Namesby MalowithChapters0: A Prologue1: A Change2: A Threat3: A New Day0: A PrologueNames That was the first thing he thought. Why were there three? The first one, Jack, was expected. It was his after all. The next one confused him. It seemed more like it should be a phrase than anything, but the two words definitely were a name. His name. No, his name was Jack. But yet it was somehow was also this other name. His thoughts turned to the third name before he had a chance to linger. The third one was the strangest. It was the least like a name and more like a single word, a word he did not know yet also knew intimately. Like it was on the tip of his tongue. Yet something about it felt name-like. It was also his. He reached through his thoughts to find out what these names meant. Then the memories came. And his thoughts returned to darkness. Jack awoke with a start. The names from before returned along with the memories. 'Jack' was unique, everything about it felt different, completely separate from the others. The phrase name, conversely, had no unique memories, all of them shared with the last name. That last name, though, had some all to itself. He tried to figure out the names. He did the most basic name first. Jack was a simple name. It came with memories of school and a simple life. Not complicated at all. The third name brought a lot more, a cave, hiding, and survival were the most prominent. The third name was connected to the second, which brought similar thoughts. He started to focus more on the name itself. It was a simple phrase that he recognised. He brought it to the forefront… “Blue Screen!” He shot out of bed and immediately stumbled. “Just a minute!” he called out as he looked at his clock. It was half past ten and he was late. That was probably a customer coming in to retrieve something he repaired and he had yet to set up shop. He stopped. Realizing he was pulling from the memories of Blue Screen he let himself continue. He got up on his hooves to open the front door to his combined home/shop. Wait, hooves? He looked down and saw he indeed had hooves. Half of him just glossed over this fact while the other half paused, shocked. He fought inwardly for a bit until he decided that doing so would be pointless. As he continued to look over his own body he noticed a few even more surprising/normal, depending on what part of him you asked, features. He was a pony. His mane and tail were a fairly normal white, while his coat was a half-shocking blue color. Half of his concentration went about his hygiene, bored of looking himself over, while the rest continued. He quickly noticed the next two features as soon as he appeared in the mirror. For one, he had a horn. This, while quite shocking, was nothing compared to when he noticed the image of the combined part circle and line of a computer’s power button on his flank. Checking the other half’s memories for confirmation, half of him hit a realization. With his grogginess fading away he was able to process all of the information his mind gave him. Just a week ago he had started watching this world on the internet. I’ll give you one guess which. He wasn't as surprised as he expected. Sure, he was internally freaking out, wondering what was real or if he was crazy. But despite that he felt strangely... normal. He barely got that thought out before he realised he should hurry up. He ran to the front door and let the white pony there in. She gave him a smile. “About time!” joked Octavia, who was standing in front of the counter alongside Vinyl Scratch “I hope the repairs are ready” Blue Screen nodded and trotted to the back room. He opened his electronics shop a few years ago when he moved here. He made and sold gadgets and, of course, did repairs. The store brought in little money, but that was not what he was looking for. Money was great and all, but he really just wanted something to eat. Vinyl was his best and favourite customer. Being the only place that could repair her equipment, he got a lot of business from her. Sadly she was nearly his only business. Occasionally someone else would come in with some gadget or a kid would come in to buy a toy or game he made, but that was rare. As he brought out Scratch’s fixed speaker; Octavia thanked him for her, said a few things then left. Only part of him was paying attention, and when he processed the information, Jack stopped walking. “Thank you for the repair, Blue. Without this she wouldn’t be able to perform with me at the Summer Sun Celebration after party in a couple days” said Octavia as Vinyl smiled and nodded in turn. Ah, that explains some things. Jack knew what this meant, it placed him right before episode one. Just a single day until Twilight came to ponyville. Two days before Nightmare Moon’s return. Author's Note Well, here it is, my first story. If anything, I'd call this a daydream journal. So if anything good comes out of this in the long run, I'd be surprised. 1: A ChangeJack knew everything would be fine. Jack knew there wouldn’t really be a problem. Jack knew he was already in a half panic. Half of him stopped listening as soon as they realized that Nightmare Moon was returning. He started hyperventilating, rapidly losing oxygen and energy. In a last ditch attempt to stay conscious, he erupted in a green flame. Where there once was a blue unicorn there was now a black bug-like creature. A changeling. The origin of Name Three revealed, Jack started panicking as well. That was all it took for him to fall unconscious. This was never in the show, Jack had never seen anything like this before. Name Three’s memories filled his mind. He learned, or rather remembered, everything about changelings. Most prominently the fact that he didn’t want to be one. He was rogue, a freeling, separate from any hive and forced to live on his own. He also learned what his third name was. Canthus, the corners of the eye. When did he learn that? When he was a grub, right? No, he was never into biology, especially as a toddler. What he didn’t get, though, was where this creature was in the TV show. He just finished the first season, on recommendation by his friend, but he'd never seen anything like this. He didn’t have much time to reflect, though, as a loud sound from outside roused him from his thoughts. The sound was that of the loud screeching of metal on metal from some precariously placed equipment in another room, though Jack would never know exactly what made it, but that is not what is important. With Jack’s multiple memory sets, he was more confused than just Canthus himself would have been. This caused him to slightly flitter his wings in an instinctual response to his stress. Thus, just like the metaphorical butterfly, he changed the future forever. Except, instead of causing a storm, he prevented one. The breeze left through his window to the house next door where a single piece of paper was blown off the table and under a cabinet, lost forever. A piece of paper that bore the weather schedule of a section of Ponyville. A section near a bridge planned to have a bunch of rainclouds placed within to water the greenery nearby before being cleared. A bunch of rainclouds that a certain rainbow maned pegasus was going to use the very next day to wash the mud off of a very annoyed unicorn. And that would change everything. Jack, of course, didn’t know this. He changed back to his pony form so he could finish the day of work and think about everything that has happened so far. He didn’t get any headway, though, and went to sleep that night unsatisfied. He didn’t sleep well at all. He woke up the next day groggy and tired. Yawning, Jack got up and nearly opened up shop when he remembered that he was closed today in preparation for the celebration. Releasing the sign he was about to flip with his magic, he instead took hold of the doorknob and opened the door. Only to dive back in to avoid the splash of mud. “Uh, ‘scuse me?” Laughed Rainbow Dash. Twilight just growled angrily at her. “Let me help you”, stated the pegasus after laughing once again, searching for a nearby cloud. Jack started walking past them, knowing what was going on was normal. “Darn, none of these clouds are rainclouds” Jack stopped dead in his tracks. Twilight groaned, “As much as I would love to stay and chat, I have to find a place to wash up” Panic set in, he knew they had to talk. If they didn't, who knows if Rainbow would support Twilight in the future. He had to do something. He cleared his throat to get their attention. “Oh, hey,” said Rainbow, turning around, “Didn't notice you there Blue” It made sense that she knew him, Ponyville was a small town after all. “Hi Rainbow. You can use my hose if that's fine with Twilight” “I'd rather no-” She said, then paused, “How do you know my name?” His heart rate increased, “Uh, well, I heard about you from, er, I knew you were the Princess’s student. I, uh, visited Canterlot once and I saw you there. You don't know me and you were reading, so I didn’t bother to, er, bother you” “Okay…” She, surprisingly, seemed to at least somewhat accept that. Probably was skeptical, though. Rainbow took her response as a sign of consent and blasted her with water, nearly knocking Twilight over. Rainbow giggled, "Oops, I guess I overdid it. Um, uh, how about this? My very own patented Rain-Blow Dry!" She then proceeded to fly in circles around Twilight, creating a cyclone of rainbow and blue. "No no. Don't thank me. You're quite welcome," She said as she finished her dry job. When the dust settled, the Twilight that emerged was wearing the second poofiest mane any of them had seen. Rainbow Immediately burst out laughing and spike soon followed. Blue Screen didn't think it was that funny, but a part of him still let out a giggle. "Let me guess. You're Rainbow Dash," said Twilight. Good, things were back on track. Jack quickly snuck his way back inside before things derailed again to wait until they were gone. Canthus could do his errands later. He was tinkering with a new toy he was making, a little dog that did a back flip when given downwards pressure and released, when he heard the mares outside say their goodbyes. Hopefully the day would get back on track. When he opened the door, however, there hovered Rainbow dash, hoof poised to knock. “I don’t believe you,” She lowered her hoof. “Huh?” He said in