Epic Quest

by dorianator

Chapters

Prologue
Eggs And Toast
Something About Statues
The Doctor Is In
A Meeting With The Princesses
Tulip Garden
The First Encounter

Prologue

I am here.

I am now.

That's all I can remember.

Not who I am.

Not where I am.

Wait, where am I?

What...

What's happening?

Where am I?

WHAT am I?!

...
...
...

Wh-who am I...?

Wait. I can hear something.

"He.....o....?"

What? What did they say?

"H.....ll........oooo..?"

Hello? Who's there?

"Anypony.....there.....?"

...

Suddenly my eyes snap open. A bright glare fills my vision and I instinctively shield myself from the light.
"Hello?" asks a feminine voice. "Are you okay? You look wiped."

As my eyes start to adjust to the light, I sit up and take a look around. I'm in a wide field. There are flowers everywhere. In front of me stands a purple unicorn with an even darker mane with a hint of blue and two streaks in it. One pink, the other a lighter purple. I can't make out much more. My mind is fuzzy, so it's hard to make much of anything out.

"Hello? Equestria to Mystery Pony? Anypony home?" she yelled, waving a hoof in front of my face. I tried to reply, but I couldn't find the words, or ANY words for that matter, and only ended up stuttering.

"Hm..." the unicorn thought, tapping her chin. "Well, it doesn't seem like you're in great condition, and it doesn't seem like you can talk either..."

As she started thinking to herself, I rose to my hooves. Slowly and shakily, as if I was a newborn. I took a look at myself as best as I could. I have two wings. A silver coat. A black-and-blue striped tail.

Then I started to lose balance. I slipped on the grass beneath my hooves, but the unicorn noticed and caught me before I hit the ground. I quickly scrambled back to my hooves as she supported me with her side. "Wow, you really are wiped, huh? Been to one of Pinkie's parties latley?" the unicorn joked. "Why don't we head back to Ponyville? You could rest up at my house if you like." I simply nodded in response.

"By the way," she continued, "my name is Twilight Sparkle. Pleased to make your aquaintance!"

"Hey, maybe you can stay with me until you get back on your feet!" she laughed, putting emphasis on her little pun. So we walked. Through the field. Through Ponyville. Everything went by so fast. Before I knew it, we had arrived at Twilight's house. It looked like a large tree, outfitted with the things a normal house would have, but it was a LOT cooler. Multiple stories, elegant design. This seemed to have it all.

She led me in and I got a look at the inside. Books. Lots and lots of books. Like a library of some sort.

"So, this is where I live! Make yourself at home. You can lie down on a couch if you like. I'll show you to the living room" With that, we made our way through the house. It was very nice. Comfortable and stylish. I wish I lived here. "Here we are! Sorry it's such a mess. I thought I told Spike to clean all this up before I left..." she said in a frustrated tone. "I've got to go find him. Call me if you need anything. Well, given you can speak again."

As Twlilight trotted out of the room, I slowly walked over to a fairly sized purple couch. This unicorn must really be into purple. I sat myself down on it, lowered my head onto a purple cushion, and fell instantly into a deep sleep.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Well, this is the first "chapter" of my little story. Wrote an introduction the whole thing. I know it's short, but it's my first fanfic, so please bear with me. Don't worry, everything should come back to our character in the next chapter. In the meantime, tell me what you thought so I can decide wether or not to continue this story. Until then, stay epic!

Eggs And Toast

I wake up once more, groggy, but rested nonetheless. I pull off the covers and sit up with a sigh as I stretch my body in the sunlight. Wait, covers?

"Didn't I fall asleep on a...couch?" So I can talk now. That's good.

"Yes, you did." replied a familiar voice from the entrance of the room. In the doorway of what seems like a guest bedroom stood Twilight Sparkle, the unicorn who helped me when I was unconscious in that field. I'm still not sure why I was out there, but I was, and she was kind enough to help me out. "Glad to see you're awake! Spike and I took the liberty of moving you to the guest bedroom. You were out for quite a while. We thought you were sick, so we had Nurse Redhea-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I interrupted, "this is all going by a little fast for me. Uh, not to sound impolite, but could I have a moment?"

"Sure thing!" she replied cheerily. "It's just that you've been asleep so long and I thought you might need some food, so I had Spike prepare some breakfast for you. Not to mention my friends are dying to meet you"

"Wait, exactly how long was I out?" "Oh, just a couple of days." Twilight replied. "My friends were all wondering who you were and why you were here. I think they got the wrong idea at first, but I cleared everything up."

"I was asleep for THAT LONG!?!?" I asked in shock. "Well, yeah. Nurse Redheart said you had some kind of fever. The best thing was to try and keep your temperature from rising."

"Whoa. Well, I guess it would only make sense to find something for breakfast!" I beamed. My sudden change of mood seemed to have caught Twilight off guard. "So, what's on the menu?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I followed Twilight out the room and down the stairs until we came to the living room once more. I never got a good look at it before, but it looks very nice when I don't feel like I was just hit by a train. "SPIKE!!" Twilight yelled into the kitchen. "Is breakfast ready yet?" "Not yet!" replied the voice of a young male. "Just be patient! Good breakfast takes time!"

"Well our guest has been asleep for two days without food or water!" Twilight reminded her friend. This only made my hunger and thirst seem worse than it already was.

"Well do you want rushed breakfast or GOOD breakfast?"

"I'm fine, really!" I laughed. "I can wait a few more minutes, it's fine!"

"Well, if you say so..." Twilight sighed. "By the way, you still haven't told me your name. If you don't mind me asking, what is it?"

"Oh, my name? Well, it's...uh, it's Nathan..." I managed to say. It was strange, really. I couldn't remember anything before I woke up today. Now I know my name and anything I could need to know. Like common sense things. Walking, talking, stuff like that. "Uh, is something the matter?" Twilight asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Oh, it's nothing..." I replied, snapping out of my little thought trance.

I glanced around the library, looking for something that might change the subject until my eye caught a polished, aqua-colored sphere in a glass display case, along with all sorts of other interesting artifacts. It had a kind of shimmer that made it look like a pearl, but everything about it made it seem like a stone. "Hey!" I exclaimed, pointing a hoof at the stone across the room. "What's that thing?" I trotted over to the display case and got a closer look at the stone. It had a mysterious aura to it and seemed to be emitting a slight purple glow.

"Whoa..." I uttered. "I'm not exactly sure WHAT that thing is." Twilight replied. "I got it from Princess Celestia. She said it was found at the bottom of a lake, given to her by a group of scuba diving ponies. It makes a nice addition to a library though doesn't it?"

"Yes..." I whispered, staring at it intently. "...very...library-ey..."

Just then, a small purple-and-green dragon emerged from the kitchen wearing a frilly cooking apron. "Okay everypony!" he shouted. "Breakfast is ready!"

I snickered a bit, which caught his attention. He looked at me and immediately recognized me. "Hey, you must be our guest!" the dragon exclaimed. "Uh, what's so funny?" He asked. He actually seemed confused.

"It's -snicker- what you're wearing!" I replied.

"Oh!" he cried. He quickly whipped off the apron and hid it behind his back, blushing.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry!" I apologized, recomposing myself. "I, uh, didn't mean to embarrass you! Uh, you must be Spike!"

"That's right!" Spike replied, puffing out his chest. "Spike the Dragon, Number One Assistant of Twilight Sparkle, at your service!"

"Okay, that's enough, Spike." Twilight interrupted. "Spike this is Nathan."

"Nice to meet you Spike!" I said, offering to shake his claw.

"Um, that's nice and all," Spike replied, accepting my offer, "but if we just stand around talking, our breakfast is gonna go cold..."

"Oh that's right!" I remembered. "Time for some food!"

I trotted into the kitchen for a delicious breakfast of eggs and toast with a glass of milk.

"Wow!" I said, my mouth watering. "This looks delicious!"

"Well looks can be deceiving!" Twilight joked.

"Haha, very funny..." Spike replied sarcastically.

"So?" I spoke up. "What are we waiting for? Let's dig in!"

_______________________________________________________________________

So there's the first official chapter for you guys! Please comment and like (it'll help me out a lot)! Constructive criticism is encouraged. Since I AM new at this, all it can do is help me out, right? Anyway, until next time, I'll be waiting for you guys! See ya!

Something About Statues

"So, now that we've had breakfast, what's the plan?" I asked. "Well, Spike has errands to run for me, and I already organized the library..." Twilight responded.

"Hmm... Oh! You could take me to see those friends of yours!" I suggested.

Twilight thought for a moment, tapping her chin again. "What, is it a bad idea?"

