In a place called New York City, the roads were swarmed with cars roaring and their horns honking. It was so loud it would make you deaf if you listened long enough. The people of the city were walking up and down the streets, all day and every night, going about their business without a care in the world.
Somewhere among this activity was a boy named Toby Morrison, who lived a normal but lonely life, going to school and doing homework. In a school called Ryder Elementary, Toby was surrounded by his classmates as he prepared to do a magic trick. Toby was twelve years old, a mop of short and shaggy red ginger hair rested on his head. His bright blue eyes shone with curiosity, but also hid a mischievous hyperactivity. He was small for his age, standing only at four feet and eleven inches tall. He wore a pale blue t-shirt, along with red pants. The shoes on his feet were a dark, cobalt blue and crimson red, with traces of mud on the edges. His grades were high and most would think he had it easy but they would be wrong. Toby held out a white handkerchief in front of himself.
"Okay everyone, now as you can see there's nothing here but a plain white handkerchief." Toby said, showing both sides of the cloth to prove his point. "Observe as I take the cloth and gently lay it across my hand." Toby placed the handkerchief on his hand and started to swirl his finger around the cloth. "Now I just stir a little magic and…" Toby started, before taking the cloth off his hand to show three cards, "Tada!"
All the students were in awe and started congratulating him.
"Wow!"
"That's amazing!"
"Great Toby!"
"Now, who wants to take home a monster card?" Toby asked. Multiple students held up their hands and shout their names.
Unbeknownst to any of them, outside, dark storm clouds had filled the sky and it was starting to rain heavily. One student finally noticed the downpour.
"Oh boy, the weather man blew it." the student grumbled, Toby and the other kids turned to the window.
"Sure wasn't expecting that." Toby admitted.
"Look like it's really coming down out there." One kid said.
"Aw man, I didn't even bring an umbrella!" A boy groaned.
"I have one in my locker; you want to share it with me?" Another boy asked.
"Gee, thanks!" The other boy said happily.
Toby then remembered he had no umbrella either and turned to them.
"Hey, can I come?" Toby asked, "I got some more cards…"
He offered, in hope that one of the others would let him tag along if he gave them something in return.
The other kids did not seem to notice him and continued talking amongst themselves. Toby sighed sadly and walked away.
Later after school, Toby took his red and blue cap with a white capital 'T' on front out of his locker and put it on his head. He also put on his red and blue backpack and got ready to leave. Then he noticed the pouring rain and sighed.
"I'm sure… someone will walk with me." Toby told himself.
Abel and Boston, two kids from Toby's class, then ran past him holding an umbrella.
"Bye, Toe!" Boston said to Toby as he left.
"Later, man!" Abel added.
Both Boston and Abel walked out the school with the umbrella keeping them dry as they went.
"Thanks again Boston!" Abel said gratefully.
"No problem dude!" Boston smiled. The two friends proceeded on ahead.
Toby tried to catch up to them.
"Wait!" He cried, but they were too far away to hear him. He then noticed another kid walking to the door holding an umbrella and took out a chocolate bar. He held it out to the kid.
"Hey, I'll give you some chocolate if you let me walk home…" Toby started.
"See ya," The kid said as he walked past him.
Toby watched him go sadly, "…Under your umbrella."
Toby proceeded to walk home in the rain with a very sad look on his face. His mother had passed away a good few years ago. His father, well he was
usually out on some meaningless business trip. More often than not Toby would find himself alone once he got back home. While Toby was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, he wanted nothing more than to have a friend. Who knew this would soon be granted?
Meanwhile in a mysterious land known as Equestria…
Dozens of books existed within a great tree-shaped house on the edge of Ponyville. Inside its two-story structure, a young unicorn named Twilight Sparkle had a large tome open in front of her, the title of which being "Legends of Equestria." Her violet eyes scanned the pages intently, while her purple coat complimented her indigo mane and tail nicely. A personal touch to her mane, pink and purple stripes, were visible. The cutie mark on her flank resembled a six-pointed, pink star.
"Hmm, what do we have here?" The Legend of the Guardian of Equestria'," Twilight read. "Ooh, this sounds interesting. Let's see, it says 'Long ago, Equestria was nearly destroyed by a being that came from the sky; he brought chaos, and darkness wherever he roamed and carried with him the Rainbow of Darkness."
"In order to save everypony, the ancestors of Princesses Celestia and Luna called forth a being to stop it and after a fierce battle the light prevailed, but legend has it that one day, the dark one would return and a new guardian will be called to stand against him." she continued.
Twilight was intrigued by the story.
