Prologue: Preparation Night.
One Week Ago...
"Rarity, are you sure that this is necessary?" Justin asked, with his arms stretched out, as countless rolls of measuring tape hovered around him. He was in his underwear, and his cheeks burnt red, while Rarity jotted down hundreds, if not thousands, of notes, describing his measurements. Silently he muttered to himself, "And here I thought Twilight had a bad habit of taking too much notes!"
As he expected, Rarity rolled her eyes, and then replied, "Oh hush now, darling! You know good and well that it is vital for you to look your best, especially when it comes to Dating!" Then she grinned at him. "And to be honest, I had to explain the same thing to Twilight and the others, earlier!"
Justin nodded, and replied, "I know... I was there..." Of course, he was referring to the time when he impressed his whole group of friends with his knowledge of the "Suited For Success" incident that happened three days ago. He wasn't even there most of the time during the second show, but he did help Spike with the computer-related tasks. He thanked Celestia that the use of computers here wasn't as different as back in his days... and that they even had computers to begin with.
Two days before the first show, or thirteen days ago, he even learned that they had video games, most of which were far more different than the ones he played long ago. One game, however, caught his attention... "Minecraft".
At first he doubted it would be the same, but once he tried creating a new account with the same account he had long ago, he realized that the name had already been taken. Shrugging his shoulders, he typed his name in. The next thing he knew, he was not only the only human in Equestria, but also the only "Steve" in Minecraft, even having the same skin and model that he had before.
Occasionally, he would meet up online with the character who went by the name, "Button Mash". The minute Button saw Justin, he started talking non-stop about games with him, and asking him countless questions about video games that Justin grew up playing. Justin, of course, happily spoke for hours with him, explaining the games that were similar to those nowadays, as well as the differences... until Twilight ended up "forcing" him off of the computer... by unplugging it, since he was staying up way too late, which distracted her from her "sleep", which in her case, would be reading a book, and planning the plans for the next day.
Finally, when he was about to give up hope for freedom, Rarity gleefully stated, "Alright, darling! I think these will do, for now!" Hearing those words was like music to Justin's ears. With a loud cheer, he ran towards his clothes, which were rested on the table close to the door that exited the fitting room. Before he could reach them, however, they floated away from him, much to his disapproval.
"What the- Rarity! What in the world are you doing?!" He asked, now feeling slightly annoyed.
Rarity smiled, and replied, "Just testing you, dear! Please calm down, or you might end up burning the entire building to the ground!" Hearing that caused Justin's eyes to widen, and as soon as the realization hit him, he stared at his right hand. Sure enough, a ball of fire was starting to form, which made Justin smile sheepishly, before calming himself with depressing thoughts again.
Then he scratched the back of his neck, and said, "Sorry, Rares... I'm probably gonna have to practice my self-control a lot more, huh?"
Rarity shrugged, before floating his clothes back to him. "Well, considering you were able to control it rather well, I think you should focus more on finding out when your anger is getting the better of you, so that it can be concealed more efficiently!" Justin nodded, before slipping his clothes back on... but when he was about to step out of the door, he got popped in the head by a roll of silk, while Rarity huffed, "And what did I tell you about calling me 'Rares'?"
Justin grinned slyly, before replying, "Looks like I've got you beat on 'Control', at least!" After saying that, he stuck his tongue out, while running away from the building, right as a large group of silk chased him across the streets... along with a random broom and mop that happened to levitate when he ran past them.
"Pinkie Pie... you owe me BIG time for this!" Justin grumbled to himself, as he stood behind a closed curtain, blindfolded. From the other side, he could hear an audience beginning to cheer, as Pinkie Pie called his name.
When he stepped out of the closed curtain and removed the blindfold, his eyes widened when he saw a young foal who was dressed like him. The foal cheered his name once he stepped out of the curtain, and at once, his thoughts turned back to what he was there for... he was requested to be a special guest for a foal's birthday party, which Pinkie Pie planned for. Apparently he won himself a fan while saving Ponyville from the Figment a little less than a month ago.
With a smile, Justin lowered himself to one knee, and said, "Why hello there, big fella!"
