Blood Flows Between Worlds

I opened my eyes. The light blinded me immediately , and I couldn't see where I was. I had to be in heaven. The bright light and the fresh yet comforting wind was just perfect. I tried to stand up, only to drop to the floor in the next moment. Something felt wierd, but I couldn't see what it was, my sight was still blurry. I looked down at my hands, only to realize that I am no longer human. The hooves, moving to my own thoughts, was proof enough. But how, and more importantly, why?

I tried to stand up again, and looked at my side, only to notice a pair of wings. Great, I can fly, in maybe a hundred years when I am really dead and no longer afraid of heights. But that doesn't matter at this moment, because I noticed my tattoo. On the side of my flank, where normally ponies from My Little Pony had their cutie marks. I looked at the other side, where the picture repeated itself.

Then I looked around, noticing that around me was a forest, dark and certainly not to friendly. The only place that I could think of was everfree forest. I looked around, searching for a path, when I noticed a small area which looked like one. It wasn't a prepared path, but it had to do, so I stumbled in this direction.

After a few minutes, walking became a lot easier. I also tried to flap with my wings, but they didn't move an inch. I couldn't really think of a way to make them either. I never had wings before, that would have been odd. And the commotion the people would have started, that would have been a disaster. Religious people seeing an angel in me, others an abomination. That would have been to much responsibility for me to take.

After some time, I don't know how long exactly, it felt like an hour, I finally met someone else. I called out for her: "Hey, you there. Can you help me?" She turned around, looking at me through her pink mane. I realized immediately who she is, and asked her: "Excuse me, but are you Fluttershy?"

A whisper answered me, and after grinning like a clown in the circus I told her: "Cheer up, little one. I won't hurt you, I am a nice guy. As long as you don't attack my family in any way, at least." Her look let me add "Which you didn't, don't worry", so scared was it.

She answered with "Yes, my princess". I didn't understand that she just called me female, but the prince part stuck in my ears. I looked again on my side, then searched for a mirror or any other way of seeing myself. I noticed the stream nearby, walked to it and looked at myself. The black fur and the red mane let me look like a demon, but what really distrubed me was the horn on my forehead. The horn of a unicorn. Or, in my case, of an alicorn.

"I am no princess", I told her. "And mainly, I am not female. I am a... stallion". I just wanted to say man, but would she understand? "So please, relax." She couldn't, my appearence seemed too astonishing. Well, I was bigger than her, and all in the form of an alicorn. Why, of all the possible outcomes had it to be an alicorn? The one pony race with the most responsibility which couldn't walk around unnoticed. I sighed, as I saw a yellow, living statue before me, ready to drop to her knees if I should command so. I didn't.

"Well, is there a way of oing to a place where I could hide?" I din't want to be seen like this, not now at least. Everything was too much for me as it was at the moment, and a commotion regarding a new alicorn would have driven me crazy.

"We could, maybe, go to my house, of you insist, my princess. Excuse me, my prince. It is a small place, but I wouldn't mind to serve you, if you don't mind." She was shivering, maybe out of fear, or out of joy. I wasn't sure, she was smiling with such honesty it was hard to tell. But at least she wasn't stiffly standing anymore.

"That would be a great idea. Lead the way." Finally something that went in the right direction. "Oh, and call me.. Ignis. I am no royal, I just look like one." I really hoped she would call me Ignis, Fire. Like the mane I now had.

"Sure, my prince Ignis, as you command." Well, my hope was futile.

We walked for about an hour, when we reached her home. The stream, where I looked at myself, was her guide, and grew steadily bigger as we advanced through the forest. She welcomed her pets and guests, animals from all across Ponyville and it's surroundings.

"If you wish, I will prepare something to eat, my prince Ignis." I declined. I wasn't hungry, and I certainly wasn't eager trying to eat hay.

"All I wish for is some rest and a conversation partner." She looked at me with a kind of joyous fear someone notices when a dream comes true when they aren't prepared. "Where could we sit, Miss Fluttershy" If she kept on going calling me prince, I wanted to call her Miss. Well, a childish thing to do, but it wasn't meant solely for payback, but also to honor her. She really was the impersonation of kindness.

She lead the way to her living room. "Sit here, my prince Ignis. Do you really don't want anything to eat? Maybe something to drink?" I noticed that she was a bit less shy than in the series. Maybe she has grown a bit or she was feeling responsible for me. Either way, it made things a bit less difficult.

"Some water would be nice. And, Miss Fluttershy, you really stop calling me prince. I am really not meant for royal duty or something equal. I am a mere traveller." She looked as if I had told her to kill someone. It really seems that they never even considered an alicorn to be of low birth. She simply nodded and walked out of the room.

When she returned, with some buckets of water, she and I started to talk about the animals she was keeping with her. Some were known to us, but others were mythological creatures, like the phoenix, or the manticore. After some time, she got used to talk with me. She had a lot of problems to simply call me Ignis, but after a while even that was no matter at all. We were in the middle of discussing how to feed a manticore, when someone knocked on the door.

