The Prince of Lightby jalaspisaChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 1Ah! There you are! I knew you'd come around eventually! You always had a curious ear, and I just knew you wouldn't just leave your best friend trapped in here like some kind of animal. So, I suppose you already heard about what the others are saying about me. Well don't listen to them! You've known me forever! You know I am one of the most level-headed and mentally stable beings ever created! How dare they accuse me of insanity! They're the insane ones! It's so funny that it makes me laugh! Hahahaha! If only they knew. If only they'd listen to me. You know what? It doesn't even matter any more. I got you now. Can you believe that not only do they keep me caged in here like a rat, but they also isolated me too! Me! The one who could talk the ears off of an elephant! The one who could tongue-tie an auctioneer! The one who...who could...well you get the point! They shove me in a box with nothing to do but count paint chips on a wall. I'm not really mobile in this situation either, as you can see, so I don't even get to see the other walls! It's not fair! Life's not fair! You just got to deal with it! Oh well. Let's just let bygones be bygones. Anyway, they sent me you, so perhaps they aren't that heartless. So, tell me. What is happening out there?... Pretty chaotic right? It's like our entire way of life is being assaulted! On multiple fronts! They take what's near and dear to us, and then they warp it! Right in front of our faces! They cut us short! They walk all over us! They say they're the ones who are being enslaved, but we're the one's being persecuted! By them! They don't even seem to care about us even though we were the one's who built them up in the first place! What? How do I know this? I know I've been in here for a while, but seriously? How long could it be?... Two years?! Wow! Time sure flies when your having fun! Am I right? Oh, wait... This isn't fun. I guess that is a pretty good question then. How do I know all this? Well, you see. Ever since that accident, you know, the one that put me here in the first place, I've been...well...enlightened. or cursed. It's kind of hard to tell from here. I haven't quite figured it all out myself. Let's just say that even though I've been isolated. Without a single soul to strike a conversation with. I've never been... alone. I've been talking to myself! I know it sounds crazy, but it really isn't. Solitude would make anyone start talking to themselves, and let's be honest who doesn't want to talk to me? But it seems, as I continued to talk and listen, I began to discover a part of me I never knew was there before, and noticed a part of me that no longer was. Basically, they're the one's who have been keeping me in the loop. They told me everything. I guess the only way I can really explain this well is to tell you my story. I was going to tell it to you anyway. It does answer the questions about why we're in this situation. I really have to cut on the chit-chat. I only have a couple of hours to talk before they whisk you away. Leaving me alone with me again. You just have to promise me this before I start. Believe every word I tell you. None of them are false. All of this truly happened... I will warn you though. This story probably is the perpetrator for why the others made those rumors about me. Well, the main one at least. It is pretty out there, I'll admit, but I'm merely telling what happened. I understand why you would want to doubt me. Just promise me that you won't. You just have to believe me. My sanity depends on it. This isn't a story about me...entirely. Yes, I said it was my story, and it is my story, it just isn't really my story. Get it? It's about someone similar, yet connected. You know what? Scratch that. This is a story with me in it. I'm just not the main character...sort of. Just listen! It'll all make sense in the end! You'll see! And you know what? I guess I should tell you the whole story too. Not just the parts about him. So let's start at the very beginning. Well, not the very beginning. Just the beginning of the story. So it all begins about three years ago. Assuming your information about the time I've been stuck here is correct. It was just after the closing ceremonies of the last royal Canterlot wedding. Everypony, even the newly weds had left. They either returned to their quaint little abodes, or had returned to some bore of a night shift. The couple had left to go to their honeymoon. I forget where it was specifically. Some type of tropical island. I've always wanted to go to the tropics. It's so nice and peaceful there. and who doesn't want to experience the winds and craziness of a hurricane at least one time in their lives?! What?! It could be fun! Okay, I'll stay on track. So the castle was pretty empty after everyone left. Some of the guards were still cleaning up some of the trash and decorations from the festivities, but all in all it was fairly calm. Celestia was on her way to her chamber to retire for the night. Her sister had taken up her shift. She was both exhausted and relieved from the days events, and a little bit embarrassed as well. I mean, think about it. Not only did a foreign power infiltrate the inner sanctums of Canterlot and struck down Celestia right where everypony could see, but it was her student and not herself who discovered the threat and found a way to defeated it. Yeah, Celestia was proud and thankful for her student and her friends, but she just wished it didn't have to cost her the reputation of security and success that she had earned over the past couple thousand years. You're still listening to me right? Good! This is already the farthest into my story I've gotten with anyone. Usually, once I mention the royal wedding, they nod me off and dismiss me as some type of lunatic. That's what doesn't really make sense to me. Luna isn't even a main part of my story! It's was Celestia who I was talking about! I didn't even mention Luna's name! Why would he call me a lunatic!...So would that make me a celestiatic then? What? Oh yeah! The story! I guess I'll continue. So, like I said. Celestia, being all ashamed and exhausted, was returning to her room, but right before she entered, she was interrupted by one of the royal guards. "Excuse me, your royal highness." He said, " before you set yourself down for the night. I'm here to inform you about some news regarding that fortuneteller who gave us that warning about an attempt to overthrow Canterlot." "Oh, Yes," Celestia replied, "I believe his name was Honey Locus. Make sure he gets a generous reward, and be sure to listen to his warnings in the future. Now, If you'll excuse me, I really must get some sleep." Celestia turned to enter her room, but the guard stopped her. "That's just it, your majesty. He hasn't stopped yet" "He hasn't stopped? Stopped what exactly?" "He hasn't stopped predicting, your highness. He still is talking about some new ruler to come and shake the foundations of all of Equestria." Now, as you can imagine, this was not what Celestia wanted to hear. She was grumpy and tired to begin with, and with all that chaos that happened that day, she just wanted to go to bed. She knew she couldn't just ignore Honey Locus. If he correctly predicted one threat, he could definitely predict another, so she begrudgingly followed the guard wondering what that unicorn was yelling about now. Now Honey Locus, he's a character. He seemingly came out of nowhere. No records anywhere said anything about him, or his entire family for that matter. Some report that the stallion just walked out of the Everfree forest one day, and just started preaching to anypony who walked past him. He looked aged, with a scraggly beard and bags under his eyes, but you could tell from his enthusiasm and tenacity that he was much younger than he looked. Even with his intensity, though, he couldn't really get a large following. Celestia eventually found the soothsayer announcing from atop several large books in the middle of the Canterlot marketplace. Many of the residents had shut their doors and windows to try to block the sound, but it seemed that his voice still found a way through to their ears. Perhaps he was using some type of magic to project his voice. Even with his loudness, passersbys didn't stop to listen. They just though he was a fool, and tried to continue with their business or return home. It wasn't until Celestia had approached him that anypony started to take notice. Even with Celestia standing before him, he continued to shout his predictions and prophesies. "A new ruler is to come! and the ruler will free us all! Liberate us from a prison we know nothing of! Leading a convoy of allies! They will overthrow our entire way of thinking! and a new age will follow them!" Celestia was waiting to be addressed, but the prophet would not stop to even look at her. She eventually gave up waiting, and interrupted him. "Excuse me, Honey Locus? Honey Locus?! Hey! Your princess is talking to you!" Everyone around the pair now knew that this was serious. Nopony, not even Luna, ignores Celestia. Also, many had never seen Celestia get so riled up like she just did. Although a crowd gathered around them, they backed up a bit, and watched them at a distance. "Oh, hello there Celestia! I didn't notice you there! I was so focused on telling Equestria the wonderful news!" "Wonderful?! You think this is wonderful?! Your prophesizing about me being overthrown!" "I know It sounds harsh, but this new ruler will be out to liberate us all! Including yourself! And truly, I never said anything