Chapters Introduction
Derek Strands stood behind the veil on the stage; his eyes closed tight, his Gibson Electric clutched within his hands. His ears were filled with the screaming and the cheering of the crowd; over fifty thousand voices chanting the same thing at once in perfect harmony, “STK! STK!” The cheers were pumping up his blood pressure and getting his adrenaline flowing faster and faster. Plus the booze already pumping through his veins were allowing the adrenaline to take a faster effect than it had before.
The cold air of Tennessee didn’t affect him in the slightest. Despite it being near freezing, the crowd was still loud and warm, and the stage lights were so intense, any ice in the theater was melted away. But Derek cared little about the winter.
Derek was in perfect pre-concert mode, buzzed and adrenaline fueled. And he never complained or tried to change it. It was good, it was rock! It was exactly what he wanted! His energy then surged when the PA roadie said, “Now ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the stage: S! T! K!”
The crowd’s roar reached decibels it had yet reached as another roadie gave Derek a microphone, to which he raised to his mouth. “Love is like a bomb!” he sang as his back up guitarist began a loud riff.
The smoke began to pour onto the stage as the riff continued and the speakers repeated that line a few times. The veil in front of Derek lifted and he walked out on to the stage. The crowd was chanting a mix of “Urgh” and “Hey” as he emerged under the smoke.
As Derek took his spot in center stage. The mike that was already there was perfectly set to reach his mouth as he sang, “Hey, hey!”
Then the drummer began the beat to “Pour Some Sugar on Me!” as Derek did the opening riffs. When the first verse began, Derek enjoyed the surge of his buzzed energy. He smiled evilly as he began, “Love is like a bomb, come on get it on. Living like a lover with the radar phone. Looking like a tramp, like a video vamp. Demolition Woman can I be your man?”
His backup guitarist smacked two riffs. Derek continued, “Razzle 'n' a dazzle 'n' a flash a little light, television woman let’s go all night!” Derek took a little notice of a row of screaming women in the front seats trying to reach for him with all their might, so he gave them a sexy wink, “Little miss innocent sugar me! Yeah.”
The whole five man band leaned towards their microphones and joined Derek. They began singing, “Come on, take the bottle, shake it up.”
Derek raised his guitar in the air when he sang, “Break the bubble, Break it up!” Then as the chorus hit, Derek dropped to a crouch placing his guitars but between his legs. “Pour some Sugar on me!” the band sang
“Ooh in the name of love,” Derek continued.
“Pour some Sugar on me!”
“Come on fire me up!” Derek smiled.
“Pour some sugar on me!”
“Oh I can’t get enough!” Derek screamed, “I’m hot sticky sweet! From my head to my feet yeah!”
Just then the guitar solo began. Derek rose to full erect as he shredded his guitar. By this point in his life, the notes came naturally; in fact he knew every chord in existence. This made him the best guitarist known to man kind, and it was this that was going to elevate him to rock god status. Plus Derek was dancing round the stage at every beat and chord
After a few power chords, Derek returned to his mike. “You got the peaches, I got the cream. Sweet taste, saccharine! Cause I’m hot, say what, sticky sweet. From my head to my own feet yea!”
The crowd began to roar loudly as the drummer sang, “Do you take sugar?! One lump or two?!”
The whole band got to their mikes and sang, “Take the bottle, shake it up.”
But Derek personally sang the loudest for, “Break the bubble, break it up!”
“Pour some sugar on me!”
“Oh for the name of love!” he sang completely in the moment.
“Pour some Sugar on me!”
“Come on Fire me up!” Derek continued, completely in the moment.
“Pour your sugar on me!”
“Oh I can’t get enough!” Derek shouted.
The song wound to its close as the band sang, “Pour some sugar on me!”
“Oooh in the name of love”
“Pour your sugar on me!”
“Oooh get it, come on get it”
“Pour that sugar on me!”
“Yeah! Yeah sugar me!” Derek sang as the song came to it’s close. The crowd roared and the chants of “STK!” returned. Derek stood on the stage, lights blasting behind him, completely content with the moment. He was totally content with himself.
Much later after the concert, Derek lay in his bed within the tour bus staring at the ceiling. On the floor were three bottles of Jack Daniels he had consumed earlier. The previous concert had been the biggest gig STK had ever done, and now they were on the rock’n’roll map. He couldn’t be prouder of how far he had come. This one night had made all the mistakes he had made worth the effort. And that called for a celebration.
Now he lay completely wasted on his bed, staring at the ceiling as the bus drove along. Derek in his drunken state was muttering some incomprehensible nonsense. Then a bright light filled the room. Derek’s eyes widened when he saw his long dead mothers face staring back at him from the ceiling. “Ma….Mom?” he asked, his voice very slurred.
