You had been sleeping for what felt like minutes, but you knew it had been longer than that.
The sounds of birds tweeting outside had woken you up, but when you opened you eyes you couldn’t even remember where you were.

You had a dream where you had awoken in your apartment, yet the streets of New York outside your window were silent. The sky was a deep blood red, and the clouds were pitch black.

A muffled voice called out to you, but you were unable to make it out. And then you woke up.

You had no idea what it meant, or who the voice was, but you didn’t want to question it now. Right now, all your focus was on settling in to this new world.
Maybe it had some connection to how you were brought to this world, but you decide that that’s a question for another day.

Waking up in Equestria was a surprise to you, as the whole ordeal still felt very surreal, but it was a welcome one. You groggily get out of bed and leave your room, searching the few remaining doors that didn’t lead to either your’s or Twilight’s room for a bathroom.

Hurriedly, you wash your face in the sink and then make your way downstairs to where Twilight and Spike were already waiting.

Both of them greet you with a “Good morning, Storm,” and a “Hey, Storm!” respectively.

“How’d you sleep?” Twilight asks.

Despite your only memory of rest being the strange dream you had, you felt quite refreshed.

“Pretty good!” You reply, taking a seat on the same couch as last night.

You couldn’t help but notice Spike staring at your bandaged wings.

“How are your wings?” he asks.
That was a question you were expecting Twilight to ask, but you answered nonetheless.

“Better than last night. I can’t really feel the pain anymore.”

You still couldn’t fold your wings in, but the majority of the pain you once felt had completely diminished.

“Can you move them at all?” Twilight adds.

You close your eyes and focus on moving your wings, even though you have no idea how to. Pulling your wings in was easy, since it was almost a natural reflex, yet flapping them was difficult for someone who had never flown before. After trying as hard as you can, you settle with the answer no.

“I’m sure you’ll be able to soon, don’t worry.” she says, smiling at your reassuringly.

You suddenly remember that there was something Twilight had to do at Sugarcube Corner today, and you promised you would come with her.

“Hey, Twilight, when are we going to Sugarcube Corner?” you ask as a wave of slight panic washes over her face.

“Oh, yeah! Probably in an hour or two, my friend Pinkie Pie has some business to attend to first.”

At the mention of that name, you almost instantly assumed that this was a sting operation designed to surprise you and force you into a position where you would have to meet all of Twilight’s friends, also known as a surprise party, but even then you still looked forward to meeting them.

“Pinkie Pie is the pony who lives there, by the way,” Spike adds as he climbs a ladder, continuing his book sorting, “She’s slightly hyper, just as a heads up.”

You look at Spike and thank him, even though he isn’t looking at you. “Anybod- I mean anypony else I need a warning about for when I meet them?”

Somehow, neither Twilight nor Spike noticed your slip up. Probably because Spike had his head in a bookshelf and Twilight was to busy trying to cover up Pinkie Pie’s surprise party.

“Who said you’d be meeting my other friends at the same time?” Twilight says nervously, laughing slightly under her breath.

“You did. Last night. And, I mean, it’s pretty obviously a surprise party.” Your tone stays calm and monotone, unchanging throughout the whole sentence.

A look of suspicion grows on Twilight’s face. “Are you sure you’ve never met Pinkie before?”

Well, technically speaking, you have met Pinkie, she just hasn’t met you.

“No, I haven’t, it’s just a trip to Sugarcube Corner for seemingly no reason reeks of surprise party.” you lie.

By the time this was all over, if it ever will be over, you might become a politician. The amount of lying you’ve been doing to prevent suspicion is unbelievable.

“To be fair, Twilight...” Spike interrupts, his small head still half inside a bookshelf.

You can see what almost looks like slight annoyance building up in Twilight as she finally admits it.

“Alright! Fine! It was gonna be a surprise party, but now it’s just a party, because all the surprise has been ruined!”

It’s hard to tell if she’s genuinely angry, but you figured one of the princesses of Equestria wouldn’t get mad over something so minor.

“Knew it.” you say with a teasing grin on your face.

——————————————————————————

The next hour went by with you and Twilight talking about books, different affairs going on in Equestria, typical small talk, as well as the occasional interruption by Spike, until it was almost time to leave for Sugarcube Corner.

