A New Ruler

Chapter 1: Deleted Scenes

My friends told me about My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic awhile back, but I didn’t pay much attention until Ted, my boyfriend, took and interest as well, saying it was all about friendship and magic and stuff. I thought it was a baby show before I watched the first episode, but I’m getting ahead of myself and going too far back, my name is, or WAS, Ella Moonstone.

This story started a few months ago, when Ted heard a rumor about one of the security guards at the studio where they do MLP: FIM had gone missing after posting a delted scene video on the internet. My friends and I all managed to download it before someone took it down, removed it without a trace. Eventually, my friends, including Ted, started to disappear, too! One by one, after watching the video, poof! A note saying they were going on a trip somewhere and probably wouldn’t be coming back. Eventually I was the last one, and decided to watch the video like everyone else had. I thought ‘might as well see where everyone went?’

The Episode was Luna Eclipsed, the one about Luna trying to change her bad-pony image. Oh, how I loved Luna, despite her dark past. It played through like on tv, but near the end it read a total of fourty-five minutes when the whole episode took less than half an hour. Confused, I watched on as the end came with Twilight’s voice over. Then a man in a blue royal coat appeared, saying he wanted to have a few keepers for him and his wife. The confusion this caused was added to by Luna’s hair changing back to when she first appeared and the man and Luna playing the games with the other ponies. I was dumbstruck. A HUMAN!? My Little Pony wasn’t REAL, right? I’d heard rumors about it maybe being...but they were RUMORS!

Right?

A knock at the door snapped me out of my panic-attack. I straightened out my bra and walked to the door and opened it. A man in a black suit stood before me. I stood there gaping. Behind him, a black limo was parked with another man, similarly dressed, standing beside an open rear door.

“Ella Moonstone,” asked the one in front of me. I nodded slowly. “Come with me,” he said. I followed him quietly, not wanting to make a scene, and stepped into the limo. In it, I saw what I thought was impossible.

Across from me sat Princess Luna with her original hairstyle and the strange man from the scene I’d just watched. I just sat there with my mouth agape.

“John Winter,” he said, reaching out his hand, “CEO of Winter Industries. I trust you’ve seen my wife, Luna, on the show we allow to be filmed?” I nodded as I shook his hand, remembering the company name from the oven I’d bought a month ago. “I suppose you’re wondering how I was in an episode of a show that doesn’t exist looking exactly as you see me now,” he asked. I nodded, though I already feared I knew the answer, which I did. “I wasn’t born here, on Earth,” he began, “I was born in Equestria. It’s a real place on a planet beyond the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy. I would take a very long time to simply fly from here to Equus, so I have a teleporter. I also thought I'd bring my dearest with m as proof.” He gestured to Luna, who I nodded at.

“So,” I said at length, “It’s all real?”

“Every last bit,” he said, “And that’s why I’m here.”

“What happened to my friends,” I asked.

“Same thing that’s happening to you right now,” John said, “I made them the same offer I’m about to make you. They’re all in Equestria as little fillys and colts.”

“Really,” I said after taking some time to soak it all in. My friends were in Equestria, without me, or this was a ruse before I got thrown into solitary confinement. I felt a hoof under my chin and saw Luna looking at me with a worried look on her face.

“Your friends really miss you,” she said.

“Shouldn’t be too hard to find them," John said, “Especially with my unlimited mana pools. I could levitate crumpets around Celestia’s head for days, most I’ve done so far is a week,” he added, making Luna giggle a bit. “So now I make the same offer to you I made them,” He continued.

“What is it,” I asked.

“We could take you to Equestria,” he said, “I’m Equestrian, so I am like this anyway. But you, you’re an Earth-born human.”

“So,” I said at length.

“So,” he said, “If you go, I’d recommnd that I turn you into a pony. Judging by your magical potential, you may become someone of great importance.”

“Do you mean like,” I said expectantly.

“Princess Ella has a definite ring to it, don’t you agree,” he said with a smile, “I recommend you think this through, though. The spell to change you will be slow, but permanent.”

I sat for a moment to think. Do I do what my friends did, go to Equestria and live like royalty, or stay here without friends, knowing they’re having a blast in Equestria. The choice was obvious. “I’ll come with you,” I said, “Freedom in Equestria sounds nice compared to lonely boredom here. Besides, I’ve always wanted to see more of Equestria.”

“And so you shall have an eternity to do so! Alicorns are immortal, after all,” he said. I squealed with excitement 'I’m going to live forever’ I thought, but piped down when John continued.

“Now, I’ll have to use blood magic,” he said, “It’s a forbidden art, but the humans of Equestria think very highly of it’s nearly limitless applications, though it is still very dangerous and takes decades to master a single spell. Fortunately, I’ve had over six thousand years, immortality, thought-magic control, and an unlimited mana pool, and so have mastered all the spells.”

“Thought magic control,” I asked, confused.

“I focus on a spell, it happens,” he replied, “Don’t worry, it only works if the though includes the want to enact a magic response, and one of my hands must be raised, as I lack a horn. Now, I’ll need to concentrate for this spell, as blood magic requires concentration regardless.”

He raised his hands, which started to glow blue. Luna knocked on the glass with her horn and the limo took to motion. A few minutes later as we arrived at the docks, John lowered his hands. The door opened and one of John’s security guards appeared.

