Author's Notes:

Hey there everyone,

finally the next chapter is finished. I am very sorry for the time it took to finish this chapter. The reason for it is my lack of time since I moved to my own flat and had to get adjusted to it firstly. Work also took its fair share of my free time.
Well the next chapter will be uploaded a lot quicker.

Some things I have to say:
- I switched from 3rd person to 1st person (it is a lot easier for me to write like that)
- I will not write Applejacks dialect or of other like hers (Trying to write like she speaks will just mess up my writing but you all know her well enough :P)

I am still in the learning phase for writing a whole story in english and I hope that you bear with it and maybe even write me some tipps :)

cu in the next chapter

EDIT: Just for future references. There will be no Sex-Tag-Related happenings between Robert and others while he is a child! I am sure I will make use of the sex-tag in the future but there is still a long way to this point. (sorry if there is/was some missunderstanding)

“Equi-what?! “ My head rocks back to look at the pegasus in disbelief. Even my hat flies off by that motion. I am currently in a hug with a talking yellow pegasus with pink mane who smells like flowers. What did I expect? Oz? Then I would just have to find some red shoes but apparently it isn’t that easy.

“Equestria. This is the country of the Princess Sisters, Celestia and Luna. Who watch over us for many thousands of years” That is what the pegasus holding me is saying. All I can do is staring at her cyan eyes which are framed by her long silky pink mane. Her expression is kind and she has a calming aura around her. It is just what I need at the moment. Her hoofs feel oddly fluffy and her fur is like the softest pillow you ever laid your head onto. The mentioned smell of flower and her soothing tone are like the cherry on top of an ice cream. I burrow my face again in her chest; my breath slows down more and more.

“I am scared,” I whisper, not looking up.

Her grasp on me tightens and she rubs her cheek reassuring against the top of my head.
“Everything will be all right. There is nothing to fear here.”

How can even her heartbeat be this calming? My breath is normal again, I don’t cry anymore and even my stress level decreased enough that I can think straight again.

“So little one, care to tell us your name?”

Well I guess I can trust these ponies for now. They seem rather nice… or up till the moment where I screw up. So better no more crazy-uncontrollable-staff-magic. Where did it go anyway?
“My name is Robert. Robert Walt Siris.”

“Great to meet you Robert. My name is Fluttershy. I work at the local cottage. I am taking care of many different animals there, they are all nice and you are free to meet all of them. And these other ponies here are my… friends.” She stops once midsentence to look at the pony that chased me just minutes ago. “Let me introduce you to everpony. This here is Applejack; she runs the apple farm Sweet Apple Acres with her family.”

An orange pony with light green eyes and yellow mane and tail steps before me and is smiling at me. Both her hair and her tail are bound together at the ending and she also wears a Stetson hat what gives her a cowgirlish style. Lastly I see that she also has some kind of tattoo on her rump. Hers are three apples in a triangle position.

“Howdy there fellow. Nice to make your acquaintance. If you ever feel the need for some delicious apples be sure to drop by the acres. You won´t find any better in Equestria.”

Her accent is strong, like you would expect from someone from the southern states, strange. My answer is a small nod and a shy smile. Even if she seems like a harmless pony her body structure is quite intimidating. It wouldn’t be obvious for someone with not the knowledge about equine animals but I could tell it that she is strong. Living on a farm teaches you one thing or other… also let you learn the experience that getting buckled is no fun.

The next pony is a white mare with purple as her hair color. Her azure blue eyes are fixated on me and I get the strange feeling that she looking into my soul. You can tell that she invests a lot of time in her looks. Her eyelashes are extraordinary long and her hairstyle is in perfect shape. Three diamonds are her tattoo. Do they all have some kind of fetish? I should be careful otherwise my butt is the next. She is introduced as Rarity a local fashionista who owns her own shop named Carousel Boutique.

“Oh my, look at you sweety. All ruffled up and scared. I make sure that after some time with me you will look gorgeous again. And you can be sure, that wild hair of yours will not do. It will be properly taken care of.” She declares that with an attitude like someone who means what she says and a no is unacceptable.

My cheeks flush a little bit and I reply a low, „that would be nice. Thanks.”
That was probably her desired answer because she leaves with a bright smile and swings her head to the side. Her mane is flying around her and stays still in perfect shape after. Is she also some kind of model? Even if she is, her behavior is much different from what someone would expect.

Well that offer was unexpected but… PINK!? My vision is completely taken with pink from one moment to another.

“WELCOME WELCOME WELCOME! A big welcome from me; Pinkie Pie; to you. ”

I shriek back and look shocked at the pony right in front of my face. She is so near that I can smell her scent, which is like a mixture of different candies. Her expression shows a big grin which spreads from one corner of her face to another and her blue eyes sparkle with excitement. As flattening her intrusion was it still gets me to smile back.

“Uhm… hello Pinkie Pie. Nice to meet you,” is all that I can reply. This pony seems to be a bit loose on the edges … but probably harmless…. probably.

She makes a few steps back and I get the chance to get a better view of her. Well… she is pink. True to her name, I guess. Her fur is a light pink while the mane has a darker tone. Also her mane and tail look pretty fluffy and strangely resembles cotton candy. Her tattoo contains three balloons.

“I will throw the biggest, greatest and absolutely craziest party. You will be flattened by all my ideas. And I will bring you lots of sweets. You know, I work at Sugarcube Corner. They have all kind of yummy stuff there and I also live there.” Does she ever take a breather? She talks so fast that I have difficulties following her. “That is convenient for me, because I loooooove sweets and that way I can work with what I love and also eat it. I am the only employee and probably also their best customer. And…”

“… that is enough.”

