Nebula Stepper: A New Beginning

by WanderingDuplighost

Rating: teen
Tags: Alternate Universe, Drama, Original Character, Adventure, Discord, Main 6, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 8601

What happens when a human turned pony crash-lands into Equestria and meets its citizens? An epic adventure that’s probably NOT what you thought would happen.

After an incident involving lightning and a PC, one lucky young man turned stallion gets the chance to live in a world filled with magic. One problem though, he doesn't know how to get back, or how to deal with all the new crazy antics this world has waiting for him.

Published 2018-04-09 05:20:06 UTC
Last updated 2019-01-07 01:04:19 UTC

Chapter 1- A Doozy of a Wake-Up Call

A Doozy of a Wake-Up Call

As the pristine sun begins to set on the many hills miles ahead of me, I slowly stand up, my head spinning as I pull it unstuck from a mud puddle. I shake my head, flinging mud around as I try to recognize my surroundings. It seems like i’m deep within a forest, as I'm surrounded by small wildlife and hundreds of trees as far as I can see. Staring ahead doesn't seem to help, as I'm only met by darkness and feral animal calls.

"H-hello?" I call out, immediately noticing my voice becoming somewhat softer than before. I decide to raise my hands to amplify my voice, but quickly yelp and tumble back as I'm meet with two brown hooves. "But.. I... When did...? How is this even- Argh!" I yell out, seeing my once okay body now being short and long. I quickly make my way over to the cleanest puddle of water and look into it, almost fainting at what I see.

Two small brown eyes stare back at me, darting around quickly at the situation at hand. My brown coat almost seems to blend in with my long and jet black mane and tail almost blocking my vision in the darkness, and a strange marking on both sides of my rear being the only colorful thing enough for me to distinguish well. The marking depicts two dark brown horseshoes on a white cloud, similar to the ones overhead me.

As I sit there contemplating on what actions to take next, I overhear multiple feminine voices heading in my direction and, without any further thought, I quickly jump into the nearest bush I can find. As I see six figures lumber over ahead, I silently start wishing that, whatever's in store for me, good or bad, could at least explain what happened, why my body was like this, and how do I could go back to the only place that mattered at the moment: home.

~~~~~

"It's not my fault we're lost in this forest again!" The rainbow-mained pegasus yells, "If anything, its Fluttershy's for wanting to check on that family of ducks near that huge puddle!"

Six mares walked along the forest path, some panting softly from the trip exhaustion, while one in particular seemed to take out her agitation verbally.

A trembling yellow pegasus whispers back "B-but... I hadn't seen Ms. Duck and her children in months now since I last saw them, it would be mean to just ignore them like that.. I'm sorry if I interfered with our mission."

Her mumbling was muted as another mare, a hatted orange one, began hollering back. "Consarnit Dash, stop blaming flutters for the time you wasted trying to race me and the birds round here! I'm plum tired of this trip already, Rarity, Pinkie, how you two holdin' up?"

"I'm superwonderfulicious, thanks for asking AJ!" the cheery pink mare at the far back of the group sings, bouncing impossibly high as the white mare with a petite and fashionable raincoat around her gasps and begins ranting.

"How are you all okay with this!?" She gawks at her companions "It certainly is most NOT okay! It's not even raincoat season and here I am wearing the absolute WORST one because of the urgency of this mission. For Lunas sake, I let Sweetie Belle and her friends run the Boutique during this expedition!" She starts to tear up while sing-talking, "I'll most certainly lose valuable customers and lots of bad publicity is going to affect my career and Sweeties never going to become a successful fashionista like me and-"

"That's enough, Girls!” An authoritive yell silences everyone. The 5 turn their heads to face the lavender pony at the front of the group, map and compass tightly grasped in her magic aura, with even more notes hanging out of the satchel at her side. She slowly takes a deep breath before speaking in a more calmed tone, "Sorry about that everypony, I'm just tired from this mission Princess Celestia assigned us. Now, how about we all settle down and get to the reason we're here; It's our duty to go and see what landed around here."

Dash speedily flies next to the leader, putting her hoof around her and giving a weak smile. "We're sorry, Twi, we've been a little on edge too, and while it might be someponies"- she stops momentarily to glance at Applejack, her replying with a scoff - "fault were a bit behind on schedule, I'm sure we'll find whatever weird thing decided to land here."

"Thanks, Rainbow," Twilight smiles back as she turns to face the group. "Now, we're about right where the princess told us a small, strange form dropped and collided last night. It could be dangerous, but it could also be the next big discovery for pony kind!" She squeals before composing herself, "Because of this, I brought along the elements, so I want you girls to be ready for anything."

After preparing, they all nod before waking into a clearing, most of the plants and other scenery being knocked some distance away from presumably the small crater in the center. Rainbow's eyes light up in excitement and fear before shakily turning to a jaw-dropped Twilight, "Whoa... The princess said small? For this kinda explosion?"

Twilight quickly recovers from her shock as she pulls out wads of papers with notes scribble on them, "T-this cant be! The Princess saw what she saw! She even described it as pony-like when she could make it out in the moonli-" She freezes, dropping all of her materials onto the soft soil, unable to move as her pupils became the size of needles, "Unless...".

Pinkie Pie began to tremble as she looked around, "Twitchy tail, itchy mane, left fore hoof trembling..." She finally lets out a loud gasp at she points at a nearby bush, "There's something, somePONY in there!" The whole group freezes as they hear a small whimper come from the bush.

Author's Note

Hey, Duplighost here! As you could probably tell, I'm pretty new around these parts and would love for some people to give me feedback, share some tips with me, and even follow and rate my attempts at writing! I've heard wonderful things about this community, so I'm positive I can find some great folks around here. Thanks for reading, and stay cool!:moustache:

Chapter 2 - Caught Red-Hoofed

As I gasp at the feeling of my hiding spot being pulled from me, I leap backward in desperation, hitting my body against a tree in the process. My vision flickers a bit before I realize I’m out in the open and defenseless.

I groan slightly before looking up to see what deadly creature was waiting to make me its lunch before my blood turns ice cold. My mind goes blank as I recognize the 6 figures in front of me almost instantly, questioning my own sanity for a moment.

The very characters I had seen countless times before on my television screen were now staring at me in confusion, almost all of them with a look of worry and fear in they’re eyes. I open my mouth and try to speak, but all I can manage to let out is air.

I tense up and try to let out any possible noise I can as the pony closest to me, the quirky but ever knowledgeable student I had seen so much of, begins to speak to me.

“U-um.. hello? Can you hear me? Can you understand me?” I slowly nod my head as they all jump back in surprise, the blue pegasus even assuming a battle stance before being calmed down by the orange earth pony.
“Okay..” The violet unicorn resumes, getting out a notebook full of information and beginning to jot things down “Do you have a name?”.

I try to speak again, more successfully this time, although I can only sputter out random words in my total shock and disbelief. “But.. you’re.. and she’s.. how are you... ugh...”. My vision finally turns dark as I feel myself fall into a deep slumber, only hearing a few panicked shouts as I descend further and further into darkness.

