Of Magic and Flameby DarkAcolyteChaptersA Fresh StartA New HomePonyville Part IPonyville Part IIA Strange DreamRecoveryA Fresh StartI am a pokémon master. I am one of three true masters in my school. The others are my friends, Chad and Peter. We will commonly discuss our favorites and the best team. Tactics, news, anything from Aerodactyl to Zygarde. We have played every game from Red to Crystal to X. And we all have our favorites. People like to say that we like things that are similar to us. What we didn't know is just how similar we actually were. At our school, we have chapel every Tuesday and Thursday. Last Thursday, we were told to pray for five minutes. I didn't know what to say at all. I began rambling about how I sinned and needed forgiveness, but after two minutes, I heard a voice. "Child, I see your true desires. I will take you to me and your dreams will soon be fulfilled." At that time, me and my friends were whisked away from the chapel, and we landed in the gymnasium. A great pillar of light beamed down from the sky. It felt like I was strapped to the outside of a space shuttle during launch. Then, the pain came. Thousands of pinpricks became unbearable pain as though my body was being contorted and smushed into a new shape. After what seemed like hours of agony, I opened my eyes to see a beautiful pastel treeline. And then, I blacked out. " Dude, wake up. Dude! Come on!" I woke with a start to the sound of my friends. I was blinded by the sudden exposure to the sun and had to wait for my eyes to adjust. "What is it? What happened?" "Look at yourself. You've changed. Just like me and Peter." "What?" I looked down and saw a yellow belly and orange skin. I turned my head and saw a tail that was on fire. "Cool! I'm a charmander! And Chad! You're a squirtle!" "Thanks for noticing, Captain Obvious." "We should have new names then, if we are the Kanto starters. It can be the names from that Mewtwo movie. Like you can be Shellshocker, Peter can be Bruteroot, and I can be..." "Wait, what about me?" Peter yawned with his eyes still closed. I walked over to him and brushed my tail in front of his face. He opened his eyes at the heat and screamed. "Fire! Everybody, Run!" "Peter, it's just me." I said. "Look at me, and Chad, and yourself. We are pokémon. Although, I'm not sure where we are." When Peter looked at himself, he nearly fainted. Luckily for him, since he was a bulbasaur, he was on four feet and did not fall on his face. Chad went over to him and blew some bubbles in his face to wake him up. I laughed. "Squirtle learned bubble!" "Shut up." "Fine, but let's try to find a town or something. We should be able to survive, but I don't want to take chances. I thought I saw something on that lone mountain over there." I pointed to a tall spire of rock with a white and gold castle on the side. "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore Toto." "What is that? Is that a palace? "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go." Peter said as he began walking towards the lonely mountain. "You coming or not? We don't have all day." As we walked, I began to feel a strange sense of familiarity. I couldn't quite place it, but I felt as though I should know this place.I became nervous and started playing some music in my mind while singing aloud. "I wanna be the very best." "Like no one ever was." Peter joined in. "To catch them is my real test." I replied. "To train them is my cause." Charlie now said. I continued. "I will travel across the land, searching far and wide." "Each pokémon to understand." Peter and Charlie sang in unison. We all sang. "The power that's inside! Pokémon! Oh, it's you and me. I know it's my destiny! Yeah! You're my best friend in a world we must defend. Pokémon! A heart so true. Our courage will pull us through. You teach me and I teach you. Po-ké-mon! Gotta catch 'em all. Gotta catch 'em all!" After we finished singing, we continued on our path until we heard the voice with a heavy southern accent. "Ah told ya, Big Mac, I heard singin and these weird instruments comin from this direction. Ah'm not lyin t'ya." Oh, sweet helix, no. I've heard this voice before. Where was it... Probably some crap from Cartoon Network or something. But, that means... We're in a cartoon! Oh joy. I thought to myself. "Hey, Dude, what was that?" Chad asked. "Ok, so I think we're in a cartoon." "What? How is that possible? And how does that answer my question? "I'm pretty sure that that voice is from a main character in a cartoon." "Ok, so I'm still kind of shocked about the whole 'Guess what? You're now a pokémon now!' thing, but I still don't think that we could be taken into a cartoon, even with our plausibility history." I sighed and looked at Peter. "Well, all I know is that we're in one now.. We need names now that will fit in this world. Peter, you're bulbasaur so you can be Bruteroot. Chad, Shellshocker. And I will be..." "Hellblazer?" "Nah." "Blitzkrieg?" "Too electric, not enough fire." "Hephaestus?" "No, too Greek." "How bout Blazewing?" I smiled at this. "Perfect." I guess that'll work. Maybe if I can evolve, it'll make sense. The voices were getting closer now. "Ah don't know what it could have been. Do you?" "Eenope." "Well, that's just peachy then. I suppose we'll end up bein attacked by a timberwolf or sumthin. Maybe even a... What the hay?" "Hey there." I said. Crap. Shoulda guessed. Stupid My Little Pony. I hated seeing this when we had the Hub. She stood back as though tensing to fight. "I don't know who, or what y'all are, but y'all best get off my orchard unless ya want me ta buck ya off." She growled at me. "Oh please, we're not here to hurt you, we just want to find the nearest settlement. We were lost in the forest and..." "Wait just a minute," she interrupted, "y'all were in the Everfree? How did ya get there?" " I don't know. We were just sent there as though by magic." I said. "Well, ah have a friend who might be able ta help y'all. In fact, her 'assistant' is here now playin with mah sister and her friends. He can take ya to her." "Well then, thank you very much miss...?" "Oh, beg your pardon, mah names Applejack, and this here is Big Macintosh. He's a little on the quiet side." "Thank you very much miss Applejack and Mister Macintosh. We best be on our way then. Could you point us in the direction?" "Well, sure thing. Just go over that hill there and you can see Ponyville right ahead." Clever name. "My sister should be near the schoolhouse about half a mile away from town. She had a project or sumthin due. Check there first." "Ok, thanks again!" "Anytime, just promise not ta burn down the farm with that tail o' yours." "Hahaha, I'll see you around." Perspective change: Spike I had just met up with Sweetie Belle and hung out with her and her friends. We've become closer now that she's spending more time at the boutique. Now, I was walking Apple Bloom home after I had dropped off Sweetie. We reached the top of a hill and I saw a figure very similar to me walking towards the schoolhouse. Following him was a turtle and a... a ... something with a plant on its back. The only thing I could think was "there's another dragon in Ponyville?" A New HomeThis place isn't so bad. I always imagined a land from a show like this would include more singing and magical creatures. So far, it's not living up to my expectations. As we approached the schoolhouse, it almost seemed deserted. A swing rocked back and forth making an irritating creak, that was the only movement around. "Well Blaze, I don't see anything. Shouldn't there be a teacher or at least a janitor? It's not that late." Said Shellshocker. I really need to get used to that. "Yeah, I don't see a single thing. Let's just try and find the assistant. Any idea what he looks like?" "No, I don't, Bruteroot. Although, maybe we should look inside before we leave, hmm?" They both nodded in agreement and we walked up to the door. I looked at Bruteroot and tilted my head towards the door. He put a smile on his flooked at me questioningly. I gestured this time with more force, almost slamming my head into the door. He finally took the hint and knocked. We waited for quite some time before we heard. "Just a minute!" we waited some more until the door opened to reveal a purplish female pony with a pink mane. She seemed distracted as she was glancing to the side. She smiled and asked, "How can I help you?" I stood forward and said, "Um, hi. We're looking for Miss Applejack's sister. Do you think you could..." "AAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" Slam! "Well," I knocked on the door, "miss, are you alright? Is something wrong?" "No! Get away you monsters! You're not gonna hurt me or Apple Bloom!" I sighed, "Miss, we're not here to hurt anybody. We just want to figure out how to get home. Could you please come out?" "Hey!" A voice came from behind us. When we turned, we were confronted with a small, bipedal, green and purple lizard. He had his hands on his hips and was glaring at us. "Who are you and what did you do?" Shellshocker replied, "We wanted to find out how to get back to our world, and Applejack said that her sister, err... Apple Bloom I think, was hanging out with the assistant of one of her friends. She thinks the friend can help us." He calmed down after we said this and put a smile on his face. "Gentlemen, you're in luck. Said assistant is yours truly. I can take you to Twilight, but I don't know what she can do for you." Bruteroot smiled, saying "Let's go!" We approached a giant tree which seemed to be hollowed out and converted into a building. As we approached, the lizard turned to us and said, "Oh, I forgot. My name's Spike, resident dragon here in Ponyville. And who are you?" "My name is Blazewing," I replied, "I am a charmander. This is Bruteroot the bulbasaur, and Shellshocker the squirtle." I pointed to each as I introduced them. Spike looked at me quizzically, then asked, "Blazewing? I don't see any wings, unless they're hidden." "No no no, I don't have wings, but my final evolution does. It'll make sense when it happens." I smiled and tried to look convincing. Spike raised his eyebrow, unimpressed. We reached the door and Spike knocked. "Twilight! I'm home! And I brought some guys who wanted to see you." We heard a voice coming from above. "Just a minute Spike! What do they need? A book? A spell?" He glanced at us in thought. "Ummm. I don't know. Why don't you ask?" We heard some shuffling and some hooves walking down steps. "Ugghh. Fine. Welcome to Golden Oaks Library. My name is Twilight Sparkle, how can I help you?" She said without looking up. She was engrossed in some book that looked to be hundreds of years old. I pulled the top of the book down and said, "Hi." "Hey! Don't touch! Do you know how old... Oh my Celestia! You're on fire! Spike get some water!" She began to run around in panic. It was almost comical. "Uhh, Twilight. He's been like this the whole time. He's fine. This is Blazewing, and these are his friends Shellshocker and Bruteroot. They need help getting back to their world." "Wait, you're from another world? Ooooooh! This is a great research opportunity." I heard Spike groan loudly at this, as though this is a common event. "I would love to be able to study you. But, first, why do you need to go home?" Bruteroot spoke up, "We don't belong here. It's not home. Can you send us back?" Twilight sighed and looked at the ground. "I can't send you back, so that's why it's so interesting for me to see you. If we could transport between worlds, we'd do it in a heartbeat. The only ponies who would have a clue is the princesses. I'm sorry, but I can't do anything." "It's fine miss Sparkle. We can find our way in this world, right guys? All we need now is a place to stay. Do you know of someplace that we could use while we're here?" Twilight perked up at this. "I have a basement you guys could stay in until you find a permanent home. I would love to research