Chapters

I Am Sprocket
Battle at The Royal Wedding
Loving a Changeling
The Balance
Mount Mythos
Settling Down
Discord
Something Lost, Something Gained
Metalwing's Old Friends
The Mech
Equestrian Exploration

I Am Sprocket
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Dream Come True

I Am Sprocket

I sat at my computer, looking at my newly finished design for my brand new My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Original Character. She was my most perfect design yet. She had silvery grey fur that would catch the light just so, reflecting the light in areas. Her brown hair had copper tone strands. She had two robotic legs which looked largely natural, but lines like you might see on a circuit board were slightly shinier than the rest of her body. Her horn was everso slightly longer than an average unicorn's. She had a suit of lightweight bronze armor covering most of her torso, giving way to her cutie mark displaying a gear with two wrenches crossing in front, set up like a skull and crossbones if the skull was behind the bones. She had a scarf which peeked up from her armor, hiding the pendant of a necklace which held immense magical power when used in tandum with six similar amulets the character's friends in the stories of internet roleplays. She wore a pair of golden boots on her front hooves, but nothing on the back ones. Her green metal and jade chakram was tucked away in her armor, barely peeking out from one of the plates. All of the details were overshadowed by her truly enchanting eyes. They were a green somewhere in between emerald and lime. They seemed to catch the light perfectly, making them draw large ammounts of attention, but still keeping reactions positive.

I sighed, looking at the beautiful design, wishing I could somehow escape the dark, depressing horror that was the life I lived every day. I slowly ascended from my chair, turning and walking out of my room and gently closed the door. I got my keys and headed out the front door. I needed to buy groceries that day, we were all out. I unlocked the door of my car, swung it open, and sat down in the driver's seat, pulling the door closed. I thrusted the key into its proper hole, twisting it to my car immediately starting. I then drove out of my neighborhood to grocery store.

My surroundings all seemed unremarkable. There was an elderly woman crossing the street at an intersection carrying with her a brown paper bag. An apple fell out of the top and rolled partly across the street. I watched as she sighed and started to make her way to it. A motorcycle sled past, squishing the apple under its front tire. I flashed a sympathetic look at the woman, who finished crossing the street and started toward the neighborhood. I had met the woman in passing. She lived in a house a few doors from my own. She was a generally upbeat person, but she was easily saddened.

I continued on to the grocery store when the light switched from red to green. The parking lot was underpopulated. It was a usual occurrence for locations such as this to be nearly empty. There were so few people living here anymore that the government didn't bother repairing public buildings or roads. Everything was so decrepit. I walked into the grocery store and got the usual. I was on my way with my grocery basket to one lf the checkout lines when I stopped and glanced at the produce section. I sighed and walked my way there. There were very few apples left, but one looked perfect. It was large and didn't have any bruises on it, unlike most of the others. I picked it up. The sticker read "pink lady" in bold letters. I cringed at how expensive it would be. I didn't make a lot of money, so it would be a definite expense for me.

Without another thought, I put the apple in the basket and walked quickly to an open checkout line. I purchased my groceries and left, driving en route toward my neighborhood. I stopped next to the woman who had been walking previously, rolling down my passenger side window. I welcomed her in, letting her open the door and roll up the window.

I reached into the back seat and dug around in one of the bags until my hand grasped something round. My rummaging stopped when I pulled it out. I placed the delicious looking apple into the woman's grocery bag, replacing the other which had fallen to an unfortunate fate. The lady looked at me and asked what she could do to repay me. I simply kept driving. I couldn't suggest any sort of payment. If she came to me and offered something, I definitely wouldn't turn it down, but I couldn't bring myself to ask her for something in return, she was sweet and enjoyable to be around.

We got to her house before I replied, "What you can do in return is keep being the nicest person I've met in this town." I smiled at her as she got out of the car, thanking me and walked toward her house.

I waited and watched for her to safely walk into her home and shut the door behind her before I drove back to my house. My parents hadn't arrived yet when I got home. I loaded the groceries I had purchased into the refrigerator and attached the receipt to the door with a magnet. I got a marker from one of the cabinets, writing "don't worry about it" on the waxy piece of paper. We had worked out a payback system for when I bought the groceries, but sometimes I felt generous.

I opened the door to the hum of my laptop, still powered on. Something was different. The project was blank. My artwork of my OC I had been working on for three weeks wasn't on screen like I had left it. I panicked, closing my vector editor and looking for my file. I breathed a sigh of relief when I found the .svg and .png files completely identical to the way they were when I turned my back previously.

When I shut my laptop down, I heard a loud thump coming from my closet. I jumped when it happened. Trembling, I turned around toward the miniature room. I looked to my left and picked up a wooden baseball bat from when my parents and I went to a game when I was but a small child. I remembered learning I hate the sport that day, but the party we had while there was fun. I gripped the handle and continued putting one foot in front of the other toward my closet door.

When I was close enough, I put my hand around the knob, turning it quickly and opening it. There was nothing bu my usual line of jackets arranged on the rack and stack of graphic novels and manga, sitting precariously as I had placed them. One had fallen. It was the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic comics, volume one. I chuckled a bit at the coincidence and closed the door, returning the baseball bat to its original position.

I didn't bother stripping down to go to bed. I just lay down, and slept. My dream was bright. I couldn't pick out anything visually aside from a white light and a blurry yellow figure. I heard a high pitched soft voice pleading.

"Hello, miss? A-are you... are you okay?" The pleading voice seemed to ask over and over again, echoing in my mind.

Soon, everything faded to black. I neither saw nor heard anything. I was just floating in an infinite void of emptiness. I felt a tingling sensation all over me, like brushes were gently stroking me all over. A sound started fading in, it was wind. A natural force blowing across a healthy field. My vision started to brighten and clear until I woke up surrounded by grass waving around me. There was a pony above me. She was a pegasus with greenish blue eyes, yellow fur, pink hair, and a mark on her flank of three pink butterflies.

"Umm... excuse me, miss... are you... a-are you... okay?" The pony pleaded in the same voice as in my dream.

My eyes fluttered the rest of the way open. I groaned a bit, thinking I must be having a vivid dream. I always had stuff from my room visible in my vivid dreams. Though my pony figurines were never enlarged and speaking to me. I turned my head to my right, not seeing my alarm clock. My eyes widened as to my surprise, it wasn't there. I got up and looked down at myself. I saw silvery grey fur covering two pony legs, a bronze set of light armor, golden boots, and I felt a scarf around my neck.

The voice chimed in, "Thank Celestia you're okay! I found you laying in this field and thought you might be hurt, or worse... Can you talk? Or... even hear me?"

I looked at Fluttershy, seeing her concerned expression, "I've... I've never had a lucid dream this colorful... they're only ever dull and uninteresting..."

"Lucid dream? Oh, poor thing... You're just so disoriented, aren't you?" She looked at me sympathetically.

I began to feel dizzy. This couldn't have been real, could it? I was just having an extremely visually complex dream. I would wake up to my dull, depressing room any minute and these visuals and senses would be immediately gone.

I walked toward the cliff face the field was on, "It's all just a dream. If I fell off this cliff, I'd wake up in my old cheap house to my boring parents and my everyday average job. I'd come home so I can post my OC redesign on the internet and have my only bit of stress relief I ever get, and my parents won't worry about their son disappearing from his room!"

Fluttershy gasped as I jumped off. I looked up at her grasping toward me. I soon felt how real the wind was and examined my impending death in the form of the ground below me. My eyes widened as I screamed for help. Not a moment too soon, a cyan pegasus with rainbow hair and rose colored eyes swooped in to snatch me out of the air and set me back up on the field.

I looked at the two, "I-I-I don't have a Rainbow Dash figurine yet..." I trembled as I nervously forced out the words.

The two pegasi looked at me, confused as I caught my breath and looked around at the Technicolor landscape. It was identical to the cartoon environment of my favorite show, only it had more detail, and I could touch it. I could feel the reality of everything here.

I calmed down, "It's all real..."

"Umm, are you okay?" Rainbow Dash asked, obviously weirded out.

I nodded, "Yeah, just a... just a bad dream. And I guess I mistook it for reality..."

Fluttershy walked up and hugged me sympathetically, assuring me that it happens sometimes. I was slightly startled by the random gesture of kindness, but returned the embrace nonetheless.

Rainbow asked me, "So what's your name? You obviously... somehow know mine..."

What was my name? I struggled to think of my name, as I knew it was one I didn't remember ever verbally going by. I thought about my OC design and the name came back to me as if I had always used it.

"I'm Sprocket. It's nice to meet you. And of course, I know both of your names! You helped save Equestria on more than one occasion!" I said.

Rainbow struck a pose, "Yeah we did! You're that tinkerer downtown, aren't you? Didn't you make Tank's little helicopter thing?"

"If I made a flying device for your tortoise, he'd be flying around on a set of steampunk looking dragonfly wings, not a propeller." I remarked.

She giggled as she bid farewell and flew off. Fluttershy followed her bunny Angel away. I was left alone in the serene setting of the field. I thought about what happened. I didn't know whether whatever I woke up from was real or not anymore, but frankly, I didn't care. I got my wish and I was living in the world Sprocket was in. No, not only that, I WAS Sprocket. My dream came true. I overlooked the breathtaking view in front of me and thought of the adventures I might have.

Author's Note

Yes, there will be more chapters.

Battle at The Royal Wedding
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Dream Come True

Battle at The Royal Wedding

I sat next to Metalwing, leaning on his shoulder, only barely awake. We had been watching the sunset, at least, we were a few hours prior. I had never realized how amazing it was to see a sun magically set and a moon magically rise. It was a sigh so breathtaking, one would have to be at the location to truly understand its beauty. I watched the magic dancing across the moon's surface trickle away as I drifted off into slumber on my special somepony's shoulder.

Often times, my dreams were surreal, sometimes they were memories, sometimes they were lucid. My dream on this night started as a basic surreal one, it didn't have any proper flow, just abstract shapes moving past me. I managed to decipher that I was flying through some form of tunnel. There was a bright white light at the end, getting larger and closer until it completely covered my view. It started to darken. Blurry shapes started to form until the image sharpened and I found myself next to Metalwing at the royal wedding.