response. “I guess that unicorn, I think you called her Twilight, doesn’t have good social skills because even I could see through that lie,” said Rainbow, “I’m going to trust you. I’ve seen you around enough to know you’re not a bad pony; but, if you’re hiding something big, I hope it’s nothing bad,” and she left without another word. He shut the door, put today's purchases away, and went to get ready for Pinkie Pie’s party. He hadn’t gotten the invitation quite yet, but he knew it was coming. Sure enough there was a knock on his door and opening it revealed a pink blur leaving behind a pink envelope, the blur briefly stopping at each door to do the same for his neighbors. Jack opened the letter for a quick skim. “... Party ... new pony ... library ... Yup, I was right” He put the letter on a nearby table and quickly left the building. The walk through town was usually pretty uneventful, so he spent the time reflecting. He noticed that he hadn’t noticed the multiple memory sets as much as before. The knowledge had already begun to bleed together wherever possible; and he didn’t have to switch mindsets to go from thinking about what he knew from one set to another. How easily he was navigating town came to mind. He was slightly worried about this. Would one take over the other? Would they become an unrecognizable mess? Would he be able to handle all of this? What if he couldn’t go back home? His gut clenched as that last thought struck him. He might not see his human friends and family again. A feeling of despair started welling up inside him and he knew he was going to start crying. Suddenly he was grabbed and forcefully pulled into the dark, the character just in front of him shushing him extensively. He nearly delved even deeper into panic before his eyes adjusted and he saw the mass of ponies and books surrounding him and he calmed back down. “She’s almost here!” Whispered the dark pink shape next to him. Sure enough, he heard the sound of hooves just outside the door. The door opened and then slammed back closed. “Huh. Rude much?” Asked one voice. “Sorry, Spike, but I have to convince the Princess that Nightmare Moon is coming, and we're running out of time! I just need to be alone so I can study without a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time. Now, where's the light?” Exclaimed another, reaching for the switch. “SURPRISE” “Surprise!” Yelled Pinkie, blowing a whistle. “Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for you! Were you surprised? Were ya? Were ya? Huh huh huh?” “Very surprised,” replied Twilight, “Libraries are supposed to be quiet” “Well, that's silly! What kind of welcome party would this be if it were quiet? I mean, duh, bo-ring! Y'see, I saw you when you first got here, remember? You were all "hello" and I was all GAAAUUUUUHHH, remember? Y'see I've never saw you before and if I've never saw you before that means you're new, 'cause I know everypony, and I mean everypony in Ponyville!” Twilight groaned and walked to the snack table. She grabbed a cup and started pouring what she must have thought was a bottled drink into it. “And if you're new,” Said Pinkie, “that meant you haven't met anyone yet, and if you haven't met anyone yet, you must not have any friends, and if you don't have any friends then you must be lonely, and that made me so sad, then I had an idea, and that's why I went GAAAUUUUUHHH! I must throw a great big ginormous super-duper spectacular welcome party and invite everyone in Ponyville! See? And now you have lots and lots of friends!” Twilight’s face had distorted from the heat of the hot sauce she had just drunk. “Are you alright, sugar cube?” Asked Applejack. Tears started flowing down Twilight’s face. “Aww,” Said Pinkie, “she's so happy she's crying!” Twilight ran upstairs, leaving a purple blur behind. "’Hot sauce’. Ooh…” Spike said, examining the bottle. Pinkie grabbed the sauce from his claws and poured a good cup of it on a cupcake that she then ate. “What?” Pinkie asked, mouth full, “It's good!” She swallowed the cupcake, “Too bad the guest of honor left, parties without the guest of honor are like cupcakes without hot sauce. They’re still super good, but they are missing that super duper special something” The rest of the night after that was a blur of faces and food, the amount of emotion just pouring from the ponies around him caused a feeling that would usually mean an extremely nasty hangover the next morning. He never had to eat for at least a couple days after a Pinkie party. When he regained normal thought process he only remembered a particularly eventful game of pin the tail on the pony that ended up with his horn stuck in the ceiling, Pinkie being launched out the window, and spike getting a surprisingly fashionable lampshade as a hat. Eventually it was time to head to town hall for the ceremony. A feeling of dread washed over Canthus, but he knew it would turn out fine in the end. He ended up in a spot near Pinkie and waited for the show to start. Author's Note I'll try not to have too many recaps of things you've all already seen in the show, but there will have to be a few just by the nature of the story, sorry. If a scene doesn't change significantly, I'll do my best to skip it. 2: A Threat"Remain calm, everypony, there must be a reasonable explanation!" "Here she comes," He whispered to himself. Celestia was missing and he knew who came next. Behind him, a light blue ear swiveled in his direction. "Ooh, ooh, I love guessing games! Is she hiding?" "She's gone!" He didn't gasp with everyone else, and a second blue ear turned his way. "Ooh, she's good," Pinkie said followed by a yelp. He failed to gasp again as Nightmare Moon appeared onstage. "Oh no... Nightmare Moon," whispered both Twilight and Blue Screen. Spike fainted. One ear shifted slightly toward Twilight, and two purple eyes turned in their direction. "Oh, my beloved subjects. It's been so long since I've seen your precious little sun-loving faces" Rainbow's attention shifted back toward Nightmare Moon, "What did you do with our Princess?!" she asked as she launched herself toward the demon onstage. "Whoa there, Nelly..." Applejack forced out through teeth she used to grab Rainbow's tail. The Nightmare chuckled, "Why, am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?" "Ooh, ooh, more guessing games! Um, Hokey Smokes! How about... Queen Meanie! No! Black Snooty, Black Snooty—" Applejack shoved her hoof into Pinkie's mouth. "Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years? Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?" "I did. And I know who you are. You're the Mare in the Moon – Nightmare Moon!" Jack mouthed the words as Twilight said them, but said her name aloud. Both were the only ones not to gasp in response. Rainbow only grew more suspicious. "Well well well, somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here" "You're here to... to..." Twilight gulped The Nightmare chuckled again, "Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!" Lightning struck and her chuckle turned into a full villain laugh. Chaos broke out through the room and the guards were as ineffective as ever. Everypony ran, and Blue Screen did his best to blend into the crowd. "Not so fast!" yelled Rainbow as she swooped in and grabbed him, "Something's up, tell me" "I don't know what you're talking about, put me down!" Blue yelled fearfully over the rushing wind, louder than was needed, squirming fearfully in her hooves. "Don't try to pull that with me, unless you want me to let go" He looked down, the distance to the ground making Jack's heart skip a beat. He wouldn't risk that without wings, and there was no way he was revealing himself in the middle of a town full of panicking ponies. Up ahead he spotted Rainbow's second mark, Twilight, running with spike held in her magic. "How did you know about Nightmare Moon, huh?" Rainbow continued, "Are you a spy?" Oh no. Oh no. Logic fully slipped through the terror. Jack was terrified of the fall beneath him. Canthus was terrified of the Nightmare behind him. Blue Screen was terrified that Rainbow was right and he'd been discovered and he'll probably be locked in a dungeon forever and he'd messed up time so bad they'll fail to stop Nightmare Moon and it's all his fau- SLAP Blue Screen raised a hoof to his cheek. He was back on the ground. Rainbow Dash was standing in front of him, foreleg still raised across her chest from slapping him. "ow" was all Blue said, quiet as a whisper. Rainbow lowered her hoof, "Sorry, I, uh, didn't know what else to do. You were panicking and wouldn't respond." She shuffled on her hooves, "Look, it's obvious something's up, especially after... that. But I guess I shouldn't have laid into you like that. I'll get back to you if I need to, but hopefully Twilight will have answers," She turned and entered the library that he hadn't even noticed was there. Blue wiped a wetness from his eyes, apparently he had been crying. He stood up from where he sat on the ground, and followed after her. "It was under E~" Pinkie bounced by right as he opened the door. "Oh" was Twilight's response. That... was a bit quick, wasn't it? Rainbow had just arrived. Why was everyone here already? No, it was Rainbow who was late, from having to carry him here and deal with his panic attack. "...the Everfree Forest" Twilight finished reading. "Ain't no way you're going in that forest alone" Applejack announced for the group. "You all really don't have to come with." Twilight said. Rainbow jumped in, "And miss out on kicking that Nightmare's butt, no way!" "At least let us lead you to the edge of the forest, darling." Said Rarity, to witch Fluttershy nodded. "It'll be fun!" Pinkie added, jumping into the middle of the group. Blue watched this and, realizing that leaving at this point would probably be a bad idea (let alone embarrassing), smiled a weak smile. "We've got your back, Twilight." “Let go” “Are you crazy?” The cliff broke when expected. Jack had tried to hold back a bit so not to fall, but managed to lose his footing anyway. He slid down the slope and ended up a good ways from Twilight, who had been crying for help. He had grabbed a branch and found a ledge for his back hooves to stand on, a luxury Twilight didn't have. Blue could see Dash was in position to catch Twilight, but Fluttershy had started