An Unexpected Summon

It was a normal day at the Crystal Empire; slaves working their asses off, feeling miserable, and feeding off of crappy crops that tasted bitter. I know what you're thinking, how did a human make it here to this depressing place? Let me explain:

It all began on a Friday and I just got back from my work as a cashier down at Walmart. My wife Teresa, was making me dinner and tonight was special because it was our fifth anniversary. We had a great night together as we enjoyed a bowl of shrimp scampi, watching our favorite film The Shawshank Redemption, and had a great deal of sex afterwords. It was one of the best nights I had until I woke up the next day and found myself in the Crystal Empire. I was surrounded by anthropomorphic ponies that have never saw a human in their life.

I was feeling the same, as I rushed away from the crowd, but was stopped by two giant crystalized monsters. They were as tall as a truck, had jagged sharp teeth, glowing red eyes, and were carrying large hammers with a spike on the other end. I was terrified to the bone, as they grabbed me by the arms and marched me over to the castle. As we make our way to the throne room, they pushed me in and locked the doors on the other side. I was standing in the throne room wearing a white shirt and my black boxers chilled to the bone.

I walked along the red carpet in the dark crystallized room and looked around at the painting to my left and right. Each painting got worse as it went. The first two paintings showed many unicorns, pegs, and ponies living in harmony. Then next few paintings showed something evil; an evil mist-like being has come from the depths of the snow and has attacked the crystal empire by making the clouds block the sun, bringing out large crystals from the ground outside and within the empire. More paintings showed a crystal that seemed to be its weakness, but it eventually failed as it shows it crashing down to the ground shattered in pieces. The mist-like being begins to show a feminine unicorn with long black hair, glowing green eyes with purple mists glowing around the eyes, a red horn, gray bikini armor, a velvet robe, and was holding onto a spear. The final paintings show the three unicorn/pegasi-like beings imprisoned as the crystal tyrant laughs in victory and another painting of her reign of the empire itself.

I then stopped and looked up ahead to see none other than that tyrant from the paintings. She looked down on me with confusion and with amazement. She reveals her name to me as Queen Umbra, ruler of the crystal empire and shall soon rule more of Equestria. I told her my name, John Conrad, and let her know a little about me and what I am. She accepted me into society, but was forced to do miserable work like every other pony in the empire. I helped with crops and dealt with selling them.

I became roommates with a family that has two fillies. The father gave me more history on why the empire is like the way it is. Queen Umbra came from the depths of hell and was causing havoc among the empire. Three powerful alicorns called Celestia, Luna, and Cadance were supposed to stop her, but their weapon, the crystal heart, was destroyed and therefore, no one can stop Queen Umbra. She vanished the three alicorns to the lowest level of the lowest dungeon where they were fed the same junkie shit that I eat along with everypony else. And thus, I lived my life as a slave for the past five years.

I am now thirty years old, my black hair gotten longer as a rocker, I'm growing out my mustache, but shaving away the beard. My muscles have been growing more and more as the past month goes by; I'm now helping out working with Queen Umbra's statue that is close to the castle. I can often see her while I work looking down upon her empire from the balcony of her room. I know I should fear her, but she looks beautiful as the wind flies through her mane. I really shouldn't think of her that way, but there's some sort of attraction I have for her.

As I continue to chisel the eye with sweat beaming down my face, the bell from bellow my ladder starts ringing, meaning that it's break time. I place my tools in the tool bucket and came down the stairs holding onto the handle. As I make it down the ladder, I straighten out my raggy gray shirt and dusted off my legs of my pants. I walk over to a close by establishment that sold water or a refreshing beverage of berry juice. The empire has changed since I arrived here, well a little. Ponies begged the queen for better food and drinks and so, she accepted and things began to get a whole lot better. It almost seems like as though ponies never knew the terror that Umbra put us all upon, but of course no one will forget that she's a wicked ruler. I've seen some harsh things around here that no pony or human should witness: a pony being stabbed to death by crystal monsters. It was a middle-aged mare who stole something from Umbra's castle and she ran as quick as she could, but eventually she was caught. She was stabbed many times all over her body until she was nothing but a bloody corpse. It was sickening and I puked along with many other ponies. Luckily, no one has ever stole from Umbra ever again.

I walk into the establishment and sat on a table wiping the sweat off of my forehead. Coming towards me is Strawberry Punch, a mare who works at the establishment. She has pink fur, light green hair and tail, orange pupils, and has such a positive attitude. Out of all the ponies here, she always manages to bring a smile to everypony's face, including myself.

"Hey there, John," said Strawberry Punch, as she pulls out a piece of paper, "what would you like to have?"

"I'll have a berry punch and a bowl of salad, please," I asked, as she writes down my order.

"Okay, will be done soon, Johnny," she said with a wink before walking off.

