Sciamachy

What do you expect to happen when you fall from the sky at high speeds only to impact the ground? Most reasonable ponies would likely expect to hear a large cracking or squishing sound, followed by excruciating pain and then death. Other, more conceited, (or crazy) ponies might expect that the ground would actually part in order to let them land. In other words, that they would leave a crater and come out completely unscathed. Why do I ask? Well, because what happened to me appeared to have been the second option, although I can't honestly say whether I fell from the sky, just appeared in an existing crater, or appeared and created a crater through my very presence.

However, if my situation had been a bit more like the one I just described, I'd be a lot happier. I didn't think that I'd be walking away from there "completely unscathed", let's put it that way. To start off my list of apparent injuries, my forelegs seemed bent in a strange way. The knees were facing forward! Wait, what? Forelegs? Knees? I couldn't help but think that they used to have different names, but I seemed unable to place it in my head. Something told me that I had nothing to worry about. If they really were forelegs, the knees should face forward, right?

Anyhow, my back legs also seemed strange. Those knees faced the opposite direction, from what I must have previously seen. I shrugged it off, though. Those were probably fine, too. The real issue seemed to be that it was some awful kinds of hot in that crater. No sooner had I come to this realization than a pillar of white-hot liquid shot up beside me. It had a red tinge to it, and a word popped into my head. Lava. Oh crap. This stuff was dangerous. And I was still standing right beside it, even as it came down.

"FUDGE NUTTERS!" I shouted, as I ran towards the edge of the crater. More lava geysers (Geysers? Another strange word.) shot up in every direction as I continued to run. One suddenly exploded right in front of me, and I swerved to avoid it. As I skidded to a stop and began climbing the rather sheer side of the crater, I briefly contemplated what I had shouted before. Fudge Nutters? What did that even mean? Ah, well. I had no idea what was going on, anyway, so why spoil the mystery?

My thoughts were interrupted as six geysers erupted in a semicircle around my section of the crater wall. My limited knowledge of physics told me this was a bad thing, and I proved to be right. How do six geysers erupt at the same time in a semicircle around my exact section of the wall anyway? My thoughts posed the question, but I had little time to consider it, as the side of the crater caved outward and I was left standing on a sheet of rock moving in a swift lava flow. I knew that the slightest bump could send me flying off, or flip my stone lava-boat over, sending me into the molten rock below, but ultimately, I decided to savor the slight amount of fun I was having, racing down the side of the mountain I now realized I had been in.

"WEEEEEEEE!" I shouted as I barreled down towards the flat plain below me. Well, "plain" is such a strong word. It was mostly barren, with only a few shrubs here and there, and no signs of settlement. I briefly wondered if I were in a completely deserted world, with me the only living thing, but I was given very little time to consider this option, as I shortly connected with the ground and was launched, screaming, into the air. Instead of coming down with a splash and feeling my flesh burn away, though, I had managed to be launched in the opposite direction from which the lava was flowing, and the flat landscape had slowed it down significantly. I landed with a bump, and found myself rolling away, covering every inch of me with dirt.

When I finally came to a stop, I stood up on all fours, (Another thing that seemed odd that it seemed normal, if that makes any sense.) and looked to myself. Upon careful examination, I determined that I was not dead, but had many small cuts and bruises from the roll, alongside blisters from the heat and patches of my coat that were still smoking, with burned red skin underneath them. All in all, I had gotten off surprisingly well, considering that I was pretty sure I had just survived a volcanic eruption.

I suddenly realized that I had some sort of thin hair covering my body. Yes, I had noticed it when I saw the burns, but I hadn't really processed it. It likely would have been a lovely shade of green, if not for the dust and ash that now covered it, and I noticed a few wisps of black hair dancing in front of my eyes. I really should find a mirror. I thought. It might be nice to know what I looked like, but something in my mind told me I was a pony, a stallion, who couldn't help but feel out-of-place.

Once again, my thoughts were interrupted, but this time by an earth-shattering explosion emanating from the volcano. I looked up at it and felt my ears, positioned at the top of my head, fall back, and my abnormally large eyes lose most of their pupils. The entire mountain had appeared to just explode, and I was running before you could say, "HOLY CRAP, THERE'S LAVA FALLING FROM THE SKY!"

I ran, not just because of the huge amount of lava and rock falling in every direction, although that was a large part of it, but also because, just for a moment, mixed in with the sound of the explosion, I could have sworn I heard a roar.

*     *     *

I hadn't stopped running for... how long had it been? Minutes? Hours? Days? I assumed it wasn't days, as night hadn't fallen, but I wasn't too sure that things still worked that way. Then again, many of my thoughts seemed to be geared towards this world's rules, already, so why not that? On the other hand, all those thoughts seemed foreign to me, and I knew things that didn't seem to be from this world, like what a volcano was. Upon a serious amount of thought, I determined that the whole day/night concept didn't seem to be specific to one or the other, so it probably occurred in both worlds. It was at this point of deep self-analysis that I tripped and sprawled on the ground.