hovering around him to try to help him down. She looked nervous, as if she wasn't really sure how to go about this. "Go help Dash catch Twilight," Blue suggested, "I'm stable right now, I'm not so sure about her." “No I ain't. I promise you'll be safe,” responded Applejack “That's not true!” Twilight's grip on AJ's hooves slipped a bit, her rear hooves scrambling at the cliff wall. “Now listen here. What I'm sayin' to you is the honest truth. Let go, and you'll be safe” Twilight looked around and saw Blue Screen smile, "They'll catch you," he said. And Twilight let go. “Wait.” The manticore was putting up a fight, repelling everything being thrown at it. Only Jack seemed to notice the yellow pegasus trying to get attention from the sidelines. It was hurting him to just watch this happen. "Wait" There wasn't any good reason not to stop this early. The manticore was already in pain, and Fluttershy didn't deserve to be ignored. “Everybo-pony stop!” He yelled at the top of his lungs. They did just that. Even the manticore. “Thanks” said Fluttershy, not noticing Jack sigh. The trees were even more scary in real life. Or actually, scary at all. Actually they were pretty silly looking in the show, now they were downright terrifying. Probably a fear spell or something. Not that any of this crossed Canthus' mind, he was too busy screaming. Once Pinkie started singing, however, that silliness became apparent once again, Pinkie's laughter breaking the spell. The song continued and Jack, knowing the words, even added some backing harmonies. He felt almost compelled to actually. A heartsong, Canthus noted, he could hear the nonexistent instruments. As the song reached its final few bars the fear spell fully broke, the faces fully disappearing a bit before they should've. “I simply cannot let a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected!” Taking a scale from the surprisingly feminine sea serpent, Rarity cut off her own tail to use as the missing half of its mustache. "You look smashing." Rarity commented with his mustache in place. Jack didn't really agree, sure it was better than having just the one side, but they didn't match at all. He got an idea. "If I may, could I try something?" He asked the two of them. Twilight looked woefully at Rarity's tail, but Blue had spoken up before she thought to say anything. "Well, sure. Although, what is it you're going to do, if I may ask?" Rarity said. "Would you prefer those to match?" He asked the serpent, hoping to answer Rarity through action. "That would be even more wonderful!" the serpent said, "This is such a lovely color and shape." Canthus wasn't very good at magic, at least compared to most ponies who would use these types of spells. But if there was anything a changeling knew how to do it was transform. He reached out and grabbed the blonde side of the mustache and concentrated. Hair to Hair. Just changing color and shape. He thought to himself. He wasn't very good at this kind of thing. Calling himself 'out of practice' would imply he had formal training in the first place. Extenuating circumstances didn't quite give him the chance. With a pop the mustache changed, he sighed in relief as the serpent squealed in glee. "It's beautiful!" Blue Screen stepped aside to catch his breath, after a time the grateful serpent formed a bridge to help the group across the river. “Thank you Mr…. uh” Said Jack “Magnet, Steven Magnet, and it’s no problem. I should be thanking you!” “It really is no issue,” replied Rarity, “It looks great on you,” She then turned to Blue Screen and spoke in a medium whisper "Promise to come to my shop some time soon, I'm getting ideas~." “Don’t listen to them!” Yelled Twilight. A fog swept in, blocking Rainbow, the bridge she was supposed to tie up, and the mysterious ponies with her from view. "Who were those ponies, what are they talking about over there?" Fluttershy asked in a soft voice. "Nothing good on both counts ," explained Twilight, "There's no reason anypony else should be out here, especially tonight, that is unless they were trying to stop us. I've got the sneaking suspicion that some of the things we faced tonight aren't quite coincidence." The fog must have been magically enhanced, as the next few seconds were passed in silence, not a sound was heard from the other side. "Is... she coming back for us?" Twilight asked. The group looked at each other nervously. A minute had passed. This was taking much longer than it should. “Don’t worry,” said Jack, “I trust her” Sure enough, shortly after, the fog cleared and Rainbow came back over. “See? I never leave my friends hanging” Rainbow didn't disclose anything else after that. What happened back there? Jack eyed the ruins just ahead, unsure about the future. He rushed up the stairs. “Because the spirits of the elements of harmony are right here!” They arrived just in time. “What?” “Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of... honesty!” “Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of...kindness!” “Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of...laughter!” “Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift represents the spirit of...generosity!” “Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire represents the spirit of... loyalty!” Each of the mentioned ponies floated in the air, a ring of shards circling them. That was all five. But Twilight was on a roll. “And Blue Screen, who may not represent an element, helped and stuck with us anyway. He guided us with his actions and voice bringing us together with empathy!” She placed no emphasis on the final word like she did the others, but that didn't matter. Suddenly he found himself floating, and down in a ravine just outside something stirred. A forgotten gem lifted from the dust behind a tree where it had laid, hidden, for centuries. It flew towards the castle. “The spirits of these six ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us.” “You still don't have the sixth Element! The spark didn't work!” “But it did! A different kind of spark,” she turned to her friends, “I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all... are my friends! You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the... the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of... magic!” There was a flash, and suddenly the element of magic appeared in the air. The spectacle was so grand that it hid the movement of a green gem launching itself into a high speed orbit around Jack. And then, rainbows. “Ugh” He was the first one to wake up, and good thing too since his disguise was down. He quickly shifted, black chitin turning to blue fur. The next thing he noticed was the necklace. It was ornate, with a golden brace holding onto two emerald green gems in the shape of his cutie mark. “Ugh, my head” said Rainbow. “Everypony okay?” Asked Applejack “Oh, thank goodness” Proclaimed Rarity, looking at her reformed tail. “Why Rarity, it's so lovely” said Fluttershy. “I know! I'll never part with it again” “No, Your necklace. It looks just like your cutie mark” “What? Ooh. So does yours” Fluttershy gasped in surprise, not noticing her necklace before. “Look at mine! Look at mine!” Yelled Pinkie, bouncing over. “Aw yeah” proclaimed Rainbow. “Gee, Twilight!” Said Applejack, “I thought you were just spoutin' a lot of hooey, but I reckon we really do represent the elements of friendship” Suddenly, a bright light radiated from the window, from which came a voice. “Indeed you do” Twilight gasped “Princess Celestia” “Twilight Sparkle,” said Celestia, “my faithful student. I knew you could do it” “But…,” replied Twilight, “you told me it was all an old pony tale” “I told you that you needed to make some friends, nothing more. I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her, but you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart. Now if only another will as well,” Celestia walked over to the dark blue figure in the corner, “Princess Luna” Princess Luna gasped. “It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this,” said Celestia, “Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister” “SISTER?” Yelled Twilight and Rainbow together. “Will you accept my friendship?” Asked Celestia. Luna ran forward and hugged her sister, “I’m so sorry, I missed you so much big sister” “I missed you too” The hug was eventually broken up and the princesses turned around. “I would like to thank all sev…” Celestia paused staring straight at jack, “A seventh?” Everypony turned to look at Jack, confusion written on all of their faces. Rainbow Dash regarded him carefully, lost in thought, while Twilight stared intensely at the necklace around his neck. Jack himself felt really self-conscious all of a sudden. A nervous grin graced his face. “Do you think we missed this one, sister?” Asked Celestia. “‘Tis highly possible, we were urgent in our search for a weapon against Discord. Panic might have clouded our perception.” “I suppose we were young after all,” Celestia chuckled, “Perhaps I should take the elements back to Canterlot for study, but for now we should focus on my sister’s return” “You know what this calls for?” Asked Pinkie. “A Party!” The party was just as amazing as any other of Pinkie’s parties. How it was set up by the time they got back to town, nopony would know; but it was fun nonetheless. Everypony in town was included and the party lasted until sundown. Every face had a smile except three. Luna, who was disappointed the party had to end. Especially just before nightfall. Celestia, who was still mulling over the seventh element. Examining it even as she left for Canterlot in her flying carriage. And Jack, who knew that he had royally screwed up. He sulked back to his house and got into his bed. Waiting for sleep, he was forced to think. He would never get his lives back. Most of the sorrow came from Jack, as Canthus didn’t care much. He was already alone. As Jack, though, he had friends and family. How were they reacting now? Did they think he was dead? If only he could go back… But would he? He had a responsibility here and six ponies he knew would become great friends. He stared into his mirror and concentrated. A flash of green signaled a change, and where Blue Screen once lay was Jack’s natural human form. He frowned, It didn’t feel right anymore. Sighing, he changed back and closed his