A Kalena in Equestria

[Talemage 47]

Sometimes things are dull, boring and uninteresting. In other times, it is wild and unexpected. This happened without me knowing. One minute I was at my the capital city of Derinae, Káellus, the next minute I ended up in a clearing of green grass, a few feet away from a dirt road. I didn't know when it happened, or how. No Kálenae, no sounds of machinery. Just the sounds of chirping birds and leaves rustling in the wind. This had happened to me unexpectedly, and I had not a single idea of where I was. I decided to follow the path, for it meant civilization was near. I started walking, aware of everything around me.

 

After I had been walking for ten minutes, I finally saw a bridge stretching over a river and town in the distance, which was strange. The buildings, though they were still far in the distance, looked unusual, like they were from the old ages. Several hills and mountains surrounded it. On one of the taller mountains was something that looked like a building, either another town or an armory. I kept walking, my two tails swaying to my movement. Once I was few feet away from the bridge, I completely stopped. The buildings were old and medieval, wooden walls with straw rooftops. Even from a distance, I could see several people going about. But what shocked me was that they weren't Kálenae. Instead, walking around doing business, were multiple candy-colored ponies. No Kálenae in sight. Just several lucidly colored ponies. Though I had seen ponies and other equines before, I had never seen anything like that. Some had horns growing out of their foreheads, while others had feathered wings on their sides. What made them really unusual was that most of them had some sort of mark on each of their sides, near their tails. I stared for a few more moments until I noticed that they were speaking. From a distance, I could not make out their words, but I could definitely figure out that they were talking to each other. How it was possible, I did not know.

 

With nowhere else to go, and unsure of what to do, I went into the town to look for help. Almost immediately the ponies nearest to me noticed and started to stare, most of them whispering to each other. Even without looking, I could notice that many eyes were watching me, and there was eerie silence, like I were a ghost or some other strange creature. I continued my way through the town, hopefully looking for one of my own kind as the ponies continued staring, observing. I was paranoid that one of them would rush me and knock me out, probably one of those with horns, impaling me. I picked up my pace, evading several of the ponies, desperately looking for some help, and also wishing that one of them would offer. However, not a single one approached.

 

Several minutes passed as I tried to make my way through the town. I passed several strange buildings. One was a large tree, several windows were carved into it, and I spotted a balcony at one side. A sign with an open book was placed in front of a door with a lighted candle on it. I suspected it was a library, though I could have asked one of the ponies, but I didn't. It just seemed too strange. I weaved my way through the town and came across another odd building. This one was circular, with several flags jutting from its top. Windows were placed at every side, its top ending in a point. This I thought was the town's city hall, for it was taller than all the other buildings.

 

The third building I passed by was incredibly strange. Though its walls were like all the other buildings, its roof made it look like gingerbread, complete with white icing. A bush of flowers was planted to the left of its door, and a tower shaped like a cupcake was placed on top of the building, three lights shaped like candles on the highest point. It looked like something from a child's imagination. A sign with a cupcake was hanging from a post, which led me to believe that this was a bakery. I wanted to ask if anyone thought it odd, but I didn't want to get the locals to attack me.

 

Either I was crazy, or I was dreaming. Everything seemed so out of place. The eccentric design of the buildings, the vividly colored ponies, and the fact that they could talk was too much.

 

“Excuse me, but are you lost? You don't seem to be from these parts.”

 

I immediately froze, my two tails stiff and my ears raised. I had nearly left the town when I heard that female voice from behind me. I slowly turned toward that direction and saw a purple pony stare back at me, a few feet away. She was nervous, I could tell, but she tried hard not to show it. Her purple and dark blue mane was neat and straight, same went with her tail. Her coat was a shade of purple while her eyes were a shade of violet, seeming intelligent. I noticed she, too, had a mark on her flank, a six pointed star with several smaller stars surrounding it. We kept staring at each other, never moving, until she finally spoke again.

 

“Um, are you okay? You've been wandering around town with that same crazed look on your face since the beginning. Is anything wrong?”

 

“Is anything wrong? I'm in a town filled with vividly colored ponies, strangely designed buildings, and I have no idea where this is. Do you think nothing is wrong with that?” I replied, sort of angry that she didn't think of that yet relieved that someone had the courage to talk to me. She took a small step backwards. By the look on her face, I could tell she didn't expect a reply like that.

