Deep inside the Canterlot Caves
Slowly a young man, early in his twenties, opened his eyes, and gave an audible yawn. Then he wiped his eyes, and stretched his legs out, and threw his legs to the right, before making a couple steps towards the light switch to his room. When he reached towards it, however, he froze, and slowly looked around the room he was in. "What the..." he began, panic starting to quickly build up, as he looked around, and could see the condition his bedroom was in.
Cobwebs surrounded most of the room, only ending where his bed was, with an unusual light illuminating from the top of the mattress, which was the only object in the whole room that wasn't worn by age. He also noticed another thing wrong with this picture; the entire wall that was originally at the left side of the bed was missing, showing the whole neighborhood that he lived in. Every single house that covered the once bright and sunny streets were worn, broken down, and completely unlivable, while the streets were littered with old rusty vehicles that had moss, branches, and countless numbers of weeds growing from inside them.
"Please, if this is a dream, then wake me up!" The man stuttered, as he reached for the light switch again. When he found it, he quickly flicked it, only for his hopes to be shattered when he saw that it didn't turn the light on. Then, he walked towards the bed again, and sat on the covers, which he quickly regretted, as the only light in the room, the one from the covers, vanished into the darkness, leaving only the lights from the odd glowing mushrooms that littered the streets outside visible.
Reaching into his right pocket, the man pulled out a touch-screen phone, and turned it on. When it powered up, his eyes widened when it said the date. "No, this can't be right!" He said, as he saw the calendar say, "October 15, 102015". Out of confusion, he popped his forehead with his hand, and confirmed his fears. "I'm not asleep..." Then, he burst into tears, as he came to the most painful realization he ever felt; everything, and everyone he knew, is dead.
Two Hours Later...
He was curled in a ball, listening to the messages he had on his phone... all five hundred of them. The last few were the ones that hurt him the most... the last one being his youngest brother calling him. His voice confirmed that he wasn't a child anymore, but in fact, an elderly man. "Hey, Justin... I'm sorry I haven't called you lately. Listen, I want to say that, if you're mad at us, then please forgive us for whatever we did that caused you to shut us out. I know Ethan, mom, and dad would've said the same thing if they were still around." Then on the other line, a weak-sounding cough could be heard. "Sorry, Justin... I don't think I'm gonna be around much longer, with this flu I've got... you should know, since you were seventy before me, after all!" His brother started chuckling, before his coughing interrupted his message again. "Anyways, if you ever get this, I wanted to let you know we all love you... and we miss you. Please... forgive us for whatever we did wrong." Finally, a lot more coughing could be heard, before a female's voice could be heard in the background, and a loud thud soon followed.
"Tyler, what's wrong? ...Tyler?! Tyler! Justin, quick! Call the doctor!"
Then, a younger-sounding man's voice could be heard in the background. "Mom? What's wrong with dad?!" Before the response could be heard, however, the line cut out.
Justin sat there in silence, before turning the phone off, and placing it back in his right pocket. Then, he slipped out of bed again, and looked at the entrance to his room. There, he spotted a pile of withered plants that he guessed were once potted, due to the dust around them. He had a feeling some of his family thought he was dead, while others considered him alive, but in a deep sleep, because he found an old voice recorder near a baby picture of himself. When he picked both of them up, he looked at the picture first, and weakly smiled. "This... must've been from Ethan." Ethan, of course, was his younger brother as well, although only by a year. When he hit the "Play" button on the recorder, he could tell right away that this must've been Ethan, because he sounded like he had a guitar in his hands.
"Hey, Justin, it's Ethan. Listen, I know that it's tough what you're gonna go through. Y'know, I learned to accept the fact that you're stuck in some sort of weird age thing that we can't even get close to you by. If you ever manage to wake up, and none of us are around, I just want you to know that we love you, bro... and that I joined a band for once! We're still working out a name for it. Maybe 'Wonder Bolts', or something like that. I don't know. Something that would make us feel like you're still with us. Yes, I know you're a brony, always watching that show, but hey, I don't judge you... never have, and never will." He paused for a moment, before the sound of an amplifier turning on rung through the phone. "My bad... anyways, I just wanted to play something for you. Maybe something you'll remember me by, in case you outlive us." With that, he played "I Need Some Sleep" by the band, "Eels".
When the song was over, Justin couldn't control his tears any longer, while the sound of sobbing from the recorder could be heard. "You just need your sleep, Justin... and when you wake up, you're gonna have to let it go... just don't forget us!" Then, Ethan smirked. "Heck, if you forget me, then you'll forget the best-looking guy to ever exist!" After a small delay, he said, "Although I gotta admit, age is starting to get to me, while you still look like you're in your freakin' twenties!"