eyes, drifting into slumber. Author's Note Lots of cover for stuff in the show, but trust me It'll be all new stuff next chapter. Oh, and don't worry. Element seven doesn't just exist, I've got reasons and I've got lore. It might take a while to pop up, though, since the element's origins don't show up until we learn about The Pillars. Despite that, you may not need to wait as long as you think. ;) 3: A New DayHe awoke with a start once again. Grumbling at his restless sleep, he got up and set up shop. He turned the sign to open and went behind the counter where he tinkered for hours on a toy he was building. It was meant to be a little wind up manticore, but the balance was off and the wing motors wouldn’t function. He focused solely on his work, like the distraction it was. If he focused on his work he didn't need to think of anything else. After a couple hours he was just getting the wings to move in sync with the paws when he heard the bell over his door ring. Looking up, he smiled as he saw one of his favorite customers. “Hi Scoots!” “Hey, Mr. Screen,” replied Scootaloo, “Do you have any cool new stuff?” “I’m actually making something right now,” he said, lifting the toy in his magic, “Just let me fix something and you can have it” He quickly found the cause of the balance problem, one leg was set too high, and fixed it. Winding it up, he placed it on the floor and let it go. The plastic contraption walked forward, flapping its wings and roaring its mechanical roars, until it stopped and fell over with a clunk a minute later. Scootaloo watched from the side with fascination. “How much?” She asked, eyes wide with childhood wonder. He smiled, “For you? Let’s say… 20 bits” She beamed and reached into her saddlebags for the proper amount. Jack took the money and gave her the toy, which she happily held in her mouth and left with a muffled “Fank ou” The bell rang as she left and he turned back to the counter, but his concentration was already gone. No matter how hard he tried to fool himself, he couldn't ignore all of this forever. "What have I done?" He'd helped save everypony. He'd done good, protected the ponies he'd grown so fond of, and gotten weeks worth of feeding done to boot. "But I wasn't meant to! Things are different now! Everything could go horribly wrong in the future and it's all my fault!" But they could get better too. Besides, he couldn't leave now. Ponies would look for him. That hadn't stopped him before. He moved here because he was nearly discovered in Canterlot. He left Chicago when his parents tried to force him to stay with them. He'd learned to always be ready to leave. But, this was different. He wasn't in danger, he actually stood to gain from this experience. He hadn't done anything anyone considered wrong. Quite the opposite, actually. Those weren't the real reasons, though, the big problem was that he actually cared for these ponies. He hadn't known them long, besides being acquainted with Rainbow Dash since he moved here, but the measly twenty-six episodes he'd seen was enough to love these characters. Except, they weren't characters, not anymore. They never were, really, and every time he remembered that it shook him to the core. Jack began packing. He'd memorized his escape plan. He had to, just in case. Once he was gone everything would return to normal. Sure, he'd never get answers, and sure, they'd look for him. They'd probably be upset and - he didn't go any further. He couldn't do that to them, they didn't deserve that. They'd be hurt and that hurt might change things more than staying ever would. With a sigh, he unpacked his bags, grabbed his soldering iron, and got back to work. Why did it have to be today? "Rainbow Dash! Were you following me?" Blue Screen had been out buying wires a week later when he ran into everypony in front of Sugarcube Corner "No. I mean, yes. I mean, maybe. Look, it doesn't matter. I couldn't risk a goody-four-shoes like you giving that ticket away to just anybody" Just as he thought, the ticket. "Wait just another minute" There was Applejack, just on time. Should he leave? He didn't even want the ticket, the Gala is kinda the worst, and he knew their experiences would be even worse than his. "Applejack, were you following me too?" He could stop the argument right now, actually, before it escalated. That would mean going off script, however, and who knows what that would cause. "No. I was followin' this one to make sure she didn't try any funny business. Still trying to take my ticket." But there was no script, these were real ponies with real emotions, not just some voice actors reading off a page. He could taste their anger boiling, but Twilight's stress stung the most. They didn't need this, they were hurting themselves and he could stop it by just- "Okay, that's enough!" Everypony stopped and looked at him, no going back now. "I know you hate to hear it, but none of you are entitled to that ticket. Just look at Twilight, guys, you're stressing her out. She needs to figure this out herself and this certainly isn't helping." "But she promised-" "Did she actually, though? She can't have promised all of you. Give her some room to figure this out and I'm sure you'll all be happy in the end" He glanced at Twilight and on her face was the faintest of smiles. Blue Screen returned home late that night, golden ticket held in his magic. His little speech didn't completely stop the shenanigans that day, but when they all gathered in the library Twilight didn't seem as close to breakdown as he remembered. He placed the ticket in a nearby drawer for safekeeping. Was he always that good at diffusing a situation? Sure, he was good at problem solving, it came with being a programmer, but he always sucked at reading people. Only, he was good at reading people, it came with being a changeling, he just didn't know how to use that knowledge effectively. Interesting that his skills would combine like that. What else could he do now? Two heads are better than one, after all, it would just take some thought. Whatever force did this to him probably chose them partially because both Jack and Canthus had electronics knowledge. Unfortunately, electrical engineering was not the same as programming and that meant- "I can do both" Sure, Canthus could repair an arcade machine he found in the junkyard, but he didn't know the first thing about fixing a program and had to buy an arcade board new. Similarly, Jack could tell a computer to play Pong with only binary, but had to call someone over just to hook the computer up. Would Blue Screen be able to do both? On this realization, he ran to the storage room. Time to dig up some old memories. When he lived in Canterlot he worked in the royal science lab. He wasn't a scientist himself, but he was high up in the engineering department, fixing their most complicated machines. Being so high up brought in some perks and he managed to convince his boss to let him use the newest, top of the line calculator when doing his work. It was supposed to be returned when he quit, but he didn't exactly leave a two week's notice and the guards weren't going to give him the time. He should still have it, then. He stuffed it away because of the painful memories, but after a good twenty minutes, he found it. It looked exactly like a TI-84. Not exactly 'top of the line' nowadays, especially to human standards, but he knew these things were pretty good. If he was going to do what he was planning it would do the trick. He was going to make a handheld gaming console. Start out small, program Snake and design a controller to put in. He sat down and got to work, and no sleep was had that night. God, he missed video games. A couple weeks passed and progress was slow going, he had a job after all. He attended Applejack's ceremony and later helped pick apples when she finally accepted help. Though he enjoyed the company and the apple juice was good, he was eager to get back to work. "Thank you again for the juice, A.J., and it's been nice talking with you all, but I've gotta get going." "Are you sure? We've barely seen you all month, dear. I certainly understand wanting to do your best for your clients, but surely you can spare just a little more time," Rarity protested. "Yeah! You avoiding us or something?" asked Rainbow. He was, but he wasn't going to admit it. Hanging out with them still felt weird, he didn't belong here. Like he was messing something up that he had no business in. "No, no. I've just got this big project I'm excited about that's almost done" Pinkie jumped on the table, nimbly avoiding everyone's drinks, "Well, if you're super excited about it you should tell us so we're super excited too! Unless it's a surprise, no one wants a surprise ruined" "Heh, no, I guess I can tell you. You guys know that arcade on Main street?' A few of them nodded, Twilight spoke up, "I've passed it before. Oh! Are you working on something for them? Perhaps a new game?" "Actually, I guess I'll be working against them, you see, I'm currently building a device to play games wherever you want. They certainly won't be as good, at least to start, and a lot less cheap on the consumer's side, but i'm only getting started" "How interesting," Rarity remarked, "I know Sweetie Belle visits that arcade occasionally. I don't know how, it's not- well, let's just say it's rather sticky in there, but I'm sure she would love it" The next few hours flew by, they talked about many things as their shadows grew longer. By the time it was over, Blue Screen didn't feel quite so weird. Author's Note Still nervous about writing this thing. I have some confidence issues that I hope I'll eventually get over as I write it, especially since this is the first full chapter I've written this year. It doesn't help that this chapter isn't exactly action-packed. The chapters before this were actually written a year ago, though they are heavily edited from their original forms. It may take me a bit to get back in the swing of things, so don't be surprised if this chapter gets edited a couple times. Tell me how to improve, but be gentle please. That being said, you'll notice I largely skip over episodes that don't change or only do so in a minor way. I will, however fully write out any scenes or even full episodes that change drastically. If there are any episodes that you want to see me cover, let me know in the comments.
