*A/N:  I can has feedback, please?*

It was a bitterly cold winter’s morning, the day before Loralee’s thirteenth birthday.  Malcolm had been instructed by his boss to track down a man living in the nearby ruins of Highbridge Park, a once-beautiful tourist attraction to the area before the war.  Not wanting to make his boss angry, the hoodlum boy regretfully obliged.

The man in question had borrowed several thousand dollars from Boss’s organization in order to pay off debts to the local gambling hall.  He’d been given a receipt saying payment was due in one month’s time, but nearly two months later the payment still hadn’t arrived.  He’d overstayed his welcome on Boss’s expenses account, so it was time to get rid of him.

Malcolm was one of the best employees working for Boss, so naturally he was the boy to retrieve either the payment or the life.  Despite his distaste of actual killing, the boy had no choice if he hoped to pay the rent for his and Loralee’s apartment.

“Ow!”

He found the in-debt man huddled under a collapsed bridge on the bank of a small river.  The man was pale and sickly, but a job was a job.  With his company-issued .44 pistol, Malcolm was going to get the man to pay his debt one way or another.

“P-please!  I promise I’ll have his money before the end of the week!”  The thin old man covered his face with his hands and pleaded with the young boy.

Malcolm shook his head and scoffed, “Sorry pal, but the boss has run outta patience.  Either cough up the dough, or I shoot.”  He pulled the hammer of his pistol back and placed his index finger gently on the trigger.  He didn’t want to shoot the poor old guy…

“Ow!”

The weak man crawled on his knees to the boy’s feet and begged, “Please, I’ll have the money in a week, I swear!  Just please don’t shoot, I beg you!”  He leaned down to kiss the boy’s shoes, which evoked a disgusted grunt and kick from the boy.

“Look old man, I don’t wanna kill you.  But you can’t just borrow money and not pay it back.  That makes the boss pissed.  And when the boss gets pissed, I get stuck with all the dirty work.  Sorry fella, but you gotta go.”  Malcolm aimed his pistol directly at the old man’s forehead.  No matter what the man said, it was obvious he had no intentions of paying the debt, and that meant Malcolm couldn’t show mercy.

The two stared into each other’s eyes.  Neither of them wanted to be doing what they were, and that regret burned brightly in both of their glares.  The old man realized there was no chance of talking his way out of this and simply bowed his head in defeat.  He muttered something under his breath before Malcolm sighed and pulled the trigger.

There was a loud bang and an agonized groan before the man’s body hit the ground with a thud.

“Ouch!”

Malcolm’s eyes darted open and locked onto the two creatures on the opposite side of the room from him.  His sister was sitting on a small medical bed, whereas a white mare was holding a syringe in her hoof and poking the human with it.  The boy hopped from his bed and stomped over to his sister’s side.

He screamed, “Stop poking her with the damn needle!”

Both of the females flinched at this sudden outburst.  The white mare scoffed, “Well excuse me, but I have to get a blood sample for some tests.”  She moved the syringe closer to Loralee’s arm.

Malcolm stopped her with, “Just give me the damn thing!  I’ll draw the blood!”  He reached an angry hand for the syringe, but the mare jerked her hoof back cautiously.

She sighed, “Only trained medical professionals are allowed to-”

“I don’t give a damn!  Where we come from, we ain’t got doctors to make us feel better.  If you get sick, you buy your medicine from the cheapest place and give it to your own damn self.  Now give me the needle.”  He opened his hand and waited for the mare to oblige.

The little sibling asked, “Shouldn’t we just let her do it, Mac?  I mean, she is a professional.”  She looked back and forth between the two other residents of the room.

Malcolm scoffed, “Yeah, an expert on ponies, maybe.  But we ain’t ponies, Lora.  She can’t even find a simple vein!”  He extended his hand again, and was finally met with regretful obliging from the white mare.

The pony said, “I have a name, you know.  You don’t have to talk about me like I’m not here.”  She rolled her eyes and watched as the older sibling prepared to draw the girl’s blood.

The older sibling dropped his angry expression for one of slight happiness.  He whispered, “Now, you’re gonna feel a pinch and a stinging for a few seconds.  Try not to let it bother you.”  He wiped the intended entry point with an alcohol pad from the small table beside him before bringing the syringe close to his sister’s arm.

Ha, never thought I’d be drawing her blood.  I’ve given her vaccines and antibiotics, but I ain’t never had to draw blood.  This just another reason I don’t like this place:  they know nothing about how humans work…

“And…done!”  Malcolm withdrew the syringe from Lora’s arm and carefully handed it to the white mare beside him.  Full of blood, the drawing was a success with no complications.

