Gate of Friendship

The rest of the way there was silent, besides the whispers of ponies when they saw me. When we got inside the house we went upstairs. Twilight levitated a notepad, quill, and a small bottle of ink over to her.

"Take a seat," Twilight said.

I sat down in a chair a foot behind me. It was a bit small, but it worked.

"Okay, Trevor. What exactly are you? And don't say 'it's complicated.'”

"I'm a human. Male, to be specific.”

"Is there anything else besides humans and animals where you're from?"

"Kinda. There are demons and angels.

"And what are angels?"

"Angels are holy. People usually say their humans with white robes and wings, also believed to have a little yellow halo above their head."

"Kinda like you."

"The wings part anyway."

"What about demons?"

I sighed.

"Where do I even begin? Demons are evil, invisible, they can take control of your body, and make you act differently without you realizing it."

"Why do demons exist?"

"That's a completely different story.”

"How were demons created?"

Spike opened the door and came upstairs.

"What's going on?" Spike asked.

"Trevor's telling me about where he's from," Twilight said.

"Really? I'll have to hear this."

Spike sat down next to Twilight.

"So how were demons created? Hmmm. Well, it started out in Heaven, basically the most perfect place in all of creation. Lucifer, a highly-praised angel, got prideful, and wanted to become better than God. So he got a bunch of angels to try and defeat God. But God took Lucifer and the angels that followed him and banished them to a place called Hell. A place of eternal fire, brimstone, and suffering. And that is the simple version of how demons were created."

Both Twilight and Spike looked confused on what to say to that. Twilight broke the awkward silence a few seconds later.

"Th-that was... Interesting.”

"No kidding," Spike said.

I started to get up and walk downstairs.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna walk around town. I don't want to feel cooped up in here when there's a new place to explore," I explained.

"I'll come with you."

Spike didn't say anything and Twilight followed me out the door. I walked through town, seeing the different ponies and checking out the scenery. I thought about the different places I had yet to visit and decided to go to the park. We walked over to the park, found an empty bench with a tree right behind it, and sat down. I looked up at the tree and saw that Rainbow Dash was sleeping on one of the branches. I hit the tree with my fist to see if I could wake her up. But the result was a small knock and some pain in my hand. Twilight looked up at the tree and saw Rainbow Dash as well. She looked at me with curiosity.

"What are you doing?" Twilight asked quietly.

"Trying to wake her up,” I whispered.

"Why?"

"I'm feeling a bit of an Otis today. So, I'm gonna see if I can wake her up.”

I climbed the branches until I was on the same level as her.

So many options to choose from. Do I shake the branch? Nah, that would be too easy. Use Slendy? No, she’s already seen what he looks like.

I felt something in my right pocket.

What the…?

I reached into my pocket and felt a small rectangular object with a wire coming out of it.

No way.

I pulled it out and saw it was my MP3 player.

Excellent! Now I won’t be completely bored on non-episode days.

I turned it on and saw the song was Tyranny of Steel by Iron Savior. I set the volume to high and put the ears buds in her ears. As soon as I pressed play she woke up, lost her balance, and fell out of the tree. Before she hit the ground I caught one of her front hooves. I put her on the ground gently, took the ear buds out, and turned off the MP3 player.

"Hm. And I thought Tyranny of Steel was a good song." I said with a snicker.

"What was that for!?" Rainbow Dash furiously asked.

"I'm sorry, I truly am. But I had to do it.”

She flew up to me and pushed me out of the tree. I landed on my back, knocking the air right out of me. I took in a deep breath, coughed a few times, and kept on laughing. After I was done, Rainbow Dash flew back up to the branch and I sat back down with Twilight.

"You probably shouldn't have done that," Twilight said.

"I know. I'll apologize and make it up to her next chance I get,” I assured.

I looked over at Rainbow Dash and saw she was back to sleep.

Next chance.

An evil smile came on my face.

Oh yes… next chance.

My evil smile went away shortly after.

