To Forge a Legend

The morning started off WAY too early for my taste.  I don’t know why, but I just knew it was just too early to be awake.  Hell, it was too early to be alive!  Despite this personal fact, I grumpily opened my eyes to see pillars of sunlight dotting the guest room and decided to get up and head to the bathroom to brush my teeth, which only occurred to me that I was without a tooth brush when I glanced around the sink and saw nothing of the sort.  Better put that on the shopping list the moment I get a job here.

After taking a nice warm shower and getting accustomed to using my hooves to lather my coat, mane and tail in suds, I began to dry myself off with a nearby towel and start thinking of a new name.  Something that was identical to my passion and personality was possibly keen to figuring it out.  A list of names danced through my mind as I finished drying and walked out of the room, only to stop dead when I spotted Flash on my right and another grey stallion to my left.

“May I ask where you are going?”  Flash Sentry asked with a raised eyebrow towards me.  The guard to my left looked to him before turning his attention to me, his aqua eyes looking to me with an indifferent look in his eyes.  I couldn’t help but feel myself release a slightly irritated sigh at Flash’s still suspicious attitude to me.

I then realized; I had no clue where the kitchen was.  With a new found smile, I looked toward the wary Royal Guard and said “I was going to get some breakfast, but it just occurred to me I am unaware of where the kitchen could be located.  Could you be so kind as to lead me to the dining room so that I can be prepared to partake in some of Canterlot’s exquisite delicacies?”

Flash’s expression slightly softened, seemingly accepting of my words before bowing to me slightly as he said “Of course, sir.  Right this way.”  As he began to lead me down the twisting corridors of the expansive palace, my eyes were drawn to the many banners and decorations that gave the place an official feel to it.  The pristine white walls and pillars that supported the insanely high ceiling trimmed with cyan to give it a peaceful look while still reminding it was a place where royalty resided.

Breakfast was surprisingly good.  Though I was hesitant to try a flower sandwich and salad, I assumed my new pony palate changed my taste buds and made it to where I could tolerate the taste.  Daffodils and daises were actually very light and had an interesting texture on my new tongue.  All in all, I actually enjoyed the herbivore meal.  Maybe I could get used to it.

After breakfast, I was surprised to of been summoned to Celestia’s throne room by one of the servants, Flash seemed intrigued by this turn of events and decided to continue to escort me to said room.  When I passed through the two large double doors, I was greeted by Celestia’s gentle expression, Luna’s stern glare and the eyes of the other guards that surrounded the two of them.  I was only slightly taken aback by the Princess of the Night’s eyes.  Mainly, I was excited to actually get a chance to meet her.

I made my way to the center of the room before I bowed respectfully to the rulers of Equestria before I spoke to them.  “Good Morning, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.  Thank you both for you generosity and kindness again.”  When I looked back up to the Princesses, Luna’s expression was unchanged where Celestia’s smile became more warm and caring.

“My sister and I are happy to hear your satisfaction for of your arrangements.  We do hope you slept well.”  Celestia’s voice was as gentle as I had ever heard it.  I was simply happy to be greeted with warm smiles and friendly gestures rather than pointy sticks and stern glares.  After I gave her a quick nod, the two sisters looked to each other for a moment before nodding slowly to each other and turned their attention back towards me.

“Patrick, we are happy to inform you that your friend is safe and is in fact on his way here as we speak.  Princess Twilight Sparkle has informed me of his location and should be coming here by train.  She mentioned some rather…interesting information was revealed and also informed us that he was in a very poor state when they found him.  Do not worry though, he is doing much better and is with Twilight and her friends now.”

I felt an extreme weight lift from my mind after hearing of Wayward’s condition and felt joyed to hear he was heading our way now.  I suspected they were possibly already here, seeing as the guy was practically a rooster, always getting up right before the sun’s light even touched the sky.  I decided to relay this information to the Princess and by the time I finished, low and behold, a servant walked through the front gates announcing the arrival of the Elements of Harmony.

And with them was a jet black unicorn with dull blue eyes and a build that nearly matched Applejack’s.  His dirty blond mane and tail remained their messy style and I could already tell Rarity might have been fussing over it for quite some time.

As the Mane Six made their way towards Princesses, I took a step to the side and watched as they all bowed in respect.  Celestia’s voice held its motherly tone as she greeted the mares. “Princess Twilight Sparkle, I am happy to see you all once again.  I assume that fine young stallion is our missing human?”