0: A PrologueNames That was the first thing he thought. Why were there three? The first one, Jack, was expected. It was his after all. The next one confused him. It seemed more like it should be a phrase than anything, but the two words definitely were a name. His name. No, his name was Jack. But yet it was somehow was also this other name. His thoughts turned to the third name before he had a chance to linger. The third one was the strangest. It was the least like a name and more like a single word, a word he did not know yet also knew intimately. Like it was on the tip of his tongue. Yet something about it felt name-like. It was also his. He reached through his thoughts to find out what these names meant. Then the memories came. And his thoughts returned to darkness. Jack awoke with a start. The names from before returned along with the memories. 'Jack' was unique, everything about it felt different, completely separate from the others. The phrase name, conversely, had no unique memories, all of them shared with the last name. That last name, though, had some all to itself. He tried to figure out the names. He did the most basic name first. Jack was a simple name. It came with memories of school and a simple life. Not complicated at all. The third name brought a lot more, a cave, hiding, and survival were the most prominent. The third name was connected to the second, which brought similar thoughts. He started to focus more on the name itself. It was a simple phrase that he recognised. He brought it to the forefront… “Blue Screen!” He shot out of bed and immediately stumbled. “Just a minute!” he called out as he looked at his clock. It was half past ten and he was late. That was probably a customer coming in to retrieve something he repaired and he had yet to set up shop. He stopped. Realizing he was pulling from the memories of Blue Screen he let himself continue. He got up on his hooves to open the front door to his combined home/shop. Wait, hooves? He looked down and saw he indeed had hooves. Half of him just glossed over this fact while the other half paused, shocked. He fought inwardly for a bit until he decided that doing so would be pointless. As he continued to look over his own body he noticed a few even more surprising/normal, depending on what part of him you asked, features. He was a pony. His mane and tail were a fairly normal white, while his coat was a half-shocking blue color. Half of his concentration went about his hygiene, bored of looking himself over, while the rest continued. He quickly noticed the next two features as soon as he appeared in the mirror. For one, he had a horn. This, while quite shocking, was nothing compared to when he noticed the image of the combined part circle and line of a computer’s power button on his flank. Checking the other half’s memories for confirmation, half of him hit a realization. With his grogginess fading away he was able to process all of the information his mind gave him. Just a week ago he had started watching this world on the internet. I’ll give you one guess which. He wasn't as surprised as he expected. Sure, he was internally freaking out, wondering what was real or if he was crazy. But despite that he felt strangely... normal. He barely got that thought out before he realised he should hurry up. He ran to the front door and let the white pony there in. She gave him a smile. “About time!” joked Octavia, who was standing in front of the counter alongside Vinyl Scratch “I hope the repairs are ready” Blue Screen nodded and trotted to the back room. He opened his electronics shop a few years ago when he moved here. He made and sold gadgets and, of course, did repairs. The store brought in little money, but that was not what he was looking for. Money was great and all, but he really just wanted something to eat. Vinyl was his best and favourite customer. Being the only place that could repair her equipment, he got a lot of business from her. Sadly she was nearly his only business. Occasionally someone else would come in with some gadget or a kid would come in to buy a toy or game he made, but that was rare. As he brought out Scratch’s fixed speaker; Octavia thanked him for her, said a few things then left. Only part of him was paying attention, and when he processed the information, Jack stopped walking. “Thank you for the repair, Blue. Without this she wouldn’t be able to perform with me at the Summer Sun Celebration after party in a couple days” said Octavia as Vinyl smiled and nodded in turn. Ah, that explains some things. Jack knew what this meant, it placed him right before episode one. Just a single day until Twilight came to ponyville. Two days before Nightmare Moon’s return. Author's Note Well, here it is, my first story. If anything, I'd call this a daydream journal. So if anything good comes out of this in the long run, I'd be surprised.
1: A ChangeJack knew everything would be fine. Jack knew there wouldn’t really be a problem. Jack knew he was already in a half panic. Half of him stopped listening as soon as they realized that Nightmare Moon was returning. He started hyperventilating, rapidly losing oxygen and energy. In a last ditch attempt to stay conscious, he erupted in a green flame. Where there once was a blue unicorn there was now a black bug-like creature. A changeling. The origin of Name Three revealed, Jack started panicking as well. That was all it took for him to fall unconscious. This was never in the show, Jack had never seen anything like this before. Name Three’s memories filled his mind. He learned, or rather remembered, everything about changelings. Most prominently the fact that he didn’t want to be one. He was rogue, a freeling, separate from any hive and forced to live on his own. He also learned what his third name was. Canthus, the corners of the eye. When did he learn that? When he was a grub, right? No, he was never into biology, especially as a toddler. What he didn’t get, though, was where this creature was in the TV show. He just finished the first season, on recommendation by his friend, but he'd never seen anything like this. He didn’t have much time to reflect, though, as a loud sound from outside roused him from his thoughts. The sound was that of the loud screeching of metal on metal from some precariously placed equipment in another room, though Jack would never know exactly what made it, but that is not what is important. With Jack’s multiple memory sets, he was more confused than just Canthus himself would have been. This caused him to slightly flitter his wings in an instinctual response to his stress. Thus, just like the metaphorical butterfly, he changed the future forever. Except, instead of causing a storm, he prevented one. The breeze left through his window to the house next door where a single piece of paper was blown off the table and under a cabinet, lost forever. A piece of paper that bore the weather schedule of a section of Ponyville. A section near a bridge planned to have a bunch of rainclouds placed within to water the greenery nearby before being cleared. A bunch of rainclouds that a certain rainbow maned pegasus was going to use the very next day to wash the mud off of a very annoyed unicorn. And that would change everything. Jack, of course, didn’t know this. He changed back to his pony form so he could finish the day of work and think about everything that has happened so far. He didn’t get any headway, though, and went to sleep that night unsatisfied. He didn’t sleep well at all. He woke up the next day groggy and tired. Yawning, Jack got up and nearly opened up shop when he remembered that he was closed today in preparation for the celebration. Releasing the sign he was about to flip with his magic, he instead took hold of the doorknob and opened the door. Only to dive back in to avoid the splash of mud. “Uh, ‘scuse me?” Laughed Rainbow Dash. Twilight just growled angrily at her. “Let me help you”, stated the pegasus after laughing once again, searching for a nearby cloud. Jack started walking past them, knowing what was going on was normal. “Darn, none of these clouds are rainclouds” Jack stopped dead in his tracks. Twilight groaned, “As much as I would love to stay and chat, I have to find a place to wash up” Panic set in, he knew they had to talk. If they didn't, who knows if Rainbow would support Twilight in the future. He had to do something. He cleared his throat to get their attention. “Oh, hey,” said Rainbow, turning around, “Didn't notice you there Blue” It made sense that she knew him, Ponyville was a small town after all. “Hi Rainbow. You can use my hose if that's fine with Twilight” “I'd rather no-” She said, then paused, “How do you know my name?” His heart rate increased, “Uh, well, I heard about you from, er, I knew you were the Princess’s student. I, uh, visited Canterlot once and I saw you there. You don't know me and you were reading, so I didn’t bother to, er, bother you” “Okay…” She, surprisingly, seemed to at least somewhat accept that. Probably was skeptical, though. Rainbow took her response as a sign of consent and blasted her with water, nearly knocking Twilight over. Rainbow giggled, "Oops, I guess I overdid it. Um, uh, how about this? My very own patented Rain-Blow Dry!" She then proceeded to fly in circles around Twilight, creating a cyclone of rainbow and blue. "No no. Don't thank me. You're quite welcome," She said as she finished her dry job. When the dust settled, the Twilight that emerged was wearing the second poofiest mane any of them had seen. Rainbow Immediately burst out laughing and spike soon followed. Blue Screen didn't think it was that funny, but a part of him still let out a giggle. "Let me guess. You're Rainbow Dash," said Twilight. Good, things were back on track. Jack quickly snuck his way back inside before things derailed again to wait until they were gone. Canthus could do his errands later. He was tinkering with a new toy he was making, a little dog that did a back flip when given downwards pressure and released, when he heard the mares outside say their goodbyes. Hopefully the day would get back on track. When he opened the door, however, there hovered Rainbow dash, hoof poised to knock. “I don’t believe you,” She lowered her hoof. “Huh?” He said in response. “I guess that unicorn, I think