 

“O-kay,” she said, stretching out the word. There were a few seconds of silence as she tried to form a reply to my sentence. “Well then, to start, you're in Ponyville,”

That word sounded like it was from a children's book.

 

“And where is that?” I replied, unsure of where on Káellus that is.

 

“It's about right in the middle of Equestria.”

 

I've never heard of that place anywhere, so I figured I must be dreaming. But just to be sure if she didn't know, I had to ask her another question. “Could you tell me how to get back to Derinae, Káellus?”

 

At this, the pony looked confused. “Deri- what? I'm sorry, but I've never heard of any place with that name.”

 

Again, I was confused. I was transported from Káellus to Equestria by some unknown force. My mind didn't want to understand it, but I had no other choice. I sat on the ground, mindlessly tracing over the ground with my clawed finger. I waited for the purple unicorn to leave, but she didn't. Instead, she just stayed there, watching me.

 

“Um, if you don't like to stay out here, you could go to the library. It's also where I live. At least it's quiet there.”

 

At the sound of the word library, I turned to her, studying her face. It seemed to make sense. She did look like she read a lot. But what she said sort of amazed me. Here I was, a complete stranger, and she asks me if I'd like to go to her home? Seems legit to me. I wiped away the rough sketch of myself that I drew, then stood up. I needed a place to think, someplace where I could find out how I got here.

 

“As long as I can have some peace, I'll go.”

 

The unicorn nodded, then motioned with her left foreleg to follow her. I did. As we started to walk, I heard something flying towards me, followed by someone shouting. “Look out!”

 

I didn't have time to look for what was coming, because it already hit me. I fell down on the ground, spraining my right arm in the process. I cried out in pain, the force of the impact more than enough to wake a sleeping man. As the weight of the thing that hit me lifted, I could finally see what or who came crashing into me. I tried to turn, careful not to move my right arm that much, and saw a cyan colored pony with rainbow colored hair. “Rainbow Dash! Look at what you've done!” I heard the purple unicorn say.

 

As I tried to regained my composure, I could hear several of the ponies who were watching laugh. Sure, it was fun to laugh about it, but not fun to actually experience it. “Um, sorry about that... Sir?” 'Rainbow Dash' said, unsure of what to call me. I didn't answer. I looked around me. Several ponies had gathered around us, many of them laughing. I flattened my ears in annoyance, fear, and embarrassment.

 

I quickly stood up and ran out of town, embarrassed and trying to hold back tears. I remember hearing the purple unicorn talking to the cyan pony angrily as I ran away, to the outskirts of town.

 

After running in shame for a few minutes, I finally stopped running and sat down, leaning against a nearby tree. I let out my tears since no one was near and closed my eyes.

 

I finally heard the sound of wings beating down on the ground, then something hard hitting the ground. I opened my eyes, and saw the cyan pegasus who had crashed into me, and the purple unicorn who had first talked to me. The pegasus stepped forward, her front left hoof shyly kicking at the ground. I stared at her for a few minutes, studying her expression as she stood in front of me.

 

“I'm sorry about... about what happened earlier, sir. I couldn't turn in time, and...”

 

Her voice trailed off. It still hurt, but I could tell she was being sincere, that she meant it. I looked up at her and said “It's alright. No hard feelings,” though I did hate her a little bit.

We stayed in that position for a while, me looking at the sky, while she was looking at me. Noticing my sadness, she asked, “Is there anything I could do?”

 

I was happy an grateful that she wanted to help and cheer me up, but I didn't need anything. “You could let me rest.”

 

She asked, “You sure?”

 

I nodded.

 

I think at that point she noticed my tears, because she asked, “Are you okay? Is there anything I could to make it up for you?”

 

I was really tired and distressed from running, so I said nothing. I closed my eyes, wondering how I could get home, hoping she would leave. I had enough for one day. I heard a sigh followed by one of them mumble something to the other, then the sound of the pegasus flying away.

 

I didn't know how much time has passed, but I sensed someone was next to me. I opened my eyes, and saw that the unicorn was still there, sitting next to me, gazing up at the sky. It looked like early afternoon. She must have noticed I'd awoken, because she started talking.