The foal looked at him confusedly, and asked, "Big? But... you're bigger than me, Mr. Justin!"
Justin chuckled lightly, before gently patting the foal's mane. "Maybe in height, yes! But from what your parents told me, you're the most important one here! I'm talking about big, as in importance."
Again, the foal looked at him with a confused expression. "I don't see what you mean there... aren't you the one who saved us all? Doesn't that make you the most important?"
Justin shook his head, and replied, "Of course not!" He looked at the foal's parents, who appeared to have forced smiles on their faces... clearly they weren't too fond of the child being so close to a creature who can still manage to kill something. "Let's see here... you've been around for how many years?"
The foal replied, "Four."
Justin's eyes widened, while he gasped. "Four years?! Wow, that's a lot of days!"
With a chuckle, the foal replied, "Not that much, though! I'm still just a foal!"
Then Justin raised a finger, and went, "Ah, but you're still older than many other foals out there! Tell me... how many days are there in a year?"
The foal replied, "Two hundred and forty eight!"
Justin nodded, and replied, "Two hundred and... wait, what?!"
This time, it was Justin who stared confusedly at the foal. "How do you figure that?"
"There's four months in a year! Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter! Throughout each month, there's Sixty-Two days!"
"Wow, things have gotten much more different than I remember!" Justin thought to himself, before regaining his smile. "Alright, then! You take that into account, and multiply that by four, and what do you get?"
Instantly, the foal replied, "Nine Hundred, and Ninety-Two!"
Justin tilted his head, unable to believe what he was hearing. "Holy crap... are ALL Unicorns born as freakin' Einsteins?!"
Then the foal's eyes lit up. "Wait... so I'm that many days old?!"
Justin smiled, and nodded his head. "See? When you look at the bigger numbers in the smaller picture, you're much more older than you think!"
While pointing his finger at the foal's parents, who seemed to appear to be warming up to him, Justin said, "Aren't they your parents?"
The foal looked at them, and nodded. "Yes, sir!"
"Well... I think you should know that one day, they might be a little too old to handle things on their own... perhaps you should help them any time they need you, no matter how small the task may seem! Tell me... what's your least favorite chore that they ask you to do?"
The foal groaned, and replied, "Cleaning my room..."
Justin chuckled, then replied, "Well, that one is easy, and it can benefit you in the long-run, as well! While it might look like it's difficult to do, if you keep on doing it, you'll probably end up stronger than most of the other fillies and foals out there, thanks to the heavy lifting!" The foal was about to reply, until Justin brought up a point that caught him by surprise. "Did you know that your parents most likely had to clean their rooms when they were little, too?"
The foal shook his head, and replied, "No, sir... but how do you know that?"
Justin shrugged his shoulders, and replied, "Well, it would seem obvious to me! After all... I also had to clean my room countless times!"
The foal's eyes widened even more. "No way!"
"And eventually, I was so accustomed to it, that I even cleaned the whole house! And this was when I was about your age, too! Even younger, in fact!"
The foal smiled, and hopped up and down. "Wow! And you cleaned your whole house by yourself?!"
Justin nodded his head again. "So tell me... if your hero can do it, then so can you! I can't be the hero for everypony out there... so how about you be your family's hero, instead?"
The foal cheered, and nodded his head. "Don't worry, Mr. Justin! I won't let you down!"
Justin pointed at him, and added, "Or your parents, right?" The foal nodded his head, and ran back to his parents, with a smile on his face.
Then Justin walked up to the three, and bowed his head politely. "I'm sure your foal will be happy to help you both out around the house more often, now... you're welcome."
The parents were about to question him, until their foal tapped on the mother's legs, gaining the father's attention first. "Excuse me, mama! When we get home, may I borrow a trash bag? I have a lot of garbage in my room that I need to throw out!"
That statement caused the foal's mom to open her eyes widely, while she looked from Justin to the foal. When she looked towards Justin again, one of her eyebrows raised in confusion when she saw that Justin was no longer there.
