Chapter 2
The day had begun strangely, with the sudden realization that I was in the world of Equestria.
I had a broken window to fix, and a pair of hoof marks on my stomach. I huffed for a moment, glad that there was no internal bleeding or any major problems.
I stopped playing the guitar a while ago. I put the kettle on, and began to tidy up the place.
The glass was the easiest to clear up, having prior experience. The scars in between my fingers were a rough sign of that.
With every shard of glass I picked up, the room was less of a hazard and more tidier. The dirty clothes had been put into the washing machine,
and I had finally gotten round to making a cup of coffee. Taking a swig of the black liquid, I smiled. The warmth of the coffee spread throughout my body.
I slumped back down onto the sofa and began reading a book. The book was very thick, and was filled with dark themes.
The gold lettering and the symbols on the front of the book emphasized that it was not for the eyes of ponies. There was a knock at the door.
I lazily shouted out "Come in" as the ponies entered, I replaced the bookmark at an undisclosed point; I placed the book inside a hidden compartment.
A purple head popped around the corner "it's in here" I sighed.
"I have a name" I grumbled.
I stood up, stretching my back. The t-shirt hitched itself up and they noticed the hoof marks.
"ahm sorry about buckin ya, Sugarcube" the orange pony with the Stetson said glumly, she looked ashamed.
"no big deal," I flashed the mare a cheeky smile "these things happen" I looked at the 5 colourful ponies in my house.
"anyway, introductions are in order, but first…tea, anyone?" I said with utmost British-ness.
I walked back into the kitchen, grabbing 6 mugs. Teabags were placed into each, and then I added two sugars for mine.
I then placed the mugs of steaming hot tea onto a tray, with the tin of sugar.
"here you go, some tea," I said with a smile. "the name is Robbie"
I pulled the lid off the tin of sugar, offering it to whoever wanted some.
"it's a pleasure to meet you Robbie, Im twilight sparkle, these are my friends Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie,"
I said hello to each one of them but then stopped.
"wait, where's the fifth member of your group?"
"Fluttershy? oh she's hiding" Twilight replied, I let out a small chuckle.
"Fluttershy," I spoke softly "its okay, come and have some tea" sure enough,
with a little coaxing, she came out from behind the arm of the sofa.
"I've already met Rainbow Dash, how is she?" I asked the group of ponies.
"she's fine, she had her wing set and she should be here any moment now" Pinkie Pie stated. Sure enough,
in walked in a grumpy Rainbow Dash. "hey Rob, sorry im late"
I just chuckled and motioned her to sit next to me, "that's okay," I smiled.
As we sat there getting to know each other a little bit more, I couldn't shake the feeling of something missing.
I reached for my acoustic, which was currently resting on the back of the sofa. Playing a little tune, the other ponies stopped to look at me.
"what? I play when I'm trying to think of something to say" I chuckled as I continued playing a small tune. The tune was a basic version of the trooper,
which suddenly evolved into a more refined flamenco styled version of the song. The ponies simply watched in awe,
after I stopped playing for a swig of tea, I took a glance at the ponies.
Rarity was taken back by the musical ability I had in my possession. Twilight was looking at the instrument with studious eyes,
and more importantly she was studying my hands. Rainbow had dozed off; her head was resting on my shoulder.
Fluttershy was smiling contently. Pinkie pie had pulled out a cake and devoured it so random I thought to myself.
"what was that, Rob?" Applejack asked. I shrugged my shoulders.
"I think being here has affected my natural abilities" I chuckled.
"Rob, did you help Sweetie belle's friend Scootaloo?" Rarity asked. I simply nodded.
"wouldn't you? I was surprised they didn't bolt for the door when they first saw me" I chuckled.
"you let them into your house?" I nodded in reply;
"they're just kids" I smiled. They watched as I started to pick up what the thought as strange objects. I placed them near the television.
"any way, I have to go collect some fabrics from the post office," Rarity stood up to leave "that Mail-mare
just cant do her job properly sometimes," the white mare sighed "it's not her fault though, it was a pleasure meeting you Robert" she smiled.
"I have to get going to, angel must be growing impatient, nice meeting you" the yellow Pegasus smiled as she hid behind her mane, I opened a window for her,
"oh, y-you don't mind if I…" I shook my head.
"go for it," I smiled, if that rabbit was like she described, then no doubt it was getting a tad worried.
"I suppose I better leave too," Twilight nudged Rainbow in a vain attempt to wake her up. The snoring was brought o an abrupt stop
"wha? Im up..oh we're going already?" I looked at the cyan mare and chuckled a bit.
"see ya later Robbie" the mare trotted off to the front door. Applejack looked at me apologetically
"hey, chin up, Applejack, like I said, no need to apologize," I smiled, "I know you have your farm to get back to" I continued.
The cowpony looked up and smiled. "well either way, ahm still sorry, listen if ya'll ever need a favour just holler"
"I will" I shook the mares hoof.
I watched the six ponies walk back to the centre of Ponyville, a smile emblazoned on my face.
I decided to take a walk through town once again. Placing a pair of headphones onto my head, plugging them into my phone
, Opening up the music player, I scrolled down to find Precious time, glory days by Psychic lover. I put the suit jacket back on.
The goggles were now resting on my forehead. Locking the front door once more, I began to walk, breathing in the fresh clean Equestrian air.
I was suddenly met by several curious ponies. Each one more frightened than the other.
"Um…." I was getting nervous "hi?" I spoke quietly so as not to startle them.