The mare didn’t know what to think about how quickly the boy found the vein and withdrew the blood.  “Why in Equestria would a child like you know how to draw blood so…hastily?”

Loralee cheered, “My brother’s just cool like that, Nurse Redheart!”  She held out her arm as her brother wrapped it with a sterile bandage to stop any excess blood from flowing out of the entry point.

Seeing the nurse’s confused expression, Malcolm felt obligated to answer her query.  He sighed, “Like I said, we didn’t have doctors back home.  I’ve had to give Lora plenty of shots over the years.”  He finished wrapping the bandage on his sister’s arm before giving her a small hug and returning to his own medical bed.

Nurse Redheart giggled, “Well, how about to yourself?”  She lifted another syringe from her medical cart and offered it to the human.

Not willing to let the animal try and draw his blood, he happily accepted the needle and alcohol pad.  With a slight wince, the boy injected the needle into his arm and carefully pulled the plunger up, sucking his own blood into the tube.  He couldn’t help but laugh at how extraordinary their situation was.

Taking the now-filled syringe from her patient, the mare smiled and said her temporary farewells before leaving the two humans alone in the room.  The siblings’ then shared their pent-up thoughts about the whole situation.

Once she was sure the mare was out of earshot, Loralee squealed, “Isn’t this so exciting?  We’re actually in a whole other world!”  She clapped her hands together with a smile plastered on her face.

Malcolm simply grunted as he finished wrapping his own bandage over the needle’s entry point.  When his sister developed an expression of anticipation, he decided it best to elaborate on his reaction.  He chuckled, “Yeah, a new world.  Tons of fun.”

The younger sibling cocked her head to the side and frowned.  She asked, “What’s wrong Mac?  I mean, we’re not in New York anymore.  Why aren’t you happy?”

“Look around you, Lora.  These things don’t even know what humans are.  How the hell can we live here?”  He noticed the sad expression on his sister’s face, and immediately regretted his choice of words.  “Just think about it.  The nurse—a trained medical professional—couldn’t take our blood.  How can we live in a world that can’t accommodate us?”  

Loralee thought about this for a few seconds.  She giggled, “We can adjust.  I mean, what’s to stop us from teaching them about us and our necessities?”  She smiled and raised a thumb to stress her point.

The older sibling’s jaw dropped.  He stammered, “B-but…how can you be so positive?  Why are you so…hopeful?”  He shook his head and fell back on the bed.

The little girl shrugged her shoulders and sighed, “I just am.  That’s how I live, Mac.  When you live in a place like New York, you just can’t stop hoping for the best.”  She thought back to the ruins of their home.

Malcolm sat upright and groaned, “That’s right.”  His mind drifted back to his job of the previous day before he snapped himself back to reality.  He clenched a fist tight and asked, “You wanna know a secret, sis?”  Loralee smirked and replied with a simple nod.  “The only reason I haven’t completely lost it here is because I’m almost certain that I’m going to wake up in that alley tomorrow morning.”

“Wh-what do you mean?”  His sister had a pitying expression on her face.

Malcolm clenched his fist tighter and continued, “Yeah.  I’ll probably wake up half-dead with blood gushing from my skull and some thug rummaging through my person.”  He looked up to see the horrified look on his sister’s kind face.

She screamed, “Are you insane?!  Would that be better for you?”  Tears began to swell in her eyes.

The brother scoffed, “No, but it’d make a helluva lot more sense than this place!”  The fact that everything was completely different from Earth suddenly caught up to him, and he began to feel the confusion and fear he’d been holding in since their arrival to Ponyville.

The little girl got up from her bed and approached his.  She sighed, “You’re right, this place doesn’t make sense.  But it’s still better than home!  You have to stop being so cold.  Lighten up, Mac…”  She hopped up onto his bed and leaned against him comfortingly.

Malcolm loosened his fist and let out a deep sigh.  He wrapped his arm around his sister and thought about almost everything that they’d gone through.  Images of their home, their parents, their neighbors, his job, his boss, and the men that had attacked them all played in his head.  He systematically compared parts of their old lives to this new world.

He compared the cold and heartless ‘medic’ back home to the kind Nurse Redheart.  He put images of this world’s trees and the wilted gray sticks from home side by side.  He thought about the random people from both worlds.  The more he thought about it, the more beautiful this world looked and sounded.

