A Whole New World

28th Summer's End, 2012

A fresh dawn greeted my eyes as I climbed out of bed. I stretched my limbs - all six of them - and wandered over to the window as I put on my clothes. The sun was shining brightly over the streets of Ponyville, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Rainbow had said that the weather team had scheduled a dry day, and that they would bring the rain in for the farms over the next week or two.

All in all, it was the perfect day for a birthday.

I smiled to myself. If someone had told me one year ago that I would be in a world full of talking equines, I would have called the men in white coats. Thinking back, I guess I would've owed that guy a drink or two. It was a shame that I was dead to Earth, but something gave me this second chance, and I wasn't wasting it.

I looked in the mirror to examine my new wings. I had taken every opportunity I had over the past week to practice flying when I wasn't working at the farm or looking after Scootaloo. Rainbow woud occasionally be on hand to give me a few tips, but she had a job too, though I did believe in learning on the job.

I could fly around no problem now, and Rainbow had suggested taking it to higher levels, literally. At one point, we reached what Rainbow said was the altitude of Equestria's cloud city, Cloudsdale. I had been expecting to feel dizzy from a lack of oxygen or cold, but it felt exactly the same as it did on the ground. It was a little chilly, seeing as I couldn't wear a shirt while flying, and it could get uncomfortable when I was wearing one, but I could pay Rarity to make some holes for them.

I left the bedroom and was almost immediately hit by the smell of cooking. I entered the kitchen, and the smell was accompanied by the sizzling of eggs, and a soft humming tune. The stove came into view, and I saw Scootaloo standing on a chair, poking the eggs with a spatula.

"Something smells good," I announced as I entered.

Scootaloo turned to see me and jumped off the chair, buzzing over to me with her wings and wrapping her hooves around my neck, "Happy Birthday Dutch! I was just making breakfast for you."

I chuckled and rubbed her mane, "Thanks Scoots."

I poured a glass of apple juice and sat at the table while Scootaloo scraped the eggs off the pan and put them on plates, carrying them one at a time on her back. I lifted them off when she reached the table and we both began eating.

"So what are you thinking of doing today?" Scootaloo asked.

"Well, it's Saturday, so there's no school. We can go and see everyone, but I haven't really thought of anything to do. Maybe practice some flying, though I'm pretty sure Pinkie is going to throw a party at some point."

We shared a laugh and finished the rest of breakfast. After completing the various necessities in the bathroom, I grabbed my coat and headed towards the door with Scootaloo in tow. I figured Twilight would be the first pony to see, as the library was a common meetup point for most of us. Then the park, which is where I would usually find Lyra if she wasn't already at the library with the others.

I turned the handle and pushed the door open. I only just registered the whispering on the other side before six party whistles were all blown at once, followed by a shout of "Happy Birthday!" that caused me to jump back in fright.

"Hey girls!"

Twilight and the rest of the Elements trotted into the apartment, each of them giving me a hug as they entered. Pinkie was especially enthusiastic, and as I motioned everyone into the living room, I noticed her quickly leaving out the door again. I was about to inquire, but she returned, dragging something heavy with her. It came into view, and I instantly recognised it as...

"Pinkie, why are you bringing a cannon into my apartment?" I asked.

"Silly," Pinkie replied, "This is my Party Cannon."

With that, she aimed the cannon into the living room, and I saw everyone taking cover behind the sofa and chairs. Pinkie pressed a button on top of the cannon, and with a loud bang, it launched a cloud of confetti into the room. At the same time, balloons and ribbons shot out of the barrel and attached themselves to the walls, making the whole scene look like a party.

"Such an appropriate name," I said, as Pinkie placed the cannon back outside. I entered the living room, where everyone was returning to their seats, and saw five boxes wrapped in decorative paper lying on the coffee table.

"Thanks for coming everyone," I said, as I sat down and looked at the gifts in front of me, "Now, which one do I open first?"

"Mine!" Rainbow Dash quickly replied, picking up a bright blue present and dumping it in my arms. It felt suprisingly heavy for its size, so I pulled off the paper and a metal dumbell appeared.

"Using your arms is more important than you'd think when flying, so I thought I'd lend you a hoof in that department," Rainbow stated.

