The Coin Master

Chapters

Prologue: Inhio's story
First contact
Revelation
Introduction
Quite the charmer
I never told you...

Prologue: Inhio's story

My name is Inhio Hellbridge. Although, you can just call me "The Coin Master". Not like anyone else has called me by my real name within the last 2 years or so, anyways...

Have you ever felt like you're not in the right place? Like, for example - you're a great cook, and yet you're working at a construction site? My story is more or less the same.

Every parent likes to tell their kid that they're special, but in my case, this was more than just a few words of comfort...I could see things that others couldn't...As you've probably realized by now, the first time I found this out, I totally freaked out.

One day, at school, boredom prevailed. The teacher was busy teaching something incredibly boring, and I was busy not paying any attention. As I sat and fiddled with the pencil in my hand, I started focusing more on the pencil and less on the lesson, and then, all of a sudden - a flash of light covered my sight, and my mind was swooped away into another dimension.

I...I could see the pencil's history! Everything! Starting from the moment it was just a seed trying to find a good spot to grow in, and up to this very day. I was shocked, even scared, at first, but as time went on, I realized that I could accomplish great things.

Why call myself "The Coin Master"? That's just a little poetic nickname I made for myself. I've always loved the way money never stops travelling. Every tool and toy has about the same, exact story, but coins...I touch one old-looking penny, and I sometimes end up shaking hands with nearly half a hundred people!

"What better way to aid the people than by helping to rid the world of crime?" I thought. I didn't become a cop, but I had a sort of a deal with them. Whenever they had a case where they had trouble finding the culprit, I was called.

Just one touch of the murder weapon, and the person that had recently used it was behind bars on the very next day...Sadly, the government doesn't care about stopping crime as much as it does about following their stupid policies and earning more money.

Not only did they forbid me to further aid the police, they also called me a fraud in front of the camera...Millions saw my shameful moment, and I've had trouble finding a job ever since.

In the end, I had little choice but to make a private booth where I would make readings for people for a small fee...

I had the potential to become nothing short of a superhero...Instead, I was now seen as just another gypsy trying to scam people out of their pennies. In short - my life was a wreck.

People kept on bringing me all sorts of weird stuff to identify. Some were worth mentioning, but most had incredibly boring stories...No wonder so many people wanted their money back.

This is the tale of the most interesting object that ever found it's way into my booth.

First contact

Inhio had started feeling as though he was back at school. It was just another boring day, and another boring customer had brought him another boring tool.

"That's it?!" the unsatisfied man asked as Inhio handed him back his rod.

"Yep," Inhio calmly replied and leaned back into his chair.

"What a rip-off!" the man shouted as he got up from his chair and turned away from the Coin Master.

"Want your quarter back?" Inhio asked, drawing the man's attention back towards him. "It's still right there, where you left it." He looked at the shiny coin sitting on his table.

The man had already raised his hand, ready to reach for the token. His hand twitched and his expression wavered. He spent a few seconds staring at the coin with a disgusted look.

"Gaah!" He finally decided to not even bother. He swung his hand down, grabbing the object he had brought with him, and then walked outside without saying another word.

The coin sat on Inhio's table for some time. He was even less eager to reach for it than the man that left it.

I'm beginning to think that it would be a better idea to just come up with a story on my own, rather than tell them the actual history of the stuff they bring me...That way, at least one of us could walk out of here even somewhat satisfied. Inhio didn't have much time to ponder on this question. He snatched the coin from the table as soon as he heard the bell clinging from the door opening again.

The next customer didn't look as boring as the last one...In fact, he looked like someone who might inspire fear in some people, but Inhio didn't even flinch. A man with a large baseball bat opened the door and didn't hesitate to walk over to the owner of the facility.

Either he wants to know what has that bat been through, or he's come to put me out of my misery...Either way, I ain't budging. Inhio thought to himself as the man approached.

The man slowly approached and stared at Inhio for a few seconds, after which he gently placed the bat on the table. "Could you, uuh...do your thing, with this thing?" he quietly asked, still unsure of himself.

"That's what I'm here for," Inhio replied and reached for the bat, ignoring the man's seemingly shy attitude.

Inhio bent his elbows and held his hands forward, balancing the bat on his palms. He focused his mind on the bat and let out a sound of disappointment after a short moment. "Eegh...The story this bat carries is about as simple as it gets," Inhio explained. "It spent most of it's life as a proud tree, and then several months in a stand, before you finally arrived and liberated it." Inhio finished his sentence with his head hanging low...He had seen enough disappointed customers for one day.

"Yeah, that's about what I thought..." The man didn't seem surprised, but he wasn't unhappy either.

Inhio sighed. "Tell you what..." He placed the bat back on the table and pushed it towards it's owner. "If you have another object with you that you want me to have a look at, go ahead and put it forth. As for the bat...Well, lets just say I didn't see it."

"Actually, I had a different thought in mind," the man said, arousing Inhio's interest.

The Fate Reader raised his head to face the man and awaited an explanation.

"You see, the thing is..." The man started rubbing the back of his neck. "I just recently got this bat for my son who's a major baseball fan. He was overjoyed, of course, but I just thought that he'd be even happier if he thought that the bat came from a real professional baseball player..."

"Aah...I think I know where this is going," Inhio calmly interjected.

