped an old, warn book, guiding it to a small table decorated with different colored quills and several pots of ink. A purple unicorn with pink striped hair followed closely behind the old book, sitting in front of the table as the book rested on the light brown wood. The pink aura lifted up the front cover of the book, revealing the cream colored pages underneath. Her eyes slowly scanned the pages, taking in every word printed on the crinkled, ripped paper. She turned the page, readjusting her vision to fit to the words scrawled on the pages in front of her. Her ears perked up as she heard soft hoofsteps outside her door, then soon after, a knock on the door “Coming!” She called, assuming the pony on the other side would hear her. She walked over to the door, reaching forward with her hoof to open it. As she did so, an excited filly popped her head in through the widening crack of the door, making the purple unicorn jump back a few steps in surprise. “Twilight! Applejack says you need to go to Fluttershy’s cottage right now, an’ that it’s an emergency!” Hollered the little filly, pushing the door the rest of the way open. “What?! Oh, I hope they’re okay.” Twilight replied, galloping to a storage chest to retrieve her saddlebag. “I need to get there as quick as i can, so Applebloom, can you tell Spike where i’m going? and also, tell him to finish his chores. I gave him an hours break, which will be over soon.” She called to the little filly prancing around the room behind her. “Yes, Ma’am!” Applebloom answered, running up the stairs to pass the message on to Spike. Twilight darted out the door, saddlebag bouncing with every step she took. A few ponies casted a glance her way as she rushed through the crowd, bumping into a few ponies accidentally as she went on. When she got near the cottage, she could tell something wasn’t right. She could see a tall, strange creature standing just outside of Fluttershy’s door, Applejack standing next to it. She reached the two of them, making sure not to get too close considering there was a possibly dangerous creature standing at the entrance of Fluttershy’s home. “Applejack! What in the wide world of Equestria is going on here?! And what is THAT?” she exclaimed, pointing her hoof at the new creature. “Calm down Twahlight, She says she’s sumthin’ called a Hoo-man, and she says she ain’t here to hurt Nopony. She says she’s lost ‘er sumthin’. Applejack replied calmly, hoping Twilight didn’t hurt the Human’s feelings. Twilight stared at the Human skeptically, examining the girl carefully and making sure she carried no weapons. “Well if she’s lost, I guess we just have to help her find her way home.” Twilight answered, still examining the Human, admiring her height. “No such luck, Twi. She’s never ev’n heard of the country we’re in, much less the planet we’re on.” Applejack explained, looking up at the Human as well, wondering what Twilight found so fascinating about the girl. “So where’s Fluttershy? Shouldn’t she be out here helping us figure out where this Hoo-man came from?” Twilight asked, peering into one of the cottage windows. “Last i saw of her, she was running ‘round her cottage in a panic. She got pretty scared when she saw Kelly standin’ out here.” Applejack replied, slightly digging her hooves into the soft dirt. “Not to be rude, but i can understand why.” Twilight countered. “I should probably get her out here. I though she learned her lesson about facing her fears when we had to make that dragon move out of the mountain cave.” -------------------------- “It’s okay Angel bunny, we’ll be okay as long as we stay in here...” Fluttershy whimpered, her wings shaking from freight. “Fluttershy! It’s me, Twilight! Can you please open up the door?” Twilight called through the wooden door. “No!” Fluttershy shrieked. “Not with that scary, weird looking dragon out there!” Twilight deadpanned, ignoring the laughter coming from Applejack behind her. “Ugh... Fluttershy, she’s not a dragon... she’s a new species called a Hoo-man. now can you PLEASE open the door?” Twilight pleaded, beginning to lose her patience. After what seemed like a lifetime, the door slowly and cautiously began to creak open, revealing the frightened face of Fluttershy. “Are you... sure it’s not a dragon?” Fluttershy murmured, looking at the girl with skeptical eyes. “Yes, I’m sure” Twilight droned. “Now please come out. We need help figuring out how we can get her home. > Spike > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “What do you mean I can’t get home?!” I shouted, taking Twilight aback. “Well, considering we don’t know how you got here, we can’t just send you back. “ She replied, casting a glare at me. “And even if we did figure out, it would probably be very difficult to send you back, considering you’re from a different world, or even from a different dimension.” “So I’m stuck here?” I whined, starting to get homesick. “Until further notice, that would be a yes.” Twilight admitted. “You will be staying with me. I will be doing some research on a few things about you. Your diet, your personality, your anatomy…” “Wh-whoa, wait. Anatomy?” I stuttered, feeling a bit embarrassed. “Yes, things like your skeletal and muscular system, and then your organs.” She answered, not realizing how horrifying this sounded to me. “So you’re going to cut me open?!” I screamed, my face