"No, no, I was just trying to remember if any of them had plans today..." Twilight reassured, continuing to think.

"Well, why don't we just go walk around town for a bit?" I suggested. "It would give me a chance to know this place better AND we might just run into one of your friends!"

"That's... actually not a bad idea!" Twilight beamed.

"Good, because I'm ready to start the day."

Twilight got all ready as I waited impatiently at the door. After a few minutes of pacing in front of the door, Twilight's voice came down from her room. "Okay, I'm already!" Soon, the purple unicorn trotted down the stairs from the second level.

"Hey Twilight?" I asked. "Where did you get that cool saddlebag? It matches your Cutie Mark."

"Oh, this? Rarity made it for me! She's quite the generous pony." Twilight responded proudly.

"One of your friends, I presume?"

"Well, yes, actually. She runs Carousel Boutique if you want to visit."

"Great! Let's go! I want to get one of those saddlebags myself."

I opened the door and we headed out into the town. "See how one thing can lead to another?" I said on the way out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, which way to Carousel Boutique?" I asked as we trotted along the pathways of Ponyville.

"It's just that way a little further." Twilight responded. "Speaking of Cutie Marks, what does your Cutie Mark represent?"

Hearing this, I made an abrupt stop. I hadn't really thought about that, let alone seen what it looks like. "Well, to tell the truth, I haven't even got a good chance to look at it yet." I explained. Twilight seemed shocked.

"You mean to tell me that you don't know what your Cutie Mark is? Do you even remember GETTING it?!"

"Actually, I don't remember much of anything before you found me in that field." I continued.

"If that's some sort of pickup line, it's not working."

"No I'm being honest! I can't remember anything!"

"Your parents?"

"No."

"Brothers or sisters?"

"Nope."

"Birthdays?"

"Nuh-uh."

"You can't remember anything at all?" Twilight exclaimed.

"No, not really." "Hmm. That sounds like some serious amnesia..."

"Well do you think we could sort this out later?" I asked. "I need to get a good look at this Cutie Mark of mine."

I trotted over to a nearby fountain with a chiseled sculpture of a happy-looking pony on it and took a seat on the edge. I stretched my head around my body until I could see my Cutie Mark. "Well," I said, massaging my now sore neck, "It looks like a shooting star thingie."

"Top notch observation!" Twilight replied, sarcastically. "Now let's get going." "Alright, alright"

As I got up off the edge of the fountain, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, as if a cool breeze swept by. The problem was, it was a warm windless morning, which made my suspicion rise even further. I quickly whirled around, hoping to find that somepony was just following me, but I got what I hoped I didn't. Instead I found that the statue on the fountain lost it's wide smile, and in place of it was a cold stare, directed toward me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So you're telling me that statue moved while you weren't looking?"

Twilight looked at me as if I was crazy or something, but I could've sworn I saw it happen! "Yes, Twilight! Before I went to look at my Cutie Mark, the statue was like this," I insisted, mimicking the statue's smile in a rather melodramatic way, "and when I looked up again, it was staring at me! I swear!"

"Or maybe you're so excited that you mistook it for a smile the first time?" Twilight suggested.

"I sure hope so." I continued. "There's just something about statues that creeps me out sometimes..."

"Well, we're here." Twilight announced. "I sure hope Rarity's mannequins don't scare you too much."

"Haha, very funny."

A small bell rang as we entered the fancy shop. Everything was so lavishly decorated that I felt rich just standing there. There were several mannequins set up displaying the latest fashions. They all seemed to be tilting their heads up, as if strutting and showing off there new dresses and fancy suits. As I checked out the interior, trotting alongside my guide, we came to a staircase, leading to a second floor if I had to guess.

"Wait, Twilight," I hesitated at the foot of the stairs, "are you sure we're allowed up there?"

"Of course," Twilight reassured, "I know Rarity personally, remember? We're the best of friends!"

"If you say so..."

We climbed the steps and came to the second floor. It was an absolute mess! Cloth was strewn everywhere, crumpled up balls of paper littered the floor, and everything was completely disorganized. I looked past all the chaos and mess to see an ivory colored unicorn with a purple mane zipping from a drawing board to a mannequin dressed up in some sort of work-in-progress dress. She seemed fully immersed in her own world and strongly reminded of a marshmallow.

"Um, Rarity?" Twilight spoke up. Suddenly the unicorn looked up from her work and turned around. A smile formed on her face as she recognized her friend.

"Twilight, darling!" she said with delight. "How nice of you to visit! How have you been?"

"Just fine, Rarity. I see you've been busy?" Twilight asked, looking past Rarity and at the mess currently concealing the floor.

"Oh, it's just a little project I'm working on." Rarity replied. "Business has been a bit slow lately, but enough about me. Is this your friend?"

"Yep. He finally woke up and he wanted to get to know Ponyville, so I'm showing him around town."

"Come on, Twilight," I complained,"You're making me sound like a little colt!"

Twilight only rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Anyway," Twilight continued, "Rarity, this is Nathan, Nathan, this is Rarity."

"Pleased to meet you!" I smiled, offering her a hoofshake.

"Oh, the pleasure is all mine, dear. I've just been dying to meet you!" Rarity beamed. "So, what brings you to my little shop today?"

"Well, before Twilight and I left, her saddlebag caught my eye." As I continued to explain, I noticed Rarity pacing around me, as if she was scanning me. "I asked where I could get one and here we are!"

"Say no more!" Rarity exclaimed. "I'll get right on it! I have the design thought up already!"

"You mean for my saddlebag?"

"Why of course, what else?"

"Oh, it's just that I didn't expect for inspiration to come to so suddenly."

"Well, then you underestimate me, for I AM RARITY!" she exclaimed quite proudly.

With that, she grabbed some cloth, thread, and trotted over to her sewing machine. She threw down a few sheets of cloth and got right to work. "So, Nathan, tell me about yourself." Rarity suggested.

"Oh, well, I don't know much about myself. I woke up in a field-"

"Where Twilight found you?" Rarity interrupted.

"Um, yeah. Did Twilight tell you??"

"Yes, yes. It almost sounds like the beginning to a sweet love story."

Twilight blushed a little at hearing this. "What?" I protested. "I barely know Twilight!"

This only made Twilight blush harder.

"Oh, I apologize. I seem to have hit a touchy subject..." Rarity said, looking for something else to talk about. "So, have you met anypony else?"

"Actually, you're the first I've met other than Twilight, and you seem very nice! I look forward to meeting the others."

"Why thank you, darling! You're such a gentlecolt." Rarity said gratefully. After a few moments of the sewing machine's clicking, Rarity broke the silence. "Alright then! All done!" she announced.

"Already?!" I asked in shock.

"Why, of course! Saddlebags are such a quick job, I always have them finished in the blink of an eye!" Rarity beamed. "Well, what are you waiting for? Try it on."

Using her magic, she levitated the brand-new customized saddlebag in toward me. It was made of a cool, hardy-looking brown leather, and the darker brown in the stitching really matched. But the real icing on the cake were the blue, laser-cut gemstones adorning the leather straps on both sides. The were shaped like stars, which matched my Cutie Mark, like Twilight's bag did, and it was a perfect fit.

"Wow, Rarity! I don't know what to say!" I said, overjoyed. "You did a really nice job!"

"Oh, it's was nothing." Rarity smiled modestly.

"Alrighty then! So how much do I owe you?" I asked.

"Where did you get money?!" Twilight spoke up.

"Well," I admitted sheepishly, "I don't exactly have any money at the moment, but is it okay if I pay you back as soon as I can?" This earned a somewhat disapproving look from Twilight.

"Oh, that won't be necessary." Rarity told us.

"What?!" I exclaimed. "But, the craftsmanship!"

"Like I said, piece of cake."

"And the gemstones?"

"I have tons of them." she said like she found gemstones in the middle of street. She opened three chests toward the back of the room, all filled to the brim with sparkling gems. "And that's just the tip of the iceberg."

"Wow, thanks so much Rarity!" I thanked her. "I guess I owe you one!"

"Oh, think nothing of it. I'd do anything for a good friend, and a friend of Twilight's is a friend of mine!"

"Well," Twilight popped in again, "we'd better get going if we're gonna do anything else today."

"Oh, that's quite alright," Rarity replied, "I must get back to my work. I have a feeling it's going to be my best yet! See you two later!"

As Rarity waved us goodbye, we headed downstairs. "Bye, Rarity!" I yelled as we headed toward the door. On our way out, I decided to take another glance at the shop before we left. I wanted to remember this place. But I soon regretted that. Because when I looked back, the sight made my blood run cold.

All the mannequin's heads were turned to look at me.