"A being from the sky? I wonder what those even look like?" she asked herself.
A small, slight chubby and adorable purple scaled and green spiked baby dragon with green eyes ran down the stairs near Twilight. His name was Spike.
"Twilight! Twilight!" Spike called out. He tripped on the way down and landed face first on the ground. He quickly picked himself up. "It's time to go meet the others at Applejack's for the picnic!"
"Oh right! I almost forgot!" Twilight realized. "Come on, we'd better get ready to go."
"Finally!" Spike said before running to get a few things. He came back a couple of seconds later with a wagon full of various items.
"Got the snacks?" Twilight asked.
"Check!" Spike replied.
"Drinks?"
"Check!"
"Giant rusty anchor?"
"Huh?" Spike asked, he checked the wagon, "I don't remember any anchor, where the hay is the anchor!?"
Twilight giggled, "Relax Spike, I was just kidding, now let's go."
Both Twilight and Spike exited the library. Unknown to them, a gentle breeze had blown back a page in the Legends of Equestria book, revealing what appeared to be a two-legged being unfamiliar to anypony in Equestria.
Back on Earth.
Toby was still walking home in the pouring rain when he noticed a something that resembled the image of a small blue butterfly fly past him and land on something rather odd laying on the ground.
The butterfly imaged faded away as he bent down and picked up a golden locket with a green gem in the middle.
"Wonder who this belongs to?" Toby wondered. He looked around to see if anybody nearby had dropped it but there was nobody around. "Oh well, I guess it's mine now."
Toby put the locket around his neck.
"Cool! It's my size," Toby joked.
Before he could check what was inside a black car, that Toby recognized, zoomed by him. His eyes widened with joy.
"Hey! It's Dad! He's home early!" Toby realized. He started to run after the car. "Hey Dad, wait up!"
As Toby ran after the car, elsewhere in the otherworldly city of Canterlot, an alicorn named Princess Celestia, the co-ruler of Equestria, stepped out onto the balcony looking disconcerted. Her coat shone in the sun. As her mane caught and reflected the sun's light.
The sound of hoof steps were heard and were getting closer. It was Celestia's younger sister, Princess Luna, approaching her from behind. Celestia did not turn around and continued to stare out into the horizon.
Princess Luna had an indigo body and a teal mane and tail. Her cutie mark was the moon.
"Sister?" Princess Luna said, getting her older sister's attention "What is the matter? You seem… troubled."
"Oh… It's nothing Luna, really," Princess Celestia insisted, her head lowered, she appears to be deep in thought, "It's just that… for some reason I have felt the presence of a being with incredible power and darkness."
"What? Well who is this being?" Princess Luna questioned.
Princess Celestia finally glanced at her sister with a face full of uncertainty and concern that seemed to speak for itself. She glanced back towards the horizon.
"I don't know, but the power he holds it's not of this world and it seems to be growing stronger with each passing second." Princess Celestia replied with a hint of worry in her voice.
Princess Luna walked closer, stood right next to her sister, and joined her in staring out at the land in front of them.
"We must find a way to stop this evil." The younger sister stated firmly.
Celestia nodded "Indeed. Our only hope is if the stories are true." The older sister replied, "That a guardian from beyond the sky will appear and vanquish this threat, let us hope that the legends speak of truth."
Both Princesses' looked up to the sky with hope and concern glimmering in their eyes. Then suddenly, both their horns both started to glow simultaneously with bright magical energy that was almost blinding, much to their surprise and shock.
"Sister! What is happening?" Princess Luna asked concerned.
"I do not know… but I fear that the prophecy is about to come to pass…" Princess Celestia mused.
Back on Earth, as Toby ran, the gem in the locket started to glow brightly as well. Toby quickly noticed the glowing and stopped running while the locket started to float a bit.
"What the heck?" Toby asked, "What's going on?"
The gem glowed even brighter and in a flash of light Toby vanished leaving only the locket behind, which dropped to the ground.
Toby screamed as he flew down a long, glittery rainbow tunnel straight toward a whole new world.
Back in Equestria, Twilight and Spike had just arrived at a large meadow with both a barn and a forest full of apple trees nearby. Five other ponies were already waiting for them. Their names were Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy.
"Girls! Look! Twilight and Spike! They're here! They're here!" Pinkie Pie said bouncing with excitement.
Pinkie Pie is a Pink coated Pony with a Puffy Rose magenta mane and her eyes are a Bluish cyan. Her cutie mark was three balloons
Rainbow Dash stood up and lifted her tinted black sunglasses.
"It's about time." she said.
