I swear, I feel like everything I’ve done up to this point is worth shit now. All of that hard work, the struggle, the treatment I’ve put up with, all for naught. Let me just explain some things to bring you up to speed.

My name’s Ozzy Shore, but I’m okay with people calling me Oz. Caucasian, 5’11”, 23 years old, bluish green eye color, short black hair, glasses, and a community college graduate with a major in Liberal Studies. Eight months ago, news broke out throughout the world that portals have been popping up around planet Earth that linked to an entirely new world. People were afraid of going through it to see what was on the other side until the residents from the other world came to ours. They were certainly unique looking as they had certain equine like features like hooves for feet, and short muzzles; yet, still maintaining a body frame that were like a human’s, such as hands, torso, breasts, and all. They were known as ponies from their world, which was strange considering the only pony I know of were small horses on all fours while these were bipedal. These guys ranged from five feet being their lowest after finishing puberty, to a whopping seven and a half. What also stood out was that some had wings who can fly—the pegasi—while others had horns that could actually cast magic—the unicorns—and I mean real, fantasy type of magic unlike the one you see in magician shows from Las Vegas. The main rulers of their world, who were known as alicorns that have both wings and a horn, met up with the United Nations to make peace, have both of our worlds collaborate, provide resources, and exchange information on our cultural backgrounds with whatever advancements in technology we can trade.

I’m not much of a guy that follows government and political progress, so I couldn’t get all the details, but our representatives decided to make a truce, and took the repercussions necessary to set up inter-dimensional traveling laws, and preparing forms that contained waivers and all other paperwork that we swore to follow the laws in the world of Equines—named Equius—and not bring any recreational drugs and weapons such as guns, explosives, and the works to their peaceful community. There were those who were still skeptical of the idea of sharing resources to these new species of intelligent life forms, especially the extreme followers of certain religions, and I practically laughed my head off from everything they knew up to then was wrong, and causing a huge riot over it. Of course, there were others that want to get there by illegal means with weapons, but our government was doing something right for once by holding tight enough security to not only prevent such people through, but kept track of any new portals that pop up for people to get through without signing any legal documents.

It took our world six months to prepare for people who want to traverse to this new world, requiring those to sign applications on their backgrounds, criminal records, take drug tests, basically the process everyone goes through for getting a new job, but MUCH more strict and upscale. I was one of the many who’s eager to see what this new world has to offer, especially with all the crap I’ve put up with most of my life. It was time I move to a new environment with a clean slate, and see what’s there for me to offer. I was able to apply and get an office space type of job in the city of Canterlot with good pay according to Equestrian standards. I didn’t look for a place to stay at the time, because with the money I’ve saved up once converted to Equestrian currency, I would stay at a cheap hotel for a couple days until I find an apartment with payable rent.

Two months later of signing papers, interviews with Equestrian officials, and getting my job application approved, I packed my essentials while selling a bunch of stuff I wanted to let go as I adjust to my new life style. All I had was my clothes, laptop, cell phone with new services paid, ipod, bathroom essentials, passport, a folder full of signed forms, certificates, and diplomas (plus another with copies just in case), and a guide book on Equestrian living. I had arrived with about fifty other people, and after almost losing my lunch from the trip, I went through a bunch of security and form confirmations, and checked in at the hotel I called ahead to unload my things. I then went to my new job place with the proper attire: a light blue, button up, long sleeved shirt with white vertical stripes, white tie, black khakis, and shined shoes, to meet my new coworkers before I got started the day after… And that’s when everything fell apart.

“W-what do you mean your place is booked? I have the completed job confirmation right here, I SHOULD be able to work here,” I argued to the receptionist up front. She was a mare with a hot pink coat, pale orange mane tied in a bun, and a white long sleeve shirt. She was one of those with neither a horn, nor wings, and was called an Earth Pony. Strange they were called that since the world they’re on is called Equius. There was some history that explained why, but I haven’t gotten to know much about that yet.