about you." "What else do you know about this 'ruler'? anything I, your Princess! should know?" "Well..." the psychic said with a pause, "Nothing specifically for you. There isn't even much could tell you. I don't even know if this ruler is to be a king or a queen. All I really know is what has been passed down to me from generations before me. My ancestors knew about this ruler to come for eons, but since whoever it be is coming during my lifetime, it is my duty to inform Equestria. I can't really tell you everything I know, but all of my knowledge was derived from this ancient hyme written on the inside of an abandoned dragon's den." Honey Locus took a deep breath and repeated this like he had it memorized from repetition. "Coming from PonyVille, though not of it A ruler will arise. standing higher than all opening eyes to a way never thought of A shattered soul destined to appall A group a friends will soon arise Each one with very different traits With weapons glistening, and rarely used Let them free you before it becomes too late" Finally, a smile returned to Celestia's face. She thought she had already cracked the riddle. The riddle wasn't talking about some foreign invasion or political upheaval. It had merely predicted her secret plans for her most faithful student. Celestia then thanked the soothsayer for his time and started to return to the castle. "Actually Celestia," interrupted Honey Locus right before Celestia left hearing distance, "Now, I do have something to say to you. No." "No? what is that supposed to mean?" She responded. Honey Locus then slowly approached her. "The one who you are thinking of right now is not the one I speak of. Even though I cannot say who it will be, I know who it is not. It is not her. No, it is not." He leaned in close and whispered her student's name into her ear. Celestia was astonished. Somehow, this prancing street urchin who came wandering out of the wilderness had not only the audacity to ignore her and talk down to her, but also had specific knowledge of her secret plans for her star pupil. Now at this point, Celestia had done an okay job at hiding her emotions. She had simmered down briefly when she thought she solved the riddle, but this transgression was the straw that broke the mare's back. She was absolutely furious. She probably sent in about two dozen stallions to hunt this guy down, and, even though it took them all night, she had who she believed to be a prying eye and a blasphemer imprisoned. Even while trapped in the royal dungeon, Honey Locus continued to preach his news to anypony who'd listen, willingly or not. It would end up being an entire year until the being he described would arise. Well, as I said, they'll probably be in here any moment now to shoo you out of here. I didn't even get a chance to talk about him yet. Oh yeah, spoiler alert. It's a guy. Oh yeah, I already said he... Actually, now that you think about it that's pretty surprising in Equestria. It isn't often you see a male leader who isn't evil. Well, I guess evil is defined on which side your on. Anyway, please do try to return, and please remember your promise you made to me. Actually, while you're making promises, you should promise to return too. There! It's a done deal. You'll know where to find me. I'll just be here... talking to myself. Chapter 2Ah! There you are! I've rehearsing my story for you, and... I absolutely hate the way it sounds so far, so I've decided that I'm going to tell you a different one! Don't worry though! It's still relevant. I just need a little more time to come up with a proper way to tell you my story. Why do I need all this time you ask? Well, one usually remembers the good stories, not the facts and figures, so this story just has to be incredible... Not that this story isn't fact! It is very much! You could trust this story more than you could trust your own legs to carry you! Yeah, yeah, I see the irony there. Don't rub it in. Now, about this story. This is the back story for one of... uh... his companions. His best friend actually. The first one to have ever seen him. He was a stallion who lived in Ponyville. His name was Truth Turner, and he lived with his brother Time Turner in his clock shop. He was a unicorn with a gray spikey mane. His coat was a musky grayish blue, and he always had dirt on his hooves. Now, Truth Turner. He was a character. Before he met my friend, Truth Turner was pretty much friendless himself, with the exception of one other stallion who I will probably get to later today. Everypony looked down on him, and His brother was ashamed to be associated with him. It was all because of one of his signature traits, a trait seemingly unique to him, faith. You might be wondering why I said that faith was a trait that he had in particular. More than anypony else. Also, why other ponies shunned him for it. I mean, pretty much all ponies are faithful, right? They all know that Celestia watches over them during the day and her sister during the night. There isn't really much doubt there. Nonbelief is pretty much ignorance more than anything else, but I wouldn't really call what they have faith. For me, faith is believing in something you can't see. Celestia you can see. There's no faith needed there, and sure, everypony's faithful to them, but it's because of their deeds and incredible magical abilities. Now, you may be asking what did Truth Turner believe in if he didn't believe in the royal sisters? Well, I never said he didn't believe in the royal sisters. Like I said, that would be just ignorant. He acknowledged their authority and was ever-conscious of their power. It was just that he believed in something he himself had never seen. Who no pony had ever seen. Well, actually it was a couple things no pony had ever seen. One, he believed that there was something else out there. What do I mean by that? I mean that he believed that there was something or someone out there with even more power than Princess Celestia or anything produced in Equestria for that matter. He believed that some being or beings watched over all of them, controlling every aspect of their lives. He also sensed an aura that accompanied these hypothesized beings, and he noticed that every pony had that aura. Some beings, he noticed, were flooded in the stuff, while others you could barely sense it at all. That wasn't the reason ponies shunned him though. He usually kept his senses and that belief to himself. It took me ages to him to get it out of him, and don't think he even ever told his other friend. His other belief was the one that got him in trouble, and the one that ended up becoming his cutie mark. What was exactly is his cutie mark? Well, right on his side was a peculiar mark that looked like a bloody handprint. Yep, You guessed it. He believed in humans. That felt kind of weird saying it out loud. Let me rephrase it. He believed that there were humans in Equestria. About this belief, contrary to his other one, he was pretty outspoken. His parents were astounded when they saw him talking about humans with that print upon his flank. They just couldn't believe it. They sent him to around twenty different licensed cutie mark interpreters, and they all ended up coming up with very different, and equally hilarious, theories. One thought the hand kind of looked like a turkey and suggested getting him a flock to watch over. Another thought it looked like a paint splatter from a paintball gun; That year had some pretty awesome birthday gifts. My personal favorite is one where the doctor said that the cutie mark represented a talent for finger-painting. Isn't that hilarious?! It contradicts itself! You need fingers to finger-paint! Well, since you get your cutie mark from you discovering your own destiny, Truth Turner knew the entire time that he was destined to become an anthropologist. He truly had faith that they were out there somewhere. Truth Turner's faith greatly embarrassed his parents. So much so, that they took him out of the public school system, which didn't really help his friend situation much. He had to learn pretty much everything from checking out and reading books from the library. He's actually number two in the 'most books read' category. Right after you know who. He read up on everything he could about humans, even though most, if not all, of his reading material came from the fiction section. Frankly, that still wasn't very much information. He longed for more. He would often set out on what he called 'expeditions' looking for any trace of human activity. He always got lost or hurt, and never found anything. It was actually on one of these expeditions that he met his only friend. Should I tell you that story now? I guess I should. I have enough time. Okay, so one day, upon reading one book about humans, Truth Turner learned about their obsession for shiny things. Truth Turner, being a young colt at the time, didn't really have any money to get anything shiny, so he decided to search the outskirts of town for trinkets and treasures. I really don't know what he planned to do with it, but that's not really important. He did this for several days, and each day he noticed that there was a colt that watched him on his way out. One day, that colt decided to follow him to see what he was up to. That colt's name was Vapor Trail. He was a character. If I had one word to describe him, it would probably reclusive, but if I had two, the second word would be humble. I mean, it wasn't really hard for him. He wasn't particularly good at anything. Even when my story begins, he still doesn't have a cutie mark yet. He has jet black, slicked back