Faith

Chapters

Confidence
A Little Kindness
The Best Medicine
Benevolence
Quest’s Fidelity
Faith
A Dream Come True

Confidence

Chapter 2 - Confidence

---1 year later---

It was time to go; I left my former life to become an “adventurer”. I left my job and sold my house to pay the expenses for the journey ahead. Although I’ve never met her, I also had some aunt who passed away a long time ago; the rich fortune I inherited from her also supplemented me. To be honest, I was homeless, but I didn’t like to put it that way. I still had my car so I slept and stayed in there although I had enough money to survive off for years so I could get a hotel if needed. I have never felt more alive...

Yet were my findings remain scarce.

I stood on top of a mountain, past the depths of the woods. I found myself to be alone, in a peaceful place, surrounded by the loudest silence coupled by the sounds of nature. The rustling of trees in the light breeze, the chirps of the birds that soar in the sky, and the flow of water from a nearby stream. This was the perfect spot to relax; however, I did not come here to relax, I came here to search.

Not a pony in sight. If I were a pony, I would relax here where no human would be. I guess I was wrong. Again.

It’s times like these that I feel so foolish. I left whatever little I had left of my life to be an adventurer. "Heh...an adventurer." It reminded me of a video game. But...I knew this was not a video game. I opened the front pocket of my backpack to see the shiny gem still sparkling as bright as ever. "This is why I'm here." I said holding the gem tightly in my hand. "I can't give up, I know they are out there...I just wish...," I started to say as I sat on a rock with my head in my hands.

"...I just wish I knew what I was doing...no one even knows I exist anymore."

This is my life now. I travel from place to place, and days just fly by. But sometimes I’ll find myself stopping. I'm listening for something... anything... everything. Maybe someday I'll hear them...

The sight on the mountain top was breathtaking, I can see the tree tops along with bustling brooks. I can see the birds soaring through the air with not a care in the world. There was always something about birds that brought a smile to my face. I thought it would be nice to have wings and soar in the air with them.

It would be so easy...to let my fate just carry me away...following this same path my whole life through. But I know I can't. What I do, I do with no regrets. Yet, I must keep pressing forward, and continue my quest.

As I started to make my descent from the small mountain, I had a strange feeling. I felt both at peace and I was disappointed. I'm sad I couldn't pick up on the trail to find the ponies, but yet, I was at peace. Maybe taking on new adventures was kind of my niche. It is always fun to get out in the world to see new things, things that no one has discovered before.

I was at the base of the mountain back; I was considering leaving the area, but I felt like I should check around the mountain to confirm that’s all that there was. I started to stroll about, then I saw something interesting, there were some misplaced bushed and ferns at the base. I went closer to the shrubs to investigate. “What’s this?” I questioned. I pushed aside the bushes to see that there was a hole in the mountain just large enough for me to crawl thorough. It was not very inviting, being that it was extremely dark in the tunnel. There were strange markings all around the entrance, they were red and block-like. They had red piercing eyes along with horns on top of its head. There was white around I assume the opening of its mouth and the white was supposed to be its teeth.

The marking seemed somewhat familiar, but I’m sure I just read them out of a magazine or maybe I saw them out of a school book. Of course, my curiosity took its lead, and I wanted to see what was inside of the cave. Just imagine, I might be the only person who has ever been in there; I didn’t see any visible footprints or scuffing of another. I decided it was now or never.

So I traversed.

I got down on my hands and knees to start bear crawling my way through the tunnel. It was pitch black; fortunately I was a diligent packer, and packed myself a flashlight. I pulled it out of my backpack and flicked it on. The tunnel was unfriendly, spiderwebs and dust all over. Yet I kept going even though I ran into numerous spider webs and kept coughing due to the dust. I crawled for what seemed to be forever until I eventually started to see a flicker of light that was not produced by my flashlight. I pulled myself closer to it until I saw a set of stairs. At the top of the stairs, the walls were red with more strange marks; torches on each side. There were two platforms that held busts of the head I saw at the entrance of the the tunnel.

I ventured down the long hallway, trying to avoid the bugs crawling around on the ground. I walked a little further in the hallway, my mouth open in awe. There were scraps of bones strewn across the ground, I couldn't tell exactly what kind of bones they were, more or less the size of a dog. Close by the bones, were rusted axes with chips on the blade. It looks like someone threw them at the wall or something. But why would someone do that? Looking up from the axes, I looked down the long hallway and saw some shocking sights. The ground had scuff marks on it almost as if fire used to reside there, there were piles of small darts, strange holes on the ground...but the most interesting thing had to be crocodile skulls. “This is getting stranger by the moment...” I muttered to myself. I walked past the skulls and holes in the ground when the thought occurred to me...were these traps? But if they were traps, why were they already set off? This seems like something you would see in the movies.

As I was reaching the end of the long hallway, I noticed something that caught my eye. There was a little sparkle on the wall to the left. I started to pace over to it, slightly turning my head to get a better look at it. It seemed to be a...gem! This might be the next Element! I quickly reached out to pull it out of the wall...

click

What was that...

Suddenly a giant axe flew out of the wall! Seeing it swing towards me out of the corner of my eye, I tried to jump out of the way but ended up tripping over myself. I fell straight on my shoulder, onto the hard cracked floor. The axe swayed above me, almost touching my other shoulder, and back down to its resting place.

I was safe, for now...

I pushed myself off of the ground and took a deep breath in and out. I guess not all of the traps here are already activated. I looked back at the shiny object that got my attention in the first place. I didn’t want to touch it again just in case there was another surprise waiting for me. On closer inspection, it appeared to be a gem, but it wasn’t an Element of Harmony. I almost died for nothing. Even though there was peril in here, I just knew there would be something that made exploring in here worth my while. I continued down the hallway, being careful not to do anything else foolish.

It looked like there was suppose to be a wall at the end of the long hallway, maybe to keep people inside of the hall? However the wall was cracked, and I would be able to crawl though it.

After passing the wall, I was in a giant room, yet it was desecrated. There were crushed pillars and the whole room was scorched. The pungent smell dominated. A giant hole in the ceiling provided a clear view of the blue sky. Before me on the ground, was a grid with little symbols of animals in a square shape. At the end of the grid, was an altar...wait...I have seen this before. I remember this! This is the temple that Daring Do adventured in! “This is UNBELIEVABLE!” I shouted. I was literally walking in the same steps that she walked! She’s the one who set off the traps! She’s the one who took the Sapphire Stone off of the altar! The reason this room is smoldered is because of the lava trap that she set off!

Duh!

If the Element of Magic wasn’t enough, this proves that ponies are truly real! Years ago I would have never believed that this could be possible, I am standing in the impossible. Impossible isn’t a word in my dictionary any longer! “Haha”, I laughed out loud, “It’s fun to do the impossible!”

But how did this temple end up here in this reality? Having my new mindset of nothing being impossible, I knew that some...pony had to occupy this temple even though it is all burnt to pieces. I need some sort of clue. I started to check the walls and pillars and even started studying the panels in the grid on the ground. Nothing. If there was anything that would lead me into the right direction, it was probably burnt up by the lava.

I continued to sit in the sanctuary for about a hour; I was just so in awe of what was in front of me. I mean, if anyone knew what I found, it would make front page news! It would be revolutionary! But I’m not going to tell anyone since I wouldn’t even know who to tell. But, I do wish there was someone I could tell about this.

Someone I could trust and someone who wouldn’t leave me. I have found a location that would change the world, but I have no one to tell. I just get so lonely sometimes...maybe even always.

In the middle of those thoughts, I started to think...if this temple is here, I wonder if Daring Do’s nemesis, Ahuitzotl, has his temple nearby. The only problem with that, is that it never showed where it was in the show. I remember Daring getting caught by Ahuitzotl and then appearing on some sort of altar with all sorts of dangers in it. But I wouldn’t think it would be that far, would it?

I took one last look at all the details of the temple and decided to leave in order to find Ahuitzotl’s Temple. I made my way back through the long hallway, down the stairs and crawled through the tunnel. Now from what I remember from the show, Daring Do was in the chamber while Ahuitzotl was sitting on a throne in a courtyard. There were no evident clues to their whereabouts in the temple so I guess I better start moving, I’m not going to find them thinking about it.

I was walking through the forest with only my wits leading me. It has been a nice warm sunny day, and I was very thankful for it. There has been some days that it has been rainy and it even snowed once when I was traveling North. But today it was not very humid and not too...

*WUUSSHH*

I was in pure shock as my left leg slipped right into the ground. There was no end to the hole, my leg fell completely into it. I smacked my upper thigh while falling which hurt. I was now laying on the ground with my leg dangling in the hole, I was still in shock and had no idea what has happened.

I started to pull myself up to see what has happened. It literally looked like the ground had swallowed my leg. I started to pull my leg out and the dirt and grass that covering the hole was getting torn apart. After my leg was out, I got on my hands and knees so I could examine the hole closer. It wasn't visible to see what was in it yet so I decided to dig out the grass and dirt. I used my hands to pull it all out so I could get a good look. After the ground was removed I stuck my head partially into the hole to look in. It was pitch black inside, I would have to find a light source. Luckily, I still had my flashlight in a convenient spot. I pulled it out, turned it on, and aimed it inside the hole.

I found it.

This area was the place that Daring Do got captured and thrown into. I could see the altar that Daring Do laid upon; the wrappings that held her to the altar were still there but they were decaying. The spikes were along the sides of the walls just like in the show. There was even some left over sand on the ground from when the room was filling up with it. Luckily, I didn’t see any snakes or spiders, but that does not mean they are not down there. The thought sent shivers down my spine.

Now I just had to find a way to lower myself into the hole. I brought along a rope in my backpack, but to be honest I didn’t think I would actually use it. I just brought it to seem cool. The hole wasn’t too far from the hole in the top so it shouldn't take too long to get on the ground.

I found a nearby sturdy tree so that I could tie the rope to it. The tree looked strong enough to hold my body weight, so I put on some gloves and started to climb down the small hole and descend down the rope. I slowly creeped down the rope, being careful not to sway or go too fast. I was reaching the end of the rope, nearing the ground floor, when suddenly my grip was lost and I fell from the rope. I fell about a good three feet and landed on my flank. After the rude landing and the pain shooting around my flank, I laid down to hopefully recover faster. As I was lying down, I muttered one sentence.

“That sucked.”

Then again, I found the altar, so it was totally worth it. I got up completely forgetting about the pain I once had, and walked up to the altar. I brushed my hand across the table of the altar. It was really dusty...or maybe sandy, but I didn’t mind. I was imagining on how Daring Do used to be in this spot. I stood there for a moment with a small smirk on my face. I started to look around the room. The spikes were as sharp as ever so I didn’t want to mess with those. There was a golden decoration above the door with some more tribal marking on it. Even the lever that Daring Do flipped to deactivate the spikes and sand was in there. Not really much else to see in here, so I decided to leave to find Ahuitzotl’s throne.

I left the small room through the front door that was just open enough for me to slide through the bottom. I was back outside on a ledge facing Ahuitzotl’s courtyard. His throne was at the end of the yard against a wall. As I looked a little to the left, I saw a flight of stairs that was carved out of the ledge. I was so relieved knowing that I would not have to do anymore excavating. I walked down the steps looking downward to the throne, but then I started to hear a high pitch noise. “What in the world...” I stated. I started to find the source only to find it was coming from inside my backpack.

The Element of Magic.

I pulled the gem out of my bag, it was making the noise and shining very brightly. I gazed upon it with a nervous energy. Does this mean that...they...are near? I put my backpack on and finished jogging down the stairs with the gem in hand. I took toward the throne as the gem started to shine brighter. I’ve seen enough movies to know what that means, the closer I get to...whatever it may be...the brighter it will shine.

I jogged all the way to the throne and it was now before me. “So now what?” I said to the gem, not expecting a response. I trotted up the step to get a closer look at the altar, but there was something interesting that I didn’t remember from the show. There were words carved into the seat of the throne. I could tell that the words have been there for a while, there was moss and dirt forming in the crevices.

The words read, “Your purpose of presence?” Why was this question carved here, and who put it here? I looked at the Element of Magic that was still in my hand...it was almost as if...it was speaking to me. I felt like it was telling me to answer the question. I’ve experienced a lot more crazier stuff then answering a question so I decided to give it a try. “Well...” not taking much thought in, “I came to find ponies!”

Nothing happened.

Now I felt like a goofball. That is honestly why I came, I came to find them. I gazed back at the gem, but it still spoke the same words. I dug deep in my soul, being completely honest with myself and answered with...

“All I had sense of was hopelessness ever since I lost what I never gained to begin with. They loved me very much, but I never had the opportunity to repay such kindness...

It’s what I loved and still love today...

It’s what I hoped and still yearn for today....

Are there ponies? Do they really exist in this world?”

As I spoke those words, the question on the throne began to shine. It was shining so bright I tired to shade my eyes with my arm, but It was too bright. I had to look away. After all the little dots in my eyes caused by the bright light went away, I looked back at the altar. There was something on the seat. It was shiny and shaped like...an apple? I got closer.

It was the Element of Honesty.

I looked at it, not sure what it meant. I now have the Element of Magic and the Element of Honesty. The Element of Magic stopped its humming and it no longer was shining, so this must of been what I was looking for. I celebrated by doing another dorky Twilight dance.

“I must of gotten it by...being honest. But if that is the reason...I can’t quit until I find the ponies because that’s what I said...”

They are real.

I was pondering some more looking at the gems that where in one hand each...

“Hmm..maybe...I have to find all of the Elements? Then I can find...them?”

That seemed to be correct because both of the gems “winked” at me with a flash of light. So it’s decided. I have to find all of the elements, and to find them, I have to act accordingly to the Element.

For the first time in my life, I felt like I had meaning.

I put the gems away and started walking away from the throne.

Smiling I said, “I’ll find you.”

A Little Kindness

Chapter 3 - A Little Kindness

I made my way back after obtaining the Element of Honesty. After navigating my way back through the forest, I finally found my car. It was on a dirt road, miles away from where I found the element. I pulled my keys out from my backpack and opened my car door. It was really early in the morning and I was exhausted. I needed to find a nearby town so I could rest and pick up some supplies.

The long drive felt like it was not heading anywhere. To be honest, it led nowhere. I did not know what step to take next considering I didn’t know where the next element was; however, it was not the time to think of that. I was hungry, tired, and dirty. I eventually found not a town... but actually a city! I was not born in a city so driving in one always made me a little hesitant, although I have drove through them plenty of times throughout my adventures.

