"Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently." - Henry Ford

Sunshine.

That was all I saw as I opened my eyes. I saw the sun shining right into my face, nearly blinding me. I grumbled and rolled over, hoping to block it out of my face and get some more sleep. I ended up looking down at the ground.

“Huh. I don’t remember the ground being several hundred feet below me,” I muttered. I closed my eyes, deciding to ignore it and get some mo-WAIT, WHAT?!

I shot up, wide awake. I was falling, that much was obvious. The ground was coming up quickly, and I had no idea how to survive this. How did I end up here? On second thought, who cares? Figure that out later. For now, survive, Watch!

Flailing in the air, I tried to form a plan in my head. But when you’re falling to your death, you have trouble thinking anything aside from OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD. I should know. I eventually decided to just roll so my left shoulder was pointing to the ground to take most of the blow. It probably wouldn’t do anything, but I figured my left arm was the only expendable part of me, being right-handed.

Just a few seconds away from impact, I suddenly felt something grab my shoulders and pull up, stopping me from falling. I didn’t question it, instead just being grateful as whatever grabbed me lowered me slowly to the ground.

“Thanks,” I said before looking up. My eyes bulged. Above me was the strangest thing I’d seen all my life, and that was counting the sudden waking up in the middle of the sky.

Above me, there was a blue horse with wings. Not joking here. I could tell it was female from the way her muzzle was shaped. (It’s called a muzzle, right?) She was light blue, pretty much cyan, and had wings attached to her side. Her mane and tail were six different colours, resembling a rainb – okay, you know who it is already! It was Rainbow Dash, but I didn’t know that at the time.

You’re reading this story, so obviously you know the basic pony idea. Earth ponies, pegasi, unicorns, magic, friendship, Ponyville, Equestria, Elements of Harmony, Nightmare Moon, Discord, yadda yadda yadda. I, however, was not aware of any of this. I thought I was still in the human world, just with a weird thing flying above me. However, that turned out to not be the case, naturally. Since all of you would already know who I’m talking about without needing me to describe them, I’ll just refer to these ponies by name rather than things like ‘the cyan pegasus who was yelling at me’.

Speaking of yelling, Rainbow was doing a lot of that. “What in the hay are you? How’d you get up in the sky? Can’t you fly? You don’t look like a pony! What in the hay are you?”

“Uh…why is a blue horse talking to me?” I squeaked, severely confused. She stopped for a second.

“You can talk?”

“…Yeah?”

“Then answer my questions!” Ugh, this is gonna go on for a while. “What are you?”

Fortunately, my urge to be snarky tends to override any confusion I happen to be experiencing at the moment. “I prefer ‘who’, but that’ll do…I’m Rylan Watch. Now, my turn to ask a question. What are you?”

Rainbow blinked. “You don’t know what a pony is?”

“I know what a pony is, but you certainly don’t look like one. I’m pretty sure ponies aren’t blue. And they don’t fly. Or have rainbow manes, or rainbow tails, or weird pictures on their sides.”

“…This is gonna take a while,” she sighed, echoing my previous thoughts. “Wait here. I’m gonna go get Twilight. Leave, and you’re not getting any help.” She flew off before I could question how a horrible book could help us.

Sitting down against a tree, I decided to use this time to take inventory. I pulled off my backpack and unzipped it. All I had in it were the few items I normally carry around: a blanket, a collapsible archery bow, three arrows, and two knives. Hey, I’m paranoid, okay? Besides, those knives have helped me more than once.

I pulled out my bow and checked it, making sure it wasn’t damaged, before doing the same with my arrows. I then pulled out the two knives and slipped them into my shoes, right between my sock and the inner part of the footwear. I had one knife for each shoe, so I could easily pull them out if things got dangerous.

I then looked over myself. I looked pretty much normal. Blue t-shirt with a darker blue jacket, on but unzipped. Light gray sweatpants and white shoes. Wristwatch on my left hand, surprisingly not broken. A Triforce necklace around my neck (I’m a nerd, okay?). All topped off with a green baseball cap. Yep, I looked pretty much the same as I always did.