His mother, looking the way she did when she was young, shook her head, “Still wasted Derek. A pity.”
“Mom?” he asked again.
“You were meant for so much more here.” She said.
Just then Derek felt the whole bus swerve out of control. He was launched from his room, and then impacted a dresser before blacking out.
* * *
Twilight Sparkle sat in her room reading another book from Star swirl The Bearded. Luna’s night had already taken over Ponyville and many were fast asleep in their beds dreaming dreams of fantasy. The same could be said for her eager young assistant snoring happily in his bed just three hooves from her.
Not the pupil of Princess Celestia. She had a lot she wanted to study for about a new conjuring spell. But learning the spell was taking a long time, especially processing it from another dusty book. Good thing she had her radio near her. The volume was loud enough to give the lavender unicorn something to listen to, but low enough as to not wake Spike.
Twilight sighed as she noised over another page. More reading , she thought, Great, hope this candle doesn’t die just yet.
Her focus was then turned to the radio station, which had just ended a smooth melody from Octavia’s Canterlot Orchestra. “And now all you listeners out there, we got a good rock’n’roll medley from Cloudsdale. I think all you hopeful lovers will enjoy this one, it’s ‘Gotta be somepony’ here on Midnight Pony.” The disk DJ said over the radio.
Twilight smiled and used her magic to turn up the volume on the radio. She enjoyed the genre of Rock’n’roll, primarily because Rainbow Dash over plays it whenever she’s practicing aerial stunts. But it wasn’t a popular enough Genre for her to like, and if it was, the poor pony wasn’t sure if she’d really like it because she knew nothing about it.
As the song began, Twilight got up and looked out her window. The moon was shining brightly in the night sky. The DJ was right; this song would be enjoyed by lonely lovers to be. Twilight had always wondered if there ever was a colt or a mare out there that would be right for her. And this song brought those feelings back out.
So she felt it best to sing along, “This time, I wonder what it feels like. To find the one in this life, the one we all dream of but dreams just aren’t enough. So I am waiting for the real thing.” She kept her voice low to appease Spike, but the unicorn was sure he wouldn’t even notice, “I’ll know it by the feeling, the moment when we’re meeting. Will play out like a dream, straight off the silver screen.”
With a smile, Twilight leaned out her window and let the breeze flow through her mane, “So I’ll be holding my breath, right up until the end. Until that moment when. I’ll find the one I can spend forever with.” Twilight took a deep inhale, “Because no pony wants to be the last one left. And everypony wants to feel like someone cares. Somepony else who feels the same some where. There’s gotta be some pony for me…out there.”
Twilight then crossed her hooves and rested her head on them. She stared out at the night humming the rest of the song until sleep over took her.
Chapter One: The New Divide
Everything was spinning for Derek when his senses began to return to him. His vision was blurred and his hearing deafened. Derek had no clue where he was, how he was, or where his mother’s ghost was. Just then a sharp breath escaped Derek lungs as everything came into focus at once.
He was lying on a hard table immersed in a ring of white light. All around him was darkness, blackness, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t see anything standing outside the ring of light. Then Derek realized something horrifying: he couldn’t move. It wasn’t as if his limbs were bound to the table, he couldn’t physically get his muscles to move. They were lifeless and rock solid as if stricken by rigor mortis.
Derek wanted to scream, to say anything, but he couldn’t. His mouth wouldn’t work, nor could his lungs do anything except gently breathe in and gently breathe out. Derek Strands was immobilized, paralyzed, and mute. Just then he heard footsteps, lots of them approaching him. His eyes soon came upon a group of people, dressed in white robes with their faces obscured.
Oh my god , Derek thought to himself, did I become a sacrifice to some crazy cult?
“This is no cult that you see before you Derek,” A familiar voice said. One of the white figures approached Derek. His eyes came upon the figure with terrified and confused eyes. Just then the figure lowered her hood, revealing the familiar face of his mother.
“Mom….” Derek said his voice no louder than a whisper.
“Yes son, it is me.” His mom reassured him.
“Where…” he started, but his mom raised her hand asking for him to be silent.
“These beings behind me are just like me, we are angels.” She told him.
Angels , Derek thought, that means that I am?
“Yes Derek,” his mom answered for him, “You are dead, killed in a bus crash due to black ice on the road. You are the only casualty at the moment.”
“Then…” Derek managed to say, “Why am I here?”