err... Host you!" Shellshocker walked up to her and smiled brightly. "Thank you very much miss Sparkle. We appreciate it a lot." He gazed around the expansive collection of books and tomes. "So, which is your favorite?" The two began discussing the finer points of literature almost immediately. I was amazed that he hit it off so well with her. Back on Earth, he always was reading in middle school and even recess, so we called him Facebook. I guess once a Facebook, always a Facebook. "C'mon. Let me show you downstairs." Spike said. He led us down a flight of wooden stairs that led to a large room filled with lab equipment. "This is where Twilight likes to do all her chemistry, alchemy, and potion making, so we needed all this to record stuff. Don't worry though, she's past that part of her studies. And, here are some mats and quilts." He passed us three of each that he had just pulled out of a nearby storage closet. "Thanks." I said. "For everything." A broad smile grew on his face. "Don't mention it." We were all laying in the basement trying to fall asleep. I sat there thinking to myself for some time before speaking. "I just realized that we were turned into Pokémon, transported to a world of magical talking ponies, and we're staying the night at one of the pony's houses, and I'm the only one who has completely lost it. That's not right." As I began talking, the weight of what I was saying began to sink in on Bruteroot and Shellshocker. The latter began to curl into a ball and rock slowly in place and the other kept trying to slap himself out of it. He was telling himself over and over again that "this is just a dream. It's just a dream..." I sat down, staring at the floor. I don't know what happened at all, and I'm just going with it. Either something is seriously wrong with me, or I'm... No I'm crazy. That's the only explanation. Slowly, we all drifted to sleep while trying to make sense of the day. A bright figure stood, alone. It was singing a song like that of a chorus of chickadees. The voice entranced me, and I floated towards it. Something about it was familiar, as though the being had just spoken with me. As I drew closer, I began to feel the raw power emanating from the figure. Along with the power, came a sense of compassion and gentleness, though. I reached its side and it turned its head to me. I gazed into its eyes for a few moments until it said "Greetings, child." Ponyville Part IIt was early morning when I woke up. I hadn't slept too well, and from the looks of it, neither had Shellshocker or Bruteroot. Slowly, I turned over in the quilt and attempted to fall back asleep. I tossed and turned for almost an hour before giving up and stuffing my face in the pillow. I could hear mumbling from my friends and a clinking coming from upstairs. having nothing else to do, I made the trek up. When I tried to stand, the whole tail thing had me a little unbalanced at first. It will take some time to get used to my current... situation. Although, my tail hasn't caught anything on fire yet. So I have that going for me, which is nice. When I arrived at the top of the stairs, I trudged over to the source of the clinking. When I neared the origin, I began to smell cinnamon and oatmeal. I walked towards it and found myself in the kitchen. Spike and Twilight were sitting at the table eating cereal and oatmeal. "Mornin'." Spike said tiredly. Twilight turned around when she heard him speak up. "Oh, please, help yourself. Your friends can have some too when they get up. Spike made plenty for everypony." Spike was swelling with pride as she mentioned him. I grabbed some sort of nut based cornflake cereal, and some cinnamon oatmeal, then I made my way to an empty seat, careful not to spill anything when I sat down. While we were eating, Spike asked, "So yesterday, you said you were a salamander, and that your friends were a turtle and a dinosaur?" I swallowed my food and replied, "Well, not exactly. See, we are, I guess, Pokémon. I am a charmander, a fire type. Shellshocker, the turtle, is a squirtle. He is a water type. And Bruteroot is a bulbasaur, a grass type." Twilight seemed puzzled by this. "What are these types you're talking about? Is there some way to determine type. Is it genetic or magical?" I sighed, having dealt with inexperienced trainers before on Earth, and began my usual speech with a few modifications. "In the Pokémon universe, there are 18 different types. These are normal, grass, fire, water, bug, poison, flying, rock, ground, fighting, electric, ice, dark, psychic, ghost, steel, dragon, and fairy. Pokémon can evolve and become new types based on the evolution. The type is based on the Pokémon and can change in some circumstances such as castform or kecleon. Typically, though type only can change through evolution even though it usually is similar to its predecessor. Each type has its own strengths and weaknesses. For example, fire types such as myself are strong against grass types, but we are also weak against water types. Does that answer your question?" "...against water types. Got it!" Twilight smiled as she looked up from her notebook. "I suppose that's enough for a while. Why don't you get Shellshocker and Bruteroot and I'll take you guys on a tour of Ponyville?" I smiled at the suggestion. "Sounds great. They'll be right up." "Let's go, let's go, let's go! Wake up you lazy bums!" They jumped out of bed at the sound of my yelling. "We got a tour today, so eat breakfast as quickly as you can. Let's go!" They both scrambled out of bed and gave me a dirty look as they went upstairs. I followed, laughing. While I waited for my friends, I decided to glance through some of the books in the library. It was a surprisingly large collection for being housed inside of a tree. I was browsing through the mythology section when I came across a familiar symbol. It almost looked like a pokéball. The book was titled "The Art of Taming Elemental Beasts and Suggestions on How to Enhance Their Skills". Quite a lengthy title. As I was about to read it, a knock came from the door. Spike came over and opened it up, revealing a soft yellow pony with a pink mane. She spoke up very softly, almost I audibly. Especially from where I was standing across the room. "Oh, um, hello Spike. I came to ask about those creatures I heard ponies talking about yesterday. Some of them were saying that they saw you walking with them, so you might know what happened." Spike seemed confused for a second. "Creatures? Oh, you mean Blazewing and his friends. Yeah, they're still here actually. In fact, you can talk to Blazewing right now." Hearing my "cue" I walked over to the door to greet the pony. She gasped when she saw me, a small smile creeping onto her face. "Oh my, what a cute little thing!" I glanced at her skeptically. " I've never seen such a creature before. Where did he come from?" "I don't know. And who are you?" She jumped, obviously not expecting me to talk. "My name's Blazewing." I stuck my arm out for a shake. She was quivering behind her mane now. "My... my name is ..." "What was that?" "My name is... is Flutter..." Spike leaned over and whispered, "Her name's Fluttershy. She's a little shy around new ponies." "You don't say?" I mumbled. She tentatively put her hoof in my claws and we shook. I smiled and said, "Nice to meet you, Fluttershy. If you want to meet Bruteroot and Shellshocker I can call them in for you." "Oh, yes. That would be nice. And, if it's not too much trouble, could you tell me what kind of animal you are?" "Yeah, sure. I am a charmander, and..." Bruteroot and Shellshocker walked in to the room, "they are a bulbasaur and a squirtle." I said pointing to each. She seemed puzzled by this. "Where are you from? I've never heard of creatures like those before." "We are from the planet Earth. The city we lived in was Roswell. Our species are from the Kanto region. It's kind of hard to explain the regions to other people." Twilight interrupted us, saying, "Well, it looks like you're all ready. And you met Fluttershy, how nice. She's the local animal caretaker, so I figure if any of you have a problem, go to her." She glanced at the clock on the wall. "Oh! We're running two minutes late! If we're going to get through all of Ponyville today, we have to leave now!" She rushed us out the door and into the street. When ponies saw me, they began to veer their paths as far away as they could without changing directions completely. I could see the look of fear in their eyes when they saw me and my tail. I guess that it makes sense. Especially in a town that looks to be constructed mainly of wooden houses with thatch roofs. As we began walking, I noticed Bruteroot was talking enthusiastically with Fluttershy about some sort of crested gecko or something. He always loved animals, especially his dogs. He always had a few back home and he absolutely adored the things. But, he loved animals of all kinds too. One time, he brought a hawk that he was nursing back to health to school. The hawk had some flu and a broken wing, and he was making sure it was getting back to full health. Sometimes, I would tease him and call him Nurse Joy. I don't think he caught anything of what Twilight just said. Actually, neither did I. The only one who looked to be paying attention was Shellshocker. We were at the town hall and Twilight was explaining some historical significance involving diamonds and dogs and ancient ponies. We continued our tour until we heard a loud screech. It seemed to be coming from above, and almost sounded like a subsonic jet. Suddenly, a figure pounded the ground in front of us. It rose from the dust, revealing a rainbow hued mane and blue fur. "Who're your new friends, Twi?" It asked. Twilight, still recovering from shock, said, "Rainbow Dash! Don't do that, you almost scared the daylights out of me!" She sighed and began, "These are some creatures called pokémon from another world. This one's Bruteroot, and this is Shellshocker and here's Blazewing." We waved as she introduced each of us. "I'm Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in Equestria! So, Blazewing, huh? I don't see any wings, otherwise I'd challenge you to a race. Too bad you can't fly." She said gloatingly. I chuckled, "It'll make sense later. Just wait for a while, then I'll win that race." "Think you can beat me? I'll have you know, I'm the only pony in Equestria to pull off a Sonic Rainboom, and I did it twice!" "I don't know if I can beat you, but breaking the sound barrier isn't that hard. Where I came from, we did it on land at one point. So, once I get my wings, we'll race." "You're on!" She said, smirking. Ponyville Part IIRainbow Dash flew off, leaving a cloud of dust in her wake. After that, we continued our tour of Ponyville, seeing sights of cultural and historical significance, at least according to Twilight. Most of our stops were at places like "The Beach of General Eisenhoofer: Where the 29th Infantry of the Guard Landed During the Second Great War" or the house where neo-modern-contemporary electronic dance music was first composed. I just zoned her out for the majority of the tour, taking in the beautiful scenery of the land. It is truly magnificent in comparison to my home. The lush fields and rushing streams were so foreign to me, the held an alien beauty. After a considerable amount of time, Twilight finally relented her speeches and we decided to go out for lunch. We stopped at this nice, quaint cafe on the outskirts of town. They had hay instead of chairs and a large portion of their seating was outdoors. We sat down and began deciding on our orders. I'm not really sure whether or not I can eat flowers at this point, so I can't eat most of the stuff on the menu without risk of illness or death. One of the only "safe" choices was a Caesar salad, so I was left with no other choice. Throughout out lunch, we told stories of our lives back on earth. A lot of them were about how our friends ended