Pinkie Pie is stopped by a hoof which is stuffed into her mouth. The hoof belongs to a blue pegasus with a spiked rainbow mane and tail. The colors aren’t mixed, they are all separate. How it stays that way while her hair moves is a mystery to me. Oh wait I know the answer… magic. Her eye color is cerise which suits her well and her sign on her flank is a white cloud with a rainbow thunder.

“Hey there, I am the totally awesome Rainbow Dash. Probably heard of me? Best flyer in all Equestria?”

Well close enough I would say. Her attitude is boastful but I somehow get the feeling that she is indeed good. The way she expresses her body is a sign of a good chunk of self-confidence which isn’t coming from nowhere. Tomboyish would also be a good way to describe her. Compared to Rarity she seems to be the total counterpart.

“Sorry, miss. Never heard of you.” I look straight at her with a sad expression and excuse myself. “I mean I never heard of any of you or this land. I am not from around here or to be precise from this dimension or world.”

“Not from this dimension or world? Now that sounds interesting to me.” Turned out that the pegasus… unicorn… whatever… was looking at me intensely while coming closer to me. She is the one who I tackled after sailing through the window. She has a gracious aura around her. Not like Rarity more like … I can’t grasp it. Calmness and sincere interest are reflected in her eyes. She views me from a different perspective than the others. She seems to study me intensely while walking around me. I let go of Fluttershy and stand up following the strange purple pony with my gaze.

Fluttershy hem a little and points at her. "Lastly let me introduce you to the former student of Princess Celestia and now as one of the four princesses, the princess of friendship Twilight Sparkle.” She announces it quite boastful… WAIT she is a princess?

I sink to my knees and bow before her while addressing her like her status demands. “I am so sorry milady. Tumbling through the window and hitting you was never my intention. Please find it in your mercy to forgive me.”

To be in the presence of royalty would be something to be excited about but since I just tackled her minutes ago… I feel my stomach cramp just by the sheer thought of what may happen to me. There is a silence and I take a glimpse at the princess who is now standing in front of me. Her expression isn’t what I thought it would be, since right now she has a baffled look on her face. A few seconds later it changes to a reassuring smile and she raises my head with her hoof. It feels unnaturally that hoofs feel soft.

“Raise your head Robert. There is no need to address me like that. Just Twilight is fine with me.” Her voice and her face are clear signs that she means what she said. “Like Fluttershy said ‘there is nobody going to hurt you’. I will make sure that it stays that way… Isn´t that right Trixie?” Her tone changes from one second to another and Trixie jerks a little.

The unicorn that chased and threatened me looks at the ground and she makes little invisible circles on the ground with her hoof. “Yes Twilight. I am sorry Robert. It was my fault.” After her apology she sits down and is probably depressed a little.

“Well now that this has been taken care of we can resume to what matters.” Twilight looks back at me and her way is back to normal. “You said that you are ‘probably’ not from this dimension? Well it is certain that I never heard of anything quite like you but that doesn’t mean that you are from a different dimension.”

“Well did you ever hear of a place called ‘Earth’?” That would be a big surprise if they did.

“Uhm… No.” She answers.

“Did you ever heared of ‘humans’ or ‘homo-sapiens’?”

“Not that I am aware off.”

“See. And if that isn’t enough to convince you; I also never heard of talking ponies, unicorns, real magic and all that. Our entire world is pretty much discovered and a kingdom with talking ponies would definitely steer up some ruckus.” After I finish my conclusion the words slowly start to sink into my consciousness and I realize the meaning. I really am in another dimension or other planet! Wow, that is hard. Will I be able to get home? I mean somehow this dumb wizard outfit dragged me here; it surely is also able to send me back, right? And if that doesn’t work then I have some magic using ponies at hand.

Twilight sits down and puts a hoof under her chin and is mumbling something. I can´t really make out any clear sentences but something along the line sounded like ‘maybe Celestia knows about humans’ and also ‘his outfit reminds me of him’. Then she is quiet for a second and speaks to me again.

“How did you even end up here in my tree in the first place? Robert do you remember anything? Every single detail might be important.” And I was about to answer her but she interrupted me instead with holding a hoof at my direction. “Wait a second. We should probably take some notes. SPIKE! I need your help for a moment. Could you please bring a pen, ink and some paper with you?”

She calls and her horn is glowing slightly. The crystal walls shine purple for a second just like a heartbeat. How did the castle react to her? Well probably magic… solution to everything it seems. And who did she just call? It is probably some kind of adjutant. Nothing less to be expected of a princess. But the lack of guardians is questionable; if she is such an important person… pony.

There is a “coming” from behind the door and I hear some light footsteps. Doesn’t sound like hoof or boots more like bare feet. My curiosity is answered moments later when the door opens slowly. There is a purple claw at first and it belongs to a … little purple dragon with a lot of quills, paper rolls and ink? He is even shorter than the ponies around me; he is just the height of their shoulders. His overall look is purple and his belly, spikes on his back and some kind of fins, probably his ears, are different tones of green. His eyes are also green and they are set on me.

Spike and I have the same kind of expression at the moment. We both look at each other in disbelief and are pointing with our hand… or claw… at each other. “Who or what are you?” Well he takes the words out of my mouth.

Twilight looks at Spike and smiles. Her excitement is so obvious and she is definitely eager to hear my story. “Spike let me introduce you to Robert Walt Siris. He is a ‘human’ who is most likely from another planet or even dimension. Now he wants to tell us how he got here, isn’t that exciting! Could you please take some notes, I want to document everything and send a report to Princess Celestia later on.”

