Second Hand Source

Chapters

First Encounter
Second Encounter
Close Encounters Of The Bratty Kind
Chance Encounter
Final Encounter

First Encounter

Dear Princess Twilight,

First off, I imagine you have more than a few questions concerning the manner in which you received this letter. Now, let me assure you that your shower drain has not been, and is in no danger of being, vandalized, but I apologize if my letter gave you a bit of a scare.

Anyway, I would very much appreciate it if you could come on over to Froggy Bottom Bog to meet with me. Don’t worry about hydras or anything like that. If any come around I’ll personally see to it they run away screaming like little wusses.

Also, please come alone. I understand you’d want to have your friends with you for something so unknown, but I really do mean you no harm. If it helps you trust me any more, feel free to bring whatever items you may have that’ll help ensure your safety.

Looking forward to meeting you, hopefully.

Sincerely,

A huge fan of yours

Twilight stares at the oddly printed letter before lifting her gaze at the swampy landscape of Froggy Bottom Bog around her.

“Hello, is anybody here!?” she calls, taking a few steps deeper into the swamp. “I came alone like you instructed, but don’t think you can jump me. I’m ready for anything!”

“Well well well, so nice to see you Princess Twilight!”

Twilight turns in the voice’s direction, spying the serpentine form of Discord behind a tree, lounging in a bean bag chair. He takes a moment to open a cap in the chair’s side, letting out a few jelly beans into his open palm before stuffing them into his mouth. He then begins talking while chewing.

“Quite a nahce surprishe to see you wai out here.” He stuffs another handful of beans into his mouth. “And all by wourseff ah that.”

Twilight just ignores the uncouth display and asks, “What are you doing here, Discord?”

“Nothing much, really,” Discord replies. He picks off his goat horn and brings it to his mouth for use as a toothpick. “Truth be told, I don’t know why I’m here myself, only that someone wants me here for a ‘special request’ of sorts. How they sent a letter through my toaster piques my curiosity—” He gleefully claps his hands together, “—but whoever has the capacity to do something as nonsensical as that earns brownie points from me.” He then produces a large tray of brownies from behind the tree before sending them hurtling up into the air where they explode into three cards which each read ‘10 pts’.

Twilight pauses for a moment, letting Discord’s words register with her before levitating her letter over to him. “Did yours look anything like this?” she asks him.

Discord grabs the letter and dons a pair of swirly-eyed glasses before bringing it closer to his face for inspection. “Hmm... yep, this is exactly like mine,” he says. “Terrible handwriting and all.”

“It’s actually not handwriting.”

The sudden voice startles them both and they turn around in its direction, Twilight lighting her horn with magic and Discord brandishing a water pistol. They watch as a new figure emerges from behind a tree, waving a white handkerchief in a placating manner.

Both Twilight and Discord can only gape when the figure fully emerges, as he’s quite unlike anything they've ever seen. The newcomer sports a bipedal reptilian figure with dark purple scales and short fins running along his back, muscular arms that could make girls drool with desire, chiseled legs that look fit for marathons, and a pair of crimson red eyes that add a harsh edge to his incredibly sexy appearance. He opens his rounded jaw in a warm smile to reveal a set of pristine white carnivorous teeth that could catch and devour any prey with ease, and make him look good while doing it.

The creature slowly approaches them without any hint of fear and stuffs the handkerchief into the dark blue backpack he’s carrying before regarding both of them with a gentle nod. “Discord. Twilight. Glad you came,” he says, and smiles a little wider. “It was a lot of trouble sending those letters to you both, so I’m glad you were willing to trust the words of a complete and utter stranger and come out here to meet me.”

An awkward silence follows for several seconds, during which time the creature merely continues smiling, showing a complete understanding of patience while he waits for Twilight and Discord to snap from their stupor. Eventually, and perhaps a little surprisingly, Twilight does so first. She regards the creature with a look that makes it clear she’s both suspicious and fascinated at him.

“Who are you?” she asks in her naturally inquisitive manner, making the creature mentally squeal with excitement. “And, for that matter, what are you?” Another squeal.

“In order,” the creature says, “my name is Mitaru Hoteha, and I’m a huge fan of both of you.”

“I was referring to your species, actually,” Twilight clarifies, giving Mitaru another cursory examination while rubbing her chin. “Are you some kind of dragon?”

“My species isn’t important,” Mitaru states, his tone gaining a resolute edge. Twilight, though visibly annoyed, gets the hint and doesn't inquire further. Mitaru can hear her mumble something about ‘checking her bestiary of sapient species’ with his advanced hearing, which elicits another mental squeal of excitement from him.

“Well, whatever you are,” Discord speaks up, “it is clear to me you’re at least somewhat gifted in the ways of chaos-making, if the manner in which you sent my letter is any indication.” He dons a jersey that says ‘Chaos4lyfe’ on the front and slithers over to Mitaru, wrapping his talon around the reptile’s shoulder. “So, yeah, you’re cool to me.”

Mitaru giggles at the display while Twilight just rolls her eyes and takes a step forward. “Anyway, we came all the way out here for you, Mitaru. What did you want from us? And why out here in Froggy Bottom Bog of all places?”

“Yes, of course…” Mitaru shrugs off Discord’s talon, prompting the draconequus to return to Twilight’s side, and straightens his posture before proceeding to explain. “As for why I summoned you here, Froggy Bottom Bog is the only place around where I can meet you both without causing mass panic while still being close enough to home on an emotional level.” He tilts his head slightly, his lips turning up in a nervous smile. “Truth be told, I’m a little nervous speaking to you both.”

“Come now, there’s no need to be nervous,” Discord says as he pops out from behind Mitaru’s head, startling him a little, and again wraps an arm around his shoulder. “I might know little to nothing about social anxiety or idol worship, but you can rest easy knowing I won’t judge you. I can’t speak for Twilight, though.”

Said alicorn glowers at him in response.

“Thank you,” Mitaru says with sincerity, once again shrugging off Discord’s talon. “Anyway, what I want is to hear more about your lives. Specifically, about certain events you might have bore witness to or even been a part of yourself.” He pauses for a moment to fish out a notebook and pen from his backpack. “I intend to transcribe these accounts into stories to share with my people. They’re really interested in reading about you, and I figured it’d help to hear some stories straight from your mouths.”

Twilight and Discord share a confused glance, the latter taking the liberty of putting giant question marks above his head, before turning back to Mitaru. “And… why us specifically?” Twilight asks, gesturing between the two of them. “I mean, my friends could tell you just as much if not more than I can. Furthermore, why do you need to ask us about our lives when everything we’ve done that’s significant is already common knowledge? I mean, the entire story of Nightmare Moon’s rise and subsequent defeat is known all over the world!”