up doing stupid things while we got it on video. We also made fun of each other, a lot basically, it was the typical high school cafeteria table. It was nice to have a sense of familiarity there. I felt like I was back at school, and I had this strange feeling like I had to write a paper or something. At some point in our conversation, Shellshocker and Twilight started talking on their own, soon Bruteroot and Fluttershy did the same. Me and Spike looked at each other and nodded. Spike left some gold coins to pay for the meal and we left. I felt kind of bad for leaving them, and for not being able to pay at all, but I think they needed the space. "So, Blazewing. We have yet to see the shining gem of Ponyville. Come with me." "Oh, really? How good can it be?" Spike smirked, "You'll see when you meet her." Suddenly, a bright pink blur shot out of a nearby bush and stopped in front of us. When my vision came back into focus, it revealed a very pink pony birth a very pink poofy mane. She inhaled deeply, comically, before she began, "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! I'm sooooo happy to have new ponies in Ponyville! I mean, we almost never get new ponies, and even less times do we get new dragons and turtles and plant thingies! Have a cupcake!" Suddenly, a cupcake smashed into mine and Spike's faces. I noticed that the pony hadn't moved since she appeared, except for her mouth. "I hope you like it here in Ponyville, and I'll even help you learn all the ponies' names! That's Flitter, and that's Derpy, and that's Bulk Biceps and Aloe..." "Pinkie Pie." Spike interjected. "And the Doctor. Hi Doctor Whooves!" "Pinkie Pie." "And Lyra and Bon Bon..." "Pinkie Pie!" "And Trixie and..." "PINKIE PIE!" "Yeah, Spikey?" I gave a huge sigh of relief. It seemed like she had infinite energy and even defied the laws of physics and nature. And I've only known her for a minute or two. I might need to put a label on her. Warning: prolonged exposure may increase chance of mind explosion or induce insanity. Then, she spoke up again. "Oops, gotta run! Time to make cupcakes!" She ran off to a building that looked like a gingerbread house. We faintly heard, "It's going to be so much fun making cupcakes with you, Flash Sentry!" Spike and I just decided to shrug it off and continue on our way. We walked in silence until we came to the market, where we heard the same voice from yesterday call out, "hey, Spike! It looks like y'all found him. Guess Twi couldn't send 'em home then?" We walked over to the pony. She was selling apples and baked goods from a little stand. From the looks of it, business was treating her well. We exchanged greetings and brought Applejack up to speed on my current predicament. Spike was starting to grow more and more irritated until we left. Whatever this "gem" was, he was obviously obsessed with it. We finally stopped in front of a building shaped like a carousel from an old fair or amusement park. Spike brought me inside as he searched for the owner. He walked around the main floor calling out, "Rarity! Are you home? "Darling, is that you?" A voice, Rarity's I presume, came from upstairs. "Yes, it is Rarity. I brought someone for you to meet." "I'll be down in just a moment." We heard some shuffling and then hoofsteps as a white mare with a shining purple mane descended. In tandem, mine and Spike's jaws dropped. I had never seen a pony look so attractive in my life. It almost scares me that I would like a pony in this way, but I don't want to pass this up. I also know now why Spike was so intent on getting here. He must have a huge crush on her, or they're dating. I'm just assuming it's the former. I stepped forward and nervously introduced myself. "Hello, my name is Blazewing. And I assume you are Rarity?" She giggled, "Yes, that is correct. Are you a dragon mr. Blazewing?" "No, why do you ask?" "Well you look so much like Spike..." "Hey! At least my tail's not constantly on fire!" Rarity sighed, "so much like him so, I just assumed you were a dragon." "Well, in many cases I would be considered a dragon when I am older, but right now, I am not." "Hmm. That's not very helpful. But! It gives me a great idea for a new design! Your flame is simply stunning! I must use it in a new piece. How do you keep it from burning things?" "Um, beg your pardon?" "Oh don't worry. I'll sort it all out." She began rushing about the room, fetching fabric and tools, already giving her design a form. I looked over at Spike, who was in a daze with some drool hanging from his mouth. I snapped in front of his face until he came back to reality, but he continued to stare at Rarity while she worked. By this time I had had enough and began my way back to the library. It was starting to get dark when I finally found a way back. I had been lost for a few hours now. The light of my tail kept the darkness around me at bay, while the setting sun outlined the tree I was heading for. What came next, I would never have expected. A Strange DreamI was surrounded by blackness. Glowing green eyes flashed around me. I could feel the fangs still, even after seeing this a thousand times. The mouths of whatever beasts were attacking me continued to devour me. All the while, I was flailing and attempting to hit them with fire. But once it was clear that I had lost, I gave in and let myself succumb to the pain. That was when I heard the beeping. I slowly opened my eyes to see stark white. I was laying on a bed and I could barely see some green and red in the corner of my vision. Then, I fell into the darkness again. The figure from earlier stood before me, continuing to radiate its power. It was white all around us, but somehow there was a shadow below the figure. As we drew closer, it appeared to be a large pony. It looked very similar to Twilight. However, the legs, horn, wings, and mane were all longer and larger. Although I could not yet make out a face, the figure spoke. "Welcome child. This may be my sister's domain, but it is my only means of communicating with you. How are you finding life in Equestria? "What? Who are you? Are you the one who brought us here?" "Well yes, of course I am. I am Princess Celestia, ruler of the sun and Equestria." She came closer to me. She stood above me, looking down. "Why?" A puzzled look flashed across her face. "Why, to what?" "Why did you take us here? We didn't ask to be sent to a cartoon for little girls. I was happy with my life back home. I was going to graduate this summer! And go to college! Why would you take this from me? And Chad, he was going to the marines. Peter almost had a girlfriend. We were just whisked away from our families and everyone we loved, and for what? So you could have a few new animals in your little pretty pony land? Why would you do that to us? How could you?" "I... I'm afraid I..." She faltered and looked at the ground, ashamed. "You're afraid you what? Messed up? You don't say? What do you think my family is doing right now? And my friends? We all just disappeared with no explanation. They think we're dead! We've lost everything because of you. And now? Do you expect me to just bow down and worship the sun goddess because she turned me into my favorite pokémon? Just tell me, why? Why us? Why this? Why now?" Tears were now slowly trickling from her eyes. "I'm sorry, Blazewing. I didn't know. As for why, you each exhibited great character in every day. My sister and I watched you at times. We needed ponies like you. Our country is in danger. We fear that Chrysalis will return with her changeling army to destroy us. That is why you were brought here." "Chrysalis? Who is that?" "She is the changeling queen. The changelings can assume the form of any pony they choose, typically those you love, bit their true form is like a pony shaped bug." "Wait a minute! Those things attacked me outside the library! But, how do you expect us to fight for you, after what you did to us? Why should we?" "Because you need to. The changelings will suck you dry. They can survive on love, but Chrysalis wants revenge. They will harvest our life forces and kill us all in the process. If we do not fight, all of us, even you, will die." "Still, we could just run. Why should we stay?" "Your friends have their reasons. Especially the one you now call Shellshocker. It seems he and my student have become rather...close." "Fine, I'll fight your war. But can we be sent back?" "I believe so, but I can send all of your families a letter now, telling them that you are safe and alive." "Can I? I want to talk to them." "So be it. But Blazewing?" "Yes?" "Don't tell them about where you are." "Fine." The world around us began to fade, and the ground was shaking. "What is that?" "I believe you are waking up. Until we meet in person then. Farewell." I woke up and found myself in a hospital. I saw Bruteroot sitting on a red chair in the corner of the room. He was sleeping. My tail was resting in a loop, keeping it above the bed. The flame was burning brightly now. I had a few bandages on my arms, chest and head, but I didn't feel much pain. An IV drip flowed into my right arm. I peeled back one of the bandages as carefully as I could, and I saw a faint bite mark, probably from those changelings. When I returned to the library, I found them waiting in the shadows for me. They attacked, and I defeated as many as I could. I guess someone found me and brought me here. Suddenly, Bruteroot stirred in the corner. He groggily opened his eyes and gasped when he saw me. "Blaze! You're awake! It's been so long, we thought you'd never wake up!" "Woah. What happened? I know I sleep in for forever, but how long was I out?" "Four weeks." I stared, speechless. My mouth hung open comically. After a minute, Bruteroot let out a laugh. "Ha ha, I knew you would be surprised, but I didn't think you'd go into another coma!" I shook myself out of it and tried to get out of bed. "Hey! Not yet. Doctor's gotta clear you first. Said you're not supposed to move at all until he makes sure you're good." "Ugh. Fine. But can I get a pen and some paper?" "Sure. Got some here. Twi said that I might want to write down some stuff about our world and about pokémon, but I never got to it. What for?" "I want to write a letter to my parents." "Well, ok. No point in trying to send it though. Post here sucks. Only have one pony for the entire town. Not to mention we're on a different planet." "No problem. Just give me some privacy and let the doctor know I'm up?" "Alright." He sighed and left the room. When I heard the door close, I began writing. "Dear Mom and Dad, I know this has been hard on you. This has all been a little crazy for me too. So to clear it up, I'll tell you what happened. We were sitting in chapel when we teleported to the gym, from there, a giant beam of light took us to a different planet. And guess what? I'm now a charmander! Chad and Peter are with me. They are a squirtle and a bulbasaur too! We all landed together. But, we decided that, as long as we are here, we would use fitting names. Chad is Shellshocker, Peter is Bruteroot, and I am Blazewing. So I was introduced to a few of the locals by a farmer, and we came to stay at the local librarian's house. We took a tour of the town and met some people. Then I was attacked. I was out for four weeks. I'm fine now. Just woke up. Apparently, Chad got 'romantically' involved with the ruler's student. Don't ask. I don't know who it is. This happened while I was out. Other than that, I don't know what has happened. However, the strangest thing that's happened yet just occurred earlier. I fell back asleep after barely waking up, I just saw fuzzy images of the room. When I was asleep, I met the ruler of the land. They talked to me and explained why and how we're here. They took us here to fight a war for them. I don't want to, but the locals here don't deserve to die. Even if their rulers don't seem to think through life changing decisions, they seem nice and kindhearted. They