Since it’ll be a while for Rainbow to get back with her friends, I’ll give you a bit of backstory in case you didn’t read the description of this story. My name is Rylan Watch. I’m eighteen years old and I dropped out of high school when I was fifteen. My parents didn’t even bother trying to fight me. They knew I would go through with it, no matter what they tried. Then they died in a car crash last year.

I’ve spent pretty much my whole life doing nothing productive. I play video games half the time I’m bored, and go on the Internet the other half. My only real skill is archery. I don’t like to brag, but I can hit a bullseye on a target fifty feet away with my eyes closed. I’ve been doing it for eight years, so I’ve gotten pretty good.

Aside from that, my life has no good points. I’ve never had a friend who didn’t turn around and stab me in the back at some point. Sometimes even trying to do that literally. I eventually gave up on friendship. That was actually one of the main reasons I dropped out; to get away from people. People disgusted me. Everyone I knew was a jerk. Even my parents weren’t perfect. Obviously I didn’t want them to die, but still.

Backstory complete, just in time. Rainbow flew back to me, five more ponies following behind her. I’m sure you know them. Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. But I didn’t know them, so I was pretty confused. When they arrived, I quickly thought up the most dignified response to their appearance.

“What in the holy hell is this?” Yep, to me, that’s dignified. You should hear my undignified responses.

“Rainbow Dash told us about you. At first I thought you were just a weird-looking pony, but this…” The purple unicorn (Twilight) shook her head before looking over me. Her horn glowed slightly and I felt a weird feeling pass through me. “Alright. You don’t seem dangerous or anything, so I think we can trust you.”

“Are you serious, Twilight?” Rainbow groaned, obviously not as trustworthy. Can’t say I blame her.

“Rainbow, he hasn’t done anything yet. He’s confused, peaceful, and acts pretty much just like us. We can at least trust him until he does something bad, if he ever does.”

Rainbow sighed. “Fine.”

So then we got introductions out of the way (I'll skip that, since they go pretty much exactly the same as any Human in Equestria story), and I realized from what they told me that I was the only human around. I guessed that either I had woken up in a place really far away from my hometown (how I got in the sky, I have no idea), or this was some kind of alternate universe. I desperately hoped for it to be the latter, if only because if this place existed on Earth it wouldn’t be long before scientists discovered these ponies and began testing and experimenting with them. I’ve played Portal enough times to know that testing isn’t fun. (And the idea of being in an alternate dimension is kind of cool.)

“What’s that?” Pinkie Pie had been bouncing around crazily, as you might expect, asking me about everything I had. I had to explain the concept of archery to them, as well as why I had knives in my shoes (they were rather horrified by my story). Now, she was pointing to my Triforce necklace.

“It’s a Triforce,” I said instantly. I mentally berated myself. These were ponies. Why would they have video games?

“A…what?” They were confused, if Rainbow’s reaction didn’t tell you that already.

“Er…it’s a myth from where I come from,” I recovered quickly. I held up the small replica of the three triangles and pointed to the top triangle. “This is the Triforce of Power. It represents…well, power, and physical strength.” I pointed to the lower-left triangle. “This is the Triforce of Wisdom. It represents intelligence and mental strength.” Lastly, I gestured to the lower-right triangle. “This is the Triforce of Courage. It represents bravery and emotional strength.” I had no idea if what I was saying was exactly accurate, but it was good enough to please these ponies.

“Interesting,” Twilight nodded slowly, taking in the information.

“The myth claims that the Triforce exists in a sacred realm somewhere. If one were to find the Triforce, they would get their greatest desire granted. I honestly don’t believe that’s true, but it’s still a cool story.” I stood up. “Hey, you said there was a town nearby, right?”

“Yeah?”

“Can we head there? I’d like to get the whole I’m not a monster thing out of the way with the residents. Something tells me they won’t be as trustworthy as you five.” I suddenly stopped. “Wait, five? Weren’t there six of you a minute ago?”

The mares glanced at each other in confusion. I counted in my head. Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity. Who were we…

“Fluttershy?” I called out. That girl had been extremely quiet the whole time. Twilight had to introduce her to me for her, because she wouldn’t say anything that didn’t come out as a whimper. It was actually pretty adorable.