“Indeed, as is my initial return,” Discord says. He snaps his talon, producing a newspaper for them all to see. Twilight once again rolls her eyes when she sees the headline reads HANDSOME DRACONEQUUS MAKES PONYVILLE LOOK SPLENDID, with a picture of Ponyville subjected to Discord’s influence taken from a distance.

Mitaru, meanwhile, lets out a hearty laugh and bends over a little, clutching his stomach. “All the stuff you did was hilarious!” he says around his guffaws. “Totally unethical, sure, but that’s exactly what my people love about you Discord. Always wanting to liven things up and keep everyone on their toes, or tip-hooves for you ponies, I guess?” He straightens up and flips his notebook to the first page, clicking the pen and pressing it down onto the paper. “Anyway, it’s for that very reason you gave that I’m not asking for accounts of your greatest accomplishments and such, rather, I want to hear more about your day-to-day lives as regular Equestrians. You know, slice of life stuff.”

Twilight and Discord share another look before tapping their chins in thought. Discord makes a show out of thinking by putting a thought bubble with a repeating ellipsis above his head, at one point joined by a monkey randomly wandering in the background before being driven away by a bi-plane pulling a banner that says IDEA!. The thought bubble bursts as a playfully evil grin stretches across his muzzle.

“A little birdie told me something about how a certain lavender unicorn went a little crazy when she couldn’t get a letter to her mentor and used a ‘Want It Need It’ spell on everypony in Ponyville.” He looks over to see Twilight glaring daggers at him while her face turns an increasingly dark shade of crimson, to which his grin widens considerably. “What do you think, Princess Twilight?”

Twilight just turns her head back around, still looking at him askance. “I fail to see how the incident you’re describing falls under ‘slice of life stuff’.”

“Well, let’s let Mitaru be the judge of that, shall we?”

Before any objections can be raised, a bright blue flash envelops all three of them, eventually phasing out to show the swampy marsh of Froggy Bottom Bog has been replaced by a beautiful green pasture.

That, and a swarm of mares descending the hill towards Big Macintosh, holding the Smarty Pants doll.

”They’re fighting over that doll!”

”That incredible amazing doll!”

Twilight just covers her eyes with her hooves and lays on the ground as the scene plays out exactly as it did the first time. Discord summons a bag of popcorn and pops some into his mouth, offering some to Mitaru, who declines. They watch everything play out in its entirety, right up to Celestia’s intervention, whereupon the scene phases back to Froggy Bottom Bog.

With the replay of her single most embarrassing escapade over, Twilight finally lifts herself back up onto all four hooves, shooting Discord one final glare while he merely smirks in return.

“Well, that was amusing,” Mitaru says, taking a moment to stretch his arms over his head, audible cracks sounding as he does so. “But I already know about Twilight’s little ‘episode’; I’m looking for stories that wouldn’t have been publicized in any capacity.”

Twilight turns to Mitaru with a neutral expression. “I’ll tell you some stories, but only if I can ask you some questions in turn.”

“If I get some good stories, then sure,” Mitaru answers while rolling his hand around. “So, what have you both got for me?”

A smirk crosses Twilight’s muzzle as she turns to Discord, to which he raises a curious eyebrow. “I think I've got just the kind of story you’re looking for,” she says, a cocky air to her words.

“Well I’m listening,” Mitaru replies.

“Not too long ago, Discord showed me a game he invented, which he calls Chaos Ball.” Discord’s eyes suddenly widen and a blush forms over his own cheeks before he crosses his arms and turns away with an annoyed look.

His unusual reaction piques Mitaru’s curiosity. “Sounds interesting," he says. "Tell me more then.”

“Basically, he forced me to play, and I ended up clobbering him.” Twilight caps her statement off with a little laugh.

“Sounds like you had fun,” Mitaru comments while jotting TITLE: CHAOS BALL down in his notebook. “So what's the game like?”

“I’ll do you one better and show you,” Twilight replies. She flashes one last smirk to Discord, who’s still turned around so he can’t see it, and trots over to Mitaru while lighting her horn with magic. She only comes up to his waist, prompting her to gesture for him to lean down, which he does.

Twilight then touches her horn to Mitaru’s forehead, initiating her memory transfer spell. Mitaru’s head is suddenly swarmed with dozens of images, sounds, and emotions. At first he feels a tad bit overwhelmed, but the multiple sensations gradually organize into a cohesive whole, allowing him to see the event showcased fully and clearly. Every sight, action, spoken word, and feeling Twilight had during the game is registered in Mitaru’s brain, and when it’s over he quickly begins jotting down notes down in his notebook with an eagerness akin to that of a child looking forward to opening a giant birthday present.

“Yes, that’s exactly the kind of stuff I’m looking for!” he says gleefully. At one point he looks up to Discord. “Think I can get your point of view on this story?” he asks him.

Discord gives him an aside glance. The look of indifference in his eyes makes it clear to Mitaru that he has no intention of doing so, so he just continues transcribing Twilight’s experience. He’s almost finished when he notices Twilight staring up at him with an expectant gaze. Mitaru pauses writing for a second to ask, “Is something wrong?”

“When can I ask you about your species?” she asks in turn. A broad smile, exactly like the ones she gets whenever she’s offered the chance to learn something new, crosses her muzzle. “I don’t get the chance to study reptiles very often, much less sapient ones. So can I please ask you some questions now?”

Mitaru chuckles a little. “Never ditch that inquisitiveness, Twilight; it’s one of the many things about you that my people love,” he replies, and resumes his writing. “As for your questions, let’s wait until storytime is over and I know I’ve got a lot of good stuff.” Once he’s finished writing he turns back to Discord. “So, you got anything for me?”

Discord lets out an audible groan and slumps forward until his horns are touching his backside. “Do I really have to stick to ‘slice of life stuff’?” He visibly gags at the quote. “Couldn't I interest you in some of my more… artistic exploits, perhaps?” he asks while donning a beret and a painter’s easel and paintbrush. He swirls the brush a little first in the yellow, then in the blue, producing a dark shade of orange before flicking it across the ground in front of him. The paint immediately morphs into several grapefruits, which proceed to eat up the ground beneath them at a rapid pace, quickly disappearing from sight under the ground all while little waka waka sounds echo from the tunnels they make.

“So, what do you think?" Discord says as he turns around. The smile on his face is quite obviously forced.

Twilight just deadpans while Mitaru blinks for a moment before shrugging and saying, “Not bad, but my people already know what you’re like as a chaos lord. It’d be a breath of fresh air for them to see you as just another citizen of Equestria, going through his own troubles and trying to get through life in one piece.”

Discord groans again. “Fine, I suppose I can give you a little glimpse of my life post-reformation.” Another bright blue flash envelops the two of them, this time showing a scene of Discord walking into Sugarcube Corner.