let us into their homes and became our friends even when we looked strange. I don't think I can leave them to die. So I will stay and fight for them. I won't be back for some time. The ruler is letting me send you this letter. She might let Chad and Peter send one too, but I think this will be the last time we talk for a while. So, I'll try to make this good. Bruce, don't touch my stuff. Anyways, I'm gonna miss playing gameboy and DS with you. Especially when we would battle. I always loved that. I hope you get really good while we're gone, because you need to honor my name in high school. Wear my name proudly and become the master I knew you could be. Dad, I'm gonna miss playing football and basketball with you. I know there are other people to play with, but it's not the same without you. Also, we have certain...limitations. I'm sorry about ditching you last night when my show was on. I wish I could have played with you one last time before I was gone. I'm sorry. Mom. Make sure Bruce doesn't touch my stuff. Also, I know you were looking forward to me going to college and getting my degree, but I'm away now so I'm halfway there. Anyways, I'm gonna miss you and all your advice. You were always there for me. I'm sorry I can't be there for you right now. I want you all to know I'm safe, but if I don't come back, I want you all to know that I love you. Sorry for everything that this has forced on you. I know you probably thought I was dead, but I will come back. I will try. Stay waiting for me because when I get home, I'll be a hero. With much love, Your son, Blazewing." RecoveryOver the past few days, not much has happened. The doctors have been running a lot of tests. At least four a day. They only tell me what a few of them are. They tell me that they're testing my blood for poison because they're not sure if changelings are venomous. I feel like the other tests are just things given to them by Twilight to do. I say that because every time she visits, she asks if they ran any tests that day. She also asks a lot about my fire. When I told her that it's tied to my life force, she seemed confused, but just continued to shoot me questions. Twilight hasn't been the only one to visit me. That crazy pink one appears out of nowhere sometimes. But, she always gives me candy or something, so it's alright, I guess. The princess came by the other day too. She told me that she would pay for this whole hospital visit and my recovery. I thanked her and it got really awkward for about five minutes. She was just standing there, and the doctors wouldn't let me get up, so we just stared at each other for the entire time. Then I remembered the letter. I gave it to her and she left soon after. I kinda regret what I wrote in that letter. I mean, my parents are probably super depressed, but I just sent them this short little memo saying "hey mom, dad. How's it going? Yeah, you probably think I'm dead, but I'm in a magical place now. Don't worry, and I love you." It probably seems really inappropriate for such a circumstance, but I've never been one who is able to really express my feelings. Anyways, Applejack showed up too. She gave me this apple pie, and it was the best dang pie I've ever had. I mean, I almost went into another coma. After that, Rarity and Fluttershy came in. Fluttershy had this rabbit with her. She called it Angel. The thing's a devil. It gave me this look, like "keep one eye open at all times, because I will kill you the second you even blink." What did I do? I think it just might have a blood lust. Rarity also gave me something. While we were talking she rummaged through her saddle bags and pulled out a box. Inside was a number of small gems and a replica of Ash's hat from the original anime! She told me that Bruteroot and Shellshocker had told her what it looked like, and she made it for me. I thanked her profusely for the the gift, probably too much. When they left, Rainbow Dash came in. She had few books with her. She told me that they were her favorites and she read them while she was in the hospital with a broken wing. She also threatened to break all of my bones if I told anyone that she liked books. The books were about this adventurer Daring Do. To me, it was basically like reading about a female pony Indiana Jones. Anytime something exciting would happen, I would start humming the theme from Raiders of the Lost Ark. A few times some doctors and nurses walked past and gave me strange looks. I just smiled at them as they walked on to another room. In fact, they were so similar, that it had a Temple of Doom parody. A pony in some country I forget the name of stole some magic gems. A city nearby suffered from famine and drought. Then, Daring Do visited the ruler and discovered a tunnel to an underground temple. In the temple, various ponies in masks chanted "Kali-Mare" while another pony sliced the cutie marks (which I recently learned are the symbols on a pony's butt) then discarded the pony into a flaming pit. The cutie marks burned with the pony. Then there was this whole chase through a canyon, some sword fighting, the Royal Guard showed up and saved Daring Do from the crazy ponies, and then the gems were returned and there was a happy ending. It's pretty crazy how similar they were. Later, I tried to eat the gems Rarity gave me. She said that Spike liked to eat them, and I might too. So I tried. Never again. Those things almost broke my teeth, and when I finally chipped one (it was cracked already) it tasted like a pistachio threw up on the love child of a watermelon and teriyaki chicken. When Bruteroot came to visit, I told him to stash them under my pillow at the library. Who knows? I may need them someday. So, that brings us to today. The doctors said that I may be able to leave finally. Yay. Twilight came by with Bruteroot and Shellshocker to pick me up. When we were leaving, Twilight dropped a sack of large gold coins on the counter. The nurse thanked us and we left. As we exited the doors, I was blinded by the sun. I sneezed. You would think that spending six days in a white room would prepare you to see the outside world, but no. We walked back to the library, this time I walked all the way around it too, checking bushes and windows to make sure there weren't any more surprises. I thought I saw something ducking in a corner when I looked in the window, but it was too bright to be a changeling, so I disregarded it. When I finally walked in, I was assaulted with the boom of a cannon and a loud "Surprise!" from a certain crazy mare. Many streamers were decorating the library, and every pony I knew was there, plus some more. So about twelve. Spike was there along with Bruteroot and Shellshocker. Spike was standing near three little girls, I think they're called fillies. I have been trying to brush up on my horse terminology since Twilight yelled at me for calling Princess Celestia a woman. So Spike, standing by them was still gawking at Rarity. For some reason, I wouldn't doubt it if someone told me that he's been following her and doing this since I left him at the carousel place. There were a few ponies I didn't know. There was one who was wearing glasses and playing some music from enormous speakers. Another was gray and had some eye condition. My mom used to work at a public school. She worked with people who had mental or physical disabilities. So I am kind of used to being around people like that. From how this pony was acting, the only problem was with moving around without hitting something. Probably just from her eyes, not mental disease or anything. There was another pony there who I vaguely remember. I think it was Big Macintosh, but I did notice that he was spending a lot of time with Applejack. So, I'm probably right. The only ponies left besides the six that came to visit me were the three fillies. I think the yellow one was Apple Bloom, because she talked like Applejack. And her friends called her that. But I don't know who the other two were. For about two hours we partied, drinking punch, eating cupcakes, and talking. The DJ was pretty good to. Apparently, they don't even need to make the mixes sometimes. There's this "song magic" that happens when a pony really wants to sing or there is something big happening. And there's Pinkie Pie. She does it whenever. So the DJ, Vinyl Scratch from what she told me, sometimes can just imagine the song in her head and it'll play. So, I decided to try it out. I tried to think of a good song, when in saw Shellshocker and Twilight standing there alone. I knew I had to do this, especially with what Celestia told me about them. I grabbed a microphone and walked up in front of the turntables. I signaled for the music to stop when I began. The piano began playing with a synthesizer. Somehow Spike had gotten to a piano and Vinyl was playing the synth on a keyboard. I took a deep breath and began to sing. " I can't fight this feeling any longer And yet I'm still afraid to let it flow What started out as friendship, has grown stronger I only wish I had the strength to let it show I tell myself that I can't hold out forever I said there is no reason for my fear Cause I feel so secure when we're together You give my life direction You make everything so clear And even as I wander I'm keeping you in sight You're a candle in the window On a cold, dark winter's night And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might" Cymbals crashed as the drums entered. There were no drums, just the sound of them playing in our ears unexplainably. As perplexed as I was, I kept on singing. "And I can't fight this feeling anymore I've forgotten what I started fighting for It's time to bring this ship into the shore And throw away the oars, forever Cause I can't fight this feeling anymore I've forgotten what I started fighting for And if I have to crawl upon the floor Come crushing through your door Baby, I can't fight this feeling anymore My life has been such a whirlwind since I saw you I've been running round in circles in my mind And it always seems that I'm following you, girl Cause you take me to the places that alone I'd never find And even as I wander I'm keeping you in sight You're a candle in the window on a cold, dark winter's night And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might And I can't fight this feeling anymore I've forgotten what I started fighting for It's time to bring this ship into the shore And throw away the oars, forever Cause I can't fight this feeling anymore I've forgotten what I started fighting for And if I have to crawl upon the floor Come crushing through your door Baby, I can't fight this feeling anymore." The music began to fade out after I stopped singing. Twilight looked happy like the other ponies, but I looked at Shellshocker and he had the most hilarious face. He was both embarrassed and annoyed. I winked at him and put the microphone back. As I re-entered the party, the three fillies ran up to me. "Wow! Ah didn't know that y'all could sing!" said Apple Bloom. "That was so cool! Like, half a Rainbow Dash cool!" The orange pegasus spoke up next. "That's a lot comin' from her." Apple Bloom explained to me. However, the white unicorn gave me this weird grin. Almost like saying "I know your secret." "So," she began, " who was that about?" "It was for a friend. Just to help em seal the deal with his new crush." "Not buying it." "Well, it's the truth. So, deal with it." At that I put on imaginary sunglasses and walked away. After a few more hours of partying, mostly everyone had given up and gone home. The last one to leave was the crazy pink one. Once she left, we all decided to hit the hay for the night. In the basement, Bruteroot and Shellshocker had already fallen asleep, so when I got down there, I had to sneak into my bed. When I finally reached it, I fell down onto my pillow face first. I felt a sharp pain in my mouth. I checked under my pillow and found the gems that Rarity gave me. "Fricken gems. Gonna break my teeth one way or another."