“I’m terribly sorry Mr. Shore, but it looks like you were one of the few that got in on accident due to one of our managers making a typo in the system,” the mare explained. “You aren’t the first who came here that got ‘accepted.’ We’ve actually filled up our staff just about a month ago.”

“So… What am I supposed to do now?” I asked. “I came here knowing full well I had a job, and sold almost everything I had back on Earth to make a new living here. Isn’t there any way you guys could make some adjustments?”

“I wish I could Mr. Shore, I really do, but I’m not in a position to hold such an authority,” she responded. “The director made sure that those who’ve got in on accident had their resumes spread out to other places in hopes someone would take them in. It was a few weeks ago he did that, but it won’t be until a month from now before we get any word of any job openings.”

A MONTH?! I don’t have enough money in pocket to last me that long! This is great. This is just FUCKING great.

I sighed in frustrated defeat while rubbing my eyes. “Alright, thank you miss,” I said.

“I am really sorry Mr. Shore. I wish you the best of luck, and we’ll call you if we find anything,” she said before I nodded, and left the building.

And so here I am in the present, sitting in one of the tables outside of a café nearby the office building while having some tea to calm my frustration and anxiety. I was so set and ready to start my new life, only to wound up at the bottom, JUST like my old way of living before I got here.

Okay Ozzy, calm down. This isn’t the first time you’ve been between a rock and a hard place. So you never had a job in the first place, that’s life making a bitch out of you as usual, but you can’t just stop and quit here. Like the mindset you had back on Earth, if you want to live a good life, you’ll need to work for it. Right now, you just need to walk around Canterlot to find any places open for hiring with your resume, and hopefully make some progress before dinner. You’ll probably have to eat light in order to ration what money you have, but you’ve done this before, so it shouldn’t be TOO bad. Alright, let’s get busy. I’m not gonna wait a whole month hoping for a job offer when I can speed up the process myself.

With my new goal in mind, I finished the rest of my tea, fixed my tie, and went back to my hotel room to pick up a copy of my resume that I luckily kept with me. After a trip to a copy print, I had a folder with copies of my resume to bring around, and leave my information to any businesses in case they were interested in hiring me. Things weren’t looking very good as there weren’t many places open for hiring, despite how big the city was, a huge chunk of property was owned by this country’s princesses.

Hours later, though my pile of resumes shrunk, I STILL had no luck with finding a job in Canterlot. I went through about a third of the town, asking and leaving information to businesses that I had even a REMOTE interest in with no luck of at least getting an interview to see what I had to offer. I walked through the streets as the sky was starting to change colors from orange, to purple, to night blue, totally spent walking around the city through most of the day finding a job. I noticed some of the locals were giving me strange looks as I passed by, which I assumed would be normal considering I was a human, and at the moment, I was the equivalent of an alien creature. Besides the owners and employees of businesses I talked to, there weren’t very many, if not, no ponies in the city even making the slightest effort in talking to me, but I wasn’t bothered too much by it as my social status was the LEAST of my concerns.

Ugh, what a day. If I go through the whole city without even a chance of getting a new job, I’ll probably have to move to another town to try my luck there. Think I’m gonna find some cheap food to eat for tonight, and I’ll try again the next morning—

“LOOK OUT! I CAN’T STOP!” A male voice exclaimed that interrupted my thoughts. I turned to the source, and found that a stallion was in a runaway electric carriage, making poor efforts in trying to put on the breaks to stop the vehicle. Ponies were clearing out of the carriage’s way while I looked to the direction of where it was going. There was a mare frozen stiff in the middle of the street like a deer in headlights, and without a second thought, I dropped everything I had to sprint over to her.

“WATCH OUT!” I yelled while I jumped and grabbed the mare in my arms, and moved her out of the way just before the carriage passed by us. I put in every effort to turn my body enough to where I landed on the ground first while I held the mare tightly in my arms as the carriage kept moving. As it was getting closer to a wall, the stallion jumped into the street in time before the vehicle rammed into an abrupt stop, practically exploding with splinters from the aftermath.

I groaned in pain from landing on the ground so hard, but not so much due to the adrenaline that was running through my body. I panted harshly for air as I was trying to calm down from doing such a crazy stunt before I spoke. “Are you okay Miss?”

