The Saga of RK Act 1.

by RK

Chapters

Chapter one. New land, New Hope
Chapter two. Greek Science
Chapter three. A Rare Encounter
Chapter four. Romance and Monsters
Chapter five. Politics and Love.
Chapter six. Meeting of the Minds
Chapter seven. The Power of Man
Chapter eight. Training
Chapter nine. Final Preparations.
Chapter ten. Blood, Fire and Rage
Chapter eleven. A Royal Pain.
Chapter twelve. Crossing Canterlot.

Chapter one. New land, New Hope

Beep. Beep. Beep. I lay on a hospital bed, my eyes still closed as narcotics made even the slightest movements tiring, leaving me to use sound to detect a nearby heart monitor and distant phone calls in the hall, leaving me to guess that I am a patient in the Intensive Care Unit, or ICU. My memory was very clouded and fuzzy, but I managed to piece together the previous six hours.

I remember coming home after a long day of work, when I began hearing a woman scream for help outside. Most people would ignore it or call the police, but I have lived in this neighborhood for the better part of three years and I was flat out tired of crime running rampant here! I quickly dialed 911 to send help, then ran out the door to help the woman. I fought the mugger, who was armed with a pocket knife, distracting him long enough for the woman to escape. But, to my luck, the mugger had friends. His friends pinned me down while he stabbed me almost 20 times in the chest. While I was massively damaged and left to bleed out, I moved as quickly as my dying organs allowed. Before I knew it, I was passed out. But, one peculiar thing I noticed, was that just before I fell unconscious, I heard an otherworldly kind of noise, and felt my physical self fall apart, disintegrate, leaving me to drift for a little, where I passed out. I only remember faint shimmers of a field, and a small, sky blue thing running up to me, before I awoke here.

I slowly opened my eyes, feeling the strain of this menial task, and began to observe my current situation. Yep, I was in a hospital. I was hooked up to a full IV bag, meaning I woke up pretty recently from the bag being placed. I looked at the featureless, sky blue wallpaper then to the white linoleum floor. I saw that my chest was bandaged, and the bandages were bled through. Not a good sign. I saw, however, that someone had it way worse on the other side of the curtain to my left, as their entire body was bandaged. I looked to my right and saw a night stand that- strangely- had a bouquet of daisies and a "get well soon!" card signed by a "R.D."

After looking for a second longer, I found the nurse calling button, which seemed slightly larger than at most hospitals. I pressed the button. I was a bit thirsty and I was afraid that, if I got up, I'd bleed even worse from my blood pumping. I heard footsteps in the halls, but these footsteps sounded... off. Like the person was wearing a weird pair of shoes. I then noticed that it sounded like FOUR legs instead of TWO. Was I getting two nurses? My mind began flashing those Halloween costumes of those "sexy nurses", in an attempt to help me forget about the 20 wounds that nearly killed me. I sat up, trying not to look too injured. But when the door opened, my eyes widened in terror! There wasn't a nurse, there was a three-dimensional cartoon pony! I stared at the three-foot tall nurse pony, mouth agape.

"You rang? I got you some water if you wanted some. Oh, by the way, my name is Nurse Redheart, if you need anything else, just let me know."She pushed a cart with about ten water cups and gently put one down next to my card.

"Do you need any help drinking?" I shook my head.

"Okay, well if you need anything else, just ring one of us up, okay?" I nodded, still uncertain of what is happening. I looked at the water and sipped it. It tasted... sweeter than normal water. Was it poisoned? I looked in the cup and noticed that the water was actually cleaner-looking than even purified water on earth! I quickly gulped down the entire cup and noted something spectacular. The water made me feel healthier! I don't know how or why, but I felt better after drinking the water!

"Excuse me, um..." Nurse Redheart pointed at me.

"You. You have a visitor."

After the nurse pony walked away, a sky blue Pegasus with a rainbow tail and mane walked in.

"Hey, man."

The Pegasus greeted me. I stared at her, not sure what to say. Who was she? She waved a hoof in front of my face.

"Helloooo? Can you talk?"

"Yes." I replied, my voice groggy.

"Oh, thank goodness. How ya feeling, bro?" I shrugged.

"Okay, I guess... Are you the one that took me to the hospital?" I asked in my raspy voice. The colorful pony struck a valiant pose.

"Yeah, you're welcome." She flashed me a big, bright smile.

"Oh, thank you so much." I thanked her. She blushed

"Ah, no, its fine." I wanted to hug her, but I resisted my urge.

"Hey, I'm sorry that we didn't have a proper introduction. My name is..."

I had to think for a moment, as my old name would carry my past sins.

"...RK. My name is RK." I chose RK for the personal connection I had, as all my friends always called me RK.

"RK? Cool name. My name is Rainbow Dash. Nice to know you." She raised a hoof, letting me shake her hoof.

"So, you're a human, eh?" Dash asked in a sarcastic tone. I nodded.

"Why? Is that bad?" I asked. Dash gave me a bit of a worried look.

"Er... No, nothing wrong with it. It's just that your kind has a... reputation. But don't worry, I know somepony that could help the public get used to you."

"Sorry, Ms.Dash, but he needs his bed rest for tomorrow." Rainbow Dash left.

"Uh, nurse? What am I doing tomorrow?" She looked back with a smile as she turned off the lights.

"Physical Rehabilitation."

Chapter two. Greek Science

Chirp. Tweet. The sound of birds outside awoke me from my deep rest. I was still in my hospital bed. No, A hospital bed. Those talking ponies were fake. They can't possibly be real. I will open my eyes and be in the Northwest Memorial hospital, away from the sweet water and multi-colored pegasusses. Or is it pegasi? I began hearing little children speak.

"Oh, who is that?"

"Whats wrong with him?"

"He's got funny looking legs and hooves"

Oh no. Did I hear that right? Please tell me I misinterpreted that.

"Okay, little fillies, we need to go. Uncle Jack needs to rest."

Ah, you gotta be kidding me. I slowly opened my eyes, hoping that when I looked it would just be a family of human beings using "hooves" and "fillies" instead of "hands" and "kids". I looked and saw a pink unicorn and two kids, one white with a horn and one red with wings.

"No, no, no. I'm still high off those drugs, these are hallucinations."

I looked up and saw the IV bag, near empty. But nothing felt numb, so I couldn't be on medical pain killers. I looked at my chest and stared at it, awe-stricken. My bandages were gone and there wasn't a single wound on my chest! The only evidence to suggest that I was ever attacked was scar tissue that riddled my chest where I was stabbed. I took in a deep breath and felt my heart beat against my rib cage.

"RK? Oh, you're awake. That's great news! We're gonna take you to the Physical Rehabilitation center to see if you have fully recovered." Nurse Redheart spoke softly.

It was only now that I detected a bit of fear in her eyes. What kind of reputation did humans have here? Murderers, probably.

"Can you walk?" The nurse asked.

I swung my feet over to the right side of the bed, stood up and quickly got back into the groove of walking.

"Oh, that's a very good sign! You are recovering at the fastest rate anypony has before! It takes about three days to get used to walking after the lacerations you have suffered." The nurse said, joyfully.

" I actually had a question, well two, I've been meaning to ask." I said to the nurse.

"I will answer them to the best of my abilities." The nurse said ,honestly.

"First, I was cut deep by a knife and somehow I healed overnight. How did that happen?" I asked.

"Your condition went critical in the night. Your heart almost stopped! But we put you under IMT, or Intense Magical Treatment. We used the best healing spells we could find to reboot your heart and seal up those cuts. We completely re-enforced you muscles and skin, but scar tissue had developed just enough that you now have little dark markings, but little else. And what was your second question?"

I was busy thinking about the fact that I died.

"Uh... Oh yeah, where are my clothes?"

"Oh, they are being washed. Decreases the likeliness of later infection."

I thanked the fact that I decided to wear jeans, a t-shirt and a hoodie to work instead of my suit. Thank goodness for Casual Fridays!

I walked out to the training gym, in my newly washed clothes, and saw that it looked pretty basic. A couple of weights, a treadmill, and a weird staircase thing that goes nowhere.

"Okay, Mr. RK, My name is Dr. Redcross, I will be your Physical Rehabilitation instructor."

The doctor was a light gray unicorn with a brown mane and tail who wore a doctors coat.

"Now, the first test is to simply lift the twenty pound weight for as long as you can. If you hold it for thirty seconds, you pass the strength portion of rehabilitation."

I lifted the weigh with ease, holding it for the thirty seconds required.

"Good, the next step is to walk on this treadmill for ten minutes or run at twenty miles per hour for five."

I looked at him, eyes wide.

"Er... okay, ten miles per hour for five minutes."

The run was a breeze, to feel my heart beat against the pain was what encouraged me to keep running. Unfortunately, the treadmill stops after a certain amount of time, so my body flew forward, smashing my face against the guard rail.

"HOLY CRAP!!! Are you alright?!" The doctor shouted, eyes full of fear.

I picked myself up off the ground.

"Ow... yeah, I'm fine." My face ached from the iron guard rails.

"Well, uh... congratulations! You passed the Physical Exam!" He levitated out a contract, grinning nervously.

"Sign here." He said, with the big, nervous grin on his face.

"If you're afraid I'm gonna sue, don't worry, I wont. Just, be careful next time."

He nodded quickly.

"Mr. RK, Rainbow Dash wants to visit you." Redheart called from the hallway.

"Okay, be there in a second." I began walking back to my room.

I entered the room, expecting only Rainbow Dash, but I entered the room to Rainbow Dash and a hyper-ventilating, mint green unicorn.

"Oh, hey RK, didn't expect you back so soon. This is the friend I was talking about. Say hi, Lyra."

Lyra was the unicorn, and see simply stared at me, freaking out.

"Uh, Lyra, are you okay?" Rainbow Dash asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

I walked up to her.

"Hello, uh... Lyra?" I asked, slightly alarmed.

"SWEET, ALL LOVING CELESTIA, YOU'RE A HUMAN!" Lyra screamed excitedly, grabbing my cheeks as if to see if I was real.

"Uh... yeah, I'm a human alright."

Lyra hugged my head, holding me close and stroking my hair like a pet.

"Lyra, we need your help." Dash finally interrupted, after giggling for five minutes.

"What with? I'd love to help this cute little human." Lyra pinched my cheeks like a woman to her beloved pet. A scowling, embarrassed pet.

"Well, remember all the legends of those scary humans-"

"That are fake!" Lyra interrupted Dash.

Scary humans?