scrunching into a look of terror. “What?! Of course not!” She countered, beginning to understand my interpretation of this conversation. “I have a spell that will let me see through your skin.” “But… you’re not going to study anything that makes me uncomfortable, right?” I asked, starting to relax from her answer. “Of course not. Just tell me what you’re okay with and I’ll only study that.” She responded. --------------------- The bright sun shone through the window of my room that Twilight had kindly set up for me, the dazzling light shining onto the skin of my closed eyes. My eyes began to open, my hand rising up to cover my sensitive eyes. I sat up in my bed, hair covering most of my face. After a moment, I get up, and walk to the bedroom door to open it. After doing so, I walk into the hallway and I reach the stairs. I walk down, entering the main room, the library. “Twilight! What’s for breakfast?” I called, walking through the library to reach the kitchen, where I heard a few pots and pans clanking together. It had been pretty late when we left Fluttershy’s cottage, leaving us little time to talk. Twilight mentioned she had an assistant, but she didn’t tell me a lot, considering it was so late. I walked through the kitchen door, expecting a purple unicorn preparing breakfast, but instead, there stands a tiny, green and purple lizard-like creature. My eyes stay on the creature for a few seconds before I finally manage to catapult myself out of the room, screaming loud enough to be heard from the street. “Could this be her assistant? No, everyone here is a pony! That’s some sort of lizard!” I think, running up the stairs to lock myself in my room. Slowly after I reach my room, I hear light footsteps coming up the stairs, eventually reaching the bedroom door. “Uh, hey, are you okay? Twilight told me about you this morning, but she must’ve not said much about me.” The lizard creature said through the door cautiously, making sure not to frighten me anymore than he already has. I only answer with a whimper, being too shocked to speak. “Well, breakfast is on the table.” He added, seeming a bit dejected. “Come down when you’re feeling better.” I sit in the room for a few minutes, finally beginning to calm down. As boredom starts to set in, I slowly walk to the door, opening it slightly before looking out into the hallway. “He sounded pretty nice; perhaps I shouldn’t have reacted so absurdly.” I decide, opening the door the rest of the way and making my way down the stairs. Feeling a bit more confident, I walk towards the kitchen. Opening the door a crack, I peer into the kitchen to see the purple and green lizard sitting at the table, eating his breakfast. He notices the movement from the door as I begin to open it the rest of the way slowly, his eyes moving toward the source of the movement. “Um… hi…” I say softly, feeling a bit foolish from my actions before. “I’m sorry for the way I acted a little while ago.” I apologize, hoping I didn’t scare him too bad when I screamed. His face brightens up a bit, and he begins to look friendlier. “It’s alright; I’m guessing you’ve never seen a dragon before.” A dragon. So that’s what he is. I thought they were only fairytales? But then again, here I am stuck in a magical land filled with colorful talking ponies. I sit down at the table, picking up a fork laid on the table next to my plate. I pick up a piece of scrambled egg with my fork, ignoring the pile of hay also set on the plate. I really need to talk to twilight soon about my diet. I put the piece of egg in my mouth, hoping it tastes the same it does on Earth. Thankfully it tastes pretty similar, maybe even better. I finish my eggs and glare at the hay, wondering if I should at least try it to be courteous. “Is this hay?” I ask, assuming the answer will be yes. “Yeah.” He answers. “Do Hoo-muns eat that?” “It’s pronounced Hyu-min.” I correct him, feeling a bit amused. “And no, we don’t usually eat hay. Unless we want a horrific stomach ache.” “Well what do you eat then?” He asks, getting out a quill and scroll to make a list. “I usually eat fruits, some vegetables, and, well, you might not like this, but I also eat meat.” I answer as I watch his face turn from interest into confusion, then to understanding. “As long as you don’t eat me, I’m okay with it.” He jokes. > Pony Illnesses > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Ugh…” I groan. “Being sick sucks. This virus is awful. How do you ponies live through this? “Well normally, ponies get vaccinated for this kind of stuff. But since you just got here and there’s no vaccine for your kind, you just have to fight through it.” Twilight replied, applying a wet washcloth to my forehead. “How bad is this going to get?” I ask, misery in my voice. “If you’re lucky, you’ll only suffer from a few hallucinations. I’ll be putting a sleeping spell on you for today so you don’t have to be awake through most of it. The fever should be gone by tomorrow night, so I’ll let you stay with Fluttershy tomorrow morning while I run some errands. Which reminds me, Spike will be taking care of you today. Princess Celestia said she’s bringing over a very important guest and me and all of the girls have to be there. But then again Fluttershy has to help Applejack with the beavers building dams at her farm…” Twilight rambles, making me zone out. “Well anyway, I