Graff's Inter-Dimensional Adventures

I sat in my small studio apartment the next day, mindlessly watching the news (apparently, a major economical crisis was narrowly averted while I was gone) and snacking on some potato chips. Rain lightly drizzled outside, setting the ambiance perfectly.

Yet despite it all, the shallow rushes of dopamine just weren't the same.

Maybe it was because I was starting to miss Equestria? Maybe it was because I knew that there was so much I was missing out on, in that other world? Whatever the reason was, it had me in a pretty bad funk.

No longer interested in it, I turned the TV off and began to browse my social media feed. There were some messages from my friends, a few jokes from accounts I followed...

Curious, I searched for Sunset Shimmer. At first glance, her page was pretty normal; she was just a teenager in a band called the Rainbooms.

That is, until I scrolled deep into her history, to before she joined them.

There were some vague messages about lunar cycles, a few pictures of her and her ex-boyfriend...

...and the first message she posted, a picture of the Wondercolts statue outside of CHS. The caption read "Can't go back."

Odd.

Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. Steeling myself, I opened a private chat room with Sunset and began to type.

If I couldn't go back for another 30 moons, then the least I could do was hear about how they were doing.

Later that Day...

I sat inside a small Café near Canterlot High School, sipping on a raspberry smoothie with extra whipped cream (they didn't have my usual, so I had to settle). The sun had come out, but the air still smelled of rain, and passerby still carried their umbrellas just in case.

Then in walked Sunset Shimmer, dressed in a purple raincoat and carrying an orange umbrella, a large single-strap bag, and a guitar case.

I waved to her from my seat, and she came over, sitting down across from me. "You must be Graff, right?" she began. "I'm Sunset Shimmer."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," I replied.

Sunset nodded courteously.

Then, after looking over her shoulders to make sure nobody was listening, her face became serious as she dropped the façade. "So, my friend Starlight has told me a lot about you..."

I nodded. "Yeah, I sorta stumbled into her."

Without warning, she grabbed my wrist, and her eyes glowed white for a moment. It wasn't very long, but I still noticed it.

When they stopped glowing, she was bewildered. "I... I don't believe it..."

"You and me both," I exclaimed, taking a stab at what she was referring to, "I mean, an entire other dimens–"

She clasped a hand over my mouth, stopping my rant before it could get started. "No, I mean that I can't believe you didn't go there on purpose."

I pushed her hand away, raising an eyebrow. "Why is that so hard to believe?"

She sighed, ruminating over something. "It's just that, every other person I've met who's experienced this stuff has turned power-mad...."

I nearly choked on my drink. "Power mad?"

She waved a hand as she explained, "Y'know, trying to take all the magic and use it for their own purposes? Usually, it ends up turning them into some sort of monster that my friends and I have to take down."

I blinked, wanting to change the subject immediately. "So, uhm, what was that whole thing with the touching, and the glowing eyes?"

"Oh, that?" She blushed. "That was just me reading your memories."

My eyes widened considerably. "Wha...?"

She toyed with the gem on the necklace she was wearing. "This gem gives me that power."

Slowly processing, I nodded. "Uh-huh.... So... WHY did you read my memories...?"

She put her hand on her forehead. "I was trying to see whatever ulterior motives you're keeping in there, but you're not scheming, or deceiving, or anything!"

I sucked in my cheek in confusion. "But isn't that a good thing?"

"Well, yeah! It's just... I don't know how to deal with this. From what I can glean, you're a good person – even if you went to Crystal Prep."

I blinked, momentarily taken aback by her knowledge of my alma mater, before realizing: Of course she'd know that, she LITERALLY just read my memories!

Wow, what a weird sentence....

She reached into her bag and pulled out a book. "When I got Starlight's message, I assumed you must've been acting in order to get on her good side, but now..."

I couldn't stand it anymore; I reached over and grabbed her hands with mine. "Sunset, I don't know what others have done, or what you've gone through, but I do know this: I would never jeopardize anyone for my own selfish gains. Not over here, or over there."

'Never again,' I added in my head.

She stared at my self-assured expression, silently bewildered for a good while.