~~~~~~~~

”You ___ manage to wake ___ and explain himself? I still don’t think we should have helped him.”
”Stop it Rainbow, he could ___ for a while. It could very well take ___ or weeks for him to recover fully.”
“Ah still don't know what all that nonsense he was spoutin’ was about, but I ahm glad we were able to get him outta those woods.”
“Quiet girls, I think he's waking up! Don't wanna ruin the surprise party!”

I quickly bolt upright, coming face to face with the pink party planner herself, merely inches away from each other as her smile grows larger by the second.

Scooting backward, my surroundings suddenly become familiar to me; a hollowed out tree doubling as a home and local library. The room I'm in is a small bedroom, books scattered around the wooden floor and a small medical kit on the large desk next to me, along with ink and pens.

My attention shoots back to the mere on top of me grabbing me and shaking me around lightly, ”Welcome to Ponyville, mister! I'm Pinkie Pie, and behind me are my best friends Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and-”

”T-Twilight! Get her to stop!”, I manage to yell out, quickly becoming nauseous from the unexpected awakening and movement. Pinkie drops me, her face changing from one of joy to confusion. She carefully looks me over again as she hesitantly asks me, “How did you know her name?”

I realize I've caught myself in a corner as Dash joins in, “Yeah, and how come you freaked out when you saw us, huh, bud? You some kinda creep?”.

Rarity begins yelling at me next, ”Did Blueblood send you?! Oh, I knew that ruffian hadn't gotten over me, but I didn't think he'd send over such an unkempt, dirty little spy on me!”

”Um... girls... Maybe we should all calm down a bit... He seems rather harmless to me..”, Fluttershy spoke up, shaking a bit as she grabs my hoof in a friendly gesture.

”So.. What's your name?”

Everything’s going to be just fine... I hope...

“E-erm... My name?” I look around at the ponies around me, gulping as I quickly struggle for an answer.

“Uh, Duh.” Rainbow Dash flew over and hovered on the bed above me, getting uncomfortably close. “Everyponies got a name around these parts. Now spill it, if you even have one.”

My mind flooded full of far-fetched names, scrambling to try to pick one to blend in like if It didn't just pop out of thin air. Come on, think! Something they would believe... Aha, Got it! I quickly cleared my thoughts before I announce my hopefully convincing name, “Just call me Nebula. Nebula Stepper!”

As everyone else seemed to slowly accept my curious nickname, Twilight's eyes lit up at the mention of it, scurrying over to me and shooing Dash out of the way, “Nebula? Like as in cloud? Is that why your cutie mark is what it is? Wow, this might be the first ever reported case of an earth pony with pegasi abilities! Can you show me sometime? I would love to have the opportunity to study, I mean, socialize with a stallion like-”

She was interrupted by Rarity grabbing her, pulling her into a group huddle at the corner of the room. They seemed to buy it as they muttered amongst themselves, Twilight and AJ arguing softly against Dash and Rarity as Fluttershy mumbled almost inaudibly for everyone to calm down. I turned back to the end of the bed, only to see Pinkie trying her best to stay out of the situation. She slowly leaned over to me and whispered, “I honestly don't find ya all that bad, but I tend to stay out of sticky situations like these. I'm sorry if you have to go so soon, but I Pinkie Promise I'll make it up to you with a goodbye cake!”

