Applebloom ran off in the direction towards Zecora's hut as fast as she could. The events of what just happened were starting to sink in. She had just witnessed an alien take down a full grown dragon, one of Equestria's most dangerous predators, within a minute and steal from it's horde. A creature with that kind of power is surely one that shouldn't be looked upon lightly. Zecora was the closest pony she could think of that could do something. Normally it would take over an hour to reach her hut from the farm, but the cave was relatively near and after a few minutes of running, the yellow filly was frantically banging on the zebra's door.

Zecora was in the process of mixing together a complex potion in her mixing pot when a sudden banging on her door startled her into nearly dropping the bottle she had in her mouth into the pot. Luckily she was able to catch it just before it went into the pot and and placed it back on her shelf. Zecora trotted up to the door to see who was banging on her door like there was a monster right outside. Zecora opened the door to a terrified Applebloom and before she could ask what caused her to be in such a panicked state the little filly started rambling in a panicked voice.

"ZECORA!!!" Applebloom yelled. "You gotta come quick! There's this weird looking alien thing up in that cave that the dragon was living in and the dragon came back while we were still in there and it tried to kill us but the alien thing had a bunch of alien weapons and it took down the dragon by making the cave's roof drop on it and when I left it was taking gold from its hoard and we need to hurry before it gets away!"

Zecora, needless to say, was dumbstruck. She was standing in the doorway looking down at the filly with wide eyes and mouth hanging open trying to process all the information Applebloom threw at her. Shaking her head to get a clear mind, Zecora asked the filly "Applebloom my dear, what is it that has caused your mind to be clouded with fear?" the zebra asked in her usual rhyming accent.

Applebloom was still breathing heavy trying to catch her breath, and she was trying to explain to her alchemist teacher what exactly went down. "Ah... ah was following this weird looking creature that got off the train in front of the forest and I followed it into a dragon's den but the dragon came back while we were still in there." Applebloom was starting to tear up from all the stress and paused for a moment to compose herself before she fell into another panic induced fit. Zecora could tell she was struggling to keep it together and placed her hoof on her shoulder.

"It is alright young Applebloom. Now tell me, how did this creature save you from certain doom?"

"It... or he ah think, its voice sounded like a stallion's. But anyway, it had these weird looking gadgets that I'm pretty sure are weapons and I don't know exactly how they work but he pointed them at the dragon and they started making this loud explosion noise and..." this part was what shook up Applebloom the most. "It charged straight at the dragon while yelling, like it wasn't even afraid one bit. I didn't see what happened after that but I remember hearing this loud boom and when I looked to see what happened the dragon was lying dead on the ground with stalagmites from the cave's roof stuck in all over his body and as I left the cave it was filling its bag with gems from the dragon's hoard."

Applebloom then started to silently weep into the zebra's chest as she hugged her tightly. Zecora slowly rubbed the filly's back in an attempt to calm her down while thinking what to do next. Alarms were going off in Zecora's head. Applebloom mentioned that she saw this thing get off a train in front of the forest, even though the closest stop would be in Ponyville, meaning that this creature had to have stolen it. Whatever this thing is, if it can take on a dragon without breaking a sweat and hijack a train then it is certainly something that is capable of doing worse, and that it needed to be captured as soon as possible. Zecora grabbed her saddlebag and filled it with potions and powders that she used to ward off timberwolves and other predators in the forest whenever she left her hut to collect ingredients.

"If what you say is true and that creature is near, then we cannot stay here. We will go to Ponyville and alert Twilight before this creature causes a major fright." Zecora said and rushed the young filly out the door and down the trail to Ponyville.

*****At the Princess of Friendship's castle*****

Twilight was pacing back and forth nervously as she was telling Spike what to write down in the letter that he was desperately trying to keep up with.

"-and I respectfully request that you send a detachment of guards to Ponyville to help look for the escaped human as soon as possible. Sincerely, Princess Twilight Sparkle."

Spike finished the last letter and sent it to Princess Celestia. "I sure do hope she responds back quickly, if we don't do something soon who knows what that thing is going to do." the young dragon stated with obvious worry in his voice.