should cast that sleeping spell now, before it gets worse” Twilight coughed, realizing how much she was talking. Her horn glows with a light purple aura, my fingers beginning to tingle from the spell. My vision slowly fades into nothing but darkness. ~ “Twilight? I thought I was supposed to be at the tree house with Kelly.” Spike mentioned, being a bit confused at her weird planning. “You are, but she can stay alone for a while. You just need to be here to welcome the princess and her guest, and then you can go back.” Twilight answered, sounding proud of her schedule. “Say, what’s taking the princess so long anyway?” Spike pondered, beginning to worry a little bit. “Maybe it’s just because of her guest” Twilight added, secretly hoping nothing was wrong. “Uh, Twilight?” Spike said, tugging on her tail. “Do you think he has a goat leg, antlers, a bear hand and a snake tail?!” Twilight rolls her eyes. “Pshh, yeah right Spike, that’s Discord. Like the princess would ever—“ ~ I swivel my tongue around, feeling the dryness of my mouth. I sit up, pondering whether I should go get a glass of water or not. It seems the sleeping spell didn’t last as long on me as it would’ve a pony. I decide to get out of bed and make my way to the kitchen, feeling lightheaded as I do so. I reach the kitchen and grab a glass. Filling it up with water, I began to get dizzy; falling to the ground of my own will to make sure I don’t pass out. Feeling better, I take the half-spilled glass of water and walk back to my room. I take a few sips and lay down. I hear Twilight’s and an older female pony’s voice through my open window. Something about “Reformed” and “Discord”. I also hear her call the older pony “Princess”. That must be Princess Celestia, whom I’ve heard Twilight talk about endlessly since yesterday. I cover my ears with a blanket, letting myself drift back to sleep. ~ When I wake up again, the sky is dark, a bright moon illuminating my bedroom through the windows. I can hear Twilight’s muffled speech from downstairs, most likely talking to herself as she takes notes on a book she’s read. My vision begins distorting as I sit up in bed, most likely an effect of the virus. I get out of bed, trying my best to ignore the distortions. I walk to the stairs, doing my best not to trip. As I reach halfway through the stairs, my legs collapse underneath me, sending me tumbling down the rest of the way. As I reach the last step, I bump the back of my head on the floor, causing me to become even dizzier. A startled Twilight comes running to my aide, using her horn to levitate a first-aid kit over to me. “Oh no, are you okay?” She asks, genuinely concerned as she wraps a bandage over my head. “Yeah… only my head.” I reply, shaking from freight and surprise. She finishes wrapping my head and helps me get up by using her magic to drag me off of the floor. “That’s all I can do for now, hopefully tomorrow Fluttershy can help you better than I can. I’ll cast a stronger sleeping spell on you this time so you won’t wake up and hurt yourself again.” > Discord > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Half awake, I feel the wagon underneath me jump as it hits a rock. Twilight is pulling it, straining with effort to pull me. “Maybe I should’ve gotten Applejack’s help” Twilight says, starting to pant from the exertion. “I’m… not that heavy.” I say tiredly, trying not to feel offended. She continues to pull me through town, a few ponies looking our way with curiosity. I close my eyes, trying to ignore the stares from the town ponies. As we get closer to Fluttershy’s house, Twilight begins to look nervous. “Twilight, are you okay?” I ask. “You look nervous.” “Y-Yes! Everything’s fine!” She calls back, her horn lighting up to cast another sleeping spell on me. “Wait! Twilight, sto…” ~ “Fluttershy, are you sure you’ll be able to take care of her AND watch Discord?” Twilight asks, feeling a bit sorry for her dear friend. “Oh, of course! In fact, Discord can watch after himself now without getting into trouble.” Fluttershy answers, casting a glance back at Discord while he examines the human girl curiously. “Just what kind of creature is this?” discord questioned, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “I’ve been alive longer than any pony in Ponyville and I’ve never seen anything like it.” “She says she’s a Hoo-man, and that she isn’t from our world.” Twilight answered, making sure he did nothing to bother the human while she was asleep. “Well, I better leave now, Fluttershy. See you later.” “Goodbye Twilight, have fun with your errands!” Fluttershy called to her as she walked out the door. “Yeah, right.” Twilight added skeptically. ~ Fluttershy sits on the couch, cradling my head with her wing as she cleans the bump on my head from the other night. She looks at the clock, then gets a look of realization on her face as if she’s just remembered something. “Discord! I forgot, I have to go to the Everfree forest to help the rabbits collect the last of the food before winter! Do you think you might be able to watch after Kelly while I’m gone?” She asks quickly, almost pleadingly. “Why of course! I have reformed, after all.” “Good. All you have to do is make her some soup in about an hour. Oh, also, finish cleaning the wound on her head please as soon as you can. Thank you Discord, you’re such a great help!” Fluttershy