Parallelby Kyonko802Chapters3: Accident5: A Friend6: The Everfree Forest7: Mask8: The Way Home (Part 1)9: The Way Home (Part 2)10: Mage11: Threads That Bind (Part 1)12: Threads That Bind (Part 2)13: Party Foul14: Two Timing(?)16: Mentor (Part 2)17: Date18: The Elements of Harmony (Part 1)19: The Elements of Harmony (Part 2)20: Shadows of the Past21: Anomaly1-2: Dream4: Running Parallel15: Mentor (Part 1)3: AccidentChapter 3: Accident I stumbled from the couch with a grunt, and Mishmash jumped from my lap before I hit the floor with my feet. After a moment of regaining my balance I let out a sigh. Another ring of the doorbell. I rubbed my eyes and let out a yawn, half walking half stumbling to the door. When I opened it I was surprised at who was standing there and what she was holding. "Felicia?" She was wearing jeans and a peach sweat shirt, and her hair looked like it had been groomed perfectly. If it weren't for the slightly welted black eye she would have looked perfect. "Good morning," she said softly. In her hands was a small tray with two cups of what smelled like coffee with a dash of cinnamon. "I uh... made you some coffee. Would you like some?" "Yeah... yeah sure." I took one of the cups and took a sip. It was delicious, with just the right amount of heat. Not too bitter, not too sweet, with the awesome flavor of cinnamon to back it up. "This is really frikkin' good." "I'm glad you like it," she said with a soft laugh, "I have to go up to the roof to feed the birds now." I don't know why I said it. "You know what? Let me come with you, I'll help you feed them." "Oh... I... I couldn't, you might scare them." "Nah, how hard could it be? It's just laying out some feed right?" "I suppose so. Well, yes..." The roof had an amazing view of the city, that was for sure. In the center was a large vent fan, neighbored by the small coop Felicia had spoken of earlier. Several pigeons were already gathering, and for a roof swarmed by pooping birds every morning it was extremely clean. "So this is it huh?" "Yes." She handed me a small bag of feed and we set about business. "So," I said, tossing a small amount of feed inside the coop, "What's your job? You know... aside from feeding birds." "I work at a daycare center. The children can sometimes be troublesome, but it's a good job, and I like doing it." "You seem kind of meek to be handling crazy kids every day." "Heh... I've had to adjust. A few months ago I would have never been able to talk to you the way I did last night." "Shy?" She nodded, "Mm, even now it's difficult." I tried not to let it bug me that I dreamt of her in the form of a small and socially inept pony the night before, especially considering as I had just met her. "Well, it's good that you can talk to me, I would have been a bit too worried about you last night if you couldn't even say a word. Speaking of which, how's the eye?" "Oh, it'll be alright. It's the first time he got that bad, so I knew I would have to call the police right away." "Right... hey listen, I gotta get going to work, if I'm late the boss man is gonna kill me, so." "Right, have a good day." "You too Felicia." My job consisted of answering phone calls for customer service. The company I worked for was an out of the way computer company that refused to outsource, but was having a bit of trouble hiring people with the right qualifications. If there was one thing I loved more than cleaning the barrel of a gun so it could fire another day, it was building a computer from scratch. I barely had my resume' through the door before they hired me, and just like that I had been working at Tom's Computers ever since I'd gotten back, and had even earned a few raises from my good work. It was hard to find companies like that, so I counted my blessings and brought my best to work every day. Granted we still had cramped cubicles, but the boss didn't give a crap what we decorated them with, and it was a very open work place, nobody was offended by anything. It was the ideal work spot, the kind that people searched high and low for until they ended up settling into a mediocre zombie job. I enjoyed my time in the military, and I enjoyed this job, but aside from a picture of a koala nothing else held its home as a decoration in my cubicle. My cubicle neighbor Phoebe Packard on the other hand, was a completely different story. "Psst..." I had just finished a particularly blaring round of what we like to call 'stupid calls' when Phoebe poked her head over the edge of her cubicle, just enough so that I could see her large blue eyes, but not her mouth. Her blindingly blonde hair was pulled into a tight bun, and looked like it was about ready to explode at a moment's notice. It fit her character well, the woman was a ticking time bomb, and I was surprised she was wearing anything other than a straight jacket. Above her floated a group of bright pink balloons tied to the corner of her desk. The balloons were emblazoned with large yellow letters that looked like they had cake frosting dripping off them, 'Life is a Party' indeed Phoebe. "Hello Phoebe." "I just got an EXTREMELY important call Billy!" "Oh yeah?" "Yeah! It was this lady who was having trouble with her computer." "Erm... isn't that just a regular call?" "Nonononono, you see. This was super duper important because it was for her son's birthday!" "... And?" Phoebe let out a long gasp of horror, "Billy I thought you were better than this! This computer was for her son's BIRTHDAY! If something you give someone at an awesome party doesn't work that's... that's... NOT GOOD!" "Did you take your meds this morning?" "Meds?" "And there's your problem." I couldn't see her lips, but her eyes went into a glare, and I could tell she was frowning, "You don't understand, I have to take these papers up to the boss, I need you to take this call Billy! The party must go on!" "Alright already, just do what you need to do Phoebe." I felt a pair of arms wrap in a death grip around my neck and a kiss planted on my cheek. The next instant she was walking away giggling, "Thanks Billy! Line five is where it's at!" I rolled my eyes and picked up the phone, hitting the button for line five. "Tom's Computers, customer service, this is William speaking, how may I assist you today?" "Hello William, my name is Barbara." I frowned, she sounded elderly. "Hello Barbara." "Right... My son Gregory works at the police station as a jailer, and he loves those virtual games you can play on the computer, so I bought him a nice one from Mr. Thomas' store." "We're a third party seller Ma'am, we make most of our profit from parts, and we sell the computers from other companies, do you know what kind of computer it was?" "It was... oh what do you call those fancy ones, Alienware?" "Alright, do you know the model?" "I have it written down here..." By the time the call was done I had counted it at about a half and hour, and she was up and running again, I was slightly annoyed that Phoebe shoved her workload into my zone, but there was no helping it, so instead of complaining I went back to work. By the time Phoebe had made it back it was ten minutes to closing time, and her grin was aimed at me, "You're awesome Billy! I'm throwing you a party!" "Um... no thanks." She frowned, "No, I'm throwing you a party and you're going to be there. Check your schedule and let me know when you're free tomorrow." "Okay okay, sheesh." Pushy much? "So William, how was your day?" I sighed and put my hands behind my head, staring at the spinning oak fan in an effort to sort of hypnotize myself and relax. "Phoebe wants to throw me a party," I said in the most monotone voice I could muster. Doc laughed, "Maybe you should go. If it's a party you could see some new faces, and it seems like you're finally comfortable enough to start talking to people again." "Yeah, she didn't leave me much choice in the matter anyways. I barely got away from the welcoming party when I first started working at Tom's place, and I guess I could have only put it off for so long before she caught me." "Hmm, a little more time and you won't need to come see me at all William." "Ha, you know I love your company Doc." "That I do. Maybe... when this is all done, we should have a toast." "Didn't take you for a bar hopper Doc." "I said a toast, but if we have to go to a bar, then that's alright with me." "You got yourself a deal." "Anything interesting happen aside from Ms. Packard's usual antics?" "I met my neighbor yesterday night, Felicia Shirley." "Oh?" "Yeah, real sweet girl, feeds the pigeons on our roof apparently, kind of shy though." "I see." I slid the key to the apartment building's door into the hole and twisted, opening it to be greeted by a set of stairs and our mailman, Deborah Hollie. "Hey Deb." "Heya Will." She turned to me and I smiled and let out a sigh. The girl was about my height, and had a very obvious lazy eye. She was kind of a klutz, but she was good at her job and was friends with pretty much everyone in the building who didn't stay locked in their cave all day, "Whatcha got for me today?" She scratched the back of her head and grinned, "Sorry I'm late today, there was a huge accident down by the post office." She handed me a small stack of mail, and I was glad to see there were no bills, at least not yet. "Ah don't worry about it. What happened by the post office?" "A girl got hit." "... Huh?" "Yeah." Deborah's gaze fell. "She was on her way back home from the library and got hit by a taxi. They say she's in critical condition." I didn't know why, but a feeling of dread much like one I would get down range crept its way up my spine, "Do you um... know anything about her?" "No. She's friends with Ms. Shirley I think." "Felicia?" "Yeah." I tucked the mail into my belt and went back the way I came, "Thanks for the mail Deb, I'll see you later." "Huh? Where are you going?" I didn't bother answering, I rushed to the corner and started waving and whistling like a madman, "Taxi! Taxi!" It wasn't long until one of them pulled up and I was in the back seat. "Take me to um..." The hospital closest to the post office... "Uh... Lankard Memorial Hospital please." "You got it pal." "Make it quick." "No you don't understand, I'm here to see Felicia Shirley, she's a friend of mine, her friend got hurt and I'm worried." The obese lady behind the counter sighed and rolled her eyes for what must have been the fifth time since I had walked into the rather large lobby of the hospital. "And I told you already sir, we can't just have strangers running around. The family has been called and the close friends have been confirmed, you're not one of them." I didn't want to understand, I wanted to leap over the counter and hit her. For some reason I thought about Fluttershy, and what would have happened in my dream had one of her friends been hurt, or worse. "Bill?" I turned around at the soft voice that came from behind me, and was surprised to see Felicia, "What are you doing here?" "Deb told me one of your friends got hurt and I um... got worried." Felicia looked down, tears in her eyes, "Tammy, she... she got hit, and Rachel isn't here yet, and I... I..." "Hey," I stepped forward and put a hand gently on her shoulder, "It's gonna be alright, I'm sure your friend is on the way." "What the hell is going on?" Then I saw her. She damn near broke the door barging into the hospital, rushed past several people who gave her incredulous looks, and came upon Felicia and I like a tornado. I almost flinched away when she turned her glare towards me, "Who is this guy?" Felicia flinched, but swallowed and started to talk, "He's um... he's my neighbor, he heard that my friend got hurt and came here to make sure I was okay." I did a double take. About a foot and a half shorter than me, her hair was as long as mid back, and was styled at the top like a punk rocker would have it, but she didn't go overboard with it. What she did go overboard with were the streaks of a dyed rainbow pattern going all the way through her otherwise blonde hair. I felt my eye start twitching. "Dash?" "What?" asked the girl. "Erm... nothing." "My name is Rachel, Rachel Daniels, you?" "William Jenkins, I met Felicia yesterday when that guy was tossing her around." Suddenly as she had come bursting onto the scene, her expression changed from a glare to a wide grin, and she locked her arm around my neck and started giving me a noogie of all things, "HAHA you sly dog, she told me all about that! Didn't know it was someone good looking as YOU though. Hey, need help getting her pants off?" "Rachel... now's not the time," muttered Felicia, "I know I was kind of vague over the phone, but Tammy... she's in critical condition." The noogie stopped instantly and I was untangled, Rachel looked shocked, "She what?" "She was... she was hit by a car." Rachel frowned and stepped forward to give her friend a hug, "I'm so sorry Felicia." "I... I don't know what to do Rachel." Then Felicia started crying into Rachel's shoulder, and I felt like I'd been hit by a ton of bricks. After what seemed like an eternity Rachel pulled away slowly as Felicia started to calm down, "Is she still in surgery?" Felicia shook her head, "No, I've just been afraid to go see her. The doctors say she's not awake yet." "Alright, come on Shy Buns, you too Prince Charming." The room was small and brought out feelings of claustrophobia. The steady beep of an EKG almost caused me to slip away into one of my flashbacks, but we weren't there to worry about me. In fact, I didn't know why I was there in the first place. I had only known Felicia a day. "Visiting hours are almost over," said the nurse gently, pushing aside the curtains surrounding the girl's bed. My eyes widened when I saw her. The girl I ran into on the intersection the day before, battered and bruised. It was easy to recognize her dark purple hair with the magenta line. For some reason I panicked a little. "Is it alright if we sleep in the waiting room?" I didn't know why I asked, but the nurse smiled, "Normally we wouldn't allow that, but since your friend is in critical condition and her family won't be here until tomorrow... I'll talk to Doctor Jameson." To this day I don't know why she bent the rules for us. Maybe it had something to do with how worried Felicia looked, or maybe it was Rachel's strength, or maybe... maybe she was just a really good nurse who wanted the best for her patients, even if she had to break a few rules and regulations along the way. That night we slept in the uncomfortable chairs of the waiting room in the center of the second floor, a few yards away from Tammy's room. Felicia clung to Rachel like she was her lifeline. And me, I was afraid the nightmares would come back. They did... but not in the way I thought they would. "Mister, you gotta wake up! Wake up!" My eyes snapped open, and I was greeted by the sight of a very worried, very distraught looking spikey creature. "Wha... I... huh?" "Please get up! Somethings wrong with Twilight!" Somewhere in my gut I knew exactly what was wrong. It was a good thing I knew how to listen to my gut. 5: A FriendChapter 5: A Friend I leaned back in the waiting room chair and heard the soft noise of a TV propped on the corner of the ceiling. It was being alone that made me think more than I liked to. Sure Felicia and Rachel were there, but they were still out cold, and it would be rude to wake them after a night like that. I flexed my left shoulder, trying to get the bruising pain to pass from the gunshot wound. Instead of sitting there thinking I went to the front desk and asked if they had any bandages I could use to change out for my wound. In about fifteen minutes I was back in the waiting room, which still housed two sleeping girls, so I sat down and decided to watch the quiet TV in the corner of the waiting room. "Back to you Hannah." "Thank you Tom. Rising crime rates in the city have the public in a bit of a panic. The police have issued an official statement, assuring that they are doing the best they can to quell the drastic spike in criminal activity. We go live now to James Littleton, who is at the police station." The camera blacked out and came back on to a skinny looking man with black hair and a microphone, "Thank you Hannah. We're here with the Chief of Police, who surprisingly has a lot to say on the matter. Sir, what do you think is causing the sudden rise in crime, and what's the best way of alleviating it?" The camera panned a bit to the left and the microphone was put close to the face of a man in a police uniform who looked to be in his late thirties, "Well it could be several things, we've seen an especially alarming number of youth in the harsher parts of the city taking to crime. Ultimately, this'll happen in every city with a large population, crime spikes every now and again, and our job is to get it back down, even if that's easier said than done. As for the methods we're using, higher patrol rates, longer hours, more officers. More crime equals more cops." "Sounds like you've got it covered then, is there anything else you'd like to say?" "Yeah, be careful at night, always have your friends with you." "Simple, and yet wise advice, Hannah?" I sighed and perched my hand on my cheek. I was getting bored already. I reached into my pocket and grabbed my smart phone, dialing a number. After a few rings I heard a click, "This is Thomas Best." "Hey boss, I'm calling in." "Alright, you sick?" "No, a friend got hurt." "Ah, how long will you be?" "Just a day is fine." "It's alright, we've got heavy manning today, and you know Ms. Packard, that woman moves at inhuman speeds." I let out a laugh, "Thanks boss." "Alright, seeya tomorrow." "Yeah, bye." I felt a hand land on my shoulder and heard a laugh, "Isn't that a bit weird?" I looked behind me and there was Rachel, with what I could only describe as a shit-eating grin on her face, ""Isn't what weird?" "You only know Felicia, and you just met me. You don't know Tammy, so why'd you call her a friend." I grinned sheepishly, "Erm... any friend of Felicia's is a friend of mine." Did I mention before that I'm bad at lying? "Right." Rachel shook her head and laughed, "Listen, as grateful as I am, you hardly know Felicia, you shouldn't skip work for a bunch of random girls you hardly even know." I sighed and shook my head, "I have a problem." "Oh?" "I tend to not be able to ignore people that need help." There was a moment of silence, and then Rachel started laughing... and laughing, and laughing, and laughing. It was at least a minute before she calmed down, "Oh man you are CLASSIC! I've never met a guy like you before. You trying to get Felicia's attention or something?" I couldn't stop the blush, "Wha... NO!" She grinned and gestured to the still sleeping girl, "Hey, who could blame you? Good luck." With another laugh she slapped me on the back and went to sit down with Felicia again. I sighed, 'Shouldn't she be more worried?' Ten minutes later Felicia was still asleep, and I decided to step outside the back for a smoke. The alley wasn't that dirty, but as all alleys were, it was mostly deserted and housed the hospital's trash bins. I rarely smoked, usually only when I was under stress or celebrating something for a special occasion, but I always carried a pack and a lighter with me. The box of Marbs in my pocket was down to one, but it had lasted me quite a long time; I couldn't even remember when I bought it. I popped the smoke in my mouth and lit it before taking a deep drag. It felt good. This was good to do occasionally. I hoped Twilight would be okay. "Well, how are you?" I looked to my right where the voice had come from. "Having a late morning smoke?" The man speaking was in a grey hoodie with the hood pulled up, and wore tattered jeans that looked like they'd been sent through the grinder. He was pale... very pale, and his hair was done in dreadlocks that peaked out from his hood. He wore a necklace with an upside down cross, "that's always nice to do, but isn't juicy gossip so much more fun?" He had an accent, but I couldn't quite place it. His voice was eerily smooth, and made me slightly uncomfortable. My eyes narrowed, "Who are you?" He grinned, "Just a friend William, just a friend." The cigarette dropped to the ground and I stepped back, "How the hell do you know my name?" "You must be soooo worried for your newest dear friend Twilight Sparkle." My eyes widened and adrenaline coursed through me. Whoever this guy was he KNEW, and that meant my dreams were real, but then... "Who the fuck are you? Answer me!" He laughed, it was a sound that echoed in my head like an orchestra, "Oh you are too easy William, much too easy. You anger far too quickly and are very fun to play with. Tell me William..." He reached behind him, still with that grin on his face, and his hand emerged with a combat knife, "I'm sure you'd recognize what this is William, after all you've seen them quite often." I set my left foot back and crouched down, widening my stance. "Oh hooo, ready to fight are we? I wouldn't expect anything less, however..." he threw the knife in one of the many trash bins, "That's not what I'm here to do William, I detest getting my hands dirty after all. I merely wanted your response." "And?" His grin calmed into a smile, "And you passed with flying colors. Deep inside you is a killer William, a man of blood and violence, and honestly that's my favorite thing about this world." He turned to walk away, then stopped abruptly, "Oh, silly me I almost forgot." There he was, a few meters away, in no way could he physically reach me in the amount of time that he did. He was on me in less than a second, digging his thumb into my forehead with a mad grin, "I never got any REAL chaos over there William, but here? Humans revel in it! It's fantastic, isn't it?" My eyes widened, and I saw white. "Do you honestly think you can do anything to save her? Do you think she even cares who you are? So you bumped into her on the street, whoopty do!" "Jenkins... Jenkins wake up man. We gotta keep moving." I felt the heat of the sun baring down on me. I felt hot sand on my right cheek, it was burning my face, but I could hardly move, and I was short of breath and on the verge of heat exhaustion. "C'mon Jenkins, we gotta get to the rally point." I felt and arm snake under mine and heard a grunt of exertion. I put some effort into putting weight on me feet and moving with him, I didn't want him to have to carry my dead weight and I was still aware enough to help out a buddy. "I don't think I'm gonna make it." I could barely talk, my tongue hurt and my throat felt like it was bleeding. "You're not done yet Jenkins." I tried to laugh, but it came out as more of a pathetic croak. I knew I was out of ammo, and my partner only had one magazine left. I couldn't keep moving forever, I would eventually give into the heat and die in the desert. "Leave me," I mumbled. "You're fuckin' crazy man." "Even if you can carry me... I'm gonna die. You got a wife back home, I don't have anybody." "Bullshit... bullshit you got your parents man." "I don't even... talk to them anymore." "Fuck you." He solidified his grip on me and started moving a bit faster, "We're both getting to the FOB, I don't care how much you moan and complain at me." He let me down to the ground in a sitting position and started messing with his gear, I couldn't tell what he was doing because my vision was too blurry, but I heard a lot of shuffling around. "Alright, your turn Jenkins." I felt him grab my vest and pull it off, and after that my helmet. After a few moments all I had was the load baring equipment and the pistol that was out of ammo. I saw what he was doing, if we ditched the heavy stuff we had a better chance of making it all the way, but if we ran into the enemy we were screwed. Still, we were low on ammo anyways; it was less of a risk to ditch the equipment and keep going than it was to die of exhaustion. When he pulled me up the desert looked a lot less endless. "William... are you okay?" My eyes snapped open, and I heard the wail of police sirens several blocks away. It took me a moment to realize that I had fainted in the alley... No, I didn't faint; I had been knocked out by that weird guy in the hoodie. "What the hell are you doing sleeping out here?" Above me stood Felicia and Rachel. I noticed that the sun was on the verge of going down and cursed under my breath, "I wasn't sleeping. I gotta get home." I stood with some difficulty, and Felicia helped hold me up when I got a bit wobbly. Rachel huffed and crossed her arms, "You're kidding me, we looked everywhere for you and that's it? You're just going home." I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed, "Listen, I've got something important to do... just... I'll meet you guys here tomorrow after work, okay?" Rachel's expression became less hostile, "Alright, see you then I guess." "I'll be behind you," said Felicia. "Sure you don't want me to walk you home?" Rachel grinned, "Easy there lover boy, I'll walk her." I rolled my eyes, "Alright, I'll see you both tomorrow," then I turned and walked out of the alley. Hopefully I would be able to catch a taxi. I made it home no worse for the wear, and Mishmash was there to greet me as usual. I fed him and then sat on the couch with a heavy sigh, turning the TV on as I did so. Then I began to think. Whoever that guy was he creeped me the hell out, and whatever he did to me obviously put me under for quite a bit. He mentioned Twilight's name, which, though on the verge of the impossible, proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that my 'dreams' were the real thing. 'Tonight then. Tonight's when we leave for the veil.' Just as dusk began to turn the sky orange I laid down and fell asleep. I woke up with a start, and was immediately pulling my bag out from under the bed. It was effectively a saddle bag, and with some amount of effort I got it onto my back in a comfortable position. "Spike, get up, we're leaving!" 6: The Everfree ForestA/N: Yay back to normal 8 hour shifts! If you thumbs down please leave a comment stating why, my goal is to improve my writing, not disappoint people. Also feel free to say why you enjoy the story so much if you do. Chapter 6: The Everfree Forest Spike stumbled down the stairs of the library, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and letting out a yawn, "What time is it?" I frowned and eyed the window upstairs; it was definitely dark out. I still wanted to hurry, an early morning start wasn't our biggest problem at the time. "Does it really matter?" Spike nodded, and was by my side with a little more energy as we stepped outside. I wasn't expecting it, but one of Twilight's friends was already there, Pinkie Pie. "Hi there!" she shouted, trotting over to me with a grin, "I just wanted to say thanks! It's super awesome what you're doing for Twilight. Everyone else is at Fluttershy's house so we should hurry too." As we started to walk I noticed that Pinkie wasn't bouncing around as usual. She sounded like she usually did, just a little less energetic. "Hey... is Twilight okay?" "Yepperoni!" "Huh?" "Why'd you ask such a silly question? I mean yeah I was super worried at first, but then Dashie came up with this plan, which means both our Twilight's are gonna be a-okay." 'But what if Dash's plan doesn't work?' I didn't ask it out loud. I could only imagine how worried everyone had been at the hospital. It was then I realized that Rarity and Dash had been putting on an extremely strong front. These five ponies were desperate enough to journey for something that they weren't even sure of, and desperate enough to trust some stranger they had met the day before to help their friend. And me? I was desperate enough to go along with it. We started passing through the main part of town, and the quiet was getting to me. Phoebe had never been this quiet, and if Pinkie was then she was definitely still worried. I decided to fill the silence with whatever I could come up with. "Hey Pinkie?" "Hmm?" "Have you ever met someone that could... I dunno, get into your head and mess with it?" "Like literally walk into my brain? Hmmmm, nope!" "Not quite what I was going for." "OH, OH! You mean like make you see stuff?" "A little bit closer to what I had in mind, yeah." Pinkie suddenly stopped when we were halfway through town. She turned on me and brought herself up to her hindlegs, planting her front hooves on my shoulders, "Did he have a weird voice?" "A weird voice? I guess so. What's that got to do with..." "Did he make it rain chocolate?!" "Chocolate, what does that even..." "No chocolate rain? I'm sure you'll be fine then!" She smiled and bopped my nose with her hoof before letting go, and we were back on the road again. I decided not to question Pinkie Pie further, as it only seemed to make things more confusing and chaotic, and that was the last thing I needed. I ended up going off into my own little world, and before I knew it we had already passed Fluttershy's house and were standing at a line of extremely ominous trees. The entire thing was pulled right out of a Stephen King novel. The branches of these trees were gnarled and looked more like teeth that would tear flesh, the sky above the forest was a dark grey that didn't quite look like a rainstorm, and from within the forest I heard several unnatural sounding animal calls. Everything about this forest screamed at trespassers to stay out of it, and waiting at the small opening that lead into the monstrous trees were the rest of Twilight's friends. Rarity stepped forward and smiled, "I'm glad I was right about you." I frowned and looked away, scuffing the ground with my front hoof. "Alright!" shouted Dash, "Enough hanging around, we're going right now. The veil is a two day trip and we need to get there as soon as possible." Two days in Ponyland before I could even think about helping Tammy recover. The thought was enough to drive me past the barrier of this forest with Twilight's friends. Our little group made good headway as the sun came up and reached mid sky. We hadn't spoken much since we entered the forest, which I thought was a little odd considering how talkative everyone had been in the days before. It was as we emerged from a particularly bad patch of vines and found a dirt path again that I decided to break the silence, "So what's this place called anyways?" "The Everfree forest," said Spike, coming up on my flank. Dash flew to my side and landed, matching my pace, "Normally we don't go too deep into the forest, but we'll have to travel all the way through to reach the veil, so we'll probably run into some nasty stuff." I turned my head and looked at the group behind us, most of them were doing fine except one, Fluttershy, who might has well have been shaking in her horseshoes. She was keeping up okay, but I could tell the oppressive atmosphere was getting to her. I raised an eyebrow and turned back to Dash, "What KIND of nasty stuff?" "Oh you know," Dash grinned nervously and turned away, "Just your run of the mill... dragons, hydras, poisonous plants..." "And nobody saw fit to tell me all this before we ventured inside?" I heard a cough behind me and turned to see Applejack moving up on us, "Well... we figured you would know it's dangerous an' all." I rolled my eyes and let out a groan. I didn't know what to make of it. I had been on the receiving end of gunfire and explosions, but a dragon? A dragon I didn't know how to handle... unless it was the one walking next to me. I heard Fluttershy whimper a little, and the group stopped to turn towards her. Applejack frowned, "What's wrong Sugarcube?" "I... I'll be alright, I just need a second. I've never been this deep into the forest before." Dash looked around us and frowned, "Hmph, not even the ruins Luna went to were in this deep." Rarity sighed, "I suppose it is a two day trip. I'm starting to regret not bringing my care products, I can already feel the grease in my mane!" "Don't be silly Rarity!" shouted Pinkie Pie, bouncing to her friend, "We'll have time for that and even more when we get back to Ponyville. I already have everything set up for the party!" Rarity smiled, "That would be delightful." I felt like I was some sort of outcast, watching longtime friends interact and carry each other through a difficult time. I had stepped onto foreign land and didn't know what to do with myself. I only wanted to help Tammy and Twilight, but I doubted I would ever worm my way into their close knit group. It was almost like an art the way these ponies interacted with each other. This thought process was interrupted by Pinkie bouncing right into me and giggling as we both tumbled to the forest floor, "You're invited too! It'll be super duper awesome having a new friend!" I couldn't help but smile a little... And then Pinkie passed out right on top of me. There was that one brief moment where my brain couldn't process what had just happened. When that moment was gone I looked around and saw that all of the ponies with me had fainted. "What's going on?" I couldn't see him, but that had been Spike's panicked voice. As gently as I could manage I got Pinkie off me and stood up, shaking myself off. I nudged her with my hoof and frowned when she didn't wake up, "Pinkie?" Spike started to panic, he stumbled into Rarity and yelled her name, then repeated this with Applejack and Fluttershy. Then it hit me. The most beautiful song I'd ever heard in my life reached my ears. It had no lyrics, and the melody and beat didn't sound natural. It clearly wasn't created by a human... or a pony. It felt like something tugging at the back of my mind, and I found my legs moving on their own. Everything else but that song was gone from my mind, and I couldn't help but make my way towards it, wherever it was. I went deeper and deeper into the forest... and then... everything went black. "Oooo isn't he the most adorable thing you've ever seen." "This one isn't half bad either sister." "Hahaha, it's been so long since anyone's been this deep into the forest." Everything came back to me in pieces, first my hearing, then my ability to think coherently. It was almost like waking up from a dream and having to take a few minutes to realize that you were sleeping. Part of me didn't want to open my eyes, but when I did I couldn't make much out. Everything was blurry and dark. There were a few familiar shapes in front of me. They looked like ponies, but something was... off about them. "Look sisters, he's coming to!" "Really?! Oh I'm so excited, what should we name him!?" My vision started to slowly clear, and I noticed that I couldn't move my hoofs. I was strapped to the ground with something, my hooves pinned close together and against my body. I could feel the straps wound tight around my mid section. I started to struggle, and I heard a laugh. "Tsk tsk tsk, we can't have you getting away." One of the three figures leaned down in front of me, and I finally got a good look at her... it. They were shaped vaguely like ponies, but they only had a mouth, and no hooves. It was as if they were spectres. "It's been a while since we've sung our song," it whispered in my ear, "You are a welcome guest in these halls." Halls? All I saw was a cave. I managed to move my neck around a little bit, to my left was the outline of a small form, tied up just like I was. "Spike? Spike wake up!" "Oh he'll wake up eventually," said the creature. It turned towards the other two and smiled, "So what first? It's been so long I almost forgot how to have fun. Our last guests had the time of their lives." "Yes," said another monster, "But they didn't last too long. Perhaps we should feed them this time, they seem to be limited creatures." I growled, struggling against the constraints again, "What are you TALKING about?" "The party of course," said the first monster, "We'll dance through the night together under the moon. We can do it for eternity." "You've kidnapped other ponies? You let them die?" "Die? No they merely expired, what is this death you speak of?" I gritted my teeth, 'We have to get the hell out of here.' I started rocking back and forth, trying to loosen my constraints, "Spike, wake up!" "You shouldn't rush him, we're not ready yet!" yelled one. "But sister, it looks like he's really looking forward to this!" No slack... nothing. I couldn't break free no matter how hard I tried. "Where are the others?" I asked through gritted teeth. "Others?" "The girls!" I shouted, "What did you do with them?!" The first monster laughed, "Oh those useless old things? We left them where they were. They'll wake up in no time, but I seriously doubt they'll find you. OH! Would you like a gift?! Sister, help me please." "Yes sister." A moment passed and what looked like a gem stone was placed on my chest. "Let me go." "Why would we do that?" "I'm trying to save my friend, just let me go." "I'm afraid that's not going to happen, and like I said, there's no way they'll find you here." "Oh, you overestimate yourself dear." I craned my neck up to look where the voice had come from, not ten feet away stood Rarity, flanked by the rest of the gang. I breathed a sigh of relief. Pinkie Pie hopped past her friends, a huge grin on her face, "Did I hear somepony say party? Because I'm PRETTY sure I heard somepony say PARTY!" "Sister!" shouted the first monster. One of the monsters responded and opened its mouth... only to be caught around its mid section by a rope. Applejack stepped forward, rope still in her mouth. Rarity smiled, "I'm afraid you won't be getting another chance to sing tonight." Applejack tugged with a force I'd never seen before, and the monster she had roped slammed into the ceiling of the cave with a crack. The scream it let out was almost enough to shatter my ear drums, and it fell to the ground, incapacitated. Rarity's horn glowed and my bind was loosened. The monster that had spoken to me let out an inhuman growl, and was about to charge the group. I tackled it from behind, trying to get a good hit on its face with my hoof. Fist fights I had been in, but hoof fights? Not so much. I missed by a mile and we ended up stumbling over several times. The monster ended up on top and screamed in my face. I punched it in response, causing it to stumble back. One good thing about the hooves... I didn't have knuckles that hurt after I hit something. "No!" shouted the first monster, "Our endless dance!" Pinkie hopped forward and grinned, "Nopony has better parties than me!" To this day I still don't know where she pulled it from, but in front of Pinkie was what appeared to be a cannon with a fuse on the end of it. "NOPONY!" she shouted, then she pushed the fuse like a button, and out shot several party materials: streamers, a table cloth, and a completely made and perfect looking cake... right into the monsters face. Pinkie grinned and tossed the cannon to who-knows-where, then she hopped forward and bucked the monster right in the chest. Another one down. The last monster let out a blood curdling scream and ran down a path in the cave, the noise fading slowly as it gained distance. "Way to take away all the action from me guys!" shouted Rainbow Dash. I looked over and noticed that Fluttershy was hiding behind her. Pinkie grinned, and it was then I noticed there was cake on her face. She licked it off and giggled at Dash, "Well you were being a super duper slow poke!" Dash huffed, "I can't see anything in here, and it's too cramped to fly! Not my fault!" "Oh dear!" Rarity rushed over and clasped my face in her hooves, pushing it around and looking at me from head to hoof, "Are you alright? Where's Spike at?" I lifted my left hoof and pointed to where I had been tied up, and where Spike remained, still unconscious. Rarity was on him in an instant, "Oh you poor thing!" "Okay," I said with a sigh, "What the hell were those things?!" Dash raised an eyebrow, "Hell?" I wanted to pull my hai... mane out, "Ugh, just what were those things?!" Fluttershy clung to Dash and looked at me with her head slightly down, "Um... I think they were Sirens." "Sirens. You're kidding right?" "Well," said Rarity, "It would make sense, the beautiful song, how it only attracted you and Spike." "Great, now we're on the frikkin' Odyssey!" "The what?" asked Dash. "Forget it, let's just get Spike and get out of here." "We should set up camp," said Applejack, "Ah know ya'll are in a hurry to help Twilight, but we made good ground today an' we need rest." I nodded, "Good idea." We ended up setting up camp right outside the cave. The Sirens probably wouldn't be back, and this place was mostly devoid of other nasties due to them, so it was a good place to stop. Setting up a tent with my mouth and hooves was hard, but with a little help from the rest of the gang I was off to sleep just like they were. 7: MaskA/N: Hmmm... that nurse is eerily familiar. Also, whoever spots the shoutout gets a cookie. Chapter 7: Mask That morning was the same as any other, except for the fact that I was asleep in a strange forest in a parallel world. I got up, brushed my teeth, took my meds, and fed Mishmash, then I was on my way to work. I couldn't even remember arriving, but I was sitting in my cubicle and answering my phone. Phoebe arrived shortly after and flicked me in the back of the head. I turned and glared, "Yes?" She frowned, "The party!" My eyes must have lit up in realization, because she gave me a smile. "Right, totally forgot about that. Sorry Phoebe." I sighed, "This weekend should be fine, I've just got a lot of stuff going on right now." "Great! We'll throw it at my place. I'll invite my friends and you can invite yours!" "Yeah..." Phoebe went to sit in her cubicle and I let out a breath of relief. The party was in two days, which gave me a one day buffer for my trip through the Everfree forest with the ponies. God that sounded ridiculous, even in the privacy of my mind. Pinki... Phoebe's head popped over the wall of my cubicle and she grinned at me, "So what have you been up to lately?" "I met a girl, well, a few actually." I muttered, opening up the internet browser and surfing through random sites. Phoebe's eyes lit up, "Oh OH who are they? Do you like any of them. Is there gonna be a party!? I'll buy the keg, you get the invitations!!" I laughed, "What is with you and parties?" "Well... I just like to have fun with my friends!" Understandable, at least as understandable as this woman could get. "Hey Phoebe, can I ask you something?" "No problemo!" "Do you know anybody named Tammy or Felicia?" "Hmmmm." She looked off to the side for a second, "Nope! Sorry Billy, don't know 'em!" I smiled, "I'll make sure to bring them to the party then." "That would be GREAT! New friends are the best!" The hospital was busy when I got there, as all hospitals usually were. I tried not to let it get to me as I made my way to the front desk. No matter what they did with it, no matter how pristine and white they made it nothing would stop it from being a place of death and pain. Yeah the ultimate goal was to heal and help, but that was hard in itself. "How may I help you?" The woman behind the desk that day was cute and polite, not at all like the whale I had spoken to the day before. "Yeah, I'm here to see Tammy." The lady smiled, "Oh you must mean THAT Tammy." She stood up from the desk and reached over it for a handshake, I obliged before she continued, "My name is Regina Hart, I'm Tammy's nurse, we met the other day but didn't really get introduced." I raised an eyebrow, "Why are you working the front desk?" She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and laughed under her breath, "About that... we've had difficulties with the woman who was on staff here yesterday." "I didn't file any complaints." Regina frowned, "Oh I'm so sorry, she bothered you as well? Someone else filed a complaint. Well... several someone elses." "She wouldn't let me in to see Tammy." "I see. Well her parents will be here tomorrow, and they've already given the go ahead for her friends to be here, but Julie was always so stubborn and bullheaded. She won't be getting fired, but she's probably getting a stern talking to. Right this way." She lead me upstairs to the second floor, and I tried not to stare at her backside too much. This task proved extremely difficult for me. When I got to the room Rachel and Felicia were already there, and both of them looked pretty happy that I showed. "Shit we were starting to think you got hit by a car too, what took you so long?" I smiled at Rachel, "I went overtime a little bit. Me and Phoebe were saddled with the work of somebody that decided to skip out." Felicia smiled and nodded, "Don't worry about it, I'm glad you're here." "Has she stabilized?" I pulled up a chair behind them both and sat down on it. "Yeah," said Rachel, "Doc says she'll more than likely pull through, but we don't know if she'll wake up." "Well the chances are better right?" Felicia nodded, "Yes." She leaned forward and clasped her friend's hand with a small frown. I could see the glisten in her eyes, but she managed to hold the tears back. I planted a hand on her shoulder and smiled, "She'll be fine, trust me." I wished I could tell her why I was so sure, but all I could do was attempt to comfort her in the best way I could. A neighbor I was barely aware of a few days before, and there I was comforting her over her friend being hurt. Life had a funny way of throwing crazy shit at you when you least expect it. Rachel smirked, "Well I doubt Tammy wants to lay here listening to us moan and cry over a bump on her head, so let's talk a little bit." "Might as well," I said. "Where do you work Bill?" asked Rachel. "I'm just a customer service bug. The job is good though, and the insurance ACTUALLY covers stuff." "Friends?" I let out a small laugh, "Until now just Mishmash, but now..." Rachel looked surprised, "I... I didn't mean to..." "Nah, it's my own fault. I barely even talk to my parents anymore. What about you, what's your job?" Rachel grinned, "I work at a coffee place. I like to race too, and it would be really cool if I could be a professional racer one day!" "Shooting high eh? You good at it?" "Heh! Only the best!" Felicia frowned, "Rachel, you should be more modest." Rachel rolled her eyes, "Please. I haven't lost in months, and if someone DOES beat me I'll just get 'em back in a rematch." We passed the time like this for a couple of hours until the sun hit the skyline outside, talking about stupid pointless stuff like sports and animals. I never brought up my time in the military or the war, but that was okay. Eventually it was time to go... I wanted to get drunk that night. "I gotta go, if Tammy wakes up tell her I said hi." Felicia smiled and nodded, "Alright, will you be back tomorrow?" I nodded and smiled. The O bar was pretty crowded that night, but I didn't mind, I was just there to get plastered. Getting too drunk was out of the question, as I still had work the next day. I was glad I could still enjoy getting hammered every now and again, my alcoholism had been a symptom of my sickness, not the problem itself. "Heya Will." The bartender, who always recognized me, was a short and stout man, the bar itself reached all the way up to his half way point. "Hey George," I said with a smile and a wave, "Just get me a few beers." "Comin' right up! So how ya been, it's been a couple weeks since I seen ya." I smiled, "Yeah, I've been busy, met my neighbor and her friends." George raised an eyebrow, "Oh really? She cute?" I laughed, "Yeah she is, but..." "But?" I remembered Tammy, still in a coma from being hit. And I remembered Twilight, in much the same condition without all the physical wounds. "There are more important things to worry about." "Oh... that complicated eh?" "Hahaha, I'm not even scratching the surface of how complicated all of this is." "Do tell." George reached under the bar and came up with a few cool Budweisers. I popped one open and took a swig from it. I decided to lay out the facts for him, "Well first of all these ladies are all potentials." "How many we talkin'?" I thought about it for a second. With any luck I would end up running into the other two ladies in my world too. Then again there had been no trace of a Rarity or Applejack counterpart. I shrugged and let out a laugh, "Six." Goerge's jaw might as well have been on the floor. When he picked it back up he gave me an incredulous look, "Six?" "Six," I said with confidence, "A nerd, a jock, a shy girl, a rich bitch, a farm girl, and a partier." George let out a low whistle, "You got the entire God damn stereotype spectrum. Shit kid, good luck." I took another swig of the beer bounced my eyebrows. George rolled his eyes and went to help out another customer. The customer was a damn fine lady, a bit older than me and the girls I had been hanging out with. Weirdest damn thing, her hair was white. It wasn't white like and old woman's would be; it still had that shine of youth to it. She was wearing a low cut dress, and panty hose with holes in them at intervals, as if they had been ripped. She looked over and smiled when she noticed I was staring. Then she did something unexpected, she winked and grabbed her beer from George, making her way over to me and swinging her hips back and forth the whole way. Her movements were very... intentional. "Why hello there." Her voice was sultry, and it didn't even seem like she was trying, but it sent a shiver down my damn spine. "Hi." She smirked and looked my up and down for a second before taking a swig from her beer, "You look like you're tired of sand." "What gave me away?" I asked, taking a swig of my own. "The haircut. Nobody who calls themselves normal, and I say normal very loosely, cuts their hair like that soldier boy." "I'm not a soldier anymore." "Then why the hair?" "Habit." "I see." She rested her elbow on the bar and planted a hand on her cheek, "So what's your name?" "William Jenkins, you?" That smile of hers... "Oh little old me? I don't really have a name, but if you must call me something I suppose Camille will do." I raised an eyebrow, "You a stripper?" Her laugh was like pure music. Everything about this woman was weird. She was so unnaturally attractive it was more repelling than anything. "Well, nice to meet you. I gotta head home soon, but it was interesting talking to you." She frowned, "That's no way to treat a lady. Shouldn't you at least try to get into my pants?" I took another drink, attempting to tune her out. "Or... would you rather rip apart that sweater on Ms. Shirley's supple body? Or maybe you want to take the glasses off the bookworm when she wakes up." I promptly spit my beer out in panic. "Relaaaax," she said with a giggle, "You'll give yourself an aneurism. Besides, the nerdy one is cuter anyways, and she has a VERY nice ass. I know you looked at it when you bumped into her on the intersection. You could just... grip it and get a handful." She giggled again, bringing her hands up and mimicking how one would grasp a butt. I wiped the beer from my mouth and sighed, "Who are you?" "Just a friend." "The last person that said that mind raped me." "Oh he's just mad because you might steal away his fun." "What?" She turned away, then she leaned back in. Her eyes had turned red, "Don't panic, it's just cosmetic trust me. There are six goons outside waiting for you to get done with your beer, three on each entrance." "So you're helping me?" She shrugged, "I don't call the shots anymore, my nest was destroyed by two hunters, a couple of very charming wise cracking brothers that were full of angst about their dark past... they handled it really well though." "Can we get to the point?" "Right, the goons. We could have a little fun with them." I didn't follow Cami too closely. She got the front door open and my eyes widened when her body began to change. She wasn't Cami anymore. For all intents and purposes she was... well, she was ME. Then she went into a full out sprint, causing the two burly looking men at the front door to run after her. I went out a minute later and hailed a cab back to my place. Whatever she was she had helped me, and I found myself hoping that she'd be alright as I fed Mishmash and made my way into bed that night. 8: The Way Home (Part 1)A/N: Buckle up, shit is about to get real. Edit: It seems I forgot about Spike a bit. Just a quick fix. Chapter 8: The Way Home (Part 1) I knew that as soon as I opened my eyes they wouldn't be greeted with sunlight. Luckily they weren't greeted by anything that wanted to eat me either, that was the main thing I was worried about. I let out a yawn as I stood up and stretched to the best of my ability. It was just as gloomy outside of my tent as it was inside, and when I made it out I saw Applejack in the middle of camp, slight bags under her eyes. I made my way over to her and sat down next to her, "Couldn't sleep?" "Ah got a bit." "Just a bit, huh?" "Whadoya reckon would happen if this doesn't work?" "Then it's up to the doctors." "How's she doin'?" I let out a sigh, "She's stabilized, which is good... just..." "Just?" "She won't wake up, and there's a few other things that are bugging me too. Pinkie kind of freaked out a bit before we met you guys at the Everfree forest." She tilted her head at me. The action was cuter than it had any right to be. "Freaked out. Ya mind explainin'?" "Something weird happened the other day when I woke up in the hospital. I went outside to get some fresh air and smoke..." "Smoke?" "Erm... don't worry about it, I was taking a break. This guy appeared out of nowhere, and he looked and acted really weird. Then he touched my head and I passed out and had a flashback." "A flashback o' what?" "I'd... rather not talk about it. He talked about how chaotic humans were like it got him off or something. It was really weird." Applejack's eyes narrowed, "Did this fella happen ta introduce himself?" "No." She huffed and dug her front hooves into the ground, "We need to wake Twi up, an' fast." "Why? Do you know this guy?" "I ain't sure, but it sounds a mite familiar." I heard a tent flutter behind us. When I turned to see who had just woken up I saw Rainbow Dash rubbing her eyes and yawning, "What the hay are you two doing up so early?" I smiled, "Morning Drill Sergeant. If you're gonna be training me you need to shape up a bit more." Dash glared at me for a second before relenting and letting out a sigh, "How much do we have to go?" I shook my head, "From what Spike and Applejack were saying last night... quite a bit." "Well let's wake everypony up and pack up camp." That was the best idea I had heard in a while. The sooner we could do this the sooner we would be able to help Twilight and Tammy. The weather was excruciating that day. Despite the sun not being able to break through the clouds it was as hot as a Summer day in California. The humidity in the air was thick and bugs were attacking us left and right. I felt like we were some sort of military task force sent out on a secret mission under the enemy's nose. I was never spec ops, I wasn't badass enough; if I was I would still be in the military and not having nightmares. Well... it wasn't possible for me to have nightmares anymore as far as I could tell. The heat did nothing to help our speed. No one spook unless it was absolutely necessary, there were a few times when we had to start in a different direction and Spike would point them out, but other than that it was completely silent. The front they had been putting on the day before had completely vanished. We were tired, we were hot, we were worried, and worst of all we were six ponies and an incredibly small dragon in hostile territory with no idea what would attack us next. We kept moving though... At least until we reached the swamp. It looked murky as all hell, and I couldn't tell what was lurking under there. By now all hints of a sky above us had vanished, nothing remained but trees and vines. At our hooves was a muddy ground that stuck to us like a parasite, slowed us down, and made it even more exhausting to walk. I saw something bubble in the murky water and frowned, "Well," I said, "Now what?" Spike pocketed the map in his bag and walked to my side, "This swamp goes for miles, we don't have a choice but to cross it." I heard Rarity let out a noise that was something between a groan and a whimper, and I could almost hear Fluttershy quaking behind me. "Alright," I said, turning around to face the other ponies, "Listen up everypony. Fluttershy, Dash, you two can fly. Dash, I want you both to fly above us and keep an eye out for anything weird. Applejack, you're with me. Rarity, I know you hate getting dirty but Unicorns can do magic right? Twilight used it on me when I got here." Rarity nodded meekly, "Good, then you're on point, if something attacks us I want you there to restrain it." Rarity frowned, "Oh, but I..." Applejack nudged her friend and smiled gently, "I know ya ain't good at that kinda magic Sugarcube, but Twi ain't here. You can do it, I know ya can." Rarity smiled sheepishly and waved a hoof, "O... of course I can." I nodded, "That's the spirit. Pinkie Pie..." Pinkie was in front of me and giving me a salute before I could blink, "You're our rear guard, keep an eye on our flanks and make sure nothing sneaks up behind us." Pinkie frowned, "You want me to watch your butts? I dunno if everyone would be okay with that, would you be okay with that Dashie?" Dash looked panicked and blushed a bit, looking from side to side, "Wha... I don't even... why would you ask ME?" Pinkie smiled, "Because silly. I wanted to make sure it was okay!" I rolled my eyes, "Listen, no butts... flank as in direction." Pinkie's eyes widened, "OOOOHHHH, well you should have said that in the first place silly! I was confused for a second cuz I thought you wanted me to watch your keesters, that's a weird thing to ask, even for me!" At least she was aware of how strange she was. "What about me?" asked Spike. "You're our navigator," I said, "So you'll be on my back with a good view and no swamp gunk in your face. Hopefully it doesn't get too deep, if it does we can probably swim, but we'd be at a huge disadvantage if we got attacked by anything while we're swimming." Pinkie grinned, "Okie dokie lokey!" And we were on the move, with Rairty at the front of Apllejack and I, Pinkie taking up the rear, and Dash and Fluttershy floating above us for air support minus bombs. It was the best I could come up with on short notice, but it worked pretty well and we started a good pace. Spike would guide us where we needed to go, and luckily it didn't seem like the swamp was getting any deeper. It must have been about three hours before Spike said something, "Look!" I did look, and I was relieved to see what appeared to be light at the edge of the swamp. I looked up and saw sunlight creeping through the endless green and smiled. Rarity frowned, "Uch it's about time. It will take me a month to get all this gunk out of my poor hooves." We were there... Then I saw the bubbles. They started small a few meters in front of us, then they grew larger and larger. "Rarity!" I shouted. Rarity, on a dime, whipped around as her horn started to glow. The bubbles ceased movement. I looked up, "Dash, can you see anything from up there?" Dash flapped a bit lower to get a closer look and frowned, "I don't know, I see a shadow." "Rarity, can you hold that thing down?" "Not for long!" "Alright everypony! Move! Go around and get to shore!" We were exhausted after traveling the entire day and spending a good chunk of that time in the swamp so we moved slower than we should have. Spike tossed his bag and jumped from my back, scrambling to the shore. We were all around except for Pinkie Pie, who was at about the halfway point, when she let out a shriek and was pulled under the water. Dash panicked, "Pinkie!" I heard something shatter and Rarity screamed. Turning to face her, I saw her get blown back into a tree. That wasn't good. "Applejack!" I shouted, "See if you can rope Pinkie! I'll get Rarity!" There was no hesitation. Applejack had her lasso out and I started moving as fast as I could in the chest murk to reach Rarity, who had fainted against the tree with her head thankfully about the surface. As soon as I reached Rarity an inhuman roar sounded behind me and I turned just in time to see Applejack pull Pinkie up to the surface, gasping and coughing for air. Then it came out of the water. The thing must have been at least fifteen feet tall, and was bulky to boot. Its skin didn't look like skin, it was more like a green armor. Its eyes were red and its maw wide and lined with sharp teeth. Just looking at the damn thing sent shivers down my spine. Then I remembered that feeling... "DOWN DOWN DOWN!" "AMBUUUUUSH!" "GET THE FUCK OUT OF THERE!" "JENKINS MOVE!" It was like I was there again, holding a gun in my hands and fighting for my life. After what seemed like an eternity reality returned to me. I moved like a man possessed. Wrapping my left hoof around Rarity and pulling her away from the tree, I looked up again, "Dash, hold that thing off!" "That's a swamp monster!" she shouted back. "I don't give a shit what it is! Applejack help her!" I started moving, hauling Rarity to shore as fast as I could. Luckily she wasn't that heavy, but it was still dead weight. I turned my head in time to see Dash dive bomb the swamp monster like a complete badass and give it a hoof right in its eye. Applejack followed up with her lasso, which she had somehow widened to accommodate the bulk of the monster. It screeched when Apple jack wrapped its arms and Dash went for its other eye. The swamp monster flailed about like it was having a stroke. I made it to shore with Rarity just in time to hear Dash shout, "Fluttershy, get him!" Fluttershy? What the f.... Then I saw the shy girl, Felicia Shirley... Fluttershy, the girl who loved to take care of and feed animals, get on eye level with a swamp monster and glare at it. It was the strangest thing I had seen, and up to this point I had seen a lot of strange. "Now you listen up!" she shouted, "I don't know what you're thinking you big bully, but you better knock it off. Right. NOW! You almost drowned my friend Pinkie Pie! Didn't your parents teach you better than that?" Then I saw something even stranger. The swamp monster went limp and let out a little whimper, as if it were a child being chastised by a parent. The swamp monster let out a guttural growl of surrender and slowly sunk back into the murk. We were safe. I reminded myself to never fuck with Fluttershy. We broke the forest wall and were greeted with what appeared to be miles of plains covered in green grass, and not but a mile away was what seemed like a strange ruin. "OO OO There's the veil!" shouted Pinkie, bouncing forward without us. I sighed and followed with the rest of the group, hanging back a bit with Fluttershy and Dash, "Alright," I said, "What the heck was that?" Fluttershy blushed and looked away. Dash laughed, "Fluttershy has what we affectionately call 'The Stare'." "The Stare?" Dash nodded, "That's right. Able to subdue targets up to two hundred meters away, and when coupled with vocal scolding reaches a level capable of taking down even the most powerful of dragons. If Fluttershy would get her butt in gear and race a bit more she might even be able to catch up to me one day." I let out a low whistle, "I didn't know you were such a badass Fluttershy." The yellow pony turned even more red. Dash grinned, "What's that mean? I love the sound of that word! 'Badass'. It's almost like it was made for me!" I let out a laugh, "Well it DOES pretty much mean super awesome." "Cool, I've got a new word to describe how awesome I am!" We chatted like this the whole way, and it didn't take us long to reach the veil. It was a stone archway that seemed like a gate with a slight shimmer in the center of it. Apllejack stepped forward with a few small bottles in her mouth and planted them in my pack, "There's the medicine Twi needs, yer gonna save her, right?" I nodded, "Yeah, yeah I'll get it to her right away." Pinkie lurched forward and hugged me, planting a kiss on my cheek, "Thank you SOOOO much Billy! You're super awesome!" I felt my face heat up a bit and laughed. "You guys should all get back to Ponyville. Hopefully I'll see you soon. I don't know how I'm connected here, and I don't know what'll happen when I go through that veil. If I don't see you all again, it's been great." Rarity frowned, "Oh don't think like that darling. Surely there's a place like the veil in your world that you're about to emerge from, otherwise it wouldn't be much of a gate." "Yeah!" shouted Dash, "Worse comes to worse you could just waltz through that and fly over Everfree Forest to get to Ponyville. I mean, you need practice, but you know HOW to do it, you could just practice on your own now." I nodded, "Yeah, I guess that's true." Applejack grinned at me, "Now get goin', and don't be a stranger ya hear?" I smiled... And then I ran through the veil. My eyes opened slowly, and it felt like I was in an awkward position. I managed to untangle myself and found that I was sitting on some sort of concrete floor. It was almost completely dark, but I smiled when I felt around and my hand, with fingers, touched the saddlebag I had been wearing. It worked, I managed to bring the medicine back to my world. There was a moment of joy when I realized Twilight would be okay... And then a moment of dread when the floodlights came on and I saw that I was surrounded by a bunch of street bangers pointing guns at me. I heard slow clapping, and as my vision adjusted I saw HIM make his way through the crowd with a shit eating grin on his face. "Hello William. We've been waiting for you!" I gritted my teeth. The bastard stepped forward, still with that grin, "I don't believe I properly introduced myself last time. My name is Discord, and I am here to have FUN!" A cold sweat built on my forehead as he started to laugh. It was the laugh of a madman. 