Stan(d)on In Equestria Chapter 1: A Man With No Name

Chapter 1: A Man With No Name

>You would have never have figured it, but, as impossible as it sounded, the rip in the space time continuum you were tumbling through was, well, boring.
>Normally, you would expect experiencing such a flagrant disregard of the laws of physics would be a painful, incomprehensible experience, but contrary to that, the position you find yourself in is almost pleasant.
>Almost.
>That’s not to say that the feeling of falling through a featureless white void wasn’t freaky at first, but you mellowed out after the first couple of minutes.
>And as you try to take stock of your situation, you realize that the scariest thing isn’t your trip through the void, it’s the fact you can’t remember how you got here in the first place.
>Like someone changing the channel, reality pops back into existence and normality resumes.
>The return to blue sky, green trees, and chirping birds was almost enough to distract yourself from the fact that you were still falling.
>Almost.
>Not that you were falling for very long, after a moment you land on the comfortable (if slightly lumpy) ground, no worse for wear after the bizarre trip you just too-.
>”Hey! Get off of me!”
>The female voice spurs you to lucidity, and in one smooth movement you leap to your feat, apologizing before you even start to turn around.
“Ah jeez, I’m real sorry m...miss?”
>Where you had expected to see a (in your mind at least) hot chick instead stands a light blue horse (horses are usually bigger than the creature before you, aren’t they?) with rainbow coloured hair, that barely comes up to your stomach in height.
“What th-”
>”-e buck?!”
>Both of you take a surprised step back as you finish each other's sentences.
>With no frame of reference when talking to winged (oh god you just noticed the wings) horse, you opt to instead stand there in silence and do a second take at your surroundings.
>Blue sky, green trees… blue talking pegasus.
>If it wasn’t for your trip through the abyss, you might have freaked out.
>While you do your little introspective, you fail to notice the pegasus studying you until she speaks up.
>”You’re pretty wierd looking for a minotaur.”
>You look down and cock an eyebrow.
“A minotaur?”
>”Yea, you’re tall, you stand on two legs, have hands, and you’re not covered in scales, that means you’re a minotaur, right?”
“I hate to break it to ya, but I’m not a minotaur, I’m a human.”
>”What’s that?”
“It’s...what I am?”
>”Gee, thanks for the informative answer.”
“Well what are you, miss talking blue horse?”
>She gives you an indignant look, and with a flap of her wings lifts herself up to eye level and jabs you in the shoulder.
>”I’m a pegasus pony, infact, I’m the coolest pegasus pony in Ponyville!”
“Really?”
>”You better believe it! The name’s Rainbow Dash.”
>Rainbow Dash holds out her hoof, and after a few moments you tentatively reach out and shake it.
“A pleasure to meet you, I’m…”
>You pause, dropping your sarcastic tone as you utter a muffled swear under your breath.
>Try as you might, you can’t remember your name.
“Uh…”
>You try repeatedly to pluck a name, any name from your mind, but each attempt sees the word slip through your grasp like smoke.
>Mentally you work your way through the dictionary, trying (and failing) to piece together letters and syllables into something resembling a word until;
“ANONYMOUS!”
>After your pause then sudden silence, your vocal outburst surprises Rainbow Dash, causing her to jump into the air in shock.
>With a few flaps of her wings she lowers herself back to ground level and cocks her head to the side.
>”Anonymous?”
“Anonymous!”
>It takes every bit of self control not to yell your name as loudly as possible, just to make sure you don’t forget it again.
>”Alright then… Anonymous, are you lost or anything, or can I get back to practicing my flying?”
“Weeeell, I guess after falling through a space hole and ending up in a world with talking flying horses, I could say that I’m a little lost, yea.”
>Rainbow gives you a disbelieving look, then groans in annoyance and rubs her face with her hoof.
>”Alright, follow me. We’re going to go see Twilight.”
“I… you don’t mean the movie, right?”
>Dash huffs, and takes flight, flapping off towards the town in the distance.
“Right?”


>As it turns out, ‘Twilight’ was short for Twilight Sparkle, one of Rainbow Dash’s friends who won the award for lamest title ever; ‘The Princess of Friendship’.