After what seemed like hours, the group separated, Rarity and Rainbow Dash's faces showing disgust and concern as Applejack roped her hoof around me and gave me a less-than-comfortable squeeze. “Welcome ta the group, pardner! We’re mighty glad to have you here with us and not you attackin’ or plottin’ against us.”

I began nodding my head furiously as I pointed at my neck, my face becoming slightly tinted blue before being let go, AJ grinning sheepishly as we all walked downstairs for some tea. I gulped nervously as I’m stared down by the fashionista and athlete, both of them sitting opposite me as a familiar young drake walked in with a tray of cups for each mare. “Here ya go girls, your favorites!”, he seemed to blush a bit as he handed Rarity her drink, before making his way over to me, “And as for you, I just gotcha Chamomile. Hope you don't mind.”

I nodded before taking a small sip, “Oh, not at all, Spike. At least I'm finally gonna drink something. Man, it feels like I've gone days without water...” He suddenly froze, his eyes narrowing and eyebrows furrowing in confusion before I was once again face to face with Rainbow Dash.

“Dude, how do you know every single one of our names!?” She practically spat in my face, “We've never seen you in our lives, so how do you know ours so well?” I froze for a bit but quickly cleared my throat before answering.

“Well, it's kind of hard to not know the six new heroes that saved Equestria from darkness, am I right?” I mentally sighed in relief as they all agreed, before continuing to ask where I was from. We spent some time asking each other basic questions, me saying random facts I vaguely recalled from the world I was now in and telling them I was a roamer, used to going town to town and generally being where I was needed. I told them I didn't really have that many possessions, so I was lucky I ended up here after a small explosive incident back home to explore a new town and meet new folks.

After a while of them not catching any errors in my fib, they slowly opened up more, telling me the tales of the things they had done since Twilight first arrived. I nodded and smiled at all of the tales I had seen before, but still acted as if I was enthralled. I listened on the edge of my seat at Rarity being kidnapped by diamond dogs and the group's quest to save her, laughed at the antics of their past rivals, and cheered at the retelling of how the wicked Nightmare Moon was turned back into the fair Luna.

“And... that's pretty much it!” Twilight chirped, seemingly happy to have found a chance to detail her previous feats. “Well, although there have been some weird geographical anomalies that have been…” She stopped as Spike whispered something in her ear, “What's that, Spike? Oh, really? I didn't realize we had been talking for so long.” The six began to stretch from sitting for so long, me doing the same, as the visiting five said their goodbyes.

“G’Night, Sugarcubes!”

“G-goodnight everypony, sleep well.”

“Bon voyage, darlings!”

“Night-night everypony!”

“See ya guys tomorrow!”

I waved and was about to leave before I felt a hoof on my shoulder. “Oh, you don't have to go, I have a spare mattress if you'd like!” Twilight seemed excited for some extra time to talk to me, so I smiled and nodded as she squealed and rushed to the closet.

After a bit of waiting, she came back and handed me a thick leather book as she set up the mattress near the wooden table in the center of the library. I skimmed through it to find it was empty before speaking, “Um, Twilight? Any reason you just handed me a blank book?” She laughed a bit as she picked it up with her magic, flipping back to the first page and writing something in it.

“Oh, this is a notebook, but not just ANY notebook mind you. This is your brand new journal, in which you can document whatever you want to in here, whether it be inner thoughts or questions.” She turned it over to me, showing off the text ‘Property of Nebula’. I opened my mouth to speak, but was quickly muted as she held up her hoof, “You can mark anything you don't want anypony to read with a small note, but I do need your permission to send this journal regularly to Princess Celestia, so she can see that your not a threat and possibly even a new student of hers!”

I nodded, and with that, she quickly hugged me, muttering a quick thank you before she turned and called Spike. I smiled and began to panic as I felt my face becoming red, quickly turning away to hide my face as she thankfully didn't notice while walking up the stairs to her bedroom. She and Spike said goodnight as I tucked myself in, answering while getting comfy and putting the book next to me on the floor.

I was beginning to fall asleep before an idea struck me, slowly sitting up and grabbing a pen off the desk near me. I paused for a second and stared at my hoof, wondering how I was even holding the writing utensil before shrugging and beginning writing on the first available page. After a half-hour, I decided to stop and rest, placing the book back next to me and laying down, a smile on my face as I departed to Luna’s realm.

——————-

Dear Princess Celestia,

Hello there! I guess I should introduce myself after the weird way we meet, well, you met me. I'm Nebula, the figure you saw crash down in Everfree Forest. I'm sorry I wasted you and the others’ time in going on checking who or what I was, but I'm glad I do finally have the chance to meet six heroes and even the honor to have the princess of the land read my letter. I hope I have the chance to get to know and even tag along with the elements, and hopefully even have a chance to exchange letters with you and learn more about this new place. The girls and townsfolk seem friendly, so I'm certain I'll enjoy and stay in this pretty cool town longer than others I've visited.