"Fluttershy, are you here?" I recognized the voice, but couldn't clearly match it with a name. "We were waiting for you at the town square." A short break let me and fluttershy look at each other. "Fluttershy?"

"Go", I told her "and greet them. Else they will storm the building. Either way, they will find me. You can tell them the truth." I never intended to keep myself hidden from the other ponies, but I didn't want to be seen and cause a commotion either.

She opened the door, there was a bit of "we were worried" chit chat, nothing that I intended of listening to. Then Fluttershy started to tell them what happend earlier. A stood up. Until this point, she didn't tell them that I was an alicorn. I walked to the front door, when we saw each other. The mane six, standing there in the hall, looking at me with such a confused expression I couldn't do anything against the grin on my face.

"Hello ladies", Oh why had I have to start like this. "Excuse me. Hello together. I am Ignis, and I believe you are Miss Applejack, Miss Pinky Pie, Miss Rarity, Miss Rainbow Dash and princess Twilight Sparkle. Correct?" They looked at me, nodding and glancing at me with a distrusting look.

"Who are you? I never saw a princess like you, and I know all about the history of Equestria." Surely Twilight knew a lot, but she couldn't possibly know that there would be different worlds, like the one where I came from.

"Don't worry. And I am a stallion, not a mare." Again a disbelieving glance, except for Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.

"So, Fluttershy, you never told us that you had a boyfriend." Rainbow Dash went head on into this teasing material she was handed, and I myself couldn't resist to pay her back. Fluttershy has been such good company, I wanted to defend her.

"I am not her boyfriend. In fact, we were just talking about me proposing to you. I have heard so much about the awesome Rainbow Dash I just had to meet her. And now I am certain that only you are befitting me as royal companion through thin and thick, through time of joy and times of grief, loving each other until time itself stops, and beyond that."

I had said too much. Everyone looked at me as if I'd regret this, but the look in Rainbow Dashes face was different. " I... I... I can't marry you, I don't even know you. I don't know if you are cool enough to be my groom, even if you look kinda... cool... I guess." I really had thrown her off.

I laughed, so hard that my face almost had the same red color as my mane. It looked like black stone starting to melt. "That was a joke, sorry Miss Rainbow Dash. I just couldn't let you tease Fluttershy like this" I immediatly regretted what I just did, as a tear ran down her face. Great doing, idiot. Now you did it. You made a girl cry.

She flew off, into the clouds above Fluttershys house. The others looked at me, with an expression both disgusted and understanding. They knew that teasing Fluttershy could turn ugly as well, but I was just too harsh with her.

"Is there some kinda way I can excuse myself to her? I never intended to hurt her like this." They all shook their heads. I turned pale, feeling disgusted. We all went to the living room, where I told them how I woke up hear with no memory, meeting Fluttershy and now searching for an accommodation. I knew immediatly that none of them were willing to take me in.

"You could stay here for a few nights, at least until you have found yourself a nice little place for yourself", Fluttershy said, with none of the concern of the others. I was astonished how fast I had grown dear to her, and how fast she has grown dear to me.

I accepted her invitation, I had not much of an alternative except to sleep outdoors. I couldn't even rent a room, simply because the world change has left me with nothing but my body.

We were sitting there for another few hours. At some point, Rainbow Dash returned, with red eyes. My stomach hurt. It was a similar feeling to the one I had before I died, just mixed with regret.

The ponies kept a certain distance to me. I couldn't blame them. Only Fluttershy kept her initial kindness and Twilight Sparkle was very interested in everything I could tell her, and was very eager to tell me everything in return. I kept silent about the fact that I wasn't from Equestria. I didn't know how I should have told them, there really didn't seem any way to do this.

When dusk arrived, Twilight and Rainbow Dash flew off while the others walked over the bridge nearby. The only one looking back was Twilight.

Fluttershy and I went back in and my stomach hurt again. But this time, it was of hunger. "Fluttershy, you couldn't prepare dinner for us, could you?" The following growl let her smile.

"Sure, but you need to help me Ignis. The prince would have been served, but you are no prince. Arent you?" She really wasn't as shy as before.

"No I'm not." I couldn't hold back the grin building up inside my face. The look I made seemed so funny, that Fluttershy started to laugh, and with her I laughed, too.

The hay wasn't as bad as I thought. It really hadn't as much taste as it could have. We both ate silently, when I realized that I had a home to sleep, but no place in particular. I asked where about that problem.

"Well, you could sleep on the couch, or you sleep in my bed while I occupy the couch." This proposal was so sweet of her, I smiled embarrassedly, and my face again got red.

"I'll take the couch, thanks. I don't want to cause any more trouble I already did", thinking of Rainbow Dash as I said that.

So we went to sleep. I lay on the couch, thinking about today, and hoping that I will integrate in this strange situation. At this point I could never expect that all of this was only the beginning. My consciousness faded, and when I finally started to dream, I was welcomed by a dark, grinning face. "Hello Phoenix. Do you have any idea why you are here?"