His response is a single halfhearted nod and he sits down on the floor making everything he got ready to take the notes with quill and ink. You can tell that he is still wary of me and I think that I would do the same in his situation.

“So James back to…” Twilight was about to pick up where we left but Trixie interrupted her.

“Hey! How come everyone was introduced but not me, the great and powerful Trixie?” She is obviously not happy with the flow of things and her ego demanded some attention. That attitude of her is really not likable… Not that I liked her in the beginning.

Everyone let out a small sight, except for Rainbow Dash, who obviously is about to pounce her. She even bares her teeth and her muscles are tensing up. That is quite the reaction even if it is somewhat annoying of her. Twilight just shakes her head and turns her head to Trixie. “Because Trixie you scared him to death, chased him through the town, threw him through the window. I guess you aren’t the most suitable companion at the moment for him. It is better that you take your leave now. Did I make myself clear?”

Wow, talk about a verbal fist in the guts. Trixie winced by every accusation but she answered silently.
“I didn’t throw him through the window. He used a teleportation spell and messed up.”

That got her the sinking attention from Twilight again. Her ears perk up and she looks at Trixie again. Twilight´s mouth is slightly open and blinks a few times before she regains her composure… slightly.

“HE DID WHAT? But that is just amazing? You said teleportation? That is an advanced spell. Not everypony can do that. It isn’t even common that other species wield magic at all. Oh not to forget that he isn’t from this world. This is amazing… is all that true Robert?” She speaks again to me, her eyes sparkle with excitement and hunger for knowledge. Even her body language changed. Before that statement she was calm, level headed and spoke objectively. Now she is fussy, jumpy and it feels like she lost all inhibitions.

“Uhm… yes I did, I think. But you have to…” I tried to explain myself but Twilight started jumping around me while squealing. “Yes yes yes yes. Oh this will be so awesome. So many new things to learn. So many new things to discover. I can´t imagine what all that could be.”

“Stop it Twilight,” I try getting through to her, “Humans don’t wield real magic. And I am no exception. The only reason why I was able to cast such spells is because of this stupid outfit. Please let me tell you everything. I will most likely need your help to get home and because of that need your full attention when I tell you my story.”

That got her to hold her actions. After a moment she regains more or less her composure and she calms down. “I am sorry Robert. I know how dire this situation must be for you. My urge to learn new things can get the better of me sometimes.” She obviously blush a little and swings her head from one side to another. “Please Robert you have our full attention. Oh and you Trixie… I think you have some matters to attend to?” Trixie just whispers a “yes, you are right,” and hurries out of the door.

One by one of the ponies sit down beside me and I have their absolute attention. Nervously I try to think about where to start. I guess our worlds are different in many aspects and I would like to evade too much dissolute explanation. Shyly I start at the beginning of my day beginning in school, to show them that my day was pretty normal at the start. There were many interruptions like “You have school, too?” or “What is a car?” even “How many of you live in your town?” and so on. Many of these questions weren’t asked by Twilight; it was somewhat of a surprised that the others seem also eager to hear about my world. Pinkies interest was mostly about my food and what we do in school to have fun. Fluttershy and Applejack loved to ask about my farm live. Rarity asked a ton of questions about our clothing after I announced that we always walk clothed in public. Later in my story when it was time to talk about the strange occurrences of my travel to Equestria Twilight and Rainbow Dash got active and it was their time to interrupt my talking every few sentences. I was patient enough to answer every single question to their stratification. The only one who didn’t talk at all the whole time was Spike. The little dragon was busy with taking notes in a remarkable speed. Looks like this is not the first time that he is assigned to such a task.

“… and after the weird flash I crashed through your window. That is all that I know and the only thing I want right now is to get home as soon as possible. My parents are probably worried sick and my poor sister is crying,” The sun traveled quite far and one could tell that I probably talked for a good few hours. Well it would have been only a quarter of the time if it wasn’t for all these questions.

Everyone is quiet now and thinking about what I just told. I am getting impatient but I can understand that a traveler from another world is not something you encounter every day. Spike is still writing something and isn’t looking up even once. He really is dedicated to this note taking, nothing else to expect from an adjutant of royalty. How old is he even? He isn’t big at all and somehow I get the feeling that he isn’t an adult dragon because he lacks size… Not that I know how big a real dragon is.

Twilight makes a slight cough and looks at me with her violet eyes. “So… This outfit of yours is the cause for all of this? Your trip to Equestria, the magic… all of it? This is fascinating. Let me take a closer look at it.” She walks up to me and start feeling around the cape with her hoof also raising it and shaking it a little making the bells ring.

“Yes… Maybe… I don’t know. For me this is horrible. Stranded in this strange world with talking ponies… Sorry no offense. So many things which don’t make any sense and this crazy outfit cause more disaster than a black cat on Friday the 13th,” I respond with an annoyed tone. It is true, nothing real good happened since I picked up the abnormal ball in the attic. Maybe it is my own fault that I often said my current live, well look where I ended.

Applejack also comes closer and puts her hoof on my shoulder. “Hey it also could have been worse you know? You are now with us and I promise you we will help you.” This put a smile on my face. “I think the griffons or some other races would have been more of a problem for someone like you. Not all of them are… open minded.”

“Or even friendly. Well some of them go all crazy on you and would hunt you like some poor prey.” Pinkie Pie is again the one to just erupt with words making it impossible to speak up. “We met some griffons. One named Hilda was a reeaaal meanie. Not nice and nooooo fun at all. Oh and there is this minotaur what was his name… ah yes Iron Will and he also was a handful.” This world hosts so many creatures of our own mythology. Is it just a coincidence or maybe something more?