9: The Way Home (Part 2)Chapter 9: The Way Home (Part 2) I stood slowly, trying not to make any sudden movements as I put the saddle bag onto my shoulder. Discord brought his hands up in gesture to all the people he had apparently gathered there. With a hop and a skip he was standing in front of me, "isn't this interesting? Violence is a very delicious form of chaos, in this form... it is so rare to find it like this in Equestria." "What do you want?" Discord laughed, "I just told you, I want to have fun! I can't exactly have much of that being encased in stone. I woke up here a few days ago, and all these fine gentlemen agreed to be my comrades, isn't it touching?" My life was in the hands of someone who was completely insane. On the battlefield I knew who was trying to kill me and why, but in that place, emerging from Equestria greeted by a warehouse full of gangsters armed to the teeth... I didn't know what I was dealing with, and something told me I never would. "You see William," Discord stepped forward, setting a hand on my shoulder, "I have a teensy tiny little problem. Those ponies that you've gotten so close to are a rather persistent bunch, and lo and behold THIS place isn't free of their presence either. I find this..." he grabbed me by the collar and shoved me away from him, "Extremely annoying." I scoffed, "Maybe you did something to deserve being encased in stone." The back of his hand met my cheek. It didn't feel like a slap; it felt more like a brick hitting me in the face. Surprisingly I didn't lose a tooth. Discord stepped forward and grabbed my left shoulder, digging his thumb into the still healing bullet wound. I screamed. He laughed. "This presents a problem!" he shouted, digging his thumb in deeper and kneeing me in the stomach, "So I had your little friend Twilight get into a small accident." My body moved on its own. My fist connected with something and Discord went stumbling back. The gangsters all moved forward, but Discord held up a hand, halting their movements. "I hired someone to hit her," he said with a grin, wiping blood away from his nose. "You should have been there when the screaming and panicking started." He took a deep breath through his nose, "It was exquisite." I narrowed my eyes, getting to my feet and ignoring the ache in my shoulder, "So what now?" I felt a gun press against the back of my head. I heard Arabic words that I knew weren't coming from the guy pointing the gun at my head. A cold sweat pooled on my forehead, and I felt the heat of the desert and the sand in my boots. Even if I wanted to take the guy out my own mind thwarted any movement I wanted to make. "You take a nap," said Discord. I felt the butt of the gun connect with the back of my head, and my world went black. The tent was quiet that night, and my people and I were set to head out on a convoy within the next hour. No matter where you were, no matter what you were doing, there was always the chance you could die out in a sea of sand. I knew it signing up, and I knew it then. My friend Clark, on the other hand, was scared out of his wits. "You think there's IEDs out there?" I sighed and laid down in my cot, staring at the top of the tent as it flapped in the desert wind. Someone turned the lights out from the entrance and I let out a sigh, "Won't know until we get out there. Let's talk about something else, you got anybody waiting for you back home?" "Yeah," he said, "My fiancee, and my little brother." "Parents?" "We don't talk anymore. My Mom and my Dad kind of ran off in their own directions. How about you? Anyone special?" "Yeah... yeah. My girlfriend Megan." My head felt like it was about to split open, like there was something violent inside trying to break out. "Make sure you hold onto those meds." "Hey yo am I the only one that thinks this Discord nigga outta his mind? We ain't gotta be workin' with these other gangs man." "What's it matter?! He's givin' us the money we fuckin' need, that's all you should care about son!" I looked up and saw two men dragging me along like I was a dead body. I could barely move, and I seriously doubted I could struggle. As my head cleared I started to remember what happened. The saddlebag... I caught a good glimpse of the saddlebag on that guy's shoulder. He readjusted his grip under my armpit and let out a grunt, "This white boy's heavy as fuck." Six feet tall, plain red bandanna covering his mouth like in those old spaghetti westerns, corn rows, caramel colored skin, brown eyes. "Hey yo he's wakin' up!" Another blow to the head. My grip on the phone tightened, "You're joking right?" The grey walls and the queue behind me completely disappeared. My one phone call home and I was greeted with THAT. "I'm not happy." Her voice was like ice. I let out a harsh laugh, "You're not happy? So much for waiting for me, right?" "I can't do this William, there's someone el..." "Shut the fuck up. I don't even... I don't even want to fuckin' hear it. I don't need your excuses." I hung up the phone, and for the first time since I joined the military I started to cry. I felt a couple of hands on my shoulders. They knew what had happened. They understood me. They were in the shit, just like I was. They were the only ones I could trust. "No time. In a hurry... can't be late!" "Oh no! Don't push yourself." "Hey, you're in a safe place. My name is Twilight Sparkle." "You look like you've been through a lot, give those hooves a rest." "I know it's selfish, but it would be really neat if you got to stay here for a few days, and I think you'd like it." My eyes snapped open and I lashed out from my sleep for the first time in months. My right fist hit a brick wall and I heard something crack. I hissed in pain and brought my hand to my chest. After a second the pain subsided a bit and I took a look at the damage. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw it wasn't broken. I decided to look around myself. The building we were in had obviously been abandoned, considering its dilapidated state, and not even mentioning the portal to another world. The state of the room I was locked in showed this as well. A large iron sliding door separated me from freedom... not just iron though. I turned and saw a window boarded up with wood, just wide enough for me to squeeze through. Below the window was a a rusted metal folding chair. I sneered. "Idiots." I walked to the metal door and kicked it, "Let me out!" A long moment passed with no response. I turned and made my way towards the window, picking up the chair and folding it together. It was still pretty sturdy, just enough, and that wood looked like it was about to fall apart. I wedged the chair legs in between two of the boards and started to pry. It took some sweating, but with a resounding crack the boards came loose and fell apart like nothing. The window was still there, but it was just pure glass, which was a relief. I took the chair to that and it shattered. With a little more help from the chair I scrapped the glass off the edges of the window sill. I threw my tool down and hauled myself through the window, letting out a hiss of pain when a stray bit of glass cut into my arm. The night sky and a large fenced in area greeted me. I felt the dirt on my hands as I started to pull myself through the rest of the way. "HEY! WHADOYA THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" I panicked. I could almost feel the adrenaline shoot through my system. All my little aches and pains vanished as he approached, pointing a handgun at me the whole time. I could tell this guy was different than the ones that had carried me to the room. A different gang, and a different accent that my brain wouldn't let me place tripped out on adrenaline. He pushed the barrel of the gun against my head. That was his first and last mistake. "Get back in there!" My hands reached out and pushed his arm away. The gun went off. That would attract attention. I rolled onto my back and planted my hands on the ground behind me, pulling the rest of my body from the window and standing just as he managed to get the gun leveled on me again. I tackled him to the ground and the gun went off again, this time into the sky. He rolled us and tried to pin me. I responded with a kick to the groin. He choked and dropped the gun. I grabbed his collar and threw him off me, grabbing the gun as I managed to stand up again. He pulled a knife from his belt and charged me. I pulled the trigger twice, sending two cop killers into his chest. The dirt beneath my feet became sand, and I stalled for a second, breathing heavily. I fell to my knees, my head pounding from the sound of gunfire and the memories it brought to the forefront of my mind. "There he is!" 'Not now, not now, I have to get moving.' I managed to stand again, staggering from the courtyard and away from the panicked voices of the gangsters that were coming to get me. Would the police be there the next day? Would they find my prints on the chair and my DNA on the man that I killed? I kept the gun, not only for self defense, but also because if I left it there it would only make things more difficult. I heard the gangsters behind me grow louder and start to move faster. Then I heard the infighting and gunfire start. I had to get home, I had to... Applejack stepped forward with a few small bottles in her mouth and planted them in my pack, "There's the medicine Twi needs, yer gonna save her, right?" "God dammit." I turned back around and made my way towards the warehouse. I could see the gangs killing each other. Both of them seemed to be on the retreat. I made my way along to fence line of the area they were fighting in, trying to avoid the crossfire and stay behind stray concrete barriers and construction supplies. I made it back to the warehouse no worse for the wear, to what seemed to be the rear door. The gunfire started to die down, but was still going pretty strong. I flung the metal door open to the sight of the wide open warehouse area where I had been captured. I leveled the gun. One on my right drawing a weapon. Trigger twice, two bullets in the chest. Six rounds left. Left side, no weapon, running away. Center, two thugs charging me with butterfly knives, one leveling a gun. Two rounds in the guy with the gun. I turned my aim towards the thugs with the knives, one of which was holding my saddlebag and wore a bandanna around his mouth. They dropped the weapons and backed off. I could feel my heart about to explode through my chest. "Drop the saddlebag!" "Al... alright man, j... just cool it." "FUCKIN' DROP IT NOW!" The bag hit the floor. "Get the fuck out of here!" They ran the opposite direction, and I shouldered the saddlebag and made my way out of the warehouse. I walked all the way to the hospital once I found my way back to the main roads in the city. Didn't even bother to hail a cab. By the time I got there it must have been around midnight. I saw Nurse Hart walking to her car in the parking lot as I made my way towards the rear of the hospital. "Nurse!" I shouted. She turned towards me and gasped, dropping her keys. She was on me in an instant, putting her hands on my shoulders and frowning, "What happened to you? Ms. Shirley and Ms. Daniels were so worried about you? You look like you've been through hell. Is that a gun in your belt?!" I felt like I was about to collapse. "I need to... I n... I need to get into the hospital." "But it's midnight, you can't..." "Please." I could feel my consciousness slipping away, "I got something that can help Tammy, you just gotta trust me." "Mr. Jenkins, you're asking me to risk my career." I opened up the saddlebag and retrieved the three bottles of medicine that Applejack had given me. "I'll be out as soon as she takes these, just..." "Alright, alright." "Thank you Nurse Hart." She blushed and wrapped her arm around my shoulders. After retrieving her keys we made our way to the second floor of the hospital, Tammy's room. The medicine the girls had given me was all liquid, and taken orally according to them, so it was easy enough to get Tammy to take it. I waited a few moments, trying to keep my eyes open. "Mr. Jenkins, what is going on? I want to help you I really do. I know you wouldn't hurt Tammy, but what did you just..." The nurse let out an audible gasp. Tammy's eyes slowly opened. She didn't say a word. She looked toward me, and then she closed her eyes again. It looked like the medicine worked. I collapsed on the floor of the hospital room. 10: MageA/N:This chapter is a bit short, but the next one will be another two-shot. Coming soon, Shit Gets Real: Reloaded Chapter 10: Mage The chair in the office was uncomfortable. I didn't want to be there, confronting a man who knew nothing about me and answering his questions so he could attempt to make me better. I was tired of thrashing out in my sleep, tired of drinking myself to death every night, but most of all I was tired of the memories. The memories wouldn't stop, no matter how hard I tried to get rid of them, no matter how much I ran away from them. The memories were always there in the back of my mind, legs hunched like predators waiting to strike at any moment. My shrink sat across from me, his glasses barely staying on the bridge of his nose, "Hello Jenkins. I believe this is your first session right?" I nodded and he continued, "Good, good. My name is Doctor Henry Mitchell, and I'll be helping you recover." I bit back an ill conceived comment, after some thought I finally said, "How?" "One conversation at a time." My eyes snapped open and I drew in a deep breath. After a moment my mind caught up with my actions, and I realized I was laying in a soft bed, and the ceiling above me was white. I sat up with a groan and looked around. It seemed like a regular hospital room, and I wasn't hooked up to an EKG or any weird machines. 'Nurse Hart must have put me here after I passed out.' I sighed and got out of bed just as the door opened. Felicia stood in the doorway, a tray in her hands with a plate of food on it and a smile on her face, "Oh, good morning William." The smell of coffee, eggs, and bacon was enough to clear the remaining grogginess in my head, and then I remembered what happened the night before. "Is Tammy okay?" Felicia's smile widened, "Nurse Hart told me what happened. I don't know what you gave her, but she's awake, and she'll be out of the hospital in a few days." I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, and sat back down on the bed as Felicia approached. She handed me the tray and leaned down to hug me, "Thank you William, you've been a Godsend." My heart quickened and I felt blood rush to my face, "Uh..." Felicia pulled away, her own blush being pretty obvious, "Um... I'm sorry. I just..." "No, no it's okay, thanks for the breakfast." There was a moment of silence as I started to eat the bacon. Felicia sat next to me and started to fiddle with her thumbs. "So," I finally said, "Feel like a celebration?" "A celebration?" "Yeah, my coworker invited me to a party tomorrow, and I was thinking we could celebrate Tammy's recovery." "I'd be happy to." I smiled, "How about Rachel?" "What about me?" I looked up and Rachel was standing in the doorway, her arms crossed with a big grin on her face, "I LOVE to party!" "Oh please..." Rachel stepped aside to make way for Tammy's wheelchair. Tammy made her way to the edge of my bed and gave me a smile, "If I pester the doctors enough they'll let me go too. They're all curious how I recovered so quickly considering the condition I was in, but Hart isn't letting them anywhere near me. How are you doing?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at me. "I'm doing okay I guess," I said with a shrug. "My name is..." "William Jenkins, I know. You saved my life. I'm... really grateful for that." She laughed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "When that car was coming for me I didn't have much time to think about it, but I was pretty sure I was gonna die." Tammy turned her gaze towards Felicia, "Could you girls give us a minute?" Felicia and Rachel looked confused, but heeded their friend and exited the room together, closing the door behind them. Tammy turned back to me, "Do you think it's possible to dream in a coma?" For some reason her question made me nervous. "I... wouldn't know." "I don't remember much, but I heard your voice, and there were others. A few of them I recognized and a few of them I didn't. What little I can remember is blurry and I can't really tell if it was all fake or not." "Why are you telling me this?" "You did something, didn't you?" I set the half finished plate and untouched orange juice to the side. My pulse quickened and the room started to get colder, "Wha..." "I'm not stupid William. I was in CRITICAL CONDITION. It's a miracle I'm the way I am now, and I have you to thank for it, don't I?" "I don't..." She held up a hand, "I'll tell you right now. Please don't lie to me to cover up something I won't believe, because I can assure you that I've seen much stranger things than what you're about to tell me." "How can you be sure about that?" She laughed and bit her bottom lip, "Ms. Celestine would have a field day with you. You're just a bag of mysteries." Tammy eyed the small table next to my bed, and the lamp on top of it. She calmly placed her hands in her lap, then something I didn't expect happened. The lamp unplugged itself and levitated from the table, and in a short moment was in Tammy's grasp. She grinned, "Betcha won't catch a trick like that at a Chris Angel show." "I... wha... how did..." Tammy blushed and set the lamp on the floor, "You don't have to sound so shocked." "Are you kidding?! That was... holy crap that's awesome!" Her blush deepened, "Well I wouldn't say awesome. Anyways, it's your turn! Stop trying to sidetrack me with flattery!" I thought on what I was about to say. Could I really tell her about all the dreams I was having, that I saved her by going through some weird veil that brought me to an abandoned warehouse on the edge of the city? Could I really tell her about the ponies, about the 'dreams' I'd been having? "I... I met you in another world." Tammy looked surprised for a moment, but that surprise was quickly replaced with excitement, "You what?" "When I go to sleep I wake up in another world. I met you and a few other people I know there, Rachel and Felicia too." Tammy leaned forward, grinning and grabbing the edge of her seat, "Tell me, tell me! What was it like?!" I gritted my teeth. For some reason it was embarrassing to admit, talking about something like that would only end up humiliating me, "... I can't." Tammy pouted, and that's all it took. The puppy dog eyes were strong with this one. "Alright, everyone was a pastel colored pony." There was a moment of awkward silence that seemed to drag on for an eternity. Then Tammy burst out laughing. I sighed and hung my head. She grabbed my shoulder, "Hahahaha! I'll see you... heh... at the party tomorrow... HAHAHAHAHA!" God dammit. The Doc's office was eerily quiet that day. The first thing I noticed was that the fan above my seat was off. Doc smiled when I sat across from him, "It stopped working in the middle of the night. The repair man is coming in later this afternoon. I hear you've been missing work lately." "Just a couple of days, it'll be back to normal next week." "Tom figured as much," he said with a smile, "Has everything else been going okay?" "Yeah... yeah. I've been making some friends, I invited them to Phoebe's party tomorrow." "Good. Any primal interests?" I raised an eyebrow at the weird question, then noticed his sly smirk, "Oh, you mean girls? Well, there are a couple." "A couple huh? Your neighbor Felicia?" "You know me too well Doc." "Who else." I laughed, "Her friend." The Doc let out a hiss through his teeth, "That's a tough situation William, you haven't been sleeping with them have you?" "Ha, no, you know I'm not that stupid." "What's her friend like?" "Really smart, good looking, just got in a car accident." Doc laughed, "She sounds perfect for you." "Hardy har har." I made my way home slowly that afternoon, taking in the sights and sounds of the city for the first time in months. The city was peaceful in its own chaotic way. Every night I fell asleep to the sound of my TV and the cars driving by outside, if one of those sounds were to vanish I wouldn't be able to get any sleep at all. The order of the lights and signs that guided the psychotic drivers through thier daily routines... that was a personal favorite of mine. It's hard to beat morning road rage for sheer entertainment value, but it's easy to lose your job getting caught in traffic. My apartment complex loomed over me after a long and slow walk, and I took in every minute detail. Every brick, every window, every movement inside. I took a deep breath of the contaminated city air, and I felt at peace. "You look happy." There she was, leaning against the rail leading up to the apartment complex's door. Camille. "Now you look nervous," she said with a frown. I sighed, "What do you want?" "Oh come now, can't we just have a little chat. I did save your ass at the bar you know." "You probably planted those guards there." She rolled her eyes, "Please, I don't waste time on such petty things. You and I have bigger fish to fry." "What kind of fish?" She grinned, "Chaotic fish. The fish that struggles until its last pathetic little breath. The kind of fish that you, me, and a lot of other people would love to get their hook into. He's mean, nasty, and an all around asshole." "Discord." Camille clapped and walked down the stairs, making sure her hips had extra bounce to them as she moved, "There we have it Johnny, what has our contestant for the evening won?" "Answers. What are you?" Camille frowned, "Well you're just no fun. I'm a changeling dear. Of course I'd rather stay out of trouble and live like everyone else, but Discord is fucking everything up, and I want him gone." "Why ask me for help?" She smiled, "A few reasons, you're a crack shot with a gun, and you know four little girls that have a few tricks up their sleeves. Five if you count me, but I'm not exactly what one would call little." "Tricks?" "Oh don't give me that. I know Tammy showed you what she could do. She's a mage you ditz. You two should just get it over with and make out already." I rolled my eyes, "Right. Why do they need to get involved?" She stepped forward and poked my nose with a grin, "I'm not telling... at least not yet." She walked around me and made her way down the street, waving as she went. I made my way back to my apartment, fed Mishmash, and crashed. The grass tickling my face was what woke me up that time. 11: Threads That Bind (Part 1)A/N: I WAS going to post this as a double chapter, I promise. I've just been so caught up in work that I haven't made much time for writing, and my weekend was almost entirely consumed by the excellent Spec Ops: The Line. Anyways, I figure I might as well just split it into two parts so I can get something out to you guys quicker. Without further adieu, I give you: Chapter 11: Threads That Bind (Part 1) I took a moment to appreciate the warmth from the sun, not opening my eyes for fear that I was simply hallucinating or having one of my flashbacks. It was better to just lay there in my own little world. Then again, my flashbacks never had grass. When my brain was finally able to process this I yawned and opened my eyes. I was in the same field of grass as when I had first arrived in Equestria, and as I stood on my... four legs I took a deep breath of fresh air. I saw the village in the distance, about two miles away, and smiled. 'I'll be damned, I guess I'll be here a bit longer.' In an attempt to fully take in my surroundings I turned to get a better view, and just as the edge of Ponyville went out of view I was meant with a pair of violet eyes. "Good morning!" "AUGH!" I stumbled back and fell on my rear, making a choking sound as I regained myself and realized it was Twilight standing in front of me. "You know," she said cheerfully, "I think SOMEpony here deserves a reward." Twilight let her gaze fall to her front right hoof, and the thing in front of it, a small gift basket with a purple bow tied onto the handle. Inside the basket itself were what appeared to be various sweets on top of something wrapped in a black bag. She nudged it forward and grinned. As I gathered what remained of my dignity I frowned at her, "Do you always sneak up on people like that?" She looked slightly shameful at least, "No. I kinda wanted to surprise you." I laughed, "There are better ways to go about doing so. How'd you know I'd be here anyways?" "About that." For some reason there was excitement in her eyes, "You weren't here yesterday, so I figured something happened." "Wait, hold on... are the others back yet?" Twilight waved a hoof, "Oh don't worry about them, they left a note for me in the hospital, and when I woke up I teleported them back." "You what?" "I teleported them." I let out a sigh, "You had to be the one who got hit by a car didn't you? That would have been useful a few days ago you know." "ANYWAYS," Twilight stepped forward and jabbed me in the chest with her hoof, "I spent most of yesterday trying to figure out why you're coming here. The furthest I got is figuring out you're connected to the veil somehow. You're giving off the same type of magic that it does. As for me knowing you're in the field it was just an educated guess. Every other time you woke up where you fell asleep in Ponyville... except for the first time you came here, when you woke up in this field. When you went through the veil your body was no longer in this world, just like before you arrived in Equestria. Looking at the initial result of things it was pretty simple to see where you'd end up." "What if you were wrong?" She smiled, "Then I would have made another hypothesis." "So you're the scientist pony then?" "Well, I wouldn't go that far. Not to mention I still don't know anything at all about your connection to the veil, or why you get dropped in this field specifically... or why you don't have a cutie mark." "That's the second time you've brought that up, what is a cutie mark anyways?" "Oh I'm sorry, you told me a lot about the human world, and here I am forgetting one of the most important things about MY world." Twilight smiled, then turned so she was facing to the left. She then pointed to the side of her butt. The mark she spoke of was a large star, encircled by several smaller ones. The blood rushing to my face was probably enough to save someone who was in the middle of hemorrhaging. I looked away and gritted my teeth, "Wh... what does that have to do with anything?" "It's my cutie mark, my specialty is magic, but you... you don't really have a specialty do you?" I looked at the ground, trying to avoid locking my gaze where it wasn't meant to lock. Then she started to walk towards me. "What are you..." She stopped at my side and planted a hoof right where my cutie mark would have been, and then smiled at me, "See? You're very fascinating William." I cleared my throat and pulled away, "Yeah, anyways, we should be getting back to Ponyville. Let's go to the library, I can help you while you try to figure things out." I rushed to the basket that she brought, bending down and scooping it up in my teeth as I started my walk back to Ponyville. Twilight followed me, grumbling under her breath about me not indulging her curiosity. After a while Twilight offered to carry the basket with her magic, and I figured it would be easier than screwing up my teeth. The walk back to Ponyville was long, and as soon as we hit the dirt road leading to it Twilight had already struck up another conversation with me, asking me about all the things they had yet to learn about humans. Politics, food, races, literature, art, music, entertainment. Walking side by side, we discussed everything from the beat of a police officer to Beethoven's 6th, and I found I was enjoying myself. In fact, I was enjoying myself a bit TOO much. "So you're omnivores?" "Yeah. It'd be kind of wrong to eat something that can talk though." Twilight smiled, "Oh? Is horse a delicacy where you're from?" I laughed, "God no. People tend to take care of and ride horses, they're useful on farms and stuff." "What do you eat then?" "Cow, pig, chicken, turkey, quail, duck, deer, all sorts of stuff." "Well it's not exactly part of the diet here," she said, still smiling, "And our cows can talk too." "Your goal is to ruin meat for me forever, isn't it?" She giggled, "I'm not judging, besides, you're a pony right now too, if you tried to eat meat you would only make yourself sick." "I guess that's true. Still, I could kill for some bacon right now." Twilight shoved me to the side with a grin, "Well you'll just have to settle for it. What's she like? The me... in your world, that is." "Pretty much the same person. It's the same with everypony else too. I work with Pinkie at the computer place." "Hahaha, that must be fun." "I'm going to one of her infamous parties tomorrow. God knows I'll probably need pain killers and a lot of water in the morning. That woman loves kegs." "Kegs?" "A big barrel full of alcohol." "Heh, yeah that sounds like Pinkie, except ours likes sweets." "Oh she loves those too." "Well, here we are!" shouted Twilight, stopping to sit on her haunches and setting the basket down. I didn't notice it before but she looked kind of tired, probably because she had been using her magic the entire time we were walking. We had made it to Ponyville. The main dirt road going through the town was more crowded than what I had seen of it before. Especially the market by the town square. Twilight started floating the basket again, and as we made our way towards the center of town I started to see why it was so crowded. "Come one, come all! See Miss Rarity's fabulous new line of dresses!" Spike stood on top of a small box, with what appeared to be a microphone in his hands. Behind him, and in front of the rather large crowd, was what appeared to be a makeshift stage with several mannequins displayed. On each of these mannequins was a unique dress. One dress was a white ensemble that strongly resembled a heavily modified wedding dress made to fit a ponies body; another was a darker, more sleek look, with small embedded gemstones causing it to shine under the sun. Several more adorned the stage, each as stunning as the last. I saw Rarity at the side, swarmed with other ponies clamoring to get a look at her and her dresses. As we approached our friend the crowd seemed to part around us, finally giving us ample space when we reached her. Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Rarity, what's going on?" "Oh William darling it's so good to see you again." After she addressed me she turned to answer Twilight's question, "Well, each season brings new fashion. I usually sell my goods to clients in Canterlot, but it was Spike's idea to display my work in Ponyville, perhaps I could garner a few loyal customers at home aside from my friends. I enjoy delivering my dresses personally, and I just can't do that with how far away some of my clients are." "It's a good idea," I said, "Anything that brings in more customers is usually a good thing." "Oh, I could actually use your help William." "Me?" "Yes yes yes." She stepped forward and smiled wide at me, "I don't know many colts in Ponyville that well, and I figure with the favor you did us I could reward you somehow, perhaps with a free suit?" "Oh... I couldn't..." "But you must darling. Dresses are one thing but I have male clients as well you know." "Um... Twilight?" Twilight laughed, "I don't see why not. You saved my life, remember?" "Yeah, but I'm not really..." "I'll be at the library with your basket when you're done, have fun." "I don't..." "Oh this will be simply fantastic, come quickly." "But I..." Rarity's boutique was a sight to behold, that was for sure. I had never set foot inside a boutique in my life, and I had no intention to, that day proved just how much my intentions mattered in the face of a world full of magical ponies. To her credit, it wasn't so girly that I wanted to go outside and wretch the acid from my stomach. The female influence was definately there, but it wasn't overbearing, something told me she did this on purpose, so as not to scare away male customers. "Wait here, I'll go get the measuring tape." I was forced to stay in the main area. There were a few tables that she obviously used for work, one with a sewing machine on it. Mirrors lined the wall behind the sewing machine table. Considering she had ran off this obviously wasn't her only work space. It wasn't long before she returned with the measuring tape floating next to her head, "This won't take too long, and then perhaps we could go get brunch." It must have been around ten o' clock in the morning. I hated not having a watch. The measuring tape extended, wrapping itself around my waist and hooves. When I looked back to Rarity there was a small note pad and a quill floating in front of her face. "You know, I normally don't give people my measurements on the first date," I said with a smirk. The note pad fell to the floor and Rarity stomped a hoof, "Well I never!" I laughed, "It was a joke Rarity." "A very uncouth one!" "It wasn't even that dirty." "Dirty?" "Ugh, never mind, just finish the measurements and then we'll grab a bite to eat." The rest of the measurements didn't take long, just like Rarity said. I was surprised when she took me to the Ponyville cafe. She seemed like she was doing rather well for herself, and when I first met her she seemed like a stuck up rich girl to me, but there was a lot more to her than that. Yeah she had that air about her, but I noticed she wasn't too against getting dirty in the swamp when the situation called for it. I also noticed she had a habit of giving her friends free stuff. "Hi, can I take your order?" The waitress seemed abnormally happy to be doing her job. "I'll take a salad please, no dressing," said Rarity. "Petunia sandwich." "Comin' right up." And with that the waitress was gone. "So," said Rarity with a smile, "What do you think of Equestria?" "It's... nice." Rarity cleared her throat and leaned forward a bit, "Well, I heard all about your world from Twilight yesterday." "She told you?" "Oh yes, but there was more about you in there than there was your world. You did, after all, save her life." "That I did." Rarity, seeming satisfied for some reason, leaned back to a normal position, "I see," she said softly. "I am also curious if you've met me in your world." "Nope. I haven't met you, or Applejack for that matter. Applejack probably lives on a farm somewhere, and as for you, you're probably too rich for my blood." "Rich for your blood?" "It's a saying. I wouldn't be able to hang around you because you're probably too high on the social ladder." "Such a shame, we get along rather swimmingly too." Our food arrived, and the rest of our time was spent in idle conversation. By the time I got back to the library it was already noon, and Twilight was buried in her books. As the door shut behind me she damn near snapped to attention on the spot. "William! I've been waiting for you to get back. I made you a study area next to mine, and there's a few books you can get started on. You'll be able to make corrections or spot things that ponies can't. Just let me put some tea on for you." The two study areas were in the center of the library, surrounded by a couple of lanterns and a lot of books. We both had small desks to set our books on as well. "I've never seen someone so excited to have a reading buddy before," I said with a laugh. I wasn't sure, but I thought I heard her let out a little squeak in excitement. We set to work when she came back with the tea. After a bit of practice I managed to get turning a page with my hoof down, not to mention drinking from a cup with no hands. Twilight had actually managed to gather quite a few books about humanity together, theories that were actually pretty spot on, like how our biology is similar to theirs because we're mammals, though more akin to monkeys. Science and technology existed in this world it seemed, but magic trumped it so hard that there wasn't any need for half of that stuff. It was easy to get swept up in a reading session with this girl. I found myself correcting small mistakes and adding onto theories that other ponies had made about my species. Every time I said something it was like Twilight was hanging on every word. It was kind of cute to be honest. We ate a small dinner and continued until the sun went down. As soon as I heard Twilight yawn I knew it was about time for bed. I looked over to her and saw her eyes drooping as she nodded off a bit. "Wanna wrap it up?" I asked. "Justa... bit more." I laughed, "Yep, time for bed, the books'll be there in the morning Twilight." "Okay. Tomorrow we'll... we'll... study the veil." She trotted sleepily up the stairs as I readied my own bed on the ground floor. I was out seconds after hitting the sack. 12: Threads That Bind (Part 2)A/N: Alert: An update is available. Would you like to upgrade to "Shit Just Got Real" version 2.0? y/n "Welcome to the edge of death." That's what our squad leader said the first time we went out on a convoy. I knew what he was saying, but I didn't really get it. It wasn't like the movies, there were no epic speeches before some grand final battle, we weren't heroes. I know that sounds bad, but we were just soldiers doing our job, and our job was to get things from point A to point B without getting shot to hell. Easier said than done. My first few convoys couldn't have gone better... Then the ambush happened. The convoy was passing through a local village when one of our drivers spotted what looked like an IED. A couple of guys got out and did the whole procedure, reported it, see if we could go around it. "What happened then?" Boom, the guy that was with the radio just drops dead. The rest of us that are out of our vehicles, we take cover, and everything just goes to shit. There's an explosion and I lose my gun somewhere. Next thing you know I'm getting hauled to my feet and someone hands me a radio. I call for an air strike. "And you can't remember what happened after that?" No, not until I'm walking through the desert with Clark. "Clark was your friend?" Yeah, my best friend... And I got him killed. Chapter 12: Threads That Bind (Part 2) Yet another morning, just like any other. I fed Mishmash, got a bowl of cereal, and... 'Well I'll be damned, it's Saturday.' Remembering that I had to go to Pin... Phoebe's party, I made my way into the hallway and to my neighbor Felicia's door. I knocked as gently as humanly possible, at least for me. It only took her a few seconds to open the door and peek her head out. "Oh, William, good morning." "You ready for Phoebe's party?" "Oh, that was today? I uh..." I grinned, "Come on, it'll be fun. I haven't been to one of her parties yet but I heard they're great." "O...okay, Rachel and Tammy said they would go so... what time is it again?" I got ready to answer, then realized something, "You know what? I don't know, let me get back to you on that. I'll give you the time, and then you can call Tammy and Rachel." She smiled, "I'll see you then." I made my way downstairs to the apartment lobby, dialing a number I barely managed to remember. She picked up after the first ring. "HI BILLY!" I pulled the phone away from my ear, grimacing a bit and getting some weird looks from the landlady as I made my way towards the mail boxes. "Hi Phoebe, how's your day going?" "It's going super! Thanks for asking. Did you call about the super awesome party I'm throwing tonight?" I tried not to let her voice distract me as I turned to knob on my mail box to the right numbers, but it was extremely difficult. "Yeah, looking forward to it. I'm gonna be bringing some friends, and one of them is in a wheelchair." "Oh don't you worry about that Billy, I've got all that stuff covered!" "Wait... what?" "My parties accommodate EVERYONE, just like I never leave home without my party cannon." "Your what?" "Silly Billy. Bring Doritos please, if you don't that's okay, but Doritos would be super duper awesome, especially Cooler Ranch." "I don't... you know what? Okay, I'll see you tonight." "Okie Dokie Lokey! Eight PM sharp, my apartment at the corner of Kings and Gradey, you'll know it when you see it!" And with that she hung up. I let out a sigh and rubbed the bridge of my nose, pocketing my cell phone and finally managing to open my tiny mail box. I laughed when I saw a small picture of Deborah on top, lazy eye and all, sticking her tongue out at me. I flipped it over and on the back was a small message. "Seeya at the party. Phoebe said it's gonna be great. -Deb" I took the picture, along with the small bundle of envelopes, and headed back upstairs to let Felicia know. The fan was spinning again, which was more comforting than it should have been. The office smelled like cinnamon that day. "My wife baked some cinnamon rolls, would you like one?" Doc gave a smile and leaned back in his chair, setting the closed notepad on the arm of his chair. I dug my head a bit more into the couch, trying to get comfortable, "No notes today?" "No notes," he said, still smiling, "I don't think I'll be needing them anymore. You've been coming to see me quite a bit lately. I don't mind the surprise appointments though." "That optimistic huh?" Doc laughed, "Now Mr. Jenkins, you of all people know that I'm a realist." "Realist is a helluva position to take treating the traumatized." Doc leaned forward, pushing his glasses up to the bridge of his nose, "William, when you came to me for treatment, the last thing you wanted to hear about was the sunshine, rainbows, and unicorns here in America." I tried not to laugh at the mention of Unicorns. He continued, "You needed help, and I gave it to you. You had just been through hell, and I can honestly say that I couldn't relate to that very well. I can, however, empathize and help you recover." "So what now?" "Well, you have a party to go to tonight. Maybe tomorrow you should call your parents, get back in contact with your family." "So that's the final step, huh?" "There is no final step William. You're going to live with this for the rest of your life in some form or another. The dreams may fade, but you still have the memories." "Yeah... hey Doc?" "Hmm?" "Thanks." Phoebe's place was easy enough to find. The apartment complex itself was right where she said it would be, and as for spotting her room, it was on the third floor, and seemed to be the source of almost all the noise on the street. Her room seemed to be rather far up for only being on the third floor. As I approached the building I noticed that the window leading to Phoebe's room was not a window, but a balcony with sliding doors. It was the same setup for all the rooms, going up... rather far in fact. I was pulled from my thoughts when the sliding door opened and Phoebe bounded from the room, leaning over the railing and giving me a huge grin, "Billy I'm SO glad you could make it! I'll buzz you up, did you bring the chips?" I held up the two bags of Doritos in my right hand and smiled, "Good enough?" "Awesoooome! Come on up Billy!" The double glass door had already been buzzed open by the time I made it there, and when I stepped into the lobby I started to get a strange feeling. This place wasn't at all like my own apartment building, it seemed a lot... larger, and more luxurious. I suppose I should have noticed it outside, considering. I saw a man dressed rather sharply behind a large wood oak desk, and the luggage carts to my left were... golden. I would have questioned whether or not I was in the right place had I not already seen Phoebe screaming down at me from the balcony. The lobby lead into a hallway with elevators on either side, with stair cases in the back. 'Now that I think about it, this building looked kinda tall outside.' "Good evening sir, do you want me to take your coat?" I didn't even notice the second guy, who seemed to appear out of nowhere, until he had asked me that. I drew my arms in a bit, suddenly feeling uncomfortable in my simple wind jacket and cheap polo shirt. "Um, that's okay, thanks though." The man opened his mouth to speak, but the loud clicking of high heels on the linoleum floor distracted both of us. I looked up towards the elevators and could feel the blood drain from my face when I saw her. Pale and extremely shapely legs, black dress, jewel necklace, long black hair curled perfectly, and a beaming smile. "No, that's not..." My denial was half-hearted. It went from half-hearted to completely annihilated when she opened her mouth, "So you're the one Phoebe keeps going on and on about. She wasn't too keen on the details of where this party was going to be, was she? It's actually for the better, if anyone knew they were coming here it would be much too stuffy of an affair." "Rarity?" She laughed and waved a hand, "Well you're just the flatterer aren't you? I'm hardly rare. My name is Robin." It was at that moment that I figured out why Rarity had been so familiar to me. I had been seeing her billboards all over the city ever since I got back from the war, not only that, but her picture was in almost every jewelery or formal wear store on the main strip. "You're Robin Raines," I said softly. She smiled, "Well, I see my reputation precedes me." I laughed, what else could I do? The situation was so damn... impossible. "How do YOU know Phoebe?" Robin smiled and gestured at me to come closer, "Do follow me to the elevators Darling, I'll tell you all about it on the way to the host's room." I did as she said. The bellboy vacated as we walked away, and Robin snaked her arm through mine; it was a formal gesture, but it didn't feel stiff at all, like she was used to such a thing, and why wouldn't she be? I felt heat rising to my face. "As for why I know Phoebe," said Robin, "She doesn't only work at the computer place you know. Phoebe is a very popular party planner in some circles. I met her a year ago when she set up a birthday for my little sister Sarah. She can plan the best formal parties, but you haven't been to one of her REAL parties until she's throwing it for her friends." "So I should consider myself lucky then?" I only noticed we reached the elevator because Robin pushed the button and I heard it ring. "Well, a little bit, yes." The elevator arrived and we were on our way up. "Anybody else new I should be expecting at this party?" "Well, there's a few faces, but if you're worried about Phoebe's close friends there's really only one other. She came all the way to the city just to visit us." "Wait, all the way?" Robin smiled, "Well, she owns a farm." "I wonder who that is." I muttered. "What?" "Nothing, just thinking out loud." The party was in full swing, and Phoebe's place was definitely big enough to accommodate it. A living space that trounced mine greeted my eyes, along with a kitchen that had all the bells and whistles, along with a large dining table parallel to it, and there were AT LEAST three bedrooms and a couple of bathrooms. It seemed to be a small party, but there were a lot of people there, of all creeds and colors. The first thing I noticed were the two kegs by the dining table, and on the dining table itself was even more alcohol, vodka and wine outnumbering almost everything else. Going even further along the table I began to see the assorted snacks and the even more amazing arrangement of sweets, culminating in a large cake fit for a wedding right in the center of the table. Then the blaring rock music. "Okay, that's awesome," I said with a laugh. Robin smiled, "Isn't it though?" "I'm not going home sober tonight." "Hahaha." Robin smacked me on the shoulder, "I figured you wouldn't, oh there's Alice, I better go talk to her." "Alice?" Before I could question her further Robin had already pulled away from me, but I saw the small group of people she was heading towards, which included Phoebe. It wasn't Phoebe that caught my eye though, it was the girl that stuck out like a sore thumb amongst everyone else. She wore a denim jacket and a button up shirt that allowed for free movement, along with some jeans and boots. To top it all off was her blond hair pulled into a wide tail, and the ten gallon hat on top of her head. "Yep, definitely Applejack," I muttered with a laugh. I looked around some more and noticed Deb in the back, by the sliding door to the balcony with a few other girls, she grinned and gave me a wave. I returned the favor. "There you are, I'm glad you could make it!" I heard the wheelchair before I saw her. "Hey Tammy." I was happy to see her, that was for sure, especially among so many strangers, "Where are Rachel and Felicia?" Tammy laughed and held a beer out to me, "Rachel is trying to get Felicia to mingle." "Ha, easier said than done." "No kidding." "You mind hanging out? I don't know anybody here except you guys, and everybody but you seems... otherwise occupied." Tammy smiled, "No problem, I was actually looking forward to talking with you. I wanna hear more about this pony world of yours." "Last time you laughed at me, besides, there are people around." "Oh please." She wheeled towards the table and I followed her, opening my beer and grabbing a couple of cookies, "Everyone is way too into the party to care, either that or too drunk." "And you're just drunk enough to care right?" "Hahaha, well, something like that." I took a swig from the beer, "Well. Everybody I know from over there is at this party, that's a start?" "Oh?" She gave me a sly smile, "Wow me Mr. Slider." I pointed right at Tammy, "Twilight Sparkle." Then I started to go down the list, pointing to each person respectively as I named them, "Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, and last but not least... Pinkie Pie." A giggle escaped her mouth, "Okay now I KNOW you're not joking, no one would be weird enough to just come up with that." I rolled my eyes, "Anyways, I wasn't expecting you to be able to do magic, but you can in that world too. Does that mean Rachel has wings or something?" I asked with a laugh, taking another drink of beer. When I looked back to Tammy she was looking away from me, biting her bottom lip, "What?" "Well... about that wing thing," she said with a nervous laugh. "You're fuckin' shitting me." "... uh." "No seriously, you're pulling my leg, right? This can't be a coincidence. There's SOMETHING that's pulling us together, I mean, what with all the special powers and..." "Let's talk about something else, we'll go down the whole list of weird crap later, alright?" I agreed with her with what could have been a little too much enthusiasm. Our conversation shifted to more normal topics, like work and friends, and trying to stay afloat in a city with the country in recession. I tried to ignore the implications that came from what Tammy had just said, but it was constantly pulling at the back of my mind. I didn't even get a chance to talk with the other guests before the doorbell rang and Phoebe pulled it open. That feeling I got in the pit of my stomach when something was about to go wrong... I had that same feeling in the desert, just before the ambush that changed my life completely. I felt it at that moment. "Hello everypony, how could you not invite little ol' me to this bash?" The guests seemed to freeze. Discord brought an unnatural fear with him when he shoved Phoebe out of the way and walked through that door. "Who is that?" whispered Tammy. "Trouble," I said, "Lots of trouble." 13: Party FoulChapter 13: Party Foul "Have you ever felt like you've done something that wasn't right?" Doc's pen stopped moving, "That depends on what we're talking about William." "I try not to... not to think about it too much, but when I close my eyes... it's always there." "What is?" "One of the hardest choices I've ever made. Live... or die." Discord stopped as soon as he crossed the door and frowned at everyone in the room. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting something? I thought this party was open house." "I reckon ya'll got the wrong place." Applejack... Alice stepped forward through the small gathering she had going in the corner. There was dead silence for what seemed like an eternity, "The Element of Honesty, I would expect you to be blunt. Tell me, were you invited here by your friends? We can't have that. This place is too... orderly." He held up his hand and snapped his fingers. Then the panic set in, all but a scant few started screaming and vacated the room as fast as possible. Discord didn't even flinch as those attending the party shoved past him like he wasn't even there anymore. I didn't know whether or not what I was seeing was real. Spiders covered the ceiling, snakes adorned the snack table, and I thought I heard a roar come from the bathroom. To our credit, the seven of us kept our composure like professionals. I had seen worse, the girls... it was like they already dealt with this problem. And they had, simply in a different form. However, another stayed behind that I didn't expect. Deborah the mail lady. She moved forward with a purpose in every step, glaring daggers at Discord the entire way. With no hesitation she grabbed him by the collar and growled, "I don't know who you think you are, but my friends obviously don't like you." Even though she still had a strong grip on his hoodie, he completely ignored her and turned to face Tammy, "Twilight," he said, his voice drawing out the name to make it sound more like an insult than any sort of acknowledgement, "So good to see you again. Did you enjoy your stay in the hospital?" Tammy's eyes narrowed, her hands rested on the wheels of her chair, "The jello tasted like shit, but the nurse was nice. If you're not careful you'll be meeting her soon." Her grip on the wheels tightened, and with a hiss, all of what Discord had done vanished before our eyes. Discord let out a low whistle, "You've grown more powerful, Celestia must be so proud of you." A drawer in the kitchen flew open all on its own, and several knives engulfed in a purple light floated up from it, each one pointing to Discord. "Let him go," growled Tammy. Deborah didn't hesitate, she stepped back... And Discord didn't stop her. "So," said Discord, laughing under his breath, "Here we are ladies... and gentleman, where do we go from here?" Complete silence. I saw Rachel fidgeting out of the corner of my eye. 'Please don't try anything stupid,' I thought. "You leave us alone," said Tammy, "Or you get a knife through your skull." Discord frowned, "Why so violent? Here, let's start over, my name is Discord." "Discord, I recognize that name. Ms. Celestine told me about you. You hired that thug who ran me down. Even then you don't exactly look like the type of person I could trust... no offense." Who was this Celestine? Princess Celestia? How did she know so much? "Hahaha, none taken." "PARTY FOUL!" Shouted Phoebe, "You didn't get an invitation Mister!" Discord shook his head, "I'm not here for idle chatter. I'm here to make sure seven ponies keep their noses out of what I'm doing." I laughed, "You haven't been very successful so far. What makes you think you'll do any better today?" He grinned, "I didn't have much of a choice, what with all seven of you gathering in one place? I couldn't let that happen, much too risky, it would ruin my fun before I even got started." My eyes narrowed, "You seem rather organized for someone who loves chaos so much." "Oh William. William William William, whatever am I going to do with that attitude of yours? I am the EMBODIMENT of chaos, not just someone that loves it. I didn't plan on coming here, it was more a spur of the moment thing. Oh, and that thing back at the warehouse, with the gangs killing each other? Hehehehahahaha, delightful wouldn't you say?!" "You're insane!" shouted Rachel, "Who the fuck are you?!" "I believe I've already answered that question. I wonder Ms. Dash, would you abandon your friends again?" "What the hell are you talking about? My name isn't..." "Well you can't very well let a lady fall and not help her back up." It happened before we even realized it. Deborah vanished from the room, and I heard glass break. When I turned around I saw a tuft of blonde hair disappear past the balcony, and then I heard Deb's scream. Rachel made for the window and jumped off the balcony with no hesitation. One of Tammy's knives lurched forward, and Discord, with a mad grin, caught it between two fingers. Alice moved next, pulling a large knife from her belt that I hadn't even noticed she was carrying. 'Note to self: farm girls are dangerous.' Phoebe stomped her foot, "Ergh! This sucks. Billy, bottom right drawer of the island!" I moved to the island, where all the snacks had been ruined by the swarm of snakes from earlier. I threw open the bottom right drawer, "Why does she have an M9 pistol in her kitchen?" I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders, "Self defense, DUH!" Wait, how did she move that quick? Phoebe's arm left my shoulders and I stood to see Alice giving Discord a run for his money, slahing at him so fast he could do nothing but dodge. I saw Robin in the back, looking like she was about to hyperventilate. I saw Felicia looking over the ledge of the balcony, and it looked like she was crying. I leveled the gun at Discord, and as soon as Alice saw it she backed off. Discord grinned, throwing his hands up in the air. I knew he was playing with us, he could have turned the gun into a whistle if he wanted to. As he backed out of the door I realized his true purpose in coming to that party. It was to send a message. "I can kill any one of you at any time. Don't try to stop me." How cliche'. He wanted the heroes around to see the world fall, so they could see that they failed. His confidence would be his downfall. I set the gun on the island and made my way towards the balcony. I wasn't expecting to see Rachel landing on the balcony, cradling a frightened Deborah in her arms. Her wings, God knows how the hell she hid them, were wide, and cyan in color. For a moment she looked the part of an angel. I breathed a sigh of relief. It was over... for now. "So!" shouted Phoebe, "Who wants Jager Bombs?!" I raised my hand. So did everyone else. Rachel had walked Deb home after she calmed down, and no one brought up what happened again. We all just hung out, trying to put the bad thoughts away and enjoy what little of the party remained. Phoebe did her part, that woman could make the grouchiest man in the world smile, and we needed a lot of smiling and laughter after that. I volunteered to push Tammy back to the hospital after that whole mess. It was only a few blocks away, and she kept grumbling that she was tired of the Taxi service not conforming to poor crippled people like her. The elevator stopped on the lobby floor and I began our long journey. It was already dark out, and the night air would do us some good. "Take your time," she said, tossing me a smile over her shoulder, "I could do with the company." "Ha, you want a backrub too?" "Depends on how good you are at giving them." Her voice went a bit... sultry there. The bellboy was kind enough to hold the door for us, and as I pushed her down the sidewalk things became distastefully quiet, even with the cars driving all over the place. "So what's your last name?" I asked as we reached the first intersection. There was a moment of silence, and then... laughter. She was giggling like a madwoman at me. I was still sober enough to be embarrassed at this. "You're REALLY bad at this flirting thing," she said with a grin, stifling another giggle. "What?" I asked with a laugh, "I'm genuinely curious okay? Besides, we almost died back there, this isn't exactly the right time to flirt." She rolled her eyes, "Please, we'll get it under control, I'll take you with me to see Ms. Celestine about it tomorrow. Nothing a good old fashioned researching binge won't fix." "You still haven't answered my question." "Why do you want to know so bad?" "Names seem to be a running theme." "Yeah I noticed that too. Tammy Sainte." "Saint huh? My rough army physique must attract celibate women." Another giggle, her laugh was nice, "It's just a name doofus. Besides, it has an E at the end." "Ah, that cursed E, maybe you wouldn't be so corrupted if your name was REALLY Saint." That one got her to turn as best she could and give me a light smack on my shoulder. We reached the second intersection, crossing it when the walking light came on. I found myself dragging this out as long as I could, going at a snail's pace. She didn't seem to mind too much. Still smiling, she asked, "So you were in the army? How long?" "Two years." She nodded, "My brother was in the Marines. He got medically discharged." "Wounded?" "Yeah, not too bad though. There was an IED attack and the truck flipped on the side of the road. The CO was wounded, and my brother managed to get everyone to stop panicking... while his leg was broken. He got everyone out, and when he went into surgery he had some shrapnel in him, they had to remove one of his kidneys." I let out a low whistle, "Your brother sounds like a great man." "The best," she said, her smile widening even further. "BBBFF." "Huh?" "BBBFF, Big Brother Best Friend Forever." I grinned, "That has got to be the cheesiest shit I've ever heard." "Oh shut up! It's awesome and you know it." Third intersection. "We're almost there, any last words Ms. Sainte?" "Give me a minute while I go through the checklist." "Checklist?" She had this deep look of concentration on her face. As we approached the hospital doors she nodded firmly. "You can let me go here." I obliged, and she wheeled around to face me, "What are you doing tomorrow?" "Well, we have to go see that Ms. Celestine, right?" She rolled her eyes, "I know that, I mean what are you doing AFTER that?" "Um... nothing. I usually don't do much on Sundays." "Good, what say you take me out to dinner when we get done perusing through my library?" "A date?" She nodded firmly, "A date." I shrugged, "What the hell. Why not?" "Atta boy." "Get back in the hospital before Nurse Hart has a panic attack." She stuck her tongue out at me before wheeling around and through the automatic doors. 14: Two Timing(?)A/N: Breather episode Chapter 14: Two Timing(?) I awoke in my bed in the library with the sun attacking my face. It was slightly better compared to my alarm clock, but still annoying. "Twi... you left the window open," I grumbled. There was no response, so I figured she was lucky enough to still be passed out. I had two upcoming study sessions with this girl, one of them taking place today so long as there were no interruptions. I rolled over to face away from the sun and my eyes fell on the study area we had set up for the day before. My desk, still piled with books, held something else, a small plate with a salad and some eggs. To the left of the plate was a small cup, and the smell assaulting my nose told me exactly what was in the cup. "Coffee," I whispered to myself, "Hell yes." I all but tumbled out of bed, stretching much like my cat did whenever he managed to drag his lazy ass off my couch. I flared my wings up and flapped them a few times. It was a little weird walking with both sets of limbs, much less having an extra set glued to my back, but it appeared I was becoming used to it. Now that I knew Twilight was up I realized the water in the bathroom was running. "Welp, no use working on an empty stomach." The breakfast was delicious, and I managed to drink the coffee by holding the cup in my mouth and tilting my head back little by little. After some fumbling I managed to set the cup back on the desk without breaking it, proud of myself for having only spilled a bit of coffee on my chin, which was easily licked away. As cool as it was having wings I wasn't able to fly yet, and it would be nice to have some fingers. Just as I finished up I heard the bathroom door behind me open, and saw Twilight trot out, a trail of steam floating behind her and a brush floating next to her head, "Morning," she said with a grin, "I usually don't have eggs, but you're human, so I figured I'd treat you to something." "Thanks." "Oh it's alright." The brush, still surrounded by her magic, started going through her mane as she made her way towards the desks. "Bathrooms all yours." Well, this was awkward. "What?" Twilight smirked at me, "No offense William, but you haven't exactly bathed since you've been here." It was then that I came to a revelation. Well shit. I had smelled farm horses once before, not pleasant. I winced a bit, "Crap, you should have told me. Aren't friends supposed to tell each other when they stink?" Twilight frowned, "I didn't want to be rude." I rolled my eyes and walked away from her. I tried not to think about the fact that I had a date with Tammy the next day, and she was kinda sorta there as a pony at the same time, completely unaware of what had transpired before I awoke in her library. A good thirty minutes and a clumsy cleaning later and I once again joined Twilight out in the library. Spike was running to and fro organising books and looking like he just got up from an extremely short sleep. "So, find anything interesting?" I asked as I approached her. Twilight damn near jumped out of her skin when she heard my voice. After a moment of recovery she sighed and planted her head on the desk, "Please don't do that," she said through gritted teeth. I laughed, "All I did was ask you a question." "She was in the zone!" shouted Spike from one of the shelves. I grinned, "The zone? REALLY?" Twilight turned and glared at me, "I get really into it sometimes, okay?" "Right... so did you find anything?" She sighed and pulled herself back up, "Almost nothing. It's mostly hare-brained theories and old ponytales." "Hahahaha, ponytales, are you serious?!" "What? What's so funny?" "Erm... don't worry about it." "Anyways. The extent of the research on the veil was all done by one pony. Star Swirl the Bearded." "As opposed to Gandalf the White?" "What?" "Nothing, please continue." I could tell she was getting tired of me interrupting her, so I decided to let her continue that time. "Star Swirl was the one who went through the veil, the only pony to see the other side, at least until you arrived. He only went through once, but he came back with a wealth of information on strange creatures." "Probably humans." "Correct, and here's where it gets really interesting. Come here, I'll show you." I followed her to her desk and we both peeked over the book. Twilight flipped some pages with her magic, and when she reached what she wanted she planted her hoof on the page, "Right there." She moved her hoof so I could read. In all my career I have never seen anything quite like this. They function much as you would expect an intelligent life form to. Unfortunately, it appears their world is ravaged by war, yet still they carry on. There is much good to be found here. Perhaps we, as Equestrians, have become so accustomed to peace that we have forgotten what war is like. Either way, these 'humans' are very fascinating creatures, but as much as I would like to study them further the veil is not to be trifled with. Emerging on the other side took quite a toll on me; it appeared that I had somehow, in the course of shifting through the veil, transformed into one of these humans myself. When I returned to Equestria the same way I came it drained me of my magic. This would normally not prevent me from continuing my studies, but with the unknown nature of the veil, and the fact that it affected my magic, I am afraid I must consider this matter closed. I will let the princess know, and bury my own curiosity in favor of my continued safety." "So let me get this straight," I said, "He turned into a human when he crossed over into my world, kind of like I turned into a pony when I crossed into yours. That still doesn't explain why some of you have counterparts and some don't. I mean, theoretically wouldn't there be a pony version of me over here?" "We don't really know if there's not." When Twilight spoke I realized just how close we had huddled together over the book, and decided it would be in my best interest to retreat slightly before my face caught fire. 'Really?' I asked myself, 'Fuckin' really? She's a horse!' So are you. Twilight turned to me, "Are you okay William?" "Yeah, yeah I'm fine, JUST PEACHY, totally alright!" 'You've got a DATE tomorrow.' Yeah, with HER. "Are you sure? You look kind of pale. Are you sick? Oh no, did I make too many eggs?! Was it something in the coffee? I went through the recipes EXACTLY, it shouldn't have..." 