you called her Twilight, doesn’t have good social skills because even I could see through that lie,” said Rainbow, “I’m going to trust you. I’ve seen you around enough to know you’re not a bad pony; but, if you’re hiding something big, I hope it’s nothing bad,” and she left without another word. He shut the door, put today's purchases away, and went to get ready for Pinkie Pie’s party. He hadn’t gotten the invitation quite yet, but he knew it was coming. Sure enough there was a knock on his door and opening it revealed a pink blur leaving behind a pink envelope, the blur briefly stopping at each door to do the same for his neighbors. Jack opened the letter for a quick skim. “... Party ... new pony ... library ... Yup, I was right” He put the letter on a nearby table and quickly left the building. The walk through town was usually pretty uneventful, so he spent the time reflecting. He noticed that he hadn’t noticed the multiple memory sets as much as before. The knowledge had already begun to bleed together wherever possible; and he didn’t have to switch mindsets to go from thinking about what he knew from one set to another. How easily he was navigating town came to mind. He was slightly worried about this. Would one take over the other? Would they become an unrecognizable mess? Would he be able to handle all of this? What if he couldn’t go back home? His gut clenched as that last thought struck him. He might not see his human friends and family again. A feeling of despair started welling up inside him and he knew he was going to start crying. Suddenly he was grabbed and forcefully pulled into the dark, the character just in front of him shushing him extensively. He nearly delved even deeper into panic before his eyes adjusted and he saw the mass of ponies and books surrounding him and he calmed back down. “She’s almost here!” Whispered the dark pink shape next to him. Sure enough, he heard the sound of hooves just outside the door. The door opened and then slammed back closed. “Huh. Rude much?” Asked one voice. “Sorry, Spike, but I have to convince the Princess that Nightmare Moon is coming, and we're running out of time! I just need to be alone so I can study without a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time. Now, where's the light?” Exclaimed another, reaching for the switch. “SURPRISE” “Surprise!” Yelled Pinkie, blowing a whistle. “Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for you! Were you surprised? Were ya? Were ya? Huh huh huh?” “Very surprised,” replied Twilight, “Libraries are supposed to be quiet” “Well, that's silly! What kind of welcome party would this be if it were quiet? I mean, duh, bo-ring! Y'see, I saw you when you first got here, remember? You were all "hello" and I was all GAAAUUUUUHHH, remember? Y'see I've never saw you before and if I've never saw you before that means you're new, 'cause I know everypony, and I mean everypony in Ponyville!” Twilight groaned and walked to the snack table. She grabbed a cup and started pouring what she must have thought was a bottled drink into it. “And if you're new,” Said Pinkie, “that meant you haven't met anyone yet, and if you haven't met anyone yet, you must not have any friends, and if you don't have any friends then you must be lonely, and that made me so sad, then I had an idea, and that's why I went GAAAUUUUUHHH! I must throw a great big ginormous super-duper spectacular welcome party and invite everyone in Ponyville! See? And now you have lots and lots of friends!” Twilight’s face had distorted from the heat of the hot sauce she had just drunk. “Are you alright, sugar cube?” Asked Applejack. Tears started flowing down Twilight’s face. “Aww,” Said Pinkie, “she's so happy she's crying!” Twilight ran upstairs, leaving a purple blur behind. "’Hot sauce’. Ooh…” Spike said, examining the bottle. Pinkie grabbed the sauce from his claws and poured a good cup of it on a cupcake that she then ate. “What?” Pinkie asked, mouth full, “It's good!” She swallowed the cupcake, “Too bad the guest of honor left, parties without the guest of honor are like cupcakes without hot sauce. They’re still super good, but they are missing that super duper special something” The rest of the night after that was a blur of faces and food, the amount of emotion just pouring from the ponies around him caused a feeling that would usually mean an extremely nasty hangover the next morning. He never had to eat for at least a couple days after a Pinkie party. When he regained normal thought process he only remembered a particularly eventful game of pin the tail on the pony that ended up with his horn stuck in the ceiling, Pinkie being launched out the window, and spike getting a surprisingly fashionable lampshade as a hat. Eventually it was time to head to town hall for the ceremony. A feeling of dread washed over Canthus, but he knew it would turn out fine in the end. He ended up in a spot near Pinkie and waited for the show to start. Author's Note I'll try not to have too many recaps of things you've all already seen in the show, but there will have to be a few just by the nature of the story, sorry. If a scene doesn't change significantly, I'll do my best to skip it.
2: A Threat"Remain calm, everypony, there must be a reasonable explanation!" "Here she comes," He whispered to himself. Celestia was missing and he knew who came next. Behind him, a light blue ear swiveled in his direction. "Ooh, ooh, I love guessing games! Is she hiding?" "She's gone!" He didn't gasp with everyone else, and a second blue ear turned his way. "Ooh, she's good," Pinkie said followed by a yelp. He failed to gasp again as Nightmare Moon appeared onstage. "Oh no... Nightmare Moon," whispered both Twilight and Blue Screen. Spike fainted. One ear shifted slightly toward Twilight, and two purple eyes turned in their direction. "Oh, my beloved subjects. It's been so long since I've seen your precious little sun-loving faces" Rainbow's attention shifted back toward Nightmare Moon, "What did you do with our Princess?!" she asked as she launched herself toward the demon onstage. "Whoa there, Nelly..." Applejack forced out through teeth she used to grab Rainbow's tail. The Nightmare chuckled, "Why, am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?" "Ooh, ooh, more guessing games! Um, Hokey Smokes! How about... Queen Meanie! No! Black Snooty, Black Snooty—" Applejack shoved her hoof into Pinkie's mouth. "Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years? Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?" "I did. And I know who you are. You're the Mare in the Moon – Nightmare Moon!" Jack mouthed the words as Twilight said them, but said her name aloud. Both were the only ones not to gasp in response. Rainbow only grew more suspicious. "Well well well, somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here" "You're here to... to..." Twilight gulped The Nightmare chuckled again, "Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!" Lightning struck and her chuckle turned into a full villain laugh. Chaos broke out through the room and the guards were as ineffective as ever. Everypony ran, and Blue Screen did his best to blend into the crowd. "Not so fast!" yelled Rainbow as she swooped in and grabbed him, "Something's up, tell me" "I don't know what you're talking about, put me down!" Blue yelled fearfully over the rushing wind, louder than was needed, squirming fearfully in her hooves. "Don't try to pull that with me, unless you want me to let go" He looked down, the distance to the ground making Jack's heart skip a beat. He wouldn't risk that without wings, and there was no way he was revealing himself in the middle of a town full of panicking ponies. Up ahead he spotted Rainbow's second mark, Twilight, running with spike held in her magic. "How did you know about Nightmare Moon, huh?" Rainbow continued, "Are you a spy?" Oh no. Oh no. Logic fully slipped through the terror. Jack was terrified of the fall beneath him. Canthus was terrified of the Nightmare behind him. Blue Screen was terrified that Rainbow was right and he'd been discovered and he'll probably be locked in a dungeon forever and he'd messed up time so bad they'll fail to stop Nightmare Moon and it's all his fau- SLAP Blue Screen raised a hoof to his cheek. He was back on the ground. Rainbow Dash was standing in front of him, foreleg still raised across her chest from slapping him. "ow" was all Blue said, quiet as a whisper. Rainbow lowered her hoof, "Sorry, I, uh, didn't know what else to do. You were panicking and wouldn't respond." She shuffled on her hooves, "Look, it's obvious something's up, especially after... that. But I guess I shouldn't have laid into you like that. I'll get back to you if I need to, but hopefully Twilight will have answers," She turned and entered the library that he hadn't even noticed was there. Blue wiped a wetness from his eyes, apparently he had been crying. He stood up from where he sat on the ground, and followed after her. "It was under E~" Pinkie bounced by right as he opened the door. "Oh" was Twilight's response. That... was a bit quick, wasn't it? Rainbow had just arrived. Why was everyone here already? No, it was Rainbow who was late, from having to carry him here and deal with his panic attack. "...the Everfree Forest" Twilight finished reading. "Ain't no way you're going in that forest alone" Applejack announced for the group. "You all really don't have to come with." Twilight said. Rainbow jumped in, "And miss out on kicking that Nightmare's butt, no way!" "At least let us lead you to the edge of the forest, darling." Said Rarity, to witch Fluttershy nodded. "It'll be fun!" Pinkie added, jumping into the middle of the group. Blue watched this and, realizing that leaving at this point would probably be a bad idea (let alone embarrassing), smiled a weak smile. "We've got your back, Twilight." “Let go” “Are you crazy?” The cliff broke when expected. Jack had tried to hold back a bit so not to fall, but managed to lose his footing anyway. He slid down the slope and ended up a good ways from Twilight, who had been crying for help. He had grabbed a branch and found a ledge for his back hooves to stand on, a luxury Twilight didn't have. Blue could see Dash was in position to catch Twilight, but Fluttershy had started hovering around him to try to help