My Little Pony: Friendship has a Dark Side.

Three minutes earlier...

Twilight was panicking. Before you ask, yes, she knows this. Before you ask, no, she did not care. Aside from the previous tremor that rocked the earth and the dust cloud it spawned, she heard her friend Rainbow Dash scream. The fact that these things happened in the same area could not be coincidence. Then there was the scream itself. Not only was it absolutely blood curdling, but it was filled with terror. If a brave Pony like Rainbow Dash was terrified, something was definitely wrong. She wouldn't be able to bare it if her friend was hurt, nor would Applejack, Rarity, and especially not Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. So yeah, she was panicking, but she had every right to panic. So caring was not her top priority.

Twilight and her previously mentioned friends, along with Spike the dragon, were running towards the apparent crash site.When they got there, they were shocked to find multiple holes in the ground. Whatever caused that tremor, it had hit the ground multiple times, explaining why it lasted so long. But at that moment they turned their heads and were shocked and horrified to find a very familiar figure.

Rainbow Dash was lying in a crumpled heap on the ground, with some...creature looming over it.

"RAINBOW DASH!!" everyone yelled, already running towards her. They got to her and saw that Rainbow Dash's body was shaking, her eyes still opened. Twilight then took the time to look at the creature and her eyes widened. She recognized it as the creature from three weeks ago. "Hew, you're-"

"No time for that" the creature interrupted, clearly not having the patience for formalities. "This girl is hurt."

Twilight's attention was brought to Pinkie Pie, who had walked over to Rainbow Dash. Her eyes told all: she was horrified. Her voice showed that she was on the verge of tears: "What happened to her?"

Twilight noticed the creatures hesitation before speaking. "I...found her like this. She's in a state of serious shock, but she'll live." Twilight immediately grew suspicious, but didn't have time to dwell on it before the creature picked up Rainbow Dash.

"Hey. Where are you going?" asked Twilight.

It replied "Back to the hospital. I can probably get there faster than any of you, and she needs help. Besides, there's some things that I need there."

Twilight hesitated and thought about it. She had no idea who or what this creature was, and she didn't know if she could trust him with one of her best friends. Not only that, but she still had her suspicions about Rainbow's current state. She had a feeling that the creature knew something, and might even had had something to do with it. On the other hand, if what it said was true, than the creature cound go faster than any of her friends. Also, if it had business to attend to, than having him go there was probably for the best.

After a few more seconds, she came to a decision; "Alright", she said. Get her there safely."

The creature nodded. But just as it dashed off, a thought occured to Twilight: what stuff did he need there? If he did need some things there, than did that mean he hadn't gotten them beforehand? And did that mean he escaped from the hospital?

And for that matter, what was it's name?

But as Twilight cried "Hey wait a minute!" he was already gone.

Everypony stood there in stunned silence. Spike was the first to speak. "Um, Twilight, wasn't that...?"

"Yeah," she replied, answering his unfinished question. "Yeah, it was."

As Raiden ran towards the hospital with Rainbow Dash in arms, he was going over just what he knew:

"Let's see...it appears that the inhabitants of this place are mostly talking ponies, but there are also other species here, hence the purple...whatever it was. Some of them have wings - Pegasi - and I saw the purple one with a white one beside her. They had horns, so they're Unicorns. Though the pink one had neither, so this place has at least three different kinds of ponies. They appear to be intelligent, hence the hospital and the village. What was this place called? Equestria? I've been around the world, and I've never heard of this place. The likeliness of this being another world seems to be increasing by the moment."

Raiden had reached the hospital by the time he was done thinking. He looked down at Rainbow Dash. She didn't look like she had improved much. She shivered and caused Raiden to shiver himself. He felt guilty. Guilt felt uncomfortable.

He hated feeling guilty.

But he wasn't going to stop to think about it. Slowly, he entered the hospital. There wasn't much to see. The lobby had nothing in it but a few chairs and the front desk. The color wasn't all that impressive either. Just white and teal walls. Raiden thought grimly "My hospitals would be much more full than this." He walked up to the front desk and leaned on his arm. He saw a bell and rang it. A light purple pony with a mane and tail colored with purple and white stripes appeared.