“Pinkie I think you scare the sweet little one. Be a dear and go easy on him. I think all this is ordeal is enough for him.” Rarity stood up against the tsunami of words from Pinkie. These ponies probably know how to deal with Pinkies attitude. “How about some tea? This will get everyone’s mind back on the tracks. How about it Robert?”

I am glad for the suggestion since all this talking made my mouth run dry. “Tea sounds wonderful Rarity.” But when I am about to make Twilight let go of my cape my stomach decides to make himself noticeable. This is embarrassing but understandable, I didn’t eat much today.

The princess at my cape chuckle and takes a glance at my redden face with a sly smirk. “We should probably add something to eat to the tea. I don’t think that we want to get interrupted in future conversations by some growling beast.” Everyone giggles what just increase the red on my face. I would like to fade into thin air.

“Thanks Twilight. I hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast.” We all head for the door after Twilight cleared the mess in the room with magic. Magic is a fascinating thing and it is breathtaking seeing all books and broken glasses return to their normal place.

We walk for a while and I got the chance to see a little bit more of this strange tree-castle. To admit it sincerely… It is astonishing. While the overall look is kind of dark it still has a majestic flair around it. There are candelabra on the walls every few feet and the floor is covered with a smooth carpet in dark purple colors with some pattern in it. The ceiling is pretty high and at crossings and in bigger rooms are expensive looking chandelier. I feel like a little kid in a fantasy castle… Wait that is exactly the situation I am in.

I got a few glances into some other rooms. While many were empty others seem to burst with things. More than one room look like another library. One was definitely a laboratory with strange glass tubes, stranger machinery and a ton of strangest samples. Even a biotope is in one of the rooms. It is bright lit due to a glass dome and there is even a lawn with benches, tables and a small pond.

My mouth was probably open for the whole time of our walk through this magnificent building. I am in total awe by the sheer amount of fascinating things around me. Then I get poked and turn around to see Applejack smiling at me. “Darn impressive! Isn`t it?” A nod from me is the only answer I am capable of at the moment. “Yeah… We were the same when we first took a look at the whole building. Couldn´t believe that all this was built from a moment to another. But then again we saw many strange things on our adventures.”

I don’t understand everything she is talking about but I assume that they had their fair share on troubles in the past. Their friendship runs so deep that they can call themselves a family. Applejacks hint make me wonder what they do. “So… You go on adventures deliberately?”

There is a laugh behind me and Rainbow Dash comes into my view. She is flying above me and looks at me with a toothy grin. “Nah… not all the time. Happen to be that trouble seems to occur around us every now and then. Not that I mind, because many of them are tooootally awesoooome!” She spreads her forelegs and it seems she really enjoys their adventures. “Well… there are some of them that were no fun. Not like you could just choose which one you want.” Figures.

“Yeah like evil villains who messed with us in the past. Chrysalis and Sombra were like a worm in your apple.” Applejack makes a frown and she pronounces these names like she was scared to vomit by just saying them. “And don´t get me started on Discord. This crazy old chaotic hassle is a bunch of work.”

Fluttershy joins us by walking besides me. “Oh… uhm… I wouldn´t call him a crazy old chaotic hassle. He has some good points. Well… they are not every time that easy to see for everyone but he changed. And … uhm… I trust him.” Fluttershy is probably a very shy pony but I guess she stands up for her friends. But who is this Discord? The name gives a hint, that he is indeed trouble.

“Yes totally believable. Who was the one that betrayed us in the first place and threw everything into chaos? Who was responsible for this?” Rainbow Dash seems pretty angry and she glares at Fluttershy who flinch at the intimidating display. Soon she regains her composure and stares back at Rainbow Dash. “That was him. Yes. But tell me who was the one that helped us before he got tricked? Who gave the hints to the keys we needed to open the crystal box that saved us all in the end? He also apologized and since that time his behavior was nearly flawless… except for that one time where he messed up the royal garden by accident.”

Both winged ponies battle each other with stares. The air feels heavy and we even stopped in our tracks. That seemed to get Twilights attention since she answered from the front. “Girls, quiet now. Enough of all this rambling. Rainbow you know that I forgave Discord. You do good to do the same.” Rainbow changes expression to defeat while Fluttershy seems a little bit pleased with Twilights response. “And Fluttershy. Even if I forgave Discord doesn’t mean we should forget completely that he was willing to betray us in the past. Also it is up to each individual to decide if they want to forgive him his crimes.” Now both, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, look defeated and let their head hang.

I cough a little trying to get their attention. “Well this Discord-guy seems like a chaotic one. Who is he exactly? All this talking about him made me curious.”

Fluttershy has a smile on her face and opens her mouth to say something but she is getting interrupted by a white flash of light that brightens everything in the hallway. I get blinded and stumble over my own feet. My arms try to cushion my fall but I don’t fall. Currently I am in midair.

“My oh my, carefully.” There is a voice behind me. It sounds a little raspy and high but you could still tell that it is a guy. “So what is all this talking about me? I got itches all over my body from being talked about.”

Because of my current position it is impossible for me to get a good glance at the one behind me. Fluttershy has a pleased look on her face and nods into my direction. “Ah Discord it is so nice to see you. But could you please let Robert go? We had a … little discussion about you and he got curious about you.”

“Ah then never mind. Robert was it? What are you exactly,” asks the voice from behind me.

