A Young Man's Diary

by Scornas

Rating: mature
Tags: Dark, Human, Changelings, Original Character, Queen Chrysalis, Adventure, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 5932

A journal of someone who came into Equestria, and became a guard.

Dances-With-Demons, as he decided to be known as, or Dan for short, is forced into equestria by unknown means. He joins the ponyville guard shortly after in exchange for a house, and gets the displeasure of knowing what living an interesting life is like.

I will update tags as they become relevant. Please give me constructive criticism like hard cocks, and shoot your words into my comment section. It's okay if you badmouth it without giving a reason for it, I can get a good laugh from it.

OH! And there will be no stable update times, no way no how.

Not self-insert. I'm a couch potato, and I'm much more likely to go to jail on my first day in that world than anything else.

Published 2017-07-25 15:40:11 UTC
Last updated 2018-01-09 21:28:33 UTC

Days 1-5

Author's Note

Just a reminder that this is written as a diary/journal/workbook, not a story, even though this IS a story.
It was very interesting to write.
I believe I'm not the first one to do this kind of thing.
Remember to give me your comments, constructive is nice though you do you bb.
If I misspelled something please tell me so I can fix it.
Pm me if you want to be my editor or proofreader, ill pay you with love and affection.

Days 1-5

Day 1

I felt a terrible pain when I was visiting my aunt, and I went to magic pony land. I woke up to the feeling of being dragged by the royal guard. I seem to have been in one of the cocoons the changelings put ponies in for storage or feeding or whatever. The guards that dragged me out seemed to trust me enough to not harm anything, mostly because humans ain't threatening at all other than their height to the ponies. The guards all looked the same; they had on gold armor protecting some of their body, probably for freedom of movement, and a jewel on their chest that lights up in a soft glow. Just as a precaution I was tied up and sent to a very comfortable 'prison cell' that's more like a hotel room. They untied me there and I was left to my own devices. Luckily the place had a blank book, which will now be my diary/journal/workbook from now on. I don't know what the changelings did to me, but I know that the fist-sized gem wasn't in my chest before. Kinda discerning, not gonna lie, but it does feel good to rub. It looks like an opaque black rupee, and it actually feels more like very tough skin than hard gemstone, despite the shine it gives. Very dry, yet soft like hands after you wash them like a doctor.

My body looks a lot more fragile and anorexic than when I last looked at myself, but who gives a shit! I got my long hair back!
Oh, and before I forget, it seems that the changeling hive I was saved from was inside an old-looking building, which was home to a small hive of thirty changelings. I actually got to see one myself, who acted a lot like a bug. The one I saw looked like a pony with chitin, and fins for a mane. Perhaps there were changelings who had sentience, or maybe this one was sentient but was trying to get out of its restraints. I guess I'll find out eventually.

I went to meet some very scientific looking ponies after they released me, and they told me that the gem-like thing on my chest has the same properties of changeling chitin. They chipped it a bit and it leaked out some green ooze, which they said was rich with magic energies. Behind it revealed my muscle structure, so it's safe to say that whatever this is is now part of my body. The sizable hole they made healed up after a bit, so it's all good. Taking off the chitin was actually painless though, and it gave in after a hard tug. The green ooze was put in a container and sent to be used for study, along with the chitin. A small and very careful cleaning later and I got to see the muscles of my chest in person. The chitin grew naturally after about an hour, though I had to lay down to avoid fainting. Apparently, the whole thing was a pretty large drain on my bodies resources. I had to eat a lot of food from assorted fruits and vegetables to beans and eggs. I even got to eat fish!

When I asked how they got the food they said they had orders to take care of me by the crown. Kinda worrying, not gonna lie. I got to get some useful knowledge from the scientist in exchange for some knowledge from me. I told them about the periodic table of elements and explained electrons, protons, neutrons and how they react in exchange for how magic works. They had a periodic table themselves, but it was lacking in a lot of ways.

They told me and explained about how magic comes from a core within the soul. A magic-less being (like myself) could have a core forced upon ourselves, though the process is painful and dangerous, as it could damage the soul and has a chance to kill the subject. The magic could then be flushed out for the new core to produce its own unique magic. I then theorized on the spot in my head that maybe you could take someone else's magic if you flush out your own... I might test it later if I get one.