"I'm sure it'll come in handy," I said. I lifted the dumbell, and found it to weigh about five kilograms. Heavy enough for a single arm.

"Right then, who's next?" Twilight said.

I tapped my finger against my chin, "Ummm, Rarity." I answered, and a blue aura surrounded a box and carried it over to me. I lifted the lid off, and pulled out a dark green piece of clothing. Unfolding it, I found it to be a jacket. It was made of a material that felt like it wouldn't be easy to tear, and there were two pockets on the chest, one of which had a white shield stitched on it.

"Now this looks cool," I said, looking it over, "Can I try it on?"

"By all means," Rarity said, "I sewed a layer of softer fabric underneath so that you could wear it on its own."

I pulled of my shirt and began to put on the jacket. It felt suprisingly comfortable, despite it being against my skin, and it fitted me perfectly. There was also a hood, and the material on the elbows and shoulders had been waxed, making it tougher than the rest of it. I also noticed the buttons on the pockets were made of onyx, giving a black and green shine that complemented the dark, olive fabric.

"Seeing as you mentioned humans wear clothes more frequently than ponies, I thought I would design something that could manage a little bit of wear-and-tear. Now, normally I wouldn't make something in that particular shade of green, but it seems that colour fits well on a human," Rarity explained, "I also took the liberty of adding a feature to accomodate your new wings."

My wings felt like they were sticking through the jacket, so I turned to see two long slits in the back. A smile covered my face, and I pulled the wings through. After shifting them around, I folded them back down, and they rested against the jacket.

"Very nice," I said, "Now I can fly even higher without fear of getting cold. Thanks Rarity."

We continued with the presents. Applejack gave me a bottle of Apple Family Cider. Whether she was hinting at something or not I don't know, but I hadn't realised Equestria had alcohol until now. Pinkie's present was a box containing eight cupcakes, each of which were coloured to represent each of my friends and Scootaloo. Finally, Fluttershy gave me a book, and I looked at the title.

"Advanced Flying Techniques," I read out loud, and we all looked at Fluttershy, equally surprised. I had expected someone like Rainbow to give me something like this.

"I-It was the only thing I could think of," Fluttershy stuttered. The poor mare must've thought she had offended me, "I mean, I-I thought it might come in useful." She squeaked, and lowered herself to the ground.

I couldn't bear seeing this. Sensing the situation needed resolving, I walked over and pulled Fluttershy into a hug, "I'm certain it will Shy, thank you."

I released her, and, noticing the smile returning to her face, sat back down.

"Oh, there's also this for you," Twiligth said, pulling out a scroll with a royal seal, "It came from the Princess this morning."

I unrolled the scroll and read the contents for everyone to hear.

To my Faithful Subject, Lt. Dutch Jones
You will be pleased to hear that all of the necessary formalities have been completed, and you are now an official member of the Royal Guard Officer Corps. You will be required to report to Canterlot Castle on the 30th day of Summer's End to begin training, with Captain Wingfleet being your commanding officer. The training should last no more than a few weeks, and you will be ready to serve Equestria upon your completion. Good luck.
Yours Truly,

Princess Celestia

I rolled the scroll back up and placed it on the table.

"The 30th?" Rainbow said, "That's only two days away."

"Don't worry Dashie," Pinkie said, "That's still plenty of time to party! Now, let's get back to Dutchy's birthday."

"I'm planning something for later today," Twilight said, "In fact, I think Lyra mentioned organising something for everypony this evening as well."

"Well, why don't we go and see her," I suggested, "It would be great to have everyone together today."

We all agreed, and left the apartment, Scootaloo riding on my shoulders not just for fun, but also so she wouldn't have to try and keep up with the older, taller ponies. As we passed Full Pint, he called out, "Hey Dutch, what was that explosion I heard?"

I smiled, "Pinkie Pie."

He gave a nod of understanding, "Fair enough."

The sun was higher now, and cast a wave of heat down on all of us. Lyra's house was a five-minute walk away, and we were greeted by several ponies as made our way there. Soon after, her house came into view. It looked fairly similar to the other houses, but was distinguishable by the lyre painted on the door. I lifted Scootaloo off my shoulder, knocked on the door and waited.