“Welcome to Sugarcube Cor-AHHH!”

“W-w-what are y-y-you doing h-h-here?”

“Oh, come now Cup Cake… You have nothing to fear, for I’m only here to purchase breakfast and then I’ll be on my merry way.”

“I see your reputation is as bad as it’s ever been,” Mitaru muses as he begins transcribing the scene. “Not that it was ever that good to begin with, to be completely honest. I mean no offense, of course.”

“None taken,” Discord says with a dismissive wave.

“You also seem to be unusually calm here,” Mitaru notes. “Like, where’s all the chaotic shenanigans?”

“Even I need a good balanced breakfast before I start every day,” Discord replies. “Can’t create chaos if I’m not feeling up to snuff, you know?”

“I guess that makes sense,” Mitaru says with a nod. “How ironic.”

“Quite.”

The scene plays out up until Discord leaves in his go cart on a rainbow road, coffee cake in hand, out the bakery’s front door. The two are then brought back to Froggy Bottom Bog where Twilight is waiting impatiently with her head in her hooves. Next to her lies a quill, an inkwell, and a scroll of blank parchment, no doubt intended to take notes on Mitaru’s species info.

She straightens up and dons an eager smile once the two boys reappear. “So, can I ask you questions about your species now?” she asks, hopefully.

“Well, I like what I’ve gotten so far,” Mitaru says, taking a quick look over his notes, smiling. “I think one more story should suffice.” He turns to the two of them. “So, either of you got anything else interesting, preferably another one involving the both of you?”

Both Twilight and Discord take another few moments to ponder before Discord’s eyes light up. “Have you ever witnessed a shipping battle first hand, Mitaru?”

Twilight just slaps a hoof against her face while Mitaru curiously tilts his head. “I’m familiar with the term, but I’m confused as to what context you’re using it in?” he says.

Discord’s face splits into a grin that eclipses his face by about two feet on either side. “Then prepare your eyes for a feast of chaos!”

The three of them are brought before another new scene, this time on the beach of a cove. Mitaru can only assume the cove leads out into the ocean, because the view is blocked by a gaggle of large schooners, all with varying color schemes that, strangely, match those of Twilight and her friends. The sounds of ponies shouting and wood splintering can be heard every other second, and Mitaru can pick up small snippets of banter with his advanced hearing.

“All hooves on deck!”

“Medics!”

“Port cannons fire!”

“Starboard cannons fire!”

“My leg!”

“Yar har har!”

“Enough with the crappy pirate talk!”

Mitaru doesn’t react immediately to the scene of worthless conflict, instead staring out over the water at the ships with a blank expression, not even taking a second to blink. Frowning, Discord waves a paw in front of his face. “Yoohoo, Equestria to Mitaru! Come in lizard guy!” he calls.

Suddenly, Mitaru knocks him aside and rushes closer to the water’s edge. His mouth pulls into an excited grin, and he flips to a clean page in his notebook. “This. Is. So awesome!” he shouts, and begins scribbling notes like a mad person. In his eye’s corner, he spots Discord getting up and, after a moment of standing still, saunter over to Twilight.

“You look perplexed, Princess Twilight,” he notes with some amusement. “Is something eating at you?”

Twilight replies after a moment of silence. “Mitaru sure seemed excited just now, didn't he?’

“Indeed, as anyone with a taste for sweet, beautiful chaos would be,” Discord replies in turn. “This shipping battle is a perfect paradigm of what you ponies can achieve if you thought a little like me more often.”

“But think about it, Mitaru said he was looking for stories that weren't publicized. If you’ll recall, this shipping battle made all the papers, so everyone in Equestria should at least be aware of it.” Another moment of silence. “The way he’s acting makes it clear he didn't know before now.”

“He could just be from outside of Equestria, then; probably Neighpon, if his name is anything to go by,” Discord suggests. “You and your friends’ defeat of both yours truly and little Lulu is known around the world, whereas something like this battle isn't, so it makes sense—” he pauses for a moment to gag, “—that he wouldn't know about it.”

“Then why does he know about the ‘Want it Need it’ incident?” Twilight asks with a stern edge to her voice. “That’s definitely unknown outside of Equestria. Heck, I’m pretty sure it’s relatively unknown even outside of Ponyville. So why would Mitaru claim to ‘know everything’ about it if he doesn't live anywhere near here?”

Several seconds pass without a reply from Discord. Instead, a cacophony of popping buzzers, shifting gears, blaring sirens, and a cicada rock band sounds off. Only afterward does he give a reply, and his tone harbors not a trace of his usual playfully sarcastic demeanor.

“I agree, something isn't right with him, and not in the way I adore.”

The two remain silent for the remainder of the flashback, which ends soon after all the ships are blasted to smithereens by past Twilight and her friends’ own, conjured by past Discord, and the three are once again brought back to Froggy Bottom Bog.

“Well, I gotta say, that was quite a treat to see,” Mitaru says. He then turns to look at both Twilight and Discord, regarding them with warm smiles. “Because of your generosity, I now have a good collection of fresh stories to share with my people, though, I will be taking a few creative liberties.” He bows before them. “You have all of my thanks.”

Twilight and Discord both give a nod, their eyes slightly narrowed in obvious suspicion. “You’re welcome,” Twilight says, and brings up her quill and parchment. “So, would you mind answering my questions now?”

Mitaru smiles, and stuffs his pen and notebook back into his backpack. “Shoot,” he says.

Twilight brings the quill tip to the parchment, her eyes never leaving sight of Mitaru. “First off, where are you from?” she asks.

Mitaru’s smile grows a bit and he lets out a brief chuckle before raising his hand in a dramatic manner. “It’s a mystical land beyond your wildest dreams. A place where reality and fantasy are in a perpetual struggle for dominance, which I had to conquer in order to even set foot here. A difficult trial, I assure you.”

Discord and Twilight share a confused glance before Twilight asks, “And, what’s this place called?”

“This wondrous land I speak of is called—” Suddenly, Mitaru pulls a white ball about the size of a baseball from his backpack, “—I’M GONE-IA!”

In an eye’s blink, he throws down the ball. As soon as it hits the ground a giant plume of smoke shoots out of it, obscuring the area in a white veil that makes it impossible to see for more than five feet. Twilight and Discord both descend into a coughing fit as the sound of scurrying footsteps trails away.

When the smoke finally clears, Mitaru is nowhere to be found. On the ground in his place, however, is a piece of paper torn off from his notebook with a message scrawled across in print too precise to be handwritten.

Author's Note

Take care you two, and thanks again for your help.

Second Encounter

“This… is strange.”