"Right, well, if we let RK out in the public, no matter what he initially does, he will be revered as a scary, filly eating monster. We need your help to prove him as innocent."

Lyra agreed instantly.

"He can live with me!" Lyra said, eagerly.

"Hey, I'm no pet!" I retaliated.

"Just for now. And... sorry about that. I was just so excited that I couldn't contain myself."

I know that feeling.

"Sorry, ladies, he has to get some bed rest." Redheart came inside.

"What? I did the physical tests!"

"Yes, we just need to see if you have any alien diseases and if you pose a hazard. Considering Ms. Dash carried you here, I say you're good, but its just to be sure."

Lyra and Dash left, giving me time to think. I was a philosophical man, so I spent the remainder of the day theorizing my entrance to this world. I remember reading something about String theory and the Multi-verse theory, and then rifts spinning off from that theory. Some say we are surrounded by rifts, and I am a spiritual man, maybe my falling apart before I fell unconscious was the tear absorbing me. Maybe this is another life, and my old body is lying dead on the floor of my apartment right now. Or, as far as the worlds concerned, I just *poofed* off the face of the earth, no longer existing. All this thinking caused my head to hurt, so I just decided to go to sleep. I rolled over and began to dream.

Chapter three. A Rare Encounter

"Good morning, RK!" Lyra greeted me, cheerfully.

I opened my eyes, then began stretching and popping my bones into place. I was still in the hospital, and hungry.

"Morning Lyra, How are you today?" I asked her.

"Oh I'm great, But I scheduled an appointment for you and Rarity at her boutique, so we've gotta go right now!" She spoke with haste.

"Right now? Can't it wait?" I got up, still tired.

"No! We have got to leave now! C'mon!" She grabbed hold of my shirt and tried to drag me.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming. Just go, I'll catch up."

I followed her as we ran out of the hospital.

"So, who's Rarity and why am I getting a suit?" I shouted as we sprinted in the early morning hours, the sun barely peeking over the horizon.

"Rarity's a friend who runs Carrousel Boutique up ahead!" Lyra shouted back at me.

A building, vaguely resembling a giant carrousel loomed up ahead.

"Shes waiting for us?" I shouted up to Lyra, out of breath.

"Yeah, hurry!" Lyra was already at the building, waiting for me. I began to slow down as I caught up.

"Okay... hold... hold up a sec..." I kept on huffing and puffing, as I had never run that fast that far. Lyra knocked on the door.

"Come in!" A pretty English voice called from inside. We entered the building. The inside had a desk in front, for paying, with an area to try on the clothes and a posing area full if mirrors. Mannequins decorated most of the store's interior, all dreesed with frilly pink dresses, sleek red or black ones, and some that seemed composed entirely of jewels.

"Hello, Lyra darling, do you want me to make a dress for you? Or for Bon-bon?" A white mare with a purple tail and mane wearing small red glasses on the bridge of her nose, and a small tattoo of three small diamonds greeted us. I then noticed that Lyra also had a tattoo in the same place, but of a small lyre. I then remembered that everyone had a tattoo!

"No, not for me, for my friend here, RK." Lyra pointed a hoof at me, introducing me to the English mare.

"Oh? Now who's RK dea- OH MY CELESTIA!!! GET AWAY FROM HIM LYRA!!!" Rarity shrieked.

"Oh nononono!! Don't worry he's okay!" Lyra attempted to persuade Rarity, but that wasn't gonna work.

"GET BACK, YOU MONSTER!" Rarity levitated a mannequin and swung it at me!

"WOAH WOAH, CALM DOWN, LADY! I'M FRIENDLY!" I shouted, dodging the mannequin for the second swing.

"Rarity! Calm down! He's cool!" Lyra stopped the melee weapon.

"WHAT!? HE'S A MONSTER!" Rarity protested.

"Look, he was with me this whole time. Wouldn't he have killed me a while ago if he was a monster?" Lyra convinced Rarity.

"Er... I suppose so... I apologize, RK, we've been having monsters sneak into town for a while, and we have been a bit more than jumpy, as you could see." She combed at her mane, straightening it out.

"No problem, just please don't do that again?" I asked politely.

"I'll try to." She said with a little chuckle.

"Now then, we are going to make you a suit, eh? Black?" Rarity beckoned me upstairs.

"Yes, please." I stated as I climbed up the stairs.

After about 4 hours of posing and measuring, the suit was finished.

"Goodness, finally finished. Here's your jacket and pants all finished up. Thank you for coming to my house." Rarity said, with a little smile as I tried on my new clothes. I looked in the mirror and, for someone who always thought little of himself, I thought I looked pretty good.

"Thanks alot, Rarity." I bowed, showing my more gentlemanly side.

"Oh, its no problem, darling, really." Rarity began to blush. I then heard ponies enter from downstairs.

"Oh, uh... I feel terrible for asking, but could I stay here until, like, eight? I don't think everypony is really ready for me."

"Oh, sure, yeah, you can stay here for the day." Rarity said, her voice smooth.

"Thank you, madame." I sat on the small chair in the corner and began contemplating as I always do.

"Uh... do you need anything?" Rarity asked.

"No, I'll just be here, I'll keep quiet." I reassured her.

"RK? Bad news, you're stuck inside until night time, okay? Tomorrow morning, we'll go see the mayor. For now, just stay here." Lyra informed me.

"Okay, Lyra. See you later." I waved goodbye to Lyra, and began to sleep as I had nothing to really think about. Without the correct mind or tools, I'll never really know if rifts exist and are the reason for me being here, so I decided to give that topic a rest.

Chapter four. Romance and Monsters

"hehehe"

"shh... You'll wake him up..."

"I really like his... mane?"

"Uh, guys... I don't think we should mess with him..."

I began to feel a bit uneasy. What is going on? I'm hearing creepy little giggling sounds, and I feel like someones drawing on my face. My eyes shot open, and the first thing I see is a little white unicorn with green eyes and a purple-and-white mane and tail staring into my soul. Screaming and panic ensues.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON MY FACE!?" I screamed as the white unicorn ran to her orange pegaus friend, her light yellow earth pony friend, and a small brown colt with a spin top beanie.

"ARGH!! Sweetie Belle, what did you DO!?" The brown colt shouted, staring at me with intense fear as he stood in front of the unicorn, acting as a shield.

"I may have put some eyeliner on him..." Belle said, trying not to laugh.

"...What?" I glared at them, trying to make them scared. I know it was a light-hearten prank, but I thought it would be funny to scare the pants (metaphorical) off them .

"Please don't hurt us, we're sorry..." the yellow one said as she hid behind the orange one, who looked to be forced into the job of pony-shield. I found a mirror and gazed into it. I actually looked freakin' hilarious, lipstick covering my mouth like a crazy clown, powder making my face completely white and comically large rings around my eyes were made with eyeliner. They even braided my short hair. It took all the power in the world not to make me bust out laughing.

"WHO DID THIS?" I shouted at them. After a few seconds of silence, the brown colt stepped forward, brave and defiant.

"I did." He said bravely, his eyes staring straight into mine.

"Button Mash, NO. He'll EAT you!" Belle whispered, fearful for his life. Awww, that's sweet.

"I know, Sweetie Belle, I know." AWWW, this is adorable.

"Do you think this is funny?" I sat on my haunches, my face inches from his. "Do you?" Button Mash gulped, then looked at me with a cocky little smile.

"Yeah, you look pretty funny." He said, with a bit of confidence. Sweetie Belle gasped.

"Well, do you want to know what I think?" I asked as I raised up off my haunches, standing at full height, easily towering over him.

"What do you think, dork-face?" He shouted, then pulling out a little wooden sword tucked under his belt. "'Cause I think you ain't hurtin' nopony today." His words were muffled from the sword handle in his mouth as he struck a battle pose.

"I think," I talked a little louder. "THAT," I held my fists up, striking a fighting stance. "THAT JOKE WAS PRETTY-" I was cut short by a wooden sword hitting my shin. I screamed in agony, as he hit my shin as hard as he could. I fell backwards, in actual pain, writhing.

"The bigger they are," He sheathed his sword. "The harder they fall." The other fillies shouted and whooped in joy.

"YAY BUTTON MASH!!!" they screamed, even Sweetie Belle hugged Button Mash, making him blush a deep red.

"Whats going on up here?" Rarity walked upstairs, a tan mare with blonde, braided hair following her.

"Look, Button Mash saved us from the monster!" Sweetie Belle shouted, pointing at me.

"BUTTON MASH, WHAT DID YOU DO TO... uh... what did you say his name was, Rarity?"

"RK." Rarity said to the tan mare.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO RK?!" The tan mare demanded from Button Mash.

"I defended the girls from the monster! Look, he's still growling!" I was moaning in pain, not growling.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Mr.RK, my name is Elaina, I'm Button Mash's mother." The tan mare ran up to me, apologizing.

"No, no, its fine, we were having fun." I got up off the ground.

"No we were not! You were yelling at us about 'Oh! You think this is funny? Grrr!' and then you got all tall and scary!" The orange pegasus shouted up at me.

"Heh! I got you good, didn't I?" I laughed. The fillies (and mares, for that matter) looked confused. "I was trying to scare you! No harm done, and none taken." They all nodded slowly.

"Well, Button Mash," Elaina said, accented with a fake yawn. "I think its a certain someponys bedtime." Button Mash looked up, betrayal in his eyes.

"But Mooooommmm!!! Its Saturdaeeeeee! Can I stay over for tonight, PLEASE?" He looked at his mother with alot of sadness in his eyes, eventually forcing the other three fillies into joining his plea. I'm glad I'm not being stared at by those eyes.

"I dunno, you're gonna have so see if RK cares." WHAT?! I looked up at her, betrayal in my eyes. She simply mouthed 'I'm so sorry.' I then looked at the fillies, their bottom lips quivering and eyes looking like they are about to unleash a torrent of tears. This was going to be the hardest decision of my life so far*.

"Well, why not? I've only got a important political meeting in the morning that will determine if my life here will even be legal. Lets have fun!" We all shouted in happiness.

I awoke at about six to the smell of coffee. My nose woke me up and my mind forced me down the stairs. I walked down slowly and into the kitchen, seeing Rarity drinking some coffee.

"Oh, good morning, darling! Want some coffee?" Rarity levitated out a cup and some creamer.

"Yes, please, madame." I poured myself a cup of coffee.

"So, how was your night with 'The Crusaders'?" Rarity jokingly asked.