The door was wrapped in a golden aura and it opened to reveal a beaming Lyra standing in the doorway. I knelt down and welcomed her hug.

"Happy 21st Dutch!" She said, and nuzzled against my cheek.

I was surprised by the rubbing of her soft coat against my face, but it felt nice, and after feeling something flutter in my chest, I decided to do the same. She eventually let go, but I didn't notice the blushing on her face.

"Thanks Lyra," I said, "Twilight said you were planning something for everyone."

"Yeah, but it will have to wait until tonight."

"Well, we've got some spare time until then, shall we all just wander round town for a bit?"

"Sure!" Rainbow exclaimed, "I wanna try something anyway."

"Oh boy," Applejack said, rolling her eyes as she leaned over to me, "She's been wantin' to do this ever since ya got them wings o' yers."

"Do what?" I asked, my interest piqued.

"A race!" Rainbow said, doing a loop as she said it, "You've had those wings for about a week now. I wanna see how good you are."

"Sounds legit," I said, "What did you have in mind?"

"A simple sprint race. We start at the library, fly to Sweet Apple Acres, round the main barn and back. No pulling or obstructing. First one back wins!"

I accepted, and we made our way to the library. I saw Rainbow out of the corner of my eye doing multiple stretches while flying above us. I simply carried on walking, not needing the stretch or warm up. As we walked, Rainbow began getting unnervingly excited at the prospect of racing, and by the time we reached our starting point, she was darting around in the air, eager to begin.

"Come on!" She shouted as she raced ahead and took a position in front of the library, "Let's go, let's go!"

I stood next to her, and hunched down, ready to push off the ground. The rest of the ponies caught up, and Pinkie pulled a chequered flag out of her mane.

"Ready?" She said, raising the flag above her head. I glanced at Rainbow, and saw her eyes narrowed and a thin smile appearing on her lips. I flared my wings, ready for flight, and she did the same.

"Set!"

I looked at the path ahead. I would have to get a running start before I had enough momentum to take off. Rainbow was lighter, so she would be able to get off the ground quicker. I shifted my footing and steeled myself.

"GO!" Pinkie swung the flag down, and two figures launched past her.

Rainbow took off quickly, while I was still on the ground, gaining speed. I was clearing several metres with every flap of my wings, and after three seconds I pushed myself into the air, clearing a building and pushing off the roof for extra speed.

I saw Rainbow quickly heading towards the farm, and I forced myself to fly faster as I attempted to catch her. The gap between us slowly closed, and I shouted to Rainbow as I drew level with her, "That all you got?"

She looked over at me, and a brief look of surprise was hidden away behind a sly smile, "In your dreams!"

The barn came into view, and Dash and I took up a position to go around it. My size and the length of my wings meant I would have to take a wider curve than Rainbow, and she knew it. She grinned as she turned at an impossible angle for her speed, and I could only watch as I slowly banked and began to circle the barn.

As I leveled out, I kept myself above the orchard and noticed Rainbow about ten metres in front. She had slowed slightly, thinking I was gone, so I picked up the pace and tried to close the gap between us. Ten metres became five, then three, until I was level with her again.

"You didn't think you could get rid of me that easily, did you?" I shouted over the sound of the wind.

She turned to me, and I noticed her smile had become a decietful grin, "I was just saving my energy for the grand finale!"

"Wait, what?"

And with that, Rainbow shot off at a speed I wouldn't have been able to hold a candle to. She became a speck in the distance, and I cursed to myself as I attempted to catch up.

The library came back into view, and I could see a cyan figure standing on its hind legs, bowing to the rest of our friends. I flew over and touched down next to them, hearing Rainbow gloating about her victory.

"Of course, Dutch could never hope to beat me! Flying takes speed, agility and guts. He's gonna need more of that if he wants to challenge me again."

Guts, huh? I could sense an idea forming in my head as Rainbow struck a pose, "Alright hotshot, you beat me. Now why don't we try something else?"

"So I can beat you again? Why are you even asking?" Rainbow replied with a smirk.

"Just shut up and follow me," I took off vertically, pulling myself upwards towards the clouds.