hair and a pale yellow coat, similar to the one of his nature loving neighbor's. You'd think that he'd some type of high flying pegasus due to his name, but you'd be wrong. Okay, You'd be somewhat correct. He was a pegasus, but minus the high flying part. Actually scratch the flying all together. He had a rare type of birth defect that left him wingless since infancy. Is wasn't all bad though. He could still walk on clouds, and he could control weather a bit too, but there's only so much you can do with fog and dew. He grew up in Cloudsdale where his parents still live today. His childhood wasn't really that tough, but to him it was awful. Being the only one in a pegasus school who couldn't fly felt like the worst thing in the world. He had to sit out for all flying related games, and he was occasionally teased for it. "Constantly" if you ask him. It really could have worked out for him too. One day, a filly stood up for him when some bullies were picking on him, but, to him, it seemed she did that for everypony who was being picked on, and she probably did it more for the attention than actually wanting to help. At least that's what he thought. The idea that some would want to be his friend seems foreign to Vapor. He ended up excluding himself becoming a loner and a hermit. The second he graduated, he moved out of Cloudsdale and eventually to Ponyville. Now, why was he in Ponyville at this time? as a colt? Usually, during the summer, his parents would send him down there to stay with his grandfather who was afflicted with the same condition. This was both a blessing and a curse. Even though his grandfather gave him somepony to identify with, he also inherited his grandfather's disdain for the rest of his family and the pegasus race in general. It's not like he wanted to exterminate them, but you could definitely notice him rolling his eyes when one flew by. Now back to the story. So Vapor Trail was tailing Truth Turner on his way to seek for trinkets. Truth was completely clueless to his presence and just continued to scour the ground. Even as a colt, he got pretty intense about things. Usually, Truth Turner found nothing on his expeditions, but today he found a bit of metal on the side of the road. At the time Vapor Trail too had entered a phase where he wanted metallic things. I don't remember why. He just did. So, he decided to try to jump forward to try to swipe it. Lacking the strength of an earth pony though, he failed to jump far enough and ended up injuring himself. Now, as you can imagine, Truth Turner would probably be very surprised from this encounter, but it wasn't for the reasons you'd expect. He wasn't surprised that an undetected pony jumped out at him; He was surprised that he didn't detect him at all. Remember when I mentioned that aura earlier? The one that supposedly everypony had? Well, I lied. Vapor Trail had no trace of this aura. Truth thought that meant there was something special about him, so he took that moment to help the poor colt up. He dusted him off , walked him home, and even ended giving Vapor that piece a scrap metal he found. That's one thing I don't get. That little bout of friendship. Just because he was different, he decided to help him out. Of course Vapor Trail ended reciprocating that friendship, friendship he never truly found in Cloudsdale. They became great allies as well, but it just seemed that that random act of kindness was uncalled for. Whatever. Not my call. That's just what happened. Okay, What do I talk about now? I'm kind of done here, yet we still have some time left. I know that the others like to have their recordings of me to be in nice equal segments, which is pretty boring if you ask me, so I need something else to talk about. Hmm... Have you ever had the food here? It's not all that bad. Actually a lot it is bad. Eh, It's all horrible. I really miss real food. Oh! You know what I miss the most? Chocolate milk! I know I didn't really care for the stuff before, but you don't really love anything until it's gone, right? The next time you come, could you bring me some chocolate milk? and real food as well! Make sure whatever you bring me has a lot of veggies in it. This debacle has made me make a lot a dietary changes. I really need all those vitamins anyway. I doubt there's much in what they serve us. Well, I have nothing else to tell you. Tomorrow, I should be able to talk about him, so get ready. Bring a pen and some paper if you have to. Also, remember as much as you can about those stallions I told you about. There's a lot of details that may come back later. Au revoir mon ami, I'll see you tomorrow. Chapter 3Huh? What? You're here already? You're early. Like, really, really early! That's a good sign right?! Oh, It fills me with pure joy to think that someone actually wants to listen! I think. It would be just like you to pretend to listen, but since you're hear earlier, it must mean you do care! And that I'm not insane! And I finally have a friend who believes me! Ah, I have a friend... It's sure been a while. Wait, how did you get in? Visiting hours hasn't started yet. Are you special or something? Oh well, I guess you have your perks, and I have mine. Mine are cooler. Hey!? Where's my chocolate milk? You promised! The one thing I hate the most is a promise breaker! You know what I do with things I hate!? Hahahaha! Oh, you should have seen the look on your face! It was priceless! It was all like, 'I can't. The stupid guards won't let me bring in any food waaaah!' Hahahahaha! Oh yeah, I did know that by the way. That they wouldn't let food in. I just wanted to see you try. Don't fret, my friend, your punctuality definitely makes up for this mishap. And you can buy another coffee later. So you what me to continue, eh? or well... start. Okay, I'm still not one hundred percent behind it, but I guess I have to start somewhere. Okay. here I go. Starting the story. Any second now. Starting. Right now. The story. That you must believe completely. Cause I depend on it. Or else. Phew! Did it just get really hot in here? Seriously! Did it?! Ah! Get a hold of yourself! I'm trying to! Why even bother if you're not going to start in the first place!? Okay, okay... Deep breaths... Let's begin. My story starts about a year from the Canterlot wedding. Wait? did I just say a year? That's wrong. It was just less than half. So, about 6 months from the Canterlot wedding, or was it? The timing doesn't really matter. It was later. A very strange occurrence happened. It was in the everfree forest just outside of Ponyville. At the junction of four small streams, he lay there. Who? Why, my friend of course! He lay there in a small trench. If you hadn't known better, it would have looked just like he fell out of the sky. The gullies appearing to be his crater. Now he had that thing... what's it called again? I don't remember. Armenia? Anemia? Oh yeah! Amnesia! He had amnesia! So he was laying there unconscious not remembering anything. He had scars tattooing his entire body; especially on his limbs and up upon his brow. He also had a gash in his side, but you couldn't really see that much of the time because of the way he was. A description? Well he had brown hair, like myself, blue eyes, also like me, and um... other similarities. What type of similarities? Well, we had similar interests like... enjoying chocolate milk and... being an only child... I guess that's not really an interest... Well, he's not me though! I promise, Would I ever lie to you? Well, maybe. As he tried to get up, he felt as if the weight of the world was upon him. He stumbled around and swayed as if he had two beings pulling at him and tearing him toward the ground like two fillies fighting over a cherished doll. It was hard for him to see at first. The bright sun in his eyes and the marvelous colors that surrounded him seemed strange to him. He woke to gaze upon various varieties of fruit trees. Some that seemed familiar, but others that just looked made-up. While trying to find his bearings, he stumbled around only to end up falling near the water of one of the streams. He then jumped back, startled by the being he saw. "Ah!" He shouted as he scrambled back, plummeting back to the ground. He crawled over to see what it was. It was even hard for him to crawl about. It seemed that the shifting sand beneath him was not used to carrying something like him. "Oh. It was merely my reflection. I must be going insane." He said gazing upon the water. He noticed the scars upon his forehead and the bruises all about him. Then, after taking a deep breath, he rose to his feet, combing his fingers through his hair. What? You can tell me that you didn't see that coming! A best friend obsessed with humans. The confusion with the colors. Ground unable to support him correctly! If that wasn't foreshadowing, I don't know what is. Also this is why he is not me. He is a fully fuctional, upright standing, healthy human being, or at least he will be when he comes to, while I'm just a sorry shame of a soul, unable to stand upright and without thumbs. As he stumbled about without a moment he could remember and no clue about his location, he couldn't help trying to explain his condition. "Was I in some type of a fight?" he said to himself. "or perhaps it was some freak accident. Why does everything look so off? Am I in a dream? or a nightmare?" He tried to think, but it was almost as if he couldn't. It was like something in his mind was blocking him, or like there was nothing in his mind to think with at all. All he got out of all this contemplation was a throbbing headache and more questions. As he tried to grasp the situation, he was interrupted by laughter coming from the woods ahead of him. "Come on you slowpokes!" said one voice in a raspy, tomboyish shout. "How are we going to get our spelunking cutie marks if we don't find something to spelunk in!" "We're comin'. You don't need to get all riled up" responded another in a southern drawl. "You still haven't even explained to us what spelunking is!" proclaimed a third in a sweet innocent voice. Upon hearing the three young voices, it seemed that something in that enigma of a brain of his was kick-started, and as the gears in his head whirred and twirled, he started to realize what really happened to him. "Those voices... They seem so familiar... no, that can possibly be right! I can't be in Equestria! Those voices are merely coincidental!" He heard the voices getting closer and closer. Quickly he hid behind and old stump, and sure enough, right in front of him strolled three little fillies in golden-lined crimson capes. Now imagine this. You've just been transported to a world of love and peace... well, compared to yours. What would you do? Frolic in merriment? Greet those you adore? Bask in the wonder of another universe? ...yeah, he didn't do that. Actually, it was quite the opposite. He started freaking out! Overwhelmed by the notion that he was in a world that he regarded as fictional! Questions started flooding into his newly functional mind. 