“Just in time,” he said, “Sun’s coming up in a few minutes. Better to have Luna on Sanctuary before it comes up, right,” the guard said.

The three of us got out onto the pier. I’d heard that Sanctuary was an island that had appeared off the northern coast of Russia, near St. Petersburg. Then again, Berk from How to Train Your Dragon had appeared in the Pacific, Eggmanland in the South Atlantic, Pyrriah, a land from the Wings of Fire book series, had appeared in the Mid Atlantic, and Soleanna between Sanctuary and Pyrriah, all at the same time a few months back. I looked around the dock, but saw it was completely abandoned before realizing there was no way we could get from New York to Sanctuary in less than thirty minutes.

I saw Luna and John standing at the edge of the pier, and ran to catch up. I made it, panting as I got there. “I’ll be back in a moment,” said John. I gave him a quizzical look as he bent his knees as if about to jump and...disappeared.

He was gone as a blast of air came up from behind me. As I blocked the dust in the air from reaching my eyes, another blast hit me from the front, nearly sending me flying backwards. I looked up to see John standing their again with his hand reached out toward me. “Your turn,” he said. I carefully took his hand as I walked up to him. He lifted me into a position a knight would hold his princess. “Hang on tight,” he said as he bent his knees. I braced for whatever happened next.

The wind was nearly deafening as we flew from New York to Sanctuary in under five seconds. John put me down and dusted me off. “Luna’s already inside,” he said walking past me. ‘Already inside’ I thought as I turned around to see Ryan Manor before me. I quickly followed John, thinking ‘so this is the secret home of the great Andrew Ryan’. Upon entering, I found John talking to a Renamon, of all things. Two others were seated nearby, along with a Russian with a chef’s coat on. I walked over to John as he finished talking to the Renamon.

“Ah, you must be Ella,” said the Renamon, “I’m Andrea. That’s Felicity and Destiny.” The other two Renamon nodded one after the other to indicate which was which. “To bad Aurora isn’t here,” Andrea continued, “She might have wanted to have met a friend her age. Oh well.”

“Uh, John,” I said.

“Hmm,” he said, “Oh, this is Andrea, or as you probably know her, Andrew Ryan. Bit of my handiwork turned him into a her.” At that, Andrea began to shift until she resembled Andrew Ryan.

“Not many people are as priviledged to have a friend like John here,” Andrew said, “And I think you, Luna and all the other ponies will get along just fine, though I doubt your old friends will remember you. The demanded I wipe their minds! Probably to forget their old lives.”

“I can understand that,” I said solemly. Most of them had been social outcasts and shunned throughout their schoolyears. I had too, but embraced it, as it made me feel stronger. “No thanks,” I said, “I’d  rather remember why I left so I don’t make he mistake of wanting to come back.”

“Smart choice,” said Andrew, “I told them somthing along that line, but they insisted.”

“Indeed they did,” John said sadly, “Sad how people are treated just for liking something others don’t. Come on, then. Let’s get you to Equestria.”

“Tell Celestia Andrea says hi,” Andrew said as we walked to the basement.

“Why are we going down here,” I asked.

“Ryan Manor was conveiently built atop the Fire Nation Palace, which ended up beside my lab here on Earth. A few inches more, and the wall would be my lab!”

We arrived in the Palace Garden and I saw what he meant. The door to his lab was mere millimeters from the cave wall. Any further and it would’ve been the cavern wall. (On a side note, the door looked almost like a Forerunner artifact from Halo, which John explained was due to the humans of Equestria having so perfectly blended magic and technology to create wonderous structures.) We proceeded into the lab. It was dark, but the lights inside turned on automatically, showing how big the complex really was. I could barely see the far end, and all the inventions and tools lying everywhere made it even harder to seen. John noticed my awestruck face.

“It’s the same for the next nine hundred sub-levels,” he said, “Except Sub-Level Two, which are my private quarters here at the lab, though I rarely use them. Follow me to the elevator. GARVIS.”

A voice suddenly sounded, who I assumed was GARVIS. “Yes, sir?”

“Bring the elevator to Sub-Level One,” John said.

“Right away, sir,” said GARVIS we arrived at the elevator, which immediately opened.

“Equestria Gate Room,” said John. The door closed, opening not two seconds later to a room with a strange ring-shaped structure in the middle. A decal on the wall said SUB-LEVEL 900-EQUESTRIA GATE ROOM. Luna was waiting for us.

“Sorry for taking so long,” said John as him and me stepped out of the elevator.

“It’s okay,” replied Luna.

“How did we get here so fast,” I asked.

“Turbo Lift,” said John, “One of great many accomplishments of the Humans of Equestria. Now, GARVIS, activate the Equestria Gate.”

“Yes sir,” GARVIS said as a portal opened in the ring in the center of the room.

“Why does it have a ring,” I asked.

“Discord mastered inter-dimensional travel via portal years ago, as did I,” John said, “Thing is, a portal created with magic will only close once you use the spell to close it. This does all that for me. Convenient, isn’t it?”

“Very,” I said.

“Shall we go,” said John.

“Yes,” I said, “I can’t wait to see Equestria!”