After finally managing to talk with one of the locals that didn't run away screaming or freeze up with fear the moment they saw me, I learned that this species identified themselves as "ponies," which was an apt name I suppose. Apparently there were four types, the three main ones being unicorns, notable for theirs horns and magic; pegasi, notable for their wings and ability to control weather; and earth ponies, not possessing either but having great strength and farming prowess. The final breed was the alicorn, an apparently extremely rare type seeing as there were only three, possessing wings and a horn as well as all three magics, and that they were all royalty, two of them apparently "raising the sun and moon." Whether or not that was true, I don't know, but they at least seemed to be extremely powerful, the two them apparently having lived for over one thousand years.

If they're even half as strong as these ponies claim, it would likely be best if I stayed on favorable terms with them.

As for my location, I was apparently in the capital city of Canterlot, in the country of Equestria, on the world of Equus.

Truly the amount of equine-related puns is staggering.

After thanking the man (or stallion rather), a unicorn by the name of "Fancy Pants", I decided to wait to come in contact with the authorities. As much as I didn't like to stand out, as the apparent only human in the entire city, and perhaps even world, all eyes were already on me so I at least needed to make sure their gazes wouldn’t turn aggressive.

If I'm to live a comfortable quiet life I need money, a home, and a job. To get those things I'd need to get the trust of the authorities. With any luck my actions against this invading queen could help me get in the good graces of these "Princesses."

I waited on a small stool, sitting as comfortably as I could manage, waiting for some sort of authority to come speak with me. At the moment I saw nothing but scared citizens. Though apparently curious enough look upon me they were still afraid enough to stay quite far away from me, hiding behind whatever was large enough to conceal their bodies.

After roughly twelve minutes of waiting I was approached a group of seven. Six of them were female ponies (mares, I believe is the term), two of each of the three main types, while the seventh was a bipedal reptilian creature, even smaller than they were. Considering the presence of magic, unicorns, and pegasi in the world, it likely wouldn't be too farfetched to think this was a dragon, likely a young one.

They stopped and observed me warily, making sure to stay several strides out of my reach, before the lavender unicorn with dark purple colored hair and tail with pink highlights cautiously approached.

"Um... Hello," she began, the nervousness evident in her voice. "My name is Twilight Sparkle. What's yours?"

I observed the group, taking in their somewhat ragged appearances, when something sparked in me. I stood up, causing them to flinch somewhat, before turning to face the white coated and purple haired unicorn.

"Excuse me miss, do you have a handkerchief?"

"Wh-what?" she asked, confused.

"A handkerchief. A small cloth to wipe yourself with."

"You mean a hoofkerchief? Um, no, I don't. Why?"

"Hoofkerchief?" I suppose I can ignore that one. It makes sense that a species without hands wouldn't call it a handkerchief.

"Then I'll have to use mine," I replied, stepping forwards as I pulled the cloth out of my inner coat pocket.

They flinched scooted back a bit except for one, a blue coated pegasus with rainbow colored hair and tail, who hovered right in my face.

"And just what do you think you're doing, buster!?" she shouted, pointing her hoof at me.

Ugh. Her, too. Might as well do her instead.

"Rainbow, don't get too close to-!" the lavender unicorn, Twilight Sparkle, shouted, only to stop as I grabbed the pegasus' hoof and started scrubbing with my cloth.

She looked dumbfounded for a moment before pulling it away. "Wh-what the hay are you doing!?" she shouted.

I looked at the handkerchief and sighed. "Already used up. I guess it was a wasted effort after all."

"Hey, are you-!?"

"Yes, I heard you," I replied, tucking the cloth away in my coat. "I know you’ve likely come from something of a stressful day judging by what I saw here, but it still annoys me to see your coats stained with dirt. Especially her, what with how those dark spots clash with her brilliant white coat.”

“‘B-Brilliant’? Oh my!” the white white mare stuttered before blushing, fanning her face with her hoof.

Hm, she seems to be easily flattered. Maybe I should keep that in mind.

I then noticed the reptile shift his eyes between the unicorn and myself, sneering as he looked to me.

Jealousy? Perhaps he has a crush on this one. Are interspecies relations normal here? Do I have to worry about being hit on by other mares? Perhaps even stallions? I hope not. Too distracting.