'This cannot be happening!' 'Why was I even brought here?' 'Who could have even done such a thing!' He kind of panicked. I guess that's a somewhat reasonable response, but running off into the Everfree forest probably wasn't. And man did he run. He ran past trees with faces and odd fields of blue blooms. He ran past creatures beyond his wildest dreams! manticores, serpents, and cockatrices! Oh, my! He was absolutely crazy! Not a single one saw him either! He was a blur! He just kept running and running until he passed out yet again, this time from pure exhaustion, and smashed himself into the rough ground. He probably would have stayed there too, bleeding out and starved (Pan-universal travel sure uses a lot of calories you know) had it not been for a specific pony with a knack for all things human. Truth Turner couldn't help rushing off to the Everfree Forest. Such a surge in the aura was just unprecedented. That stallion could have been in a coma in a hospital, and he still would have sprang to his feet. He didn't even stop to get Vapor Trail who he passed on the way. With Vapor trailing him, he rushed off to the epicenter of this surge. You're probably still wondering how this has any effect on what's happening here. Ponyville is so far away. Why would anything that happened there even be relevant here? Well, everything is connected my friend. Whether it be on the other side of the planet or the universe, there are always cosmic ties that are pulling on each other. Oh, no. That look you just gave me. You don't believe me do you? do you? Oh no... I'm not telling the story well enough. My only friend is no longer that. I'm on the verge of denouncing myself has insane. What a fantastic day to be me! Just smashing! It doesn't matter! I need to tell someone! Or else it'll just fizzle out into oblivion! I don't care if you believe me. I don't care if you see me as odd or even chaotic. This story has to be told. It just has too... for me. Sorry for that. Just a little bout of paranoia. I'm sure you believe me. You promised. You promised. You promised... Okay, so Truth Turner, with his senses off the charts and adrenaline pumping, was rushing off to where that spike had first appeared. When he arrived at the site of impact, he franticly jumped and searched around for the cause. Vapor Trail panting and sore stumbled in behind him. "What did they put in your oats this morning?" Vapor said between deep breaths, "Is the apocalypse today? and I didn't get the memo or something?" Truth Turner didn't even acknowledge the question. He continued to run around frantically. "Seriously? What's gotten into you? Are the parasprites back? Did you lose your brother's favorite screwdriver again?... Do you not want to be my friend anymore?" The final question finally knocked some sense into the stallion. "Of, course you're still my friend! Why would I abandon my best friend ever!" "Then, tell me. What are you doing? Why'd you think it way okay to dash past me without even a single hello! Even a nod would have been fine!" Truth Turner had already returned to his search, and had just caught the scent of the trail He ran down."Truth Turner!" Vapor Trail yelled, "Truth Turner I demand an explanation!" Truth Turner was already far into the trees. Feeling abandoned and forsaken, Vapor Trail decided to trudge back home on his own. Now Truth Turner didn't take much longer to find Him. Once he locked on to the signal, he homed in like a hawk swooping upon an unsuspecting rabbit. He found the boy tangled and mangled amongst the roots of an odd tree. "Oh my Celestia! I found one!" He exclaimed, "They said I was crazy, but I found one! I told them! Told them all! If only my parents were still around to see this! They tried to divert me! but they failed! Ha Ha! I found a human! Who do I tell first? Where am I going to bring him? Oh, I'll be the head of the Canterlot Institute of Mythology in no time! I can just see the headlines! Local stallion uncovers a mythical creature! The fame! The glory! The right to shove it all of their scrunchy faces! Oh, I can't wait!" As Truth Turner was busy monologing, a peculiar occurrence started happening with the tree. The roots started creaking and bending until they had completely engulfed the human. "Oh, no!" shouted Truth, "Oh no no no no!" He tried to stop it. Magic, kicking, tackling--- nothing he could do would penetrate to wooden cocoon that now surrounded the human, and as he yelled in anguish, the roots ripped him down into the ground. Even with his prize being recently rendered unobtainable by the unforgiving forest, Truth Turner knew this would be his one and only chance he would ever get to show the world that he was not crazy. He could still feel the intense aura that emanated from the human, but he could feel that it was fading quickly. He was without clue about what to do. He tried to dig but got nowhere. He tried to look for help, but no longer was he accompanied. He was not one to give up, but he knew he was running out of options. "Okay, Truth Turner. Just think for a little bit." He often would talk to himself in times of crisis. It helped him to formulate plans and get over his nerves. "The first any only human I'll probably ever see was just taken from me by... roots? Wait did that really just happen?" He had been so obsessed with reaching the human, that he didn't even register what had hindered him. "How does that even make sense? Roots don't ponynap things!" At that moment a sinister laugh crackled from the unknown. "You're smarter than you look." whispered the voice. "but you will need more than smarts if you are to last long with him." "W,w,who are you?" replied Truth quivering in fear, "What do you want with me?" "Ah, it is not what I want with you" it replied, "it's what you want with him..." "W,w,what are you? his m,m,mommy or something?" Truth said trying to act brave, " I found him... f,f,fair and square!" "Just because you had good fortune does not mean that you need know of him. Leave and forget, or else I'll have to make you!" "No! you can't!" A dark shifty smoke started to creep in from all around. Truth Turner panicked and did the only thing he could do. Talk. "Woah! there! getting a little close for comfort, don't you think? A,a,all the towns folk will see I'm gone! sure many won't care, but some one may!" The louche haze crept closer and closer. It was a mere few inches away when, in desperation, Truth Turner shouted. "What good use is there in disposing of me if your stupid little pet is dying down there!" The smoke stopped, and there was a brief hiatus of sound or movement. "...how do you know of his failing condition?" the mysterious voice slowly asked. "w,w,well, I kind of guessed based on his cuts and...stuff" "He is hidden to you, yet you know how he feels... then perhaps your discovery wasn't merely by chance. It was quite odd that you found him so quickly, and how I do love... oddities. Are you not odd?" "I guess so... I just..." At that moment the smoke retreated back into the forest. The grove they were in brightened up, and the ambient feeling of despair seemed like it had been turned off by some crazy switch. "No, no, you know what? you were right all along! You found him! You keep him. huzzah. streamers and confetti... except not really." "Ah... okay?" "Just promise me one thing..." The switch of despair quickly turned on again, and an invisible force quickly wrapped itself around Truth's neck. "Do not, and I repeat! Do not share your knowledge of him with anypony! Almost everypony out there! Only a few... and you, my dear, should know who. Only reveal him to those you can trust, or else his entire purpose will become a bust. Oh, and you too." The gloom then quickly dispersed and the unconscious human was thrust back up onto the ground, and Truth Turner began to tend to his wounds. That's all that I'll get to today. It was nice that I could talk a little longer due to you're earliness, so I thank you for that. That voice never did come back. I'd probably wonder where it ran off to... if I didn't already know. Tell you? Where's the fun in that!? You'll find out later. As for now, I'll leave you with a little advice. Work on your smile a bit. Make it look like they're not paying you to. I'll see you soon.