"Alright... Measurements? Check! Birthday Party? Check! Up next, we have... ah, crap." Justin told himself, as he walked through the bright streets of Ponyville, holding a small white scroll in his hands with a list of things he had planned to do to help out around the town. "Bunny Gathering..."
"Angel! I told you already, I don't want things to get messy!" Justin yelled, as the white 'Demon Rabbit' hopped away from Justin every time he got close to him. "You are needed to help out, while Fluttershy tends to the birds!"
Angel merely stuck his tongue out, and raspberried, much to Justin's annoyance.
"Don't make me mad, Angel! You don't want this house to get burnt down, do you?!" Justin glared, as he began to feel something burning in his hands.
Looking down, he noticed that his hands were starting to get engulfed in a flame, which caused Angel's eyes to widen. When Justin was about to say something, a few twigs from around the house started to catch flames, and spread rapidly. Finally, Justin managed to douse a couple of the flames out with his, now fire-less, hands, before looking at Angel. "Alright, rabbit! Temporary truce, now get us some water!"
Angel nodded, before rushing out of the door, carrying a metal bucket over his head.
Justin, at this point, started stomping fires out from the ground, while clapping the fires from the branches on the walls and ceiling. To his surprise, the fires didn't burn him when he touched the fires... which was one of the thoughts he was curious about earlier.
Finally, Angel ran inside the house carrying a bucket of water, which Justin picked up, and threw over a bit of fire. In a flash of steam, the fire that the water landed on was gone. "Good, now we need more!"
Angel nodded, and was about to take the bucket, until Justin's eyes caught the sight of something outside the front window. "Is that a... water hose?!"
Angel looked the other side, and nodded his head. "Did you... fill this up with it?" Another nod. "THEN WHY THE HECK DIDN'T YOU JUST BRING ME THE HOSE, THEN?!"
Angel glared at him, and raspberried again, before running out of the house, and carrying the hose inside. "Good! Now, I need you to run and turn it on!" Angel was about to shake his head no, until Justin added, "Unless you'd rather live in the Everfree Forest, instead... I hear there's a nice little Hydra out there, waiting for its next meal! Perhaps some 'Rabbit Stew' would help?"
Finally, Angel's ears perked up, and in the matter of seconds, he ran towards the nozzle, and twisted it on. When the water came pouring from the hose, Justin managed to put all the flames out in the matter of seconds. "Alright, Angel! Turn 'er off!" A few seconds later, the hose was no longer on.
Justin looked around, and realized a slight flaw with his plan at that moment. When Angel walked into the room, he, too, had a wide-eyed expression. The entire house was completely soaked to the core. The two of the "firefighters" looked at each other, and after a moment of silence, Justin asked, "So... do you know where a mop is?"
"Measurements... Check... Party... Check... Rabbits... Check... Apologize to Fluttershy for using one as a mop..." Justin looked behind his back, and saw Fluttershy tending to Angel, who was covered in a large towel, acting cold while he was soaked to the core, until he saw Justin, and glared at him, while sticking his tongue out. "...Stupid rabbit had it coming..." Then he looked back at his list. "...Anyways..." Justin stopped when he reached the center of the road that led to Ponyville. He was covered in water at this time, due to the lack of mops and towels, and had to use his own clothing in their place.
With a sigh of relief, Justin said, "Done! Now I just need to get back to The Golden Oak Library, and... oh, COME ON!" He said to himself, as he saw a rainbow blur headed straight towards him.
"LOOK OUT BELOW!" Rainbow Dash shouted, but by the time Justin could even think of reacting, she was already right up there in his face.
In the blink of an eye, Justin was flung into a tree... all the way in Sweet Apple Acres. When he landed on the bottom of it, all the apples in it fell on the ground, with a few hitting him on the top of the head.
Looking downwards, Justin glared at Rainbow Dash, and said, "Rainbow Dash! What the heck are you even doing?! Didn't you know a crash like that could kill you?!"
Rainbow Dash's cheeks turned pink when she realized where she landed, before she nodded her head, and flew off of his chest. "Y-yeah... sorry about that! I was just practicing a new flying trick... but I guess I overdid it!"
Justin smirked, before replying, "Just guessing that might be overdoing it, as well!"