“HALT!” someone shouted. We all turned to see a white mare, nearly twice the size of the others, possessing both wings and a horn, land alongside a group of pegasi in armor. Curiously, they all looked almost exactly the same. The white mare’s hair and tail were a spectrum of bright feminine colors, flowing even without the presence of wind, and she was adorned with a golden crown, necklace, and slippers. From the sides I heard more guards approaching us, groups of earth ponies and unicorns, all armed with spears and shields, which they held in magic auras or their hooves, somehow. Once again, nearly all of them looked the same, except for one near the front with a white coat and blue hair and tail, not to mention his purple armor.

The white alicorn approached me and I responded in kind. We both stopped about two yards from each other.

“Would I be correct in assuming you are the Princess Celestia I have heard of?” I asked, looking up at her and noting the oddity of having something I could speak to at eye level.

“I am. I understand you attacked the changelings. May I ask why?” she questioned, her voice sounding like that of a mother, gentle but not without power.

“They attacked me without provocation. I defended myself.”

“I see. Might I have your name?”

“Yoshikage Kira.”

“No, I don’t mean the name of the form you’ve taken, I mean your name.”

I looked back at her curiously. “I alrea-”

NO! THAT’S NOT MY NAME!

I clutched my head in pain. “Wh-what? What is hap-?”

I’M NOT YOSHIKAGE KIRA! I’M NOT JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO TURN THIS TO MY ADVANTAGE!

BE QUIET! I NEED TO GET INTO A FAVORABLE POSITION TO LIVE THE LIFE I WISH!

“Are you alright?” she asked, looking genuinely concerned but afraid to step forwards.

I clutched my head tighter as I began to stumble.

“HOW DID I GET HERE!?” “HOW DO I GET HOME!?” THOSE ARE THE QUESTIONS I NEED TO ASK!

WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS STABILITY! I NEED NOT TRY AND HAVE AMBITIONS! SUCH THINGS CAUSE STRESS!

I WANT TO GO HOME!

I WANT A QUIET LIFE!

MY NAME IS

JONATHAN SANDERS! YOSHIKAGE KIRA!

And with that last thought I fell backwards and blacked out.

Everypony stared in shock at the being, confused as to why he suddenly seemed to fall over in pain and faint.

“Wh-what just happened?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Guards, take this man to medical and monitor him. Also, I want no less than five unicorn guards to monitor him at all times. Be careful,” Celestia ordered. A few unicorns and earth ponies saluted, levitating the “man” onto the stronger earth ponies' backs and carrying him off as quickly and and carefully as they could.

“Princess Celestia, what’s going on?” Twilight asked.

“Lieutenant Sky Hopper, go and alert my sister at once. I must speak with her immediately,” she ordered one of the troops. The pegasus stallion saluted and flew off. “Shining Armor, come with me. The rest of you, attend to the citizens and help any of the injured.” The rest of the ponies saluted and flew or galloped off. “Girls, Spike, the rest of you come along as well. We’ll be meeting up with Cadance. You all need to hear this.”

The firmness in her voice kept anypony from asking questions. They all followed the Princess and within half an hour they were in the throne room, Cadance and Luna already present.

“Sister? What happened? What has become of Canterlot?” Luna asked.

“We’ll explain later, Luna, but right now there is something of more immediate concern. There is a human in the palace,” Celestia answered, causing Luna to gasp in shock.

“‘A human?’ Wait, they’re real? Oh no, Lyra is going to have a field day with this,” Twilight groaned.

“Ok, could somepony explain what’s going on?” Dash asked impatiently.

The sisters exchanged glances and nodded.

“Over one thousand years ago, after Discord, but before Nightmare Moon, a creature came into our world. A male human, a ‘man’, as he told us they were called,” Celestia began gathering magic in her horn before projecting an image in the air.

Before them stood a being even taller than Celestia, with two arms, two legs, and no tail. It looked kind of like a minotaur, but instead of having hooves it had some other body part to walk on, and its face resembled something of a primate. It had a black and short mane and blue eyes, possessed plenty of muscles, and was dressed almost entirely in an outfit of purple, with brown gloves and boots and a yellow belt which held a longsword on its hip.

“He said his name was Michael Smith, and he appeared in Canterlot quite suddenly,” Luna explained. “He said he had no idea how he got there and, more importantly, that he did not use to possess the form that he now had. He claimed to have been attending a convention for those who had similar interests, a ‘con’ he called it, and was dressed as a character from a story he enjoyed. The character’s name was ‘Jonathan Joestar,’ but also went by the nickname ‘Jojo.’”

“Well ain’t that quite the tale. Was he tellin’ the truth?” Applejack asked.