Your New Acquaintance and Possible Student,

Nebula

Do Not Read Further

Well, seems like one of my lifelong dreams has come true! I'm still not sure how I got here though, and I'm still getting used to being a pony. But, even if it is was the result of some sort of freak accident and I'm in a coma somewhere, I'm gonna finally see what it's like to be a part of the show. It's gonna be pretty entertaining to test and see what different events I can change or even avoid altogether. Hm, I might help out somewhat, but I finally have the chance to experiment and see what these girls and the others are made of. Now, since they did say the Gala was recent, I gotta start preparing for Discord. Somehow I gotta make a plan to get on his good side somewhat, but still be ready to jump ship and imprison him at any moment, and finally be able to trick the trickster himself. It won't be easy, but, as long as everything ends the way it should, I should hopefully be okay… right?

—————————

Broken Bonds and a Brand New Adventure

As I approached the two guarded doors leading to the main throne room, I felt a bit proud of myself; I finally got to see what it was like to take down an actual bad guy. Well, I didn't really do that much, but I still felt almost felt as much a hero as the 6 girls walking beside me. With the added fact that, the minute the doors swung open and we stepped inside, the place was filled with hundreds of ponies smiling at us helped solidify it. I smiled a bit, beginning to wave back softly.

I proudly wore my newly made scarf and shirt, hand-crafted the previous week by Rarity herself. The scarf showed off a bright array of pinks, purples, whites, and yellows while the shirt had a mostly orange design, with stripes and jets of cyan strewn around. She said she made it for me as a “gift from all of them”, but in reality, I just think she wanted me to have something to wear. It didn't really matter to me though, as I had something to keep me warm and somewhat fashionable.

Some seemed confused as to why I was there, but I just kept walking until we all stopped in front of Celestia herself. She began her speech, "We are gathered here today to once again honor the heroism of these six-" She stopped and was seemingly taken aback once I cleared my throat, but immediately composed herself and continued, blushing ever so slightly. "Ahem, seven friends, who stood up to the villain Discord and saved Equestria from eternal chaos."

The crowd cheered as Celestia turned to reveal the brand-new stained glass window hidden behind two drapes, detailing the defeat of the god of chaos at the hands of the six. I felt Rainbow lean over to me, “Hey, don't let this fame get to your head, rookie. I still don't know why the princess invited you, you barely helped!”, she slyly joked.

I smirked, “Not my fault you're still mad at me for tackling you before you could run away from regaining your memories.”

She pouted a bit, “Well, it's not mine either you played dirty by being all buddy-buddy with him, hay, ya almost convinced us you were on his team!”

I shook my head before giggling, “Jeez, a bit barbaric though. Dontcha think? Guy gets sealed away and we mock him with a window, while he's supposed to be the nasty one.” We both snicker quietly before turning to the crowd, smiling as confetti and streamers rain down on us. Everything finally seemed right in my life, no longer having to deal with the monotony of my old one with scarcely any friends. I had a whole reputation to my name with probably hundreds of ponies that at least knew who I was now, along with six wonderful friends who helped each other through thick and thin. Looks like things might start to look up for me, and maybe I'll even get to be the hero someday…

KA-BOOM!

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a large explosion, followed by a low rumbling noise as a tall, slim figure appeared behind the window. The object then crashed through it, sending hundreds of glass fragments flying while ponies cowered in corners, some running out of the room. The object turned out to be the newly made statue of Discord, slowly cracking open as pieces of dark magic ripped chunks of stone off of him. I couldn't help but to just stand there in shock as the princess stood her ground next to me, the others scrambling to find their elements.

After a while, deep cackling filled the room as a lounge chair complete with an umbrella and a small glass of lemonade appeared next to me, Discord relaxing and sipping out of it. “Ah… I guess it's true what they say. You DO only miss things you take for granted once you lose them.” He slowly stood up, stretching as he suddenly looked down at me. “Isn't that right, Nebula? After you tried to fool me to believe you were my ally and, dare I say, even a friend of all things?”

I began to step back as the Draconequus snapped his fingers and teleported, jumping at the feeling of a hand on my back before I'm surrounded by my six friends. Celestia was the first to approach him, "Let him go Discord! He had nothing to do with your defeat."

Dash butted in, "Yeah, if you want trouble with him, you're gonna have to go through us again!" All six girls nodded.

Discord all but laughed as I was levitated into the air, flailing a bit, " Oh, heavens no, I've learned my lesson from the six of you already. I'm only doing you a favor by disposing of this cretin for you!"

"But he's our friend!" Twilight shouted, her eyes beginning to narrow, "For these past few days he's been there for us, spending time with us and helping us do things around town, he even helped us in defeating you! So, unless you want to be sent to the moon in stone, I suggest dropping him!"