“Derek, you have failed my expectations with your actions in your life. You’ve disappointed me every step of the way. Ever since you were small you dreamed of becoming a rock star, and your father and I supported you as best we could.” His mother explained, “But the decisions you have made; getting into drugs, many late nights, drinking, and exploitations with hookers has made you a horrible person. A shadow of the boy I knew.”
“Mom…” Derek sighed. He didn’t know whether to be angry at his mom for chastising him or apologetic. She was right thought; ever since her death and he moved out he was wasting away not only his future, but his life. But since STK had become a hit despite that, he never tried to change that. And that had ruined his soul; he figured he was probably facing eternal damnation.
Then his mother smiled, “But I am giving you a chance to reedmen yourself.” The figures closed around the ring, each standing side by side in a ring formation as his mother walked over to the head of the table and bent over him. The others raised their arms up revealing their pure white hands. His mother lowered her mouth to his ear and whispered, “Remember the night I died, because I do.”
Then she lifted her head and looked at him. His mom hummed a tune and then began to sing, “I remember black skies, the lightning all around me. I remember each flash as time began to blur.” The others began to hum, as if doing a cappella melody to the song. “Like a startling sing that fate had finally found me.” His mom continued to sing.
She then moved from the head of the table to right side, keeping her eyes locked on Derek. “And your voice was all I heard, that I get what I deserve.”
Flashes of light shot from the ceiling, or what Derek thought was the ceiling, and impacted all around Derek. He could feel each electrical spark rush into him. It wasn’t painful, but the tingling sensations were disconcerting. He now made a very conscious effort to move.
His mother continued to sing all through this, “So give me reason, to prove me wrong, to wash this memory clean. Let the floods cross the distance in your eyes. Give me reason to fill this hole, connect the space between. Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies across this new divide!”
A massive bolt hit Derek square in the chest, he felt his whole body go completely numb and begin to vibrate. His mom was on the move again, sweeping down towards his feet. “There was nothing to hide, the memories left abandoned. There was no where to hide, the ashes fell like snow. And the ground caved in between where we were standing.” She sang as the other hummed. Derek panted as he was expecting another barrage, but one look in his mom’s eyes made him feel easier. “And your voice was all I heard, that I get what I deserved.”
Sure enough another major barrage began. These hurt Derek excessively; it was as if each bolt was tearing his skin off, ripping through his muscles, and changing the very skeleton within him. Again he wanted to scream but he couldn’t, so he silently squirmed in pain. His mom once again continued unabated. “So give me reason, to prove me wrong, to wash this memory clean. To let the floods cross the distance in your eyes! Across this new divide!” She sang almost as if she was scolding him again.
Just then massive bolts began ripping through Derek. Unlike the last which were silent and just flashes of light, these made sounds like an electric guitar being shredded. The following thunder claps sounded like drums. But much like the last, these musical bolts hurt. This musical melody continued for a few more seconds before his mom waved her hands stopping them.
She leaned over her son as the others hummed again, “In every loss, in every life, in every truth that you’d deny. In each regret and each goodbye was all mistakes too great to hide. And your voice was all I heard, that I get what I deserved.” His mom then began to walk back away from Derek into the others.
The others lowered their arms and reached out to Derek. Suddenly little bolts of lightning shot from their hands, wrapping Derek in a painful cocoon. He felt ever fiber of his body being forcefully changing around him. The pain was so great that his vision blacked out. But somehow he could still hear his mother sing, “So give me reason to prove me wrong, to wash this memory clean. To let the floods cross the distance in your eyes!”
Derek then felt his body completely change into something else, something not human. It was then that the pain stopped. He hit the table hard still wallowing in silent pain. His mom continued as the others began to move away, “Give me reason to fill this hole, connect this space between. Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies across this new divide.” As the hums began to die, Derek felt his mom come to him and lean over him. “Across this new divide,” She sang as the hums stopped. As the sound faded, his mom kissed his cheek saying, “Good luck in Equestria my son.”
He felt his mother pull away and then vanish. Derek lay there in what ever form he had become for what seemed like an eternity. His breathing was slow and labored as the pain from what ever the other angels did to him subsided. Silence was all that filled his senses.
Within his mind was only one thought, What is Equestria?
Just then a sparking sound filled his ears. He felt his body being lifted off the table and flung through the air. Derek tried to scream, call out for his mother to save him. But no words came. Then he felt his body become limp and dull as if he had just woken up from a long sleep.
His body then landed on the ground and the sparking sound stopped. Derek felt something weird underneath him. He felt grass, but not grass. It felt like a mix of grass and fur beneath him. Where was he? Derek stretched out with his arms. But he couldn’t feel his fingers move at all. The same was true with his feet; he couldn’t feel his toes at all. Plus he felt something weird move from his butt, a new muscle that was controlling something hairy.