“Come on out, Fluttershy! He ain’t gonna hurt ya,” Applejack joined in. I admittedly found her accent slightly annoying, but figured I’d get used to it.

Silence. Nobody – nopony? – came out or answered. Rainbow sighed and flew behind the tree I had been sitting against before dragging Fluttershy out from behind it. She looked at me and squeaked in fear, hiding behind her long, pink mane.

“…You know what? I stick by my original statement. Only five of you trust me.” I have to admit, I was slightly offended. Just when I thought I found some people – okay, ponies, but whatever! – who wouldn’t instantly ignore me or run from me in fear, Fluttershy went and ruined my good mood.

“I think she’s just nervous, dear,” Rarity intervened. “She always gets this way around strangers, ponies or not.”

I sighed. “Fluttershy, you don’t have to talk to me, or help me, or even like me. But at the very least, could you not act so scared of me? Brings up bad memories.“

“Oh…sorry…” Fluttershy shakily stood up, and I realized that those two words (technically one, if you don’t count “Oh” as a word) were all she had said since she saw me.

“Well, now that that’s settled, let’s head to Ponyville,” Twilight decided. The six mares turned and started walking off, expecting me to follow. I did, but not until after facepalming at the horribly unoriginal name of the town. What’s next, a city called Canterlot?

Arriving in Ponyville, I looked around. There were plenty of houses and stores, so much it actually resembled a human town. Well, there was the occasional building that looked absolutely ridiculous, such as a library built into a tree or a castle made of clouds floating in the sky, but aside from that it was normal.

Except for the people walking around, for two reasons. One, they weren’t people; they were ponies. Two, as soon as they saw me, they gasped and ran away, hiding in houses. I heard what conspicuously sounded like gossiping whispers from several of them as they hid. I facepalmed again.

“This isn’t going to go well, is it?” I asked rhetorically.

“Well…we just need to find the mayor,” Twilight grinned sheepishly. “If we can get her on your side – which shouldn’t be too difficult – she’ll get the rest of the town on your side too.“

“Great. Where is she?”

“Town hall, probably. Let’s go!” Rainbow sped forward, but Applejack bit down on her tail (I winced) and pulled her back.

“Don’t go rushin’ ahead of us, Rainbow,” she chided the cyan pegasus. “We gotta stick together.”

“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask,” I piped up. “How come some of you ponies have wings, and others have horns on your forehead?”

So Twilight explained to me the idea of the three different kinds of ponies. From what I understood, earth ponies were strong, pegasi could fly, and unicorns used magic. I was about to question why a unicorn couldn’t just magic themselves up a pair of wings and some extra strength to get the perks of all three types when we were stopped from continuing any farther by a line of angry-looking ponies.

“There it is!” one of the earth ponies called. He had a weird helmet on and looked as though he was the leader of…whatever this was.

“Who are you?” Twilight asked.

“We are the SAEFC!” the leader guy replied.

“…The what?”

“The Society Against Everfree Forest Creatures!”

I groaned. “I’m not from the Everfree Forest, whatever that is. I’m just-”

“Silence!” The leader glared at me. “We will not listen to a creature such as yourself! Attack!”

“No!” Twilight jumped in front of me, and the other five ponies did the same, causing the ponies that were about to charge me stop moving. “He’s not dangerous! We just need to see the mayor!”

One of the ponies turned back to their leader. “Bastion, should we trust them?”

The leader, apparently named Bastion (what’s with all the weird names?), looked down in thought. He then lifted his head and glared again. “This beast is likely controlling them. I have heard of creatures who can do that, like Capricorns.”

“Hey, no!” I protested, seeing where this was going. However, they didn’t listen. Of course.

“What should we do?”

“I hate harming innocents…” Bastion looked away in disgust. “If they refuse to move, attack them as well. But get to the beast! That is the most important thing!”

My mind struggled to process what it just heard. Not only did these ponies think I was a mind-controlling beast, they were about to attack the girls just to kill me?! NO.

One of the pegasi dashed forward at us, aiming for Twilight. Twilight was too shocked to move, but she didn’t need to. The pegasus suddenly screamed and collapsed, blood leaking slowly from his wing.

