The Ballad of Xyclone

Ponyville, Equestria, early morning

My eyes burned as the sun's rays hit them. It was a beautiful sunny morning...in Equestria. I was feeling relaxed and refreshed this morning, something I hadn't felt in a long time. I had the most amazing dream that Veloci was still alive and I was introducing him to Lyra. I smiled as I got up out of the mattress, brushing my unkempt bedmane out of my eyes. I slowly drudged down the stairs to Rarity's kitchen, where she was making breakfast. I saw her at the sink and greeted her politely. "Good morning, Rar—" I paused as something caught my attention: my reflection in the mirror. I suddenly realized that I hadn't even really seen what I looked like as a pony in detail. What I saw made my jaw drop. "I...I'M MY O.C.!!" I cried frantically. I ran my hooves through my neon blue and yellow mane. I inspected my grey-blue fur. I rubbed my new horn on my forehead. I looked at my flank and saw that I even had a cutie mark: A big black-and-white letter 'X'. "OH MY GOSH, COULD THIS GET ANY MORE AWESOME?!" I squealed.

"What's an O.C.?" I heard Twilight say.

"That's kind of hard to explain, Twilight—wait, Twilight?! What are you doing here?!" I suddenly noticed all the ponies in Rarity's kitchen. It was everypony that was there when I discovered the portal to Equestria: Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, Lyra, Bon-Bon, and Spike. "What...what are all of you doing here?" I noticed that all of them looked sad, except for Twilight and Bon-Bon, who looked angry. Lyra looked worried. "W-What's going on?"

"We're here to ask you some more questions," A booming voice echoed throughout my ears. It was Princess Celestia once again. But this time, instead of just bringing Princess Luna, she brought Princess Cadence as well. Her husband Shining Armor and the rest of the Canterlot Royal Guard arrived also.

"Questions? What questions? What, d-did I do something wrong?" I had no idea what was going on, but I began to panic. I don't remember breaking any laws. And even if I did, I wouldn't have known better; I was a stranger to this world, after all.

"Darn tootin' ya did somethin' wrong!" Applejack shouted. "From what Twilight told us, yer best buds with one of th' evilest enemies in Equestria!"

"What?!" I asked, confused as ever. "What the heck are you talking about?!"

Princess Cadence then came up to me. "Luna went into your dreams last night," she told me firmly. "She saw everything."

I really started panicking now. "H-Hey, uh, w-what do you mean by 'everything'?" I asked her, chuckling nervously.

"What she means is the dream you had about The Scaly One," intervenes Celestia.

"'Scaly One'? Nope, I still have no idea what you're talking about..."

"Oh, fer Pete's sake, the one with th' lizard!" Applejack yelled. She began crying. "How...how could you, Skyler? We thought we could trust ya." Rarity walked over to Applejack and hugged her, trying to comfort her and calm her down.

"What, you mean the one with Veloci? He's no enemy! He's my—well, was my best friend. He died 8 years ago."

"Eight years ago?" Twilight asked. "But Princess Luna, you said you and the Princess found The Scaly One a few months ago..."

"I can't believe this," Luna said. "Could I have been wrong? But I'm never wrong! How could this be?!"

"Oh, dear me," exclaimed Princess Celestia. "I am so terribly sorry, Skyler. I'm afraid we were mistaken. I apologize we created such a ruckus. These things don't normally happen."

"Yes," Luna said. "And I shouldn't have invaded your personal privacy like I did. I'm sorry too."

"Can you ever forgive us, Skyler?" Celestia pleaded.

"Oh, don't worry about it!" I replied. "It's nothing, I'm sure! And please...call me 'Xyclone!'"

The princess chuckled happily. "Now that I can do! And while you're here in Equestria, feel free to make yourself right at home! My and Luna's treat!"

"Will do!!" I replied ecstatically.

Celestia turned around, about to fly off, when Twilight stopped her. I eavesdropped on their conversation.

"Princess, what the hay are you doing?!" Twilight whispered angrily to her. "You're gonna let him off the hook just like that?! He could still be dangerous!"

"Oh, lighten up, Princess!" Celestia told her sarcastically. "How bad could he possibly be? He's one of the nicest and friendliest stallions I've ever had the pleasure of meeting! We searched his room and found nothing incriminating, except for a few t-shirts with us on them, which was a bit strange, I admit. He even taught me and Luna a lesson about friendship! Now, who can do that?! Just give him a chance, won't you please, Twilight? Now, I must return to Canterlot. I have important matters to attend to."

"Princess Celestia, wait!" And with that, she was gone. Twilight seethed in anger and frustration.

Applejack trotted up to me afterward. "Hey, look, Ah'm really sorry fer bein' so overdramatic earlier," she said to me.

"Oh, don't worry, it's fine," I replied. I noticed another tear falling from her eye. "Hey, hey, hey, what's wrong?" I asked her.

Applejack wiped the tear from her eye. "Oh, it's—it's nothin', Ah've just been really stressed out lately. Ah—Ah feel like Ah don't know who Ah am anymore. Ah feel like Ah'm losin' mah grip on reality."

"You can tell me anything, AJ, I wanna be your friend here," I told her.

Applejack sniffled. "Can...can Ah tell you a secret?"

"Sure," I said.

"C-Can you promise not ta tell anypony?"

"Yeah."

"Pinkie promise?"

"Cross my hoof and hope to die, stick a cupcake in my eye."

"Well—Ah, uh, kinda like Rarity..."

"Well, that's not a secret. Everyone knows that you and Rarity are the best of friends."

"No, Ah mean Ah like like her. Like, really like her..."

"I...don't follow..."

"Gosh darn it, Ah got the hots for Rarity!" Applejack immediately gasped, realizing how loud she had just yelled that. Luckily, no one heard her.

"Oh, Applejack..." I hugged her tightly. "Don't you worry, I won't tell a soul."

"Oh, thank you, thank you! You have no idea how much this means ta me!"

Oh, I think I do, I thought mischievously to myself.

"Thank you, Sky—" I looked at Applejack sarcastically. "Xyclone," she said, correcting herself. "Thank you, Xyclone. Thank you fer bein' a friend."

I froze. She called me a "friend". I never really had any "friends". The only friend I had was Veloci, and he'd been dead for 8 years. That really struck a chord with me. Friend. It made me feel good inside knowing that I was someone's friend. Tears began to run down my face as I hugged my friend Applejack tighter and tighter.