“Yes, Princess, this is Wayward; or as he wishes to be called in our world, Dusk Blade.”  Twilight said as the black unicorn gave a deep bow and the way he held himself instantly told me that she was not lying.  That was, without a shadow of a doubt, Wayward.

When he lifted himself up, I knew he was in ‘knight mode’ because his body was stiff, his gaze was direct and his shoulders squared to show off his muscle tone.  All in all, he simply radiated honor, discipline and respect.  “It is an honor and a privilege to meet you in person, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.  I thank you for gracing me with your presence.”

I felt my eyes roll around out of habit from Wayward, or Dusk Blade’s, overly formal greeting.  I somehow knew he would go rather over the top, but the Princesses seemed to take it all in stride.  Celestia even waved her hoof dismissively as she said “There is no need to be too formal with us, Dusk Blade.  We are happy to have you in our kingdom and even happier to reunite two close friends.”

At this, he turned his eyes to me and I instantly saw his figure relax and change to the normal Wayward.  We both began to move towards one another and gave each other our brotherly hand shake, though we changed it to pony style.  We bumped our hooves together twice, hugged each other and stopped down once upon the ground to symbolize a snap.  The feeling of doing this greeting with him filled me with joy and relief beyond measure and the look in his eyes said he felt the same.

“You doin’ a’right man?”  Dusk asked me with a concerned smile before continuing.  “I woke up in the Everfree Forest and felt like I got hit by a freight train packed with sulfuric acid.”  Even though I was listening to him, I spotted everyone giving us a warm smile, even Princess Luna’s stern look gave way to a pleased expression.

I waved my hoof dismissively as I said “I’m all good man, I felt fine when I got here.”  As I placed my hoof down, we both turned towards the Princesses and the Elements before giving each other a confirming nod; we’d play catch up later.  But first, we needed to explain and answer to them all of their questions.

We had spent about two hours explaining how their world was thought to be an imaginary place created for little girls which quickly gained the attention of young adult males as well.  I explained the events we had seen, which ended after the Tree of Harmony was returned to its former glory and Tirek was defeated.  Wayward answered their questions about how he was so knowledgeable of magic and mentioned that for ten generations of magic users in his family tree.

Wayward also threw out a theory he had been thinking for some time, about how shows that aired on television in our world were dramatized events that possibly could be happening in other realities and viewed by the receiver who then showed the events for the world to see.  Because I had pony on the brain, the spell that teleported us here was actually meant to send us back to our world.  I guess I done goofed with that one.

When they asked about getting to know us personally, Dusk glanced over to me, signaling I should start off with my introductions.  After thinking through a brief summary of my history and who I was, I took a deep breath and gave them my most winning smile before I started.

“Back home, I was a convenience store clerk making my way to becoming a famous Artist of electrical music and illustrations.  Born on October 22nd and just one year after Dusk over here, I had a family of four and after high school we brought my best friend here into the family and basically adopted him.”  I wrapped my hoof around Dusk Blade and gave him a chummy shake which made him give me a neutral look.  Make him a mare and change up his style a little bit and he would look like Maud.

Almost everypony in the room voiced their emotions with an ‘aww’ before they looked at Dusk, expecting him to talk.  After several silent moments, I nudged him in the side to get him to speak, which earned me a slightly irritated glance from him that I ignored before he spoke.

“Before coming here, I worked on a local farm as a farm hand and doubled as a bouncer for a local bar when we needed the extra funds.  Through my life I have practiced magic and over twenty different types of martial arts, mastering only four however.  I live by the code of chivalry and have never found a single soul worthy of me swearing my loyalty to other than my brother.  Our different personalities and techniques grant us a wide range of skills we can do, though he is often referred to as the ‘brains’ and I am the ‘brawn’.”

This didn’t earn the same response as mine did, seeing as Dusk was a lot more stern and serious than I was.  Instead of affection, he gained looks of respect and surprise from the occupants of the room.  Celestia and Luna giggling lightly after a while until Luna said “They remind us of how we are, sister.  Two opposite ponies, yet with an unbreakable bond between the two.”

I chuckled lightly at Luna’s words where Dusk remained emotionless, mimicking some of the guards perfectly.  “Well, now that we know you a bit more.  Allow me to officially welcome you two to Equestria.”  Celestia said with a larger smile on her face.  “Now, I see how Wayward has changed his name to suit our more direct style and after hearing of your back story, Dusk Blade, I would say that name fits you well.  But Patrick, do you wish to do the same?”