A Fresh StartI am a pokémon master. I am one of three true masters in my school. The others are my friends, Chad and Peter. We will commonly discuss our favorites and the best team. Tactics, news, anything from Aerodactyl to Zygarde. We have played every game from Red to Crystal to X. And we all have our favorites. People like to say that we like things that are similar to us. What we didn't know is just how similar we actually were. At our school, we have chapel every Tuesday and Thursday. Last Thursday, we were told to pray for five minutes. I didn't know what to say at all. I began rambling about how I sinned and needed forgiveness, but after two minutes, I heard a voice. "Child, I see your true desires. I will take you to me and your dreams will soon be fulfilled." At that time, me and my friends were whisked away from the chapel, and we landed in the gymnasium. A great pillar of light beamed down from the sky. It felt like I was strapped to the outside of a space shuttle during launch. Then, the pain came. Thousands of pinpricks became unbearable pain as though my body was being contorted and smushed into a new shape. After what seemed like hours of agony, I opened my eyes to see a beautiful pastel treeline. And then, I blacked out. " Dude, wake up. Dude! Come on!" I woke with a start to the sound of my friends. I was blinded by the sudden exposure to the sun and had to wait for my eyes to adjust. "What is it? What happened?" "Look at yourself. You've changed. Just like me and Peter." "What?" I looked down and saw a yellow belly and orange skin. I turned my head and saw a tail that was on fire. "Cool! I'm a charmander! And Chad! You're a squirtle!" "Thanks for noticing, Captain Obvious." "We should have new names then, if we are the Kanto starters. It can be the names from that Mewtwo movie. Like you can be Shellshocker, Peter can be Bruteroot, and I can be..." "Wait, what about me?" Peter yawned with his eyes still closed. I walked over to him and brushed my tail in front of his face. He opened his eyes at the heat and screamed. "Fire! Everybody, Run!" "Peter, it's just me." I said. "Look at me, and Chad, and yourself. We are pokémon. Although, I'm not sure where we are." When Peter looked at himself, he nearly fainted. Luckily for him, since he was a bulbasaur, he was on four feet and did not fall on his face. Chad went over to him and blew some bubbles in his face to wake him up. I laughed. "Squirtle learned bubble!" "Shut up." "Fine, but let's try to find a town or something. We should be able to survive, but I don't want to take chances. I thought I saw something on that lone mountain over there." I pointed to a tall spire of rock with a white and gold castle on the side. "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore Toto." "What is that? Is that a palace? "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go." Peter said as he began walking towards the lonely mountain. "You coming or not? We don't have all day." As we walked, I began to feel a strange sense of familiarity. I couldn't quite place it, but I felt as though I should know this place.I became nervous and started playing some music in my mind while singing aloud. "I wanna be the very best." "Like no one ever was." Peter joined in. "To catch them is my real test." I replied. "To train them is my cause." Charlie now said. I continued. "I will travel across the land, searching far and wide." "Each pokémon to understand." Peter and Charlie sang in unison. We all sang. "The power that's inside! Pokémon! Oh, it's you and me. I know it's my destiny! Yeah! You're my best friend in a world we must defend. Pokémon! A heart so true. Our courage will pull us through. You teach me and I teach you. Po-ké-mon! Gotta catch 'em all. Gotta catch 'em all!" After we finished singing, we continued on our path until we heard the voice with a heavy southern accent. "Ah told ya, Big Mac, I heard singin and these weird instruments comin from this direction. Ah'm not lyin t'ya." Oh, sweet helix, no. I've heard this voice before. Where was it... Probably some crap from Cartoon Network or something. But, that means... We're in a cartoon! Oh joy. I thought to myself. "Hey, Dude, what was that?" Chad asked. "Ok, so I think we're in a cartoon." "What? How is that possible? And how does that answer my question? "I'm pretty sure that that voice is from a main character in a cartoon." "Ok, so I'm still kind of shocked about the whole 'Guess what? You're now a pokémon now!' thing, but I still don't think that we could be taken into a cartoon, even with our plausibility history." I sighed and looked at Peter. "Well, all I know is that we're in one now.. We need names now that will fit in this world. Peter, you're bulbasaur so you can be Bruteroot. Chad, Shellshocker. And I will be..." "Hellblazer?" "Nah." "Blitzkrieg?" "Too electric, not enough fire." "Hephaestus?" "No, too Greek." "How bout Blazewing?" I smiled at this. "Perfect." I guess that'll work. Maybe if I can evolve, it'll make sense. The voices were getting closer now. "Ah don't know what it could have been. Do you?" "Eenope." "Well, that's just peachy then. I suppose we'll end up bein attacked by a timberwolf or sumthin. Maybe even a... What the hay?" "Hey there." I said. Crap. Shoulda guessed. Stupid My Little Pony. I hated seeing this when we had the Hub. She stood back as though tensing to fight. "I don't know who, or what y'all are, but y'all best get off my orchard unless ya want me ta buck ya off." She growled at me. "Oh please, we're not here to hurt you, we just want to find the nearest settlement. We were lost in the forest and..." "Wait just a minute," she interrupted, "y'all were in the Everfree? How did ya get there?" " I don't know. We were just sent there as though by magic." I said. "Well, ah have a friend who might be able ta help y'all. In fact, her 'assistant' is here now playin with mah sister and her friends. He can take ya to her." "Well then, thank you very much miss...?" "Oh, beg your pardon, mah names Applejack, and this here is Big Macintosh. He's a little on the quiet side." "Thank you very much miss Applejack and Mister Macintosh. We best be on our way then. Could you point us in the direction?" "Well, sure thing. Just go over that hill there and you can see Ponyville right ahead." Clever name. "My sister should be near the schoolhouse about half a mile away from town. She had a project or sumthin due. Check there first." "Ok, thanks again!" "Anytime, just promise not ta burn down the farm with that tail o' yours." "Hahaha, I'll see you around." Perspective change: Spike I had just met up with Sweetie Belle and hung out with her and her friends. We've become closer now that she's spending more time at the boutique. Now, I was walking Apple Bloom home after I had dropped off Sweetie. We reached the top of a hill and I saw a figure very similar to me walking towards the schoolhouse. Following him was a turtle and a... a ... something with a plant on its back. The only thing I could think was "there's another dragon in Ponyville?"
A New HomeThis place isn't so bad. I always imagined a land from a show like this would include more singing and magical creatures. So far, it's not living up to my expectations. As we approached the schoolhouse, it almost seemed deserted. A swing rocked back and forth making an irritating creak, that was the only movement around. "Well Blaze, I don't see anything. Shouldn't there be a teacher or at least a janitor? It's not that late." Said Shellshocker. I really need to get used to that. "Yeah, I don't see a single thing. Let's just try and find the assistant. Any idea what he looks like?" "No, I don't, Bruteroot. Although, maybe we should look inside before we leave, hmm?" They both nodded in agreement and we walked up to the door. I looked at Bruteroot and tilted my head towards the door. He put a smile on his flooked at me questioningly. I gestured this time with more force, almost slamming my head into the door. He finally took the hint and knocked. We waited for quite some time before we heard. "Just a minute!" we waited some more until the door opened to reveal a purplish female pony with a pink mane. She seemed distracted as she was glancing to the side. She smiled and asked, "How can I help you?" I stood forward and said, "Um, hi. We're looking for Miss Applejack's sister. Do you think you could..." "AAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" Slam! "Well," I knocked on the door, "miss, are you alright? Is something wrong?" "No! Get away you monsters! You're not gonna hurt me or Apple Bloom!" I sighed, "Miss, we're not here to hurt anybody. We just want to figure out how to get home. Could you please come out?" "Hey!" A voice came from behind us. When we turned, we were confronted with a small, bipedal, green and purple lizard. He had his hands on his hips and was glaring at us. "Who are you and what did you do?" Shellshocker replied, "We wanted to find out how to get back to our world, and Applejack said that her sister, err... Apple Bloom I think, was hanging out with the assistant of one of her friends. She thinks the friend can help us." He calmed down after we said this and put a smile on his face. "Gentlemen, you're in luck. Said assistant is yours truly. I can take you to Twilight, but I don't know what she can do for you." Bruteroot smiled, saying "Let's go!" We approached a giant tree which seemed to be hollowed out and converted into a building. As we approached, the lizard turned to us and said, "Oh, I forgot. My name's Spike, resident dragon here in Ponyville. And who are you?" "My name is Blazewing," I replied, "I am a charmander. This is Bruteroot the bulbasaur, and Shellshocker the squirtle." I pointed to each as I introduced them. Spike looked at me quizzically, then asked, "Blazewing? I don't see any wings, unless they're hidden." "No no no, I don't have wings, but my final evolution does. It'll make sense when it happens." I smiled and tried to look convincing. Spike raised his eyebrow, unimpressed. We reached the door and Spike knocked. "Twilight! I'm home! And I brought some guys who wanted to see you." We heard a voice coming from above. "Just a minute Spike! What do they need? A book? A spell?" He glanced at us in thought. "Ummm. I don't know. Why don't you ask?" We heard some shuffling and some hooves walking down steps. "Ugghh. Fine. Welcome to Golden Oaks Library. My name is Twilight Sparkle, how can I help you?" She said without looking up. She was engrossed in some book that looked to be hundreds of years old. I pulled the top of the book down and said, "Hi." "Hey! Don't touch! Do you know how old... Oh my Celestia! You're on fire! Spike get some water!" She began to run around in panic. It was almost comical. "Uhh, Twilight. He's been like this the whole time. He's fine. This is Blazewing, and these are his friends Shellshocker and Bruteroot. They need help getting back to their world." "Wait, you're from another world? Ooooooh! This is a great research opportunity." I heard Spike groan loudly at this, as though this is a common event. "I would love to be able to study you. But, first, why do you need to go home?" Bruteroot spoke up, "We don't belong here. It's not home. Can you send us back?" Twilight sighed and looked at the ground. "I can't send you back, so that's why it's so interesting for me to see you. If we could transport between worlds, we'd do it in a heartbeat. The only ponies who would have a clue is the princesses. I'm sorry, but I can't do anything." "It's fine miss Sparkle. We can find our way in this world, right guys? All we need now is a place to stay. Do you know of someplace that we could use while we're here?" Twilight perked up at this. "I have a basement you guys could stay in until you find a permanent home. I would love to research err... Host you!" Shellshocker walked up to her and smiled