“It seemed so. Though we will never know for certain there was enough evidence to to corroborate his story. He wished to find both a way to return to his original form as well as return home. However, within a few months that goal was put on hold by the arrival of another human.”

Celestia focused her magic and the image of Jonathan Joestar was replaced by a new being. This human had a short blonde mane and red eyes, and he even seemed to have fangs. He was dressed almost entirely in a golden yellow outfit with black boots and a violet scarf. This one also seemed very fit, but not quite to the extent Jonathan was. He was also holding a mask made of stone, one shaped like a human face and possessing fangs as well.

“Though we would not receive the news until much later this man appeared at the same time Jonathan did in what was then the small port town of Manehattan,” Celestia began. “We never learned his original name as he seemed to wish to discard it. Instead he went by the name of the form he had transformed into, ‘Dio Brando.’”

“‘Form?’ You mean he was transformed, too?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Yes. As it turned out Jonathan Joestar was the main hero of the story and Dio Brando the main villain, and both of these transformed men soon fell into those roles,” Luna explained. “Michael proved to be intelligent, polite, and caring. He possessed great strength and will, yet was kind almost to a fault. The only time he was ever truly angry was when he heard of or witnessed injustices being enacted.”

“My, he sounds quite dashing. The kind of pony-er, that is, being that would make a great noble,” Rarity commented.

Luna smiled. “It’s funny you should mention that, because his character actually was a noble in the story, and we would eventually grant him the title of nobility here in Equestria. In addition, he noted that his own behavior was so similar to that of Jonathan’s that he decided to embrace that as his name.”

“Dio Brando, on the other hoof, was dark foil to Jonathan,” Celestia said, taking over the conversation. “Though also intelligent and polite these were mere tools he used to gain what he wished rather than personality traits. He was a despicable creature who only thought of himself and took joy in the suffering and death of others. The only positive thing I could say about him is that he was willing to offer respect to those he deemed ‘worthy of his time.’ In addition, he was no mere human, but a vampire.”

“Whoa, a vampire? A real vampire?” Spike asked, completely shocked.

“Yes. In fact, Dio is responsible for the legends of vamponies here in Equestria. However, Jonathan proved to be no mere human, either.”

“What do you mean?” Cadance asked.

“In addition to gaining his form, Michael also gained Jonathan’s strength and abilities, including one that would become vital to our cause,” Luna replied.

“As a vampire Dio Brando was weak to sunlight,” Celestia began. “However, to avoid my sun-based spells he often took hostages so that I would be unable to harm him without striking them as well. In addition, I once tried to raise the sun and simply destroy him, but he had planned for that as well always had an escape planned just in case. In addition, causing the sun to suddenly rise sent waves of panic through the entire world.”

“Dio Brando had also created minions to combat us with, resurrected corpses and horrifying fusions of monsters to harass us ,” Luna added. “It was when a group of theses minions attacked Canterlot that Jonathan’s power became clear.”

“What power?” Shining Armor asked.

The two sisters shared a glance and nodded as Celestia dismissed the image. They both began to take in a deep breath and as they did electricity seemed to spark along their bodies. This was particularly shocking as they weren’t using any magic from their horns. Luna raised a hoof and soon fire sprang into existence around it. Celestia stomped one hoof on the ground and the electric power shot across the ground before traveling up a stone pillar, onto the ceiling, then down a chandelier, and finally causing the candles above to light.

Everypony else looked on, completely flabbergasted.

“What in tarnation was that!?” Applejack asked.

Luna dispelled the fire around her hoof before replying. “The power is called ‘Hamon’, or ‘The Ripple.’ It is a power that allows one to generate and unleash a power similar to that of the very sun through their own body. Jonathan taught us the art of using this power for combat against the undead, the art of ‘Sendo.’”

“It’s an amazingly versatile power that can create fire, send shockwaves through the ground, water, metal, even other organic material. It can heal broken bones and increase one’s physical strength and stamina. It relies on having full control of one’s breathing at all times, never succumbing to anger, fear, or anxiety. Anyone can learn it, though they have to have the physical strength and will to be able to do so.”

“With this power we were finally able to challenge Dio Brando, though it was no means an easy fight. His vampiric composition made him an incredibly difficult opponent to match,” Luna continued. “He could punch through solid stone, bend metal with his bare hands, even survive and regenerate from wounds that would kill any normal being. He could also absorb the blood and life of others to heal his wounds, either through his fangs or his fingers, and could even shoot pressurized liquid from his eyes with enough force to pierce stone.”