"Who?" I asked after a sip of coffee.

"Oh, That's just what they call themselves. Can you believe it? Eight years old, and she still doesn't have a cutie mark?" I looked at her as though she just spouted nonsense.

"What the heck's a cutie mark?" I asked her, totally uncertain as to what the heck she was talking about.

"Oh, right. A cutie mark," she pointed to the tattoo on her flank. "Is a signature of your single greatest talent. My special talent is finding rare jewels and making beautiful dresses out of them. The 'Cutie Mark Crusaders' as they call themselves, do all the damnedest things to find their talent." I nodded. I would, too, to find my purpose. A soft knocking at the door Alerted me to two figures: Rainbow Dash and Lyra.

"Well," I pulled on my dress jacket and pants. "Politics await."

Chapter five. Politics and Love.

Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. I raced across the cobblestone streets, Rainbow Dash flying above and Lyra Heartstrings racing ahead of me.

"C'mon, RK, you're starting to fall behind!" Rainbow Dash taunted from the air.

"OKAY, HOW ABOUT YOU GET FORCED TO RUN ON TWO LEGS AND HAVE YOUR MUSCLES HAVE A LIMITED FORCE RESISTANCE, KEEPING YOU AT A TOTAL SPEED OF 15MPH." I screamed at Dash.

"Okay, jeez calm down." Dash called from above. I moved as fast as my legs permitted. The sun was about to make its grand entrance. We made our way to the mayors office, before alot of ponies woke up. "Okay, we made it, and about five minutes ahead of schedule." Lyra stated, looking at a small electric watch on her hoof wrist(?).

"Okay, Lyra, you have the pardons that let us meet the mayor, right?" I asked.

"Check." She levitated up a pardon that allowed us to see the mayor.

"Okay, nice suit... check" I looked at Dash.

"Witness to my near death experience..." Dash struck another valiant pose.

"Check. Alright, lets go see the mayor!" I said aloud, letting Lyra lead us into the building. Upon entering the building, we all began to dread the possibility of a wait, as there was a bit of a line forming now. About five other ponies were waiting for the mayor.

"Well, crap. Guess we'll take a number?" I offered, shrugging innocently.

"No. We'll march up to the front of that line and show her our letter. They'll have to let us pass.!" Lyra said, defiantly

"Or, we could have our good friend RK scare 'em outta the way, eh?" Dash looked up to me, an eyebrow cocked. She then patted my back with her wing. I don't know why, but when she patted me, my face was immediately flush red. It felt... nice. No, RK, you are NOT getting attracted to a three-foot tall cartoon pony! I don't know, This was strange. I felt... at ease around Rainbow Dash. I don't quite know why, maybe because she saved me, maybe because she was a kinda cute looking little mare, or maybe because she reminds me of Katie... NO! FORGET ABOUT KATIE! SHE'S DEAD!.

"Uh... RK, are you alright? Dash looked up into my eyes, noticing that I was crying a little bit. Shortly after, I noticed.

"Oh, uh *sniffle* yeah, yeah I'm fine." I smiled, trying to hide my tears. Dash flew up to eye level.

"RK, I'm not stupid, whats up?" She said with care in her voice. Did she have the same feelings for me? They are not feelings, they're memories. You are remembering Katie, not loving this animal! I felt my self hatred boil up inside. You and Her were not meant to be! Its unnatural! My tears were also forcing sobs, quiet sobs, that were hard to hear. Stop trying to fool yourself! That is not Katie!

"RK, whats up, bro? You okay?" Dash was placing her hooves on my shoulders and shaking. She sounded actually scared now. I was shaken back into reality, instead of the cave of hate that I was so used to crawling into, to hide most of my emotions, ever since Katie...

"RK, I know this is gonna be very stressful," Lyra comforted me. "But now Is a really bad time to have a emotional breakdown. C'mon, we're gonna go see the mayor now. Cheer up! Life can only get better!" I nodded, following them through the hallway.

"Stay here with RK, Dash. I'll tell her we're coming in. This will take a few minutes." Lyra walked into the mayors office, shutting the door behind her.

"Okay, RK, I know that you don't like to talk to me, but seriously, you had a full-blown breakdown in the freaking lobby. What's going on?" Dash looked honestly worried for me. Go on, RK, she's waiting for an answer. If I can't make you realize that you two were not meant to be, let her tell you. I stared at her, my hands in my pockets, on the verge of another breakdown. Tell her you love her, like you always told Katie. Tell her you would sacrifice yourself for her, like you always told Katie. Because she's so much like Katie, right? I got on my knees.

"Rainbow Dash?" I began to ask.

"Yes, RK?" Dash asked, coming closer. Tell her, coward. I closed my eyes and wept for a second.

"I..." I almost finished it.

"YES?" Dash asked, her face inches from mine.

"Can I have a hug, please?" A hug!? The best I could come up with is a hug?! I knew you couldn't do it, coward. Just like how you couldn't help Katie. Pathetic and useless, as always. I held Dash closely to my chest, weeping. If only I could tell her.

"The mayor would like to meet you now, RK." I looked up and saw Lyra, beckoning me.

"I'm sorry about that, Rainbow Dash." I said, wiping the tears from my eyes.

"Its okay, lets talk about it sometime, alright?" Dash placed a hoof on my chest as she hovered in front of me. I then walked in. The Mayor was not scared out of her mind when she saw me, she was afraid, but not totally fearful of me.

"Oh, you must be RK, My name is Mayor Mare. Now, Lyra here tells m e you need a bit of help fitting in, correct?" I nodded slowly, feeling like a really shady political deal is about to come up. "Well, Lyra here has given me a book of old legends of human kind." She leaned in. "Warrior legends, specifically." I looked to Lyra, who mouthed the words 'I am so sorry'. "And I have come to a proposition, You deal with the monster attacks from the West, I will inform the town of your heroic deed." I stared at her, My mouth open wide. I looked over to Dash, who looked up at me, concerned for my safety.

"Wait, hold on, unequipped?" I asked, fear in my eyes.

"Lyra said your kind is very resourceful." Mayor Mare said, quickly. I glared at Lyra. "Now then, you can reject this contract, but I will inform the town that you refused and you are the reason the monsters are attacking." Dash looked up.

"Wait, what? You can't just lie like that!" I shouted, feeling totally cheated.

"Oh, but I can. Aren't politics just wondrous?" She said with a sly grin. "Get called a stupid name and everyone listens to you."

"Wait, can I help him? Clear out the monsters, I mean." Dash asked, defiant and brave.

"Hm, I suppose so, Ms. Dash." Dash hugged my legs, making me feel comfortable and safe. "You are to eliminate the monster nest by next week. Goodbye, RK. I hope we can meet on much more friendly terms soon." I stared at her, sickened by her. I got up out of the office, and took a walk, alone, with my hate.

Chapter six. Meeting of the Minds

I walked in the forest a little ways out of town. I was forced into mercenary work. Fantastic. I kicked a rock into the hallow farther up. You are such a moron. Why did you agree to fighting for an obviously corrupt politician?

'Because if I did not, she'd convince the town, and possibly the world, that I am the cause of the newly invading monsters.'

Hmm, that's true, but you could have requested for gear. Weapons, arrows, a freaking pitchfork would have done us well.

'If Lyra didn't spout off about our kind being "resourceful", we would have a weapon of some sort to defend ourselves, and now Dash.'

You are dead-set on the idea that you love her, aren't you? She is a completely different species, in no physical way even close to a human! You are remembering Katie, not the winged pony.

'What is it that philosophers say? "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.", and considering you are an emotion that I am having an internal argument with and can't really see, then you don't see what I see.'

Whatever, lover boy. Now then, what are we actually dealing with here... Oh, I see you didn't even bother to ask, idiot.

'Hey, I was reveling in the fact that the most trusted mare in the town had just forced me into mercenary work, and its not really even mercenary work, I'm doing this for free! By definition, I am a volunteer soldier, except-'

Less trained?

'I was going to say less equipped, but less trained works.' I walked down to the hollow where the rock landed. I began to hear a soft humming. Who was that? Somepony from town? I really hope not. I crouched down, trying my best to stay hidden. I peeked through the bush and saw something... different. As though the pegasi, unicorns and earth ponies were weird enough, before me sat a purple unicorn AND pegasus! I stared at her for a moment, not really sure what to do. I noticed that she was apparently reading some sort of old book, the pages yellow and torn at the edges. I wanted to speak with her, but I wasn't too sure how to. If I just jumped up and said 'How ya doin?', she'd surely scream and attack, but if I sat here in the bush, just staring at her, and she got up and noticed me, the same thing would likely happen. But, You gotta take a chance, otherwise, life gets pretty boring. I slowly got up.

"Um... excuse me, ma'am?" I called for her politely. She turned around and gasped in horror. She simply stared at me, mouth wide and eyes full of terror. "Um... I couldn't help but notice that you were reading a book on..." I peered over her shoulder. The book had no title on the cover, only a depiction of a bearded unicorn with a wizards hat. "Um... magicians?" She stared at me, then began to slowly back away from me. "Oh, no no no! Its okay, I'm a good guy!" She then got this very seriously angry look on her face.

"Get away from me!" She shouted. Then, her horn began to glow. "Whoa now, lets just calm down-" Then, an electric purple ball was shot from her horn, striking me in the chest with enough force to send shocks through my body and enough kinetic force to launch me into a tree! I wasn't massively injured, but it still hurt! I lay on the ground, the wind knocked out of me, my muscles twitching from the electrical stimuli.

"Who are you?" She spoke forcefully, making me learn to fear her.

"Muh-muh-muh" I couldn't talk right, my lungs were finding it hard to take in oxygen, and the blunt pain making it harder to think. Not to mention the electrical shocks still causing my muscles to hardly work.

"WELL?!" She shouted, her horn began glowing again. Fear quickly took hold.

"My name is RK! Wait!" I threw my hands in the air, showing that I surrendered.

"Stay here and don't move, got it?!" She yelled at me. I nodded quickly. She took off to the skies, making an awkward ascension. I lied on my back, fearful of her returning and electrocuting me again. I stared at the tree canopy, the pain causing every tiny movement to cause excruciating pain.

Nice one, genius.

'Not right now.'

I heard the faint sound of wings batting against the wind, informing me that my torturer was back, and she brought company.

"Rainbow Dash, you know how to deal with this?" The purple conduit asked Dash.

"OH! Jeez, Twilight, what did you do?" Dash ran up, investigating my body, poking my spazzing hand.