Oh what to do, what to do. A new world, countless possibilities, can't think of a single one. I wonder how much it would be to get some new clothes from Rarity? Or maybe visit Fluttershy. I suppose I haven't properly introduced myself. Why not, let's give them all a visit.

"Hey Twilight,” I said.

"Yeah?" Twilight asked.

"I feel like I didn’t properly introduce myself to your friends? Mind if we visit them again so I can do so?”

I glanced over at Rainbow Dash, who had one eye looking at me. As soon as she saw I was looking at her, she closed her eye and pretended to sleep, and I looked back to Twilight.

"Sure. That sounds like a great idea. So who are we going to visit first?"

"The white unicorn”

"Rarity," Twilight corrected.

"Rarity."

We walked over to Rarity’s home/shop and saw that the sign on the front door said “open.” I knocked on the door with the back of my hand three times; the door was surrounded with a blue aura, and swung open with Rarity behind it.

"Twilight and. Uh..." Rarity said, trying to remember my name.

"Trevor," I helped.

"Trevor. Why the sudden visit?"

"I felt like I didn’t properly introduce myself, so I came here to do so. Plus, I heard you’re spectacular at making clothes, and I was wondering if you could make me some."

She looked at my clothes. First at my plain white shirt with the word "Halo" printed in black with its unusual font. Then at my long, black pants with UNSC and Covenant weapons printed in gray with a little knot at the waist to keep it as is.

"Oh my. You certainly came to the right place. Please, come in."

Both me and Twilight went in while Rarity got out some paper and a pencil.

"Please. Stand there, darling" Rarity said, pointing to the small circular platform.

I did as such and she got out a measuring tape.

"Could you spread out your..." Rarity said, pointing at my arms.

"Arms? Sure," I agreed.

I spread out my arms and she started taking measurements. When she went behind me to take measurements for the size of my head, she asked me to sit down, and I did as such.

"That's odd."

"What?"

"Is it usual for your kind to have a cutie mark on the back of your neck?”

"What!?" I asked in a almost furious tone.

At that moment I wanted to throw a massive fit, breaking anything I could to let out all my anger, but I kept my cool by taking a few deep breaths and relaxing my nerves.

"I must say. It certainly is strange."

"What does it look like?"

She levitated a piece of paper and the pencil over to us, put the paper on my back, drew the picture, and showed it to me.

Well I'll be cursed.

It was the same mark that the changeling had when it transformed into that pegasus.

Well that certainly explains that.

"Strange indeed," I said.

Twilight came over and looked at the back of my neck, than at the drawing.

"What do you think it means?" Twilight asked.

Madness or death. But I think it's madness.

"I don't know," I lied.

"We'll worry about it later."

"I believe I have the measurements I need. Come back in 30 minutes," Rarity said.

"Wait. Could I make a request for a design on the back of my shirt?" I asked.

"Of course, just write the design here and what color you want it in, and I'll take care of the rest."

She gave me the pencil and paper, I flipped the paper around, drew a vertical eye, wrote that the color should be crimson red on it, and handed the pen and paper back to her. Me and Twilight said our goodbyes and headed off.

"So where to next?" Twilight asked.

"The orange one with the cowboy hat."

"Applejack it is.”

Once we got to Sweet Apple Acres, we went to the apple orchard and saw Applejack and Big Macintosh bucking apples.

Before injury, soon injury, then massacre. Oh what strange times those will be if that actually happens.

"Perhaps we should come later."

"Then who's next?"

Let’s see. The only ones left are Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash. And since Rainbow wouldn’t want to talk to me, that leaves only Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. Let's get the 4th wall breaking insanity out of the way.

"Pinkie, I believe her name was."

"Yep. It shouldn't take us too long to get to her."

When we got to Sugar Cube Corner, Pinkie Pie was at the entrance, hopping up and down. As soon as she saw us she ran towards us.

"Hey Twilight, hey Halo," Pinkie Pie said.

"Halo?" I asked.

"Yeah. Isn’t that a big nametag on your shirt?”

"No, it's vi… it's a ser… it’s a very long story."

"Ooooh, I love stories. Is it a muscial? A comedy? A romance?"