She spoke. "Can I helllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllluuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhh...?"

Raiden knew she was cut off at the sight of him. He imagined that she must be twice as shocked to see him again after being delivered to the hospital and never being checked out. Raiden answered her unfinished question. "Keep this girl in the hospital for now. She needs help, and I know what can cure her, but for now, keep her under wraps here."

The purple pony recovered from her initial shock to look down at Rainbow Dash. Her eves got wide again. She immediatley ran off and brought back a sick bed. "Put her on here."

Raiden gently laid Rainbow Dash on the sick bed, and Rainbow Dash shivered. The n he spoke. "Do whatever you can. Feed her, give her water, keep her warm, but don't try to cure her. It won't work. I'll be back in a few days."

Raiden was about to run out again when the pony stopped him. "What about your condition?" she asked.

"I'll be perfectly fi-" Raiden was cut off by the sharp pain in his stomach. He put a hand over his stomach and grunted in pain. His vision grew blurry and his breathing heavy. The nurse pony ran off, likely to get some help. Raiden heard the sound of the door opening and hooves running along the floor before slipping into unconsciousness.

Raiden groaned. He had a headache. He recalled what had happened and groaned again, this time out of frustration. "Not again" he thought. He prepared himself to wake up in the hospital again in a similar, if not the same, room.

But that's not what he got. When he opened his eyes he was in a bed, but it seemed...royal. Top of the class. Like the kind of room and bed that a little girl in love with her dolls would dream of. The bed was soft. Very comfortable. But that only rose Raiden's suspicion. It was too comfortable, and like the rest of this place, to colorful. The room itself was white ad shining yellow all over. The windows were stained glass, and had a bunch of colors on them. Odd.

Raiden let out a frustrated sigh. "Where am I now?"

"Canterlot Castle."

Raiden jumped at the sound of a feminine voice. It was full of authority. He knew that kind of voice. He hated that kind of voice. But as he turned his head around, his thought's of hatred were replaced with that of awe and astonishment. What he saw was one of those pony creatures, but this one was much taller than the others that he saw. Her coat was white, except for around her hooves, which had an interesting, golden spaded pattern. She wore some kind of golden collar around her neck with a shining purple diamond on it and a crown on her head with the same accessory. Her flank had a mark of the sun on it, which somehow radiated a sense of glory. Her mane and tail were beautiful, carrying colors of cyan, light-green, dark-blue, and pink, and the colors became brighter as his sight was traced farther down the mane and tail. And they were flowing. Literally flowing, like a stream of color. Her eyes were a magenta color, which brought his attention to the horn on her head. But then he noticed the wings on her back. A horn AND wings? "A fourth kind of pony perhaps? Interesting..." he thought.

"It is good to see that you are awake" she said, interrupting Raiden's thoughts. "There is much to discuss."

"There always is" Raiden thought before speaking. "And who might you be?"

The tall pony's expression softened. "Forgive me," she said "where are my manners?" She rose to her full height. "My name is Princess Celestia, the ruler of all of Equestria."

Raiden raised an eyebrow and took note of the words 'princess' and 'ruler'. So this...'Equestria' ran under a monarchy of sorts. Was she the only ruler?

The one calling herself Celestia set her magenta gaze back on Raiden, now looking more serious. "Now it's your turn. Tell me your name. Immediately."

Raiden noted the hint of distrust in her voice. "You don't trust me" he said. "Why should I trust you with my name?"

"I trusted you with mine. Is that not enough?"

"No, it isn't." Raiden got up from the bed. "Trusting me is the last thing you want to do."

Celestia raised an eyebrow in curiosity at that remark, but kept on topic. "Very well. If you are not to be trusted, than if your name were known, it would be easier to find you and apprehend you should you cause an outburst."

Raiden thought about that. This place seemed peaceful, and if he were to cause something, it would probably be best if he were to be apprehended. Raiden scoffed. Even if someone were to try to catch him, it's not like they could. Hm...in that case, no harm should come from this.

Raiden sighed. He hesitated before finally speaking. "Call me...Raiden. Raiden the Hedgehog."

Celestia, once again, raised an eyebrow. "Hedgehog? Interesting. I've never seen any hedgehog like you."