brightly. "Thank you very much miss Sparkle. We appreciate it a lot." He gazed around the expansive collection of books and tomes. "So, which is your favorite?" The two began discussing the finer points of literature almost immediately. I was amazed that he hit it off so well with her. Back on Earth, he always was reading in middle school and even recess, so we called him Facebook. I guess once a Facebook, always a Facebook. "C'mon. Let me show you downstairs." Spike said. He led us down a flight of wooden stairs that led to a large room filled with lab equipment. "This is where Twilight likes to do all her chemistry, alchemy, and potion making, so we needed all this to record stuff. Don't worry though, she's past that part of her studies. And, here are some mats and quilts." He passed us three of each that he had just pulled out of a nearby storage closet. "Thanks." I said. "For everything." A broad smile grew on his face. "Don't mention it." We were all laying in the basement trying to fall asleep. I sat there thinking to myself for some time before speaking. "I just realized that we were turned into Pokémon, transported to a world of magical talking ponies, and we're staying the night at one of the pony's houses, and I'm the only one who has completely lost it. That's not right." As I began talking, the weight of what I was saying began to sink in on Bruteroot and Shellshocker. The latter began to curl into a ball and rock slowly in place and the other kept trying to slap himself out of it. He was telling himself over and over again that "this is just a dream. It's just a dream..." I sat down, staring at the floor. I don't know what happened at all, and I'm just going with it. Either something is seriously wrong with me, or I'm... No I'm crazy. That's the only explanation. Slowly, we all drifted to sleep while trying to make sense of the day. A bright figure stood, alone. It was singing a song like that of a chorus of chickadees. The voice entranced me, and I floated towards it. Something about it was familiar, as though the being had just spoken with me. As I drew closer, I began to feel the raw power emanating from the figure. Along with the power, came a sense of compassion and gentleness, though. I reached its side and it turned its head to me. I gazed into its eyes for a few moments until it said "Greetings, child."
Ponyville Part IIt was early morning when I woke up. I hadn't slept too well, and from the looks of it, neither had Shellshocker or Bruteroot. Slowly, I turned over in the quilt and attempted to fall back asleep. I tossed and turned for almost an hour before giving up and stuffing my face in the pillow. I could hear mumbling from my friends and a clinking coming from upstairs. having nothing else to do, I made the trek up. When I tried to stand, the whole tail thing had me a little unbalanced at first. It will take some time to get used to my current... situation. Although, my tail hasn't caught anything on fire yet. So I have that going for me, which is nice. When I arrived at the top of the stairs, I trudged over to the source of the clinking. When I neared the origin, I began to smell cinnamon and oatmeal. I walked towards it and found myself in the kitchen. Spike and Twilight were sitting at the table eating cereal and oatmeal. "Mornin'." Spike said tiredly. Twilight turned around when she heard him speak up. "Oh, please, help yourself. Your friends can have some too when they get up. Spike made plenty for everypony." Spike was swelling with pride as she mentioned him. I grabbed some sort of nut based cornflake cereal, and some cinnamon oatmeal, then I made my way to an empty seat, careful not to spill anything when I sat down. While we were eating, Spike asked, "So yesterday, you said you were a salamander, and that your friends were a turtle and a dinosaur?" I swallowed my food and replied, "Well, not exactly. See, we are, I guess, Pokémon. I am a charmander, a fire type. Shellshocker, the turtle, is a squirtle. He is a water type. And Bruteroot is a bulbasaur, a grass type." Twilight seemed puzzled by this. "What are these types you're talking about? Is there some way to determine type. Is it genetic or magical?" I sighed, having dealt with inexperienced trainers before on Earth, and began my usual speech with a few modifications. "In the Pokémon universe, there are 18 different types. These are normal, grass, fire, water, bug, poison, flying, rock, ground, fighting, electric, ice, dark, psychic, ghost, steel, dragon, and fairy. Pokémon can evolve and become new types based on the evolution. The type is based on the Pokémon and can change in some circumstances such as castform or kecleon. Typically, though type only can change through evolution even though it usually is similar to its predecessor. Each type has its own strengths and weaknesses. For example, fire types such as myself are strong against grass types, but we are also weak against water types. Does that answer your question?" "...against water types. Got it!" Twilight smiled as she looked up from her notebook. "I suppose that's enough for a while. Why don't you get Shellshocker and Bruteroot and I'll take you guys on a tour of Ponyville?" I smiled at the suggestion. "Sounds great. They'll be right up." "Let's go, let's go, let's go! Wake up you lazy bums!" They jumped out of bed at the sound of my yelling. "We got a tour today, so eat breakfast as quickly as you can. Let's go!" They both scrambled out of bed and gave me a dirty look as they went upstairs. I followed, laughing. While I waited for my friends, I decided to glance through some of the books in the library. It was a surprisingly large collection for being housed inside of a tree. I was browsing through the mythology section when I came across a familiar symbol. It almost looked like a pokéball. The book was titled "The Art of Taming Elemental Beasts and Suggestions on How to Enhance Their Skills". Quite a lengthy title. As I was about to read it, a knock came from the door. Spike came over and opened it up, revealing a soft yellow pony with a pink mane. She spoke up very softly, almost I audibly. Especially from where I was standing across the room. "Oh, um, hello Spike. I came to ask about those creatures I heard ponies talking about yesterday. Some of them were saying that they saw you walking with them, so you might know what happened." Spike seemed confused for a second. "Creatures? Oh, you mean Blazewing and his friends. Yeah, they're still here actually. In fact, you can talk to Blazewing right now." Hearing my "cue" I walked over to the door to greet the pony. She gasped when she saw me, a small smile creeping onto her face. "Oh my, what a cute little thing!" I glanced at her skeptically. " I've never seen such a creature before. Where did he come from?" "I don't know. And who are you?" She jumped, obviously not expecting me to talk. "My name's Blazewing." I stuck my arm out for a shake. She was quivering behind her mane now. "My... my name is ..." "What was that?" "My name is... is Flutter..." Spike leaned over and whispered, "Her name's Fluttershy. She's a little shy around new ponies." "You don't say?" I mumbled. She tentatively put her hoof in my claws and we shook. I smiled and said, "Nice to meet you, Fluttershy. If you want to meet Bruteroot and Shellshocker I can call them in for you." "Oh, yes. That would be nice. And, if it's not too much trouble, could you tell me what kind of animal you are?" "Yeah, sure. I am a charmander, and..." Bruteroot and Shellshocker walked in to the room, "they are a bulbasaur and a squirtle." I said pointing to each. She seemed puzzled by this. "Where are you from? I've never heard of creatures like those before." "We are from the planet Earth. The city we lived in was Roswell. Our species are from the Kanto region. It's kind of hard to explain the regions to other people." Twilight interrupted us, saying, "Well, it looks like you're all ready. And you met Fluttershy, how nice. She's the local animal caretaker, so I figure if any of you have a problem, go to her." She glanced at the clock on the wall. "Oh! We're running two minutes late! If we're going to get through all of Ponyville today, we have to leave now!" She rushed us out the door and into the street. When ponies saw me, they began to veer their paths as far away as they could without changing directions completely. I could see the look of fear in their eyes when they saw me and my tail. I guess that it makes sense. Especially in a town that looks to be constructed mainly of wooden houses with thatch roofs. As we began walking, I noticed Bruteroot was talking enthusiastically with Fluttershy about some sort of crested gecko or something. He always loved animals, especially his dogs. He always had a few back home and he absolutely adored the things. But, he loved animals of all kinds too. One time, he brought a hawk that he was nursing back to health to school. The hawk had some flu and a broken wing, and he was making sure it was getting back to full health. Sometimes, I would tease him and call him Nurse Joy. I don't think he caught anything of what Twilight just said. Actually, neither did I. The only one who looked to be paying attention was Shellshocker. We were at the town hall and Twilight was explaining some historical significance involving diamonds and dogs and ancient ponies. We continued our tour until we heard a loud screech. It seemed to be coming from above, and almost sounded like a subsonic jet. Suddenly, a figure pounded the ground in front of us. It rose from the dust, revealing a rainbow hued mane and blue fur. "Who're your new friends, Twi?" It asked. Twilight, still recovering from shock, said, "Rainbow Dash! Don't do that, you almost scared the daylights out of me!" She sighed and began, "These are some creatures called pokémon from another world. This one's Bruteroot, and this is Shellshocker and here's Blazewing." We waved as she introduced each of us. "I'm Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in Equestria! So, Blazewing, huh? I don't see any wings, otherwise I'd challenge you to a race. Too bad you can't fly." She said gloatingly. I chuckled, "It'll make sense later. Just wait for a while, then I'll win that race." "Think you can beat me? I'll have you know, I'm the only pony in Equestria to pull off a Sonic Rainboom, and I did it twice!" "I don't know if I can beat you, but breaking the sound barrier isn't that hard. Where I came from, we did it on land at one point. So, once I get my wings, we'll race." "You're on!" She said, smirking.