'That would be two timing... would it be two timing?' "I'm fine, promise, the breakfast was great, everything is great. I just... got a shiver is all." Twilight still looked worried. Have I mentioned that I'm a horrible liar? "William, if you're not feeling alright then I can help." Suddenly, I felt like a dick. Twilight made me breakfast, was doing her best to figure out the whole veil thing with me, and was obviously fussing over my health. Not to mention the fact that my little shenanigans had pretty much everything to do with her. Whether I liked it or not, it was her business, and she deserved to know. "Well, remember how I told you that I had to go to that party?" She tilted her head, "Yes?" "Well, everyone was there, and we kind of hung out." I decided to skip over the part with Discord, there wasn't much they could do short of jumping through the veil and joining me, but there were already human versions of them over there, and who knew what kind of chaos that would cause? "And you... that is, Tammy, was still in a wheelchair from the hospital. I pushed Tammy back to the hospital when the party was over, and when we got there you kind of... asked me out on a date, and I said yes." There was a moment of silence... And then a moment of clarity. The realization could have been a physical thing bouncing around Twilight at that moment, and it wouldn't have surprised me one bit. First her eyes widened; then her mouth opened, as if she were planning on saying something, and clamped shut before she could get the words out. I could almost hear the gears in her brain come to a grinding halt. Then her face turned a deep shade of red, "Oh... I um... I see." I didn't know at all what that was supposed to mean, so I started to panic a little and decided to pick up where she had left off, "And you're uh... okay with this?" Twilight grinned nervously, still blushing like mad, "O... of course, why wouldn't I be? I mean, it's not like it's bad or anything, just..." She looked down at the floor and scuffed it with her hoof, "So do you really like m..." BOOM. "CONGRATULATIONS!" The entire library erupted in a storm of confetti and party streamers. Pinkie bounced through the door that she had nearly knocked of its hinges and tackled both of us, nearly taking a confused Spike into the mess as all three of us went tumbling across the wooden floor. "OOOOO, you have NO idea how much I've been looking forward to this day. I keep telling everypony that nopenopenope my friend Twilight isn't a stick in the mud, she just really likes books, and now here you are with your very own COLTFRIEND! I'm so happy for you I could just explode, but NO! I need to start planning the party and..." Twilight gritted her teeth, trying to struggle free to no avail, "Pinkie..." "I mean, how long have you been in Ponyville? I thought you would get lucky at Shining's wedding, but then the whole mess with Queen Chrysalis happened and I didn't know if you would EVER find your special somepony. I wonder when the others will find someone they can like like a lot lot!" Twilight growled, "Pinkiiiie..." "I want a coltfriend too, but they all seem to run away. I wonder what's wrong, I just..." "PINKIE!" Pinkie finally released her death grip and hopped away from us, but I didn't know whether it was out of shock or because she just decided to bounce away for the hell of it. We sat up on our haunches to face our pink adversary. I had to hand it to Twilight, she kept her composure, but her face was STILL red, possibly even moreso than before, "Pinkie... one, how did you even know what was happening? Two, he's not my coltfriend, I just..." "He TOTALLY is though, I mean, he JUST said he agreed to go on a date with you!" Twilight frowned, "Pinkie that's..." Pinkie waved a hoof and scoffed, "Oh what does it matter. TwilightTammy PhoebePinkie DanielsDashie, a hoof is a hoof and an apple is an apple!" That was... a simple way to look at things. Wait, how did she know all their human names? Twilight turned back to me and laughed nervously as she stood, "Sorry about this." I shrugged and pushed myself forward to stand with her, "It's no big deal." "Heh, I guess... it wouldn't be too much of a stretch, you did save my li... oh NO!" "What?" "Your basket!" She ran upstairs with a speed I had yet to see from her, and came back down with the basket she had tried to give my on the first day I came back after giving her the medicine. Opening it with her magic, she ignored all the arranged sweets and floated the black package from the basket. When she laid it in front of me I could tell it was a book just by looking at it. She used her magic to open it, and I smiled when I saw the title of the book. Flying for Dummies: Beginner and Expert Pegasi Tips Okay, that was awesome. "SO!" shouted Pinkie, "Do you need help setting up a date?!" Well, this was awkward. 16: Mentor (Part 2)Chapter 16: Mentor (Part 2) I went over the entire encounter at the warehouse in my head before I finally said something to the officers standing at my front door, "What's this about?" I recalled where I had the gun, under my mattress with an empty magazine, I also knew they didn't have a permit... at least not yet. The officers looked at each other, and the first one shrugged and turned back to me, "I'll be frank," he said, "There was a firefight at an abandoned warehouse near the docks, we found this on one of the dead thugs. Would you happen to know anything about it?" The officer pulled out a small picture of me and my ex girlfriend. The picture was taken at the theme park before I got deployed. I took her on one last date before getting shipped off, and this was the last picture we took together, her arm around my waist, planting a kiss on my cheek. Except the picture had been defaced. At the bottom it was writing, in red permanent marker, 'Study-bugs lose girlfriends--- sincerely, D' The threat was clear. "Sir?" I realized I was spacing out. "Y... yeah um... I used to date that girl, but uh... we broke up before I came back from the war. I don't know who wrote that on there or how they got the picture, probably one of her psycho boyfriends or something." Again I reiterate, I am a horrible liar. The first officer gave me a suspicious look before continuing, "We found Megan Hales dead this morning. The detectives say you're not a Person of Interest, but whoever did it knows you, and they were close enough to you to be able to get their hands on this picture. Do you know of any enemies you could have made in your time away from Megan?" Everything around me seemed like it was black and white, my ears started ringing, and I barely heard the words coming from the officer's mouth. All I knew was that Meg was dead, and Discord had killed her. The threat was even more clear now, and even closer than I had hoped. Meg's death was a shock, and unexpected, but there was nothing I could do about it, the deed had already been done. I honestly didn't know how to feel about that situation. I stopped loving her a while before, and the last time I talked with her was when she was breaking it off with me. I heard from some of her friends that she'd fallen into a bad way, drugs, gangsters, the works, but I had no idea it would lead to this. Meg and I had broken up a long time ago, and now I was dating... "Tammy," I mumbled. The second officer raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?" "No, nothing, I was just thinking out loud." I decided to go with a half truth, "When Meg and I broke up I got a bit depressed and she fell in with a bad crowd. For all I know she could have told one of her boyfriends about me." It was slightly easier than coming up with a lie on the spot. And now Tammy was in danger. "I see, well if you hear anything else be sure to give us a call, we'll do the same." "Thank you." I breathed a sigh of relief when I shut the door, and silently thanked the heavens that I had taken the gun with me when I had left the warehouse; if I hadn't then I'd have probably been on the way to the jailhouse at that point. It was Sunday, which meant I was headed to the hospital... After feeding and playing with my cat, of course. By the time I got off the bus to the hospital Tammy was already out in front of the entrance and waving at me with a huge grin on her face. She always seemed to get really excited whenever someone wanted to read or study with her; I took a mental note of this. As I approached she calmed down a bit, but still looked like she was a little girl about to go to Disneyland. I got behind the wheelchair and started to push, "So where to Ms. Librarian?" "Just keep going down this sidewalk for a block, then turn left and go straight, I'll stop you when we're there." As I started to push her the crowded streets seemed to melt away. I wasn't paying attention to the people on the sidewalks or the cars on the streets. "Easy enough. So do you know what we're in for?" She shrugged, "Ms. Celestine didn't tell me much, all she said was what I know about Discord." "That he tried to run you over?" "Yeah, pretty much. I've never heard of Discord, so when Ms. Celestine brought him up it was kind of a surprise, especially since it was right after I woke up." "She came to see you in the hospital?" "Yeah, you weren't there for it though. All she's told me is that there'll be a lot of reading involved," she said with a giggle. I sighed, "Seems like I've been reading a lot lately." "Oh?" "Yeah, you kind of have the advantage over me, being able to make me read books twenty-four hours a day seven days a week." "Hahaha, you're the first man I've met that's been able to put up with me for extended periods of time with no sleep." I shrugged, "It doesn't feel like I'm losing sleep, which I guess would make sense." As we crossed an intersection, she turned slightly in her wheelchair and poked me in the arm with a grin, "Do you think you're brain dead while you're asleep? I mean, your consciousness shifts, so... it would be really interesting." I laughed, "I'm not your science experiment." "Oh but you are." She pouted, "If only there was a way to communicate with the other me, then we could trade notes." "Alright, getting into freaky territory here." "There's no such thing as freaky when it comes to science." "Says the purple haired girl who had a five legged mouse as her high school project." "NOT TRUE! He was missing a leg and I was trying to grow it back!" "Did he turn into a lizard?" "What?" "... Nothing. Anyways, did you notice Discord was calling us ponies and stuff?" "Yeah, I heard that, do you think he's from the other world?" "I'm pretty sure of it. You guys seemed like you knew him over there or something." "Hmmm." She fell silent after that, and I couldn't think of anything else to bring up aside from the threat I had received that morning. I didn't know how to tell her about it though. After a moment of inner debate I decided to stop beating around the bush, "Discord's probably gonna try to kill you again." "I figured he would." "Yeah, but... listen Tammy." I stopped the wheelchair as we reached another intersection on the left sidewalk. There were a few people walking about, but nothing was too busy yet. I circled around and leaned down to face her, "This morning the cops came to my door with a picture of my ex girlfriend. They... they found her dead, and there was a message on the picture from Discord." "He threatened to kill me." "Yeah." She shrugged and smiled, reaching out and patting me on the head, "Don't worry about it William, it wouldn't be the first time I've been threatened. We're here by the way." She pointed to the left, and on the corner of the street was what appeared to be a small book store. As we entered the book store I was assaulted by the scent of very thick incense. The store was about as disorganized as you could get, with shelves lining the walls and piles of books on the floor here and there. There was a small counter, which I assumed was where business was conducted. Tammy frowned as I wheeled her past the door and into the shop, "Ugh, I hope Sean gets back soon, this place is a complete mess." "Sean?" "Yeah," she said with a sigh, "He's a Freshman in high school, we hired him a while back to help around the shop." "Heh, I'll be damned. Spike." "Who?" "This kid is pretty much your assistant right? He has a counterpart too." Tammy smirked, "Pony Sean?" "More like... dragon." "D... dragon?" "Just a small one, nothing fearsome, at least not yet," I said with a laugh. "Ah, hello, you must be William." I looked up and was greeted by the smile of a middle aged woman in an extremely sharp black suit with high heels and a long skirt. Her hair ran down to mid back, and was a very light blond, almost white in color. A thick book was tucked under her arm, and she wore a small and very defined pair of square rimmed glasses, "My name is Julia Celestine, Tammy has told me so much about you." "Um... nice to meet you." Celestine smiled, "Is something the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost." "No, you're just really familiar." Tammy elbowed me in the side. Celestine laughed, "Ah, yes. Tammy's last letter covered your stories of a parallel universe." "They did?" "They did. I already know Discord is from the other world, and I already know how to stop him." Even Tammy looked shocked at that, "Ms. Celestine, what are you talking about?" Celestine stepped forward and laid a hand on Tammy's shoulder, "A long time ago a man came to this book shop, he had an extremely long beard and a very interesting disposition." Celestine stepped away and walked to the counter, setting her book on it as she continued to speak, "I asked many questions, and he was strangely willing to answer them. He even called me by an interesting name a few times. I found out about Discord from him, and I'm sure he would trust me to handle this situation. The problem is that our magic will most likely not have an effect on him." "Why not?" I asked. Tammy turned to me and frowned, "We're not God's William, we're mages, there are very specific rules set in place. It's more of a science than it is a magic. Think of it this way, every time we cast a spell it disrupts the laws of the world in some way, if we take it too far parts of the world could even break." "Wouldn't that have happened then? People can get greedy." Tammy nodded, "It has happened, several times. The fall of the Roman Empire, the disappearance of Atlantis. We tend to avoid the heavy duty spells these days." I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose, "So why is magic less restricted in this other world?" Celestine shook her head, "We're not sure. What we ARE sure of is that there's something on the other side that can defeat Discord, and we want you to bring it here." "Why do I feel like I'm a universal courier?" Tammy elbowed me again. Celestine laughed lightly, then turned to face us again, "Tell me William, would you be willing to do this?" "I've done it once already, when I brought medicine for Tammy." "Indeed you did, but that wasn't your fight, and neither is this. Why do you want to help so badly?" I looked at Tammy for a moment, then turned back to Celestine, "I think at first I was trying to make up for a mistake I made in the past, but now that I've gotten to know everyone... I just want to help." Celestine nodded, "That is exactly what I wanted to hear." 17: DateChapter 17: Date Ms. Celestine stepped forward, laid a hand on Tammy's shoulder, and smiled, "Feel free to use the library, I presume you came here to find something that could help you against Discord." Tammy nodded, and Celestine continued, "Very good." Then she turned her gaze towards me, "Considering the nature of the threat against my student's life, I highly suggest that you two don't lose sight of each other." Tammy frowned, "How did you..." Celestine grinned, "You should know by now I have familiars all over the city my student. I'm hardly going to overlook a threat on your life Tammy." Tammy sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Right, of course, how could I forget?" Celestine left from the back door without another word, smiling and humming a cheery little tune the entire way. I definately got the same impression from her that I did from Celestia: well carried, wise, kind, and extremely practical. These weren't just human copies, they might as well have been the same people, and the way Twilight spoke of it, they probably were. Tammy turned to me and smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, "So, shall we get started then?" "Yeah, yeah no problem." The next hour was spent sifting through books I had never even heard of. From the outside it looked like a book store, but as Tammy and Celestine had called it, it was more of a library. A library with ancient tomes of magical knowledge. Honestly, I didn't understand any of it, I was just looking for familiar terms like 'Discord', 'Chaos', and 'Alternate Universe'. Tammy, on the other hand, was on fire. She sat at the counter, and had three books open at one point, sifting through them and jotting down notes like crazy. She would skim through one book, and then use her magic to pull another from the shelf. Add in a pair of glasses and the picture of the ultimate librarian would be complete. '... She would look good in glasses.' It wasn't until partway through our session that a particular book caught my eyes in the back of the store. The book was a faded golden color, and on its binding was the rather concise title, 'Mage: A History'. The book itself was on a shelf next to the door that Celestine had left through, tucked in the very upper right corner of the shelf. I grabbed a small stepping stool so I could reach the top shelf just barely and stand on the tips of my toes to coax the book out. With a little bit of effort I was able to get my hands on it. I made my way to the counter and sat in the chair next to Tammy, opening the book and starting to read. No one knows where magic came from. What we do know, however, is what we have done with it in the past, and how dangerous it can be. Many mages believe that magic was discovered by the founders of Atlantis, the mythical city, and that this was ultimately the cause of its downfall, as magic itself is very unstable and causes the very laws of the universe to shift around it in order to accomodate for the sheer power. As for how Atlantis was built, imagine if modern humanity were to discover the technology of an advanced civilisation from long ago, and then we proceeded to use it to advance our species. Our development would be carried forward thousands of years in the span of one generation. Many mages are skeptical of this theory, but it's the only explanation for why the city was so advanced. The Circle has done well in guarding what remains of the disappeared city, so well, in fact, that most of the population believes it nothing but a fable. For example; the Veil. My eyes widened. "Twi... I mean... Tammy, look at this." Tammy looked up from her own books and tossed me a smirk, "Wow, getting our names mixed up? I guess it wouldn't be very logical to be jealous of MYSELF." I groaned, "Yeah yeah, very funny, just... take a look at this." "Oh that old thing? That's just for initiates, I don't need to read that." I frowned, "Just read the damn thing, if you forget your basics then how do you expect to know the advanced stuff?" She shrugged and took the book from me as I stood over her shoulder. After a moment she turned her head to look at me, "Yeah, the Veil? What about it?" It took me a long moment to realize it, and when I did I let out a sigh. I had yet to tell her about the Veil. "Okay, look, HOW do you think I got the medicine to you from the other world?" There was a moment of silence, then her eyes widened in realization. She turned her wheelchair to me, reaching up and grabbing me by the collar, "Do you know what this means?" she asked with a grin. "Um... what?" "William, you've changed EVERYTHING! I've been meaning to ask about the medicine, but with Discord and all the crap that's been happening and I haven't added it to my checklist and..." "Tammy!" "Huh?" "How have I changed everything?" I asked, laying my hands on top of hers as they loosened around my collar. "No one has ever returned from the veil," she said softly. With a sigh she let me go, and then brought a hand to her chin, "I mean, people have tried before obviously, but it hasn't exactly worked out. A long time ago The Circle of Mages got their hands on the veil. It's not a physical thing, it's more of a tear... a portal that you can walk through." "It had a physical form in Equestria." "Equestria? Are you serious?" she asked with a laugh. I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, let's focus now." "Right, focusing... ignoring horse puns." After another moment of thought she continued, "A few weeks back the Circle lost track of the veil." "How do you lose track of a tear in the universe?" I asked with a laugh. "Well for one, it was a pain in the ass to find it in the first place. It changes location sporadically and unpredictably. If you read further you'll see that it was found in the shell of the city, and the walls were literally built to keep it in. We had to build a special room just to contain it." "How did you move it?" "We used EXTREMELY complicated magic. Even after endless calculations we only got a hold of it because of dumb luck." "Maybe that's why they made it into a gate in Equestria. Over here it didn't have to be a gate because it was already contained by the city." "That's exactly what I was thinking." She smiled and leaned up to me, ruffling my hair with a giggle, "You're sharp for an Army guy." I batted her hand away and glared at her when she kept giggling, "Do you know how it was made? Why is it called the veil?" Tammy shrugged, "Nope, no one does, we just know that every unlucky mage jumping through there has never come back. As for why it's called that, that's just the name that the Circle gave it." "I came out in an abandoned warehouse on the edge of the city when I came through with your medicine." "It won't be there anymore." "I know, but Discord was waiting for me. If its movement is so random then how did he know where it would be?" "The only way to find THAT out would be to ask Discord himself, and I don't plan on letting him live long enough to answer us." I let out a low whistle, "I like it when you make death threats," I said with a smirk. Tammy blushed and looked away with a sigh, "Shut up. He wants to hurt my friends, I don't like that. As curious as I am about his knowledge it's not worth risking anyone's life." She turned back to me, "As for the veil, we should start running tests on it, is there an easy way to access it over... there?" "Well, it's through a bloodthirsty monster-ridden forest, but I'm pretty sure I can just fly over it. It would still take like, half the day to get there though." She raised an eyebrow, "You can FLY?" "I'm... kind of a pegasus." Tammy's only response was laughter. After our fun little time at the library the sun started creeping towards the horizon, and we decided it was time for our dinner date. The place she had in mind was also within walking distance, so it wouldn't be an issue pushing her there. I couldn't help but notice she had almost every single little detail of this evening planned out. This didn't surprise me one bit, as I had noticed it on the other side as well, Tammy/Twilight seemed to love her checklists and schedules. The place itself was only a block away on another corner, and seemed to be some fancy Italian restaurant. There were people in suits and dresses lined up at the door with waiting beepers. I looked down at my plain white shirt and jeans and let out a sigh, "Tammy, I'm not exactly dressed for this." Tammy smiled up at me, "I wouldn't worry about that. Just leave our first date to me..." she paused, then looked up at me with a raised eyebrow, "This IS our first date, right?" I let out a laugh, "Yeah, yeah it is." "Good, I expect you to tell both of me everything that's going on, take notes and bring them through the veil if you can." I rolled my eyes, "I really am just a science experiment to you, huh?" "Well," she said with a soft giggle, reaching back with her hand and laying it on mine with a blush, "It's not purely scientific interest." My face went red and I let out a cough as we approached the door. A tall man in a suit stopped us at the door, "Do you have a reservation Ma'am?" "Yes," said Tammy with a smile, "Under Robin Raines for two, Tammy Sainte and William Jenkins. My jaw dropped and I leaned over the back of the chair to whisper in her ear, "How the hell did you..." Tammy pinched my lips shut and grinned, "Phoebe came by the hospital with everyone from the party. We decided to have some girl talk after Discord crashed our party, all of us got along really well, even Rachel showed up after a while." I stood up straight again, "Huh..." For some reason it felt like an extremely good thing that the six of them were now friends. Maybe it was meant to be. As I wheeled her into the restaurant I couldn't help but be baffled by the decor. Every table was adorned in a pure white sheet with condiments set up in the center almost like a decorative tower. The chatter was a low and polite hum, and chandeliers hung from the ceiling. The rug was a patterned crimson with intricate black tendrils creeping across it. I felt like I had just stepped into some grand hall. Suddenly, before a waiter or waitress could come to seat us Robin burst through past the seating podium with a large smile on her face. She leaned in and pecked both of us on the cheeks, "Oh Darlings I'm so glad you could both make it. Tammy dear you have a fine taste in restaurants, I just wish you'd given me time to make your wardrobes match the surroundings. Also, everything tonight is going to be paid for, so drink and be merry!" Tammy's face softened into a smile, "Robin, you didn't have to do that, all I asked for was the reservation." Robin waved a hand and chuckled, "Oh please, I'm a sucker for romance, and you're a new friend. Phoebe tells me so much about William all the time." Tammy wheeled forward a bit and tugged a slightly shocked Robin down into a hug, "That's really generous of you. Thank you." A blush creeped onto Robin's face and she laughed nervously, "Please, think nothing of it." After a moment the hug broke and Robin readjusted her black dress with a smile, "I have to get going, I must must must meet with this client, and I do need my beauty sleep, after all. Have fun you two!" With a wave and a smile, she was gone. I laughed, "Wow, guess we're covered then." We were seated quickly, and served promptly. Obviously Robin had pulled a few strings, and I reminded myself to pay her back later. As we waited on our fancy pasta and sipped our wine, Tammy leaned forward and gave me a grin, "So, what do I look like as a pony?" I raised an eyebrow, "Purely scientific interest, right?" She rolled her eyes and laughed, "Of course, purely scientific." "Well, you're a unicorn, and unicorns can use magic." Tammy frowned, "Ah, that explains it then. I expected you to freak out more when I did my little magic trick. Also, is Rachel a pegasus?" "Yeah." Tammy nodded, "I was wondering why you asked about her wings." "How about Felicia?" "... Yeah." "Then Robin should be a mage too, she probably just uses it for her job though." As I said that Tammy was taking another sip of her wine, and she almost choked on it and tipped her wheelchair over, "She... *cough*... what..." "Alright, I should probably tell you this." I leaned forward and brought my voice down to a whisper, "Those other five girls that gathered at the hospital with you... I think you're all meant to be friends." She cleared her throat and let out a sigh, "What makes you say that?" "Because as far as I can tell these worlds run Parallel, and you guys are friends in Equestria. That's why I was so specific with the names at the party." "Even Alice and Robin?" "All six." "That's... interesting. So how do you factor into this equation?" I shrugged, "I honestly don't know. As far as I know I'm an anomoly. Another thing has been bugging me since I found out you could do magic and Rachel had wings." "Hmm?" "Where are all the other people with wings? In Equestria there are a ton of Pegasi. I guess magic would be easier to explain since you're all kind of underground with it, but there would be a lot more people running around with wings on their back. So there's three possibilities here, there are a bunch of people with wings on their back that are really good at hiding that fact, the people with wings generally don't know they have them, or these worlds aren't as close as I thought, and you six are special in some way." Tammy nodded and brought a hand to her chin. After a moment she pulled out a notepad and began to write. It took her about ten minutes to be done and put the notepad away, "You've brought up some great points." She cleared her throat and reached across the table. I took the message and clasped my hands with hers, "The next hour is scheduled for dinner though, we'll talk about it later." I smiled, "Yes Ma'am." Our food had arrived. 18: The Elements of Harmony (Part 1)Chapter 18: The Elements of Harmony (Part 1) My head was ringing. As my eyes slowly opened and the world returned to me, I could hear voices. The voices weren't speaking English, but it was a familiar language; a language that I heard all too often in the few months since I had been deployed. My sight started to clear up, and blurs became discernible. In front of me were two men armed with AKs, dressed in ragged clothing. Their complexion was tan. The situation wasn't exactly a desirable one. The room itself was blank, dimly lit, and appeared to be made of concrete, I could barely make out a wooden door in the corner to my right. I tried to move, but my hands and legs were bound to a metal chair, and it felt like the chair was bolted to the ground. One of them turned to me as he screamed something in his language, pointing furiously at me. He pressed the barrel of his AK against my head and glared at me, "Was it just the two of you pigs?!" How lucky... the interrogator knew English. That made things simpler, but more painful. I gritted my teeth, "Corporal William Jenkins. September twentieth, nineteen eighty-six. Five seven... two four six seven three eight..." My vision blurred and pain rocketed against my skull as the butt stock of the AK collided with my forehead. The interrogator turned back to his friend and screamed something else. I tried to remember. Clark and I were walking through the barren desert. We were trying to get back to the FOB, there was an explosion. Then I woke up in the interrogation room. It appeared the two men were arguing, so I took the opportunity to look at my surroundings a bit further. I turned my head to the right and gritted my teeth when I saw Clark, tied to a chair just like me. As far as I could tell he was out cold. The interrogator finished arguing with his 'friend', then he walked to Clark and put the AK to his head. He turned to me, still holding the gun steady, "You talk now! Or I will blow his brains out, yes?" I blinked, trying to get rid of the dizzy feeling invading my head, "No... no... I'll fuckin' kill you..." The interrogator glared, "No my friend, I will kill you!" He dug the muzzle into Clark's head, twisting it until Clark's eyes snapped open. And then he pulled the trigger. "NO!" I thrashed out and stumbled from bed head first, hitting the wooden floor of the library with a dull thud. I heard the ringing in my ears start as the world was spinning around me. My wings flared in some pathetic attempt to help me regain balance as I tried to get a grip on myself. "William!" I heard the sound of hooves approaching, and felt Twilight's magic wrap around me and help me up from the floor. "What's wrong with him?" "I don't know Spike!" Everything started to clear up as I was placed laying down on the bed. I saw Twilight with a frown of worry etched onto her features, and Spike with a slightly panicked look. "I'm fine," I mumbled, "It happens from time to time, really." Twilight didn't look convinced, "Are you sure? You took a pretty bad fall." "Yeah, there's uh... before we keep researching the Veil there's something we need to do. Can you gather the group together?" "Why?" "Just... I'd rather tell you guys when we're all there." Not but an hour later the entire group had gathered in Twilight's library. All of them looked confused, and I couldn't blame them one bit. Even Twilight wasn't sure what I was doing, she stepped to my side and gave me a pointed glance. Dash flew above the group, looking down to me, "Alright, so why did you guys call us out here?" I sighed, "Listen, Pinkie and Applejack probably already know about this." I gave the two I mentioned pointed glances, Pinkie's smile vanished and Applejack gave a small nod of confirmation, "I've gotten a bit in over my head on the other side of the Veil." -The Day Before- The date had gone pretty well, and on the way back to the hospital, the subject went from what movies we liked to what we should be doing about Discord. On the second intersection Tammy turned her head to look at me as I pushed her, "So what do you wanna do about the Discord situation?" I let out a low whistle, "That's a tough question." She smiled, "You know what I was writing down in the book store, right?" "No, what was it?" "A couple of spells I'm working on to be able to fight Discord when the time comes, and now that I know Robin is a mage I can probably get into contact with her about it." I laughed under my breath, "I thought Celestine said that regular magic wouldn't affect him." Tammy grinned, "Yes, REGULAR magic. I was thinking... look, whatever you get back in Equestria is probably gonna pack enough of a punch to take him down, which means it's extremely powerful magic. I need a spell to hold off Discord long enough so we can utilize that magic, but I'll also need a spell to make sure whatever you're using doesn't tear a hole in the tectonic plates under the entire city." "So, simply put, we need to not destroy everything." "That would be best. I was researching the artifacts the Circle recovered from Atlantis. I've never really been interested in them until today, and they've never been relevant to my studies." "And?" "I found that the walls were literally built so they could practice magic inside the city that would be impossible to maintain otherwise without tearing reality around them. If I could somehow craft a barrier with magic nullifying properties, I could create a space to use whatever we need to use safely. Not only that, but I would be able to literally unleash hell on him without fearing the consequences." She had this mad grin on her face, like she was looking forward to the things that were about to happen. "Wait," I said, "If that city was literally built so they could practice powerful magic in it, what would be powerful enough to destroy it?" "That's an extremely good question, but one we're not worried about right now, I took a note of it and I'll make an appointment with the Circle when this mess is all taken care of." "Yeah, but... why would no other mage think about making a barrier to use more powerful magic in?" "We have, but..." "But?" "No one's ever done what I'm doing here. A magic barrier to stop a magic spell would be pointless, it MULTIPLIES the magic." "But a physical barrier..." Tammy giggled and reached back, grabbing my hand, "I knew there was a reason I liked you. Robin is picking me up from the hospital to get a sample of the wall that I can utilize, I probably won't be getting any sleep tonight." Applejack stepped towards me and Twilight, raising an eyebrow, "You mean to tell us that Discord's been chasin' ya'll around this entire time?" I shook my head and sat on my haunches, "No, not exactly chasing us around, but we can tell he's up to something. From my conversations with Pinkie and Applejack it seems like you guys have dealt with him before, so I kind of brought you all here to get some input." Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes, "Come on Billy! You should have told us in the first place, we TOTALLY would have helped you out, I mean, we're over there too, and now that Discord is over there we need to beat him again!" Rarity smiled softly, "William, what reason could you possibly have for keeping this from us? We're all friends." I took a deep breath, "I figured... you wouldn't be able to do much." Dash glared at me, "Really?" "Alright," I said softly, "I get it I get it." Twilight nudged my side gently with her muzzle, and I blushed and turned away, trying to push out of my mind how soft she was. "So you need the Elements of Harmony then?" "Wh... what are those?" I asked, clearing my throat and trying not to look at Twilight. Twilight looked at her friends and let out a sigh, "They're... artifacts that enhance our power. The six of us are special. We all represent the harmony in Equestria, and that harmony is split into six elements." Twilight raised a hoof and pointed to herself, "Magic." Then she pointed to Rarity, "Generosity." Pinkie Pie, "Laughter." Applejack, "Honesty." Rainbow Dash, "Loyalty." Fluttershy, "Kindness." I raised an eyebrow, "And this is... supposed to help against Discord?" "It's how we sealed him away last time," said Twilight, "And on that subject, does your world have a Discord?" "As far as I can tell this guy is from your side." Twilight tilted her head, "Strange, when we sealed him he was turned to stone and placed outside the castle in Canterlot; that statue is still there." "Wait," I said, "Is it possible that he made it to my world without really moving over here? I mean, whenever I go between worlds my body is still asleep in the other world." "Hey yeah!" shouted Dash, "Maybe that snake found a way to get to the other side without moving!" "Spike!" shouted Twilight, "Get down here!" The baby dragon was downstairs and by Twilight's side in a split second, "What is it?" "Send a letter to the Princess telling her that we're letting William borrow the Elements of Harmony." "Wha..." "Spike, listen." Twilight leaned down a bit and smiled softly, "Let her know that Discord has escaped to William's world, and we sent him back with the Elements to prevent disaster, can you do that?" "Yeah! Right away!" Twilight nodded firmly and her horn started to glow. A moment later I saw a case float down from Twilight's area upstairs. It was a large wooden box with a latch on it and Celestia's crown painted on the lid. The faint glow around it faded as it was planted in front of us. Another glow wrapped itself around the lock and the lid flew open. Inside the box was what appeared to be a set of jewelery: A tiara and five necklaces, each with decorations corresponding to the cutie marks of the six ponies in the room. "These are..." "The catalysts," said Twilight softly, "They allow us to harness the power of the Elements safely. You should get them to us when you make your way through the Veil. If these worlds run parallel like we think, then we're the Elements of Harmony over there as well." I turned to Twilight and frowned, "Are you sure about that? Things might not work the same over there. I mean, as far as I can tell you're the same people... ponies... whatever, it's just... I'm not too sure the Elements would work." "It wouldn't hurt to try," said Twilight, smiling at me, "Not only that, but if I know myself, which I do, then I'm already working on a contingency plan." I smirked, "You mentioned staying up all night." Twilight giggled, "We'll bag these up so you can get going." Dash landed next to me and nudged me with her hoof, "Hey, I know you were doing good, but can you fly all the way over the forest?" I laughed under my breath, "Only one way to find out." The girls guided me to the edge of the forest, and without a word I took off. I heard Dash yell, "Push it out!" as I went over the tops of the trees and made my way towards the clouds. It reminded me of when I was in the army, and I would run for long distances. Only this wasn't my legs, it was a completely different muscle. A muscle I wasn't used to having. I would make it though... I had to. 19: The Elements of Harmony (Part 2)Chapter 19: The Elements of Harmony (Part 2) It had taken me the better part of a day to reach the other side of the Everfree Forest. I tried to gather myself when I stumbled out of the Veil, but it was an impossible feat. I tumbled head over foot, and something metal and sharp hit my right leg. I hissed in pain when I finally landed on my back. When my head started to clear I noticed that I was looking up at the morning sky. My right leg was in a lot of pain, and my back ached from the landing, but I managed to sit up, and when I did my eyes widened. I could see a familiar tower in the distance, its windows reflecting the sun. I was obviously still in the city, and it was as I stood that I noticed I was on a rooftop. I took a deep breath. The morning air was cold, but nothing that I couldn't handle. A stinging pain ran through my leg again, and when I looked down to it I hissed, there was a cut on my outer thigh, but it wasn't large, and it wasn't bleeding too badly. I let out a sigh and turned around, a metal box with ventilation fans was behind me, and on the corner of it was some of my blood, "Ouch." A bit further back was what appeared to be a shimmer of reflective air, obviously the Veil. On top of the vent box were the saddlebags I had flown through the Veil with. Twilight's tiara was sticking out of one of the bags, so I stepped forward and pushed it back in. I buttoned the bag back up and threw the strap of the bags over my shoulder. With a sigh I made my way to the door. Luckily it was unlocked. As I walked through the streets of the city I got a few strange glances because of the saddlebag over my shoulder, but I ignored them. It wasn't like anybody in this place owned a horse, so half of them probably didn't even recognize it. I headed straight for the hospital, using the maps at bus stops to find my way. When I came upon a bar on the side of one street I was surprised to see Cammi leaning on the wall of it with a beer in her hand. I stopped in front of her, "Drinking so early in the day?" She smiled, "I've been looking for you sexy boy." I rolled my eyes, "And why would that be?" "Because you're about to do something really stupid, you and that little nerd girlfriend of yours, and I wanted to help you out when it goes downhill." I pulled the saddlebag off and pointed to it, raising an eyebrow at her, "You're telling me this isn't gonna work?" She shrugged, "How the hell should I know? I only know as much about this other world of yours as you do. I mean shit, for all you know I could be a total raging bitch over there." I laughed, "Really, you don't seem the type," I said sarcastically. She tossed me the beer and I caught it with my free hand. A Budweiser. Cammi walked to my side, still smiling, "Like I said, I'm just here in case your little plan goes to shit. Me and that Celestine chick aren't exactly on good terms." We started to walk. I put the beer in the bag and hoisted it back onto my shoulder, "What'd you do?" She laughed softly, "It has to be something I did?" I let the silence answer her question. "Alright fine, I kind of tried to kill her student using her brother, and then tried steal the magical knowledge that they had." "You WHAT?" I stopped walking, turning to give her an incredulous look, "How the fuck am I supposed to trust you after hearing that?!" She flicked me on the forehead, "Because I regret it, and I was honest enough to tell you. I... trust you, Lord only knows why. Losing my nest put things into perspective for me." We resumed walking, and I let out a sigh as we crossed another intersection, "Alright, I'll let you tag along." She smiled, "Monsters have hearts too you know. I just happened to misplace mine for a few years." "Either that or you've got a silver tongue." Her voice dropped to a sultry tone, "Mmmm, why can't it be both?" "Keep walking sister, this soldier's favorite color is purple." "Booooring~" It was around noon when Cammi and I made it to the hospital, and we were greeted by a hell of a sight. In front of the hospital were six girls, all waiting for me. Tammy was on her feet, a huge shit eating grin on her face. 'Looks like Hart finally let her out of the cage today.' "Well," I said, "That's half of our problem solved." Cammi giggled. Phoebe skipped over to me and wrapped her arms around my neck in a tight hug. After a moment she let go, "Tammy told us everything that's going on Billy, and I have to say I'm super duper happy!" I raised an eyebrow, "What... why?" "Because we're friends in two worlds silly! Isn't that great?!" "Uh... yeah, sure... great." The next to step forward was the long haired blond girl, dressed in jeans and a T shirt. She extended a hand and smiled, "Ah don't believe we've been properly introduced. Mah name is Alice, Alice Jones." "Nice to meet you," I said with a smile, shaking her hand, "Thanks for helping us, I didn't mean to get you dragged into this mess." "S'far as ah figure, any friend o' Tammy's is a friend o'' mine." I nodded softly, then gestured to the woman at my side, "Everyone, this is Cammi." "Charmed," said Cammi with a smile, completely brushing off the glare Tammy sent her way, "I'm not here to sabotage anything, really, just here to lend a hand... or a claw if need be." "And why should we trust you?!" shouted Tammy. The other's looked confused at the librarian's sudden outburst, but I knew exactly why she was angry. I walked towards her and planted my hands on her shoulders, "Hey, calm down," I said softly. She pouted, "You can't trust that woman, she..." "I already know, just relax Tammy, she helped me get away from Discord's goons a while back, she's a friend." Tammy took a deep breath and brought her hands up to mine, "Alright, but if she tries anything funny I'm blasting her." As soon as Tammy said that I saw Cammi grin out of the corner of my eye, and couldn't help but chuckle a little bit. "So how are we gonna do this?" asked Rachel, interrupting the introductions and the slight drama garnered from them. Tammy smirked, "Well, I set up an area near the outskirts of the city, the other half of the plan is whatever William brought." I held up the saddlebag and grinned at Rachel, "You in particular might not like this." "Wha..." Then I opened the bags and showed the contents to all of them. Phoebe let out a squeal of excitement, I think Robin started to drool a bit, Alice shrugged, Tammy looked more interested scientifically than anything else, Felicia smiled when she saw what was inside, and Rachel... Rachel just gave me a flat stare. I laughed, "Told ya." Half way to our destination Cammi had disappeared, leaving Tammy to mutter something about not being able to trust her. The 'area' Tammy had set up looked like a makeshift half-sphere arena of some light blue, glass-like material. It was in a grassy field just outside of a remote housing area at the edge of the city. Not only that, but it was huge, twice the height of my apartment building, and enough breathing room to hold the Olympics. "Tammy, won't people be able to see this?" I asked. "Celestine helped me out, she cast a masking spell around this area. No one will know what happens here tonight but us. I made the duplication spell for the wall, but she was the one that used it, I need all the kick I can get for tonight." I heard a low whistle behind me, "That's some damn good work girl. Ah wish I could use that magic stuff." "Alright everybody," said Tammy, "Let's head inside." As we approached the wall of the 'arena' Tammy lifted her right hand up in a jerking motion. A part of the arena literally shattered, the glass like material scattering out as a doorway was formed for us. The shattered glass stayed suspended, floating about like it was in zero gravity, and parting for us as we walked through it. Tammy shook her head vigorously and let out a roaring laugh, "God it feels good to be out of that hospital!" I let out a low laugh as we crossed into the arena. Tammy flicked her hand again when everyone was through, and the shattered part of the arena snapped back into place, leaving us in the dark. "I've got a question," said Rachel, "This is all fine and dandy, but how do we get Discord here?" I could almost hear Tammy smirk, "We don't, Celestine made sure to let him know we were going to be here." And with that, the arena lit up. Along the wall were candles upon candles, lighting up one at a time until every last nook and cranny of the arena was lit. It was almost blinding, but my eyes adjusted quickly enough. Even the floor beneath our feet was made out of that strange material from Atlantis. Across from us stood a lone figure in a hoodie, hands in his pockets and a mad grin gracing his features, offsetting the dreadlocks the peered out from under his hood, "Twilight Sparkle," he said, "You never cease to amuse me. Not only do you completely ignore my warnings, but you even goad me into a confrontation on my home turf." Robin huffed, "Home turf? What is this brute talking about? This is our city." Discord laughed, it was a low and rumbling sound, and echoed off the walls like the growl of a demon, "You're sadly mistaken Rarity. Generosity was never the smartest element of the bunch, this is my city now. The gangs on the streets belong to me, and they love their new jobs. And you..." Discord pointed to me, "What are you even doing here? A man of war and strength such as yourself helping little ponies like these, is the estrogen getting to you or something?" I laughed under my breath, "Nah, there's just the fact that you dug a thumb into my bullet wound and tried to have me killed. I think I'll side with the girls on this one." Discord brought a hand to his chin, as if in deep thought, "Hmph, I guess I did try to kill you one or two times." "Yeah," I said flatly, "Now it's my turn." I reached behind me, and in a flash the gun was out and pointed straight at Discord, who only grinned. I pulled the trigger once. Discord, against all possibility, side stepped it. That was fine, my plan wasn't to hit him. It would have been cool if I did though. I pulled the trigger again. Another miss, this time Discord started sprinting towards us. "Stick to the plan girls!" I shouted. I heard the flapping of wings, and saw Rachel and Felicia take to the air above us, a blur of cyan and yellow as their wings flapped. Alice and Phoebe darted to the sides. Tammy and Robin, the two mages, were by my side in an instant. "No need to hold back in here!" shouted Tammy, "Let's have some fun!" I could almost hear Robin's grin, "Oh how exciting!" I stepped back, pointing the gun towards the ground, and the mages took my place. Tammy lurched forward, spinning her hands and thrusting them forward. A stream of fire erupted from her fingers and went straight for Discord. He ducked it and jumped forward, hands inches away from Tammy's face... Only to be blasted aside by an invisible wall that Robin had conjured. Robin's jaw dropped, and she looked down at her own hands in shock, "I... I don't even... wow..." "Focus!" I shouted. Discord growled, "Enough games!" He brought his hands to the sky and thrust them down, and... Nothing happened. He cursed under his breath and tried again. I grinned, "Your confidence is your weakness Discord!" Discord gritted his teeth and let out a gutteral roar, "DAMN YOU CELESTIA, WHAT IS THIS TRICKERY?!" Rachel was on him in the next instant, boots colliding with his face. He went tumbling back, and Rachel flew back to Felicia, who grasped her hands and gave a firm nod. Rachel tucked her wings and Felicia started to spin her. After gaining some momentum she let go, sending Rachel fist first into Discord. The spinning was a way to make up for not being able to gain height for a diving attack, Tammy's idea, and it worked wonderfully. Rachel's fist connected with his cheek, sending him flying into the wall with a sickening crunch. Alice and Phoebe were up next. Alice moved like a woman possessed, brandishing her large knife as she approached. Discord's eyes widened when she brought it down, stabbing his shirt into the wall as Phoebe skipped forward and planted her foot right on his chest, "Bad boy!" she shouted, "No moving, k?!" Tammy muttered a spell and Alice's knife started to glow a faint purple color. When the two girls stepped back Discord tried to struggle against the knife, but found that he couldn't move. Then, all six of them were behind me again. One by one they pulled their necklaces from their pockets and laced them around their necks. Lastly, Tammy reached into the jacket and pulled out her tiara, planting it on her head. "You're finished," I said. Discord smirked, "No my boy, this is only me testing the waters you see." I felt a hand on my shoulder, and turned to see Cammi with a worried look on her face. "Where the hell have you been?!" I shouted. "We'll talk about it later, you've gotta stop this!" "What?!" "This is exactly what Discord wants! Look... I know you don't trust me, and I know Tammy sure as hell doesn't either. I can't blame either of you for that, but if you don't stop the Elements from hitting Discord something horrible is going to happen!" My eyes widened, and I turned to Tammy, trying to tell her to stop, but it was already too late. The girls were already floating off the ground, their eyes glowing solid white. "Shit." I moved fast, pulling away from Cammi and sprinting to Discord. I made it to him just as the spell activated. The rainbow bursting out of the six of them was hardly what I thought would happen. I placed my gun to Discord's head, "I will NEVER let your plans succeed." Then I aimed at the knife that was pinning him to the wall. His eyes widened, "What are you doing? Wait!" "Making sure you fail." I pulled the trigger. The knife clattered to the ground, and I leaned down and grabbed Discord by the collar, tossing him to the side. "You little vermin!" he shouted, "How dare you?! You are MY pawn, MINE! You do what I want!!" Then the spell hit me, and everything went white. 20: Shadows of the PastChapter 20: Shadows of the Past I was sitting in a chair. It wasn't just any chair, though. Before I went to basic training me and twenty other people were hauled away on a flight. When we landed in Texas we were all herded to a hallway exiting out of the airport. This hallway had an office on the right where I caught my first sight of a Military Drill Instructor. Just by looking at the guy I could tell he was a total hardass. He was shorter than me, but he looked like he could tear the armor from a tank with his teeth if he really wanted to. Looking back, I realize it was the way he carried himself. This hallway was also lined with chairs; stiff wooden things with no arm rests. As we were pushed into this hall the Drill Sergeant came out screaming his head off for us to plant our asses on those chairs. Naturally, we did what any high school kids confronted with a screaming man with military experience would do. We listened to him and planted our asses on the chairs. We were yelled at to sit with our backs straight and our hands on our knees, and we did so without hesitation. The drill instructor returned to his office and left us out there for an hour. By the time he had returned my back and my rear were starting to ache, but I had not moved an inch out of fear. I remember that chair to this day. It was the chair I was sitting in after my world had turned white. In fact, my world was still white. The only things that seemed to exist were myself and the aforementioned seat. I sat there, staring at my feet and contemplating exactly how I had ended up there. "It's strange, isn't it?" I looked up, and standing a few feet in front of me was Twilight. It appeared there was some type of surface under us, but it blended in with the rest of the whiteness surrounding us. "What is?" I asked. "All this." There was a long moment of silence following that. We just stared at each other, and that felt like the only thing that needed to be done. Eventually I cleared my throat, "So... nice weather." Twilight only giggled and trotted a bit closer to the bench, "The pegasi really outdid themselves this time. Even the ground is clear." "Are you real?" She only smiled, "You tell me." "I don't know. Maybe I'm dead. Maybe I see you before I die because I..." I hesitated to finish the sentence. When she realized I wasn't going to keep talking she sighed and shook her head, "Careful, a mare might get hopeful if you start talking like that." "Ha, you're so buried in your books all the time I didn't think you would notice I was interested." She rolled her eyes, "Oh come on, I'm not that bad. All the blushing and the lack of protest to the nuzzling made it pretty clear." "So what now? We just sit here and talk?" She trotted closer and jumped onto the bench. After a moment of adjusting herself she laid down with her head on my lap. I rested my hand on her mane and she closed her eyes. "I guess so. Tell me about Clark." I broke my gaze away from her to look into the endless white. She probably knew what she said bugged me, "How do you know about him? The only person I've ever told is Doc." "You're the one who decided I'm not real." "Right, but I don't know how magic works. I could be passed out and you could be in my head." She clucked her tongue, "Busted." "Am I in a coma?" "No, but..." "The word 'but' isn't very reassuring to me at the moment." She opened her eyes and looked up at me, pulling my gaze back to her with her magic, "I need you to trust me William. Now, tell me about Clark." "Clark was... he was my best friend." There was no flash, nothing went completely black, there was no dramatic scenery change. It was almost like it clicked into place, like someone had pressed the play button on a remote somewhere. All around us was the scene of a desert, and a few yards away were Clark and I. Clark, as I had expected, was dragging my happy dehydrated ass across the desert. "We met in basic training, and we even got sent to the same base. When our orders came up we both even ended up deployed to the same squadron. It was almost like..." "Like God was trying to keep you two with each other." I laughed, "Something like that. You guys have God in Equestria?" She smiled softly, "Something like that." The other me collapsed into the sand, and Clark was screaming at me to get up, but I couldn't hear him. "What happened to him?" "Our convoy got ambushed. I can't even remember how we got away, but we ended up walking through the desert trying to get back to our FOB. We walked for miles, eventually our exhaustion caught up to us. I was the first to collapse, and Clark wasn't strong enough to carry me back. The taliban found us, and... they captured us." The scene changed again. This time it was that interrogation room. I had seen that disgusting fucking place in my dreams far more than I wanted to. And it was right in front of Twilight. I didn't want her to see this. I didn't want her to see this part of me. She pushed her muzzle into my side gently, "It's okay William." "No, it's not." I saw them put the gun against Clark's head, and I saw them pull the trigger. I gritted my teeth. "It will never be alright." "You blame yourself for his death." "If he'd left me..." Twilight leaped atop me and wrapped her hooves around me, "Don't think like that." "I like to think that I'm alright, but..." I returned the hug and buried my head in her mane, "But every time I wake up from that, every time that I remember it... I think it should have been me." "William..." "Did you know when I was getting your medicine to you through the veil I tried to take charge of the group?" "What?" "I almost got Rarity killed, if it wasn't for Dash and Fluttershy... I blanked, and it was all I could do to try and save her. I remembered the gunfire, and I remembered Clark's death. I remembered it all like it had just happened. Christ, I'm surprised I can even point a gun straight anymore without putting the barrel in my mouth." Twilight pulled slightly away and locked her eyes with mine. "I want you to listen to me William." "So you can say you're sorry?" She shook her head, "No, so I can make a promise to you. You are our friend, and friends help each other and take care of each other. I want you to know that we'll always be there if you're going through a rough spot. Human, pony, whatever else we take the form of, we will always be by your side." "And what do you get out of this deal?" "The same thing in return." "... It's really that simple?" "William, I can speak with conviction when I say that nothing is ever simple. However, I can also say that a promise made by one of us is worth more than any treasure you could find." "Ha, that is the cheesiest shit I've ever heard." "Oh shut up." When my eyes snapped open the first thing I did was gasp for air. My vision was blurred and I couldn't make out where I was at, but I felt a pair of arms wrap around me, "Thank God you're awake." My vision started to clear, and the first thing I saw was the girl latched to me, Tammy. "Hey to you too. Thanks for the helping hand." She pulled away and blushed, "I wasn't sure it would work. I had no idea what I was dealing with. I can't even remember what I did." I smiled, "Well you weren't exactly human at the time. I was gonna make a joke about how your pony version beat you to the punch, but I guess it WAS you." "I... wha... I don't even..." "I think until we understand how these worlds are connected we won't be able to figure something like this out no matter how hard we try, so maybe you should just jot it down in your notebook." Tammy nodded solemnly and let out a sigh, "I guess I can let it go for now, but I'll be studying and experimenting very soon. We're gonna figure this out if it takes us decades!" "You're a bit scary when you get all academic." I noticed we were still in Tammy's makeshift arena, so I couldn't tell how long I'd been out after I got nailed by the elements. "Oh oh oh! He's awake he's awake! I need to get in on this!" The sudden weight of another person knocked the air from both of us, and the poofy hair was enough to identify the culprit, "Hey, Phoebe," I grunted. "Come on everybody, don't just stand there! He's okay! Group hug!" Surprisingly, the first to approach and attach herself to the three of us was Felicia. Hot on her heels was Robin, "We were so worried for you, Dear. Tammy's spell was so dangerous, but I couldn't talk her out of it." Alice wasn't far behind, a huge grin on her face. "Come on Rachel!" shouted Phoebe, "You too, don't be a grumpy pants!" "I don't do hugs." "Rachel," said Felicia, "Please." "Dammit, fine." With that, Rachel joined us, and the group hug was complete, except... "Where's Cammy?" I asked. I felt a hand ruffle my hair, followed by a rather enchanting laugh. I rolled my eyes to the top of my head and saw Cammy crouching down to me, just outside of the group, "Right here," she said softly, "I'm glad you trusted me. You did good." "What about Discord?" I asked. Cammy clucked her tongue, "He got away. He was pretty pissed off though, so I think we set his plans back some." "Good, it's better than nothing. Now, can everyone get off so we can get out of here?" "I'm okay with that," said Tammy, "I need to dismantle this place, and we all deserve some rest after this." 21: AnomalyChapter 21: Anomaly Discord got away. That was the one thought that had been nagging at me the entire walk back home. Discord had escaped, and there was nothing I could have done to stop it. Our friends had each gone home, but Tammy walked with me to my apartment. She walked in silence until we reached our destination, then she kissed me on the cheek and said goodnight. Even the apartment itself was eerily quiet. I opened the door and took a deep breath. Now that we had nothing to do I would have to return to work the next day. It would be strange, working in a cubicle next to Phoebe like the fight against a supernatural entity hadn't taken place the night before. I was sure the party animal could manage it, but I didn't know about myself. All I could do was go to sleep and hope for the best. The first thing I felt was the warmth of the sun, and the grass underneath me. I cracked one eye open and let out a yawn. Standing on all fours, I stretched out my wings and let out a sigh. Without missing a beat I started walking towards the town in the distance. There was something about that spot that kept pulling me there, and now that Discord was missing it was time to start looking into the more questionable things that had been happening to me since I first arrived in Equestria. When I got to the library it wasn't tto surprising that I could hear various sounds of panic coming from inside. I stood in front of the door and frowned. "I can't find it Spike! Are you sure you put it back on the shelf?" "I'm positive!" I raised a hoof and knocked on the door. After a moment of waiting and hearing what I presumed to be books falling all over the place, Twilight opened the door with her magic and smiled at me, "Hello William. I was wondering when you'd get here." Her mane looked a bit haggard, and there were bags under her eyes. I looked around her and saw the mess she had created. Books were everywhere, particularly in the middle of the main room. They rose, stack by stack, as if they were a small mountain. "Uh... Twi, what's going on in here?" "Oh that?" She gave a nervous laugh, and I tried to ignore the fact that her eye gave a small twitch, "I'm just looking for a book." "Riiight. Do you need any help?" "Help?" she squeaked. Before I could react she had her hooves wrapped around me, "I would love to have help, William. I've been awake since last night trying to find this book. I think it's hiding from me!" "Twi, listen, maybe you should take a nap." "Nap? Nap... no time to nap, this is important!" "Uh huh. Can I come in?" "Oh you don't have to ask me to come in, William." I would have normally taken that as a heartwarming sign of trust between the two of us, but the way she said it almost creeped me out. With a resigned sigh, I stepped past the threshold and Twilight shut the door behind me. "What's this about, Twi? What book are you trying to find?" "A book on dreams. Particularly a book on lucid dreaming and the effect it has on pony mentality. I remember reading it when I first moved to Ponyville, and it was fascinating to me. Right now I need it for a more practical use, and time is of the utmost importance. I have a schedule to keep." Spike walked in from the other room, a book tucked under his arm and an unamused expression on his face, "She's been like this ever since that weird dream she had." I tilted my head, "Dream?" "Yes!" shouted Twilight, grinning at me, "A very interesting dream. Also important. Very important. I woke up right afterwards and started working." "What was the dream?" Twilight's crazed expression slightly faltered, "You were there, but you weren't a pony." Things were starting to make a bit more sense to me. "Spike, you got sleep last night, right?" I asked. "Yeah." "Can you clean this mess up and refile all the books while I calm her down?" "Sure." "Calm me down? I'm perfectly calm. There's nothing wrong with me at all." Spike began staking random books together, and I set a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, gently turning her towards the stairs leading to her room. "You need to lay down," I said, "You've been at it all night, and it's time to rest." "But..." I shook my head, "Twi, there's no need to tear yourself apart like this. I know what that dream you had was, and I'll explain it to you after you get some sleep." Twilight closed her eyes, took a deep breath through her nose, and nodded, "Alright. Okay." "That's better." She followed me upstairs and got into her bed without protest. Within minutes she was softly snoring, a content little smile on her face. I decided it would be best to help Spike clean up the mess downstairs, and set about doing so. After helping Spike straighten everything out I found a small cushion in the corner and took to reading a very interesting book I had found called 'Daring Do'. Spike continued to dust and do menial chores, and eventually ended up napping in the corner of the library floor. Poor little slave. It was a few more hours before I heard Twilight coming downstairs, still looking quite drowsy. "Fell better?" I asked, shutting the book gently with a hoof and giving her a smile. Twilight's response was a yawn and a giggle. "I'm sorry about that." "It's fine, I was kind of confused when it happened, too." Twilight made the rest of her way downstairs and laid down next to me, tucking her muzzle into my neck, "So what happened, anyways?" Blood rushed to my face from the small show of affection, and I cleared my throat, "It wasn't exactly a dream. We fought Discord, and we thought we had him, but..." "What happened?" "I don't know. There's this woman I met, a Changeling." Twilight's eyes widened, and she pulled her head away to look at me, "A Changeling?" "Yeah, her name is Cammy. She's been helping us out. She barely managed to keep us from using the Elements on Discord. Apparently he wanted that magic to hit him. I don't know why." "It's possible that foreign magic could cause a disruption in your universe, but if that were the case it would have had some sort of reaction just from you taking the Elements to the other side. There's also that fact that an outside party, this Changeling, knows about said effects." "I know she knows more than she's letting on, and I intend to speak with her about it tomorrow... if I can find her." "What happened to the Elements?" "They're in our hands, but Discord got away." Twilight clucked her tongue and frowned, "Not surprising. He was equally slippery when we went up against him. Now... about this dream." "Right, that's what we wanted to talk about in the first place. To keep Discord from getting what he wanted I had to take the hit from the Elements. I ended up blacking out. Nearest I could tell I was in some sort of magical coma. You... the human you, cast a spell so you could get into my head and pull me out somehow." Twilight frowned, "The Elements of Harmony are inherently a good magic. For it to have an adverse effect on you like that..." "There would have to be something that causes it." "Clark," she muttered. "So you remember the dream." "Every second of it." Her face lit up into a smile, "Oh! This is... this is amazing William!" "What is?" "I must have casted a dream spell! Not just any dream spell, but a very powerful one. Since you were having an inner conflict I must have gone in to try and help you straighten it out. Without that inner conflict the negative effect from the Elements of Harmony would disappear, because you would stop subconsciously resisting the magic they put out." "I was resisting the Elements?" "Well, yes. They're called the Elements of Harmony for a reason. They represent the harmony throughout Equestria, and in the souls of each and every pony. I would assume it works much the same with humans. Your mind was, for lack of a better word, discordant, so the Elements almost damaged you." "Okay, that makes sense... I guess." Twilight giggled and shoved me softly with her hoof, "Of course it does." "There's something else, too. The spot I keep waking up in. A while back you said you were able to guess that I ended up there, but that still leaves the question of why I'm appearing there and not someplace near the veil." "That's been nagging at me, as well. Tomorrow we'll be going out to analyze the site. I'll have to reschedule a few things because of what happened last night, but it shouldn't be too much trouble." Before the conversation could continue Twilight's door almost burst off its hinges. We looked over to see Rainbow Dash, heavily panting with a worried look on her face, "Twi, I'm so glad you're here! Something's wrong." That didn't sound good. Dash led us to the south edge of town, where it seemed an entire crowd of ponies had already gathered. The crowd looked like it was about to go into full on panic mode, and I could tell even from a distance that it would only take something small to set them off. A few yards out, Dash stopped and turned to me and Twilight, "I don't know what the hay is happening," she said, "One minute everypony is doing their thing, and the next that thing appears and they're all panicking." Twilight frowned, "Thing, what thing?" "Look for yourself." In the center of the crowd, ponies standing just out of reach from it, was what appeared to be a shimmer in the air. It looked almost like the veil that I walked through, a small patch of space that reflected its surroundings. The muttering within the crowd of ponies was growing louder by the second. Twilight stepped forward, "Please keep your distance!" she yelled. The crowd seemed to listen, luckily. I was thankful the people in Ponyville seemed a bit more willing to listen than the average city slicker, the last thing we needed was a gawking crowd. "Please disperse!" continued Twilight, "I'll speak with the mayor and we will contact the princesses in light of recent events. Until then I'll contact the guard and the area will be quarantined!" I couldn't help but admire how efficient Twilight was at dispersing all those ponies. In less than ten minutes they were all on their way away from the site, and only me, Twilight, and Dash remained. Of course, there was still the problem of the magical anomaly appearing out of nowhere. Twilight stepped towards it cautiously, putting up a magical barrier around herself as she did so. When it didn't appear that the anomaly was going to lash out, she let the barrier drop. Still cautious, she was only a few feet away from it, examining it as only a scientist would. "I've never seen anything like this before," she muttered under her breath, "It looks like the veil, but it's not resonating with any kind of magic." "What's that mean?" asked Dash. Twilight took a deep breath and stepped away from it, "I honestly have no idea." Dash let out a harsh laugh, "So, what? It's just a random shimmering spot that happened to appear out of thin air?" "No," said Twilight softly. "If I would call it anything... it would be a tear." I sighed, "Can't I just have one normal day?" 1-2: DreamA/N: So here I am... writing about ponies. Never thought it would come to this. Chapter 1: Dream Part 1 "DOWN DOWN DOWN!" I hit the dirt... Didn't even hear the explosion, just saw rocks and other debris fly towards me the split second before I covered my head. I could hear the muffled sounds of gunfire through my ringing ears, but I couldn't move. Dying had always been expected when a soldier got sent out like I did, but that didn't stop us from enjoying what little remained of our lives, and trying our damnedest to get back home on two legs and not in a casket. For me it was the scariest thing I'd ever done. And right then... right at that moment, I closed my eyes and prayed that I would make it home safe to my family. "... Jenk..." I managed to pull my head up and looked at my surroundings. The gunfire was still going on, our vehicle was crippled, but despite being ambushed we were holding our own. I couldn't quite hear, but I saw a familiar face close in on mine, and felt a hand grab my shoulder. "Reggie's injured, we gotta get the fuck outta here, call in air support..." I could tell he was yelling, but he might has well have been whispering. I went for the radio on my belt. "..Jenkins..." "HQ this is Road Runner!" I took cover behind the remains of our vehicle... My gun... where was my gun? As soon as I asked myself that question someone had already pressed an M9 sidearm into my free hand; I didn't see who. "HQ this is Road Runner!" "Go ahead Road Runner." "Jenkins, are you alright?" Just like that I was laying on a soft couch once more, staring up at the ceiling of a richly decorated office, an oak fan spinning above me, dim light in the center. A cold sweat was running down my forehead, "I am now... thanks Doc." Doctor Mitchell was a very composed and kind man. He didn't charge people much, and he knew what he was doing. Granted, some part of me thought a lot of the shrinks and psychs on the market were money grubbers, but talking to Doc Mitchell really helped me. I wasn't over it, and I doubted I would ever really be over it, but talking to someone about it, especially after living on my own for so long, helped a lot. "Talking to your parents again?" "Yeah... yeah, Mom's been real worried about me, but it's helped a lot. I haven't told them about the things I saw or the PTSD, but it helps..." "Why won't you tell them?" "That'd just be adding more stress to what they have to deal with, besides, I like to think I've been doing pretty good so far. I don't drink myself under anymore, I don't have to take sleeping pills." "But you still have the flashbacks and nightmares." "Yeah. They're really... vivid. Almost like I'm there, but not quite." "It's different for everyone Jenkins. Your case is pretty intense, but nothing a man like you couldn't handle, just remember, you're not on your own, and you never will be." "Yeah... thanks." Our session was over before I knew it, and I was back on the street and walking through crowds of people to get back to my apartment building. I was doing okay, I really was, especially compared to when I first got back. I got discharged from the military, well... not discharged. I only had a few months until my reenlistment, so they labeled me ineligible and let me fall out of line like a good little soldier. I wanted to keep serving, but I was in no condition to do it, and I knew just as well as everyone around me that I needed help, so I went out and got it. The charges were always either paid for completely or discounted considerably. The paper work and arguing I had to do to get it going was ridiculous, but it ended up on the better end of things. Of course, there was the matter of what Doc had said. "You're not on your own, and you never will be." That was what scared me the most. Eventually my parents would die. I had my friends at a small desk job, but we never really did much together. Not to mention, I wasn't exactly in any hurry to get married. At least... until THAT happened. A crosswalk about halfway back to my apartment was always the most annoying one to cross. The walk light was broken, so people had to rush really fast across when the corresponding light turned red, lest they ended up playing a live action game of Frogger to prevent death by delivery truck. So that was exactly what I did, just like every other time walking home from my shrink. Unlike every other time, I collided into someone and we both took a nasty fall onto the asphalt. I managed to catch myself on my hands falling back, and I was already feeling the burns forming on my palms. "Ow... ow ow ow, crap..." I looked up, and was greeted by the strangest sight I had the privilege of seeing since I had returned from my little overseas trip. A girl about a foot shorter than me, fallen on her backside, panicking over a stack of what looked like a lot of school material. That wasn't what caught my eyes though. It was her weird hair. Down to her mid back, it had been dyed a very dark purple, almost a blue, with a single magenta streak running from her hair line all the way down to the bottom. "Erm... lemme help you with that." "Crap, now I'm gonna be late." 