Rainbow Dash was a Pegasus, her coat was a Pale cyan and her mane was of the colors of the rainbow. Her tail showed the same colors as well. Her eyes were a violet color. Her cutie mark was a rainbow lightning bolt
"Hey everypony!" Twilight Sparkle said "Sorry we took so long; I was just reading this great new book."
"Well, what's it called sugercube?" Applejack asked in a Southern accent.
Her coat color was orange, her mane was a pale, light grayish olive and her eyes were sap green. She also wore a cowboy hat. Her cutie mark was three apples.
"It's called 'The Legends of Equestria'." Twilight Sparkle explained, "It has all these great stories about all the legendary figures that have come and gone to Equestria, there's even this one about a great evil that nearly destroyed Equestria long before Princess Celestia and Princess Luna came to be."
"Oh my, it sounds scary." Fluttershy said worried.
Like Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy was also a Pegasus, only her coat was pale amber yellow, her mane was pink and she had strong Cyan colored eyes. Her cutie mark was three pink butterflies.
"Oh don't worry Fluttershy, it's not frightening at all." Twilight Sparkle reassured her "It also tells of a mysterious being that came from the sky and stopped it."
Fluttershy sighs, relieved "Oh thank goodness."
"Come on Fluttershy, it's just a story." Rainbow Dash reminded her "A really boring story if you ask me."
"It sounds cool to me." Spike said.
"So, what happened to the mysterious being?" Pinkie Pie asked excited "Did he vanish? Did he live happily ever after? Did they have a party?"
"I'm not sure, I didn't really get a chance to finish it," Twilight admitted.
"Such a shame. Anyway now that that's done. May we please enjoy this fabulous sunny day, please?" Rarity asked in a posh upper crust accent.
She was a Unicorn, like Twilight. Her coat was a Light Azure Gray, her mane was Indigo and Purple to Dark Violet and her eyes were Azure colored. Her cutie mark was three diamonds.
"Oh, right, right, let's get started, shall we?" Twilight Sparkle asked. The others all nod in agreement.
"Finally! I'm starved!" Spike said relieved. He quickly sat down and took a large sandwich filled with gems and took a big bite out of it. The Mane 6 also began eating their respective meals. Everyone stared at Pinkie Pie bizarrely as she slammed her face into a cake and licks all the frosting
Rarity sighed blissfully, "Such a gorgeous day for a picnic, isn't it everypony?"
"You said it." Applejack nodded.
Fluttershy noticed Twilight deep in thought.
"Is something the matter Twilight?" she asked.
"Huh?" Twilight asked, snapping out of her trance, "Oh, it's nothing, I'm just wondering if that legend I read about is for real or not, the legend about Nightmare Moon came true so what do you think the odds are of this one coming true?"
"Twilight, It's just a story book," Rainbow Dash reminded her, "Nothing in there is real and just because Nightmare Moon's tale came true doesn't mean this one will."
Twilight Sparkle sighed, "Maybe you're right, I mean it's not like something weird is going to happen anytime soon."
Suddenly Pinkie Pie's tale began twitching, "Ooh! Ooh! Twitchy, twitchy, twitchy, twitch... My tail is twitching! My tail is twitching!"
"Oh man, you know what that means." Spike said a bit worried.
"That something's about to fall from the sky? Yeah." Twilight Sparkle nodded. Everypony looked all around and above them and saw nothing.
"I don't see anything…" Fluttershy said cautiously.
"Me neither," Rainbow Dash added.
"Strange, usually something would have fallen out of the sky by now." Twilight Sparkle pointed out, "Pinkie, you sure your tail was twitching?"
Pinkie Pie nodded in a fast motion, "Oh, yes, yes, yes! I'm absolutely, positively, one hundred and twenty percent sure that something weird is about to fall out of the sky right about…"
Then, suddenly, a small hole appeared in the sky and a rainbow appeared soon afterward. They all gasped in shock.
"Whoa…" All except Rarity, and Spike said in awe.
"Beautiful!" Rarity said, enthralled by the beauty of the rainbow.
They then all saw someone, or something, roll down the rainbow and into the forest below.
"…Now." Pinkie Pie finished.
"What the tarnation do you suppose that was?" Applejack asked.
"I don't know. But let's find out, come on girls." Twilight Sparkle said as she started to walk to the forest.
"And dragon?" Spike asked innocently.
Twilight smiled at him, "And dragon..."
"Yes!" Spike said to himself as he begins to follow her. The others, minus Fluttershy began to follow as well.
"Um… I'm not so sure about this…" Fluttershy said.