Ponyville Part IIRainbow Dash flew off, leaving a cloud of dust in her wake. After that, we continued our tour of Ponyville, seeing sights of cultural and historical significance, at least according to Twilight. Most of our stops were at places like "The Beach of General Eisenhoofer: Where the 29th Infantry of the Guard Landed During the Second Great War" or the house where neo-modern-contemporary electronic dance music was first composed. I just zoned her out for the majority of the tour, taking in the beautiful scenery of the land. It is truly magnificent in comparison to my home. The lush fields and rushing streams were so foreign to me, the held an alien beauty. After a considerable amount of time, Twilight finally relented her speeches and we decided to go out for lunch. We stopped at this nice, quaint cafe on the outskirts of town. They had hay instead of chairs and a large portion of their seating was outdoors. We sat down and began deciding on our orders. I'm not really sure whether or not I can eat flowers at this point, so I can't eat most of the stuff on the menu without risk of illness or death. One of the only "safe" choices was a Caesar salad, so I was left with no other choice. Throughout out lunch, we told stories of our lives back on earth. A lot of them were about how our friends ended up doing stupid things while we got it on video. We also made fun of each other, a lot basically, it was the typical high school cafeteria table. It was nice to have a sense of familiarity there. I felt like I was back at school, and I had this strange feeling like I had to write a paper or something. At some point in our conversation, Shellshocker and Twilight started talking on their own, soon Bruteroot and Fluttershy did the same. Me and Spike looked at each other and nodded. Spike left some gold coins to pay for the meal and we left. I felt kind of bad for leaving them, and for not being able to pay at all, but I think they needed the space. "So, Blazewing. We have yet to see the shining gem of Ponyville. Come with me." "Oh, really? How good can it be?" Spike smirked, "You'll see when you meet her." Suddenly, a bright pink blur shot out of a nearby bush and stopped in front of us. When my vision came back into focus, it revealed a very pink pony birth a very pink poofy mane. She inhaled deeply, comically, before she began, "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! I'm sooooo happy to have new ponies in Ponyville! I mean, we almost never get new ponies, and even less times do we get new dragons and turtles and plant thingies! Have a cupcake!" Suddenly, a cupcake smashed into mine and Spike's faces. I noticed that the pony hadn't moved since she appeared, except for her mouth. "I hope you like it here in Ponyville, and I'll even help you learn all the ponies' names! That's Flitter, and that's Derpy, and that's Bulk Biceps and Aloe..." "Pinkie Pie." Spike interjected. "And the Doctor. Hi Doctor Whooves!" "Pinkie Pie." "And Lyra and Bon Bon..." "Pinkie Pie!" "And Trixie and..." "PINKIE PIE!" "Yeah, Spikey?" I gave a huge sigh of relief. It seemed like she had infinite energy and even defied the laws of physics and nature. And I've only known her for a minute or two. I might need to put a label on her. Warning: prolonged exposure may increase chance of mind explosion or induce insanity. Then, she spoke up again. "Oops, gotta run! Time to make cupcakes!" She ran off to a building that looked like a gingerbread house. We faintly heard, "It's going to be so much fun making cupcakes with you, Flash Sentry!" Spike and I just decided to shrug it off and continue on our way. We walked in silence until we came to the market, where we heard the same voice from yesterday call out, "hey, Spike! It looks like y'all found him. Guess Twi couldn't send 'em home then?" We walked over to the pony. She was selling apples and baked goods from a little stand. From the looks of it, business was treating her well. We exchanged greetings and brought Applejack up to speed on my current predicament. Spike was starting to grow more and more irritated until we left. Whatever this "gem" was, he was obviously obsessed with it. We finally stopped in front of a building shaped like a carousel from an old fair or amusement park. Spike brought me inside as he searched for the owner. He walked around the main floor calling out, "Rarity! Are you home? "Darling, is that you?" A voice, Rarity's I presume, came from upstairs. "Yes, it is Rarity. I brought someone for you to meet." "I'll be down in just a moment." We heard some shuffling and then hoofsteps as a white mare with a shining purple mane descended. In tandem, mine and Spike's jaws dropped. I had never seen a pony look so attractive in my life. It almost scares me that I would like a pony in this way, but I don't want to pass this up. I also know now why Spike was so intent on getting here. He must have a huge crush on her, or they're dating. I'm just assuming it's the former. I stepped forward and nervously introduced myself. "Hello, my name is Blazewing. And I assume you are Rarity?" She giggled, "Yes, that is correct. Are you a dragon mr. Blazewing?" "No, why do you ask?" "Well you look so much like Spike..." "Hey! At least my tail's not constantly on fire!" Rarity sighed, "so much like him so, I just assumed you were a dragon." "Well, in many cases I would be considered a dragon when I am older, but right now, I am not." "Hmm. That's not very helpful. But! It gives me a great idea for a new design! Your flame is simply stunning! I must use it in a new piece. How do you keep it from burning things?" "Um, beg your pardon?" "Oh don't worry. I'll sort it all out." She began rushing about the room, fetching fabric and tools, already giving her design a form. I looked over at Spike, who was in a daze with some drool hanging from his mouth. I snapped in front of his face until he came back to reality, but he continued to stare at Rarity while she worked. By this time I had had enough and began my way back to the library. It was starting to get dark when I finally found a way back. I had been lost for a few hours now. The light of my tail kept the darkness around me at bay, while the setting sun outlined the tree I was heading for. What came next, I would never have expected.
A Strange DreamI was surrounded by blackness. Glowing green eyes flashed around me. I could feel the fangs still, even after seeing this a thousand times. The mouths of whatever beasts were attacking me continued to devour me. All the while, I was flailing and attempting to hit them with fire. But once it was clear that I had lost, I gave in and let myself succumb to the pain. That was when I heard the beeping. I slowly opened my eyes to see stark white. I was laying on a bed and I could barely see some green and red in the corner of my vision. Then, I fell into the darkness again. The figure from earlier stood before me, continuing to radiate its power. It was white all around us, but somehow there was a shadow below the figure. As we drew closer, it appeared to be a large pony. It looked very similar to Twilight. However, the legs, horn, wings, and mane were all longer and larger. Although I could not yet make out a face, the figure spoke. "Welcome child. This may be my sister's domain, but it is my only means of communicating with you. How are you finding life in Equestria? "What? Who are you? Are you the one who brought us here?" "Well yes, of course I am. I am Princess Celestia, ruler of the sun and Equestria." She came closer to me. She stood above me, looking down. "Why?" A puzzled look flashed across her face. "Why, to what?" "Why did you take us here? We didn't ask to be sent to a cartoon for little girls. I was happy with my life back home. I was going to graduate this summer! And go to college! Why would you take this from me? And Chad, he was going to the marines. Peter almost had a girlfriend. We were just whisked away from our families and everyone we loved, and for what? So you could have a few new animals in your little pretty pony land? Why would you do that to us? How could you?" "I... I'm afraid I..." She faltered and looked at the ground, ashamed. "You're afraid you what? Messed up? You don't say? What do you think my family is doing right now? And my friends? We all just disappeared with no explanation. They think we're dead! We've lost everything because of you. And now? Do you expect me to just bow down and worship the sun goddess because she turned me into my favorite pokémon? Just tell me, why? Why us? Why this? Why now?" Tears were now slowly trickling from her eyes. "I'm sorry, Blazewing. I didn't know. As for why, you each exhibited great character in every day. My sister and I watched you at times. We needed ponies like you. Our country is in danger. We fear that Chrysalis will return with her changeling army to destroy us. That is why you were brought here." "Chrysalis? Who is that?" "She is the changeling queen. The changelings can assume the form of any pony they choose, typically those you love, bit their true form is like a pony shaped bug." "Wait a minute! Those things attacked me outside the library! But, how do you expect us to fight for you, after what you did to us? Why should we?" "Because you need to. The changelings will suck you dry. They can survive on love, but Chrysalis wants revenge. They will harvest our life forces and kill us all in the process. If we do not fight, all of us, even you, will die." "Still, we could just run. Why should we stay?" "Your friends have their reasons. Especially the one you now call Shellshocker. It seems he and my student have become rather...close." "Fine, I'll fight your war. But can we be sent back?" "I believe so, but I can send all of your families a letter now, telling them that you are safe and alive." "Can I? I want to talk to them." "So be it. But Blazewing?" "Yes?" "Don't tell them about where you are." "Fine." The world around us began to fade, and the ground was shaking. "What is that?" "I believe you are waking up. Until we meet in person then. Farewell." I woke up and found myself in a hospital. I saw Bruteroot sitting on a red chair in the corner of the room. He was sleeping. My tail was resting in a loop, keeping it above the bed. The flame was burning brightly now. I had a few bandages on my arms, chest and head, but I didn't feel much pain. An IV drip flowed into my right arm. I peeled back one of the bandages as carefully as I could, and I saw a faint bite mark, probably from those changelings. When I returned to the library, I found them waiting in the shadows for me. They attacked, and I defeated as many as I could. I guess someone found me and brought me here. Suddenly, Bruteroot stirred in the corner. He groggily opened his eyes and gasped when he saw me. "Blaze! You're awake! It's been so long, we thought you'd never wake up!" "Woah. What happened? I know I sleep in for forever, but how long was I out?" "Four weeks." I stared, speechless. My mouth hung open comically. After a minute, Bruteroot let out a laugh. "Ha ha, I knew you would be surprised, but I didn't think you'd go into another coma!" I shook myself out of it and tried to get out of bed. "Hey! Not yet. Doctor's gotta clear you first. Said you're not supposed to move at all until he makes sure you're good." "Ugh. Fine. But can I get a pen and some paper?" "Sure. Got some here. Twi said that I might want to write down some stuff about our world and about pokémon, but I never got to it. What for?" "I want to write a letter to my parents." "Well, ok. No point in trying to send it though. Post here sucks. Only have one pony for the entire town. Not to mention we're on a different planet." "No problem. Just give me some privacy and let the doctor know I'm up?" "Alright." He sighed and left the room. When I heard the door close, I began writing. "Dear Mom and Dad, I know this has been hard on you. This has all been a little crazy for me too. So to clear it up, I'll tell you what happened. We were sitting in chapel when we teleported to the gym, from there, a giant beam of light took us to a different planet. And guess what? I'm now a charmander! Chad and Peter are with me. They are a squirtle and a bulbasaur too! We all landed together. But, we decided that, as long as we are here, we would use fitting names. Chad is Shellshocker, Peter is Bruteroot, and I am Blazewing. So I was introduced to a few of the locals by a farmer, and we came to stay at the local librarian's house. We took a tour of the town and met some people. Then I was attacked. I was out for four weeks. I'm fine now. Just woke up. Apparently, Chad got 'romantically' involved with the ruler's student. Don't ask. I don't know who it is. This happened while I was out. Other than that, I don't know what has happened. However, the strangest thing that's happened yet just occurred earlier. I fell back asleep after barely waking up, I just saw fuzzy images of the room. When I was asleep, I met the ruler of the land. They talked to me and explained why and how we're here. They took us here to fight a war for them. I don't want to, but the locals here don't deserve to die. Even if their rulers don't seem to think through life changing decisions, they seem nice and kindhearted. They let us into their homes and became our friends even when we looked strange. I don't think I can leave them to die. So I will stay and fight for them. I won't be back for some time. The ruler is letting me send you this letter. She might let Chad and Peter send one too, but I think this will be the last time we talk for a while. So, I'll try to make this good. Bruce, don't touch my stuff. Anyways, I'm gonna miss playing gameboy and DS with you. Especially when we would battle. I always loved that. I hope you get really good while we're gone, because you need to honor my name in high school. Wear my name proudly and become the master I knew you could be. Dad, I'm gonna miss playing football and basketball with you. I know there are other people to play with, but it's not the same without you. Also, we have certain...limitations. I'm sorry about ditching you last night when my show was on. I wish I could have played with you one last time before I was gone. I'm sorry. Mom. Make sure Bruce doesn't touch my stuff. Also, I know you were looking forward to me going to college and getting my degree, but I'm away now so I'm halfway there. Anyways, I'm gonna miss you and all your advice. You were always there for me. I'm sorry I can't be there for you right now. I want you all to know I'm safe, but if I don't come back, I want you all to know that I love you. Sorry for everything that this has forced on you. I know you probably thought I was dead, but I will come back. I will try. Stay waiting for me because when I get home, I'll be a hero. With much love, Your son, Blazewing."