him down. She looked nervous, as if she wasn't really sure how to go about this. "Go help Dash catch Twilight," Blue suggested, "I'm stable right now, I'm not so sure about her." “No I ain't. I promise you'll be safe,” responded Applejack “That's not true!” Twilight's grip on AJ's hooves slipped a bit, her rear hooves scrambling at the cliff wall. “Now listen here. What I'm sayin' to you is the honest truth. Let go, and you'll be safe” Twilight looked around and saw Blue Screen smile, "They'll catch you," he said. And Twilight let go. “Wait.” The manticore was putting up a fight, repelling everything being thrown at it. Only Jack seemed to notice the yellow pegasus trying to get attention from the sidelines. It was hurting him to just watch this happen. "Wait" There wasn't any good reason not to stop this early. The manticore was already in pain, and Fluttershy didn't deserve to be ignored. “Everybo-pony stop!” He yelled at the top of his lungs. They did just that. Even the manticore. “Thanks” said Fluttershy, not noticing Jack sigh. The trees were even more scary in real life. Or actually, scary at all. Actually they were pretty silly looking in the show, now they were downright terrifying. Probably a fear spell or something. Not that any of this crossed Canthus' mind, he was too busy screaming. Once Pinkie started singing, however, that silliness became apparent once again, Pinkie's laughter breaking the spell. The song continued and Jack, knowing the words, even added some backing harmonies. He felt almost compelled to actually. A heartsong, Canthus noted, he could hear the nonexistent instruments. As the song reached its final few bars the fear spell fully broke, the faces fully disappearing a bit before they should've. “I simply cannot let a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected!” Taking a scale from the surprisingly feminine sea serpent, Rarity cut off her own tail to use as the missing half of its mustache. "You look smashing." Rarity commented with his mustache in place. Jack didn't really agree, sure it was better than having just the one side, but they didn't match at all. He got an idea. "If I may, could I try something?" He asked the two of them. Twilight looked woefully at Rarity's tail, but Blue had spoken up before she thought to say anything. "Well, sure. Although, what is it you're going to do, if I may ask?" Rarity said. "Would you prefer those to match?" He asked the serpent, hoping to answer Rarity through action. "That would be even more wonderful!" the serpent said, "This is such a lovely color and shape." Canthus wasn't very good at magic, at least compared to most ponies who would use these types of spells. But if there was anything a changeling knew how to do it was transform. He reached out and grabbed the blonde side of the mustache and concentrated. Hair to Hair. Just changing color and shape. He thought to himself. He wasn't very good at this kind of thing. Calling himself 'out of practice' would imply he had formal training in the first place. Extenuating circumstances didn't quite give him the chance. With a pop the mustache changed, he sighed in relief as the serpent squealed in glee. "It's beautiful!" Blue Screen stepped aside to catch his breath, after a time the grateful serpent formed a bridge to help the group across the river. “Thank you Mr…. uh” Said Jack “Magnet, Steven Magnet, and it’s no problem. I should be thanking you!” “It really is no issue,” replied Rarity, “It looks great on you,” She then turned to Blue Screen and spoke in a medium whisper "Promise to come to my shop some time soon, I'm getting ideas~." “Don’t listen to them!” Yelled Twilight. A fog swept in, blocking Rainbow, the bridge she was supposed to tie up, and the mysterious ponies with her from view. "Who were those ponies, what are they talking about over there?" Fluttershy asked in a soft voice. "Nothing good on both counts ," explained Twilight, "There's no reason anypony else should be out here, especially tonight, that is unless they were trying to stop us. I've got the sneaking suspicion that some of the things we faced tonight aren't quite coincidence." The fog must have been magically enhanced, as the next few seconds were passed in silence, not a sound was heard from the other side. "Is... she coming back for us?" Twilight asked. The group looked at each other nervously. A minute had passed. This was taking much longer than it should. “Don’t worry,” said Jack, “I trust her” Sure enough, shortly after, the fog cleared and Rainbow came back over. “See? I never leave my friends hanging” Rainbow didn't disclose anything else after that. What happened back there? Jack eyed the ruins just ahead, unsure about the future. He rushed up the stairs. “Because the spirits of the elements of harmony are right here!” They arrived just in time. “What?” “Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of... honesty!” “Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of...kindness!” “Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of...laughter!” “Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift represents the spirit of...generosity!” “Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire represents the spirit of... loyalty!” Each of the mentioned ponies floated in the air, a ring of shards circling them. That was all five. But Twilight was on a roll. “And Blue Screen, who may not represent an element, helped and stuck with us anyway. He guided us with his actions and voice bringing us together with empathy!” She placed no emphasis on the final word like she did the others, but that didn't matter. Suddenly he found himself floating, and down in a ravine just outside something stirred. A forgotten gem lifted from the dust behind a tree where it had laid, hidden, for centuries. It flew towards the castle. “The spirits of these six ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us.” “You still don't have the sixth Element! The spark didn't work!” “But it did! A different kind of spark,” she turned to her friends, “I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all... are my friends! You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the... the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of... magic!” There was a flash, and suddenly the element of magic appeared in the air. The spectacle was so grand that it hid the movement of a green gem launching itself into a high speed orbit around Jack. And then, rainbows. “Ugh” He was the first one to wake up, and good thing too since his disguise was down. He quickly shifted, black chitin turning to blue fur. The next thing he noticed was the necklace. It was ornate, with a golden brace holding onto two emerald green gems in the shape of his cutie mark. “Ugh, my head” said Rainbow. “Everypony okay?” Asked Applejack “Oh, thank goodness” Proclaimed Rarity, looking at her reformed tail. “Why Rarity, it's so lovely” said Fluttershy. “I know! I'll never part with it again” “No, Your necklace. It looks just like your cutie mark” “What? Ooh. So does yours” Fluttershy gasped in surprise, not noticing her necklace before. “Look at mine! Look at mine!” Yelled Pinkie, bouncing over. “Aw yeah” proclaimed Rainbow. “Gee, Twilight!” Said Applejack, “I thought you were just spoutin' a lot of hooey, but I reckon we really do represent the elements of friendship” Suddenly, a bright light radiated from the window, from which came a voice. “Indeed you do” Twilight gasped “Princess Celestia” “Twilight Sparkle,” said Celestia, “my faithful student. I knew you could do it” “But…,” replied Twilight, “you told me it was all an old pony tale” “I told you that you needed to make some friends, nothing more. I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her, but you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart. Now if only another will as well,” Celestia walked over to the dark blue figure in the corner, “Princess Luna” Princess Luna gasped. “It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this,” said Celestia, “Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister” “SISTER?” Yelled Twilight and Rainbow together. “Will you accept my friendship?” Asked Celestia. Luna ran forward and hugged her sister, “I’m so sorry, I missed you so much big sister” “I missed you too” The hug was eventually broken up and the princesses turned around. “I would like to thank all sev…” Celestia paused staring straight at jack, “A seventh?” Everypony turned to look at Jack, confusion written on all of their faces. Rainbow Dash regarded him carefully, lost in thought, while Twilight stared intensely at the necklace around his neck. Jack himself felt really self-conscious all of a sudden. A nervous grin graced his face. “Do you think we missed this one, sister?” Asked Celestia. “‘Tis highly possible, we were urgent in our search for a weapon against Discord. Panic might have clouded our perception.” “I suppose we were young after all,” Celestia chuckled, “Perhaps I should take the elements back to Canterlot for study, but for now we should focus on my sister’s return” “You know what this calls for?” Asked Pinkie. “A Party!” The party was just as amazing as any other of Pinkie’s parties. How it was set up by the time they got back to town, nopony would know; but it was fun nonetheless. Everypony in town was included and the party lasted until sundown. Every face had a smile except three. Luna, who was disappointed the party had to end. Especially just before nightfall. Celestia, who was still mulling over the seventh element. Examining it even as she left for Canterlot in her flying carriage. And Jack, who knew that he had royally screwed up. He sulked back to his house and got into his bed. Waiting for sleep, he was forced to think. He would never get his lives back. Most of the sorrow came from Jack, as Canthus didn’t care much. He was already alone. As Jack, though, he had friends and family. How were they reacting now? Did they think he was dead? If only he could go back… But would he? He had a responsibility here and six ponies he knew would become great friends. He stared into his mirror and concentrated. A flash of green signaled a change, and where Blue Screen once lay was Jack’s natural human form. He frowned, It didn’t feel right anymore. Sighing, he changed back and closed his eyes, drifting into slumber. Author's Note Lots of cover for stuff in the show, but trust me It'll be all new stuff next chapter. Oh, and don't worry. Element seven doesn't just exist, I've got reasons and I've got lore. It might take a while to pop up, though, since the element's origins don't show up until we learn about The Pillars. Despite that, you may not need to wait as long as you think. ;)