"The whole thing wasn't my idea," the customer continued in a slightly nervous tone. "He just asked if that's where I got it from, and without giving it a split second to think about, I just kinda..."

"Say no more," Inhio stopped the man by holding his palm up. "Is he on his way here?"

"Not just yet, but it won't be too long before he comes around."

"Any particular player that he's fond of?" Inhio inquired in a polite tone.

"Ooh!" The man's face lit up. "Yeah! Perfringo Magnison! That's the one I told him it's from." (Don't bother looking up the name, I made it up.)

"Alright," Inhio replied and leaned back into his chair and folded his hands behind his head, as if saying job well done to himself. "Consider it done."

"So you'll tell him that it's from Perfringo, then?" the man asked in a bemused tone after a short pause.

"Yep," Inhio answered like a proud-looking business man.

"Great!" The man sighed with relief. "Thanks a bunch, man!" Relieved and almost jubilant, the man placed two quarters on the table and started walking towards the exit. "One for me and one for the boy."

Inhio didn't move an inch. He heard the bell cling and the door close, which meant that the customer had just left. That was the most pleased person Inhio had seen leaving his little boutique in a very long time, and he felt like enjoying the moment for just a wee bit...Somehow he just knew that it wouldn't last long.

"It's funny how little it takes to get my heart to smile these days..."

***

Just as the Coin Master had predicted, the moment did not last long, and another face had already appeared in the door again.

Inhio quickly left his euphoric state and was back to sitting with a solemn expression before the customer could even get to look at him.

The person that had just walked in looked a lot younger than his usual customers. At first, Inhio thought that the boy was the same one that he was expecting to arrive sooner or later, but that thought quickly left his mind as soon as he noticed that the lad was holding something that wasn't even remotely close to resembling a baseball bat...In fact, it looked unlike anything that had ever been brought inside his domain.

As the boy came closer, it became clear that whatever he was holding had a round shape, and yet, it wasn't the kind of ball that kids of his age like to play with. It looked more like the kind that you would see on a table on top of a pedestal and inside a similar housing like his own, only with a purple-hooded gypsy lady as the owner.

"Don't be afraid, boy. Come on closer," Inhio encouraged the hesitating kid that was slowly walking towards him with very small steps while constantly shifting his sights left and right and holding tightly onto his prized possession. Inhio's words didn't seem to affect him.

Isn't that the son of that local hillbilly mechanic? Inhio seemed to recognize the boy. He placed his elbow on his table and leaned towards the boy. "Why don't cha take a seat there, partner? Ye'll get tired mighty soon if ya keep on walkin like dat," Inhio said in a friendly tone, trying to maintain a western accent.

Those words seemed to be exactly what the boy wanted to hear. He immediately picked up the pace and was already sitting in front of Inhio in a moment's notice. The boy looked happy, but he got slightly confused when he saw his host staring at the item in his hands with a raised eyebrow.

Is it just me or did that ball just giggle? Inhio thought to himself. Snap our of it, Inhio! You're scaring the boy. His inner conscience spoke to him when he saw the kid looking at him with an almost frightened expression.

Inhio shook his head and spoke to the boy in the same manner as before. "So what can I do for ya, partner?"

Still a bit unsure, the young boy did not say a thing. Instead he just placed the ball on the table and pushed it towards the person sitting at the other end, after which he pulled a coin out of his pocket and placed it next to the ball.

Inhio smiled. "Don't worry. You don't have to talk if you don't want to," he spoke in a quiet and compassionate tone as he reached for the ball. He grabbed the ball with both hands and focused his mind on it.

Huh? Inhio widened his eyes after a short moment. He furrowed his brows and grabbed the ball tighter as he focused his mind on it again. "What the?" He loosened his grip on the ball for a short moment, right before he focused on it again. After a slightly longer moment of focus, he loosened his grip again, this time exhaling loudly. Is it just me or does this thing have no history?

"Give me a moment..." Inhio said to the boy, right before he held his breath and focused on the object as best he could. Inhio wouldn't let go of it for quite some time. His face started turning slightly red, it almost looked as though he was trying to break the object.

"Hello?"

Inhio got startled by something and gasped loudly, nearly dropping the ball. The boy also got scared by his sudden jump.

"Are you alright, mister?" the boy asked. Inhio's actions made him feel a bit uneasy.

"I think he can hear us."

"Shh!"

Inhio looked at the boy. He then took a quick glance behind him and then back at the boy. "Did you just hear someone talking?"

The boy shook his head. "No one but you, Sir."

Inhio looked behind him again. "Strange...I could have sworn I..."

"Hello?...Can you hear me?"

There was no denying it now. Crazy or not, but Inhio had definitely heard a female talking to him. With his eyes wide open, eyebrows raised and mouth agape, Inhio finally realized just where were the voices coming from. He paused for quite some time, just staring mindlessly at the ball in his hands.

As his hands began to shake and sweat started running down his temples, one small word slowly crossed his lips, "Yes..."

As an instant response to him, Inhio heard a loud gasp of excitement, followed by the same voice as before.

"Did you hear that, girls? We found someone who can hear us!" The excited female started cheering, and several other female voices joined her right away.

Inhio just kept sitting there with that dumb expression as several women were dancing and singing inside his head. Well...I suppose there are worse ways in which one could lose his mind...May as well play along for some time.