'Or you could just ignore me.' I decided it would be more productive to help her pick up without waiting for her permission, and set about doing so. "Sorry I ran into you," I mumbled, handing her the half of the books I had retrieved, "You sure you don't need help with all this stuff?" She took them from me without so much as a thank you. The stack of books reached all the way to her neck as she carried them. "No time. In a hurry... can't be late!" And just like that she was gone. The blare of a horn snapped me out of my small daze and I ran the rest of the way across so the intersection could get moving again. 'Huh... what a strange girl.' I reached the third floor of my apartment building and opened the door to my new home just as the sky started turning orange. I was immediately accosted by a small and furry orange creature rubbing against my leg and purring. "Hey Mishmash," I said, picking the cat up and closing the door behind me. "You miss me?" I asked with a grin, rubbing him behind his ears. I set about my daily tasks, throw my sweater on the couch, turn on the TV, and plop down to watch it until I got over my laziness enough to cook a terribad TV dinner for myself. All in all it had been a pretty good day, and for some reason, instead of thinking about what Doc had said I started thinking about that strange girl on the intersection. It was kind of hard not to. Even in a city like that she stuck out like a sore thumb. Never in my life had I encountered someone with hair like that. I'd seen punk hair girls dye their stuff blue, I'd seen spike mohawks dyed red... But it was weird, aside from the color her hair cut had been rather normal. "Guess it takes all kinds," I muttered to myself, closing my eyes to take a nap while the TV blared in the background. At first I thought it was coming from the TV... "Shut the fuck up! What did I tell you! Huh!" Then I heard a loud noise out in the hallway. I jumped up from the couch, almost knocking poor Mishmash into the air and hitting my shin on the edge of my coffee table. I hissed in pain, stumbling out of the apartment and catching sight of something that made my stomach turn. There was a small part of my mind that told me to close the door and ignore it, the same part of my mind that almost caused me to back out of my enlistment in the military. Did I really want to get involved in this? That was the question. "Hey!" I shouted, propping the door open with the small trash can by it and walking to the couple on my left, which the commotion had been coming from. I caught sight of the poor girl, huddling against the wall and muttering under her breath like she was broken. The guy standing over her looked like a college dropout, messed up dust jacket on, tussled black hair, and facial hair that made him look like a drug head, combined with his pale complexion and the welts on his face it was safe to assume he was on something. "The fuck is going on out here, eh? I'm trying to sleep!" I yelled. The guy smirked and threw his arms out, as if innocent, "Just a little lovers quarrel, nothin' for you to be worried about man." "Oh yeah?" "Just go back into your apartment man, nothing to see here." "Step away from the girl." The man frowned, "This ain't your business man." "Did you fuckin' hear me or not? I said get away from the girl!" "Wanna play hero? Aight." The next seconds were like a surreal flashback to me. He pulled the gun from his jacket and I had almost no time to react. I reached down for the trash can and yanked it from the door, throwing it right at his face. This attack sent him stumbling a bit, but not before he got a shot off. I thought I heard the girl shriek, but I already had the guy pinned down before he was able to shoot again. I disarmed him and put his own gun against his head. Every instinct was screaming at me to pull the trigger. "HQ this is Road Runner!" "They're coming up on our flank!" "WE NEED AIR SUPPORT NOW!" "...Wait" I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. The guy I had pinned to the ground was looking up at me, fear in his eyes, but the voice hadn't come from him. I looked over at the girl he was hitting and yelling at earlier. She was about as tall as me, and was in her pajamas at the moment. Her hair was almost unnaturally long, all the way down to her waist, and was a light brown color. "I um... I... I'll call the police, so... you don't have to do that." Despite having a black eye, she was the perfect picture of calm. Her voice was extremely soft and subdued. "Besides, um..." she pointed to my shoulder. Apparently the first shot had hit me in the left shoulder, and now that the adrenaline was gone and it had been pointed out to me I started feeling the pain. "Get the hell offa me man!" I responded by hitting him upside the head with the butt of the gun, causing the girl to flinch a little. "Please don't do that," she said gently, "You could be arrested for hitting him after you subdue him. I'll be right back with bandages, don't move." I noticed that the blow had knocked him out cold, he probably couldn't sustain much damage because he was so drugged out. It was odd that besides the black eye, the girl had looked healthy, usually drug heads like these guys dragged people down with them. I sat against the wall and let out a sigh, setting the gun by my side just as the girl emerged from what I assumed to be her apartment... right next door to mine apparently. After another moment she emerged with a first aid kit and smiled at me. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she knelt down at my left side and set to work. "The police will be here in a few minutes." "You're pretty calm considering what happened," I said. She nodded, "He's not my boyfriend, I've been trying to help him." "That's risky business." "I know." She set the gauze and began to wrap the bandages through and around my shoulder. "My name is Felicia, Felicia Shirley." "William Jenkins... you can just call me Bill, or Jenkins. How'd you get mixed up with a guy like him?" "I feed the pigeons on the roof." "Um... excuse me?" "Oh they're such sweet little birds. I have a small coop that's completely open, and I go up to the roof every morning and feed them. There were hummingbirds where I used to live, it's a shame they don't have them here." "What's this have to do with that guy?" "Oh... right, sorry..." she blushed, "I love animals, so I get sidetracked sometimes. One morning I saw him up there, injecting himself with something, I started talking to him, and he was an okay person, but whenever I brought up that he should quit things like this happened." "And you kept trying anyway?" "Yes, but I'm afraid he's becoming too violent, and it's time to call the police." "Anyone ever tell you that you're some weird mix of naive and responsible?" She giggled, "Only my friend Rachel." An awkward silence followed. "So..." I said. "I'm sorry. I'm not very good at talking to people. I um... uh..." "It's alright, thanks for the bandages, when the police question us at least we'll be stuck waiting together." She smiled and blushed again, "Thank you... for your help." The trip to the hospital, the stitches, and the police taking our statements lasted an extremely long time; I didn't make it home until midnight with Felicia, and we said a quiet goodbye in the hall before returning to our respective apartments. Mishmash was on me in a second flat as soon as I laid down on the couch and turned the TV on. I didn't sleep in my bed anymore because there was no TV. Sometimes leaving a funny show on would help keep my head straight in my dreams and drive the nightmares away. ... I really needed to put my TV in front of the bed. That night I wasn't in for the nightmares of gunfire and explosions and screaming. It was nothing that traumatizing... But it was just as vivid. Chapter 2: Dream Part 2 The first thing I noticed upon waking was that the feeling of my couch was gone, and replaced by soft grass. The second thing I noticed was the warmth of the sun on my face. But something didn't feel... quite right. I opened my eyes, and in my dazed state realized I was staring up at a blue sky. 'How did I end up outside?' That question was less important than the fact that there was no grass around my apartment building, just sidewalk and streets, and the park was several blocks away. Then it dawned on me and I began to slightly panic. I tried to stand, but for some reason I couldn't move quite right, it was almost as if I couldn't push myself up. I couldn't feel my fingers... this caused my slight panic to turn into a full blown freakout. My breathing became ragged as I once again tried to stand up and failed, falling onto my chest and knocking the air out of my lungs. I struggled to breathe. A panic attack... My immobility coupled with the strange surroundings brought beck something I hadn't dealt with in quite a few months. I remembered the basics, pace your breathing and try to slow it down, think about things that calm you down. Once I gathered myself I was able to take deeper breaths, then I looked down and screamed. Hooves? Brown hair covering my body. I fell back and my panic attack started from the beginning. This time I didn't recover, and my world went blank. "... weird." "... be alright?" "I don't know, I found him in a clearing outside of Ponyville. Hopefully he wakes up soon. Do you know him?" "No way, never seen him in my life. Anyway, I gotta go an' meet Fluttershy." "Right, thanks for the help Applejack." "Any time." My brain functions started coming back to me, and the first thing I felt was the warmth of a soft bed. "Spike, get some hot towels." "Aye aye Ma'am!" "Urgh..." "Oh no! Don't push yourself." Something pushed me back down when I tried to sit up. My body still didn't feel right at all. "Where am I?" "A library." For some reason the voice I was hearing was slightly familiar to me. I opened my eyes and let out a sigh when I saw the wooden roof above me. Then I turned to my left and fell out of the bed at what I saw. "What are you... Hey!" For some reason I was back on the bed again, "Wh... what are you?" "What are you talking about?" She... it... looked like a small horse, a small purple horse with a horn... a small purple unicorn. The mane on it looked eerily familiar. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. The girl I ran into on the way home from Doc's place. I didn't say anything. "This is a dream... right?" The small horse laughed, "No... you look pretty awake to me. What's your name?" "Uh... I..." "Hey, you're in a safe place. My name is Twilight Sparkle." "W... William Jenkins." I didn't know what else to do. A very small, very expressive, very strange horse was talking to me. It had to have been a dream. I decided to just roll with it. I had never had a dream that vivid before. It was almost like it was real. Her 'face' showed confusion, "Really? That's a strange name." "No weirder than Twilight Sparkle," I said, giving a forced laugh. "Have we um... have we met before?" "I'm pretty sure I would have remembered you, so no, not that I know of. You look like you've been through a lot, give those hooves a rest." "Hooves?" I looked down again and sighed, "Oh, right." "Is something wrong?" "I... no... nothings wrong." "So did you crash land while you were on a trip or something?" "Crash land?" "You know, from flying? There was a pretty nasty storm scheduled yesterday, and if you don't live in the area and were flying through, you could have gotten caught in it." "Flying? I..." "It's alright, just get some rest and we'll..." "Hot towels as ordered." The voice came from at Twilight's feet... hooves. whatever, and when I looked down a small spikey creature with large eyes greeted me. "Hey there!" "AUGH!" Their eyes widened, and Twilight started to panic, "What, what's wrong? Are you okay?" "Okay look!" I shouted, "I really shouldn't be here, this has to be a dream." "What are you talking about?" "I'm... I'm a horse, why am I a horse?" Twilight looked down at the small spikey creature, confused at my outburst. The spikey creature shrugged. "Why are you talking? Twilight laughed nervously, "Because I learned to when I was little?" "Is he okay?" asked the creature. "Where am I? Just tell me where I am!" "Please, calm down! I'll explain, and then when I'm done, you'll explain, okay?" Calm? I couldn't be calm in a situation like this. Calm was completely out of the question. I could shut up though. "Okay, since you don't know where you are let's start with that. You are in my home, the library of a small town called Ponyville. The town is in a country called Equestria, and is adjacent to the capital Cantalot, which is ruled as a monarchy by the Great Princess Celestia." "You don't have to explain everything Twilight." "Something tells me I do Spike. Now..." she nodded to me, "Your turn, where are you from?" I tried not to let my panic get the better of me again. I was over that stuff, there was no need to go back to jumping at my shadow and being afraid of everything. Especially considering as this was a dream. A very vivid, very lifelike dream... "I'm uh... well... God this is weird. Wherever this Equestria place is, or Ponyville or whatever, I've never been to it. I'm a human, not..." I threw my 'arms' out so they could both see, "This." Spike tilted his head, "A human?" Twilight frowned, "Oh no." "What is it Twilight?" "Oh no. No." She turned around and descended what looked like stairs leading to the bulk of her house, which happened to be a library, just as she mentioned. I could still hear her panicking. "Nonononono... noooooo, this is not good." "Twilight!" shouted Spike, "What's going on?" Twilight came back upstairs with her horn glowing and an extremely thick book floating next to her head. "How did you get here?" she asked. At least it was easy for her to believe me. "Last thing I remember is going to bed after I got home from the police station." "Police station?" asked Spike. Twilight grinned nervously, "Think guards Spike." "Ooooh. Wait, how do you know all this?" I decided to start a checklist at that moment. Things I never thought I'd see horses do, but did anyways: Number one, roll their eyes. "Because I read, Spike. Anyways, what were you doing at the police station?" I sighed and 'sat up' in bed, it wasn't as uncomfortable as it looked, "There was a girl outside my apartment. She was getting beat by this guy, so I knocked him out and she called the cops. They took us in to make a statement, then I walked her home and we both went to sleep, and... I ended up here in Ponydale." "Ponyville," said Spike. "Right, sorry." "This is fascinating," mumbled Twilight, "Spike, strike a letter." "But we just sent one." "This one is more important." Spike pulled a paper out of seemingly nowhere, along with a quill, and Twilight started, "Dear Princess Celestia, I'm writing you now for a gravely important matter. On the edge of Ponyville we found a pegasus..." Pegasus? I twisted my head around. I expected myself to panic again, but at this point it was just dull surprise I was in for. Wings, huh? "When awakened he was greatly confused, and through questioning we have come to find out that he is from beyond the veil. Despite the limited knowledge available on the veil, this could be extremely dangerous, and we should investigate this matter further. Please reply as soon as possible. Your Faithful Student, Twilight." Twilight let out a sigh, "Listen... William. Our goal right now is to get you home from where you probably came." "Probably?" "Well, no one knows much about the veil, other than the fact that it's forbidden, but it's the most likely case." "I'm still not sure whether or not this is a dream." "Well, in any case, she should reply by the end of the day, and depending on her decision you might have to stay in Ponyville for a few days. I have an extra bed that I can set up downstairs." "Thanks... I guess." "This must be really weird for you." "You don't know the half of it." "You must be hungry, we should go get something to eat, can you stand? From what I've read human's walk on two legs." I was kind of hungry now that she mentioned it. "Yeah that's about right. Two hands and two feet, fingers and toes." Twilight grinned, "Fascinating, you'll have to tell me as much as you can before we get you back." "Just... don't make me eat hay." "Don't worry, I know the perfect place to take you, but first..." "Right... standing, gotcha." I was surprisingly dextrous for being a horse... pony... whatever thing, probably because I still retained my higher brain functions. It wasn't that hard to get out of bed like I do every morning, 'feet' to the ground first. Only this time I pushed myself forward and landed on my 'hands'. It took me a few seconds to get the balance issues down, but hell, it seemed easier than walking on two feet all the time, maybe I wouldn't trip as often in this weird place. "Huh... you don't have a cutie mark." "A what now?" "Nothing. Think you can walk?" "Walk? Trot? Yeah I don't know." Twilight started to lead me, and I felt slightly humiliated by the fact that I had to be taught how to walk by someone. After a few minutes of trying not to fall on my face I finally got it down, and she lead me outside. "We're heading out Spike." "Alright, I'll hold down the fort." "Thanks!" It was a bright day, just like when I had woken up, "You sure there was a storm earlier, would it clear up that quick?" "It was scheduled to." "Scheduled? You mean like a weather report?" "No," said Twilight, leading me around the corner of her house and down the dirt road deeper into town, "The pegasi are in charge of the clouds, when we need rain they make it." "Man... wish we could control weather back home." "Your weather acts on its own? That's pretty convenient if you ask me." "Well, not really, it can get pretty nasty. Tornados, tsunami, hurricanes. People die in extreme weather like that." Twilight frowned, "Is death... common where you come from?" "... Yeah." "I'm sorry to hear that, but still, it can't be that bad, right?" "It's not. Life is good, sometimes a bit boring. Sometimes I feel like I could be happier though." "You're not happy?" "I am, I am happy. Happier than I was a few months ago." "Well here we are, the Ponyville cafe." From what I could see of this little town it was... brightly colored, but not so much that it was blinding. Most of the buildings were white and made out of simple materials like wood, the cafe was no exception, and it looked like the tables were all outside, which I suppose made sense, you wouldn't need an inside dining area if you knew exactly when it was going to rain. "Please tell me you have sandwiches." "We do." I knew it wouldn't have meat, but I didn't care, I was absolutely starving. There was an egg sandwich though, so I asked for one of those. The tables outside didn't have chairs near them, and were low enough where we could just sit on our hinds and eat like that. "You're taking this surprisingly well." "I've been through worse, besides, I already got all my freaking out and screaming out of my system. Now I just want to get home, If I don't show up to work or my shrink I'll get called in as missing." "Shrink?" Dammit. "A psychologist. He um... helps people with their problems by talking to them." "Really?" Her eyes widened in excitement, "How come I never thought of that?" She frowned, "We could REALLY use one of those here." "You don't have psychologists or anything? Then again, this place seems rather... cheery compared to where I'm from." "No, trust me William, we need one." For some reason she sounded desperate, and for some reason that made me smile. "It's not funny," she grumbled. "What, is everyone crazy?" A nervous laugh was all I got in response, so I decided not to press the issue any further. "God it's weird," I grumbled to myself, adjusting my position, "Hopefully I won't be sticking around long enough to get used to it." Twilight sighed, "Too bad is what I say. The veil and the humans are some of the most interesting subjects I've studied. I know it's selfish, but it would be really neat if you got to stay here for a few days, and I think you'd like it." "Well, I'm not exactly human right now," I said with a smirk. "That doesn't matter, I can still ask you questions, and I've got questions." "Better get started then." "What's your government like?" "Wow, way to choose the hardest question right off the bat. Anyways, it depends on what part of the world you're in. You guys probably have countries over here too." "Yeah, we do." "Alright. So the world is split into seven continents, and these continents have their own countries. I'm from the North American continent, from the country of the United States of America. Our government is what you call a democracy, we vote in a bunch of people to make decisions, including one person called the president, who has a hand in leading the military, and some of the bigger decisions." "You vote ponies into positions of power?" "Yeah, it was founded on being able to choose and have freedom. People abuse it naturally, but hopefully it works out in the end." "Abuse of power huh?" "Yeah, it's pretty common where I'm from." Before we knew it our sandwiches had arrived. Twilight seemed to have some sort of magical power she used to carry stuff, because she was now using it to levitate her sandwich so she could eat it. I sighed and leaned down to start eating mine, not even bothering to use my 'hands'. Twilight didn't say anything, so it probably wasn't that weird. Honestly, it was the best egg sandwhich I ever had. Toasted to perfection, tomatoes, lettuce, and yolk cooked eggs. Then again, I had been eating TV dinners for a year, anything was better than that stuff. "That was the best damn egg sandwich I've ever had." Twilight laughed, "What's that word?" "What word?" "Damn." For some reason it was REALLY weird hearing a word like that come from Twilight, "Erm... don't worry about it, it's a human thing." "Alright, well, I'm glad you liked it. While we're waiting for a reply I should take you to meet my friends." "Alrigh..." BOOM My whole world flipped. I ended up on my back with my hooves tucked and a sharp pain rolling up my spine, "What the..." Then I heard the laughing. "Rainbow Dash, what are you doing?" shouted Twilight. I craned my neck to get a better look and laid eyes on the entire spectrum of the rainbow, and that was just her mane and tail. "Oh man, I'm sorry... heheheh, hahahaha..." She didn't SOUND sorry. "Thanks for checking on the shell shocked veteran over here," I grumbled, rolling over and pushing myself back up. "OO OO!" The rainbow pony was in front of me in an instant, "Did you just say veteran? You must know some SWEET flying moves then." "Um... not that kind of veteran." "Awww..." her face fell, but then she perked up in the next instant, "Well I can show you some stuff." "I'm not really..." "We should go dive bombing, that would be AWESOME!" "I don't know how to fly." She stopped and tilted her head at me, "You what?" "I... I can't fly..." For some reason I was embarrassed to admit this. There I was with a pair of wings glued to my back, and despite humanity dreaming of flying I couldn't do jack with them. "What is thi... I don't even..." she turned to Twilight, who laughed nervously. "Listen, I'm not exactly from around here." Rainbow Dash turned to me once more, "You mean Ponyville." "No, just... here." "Equestria?" "No, as in... HERE." I gestured to the ground at our hooves, which only made Rainbow Dash even more confused. "He came from the veil," said Twilight. "Wait, you're a human?" Twilight frowned, "You sure know a lot Dash." "I don't read as much as you, but I've seen a few things, especially since you moved here. Well no wonder you can't fly then! C'mon, let's go, we've got work to do!" Before I knew what was happening Rainbow Dash was shoving me away from the cafe, and for some reason I felt compelled to follow. "Wait!" shouted Twilight, "Dash, he's..." Rainbow Dash had taken me to some hills on the edge of town, and Twilight had followed, her protests drowned out by Dash's excitement the entire way. The sound of a coaches whistle blowing drew my attention to Rainbow Dash. Where in the hell she got an orange jumpsuit and a whistle I will never know, "Listen up Trainee!" ... That sounded familiar. "Today you will learn to fly! You will push yourself to the limit, and then you will push more!" If there was one thing I still had going for me it was my military bearing and discipline. Rainbow Dash was not fucking around, so I wouldn't either. "YES MA'AM!" Twilight rolled her eyes, "You're getting way too into this." Dash grinned, "I like that attitude! Alright Trainee. The first thing you must learn is that flying is not easy, it does not come naturally, and it will take time!" Twilight frowned, "Dash, he won't have the time to..." "Now, first we'll cover the basics. Get your belly on the ground trainee, we're going through the positions!" It went like this for a while. I figured out how to move my wings on their own, and we cycled through the in air positions on the safety of the ground over and over again. "Alright!" Another whistle blow. "Same time tomorrow!" shouted Dash. "That's the thing," said Twilight, "I don't know if he'll be here tomorrow." "Oh, trying to get home?" "Pretty much," I said, "Sorry about that." Rainbow Dash looked really disappointed. Even if it was all a dream, I still felt bad for ditching her like that, "Listen, I'll be back same time tomorrow after lunch if I'm still not back home." Dash took a deep breath, "Alright, you better be ready!" "Got it!" This was getting ridiculous. "Alright, this'll be our last stop for the day, since the suns going down." "Who lives here?" Twilight had taken me to the edge of what looked like a forest. In front of us was a strange looking cottage. "I wanted to do this first, since she's the hardest, but Dash kind of... interrupted." "It's alright. This is all weird and wrong to me, but you guys are pretty cool." ... Despite the brightly hued color scheme and the diabetes inducing surroundings. Twilight walked forward with me tailing behind her, and brought her hoof to the door to gently tap it. "Fluttershy, it's Twilight." I found it weird that Twilight didn't yell to get her friend's attention, and normally you would knock harder, then when the door opened I didn't find it weird anymore. "Oh... hello Twilight..." Then Fluttershy's gaze landed on me and she let out a gasp. Twilight kicked her hoof into the door, ensuring retreat was impossible, "Relax Fluttershy, he's just a friend. He'll be staying in Ponyville for the night, and maybe a few days." "Oh I um..." "Hi," I said it as gently as humanly possible, but Fluttershy sat on her hind quarters and brought her hooves up to cover her face. My heart melted like butter, "Maybe we should leave," I said through gritted teeth. I felt like I was trespassing somewhere sacred. "No, it's okay, she'll be alright. Go on, introduce yourself." "My name is uh... William, William Jenkins." "... Fluttershy." She talked so quietly I barely heard her. "Uh... nice to meet you." Things were getting very awkward very fast... Wait a minute. "What do you like to do?" An extremely long moment of silence passed before she answered again in a quiet voice, "... Animals." Felicia? I managed to keep my head on my shoulders. If I started doing anything weird now it would probably freak the poor girl out. "Have we um... met anywhere before Fluttershy?" No answer. Dammit. "I own a cat," I blurted out. She didn't say anything, but her hooves went back to the floor and she seemed a little less reserved. "His name is Mishmash and he's like... the best pet I've ever had. Every time I come home he rubs on my leg and begs for food, and he makes sure the mice don't get into my pantry. He loves the soft food that I can get in cans from the supermarket, his favorite is the chicken." The look of fear vanished, and was replaced with a smile, "Does he like to play?" "All the frikkin' time. I have a bunch of cat toys I went out and bought for him. One of them is this fuzzy thing on the end of a stick that I dangle around, he loves to chase that thing." I heard Twilight let out a breath of relief. "How did you get him?" "My mom bought him for me when I came back home from the w... from far away." "That sounds nice, do you think I could meet him?" I frowned, "Sorry, I'm not exactly from around here." Fluttershy pouted and looked at the ground. "We should get going," said Twilight, "It's almost dusk and Princess Celestia probably sent me a letter back by now." "Um..." I turned to Fluttershy, who continued when I was looking at her, "Do you think that... that you could tell me more about Mishmash tomorrow?" "I'm trying to get home..." Her gaze fell again. "But if I'm still here then yeah, I'll tell you all about him." She smiled, "Thank you." Twilight didn't say anything until we were back at her place and through the door, "That went a lot better than I thought it would have," she said with a smile, "She told you she liked animals, but how did you know how to get her talking?" "Erm... luck?" I could keep secrets, but I was a notoriously bad liar. "Okay then Mr. Lucky," she said with a laugh, "Spiiiike!" Spike was by Twilight's side in less than a second. Damn he was fast. "Has Princess Celestia sent a letter back?" "Yep, I wanted to wait until you were back to open it up." "Alright what's it say?" Spike pulled the letter out and unrolled it, "AHEM, My Dearest and Most Faithful Student, Don't worry..." A moment of silence passed. I thought I saw Twilight's eye twitch, "Wait, that's it?" Spike coughed, "Er... I guess so." Another moment of silence. "No," said Twilight, "Nope, I'm not gonna let this get to me. Here's what's going to happen, we're going to go to bed!" "We're what now?" I asked. Twilight turned to me and huffed with a smile, "We're going to bed William." "But I..." "No, trust me, in the few years I've spent in Ponyville I've learned a very valuable lesson." "And that is?" "To take vague terms and strange letters as literally as possible, so if the Princess tells us not to worry, then we... what William?" "We don't worry?" "Exactly, now I'll get your bed ready." Twilight actually looked kind of scary right there. In a frame of ten minutes I was laying under a rather cosy comforter on the first floor of Twilight's tree/library. I was slightly nervous about not having a TV to distract my thoughts, but there was something else on my mind as I drifted into a fitful sleep. I was stuck in Ponyland, no one was feeding my cat, my parents and boss would be worried sick... And I was supposed to not worry? What kind of princess was this anyways? BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP I rolled over and slapped the alarm clock to silence it. Fingers... Skin... a small couch with an alarm clock on the floor and a TV showing The Animaniacs. "So it really was a dream." My doorbell rang. 4: Running ParallelChapter 4: Running Parallel I tried not to let myself worry too much, after all, it made sense that something happened to Twilight, I saw her get hurt when I was awake, so naturally something would happen to her while I was dreaming. Then again... What was up with Rachel? Why had I meant her after Rainbow Dash in my 'dream'? Not only that, but said dream was extremely vivid, and upon waking I remembered it as if it had actually taken place. The memories of the events that had transpired in 'Ponyville' were still fresh in my mind. And there I was again, standing over a heavily breathing Twilight, tucked in her bed with a wet towel on her head. "What's going on?" I asked Spike, who had just replaced the first towel. He looked up at me and frowned, "I don't know, she just started running a fever, and when I talk to her it's like she barely hears me. I don't know what to do!" "First of all, stop panicking." "But..." "I've panicked enough, and you have too, I think I saw this coming." "You what?" "It's a long story. I just had a feeling Twilight would get hurt." "Who?" "Um... Twilight." "Who?" "Spike are you even..." "That wasn't me." Spike pointed to the head board of Twilight's bed, perched there was a strange little owl. It spun its head around once and looked me right in the eyes, "Who." I sighed and shook my head, "Right, whatever, do you guys have a hospital around here?" "Uh, yeah." "It might be a good idea to get her there." The doctor and the nurse seemed like they knew what they were doing, and checked Twilight into her own room with no hesitation. There were no questions about insurance or being able to pay, they just tossed her into a room and made sure she had everything she needed. After that was done they sent for her friends. Spike and I waited outside as they set everything up, and it was... awkward to say the least. "How did you know what happened to Twilight?" I sighed and sat next to the door, "I didn't say I knew, I said I thought I knew it was going to happen." "Okay." Spike looked back and forth through the hall, as if he were making sure there was noone around to hear our conversation, "So how did you know it was going to happen?" "Would you believe me if I told you?" Spike smirked and crossed his arms, "You're talking to Twilight Sparkle's number one assistant, I've seen some crazy stuff." "Alright, I warned you. You already know that I'm human." "Yep." "What if I told you that I met Twilight before arriving in Equestria?" "You what?" Spike shook his head and dug into his ears with his claws, trying to make sure he heard me correctly. "I said I met her before coming here. Honestly, I'm not even sure if this is all a dream or not." "Wait, but you can't go back home." "That's the thing, I did go back home... last night when I was asleep. Let's say this isn't a dream, when I go to sleep in one world I wake up in the other, you know anything about that?" Spike shrugged, and I sighed, "I figured you wouldn't, and as knowledgeable as she is I doubt even Twilight knows. Let's say that, hypothetically, I'm not dreaming, and these worlds are somehow connected. I was walking home when I ran into Twilight, she was human, like me, but it was definitely her. Last night she got injured on her way back home, and I went to see her in the hospital with her friends, we fell asleep there, and you know the rest." "That's crazy." "Thought you said you've seen some crazy stuff." Spike crossed his arms and grinned, "Yep, but what you're saying is pretty out there." I sighed, "I know, I still don't know whether this is all a dream or not." Our conversation was cut short when I heard the echo of hooves on the linoleum tiles of the hallway. Around the corner came Rainbow Dash, followed by Fluttershy and three more ponies I didn't recognize... scratch that, one of them looked eerily familiar. A pink pony, her trot was almost like a bounce, and her mane looked like cotton candy... kind of like it could explode at any moment. Before I had time to process where I had seen the pink one Dash spoke, "We came as fast as we could, what's going on?" "Twilight's been hurt," I said. The ponies looked worried, that was for sure. "An' who in tarnation is this?" One of the ponies I didn't recognize stepped forward, she wore on her head what appeared to be an old fashioned ten gallon hat, and was orange with a blonde mane tied at the end. "My name is William, William Jenkins." "Well that's a rather odd name." This time it was the white one who spoke. Her mane and her tail were curled perfectly, and I had a feeling I'd seen her somewhere before as well, but I knew for a fact I didn't know her personally, "I'm Rarity," she said softly, "This is Applejack," she gestured to the orange one. "And I'm Pinkie Pie!" The pink pony leapt forward and I was greeted with the enthusiasm of an entire surprise party, she grabbed my hoof and shook it up and down. Ah... that voice. I would recognize it anywhere. 'Life is a party' indeed Phoebe. "Nice to meet you," I said. "Uh huh, we'll get you set up with a party as soon as Twilight's feeling better!" I didn't think it was physically possible for Phoebe to rope me into two short notice parties, much less in different worlds. "So what happened to Twilight?" asked Dash. "Well, like I said, she's hurt." Spike looked up at me and frowned, "Are you sure about this?" Under the scrutiny of her friends I became slightly less sure of my theory, but honestly, with everything that had been happening what I pitched to Spike wasn't that hard to believe. The question was whether it was the truth or not. I had no way to test the theory, and I wouldn't want to anyways, considering it obviously required someone to be hurt in the process. "The short of it is this," I said, "I'm not from this world." "He's a human," said Dash. Rarity tilted her head, "A human? What is that?" I let out a laugh, "If I described what we looked like to you then you would probably think I was ugly or something." "They're like monkeys," said Dash. I sighed, "There are... better ways to put it. Anyways, passing on that for a moment, I told Spike exactly what I'm about to tell you. I'm not sure if I'm dreaming or not, but it looks like there are human versions of you guys in my world." "This is all fine an' dandy, but what's it got to do with Twilight bein' hurt?" "She... her um... human version, was hurt. I went to the hospital to see her with her friends and fell asleep there, when I woke up in Ponyville she was like this. This is just a random thought, I don't know if that's what's really happening, I don't even know if all this is real." Pinkie Pie frowned at me and sat on her haunches, "Well obviously it's real Billy! You're right there, and I'm here, and if I'm not real then that would mean I'm just a figment of your imagination and that would be weeeeeiiiiird, and honestly I think that it would be cool if you were right because that means there's another Pinkie out there and maybe we could meet and we could..." "Slooow down there Sugarcube. Ain't there anythin' we can do to help?" "I don't know. It'd probably be safer to leave it to the doctors, and make sure she knows you guys are here for her, but other than that there's not much you can do. I'll do what I can on my side of things, and hopefully this works out for the better. I can only assume that if she gets better on my side then she'll be okay over here." Fluttershy, who had been quiet up until now, stepped forward and kicked her hoof on the ground, avoiding eye contact with me, "Um... when you said you went to the hospital with her friends... who was there?" "You and Dash, why?" "That's odd," mumbled Rarity, "Wouldn't we all be there?" I shrugged, "I don't know if you all know each other." "Alright," said Applejack, "This is gettin' a bit weird for my tastes." Before we could continue our conversation, the doctor stepped from Twilight's room and let out a sigh, "She's not responsive, it's like she's somewhere else entirely, I could..." The door shut behind him, and I could hear the echos of an EKG. The medical tent was packed to the brim, I could tell that much. The ambush had been brutal, but somehow, most of us had survived. Medical personnel rushed to and fro trying to keep up with the injured soldiers. I shook my head and took a few deep breaths. "Are you okay dear?" asked Rarity. "Yeah... yeah I just need some fresh air." With that I made my way down the hall and out of the hospital. The fresh air really did help. Hospitals weren't exactly my most favorite places, and I was surprised at myself that I was more than likely sleeping in one at that very moment. I didn't need to be in another one unless absolutely necessary. I made my way to a patch of grass nearest the hospital and let myself fall into a laying position. I took a few deep breaths, "Shit I need a drink." "Well I can't help you with that, but I AM deathly curious as to who you are." I closed my eyes and sighed, trying to get comfortable on the grass, "Rarity was it?" "Yes." I could hear her close to me, probably standing right above me. "Well," I said, "Not much to tell really, you know what I am and that I'm not from around here. Shouldn't you be seeing to Twilight." "I already did," she said softly, "Not much to say to somepony that can't hear you." "Aren't you worried?" "That depends on whether or not she's in good hooves." "Or hands in my case. I can't do much, she's already been checked into the hospital, we're sleeping there right now." "Who is?" "Me, Fluttershy, and Dash." "Well, regardless, you must understand that Twilight is the one that brought us all together William, and if she's in danger we'll do everything we can to help her, and I would hope that you'd be able to understand that." "JENKINS!" "WE'RE GETTING THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" "You have no idea," I muttered. Rarity giggled, "I'm glad then, I would hate to have somepony who wasn't confident in themselves looking after her." "So you trust me, just like that?" "Twilight and Spike trust you, do they not?" "I guess so. I'm just hard pressed to meet people like you. Trust is a hard thing to come by where I'm from." "Well I'm sure it has its merits." "It doesn't hurt to be a bit more defensive I suppose. I'm not guaranteeing anything, but I'll do everything I can to help Twilight." "You act tough, but your rather tender on the inside aren't you?" "That's me." Rarity went back inside, and I closed my eyes. I wondered if I fell asleep would I wake up in my world again? My stray thought wasn't satisfied, I wasn't tired enough to slip into a nap; I quickly became bored though. The sun was at mid sky by the time all of Twilight's worried friends had exited and met outside the hospital. Really, who could blame them? They knew as much about what was happening as I did, and explaining my flawed little theory to them didn't do much to help. Ultimately their friend was still sick, and possibly in danger. I looked up at the group and they all waved at me. Pinkie Pie grinned and bounced up and down before hopping off, presumably to set up a party for when Twilight got better. They scattered, all except Rainbow Dash, who walked straight to me. "It would be the normal thing to do... letting the hospital handle it that is," she said. "Your friends don't seem too worried." "That's because I told them what I'm about to tell you. You said she was injured right? Let's say for a second that I believe you, what happened?" "She was hit by a car." "A car?" "It's like... a drawn carriage that runs by itself with a mechanical device, no horses required, just a guy in the driver's seat and a key to get it started. They can go fast, and when they hit someone it's usually lethal." "Isn't that dangerous?" "There are rules so things like this don't happen, but you know... accidents happen, the best that people can do is minimize them. Anyways, you were going to tell me something?" "Yeah, the veil." "The what?" "Ugh..." Dash rolled her eyes and kicked me softly with her front hoof, obviously wanting me to get up. "Listen up! There's a reason I knew about you." "Oh yeah?" She cleared her throat and looked around, almost as if she were slightly ashamed of something, "I like to read okay?" I didn't think I would ever see a pony blush, but there it was. "Yeah?" "And you know... Twilight kind of lives in a library. It started small, with these awesome books called Daring Do." I couldn't help but let out a chuckle, "Daring Do? Are you serious?" "Shut up! Anyways, the point is that there's this veil. The only reason humans have been written about is because a pony crossed it a long time ago, but ever since then it's been forbidden." "And why's that?" "Well I mean think about it," she said with a glare, knocking me lightly on the head with her hoof as I stood up, "Would you let anypony you knew randomly go to a world where they didn't belong?" "Where did this veil even come from?" "Nopony knows, all we know is that it's bad news, but..." "But?" "If there's a version of Twilight hurt over there, and it's affecting our Twilight like you said, then maybe we could send you over with something that helps." "You've got to be kidding, would that even work?" "I don't know, but it's worth a try, I hate just sitting back and doing nothing." "More prone to taking action, huh?" Rainbow Dash nodded, "What you said in there is crazy, but I've seen crazy before, we all have. We've agreed to take you to the veil, but I don't know if we have anything you don't. What's wrong with her?" I let out a sigh and scuffed the ground with my front hoof, "Well, she might have some broken bones and a concussion, maybe even some lacerations, even with help it'll be a few weeks before she's let out of the hospital." Dash raised an eyebrow, "It takes weeks?" Then slowly, her look of confusion was replaced with excitement, "Oh man this is GREAT! I don't know how different you guys are but this means there's something that can help!" "Wha..." "Broken bones are a cinch. I broke my wing and I was only wrapped up for a few days! Might as well have been a month though..." "How?" "I don't know how medicine works! Do I look like a doctor to you?" I smiled, "You raise a good point there." "Okay, so we'll just give you a handful of stuff..." "And then throw me through the veil. THAT'S not risky at all." "Do you want to?" "I didn't say I wouldn't." "AWESOME!" Dash jumped in a way that reminded me of Pinkie Pie, then tackled me to the ground in a bear hug. After a moment of me not being able to breathe she had composed herself and we were standing again, "One problem though..." "That is?" "You still can't fly, and it'll probably take a few days to actually get you going." "So we pack up and head out. We'll hoof it, you can teach me to fly on the way. Our priority right now is helping Twilight, and I can't make you guys stay behind just because I need to learn to fly. Get the medicine we need, pack up for the trip, and we'll just go." Dash nodded and ran to the hospital, and I was once again left waiting outside. The rest of the day passed quickly in preparation for the trip to that veil thing. Everyone packed, and there was even a bag prepared for me, given to me by Rainbow Dash. Everyone was in agreement that we would head out first thing in the morning, so Dash decided to spend the remainder of the day trying to get me to fly. I managed to make it off the ground, but I couldn't stay up for long, so we called it a night. Spike lead me back to the library, and before I knew it I was in bed, trying to get to sleep. It was easier than I thought it would be; exhaustion crept up on me and I drifted off. When my eyes opened the first thing I noticed was the pain in my neck. I brought my hand up and rubbed it, twisting my head around to get a crack out of it. Letting out a yawn, I opened my eyes and saw Felicia and Rachel perched against each other a few chairs away from me, sound asleep. I found myself hoping that the dreams I was having were real... Because if they were, then I could help Tammy, and we could all have one less thing to worry about. 15: Mentor (Part 1)Chapter 15: Mentor (Part 1) I wish I could say that the few hours after the incident with Pinkie Pie were productive, but I would be lying. The pink pony did everything but leave us alone. She prodded Twilight and I with endless questions about what we liked about the other, what we thought our first date would be like, and other increasingly embarrassing inquiries. Luckily she was too busy jumping to new questions to give us any chance to really give her an answer. Eventually Twilight managed to drive her away, but the battle left us haggard and broken. I could hardly look at Twilight without blushing, and so far as I could tell she was in the exact same state. She kept fidgeting back and forth with her front hooves, and couldn't look me in the eyes at all. I cleared my throat, "So... since we can't find much, then what's the plan?" Twilight looked like she was off in a different world, and it wasn't until Spike marched up to her and kicked her in one of her hooves that she snapped out of it, "Huh wha..." Spike glared up at her, "If you go crazy again I'm sending a letter to Princess Celestia right away." Twilight's eyes widened in what I could only describe as pure horror, "NO! No there's no need for that Spike!" She rubbed his head softly with her hoof and let out a sigh, "I was just... thinking. I need to rewrite several checklists." Spike raised an eyebrow at this, "What? Why would you need to do that?" Twilight gritted her teeth, her face wasn't getting any less red either, "Erm... I uh... because I... just... I'll need more free time!" Spike nodded in understanding, "Ooooohh, okay. So you wanna..." Twilight lurched forward and plugged his mouth, turning to me and tossing me a nervous grin as she did so, "HAHAHA SPIKE YOU SILLY DRAGON! You couldn't possibly know what I'd want to do with ALL THAT FREE TIME! I think it's bed time for you now!" I raised a hoof to stop her, "Twi, it's like... lunch time." "Baby Dragons need their rest! Not to mention we have a lot to do William! We have to go see Rainbow Dash and Applejack. You need to learn how to fly, and you need a job and..." "Alright alright I get it." I thought it was better not to ask questions, especially with Spike's muffled screaming echoing through the library as Twilight forcefully dragged him upstairs. We grabbed a quick lunch before actually heading out to meet Dash. Our meeting spot was the same hill she dragged me to during my first day in Equestria. Really, there was nowhere else more fitting for learning how to fly. As Twilight and I approached the hill I saw Dash at the very top, grass blowing around her hooves as the pegasus grinned down at us, "'Bout time you two showed up, I was starting to get a little worried." I smirked, "Well, it'd be a shame if I let down the most badass pegasus in all of Equestria." "I love love loooooove that word! C'mon, let's get started!" Twilight smiled and sat down on the grass at the foot of the hill, "I'll watch from down here." "Alright." I made my way up the hill and took position next to Dash, who was still grinning, "So, you ready to try and actually fly? You know... get a taste of the sky?" "Depends on whether I'll crash or not." "You'll be fine." Little did I know that fine meant constantly looking down in fear and being reassured by Twilight that I was doing just great. Twilight's cheering did wonders, but I still felt like I could drop at any second. I had to give Dash credit, she knew what she was doing. Instead of tossing me into the pool, as it were, she was taking it slow and letting me work on flying around without any fancy tricks or crazy maneuvers. For all my complaining though, it was really one of the most amazing feelings in my life. Here I was, flying under my own power, accomplishing the one dream that lead to the invention of the airplane and an industry of travel centered around flying in air tight tubes with wings. By the time we landed back on the hill it was already around two in the afternoon if the sun in the sky was any indication, which I hoped it was. "You're doing great," said Dash, and just by looking at her I could tell she was being sincere. "Thanks." Twilight ran up to both of us with a wide smile, "You can fly!" she shouted excitedly. Twilight being excited about it boosted my confidence a little... Just a little... Okay, a lot. There was a moment where Dash looked between Twilight and I, then a small smile formed. She stomped her front hooves in the grass as her smile turned to a grin, "You know what?!" she shouted, "The three of us should go out and grab drinks some time." Twilight frowned, "I'm not sure Rainbow, I'd have to rewrite my schedule and..." Dash shook her head, "Nah, I don't mean today Twi, just sometime soon. I mean, William's hardly had any down time at all since he's been here, right William?" She nudged my shoulder, and at that moment I realized exactly why she was grinning. Dash had just become my wingman. This was an opportunity that I would make sure not to squander. "I don't have a problem with it Dash, you up to it Twi?" Twilight smiled, "Yeah, sure." Dash jumped up in the air and pumped her hooves, "Woo hoo! Alright, lemme know when you guys have free time!" Rainbow Dash, professional bro. Bro Rainbow Dash. Rainbro Dash. "Why are you laughing, William?" asked Twilight. "... No reason." Sweet Apple Acres was a sight to behold. I knew Applejack lived and worked on some type of farm but I had no idea that it would be an Apple Orchard, or that I should be taking her name so literally. The place stretched as far as the eye could see, and was twice the size of the largest orchard I'd ever laid eyes on. We started to walk down the trail in between the two fields, and in the distance, past all the trees, I could almost make out their actual property. It appeared they had a large barn as well, but I couldn't see their actual house from where we were. "Well call me a filly! Ah didn't expect ta see ya'll get outta the library for a while. What with all the research goin' on." Twilight smiled when Applejack appeared from the left field dragging a large cart full of apples behind her. 'Reiterating note to self: farm girls are dangerous.' "Hi Applejack!" Twilight gave her friend a short hug and smiled, "I just brought William here because he might be able to help on the orchard." "I thought he was stayin' with you Twi?" Twilight sighed, "Well yeah, but... anypony would get tired of freeloading for that long." I nodded in agreement, "Yeah, Twilight's been great to me, but it's about time I started paying rent. You hiring help?" Applejack brought a hoof to her chin in thought, "We could always use some help buckin' the trees, and it's gettin' about that time o' year. Tell ya what Bill, we'll take ya on as a bucker for a couple weeks, and we'll teach ya about the rest of the orchard while yer workin' in the fields, how's that sound." I smiled, "That actually sounds great." "Show up in a couple days at the crack o' dawn and we'll get ya goin'." The day had gone better than expected. I looked forward to getting to know Rainbow Dash and Applejack a bit more. It didn't take a genius to see that I was making fast friends in Ponyville, as well as the human world I had come from. As Twilight and I returned to the library I couldn't help thinking about all that had happened since I first woke up in Equestria. I was trying to wrap my head around everything that had happened so far, and honestly, it was a bit difficult. I knew there was no use thinking on why I was in Equestria though, at least not until we managed to uncover the secrets of the veil. We were nearing the library when Twilight smiled at me, "Something on your mind?" "Yeah, just thinking how crazy all this is." "Crazy compared to?" I laughed and shook my head, "Trust me, I've seen crazy before." "Oh?" The door was surrounded by Twilight's magic and opened on its own as we approached the library. We made our way inside and I kicked the door shut, "Yeah, real crazy." The sound of hooves distracted me from continuing the conversation with Twilight. The steps belonged to neither of us, and when we looked up I could have sworn I saw Twilight's jaw hit the floor, "Princess Celestia, but I... you don't... he's... I'm..." 'Princess Celestia' indeed lived up to her name, standing at least twice as tall as any other pony I had seen, including myself. Her coat was white in color, and her mane looked more like magic than hair; it was like a bright light spectrum. Not to mention the fact that her hooves were cupped with some sort of golden horse shoes. Then, to top it all off was the crown on her head. Celestia smiled down at me, "You must be William Jenkins then, I've heard a lot about you from Twilight's letters." Twilight laughed awkwardly when the princess leaned down to my ear. "You know," Celestia whispered, "If you hurt her, there might be some consequences." Then, as if nothing had happened, she pulled back up and once again smiled, "It's so nice to finally meet you," she said cheerfully. I had the sudden urge to go to the bathroom. "Nice to meet you too," I managed to grind out. Twilight stepped forward, "But... Princess, what are you even doing here?" "Well, in your last letter you mentioned that that the two of you were having trouble finding historical logs on the veil. I thought I'd try to help you out with that. William being here is acceptable, but if our worlds were to cross any more than they already have it might lead to disaster." I tried not to be nervous at that idea, "They're crossing? What kind of disaster?" Celestia chuckled, "Now now, calm down. There's no need to panic. When Star Swirl went to your world he discovered things of interest, some of which I'll be sharing with you today." Twilight fidgeted a little bit, "What kind of things?" Almost as if on cue, two books floated through the door surrounded by the light of Celestia's magic, and were set at our hooves. "These books are the extent of Star Swirl's research. It's getting kind of late, but there will be plenty of material for you to browse tomorrow, I assure you." I nodded, "Princess, I have a question." "Hmm?" "I'm meeting the same people on both sides of the veil, and I'm sure Twilight's told you about the incident with me having to take medicine to the other side. Do you have any idea why there are counterparts?" "I'm sorry, I cannot answer that question, but you might be able to." "Me?" Celestia chuckled and winked at me, then turned her smile to Twilight, "I should be going. Send me a letter when you discover something new." "I will Princess." "Oh, and DO let me know how things turn out between you two." Celestia's laughter as she left the library only made our blushes deeper. The sun was on the verge of the horizon. Before the door closed, the sight of Celestia walking into the sunset was strangely fitting. Twilight turned to me with a smile when the door shut, "So, dinner then bed?" "Sounds good to me." I woke to the sound of very loud knocking at my door. Stumbling out of bed, I rubbed my eyes and managed to stumble myself into sweat pants and a shirt. Further stumbling through my apartment and nearly killing Mishmash brought me to my front door. I opened it, and two men were standing there, both of them wearing police uniforms. "Hello Mr. Jenkins," said the one on the right, "We're here to ask you a few questions." He flashed his badge, and my throat went dry. What were they there for? As soon as I asked myself that question it all came flooding back. My escape from the warehouse. "Can we come in?"