“Ugh, I think I can manage dearie,” the mare said in a surprisingly fancy, yet exotic tone before she stood up, and I followed suit. As I rubbed out the stinging pain, and brushed off whatever dirt was on me, my eyes widened at the mare I saw before me.

She was a snow white unicorn with large, pale purple eyes with matching eye shadow. Her mane and tail were two shades of pink that was barely distinguishable, and was well kempt despite the rough treatment earlier, with some of the ends of her locks split and curled up. She wore an aqua blue, silk dress that reached to her hooves, hugging her thin, yet curvy body frame with well-endowed breasts. She was actually about a half inch taller than me, and I noticed three flower-like symbols, two purple ones, and one big yellow one below them. She also had an expensive looking purse that matched her dress.

“I’m terribly sorry about that Miss,” I apologized as she smoothed out the wrinkles in her dress. “I’d be a little gentler if I could.”

“Think nothing of it dear,” she replied while waving a hand out front. “I should be thanking you for saving my life. If I may ask, you’re one of those humans from the other world are you?”

“That’s me,” I answered. “I actually just got here today. I’ve read a little on your culture, but I’m still pretty new to this place myself.”

“Well now, allow me to be the first to welcome you to Equestria,” she replied with a smile while holding her delicate looking hands. “My name is Fleur de Lis.”

“Ozzy Shore, but you can call me Oz if you’d like,” I greeted as I shook her hand.

“I simply MUST repay you for rescuing me from who knows WHAT could have happen to me,” Fleur said. “Is there anything I can do for you Ozzy?”

“Oh, it’s no trouble Ms. De Lis,” I replied while waving my hands out front. “I just did what anybo—anyPONY, would do. You don’t really need to—“

GYUUUUUUUUM

My stomach’s loud grumbling interrupted me, which had my face heating a little as I forgotten for a moment that I was getting some dinner before the road rage.

“Ah haaa~, somepony’s a little hungry now aren’t we?” She asked with half-lidded eyes, and raised eyebrows, which made her more attractive from how seductive it looked with that small grin of hers. “Then allow me to treat a gentleco—gentleMAN such as yourself to dinner. It’s the least I could do,” she said as her horn and hand glowed an unusually pale purple aura that levitated my folder of resumes I dropped earlier, and brought it over to me. I was surprised that had just happened, but I tried not to dwell on it too much.

“You’re too kind Ms. De Lis, but I’m not—“

“Ah bup bup! Not another word out of you young man,” she interrupted with a finger to my lips. “I’m treating you to dinner, and that’s final. Now if you’ll follow me, and please, call me Fleur,” she said before turning around, and I saw her horn glowed once more. One of her hands that she held up had the same kind around it as she moved her finger in a ‘come here’ motion. Unexpectedly, my tie rose up by itself with that same aura around it before it started tugging me towards Fleur’s direction as we walked.

Okay, I guess I can now believe that magic in Equestria exists after seeing it firsthand, and apparently getting pulled by it as well. I must say though, Fleur certainly looks different compared to all the other ponies I’ve seen in Canterlot. Heck, when I tried moving her out of the way, she was actually lighter than what I had made her out to be. Either that, or I don’t know my own strength.

Still, this mare’s certainly being generous towards a stranger like me, especially one that’s pretty much alien to her no less. She doesn’t need to go so far for me, but her pulling me along shows how persistent she can be. Then there’s her body frame… My god does she look incredible, especially the way she was walking, or perhaps I should say strutting as if showing off her beauty was natural to her. How her hips swayed while her tail moved along was also hypnotic to see… Wait a minute, what the heck am I thinking? Is it even right for me to see her this way? I mean Fleur’s pony kind certainly displays the same kind of intelligence as humans, but their genetics are waaaay different compared to ours if their equine features weren’t a dead giveaway. Would humans having those kinds of relationships with ponies in this world even be possible?