With a glare, Rainbow Dash huffed, "Well, what do you expect?! The Grand Galloping Gala is just a week away! I've gotta be ready, or I may never achieve my lifelong dream of joining the Wonderbolts!"
While shrugging his shoulders, Justin replied, "Alright! Just please... don't practice too high in the sky, or you might achieve something worse than a dream!"
After a few moments of silence, Rainbow Dash sighed, and replied, "Oh, alright! I'll practice the moves I already know, then! But don't think that I'll keep crashing into you! That might ruin my reputation!"
Justin smirked, then asked, "What, landing on someone who's already popular?" That statement caused Rainbow Dash's cheeks to turn pink, before she glared, and flew off.
"Okay... so I should remember not to make Rainbow Dash angry... I'll put that on my list." Justin said to himself, as he walked away from a crater that rested in the center of the fields away from Ponyville. "Not that it hurt, or anything... but I'm guessing that she'll need to cool off for a while." He looked up, and saw Rainbow Dash glaring at him from the top of her cloud house. When he was under it, she launched a lightning bolt behind him, which caused him to get slightly jolted, but with the water all over his clothes, it intensified, causing him to get covered in black smoke. Of course, since he was Undead, he was unaffected by the pain, and merely walked onward, as if nothing happened.
"Well, the next stop is- OOF!" Justin began, until he bumped into an obstacle, which caused tons of papers to fly in the air. When Justin looked around to see who he accidentally bumped into, he gasped, and replied, "Oh, crud! Sorry, Spike! Are you alright?!"
Spike stood up, and chuckled lightly. "Oh, hey Justin! Yeah, I'm fine! I was just carrying these papers to Rarity! She said she needs to draw some patterns for a special suit she's working on!"
With a nod, Justin started placing the papers into Spike's arms, only to realize that the stacks of paper literally towered over him.
"Here, let me help you!" Justin said, halving the stack for Spike, and carrying the other half in his own hands, hovering close to his chest, but away to avoid the papers getting wet. "I may need to get my clothes dried while I'm there, too!"
With a hearty smile, Spike replied, "Really? Thanks, Justin! Now I can see where I'm going!" Then he paused for a moment, and asked, "Say, Justin! What happened to you, anyways?!"
Justin shrugged, then replied, "Oh, it's a long story... anyways, we should be off, now. You don't want to keep a lady waiting, right?" As he asked that, Spike chuckled, before shaking his head.
Then the two of them walked towards The Carousel Boutique, where they chatted about what they've been up to lately. Of course, the first thing they talked about was the day Justin saved their fashion show, which could've ruined their chances of going to the Grand Galloping Gala.
Ten Days Ago...
"So let me get this straight... you were all too picky about what dress y'all wanted, and ended up embarrassing Rarity by showing up in some sort of Fashion Show with a group of designs that she didn't necessarily approve of?"
The group of mares nodded in disappointment, as Justin asked them the question. Rubbing his chin with his right finger and thumb, his eyes began to glow blue, which gave him back his memories of most of the episode's events that took place just mere hours ago. The difference, of course, was that he was working the technical details in the background, and couldn't see any of the show in the end.
Then he smiled, and said, "Alright, then! Here's what we'll do! Twilight!" He pointed at Twilight Sparkle, who stared at him confusedly, mostly about the temporary glowing eyes. "You're the only expert of Magic around here. Because of that, you need to teleport Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and yourself into Rarity's boutique tonight, while she's asleep. No doubt she'll be done locking herself inside her house by then."
Before anyone could ask why, Justin pointed to Applejack, and added, "AJ, I need you to keep Hoity Toity inside Ponyville's boundaries at all costs!" Applejack nodded her head, and rushed towards the train station, leaving Rainbow Dash wondering what she was needed for. "Rainbow, you might want to get some claw-proof mitts ready."
Rainbow raised an eyebrow, then asked, "Wait, why are you telling us to do these things, all of a sudden?"