I sit on my table and looked around to see people chattering and some sulking in despair. I really feel bad for those that feel that way; it's painful to see them look down. I want to ask them what's wrong, but it's none of my business, so I let it be and think about work or something else. I then notice a couple sitting together being all lovey-dovey. Seeing couples around the empire makes me think back to my wife Teresa. I think back about when we went out on our first date. We went to France and enjoyed an amazing dinner at this establishment completely different to this one I'm at now. There was live music, relaxing atmosphere and many lovers close to one another. France was a perfect trip for us to go on and things went perfect. I even remembered our first kiss there, it was like a dream come true.

"Here's your drink, Johnny," said Strawberry, as she places my drink down.

"Oh! Thanks Strawberry," I said, as I flipped her a bit.

"What's up, Johnny? You look sad. Something wrong?"

"It's nothing," I replied.

"Come on, Johnny," said Strawberry, as she takes a seat, "something is bugging you. What is it? Tell me."

"... I miss my wife."

"You are married?"

"I was, until I somehow got here. I miss her very much, including my family and friends."

"What's she like? Your wife?"

"Teresa is such a nice woman. I met her during my break from work and it all started out as an accident when my coffee slipped out of my hands and spilled onto her dress. I was so sorry that I gave her a bunch of napkins and I promised her that I'll be in her debt. She told me to go with her to pick out a dress and that I should pay it. It all started out awkwardly, but as time went by, she and I would often meet down at that same coffee shop and talked until my break was over. Three months later, I got the guts to take her on a date to a place called France. It was a perfect place for our romance to grow bigger. We eventually fell in love that day and it was our first kiss."

"D'awwww, that's so sweet," said Strawberry, as she clasps her hands, "when did you propose to her?"

"We went out to a restaurant close by to where I live and took her there. I was very nervous if she'd say 'yes' or 'no', but she eventually agreed to be my wife. We got married a month later and I felt like the happiest man on Earth. My life was amazing, until I got here. Now I'm a slave like everypony else to Queen Umbra. Now you know my story."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Johnny. It must be very hard to find a woman here, huh? I think you need to move on. You can't think about the past and think about now. Go find a mare and marry her. There are plenty of fish out at sea."

"You sound like my mom," I said with a chuckle.

"Oh shut up."

"Thanks for the pep talk, Berry. I'll take your advice and probably over the weekend find a cute mare to talk with."

"That's the spirit," said Strawberry, as she gets up from her seat, "now wait here a moment, I'll be back with your salad."

She walks away, as I smile back at her.

"She's right," I thought to myself, "I do need to move on. I'm sorry, Teresa. Forgive me."

I waited another five minutes until my salad was done. It was just as good like any other day; salad with a dressing that tasted like fruit. It tasted delicious with the salad and I'm glad I buy this during break.

When my break was over, I paid and went back up the ladder with my tool bucket. As I get to the top, I go back to sculpting the eye. I'm sculpting the pupil and making it look exactly like hers the way I met her when I first arrived here. I want it to look dangerous, yet beautiful. I then look back up to the balcony and to my surprise, I can still see Queen Umbra up there looking around her empire. I went back to chisel more on the pupil, but was distracted by Queen Umbra. As I continue to stare up at her elegance, I notice her head looking down towards the area where I was. I flinched and went back to chiseling.

"I hope she didn't see me looking up at her," I thought to myself with a gulp, "maybe not. There's no way she can see me from all the way up there. I bet she's just looking around her empire. Right?"

I look back up there, but she was gone. It was as if she wasn't there at all. I give out a sigh of relief and went back to working on the pupil.

Hours later, my shift was up and I walked back home. I made a good amount of bits and wanted to buy some flowers for the table. I walked over to the closest flower store and noticed quite a lot of beautiful flowers. Weird, I wonder who gets these plants? There's not a lot of sunlight out here. I bought some roses and a vase. The vase had a sun-like pattern to it and the roses were as red as velvet cake.

"I'm home!" I called out, as I close the door behind myself.

"Johnny's home! Johnny's home!" said the Dimlight and Gleamlight.

I love these two twins; they were like the kids I never had. It makes me wonder if Teresa wanted to have kids or not. If I can be great with these two fillies, then I can absolutely be a great father figure to my kids.

Dimlight is the youngest by five years old and she loves to play 'go fish' whenever she liked to. Her fur is light gray, dark blue hair and tail, pink pupils, and she doesn't have her cutie mark yet. Gleamlight is ten and she's mature for a ten-year-old. She likes to clean, cook, and care for a pony if they are sick. Her fur is dark green, light blue pupils, light dark yellow hair and tail, and she has a cutie mark of a cleaned plate. I'm glad she and her sister are raised by great parents.

"Hey there you two," I said, as I kneeled down and gave them hugs, "where's mommy and daddy?"

"They're gonna come home late," said Gleamlight, "they need to work more on the crops down at the fields. As for you, you need a bath, you reek of sweat."

"Stinky," said Dimlight, as she pinches her nose.