I am dropped to the ground and turn around to the one who was holding me. “Gwaaah!”
My scream is echoed by the walls and I fall on my butt. That thing that was holding me moments ago is a grotesque mix of different animals. It´s head has a faint resemblance of a horse with one deer antler and one blue goat horn. The eyes are yellow and he has one long tooth and also a goat beard. While the right arm is that of a lion the other is more like a claw of an eagle. The legs are also different, one is that of a lizard and the other is from a goat. To sum it all up the body is quite long and on the back is a bat wing and the other is probably from a pegasus. The tail resembles that of a dragon with a white tail tuft at the end. You could mostly think of it like a Chinese dragon… just more random.

“W-W-What are you!” I point my finger at the strange creature in front of me.

“Well. I am Discord.” He announces while going into a majestic pose. He is closing his eyes while raising his head and his gesture is like one of these criers in the Middle Ages. “Spirit of chaos and disharmony. Master of disguise and trickery. And I also…” There is a flash and he wears a golfer outfit. “… have a pretty decent backswing.” He laughs and his looks return to ‘normal’. “Oh I nearly forgot.” His arms extend drastically and he pulls everypony in something what resembles closely a hug. “I am friend with all these great ponies here.” Every one of them is smiling, but the smiles of Rainbow Dash and Applejack seem to be a bit forced.

Discords arms return to normal and his attention is now back to me. He walks up to me and bow down to me. “Well that is what I am. So back to my question who are you… or to be precise WHAT are you? I´ve never seen anything like you.” He looks at me a little bit confused, then it changes to some kind of realization and he whispers, ”but these clothes reminds me…” It is so silent that I can’t tell what else he is saying.

“Well, I am Robert. I am a human and got here because of some crazy circumstances.” I answer the strange one and I wonder if he really is a god-like creature. His recent display made it clear that he wields also magic.

Twilight Sparkle steps up and pokes Discords leg. “We were about to take a little meal. You can join if you like.” That got Discords attention and he turns to Twilight. “Oh I would love that. But let me prepare some sandwiches.” What he does now is even more confusing than the things he did before. He opens an invisible door in the middle of the hallway and walks into it, vanishing in the blink of an eye. The door closes and there is no more sign of him or the opening. Everyone just continues to walk to the dining room like nothing happened.

“What was all that?! He opened a door, which is clearly not there and vanishes?!” I state my confusion and look at the ponies puzzled.

Fluttershy is the one to clear my confusion partly. “He wields the name ‘Spirit of Chaos’ not just for show. His powers are vast and something like what you just saw is no problem for him.”

Pinkie Pie jumps into the air. “Oh and he can make chocolate rain, too. Mmmmmmmh jummy.” You can tell how excited she is about that fact. Her eyes get glassy and droll is dripping from her muzzle. Even I am curious now what chocolate rain would look like.

“Girls; don’t confuse Robert more than he already is,” Twilight interrupts Pinkies jumping around with telepathic magic… as much as I can tell. “Look Robert, Discord is an old entity and his powers are only matched by the elements of harmony. Just be careful because he loves to play pranks on everyone… some of them are a little bit…”

“.. over the top,” declares Rarity. “He messed with us a lot in the past and we can call us lucky that he really wants to change.” Fluttershy interferes again and angrily makes her statement. “Oh, give him a break. He had never any intention to hurt anyone, except for the time with Tirek…”

The girls start another discussion while I stand beside Spike, who just shrugs. “Come Robert; let the girls be. We can prepare the food in the meantime.” That is at least something that I am able to understand. After taking one last look at the debating ponies I follow Spike.

“Is that behavior normal for them?” I and my draconic companion are walking side by side through the seemingly empty castle-tree. “That? Happens sometimes, not often but there are a few topics where they never really agree with each other. But don’t waste too much time thinking about it. Even if they clash like this, they make up quickly after.” I nod and resume looking around. Why are there no warriors, guards or some servants?

Spike stops in front of a large door with different collared ornaments on it. Some of them resemble ponies while others seem to be … a griffon, a dragon, a minotaur and some other creatures which I don’t know. They are probably the inhabitants of this strange world. “Here we are. Let us start without them. It could take some time and I am quite hungry. Come with me; let’s see what we can find in the kitchen.”

We come into a big room with enough space for a small house. The floor is covered with a red fluffy carpet; it has some gold linings in it and you are somehow unable to follow one lining for a longer period. You just lose sight of it. It is definitely expensive and costs a small fortune. The table is also large with enough room and seats for at least two dozen people… or ponies. The color is an elegant dark brown with the pattern of the tree in it. The middle of the table hosts many flowerpots with fresh beautiful flowers with all kinds of colors but mostly in a purple. The color strongly resembles Twilight Sparkles coat. Many different pictures are at the wall; showing different landscapes, ponies or sceneries. One wall is occupied by a window so gigantic that you could say that the window IS the wall. Warm sunlight shines through and brightens the room.

The view is literally breathtaking and I realize that I held my breath. “Wow!” This whole place is really like one out of a fairy tail.

A big grin is on Spike´s face and he even laughs a little. “All rooms are created extravagantly. Twilight doesn’t like it that much, she is more the bookworm and our old home was a library. Rarity loves it obviously. The kitchen is at the right end, let´s go.” The mentioned door leads to the kitchen. This room is also very bright with white colored furniture and has many things which look very familiar to kitchen equipment from my world. It is somehow confusing that some things are modern like the refrigerator or the oven; others are likely from the Middle Age. Spike doesn’t seem to notice my confusion and he walks straight to the food. As expected; it is filled with different vegetables and milk products. There are also many different sweets. The lack of meat is obvious since ponies are herbivores.

Besides the refrigerator are some boxes and cabinets. The boxes are filled with hay, potatoes, tomatoes, onions and other things. One of the cabinets holds sweets. I spot some mushrooms and exotic looking … fruits? Spikes is busy collecting different indigents and amass them on a table. He proceeds by pulling a small stool over and start preparing the first indigent.