“One ability, however, was by far the most lethal. He could cause others to freeze merely by touching them,” Celestia continued. “This was particularly problematic as Hamon requires a proper bloodstream to conduct, not to mention it could turn the body weak and brittle, easily broken. In the end, however, we did triumph and Dio Brando was destroyed.”

The room was quiet as everypony else processed what they were told.

“Wow, and Ah thought Pinkie had some bizarre stories,” Applejack commented.

Luna chuckled. “Quite amusing you should use that word, as we would later find out the name of the story Jonathan and Dio were from was called ‘Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.’”

“Moving on, through investigation we discovered that Dio Brando had a device with him,” Celestia continued, showing an image of the mask Dio was holding. “Called simply ‘the Stone Mask’, it was what the Dio Brando of the story used to transform himself from an ordinary human into a vampire. By coming in contact with blood it would extend spikes from itself and pierce the brain, causing a transformation. Most importantly, however, was that Jonathan was able to deduce that this device was what was responsible for transforming and transporting the other man to our world.”

“Wait, how did he figure that out?” Twilight asked.

The image changed to that of the longsword. “Because Michael’s sword, Luck & Pluck, brought him here. He said it was not originally part of his costume but he bought it from vendor in his world, one that he suspects knew what would happen.”

“So, what happened next?” Pinkie Pie asked, munching on a bucket of popcorn she had somehow acquired.

“As we said before, we officially christened Jonathan as a noble of Equestria. He brought with him knowledge from his world which was much more technologically advanced than our own and provided much in the ways of agriculture and infrastructure. Also he was a student of economics and business before he was spirited to our world. He also helped a certain merchant rise to prominence by sharing his knowledge: Speedwagon the First.”

“‘Speedwagon!?’” Rarity asked in shock. “The Speedwagon!? Founder of the Speedwagon foundation!? The oldest, richest, and most technologically advanced business in the world!? My word!”

“Indeed,” Luna said, taking over the conversation. “To move on, Jonathan helped Equestria in any way he could for another century before his passing. He was roughly twenty years old when he came to Equestria and though the life expectancy of his race was somewhere in the seventies to eighties Hamon user age more slowly. He… was a great friend,” Luna hesitated for a moment.

“L-Luna? Twilight asked, approaching her Princess and friend. “Are you alright?”

“Y-Yes, Twilight it’s just… Because of Dio’s vampiric nature he had to operate at night. Because of this the Equestrian citizens began to fear my night instead of appreciating it. It wore on me greatly. My sister tried to comfort me as much she could, but we both had our duties. Jonathan, however, had less responsibilities and stayed by my side to comfort me as much as he could.” Lune wiped a tear from her eye. “After he died… It was not even a month before I became Nightmare Moon.”

Celestia draped her wing over her sister and smiled sadly. The girls, Spike, and Cadance all ran up and hugged the Princess while Shining Armor did his best to discreetly dry his eyes.

“Anyway, this tale is not yet over. Though I have done some reading, Celestia was the only one of us present, so she should tell you what happened next.”

The group released Luna as Celestia nodded. “About three hundred year after Nightmare Moon, another human arrived. I never got his true name, as he refused to tell me, but instead went by the name of the character he had become: Joseph Joestar. Like Jonathan, he also had the nickname ‘Jojo.’” She focused and another image appeared, this of another man. This one had a wild and spiky black mane and blue eyes, a confident smirk on his face. He was dressed in a tight fitting turquoise shirt that left his abdominal muscles exposed. His gloves and pants were also turquoise, he wore a brown belt and boots, and around his neck was light green scarf with red stripes. He also wore a multicolored headband around his forehead.

“Hey, he looks pretty cool!” Rainbow Dash commented.

“He could use a bit of fashion advice in my own opinion,” Rarity said.

“In the Jojo series, Joseph was Jonathan Joestar’s grandson, and the new hero of the story. Unlike his grandfather, however, he was quite different in personality. He was brash, cocky, quick to anger, and was constantly joking and somewhat lazy.”

“Sounds like somepony else I know,” Applejack commented, looking to Rainbow Dash who stuck her tongue out in retaliation.

"Though he was also a Hamon user he fought very differently from Jonathan or ourselves." Celestia continued. "Joseph was not unwilling to use any and every method available to gain victory. He would lay traps, play dead, use hidden weapons, anything he felt was necessary to defeat his opponent."

"Sounds like a dirty cheat," Applejack grumbled.