“Is everything okay for you Ozzy?” Fleur asked, which snapped my attention back to reality. “You’ve been quiet for a bit since we started walking. You didn’t get hurt badly trying to save me earlier did you?” Her gaze as she looked back to me had concern and possibly guilt in her eyes, as if the pain I went through was partly her fault. How she folded her equine ears back behind her added into the expression as well, which I had to admit was kind of cute if she didn’t look so worried.

“Oh no! I’m fine!” I exclaimed. “I’m just not used to a girl treating me to dinner. I’m not saying I have a problem with that, but it’s usually the guys who would treat the girls out back in my world. Are all mares in this world as forward as you?”

“I would say for the most part, yes,” she replied. “Then again, mares outnumber stallions in this world seven to one, and though we tend to not get violent, you could say we can get pretty competitive in that kind of scenario.”

Damn, and the ratio’s usually around 50/50 in my world. I guess the girls in this world tend to get more assertive at times like the guys back on Earth.

“Anyway, we’re at the restaurant we’ll be dining for tonight,” Fleur continued as she gestured to the building beside us with a smile. The place certainly looked… High class. I certainly hope she doesn’t go overboard with the generosity. I mean one’s life can be priceless, sure, but I would treat them to some place that’s at least a little less fancy if I was in her position (especially with what little money I had on me at the moment). “Come along now Ozzy. I’m actually quite famished myself, and I could use something good after that carriage incident,” she insisted before she led the way, and I followed.

We got up front to the host’s podium where they mark down reservations for those who called ahead of time. “Welcome to the Golden Crown, how may I… Why Ms. De Lis! What a pleasant surprise!” The brown colored stallion host exclaimed with a cheerful tone.

“Good evening. I’m terribly sorry for coming in without calling ahead of time, but I just had a long day today, and I could use something special for tonight,” Fleur explained.

“Not at all Ms. De Lis, not at all!” The host exclaimed. “We’re always welcome to have you here. Would you like the usual table for this evening?” He asked.

“Yes please, for me and my new friend here,” she replied while gesturing to me.

The host gave me a curious look while raising his eyebrow. “Erm… Of course Ms. De Lis. Right this way,” he said as he took two menus, and we followed him to Fleur’s favorite table apparently? When we got there though, I could see why. It was one of the tables outside of the restaurant, which gave a beautiful view of the city, plus the land that extended beyond the horizon. We took our seats across from each other as the host gave us the menus. “Somepony will be with you two shortly. Enjoy your evening,” he said before he walked off.

Fleur looked through the menu as she thought about what to have for supper, while I sat there looking at her with a mixture of shock, confusion, and a tinge of anxiety. “So uh… They know you pretty well here huh?” I asked, trying to come up with some conversation to ease my tensions.

“Oh yes. I know the pony who owns this restaurant, so the staff here knows how to treat me and my guests well,” she explained.

I guess that can kind of explain how I didn’t get a rude comment from the host like ‘is that a hairless ape?’ Or something of the sort. Though I am kind of worried on how well known Fleur is around these parts.

“Well aren’t you going to see what they have?” Fleur asked. “I understand you humans have a different diet compared to ours, but this place has a good variety that I’m sure you’ll find to your liking. And please, be free to order whatever you please. This is all on me tonight.”

“You’re too kind Fleur. Thank you,” I said before I picked up the menu, and I could have sworn my eyes popped out of my sockets as I noticed the prices on some of the entrees.

HOLY SHIT these selections are expensive! The money to pay for these would be enough to pay about a quarter of apartment rent for god’s sake! Does Fleur even KNOW what she’s doing?!

“Um… I think I’ll just have the salad for tonight,” I said as I set my menu down. The salad I ordered was the cheapest thing on the menu. I didn’t care what she said, I am NOT gonna take advantage of her generosity. “Do they serve bread as well?”

“Oh yes, the garlic bread here is to DIE for in Canterlot. You will not be dissatisfied, I promise you that,” Fleur responded. “Are you sure salad and bread is all that you’ll be having for tonight though Ozzy?”