I come over to the little dragon and look over his shoulder. He is quick and you can tell that he is cocking more frequently. “Can I help you?”

“Sure take a knife and cut the mushrooms. We are making a stew. It is easy to prepare and we can make enough for everyone with ease.” His hands work precisely and I have difficulties following them but I got my share of work. After I cleaned my hands I take a seat beside the dragon and we both work in silent for the next minutes.

Since the start of this crazy adventure is this moment the first to sort out my own thoughts and I am more than grateful for it. You don’t get dragged into another planet… world… or dimension every day. Even if my situation at hand is not life threatening doesn’t mean that it will stay this way. Family and friends will begin to worry about me soon and I have to find a way back home. My best options are Twilight Sparkle, since she seems friendly and wields magic. Don’t forget that she is the former student of an immortal princess. The thought of an immortal queen is intimidating. Just mirror that on earth: An immortal dictator with great power… Seems scary. The other princesses might also be a good lead to return to my world. But since I don’t know them or how they will react to a creature from another world it is probably wise to stick with Twilight Sparkle. There is also Discord. If he really is something like a god; maybe it´s easy for him to return me home?

“Is everything alright Robert? You are very quiet.” I shriek out of my thoughts and look at Spike who seems a little bit worried. How long did I sit here in silence? Five minutes, ten or even fifteen?

Smiling at my companion I reassure him that everything is alright. “It was a hectic and crazy day for me and I try to understand what exactly happened to me. I don’t know enough about all this to come up with any theories or reasonable solutions. I like challenging questions but I guess this one is a little bit too difficult for the current me. But thank you for your concern Spike.”

He still views me for a few seconds and then returns to his task and I think that this would be it but he starts talking again. “I think I know a little how you feel since I´m the only dragon that lives among ponies and you feel alien to your surroundings. Yet again… I AM still from this world; you on the other hand don’t even know this world. Don’t worry, we find a way to return you to your world. Twilight loves challenges, too. She is the smartest one in Equestria.” Here I thought he gives a damn about me, looks like the little guy had some thoughts of his own.

“Yeah…,” I answer him after some hesitation, “magic or other otherworldly happenings are not really common in my world. Most of these stories are fake or the outcome from a lack of information. Ponies are just … animals in our world. Not even intelligent enough to talk. This world feels … magical.” I and Spike crack a smile and he seems to loosen up a little bit more. “How come you are the only dragon here? You are not the last one, are you?”

That question changes Spikes expression. Anger and sadness are the feelings I could read in his face. This question did stir up something and I feel sorry for stepping on his feelings, even if it was without my intention. “Sorry if that question makes you uncomfortable, that wasn’t what I wanted.”

“No, it is just… a little hard to talk about,” he sighs and start working on the indigents again, “you should know, not every dragon is nice. No, let me say it like that, most are not friendly. If you ever happen to meet one of my kind, be on your guard. Don’t trust them.”

That surprised me. So even on this world are some races that are not all peaceful. “Thanks for the advice. I will make sure to remember it.” He makes a small nod and it is clear that this topic is closed.

The rest of the time went by in the blink of an eye. We had some small chit chat about our cultures, family, hobbies and other topics. It is quite fascinating that there are many similarities between our worlds. The development of Equestria compared to my world between the 16th century and the 20th. They have Dj´s but no television. They have refrigerators but no airplanes. They have gaming consols but no cars. There are even cities with names that sound like from my world… Manehatten … funny.

Finally the meal is finished and there is a delicious scent and I hear my stomach making audible noises again. Spike and I put the pot, plate and cutlery on a small food cart. We also add some carafe with water and tea. When we get back into the dining hall we find that everypony has arrived and they are talking with each other friendly.

Twilight Sparkle spots us and waves in our direction. “That looks delicious guys. Thank you for preparing.” The others also turn in our direction and look happy that the food is coming. Pinkie Pie rocks back and forth with her chair and it looks like she will fall over any moment, which miraculously doesn’t happen. It is good that they are really herbivores; otherwise it would feel like feeding predators in a zoo.

“You should test it before you praise us,” is my answer while I help Spike to set the table. “Spike did most of the work; I just cut some things… nothing to difficult.” Finally everything is ready and I look for a spot to sit. They all sit around one end of the table and there is more than half of the table empty. The ponies already start to dig into the stew and it seems they like it. Somehow I don’t want to butt into their discussions and walk to a chair two seats away from the next pony, who would be Rarity.

I sit down and start to eat the vegetarian stew, it is really good. Some meat would be great but somehow I get the feeling that I have to abstain it for a longer period. Better I get adjusted to it soon. The background sounds seemed to quiet down and I look around, only to realize that they are all watching me. Did I do something wrong? Is there some custom that I am not aware of? “Is something the matter? Did I mess something up?”

Twilight Sparkle shakes her head and her eyes are set on me. “Robert why do you sit back there? Don’t tell me you are still scared of us.” The other ponies also look confused.

That is what bothers them? “Sorry I didn’t want to offend you. It was just that I am unsure how much more hospitality I can hope for. You were so generous and I don’t want to overextend it. After all, it is the first time that I am in the presence of a princess.”

All of them giggle and again I feel like the dumb one. That is a feeling I don’t like. “Robert, like I said before. I am a princess but I am still just a pony like all the other… you know what I mean. Just say `Twilight` that is more than sufficient.” Her horn is again shining and just a second later I and my plate are flying over to them. It really is an irritating feeling to get dragged by an invisible force but at the same time it feels cool to fly. “Now come over here Robert. We even have reserved a place for you. Don’t be shy.”