"Aw, come on Fluttershy, it'll be fine trust me." Rainbow Dash assured her.
Fluttershy still looked hesitate to go.
"Come on, please?" Rainbow Dash begged slightly.
It took a while before Fluttershy finally responded, after seeing how much her friend was depending on her.
"Well… ok, I trust you." Fluttershy nodded. She starts to follow them.
Elsewhere, in a far off section of the forest where Toby had landed. Toby groaned as he slowly got up.
"Oh my head." Toby grumbled. After brushing the dirt off his clothes, he looked around and was shocked to see that he was not in New York any more, but in a large forest full of apple trees.
"Ok… this is weird." Toby said to himself. He slapped himself to see if he was dreaming but all he got was a red cheek. "OW! Ok, I'm not dreaming but for some reason I feel… good, great even, I wonder how I got here…"
Toby walked further into the forest until he reached a dirt road. He gazed at all the apple trees as he made his way through the forest.
"What is this place?" Toby wondered aloud as he saw a large tree up ahead, "Hmm, maybe if I climb all the way up there I can get a better view!"
Toby rushed over to the tree, grabbed onto the first branch he could see as he made his way up. Along the way up, he accidently held onto a branch so hard, he broke in half. He barely noticed this and continued climbing.
In another part of the forest, the Mane Six and Spike were still searching the forest for whatever came through the magic portal.
"I sure hope whatever came out of that hole in sky isn't… dangerous…" Fluttershy said hopefully.
"Oh pish posh Fluttershy." Rarity stated, "What kind of monster pray tell would ride down a rainbow so beautiful, so dazzling, so magnificent, so…"
"So what?" Rainbow Dash interjected, "Cloudsdale, makes way better rainbows than that, heck, I make better rainbows than that."
"Ok, that's enough bragging then their little missy." Applejack said annoyed, "Now let's just find this here critter and see if he's friend or foe."
"Ooh! And see if he likes parties because I have to throw one for anypony who comes to Ponyville!" Pinkie Pie said bouncing up and down with excitement.
"Let's just find it before we do anything, ok?" Twilight Sparkle asked.
"But this place is huge, whatever fell here could be anywhere." Spike pointed out.
Rainbow Dash flew into the sky, "Never fear, Rainbow Dash is here! I'll search from the sky and let you all know if I find something."
"Ok, go." Twilight Sparkle nodded. Rainbow Dash zooms off further into the forest.
At the same time, Toby had nearly reached the top of the tree.
"Boy, who knew Gym class would ever come in handy." Toby muttered to himself, "Ok, nearly there, just a little more…"
Soon Toby reached the top of the tree, but just as he started to gaze at the sight of the large forest. He saw something flying straight toward him. He screamed, covered his face and braced for impact.
Unknown to him, that thing was Rainbow Dash and when she saw that she was going to run into someone, she closed her eyes and immediately stopped in front of Toby.
Both Toby and Rainbow Dash noticed that they have not crashed into anything and slowly open their eyes. They stared at each other for a moment before screaming at the top of their lungs.
Rainbow Dash flew off while Toby lost his balance and fell off the tree. He landed on the ground with a thud, leaving a small impact crater in the ground. He groaned and sat up. He looked both shocked and scared.
"W-was that a… a… Pegasus?" Toby stuttered, then he pinched himself, "Ow! Nope. Not dreaming. Why aren't I dreaming!? I have to find somebody! Somebody human before I go nuts!"
Toby started to run down the path. As he ran, he noticed how fast he was going and how slow everything around him looked. He was greatly surprised, though his surprised quickly turned into excitement before he decided to slow down, which took a little effort and caused him to break apart some parts of the ground doing so.
"Holy Guacamole, I'm fast!" Toby said amazed.
He looked at a nearby boulder and got an idea.
Toby walked over to the boulder, grabbed onto it and effortlessly lifted it up and sent it flying into the sky.
"And I'm strong too? Wowza!" Toby exclaimed. "But how? Hmm, it must be this place… Wherever this place is anyway. Well better get searching for people."
Toby spotted another blue butterfly flying past. He watched as it flew down a path in front of him. He then zoomed down the same path.
Elsewhere, the rest of the Mane Six and Spike were still waiting for Rainbow Dash.
"I wonder what's taking Rainbow Dash so long?" Twilight Sparkle wondered.
"Yeah, she's usually done by now." Applejack added.
"Maybe whatever's in their got her, maybe she's hurt!" Fluttershy said worried.
"Ooh! There she is!" Pinkie Pie said gesturing upwards.
Everypony looked towards the forest and sees something speeding towards them. As it got closer, they saw that it was Rainbow Dash.