He only cackled harder, sending shivers down my spine as I felt my whole world breaking down. This wasn't supposed to be happening.

"Oh girls, can’t you see he's tricked you into a sense of security? I understand if you find it hard to believe, so I'm here to open your eyes to the true knowledge this... creature has." He snapped his fingers summoning two objects to his side; a small vial filled with a golden, glowing liquid, and Spike.

Twilight flinched and began to panic, "M-my truth serum potion! Spike! So help me, if you damage EITHER of those two..."

Discord grinned, his tail pressing up Twilights chin, "Don't worry my dear, it is just a small test run to prove to you I'm serious..." He lifted Spike up by the tail, taking the opportunity of him gasping to open it completely and slowly counting 3 drops of it into him. He began to grumble as he held his head, muttering gibberish. Twilight and Rarity tried to run to his aid before being held in place by chains that had materialized behind them, both yelping and desperately pulling against them, "Give it some seconds." Discord pulled out a pocket watch and stared at it in mock boredom, Spike slowly beginning to come back to his senses, a small aura of yellow coming out of his eyes like beacons. "There we are! Let's see how well you did on your potion, Miss Egghead!"

Spike tried his best to squirm and run but was raised higher up into the air, being presented to the whole group. He began to hyperventilate and thrash around wildly, realizing what was about to happen. "D-discord, please! I don't want to do this! Not now! I'm not ready! don't make me say it! I'll do anything, ANYTHING!" His pleas fell on deaf ears as the biggest, most sadistic grin formed on Discords face before he asked one simple question.

"Innocent, young, naive Spike." He began, "Is there anything you would like to admit to this young fashionista here? Any thoughts or opinions at all?" He stifled laughs and chortles as Spike began to nod his head involuntarily, his body beginning to glow brighter by the moment before he finally opened his mouth to speak.

"Y-yes, there is. Rarity Belle, I love you! I always have! I think about you day and night, imagining ways to woo and surprise you. You're the kindest, sweetest pony I've ever met, and... and... I WISH TO BE YOUR COLTFRIEND!"

Everything seemed to freeze as the poor drake clamped his claws over his mouth, face turning beet red as he landed on the floor with a thud. He could do nothing but to just sit in pure shock and emotional agony, Rarity too stunned to even say a word. The only sounds filling the room was Discord’s mad chortling and another sound that nobody expected to hear; Me beginning to join in with him.

I froze, everyone staring daggers at me as I began to thrash around, the vial loomed ever closer to me. “Now, to out you for the phony you really are!” I squeaked at the feeling of my jaw being wrenched open, gagged at the drops making their ways down my esophagus, and wheezed as I began to feel… empowered?

It felt as though I could say or do anything and it wouldn't matter in the slightest! Beginning to chuckle harder and harder, I noticed my brown coat turning into an oil-like color, beginning to radiate with fits of uncontrollable magic. I didn't care though, finally letting out all of my innermost thoughts and the things that would probably ruin my new life forever.

“Hah, about time somebody finally made you say it, wimp!” I belted out, “And here I was thinking I would have you say it until after the whole wedding fiasco, but looks like ol’ jigsaw puzzle over here did it for me!

Everyone paused for a few seconds, Spike looking up at me nervously, “W-Wedding...?”

I raised my eyebrow a bit, before finally realizing what kind of position I was in, “Oh, right, you guys don't know about all of this. Well uh... to put it bluntly, I know a ton about you guys!”

The looks of pure bewilderment and shock I got was almost enough to snap me out of the trance I was in, but my body kept talking, even though my conscious and soul were practically begging that I would just pass out right then and there, “Don't worry, I don't know EVERYTHING about you guys’ life, but I do have some pretty big chunks of it.

For example…”, I looked over at Pinkie, a small glint of maliciousness visible in my eye, “Pinkamena Diane Pie, born on a rock farm and work there along with her other siblings until she discovered her talent by throwing her very first party inside a windmill! Other noteworthy attributes include being able to foresee into the future slightly and all around bending the rules of physics.”

Pinkie gave an audible squeak as her hair seemed to deflate, her whole body taking on a darker shade of pink as she slowly backed up, Applejack taking her spot.

The rest all seemed to be frozen in a state of utter shock and disbelief, except for the feeling of Celestia staring daggers at me. “L-Lucky guess, pardner,” AJ blurted out, obviously a bit disturbed, “But I betcha ya can't know EVERYTHING we've done!”.

I cocked my head a bit, a small grin appearing on my face as I leaned forward the best I could, “Oh really now? Arent you the one who worked so hard that they could barely stand straight from sleep deprivation and basically has a rivalry with the pony you're supposed to be friends with?”

Her face went pale as she stumbled back a bit, landing with a thud on the floor as I shook my head, “Don't you guys get it? There's nothing about you guys I don't know, I basically control your destinies! Might as well just throw in the towel now, because its only gonna get harder from here on ou-”

And that was it. Just like that, I felt myself black out momentarily and all of the feeling of power leave my being, my body slamming against the ground in a cruel wake-up call. As I regained control of my own actions, I quickly jumped to my hooves and started to back away from the now approaching mob, The Goddess of the lands on their side as well.