RecoveryOver the past few days, not much has happened. The doctors have been running a lot of tests. At least four a day. They only tell me what a few of them are. They tell me that they're testing my blood for poison because they're not sure if changelings are venomous. I feel like the other tests are just things given to them by Twilight to do. I say that because every time she visits, she asks if they ran any tests that day. She also asks a lot about my fire. When I told her that it's tied to my life force, she seemed confused, but just continued to shoot me questions. Twilight hasn't been the only one to visit me. That crazy pink one appears out of nowhere sometimes. But, she always gives me candy or something, so it's alright, I guess. The princess came by the other day too. She told me that she would pay for this whole hospital visit and my recovery. I thanked her and it got really awkward for about five minutes. She was just standing there, and the doctors wouldn't let me get up, so we just stared at each other for the entire time. Then I remembered the letter. I gave it to her and she left soon after. I kinda regret what I wrote in that letter. I mean, my parents are probably super depressed, but I just sent them this short little memo saying "hey mom, dad. How's it going? Yeah, you probably think I'm dead, but I'm in a magical place now. Don't worry, and I love you." It probably seems really inappropriate for such a circumstance, but I've never been one who is able to really express my feelings. Anyways, Applejack showed up too. She gave me this apple pie, and it was the best dang pie I've ever had. I mean, I almost went into another coma. After that, Rarity and Fluttershy came in. Fluttershy had this rabbit with her. She called it Angel. The thing's a devil. It gave me this look, like "keep one eye open at all times, because I will kill you the second you even blink." What did I do? I think it just might have a blood lust. Rarity also gave me something. While we were talking she rummaged through her saddle bags and pulled out a box. Inside was a number of small gems and a replica of Ash's hat from the original anime! She told me that Bruteroot and Shellshocker had told her what it looked like, and she made it for me. I thanked her profusely for the the gift, probably too much. When they left, Rainbow Dash came in. She had few books with her. She told me that they were her favorites and she read them while she was in the hospital with a broken wing. She also threatened to break all of my bones if I told anyone that she liked books. The books were about this adventurer Daring Do. To me, it was basically like reading about a female pony Indiana Jones. Anytime something exciting would happen, I would start humming the theme from Raiders of the Lost Ark. A few times some doctors and nurses walked past and gave me strange looks. I just smiled at them as they walked on to another room. In fact, they were so similar, that it had a Temple of Doom parody. A pony in some country I forget the name of stole some magic gems. A city nearby suffered from famine and drought. Then, Daring Do visited the ruler and discovered a tunnel to an underground temple. In the temple, various ponies in masks chanted "Kali-Mare" while another pony sliced the cutie marks (which I recently learned are the symbols on a pony's butt) then discarded the pony into a flaming pit. The cutie marks burned with the pony. Then there was this whole chase through a canyon, some sword fighting, the Royal Guard showed up and saved Daring Do from the crazy ponies, and then the gems were returned and there was a happy ending. It's pretty crazy how similar they were. Later, I tried to eat the gems Rarity gave me. She said that Spike liked to eat them, and I might too. So I tried. Never again. Those things almost broke my teeth, and when I finally chipped one (it was cracked already) it tasted like a pistachio threw up on the love child of a watermelon and teriyaki chicken. When Bruteroot came to visit, I told him to stash them under my pillow at the library. Who knows? I may need them someday. So, that brings us to today. The doctors said that I may be able to leave finally. Yay. Twilight came by with Bruteroot and Shellshocker to pick me up. When we were leaving, Twilight dropped a sack of large gold coins on the counter. The nurse thanked us and we left. As we exited the doors, I was blinded by the sun. I sneezed. You would think that spending six days in a white room would prepare you to see the outside world, but no. We walked back to the library, this time I walked all the way around it too, checking bushes and windows to make sure there weren't any more surprises. I thought I saw something ducking in a corner when I looked in the window, but it was too bright to be a changeling, so I disregarded it. When I finally walked in, I was assaulted with the boom of a cannon and a loud "Surprise!" from a certain crazy mare. Many streamers were decorating the library, and every pony I knew was there, plus some more. So about twelve. Spike was there along with Bruteroot and Shellshocker. Spike was standing near three little girls, I think they're called fillies. I have been trying to brush up on my horse terminology since Twilight yelled at me for calling Princess Celestia a woman. So Spike, standing by them was still gawking at Rarity. For some reason, I wouldn't doubt it if someone told me that he's been following her and doing this since I left him at the carousel place. There were a few ponies I didn't know. There was one who was wearing glasses and playing some music from enormous speakers. Another was gray and had some eye condition. My mom used to work at a public school. She worked with people who had mental or physical disabilities. So I am kind of used to being around people like that. From how this pony was acting, the only problem was with moving around without hitting something. Probably just from her eyes, not mental disease or anything. There was another pony there who I vaguely remember. I think it was Big Macintosh, but I did notice that he was spending a lot of time with Applejack. So, I'm probably right. The only ponies left besides the six that came to visit me were the three fillies. I think the yellow one was Apple Bloom, because she talked like Applejack. And her friends called her that. But I don't know who the other two were. For about two hours we partied, drinking punch, eating cupcakes, and talking. The DJ was pretty good to. Apparently, they don't even need to make the mixes sometimes. There's this "song magic" that happens when a pony really wants to sing or there is something big happening. And there's Pinkie Pie. She does it whenever. So the DJ, Vinyl Scratch from what she told me, sometimes can just imagine the song in her head and it'll play. So, I decided to try it out. I tried to think of a good song, when in saw Shellshocker and Twilight standing there alone. I knew I had to do this, especially with what Celestia told me about them. I grabbed a microphone and walked up in front of the turntables. I signaled for the music to stop when I began. The piano began playing with a synthesizer. Somehow Spike had gotten to a piano and Vinyl was playing the synth on a keyboard. I took a deep breath and began to sing. " I can't fight this feeling any longer And yet I'm still afraid to let it flow What started out as friendship, has grown stronger I only wish I had the strength to let it show I tell myself that I can't hold out forever I said there is no reason for my fear Cause I feel so secure when we're together You give my life direction You make everything so clear And even as I wander I'm keeping you in sight You're a candle in the window On a cold, dark winter's night And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might" Cymbals crashed as the drums entered. There were no drums, just the sound of them playing in our ears unexplainably. As perplexed as I was, I kept on singing. "And I can't fight this feeling anymore I've forgotten what I started fighting for It's time to bring this ship into the shore And throw away the oars, forever Cause I can't fight this feeling anymore I've forgotten what I started fighting for And if I have to crawl upon the floor Come crushing through your door Baby, I can't fight this feeling anymore My life has been such a whirlwind since I saw you I've been running round in circles in my mind And it always seems that I'm following you, girl Cause you take me to the places that alone I'd never find And even as I wander I'm keeping you in sight You're a candle in the window on a cold, dark winter's night And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might And I can't fight this feeling anymore I've forgotten what I started fighting for It's time to bring this ship into the shore And throw away the oars, forever Cause I can't fight this feeling anymore I've forgotten what I started fighting for And if I have to crawl upon the floor Come crushing through your door Baby, I can't fight this feeling anymore." The music began to fade out after I stopped singing. Twilight looked happy like the other ponies, but I looked at Shellshocker and he had the most hilarious face. He was both embarrassed and annoyed. I winked at him and put the microphone back. As I re-entered the party, the three fillies ran up to me. "Wow! Ah didn't know that y'all could sing!" said Apple Bloom. "That was so cool! Like, half a Rainbow Dash cool!" The orange pegasus spoke up next. "That's a lot comin' from her." Apple Bloom explained to me. However, the white unicorn gave me this weird grin. Almost like saying "I know your secret." "So," she began, " who was that about?" "It was for a friend. Just to help em seal the deal with his new crush." "Not buying it." "Well, it's the truth. So, deal with it." At that I put on imaginary sunglasses and walked away. After a few more hours of partying, mostly everyone had given up and gone home. The last one to leave was the crazy pink one. Once she left, we all decided to hit the hay for the night. In the basement, Bruteroot and Shellshocker had already fallen asleep, so when I got down there, I had to sneak into my bed. When I finally reached it, I fell down onto my pillow face first. I felt a sharp pain in my mouth. I checked under my pillow and found the gems that Rarity gave me. "Fricken gems. Gonna break my teeth one way or another."