"Yep, that's her!" Twilight Sparkle confirmed.
"Boy… she's flying pretty fast, I think she's…" Spike started before Rainbow Dash crashed into them. They all groaned in pain as they lay in a heap on the ground.
Rarity stood up first, "Rainbow! Honestly! A little warning next time would not be that much of bother you know."
The others also got up, including Rainbow herself.
Rainbow Dash panted "Sorry… it's just… I saw… something… in the forest…"
"What did you see?" Twilight Sparkle asked.
"I don't know, I've never seen something like… but it was… weird looking!" Rainbow Dash told them.
Twilight rolled her eyes, "Rainbow…"
"I'm serious!" Rainbow Dash insisted.
"What did it look like?" Spike asked worried.
"It stands on two hoofs, it has no fur, just a patch of hair on its head, and it has a small muzzle, weird... things on the end of its hooves and a bizarre looking body!" Rainbow Dash explained in a spooky voice.
"Oh my!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"It sounds funny!" Pinkie Pie quipped.
Rainbow Dash got to eye level with Pinkie and looked at her seriously, "It's not funny Pinkie! It's dangerous!"
"Come on Dash, we shouldn't jump to conclusions, maybe it's a nice little critter." Applejack suggested.
"Yeah, remember when we thought Zecora was a witch before we got to know her?" Twilight Sparkle reminded her.
Fluttershy nodded, "Yes we should at least meet this… creature, before we automatically call it a monster." she added, "Agreed?"
The others all nodded.
"Right. Now let's go out find it, shall we?" Rarity suggested.
Before they could move, Spike spoke up.
"Uh… guys?" Spike said pointing up ahead. Everypony turned to the forest and they could see something speeding towards them, covered by a thick dust cloud.
"What in Equestria is that?" Rarity asked.
"Whatever it is it sure is moving fast!" Applejack pointed out. Fluttershy gulped and hid behind the others, closing her eyes and shaking in fear.
"Brace yourself everypony!" Twilight told them.
Toby saw something up ahead, stomped on the ground hard and skidded to a stop right in front of the Mane Six and Spike and a large cloud of dust surrounded them. They all started coughing until the dust cloud finally dissipated.
"Whoa, that was close, sorry about…" Toby started until he saw Spike and the Pony gang right in front of him. All eight of them gasped.
There was a long moment of silence as Toby, Spike and the ponies, minus Fluttershy, stared and blinked at each other in complete shock and fear.
A minute later, after finally getting over the shock, Toby spoke up.
"Um… hi?" Toby squeaked.
"Whoa! That thing can talk!" Spike exclaimed. It took a minute before Toby realized what just happened.
"Wait a minute… you just talked!" Toby realized.
"Everypony back away, real slowly," Twilight Sparkle whispered to the others. They all start to slowly back away in fear.
Toby leaned in closer, "How did you do that? Ponies can't talk!"
Fluttershy poked her head out from behind her friends to see what they were backing away from but when she saw Toby, she screamed at the top of her lungs. Toby did the same followed by the others. Toby hid behind a tree while the Mane Six and Spike hid in a large bush.
Toby poked his head out from behind the tree and sees Spike and the Ponies hiding in the bush. They seemed very frightened.
"Huh? They… aren't attacking me?" Toby said to himself quietly and confused.
"What in Equestria is he?" Rarity asked whispering "And where did he get such dreadful clothes?"
"I don't know, I've never seen or read about anything like him before," Twilight Sparkle replied.
"Maybe he's a monster…" Fluttershy said scared, "What if he's come to hurt us?"
"Whatever he is he's not going to hurt anyone!" Rainbow Dash declared, "I'm going for it!"
Rainbow Dash zoomed out of the bush.
"Rainbow, wait!" Applejack called out.
Toby came out from behind the tree cautiously before immediately backing into the trunk of the tree as soon as Rainbow Dash appeared in front of him.
"Alright mister whatever-you-are, who are you? What are you doing here?" Rainbow Dash demanded "You'd better answer!"
Toby held his hands up, attempting to calm her down "Ok, ok, just take it easy. I mean you no harm,"
Slowly, the others poked their heads out of the bushes.
"You think he's telling the truth A.J?" Spike asked Applejack.
"I think so, this here little feller sure doesn't seem to want to fight, that's for sure." Applejack said as she walked over to Toby and Rainbow Dash.
"Settle down there Dash, I'll talk to him." Applejack told her.
Rainbow Dash grumbled, "Fine. But no funny business mister."
"I'm actually very sad right now…" Toby admitted.