After my usual routine of getting lost, I came across a gas station. Too bad I would not be able to sleep in there. I think that I earned some rest after the extraneous day so I think I should look out for a hotel. I got out of my car so that I could fill it up with gas. The looks on people’s faces around me just exclaimed, “This guy’s really low-classed, driving a dirty car in dirty clothes.” But that did not matter to me; I was in a excellent mood due to my findings of the elements. Can’t blame them, since they just don’t understand what I am doing. They do not understand that I am seeking the impossible.

I was done filling up my car, so I went inside to grab something to eat and also to pay for the gas. As I was paying, I overheard something from a couple of guys talking in a nearby booth. They seemed to be the “usuals” of the gas station, guys who went there every day to converse. They both had their names sewn into their shirts to act as a badge. Their names were Mac and Wight.

Mac said “Hey, did ya hear bout that cave that was on the local news?”

Wight replied “Nah, I don’t keep up with the news, I would rather be driving round in ma pickup!”

“Ya! Give a good hootin’ and hollaing while you do that to huh? He he he he!”

I looked over to see the toothless grin of one and the other slapping his knee. Oh Celestia, what was I looking at?

Mac continued. “Well anyway,” he started to say as he lowered his voice “they said that there be some gems in that cave.”

“Oh really now?”

They kept talking between each other more quietly. I finished paying for my gasoline and a sandwich that I got out of a heated container.

The slight buzz...from my backpack...

After hearing this I immediately went up to the two men, and abruptly interrupted by saying “Where is this cave?”

I must of startled them because their eyes were pretty big and staring at me. Luckily, as I figured, they were very friendly.

“Yea...Couple miles north of the town, some flat land before you git to the moutains. Der should be some sort of trail out there.”

After Mac said that, Wight said, “We might have to take a gander out der then, right?”

Mac sat back waving his hand in the air. “Nah, them parts be to dangerous,” he then looked back at me seriously and said “Don’t go wondering ‘round, it’s not safe, ya hear?”

I put on a smirk and said, “It’s what I have to do.”

He replied with a smile himself, “Alrighty then, go find what you’re lookin’ for.”

His reply almost threw me off; could he know what I was looking for? Nah, he probably thought that I was just talking about regular gems. I was looking for a very special gem. I thanked him for the information and left the store.

“I can’t believe it!” I yelled over the music that was playing in my car. I was the only one in the vehicle, but I just liked talking to myself. “To think that just yesterday I found the Element of Honesty and I might have a lead on another!” It sounds like it was not even too far from where I am now! But I must not be blindsided by this excellent news; I was tired and I needed sleep. I knew it would be best to stick with my original plans and get a hotel.

I drove about a mile into the town, and finally found a hotel. There were not too many cars out because it was extremely early in the morning. Most people where probably still sleeping. I got up to the hotel and checked-in, got my essentials out of my car, and went to my room. The first thing I did when I got in was flop onto the bed. In about 2 minutes I was fast asleep, dreaming of the adventures I might do the next day.

The sun shining through my window onto my eyes was what woke me up from my deep slumber. Usually when I wake up I am groggy and just want to stay in bed all day. But since I knew the next location of the next Element of Harmony, I just jumped on it! I ate the continental breakfast, and got all packed up, ready to go.

Mac said that the cave is north of the city, on some flat land by the mountains. I got into my car again hoping that I will be able to make haste to get there and end this day early. I took off, driving North, which eventually led me out of the city. Not long after, the land started to become smooth and the mountains were in the distance. Now I just had to keep my eyes open for a trail, an off-road, or a sign.

In about 5 minutes I came across a dirt road that looked like it hadn't been used in quite some time. It was almost...awkward. It was a long dirt road that seemed infinite, but it would eventually lead into the mountains. There was nothing around the road but just a plain field. But, I knew that that must be where the cave is. As I was driving down the road, my car suddenly stopped with no warning! I sat there in disbelief because I have no idea what just took place. I stepped out of my car, and starting walking towards the front to start seeing smoke billow out of the front. There was no doubt in my mind that it overheated. I was never a guy into vehicles so I did not have the slightest idea on how to fix it.

“Well, that’s great.” Frustrated, I continued on and exclaimed, “Now what am I supposed to do?!”

I took a look at my surroundings, and then back to my car. I let out a sigh knowing that trying to fix the car would be a lost cause for me. I guess all I can do it walk. I can’t let this get me down though, I have to continue.

I started to walk down this long road. I was in the middle of nowhere; I could not see the road where I came from, nor could I see the cave I was trying to find.

After hours...literally hours of walking, I finally started to see something before me. After a few short minutes I got close enough to see what it was. There was a large hole in the ground. Was this the so-called cave? I guess I was expecting a giant rock sticking out of the ground with an entrance on it. I almost wanted to start laughing because its almost as this was a joke. I should have figured this would not be the traditional cave. At least I can say that I was in a good mood and willing to see what is down there. I looked up from the hole and realized there were holes all around from where I was standing! They were all identical in size to the one that was in front of me. I wonder if something dug these holes. The thing that was most interesting about them; was the fact that they were all perfect circles.

It could not simply be an act of nature that all of those holes got there, something had to make them! Regardless, I knew I would not get to the next element by just standing around looking at holes. I guess...I would have to jump in one. I knew this had to be the cave and I knew this is where the next element lay. I silently said to myself, “I once heard that good wits will jump...”. Just before I was getting ready to jump, I continued. “I guess its time to prove my sanity.” I jumped.

It was a dark descent. There seemed to be no end. Nothing but darkness. I could feel the gravity pushing me down. To be honest, falling in pitch black was the last of my concerns. I started to question myself as to why I am doing this. Why would I travel around looking for gems? Sure, they were magic...but was it really worth it? Am I just wasting my time with these ponies? I could restart and live a normal life. Maybe I could find some good friends...maybe a wife... Should I just...give up? I feel as though the weight of questions has grown to cruel to bear. What will truly make me happy? Just to find the peaceful world called Equestria, or maybe just to hold a little filly? After all of the deceitful people I have had in my life, this is what I need. I need just a little glimmer of hope, hope that only an innocent pony can give.

Maybe...If I just had a little faith...

Suddenly, I saw a light slowly forming below me. The light was catching up to me fast. Before I knew it I met the light, and landed on a very hard and dirty ground. But for some reason, it did not even hurt. Magic was the only explanation again I suppose.

Now that I’m in this cave, with no apparent way out...I had to do what I came for. The element. I checked my other elements to see if they were humming or giving off light to point me into the right direction, but there was no indication that they were. From what I could see in the cave, there was really no light source. There was a mild light so I could slightly see, but it seemed to come from no where. I pulled out my flashlight from my backpack, but the stupid thing was not working. It must have a dead battery; I forgot to buy a new battery from the last adventure. I started a slow strut into an opening. The ceiling was pretty high up, so I don’t think that I will be getting claustrophobic in here. This definitely is a cave made by hands. There is no machine that could do this; it almost looks like shovels were used. But the strange thing is that there were claw marks all over the ground and walls. Could someone have dug this up with their claws, and if so...why?

I continued to walk further down the corridor. The rooms just seemed to be a repeat of the last room I was just in. The same eerie glow was in each room too, and still no light source to be found. I kept walking a little more down until I finally came upon a larger room then the rest. There were old rail carts on their retired tracks and rusted chains strewn across the floor. Just by looking at these I could tell that this cave is extremely old. I walked closer to the cart and peered in. Gems. There were all sorts of colors, it looked like a rainbow in the cart. But...they were already cut. Would someone cut these or...wait...

It all makes sense...the cave, the claw marks on the walls, the already cut colored gems. Could I be standing in the Diamond Dogs cave? This is just what it looked like in the show! I quickly rushed over to a wall and started digging to see if there were more gems in the walls like there was in the show...and sure enough! There were about five gems, already cut and in a bunch sitting there! In just a couple days I have seen two instances where Equestria and the real world collide in one! It’s just amazing...people can sit at home and never go on an adventure and miss out on so much! Do they not see what they can find! I know ponies exist!

I wonder if the actual Diamonds Dogs are here, although that would be a long shot because this place looks pretty worn down and unused. But, at least there is a chance that the next element might be here.

clank

Huh? That was odd, that sounded like a rock...

Suddenly without even being able to think there was a large rumble and thunderous crashing.

The cave was collapsing.

As rocks were falling from the ceiling I frantically looked for somewhere to hide. I sprinted in the direction from where I first dropped into the cave while pebbles and rocks were hitting my face. Suddenly, giant boulders rolled in front of me so I could not advance any further! As I was turning around I saw that I could no longer backtrack either as the hallway was filled with rubble.

I was stuck.

I looked up to see if I would be able to climb over the rubble but instead I saw rocks large enough to kill me falling from above me. I quickly jumped out of the way, losing my backpack in the process...

Smack!

My head crashed against the stone wall. In a subconscious state, I dragged my self under a little opening in the wall...maybe I could protect myself from the falling rocks there. Head throbbing and not fully aware were I was, I reached my hand to the top of my head. I touched the top and it stung like crazy. I brought my hand back down to eye level so I could look at it. Blood. My hand was covered with blood.

I looked over to a fallen rock pile to see that the strap of my backpack was stuck underneath them. As the rocks still crashed before me, I thought, “This will be my resting place, it was.....” before I could finish my thoughts, I backed out.

“ugghh...”

Well, I was still alive. I could tell that my body was battered and bruised, it hurt just to move an inch. My head was still throbbing in pain. I tried to open my eyes but I couldn't do that just yet. The light hurt my eyes too much..

Wait!? Light? Even though it felt like my eyes were on fire when I opened them...there was definitely a light coming from one of the chambers in the cave. What was this...I wanted to jump up as fast as I could to go see what this light was, but my body would not allow me do so. Not only that...but there were boulders everywhere that I would have to climb.

But I can’t just lay here! Who knows what that light could be! It might be the next element!

I put my hands against the floor to lift my self off the ground. The pain was unbearable but I couldn’t give up. I looked at the ground only to see my own blood dripping from my scalp. I closed my eyes at the sight of it, I couldn’t think about it. I had to have a mindset of what I came here originally to do. The Element.

After about a minute of struggling and stumbling, I got to my feet and was able to stand. I got my backpack unstuck from underneath the rocks and started taking slow, painful steps towards the light. The burning blaze of the light pierced my eyes, but after adjusting to the light, I was able to see a figure...it was almost like a ghost...

It appeared to have four legs along with a very long tail and a...mane. I rubbed my eyes. I saw wings! I saw hooves!

It is a pony!

All the pain I had in my body disappeared as I started to get closer to the pony. A long pink mane and tail along with radiant yellow fur.

It was Fluttershy!

“Fluttershy!” I yelled as loud as I could while running as fast as I could towards her. “Hey!” She didn’t seem to take notice. Why couldn't she hear me?

My hand was reached out to just touch her, but just as I was about to, she suddenly whisked away to not be seen anymore. The light also vanished as she did. My hand was outreached at where she once stood. I stood staring at my hand for about 2 minutes.

“I was so close,” I whispered. Tears started forming in my eyes, “...I just want to feel them, I want to know they are real.” I brought my open hand back closer to myself so I could look at it. I quickly made a fist out of it. “It’s not fair... Why does this have to be so hard?”

Suddenly, all the pain came back physically and emotionally. I felt the blood dripping from my head once again.

Here I was, sitting in a cave that I was stuck in, all battered up and dealing with false hope in the form of pony silhouettes.

A gust of wind rushed past my body from behind me, I sharply looked around to see the Fluttershy ghost again. This time though, it felt like she was trying to get my attention...she was directing towards something. I wanted to run up to Fluttershy, but I felt like I shouldn’t...like that’s not what she wanted me to do? “F-Fluttershy?” I said, not really sure what else to do. She lifted her head a bit at the sound of her voice. She then lifted her hoof to point towards me almost as if she was telling me to go in that direction.

I thought to myself...

”In all my years, I have been looking for you Fluttershy, and yet, you tell me to go the other way.” I stared at her for a bit longer, she appeared as a ghost, however, she had a very serious look on her face. I just wanted to go up to her and feel that she is real.

But I know this is not what she wants. At least I can say that it was a miracle to see her in my world right now. I don’t think that she would want me to be unhappy so...and much as it grieves me...I did as she requested.

I started to turn my back towards her, but half way in doing so. I looked back at her and said, “Just know...you will always have a place here...” I placed my hands over my heart, as my eyes were filled with tears knowing that I was turning away from what I seeked. “...and, I love you.” As I spoke those last words, she lifted her head completely. Her eyes met mine, and she smiled at me. Shorty after, with a smile still on her face...she vanished once again. I knew that this time, that she most likely would not be coming back...

I continued forward with new found confidence and determination.

I walked in the way she directed, head throbbing still. My shirt was covered in blood from my head injury, and there were little cuts on my arms and legs. I looked around the area where Fluttershy pointed. Nothing. I began to stroll in the corridor to the right of me, when suddenly I heard something.

“Oh..no...”

It was crumbling rocks. It sounded like the cave was crashing down again in a different area of the cave, but the noise was creeping my way. It was heading for me, and I was not sure I could escape the force of the rocks showering on me a second time.

I did only what my human nature could do. I ran. I had no idea where I was even running to, but it’s all I knew to do. I stumbled on little rocks as I ran but was able to keep my balance. The rocks crashing down were creeping closer...and closer. I was not sure if I would be able to escape my fate this time.

While hurrying in no general direction, something caught my eye...well actually a couple things. I first saw a speck of light...daylight. I also saw a tiny figure next to that speck of light. Upon closer examination...it was a little girl curled up in a ball, and appeared to be sobbing.

Without even thinking I ran up to the little girl to see if she was alright. She had a yellow dress on with butterflies on it; yet she was also dirty, and all scratched up. She must’ve been in here when the cave collapsed too.

I lightly put my hand on her arm, and whispered “Don’t worry, I’ll get you out of here.” It seemed to comfort her a little bit, but she still did not lift up her face. But the rocks were still coming closer, and I didn’t have anymore time to waste.

I focused my attention on the speck of light, that might be our only speck of hope on getting out of here. I didn’t have any tools, so I will have to use what was given to me. My hands. I started scraping away at the dirt and moving the rocks. My body was sore and beaten, but my spirit was strong. Not only did I have to save myself, I had to save this mysterious little girl.

The light was getting bigger...but not fast enough. I could start seeing outside of it and it was definitely outdoors. I could start hearing the the rocks collapsing behind me...they were close...and I was out of time.

I could either keep digging and hope I could get it large enough so both me and the little girl could fit, or I could take the time to assist the little girl through the hole before the rocks get to us.