Ten seconds after that statement, an elderly lady's voice in the background said, "Ethan, can I talk to him, please? I'd... like to say something as well." The sound of a handheld device being transferred buzzed through the recorder, while the elder said, "Hey, Justin! It's me, your mom... although I kinda feel like your grandma at this point! Anyways, I just wanted to say that I love you, and so does Ethan... we hope you get well soon... hopefully before I... y'know... before I pass on. I'd love to see your beautiful eyes again, and hug you one last time..." Then, she kissed the recorder, before saying, "I love you, Justin."
Wiping the tears from his eyes, Justin replied, "I love you too, mom..." before the recording ended. Then he stood up, and looked around some more, before finding a framed note, with the signatures of most of his family; his three brothers, mom, dad, stepmother, niece, nephew, and a few more names that must've been the children and grandchildren of his brothers. "I love you all..."
One More Hour Later...
Justin walked through the deserted streets, wearing his black sweater below his hooded jacket, with the neck piece of the sweater below the hood, and zipped over his mouth and nose, blocking off any dust that flew from the town, which there was quite an abundance of. He started to feel hungry, but right away, he also knew that he couldn't eat anything in the whole town, due to it being completely deserted for who-knows-how-long, with the chances of any food being at least thousands of years out-of-date.
When he made it to the outskirts of the town, he froze in place, as he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Beyond the road was a possible thousand-foot drop, which ended in lava at the very bottom. What surprised him, though, was the fact that he couldn't see anything beyond it for miles on end... almost like the whole town was either on a floating rock, or a large Mesa. Seeing no way out of the town, he turned back, and headed towards his house again.
Chapter 2/3: A Ray of Hope.
The Next Day...
Justin's stomach grumbled loudly, but he seemed to be embracing the pain. He sat in a dark corner in his house, hugging his knees, while staring at a makeshift torch that he made out of a table leg and one of the glowing mushrooms. He wasn't sure how they glowed like that, but who cares? A light's still a light, and he surely wasn't going to sit around and die in the dark, at least!
Quietly, he spoke to himself. "I wish this nightmare would end... please, may someone be out there, anyone that can understand me. Please, whoever can hear me, please let me know I'm not alone in this world..." As expected, he was greeted by silence. Lowering his head, he sighed. "I thought so... guess I really am alone, now."
Standing up, and lifting the makeshift torch from the ground, he stepped outside the ruined house, and searched around the neighborhood for anything at least halfway decent to eat.
He ended up finding nothing, of course. Just a few leftover scraps of rancid meat-looking packages, each of which when opened, produced an odor that Justin couldn't stand being near. "Great... I wake up from a centomillenium nap, just to die of starvation! Could this day get any worse?!" He yelled, now unable to hide his anger. When he took another step to the side, he ended up falling into a loose plank, which caused him to fall about ten feet down, and painfully land on a stone surface. As he landed, he passed out from both, exhaustion and pain.
"Justin... don't forget us..." Familiar voices could be heard. Justin couldn't, however, see the faces of the voices that only repeated those words. "Please... don't give up! We know you can make it through this!"
"No, please! Don't go!" Justin cried out, walking through an endless void of white light. He tried finding someone who can help him in his ordeal.
Before he could take any more steps, he saw a black portal-like vortex appear on the floor just ten meters away from where he stood, directly in front of him. When it appeared, a familiar-looking figure stepped up from what appeared to be an invisible stairway. The figure, of course, was familiar to Justin, due to it being a character from a cartoon series he knew all too well.
"P-Princess Celestia?! What's going on? Where am I?!" Justin asked, before remembering his manners, and bowing his head respectfully to the Princess of the Sun.
Princess Celestia gave him a confused look, and replied, "I've heard the cries of a wounded spirit, and came as soon as you lost consciousness. I have to say, though... I never expected the spirit to belong to a creature such as yourself." Then, she eyed him up and down. "Not to sound rude, but what exactly are you, and why are you here?" Then, she closed her eyes, while her horn glowed gold, before opening her eyes again, and adding, "And while I'm at it... where are you, exactly?"
Justin stood back up, and explained the situation he was in, that he was currently in the ruins of his hometown, "Diamond Heights", how he knew who she was, the show that revealed who she and the Elements were, the fact that he just woke up from a centomillenium nap, and that as far as he knew, everyone he ever knew and loved is dead, and that he was a human, which judging from Celestia's confused look, either wasn't that familiar with the race, or had terrible news to give to Justin. As he had feared, it was the latter.