3: A New DayHe awoke with a start once again. Grumbling at his restless sleep, he got up and set up shop. He turned the sign to open and went behind the counter where he tinkered for hours on a toy he was building. It was meant to be a little wind up manticore, but the balance was off and the wing motors wouldn’t function. He focused solely on his work, like the distraction it was. If he focused on his work he didn't need to think of anything else. After a couple hours he was just getting the wings to move in sync with the paws when he heard the bell over his door ring. Looking up, he smiled as he saw one of his favorite customers. “Hi Scoots!” “Hey, Mr. Screen,” replied Scootaloo, “Do you have any cool new stuff?” “I’m actually making something right now,” he said, lifting the toy in his magic, “Just let me fix something and you can have it” He quickly found the cause of the balance problem, one leg was set too high, and fixed it. Winding it up, he placed it on the floor and let it go. The plastic contraption walked forward, flapping its wings and roaring its mechanical roars, until it stopped and fell over with a clunk a minute later. Scootaloo watched from the side with fascination. “How much?” She asked, eyes wide with childhood wonder. He smiled, “For you? Let’s say… 20 bits” She beamed and reached into her saddlebags for the proper amount. Jack took the money and gave her the toy, which she happily held in her mouth and left with a muffled “Fank ou” The bell rang as she left and he turned back to the counter, but his concentration was already gone. No matter how hard he tried to fool himself, he couldn't ignore all of this forever. "What have I done?" He'd helped save everypony. He'd done good, protected the ponies he'd grown so fond of, and gotten weeks worth of feeding done to boot. "But I wasn't meant to! Things are different now! Everything could go horribly wrong in the future and it's all my fault!" But they could get better too. Besides, he couldn't leave now. Ponies would look for him. That hadn't stopped him before. He moved here because he was nearly discovered in Canterlot. He left Chicago when his parents tried to force him to stay with them. He'd learned to always be ready to leave. But, this was different. He wasn't in danger, he actually stood to gain from this experience. He hadn't done anything anyone considered wrong. Quite the opposite, actually. Those weren't the real reasons, though, the big problem was that he actually cared for these ponies. He hadn't known them long, besides being acquainted with Rainbow Dash since he moved here, but the measly twenty-six episodes he'd seen was enough to love these characters. Except, they weren't characters, not anymore. They never were, really, and every time he remembered that it shook him to the core. Jack began packing. He'd memorized his escape plan. He had to, just in case. Once he was gone everything would return to normal. Sure, he'd never get answers, and sure, they'd look for him. They'd probably be upset and - he didn't go any further. He couldn't do that to them, they didn't deserve that. They'd be hurt and that hurt might change things more than staying ever would. With a sigh, he unpacked his bags, grabbed his soldering iron, and got back to work. Why did it have to be today? "Rainbow Dash! Were you following me?" Blue Screen had been out buying wires a week later when he ran into everypony in front of Sugarcube Corner "No. I mean, yes. I mean, maybe. Look, it doesn't matter. I couldn't risk a goody-four-shoes like you giving that ticket away to just anybody" Just as he thought, the ticket. "Wait just another minute" There was Applejack, just on time. Should he leave? He didn't even want the ticket, the Gala is kinda the worst, and he knew their experiences would be even worse than his. "Applejack, were you following me too?" He could stop the argument right now, actually, before it escalated. That would mean going off script, however, and who knows what that would cause. "No. I was followin' this one to make sure she didn't try any funny business. Still trying to take my ticket." But there was no script, these were real ponies with real emotions, not just some voice actors reading off a page. He could taste their anger boiling, but Twilight's stress stung the most. They didn't need this, they were hurting themselves and he could stop it by just- "Okay, that's enough!" Everypony stopped and looked at him, no going back now. "I know you hate to hear it, but none of you are entitled to that ticket. Just look at Twilight, guys, you're stressing her out. She needs to figure this out herself and this certainly isn't helping." "But she promised-" "Did she actually, though? She can't have promised all of you. Give her some room to figure this out and I'm sure you'll all be happy in the end" He glanced at Twilight and on her face was the faintest of smiles. Blue Screen returned home late that night, golden ticket held in his magic. His little speech didn't completely stop the shenanigans that day, but when they all gathered in the library Twilight didn't seem as close to breakdown as he remembered. He placed the ticket in a nearby drawer for safekeeping. Was he always that good at diffusing a situation? Sure, he was good at problem solving, it came with being a programmer, but he always sucked at reading people. Only, he was good at reading people, it came with being a changeling, he just didn't know how to use that knowledge effectively. Interesting that his skills would combine like that. What else could he do now? Two heads are better than one, after all, it would just take some thought. Whatever force did this to him probably chose them partially because both Jack and Canthus had electronics knowledge. Unfortunately, electrical engineering was not the same as programming and that meant- "I can do both" Sure, Canthus could repair an arcade machine he found in the junkyard, but he didn't know the first thing about fixing a program and had to buy an arcade board new. Similarly, Jack could tell a computer to play Pong with only binary, but had to call someone over just to hook the computer up. Would Blue Screen be able to do both? On this realization, he ran to the storage room. Time to dig up some old memories. When he lived in Canterlot he worked in the royal science lab. He wasn't a scientist himself, but he was high up in the engineering department, fixing their most complicated machines. Being so high up brought in some perks and he managed to convince his boss to let him use the newest, top of the line calculator when doing his work. It was supposed to be returned when he quit, but he didn't exactly leave a two week's notice and the guards weren't going to give him the time. He should still have it, then. He stuffed it away because of the painful memories, but after a good twenty minutes, he found it. It looked exactly like a TI-84. Not exactly 'top of the line' nowadays, especially to human standards, but he knew these things were pretty good. If he was going to do what he was planning it would do the trick. He was going to make a handheld gaming console. Start out small, program Snake and design a controller to put in. He sat down and got to work, and no sleep was had that night. God, he missed video games. A couple weeks passed and progress was slow going, he had a job after all. He attended Applejack's ceremony and later helped pick apples when she finally accepted help. Though he enjoyed the company and the apple juice was good, he was eager to get back to work. "Thank you again for the juice, A.J., and it's been nice talking with you all, but I've gotta get going." "Are you sure? We've barely seen you all month, dear. I certainly understand wanting to do your best for your clients, but surely you can spare just a little more time," Rarity protested. "Yeah! You avoiding us or something?" asked Rainbow. He was, but he wasn't going to admit it. Hanging out with them still felt weird, he didn't belong here. Like he was messing something up that he had no business in. "No, no. I've just got this big project I'm excited about that's almost done" Pinkie jumped on the table, nimbly avoiding everyone's drinks, "Well, if you're super excited about it you should tell us so we're super excited too! Unless it's a surprise, no one wants a surprise ruined" "Heh, no, I guess I can tell you. You guys know that arcade on Main street?' A few of them nodded, Twilight spoke up, "I've passed it before. Oh! Are you working on something for them? Perhaps a new game?" "Actually, I guess I'll be working against them, you see, I'm currently building a device to play games wherever you want. They certainly won't be as good, at least to start, and a lot less cheap on the consumer's side, but i'm only getting started" "How interesting," Rarity remarked, "I know Sweetie Belle visits that arcade occasionally. I don't know how, it's not- well, let's just say it's rather sticky in there, but I'm sure she would love it" The next few hours flew by, they talked about many things as their shadows grew longer. By the time it was over, Blue Screen didn't feel quite so weird. Author's Note Still nervous about writing this thing. I have some confidence issues that I hope I'll eventually get over as I write it, especially since this is the first full chapter I've written this year. It doesn't help that this chapter isn't exactly action-packed. The chapters before this were actually written a year ago, though they are heavily edited from their original forms. It may take me a bit to get back in the swing of things, so don't be surprised if this chapter gets edited a couple times. Tell me how to improve, but be gentle please. That being said, you'll notice I largely skip over episodes that don't change or only do so in a minor way. I will, however fully write out any scenes or even full episodes that change drastically. If there are any episodes that you want to see me cover, let me know in the comments.