Raiden scoffed again. "That could be taken two ways," he muttered to himself. Raiden turned to face Celestia. "Now if you would be so kind, tell me-" Raiden was interrupted at a late realization. He put a hand over his stomach. The pain was gone. "-how I recovered so fast. The pain in my stomach is gone!"

Celestia's face lit-up with pride. "Here in Canterlot, we have only the finest healers in Equestria. Once my student told the healers of your wound, they could fix you up right away."

Raiden looked up. "Your student?" he asked, now curious.

Celestia's eyes shot open. "Ah, of course. You haven't been properly introduced, have you? Come with me. I shall acquaint all of you."

Celestia left the room and Raiden followed. Raiden took in his surroundings. He was going through a hallway with the same colors as the room he was in. There was on difference, however. The stained glass windows appeared to be showing events throughout a timeline, like some giant church. Many of them had to do with the purple pony he had seen before. Interesting.

After some time, Raiden and Celestia came to a large door. Celestia's horn glowed with a golden light as it opened. Raiden's interest was peaked. "So that horn has a purpose. Psychokinesis? Magic, perhaps?

Raiden considered asking before he entered the room.The room looked just like the hallway, except at the end, which had stairs leading up to a magnificent throne. Two thrones, actually. one seemed darker, light the night sky. Several of the pony creatures were on either side of the red carpet stretching across the room, all wearing armor like a royal guard. They all seemed to bow their heads at the sight of the princess entering the room, but some gave a suspicious glance in Raiden's direction. Figures.

But there were also six ponies at the center of the room. five of them were the purple unicorn and the friends she had with her, but the sixth was a sight to behold. Her coat color was dark-blue. Very dark-blue, but around her hooves had a spiky, silver pattern. She also wore a collar around her neck, except this one was black, with the image of a crescent moon in the center. The mark on her flank looked similar, but the night like darkness seemed more spread out. her eyes were light-blue, and her mane and tail were like the night sky, dark with stars and everything. She, like Celestia, also had a horn and wings. She wasn't as tall as Celestia, but still dwarfed all the other ponies. The last thing Raiden noticed was the she was the only pony not bowing.

Celestia stopped in front of the six ponies. "You may rise, my little ponies" she said. Raiden held back a laugh. For some reason, that sounded funny. "Our friend has awakened." Raiden's expression darkened. He would have prefered it if he were not called a friend by these ponies. That term usually meant trouble.

The five ponies rose from their bow and they looked at Raiden. They had looks of awe and curiosity in their eyes, with a hint of fear, as if they were afraid to know the answers to their questions. They should be.

The tall dark mare, however, was eyeing Raiden with a look of defiance and authority, and almost anger. Raiden couldn't help but smile at that, which only caused her expression to darken even further. "She's strong" he thought. "In all aspects."

Celestia stood beside the other ponies. She spoke. "Now that we are all here, let's get to introductions. I have already introduced myself, so who would like to go first."

All of the ponies were hesitant to make the first move. Eventually the purple pony spoke up. "Sir, I would first like to thank you for helping out our friend. That means more to us than you could know, And I would like to thank on behalf of all of us." She lifted her hoof towards him. "My name is Twilight Sparkle. It's a pleasure."

Raiden was somewhat taken aback by this one's behavior. "Polite, if seeming a bit smug, judging by the way she carries herself. Very friendly as well." Raiden held out his hand and took 'Twilight's' hoof. "You too" was all he said.

Twilight stepped back, a smile formed on her lips, if not entirely an honest one. Before anyone else could speak, the pink pony standing in the back bounced over the others - yes, bounced over them - to Raiden. "Hi!" she said enthusiastically, a permanent smile on her face. "I'm Pinkie Pie. You're not like anypony I've ever seen before. You look funny. Do you like red? YouseemtolikeredIguessedbecauseyouhaveredalloveryourbodyheymaybeIcanthrowapartywithlotsofthecolorredforyoudoyoulikeparties?