Smoothly I land between Twilight and Fluttershy and I feel embarrassed. My face is probably in a strong red color. These ponies are indeed very friendly and their hospitality is at the moment more valuable to me than any treasures. “Thank you all,” I mumble silently and look straight at my plate.

Fluttershy seems to be about to say something but there is a flash of light and a door appears on the Table. Fascinated I follow what else might happen and I am not disappointed, because when the door opens Discord walks through. The mixed creature balances several plates with different sandwiches and he greets us with a big toothy grin. “Ah there you are… and you even started without me. How sad this is. But better late than never they say.” He jumps into the air and the plates were not balanced by him, they were held up by some kind of levitation spell, tricky. Gracefully and somewhat dramatically he takes a seat at the end of our group. With a spin of his claw the plates float to everyone and each time it stops it drops a sandwich besides the stew. “Here enjoy yourself. I made sure to outdo me this time and you can be sure to outdo me is a challenge.” His appearance changed while speaking to that of a box-champion only to be normal in the next moment. He surely likes to cosplay.

The sandwiches are made with different indigents but I cannot identify them. The smell is good and the bread is still warm. I think it is safe to eat it. Carefully I take a bite of the freshly prepared sandwich only to be surprised. It does not only smell good it even tastes deliciously. Happily I dig in and before I knew ate three more. This seems to makes Discord happy and he is watching me digging into his food. “Finally someone who is able to honor my skills. Robert, I utterly start to like you. Oh just wait till I prepare some other things” Is he eating the glass while the water stays midair. How in the name of god is he doing that?

“They taste really good,” is my answer between two bites still wondering about the strange tastes of Discord, “they remind me of those I made in my world.” The sandwiches seem not to be that popular with the other ponies and they look not pleased while taking small bites from it. If he is eating glass can there also be something strange in these sandwiches? I take a look and no, the indigents look different but they seem edible. “How come you don’t like it?”

Rainbow Dash speaks up and look displeased in the direction of Discord. “Last time we got to eat his sandwiches we ended all in the restroom.” The accused seems not to be bothered by it. Instead he answers with the voice of a referee … and outfit! When did he change again?. “Oh puh. How should I have known that you ponies are not able to digest otherworldly vegetables? I thought that you ponies are more… sturdy.” Somehow I get the feeling that he knew that this would happen, but how can someone say he understands a godlike creature.

A growl makes my attention switch from Discord back to the rainbow pegasus. “Of course you knew that this would happen! And even if you didn’t know this, you didn’t even bother to warn us. You just served them.” She really seems angry about it, not that Discord is bothered in the slightest about it. But when he looks in the direction of Fluttershy he seems to shrink… No let me correct my wording. He IS shrinking and is now not bigger than Spike. “Ok ok… I am sorry. I will warn you next time and you can be sure this time I did my homework.” His appearance switched again, this time to a schoolboy with many papers flying around him. “You should be fine when you eat those because I drained the ‘otherworldly’ from them.”

That whole discussion got my attention. Did he just say otherworldly? That means he has the ability to infiltrate other worlds, not that I assumed less from a creature like him. “Are you able to travel to other worlds?”

Discord seems to think about something but then he nods. “Yes, I am able to travel to different worlds in the blink of an eye.” When he sees my happiness in my face he races his hand. “But don’t get your hopes up, Robert. Even if I am wielding powerful magic, I am still unable to control to which world my powers lead me. The only world I can directly come to is this one. Sorry to disappoint you in that matter.”

My new hopes were crushed as soon as they were born. A small swearing leaves silently my lips, followed by a sigh. One of my few options just cancelled itself and not many are left open. This situation makes me really wonder if I will be able to return home. A hoof is placed on my shoulder and I see that Twilight wants to give me some comfort. Her hoof is one moment later accompanied by Fluttershys hoof. The only good thing is the luck of meeting these friendly ponies. It could be fairly worse.

“Don’t worry that much, Robert. It was definitely magic that brought you to Equestria. And Magic is my best subject. I find a way to send you home. Maybe it will not happen tomorrow or even in this week but we will find a way.” Her name, princess of friendship, isn’t just for show. Twilight just gives me the feeling that I can trust her completely. “And in the meantime you are free to stay with me. The castle is really big and it gets really quiet with just Spike, Owlowiscious and me around. Owlowiscious is my owl you will get to meet him.”

That offer is a surprise. I mean, she IS a princess and there have to be some rules for guests. My face seems to mirror my feelings because Twilight giggles. “Robert, do you think about the fact that I am a princess again? Just stop it; I just want to help you and who knows, maybe even able to teach you about magic. This is one reason… and maybe some honest interest in you as a traveler from another world. I mean you don’t get a chance to learn about other worlds that often.”

So there are other reasons for that offer. Still, this is a good idea. She wields magic and is the former student of this Princess Celestia. To learn about ‘my magic’, as strange as it may sound, could bring a little bit of light into all this. “Thank you for the offer Twilight and yes. I will gladly accept it.” She seems happy about my response and she says she will show me my room later that evening.

The next hours are spent by talking about my and their world. It was pretty much the same discussion I had with Spike while cooking. Each pony had different questions and did my best to answer them as good as possible.

Discord leaves at one point, saying that he had to attend some matters and vanished into thin air. He really wields some crazy magic. Not that I could understand the magic of others, but this is a task for tomorrow.

The sound of the clock brings us back to time and we realize it is past 8 o´clock. I start to feel the exhaustion of my body which is no wonder, this day was crazy and took a big toll on my body. Twilight seems to have the same opinion. “Look how late it is. I think we will stop this for today and continue tomorrow.” Everypony agrees and after a quick goodbye, where I get a hug from everypony, they leave.