The rocks were extremely close, the whole cave was falling apart.

I looked at the girl quickly, and I knew what I had to do. She still had an entire life full of opportunity. I have lived my adventure; I knew I would be doing the right thing.

I quickly brushed her up in my arms, and brought her over to the hole so she could escape. I told her “When you get out, run, don’t look back.” She nodded in agreement with her hair covering most of her face. She was just barely able to squeeze into the hole and get outside. She ran and did not look back, just as I instructed. I was relieved knowing that she would be alright.

Now I had to dig a hole big enough for myself. I quickly turned around to see how much time I had...the rocks were falling, right behind me.

Out of time.

I was going to die.

Out of nowhere a gemstone came flying out with an extreme light that was vibrantly pulsing. The pink gem was floating in front of me; it was in the shape of a butterfly. The Element of Kindness. The gem gave off a light that started to surround me. The rocks came down upon us but the light shimmering around me served as a shield. I was in awe. I was being protected. Yet I did not have time to stare; I had to get myself out of here.

I turned back around and continued digging. What I eventually created was a hole large enough that I could fit through. I climbed in and wiggled my way though. I made it to the end and did a face plant on the ground that resharpened my head injury. I glanced back through the hole to see and hear the rocks filling in the rest of the cave. I could not see the Element; but I honestly owe that gemstone my life.

I stepped backwards from the hole, when something tapped me on the back. I quickly turned around to see the Element of Kindness floating in front of me once again. I was in too much pain to do a proper celebration. I snatched the gem and placed it in my backpack with the others. All my pain came shooting back at me. Not only that, but the fatigue and blood loss took its course. I collapsed to my knees now realizing that I used up all my strength.

I was not sure if this was my last adventure, but I knew this one was definitely the hardest. Also the most rewarding, saving a little girl from peril and taking sight of some sort of ghost Flutte...

Before I could finish my thought, I blacked out.

The Best Medicine

Chapter 4 - The Best Medicine

--- 3 Years Later ---

Three long years of fruitless endeavors. After the finding of the Element of Kindness there was nothing else to be found, and no other clues were in sight.

When that cave collapsed behind me and my head pouring blood, I blacked out. When I regained consciousness, I found myself in hospital. I asked them who found me. They said they were not sure, and that they just only received a phone call telling them that someone was severely injured at the location I was at. I was released from the hospital after a week, and got out fully recovered - no long term injuries.

Even now, I still can’t help but wonder what in the world happened in that cave. Fluttershy? The little girl? It was almost like a fleeting dream, but it was so real.

Three years elapsed, and not a single instance like that ever happened again. I am unsure of what to do or where to go next. For the first two years I kept trying to find clues and adventured America. Over the last year I have settled down a little bit; I got an apartment in a small city on the west coast. I also found a part time job at a nearby gas station, even though I didn’t really need the money - I still had plenty of money left over from my passed away aunt’s inheritance. It’s been a decent job, but it’s mainly just to pass the time away.

I don’t want to say I gave up on adventuring...but how am I supposed to do this when it’s only letting me down? I am so unsure as to what the truth was anymore.

I think I just needed to clear my mind.

I thought it would be best to take a vacation. I decided to take a luxury cruise that traveled through the Pacific Ocean. The contents of my black suitcase were packed, my ball cap was fixed on my head, and my Lyra Heartstrings shirt was equipped, showing my brony pride...

At least, what’s left of it.

What’s left of it, anyway? The actual show ended a few months ago, yet I didn’t even watch the last couple of seasons. I just didn’t understand it!

Why did I go through all that trouble in the past with getting the so-called Elements of Harmony? I have three of them, but I’m starting to think that they aren’t what I wished them to be. I wanted them the be the Elements, but I think I was merely seeing only what I wanted to see.

“Ponies in real life? Give me a break!” I muttered to myself.

I even thought I saw Fluttershy, but that was just foolishness on my part. I never touched her with my hands, therefore I didn’t believe in her.

Believe me, I wanted to believe they’re real...but, I just had to face the facts. It was a cartoon. It is a children’s show.

I took a deep breath in and out and glanced at the shirt I was wearing, now with disgust. I didn’t have much selection of shirts, so I was stuck with this Lyra shirt.

I was going on a cruise. I shouldn’t need to think such silly thoughts.

I placed one foot on the boat ramp and thus my vacation has begun - I could now be at peace.

I walked up the boat ramp shifting my body weight forward so that I would not topple backwards on the incline. I made it to the top and started to work my way up the stairs so I could be at the highest peak of the cruise ship. I wanted to be high up on the boat so I could look over everything. If I got to the top I could look over the ocean as well as the city that was the home of the port. After climbing all the stairs I saw the exit that would lead me back outside on top of the ship.

I stepped outside only to be blinded by the sun; I had to shield my eyes with my hand to keep it from disrupting my vision. Even though it was very bright out, the air was very brisk. With my squinting eyes and the sunshine flooding all over me, I looked to my right to see one last small set of stairs. It led to a platform that had a couple that was most likely going on a honeymoon, and a guy about my age standing by himself gazing over the ocean. Before I joined them on the highest point of the ship, I decided to reach into my suitcase and pull out a white hoodie with stripes on it. I put it on hoping it would be able to protect me from the chilly wind.

Seeing the last set of stairs I will have to climb, while still wishing I had a pair of sunglasses, I walked up the stairs. I have reached the highest point of the cruise ship. The couple behind me was snuggling with each other while the slightly uncomfortable cold air was blowing ever slightly. The lonesome man to my right was patrolling the land and water below us by scanning the ocean. I set down my luggage, and starting looking over everything as well. I looked more towards the dock to see that the ship was getting ready to depart. The ramp was starting to rise which would separate us from land and the relaxation would begin. I glanced over to the lonely man, I could see that he was excited as much as I was to go on this new adventure. My face might of not showed my enthusiasm, but I was truly content. I wonder what his story was? He seemed to be alone just like me. He had a green hoodie on him with the hood over his head and blue jeans, it was very casual wear just like myself.

The ramp was fully lifted, and I as heard the cruise ship ready to set sail, I looked over to the man and asked him, “Are you getting away too?” The man jumped at the sound of my question. I must have caught him off guard in his thoughts. After recovering and laughing a little at the shock I gave him, he replied, “Well, I like the fresh air and sight seeing.”

I understood completely what he meant. “Same here! I’m just kind of getting away from things to clear my mind.”

The horns blew on the ship indicating that we were about to set off. At that the man replied, “Hey, sorry. I actually have to get things settled in my room now. Maybe we can talk later.”

I agreed, “For sure! I’ll see you later.”

At that the man gave a quick smile and me and made his way over to the stairway so that he could find his room and hopefully not get lost on this grand cruise ship. I took one last look over the ocean as the ship started to move and decided I better find my room as well and get settled in.

This was going to be a good trip.

I was laying on my bed waiting for dinner to arrive. My room was small but it still gave me my privacy. There were various trinkets sitting around the room such as a small anchor statue on the miniature table. There was also a captain’s hat hanging on the wall across from where I was lying on my twin sized bed. I thought about taking it down so I could wear it, but I’m sure it was stapled to the wall so that was a no go.

knock knock

There was a knocking at my door; dinner awaited. I flung off my bed to answer the door. Sure enough, it was a male in semi-formal clothing holding a dish covered with a lid. I thanked him, and adopted the food as my own.

After finishing off the delicious meal that I would give a 5-star for taste, I decided that I would go do what I planning on doing on this trip. Think and relax. Thinking seems like a strange reason to take a trip. I don’t think anyone would understand it, but to me it was a perfect reason to take a trip. I found that I could get lost in my thoughts easier when I am around nature. In this case, going outside to see the endless waters under the reflection of the moon is where I would be able to concentrate the best.

I got out of my chair where I was partaking in my meal and departed the room. But before I did, I grabbed my hoodie again knowing that it would be chilly outside.

Going outside, I took notice of the peak of the ship, where I first stood when I got on board. I decided I wanted to change to a different perspective. Besides, there were already about ten people up there, and I wanted someplace more private. I went past the step that lead to the upstairs balcony, and made my way over the front of the boat, the bow. There were various lunch tables across the floor. People probably ate their lunch out here during the day time. There was not a single person around this area. Perfect. I was able to be alone with my thoughts and actually concentrate on them. I walked over to the absolute front of the boat and started to lean against the sturdy rails that prevent people from falling off.

I looked out at the water before me. The deep blue waves were crashing along side the boat. The sound was very calming, I could almost fall asleep to it. There were no clouds in the sky, and the moon was almost full. I’m almost surprised that there was no one out here painting this on canvas. This night was just absolutely perfect. I looked at the moon, it was looking right back at me. They called it the man on the moon, but instead I thought of the mare on the moon.

With a sigh, I started to think about the brony community and all my adventures. I went out to obtain these elements. Ever since then I have discovered no more clues, and found no leads. It’s almost as if I was just teased with promises that only ended up to be empty. I know it may seem selfish, but I know other people would never doubt this was all true if they were in my shoes.

But it’s been three years already; nothing else. I have to live my life...

THUD

There was a noise behind me. There were rooms on the ship where you could have small gatherings, for events such as formal receptions, or any other kind of celebration. I looked into the window of where the noise came from; there was a party going on. I was too far away to get a good look at it, but there was a small group of people in it. It was a very colorful room with plenty of decorations. The thud must of come from someone hitting the thin walls.

Sounded like a special time. They were having a great time in one another’s company. I turned my attention back to the water.

Before long, I could hear more noises coming from the party; my concentration broke from the water to sneak another look at the party. As I turned around I realized I was no longer alone.

My eyes widened as I saw that someone was directly behind me blocking my view from the party. I jumped a little at the sight of him and he noticed that.

With a half-smirk on his face he said, “Sorry ‘bout that...I just saw you standing out here.”

I replied, “It’s alright” as I turned back around to look outward.

I could hear him behind me, this was already awkward enough. I’m sure me turning my back to him felt him feel more out of place. About 20 seconds later, he came up behind me and started to look out next to me.

He decided to break the silence, “So what’s your story?”

My story? What was that supposed to mean? What am I even suppose to tell him?

“Well...uh...I’m just getting away from everything by taking this cruise.” I muttered.

He gave a slight chuckle, “Yea, I know how that goes...” He gave a slight pause then continued, “Sometimes it’s nice to be alone, but that doesn’t mean you have to live a life alone.”

I wanted to smack him so hard. Who is he to give me advice? I don’t even know who this guy is. But...maybe he does have a point...

He went on, “You know, you can join our party over there if you would like.” He pointed toward the room where the earlier thuds were coming from.

What? Why does he want ME to come to his party? I don’t even know who this guy is and he wants me to come to a party with him?

He could see the shock on my face and told me while putting his hand on my shoulder, “But I can understand if can’t, just know you are welcome.”

With that, he started to walk back to the party room, leaving me in my confused state.

Before he went back inside he shouted over to me “Name’s Jeremy, by the way”.

I gave a slight wave of my hand, I suppose that was my way of thanking him.

Why was that stranger so nice to me? I never deserved him to be so nice to me. I gave a quick glace over my shoulder to see that he was back at the party, and the festivities were still going on at full blast.

Honestly, if I went I would most likely feel out of place, not to mention I really didn’t come on this trip to make friends. I really just came on this trip to be alone. But, with all the noise the party is making...I can’t really concentrate. Maybe I’ll go to the other side of the ship.

I took one last look off the front of the boat only to walk to be greeted by the other side. But before I could make it to the other side, I decided to get a close look at the party.

I looked into the window and saw a small room with about 5 people in it. There were decorations of streamers and balloons, it seemed to be a little much considering it was a small party. On one table there was a punch bowl with snacks all around it such as cupcakes and chips. On the other was serving plates and napkins with a large cake with....a frosting decoration of Pinkie Pie. What?! Is this...a brony party? I noticed the flicker of a television on the wall from where I was looking in. I walked around to the other side of the room so I could look in to see what was on the T.V.. I guessed right, My Little Pony was on the television.

What are the chances of this? I went on this cruise to think about this community and probably the greatest examples of the fanon present themselves and invite me to a party. There is no way this can be real! But...it is. It’s like this guy knew I was a brony, but how could he? I know I still have this Lyra shirt on, but its under my sweatshirt. I quickly looked down to be sure that my undershirt was covered.

I have to ask him how he knew, I have to go to the party.

I want around to the door, but before going in...I realised I could look pretty creepy being determined and all. I was planning on bursting in the door and pointed to the man and shouting “How did you know?!” ...I have such a weird mind. Maybe I better play it cool, and maybe enjoy myself. It’s not everyday I get to hang out with other bronies.

I started to open the door and once it was fully opened I realised all five people were staring at me blankly. After an very uncomfortable moment, Jeremy’s face expression did a complete turn around. He started smiling and came up to me with a cup of punch in his hand.

“Hey! I’m glad you could make it man!” He said almost being a little over excited.

I just smiled at him still taking in my surroundings.

Still not knowing that I was a brony, I could tell that he was getting a little nervous. I’m sure he was planning on giving a speech to me about what the brony community is and how its not weird.

I noticed the look on his face. I, myself, have once had those feelings as well. I’m sure I wore a face almost like his at some point in my life.

Before he could start on his speech, I intervened “Don’t worry, I am...all too familiar with bronies.” I then tore off my sweatshirt like Superman thus reveling my Lyra t-shirt. Well, maybe not like Superman, but I like to think that.

He raised his hand up to his head in pure disbelief also shouting “Whoa!”. This got the attention of the other party goers. Which made them smile and a few came over to get a closer look.

“Wow! I had no idea! I mean...whoa...how awesome how we met up like this!” Jeremy said.

“Hey, nice Lyra shirt. Where’s Bonbon?” one person said as she snickered.

After people started calming down at the fact my shirt was so sweet, or maybe it was because I was a random guy who turned out to be a brony...yeah, that’s probably the reason.

I have never had so much fun with a bunch of random people. There was all sorts of games, jokes, and yelling! We all played games that were at typical Pinkie Pie party such as “Pin the Tail on the Pony.” We even had a game of bingo which got boring real fast because we were just sitting around. The punch supposedly was made by Berry Punch, and the cake by Mr. and Mrs. Cake. This was such a terrific night full of laughter.

Was I missing out on this the whole time? I have seen amazing things in my life, some the no person could comprehend. But there was always a void. I needed someone there for me. I needed friends. I met these people just hours ago, and some how, maybe magically, they are now my friends. I am so glad that Jeremy went out of his comfort zone to reach out to someone alone such as I.