“Now that you know about the party, can you promise to still act surprised?” Twilight requests as she approaches the door, but you could tell it was a promise that she wouldn’t take to heart.

You simply reply with a ‘maybe’ as the two of you, as well as Spike, leave the Golden Oak Library.
You could honestly say you felt nervous for what was to come. You expected a party, but that expectation could only carry you so far.

The town of Ponyville was almost as busy as it was yesterday, despite it’s small population. The majority of ponies were buying items from markets or simply conversing with each other.

After a while of walking, you eventually arrive at the large candy themed building. It looked exactly like it did in the show, and that made you feel even happier than you already did, even slightly numbing the anxiety you could feel inside you.

“Ladies first!” you say nervously, before quickly realising your use of human terminology.

Thankfully, Twilight didn’t seem to notice. The same phrase must be used here as it is on Earth.

Twilight rolls her eyes at you, smiling, before entering through the front door of Sugarcube Corner.

Spike stands there, looking between you and the door.

“Dragons last!” he says, gesturing towards the door.

You slowly move towards the door, your nerves beginning to get the better of you as you get closer.

Spike let’s out a loud sigh, and simply shoves you through the door, tired of your slow speed. How does such a small dragon push a fully grown pony like you?

The first thing you notice about the interior of the building is that it is completely dark.

You can`t see anything, and Twilight is nowhere to be found. In fact, nothing is anywhere to be found. You hear the front door swing open again, and Spike walks in, following you.

Suddenly, before you can even say anything, you are blinded by a flash of light, and a chorus of voices shouting "Surprise!" in unison.

Despite knowing about the party, you couldn't help but let out a scream.

"Hey, you must be Storm Strike! I used to have a friend called Storm, but he was a rock, anyway, I made this party to welcome you and invited all of mine and Twilight's friends to it so that they can meet you and so you can meet them, and then we will all become such good friends! And I also made lots of cakes and-"

You couldn't see to well, as your vision was still recovering from the flash of light, yet you could make out a bouncing mass of pink in front of you.

Not that you really needed to see, you knew exactly who it was.

"Pinkie Pie, I think he needs some space to breathe." you hear a scratchy voice say.

You knew instantly that was Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie moves back, still jumping up and down, allowing you to get your bearings.
The inside of Sugarcube Corner also looked exactly like it did in the show, with its peachy yellow walls and green flooring.

Again, you couldn’t believe you were actually stood inside of Sugarcube Corner, in front of the Mane 6.

"Storm, these are my friends I wanted to introduce you to!" Twilight says, breaking you out of your trance.

"We all heard about you from Twilight, there! Including what happened to y'all wings and such..." Applejack adds, a look of slight regret on her face upon the mention of your wings.

"We're so sorry for what happened." a quite voice says.
If it wasn't for the quiet setting, you wouldn't have even heard that, but you knew it was Fluttershy.

And, as silence fell, it was now up to you to make conversation.

"Hey, it's ok! Thanks to Twilight here they should be healed in no time!"

Twilight rubs the back of hear head with a hoof, and smiles nervously, and then you notice that Rarity was nowhere to be found.
You obviously couldn't bring it up, since as far as they know, you don't know who Rarity is, so you decide to keep quite.

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash floats forward quickly.

"Anyway, I'm Rainbow Dash, but I'm sure you've heard of me already." she says, her eyes closed as she smiles boastfully, her two forehooves crossed.

This'll be fun, you thought.

"Actually, I haven't heard of you." What better way to make a first impression than to mess with Rainbow Dash's ego.

Her eyes open and a slight frown forms on her face, her forehooves drooping to her sides.

"What..."

All you could hear was a slight pout come from Rainbow's mouth as a door swings open.
All of the Mane 5 stare at the door as a familiar yet unfamiliar pony enters the building.

"Sorry I'm late, dearies! I had a simply awful time trying to find the right dress for this occasion!"

It was, of course, Rarity, although you didn't expect her to ever be late. However, it was Rarity, and therefore she must be fashionably late.

You hear a laugh come from Applejack, and everypony in the building turns their attention to her.

"It ain't a formal occasion, sugarcube!"