Well, there's a bit of a twist at the end, huh? What could this threat be? Is it really a force of evil, or is Nathan already losing his head?

Once again, comment and rate so I can hear your guys' thoughts and opinions. Any grammatical errors, spelling errors or any other ideas for my story would be appreciated. Until then, stay epic!

The Doctor Is In

"Nathan, how many times do I have to tell you," Twilight explained, "it was probably a group of vandals. The group of griffins that have been messing with everything around here? They should really get the local authorities on that..."

"But, Twilight!" I continued. I've been trying to convince her what I saw in the shop was real, but she just wasn't buying it. "I'm telling you, it was totally out of the ordinary! Some heads were turned all the way around, that's 180 degrees!"

"That would only make sense for anyone vandalizing them." Twilight said, confident of her conclusion.

"Then why were they all turned to face ME?"

"That's purely coincidence."

"But, I...then how did..." I tried my best to come up with another defense, but every one of Twilight's explanations sounded reasonable. "Wait! Why did we not HEAR the alleged 'Griffin Strike'?" I asked. She couldn't possibly explain that.

"Well," she started, "not only were we on the second floor talking to Rarity, but they're griffins. Griffins that have experience in vandalizing while only getting noticed ONCE."

"But wouldn't we have heard the bell?"

Twilight stopped in her tracks and looked back at me, cocking an eyebrow. "Bell? What bell?" she said a somewhat frightened tone in her voice.

"When we entered the boutique? A bell at the door went off, remember?" I explained.

"You're...right..." Twilight mentioned. "And it was fairly loud..."

"That's exactly what I'm saying! If nothing went in or out of the shop, then how di-" I stopped talking and stared straight ahead.

"Nathan?" Twilight asked. "Nathan? Nathan, what's wrong?!"

Despite Twilight's worried tone of voice, I couldn't talk. Instead, I slowly slowly raise a hoof to point at the fountain we stopped at earlier.

"What are you pointing at?" Twilight asked. She looked in the direction I was pointing and gave a little gasp. She tried to pretend she hadn't, but I knew better. "Well," she started, "there are tons of fountains in Ponyville. They all aren't the same, you know."

"Twilight, are you kidding me?!" I shouted. "We just went back the same way we came! It's the same fountain and the statue is GONE! I can tell you know it too!"

"You mean you saw it too?" an older voice from behind me asked. It sounded strangely familiar...

"Huh?" I turned around to look at the colt who had joined our conversation.

"The statue. That was on the fountain earlier, correct?" he said, pointing to the spot where the statue previously stood.

The colt had a light brown coat and an even darker brown, spiky mane. He had an hourglass as a cutie mark and what sounded like a Canterlot accent. "Did the statue look at you?" he asked

"Doctor!" another voice called from behind him. "Quit messing with everypony!"

Out from behind him came a gray Pegasus mare with a blond mane and bubbles for a cutie mark. But the most noticeable feature about her was her eyes. Both of them were wandering in different directions. I didn't want to seem rude, so I avoided staring at her.

"Actually," I started explaining, "something like that did happen."

The colt's ears perked up. "Really?" he asked. "Ha! I knew it!"

"Wait a minute," Twilight butted in, "you mean to say that you think the statues in this town are moving? I guess I was right. Everypony in this town IS crazy!"

"Tell me about it." the gray mare replied.

"Okay, everypony hold on. Who exactly are you?" I asked, facing the two ponies that just showed up.

"Oh, well, my name is the Doctor, and this is my assistant, Derpy Hooves." he announced.

"I keep telling you, my name is Ditzy Doo!" Derpy complained. "Oh, forget it."

"Well, nice to meet you Doctor!" I smiled. "My name is Nathan. This is my friend Twilight Sparkle."

"Hold on, the Doctor?" Twilight asked. "Doctor Who?"

"Just the Doctor." he replied. "But enough about me. You said you saw the statues move, is that right?"

"Well, I didn't see them." I admitted.

"But you looked away and then back and they had moved?" he inquired further.

"Um, yeah, how'd you know?" I asked in surprise.

"Because I've been seeing the same thing happen all over town."

I glanced at Twilight, shooting her an 'I-told-you-so' look. She just rolled her eyes.

"So, 'Doctor', if the statues in Ponyville are in fact alive, then how are they supposed to harm us?" Twilight asked. "Statues aren't exactly dangerous."

"That's because they aren't statues, Twilight." the Doctor explained. "They're Weeping Angels"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So," I started as our little group made it's way through town, "What exactly are the 'Weeping Angels'?" I asked.

"Well, they're not exactly from this dimension and they aren't supposed to be here, so I'm not exactly sure what they are capable of here, but where I come from, they are quite dangerous." he explained. That could have been a lot less complicated.

"Dangerous?" I asked. "How dangerous?"

"Very!" he replied.

"No, I meant what do they do that makes them so dangerous?"

"Weeping Angels," he started, "the only psychopaths in the universe to kill you nicely."

"What the hay is that supposed to mean?" I asked confusedly.

"It means they zap you into the past with a single touch and let you live to death." he explained. "The rest of your life used up and blown away in the blink of an eye. You die in the past and they consume all the days of your life in the present that might have been. They're the creatures of the abstract, feeding off potential energy."

"So, they teleport you back in time and consume the energy of all the moments you would've lived?" I asked.

"That is what I said," he answered, "but there's worse."

"Worse? How could anything be worse than that?!"

"Well," he continued, "they have a certain instinct where, in the event that something is looking at them, they become Quantum Locked."

"What does that mean?"

"Whenever you look at them, they literally cease to exist and turn to stone, but when you look away, they can kill you, quite literally, in the blink of an eye. But, due to the fact that they turn to stone when looked at-"

"They can't ever die." I finished for him.

"Precisely! That's why they're practically as old as the universe itself. The only thing that worries me is how much more powerful they could be..."

"How much more? So you've encountered these things before?"

"Yes, but they shouldn't even exist any more."

"What do you mean?"

"I tricked them into a trap and they fell out of the universe. Well, my universe, at least. The thing is, they should've been erased from existence completely."

"Wait, fell out of the universe?" I asked. This is really confusing now. "How does that work?"

"Well, way back when, my TARDIS exploded, causing the very fabric of time and space to rip apart at the seams, but I fixed it by flying the Pandorica into the heart of the explosion, thus rewriting history and restoring the universe to normal!" he finished. I only stared at him blankly. "What, don't believe me?"

"Oh, no! I believe you, but I didn't understand a word that came out of your mouth."

"Oh, that's fine." he reassured. "It's a long story anyway. Ah! Here we are!"

We all stopped, but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Derpy followed the Doctor up to a big, blue box that read "POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX" across the top. Twilight and I stood there confused. "Um, where are we, exactly?" I asked.

"We're at the TARDIS!" he announced.

We still had no idea what that was.

"It's the Doctor's time machine." Derpy explained. "It's also a spaceship."

"It stands for 'Time and Relative Dimension in Space'." he explained, pulling out a key.

I shrugged. "Seems legit." I said as I trotted up to the box. Twilight followed close behind.

"I don't see how we're all going to fit in there." Twilight pointed out.

"That's strange," I said, "I'd sooner expect you to put up an argument about how time travel is impossible."

"No, not at all," Twilight explained, "there are plenty of spells capable of doing the job."

"Well, Miss Sparkle," said the Doctor as he unlocked his TARDIS, "there is no magic here, I assure you. Ladies and gentlecolts, I give you, the TARDIS!"

He unlocked the door and swung it open. What I saw inside made my jaw hit the floor.

Derpy and the Doctor entered ahead of me and Twilight, who lagged behind in shock. It was so bizarre!

"It's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside!" Twilight gasped wide-eyed. Then she proceeded to walk back outside and walk around it, making sure it wasn't an illusion, while I walked around the interior, awestruck.

"This is just amazing!" I exclaimed. The inside appeared to be a circular room with a large contraption running through the center, outfitted with a ring-like control panel. The controls seemed very strange, but I've never been in a "TARDIS" before, so I didn't expect to think anything else.

"You...you're not from around here, are you?" Twilight asked.

"Great observation, genius!" I said, trying to mimic her voice when she had said the same to me. Unfortunately, I failed to elicit a response.

"Are you..." Twilight paused, "an ALIEN?!"

"Yep pretty much." said the Doctor, flipping switches and pushing buttons on the control panel.

"And this is your spaceship?" she asked.

"Precisely!"

"And we're about to take off, aren't we?" I asked, gripping the railing of the platform we stood on.