"So, what's your name sport?" Applejack asked.
"Name's Tobias Morrison, but call me Toby, everyone does." Toby said, "What about you?"
"Name's Applejack." Applejack replied, "So what exactly are you anyway?"
"I'm called a Human." Toby stated.
"A what?" Rainbow Dash asked confused.
"A human, my kind is the dominant species on our planet and… say do you have monkeys?" Toby asked.
The ponies nodded.
"Well… in a way… we humans are kind of related to monkeys, except we don't have tails." Toby explained.
Rainbow Dash didn't seem to believe him, "You expect us to believe that you're related to a monkey?" she asked.
"Oh, so you don't believe me, well watch this." Toby said before jumping high up into the tree and swinging from each branch using his hands and feet.
The others poked their heads out of the bushes and watched in amazement.
Rainbow Dash scoffed, "Oh please, anypony can swing from a branch by their hooves!"
"Not anypony I know." Applejack interjected.
Toby landed in front of them in a crouched position before standing up.
"Woo-wee! That sure was something little critter," Applejack admitted.
"Thanks, luckily I always paid attention in Gym class and played on the jungle gym more than once." Toby said, he turns to Rainbow Dash, "By the way, in my world we call our 'hooves' feet, and these are called 'hands', see? Take a good long look."
Toby wiggled his fingers in front of them. Everypony, excluding Rainbow Dash who just grunted, looked at his fingers in awe.
"So, where ya from Toby?" Applejack asked.
"A place called New York City. It's in the state of New York on the planet called Earth." Toby explained. "We also have ponies there… but they don't talk."
Pinkie Pie suddenly popped over much to Toby's surprise and bewilderment.
"WOW! We have a connection! You're from this Earth and I'm an Earth Pony!" She said excited.
Toby stared and blinked at her, looking lost.
Applejack smiled nervously, "Uh… we'll explain that later. Anyway, I assume you aren't here to harm us?"
"I was kind of thinking the same thing about you guys, but no, I don't fight those who haven't harmed others, it's kind of my policy." Toby explained.
Applejack looked at him closely to see if he was lying, then turned to the others.
"It's ok, he's telling the truth!" She assured them, "Y'all can come out now and introduce yourselves,"
One by one, the rest of the gang stepped out of the bushes. Toby waved but Fluttershy still looked at him frightened. Twilight stepped forwards.
"Hi there, my name is Twilight Sparkle." she said.
Toby gave her a look as if he couldn't believe her. "Really? That's your name?"
"Last time I checked. Why?" Twilight Sparkle asked.
"Nothing. Nothing." Toby said quickly.
"Anyway these are my friends, this here is…" Twilight Sparkle started before Pinkie Pie got in front of her.
"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! You like parties? Because I love parties! In fact, we should throw you a welcome party! What do you say? Huh? Huh?!" Pinkie Pie yelled whilst smiling and jumping up and down excited.
Toby blinked, not knowing how to respond to Pinkie, "Yeah… I think silence is probably my best option now."
Twilight looked at Pinkie Pie annoyed then continued introducing the others.
"Anyway, this here is Spike." Twilight said gesturing to Spike.
"Ooh, what's he?" Toby asked curiously.
"What am I?" Spike asked surprised, "I'm a dragon! Can't you tell?"
Toby raised in eyebrow, "You sure? I've seen bigger dogs. Actually I've seen bigger cats."
"Technically, he's a baby dragon." Twilight Sparkle explained.
"Oh, that makes sense." Toby said.
"Anyway, that's Rarity." Twilight Sparkle gestured to Rarity.
"Charmed." Rarity stated.
"Likewise." Toby smiled. He then noticed Fluttershy cowering behind them, "Hey, who's that?"
"Oh that's Fluttershy." Twilight Sparkle replied.
Fluttershy glanced back and forth between her friends and Toby, "H-Hello." she whispered.
"Hi…" Toby said slowly and uncomfortably.
"And you've already met Applejack and Rainbow Dash." Twilight Sparkle said. Toby smiled at Applejack but frowned at Rainbow Dash who was giving him a suspicious look.
"Ok then… now let me ask you guys something, where the heck am I anyway?" Toby said in a questioning tone.
"That's easy, you're in the magical kingdom of Equestria, ruled by both Princess Celestia and Luna, we all live in Ponyville a town not too far from here." Twilight explained.
"Cool!" Toby said intrigued, "Can you show me?"
"Sure, why not?" Twilight Sparkle said. Then Rainbow Dash stepped in between her and Toby.