"Yes, I and many of the other citizens, the Royal Guard especially, condemned his methods initially. But something he said changed our minds. I believe his exact words were 'In a real fight there are no rules. Winners live and losers die. If you were in a life or death situation and the only way for you to escape would be to use a dirty trick, would you take that option and live or would you let yourself get killed just because it wouldn't be fair?'"

“Uh, well…” Applejack stuttered, unable to form a response.

“He had the right idea,” Shining Armor commented, surprising many.

“Shining?” Twilight asked, surprised not only by his response but his steely gaze.

“You can’t do anything if you’re dead. If it means staying alive so I can protect the ponies close to me, you’d better believe I’d do whatever it takes to win and stay alive.”

“Anyway,” Celestia continued, “When I explained to him that a similar situation had happened before he warned us that we would be fighting a group of four beings referred to collectively as the ‘Pillar Men.’ Like vampires, they would be weak to sunlight and fed off others but were actually much stronger and didn’t just absorb blood but absorbed other’s bodies into themselves. However, interestingly enough, none of them appeared. Instead, it seemed that Dio Brando was not done tormenting us. Though we destroyed the original stone mask it seemed that he had created one suited for ponies and now there were a large number of vamponies causing havoc. It seemed that they had waited for Jonathan to die and then began gathering their numbers. Though not as powerful as Dio Brando, they were still formidable.”

“Whoa, whoa, so vamponies really are real?” Spike asked.

“Were real. Joseph saw to that, as despite his somewhat arrogant behavior he agreed to help, mostly because, in his own words, ‘we’d be lost without him’. Through the many fights that I witnessed him participate in it was clear that Joseph had a particular way of battling. Namely, he saw his opponents not as foes to overcome but as problems to be solved. He did not overpower his enemies, he outsmarted them. He was exceptionally good at reading his opponents, even to the point that he would often say what they were going to say right before they said it. I learned much from watching him.”

“Ha! Are you kidding me? You made this guy sound like a bad flank, but you’re saying he was an egghead?” Rainbow asked. “Heh. It’s a good thing I wasn’t around to show him up!”

Celestia smirked. “Would you like to see how he fought?”

“Huh?”

The image flashed for a moment. At first it seemed like nothing happened until the image of Joseph smirked. A moment later it began to audibly crack it’s nuckles.

“So, you think I’m some lame egghead, Huh?” the image asked with a deep voice, dripping with confidence. “Looks like I have to teach the skittle-headed pegasus brat a lesson!”

“Who you calling brat!?” she shouted back, seeming to forget this was only an illusion.

Joseph chuckled. “Feast your eyes on this!” he proclaimed, moving his hands when suddenly a pair of metal balls on strings fell from his right hand, clacking as they struck together. “I call it ‘Hamon Clacker!’ Don’t think that just because you’re not a vampire that my power won’t work on you!” Electric power leaped from his hand down to the metal balls as he spun them before swinging them around his body. He then tucked them behind his elbow, only for it to swing up and strike him in the head. “OW!” he shouted as he flinched.

Rainbow laughed. “Are you serious!? What a loser!”

Joseph growled. “Damn it. I’ll teach you to take me seriously!” he shouted as he pulled out another pair of clackers on his other hand. He sent his power through them again, spinning them wildly in a dangerous show.

“Heh. Nice performance. But I get bored if things just happen the same way over and over,” Rainbow gloated, folding her forelegs.

“Then how’s about a new trick?” he gloated, opening his hands, only for the two pairs of clackers to disappear.

“Wh-What!?”

“Heh heh. What’s wrong? Can’t figure it out?” he gloated.

Twilight then noticed the strings leading from his hands to his elbows and then behind his back.

“RAINBOW, LOOK-!” she shouted.

“THEN LET ME SHOW YOU!” Joseph yelled, thrusting his palms forward and causing the four clacker balls to shoot forwards from behind him.

Rainbow Dash barely managed to dodge the attack, and both pairs of clackers flew off the human’s hands, rocketing far away from him. “Heh. Not bad. You had me going there,” Rainbow chuckled.

Joseph stepped back, his face full of terror. “W-Wait! Hold on! that’s all I’ve got! Please don’t hurt me!”

“Oh really?” Rainbow asked, a confident smirk on her face as she hovered closer. “Is that all?”

Joseph continued to sweat before grinning and pointing a finger at her. “Your next line will be ‘some legendary hero this loser turned out to be.’”

“Some legendary hero this loser turned out to be… huh?” Rainbow stopped, looking in shock.