"So, wait... you're a human?!" Celestia asked, now sounding more worried, but not out of fear. It seemed to have a concerned tone to it, which gave Justin an uneasy feeling regardless. Despite his feelings, however, he managed a nod, preparing his sanity for one of the biggest hits it could take. Celestia sighed deeply, and looked down, before saying, "I don't know how to tell you this, but... humanity has been extinct for thousands of years, now... hundreds of thousands, in fact! Just seeing you here makes me wonder if you're actually dead, but lost from the spiritual plane, or if you somehow managed to survive the years, and hid from all magic sensors, which should be impossible for humans, anyways, due to the nature of the magic!" Then, she closed her eyes again, and shook her head. "For some odd reason, I cannot find you in the world... are you above ground level, or below it?"
"Below, if I'm not mistaken." Justin replied, unable to hide the tears already starting to fall from his eyes.
Celestia's horn glowed again, but this time, her eyes opened widely, followed by her gasping. "This... doesn't add up, though!"
"What is it?" Justin asked, now worried about her tone.
"You... you are real, and you are alive, but at the same time, you aren't!"
Now, Justin was confused. Alive, but dead? How in the heck does that add up?! "What do you mean by that?" Justin asked.
Celestia shook her head, and replied, "I just did a teleport spell on you, but for some odd reason, you weren't affected by it! You must be immune to magic somehow, but... only the dead can't be affected by magic like that, yet you still exist!" Celestia was having trouble speaking at this time, due to the level of confusion she was going through, until Justin held his left hand up, motioning her to stop. She did so, only out of curiosity by what the sign meant.
Justin closed his eyes, lowered his head, and placed his right pointing finger and thumb on his forehead, rubbing it in the process. "So, wait... what you're saying is that I'm... undead?!" Celestia nodded, which made Justin sigh. "And that pretty much means that, no matter what happens to me, I'm unable to die... right?" His nerves appeared to be getting more and more out of control, until she gave him another nod. Then, things went silent.
The silence was discomforting and long, until an unnervingly dark smile formed on Justin's lips, followed by him giving out a weak chuckle. Then, when he stopped laughing, he began speaking in a soft voice, which only got louder as he continued. "Great... so now I won't be able to see my family again! All of those dearest to me will have to go on with their afterlives, and not have to wait for me, because guess what? I ain't even welcome there, anymore!" Justin yelled the last sentence at the sky, trying to hide his expression from Celestia. She looked worriedly at him, who's arms were stretched out in the air, forming a "w" shape, until he fell onto the ground, curled his legs onto his chest, and cried, while his left arm wrapped over his knees, and his right arm was flatly perched on the ground.
Then, Celestia slowly trotted towards him, and wrapped her right wing over his back, which caused him to tense up at the contact, but he did nothing to refuse the warm feeling. When he looked up at her, he saw that she was crying with him. Seeing her crying only made him feel worse, yet better... almost like he didn't want to cry anymore, because seeing him cry was making her cry, which he never liked doing. In fact, it was normally against his nature to cause problems to begin with. Slowly, he stood back up, and smiled. "Thank you, Princess... I'm sorry that you saw me like this... I'm sure you're familiar with this kind of thing. Y'know, because you've lived for well over a thousand years, and all that."
Celestia raised an eyebrow at that statement, but shook her head, and replied, "Actually, this is something new to me. You see, after humanity died out, the Equines rose from the ashes, and maintained order, followed by the Dragons and the Gryphons rising from their hiding places. Soon we were given the ability to cast magic by the Tree of Harmony. With the powers we were given, my sister and I abolished death altogether, to keep tragedies like this from ruining our ways of Love and Tolerance. Slowly, life began to develop again." Then she sighed, and lowered her head. "If what you said is true about the show you watched, then we may be in dire need of your knowledge."
"What do you need me for, though? In case you haven't noticed, humans most likely aren't the most welcome things to appear from thin air, and with Princess Twilight being on the throne with her friends, I'm sure they don't need me, either!"
"That's just it, Justin," Celestia began, "none of those things have happened yet!"
Justin stared at her blankly. "Wait, what? What was the latest thing from the show that I told you about that happened?"
Celestia looked up, and replied, "The very beginning, actually... when Twilight rescued my sister."
"Dang! That early on?!" Justin thought to himself, to which Celestia nodded. "You can read minds, can't you?" Again, another nod.
"In fact," Celestia began, "if trained properly, all unicorns could read minds!" Well, that was something worth noting, Justin believed.