If Raiden was 'somewhat taken aback' by Twilight's behavior, than the behavior of this 'Pinkie Pie' had him up against the wall. All he could do was stare. "Very eccentric. Seems to always be happy most of the time. She's able to keep up that constant bouncing, so obviously very active. She seems to be the type to like parties, apparently. As if her hair wasn't enough of a givaway. Maybe I should humor her. Uh...sure?"

Pinkie's smile widened. "REALLY!? Ohboyohboyohboy! I promise you, as soon as we're done here, I'll through you a big party! No, a HUGE party!"

Pinkie bounced back to her friends. Everyone stood staring at her for a few seconds before Celestia cleared her throat. "Yes, well...anyway. Next?"

The orange pony with the blonde mane and tail walked up. Something told Raiden that she's pretty attached to that cowboy hat. "Mighty sorry 'bout mah friend there" she said in a southern accent. "She's easily amused. Names Applejack." She tipped her hat. "t'sa pleasure t' meet ya'll."

"Obviously from foreign descent. She seems a bit dirty. Must work in a ranch, on a farm, perhaps in a factory or in the excavation division. Seems to be fairly polite and friendly."

'Applejack' motioned her hoof in a 'come closer' gesture. Raiden did, and she whispered "Now don'tcha go 'round thinking ya'll can fool everypony. Ah know ya'll had somethin' ta do with Rainbow Dash's accident, and ah'm gonna find out what, ya hear?"

"...Smart girl. Also very straightforward. Well, at least she's honest." Raiden backed his head away and said half jokingly "The pleasures all mine."

Applejack backed off, still a bit of a grudge in her eyes. The next to walk up was a white pony with a curly purple mane and tail. "Clearly passionate about the way she looks."

She opened her mouth to speak, but then hesitated when she got a better look at Raiden. "My word, you look terrible, dear!" she said in a somewhat British accent. "I swear, as soon as we're all done here, I'll fix you right up. You look filthy. I imagine you would look rather dashing in a tuxedo. Or maybe..."

She continued her rant, but Raiden was hardly listening. "Okay, has an eye for fashion, if a bit obsessive. Interesting how she cares for the looks of everyone around her, not just herself."

"...Yes, that would be perfect!" When she stopped talking, she looked back up at Raiden and realized she was rambling. She blushed. "Ahaha...sorry." She picked herself back up. "I'm Rarity. A pleasure to make your acquaintance." she held out her her hoof.

Raiden took the hoof in hand. " The pleasures all mine. I humbly accept your generosity." he said, and lightly kissed her hoof.

'Rarity' blushed again. "Oh, well, aren't you quite the gentlehog. Charmer." She stepped back to her friends. She looked to the yellow Pegasus and spoke "Dearie, I believe it's your turn."

The Pegasus just hid behind her mane. "Uh, um, I'm Fluttershy.

Raiden raised an eyebrow. "What did you say?"

The Pegasus hid further behind her mane. "I'm Fluttershy.

Raiden tilted his head. "Huh?

The Pegasus took a step back, and spoke a word that could not be understood. Raiden stood their awkwardly . "Okaaaaay...very shy, obviously doesn't do well around different people...well different from talking ponies. Fine. I can work a crowd pretty good. I'll make the first move." Raiden stepped forward. The Pegasus became very nervous now. Raiden spoke in a calming voice. "Look, I mean no harm. If you're nervous, I'll start." Raiden knelt down and gently brushed his hand through Her mane. The Pegasus shuddered. "My name is Raiden. Raiden the Hedgehog."

Suddenly, the Pegasus immediately perked up and looked at Raiden with an excited smile. "Oh! You're a hedgehog?" she said in a shrill little voice.

Raiden was taken aback at the sudden change in behavior. "Um...yeah."

"And you can talk?!"

Raiden gathered his words. "Uh, yes I can, why? You're a ta-"

Raiden was interrupted when she squeaked in excitement and got uncomfortably close. "Hi! It's so nice to meet you. My name's Fluttershy." 'Fluttershy' backed away, suddenly embarrassed. "Sorry for my manners. Please accept my apology, if it's okay." She got close to Raiden again. "But please, tell me what you're thinking!"

Raiden had to take time to process everything. Fluttershy stood there with a cute smile. "I'm assuming that means she likes animals. Seems to have varying levels of courage. Clearly she's far more comfortable around what she knows. Also very polite. Very kind...Almost too kind."