Mitaru takes a few steps forward, staring at the saccharine landscape which surrounds him, only to trip and stumble. Regaining his balance, he looks down to see that he’d tripped over a rock with a purple coloration. Bending down, he picks it up and, after inspecting it for a moment, gives it an exploratory lick.

Rock candy, huh? he muses, and sets it back down. Makes sense here, I guess.

The scenery all around Mitaru seems to be a culmination of everything sweet, bright and colorful. In the distance he can see mountains shaped like gumdrops, standing tall behind a forest of rainbow colored candy canes. A group of caramel-colored butterflies flutters a few meters away while a gummy elephant drinks from a nearby river that, if its brown coloration is any indication, is made out of chocolate. A rainbow arcs across the sky and its lollipop sun, coming from somewhere behind a giant cupcake and ending beyond a gingerbread house. The ground upon which he stands is the only thing of normalcy he can see, being made of grass, or at least something with the same texture and coloration.

“Wonder how I ended up in candyland?” Mitaru asks out loud, watching a sugar worm pass by with a friendly wave. “Either I’m dreaming, or… actually, that’s the only explanation that makes sense.”

Mitaru’s eyes light up and he claps his hands together, a smile crossing his face. Which means I can get Princess Luna to tell me some stories, if I can get her to visit me.

With a flick of his wrist and a dash of willpower, Mitaru’s worst nightmare appears in front of him.

“Hey, you want a balloon?” the clown asks, grinning wickedly.

Mitaru turns around and begins running in the opposite direction with his hands above his head, screaming at the top of his lungs in a comically over-the-top fashion. He keeps going until he reaches the chocolate river before turning around and heading back the way he came, repeating the process once he comes within a dozen yards of the clown. This goes on for a few minutes of real time before a calming voice calls from above.

“Relax, dearest subject.”

Looking up, Mitaru spies the majestic form of Princess Luna descending gracefully from the sky. Her face is set in a neutral expression as she keeps her gaze on the clown. About halfway through her descent, she charges up her horn and fires a swirling blast of blue magic at the clown, which disappears instantly in a burst of balloons that all float upwards into the sky. Mitaru watches the entire scene with his mouth agape in amazement, and it’s not until Luna addresses him that he snaps from his awe.

“Pardon my bluntness, but who are you and where are you from?”

Mitaru turns to see Luna standing right behind him, her expression now one of curiosity. His inner child does backflips at getting to meet the night princess herself, while outwardly he takes a deep breath and responds.

“I’m a tourist from a faraway land,” he says. “I came to Equestria looking for stories about this country’s more famous residents to share with my people upon my return.”

Luna tilts her head. “So… you’re a foreign journalist, then?”

“Essentially, yeah.”

“I see…” She turns her head around, taking in the colorful scenery. “Is this a reflection of what your home country is like, then?”

“No, no it is not,” Mitaru replies with a shake of his head. “If anything, all of this—” he makes a sweeping gesture at the surrounding landscape, “—is a reflection of how I view Equestria.” He smirks at the surprised look the princess gives him at that admission. “But, yeah, thanks for getting rid of that clown.”

“It was nothing,” she replies with a dismissive wave. “So, why did you want me in your dream? For stories, I presume?”

Mitaru’s eyes widen in surprise. “Wait, what?”

Luna holds a hoof up to her mouth and snickers. “Surely you don’t think I cannot recognize false distress? The fear you were exuding, while a little genuine, wasn’t nearly as honest as that of a typical nightmare victim. The only reasonable conclusion is that you wanted me to visit you, and am I correct in assuming why?”

Mitaru’s blush would show if not for the dark coloration of his scales. He sheepishly rubs the back of his head as he answers, “It wouldn’t be too much trouble, right?”

Luna frowns as she appears to mull over her options for a little while, all while stealing a few more uncomfortable glances to the scenery around them. When she finally gives her response, it’s with a more casual tone as opposed to the serene, radiant vocals she employed a minute ago, not unlike how she talks in the waking world. Mitaru briefly wonders if it’s a conscious decision on her part to sound more comforting when dealing with ponies who’ve suffered from nightmares.

“Please understand,” she begins, “that I have no intention of divulging anything of national security. I don’t find your explanation to be unbelievable, but I am unfamiliar with your species, and as such I cannot risk revealing anything that could put Equestria’s state of harmony in jeopardy.” She regards him with a neutral stare as she continues. “So, while I am open to sharing a few yarns with you, expect nothing of significance to pass through my lips.”

Mitaru shrugs. “That’s fine. Truth be told, I don’t want to hear anything too significant anyway.” He places a hand on his hip and gives a small smirk. “I already got a few stories out of Discord and Princess Twilight. Just simple slice of life stuff; nothing major.”

Except for that so totally awesome shipping battle! he finishes in his head within his head.

“Very well then,” Luna says with a smile. “I will share some small tales with you.”

“My sincerest thanks, Princess Luna,” Mitaru says, bowing slightly.

“Now, where are you currently at in the waking world?” Luna asks.

Mitaru’s expression turns fearful for a split second before he raises a finger and says, “Actually, I’d rather we exchange stories here. I’ve got a good memory, so I can transcribe your stories when I wake up.”

Luna gives him an odd look. “Are you sure?”

He nods.

“...Very well then,” she replies. “Is there anything in particular you wish to hear about?”

Mitaru taps his chin in thought for a moment before giving his reply. “Well, you are the keeper of dreams. Lots of interesting things happen in dreams, so maybe you’ve got some interesting stories about your dreamscape travels?”

“Indeed I do.” Luna lights her horn, causing an open doorway to appear behind her. She gestures at it with her head. “Come and see.”

Mitaru follows Luna through the door with a giddiness to his step, coming out into a hallway lined on both sides with doors of various colors and a multi-colored nebula in the background. The splendor of it all makes Mitaru drop his jaw in awe, but Luna is quick to snap him out of it.

“There’s a trio of fillies known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders that I’ve helped reassure on separate occasions where they were suffering fears common among young foals.” She smiles and takes a step toward a yellow door. “Perhaps the youth of your species could be enlightened by listening to some of these tales?”

Mitaru looks askance as he rolls his hand. “Maybe, but I already know the Cutie Mark Crusaders, so I could just ask them directly.” He looks down the long line of doors, silently wondering whether he’s actually left his own dream or if Luna’s merely fiddled with it herself. “Anyone else you’ve helped?”

Luna pauses in thought for a moment, then walks up to a pink door that seemingly opens by its own accord. She beckons Mitaru to follow her inside, which he does while continuing to marvel at the dreamscape around them.

“I helped a young filly by the name of Diamond Tiara a little while ago realize she’d been led astray from the path of kindness by losing her mother,” Luna explains as they walk through the door, which shuts closed behind them. “From our subsequent meetings in her dreams, I believe she’s changed for the better.”