"So, how do I get out of this trance?" Justin asked, standing back up, and looking around.
Celestia looked at him confusedly. "It'll only stop when I leave, but I must ask," she cleared her throat, "how exactly are you going to escape, if I can't teleport you?"
Justin smiled, and replied, "Why don't you just create a portal that I can walk through? If you can't use magic directly towards me, why not try something indirectly? Worth a try, at least."
Suddenly, Celestia's eyes widened, while her jaw dropped. "And just why didn't I think of that?!" Then, she smiled. "I'm certain your thinking capabilities could be helpful, as well!"
With a nod, Justin replied, "Thank you, but I'd rather not risk losing my sanity trying to understand Unicorn knowledge. I'm sure y'all have me beat by eons of wisdom, by now!"
"Don't cut yourself short, Justin. Just you being able to describe what happened to the Elements, even going into more detail than they did, says enough about your intellect!" Justin nodded his head, while Celestia began to turn around.
Before Celestia could turn completely around, Justin held his right hand out, and asked, "Wait... will we still be able to communicate when I'm awake again?"
After a long sigh, Celestia shook her head, and replied, "I'm sorry, Justin... I do not know, but with your immunity to magic, I would highly doubt it."
Then, Justin asked, "Well... when I return to the real world, can you give me five minutes to find where I want the portal to be? I'd... like it to be placed close to my home, if that's okay."
Celestia stood there silently, before a small smile formed on her face. Then, she nodded her head, and replied, "Of course... and while you're there, I'll find a spot to put your portal, should you ever need to visit your hometown."
Justin smiled again, and nodded his head. "Thank you, Princess Celestia... I'm glad you're the one who's rules I woke up under, and not some evil Centaur named 'Tirek'." Celestia shuddered at that name, but she still nodded, enjoying the compliments she was receiving, almost like he were one of her closest friends.
"For the record, Justin, you don't have to address me as 'Princess', if it makes you feel easier. Just 'Celestia', or 'Tia' will do." Then, she cleared her throat. "Not that I'm really into being formal anyways..."
Before the conversation could continue, Justin slowly started to feel dizzy inside the strange room, as Celestia started to disappear into the light. When she was completely gone, Justin fell on his back, and soon he passed out again.
Slowly, Justin's eyes opened again. Whatever just happened must've been real, because as he woke up, he found himself on his bed again, but the room around him was still destroyed. "Wait a minute," Justin began, before feeling his chest, then his body. Sure enough, he was still human, and not some zombie-like undead creature, but he wasn't hungry anymore, and he certainly wasn't in any pain. He also felt in his pockets, and found his phone, his photo album in his wallet, and the recorder, which still played Ethan's music. Surely there must be something magic about his bed. "I must've died from that fall earlier!" Then, he smiled at the thought of at least being in the world he could only dream of being in. With a chuckle, he said, "And to think that it was where I was this whole time! ...Time..." Depression sunk in again, as he realized that his "time" would never come, and that he may never, no, will never see his family again. When the thoughts kicked in, he curled up, and cried for the five minutes Celestia promised him.
Chapter 3/3: A "Little" Misunderstanding.
Five Minutes Later...
When the five minutes were up, Justin was interrupted from his sobbing by the familiar sound of magic being cast by the show he watched. Then when he stood up, he saw a bright golden door materialize where the old wooden frame to his bedroom door stood, while the door frame was replaced with an equally golden colored frame. There wasn't anything holding it up, though, which Justin found odd, but after seeing the magic on the show, he decided just to go with it. Nothing seemed to add up anymore, so why bother asking questions that have no answer, anyways?
Slowly, Justin walked towards the door, knocked on it seven times, and waited for a response. Since he didn't hear an answer, he guessed that nothing could be heard from either side, since it was a portal, after all. With no other options available, Justin placed his hand on the doorknob, and slowly turned it. When the door opened, he was greeted by a bright light, which made him shield his eyes, before slowly stepping through the door, and into that light.
When he was able to open his eyes again, he was greeted by the sound of two gasps. Then, once his vision went back to normal, he realized that he wasn't the only one in the room he was in.
Staring wide-eyed at him, and standing one-third his height, was none other than Twilight Sparkle and Spike. Not only that, but he wasn't standing in Canterlot, (as he would've thought he would be in, due to the one casting the spell being Princess Celestia) but rather, in Twilight's bedroom, within the Golden Oak Library.
"S-sorry, lemme just... turn around, and... try another... door?!" Justin turned around, only to find that the door had vanished from behind him, which made him gulp, before slowly turning around at the lavender unicorn, who's horn started to glow. "W-wait! I can explain-"
He was cut off by Twilight screaming, "Run, Spike! We have an intruder in the library!"