"You're right," I said, as I got up to my to my feet, "I guess so."

"Also, shave your mustache. It looks bushy."

"Who do you think you are? My mother?"

"Just do that, please. When you're done, dinner will be ready."

"Okay! Okay! I'll do it," I said with a chuckle, as I walk down the hall towards my room to grab me some clean clothes before going into the shower.

"Hey Johnny!" called out Gleamlight, "are those flowers?"

"Oh! I almost forgot," I said, as I hurried back and handed her the flowers, "take these and put them in the living room."

After getting cleaned and trimming my mustache, I walk to the dining room, with the table for three. Gleamlight and Dimlight sat on their seat with empty plates, waiting patient for me to come down.

"Let's eat," said Gleamlight, as the two fillies began to eat.

Tonight, we're eating pasta with mixed sauces. It's red sauce and white sauce mixed together. I'm glad I told her to mix them, my dad showed me that when I was a kid and I loved it ever since.

"Mmm," I said with delight, "this tastes delicious."

"I'm glad you told me about mixing those two sauces."

"Tasty," said Dimlight before taking another bite.

Before I could take another bite into my pasta, there were three loud knocks at the door.

"Girls, stay here," I said, as I walk up to the door.

I open it and in front of it is a large crystal monster looking down at me. My body began to shake, along with my teeth chattering.

"C-c-can I h-help you?" I stuttered.

"The majesty Queen Umbra wants you at the castle," said the crystal monster in a deep and gruff voice, "if you refuse, I'll drag you by force. The majesty told me not to hurt you, but I shall use force."

"Okay, b-but is it okay if I d-do s-s-something for a sec, p-please?"

"I'll give you a minute."

"Th-thank you," I said, as I quickly went inside back into the dining room.

The girls were standing in front of the table worriedly.

"What's going on?" asked Gleamlight.

"Are we in trouble?" asked Dimlight.

"I don't know girls," I said, as I take a knee, "but I've been summoned by Queen Umbra."

The girls gasped with worry. Dimlight rushes toward me and starts crying.

"Are you sentenced to death? I don't want you to die."

"Don't worry, Dimlight," I said, as I ruffle her mane, "I'm not gonna die. I might have to do something special for the queen."

"You mean it," she says, looking up at me with tears down her face and a sniffle.

"I'm going to be fine."

"Please come back, Johnny," said Gleamlight, as she comes up to me for a hug.

"I will. I promise."

I stood up and walked out of the house towards the crystal monster.

"Okay," I said, as I cleared my throat, "I'm ready."

The crystal monster nodded, as we walk over to the castle. The clouds began to blow away, as the moon began to shine brightly in the sky. As ugly as the days are, night always seems to be the prettiest of times.

"I wonder what the queen wants with me," I thought to myself, "is it for some sort of other job she wants me to do? Is it-wait... is it because she noticed me staring at her from where I sculpted?! Oh please God, no! I hope she doesn't plan on killing me! I wonder if this guy knows?"

I look up at the crystal monster and gulped down the lump in my throat.

"Excuse me, Sir, um... I'm I being sentenced to death?"

The crystal monster didn't respond, making me ever so nervous.

"I swear to God; I hope she doesn't plan on killing me! I didn't do anything wrong!"

As we arrive towards the throne room door, the crystal monster opens the door and looks down at me.

"The majesty is waiting for you," he said, "behave."

"Got it," I said, as I give him the thumbs up before entering the throne room.

The door shuts behind me, as I walked slowly along the red carpet like the day I first came here. Along the sides of the carpet were tall torches lighting my way and by the far end, was none other than the queen herself drinking from a silver chalice.

"Come forth, John," said the queen in a soothing yet demanding voice.

I gulped and continued my way towards her. I felt a chill down my spine the closer I came to her, until I was near her. I was shaking all over; I don't know why she would summon me, but if it's from me staring at her from afar, I must apologize. I fall down to my knees and have my head to the red carpet.

"I'm very sorry, your majesty," I pleaded, "forgive me! I will accept any punishment, just don't kill me, please!"

"What are you talking about?" said Queen Umbra with confusion, "get up. I'm unsure to why you are apologizing for?"

"Huh?" I said, as I get up to my feet, "then may I ask something, your majesty?"

"Granted," she says before taking a sip.

"Why have you summoned me?"

She takes the chalice from her lips and places it down on her armrest.

"I've caught an interest in you," she said, as she stands up from her throne and walks up towards me. When she got close to me, she paces around me like a wolf pack trapping its prey, "you are quite an interesting creature. Do you have a special somepony?"

"N-no. I was once married before I got here."

"You were married? To whom?"

"To another human named Teresa. I haven't seen her in five years and I got good advice from a worker I know that says I need to move on and find someone else... but it seems difficult just to give up on my wife."

"Oh? Well perhaps I can be your special somepony?"

"I don't know who it- wait what?"