Just Another Day (ch. 1)

>It's just another day in your sad, pathetic life.

>No job. No girlfriend.

>In fact you're still chilling with your 'rents after getting that oh so useful degree in Communications.

>Which is hilarious because you're spaghetti as shit sometimes.

>Oh well. Time to take your clunky ass car that's old enough to drive itself downtown.

>It's game store time bitches!

>You brainstorm new ideas for your D&D group while tearing ass across town.

>It helps you forget how shit your life is, if only for awhile.

>Man, parking downtown SUCKS. You can't find parking ANYWHERE you'd like.

>You putter around like you're cruising the strip. You eventually find a spot to park at on the other side of the block.

>Fucking parallel parking.

>You can feel the hatred burning in the eyes of the person behind you as you slowly maneuver your shit car into the spot.

>Ka-CURB. The car rocks. Fuck it. Close enough.

>You turn your car off, and immediately start sweating in the brutal summer's heat without constant air conditioning pampering you.

>After waiting for your new enemy to drive past, you hop out of your car and coin up the meter.

>You decide to take the alley bisecting the block, as it should be a shorter walk to the game store.

>You remind yourself that it's the middle of the day, so it's unlikely you'll get stabbed. You hope.

 

 

>You're walking down the alley. It's completely silent, and doesn't even smell of hobo urine! Just faintly of garbage and has tons of cardboard laying around.

>Hooray, you're not going to get mugged!

>Suddenly you come across a door that's been propped open. A sheet of paper has been taped to it with "Ivan's Secondhand and Curiosity Shop" handwritten on it.

>Looks legit.

>You shrug and decide to check it out. You always like scoring old and obscure video games at these sorts of places, to add to your hipster-esque collection.

>Heading into the store, you see racks of clothing and shelves full of junk. The shop is dimly lit and nearly as hot as outside, with a dank and musty smell.

>You browse for awhile, not really seeing much of interest. Man, this place is a little creepy, you haven't even run into another person the whole time in here.

>You head for the door when suddenly you're face to face with an old man with white hair and a wrinkled, weather-worn face.

>"Hello there!" He greets you with too much enthusiasm.

"Uh, hello."

>"Can I help you with anything?" He asks, rubbing his hands together.

"Oh no, I was just browsing."

>"Perhaps you'd like to take a look at my... special selection? The best of the best?" He smiles and ribs you with his elbow a little, making you a little uncomfortable.

"Oh, I was just on my way out-"

>He looks at you with determination. "Oh, surely you're not the least bit curious? You were curious enough to come check my store out in the first place after all."

>You shrug and decide to humor him for a little bit. He seems lonely and the store is completely empty except for the two of you after all.

 

 

>He leads you into a small room at the back of the store, just as dimly lit and dank as the rest of the store. Various glass doodads and jewelry rest on two counters.

>Your eyes go wide as you spy things like shields and maces hanging from the walls.

>This room is so awesome! You wish you could somehow have your D&D game here.

>"Well?" He asks, squeezing his hands together in anticipation.

"It's great and all, but I don't think I could afford anything here."

>Your eyes drift to the far end of the room.

>Some sort of cosplay goddamn Sunfury Bow of the goddamn Phoenix is hanging from the wall.

>Holy shit. You remember getting that in Kara back in the day... wow. Good memories.

>You really aren't into cosplay or LARPing or any goofy shit like that, but you'd love to have that thing.

>For your fucking wall on game night.

>The old man notices you looking at the bow intently. He walks over and plucks the awkward looking thing from the wall.

>"Do you desire power?" He asks as he hands it to you.

>You raise your eyebrow, not sure what he means.

>The old man just chuckles quietly.

>The bow is heavier than you expected, but isn't too much to handle and feels really solid.

>Not that you know hardly anything about bows.

>"I just ask because you look like the sort of young man that's lost in this crazy world of ours. Seems to happen a lot these days..."

>Did this grandpa just burn you? You aren't sure how he can tell you're exactly that sort, but you remain impressed if not slightly insulted.

"Y-Yeah."

 

 

>"Go on, give it a pull."

>The pull on the bow comes very easy to you, too easy really. Definitely must be some kind of decorative piece. You let go and the bowstring stings your forearm, far harder than you could have expected.

"Ouch!"

>The old man giggles.