Twilight was right; the castle-tree is big and empty. I state my confusion about the lack of other residents to Twilight. “Yeah. It is pretty empty. Celestia wants that I get some guards here, but I decline. Don´t misunderstand I am well aware of my position but I still prefer to be seen as a normal pony and not some royal snob. Especially when everypony bows in front of me. I just don’t like it.”

She really seems like a normal …pony. The royalty I learned about in school acted like they stood above all others. “So you are a princess and you have all the privileges and tasks as one. But you just want to be yourself. There are many persons from my world who could learn a lot from you.”

A small blush is on Twilights face and she seems flustered. “No, I don’t think that I am a role model for a princess. I like my friends, books and I love to learn new things. My royal status came over me from one night to another and I finally got accustomed to it just recently.”

Spike, Twilight and I get to a large open are and there are five doors around. “Here we are. You get a guest room for the duration of your stay. If you need anything just ask me or Spike, we have the two rooms next to yours.” We walk up to my room and it has a griffon-symbol in gold on it.

Up on entering I am baffled. It is huge. A president suit is a joke compared to what is before me. The room is big enough for several cars. It is occupied with a gigantic royal bed. Four people would lie down on it without any room problems. There is also a big dark colored table accompanied by several cabinets a wardrobe is also present. Every girl would have problem to fill this one entirely. A huge red and brown colored carpet lies on the floor, similar to the ones you see everywhere in the castle. A big glass door leads to a balcony from where you could see everything of Ponyville. I am also able to see the Everfree Forest. They talked about it before, it is really dangerous in there and I should not go in there without proper preparations.

“Is everything to your liking?” I turn around and see Twilight standing smiling besides me. It feels like she knew that my reaction would be like that.

“This is more than I could ever ask for. Thank you Twilight.” Rooms like this would cost a small fortune in my world and here I get everything for free. The best thing would be that I find a way to repay her in some way.

Twilight nods and hugs me and I am a little bit shy to hug her back. “Good night, Robert. Sweet dreams and don’t worry. After a good rest everything will look much brighter than today.”

I return the hug and smell the scent of her coat. It reminds me of old books and lavender, quite pleasant. “Thank you Twilight. This means a lot to me. I am also grateful that everyone welcomed me with open arms… hoofs and you even provide me with a place to stay.”

“You are welcome. But now you go to bed. Tomorrow will hold many new challenges for you.” This is more than true. Twilight leaves me alone and I stand in the middle of the room.

Trying to remove the mage outfit I realize that it works this time. Hat and cape lie before me on the table, the staff is still missing and I forgot about it. I have to search for it tomorrow. The two clothes look so harmless and it is unimaginable that they are at fault for my situation. It may seem catastrophic but it was I that said that my life is boring. “Well that for sure will change now,” I say silently while looking for anything special on the strange clothes. Stars and bells are still in place and the blue color makes it look like that the stars are floating in the room.

After I remove all clothes, excluding my underwear, I climb into the gigantic bed. It is soft and almost like walking on clouds. The blanket is also comfortable on the bare skin and I make myself ready for sleep. My thoughts wander around; about all that happened to me today, the different personalities I met and about my family. Do they miss me? Are they worried about me and will they search for me? Oh and my poor sister. She will probably cry because of me vanishing this roughly. Will my parents even believe my sister? It is not normal that a person is dragged into another world. Will I be able to return home? What do I do if there is no such way? What about everpony? Will they let me stay with them if there is no way for me to go home?

I am scarred and I am shaking like crazy. Sweat is running down my body and I sit up in bed. The moon traveled quite the distance. This is getting ridiculous; this whole situation is just crazy and unexplainable. God damn it! I want to go home! This isn’t right. Magic was not part of my life and it should have stayed that way!

These thoughts ramble through my brain. Not paying any attention to my surroundings I am surprised that I am now standing in front of Twilights room.

“What am I doing here? I am old enough to sleep alone. I don’t need to sleep with someone else.” But I still stand in front of the door, not making any tries to leave. “She is even a princess; there is no way that she would let me stay the night with her in the first place!”

I am shocked when the door opens slowly and the named princess is yawning at me. “Uaargh…hello Robert. Is there something you need?”

The sheer fact that I am waking a princess in the middle of the night because I can’t sleep is outrageous. “I uhm… No that … I just wanted … I can´t seem to find sleep.” Defeated I state the embarrassing reason and look at the floor.

A hoof is put on my shoulder and I am dragged into the direction of her door. “That is understandable. How about it, you stay with me for tonight?” My eyes shot open and I look perplexed at her. This is getting crazier by the minute. Still, this is tempting.

A slow nod is my answer and moments later I am in her room, which resembles the one I have in a lot of ways. The only difference is the decoration and some coloration. I cannot tell what everything is since there is just the moonlight as a light source. Many books are around, some are stacked on one another and other occupies the many bookshelves on the wall.

The princess moves straight to the bed and makes herself comfortable. She pats the place besides her with a little smirk and Twilight would probably see the blush on my face if the light was a little brighter. Hesitantly I join Twilight on the bed and let some fair spare room between the two of us.

“You really are a shy one you know that? I won´t bite, so come here.” She moves closer to me and I am pulled into a soothing hug. This situation is weird. I can´t sleep and who is the one to help me… a pony princess. “Your skin feels nice. Good night Robert. Tomorrow is another day; we will need our stamina for it.”

Again I smell her scent and I find comfort in it. Snuggling a little closer to her I am finally able to find my way into the world of dreams.