They also said that magic can be concentrated into a physical substance. Apparently, the green slime was the first time they saw magic in any other form than in a crystal.
I somehow convinced them to run a test on me to see if I have a core or if I had any magical essences attached to me. The short version is: My soul was fragmented. I had only part of my soul, though it is unknown how much of it is left. My soul was also rich in magic, though I had no core. They explained to me that a soul rich in magic can be used as material to enhance one's core, permanently, or to create a weapon capable of hurting ethereal beings.
I was apparently able to get a core easily, and that the magic in my soul would enhance it greatly, making my soul normal and my core powerful automatically.
This gave me the question of whether the soul controls the body or not, though I'll have to ask later; the guards took me to my room- oh, I mean "cell" and told me that I would be meeting the princess tomorrow. Hopefully, it goes well.

Day 2

I got myself washed and dressed first thing in the morning, and I was brought to the princess with a nice looking shirt and some blue jeans. I would have liked to meet royalty as royalty, but you can't have everything...
I'll write down the conversation, let me just remember what happened, I don't have much memory for details...
Bah, never mind, I can't remember.

I met with Princess Celestia, diarch of Equestria. She is a pony with wings and a horn, an Alicorn. She was a very tall pony, a very pristine white coat and flowing blue pink purple and teal hair. We greeted each other and I gave my honorary name, translated: Dances-With-Demons. She told me of a man named Anon living in Ponyville, who was also human. She told me about how he's good friends with the elements of harmony, and that he'd be a good friend to have. She also told me that I would get a house with royal funding fully furnished, and I was able to get a quaint house nearby the Everfree, under the condition I would enlist into the local guard. I was told to travel to Ponyville, and seek out the elements of harmony. I was given a bag, which had my diary, the pencil I just so happened to have on my person, and the knife I also had on my person. With that, I was set to ride in a flying carriage, straight to Ponyville library. I wrote this on the way, and the carriage is starting to dip down.

So I found out a lot of things. When I got to Ponyville, the sky carriage landed in front of the library. I waved goodbye the good guards that flew me here, and I knocked on the door of the library. I was beckoned inside, where I formally met Anonymous, a fairly average human. He did nothing too big, other than that he was able to enhance the efficiency of some technologies. Apparently, he had a core but is still trying to flush out the magic. He was currently using Twilight's magic and was actually going to try flushing out the magic again later. I learned that Anonymous was a fairly average guy with slightly less than stellar morals and beliefs, though still decent enough company. Anon was summoned by twilight as an experiment with a summoning spell gone wrong. He lived as an extra assistant and a helping hand, nothing too spectacular.

Twilight is the element of Magic, and student of Celestia. She has a purple coat and is a unicorn. Unicorns are supposedly the only ones who can use magic, but I'm pretty sure that's misinformation- magic was available for anon, a non-native being of the world, so why can't anything else do the same?

Apparently, ponies eat fish. Who woulda' thunk? I found this out during a small meal.

I was able to meet the elements of harmony without much problem. Fluttershy was very kind and shy. Her yellow coat and pink mane were soft on the eyes and she looked adorable in my eyes. She got a snuggle from anon. AppleJack is honest and hardworking. She has an orange coat and blonde mane. She spoke in a stereotypical southern accent. Rainbowdash is fast, crass, rash, hotheaded, and supposedly loyal. She has a blue coat and rainbow mane. She is also a pegasus and probably is a lot like sonic. Rarity is chic and generous. She owns a boutique and gave me some new clothing for free; failed attempts to get anon in fancy clothing I gladly took. They fit me almost perfectly. I gave her my measurements for future use, just in case.

Pinkiepie is a pink ball of energy. Her mane is a floofy hot pink, and she gave me some sweets. How sweet of her. She said something about planning a party, but I declined. I didn't really want to meet a lot of new people, and I don't want to stand out more than I already do. I got to find the location of my home without problems, and I found the small home fully furnished, as was promised. The bed is very nice, and I'm glad they gave me a nightstand.

Day 3

I woke up early in the morning and I made my way to the part of town that the elements didn't show me. I met the blacksmith, an old and hearty unicorn stallion. I got to get a good sword from him by teaching him how to create a Japanese-style sword. It's actually a difficult process I learned on a whim when I was a teen. I was promised a high-quality equestrian made single edge sword using this technique for teaching it. The blade is to be straight edge. I think he might know how to enchant a sword with a soul, but I'm not too sure...