>You set the bow down on the counter and rub the spot where the bowstring got you. It's already turning red.

>"As I was saying," the old man continues, "I was asking if you desire power. Young men like yourself tend to feel powerless. They cover themselves in emblems of power." He gestures to the Horde emblem on your shirt.

>The old man can't know that the bow and the Horde emblem are from the same thing, surely. Why would he know anything about WoW for that matter?

"Um..."

>"Wouldn't it be nice if you had the chance to prove yourself?"

>Prove? What the fuck is this dude babbling about.

"I guess?"

>Really this whole thing is weirding you out. How do you get out of this situation alive.

>The old man wanders over to one of the counters and pulls out a quiver styled similarly to the bow. It's full of arrows.

>"Can't forget this."

>Really weirding you out.

>"Okay," he says, rubbing his hands together. "I haven't had anyone come by in a good long while, and I'm liking the looks of you, young man. So I'll give you a once in a lifetime deal, hmm?"

>What.

 

 

>"Bow and quiver set, ohh... forty bucks."

>Holy fuck talk about too good to be true. You figure someone leaner and richer than you would pay several hundred for something this amazing for their stupid blood elf cosplay. Is this old man crazy?

>But at the same time, you were planning on getting a new rulebook. No, fuck that.

>You're not going to get something this awesome in your price range maybe ever again.

>You sigh slightly in memoriam of your original objective for the day.

"Deal."

>But still, score!

>The old man takes your money and produces two enormously large paper bags that mostly conceal your purchases. It is a weapon kinda after all.

>"Pleasure doing business with ya, young man. Have fun proving yourself." He grins.

>You can't believe you're getting away with this. Can't wait to get this shit home. You don't really pay attention to him on the way out the door.

>Man is it awkward carrying these giant bags. You can hardly see anything in front of you.

>You head out into the...night?

 

 

>That's not right. It couldn't possibly have been more than half an hour at MOST you were inside the crazy old man back alley shop.

>Your gaze at the heavens is interrupted by the hoot of an owl. You look around at your surroundings for once.

>You're in the middle of some fucking woods. Where the hell are you?

>You turn around to look back at the old man's shop but it's gone.

>You don't see any signs of civilization around. You kinda slowly spin in a circle and finally choose a direction to start walking in. Yeah, you have a good feeling about this way.

>Man these bags are awkward as shit.

>You ditch them, securing the quiver over your shoulder and carry the bow.

>All you need now is some moron in a cape shouting "FIREBALL" and it's LARP heaven.

>Your train of thought is interrupted suddenly by a feminine scream nearby.

>You feel a rush of adrenaline and a sudden urge to check it out.

>You speed through the undergrowth fighting your way to the source of the scream.

>You walk up a half-fallen log resting against another tree like the overweight suburban Robin Hood you are.

>You see some hideous deformed monstrosity swiping at someone you can't make out from here.

>A thought springs to mind. A very dumb one, but you do it anyway.

>Despite having never fired a bow except at a ren faire once or twice, you find yourself loading your novelty cosplay bow with an arrow.

>Maybe you can kill the monstrosity by making it laugh itself to death.

>You let go of the bowstring.

 

 

>A heartbeat later the creature howls in pain, sending the birds resting in the trees jumping into the night sky in a cacophony of calls.

>You motherfucker. Now you've gone and done it. That arrow hit it square in the shoulder.

>The beast turns to look at what harmed it, and you finally get a good look at it.

>It looks like a bear crossed with Jabba the Hutt and one of those abominations from Warcraft. Only the size of a house.

>And now it's fucking charging at you.

>You leap backwards just as it swipes at you.

>The fucking log shatters into a million splinters as you fucking draw another arrow and let it loose at the abearination while in free fall like some sort of archery John Woo.

>You land badly on one leg, twisting your ankle and nearly tip over.

>The creature screams and thrashes in pain as you land a shot on its neck. Blood flies everywhere splashing your clothes.

>You don't feel like you can move much further, so its now or never.

>In one fluid motion you ready and fire another arrow at the beast's head as it brings its enormous paw down to kill your stupid ass.

>Your shot masterfully strikes it in the eye, spraying gore all over you.

>The shot pierces its brain, and it immediately starts falling sideways, narrowly missing crushing you with its falling form.

>You breathe a sigh of relief with the beast's death.