Everyone else joins in the laughing as Rarity lets out a stoic harrumph.

"Oh, I simply must look my best, no matter the occasion."
The dress she was wearing surprisingly matched the décor of Sugarcube Corner, almost looking like it was made of gingerbread.

"You must be Rarity, right?" you finally ask.

Rarity's ears perk up slightly as she realises that you've heard of her. "Why, yes, I a-"

"So you've heard of her, but not me?" Rainbow interrupts, causing you and Rarity to both laugh.

Rarity flicks her hair with a hoof. "Well, I am quite the model." she snickers.

Sensing an incoming argument between Rainbow Dash and Rarity, you decide you'd rather not be there, and divert your attention elsewhere.

Everypony was now doing there own thing, Twilight was talking with Spike, Pinkie Pie was seemingly devouring the cakes she had recently made, and Rarity and Rainbow Dash were having a heated debate about who was more recognisable.

But where was Fluttershy and Applejack?

Beginning to explore the party, Applejack suddenly answers your question and appears right before you.

"Howdy, Sugarcube! Ah'm Applejack!" she says, cheerfully.

"Hey, you already know my name right?"

"Sure do! Twilight told us everything we really need to know."

The two of you glance over at Twilight, who is now contently watching Spike inhale mountains of rare gems.

"So, you live on that huge farm right?" you ask her, feigning curiosity as you already knew the answer.

Instantly, you think of sweet apple cider. You had no idea what it tasted like, but Rainbow seemed to love it. Who knows, maybe you’d get a taste of it one day.

"Eeyup. Feel free to come have a look around some time!" she offers, enthusiastically, “we’ve also got plenty of work available, if you’re interested, that is...”

“I might just take you up on that!” You weren’t here to talk business, but everybody has to start somewhere right? And when an opportunity presents itself, you take it.

“Great! We could always use and extra helping hoof or two on the farm!” she says, happily, “Anyway, someone’s gotta help Pinkie clear that table of food!”

Before you could say bye, Applejack turns around and makes for the table of cake Pinkie was already half way through demolishing.

And now, the only pony you had left to meet was Fluttershy. But where was she?

After a few minutes of searching, you eventually notice her looking out of a window attempting to blend in with the crowd.

The moonlight was shining through the wind-
Wait, it's night already?, you thought. Time sure does go by fast when you're having fun.

"Hi!" you say, enthusiastically.

Fluttershy quickly spins around and takes a few steps back, impulsively.

"Eek!" the timid pony squeals.

In all the excitement of meeting the Mane 6, you had forgotten how shy Fluttershy really was.
I mean, she literally has shy in her name.

Instantly, you feel guilt welling up inside you.

"Oh, no, sorry! I didn't mean to scare you or intimidate you or anything like that."

Fluttershy begins to regain some of her confidence, and moves back to where she originally stood.

"Oh, no, it`s quite ok. I know you just want to introduce yourself."

Despite her quite voice, you can still sense the undertone of happiness that the whole of Equestria seems to have.

"I'm Fluttershy." she says, her nervousness seemingly returning in an instant.

Your face twists into one of confusion, no matter how hard you tried to hide it. "Um... Sorry?"

You can almost see the panic in her eyes.

"I'm Fluttershy." This time you could hear it, even if it was only barely.

"Nice to meet you Fluttershy," you say with a smile on your face, “I heard you like looking after woodland animals."

Right now your priority was making your new friend feel comfortable.

"Oh, yes, I simply can't stand seeing them hurt. So I do everything I can to take care of them." The smile you had seen earlier had returned to her face, and you knew you had succeeded.

"That's amazing!" you say. This causes her smile to get even wider.

"Oh, thank you, Storm." Although she was now a lot more comfortable, that timid tone rarely left her voice.

That was something you liked about Fluttershy in the show, and you were glad her living counterpart was the same.

——————————————————————————

The rest of the party went by incredibly quickly, until the only Ponies that remained present were Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Yourself, and despite not being a pony, Spike.

"Alright, y'all, I'll see ya around!" Applejack shouts as she leaves the building, the wooden doors slamming shut behind her.

You had gotten to know everypony surprisingly well, even though you knew most details before you had even met them.