I was focusing on the sky above when I heard the familiar raspy voice say, "So what are we doing?"

"I'll tell you when we get there."

We continued to climb, watching the clouds pass us. I stopped to take a look down, and saw the library was now a tiny dot in the middle of the town.

"This is high enough." I said, and we hovered in the air.

"So what are we doing now?" Rainbow repeated.

"You want guts? How about a game of chicken?" I asked. Rainbow responded with a raised eyebrow.

"The rules are simple," I said, "When I say go, fold your wings in and let gravity take over. First one to pull up before the ground loses."

"You mean freefalling?" Rainbow said, her eyes widening. I nodded, "Oh, it is on! I can't wait to smash you again."

I put myself at a good angle, ready to fall, "Please Dash, remember who you're talking to. I'm not the Element of Bravery for nothing."

"We'll see."

I laughed, "Ok, three, two, one, GO!" I folded my wings into my back as Rainbow did the same, and we both plummeted towards the earth.

I brought my arms to my side, making a rough shape of the Greek letter Delta as I fell, gaining as much speed as I could. Rainbow was alongside me, laughing with glee as she fell. I drew her attention to me as I did several rolls, and watched as she did a few flips of her own. I saw the clouds rapidly appraoching, but I kept my shape, maintaining my speed as we broke through.

"What Equestria could they be doing up there?" Rarity asked.

"I'm not sure," Twilight said, "I lost sight of them as they flew into the clouds."

Suddenly, Pinkie's tail started to twitch eratically. She turned to look at it and gasped.

"Uh Pinkie, what's up with your tail?" Twilight asked.

"It's her Pinkie Sense," Applejack stated, "It means--"

"Twitchy tail!" Pinkie shouted, "Twitchy tail! Something's going to fall!"

"What do you mean something's going to fall?" Twilight asked, looking at the sky. This was her first encounter with the Pinkie Sense, "There's nothing up there except Dutch and Rainbow."

"Exactly," Lyra replied, and pointed a hoof in the air, "Look."

They all looked up, and saw two tiny specks falling towards the ground at an alarming rate.

As the library became larger, I brought my arms round into a star shape, feeling the air catch me. I was still falling, and I looked over at Rainbow to see she was doing the same thing. She occasionally glanced at me, and I could see that behind the determined grin, there was a flicker of doubt.

"Scared, Dashie?" I called over the rushing of the air.

"Not a chance!" She shouted back. I swear I could hear a tremble in her voice, "I'm just not used to being in the air without using my wings."

I looked back down at the ground. It was getting much closer now, "Open your wings on three," I looked over and saw her nod, and gave her the same decietful smile she had given me, "Three!"

There was a flash of surprise as I spread my wings. Their size meant that I decelerated much faster than Dash, and I watched her disappear out of my sight as I pulled up. I glided over the group of ponies below and banked round, descending as I turned. When I reached the ground, I flapped my wings forward and came to a stop. Everyone gave a cheer, and I saw Rainbow Dash approaching us from the library, pulling twigs and leaves out of her mane.

"Oh my. Um... are you ok Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked.

Rainbow didn't reply, she simply scowled at me and gestured back up at the library. Following her hoof, I noticed a pegasus-shaped hole in the canopy. Putting two and two together, I burst out laughing, "Oh man, I didn't know karma acted that quickly."

"What's karma?" Scootaloo asked.

I calmed myself down before replying, "It's a human belief that for every action someone commits, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In this case, Rainbow's bragging, followed by her crashing into the library."

"Yeah, yeah." Rainbow replied, giving me an icy stare, "I let you slide this time because it's your birthday, but I'll be getting you back for this!"

I grinned at her, "Looking forward to it."

Our staring contest was interrupted by Twilight, "Dutch, seeing as we're at the library, why don't I give you my present now."

"Sure," I replied, "I assume it's inside?"

"In a way, yes."

We entered the library, and I saw Twilight lift a scroll off the table with her magic, "When we were in Canterlot, the Princess gave me this. She told me to learn from it and give you the opportunity to use it every now and then."

"What is it?" I asked.

She turned to look at me, "The spell she used when we visited your family."