3: AccidentChapter 3: Accident I stumbled from the couch with a grunt, and Mishmash jumped from my lap before I hit the floor with my feet. After a moment of regaining my balance I let out a sigh. Another ring of the doorbell. I rubbed my eyes and let out a yawn, half walking half stumbling to the door. When I opened it I was surprised at who was standing there and what she was holding. "Felicia?" She was wearing jeans and a peach sweat shirt, and her hair looked like it had been groomed perfectly. If it weren't for the slightly welted black eye she would have looked perfect. "Good morning," she said softly. In her hands was a small tray with two cups of what smelled like coffee with a dash of cinnamon. "I uh... made you some coffee. Would you like some?" "Yeah... yeah sure." I took one of the cups and took a sip. It was delicious, with just the right amount of heat. Not too bitter, not too sweet, with the awesome flavor of cinnamon to back it up. "This is really frikkin' good." "I'm glad you like it," she said with a soft laugh, "I have to go up to the roof to feed the birds now." I don't know why I said it. "You know what? Let me come with you, I'll help you feed them." "Oh... I... I couldn't, you might scare them." "Nah, how hard could it be? It's just laying out some feed right?" "I suppose so. Well, yes..." The roof had an amazing view of the city, that was for sure. In the center was a large vent fan, neighbored by the small coop Felicia had spoken of earlier. Several pigeons were already gathering, and for a roof swarmed by pooping birds every morning it was extremely clean. "So this is it huh?" "Yes." She handed me a small bag of feed and we set about business. "So," I said, tossing a small amount of feed inside the coop, "What's your job? You know... aside from feeding birds." "I work at a daycare center. The children can sometimes be troublesome, but it's a good job, and I like doing it." "You seem kind of meek to be handling crazy kids every day." "Heh... I've had to adjust. A few months ago I would have never been able to talk to you the way I did last night." "Shy?" She nodded, "Mm, even now it's difficult." I tried not to let it bug me that I dreamt of her in the form of a small and socially inept pony the night before, especially considering as I had just met her. "Well, it's good that you can talk to me, I would have been a bit too worried about you last night if you couldn't even say a word. Speaking of which, how's the eye?" "Oh, it'll be alright. It's the first time he got that bad, so I knew I would have to call the police right away." "Right... hey listen, I gotta get going to work, if I'm late the boss man is gonna kill me, so." "Right, have a good day." "You too Felicia." My job consisted of answering phone calls for customer service. The company I worked for was an out of the way computer company that refused to outsource, but was having a bit of trouble hiring people with the right qualifications. If there was one thing I loved more than cleaning the barrel of a gun so it could fire another day, it was building a computer from scratch. I barely had my resume' through the door before they hired me, and just like that I had been working at Tom's Computers ever since I'd gotten back, and had even earned a few raises from my good work. It was hard to find companies like that, so I counted my blessings and brought my best to work every day. Granted we still had cramped cubicles, but the boss didn't give a crap what we decorated them with, and it was a very open work place, nobody was offended by anything. It was the ideal work spot, the kind that people searched high and low for until they ended up settling into a mediocre zombie job. I enjoyed my time in the military, and I enjoyed this job, but aside from a picture of a koala nothing else held its home as a decoration in my cubicle. My cubicle neighbor Phoebe Packard on the other hand, was a completely different story. "Psst..." I had just finished a particularly blaring round of what we like to call 'stupid calls' when Phoebe poked her head over the edge of her cubicle, just enough so that I could see her large blue eyes, but not her mouth. Her blindingly blonde hair was pulled into a tight bun, and looked like it was about ready to explode at a moment's notice. It fit her character well, the woman was a ticking time bomb, and I was surprised she was wearing anything other than a straight jacket. Above her floated a group of bright pink balloons tied to the corner of her desk. The balloons were emblazoned with large yellow letters that looked like they had cake frosting dripping off them, 'Life is a Party' indeed Phoebe. "Hello Phoebe." "I just got an EXTREMELY important call Billy!" "Oh yeah?" "Yeah! It was this lady who was having trouble with her computer." "Erm... isn't that just a regular call?" "Nonononono, you see. This was super duper important because it was for her son's birthday!" "... And?" Phoebe let out a long gasp of horror, "Billy I thought you were better than this! This computer was for her son's BIRTHDAY! If something you give someone at an awesome party doesn't work that's... that's... NOT GOOD!" "Did you take your meds this morning?" "Meds?" "And there's your problem." I couldn't see her lips, but her eyes went into a glare, and I could tell she was frowning, "You don't understand, I have to take these papers up to the boss, I need you to take this call Billy! The party must go on!" "Alright already, just do what you need to do Phoebe." I felt a pair of arms wrap in a death grip around my neck and a kiss planted on my cheek. The next instant she was walking away giggling, "Thanks Billy! Line five is where it's at!" I rolled my eyes and picked up the phone, hitting the button for line five. "Tom's Computers, customer service, this is William speaking, how may I assist you today?" "Hello William, my name is Barbara." I frowned, she sounded elderly. "Hello Barbara." "Right... My son Gregory works at the police station as a jailer, and he loves those virtual games you can play on the computer, so I bought him a nice one from Mr. Thomas' store." "We're a third party seller Ma'am, we make most of our profit from parts, and we sell the computers from other companies, do you know what kind of computer it was?" "It was... oh what do you call those fancy ones, Alienware?" "Alright, do you know the model?" "I have it written down here..." By the time the call was done I had counted it at about a half and hour, and she was up and running again, I was slightly annoyed that Phoebe shoved her workload into my zone, but there was no helping it, so instead of complaining I went back to work. By the time Phoebe had made it back it was ten minutes to closing time, and her grin was aimed at me, "You're awesome Billy! I'm throwing you a party!" "Um... no thanks." She frowned, "No, I'm throwing you a party and you're going to be there. Check your schedule and let me know when you're free tomorrow." "Okay okay, sheesh." Pushy much? "So William, how was your day?" I sighed and put my hands behind my head, staring at the spinning oak fan in an effort to sort of hypnotize myself and relax. "Phoebe wants to throw me a party," I said in the most monotone voice I could muster. Doc laughed, "Maybe you should go. If it's a party you could see some new faces, and it seems like you're finally comfortable enough to start talking to people again." "Yeah, she didn't leave me much choice in the matter anyways. I barely got away from the welcoming party when I first started working at Tom's place, and I guess I could have only put it off for so long before she caught me." "Hmm, a little more time and you won't need to come see me at all William." "Ha, you know I love your company Doc." "That I do. Maybe... when this is all done, we should have a toast." "Didn't take you for a bar hopper Doc." "I said a toast, but if we have to go to a bar, then that's alright with me." "You got yourself a deal." "Anything interesting happen aside from Ms. Packard's usual antics?" "I met my neighbor yesterday night, Felicia Shirley." "Oh?" "Yeah, real sweet girl, feeds the pigeons on our roof apparently, kind of shy though." "I see." I slid the key to the apartment building's door into the hole and twisted, opening it to be greeted by a set of stairs and our mailman, Deborah Hollie. "Hey Deb." "Heya Will." She turned to me and I smiled and let out a sigh. The girl was about my height, and had a very obvious lazy eye. She was kind of a klutz, but she was good at her job and was friends with pretty much everyone in the building who didn't stay locked in their cave all day, "Whatcha got for me today?" She scratched the back of her head and grinned, "Sorry I'm late today, there was a huge accident down by the post office." She handed me a small stack of mail, and I was glad to see there were no bills, at least not yet. "Ah don't worry about it. What happened by the post office?" "A girl got hit." "... Huh?" "Yeah." Deborah's gaze fell. "She was on her way back home from the library and got hit by a taxi. They say she's in critical condition." I didn't know why, but a feeling of dread much like one I would get down range crept its way up my spine, "Do you um... know anything about her?" "No. She's friends with Ms. Shirley I think." "Felicia?" "Yeah." I tucked the mail into my belt and went back the way I came, "Thanks for the mail Deb, I'll see you later." "Huh? Where are you going?" I didn't bother answering, I rushed to the corner and started waving and whistling like a madman, "Taxi! Taxi!" It wasn't long until one of them pulled up and I was in the back seat. "Take me to um..." The hospital closest to the post office... "Uh... Lankard Memorial Hospital please." "You got it pal." "Make it quick." "No you don't understand, I'm here to see Felicia Shirley, she's a friend of mine, her friend got hurt and I'm worried." The obese lady behind the counter sighed and rolled her eyes for what must have been the fifth time since I had walked into the rather large lobby of the hospital. "And I told you already sir, we can't just have strangers running around. The family has been called and the close friends have been confirmed, you're not one of them." I didn't want to understand, I wanted to leap over the counter and hit her. For some reason I thought about Fluttershy, and what would have happened in my dream had one of her friends been hurt, or worse. "Bill?" I turned around at the soft voice that came from behind me, and was surprised to see Felicia, "What are you doing here?" "Deb told me one of your friends got hurt and I um... got worried." Felicia looked down, tears in her eyes, "Tammy, she... she got hit, and Rachel isn't here yet, and I... I..." "Hey," I stepped forward and put a hand gently on her shoulder, "It's gonna be alright, I'm sure your friend is on the way." "What the hell is going on?" Then I saw her. She damn near broke the door barging into the hospital, rushed past several people who gave her incredulous looks, and came upon Felicia and I like a tornado. I almost flinched away when she turned her glare towards me, "Who is this guy?" Felicia flinched, but swallowed and started to talk, "He's um... he's my neighbor, he heard that my friend got hurt and came here to make sure I was okay." I did a double take. About a foot and a half shorter than me, her hair was as long as mid back, and was styled at the top like a punk rocker would have it, but she didn't go overboard with it. What she did go overboard with were the streaks of a dyed rainbow pattern going all the way through her otherwise blonde hair. I felt my eye start twitching. "Dash?" "What?" asked the girl. "Erm... nothing." "My name is Rachel, Rachel Daniels, you?" "William Jenkins, I met Felicia yesterday when that guy was tossing her around." Suddenly as she had come bursting onto the scene, her expression changed from a glare to a wide grin, and she locked her arm around my neck and started giving me a noogie of all things, "HAHA you sly dog, she told me all about that! Didn't know it was someone good looking as YOU though. Hey, need help getting her pants off?" "Rachel... now's not the time," muttered Felicia, "I know I was kind of vague over the phone, but Tammy... she's in critical condition." The noogie stopped instantly and I was untangled, Rachel looked shocked, "She what?" "She was... she was hit by a car." Rachel frowned and stepped forward to give her friend a hug, "I'm so sorry Felicia." "I... I don't know what to do Rachel." Then Felicia started crying into Rachel's shoulder, and I felt like I'd been hit by a ton of bricks. After what seemed like an eternity Rachel pulled away slowly as Felicia started to calm down, "Is she still in surgery?" Felicia shook her head, "No, I've just been afraid to go see her. The doctors say she's not awake yet." "Alright, come on Shy Buns, you too Prince Charming." The room was small and brought out feelings of claustrophobia. The steady beep of an EKG almost caused me to slip away into one of my flashbacks, but we weren't there to worry about me. In fact, I didn't know why I was there in the first place. I had only known Felicia a day. "Visiting hours are almost over," said the nurse gently, pushing aside the curtains surrounding the girl's bed. My eyes widened when I saw her. The girl I ran into on the intersection the day before, battered and bruised. It was easy to recognize her dark purple hair with the magenta line. For some reason I panicked a little. "Is it alright if we sleep in the waiting room?" I didn't know why I asked, but the nurse smiled, "Normally we wouldn't allow that, but since your friend is in critical condition and her family won't be here until tomorrow... I'll talk to Doctor Jameson." To this day I don't know why she bent the rules for us. Maybe it had something to do with how worried Felicia looked, or maybe it was Rachel's strength, or maybe... maybe she was just a really good nurse who wanted the best for her patients, even if she had to break a few rules and regulations along the way. That night we slept in the uncomfortable chairs of the waiting room in the center of the second floor, a few yards away from Tammy's room. Felicia clung to Rachel like she was her lifeline. And me, I was afraid the nightmares would come back. They did... but not in the way I thought they would. "Mister, you gotta wake up! Wake up!" My eyes snapped open, and I was greeted by the sight of a very worried, very distraught looking spikey creature. "Wha... I... huh?" "Please get up! Somethings wrong with Twilight!" Somewhere in my gut I knew exactly what was wrong. It was a good thing I knew how to listen to my gut.
5: A FriendChapter 5: A Friend I leaned back in the waiting room chair and heard the soft noise of a TV propped on the corner of the ceiling. It was being alone that made me think more than I liked to. Sure Felicia and Rachel were there, but they were still out cold, and it would be rude to wake them after a night like that. I flexed my left shoulder, trying to get the bruising pain to pass from the gunshot wound. Instead of sitting there thinking I went to the front desk and asked if they had any bandages I could use to change out for my wound. In about fifteen minutes I was back in the waiting room, which still housed two sleeping girls, so I sat down and decided to watch the quiet TV in the corner of the waiting room. "Back to you Hannah." "Thank you Tom. Rising crime rates in the city have the public in a bit of a panic. The police have issued an official statement, assuring that they are doing the best they can to quell the drastic spike in criminal activity. We go live now to James Littleton, who is at the police station." The camera blacked out and came back on to a skinny looking man with black hair and a microphone, "Thank you Hannah. We're here with the Chief of Police, who surprisingly has a lot to say on the matter. Sir, what do you think is causing the sudden rise in crime, and what's the best way of alleviating it?" The camera panned a bit to the left and the microphone was put close to the face of a man in a police uniform who looked to be in his late thirties, "Well it could be several things, we've seen an especially alarming number of youth in the harsher parts of the city taking to crime. Ultimately, this'll happen in every city with a large population, crime spikes every now and again, and our job is to get it back down, even if that's easier said than done. As for the methods we're using, higher patrol rates, longer hours, more officers. More crime equals more cops." "Sounds like you've got it covered then, is there anything else you'd like to say?" "Yeah, be careful at night, always have your friends with you." "Simple, and yet wise advice, Hannah?" I sighed and perched my hand on my cheek. I was getting bored already. I reached into my pocket and grabbed my smart phone, dialing a number. After a few rings I heard a click, "This is Thomas Best." "Hey boss, I'm calling in." "Alright, you sick?" "No, a friend got hurt." "Ah, how long will you be?" "Just a day is fine." "It's alright, we've got heavy manning today, and you know Ms. Packard, that woman moves at inhuman speeds." I let out a laugh, "Thanks boss." "Alright, seeya tomorrow." "Yeah, bye." I felt a hand land on my shoulder and heard a laugh, "Isn't that a bit weird?" I looked behind me and there was Rachel, with what I could only describe as a shit-eating grin on her face, ""Isn't what weird?" "You only know Felicia, and you just met me. You don't know Tammy, so why'd you call her a friend." I grinned sheepishly, "Erm... any friend of Felicia's is a friend of mine." Did I mention before that I'm bad at lying? "Right." Rachel shook her head and laughed, "Listen, as grateful as I am, you hardly know Felicia, you shouldn't skip work for a bunch of random girls you hardly even know." I sighed and shook my head, "I have a problem." "Oh?" "I tend to not be able to ignore people that need help." There was a moment of silence, and then Rachel started laughing... and laughing, and laughing, and laughing. It was at least a minute before she calmed down, "Oh man you are CLASSIC! I've never met a guy like you before. You trying to get Felicia's attention or something?" I couldn't stop the blush, "Wha... NO!" She grinned and gestured to the still sleeping girl, "Hey, who could blame you? Good luck." With another laugh she slapped me on the back and went to sit down with Felicia again. I sighed, 'Shouldn't she be more worried?' Ten minutes later Felicia was still asleep, and I decided to step outside the back for a smoke. The alley wasn't that dirty, but as all alleys were, it was mostly deserted and housed the hospital's trash bins. I rarely smoked, usually only when I was under stress or celebrating something for a special occasion, but I always carried a pack and a lighter with me. The box of Marbs in my pocket was down to one, but it had lasted me quite a long time; I couldn't even remember when I bought it. I popped the smoke in my mouth and lit it before taking a deep drag. It felt good. This was good to do occasionally. I hoped Twilight would be okay. "Well, how are you?" I looked to my right where the voice had come from. "Having a late morning smoke?" The man speaking was in a grey hoodie with the hood pulled up, and wore tattered jeans that looked like they'd been sent through the grinder. He was pale... very pale, and his hair was done in dreadlocks that peaked out from his hood. He wore a necklace with an upside down cross, "that's always nice to do, but isn't juicy gossip so much more fun?" He had an accent, but I couldn't quite place it. His voice was eerily smooth, and made me slightly uncomfortable. My eyes narrowed, "Who are you?" He grinned, "Just a friend William, just a friend." The cigarette dropped to the ground and I stepped back, "How the hell do you know my name?" "You must be soooo worried for your newest dear friend Twilight Sparkle." My eyes widened and adrenaline coursed through me. Whoever this guy was he KNEW, and that meant my dreams were real, but then... "Who the fuck are you? Answer me!" He laughed, it was a sound that echoed in my head like an orchestra, "Oh you are too easy William, much too easy. You anger far too quickly and are very fun to play with. Tell me William..." He reached behind him, still with that grin on his face, and his hand emerged with a combat knife, "I'm sure you'd recognize what this is William, after all you've seen them quite often." I set my left foot back and crouched down, widening my stance. "Oh hooo, ready to fight are we? I wouldn't expect anything less, however..." he threw the knife in one of the many trash bins, "That's not what I'm here to do William, I detest getting my hands dirty after all. I merely wanted your response." "And?" His grin calmed into a smile, "And you passed with flying colors. Deep inside you is a killer William, a man of blood and violence, and honestly that's my favorite thing about this world." He turned to walk away, then stopped abruptly, "Oh, silly me I almost forgot." There he was, a few meters away, in no way could he physically reach me in the amount of time that he did. He was on me in less than a second, digging his thumb into my forehead with a mad grin, "I never got any REAL chaos over there William, but here? Humans revel in it! It's fantastic, isn't it?" My eyes widened, and I saw white. "Do you honestly think you can do anything to save her? Do you think she even cares who you are? So you bumped into her on the street, whoopty do!" "Jenkins... Jenkins wake up man. We gotta keep moving." I felt the heat of the sun baring down on me. I felt hot sand on my right cheek, it was burning my face, but I could hardly move, and I was short of breath and on the verge of heat exhaustion. "C'mon Jenkins, we gotta get to the rally point." I felt and arm snake under mine and heard a grunt of exertion. I put some effort into putting weight on me feet and moving with him, I didn't want him to have to carry my dead weight and I was still aware enough to help out a buddy. "I don't think I'm gonna make it." I could barely talk, my tongue hurt and my throat felt like it was bleeding. "You're not done yet Jenkins." I tried to laugh, but it came out as more of a pathetic croak. I knew I was out of ammo, and my partner only had one magazine left. I couldn't keep moving forever, I would eventually give into the heat and die in the desert. "Leave me," I mumbled. "You're fuckin' crazy man." "Even if you can carry me... I'm gonna die. You got a wife back home, I don't have anybody." "Bullshit... bullshit you got your parents man." "I don't even... talk to them anymore." "Fuck you." He solidified his grip on me and started moving a bit faster, "We're both getting to the FOB, I don't care how much you moan and complain at me." He let me down to the ground in a sitting position and started messing with his gear, I couldn't tell what he was doing because my vision was too blurry, but I heard a lot of shuffling around. "Alright, your turn Jenkins." I felt him grab my vest and pull it off, and after that my helmet. After a few moments all I had was the load baring equipment and the pistol that was out of ammo. I saw what he was doing, if we ditched the heavy stuff we had a better chance of making it all the way, but if we ran into the enemy we were screwed. Still, we were low on ammo anyways; it was less of a risk to ditch the equipment and keep going than it was to die of exhaustion. When he pulled me up the desert looked a lot less endless. "William... are you okay?" My eyes snapped open, and I heard the wail of police sirens several blocks away. It took me a moment to realize that I had fainted in the alley... No, I didn't faint; I had been knocked out by that weird guy in the hoodie. "What the hell are you doing sleeping out here?" Above me stood Felicia and Rachel. I noticed that the sun was on the verge of going down and cursed under my breath, "I wasn't sleeping. I gotta get home." I stood with some difficulty, and Felicia helped hold me up when I got a bit wobbly. Rachel huffed and crossed her arms, "You're kidding me, we looked everywhere for you and that's it? You're just going home." I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed, "Listen, I've got something important to do... just... I'll meet you guys here tomorrow after work, okay?" Rachel's expression became less hostile, "Alright, see you then I guess." "I'll be behind you," said Felicia. "Sure you don't want me to walk you home?" Rachel grinned, "Easy there lover boy, I'll walk her." I rolled my eyes, "Alright, I'll see you both tomorrow," then I turned and walked out of the alley. Hopefully I would be able to catch a taxi. I made it home no worse for the wear, and Mishmash was there to greet me as usual. I fed him and then sat on the couch with a heavy sigh, turning the TV on as I did so. Then I began to think. Whoever that guy was he creeped me the hell out, and whatever he did to me obviously put me under for quite a bit. He mentioned Twilight's name, which, though on the verge of the impossible, proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that my 'dreams' were the real thing. 'Tonight then. Tonight's when we leave for the veil.' Just as dusk began to turn the sky orange I laid down and fell asleep. I woke up with a start, and was immediately pulling my bag out from under the bed. It was effectively a saddle bag, and with some amount of effort I got it onto my back in a comfortable position. "Spike, get up, we're leaving!"
6: The Everfree ForestA/N: Yay back to normal 8 hour shifts! If you thumbs down please leave a comment stating why, my goal is to improve my writing, not disappoint people. Also feel free to say why you enjoy the story so much if you do. Chapter 6: The Everfree Forest Spike stumbled down the stairs of the library, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and letting out a yawn, "What time is it?" I frowned and eyed the window upstairs; it was definitely dark out. I still wanted to hurry, an early morning start wasn't our biggest problem at the time. "Does it really matter?" Spike nodded, and was by my side with a little more energy as we stepped outside. I wasn't expecting it, but one of Twilight's friends was already there, Pinkie Pie. "Hi there!" she shouted, trotting over to me with a grin, "I just wanted to say thanks! It's super awesome what you're doing for Twilight. Everyone else is at Fluttershy's house so we should hurry too." As we started to walk I noticed that Pinkie wasn't bouncing around as usual. She sounded like she usually did, just a little less energetic. "Hey... is Twilight okay?" "Yepperoni!" "Huh?" "Why'd you ask such a silly question? I mean yeah I was super worried at first, but then Dashie came up with this plan, which means both our Twilight's are gonna be a-okay." 'But what if Dash's plan doesn't work?' I didn't ask it out loud. I could only imagine how worried everyone had been at the hospital. It was then I realized that Rarity and Dash had been putting on an extremely strong front. These five ponies were desperate enough to journey for something that they weren't even sure of, and desperate enough to trust some stranger they had met the day before to help their friend. And me? I was desperate enough to go along with it. We started passing through the main part of town, and the quiet was getting to me. Phoebe had never been this quiet, and if Pinkie was then she was definitely still worried. I decided to fill the silence with whatever I could come up with. "Hey Pinkie?" "Hmm?" "Have you ever met someone that could... I dunno, get into your head and mess with it?" "Like literally walk into my brain? Hmmmm, nope!" "Not quite what I was going for." "OH, OH! You mean like make you see stuff?" "A little bit closer to what I had in mind, yeah." Pinkie suddenly stopped when we were halfway through town. She turned on me and brought herself up to her hindlegs, planting her front hooves on my shoulders, "Did he have a weird voice?" "A weird voice? I guess so. What's that got to do with..." "Did he make it rain chocolate?!" "Chocolate, what does that even..." "No chocolate rain? I'm sure you'll be fine then!" She smiled and bopped my nose with her hoof before letting go, and we were back on the road again. I decided not to question Pinkie Pie further, as it only seemed to make things more confusing and chaotic, and that was the last thing I needed. I ended up going off into my own little world, and before I knew it we had already passed Fluttershy's house and were standing at a line of extremely ominous trees. The entire thing was pulled right out of a Stephen King novel. The branches of these trees were gnarled and looked more like teeth that would tear flesh, the sky above the forest was a dark grey that didn't quite look like a rainstorm, and from within the forest I heard several unnatural sounding animal calls. Everything about this forest screamed at trespassers to stay out of it, and waiting at the small opening that lead into the monstrous trees were the rest of Twilight's friends. Rarity stepped forward and smiled, "I'm glad I was right about you." I frowned and looked away, scuffing the ground with my front hoof. "Alright!" shouted Dash, "Enough hanging around, we're going right now. The veil is a two day trip and we need to get there as soon as possible." Two days in Ponyland before I could even think about helping Tammy recover. The thought was enough to drive me past the barrier of this forest with Twilight's friends. Our little group made good headway as the sun came up and reached mid sky. We hadn't spoken much since we entered the forest, which I thought was a little odd considering how talkative everyone had been in the days before. It was as we emerged from a particularly bad patch of vines and found a dirt path again that I decided to break the silence, "So what's this place called anyways?" "The Everfree forest," said Spike, coming up on my flank. Dash flew to my side and landed, matching my pace, "Normally we don't go too deep into the forest, but we'll have to travel all the way through to reach the veil, so we'll probably run into some nasty stuff." I turned my head and looked at the group behind us, most of them were doing fine except one, Fluttershy, who might has well have been shaking in her horseshoes. She was keeping up okay, but I could tell the oppressive atmosphere was getting to her. I raised an eyebrow and turned back to Dash, "What KIND of nasty stuff?" "Oh you know," Dash grinned nervously and turned away, "Just your run of the mill... dragons, hydras, poisonous plants..." "And nobody saw fit to tell me all this before we ventured inside?" I heard a cough behind me and turned to see Applejack moving up on us, "Well... we figured you would know it's dangerous an' all." I rolled my eyes and let out a groan. I didn't know what to make of it. I had been on the receiving end of gunfire and explosions, but a dragon? A dragon I didn't know how to handle... unless it was the one walking next to me. I heard Fluttershy whimper a little, and the group stopped to turn towards her. Applejack frowned, "What's wrong Sugarcube?" "I... I'll be alright, I just need a second. I've never been this deep into the forest before." Dash looked around us and frowned, "Hmph, not even the ruins Luna went to were in this deep." Rarity sighed, "I suppose it is a two day trip. I'm starting to regret not bringing my care products, I can already feel the grease in my mane!" "Don't be silly Rarity!" shouted Pinkie Pie, bouncing to her friend, "We'll have time for that and even more when we get back to Ponyville. I already have everything set up for the party!" Rarity smiled, "That would be delightful." I felt like I was some sort of outcast, watching longtime friends interact and carry each other through a difficult time. I had stepped onto foreign land and didn't know what to do with myself. I only wanted to help Tammy and Twilight, but I doubted I would ever worm my way into their close knit group. It was almost like an art the way these ponies interacted with each other. This thought process was interrupted by Pinkie bouncing right into me and giggling as we both tumbled to the forest floor, "You're invited too! It'll be super duper awesome having a new friend!" I couldn't help but smile a little... And then Pinkie passed out right on top of me. There was that one brief moment where my brain couldn't process what had just happened. When that moment was gone I looked around and saw that all of the ponies with me had fainted. "What's going on?" I couldn't see him, but that had been Spike's panicked voice. As gently as I could manage I got Pinkie off me and stood up, shaking myself off. I nudged her with my hoof and frowned when she didn't wake up, "Pinkie?" Spike started to panic, he stumbled into Rarity and yelled her name, then repeated this with Applejack and Fluttershy. Then it hit me. The most beautiful song I'd ever heard in my life reached my ears. It had no lyrics, and the melody and beat didn't sound natural. It clearly wasn't created by a human... or a pony. It felt like something tugging at the back of my mind, and I found my legs moving on their own. Everything else but that song was gone from my mind, and I couldn't help but make my way towards it, wherever it was. I went deeper and deeper into the forest... and then... everything went black. "Oooo isn't he the most adorable thing you've ever seen." "This one isn't half bad either sister." "Hahaha, it's been so long since anyone's been this deep into the forest." Everything came back to me in pieces, first my hearing, then my ability to think coherently. It was almost like waking up from a dream and having to take a few minutes to realize that you were sleeping. Part of me didn't want to open my eyes, but when I did I couldn't make much out. Everything was blurry and dark. There were a few familiar shapes in front of me. They looked like ponies, but something was... off about them. "Look sisters, he's coming to!" "Really?! Oh I'm so excited, what should we name him!?" My vision started to slowly clear, and I noticed that I couldn't move my hoofs. I was strapped to the ground with something, my hooves pinned close together and against my body. I could feel the straps wound tight around my mid section. I started to struggle, and I heard a laugh. "Tsk tsk tsk, we can't have you getting away." One of the three figures leaned down in front of me, and I finally got a good look at her... it. They were shaped vaguely like ponies, but they only had a mouth, and no hooves. It was as if they were spectres. "It's been a while since we've sung our song," it whispered in my ear, "You are a welcome guest in these halls." Halls? All I saw was a cave. I managed to move my neck around a little bit, to my left was the outline of a small form, tied up just like I was. "Spike? Spike wake up!" "Oh he'll wake up eventually," said the creature. It turned towards the other two and smiled, "So what first? It's been so long I almost forgot how to have fun. Our last guests had the time of their lives." "Yes," said another monster, "But they didn't last too long. Perhaps we should feed them this time, they seem to be limited creatures." I growled, struggling against the constraints again, "What are you TALKING about?" "The party of course," said the first monster, "We'll dance through the night together under the moon. We can do it for eternity." "You've kidnapped other ponies? You let them die?" "Die? No they merely expired, what is this death you speak of?" I gritted my teeth, 'We have to get the hell out of here.' I started rocking back and forth, trying to loosen my constraints, "Spike, wake up!" "You shouldn't rush him, we're not ready yet!" yelled one. "But sister, it looks like he's really looking forward to this!" No slack... nothing. I couldn't break free no matter how hard I tried. "Where are the others?" I asked through gritted teeth. "Others?" "The girls!" I shouted, "What did you do with them?!" The first monster laughed, "Oh those useless old things? We left them where they were. They'll wake up in no time, but I seriously doubt they'll find you. OH! Would you like a gift?! Sister, help me please." "Yes sister." A moment passed and what looked like a gem stone was placed on my chest. "Let me go." "Why would we do that?" "I'm trying to save my friend, just let me go." "I'm afraid that's not going to happen, and like I said, there's no way they'll find you here." "Oh, you overestimate yourself dear." I craned my neck up to look where the voice had come from, not ten feet away stood Rarity, flanked by the rest of the gang. I breathed a sigh of relief. Pinkie Pie hopped past her friends, a huge grin on her face, "Did I hear somepony say party? Because I'm PRETTY sure I heard somepony say PARTY!" "Sister!" shouted the first monster. One of the monsters responded and opened its mouth... only to be caught around its mid section by a rope. Applejack stepped forward, rope still in her mouth. Rarity smiled, "I'm afraid you won't be getting another chance to sing tonight." Applejack tugged with a force I'd never seen before, and the monster she had roped slammed into the ceiling of the cave with a crack. The scream it let out was almost enough to shatter my ear drums, and it fell to the ground, incapacitated. Rarity's horn glowed and my bind was loosened. The monster that had spoken to me let out an inhuman growl, and was about to charge the group. I tackled it from behind, trying to get a good hit on its face with my hoof. Fist fights I had been in, but hoof fights? Not so much. I missed by a mile and we ended up stumbling over several times. The monster ended up on top and screamed in my face. I punched it in response, causing it to stumble back. One good thing about the hooves... I didn't have knuckles that hurt after I hit something. "No!" shouted the first monster, "Our endless dance!" Pinkie hopped forward and grinned, "Nopony has better parties than me!" To this day I still don't know where she pulled it from, but in front of Pinkie was what appeared to be a cannon with a fuse on the end of it. "NOPONY!" she shouted, then she pushed the fuse like a button, and out shot several party materials: streamers, a table cloth, and a completely made and perfect looking cake... right into the monsters face. Pinkie grinned and tossed the cannon to who-knows-where, then she hopped forward and bucked the monster right in the chest. Another one down. The last monster let out a blood curdling scream and ran down a path in the cave, the noise fading slowly as it gained distance. "Way to take away all the action from me guys!" shouted Rainbow Dash. I looked over and noticed that Fluttershy was hiding behind her. Pinkie grinned, and it was then I noticed there was cake on her face. She licked it off and giggled at Dash, "Well you were being a super duper slow poke!" Dash huffed, "I can't see anything in here, and it's too cramped to fly! Not my fault!" "Oh dear!" Rarity rushed over and clasped my face in her hooves, pushing it around and looking at me from head to hoof, "Are you alright? Where's Spike at?" I lifted my left hoof and pointed to where I had been tied up, and where Spike remained, still unconscious. Rarity was on him in an instant, "Oh you poor thing!" "Okay," I said with a sigh, "What the hell were those things?!" Dash raised an eyebrow, "Hell?" I wanted to pull my hai... mane out, "Ugh, just what were those things?!" Fluttershy clung to Dash and looked at me with her head slightly down, "Um... I think they were Sirens." "Sirens. You're kidding right?" "Well," said Rarity, "It would make sense, the beautiful song, how it only attracted you and Spike." "Great, now we're on the frikkin' Odyssey!" "The what?" asked Dash. "Forget it, let's just get Spike and get out of here." "We should set up camp," said Applejack, "Ah know ya'll are in a hurry to help Twilight, but we made good ground today an' we need rest." I nodded, "Good idea." We ended up setting up camp right outside the cave. The Sirens probably wouldn't be back, and this place was mostly devoid of other nasties due to them, so it was a good place to stop. Setting up a tent with my mouth and hooves was hard, but with a little help from the rest of the gang I was off to sleep just like they were.
7: MaskA/N: Hmmm... that nurse is eerily familiar. Also, whoever spots the shoutout gets a cookie. Chapter 7: Mask That morning was the same as any other, except for the fact that I was asleep in a strange forest in a parallel world. I got up, brushed my teeth, took my meds, and fed Mishmash, then I was on my way to work. I couldn't even remember arriving, but I was sitting in my cubicle and answering my phone. Phoebe arrived shortly after and flicked me in the back of the head. I turned and glared, "Yes?" She frowned, "The party!" My eyes must have lit up in realization, because she gave me a smile. "Right, totally forgot about that. Sorry Phoebe." I sighed, "This weekend should be fine, I've just got a lot of stuff going on right now." "Great! We'll throw it at my place. I'll invite my friends and you can invite yours!" "Yeah..." Phoebe went to sit in her cubicle and I let out a breath of relief. The party was in two days, which gave me a one day buffer for my trip through the Everfree forest with the ponies. God that sounded ridiculous, even in the privacy of my mind. Pinki... Phoebe's head popped over the wall of my cubicle and she grinned at me, "So what have you been up to lately?" "I met a girl, well, a few actually." I muttered, opening up the internet browser and surfing through random sites. Phoebe's eyes lit up, "Oh OH who are they? Do you like any of them. Is there gonna be a party!? I'll buy the keg, you get the invitations!!" I laughed, "What is with you and parties?" "Well... I just like to have fun with my friends!" Understandable, at least as understandable as this woman could get. "Hey Phoebe, can I ask you something?" "No problemo!" "Do you know anybody named Tammy or Felicia?" "Hmmmm." She looked off to the side for a second, "Nope! Sorry Billy, don't know 'em!" I smiled, "I'll make sure to bring them to the party then." "That would be GREAT! New friends are the best!" The hospital was busy when I got there, as all hospitals usually were. I tried not to let it get to me as I made my way to the front desk. No matter what they did with it, no matter how pristine and white they made it nothing would stop it from being a place of death and pain. Yeah the ultimate goal was to heal and help, but that was hard in itself. "How may I help you?" The woman behind the desk that day was cute and polite, not at all like the whale I had spoken to the day before. "Yeah, I'm here to see Tammy." The lady smiled, "Oh you must mean THAT Tammy." She stood up from the desk and reached over it for a handshake, I obliged before she continued, "My name is Regina Hart, I'm Tammy's nurse, we met the other day but didn't really get introduced." I raised an eyebrow, "Why are you working the front desk?" She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and laughed under her breath, "About that... we've had difficulties with the woman who was on staff here yesterday." "I didn't file any complaints." Regina frowned, "Oh I'm so sorry, she bothered you as well? Someone else filed a complaint. Well... several someone elses." "She wouldn't let me in to see Tammy." "I see. Well her parents will be here tomorrow, and they've already given the go ahead for her friends to be here, but Julie was always so stubborn and bullheaded. She won't be getting fired, but she's probably getting a stern talking to. Right this way." She lead me upstairs to the second floor, and I tried not to stare at her backside too much. This task proved extremely difficult for me. When I got to the room Rachel and Felicia were already there, and both of them looked pretty happy that I showed. "Shit we were starting to think you got hit by a car too, what took you so long?" I smiled at Rachel, "I went overtime a little bit. Me and Phoebe were saddled with the work of somebody that decided to skip out." Felicia smiled and nodded, "Don't worry about it, I'm glad you're here." "Has she stabilized?" I pulled up a chair behind them both and sat down on it. "Yeah," said Rachel, "Doc says she'll more than likely pull through, but we don't know if she'll wake up." "Well the chances are better right?" Felicia nodded, "Yes." She leaned forward and clasped her friend's hand with a small frown. I could see the glisten in her eyes, but she managed to hold the tears back. I planted a hand on her shoulder and smiled, "She'll be fine, trust me." I wished I could tell her why I was so sure, but all I could do was attempt to comfort her in the best way I could. A neighbor I was barely aware of a few days before, and there I was comforting her over her friend being hurt. Life had a funny way of throwing crazy shit at you when you least expect it. Rachel smirked, "Well I doubt Tammy wants to lay here listening to us moan and cry over a bump on her head, so let's talk a little bit." "Might as well," I said. "Where do you work Bill?" asked Rachel. "I'm just a customer service bug. The job is good though, and the insurance ACTUALLY covers stuff." "Friends?" I let out a small laugh, "Until now just Mishmash, but now..." Rachel looked surprised, "I... I didn't mean to..." "Nah, it's my own fault. I barely even talk to my parents anymore. What about you, what's your job?" Rachel grinned, "I work at a coffee place. I like to race too, and it would be really cool if I could be a professional racer one day!" "Shooting high eh? You good at it?" "Heh! Only the best!" Felicia frowned, "Rachel, you should be more modest." Rachel rolled her eyes, "Please. I haven't lost in months, and if someone DOES beat me I'll just get 'em back in a rematch." We passed the time like this for a couple of hours until the sun hit the skyline outside, talking about stupid pointless stuff like sports and animals. I never brought up my time in the military or the war, but that was okay. Eventually it was time to go... I wanted to get drunk that night. "I gotta go, if Tammy wakes up tell her I said hi." Felicia smiled and nodded, "Alright, will you be back tomorrow?" I nodded and smiled. The O bar was pretty crowded that night, but I didn't mind, I was just there to get plastered. Getting too drunk was out of the question, as I still had work the next day. I was glad I could still enjoy getting hammered every now and again, my alcoholism had been a symptom of my sickness, not the problem itself. "Heya Will." The bartender, who always recognized me, was a short and stout man, the bar itself reached all the way up to his half way point. "Hey George," I said with a smile and a wave, "Just get me a few beers." "Comin' right up! So how ya been, it's been a couple weeks since I seen ya." I smiled, "Yeah, I've been busy, met my neighbor and her friends." George raised an eyebrow, "Oh really? She cute?" I laughed, "Yeah she is, but..." "But?" I remembered Tammy, still in a coma from being hit. And I remembered Twilight, in much the same condition without all the physical wounds. "There are more important things to worry about." "Oh... that complicated eh?" "Hahaha, I'm not even scratching the surface of how complicated all of this is." "Do tell." George reached under the bar and came up with a few cool Budweisers. I popped one open and took a swig from it. I decided to lay out the facts for him, "Well first of all these ladies are all potentials." "How many we talkin'?" I thought about it for a second. With any luck I would end up running into the other two ladies in my world too. Then again there had been no trace of a Rarity or Applejack counterpart. I shrugged and let out a laugh, "Six." Goerge's jaw might as well have been on the floor. When he picked it back up he gave me an incredulous look, "Six?" "Six," I said with confidence, "A nerd, a jock, a shy girl, a rich bitch, a farm girl, and a partier." George let out a low whistle, "You got the entire God damn stereotype spectrum. Shit kid, good luck." I took another swig of the beer bounced my eyebrows. George rolled his eyes and went to help out another customer. The customer was a damn fine lady, a bit older than me and the girls I had been hanging out with. Weirdest damn thing, her hair was white. It wasn't white like and old woman's would be; it still had that shine of youth to it. She was wearing a low cut dress, and panty hose with holes in them at intervals, as if they had been ripped. She looked over and smiled when she noticed I was staring. Then she did something unexpected, she winked and grabbed her beer from George, making her way over to me and swinging her hips back and forth the whole way. Her movements were very... intentional. "Why hello there." Her voice was sultry, and it didn't even seem like she was trying, but it sent a shiver down my damn spine. "Hi." She smirked and looked my up and down for a second before taking a swig from her beer, "You look like you're tired of sand." "What gave me away?" I asked, taking a swig of my own. "The haircut. Nobody who calls themselves normal, and I say normal very loosely, cuts their hair like that soldier boy." "I'm not a soldier anymore." "Then why the hair?" "Habit." "I see." She rested her elbow on the bar and planted a hand on her cheek, "So what's your name?" "William Jenkins, you?" That smile of hers... "Oh little old me? I don't really have a name, but if you must call me something I suppose Camille will do." I raised an eyebrow, "You a stripper?" Her laugh was like pure music. Everything about this woman was weird. She was so unnaturally attractive it was more repelling than anything. "Well, nice to meet you. I gotta head home soon, but it was interesting talking to you." She frowned, "That's no way to treat a lady. Shouldn't you at least try to get into my pants?" I took another drink, attempting to tune her out. "Or... would you rather rip apart that sweater on Ms. Shirley's supple body? Or maybe you want to take the glasses off the bookworm when she wakes up." I promptly spit my beer out in panic. "Relaaaax," she said with a giggle, "You'll give yourself an aneurism. Besides, the nerdy one is cuter anyways, and she has a VERY nice ass. I know you looked at it when you bumped into her on the intersection. You could just... grip it and get a handful." She giggled again, bringing her hands up and mimicking how one would grasp a butt. I wiped the beer from my mouth and sighed, "Who are you?" "Just a friend." "The last person that said that mind raped me." "Oh he's just mad because you might steal away his fun." "What?" She turned away, then she leaned back in. Her eyes had turned red, "Don't panic, it's just cosmetic trust me. There are six goons outside waiting for you to get done with your beer, three on each entrance." "So you're helping me?" She shrugged, "I don't call the shots anymore, my nest was destroyed by two hunters, a couple of very charming wise cracking brothers that were full of angst about their dark past... they handled it really well though." "Can we get to the point?" "Right, the goons. We could have a little fun with them." I didn't follow Cami too closely. She got the front door open and my eyes widened when her body began to change. She wasn't Cami anymore. For all intents and purposes she was... well, she was ME. Then she went into a full out sprint, causing the two burly looking men at the front door to run after her. I went out a minute later and hailed a cab back to my place. Whatever she was she had helped me, and I found myself hoping that she'd be alright as I fed Mishmash and made my way into bed that night.
8: The Way Home (Part 1)A/N: Buckle up, shit is about to get real. Edit: It seems I forgot about Spike a bit. Just a quick fix. Chapter 8: The Way Home (Part 1) I knew that as soon as I opened my eyes they wouldn't be greeted with sunlight. Luckily they weren't greeted by anything that wanted to eat me either, that was the main thing I was worried about. I let out a yawn as I stood up and stretched to the best of my ability. It was just as gloomy outside of my tent as it was inside, and when I made it out I saw Applejack in the middle of camp, slight bags under her eyes. I made my way over to her and sat down next to her, "Couldn't sleep?" "Ah got a bit." "Just a bit, huh?" "Whadoya reckon would happen if this doesn't work?" "Then it's up to the doctors." "How's she doin'?" I let out a sigh, "She's stabilized, which is good... just..." "Just?" "She won't wake up, and there's a few other things that are bugging me too. Pinkie kind of freaked out a bit before we met you guys at the Everfree forest." She tilted her head at me. The action was cuter than it had any right to be. "Freaked out. Ya mind explainin'?" "Something weird happened the other day when I woke up in the hospital. I went outside to get some fresh air and smoke..." "Smoke?" "Erm... don't worry about it, I was taking a break. This guy appeared out of nowhere, and he looked and acted really weird. Then he touched my head and I passed out and had a flashback." "A flashback o' what?" "I'd... rather not talk about it. He talked about how chaotic humans were like it got him off or something. It was really weird." Applejack's eyes narrowed, "Did this fella happen ta introduce himself?" "No." She huffed and dug her front hooves into the ground, "We need to wake Twi up, an' fast." "Why? Do you know this guy?" "I ain't sure, but it sounds a mite familiar." I heard a tent flutter behind us. When I turned to see who had just woken up I saw Rainbow Dash rubbing her eyes and yawning, "What the hay are you two doing up so early?" I smiled, "Morning Drill Sergeant. If you're gonna be training me you need to shape up a bit more." Dash glared at me for a second before relenting and letting out a sigh, "How much do we have to go?" I shook my head, "From what Spike and Applejack were saying last night... quite a bit." "Well let's wake everypony up and pack up camp." That was the best idea I had heard in a while. The sooner we could do this the sooner we would be able to help Twilight and Tammy. The weather was excruciating that day. Despite the sun not being able to break through the clouds it was as hot as a Summer day in California. The humidity in the air was thick and bugs were attacking us left and right. I felt like we were some sort of military task force sent out on a secret mission under the enemy's nose. I was never spec ops, I wasn't badass enough; if I was I would still be in the military and not having nightmares. Well... it wasn't possible for me to have nightmares anymore as far as I could tell. The heat did nothing to help our speed. No one spook unless it was absolutely necessary, there were a few times when we had to start in a different direction and Spike would point them out, but other than that it was completely silent. The front they had been putting on the day before had completely vanished. We were tired, we were hot, we were worried, and worst of all we were six ponies and an incredibly small dragon in hostile territory with no idea what would attack us next. We kept moving though... At least until we reached the swamp. It looked murky as all hell, and I couldn't tell what was lurking under there. By now all hints of a sky above us had vanished, nothing remained but trees and vines. At our hooves was a muddy ground that stuck to us like a parasite, slowed us down, and made it even more exhausting to walk. I saw something bubble in the murky water and frowned, "Well," I said, "Now what?" Spike pocketed the map in his bag and walked to my side, "This swamp goes for miles, we don't have a choice but to cross it." I heard Rarity let out a noise that was something between a groan and a whimper, and I could almost hear Fluttershy quaking behind me. "Alright," I said, turning around to face the other ponies, "Listen up everypony. Fluttershy, Dash, you two can fly. Dash, I want you both to fly above us and keep an eye out for anything weird. Applejack, you're with me. Rarity, I know you hate getting dirty but Unicorns can do magic right? Twilight used it on me when I got here." Rarity nodded meekly, "Good, then you're on point, if something attacks us I want you there to restrain it." Rarity frowned, "Oh, but I..." Applejack nudged her friend and smiled gently, "I know ya ain't good at that kinda magic Sugarcube, but Twi ain't here. You can do it, I know ya can." Rarity smiled sheepishly and waved a hoof, "O... of course I can." I nodded, "That's the spirit. Pinkie Pie..." Pinkie was in front of me and giving me a salute before I could blink, "You're our rear guard, keep an eye on our flanks and make sure nothing sneaks up behind us." Pinkie frowned, "You want me to watch your butts? I dunno if everyone would be okay with that, would you be okay with that Dashie?" Dash looked panicked and blushed a bit, looking from side to side, "Wha... I don't even... why would you ask ME?" Pinkie smiled, "Because silly. I wanted to make sure it was okay!" I rolled my eyes, "Listen, no butts... flank as in direction." Pinkie's eyes widened, "OOOOHHHH, well you should have said that in the first place silly! I was confused for a second cuz I thought you wanted me to watch your keesters, that's a weird thing to ask, even for me!" At least she was aware of how strange she was. "What about me?" asked Spike. "You're our navigator," I said, "So you'll be on my back with a good view and no swamp gunk in your face. Hopefully it doesn't get too deep, if it does we can probably swim, but we'd be at a huge disadvantage if we got attacked by anything while we're swimming." Pinkie grinned, "Okie dokie lokey!" And we were on the move, with Rairty at the front of Apllejack and I, Pinkie taking up the rear, and Dash and Fluttershy floating above us for air support minus bombs. It was the best I could come up with on short notice, but it worked pretty well and we started a good pace. Spike would guide us where we needed to go, and luckily it didn't seem like the swamp was getting any deeper. It must have been about three hours before Spike said something, "Look!" I did look, and I was relieved to see what appeared to be light at the edge of the swamp. I looked up and saw sunlight creeping through the endless green and smiled. Rarity frowned, "Uch it's about time. It will take me a month to get all this gunk out of my poor hooves." We were there... Then I saw the bubbles. They started small a few meters in front of us, then they grew larger and larger. "Rarity!" I shouted. Rarity, on a dime, whipped around as her horn started to glow. The bubbles ceased movement. I looked up, "Dash, can you see anything from up there?" Dash flapped a bit lower to get a closer look and frowned, "I don't know, I see a shadow." "Rarity, can you hold that thing down?" "Not for long!" "Alright everypony! Move! Go around and get to shore!" We were exhausted after traveling the entire day and spending a good chunk of that time in the swamp so we moved slower than we should have. Spike tossed his bag and jumped from my back, scrambling to the shore. We were all around except for Pinkie Pie, who was at about the halfway point, when she let out a shriek and was pulled under the water. Dash panicked, "Pinkie!" I heard something shatter and Rarity screamed. Turning to face her, I saw her get blown back into a tree. That wasn't good. "Applejack!" I shouted, "See if you can rope Pinkie! I'll get Rarity!" There was no hesitation. Applejack had her lasso out and I started moving as fast as I could in the chest murk to reach Rarity, who had fainted against the tree with her head thankfully about the surface. As soon as I reached Rarity an inhuman roar sounded behind me and I turned just in time to see Applejack pull Pinkie up to the surface, gasping and coughing for air. Then it came out of the water. The thing must have been at least fifteen feet tall, and was bulky to boot. Its skin didn't look like skin, it was more like a green armor. Its eyes were red and its maw wide and lined with sharp teeth. Just looking at the damn thing sent shivers down my spine. Then I remembered that feeling... "DOWN DOWN DOWN!" "AMBUUUUUSH!" "GET THE FUCK OUT OF THERE!" "JENKINS MOVE!" It was like I was there again, holding a gun in my hands and fighting for my life. After what seemed like an eternity reality returned to me. I moved like a man possessed. Wrapping my left hoof around Rarity and pulling her away from the tree, I looked up again, "Dash, hold that thing off!" "That's a swamp monster!" she shouted back. "I don't give a shit what it is! Applejack help her!" I started moving, hauling Rarity to shore as fast as I could. Luckily she wasn't that heavy, but it was still dead weight. I turned my head in time to see Dash dive bomb the swamp monster like a complete badass and give it a hoof right in its eye. Applejack followed up with her lasso, which she had somehow widened to accommodate the bulk of the monster. It screeched when Apple jack wrapped its arms and Dash went for its other eye. The swamp monster flailed about like it was having a stroke. I made it to shore with Rarity just in time to hear Dash shout, "Fluttershy, get him!" Fluttershy? What the f.... Then I saw the shy girl, Felicia Shirley... Fluttershy, the girl who loved to take care of and feed animals, get on eye level with a swamp monster and glare at it. It was the strangest thing I had seen, and up to this point I had seen a lot of strange. "Now you listen up!" she shouted, "I don't know what you're thinking you big bully, but you better knock it off. Right. NOW! You almost drowned my friend Pinkie Pie! Didn't your parents teach you better than that?" Then I saw something even stranger. The swamp monster went limp and let out a little whimper, as if it were a child being chastised by a parent. The swamp monster let out a guttural growl of surrender and slowly sunk back into the murk. We were safe. I reminded myself to never fuck with Fluttershy. We broke the forest wall and were greeted with what appeared to be miles of plains covered in green grass, and not but a mile away was what seemed like a strange ruin. "OO OO There's the veil!" shouted Pinkie, bouncing forward without us. I sighed and followed with the rest of the group, hanging back a bit with Fluttershy and Dash, "Alright," I said, "What the heck was that?" Fluttershy blushed and looked away. Dash laughed, "Fluttershy has what we affectionately call 'The Stare'." "The Stare?" Dash nodded, "That's right. Able to subdue targets up to two hundred meters away, and when coupled with vocal scolding reaches a level capable of taking down even the most powerful of dragons. If Fluttershy would get her butt in gear and race a bit more she might even be able to catch up to me one day." I let out a low whistle, "I didn't know you were such a badass Fluttershy." The yellow pony turned even more red. Dash grinned, "What's that mean? I love the sound of that word! 'Badass'. It's almost like it was made for me!" I let out a laugh, "Well it DOES pretty much mean super awesome." "Cool, I've got a new word to describe how awesome I am!" We chatted like this the whole way, and it didn't take us long to reach the veil. It was a stone archway that seemed like a gate with a slight shimmer in the center of it. Apllejack stepped forward with a few small bottles in her mouth and planted them in my pack, "There's the medicine Twi needs, yer gonna save her, right?" I nodded, "Yeah, yeah I'll get it to her right away." Pinkie lurched forward and hugged me, planting a kiss on my cheek, "Thank you SOOOO much Billy! You're super awesome!" I felt my face heat up a bit and laughed. "You guys should all get back to Ponyville. Hopefully I'll see you soon. I don't know how I'm connected here, and I don't know what'll happen when I go through that veil. If I don't see you all again, it's been great." Rarity frowned, "Oh don't think like that darling. Surely there's a place like the veil in your world that you're about to emerge from, otherwise it wouldn't be much of a gate." "Yeah!" shouted Dash, "Worse comes to worse you could just waltz through that and fly over Everfree Forest to get to Ponyville. I mean, you need practice, but you know HOW to do it, you could just practice on your own now." I nodded, "Yeah, I guess that's true." Applejack grinned at me, "Now get goin', and don't be a stranger ya hear?" I smiled... And then I ran through the veil. My eyes opened slowly, and it felt like I was in an awkward position. I managed to untangle myself and found that I was sitting on some sort of concrete floor. It was almost completely dark, but I smiled when I felt around and my hand, with fingers, touched the saddlebag I had been wearing. It worked, I managed to bring the medicine back to my world. There was a moment of joy when I realized Twilight would be okay... And then a moment of dread when the floodlights came on and I saw that I was surrounded by a bunch of street bangers pointing guns at me. I heard slow clapping, and as my vision adjusted I saw HIM make his way through the crowd with a shit eating grin on his face. "Hello William. We've been waiting for you!" I gritted my teeth. The bastard stepped forward, still with that grin, "I don't believe I properly introduced myself last time. My name is Discord, and I am here to have FUN!" A cold sweat built on my forehead as he started to laugh. It was the laugh of a madman.