Once she finished screaming that, Justin waved his hands defensively, before replying in a worried tone, "Twilight, listen to me! I'm telling the truth, I mean you no harm!"
Then, her horn shot a bright light towards Justin's chest, only for him to flinch, while the spell disappeared before it made contact with him. After the beam was no longer being shot, Twilight's eyes shot up. "H-how did you..." Then, she quickly fell to the ground, and backed into a nearby corner, while levitating a table down to barricade herself. "P-please, don't hurt me or Spike! We mean you no harm!"
Before he could respond to her cries for help, however, he was greeted by the window bashing open, and a rainbow blur literally knocking him into a wall, and tearing him through it, followed by a few more, until he was pushed into the center of the town square, where he was then slammed into the fountain in the center of Ponyville. The commotion caused a large group of ponies to look at the source of the destruction.
When the dust of the impact cleared, Rainbow Dash glared at Justin, while yelling, "Nopony hurts my friends!"
After coughing a few times, Justin stood back up, almost unscathed by the impact, which made Rainbow Dash's eyes widen. Then, after giving a long sigh, Justin replied, "First of all, Rainbow Dash, I wasn't even expecting to enter Twilight's home. Second of all, I think you should've just pulled me out of the window if you thought I was a threat, instead of cause damage like this. Third, and this one's final, where did Princess Celestia go?"
Rainbow Dash blinked a few times, before her glare came back. "What the hay?! How did you know my name, and Twilight's?! And while I'm at it..." She looked him up and down. "How in Equestria are you still standing?!" Then, she tilted her head. "Also... what in Equestria are you?!"
Justin was about to answer her questions, until a rope caught him by the waist, and once more, he was flying into the air, only this time, he landed face-first into a cage, which was instantly shut, and locked, by the unicorn of fashion herself, Rarity, while the rope was held by the famous cowpony, Applejack.
"Oh, come on! Why in the heck do y'all think I'm here to attack... ah, crap..." Justin began, before he turned towards the entrance of the cage, which had a barrel-looking device that was being held by none other than the normally happy bundle of joy, Pinkie Pie. Of course, her mane wasn't poofy at this time, and she certainly wasn't smiling. In fact, if he didn't know any better, Justin could tell right away that Pinkie Pie was in her "Avoid me at all costs" type of mood... the same kind of mood she was in when she was trying to celebrate Gummy's After-Birthday Party... or rather, the same mood she'll be in when it happens. Standing next to her was Fluttershy, who was giving him "The Stare", which had the same effect on him as when he saw it on the Show... absolutely nothing. (Must've been the fact that he's a Human, which is naturally familiar with chaos, the likes of which would even put Discord to shame.) His fear was coming from the infamous "Party Cannon", instead.
Then, before he could say another word, Twilight teleported into the crowd, and joined with her friends, while carrying the purple box that contained the "Elements of Harmony", and placing it on the ground, through levitation magic. "I'm sure the princess will understand why these were delayed!" She said, while turning to face a guard who was apparently in charge of delivering the box to Canterlot. He gave her a salute, while stepping back, and allowing the mares to do their work.
"Really?! Y'all are gonna use the freakin' Elements of Harmony on me?!" Justin asked, starting to get annoyed at the situation. Then, he sighed in defeat, and fell onto his knees, and closed his eyes. "Fine, then... go ahead and put me out of my misery... it's not like I have anything to lose anymore, anyways!"
That statement, however, caused the box to stop floating towards Twilight and the others, while the ponies gathered around stared at the odd creature speaking their language, and began to wonder what he meant by "not having anything to lose anymore".
"Wait... what are you talking about? And how do you know about the Elements?!" Twilight asked, now trotting closer to Justin. He looked up to her, and revealed the tear marks that stained his dusty cheeks.
"Well, where to begin? I guess I should say that I'm... not from around here. Heck, I ain't even from this time! I was supposed to be dead around a hundred thousand years ago!"
"Wait... dead a hundred thousand years ago?!" A high-pitched voice in the background asked. The voice belonged to a mare, who slowly trotted towards Justin, ignoring any comments from behind her. "Why does that number sound so... familiar?!" The mint-colored mare known as Lyra asked.