As Jeremy was on my mind, he actually came up to me asking to speak to me. I agreed. He pulled me aside from conversing from the other party guests. He must of remembered the strange talk that we had outside, and now felt the need to talk.

We were walking over to the corner of the room where the television was, away from everyone else. On the television was the episode “Feeling Pinkie Keen”. At the moment, Pinkie was tied up to Twilight’s crazy contraption while Twilight was trying to figure out how the Pinkie Sense worked.

After Twilight telling Pinkie that it makes no sense. Pinkie smiled and stated in her overly happy nature, “Sometimes you just have to believe in things, even when you can't figure 'em out”. Twilight scowled at this and got in Pinkie’s face to drive the point home as she said, “I will not believe in anything I cannot explain”.

Jeremy, who was standing next to me, said “Ah, I love this episode. Makes me remember why I chose Pinkie Pie as best pony.” He had a look on his face that was just begging me to debate who the best pony was with him. Instead I just broke out laughing.

After the chuckles were over, he got a more serious tone in his face. “You know man, I know we just met today. But when I was talking to you earlier, you seemed to be hurting...on the inside.”

I could tell that Jeremy was a very comfortable talker.

He continued, “Just know, that when you’re weak, when you need help, I’ll be here for you.” He looked to where everyone else was at a pointed at them, “So will they.”

All my life, I tried to do everything alone. All my life, I felt like the world was against me. But now, I have friends. They will be there to comfort me when I am down.

I smiled at him and he returned the favor. Jeremy then burst out laughing. My smile faded and I asked, “What’s so funny?”.

What in the world is he laughing at?

Jeremy had such a weird laugh. It almost sounded like a squee when he was laughing.

Noticing this, I started to chuckle up at him. Suddenly one of the other party guests shouted “He sounds like Fluttershy!”
After hearing this, there was a uproar of laughing in the room. This wasn’t even that funny, but I could not help myself in partaking of the laughter.

As the laughing was cooling down, Jeremy tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Let’s go”, regarding going over to the other party people.

“Hey hold up, let me get some punch.” I told him. He gave a nod of understanding and joined the group while I went to the mostly quiet side of the room to get some punch. As I started to pour myself a glass, I noticed that the episode of My Little Pony on the television was getting to an end as Twilight was writing her letter to Princess Celestia. I listened in.

Twilight just told Spike to take a letter. She said, “I am happy to report that I now realize there are wonderful things in this world you just can't explain, but that doesn't necessarily make them any less true. It just means you have to choose to believe in them, and sometimes it takes a friend to show you the way.”

Did I just hear that correctly? I stood frozen astonished at what I just heard.

My adventure.

I traveled all over the world, finding gems. It was such an adventure, but it got old after not being able to find another one. I started to give up. I came on this cruise just to get away, to relax, to put my mind at ease. I didn’t think someone would be bold enough to invite me to a party, let alone, to my amazement, a brony party. I made terrific friends tonight, and their friendship and laughter opened my eyes to what I was missing. I needed friends, and now I have them.

It’s almost as if this was all planned. But by who?

Maybe...it was by the ponies in Equestria. Yea! Just like Twilight said, “There are wonderful things in this world you just can't explain, but that doesn't necessarily make them any less true”. I just had to believe! I just needed faith! I knew they are out there! Why would I ever give up so easily? I was acting like a baby - I needed to get back on this adventure!

Laughter broke out between the group that was behind me. But, there was also another laugh. One that I have heard before, but I just could not place my finger on it. It wasn’t anyone’s laugh that was at the party. I know I have heard it before. I was a high-pitch...

It was Pinkie Pie’s laugh. I looked up at the television only to see that it was on a menu screen, it must of been the season one set of MLP: FIM. It wasn’t the television, but I know I heard it.

hahahahehehe...

There it was again. It didn’t come from any specific area, but it sounded sort of muffled. Maybe it was outside. I went out the door, not being noticed due to the group playing games.

I started walking around, listening with my full attention. The wind was light but still gave off a slight chill to it, my sweatshirt was still inside so I will have to deal with the brisk air. I walked to the side of the ship and leaned on the rail guard. The water was very calm, only having slight ripples on it.

HAHAHAHEHEHE

The obnoxious Pinkie Pie sounding laugh came from directly behind me. I spun around to be nearly blinded by a stong pink light. What is this?! I toppled over backwards landing on my butt with my hand up to shield my eyes.

I could see through my eyelids that the light was fading. I quickly rubbed my eyelids and slowly started opening my eyes to the area where the light came from. I could see something...what is that? It’s something small...and shiny...it’s...

The Element of Laughter.

I looked up at it in my still slightly blurred eyes. I could hear my heart beating in my head. I could feel my sweat being formed at the brow of my head. The next element was in front of me. I started bear crawling toward the gem and started to reach up to grab it...

Then I grabbed it.

I brought it closer to my eyes to make sure it was real, and it was truly the Element of Laughter. To be honest, I didn’t think I would just be able to grab it. I thought it would shoot away or something crazy like that. Realizing how anti-climatic that was, I started to burst up laughing as I sat on the planks of a cruise ship.

As I was laughing, I could hear Pinkie’s whisper in the air telling me, “Sometimes you just have to believe in things, even when you can't figure 'em out.”

I laughed.

Benevolence

Chapter 5 - Benevolence

There was a plethora of trees standing tall in front of me.

It was hard to say what led me in front of this forest; I guess the best way to describe it would be that small whisper. This was a voiceless whisper, a whisper that I heard buried deep within the crevices of my heart. This is the same whisper that has been guiding me the entire time, and it has not let me down yet. Was it truly a whisper, I’m not sure. But whatever it may have been, I chose to listen to it. I chose to believe in it.

When my vacation on the cruise ship was over, I decided not to waste any more time doing mundane things. I quit my job and left my apartment to make myself homeless once again. I started going where ever this whisper led me. I followed where the wind blew. After driving my car around for some time, I eventually felt compelled to come to this forest. It was a distance away from any town or city. Away from any sort of civilization.

The forest before me was very ominous. I was standing on what seemed to make a make shift dirt bridge. There was a small stream that flew underneath me; I couldn't tell where it begun or ended due to the trees blocking my eyesight. It was hard to say what kind of forest it was. It seemed to look like a rain forest, but there was no rainfall in front of me. It was actually raining on the right side of the forest. For some reason, the rain clouds only hovered on the right side. The trees were dark, and its trunks were gnarled. Some trees even looked like there were faces on the side of it. There were scrubs and other random plant life spreading all across the ground. Luckily, I was standing on a clear path, from what I could see anyway.

I knew exactly what this forest was: The Everfree Forest. I also knew this was the obstacle I would have to tackle in order to obtain the next element.

I knew that I would have to prepare myself both physically and mentally. If this forest was show accurate, I would not know what could happen inside. The weather would be very random and sporadic. I would hope that there are no monsters like there was in the show. I’d rather go without the Manticores, Ursas, Dragons, Parasprites, Timberwolves, and the Cockatrices. There was always the Sea Serpents, but the only one on the show was simply fabulous. When I went to the temple Daring Do adventured in, Ahuitzotl was never at the temple! Likewise, in the Diamond Dog’s cave, there were no dogs in football helmets running around the floors! Looking at it that way, I think that the mythological creatures should be missing from the forest.

I pulled on the straps of my reliable backpack to make sure it was tight against my back. I strode into the forest hoping to myself that everything would be okay. I was very lucky that this path was here to lead the way, so I would not have to look into the mass of trees where the darkness was thick. I started to realize that the further I went down the path, the more the night crept on me.

I was getting scared.

But, I knew I had to be strong, I knew I had to continue. I had to remember what happened to the mane six in the forest. Mostly for them the forest’s dangers were physiological mind tricks. Some of the perils were not even real. I have to remember that my greatest enemy in here would be my mind.

Although she might not know it, Pinkie Pie is a good advice giver.

I have to stand up tall.

I have to learn how to face these fears.

I loosened up my shoulders a bit and put my head up. I will face the fears of this forest head on. No longer looking at the ground, I could see something up ahead on the path that looked familiar.

The path continued on as normal; however, there was a certain blue flower that was sprouting that covered a majority of the trail. This flower had a bulb in the center with large leaves coming out on the side. This flower removed any doubt that this was the Everfree Forest. The flower was the Poison Joke.

I really wasn’t in the mood to shirk today, or possibly get a girl voice. I wasn’t really sure what the flower would do to me, so it’s probably best to avoid it. I know because even though I’m not barefoot and could probably still be okay from stepping on it, this is supernatural. Who knows what could happen? The only problem with avoiding it is that there was no visible way of getting around it while staying on the path.

There was some brushed aside bushes just before the patch of flowers aside the path. I would assume that someone has already been through here, or perhaps it could just be the way that the forest grew. I should not think so deeply about it; it was the only way I can take to get around the flowers, well, I hope so anyway. The problem about this makeshift path was that it lead right into the relentless dark of the forest. This, however, was my only option as of now.

I stepped up to where the secondary route started. Peering in, I could not see anything. I suppose that’s good and bad. Good that there is no red glowing eyes like in the show, but bad because I will be walking in blind. I suddenly remember that I had a flashlight in my backpack. I pulled it out thinking that the flashlight will make getting through here easy. I flicked it on, illuminating my path. With a gulp, I started to follow the path. As soon as I took my first step into the dark, the flashlight started to flicker sporadically. After about ten seconds of doing this, it shut off. Of course - isn’t that the way things go? I had some extra batteries, but there was no way I could find them with no light! I could back out now, but that would not solve my problems. I needed to keep going forward. I outstretched my arms in front so I would not run into a tree. I was unable to see anything in sight, yet I could still barely make out the ground. I also was able to somewhat feel where the shrubs have been brushed aside from whoever went through this path ahead of me.

I had no idea where I was going, and was starting to regret taking this way. Going through the Poison Joke might have been a better idea than this. Through seemingly endless hours, I continued to stumble through the complete darkness. Finally, I started to see some illumination; not the brightest light, but I could see something. Seeing the light made me excited so I rushed to move closer towards it. The price of rushing however made some branches whiplash into my arms and face. They stung, but I just wanted to get out of the black. The light was now in front of me, close by only mere inches.

I finally stood in the light...with Poison Joke right under my feet.

I was standing in the field of the nasty flowers. I looked to my right to see that I was only about 2 feet into the patch of flowers. I must have gone in a giant circle. Frustrated, I stomped my way through the flowers to the other side, no longer caring if something might happen to me.

On the other side of the foul flowers, I stood somewhat accomplished and a little worried. I hope nothing bad will become of me because of those flowers. But it felt real good to kick them everywhere and destroy most of the patch. Thinking about it left an evil grin on my face.

Now that that problem was out of the way, I was able to continue forward. Before long, there was a path that branched off the main trail onto another. I was at a fork in the road and wasn’t sure which way to go. I felt no impulse to go either way so I decided just to go right.

There wasn’t much distinction between the two paths, they were both dark and mysterious. After going through the thick of the woods earlier, I did not feel as afraid to go on the paved paths. Even though that led me around in a circle, it was maybe best I took it because it made me less afraid of the forest.

The path I took led right up to a cave. A huge cave. This wasn’t some ordinary cave that would hold a bear. The size of this this cave was beyond imagination. Could this have been where I had to go? I put my hand on the stone which was the corner of the opening of the cave. The cave has been here for a while. There was moss and thick bushes growing over the sides of the cave. The entrance was even partially covered due to hanging moss.

With my hand still on the side, I squinted my eyes and looked inside the cave. I could see about a foot inside, but visibility was cut off by darkness. I dug into my backpack and pulled out my flashlight. Hopefully it will want to work. I turned it on; however, there was no light. But I packed diligently this time - I was not going to have the same problem I had in the Diamond Dog cave with my flashlight! I brought an extra set of batteries. I replaced the batteries, then saying a little prayer, I turned the switch to the on position. It worked! The flashlight’s beam was at full strength.

I looked back toward the cave and pulled my flashlight up so I could look inside to see what there was. As soon as I aimed my flashlight in, I heard a sound. The sound was full of bass and very faint. However, as the sound traveled down the cave towards me, it got louder, and louder. It was a growl, from a very big creature. It was so loud I dropped my flashlight so I could cover my ears with my hands.

Without any hesitation I turned away from the cave and started running as fast as my legs could carry me back down the path from where I came. My hands were still on my ears and I kept repeating the word “Nope” to myself repeatedly.

As I was still running down the path from where I whence came, I started to remember that cave. That was the cave that housed the Ursa’s. I am in no doubt that the growl was from the Ursa Major. I think it’s save to to give a big check to there being monsters in here.

I ran all the way back to the fork in the road where I finally stopped to catch my breath. I never had the chance to look back when I was running so I took a quick look over my shoulder. Luckily I wasn’t being chased. I probably would have realized that if it was actually chasing me, there would have been earthquakes.

I knew I would not be taking that path again, so I suppose the only other option I have is the left path.

I was really hoping there wouldn't be monsters...

The path was long but there were no creatures, at least not yet. The wind occasionally picked up and an owl gave off a hoot, but there was nothing that made me jump. The scenery never seemed to change; it seemed like I keep repeating the same trail over and over.

My legs were getting tired; however, there was something at the end of the path.

Wishing I had binoculars, I tried to focus my eyes on what it was. It seemed to be a structure of some sort. However, it was a structure inside of a tree. I picked up my pace a little, and small traces of dust from the trail starting to take flight. It was a house. But, why is there is a house in the middle of this forest? Who would live out here?

Zecora would. Realization showed on my face. This was Zecora’s house.

I scurried up to the house - it looked just like it did in the show. It almost blended in with the rest of the forest because it was a house inside of a tree. There were bottles filled with fluid hanging down from the branches on some black rope. Tribal masks seemed to guard the entrance of the house. There were also two windows on the side of the tree.

I went up to the door and stood in front of it. It looked like there was no trace of movement inside the tree. I knocked on the door three times, however there was no answer. I figured that Zecora wasn’t anywhere to be found. But I have to wonder, why are there supernatural creatures from the show, but no ponies or zebras? It’s a mystery that I wished to figure out, however I don’t think today would be that day.

After figuring that no one was home, I tried to open the door using the door handle. But the door would not budge. It was not even acting as if it was locked, it seemed like someone super glued the entire door shut. I even tried to put a little force into the door, but that only ended up straining my shoulder.

I took a step back from the house to get a full view of it. I’ve never seen a pony house, or a zebra tree in this case. A hoot from an owl broke my attention from the house. It was neat to see the house, but I knew I wouldn’t get the element here.

I noticed that there was another trail behind the house, it looks like it wasn’t connected to the previous trail I was on. This forest is so confusing, there are trails everywhere.