“W-wait, guys… I didn't mean to-” A lavender hoof makes me stop dead in my tracks as I felt my heart sink.

“Enough… we get it. Just go before we change our minds…”

Before I could get one last word in, I heard a snap come from behind me as my body was zapped away into thin air, leaving a group of shell-shocked ponies and one very confused and scared Goddess.

Concocting Chaos

I appeared inside my recently built home, a small cottage residing on the outskirts of the town, decorated with things I picked up at a local trade festival in downtown ponyville the week after I arrived, along with little trinkets I had gotten from the ponies around town as housewarming gifts. I quickly scrambled up and looked myself over, my coat thankfully back to its dull brown and rest of my body intact. I looked up and immediately began fuming at the laughter resonating from inside one of the paintings hung up on my wall, Discord’s gray head phasing out as he clicked his tongue.

“Tsk tsk, you really thought you were gonna get away with this whole trap? How adorable..” He giggled slightly, his smirk widening a bit in as I charged at him full force. I was seeing red, my body barely registering the pain when I slammed face first into the blank space in the wall where he was.

“Now I know why they locked you in stone, you monster…” I hissed, pulling my head out of the small dent in the wall I made. Vision a bit blurry, I spun around to face him once again and got ready to try again before he yawned, grabbing luggage he pulled from behind his back as he headed towards the door.

“You know.” He stopped and looked back, “we should really get going. The royal guards are making their way here as we speak, and you definitely don't want to get caught by them. If I merely threw a whole town into chaotic fun, imagine what they would to do you!”

“M-me!? All I wanted was to live happily here and just enjoy this! Why would they lock me up?”

“So hiding vital information about the future and tricking 8 of the most powerful mares in Equestria is no reason to be punished to you? Especially when you caused tons of collateral damage all over the land?”

I was about to speak when it finally hit me; The natural disasters Twilight was talking about, the mini tornado at the fair Dash had to take care of, the huge chasm I almost fell into during the maze, the havoc during the ceremony and Discord being freed.

“W-wait... So you mean I was the one that..”

“Exactly. Besides, most dark magic is influenced by the bearer, and since you are an earth pony..”

I gulped, the whole situation just now dawning on me as I began to rush around my abode, grabbing and stuffing things into bags as fast as I could. After everything important was cleared out, I turned to leave. Before I could leave though, I froze and weighed my options, before sighing and turning to the creature now wrapping itself around me and looking me dead in the eyes.

“So, since you are going on the lam, and since I am rather interested in seeing on how this will play out…” He wiggled his eyebrows somewhat, me taking a deep breath as I mentally kicked myself.

"Alright...fine, I guess you can join me, but no more funny business, got it?"

He snapped his fingers and shrank in size, hopping onto my back as he rubbed both of his hands in excitement. “Excellent! You won't regret this! Now, we must get a move on if we’re gonna-

A sudden blip cut him off, him jumping back as a black, paperlike strip of darkness shot out of my coat and stretched over me, letters forming on it.

Discord joined your Party!

I looked back, him shrugging as we both looked around confused.

"...What?" The text advanced.

This sly trickster can be useful to trick and confuse opponents, also being able to use short-range teleportation when necessary! He is a bit on the lazy side though, so don't expect much and try not get on his bad side!

The box closed, it going back into my boy as I couldn't help but shudder and run out into the vast woods, Discord peering over my head. If I was gonna get cured and fix this mess, only one person I knew could deal with this mumbo jumbo.

“So.. that whole thing back there makes me guess you like those childish video games that are starting to catch on?”

“H-hey! They're fun, alright?”

“Ya know, this place isn't so bad.” I was back where it had all began, walking on a barely visible trail deep into the Everfree Forest. “Sure, there are some weird wood wolves from time to time off in the distance, but it's actually pretty peaceful out here.”

Discord trembled a bit as an animal howl resonated from the woods left of us, crows flying off across the sky, “Speak for yourself, the only reason I can even tolerate this place is because I could take on anything that comes at me. Although, why are we even going through here anyways? We could have just bought train tickets.”

I shook my head, “No time, I have to see someone who can help me with this curse, and I know the perfect gal. The only problem is gonna be finding her house in the middle of all of these woods.”

After a bit, I spotted something a familiar patch of blue flowers, seemingly recently stepped on. As I got closer, they had many hoof-shaped indents scattered around them, not even reaching the other side as they seemed to just stop and turn the other way.

“Poison Joke! We must be close!”

A set of low growls stopped me in my tracks as I slowly turned around, whispering a bit as a pack of 3 timberwolves approached me as Discord held his breath.

“N-nice doggies… i'm not here to hurt you…” I started backing away slowly, them still trailing in front of me. As I was about to leave though, a howl resonated through the silent and tense air, the source being a now laugh-stifling companion as the Wolves went into a frenzy.