My heart skipped a beat. Not only did I have the ability to see my dad and brother again; now one of my friends could do it, "And this is your gift to me?"

"Yes."

I had to put effort into keeping my balance, before walking over and picked Twilight up in a hug, "Thank you."

She nuzzled me affectionately, and I set her back down, whereupon she said, "Shall we get started?"

"Do you even need to ask?" I said, while taking a seat next to a bookshelf.

Twilight turned to everyone else, "Before we start, I'd like to say that three of us can go at the same time, if anypony else wants to come."

Almost immediately, Lyra stepped forward, "I'll go."

"Alright then," Twilight said, "Is that ok with everypony else?"

There were a collection of 'it's ok' from the rest of the ponies, and Lyra took a seat next to me, with Twilight on my other side.

"We should be out for a while," Twilight explained, "A few hours here will get us about half an hour in your world. I just wish it could be longer for you."

"Just giving me this at all is enough." I replied, and Twilight smiled. She lit up her horn, and I felt a familiar feeling wash over me, heavier than sleep, and my vision turned to white. When it cleared again, I was standing in the garden of my home. Twilight was standing next to me, her human form wearing the same clothes as before, but on my other side was another girl. She had a beautiful face, and was slightly older-looking than Twilight, though still younger than me. She wore a mint-green t-shirt that complimented her hair and a tan pair of jeans.

"What do you think Lyra?" I said as she looked down at herself.

Her shining gold eyes moved down as she lifted one of her arms and flexed her fingers, "Hands are wierd."

I laughed, "Humans would be screwed if we didn't have them though."

I put an arm around her for support as we walked up to the house, and I noticed that my dad's car was missing. I walked inside, and saw Chris sat at the kitchen table, writing on what looked like paperwork for his job. Nikki was lying in a bed next to him, and as I approached, her ears perked up and she looked around.

"They can't see us yet," I explained to Lyra, "But Twilight can change that whenever she wants."

"When she does, can they see us as well as you?" Lyra asked.

"I think so." Twilight answered.

"Ok," I said, "I'll go first, then you can use the spell on yourselves so he doesn't freak out."

They nodded, and I stood next to Chris. He noticed Nikki, who had began walking round the room, trying to find what she could sense.

"What's up, Nikki?" He asked, and I gave a nod to Twilight. I felt the tingling sensation return, and just as Chris returned to his work, his gaze suddenly snapped to me.

"Doug?"

"Hey Chris, it's good to see you again."

He stood up and wrapped his arms around me, but quickly retreated when he felt the feathers on my wings.

"What the...?" He turned me round and looked at my new limbs, "How did you get those? Are you some sort of angel now?"

At this point, Nikki had returned to the kitchen upon hearing voices. She saw me and paused, but when I crouched down, she leapt into my arms, licking my face and wagging her tail like there was no tomorrow. Twilight and Lyra were trying to suppress their giggling at the sight.

"Good to see you too Nikki," I put her down and stood back up, "No, I'm not an angel. This was just an unexpected side-effect from a spell. You see, magic exists in this world I'm living in. It's also how I'm able to see you now."

"Magic?" Chris repeated, "There aren't... elves or anything, are there?"

"No, thank god," I replied, "Most of the population are creatures from Greek mythology, mainly sentient equines like pegasi and unicorns. In fact, two if them are with me now if you want to see them, though they've taken a human form for this world."

Chris paused for a moment to take this in, before saying, "So where are they?"

I gave another nod to Twilight, and she closed her eyes. Their forms flickered for a brief moment, and Chris' eyes widened.

"Chris, I'd like you to meet Lyra and Twilight," I said, gesturing at the ponies-turned-humans respectively, "They're both unicorns in their world."

Chris walked over and tentatively shook their hands. He shook Lyra's first, and as he approached Twilight he said, "Twilight, huh?"

"Yes sir," Twilight said politely.

He cupped her hand in both of his, "I'm so sorry," a small smile appeared on his lips.

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked, but Chris had already turned back to me.

"Shall we go for a walk in the garden? I've got some things to talk about."

"Sounds good," I replied, and we walked out the back door with Twilight and Lyra behind us. As we sat down next to the pond, I asked, "Chris, out of curiosity, what's the date here?"