"Me too Spike, right now that human is out there somewhere plotting who knows what." Twilight said as she still paced around the map room. Starlight Glimmer was sitting silently on one of the chairs listening to what was going on and had some questions about the whole situation.

"So wait, you mean to tell me that the Crystal Empire has a mirror that also acts as a portal to another world that is inhabited by humans, and one of these humans came through the portal and escaped custody, stole a train and is now hiding in the Everfree forest." Starlight asked. The question was enough to snap Twilight out of her trance.

"Well, yeah pretty much." Twilight admitted. After all of her trials and achievements, this incident was quite the embarrassment.

"That's strange considering that when you went through the portal it changed you into a human but when one of them came through they didn't change into a pony. I wonder why." Starlight wondered.

"That's another thing I can't figure out. Why is the change only one way? It doesn't make any sense." Twilight said growing more frustrated with the situation. There were so many questions going through her head and she had no idea on where to look for answers. As a devoted student and bookworm, she loved reading books and having answers for questions but right now she had neither a single book to read on the subject at hand or any place to answer her questions which wasn't helping with her already stressed mental state. She started to make a list of all the things that needed to be done when Spike belched out a letter with Princess Celestia's royal mark on the seal.

Starlight levitated the letter over to her and began to read it. A look of relief came upon her face as she read the letter and levitated it over to Twilight.

"Hey Twilight! You're gonna want to read this." She said as Twilight took the letter in her magic.

The same look of relief came across Twilight's face as she read the letter:

Dear Princess Twilight,

Although it worries me that this human is now on the loose in the Everfree forest, I must say that I am relieved to hear that you and your friends are unharmed, and even though he may have escaped, there is already plans in motion to recapture him. Prince Shining Armor is already on his way to Ponyville with a detachment of guards to help search for the human and should arrive by sunset. Thankfully nopony was seriously injured, two guards were found unconscious where the human was being held, most likely knocked out by the human as he made his escape. If anymore news comes up about the human please do not hesitate to inform me. Luna and I would like to be there to aid you as well but I'm afraid we have our hooves full between Canterlot and the Crystal Empire. When the human is recaptured he is to be sent to Canterlot where he will be kept safe from harm and so that he may not harm any of my subjects if he turns hostile. But please remember that even though this situation is dire, keep in mind that he is not our enemy. I wish for this situation to be solved in a peaceful manner and as the Princess of Friendship I am certain you will find a way to get through to him.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia

Princess Twilight was relieved that she would be getting some much needed help, but her nerves were still on edge because of the last part. As the Princess of Friendship making friends was her specialty but there was still a language barrier to take care of. The only way she knew how to instantly learn the language the human spoke was to cross through the portal but that was out of the question and the only pony she knew that could also speak it was Sunset Shimmer but the only way to communicate with her was the book she had.

"THAT'S IT!" Twilight yelled in excitement to herself at the sudden realization which startled both Starlight and Spike.

"What is it?" Starlight asked Twilight.

"We can use the book I use to contact Sunset Shimmer with and she can translate for us!" Twilight exclaimed. "Spike, write another letter to Princess Celestia telling her how we are going to translate. I need to go write Sunset Shimmer and tell her to be ready to translate for us." and with that Twilight ran off to fetch her book with new found hope that the chance to befriend the human wasn't completely lost.

*****SCP Foundation facility No.[REDACTED]*****

Dr. Chase was sitting in his office taking care of some reports of recent tests when he got a call over the phone.

"Dr. Chase speaking." he said into the receiver.

"Dr. Chase sir. We have a situation with SCP 7938-C."

"What is it?" the doctor asked.

"It's...It's vibrating and glowing sir."

This got the doctor's attention. From what SCP 7938-B has told him about it is that whenever it does that, it means that someone on the other side has written something and is trying to get in contact with her. This may very well be because of the D-class that was sent through yesterday. The doctor was getting excited to possibly see what was developing on the other side.

"Make sure nobody touches it. I'm coming down to look for myself." he said before hanging up the phone. Dr. Chase pulled his ID out of the computer and went down to where the book was being kept. He slid his ID through the scanner and made his way down the hallway where it was being kept along with the less dangerous SCPs and entered the room where it was in. Just like the guard said on the phone, it was vibrating with a faint glow.