I bolted, hearing ravenous snarls and barks as I randomly skidded left and right through the dark forest as I could feel my heartbeat pound through my skull in exhaustion. As my legs felt as if they were about to give out and vision was about to fade, I spotted a door with lights inside, almost as if it was a gift from the goddesses. I didn't care who it was, I just barged in and shut the door shut, thumping and scratching emanating from behind the door.

Before even getting the chance to take a deep breath, a familiar rhyming filled my ears and filled my body with a sense of hope.

“What are you doing here, waking me up with a scream!? It is 1 AM and I need to dream!”

Bats and Backgrounds

“Zecora!”

I shakily forced myself onto my hooves, muscles screeching in exhaustion as I rushed over to the Zebra, practically tackling her in an embrace before being shoved back. “Ugh, another one of you deadbeats asking for bits. I already told the rest of you to go away, you're testing my wits.”

“W-What?” I looked myself over, noticing my shirt was ripped to shreds from all of the branches and bushes I must have run through, my scarf being completely absent from my neck. I groaned, feeling like I had lost a small piece of myself, “No, I'm here because I need a favor.”

She seemed to get a bit flustered, twisting her head away in disgust. “Away with you, stranger! I may be patient, but I'm not that kind of favor exchanger.” I could hear Discord beginning to chuckle softly, my face burning red in embarrassment as Zecora resumed reading from a book on an old oak desk, in sprawling with all types of plants, liquids, and instructions for other stuff I couldn't begin to wrap my head around.

“If you came here to jest, then I do not need you as my guest. Now stop with the compelling, I need to practice for my Nightmare Moon storytellin- GAH!”

She jumped back a bit, bumping into the boiling cauldron in the middle of the room as she looked above my head, a small amount of panic seeping through me as I felt the tiny chaos god jump off from the top of my head and land beside me, “Well well, a fellow magic manipulator? Its been ages since I've met someone with my hobby!”

She quickly turned and grabbed a purple vial with a small skull printed on it from her workstation, prepared to chuck it before I yelled and help my hooves up in defense. “I won't have any hesitation to throw this unless you explain what has gone amiss!”

“I need help!” A crash resonated through the room, slowly starting to open my eyes as I noticed the vial now splattered all over the wall, it bubbling as it burned the wood to a crisp as we all silently stared at it. Zecora slowly turned back to me, I wearily got up and tried not to make any sudden movements as I approached her.

“How did you”-

“I just need your assistance, Zecora. I've heard lots about you, and how good of a shaman you are. I need help, and you're the only one I can turn to right now.”

I explained my situation as best as I could, the strange occurrences with magic id been having and trying to omit the fact I was basically a runaway from my actions. I even tried to demonstrate my strange powers again, the only result was a faint dark aura emanating from my body as a nearby flask erratically jerked into the air. After the whole spiel, she seemed surprisingly calm as she motioned us to follow her, leading us up the staircase and through a door to a small library tucked into the back of the bedroom.

“I thought the legends were just hay, I never thought id see the day..” She opened up one of the books, dust filling the room as I coughed, Discord pulling a tissue out of seemingly thin air and passing it to me, chortling a bit as more and more colored rags kept connecting to it as I rolled my eyes and gave a weak chuckle. Zecora's flipping seemed to go blindingly fast.

“The legend foretells of a group of misfits, trying to keep the world from crumbling to bits. A cursed..” Her brow raised a bit as she read on, “hoomin.. will wander the land, soon finding luck in making a band. A lord among jokesters along with a lazy worker, accompanied by a confrontational bat and shady lurker. The group will overcome perils and then some, all until they find four pieces of scattered pages to render the spell numb.”

She turned the book to us, two of the pages at the back off the book being torn out completely, along with a picture of a vaguely familiar charm on the previous page.

“Finally, a snowy introvert and outcasted demon will join in the aftermath, to determine their fates and give new hope to all who crossed their paths.”

The book shut with a thud, my eyes slowly filling with childhood wonder. “Woah… well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!” I was awestruck, already imagining all the way I could impact Equestria as I bolted for the door. I did a U-turn, “Erm… where to?”

Discord seemed less than pleased, sighing, “As much as I love spreading chaos to as many as I can, is there any way to stop this any faster? An immediate cure for this… “Human”s curse?”

Zecora leered at him, “Well, the only true way is to use the fabled Alicorn Amulet, but tweaking would be needed for it to be capable of Dark Magic management. Perhaps that aqua mare who, frankly is hopelessly self-absorbed, could be used as a resort.”

I jolted and snapped my head towards her, “Wait, did she call herself the grea”-

“-t and powerful Trixie, indeed it was her. She came here a while ago, looking for directions to a place to work. I sent her over near Appleloosa to a rock farm, from what I've heard of it sounds rather calm”.

“Great! We could stop to maybe take a look around the town for help. Although... We do need some help out there.”

Zecora looked out from a window, looking down at what seemed to be her backyard in the forest as she seemed to space out for a bit. “I could give you metals and alloys used for some of the brews I prepare, but you must do something for me, if you dare.”