 

“You know, Rainbow Dash didn't actually mean it. How's your arm?”

 

I closed my eyes again and said, “It still hurts, but I'm okay.”

 

Without much to go on, she remained silent.

 

I finally decided that it was time to ask her what her name was, but she seemed to read my mind, because before I could ask, she said, “I'm Twilight Sparkle. What's your name?”

 

Realizing this, I remembered that I had forgotten. I didn't know. Mostly all of my memories from Káellus were gone. I decided to be honest. “I.. I don't know.” I paused a few seconds after this, then continued, “I really don't know. I remember feeling immense pain before I woke up here, in Equestria. It seems as if most of my memories from home are gone.”

 

Twilight Sparkle just nodded at this. “Amnesia,” I heard her mumble.

 

I also decided to tell her of what I was thinking when I was still in the town, before Rainbow Dash crashed into me.

 

“Before you talked to me, I thought you were going to attack me. That's why I was so uptight back then.”

 

Again, Twilight Sparkle nodded, then laughed. I laughed, too, though it kind of hurt to do it.

 

I looked at her flank, at the odd star mark. “Miss Sparkle?” I asked. She kind of laughed. “You don't have to call me Miss. Twilight will do.”

 

Fine then. Gesturing to the markings, I asked, “Twilight, I have been seeing those markings on every pony I've seen today. They're all different. What are they?”

 

Puzzled, she looked at where I was pointing. She looked at her markings, then understood what I meant. She said, “Oh. Those aren't markings. They're called cutie marks. They show or represent the unique talents of the pony that wears them.”

 

I was silent, pondering her words. Then I said, “they're all different? If that's it, then what does yours mean? Are you some astronomer or something?”

 

She laughed at that until she noticed I really had no idea what it meant.

 

“No, it means magic.” I stared in confusion. Magic only existed in fantasy books and movies. That's when I realized something. Could I have been... No. It couldn't happen. Twilight must have seen my expression, because she started to demonstrate. “Yes, magic. Watch,” she said, and she focused her attention on a stone in front of her. Her horn started glowing with a pinkish light. Soon, the stone was engulfed in the same light and started to rise. I watched, amazed. Twilight set the stone down again and said, “You don't have to be that amazed. Every other unicorn can do magic. It's because of our horns. They contain and channel our energy for various uses.” I just nodded again, with nothing to say. We sat in silence, gazing at the sky.

 

Then she started talking again.“You have no idea of how you arrived, and no idea of how to get back. It's going to get dark soon. Why don't you stay at my home until you can find a way to return to...” She paused. “Káellus,” I said. She nodded, then said, “Right. Until you can find a way to your home, you're welcome to stay at my home.”

 

I felt a mix of gratitude and relief as she said those words. “I don't know what to say. Just... Thank you.” Twilight smiled, then got up and said, “Well, I have to be going now. You can stay here if you want to, or you can take a look at this place.”

 

I nodded. It would be nice to stretch my legs after leaning against a tree for so long. I watched her leave, then got up and looked around. I was on the other side of the town, away from where I first appeared. I decided to go southwest, and to my surprise, I could see a farm in the distance. I started to walk, taking in my surroundings. There was a large red barn, several chickens milling about and a few sheds.

 

Surrounding nearly everything were trees. Hundreds of apple trees covered the hills. An apple orchard, I thought. I went through the farm's gate, an apple shape cut out hanging over it. I can't remember there being any farms on Káellus, but I was curious. I walked for a few steps until I heard a voice ask, “Well hi, there. What brings ya around here? For that matter, what are ya? Why are ya white? Are you an albino? Funny-looking, ain't ya? Ya got too many tails to be a pony.” I absently moved my two tails, then turned towards the direction of where I heard the curious voice. “Where ya from, pardner?” The owner of the voice was yet another pony, speaking with a southern accent befitting a farm girl. Her coat was orange and her mane and tail were blond. She had a few freckles under her green eyes. A brown stetson hat rested on her head. I also noticed that her mane and tail were tied at the ends with her mane hanging past her shoulders. The symbols on her flanks were three red apples.