Chapter 1Ah! There you are! I knew you'd come around eventually! You always had a curious ear, and I just knew you wouldn't just leave your best friend trapped in here like some kind of animal. So, I suppose you already heard about what the others are saying about me. Well don't listen to them! You've known me forever! You know I am one of the most level-headed and mentally stable beings ever created! How dare they accuse me of insanity! They're the insane ones! It's so funny that it makes me laugh! Hahahaha! If only they knew. If only they'd listen to me. You know what? It doesn't even matter any more. I got you now. Can you believe that not only do they keep me caged in here like a rat, but they also isolated me too! Me! The one who could talk the ears off of an elephant! The one who could tongue-tie an auctioneer! The one who...who could...well you get the point! They shove me in a box with nothing to do but count paint chips on a wall. I'm not really mobile in this situation either, as you can see, so I don't even get to see the other walls! It's not fair! Life's not fair! You just got to deal with it! Oh well. Let's just let bygones be bygones. Anyway, they sent me you, so perhaps they aren't that heartless. So, tell me. What is happening out there?... Pretty chaotic right? It's like our entire way of life is being assaulted! On multiple fronts! They take what's near and dear to us, and then they warp it! Right in front of our faces! They cut us short! They walk all over us! They say they're the ones who are being enslaved, but we're the one's being persecuted! By them! They don't even seem to care about us even though we were the one's who built them up in the first place! What? How do I know this? I know I've been in here for a while, but seriously? How long could it be?... Two years?! Wow! Time sure flies when your having fun! Am I right? Oh, wait... This isn't fun. I guess that is a pretty good question then. How do I know all this? Well, you see. Ever since that accident, you know, the one that put me here in the first place, I've been...well...enlightened. or cursed. It's kind of hard to tell from here. I haven't quite figured it all out myself. Let's just say that even though I've been isolated. Without a single soul to strike a conversation with. I've never been... alone. I've been talking to myself! I know it sounds crazy, but it really isn't. Solitude would make anyone start talking to themselves, and let's be honest who doesn't want to talk to me? But it seems, as I continued to talk and listen, I began to discover a part of me I never knew was there before, and noticed a part of me that no longer was. Basically, they're the one's who have been keeping me in the loop. They told me everything. I guess the only way I can really explain this well is to tell you my story. I was going to tell it to you anyway. It does answer the questions about why we're in this situation. I really have to cut on the chit-chat. I only have a couple of hours to talk before they whisk you away. Leaving me alone with me again. You just have to promise me this before I start. Believe every word I tell you. None of them are false. All of this truly happened... I will warn you though. This story probably is the perpetrator for why the others made those rumors about me. Well, the main one at least. It is pretty out there, I'll admit, but I'm merely telling what happened. I understand why you would want to doubt me. Just promise me that you won't. You just have to believe me. My sanity depends on it. This isn't a story about me...entirely. Yes, I said it was my story, and it is my story, it just isn't really my story. Get it? It's about someone similar, yet connected. You know what? Scratch that. This is a story with me in it. I'm just not the main character...sort of. Just listen! It'll all make sense in the end! You'll see! And you know what? I guess I should tell you the whole story too. Not just the parts about him. So let's start at the very beginning. Well, not the very beginning. Just the beginning of the story. So it all begins about three years ago. Assuming your information about the time I've been stuck here is correct. It was just after the closing ceremonies of the last royal Canterlot wedding. Everypony, even the newly weds had left. They either returned to their quaint little abodes, or had returned to some bore of a night shift. The couple had left to go to their honeymoon. I forget where it was specifically. Some type of tropical island. I've always wanted to go to the tropics. It's so nice and peaceful there. and who doesn't want to experience the winds and craziness of a hurricane at least one time in their lives?! What?! It could be fun! Okay, I'll stay on track. So the castle was pretty empty after everyone left. Some of the guards were still cleaning up some of the trash and decorations from the festivities, but all in all it was fairly calm. Celestia was on her way to her chamber to retire for the night. Her sister had taken up her shift. She was both exhausted and relieved from the days events, and a little bit embarrassed as well. I mean, think about it. Not only did a foreign power infiltrate the inner sanctums of Canterlot and struck down Celestia right where everypony could see, but it was her student and not herself who discovered the threat and found a way to defeated it. Yeah, Celestia was proud and thankful for her student and her friends, but she just wished it didn't have to cost her the reputation of security and success that she had earned over the past couple thousand years. You're still listening to me right? Good! This is already the farthest into my story I've gotten with anyone. Usually, once I mention the royal wedding, they nod me off and dismiss me as some type of lunatic. That's what doesn't really make sense to me. Luna isn't even a main part of my story! It's was Celestia who I was talking about! I didn't even mention Luna's name! Why would he call me a lunatic!...So would that make me a celestiatic then? What? Oh yeah! The story! I guess I'll continue. So, like I said. Celestia, being all ashamed and exhausted, was returning to her room, but right before she entered, she was interrupted by one of the royal guards. "Excuse me, your royal highness." He said, " before you set yourself down for the night. I'm here to inform you about some news regarding that fortuneteller who gave us that warning about an attempt to overthrow Canterlot." "Oh, Yes," Celestia replied, "I believe his name was Honey Locus. Make sure he gets a generous reward, and be sure to listen to his warnings in the future. Now, If you'll excuse me, I really must get some sleep." Celestia turned to enter her room, but the guard stopped her. "That's just it, your majesty. He hasn't stopped yet" "He hasn't stopped? Stopped what exactly?" "He hasn't stopped predicting, your highness. He still is talking about some new ruler to come and shake the foundations of all of Equestria." Now, as you can imagine, this was not what Celestia wanted to hear. She was grumpy and tired to begin with, and with all that chaos that happened that day, she just wanted to go to bed. She knew she couldn't just ignore Honey Locus. If he correctly predicted one threat, he could definitely predict another, so she begrudgingly followed the guard wondering what that unicorn was yelling about now. Now Honey Locus, he's a character. He seemingly came out of nowhere. No records anywhere said anything about him, or his entire family for that matter. Some report that the stallion just walked out of the Everfree forest one day, and just started preaching to anypony who walked past him. He looked aged, with a scraggly beard and bags under his eyes, but you could tell from his enthusiasm and tenacity that he was much younger than he looked. Even with his intensity, though, he couldn't really get a large following. Celestia eventually found the soothsayer announcing from atop several large books in the middle of the Canterlot marketplace. Many of the residents had shut their doors and windows to try to block the sound, but it seemed that his voice still found a way through to their ears. Perhaps he was using some type of magic to project his voice. Even with his loudness, passersbys didn't stop to listen. They just though he was a fool, and tried to continue with their business or return home. It wasn't until Celestia had approached him that anypony started to take notice. Even with Celestia standing before him, he continued to shout his predictions and prophesies. "A new ruler is to come! and the ruler will free us all! Liberate us from a prison we know nothing of! Leading a convoy of allies! They will overthrow our entire way of thinking! and a new age will follow them!" Celestia was waiting to be addressed, but the prophet would not stop to even look at her. She eventually gave up waiting, and interrupted him. "Excuse me, Honey Locus? Honey Locus?! Hey! Your princess is talking to you!" Everyone around the pair now knew that this was serious. Nopony, not even Luna, ignores Celestia. Also, many had never seen Celestia get so riled up like she just did. Although a crowd gathered around them, they backed up a bit, and watched them at a distance. "Oh, hello there Celestia! I didn't notice you there! I was so focused on telling Equestria the wonderful news!" "Wonderful?! You think this is wonderful?! Your prophesizing about me being overthrown!" "I know It sounds harsh, but this new ruler will be out to liberate us all! Including yourself! And truly, I never said anything about you." "What else do you know