9: The Way Home (Part 2)Chapter 9: The Way Home (Part 2) I stood slowly, trying not to make any sudden movements as I put the saddle bag onto my shoulder. Discord brought his hands up in gesture to all the people he had apparently gathered there. With a hop and a skip he was standing in front of me, "isn't this interesting? Violence is a very delicious form of chaos, in this form... it is so rare to find it like this in Equestria." "What do you want?" Discord laughed, "I just told you, I want to have fun! I can't exactly have much of that being encased in stone. I woke up here a few days ago, and all these fine gentlemen agreed to be my comrades, isn't it touching?" My life was in the hands of someone who was completely insane. On the battlefield I knew who was trying to kill me and why, but in that place, emerging from Equestria greeted by a warehouse full of gangsters armed to the teeth... I didn't know what I was dealing with, and something told me I never would. "You see William," Discord stepped forward, setting a hand on my shoulder, "I have a teensy tiny little problem. Those ponies that you've gotten so close to are a rather persistent bunch, and lo and behold THIS place isn't free of their presence either. I find this..." he grabbed me by the collar and shoved me away from him, "Extremely annoying." I scoffed, "Maybe you did something to deserve being encased in stone." The back of his hand met my cheek. It didn't feel like a slap; it felt more like a brick hitting me in the face. Surprisingly I didn't lose a tooth. Discord stepped forward and grabbed my left shoulder, digging his thumb into the still healing bullet wound. I screamed. He laughed. "This presents a problem!" he shouted, digging his thumb in deeper and kneeing me in the stomach, "So I had your little friend Twilight get into a small accident." My body moved on its own. My fist connected with something and Discord went stumbling back. The gangsters all moved forward, but Discord held up a hand, halting their movements. "I hired someone to hit her," he said with a grin, wiping blood away from his nose. "You should have been there when the screaming and panicking started." He took a deep breath through his nose, "It was exquisite." I narrowed my eyes, getting to my feet and ignoring the ache in my shoulder, "So what now?" I felt a gun press against the back of my head. I heard Arabic words that I knew weren't coming from the guy pointing the gun at my head. A cold sweat pooled on my forehead, and I felt the heat of the desert and the sand in my boots. Even if I wanted to take the guy out my own mind thwarted any movement I wanted to make. "You take a nap," said Discord. I felt the butt of the gun connect with the back of my head, and my world went black. The tent was quiet that night, and my people and I were set to head out on a convoy within the next hour. No matter where you were, no matter what you were doing, there was always the chance you could die out in a sea of sand. I knew it signing up, and I knew it then. My friend Clark, on the other hand, was scared out of his wits. "You think there's IEDs out there?" I sighed and laid down in my cot, staring at the top of the tent as it flapped in the desert wind. Someone turned the lights out from the entrance and I let out a sigh, "Won't know until we get out there. Let's talk about something else, you got anybody waiting for you back home?" "Yeah," he said, "My fiancee, and my little brother." "Parents?" "We don't talk anymore. My Mom and my Dad kind of ran off in their own directions. How about you? Anyone special?" "Yeah... yeah. My girlfriend Megan." My head felt like it was about to split open, like there was something violent inside trying to break out. "Make sure you hold onto those meds." "Hey yo am I the only one that thinks this Discord nigga outta his mind? We ain't gotta be workin' with these other gangs man." "What's it matter?! He's givin' us the money we fuckin' need, that's all you should care about son!" I looked up and saw two men dragging me along like I was a dead body. I could barely move, and I seriously doubted I could struggle. As my head cleared I started to remember what happened. The saddlebag... I caught a good glimpse of the saddlebag on that guy's shoulder. He readjusted his grip under my armpit and let out a grunt, "This white boy's heavy as fuck." Six feet tall, plain red bandanna covering his mouth like in those old spaghetti westerns, corn rows, caramel colored skin, brown eyes. "Hey yo he's wakin' up!" Another blow to the head. My grip on the phone tightened, "You're joking right?" The grey walls and the queue behind me completely disappeared. My one phone call home and I was greeted with THAT. "I'm not happy." Her voice was like ice. I let out a harsh laugh, "You're not happy? So much for waiting for me, right?" "I can't do this William, there's someone el..." "Shut the fuck up. I don't even... I don't even want to fuckin' hear it. I don't need your excuses." I hung up the phone, and for the first time since I joined the military I started to cry. I felt a couple of hands on my shoulders. They knew what had happened. They understood me. They were in the shit, just like I was. They were the only ones I could trust. "No time. In a hurry... can't be late!" "Oh no! Don't push yourself." "Hey, you're in a safe place. My name is Twilight Sparkle." "You look like you've been through a lot, give those hooves a rest." "I know it's selfish, but it would be really neat if you got to stay here for a few days, and I think you'd like it." My eyes snapped open and I lashed out from my sleep for the first time in months. My right fist hit a brick wall and I heard something crack. I hissed in pain and brought my hand to my chest. After a second the pain subsided a bit and I took a look at the damage. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw it wasn't broken. I decided to look around myself. The building we were in had obviously been abandoned, considering its dilapidated state, and not even mentioning the portal to another world. The state of the room I was locked in showed this as well. A large iron sliding door separated me from freedom... not just iron though. I turned and saw a window boarded up with wood, just wide enough for me to squeeze through. Below the window was a a rusted metal folding chair. I sneered. "Idiots." I walked to the metal door and kicked it, "Let me out!" A long moment passed with no response. I turned and made my way towards the window, picking up the chair and folding it together. It was still pretty sturdy, just enough, and that wood looked like it was about to fall apart. I wedged the chair legs in between two of the boards and started to pry. It took some sweating, but with a resounding crack the boards came loose and fell apart like nothing. The window was still there, but it was just pure glass, which was a relief. I took the chair to that and it shattered. With a little more help from the chair I scrapped the glass off the edges of the window sill. I threw my tool down and hauled myself through the window, letting out a hiss of pain when a stray bit of glass cut into my arm. The night sky and a large fenced in area greeted me. I felt the dirt on my hands as I started to pull myself through the rest of the way. "HEY! WHADOYA THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" I panicked. I could almost feel the adrenaline shoot through my system. All my little aches and pains vanished as he approached, pointing a handgun at me the whole time. I could tell this guy was different than the ones that had carried me to the room. A different gang, and a different accent that my brain wouldn't let me place tripped out on adrenaline. He pushed the barrel of the gun against my head. That was his first and last mistake. "Get back in there!" My hands reached out and pushed his arm away. The gun went off. That would attract attention. I rolled onto my back and planted my hands on the ground behind me, pulling the rest of my body from the window and standing just as he managed to get the gun leveled on me again. I tackled him to the ground and the gun went off again, this time into the sky. He rolled us and tried to pin me. I responded with a kick to the groin. He choked and dropped the gun. I grabbed his collar and threw him off me, grabbing the gun as I managed to stand up again. He pulled a knife from his belt and charged me. I pulled the trigger twice, sending two cop killers into his chest. The dirt beneath my feet became sand, and I stalled for a second, breathing heavily. I fell to my knees, my head pounding from the sound of gunfire and the memories it brought to the forefront of my mind. "There he is!" 'Not now, not now, I have to get moving.' I managed to stand again, staggering from the courtyard and away from the panicked voices of the gangsters that were coming to get me. Would the police be there the next day? Would they find my prints on the chair and my DNA on the man that I killed? I kept the gun, not only for self defense, but also because if I left it there it would only make things more difficult. I heard the gangsters behind me grow louder and start to move faster. Then I heard the infighting and gunfire start. I had to get home, I had to... Applejack stepped forward with a few small bottles in her mouth and planted them in my pack, "There's the medicine Twi needs, yer gonna save her, right?" "God dammit." I turned back around and made my way towards the warehouse. I could see the gangs killing each other. Both of them seemed to be on the retreat. I made my way along to fence line of the area they were fighting in, trying to avoid the crossfire and stay behind stray concrete barriers and construction supplies. I made it back to the warehouse no worse for the wear, to what seemed to be the rear door. The gunfire started to die down, but was still going pretty strong. I flung the metal door open to the sight of the wide open warehouse area where I had been captured. I leveled the gun. One on my right drawing a weapon. Trigger twice, two bullets in the chest. Six rounds left. Left side, no weapon, running away. Center, two thugs charging me with butterfly knives, one leveling a gun. Two rounds in the guy with the gun. I turned my aim towards the thugs with the knives, one of which was holding my saddlebag and wore a bandanna around his mouth. They dropped the weapons and backed off. I could feel my heart about to explode through my chest. "Drop the saddlebag!" "Al... alright man, j... just cool it." "FUCKIN' DROP IT NOW!" The bag hit the floor. "Get the fuck out of here!" They ran the opposite direction, and I shouldered the saddlebag and made my way out of the warehouse. I walked all the way to the hospital once I found my way back to the main roads in the city. Didn't even bother to hail a cab. By the time I got there it must have been around midnight. I saw Nurse Hart walking to her car in the parking lot as I made my way towards the rear of the hospital. "Nurse!" I shouted. She turned towards me and gasped, dropping her keys. She was on me in an instant, putting her hands on my shoulders and frowning, "What happened to you? Ms. Shirley and Ms. Daniels were so worried about you? You look like you've been through hell. Is that a gun in your belt?!" I felt like I was about to collapse. "I need to... I n... I need to get into the hospital." "But it's midnight, you can't..." "Please." I could feel my consciousness slipping away, "I got something that can help Tammy, you just gotta trust me." "Mr. Jenkins, you're asking me to risk my career." I opened up the saddlebag and retrieved the three bottles of medicine that Applejack had given me. "I'll be out as soon as she takes these, just..." "Alright, alright." "Thank you Nurse Hart." She blushed and wrapped her arm around my shoulders. After retrieving her keys we made our way to the second floor of the hospital, Tammy's room. The medicine the girls had given me was all liquid, and taken orally according to them, so it was easy enough to get Tammy to take it. I waited a few moments, trying to keep my eyes open. "Mr. Jenkins, what is going on? I want to help you I really do. I know you wouldn't hurt Tammy, but what did you just..." The nurse let out an audible gasp. Tammy's eyes slowly opened. She didn't say a word. She looked toward me, and then she closed her eyes again. It looked like the medicine worked. I collapsed on the floor of the hospital room.
10: MageA/N:This chapter is a bit short, but the next one will be another two-shot. Coming soon, Shit Gets Real: Reloaded Chapter 10: Mage The chair in the office was uncomfortable. I didn't want to be there, confronting a man who knew nothing about me and answering his questions so he could attempt to make me better. I was tired of thrashing out in my sleep, tired of drinking myself to death every night, but most of all I was tired of the memories. The memories wouldn't stop, no matter how hard I tried to get rid of them, no matter how much I ran away from them. The memories were always there in the back of my mind, legs hunched like predators waiting to strike at any moment. My shrink sat across from me, his glasses barely staying on the bridge of his nose, "Hello Jenkins. I believe this is your first session right?" I nodded and he continued, "Good, good. My name is Doctor Henry Mitchell, and I'll be helping you recover." I bit back an ill conceived comment, after some thought I finally said, "How?" "One conversation at a time." My eyes snapped open and I drew in a deep breath. After a moment my mind caught up with my actions, and I realized I was laying in a soft bed, and the ceiling above me was white. I sat up with a groan and looked around. It seemed like a regular hospital room, and I wasn't hooked up to an EKG or any weird machines. 'Nurse Hart must have put me here after I passed out.' I sighed and got out of bed just as the door opened. Felicia stood in the doorway, a tray in her hands with a plate of food on it and a smile on her face, "Oh, good morning William." The smell of coffee, eggs, and bacon was enough to clear the remaining grogginess in my head, and then I remembered what happened the night before. "Is Tammy okay?" Felicia's smile widened, "Nurse Hart told me what happened. I don't know what you gave her, but she's awake, and she'll be out of the hospital in a few days." I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, and sat back down on the bed as Felicia approached. She handed me the tray and leaned down to hug me, "Thank you William, you've been a Godsend." My heart quickened and I felt blood rush to my face, "Uh..." Felicia pulled away, her own blush being pretty obvious, "Um... I'm sorry. I just..." "No, no it's okay, thanks for the breakfast." There was a moment of silence as I started to eat the bacon. Felicia sat next to me and started to fiddle with her thumbs. "So," I finally said, "Feel like a celebration?" "A celebration?" "Yeah, my coworker invited me to a party tomorrow, and I was thinking we could celebrate Tammy's recovery." "I'd be happy to." I smiled, "How about Rachel?" "What about me?" I looked up and Rachel was standing in the doorway, her arms crossed with a big grin on her face, "I LOVE to party!" "Oh please..." Rachel stepped aside to make way for Tammy's wheelchair. Tammy made her way to the edge of my bed and gave me a smile, "If I pester the doctors enough they'll let me go too. They're all curious how I recovered so quickly considering the condition I was in, but Hart isn't letting them anywhere near me. How are you doing?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at me. "I'm doing okay I guess," I said with a shrug. "My name is..." "William Jenkins, I know. You saved my life. I'm... really grateful for that." She laughed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "When that car was coming for me I didn't have much time to think about it, but I was pretty sure I was gonna die." Tammy turned her gaze towards Felicia, "Could you girls give us a minute?" Felicia and Rachel looked confused, but heeded their friend and exited the room together, closing the door behind them. Tammy turned back to me, "Do you think it's possible to dream in a coma?" For some reason her question made me nervous. "I... wouldn't know." "I don't remember much, but I heard your voice, and there were others. A few of them I recognized and a few of them I didn't. What little I can remember is blurry and I can't really tell if it was all fake or not." "Why are you telling me this?" "You did something, didn't you?" I set the half finished plate and untouched orange juice to the side. My pulse quickened and the room started to get colder, "Wha..." "I'm not stupid William. I was in CRITICAL CONDITION. It's a miracle I'm the way I am now, and I have you to thank for it, don't I?" "I don't..." She held up a hand, "I'll tell you right now. Please don't lie to me to cover up something I won't believe, because I can assure you that I've seen much stranger things than what you're about to tell me." "How can you be sure about that?" She laughed and bit her bottom lip, "Ms. Celestine would have a field day with you. You're just a bag of mysteries." Tammy eyed the small table next to my bed, and the lamp on top of it. She calmly placed her hands in her lap, then something I didn't expect happened. The lamp unplugged itself and levitated from the table, and in a short moment was in Tammy's grasp. She grinned, "Betcha won't catch a trick like that at a Chris Angel show." "I... wha... how did..." Tammy blushed and set the lamp on the floor, "You don't have to sound so shocked." "Are you kidding?! That was... holy crap that's awesome!" Her blush deepened, "Well I wouldn't say awesome. Anyways, it's your turn! Stop trying to sidetrack me with flattery!" I thought on what I was about to say. Could I really tell her about all the dreams I was having, that I saved her by going through some weird veil that brought me to an abandoned warehouse on the edge of the city? Could I really tell her about the ponies, about the 'dreams' I'd been having? "I... I met you in another world." Tammy looked surprised for a moment, but that surprise was quickly replaced with excitement, "You what?" "When I go to sleep I wake up in another world. I met you and a few other people I know there, Rachel and Felicia too." Tammy leaned forward, grinning and grabbing the edge of her seat, "Tell me, tell me! What was it like?!" I gritted my teeth. For some reason it was embarrassing to admit, talking about something like that would only end up humiliating me, "... I can't." Tammy pouted, and that's all it took. The puppy dog eyes were strong with this one. "Alright, everyone was a pastel colored pony." There was a moment of awkward silence that seemed to drag on for an eternity. Then Tammy burst out laughing. I sighed and hung my head. She grabbed my shoulder, "Hahahaha! I'll see you... heh... at the party tomorrow... HAHAHAHAHA!" God dammit. The Doc's office was eerily quiet that day. The first thing I noticed was that the fan above my seat was off. Doc smiled when I sat across from him, "It stopped working in the middle of the night. The repair man is coming in later this afternoon. I hear you've been missing work lately." "Just a couple of days, it'll be back to normal next week." "Tom figured as much," he said with a smile, "Has everything else been going okay?" "Yeah... yeah. I've been making some friends, I invited them to Phoebe's party tomorrow." "Good. Any primal interests?" I raised an eyebrow at the weird question, then noticed his sly smirk, "Oh, you mean girls? Well, there are a couple." "A couple huh? Your neighbor Felicia?" "You know me too well Doc." "Who else." I laughed, "Her friend." The Doc let out a hiss through his teeth, "That's a tough situation William, you haven't been sleeping with them have you?" "Ha, no, you know I'm not that stupid." "What's her friend like?" "Really smart, good looking, just got in a car accident." Doc laughed, "She sounds perfect for you." "Hardy har har." I made my way home slowly that afternoon, taking in the sights and sounds of the city for the first time in months. The city was peaceful in its own chaotic way. Every night I fell asleep to the sound of my TV and the cars driving by outside, if one of those sounds were to vanish I wouldn't be able to get any sleep at all. The order of the lights and signs that guided the psychotic drivers through thier daily routines... that was a personal favorite of mine. It's hard to beat morning road rage for sheer entertainment value, but it's easy to lose your job getting caught in traffic. My apartment complex loomed over me after a long and slow walk, and I took in every minute detail. Every brick, every window, every movement inside. I took a deep breath of the contaminated city air, and I felt at peace. "You look happy." There she was, leaning against the rail leading up to the apartment complex's door. Camille. "Now you look nervous," she said with a frown. I sighed, "What do you want?" "Oh come now, can't we just have a little chat. I did save your ass at the bar you know." "You probably planted those guards there." She rolled her eyes, "Please, I don't waste time on such petty things. You and I have bigger fish to fry." "What kind of fish?" She grinned, "Chaotic fish. The fish that struggles until its last pathetic little breath. The kind of fish that you, me, and a lot of other people would love to get their hook into. He's mean, nasty, and an all around asshole." "Discord." Camille clapped and walked down the stairs, making sure her hips had extra bounce to them as she moved, "There we have it Johnny, what has our contestant for the evening won?" "Answers. What are you?" Camille frowned, "Well you're just no fun. I'm a changeling dear. Of course I'd rather stay out of trouble and live like everyone else, but Discord is fucking everything up, and I want him gone." "Why ask me for help?" She smiled, "A few reasons, you're a crack shot with a gun, and you know four little girls that have a few tricks up their sleeves. Five if you count me, but I'm not exactly what one would call little." "Tricks?" "Oh don't give me that. I know Tammy showed you what she could do. She's a mage you ditz. You two should just get it over with and make out already." I rolled my eyes, "Right. Why do they need to get involved?" She stepped forward and poked my nose with a grin, "I'm not telling... at least not yet." She walked around me and made her way down the street, waving as she went. I made my way back to my apartment, fed Mishmash, and crashed. The grass tickling my face was what woke me up that time.
11: Threads That Bind (Part 1)A/N: I WAS going to post this as a double chapter, I promise. I've just been so caught up in work that I haven't made much time for writing, and my weekend was almost entirely consumed by the excellent Spec Ops: The Line. Anyways, I figure I might as well just split it into two parts so I can get something out to you guys quicker. Without further adieu, I give you: Chapter 11: Threads That Bind (Part 1) I took a moment to appreciate the warmth from the sun, not opening my eyes for fear that I was simply hallucinating or having one of my flashbacks. It was better to just lay there in my own little world. Then again, my flashbacks never had grass. When my brain was finally able to process this I yawned and opened my eyes. I was in the same field of grass as when I had first arrived in Equestria, and as I stood on my... four legs I took a deep breath of fresh air. I saw the village in the distance, about two miles away, and smiled. 'I'll be damned, I guess I'll be here a bit longer.' In an attempt to fully take in my surroundings I turned to get a better view, and just as the edge of Ponyville went out of view I was meant with a pair of violet eyes. "Good morning!" "AUGH!" I stumbled back and fell on my rear, making a choking sound as I regained myself and realized it was Twilight standing in front of me. "You know," she said cheerfully, "I think SOMEpony here deserves a reward." Twilight let her gaze fall to her front right hoof, and the thing in front of it, a small gift basket with a purple bow tied onto the handle. Inside the basket itself were what appeared to be various sweets on top of something wrapped in a black bag. She nudged it forward and grinned. As I gathered what remained of my dignity I frowned at her, "Do you always sneak up on people like that?" She looked slightly shameful at least, "No. I kinda wanted to surprise you." I laughed, "There are better ways to go about doing so. How'd you know I'd be here anyways?" "About that." For some reason there was excitement in her eyes, "You weren't here yesterday, so I figured something happened." "Wait, hold on... are the others back yet?" Twilight waved a hoof, "Oh don't worry about them, they left a note for me in the hospital, and when I woke up I teleported them back." "You what?" "I teleported them." I let out a sigh, "You had to be the one who got hit by a car didn't you? That would have been useful a few days ago you know." "ANYWAYS," Twilight stepped forward and jabbed me in the chest with her hoof, "I spent most of yesterday trying to figure out why you're coming here. The furthest I got is figuring out you're connected to the veil somehow. You're giving off the same type of magic that it does. As for me knowing you're in the field it was just an educated guess. Every other time you woke up where you fell asleep in Ponyville... except for the first time you came here, when you woke up in this field. When you went through the veil your body was no longer in this world, just like before you arrived in Equestria. Looking at the initial result of things it was pretty simple to see where you'd end up." "What if you were wrong?" She smiled, "Then I would have made another hypothesis." "So you're the scientist pony then?" "Well, I wouldn't go that far. Not to mention I still don't know anything at all about your connection to the veil, or why you get dropped in this field specifically... or why you don't have a cutie mark." "That's the second time you've brought that up, what is a cutie mark anyways?" "Oh I'm sorry, you told me a lot about the human world, and here I am forgetting one of the most important things about MY world." Twilight smiled, then turned so she was facing to the left. She then pointed to the side of her butt. The mark she spoke of was a large star, encircled by several smaller ones. The blood rushing to my face was probably enough to save someone who was in the middle of hemorrhaging. I looked away and gritted my teeth, "Wh... what does that have to do with anything?" "It's my cutie mark, my specialty is magic, but you... you don't really have a specialty do you?" I looked at the ground, trying to avoid locking my gaze where it wasn't meant to lock. Then she started to walk towards me. "What are you..." She stopped at my side and planted a hoof right where my cutie mark would have been, and then smiled at me, "See? You're very fascinating William." I cleared my throat and pulled away, "Yeah, anyways, we should be getting back to Ponyville. Let's go to the library, I can help you while you try to figure things out." I rushed to the basket that she brought, bending down and scooping it up in my teeth as I started my walk back to Ponyville. Twilight followed me, grumbling under her breath about me not indulging her curiosity. After a while Twilight offered to carry the basket with her magic, and I figured it would be easier than screwing up my teeth. The walk back to Ponyville was long, and as soon as we hit the dirt road leading to it Twilight had already struck up another conversation with me, asking me about all the things they had yet to learn about humans. Politics, food, races, literature, art, music, entertainment. Walking side by side, we discussed everything from the beat of a police officer to Beethoven's 6th, and I found I was enjoying myself. In fact, I was enjoying myself a bit TOO much. "So you're omnivores?" "Yeah. It'd be kind of wrong to eat something that can talk though." Twilight smiled, "Oh? Is horse a delicacy where you're from?" I laughed, "God no. People tend to take care of and ride horses, they're useful on farms and stuff." "What do you eat then?" "Cow, pig, chicken, turkey, quail, duck, deer, all sorts of stuff." "Well it's not exactly part of the diet here," she said, still smiling, "And our cows can talk too." "Your goal is to ruin meat for me forever, isn't it?" She giggled, "I'm not judging, besides, you're a pony right now too, if you tried to eat meat you would only make yourself sick." "I guess that's true. Still, I could kill for some bacon right now." Twilight shoved me to the side with a grin, "Well you'll just have to settle for it. What's she like? The me... in your world, that is." "Pretty much the same person. It's the same with everypony else too. I work with Pinkie at the computer place." "Hahaha, that must be fun." "I'm going to one of her infamous parties tomorrow. God knows I'll probably need pain killers and a lot of water in the morning. That woman loves kegs." "Kegs?" "A big barrel full of alcohol." "Heh, yeah that sounds like Pinkie, except ours likes sweets." "Oh she loves those too." "Well, here we are!" shouted Twilight, stopping to sit on her haunches and setting the basket down. I didn't notice it before but she looked kind of tired, probably because she had been using her magic the entire time we were walking. We had made it to Ponyville. The main dirt road going through the town was more crowded than what I had seen of it before. Especially the market by the town square. Twilight started floating the basket again, and as we made our way towards the center of town I started to see why it was so crowded. "Come one, come all! See Miss Rarity's fabulous new line of dresses!" Spike stood on top of a small box, with what appeared to be a microphone in his hands. Behind him, and in front of the rather large crowd, was what appeared to be a makeshift stage with several mannequins displayed. On each of these mannequins was a unique dress. One dress was a white ensemble that strongly resembled a heavily modified wedding dress made to fit a ponies body; another was a darker, more sleek look, with small embedded gemstones causing it to shine under the sun. Several more adorned the stage, each as stunning as the last. I saw Rarity at the side, swarmed with other ponies clamoring to get a look at her and her dresses. As we approached our friend the crowd seemed to part around us, finally giving us ample space when we reached her. Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Rarity, what's going on?" "Oh William darling it's so good to see you again." After she addressed me she turned to answer Twilight's question, "Well, each season brings new fashion. I usually sell my goods to clients in Canterlot, but it was Spike's idea to display my work in Ponyville, perhaps I could garner a few loyal customers at home aside from my friends. I enjoy delivering my dresses personally, and I just can't do that with how far away some of my clients are." "It's a good idea," I said, "Anything that brings in more customers is usually a good thing." "Oh, I could actually use your help William." "Me?" "Yes yes yes." She stepped forward and smiled wide at me, "I don't know many colts in Ponyville that well, and I figure with the favor you did us I could reward you somehow, perhaps with a free suit?" "Oh... I couldn't..." "But you must darling. Dresses are one thing but I have male clients as well you know." "Um... Twilight?" Twilight laughed, "I don't see why not. You saved my life, remember?" "Yeah, but I'm not really..." "I'll be at the library with your basket when you're done, have fun." "I don't..." "Oh this will be simply fantastic, come quickly." "But I..." Rarity's boutique was a sight to behold, that was for sure. I had never set foot inside a boutique in my life, and I had no intention to, that day proved just how much my intentions mattered in the face of a world full of magical ponies. To her credit, it wasn't so girly that I wanted to go outside and wretch the acid from my stomach. The female influence was definately there, but it wasn't overbearing, something told me she did this on purpose, so as not to scare away male customers. "Wait here, I'll go get the measuring tape." I was forced to stay in the main area. There were a few tables that she obviously used for work, one with a sewing machine on it. Mirrors lined the wall behind the sewing machine table. Considering she had ran off this obviously wasn't her only work space. It wasn't long before she returned with the measuring tape floating next to her head, "This won't take too long, and then perhaps we could go get brunch." It must have been around ten o' clock in the morning. I hated not having a watch. The measuring tape extended, wrapping itself around my waist and hooves. When I looked back to Rarity there was a small note pad and a quill floating in front of her face. "You know, I normally don't give people my measurements on the first date," I said with a smirk. The note pad fell to the floor and Rarity stomped a hoof, "Well I never!" I laughed, "It was a joke Rarity." "A very uncouth one!" "It wasn't even that dirty." "Dirty?" "Ugh, never mind, just finish the measurements and then we'll grab a bite to eat." The rest of the measurements didn't take long, just like Rarity said. I was surprised when she took me to the Ponyville cafe. She seemed like she was doing rather well for herself, and when I first met her she seemed like a stuck up rich girl to me, but there was a lot more to her than that. Yeah she had that air about her, but I noticed she wasn't too against getting dirty in the swamp when the situation called for it. I also noticed she had a habit of giving her friends free stuff. "Hi, can I take your order?" The waitress seemed abnormally happy to be doing her job. "I'll take a salad please, no dressing," said Rarity. "Petunia sandwich." "Comin' right up." And with that the waitress was gone. "So," said Rarity with a smile, "What do you think of Equestria?" "It's... nice." Rarity cleared her throat and leaned forward a bit, "Well, I heard all about your world from Twilight yesterday." "She told you?" "Oh yes, but there was more about you in there than there was your world. You did, after all, save her life." "That I did." Rarity, seeming satisfied for some reason, leaned back to a normal position, "I see," she said softly. "I am also curious if you've met me in your world." "Nope. I haven't met you, or Applejack for that matter. Applejack probably lives on a farm somewhere, and as for you, you're probably too rich for my blood." "Rich for your blood?" "It's a saying. I wouldn't be able to hang around you because you're probably too high on the social ladder." "Such a shame, we get along rather swimmingly too." Our food arrived, and the rest of our time was spent in idle conversation. By the time I got back to the library it was already noon, and Twilight was buried in her books. As the door shut behind me she damn near snapped to attention on the spot. "William! I've been waiting for you to get back. I made you a study area next to mine, and there's a few books you can get started on. You'll be able to make corrections or spot things that ponies can't. Just let me put some tea on for you." The two study areas were in the center of the library, surrounded by a couple of lanterns and a lot of books. We both had small desks to set our books on as well. "I've never seen someone so excited to have a reading buddy before," I said with a laugh. I wasn't sure, but I thought I heard her let out a little squeak in excitement. We set to work when she came back with the tea. After a bit of practice I managed to get turning a page with my hoof down, not to mention drinking from a cup with no hands. Twilight had actually managed to gather quite a few books about humanity together, theories that were actually pretty spot on, like how our biology is similar to theirs because we're mammals, though more akin to monkeys. Science and technology existed in this world it seemed, but magic trumped it so hard that there wasn't any need for half of that stuff. It was easy to get swept up in a reading session with this girl. I found myself correcting small mistakes and adding onto theories that other ponies had made about my species. Every time I said something it was like Twilight was hanging on every word. It was kind of cute to be honest. We ate a small dinner and continued until the sun went down. As soon as I heard Twilight yawn I knew it was about time for bed. I looked over to her and saw her eyes drooping as she nodded off a bit. "Wanna wrap it up?" I asked. "Justa... bit more." I laughed, "Yep, time for bed, the books'll be there in the morning Twilight." "Okay. Tomorrow we'll... we'll... study the veil." She trotted sleepily up the stairs as I readied my own bed on the ground floor. I was out seconds after hitting the sack.
12: Threads That Bind (Part 2)A/N: Alert: An update is available. Would you like to upgrade to "Shit Just Got Real" version 2.0? y/n "Welcome to the edge of death." That's what our squad leader said the first time we went out on a convoy. I knew what he was saying, but I didn't really get it. It wasn't like the movies, there were no epic speeches before some grand final battle, we weren't heroes. I know that sounds bad, but we were just soldiers doing our job, and our job was to get things from point A to point B without getting shot to hell. Easier said than done. My first few convoys couldn't have gone better... Then the ambush happened. The convoy was passing through a local village when one of our drivers spotted what looked like an IED. A couple of guys got out and did the whole procedure, reported it, see if we could go around it. "What happened then?" Boom, the guy that was with the radio just drops dead. The rest of us that are out of our vehicles, we take cover, and everything just goes to shit. There's an explosion and I lose my gun somewhere. Next thing you know I'm getting hauled to my feet and someone hands me a radio. I call for an air strike. "And you can't remember what happened after that?" No, not until I'm walking through the desert with Clark. "Clark was your friend?" Yeah, my best friend... And I got him killed. Chapter 12: Threads That Bind (Part 2) Yet another morning, just like any other. I fed Mishmash, got a bowl of cereal, and... 'Well I'll be damned, it's Saturday.' Remembering that I had to go to Pin... Phoebe's party, I made my way into the hallway and to my neighbor Felicia's door. I knocked as gently as humanly possible, at least for me. It only took her a few seconds to open the door and peek her head out. "Oh, William, good morning." "You ready for Phoebe's party?" "Oh, that was today? I uh..." I grinned, "Come on, it'll be fun. I haven't been to one of her parties yet but I heard they're great." "O...okay, Rachel and Tammy said they would go so... what time is it again?" I got ready to answer, then realized something, "You know what? I don't know, let me get back to you on that. I'll give you the time, and then you can call Tammy and Rachel." She smiled, "I'll see you then." I made my way downstairs to the apartment lobby, dialing a number I barely managed to remember. She picked up after the first ring. "HI BILLY!" I pulled the phone away from my ear, grimacing a bit and getting some weird looks from the landlady as I made my way towards the mail boxes. "Hi Phoebe, how's your day going?" "It's going super! Thanks for asking. Did you call about the super awesome party I'm throwing tonight?" I tried not to let her voice distract me as I turned to knob on my mail box to the right numbers, but it was extremely difficult. "Yeah, looking forward to it. I'm gonna be bringing some friends, and one of them is in a wheelchair." "Oh don't you worry about that Billy, I've got all that stuff covered!" "Wait... what?" "My parties accommodate EVERYONE, just like I never leave home without my party cannon." "Your what?" "Silly Billy. Bring Doritos please, if you don't that's okay, but Doritos would be super duper awesome, especially Cooler Ranch." "I don't... you know what? Okay, I'll see you tonight." "Okie Dokie Lokey! Eight PM sharp, my apartment at the corner of Kings and Gradey, you'll know it when you see it!" And with that she hung up. I let out a sigh and rubbed the bridge of my nose, pocketing my cell phone and finally managing to open my tiny mail box. I laughed when I saw a small picture of Deborah on top, lazy eye and all, sticking her tongue out at me. I flipped it over and on the back was a small message. "Seeya at the party. Phoebe said it's gonna be great. -Deb" I took the picture, along with the small bundle of envelopes, and headed back upstairs to let Felicia know. The fan was spinning again, which was more comforting than it should have been. The office smelled like cinnamon that day. "My wife baked some cinnamon rolls, would you like one?" Doc gave a smile and leaned back in his chair, setting the closed notepad on the arm of his chair. I dug my head a bit more into the couch, trying to get comfortable, "No notes today?" "No notes," he said, still smiling, "I don't think I'll be needing them anymore. You've been coming to see me quite a bit lately. I don't mind the surprise appointments though." "That optimistic huh?" Doc laughed, "Now Mr. Jenkins, you of all people know that I'm a realist." "Realist is a helluva position to take treating the traumatized." Doc leaned forward, pushing his glasses up to the bridge of his nose, "William, when you came to me for treatment, the last thing you wanted to hear about was the sunshine, rainbows, and unicorns here in America." I tried not to laugh at the mention of Unicorns. He continued, "You needed help, and I gave it to you. You had just been through hell, and I can honestly say that I couldn't relate to that very well. I can, however, empathize and help you recover." "So what now?" "Well, you have a party to go to tonight. Maybe tomorrow you should call your parents, get back in contact with your family." "So that's the final step, huh?" "There is no final step William. You're going to live with this for the rest of your life in some form or another. The dreams may fade, but you still have the memories." "Yeah... hey Doc?" "Hmm?" "Thanks." Phoebe's place was easy enough to find. The apartment complex itself was right where she said it would be, and as for spotting her room, it was on the third floor, and seemed to be the source of almost all the noise on the street. Her room seemed to be rather far up for only being on the third floor. As I approached the building I noticed that the window leading to Phoebe's room was not a window, but a balcony with sliding doors. It was the same setup for all the rooms, going up... rather far in fact. I was pulled from my thoughts when the sliding door opened and Phoebe bounded from the room, leaning over the railing and giving me a huge grin, "Billy I'm SO glad you could make it! I'll buzz you up, did you bring the chips?" I held up the two bags of Doritos in my right hand and smiled, "Good enough?" "Awesoooome! Come on up Billy!" The double glass door had already been buzzed open by the time I made it there, and when I stepped into the lobby I started to get a strange feeling. This place wasn't at all like my own apartment building, it seemed a lot... larger, and more luxurious. I suppose I should have noticed it outside, considering. I saw a man dressed rather sharply behind a large wood oak desk, and the luggage carts to my left were... golden. I would have questioned whether or not I was in the right place had I not already seen Phoebe screaming down at me from the balcony. The lobby lead into a hallway with elevators on either side, with stair cases in the back. 'Now that I think about it, this building looked kinda tall outside.' "Good evening sir, do you want me to take your coat?" I didn't even notice the second guy, who seemed to appear out of nowhere, until he had asked me that. I drew my arms in a bit, suddenly feeling uncomfortable in my simple wind jacket and cheap polo shirt. "Um, that's okay, thanks though." The man opened his mouth to speak, but the loud clicking of high heels on the linoleum floor distracted both of us. I looked up towards the elevators and could feel the blood drain from my face when I saw her. Pale and extremely shapely legs, black dress, jewel necklace, long black hair curled perfectly, and a beaming smile. "No, that's not..." My denial was half-hearted. It went from half-hearted to completely annihilated when she opened her mouth, "So you're the one Phoebe keeps going on and on about. She wasn't too keen on the details of where this party was going to be, was she? It's actually for the better, if anyone knew they were coming here it would be much too stuffy of an affair." "Rarity?" She laughed and waved a hand, "Well you're just the flatterer aren't you? I'm hardly rare. My name is Robin." It was at that moment that I figured out why Rarity had been so familiar to me. I had been seeing her billboards all over the city ever since I got back from the war, not only that, but her picture was in almost every jewelery or formal wear store on the main strip. "You're Robin Raines," I said softly. She smiled, "Well, I see my reputation precedes me." I laughed, what else could I do? The situation was so damn... impossible. "How do YOU know Phoebe?" Robin smiled and gestured at me to come closer, "Do follow me to the elevators Darling, I'll tell you all about it on the way to the host's room." I did as she said. The bellboy vacated as we walked away, and Robin snaked her arm through mine; it was a formal gesture, but it didn't feel stiff at all, like she was used to such a thing, and why wouldn't she be? I felt heat rising to my face. "As for why I know Phoebe," said Robin, "She doesn't only work at the computer place you know. Phoebe is a very popular party planner in some circles. I met her a year ago when she set up a birthday for my little sister Sarah. She can plan the best formal parties, but you haven't been to one of her REAL parties until she's throwing it for her friends." "So I should consider myself lucky then?" I only noticed we reached the elevator because Robin pushed the button and I heard it ring. "Well, a little bit, yes." The elevator arrived and we were on our way up. "Anybody else new I should be expecting at this party?" "Well, there's a few faces, but if you're worried about Phoebe's close friends there's really only one other. She came all the way to the city just to visit us." "Wait, all the way?" Robin smiled, "Well, she owns a farm." "I wonder who that is." I muttered. "What?" "Nothing, just thinking out loud." The party was in full swing, and Phoebe's place was definitely big enough to accommodate it. A living space that trounced mine greeted my eyes, along with a kitchen that had all the bells and whistles, along with a large dining table parallel to it, and there were AT LEAST three bedrooms and a couple of bathrooms. It seemed to be a small party, but there were a lot of people there, of all creeds and colors. The first thing I noticed were the two kegs by the dining table, and on the dining table itself was even more alcohol, vodka and wine outnumbering almost everything else. Going even further along the table I began to see the assorted snacks and the even more amazing arrangement of sweets, culminating in a large cake fit for a wedding right in the center of the table. Then the blaring rock music. "Okay, that's awesome," I said with a laugh. Robin smiled, "Isn't it though?" "I'm not going home sober tonight." "Hahaha." Robin smacked me on the shoulder, "I figured you wouldn't, oh there's Alice, I better go talk to her." "Alice?" Before I could question her further Robin had already pulled away from me, but I saw the small group of people she was heading towards, which included Phoebe. It wasn't Phoebe that caught my eye though, it was the girl that stuck out like a sore thumb amongst everyone else. She wore a denim jacket and a button up shirt that allowed for free movement, along with some jeans and boots. To top it all off was her blond hair pulled into a wide tail, and the ten gallon hat on top of her head. "Yep, definitely Applejack," I muttered with a laugh. I looked around some more and noticed Deb in the back, by the sliding door to the balcony with a few other girls, she grinned and gave me a wave. I returned the favor. "There you are, I'm glad you could make it!" I heard the wheelchair before I saw her. "Hey Tammy." I was happy to see her, that was for sure, especially among so many strangers, "Where are Rachel and Felicia?" Tammy laughed and held a beer out to me, "Rachel is trying to get Felicia to mingle." "Ha, easier said than done." "No kidding." "You mind hanging out? I don't know anybody here except you guys, and everybody but you seems... otherwise occupied." Tammy smiled, "No problem, I was actually looking forward to talking with you. I wanna hear more about this pony world of yours." "Last time you laughed at me, besides, there are people around." "Oh please." She wheeled towards the table and I followed her, opening my beer and grabbing a couple of cookies, "Everyone is way too into the party to care, either that or too drunk." "And you're just drunk enough to care right?" "Hahaha, well, something like that." I took a swig from the beer, "Well. Everybody I know from over there is at this party, that's a start?" "Oh?" She gave me a sly smile, "Wow me Mr. Slider." I pointed right at Tammy, "Twilight Sparkle." Then I started to go down the list, pointing to each person respectively as I named them, "Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, and last but not least... Pinkie Pie." A giggle escaped her mouth, "Okay now I KNOW you're not joking, no one would be weird enough to just come up with that." I rolled my eyes, "Anyways, I wasn't expecting you to be able to do magic, but you can in that world too. Does that mean Rachel has wings or something?" I asked with a laugh, taking another drink of beer. When I looked back to Tammy she was looking away from me, biting her bottom lip, "What?" "Well... about that wing thing," she said with a nervous laugh. "You're fuckin' shitting me." "... uh." "No seriously, you're pulling my leg, right? This can't be a coincidence. There's SOMETHING that's pulling us together, I mean, what with all the special powers and..." "Let's talk about something else, we'll go down the whole list of weird crap later, alright?" I agreed with her with what could have been a little too much enthusiasm. Our conversation shifted to more normal topics, like work and friends, and trying to stay afloat in a city with the country in recession. I tried to ignore the implications that came from what Tammy had just said, but it was constantly pulling at the back of my mind. I didn't even get a chance to talk with the other guests before the doorbell rang and Phoebe pulled it open. That feeling I got in the pit of my stomach when something was about to go wrong... I had that same feeling in the desert, just before the ambush that changed my life completely. I felt it at that moment. "Hello everypony, how could you not invite little ol' me to this bash?" The guests seemed to freeze. Discord brought an unnatural fear with him when he shoved Phoebe out of the way and walked through that door. "Who is that?" whispered Tammy. "Trouble," I said, "Lots of trouble."
13: Party FoulChapter 13: Party Foul "Have you ever felt like you've done something that wasn't right?" Doc's pen stopped moving, "That depends on what we're talking about William." "I try not to... not to think about it too much, but when I close my eyes... it's always there." "What is?" "One of the hardest choices I've ever made. Live... or die." Discord stopped as soon as he crossed the door and frowned at everyone in the room. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting something? I thought this party was open house." "I reckon ya'll got the wrong place." Applejack... Alice stepped forward through the small gathering she had going in the corner. There was dead silence for what seemed like an eternity, "The Element of Honesty, I would expect you to be blunt. Tell me, were you invited here by your friends? We can't have that. This place is too... orderly." He held up his hand and snapped his fingers. Then the panic set in, all but a scant few started screaming and vacated the room as fast as possible. Discord didn't even flinch as those attending the party shoved past him like he wasn't even there anymore. I didn't know whether or not what I was seeing was real. Spiders covered the ceiling, snakes adorned the snack table, and I thought I heard a roar come from the bathroom. To our credit, the seven of us kept our composure like professionals. I had seen worse, the girls... it was like they already dealt with this problem. And they had, simply in a different form. However, another stayed behind that I didn't expect. Deborah the mail lady. She moved forward with a purpose in every step, glaring daggers at Discord the entire way. With no hesitation she grabbed him by the collar and growled, "I don't know who you think you are, but my friends obviously don't like you." Even though she still had a strong grip on his hoodie, he completely ignored her and turned to face Tammy, "Twilight," he said, his voice drawing out the name to make it sound more like an insult than any sort of acknowledgement, "So good to see you again. Did you enjoy your stay in the hospital?" Tammy's eyes narrowed, her hands rested on the wheels of her chair, "The jello tasted like shit, but the nurse was nice. If you're not careful you'll be meeting her soon." Her grip on the wheels tightened, and with a hiss, all of what Discord had done vanished before our eyes. Discord let out a low whistle, "You've grown more powerful, Celestia must be so proud of you." A drawer in the kitchen flew open all on its own, and several knives engulfed in a purple light floated up from it, each one pointing to Discord. "Let him go," growled Tammy. Deborah didn't hesitate, she stepped back... And Discord didn't stop her. "So," said Discord, laughing under his breath, "Here we are ladies... and gentleman, where do we go from here?" Complete silence. I saw Rachel fidgeting out of the corner of my eye. 'Please don't try anything stupid,' I thought. "You leave us alone," said Tammy, "Or you get a knife through your skull." Discord frowned, "Why so violent? Here, let's start over, my name is Discord." "Discord, I recognize that name. Ms. Celestine told me about you. You hired that thug who ran me down. Even then you don't exactly look like the type of person I could trust... no offense." Who was this Celestine? Princess Celestia? How did she know so much? "Hahaha, none taken." "PARTY FOUL!" Shouted Phoebe, "You didn't get an invitation Mister!" Discord shook his head, "I'm not here for idle chatter. I'm here to make sure seven ponies keep their noses out of what I'm doing." I laughed, "You haven't been very successful so far. What makes you think you'll do any better today?" He grinned, "I didn't have much of a choice, what with all seven of you gathering in one place? I couldn't let that happen, much too risky, it would ruin my fun before I even got started." My eyes narrowed, "You seem rather organized for someone who loves chaos so much." "Oh William. William William William, whatever am I going to do with that attitude of yours? I am the EMBODIMENT of chaos, not just someone that loves it. I didn't plan on coming here, it was more a spur of the moment thing. Oh, and that thing back at the warehouse, with the gangs killing each other? Hehehehahahaha, delightful wouldn't you say?!" "You're insane!" shouted Rachel, "Who the fuck are you?!" "I believe I've already answered that question. I wonder Ms. Dash, would you abandon your friends again?" "What the hell are you talking about? My name isn't..." "Well you can't very well let a lady fall and not help her back up." It happened before we even realized it. Deborah vanished from the room, and I heard glass break. When I turned around I saw a tuft of blonde hair disappear past the balcony, and then I heard Deb's scream. Rachel made for the window and jumped off the balcony with no hesitation. One of Tammy's knives lurched forward, and Discord, with a mad grin, caught it between two fingers. Alice moved next, pulling a large knife from her belt that I hadn't even noticed she was carrying. 'Note to self: farm girls are dangerous.' Phoebe stomped her foot, "Ergh! This sucks. Billy, bottom right drawer of the island!" I moved to the island, where all the snacks had been ruined by the swarm of snakes from earlier. I threw open the bottom right drawer, "Why does she have an M9 pistol in her kitchen?" I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders, "Self defense, DUH!" Wait, how did she move that quick? Phoebe's arm left my shoulders and I stood to see Alice giving Discord a run for his money, slahing at him so fast he could do nothing but dodge. I saw Robin in the back, looking like she was about to hyperventilate. I saw Felicia looking over the ledge of the balcony, and it looked like she was crying. I leveled the gun at Discord, and as soon as Alice saw it she backed off. Discord grinned, throwing his hands up in the air. I knew he was playing with us, he could have turned the gun into a whistle if he wanted to. As he backed out of the door I realized his true purpose in coming to that party. It was to send a message. "I can kill any one of you at any time. Don't try to stop me." How cliche'. He wanted the heroes around to see the world fall, so they could see that they failed. His confidence would be his downfall. I set the gun on the island and made my way towards the balcony. I wasn't expecting to see Rachel landing on the balcony, cradling a frightened Deborah in her arms. Her wings, God knows how the hell she hid them, were wide, and cyan in color. For a moment she looked the part of an angel. I breathed a sigh of relief. It was over... for now. "So!" shouted Phoebe, "Who wants Jager Bombs?!" I raised my hand. So did everyone else. Rachel had walked Deb home after she calmed down, and no one brought up what happened again. We all just hung out, trying to put the bad thoughts away and enjoy what little of the party remained. Phoebe did her part, that woman could make the grouchiest man in the world smile, and we needed a lot of smiling and laughter after that. I volunteered to push Tammy back to the hospital after that whole mess. It was only a few blocks away, and she kept grumbling that she was tired of the Taxi service not conforming to poor crippled people like her. The elevator stopped on the lobby floor and I began our long journey. It was already dark out, and the night air would do us some good. "Take your time," she said, tossing me a smile over her shoulder, "I could do with the company." "Ha, you want a backrub too?" "Depends on how good you are at giving them." Her voice went a bit... sultry there. The bellboy was kind enough to hold the door for us, and as I pushed her down the sidewalk things became distastefully quiet, even with the cars driving all over the place. "So what's your last name?" I asked as we reached the first intersection. There was a moment of silence, and then... laughter. She was giggling like a madwoman at me. I was still sober enough to be embarrassed at this. "You're REALLY bad at this flirting thing," she said with a grin, stifling another giggle. "What?" I asked with a laugh, "I'm genuinely curious okay? Besides, we almost died back there, this isn't exactly the right time to flirt." She rolled her eyes, "Please, we'll get it under control, I'll take you with me to see Ms. Celestine about it tomorrow. Nothing a good old fashioned researching binge won't fix." "You still haven't answered my question." "Why do you want to know so bad?" "Names seem to be a running theme." "Yeah I noticed that too. Tammy Sainte." "Saint huh? My rough army physique must attract celibate women." Another giggle, her laugh was nice, "It's just a name doofus. Besides, it has an E at the end." "Ah, that cursed E, maybe you wouldn't be so corrupted if your name was REALLY Saint." That one got her to turn as best she could and give me a light smack on my shoulder. We reached the second intersection, crossing it when the walking light came on. I found myself dragging this out as long as I could, going at a snail's pace. She didn't seem to mind too much. Still smiling, she asked, "So you were in the army? How long?" "Two years." She nodded, "My brother was in the Marines. He got medically discharged." "Wounded?" "Yeah, not too bad though. There was an IED attack and the truck flipped on the side of the road. The CO was wounded, and my brother managed to get everyone to stop panicking... while his leg was broken. He got everyone out, and when he went into surgery he had some shrapnel in him, they had to remove one of his kidneys." I let out a low whistle, "Your brother sounds like a great man." "The best," she said, her smile widening even further. "BBBFF." "Huh?" "BBBFF, Big Brother Best Friend Forever." I grinned, "That has got to be the cheesiest shit I've ever heard." "Oh shut up! It's awesome and you know it." Third intersection. "We're almost there, any last words Ms. Sainte?" "Give me a minute while I go through the checklist." "Checklist?" She had this deep look of concentration on her face. As we approached the hospital doors she nodded firmly. "You can let me go here." I obliged, and she wheeled around to face me, "What are you doing tomorrow?" "Well, we have to go see that Ms. Celestine, right?" She rolled her eyes, "I know that, I mean what are you doing AFTER that?" "Um... nothing. I usually don't do much on Sundays." "Good, what say you take me out to dinner when we get done perusing through my library?" "A date?" She nodded firmly, "A date." I shrugged, "What the hell. Why not?" "Atta boy." "Get back in the hospital before Nurse Hart has a panic attack." She stuck her tongue out at me before wheeling around and through the automatic doors.
14: Two Timing(?)A/N: Breather episode Chapter 14: Two Timing(?) I awoke in my bed in the library with the sun attacking my face. It was slightly better compared to my alarm clock, but still annoying. "Twi... you left the window open," I grumbled. There was no response, so I figured she was lucky enough to still be passed out. I had two upcoming study sessions with this girl, one of them taking place today so long as there were no interruptions. I rolled over to face away from the sun and my eyes fell on the study area we had set up for the day before. My desk, still piled with books, held something else, a small plate with a salad and some eggs. To the left of the plate was a small cup, and the smell assaulting my nose told me exactly what was in the cup. "Coffee," I whispered to myself, "Hell yes." I all but tumbled out of bed, stretching much like my cat did whenever he managed to drag his lazy ass off my couch. I flared my wings up and flapped them a few times. It was a little weird walking with both sets of limbs, much less having an extra set glued to my back, but it appeared I was becoming used to it. Now that I knew Twilight was up I realized the water in the bathroom was running. "Welp, no use working on an empty stomach." The breakfast was delicious, and I managed to drink the coffee by holding the cup in my mouth and tilting my head back little by little. After some fumbling I managed to set the cup back on the desk without breaking it, proud of myself for having only spilled a bit of coffee on my chin, which was easily licked away. As cool as it was having wings I wasn't able to fly yet, and it would be nice to have some fingers. Just as I finished up I heard the bathroom door behind me open, and saw Twilight trot out, a trail of steam floating behind her and a brush floating next to her head, "Morning," she said with a grin, "I usually don't have eggs, but you're human, so I figured I'd treat you to something." "Thanks." "Oh it's alright." The brush, still surrounded by her magic, started going through her mane as she made her way towards the desks. "Bathrooms all yours." Well, this was awkward. "What?" Twilight smirked at me, "No offense William, but you haven't exactly bathed since you've been here." It was then that I came to a revelation. Well shit. I had smelled farm horses once before, not pleasant. I winced a bit, "Crap, you should have told me. Aren't friends supposed to tell each other when they stink?" Twilight frowned, "I didn't want to be rude." I rolled my eyes and walked away from her. I tried not to think about the fact that I had a date with Tammy the next day, and she was kinda sorta there as a pony at the same time, completely unaware of what had transpired before I awoke in her library. A good thirty minutes and a clumsy cleaning later and I once again joined Twilight out in the library. Spike was running to and fro organising books and looking like he just got up from an extremely short sleep. "So, find anything interesting?" I asked as I approached her. Twilight damn near jumped out of her skin when she heard my voice. After a moment of recovery she sighed and planted her head on the desk, "Please don't do that," she said through gritted teeth. I laughed, "All I did was ask you a question." "She was in the zone!" shouted Spike from one of the shelves. I grinned, "The zone? REALLY?" Twilight turned and glared at me, "I get really into it sometimes, okay?" "Right... so did you find anything?" She sighed and pulled herself back up, "Almost nothing. It's mostly hare-brained theories and old ponytales." "Hahahaha, ponytales, are you serious?!" "What? What's so funny?" "Erm... don't worry about it." "Anyways. The extent of the research on the veil was all done by one pony. Star Swirl the Bearded." "As opposed to Gandalf the White?" "What?" "Nothing, please continue." I could tell she was getting tired of me interrupting her, so I decided to let her continue that time. "Star Swirl was the one who went through the veil, the only pony to see the other side, at least until you arrived. He only went through once, but he came back with a wealth of information on strange creatures." "Probably humans." "Correct, and here's where it gets really interesting. Come here, I'll show you." I followed her to her desk and we both peeked over the book. Twilight flipped some pages with her magic, and when she reached what she wanted she planted her hoof on the page, "Right there." She moved her hoof so I could read. In all my career I have never seen anything quite like this. They function much as you would expect an intelligent life form to. Unfortunately, it appears their world is ravaged by war, yet still they carry on. There is much good to be found here. Perhaps we, as Equestrians, have become so accustomed to peace that we have forgotten what war is like. Either way, these 'humans' are very fascinating creatures, but as much as I would like to study them further the veil is not to be trifled with. Emerging on the other side took quite a toll on me; it appeared that I had somehow, in the course of shifting through the veil, transformed into one of these humans myself. When I returned to Equestria the same way I came it drained me of my magic. This would normally not prevent me from continuing my studies, but with the unknown nature of the veil, and the fact that it affected my magic, I am afraid I must consider this matter closed. I will let the princess know, and bury my own curiosity in favor of my continued safety." "So let me get this straight," I said, "He turned into a human when he crossed over into my world, kind of like I turned into a pony when I crossed into yours. That still doesn't explain why some of you have counterparts and some don't. I mean, theoretically wouldn't there be a pony version of me over here?" "We don't really know if there's not." When Twilight spoke I realized just how close we had huddled together over the book, and decided it would be in my best interest to retreat slightly before my face caught fire. 'Really?' I asked myself, 'Fuckin' really? She's a horse!' So are you. Twilight turned to me, "Are you okay William?" "Yeah, yeah I'm fine, JUST PEACHY, totally alright!" 'You've got a DATE tomorrow.' Yeah, with HER. "Are you sure? You look kind of pale. Are you sick? Oh no, did I make too many eggs?! Was it something in the coffee? I went through the recipes EXACTLY, it shouldn't have..." 'That would be two timing... would it be two timing?' "I'm fine, promise, the breakfast was great, everything is great. I just... got a shiver is all." Twilight still looked worried. Have I mentioned that I'm a horrible liar? "William, if you're not feeling alright then I can help." Suddenly, I felt like a dick. Twilight made me breakfast, was doing her best to figure out the whole veil thing with me, and was obviously fussing over my health. Not to mention the fact that my little shenanigans had pretty much everything to do with her. Whether I liked it or not, it was her business, and she deserved to know. "Well, remember how I told you that I had to go to that party?" She tilted her head, "Yes?" "Well, everyone was there, and we kind of hung out." I decided to skip over the part with Discord, there wasn't much they could do short of jumping through the veil and joining me, but there were already human versions of them over there, and who knew what kind of chaos that would cause? "And you... that is, Tammy, was still in a wheelchair from the hospital. I pushed Tammy back to the hospital when the party was over, and when we got there you kind of... asked me out on a date, and I said yes." There was a moment of silence... And then a moment of clarity. The realization could have been a physical thing bouncing around Twilight at that moment, and it wouldn't have surprised me one bit. First her eyes widened; then her mouth opened, as if she were planning on saying something, and clamped shut before she could get the words out. I could almost hear the gears in her brain come to a grinding halt. Then her face turned a deep shade of red, "Oh... I um... I see." I didn't know at all what that was supposed to mean, so I started to panic a little and decided to pick up where she had left off, "And you're uh... okay with this?" Twilight grinned nervously, still blushing like mad, "O... of course, why wouldn't I be? I mean, it's not like it's bad or anything, just..." She looked down at the floor and scuffed it with her hoof, "So do you really like m..." BOOM. "CONGRATULATIONS!" The entire library erupted in a storm of confetti and party streamers. Pinkie bounced through the door that she had nearly knocked of its hinges and tackled both of us, nearly taking a confused Spike into the mess as all three of us went tumbling across the wooden floor. "OOOOO, you have NO idea how much I've been looking forward to this day. I keep telling everypony that nopenopenope my friend Twilight isn't a stick in the mud, she just really likes books, and now here you are with your very own COLTFRIEND! I'm so happy for you I could just explode, but NO! I need to start planning the party and..." Twilight gritted her teeth, trying to struggle free to no avail, "Pinkie..." "I mean, how long have you been in Ponyville? I thought you would get lucky at Shining's wedding, but then the whole mess with Queen Chrysalis happened and I didn't know if you would EVER find your special somepony. I wonder when the others will find someone they can like like a lot lot!" Twilight growled, "Pinkiiiie..." "I want a coltfriend too, but they all seem to run away. I wonder what's wrong, I just..." "PINKIE!" Pinkie finally released her death grip and hopped away from us, but I didn't know whether it was out of shock or because she just decided to bounce away for the hell of it. We sat up on our haunches to face our pink adversary. I had to hand it to Twilight, she kept her composure, but her face was STILL red, possibly even moreso than before, "Pinkie... one, how did you even know what was happening? Two, he's not my coltfriend, I just..." "He TOTALLY is though, I mean, he JUST said he agreed to go on a date with you!" Twilight frowned, "Pinkie that's..." Pinkie waved a hoof and scoffed, "Oh what does it matter. TwilightTammy PhoebePinkie DanielsDashie, a hoof is a hoof and an apple is an apple!" That was... a simple way to look at things. Wait, how did she know all their human names? Twilight turned back to me and laughed nervously as she stood, "Sorry about this." I shrugged and pushed myself forward to stand with her, "It's no big deal." "Heh, I guess... it wouldn't be too much of a stretch, you did save my li... oh NO!" "What?" "Your basket!" She ran upstairs with a speed I had yet to see from her, and came back down with the basket she had tried to give my on the first day I came back after giving her the medicine. Opening it with her magic, she ignored all the arranged sweets and floated the black package from the basket. When she laid it in front of me I could tell it was a book just by looking at it. She used her magic to open it, and I smiled when I saw the title of the book. Flying for Dummies: Beginner and Expert Pegasi Tips Okay, that was awesome. "SO!" shouted Pinkie, "Do you need help setting up a date?!" Well, this was awkward.