"Why, I incapacitated him! Now we can take him to Celestia to be sent back to his world!" She said with a happy tone of voice. I am pretty sure this "Twilight" is straight up evil!

"Nng!" I tried to respond, but my muscles couldn't move, making speech near impossible.

"Why'd you do that?" Dash held my spazzing arm up and watched as it twitched randomly, fear evident in her eyes.

"Well, he IS a human, after all." Twilight informed Dash.

"Whats that supposed to mean?" Dash looked back, anger evident in her eyes.

"He's a human, a monster. He's different in so many ways..." Twilight argued.

"Remember Zecora? Your lesson THAT day? To not judge ponies by their appearance, but their actions?" Dash protested, standing up for me.

"But a zebra is NOT an ancient agent of Discord!" Twilight retaliated. I couldn't show it, but I was puzzled. Discord? Like a living thing or the noun about us not agreeing and disliking people?

"Ugh... RK is not like ancient humans-" Dash began.

"RK? You're naming it now? Jeez, Rainbow Dash, what has gotten into you? Hes a monster and you are treating him as a friend!" Twilight shouted, pointing a hoof at me.

"THAT'S BECAUSE HE IS MY FRIEND!" Dash screamed, scaring Twilight into silence. I wanted to say something, but I was still incapacitated, keeping me from doing anything but seeing and hearing.

Wow, that changed dramatically...

"... You really do trust him, don't you?" Twilight whispered quietly. She then walked over to me, made her horn glow for about three seconds, and set me free from my invisible trap.

"I... I am so sorry, Mr. RK... Please forgive me." Twilight said, her eyes cast to the ground as I got up.

"Please, there is no need to apologize, I would have probably done the same if a thing that I perceived as a monster sneaked up on me." I reassured her, sitting on my haunches. I looked over to the book on the ground. "What's that book about?" I asked Twilight. She sniffled and levitated it over.

"Some unicorn named 'Star swirl the Bearded' or something." Dash commented as she walked around for a bit.

"Yes, the most famous wizard in all of Equestria, able to cast spells only alicorns once could, proving that there are no real boundaries, only walls our minds set up for our own protection." Twilight spoke with a twinkle in her eye, as though she was talking about her role model. "Ever since I was a little filly, I have always looked up to him."... Oh that's why she has a twinkle in her eye. "Through hard work and dedication, that is how I became an alicorn." She spread her wings, showing them off.

"Um... Ms. Twilight, I actually was wondering if you could help me figure something out." I asked quietly.

"Oh, I will try my best. What is it?" She looked up at me.

"Well, I have reason to believe that I was brought here by means of a rift. Do rifts exist, by chance?" I asked Twilight.

"By speculation, yes. Star Swirl looked into the idea of multiple realities for only a year or two before he disappeared. One could assume that he was conducting an experiment and his tests proved positive, but its really anyponys guess. His notes, however, were turning up positive results." Twilight was deep in thought. Dash, however, perched up on a tree limb. I continued to ask questions.

"So, it is possible that rifts, tears in the space-time continuum, have possibly linked our worlds?" I asked, attempting to wrap my head around this.

"It certainly isn't impossible, as you are here, right now. But the idea is a bit odd... has your species looked into that kind of thing?" I nodded. "And notes suggest that we too have looked into that. Its more than likely that you were sucked through a hole in the continuum. Follow me, we'll talk more and I'll run a few tests, see if you are as ancient as Dash says you are..." We followed her to her house, a giant tree. What occurred over the next few hours changed my life, for better and for worse.

Chapter seven. The Power of Man

"Okay, just take a seat in the chair and we can get started." Twilight beckoned me to the chair. We were in her house, which was less of a house and more of a tree-library. On the first floor, the walls were carved into bookshelves and absolutely stocked with enough reading material to last you a year. We were in the basement, watching as she set up a large super-computer. The basement had even more bookshelves built into the walls, all sorts of tomes ranging from mathematics to science, love stories to comedies, horror and drama. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a large detailing of the town and its inhabitants buried under the mountains of books. Twilight hooked a few cables into a few ports in the side of the chair.

"Okay, its set. Come have a seat and put on the helmet." Twilight beckoned me. I sat in the chair and put on what looked like a noodle strainer with wires leading back to the computer.

"Now then, we're gonna put these little pads on your hands," She levitated two tape pads, again, with wires leading into the computer. "To measure the amount of power conducted when the tests are being done."

"Um... Twilight, I don't doubt that the safety procedures have been done and that this is a totally safe piece of scientific engineering, but... Is this safe?" I said, feeling the exposed copper wire on my palms.

"Oh yeah, totally safe... maybe-"

"What?"

"Nothing, ignore that." She said hastily, making me and her sweat nervously (Which I should not be doing because I have exposed copper wire touching my palms). "Now, this is going to sound silly, but clear your mind of all distractions, and focus on yourself. Your emotions, specifically."

Did you miss me?

'Great.'

"Mmhm. Okay, now, lets just take a second to find something to use." Twilight looked around for a second, then walked over to Rainbow Dash and pulled a feather out of her wing, waking her from her nap.

"YEOW! Jeez, Twilight, warn me next time." Dash commented, rubbing the area where the feather was ripped.

Bet that irked you abit, didn't it?

'No, they're friends, its what they do.'

Wish we could be like that.

'Relationships with ones own hate usually end very badly.' Twilight set the sky blue feather on the table directly in front of me.

"Okay, RK, all you need to do is focus on that feather. Think about moving it, touching it." Twilight informed me.

Oh, its Rainbow Dash's feather! Bet it seems much more worth moving, touching, caressing...

'Shut up.' I focused on the feather as hard as I could, but nothing happened.

"Hm... how about you focus on centering all your power into one part of your body and then focusing on the feather." Dash watched me from a small nook in the wall, seeing me struggle as I lifted a finger to the feather, pointing at it.

'C'mon, c'mon, do something!'

Wow, you are focusing really hard, almost like it ain't your first time focusing on our little pony here...

A sudden electrical tingling encircled my finger in blue light.

"WHOA!" was the single word that echoed around the room from all our mouths. Then, the same blue light encircled the feather, causing it to jerk about the table, finally raising upright, stem to the table, exactly how I imagined it.

"Holy crap. WAY TO GO!" Rainbow Dash shouted, as I weaved the feather around in the air, spelling out words and just generally stabbing at the air.

"Whoa... I... How did you do that?" Twilight asked, staring at my finger then the feather, absolutely bewildered. I simply shrugged, still weaving the feather around.

"*yawn* Hey Twilight, hey Rainbow Dash, hey..." an unfamiliar voice called from the stairs. I looked over, dropping the feather. On the stairs was a green and purple... lizard? A green and purple, stubby lizard on two feet?

"Oh, hello, Spike. Enjoy your nap?" Twilight spoke softly to the reptile, as though he was her child.

"Uh... Twilight? What is strapped to the chair?" The reptile named Spike pointed to me.

"Oh, that's RK," Twilight introduced me. I waved. "He's a human." Spike stared at me, not saying a word. Did I scare him?

"...Cool. How are you, RK? Name's Spike." Spike and I shook hands.

Ugh... what did you just do? I don't feel like I usually do...

'That explains why I feel so good. Please stay away.'

"RK! Bro! You gotta do that again!" Dash was half-hanging out of the reading nook. Why was she so excited when I levitated that feather? Twilight did it all the time, how was I any different.

Wow, looks like I was wrong.

'Hm? What are you talking about?'

She's throwin' up signs, man! She DOES like you! Not to mention how fiercely she defended you from her own friend, protesting and fighting back.

'Not often you admit defeat.' I looked to her, still hanging out of the nook, staring at me with this silly grin, the face begging me to preform the feat again. I focused on the feather and began waving it around in the air again. I was astonished by this feat of power. The power of men was far greater than anticipated, as I had never even done any magic tricks before, and those stupid top hat tricks got nothing in comparison to this!

"Check, You do have the fabled powers of mighty mages and powerful humans, but do you have the will to learn?" Twilight asked in a questioning tone, with a sly smile and a cocked eyebrow. I was about to agree. I want to know how to conjure up freaking fire balls or the undead! But, Dash answered before I could.

"Sorry, Twi. Me and RK are gonna take down the monster nest to the East in a couple of days. Maybe another time." Rainbow Dash shrugged, innocently.

"WHAT!? You're going up against the Nightmare Feeders?" Twilight asked, fearful.

Well, those sound pleasant.

"Uh, Twilight, excuse my language but WHAT THE HELL IS A NIGHTMARE FEEDER!?" I screamed, jumping out of the chair, free of my helmet and pads.

"Well... uh... Nightmare Feeders are a kind of monster that vaguely resemble ponies, by skeletal structure, but ooze a pitch black, well, ooze. They are black as night, and magically implant nightmare seeds into the selected victims mind while they sleep, causing the victim to have very vivid and varying nightmares, from horrifying to mildly creepy. However, unlike most nightmares, victims do not wake up from the dreams for about eight to twelve hours. This gives the Feeders enough time to track down, incapacitate or kill, and drag the hunt back to their resident home, often a cave." I stared at her, fear gripping me. "The sludge is toxic, so I would advise ranged combat, as a hoof-full of the stuff is enough to kill a pony. However, the sludge is flammable, and so, they fear fire, so use this to your advantage." I already began imagining a strategy for this assault.

"Wait, RK. I have an idea on how we can get our hooves on some weapons." My ears perked up. A definite advantage would be some weapons. "Well, they are farm tools ,but my friend's got pitch forks, scythes, hoes and any other sharp or heavy tool you'd expect to find on a farm. I'll see if she can hook us up with a few tools."

"You're gonna need some armor, too. I'll see if I can borrow some from my brother. He's Captain of the guard." I looked at Twilight, as I knew she'd only have armor for Rainbow Dash.

"Wait, what about me?" I asked.

"Hm, I'll see if the town machinist can't build you some armor." Twilight offered. I nodded. Something's better than nothing.

Chapter eight. Training

I stood next to Rainbow Dash in a big red barn. The whole building smelled of hay and wood, a pleasing aroma that brought back memories of visiting my uncle as a small boy. He lived out on a small farm with his wife and two daughters, and always took me out into the forest to show me how to "live off the land", as he called it, as my father was always working and never really had time to teach me the things my uncle taught me. I noticed a rack of tools used for agriculture: hoes, a wood chopping ax, a pitch fork, even a sledge hammer and pick ax. I was marveling at the armament as an orange earth pony with a ten-gallon hat and blonde hair, tied up to keep it out of the way, strolled into the barn.