Then she donned a hesitant smile. "Okay, I believe you."

I smiled, letting go of her and sitting back down.

I finished my drink as she wrote back a reply, then stuck the book back into her bag.

Then she stood up and started gathering her things. "Well, it's been interesting meeting you, and I'm sorry for baselessly assuming malintent, but I really should be going; my friends are waiting for me at band practice."

I nodded, sad that we hadn't actually talked about anything.

Then, I had an idea: "Mind if I tag along and watch?"

She looked genuinely surprised. "You wanna see us practice, even after how I acted?"

I shrugged. "I don't really have to work until tomorrow. Besides, it'd give us some more time to talk."

She paused, then smiled slightly. "Alright, lemme just text them to let them know."

I nodded, "Do what you need to do."

Soon, I found myself standing in front of Canterlot High School for the first time since the Friendship Games. It looked almost identical, except that the Wondercolts Statue was missing the... well, the statue part.

"What happened there?" I asked, pointing to the broken sculpture.

She pshawed, "Long story short, Equestrian Magic happened."

I looked back up at the statue and nodded, still confused. "Okay...?"

Sunset quickly turned my attention away from it, ushering me through the front doors of the school.

We walked through the crowded halls for a bit, until we reached the music room. I hesitated for a moment, but Sunset strolled in with a chipper, "Hey girls, we're here."

Immediately, we were swarmed by six teenage girls. The first one was a blonde with a Stetson; the second one I assumed was this world's Pinkie Pie, based on her hair and all the confetti she was throwing everywhere; the third was the rainbow-haired girl I assumed was Rainbow Dash; the fourth was a pale woman with curled purple hair; the fifth I recognized as Twilight Sparkle, seeing as she was a classmate for a while; and the last one...

I stopped dead in my tracks. The sixth one was this world's Fluttershy.

And oh boy, was she cute.

"You must be the guy Sunset mentioned," Fluttershy greeted me. "I'm Fluttershy."

I nodded absently. "Uh-huh..."

She looked at me with concern, then looked around, and started fidgeting nervously. "I-I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?"

I snapped out of my catatonic state and quickly defended, "No, no, it's not that; it's just... You remind me of someone I recently met."

She seemed to calm down at that. "Oh, okay...."

"So," Rainbow Dash approached casually, "What brings you here, exactly?"

My face flushed red. "Well, y-you see..."

Thankfully, Sunset jumped in. "I invited him! I just met him for lunch today, and he had a really interesting story to tell."

The woman in the hat stepped forward. "What kinda story?" she asked scrupulously.

"Is it about a guy who falls through a portal into Equestria and can't find it again, making friends as he tries to get back home, but when he finally does, he starts missing Equestria?" Pinkie piped up out of the blue.

Sunset and I were bewildered. "How the hay do you always do that, Pinkie?" Sunset asked.

"Isekai is my favorite kind of anime," she replied, which still didn't answer the question, but alright.

One by one, the group's eyes widened as they processed what had just been said, and they began to stare at me in disbelief. I shifted uncomfortably under their gaze.

The purple-haired one was first to speak. "So, you stumbled upon another portal to Equestria?"

I nodded sheepishly, withering under their gazes.

Rainbow Dash stepped forward. "That... is SO AWESOME!"

I gaped in disbelief as they gathered around me, excitedly asking questions about my experiences.

Sunset butted in, "Alright, girls, there'll be time for that later. Right now, he's just a normal guy that wanted to tag along to our practice."

The Stetson-wearing one raised an eyebrow, still a little suspicious. "An' why's that?"

Rainbow added, "Other than the fact that we're awesome?"

I shrugged. "I mean, I've got nothing better to do."

That seemed to satisfy them. With all the questions out of the way, they introduced themselves. The hat-wearing one was Applejack, the purple-haired girl was Rarity, and I already knew the other 4.

Sunset nodded, picking up a rhythm guitar. "Okay, enough of that. Let's get to practicing!"

With that, they picked up their instruments and began to play.

And as they played a song about reuniting to be better than ever, I began to feel something I hadn't realized I was missing.

I felt contentment. I felt comfortable, like I belonged.

I felt home.