“Interesting…” Mitaru trails off, looking around the room they’d come into. White walls surround them, adorned with fancy furniture and paintings, while golden chandeliers hang from the ceiling every few feet. In front of them is a hallway leading deeper into the dreamscape. “So, where’s the little brat at?’

Luna raises an eyebrow while an amused smile crosses her face. “Try meeting her in the morning, I guarantee she’ll be different from what you’re expecting,” she says, and gestures with her head toward the hallway. “For now, though, let me show you what I did to change her so.”

She begins trotting down the hallway, Mitaru following right behind. It doesn’t take long before Mitaru’s advanced hearing picks up faint, crying sobs, becoming louder as they move on. Eventually, they come upon the cries’ source after turning a corner, and Mitaru is both surprised and amused to see Diamond Tiara curled up on the floor in front of a statue of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, letting loose a steady torrent of tears that coalesces around her sobbing form.

“Someone, help me,” she whimpers. “Please . . .”

Mitaru then sees Princess Luna step forward and place a hoof on Diamond’s withers, saying, in a calm and soothing tone of voice, “Such is my job, Diamond Tiara.”

Mitaru lifts a confused brow, only to do a double take when another Princess Luna steps up beside him, grinning impishly in his direction. He looks back and forth confusedly between the two night princesses before quickly realizing that the one comforting Diamond Tiara is the one from the dream, and proceeds to watch the scene unfold with interest, committing everything to memory.

The sequence plays out uninterrupted until the dream Luna and Diamond split up to look for the maze’s exit, whereupon Luna teleports herself and Mitaru to another part of the maze. Mitaru takes a moment to reorient himself after the sudden teleport.

“Please warn me next time before you do that,” he groans while rubbing his eyes, waiting until the colorful spots dissipate from his vision before glancing to Luna. “So, Diamond Tiara is jealous of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, or something?”

Luna shakes her head, then gestures down the hall where her dream self and the pink filly are approaching. “Listen,” she says, just as her dream self and Diamond begin talking.

“Pray tell, why didn’t your mother offer to look after you while your father was away?”

“That’s because I don’t have a mother to begin with.”

Mitaru raises a brow and turns to look at Luna. She doesn’t return his gaze, instead watching the proceeding scene with a warm smile. The dream Luna and Diamond walk right past them, continuing to talk as they head down the hallway. Mitaru listens to their conversation as he commits everything to memory, finding himself increasingly amazed at both dream Luna’s patience and wisdom in dealing with the pink brat.

Eventually, dream Luna helps Diamond uncover the hidden passageway behind a cabinet and they say their parting words, whereupon the scene ends and Mitaru and Luna are returned to the dream corridor.

“Well, that was certainly interesting,” Mitaru says, scratching his chin. He turns to Luna with a slight smirk. “Color me impressed.”

“Thank you,” Luna replies, smiling. “Now, may I ask a little about you?”

Mitaru’s smirk grows. “Yeeeaaah, no.” One painful pinch of the arm later and he’s back in the waking world. The sounds of little bugs and frogs emanate all around him from the swampy depths of Froggy Bottom Bog. The sky's light blue, indicating that dawn is soon to come.

Mitaru sits up in his sleeping bag and, taking a moment to stretch and yawn, reaches over to his backpack. He fishes out his notebook and pen and begins transcribing the scene Luna just showed him, all while pondering his next move.

I should avoid ponies of importance from now on. No doubt Twilight, Discord, and Luna are gonna compare notes of our encounters and tell everyone to keep on the lookout for me.

…Maybe Diamond Tiara will have some interesting stories to tell me.

Close Encounters Of The Bratty Kind

The Ponyville schoolhouse’s playground is playing host to Cheerilee’s class as they wait for her to fetch them for class. Mitaru leans against a tree near the back of the school — out of everypony’s sight — peering around the trunk every minute. Waiting. The sounds of every foal merrily playing keeps a genuine smile plastered on his face, but the thought of maybe jumping out and scaring them all with his alien appearance stretches it a little more.

Wonder what Diamond’s thoughts on reptiles are? Guess I won’t know until she gets here. He scrunches his face in thought. Did she ever properly meet Spike? Probably not, but— ah, there she is!

Diamond Tiara enters through the front gate along with Silver Spoon. They never stop as they walk across the playground, ignoring all the other foals as they approach the tree he’s hiding behind. He can see their faces set into deadpans, not that he expected a different reaction from them after reading his note.

Mitaru steps out from behind the tree once the fillies are close enough to his liking, giving them both a grin he hopes doesn’t come across the wrong way. “Hello girls, nice to meet you,” he says.

The fillies stop to stare at him for a moment, eyes wide with surprise. Mitaru can't help but commend them for not running away screaming. He'd mentioned in his note to Diamond that he might look a little scary to them, but he hadn't expected them to be so calm in response to seeing him. A good sign, if anything.

Eventually, Diamond’s deadpan returns. “No offense, mister, but you’re probably the most ugly thing this side of Canterlot,” she says. Her tone is less snarky and condescending than it usually is, but fits well in line with her general attitude regardless. Silver Spoon manages to reign in her surprise and nod in agreement.

Mitaru shrugs his shoulders in response, completely unfazed by the comment. “I’m actually quite handsome by my species’ standards,” he replies coolly. “I can change my appearance, however, but only over a certain length of time.”

Diamond’s eyes widen in shock. “Wait, are you one of those changeling creeps that invaded Canterlot?” she asks. “Miss Twilight said those things could copy the appearance of anypony, and that they drain emotions for food.”

Mitaru lets out a hearty laugh as he kneels down to their eye level, resting an arm on his knee and the other on the ground. “No, no, I’m not a changeling, and I don’t drain emotions for food. I can only change my appearance over a half hour’s worth of time, whereas changelings can change instantly.”

“That is so lame,” Silver says.

“You’re telling me,” Diamond replies.

“Anyway,” Mitaru says, still unfazed by their comments, “I’m sure you’re both wondering why I gave you that note asking you to meet me here.” When they nod ‘yes’ he retrieves his notebook and pen from his backpack, clicking the pen and bringing it to a blank sheet of paper. “I want you to tell me the story of how you two first met.”

There’s a long silence as the two fillies stare blankly at him, wordless and unmoving. Mitaru waits patiently for them to respond, but knowing the school bell could ring at any second tempts him to hurry them up a few times.

Eventually, Diamond furrows her eyebrows and asks, “Why do you care?”

“I’m a foreign journalist seeking stories about Equestria’s populace, and Princess Luna recommended you to me last night.” Mitaru smiles a bit at the surprised look Diamond gives in response, which is followed by a wistful expression that he assumes is her reminiscing about her encounters with the night princess.