“DASHIE, BEHIND YOU!” Pinkie shouted.

Rainbow turned just in time to see one of the clackers flying at her face. Too late to dodge, she closed her eyes and waited for the pain… only for none to come. She opened her eyes and saw that one of the clackers was embedded into the wall. She turned to see that the other was now held by Joseph. A moment later Joseph and his weapons disappeared.

“Quite impressive,” Luna commented.

Celestia smirked back. “You’re not the only one good at illusions, sister.”

“Actually, I meant the strategy. Distracting her with the weapons, injuring oneself to lower their guard, making them think your trick was all you had, only for the true attack to come from behind after they think they’ve won. Quite cunning. I would’ve liked to have met this man.”

“Y-Yeah!? W-Well, if this was real I would’ve-!” Rainbow Dash started.

“Had a concussion?” Pinkie Pie finished.

Rainbow blubbered, trying to form a response, only to hang her head in defeat. “Yeah.”

Celestia chuckled. “Moving on. It took a few decades, but with Joseph’s help we eliminated all of the vamponies and stone masks. But Joseph’s role was not yet over. Over several decades he had grown older and wiser, mellowing out but not losing the same spark he once had.”

Celestia activated her magic once again and projected a new image, the man now being shown was considerably older, possessing a full grey beard and wrinkled skin. Despite this he was still very muscular, his definition clearly showing through the yellow t-shirt he wore. He wore brown pants and black shoes, white gloves and brown fedora. It took her a moment, but Twilight recognized him by the blue eyes.

“Wait, that’s Joseph?” she asked in surprise. “How old is he?”

“Almost seventy.”

“Seventy!?” Rarity gasped. “My goodness, he aged gracefully!”

“As we mentioned, Hamon users live longer and age slower,” Luna reminded.

“Goodness. I may have to inquire into the art myself,” Rarity commented, her eyes seeming to glaze over as she daydreamed. Applejack and Rainbow rolled their eyes.

“Over this time, Joseph gained a new ability, one that would change things drastically for all of us,” Celestia continued as she made the image of Joseph hold up his right hand. Suddenly a mass of violet vines burst from seemingly nowhere, entwining themselves around his hand.

“Wh-What is that?” Cadance asked.

“He called it ‘Hermit Purple.’ It could extend from his hand and strike his opponents or grapple onto objects and pull them towards him, or even pull himself towards larger objects for traversal. Since it was a part of him he could also conduct Hamon through it. But one unique ability it had was that it could project an image of whom or what he wanted to see by destroying something with it. Cameras had just begun to be developed, so the ability found use, even if it was a bit expensive, but he could even make use of something as simple as sand. Though it didn’t fit the normal description of them, it would be Equus' first Stand.”

“‘Stand!?’ Stands are real, too!?” Twilight asked, her enthusiasm practically radiating from her eyes.

“Uh, what’s a ‘Stand’?” Applejack asked.

“A Stand is a physical manifestation of one’s psyche and spiritual aptitude. They are all unique and possess a variety of unique abilities, many being metaphysical in nature,” Twilight answered happily.

“Uh...”

“It’s a power based of your soul and they can do things that shouldn’t be physically possible,” Spike clarified after rolling his eyes.

“Oh.”

Twilight blushed as her friends and family giggled. She cleared her throat before turning back to her mentor. “I thought Stands were a myth.”

“I was once a myth, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna quipped. “So was Discord, and the Elements of Harmony. Not all knowledge can be found in books.” Twilight looked surprised, but recovered and nodded.

“Moving on, Joseph’s Stand manifesting could not have come at a better time, as another one of his kind was transported to our world.” She conjured her magic and another image appeared. Like those before it the figure was tall and muscular, his outfit eye-catching. He wore a yellow jacket that cut off at his abdomen and ended at his wrists with golden cuffs, and under that was a dark green form-fitting shirt with what looked like a dog collar around his neck. Across his waist was a yellow belt with a green suspenders hanging from it and a heart-shaped belt buckle on the front. His pants were also yellow, and he had green heart shaped knee pads. His shoes were golden and ended in points the bent upwards. Around his forehead was a green circlet, again with a heart on the front. But what surprised them was that the human’s, or rather vampire’s, face was familiar to them, with a blonde mane, red eyes, and a confident and condescending smirk.

“Dio Brando!? He came back!?” Dash shouted.