"Get SCP 7938-B to the interrogation room immediately. This is a crucial moment and we cannot afford any mistakes." Dr. Chase said to the security guard and then he grabbed the book and went to the interrogation room.

Sunset was sitting on her bed inside her room, which looked similar to a college dorm, reading a book when the intercom made a buzzing noise which signaled that someone was about to come through the door. She put the book face down on the bed and sat on the edge, waiting for when they were going to come in. The past month has been rough for her. She was finally starting to rebuild her life with her friends and things were almost back to normal after the Friendship Games incident. It would seem fate had a different plan for her because not long after that these people which identified themselves as agents of the SCP Foundation took her into custody and confiscated the Canterlot High statue that served as a secret portal between Earth and Equestria. Dr. Chase walked in with two armed guards.

"Good afternoon Miss Shimmer, I hope you are doing well. I hate to disturb you but right now I need your assistance. Please, come with me and I will tell you more once we are there." Dr. Chase said.

"Okay." Sunset said glumly as she got up and followed the doctor. The personnel here were polite for the most part. They gave her an actual dorm instead of a cramped cell like some of the other people who worked here. Still, she was a prisoner none the less and if she didn't cooperate they would just drag her to wherever they wanted to take her.

"Please, have a seat." Dr. Chase said as they arrived in the interrogation room that they brought her to when she first arrived at the facility. She sat down and now it was her and the doctor who pulled out the journal she used to keep in touch with Princess Twilight and placed it down in front of her. It was vibrating with a faint glow, meaning that Twilight wrote to her. She could feel a small amount of happiness seeing that her friend didn't forget about her and she opened the book to see what she wrote:

Hey Sunset! It's Twilight. I know this is going to sound strange but I really need your help. You see, yesterday a human man came through the portal and was found unconscious. He was locked in a dungeon for safe keeping until we could interrogate him but he somehow escaped by tricking us into thinking he was dead and now he is hiding out in the Everfree forest. A plan is already underway to recapture him but we need you to act as a translator for us. I know you must have a million questions and so do I but for now I'm afraid I can't answer them. Please write back as soon as you get this message.

Sincerely,

Princess Twilight Sparkle

Sunset felt nervous now. The Foundation has been in possession of her and the portal for over a month now so the only way someone could cross through to Equestria was if they wanted someone to.

"Well Miss Shimmer? What does it say?" Dr. Chase asked.

"It says that a man was found unconscious on their side of the portal and that he escaped the dungeon they were keeping him in. They are going to try to recapture him and Princess Twilight wants me to translate for them." Sunset said.

"I see." Dr. Chase said while rubbing his chin in thought. "Well it would seem that your friend on the other side needs your assistance. I will allow you to do as she asks, under my supervision of course."

"Thank you." Sunset said while she blinked back a few tears. She was happy to hear from her friend but she couldn't shake the feeling that the Foundation has bad intentions for Equestria and that this was only the first step.

*****A few hours later at the Castle of Friendship*****

Shining Armor and the guards just arrived in Ponyville and Shining was going through the plans with his officers when Twilight and her friends came up along with Applebloom and Zecora.

"Twily!" Shining said as he embraced her, relieved that she was unharmed from when the human escaped.

"Hey big brother! I'm glad to see you. How's Cadence doing?" Twilight asked.

"She's okay. She felt better when she found out that the human wasn't dead, but given the circumstances it really isn't a reason to be celebrating. Her pregnancy is going well though. She is due in two weeks and the little one seems eager." Shining responded. Despite the circumstances, the thought that he was about to become a father filled him with pride, joy, and even a little worry.

"Well I'm glad to hear she's doing better, but right now we have a job to do, so what's the plan?" Twilight asked.

"I agree. Right now capturing that human is top priority and it's already late in the afternoon and sunset will be on us in a few hours and I don't want to be wondering around in the forest at night. That place is dangerous enough without a human running around so we need to act fast." Shining said with seriousness returning to his voice.