Justin looked back towards Twilight, who appeared to be wondering the same thing. "I just know this kind of situation, okay? I can't explain it any more clearer than 'I just know'. And Twilight, I bet you're wondering why I'm asking you to bring Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie with you, right?" Twilight nodded her head. "Rarity has a dress she needs to finish for herself... but with the huge load of requests y'all gave her, she had no time to get it done, so she had to put it off. No doubt her design is still on the desk where she usually makes them."
Twilight interrupted him by saying, "Whoa, hold on! I hate to break it to you, but... Rarity's the only pony here who can even classify for a fashionesta, though! I doubt if any of us could even work a sewing machine!"
At that statement, Justin shook his head, and replied, "Not quite... Fluttershy!" He said, which caused her to give an audible squeak at her name being called. "I know that you and Rarity get along like bread and butter. Also, I know that you care for animals for a living. No doubt you've managed to pick up some sewing techniques from Rarity, since you would need to know how to sew or stitch a bandage up for the injured animals... and a few shirts and scarfs for the animals who can't handle the Winter. Am I right?"
The ponies all looked at Fluttershy, who's cheeks were turning rose red. "H-how did you..." She began, only for Justin to tilt his head, not giving a threatening face, but a friendly one, while expressing that he was waiting for an answer. Finally, Fluttershy merely nodded her head.
"Okay, then... but what about Pinkie Pie?" Twilight asked, also as confused as Fluttershy was about him knowing Fluttershy's "Hidden Sewing Skills".
"Simple!" Justin began, while pointing at Pinkie Pie, who began bouncing up and down, smiling widely because he was pointing at her next. "Pinkie Pie plans parties, of course! With that kind of natural talent, she obviously has an eye for details!" He looked at Pinkie Pie and grinned, asking, "Right, Pinkie?"
Pinkie Pie nodded her head, and began giggling, before saying, "He's right! I DO have an eye for details!" As soon as she said that, she put on a detective hat, and held a magnifying glass up to one of her eyes, causing Justin to get an odd feeling that he might end up seeing it again at some point in time.
"Alright then, everypony! Let's get started, because we've got a friend who needs us!" Justin stated, while the group headed towards the Carousel Boutique.
One Day Ago...
A figure in a pitch black hood stood over a crystal ball, which had a picture of Justin sleeping in the bed Twilight gave him. Around this figure, there was nothing but darkness for miles away.
"So, I see one of our own has decided to join the ponies?" The figure said in a voice that sounded slightly like an old man's. "Very well, then... four will be enough to handle a single one!"
A female's voice spoke from behind the figure. The female's voice had a slightly echoed sound to it as she spoke. "It doesn't matter how many of us are there against him, Tirek... if he truly is the last of our kind, then he could easily defeat us, without even knowing how he did it!"
Tirek glared, then turned his head towards the female, before replying in an annoyed tone, "And just what makes you think that I don't know that?!" He sighed, then turned his head back to the crystal ball. "Chrysalis... why don't you go on ahead and prepare your army for us? No doubt they itch for a good meal, right?"
Chrysalis nodded her head, then replied, "Yes, I suppose the time draws near... how long would you recommend that we wait, though?"
"One month." Tirek stated, before lifting a light blue orb in his right hand. Then he placed it on the crystal ball, which revealed the wedding of Shining Armor and Princess Cadence.
Chrysalis's eyes widened, before she smiled slyly. "I see you managed to take the memories from your brother! Well done, Tirek!"
Tirek huffed, before replying, "I only managed to take a select few... but at least that select few were the ones that I needed... but the memories have been enchanted, too... when the time comes, Justin will also know what to expect, and they will disappear from our grasp!"
Chrysalis nodded her head, and replied, "I, too, am aware of that... which is why I plan to attack early... while our third remains in his stone prison."
Tirek smirked, before the crystal ball changed pictures, revealing the Statue of Discord resting inside the Canterlot Gardens. "Indeed... and when he's free, we may be able to move to the next step even earlier." The crystal ball changed again, revealing a hooded figure sitting in the center of a blue stone circle, with red shackles around his arms and legs, which were skeletal. He was shaped like a human skeleton, and his body was covered in a pitch black robe.
"We shall revive our master... and take this world over..." His crystal ball lit up, revealing countless stars within the pitch black area that they were in. "And following that... the entire universe."