about this 'ruler'? anything I, your Princess! should know?" "Well..." the psychic said with a pause, "Nothing specifically for you. There isn't even much could tell you. I don't even know if this ruler is to be a king or a queen. All I really know is what has been passed down to me from generations before me. My ancestors knew about this ruler to come for eons, but since whoever it be is coming during my lifetime, it is my duty to inform Equestria. I can't really tell you everything I know, but all of my knowledge was derived from this ancient hyme written on the inside of an abandoned dragon's den." Honey Locus took a deep breath and repeated this like he had it memorized from repetition. "Coming from PonyVille, though not of it A ruler will arise. standing higher than all opening eyes to a way never thought of A shattered soul destined to appall A group a friends will soon arise Each one with very different traits With weapons glistening, and rarely used Let them free you before it becomes too late" Finally, a smile returned to Celestia's face. She thought she had already cracked the riddle. The riddle wasn't talking about some foreign invasion or political upheaval. It had merely predicted her secret plans for her most faithful student. Celestia then thanked the soothsayer for his time and started to return to the castle. "Actually Celestia," interrupted Honey Locus right before Celestia left hearing distance, "Now, I do have something to say to you. No." "No? what is that supposed to mean?" She responded. Honey Locus then slowly approached her. "The one who you are thinking of right now is not the one I speak of. Even though I cannot say who it will be, I know who it is not. It is not her. No, it is not." He leaned in close and whispered her student's name into her ear. Celestia was astonished. Somehow, this prancing street urchin who came wandering out of the wilderness had not only the audacity to ignore her and talk down to her, but also had specific knowledge of her secret plans for her star pupil. Now at this point, Celestia had done an okay job at hiding her emotions. She had simmered down briefly when she thought she solved the riddle, but this transgression was the straw that broke the mare's back. She was absolutely furious. She probably sent in about two dozen stallions to hunt this guy down, and, even though it took them all night, she had who she believed to be a prying eye and a blasphemer imprisoned. Even while trapped in the royal dungeon, Honey Locus continued to preach his news to anypony who'd listen, willingly or not. It would end up being an entire year until the being he described would arise. Well, as I said, they'll probably be in here any moment now to shoo you out of here. I didn't even get a chance to talk about him yet. Oh yeah, spoiler alert. It's a guy. Oh yeah, I already said he... Actually, now that you think about it that's pretty surprising in Equestria. It isn't often you see a male leader who isn't evil. Well, I guess evil is defined on which side your on. Anyway, please do try to return, and please remember your promise you made to me. Actually, while you're making promises, you should promise to return too. There! It's a done deal. You'll know where to find me. I'll just be here... talking to myself.
Chapter 2Ah! There you are! I've rehearsing my story for you, and... I absolutely hate the way it sounds so far, so I've decided that I'm going to tell you a different one! Don't worry though! It's still relevant. I just need a little more time to come up with a proper way to tell you my story. Why do I need all this time you ask? Well, one usually remembers the good stories, not the facts and figures, so this story just has to be incredible... Not that this story isn't fact! It is very much! You could trust this story more than you could trust your own legs to carry you! Yeah, yeah, I see the irony there. Don't rub it in. Now, about this story. This is the back story for one of... uh... his companions. His best friend actually. The first one to have ever seen him. He was a stallion who lived in Ponyville. His name was Truth Turner, and he lived with his brother Time Turner in his clock shop. He was a unicorn with a gray spikey mane. His coat was a musky grayish blue, and he always had dirt on his hooves. Now, Truth Turner. He was a character. Before he met my friend, Truth Turner was pretty much friendless himself, with the exception of one other stallion who I will probably get to later today. Everypony looked down on him, and His brother was ashamed to be associated with him. It was all because of one of his signature traits, a trait seemingly unique to him, faith. You might be wondering why I said that faith was a trait that he had in particular. More than anypony else. Also, why other ponies shunned him for it. I mean, pretty much all ponies are faithful, right? They all know that Celestia watches over them during the day and her sister during the night. There isn't really much doubt there. Nonbelief is pretty much ignorance more than anything else, but I wouldn't really call what they have faith. For me, faith is believing in something you can't see. Celestia you can see. There's no faith needed there, and sure, everypony's faithful to them, but it's because of their deeds and incredible magical abilities. Now, you may be asking what did Truth Turner believe in if he didn't believe in the royal sisters? Well, I never said he didn't believe in the royal sisters. Like I said, that would be just ignorant. He acknowledged their authority and was ever-conscious of their power. It was just that he believed in something he himself had never seen. Who no pony had ever seen. Well, actually it was a couple things no pony had ever seen. One, he believed that there was something else out there. What do I mean by that? I mean that he believed that there was something or someone out there with even more power than Princess Celestia or anything produced in Equestria for that matter. He believed that some being or beings watched over all of them, controlling every aspect of their lives. He also sensed an aura that accompanied these hypothesized beings, and he noticed that every pony had that aura. Some beings, he noticed, were flooded in the stuff, while others you could barely sense it at all. That wasn't the reason ponies shunned him though. He usually kept his senses and that belief to himself. It took me ages to him to get it out of him, and don't think he even ever told his other friend. His other belief was the one that got him in trouble, and the one that ended up becoming his cutie mark. What was exactly is his cutie mark? Well, right on his side was a peculiar mark that looked like a bloody handprint. Yep, You guessed it. He believed in humans. That felt kind of weird saying it out loud. Let me rephrase it. He believed that there were humans in Equestria. About this belief, contrary to his other one, he was pretty outspoken. His parents were astounded when they saw him talking about humans with that print upon his flank. They just couldn't believe it. They sent him to around twenty different licensed cutie mark interpreters, and they all ended up coming up with very different, and equally hilarious, theories. One thought the hand kind of looked like a turkey and suggested getting him a flock to watch over. Another thought it looked like a paint splatter from a paintball gun; That year had some pretty awesome birthday gifts. My personal favorite is one where the doctor said that the cutie mark represented a talent for finger-painting. Isn't that hilarious?! It contradicts itself! You need fingers to finger-paint! Well, since you get your cutie mark from you discovering your own destiny, Truth Turner knew the entire time that he was destined to become an anthropologist. He truly had faith that they were out there somewhere. Truth Turner's faith greatly embarrassed his parents. So much so, that they took him out of the public school system, which didn't really help his friend situation much. He had to learn pretty much everything from checking out and reading books from the library. He's actually number two in the 'most books read' category. Right after you know who. He read up on everything he could about humans, even though most, if not all, of his reading material came from the fiction section. Frankly, that still wasn't very much information. He longed for more. He would often set out on what he called 'expeditions' looking for any trace of human activity. He always got lost or hurt, and never found anything. It was actually on one of these expeditions that he met his only friend. Should I tell you that story now? I guess I should. I have enough time. Okay, so one day, upon reading one book about humans, Truth Turner learned about their obsession for shiny things. Truth Turner, being a young colt at the time, didn't really have any money to get anything shiny, so he decided to search the outskirts of town for trinkets and treasures. I really don't know what he planned to do with it, but that's not really important. He did this for several days, and each day he noticed that there was a colt that watched him on his way out. One day, that colt decided to follow him to see what he was up to. That colt's name was Vapor Trail. He was a character. If I had one word to describe him, it would probably reclusive, but if I had two, the second word would be humble. I mean, it wasn't really hard for him. He wasn't particularly good at anything. Even when my story begins, he still doesn't have a cutie mark yet. He has jet black, slicked back hair and a pale yellow coat, similar to