"Howdy, Rainbow Dash! Howdy, RK!" Applejack shouted in an adorable western accent. Wait, she already knew my name?

"Hey, Applejack, hows it going?" Rainbow Dash clomped her hoof into Applejack's, a kind of high-five but with hooves.

"Oh, it's mighty fine, been buckin' the orchard all gal-dern day, been lookin' forward to meetin' this RK feller." Applejack elbowed me, with surprising force.

"Wait a second, how do you know my name?" I asked with a bit of worry. Had I been spotted? Does the town know who I am?

"My little sister, Applebloom, told me all about y'all, said y'all was mighty rude..." She looked me up and down, distaste over-taking her friendly, nice-to-meet-you attitude. I was worried. I tried to remember to a time when I was mean. I then remembered the slumber party... and the yellow filly... and that she spoke with a country accent too... "Nah, I'm just pullin' y'alls leg, name's Applejack, pleasure to meet y'all." She pulled down my hand and shook it very aggressively.

"So, Applejack, remember those monsters from the East?" Dash questioned her. Applejack gasped.

"Y'all mean them feeders?" Applejack then got an angry look on her face. "Ooo! How could I forget them! After they done massacred Betty, right in front of her child! Poor little guy still has nightmares." Applejack took off her hat and placed it against her chest in remembrance. She then shook out of her funk. "What in tarnation are y'all doin' with a feeder?" She said with fear.

"*clears throat* Me and RK are planning on finishing off the nasty little things, but we don't have any weapons. So, we were wondering if-"

"You could use mah tools?" Applejack said, with a cocked eyebrow and obvious discontent.

"Er... well, yeah." Dash said, sweat forming on her brow, a nervous smile on her face.

"Ugh... I guess so, but y'all gotta clean 'em after y'all use 'em." Applejack rolled her eyes. "Well, wait, what about protection? Them monsters leak nasty goo that'll kill ya! Not to mention their sharp teeth." Applejack said, worriedly.

"Don't worry, Twilight's got that under control, even getting me cool wing blades!" Dash said, showing off her wings and the fact that one wing is about two feet long, with a combined wingspan of four feet.

'So... RK! If yer gonna kill yerself a feeder, you gotta pick a weapon and get to know it." Applejack pulled the pitchfork off the rack, holding it in her mouth. "Dis her berrty ifs ah pitferk! On eh ferm, ifs ushed teh merv lerg tings er heey." She placed it on the ground. "But, y'all can surely find a more offensive use for her." Applejack grinned. I picked it up and got a feel for it. "Now, this is more of ah stabbing tool, used to stab into bales of hay an' tossin' em over yer shoulder." I stabbed into the air above and bellow me, feeling the weight of the iron prongs drive into the ground and into the air. Applejack then pulled down the ax. "Nehw, dis ifs ushed teh chep dewn treehs." She placed the ax on the ground. "Probably more suited fer fightin' with." I swung the ax in a safe place, getting used to swinging it. "Now, Lyra did tell me that ya might need somethin' called a shield. Now, I decided that a round thing would prove pretty good, but y'all oughta use it." Applejack beckoned us outside, where the rest of training would begin.

I held up the shield, which was just a wheel with boards of wood nailed to the front of it.

"Now, I'm gonna buck the shield to test yer arm, see if y'all need some trainin' or not." Applejack warned me. Dash watched from the air, waiting."Okay, on the count of three." I steadied my arm. "One," I leaned into the shield. "Two," I braced myself. "THREE!" Applejack kicked the shield with massive force, knocking my shield out of defensive position, but little else.

"Whoa, I thought that would surely knock you down!" Dash shouted from the air. I was surprised too! I wasn't a shrimp, but I also wasn't a body-builder! Applejack looked back, surprise painted across her face.

"Well, I'll be! I didn't think y'all was gonna make that!" Applejack said, patting me on the back.

"Yeah, yeah, he did good against force," Dash landed. "But lets see if he can handle speed!" I looked a Applejack, questioningly, which was responded with a simple shrug. "C'mon, lets try hoof-to-hand combat! Take me down as fast as you can! But be warned, I'll try to do the same." I dropped the shield and held my hands up. Dash and I began circling, waiting for one another to make the first move and studying each others patterns. Then, unexpectedly, Dash charged at me, going for my legs. In a split-second, I jumped out of the way and then held her down as she crashed to the ground.

Ooo, RK! So rough!

'Shut UP!'

"Nng, beginners luck!" Dash stood up, shaking the dust off. "Okay, lets try again!" We continued our tradition of circling around one another, waiting. Finally, Dash made the first move, this time leaping. I leaped at her at the same time, landing on top of her. For a single moment, we stared into each others eyes, simply staring.

Blegh, this is starting to get sappy.

'Anger, now is not the time to butt in, now SHUT UP!' Dash quickly shook her head.

"Uh... that was a good one!" Dash blushed and looked away.

"Uh..." I stood, my hand still planted firmly on her chest. "Yeah, da-I-uh, yeah..." I let go of her chest, helping her up. Applejack stared, wide-eyed at us, then she got this devious look on her face. Me and Dash looked angrily at her.

"What?!" We shouted in sync.

"Oh, nothin'" Applejack made her mouth get scrunched up and she looked away from us, obviously lying. We scowled at her. We all heard a loud clanking sound as Twilight trotted up the hill to the barn.

"Hey, girls, I got the armor for Dash." Twilight commented, placing it neatly on the ground. "RK, I got the machinist working on your armor. You so owe me one after this." Twilight said, joking hostility in her voice.

"I'll try my best. Now, when will it be finished?" I asked.

"About..." Twilight pulled out the list. "Four days. Until then, I'd suggest you train, get better at moving around quickly and using your weapon." Twilight offered. I nodded.

"Thank you, Twilight, I only hope I can repay you soon." I said, sincerely. "Now, then," I said, clapping my hands together. "If you need me, I'll be practicing re-enacting the Spartan tactics with a plank shield and a pitchfork." I proclaimed to the small group as I picked up my tools and walked off behind the barn to practice.

Ooo, RK. Things were getting steamy between you and our little pony for a second there...

'I swear to god I will get rid of you one way or another if you don't shut up.'

Chapter nine. Final Preparations.

Four days later

I tightened the last strips of raw-hide that connected the armor that protected my right leg. I wore some basic armor made of iron that covered my torso and back effectively. It was fashioned like Roman armor, but much less detailed. The arm and leg armor was easy enough for me, a man who has never worked a forge, to make, but it was bulky and restricted anything faster than a simple run, but I could still swing my weapons effectively. I stood up and got a feel for walking around, testing my ability to run and swing. I ran around the hallow where I met Twilight to get a feel for running in the heavy suit. I walked back to our camp fire in the clearing a few yards away. There, everyone I have met so far on my little adventure was sitting around the fire, along with two ponies I have never met before.

"Ah, its the guest of honor! And in his suit!" Lyra greeted me, levitating a mug of foamy material.

"How's that armor fitting?" Twilight said, taking a sip of a mug of the same substance of Lyra's.

"It fits me very well.Thank you very much." I said with a smile as I sat down, grabbing a mug that was being levitated to me.

"Hi! Whats your name?" The new pink pony jumped over, getting a bit too close.

"Oh, why my names-"

"OH! Lemme guess! Rrrrichard! Rrrronie! Ricky!" She went through a few names, but none hit. "Ronald! Richie!-"

"RK. My name is RK." I interrupted her.

"Oh darn! I was just about to guess that one!" Pinkie sat down, pouting. I noticed a small, yellow pegasus sitting next to Twilight, who tried desperately to look at me, but always broke eye contact with me, hiding behind her pink bangs. I walked over to her, but she scooted away.

"Hello there. Whats your name?" I asked, sitting on the ground, wanting to get to know her. She simply stared at me, her eyes glancing from me to the ground, then at the fire, then back at me again.

"Her name's Fluttershy. She's obviously very... shy." Dash said, looking around awkwardly, trying obviously not to meet my gaze. I sipped the cider.

"So, RK, tomorrow morning, you an' Dash are gonna take out them nasty feeders, are ya?" Applejack shouted after finishing a swig of the cider. "Well, I'm grantin' ya the best of luck! To good health!" She, and the rest of our entourage raised our mugs and shouted,

"TO GOOD HEALTH!" in unison. Everypony else was talking, joking, and laughing with one another, except for me and Dash.

"So..." Dash said, tapping the side of her mug nervously. "This is it, huh?" Dash said, solemn in her voice.

"What? Psh... this ain't the end. This is just the beginning of a new adventure, don't be sad." I said, a smile across my face. Dash looked up, uncertain.

"Well, what if there's more than we expected? What if they are too tough? Then what?" Dash said, staring at me with fear and upset in her eyes.

"Then," I grabbed her shoulders. "You run. Okay? Run away as fast as you can and don't slow down until you are certain that they are gone. Okay?" She stared at me like I was joking.

"What? No way, bro! I will not leave you!" She looked up at me, angry that I even thought of that.

"Dash, please, I don't want you, one of the few ponies who has shown me kindness to be hurt or worse. Please ,if this goes south, promise me you're gonna run away. Save yourself if things go bad." Dash looked up at me, tears rolled out of her eyes as she bit her lip in an attempt to not sob, then hugged me close to her chest. I felt warm and fuzzy deep in my chest, as I have been ever since the barn incident, with her showing her affection a bit more every day, escalating to this, where she hugged me close, her tears jerking forth my own.

Aw, I may be the one of the most horrible emotions that humans can express, but this is adorable.

'For once, I'm gonna agree with you, this is very cute. And I'm not the one feeling these emotions.' I picked her up and held her close, letting her hug my neck and cry into my shoulder.

"Its not gonna come to that, *sniffle*, is it?" She said after a little bit of crying. I held her in front of me.

"No. I will not let them beat us." I stared into her tear-stained eyes with my own.

"Promise?" She sniffled, smiling a little bit.

"Promise." I said. She looked away for a moment, her face deeply blushed. Then ,when I least expected it, she kissed me right on the lips. Just a brief moment of connection, before she pulled away and hid her face in my shoulder, one of the only parts of my body not hidden in iron.

Aw, flippin' heck. This actually hurts to look at how cute it is.

'Considering you are an emotion that thrives on sadness and anger, I understand why.'

We fell asleep in a few minutes, her front legs wrapped around my neck, and her heart beating in harmony with mine. I was so happy. The last time I felt joy like this was when Katie stayed with me the last night. The night before...