He told me it would be ready in a month give or take a week or two, so I have plenty of time to ask. His name is Tempered Steel and has a very dark grey coat and pale grey mane.

I met many of the Ponyville shop keeps, though the one that interested me was the antique shop owner. The antique shop owner had a very peculiar selection of various objects, though they all look very nice, handmade and authentic. Some look like they were made by machine, and some look like they were done a bit too poorly to look very good. One even looked unfinished! Ah, but they also sold artifacts and magic items along with antique items. The owner was an old lady with a graying shade of blue and a pearly white mane. She has some wrinkles, though she doesn't look or sound very old. She was pleasant to talk to, and I was fond of her company. I found three artifacts that interested me: a ring that absorbs magic, a knife that drains blood, and a spear that smelled of lemons. Having no money, I went ahead and left the shop empty-handed. I made a note to check back later. Maybe get to know the woman personally.

I spent the day walking around and getting myself acquainted with everyone, and I intend to work tomorrow. I came to my home, and I was 'surprised' to find a surprise party. I put on my best surprised face, I even jumped back a little. I got even more acquainted with the elements, and though I was a little sad to see that the antique shop lady wasn't here, I was able to learn more about the elements of harmony. It was a small party and only the elements and anon were here, but I was able to have a good time despite not really liking parties.

At the end, pinkie thanked me for faking being surprised. That genuinely surprised me. They started to call me Dan, or Danny
When the party was over, I started to write this. It's about time for me to sleep, so I think I'll stop writing now.

Day 4

After a long screening process, I was able to become a temporary guard. My first shift starts soon.

I was to patrol the outer perimeter of the town, in the Everfree outskirts. I was declared a temp and I had to have a senior guard with me for a bit before he eventually deemed me worthy of the job. I was given pony arm guards, probably the only armor they could give me. I was also given a spear, so there's that. A standard spear, around four feet long.
I patrolled the outskirts of the ever free like a semi-competent guard for most of the day. Pretty boring, honestly. The occasional monster never got close enough to be a problem, as they usually just go back once they see that they're at the forest's end.

At the end of my shift, I was replaced with a gold armor guard, and I left to give a report the captain.

I gave my report to the captain and left my equipment in the specified place, a chest with my name on it. I had a lot of time left, so I went to Twilight. She was working on a spell, so I waited until she was done. Apparently, she was working on a polymorph spell, to transform anon into a pony for a short amount of time. She successfully transformed a mouse into a rat and then back. A successful test, she says.

I showed her my chitin and told her about the ooze. She immediately almost started a panic about me being a changeling, but I was able to dissuade her false accusations by letting her cast a spell that disrupts the changeling illusion. It did nothing. I made a deal with her and I took off the chitin again and gave her the ooze, and got to lay down on a cozy bed and eat a lot of good food, for 100 bits. Once he chitin was regrown and she took notes, I left to my home; it was late, and the sun was down. And now I sleep.

Day 5

This time my shift was only until noon, so I have free time. The first thing I did was go shopping for groceries. I met with Anon on the way, and I had a nice conversation about armor.

I first bought a basket to get the groceries, and then I got general greens and fish. Upon query, it was explained that unicorns and pegasi need the protein to maintain a healthy diet, and earth ponies can eat it as a snack. The conversation drifted from armor to weapons to food to snacks to sweets to pinkie by the time I finished shopping, and I found that anon was actually taking the day off work. We stopped at Sugar cube corner, a gingerbread building which is the Ponyville bakery. I got a small cake for both of us to enjoy. We walked to my house and as I put up the groceries, I was asked about my spear, which I left on the living room table. If you look a bit further in the book, you'll see a layout of my house with its furniture.

We had a conversation about our professions as I finished up putting away my groceries and took out the cake to the table to eat.

As I said before, he is a helping hand, usually helping Twilight or Applejack, though sometimes helping Fluttershy and Rarity. He said that it was cool that I got a job as a guard. During our conversation, I learned that he was what people would call an otaku, and was somewhat obsessed with anime and such. He watched a bit of my little pony, though only one or two episodes; he said it didn't pique his interest. Though he was an otaku, he was a functioning member of society; he got good grades in school, he worked out moderately, he socialized, he just liked games and anime a lot. He is currently 19, making me older than him by around two years. He also came to Equestria two years ago, on his 17th birthday.