The Doctor took hold of a wibbly-looking lever and looked at me. "How did you know?" he smiled, pulling the lever down. Just as he pulled it, the entire room lurched and there was a strange sound, almost as if the ship itself was wheezing. Inside the contraption I previously mentioned, something that looked like a glass piston could be seen pumping up and down inside a large glass cylinder. Within a few seconds, the sounds stopped and everything was still.

"Well, that's all!" the Doctor announced. "We've landed!"

"Landed where exactly?" Twilight asked, a little shaken from our trip.

"Take a look for yourself." the Doctor suggested, motioning toward the door.

Twilight trotted toward the door and slowly opened it, bracing herself for the worst. When the door finally opened, Twilight gasped.

"Twilight?" I asked, confused. "What is it?"

She whispered, "We're in the Canterlot Castle."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After exiting the TARDIS, we all started to roam the halls. It didn't seem like there was anyone in particular around this section of the castle. We were all enjoying the scenery in our own way. The Doctor's being to scan the area with what looked like a futuristic flashlight, only it made a really weird noise.

"Wow," Twilight gazed around in awe, "that contraption of yours really travels through space!"

As Twilight trotted from place to place, raving about the TARDIS, I trotted up to the Doctor. I had a few question for him. "So, Doctor, why exactly are we at the Canterlot Castle at extreme risk of being caught by the Royal Guards?"

"We are going to have a meeting with the princess about the sudden appearance of the Weeping Angels. Hopefully she will have some sort of solution to our problem, because they have recently become active, and that means they're getting power from somewhere, but where..."

Suddenly, a forceful voice sounded from behind us. "Halt!" the voice demanded. "Identify yourselves!"

We all spun around to see who had caught us when another group of guards appeared behind us, as well as behind the first guard we were now facing.

We were trapped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Uh oh! Looks like trouble in Canterlot Castle! Will Nathan, Twi, and their new friends be able to get out of this one? Probably, but stay tuned to find out!

Once again, constructive criticism is appreciated, like and comment if you will, and all Doctor Who related content in this chapter belongs to it's original creator, not me. Until next time, stay epic!

A Meeting With The Princesses

We've been caught. Caught by the Royal Guard. I wonder what the punishment for snooping around Canterlot Castle is? Banishment? A lifetime in the dungeon?

...

I sure hope I don't find out.

I don't see how we're going to get out of this mess. We're surrounded by guards, some holding spears, some with powerful magic energy crackling at their horns. One false move and we're finished.

Suddenly, the Doctor stepped forward, causing the guards to direct all attention toward him.

"Doctor!" I whispered through clenched teeth. "What are you doing?!" He put up a hoof, signaling me to stay quiet and let him work his magic.

He took a few more steps as he cleared his throat. "Hello there. My name is the Doctor. These," he said, motioning toward the rest of us, "are my assistants. We are here for a private meeting as requested by the princess herself." He then pulled out what looked like a wallet with a blank slip of paper inside.

"We'll just see about that..." said the head of the guards. He levitated the piece of paper out of the Doctor's grasp, examining it very carefully, before finally handing it back. "Alright." the guard said reluctantly. "Go on ahead." The guards moved to either side, clearing the hall for us to pass. "The Princess's quarters are just down the hall."

"Thank you, kind sir." said the Doctor as we walked past the guards.

As we walked on and on through the castle's corridors, the Doctor continued 'scanning' the area with his, well, I still have no clue what it is, but I'll find out eventually. Twilight seemed unsettled about something, so I thought I might as well start a conversation. Couldn't hurt to cheer her up.

"Hey, Twilight?" I started. "Is there something wrong? You seem upset..."

She turned to look at me, a somewhat worried look on her face. "Well, I have the weirdest feeling that something is wrong. I mean, my brother is captain of the Royal Guard,so those guards should've recognized me right away."

"Unless," ,I continued, "there was a reason for security to be tighter?"

"Exactly. But what could be so dangerous for the princess not to trust me? I'm her number one student!"

"You are? That's some privilege."

"Yeah, I guess it is."

"So what do you study?"

"Friendship."

"Friendship?"

"Yep. Princess Celestia sent me to Ponyville to study friendship among the citizens. I send her a letter every week about the lessons of friendship I've learned."

"Hmm." I pondered. "That's pretty neat." Friendship. That's a weird field to study.

"Every. Single. Week." she said, looking straight into my eyes. For a split second, I felt a void of paranoia staring straight at me as I stared straight at it. It sent a chill down my spine.

"Right..." I said, breaking our gaze. "So, do you really think something could be wrong?"

"Well," she lowered her head and took a moment to think, "I can't help but feel that something's sort of, well, missing."

"Missing?"

"Like when I look around, I feel that something isn't where it should be..."

I couldn't help myself. I looked around suspiciously, scanning the floors, walls, and ceiling.

Twilight chuckled. "Are my theories getting to you?"

"No," I protested, "but you can never be too sure."

"Sure, tough guy..."

We both laughed a moment before I ran into something hovering in midair and hit my face hard.

"OW!" I exclaimed.

"Hey!" Derpy said, annoyed. "Watch where you're going!"

"Well, sorry..." I blushed, still rubbing my muzzle.

I looked ahead, past Derpy, to see what the hold-up was. "Um, Doctor? Is there a reason we've stopped?"

"Oh.", he acknowledged, "we've arrived."

We stood in front of another door, this one more ornate than the rest. This only led me to assume that this room belonged to Princess Celestia and Luna.

The Doctor gave a hard knock on the door. "Hello? Princesses?" he yelled. "I need to talk to you for just a moment." He waited a few seconds, and the door finally opened. Right before us stood Princess Celestia herself along with her co-ruler and sister, Princess Luna.

Princess Celestia spoke first. "Ah, hello, Doctor. It's nice to see such a friendly face again."

"Likewise, your majesty!" said the Doctor as he shook hooves with the princess.

"Wait a second," I interrupted, "you two have met?"

"No," the Doctor replied, "we three have met." He motioned toward Princess Luna.

"Indeed." Luna said, shaking hooves with the Doctor. She then turned toward me, a curious look on her face. "Who is this new face?"

"Oh, um, my name is Nathan." I said, giving a nervous bow.

Both the princesses looked surprised and stared at me for a few seconds. Finally, Celestia spoke. "I see why you've come here, Doctor. Please, come in." The Doctor nodded his head as she stepped aside, allowing us entry.

The Princess's room was quite luxurious. On either side of the room was a large, comfortable-looking bed, complete with an overhang and silk curtains. The carpeted floor was deep red with a half-sun half-moon looking symbol in the middle. There were many bookshelves set up around the room, as well as multiple doors, most likely leading to closets or studies of some sort.

"Wow," Derpy sighed, "I wish my bedroom was this fancy..."

As I trotted around the room, I noticed the two Princesses were having a talk among themselves. After a few moments of chatting and the occasional glancing at me, Luna spoke up. "Nathan, Doctor," she said, facing the two of us, "we must have a word with the two of you." We both nodded in agreement.

"As for you, Twilight," Celestia turned to face her number one student, "Would you and your friend mind waiting in the library for a moment?"

"No problem at all, princess!" Twilight said.

"The library?" Derpy frowned. "Libraries are so boring!"

"Oh, quit complaining!"

"Fine, I'll go."

The royal sisters watched and made sure Twilight led the reluctant Derpy into the library and closed the door, then turned to face me and the Doctor, now wearing a more serious look on their faces.

"Please, have a seat." Celestia suggested, motioning toward a fireplace. "Go on, make yourself at home."

I have to admit, I was a bit nervous. The princess just asked her number one student into the next room to talk to me and the Doctor. Me and the Doctor! I don't know the princesses very well, but I have a feeling that if the following news is for the Doctor and me only, it most likely is not good news.

So me and the Doctor made our way over to the tiled section of the floor near the fireplace. Luna stood off to the side while Celestia stood before us, the fire crackling behind her. It made her look all the more intimidating. Nevertheless, she spoke in a calm, friendly manner.

"What's got you so excited?" Celestia giggled. "You have no need to worry, you're not in any kind of trouble."

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"But your life, along with all of ours, may be in danger."

Suddenly not so relieved.

"W-what do you mean, princess?" I stammered

"Like I said, you have no need to remain anything but calm." the princess reassured. "But what I mean is Equestria is in danger."

"Again?" I asked. First there was Nightmare Moon, then Discord, then Queen Chrysalis and her Changelings, and now there's another threat to Equestria?

"Indeed." Luna spoke up. "We sensed it a short while ago, breaking free from its extra-dimensional prison."

"Extra-Dimensional?" I said, perplexed.

"Exactly." said the Doctor. "That's why they called me as well."

"So there's a new threat to Equestria coming from another dimension?" This was getting more and more confusing by the second. "What does that have to do with me?"