Chrysalis smiled, and then said, "Alright, then... well, good luck with that plan, Tirek! I have an army to train, though. Until we meet again, farewell."
Tirek nodded his head, while Chrysalis disappeared in a green flame. From another corner of the room, a shadowy man's voice spoke. "You know that she won't succeed... she's only the first of us five, which makes her the weakest of us all."
With a light chuckle, Tirek replied, "I know, Sombra... I just don't think Chrysalis knows, however. That's why I'm letting her march herself into an agonizing defeat."
Chapter 1: The Train Ride!
Ponyville, Morning of the Grand Galloping Gala...
Justin groaned as he lied peacefully in bed, while constantly being assaulted by pillows and random furniture. "Wake up, Justin! We're gonna be late!" Twilight complained, as the pillows continued their full-on assault.
Again Justin groaned, before replying, "C'mon, Twilight! Five more minutes!"
"But Justin! Five minutes, and the train will leave!"
This caused Justin's eyes to shoot open, while he jumped out of bed, and worriedly asked, "W-wait, REALLY?!"
This caused Twilight to burst into laughter, while Justin sighed, and looked out of the window. He then realized that Celestia hasn't even raised the sun yet. "Twilight... what time is it?"
Twilight replied, "It's 12:01 in the morning, of course! It's time for us to start planning the day! Ooh, it's going to be SO exciting! First, we could check out the Canterlot Archives, and maybe then we can find the legendary books of Starswirl the Bearded, and read through them twenty times! I mean sure, they're only three thousand pages long, but... but... Justin? Are you listening?" Twilight ended her rambling when she looked behind her back, and sighed when she saw Justin back in bed, and lightly snoring. "Oh, you want to play THAT way, huh?"
Justin began dreaming of many different things, from random adventures in different scenarios. His latest one had him confused, seeming unusually familiar to him... only it repeated itself constantly, and made him feel like he was asleep for ten hours. The next thing he knew, he was woken up by a very cold liquid getting poured in his face.
"Alright, Justin! It's six in the morning! Time to WAKE UP!" Twilight loudly stated in his ears, while pouring several buckets of cold water on her sleeping human friend.
Justin grumbled, and stood from the bed, soaked in cold water. "I have no idea what I was dreaming about..." He thought to himself, before looking at Twilight. "Thanks, Twilight... I thought it would never end!"
Twilight looked at him confusedly, then asked, "W-wait... were you under attack again?!"
Justin yawned, before replying, "Eh, unless you consider watching a 'pink fluffy unicorn dancing on rainbows for ten hours' a form of attack, then... yeah."
Twilight opened her mouth to speak, until Pinkie Pie knocked on the door to their room, opened it, and said, "You don't wanna know, Twilight!"
Justin's eyes shot up when he saw her, and asked, "W-wait! Pinkie?! What the heck are you doing in here?!"
Pinkie winked at him, and replied, "It's a secret!" Then she moved at a blurring speed out of the room, and into Celestia-Knows-Where.
Finally, Justin planted his face in his palm, and groaned, "Alright! I'm up!" Then he looked at his body, and then the bed. When he noticed the condition they were in, he looked at Twilight, and asked, "Um, Twilight?"
"Yes?" Twilight replied, now smiling.
"...Why am I wet?"
Twilight tilted her head confusedly, then asked, "W-wait... you didn't even FEEL that?!"
"Feel what?" Justin asked, now showing genuine confusion.
Twilight didn't respond in words. Instead she let out a loud groan, before trotting out of the room, throwing a mop and bucket into Justin's hands.
Justin stared confusedly at the bucket, the mop, and the floor around his bed. "I don't remember absorbing any souls that could do WATER Magic... Eh, I guess one of those unconscious Sirens had it, then." With that, he started mopping the puddles up, before ringing the mop in the bucket. By the end of the five minutes it took him to clean it, he carried the bucket and rung-out mop back downstairs, only to find Twilight sitting on a couch, reading a book. Spike, on the other hand, was inside the kitchen, cooking breakfast for her.