When we finished the cake, he left to his home. I was left to my own devices, so I trained using a big staff-like stick. I remember that in a certain country, a way to practice with a sword is swinging it downward in the same way for hours, so maybe if I do something similar I can increase my grip and force when I stab with a spear.

Despite me just stabbing the air in the exact same way until sundown, it felt like a good workout.
Falling into my bed was nice, and nicer because I had fresh fruit on my nightstand, ready to eat.
Now, before I sleep, I have to explain what happened in the screening process yesterday- it didn't cross my mind when I wrote about my day, then, and I need to be able to remember events like that.

The screening process tested physical strength, reflexes, decision-making, and a 100 question and answer test. The test was similar to a personality test, and I assume that they had a spell to sense whether I lied or not. The strength in my kick matched the kick of someone named 'Big Mac', and they all sounded impressed. My punch was average, sadly. My reaction speed was a bit above average, and my decisions were made rashly, as was my usual problem with my decisions. They told me I met the requirements to join the guard, though I would be better off in the army. They also told me that I would have to train with the new recruits next week.

If I had magic I assume they'd test the capacity of magic I could hold.
Maybe I'll write down my appearance, so I remember what I used to look like if I get a different set of limbs or scales or horns or something- you never know when magic is involved.

Reminders: Check back with the Antique store when you have money.
Check the blacksmith regularly.
Your soul is magical, be careful about power hungry demons.
Find out more about the chitin and magic ooze you have.

Notes: Magic comes from a core which can be artificially made. Artificial cores copy magic from the one who created it. Can potentially take another's magical signature.
Magic can be concentrated into a solid object, though it's usually crystalline. Your ooze is solidified magic, and could potentially be a way to refill one's core.

Days 6-10

Author's Note

The offer is still up, editors and proofreaders will get love and affection from me if they accept it.
I was originally going to do chapters of 10 days, but at the time of submission I just wanted the story out.
sORRY ABOUT THE MONTHS IT TOOK TO UPDATE ~~(not really)~~

Days 6-10

Day 6

I woke up and did the job I was given, patrolling the outskirts of the forest. Nothing of note happened, and I ended my shift in the best possible way: with no news to report.
With the time I had, I went to twilight to see what she had to report on the chitin and slime I gave. She said that the slime was rich in magic and nutrients, similar to the breast milk of a mother. This irked me, but I can think of weirder things that could happen.

She hypothesized that this was what changelings used to feed their young after they were born, though I think it was similar to honey. From what I was told, the changelings were insectoids that gathered love. Perhaps this what they produced as nutrition...

Or maybe it was just changeling waste, you never know.

The chitin seemed to be a hell of a lot softer than the chitin she was able to procure from what little she could get her hands on. Wait, she has hooves, so should it behooves on? Anyway, the chitin seemed to be unsuitable to be normal chitin.

While with twilight, I ended up getting her to explain to me in depth about magic. Spike groaned and left. Anon left with him. I listened to every word and took notes.
I learned the origin of magic, the three types of magic and the ten tiers of spells. More information in notes.

After the long lecture on magic, I left and checked up on the smithy. He was working on a hefty order for guard armor; the guards had fought off a manticore and the armor was ruined. I got to help out for some pay, and now I am twenty bits richer. I think ill be here a lot more often, the work was decent. The day was starting to wind down by the time I finished, and I only had about one or two hours to train by myself. This time I started practicing assorted stabs and swings I once saw in a game that were probably plausible techniques. As it turns out, the martial arts and such were fairly fluid when done right. In fact, I think I got a lot better at swinging a stick with a pointy end.

Day 7

I got up before the sun came up today, and I took a light jog around the town before I had to get to work. Along the way, I met this child who jogged with me for a bit, a filly with an orange(?) coat, red bow, and mane. We talked about anon, and I learned that he gets a little touchy-feely with the ponies around him, especially Buttershy. That's her name, right? Anyway, besides that, now that he has magic, she told me she was getting worried this might get out of hand. She left to get back to work on her farm and I finished my jog soon after; my house is near her farm, after all.