>Holy shit. You just killed a whatever the fuck that was!

 

 

>You stare at your bow intently. You just flat out -weren't yourself- for a few moments.

>If you WERE yourself at the time, you probably would have gotten your dumb ass killed seven ways. Instead you got off light with an injured ankle.

>While mulling over how you shouldn't do that again, you hear a shout overhead.

>"She's over here!"

>Oh, right. Someone screamed leading you here. Maybe you should go have a look?

>You walk towards where you remember the scream happening, and see a small white pony that seems to have fainted.

>Wait. You recognize this pony. You've been on the Internet enough to have seen her.

>Ever since that My Little Pony reboot you've seen their faces plastered fucking everywhere online.

>Have you officially gone insane at this point? Hallucinating monsters and Internet famous cartoon characters? Maybe you REALLY just killed some random guy on the street and this is the police coming to take you away...

>Before you really have a chance to think about it, a blue pegasus descends from the treetops hovering in front of you.

>Rainbow Dash, you presume. You even know this one's NAME.

>"Hey there. I saw you fighting, and It. Was. AWESOME!"

>You umm and err and blush.

>Before things get any more awkward for you, another voice calls out from the woods.

>"Rainbow! What about Rarity?" You see a purple pony with a horn on her head.

>This must be that Twilight something or other. Man. You hope there aren't sparkle vampire talking ponies here, or you might just have to kill yourself right here and now.

>Rainbow Dash looks at you and makes a 'come follow' motion with her forehoof as she approaches the white one...Rarity was it?

>You follow along, slowly and in pain from your ankle.

>Quickly purple and blue are joined by pink orange and yellow.

>Yellow and orange are tending to Rarity while the others eye you suspiciously.

 

>Rainbow Dash tells the story.

>"So there I was, searching for Rarity when I heard her scream. I tried to find her but then I heard the ferocious roar of a terrifying monster," she says gesturing over where the body lies.

>"I flew as fast as I could and was about to dive bomb the monster's face when out of nowhere the monster takes an arrow to the back and screams bloody murder." She nods approvingly and points at you. "Now I know I could have taken that monster any day of the week, but it was taken down with style almost rivalling my own by this one!"

>All six of them are staring at you. You gulp.

>Twilight chimes in, looking at Rainbow Dash. "Okay... but what IS it? I've never seen anything like it before in Equestria. Nor that monster, come to think of it." She wrinkles her nose a bit looking at the monster.

>Rainbow lands on the ground in between you and Twilight.

>Rainbow: "It saved Rarity, so it can't be a monster. I mean, not that she was in trouble with ME in the skies, but..."

>Twilight: "But we don't even know what its motives are or anything!"

"Motive?"

>You chime in. Immediately all eyes are back on you. You start sweating nervously.

>When they realize you can talk, you're bombarded with questions from all the ponies at once and you didn't understand a single goddamn one.

"Eep."

>Stare-at-the-alien is proving to be a hard game to play, and you're quickly losing.

 

 

>The winged yellow one gracefully flits through the air over the others and lands at your feet.

>"Um... could you tell us about yourself, if you don't mind that is."

>Her own nervousness in her voice seems relatable somehow, and it has a calming effect.

>You squat down to get more on her level, resting your bow in the grass.

>What do you even say?

"My name's Anonymous, what's yours?"

>The classic playground introduction will just have to do, thanks brain.

>The orange one looks incredulous. "Anonymous? Like, a fancy secret poem author type Anonymous?"

>Even in...what was it Twilight said, Equestria? Even in Equestria, you get that GOD DAMN question.

>Fucking batshit crazy wannabe bohemian mother of yours.

"Yeah, my name really is Anonymous. My mom thought it would make me be some world-famous artist or something so she decided to give me a stupid name. I generally go by Anon."

>Everyone seems a little unsure of your answer, but they all introduce themselves.

>Twilight Sparkle, not helping your mental image of sparkling vampire talking ponies at all. The orange one is called Applejack, the demure yellow one is Fluttershy, you already knew Rainbow Dash thanks to the Internet, the pink one is fittingly called Pinkie Pie, and they confirm the unconscious white one is Rarity.

 

 

>Applejack: "Okay then, with that out of th' way, what are ya?"

"I'm a human, and you're all ponies ri-"

>Rainbow: "PEGASUS!"

>Twilight: "Unicorn."