"17th May, why?"

"That would explain it," I said out loud, "Their world is a few months ahead of ours. The date over there is 28th August."

Chris eyes went wide again, and he gave me another bone-crunching hug, "Happy Birthday! I wish I had known so I could get you something."

I hugged him back, "Just seeing you is enough of a gift. Speaking of which, where's Dad."

"Working," Chris said with a smile, "Since you last came to see us, he's stopped drinking and has started repairing his relationships with his clients. So far it's been working out really well, and we owe it to you."

"What do you mean?"

"Seeing and talking to you has helped us move on, and our lives have been getting back to normal. You gave us a second chance, and we're not wasting it this time."

I smiled at this, and Chris patted me on the back, "So how's my little brother been spending his birthday?"

"Having fun mainly," I replied, "I came to see you after being challenged to a race with these," I flexed my wings, and Chris took a moment to look at them, "I lost, but after a game of chicken, the tables were balanced."

"Can you give me a demonstration?" He said, not taking his eyes off them.

"I suppose I can. I can't fly too high, otherwise the whole village might see me. Don't want everyone thinking they saw an angel or a ghost, now do we?" I lifted into the air and started circling around the garden.

Chris stayed sat down by the pond as he watched his brother flying around the garden. Part of him still couldn't believe he was seeing him, He's actually flying, with wings. My own brother. He turned to the two girls, who were sat next to him, watching the spectacle.

"So you two are actually unicorns?"

They both looked over at him, "Yes, we are," said the girl in green, Lyra, wasn't it?

"So how did he get those wings?"

This time, Twilight answered. He pitied her for having a name like that, "I was practicing some magic about a week and a half ago and he was helping me with a spell that involved lucid dreaming. He dreamed he could fly, but when we woke up again, he had wings coming out of his back. I'm still doing research into how it happened."

He paused, "What's you world like?"

Twilight thought for a second, "Well, from what I've seen, humans are more advanced than us. That might be because our knowledge of magic means we don't need to advance. Our land is ruled by two sisters, who control the sun and the moon, and we've lived in harmony for hundreds of years."

"You mean you haven't had a war for that long?"

"Goodness no."

Chris smiled absent-mindedly, "I envy you guys."

At this point, Dutch came landing next to them, giving a quick bow, "Thank you for being a lovely audience." Chris smiled at his brother's wit, he had always been pretty good at thinking things up on the spot, even if it was a god-awful 'CSI Miami' style pun now and then.

They were just standing back up, when Twilight suddenly turned her head to the side, "I think we have to go now Dutch,"

A flash of sadness crossed his face, "Ok then," he turned to Chris, "Give Dad my love, and tell him I'm sorry I couldn't see him and that I'll try and visit you guys again soon."

Chris pulled him in for one final hug, "Will do," he looked over at Twilight and Lyra, "Look after my little brother, and don't let him do anything stupid."

They both gave a short laugh, and Lyra said, "We might be a bit late for that, he's off for training in a couple of days."

"Training?"

"Yeah," Dutch said, "I've been accepted into their world's army."

Worry crossed Chris' mind, but he pushed it aside, "Well, it's what you always wanted to do."

He broke the hug, and watched his brother as he and the girls faded away, leaving him alone again in the garden.

I opened my eyes, and the walls of the library had returned. The sky was an orange hue, so we must have been out for a few hours, and everyone else had left except for Scootaloo, who was napping on a sofa. Lyra and Twilight were sitting up next to me. Speaking to my brother had left me a bit emotional, and before any of us knew it, I had picked them both up in a hug.

"Thank you," I said, "You guys are some of the best friends I could have."

Lyra giggled, "The day isn't over Dutch. I still need to give you my present."

I set them back down, "What does that involve?"

Lyra thought for a moment, "Have you been to the nightclub in town yet?"

Bloody hell! A 5k chapter?! When I started this story, I never thought I'd write that much in a single chapter.
Anyway, I'm uploading this early for you guys because my exams are starting now. You can probably expect no updates for the next two weeks. I'd also like to say that we're getting close to 200 favourites, so a big thanks for that, as well as all the thumbs-up and people watching me.