The patrol saw that I had no fight today, as a large bird looked my way. It salivated and looked ready to fight before I hefted my spear and threw it directly into its face, killing it instantly. It looked as awesome as it sounded, but I was hoping it was at least able to dodge. I thought it was going to dodge, but apparently, I'm either stronger than I thought or it was just weak. Probably both, but who cares. I took my spear back and cut off some pieces of meat, and gathered the edible parts in my bag before throwing the surprisingly light bird into the forest. Thankfully, the bag wasn't a bright cloth, and I was at the end of my shift, so I could bring the bag home before the meat could rot. I reported the event to the captain, and I had to prove my accomplishment, because the Nachtkrapp, as it was named apparently, was a fearsome beast. I was told that for this I would get specially made armor from the local smith, with a magic gem. I was ordered to make the order myself, to sort out the specifics.

The Nachtkrapp meat tastes like the entire Thanksgiving meal, all in one bite. It's lovely. Now that I think about it, I probably should have taken a trophy of the thing, but the skull was too ruined for that...

I put away the rest of the meat and washed my bag before starting to write. I'm gonna go see if I can help the old blacksmith, maybe learn a thing or two about smithing.

So I learned a lot about smithing just from watching the old stallion fight the metal with flame and his hammer. Apparently, it was abnormal to shift metal without using magic for a unicorn, as it was easier to form metal using magic to form molten metal into a shape. He used a hammer and blacksmith tools to create a guard's helmet, which I helped out as an assistant. I got paid eight bits this time because there wasn't much to do. I made a farming tool myself, which turned out to be of great quality.

After that, I made the order, and I helped him make my armor. It was nice, seeing the old stallion work on the gauntlets and greaves I would soon be using. I actually got to come up with the design, adapting it to the standard equestrian guard design- which was pretty simple. After that, I helped him make some other armor pieces for the other guards. The rest of the armor would be made later, he told me. I left to make use of my home, and now I’ve decided to go out for a bit.

The day was starting to come to an end, so I decided to hang out at the park which was a tree on a hill with a bench nearby. I climbed the tree and sat down, watching the sun go down and all the people play. It was nice until Rainbow Dash decided to ruin it by hitting me off the tree. It wasn't too large of a fall and she didn't hit me too hard, but it was painful. She messed up a stunt and hit me on the way down, so I lectured her on practicing stunts without proper protection and fail-safes. She looked down and I went back to the tree. After the sun went down, I went back home and now I sleep.

Day 8

Today was a good day. Everyone got their guards armor, and mine looked really good. I put on the shirt and pants first, which made me look like I had on a cobalt suit. The material was surprisingly comfortable despite supposedly being able to resist being torn, cut and punctured. The next to go on was the metal plates that go on my back and my chest, held together by belts. I had a bit of trouble with this, but I was able to get it on relatively comfortably. The next part of my armor was a cloth that goes draped over the front and back of my body with a hole for my head. It had the symbols of the sun and the moon on both sides; probably the symbol of the country. After that, I put on the greaves, then the belts that go around my waist over the cloth, then the belt pouches that go on the belts, and finally the gauntlets. The whole set made me uncomfortably warm. They said that we would get our guard helmets if we volunteer for the actual guard, and that only during duty can we wear our armor. I had to stay to get my armor's magic gem, which would be embedded in my gauntlet. The gem was a star-shaped sapphire that glowed like a light on frozen blood, which went into an engraving in my right gauntlet. They told me that having that on would protect my body from physical harm, and keep me cool in warm weather- and had the nice side effect of making me no longer warm in my own armor. After that, I went back to patrolling like normal. After I finished today I went home and ate the rest of my Natchkrapp. The rest of the day was spent with me and my good ol' spear, who I've decided to name pokey. I had to take a shower before going to bed from how much I sweated from the workouts and drills. I sleep now.

Day 9

Today I killed five changelings, a manticore, and got turned more into a changeling.

The day started off normally; I woke up, ate, did a light jog around Ponyville and then I went to the guard's station. I had just enough time to put on my armor before one of the guards jumped me and blasted me with a spell full force to the face- I didn't know what it did immediately, so I panicked and smashed his head into the floor, and broke the horn off which undid the changelings disguise. I held the bug down long enough for the guard to hold it in a bubble, but then more changelings came out of hiding and started attacking the other guard. They didn't have any armor on, so I didn't immediately suspect that any of the guards were changelings, so I unsheathed my spear and poked some of the changelings to death. I got five confirmed kills before there was a huge pain on my face.