When she looked at Justin, she closed her eyes, and looked away, with her snout facing up. This behavior caused Justin's right eyebrow to raise in confusion. To avoid an argument, he decided to walk away. Through the reflection of a nearby mirror, however, he noticed Twilight look back at him with a look that, what he thought, expressed a hint of sadness.
Looking at Spike, who was operating a stove, Justin smiled, and said, "Good morning, Spike!"
Spike looked his way, and smiled back. "Oh! Good morning, Justin! Hey, mind giving me a hand here?" He pointed up at an oven mitt that was, surprisingly, too high for him to reach.
Giving a slight chuckle, Justin nodded his head before reaching above the stove, and picked the oven mitt from the hook that held it on the wall. Then he lowered the mitt to Spike, and said, "There you go, bud!"
"Thanks, Justin!" Spike said, bumping Justin's fist with his claw.
"Anytime, Spike!" Justin replied, scratching the back of his head with his right hand. Then he looked towards the entrance to the kitchen, and peeked into the living room. Twilight, at that time, was no longer in there, so Justin turned back to Spike, and whispered, "Hey, Spike! You got a moment?"
Spike looked his way, and raised an eyebrow. "Sure, dude! What's up?"
"Do you think Twilight's been acting a little... different lately?" Justin rubbed his chin as he pondered in his thoughts. "I'm kinda worried about her, y'know... I hope she's alright."
Spike shrugged, and then replied, "I know what you mean, man! She seems to be more moodier than she normally is... almost like she's in her E-"
"SPIKE!" Twilight's voice boomed from within the whole house. At once, Spike's attention was brought back to the stove, which he realized was now engulfed in flames.
"OH MY GOSH!" Spike yelled at the top of his lungs, before he jumped off the stool he was using, and began running towards the faucet.
Justin's eyes, at that point, was engulfed in a blue glow again, and time froze around him, giving him time to see the fire rising towards a closed propane tank that someone must've forgotten to put away when they went shopping. It was on the counter to the left of the stove, and was, as far as Justin could tell, about to explode.
Without taking another split-second to delay, Justin rushed towards Spike, pulled him from the sink, ran into the living room, lifted Twilight from the ground, and ran outside the house.
Twilight, before being picked up, was rushing towards the kitchen, about to see what the cause of the smoke was. The next thing she knew, she was asking Justin what in Equestria was going on.
Before she could even begin to ask, however, the window to the kitchen shattered, followed by a large explosion that took the wall to the kitchen with it. Twilight watched in horror, and, before anything else could be said, screamed at the top of her lungs.
Justin ran up to her, and embraced her in a hug, saying, "I'm sorry, Twilight... I..."
The next thing he knew, he released her from his hug, and gasped in horror, as her face appeared halfway scorched. Looking around, he also found that he was inside the burning library. "T-TWILIGHT?!" Justin yelled, looking from Twilight, who cried with her right eye; the one that wasn't burnt. Then her eyes rolled up, and in a split second, she fell limply on the floor.
Justin's eyes closed, and he began frantically shaking her, and trying to get her to come back to life, even attempting the "Breath of Life" spell... but when he tried getting the spell to work, he found that he was unable to even transform.
"TWILIGHT!" He yelled, before he heard a masculine laugh.
"TIREK!" Justin shouted, but the next thing he knew, the laughter stopped.
Then the source of the voice replied in a medium-pitched nobleman's tone, "Not quite..."
When Justin looked around for the source, his eyes rested on a mirror that was unfazed by the fires. Walking closer to it, Justin looked around, and spotted a statue of a Draconequus standing right behind him.
He walked closer to it, and tilted his head in confusion, before muttering to himself, "What the..."
Then the statue's eyes started to glow red, and the next thing he knew, Justin's head was filled with the loud screeching noise, which caused him to grip his head in agony, and yell at the top of his lungs.
"JUSTIN! WAKE UP!" Twilight's voice called out.
At once, Justin's eyes shot open, and with a loud gasp, he jumped up from his seat on the train ride to Canterlot, only to bump his head into Twilight's snout. Then, when his vision went back to normal, he looked around, and gasped. "Twilight! Oh my gosh, are you okay?!"