The assumed leader of the females stopped cheering and cleared her throat. "Ahem, my name is Twilight Sparkle,"
she introduced herself.

Inhio bit his tongue in order to avoid a chuckle that was set in motion after he heard the hilarious name. Keep your cool, Inhio...

"A pleasure to have your acquaintance, Miss Sparkle. My name is Inhio Hellbridge," he returned the favor and introduced himself, as well.

"Charmed," Twilight instantly replied. "I suppose you're wondering what's this all about."

"Aye...that thought did cross my mind," Inhio answered with a wry smile on his face.

"Well..." The voice paused for a moment. Judging by the sound in Inhio's head, he assumed she just rubbed the back of her head. "It's somewhat of a long story, not to mention, complicated," she explained in an unsure tone.

"Oh, by all means, do tell."

The voice in the ball paused for a short moment.

"Take a deep breath..."

Inhio did just as instructed.

"By using an exceptionally rare spell that took me months to master and five times as long to acquire, me and my companions were able to cross dimensions and find your world using this sphere. All seemed well until the moment we realized that after our arrival, our minds were still trapped inside the sphere. We did not know how to get out, so we tried to make contact with the inhabitants of this plane. Alas, no one seemed to be able to hear us, no matter how loud we shouted...Well, none except you, that is. That's why we were so overjoyed to find out that you could hear us."

The voice finally finished it's monologue, leaving Inhio even more bemused than he was the moment he realized that the ball was talking to him.

"Umm..." the voice from the ball said after some time of not getting a reply.

"Give his mind some time to process all of this, darling," a different voice added.

"He's been processing this for a full minute now!" another voice whispered in an annoyed tone.

"Hush, Rainbow!" the previous voice silenced her.

"Are you still there?" the assumed leader asked.

"Yes...Sorry, I was just..."

"Mister?" Another voice drew Inhio's attention away from the ball. "Who are you talking to?" the utterly confused boy asked.

Without much thinking, Inhio slapped a ten dollar bill on the table and said in a rather serious tone, "You were never here."

The boy's confused look lasted for another split second, right before it got replaced by a wide smile. "You've got a deal, mister!" the overly excited boy grabbed the piece of paper and darted out the door.

"Right, then..." Inhio continued as he stood up and went over to the door to switch the open sign around. "Where were we?"

Revelation

"So what you're saying is..." Inhio kept walking around the room with the ball in his hands. "The lot of you are travelers from another dimension, and you got here only with the help of a magic spell?"

"Yes," Twilight gave a firm reply.

Aliens... Inhio thought to himself. If it weren't for the shades covering his eyes, then you could probably see stars in them right now.

"Well, that, and then there's this magical sphere that some scholars recently started using to relay voice messages, rather than sending written letters. They said that they couldn't be used to transport anything other than words...turns out they were only half right..." Twilight added while Inhio was still in his state of trance. "But that's beside the point...Anywho! What..."

"Wait," Inhio interrupted. "What do you mean - half right?" he inquired.

"It's....complicated," Twilight replied shyly.

"Well, try to explain it as best you can," Inhio encouraged her in a sincere tone.

"You see, the thing is," still a bit hesitant, Twilight answered. "These spheres were never designed for carrying anything more than a pony's words. Even though it's spiritual capacity is large, enabling it to carry a practically unlimited amount of information, it's physical capacity still remains about the same as it's size. Thus, even though you can hear us, and we can even see ourselves and each other in here..." Twilight paused in the middle of her sentence in order to demonstrate something. She stomped her hooves a few times.

Woah...That didn't sound like feet. Inhio thought to himself.

"Our actual bodies are not with us. Up until the very moment the transaction is complete, and our landing is secured, only our spirits will remain trapped in here, leaving our bodies out of harm's way," Twilight explained as best she could. "I guess it's even better that way," she quietly added.

"Now that's what I call travel insurance," Inhio jested.

The voice in the ball giggled.

"So how do I get you out of there?" Inhio asked. "Do I just smash this thing?"

"No!" several voices shouted at once.

"All right...Bad idea, I guess."

"Indeed," Twilight replied. "That wouldn't complete the transaction...To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what exactly would that accomplish. Best case scenario - it would return us to our bodies with our minds unscathed. Worst case..." Twilight paused.

"It wouldn't..." Inhio took over the sentence. "Your minds could neither return, nor venture forth, leaving you forever trapped in the void."

Even though Inhio did not receive a reply, he could almost hear the sound of shivers running down their spines after his wicked thought. "Right, then...Did you have something different planned?"

"Yes," Twilight replied.

"I'm all ears."

"Aside from this sphere, there was another object that traveled with it. A sort of pedestal. Something that would keep the sphere from simply rolling around."

"I see..." Inhio had a feeling he knew where this was going. "Any idea where that pedestal might be now?"

"No clue," Twilight sadly admitted. "We can't see what's going on outside the walls of this sphere. Thus, we did not see the route that it took to get where it is now."

"But you could hear it, couldn't you?"

"What good is that?" Inhio received a reply from a voice that wasn't Twilight's

"You could describe what you heard," Inhio suggested. "Maybe I could figure out where your ball initially landed if you told me about what the surroundings sounded like."

"It's worth a shot, I guess..." Twilight slowly replied.

"Well, if you've got any better ideas..." Inhio added and didn't get a reply for some time.