“Yep. I’m TOTALLY okay with that. I’m on a bit of a diet anyways,” I replied. Though it was a partial truth considering how I knew the locals don’t eat meat, and I’ve been wanting an incentive to eat healthier for a while, I was honestly fit enough that me going on a diet would be considered a lie.

“Huh, well alright then,” she replied while shrugging her shoulders. “I actually like the salad here too, so I’ll be having that as well. Would you like some wine?”

“That sounds nice, thanks, and you can choose whichever one you prefer,” I answered.

I certainly hope she wasn’t on a diet if a salad is what she’ll be having. I mean she looks healthy enough, but lose a few more pounds and I would probably worry that she’d be anorexic.

Soon a waitress came by with our garlic bread and glasses of water to start us off. Like the host earlier, she also gave me a questioning look, but probably didn’t comment because Fleur was in the same room. We made our orders before she left us be, and I tried the garlic bread dipped in olive oil they provided. Fleur giggled at my reaction to the god-like taste of the appetizer as I savored every bite afterwards.

“So tell me a little about yourself Ozzy,” Fleur requested. “What brought you to visit Equestria?”

“Well, I came here in hoping to start my life fresh, and live in a different environment compared to my world,” I explained. “Besides a place to rent, I thought I had everything set when I came here. I sold most of my belongings that I couldn’t bring here even if I tried, so I had plenty of money to spare for emergencies even after paying for the trip; I was a college graduate with a Bachelor’s in Liberal Studies, tuition all paid for thanks to the scholarships and grants I applied for; and at first I thought I had gotten a job at an office building here after they opened spots to hire humans. I signed the applications, and all other legal forms to be a resident in Equestria, and I thought I had my new job ready for me when I got here.”

I sighed in frustration after remembering what happened earlier while rubbing my eyes behind my glasses, to which Fleur was confused at my sudden change of mood. “Turns out, me being hired into the system was a mistake according to the receptionist I talked to, along with other humans that came before me.”

“Oh dear…” Fleur said.

“Yeah,” I continued. “She said their director sent our resumes to other businesses for those who got in on accident so we wouldn’t feel completely screwed, pardon my language, but it won’t be until at least a month that I get ANY word from them, and I only have enough on me to last a couple weeks since I’m staying at a hotel in the meantime. So I spent the rest of the day going from place to place, finding any job openings while leaving my resumes with them in hopes that they’d contact me if they ever showed interest, and then I ran into you later on. Literally,” I laughed pitifully as I tried to make my situation not as much screwed up as it was then, but I couldn’t convince myself that things were going to get better any time soon. I ate some more of the god-blessed garlic bread after I finished, hoping I could eat my troubles away.

A moment of silence passed between us besides the activity of the restaurant, and the crunchiness to the bread I ate before our waitress came back with a wine cooler and two glasses. It looked new as she popped the cork from the chilled bottle before she poured red wine into our glasses. “Your meals will be with you momentarily,” she said before she left us once more, and I took a sip of wine from my glass.

“Is that folder you got there have those resumes you mentioned?” Fleur asked.

“Yeah, though at this point I’m wondering if anyone in this city would even hire a human, no matter how good my background is,” I replied. “I don’t blame them though. I mean I’m a completely different species who thought magic never even existed until now, and I might as well be a hairless ape in a monkey suit. At least that’s as far as what I could interpret from all the stares that were on me throughout the day.”

“… Do you mind if I take a look at one of them?” Fleur asked, which perked my attention with a raised eyebrow.

“Uh… Sure, I suppose,” I said before I took out a copy from the folder I carried with me, and handed it over to Fleur.

She looked over my resume with much attention that I honestly haven’t seen up until now. After a couple moments, she looked back up to me as she set my resume down on the table. “Tell me Ozzy, how do you like Equestria so far?” She asked with a small smile on her muzzle.

“Well despite the stuff that happened today, I’m really liking it so far,” I answered as I looked outside to see most of Equestria’s land. “When I first stepped into this world, I had a feeling this place had loads of opportunities that I think I could never take a chance in back on Earth. Though I had assumed I had a job in hand, I just knew that whatever I would end up with here, I would do it much happier than I did back home. That’s pretty much all I want to do with my life: live happily, and work to maintain that happiness not only for myself, but perhaps with some new friends I come across here. If I did this for me, myself, and I, I just know I wouldn’t be feeling happy at the end, because I never shared it with anyone, er, anypony. I’ve worked hard to get to this point in my life, and I want to make the rest of it worth living for.”