As he tried to get up, he heard a voice. A female voice say “Oh, that’s not supposed to happen!”
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Twilight Meet Derek, Derek meet a talking unicorn...Oh By the way all the other Ponies Talk and sing!
Twilight Meet Derek, Derek meet a talking unicorn...Oh By the way all the other Ponies Talk and sing!
The sun was shining brightly as Twilight left her tree-library. All of Ponyville was alive and bustling with a normal day activity, shopping at the local markets, performing chores that their jobs assigned them, or simply hanging out with friends on this beautiful day. The lavender unicorn smiled as she stepped out into the sunlight.
“Wow what a beautiful day, it’s almost perfect summer weather.” Twilight admired trotting away from the door.
“You said it!” a familiar voice shouted from above. Twilight looked to see a cyan Pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail swoop in from the sky. It was the Element of Loyalty and Twilight’s good friend, Rainbow Dash; who was particularly proud of the Pegasi’s work today. “We worked really hard to clear up the skies after yesterdays storms. It looks like every pony loves our work.” The Pegasus bragged.
“Well Rainbow what can I say, you guys do a great job.” Twilight admired looking at the sky.
“Speaking of doing a job, what you doing today Twi?” Rainbow asked as the two ponies began to walk into town.
“You want the long version or the short version?” Twilight asked with a smirk. She knew Rainbow Dash’s impatience with ‘Egg Heads.’
“Short version Twi,” Rainbow Dash answered as if the answer was obvious.
Twilight laughed, “Okay, okay well last night I discovered a summoning spell within one of my Starswirll books. I was hoping to test it out today.”
“A summoning spell, whatcha planning on summoning?” Rainbow asked as the two continued to walk through town.
“OH! Oh, are planning on summoning Cupcakes?” a high pitched and bubbly voice. Twilight and Rainbow turned around to see the bright pink, puffy hair earth pony, who also was the Element of Laughter, appropriately named Pinkie Pie.
“Hi there Pinkie Pie,” Twilight greeted, “And I was thinking of starting out small. You know some rocks and books and the like.”
“The Like,” Pinkie asked tilting her head, “What’s the Like?”
“A figure of speech,” Twilight answered, “I’m actually going to practice this out on Ponyville Hill.”
“Will Spike be helping you out?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“No,” Twilight answered sighing a little, “Princess Celestia wanted him to be our envoy to the Dragon Empire, so he’ll be away for a few months.”
“Ohh that’s too bad Twilly,” Pinkie Pie soothed, “He’ll be okay right?”
“Oh I have no doubt about that.” Twilight boasted. Then before any other pony could comment Twilight looked towards the hill, “Well would you look at the time I must be going!”
Then the lavender pony trotted off towards the hill. Pinkie Pie waved good bye before looking at the cyan Pegasus, “Hey Dashie, I just got in the new Pegasus Rock’n’roll CD, you wanna hear it?”
“Urgh Shades of Black , please they’re so boring.” Rainbow Dash said very disappointedly.
“Awww Dashie I thought you liked Rock’n’roll.” Pinkie grinned.
“Yea but it’s gotten so boring, there really isn’t any one good anymore.” Rainbow Dash sighed.
“Wow I never thought of it that way Dashie, is that why Rock’n’roll hasn’t really been catchy?” Pinkie asked.
“How should I know, I mean I can play the guitar but I’m no rocker?” Rainbow answered lifting off the ground, “Say Pinks, what plans you got today?”
“Well I have some baking to do at Sugarcube Corner. Would you like to help me?” Pinkie Pie answered eagerly.
Rainbow shrugged, “Sure why not, I got nothing better to do.” She and Pinkie began to head over towards to Sugarcube Corner.
“Oh by the way Dashie, I saw you practicing the other day, was that for the Wonderbolts!?”
“You know it Pinks,” Rainbow boasted, “I’m getting more awesome each day; the Wonderbolts will have to notice me!”
Pinkie Pie cheered, jumping higher than the building with sheer exuberance. When she landed on her hooves, she looked at Dash with a huge smile, “Do you know how it’s gonna play out?”
“Oh yea! I’ll go right up to Spitfire and say this to her!” Dash grinned. A confident look went on Rainbow Dash’s face as she felt a beat begin to play within her. It was upbeat, and it was good, and it was forcing the song to come out of her. “Open up your eyes, take a look at me. Get the picture fixed in your memory. I’m driven by the rhythm like a beat of a heart. And I won’t stop until I start to stand out.” Rainbow sang to the upbeat beat, “Hmm, Stand out.”