the one of his nature loving neighbor's. You'd think that he'd some type of high flying pegasus due to his name, but you'd be wrong. Okay, You'd be somewhat correct. He was a pegasus, but minus the high flying part. Actually scratch the flying all together. He had a rare type of birth defect that left him wingless since infancy. Is wasn't all bad though. He could still walk on clouds, and he could control weather a bit too, but there's only so much you can do with fog and dew. He grew up in Cloudsdale where his parents still live today. His childhood wasn't really that tough, but to him it was awful. Being the only one in a pegasus school who couldn't fly felt like the worst thing in the world. He had to sit out for all flying related games, and he was occasionally teased for it. "Constantly" if you ask him. It really could have worked out for him too. One day, a filly stood up for him when some bullies were picking on him, but, to him, it seemed she did that for everypony who was being picked on, and she probably did it more for the attention than actually wanting to help. At least that's what he thought. The idea that some would want to be his friend seems foreign to Vapor. He ended up excluding himself becoming a loner and a hermit. The second he graduated, he moved out of Cloudsdale and eventually to Ponyville. Now, why was he in Ponyville at this time? as a colt? Usually, during the summer, his parents would send him down there to stay with his grandfather who was afflicted with the same condition. This was both a blessing and a curse. Even though his grandfather gave him somepony to identify with, he also inherited his grandfather's disdain for the rest of his family and the pegasus race in general. It's not like he wanted to exterminate them, but you could definitely notice him rolling his eyes when one flew by. Now back to the story. So Vapor Trail was tailing Truth Turner on his way to seek for trinkets. Truth was completely clueless to his presence and just continued to scour the ground. Even as a colt, he got pretty intense about things. Usually, Truth Turner found nothing on his expeditions, but today he found a bit of metal on the side of the road. At the time Vapor Trail too had entered a phase where he wanted metallic things. I don't remember why. He just did. So, he decided to try to jump forward to try to swipe it. Lacking the strength of an earth pony though, he failed to jump far enough and ended up injuring himself. Now, as you can imagine, Truth Turner would probably be very surprised from this encounter, but it wasn't for the reasons you'd expect. He wasn't surprised that an undetected pony jumped out at him; He was surprised that he didn't detect him at all. Remember when I mentioned that aura earlier? The one that supposedly everypony had? Well, I lied. Vapor Trail had no trace of this aura. Truth thought that meant there was something special about him, so he took that moment to help the poor colt up. He dusted him off , walked him home, and even ended giving Vapor that piece a scrap metal he found. That's one thing I don't get. That little bout of friendship. Just because he was different, he decided to help him out. Of course Vapor Trail ended reciprocating that friendship, friendship he never truly found in Cloudsdale. They became great allies as well, but it just seemed that that random act of kindness was uncalled for. Whatever. Not my call. That's just what happened. Okay, What do I talk about now? I'm kind of done here, yet we still have some time left. I know that the others like to have their recordings of me to be in nice equal segments, which is pretty boring if you ask me, so I need something else to talk about. Hmm... Have you ever had the food here? It's not all that bad. Actually a lot it is bad. Eh, It's all horrible. I really miss real food. Oh! You know what I miss the most? Chocolate milk! I know I didn't really care for the stuff before, but you don't really love anything until it's gone, right? The next time you come, could you bring me some chocolate milk? and real food as well! Make sure whatever you bring me has a lot of veggies in it. This debacle has made me make a lot a dietary changes. I really need all those vitamins anyway. I doubt there's much in what they serve us. Well, I have nothing else to tell you. Tomorrow, I should be able to talk about him, so get ready. Bring a pen and some paper if you have to. Also, remember as much as you can about those stallions I told you about. There's a lot of details that may come back later. Au revoir mon ami, I'll see you tomorrow.
Chapter 3Huh? What? You're here already? You're early. Like, really, really early! That's a good sign right?! Oh, It fills me with pure joy to think that someone actually wants to listen! I think. It would be just like you to pretend to listen, but since you're hear earlier, it must mean you do care! And that I'm not insane! And I finally have a friend who believes me! Ah, I have a friend... It's sure been a while. Wait, how did you get in? Visiting hours hasn't started yet. Are you special or something? Oh well, I guess you have your perks, and I have mine. Mine are cooler. Hey!? Where's my chocolate milk? You promised! The one thing I hate the most is a promise breaker! You know what I do with things I hate!? Hahahaha! Oh, you should have seen the look on your face! It was priceless! It was all like, 'I can't. The stupid guards won't let me bring in any food waaaah!' Hahahahaha! Oh yeah, I did know that by the way. That they wouldn't let food in. I just wanted to see you try. Don't fret, my friend, your punctuality definitely makes up for this mishap. And you can buy another coffee later. So you what me to continue, eh? or well... start. Okay, I'm still not one hundred percent behind it, but I guess I have to start somewhere. Okay. here I go. Starting the story. Any second now. Starting. Right now. The story. That you must believe completely. Cause I depend on it. Or else. Phew! Did it just get really hot in here? Seriously! Did it?! Ah! Get a hold of yourself! I'm trying to! Why even bother if you're not going to start in the first place!? Okay, okay... Deep breaths... Let's begin. My story starts about a year from the Canterlot wedding. Wait? did I just say a year? That's wrong. It was just less than half. So, about 6 months from the Canterlot wedding, or was it? The timing doesn't really matter. It was later. A very strange occurrence happened. It was in the everfree forest just outside of Ponyville. At the junction of four small streams, he lay there. Who? Why, my friend of course! He lay there in a small trench. If you hadn't known better, it would have looked just like he fell out of the sky. The gullies appearing to be his crater. Now he had that thing... what's it called again? I don't remember. Armenia? Anemia? Oh yeah! Amnesia! He had amnesia! So he was laying there unconscious not remembering anything. He had scars tattooing his entire body; especially on his limbs and up upon his brow. He also had a gash in his side, but you couldn't really see that much of the time because of the way he was. A description? Well he had brown hair, like myself, blue eyes, also like me, and um... other similarities. What type of similarities? Well, we had similar interests like... enjoying chocolate milk and... being an only child... I guess that's not really an interest... Well, he's not me though! I promise, Would I ever lie to you? Well, maybe. As he tried to get up, he felt as if the weight of the world was upon him. He stumbled around and swayed as if he had two beings pulling at him and tearing him toward the ground like two fillies fighting over a cherished doll. It was hard for him to see at first. The bright sun in his eyes and the marvelous colors that surrounded him seemed strange to him. He woke to gaze upon various varieties of fruit trees. Some that seemed familiar, but others that just looked made-up. While trying to find his bearings, he stumbled around only to end up falling near the water of one of the streams. He then jumped back, startled by the being he saw. "Ah!" He shouted as he scrambled back, plummeting back to the ground. He crawled over to see what it was. It was even hard for him to crawl about. It seemed that the shifting sand beneath him was not used to carrying something like him. "Oh. It was merely my reflection. I must be going insane." He said gazing upon the water. He noticed the scars upon his forehead and the bruises all about him. Then, after taking a deep breath, he rose to his feet, combing his fingers through his hair. What? You can tell me that you didn't see that coming! A best friend obsessed with humans. The confusion with the colors. Ground unable to support him correctly! If that wasn't foreshadowing, I don't know what is. Also this is why he is not me. He is a fully fuctional, upright standing, healthy human being, or at least he will be when he comes to, while I'm just a sorry shame of a soul, unable to stand upright and without thumbs. As he stumbled about without a moment he could remember and no clue about his location, he couldn't help trying to explain his condition. "Was I in some type of a fight?" he said to himself. "or perhaps it was some freak accident. Why does everything look so off? Am I in a dream? or a nightmare?" He tried to think, but it was almost as if he couldn't. It was like something in his mind was blocking him, or like there was nothing in his mind to think with at all. All he got out of all this contemplation was a throbbing headache and more questions. As he tried to grasp the situation, he was interrupted by laughter coming from the woods ahead of him. "Come on you slowpokes!" said one voice in a raspy, tomboyish shout. "How are we going to get our spelunking cutie marks if we don't find something to spelunk in!" "We're comin'. You don't need to get all riled up" responded another in a southern drawl. "You still haven't even explained to us what spelunking is!" proclaimed a third in a sweet innocent voice. Upon hearing the three young voices, it seemed that something in that enigma of a brain of his was kick-started, and as the gears in his head whirred and twirled, he started to realize what really happened to him. "Those voices... They seem so familiar... no, that can possibly be right! I can't be in Equestria! Those voices are merely coincidental!" He heard the voices getting closer and closer. Quickly he hid behind and old stump, and sure enough, right in front of him strolled three little fillies in golden-lined crimson capes. Now imagine this. You've just been transported to a world of love and peace... well, compared to yours. What would you do? Frolic in merriment? Greet those you adore? Bask in the wonder of another universe? ...yeah, he didn't do that. Actually, it was quite the opposite. He started freaking out! Overwhelmed by the notion that he was in a world that he regarded as fictional! Questions started flooding into his newly functional mind. 