After a few minutes of silence, he told her, “You’re right.  I should lighten up.  Besides, it’s still your birthday.  We gotta do something to celebrate.  Maybe they have some sorta deli here in town.”  He smiled in her direction as she giggled quietly.

“Besides, isn’t food the main reason we headed over here anyway?”  She waved her hand at his stomach, which promptly growled loudly.

Malcolm bowed his head and sighed lightly, “Yep, I’m starving!  Maybe we can ditch this joint and find some food.”  He sent a sneaky glare at the door in contemplation of just walking out of the building.

As if summoned by his statement, the door swung wide open, and two ponies entered the room.  The leading pony was the familiar Nurse Redheart, and following her was the brown pony that greeted them upon first entering Ponyville.  The former of the two carried a small clipboard with some paper attached to it while smiling widely at the siblings.  The latter walked over to the humans and took a deep bow.

He chuckled, “I’m afraid I never introduced myself.  My name is Time Turner.  I decided to pay you a quick visit to make sure you’re both in fine condition.”  He waved a hoof in greeting.

Loralee giggled, “It’s nice to meet you Mr. Turner!  You didn’t have to do that, you know.”  She nudged her brother in the side as she finished her statement.

Taking the hint, Malcolm chuckled, “As far as I can tell, we’re fine.  Thanks for checking up on us.  So…what do you do around here Mr. Turner?”  Thinking there wasn’t much else to do but settle in, Malcolm decided to start learning everything he could about the citizens.

Time Turner was caught off guard by such a random question.  He laughed, “I own some apartments in town.  I’m more-or-less a landlord than anything else.  I do make clocks in my spare time, however.”  He pointed a hoof at the mark on his rear, as if he expected it to stress his point.

The humans shared uncertain looks before Loralee asked, “What’s that mark on your butt?  Some kind of tattoo?”  Both ponies in the room immediately looked mortified by her question.

The stallion smiled and politely explained, “That, my dear, is called a cutie mark.  It’s a sign that appears on everypony’s flanks when they learn what their special talents are.  In my case it’s an hourglass because I keep time for special events and other such activities.  Not to mention I make clocks.”  He waved a hoof at the mare behind him and directed the humans’ attentions to the symbol on her rear.

Nurse Redheart giggled, “And mine’s a cross because I’m a nurse.  You know medicine and whatnot.”  She unclipped the pieces of paper from her clipboard and handed them to the siblings.  “Your blood work came back negative for everything.  You aren’t carrying anything dangerous to us ponies, so you’re free to go.”  She grinned happily at the two siblings as she delivered the good news.

The brown pony reached into a pouch at his side and chuckled, “Yes, and I’ve brought you a little gift.”  He handed the older sibling a small jingling satchel.

The boy looked the satchel over curiously and asked, “So what’s in it?”  He held it low so his sister could examine it.

“Roughly fifty bits, I believe.  If you’re new to our world, you must not have any money.  That’s to help you get on your feet.”  The stallion turned back towards the door of the room.

Loralee asked, “What are bits, Mr. Turner?”  She was met with another skeptical glare from the two ponies.

Nurse Redheart gasped, “Please tell me you have currency where you’re from.”  After a nod from Malcolm, she continued, “Bits are our currency in Equestria.  You use them for everything.”

The boy chuckled, “So money then?  Appreciate it, Mr. Turner.  But are you sure this is okay?”  He offered the satchel back to the stallion, who simply shook his head and stepped out of the room with a light chuckle of his own.

The younger sibling giggled, “At least now we can afford some food!”  This time it was her stomach that let out a loud growl.

“I don’t know what you humans eat, but there’s a great café in the middle of town that serves amazing sandwiches.”  She smiled at the two humans as they perked up at the mention of sandwiches.

Malcolm thought about it for a second and nodded contentedly.  He asked sheepishly, “Can you get us some sorta escort?  I don’t feel comfortable walking around in a strange place without a guide.”  Loralee shot him a confused look before realizing what he was saying.

What a clever idea, Mac!  If we have an escort, then we at least have someone to explain stuff to us while we’re still learning.

Nurse Redheart nodded happily and escorted the two humans through the hospital to the exit.  Ponies stared on in disbelief as once-mythological creatures walked past them with an air of uncertainty.  Ignoring the strange glares and mutterings, the siblings eventually reached the fresh air of the outside world.  Seemingly waiting for the two humans was the purple pony who had previously asked how they wound up in town.  She had a look of utter amazement and excitement plastered across her face.  Her eyes carried an obvious curiosity as the nurse passed the two foreign creatures into her care… Next Chapter: Lunch Date with Miss Sparkle Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 23 Minutes