 

The pony sounding more curious than aggressive to me, so I relaxed, the tension in me disappearing. I answered, “Well, I'm not from here. I'm a Kálena. I don't think you've ever seen us.”

 

The pony examined me, then said, “Never heard of ya. Are ya sure ya ain't pulling my left hind leg?”

 

I frowned at the pony's stubbornness. “If you don't believe me, I can't help you with that. It's your problem.”

 

The pony seemed to notice my frustration, as she nodded. “Oh. Well, I didn't mean to get you angry or anything like that. It's just that I've never seen anyone with the likes of you. Where are my manners? My name's Applejack. What's yer name?”

 

I had thought up of an explanation when another pony asked me that question while I was walking.

 

“I don't know. I mean, I used to, but ever since I came here, I'd forgotten mostly everything about my home. All I remember is that before I woke up and ended up here, I felt immense pain, like dying.”

 

Applejack was quiet after this. She continued staring at me, then finally said, “Well, that ain't good. How will ya know when somepony's calling ya? Ya really gotta solve the reason for yer amnesia there.”

 

I had to agree with her. I saw her cutie mark, wondering what they meant. Applejack caught me staring, then said, “Why were ya staring at my cutie mark just then?” I replied, “Curious. What do they mean?”

 

Applejack smirked a little bit. “Well, to be short and simple...” Her voice faded, then she spoke again. “I love apples!” then she laughed. I laughed, too. Her exclamation seemed to fit. Here she was, in a farm in the middle of an apple orchard. How could she not like apples?

 

Applejack started walking. “Well, I better finish my lunch. Gotta lot of apples to harvest.” She stopped at a wooden table. A sandwich was sitting on top of it. I could see flower petals jutting out from its side. Applejack caught me staring as she took a bite from it, so I asked, “What kind of sandwich is that?”

 

She set the sandwich back on the table, then said, “Grass and daisy sandwich. Why, ya hungry?”

 

I looked at the sandwich. I wasn't surprised that they ate grass and flowers. “No. Not that it doesn't look appetizing, but... Do you have any meat?”

 

This seemed to shock her as she took a step backward. “Meat?! Are you a.. carnivore?!”

 

Knowing where this is getting to, I frantically shouted, “No! I mean, yes, I'm mostly a carnivore, and I have no desire for pony meat, if that's what you're thinking. I'm not that hungry, anyway.”

 

She breathed a sign of relief then a nervous laugh, saying, “You had me going there for a minute. Well, I'm sorry, but us ponies are strictly vegetarian.”

 

I sighed, knowing that I had nothing to eat. Well, as long as eating fruits and vegetables doesn't kill me, I should be fine in this world. I let Applejack finish her sandwich in peace. After that, she stood up and said, “Well, I better be goin' back to work. See ya soon.” I waved her goodbye, then left back the way I came.

 

I went back to the tree where I leaned against, right after Rainbow Dash had humiliated me by crashing into me. I wasn't surprised when I found her there, absently staring at the sky.

 

“I suppose you want to apologize again?”

 

I caught her unaware. She gave a short shout of surprise, then turned toward me. I stood there, waiting for a reply. She looked at me, then back at the clouds.

 

Still no reply. I continued. “But I don't get it. What made you crash into me?”

 

She sighed, then finally replied. “I was trying out a new trick. I didn't know you were there, and I'm really sorry.”

 

I knew that.

 

We sat there, staring at the clouds, conversing about random things, sometimes Rainbow Dash flying in the sky to show off her stunts. I didn't really hold a grudge against her, and I had to admit she was great in aerial maneuvers. Time went by until she said she needed to go. I just nodded, now unsure of whether I wanted to go back home or not.

 

I had avoided in going back to the town, to avoid being laughed at by the other ponies. There were only three whom I found had much more kindness to an outsider. Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Applejack. I figured there were more ponies who were kind to me, only I had to find them by entering town. I decided not to. Not yet, anyway. I still had a few hours before sunset, so I could still explore the northern parts of Equestria. I decided to take a random path that leaded to a small cottage in the wilderness. Many wild flowers grew there, as if the owner of the house really loved nature.

 

“Um, excuse me sir, but, um, could you please let me pass?”