I have to keep moving though. I took the path behind Zecora’s house and kept walking down the trail. The moon was full tonight, pretty ironic that it is too. When the ponies first traveled through the Everfree Forest to go find the elements, the moon was full. I was glad that the moon was full as well, as it spread a little light on the path of the Everfree.

I was closing in on where I needed to go to find the next element, I could just feel it.

While I was walking down the path, things seemed to get a little darker, yet the moon was not being blocked. It was almost as if there was an aura that made this area darker than the rest. What made this place different than the rest? Not too long after the darkness came, there was a light fog that begun to form in the area. With every step I took, it got ever so slightly thicker.

The chills went up my back, but I kept taking step after step. This zone of the Everfree Forest is peculiar then the rest. I knew something was up ahead, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready to meet it. But I knew this is where I had to go.

Further along the path, the fog got extremely thick. To the point of where I couldn’t even see past it. I braced myself for the fog by holding my breath like I was swimming underwater. I started to pick up my speed so I could ram through the fog. Eventually I got enough speed as to where I was doing a full-on sprint straight to the fog!

The fog was before me and I closed my eyes. Without a sound I ran straight through the thick fog that only lasted for a few feet. After opening my eyes a little I could see that there was no more fog in sight. The thick fog acted like a wall to stop the rest of the fog from getting in. I stopped my running and came to a complete stop while releasing the breath I had held.

In retrospect, that might have not been a good idea just to run through the fog blinded. There could have been a cliff on the other side of it, or worse! Probably not one of my brighter moments.

I felt the sensation that this would be the area I would receive the next element. My backpack, which held the rest of the gems would also agree, as they gave off a high pitched noise like they have before when I have had them on me.

On my right were ruins. There were deep cracks along the stone that was the wall of the former building. Moss and trees were growing out of the cracks showing that these have been ruins for quite some time. In front of this building were grand steps that didn’t age as much as the rest. At the top of the stairs was a mighty wooden door, however it has started to decay over time. There was also a broken structure that was behind the first that seemed to be a lookout or perhaps a bedroom, as this used to be a castle.

I knew it was a castle, the only castle that I know of the was in the Everfree Forest. These were the ancient ruins of the Castle of the Pony Sisters. This was the same place that the Mane 6 defeated Nightmare Moon using the Elements of Harmony.

I looked to the left to see that the bridge the ponies crossed over to get here was no longer tied across the valley. It seems Rainbow Dash’s knot did not hold. Or perhaps, I may just be in a different time period, where maybe they haven’t defeated Nightmare Moon yet?

I quickly backed out of those thoughts knowing that they would only distract me for the time being. Now is not a good time to be having mind-blowing thoughts.

I turned back to the right and walked to the ruins and up the great stairs. The wooden door, although there was holes in it, still stood strong. The rusty doorknob was there so I gave that a try, and to my surprise, it worked like it was brand new.

Inside the castle ruins there were six pillars that were now broken and useless, as there was no ceiling anymore. Vines grew up the pillars and had little leaves coming off the vines. The ground was like solid concrete and looked mostly undamaged. There were window frames all around the walls, but there was no glass, only the metal that made the glass more decorative.

In the middle was the most noticeable feature. It was a statue that was large at the base, it’s top being a sphere. From below the sphere, beams stuck out, beams that were used to have the purpose of holding smaller spheres. I knew from the show those spheres were what Twilight thought were the Elements of Harmony but came to realize that they were not after Nightmare Moon destroyed them.

A small sparkle on top of the sphere quickly caught my eye. There was something on top of it. I took a few steps forward and squinted my eyes focusing on what was on top.

It was a gem.

It had to be an element! I was too far away to actually see what it was so I started fast pace with a little bounce in my step toward the statue. There was also a small grin on my face. I was almost at the base of the statue when...

-crunch-

There was someone behind me! It sounded like someone just stepped on one of the random leaves that were strewn across the floor.

I stopped dead in my tracks. I froze.

A familiar voice emerged from behind me and spoke, “Ah told you not to go in that cave”.

I slowly turned around to see a face that I couldn’t quite place, but someone I know I have seen before. He wore some grubby work clothes with nothing else that would make him stand out from a crowd. He leaned on his side towards the door looking straight at me with a smirk that made me want to knock off him because he scared me. However, he didn’t appear hostile so I think its alright to be a little bit more relaxed.

The mysterious man started to walk toward me saying, “but you did anyway” he paused for a moment looking at me tilting his head, “an’ you survived even after that cave-in!”

How does he know me?

He stopped again, “You don’t remember me do ya? Remember we talked a lil’ bit at the gas station?”

I tried to remember back to when I have talked to this man in a gas station. Nothing was ringing a bell until I looked on his shirt to see his name tag. Wrote very simply on the tag was the name “Mac”.

I stuttered back to him “I...you...why?” Was all that I could manage to say back.

“I was bettin’ you were wondering why I would be out here.” his smirk vanished and put his head slightly down, “you see, our section of the city has had some trouble as of late. With the economy going downhill and all that...” he stopped and started to scratch his head, “to be honest with ya, I don’t really understand it. All I understand that we have families without any food and unable to feed their children.”

I was saddened at this, but continued to let him speak.

“We even had some people go into the cave you also went through to see if der were gems we could sell. But after days of diggin’ through the rubble, nothing was found. All the talk bout the gems being in the cave were nothing but rumors!”

I recalled seeing gems in the caves, but perhaps they couldn’t get to them because of all the rocks were in the way. I decided not to mention that I saw them in there, as it would only depress him more.

Mac continued, “Someone else said that she remembers hearin’ there was a highly valuable gem in this forest. If we got dis gem, we could sell it and get food and shelter for everyone! It might of been jus’ another rumor, but we had to take a chance.” Mac looked up to the gem that was on top of the statue. “and I’m glad we took dat chance.”

He was looking at the element! He couldn’t sell that could he? I have traveled all these years to come get these elements!
Before I could think anymore, he interrupted, “Say, could you git up there and grab that for me please? I’m getting a lil’ old for this stuff!” He wore an innocent smile, he had no idea how much this element meant to me.

I did as he asked and started to climb the statue with relative ease. This entire journey has made me stronger so tasks like this were not hard as they originally were. I made it to the top and the gem was before me. It was purple diamond shaped gem, however, it didn’t appeal to me as much as the other elements did. It was probably just because of the dreary forest though.

I grabbed the Element and made the decent down the statue. Getting safely down I walked back over to Mac looking at the Element I had in my hand.

Mac exclaimed “Atta’ Boy! Everyone will be so happy to see this! This children will finally be able to eat!” Mac was very exuberant and then held out his hand to receive the Element.

I looked deeply into the gem for a few seconds. All my life, I’ve ran around the world to collect the Elements. I started to clutch tight around the Element and then put my arm back down along my side still holding on to the Element.

I shot my gaze up to Mac and looked him square in the eye. Mac’s smile slowly started to fade, he also retreated a tad when I looked at him.

Still starting at him, I proclaimed “Yes. They will be able to eat again!” I brought my hand up to Mac’s and joined my hand with a little force to his. I dropped the Element in his hand, smile bursting on my face.

Mac’s smile came back to him as he said, “I can’t wait to show everyone! Thank you so much!” without any more delays, Mac turned the other way and started to jog back into the forest to bring the gem back to the city so he could sell it and use that money to give the people in the area food. He went back to give the people hope once again. They must of had some incredible faith.

I watched as Mac ran back into the forest all the way until I couldn’t see him anymore.

I collapsed to my knees.

And thus, my whole life was now wasted. My journey cut short. My journey, ended.

I knew one thing for sure, better to have my life wasted rather than all the people back in the city. I would rather have my life gone than all of theirs.

The night was silent, almost like the forest has come to a complete standstill. The moon was still bright shining down on me almost like it was sympathising with me. The leaves lay around me, blowing gently in the quiet wind. A single tear rolled out of my eye, made its way down my cheek, down onto the hard floor. No noise was made.

I closed my eyes, faced toward the moon still on my knees and took a deep breath in and out. I know I did the right thing. The people needed a glimmer of hope once again.

I faced back down toward the ground with my eyes still closed.

A noise, a very high pitched one. A noise that seemed like it wasn’t there, however, in the quiet night it was audible. The noise was there, but then it slowly started to fade.

-FLASH!-

There was a flash of of light right under me! I quickly opened my eyes to see what I could not believe.

A purple diamond shaped gem was once again in front of me, however, this once acted like the other elements.

The Element of Generosity.

I slowly put my hands in front of me to grab it. I touched the gem and it gave of tiny shocks, not strong enough to hurt me. Little shocks that allowed me to feel that it was real, that this was the Element that I sought.

I embraced the element tightly and started crying tears of joy.

One more element. Just one more.

Quest’s Fidelity

Chapter 6 - Quest’s Fidelity

It has been so long. How many years was it since the day I acquired the Element of Generosity? I finally made it here, despite how tired I have become.

I never thought I would see this town with my own eyes. It might not be one hundred percent accurate, but it still exists. The houses were all similar in structure. They were made of timber and the roofs were made of either straw or perhaps hay. Along with the wood houses stood some tents that also served as living accommodations. There were also some unusual housing as well, such as a giant tree. But what caught my eye almost immediately was the giant building that lie somewhat on the outskirts of the town. From what I could tell it has three stories, a balcony on the second and third floor. Like the houses, this building was also timber-framed. Flags on the top were waving in the wind. This building was a town hall.

Welcome to Ponyville.

I was standing on the south side of Ponyville, the side the Town Hall is on. And yet despite the town’s inviting appearance, the town as I expected, was empty. There were no ponies on the street. It seemed like a ghost town, not a single soul on the premises.

I remember the dream I had so long ago. Celestia told me to find them.

“I’m almost there Celestia...I’m almost there.” I spoke with a tiny grin.

I’m not exactly sure what’s going to happen once I find the last element. Perhaps this whole town will come back to life and fill with ponies. To be honest, I never understood what Celestia meant by “find us”. But I know finding the elements has to be a part of it. I have to be doing something correct!

I started to walk towards the Town Hall, wondering why no one has ever found this town. Ponyville was just down a road, so how could no one have stumbled upon it? Maybe it was something only I was supposed to see. Without the subtle guidance of the other Elements, I would have never thought of going down the road.

There was a bridge that was before me that I would have to use in order to get to the town hall. I wonder if it was the same bridge that Fluttershy dumped trash on two other ponies when she got lessons from Iron Will? Maybe this was the bridge that Spike felt bad on after he turned into a giant dragon and destroyed Ponyville? To think that I was walking in the same places they trotted on.

The bridge seemed to be completely made up of white marble. It was also a pretty large bridge; about six people or ponies could walk across it in a line concurrently. The bridge was in a slight arc shape that spread over the river.

I walked to the peak of the bridge, which was directly in the center, and walked over to the side to get a look at the water.

Defining Ponyville as a ghost town was a perfect description. There were no fish, frogs, or any other aquatic creatures in the water. Not even a single duck was floating on the water surface. Nothing has ever seemed to line up. In the Everfree Forest there were owls and even monsters! But here, its just quiet...and lonely.

I completed my walk over to the bridge and continued my trek toward the town hall. Looking left of me I could see farmland and trees. A big red barn surrounded by a white picket fence stood proudly amidst it all; no doubt it was Sweet Apple Acres. There was no vegetation on the plowed land or any apples in the trees. It looked much different where there was nothing growing. There was also different lighting not only to Sweet Apple Acres, but also to Ponyville entirely. My assumption of this would be that because now that Ponyville is in my world, it looks much different than a cartoon.

Looking in the opposite direction of Sweet Apple Acres, I can see Everfree Forest along with Fluttershy’s cottage. It’s weird to think that years ago I was in that same forest. But there is no way that can be the same forest. When I went into it, I was at a much different location that was miles away from here. Maybe the forest was ubiquitous, that is, being at different places at the same time. But, like everything on the journey, there is so much I am unable to explain.

I eventually made my way over to Town Hall and started to walk up the wooden steps. The wooden planks seemed to look a little off from what it was in the show. But, once again, it was a cartoon which would naturally make it look different when it is placed in this world. Reaching the top of the stairs I noticed something that was inapposite from the show.

There was a lone picture on the ground with two people I knew. One was a male who had blond hair and some scruff on his chin. The other was a woman with short brown hair. It looks like it was a picture of these two shorty after they got married.

I knew these two people.

It was a picture of my parents. They were both happy. Why was this here?

I reached down to grab the photo when-

-click-

At the instant I touched the photo, a giant trap door opened beneath me! Before I knew it I was falling in a pitch black room! However, shortly after my butt hit hard against what felt like some metal surface, I was still moving. It seemed to be some sort of slide was slipping down. But unlike normal slides, this wasn’t fun, it was terrifying. I tried to stop my descent, but there was no hope and no choice; I just kept sliding down the slope.

After about twenty seconds of sliding down in a pitch black room, the slide seemed to be going upwards. At the end was a ramp! At the speed I was going on the slide, I was about to be launched off. There was nothing I could do to stop; I flew off of the ramp and started to soar in the air.

-WHAM-

I came to a dead stop by a stone wall. My entire body was petrified as pain shot to every part of my body, from fingertips to toes. I also started to pass out, at least I thought I was. It was still too dark to see anything.

After hitting the wall, I started to fall backward and eventually met another unfortunate landing. I hit the stone floor with another thud, pain once again meeting me. I could not stay awake much longer. As I was about to pass out, there was laughter. Not a pleasant laughter, but a maniacal one. It kept me up only for a bit longer, but I could not fight it anymore.

As I was passing out, the voice chanted, “Hah! What’s wrong, did you hit your head? Nighty-night human.”

I knew that voice.

I couldn't stay awake, I lost my consciousness.

“ughh..”

I started to regain my senses. I slowly started to open my eyes, although it didn’t seem like it because I was in the dark again. I seemed to have a knack of falling down dark holes. My mouth was so dry, I moved my tongue around to quench it. My whole body was sore, but my left arm was especially sore.

“Did you get a boo-boo? I can’t believe that a human fell for such a simple trap!” the voice mocked at me.

I started to cough up all the dust that settled in my throat. I tried to speak back but it was no use yet.

“Cat got your tongue?” the voice snarled.

I had some water in my backpack, I started to reach back with my left arm but was unable to. Pain also shot down my arm; I think it might have been broken after toppling down the hole. I rotated my body so that I could take off the backpack while still laying on the ground. I winced at the pain that was still present in my body. Eventually after some choice words, I was able to get my backpack off. I dragged myself using my one good arm over to the wall that I could barley see and propped my back against it. I was sitting against the wall still soaking in the pain.