When all eyes turned to me, I instantly felt myself shrink away a bit.  I had been trying to think of a name ever since I got here and still hadn’t thought of one, despite Wayward appearing to of thought of one on the spot.  I felt my brain seize up as I was placed on the spot suddenly and started to move my mouth, but no words left.  That was, until I heard Dusk say “Why not Art Mind?”

I turned to him with a raised eyebrow, surprised and confused about what he was talking about.  When he spotted my look, he explained “Well, you are practically obsessed with all forms of art be it drawing, writing, acting, sculpting, acting or directing.  Sure, music is your main focus but you have a certain knack for anything relating to creativity and expression.  What? Don’t like the name?”

After several moments of processing what he said, I couldn’t find anything to counter his argument.  He did help me with several projects when we both went to school like helping me with large sculptures or work on certain scenes, but I did usually receive pretty high marks even without his help.  I didn’t think about just art in general and, seeing how I was on the spot, I decided to go with it.  With an indifferent shrug, I said “Sure, Art Mind doesn’t sound so bad.”

“Well then, I here by decree from this moment on as long as you are on Equestrian soil, you shall be here by called Art Mind and Dusk Blade.  I do hope you enjoy your stay here in Equestria.”  The two of us looked to each other and smiled as we gave each other a firm nod.  To my infinitive joy, we were now officially members of Equestria.

Dusk decided to spend several moments speaking to the Princesses about policies and where we could rest during our stay here.  He suggested we live in Ponyville since we both actually prefer the calmer style of life rather than the bustling noise of Canterlot.  After speaking for a while, we were surprised when the girls offered us to stay with any of them until we got our hooves under us.

“Well, we can’t both live with any one of you, because we would make the place cramped quickly.”  Dusk pointed out as we made our way through the corridors of the palace.  “Besides, it would be better if we experienced different perspectives of Ponyville’s life style separately.  It would also raise minimal alarm if anypony gained suspicious of how we ended up here.”

Twilight nodded to his words before adding “You raise a good point, Dusk.  So, which one of us would ether of you like to live with until you can get your hooves under you?”  At this point, he and I both stopped as the girls fanned out before turning back to us, questioning looks on their faces despite their smiles.  Dusk and I looked at each other for a moment before we looked back at the girls and made our decisions.

Dusk walked over to Applejack with a soft smile as he nodded to her.  “I would like to join you and your family on the farm, if that is alright.  It would keep me busy and I wouldn’t risk losing touch with my farming skills as well as help you and your family out.”  I also knew Applejack was his favorite pony, despite him not being as big of a fan of the show as I was.  Though I decided not to voice this extra bit of information because I had grown very attacked to my limbs and did not want to risk having them ripped from me.

The orange mare gave him a big smile and tipped her hat as she said “Well, shucks partner.  We’re more than happy to have ya’ll along helpn’ us out on the farm.  I don’t see why we couldn’t put you in the guest room next ma’ room, hope ya don’t mind none.”  Dusk gave her a swift nod as to confirm he didn’t mind the idea at all and turned to me to see what I would choose.

Little did he know, I was already walking up towards Rarity and offering her a polite bow as I asked “I would simply be over joyed and humbled if a lovely mare like Rarity here would accept me in her beautiful home.  Though I have very little knowledge of sewing, I would find the possibility of learning from the best to be a very fruitful and amazing opportunity that I simply could not pass up!”

This earned me the blush I was hoping for from the mare as I lightly took her hoof and kissed it.  I could see Dusk giving me a sly smirk from next to Applejack at how I simply copied his actions to impress my favorite pony.  “Oh…Oh my, such a gentlecolt.  How could I say no after an introduction like that?  I am simply flattered and would be more than happy to accept you into my humble abode, darling!”

With our living arrangements now made and our little vacation ready, we once again made our way towards the train station, Twilight and Dusk talking about magical theories in front of us while me and Pinkie made small talk about upcoming parties that sounded like fun.  As we spoke, I noticed how my brother was beginning to show signs of relaxing and letting his true self show.  It appeared the land of Equestria’s happy colors and positive atmosphere was getting him to loosen up a bit more.

However, his expression changed to seriousness when we boarded the train and him and I went into our private room.  “Patrick.”  He started, and by the way he sounded I knew he had news that he thought I might not like.  I had a feeling it would involve us returning home soon and not getting to comfortable here in Equestria.