 

The voice was soothing and quiet. I turned behind me. A yellow pegasus was there, carrying what seemed to be saddlebags. Her mane and tail were pink. Her mane was draped mostly to her right, parting in two large bangs that curled at the ends. Her tail was the same, somewhat longer that most others with her mane even reaching past her knees. Her cutie mark was a trio of butterflies, two pink and one turquoise. Her strong cyan eyes gazed at me with shyness and concern. I spoke after scanning her for a moment.

“Do you live here?” I asked, unsure of how to start a conversation with her.

 

“Um, yes. I just came back from Ponyville after being called by Twilight. She said that... um... someone wasn't having a good day. Rainbow Dash crashed into a new visitor and-”

 

I didn't hear the rest of what she said because I felt the tears return to my eyes. I tried to keep them from falling, but I couldn't, and I ended up crying. The pegasus must have noticed because she suddenly stopped as she looked at me.

 

“Um, are- are you alright?”

 

I let my tears fall before I replied, “I was that person who, Rainbow Dash crashed into.” The pony looked at me then, her concern becoming more obvious.

 

“Oh... So that's why everyone was laughing. I'm... I'm sorry about that. How awful. I hope you're alright.”

 

Her shyness seemed to disappear. We started conversing for a few more minutes, lost in conversation. We mostly talked about what happened to me after Rainbow Dash crashed into me. There were times when I cried, and she tried to comfort me.

 

While my eyes were closed, filled with tears, I heard her come closer to me. Seconds later, I felt two strong limbs wrap around me in a gentle hug. I opened my eyes, and saw that the pegasus was embracing me with her forelegs. I felt tears fall from my cheeks, my vision becoming blurred. In my entire time here, this was the first real act of kindness anyone had ever shown me. We stayed in that position for a few moments, until she stood back up and said, “Um, I really need to go now. It was nice meeting you, by the way.” I nodded and wiped back my tears, smiling slightly. “Thanks,” I said. She nodded, then turned to leave.

 

“Wait!” I said. She stopped and turned around. I continued, “You never told me your name.”

 

“Oh. My name is Fluttershy. And... what is yours?”

 

I told her of how I don't know, that I can't recall anything that happened before I was here. “Oh. I'm sorry about that.”

 

I looked at her. Her voice was soothing to hear. “It's okay. It happens to the best of us.”

 

She nodded, and then returned walking to her home.

 

I noticed it was late afternoon already. I better start going to Twilight if I want to have some solitude and quiet sleep. So I went back the way I came, walking towards Ponyville. I wasn't afraid of going back anymore. As I neared the town, I could again feel the same sensation of being watched. However, I ignored it as I passed by the ponies, some talking, possibly gossiping.

 

In all my time in Equestria, I had been through a lot in one day. I never wished for it, never even knew it existed. But life is unexpected.

 

It took me a minute to find the tree-house again. As I approached the library, I could see, through the window, that Twilight was talking to two other ponies, both female. I didn't hear what they were talking about as I knocked at the door. Almost immediately the voices stopped, and I heard Twilight say, “Wait, I'll be there!”

 

I waited for a few seconds until the door opened, and I was greeted by Twilight and two other ponies who gazed at me with fear and wonder. I greeted Twilight, and the other ponies, then went in. I studied the inside of the library. From the inside, it looked nothing like a tree. Every corner had a bookshelf, stacked to the brim with books. Next, I studied the other two ponies. One seemed to be curious about me as she gazed at me for a moment. Her eyes were a dark blue while her coat, mane and tail were pink. Her tail and mane were more of magenta, and seemed to be messy, just puffy. Like they were filled with air. Her cutie mark consisted of three balloons, two blue and one yellow.

 

The other looked more sophisticated. She had a white coat, her mane and tail an indigo hue. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of azure, and she seemed to be wearing light blue eye shadow.

Her cutie mark were three light blue diamonds.

 

Having nothing else to say, all I could think of was “Hello?”

 

I received two different reactions. The pink pony jumped up and cheerfully greeted me with a loud and enthusiastic “Hi!” while the white pony said, “Hello, darling.” I was kind of embarrassed, someone calling me darling, but I could stand it. The white pony then turned to Twilight and said, “He doesn't seem so sad to me. I suppose he met Fluttershy already.”