Justin weakly smiled, while replying, "Well let me ask you this, Lyra Heartstrings... what is the one creature you seem to be most fascinated about, that grew extinct the same number of years as that specific number?" At once, her eyes shot up, while he nodded his head. "I can tell from that look you're giving me that you have a question... but to answer that question, I'll just go on ahead and say it. Yes I am, indeed, a human." Before any more questions could be asked, she already fainted, greatly amazed by this breakthrough in her research. Many ponies from the crowd began chatting back and forth, asking about this "human" that they've "captured". Some of them asked if "it" was dangerous, to which he overheard, but decided not to answer, since he was focusing on how to survive this ordeal.
Finally, Twilight turned to Applejack, who was staring wide-eyed at his revelation. Applejack, in turn, looked at Twilight, and nodded, while saying, "H-he... he's tellin' the truth!" At once, the entire group of ponies gasped.
Twilight, however, was still not convinced. There must've been a reason why the "humans" were extinct, and unheard of by the princess. In fact, from the stories she did hear from the books, she already knew that his kind ate meat, so he could be dangerous to the ponies in Ponyville, if unable to control his "instinct". Taking no time to lose, however, she still wanted to test him, and see if he really was a human, and not some other creature from the Everfree, hunting the ponies, and resembling a human. If he were really a human, then he should have an answer as to why he's here. Heck, he could even be a spy! Clearing her throat, she looked him in the eyes, and asked, "If you really are a human, then answer me this... how is it that the human race is considered 'extinct' in every single book about them, and yet you stand here, alive?!" This caught the attention of the other five mares, who glared at him again, most likely wondering the same thing.
Justin sighed, unable to keep his cool any longer. Perhaps getting blasted by the Elements could do something for him, after all. Maybe, if it doesn't kill him, it could at least send him back to that bed of his in Diamond Heights? He didn't want to have to do this, since it's against his nature completely, but after the crap that they were giving him, he had to find a way to antagonize them, and make them blast him. Coming up with an idea, he shrugged his shoulders, before replying, "I don't know... but if you don't mind..." he pointed towards the purple box. "I'd like to be killed now, so that I can return to my kind, already! Heck, I'd be surprised if y'all manage to do it! That would actually prove Celestia wrong about something... and from what I can tell... she isn't right about everything, as you all will find out someday." He decided to skip the details of Twilight's brother's upcoming wedding, but throw in the detail of Queen Chrysalis actually managing to fool Celestia about "Princess Cadence."
This comment, of course, infuriated Twilight to the point where she literally teleported the necklaces on her friends, and the crown on her head. The others appeared to be infuriated by that statement, as they all had glares on their faces. In fact, the whole town gave an audible gasp.
In the matter of seconds, the Element Bearers circled the cage, and the familiar rainbow aura circled between the necklaces, before ending at the crown. As soon as it landed on the crown's jewel at the top, Twilight opened her eyes, which were glowing pure white, before a rainbow shot from the crown itself, and landed on Justin, burning the area around him, and even melting the cage.
When the ten seconds of rainbow-powered destruction finished, the entire crowd gasped when they witnessed the events. Even the Mane 6 couldn't believe what happened next. Justin stood up from the dust that used to be the cage, and smiled. "Looks like that did the trick! Now, then... to prove I ain't a threat, watch this!" Justin stepped forward, towards Twilight, while she stepped back a few steps, until she bumped into the well. Her friends at that point were too drained to do anything, so they watched in horror as the human moved towards Twilight, while they motioned for her to run. Then, Justin walked around her, and sat next to the well, and just looked up at the sky, in the direction Canterlot was rested on.
The entire town just stared at him, wondering what he was doing, until a bright light shone from the dark sky, and at once, the well-known Princess of the Sun, Celestia, could be seen from the distance. She was flying towards the town, more specifically, where Justin was, while the entire town looked up at their princess, and bowed their heads respectfully, including the Mane 6.
When she landed on the ground level, she trotted over to Justin, who stood from the well, and walked towards her to meet her halfway. He then noticed that he even towered over Celestia by one foot, which made him wonder if he might've grown taller over the years. Even so, he smiled, and bowed his head respectfully, while saying in a casual manner, "Glad you made it, Tia!"
This caused Twilight to glare at him, followed by the other five, who quickly regained their energy, dashed between the two, and got into a battle position before he could do anything to their Princess. Twilight then said in a tone as cold as her glare, "How dare you speak to the princess that way, you... you..."
Before she could find anything to call him, Justin merely sighed, and motioned his right hand towards them, while saying to Celestia, "See? This is what I meant by 'humans aren't gonna be taken lightly'!"
Twilight was about to retort to his tone he gave Celestia, until Celestia's answer caused her eyes to widen, as she and the others turned towards their princess. With a sigh, Celestia said, "I know, Justin... I'm sorry. I didn't expect the door on your side of the portal to lead to... wherever it was that you went in."