“Erm, sure! What is it? Want me to clean your yard or somethin’?” Discord quickly covered my mouth, grumbling as he just looked back at Zecora.

“Well, recently the storage in which I kept my extra brewing ingredients has been turned into a residence, some shoddy figure being a bother with their presence. I don't need any conflict, so I must ask you to talk to them and evict.”

I looked outside, shivering as I could hear timberwolves howling in the distance, “Fine.. just hold up your end up the deal, okay?”

Zecora nodded, Discord opening his mouth to speak before I grabbed him and started pulling him back downstairs, mentally preparing myself for the worst.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I approached the small cottage made shed surrounded by a set of trees, I jumped a bit as more wild animals called in the distance, the leaves flailing in the wind as I looked around wildly. I quickly built up my courage and made my way up the steps of the shed, swinging the door open as I looked around.

The inside was caked in dust and cobwebs, old scraps of iron and what seemed to be arcade machine parts littered the floor, along with loose cables and jars of indiscernible age and contents. I then looked up, noticing something hanging off of one of the support beams. It didn't take long for me to see what it was; a sleeping bat pony, wings around itself in a form of camouflage along with the rest of the darkness surrounding it. The only way I could of seen it being the barely visible multicolored tail.

Discord was hiding behind me this point, even him being too rattled by the situation as I slowly approached the sleeping figure and called out, “H-hello..?”

As soon as its wings opened up to reveal a set of piercing yellow eyes, it lunged down, stopping in front of me as I jumped back outside, tumbling down the stairs and landing on the dirt with a thud.

“Well well, a genuine earth pony… guess they really are cowards when it comes to this sort of stuff.”

I lifted my head up slightly, a bit confused to be met with a female batpony. Her gray mane seemed to shimmer in the moonlight as her amber eyes stared down at me, a blank expression adorning her face that seemed to be looking me over as he adjusted her glasses.

“Excuse me- Ack!”

I was suddenly pulled onto my hooves, not even given time to think as she began to circle around me, looking over my whole figure like if I was an exhibit. I blushed slightly as she even began noting every feature on my face she could, her face barely an inch away from mine as I could feel her breath on my snout.

“Somewhat tall figure… average build… long mane and tail… I guess you'll have to do. I’m Amy, nice to make your acquaintance.”

She extended her left hook as I shakily grabbed it and shook, still a bit rattled from the whole event that occurred.

“Nebula… nice to meetcha as well.”

“So, let me get right to the point. I was hoping I would meet somebody reasonable to discuss and solve my troubles with, but all I got what that weird witch that stays home and brews potions all day long… until you, that is. I had to leave my village near Hollow Shades, the citizens drove me out for being too “free-spirited” for being the daughter of the mayor. Not like I ever wanted that stupid position in the first place… But I need to get back home somehow. ”

I shook my head, “Well, I can somewhat relate, I've been through something similar recently. Although, why do you wanna join me? I mean, if you're the daughter of the mayor, didn't they speak up for you or anything..?”

She paused, thinking her answer over, “I'm not going back like that, I wanna prove to them in a strong enough person to come back and show them all how wrong they were. Besides, my father is a reckless fool anyways, and I've never been much for social interaction. And as for why, It would be rather boring to just travel the land alone, Don't you think?”

“I.. erm..”

She was suddenly at my side, my heart beginning to race as she leaned herself on the side of my body, “Come on, you seem like a confident enough guy. Well, more or less anyways. It'd be fun to travel with you and... Whatever that thing is.”

Discord scoffed a bit, beginning to approach her “Well, excuse you! I happen to be a draqo-”

She suddenly hissed, showing sharp and almost pearl-white fangs as Discord shrunk in size, backing away slowly.

She then turned back to me as if nothing had happened, a hint of a smile on her face as she continued to rest on me. I think she could sense how low my resolve was getting, because she practically rubbed herself onto me, dropping her eyelids as she whispered three words right into my ear that made me break right then and there.

“Please… for me?”

My face was beet red as I nodded my head hysterically, standing up and scurrying off back into the tree to thank Zecora for her help. With a smile, Amy walked onto the path again with Discord following behind her. Discord looked down at her, a cautious but inquisitive look on his face, “How did you..”

Amy giggled, “Trust me, with all the guys living in that village, you learn how easy it is to confuse them and slink away scott-free with whatever you desired.”

Zecora followed me out, going into the shed for a few seconds before coming out with a large bag full of scrap iron and wires, her struggling to give it over to me as I almost tumbled over.

She pointed over in the direction of a dirt path through the woods, it being barely visible through the bushes and weeds, “The train station is to the west, I wish you luck on your quest.”

“Thanks, hope everything goes well at Nightmare Night” I started off, somehow managing to drag the 30-pound heavy sack along with relative ease, still starting to break a sweat as I dragged it along. Amy just trotting off ahead as Discord followed closely behind.

Amy Joined Your Party!

“Oh, come on!”

Author's Note

Welp uh I'm back I guess, sorry for being gone so long. Lifes pretty rough sometimes ain't it? More coming soon!