"You remember the foal that walked in here carrying that ball?" Twilight asked.

foal? Inhio wondered. "Yeah, why?"

"Do you know anyone close to him? Someone who might have willingly given him this sphere as a gift?"

"Not really..." Inhio replied and pondered on that thought. "As far as I know, he didn't have many friends. He was a foreigner, mocked for his accent."

"What the?" a voice with a distinct westerner accent emitted from the ball

Huh? Is it just me or did that one just talk in a country accent? Inhio wondered. "You know, I really can't think of anyone like that...Well, apart from..." Inhio paused.

"What is it?" Twilight asked, unnerved by Inhio's sudden silence.

"Before you were given to the boy, did you happen to hear any, like...metallic sounds? Hammers, wrenches, chains, etc..."

Twilight rubbed her chin as she tried to remember. "You know, now that you mention it..."

"Say no more," Inhio interrupted and began walking towards the exit.

"Where are we going?" Twilight asked. She was as happy about this as she was confused.

"To the local mechanic."

"What do you hope to find there?"

"The boy's father."

Introduction

Inhio spent some time walking without saying a word. Eventually, the silence broke.

"Oh! Before I forget again..." Twilight started a conversation. "Ever since the moment we began talking to you, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"How come you're the only one that can hear us?"

As Inhio looked around, he realized that no one seemed to be noticing the talking ball in his hands. Luckily for him, he could also walk around and talk without being taken for a madman. People simply thought that he was talking to someone through an earpiece. No one even took the time to take a look and realize that he had nothing in his ears.

"I suppose it would have to have something to do with my gift."

"Your gift?"

"Yes," Inhio replied. "You see, I am not like other humans."

"Humans?" Twilight interrupted again.

"He he..." Inhio smiled. "One explanation at a time, Miss Sparkle."

"Sorry." Twilight smiled. Her cheeks turned a bit red. "Go on."

"I have this unique talent that lets me read the history of the objects I touch. If I lay my hands on them, I can trace them back to their roots, I can see every hand that has ever touched them, every season it went through, every storm it endured while it was still a tree or a stone...everything."

Twilight's eyes widened.

"I'm not entirely sure how is that related to being able to hear you, but if what you say is true, and I really am the only one that can hear you, then I can only assume that it has to have something to do with it."

"That's...quite a gift," Twilight slowly replied after a moment. She seemed rather impressed.

"You know, the funny thing is - I couldn't read the history of this sphere when I touched it...I guess my talent only works on objects from this world."

None of the parties said anything for some time.

"But enough about me," Inhio spoke up. "Tell me something about yourselves!" he said in a tone filled with enthusiasm. "What are you like? What's your world like? And what is your species even called?"

"Ponies." A solid reply followed Inhio's last question.

"Come again?" Inhio asked after a short moment.

"Ponies...A race of equines that..."

"Walk on four legs, have a mane and tail, eat grass, wear horseshoes and are strong enough to carry more than their own weight on their backs, thus they are often saddled and ridden by another species...but somehow I imagine you don't let anyone ride you all that often," Inhio took over Twilight's sentence and left her and himself speechless and standing with an open mouth.

"H-h-how did you know?" Twilight asked after a noticeable pause.

"We have ponies in my world."

"What?!" Several conjoined voices shouted from inside the ball.

"But they're not like you...For starters, they don't talk, they don't use magic, they're not intelligent and they are generally only seen as a means of transportation for humans...Other than that, they're also a source of..." Inhio paused as he realized that finishing his sentence might not be the best way of welcoming a group of equines to Earth.

"A source of what?" Twilight asked.

"Uhh...doesn't matter." Inhio avoided the question. "You wouldn't understand...At any rate, you wanted to know more about humans, right?"

"Yes!"

Phew...close one Inhio thought to himself. "Right, well, you already know that we can talk. What might be interesting for you to find out is that instead of four legs, we have two legs and two arms...Do you know what arms are?"

"Yes..." Twilight replied with a touch of uncertainty in her tone. "Like, with claws?"

"Not exactly, but close," Inhio corrected. "We have hands. They're like claws, only not sharp and pointy."

"Interesting," Twilight said before Inhio continued.

"Unlike you, we don't have magic." Something occurred to Inhio while he was talking. "Say...by any chance, are the ponies that use magic called unicorns in your world?" Inhio asked in a casual tone.

Twilight's eyes widened in shock and confusion. "Yes!" It seemed like she was about to say something, but Inhio continued.

"And do you also have flying ponies called pegasi?"

"Yes! Yes, exactly! But how could you possibly know that? I thought you said the ponies in your world don't have magic?"

Inhio couldn't stay silent after hearing the tone in which Twilight spoke. It sounded like she would have a mental breakdown if he didn't answer her...He wanted to answer her, and yet...

What malevolent force compelled me to ask her that... Inhio thought to himself as he nearly gave into despair while trying to think of a good reply.

"I...I don't know...It's like I can partially see the history of this sphere," Inhio gave the only answer he could come up with in order to hide the truth, hoping that it would sound true to Twilight.

"So you can see the history of objects not from your world, after all!" Twilight shouted. She sounded even more amazed than before.

That's another close call...I'd better watch what I say Inhio thought. "But like I said - it's only partial. I would still like to hear it all from you."