calls, running out the door and over the bridge in front of her house. Discord looks over at me, then walks over to examine the wound on my head. He grabs a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a cotton swab. He dips the cotton swab into the bottle, then rubs it onto the wound. He then grabs a bandage and wraps it around my head snugly, admiring his work. Before, he would have done this with magic, but since he met Fluttershy, he felt he had to do it the right way, without magic. My eyes begin to flutter open slowly, focusing on the draconequus in front of me. I stare at him, my eyes going wide. I push myself over the arm of the couch using my legs, falling onto my back with an “umpf”. I rise to my feet, backing up from the strange creature looking at me. A dragon is one thing, but a snake-like creature made with different animal parts? That’s going too far. My brain numb from shock and confusion, I trip over my own feet and onto the floor, scrambling to stand up again. “Do not fear, young Hoo-man, Fluttershy has left me in charge of you for a few hours while she’s out helping her animal friends. I have no intention to hurt you, but only to help. So if you could please lie back down before you hurt yourself, or pass out, it would be greatly appreciated.” Discord said quickly, being on his best behavior and secretly hoping to make another friend. I stare at him for a while, trying to distinguish his words from a lie or the truth. I decide it’s the truth and slowly stand back up, beginning to walk back to the couch. He poofs up a blanket, causing me to flinch, but I quickly recompose myself and lie down, Discord laying the blanket over me. I decide he’s not a bad guy. > Friends > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I lay on Fluttershy’s couch, the fever getting worse. Discord places a cool washcloth onto my forehead into an attempt to calm my body temperature. I feel more comfortable with Discord being around now that I’ve been talking to him for a few hours. He’s told me about being rejected by everypony and being turned to stone, having to stay like that for centuries. I noticed he seems very lonely, only genuinely smiling if he’s talking about his pranks, or about Fluttershy. I’m convinced he likes her, though I’ve never mentioned it. And I don’t plan to. I’ve mostly been listening to Discord talk, as I’m feeling too weak to respond to him much, but I think he enjoys having someone to talk to. He’s a nice, polite guy when you get to know him. It seems we have more in common than I originally thought, seeing as how we are both extremely different from the ponies. I can see why his life turned out the way it did. I can imagine he wasn’t very popular from the start, what, with him looking so different from the other creatures in Equestria. I can almost relate to him. Even though I wasn’t half bad looking, I was always very quiet. I didn’t like to talk to people, and they didn’t like to talk to me. Just because bright colors weren’t my favorite, and I usually wore black, people thought I was weird. I notice after a while that he’s stopped talking and is now looking at my eyes. He notices me looking at him and quickly diverts his gaze. “Your eyes look different from the ponies.” He explains, hoping I wasn’t thinking anything different. “It’s rare to see a creature with grey-blue eyes. They usually have a tint of green to them. And yours have an unusual pattern to them. They’re dark around the rim and light on the inside. Ponies usually have light eyes at the top which progressively get darker as it goes down.” “Hmm. Yeah, I noticed that too. Also, in my world, people only have blue, brown, green, and sometimes grey eyes. Never red, pink, or purple, like some of the ponies here have.” I agreed. The front door of the cottage opened, letting a beam of daylight into the dimly lit room, a silhouette of a pony with long hair standing outside. “Oh, I hope I wasn’t gone too long.” Fluttershy says apologetically. “Oh, she’s awake already!” Fluttershy trots over to Discord, and whispers in his ear. “I hope she wasn’t too scared?” “Only a bit shocked, but she calmed down quickly.” He responds, talking quietly so I don’t hear. Fluttershy gets a please look on her face, turning to me and says “You know, Kelly, once you feel better, you, Discord and me should all get together to have tea sometime. “Sounds good!” I say as cheerfully as I can, hoping they know that I genuinely want to. Fluttershy looks happy, smiling a bit and says “Discord, it looks like you might get a new friend!” I look a bit confused, replying with, “I thought we already were friends.” Discord looks surprised at first, then gets a relieved, happy look on his face knowing that he now has more than one friend. “Well then, friend” He says. “Perhaps after tea, we all could go ice skating on the river. I’ll even take the liberty of freezing it.” Fluttershy gives him an uncertain look, knowing that many of the ducks like to go swimming in the river. Discord notices this and rolls his eyes. “It’ll only be for a little while.” He says to calm her fears. “I would love to!” I say. “That is, if Fluttershy is okay with it. “Well, I guess if it’s only for a little while.” She responds, smiling politely. Discord gets a please look on his face, the thought of being able to make even a little chaos brightening up