Celestia paused for a moment, glanced at the Doctor, then back to me.

Finally, she spoke. "There is an old legend. A legend of a colt like you. Exactly like you. Or, at least, that's what the legends say. Anyway, that colt was named Aura Star. He existed in a time before Equestria."

"Around the time of Heart's Warming Eve?" I asked.

"Precisely. He was a rather strange individual. He was a traveler. He was like a lone wolf. In fact, he was a hero."

I gasped. "Really?" I asked, now craving the rest of the tale.

"It is as the legend says." Luna announced.

"Indeed," Celestia continued, "and not many knew of him. Why, when Equestria was first created, the single colony would have been under attack constantly. However, the hero would vanquish them all. One by one, all alone. Almost no one even knew about him. He was always a sort of 'behind-the-scenes' hero."

The Doctor shifted uncomfortably for a moment.

"Something wrong, Doctor?" Luna asked, concerned.

"Oh, no, nothing." he reassured. "Just a bit of a touchy subject, that's all."

"Anyway," Celestia went on, "one day, after Luna and I were appointed co-rulers of Equestria, strange thing's started taking place. All the town's ponies started to act strange, almost the opposite of themselves. It was only until the problem revealed itself did we know what was happening."

"Well, what was it?" I asked. This story was getting good! I wish I had some popcorn.

"Shadow" Luna said. "Aura's Shadow."

"So you're saying that his Shadow simply got up and started terrorizing everypony?"

"Indeed." Celestia said. "However, I think I'll let the Doctor explain this one." The princess turned to face the brown Earth pony. "Doctor? Would you do the honors?"

"It'd my pleasure!" said the Doctor. He cleared his throat as he began his little speech. "You see, there exists our reality, but there are also other realities, these 'Alternate Realities' created by each choice we make. For example, if I had decided not to bring you here, that could very well have created an alternate timeline spawning another universe in which none of this ever happened. You never met me, Derpy, or the princesses, left to deal with the Angels on your own."

"Oh, I think I see." I said. I was still pretty confused.

"Good! Anyway," the Doctor continued, "in order for whole different universes to be created, something unique must happen during the creation of said universe. For example, our universe's Big Bang was, well, the Big Bang BUT, during the Big Bang of Shadow's universe, something different happened, creating a world inhabited by shadows. Along the way, something wibbly-wobbly happened and linked both our universes together, linking us and our shadow counterparts as well."

"So our shadows are actually living things?"

The Doctor nodded. "Visible from another plane of existence. We can see them as they are forced to mimic our every action, sort of like a semi-transparent mirror. To keep things simple, though, shadows, being viewed from the Shadow Realm, as I like to call it, are the complete opposite of us, personality-wise, bound to our existences, forced to do everything we do, never free."

"Okay, I think I get it now," I admitted, but by now my head was spinning, "but where do I fit into this?" Personally, as curious as I was, I wanted nothing to do with this Evil Shadow.

Celestia spoke again. "The legend told that the hero would return to us after he sealed Shadow away in time to save Equestria once again."

"We believe you may be the hero, returning to us once more." Luna said.

"And what makes you so sure that I'm your new hero?" I raised my voice.

The three ponies standing before me stepped aside and I was left staring into the fireplace.

"Nathan," the Doctor spoke up, "take a look at your shadow."

I froze. I didn't want to look, but I knew I had to.

Slowly I turned around, looking back where the fire would be casting my shadow. Twilight was right when she sensed something was missing.

Because I had no shadow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now Nathan knows why he has been summoned, he knows that he is destined to save Equestria. But how will he react? Will he choose to step up and face his destiny? Or will he walk away? Find out next time!

By they way guys, sorry I haven't updated in a long, long while, but I've been busy a LOT lately. Anyway, I'll try to update more often in the future. In the meantime be sure to like, give me feedback, and share my story! Until then, stay epic!

Tulip Garden

Wow, guys, I am really sorry about the inconsistent and overdue updates. I've been trying to write up chapters more often, but I'm still getting used to the whole "adjusting to high school" thing, and trying to write a higher quality story is hard with all this homework. I really need to manage my time better. Anyhow, enjoy the chapter!

~~~~~~

I stood there, wide-eyed, a look of absolute horror frozen on my face. I glanced around nervously, hoping in vain to find some form of a shadow who's source was me. After this plan failed, I was out of ideas. I slowly shook my head from side to side in disbelief, staring into the flickering flames that should've been casting me a shadow.

"C-Celestia..." I finally spoke, "...please, please tell me this isn't real." The two princesses glanced at each other, silently debating which one of them would break the news to me. "Please. Just tell me that this is a prank. It is, right? Just some elaborate magic spell or something?"

At last, Celestia turned to me with a look in her eyes that said 'I'm sorry'. I lowered my head, trying to accept what life-threatening dangers lie ahead of me.

"Fine." I sighed.

"Excuse...me?" Celestia asked, a tone of surprise in her voice.

"I understand. If it's meant to be me, that's the way it'll be, I guess."

"Very noble of you." Celestia smiled.

"Thank you, princess. But if I may ask, can I get a little time to, you know, know this place?" Celestia looked up, and I knew she was thinking, trying to make the decision that would be of the utmost convenience for the safety of Equestria.

"Come on," I started, "you ARE the one who threw all this at me the second I wake up. Princess or not, I think you owe me a little time to get settled in."

She turned toward me again, shooting me a look that made me wish I had kept my mouth shut.

"Um, please?" I added. Celestia's face softened, and I breathed a mental sigh of relief.

"Well, I suppose throwing you into this quest without letting you get comfortable...", she trailed off, muttering under her breath. "I guess I could allow you some time to get comfortable and make a few friends. But don't forget, Equestria can't wait forever."

"Understood, princess." I finished with a small bow.

"Well, then", Celestia spoke once more, "if that is all, it was nice meeting you, Nathan."

"Actually,", the Doctor added, "if I may talk with the princesses, could you get Derpy and Twilight back to the TARDIS? I'll be back in no time, I just need a word here."

"No problem!" I replied. "I'll get them right now." I trotted over to the door at the other side of the room. Upon opening the door, I found that the entire room was one huge, two-story library. Across the room I saw Twilight and Derpy chatting on a section of the balcony. "Derpy!" I yelled. "Twilight! It's time to go!" They both stopped talking and looked my way.

"Alright, then!" Twilight yelled back. I tapped my hoof on the ground as they made their way back down to the first floor, still chatting away. Finally, they made it back to the doorway and we left the princesses quarters, passing the Doctor as he chatted with the royal sisters. He glanced back to make sure we weren't eavesdropping, and resumed their hushed conversation. What was so important that he had to make sure we weren't listening? I tossed that subject aside. We had bigger problems on our hooves.

"Um,", I thought out loud, "where is the TARDIS?" We had gone through so many halls it got hard to keep track of where we were.

"Oh, I can find it!" Derpy announced. "Just follow me!" So Twilight and I followed her down the halls and past the suites and other rooms in the castle. As the guards patrolled the halls, I couldn't help but stare at their shadows as they passed by. Why was I the 'chosen hero'? Did it have something to do with my amnesia? Something seems suspicious about this whole turnout, but duties must be fulfilled, I suppose.

"Here we are!" Derpy announced. I hadn't even noticed we had arrived. We all made our way into the TARDIS and just waited for a while. Twilight decided she wanted to take a look around. I decided to talk to Derpy.

"So,", I started, "do you know how this thing works?" I tapped on the large cylindrical contraption running through the center of the TARDIS.

"Not exactly." she replied. "I asked the Doctor to explain it to me, but he said it was too 'wibbly-wobbly' to explain."

"Oh..." I said. "Is that all he said?"

Before Derpy could answer, the TARDIS door slammed open as the Doctor ran through it, causing all of us to jump.

"Sorry for the scare." he hastily apologized. "Derpy, do you remember that thing we needed to do?"

Derpy gasped. "Oh no!" she said, suddenly remembering the unknown errand that needed to be tended to. "We really have to hurry!"

"Indeed." the Doctor agreed, flipping levers and pulling switches on what seemed to be the control panel. The TARDIS started to make it's strange sound, and the entire thing heaved, causing Twilight to stumble and me to completely lose my balance.

"Sorry for the fall, but we have something very, very important to tend to." the Doctor said, hurriedly. The Doctor and Derpy then proceeded to rush us out the door and back to Ponyville, where we first left.

"BYE!" the two ponies yelled in unison before slamming the doors shut and disappearing in their blue box.

"What...just happened?" Twilight asked.

~~~~~~

"So you are 'The Chosen One', are you?" Twilight said, a mocking tone in her voice.