“Would you say you’ll work as hard in your new job here as you would back on Earth?” Fleur asked. I turned my attention back to her, and she was looking at me with a serious looking expression in her eyes while resting her arms on the table.

“Of course I would, maybe much more,” I answered. “Jobs were hard to come by back on Earth, and with the state it was in when I left, I doubt that will change anytime soon. To me, having a job is a privilege, and I would do whatever I can to keep it in order to get around.”

“Well said Ozzy, well said,” she praised before she took a sip of her wine with her lips curled in a small smile. “Well then, what would you say if I know somepony who could have just the kind of job you’re looking for?”

I tried to keep myself calm after hearing that in hopes that I don’t look too desperate as I gazed into her large eyes with a serious expression. “If they’re willing to hire a human, then I’ll do whatever it takes,” I answered. “Who’s the pony I should be talking to?”

“You’re looking at her,” she replied with half-lidded eyes and a smile. “Since you’re new to this world, it would make sense that you don’t know my own background, so allow me to introduce myself once more. My name is Fleur de Lis, and I make a living as a well-known model.”

The wine I was drinking went into the wrong pipe as I gasped in shock, and looked away from Fleur while trying to cough out the alcohol in my lungs. After I regained my air, I turned back to her with that same expression she had on her face before. “A m-model?” I asked. “As in… Doing photo shoots to advertise products kind of modeling?”

“That and others dearie,” she replied. “You see, I had to let go of my secretary recently because she wasn’t doing her job, and it was affecting my career in a negative way. My manager has helped me through some tough times, but she can only do so much by herself. So now I’m without a good secretary who could organize agendas, record appointments I need to attend, take letters, and whatever other projects and chores outside of my career that would cause me less stress to go through my photo shoots.

“Now, after looking through your resume, AND taking into consideration how fast you came to my aide from that runaway carriage earlier, you may just have the qualities I need in a secretary to help me keep everything organized and structured. I’d like to offer you a chance to take that position, and help me get through my career as one of Equestria’s top models. Since I’d need you by my side throughout most of the time, I’ll be offering you the guest room my previous secretary used in my home to keep you close by. We can work out your starting pay, a proper interview, and how you’ll be doing your job with my manager once the three of us get together. So what do you say Mr. Shore? Would you be interested?”

My jaw dropped to the table at what I was offered. Not only would I have a job, but I would have a new home, AND I would be working with a model. A MODEL, maybe a super one at that. I don’t know what the difference there was between them but who cares right now? Being a secretary for somepony like Fleur de Lis, who knows what my future has in store for me?

“Fleur, it would be an honor and pleasure working for you as your new secretary,” I answered with a smile on my face.

Fleur clapped happily in response. “Marvelous! Then let’s celebrate with a toast,” she said before she levitated the cooled bottle of wine, and poured more liquid into our glasses. She set the bottle back in the ice as we held up our glasses in the air with content smiles in our faces. “To a bright and happy future that lies ahead of us, and our time working together. Until we get everything with you settled, you’re officially hired as my new secretary.”

We then clinked glasses, and took our drink. With an eagerness for a new chapter of my life to begin, the red wine that went down my throat couldn’t have tasted any better.

Author's Notes:

Hello and thank you for giving my first HiE story a read. If some of you may know me, I'm also working on my current story about my two main OCs, and a Bonus Chapter series along the side. With these in mind, I'm hoping to not make this story as long, probably 10 chapters at the most as far as I can guess, and updates here may not be as frequent as the other ones.

This is like a break for me to write when I don't want to put all my energy on my other story, or if I have a writer's block for it. Plus I find this can help me broaden and experiment what other types of fan fictions I can write on this site. Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this so far, and look forward to future chapters to how our human will handle his new life.

Until then, see ya around.