"It's just like you said! Pegasi are ponies that can fly, they are responsible for maintaining the weather in Equestria. Unicorns can use magic and earth ponies are physically stronger than the other two races. Those are the three types of ponies we have here in Equestria..." Twilight explained. "Well, there's also a fourth type, but there are very few of those alive."

"A fourth type?" Inhio asked.

"Alicorns," Twilight replied. "Ponies that can both fly and use magic."

"Intriguing..." Inhio quietly added.

"But like I said - there are very few of those here, and the ones that are, are mostly princesses in charge of maintaining a certain subject of Equestria. For example - There's Princess Celestia, the ruler of the sun and Equestria itself. Princess Luna, the princess of the moon, and Princess Cadence, the princess of love."

"I see," Inhio acknowledged.

"Aren't you forgetting someone, Twilight?" another voice from the ball added.

"Aaand, then there's me," Twilight said with a modest attitude. "The princess of friendship."

"So you're an alicorn too?" Inhio asked.

"Yes," Twilight replied. She didn't seem keen on talking about the subject any further.

Hmm...she doesn't seem too eager to talk about this. Fine, then. I'll oblige. "So what other creatures do you have over there in...erm...Echwestria, was it? We have cats, dogs, cows, goats, fish, birds, bears, wolves and bunnies, and..."

"You have all of those from where you come from?" Twilight interrupted.

"Why, yes...Do you also have those?"

"Yes...Every last one of them," Twilight replied, still a bit dazed from hearing this.

"Fascinating," Inhio continued. "Please, tell me more about the creatures from your world."

"Dragons, Manticores, griffons, hydras, I'm sure your world has those as well, so I think we can just skip this step."

Inhio didn't say a word. He just gave into his thoughts and kept walking with his mouth agape. What I wouldn't give to see that world...

"Any chance you could tell us more about humans?" Twilight interrupted Inhio's state of trance. "I mean...do they also have species like we do, unicorns, pegasi, etc..."

"No...not really," Inhio replied. "We only differ by so much as the color of our skin or the professions we choose...other than that, it's all just personalities. Certainly not anything like one species being able to fly or another being able to use magic."

Then again, when you think about it - Black people are usually stronger and asians are smarter...but I'd rather not tell them this, right now. Inhio wondered.

"Oh..." Twilight didn't seem too impressed by that answer.

"So how about you tell me a bit about yourselves?" Inhio suggested. "Up until now, we've only known so much as the names and titles of one another.

"Speaking of which..." Twilight took over. "I've been meaning to ask - why do they call you Coin Master?"

"Actually, that's what I called myself from the start," Inhio explained. "You see, I've always loved the way money never stops traveling. Every object has about the same story - it was owned, before that it was in a store, and before that it was growing in the ground, but money...money never sits still for long. I touch a single coin and it's as though I've just shook hands with half a hundred people."

"Huh...that's clever," Twilight happily admitted.

"Care to return the favor, princess?" Inhio said in a playful tone.

Twilight giggled. "As the princess of friendship, it is my duty to spread the magic of friendship across Equestria."

"Sounds like a thrilling way of spending the day."

"You have no idea..."

Inhio laughed. "Titles aside, what are you like when you're not fulfilling your duties as a princess? I take it magic is one of your passions."

"I think he knows you better than you know yourself, Twilight."

Inhio recalled hearing that voice before. He even recalled a different voice saying out her name earlier.

"Certainly better than I know you, Rainbow."

"What?!" the same voice shouted back. "H-how did you?..."

Inhio laughed along with the other voices in the ball.

"Oh, yeah. Real funny!"

After the laughing stopped, Twilight gladly replied to Inhio's question. "It's true. I've loved casting spells ever since I was a filly, and most of my experience came from books."

"Yeah, Twilight's a total egghead," Rainbow added.

"Rainbow!" Twilight yelled at her.

"There was once a time when she even used to live in a library and dodge her friends so that she could go home and read. Heh, can you belie-" Rainbow's voice got stopped by something. Apparently Twilight got tired of her excessive honesty and decided to shut her up with some spell.

"It's true!" another voice added. Inhio hadn't heard this one before. "I used to know her friends better than she did, and they weren't even from the same town as me!"

"Pinkie!" Twilight shouted. "Whose side are you on, anyways?"

"Side?" the voice asked right back. "I don't know! What sides are there? Is it left, right? Up, down? Sky, ground? Ooh! Are we talking about cakes? Can I be on the top side? The top side's always the best one! That's where they always put all the delicious stuff! Cherries, icing, frosting, figures of the groom and bride, wait, no! Those aren't delicious. You know, I actually ate one of those once. Bleh! I thought I'd never eat another cake for as long as I live after that, but we all know that would never happen!" She giggled. "Speaking of which, I- mfmfg mhf mfggfhfm..."

The seemingly unending monologue was stopped by a similar sound that stopped Rainbow's voice earlier.

I Like this one. Inhio thought to himself.

"Right..." Twilight exhaled loudly. "Now you know me...and I'm pretty sure you got a good impression of Pinkie Pie, as well."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Inhio almost laughed out his reply.

"Pinkie's our local party planner. And the pony you heard before her was Rainbow Dash, the self-esteemed best flier in Equestria."

"The one and only!" Rainbow Dash took over.