"Hold on a minute." Rainbow Dash interjected, "We can't bring him into Ponyville! We don't know anything about this kid!"
"Dash, he's harmless." Applejack insisted.
"Haven't we learned our lesson about automatically trusting everypony we meet?" Rainbow Dash reminded her, "Remember the Parasprites?"
The others all shivered at the memory while Toby looked at them confused.
"I say he should go back to where he came from!" Rainbow Dash declared.
Toby stepped forward, "Uh… don't I get a say in this?" he asked.
"Nope." Rainbow Dash shook her head.
"Ok, what's your problem?" Toby asked her angrily.
Rainbow Dash glared at him "For starters; you!"
"But I haven't done a thing to you!" Toby pointed out.
"Yet." Rainbow Dash stated.
"Alright Rainbow Dash, that's enough." Twilight Sparkle said trying to break up the fighting.
"Stay out of this Twilight." Rainbow Dash told her, she turned to Toby again, "And as for you; go home!"
"I don't think I can you doof!" Toby shouted.
"What do you mean you can't?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Before I came here I found a locket with strange symbols and a gem in the middle, then it started glowing and poof! Here I am." Toby explained, "But I think that thing stayed behind in my world after I left so I have no way of getting back!"
"So… you're stuck here?" Spike asked, "Forever?"
"That seems to be the case and it's just as bad for me as it would be for you, Rainbow." Toby said to Rainbow Dash.
She raised an eyebrow, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You care about your friend's right?" He asked.
Rainbow Dash nodded, "Yeah."
"And you'd miss them if you learned you could never see them again, correct?" Toby questioned.
"Well duh!" Rainbow Dash shouted, "What's your point?"
"Well I have a Father back in my world that I care about. He's all I have left after my mother… Anyways, even though he's not around much, I still care about him." Toby explained. "But now he doesn't exist here, I might never seem him again, or my home." Toby turned away he hide his sad face. "I'm totally alone." he continued, "So if you still want to pound me, go ahead, do your worst."
Sad looks appeared on everypony's face as they all felt great pity for Toby. Even Rainbow Dash looked extremely guilty for how she had acted around him.
She sighed, "Maybe… we can… help you get home."
Toby turned around surprised, "You'd… you'd do that?"
"Well yeah, Twilight's a great magician, maybe she can get you home." Rainbow Dash said.
Toby looks at Twilight both excited and surprised, "Really? You know magic?"
Twilight nods, "All unicorns do, watch..."
Twilight's horn started to glow, and then an apple levitated off an apple tree and into Toby's hands. Toby was amazed.
"Whoa! That is so cool! You're so cool!" Toby stated excited. Twilight Sparkle blushed at his last comment.
"So… can humans do magic too?" Twilight Sparkle inquired
Toby shook his head. "Nope, we usually do things by hand or use nifty equipment to get the job done for us." Toby replied.
"Amazing!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed, she seemed very to learn more about Toby's world but then suddenly Pinkie's tail began twitching.
"Ooh! Twitchy, twitcha, twitcha, twitch!" Pinkie Pie said shaking. The others all seemed to know what that meant and gasped.
"Uh… what's with her?" Toby asked confused.
"Uh oh, Twitchy Tail!" Spike cried.
"Meaning?" Toby asked even more confused.
"That means something's about to fall from the sky!" Rarity exclaimed.
"Oh my!" Fluttershy squeaked.
"What?" Toby asked, he looked like he didn't believe it, "That's ridiculous."
Suddenly a giant black and red dragon, wearing a spiky red collar drops down in front of them, making them all jump.
"Ok, I believe you now." Toby said quickly.
"Dragon! Run for your lives!" Fluttershy screamed.
Everypony but Toby screamed and started to run off, but the Dragon blocks them with its tail and roars.
"What's a dragon doing in Equestria anyway?" Twilight Sparkle asked.
"I don't know, but he sure looks mad!" Applejack replied.
The dragon looked at them closely and snorted a puff of smoke. They all coughed and blew away the smoke.
"Good gracious! Hasn't this dragon ever heard of manners?" Rarity asked annoyed.
The dragon growled and prepared to attack, but someone suddenly spoke up and stopped it in its tracks.
"Hey, you big stupid lizard!" Toby shouted, "Leave them alone!"
The Dragon turned to Toby, who continued to stare at it without an ounce of fear.
"What are you doing?" Rainbow Dash asked, confused and shocked, "Run for it!"
"No way! I may be stranger in this world, but that doesn't mean I'm going to run from every little thing!" Toby declared, "And I most certainly am not going to let innocent creatures get hurt!"