She turned to Pinkie Pie and knelt on her front hooves, jutting her wings up full erect. Pinkie Pie was starting to feel the musical beat radiating out of Rainbow Dash. “Some pony’s settle for the typical thing. Living all their lives waiting in the wings. It ain’t a question of if, just a matter of time. Before I move to the front of the line!” Rainbow sang.
“And once you’re watching every move that I make, you gotta believe that I got what it takes!” Rainbow sang before launching her self into the air at full speed. She blasted into a cloud then bolted out the other side causing the cloud to poof out and explode behind her. Dash used that to break out the chorus, “To Stand out! Above the crowd.” Then she lifted off the cloud and dove towards Pinkie Pie singing, “Even if I gotta shout out loud ‘til mine is the only face you see!”
As Rainbow neared the ground, she did a full loop singing, “Gonna Staaannnddd out!” She landed on all four hooves with a smirk, “Till you notice me.”
Pinkie Pie was sure in awe of Rainbow Dash. She didn’t know what exactly she was in awe of, but the cyan Pegasus was pretty awesome right now. Rainbow then trotted forward as the song continued.
“If the sticky wheel’s always getting the grease, I’m totally devoted to disturbing the peace. And I’ll do it all again till I get done. Until I become your number one!” Dash sang pointing towards the sky. The two ponies were near an outdoor restaurant, Dash jumped onto an empty table which wowed the pony crowd, “No method to the madness and no means of escape. Gonna break every rule and bend ’em all outta shape. It ain’t a question of how, just a matter of when. They’ll get the message that I’m trying to send!”
Dash jumped off the table and soared through the air, “I’m under a spell, I’m in over my head. And you know I’m going all of the way till the end!”
Pinkie was running at full sprint below but she was totally enjoying the show Rainbow Dash was putting on, “Ooh here comes another Chorus!”
“To stand out!” Rainbow sang landing on a rooftop over looking the street, “Above the crowd!” Pinkie slid to a stop and watched her above. Rainbow was now fully charged by the music within her, “Even if I got shout out loud! Till mine is the only face you see! Gonna Staaannnddd out! Till you notice me yeah!”
Dash then leapt off the building, landed on the street, and began walking towards a poster of the Wonderbolts. “If I can make you stop and take a look at me instead of just…” Dash started. When she reached the poster, she turned left and began to moonwalk backwards singing, “Walking by.” She then spun around to have her body point at Pinkie Pie but her head still looking at the poster, “There’s nothing that I wouldn’t do if it was getting you to notice…” She began walking towards Pinkie Pie with her head held high, “I’m alive! ”
She stopped right at Pinkie and looked into her eyes. “All I need is half a chance, a second thought, a second glance to prove I got what ever it takes!”
Pinkie snorted, “It’s a piece of cake!”
Dash jumped into the air once again, “To stand out, above the crowd! Even if I gotta shout out loud! Till mine is the only face you see! I’m gonna Stand out!”
“Till they notice you!” Pinkie finished as the song ended, “Whoooo! Dashie that sounds awesome!”
“You bet it is Pinkie Pie. And in the mean time I’ll take my cracks at the guitar.” Rainbow answered floating down from the sky, “I think I might have a real shot at that as a hobby.”
“Oh you know what a good instrument set is too?” Pinkie asked. She didn’t even wait for Rainbow to finish, “The drums!” Pinkie then began to ramble about the drums until the duo got to Sugarcube corner.
Ponyville Hill was the tallest hill overlooking the town of Ponyville. It was only a two minute walk from the edge of town and very easy to reach. Twilight particularly liked this hill to test out her new spells, not because of any of her personal reasons, but Spike liked watching here the clouds in-between tests.
Today she stood at the top of the hill in front of a small circle she drew. After rubbing the dirt off her nose, she lowered her horn to the center of the circle. Twilight squeezed her eyes shut. She concentrated on her object. It was a small book she had taken out of the library and placed on her bed.
According to Starswirll the Bearded, to perform the spell a unicorn must envision every part the object before giving an undesirable urge for the object. Twilight’s horn glowed brightly as she cast the spell. And like magic the book popped out. “Well that worked perfectly!” Twilight beamed, “Everything that was supposed to happen happened!”
She levitated the book out of the circle. Just in time too, as the spell began again without her control. The circle began to glow bright white. Twilight took a step back as a white bubble popped in the very circle she drew. The pop created a bight light that temporarily blinded Twilight.
When the light subsided, what was left was quite a sight. Lying on the ground was a pure white colt. He had messy black mane and an equally black tail that was styled similar to Rainbow Dash’s tail. He also had a black goatee under his chin, and dark brown tips on his hooves. His ears were pointed and fully up as he squirmed. Other than that he was completely passed out.