"Storm, me and Spike were about to start heading home, so don't take to long, ok?" Twilight tells you, smiling, a sleeping Spike on her back.

You nod before heading over to Pinkie Pie to see if she needs any help clearing up.

"Hey, Pinkie, need any help?"

"No thanks, Stormy Warmy! I can do it myself in the blink of an eye!"

Stormy Warmy? You had only been here a day, and Pinkie already had her own nickname for you.

"Ok then." you reply, choosing not to question the nickname.

You approach the door, getting ready to head back to the Library and call it a day, when a familiar scratchy voice calls your name.

"Hey, Stormy Warmy!" Rainbow calls out to you with a mocking tone.

"Really? You too?" you ask with a joking grin on your face.

Pinkie suddenly turns out, frowning, and is that... tears in her eyes?

"Do you not like that name, Storm?"

Rainbow looks at you regretfully, and decides to answer this one for you.

"He's joking, Pinkie." she says, looking at the pink earth pony with a warm smile on her face.

That was the thing you liked about Rainbow Dash. Despite seeming cocky and egotistical on the surface, she was actually one of the most caring and compassionate ponies out there.
She was the Element of Loyalty after all.

The tears that were once in Pinkie's eyes suddenly evaporate into thin air. "Oh, ok!"

You were surprised nobody had become concerned with Pinkie Pie's sudden mood swings, but decided that everypony had just gotten used to them.

“So, Rainbow, what did you need?” you ask, turning your attention back to the cyan Pegasus floating next to you.

“Oh, I was just wandering if you wanted to hang out some time. Once your wings are healed, I mean.” she asks, a slightly nervous smile on her face.

You couldn’t really blame her for being nervous. She didn’t really have any Pegasus friends other than Fluttershy, but even then the two never hung out very often.

“Sure!” you reply, smiling back.

The magenta irises in Rainbow’s eyes get bigger, along with her smile.

“Just so you know, I am the fastest flyer in all of Equestria, so don’t expect to beat me in a race, ok?” It would appear the mare was subtly challenging you to a race.

“We’ll have to see about that, won’t we?” you reply, an equally cocky smirk on your face.

But then you remembered.
You have absolutely zero idea how to fly, let alone beat Rainbow Dash in a race.

“You’re on!” Rainbow’s eyes narrow into a challenging expression as she stares you down, smirking, “I’ll see how your wings are next time we meet!” she adds, before zooming out of the doors, leaving a rainbow coloured contrail in her wake.

“Rainbow sure is something, isn’t she?” Pinkie says, breaking you out of your deep thought.

You had just challenged Rainbow Dash to a race, without knowing how to fly. Well, she challenged you, but either way, you can’t fly.

“Hehe... she sure is!” you laugh, trying to hide your nervousness.

The walk back to the Golden Oak Library felt a lot shorter than the prior one, most likely due to you being in your own world of thought.
You open the door calmly, and are met by Twilight Sparkle sitting on the couch, book in hoof and Spike nowhere to be found.

“Hey, Storm, are you ok?” she asks, a concerned look on her face.

“Sure but... where’s Spike?” you ask, unable to remember that the baby dragon was sound asleep last time you saw him.

“Oh, he’s in bed.” Twilight replies, somewhat cheerfully, before turning back to her book.

“Speaking of bed, I’m gonna head there now.” You begin making your way towards the stairs, your thoughts a complete mess at the moment.
You couldn’t tell if it was genuinely your thoughts being this disarrayed due to your inability to fly, or just the party having a lasting effect on you.

“Are you feeling ok, Storm?” Twilight asks, the hint of concern returning to her voice.

“Yeah, just a bit tired after that party, that’s all.” you lie with a smile on your face.

Twilight smiles back and tells you to head to bed and rest up, so you do just that. You flop over onto your bed, your grey hooves sprawling out before you as you lay on your side, and instantly sleep takes over.

Author's Notes:

Finally, I introduced the other members of the mane 6. I mean, Rainbow Dash is in the tags, meaning she’s gonna be a key character. If you think Twilight shows up a lot in this story, then oh boy.
I’m also considering switching over to past tense completely in the next chapter. I’ve tried doing present tense, yet it keeps bleeding over into past, making my writing feel inconsistent.
Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter as always