I reached into my backpack to pull out water. It seemed to be the most precious thing to me at the moment. I unscrewed the cap, which was much harder only using one hand, and drank the precious water. It was the best thing I have ever tasted.

I coughed one last time, which got all of the dust out of my lungs. Now it was time to reply to the voice I was familiar with.

“I know who you are.” I muttered.

The voice, with no apparent surprise to my revelation mocked with, “Oh no, what ever will I do?”

I gritted my teeth and replied “Discord! Where are you?! Why are you free?!”. It was a bittersweet moment. I was talking from a character from the show, but he was just as evil as he was in it. His voice actually shocked me, that it was the same from the show. I would of thought that they would have different voices because the voice of Discord on the show belongs to the voice actor, not Discord himself. I suppose it was another thing I couldn’t explain, and I wasn’t going to ask him about it. I had more important things to think about.

Discord replied, “Instead of worrying where I am, shouldn’t you be worrying about where the precious Element of Loyalty is?”

I was taken back, he knew about my adventure for the Elements.

He continued, “Go on, try to find the Element. I’ll give you a hint, it’s down here.”

I dropped right in where the Element was, but why would he help me?

“Oh, and I hope you don’t mind... but I might cause a little chaos. That’s my thing, y’know.”

At that I shouted back at him, “I’ll find the Element! You’ll see!”

“I suppose we will see how ‘loyal’ you really are.”

At that his evil laughter bounced off the walls.

After his laughter got done echoing down the hall, I once again dug into my backpack to find my flashlight. With the flick of the switch, light flooded the room that I was in.

The room I was in was not like a cave at all. The walls were made of stone bricks of different colors. Some of the bricks were also either cracked or had plant life growing on them. The room was almost a perfect square. I looked up to see where I dropped from, however there was no hole. I would assume that the bricks interlocked to hide the opening from sight.

This place is a dungeon. Discord’s Dungeon.

Looking to my right, as I was still leaning against the wall, I saw a doorway that would be my only escape out of this room.
I slowly gathered my backpack and started to stand up. I was still a little shaken from the fall and unsettled after learning Discord would try to prevent me from getting the Element. Why would he want to stop me anyway?

I tried to use my left arm to swing my backpack onto my back, however the pain was still present. I couldn't even move it, and it looked a little out of place. Without a doubt I either broke it or sprung it. I’m not sure what Discord will throw in my path, but this will put me at a major disadvantage.

I used my right arm to get my backpack secured on my back and walked out of door using the doorway. It was a short corridor that led to another room. It looked like I was in the same room; however, the room was smaller. Across from me was a solid flat wall of dirt. I went up to the dirt to touch it. It was very compact, if I were to punch it I would probably end up breaking my fingers. Looking at the color of the dirt, I could tell that it was not as fresh as it normally would be closer to the surface. It was more of a dark brown color, anything planted it would probably stand a better chance without any dirt whatsoever.

While looking at the dirt, it started to bubble. I quickly retreated my hand and backed away slowly not taking my eyes off of the compelling formation taking shape. It started to look like a face was being made in the dirt, but not a human face. It was Discord’s face.

When his face formed, Discord mocked, “Oops! I accidentally left my dirt here.”

“Then why don’t you move it?” I wasn’t really sure why I even asked that because I knew that wasn’t going to happen.

“What fun would there be in that?”

At the end of his sentence, there was a sharp clatter to the left of me. It was a normal metal spoon.

Discord continued, “I think that you should move it!” At that, his face started to vanish out of the dirt. Before he was out of the dirt, he gave his famous laugh.

“You’ve got to be kidding me...” I muttered to myself. Did he seriously expect to dig out this dirt using that shrimpy spoon? The answer to that was inevitable, I would have to dig through this dirt using that spoon.

I drug my feet over to the spoon and picked it up using my only good arm. That would be another problem, I only had one arm to chip away at the dirt with. But who knows, maybe the Element was inside. If not the Element, there would have to be a doorway at least.

With the spoon in hand, I struck it against the center of the dirt. It was hard, but I still was able to scoop it with relative ease. This was the first of many scoops.

My hand and my arm were insufferable. My hand had major cramps and it was extremely hard just to open it. I really wish my other hand was usable. I have gotten hand cramps at the factory I used to work at, but this was a whole new level of agony. My head had beads of sweat dripping off of it; the room got extremely hot during all the hard work. I was dehydrated after doing a menial task for so long. The water I had helped, but I ran out and need more.

I was digging a hole right through the center of the dirt wall, just large enough so that I would be able to crawl through it. Because I was pretty deep in the wall, I was digging blindly. I knew I was digging straight though because my body was able to lay flat throughout the entire tunnel.

A few more scoops then suddenly my spoon went through the dirt! I reached the other side! Without even wanting to scoop another piece of dirt, using my head, I pushed myself through the remaining dirt that blocked me. I flopped out on the other side of the dirt onto the stone floor.

I lay there for a minute with both of my arms plagued with pain. Could I even keep going further? Knowing how Discord is, there is probably many trials up ahead. With both of my arms incapacitated, there was nothing else I could do...

A silent whisper appeared in the air that was barely audible.

“You’ll fail.”

I could not go forward, I would have to head back...

No.

I caught myself. I was falling into Discord’s trap. He just wanted me to give up and go home. Even though Discord would look me and tell me that I will fail, I must look him in the eye and press on.

I have a desire that I need to fight for! They are real, and I would fight for them with every last breath I have!

I rolled to my back and although the pain was present, I forced myself up until I was able to stand on my feet.

“I’m going to find you, ponies.” I said with my new found confidence.

There was another doorway ahead, I walked through it with my arms hanging sluggishly at my side. Through another small corridor which led me to another room.

The room was exactly like the first room I was in, the only difference was that there was another doorway on the other side. Apparently there was no obstacle in this room.

I started to cross the room but when I reached about half way through the room, one of my feet started to go into the ground a little. One of the stones on the ground went about an inch lower making a little click doing so. What is that?

Suddenly, using my peripheral vision, I saw something extremely bright along the wall. I quickly looked over to see what caught my eye. There was a fiery ball made of swirling yellow flame heading right towards me! It was a fireball!

I tried to dodge the inferno, but the room was too small so it did not have to travel far to hit me. I turned my back while trying to turn away from the fireball, it hit be square on the back where my backpack was.

The flames spread across my pack setting it on fire. I wrestled with my backpack to get it off of me, however it was hard with two crippled arms. I had to hold my arms straight out backwards a little bit so that the back would slide off of my back. It hurt but it was better then lifting my arms and removing the straps separately.

My backpack hit the ground with a thud while the flames were engulfing it. However that was the least of my troubles; the fire that was taking my backpack away from me spread onto the back of my shirt.

“Oh, things are really heating up now!” Discord blurted out of no where.

The fire took advantage of the shirt that I was wearing and was quickly overwhelming it. The flames swept all around my body. As a natural instinct, I dropped to the ground and started to roll to get the flames put out. The hard stone might of not been the best floor to subdue the fire, but I had no other options.

I kept rolling to get the flames off of me, however they were not leaving as quickly as I would like them to. The fire was searing, I could feel the fire as it started to char my back. I really wish I had some water left over from earlier.

After rolling for some time, I was able to put the flames out, but not without consequence. My back was closest to the fire, so it took the most damage. I wish I could turn around to look at it, but I was unable to. I would assume that it was very red and possibly bubbling at some parts. I knew it didn’t look attractive to say the least.

It was in insurmountable pain, I would assume it was a second degree burn. I had nothing to cool it off, still wishing I had some water. I could hardly move my back and the pain was overbearing. With my entire body clinching, I collapsed to the ground. I was in such shock to the fire and the pain I wore. I couldn’t think straight. What was I going to do?

I couldn’t continue on like this.

All of a sudden, Discord’s voice boomed through the room, “I’ll make you a deal, here I have a nice cold bucket of water...I’ll give it to you if you turn around and leave.”

I should take the bucket, it’s not like I could continue forward anyway...

At those thoughts, I had an unexpected vision.

I was outside of my current body that lay in a dungeon below this Ponyville. I was somewhere else.

I was standing inside of a castle, not an ordinary castle though. It was the Canterlot Castle that housed the princesses. The scenery was dark, like there was no light outside. Looking in front of me I saw one pony that I would not be able to take my eyes off of.

Celestia.

She was standing only a foot in front of me, she didn’t have a ghost like appearance like Fluttershy did in the caves. She was actually alive and in front of me. She wore a solid face that was neutral, not a smile or a frown.

I looked her directly in the eye, I wasn’t able to say anything. What could I say to her? I was speechless. However she was not. She returned my gaze and told me...

“Take heart; have faith.”

Without any further delay, I was abruptly flung backwards. White started to fill my vision as Canterlot Castle was disappearing before my eyes. Before long all I saw was white.

Shortly after, I started to come back to my senses and found myself back in Discord’s Dungeon. I was still laying on my back, and the pain was still real.

She said to take heart and have faith... I pondered on what that meant for a little bit.

Take heart...Celestia told me to have courage, to be strong.

Have faith...The ponies are real. I have faith that they are.

I got up ignoring the pain that was shooting sporadically through my body. I got up to my feet and looked at my backpack. Everything was burnt in it, however, there were still five gems that lay buried in the ashes. The Elements were not harmed in the fire, they were not even scuffed. I walked over to them and picked them up and put them in my cargo pants. After seeing that nothing else could be savaged from my pack, I walked out the doorway into the next room.

“You are either very brave or very stupid...” Discord stated.

All of a sudden, something cold and refreshing hit my back. It was the water that Discord tempted me with.

“I have no need for a bucket of water, and now I’ll get to have a little more fun with you.” Discord laughed again before his voice faded.

The cool water was very relieving, but the damage was done and the pain will still be present.

No need to worry about that though, I need to find the last Element.

I’m so tired.

All day, and quite possibly all night I slaved away at passing each room. I have gone through nine rooms in this damnable dungeon. Wall crushers, spikes, lava, a giant rock, monsters, you name it, I’ve gone through it. There was even a room filled with innocent flowers, Discord was using that room just to make me paranoid. His slanderous words have been torturing me non stop through the dungeon.

My body was useless. Every bit from my toes all the way to my head hurts. It was torture being in my body. Why would Discord behave so violently? I’m not sure, and I will never found out. Perhaps my world has made him become so, since Equestria is a much more peaceful place. Maybe when he came to my world, he observed the hatred embedded in people’s hearts and took advantage of it. Maybe the hatred even consumed him. Though, it would only be my opinion, I will never know the truth. My mouth was so parched now anyway so I couldn't even ask him.

Nonetheless, I was now in the tenth room. The room was extremely dark, the air felt as if it had weight to it. My flashlight would do wonders here, but that met an unfortunate fate when my backpack caught fire. The walls, celling, and floor were absent; it was like I was in a completely different place. However, there was a little slab of floor in front of me that led into the room.

I traveled a few steps before I could make out something before me. There was a bridge. It looked like the same bridge that was in front of the Royal Pony Sister’s Castle Ruins. The bridge was composed of wooden planks being held by ropes. I tried to see where it would lead, but the thick darkness prevented me from doing so.

I was curious to see if there was another route, but I could not find one. Looking beneath the bridge I could see only a black abyss. If I were to fall down it, I would assume that it wouldn’t be a happy ending for me.

I looked at the bridge knowing it was my only option to advance.

I wasn’t sure where it would lead. I was walking blind in this room. But I had to trust that it would lead to where I need to go.

I took hold of the rope handles and took it step by step on the bridge. One foot after the other. Sometimes I would slip, but the handles where there to hold me in place.

The bridge was extremely long and frighting , but after a minute of walking, I started to see where the bridge ended. It ended on top of a small island of of stone. It was circular and was hardly big enough to hold me if I laid on top of it.

I got off the bridge and onto the platform only to see that there was another bridge that led further in the room. Looking back I could no longer see the entrance. Actually, looking everywhere I couldn’t see anything besides the bridges.

I looked up at the next bridge that I would have to cross, but then something caught my eye. There a a very light sparkle cutting through the darkness. I would have to cross the bridge to see what it was.

Curiosity struck me and I quickly started to cross the bridge. After some time I got to about the center, I looked up to see where the sparkle was.

I could see what it was.

I was a red gem shaped in a lighting bolt. It was the Element of Loyality.

I’ve done it! I picked up my pace again, making quick work getting across the bridge.

Getting closer I could see that it was on a stone pillar. It was similar to the pillars they used to hold up buildings in Rome. I also noticed that the pillar was connected to the stone island that was like the one in between the bridges.

I was nearing the platform when...

“NO! You will NOT get the Element!” Discord.

Suddenly, the bridge collapsed beneath me in a flash. I was left with nothing to grab or hold me. I was able to lunge forward just before the bridge was completely gone.

I was heading toward the stone island. Half of my body landed on the side of the island as pain exploded on my ribs. The pain shocked me as my body slid off of the side.

I missed the island, I was going to fall.

I was able to cease my fall into the black abyss by grabbing the side with one of my hands. It was the hand I dug the dirt out with, it was still in tremendous pain. But since that was near the beginning of the dungeon it was able to heal a little.

I held on strong hoping that I wouldn't fall. Looking below I could no longer see the bridge that fell, I could only see darkness. I tried to move my other arm up to help me lift myself up, but it was no use.

There was nothing I could do. There was nothing I could grab onto.

My grip on the stone started to slip.

This would be it. I got so far.

I looked up, my eyes met another pair.

“...Rainbow?” I spoke, unsure if it was her.

“Grab my hoof! Hurry!” Rainbow exclaimed.

It was her, it was really her! She was partly invisible, but I was eye to eye with her! I was trying to not get lost in the fact that she was above me, but it was extremely hard not to. However, she might be the only one who can save me now.
“What are you waiting for?!”

“My other arm is broken!” I cried in defense.

“Just use it! Grab my hoof!”

Obeying her request, I tried to bring my other arm up. There was no pain, it all vanished! Without any hesitation, I used the remainder of my strength and reached my arm up to grab her hoof.

I didn’t grab her hoof though, My hand went right through her hoof. Rainbow Dash vanished before my eyes.

With no more strength, I fell backwards into the darkness.

Was it a trick?

Am I going to die?

The thoughts of my adventures flooded my mind. It’s true what they say, your entire life does flash before your eyes before you meet your end.