>As Dash explained it to you, of the four princesses; one controlled the sun, one controlled the moon, another was the princess of love (you can’t help but imagine that she gave relationship advice from a dinky wooden booth) and finally Twilight was...the princess of friendship.
>Man, it’s going to be a while before you can think of that title without suppressing a giggle.
>”Hey Twilight, you home?!”
>The two of you walk into what you figure is some sort of throne room, judging by the septet of chairs clustered in the center of the room. Dash calls out again, her voice echoing off the walls of the castle, and two figures enter from one of the rooms off to the side.
>You assume that the first, another pony, is Twilight Sparkle and that the two legged reptile behind her is her companion (as Dash put it) Spike.
>”Hi Rainbow, what’s up?”
>You feel Dash nudge your leg and you look down to see her nod her head towards the pair.
>”Do you want to explain it or should I?”
“Oh be my guest. She’ll probably believe you more than me.”
>Dash sighs then turns to Twilight and relays your story as best she can, describing your journey between two planes of reality, how you suddenly appeared on top of her, what you were, etc.
>As she talks, you notice Twilight and Spike share a troubled look that only you seem to catch.
>Aside from that, the two pay careful attention to Dash’s explanation, and when she finishes Twilight nods her head in understanding.
>Before she can speak though, Spike beats her to the punch.
>”Rainbow, I’m no ‘master pranker’ but even I can tell that this is pretty weak.”
“Wh-”
>”-at?”
>Both Rainbow and Twilight shoot Spike a look, while you just cock your head to the side in confusion.
>”What do you mean this is pretty weak?! I’m telling the truth!”
>This time, Twilight sticks a hoof over Spike's mouth and speaks first.
>”Rainbow, it was a good attempt, really but, well, you didn’t fool either of us, sorry.”
>”I’m not trying to fool you about anything! Tell ‘em Anon!”
“Uh, it’s true? Heck I dunno what to really say at this point.”
>”See! I mean, isn’t the sight of a weird hairless minotaur lookin’ thing proof enough?”
“Hey!”
>”Rainbow… there’s nopony there.”
>”W-what? He’s standing right here, see!”
>Dash prods you (none too gently) in the thigh to show her point which, contrary to you, elicits no reaction from Spike or Twilight.
“Right, that’s it.”
>Before Dash can object you stride forward and, grabbing Twilight by the shoulders, heft the unicorn into the air.
>Twilight yelps as her hooves leave the ground, her wings flaring as she struggles against your grip to get away.
>”RAINBOW! I DON’T KNOW WHO YOU GOT TO HELP YOU WITH THIS PRANK BUT PUT ME DOWN!”
>”It isn’t a prank! Anonymous just picked you up!”
>Twilight twists her head as her gaze darts around the room for any trace of you, and you have to whip your head back to avoid taking a horn to the eye.
“‘ay, watch the horn.”
>Despite practically speaking straight into her ear canal, the unicorn in your grip shows no sign that she heard you, leaving you with the thought that either she’s a really good actor or…
>Maybe she really is unable to perceive you.
>That revelation causes you to relax your grip and Twilight falls unceremoniously to the ground, eliciting a snicker from Spike.
>Stepping back, you turn back to Dash and kneel down so that the two of you can see eye to eye.
“I dunno why, but she really can’t seem to see me.”
>Dash purses her lips, trying to work out the situation in her head before her face lights up as she comes up with (what you hope is) a solution.
>“I know! We’ll ask my friends. You can’t be invisible to everyone, right?”
>You have the feeling that her question comes out more desperate than she intended, and you can’t help but nod your head in agreement.
“Sure, least we can do is try.”
>With a burst of movement Dash launches herself into the air with a powerful flap of her wings and heads for the door, forcing you to sprint to keep up with her.
>You really hope all of her friends live close to each other.

>”I’m sorry darling….”
>This may not have been the best decision.
>”Are you feelin’ alright sugarcube?”
>Even putting aside the impromptu tour of the greater Ponyville area,
>”There’s, uh, no-one there Rainbow.”
>You can see how much each denial of your existence hurts Rainbow Dash,
>”It’s ok Dashie, nopony can see my imaginary friends either! It doesn’t mean they're any less real!”