his mood. “Oh, it’s almost time for Twilight to get back.” Fluttershy comments, looking at the clock on the wall next to the couch. Discords face then turns into a look of disappointment, not liking the idea of having a new friend leave. Fluttershy notices this, feeling a bit bad for him. “Don’t worry Discord; she’ll be back as soon as she’s feeling better.” There’s a knock on the door, starting Fluttershy a bit. She goes to answer it, opening up the door to reveal Twilight, standing there with an anxious look on her face. “Hi Fluttershy, well, I was wondering if you could keep Kelly here for a few days. I dropped my entire schedule for the next week in a puddle and it smeared everywhere! I can’t read a thing on it. So I need to re-write it, which will take a while.” Twilight says quickly, anxious to get back to her house to fix it. “Why of course, Twilight. Discord will be happy to hear this, since him and Kelly are friends now.” She says, receiving an odd look from Twilight. “Oh, okay then. The sleeping spells I’ve casted on her don’t seem to be lasting as long as they should. Perhaps she’s more resistant to magic.” Twilight ponders. “Well I need to go now. See you in a few days Fluttershy.” “Goodbye Twilight.” Fluttershy says with a polite smile, watching her as she turns around to leave. Fluttershy closes the door and turns around to look at us. “Good news!” > Fighting > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Starting to feel better, I get up and walk into the kitchen. I get a glass of water, then turn around to walk back into the living room to see Discord has taken up the entire couch. “Move.” I order, weakly trying to push him off. “I’ve taken care of you all day” He says slyly. “The least you can do is let me have the couch.” “Just make a new one!” I complain, starting to feel dizzy again. “Ah, but my dear, magic couches just aren’t the same as real couches.” He argues. I finally get fed up and wedge myself in between him and the back of the couch, pushing him off with my legs. I only manage to push off the lower part of his body, receiving a glare from him. He pushes me off of the couch and puts his feet back up on the arm rest. Getting angry, I grab him by his tail and try to drag him off, the friction between him and the couch making it almost impossible for me to do, being sick and weak. “Come on Discord, Please?” I ask, making my best puppy dog eyes. “Oh, you think I’ll let you have the couch just because you look at me funny?” He laughs, clearly amused. “Maybe you should just go ask Fluttershy to buy you a new couch.” He says, still laughing. Now angry, I go and sit down next to Angel bunny, who is sulking because he doesn’t get to sit in his favorite spot anymore, who looks at me as if saying, “Welcome to the club.” “You think that losing you as a friend will make me give you the couch? All I want is one friend, who I already have.” He says, smiling. I don’t respond, starting to feel nauseous. I lie down on the floor and try not to barf, hoping that I can hold it in until my stomach settles. I finally admit I can’t hold it in any longer and run to the kitchen sink, being closer than the bathroom, and vomit in it. Discord looks back at me, feeling guilty inside, but having too much pride to show it. After I quit gagging, I turn on the water in the sink to wash it down, glaring at Discord though the corner of my eye, not wanting to look directly at him. Fluttershy comes downstairs, thinking that we would be able to get along while she was on the second floor, cleaning. She looks at Discord, laying on the couch, then at me, washing the contents of my stomach down the sink. “Discord, what’s the meaning of this?” Fluttershy says sternly. “Kelly should be the one laying on the couch, not you. She’s in there sick as a dog and you’re relaxing instead of trying to help her? You should be ashamed of yourself.” “What? But I took care of her all day!” He argues. “And thank you for that, but she needs to be the one on the couch right now.” Fluttershy answers, more calm now. “Oh… Fine!” He yells, getting up and using his magic to make a chair for himself to sit in. I go back into the living room to lie down, beginning to sweat from overexertion. Wishing that I wasn’t so weak, I pulled the covers over myself and glare at Discord. “Was losing a friend worth it?” I hiss, still very angry at Discord. He doesn’t respond, looking out the window to avoid eye contact with me. “Oh, and I thought we were going to have such a great time together…” Fluttershy says sadly, her expression turning dull. Neither I nor Discord responds to that, not wanting to cause any more trouble than we already have. I think about apologizing, thinking that I should be more mature about this, but decide against it, remembering that I didn’t do anything to start the fight. He can just apologize when he wants to. > The Last Pill > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twisting off the top to a medicine bottle, I empty the contents of it into my palm, a single pill sliding out. I stare at it for a moment, and then sigh. The bottle reads “Escitalopram, 20mg.” “Only one more left.” I murmur to myself, popping the pill into my mouth and washing it down with a glass of water. The next few days are going to be tough. ~ Even though I’m over the virus, I still feel dizzy and lightheaded. I also begin