It went on until Twilight burst in, proclaiming something that sounded simply like a bunch of words put together that sounded like a sentence, but the statements were completely unintelligible. This oftwn happened in my memory based dreams, as often times when someone says something I think is clearly untrue, my memory seems to ignore it. All I can remember is scrambled words that don't have any meaning. All I heard were "Cadence" and "changeling" in this sentence. I knew exactly what was coming. Why I didn't think it would happen? I have no explaination.

Metalwing and I exchanged looks and exited quietly, just in case. I knew what was up, and Metalwing knew Twilight wouldn't lie about something in an event of this magnitude. We climbed down some stairs and quickly found our way outside, looking up at the shield around the city, clearly weakening. We spent the next few hours trying to alert royal guards to no avail. Before we could get one to listen and take us seriously, the magic barrier shattered, letting the changelings in. Metalwing and I looked at each other before anticipating the wave of changelings approaching.

"How was I careless enough to not grab my chakram?" I chastised myself.

Metalwing looked at me, "Your what?"

"It's a circular bladed weapon. My mentor passed it onto me when he died and it changed from a sword to it's current shape. It's a very effective weapon, but it doesn't do much good in my room..." I informed.

A swarm of changelings surrounded us before one of us could utter another word.

The largest of them walked up to Metalwing, "Oh, I see you've found yourself a willful host... I do hope you wouldn't mind sharing." He looked at me, licking his sharp teeth as he smiled.

Metalwing stepped in front of him, blocking his view, "Back off of her. I love her and I don't want to share with a bunch of low lives like you. Me keeping fed is just a happy coincidence." He moved his head to the side to look at me and whisper, "If you knkw how to teleport, now would be a great time for you to get on your way to your room. I'll keep them occupied."

I nodded at him and began charging up my horn. A few changelings prepared magic to keep me in place, firing just too late. I was outside their circle and running. Three changelings chased me, being joined by others as the distance between me and my room became smaller and smaller. I ran up the stairs, followed by changelings before I burst into my room, slammed the double doors, and pushed the dresser in front of it. I rummaged through my armor until I found the place my chakram was tucked away in, pulling out the circular weapon with a 2 foot diameter and 32 blades all around, sharpened to the point where they cut any conventional material it would need to cut as if it were butter.

I listened and heard that the pounding on my door had stopped. Though I didn't know if they were still there, waiting me out, or if they had moved on. I quietly pushed the dresser out of the way and used a vision projection spell to see beyond my door without detection. There were changelings, waiting at my door, sitting in front of it with lethal magic prepared. I backed away and hid behind my bed as I made sure I could pull off my opening attack. I took a deep breath, letting it out in a quiet sigh, using magic to open the doors.

The changelings looked inside, not seeing me, but still apprehensive. I looked at the mirror to see what they were doing. They still just stood there, like they expected me to just walk out into the open. I wasn't holding my chakram yet, so I blended into the shadows and was undetectable by my opponents. One slightly more courageous changeling began to step into the room, shaking at the possibility of attack. His paranoia had a reason, and that reason ended with me swinging my chakram magically around the bed and straight into the mob of bug-like ponies. I could swear I heard the sound of pins being knocked over at a bowling alley as they went flying. My chakram returned to me as I magically caught it and proceeded to exit the same way I came in.

I rushed out to see Metalwing still being harassed by the group of shapeshifting thugs. The largest one was about to try and hurt my special somepony when I fired my bladed weapon straight across the back of his neck, severing the spinal cord from the rest of his body with minimal blood. The creature fell to his side and twitched a few times before he stopped moving. The rest of the changelings stared at me with fear in their eyes as I approached.

"There's more where that came from if you don't leave us alone. Got that? I refuse to hesitate when somepony I care about is being threatened. So back off and leave us alone." I spoke in an intimidating tone.

The changelings flew away as I walked up to Metalwing.

He looked at me, smiling brightly, "You really are my kind of mare... I have good reason to love you..."

I snickered, "Well, come on. We need to get back to my room so I can get my armor on, okay?"

He nodded before we proceeded to rush back to the castle. We reached the hall as the previously unconscious changelings saw me and comically scrambled up, tripping over each other and themselves, and finally running away. We both chuckled together as we rushed into my room. He closed the door as I began to take off my dress. I was completely naked when Metalwing turned around.

He averted his eyes as he spoke, flustered, "You didn't give a warning!"

"Hey, I'm not insecure. Do you realize how many ponies commonly run around naked? It's honestly a little odd that I wear armor around." I replied.

He looked back at me, "Good point... You do look beautiful under garments as well..."

I smiled and let out a flattered giggle as I slipped on my armor and adjusted my scarf under it. We made our way to the train station with my saddlebags packed and my dress draped over me. We helped ponies onboard before starting to get on. Metalwing stopped when one of his superior officers landed behind him, stating he was needed elsewhere.

"I'm resigning now." Metalwing looked at the muscular stallion with strong wings.

The stallion made a face, "What in Tartarus do you mean you're resigning now? Our policies can't permit a single stallion to leave like that..."

"He's not single. He's in a relationship with me." I chimed in.

The stallion looked at me, "Whoa, Metal. I don't know how you got a mare that good looking... guess I need another officer now..."

We bid the stallion farewell as we boarded the train. The stallion started it and watched it move off as it escaped the battle toward Ponyville. I looked into Metalwing's eyes as he gazed into mine. We kissed as we escaped the mortal danger.

I joked to him, "I swear, I am never going to a royal wedding again."

We both laughed a bit as we saw a bright light come from the tallest tower of the castle and all changelings being propelled away. I was glad we got out when we did. I didn't want Metalwing to suffer their fate. My vision faded to white as I woke up laying in my bed to Metalwing, holding me close, keeping me comfortably warm and making me feel safe. His wings were wrapped around me. His usual pony form had soft feathery wings that were extremely comfortable in positions such as this. I thought for a bit. Metalwing was a changeling, but the pony he lives as is a normal pony he imagined up. He wasn't too different from me on that aspect. It's just that my wish to be a pony was a bit more far fetched. I didn't know whether or not I should tell him about my situation. On the one hand, he might really freak out, on the other hand, he might be completely fine with it. I decided to keep it secret for now. I put my front legs around him and pulled him closer, smuggling in and calmly falling back to sleep.

Author's Note

All this talk of sleep is starting to make me tired...

Loving a Changeling
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Dream Come True

Loving a Changeling

I slowly opened my eyes in my bed to see my outstretched hooves grasping at nothing. I blinked a bit to make sure I wasn't seeing things. I rubbed my eyes, still seeing an empty spot next to me in my bed. I wondered where Metalwing had gone. With my judgment still noticeably clouded, I rolled out of bed and approached the door, my hair still in a tangled mess. I opened the wooden form, letting in an amazing smell. There were eggs being scrambled in the kitchen. My mind still not operating nearly close to 100%(more like 25% if you must know) I slowly walked down the hall and started down the steps. If somepony was making breakfast in my house, they were going to share, whether they're Metalwing, Pinkie Pie(who would do something that odd, believe me), or a random intruder.

I walked down the steps, seeing Metalwing at the range, scrambling eggs. They were being perfectly done. My stomach growled loudly as I watched him cook. I stumbled a bit before I thought about why I wasn't actually up yet. Coffee, I needed coffee. Without saying a word yet, I went over to the coffee maker and began to brew my daily double shot of espresso. The machine started its happy loud noise as I waited for it to spray its heavily caffeinated liquid into the cup.

Metalwing noticed me, "Good morning, my beautiful bed head."

"Mmmmm." I moaned back at him, still half asleep.

He giggled at how unaware I seemed as I watched the coffee machine squirt my espresso into my cup. I grabbed it and put a few drops of agave nectar in. I set down the nectar and lurched my way to the fridge, retrieving the milk. I poured some milk into the cup until it was full. I then returned the jug to its original place and closed the refrigerator. I grabbed a spoon to mix the ingredients of the coffee together. I then took a sip of the drink and sat down at the table.

I took a few more drinks, "Good morning." I smiled.

"You were out cold last night... Do you remember what you were dreaming about?" He asked.

I replied, "I was remembering the events that transpired during the royal wedding. Pretty crazy stuff."

"With as confident as ponies in this town seem to be, I bet you were fighting through the whole army of Chrysalis's minions in your dress with your bare hooves." He cracked a smile.

I laughed, "And that's when the ninjas came in!"

We laughed together, poking fun at ponies like that. Metalwing finished making breakfast, serving it out to both of us. I dug in at first, I loved eggs and toast. My first few bites started reminding me of my grandad's amazing breakfast meals. I paused after swallowing another bite as my eyes started to tear up. Metalwing looked at me with a concerned expression. I thought that I wouldn't miss anything from my human life, but I did. I missed the smiles my parents would give me when I made them happy, I missed sitting out in the back yard watching the stars with them. I missed my grandparents who would always be there in rougher times, and the breakfast memories only pushed what I missed to the front of my mind.

I got up, tears now streaming down my face and walked out the front door, sitting on the porch, watching the wind blow the trees as sobbed. I was conflicted, on the one hand, I wanted to go back to my hometown, I wanted to tell everyone I'm alright and that I've been having a great life but came back for them. On the other hand, I loved Equestria and never wanted to leave. Metalwing walked out the door and sat down next to me and looked at me, wiping my tears away.

"Hey, what's wrong, Sprocket? Are you okay?" Metalwing asked.

I sniffed, forcing the words out through my tears, "I just don't want my family from home to worry about me..."

"Hey, don't get so worked up about that, I'm sure they're not worried about you." He tried to reassure me.

I looked at him, "What do you mean?"

"A pony as strong as you has nothing to worry about, and others shouldn't worry either. So if your family is worrying about you, it's not your fault, it's theirs for not putting enough faith in you." He wiped more tears away.

We sat in silence for a moment when he pulled me close and wrapped a wing around me. I rested my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes and relaxing, feeling safe behind the strong layer of feathers that made up the wing of Metalwing's pony form. The wind lightly blew across the yard as he embraced me. In a few minutes, I had stopped crying. I rose my head and looked at him. He looked back at me with a kind smile. I kissed him on the lips as he joined in. It was my first real kiss as a pony, and I was glad to use it on one I had quickly to love dearly. After a few minutes, we started to talk a bit about each other, asking questions about various things.