"She is pretty fast," Twilight confirmed. "Then there's Applejack." Twilight's voice got a bit quieter as she turned away. "Say hello to the human, Applejack!"

"Oh, uuhm..."

Aah, there's the gal I've been wanting to meet for some time, now. Inhio smiled as he recognized the voice. He heard the sound of an equine creature taking a few steps.

"Uuhm...where's the, uhm...the thing you talk into?"

"What?" Twilight asked, utterly confused by Applejack's words.

"Where do I talk so he can hear me?"

"He can hear you right now, silly!" Pinkie explained and giggled.

"Oh! Eh he he..." Applejack rubbed the back of her head. "Hello?"

"Howdy partner," Inhio replied with an accent just like her own.

"What the?...Y'all ain't making fun of me, are ya?" Applejack didn't seem amused.

"Hell no!" Inhio retorted. "There's not an accent I love more than the one that comes from the wild, wild west."

"Oh..." Applejack realized that she may have overreacted a bit. "Wait, are you saying your world also has folk like me?"

"With the same accent, at least, yeah," Inhio replied. "Usually diligent workers that aren't afraid to get dirty and are no strangers to some hard labor...Maybe not as cultured as the city folk, but usually a lot more resourceful and hardy...Sound about right?"

"Uhh..." Applejack was speechless for a moment. "Well, shoot...read me like a book, ya did...Nothing to add, nothing to take," she admitted.

"Well, now, if you're done talking, I'm sure..."

"Damn it!" Inhio shouted as he arrived a split second too late at a crossing. He heard a very soft voice gasping right after his swearing. "Sorry bout that...I take it Equestria isn't all that fond of profanity."

"No," Twilight instantly replied. "Applejack's about as rude as they get over here in Equestria."

"Hey!" Applejack protested. "I ain't rude!"

"I didn't mean it like that!" Twilight explained herself. "What I meant to say is that dagnabbit and darn are about the most ill-mannered words that I've ever heard here."

"Are you saying that I'm the rudest pony in Equestria?!"

"No!" Twilight shouted. "Uggh! I didn't mean to call you rude! I just..."

"That's enough, Miss Sparkle," Inhio interrupted. "I think I get the idea."

A brief moment of silence claimed the air.

"So...what about your world?" Twilight politely asked. "We just heard you use a word that we haven't heard anyone in Equestria use before...Is that a common thing in your world?

"Umm..." Inhio got saved by the traffic light switching from red to green. "Save that question for later. We're here."

Quite the charmer

The door to the workshop slowly opened, and a man with a strange sphere in his hands walked in. The owner of the facility was aware of his presence, and yet, he didn't bother turning around to greet him.

"Ye'd better not be planning on asking me to fix something for ya." The mechanic turned around to face the customer, right before spitting into a bucket next to him. He kept polishing the wrench in his hands as though unaware that he had a customer. "Closing time's almost here, so I'd advise ya to come back another day," he explained in a not-so-welcoming tone.

"That voice..." Twilight spoke up. "That's him! That's the human that gave the sphere to the young one!"

Inhio took a few steps closer to the mechanic. Leaving was the last thing on his mind right now.

The mechanic finally looked at the other person in his workshop, paying extra attention to the object in his hands. "Or better yet, not come back at all if ya plan on bringing me garbage like that." He stopped polishing his wrench and directed his full attention to Inhio. "Man, what do I look like? I'm a mechanic, not a jeweler!"

Inhio just kept walking towards the other man.

The mechanic gave another close look at the object in Inhio's hands. "Say...ain't you the same guy that left a ball like that here earlier today?"

Without much thinking, Inhio nodded. His honesty had already complicated things for him twice that day, so he decided to lie this time to save him from some needless explanations.

"It's the same one," Inhio replied.

"Same one..." the mechanic whispered to himself. "Wait, y'all didn't steal it away from lil Billy Junior, did ya?" he said in an unfriendly tone and started rolling up his sleeves.

"No...I bought it from him," Inhio replied.

"Bought it?" the mechanic asked. "You left it here just to buy it back later?"

Inhio nodded. "I left it here by mistake." He shifted his eyes to a table behind the mechanic and noticed something resembling the pedestal he was looking for. "And I'd want that pedestal back, as well," Inhio said and pointed at the object that was holding some of the mechanic's tools.

"Say what, now?" the mechanic asked and looked towards whatever Inhio was pointing at. "That there ain't no pedestrian! That's my toolbox!" he retorted.

Rainbow Dash doubled over laughing. Pinkie Pie also giggled.

Inhio simply ignored the man's silly remark, as well as the laughing sound that only he could hear. "May I have it back, please?" he asked with composure.

"Well, I suppose so," the mechanic replied.

Inhio waled closer to the table with the pedestal on it.

"Under one condition," the mechanic slyly added just as Inhio began to reach for the thing he came here for.

With one finger already on the pedestal, Inhio froze up. He had a feeling he would regret his next words dearly, but, unfortunately, he didn't have a choice.

"Name it," Inhio said without looking away from the pedestal. He turned around after a short moment, only to see the mechanic stretching out his hand with a string of peculiar-looking beads hanging on his fingers.

"Do a reading for these here beads for me, will ya?"

"What kind of beads are these, anyways?" Inhio asked as he took them in his hands.