Before anyone could continue, Celestia pulled Fluttershy back. "Another time, dear. You will all have time for questions later."

"But..." Fluttershy began. She was almost pouting. She let out a disappointed sigh in defeat and walked slowly back towards her friends. Raiden recovered from that little bit of excitement. There was one more. He turned to the dark horse, so to speak, and found that she was staring very intently at Raiden. He walked up to her and they just stared at each other for a few seconds. Raiden slowly raised his hand, but Luna did not take.

Raiden saw in her eyes that she would need a little provoking. to make a move, and saw this as an opportunity. "Heh, why so shy, lady? Would you like me to rub your mane, too? You look like you need it."

There was the attention he needed to grab. The dark mare's gaze hardened and she looked up at Raiden. Suddenly her voiced boomed. "HOW DARE YOU SPEAK THAT WAY TO PRINCESS LUNA, YOU VULGAR MOUTHED PLEBEIAN! SHOW RESPECT TO YOUR RULER OF THE NIGHT!"

The Sudden burst of anger caused all the ponies in the room to jump back, and made Raiden's rings spark, which made Raiden realize that his rings were back on. Raiden let out a sigh of relief. He could only imagine how ugly this could have gotten. Raiden only flinched a little but kept his cool. Her voice literary sent a large shock-wave throughout the room. She called herself a princess. "So, there's another ruler here after all. Noted."

"Woah. Calm down, lady - Luna, was it? - It was only a joke."

"Well, keep your jokes to yourself, peasant. Learn to show respect to the ruler of the night, or there will be severe punishment!"

Raiden was almost amused. "Try me." There were practically sparks between the two sets of eyes.

"That's enough!" exclaimed Celestia in a harsh tone. She glared at them both. "You too will get along! There will be no violent interactions here!"

Both Raiden and Luna glared back at Celestia before glaring at each other. Both of them sighed. She was right. Any violence started here would not end well for anyone. Besides they didn't want to get off on a bad start. Raiden extended his hand again. "Sorry. Let's try again, shall we?"Luna glared at his hand for a moment before extending her hoof to shake it.

Celestia smiled in satisfaction. "Good. Now that we've gotten introductions out of the way, let's get to more important matters." She looked back at Raiden. "First, where do you come from?"

"First tell me where I am, then I might be able to help you there."

Celestia was annoyed by the hedgehogs defiance, but she complied. "This is the city of Canterlot, in the vast land of Equestria."

Raiden cringed. "Canterlot?! Dear Lord, that is the the worst!" He spoke up. "Equestria, huh? Is that located on planet Mobius?"

Celestia, along with the entire room aside from Raiden, raised a questioning eyebrow. "I don't know of this 'Moe-be-us' you speak of."

"Well, that seals it." Raiden voiced his thought. "Well then, my suspicions are confirmed. I come from a place far away from Equestria. I wasn't sure of what I'm about to tell you, but it's now become obvious. This...'Equestria' is not of my world."

Everyone's eyes widened as they realized what he was saying. Celestia was the first to voice eyeryone's question. "Are you suggesting that-"

"Yes," Raiden cut her off. "I've been transported here from another world entirely."

Stunned silence greeted the room. Raiden didn't expect them to believe him right away. To be honest, he wouldn't either. Comes from another world? The very idea is ridiculous.

Which is why he was shocked when Celestia's expression softened and she said "I believe you."

Everyone in the room turned to stare at Celestia, all surprised. Though Raiden noticed that Luna did not share as great a surprise as every other pony. Raiden broke the silence. "Really?! You just accept that no questions asked?"

Celestia nodded. "You are the first of your kind to have ever appeared in Equestria, so it doesn't come off as an invalid explanation. Besides, me and my sister are aware of the existence of other worlds."

"YOU ARE?!?!" said the five pony friends, their disbelief clear.

"Another time, my little ponies," replied Celestia. "We will look into the matter later." Raiden raised an eyebrow at how quickly she was able to drop the subject. "There is another matter I wish to address. Can everypony on your world do what you did to Rainbow Dash?"