"So, if changelings replicate the appearances of other ponies, it there another pony who looks exactly like you do running around? If so, what are the chances of you bumping into them?" I asked.

"Changelings for the most part do replicate the appearances of other ponies, but some of us have a pony appearance that we've thought up every single detail on. Mine is what I walk around as every day. How about your robotic legs? What's the deal on those? " He responded.

"Well, to make a long story short, my legs were cut off a long time ago near a place where everypony had robotic parts. I got my first pair and actually modified it to have electromagnets in the hooves. Other ponies noticed and actually asked me to do the same thing with theirs. It caught on quickly and pretty soon other ponies who owned tinkering shops started doing it too." I answered.

He continued the conversation, "So that's got a magnet in it, huh?"

"These that I'm wearing? No, actually. These are from my second line of redesigns. I don't need a magnet in my hoof because I can pick things up with it just like any normal pony would. I can even feel with these legs. That's what the slightly more reflective lines are for. They're touch sensors. Basically like artificial nerves." I replied.

He smiled, "Oh cool!"

Soon, we were walking around the market district of Ponyville. Metalwing had one wing around me. I wasn't wearing my armor this time, my pendant glowed in the sunlight, with its double helix pattern tapered at either end and a green crystal the shade of my eyes suspended in the silver structure. Currently, the necklace was just a pretty necklace as the other six were nowhere to be found, as well as their weilders. Alas, the seven alternate elements of harmony which probably can't exist in this universe yet would have to be apart for now.

Metalwing brought me to a flower stand, buying me a bouquet of blue roses. I hadn't ever seen a blue rose before. They were absolutely beautiful. I kissed Metalwing, showing my appreciation. Later that day, when we got home, I put the roses in a vase full of water. I wanted to be able to appreciate the beauty of the gift for as long as possible.

"Come outside with me, Sprocket." Metalwing beckoned through the front door.

I followed him out into the yard.

He looked at me, smiling, "Have you ever wanted to fly?"

I nodded my head.

"Get on my back and you can." He instructed.

I climbed on his back and we took off to the skies. I felt the wind on my face as we climbed higher and higher. We finally leveled out when we were above the clouds. The warmth of the golden sunlight felt great. It was so relaxing to be up here. I very nearly forgot any troubles on my mind for this magical few minutes. I wrapped my front legs around him, letting them meet at his chest. I rested my head on his, looking at the clouds, seeing light cast by the sun touching them and beautifully illuminating them. I had been in internet roleplays where we went and saw galaxies up close, we had flown around in nebulae. That would have been more impressive if it were real. But something was mesmerizing about being up here with the one I love seeing clouds from above instead of watching them from below.

After about half an hour, we landed back in the yard. I knew from that moment on that I never wanted to leave Equestria. I could do things here that back home I couldn't even dream of doing. I had someone to love that loved me back, and he really did love me. Or else he wouldn't have taken me up into the sky to see its majesty. I beamed with happiness, for once in my life I felt wanted. I even felt needed, and I liked that feeling.

A few hours later, metalwing and I were in the back yard, laying down together in the soft grass, looking up at the stars. I loved doing this with him, it felt like home, only better. All the constellations I could see I couldn't recognize, since the basic ursa major and ursa minor didn't exist in the night sky in this universe. I remembered the episode of ponies where Trixie came to Ponyville. I remembered the ursa minor being put to sleep and returned to the ursa minor. I remembered Trixie being humiliated that she wasn't the one to defeat the dangerous creature.

The night sky here was arguably prettier than the one back home. There was far less light pollution since ponies here actually slept at night for the most part. I listened as Metalwing pointed out various constellations suspended together in space. He really knew a lot about the stars here. He reminded me a lot of myself. I too, was obsessed with the universe in it's entirety. I wanted to go see outer space. I wanted to fly among the stars. I wanted to see inside nebulae. I wanted to touch stardust. I wanted to explore new planets. It was a lifelong dream of mine that I knew would never be fulfilled. At least I would always have something to dream about.

"Today's been a good day, hasn't it, Sprocket?" Metalwing eventually commented.

I replied, "No, it's been a great one."

"I love you, Sprocket." He smiled at me.

I smiled back, "I love you too."

Author's Note

BTW, that coffee recipe thing? Yeah, that makes some awesome coffee. You don't even know until you try it. So I'm challenging you to try that amazing bit of goodness that wakes you up in a good mood every time.

The Balance
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Dream Come True

The Balance

I was sitting at the table across from Metalwing when an ethereal being materialized in the room with us. It cast a soft glow all the way through the room. I looked at the figure in awe. It was like nothing I had ever seen. I figured that this is what an angel might look like, only ponified. It looked at me and seemed to pierce through me with its gaze.

"W-who are you?" I managed to ask

Its mouth didn't open for it to speak, "I am the guardian of all balance in this universe. You have thrown it off by being here. I have come to return you to your own."

"Wait, wait! I like it here! A lot! Please don't make me go back! There has to be a way to restore balance!" I pleaded.

The angelic figure informed, "Only one way, but it is a dangerous path. It will be full of hardship and peril. You will likely die trying."

"Well, even if I die, that'll restore balance again, won't it?" I asked.

The figure paused, thinking, "Very well. Since you are willing to give up your life for your harmonious existence in this universe, I shall grant you a chance at restoring the balance without leaving. Take note of the fact that you can willfully leave at any time. I will accompany you to your home universe and make sure you make it back safely. Deep in the heart of the largest of the Apploosian mountain, there exists a creature of immense power. If a claw is sliced from its talon, the claw can be used to repair the universal balance. Only an elemental soul weapon can cut the claw."

"I have an elemental soul weapon, my chakram." I stated.

The figure started to fade away, "God speed, noble pony. God speed."

Metalwing and I looked each other in the eyes. We knew that the adventure would be an intense one. But we knew we would have to do it. I wanted a family with Metalwing. I loved him so much, and I really didn't want to leave him. He meant the world- no, the universe to me. I wasn't going to give that up. I was going to do what I could to keep us together. I headed up the stairs quietly. I strapped on my armor. This time, I put on the full suit. I put on the bracers, the grievers, I even wore the underlayer. I strapped on all four boots. Once I was done, I slipped my chakram in its spot in the protective bronze outfit. I packed my saddlebags full of food and stepped out of the house for my adventure.

Behind me stood Metalwing, in his Royal Guard armor and saddlebags packed as well. There clearly wouldn't be any arguing with him. So I set off, followed by the noble changeling stallion. We passed by many foals who smiled excitedly while pointing a us with their hooves. They exclaimed about the two knights setting off. Their parents watched, mildly intimidated by the looks of determination on our faces. We would go to the apploosian mountains and find the creature and take its claw. If we were lucky, we wouldn't even disturb it. I bought two tickets to Apploosa, the closest town to the mountain range. We boarded the train with odd looks. Ponies didn't typically see fully armored ponies board a train.

We waited for the steam powered behemoth to embark. When it did, I watched through the window with a serious expression as the train approached its firat stop gradually, Canterlot. I was still focused on the mission at hand, but was mesmerized by the beauty of Equestria. I had never seen any place so breathtaking. It never seemed like a stale place, it was always full of wonder.

"Hey." Said Metalwing, "We're going to do this, okay?"

I looked at him and nodded.

The rest of the first ride was silent. We looked out the window until night fell. At that point, we fell asleep. For the night, the train was stopped, which gave us more ability to catch good sleep on the train stopped in Canterlot. In the morning, we awoke to the train moving toward Apploosa. I opened my saddlebags and pulled out apples for the both of us. We ate the pink lady variety apples and threw the cores into a receptacle on the train. I remembered the day I got to Equestria. I remembered buying the pink lady apple for my neigbor. I remembered how grateful she was. I remembered how I didn't ask for anything in return. Most of all, I remembered how I watched her enter her house, closing the door behind her.

"What are you thinking about?" Asked Metalwing.

I responded, "You know how that guardian thing kept saying I don't belong here?"

"Yeah. That was weird..." He said.

I replied, "No, actually... It wasn't. I'm from a completely different universe. One where the dominant species is known as the human. These humans are fleshy, and their empathy rarely extends past themselves or others they care about. There's also no magic in the human universe. Not that I know of at least. War has riddled-"

"I get it, Sprocket. You don't want to go back and be one of those humans." Metalwing interrupted.

I said, "I was also a guy there..."

"What!?" He asked, shocked.

I replied, "It's not like I wanted to be, in fact, quite the opposite. That's part of why I like it here. I'm who I want to be."

"Oh, so you were mentally a girl but you had... well let's just say the parts?" He asked.

I shuddered, "This is getting awkward..."

"Right..." He agreed.

The train stopped at Apploosa. We got off. It was in the evening when we got there, so we decided to stay at an inn for the night. We would take on the creature in the mountain range in the next day.

Author's Note

This chapter is dedicated to my boyfriend, whose birthday began an hour and 8 minutes ago central time

Mount Mythos
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Dream Come True

Mount Mythos

We woke up the next morning to light flooding the room through the window. I slowly got out of the bed and began following the process of equipping my armor. The chestplate, shoulder pads, neck guard, midsection guard. I applied my bracers and grieves. My base layer was still on from the previous day. I had my necklace on under the base layer. I didn't know why I kept it on all the time. It was something sentimental, maybe I thought it granted me internal strength.

I put my saddlebags on and walked out of the room and down the hall. I put one hoof in front of the other as I descended the steps. I approached the front desk, giving the clerk several bits and the key. In a few minutes, Metalwing was fully armored and coming down the steps, saddlebags fully packed. We quietly walked out the front of the inn. As we stepped out, there was a slight chill in the air. Few ponies had come outside. Most everypony was still waking up for the day.

We silently started walking in the direction of the mountain range. Each of us advancing, step by step. Each time we put a hoof forward, we were that much closer to restoring balance. I didn't look back at the quaint little town, I only looked forward at the path to a manifestation of my chosen destiny. I thought I would be walking my path alone at first, but was surprised to have another help me bear the immense burden of recreating harmony in this universe. Feeling the cold wind peirce me like needles, I didn't back down. I stood my ground, and I stood with one I loved.