The Mane Six, along with Spike were all surprised by his bravery as the Dragon lowered its head and locked eyes with Toby.
"What did you say to me?" The Dragon growled, its anger was starting to rise.
"You heard me you over grown gecko!" Toby said.
"Ooh, he really shouldn't have said that." Spike grimaced.
"Were you the one who tossed a rock at me earlier today?" The Dragon demanded.
Toby then remembered the rock he tossed in the air to test his strength and his eyes widen, "Maybe..."
This made the dragon even angrier.
"Any last words before I destroy you creature from beyond?" The Dragon said angrily.
"Ok, if you're going to stand there blabbing at me dragon boy at least pop a breath mint, will ya?" Toby asked, folding his arms.
"It is rather foul." Rarity nodded.
"Rarity!" Twilight Sparkle hissed.
The Dragon wrapped its tail around Toby and pulled him in for a face-to-face look.
"Toby!" Everypony cried.
A smile appeared on Toby's face, "Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm stronger than I look!"
Toby broke the Dragon's hold and delivered a high kick that knocks the dragon back. The others watched in shock and amazement as Toby dove towards the Dragon and knocks it flat on its back with a strong punch to the face that actually seemed to hurt the beast. He then finished it off by jumping into the air and landing right onto the dragon's stomach. The Dragon roared in pain.
The Mane Six, plus Spike, all gasped.
Toby looked the dragon in the eye, "Have anything to say for yourself or do I have to continue with some more face stomping?" He asked, "Well?"
The Dragon looked terrified of him; it slithered out from under him, causing Toby to fall over while he flew off.
Toby sprung backup, "Yeah! You better fly away!" He shouted before he started to groan as he rubbed his sore rear.
The Spike and the girls stared at in astonishment. They could not believe that a small thing like Toby could actually defeat a dragon!
"Toby, that was amazing!" Twilight Sparkled remarked
"Yeah, you totally clobbered that guy!" Spike added. Toby blushed with embarrassment.
"Are all humans this strong?" Applejack enquired.
"Some are strong, but not as strong as me apparently." Toby replied, "Which is weird because I'm usually not this strong, it must have something to do with how I got here, or maybe it's this place, I'm not entirely sure… but right now I don't really care."
"Well in any case, we all owe you our lives, kind sir." Rarity said, she levitates a small handkerchief from her bag, "I would like you to take this, as a token of my gratitude."
Toby took the handkerchief, "Thanks." He said before he turned to Twilight, "Anyway, Twilight is it? Do you really think you can find a way to get me home?"
"I don't know, maybe, if not we'll have to ask Princess Celestia. She's my mentor by the way." Twilight Sparkle said.
"Pretty neat having a Princess for a mentor," Toby said, "So, what now?"
"I guess we head back to Ponyville." Twilight Sparkle told him, she turned to a small village nearby, "It's just over that hill there."
"Cool, I've been itching to see this Ponyville." Toby said excited, "So, what are we waiting for? Let's get a move on!"
Toby ran off ahead. The others followed him.
"He sure is an energetic little thing, ain't he?" Applejack stated.
"I like him, he's funny!" Pinkie said.
"He's awesome!" Spike exclaimed.
"He's definitely very brave." Rarity added.
"Oh please, I could have totally taken down that dragon!" Rainbow Dash bragged.
Toby stopped, ran back, looked Rainbow Dash in the eye and smirked, "So, why didn't you?" He asked smugly.
Rainbow Dash frowned at him, while the others chuckled in amusement. Toby ran off once more.
"I still say we should keep an eye on him." Rainbow Dash told them.
"Rainbow-" Twilight Sparkle started.
"I'm serious! I mean he may have beaten up that dragon, but what's to stop from attacking us?" Rainbow Dash pointed out.
"She has a point." Spike stated.
"All I'm saying is this kid may seem nice... but he's dangerous." Rainbow Dash said.
"We understand your suspicions Rainbow, but let's just see what he can do first before jumping to any conclusions, ok?" Twilight Sparkle asked, everypony nodded, "Alright then, now let's get moving and follow him, before something else pops out of these woods."
The Pony gang then began to follow Toby. Meanwhile in the dark Everfree Forest, a tall, shadowy, four-legged figure wearing a hood watched them all make their way towards Ponyville.
The figure turned his attention to a statue that had just been placed beside him by two strange creatures. His eyes flashed red and suddenly, the statue became a tall and muscular, shadowy person.
"Show no mercy." The dark figure said to the giant. The giant nodded and starts to walk towards Ponyville. The dark stranger laughed evilly.
To be continued…