to get sick again, throwing up every few hours. The withdrawal is tough, but the depression that comes after is even tougher. (In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I took the last pill of depression medicine.) I sit in the bathroom next to the toilet in case I begin to feel sick again, curled up into a small ball on the floor. Tears begin falling from my eyes, feeling sorry for myself. My cheeks turn a bright red and I hold back sobs so neither Fluttershy nor Discord will hear me cry. To my dismay, there’s a knock on the door as Discord carefully opens it, the hinges creaking. “What’s the matter in here? I can hear you sniffling from the living room. Are you still sick?” His face dawns a look of realization as he sees my pink and damp cheeks. He closes the door behind him and sits down next to me. “Err, why are you crying?” He says awkwardly, not having been in these kinds of situations often. I look up at him, still angry from before. Trying to get an apology, I reply with “I didn’t think you’d care…” He ponders that for a bit then, put his hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry I upset you.” He apologizes. “I didn’t mean to hurt you or lose you as a friend.” His eyes meet mine, my cheeks turning red. His face begins to get closer to mine, his cheeks turning red as well, and he kisses me on the forehead. He gets up and walks out of the bathroom, feeling embarrassed. I sit there and think about what just happened. He didn’t kiss me? > Admit It > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I bite into a large hamburger, prepared carefully by Fluttershy, who managed to get some meat from one of the cows that had died so I could have my favorite meal on my birthday. The meat is tough and chewy, but considering the cow had died from old age, the burger was pretty good. Discord watches as I do so, a look of revolt plastered to his face. I notice the look on his face and tease him by taking another big bite out of it while looking right at him, making him almost throw up. I laugh at his reaction, choking on the hamburger in my mouth. Coughing a bit to dislodge the substance from my windpipe, I put down the hamburger to pick up a drink to help wash down the burger. As I finish eating, Fluttershy comes into the living room carrying a saddlebag on her back, mumbling something about woodland creatures and Twilight’s spells. I tune most of it out, concentrating on the leftover taste of the burger, knowing I won’t get another for a long time. The look of revolt finally leaves Discords face, and Fluttershy opens the door to walk out, still mumbling about the woodland creatures. As she closes the door behind her, Discord decides to strike up… conversation. “I hope you know that eating meat is absolutely disgusting.” He says rudely, the look of revolt returning to his face. “I hope you know I’ll be eating you next.” I respond jokingly, looking him in the eye to make my response more threatening. His face turns slightly green, but after his brain registers that it was a joke, his color returns and he gets a sly look on his face. “You know, I’ve always had a thing for carnivores.” He says seductively, making me blush. I can tell he’s just teasing me, but his tone says differently. “I thought you had a thing for Fluttershy though.” I accuse in an attempt to embarrass him, his face turning bright red and a look of confusion covering his face. “Wh-what?! Me and her are just friends!” He stutters, the red blush on his face deepening in color. Jackpot. I can tell I hit a nerve judging by the color of his face. “Don’t be silly Discord; I’ve seen the way you look at her.” I smirk a little, watching as the blush on his face turns into slight horror of what I just said. “I don’t like her!” He almost shouts, catching me off guard. He sees my surprised face and feels a bit bad about yelling, and offers an explanation. “I like… somepony else…” he says, the blush on his face dying down. Somepony. So he likes a pony, I decide. “Who is it?” I ask curiously, the sly look returning to my face. “None of your business.” He says sternly, pretty much telling me to back off. The blush is slowly returning to his face and he looks nervous. “I bet it’s Pinkie Pie then.” I add, ignoring how uncomfortable he looks. His face twists up a bit and he looks at me with an annoyed look. “It’s not her either! But how about you? I bet you’re just in LOVE with that Twilight Sprinkle pony, whatever her name was.” Instead of blushing, I begin to laugh. “That’s the most bullshit pairing I’ve ever heard of!” I laugh, gasping for air in between laughs. I eventually recover and see his face is more amused than annoyed now. “But seriously”, I ask, “Do you like Rainbow Dash or something? Because I don’t think it would be Rarity, Applejack, or Twilight.” He looks at me, his eyes suddenly softer than before. “It’s you, stupid.” Oh. > Forgiveness > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Wait—this is just another joke, right?” I ask, a smile coming to my face, but a look of uncertainty still remaining there. The embarrassed look on his face says otherwise, his gaze avoiding mine. I try to make eye contact with him, but to no avail. I sit there for a few seconds, not receiving a response from him. “But aren't you still mad at me about the fight over the couch?” I say as I scoot closer to him, shrinking