Metalwing wrapped one of his wings around me, keeping me close to him and enveloping me in a warmth I had only ever felt from his touch. He held me next to him, safely and securely. I wouldn't leave him, I would sooner die. I continued being strong, for him. I would do anything to not give him up. We both advanced toward the mountain range, through sandy plains full of cold, dry wind that showed no sign of letting up.

At some point, we found a rock formation that was easy to walk into and blocked the wind in nearly every direction. We sat down inside, and began to prepare our lunch. I pulled out two sandwiches as he started a small bonfire in the middle of the area. The wood and coal burned, illuminating the inside of the structure and providing warmth that relieved us of the numb feeling the frigid force had inflicted on us.

I gave him one of the sandwiches and ate the other. We sat there quietly, huddled together, and thought about the upcoming task we were faced with. I watched the flames dancing over the blazing surface until it was reduced to a warming smolder. That night, we slept there together, ready for the final stretch of the journey. The desert went dark, and the wind blew over. The majority of the heat stayed in the formation for the night.

The next morning, I woke up, trying not to disturb my significant other. I walked out of the formation and looked around. The Apploosa pegasi had been kind on this day, as the sun was shining and the plains seemed still as compared to the freezing wind from the previous day. I waited for Metalwing to awaken so we could continue the long voyage, leaning my back against a large rock on the side that the sun hit it. I heard hoofsteps from the cave before the kindhearted changeling stepped around the rocks and looked at me. I slid down and landed on my hooves, picking up my saddlebags and putting them on.

We approached the mountain range, closer than we had ever been before. In a matter of hours, we were climbing the first mountain. It was a long climb with our cumbersome gear, but we reached the peak of the enormous formation and scanned the range. We saw a mountain far taller than the others. Its height towered over the others. It was twice the size of the taller mountains here. I dubbed it Everest, as that was only one that came to mind. I spotted a cave leading into the heart of the mountain about halfway up. It looked to have columns carved into the opening, but it looked otherwise natural.

I fetched the climbing gear out of our saddlebags and we slid down the stone behemoth we were currently on in the direction of Everest. Our trek to the enormous mountain seemed like days. The sun hung over us, pounding us with heat as we struggled to climb around formations of rock, only becoming more exhausted as we got higher up the mountain. We eventually got to the cave. I collapsed in the entrance as Metalwing dragged me further in, leaning me up against the smooth wall and taking my helmet off. He retrieved a water bottle from my saddlebag and proceeded to help me drink from it. When my thirst was satisfied, he took a turn to quench his own.

We stayed in the opening of the cave overnight, holding each other closely and dreading venturing further into the expertly crafted stronghold. I slept on his shoulder with a dreamless sleep. I was unprepared to leave this world, so I would fight until I no longer could. For Metalwing, and all my friends I had made. I would not give up until death claimed its prey, taking me to my demise.

The next morning, we both set our saddlebags down in the entrance to be fortress, proceeding further into the cave. Oddly enough, torches were still burning all around, controlling the temperature and creating light. I knew they were magical flames, as they didn't look natural. They weren't consuming the torches, only dancing on them. We began walking down an enormous spiral staircase. At the bottom was an immense room full of columns made lf stone and accents of solid gold. At the end of the room was a large pedestal with a glowing Phoenix sleeping. This wasn't just any Phoenix, however. This one was enormous. It took up the whole pedestal.

I approached the sleeping creature with my chakram out. I quietly used magic to spin the circular weapon at a high velocity, like a saw blade, only faster. I moved it quickly to the creature's talon and sliced off one of the large claws, snatching it. The bird's eyes opened as it stood up and looked down at me. It examined its talon, missing a black claw that I was holding. Metalwing took the claw and chakram from me and stuffed them in his armor. He grabbed my hoof and ran as I looked back to see the flames on the creature grow more and more intense. It started blasting flames that the structure propelled toward us as we ascended the spiral staircase.

Metalwing barely made it out in time as I felt flames start to consume me. They wrapped around me as everything started to slow down to a snail's pace. I saw Metalwing looking back at me, desperately trying to pull me out of the flames before I burnt to a crisp. My vision gradually lightened until all I saw was white. Everything fell silent. I started to hear the sound of an air conditioner as what I saw faded from white to black. I opened my eyes and saw the ceiling of my room, from before I went to Equestria.

Had it all been a dream? Was all I did there simply my own imagination at work? I walked out of my room into the kitchen, seeing notes attached to the refrigerator.

"Hey, it's your mom... you haven't been home with us for the past few days... is everything okay? Love you, sweetie, hope we see you soon!"

I flipped to the next note.

"Hey, it's dad. Your mother worried sick about you. I know you're a grown man now and you're essentially taking care of us, but at least give us a call or something if you ever read this."

I started to tear up as I flipped to the third and final note.

"It's your mom. Dad was just taken to the hospital. His condition overall is getting worse... please, as soon as you read this, call or something. We're so, so worried about you. Your stuff it still in your room, so I assume you haven't moved out."

I rushed to my room to grab my cell phone and dialed my mother's number. I heard ringing for a good solid two minutes before my grandmother picked up.

"Where have you been?" She asked with a sniffle.

I responded, "That's a really long story... what happened to mom and dad? Are they okay?"

"A few minutes ago, they passed away... they contracted an unknown disease and they... they..." she was clearly crying.

I froze, my eyes widening. I hadn't been there for them. I didn't get to be with them in their last moments. I dropped the phone and scrambled down the hall into the utility room, grabbing the jug of ammonia. I took it to the kitchen and poured it into a glass, returning the jug to its place. I stood at the kitchen counter, starring at the glass full of ammonia. If I drank it, I would die. That would be a fitting end to someone who couldn't be there for his parents, wouldn't it?

I didn't have anything left. My friends in Equestria were now gone. I would never be able to talk with them again. I would never again be able to share my love with Metalwing. My internet friends probably thought I was dead already, if they remembered me, and I had no friends in real life. It was a perfect way to go out. Despite my own reasoning on making this choice, I still didn't bring myself to do it. I trembled as I put my hand around the glass and slowly picked it up. I opened my mouth and slowly began to move it up to my mouth when I looked down and noticed something. I was wearing a necklace on a chain. I slowly set down the glass as I examined it, I didn't remember having this necklace in this universe. The pendant was a silver double helix, tapered at either end suspending a round green crystal inside. It was identical to the necklace I wore in Equestria.

A light formed the other side of the small galley kitchen. The Equestrian guardian of balance appeared, only humanized. I looked at it, dumbfounded as I wiped my tears away. My necklace began to glow softly and levitated slightly.

"Self sacrifice is a noble thing, but not if done in vain." The ethereal being spoke in its normal soft voice.

I looked at him, "But what is there to live for?"

"You have many adventures in your chosen destiny. I can lead you to them. You restored balance by cutting the claw from the legendary deity's talon. I threw it off again by transporting you back to this universe before you died." It answered.

I dumped out the glass of ammonia into the sink, "So you mean you can bring me back?"

"I mean I will bring you back, if you are willing." It replied.

I nodded my head as the being faded away. My necklace levitated higher and grew more intense in glow. It emitted an aura that almost looked like bright green flames dancing around the sphere inside the delicate metal supports. I watched as streams of green magic flowed from the object and enveloped me completely. I felt completely relaxed as my vision faded back to white.

I woke up just like in the first day, in the field, facing the sky with Fluttershy over my head, pleading me on whether or not I was alright. This time I wasn't wearing my armor or my scarf... Or my boots. The only thing I had on me was my amulet which had transported me back.

I stood up, "We have got to stop meeting like this."

"Your necklace was glowing... Why is that?" She asked.

I looked out over the cliff, "It's a long story. Can you use your wings to carry me to Ponyville? Sugarcube Corner to be exact?"

"Oh, I-I don't know... I can try... Rainbow Dash would be better." She answered.

I looked back at her, "Rainbow Dash isn't here. Look, I'm pretty light without my armor. I'm confident that you can do this."

Fluttershy looked down, nervously.

"I know you can do this." I reassured her.

She looked at me and nodded, picking me up gently as she glided toward the corner of the market district of Ponyville. By the time we were close enough, I felt her grip slipping. But we were alsi fairly close to the ground. I saw Metalwing slowly walking while looking down at the ground in sadness. I looked at the dirt street in front of the building.

"Let go now." I told her.

She looked down at me, "Are you sure?"

I nodded and she let go of me, sending me huddling toward an open area in the street. I landed on my hooves, sending a cloud of dirt up from the road and causing a commotion among the citizens of the town. Through the dust, I saw Metalwing looking up with wide surprised eyes. I walked out of the dust, confirming it was him. My walk sped to a run as I sprinted to embrace him. His face light up as he wrapped his hooves around me and took off into the air, gently turning until we settled out into a stall in the air. He kissed me on the lips before hugging me closely.

"I thought I lost you..." Said the stallion.

I responded, "I thought I lost you too..."

The two landed gently as ponies all around started to clap. Apparently Metalwing had spread the news of my demise in his moping because there was a whole impromptu celebration with cake and everything. Although, leave it to Pinkie Pie to somehow know exactly what was going on. The party lasted late into the night before everypony went home and we had some privacy.

"I love you, Sprocket." Said Metalwing.

I returned the sentiment, "I love you too, Metalwing."

Author's Note

Because adventures always have to end in some kind of celebration, right?

This is not the end of the story, I promise

Settling Down
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Dream Come True

Settling Down

I was tinkering in my shop, something I rarely got the opportunity to do. I remembered developing my OC's- my character, having her build a small mechanical solar powered fairy as a companion. I had made the round metal chassis with small intricate mechanisms inside as well as a small computer programmed with an extremely advanced AI that would interact according to external stimulants. I had tightened the audio sensors in place and connected to the AI. I then began connecting the optical sensors and applying them to the small robot. Once it was in place, I attached four wings to it and set the whole thing on a stand. I opened the skylight above, letting light poor in. The gears began to turn inside the robot, but it wasn't working properly quite yet. I had to make it sentient.

My horn started to glow as I charged it up for my spell. I then shot a beam into the chassis, enchanting the robot with a magic spell as it ticked to life. The wings started to twitch as the spell was applied and the gears started performing different functions instead of spinning n a single direction. Upon completion of my spell, the small robot fluttered off the stand, but not outside the sunlight, as it was still charging. It turned ant looked at me for a moment. I never thought I would get the chance to interact with Gear, my OC's mechanical sidekick. He looked at me, simply fluttering for a moment. I then heard a mechanical chirp, followed by a click and a whirr.