Thankfully, Twilight was there and interrupted the spell before I was affected too much, and didn't immediately succumb to the pain. So much happened at that moment that I don't remember much, but I do remember that a manticore with glowing green eyes showed up and I punched its face in. After that, the pain overtook over me and I collapsed.

When I woke up I was in a hospital, where I was greeted with the lunar princess, Princess Luna. I was about to be condemned for the crime of invading Ponyville but Twibright, Anon, and AppleJock helped me out. That's their names, right?

Anyway, they convinced Luna that I wasn't a spy and I was given a mirror where I found that half my face, my left arm and most of my chest was chitin. My left hand still looked like a hand but covered in, well, chitin. The plates shifted as I moved them, and they were polished like a mirror. The chitin was a contrast to my tan skin, but it didn't really bother me too much.

After the doctor checked me out, as I didn't really have any injuries, and I went back home. I was later informed that I had killed five changelings and one changeling controlled manticore, who were the only ones inside Ponyville. I had pretty much saved Ponyville, they told me. The other changelings came too late because by then Twilight had already erected a barrier around Ponyville, and that that gave the royal guard enough time to come and chase off the changelings.

Quite a lot of things to take in, and I've only been here for a week and a half.

Oh, also, Anon had to give Twibright his magic for the barrier, which flushed him out and now he has a nice light turquoise colored magic.

Day 10

After I got up, ate, and cleansed myself, everyone was to be assigned to a royal guard. I was paired up with one who was named Flutter Rose, a mare with a curled magenta mane and a light pink coat. After she put on her armor, though, her coat became bleach white and her mane became that striped blue that came out of most the guard's helms. I still didn't have my helm so I just put on my armor and had my spear in hand at a resting position. The patrol was very quiet. After it was over I went ahead and left to the smithy. I found out later that Flutter was Tempered's niece, so you can imagine my surprise when my partner almost tackled the old man in a hug. Tempered trusted me enough to leave me by myself working on the farming tools, so on I worked. He was satisfied with my work and I got eighteen bits despite only having done very little.

I wanted to spar with someone who actually had some experience with a spear, so I invited Rose to my home. A few jokes about hitting on ladies later, I ended up getting my ass handed to me by a pastel pony with a stick. She didn't even use her magic, and she kicked my ass. We sparred for a while, earning both of us tired and bruised bodies. The bruises we both had were fixed up with her magic, and she complimented on how fast I learned how to use a spear. Honestly, I just wanted to try the martial arts from those games on an actual moving target. Some of the ones I thought were plausible turned out to be pretty shit and a few of the ones that looked like they only looked cool actually worked, if only because they seemed so absurd that Rose got caught off guard. Maybe if I had magic, I could make some of those moves work better, but that's for later.

We got a bite to eat at some restaurant and we ate in silence. Rainbow Dash broke the table and would have ruined the food if we weren't already finished. I had to pay for the table because Rainbow dashed away from the problem after seeing me, which left me with a less money.

I went to the antique store after I cleaned myself at home to find out that it wasn't there anymore; the building just up and disappeared. So instead I just went back home.

Tomorrow I get a day off, so maybe I can convince Twilight to give me a magic core- Telekinesis sounds wonderful right now.

Notes: Spells are divided into levels, from ten to one. Levels ten to eight are the kind of spells allowed to everyone, seven to five are for the certified, four and three are for military use only, and ranks two and one are spells only extremely powerful mages can cast.
The origin of magic is the earth. Magma overflows with magic, and that magic is the raw primal magic which seeps into the air around it, filling the magic void like water in an empty cup. Raw magic needs a catalyst in order to be used. Mana is the magic that comes from the core in the soul, which filters raw magic into mana. Raw magic is used in Potions, and some spells- usually ones that deal with nature. Mana is used for almost everything else.
Runes are a thing, according to the magic lesson, but its kept secret to anyone who isn't a unicorn.

Reminders: ~~Check back with the Antique store when you have money.~~
Find out what happened to the Antique store.
Check the blacksmith regularly.
Your soul is magical, be careful about power hungry demons.
~~Find out more about the chitin and magic ooze you have.~~
Find out more about Rune Making.