"More action adventure."

"Tell me the story. Ple-e-ease," Pinkie Pie said with pleading eyes.

"Fine."

I saw a table nearby with three seats.

"Let's take a seat and I'll tell you,” I said.

We walked over to the table and sat down.

"Alright the story of Halo begins on a planet called Harvest."

I told them about the Covenant attacking us on Harvest, the beginning of the war, how I became a part of Noble team on the planet Reach, and how I eventually teamed up with Master Chief. Then I told them how me and Master Chief discovered Halo, the Flood, and a few other things. I also told them how we teamed up with the Arbiter after we crash landed on a planet after jumping from a Covenant ship that was detonating, and about how we defeated the Covenant and the Flood, won the war, and that the last thing I remembered from the adventure is being stuck in a cryogenic tube next to Master Chief waiting for Cortana to wake us up.

"Wow. That was an amazing! Especially when Master Chief was like 'Wake me when you need me.' And how you beat that meany 343 Guilty Spark, twice!" Pinkie Pie cheered.

"That certainly was quite a tale," Twilight admitted.

"Thanks," I said.

I then realized why I went Pinkie Pie in the first place.

"Oh, I almost forgot. The reason I came here was to introduce myself properly. Hello, my name is Trevor.”

"I'm Pinkie Pie. But my friends just call me Pinkie."

"Well nice too meet you, Pinkie."

Her body started to twitch.

"Cupcakes are done. Catch ya later."

She took off like a bullet towards the bakery.

What a crazy one, she is.

"That leave's one more. Fluttershy," Twilight said.

"And where does she live at?" I asked.

"Near the Everfree Forest."

"Everfree Forest?"

"It's a dangerous forest where dangerous creatures live and criminals are banished to."

"I'll keep that in mind. Lead the way to Fluttershy's."

And she did. As we walked through the park some certain ponies caught my eye, and those certain ponies were Lyra and Bon Bon. They kept looking at me and whispering to each other.

"Boo," I flatly said.

They gave me a confused glance and continued whispering to each other. When we got to Fluttershy's house, the psychopathic bunny known as Angel greeted us before I even knocked on the door. I crouched down, somewhat attempting to get to his level.

"Is the caretaker of this facility available at the moment?"

Angel shut the door in my face. I knocked on the door and Angel opened it again.

"Is Fluttershy home?"

Angel nodded his head and gave me a "wait a moment" gesture. I stood back up, and noticed that the top of the doorway was chin high to me.

"Eeep!" A quiet voice shrieked.

I ducked down to see who shrieked and saw Fluttershy, hiding behind her chair.

"Don't worry. I'm just here to talk."

"S-sure. Please, come in, if you want to of course," Fluttershy nervously said.

I ducked through the doorway and stood up when I was inside the house. The ceiling was higher than I expected, not really close to even hitting my head, even if I jumped. Fluttershy came out of hiding and sat in her chair.

"S-so what did you want to talk about?"

"Well, since I didn't exactly introduce myself properly, I thought I might do so."

“O-okay."

"My name's Trevor."

I extended my arm with an open hand. Angel came over and stood next to Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy."

She extended her front right hoof and we shook hands, or hooves, whatever you want to call it. Angel looked at me suspiciously, went to the kitchen, and soon came back with his empty food bowl.

"Not right now Angel. I'll feed you later,” Fluttershy assured.

He put the food bowl on her lap and pointed to it.

"Angel, we have guests. I'll feed you later."

Angel then took the food bowl and threw it in the kitchen, almost hitting a few animals in the process.

That bunny has some issues.

"Tell me about it," A male voice agreed.

I looked around to see who said that.

"Oops, wrong time,” he said.

I looked left and right, up and down, but I couldn’t find anyone.

"Trevor, what are you doing?" Twilight asked.

"Just looking around," I said.

Who said that?

"We should be going, Twilight. It was nice meeting you, Fluttershy,” I said.

"It was nice meeting you too. Come back again, if you want to of course, you don't have to," Fluttershy said.