Twilight approached the pony, a look of horror and confusion on her face, “Oh, that’s not supposed to happen!”
All of his senses returned slowly to Derek as he came back into consciousness. And what he felt horrified him. He didn’t feel his normal body; he felt his arms and legs yes, but no hands or feet to say, and certainly no fingers or toes. Plus he felt no clothes on him, instead he felt something fuzzy, almost like fur covering his entire body. Then he felt another sensation, something moving off his butt. It was a tail!
Derek slowly picked himself up. He wasn’t sure how he was doing it, he was acting normally but nothing felt right. His body was doing everything on its own. He sat down and slowly opened his eyes. The world around him was bright and lush. The grass was greener than any lawn he had ever seen in his life. But the sun was also a little bright, so he raised his hand over his eyes to protect them.
There was just one problem with that, he had no hand. Derek moved his appendage in front of his face. It was horse’s front leg and hoof! Now on all the booze and drug trips Derek’s been on before, he had seen some crazy things. But this took the cake for sure. “Okay that’s different!” he whispered very scared, “What have they got me on?”
“Um, excuse me sir but are you okay?” the female’s voice asked.
Derek jumped when she spoke. He looked in her direction and saw a pretty lavender unicorn standing near him. Wait a… “You…you can talk?” Derek squeaked.
“Um…yes quite well actually.” The unicorn answered, “Did you hit your head or something.”
Okay wait that unicorn’s talking to me and I can understand her, Derek thought to himself, this is too weird. He wasn’t sure of what to do, but the unicorn did mention the accident, so he played the card. “Um…yes, yes I must have. I don’t know how I got here?”
“Oops well that’s my fault actually,” The unicorn grimaced, “You see I brought you here with a summoning spell. I wasn’t ready to use it on ponies so I’m just as unsure as you are.”
Spell, magic? Can this get any stranger? Derek thought. “Yea sure maybe something like that.”
“Well what do you remember?” the unicorn asked.
Derek pondered on what to tell this…this…thing. Well if he was going to start somewhere, it better be with the name, “My name…Derek, Derek Strands.”
“Hello Derek, my name is Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight Sparkle greeted, “Welcome to Ponyville.”
Ponyville and the Party
“Where?” Derek asked looking at Twilight Sparkle with complete confusion.
The lavender pony tilted her head, “Ponyville, about twenty miles outside of Canterlot. Tell me you haven’t heard of us, we’ve been all over the pony news past few years. Look the town is right over there.” Twilight pointed her hoof towards the town.
Derek shook his head before looking in the direction Twilight was pointing. There it was, plain as day, a bustling small town. Wood built houses, some several stories high, and a big carousel like building in the middle with a smaller at the edge of town. And way off in the distance a farm house complete with an unending field of apple trees. “So that’s Ponyville,” Derek stammered.
Just then he felt the back of his neck twinge. He raised his hoof to scratch it. But that made it hurt a little more. “Ow that hurts.”
Twilight walked a little closer to him, “Are you okay? You mentioned you hit your head?”
“Yea I think so.” Derek said, “Before you….brought me here, I was in an accident.”
Twilights eyes did something Derek couldn’t imagine, they widened. The pony sat down and raised a hoof over her mouth, “Ohh my gosh I’m so sorry. We’re you with some one, we’re you seriously hurt, can you stand…oh my Celestia I am so very sorry.” The pony began to apologize.
Derek stood up. Surprisingly even though this was his first time standing on four legs, he seemed to perform the task of getting up, standing, and walking over to Twilight very easily. Even more stunning to the new pony, he had no clue as to why but he really didn’t care. This pony needed something to stop her constant apologizing. “Hey, hey its okay. I don’t think the people I was with would miss me anyway.” Derek soothed. He instantly wanted to retract that statement.
“Why…” Twilight asked, her face instantly turning from shock to unamused, “Are you not a nice pony.”
“No I think they’re dead.” Derek muttered, “The way the crash was going I doubt any of us were gonna make it. So in one way you kinda saved me, thank you.” He gingerly hugged Twilight who after a second to think about it returned the hug. Derek was surprised how soft her fur was. They broke a moment later.
“So I take it you’ll be staying here for a while?” Twilight asked.
“Um I guess so, may I ask you to show me the town?” Derek asked in return.
Twilight nodded, “It would be an honor mister Strands.”
“Derek please, Mister Strands was my father.” Derek answered.