'This cannot be happening!' 'Why was I even brought here?' 'Who could have even done such a thing!' He kind of panicked. I guess that's a somewhat reasonable response, but running off into the Everfree forest probably wasn't. And man did he run. He ran past trees with faces and odd fields of blue blooms. He ran past creatures beyond his wildest dreams! manticores, serpents, and cockatrices! Oh, my! He was absolutely crazy! Not a single one saw him either! He was a blur! He just kept running and running until he passed out yet again, this time from pure exhaustion, and smashed himself into the rough ground. He probably would have stayed there too, bleeding out and starved (Pan-universal travel sure uses a lot of calories you know) had it not been for a specific pony with a knack for all things human. Truth Turner couldn't help rushing off to the Everfree Forest. Such a surge in the aura was just unprecedented. That stallion could have been in a coma in a hospital, and he still would have sprang to his feet. He didn't even stop to get Vapor Trail who he passed on the way. With Vapor trailing him, he rushed off to the epicenter of this surge. You're probably still wondering how this has any effect on what's happening here. Ponyville is so far away. Why would anything that happened there even be relevant here? Well, everything is connected my friend. Whether it be on the other side of the planet or the universe, there are always cosmic ties that are pulling on each other. Oh, no. That look you just gave me. You don't believe me do you? do you? Oh no... I'm not telling the story well enough. My only friend is no longer that. I'm on the verge of denouncing myself has insane. What a fantastic day to be me! Just smashing! It doesn't matter! I need to tell someone! Or else it'll just fizzle out into oblivion! I don't care if you believe me. I don't care if you see me as odd or even chaotic. This story has to be told. It just has too... for me. Sorry for that. Just a little bout of paranoia. I'm sure you believe me. You promised. You promised. You promised... Okay, so Truth Turner, with his senses off the charts and adrenaline pumping, was rushing off to where that spike had first appeared. When he arrived at the site of impact, he franticly jumped and searched around for the cause. Vapor Trail panting and sore stumbled in behind him. "What did they put in your oats this morning?" Vapor said between deep breaths, "Is the apocalypse today? and I didn't get the memo or something?" Truth Turner didn't even acknowledge the question. He continued to run around frantically. "Seriously? What's gotten into you? Are the parasprites back? Did you lose your brother's favorite screwdriver again?... Do you not want to be my friend anymore?" The final question finally knocked some sense into the stallion. "Of, course you're still my friend! Why would I abandon my best friend ever!" "Then, tell me. What are you doing? Why'd you think it way okay to dash past me without even a single hello! Even a nod would have been fine!" Truth Turner had already returned to his search, and had just caught the scent of the trail He ran down."Truth Turner!" Vapor Trail yelled, "Truth Turner I demand an explanation!" Truth Turner was already far into the trees. Feeling abandoned and forsaken, Vapor Trail decided to trudge back home on his own. Now Truth Turner didn't take much longer to find Him. Once he locked on to the signal, he homed in like a hawk swooping upon an unsuspecting rabbit. He found the boy tangled and mangled amongst the roots of an odd tree. "Oh my Celestia! I found one!" He exclaimed, "They said I was crazy, but I found one! I told them! Told them all! If only my parents were still around to see this! They tried to divert me! but they failed! Ha Ha! I found a human! Who do I tell first? Where am I going to bring him? Oh, I'll be the head of the Canterlot Institute of Mythology in no time! I can just see the headlines! Local stallion uncovers a mythical creature! The fame! The glory! The right to shove it all of their scrunchy faces! Oh, I can't wait!" As Truth Turner was busy monologing, a peculiar occurrence started happening with the tree. The roots started creaking and bending until they had completely engulfed the human. "Oh, no!" shouted Truth, "Oh no no no no!" He tried to stop it. Magic, kicking, tackling--- nothing he could do would penetrate to wooden cocoon that now surrounded the human, and as he yelled in anguish, the roots ripped him down into the ground. Even with his prize being recently rendered unobtainable by the unforgiving forest, Truth Turner knew this would be his one and only chance he would ever get to show the world that he was not crazy. He could still feel the intense aura that emanated from the human, but he could feel that it was fading quickly. He was without clue about what to do. He tried to dig but got nowhere. He tried to look for help, but no longer was he accompanied. He was not one to give up, but he knew he was running out of options. "Okay, Truth Turner. Just think for a little bit." He often would talk to himself in times of crisis. It helped him to formulate plans and get over his nerves. "The first any only human I'll probably ever see was just taken from me by... roots? Wait did that really just happen?" He had been so obsessed with reaching the human, that he didn't even register what had hindered him. "How does that even make sense? Roots don't ponynap things!" At that moment a sinister laugh crackled from the unknown. "You're smarter than you look." whispered the voice. "but you will need more than smarts if you are to last long with him." "W,w,who are you?" replied Truth quivering in fear, "What do you want with me?" "Ah, it is not what I want with you" it replied, "it's what you want with him..." "W,w,what are you? his m,m,mommy or something?" Truth said trying to act brave, " I found him... f,f,fair and square!" "Just because you had good fortune does not mean that you need know of him. Leave and forget, or else I'll have to make you!" "No! you can't!" A dark shifty smoke started to creep in from all around. Truth Turner panicked and did the only thing he could do. Talk. "Woah! there! getting a little close for comfort, don't you think? A,a,all the towns folk will see I'm gone! sure many won't care, but some one may!" The louche haze crept closer and closer. It was a mere few inches away when, in desperation, Truth Turner shouted. "What good use is there in disposing of me if your stupid little pet is dying down there!" The smoke stopped, and there was a brief hiatus of sound or movement. "...how do you know of his failing condition?" the mysterious voice slowly asked. "w,w,well, I kind of guessed based on his cuts and...stuff" "He is hidden to you, yet you know how he feels... then perhaps your discovery wasn't merely by chance. It was quite odd that you found him so quickly, and how I do love... oddities. Are you not odd?" "I guess so... I just..." At that moment the smoke retreated back into the forest. The grove they were in brightened up, and the ambient feeling of despair seemed like it had been turned off by some crazy switch. "No, no, you know what? you were right all along! You found him! You keep him. huzzah. streamers and confetti... except not really." "Ah... okay?" "Just promise me one thing..." The switch of despair quickly turned on again, and an invisible force quickly wrapped itself around Truth's neck. "Do not, and I repeat! Do not share your knowledge of him with anypony! Almost everypony out there! Only a few... and you, my dear, should know who. Only reveal him to those you can trust, or else his entire purpose will become a bust. Oh, and you too." The gloom then quickly dispersed and the unconscious human was thrust back up onto the ground, and Truth Turner began to tend to his wounds. That's all that I'll get to today. It was nice that I could talk a little longer due to you're earliness, so I thank you for that. That voice never did come back. I'd probably wonder where it ran off to... if I didn't already know. Tell you? Where's the fun in that!? You'll find out later. As for now, I'll leave you with a little advice. Work on your smile a bit. Make it look like they're not paying you to. I'll see you soon.