"Hello to you too, Gear." I said.

I didn't know how, but I understood the intricate bot. I figured that it was because I designed and built him. I knew every single detail put into him down to a microscopic level. I had put not only my blood, sweat, and tears into him, I had put my heart and soul into making him just like how I imagined. I didn't have the technical know how as a human, but I definitely did as Sprocket. I now had a useful assistant I could always talk to that only I could decipher. Others would probably be able to catch onto the basic idea of what he's saying and how he's saying it, but only I had the knowledge to know exactly what he was saying. He gave me a few swift informative clicks to tell me that he was fully charged before fluttering out of the light and hovering next to me, attentively.

He followed me out the back door of my shop after I closed the skylight. Metalwing had told me he had a surprise for me for when I got home that day. If I knew him, I knew he would have something big. I walked through the streets followed by my new mechanical friend taking in stimulants for the first time. He was doing well. Way better than my first experience in Equestria, considering I walked straight off a cliff. I got to my house, opening the door a little. I peeked in, but there was nothing. Just a light on and a view into the kitchen. It looked devoid of any ponies including my significant other.

I slowly stepped inside, quietly putting one hoof in front of the other. Gear had mechanisms designed to be near silent as long as he was properly lubricated and cleaned. Which meant i needed to use a can of pressurized air and an oil can on him when he started to get squeaky. Whoop dee freakin doo, right? Though the way I designed him does make him more susceptible to damage. At least the mechanisms were securely in their places. I just dreaded having to replace any microscopic clockwork. Those bearings were an absolute pain to install.

I walked further and further into the house. I stepped up the stairs, looking further, still seeing nopony. I looked down the hall and saw the door to the home office open. This was an odd occurrence, considering this door was nearly always closed. I walked in and sitting on the keyboard of the computer was a note.

"Hey, Sprock. This note is from Metalwing, if you didn't already know that... There's a USB stick somewhere in our bedroom. Find it and it'll lead you to the next clue for the surprise. Sorry, no riddles because I couldn't really come up with anything. I was never good at that."

I giggled a bit at what the note said and proceeded to the bedroom. I walked in and began searching. I checked under the pillows, nothing. Under the matress? Nothing. Under the bed itself? Still, nothing. A crafty changeling, Metalwing was, I bet he expected me to look under those. I looked in both nightstands as well as under them. I finally opened the closet door to see the portable form of data storage hanging from a caribiner on a hanger. I unclipped it, and thanked Celestia he hadn't used a keyring. I was awful with those suckers with HANDS. I dreaded how much of a laughing stock I would be trying to get things on and off a keyring with hooves.

I went back to the home office and plugged the USB stick into the computer, booting it up to look at the contents. I had no idea how, but hooves actually worked surprisingly well on keyboards. Of course it didn't hurt that ponies were in mind when these keyboards were made. On the USB stick was a video file of Metalwing.

"Go up to the attic." he sneezed, "There's one more note, but a lot of dust, fair warning..."

I endered the attic and sure enough, there was a lot of dust. I walked through the clutter and dust until I found a note. I picked it up and read it.

"Go out front"

I bolted down the ladder, quickly closing it up and racing down the hall and stairs. I set the notes and USB stick down on the kitchen counter as I exited throught the front door and hastily stepped out into the yard to a hot air balloon landing in it. Metalwing was in the basket of the balloon with the attendant. I got in with the stallion I had fallen in love with, hugging him closely as we ascended. We got above the clouds before I realized why he didn't just use his wings. He got down on his knees and looked up at me.

"Sprocket? Will you make me the happiest stallion in the universe and marry me?" He asked.

I smiled widely, "Of course I will!"

He rejoiced and embraced me for the rest of the ride, only letting go for a short time after we landed to get out of the balloon. He then hugged me again, taking off with me and carrying me up higher than I had ever been before. I looked into his eyes before kissing him on the lips. I was so happy that he proposed to me, and it was quite a way to do so.

"Does this mean we're settling down now?" He asked.

I replied, "Are you kidding me? This just means we'll always go on our adventures with each other now. Just no quests to take any legendary creature claws, alright?"

We both laughed before enjoying the view together. The day had been my first perfect one in hopefully many to come.

Author's Note

That boyfriend I mentioned in the one author note? He was talking behind my back about how pointless our relationship was. So I broke up with him. I could go for going to Equestria as my OC to meet a changeling that genuinely loves me... in fact, that sounds way better than my life right now...

Discord
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Dream Come True

Discord

Metalwing and I had been married for weeks and were telling each other how much we loved each other non stop. He had a wing intimately wrapped around me as we began to step outside the door to the physical manifestation of pure insanity. I paused, looking at the nonsensical transformation that had somehow happened overnight. I looked at Gear and told him to get help as he fluttered out, flipping over as he exited the house. Was my home... upside down? I began to step further out of the door, my front half now feeling extremely light as I proceeded. Once I was fulky outside the door, I fell toward the ceiling of the porch.

A balloon with a face drawn on it floated in my direction, "Close the door! You're letting all the negative gravity out!"

"What?" I looked at the balloon, genuinely confused as Metalwing fell out and closed the door behind him.

The latex bladder of helium formed into an odd mix-matched creature, "Forgive me, I haven't even introduced myself... I'm Discord, the god and embodiment of all chaos!"

His voice... it sounded just like... it WAS Que from Star Trek: The Next Generation. That was going to get frustrating. Not that I didn't like the voice, it was a great voice, but I would have a hard time with names. I looked up at Que with another confused expression and meant Discord.

"Oh, you're the pony I decided- er... will decide? I will decide to grant you a wish and transport you from your universe full of humans to Equestria as your current form. Hmm... you're a beautiful pony... were you a beautiful human?" Spoke the odd creature.

I looked at him, slightly more relaxed, "Actually, I was a guy... this current form is actually a character I thought of and I suppose as her, I'm a part of this universe now."

"Oh, a change of sex as well? How interesting I will be! Tell me what you've done in and to this universe! I must know!" Exclaimed Que- er... Discord.

I looked at him, "Wait, you're still a villain, aren't you? You're evil?"

"What? Me? Evil?" He made a sad anime-like expression, "Why in the world would you think such a thing?"

I spoke, "Put my house back."

"What?"

"Prove you're not evil, put my house back."

The draconequus laughed loudly, leaning back as he floated. Clearly, he wasn't going to put my house back without a kind of motivation. I had been experimenting with magic and had learned how to teleport my chakram to me at will. He was distracted from me through laughter as my circular weapon materialized next to me. I spun it as I swiftly moved the disk a few inches from the creature's nose.

"Let me rephrase. Put my house back, or else."

Discord's eyes opened as his smile changed to a shocked frown. He obliged to my request and I dematerialized my weapon into its minidimension I had magically created. Metalwing and I ran out and slipped on the road made of... soap water? This day just kept getting weirder and weirder. Metalwing flew as I used my alternate robotic legs I could easily switch out to control my trajectory across the slippery streets. I got to the town hall and jumped, being attracted by the opposite gravity of the building. I opened the door to flickering lights when I heard a voice.

"S-Sp-Sprocket?" Squeaked the female voice.

I looked in the direction of the sound, "Mayor Mare, are you okay? What happened?"

"Dis-Disc..." stuttered the terrified pony.

I comforted her before exiting through the other side of town hall and jumping from uprooted piece of earth to other uprooted piece of earth. They were all twisted in odd directions with their own unique force of gravity. Que was probably laughing his pants off and on watching me stumble to navigate the nonsensical environment. I eventually found my way to the library where I thought I would find the mane six to alert them. Instead of the six ponies of contrasting personalities, I found a flock of sheep... all bouncing around all over the walls. I sat in the middle of the library full of hyperactive bouncing sheep, feeling hopeless. Was this Ponyville now?

I let the sheep all bounce out of the library, following them and hearing what sounded like a firey puke. Poor Spike must've been sick while all this was traspiring. Metalwing swooped in and picked me up, flying me far up and setting me down on a pink cloud. I flinched as I thought I was going to fall through, but it was solid as the usual ground. I looked at the cloud and realized it was made of a fuzz-like material. This cloud was made of cotton candy. I magically ripped some off and put it in my mouth. Sure enough, it was a strawberry flavored cotton-like edible fluff. It was soft, extremely soft, and it felt warm to the touch. Metalwing landed next to me to comfort me, wrapping a protective wing around my side and sweetly rubbing me.

Disque's laugh boomed across the thoroughly molsted landscape as a rainbow fired up and arced toward him, firing a bright light in every direction. When everything cleared, the town was back to normal. I stood there on the ground, dumbfounded as I starred at the statue of Discord laughing. The mane six landed on the ground a few meters from it. Metalwing was on a cloud above me, having the same reaction. As ponies cheered, I had no idea what to do, so I began to snicker. I started to giggle as ponies gathered around the mane six. I threw my head back , chuckling. Eventually, I fell back with an all out belly laugh, genuinely tickled by the absurdity of what happened that day.

I regained my composure as Metalwing arrived next to me, "So what now?"

"Well, I could go for some more cotton candy..." I stated.

We both chuckled as we made our way to the market district.

Author's Note

Because Discord is hilarious. That's why this chapter...

Yeah, that's why this chapter. No need to continue that sentence.

Something Lost, Something Gained
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Dream Come True

Something Lost, Something Gained

I walked down the stairs of my house, stepping down into the kitchen to see Metalwing cooking breakfast. I followed my usual routine of making espresso with milk and agave nectar in it. Sitting down at the table, I was given delicious food. Perfectly scrambled eggs, amazingly done toast, and delectibly crispy hash browns. I dug in, Metalwing's food was always amazing. Within ten minutes, I had finished and was relaxing, laying back in the chair.

"Hey Sprocket, when you came back, did your amulet disappear?" Asked Metalwing.

I replied, "No, it didn't..."

I looked down, not seeing the intricate pendant strung around my neck with a thin silver chain. My eyes widened. I looked up at Metalwing and began trembling in my seat. This could not have been happening. My amulet was gone! It wasn't around my neck!