>”AUGH!”
>After the fourth and final flight from her friend’s questions, Dash collapses next to a fountain overlooked by what you can only guess is the town’s hall.
>Sniffling, she looks down at her own sombre reflection staring back at her and exhales, as if trying to push the weight of all her feelings out with one breath.
>”Maybe...they’re right. Maybe you aren’t really here.”
>You place a hand on her shoulder only to jerk it away when she flinches at your touch, and you resolve to return it to your side.
>Honestly, you were half starting to doubt your existence yourself, if not for one thing;
“If I ain’t really here, how come I managed to pick up Twilight? Heck how can I do this?”
>You reach down and dip you hand under the water, before bringing it back up and watching as it drips out of your cupped hand.
>”I..I don’t know! All of this is just so….”
>”Bizarre?”
>The two of you turn around and you're surprised that, for the first time since arriving here, you don’t have to kneel to look this new arrival in the eyes.
>”Princess Celestia? What are you doing here?”
>”Twilight contacted me about your invisible...companion.”
>Celestia’s gaze shifts from Dash to you and you’re almost relieved that she can see you before you note her cold gaze.
>A shrill sound, halfway between a birdcall and a siren causes both you and Dash to spin around in alarm, only to spot the source perched on the top of the fountain.
>At a glance you might have mistaken it for a really big, weird looking bird, but the more you look at it the stranger its appearance becomes.
>As opposed to flesh and blood the creatures seems to be made of shimmering glass, shifting between shades of blue, green and pink depending on what angle you look at it. Physically, though it resembles a bird it doesn’t have legs, instead it seems to lean on its ‘wings’. You follow the sharp contours of its body upwards to where it terminates with a sharp, perpendicular shard jutting out at a right angle that resembles a head and beak.
>With another shrill cry it pushes itself off the top of the fountain into a shallow dive, and all you can do is duck as it swoops overhead.
>”Woah! Princess what the hay was that thing?!”
>”That, my little pony, was a reflection of my very soul. A being called a Stand.”
>Celestia’s gaze once again wanders over to you, this time her expression more solemn than anything else.
>”And I’m afraid to inform you that now you appear to be in possession of a stand of your own.”
>Silence descends upon the area as Celestia’s statement hangs in the air, and in an effort to elevate the mood you clear your throat and lightly nudge Rainbow Dash.
“At least I don’t look like a weird crystal bird, hey?”
>This elicits the meager beginnings of a smile from Dash, and Celestia waits a moment longer before continuing.
>“Stands are as unique as their users. My stand, ｢WALKING ON THE SUN｣,,”
>At the mention of its name Celestia’s crystal bird thing phases into existence perched on her shoulder.
>”Demonstrates that better than most. What interests me however...”
>Celestia steps towards you, and if not for the fountain at your back you would have taken a step away.
>”Is the level of autonomy possessed by your stand.”
>Putting on a brave face you swallow the slowly developing lump in your throat before you reply to her.
“I guess I’m just one of a kind.”
>”So it would seem.”
>Turning away from you, she addresses Dash directly.
>”Have you learnt the name of your stand yet, Rainbow Dash?”
>Annoyed that she didn’t ask you what your own name was you try to cut in to answer, only for you and Dash to answer simultaneously;
“｢ANONYMOUS｣”
>Celestia smiles, the first kind expression she’s given you so far.
>”Fitting. My sister has gathered the other elements at Princess Twilight’s castle. Come, we will need to explain your situation to them as well.”
>Your first thought is that the ‘throne room’ of the castle looks a lot more crowded since your last (brief) visit.
>All the chairs bar one are now occupied by each of Dash’s friends, while the princess of the night stands to the side.
>If the lingering echoes tell you anything, an intense conversation was going on before you, Rainbow Dash and Celestia walked in.
>”Sister. Is it as we feared?”
>Celestia nods, causing Luna to shoot a glance towards your direction as you and Dash walk over to her chair.
>”A beggin’ your pardon Princess, but WHAT is as y’all feared?”
>”It would appear that the unseen being that Rainbow Dash was raving about is very real indeed.”
>Celestia places a hoof on her sister’s shoulder, silencing her before taking over the explanation.