Chapter ten. Blood, Fire and Rage

Morning came swiftly, almost too swift. I was the first to awake, as the sun rose over the trees quietly, and the dawn roused me from my rest. Everypony else was in the tent next to me and Dash, sound asleep. I didn’t open my eyes immediately and just felt her heart beat against my chest, her breaths hot and calming. I opened my eyes and saw that she was still asleep, her eyes closed and her hooves twitching every once and a while. I simply lay there, watching her breathe and twitch and have her peaceful sleep. I was so contempt with laying there, simply watching her sleep.

“Mnh… rk…” She whispered my name, in her sleep! She let the corners of her mouth turn up and her grip around my neck tighten. I felt so loved. I didn’t care what any other pony thought of me, so long as she still cared. Then, I saw the corners of her moth go down. “…no… no no no…” Her grip around my neck tightened even further, to an almost uncomfortable level. She began to whimper a little, then let a little tear fall out of her closed eye, letting it land on my cheek. Oh no, she was having a bad dream.

I hugged her a little closer, letting her know that I was there, for her. She continued whispering “no” and her grip stayed uncomfortably tight, until her eyes shot open, tear stained and red. She didn’t say anything, just hugged me.

“Shh… it’s okay, it’s okay…” I said, holding her close. Soon, everyone else awoke and our plans began to play out. I suited up and equipped the pitchfork and chopping ax for our grand battle. Twilight helped Dash get equipped into her armor, turning her from the pony I knew into a warrior pony. I began to explain the battle plan to Dash. “Okay, first, we’ll execute a recon; see if there are any stragglers or guards. Then, I’ll rush in, you behind me, with my shield, where we’ll wipe ‘em out.”

“And if there are guards?” Dash said with a questioning look.

“We’ll formulate a plan from there.” I explained. “Dash, considering you can fly, you are our best scout right now, so, if you can, fly around and find the cave.” I asked Dash. She nodded and took to the skies, circling around the forests to the East. Dash returned a few minutes later with the news.

“No guards, but there’s obviously living things in there, screeching and screaming. Probably able to tell that we are around.” Dash said in disgust. I picked up my shield and pitchfork.

“Alright, we’ve got a nest to clear. Let’s go!” I shouted, running into the forest, my shield up and pitchfork at the ready.

The forest was dense and jungle-like more towards the East, the trees massive and entangled in vines. I kept my eyes wide and spotting the tiniest strange detail. Dash kept close, her wings spread out and the blades gleaming sharp. We soon spotted the cave, the entrance was, as confirmed, not guarded, but there was definitely something crawling around inside, and it was not happy.

“Okay, what I’m about to do is very stupid, but you gotta work with me on this, alright Dash?” I asked, uncertainty of the plan I was about to conduct. Dash nodded. “Okay, I’m gonna set my shield on fire, that’ll spook ‘em into a corner where we’ll finish them off.” Dash stared at me, disbelief painted across her face.

“You’re not serious… are you?” She said, staring at my blacksmiths gauntlet that I wore on my shield arm.

“Well, they hate fire, and man is legendary for his use of fire, so… yeah.” I shrugged.

“You are gonna get hurt.” She said with a bit of annoyance in her voice.

“I know.” I smiled.

Man is also legendary for his stubbornness, hehehe, this is gonna be good.

‘Oh lord, what are you thinking… oh ,right, I’m your brain. What am I thinking?’

I pulled out the bottle of lamp oil that was thoughtfully provided by Applejack (who also protested this plan, but whatever) and slathered it onto the front of the shield. I began having second thoughts as I struck a flint and steel near it in a vain attempt. ‘Maybe this was a really stupid idea, I mean, jeez, the fire’s gonna be freaking hot, it’s supplied with oil! You’re gonna get third degree burns or just no skin when this fights over.’ I decided, however, to ignore my better judgment and lit the shield on fire. The heat hit me like a nuclear wind, searing and incredibly uncomfortable.

“You okay back there?” I shouted to Dash past the pain.

“Its stuffy, but I’m alright.” Dash shouted back as we entered the cave, striking a Spartan stance as I entered, shield up and pitchfork ready to stab. We almost immediately heard the monsters shrieking and running away, hissing at the fire. I continued my slow assault feeling the fire rage on in front, proving a magnificent deterrent. I began to hear a lot more of them up ahead, hissing and snarling. By the acoustics, we were entering a much bigger area where the shield would prove useless, unless…

“Okay, I’m gonna do something else that’s probably gonna freak you out.” I shouted to Dash. I focused my power into my right hand, feeling the shield burn as I pointed my exposed finger at the shield. I then focused intensely at the shield.

“RK, what are you doing!?” Dash shouted alarmed, seeing that I was beginning to buckle under the loss of power in my body.

“Oh… nothing too spectacular.” I said with a strained voice, as my power soon took hold, The shield began to levitate out into the cavern, swinging violently a few black, oozy figures that looked like a pony that was dipped in tar. They were animal-like, however, hissing at it as they ran around the cavern attempting to get away from it. I then smashed the shield into the ground and we rushed in. I stabbed one in the side and flung him over my shoulder, causing him to scramble as he hit the ground. Bu then, I noticed as it paced around in a circle, then fell over dead. They are affected by their own poison?

Evolution did not prepare them for you, eh RK?

‘Evolution or not, this is almost silly how they can be killed by their own poison.’

I continued to stab at the crowd of seven that I was focusing on. Meanwhile, Dash was slicing through them like butter, making some of them simply run away, whimpering, deeper into the cave. Most were smart enough to stay away and attempt to psyche me out, hissing and snarling at me as they paced around the fire, uncertain of their next action. Then, one lept at me, it’s teeth exposed and its black ,almost insect like eyes filled with hate. I didn’t notice him until it was too late. His teeth dug into my shoulder, forcing a painful scream from my mouth. I soon felt… so angry… angry… ANGRY!!!

Aw yeah, here we go!

‘Oh no, no no no! NO!’

It felt like my veins had magma from Hell itself flowing through them, rage taking over my body. I ripped the monster off, who immediately regretted its decision to jump at me as it was held by its neck, snapping and hissing at me. I then looked into its eyes, and it began to whimper. I then threw the horrible thing into the shield fire, causing ear-shattering screeching to emanate from the living inferno, who ran around his brethren, causing panicked monsters to run around the cave.

“Oh my Celestia, RK! What in Equestria did you just DO!?” Dash screamed, slicing a few monsters that ran by. I simply grunted in anger. I pulled out my ax and brought it down on a straggler.

Yeah, yeah, YEAH!! GET 'IM! OH, THAT ONES RUNNING AWAY! QUICK, KILL 'IM!

‘STOP ENCOURAGING HIM!!!’

What? Oh let me have my fun! SNAP HIS NECK! OH CRAP! Holy crap, did you see that!? That was freakin’ brutal!

‘Stop! You’re scaring Dash!’

WRING HIS NECK! GET- Heh, uh, what?

I finished slaughtering another one with my bare hands. I was drenched in ooze, making me almost as black as them. I looked over to Dash, who was staring at me with eyes full of fear. She was scared... of me. I looked down at myself, noticing the horrifyingly massive amounts of blood or ooze or whatever I was covered in. I snapped back into reality, the anger leaving my body. I stared at my armor, fear taking hold.

“…no… I… Dash…” I tried to say I was sorry, that I lost control, but I couldn’t talk. I vomited, my lunch lay on the floor, as I collapsed on my knees. “Please… I just…” I covered my eyes, My hate was replaced with fear and sadness, the magma replaced with icy cold water, for fear that I had lost her trust. I thought the world was coming to an end. Dash walked over to me.

“No, don’t be sorry. We still have a nest to destroy. We’ll talk about this later, okay?” Dash said, looking into my eyes, showing she still cared. I was given a new boost of energy, knowing that she still cared made me feel better. I got up and picked up my ax.

“You’re right, let’s go.” I levitated the fire after us, so that we could still see. We moved forward, the monsters ahead whimpering in fear. We were about to wipe them out, finish ‘em off, destroy the-

“GRRROOOAAAARRRGGG!!!!!” An ear-shatteringly loud roar from something VERY big emanated from the cavern deeper in. I looked back to Dash, who was wide-eyed and shaking, then shook out of her fearful state and put on a war face that encouraged me forward. I held the fire before us, letting it guide the way. When we entered the next chamber, I was scared out of my mind. A nightmare feeder that oozed blood red and was a s tall as a bear was sitting in the chamber, waiting for us. It jumped up and let out the roar that we heard earlier. I knew we couldn’t take this one. I began to levitate Dash.

“WHOA! RK WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Dash shouted as I set her down in the cavern path leading to the other cavern and, ultimately, safety.

“Go.” I said with force as I levitated a boulder to cover the exit.

“What!? NO!!!” She screamed. I then focused on the problem at hand, the blood feeder. You and me, one on one. I won’t make it, but neither will you. The monster snarled at me, then snapped at me, I drove the ax into its head, but it only stuck into the goo. I ran around the monster for a moment, trying to find its weak spot, only to find it didn’t have one.

‘No, that’s impossible, everything has a weakness. We just aren’t thinking… FIRE! Throw fire at it!’

Seriously? That just seems too… easy.

I began to focus on the fire, which gave the monster enough time to strike, but it didn’t bite or kick, it launched its goop at me, covering me in the blood-red substance, weighing me down to the ground. The monster walked over to me, it’s knife-like teeth gleaming in the fire light.

‘Oh GOD! I can’t believe that this stupid body is going to quit now! C’mon, PUSH FOR THE SAKE OF BEING ALIVE!’

Well, I ain’t letting this body die now…

I felt a strange surge of power, of strength. I felt so… ANGRY!!! I began to scream, but then, in the monsters eye, I saw a reflection of myself. My eyes began to glow… BULE?!? WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING!? I pulled off the goo like a sticky note. I raised up from where I lay, certain of my demise, now certain of my victory. The monster simply stared at me, and began to whimper. I grabbed its throat and tightened my grip, unable to think, only to act. The monster put up a pathetic fight, kicking its legs about but little else. I screamed in it’s face, my eyes glowing with rage. After a few minutes, the kicking stopped, and I dropped the limp body. I placed one foot defiantly on the corpse and let out a primal screech to inform the gods of my victory. I was so angry, I didn’t know why. I then collapsed onto the cave ground, exhausted and tired. I then fell asleep, slipping into the void, staring at the shadows that danced around the cave.