"It can talk?" one pony said,
"I thought that beings from that forest couldn't be that sentient"
I sighed. "I'm not from the evergreen forest," I then smiled "im a new resident in Ponyville" the ponies looked at me in shock but then relaxed.
"You met pinkie pie already?" I nodded in reply once more.
"Well then, we'll see you at the party"
What party?
I continued walking. The beat of the music cause a smile to creep across my face.
I waved to ponies that were finally beginning to loosen up. I sat down in the town square, simply watching the new world go by.
While most ponies that saw me became slightly wary of me, I noticed as a few just walked up to get a closer look at me.
I let out a small laugh as a few prodded me. I took my headphones off. "Hello, ponyvillians," I smiled. A few gasped.
"I'm a stranger in this world, but I am also your new neighbour," I explained my presence in the small town. "So please, don't be frightened of me"
I stood up, to walk back home, feeling as though I had gotten a small weight off my chest.
The ponyvillians looked confused, but continued their day to day lives; a bus had arrived in the town square.
Getting off the bus was a grey furred pony with a black mane; she was carrying a cello case on her back.
"Damn it, I know I asked to be taken to the farthest place away from Canterlot, but not this far" the mare was rendered destitute
by the bus fare. It sounded as though there wasn't a lot she could do apart from go door to door.
Each home she went to turned her down. "Celestia damn it" it wasn't like her to swear.
The rain had begun on schedule, dampening the grey mare's luck even further.
She continued on her journey to find a place to stay. I looked out of the front window to see a figure wandering down a path;
I left the music playing from the Hi-fi system, running out the house, I shouted after her.
"Excuse me, Miss!" she turned around, taking one look at me. Her eyes widened with fear,
she dropped her cello case, and I picked it up and ran after her.
"Hey! Don't runaway!" I was slowly getting out of breath. "I want to help!"
She stopped dead in her tracks. She lowered her head as she turned to trot back to me.
"..." she tried to say something, anything, but all that was heard was an audible squeak.
"Come on, lets get you inside" I smiled down at the grey mare.
I opened the door for her. As she trotted in, she was taken aback to how clean I had the place.
Within a short amount of time, I had tidied the place from top to bottom. "I'll go get you a towel" I smiled, she took her cello and placed it in the dining room.I came down, with a towel in one hand, and a small book in the other.
"here's your towel" I smiled, opening the book up to a blank page. The mare looked at me for a moment.
"thank you sir" I waved it off, Huffing that she used formalities.
"that's okay, my names Robbie" the mare looked up at me for a moment, then noticed the musical instruments that I had.
"Wow, that's a fine collection, and what on Equestria is that sound?" she asked me, confused as to the location of the music.
"that, my friend is the sound of one of Earth's finest, apocalyptica" I chuckled.
"it sounds chaotic, yet melodic" she looked at me for a moment. "wait, are those…cello's I hear?" I nodded with glee.
"yup" I grabbed the CD case and held it out to her.
"oh my, where are my manners, my name is Octavia"
"nice name," I smiled. The final track was reaching its end. "so what brings you here to Ponyville?" I asked.
I could tell Octavia was frustrated by the thought.
"I don't want to talk about it" she snapped, I sat down on the sofa, still smiling
"tell me when you ready" I noticed her expression changed back to a soft smile.
She took a small glance out the window. "I suppose I'm sleeping on the sofa?"
I shook my head, "nonsense, you can have my brothers…" I then realized what was slowly
eating away the back of my mind. "oh god, I'm the only one here" I slumped
forwards, my head resting in my hands. "is everything okay Rob?"
I took a deep breath "I'll tell you when I'm ready" I blocked the thought out of my head.
"Okay" the grey mare placed a hoof on my shoulder.
"anyways where was I, oh yeah, you can have the room on the right of the landing" Octavia looked at me for a moment,
clearly seeing that something was bothering me.
"okay, if you're sure" she slowly trotted upstairs to see her allocated room.
I let out a deep sigh, digging around for a bottle of wine to drink. The gods know that I need one right now.
I felt like I was shipwrecked, without any chance getting home.
With a deep sigh, and a slow squeak of a cork being pulled from a bottle, I poured myself a glass.
"it's a bit early for that, don't you think?" a voice called out.
"ah, hey," I scratched my head nervously "what did you think of the room?"
"it's a bit…" she scrunched her face up, attempting to find the word she was looking for.
"no worries, I'm still moving stuff around, gonna box up some of the stuff and put it in the attic, Vino?" I smiled as I offered the mare some red wine.
she nodded graciously "tell me do you treat all your guests like this?" Octavia asked, slightly puzzled by my open-mindedness.
"well considering that I'm used to having guests then yup" I grinned as I took a hearty swig of the wine.
She looked at me in contemplation, "so, you're a musician, like me then" she stated glumly.
I raised an eyebrow "kinda…" I placed my now empty wine glass on the table. I sighed for a moment,
remembering the glory days of being a part of something.
"let me show you something," I switched on the computer, as it loaded up, I reconnected the speakers. "ah, here it is" I clicked on the icon for a video.
"what the hay? That's you!" the grey mare watched the video in wide wonder as she sat down in the seat.
I walked into the living room and switched on the amp. Picking up the blue Stratocaster, I took a deep breath.
I played the first riff of the first song of the set. The grey mare's eyes started to twitch as she was bombarded with a mixture of sounds.
After stopping for a moment, I looked up. the video had stopped, Octavia was in the room watching me.
"Eh, sorry, I got carried away" I chuckled nervously. I heard the muffled giggles of the posh pony.
The smile on my face grew wider.