Me and Twilight walked out of Fluttershy's house and I saw it was close to night time. As we headed back to the tree house, I remembered that I had forgotten to introduce myself to Applejack.

It's getting closer to the attack, so I'll just introduce myself to her later on.

When we got to the house, I didn’t see Spike or even hear from him.

"Where do you think Spike went?" I asked.

"Probably on a walk. Let me show you your bed,” Twilight said.

We walked upstairs and Twilight showed me the spare bed. It was almost the same size as her bed and also close to it. I laid down on it to see how much room I would have, and surprisingly it ended at my calf muscles.

Not as short as I thought it would be.

"Is it okay?" Twilight asked.

"Tis very nice,” I said.

"Than this will be your new bed. I'm sure you're tired, so I'll see you in the morning."

She was right. Sleeping in a stone cell doesn't really make for a good night's sleep. Twilight went downstairs to do some more studying. I laid on my stomach and pulled the covers over my shoulders.

"Good night," I whispered.

It felt like months since I had relaxed. It actually felt nice. I was slowly drifting off to sleep until I felt a vibration across my body. I slowly raised from my new bed and rubbed my eyes.

It's too early for this. That, or too late. What time is it anyway?

"Twilight! You've got to come, quick!" Spike yelled.

Quit yelling! Less I rip your vocal cords out!

"Spike, I told you. I don't want to show up Trixie,” Twilight said.

"No, you don't understand, it's--"

Before Spike could explain, he was interrupted by a loud roar. I went downstairs, still half asleep.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"What is going on outside?" I muttered.

"I'll explain on the way there. We need to hurry."

Me, Twilight, and Spike headed out the door and went towards the source of the roaring was, all while avoiding oncoming ponies trying to get as many doors, walls, and towns away from the creature. We found Snips and Snails standing side-by-side with Trixie in front of them, and in front of her was the Ursa Minor.

"What's going on?" Twilight asked.

It's exactly what you think, Twilight. These two fools brought this giant bear thing here to try and prove that everything Trixie claimed was true.

Every bit of me wanted to say, but I knew I had to let the story progress as is, for the most part anyway.

"We brought an Ursa Major to town," Snips said.

"You what?!"

"Fools of a took," I whispered.

"Yeah, but don't worry. Trixie here will vanquish it," Snails said.

"I can't," Trixie said.

"You what?!" Snips and Snails gasped in unison.

"Shocker," I said sarcastically and with a devilish smile.

"I can't. I never have. No pony has vanquished an Ursa Major. I just made it up to make me look better," Trixie said.

"Made it up?!" Snips and Snails yelled in unison.

"I refer to my previous statement," I said.

The Ursa Minor looked ready to attack. The ponies near us started to cower in fear, I even saw Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack in the mix. Spike nudged Twilight and motioned towards the Ursa Minor. Twilight looked afraid to face the giant beast, but walked towards it with courage. She stood in front of it, also looking ready to attack. Twilight's horn began to glow, the air intensified, and in the air I could hear some very soothing music. The Ursa Minor's eyes looked heavy as he swayed left and right. Twilight's horn brightened up three times than it originally had. She levitated the water tower off it's hold, unscrewed the top, let the water out, levitated it through the barn, somehow milked the cows, poured the milk into the water tower, and screwed the top back on.

"That's new," Spike said.

Indeed

The Ursa Minor was starting to collapse, heading right for Trixie. Twilight dug her hooves into the ground and used her magic to catch the Ursa Minor before it could crush Trixie. Twilight levitated the giant milk bottle to the Ursa Minor. The Ursa Minor started drinking from it, and Twilight levitated the Ursa Minor back to its cave. When she stopped using her magic, she took in a few deep breathes. Everyone there started cheering.

"Heavens to Betsy. We knew you had ability, but not that much," Applejack said, amazed at what she just saw.

"I'm so sorry. Please don't hate me," Twilight apologized.

"Hate you?" Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity asked.

"Why. Whatever do you mean, darling?" Rarity asked.

"I saw how you reacted to Trixie when she showed off her magic. And I thought--,” Twilight said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Magic's got nothing to do with it. Trixie's just a loudmouth," Rainbow Dash interrupted.