>”For whatever reason, it would appear that Rainbow Dash is now in possession of entity known as a Stand.”
>“But what’s a Sta-”
>”A Stand is typically a manifestation of its user’s own determination and spirit, and in fact is tied to their very soul. Typically Stands empower or defend its user in any number of ways-”
>”And unfortunately they can only be seen by other Stand users.”
>Celestia seems unperturbed by her sister’s interruption, and she lets Luna continue.
>”And now that you possess a Stand, it is likely you will find yourself in grave danger Rainbow Dash.”
>”Pfft, danger schmanger. I can handle it.”
>”I’m sure you can, but it’s not just you that may be in danger.”
>All eyes turn back to Celestia.
>”The friendship that bind you ponies together dos so with bonds greater than just the elements of harmony. Now that Ms Dash has awakened her stand-”
>You bristle, uneasy at being called anyone’s anything, but let the princess continue.
>”-It is possible that you all may manifest abilities of your own.”
>You glance at Dash and see that all the valor and bravado from a moment ago has been swept away as she realizes the danger that she has unwittingly placed her friends in.
>“A beggin’ your pardon Princess, but ‘ah think I can speak for all of us when I say that we’ve dealt with worse than, invisible soul magic thing-a-ma-jigs.”
>Applejack’s words lighten not just Rainbow’s mood but also brings smile to Celestia’s features.
>”I suppose you have.”
>Princess Luna takes this moment to clear her throat, drawing everyone’s attention so she can address them all.
>“I do warn you all however to take care. For some reason, whether it be fate or something more...sinister, Stand Users seem naturally drawn to one another.”
>She pauses, but only for as long as it takes for her to turn her steely gaze to Dash.
>”We can all but guarantee that you will meet others with these abilities Rainbow Dash, though will be time that tells whether their motivations prove to be for good or for ill.”
>With a sharp crack and a flash of light the princess of the night disappears.
>”You’ll have to excuse my sister. This is a… sensitive subject for her.”
“Gee, I couldn’t tell.”
>You nimbly avoid an elbow from Rainbow Dash, and if Celestia heard your comment she takes no notice of it.
>”Now then, Princess Twilight.”
>Twilight, having sat silently through the whole discussion, perks up at the mention of her name.
>”I must return to Canterlot, but I will gather what little material I have on this phenomena and have it sent to you at once. If it’s not too much to ask, I would like you to be my eyes here in Ponyville, at least until we can be sure that you and your friends are safe.”
>”Of course Princess, I won’t let you down!”
>”I know you won’t, Twilight. And good luck, my little ponies.”
>With another flash of light, Celestia teleports away leaving the room to stew in uncomfortable silence.
>”Well, I don’t know ‘bout y’all, but I gotta get up bright and early tomorrow, so ah’ should be headin’ home.”
>”w-wait.”
>The sudden convergence of everyone’s gazes seems to make Fluttershy shrink even further into her seat, but she nonetheless continues.
>”It’s just, I wouldn’t want to put my animals in danger and I was just thinking we should, uh, stick together. At least until we know more about these Stand things.”
>Pinkie gasps and springs several meters into the air.
>”We can have a SLUMBER PARTY!”
>Before any objections can be raised, Pinkie darts out of the room then bursts through the door on the opposite side balancing a surprising number of bowls filled with a variety of snacks which she deposits on the stone table at in the center.
>”Pinkie! The cutie map isn’t a dinner table!”
>”Come on Twilight, the map isn’t even on. What else are we going to use it for?”
>Twilight grumbles something as Pinkie pulls several bottles of soda out of her tail, but she concedes defeat.
>You watch Spike swipe a bowl of chips then beat a hasty retreat out of the room, and you decide to follow the dragon’s lead and do the same.
>”Hey, where do you think you’re going?”
>You turn back to Dash and shrug.
“I think your friends’ll appreciate me not hanging around, even if I am invisible to them.”
>”Hey, if we’re stuck together then they’re going to have to be your friends as well, right girls.”
>They all look in vaguely your direction and nod, to which you respond with an intangible shrug.
“Alright. I guess this can’t get weirder than it already is.”

<=To=Be=Continued==
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNEk5Yf-MYY