Like the time when I found my first Element, I was so happy. I remember Ahuitzotl’s Temple being the first structure I saw in real life that came from the show. I was in awe when I saw Fluttershy in the Diamond Dog’s cave. I gained amazing friends on the cruise ship and scored the Element of Laughter. I also remember when I thought I was giving the Element of Generosity away, but it proved just to be a fake.

As soon as those thoughts came to my mind, a strong sudden gust of wind blew me up.

It was lifting me toward to where the element was!

With a final poof I was launched onto the island, safely landing on it this time.

I lay there trying to gather what happened, I realized that I was safe and the Element was right next to me. I quickly oriented myself and got to my feet. I looked over to where the Element was on the pillar. I raced over to it and snatched it from its resting place.

I found the Element of Loyalty. I have all the elements. My journey was completed.

I could not contain my happiness at the moment. After everything I have gone through, it made this moment so much more sweeter. To think that I finally completed my adventure. All these years, and here I am with my journey completed. Tears started to bead in my eyes as I realized all the sacrifices and trials that I have gone through to get the Elements.

But what do I do now?

I remembered the other Elements that lay in my pant pockets. With haste, I pulled them all out and put them in front of me.

-FLASH-

The instant I put them down together there was an extreme bright light. My eyes retreated from the light by pulling my head backward and using my hand as a shield from the light. The light did not last long, it shorty was gone.

I rubbed my eyes trying to regain my eyesight. When I tried to look back at the Elements before me...

“T..They’re gone!” I shrieked!

The Elements were no longer before me! Where did they go?!

I scrambled looking around my body to see where they were, but they were not on the ground. Maybe there were on the pillar next to me!

I stood to my feet and checked the pillar, but I stopped.

There were seven ponies in front of me. Looking at me.

Twilight Sparkle...Applejack...Fluttershy...Pinkie Pie...Rarity...Rainbow Dash.

They all had their corresponding Elements floating above them. But in front of the mane six stood Princess Celestia.

They all acknowledged me, and were smiling at me. I could see that they were proud of me, I complete the quest that Princess Celestia gave me.

I found them.

Now I will live at peace the rest of my days. I will forever be with them, and they will forever be with me.

“Muhahaha, do you think you actually won?” Discord ruined the moment.

I totally forgot that he was lurking in the dungeon. The shock was very apparent on my face, however, the ponies seemed to not hear Discord.

“I found them Discord! They bear the Elements of Harmony once again, you stand no chance!”

“That’s what you think, but it doesn’t matter. I’ve had my fun, and you’ve had your bliss.”

What is he talking about?

“Wake up!”

Everything went black instantly. There was no ponies, Discord, or even myself. I was nothing, I was nowhere.

What happened?

I started to open my eyes however I felt no pain in my body. My body was mostly numb, my head was dreary like it was filled with cobwebs.

I‘m now in a bed with white sheeting. The room around me is small but shared the white color with the walls. I started to hear beeps in my right ear.

Where am I?

Faith

Chapter 7 - Faith

What is this place?

Looking at my surroundings, I find myself in a small room that didn’t have much in it. There is a sink on my right and a window to my left. In front of me was the room’s door, and on it a little window; however, I can’t see outside of it with my angle. I’m laying on a bed that was against the back wall in the center.

There’s a beeping coming from the right as well. Looking to my right I saw a couple bags with fluid in them. There was a cord that came from them at the bottom. I observed the cord and followed it with my eyes to see where it led.

It led to my bed.

Removing the warm covers, I could see that I’m connected to these bags with tubes.

This is a hospital, but where...and why? What happened to the ponies? Am I here because of Discord? Is this another trick? Questions kept flooding my mind.

Suddenly, a nurse eased her way into the room not really noticing that I’m awake. She now walks over to some machines which I assume were checking my heart rate. She looks at the screen for about five seconds and then turned to look at me.

Her entire expression drops. As if I’m a ghost who just scared her.

She then stands frozen just starting at me for a while. I’m a bit confused as to why she is starting at me like that, but I have a really bad feeling now.

She started to make her way toward the door still staring at me and not breaking eye contact. When she arrived at the door, she turns her back against me and rushes out the door.

This can’t be good. Something isn’t right here.

She bursts back into the door after shortly leaving still wearing her shocked expression and now pointing at me. A man enters after her wearing the same white scrubs as her. I would assume this is the doctor. He looks at me, intrigued, but not as appalled as the nurse.

He strolls up to the bed that I was laying in and carefully sits on the side of the bed careful not to mess with any of the medical equipment.

“How are you feeling?” The doctor asks with a slight smile. The nurse is still standing by the doorway now with her hands on her cheeks.

Maybe someone found me in the Discord’s Dungeon and when they did, they brought me to the hospital.

“Fine...what happened?”, I replied.

The doctor replies at my question, asking, “What do you remember?”

What should I tell him? I’m not even sure how I got to this hospital.

“I...I was in Discord’s Dungeon...I got the last Element..then...they arrived...and now I’m here...”

The doctor then raised his brown bushy eyebrows at what I had to say. He looks a bit taken back, but did a slight cough to relieve the shock. He quickly adjusts his glasses and looks at me.

“Yes, that seems quite normal..

Listen. There is something that I need to tell you that may be unexpected. I hope this will be as least shocking as possible.”

What is he talking about? Unexpected?

“I’m not sure of any other way of putting this,” the doctor continued, “but you have been in a coma...”

Coma.

My thinking halted. My feelings collapsed. My breath thinned.

Coma.

Is this some sort of freaking joke?! I have been traveling for years looking for the Elements! I found them all! Why would they lie to me?!

The doctor tries to comfort me as he continues to ramble on about how I have been in a coma. With aggravation and confusion, It started to become impossible to listen to him anymore.

“You liar!”, I spewed out of my mouth. “I have been traveling for years and you tell me this crap?! What is going on?!”

The doctor, not seemingly phased by my rebuttal, calmly replies, “I know this is hard to believe and a lot to take in...but you have been in a deep sleep for years.”

No..... no...

You’re...wrong...

“When you hadn't shown up for work for several days, your boss sent a fellow employee to your house... he found you sleeping on a sofa upstairs. He tried to wake you, but he couldn’t. He called us and well... we brought you here. You’ve been here for a long time.”

He found me on a sofa...

I fell asleep on that sofa when I had the dream with Celestia...

The doctor continued, “You have a rare inflammation on your brain tissue, or Encephalitis, that triggered the coma. We have been trying to treat it...

but its been mostly futile.”

He paused for a moment and looked down toward the floor, he seemed to be trying to figure out what to say to me next.

“I’m sorry to say, but everything you might have done, has just been a symptom of the coma...

This is the reality. You’ve been here, in the hospital, the whole time.”

“No! Stop lying to me! Just...stop!” I yell furiously.

“I am sorry.” The doctor scooted closer to me and put his hand on my shoulder “I truly am... I understand this is a lot of new news to you...

It is very lucky you’re awake now, however we are not sure for how long.”

Not sure for how long? “W-what?”

The doctor removing his hand from my shoulder started to look toward the ground once again. “Your Encephalitis is very severe... probably the most dangerous we have ever seen.

It has been difficult, almost impossible to treat. It’s highly likely that you will return to a comatose state...

Possibly be as long or longer than the last... if by some miracle you are actually able to wake up again, that is.”

I want to scream.

I want to shout.

I want to spew at him and call him a liar.

But something inside of me knows he is right. My “adventures” didn’t even make sense. Nothing lined up in them. Collecting gems to find ponies?

I tried to think back on my adventures, but they were now seeming to slip my mind. My memories were fleeting, all the details of when I got the Elements were vanishing one by one. Why can’t I remember?

Why would the ponies come to my world anyway? They were a cartoon, so why would I go on an epic quest to find them?

Was this all a dream?

Have I been sitting in this bed rotting my life away?

I don’t even know what to do anymore. I don’t know what to think.

What is the truth?

The doctor is now out of the room, leaving me in the bed. He tells me not to leave the bed, it would make my risk for getting in another coma rise. He must have gone to get medical supplies or perhaps do some research.

I’m in my room, on my bed...

Alone.

Just like I have always been.

It’s hard to believe that everything that has transpired was all a facade. But the doctor presented me documents of when I checked into the hospital. Needless to say, it was the same day I found the Element of Magic, the same day I fell asleep on the sofa.

So what am I supposed to do?

I was dreaming my one desire, which was to be with the ponies. To find them, to be with them. To love them, and for them to love me back.

Suddenly my eyes started to feel heavy...

...No!

Hopefully I was just tired, but I couldn’t take the risk! I might be heading into another coma - I can’t waste my life away again!

But, I can’t fight it. It strikes me with a force I couldn’t resist. I’m afraid to fall asleep. I tried to move my hand over to the “Call Nurse” button. Yet, I feel so weak. I tried to use any muscle that was willing to move in my body, but I could hardly move let alone get out of bed. I try to yell to the doctor, but I could hardly even talk at normal volume.

"I guess this is it," I uttered.

I start to think back on what was left of my dreams, all that I have learned. Sure they may have only been dreams, but I still learned so much.

I’ve learned that sometimes unexplainable things need not to be questioned, but rather embraced. For they may lead to a good future.

I’ve learned to always tell the truth, because you will be rewarded. Maybe not right away, but at some point, you will.

I’ve learned that sometimes you have to put other’s before yourself. You never know, you might change their life with a few kind words.

I’ve learned that sometimes your life might really suck. But why should you be stuck in a mindset that will only make you sad? Laugh. Have fun.

I’ve learned that when you sacrifice something of your own, no matter what it may be, you will be the one who gets rewarded the most.

I’ve learned that no matter how hard things might get, always stay true to yourself. Never back down in what you believe in.
I started to weep gently. I guess up until now, I never realized all that I have learned.

Even if I dreamed a large portion of my life, was it all truly a waste?

No.

All that I have learned is priceless. Even if I’m unable to use it in a living life.

But, there is one more question that needs to be answered. How could these ponies teach me so much if they were fake? How could a cartoon teach a grown man life changing lessons?

They could not. A cartoon about colorful ponies would not change a man, unless that is if they were real.

I don’t care if it was all a dream anymore! They had to be real! It is impossible for them to teach me so much and be fake at the same time!

Call me crazy, I don’t care. I have faith in them. I know they are out there, somewhere.

I was fighting my body to stay awake, at any moment now, I would sleep again.

But it felt like that this sleep may be of the longest. Almost as if it were the last.

Even still, I uttered, "I regret nothing..."

As I said this, the most unbelievable thing happened.

Out of nowhere...

Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Princess Celestia all stood around my bed. They were frozen and appeared to be ghosts, but they were all there.

I knew better though, in my last moments I knew this was just my imagination. It was just something I wanted to see, they were not really there. I know they are real elsewhere, but these are just ghosts. It looks like I am now slipping into another dream.

I started to smile and laugh, "Heh, I wish you were all with me now." My smile slowly vanished, "I knew you were with me the whole time, even if it was a dream. I wish I could have found you.” I sighed and my eyes were nearly shut. “But you know, you are real, you will always hold a place in my heart. Even though I can't touch you, even though I can't hear you...I know you are there. There is no one else I would rather be with, then all of you right now.”

They may be just illusions, but it felt real good to say all of that. They might of heard me, wherever they may be, or maybe they didn’t hear me. But that’s okay. I will be at rest when I sleep.

Without warning, Twilight broke her frozen stance and looked over at me to smile.

My eyes instantly shot up and my mouth dropped. I was unable to speak. Tears over swept me once again, as I could not believe she was moving. How is this possible? I’m not asleep yet.

Twilight quickly retreated her smile and started to focus on something. I couldn't tell what it was until her horn started to glow.

What was she doing? This can’t be happening!

From her horn emerged a blinding white light. I was looking directly in her horn so the full impact was on my eyes. I couldn’t get my hands in front of my face to shield my eyes, so I simply closed them and put my head down.

After a little bit, I slowly opened up my eyes and looked up still squinting from the impact of the light.

I looked at the end of my bed, the ponies where still there but...

How?

They were no longer ghosts. The colors of them became normal. They moved, they had life!

My mouth dropped again. I didn’t know how to react.

As I gazed at them...Celestia moved and was walking closer to the head of the bed. She put her hoof on my chest.

I...I could feel her hoof.

Twilight followed closely behind her and was eventually standing at her side looking at me with a small smirk on her face.
Applejack came near me on the other side of my bed and started to look me straight in the eye. She wouldn’t blink and she didn’t break contact.

Fluttershy used her little wings to hover her self on the bed near my right arm. Fluttershy, using her mouth, quickly tucked in one of the sides of the blanket that fallen loose from under me. She then layed down and put her head on my chest smiling at me.

My eyes were getting heavy again.

Pinkie Pie was unlike Fluttershy. She jumped up on the bed, making it wobble a little bit and sat near my legs. A large smile she wore.

Rarity trotted over to where Applejack was and using her mouth, she took off the fashionable scarf that she was wearing and placed it around my neck, so that my neck wouldn't get cold as well.

I was about to fall asleep.

Rainbow Dash flew over to the side that Princess Celestia and Twilight were on. She reached her hoof under my blanket and grabbed my hand with her hoof. She gave me a little smile but wasn’t able to keep eye contact for long. However, she never let go of my hand.

While hardly being awake, I looked at each of the ponies. Silent tears rolled down my face.

“I...I can feel...all of...you.” I could hardly mutter.

Princess Celestia was the only one to speak. “You found us. The first of your kind after many generations.”

She started to get closer to my face. “Although we must part, just remember, we will never leave you.

Even when you can’t see us, just remember, we are always there.

You now have our blessings.”

With what I had left in me, I could only get out a few words, “You...are..real...”

My eyes closed, and I feel asleep once again.

Maybe someday, I will wake.

Never lose faith.

And as I fell... I hear these final words, from a familiar voice. It wasn’t any of the ponies, but it feels as if I were close to it.

“Your journey has come to a close. It is now time for you to finally take your peaceful rest.”

“Good night...”

A Dream Come True

Chapter 1 - A Dream Come True

I stood before them. Six faces, their gazes locked on to mine. After all these years I knew they were always there, waiting for me. I wasn’t watching a silly show anymore; no, I was finally living it.

They surrounded and watched me, my eyes filled with tears; these were not tears of sorrow. These were tears of joy and disbelief. I was in what appeared to be Princess Celestia’s castle. How did I end up here?

Sweat was beading on my forehead. Is this real? Real or not, I knew what I needed to do. I slowly started to walk towards the ponies, and looked each pony in the eye as I passed by.

Fluttershy, attempting to avoid direct eye contact, had her mane over her eyes. She occasionally gave me a timid side look, even managed to smirk a little. I could not be offended by that; after all, that is just the way she behaved.