"Uuh, it's one of them...ya know...ritual beads," the mechanic gave a very unconvincing reply as his sight kept darting from Inhio to the wrench in his hands. "Like the ones that they use to pray to that god, Shima!" Convinced that he had given a very solid answer, the mechanic turned back to polishing his wrench.

Shiva Inhio thought to himself. As if I didn't have a bad enough feeling about this, already...

Inhio held the beads by the string as he focused his mind on them. "Right, then...Odd...I don't seem to see you using them to pray," Inhio said, trying to maintain a polite tone. Why am I not surprised?

"Keep reading," the mechanic instructed.

"They've spent the entire work week just sitting in a corner, but on holidays you would take them home, where you..." Inhio stopped talking and turned his face away from the beads, also making a very disgusted expression. "I freaking knew it."

The mechanic started laughing hysterically.

Inhio dropped the beads and reached for the pedestal on the table.

"Hey! What did you do that for? Now they'll get all greasy n stuff, how am I supposed to..."

Inhio didn't pay attention to the man's ranting, he just grabbed the pedestal and walked away, dropping the tools on the table.

"Don't throw them like that!" the mechanic shouted. "Those ain't no toys!"

"Inhio?..." Twilight asked slowly. "What was..."

"Don't ask."

"Fine, then! Get outta here!" the angry mechanic yelled and went back to polishing the wrench. "And you can forget about me fixing whatever ya needed me to fix!"

Author's Note

Inhio forgot to wash his hands...

I never told you...

After leaving the workshop, Inhio walked towards his home at a much faster pace than with which he walked to the workshop.

"Uggh..." a voice came from the ball. "That one really was quite the charmer."

"Tell me about it," Inhio agreed without hesitating. "I don't believe we've been introduced yet, Miss..."

"The name's Rarity, darling."

"Rarity," Inhio finished his previous sentence. "You sound like a real lady. I have a feeling I wouldn't be lying if I said that diamonds are your best friend."

Rarity laughed quietly without opening her mouth. "My best friends are right here, with me, my dear," Rarity happily replied and smiled at her friends.

"Yeah, she's a real sucker for gems." One small sentence from Rainbow Dash completely devastated Rarity's composure.

"Twilight, if you don't keep your silence spell on that mare, then Celestia be my witness, I will!"

"He he he," Inhio laughed quietly. "Funny. I had imagined that Applejack would be the one you'd have trouble getting along with."

"Oh, believe me, Sir Inhio. Me and Applejack have had quite a few arguments along the way."

"That's good," Inhio quickly replied, confusing the ponies.

"Pardon me, Sir, but how is that a good thing?"

"You're still friends, aren't you?"

"Yeees..." Rarity gave an unsure reply. "But wh-"

"Being alike isn't what makes good friends, it's being able to accept each other's differences that keeps a relationship together," Inhio explained. "If you can stay good friends despite the fact that your opinions differ in almost every situation, then it means that your friendship is practically unbreakable."

Rarity and Applejack looked at each other with surprised and confused expressions, but their faces quickly put on warm smiles after that.

A lasting moment of silence claimed the air. Inhio heard some movement and indistinct whispering coming from inside the ball during this moment of silence.

"So..." Twilight finally broke the silence. "I believe you've met all of us."

"Aren't we forgetting someone?" Inhio seemed quite assured of himself as he asked.

"Umm...no..." Twilight slowly replied after a short moment. "There are five of us in here."

"Come now, Twilight. I took you for someone that knows math quite well. Are you sure there isn't a sixth one that you've forgotten to mention?"

Could he...No...B-But...H-How? She hasn't said a single word since we arrived here, how could he possibly... Twilight wondered. "H-How? How could you have possibly-"

"Damn it!" Inhio shouted. Just as he had planned, he heard that soft voice gasping again. "Aah, there it is. The voice that's gentle enough to tame a wild bear." Although he had just meant it as an expression, Inhio had no idea just how true his words were.

As if the ponies inside the ball weren't surprised enough by the fact that Inhio knew about a sixth presence inside the ball, their eyes opened as widely as possible as soon as they heard him mention her taming a wild bear.

H-H-How!? How is he doing this?! Twilight was shocked to the point where she had almost begun to fear Inhio...What if he was something greater than just what he had told them he was.

"Speak up, shy one. I am not someone you should fear," Inhio encouraged the sixth voice to speak. He heard a few very quiet hoofsteps, but no voice followed them.

As the shy pegasus turned her eyes towards her friend, Twilight, she saw her nod.

"Go on, Fluttershy. Don't keep him waiting," Twilight whispered to her friend.

Nearly half a minute passed before Inhio finally heard her speak.

"My name's Fluttershy," the voice revealed itself too quietly to be identified.

No reply came from Inhio for some time.

"I don't think he heard you," Twilight added.

"I heard her," Inhio interrupted. The moment he heard Fluttershy talking, his mind was swept away into a daydream. He had never heard a voice so beautiful in his entire life. "Fluttershy," he addressed the pony. "Has anyone ever told you that you have a voice beautiful enough for even angels to envy?"

Fluttershy smiled as her cheeks turned more red than ripe cherries. "T-Thank you."

"I would love to hear more about you...I could tell something about the rest of your friends just from hearing them talk, but only because I was already somewhat familiar with voices like theirs, but yours..." Inhio paused for a moment. "I haven't heard anything quite like it before...I'm trying to picture your looks and your lifestyle, but I simply can't see anything," Inhio explained.