"I-it probably slipped off in bed. Yeah, it's in or around the bed..." I stammered.

I bolted up the stairs and into the bedroom, quickly using magic to levitate every object in the room and search it for the item. I came up with nothing; I had lost something of immense sentimental value to me, and I had no idea how to find it. I collapsed as I put everything back. Metalwing walked in, seeing my shocked and worried expression.

He comforted me, "Hey, don't do that. We'll find it, I know we will."

"No... It's gone... It's gone and I'm the only one to blame." I started to tear up.

He wrapped his wings around me as he hugged me, "It has magical properties, right? I'm sure it fell off during the Discord incident. Twilight collects mysterious objects with magical properties when she finds them like that, I'm sure. Let's go to the library and ask her about it."

We rushed out the front door, making a sprint to the library. I knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Nervously, I knocked again, but to no avail. One more try lead to nothing in the way of an answer. Metalwing looked at me sympathetically as I sat at the structure carved out of a tree and waited. Soon, she came with saddlebags full of books. We helped her carry the heavy objects inside before asking her about my amulet.

"Hey, Twilight? Did you happen to find a magic amulet? It looks like a double helix tapered at either end with a crystal sphere suspended in it." I nervously probed.

She looked at me confused, "Yes, actually... I immediately shipped it off to Celestia and Luna's castle in Canterlot."

My eyes widened as I froze. Metalwing put a hoof on my shoulder. Twilight looked at me concerned. I shook a bit as I started to breathe erratically, worried about the fate that might come of my previous amulet.

"Are you... okay?" Asked the purple unicorn.

I started walking around the room, nervously, "No, no I'm not okay. I dropped my amulet and now it's on its way to Canterlot Castle."

"I can get you another amulet..."

"I don't want just any amulet, I want that amulet. I went through a lot with my friends in order to get that little necklace and I am not going to give it up to Equestria Laboratories so they can deconstruct it and see w hat's inside!"

I rushed out the door to the train station followed by my loyal changeling spouse and bought two tickets to Canterlot, boarding the train and heading out. I had bought express tickets, so it took less than an hour to get to the large city. When we stepped out of the train, I spotted an armored vehicle driving down a nearby street, protected by guards escorting it.

I approached one of the guards, "What's going on here?"

"There's an amulet in this AV. It's predicted to have a lot of magical power. We're taking it to Equestria Laboratories to find out why." Said the guard.

I retorted, "You can't do that. See, that's my amulet and I dropped it in Ponyville during that whole Discord thing..."

"Does that story check out?" The guard asked the driver of the vehicle.

The driver responded, "Sure does. Twilight Sparkle found it on the ground shortly after Ponyville was returned to normal and shipped it to the castle."

"Listen, pretty. I can't just open the vehicle and give you back your necklace. We still have to figure it out. But if it makes you feel better, you can follow us into the laboratory and make sure nothing happens to it that you don't want it to. Alright?" Informed the guard.

I sighed, "Fine..."

"Did you just call my wife... pretty? Listen, I'd prefer it if you hit on somepony who's not-" Metalwing's sentence was cut off by an explosion next to the vehicle, tearing a hole in it and toppling it down.

The metal structure had fallen around me. The explosion tore a hole completely through the steel truck. My back legs were trapped under part of it, my robotic one keeping the natural one from being crushed. Dazed, I looked around and saw a case clipped to the rear of the cargo area. On the case was a picture of my amulet. I pulled out my natural leg and tried to get my synthetic one out. It really hurt, but I realized I could teleport it into the separate dimension, so that's what I did. I brought it back to return to having four legs after I was freed. Looking up, I saw a cloaked figure hit me with something. My vision went black and my ears rang.

When I could see again and the ringing stopped, Metalwing was pulling me out of the fallen automobile. I looked around as I climbed out. I looked down into the hole at the case, or the lack thereof. I wasn't surprised that my amulet was gone, but I was still angry.

"Who was in there other than me?" I asked.

One guard replied, "Must be that thief that's been causing trouble..."

"I want to know everything you know about them." I stated.

The guard argued, "We can't give out information to you, it's a top secret operation that only the royal guard and anypony who has an attachment to the case that knows."

"That's my amulet! There's my attachment!" I snapped.

The captain of the team spoke up, "The thief's a she. She's been reported around the market district, in the alleys."

"She's part of the black market?" I asked.

He replied, "Yeah. And none of us are alowed to go there. Though you could help us out."

"Im in as long as I get my necklace back."

The captain nodded and gave me a map of Canterlot with the market district circled. I made my way there, followed by Metalwing and spied on by the royal guard. When I arrived, it was crowded and full of ponies buying and selling. I folded up the map and poofed it away into my minidimension. I scanned the crowd, having no success at finding who stole the item until I caught a glimpse of a hooded mare walking into an alley nearby. I waited a few moments and followed her. Metalwing stood outside the alley, guarding it behind me.

Outside a fire escape was a table with various questionable items. There were the standard drugs, and illegally acquired weapons, but there were also severed unicorn horns and pegasus wings. I sneered, looking at the expertly cleaned parts, imagining how some ponies probably woke up fairly concerned if they woke up at all. A cloaked mare slid down the ladder and stood behind the table.

She spoke with a Manehattan accent, "What can I getcha? I've got weed, shrooms, weapons. For a limited time, I've got lucky severed parts. Yeah, you could fly with those wings."

"Anything like magic items?" I nonchalantly spoke.

She locked her icy blue eyes with mine, pausing for a second, "Ya came to the right place. Follow me up this ladder."

She climbed up the ladder of the fire escape followed by me. We walked into the living room of her apartment where she had set up many magic items on display. There were gems, emitting glows that signified different properties, wands of different shapes and sizes, hoof rings, tiaras, horn rings, even wing rings, which I didn't even realize existed. I scanned the items until my view locked on my necklace. I aproached it and was about to pick it up when the mare put her hoof on mine, locking eyes with me again.

"Aaaahhh haha, that one's already reserved. You can look at anything else here though." She nervously informed.

I deadpanned at her, "How much?"

"It's reserved, so drop it." She said.

I glared, "How much?"

"Listen, I like you, so my client's lookin to buy it for 100,000 bits. If you can gimme double that, it's yours." She replied.

I said, "You don't understand, I NEED that necklace."

"I agree, it suits you very well. Even matches your eyes. So 200,000 and you can have it." She remarked.

I replied, "I don't have that much on me."

"How about 150,000?" She offered.

I'd had it at that point, I materialized my chakram and aimed it at her throat, "How about give me back my damn necklace?"

"Whoa whoa whoa! We can work it out. Listen, I was on contract to get it for somepony by the name of Killer. He wanted the thing and said he'd pay me that much." She informed.

My eyes narrowed as she snatched up one of the wands and tried to blast me with it. I dodged and picked up a rune, generating a shield. We circled for a moment when I channeled the shield into a pulse that sent her out the window, crashing into her table below. I dropped the rune and jumped down, tackling the miraculously still intact mare. I raised my chakram, poised to stike.

Her eyes widened as she looked above. I saw a shadow pass over us and disappear as if... going into her house!

I stuck my chakram in the table through her cloak, pinning her against the display, "Stay here."

I climbed back up the ladder to see a brown alicorn putting my necklace on. He turned around, making eye contact with me before flying out and sending me falling off the fire escape and being caught midair by Metalwing. He brought me to a soft landing on the ground for me to look at the cloaked mare.

"You're going to tell us where he's going." I spoke calmly.

She snickered, "Nah, I don't wanna do that."

"Well do you want to die?" I spun the circular weapon slowly, pulling her clock and in turn her closer to the blades.

She shot me a terrified look, "Okay! Okay! I'll show you!"

I stopped and released her, dematerializing my weapon. She got up, trembling and began to lead us to where the alicorn had headed. We went through a system of alleys full of shifty ponies selling various taboo commodities. We arrived at a house, which looked surprisingly well kept. She knocked on the door and a series of locks could be heard opening on the other side. The same brown alicorn stuck his head out.

"You... I've gotcher payment. Who are these flankholes?" He spoke in a southern accent.

She responded, "They're with me. They're cool."

"Cool, huh? Then I don't reckon that fight was serious?" He asked.

She chuckled a bit, "Nah, it's fine."

He scoffed a bit and opened the door, letting the three of us in and abruptly shutting it behind us. Inside was as visually clean as outside, if a little dark. There was a smell of cigarette smoke all around, making it unpleasant to breathe. There was a corkboard with various wanted posters tacked on. It was obvious that this man was a bounty hunter. He likely wasn't one of the more respectable ones, judging by the fact that he was working with a thief and black market dealer.

We followed him into his living room where a silver case was laying on the coffee table. We looked at it and looked back at him. I starred at him right in the eyes.

"Something up?" He asked.

I remarked, "Pretty awkward situation to be talking to a mare who's dealer stole that amulet from, huh?"

"Heh... heh... hahaha! So that's why she brought you two along. Listen, I've got a poster with a pretty high bounty on your head. If you leave without the necklace, I can forget about the bounty. If you're not gonna leave, well, that's a different story." The stallion threatened.

I stepped toward him, "Then I guess we're at an impass."

"How about twice my dealer's pay? Would you leave me for that?" Asked the alicorn.

I glared, "I'll leave with your head."

Killer fired a blast which I dodged. A gaping hole opened in the wall behind me. I brought out my weapon and fired it at him. He ducked and pulled out a knife. I dematerilized my chakram and prepared a pulse as he began to lunge at me. The mare tackled me and Metalwing, teleporting us out and back to her apartment. The rune she had used then shattered.

"Are you crazy!?!?" Screamed the pony.

I yelled back, "I want that thing back!!!"

"Well then too bad. None of us get what we want." She climbed out the window and sat on the fire escape, obviously crying.

My eyes widened as I followed her and sat next to her, "Hey, I'm sorry. I should've been more rational."

"You know why I wanted that money?" She asked.

I looked at her eyes, "W-why?"

"It was my ticket to a new start. I could get rid of my illegal stuff, pay off my felonies, and then live a normal life." She sniffed.

I put a hoof on her shoulder, "Hey, it's okay. You'll get another chance. And if we turn that guy in, we could get you a pardon."

"No, we can't turn Killer in. He'll hunt us down." She said.