the gap in between us. “That was days ago, I’ve gotten over that.” He responds, still quite embarrassed, his blush returning once more. “But I’ve only been here a few weeks… Are you sure you feel that way?” I ask, and he nods his head. I stop talking, pondering his response for a few seconds before asking, “For how long?” He hesitates before responding with “Since the first day I met you. You looked like nothing I’ve ever seen before, and you were just as different from the ponies as I am. You would listen to me talk without judging me, and…” He cups the side of my face with his lion paw, looking into my eyes, making me blush deeply. “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen…” He leans down, getting closer to my face. His lips begin to get closer to mine, almost reaching them before I gently push him back. I turn my head away, all of this being too much to register. “I’m sorry… I- I can’t…” I get up to walk out the door, explaining myself on the way. “I have to go, I just met you and… I’m just not ready.” I walk out the door, closing it behind me and leaving a dejected looking Discord sitting on the couch, staring sadly at the door I just walked out of. Feeling slightly guilty, I look back toward to cottage, but decide to keep going. ~ “Twilight!” I call, walking through the door into her house. “I really need help with something!” A very busy looking Twilight runs down the stairs while levitating a few papers behind her, attempting to write on one while doing so. She looks up at me with slight irritation at the interruption and stacks the papers on a small desk positioned next to where she is standing. She trots over to where I'm standing and moves a strand of hair out of her face using her magic. “I’m extremely busy, what do you need?” She groans, looking very tired and angry. “Discord tried to kiss me.” I say, her ears perking up and the tired look leaving her face. I can tell I've got her attention, hoping she doesn't get angry about the situation. ~ Fluttershy returns to the small cottage, opening to door to a sad and a bit angry looking draconequus. He looks up at her sadly before turning his head away in shame and hiding slightly teary eyes. “Discord, sweetie, what’s wrong? Where’s Kelly?” Fluttershy asks worriedly, looking around the cottage. “Oh, she ran off, to get away from me. Just like everyone else I’ve ever shown affection to.” He responds, anger in his voice. He looks back at Fluttershy, tears dying down before they can read the edge of his eyelid. “Discord… what happened?” She asks. “Well, you see…” ~ “…And that’s how it happened.” I explain, having just told Twilight about how it came to this. She sits there, pondering what I just told her and finally looks up at me. I can tell the whole thing is a bit confusing to her judging by the look on her face. “Why don’t you just accept his feelings?” She suggests. “He can’t become fully reformed unless we accept his feelings and help him out.” “But I don’t know if I like him! That’s the problem! He’s a nice guy but it’s only been a week since I met him and I’m sure as hell not ready to kiss him…” I add, feeling more frustrated. I sit down, feeling downcast and confused. Twilight trots over to me. “Kelly.” Twilight says sternly, putting her hooves on my shoulders and looking me in the eyes. “Please, just try.” ~ “And then she left, just like everyone else…” Discord says angrily, finishing the story. Tears are almost falling freely, but, being the God of chaos, he tries to hide them as best as he can. Fluttershy looks at him sadly, walking over to sit down next to him. She puts a comforting hoof on his shoulder to help calm him down and begins to comfort him with her words. “Don’t be upset with her Discord, she was probably just startled. She’ll come around soon, don’t worry.” Fluttershy explains softly, looking up at him with a smile. “I think you should try to find her and apologize… She’ll surely come back then.” ~ I sit on a hill just outside of Ponyville, watching as the sun begins to go down. I wonder how Celestia and Luna do it; raise the sun and the moon. It must take an incredible amount of magic to be able to do it, considering none of the regular unicorns can do the same. not even Twilight, the student of the Princess, herself. I hear footsteps behind me and, looking around, I see Discord walking up to sit next to me. I begin to feel a bit of dread, hoping this doesn't turn out horribly. I begin feeling shy and uncomfortable, the memory of before still fresh in my mind. I try not to look at him, hoping things don't get more awkward. “I’m sorry” He apologizes, slightly hanging his head. “I didn’t mean to scare you, but… It’s been so long since I’ve liked something or somepony. I guess I just never knew how to say it right.” His eyes reflect the orange light from the sun, giving them a surreal look. i can't help but stare at them, the beautiful light drawing my gaze. I put my hand on his forearm in a comforting way, looking up at him to respond. “I was just startled. I wasn’t that popular with the boys back home, so… I’m not use to this kind of stuff." I shift from a sitting position to a standing one so I’m eye-level with Discord. His red, mismatched pupils stare into mine and I put my hand on the back of his head and lean in close to his face, my lips touching his. > A Kiss Can Change > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's been a month since I've kissed him. Discord... My feelings for him have grown since the kiss. I walk by him nonchalantly, hiding it from him as best as I can. Our relationship hasn't changed, though. We're still only friends. I see the way he looks at me, his mismatched eyes shining in the sunlight, pleading for more than just friendship, which I don't think I can give him. I've had enough troublesome relationships with guys on Earth who've just tossed me over their shoulder in the end. I keep thinking of the many different ways that Discord, the God of chaos, could do the same. -- I sit by the lake, sun bathing in the warm rays shining down from the blue sky. The clouds drift by lazily, occasionally being kicked by a Pegasus pony. I haven't bothered to go into town to meet any of the ponies yet, worrying whether they'll think I'm a monster like discord or not. the only time I was ever forced to go into town was when Twilight dragged me through there on a wagon to bring me to Fluttershy's cottage, and even then they gave me some pretty mean looks. I begin sweating, the warmth of the sun beginning to be too warm. I look at the cool lake water longingly. I think about going to a swim, but reconsider. I've heard of Rarity, a unicorn who sews clothes. I haven't met her yet, but now I wish I had so she could've made me a swimsuit. I decide to go in anyway, undressing into only my under garments. I carefully stick my foot in, wading deeper into the water with every step. As the water reaches my chest, I bent down to let it lap at my chin. I relax for a few moments, enjoying the cooling feeling of the water before swimming deeper into the lake. "Having fun?" I hear a voice say. I can already tell who it is. I'd recognize that voice anywhere. It's Discord. He must have seen me swimming from Fluttershy's cottage. I turn around to meet him, being careful not to rise out of the water, which is blocking the view from my under garments. "Yeah" I say, still swimming around. "Mind if I join?" He asks, hoping I let him. "Of course" I say happily, but not too happily. I'm too shy to let him know my feelings for him. He snaps his fingers, disappearing and reappearing next to me, lounging on an inflatable pool bed, wearing sunglasses and holding a glass of lemonade. i keep swimming, sticking close to where he's floating. Once I get tired, I swim over to his pool bed, putting my arms on the bed to hold me out of the water enough to let me catch my breath. Discord scoots over a bit, looking annoyed. "You're getting me wet!" He complains, pointing at the water droplets left on the pool bed by my arms. "Well excuse me, Princess." I say jokingly. He looks over at me, even more annoyed now. "Seriously, get off" he grumbles. I look at him angrily. "You get off!" I yell, Pushing the pool bed over, Discord rolling off and into the water, his lemonade mixing with the fresh lake water. I burst into a laughing fit, struggling to keep myself afloat. His sunglasses float the the surface before he bursts out, looking more angry than ever. He snaps his fingers, appearing dry and out of the water. He begins to walk back to Fluttershy's cottage, still fuming, and not saying a word. "Discord? You're not really angry are you?" I giggle, still amused but starting to feel guilty. He doesn't respond. I swim towards the edge of the edge of the lake, not even bothering to get completely dressed again. I run over to him, hoping he's not too mad. "Come on Discord, it was just a joke! You play pranks all the time!" I reason, hoping I don't make him even angrier. "Yeah, but it's different when you do it." He complains. "What, so now only YOU can play pranks, mister "In charge of everyone"?" I counter, just about ready to slap him. "No, but you're a girl!" He grumbles still. That's it. I slap him across the face and go back to the lake and grab my clothes. As I walk by him again, I get a glimpse at his face, which is full of complete shock. If he gets mad at me for getting him a little wet, I can slap him for using sexism against me. I do my best to put on my pants as I walk back to Fluttershy's cottage, hopping on one foot as I slip the pants leg over my ankle, dragging it up to my thigh. "W-wait!" He calls after me, being the one to apologize this time. He snaps his fingers to appear in front of me. I dodge him expertly, continuing to walk to Fluttershy's cottage, him following behind. He walks beside me, trying to use his charm to get me to forgive him. "You know i didn't mean that." He says seductively. "Lets just go back to the pool and have fun, hmm?" I finish putting my shirt on, the embarrassment of being half naked in front of a guy setting in. "No chance." I respond dryly, trying to hide any emotions from my voice. I begin to feel guilty, but decide it's the best way to teach him a lesson. He grabs my shoulders this time, stopping me from walking any further. "Really, I'm sorry!" He says, almost pleadingly. "I won't say it again!" I look at him for a second, trying to decide whether to forgive him or not. I decide to forgive him, thinking he's learned his lesson. "Okay, I'll forgive you." I say, getting an idea. "But on one condition. and you can't make it weird for me ok?" I ask, beginning to blush. "...Yes, what is it?" He asks, getting curious. "I want you to go out with me."