As I turned to him to listen to what he had to say, I decided to brace myself if this vacation was going to end sooner than I had hoped.  “You know we can’t stay here forever.”  He started, my nodding confirming what he already knew.  “Good news is, we’ll be staying her for at least a month, since we’ll need to wait for the next full moon to re-cast the spell, so I want you to enjoy yourself while we’re here.  I know this is something you’ve been wanting and you’re living the dream of almost anyone who is a brony.  However, I don’t think I need to inform you that you shouldn’t get too comfortable, because if we remain here for longer than three months, then we might as well not return.”

My eyes shot open at his words, panic striking my mind.  Before I could ask him what he was talking about, he sat down and explained.  “Think about it, if we remain here for longer than three months, which is three months we’ll spent missing.  A month being gone we could chalk it up to going camping in the woods without telling anyone.  It is around the time for Made’ Gras’ so people would be surprised, but understand.  Two months we can simply say we left to Japan and forgot to tell anyone and got carried away for longer than we intended.  But any longer than that and we’re considered dead.”

“I will do my best to get the spell prepared before the next full moon, so you don’t get too attached to life here.”  I took a step back shocked of his accusation but before I could say this, he once again stopped me.  “Yes, you!  I have read your fanfics and know there is a part of you that would possibly want to stay here.   But remember you have a family back home that will miss you if you are gone too long.  I just want to remind you again; don’t get too attached to this world, because though we know it now actually exists, we may not be able to stay here for long.”

With that, he folded his forelegs and lowered his head as he closed his eyes, telling me he was done talking.  Despite all he just said, I felt a part of me agree with him while another wanted to argue.  I will be honest, I wasn’t entirely happy with our world and how it was being ran.  Wayward and I both agreed on this but it was our home.  We were born and raised there and I had my mom, my brother and my sisters waiting for me back home.  They would be devastated if I never came home and I don’t want them to mourn me when I was alive.

On the other hand, I was in a magical world, thriving and alive where the possibilities were literally endless!  Happiness and Joy practically vibrated from the air itself and I was living the dream of any fan of the show!  The part of me that wanted to stay wanted to start a new life here where we could forget our past and enjoy the future.  It’s selfish I know but…PONIES!

Dusk pulled me out of my thinking tirade when I heard him unzipping a carrier with his magic and pulled out a red vial which is when I noticed his magical aura; a vibrant silver color which also surrounded the vial.  When I saw him pop the cork off of said vial and close his furrowed his brow with concentration which made both his horn and the vial blow a brighter color until the red contents turned into a similar color of his magic.

“Drink this; it will make it to where we can return to being human when we need to.”  My eyes shot open with his words as he floated the vial over towards me with a neutral expression, waiting for me to take it.  I remained motionless for a few moments before looking at the vial again and sat down on my hunches as I grabbed it with my hooves.

“But…But how?”  I asked, dumbfounded that a vial could actually change me back to a human when I wanted to.  I remembered when Rarity gained those gaudy wings during the young fliers competition but that couldn’t be the same thing…could it?

Almost as if hearing my thoughts, I spotted Dusk’s horn began to glow and a sudden flash of light erupted from him which momentarily blinded me.  When the spots left from my vision and cleared up.  My jaw practically dropped when I saw Wayward in his human form standing before me in his black slacks.  The only difference were the fact his eyes radiated the same silvery aura that his horn once radiated.

“Simply think of your human figure and wish for it to replace your current one.  This will not drain your body for a short time, though I have reason to believe it you can keep it up for longer periods of time but I assume this will require a steady stream of power.  When you want to change back, just think of your pony form and you will return to being a Pegasus.”  As if to drive the point home, a flash of light engulfed him once again and Dusk Blade the unicorn was standing in Wayward’s place.

Thinking that feat would prove to be incredibly useful in the future and simply accepting how Wayward was able to create a potion with such a convenient ability, I raised the bottle up and began to drink it with one great swig, throwing my head back to drink the contents.  I continued to lean my head back as I glugged down the slightly spicy and sweet fluid that ran down my throat like warm fire.  My head began to fog up as I tasted the last drop of the potion to touch my tongue and felt the vial removed from my hooves as I felt myself fall backwards.

Strangely, I never felt my back hit the floor as I slipped into unconsciousness.  But I did feel myself being lifted off of the ground and placed onto a rather stiff bed which did me in for some time.