"Joke all you want, I don't think risking my life will be all that fun." I said.

"So you're seriously not kidding?"

"For the fifth and FINAL time, no, I am NOT kidding."

"Alright, calm down. I was just joking."

"But one thing bothers me."

"And that is?"

"When I was talking to her, I mentioned to her how I 'woke up' in that field."

"And?"

"She wasn't the least bit curious about it!"

"Well she does know the Doctor..."

"Good point. Anyway, I was thinking about meeting all of your friends. What do you think?"

"Sounds like a plan to me!"

"Great! Maybe we could meet together over dinner."

Twilight's eyes lit up. "That's a fantastic idea! And I know just the restaurant! When we get back to my house, I'll have Spike write a letter to all of them, then I'll set up reservations, and then..." Twilight kept talking all about how she would plan the little 'dinner date' until we got back to her house. She is REALLY big on schedules. "Ah, here we are!" Twilight used her magic to open the door. It creaked open to reveal the darkened library. Twilight trotted in as I followed, opening the curtains with yet another magic spell.

"SPIKE!" she yelled. "I NEED YOU TO TAKE A LETTER!"

She waited a moment, but there was no answer.

"SPIKE WAKE UP!" she yelled yet again.

Still no answer.

"SPIKE? SPIIIKE!"

Finally, a shaky, frightened voice answered the call.

"Twi-Twilight..." a voice came from the bathroom. It was Spike.

"Spike? What's the matter?" she asked, sounding a little more concerned.

"In the b-bathroom...", he continued, "h-help me!"

I rushed up to the second floor and headed to the bathroom, Twilight close behind me. When we got there we saw a sight that made our hairs stand end. I the bathroom, Spike sat, backed into a corner by three stone Pegasus statues, rearing up on their hind legs and their faces contorted in an expression of rage, baring sharp fangs. Spike simply sat there shivering and blinking one eye at a time.

"Twilight,", I said, starting to sweat nervously, "stand right here. I'm gonna get Spike out of there. Whatever you do, don't blink. Got it?"

Twilight nodded slowly. I nodded back and started to slowly make my way toward Spike. "Spike, keep looking at the statues. Just don't stop, okay?" I saw Spike nod his head shakily out of the corner of my eye. Carefully, I reached under the Weeping Angels' legs and grabbed hold of Spike. Once I had a firm grip, I swiftly slid him under their legs and he held on to me as hard as he could, whimpering as he did so.

"Okay, just keep your eyes on the angels..." I said, backing out of the bathroom. Suddenly, the curtains swished closed and the candles blew out one by one. As we heard sounds of breaking objects and crashing everywhere, we all huddled together, hoping that safety in numbers would actually work. Eventually, the chaos ceased, and I opened my eyes. The library was still pitch black until a soft glow emanated from Twilight's horn as all the candles flickered back to life.

Breathing heavily, we all stood there, looking around in disbelief and to make sure there were no more Weeping Angels.

Eventually, Twilight broke the silence. "Spike?" she asked, panting nervously. "T-take a letter?"

~~~~~~

It was almost time. Pretty soon Twilight and I would be heading off to the fanciest restaurant in Ponyville, Tulip Garden. Spike had already sent the shakily written letters to her friends. Unfortunately Spike was still freaked out about the Weeping Angel incident, although I don't blame him. So he decided to fill in for one of Twilight's friends at Sugarcube Corner. Being surrounded by sweets should calm his nerves.

"Saddlebags? Check. Parchment? Check. Quill? Check. Inkwell? Check. Extra parchment? Check." Twilight continued to run through her checklist. All I needed was my bags and I was all set. Before I put them on my back, I took another moment to marvel at the gems Rarity had fashioned the fasteners out of. Finally, I slipped the bags onto my back. Sure, I didn't have anything to put in them, but you never know when you'll need a bag.

"So are we ready?" I asked.

"I think we are!" Twilight replied, excitement in her voice. "Spike's already left for Sugarcube Corner and the magical barrier I've set up should keep the library safe."

"Magical barriers?" I asked curiously. "That's pretty neat."

"What, you've never met a unicorn before?"

"Not that I can remember."

"Oh, that's right." Twilight said sheepishly. "Sorry..."

"No problem, let's just get going. I'm starving!"

And with that, we trotted out the front doors and into the cool, moonlit roads of Ponyville at night. As we made our way into the parts of the town where all the stores and restaurants were, I looked around at the sights. All the street lamps and their soft flickering flames paired with the stars of the night sky sent a chill up my spine. Not like an I-just-saw-a-Weeping-Angel chill, but a calming one. It made my mind feel clear as crystal. Suddenly, we started coming up on another lit-up building with many windows and a long line of ponies leading out into the roads.

Twilight walked up to the front of the line, stopping at a velvet rope. Everypony waiting in line behind us started to groan and complain. Before the stallion behind the velvet rope could protest, Twilight interrupted him. "I have a reservation. Sparkle, party of seven?"

The stallion scanned a list sitting on a nearby podium. After a moment or two, the stallion sighed and reluctantly unhitched the rope. "Go right on ahead..."

Before we went in, Twilight said to me: "And that's what happens when you plan ahead." As we walked in, the complaining from the massive line of ponies behind us only grew louder. Looks like they should've made reservations. I thought to myself.

When we were finally inside, another pony came to lead us to our table. When we got there, we found that two other mares had arrived before us, Rarity and an unknown Earth pony sporting a Stetson. Rarity's hat, well, it definitely could've been smaller. But despite the fact that it took up a tremendous amount of space, it was quite stylish. We both sat ourselves down and got comfortable. "Hello, Rarity!" Twilight said, shaking the white unicorn's hoof. "Glad you could make it, Applejack!" She shook the Earth pony's hoof too.

"Aw, it's nothin', sugarcube." Applejack replied. "Is this yer friend?" Applejack motioned toward me, a welcoming smile on her face.

"Oh, yes!" Twilight remembered. "Applejack, this is Nathan."

"Why, hello there, Nathan!" Applejack said, holding out her hoof. "It's a pleasure to meet ya! Yer all Twilight talks about lately, so it's great to finally see ya in person!" I noticed Twilight blush a little.

Slowly, I held out my hoof and shook mine with Applejack's. "Nice to meet you, too!" I said nervously mustering a smile. I was only hoping that I was socially acceptable to Twilight's friends. I really wanted to make a good first impression.

"Aw, c'mon, ya don't gotta be so shy. I won't bite!" Applejack reassured. The light-hearted tone in her voice calmed me down a bit.

"Heheh," I chuckled, "I just want to make sure I don't embarrass Twilight..."

"A little socially awkward, huh?" she suggested. Me? Socially awkward? No way! "Don't worry, I'm sure you and Fluttershy'll get along!"

Actually, I was feeling a little socially awkward. I hope I had all of my memories of normal pony behaviors. I really didn't want to look stupid in front of these ponies...

"Um, yeah, haha." I replied, faking a laugh.

This time, Rarity spoke up. "So darling, how have those saddlebags been treating you?"

"Great!" I told her. "Their really comfortable, and I like how the gems sparkle when the light hits them. You really did a great job!"

"Why, thank you ever so much!" she said, delighted. "It feels so rewarding to get feedback from customers and friends alike."

The waiter walked over to our table, levitating a stack of menus in front of him. "Hello and welcome to Tulip Garden. Would you like to start with something to drink?"

"I'll take yer finest apple cider, please." Applejack ordered.

"I'll have a raspberry iced tea with a lemon wedge." Rarity said.

"I'll just have a water with a slice of lemon." Twilight ordered her drink, setting her menu back on the table.

"Um," I tapped my chin in thought, "I'll just have what she had." I pointed at Twilight.

"Very well." he responded, scribbling away on a pad of paper. "And are you ready to order?"

"Actually," Twilight spoke up, "we have three more guests arriving soon."

As if on cue, a shouting voice was heard coming from behind the red velvet rope at the entrance. "Hey, Twi!" the voice shouted. "Can you tell this guy to let us in?" The voice was coming from a cyan Pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail. She seemed a bit bothered by the fact that the stallion at the door was denying her access to the restaurant.

"Oh! Don't worry, sir!" Twilight yelled, catching the stallion's attention. "They're with me!"

The pony stared at Twilight for a moment, and then eyed the three empty seats at our table. He unhitched the rope and let the mare pass through.

"Thank you very much!" the rainbow-maned pony said in a condescending manner. As the Pegasus walked toward our table, a triumphant look on her face, I almost didn't notice a yellow Pegasus mare following close behind her. She seemed almost scared of the fact that all these ponies were here at the restaurant. It was just so cute, the way she tried to keep her head down, hiding her face behind her shiny pink mane. She walked closely behind the rainbow pony, as if trying to hide behind her. She looked so...pretty...

I noticed I was staring, and snapped out of my trance, blushing a little.

The two Pegasi sat down at the table, the yellow mare becoming noticeably less shy now that she was with her friends.

The cyan one spoke first. "Hey, Twilight!" she greeted her friend. "How's it going?"

"Not bad, Rainbow Dash!" Twilight replied. "Glad you could make it!" Next, Twilight turned to the yellow Pegasus mare. "And Fluttershy! How are you today?"

"Um, I'm fine, thank you..." she replied, quietly. I couldn't help but smile at hearing her soft voice.

"So," Rainbow Dash started, "is this the stallion you've been talking about?" Rainbow looked at me, eager to hear my story.

"Yes! Rainbow, meet Nathan." Twilight introduced me. "Nathan, meet Rainbow."

"A stallion, huh?" Rainbow pondered. "He kinda has a girlish face..."

I was shocked for a moment. "Girlish face?!" I cried out, offended.

"Relax!" Rainbow said, stifling a laugh. "It was only a joke!" Everypony at the table started to break out into a fit of laughing. Although I was a bit upset, I couldn't help myself from laughing a little as well.

"See? What'd I tell you?" Rainbow chuckled. "Heheh! The name's Rainbow Dash. But you can call me Rainbow."

"Nice to meet you, Rainbow Dash!" I said, shaking her hoof. "I'm Nathan."

"Nice to meet you, Nathan." she said, still suffering from the side effects of a good joke.

"Anyway, Nathan, this is Fluttershy!" Twilight motioned toward the shy Pegasus to my left.

Fluttershy shrank back into her chair a little when I looked at her. "Um...hi..." she said, so softly I could barely hear her.

"It's okay," I reassured, "I'm not so bad!" Despite my efforts, I failed to get Fluttershy to do anything but avoid my gaze. I was a bit saddened by this.

"Oh, don't worry about it." Rarity whispered. "I'm sure she'll warm up to you in no time at all. She'll get used to you being around."

"Ahem?" the waiter said. We forgot he'd been standing there the whole time! "Can I get the new guests something to drink?"

"Oh yeah!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Do you have any Neighgo?"

The waiter sighed in disappointment. "Twist or Orange soda?"

"I'll take an orange." Rainbow replied. "Your turn, Flutters."

Fluttershy picked up the menu and skimmed over the beverages. "Um, I'll have an iced tea with a lemon wedge, if it's not too much trouble, that is."

"Will that be all?" the waiter asked.

"Wait!" Twilight shouted, much to the waiter's dismay. "Pinkie's not here yet!"

"I thought she came in with us..." Rainbow said glancing around.

All of the sudden, a pink blur sped out from under the table, flinging my chair into a passing dessert cart and knocking me out cold.