Two days later.

I awoke, again on a hospital bed. I felt so… tired. I opened my eyes, expecting a repeat of the first time. Like I was in a kind of Purgatory, forced to forever repeat what happened over the course of the week. Instead, I saw Dash sitting in a chair directly across from my bed, her eyes glued to me. When my eyes opened, she simply blinked, like I wasn’t actually awake again. I stared back.

“…RK?” She said quietly, as though she couldn’t believe it. I smiled.

“Yes, Dash?” I replied, my smile wide. She cried out in joy, running over and hugging me.

“They said you might never wake up…” She said, hugging my head close to her chest. I stared into her eyes. She got angry all the sudden. “Do NOT do that again, do you understand me? Never do that again.” She cried, hugging my head close to her fluffy chest. I looked up into her eyes.

“Promise.”

Chapter eleven. A Royal Pain.

I was alone again. Alone with my thoughts. Alone in the hospital that fixed me up a week ago.

'What the bloody hell was that!?'

What? Oh, the glowing thing? I dunno.

'Grr. This body's had more than one experience with being angry before, even enraged, but that has never happened before!'

Well, we're safe now. I say that's the most important part to all that.

'Suppose so.' Nurse Redheart came back in, pushing a wheelchair.

"We're going to take you into the IMT ward, where we'll take a look at your neurological injuries, as there appears to be no physical injuries." She began to pull back the cover on my bed.

"No, I can stand." I swung my legs over to the left side, as to not kick the nurse. I then stood upright.

"Well, the way I see it, you're fine, but the top doctors still say we should look at your brain." Redheart said, watching me stretch.

'I'm perfectly fine, thank you!'

More or less. hehehe.

"Which way to the ward?" I asked the nurse.

"Well, the doctors requested that you arrive in the wheelchair, as to decrease the likeliness of further injury. Just in case." Redheart said, pushing the wheelchair closer. I decided to listen to her and sat in the wheelchair, which was more designed for ponies to lie down in. I was being rolled through the hospital, almost like I was being shown off. Why was she doing this? I saw about four other ways we could have gone, but she seems to be taking the longest route.

'Maybe she's a part of a secret underground cult that wants you dead!'

Yeah, because THAT'S totally likely.

I was finally pushed through the IMT doors.

"Ah, Mr. RK! I was hoping you wouldn't be coming back so soon! Not that I don't enjoy your company, but..." Dr. Red Cross welcomed me into the room. He was wearing a face mask, like the ones you wear during surgery or to keep out harmful diseases. He was accompanied by three other unicorns, all were rather gray or dark colored, and all were wearing face masks. "Please, lie down on the table and take deep breaths." I did as I was told, breathing in and out on the cold operating table. "Now, you're going to feel a tingling sensation as we conduct a quick scan of your body, just to make sure that everything is still in order." I felt a light tingleing as the doctors horns guided over me. "Mhm... All's well so far. We're just going to scan your brain now, just to make sure that everything is fine." Red Cross informed me. As he began his scan, I felt... powerful. Not stronger, but that a kind of adrenaline was coursing along with my blood. "There you go! You've passed the scans! Now, go collect your things and have a nice day." I thanked the doctors as I left. I only walked a little ways to my room before I heard hoof-beats (hoof falls?) coming towards me in the hall.

"RK!" Twilight shouted. "RK! You need to come with me, like, NOW!" I began to panic.

"WHAT, WHY!? WHATS GOING ON!?" I shouted.

"The Sisters, Cadence, Celestia, Luna, follow me!" Twilight shouted, not going into context in her ranting. I decided not to question it and simply follow. I sprinted after her, running to the tree. I followed her around behind the tree to see a golden chariot that was piloted by two stallions wearing gold armor with a weird kind of Ying and Yang symbol on their chests. "Hurry RK! There isn't much time, they've demanded to see you now!" Twilight beckoned me. I ran into the chariot and closed the door. "Okay, I hope you're a fan of flying." Twilight said, lying down on the seat. I looked up, my eyes wide.

"...I hate flying..." I said under my voice. Suddenly, the chariot began to rock and ascend, carrying us up to the air. It took everything I had not to scream.

"Okay, RK. Now, you are about to meet the Two Sisters, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They are the rulers of this land. Celestia is a little over a thousand years old, so she may know much about your kind. When the note was written, it sounded very official, so don't expect to really get to know them." Twilight said in a hurried voice. I couldn't say anything, my lips sealed to keep from freaking out.

'What? Royalty? Oh my, we are not ready! We didn't even get on our Sunday clothes!'

Dude, we are suspended about a thousand feet off the ground and you're freaking out about the clothes we are wearing?

I clenched my fists, gripping the seat with so much force that I almost ripped out the upholstery seat.

"RK, you really don't like flying, do you?" Twilight said, looking at the fear in my face with a comical smile. I slowly shook my head. "Well, don't worry.we're almost there." My heart beat even faster. OH NO! Celestia probably knows that my kind is a horrible race that crushes, kills, and destroys! I was terrified, would she view me the same way? We quickly landed on a kind of strip that led to the castle. And it was one HELL of a castle! It seemed to defy gravity in some spots, as a man with no architectural experience can tell that some of these spots were in serious need of a support beam. I was awe-struck for a few moments, as a large part of the buildings were made of solid gold, but I was quickly snapped out of my simple-minded surprise and followed Twilight into the castle. As I entered, I was immediately feeling uncomfortable, as around a small, round table were three alicorns, like Twilight, but as tall as me! No other pony could go past my waist, but these ponies were a good four feet tall!

"So... Is this RK?" The white alicorn asked with a kind of seething distaste in her voice. The dark blue one looked at me with a mix of uncertainty and wonder, while the pink one simply stared at me with wonder.

"Yes, Princess Celestia. This is RK." Twilight pointed to me. I bowed in respect of the royalty.

"We have heard many good things about you. Good things indeed." Celestia said with the distaste in me still obvious. "Now, why should we keep you here?" She leaned in. I was uncertain as to what she was talking about."Why should we not send you back? To Earth?" My heart began to sink into an abyss. Oh my...

'WHAT?! WHAT KIND OF QUESTION IS THAT!? THAT IS A STUPID QUESTION! THATS LIKE ASKING OH, WHY DO WE EXIST?'

You like it here?

'Well, the soul that inhabits this mortal coil really likes it here, so... yeah.'

You mean he likes the blue pony?

'Sure.'

I pondered for a while. A purpose? A point to existing here? I couldn't really think of one.

"Because I like it here? This world seems to have very serious problems, but... I love it here. The sun shines brightly, the days it rains are the days that the rain is warm and happy, and the ponies that live here have shown me so much kindness. More than most people I know on Earth would show to their loved ones." I said with honesty.

"Would you benefit the land?" Celestia asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"How do you know anybody will? I will try my best to help." I said with honesty. Celestia pondered this.

"I think he should stay." The dark blue pony shouted, raising her hoof.

"I second that." The pink one said, raising her hoof as well.

"Well Celestia, what do you think? Should he stay?" Twilight asked the great alicorn. I stood straight and stared at the tall pony with hope. This land was... magnificent and I didn't want to live anywhere else.

"... You must pass a test. A test of honor. Of courage. Of Good or Evil." I was confused. A written test? A course? Celestia wrapped me in her pink glow, making me feel uncertain. Whats going-. I was ripped out of my body, well, to the best that I could describe. I felt free of my physical boundaries, that I could do anything. I looked back and actually saw... myself, floating in the glow.

"RK..." Celestia- I think- called for me. I began floating about, then finally found the ethereal version of her. "You must pass three tests. Each truly proving your worth. The first will be a test of sacrifice. You must choose..." Dash floated next to her- or an ethereal version. "The one you love- wait... You love the element of loyalty?" Celestia asked with a questioning tone. I nodded. She simply nodded. Then, a clone of me floated on the other side of Celestia. "Or yourself."

"Dash." I didn't even think.

"... You don't even want to know what will happen to the one you didn't pick?"

"No. Dash. I want Dash to be safe." I said, my heart beating so fast for her safety and my love for her that it felt to be on fire.

"Okay, two minutes of excruciating pain it is." Celestia said, disappearing. Wait, what? I immediately felt an intense burning pain all over my body. I felt like I was dying. "AAARRRGGGGHHH!!!!! OH MY GOOOODDD!!!!!! WHYYY!!!???" Every single nerve cried out in horrifying pain. I was on FIRE. I was left in a dark void, burning (Or, at least ,feeling like I was.) Two minutes later, I was finally relived from my Hell. I collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. "You have passed the first test. This next question is to test your courage in the face of your greatest fear." I was scared, but I had to be brave. To prove I was going to go the extra mile. I was then, suddenly, plunged into absolute pitch black darkness. I was in a stone hallway, according to the acoustics and sound of my footsteps. Great, darkness and cramped spaces. Beautiful.

"... RK?..." I heard... but it couldn't be. Not here... Dashes voice. Or could it be Katies?

"I'm coming! Just keep talking, okay? Its okay, just keep talking." I shouted as I felt the walls.

"... Where are you?" The voice called.

"Coming, okay? I'm coming... Keep calm." I began to feel the most horrifying feeling I could. Was she hurt? I then heard a creeping sound, like a... I saw a giant spider crawl on the ceiling. I stared at it, fear strangling me.

"Please hurry..." The voice called. I sprinted down the hall, then heard the spider hiss and follow.

"OKAY!! I AM COMING! JUST KEEP TALKING, OKAY!?" I shouted. I ran as fast as I could.

"RK... I'm inside the spider." I turned around, seeing the big, hairy, red eyed, fanged, absolutely HORRIFYING spider. It took a step towards me. My heart felt like it was about to explode, but I stood tall. The spider was inches from me. It hissed at me, touching my face with its hairy fangs, making my skin crawl. I then struck the spider. It simply stood there, uncertain what to do. I then fought the spider. I was bit once or twice, but I was ethereal, my rage unable to fully be used. But, after a struggle, I finally punched it so hard in the eye, that blood began to spurt out. I finally finished the spider, smashing in its exoskeleton head and conquering the beast.

"Well done." Celestia came down, opening up the ethereal plane of existence that she used to test me. "You showed courage when it had to be shown." Celestia told me the obvious. "Now for the final test. One that you must complete in a set time." I was so tired of these tests. "Good, or Evil? You must answer with honesty." I stared at her, detecting thousands of ways that this test would go wrong.