"WHAT?!?!?!" The five ponies look at Raiden, their expression's a mix of shock and anger.

Raiden himself was quite surprised that Celestia knew what she knew. "I'm impressed, princess. Tell me, how were you able to figure it out?"

"My student Twilight informed me of what she saw. You were the first to have seen Rainbow Dash in the condition she was in. Twilight also informed me of the hesitation in your eyes when you said you found her like that. It's clear that you saw what happened to her. If something else had happened to her, why would you just sit there and watch her suffer? The only other alternative is that you put her in that state."

"...She's smarter than she looks. A regular Sherlock, this one. I'll need to watch myself around her."

Raiden cleared his throat. "All right, you got me, detective. Yes, I did that to Rainbow Dash." Raiden's rings sparked, and he knew the anger was coming from Rainbow Dash's five friends. He continued "But, to answer your question, no, I'm the only one who can do that."

"And why might that be?" asked Celestia.

Raiden frowned. Anyone looking at him could see sadness in his eyes. He thought about his past...He got a headache. "Irrelevant. Let's not talk about it."

Princess Luna immediately got in his face about it. "YOU WILL ADDRESS OUR SISTER WITH THE GREATEST OF RESPECTS! ANSWER HER QUESTION!!" She spoke in that shock wave-ish voice again. Raiden's rings sparked.

"Enough, Luna! We will respect his wish." Celestia's expression was stern, and seemed to shut Luna up.

"Thank you, Princess." Raiden gave a smug grin to Luna. "That's more like it." Luna glared at Raiden out of the corner of her eye.

Celestia cleared her throat. "However, this presents a problem. Rainbow Dash will not be able to interact with the other Elements of Harmony."

"'Elements of Harmony?'...I'll need to look into that later."

"This will pose a great risk should any threat be shown in Equestria. Not only that, but Rainbow Dash has shown herself to be a small time hero as well. We must find a way to speed up her recovery. If we cannot, then I'm afraid-"

"I know how to fix her" Raiden intruded.

Every head in the room snapped to Raiden. Everyone had the look of surprise in their eyes, and Raiden saw a trickle of relief as well. Celestia was the first to regain her composure. she looked hopefully at Raiden. "You do!? Are you sure?"

Raiden nodded. "I can fix her and I will. I need an item."

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "An item? How vague."

"Yes, an item. I'll need a gem. One certain emerald, to be specific."

"An emerald?!" Luna was annoyed. "Somepony could be in severe need and you want to hunt for jewelry?!?!"

"This 'jewelry' is what can save the 'somepony in severe need'. It holds power. A power that can save her. It won't be easy to find."

"I beg to differ, young hedgehog." Raiden turned his head. The one called Rarity had spoken up. She had a confident look on her face. "If that gem is out there, I can find it. And for the sake of a friend, I'll find it no matter the cost."

All of her friends walk up and stood with her. "We all will. We're going to save Rainbow Dash one way or another." said Twilight.

"...Very good" said Raiden. He admired their courage and their passion. He could tell that there was no stopping them. "If you insist, you will assist in the search for the emerald. It should stand out. It will glow."

Celestia smiled. "Very good. We now know what we're looking for. I will send a search party to help find this emerald. You will all search for it as well, but in the meantime, I encourage you all not to stray from your daily lives. Do you need a place to stay, hedgehog?"

"Just call me Raiden" replied the hedgehog. "And trust me, I'll find a place to stay."

Celestia stared for a while before nodding. "Very well, Raiden. I hope you do. I ask that you devote most of your spare time to finding the gem to save Rainbow Dash. And...I thank you."

Raiden was surprised at that last remark. This princess was so forgiving. So caring. So...friendly.

He didn't like it.

"No need to thank me" said Raiden. "It's what I do."

Celestia smiled again. "Very good. I will teleport you all back to Ponyville now. You are dismissed."

"Teleport? Is that part of their magic, I wonder?" Raiden nodded. Celestia's horn glowed with energy. Soon, Raiden and Rainbow Dash's five friends were wisked away to Ponyville.

But not before Raiden stole a glance at Luna, and saw a feeling he was familiar with:

Corrupting anger.

Raiden's rings sparked.