16: Mentor (Part 2)Chapter 16: Mentor (Part 2) I went over the entire encounter at the warehouse in my head before I finally said something to the officers standing at my front door, "What's this about?" I recalled where I had the gun, under my mattress with an empty magazine, I also knew they didn't have a permit... at least not yet. The officers looked at each other, and the first one shrugged and turned back to me, "I'll be frank," he said, "There was a firefight at an abandoned warehouse near the docks, we found this on one of the dead thugs. Would you happen to know anything about it?" The officer pulled out a small picture of me and my ex girlfriend. The picture was taken at the theme park before I got deployed. I took her on one last date before getting shipped off, and this was the last picture we took together, her arm around my waist, planting a kiss on my cheek. Except the picture had been defaced. At the bottom it was writing, in red permanent marker, 'Study-bugs lose girlfriends--- sincerely, D' The threat was clear. "Sir?" I realized I was spacing out. "Y... yeah um... I used to date that girl, but uh... we broke up before I came back from the war. I don't know who wrote that on there or how they got the picture, probably one of her psycho boyfriends or something." Again I reiterate, I am a horrible liar. The first officer gave me a suspicious look before continuing, "We found Megan Hales dead this morning. The detectives say you're not a Person of Interest, but whoever did it knows you, and they were close enough to you to be able to get their hands on this picture. Do you know of any enemies you could have made in your time away from Megan?" Everything around me seemed like it was black and white, my ears started ringing, and I barely heard the words coming from the officer's mouth. All I knew was that Meg was dead, and Discord had killed her. The threat was even more clear now, and even closer than I had hoped. Meg's death was a shock, and unexpected, but there was nothing I could do about it, the deed had already been done. I honestly didn't know how to feel about that situation. I stopped loving her a while before, and the last time I talked with her was when she was breaking it off with me. I heard from some of her friends that she'd fallen into a bad way, drugs, gangsters, the works, but I had no idea it would lead to this. Meg and I had broken up a long time ago, and now I was dating... "Tammy," I mumbled. The second officer raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?" "No, nothing, I was just thinking out loud." I decided to go with a half truth, "When Meg and I broke up I got a bit depressed and she fell in with a bad crowd. For all I know she could have told one of her boyfriends about me." It was slightly easier than coming up with a lie on the spot. And now Tammy was in danger. "I see, well if you hear anything else be sure to give us a call, we'll do the same." "Thank you." I breathed a sigh of relief when I shut the door, and silently thanked the heavens that I had taken the gun with me when I had left the warehouse; if I hadn't then I'd have probably been on the way to the jailhouse at that point. It was Sunday, which meant I was headed to the hospital... After feeding and playing with my cat, of course. By the time I got off the bus to the hospital Tammy was already out in front of the entrance and waving at me with a huge grin on her face. She always seemed to get really excited whenever someone wanted to read or study with her; I took a mental note of this. As I approached she calmed down a bit, but still looked like she was a little girl about to go to Disneyland. I got behind the wheelchair and started to push, "So where to Ms. Librarian?" "Just keep going down this sidewalk for a block, then turn left and go straight, I'll stop you when we're there." As I started to push her the crowded streets seemed to melt away. I wasn't paying attention to the people on the sidewalks or the cars on the streets. "Easy enough. So do you know what we're in for?" She shrugged, "Ms. Celestine didn't tell me much, all she said was what I know about Discord." "That he tried to run you over?" "Yeah, pretty much. I've never heard of Discord, so when Ms. Celestine brought him up it was kind of a surprise, especially since it was right after I woke up." "She came to see you in the hospital?" "Yeah, you weren't there for it though. All she's told me is that there'll be a lot of reading involved," she said with a giggle. I sighed, "Seems like I've been reading a lot lately." "Oh?" "Yeah, you kind of have the advantage over me, being able to make me read books twenty-four hours a day seven days a week." "Hahaha, you're the first man I've met that's been able to put up with me for extended periods of time with no sleep." I shrugged, "It doesn't feel like I'm losing sleep, which I guess would make sense." As we crossed an intersection, she turned slightly in her wheelchair and poked me in the arm with a grin, "Do you think you're brain dead while you're asleep? I mean, your consciousness shifts, so... it would be really interesting." I laughed, "I'm not your science experiment." "Oh but you are." She pouted, "If only there was a way to communicate with the other me, then we could trade notes." "Alright, getting into freaky territory here." "There's no such thing as freaky when it comes to science." "Says the purple haired girl who had a five legged mouse as her high school project." "NOT TRUE! He was missing a leg and I was trying to grow it back!" "Did he turn into a lizard?" "What?" "... Nothing. Anyways, did you notice Discord was calling us ponies and stuff?" "Yeah, I heard that, do you think he's from the other world?" "I'm pretty sure of it. You guys seemed like you knew him over there or something." "Hmmm." She fell silent after that, and I couldn't think of anything else to bring up aside from the threat I had received that morning. I didn't know how to tell her about it though. After a moment of inner debate I decided to stop beating around the bush, "Discord's probably gonna try to kill you again." "I figured he would." "Yeah, but... listen Tammy." I stopped the wheelchair as we reached another intersection on the left sidewalk. There were a few people walking about, but nothing was too busy yet. I circled around and leaned down to face her, "This morning the cops came to my door with a picture of my ex girlfriend. They... they found her dead, and there was a message on the picture from Discord." "He threatened to kill me." "Yeah." She shrugged and smiled, reaching out and patting me on the head, "Don't worry about it William, it wouldn't be the first time I've been threatened. We're here by the way." She pointed to the left, and on the corner of the street was what appeared to be a small book store. As we entered the book store I was assaulted by the scent of very thick incense. The store was about as disorganized as you could get, with shelves lining the walls and piles of books on the floor here and there. There was a small counter, which I assumed was where business was conducted. Tammy frowned as I wheeled her past the door and into the shop, "Ugh, I hope Sean gets back soon, this place is a complete mess." "Sean?" "Yeah," she said with a sigh, "He's a Freshman in high school, we hired him a while back to help around the shop." "Heh, I'll be damned. Spike." "Who?" "This kid is pretty much your assistant right? He has a counterpart too." Tammy smirked, "Pony Sean?" "More like... dragon." "D... dragon?" "Just a small one, nothing fearsome, at least not yet," I said with a laugh. "Ah, hello, you must be William." I looked up and was greeted by the smile of a middle aged woman in an extremely sharp black suit with high heels and a long skirt. Her hair ran down to mid back, and was a very light blond, almost white in color. A thick book was tucked under her arm, and she wore a small and very defined pair of square rimmed glasses, "My name is Julia Celestine, Tammy has told me so much about you." "Um... nice to meet you." Celestine smiled, "Is something the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost." "No, you're just really familiar." Tammy elbowed me in the side. Celestine laughed, "Ah, yes. Tammy's last letter covered your stories of a parallel universe." "They did?" "They did. I already know Discord is from the other world, and I already know how to stop him." Even Tammy looked shocked at that, "Ms. Celestine, what are you talking about?" Celestine stepped forward and laid a hand on Tammy's shoulder, "A long time ago a man came to this book shop, he had an extremely long beard and a very interesting disposition." Celestine stepped away and walked to the counter, setting her book on it as she continued to speak, "I asked many questions, and he was strangely willing to answer them. He even called me by an interesting name a few times. I found out about Discord from him, and I'm sure he would trust me to handle this situation. The problem is that our magic will most likely not have an effect on him." "Why not?" I asked. Tammy turned to me and frowned, "We're not God's William, we're mages, there are very specific rules set in place. It's more of a science than it is a magic. Think of it this way, every time we cast a spell it disrupts the laws of the world in some way, if we take it too far parts of the world could even break." "Wouldn't that have happened then? People can get greedy." Tammy nodded, "It has happened, several times. The fall of the Roman Empire, the disappearance of Atlantis. We tend to avoid the heavy duty spells these days." I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose, "So why is magic less restricted in this other world?" Celestine shook her head, "We're not sure. What we ARE sure of is that there's something on the other side that can defeat Discord, and we want you to bring it here." "Why do I feel like I'm a universal courier?" Tammy elbowed me again. Celestine laughed lightly, then turned to face us again, "Tell me William, would you be willing to do this?" "I've done it once already, when I brought medicine for Tammy." "Indeed you did, but that wasn't your fight, and neither is this. Why do you want to help so badly?" I looked at Tammy for a moment, then turned back to Celestine, "I think at first I was trying to make up for a mistake I made in the past, but now that I've gotten to know everyone... I just want to help." Celestine nodded, "That is exactly what I wanted to hear."
17: DateChapter 17: Date Ms. Celestine stepped forward, laid a hand on Tammy's shoulder, and smiled, "Feel free to use the library, I presume you came here to find something that could help you against Discord." Tammy nodded, and Celestine continued, "Very good." Then she turned her gaze towards me, "Considering the nature of the threat against my student's life, I highly suggest that you two don't lose sight of each other." Tammy frowned, "How did you..." Celestine grinned, "You should know by now I have familiars all over the city my student. I'm hardly going to overlook a threat on your life Tammy." Tammy sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Right, of course, how could I forget?" Celestine left from the back door without another word, smiling and humming a cheery little tune the entire way. I definately got the same impression from her that I did from Celestia: well carried, wise, kind, and extremely practical. These weren't just human copies, they might as well have been the same people, and the way Twilight spoke of it, they probably were. Tammy turned to me and smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, "So, shall we get started then?" "Yeah, yeah no problem." The next hour was spent sifting through books I had never even heard of. From the outside it looked like a book store, but as Tammy and Celestine had called it, it was more of a library. A library with ancient tomes of magical knowledge. Honestly, I didn't understand any of it, I was just looking for familiar terms like 'Discord', 'Chaos', and 'Alternate Universe'. Tammy, on the other hand, was on fire. She sat at the counter, and had three books open at one point, sifting through them and jotting down notes like crazy. She would skim through one book, and then use her magic to pull another from the shelf. Add in a pair of glasses and the picture of the ultimate librarian would be complete. '... She would look good in glasses.' It wasn't until partway through our session that a particular book caught my eyes in the back of the store. The book was a faded golden color, and on its binding was the rather concise title, 'Mage: A History'. The book itself was on a shelf next to the door that Celestine had left through, tucked in the very upper right corner of the shelf. I grabbed a small stepping stool so I could reach the top shelf just barely and stand on the tips of my toes to coax the book out. With a little bit of effort I was able to get my hands on it. I made my way to the counter and sat in the chair next to Tammy, opening the book and starting to read. No one knows where magic came from. What we do know, however, is what we have done with it in the past, and how dangerous it can be. Many mages believe that magic was discovered by the founders of Atlantis, the mythical city, and that this was ultimately the cause of its downfall, as magic itself is very unstable and causes the very laws of the universe to shift around it in order to accomodate for the sheer power. As for how Atlantis was built, imagine if modern humanity were to discover the technology of an advanced civilisation from long ago, and then we proceeded to use it to advance our species. Our development would be carried forward thousands of years in the span of one generation. Many mages are skeptical of this theory, but it's the only explanation for why the city was so advanced. The Circle has done well in guarding what remains of the disappeared city, so well, in fact, that most of the population believes it nothing but a fable. For example; the Veil. My eyes widened. "Twi... I mean... Tammy, look at this." Tammy looked up from her own books and tossed me a smirk, "Wow, getting our names mixed up? I guess it wouldn't be very logical to be jealous of MYSELF." I groaned, "Yeah yeah, very funny, just... take a look at this." "Oh that old thing? That's just for initiates, I don't need to read that." I frowned, "Just read the damn thing, if you forget your basics then how do you expect to know the advanced stuff?" She shrugged and took the book from me as I stood over her shoulder. After a moment she turned her head to look at me, "Yeah, the Veil? What about it?" It took me a long moment to realize it, and when I did I let out a sigh. I had yet to tell her about the Veil. "Okay, look, HOW do you think I got the medicine to you from the other world?" There was a moment of silence, then her eyes widened in realization. She turned her wheelchair to me, reaching up and grabbing me by the collar, "Do you know what this means?" she asked with a grin. "Um... what?" "William, you've changed EVERYTHING! I've been meaning to ask about the medicine, but with Discord and all the crap that's been happening and I haven't added it to my checklist and..." "Tammy!" "Huh?" "How have I changed everything?" I asked, laying my hands on top of hers as they loosened around my collar. "No one has ever returned from the veil," she said softly. With a sigh she let me go, and then brought a hand to her chin, "I mean, people have tried before obviously, but it hasn't exactly worked out. A long time ago The Circle of Mages got their hands on the veil. It's not a physical thing, it's more of a tear... a portal that you can walk through." "It had a physical form in Equestria." "Equestria? Are you serious?" she asked with a laugh. I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, let's focus now." "Right, focusing... ignoring horse puns." After another moment of thought she continued, "A few weeks back the Circle lost track of the veil." "How do you lose track of a tear in the universe?" I asked with a laugh. "Well for one, it was a pain in the ass to find it in the first place. It changes location sporadically and unpredictably. If you read further you'll see that it was found in the shell of the city, and the walls were literally built to keep it in. We had to build a special room just to contain it." "How did you move it?" "We used EXTREMELY complicated magic. Even after endless calculations we only got a hold of it because of dumb luck." "Maybe that's why they made it into a gate in Equestria. Over here it didn't have to be a gate because it was already contained by the city." "That's exactly what I was thinking." She smiled and leaned up to me, ruffling my hair with a giggle, "You're sharp for an Army guy." I batted her hand away and glared at her when she kept giggling, "Do you know how it was made? Why is it called the veil?" Tammy shrugged, "Nope, no one does, we just know that every unlucky mage jumping through there has never come back. As for why it's called that, that's just the name that the Circle gave it." "I came out in an abandoned warehouse on the edge of the city when I came through with your medicine." "It won't be there anymore." "I know, but Discord was waiting for me. If its movement is so random then how did he know where it would be?" "The only way to find THAT out would be to ask Discord himself, and I don't plan on letting him live long enough to answer us." I let out a low whistle, "I like it when you make death threats," I said with a smirk. Tammy blushed and looked away with a sigh, "Shut up. He wants to hurt my friends, I don't like that. As curious as I am about his knowledge it's not worth risking anyone's life." She turned back to me, "As for the veil, we should start running tests on it, is there an easy way to access it over... there?" "Well, it's through a bloodthirsty monster-ridden forest, but I'm pretty sure I can just fly over it. It would still take like, half the day to get there though." She raised an eyebrow, "You can FLY?" "I'm... kind of a pegasus." Tammy's only response was laughter. After our fun little time at the library the sun started creeping towards the horizon, and we decided it was time for our dinner date. The place she had in mind was also within walking distance, so it wouldn't be an issue pushing her there. I couldn't help but notice she had almost every single little detail of this evening planned out. This didn't surprise me one bit, as I had noticed it on the other side as well, Tammy/Twilight seemed to love her checklists and schedules. The place itself was only a block away on another corner, and seemed to be some fancy Italian restaurant. There were people in suits and dresses lined up at the door with waiting beepers. I looked down at my plain white shirt and jeans and let out a sigh, "Tammy, I'm not exactly dressed for this." Tammy smiled up at me, "I wouldn't worry about that. Just leave our first date to me..." she paused, then looked up at me with a raised eyebrow, "This IS our first date, right?" I let out a laugh, "Yeah, yeah it is." "Good, I expect you to tell both of me everything that's going on, take notes and bring them through the veil if you can." I rolled my eyes, "I really am just a science experiment to you, huh?" "Well," she said with a soft giggle, reaching back with her hand and laying it on mine with a blush, "It's not purely scientific interest." My face went red and I let out a cough as we approached the door. A tall man in a suit stopped us at the door, "Do you have a reservation Ma'am?" "Yes," said Tammy with a smile, "Under Robin Raines for two, Tammy Sainte and William Jenkins. My jaw dropped and I leaned over the back of the chair to whisper in her ear, "How the hell did you..." Tammy pinched my lips shut and grinned, "Phoebe came by the hospital with everyone from the party. We decided to have some girl talk after Discord crashed our party, all of us got along really well, even Rachel showed up after a while." I stood up straight again, "Huh..." For some reason it felt like an extremely good thing that the six of them were now friends. Maybe it was meant to be. As I wheeled her into the restaurant I couldn't help but be baffled by the decor. Every table was adorned in a pure white sheet with condiments set up in the center almost like a decorative tower. The chatter was a low and polite hum, and chandeliers hung from the ceiling. The rug was a patterned crimson with intricate black tendrils creeping across it. I felt like I had just stepped into some grand hall. Suddenly, before a waiter or waitress could come to seat us Robin burst through past the seating podium with a large smile on her face. She leaned in and pecked both of us on the cheeks, "Oh Darlings I'm so glad you could both make it. Tammy dear you have a fine taste in restaurants, I just wish you'd given me time to make your wardrobes match the surroundings. Also, everything tonight is going to be paid for, so drink and be merry!" Tammy's face softened into a smile, "Robin, you didn't have to do that, all I asked for was the reservation." Robin waved a hand and chuckled, "Oh please, I'm a sucker for romance, and you're a new friend. Phoebe tells me so much about William all the time." Tammy wheeled forward a bit and tugged a slightly shocked Robin down into a hug, "That's really generous of you. Thank you." A blush creeped onto Robin's face and she laughed nervously, "Please, think nothing of it." After a moment the hug broke and Robin readjusted her black dress with a smile, "I have to get going, I must must must meet with this client, and I do need my beauty sleep, after all. Have fun you two!" With a wave and a smile, she was gone. I laughed, "Wow, guess we're covered then." We were seated quickly, and served promptly. Obviously Robin had pulled a few strings, and I reminded myself to pay her back later. As we waited on our fancy pasta and sipped our wine, Tammy leaned forward and gave me a grin, "So, what do I look like as a pony?" I raised an eyebrow, "Purely scientific interest, right?" She rolled her eyes and laughed, "Of course, purely scientific." "Well, you're a unicorn, and unicorns can use magic." Tammy frowned, "Ah, that explains it then. I expected you to freak out more when I did my little magic trick. Also, is Rachel a pegasus?" "Yeah." Tammy nodded, "I was wondering why you asked about her wings." "How about Felicia?" "... Yeah." "Then Robin should be a mage too, she probably just uses it for her job though." As I said that Tammy was taking another sip of her wine, and she almost choked on it and tipped her wheelchair over, "She... *cough*... what..." "Alright, I should probably tell you this." I leaned forward and brought my voice down to a whisper, "Those other five girls that gathered at the hospital with you... I think you're all meant to be friends." She cleared her throat and let out a sigh, "What makes you say that?" "Because as far as I can tell these worlds run Parallel, and you guys are friends in Equestria. That's why I was so specific with the names at the party." "Even Alice and Robin?" "All six." "That's... interesting. So how do you factor into this equation?" I shrugged, "I honestly don't know. As far as I know I'm an anomoly. Another thing has been bugging me since I found out you could do magic and Rachel had wings." "Hmm?" "Where are all the other people with wings? In Equestria there are a ton of Pegasi. I guess magic would be easier to explain since you're all kind of underground with it, but there would be a lot more people running around with wings on their back. So there's three possibilities here, there are a bunch of people with wings on their back that are really good at hiding that fact, the people with wings generally don't know they have them, or these worlds aren't as close as I thought, and you six are special in some way." Tammy nodded and brought a hand to her chin. After a moment she pulled out a notepad and began to write. It took her about ten minutes to be done and put the notepad away, "You've brought up some great points." She cleared her throat and reached across the table. I took the message and clasped my hands with hers, "The next hour is scheduled for dinner though, we'll talk about it later." I smiled, "Yes Ma'am." Our food had arrived.
18: The Elements of Harmony (Part 1)Chapter 18: The Elements of Harmony (Part 1) My head was ringing. As my eyes slowly opened and the world returned to me, I could hear voices. The voices weren't speaking English, but it was a familiar language; a language that I heard all too often in the few months since I had been deployed. My sight started to clear up, and blurs became discernible. In front of me were two men armed with AKs, dressed in ragged clothing. Their complexion was tan. The situation wasn't exactly a desirable one. The room itself was blank, dimly lit, and appeared to be made of concrete, I could barely make out a wooden door in the corner to my right. I tried to move, but my hands and legs were bound to a metal chair, and it felt like the chair was bolted to the ground. One of them turned to me as he screamed something in his language, pointing furiously at me. He pressed the barrel of his AK against my head and glared at me, "Was it just the two of you pigs?!" How lucky... the interrogator knew English. That made things simpler, but more painful. I gritted my teeth, "Corporal William Jenkins. September twentieth, nineteen eighty-six. Five seven... two four six seven three eight..." My vision blurred and pain rocketed against my skull as the butt stock of the AK collided with my forehead. The interrogator turned back to his friend and screamed something else. I tried to remember. Clark and I were walking through the barren desert. We were trying to get back to the FOB, there was an explosion. Then I woke up in the interrogation room. It appeared the two men were arguing, so I took the opportunity to look at my surroundings a bit further. I turned my head to the right and gritted my teeth when I saw Clark, tied to a chair just like me. As far as I could tell he was out cold. The interrogator finished arguing with his 'friend', then he walked to Clark and put the AK to his head. He turned to me, still holding the gun steady, "You talk now! Or I will blow his brains out, yes?" I blinked, trying to get rid of the dizzy feeling invading my head, "No... no... I'll fuckin' kill you..." The interrogator glared, "No my friend, I will kill you!" He dug the muzzle into Clark's head, twisting it until Clark's eyes snapped open. And then he pulled the trigger. "NO!" I thrashed out and stumbled from bed head first, hitting the wooden floor of the library with a dull thud. I heard the ringing in my ears start as the world was spinning around me. My wings flared in some pathetic attempt to help me regain balance as I tried to get a grip on myself. "William!" I heard the sound of hooves approaching, and felt Twilight's magic wrap around me and help me up from the floor. "What's wrong with him?" "I don't know Spike!" Everything started to clear up as I was placed laying down on the bed. I saw Twilight with a frown of worry etched onto her features, and Spike with a slightly panicked look. "I'm fine," I mumbled, "It happens from time to time, really." Twilight didn't look convinced, "Are you sure? You took a pretty bad fall." "Yeah, there's uh... before we keep researching the Veil there's something we need to do. Can you gather the group together?" "Why?" "Just... I'd rather tell you guys when we're all there." Not but an hour later the entire group had gathered in Twilight's library. All of them looked confused, and I couldn't blame them one bit. Even Twilight wasn't sure what I was doing, she stepped to my side and gave me a pointed glance. Dash flew above the group, looking down to me, "Alright, so why did you guys call us out here?" I sighed, "Listen, Pinkie and Applejack probably already know about this." I gave the two I mentioned pointed glances, Pinkie's smile vanished and Applejack gave a small nod of confirmation, "I've gotten a bit in over my head on the other side of the Veil." -The Day Before- The date had gone pretty well, and on the way back to the hospital, the subject went from what movies we liked to what we should be doing about Discord. On the second intersection Tammy turned her head to look at me as I pushed her, "So what do you wanna do about the Discord situation?" I let out a low whistle, "That's a tough question." She smiled, "You know what I was writing down in the book store, right?" "No, what was it?" "A couple of spells I'm working on to be able to fight Discord when the time comes, and now that I know Robin is a mage I can probably get into contact with her about it." I laughed under my breath, "I thought Celestine said that regular magic wouldn't affect him." Tammy grinned, "Yes, REGULAR magic. I was thinking... look, whatever you get back in Equestria is probably gonna pack enough of a punch to take him down, which means it's extremely powerful magic. I need a spell to hold off Discord long enough so we can utilize that magic, but I'll also need a spell to make sure whatever you're using doesn't tear a hole in the tectonic plates under the entire city." "So, simply put, we need to not destroy everything." "That would be best. I was researching the artifacts the Circle recovered from Atlantis. I've never really been interested in them until today, and they've never been relevant to my studies." "And?" "I found that the walls were literally built so they could practice magic inside the city that would be impossible to maintain otherwise without tearing reality around them. If I could somehow craft a barrier with magic nullifying properties, I could create a space to use whatever we need to use safely. Not only that, but I would be able to literally unleash hell on him without fearing the consequences." She had this mad grin on her face, like she was looking forward to the things that were about to happen. "Wait," I said, "If that city was literally built so they could practice powerful magic in it, what would be powerful enough to destroy it?" "That's an extremely good question, but one we're not worried about right now, I took a note of it and I'll make an appointment with the Circle when this mess is all taken care of." "Yeah, but... why would no other mage think about making a barrier to use more powerful magic in?" "We have, but..." "But?" "No one's ever done what I'm doing here. A magic barrier to stop a magic spell would be pointless, it MULTIPLIES the magic." "But a physical barrier..." Tammy giggled and reached back, grabbing my hand, "I knew there was a reason I liked you. Robin is picking me up from the hospital to get a sample of the wall that I can utilize, I probably won't be getting any sleep tonight." Applejack stepped towards me and Twilight, raising an eyebrow, "You mean to tell us that Discord's been chasin' ya'll around this entire time?" I shook my head and sat on my haunches, "No, not exactly chasing us around, but we can tell he's up to something. From my conversations with Pinkie and Applejack it seems like you guys have dealt with him before, so I kind of brought you all here to get some input." Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes, "Come on Billy! You should have told us in the first place, we TOTALLY would have helped you out, I mean, we're over there too, and now that Discord is over there we need to beat him again!" Rarity smiled softly, "William, what reason could you possibly have for keeping this from us? We're all friends." I took a deep breath, "I figured... you wouldn't be able to do much." Dash glared at me, "Really?" "Alright," I said softly, "I get it I get it." Twilight nudged my side gently with her muzzle, and I blushed and turned away, trying to push out of my mind how soft she was. "So you need the Elements of Harmony then?" "Wh... what are those?" I asked, clearing my throat and trying not to look at Twilight. Twilight looked at her friends and let out a sigh, "They're... artifacts that enhance our power. The six of us are special. We all represent the harmony in Equestria, and that harmony is split into six elements." Twilight raised a hoof and pointed to herself, "Magic." Then she pointed to Rarity, "Generosity." Pinkie Pie, "Laughter." Applejack, "Honesty." Rainbow Dash, "Loyalty." Fluttershy, "Kindness." I raised an eyebrow, "And this is... supposed to help against Discord?" "It's how we sealed him away last time," said Twilight, "And on that subject, does your world have a Discord?" "As far as I can tell this guy is from your side." Twilight tilted her head, "Strange, when we sealed him he was turned to stone and placed outside the castle in Canterlot; that statue is still there." "Wait," I said, "Is it possible that he made it to my world without really moving over here? I mean, whenever I go between worlds my body is still asleep in the other world." "Hey yeah!" shouted Dash, "Maybe that snake found a way to get to the other side without moving!" "Spike!" shouted Twilight, "Get down here!" The baby dragon was downstairs and by Twilight's side in a split second, "What is it?" "Send a letter to the Princess telling her that we're letting William borrow the Elements of Harmony." "Wha..." "Spike, listen." Twilight leaned down a bit and smiled softly, "Let her know that Discord has escaped to William's world, and we sent him back with the Elements to prevent disaster, can you do that?" "Yeah! Right away!" Twilight nodded firmly and her horn started to glow. A moment later I saw a case float down from Twilight's area upstairs. It was a large wooden box with a latch on it and Celestia's crown painted on the lid. The faint glow around it faded as it was planted in front of us. Another glow wrapped itself around the lock and the lid flew open. Inside the box was what appeared to be a set of jewelery: A tiara and five necklaces, each with decorations corresponding to the cutie marks of the six ponies in the room. "These are..." "The catalysts," said Twilight softly, "They allow us to harness the power of the Elements safely. You should get them to us when you make your way through the Veil. If these worlds run parallel like we think, then we're the Elements of Harmony over there as well." I turned to Twilight and frowned, "Are you sure about that? Things might not work the same over there. I mean, as far as I can tell you're the same people... ponies... whatever, it's just... I'm not too sure the Elements would work." "It wouldn't hurt to try," said Twilight, smiling at me, "Not only that, but if I know myself, which I do, then I'm already working on a contingency plan." I smirked, "You mentioned staying up all night." Twilight giggled, "We'll bag these up so you can get going." Dash landed next to me and nudged me with her hoof, "Hey, I know you were doing good, but can you fly all the way over the forest?" I laughed under my breath, "Only one way to find out." The girls guided me to the edge of the forest, and without a word I took off. I heard Dash yell, "Push it out!" as I went over the tops of the trees and made my way towards the clouds. It reminded me of when I was in the army, and I would run for long distances. Only this wasn't my legs, it was a completely different muscle. A muscle I wasn't used to having. I would make it though... I had to.
19: The Elements of Harmony (Part 2)Chapter 19: The Elements of Harmony (Part 2) It had taken me the better part of a day to reach the other side of the Everfree Forest. I tried to gather myself when I stumbled out of the Veil, but it was an impossible feat. I tumbled head over foot, and something metal and sharp hit my right leg. I hissed in pain when I finally landed on my back. When my head started to clear I noticed that I was looking up at the morning sky. My right leg was in a lot of pain, and my back ached from the landing, but I managed to sit up, and when I did my eyes widened. I could see a familiar tower in the distance, its windows reflecting the sun. I was obviously still in the city, and it was as I stood that I noticed I was on a rooftop. I took a deep breath. The morning air was cold, but nothing that I couldn't handle. A stinging pain ran through my leg again, and when I looked down to it I hissed, there was a cut on my outer thigh, but it wasn't large, and it wasn't bleeding too badly. I let out a sigh and turned around, a metal box with ventilation fans was behind me, and on the corner of it was some of my blood, "Ouch." A bit further back was what appeared to be a shimmer of reflective air, obviously the Veil. On top of the vent box were the saddlebags I had flown through the Veil with. Twilight's tiara was sticking out of one of the bags, so I stepped forward and pushed it back in. I buttoned the bag back up and threw the strap of the bags over my shoulder. With a sigh I made my way to the door. Luckily it was unlocked. As I walked through the streets of the city I got a few strange glances because of the saddlebag over my shoulder, but I ignored them. It wasn't like anybody in this place owned a horse, so half of them probably didn't even recognize it. I headed straight for the hospital, using the maps at bus stops to find my way. When I came upon a bar on the side of one street I was surprised to see Cammi leaning on the wall of it with a beer in her hand. I stopped in front of her, "Drinking so early in the day?" She smiled, "I've been looking for you sexy boy." I rolled my eyes, "And why would that be?" "Because you're about to do something really stupid, you and that little nerd girlfriend of yours, and I wanted to help you out when it goes downhill." I pulled the saddlebag off and pointed to it, raising an eyebrow at her, "You're telling me this isn't gonna work?" She shrugged, "How the hell should I know? I only know as much about this other world of yours as you do. I mean shit, for all you know I could be a total raging bitch over there." I laughed, "Really, you don't seem the type," I said sarcastically. She tossed me the beer and I caught it with my free hand. A Budweiser. Cammi walked to my side, still smiling, "Like I said, I'm just here in case your little plan goes to shit. Me and that Celestine chick aren't exactly on good terms." We started to walk. I put the beer in the bag and hoisted it back onto my shoulder, "What'd you do?" She laughed softly, "It has to be something I did?" I let the silence answer her question. "Alright fine, I kind of tried to kill her student using her brother, and then tried steal the magical knowledge that they had." "You WHAT?" I stopped walking, turning to give her an incredulous look, "How the fuck am I supposed to trust you after hearing that?!" She flicked me on the forehead, "Because I regret it, and I was honest enough to tell you. I... trust you, Lord only knows why. Losing my nest put things into perspective for me." We resumed walking, and I let out a sigh as we crossed another intersection, "Alright, I'll let you tag along." She smiled, "Monsters have hearts too you know. I just happened to misplace mine for a few years." "Either that or you've got a silver tongue." Her voice dropped to a sultry tone, "Mmmm, why can't it be both?" "Keep walking sister, this soldier's favorite color is purple." "Booooring~" It was around noon when Cammi and I made it to the hospital, and we were greeted by a hell of a sight. In front of the hospital were six girls, all waiting for me. Tammy was on her feet, a huge shit eating grin on her face. 'Looks like Hart finally let her out of the cage today.' "Well," I said, "That's half of our problem solved." Cammi giggled. Phoebe skipped over to me and wrapped her arms around my neck in a tight hug. After a moment she let go, "Tammy told us everything that's going on Billy, and I have to say I'm super duper happy!" I raised an eyebrow, "What... why?" "Because we're friends in two worlds silly! Isn't that great?!" "Uh... yeah, sure... great." The next to step forward was the long haired blond girl, dressed in jeans and a T shirt. She extended a hand and smiled, "Ah don't believe we've been properly introduced. Mah name is Alice, Alice Jones." "Nice to meet you," I said with a smile, shaking her hand, "Thanks for helping us, I didn't mean to get you dragged into this mess." "S'far as ah figure, any friend o' Tammy's is a friend o'' mine." I nodded softly, then gestured to the woman at my side, "Everyone, this is Cammi." "Charmed," said Cammi with a smile, completely brushing off the glare Tammy sent her way, "I'm not here to sabotage anything, really, just here to lend a hand... or a claw if need be." "And why should we trust you?!" shouted Tammy. The other's looked confused at the librarian's sudden outburst, but I knew exactly why she was angry. I walked towards her and planted my hands on her shoulders, "Hey, calm down," I said softly. She pouted, "You can't trust that woman, she..." "I already know, just relax Tammy, she helped me get away from Discord's goons a while back, she's a friend." Tammy took a deep breath and brought her hands up to mine, "Alright, but if she tries anything funny I'm blasting her." As soon as Tammy said that I saw Cammi grin out of the corner of my eye, and couldn't help but chuckle a little bit. "So how are we gonna do this?" asked Rachel, interrupting the introductions and the slight drama garnered from them. Tammy smirked, "Well, I set up an area near the outskirts of the city, the other half of the plan is whatever William brought." I held up the saddlebag and grinned at Rachel, "You in particular might not like this." "Wha..." Then I opened the bags and showed the contents to all of them. Phoebe let out a squeal of excitement, I think Robin started to drool a bit, Alice shrugged, Tammy looked more interested scientifically than anything else, Felicia smiled when she saw what was inside, and Rachel... Rachel just gave me a flat stare. I laughed, "Told ya." Half way to our destination Cammi had disappeared, leaving Tammy to mutter something about not being able to trust her. The 'area' Tammy had set up looked like a makeshift half-sphere arena of some light blue, glass-like material. It was in a grassy field just outside of a remote housing area at the edge of the city. Not only that, but it was huge, twice the height of my apartment building, and enough breathing room to hold the Olympics. "Tammy, won't people be able to see this?" I asked. "Celestine helped me out, she cast a masking spell around this area. No one will know what happens here tonight but us. I made the duplication spell for the wall, but she was the one that used it, I need all the kick I can get for tonight." I heard a low whistle behind me, "That's some damn good work girl. Ah wish I could use that magic stuff." "Alright everybody," said Tammy, "Let's head inside." As we approached the wall of the 'arena' Tammy lifted her right hand up in a jerking motion. A part of the arena literally shattered, the glass like material scattering out as a doorway was formed for us. The shattered glass stayed suspended, floating about like it was in zero gravity, and parting for us as we walked through it. Tammy shook her head vigorously and let out a roaring laugh, "God it feels good to be out of that hospital!" I let out a low laugh as we crossed into the arena. Tammy flicked her hand again when everyone was through, and the shattered part of the arena snapped back into place, leaving us in the dark. "I've got a question," said Rachel, "This is all fine and dandy, but how do we get Discord here?" I could almost hear Tammy smirk, "We don't, Celestine made sure to let him know we were going to be here." And with that, the arena lit up. Along the wall were candles upon candles, lighting up one at a time until every last nook and cranny of the arena was lit. It was almost blinding, but my eyes adjusted quickly enough. Even the floor beneath our feet was made out of that strange material from Atlantis. Across from us stood a lone figure in a hoodie, hands in his pockets and a mad grin gracing his features, offsetting the dreadlocks the peered out from under his hood, "Twilight Sparkle," he said, "You never cease to amuse me. Not only do you completely ignore my warnings, but you even goad me into a confrontation on my home turf." Robin huffed, "Home turf? What is this brute talking about? This is our city." Discord laughed, it was a low and rumbling sound, and echoed off the walls like the growl of a demon, "You're sadly mistaken Rarity. Generosity was never the smartest element of the bunch, this is my city now. The gangs on the streets belong to me, and they love their new jobs. And you..." Discord pointed to me, "What are you even doing here? A man of war and strength such as yourself helping little ponies like these, is the estrogen getting to you or something?" I laughed under my breath, "Nah, there's just the fact that you dug a thumb into my bullet wound and tried to have me killed. I think I'll side with the girls on this one." Discord brought a hand to his chin, as if in deep thought, "Hmph, I guess I did try to kill you one or two times." "Yeah," I said flatly, "Now it's my turn." I reached behind me, and in a flash the gun was out and pointed straight at Discord, who only grinned. I pulled the trigger once. Discord, against all possibility, side stepped it. That was fine, my plan wasn't to hit him. It would have been cool if I did though. I pulled the trigger again. Another miss, this time Discord started sprinting towards us. "Stick to the plan girls!" I shouted. I heard the flapping of wings, and saw Rachel and Felicia take to the air above us, a blur of cyan and yellow as their wings flapped. Alice and Phoebe darted to the sides. Tammy and Robin, the two mages, were by my side in an instant. "No need to hold back in here!" shouted Tammy, "Let's have some fun!" I could almost hear Robin's grin, "Oh how exciting!" I stepped back, pointing the gun towards the ground, and the mages took my place. Tammy lurched forward, spinning her hands and thrusting them forward. A stream of fire erupted from her fingers and went straight for Discord. He ducked it and jumped forward, hands inches away from Tammy's face... Only to be blasted aside by an invisible wall that Robin had conjured. Robin's jaw dropped, and she looked down at her own hands in shock, "I... I don't even... wow..." "Focus!" I shouted. Discord growled, "Enough games!" He brought his hands to the sky and thrust them down, and... Nothing happened. He cursed under his breath and tried again. I grinned, "Your confidence is your weakness Discord!" Discord gritted his teeth and let out a gutteral roar, "DAMN YOU CELESTIA, WHAT IS THIS TRICKERY?!" Rachel was on him in the next instant, boots colliding with his face. He went tumbling back, and Rachel flew back to Felicia, who grasped her hands and gave a firm nod. Rachel tucked her wings and Felicia started to spin her. After gaining some momentum she let go, sending Rachel fist first into Discord. The spinning was a way to make up for not being able to gain height for a diving attack, Tammy's idea, and it worked wonderfully. Rachel's fist connected with his cheek, sending him flying into the wall with a sickening crunch. Alice and Phoebe were up next. Alice moved like a woman possessed, brandishing her large knife as she approached. Discord's eyes widened when she brought it down, stabbing his shirt into the wall as Phoebe skipped forward and planted her foot right on his chest, "Bad boy!" she shouted, "No moving, k?!" Tammy muttered a spell and Alice's knife started to glow a faint purple color. When the two girls stepped back Discord tried to struggle against the knife, but found that he couldn't move. Then, all six of them were behind me again. One by one they pulled their necklaces from their pockets and laced them around their necks. Lastly, Tammy reached into the jacket and pulled out her tiara, planting it on her head. "You're finished," I said. Discord smirked, "No my boy, this is only me testing the waters you see." I felt a hand on my shoulder, and turned to see Cammi with a worried look on her face. "Where the hell have you been?!" I shouted. "We'll talk about it later, you've gotta stop this!" "What?!" "This is exactly what Discord wants! Look... I know you don't trust me, and I know Tammy sure as hell doesn't either. I can't blame either of you for that, but if you don't stop the Elements from hitting Discord something horrible is going to happen!" My eyes widened, and I turned to Tammy, trying to tell her to stop, but it was already too late. The girls were already floating off the ground, their eyes glowing solid white. "Shit." I moved fast, pulling away from Cammi and sprinting to Discord. I made it to him just as the spell activated. The rainbow bursting out of the six of them was hardly what I thought would happen. I placed my gun to Discord's head, "I will NEVER let your plans succeed." Then I aimed at the knife that was pinning him to the wall. His eyes widened, "What are you doing? Wait!" "Making sure you fail." I pulled the trigger. The knife clattered to the ground, and I leaned down and grabbed Discord by the collar, tossing him to the side. "You little vermin!" he shouted, "How dare you?! You are MY pawn, MINE! You do what I want!!" Then the spell hit me, and everything went white.
20: Shadows of the PastChapter 20: Shadows of the Past I was sitting in a chair. It wasn't just any chair, though. Before I went to basic training me and twenty other people were hauled away on a flight. When we landed in Texas we were all herded to a hallway exiting out of the airport. This hallway had an office on the right where I caught my first sight of a Military Drill Instructor. Just by looking at the guy I could tell he was a total hardass. He was shorter than me, but he looked like he could tear the armor from a tank with his teeth if he really wanted to. Looking back, I realize it was the way he carried himself. This hallway was also lined with chairs; stiff wooden things with no arm rests. As we were pushed into this hall the Drill Sergeant came out screaming his head off for us to plant our asses on those chairs. Naturally, we did what any high school kids confronted with a screaming man with military experience would do. We listened to him and planted our asses on the chairs. We were yelled at to sit with our backs straight and our hands on our knees, and we did so without hesitation. The drill instructor returned to his office and left us out there for an hour. By the time he had returned my back and my rear were starting to ache, but I had not moved an inch out of fear. I remember that chair to this day. It was the chair I was sitting in after my world had turned white. In fact, my world was still white. The only things that seemed to exist were myself and the aforementioned seat. I sat there, staring at my feet and contemplating exactly how I had ended up there. "It's strange, isn't it?" I looked up, and standing a few feet in front of me was Twilight. It appeared there was some type of surface under us, but it blended in with the rest of the whiteness surrounding us. "What is?" I asked. "All this." There was a long moment of silence following that. We just stared at each other, and that felt like the only thing that needed to be done. Eventually I cleared my throat, "So... nice weather." Twilight only giggled and trotted a bit closer to the bench, "The pegasi really outdid themselves this time. Even the ground is clear." "Are you real?" She only smiled, "You tell me." "I don't know. Maybe I'm dead. Maybe I see you before I die because I..." I hesitated to finish the sentence. When she realized I wasn't going to keep talking she sighed and shook her head, "Careful, a mare might get hopeful if you start talking like that." "Ha, you're so buried in your books all the time I didn't think you would notice I was interested." She rolled her eyes, "Oh come on, I'm not that bad. All the blushing and the lack of protest to the nuzzling made it pretty clear." "So what now? We just sit here and talk?" She trotted closer and jumped onto the bench. After a moment of adjusting herself she laid down with her head on my lap. I rested my hand on her mane and she closed her eyes. "I guess so. Tell me about Clark." I broke my gaze away from her to look into the endless white. She probably knew what she said bugged me, "How do you know about him? The only person I've ever told is Doc." "You're the one who decided I'm not real." "Right, but I don't know how magic works. I could be passed out and you could be in my head." She clucked her tongue, "Busted." "Am I in a coma?" "No, but..." "The word 'but' isn't very reassuring to me at the moment." She opened her eyes and looked up at me, pulling my gaze back to her with her magic, "I need you to trust me William. Now, tell me about Clark." "Clark was... he was my best friend." There was no flash, nothing went completely black, there was no dramatic scenery change. It was almost like it clicked into place, like someone had pressed the play button on a remote somewhere. All around us was the scene of a desert, and a few yards away were Clark and I. Clark, as I had expected, was dragging my happy dehydrated ass across the desert. "We met in basic training, and we even got sent to the same base. When our orders came up we both even ended up deployed to the same squadron. It was almost like..." "Like God was trying to keep you two with each other." I laughed, "Something like that. You guys have God in Equestria?" She smiled softly, "Something like that." The other me collapsed into the sand, and Clark was screaming at me to get up, but I couldn't hear him. "What happened to him?" "Our convoy got ambushed. I can't even remember how we got away, but we ended up walking through the desert trying to get back to our FOB. We walked for miles, eventually our exhaustion caught up to us. I was the first to collapse, and Clark wasn't strong enough to carry me back. The taliban found us, and... they captured us." The scene changed again. This time it was that interrogation room. I had seen that disgusting fucking place in my dreams far more than I wanted to. And it was right in front of Twilight. I didn't want her to see this. I didn't want her to see this part of me. She pushed her muzzle into my side gently, "It's okay William." "No, it's not." I saw them put the gun against Clark's head, and I saw them pull the trigger. I gritted my teeth. "It will never be alright." "You blame yourself for his death." "If he'd left me..." Twilight leaped atop me and wrapped her hooves around me, "Don't think like that." "I like to think that I'm alright, but..." I returned the hug and buried my head in her mane, "But every time I wake up from that, every time that I remember it... I think it should have been me." "William..." "Did you know when I was getting your medicine to you through the veil I tried to take charge of the group?" "What?" "I almost got Rarity killed, if it wasn't for Dash and Fluttershy... I blanked, and it was all I could do to try and save her. I remembered the gunfire, and I remembered Clark's death. I remembered it all like it had just happened. Christ, I'm surprised I can even point a gun straight anymore without putting the barrel in my mouth." Twilight pulled slightly away and locked her eyes with mine. "I want you to listen to me William." "So you can say you're sorry?" She shook her head, "No, so I can make a promise to you. You are our friend, and friends help each other and take care of each other. I want you to know that we'll always be there if you're going through a rough spot. Human, pony, whatever else we take the form of, we will always be by your side." "And what do you get out of this deal?" "The same thing in return." "... It's really that simple?" "William, I can speak with conviction when I say that nothing is ever simple. However, I can also say that a promise made by one of us is worth more than any treasure you could find." "Ha, that is the cheesiest shit I've ever heard." "Oh shut up." When my eyes snapped open the first thing I did was gasp for air. My vision was blurred and I couldn't make out where I was at, but I felt a pair of arms wrap around me, "Thank God you're awake." My vision started to clear, and the first thing I saw was the girl latched to me, Tammy. "Hey to you too. Thanks for the helping hand." She pulled away and blushed, "I wasn't sure it would work. I had no idea what I was dealing with. I can't even remember what I did." I smiled, "Well you weren't exactly human at the time. I was gonna make a joke about how your pony version beat you to the punch, but I guess it WAS you." "I... wha... I don't even..." "I think until we understand how these worlds are connected we won't be able to figure something like this out no matter how hard we try, so maybe you should just jot it down in your notebook." Tammy nodded solemnly and let out a sigh, "I guess I can let it go for now, but I'll be studying and experimenting very soon. We're gonna figure this out if it takes us decades!" "You're a bit scary when you get all academic." I noticed we were still in Tammy's makeshift arena, so I couldn't tell how long I'd been out after I got nailed by the elements. "Oh oh oh! He's awake he's awake! I need to get in on this!" The sudden weight of another person knocked the air from both of us, and the poofy hair was enough to identify the culprit, "Hey, Phoebe," I grunted. "Come on everybody, don't just stand there! He's okay! Group hug!" Surprisingly, the first to approach and attach herself to the three of us was Felicia. Hot on her heels was Robin, "We were so worried for you, Dear. Tammy's spell was so dangerous, but I couldn't talk her out of it." Alice wasn't far behind, a huge grin on her face. "Come on Rachel!" shouted Phoebe, "You too, don't be a grumpy pants!" "I don't do hugs." "Rachel," said Felicia, "Please." "Dammit, fine." With that, Rachel joined us, and the group hug was complete, except... "Where's Cammy?" I asked. I felt a hand ruffle my hair, followed by a rather enchanting laugh. I rolled my eyes to the top of my head and saw Cammy crouching down to me, just outside of the group, "Right here," she said softly, "I'm glad you trusted me. You did good." "What about Discord?" I asked. Cammy clucked her tongue, "He got away. He was pretty pissed off though, so I think we set his plans back some." "Good, it's better than nothing. Now, can everyone get off so we can get out of here?" "I'm okay with that," said Tammy, "I need to dismantle this place, and we all deserve some rest after this."
21: AnomalyChapter 21: Anomaly Discord got away. That was the one thought that had been nagging at me the entire walk back home. Discord had escaped, and there was nothing I could have done to stop it. Our friends had each gone home, but Tammy walked with me to my apartment. She walked in silence until we reached our destination, then she kissed me on the cheek and said goodnight. Even the apartment itself was eerily quiet. I opened the door and took a deep breath. Now that we had nothing to do I would have to return to work the next day. It would be strange, working in a cubicle next to Phoebe like the fight against a supernatural entity hadn't taken place the night before. I was sure the party animal could manage it, but I didn't know about myself. All I could do was go to sleep and hope for the best. The first thing I felt was the warmth of the sun, and the grass underneath me. I cracked one eye open and let out a yawn. Standing on all fours, I stretched out my wings and let out a sigh. Without missing a beat I started walking towards the town in the distance. There was something about that spot that kept pulling me there, and now that Discord was missing it was time to start looking into the more questionable things that had been happening to me since I first arrived in Equestria. When I got to the library it wasn't tto surprising that I could hear various sounds of panic coming from inside. I stood in front of the door and frowned. "I can't find it Spike! Are you sure you put it back on the shelf?" "I'm positive!" I raised a hoof and knocked on the door. After a moment of waiting and hearing what I presumed to be books falling all over the place, Twilight opened the door with her magic and smiled at me, "Hello William. I was wondering when you'd get here." Her mane looked a bit haggard, and there were bags under her eyes. I looked around her and saw the mess she had created. Books were everywhere, particularly in the middle of the main room. They rose, stack by stack, as if they were a small mountain. "Uh... Twi, what's going on in here?" "Oh that?" She gave a nervous laugh, and I tried to ignore the fact that her eye gave a small twitch, "I'm just looking for a book." "Riiight. Do you need any help?" "Help?" she squeaked. Before I could react she had her hooves wrapped around me, "I would love to have help, William. I've been awake since last night trying to find this book. I think it's hiding from me!" "Twi, listen, maybe you should take a nap." "Nap? Nap... no time to nap, this is important!" "Uh huh. Can I come in?" "Oh you don't have to ask me to come in, William." I would have normally taken that as a heartwarming sign of trust between the two of us, but the way she said it almost creeped me out. With a resigned sigh, I stepped past the threshold and Twilight shut the door behind me. "What's this about, Twi? What book are you trying to find?" "A book on dreams. Particularly a book on lucid dreaming and the effect it has on pony mentality. I remember reading it when I first moved to Ponyville, and it was fascinating to me. Right now I need it for a more practical use, and time is of the utmost importance. I have a schedule to keep." Spike walked in from the other room, a book tucked under his arm and an unamused expression on his face, "She's been like this ever since that weird dream she had." I tilted my head, "Dream?" "Yes!" shouted Twilight, grinning at me, "A very interesting dream. Also important. Very important. I woke up right afterwards and started working." "What was the dream?" Twilight's crazed expression slightly faltered, "You were there, but you weren't a pony." Things were starting to make a bit more sense to me. "Spike, you got sleep last night, right?" I asked. "Yeah." "Can you clean this mess up and refile all the books while I calm her down?" "Sure." "Calm me down? I'm perfectly calm. There's nothing wrong with me at all." Spike began staking random books together, and I set a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, gently turning her towards the stairs leading to her room. "You need to lay down," I said, "You've been at it all night, and it's time to rest." "But..." I shook my head, "Twi, there's no need to tear yourself apart like this. I know what that dream you had was, and I'll explain it to you after you get some sleep." Twilight closed her eyes, took a deep breath through her nose, and nodded, "Alright. Okay." "That's better." She followed me upstairs and got into her bed without protest. Within minutes she was softly snoring, a content little smile on her face. I decided it would be best to help Spike clean up the mess downstairs, and set about doing so. After helping Spike straighten everything out I found a small cushion in the corner and took to reading a very interesting book I had found called 'Daring Do'. Spike continued to dust and do menial chores, and eventually ended up napping in the corner of the library floor. Poor little slave. It was a few more hours before I heard Twilight coming downstairs, still looking quite drowsy. "Fell better?" I asked, shutting the book gently with a hoof and giving her a smile. Twilight's response was a yawn and a giggle. "I'm sorry about that." "It's fine, I was kind of confused when it happened, too." Twilight made the rest of her way downstairs and laid down next to me, tucking her muzzle into my neck, "So what happened, anyways?" Blood rushed to my face from the small show of affection, and I cleared my throat, "It wasn't exactly a dream. We fought Discord, and we thought we had him, but..." "What happened?" "I don't know. There's this woman I met, a Changeling." Twilight's eyes widened, and she pulled her head away to look at me, "A Changeling?" "Yeah, her name is Cammy. She's been helping us out. She barely managed to keep us from using the Elements on Discord. Apparently he wanted that magic to hit him. I don't know why." "It's possible that foreign magic could cause a disruption in your universe, but if that were the case it would have had some sort of reaction just from you taking the Elements to the other side. There's also that fact that an outside party, this Changeling, knows about said effects." "I know she knows more than she's letting on, and I intend to speak with her about it tomorrow... if I can find her." "What happened to the Elements?" "They're in our hands, but Discord got away." Twilight clucked her tongue and frowned, "Not surprising. He was equally slippery when we went up against him. Now... about this dream." "Right, that's what we wanted to talk about in the first place. To keep Discord from getting what he wanted I had to take the hit from the Elements. I ended up blacking out. Nearest I could tell I was in some sort of magical coma. You... the human you, cast a spell so you could get into my head and pull me out somehow." Twilight frowned, "The Elements of Harmony are inherently a good magic. For it to have an adverse effect on you like that..." "There would have to be something that causes it." "Clark," she muttered. "So you remember the dream." "Every second of it." Her face lit up into a smile, "Oh! This is... this is amazing William!" "What is?" "I must have casted a dream spell! Not just any dream spell, but a very powerful one. Since you were having an inner conflict I must have gone in to try and help you straighten it out. Without that inner conflict the negative effect from the Elements of Harmony would disappear, because you would stop subconsciously resisting the magic they put out." "I was resisting the Elements?" "Well, yes. They're called the Elements of Harmony for a reason. They represent the harmony throughout Equestria, and in the souls of each and every pony. I would assume it works much the same with humans. Your mind was, for lack of a better word, discordant, so the Elements almost damaged you." "Okay, that makes sense... I guess." Twilight giggled and shoved me softly with her hoof, "Of course it does." "There's something else, too. The spot I keep waking up in. A while back you said you were able to guess that I ended up there, but that still leaves the question of why I'm appearing there and not someplace near the veil." "That's been nagging at me, as well. Tomorrow we'll be going out to analyze the site. I'll have to reschedule a few things because of what happened last night, but it shouldn't be too much trouble." Before the conversation could continue Twilight's door almost burst off its hinges. We looked over to see Rainbow Dash, heavily panting with a worried look on her face, "Twi, I'm so glad you're here! Something's wrong." That didn't sound good. Dash led us to the south edge of town, where it seemed an entire crowd of ponies had already gathered. The crowd looked like it was about to go into full on panic mode, and I could tell even from a distance that it would only take something small to set them off. A few yards out, Dash stopped and turned to me and Twilight, "I don't know what the hay is happening," she said, "One minute everypony is doing their thing, and the next that thing appears and they're all panicking." Twilight frowned, "Thing, what thing?" "Look for yourself." In the center of the crowd, ponies standing just out of reach from it, was what appeared to be a shimmer in the air. It looked almost like the veil that I walked through, a small patch of space that reflected its surroundings. The muttering within the crowd of ponies was growing louder by the second. Twilight stepped forward, "Please keep your distance!" she yelled. The crowd seemed to listen, luckily. I was thankful the people in Ponyville seemed a bit more willing to listen than the average city slicker, the last thing we needed was a gawking crowd. "Please disperse!" continued Twilight, "I'll speak with the mayor and we will contact the princesses in light of recent events. Until then I'll contact the guard and the area will be quarantined!" I couldn't help but admire how efficient Twilight was at dispersing all those ponies. In less than ten minutes they were all on their way away from the site, and only me, Twilight, and Dash remained. Of course, there was still the problem of the magical anomaly appearing out of nowhere. Twilight stepped towards it cautiously, putting up a magical barrier around herself as she did so. When it didn't appear that the anomaly was going to lash out, she let the barrier drop. Still cautious, she was only a few feet away from it, examining it as only a scientist would. "I've never seen anything like this before," she muttered under her breath, "It looks like the veil, but it's not resonating with any kind of magic." "What's that mean?" asked Dash. Twilight took a deep breath and stepped away from it, "I honestly have no idea." Dash let out a harsh laugh, "So, what? It's just a random shimmering spot that happened to appear out of thin air?" "No," said Twilight softly. "If I would call it anything... it would be a tear." I sighed, "Can't I just have one normal day?"