Then there was Rainbow Dash, slightly off the ground using her wings to keep her levitated. She had such boldness in her eyes; it felt like a competition just to see who would break eye contact first. I almost considered to take off running the other direction just to see if she would chase me, but I decided that would be silly.

Rarity stood with such posh, yet not snobbishly like other regal ponies. ‘Twas impossible to miss the elegance brimming off of her. Yet her physical beauty was merely a compliment to the golden heart she possessed.

Applejack. You take one look at her, and you know that you can't go wrong when choosing her as a friend. She'd be the best you could ever have. It seemed like she was going to lunge at me just to shake my hand. After all, she likes meeting new people, well, new ponies.

Perhaps the brainiac Twilight Sparkle could explain as to why I am here? She definitely had to know something; yet she stood there, her face shining with a cheerful look.

At the end of the line of ponies was Pinkie Pie. Regardless of the tears in my eyes, she returned to me the most ridiculous smile I have ever seen. She was doing tiny little hops as I was walking towards her; my heart skipped a few beats as well.

I was so excited to see all the ponies, and yet I was nervous. I’ve studied these ponies for who knows how long; the countless minutes turned to hours, hours turned to days, to weeks, to years; all what seemed to be in vain. But now in this very moment, I stand before them.

To think that they were finally mine. To think that I was finally theirs.

Pinkie was about 2 feet away from me with the other ponies behind my back. I looked Pinkie in the eyes, and she looked straight back at me with a toothy grin. I could no longer could restrain myself any longer; it was time to find out if this was real. I extended my arms as far as I could to give Pinkie the biggest hug she would ever receive. It is almost as if she knew what I wanted, because as soon as I spread my arms, she jumped at me to sneak the hug away.

Something happened.

As soon and my arms folded around her, she vanished. I looked down right where she was supposed to be, but she was certainly gone. “What?!” I sharply glanced over my right shoulder and then slowly started to turn around.

All vanished. No ponies. Nothing. I no longer found myself in the castle; no, it was now an abysmal darkness.

SLAM

My phone fell off the nightstand, buzzing on the hard floor. I laid there, knowing it was just an all too familiar dream again. There is a certain bliss from these dreams, but I always feel depressed after the dream is done. I was so close, and yet I was so far away.

“Another day, another paycheck,” is what my father used to say, until...

As I was lugging myself out of bed, his words always seemed to come to mind when I prepared myself for work. The words themselves never did encourage me to work harder or anything. Probably just the thought of my father telling me is what comforted me. From what I remember, he was a tall man with blonde hair and light scruff on his chin. If you were to open any model magazines, you would see a lot of wannabes of my father. He was no model, however. He just worked a simple job in an office. He was an assistant manager so he had a pretty steady income. He used it to support myself and…my mother. Now that my father is not around anymore, I have to support myself.

I quickly showered then ate a granola bar. I was never the kind of guy that liked having a big breakfast; I would much rather just grab something and munch on that. Besides, I was much too groggy in the morning to actually be able to focus on cooking something. I took a step outside my small house to see a lonely field. Living in the country had its benefits along with its disadvantages. I considered myself an introvert, so the space and freedom is nice. However, the town being about 20 miles away was inconvenient when I had to go shopping. The factory I worked at was also located inside the same town.

“Heh...another day, another paycheck,” I said as I smirked while pulling up to the factory.

I was at my workstation where I bend metal. Definitely exciting as it sounds. All the tired employees do the same thing as I do, bend metal and go home. It’s the best job I can get considering that I never finished high school. Not that I am dumb; much as I really wanted to finish it, there were some...situations that did not allow me to.

My mother used to tell me when I was little, “Honey, I know how much you would rather be doing something else other than homework. But please, do it for me.” I somehow found that reasonable as a child and I did my homework. But as soon as I was done, I would do a belly flop on my couch to watch Pokemon or play some video games! Those days were the best days of my life; how I yearned to go back. The days where nothing could go wrong, the days where I had the innocence of childhood. But, I guess that was before...it happened.

“Hey!” My boss yelled at me. I was daydreaming again, straying from what I was supposed to do. In my childhood, I was never yelled at, at least during the day. However over the night, everything contrasted. My dad became a very angry man, and my mom cried more…and more. I could not comprehend what was taking place in front of me. At that moment…I didn't realize that it would be my last moments of innocence. I badly yearn for my lost innocence.

Maybe I even yearn for the innocence of a -

“Are you even listening?!”

I didn’t realize it, but I spaced out again and was not paying attention to my job. If the production line was not backed up before, it sure is now!

“Ah, so sorry!” My voice was a bit louder than I expected, due to the shock of the line being crammed up.

“One more mess up like this, and I’m sorry, but you’ll be fired.” My boss said.

“Won’t happen again!” I said, while I knew full well it was a half lie.

Promising that I would not get lost in my thoughts is a really difficult task. I was always a dreamer, a deep thinker. My boss shrugged his shoulders and walked off. I need to concentrate all my focus and attention in order to catch up.

Finally after a long day at work, I returned to my house. My hand ached, my feet were sore from standing on concrete floor all day, and my eyes were woozy. I plopped down onto my comfortable chair in front of my computer. Before me, was what I called my life. While it booted up, I started to think about my parents again. Usually I do not think of them so frequently, but today was different. I remember the good times I used to have with them, the three of us. Mother. Father. Son. My life now…it seems like…a shell of my former self.

My dad tried his best to be a good father; yet the temptation was just too great for him to tolerate. My dad…he went out one night to go watch a football game with his friends. He never returned home that night.

Everything changed.

He came back home the next day. Mom and I were sitting on the couch watching television. He came through the door, emitting the smell of alcohol. My mom heard him enter and just about passed out as she saw him in the face. Being the responsible mom, she sent me to my room so they could discuss.

That’s when the shouting began, and I knew it would never be the same.

It has been a week after that ordeal and my dad never visited me anymore. “Where are you daddy?” My mom tires to comfort me to the best of her ability, but I could only imagine what she was going through. I heard her crying during the night; I knew it best to leave her alone.

Although I was a child at the time, I often look back in regret. I always think to myself that there could have been something that I could have done.

My dad never came back to my mom.

They got divorced.

It hurt.

It hurt me so bad.

I kept living with my mom; I was young so I did not fully comprehend it at the time. But not seeing my dad still made me want to tear up. She tried to make me as happy as she could even though the situations were grim. When I asked her about dad, she seemed to shrug it off and say “Don’t worry, honey, you and me can live happily together forever.”

One month passed. My mom is in the hospital. The doctor told me that she has been taking care of herself and she is very sad, she might not be around for much longer. But she takes care of me, and she smiles. The doctor must have been playing a joke on me.

The doctor said it was alright if I were to go in and talk to mom. I went into the room still thinking the doctor was being silly and this was all just an act to make me laugh. Maybe I felt this way because I did not want to accept the truth.

"Mommy, the doctor told me that you might die."

My mom turned her head towards me, her eyes barely open. "Don't be silly, of course I won't die."

"Mommy, I'm worried!" I blurted.

"You have such a gentle heart, you always have." She broke her eye contact with me to look down towards her feet. "There is no need to be worried, Mommy will be fine. I promise we will be home in a few days."

October 10th at 08:20PM – My mom took her last breath.

I cried, I cried for a very…very long time.

“Was... Was I a bad boy? What did I do? Why is this happening to me?”, I asked the only person who was there for me, the nurse. She tried to comfort me so I would calm down. But I would brush off her feeble attempts. I didn’t blame her, I knew she was doing her job.

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Why am I so alone?”

“The other kids look so happy, why can’t I have a normal life?”

I’ve always heard rumors that people could die over heartbreak. But I didn’t believe it, that is, until...she died.

I felt like giving up. Maybe even to the point of death. I didn't know she was so sad, she always looked so happy. If only I had done something to help, if only I had known...

I reflect upon those days, still wondering if I could have changed everything. Maybe my father would not have left. Maybe my mother might still be alive and here with me.

Here I sit at my computer; it’s all I have. It is the only thing that has not left me. Even though I sat there feeling empty, I knew I could always rely on one thing to fill the void. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. There was just something about the show that hooked me in. I started watching it because I consider myself a cartoon enthusiast; cartoons always brought me back to my childhood. But what was it about My Little Pony that made it stand out from the others?

This world is concentrated with hatred and deceit. Yet, Equestria is a world full of love and friendship. Why is our world so dark, when theirs is full of life?

Even though it sounds ridiculous, I cannot help but believe something.

A show with such presentation could not have been drawn from pure fiction.

Somewhere... there are ponies. Somewhere... there is an Equestria.

“They have to be out there…” I said as I realized I forgot to turn my monitor on so I was staring at a blank screen. I turned it on and went to the central brony news hub. “Trixie, Trixie, Trixie, Story,” I said as I scrolled down the page.

But the brony community was not just the typical fanbase; how could I even label this as a fanbase?

It was my family...my only family.

They accepted me with open hands, and I am eternally grateful. If ponies were not real, how could it affect so many people the way it did? It gave me something to hope for in my life. Ridiculous as it may sound, I believe in it.

creak

Suddenly, all my thoughts left me as I heard the noise. What was that? It sounded as if it came from upstairs. I slowly got out of my cozy chair and on to my feet, taking my time to get up being very observant to my surroundings to see if I can hear something again.

creak

There it was again; it seemed like it was coming from upstairs. I started to take very slow steps toward the stairwell. "I'm probably just being dumb", I whispered to myself with a slight smile. Slowly creeping up the stairs, I continued to hear the sound. The house was pretty old so it really was no shocker that I hear sounds. "It's just my imagination," I whispered again even though I continued to sneak towards the sound. Part of me wanted it to be someone - no. Not someone. Somepony. The thought of that put a full smile on my face as I entered the room that had the sound.

To no surprise there was nothing in the room except a couch and a chair. The original plan for the room was to make it into a guest room, but I never have guests. Still being tired from work, I plopped myself on the couch. This was a change of scenery; I never did go into this room to rest. There was one other room upstairs which was my bedroom, that was also quite bare.

I started thinking, what would I do if I actually did find a pony? What if I came in my house and Pinkie Pie had a surprise party for me? What if Twilight wanted to read...or better yet, write a book with me? And when I was writing a book with Twilight, Rainbow Dash would come in and call me an egghead. I wouldn’t even be offended, I would be...happy.

Thinking of the happy thoughts put a smile on my face as I started to lay down and eventually started to doze off on the sofa.

So begins another dream...

A dark room, I could only see red carpet that led up to a throne. None other than Princess Celestia was seated before me in the throne. She had a smile as she looked at me, she almost looked like she had something to say...but she did not. We gazed into each others eyes until she eventually broke our interlocking eyes and looked down. Shortly after looking down, she looked to the left where there was a reasonably sized picture with a figure in the middle. I was the figure on the picture. I looked happy, and I had a strange necklace on my neck in the picture. It was a silver necklace with a gem at the end. I swear I have seen the gem before. It was a pink star with 6 points. Behind me, were 5 other gems, all different shapes and colors. As I looked back at Celestia, her smile was completely gone. I have never seen her look so serious in any of the shows, so why was I seeing her like this. It seemed like a minute passed when I heard her faint voice, however her lips didn't move. It was hard to make out what she said the first time, but it was clearly audible the second.

"Find us."

As she said that, the mane six slowly started to fade in, appearing beside her. As they were appearing, however, the room faded until the point to where all I could see was black. Having somewhat of a lucid dream, I realized the dream was over and woke myself up.

It felt like I was only sleeping for five minutes but lying there, I thought to myself that that dream seemed...real. I know all dreams feel real, but this one almost made me feel uneasy. I went to check my phone that was located in my pocket.

"Huh, what’s this?"

There was something else in my pocket. What could this be? I pulled it out but it was too dark in the room so I couldn't see, but I could see that it was a little shiny and smooth to the touch. "Is this...is this the...no..." I stuttered to myself. I rushed downstairs to where it was brighter, I looked at it and saw...to my disappointment, just a boring piece of metal. It must of fell into my pocket at work. "Getting all worked up at a piece of metal..." I said to myself as I snickered and connected a palm unto my face.

I continued to walk into the kitchen to get a glass of water, but then I noticed a rock on my table.

Being in full light I knew exactly what it was.

As I creeped up closer to it, I could not believe my eyes.

It was one of the gems from my dream.

It was real.

Making the epiphany, I withdrew from the gem backwards only to topple over my couch to met the hard floor. As I laid there half dazed, I couldn't even get my thoughts together to focus. I had so many questions that I knew I could not answer.

I got up and immediately went back to the gem. On closer inspection, it glittered unnaturally. Almost as if there was some sort of magic on it. I picked it up, and as I pulled it closer to my face, my smile grew bigger and bigger, just like Pinkie’s when she first experienced joy. Before I knew it, I was doing one of Twilight's famous dorky dances. But I didn't care how stupid I looked.

"They are real!" I shouted as I shed tears of joy, "I knew it!"

After the joyous celebration, I got more serious and started to ponder on how this gem came into my world and what my dream meant. I wanted to stay up to study about this, but my body said otherwise as the fatigue kicked in. It would be best to get shut eye and then tomorrow morning I can try to figure this out.

Saturday morning arrived, and my sleep was lacking because I was too excited. It's been so long since I have been so giddy. I had all day to figure out how this gem from my dream became real. I assumed that because my dream was real, Equestria was also real. I have seen this gem before, so it must of been off one of the shows. Skipping a shower and breakfast, I went right to watching the first episode of My Little Pony. "The Elements of Harmony!" I exclaimed as I looked at the gem in my hand. It was the Element of Magic.

Equestria was real.

I sat back in my chair, in complete joy. I could not contain it anymore. I burst out laughing, this was too good to be true.

But it was true.

As always, the questions appeared shorty after. Why the Element of Magic? I guess it’s magic obviously that it got here in the first place...but could the answer be that simple? Magic? The gem and the dream..were both simply magic? What happened to the other elements?

But the most important question...How would I get to Equestria? My resources, the internet fanbase, and the show, were outdated in my opinion. I was living a life of magic while everyone else was still living mediocre lives.

I knew what I had to do. The only way I could find out how this happened is to find one of the ponies and ask them.

It seemed so unrealistic, but now it’s possible - no, certain. I knew Celestia would know that I would be searching for them, she specifically asked me in the dream. What made me different from everyone else?

That's it! Too many questions and not enough answers. "It's time for me to go." I said out loud boldly while standing up.

As I stood there confident, I felt like a goof because I had no idea where to start. Almost as if it was whispered in my ear at the same time I said it, I said "Just go."