“Wait, you met Princess Luna?” Silver asks, tilting her head. “I thought she only visited ponies’ dreams.”

“I don’t see why that’d be the case,” Mitaru replies with a shrug. “Although, I did bait her into entering my dream so I could talk with her, and my efforts paid off big time, because now I know about the time she first met Diamond.”

The pink filly’s cheeks turn crimson almost instantly. “Y-You do?” she stutters.

“Mhmm.” Mitaru nods his head. “And now I’d like to know how you two first met each other. If you’re willing to say, that is.”

Diamond and Silver give concerned looks to each other before excusing themselves to talk in private. When they return a minute later, Mitaru is surprised to see what look like genuine, kind-hearted smiles stretched across their muzzles. The sight almost makes him call blasphemy, but he holds his tongue.

“After a lengthy discussion on our part,” Diamond begins, and Mitaru holds back a chuckle at her attempt to sound business-like, “we’ve determined that you, Mister…?”

“Mitaru. Mitaru Hoteha.”

“We’ve determined that you, Mr. Mitaru Hoteha, are cool enough for us to share the story of how we first met.”

“Excellent!” He pushes the pen down on the paper. “Now, let’s start from the beginn—”

“MONSTER!”

The three glance at the playground to see a filly pointing in their direction, eyes wide with fear. It doesn’t take long before the rest of the foals follow her gaze and repeat suite. Soon, the playground is a chaotic maelstrom of panicked foals. Their screams are loud enough that everypony in Ponyville can no doubt hear them.

Eventually the foals all rush en masse into the schoolhouse, leaving the playground barren with naught but a few scattered lunchboxes as proof that anypony was previously there.

“Lame-os,” Diamond says, derisively.

“So true,” Silver deadpans.

“Perhaps,” Mitaru says. He looks back down to the fillies, his face furrowed slightly with worry. “Trouble’s gonna be here pretty soon, so we’d best hurry this up.”

The fillies return his gaze, smiling again. “Sure thing, Mitaru,” Silver says, cheerily.

Diamond takes a moment to adjust her tiara before starting. “Alright, here’s how it all went down…”

As Mitaru transcribes both fillies’ accounts of the time they first became friends, he watches from his eye’s corner as Miss Cheerilee exits the schoolhouse, takes one look in their direction before running off towards Ponyville, undoubtedly intending to fetch Princess Twilight. Meanwhile, he can see the foals looking through the schoolhouse windows, their faces masks of fear for the most part, while a few seem to be more curious of him than terrified.

One would think that ponies should learn to not panic upon sight of an unknown creature by this point in time. Even here it seems parents don’t know how to properly raise their children, and the fact that the brattiest foals here are the only ones that gave me a chance to explain myself is disgraceful

At last, Diamond and Silver finish their recollection, just in time for Miss Cheerilee to return with Twilight and her friends, all looking at him with looks ranging from concern to fear to rage. Mitaru appreciates that they’re remaining calm, at the very least.

“Well, that’s about all I need,” he says, adding one last period to his writing before snapping his notebook shut. “Thanks for your time and cooperation, girls.” He flashes them his most winning smile. “I guarantee my friends back home will love reading about this.”

“You mean we’ll be famous?” Silver asks, hope entering her voice.

“That goes without saying.”

Both fillies’ eyes light up at that. They proceed to do a ‘bump, bump, sugarlump, rump’ routine before turning back toward the schoolhouse. “C’mon, Silver, let’s go brag to everypony!” Diamond says.

“Yes, let’s,” Silver replies.

Mitaru watches them head off, passing by the former Element Bearers on their way. The mares give the fillies a few curious looks, but don’t make any inquires about what just happened. Twilight likely explained to her friends that he means no harm to anypony, but the none-too-friendly stares they give him as they approach make it clear she didn’t speak very highly of him either.

“Mitaru,” Twilight says once they approach.

“Princess Twilight,” Mitaru replies, nodding.

Rainbow flies over so her face is just inches from his own, glaring daggers at him. Mitaru makes no reaction whatsoever. “You’d better not try any funny business, mister,” she seethes.

Mitaru holds a hand to his mouth, letting loose a brief chuckle before replying. “Ah, still as confrontational as ever, I see. It’s always good to know there’s some ponies in this town who don’t still run and scream at the sight of anything unusual.”

“Frankly, I wouldn’t blame anypony for doing such,” Rarity says, giving him an appraising look, visibly cringing as she does so. “You are rather intimidating, and I say that as a firm believer of being ‘innocent until proven guilty’.”

“We all learned that the hard way,” Applejack says, lowering her hat a bit so it partially obscures her eyes. “Y’see, there was this zebra that—”

“I’m already familiar with Zecora and how you ponies treated her initially,” Mitaru interrupts, earning him looks of surprise from Twilight’s friends, and a half-lidded gaze from the alicorn herself. She wants to interrogate me about why I know so much about Equestria, for sure.

“Um, Mister Mitaru, sir?”

He turns to Fluttershy, who — oh so adorably — squeaks and hides a little behind her mane in response. Despite lacking actual eyebrows, Mitaru lifts the muscle above one eye in the appropriate manner, showing his bemusement at her shyness. The yellow pegasus smiles sheepishly before returning his gaze and continuing.

“Um, well, we talked a lot and… thought you might like to come back to the castle?” She gestures to a distant hillside where the top of Friendship Castle can be seen peeking over.

The corners of Mitaru’s mouth begin to turn up in a smile, only to drop along with his ‘eyebrows’, as he turns to the six mares, narrowing his eyes at them in suspicion. “What for?” he asks.

“We just want to know a little more about you,” Twilight replies. Her lips turn up in a little half smirk. “You know, just like what you wanted.”

“And then after that I can throw your obligatory ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party!” Pinkie exclaims, bouncing a little. “Gonna have to skimp out on the cupcakes after last week’s party, though,” she adds, a little dejected.

Mitaru rubs his chin in thought for a moment before the metaphorical lightbulb goes ding, to which he smiles and clasps his hands together. “Very well.” He stands up. “Lead the way, ladies.”

Chance Encounter

“Wow, this place is such an eyesore.” Mitaru’s lips pull down into a distasteful frown. “Like, really, crystal structures equal reflected sunlight in people’s eyes.”

“We didn’t ask for it,” Twilight says while opening the front door with her magic, ushering him and her friends in and then shutting it. “Given the choice, I would’ve had this be an exact duplicate of the Golden Oak Library.”

“But this place is super duper amazing still!” Pinkie exclaims, bouncing all around the group. Before he can so much as blink, Mitaru finds his vision obscured by a set of wide, blue eyes. Pinkie pulls his head around and leans conspiratorially into his lizard ear. “Watch out for forgotten confetti cannons.”