>Wow they both said that simultaneously.

"Er, right."

>Pinkie: "And not just any ponies! Earth ponies!"

"Okay... there are other kinds?"

>Pinkie: "Sea ponies, duh." She eyerolls.

"Uh...huh."

>Fluttershy seems to be studying your form. "What do humans do?"

>You shrug. How the fuck can anyone answer that question?

"Lots of things? Some are good at athletics, some are really smart, some are good at creating art or music or building things..."

>Such a vague answer, but they all seem pretty impressed.

>Pinkie: "Humans sound like a lot of fun!"

>You just shrug.

>Twilight: "I've never heard of humans before, what are you doing in the Everfree Forest?"

"I don't know! One minute I was in a shop in a city, the next I was here. It should be impossible..."

>Twilight: "Magic maybe? Can humans do magic?"

>You shake your head, which makes Pinkie smile slightly.

>Pinkie: "Come to think of it, humans sound a lot like Earth ponies."

 

 

>Rarity stirs and wakes up from passing out, drawing everyone's attention.

>The others rush her, expressing gratitude that she's okay in the form of a group hug.

>Rarity notices you, and gets a confused look on her face.

>Twilight: "It's okay, he saved you. C'mon girls, we should get home. Are you okay to walk, Rarity?"

>Rarity: "I think I'm alright, thank Celestia all of you are here. I was getting dreadfully worried even before I ran into that- did you say he saved me?"

>They all nod.

>She looks to you. "I deeply thank you, err..."

>Rainbow: "Anon."

>Rarity: "Anon, for saving me from that horrible monster."

"It was nothing."

>You blush with modesty.

>She stands up, with Applejack right beside her to help stabilize her.

>She takes a few steps closer to you, looking at you. She sees the blood on your clothing and immediately covers her mouth with a hoof.

>Rarity: "I apologize that saving me involved such ... dirtiness."

>Twilight stifles a yawn. "Okay girls, I think we should get back to Ponyville before it gets any later."

 

>Rainbow turns to look at you as the others prepare to leave. "Hey Anon, you said you just showed up in the Everfree Forest, right?"

"Y-Yeah..."

>"That means you don't have a place to stay, right?"

>You just nod. You're a complete stranger in this world, but these ponies seem friendly enough and this forest gives you the creeps.

>Rainbow: "You could always stay with me!" She seems really enthusiastic about it.

>Twilight: "Uh, Rainbow? You live in a CLOUD."

>Rainbow: "Yeah I know, but you have that cloud-walking spell. Please?"

"Um."

>Nobody is paying attention to you.

>Twilight: "Ugh... Rainbow, it's late enough as it is. Besides, the library is probably more accomodating for a being of his height. He should stay with me, at least tonight."

>Rainbow: "Alright, alright. Forget I asked." She pouts a bit about it as she starts flying off at a slow speed.

"Uh, well. Thank you, Twilight."

>You're going to be staying at a library? How does that work?

>"Not a problem, Anon. You protected our friend, this is the least we could do for you."

 

 

>You grab your bow and follow the colorful ponies for what feels like forever.

>Eventually you're clear of the forest without having encountered anything more than spooky sounds.

>The ponies begin parting ways as they reach civilization. You spy curiously familiar architectural styling despite being from vastly different species that until you have never had contact.

>You mull on that thought for awhile, until you notice it's just you and Twilight.

>"You've been quiet for a while." She remarks as the two of you wander down a desolate street late at night in the middle of Ponyville.

"Just taking in this uh strange new world I'm in."

>"I can't even imagine what it feels like."

"Difficult."

>The two of you arrive at some kind of house made out of a tree.

>But the tree is still alive.

>Twilight leads you inside.

>Ah, this is the library.

>She leads you to the guest bed across from hers in the caretaker's room upstairs.

>There's something purple and green sleeping in a basket nearby, but you're too tired to investigate.

>Twilight goes back downstairs quickly.

>You try to settle in on the guest bed, but it's far too short for you.

>Twilight returns a short while later carrying a scroll. She carefully stands next to the sleeping purple thing in the basket, taps it a few times and a burping sound bathes the room in a flash of eerie green light for a moment.

>Twilight sees you looking at her. "Just sending a message. Don't worry about it. Good night, Anon."

"Night, Twilight."

>Sleep takes you quickly.