I turned her toward me, "He'll have a life sentence. And they'll use magic dampeners."

Within a few hours, we had all the illegal and stolen items freely transferred to another dealer who didn't care. We then began planning our actions. I slipped out to tell the royal guard what we were thinking.

"You're going to do WHAT!? Whith who!?" The guard spoke, shocked.

I put one hoof on his shoulder, "I just need some armor and two swords. So we're prepared to take him on."

The captain gave me the armor. It was much like mine. I walked back into the alley and climbed up the ladder, dumping the weapons and armor in the window and materializing my normal armor. The two put on the armor and equipped the shiethed swords. I used magic to teleport us back to the bounty hunter's home. I charged up my horn for a blast, releasing it into the front door which flew into the structure. The shocked bounty hunter looked around the corner for me to send another pulse in, incapacitating him. Royal guards showed up with formal pardoning paperwork and took Killer in. We searched the alicorn's whole house, not finding the amulet.

I was sitting outside the house when the mare walked up to me, "Sorry we couldn't find it..."

"Gave up a memory of old friends for a new friend. I think that's a good trade. I'm Sprocket, by the way." I answered.

"Iron Forger." She said.

Iron and I talked for the rest of the evening, to possibly still get the amulet back. For the time being, I didn't really care.

Author's Note

This one was made when I was looking for a quick plot in a story writing guide I got about two years ago for eight bucks. It's a pretty good guide.

As you might imagine, the amulet will continue to be an important reference in the story. Maybe I should post a blog explaining what it really is.

Metalwing's Old Friends
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Dream Come True

Metalwing's Old Friends

I sat on my porch, feeling the soft breeze as Metalwing gently twisted the back of my mane into a braid. I had let it get long since I got to Equestria and I wanted to do something with it other than just let it sit there on the back of my neck. When metalwing finished the braid, he put a beautiful pink flower on the bottom, using its stem to hold my mane in place. He began placing smaller blue flowers in various places on the braid to accent the pink one. When he finished, he showed me in the mirror. I smiled at the elegant looking hair style my significant other had created.

Metalwing spoke softly, "You know, Sprocket, I haven't introduced you to my friends from the Royal Guard yet. I think that would be an appropriate thing for the second year of you being here."

"That sounds great! Wow, I can't believe it's already been a year." I replied.

He set the mirror down, "I know, it seems like it was just a few days ago when you landed on the ground in front of me when I thought you were gone."

"Yeah, I could go for meeting your friends. I probably do need to meet some ponies I can call friends, Iron is a great mare, but I literally have six other friends other than her." I said.

He responded, "You have me, Sprocket."

"You're way more than a friend, Metalwing." I told him.

He smiled as he picked me up and took off, flying toward the train station. We landed at the ticket box, which surprisingly had no line of ponies waiting to buy their train tickets. He bought the two tickets to Canterlot before we stepped aboard. When we took our seats, the iron vehicle screamed down the track toward the enormous city known as Canterlot. We had been there enough that at this point, it almost seemed trivial to take a trip to the majestic environment which seemed to have faded in beauty since that first time.

We stepped off the stopped structure into the city. I followed Metalwing through several turns, not knowing exactly where we were going. We were proceeding toward the castle, stepping within the wall's gate. Metalwing took a turn left, so I turned and caught up with him. I looked forward, seeing the Royal Guard base. Metalwing stood at the gate, watching it open as several guards in uniforms looked up at him. I folllwed him to a barrack with four ponies inside.

"Couldn't miss your face anywhere, how have you been, Metal?" Spoke a strong pegasus.

Metalwing replied, "You wouldn't believe how crazy this last year's been with this one." He gestured at me.

"You must be Sprocket." The scrawny unicorn said, "I'm Twig, the squad's strategist."

The pegasus informed, "I'm Lightning Strike, the soldier."

"I'm Malana, the medic." The female pegasus spoke up.

The earth pony chimed in, "I'm Dead Center, the captain. And yes, Metalwing, I'm a captain now."

"So you're who Metalwing was in the service with?" I asked.

Dead smiled, "We changed Metal's opinion on ponies. Because of us, he doesn't just want to feed on them."

"Oh." I paused.

Metalwing pulled out a picture of my amulet, "She lost a necklace that looks like this in an odd twist of events. Have any of you seen it?"

The five ponies exchanged looks, shaking their heads and shrugging. They clearly knew nothing about my charm. I sighed as I looked down, disappointed about my token of friendship being nowhere to be seen. The squad promised they would keep an eye out and an ear to the ground. We began to walk out when a pony in full armor with the pendant showing walked past me. My eyes widened as I began to chase them and they gradually gained speed. I wondered how they could be so fast in that armor.

"Stop!!! That's my necklace!!!" I screamed as I pursued the mystery pony.

We turned a corner and I slid into a pile of cases as they got away. I climbed over the fallen cases, seeing sodiers staring at me. I sighed as Metalwing put his hooves around me. I began crying softly on his shoulder. I was so close, but I couldn't get it. Metalwing's old squad approached.

Dead Center spoke, "We're missing a set of advanced armor. I'm guessing that pony that had your necklace took it."

"You have ways of tracking them, right?" Asked Metalwing.

Twig responded, "Yep, one reason only a moron would steal one of the suits like that."

We looked at the screen of the small device Twig was holding. There were several red dots on the map of Canterlot displayed. One was flashing in an alley. It was oddly staying in the same place. We headed out, proceeding to the area. When we got there, the set of armor stood empty in the area. Spray painted on the armor was the phrase, "looking for something?"

Twig ran up to it an looked at the back of the neck, "The amplifier chip is gone... What would they want with an amplifier chip?"

"My necklace, it's not easily activated by ponies other than me, but enough magic can activate it on anypony." I replied.

He looked at me, "So you think they're going to try to use your amulet?"

"Yeah... Equestria Laboratories has a magic reflector, right? What would happen if a pony were to put the chip in that?" I asked.

Twig's eyes widened, "Oh no..."

We all began to run to the large structure, seeing a cloaked pony run inside. We stood for a moment when a mech made of pure green magic burst from the prestigious facility. The six of us ran as the mech began rampaging toward us. I began to think as I ran. There had to be a way for me to take back my amulet. I was the true owner of it, so I should've been able to easily take back my possession.

I stopped running, going into a slide as I spun around to look at the violent mech. I wasn't going to let it cause anymore death. I glared intensely as I charged my horn. I braced for the intense burst of energy I was about to send out. I let loose as my horn sparked painfully, sending out a small pulse and magical green flames began to dance around it. I had failed to send my magic. My fear began to grow uncomfortably as I had no choice but to welcome death while the mech approached me.

Suddenly, Metalwing picked me up, flying around and up atop one of the tall buildings as the mech continued to rampage through the city, causing much chaos. My eyes teared up as I watched my mech controlled by a different pony, not saving lives but ending them. Metalwing wrapped a wing around me. I didn't know how the pony knew what my amulet did, and I didn't even know how they knew what it was.

I felt the magical flames on my horn blocking any magic. I remembered in internet roleplays when that had happened. The solution then was to calm down and put no intense negative emotions into my magic, but I had no idea how hard it really was. I tried to teleport to another roof, feeling sharp pain shoot from my horn down all the way over my body. I collapsed, waiting for the pain to fade. I let out a bloodcurdling scream. Shakily, I stood up when the pain had ended. Why had I thought of such a terrible disadvantage?

The mech destroyed all ways out of the city as it jumped out and made off. We had to stop it before it devastated another city.

Author's Note

This one is pretty eventful, huh?

The Mech
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Dream Come True

The Mech

I watched the mech with its trail of destruction following it. The sight was almost surreal, seeing one of my own imagined creations being controlled by another. The crafty pony clearly felt strong apathy toward the law. All they really wanted to do was cause massive destruction and chaos. What could they possibly want to accomplish by mutilating Equestria?

I didn't have time to think about the motive of the current pilot of the mech. I needed to think of a way to stop this. It was my mess, so it was my job to clean it up. I still felt the flames dancing on my horn, blocking my magic, so I couldn't do anything without first calming down. I breathed slowly and steadily, closing my eyes. I focused on the fact that if I didn't do something, many innocent ponies would die because of me. This didn't calm me down, as I opened my eyes quickly and nearly vomited off the edge of the tall building.

Suddenly, I felt a hoof on my shoulder. I looked over, expecting to see Metalwing, but instead gazed upon the apparition of a white pony with blue hair and blue eyes. He was taller than Metalwing and looked a good twenty years older. I wondered who he was, but his presence somehow calmed me instantly. It was as if he knew me for years. I thought that maybe he was someone from my past, but I hadn't been in the human world in a long time, and my memory didn't serve me well. The stallion took his hoof off of my shoulder and placed it on the ground next to his other front hoof. He leaned forward and kissed my forehead as a parent would.

I felt magic power surge through me. My eyes glowed brightly, casting the immediate area in a jade colored light as the stallion faded away. I began to feel the wind again, and became fully alert. My horn formed a layer of magic which lit to match my eyes. Another layer seemed to form over it, followed by one more. The magic power flowing through me was almost painful. I wanted to use it right away to get rid of the unpleasant feeling flowing through me. I channeled the magic through the horn and watched an emerald lighting bolt arc across the sky and hit the mech directly. The magic left me as my ears rang loudly and I fell backward.

I looked up at the sky as Metalwing picked me up in his front legs. He yelled something worriedly, which I couldn't decipher due to the ringing in my ears. I put my hoof up to his face, trying to let him know that I was okay as my vision narrowed. The dark vignette took up more and more of my sight until I blacked out. I saw nothing but a dark abyss. It had swallowed me and separated me from any external influence. I was left completely and utterly alone with nothing but the high pitched noise in which only I could hear. The ringing faded to silence, leaving me to my own thoughts, or now, lack thereof. I couldn't remember anything anymore. I didn't even know my own name. I had one floating around in my head: Metalwing. Was THIS my name? I didn't know if I had wings, or if they were made of metal, but I was curious to find out.