~~~~~~

Well, that was the long overdue chapter of Epic Quest! Once again, I apologize for not updating in an eternity. I just hope the long wait hasn't caused you all to forget that this story exists. Once again, like, favorite, and comment if you have the time. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated, and if you could share this with your friends, that'd help me out a lot! Until next time, stay epic, everypony!

The First Encounter

I could just barely hear a voice through the thick curtain of unconsciousness that surrounded me...

"...Hello? You okay, mister..?"

"Ugh..." I sat up and rubbed my face, which was now slightly bruised. I eventually opened my eyes. Everything was a bright blur, but it cleared up in a few seconds. "What...what happened?" I muttered.

"I only wanted to say hello." said a voice from behind me. "And you were asleep for sooo long! You missed my entire song!"

This pony was unfamiliar to me. Her coat was pink and so was her mane. The only difference between the two was that her mane was a darker shade of pink than her coat, more of a magenta, really. Suddenly, she was right in my face, so close her's was almost touching mine. I jumped a little at her sudden presence. "Oh, did I scare you?" she asked cheerfully. "Sorry!"

"Um, you're fine..." I guess this was the Earth pony Twilight was telling me about: Pinkie Pie.

"Oh, that's good! I wouldn't want to hurt a soon-to-be friend." Just as sudden as she popped in front of my face, she grabbed my hoof in her's. "Hi! My name's Pinkie Pie!" the pink pony announced, rapidly shaking my hoof up and down. "You're Nathan, aren't you? Twilight has told me so much about you, but you were asleep and she was always checking up on you, so she never really knew you knew you. You were all she ever talked about, though. It was kinda weird, almost like-"

"Alright Pinkie!" Twilight cut her off.

"Oh, sorry Twi!" Pinkie apologized with a giggle. "I'm just so excited to meet a new pony, I guess I got a little overwhelmed!"

"AHEM!" uttered an intensely annoyed waiter. "Are you going to order drinks or continue to waste my time?"

Rainbow Dash didn't seem to like this, and her face scrunched up with anger as she began to answer his question. "Actually, I think we-" Applejack stuffed a hoof in her mouth before she said something uncalled for.

"Yes," Applejack replied for her, "we will." Applejack removed her hoof from Rainbow's mouth, receiving a defeated glance from the cyan mare.

Everypony returned to their rightful seats as the waiter rolled his eyes. After browsing the menus, Rainbow Dash was the first to order. "I'll have an orange soda..." Rainbow mumbled.

"I'll have a glass of punch please!" Pinkie sang. The waiter continued to scribble in the orders.

"And what will you have?" the waiter asked, pointing his pen at Fluttershy.

Fluttershy shrank back in her chair a little, hiding her face behind the menu. "Um...I'll have a... raspberry tea...please..." she whispered, setting her menu back on the table.

"Very well," he announced, his pad disappearing with a flash of magic, "your drinks should be out in no time. Are you all ready to order?" The waiter summoned his pad once again.