“In a way,” Celestia began. “Joseph would explain to me that in the original story of ‘Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure’ that despite Jonathan Joestar triumphing over Dio Brando, the vampire survived as merely a head. He would go on and kill Jonathan, with intents to take his body as his own. Though he succeeded he would end up trapped in a sunken ship at the bottom of the sea for nearly a century. Some explorers would eventually discover him and accidentally release him from his fate, and he would attempt to control the world again with his new body. As a testament to his rebirth he would rename himself as simply DIO. The one who would arrive at this time was another human who had worn an outfit of this latter version.”

“So this was a different man, even though he had the same face,” Twilight said.

“Due to possessing a different body this DIO no longer possessed all of his former abilities. However, he was still incredibly strong, fast and resilient. He could still regenerate and fed on blood, and he was also weak to sunlight and Hamon. However, he now had a power much greater than his previous form.”

Shining Armor’s eyes widened. “Don’t tell me he-”

Celestia summoned her magic again and a figure appeared behind DIO. Unlike the other figures its skin was grey, and it was dressed in an odd garments that looked like a gross between armor and a diving suit, having a helmet the covered the top half of its head and angled upwards and seemed to be connected to breathing gear on its back. It’s eyes were yellow and it had green heart emblems on its knees, belt, and even its chin. Much of its outfit looked similar to DIO’s.

“This was DIO’s Stand, ‘The World.’ Unlike Hermit Purple, this Stand was made for combat. It was as strong as he was, fast enough to strike its enemies dozens of times before they could even blink, and it could even fly. Like many Stands of this nature it had two distinct weaknesses: it could only travel up to roughly two yards in front of it, and any damage it sustained DIO would also receive. However, it had one terrifying ability that made it extremely deadly: it could stop time. Though only for a few seconds from his own perspective, DIO and his Stand would be able to move and attack his enemies while all of time around him would stay still."

Everypony shivered, except for Luna who seemed to have already been told of this ability. Shining Armor himself was shaking, his military mind understanding better than the rest what kind of advantage such an ability gave.

He could approach any defense and bypass it no matter what. He could kill his enemies without them even knowing why they died.

“B-But there was another one who came to beat him, right? Just like before?” Spike asked.

Celestia hesitated before continuing. “In the original story, DIO was eventually defeated by a group of Stand users. Two of them included the older Joseph Joestar and this man.”

She summoned her magic once more and a new image appeared, replacing the previous one. Another tall hulking human, this one had black hair and green eyes, his expression deathly serious. He wore a black high collared jacket that flowed down to his knees like a cape, and a large golden chain hung from the left collar down to his abdomen, and underneath that was a pink shirt. His pants and shoes were also black, and he had two belts around his waist, one purple and orange, the other turquoise and orange, both with a triangle pattern. Finally he wore a black cap, a golden metal circle and a square with a hand emblazoned on it resting on the brim. The cap also had no back.

“This was Joseph’s grandson, Jotaro Kujo. In the story he was the one who directly battled and eventually defeated DIO. As you’ve no doubt guessed, he was also a Stand user.”

As she focused her magic and another figure appeared. Like The World, this Stand was also physically intimidating and human in appearance. Its skin was two tones of blue and was covered in yellow tattoos, separating the tone changes. Its mane and eyes were black, the wild strands of hair extending down to its shoulders. It wore what looked like a yellow scarf around its neck and wore golden shoulder pads, knee pads, and a golden circlet while it wore black gloves and shoes. Its only other piece of clothing was a white loincloth that went down to its knees.

“Joetaro’s Stand was ‘Star Platinum’. As you can guess, it is very similar to The World, possessing similar strength, speed, range, and durability. It also can extend its fingers roughly two yards away from it to attack, is very precise, can spot things from roughly two and a half miles away, and even reacts on its own to defend Joetaro. In addition, though he himself cannot move Star Platinum can move for a few seconds when time stops, and eventually in his final battle with DIO was able to gain the ability to stop time as well, though not as efficiently as The World could.”

“Awesome! So after DIO showed up, Jotaro came and you all kicked his flank, right?” Rainbow guessed.

“Not quite, I’m afraid. DIO, or ‘Anthony Mathers’ as I would later find out he was originally called, arrived in Equestria, as I said. Naturally, recognizing his appearance, Joseph and I immediately attempted to destroy him, but he escaped. For six months he eluded us and the rest of the Guard, always managing to stay ahead of us. While he ran he fed on the blood of ponies, like he had to to survive, but never did he drain enough to actually kill anypony. Thinking it odd, Joseph and I attempted to capture and question him rather than kill him, but he still evaded us. Unfortunately, our attention was averted when the Giffonia suddenly attacked.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Wait, you’re talking about the war after the revolution in Griffonia?”