I heard something. It was a indistinct echo which sounded somewhat like a voice. I didn't know what it said, but as it sounded again, I determined that yes, it was in fact a voice. The speaking was accompanied by a steady beep, as if some form of device was built simply for the purpose of making a repetitive high pitched noise. I wondered who would make some sort of device. I certainly wouldn't, as that would become very aggravating and it was even starting to wear on my nerves now. I opened my eyes to see a room full of several ponies. Some were wearing scrubs and surgical masks. A hospital room! I was in a hospital room, and I was in the bed at that. The incessant beeping must've been a heart monitor.

"Okay. My heart's obviously beating, can we turn that off?" I requested.

The closest pony picked me up and wrapped his front legs around me. I didn't know who he was, but he looked and seemed nice enough. I moved my seemingly heavy front limbs around him, returning the hug.

He spoke, "Oh my Celestia, Sprocket. I thought you were a goner. You over exerted yourself, but three days later and you're just fine!"

"Sorry, but who exactly is Sprocket, and do I know you?" I asked him.

He responded, looking into my eyes, "You're Sprocket, and I'm Metalwing, your husband. Sprock, are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay. I can't remember a thing... not even so much as who I am." I began to cry, not remembering my life was pure agony.

He guided me out of the hospital and to what I assumed was our house. He then sat me down and began to prepare a meal. I silently sat as he went on and on about who I was and what had happened since he met me. He told me that when we came together, he had a dream come true.

Author's Note

Enough positive feedback and I'll make a sequel. Let's say up to about 40 total upvotes, disregarding downvotes.

Equestrian Exploration
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Dream Come True

Equestrian Exploration

I woke up early in the morning. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon, but I wanted to go out and explore the world that was now my home. I stretched as I leaned over and rolled off my bed onto my hooves. I had begun to become accustomed to my new pony body. I moved it far more naturally and smoothly than the day I woke up in the field. And ponies took notice in my improvement. They all seemed less uncomfortable around me.

I picked up a sticky note pad and a pencil with magic. For whatever reason, magic wasn't a problem for me to use. It's like I always knew how to use it, but I just didn't for whatever reason. I wrote a note about going to explore to put on the front desk at my shop, so my employees would know why I was out. I put on my usual armor, necklace, scarf, and boots. I then retrieved my saddlebags, which I had packed on the previous day. I walked outside with the sticky note and walked into my shop, sticking it on the desk at the front of the shop. I then set out on an adventure.

I got to the train station, purchasing a ticket to Canterlot. Once the tickets were passed to me, I took a seat next to a window on the train. I set my saddlebags down next to me as I looked out the window at the magestic landscape of oversaturated complimentary colors. The mountain in the distance had a city perched on it that looked like something from ancient myhs, maybe somewhat like Mount Olympus. The city's name was Canterlot. That's where I was going first.

Before long, the train began to move. It was a surprisingly smooth ride. I figured I would have to hold my saddlebags to keep them from shaking out of the seat, but they were just fine. I watched the landscape move to the right relatively. I had always found something so peaceful about landscapes moving past when I was in motion. I saw a few pegasi in the sky, dissolving clouds, making way for the sun. It was scheduled to be a clear day. After a few minutes, I realized the mane six themselves were on the train as well, in the car in front of my own. I stuck my head out the window to see Pinkie Pie being herself. I listened in on what they were talking about. There was going to be a wedding.

I had never been to a royal wedding before. I only knew that I had connections with a royal guard, so I would be able to get in no problem. I returned to the inside of the train and closed the window. Soon, we approached the entrance to be enchanting city, which was protected by a magical shield, keeping out changelings. I remembered the episode, but before that moment, I had no idea this was THAT royal wedding. I dreaded being in Canterlot for the weekend, as it was going to be stressful.

The magical barrier gave way to the train and everypony inside. We passed through safely, but changelings couldn't get through. My worry was interrupted by the majesty of the immense city. There were visuals in the show of this being a large city with beautiful architecture, but nothing could've prepared me for the beauty of this enormous city. The building towered over us with bold designs, every color coordinated with each other, and the landscape work was extremely meticulously manicured.

What really struck me was how pristine the whole environment was. The buildings were spotless. Back in Ponyville, the structures nearly always had a little damage and the occasional graffiti tag. I had to paint over some profane artwork on my own shop once, but these pieces of architectural art didn't look like they even once had to be restored to their former glory. Every single structure looked brand new and pristine.

When the train stopped, I carried my saddlebags out and looked around. I saw Flutters and Dash step out of the train and waved a hoof nonchalantly for them to silently greet me as well. I walked further into the massive city, looking for a hotel. I found that admission was open for staying in the castle. Having more bits than I knew what to do with, I payed for a room and was escorted to a luxurious room my a very attractive stallion. I flashed him a slightly suggestive blushing look as I walked in, brushing up against him flirtatiously. I had wanted to be of the opposite sex and did find attraction with both for a while as a human, but now my preference largely for females had changed to being attracted to both about equally, and this stallion really caught my eye.

I watched him blush as his concentration on remaining stone faced was broken and he looked at me nervously. It was like he had never seen a mare before, come on, dude. It's not like I'm Nightmare Moon or something.

I smiled, "You're cute when you blush."

"I-umm... I shouldn't be talking on the job if unnecessary..." He replied nervously.

Setting my saddlebags down, I approached him, "Well, are you off the job tonight?"

"Y-yes ma'am... I am..." The stallion informed, still shaken up.

I kissed his cheek a bit, "How about we meet in the courtyard tonight when you get off?"

The stallion's wings moved upward and stiffened, "I would... I'd like that... yeah..."

"Thought you might... my name's Sprocket. How about yours?" I asked.

He said, "Sproc- oh, umm... not Sprocket..." he let out a nervous laugh, "I'm Metalwing... Sprocket is a nice name..."

I thanked him as I complimented his and shut the door gently. I quietly celebrated my score. I knew I had just made the stallion's day. I remember being rejected so many times by girls as a human boy. I felt good that I didn't have to be one of those little jerks who lets a man confess his feelings before crushing them into a million pieces.

I looked through my saddlebags, seeing I had no dresses. I wanted to look pretty for Metalwing, so maybe I would have a chance at him. I exited the room, taking not of the fact that my new crush had left the hall. I made my way outside the castle. I walked through the streets until I found a dress shop with beautiful fabric artworks in the wearable form in the window. I walked in, attracting the attention of all lf the employees, as I did not look like a pony who wears dresses. A mare walked up to me as the others resumed their work.

"Hello there miss! You look lost, did you walk into the wrong store?" She asked me in a slightly narcissistic tone.

I replied, "Nope, unless this isn't a dress shop. Don't be condescending to me. I'm smarter than you think."

"Oh! Well we are running a dress shop, but these are a bit pricy for a pony of your... class... to put it bluntly..." She spoke to me in a false sympathetic tone.

I looked at her like she was an idiot to put her in her place, "What's the most expensive dress you've got?" Several employees looked up, shocked at the proposition.

She spoke as two ponies wheeled out a white dress with complex layering, delicate lace work, decorative looking flowers, and pearls in various places, "This is our mkst expensive and beautiful dress. It's 50000 bits. Would you like to try it on?"

"Too complicated. There's just so much there that the eyes can't focus on any one thing without being distracted by another. I could easily pay for that, but I don't want it. I'm sure one of your simpler dresses will be no problem." I replied.

The three employees' jaws dropped. They looked at each other and whispered. One of them nodded as the two who had rolled out the elaborate garment moved jt to its original position and went to grab another. They came out with a much simpler, far more visually appealing black dress with pleating around it. There was subtle lace work around the waist area and a silky material with ruffles to hold the dress.

She smiled confidently at me, "This is one of our more simple black dresses that still has details to it. It's 2000 bits."

"Hmm, for that price, thjs one is way more tempting to me. It's a beautiful dress, but I'd like something that lightens my complexion. Black would darken it." I said.

The two employees nodded at each other before leaving with the beautiful clothing item and coming back with a breathtaking white one. It looked very similar to Fluttershy's dress from the episode where Rarity made a line for the mane six, only this was more stylized and made of a silky white material.

The mare looked at me, "This is a slightly more complex design than the last. It's based off of a design by Rarity herself for Fluttershy. It's 6000 bits."

"That's perfect... I want to try it on..." I replied.

The dress fit me perfectly, and it made me look beautiful. I was so happy that I had gotten such a beautiful dress for my first. It was put in an odd looking bag for me to take back to my room with me. When I got there, I took a warm bath, cleaning the oil stains off of myself that had built up from working in my shop. I dried myself after cleaning, stepping out of the bathroom and slipping the dress on. I cleaned my golden boots until they glistened in the light. I had no idea they were so shiny before that moment.

I slipped them on and looked in the mirror. I looked stunningly beautiful. If I were somepony else, I would've kissed me. Heck, even if I were the human me, I'd kiss the pony me when looking like this. I looked absolutely beautiful. I didn't remember ever seeing myself like this. I rubbed my front right leg against the front left one. The fur felt extremely soft.

I had been thinking about that night all afternoon and ended up losing track of time. I looked out the window and it was dark out. I happily walked out of my room and made my way to the courtyard. There, I saw Metalwing waiting. His long, dark blue hair laying down, uncovered by his helmet. I walked up calmly from behind the bench he was sitting at, making my way around it and sitting next to him and giving him a good look at me in the process.

"You are the most beautiful mare I've ever seen..." He said to me in a dreamy tone.

I smiled at him sweetly, "Thank you. You're the most handsome stallion I've ever seen."

"I... have a bit of a confession to make about that..." He timidly responded.

I laughed a bit, "What? You use hair extensions? If that's the worst you've got-"

He interrupted me, calmly speaking, "I created this image with my own imagination... this isn't really how I look... Now please don't freak out. I'm a changeling... but I'm not like the others. I'd rather starve than feed on other ponies' love and make them think I'm somepony else."

"Oh... That's surprising, but hey. You still seem to have a really nice personality. I still like you." I replied.

We kissed that night and he ended up sleeping with me in my room that night. I took him back to Ponyville with me when he resigned from the royal guard. I taught him a bit about machines and he taught me a bit of shapeshifting magic. I didn't realize normal ponies could do it. Changelings are just a whole lot better at it. It took me a lot of practice, but I eventually got it.

Author's Note

Sorry it had a less eventful story than it promised toward the beginning of the chapter. It's just so late right now and I'm so sleepy

Next chapter will have more though