Twilight looked around the table, receiving a nod from all of us. "I think we are." she said at last. "I'm going to have..."

~~~~~~~

We were having a pretty good time. At first, I thought I wouldn't fit in that well, but Twilight's friends seemed to take a liking to me very quickly.

After quite a long while, our food arrived, and we all ate like pigs. I've never been to a restaurant, at least one that I can remember, that takes such a long time to prepare food. Not to mention, the portions were undersized, in my opinion. Nevertheless, I remained as gracious as possible and enjoyed my meal. That is, until Rainbow started commenting on on it.

"Hey, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Can I borrow a pair of reading glasses? I can't seem to see my meal." Laughter broke out among us while a waiter within earshot simply rolled his eyes.

Nearly the rest of that night included bonding and story-telling. I was amazed when I heard everything these ponies had been through together. After all, not many ponies escape a Hydra.

One by one, everypony went on, retelling everything they'd learned about friendship together. Then, something interesting happened. More terrifying than interesting really.

The restaurant was starting to thin out, but it was nowhere near closing time, so only our group and a handful of couples remained. "Man," Rainbow sighed, "was that a crazy day."

"I know!" Pinkie added. "Those Parasprites were devouring everything! Good thing I stepped in to save the day!"

"Now Pinkie," Rarity started, "stop that. You're beginning to sound like Rainbow Dash!" Laughter erupted once again, attracting the attention of nearby ponies.

As the laughter died down, I decided to speak. "Hey guys?" Everypony at the table looked my way, at the ready with listening ears.

"Yes, darling? What is it?" Rarity asked.

"Princess Celestia," I started, "she told me about some sort of ancient evil. Some sort of 'shadow monster'. Apparently, it's rising again, and I'm the only one who can stop it."

There wasn't much of a reaction, except one out of Fluttershy. "That sounds, um, scary..." Fluttershy trailed off. Aside from her, all I earned were blank stares.

"What?" I asked, astonished. "Does that not sound dangerous to all of you?"

"Well, it does sound a little fishy." Rarity responded.

"Yeah." Rainbow agreed. "Celestia just loves to prank newcomers."

"To Equestria?" I asked.

"Yeah, pretty much." she replied, nonchalantly. "Both the princesses are trolls. I'd bet that it's their favorite hobby."

"Besides, why wouldn't she tell us?" Applejack added. "After all, we were the ones who defeated Nightmare Moon."

"Don't forget Discord!" Pinkie Pie shouted.

"Exactly." Applejack concluded, confidently. "I'm sure we could bring down some silly old shadow."

"Well then," I said picking up my drink, "I guess I have nothing to worry about!" I paused to take a few sips of my lemon water. I cringed a little at the bland taste. Perhaps I'll get punch next time. "Just remind me to get back at her someday!"

We all shared a laugh, albeit short lived. There was a sudden sound of glass shattering outside the restaurant, followed by a deafening scream.

Everypony turned toward the door, listening to the slowly culminating chaos outside the building. A light murmur arose within the establishment as we all looked at each other in surprise.

"Wh-what was that?" Fluttershy whimpered, hiding under the table.

"I've got a bad feelin' about this." Applejack said, adjusting her hat.

"Come on," Twilight motioned toward the windows, "let's have a look."

All of us but Fluttershy trotted up to the window to see what was causing the uproar. It appeared to be absolutely nothing. Things were flying this way and that, windows and shops were simply exploding without a cause.

"What..." I said in confusion. I squinted my eyes, trying to make sense of the spectacle before us. Suddenly, something clicked in my head as I caught a small detail under one of the street lamps. A streak of darkness, some kind of source-less shadow, was visible as it slithered beneath the light of the lamp, but disappeared once more as it entered the darkness of the street.

I was gripped with terror. I was either seeing things or Celestia wasn't joking around. I almost backed away from the window when I heard a very quiet whisper.

I pressed my ear up against the window to hear better, and a sinister voice spoke to me: "Hello, Hero..."

Suddenly, the glass pane started to vibrate. Acting on sudden impulse, I ducked to the ground.

"Get down!" I yelled. Everypony gave me a confused look. "I said GET DOWN!" The window started to shake more and more until a buzzing sound could be heard. Eventually, small cracks became visible, and the girls noticed. Everypony ducked just in time, avoiding the shower of glass shards that used to be a whole window.

"What was THAT?!" Rarity cried, shaking bits of glass out of her mane.

"Precisely what Princess Celestia warned me about." I replied, frantically scanning the floor. Tables were being flung around the restaurant like some little foal's stuffed doll. The ponies that remained fled the building in terror.

I finally spotted a a dark blur zig-zagging across the ground, heading straight toward our group.

"Fluttershy, get out from under that table!" I shouted. "We need to get out now!" There was no reply from Fluttershy. The poor mare was too terrified to do anything. Without warning, the table concealing Fluttershy was launched across the room, smashing to pieces on contact with the opposite wall.

Slowly, the yellow Pegasus looked up as the shadow seemingly peeled itself off the ground, rearing back like a cobra. Fluttershy's eyes widened in terror as a mouth lined with razor sharp teeth opened, along with two glowing, yellow eyes. Fluttershy screamed as it prepared it's strike, but not before I galloped full speed into the beast.

"NO!" I cried as I spread my wings and jumped into the shadow's body. To my surprise, I was actually able to touch the creature. Ramming into it's side at full-force, I ended up tackling the shadow to the ground, promptly falling to the ground in pain. Attacking it with my head wasn't the best idea, but it seemed to succeed in momentarily stunning it.

"Fluttershy!" Twilight beckoned. "Quick get out of there!"

Fluttershy glanced at me, then Twilight, then at me one last time before running after her friends.

"Nathan! Get up!" Rainbow yelled. "You gotta get out of there!"

I rose to my hooves once again, everything swirling before me. After I regained my senses, I made a mad dash for the exit. Just as I began to spread my wings, I felt something wrap around my leg, and I ended up falling back to the ground. The shadow monster had me by my back leg, holding me with the tip of it's tail, and had started dragging me away from my friends. I tried everything I could to escape it's grasp, but to no avail. Eventually, It lifted me off the ground. I was at it's mercy as it spun me around and proceeded to slam me into a nearby wall. I cried out in agony while the beast smiled deviously. He then slammed me into another wall, producing a sickening crack from my wing. It stopped for a moment and brought me up to it's face.

Menacingly, it spoke to me. "Tonight is where this ends. Tonight is when I end you for good, Hero." The beast lifted me high above the ground. Then, with a flick of its tail, sent me speeding downward.

As the ground came closer, I noticed my descent start to slow. Eventually, I was surrounded by a warm and rather soft feeling. Suddenly, a bright flash of light lit up my vision, and before I knew it, I was back at Canterlot Castle.

~~~~~~~

"So, that was a shadow that attacked us." Rainbow said, disappointed. "A SHADOW?! You've got to be kidding me!

"I wish I was, but this is no joke. It seems as if our worst fears are coming true, and even sooner than Luna and I could have imagined." Celestia explained.

For the past hour, everypony had been discussing the incident at the restaurant. Meanwhile, Princess Luna had called on a nurse to tend to my broken wing.

"So what're we gonna do now?" Applejack asked. "That thing's still wreakin' havoc down in Ponyville!"

"That's simple." Celestia replied. "Twilight, you and your friends will have to bring this shadow creature down using the Elements of Harmony."

"But Nathan told us that he's the only one who can handle these shadow thingies!" Rainbow protested.

"Yes, but," Celestia paused and looked at me, "he isn't quite 'ready' yet."

I lowered my head in disappointment. "She's right." I said, defeated. "Just look at my wing." After the nurse set my cast, she told me that most of the bones in my left wing had been completely shattered.

"I don't mean it that way." Celestia reassured me. "Your wing isn't the problem. All you need is a little field training and you'll be hero material in no time." I smiled a little, and Celestia smiled back, knowing she had lightened my mood.

"Well then," Rarity started, "I don't see the point in standing here. We've got a town to save!"

"YEAH!" everypony simultaneously cheered.

"Good luck, my little ponies!" Celestia said warmly. "I have the utmost faith in you!" Princess Celestia lowered her horn toward us as we were enveloped by the golden glow of her magic, and in a burst of light, teleported to Twilight's house.

"Alright everypony!" Twilight announced. "I have the Elements of Harmony right here!" Twilight levitated a book off one of the numerous shelves lining the walls. It opened to reveal all six Elements of Harmony, one for each of the ponies representing it. Each of them donned their designated gear and headed out the door, me trailing cautiously behind them.

They made their way to the center of Ponyville, where most of the chaos was now taking place. "Now, girls!" Twilight ordered. Her horn started to glow, illuminating everything nearby, and contrasting the dark monster against the cover of night. A purple aura of magic surrounded the mares, lifting them high above the ground as their Elements started to glow. However, nothing seemed to be happening. A few more seconds passed, but nothing was changing. The shadow beast began to grin slyly, chuckling as he did so. Even more time passed and Twilight seemed to be losing energy. Eventually, the Elements began to glow with an abnormally intense light.

"T-twilight!" Rainbow Dash stuttered through gritted teeth. "This thing's getting really, really hot!"

"J-just...wait...for it..." Twilight said, pausing for breath as she spoke.

Suddenly, the Elements flashed with a blinding, white light for a split second before completely shattering. The six ponies cried out as the energy from the exploding Elements scorched their fur. All six fell to the ground, completely unconscious.

Everypony in the vicinity stared in absolute horror as their only hope laid helplessly in a heap on the ground. The shadow beast started to snicker, quietly at first, but it slowly culminated to a booming laugh that rang throughout the streets of Ponyville.

There was no way I could let this happen! Glancing around my eyes fell upon a blacksmith's shop, currently in ruins. I galloped over to the site, jumping over countless piles of rubble, and came across the hilt of a blade sticking out of the mess. Without thinking, I grabbed at the handle, clamping my teeth down hard and pulling it out. The steel blade shone brilliantly in the moonlight. I took a moment to admire the craftsmanship, then galloped back to the looming shadow.

"HEH!" I yelled, still holding the sword in my mouth. It looked my way, a look mild of surprise on it's face. After observing me for a moment, it smiled once again, chuckling in a subtle manner. I spat out the sword. Now was definitely not the time to sound foolish. "You're going DOWN!" I picked up the sword once more, taking an impromptu battle stance.

"Hero..." the shadow boomed. "So you have returned. Long have I waited for this moment."

"You on't ahter ahn done wih YOU!" I threatened, not bothering to put down my sword this time.

"HehehehahahaHAHAHA!" the shadow laughed a deep, bellowing laugh. "You're going to defeat me? You can't even speak properly!" It paused to laugh at me once again. This only fueled my anger. "Not to mention you aren't even at your full potential yet." it grinned a hungry and unsettling grin.

"He will be so pleased when I inform him of your defeat and the fall of the Elements of Harmony! Oh, I'm going to enjoy this." Suddenly, he lunged at me. I took that as the start of our battle and accepted is challenge, leaping into the air and preparing to slash with my gleaming blade.

I would make sure to win this for my friends, no matter what the cost.

*******

Did you all enjoy this chapter? Be sure to let me know in the comments down below, and like if you, well, liked it. Be sure to give me your opinion on how the story's going AND REMEMBER, constructive criticism is ALWAYS appreciated. Also, Happy Belated Thanksgiving to all of you who are reading, and until next time, stay epic!