"I can agree to that," I said, nodding my head.

"Most unpleasant," Rarity said.

"All hat and no cattle," Applejack said.

"So you don't mind my magic tricks?" Twilight asked.

"Your magic's a part of who you are, sugar cube. And we like who you are. We're proud to have such a powerful unicorn as our friend."

"Yeah, and woopin' that Ursa's hind quarters, we're even prouder," Rainbow Dash said.

"You are?" Twilight asked.

Me, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity all hummed of approval.

"Wow Twilight. How did you know what to do with this Ursa Major?" Spike asked.

"That's what I was doing when you came looking for me. After Trixie's boasting, I was compelled to do a little reading up on them."

"So it is possible to vanquish an Ursa Major all by yourself?"

"That wasn't an Ursa Major. That was a baby. An Ursa Minor."

"That was just a baby?!" Trixie asked.

"And it wasn't rampaging. It was just cranky because someone woke it up."

All eyes fell on Snips and Snails.

Burn them at the stake! Burn them at the stake!

"Uhhhh," Snips and Snails said with sheepish smiles.

"If that was an Ursa Minor. Then what's a Ursa Major like?" Spike asked.

An even more giant bear thing with longer teeth. And a lot uglier.

"You don't want to know," Twilight said.

"Ha. You may have vanquished an Ursa Minor. But you will never have the amazing, show stopping ability as the great and powerful Trixie."

She was about to throw her cheap smoke bomb before I grabbed her mane and lifted her up to my face.

"You still haven't shown me better from last time," I said, giving the same smile I did from the first time.

She used her horn to prick my hand and I let her go with a small grunt of pain. She used her smoke bomb and ran away as fast as she could.

"Why that little…" Rainbow Dash said.

She started to take off after her from the skies
.
"Let her go," Twilight said.

She stopped in her tracks and landed on the ground below her.

"Maybe one day she'll learn her lesson,” Twilight hoped.

I saw Snips and Snails trying to sneak off.

"Oi!" I yelled.

They stopped right then and there.

"Don't think you're getting out this that easily. There's still debts to be paid," I said in a sadistic tone.

"Now, now, Trevor. I'll take care of this," Twilight said.

"As you wish," I calmly said.

"You two can, first off, clean up this mess," she said, referring to Trixie's destroyed stage home.

"Then how about it Trevor. Should we give them number 25?"

"I don't see why not. And I think Spike should get it as well."

"Huh?" Snips and Snails asked.

Twilight's horn glowed and the purple aura surrounded the two unicorns and the baby dragon, In seconds they all grew mustaches. Snip's mustache was a brown, stereotypical muscle man biker mustache, Snail's was a regular brown mustache, and Spike's was the same style as Snail’s but the color was black.

"Sweet," the three newly mustached unicorns and dragon said in unison.

Now that that's done. I'm going to get some accursed sleep.

I managed to sneak out of the crowd and head back towards Twilight's house. On the way there, I had that feeling again. Someone was watching me. I took a couple glances and saw a few quick flashes of Aquamarine, but that was about it. It seemed familiar, but I was too tired to think of who or what it could be. When I got into Twilight’s house, I got into my bed and slowly drifted away into a relaxing sleep. Next thing I know, I’m in one of the towers of the Princess's castle, looking out a window. I could oversee Canterlot and a little bit of Ponyville.

"What do you mean?" Celestia asked.

I looked over towards her.

"I told you already, there's something wrong here," I replied.

I looked out the window again and saw what looked like a giant black cloud heading towards Canterlot at an alarming rate.

"And what's wrong?"

"... Death is at your doorstep."

I saw a giant pink shield surrounding Canterlot. The cloud broke through it and separated into a multitude of changelings. I started hearing bombs explode everywhere, but I didn't see any signs of actual explosions. Everything soon went dark. I opened my eyes and saw that I was still in the spare bed.

It was just a dream. A weird one at that.

"Dear Princess Celestia," Twilight said.

I put the pillow over my head in spite.