Mitaru blinks, and gives the entrance hall a once over while Pinkie joins her friends, who all either roll their eyes at her antics while she smiles innocently.

“Anyway, Mitaru,” Applejack says, stepping forward, “how’s about ya follow us ta the sittin’ room an’ we’ll get down ta business?”

“Indeed,” he replies, curtly. “In spite of my grievances with this castle, I predict my stay here being rather pleasant.”

“Glad to hear,” Twilight says, and begins walking down the hallway, to which Pinkie and Fluttershy follow.

“Go on dear,” Rarity says to Mitaru, gesturing forward with a hoof. “As your escorts, we must see you safely through from all sides.”

With a simple nod in response, Mitaru starts after Twilight’s group with Rarity, Rainbow, and Applejack following behind him. The seven of them wander through the Castle of Friendship’s enormous hallways, passing by many doors — including some open ones — before stopping in front of one with a bolted sign that reads SITTING ROOM.

“Here we are,” Twilight says. She opens the door with her magic, revealing a room with several armchairs surrounding a coffee table in the center. She steps inside and beckons Mitaru to follow.

Stepping through the door, he smiles at Twilight. “I must say, Princess, this has been such a warm wel–SEE YA LATER SUCKAS!”

It all happens in less than an eye’s blink. Mitaru pulls a smoke bomb from his backpack and throws it to the floor, cloaking his escape as he sprints back down the hall. While the mares recover from his smokescreen, he slips through one of the open doors.

“Wait til I get that punk!” Rainbow shouts from down the hall.

Mitaru smirks. “Fat chance,” he whispers under his breath.

He turns around, beholding sight of the dimensional portal. Wasting no time, he sprints through just as the door opens.

“... ir… Sir?... Are you… kay?”

Stirred by the voice, Mitaru slowly opens his eyes, revealing to him a whole lot of blue. As his vision comes into focus, the blue forms a face — feminine judging from the eyes — looking down at him with clear worry. He blinks once, then again before sitting upright from the hard ground underneath. A light headache runs through his skull, which he attempts to quell with a hand to his forehead… only for his eyes to bulge at the alien sensation he feels at the touch.

Bringing his hand in front of his face, he’s amazed to see his skin is now peach-colored with little hairs sticking out, as opposed to its normal dark purple scales. Looking down, he notices he’s now sporting actual attire, consisting of blue jeans, a brown sweatshirt underneath a black winter jacket, plain white socks with black shoes, and he can feel his backpack still strapped over his shoulders.

“Are you okay mister?”

Mitaru turns toward the voice, and his eyes light upon seeing that it’s Sonata Dusk. The former siren has genuine concern in her eyes, but also an unmistakable childish curiosity that he would expect from her. He opens his mouth to reply, but stops himself when a thought occurs to him.

Twilight’s definitely gonna send Sunset a message saying to keep on the lookout for me. Highly unlikely she’ll know who I am with my current form, but… yeah, better play it safe and avoid her instead.

“I’m fine, thank you,” he finally replies, standing back up while still rubbing his head. “You’re Sonata Dusk, aren’t you? From the Battle of the Bands fiasco?”

To say her eyes grow panicked is a heavy understatement. “W-wait, you know about that?” She stumbles back in her shock, falling on her butt with a pained wince, right in between a couple paper bags. She quickly recovers from her pain, seeming to shrink in on herself. No doubt long-suppressed memories of that incident are surfacing in her mind.

“Yes, I do, as does everyone who lives within a mile-wide radius of the school.” Mitaru offers a helping hand to Sonata, who accepts it with a bit of a blush in her cheeks as she stands up. “But I don’t really care about what you all did. Heck, if anything, I’d like to get to know you Dazzlings a little better.”

Sonata’s eyebrows raise in surprise. “Really?”

“Sure, why not?” Mitaru’s new mammalian lips lift into a genuine, friendly smile as he grabs the straps of his backpack. “Lovely lass like you’s gotta have some interesting stories to tell.”

Sonata appears to consider his words for a minute, all while her blush gradually grows darker the longer Mitaru stares at her with his warm, inviting, and incredibly handsome smile. “I-I guess I could i-invite you over for a little while.” She reaches down to pick up the paper bags, but Mitaru holds up a hand to stop her.

“Allow me,” he says, and picks up both of the bags himself. “So that’s a yes, I take it?”

She nods. “S-sure, yeah.” Her face turns sheepish as they begin walking down the sidewalk, Mitaru keeping a few paces behind Sonata. “But not for too long, okay? I don’t know if the girls are gonna like me bringing company over…”

“Ah, they’ll change their minds when they meet me,” Mitaru assures her. “I’m the most likable person I know.”

The apprehension is clear as day in both Aria and Adagio’s eyes as they peer through the crack in the front door, held only by a chain lock. “Sonata, we told you to bring home groceries, not a stranger with weird-looking skin.”

“Awful hair, too,” Aria adds.

Sonata gives Mitaru a look that says ‘They’re really not so bad when you get to know them’, to which he casually shrugs.

“Furthermore,” Adagio continues, “you’re saying you just met this guy? How do you know he isn’t working for the Rainbooms, or maybe even the police?” A hard slam sounds against the door on the other side. “What were you thinking!?”

“Hey, he’s nice!” Sonata exclaims. “He helped me bring back the groceries, and, well… I’ve kinda liked talking with him.”

“And why should we care?” Adagio asks, eyebrow raised.

Before Sonata can give another reply, Mitaru holds up a hand to stop her. “Allow me,” he says, and steps forward.

Casually, he grips the chain lock with one hand while placing the other one on his hip. He gives Adagio and Aria a Cheshire smile while they merely stare back with a mixture of confusion and distrust. The fact that they aren’t retreating inside is a small miracle in his eyes.

“I promise you I’m not working for or against anyone but myself,” he says.

The two reluctant dazzlings narrow their eyes at him. Seeing that he has their full attention, Mitaru begins working on the chain. He continues speaking.

“I can understand why you’d be hesitant to associate with me, or anyone else really, after what happened at the Battle of the Bands.” A small flicker of what looks like regret flashes across both their faces, but only briefly before they return to glaring icy daggers at him. “That said, I’m not here to kick you while you’re down or anything of the sort. All I want is to learn a little more about you girls: what life was like back home compared to how it is here, what it feels like to have and wield magic… A bunch of otherworldly creatures like yourselves surely have some interesting stories to tell me, right?”

Adagio and Aria make only the barest sign of considering his words — a brief glance downward — before returning his gaze and simultaneously replying, “No.”

Mitaru smirks. “Not like you have much choice.”