I took the moment of relaxation to calm my breathing and look around, soon noticing that very little had changed. I was still in the desert, with small shrubs and rocks around, and one rather large one being the object that had caused me to fall. The mountain was nowhere in sight, but that didn't surprise me. It had blown into a million rather large pieces, so I didn't expect much. I was thankful, however, that no lava was in sight, either. I had escaped an incredibly violent volcanic eruption with only some minor burns and scratches. I wasn't sure which I was, lucky that I had escaped with so little damage, or unlucky that I had appeared in the middle of a volcanic crater at all. I was startled out of my reverie by a voice, the first voice I had heard, besides my own.

"HEY MISTER! YA NEED A RIDE SOMEWHERE?" A loud, distinctly feminine, voice called out from somewhere to my left. I looked in that direction, and saw a pony pulling a cart, about twenty yards away, on a large, obvious dirt path which had somehow escaped my notice. I stood up and brushed myself off, feeling sheepish. I then proceeded to walk towards the strange pony. She was pretty, with a dark blue coat and an orange mane and tail, and lovely green eyes. I managed to say to her, "Um, sure, but I don't really know where to go."

"Seriously? You're out here, in the middle of the desert, and you don't even know where you're going?" I just shook my head in answer. "Well, I'll be! You must not be from around here, then. Where are ya from?" I stared at her for a long moment. Um... where was I... from? I honestly didn't know, but if I told her that, she'd probably think I was crazy and leave me here, and I had suddenly realized I was very tired, and could really use a ride.

"Well...I...uh." I stammered out, but she waved her hoof in the air.

"Nevermind, it's no business of mine. Sorry for prying."

"Oh, it's okay, I'm just not used to talking about myself." That felt half-true. Huh. Maybe I had back wherever I had come from? Ah, well.

"Hah! Well then, mister doesn't-know-where-he's-going, how'd you like to come with me? I'm planning on heading to Ponyville, then on to Canterlot, if you want to stick with me. Or, you can just walk back to Appleloosa and I'll see ya when I get back."

"Erm... Appleloosa?" I asked, feeling more stupid than ever. She stood, gaping at me, then chuckled lightly.

"Wow, you really aren't from around here, are you? Appleloosa's the closest town to here, it's about five miles that way." she gestured in what I took to be a southerly direction, judging by the sun, and I gulped. This pony had just walked for five miles? And she didn't even look tired! Although, we were equines, so we probably had more stamina than I might have otherwise been used to, but still.

"I think I'd like to come with you. I don't really feel like walking." I said, hoping five miles wasn't just a casual stroll for these ponies. Then again, I had no idea how far I'd traveled. Maybe I had a right to be tired? The strange mare then smiled and said, "That's good, I'm on my own this time, so it might be nice to have company." I smiled in return and walked around to the back, clambering into the cart with some effort.

"If you don't mind my asking, what's your name?" I asked suddenly, surprising both of us with the question that I would have been averse to had I been asked it myself. The mare looked at me quizzically before smiling again and saying, "My name's Clementine. What's yours?"

Oh, crap. I didn't know my name! Okay, quick, before this gets awkward! Two voices shouted into my head simultaneously, one high pitched and mad sounding, the other deep and somehow heroic. Dark Power! the crazy one yelled. Time Lord! the heroic one countered. The two names blurred together in my head, and before I really knew what I was doing, I had blurted out, "My name's Dark Time." I covered my mouth for a moment and mentally berated myself. That name was stupid and suspicious sounding! What was I thinking?! Yet, for some reason, Clementine smiled at me once again.

"Dark Time, huh? Nice name. It seems to fit you, somehow." Huh, who would've thought? I lay down calmly in the back of the cart and let all the exhaustion of the day wash over me. I was asleep before we started moving.

*     *     *

I awoke to the sound of somepony screaming. I looked around. I wasn't in the cart anymore, and Clementine was nowhere to be seen. I began searching for the pony who screamed and saw, in the distance, a town. It appeared to be burning, and I saw a small shape beginning to run towards me. It was a filly, screaming and crying for her mother. I ran forward, but came to an abrupt stop when I noticed what she had really been running from.

There, about a half a mile away, was the town, but it wasn't just the flaming town that I saw, anymore. There was something huge moving in the smoke coming off the buildings, and soon, it emerged, giving me a good look, despite the distance. It was a giant, bipedal slab of lava and rock, with long arms dangling down to it's knees and what looked like fingers and hands to me. All of these thoughts conflicted with my pony mind, but I didn't care at the moment. I grabbed the filly by the mane with my teeth, (she had reached me by this time) and slung her onto my back, beginning to run in the opposite direction from the fire giant.

Yet, before I could get much of anywhere, a river of lava encircled me and the filly, although there was no divot in the ground or rock in the way of it simply running us down. The entire pool in front of us then rose up, 50, 100, 200 feet in the air, easily, and then formed into the creature, it bent down to examine us, an evil grin somehow stretched across it's stony features, and the small filly clung close to my neck, her blue coat mixing with my green one, and her orange mane... Wait, what?

*     *     *

I awoke in a cold sweat, and quickly took in my surroundings. I was still in the back of the cart, there was no sign of any lava monster, and Clementine was staring back at me, looking concerned.