"Ah-hem, uh, excuse me yer highness, but ah think Applebloom has something she wants to tell ya before y'all leave, ain't that right Applebloom?" Applejack said while glaring at her younger sister. Shining Armor looked down to the little filly with a confused look, wondering what it was she had to say.

"Is that so? Well then let's hear it." Shining said.

Applebloom walked up to the prince with a shameful expression on her face. She looked back at Zecora for encouragement and the zebra smiled at her and said "Go ahead Applebloom, tell them the truth and this situation will end soon."

Applebloom nodded her head and looked back up to Shining Armor, who could see she was intimidated. "Come on now Applebloom, if there is anything you can tell me about the human, please I need to know. It will go a long way to helping us find him." Shining said to help put the young filly at ease.

Applebloom let out a sigh and started to tell the prince about her encounter with the human. When she finished her story just about everypony was staring at her, wide-eyed and mouths hanging open.

"That thing can take on a full grown dragon? How...how are we going to capture that thing?" One of the officers asked the group. Everypony was looking at each other for an answer. Shining thought for a moment but then came up with an idea.

"Alright listen up everypony. I know this mission seems risky, and I won't lie, it is. If that human can take on a full grown dragon and walk away without a scratch then it is definitely something that we don't want to get into a direct confrontation with. We are gonna have to get the drop on him if we are going to have a chance and we won't be able to accomplish that with a large group. Gentlecolts, I want you to take your guards and patrol Ponyville and the surrounding area to make sure that thing doesn't come into town. Zecora, I need you to lead Twilight and I to that cave and see if we can find any evidence as to where he went. With luck he will still be there." Shining said.

"You got it big brother." Twilight said, confident now that they were going to succeed.

"Wait, can ah come with y'all? He knows me so ah might be able to help." Applebloom said.

"No way! You are going straight back home, ya hear!?!" Applejack said.

"But AJ..." Applebloom pleaded.

"No buts young lady. You get on back to the farm and stay in yer room until I get back. No exceptions."

"But I...okay." Applebloom said reluctantly and started her way back to Sweet Apple Acres.

I was sitting on the cave floor with my back against the giant pile of gold and gems. Despite waking up in a dungeon and being held captive by magical horse creatures, I was actually happy with what I've accomplished so far. I successfully escaped by playing dead, something that still amazes me. I also hijacked a train that my former captors were on and escaped from them a second time. To top it all off I killed a dragon and was now sitting on a pile of gold and gems that I didn't even know what to do with. All things considered, it could be a lot worse, and right now seemed like a nice time to get some much needed rest. I figured I would wake up sometime around sunset and I wouldn't be able to go out during the day without running the risk of being spotted.

A few hours later I woke up from my nap and as planned the sun was almost set for the day, only a faint orange glow came from the horizon and the moon and stars were shining brightly with only a few clouds in the air. I walked to the front entrance to the cave, taking in the beautiful scenery. This was another part I liked about this world. Even though I've been in this strange place for less than a week, it seemed to be filled with beautiful scenery. A growl from my stomach indicated it was time to eat and I went back inside to eat one of the three MREs that were inside my bag. I took one out and looked at the other two while shaking my head. 'Three MREs won't last me very long, a few days at most. I hope there's plenty of game to hunt. Something tells me I'm gonna be here a while.'

After eating the MRE, I picked up my bag and rifle and was about to leave the cave. I didn't want to leave behind all of the gold and gems but I already filled the duffel bag with as much as I could carry and would have to settle for that. There was bound to be a search party sweeping through sooner or later and I wasn't up for a fight just yet. As if on cue, I could hear the sound of multiple hooves towards the cave entrance and they were getting closer. 'Well, this it. Game time.'

Shining Armor was leading the group, using his magic to illuminate the surrounding area. The sun's orange glow was nearly gone and soon they would have to head back. Zecora was walking next to him showing the group the way to the dragon's lair. They stopped just short of the entrance and Zecora turned her head to talk to Shining Armor.

"Here it is, the dragon's lair. Be careful your majesty, for that beast may still be in there." Zecora said.