Twilight giggled as she got up and began to walk to town. Derek followed a few steps behind. She so nice. I gotta be careful how I act. I’m not from here and I doubt these ponies have ever heard of a human. So if I screw up, it’ll be my ass…I mean my hind. He thought to himself. Pretty soon the two ponies reached the base of the hill, walked over a bridge, and entered the town. Every pony that saw Derek walking behind Twilight bore a smile on their face as they stopped ready to welcome the new member.
Derek looked in awe as he stopped and looked back at the town’s crowd. A song filled his soul. “I’m an alien, cuz I’m not of this world.” He sang, “I have a name but I’ve been changed and now I can’t stay the same.” Twilight looked back at Derek motioning for him to catch up. He began to trot towards Twilight. His face was that of slight sorrow and awe as looked at her and continued, “And I’m a looser, if that means I’ve been lost before.” But then a smile returned to his face, “But now I’ve found it, I’m surrounded. Cuz you can hear the way it sounded.” He trotted a few feet forwards. “Like Angel’s singing with a million voices.” He sang.
“Well I don’t think you’ll be lost here Derek.” Twilight said walking past him as he sung, “Because…” Twilight walked forward into town as a new beat took over all the other ponies in Ponyville. While Twilight could feel the beat, she couldn’t put words to it. Thankfully her fellow townsfolk did.
“Welcome to the jungle!” they all sang in unison. Derek felt his pulse begin to beat as he trotted after Twilight.
One Aqua pony came towards Derek’s right signing, “Welcome to the jungle, we got fun ‘n’ games.”
Another joined from the left, “We got everything you want, honey we know the names.”
Those two quickly departed as Derek met another pony who sang, “We are the ponies that you find whatever you may need. If you got the money, boy we got your disease.”
“In the jungle,” the town sang in unison, “Welcome to the jungle!”
“This is Market Street,” Twilight introduced to Derek.
Derek trotted down a street lined with shop kiosks. He began to sing again; however this time he was more sped up in his tempo to match the town’s song. “The end is where we begin. It’s crawling back to when we run away run away. The End is where we begin. Where broken hearts mend, and start to beat again! The End is…where…we…begin!” he sang inspecting each shop on the street.
Twilight then took him to the central carousel building, “This is city hall. The mayor lives here and you’ll have to register as a citizen if you want to stay full time.”
The mayor, a pale, light grayish amber pony with flowing gray hair and a scroll on her flank, walked up to Derek feeling the same beat the town did. “Welcome to the jungle, we take it day by day. If you want it you need money but it's the price you pay.” She sang to Derek, her voice sounding somewhat regal. Derek nodded and the duo continued.
Another pony, this one a traveling salesman, instantly caught up with them. “And you're a very sexy girl who’s very hard to please.” He said to Twilight who shooed him away.
She then turned to Derek and sang, “You can taste the bright lights, but you won’t get them for Free.”
She smiled at Derek who gladly returned it to her. The two moved on as the town sang, “In the jungle, Welcome to the Jungle.”
“The end is where we begin. It’s crawling back to when we run away run away. The End is where we begin. Where broken hearts mend, and start to beat again! The end is where we begin!” Derek sang as he took all this in. The song hit the bridge as Twilight showed Derek all the clothing shops round Ponyville. Derek sang as they walked, “Hear me running! Hear me running, rah-running. Hear me!”
Then the song slowed back to its original beat that Derek first felt, “The end is where we begin. It’s crawling back to when we run away run away. The End is where we begin. Where broken hearts mend, and start to beat again.” Twilight lead him to a building that looked like it was built inside a cake. As she walked in side, the song began to end. “The end is where we….begin.” Derek sang to the end.
“In the jungle!” the town sang rounding out the song, “The mighty jungle!”
The song came to an end as Derek entered the building. All around him were the tastiest looking sweets Derek had ever seen. Twilight was already standing inside shouting, “Pinkie! Pinkie Pie you in here?!”
A very pink pony with a poofy mane and tail walked in. on her flank were three balloons, two blue one yellow. Following her was a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane and tale. On her flank was a cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt coming out of it. Derek raised an eyebrow and looked at his flank; it had an electric guitar on it. What do these pictures mean? Derek asked himself
“Oh hey Twilight,” the pink pony greeted walking in, “What can I get for you….GAHHHH!!!” in an instant the pink pony zoomed from what Derek thought was the kitchen to just inches from Derek’s noise. “OH MY GOSH WHOSE YOUR NEW FRIEND! HAVE I MET HIM? WHAT’S YOUR NAME! MINES PINKIE PIE! I SO WANNA MEET YOU AND BE YOUR FRIEND! AND I….” the pony said, her words going a mile a minute.