"You all right?" She asked.

"Eh? Oh right! Sure, yeah... I'm fine." she seemed a bit perplexed at my response, but then just shrugged and said, "You slept for quite a while, so we're almost to Ponyville. But, I was wondering, could I ask you some more questions? I'd like to get to know the pony who's riding in my cart. I won't ask you where you're from, if you're uncomfortable, but I do want to know you better."

Huh. I'd never actually met someone, pony or otherwise, who wanted to know me personally, so I decided to answer her question in the affirmative.

"Great! For starters, got any family? Parents, brothers, sisters, wife, kids, anything like that?"

"Um... I..."

"Oh, a little too close to home, huh? Sorry. Anyways, second question. What were you doing out there in the desert?"

I gaped at her for a moment. This pony made a lot of assumptions! Which was currently proving good for me, but it might not be such a good thing later on. I was startled from this train of thought by the realization that she had asked a question I could answer.

"Well, I was... Running away."

"From what?"

"Ummm... You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you." I answered truthfully. From my limited knowledge of how things worked, volcanoes were either not a common sight, or didn't exist at all in this world. Lucky them. To my surprise, Clementine raised an eyebrow and, instead of making assumptions, simply said, "Try me."

Crap. No backing out of this one. "Well, there was this mountain..."

*     *     *

It had taken me the better part of an hour to explain my escapade into the volcano, which was odd, since it hadn't taken me nearly that long to actually do it. Then again, it made it difficult to progress at any rate when one had to backtrack after every other word and explain what it meant, sometimes once or twice because the current listener didn't understand. So, by the time I had finished my story, we had reached the road into Ponyville. Given the chance to rest my tongue, I did so, looking around silently. This was a nice little town, very small and colorful. We had long since left the desert behind, (before I woke up, actually) and I was glad we had. This place was much nicer. Well, except for that dark, gloomy-looking forest in the distance. That place was creepy. I processed all of this before Clementine even had the chance to speak, and just as she was about to, something very pink swept her out of her harness, bringing the cart to a complete stop. I rushed to the front and peeked out, some part of me expecting a horribly mutilated pony to be chomping down on my new friend's face. What I did see was far, far worse.

A huge ball of pink excitement had tackled Clementine to the ground and was now squeezing the life from her with a massive bear hug. I rushed from the cart to try to help, but soon stopped when I heard Clementine laughing. I honestly didn't know what was so funny about being crushed by a ball of pink energy, but I soon discovered for myself that it wasn't funny. Not funny at all.

Suddenly, without me detecting any sort of movement at all, the ball of pink was in my face, and two huge blue eyes gazed back into mine as the pony they belonged to gasped in an overly-dramatic sort of way.

"Clementine! You didn't tell me you were bringing a new pony, too! Now I've gotta throw him a 'Welcome to Ponyville!' party, and somehow merge it into your 'Have a Happy visit to Ponyville!' party. He is staying, isn't he? Oo, if he's not, we could just have one big 'Have a Happy visit to Ponyville!' party! That would be even better! Of course, if he is staying, that would be great, too. 'Cause then we could become bestest friends and he'd stay here forever and ever. Wouldn't that be great?"

"Yeah, Pinkie, I'm sure it'd be great. I honestly don't know if he's staying or not, though. And, maybe he'd appreciate a little personal space?"

Through that entire rant, the so-called "Pinkie" had stayed up in my face, and it made me incredibly uncomfortable. She abruptly backed away, however, and I could've sworn her body hadn't moved, only her head. Oh well, I could breath again, at least.

"WHAT?! You DON'T KNOW?! Well NOW what am I gonna do? I can't plan a party before I even know what the party's about!" The pink pony suddenly stiffened. "Ooooooooo. Or CAN I? Maybe if I try super-duper, extra super hard, I can do it!" The pony then dashed off, leaving a few brightly colored streamers and flat balloons behind.

"Um... okay, what was that?" I asked, absolutely befuddled.

"That? Oh, that was Pinkie Pie. She's our welcoming committee."

"Welcoming committee?" I asked. Had I been traveling with some kind of celebrity this whole time?

"Yep, Pinkie welcomes every new pony into town with one of her patented Pinkie Pie parties. It's a fun event, if a little boisterous." I gulped. Great. A party thrown by a pony who seemed about as sane as I was certain of what was going on. What could be better?

*     *     *

A dark presence lurked somewhere in Equestria. It was tired of waiting. It wanted him dead. He had thwarted it too many times to let live. Not that it would have spared his life, anyways. It found this new world strange, to be sure, but still conquerable. It would kill all these pathetic ponies, but not until after it had its revenge. It had to kill him, and soon. Wait... That was it! It would kill all these pathetic ponies. And that would bring him running. Then, it would kill him, too. ARGH! But it could not kill in its current condition. It would have to let Infernus do it, instead. It sighed inwardly. A pity, it had so been looking forward to killing again. Oh well, once  he was dead, it could kill any creature it wished, and get its hooves as bloody as they had ever been. It just had to be patient.