Adagio and Aria barely have time to blink before their attention is drawn to wisps of steam rising from underneath his hand gripping the chain. A sizzling sound begins emanating from where he’s grabbing it, and the steam begins increasing in quantity, rising up and dissipating into the atmosphere. Adagio and Aria, and even Sonata if Mitaru had to guess what her reaction currently was, stare with their jaws agape and dumbfounded expressions plastered across their faces.

Finally, the chain falls apart, both sides coming to rest alongside the door; their ends are both a glowing orange.

“As you can see,” Mitaru says, “I’m not someone to be trifled with.” He casually pushes the door open and steps inside the apartment past them. He gives the entrance foyer a cursory examination before his eyes settle on the television. Specifically, the game console hooked up to it.

Turning around, and taking no small amount of amusement of the fear in the girls’ eyes, and asks, “Mind if I play against one of you?”

The three sirens share a look between each other, as if silently begging not to have to get anywhere near him. After a moment of silent contemplation, Sonata steps forward with an awkward smile.

“S-sure, M-M-Mitaru,” she stutters, as a bead of sweat rolls down her forehead. “I-I’ll p-p-play against you.”

Mitaru grins. “Don’t think I’ll go easy on a girl, not by a longshot.”

“C’mon! C’mon!”

”Game Set!”

With a grunt of frustration, Mitaru chucks the controller onto the floor. After taking a moment to rub his face, he turns to Sonata, cowering against the couch’s armrest, her own controller gripped tightly in her hands. “Okay, I didn’t expect you to be a pushover when I challenged you…” He gestures toward the television with both hands. “But I didn’t expect to lose, what was it… nineteen out of twenty-three matches! I consider myself to be good at this game, but how did you get to be such a pro?”

Sonata hesitates for a second, fear still gripping her mind. When she does speak, it’s in a hushed whisper that Mitaru wouldn’t have been able to hear had it not been for his advanced hearing.

“W-w-well, y-you see…” She reorients herself, her face becoming more relaxed as she loosens the grip on her controller. “The girls and I stir up competition among expert players for our Sunday brunches. I like playing games already, so I decided to try my hand at it. And, well… I got good.” The corners of her mouth lift into a small smile. “It feels nice to have someone to play against; Aria and Adagio don’t have much love for games these days, and after the Battle of the Bands, it’s been impossible to find anyone who wants to get within ten feet of us, let alone play a round.”

“Interesting…” Mitaru places a hand against his chin, his eyes going blank as he takes a moment to think. “...You know, I wouldn’t have pegged you as the type who loves video games.” He reaches beside the couch to his backpack, pulling out his notebook and pen and opening to a fresh page. “How’d you get into it?”

Sonata smiles, and stands up. “Give me a sec.” She leaves the room and heads upstairs, returning a couple of minutes later holding a pink book with a latch on the front. Mitaru watches as she undoes the latch and opens the book, flipping through the pages until she stops at one in particular. With all the grace and dexterity of a child ripping the wrapper off a birthday present, she tears the page out and hands it to him.

His brow raised in curiosity, Mitaru accepts the page and begins scanning it with his eyes. The page is a diary entry, evidenced by the “Dear Diary” up top, and the entry details a story written from Sonata’s perspective. Something about a Halloween costume, her becoming a video game character, ending the feud between her sister sirens…

“Wow, this is something else.” Mitaru gives the entry another once over before looking back up to Sonata with a gleeful expression. “And you’re letting me have this?”

Sonata nods and places her hands behind her back. “I can always write it again,” she says with a shrug. “Think of it as my thanks for spending this time with me.” A small blush forms across her cheeks. “It was very… nice.”

Mitaru gives a dismissive wave. “Don’t mention it.” He stands up, stretching his arms over his head as he continues. “Well, this has been fun, and very fruitful for my endeavor, but I think it’s time I get going.”

“Oh, um… okay,” is all Mitaru hears as he heads for the door. Stepping outside, he takes a second to stuff his notebook and Sonata’s diary page into his backpack before proceeding down the steps, turning back in the direction of Canterlot High.

Once he reaches the school, he immediately heads for the statue out front. After a quick look around to make sure the coast is clear, he steps up to the statue and into the portal.

Final Encounter

Unlike the first time through, Mitaru’s fully conscious as he tumbles through the psychedelic dimensional void. Everything feels so… soothing. Perhaps that’s just on account of him feeling satisfied with his mission, but all the same, the portal is very pretty. Were it not for the absence of any feeling in his body, he might consider going through the portal a few more times before... well…

In a flash of multi-colored light and sparkles, Mitaru steps through the portal’s other end.

...Whoa.

In the room are about two dozen ponies, including Princesses Celestia, Luna and Twilight; the former Bearers of Harmony and Spike; with the rest being royal guards pointing sharp spears straight at him. All of them stare right back at him, their faces split into expressions of anger for Twilight and her friends; neutrality for the Princesses; while the guards all look to be sizing him up through their hard glares. Together, they’ve made a wall to block the door, preventing him from escaping that way.

Before anything can be said or done, Twilight’s horn alights in a purple aura. Mitaru hears a soft click above his head, followed by a whirring noise from the portal machine. The book that’s used to power the portal, now dislodged, floats into Mitaru’s field of vision and towards Twilight. She sets it to rest on a nearby table, never once taking her eyes off of him.

“You’ve got nowhere to run, Mitaru,” she says, calmly, even though her face remains angry. “We don’t want to hurt you, but you will answer our questions, one way or another.”

“I was most curious about our encounter last night,” Luna says. She gives him a sidelong look. “Where do you come from?”

“And how do you know so much about us?” Celestia follows.

“And just what are you?” Spike finishes.

The silence that stretches between Mitaru and the group is thick with tension as they wait for his answers to their questions. Nobody moves an inch, nor do they say anything. All eyes are trained on Mitaru in anticipation, while his are spread over the whole group, his expression unreadable.

Suddenly, Mitaru lets out a brief giggle. “You all really want to know, then?” he asks with a smirk.

“Yes, we do,” Twilight says, brow furrowed.

Mitaru dips his head a bit, eyeing the group in an almost cartoonish manner. “Very well.”

The ponies can only gape in disbelief as Mitaru begins to… disappear. Literally. His body begins fading from view, starting from his feet and working upwards. He shows no signs of agony. No wailing, no thrashing… He retains his smirk all the while, but otherwise unmoving until all that’s left is his upper torso, at which point he waves goodbye until his arms are gone. A slip of paper, hidden in his hand, flutters to the ground.

His head follows soon after, leaving no trace of his existence left in Equestria save for the slip of paper, and the note it contains.

Author's Note

M-I-T-A-R-U H-O-T-E-H-A

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I A-M T-H-E A-U-T-H-O-R