 

I nodded at her, clearly remembering what had transpired during my meeting with Fluttershy.

 

We started conversing, and I quickly learned their names. The one with the pink mane was Pinkie Pie, a name which I found extremely suiting to her, and the other was Rarity. I learned she was a dressmaker and owned what she called 'Carousal Boutique,' probably one of the buildings I haven't seen yet. I had strangely grown to like this place, in spite of what happened.

 

Few minutes later, and clearing my throat, I asked, “Um, I don't suppose you have anything to eat, do you? I haven't eaten since... I don't know, since I came here?”

 

Twilight lead me to another part of the library which looked more like a home. I was given some fruits and bread and left to eat in peace. I don't usually eat fruits, but with them being vegetarians, I had nothing else to eat. I quickly ate the fruit and bread, thankful that I could eat.

 

After eating, I returned to the library part of the house, where Twilight, Rarity and Pinkie Pie were talking to each other.

 

Curiosity got the best of me. I decided to look at some of the books. The three ponies watched as I started searching the library for interesting books, and soon I had found one. I was surprised that I could understand their runes, the way they write. Almost immediately I started reading, not minding anything else. It's hard to turn away from a book once you start to read it. Before I knew it, I had read one-fourth of the books that Twilight had. Twilight seemed to be amused that I had read so many books in a short while.

 

So there I was, reading books for hours or so, until the night came. Rarity and Pinkie had left minutes after, and I was still reading.

 

It wasn't until Twilight spoke that I stopped. “Um, you really shouldn't read that much. You don't know how long you'll be here, and soon you'd have nothing to read.”

 

Though I hated to stop, I had to agree with her. I couldn't read all the books in one sitting, and I had gotten so wrapped up in reading that I almost forgot where I was. Hopefully, I still remembered. I got up, returned the books to where I found them, and turned to look at Twilight.

 

“I think it's time that I show you around, just so you won't have to ask later,” I heard her say. I agreed, and she gave me a small tour. She showed me the two parts of the library, the study, the bedroom, or where she did everything else, and the basement.

 

“This is where you'll be sleeping. I have a spare bed, so you could sleep there.”

 

I thought of all the things that happened. I had awoken near a village of ponies, I was humiliated in public, was comforted by several ponies, and now this. I have been through a lot, even for one day. I had grown to respect and trust Twilight and the other ponies as my friends, even Rainbow Dash, even after she used me as a landing cushion in public.

 

I looked at Twilight and smiled. “Thank you. Now, I'll go wash up before going to bed.” The bathroom was somewhat small, but I managed to take a shower and go to bed.

 

As I was about to lie down, I noticed Twilight was still staying up, writing something. I just smiled, and drifted off into sleep.

 

As I rested, I recalled all the things that happened to me, from my waking up in the middle of a clearing to now. It was stressful, but it ended better than I hoped. At first I was worried, only wanting to go back home, to Darinae. But now, I starting to hope that I'd never have to leave this place.

 

There are things I am still afraid of doing, but that fear will soon disappear. Things I have never realized, wonderful things that make life interesting. I have been to another world, met strange inhabitants, and many more.

 

 

What the hell have you done today?

 

 

 

 

----

 

As she heard soft snores, she smiled. She started to take out a piece of paper, an old-fashioned quill and ink, and began to write.

"Dear Princess Celestia,

Sometimes life is dull and uninteresting. Other times, it is wild and unexpected. Today, a strange visitor came to Ponyville. He had no idea how he arrived, no idea to get back. He was scared, humiliated, embarrassed, lost in a world he didn't know of. I helped him get used to our home. He was reluctant at first, only wanting to go back to his home, but now I think he wishes to never leave. We should learn to always lend a hoof to someone in need, even when you don't know them, even if they look strange.

Your Faithful Student,

Twilight Sparkle"

 

She read the letter out loud as she wrote it, smiling at the end. She set aside the quill and ink, folded the message and set it aside to dry.

 

Quietly, she walked from her study to the bedroom, where the visitor was sleeping peacefully. Twlight smiled, then slowly got into her bed, recalling the events that happened.

Edited February 21, 2012 by Jieldy