“‘Revolution?’” Shining Armor asked. Even as the captain of the Royal Guard, he wasn’t familiar with this information.

“It was said that before the sudden and vicious attack from Griffonia there was a revolution lasting several months. A warrior rose up and managed to gather many griffins under his leadership before… before he killed King Gerard and took the throne…” Twilight’s eyes widened in realization before turning to her mentor. “Princess Celestia, are you saying that-?”

“Yes Twilight. The one who had become Jotaro was the one who conquered Griffonia and made them attack us,” Celestia answered. “In addition, Anthony happened to be in Trottingham, one of the cities that was first attacked, and defended those he could. This time it was DIO who aided Equestria, and the next Jojo was our enemy.” Everypony was too shocked to reply, so she continued. “Joseph and I managed to meet with Anthony and he agreed to help us, though hesitantly after what we had done over the months. He proved integral to ending the war, which thankfully only lasted another four months. Anthony, Joseph, and I battled and defeated Jotaro, but he was a very powerful opponent. Joseph was killed in battle and Anthony managed to kill Jotaro. Afterwards the griffons surrendered and I helped reinstate proper heir, Prince Galahad, back onto the throne.”

“Wait, but aren’t vampires immortal? Why isn’t Anthony still around?” Spike asked.

Celestia’s expression grew somber. “Anthony had to survive off my blood to continue to live, and it kept weakening me, if only slightly. In addition to this, he realized that after having three rounds of arrivals from his world with powers from the story that more would likely be coming. He spent the next year tirelessly writing a book that described any and all characters that might come here. This book gave their names, appearances, powers, personalities, weaknesses, motivations, and even histories of every character up to part seven of the story. He mentioned that part eight was being made, but it wasn’t finished, so anything he wrote might change. Afterwards he… he asked me to destroy him. He said that one of the later villains would require a piece of DIO’s body in order to complete his ultimate goal, and the only way to be sure he wouldn’t get it was if he was completely disintegrated. I... I tried to argue with him, but in the end I knew he was right and I completely destroyed him with my sun magic.”

The room was completely quiet. Tears were welling up in everypony’s eyes and Pinkie could only hold hold back so long before bawling as waterfalls of tears sprung from their eyes. The girls did their best to comfort each other.

Eventually everypony settled down and Celestia began again. “This man, in the guise of a terrible villain, became one of Equestria’s greatest saviors. Even though I had hunted him down and tried to kill him he still fought and died for us, and even left us with the information to prepare ourselves in the future. He went completely against the role that would’ve been so easy for him to play.” Celestia’s gaze then hardened, causing everypony but Luna to flinch. “It is for that reason, and that reason alone, that I have not already killed the man that lies unconscious in this palace.”

Once again, the throne room was silent, many unable to comprehend that such a level of malice could come from their motherly Princess.

“Sister, is he truly-?”

“One of the worst, Luna. A creature so despicable I can still barely fathom it.”

“What is his name?”

“Yoshikage Kira.”

“And you say he is unconcious?”

“He passed out after introducing himself for some reason.”

“I see. I’ll look to the reference, then I will investigate.”

“‘Investigate?’” Cadance asked.

“His dreams, of course. Now excuse me for a moment,” Luna explained with a bow before teleporting out of the throne room, leaving the rest to wonder just how close they came to death.

Five minutes had passed before Luna put down the book, having read the full article on Yoshikage Kira. She shuddered before teleporting to the medical wing, leaving the book open to the page. Three lines were stuck in her mind.

If personality is intact:
Threat level without “Bites the Dust”: EXTREMELY HIGH, KILL ON SIGHT.
Threat level with “Bites the Dust”: HIGHEST THREAT LEVEL. KILL BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.

Author's Note

So yeah, this took a while, even for being a big chapter. Of course my other fic has been taking up most of my time.

So yeah, Jonathan hasn't been the first one, and Celestia isn't oblivious to what he can do either. In addition, we have the conflict between Jonathan and his role. I don't have much experience with this kind of thing, but I'm trying to make it so that it's more dueling personalities than dueling identities.

Finally, this serves as kind of a primer for those not familiar with Jojo, the mane six, Spike, Shining and Cadence standing in for the audience. I hope it wasn't too much.

Anyway, probably won't be back to this for a while, so I hope you guys enjoy for now.