I stood in front of Twilight, a bloodstained knife in my hand. My act of defense surprised all ponies present, even Bastion. I glared daggers sharper than my knife at them all.

“Back off, all of you!” I yelled. “I didn’t plan on hurting anypony. I didn’t want to hurt anypony. But if you try to hurt me - try to hurt them - then I’m not going to hold back!”

Bastion glared. “You dare harm a member of Ponyville?!”

“This coming from the bastard who was about to have his squad hurt them!” I gestured to the six mares standing behind me.

“No more of your words!” Bastion charged at me, but I was ready. As he got closer, I tensed up and threw my knife to the side. Right before he reached me, I ducked, rolled to the side, and lashed out with one foot. I caught him right on the face and left a nasty bruise there (thank you, shoes!). This only worsened his anger, as he turned and went for me again. Of course, I forgot to stand up after my roll.

Thankfully, some quick thinking saved me some pain. I grabbed Bastion as he got close and flipped him over, giving me enough time to stand up. Just as he got up as well, I punched him in the face, pulled my second knife out, and held it to his throat. He didn’t move, instead looking at me in fear. I hated doing this.

“Listen, buddy, I’m not from the Everfree Forest. I don’t even know what that is. I’m not a Capricorn or anything like that. I’m not from around here, sure, but that doesn’t matter. I’m a human.” I spoke in a very threatening tone, one that I had practiced often. Bastion looked scared, but when I told him I was a human, his eyes suddenly opened wide. I heard all the ponies around us gasp.

“Human?!” they cried in unison. I blinked and backed away, taking my weapon away from Bastion’s throat. I looked around and saw everypony looking at me in shock. Oh crap.

I expected them all to attack me, but instead, they…bowed? Whatever they were doing, it looked like the pony form of bowing. Bastion was bowing. The line of previously hostile-looking ponies were bowing. The few ponies who came outside to see what was going on were bowing. The pegasus I stabbed in the wing was bowing. Even the girls who brought me here were bowing.

“Uh…” I looked around at all of them, confused.

“Please forgive us, sir!” Bastion begged. “We were not aware of your status as a human! We apologise for any trouble we may have caused!”

“Uh…apology...accepted?” I guessed. I was getting very confused. You’d think I was a king or something. “Can you…stop bowing now?”

The ponies obeyed and stood up. Suddenly, they didn’t look like they wanted to fight me, nor did they look afraid. Instead, they looked at me with what seemed like…respect?

Suddenly, Bastion gasped again and pointed behind me. Turning, I saw a horse-drawn carriage coming down from the sky, pulled by pegasus ponies. Flying carriages? …Toto, I don’t think we’re on Earth anymore.

When the carriage landed, I got a good look at the person – er, pony – inside. I could tell she was female. She had the horn of a unicorn, but also the wings of a pegasus. She was pure white, with a flowing multicoloured ma – it was Princess Celestia, okay! You know what she looks like.

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight gasped. Instantly, the ponies were bowing again, this time to her. I instantly realized the situation and bowed as well, getting on one knee and crossing one arm over my chest. I heard the princess chuckle.

“Well, this is a surprise. A human bowing to me for once.” Her voice was soft and soothing. “Rise, everypony. You as well, Rylan Watch.”

My head snapped up, and I stood slowly. “You…know my name?”

“Yes, I do. I also know why you are here, great warrior.” She smiled.

My mind was racing. Great warrior?! I think you got the wrong guy! …Dear God, it’s tough to resist the urge to say “Sorry princess, but your warrior is in another castle.”

Author's Notes: Yay, new story! As I said in the description, thanks to Nathan Traveler for the title. And, oh hey, what's that I see? A "Romance" tag? Hmm...what could be coming up? Let's wait and find out...

Oh, and I seem to have a thing for making the first word in all of my stories be "sunshine". Dunno what's up with that.

Next Chapter Preview:

"So...you brought me here."

"Yes."

"To fight against a great evil."

"Yes."

"Because you think I'm a great warrior."

"Yes."

"...You didn't bother checking my resumé, did you?"