"Good." I stood tall with saying the last words, hammering home the idea that I was good.

"Good. You passed the test when you sacrificed yourself, but I wanted to be sure. Here, you were supposed to choose between money or the safety of the one you love, but you have passed." Celestia said with a smile. I was just so happy and angry and joyous that I didn't even care. I was then physical, my body was so nice and enclosed and not in horrifying pain. I was placed gently back on the ground.

"So... Welcome, RK, to Equestria." Celestia greeted me. I smiled like an idiot and fell over, so exhausted and pleased that I fell asleep. I was an official member of this wonderful place. I somehow felt like this was truly the beginning of a grand adventure.

Chapter twelve. Crossing Canterlot.

I awoke an hour or so later, in some sort of hotel, i was willing to guess. The room was posh and cushy, the bed was soft and warm, the room colored a tasteless cream color, a small chair (Or, couch to us) was positioned on the other side of the bed, directly opposite. I got out of the bed and rubbed the tired from my eyes. Where am I? I looked over to the nightstand, which had a note on top of it, signed to me. I opened the note, reading it closely with my tired eyes.

"Dear RK,

Celestia told me about the tests, I'm so sorry! I was so unhappy with leaving you there but I didn't want to wake you up! So, Celestia kindly gave you a royal pass to a hotel. I made sure everything is there. You should also find a map of Canterlot along with 100 bits. We'll come to get you in twelve hours!

~Twilight Sparkle"

I stared at the note, mouth agape. They're treating me like some teenager, saying "We'll come get you in eight hours" Like their my parents! I don't really know why, but this irked me to no end. I decided that if I am going to be stuck here for twelve hours, I might as well enjoy myself. I picked up the pamphlet that they gave to anyone who stayed in these rooms (And I can guarantee that two ponies are staying here, and enjoying their stay a bit too much). "Your Guide to Canterlot!" The pamphlet said with a smiling unicorn and Celestia standing next to the words, with a city-scape in the background. I was already uninterested as I was now convinced that this was a kind of tourist trap. I flipped to the first page. "Meeting Local Dignitaries!" The top of the page screamed, detailing a bunch of random ponies, like a "Fancy Pants", a "Fleur De Lis", and a "Hoity Toity" (All of which sound like soulless dignitaries, but what do I know?). And, oh yes, you could meet them, but you had to have a ridiculous status in the world of business, culture, and/or fashion, and in the first two examples, you had to practically conquer the market to even get a glimpse of them.

I flipped to the next page. "Stores and Boutiques!" I was, again, highly uninterested, but I might as well stop and smell the roses. It detailed all sorts of stores, from top-of-the-line grocers to clothing stores of the high class. They even seemed to make reference to a large district of stores dedicated to musical instruments, everything from a violin to a cello to a sousaphone to even DJ stands. Wait, DJ stands? They had enough problems with DJ stands that they dedicated a whole store to them? Interesting.

I flipped to the next page. "Night Life!" This page was a bit more eye-catching, with all sorts of neon colors and rather "under the influence" looking ponies.

Oh, RK! You gonna be devious? Oh, What would Dashy think?

'First off, he's not going to a brothel or a strip club because that's freaking weird, second, 'Dashy?'

I was getting tired of calling her Dash.

I read some of the descriptions. "Club Canterlot is one of the most exciting places in Canterlot, always popping! But, its secret to fame is not its bar or its catchy name, its their DJ!" I was interested. "Her name's DJ PON-3, and she is the coolest DJ in the city!" I was REALLY interested. "She plays Club Canterlot every other night! And she plays at 11 P.M! I looked at the clock. 10:30. I had enough time!

'Wow, that is... strangely coincidental, and ironic...'

Whatever. A party sounds freaking awesome! It would definitely take the drama of recent times and throw it out the window! We need a bit of time to calm down.

I grabbed the pamphlet and even saw the pass, signed by Celestia herself. I picked that up and made a break for it. I ran down the hall and dropped my key at the front desk and ran out the door. My initial reaction to the city was, "Damn, this is fancy!", with so many high-risers and flashing lights and ,ore ponies dressed in clothing than I could count! Many of the buildings were tall and slender, the roof's painted a kind of gold. The city street was bathed in the beautiful blue light of the moon, all the store windows lit and the side walk a beautifully somber blue. The city seemed perfect for this time, as everything was lit up and beautiful. I began to make my way down town, walking fast. I continued to glance down at the map to make sure I was going the right way. I saw all sorts of buildings and establishments. There were high class restaurants, clothing stores, and not-at-all-subtle adult stores.I was in, I was pretty certain, a kind of Las Vegas. I continued down the road, glancing momentarily at the stores for but a moment. I began to hear a kind of "unce" in the distance, sounding loud and methodical. No real taste, just sound to move to. I then saw the neon sign that shouted "Club Canterlot" in a Tron-like font. The sound was much louder now, and a large line was tunneling out of the club, only one bald pony keeping everyone else out. I walked to the front of the line.

"Sir, what are you doing?" I asked with an annoyed tone.

"The club's too full. Wait your turn." The bald pony demanded.

"Too full? What kind of club are you running? The "Awkward Distance" club?"

"No, the kind of club that is too full. GET IN LINE." The bouncer said, obviously angry.

"Well," I pulled out my pass. "I think Celestia says me," I waved my pass to the ponies behind me. "And all these fine folks get to go in, free of charge." The Bouncer read my letter.

"Hm... it's not forged." He walked aside. "Fine, don't cause any trouble, or that letter will mean nothin'"I and the other ponies walked in. The club was, actually pretty packed. The dance floor was absolutely cramped, and the bar had dozens of happy, laughing, drunken ponies. All... but one.

Aw, jeez, please do NOT approach that one, we literally just got out of one seriously dramatic scenario, lets not nose-dive into another one.

'I dunno, she might have an interesting story.'

She might be piss drunk and passed out.

'Drunk people have no secrets, that's what makes them so interesting.'

I approached the bar. "Whiskey, if you would kindly." I asked the bartender. I looked over to the solemn pony. She looked really out of place, her mane and tail was finely combed and her eyes were the ones of the refined and royal, not low-class and nuts. She leisurely sipped some weird drink of a purple consistency and gazed out at the dance floor, noticing that her gaze was often to the DJ stand. I scooted over. "Hi there." I spoke to the mare as my whiskey was handed to me.

"Sorry, I'm taken." She said suddenly, as though she was used to people constantly hitting on her.

"What? I'm not hitting on you, I just want to talk. You look down, so I wanted to speak to you." I said as I myself sipped the whiskey, feeling it burn my throat. She looked up.

"Sorry, I'm waiting for someone." She said hurried.

"AND NOW, THE MARE YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR, SHE'S THE ONE, THE ONLY, DJ PON-3!!!" The announcer screamed over the intercom. The mare to my side was suddenly a bit more alert. Was she waiting for the DJ? Why? The DJ strolled up to the booth, her glasses were purple and her smile was contagious. She had weird, spiky hair that was striped electric blue. She was also a unicorn, I thought that was a bit important.

"Hey HEY, everypony! HOW ARE YOU ALL DOIN' TONIGHT!?" She shouted over the intercom. The crowd screamed and jumped around, even the once quiet mare at my side screamed and threw her hoof in the air in celebration. "Are you ready to ROCK!?" She screamed, then placed a record on the stand. The speakers on the side of the DJ stand began a slow intro that lasted about 5 seconds. "Its the ground breaking Vinylicious!" The DJ shouted. Me and the mare turned around back to the bar.

"You know her?" I asked the mare, quizzically.

"...Yeah... Yeah, I know her." The mare said, almost like she was remembering.

"Really? How?" I asked, a eyebrow raised.

"... Oh, I just know her. Friends, is all." She said, looking away. I finally raised my hand.

"My name's RK. Whats yours?" She looked at my hand, then shook it.

"Octavia. Octavia Melody." She said elegantly.

RK... I am deceit, but I REALLY don't think you shouldn't keep talking.

'Why? He is not expressing love.'

"How do you know about the DJ?" I asked.

"Well, we met here in this club. We got to know each other, and we have been together-" She covered her mouth, her eyes wide. "I... I don't mean we're lesbian, I just-"

"If you're afraid that I'll get angry of the fact that you're seeing someone who's the same sex, don't worry. I wont get mad." I said, taking a sip of the drink and looking at her with a little, reassuring smile. She began to ease up.

"Well, then... yeah, yeah we have been together for about six months now. I come to every one of her performances, and she has done the same." She said, with an adorable little twinkle in her eye. I was charmed by this.

"That's nice. Say, how often do you preform?" I asked in a questioning tone.

"Maybe once a month." Octavia said with a bit of distaste in her schedule. We kept talking until after the performance. DJ PON-3 trotted up to us.

"Sup, Octy? Who's this?" She said with a friendly demeanor.

"Vinyl, this is RK." Octavia introduced us.

"Sup. Name's Vinyl Scratch. Nice to meet ya." She said with a bombastic grin.

"Pleasure to meet you, too." I said with a smile. "Oh, I love your music, by the way ,it is truly epic." I said with all honesty.

"Thanks. Say, I heard about you. Killed that nest of nightmare feeders, right?" Vinyl asked. I nodded, feeling pretty proud of myself. We then talked about all sorts of stuff after that. We went from what Earth was like to what Equestria is like, what our favorite music was (obviously), how they met and where we lived. "Closing time!" The club manager shouted over the intercom. We were surprised by the speed of how fast the night ended. I looked at my watch. HOLY CRAP, 10:30! I'M GONNA BE LATE!

"Hey, guys, it's been great, a really fun experience, but I need to go." I said, collecting up my stuff.

"Oh, really? Shame, bro." Vinyl said, sadly.

"Yeah, but hey, next time you're in Ponyville ,hit me up, okay?" I said as I ran out the door.

"Will do. Goodbye, RK!" Octavia shouted as I left. The day was more hectic, but it was not as beautiful as the night. I sprinted down the road, turning a corner and seeing Twilight in her carriage. I jumped in and settled down for a crazy ride.

"Okay, RK, we need to talk about your contribution to Equestria." Twilight said as I settled down in the carriage. Oh no, this is gonna suck. "Lyra has informed us that human beings are curious creatures and are always looking for questions to answer, so we have agreed to let you use the laboratory in my basement to study. Feel free to experiment anything you wish, so long as it is ethical." I was surprised at how lenient they were, letting me use the laboratory. I already had a few theories running through my head, and I was eager to test them. This was going to get scientific.