"Twilight's bedroom." Justin said, which made Twilight look back and forth between the two.
Then, the two of them lightly giggled, ignoring the stares they were getting. "It looks like I will have to fix that later, then!" Celestia said, gaining a nod from Justin.
Finally, after confusion overflowed her system, Twilight asked, "Hold on! Can somepony please explain just what in Equestria is going on?!"
"Isn't it obvious?" Justin asked. "I'm a human, I was frozen in time, woke up, and..." after stopping himself from saying anything else, his small hint of a smile was replaced with a hurt expression. Slowly, he looked at Celestia, and asked, "Can you make a portal to the other one again, please? I... I think it's best that I just show you all where I've been this whole time."
With a nod, Celestia placed a golden door in the middle of the group, which was balanced on a stone pillar that appeared with the door. Then, Justin opened the door, and confirmed to the others that it was the right one. After his confirmation, the seven mares and baby dragon followed the human into his house, unaware of what lied ahead.
Diamond Heights Ruins...
When the group stepped through the doorway, they gasped at the place that they were standing in. The entire scenery went from a colorful darkness to a darkness that could even strike fear in Discord himself... once he turns reformed, that is. Justin turned around, and sat on his old bed, while patting on the pillow. "This... this is where I woke up." Then, he pointed at the door frame, and said, "That door wasn't there, until I passed out in that house over there." Justin pointed to the farthest house in the road that led from his house to the end of the town.
With his permission, the group of mares looked around the place, asking proper questions about what the things were they picked up, while Justin gave them proper answers. Finally, the one question that sunk into Justin's heart came into play.
"Why isn't there anypony else here?" Twilight asked. "Clearly you must have a family somewhere, right?" At that, Justin sighed, and shook his head. This made Twilight's eyes shoot open, while she asked, "W-wait, what?! What happened to them?!"
At that point, Justin pulled out his recorder, and played the message from his brother, Ethan. As the music played, the ponies seemed mesmerized by the music that played in the background. When the song finished, Justin asked, "So... what was the song about, exactly?"
With a small delay, Twilight asked, "S... sleeping?" Slowly, Justin nodded. "B-but... what does that have to do with your family, though?!"
Then, Justin pulled his phone out, turned it on, and played the last message, from his brother Tyler. After hearing it, the ponies started feeling nervous about what he meant by 'if Ethan, mom, and dad were still around'. "What did he mean by that?" Twilight asked.
Justin, now starting to grow tired of avoiding speaking the answer, decided to give in, and answer it in question form. "Tell me, Twilight... how would you feel... heck, how would any of you feel, if you decided to take a seemingly harmless nap, only to wake up one hundred thousand years into the future, and realize that everyone you knew, everyone you loved, everyone in your entire family, no, your entire race, is dead?!" His sudden outburst caused the ponies to step back, and gasp at the statement, save for Celestia, who only looked down, with her eyes closed, already witnessing the torment that this man has been through.
"D-dead?! W-what do you mean? How did they die, though?!" Twilight asked, now realizing the impact that this human was going through.
Justin sighed, ignoring the tears that covered his face again, and replied, "I don't think you get it, Twilight. The time I fell asleep, I stayed asleep. Humans, no, everything back then grew old, most likely like they do now. What happens, though, when they got too old? Didn't those books tell you about that?!" Twilight shook her head, while looking down, with her eyes closed. Justin nodded, having a feeling she got the picture at that point. "They died, Twilight! And you know who it was that died, while I only lied in this bed, and slept through it?! My mom! My dad! My brothers! My friends! How would you, Twilight Sparkle, feel? How would any of you feel, if it were you who had to go through this? And furthermore, how would you feel if you were being treated the same way y'all treated me?!"
Before he could get a response, Celestia said, "Enough, Justin! You've made your point!" Justin looked down at the ponies who were all faced down, and crying at the entire situation. This, of course, made Justin sigh, and fall to the ground again, joining them in the tear-fest, before looking at his own hands. Here he was, yelling at the ponies from one of his favorite TV Shows, while they merely tried protecting their own kind, and did what seemed necessary to save their friend.
He looked back up to them, and weakly smiled. He had an idea that would hopefully work, and shed some light on this situation. Clearing his throat, he waved his right hand, and said, "Hello, everypony." His change in tone quickly got their attention. "My name is Justin Daniels... I'm new to Ponyville, and was wondering if y'all could show me around town?"