Derek instantly quieted her by placing his hoof in her mouth. “Whoa, whoa, whoa easy there my little pony.” He leaned to his left to look at Twilight and the cyan pony, “She usually this hyper?”
“Pinks like this when she meets new ponies.” The cyan pony answered, “I’m Rainbow Dash by the way nice to meet you.”
“Charmed,” Derek greeted daring to remove his hoof from Pinks’ mouth, “Now you are?”
“I’m Pinkie Pie: town baker, party thrower, element of laughter, and regular fourth wall breaker.” Pinkie Pie introduced. She spun around to face Twilight, “Twilight I thought you’d be practicing a summoning spell, not bringing Ponyville a new friend!”
“I didn’t think I would be Pinkie.” Twilight explained, “I must have accidentally summoned him here.”
“Oh really,” Rainbow Dash, “Let me apologized for my friend’s magic. Sometimes it works too well.”
Derek laughed, “It’s cool, and she actually saved me from a nasty crash so I’m in her debt.”
“That’s so awesome Twilight!” Pinkie Pie bounced, “But I’ll have to ask later, I have a party to throw so please take Derek somewhere else so I can plan it!”
“Oh boy good luck buddy,” Rainbow Dash said as she flew out. Twilight followed her, pulling Derek with him.
Derek grimaced, “Umm okay nice meeting you.”
The two ponies left. But just as they did Pinkie Pie bounced off the floor with a shiver. “Ohh that’s my Pinkie sense, some ponies not telling me the whole truth!”
“You live in a tree?” Derek said in awe.
“A library actually but yes it was built into a tree.” Twilight explained opening the door, “Come on in.” Twilight lead Derek into the main room of the library. She was sure he would be at awe of her extensive books, hoping that he too was an avid reader.
She was right about the awe part, but not the reason. “So you’re some sort of egg head.” He said.
Twilight felt deflated, “So Rainbow says.”
“That’s pretty cool,” Derek answered trotting into the library, “I could use some of these if I want to know more about this place.” Derek began to trot into the library.
“You mean Equestria or Ponyville?” Twilight asked.
“Both,” Derek answered, “So where’s the guest room?”
“Upstairs and too the left,” Twilight directed, “But don’t get comfortable, Pinkie’s party will be starting soon.”
“Hey if there’s a party here in Ponyville,” Derek said climbing the stairs, “I am there!”
Sure enough several hours later back at the cake building called Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie’s party was in full swing. Much to Derek’s surprise, and somewhat chagrin, it wasn’t like the parties he had been used too. No loose women or crazy drugs or booze. But like he kept reminding himself, it was a new world and he was going to have to adjust. Plus side though; the party was pumping and the music, though not rock, was good.
He had also met some of Twilight Sparkle’s other friends, the dress maker Rarity, the owner of the farm he had seen Applejack, and the towns vet Fluttershy. All six of the ponies plus Derek were sitting at a table after a good round of dancing.
“My word mister Strands, that’s very fortunate of you. I dare say you owe Twilight a lot more than your life.” Rarity spoke with a regal, almost over dramatic flare about his predicament.
“Ah have to agree, that’s mighty lucky of you buddy.” Applejack agreed.
Derek laughed, “Well as I told Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, I’m just happy to be here.”
Twilight laughed, “And I’m not one to hold debts.”
“Lucky me, cuz I have no way of paying you back at the moment,” Derek lamented, “Excuse me while I got get a drink.” Derek then got up from the table and walked over to the concession stand. After pouring himself a purple drink, he picked it up with both hooves and began to drink.
Just then Pinkie Pie appeared next to him, “So what else are you hiding!”
This sudden appearance startled Derek, making him drop his cup and spilling his drink. “What are you talking about!” Derek snapped.
“I know you’re hiding something buster, and I bet I know what it is.” Pinkie pointed at him.
“Wait you know I’m a human?” Derek asked. Quickly his hooves blocked his lips as Pinkie’s eyes widened. Derek went pale, but decided it was too late, so he lamented. “Alright but don’t tell every other pony until the party is over promise?” he spoke quietly.
“Cross my heart hope to fly stick a cupcake in my eye.” Pinkie Pie swore.
Derek looked around and leaned in. He whispered “I’m not from Equestria, I’m from Earth. I was brought here by I don’t know who, and I’m actually a human.”
*Okay guys sorry I'm a week late for this chapter but i had a difficult time trying to find a song to go with "Welcome To the Jungle". Thankfully i managed to find Thousand Foot Krutch so here you go. Also this is my first attempt at a double song mash up, the next chapter will have one regardless of feedback because the one i found fits perfectly. and hopefully i'll have that one on time*