Shining Armor nodded his head at the warning and cautiously entered the cave, the stench of death hung in the air and almost made the prince gag in response. Twilight followed after him and gave a similar response to the smell coming from the cave. The pile of gold and gems that the dragon stole over the years came into view, as well as the dragon's corpse, which had stalagmites sticking out of its body just like how Applebloom described it. The sight made their eyes open wide in amazement.

"Wow...that human really did take down a dragon." Twilight said. She could feel the fear creeping up her spine as she began to think about what it could do to them.

A noise came from the other side of the gem pile which startled the two, Shining Armor's horn started glowing as he readied his magic to prepare for an attack.

"COME ON OUT!" Shining yelled. He was preparing himself for the fight that was bound to happen. He focused his thoughts on protecting his sister as well as his wife and unborn child. However what happened next was something that he wasn't expecting. Instead of jumping out from behind the gem pile and charging at them like he was expecting, the human instead just walked around the pile, clapping his hands and laughing to himself as he did. This didn't ease Shining Armor one bit and he gritted his teeth in anger, not only was this human not afraid of them, but was actually mocking them.

Twilight slowly walked up to her brother and put a hoof on his shoulder. He looked her in the eyes which were pleading with him not to do anything that would only make the situation worse.

"Please Shining, just trust me on this. This doesn't have to end in violence." Twilight said to her brother.

"Alright Twily, I'll let you try your idea, but if he tries anything I won't hesitate to take him down." Shining said sternly.

Twilight gave Shining a brief hug out of gratitude and levitated the book she used to write Sunset Shimmer in front of her, hoping that she had the book ready like she promised. Twilight wrote down a short introduction into the book and watched the words fade away, and slowly levitated the book over to the human who was watching her every move.

The man grabbed the book from her magic without taking his eyes off of her and looked at the book only to see blank pages. He looked back up to them with a confused look and glanced back to the pages to make sure there wasn't anything written down. He shook his head in disbelief as the words appeared on the page and read the lines.

"Hello, I know your current situation may seem weird and maybe even a little scary. Please, just bear with me. I am Princess Twilight Sparkle and the unicorn stallion is my brother Prince Shining Armor. I'll introduce you to him later but right now we need to put an end to the hostilities. I know you have no reason to trust me but I ask that you do in order to prevent any more conflict. We really didn't mean you any harm and when we found you, you were unconscious and looked like you were recently beaten. Please come with us and we can settle this in a nonviolent way. I hope that you will find it in your heart to forgive us for the rude awakening you had and I will see to it that you will be pardoned for your actions as well. There is so much that we can learn from each other and as the princess of friendship and a faithful student to Princess Celestia herself I am eager to show you the magic of friendship."

It took every fiber of my being to not burst out with laughter at the purple one's title. 'Princess of Friendship? That's rich!' I thought to myself and looked up to see the "Princess of Friendship" smiling at me with a hopeful look on her face. I had to cover my eyes with the book to save myself from having a cute overload. Once I composed myself I pointed to the quill she was levitating and she eagerly floated it over to me, dancing in place while doing so. I wrote down what I had to say.

"Alright princess, tell your brother to stand down, I ain't gonna hurt any of you. My name is Curtis and I respect your desire to end this without violence and after kicking that dragon's sorry ass earlier I'm done fighting for today. I'll go with you without any resistance, just make sure your brother keeps his distance. Dragons are one thing, but a big, scary looking unicorn like him just terrifies me."

I offered the book back to the princess who grabbed it with her magic and quickly looked at the blank page, eagerly waiting for it to translate what I wrote down. The words appeared after a few moments and she looked like she was about to explode with anticipation when she started reading them.

She giggled at the last line, which was obviously a joke. Shining Armor gave her a questioning look and she showed him what I wrote down. He smiled with relief as he read the first two lines, but his smile dropped when he read the last line. His reaction only made Twilight laugh more and as he gave me an annoyed look. It was for the best that we ended this whole situation without bloodshed, but I couldn't help but feel a little disappointment. I was so close to waging my own personal war with them and I knew I would have the time of my life while doing it. Sure I would most likely lose, but like the saying goes, "It's about the journey, not the destination."

Author's Note

I'm FINALLY back!!! I cooked this chapter up while I was gone and now I will hopefully be able to crank out chapters a lot faster.