They looked at him and, for a split second, must've thought that he was going crazy, until they realized what was going on. He was trying to start over, and cheer them up at the same time. With a smile, they agreed to play along, while the group walked through the golden door, which Celestia first corrected to take them into the pillar that she created recently. While going through, they were properly introducing themselves, while Justin even listened to Pinkie Pie ramble on, as her mane turned it's trademark "Poofed Up" style back on. Even though he couldn't quite understand all of what she said, he managed to surprise the others when he revealed that he could still understand most of her "Sped-Up Language".
Back in Ponyville, One Hour Later...
After going through a long process of convincing the town that Justin was not a threat, the Mane 6 introduced themselves properly, while Justin explained to them how he knew about them, although he left out all details of the episodes, stating that he would merely try his best to help them through the events that took place in those episodes, should they truly be on the verge of happening.
Celestia decreed that a house be built for Justin, only for Twilight to object, and state that she had a spare bed that Justin was more than happy to use. Justin, of course, accepted that offer, not mentioning that she was secretly his favorite character of them all in the TV Show. He also learned that his thoughts were safe, due to them being unable to read his mind, due to his "Anti-Magic" situation, which he also explained to them.
Eventually, the entire crowd died down, leaving Justin, Twilight, and Spike, who seemed to still appear to be feeling sympathetic for Justin, standing in front of the Golden Oak Library. After a long yawn, Spike decided to hide his sympathy, but patted Justin's right thigh, and welcomed him to his new home. Twilight, of course, looked at Justin, and gave him a hug before he could say anything. He looked at her confusedly, until she said, "I'm so sorry... if I had known, I would never have-"
Before she could finish her sentence, she felt an odd new feeling in her mane... though it wasn't even remotely unpleasant. Justin gently petted her mane with his hand, while replying, "It's alright, Twilight... I'm sorry I had to put y'all through such a dark subject..." Then, he smiled, and asked, "By the way... I was wondering about that book, 'Daring Do'..."
At that statement, Twilight's eyes shot up, while she looked up at him, and asked, unable to hide the amazement in her voice, "W-wait! You like to read?!" With a coy smile, Justin nodded, which led to him being dragged inside the great tree via levitating rope behind him. "W-well sure! Which one would you like to read first?"
With a small chuckle, Justin replied, "I think I'll start with the first one. I like reading books in chronological order, to avoid confusion later on in the story."
"Really?! So do I!" Twilight chuckled, before opening the door that led to a larger room with books in it.
"Wow! This... may actually be the start of a whole new friendship! I mean, we have more in common than I thought!" Justin said, while Twilight turned her head to him, and nodding.
"Well, while I know that your arrival might've been... unwelcoming, to say the least... I agree! I think you might be right, after all. This could be a whole new level of friendship for the both of us!" With another chuckle, she turned her head, but froze in place. Her smile quickly died down when she spotted two holes in the main library room; the holes Rainbow Dash made, when she did her "Rescue" stunt on Justin. At once, her coat started to turn red, while smoke literally started to fume from her nostrils.
Spike quickly pulled Justin out of the entrance of the room, and said, "This would be a good time to take cover!" Justin, aware of what could happen when Twilight gets angry, did as he was told, and hid next to Spike behind a fallen table.
Before he could get a good view of the scenery, Justin suddenly saw a huge burst of fire fly past the table, as Twilight yelled in a demonic-sounding roar, "RAINBOW DASH!" Seeing the fires made him believe that a very famous Evolution has just taken place. Even so, he suddenly found himself laughing again, which he doubted he would ever be able to do anymore.
Later That Night...
When Justin was lying in bed, he heard the soft snores coming from Twilight Sparkle, who slept on the opposite end of the room. He smiled when he saw her sleeping, as he thought to himself, "Wow... who'd have thought I'd be crashing with Twilight Sparkle? In the freakin' flesh?!" Then, his eyes averted towards the window, where he looked up in the sky, and gave a weak smile. "Hey, everyone... I'm sorry for not speaking to y'all. I'm pleased to report that I've finally woken up... and I don't need to worry about being alone, anymore." He turned towards Twilight, and sighed, while holding his smile in place. "I might've found a new goal in my life... to protect the friends I could only dream of having." Then, he gently placed his head on his pillow, and closed his eyes, as the nightmares created from his conscience faded, and was replaced with the happy memories he had with his family and friends, from the life he left in, what felt like, just two days ago. Sure, he may not see them ever again, but there was still something that brought his troubled mind at ease. A lesson he learned long ago, which has been brought up multiple times to calm him down.
Even though he couldn't see them, that doesn't entirely mean that they weren't watching over him, at least.
And with that thought in mind, he was finally able to rest easy.