1-2: DreamA/N: So here I am... writing about ponies. Never thought it would come to this. Chapter 1: Dream Part 1 "DOWN DOWN DOWN!" I hit the dirt... Didn't even hear the explosion, just saw rocks and other debris fly towards me the split second before I covered my head. I could hear the muffled sounds of gunfire through my ringing ears, but I couldn't move. Dying had always been expected when a soldier got sent out like I did, but that didn't stop us from enjoying what little remained of our lives, and trying our damnedest to get back home on two legs and not in a casket. For me it was the scariest thing I'd ever done. And right then... right at that moment, I closed my eyes and prayed that I would make it home safe to my family. "... Jenk..." I managed to pull my head up and looked at my surroundings. The gunfire was still going on, our vehicle was crippled, but despite being ambushed we were holding our own. I couldn't quite hear, but I saw a familiar face close in on mine, and felt a hand grab my shoulder. "Reggie's injured, we gotta get the fuck outta here, call in air support..." I could tell he was yelling, but he might has well have been whispering. I went for the radio on my belt. "..Jenkins..." "HQ this is Road Runner!" I took cover behind the remains of our vehicle... My gun... where was my gun? As soon as I asked myself that question someone had already pressed an M9 sidearm into my free hand; I didn't see who. "HQ this is Road Runner!" "Go ahead Road Runner." "Jenkins, are you alright?" Just like that I was laying on a soft couch once more, staring up at the ceiling of a richly decorated office, an oak fan spinning above me, dim light in the center. A cold sweat was running down my forehead, "I am now... thanks Doc." Doctor Mitchell was a very composed and kind man. He didn't charge people much, and he knew what he was doing. Granted, some part of me thought a lot of the shrinks and psychs on the market were money grubbers, but talking to Doc Mitchell really helped me. I wasn't over it, and I doubted I would ever really be over it, but talking to someone about it, especially after living on my own for so long, helped a lot. "Talking to your parents again?" "Yeah... yeah, Mom's been real worried about me, but it's helped a lot. I haven't told them about the things I saw or the PTSD, but it helps..." "Why won't you tell them?" "That'd just be adding more stress to what they have to deal with, besides, I like to think I've been doing pretty good so far. I don't drink myself under anymore, I don't have to take sleeping pills." "But you still have the flashbacks and nightmares." "Yeah. They're really... vivid. Almost like I'm there, but not quite." "It's different for everyone Jenkins. Your case is pretty intense, but nothing a man like you couldn't handle, just remember, you're not on your own, and you never will be." "Yeah... thanks." Our session was over before I knew it, and I was back on the street and walking through crowds of people to get back to my apartment building. I was doing okay, I really was, especially compared to when I first got back. I got discharged from the military, well... not discharged. I only had a few months until my reenlistment, so they labeled me ineligible and let me fall out of line like a good little soldier. I wanted to keep serving, but I was in no condition to do it, and I knew just as well as everyone around me that I needed help, so I went out and got it. The charges were always either paid for completely or discounted considerably. The paper work and arguing I had to do to get it going was ridiculous, but it ended up on the better end of things. Of course, there was the matter of what Doc had said. "You're not on your own, and you never will be." That was what scared me the most. Eventually my parents would die. I had my friends at a small desk job, but we never really did much together. Not to mention, I wasn't exactly in any hurry to get married. At least... until THAT happened. A crosswalk about halfway back to my apartment was always the most annoying one to cross. The walk light was broken, so people had to rush really fast across when the corresponding light turned red, lest they ended up playing a live action game of Frogger to prevent death by delivery truck. So that was exactly what I did, just like every other time walking home from my shrink. Unlike every other time, I collided into someone and we both took a nasty fall onto the asphalt. I managed to catch myself on my hands falling back, and I was already feeling the burns forming on my palms. "Ow... ow ow ow, crap..." I looked up, and was greeted by the strangest sight I had the privilege of seeing since I had returned from my little overseas trip. A girl about a foot shorter than me, fallen on her backside, panicking over a stack of what looked like a lot of school material. That wasn't what caught my eyes though. It was her weird hair. Down to her mid back, it had been dyed a very dark purple, almost a blue, with a single magenta streak running from her hair line all the way down to the bottom. "Erm... lemme help you with that." "Crap, now I'm gonna be late." 'Or you could just ignore me.' I decided it would be more productive to help her pick up without waiting for her permission, and set about doing so. "Sorry I ran into you," I mumbled, handing her the half of the books I had retrieved, "You sure you don't need help with all this stuff?" She took them from me without so much as a thank you. The stack of books reached all the way to her neck as she carried them. "No time. In a hurry... can't be late!" And just like that she was gone. The blare of a horn snapped me out of my small daze and I ran the rest of the way across so the intersection could get moving again. 'Huh... what a strange girl.' I reached the third floor of my apartment building and opened the door to my new home just as the sky started turning orange. I was immediately accosted by a small and furry orange creature rubbing against my leg and purring. "Hey Mishmash," I said, picking the cat up and closing the door behind me. "You miss me?" I asked with a grin, rubbing him behind his ears. I set about my daily tasks, throw my sweater on the couch, turn on the TV, and plop down to watch it until I got over my laziness enough to cook a terribad TV dinner for myself. All in all it had been a pretty good day, and for some reason, instead of thinking about what Doc had said I started thinking about that strange girl on the intersection. It was kind of hard not to. Even in a city like that she stuck out like a sore thumb. Never in my life had I encountered someone with hair like that. I'd seen punk hair girls dye their stuff blue, I'd seen spike mohawks dyed red... But it was weird, aside from the color her hair cut had been rather normal. "Guess it takes all kinds," I muttered to myself, closing my eyes to take a nap while the TV blared in the background. At first I thought it was coming from the TV... "Shut the fuck up! What did I tell you! Huh!" Then I heard a loud noise out in the hallway. I jumped up from the couch, almost knocking poor Mishmash into the air and hitting my shin on the edge of my coffee table. I hissed in pain, stumbling out of the apartment and catching sight of something that made my stomach turn. There was a small part of my mind that told me to close the door and ignore it, the same part of my mind that almost caused me to back out of my enlistment in the military. Did I really want to get involved in this? That was the question. "Hey!" I shouted, propping the door open with the small trash can by it and walking to the couple on my left, which the commotion had been coming from. I caught sight of the poor girl, huddling against the wall and muttering under her breath like she was broken. The guy standing over her looked like a college dropout, messed up dust jacket on, tussled black hair, and facial hair that made him look like a drug head, combined with his pale complexion and the welts on his face it was safe to assume he was on something. "The fuck is going on out here, eh? I'm trying to sleep!" I yelled. The guy smirked and threw his arms out, as if innocent, "Just a little lovers quarrel, nothin' for you to be worried about man." "Oh yeah?" "Just go back into your apartment man, nothing to see here." "Step away from the girl." The man frowned, "This ain't your business man." "Did you fuckin' hear me or not? I said get away from the girl!" "Wanna play hero? Aight." The next seconds were like a surreal flashback to me. He pulled the gun from his jacket and I had almost no time to react. I reached down for the trash can and yanked it from the door, throwing it right at his face. This attack sent him stumbling a bit, but not before he got a shot off. I thought I heard the girl shriek, but I already had the guy pinned down before he was able to shoot again. I disarmed him and put his own gun against his head. Every instinct was screaming at me to pull the trigger. "HQ this is Road Runner!" "They're coming up on our flank!" "WE NEED AIR SUPPORT NOW!" "...Wait" I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. The guy I had pinned to the ground was looking up at me, fear in his eyes, but the voice hadn't come from him. I looked over at the girl he was hitting and yelling at earlier. She was about as tall as me, and was in her pajamas at the moment. Her hair was almost unnaturally long, all the way down to her waist, and was a light brown color. "I um... I... I'll call the police, so... you don't have to do that." Despite having a black eye, she was the perfect picture of calm. Her voice was extremely soft and subdued. "Besides, um..." she pointed to my shoulder. Apparently the first shot had hit me in the left shoulder, and now that the adrenaline was gone and it had been pointed out to me I started feeling the pain. "Get the hell offa me man!" I responded by hitting him upside the head with the butt of the gun, causing the girl to flinch a little. "Please don't do that," she said gently, "You could be arrested for hitting him after you subdue him. I'll be right back with bandages, don't move." I noticed that the blow had knocked him out cold, he probably couldn't sustain much damage because he was so drugged out. It was odd that besides the black eye, the girl had looked healthy, usually drug heads like these guys dragged people down with them. I sat against the wall and let out a sigh, setting the gun by my side just as the girl emerged from what I assumed to be her apartment... right next door to mine apparently. After another moment she emerged with a first aid kit and smiled at me. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she knelt down at my left side and set to work. "The police will be here in a few minutes." "You're pretty calm considering what happened," I said. She nodded, "He's not my boyfriend, I've been trying to help him." "That's risky business." "I know." She set the gauze and began to wrap the bandages through and around my shoulder. "My name is Felicia, Felicia Shirley." "William Jenkins... you can just call me Bill, or Jenkins. How'd you get mixed up with a guy like him?" "I feed the pigeons on the roof." "Um... excuse me?" "Oh they're such sweet little birds. I have a small coop that's completely open, and I go up to the roof every morning and feed them. There were hummingbirds where I used to live, it's a shame they don't have them here." "What's this have to do with that guy?" "Oh... right, sorry..." she blushed, "I love animals, so I get sidetracked sometimes. One morning I saw him up there, injecting himself with something, I started talking to him, and he was an okay person, but whenever I brought up that he should quit things like this happened." "And you kept trying anyway?" "Yes, but I'm afraid he's becoming too violent, and it's time to call the police." "Anyone ever tell you that you're some weird mix of naive and responsible?" She giggled, "Only my friend Rachel." An awkward silence followed. "So..." I said. "I'm sorry. I'm not very good at talking to people. I um... uh..." "It's alright, thanks for the bandages, when the police question us at least we'll be stuck waiting together." She smiled and blushed again, "Thank you... for your help." The trip to the hospital, the stitches, and the police taking our statements lasted an extremely long time; I didn't make it home until midnight with Felicia, and we said a quiet goodbye in the hall before returning to our respective apartments. Mishmash was on me in a second flat as soon as I laid down on the couch and turned the TV on. I didn't sleep in my bed anymore because there was no TV. Sometimes leaving a funny show on would help keep my head straight in my dreams and drive the nightmares away. ... I really needed to put my TV in front of the bed. That night I wasn't in for the nightmares of gunfire and explosions and screaming. It was nothing that traumatizing... But it was just as vivid. Chapter 2: Dream Part 2 The first thing I noticed upon waking was that the feeling of my couch was gone, and replaced by soft grass. The second thing I noticed was the warmth of the sun on my face. But something didn't feel... quite right. I opened my eyes, and in my dazed state realized I was staring up at a blue sky. 'How did I end up outside?' That question was less important than the fact that there was no grass around my apartment building, just sidewalk and streets, and the park was several blocks away. Then it dawned on me and I began to slightly panic. I tried to stand, but for some reason I couldn't move quite right, it was almost as if I couldn't push myself up. I couldn't feel my fingers... this caused my slight panic to turn into a full blown freakout. My breathing became ragged as I once again tried to stand up and failed, falling onto my chest and knocking the air out of my lungs. I struggled to breathe. A panic attack... My immobility coupled with the strange surroundings brought beck something I hadn't dealt with in quite a few months. I remembered the basics, pace your breathing and try to slow it down, think about things that calm you down. Once I gathered myself I was able to take deeper breaths, then I looked down and screamed. Hooves? Brown hair covering my body. I fell back and my panic attack started from the beginning. This time I didn't recover, and my world went blank. "... weird." "... be alright?" "I don't know, I found him in a clearing outside of Ponyville. Hopefully he wakes up soon. Do you know him?" "No way, never seen him in my life. Anyway, I gotta go an' meet Fluttershy." "Right, thanks for the help Applejack." "Any time." My brain functions started coming back to me, and the first thing I felt was the warmth of a soft bed. "Spike, get some hot towels." "Aye aye Ma'am!" "Urgh..." "Oh no! Don't push yourself." Something pushed me back down when I tried to sit up. My body still didn't feel right at all. "Where am I?" "A library." For some reason the voice I was hearing was slightly familiar to me. I opened my eyes and let out a sigh when I saw the wooden roof above me. Then I turned to my left and fell out of the bed at what I saw. "What are you... Hey!" For some reason I was back on the bed again, "Wh... what are you?" "What are you talking about?" She... it... looked like a small horse, a small purple horse with a horn... a small purple unicorn. The mane on it looked eerily familiar. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. The girl I ran into on the way home from Doc's place. I didn't say anything. "This is a dream... right?" The small horse laughed, "No... you look pretty awake to me. What's your name?" "Uh... I..." "Hey, you're in a safe place. My name is Twilight Sparkle." "W... William Jenkins." I didn't know what else to do. A very small, very expressive, very strange horse was talking to me. It had to have been a dream. I decided to just roll with it. I had never had a dream that vivid before. It was almost like it was real. Her 'face' showed confusion, "Really? That's a strange name." "No weirder than Twilight Sparkle," I said, giving a forced laugh. "Have we um... have we met before?" "I'm pretty sure I would have remembered you, so no, not that I know of. You look like you've been through a lot, give those hooves a rest." "Hooves?" I looked down again and sighed, "Oh, right." "Is something wrong?" "I... no... nothings wrong." "So did you crash land while you were on a trip or something?" "Crash land?" "You know, from flying? There was a pretty nasty storm scheduled yesterday, and if you don't live in the area and were flying through, you could have gotten caught in it." "Flying? I..." "It's alright, just get some rest and we'll..." "Hot towels as ordered." The voice came from at Twilight's feet... hooves. whatever, and when I looked down a small spikey creature with large eyes greeted me. "Hey there!" "AUGH!" Their eyes widened, and Twilight started to panic, "What, what's wrong? Are you okay?" "Okay look!" I shouted, "I really shouldn't be here, this has to be a dream." "What are you talking about?" "I'm... I'm a horse, why am I a horse?" Twilight looked down at the small spikey creature, confused at my outburst. The spikey creature shrugged. "Why are you talking? Twilight laughed nervously, "Because I learned to when I was little?" "Is he okay?" asked the creature. "Where am I? Just tell me where I am!" "Please, calm down! I'll explain, and then when I'm done, you'll explain, okay?" Calm? I couldn't be calm in a situation like this. Calm was completely out of the question. I could shut up though. "Okay, since you don't know where you are let's start with that. You are in my home, the library of a small town called Ponyville. The town is in a country called Equestria, and is adjacent to the capital Cantalot, which is ruled as a monarchy by the Great Princess Celestia." "You don't have to explain everything Twilight." "Something tells me I do Spike. Now..." she nodded to me, "Your turn, where are you from?" I tried not to let my panic get the better of me again. I was over that stuff, there was no need to go back to jumping at my shadow and being afraid of everything. Especially considering as this was a dream. A very vivid, very lifelike dream... "I'm uh... well... God this is weird. Wherever this Equestria place is, or Ponyville or whatever, I've never been to it. I'm a human, not..." I threw my 'arms' out so they could both see, "This." Spike tilted his head, "A human?" Twilight frowned, "Oh no." "What is it Twilight?" "Oh no. No." She turned around and descended what looked like stairs leading to the bulk of her house, which happened to be a library, just as she mentioned. I could still hear her panicking. "Nonononono... noooooo, this is not good." "Twilight!" shouted Spike, "What's going on?" Twilight came back upstairs with her horn glowing and an extremely thick book floating next to her head. "How did you get here?" she asked. At least it was easy for her to believe me. "Last thing I remember is going to bed after I got home from the police station." "Police station?" asked Spike. Twilight grinned nervously, "Think guards Spike." "Ooooh. Wait, how do you know all this?" I decided to start a checklist at that moment. Things I never thought I'd see horses do, but did anyways: Number one, roll their eyes. "Because I read, Spike. Anyways, what were you doing at the police station?" I sighed and 'sat up' in bed, it wasn't as uncomfortable as it looked, "There was a girl outside my apartment. She was getting beat by this guy, so I knocked him out and she called the cops. They took us in to make a statement, then I walked her home and we both went to sleep, and... I ended up here in Ponydale." "Ponyville," said Spike. "Right, sorry." "This is fascinating," mumbled Twilight, "Spike, strike a letter." "But we just sent one." "This one is more important." Spike pulled a paper out of seemingly nowhere, along with a quill, and Twilight started, "Dear Princess Celestia, I'm writing you now for a gravely important matter. On the edge of Ponyville we found a pegasus..." Pegasus? I twisted my head around. I expected myself to panic again, but at this point it was just dull surprise I was in for. Wings, huh? "When awakened he was greatly confused, and through questioning we have come to find out that he is from beyond the veil. Despite the limited knowledge available on the veil, this could be extremely dangerous, and we should investigate this matter further. Please reply as soon as possible. Your Faithful Student, Twilight." Twilight let out a sigh, "Listen... William. Our goal right now is to get you home from where you probably came." "Probably?" "Well, no one knows much about the veil, other than the fact that it's forbidden, but it's the most likely case." "I'm still not sure whether or not this is a dream." "Well, in any case, she should reply by the end of the day, and depending on her decision you might have to stay in Ponyville for a few days. I have an extra bed that I can set up downstairs." "Thanks... I guess." "This must be really weird for you." "You don't know the half of it." "You must be hungry, we should go get something to eat, can you stand? From what I've read human's walk on two legs." I was kind of hungry now that she mentioned it. "Yeah that's about right. Two hands and two feet, fingers and toes." Twilight grinned, "Fascinating, you'll have to tell me as much as you can before we get you back." "Just... don't make me eat hay." "Don't worry, I know the perfect place to take you, but first..." "Right... standing, gotcha." I was surprisingly dextrous for being a horse... pony... whatever thing, probably because I still retained my higher brain functions. It wasn't that hard to get out of bed like I do every morning, 'feet' to the ground first. Only this time I pushed myself forward and landed on my 'hands'. It took me a few seconds to get the balance issues down, but hell, it seemed easier than walking on two feet all the time, maybe I wouldn't trip as often in this weird place. "Huh... you don't have a cutie mark." "A what now?" "Nothing. Think you can walk?" "Walk? Trot? Yeah I don't know." Twilight started to lead me, and I felt slightly humiliated by the fact that I had to be taught how to walk by someone. After a few minutes of trying not to fall on my face I finally got it down, and she lead me outside. "We're heading out Spike." "Alright, I'll hold down the fort." "Thanks!" It was a bright day, just like when I had woken up, "You sure there was a storm earlier, would it clear up that quick?" "It was scheduled to." "Scheduled? You mean like a weather report?" "No," said Twilight, leading me around the corner of her house and down the dirt road deeper into town, "The pegasi are in charge of the clouds, when we need rain they make it." "Man... wish we could control weather back home." "Your weather acts on its own? That's pretty convenient if you ask me." "Well, not really, it can get pretty nasty. Tornados, tsunami, hurricanes. People die in extreme weather like that." Twilight frowned, "Is death... common where you come from?" "... Yeah." "I'm sorry to hear that, but still, it can't be that bad, right?" "It's not. Life is good, sometimes a bit boring. Sometimes I feel like I could be happier though." "You're not happy?" "I am, I am happy. Happier than I was a few months ago." "Well here we are, the Ponyville cafe." From what I could see of this little town it was... brightly colored, but not so much that it was blinding. Most of the buildings were white and made out of simple materials like wood, the cafe was no exception, and it looked like the tables were all outside, which I suppose made sense, you wouldn't need an inside dining area if you knew exactly when it was going to rain. "Please tell me you have sandwiches." "We do." I knew it wouldn't have meat, but I didn't care, I was absolutely starving. There was an egg sandwich though, so I asked for one of those. The tables outside didn't have chairs near them, and were low enough where we could just sit on our hinds and eat like that. "You're taking this surprisingly well." "I've been through worse, besides, I already got all my freaking out and screaming out of my system. Now I just want to get home, If I don't show up to work or my shrink I'll get called in as missing." "Shrink?" Dammit. "A psychologist. He um... helps people with their problems by talking to them." "Really?" Her eyes widened in excitement, "How come I never thought of that?" She frowned, "We could REALLY use one of those here." "You don't have psychologists or anything? Then again, this place seems rather... cheery compared to where I'm from." "No, trust me William, we need one." For some reason she sounded desperate, and for some reason that made me smile. "It's not funny," she grumbled. "What, is everyone crazy?" A nervous laugh was all I got in response, so I decided not to press the issue any further. "God it's weird," I grumbled to myself, adjusting my position, "Hopefully I won't be sticking around long enough to get used to it." Twilight sighed, "Too bad is what I say. The veil and the humans are some of the most interesting subjects I've studied. I know it's selfish, but it would be really neat if you got to stay here for a few days, and I think you'd like it." "Well, I'm not exactly human right now," I said with a smirk. "That doesn't matter, I can still ask you questions, and I've got questions." "Better get started then." "What's your government like?" "Wow, way to choose the hardest question right off the bat. Anyways, it depends on what part of the world you're in. You guys probably have countries over here too." "Yeah, we do." "Alright. So the world is split into seven continents, and these continents have their own countries. I'm from the North American continent, from the country of the United States of America. Our government is what you call a democracy, we vote in a bunch of people to make decisions, including one person called the president, who has a hand in leading the military, and some of the bigger decisions." "You vote ponies into positions of power?" "Yeah, it was founded on being able to choose and have freedom. People abuse it naturally, but hopefully it works out in the end." "Abuse of power huh?" "Yeah, it's pretty common where I'm from." Before we knew it our sandwiches had arrived. Twilight seemed to have some sort of magical power she used to carry stuff, because she was now using it to levitate her sandwich so she could eat it. I sighed and leaned down to start eating mine, not even bothering to use my 'hands'. Twilight didn't say anything, so it probably wasn't that weird. Honestly, it was the best egg sandwhich I ever had. Toasted to perfection, tomatoes, lettuce, and yolk cooked eggs. Then again, I had been eating TV dinners for a year, anything was better than that stuff. "That was the best damn egg sandwich I've ever had." Twilight laughed, "What's that word?" "What word?" "Damn." For some reason it was REALLY weird hearing a word like that come from Twilight, "Erm... don't worry about it, it's a human thing." "Alright, well, I'm glad you liked it. While we're waiting for a reply I should take you to meet my friends." "Alrigh..." BOOM My whole world flipped. I ended up on my back with my hooves tucked and a sharp pain rolling up my spine, "What the..." Then I heard the laughing. "Rainbow Dash, what are you doing?" shouted Twilight. I craned my neck to get a better look and laid eyes on the entire spectrum of the rainbow, and that was just her mane and tail. "Oh man, I'm sorry... heheheh, hahahaha..." She didn't SOUND sorry. "Thanks for checking on the shell shocked veteran over here," I grumbled, rolling over and pushing myself back up. "OO OO!" The rainbow pony was in front of me in an instant, "Did you just say veteran? You must know some SWEET flying moves then." "Um... not that kind of veteran." "Awww..." her face fell, but then she perked up in the next instant, "Well I can show you some stuff." "I'm not really..." "We should go dive bombing, that would be AWESOME!" "I don't know how to fly." She stopped and tilted her head at me, "You what?" "I... I can't fly..." For some reason I was embarrassed to admit this. There I was with a pair of wings glued to my back, and despite humanity dreaming of flying I couldn't do jack with them. "What is thi... I don't even..." she turned to Twilight, who laughed nervously. "Listen, I'm not exactly from around here." Rainbow Dash turned to me once more, "You mean Ponyville." "No, just... here." "Equestria?" "No, as in... HERE." I gestured to the ground at our hooves, which only made Rainbow Dash even more confused. "He came from the veil," said Twilight. "Wait, you're a human?" Twilight frowned, "You sure know a lot Dash." "I don't read as much as you, but I've seen a few things, especially since you moved here. Well no wonder you can't fly then! C'mon, let's go, we've got work to do!" Before I knew what was happening Rainbow Dash was shoving me away from the cafe, and for some reason I felt compelled to follow. "Wait!" shouted Twilight, "Dash, he's..." Rainbow Dash had taken me to some hills on the edge of town, and Twilight had followed, her protests drowned out by Dash's excitement the entire way. The sound of a coaches whistle blowing drew my attention to Rainbow Dash. Where in the hell she got an orange jumpsuit and a whistle I will never know, "Listen up Trainee!" ... That sounded familiar. "Today you will learn to fly! You will push yourself to the limit, and then you will push more!" If there was one thing I still had going for me it was my military bearing and discipline. Rainbow Dash was not fucking around, so I wouldn't either. "YES MA'AM!" Twilight rolled her eyes, "You're getting way too into this." Dash grinned, "I like that attitude! Alright Trainee. The first thing you must learn is that flying is not easy, it does not come naturally, and it will take time!" Twilight frowned, "Dash, he won't have the time to..." "Now, first we'll cover the basics. Get your belly on the ground trainee, we're going through the positions!" It went like this for a while. I figured out how to move my wings on their own, and we cycled through the in air positions on the safety of the ground over and over again. "Alright!" Another whistle blow. "Same time tomorrow!" shouted Dash. "That's the thing," said Twilight, "I don't know if he'll be here tomorrow." "Oh, trying to get home?" "Pretty much," I said, "Sorry about that." Rainbow Dash looked really disappointed. Even if it was all a dream, I still felt bad for ditching her like that, "Listen, I'll be back same time tomorrow after lunch if I'm still not back home." Dash took a deep breath, "Alright, you better be ready!" "Got it!" This was getting ridiculous. "Alright, this'll be our last stop for the day, since the suns going down." "Who lives here?" Twilight had taken me to the edge of what looked like a forest. In front of us was a strange looking cottage. "I wanted to do this first, since she's the hardest, but Dash kind of... interrupted." "It's alright. This is all weird and wrong to me, but you guys are pretty cool." ... Despite the brightly hued color scheme and the diabetes inducing surroundings. Twilight walked forward with me tailing behind her, and brought her hoof to the door to gently tap it. "Fluttershy, it's Twilight." I found it weird that Twilight didn't yell to get her friend's attention, and normally you would knock harder, then when the door opened I didn't find it weird anymore. "Oh... hello Twilight..." Then Fluttershy's gaze landed on me and she let out a gasp. Twilight kicked her hoof into the door, ensuring retreat was impossible, "Relax Fluttershy, he's just a friend. He'll be staying in Ponyville for the night, and maybe a few days." "Oh I um..." "Hi," I said it as gently as humanly possible, but Fluttershy sat on her hind quarters and brought her hooves up to cover her face. My heart melted like butter, "Maybe we should leave," I said through gritted teeth. I felt like I was trespassing somewhere sacred. "No, it's okay, she'll be alright. Go on, introduce yourself." "My name is uh... William, William Jenkins." "... Fluttershy." She talked so quietly I barely heard her. "Uh... nice to meet you." Things were getting very awkward very fast... Wait a minute. "What do you like to do?" An extremely long moment of silence passed before she answered again in a quiet voice, "... Animals." Felicia? I managed to keep my head on my shoulders. If I started doing anything weird now it would probably freak the poor girl out. "Have we um... met anywhere before Fluttershy?" No answer. Dammit. "I own a cat," I blurted out. She didn't say anything, but her hooves went back to the floor and she seemed a little less reserved. "His name is Mishmash and he's like... the best pet I've ever had. Every time I come home he rubs on my leg and begs for food, and he makes sure the mice don't get into my pantry. He loves the soft food that I can get in cans from the supermarket, his favorite is the chicken." The look of fear vanished, and was replaced with a smile, "Does he like to play?" "All the frikkin' time. I have a bunch of cat toys I went out and bought for him. One of them is this fuzzy thing on the end of a stick that I dangle around, he loves to chase that thing." I heard Twilight let out a breath of relief. "How did you get him?" "My mom bought him for me when I came back home from the w... from far away." "That sounds nice, do you think I could meet him?" I frowned, "Sorry, I'm not exactly from around here." Fluttershy pouted and looked at the ground. "We should get going," said Twilight, "It's almost dusk and Princess Celestia probably sent me a letter back by now." "Um..." I turned to Fluttershy, who continued when I was looking at her, "Do you think that... that you could tell me more about Mishmash tomorrow?" "I'm trying to get home..." Her gaze fell again. "But if I'm still here then yeah, I'll tell you all about him." She smiled, "Thank you." Twilight didn't say anything until we were back at her place and through the door, "That went a lot better than I thought it would have," she said with a smile, "She told you she liked animals, but how did you know how to get her talking?" "Erm... luck?" I could keep secrets, but I was a notoriously bad liar. "Okay then Mr. Lucky," she said with a laugh, "Spiiiike!" Spike was by Twilight's side in less than a second. Damn he was fast. "Has Princess Celestia sent a letter back?" "Yep, I wanted to wait until you were back to open it up." "Alright what's it say?" Spike pulled the letter out and unrolled it, "AHEM, My Dearest and Most Faithful Student, Don't worry..." A moment of silence passed. I thought I saw Twilight's eye twitch, "Wait, that's it?" Spike coughed, "Er... I guess so." Another moment of silence. "No," said Twilight, "Nope, I'm not gonna let this get to me. Here's what's going to happen, we're going to go to bed!" "We're what now?" I asked. Twilight turned to me and huffed with a smile, "We're going to bed William." "But I..." "No, trust me, in the few years I've spent in Ponyville I've learned a very valuable lesson." "And that is?" "To take vague terms and strange letters as literally as possible, so if the Princess tells us not to worry, then we... what William?" "We don't worry?" "Exactly, now I'll get your bed ready." Twilight actually looked kind of scary right there. In a frame of ten minutes I was laying under a rather cosy comforter on the first floor of Twilight's tree/library. I was slightly nervous about not having a TV to distract my thoughts, but there was something else on my mind as I drifted into a fitful sleep. I was stuck in Ponyland, no one was feeding my cat, my parents and boss would be worried sick... And I was supposed to not worry? What kind of princess was this anyways? BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP I rolled over and slapped the alarm clock to silence it. Fingers... Skin... a small couch with an alarm clock on the floor and a TV showing The Animaniacs. "So it really was a dream." My doorbell rang.
4: Running ParallelChapter 4: Running Parallel I tried not to let myself worry too much, after all, it made sense that something happened to Twilight, I saw her get hurt when I was awake, so naturally something would happen to her while I was dreaming. Then again... What was up with Rachel? Why had I meant her after Rainbow Dash in my 'dream'? Not only that, but said dream was extremely vivid, and upon waking I remembered it as if it had actually taken place. The memories of the events that had transpired in 'Ponyville' were still fresh in my mind. And there I was again, standing over a heavily breathing Twilight, tucked in her bed with a wet towel on her head. "What's going on?" I asked Spike, who had just replaced the first towel. He looked up at me and frowned, "I don't know, she just started running a fever, and when I talk to her it's like she barely hears me. I don't know what to do!" "First of all, stop panicking." "But..." "I've panicked enough, and you have too, I think I saw this coming." "You what?" "It's a long story. I just had a feeling Twilight would get hurt." "Who?" "Um... Twilight." "Who?" "Spike are you even..." "That wasn't me." Spike pointed to the head board of Twilight's bed, perched there was a strange little owl. It spun its head around once and looked me right in the eyes, "Who." I sighed and shook my head, "Right, whatever, do you guys have a hospital around here?" "Uh, yeah." "It might be a good idea to get her there." The doctor and the nurse seemed like they knew what they were doing, and checked Twilight into her own room with no hesitation. There were no questions about insurance or being able to pay, they just tossed her into a room and made sure she had everything she needed. After that was done they sent for her friends. Spike and I waited outside as they set everything up, and it was... awkward to say the least. "How did you know what happened to Twilight?" I sighed and sat next to the door, "I didn't say I knew, I said I thought I knew it was going to happen." "Okay." Spike looked back and forth through the hall, as if he were making sure there was noone around to hear our conversation, "So how did you know it was going to happen?" "Would you believe me if I told you?" Spike smirked and crossed his arms, "You're talking to Twilight Sparkle's number one assistant, I've seen some crazy stuff." "Alright, I warned you. You already know that I'm human." "Yep." "What if I told you that I met Twilight before arriving in Equestria?" "You what?" Spike shook his head and dug into his ears with his claws, trying to make sure he heard me correctly. "I said I met her before coming here. Honestly, I'm not even sure if this is all a dream or not." "Wait, but you can't go back home." "That's the thing, I did go back home... last night when I was asleep. Let's say this isn't a dream, when I go to sleep in one world I wake up in the other, you know anything about that?" Spike shrugged, and I sighed, "I figured you wouldn't, and as knowledgeable as she is I doubt even Twilight knows. Let's say that, hypothetically, I'm not dreaming, and these worlds are somehow connected. I was walking home when I ran into Twilight, she was human, like me, but it was definitely her. Last night she got injured on her way back home, and I went to see her in the hospital with her friends, we fell asleep there, and you know the rest." "That's crazy." "Thought you said you've seen some crazy stuff." Spike crossed his arms and grinned, "Yep, but what you're saying is pretty out there." I sighed, "I know, I still don't know whether this is all a dream or not." Our conversation was cut short when I heard the echo of hooves on the linoleum tiles of the hallway. Around the corner came Rainbow Dash, followed by Fluttershy and three more ponies I didn't recognize... scratch that, one of them looked eerily familiar. A pink pony, her trot was almost like a bounce, and her mane looked like cotton candy... kind of like it could explode at any moment. Before I had time to process where I had seen the pink one Dash spoke, "We came as fast as we could, what's going on?" "Twilight's been hurt," I said. The ponies looked worried, that was for sure. "An' who in tarnation is this?" One of the ponies I didn't recognize stepped forward, she wore on her head what appeared to be an old fashioned ten gallon hat, and was orange with a blonde mane tied at the end. "My name is William, William Jenkins." "Well that's a rather odd name." This time it was the white one who spoke. Her mane and her tail were curled perfectly, and I had a feeling I'd seen her somewhere before as well, but I knew for a fact I didn't know her personally, "I'm Rarity," she said softly, "This is Applejack," she gestured to the orange one. "And I'm Pinkie Pie!" The pink pony leapt forward and I was greeted with the enthusiasm of an entire surprise party, she grabbed my hoof and shook it up and down. Ah... that voice. I would recognize it anywhere. 'Life is a party' indeed Phoebe. "Nice to meet you," I said. "Uh huh, we'll get you set up with a party as soon as Twilight's feeling better!" I didn't think it was physically possible for Phoebe to rope me into two short notice parties, much less in different worlds. "So what happened to Twilight?" asked Dash. "Well, like I said, she's hurt." Spike looked up at me and frowned, "Are you sure about this?" Under the scrutiny of her friends I became slightly less sure of my theory, but honestly, with everything that had been happening what I pitched to Spike wasn't that hard to believe. The question was whether it was the truth or not. I had no way to test the theory, and I wouldn't want to anyways, considering it obviously required someone to be hurt in the process. "The short of it is this," I said, "I'm not from this world." "He's a human," said Dash. Rarity tilted her head, "A human? What is that?" I let out a laugh, "If I described what we looked like to you then you would probably think I was ugly or something." "They're like monkeys," said Dash. I sighed, "There are... better ways to put it. Anyways, passing on that for a moment, I told Spike exactly what I'm about to tell you. I'm not sure if I'm dreaming or not, but it looks like there are human versions of you guys in my world." "This is all fine an' dandy, but what's it got to do with Twilight bein' hurt?" "She... her um... human version, was hurt. I went to the hospital to see her with her friends and fell asleep there, when I woke up in Ponyville she was like this. This is just a random thought, I don't know if that's what's really happening, I don't even know if all this is real." Pinkie Pie frowned at me and sat on her haunches, "Well obviously it's real Billy! You're right there, and I'm here, and if I'm not real then that would mean I'm just a figment of your imagination and that would be weeeeeiiiiird, and honestly I think that it would be cool if you were right because that means there's another Pinkie out there and maybe we could meet and we could..." "Slooow down there Sugarcube. Ain't there anythin' we can do to help?" "I don't know. It'd probably be safer to leave it to the doctors, and make sure she knows you guys are here for her, but other than that there's not much you can do. I'll do what I can on my side of things, and hopefully this works out for the better. I can only assume that if she gets better on my side then she'll be okay over here." Fluttershy, who had been quiet up until now, stepped forward and kicked her hoof on the ground, avoiding eye contact with me, "Um... when you said you went to the hospital with her friends... who was there?" "You and Dash, why?" "That's odd," mumbled Rarity, "Wouldn't we all be there?" I shrugged, "I don't know if you all know each other." "Alright," said Applejack, "This is gettin' a bit weird for my tastes." Before we could continue our conversation, the doctor stepped from Twilight's room and let out a sigh, "She's not responsive, it's like she's somewhere else entirely, I could..." The door shut behind him, and I could hear the echos of an EKG. The medical tent was packed to the brim, I could tell that much. The ambush had been brutal, but somehow, most of us had survived. Medical personnel rushed to and fro trying to keep up with the injured soldiers. I shook my head and took a few deep breaths. "Are you okay dear?" asked Rarity. "Yeah... yeah I just need some fresh air." With that I made my way down the hall and out of the hospital. The fresh air really did help. Hospitals weren't exactly my most favorite places, and I was surprised at myself that I was more than likely sleeping in one at that very moment. I didn't need to be in another one unless absolutely necessary. I made my way to a patch of grass nearest the hospital and let myself fall into a laying position. I took a few deep breaths, "Shit I need a drink." "Well I can't help you with that, but I AM deathly curious as to who you are." I closed my eyes and sighed, trying to get comfortable on the grass, "Rarity was it?" "Yes." I could hear her close to me, probably standing right above me. "Well," I said, "Not much to tell really, you know what I am and that I'm not from around here. Shouldn't you be seeing to Twilight." "I already did," she said softly, "Not much to say to somepony that can't hear you." "Aren't you worried?" "That depends on whether or not she's in good hooves." "Or hands in my case. I can't do much, she's already been checked into the hospital, we're sleeping there right now." "Who is?" "Me, Fluttershy, and Dash." "Well, regardless, you must understand that Twilight is the one that brought us all together William, and if she's in danger we'll do everything we can to help her, and I would hope that you'd be able to understand that." "JENKINS!" "WE'RE GETTING THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" "You have no idea," I muttered. Rarity giggled, "I'm glad then, I would hate to have somepony who wasn't confident in themselves looking after her." "So you trust me, just like that?" "Twilight and Spike trust you, do they not?" "I guess so. I'm just hard pressed to meet people like you. Trust is a hard thing to come by where I'm from." "Well I'm sure it has its merits." "It doesn't hurt to be a bit more defensive I suppose. I'm not guaranteeing anything, but I'll do everything I can to help Twilight." "You act tough, but your rather tender on the inside aren't you?" "That's me." Rarity went back inside, and I closed my eyes. I wondered if I fell asleep would I wake up in my world again? My stray thought wasn't satisfied, I wasn't tired enough to slip into a nap; I quickly became bored though. The sun was at mid sky by the time all of Twilight's worried friends had exited and met outside the hospital. Really, who could blame them? They knew as much about what was happening as I did, and explaining my flawed little theory to them didn't do much to help. Ultimately their friend was still sick, and possibly in danger. I looked up at the group and they all waved at me. Pinkie Pie grinned and bounced up and down before hopping off, presumably to set up a party for when Twilight got better. They scattered, all except Rainbow Dash, who walked straight to me. "It would be the normal thing to do... letting the hospital handle it that is," she said. "Your friends don't seem too worried." "That's because I told them what I'm about to tell you. You said she was injured right? Let's say for a second that I believe you, what happened?" "She was hit by a car." "A car?" "It's like... a drawn carriage that runs by itself with a mechanical device, no horses required, just a guy in the driver's seat and a key to get it started. They can go fast, and when they hit someone it's usually lethal." "Isn't that dangerous?" "There are rules so things like this don't happen, but you know... accidents happen, the best that people can do is minimize them. Anyways, you were going to tell me something?" "Yeah, the veil." "The what?" "Ugh..." Dash rolled her eyes and kicked me softly with her front hoof, obviously wanting me to get up. "Listen up! There's a reason I knew about you." "Oh yeah?" She cleared her throat and looked around, almost as if she were slightly ashamed of something, "I like to read okay?" I didn't think I would ever see a pony blush, but there it was. "Yeah?" "And you know... Twilight kind of lives in a library. It started small, with these awesome books called Daring Do." I couldn't help but let out a chuckle, "Daring Do? Are you serious?" "Shut up! Anyways, the point is that there's this veil. The only reason humans have been written about is because a pony crossed it a long time ago, but ever since then it's been forbidden." "And why's that?" "Well I mean think about it," she said with a glare, knocking me lightly on the head with her hoof as I stood up, "Would you let anypony you knew randomly go to a world where they didn't belong?" "Where did this veil even come from?" "Nopony knows, all we know is that it's bad news, but..." "But?" "If there's a version of Twilight hurt over there, and it's affecting our Twilight like you said, then maybe we could send you over with something that helps." "You've got to be kidding, would that even work?" "I don't know, but it's worth a try, I hate just sitting back and doing nothing." "More prone to taking action, huh?" Rainbow Dash nodded, "What you said in there is crazy, but I've seen crazy before, we all have. We've agreed to take you to the veil, but I don't know if we have anything you don't. What's wrong with her?" I let out a sigh and scuffed the ground with my front hoof, "Well, she might have some broken bones and a concussion, maybe even some lacerations, even with help it'll be a few weeks before she's let out of the hospital." Dash raised an eyebrow, "It takes weeks?" Then slowly, her look of confusion was replaced with excitement, "Oh man this is GREAT! I don't know how different you guys are but this means there's something that can help!" "Wha..." "Broken bones are a cinch. I broke my wing and I was only wrapped up for a few days! Might as well have been a month though..." "How?" "I don't know how medicine works! Do I look like a doctor to you?" I smiled, "You raise a good point there." "Okay, so we'll just give you a handful of stuff..." "And then throw me through the veil. THAT'S not risky at all." "Do you want to?" "I didn't say I wouldn't." "AWESOME!" Dash jumped in a way that reminded me of Pinkie Pie, then tackled me to the ground in a bear hug. After a moment of me not being able to breathe she had composed herself and we were standing again, "One problem though..." "That is?" "You still can't fly, and it'll probably take a few days to actually get you going." "So we pack up and head out. We'll hoof it, you can teach me to fly on the way. Our priority right now is helping Twilight, and I can't make you guys stay behind just because I need to learn to fly. Get the medicine we need, pack up for the trip, and we'll just go." Dash nodded and ran to the hospital, and I was once again left waiting outside. The rest of the day passed quickly in preparation for the trip to that veil thing. Everyone packed, and there was even a bag prepared for me, given to me by Rainbow Dash. Everyone was in agreement that we would head out first thing in the morning, so Dash decided to spend the remainder of the day trying to get me to fly. I managed to make it off the ground, but I couldn't stay up for long, so we called it a night. Spike lead me back to the library, and before I knew it I was in bed, trying to get to sleep. It was easier than I thought it would be; exhaustion crept up on me and I drifted off. When my eyes opened the first thing I noticed was the pain in my neck. I brought my hand up and rubbed it, twisting my head around to get a crack out of it. Letting out a yawn, I opened my eyes and saw Felicia and Rachel perched against each other a few chairs away from me, sound asleep. I found myself hoping that the dreams I was having were real... Because if they were, then I could help Tammy, and we could all have one less thing to worry about.
15: Mentor (Part 1)Chapter 15: Mentor (Part 1) I wish I could say that the few hours after the incident with Pinkie Pie were productive, but I would be lying. The pink pony did everything but leave us alone. She prodded Twilight and I with endless questions about what we liked about the other, what we thought our first date would be like, and other increasingly embarrassing inquiries. Luckily she was too busy jumping to new questions to give us any chance to really give her an answer. Eventually Twilight managed to drive her away, but the battle left us haggard and broken. I could hardly look at Twilight without blushing, and so far as I could tell she was in the exact same state. She kept fidgeting back and forth with her front hooves, and couldn't look me in the eyes at all. I cleared my throat, "So... since we can't find much, then what's the plan?" Twilight looked like she was off in a different world, and it wasn't until Spike marched up to her and kicked her in one of her hooves that she snapped out of it, "Huh wha..." Spike glared up at her, "If you go crazy again I'm sending a letter to Princess Celestia right away." Twilight's eyes widened in what I could only describe as pure horror, "NO! No there's no need for that Spike!" She rubbed his head softly with her hoof and let out a sigh, "I was just... thinking. I need to rewrite several checklists." Spike raised an eyebrow at this, "What? Why would you need to do that?" Twilight gritted her teeth, her face wasn't getting any less red either, "Erm... I uh... because I... just... I'll need more free time!" Spike nodded in understanding, "Ooooohh, okay. So you wanna..." Twilight lurched forward and plugged his mouth, turning to me and tossing me a nervous grin as she did so, "HAHAHA SPIKE YOU SILLY DRAGON! You couldn't possibly know what I'd want to do with ALL THAT FREE TIME! I think it's bed time for you now!" I raised a hoof to stop her, "Twi, it's like... lunch time." "Baby Dragons need their rest! Not to mention we have a lot to do William! We have to go see Rainbow Dash and Applejack. You need to learn how to fly, and you need a job and..." "Alright alright I get it." I thought it was better not to ask questions, especially with Spike's muffled screaming echoing through the library as Twilight forcefully dragged him upstairs. We grabbed a quick lunch before actually heading out to meet Dash. Our meeting spot was the same hill she dragged me to during my first day in Equestria. Really, there was nowhere else more fitting for learning how to fly. As Twilight and I approached the hill I saw Dash at the very top, grass blowing around her hooves as the pegasus grinned down at us, "'Bout time you two showed up, I was starting to get a little worried." I smirked, "Well, it'd be a shame if I let down the most badass pegasus in all of Equestria." "I love love loooooove that word! C'mon, let's get started!" Twilight smiled and sat down on the grass at the foot of the hill, "I'll watch from down here." "Alright." I made my way up the hill and took position next to Dash, who was still grinning, "So, you ready to try and actually fly? You know... get a taste of the sky?" "Depends on whether I'll crash or not." "You'll be fine." Little did I know that fine meant constantly looking down in fear and being reassured by Twilight that I was doing just great. Twilight's cheering did wonders, but I still felt like I could drop at any second. I had to give Dash credit, she knew what she was doing. Instead of tossing me into the pool, as it were, she was taking it slow and letting me work on flying around without any fancy tricks or crazy maneuvers. For all my complaining though, it was really one of the most amazing feelings in my life. Here I was, flying under my own power, accomplishing the one dream that lead to the invention of the airplane and an industry of travel centered around flying in air tight tubes with wings. By the time we landed back on the hill it was already around two in the afternoon if the sun in the sky was any indication, which I hoped it was. "You're doing great," said Dash, and just by looking at her I could tell she was being sincere. "Thanks." Twilight ran up to both of us with a wide smile, "You can fly!" she shouted excitedly. Twilight being excited about it boosted my confidence a little... Just a little... Okay, a lot. There was a moment where Dash looked between Twilight and I, then a small smile formed. She stomped her front hooves in the grass as her smile turned to a grin, "You know what?!" she shouted, "The three of us should go out and grab drinks some time." Twilight frowned, "I'm not sure Rainbow, I'd have to rewrite my schedule and..." Dash shook her head, "Nah, I don't mean today Twi, just sometime soon. I mean, William's hardly had any down time at all since he's been here, right William?" She nudged my shoulder, and at that moment I realized exactly why she was grinning. Dash had just become my wingman. This was an opportunity that I would make sure not to squander. "I don't have a problem with it Dash, you up to it Twi?" Twilight smiled, "Yeah, sure." Dash jumped up in the air and pumped her hooves, "Woo hoo! Alright, lemme know when you guys have free time!" Rainbow Dash, professional bro. Bro Rainbow Dash. Rainbro Dash. "Why are you laughing, William?" asked Twilight. "... No reason." Sweet Apple Acres was a sight to behold. I knew Applejack lived and worked on some type of farm but I had no idea that it would be an Apple Orchard, or that I should be taking her name so literally. The place stretched as far as the eye could see, and was twice the size of the largest orchard I'd ever laid eyes on. We started to walk down the trail in between the two fields, and in the distance, past all the trees, I could almost make out their actual property. It appeared they had a large barn as well, but I couldn't see their actual house from where we were. "Well call me a filly! Ah didn't expect ta see ya'll get outta the library for a while. What with all the research goin' on." Twilight smiled when Applejack appeared from the left field dragging a large cart full of apples behind her. 'Reiterating note to self: farm girls are dangerous.' "Hi Applejack!" Twilight gave her friend a short hug and smiled, "I just brought William here because he might be able to help on the orchard." "I thought he was stayin' with you Twi?" Twilight sighed, "Well yeah, but... anypony would get tired of freeloading for that long." I nodded in agreement, "Yeah, Twilight's been great to me, but it's about time I started paying rent. You hiring help?" Applejack brought a hoof to her chin in thought, "We could always use some help buckin' the trees, and it's gettin' about that time o' year. Tell ya what Bill, we'll take ya on as a bucker for a couple weeks, and we'll teach ya about the rest of the orchard while yer workin' in the fields, how's that sound." I smiled, "That actually sounds great." "Show up in a couple days at the crack o' dawn and we'll get ya goin'." The day had gone better than expected. I looked forward to getting to know Rainbow Dash and Applejack a bit more. It didn't take a genius to see that I was making fast friends in Ponyville, as well as the human world I had come from. As Twilight and I returned to the library I couldn't help thinking about all that had happened since I first woke up in Equestria. I was trying to wrap my head around everything that had happened so far, and honestly, it was a bit difficult. I knew there was no use thinking on why I was in Equestria though, at least not until we managed to uncover the secrets of the veil. We were nearing the library when Twilight smiled at me, "Something on your mind?" "Yeah, just thinking how crazy all this is." "Crazy compared to?" I laughed and shook my head, "Trust me, I've seen crazy before." "Oh?" The door was surrounded by Twilight's magic and opened on its own as we approached the library. We made our way inside and I kicked the door shut, "Yeah, real crazy." The sound of hooves distracted me from continuing the conversation with Twilight. The steps belonged to neither of us, and when we looked up I could have sworn I saw Twilight's jaw hit the floor, "Princess Celestia, but I... you don't... he's... I'm..." 'Princess Celestia' indeed lived up to her name, standing at least twice as tall as any other pony I had seen, including myself. Her coat was white in color, and her mane looked more like magic than hair; it was like a bright light spectrum. Not to mention the fact that her hooves were cupped with some sort of golden horse shoes. Then, to top it all off was the crown on her head. Celestia smiled down at me, "You must be William Jenkins then, I've heard a lot about you from Twilight's letters." Twilight laughed awkwardly when the princess leaned down to my ear. "You know," Celestia whispered, "If you hurt her, there might be some consequences." Then, as if nothing had happened, she pulled back up and once again smiled, "It's so nice to finally meet you," she said cheerfully. I had the sudden urge to go to the bathroom. "Nice to meet you too," I managed to grind out. Twilight stepped forward, "But... Princess, what are you even doing here?" "Well, in your last letter you mentioned that that the two of you were having trouble finding historical logs on the veil. I thought I'd try to help you out with that. William being here is acceptable, but if our worlds were to cross any more than they already have it might lead to disaster." I tried not to be nervous at that idea, "They're crossing? What kind of disaster?" Celestia chuckled, "Now now, calm down. There's no need to panic. When Star Swirl went to your world he discovered things of interest, some of which I'll be sharing with you today." Twilight fidgeted a little bit, "What kind of things?" Almost as if on cue, two books floated through the door surrounded by the light of Celestia's magic, and were set at our hooves. "These books are the extent of Star Swirl's research. It's getting kind of late, but there will be plenty of material for you to browse tomorrow, I assure you." I nodded, "Princess, I have a question." "Hmm?" "I'm meeting the same people on both sides of the veil, and I'm sure Twilight's told you about the incident with me having to take medicine to the other side. Do you have any idea why there are counterparts?" "I'm sorry, I cannot answer that question, but you might be able to." "Me?" Celestia chuckled and winked at me, then turned her smile to Twilight, "I should be going. Send me a letter when you discover something new." "I will Princess." "Oh, and DO let me know how things turn out between you two." Celestia's laughter as she left the library only made our blushes deeper. The sun was on the verge of the horizon. Before the door closed, the sight of Celestia walking into the sunset was strangely fitting. Twilight turned to me with a smile when the door shut, "So, dinner then bed?" "Sounds good to me." I woke to the sound of very loud knocking at my door. Stumbling out of bed, I rubbed my eyes and managed to stumble myself into sweat pants and a shirt. Further stumbling through my apartment and nearly killing Mishmash brought me to my front door. I opened it, and two men were standing there, both of them wearing police uniforms. "Hello Mr. Jenkins," said the one on the right, "We're here to ask you a few questions." He flashed his badge, and my throat went dry. What were they there for? As soon as I asked myself that question it all came flooding back. My escape from the warehouse. "Can we come in?"