"Somebody's in love," Rainbow Dash whispered to Twilight.

Fluttershy overheard her and blushed even more than before. "Well, umm...It's actually just like you said earlier. I tame wild animals. Taking care of the critters of Ponyville is what I do for a living."

Wait...She has actually tamed a wild bear, before? Inhio wondered. "So what kind of animals do you work with?"

"Well, umm...Mostly it's just small ones. I really love those small critters, especially the bunnies, they're just so soft and cuddly, and lovable."

"What about the larger ones?" Inhio asked. He tried his best to inconspicuously find out if she has actually had dealings with wild bears. "Like, what's the largest creature you've ever tamed?" Inhio asked after receiving no reply for a moment.

"Well, umm, I do have a pet bear by my side, but that's about as far as it goes with the big ones," she modestly explained.

"She tamed a manticore," Twilight interjected.

"And a dragon," Rarity added.

"And a ferocious, two-headed dog," Rainbow Dash continued.

"And lets not forget Discord, the living embodiment of chaos and disharmony. The only reason he's on our side now is cause of her," Applejack also added.

"...Wow..." Inhio added after a moment of silence. "That's...impressive."

"That's our Fluttershy for ya," Applejack happily replied.

"If I might ask," Inhio spoke up. "What is your world like? This Equestria...You have dragons, griffons, manticores, hydras and even a living embodiment of chaos and disharmony, and yet, all of you seem so calm, peaceful and gentle in your nature, without even so much as a slight profanity in your dialogues...How do you make all of this work?"

"Well, I suppose it's a lot different in the world you come from, but in Equestria, the two most powerful forms of power are the elements of harmony and the magic of friendship. By staying good friends and remaining true to one another, we have always managed to defeat even the most malevolent foes," Twilight happily explained.

Remarkable. Inhio thought to himself. "And are all the ponies in your world so peaceful? Do you always get along in harmony? Do things like theft, violence and murder even exist in your world?"

"Goodness, no!" Twilight shouted back. "Even if something is ever stolen, the perpetrator is always caught pretty much instantly, but murder?!" Twilight said in shock. "Even the evilest of villains have never dared to murder anypony. That's not something Equestria is accustomed to."

"I see..." Inhio slowly replied.

"Inhio?..." Twilight asked after a short moment.

"Yes?"

"The way you talked about all those things...theft, violence, murder...Is your world?..."

"Umm..." Inhio stopped at the door to his house. "I'll tell you later, we're here."

***

Inhio walked up the stairs slowly, and when he got to his apartment, he walked even slower, pondering on everything he had heard today. Right before placing the ball and pedestal on the table, he took one long look through the window.

The first human on Earth to witness the arrival of another species...that's me. He thought to himself as he placed the ball in the pedestal.

"Right, so...How do I make this work?"

"That shouldn't be too hard," Twilight replied. "There should be something like a switch or button somewhere on the pedestal."

"Ah! Found it!" Inhio replied soon afterwards. "Are you ready for this?"

With firm smiles on their faces, the six ponies looked upon one another and nodded.

"Yes!" the six voices shouted.

"Alright, here it comes," Inhio answered. The ponies inside the ball heard a switch getting flicked, and they knew exactly what it meant.

"Can you believe it, girls? We're actually here!" Twilight shouted in excitement as she started feeling her spirit returning to her body again. "I can already see it! Earth! Humans!"

"Uhh...Twilight?" Rainbow Dash interrupted. "This doesn't look like earth to me," she said as she kept looking at the ground beneath her hooves.

"Wha..." Twilight took a look at the ground and walls and realized that Rainbow Dash was right. "Inhio!" she shouted. "You turned the switch the wrong way! Turn it the other way! Quick, before it's-"

"No," Inhio interrupted, silencing all the ponies for some time.

"Wh-what?" Twilight asked in a bemused tone.

"I said no." Inhio repeated.

Twilight still stood completely dazed for some time, waiting and hoping for Inhio to just laugh and say that he was just pulling her leg...But his tone was too solemn for joking.

Twilight slowly hung hear head. All this time, all this effort, all the searching and planning...All of it just to get stabbed in the back at the very end? There wasn't a moment during her trip when this betrayal would have hurt more than it did now.

Was it all just a dream? Just a very cruel joke that only a human could make? No, it wasn't, that much was clear. Just about everything had already materialized around her...It was already too late to turn things around.

Twilight collapsed from the pain in her heart. With tears pouring down her face, she raised her head and shouted.

"Why?!"

"I'm sorry, Twilight Sparkle, but this can't be any other way...I am so sorry...I wanted to see you no less than you wanted to see me...You may not understand, but believe me when I say that this is for the best."

Inhio's words moved all the ponies. None knew why, but judging by Inhio's voice, none dared to say that he didn't mean what he was saying.

"Goodbye ponies of Equestria...Please, never try to come here again."

"But why?" Twilight asked again.

Inhio took a deep breath.

"I told you about myself...Then you told me about yourselves...Then you told me about your world..."

Inhio fell silent for some time, only to add a few last words after that.

"But I never told you about my world..."

Author's Note

It was Fluttershy. I knew what would happen to her if she came here...I simply couldn't bear to see this world tear her apart.

~ Inhio Hellbridge