Her eyes were filled with small tears, but she coughed a little, and then quickly nodded her head, fighting back the tears, and holding her snout with both of her fore hooves. "Y-yeah... I'm fine, don't worry!" As soon as she said that, however, a thin stream of blood started falling out of her nostrils, and onto her dress that she was wearing for the gala.
"Oh, no! You're bleeding!" Justin said, before moving his hands up to her face. "I'm SO sorry!"
Twilight's cheeks started to turn red when she realized just how close he was to her. "N-no, really! I'm fine!"
Justin shook his head, and then replied, "Shh... hold still. Maybe I can..." As he started talking, his eyes and hands started to glow blue. Then, the next thing they knew, Twilight's blood started glowing blue, and rose from the dress to her snout again. When the blood went through the injury inside, her snout started glowing blue, and any swelling that began was suddenly gone.
Then her eyes went wide. "H-how did you do that?!"
Justin's eyes stopped glowing blue, and at once, he looked just as confused as she was. "I... don't know..." Then his mind went back to his dream. With a worried expression, he turned his head away, and backed into his spot on the purple cloth seat.
Twilight noticed his disturbed expression, and scooted his way. "Is something wrong?"
Justin held his forehead with his right hand, and slowly shook his head. "It's... probably nothing."
Then he looked to his left, towards the doors to the small car that, as his eyes made visual contact, quickly opened, revealing Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Without sparing a single second, both of them galloped towards them, and asked, "We heard somepony screaming in here! Is everything okay?!" As soon as they asked that, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie joined them in the room.
With a sigh, Twilight nodded her head, and then replied, "Everything's fine, girls! Really! Justin just had a bad dream, and accidentally bumped his head into my snout when he woke up!"
Rarity raised both eyebrows, and opened her eyes widely, before asking, "Oh, no! Darling, did you bleed on your dress?!"
Twilight giggled, and then replied, "It's okay, Rarity! Justin cleaned it off for me!"
Rarity looked at Justin, and then smiled at him with a small hint of nervousness. "Oh! Um... what exactly did you clean it with? I don't recall any towels being in here!"
With a shrug, Justin replied, "I just healed her, that's all..." This, of course, caused Rarity's jaw to drop, and her pupils to shrink.
"Y-you... you did a HEALING spell?!"
Justin nodded his head, and then asked, "Yeah. Isn't that... y'know... normal?"
Rarity shook her head, before replying, "On the contrary, it's the polar opposite! In fact, the Healing Spell is one of the most complicated spells that only a few powerful doctors can start... but none have ever been able to master it to it's full potential, though!"
Justin hummed at the statement, before rubbing his chin with his right hand. "That's quite odd, indeed... I wonder if it might have something to do with one of the souls of the... y'know..." Then he shook his head, before smiling. "You know what? Let's just leave those worries behind us for now! Aren't we here to have fun?"
Pinkie Pie chimed in, "Did you say... FUN?!"
At once, Justin's eyes glowed blue, and for some odd reason, the sound of Pinkie Pie saying "Fun" countless times started playing in his mind. As for why, he couldn't quite figure it out.
"Yeah... at the Grand Galloping Gala, of course!" As soon as he said that, the mighty gates of the Grand City of Canterlot started coming into view.
"Hey, Twilight... isn't this Canterlot?" Justin asked, to which Twilight nodded with a smile.
"It sure is!" Then her eyes caught the sight of a massive-looking library that rested close to the castle. "And there is where I used to live, before moving to Ponyville!"
Justin rolled his eyes, and then murmured, "Why am I not surprised?"
"What was that?"
"N-nothing!" Justin replied, while smiling sheepishly.
Then the train finally came to a stop, and out trotted the passengers, save for Justin, who walked towards the exit, and allowed Twilight to go ahead of him. With a smile, she bowed her head respectfully, before saying, "Oh! Why, thank you!" Then, as Justin followed her out of the train, he looked around, and started to think up his plans on what to do, while his six friends started going their own ways.
"Alright, Justin. Your friends are counting on you! And YOU need to make this night a night to remember... for all of them!"
