The Summer Sun Celebration was a festival praising the current monarch of the nation of Equestria. Every year, on the longest day of the year, ponies gathered and celebrated the Sun’s emissary. It was a very special occasion for ponies all over the globe, as it reminded them of their greatest treasure, Celestia. However, instead of celebration and joy the ponies of Equestrian were granted with terror and eternal night, as the once-banished Nightmare Moon returned to bring Celestia to her knees. Ponies went back to their homes in fear and grief as there was no sign of Celestia from anywhere in Equestria.

However, all was not lost as six mares were now on a mission to take back the crown from the evil alicorn. Their names were as follows: Twilight Sparkle, their self-proclaimed leader, Rarity, the fashion-obsessed dress-maker, Rainbow Dash, the dangerously confident Pegasus, Fluttershy, the quiet and shy animal nurse, Applejack, the tough and stubborn farmer, and Pinkie Pie, the mare who has way too much energy for her own good. These six mares will go on a mission to save Equestria from the endless night and do the impossible.

Currently, Nightmare Moon was observing the six mares at the entrance of the Everfree Forest in the form of blue, starry mist. When the Mane Six began to move foward, the mist quickly flew ahead of them, making sure to remain unseen. As it flew, it laid several traps its wake. However, it would soon encounter a being it would of never thought of seeing.

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Jackson had found out many things in the hours he had been in this world. To name a few, he found out he had a massive shield on his back, which looked like it could block a missile, and he also had a massive hammer that was strapped to his side that he could pull out. He experimented with these items and found they made a good combination. If he was under attack he could probably defend himself easily.

Unfortunately for him he was going to have to put this statement to the test as a blue, starry mist shot right at him. Acting on reflex, he quickly pulled his hammer from its strap, at the same time using his other hand to grab the shield off his back. He placed the shield between him and the incoming projectile just in time to block it. The mist seemed to act alive for a moment, bouncing off the shield and rolling into a tree. It was as if it was a bird that just hit the window of a building. Suddenly, the starry substance transformed into the form of that of a dark horse, with a mane that seem to radiate energy straight from the heat of the stars. It quickly got up on all fours and turned to him. From there he noticed that it had armor, as well as a horn and wings to go along with it. So it was a mix between a Pegasus and a Unicorn? That didn’t explain the size, though. The other equine creatures he observed were way smaller than this one. So the only conclusion he could possibly reach was that it was a super-pony. If that was the case he would need to be careful.

Quickly, he held up his hammer and shield, preparing for any attack this thing might throw at him. The super-pony did the same, radiating a strange glow from its horn and watching his every move. Jackson knew this would be a long fight.

Suddenly, the thing shivered. At the same time it’s eyes widened, seeming to perhaps realize something or remember something. The super-pony gave him a quick glare before transforming back to its misty form, and flying into the darkness of the woods. Despite this, Jackson continued his stance, ready for any sign that the super-pony would attack him once again. Once a significant amount of time passed with nothing happening, he assumed it ran away and he relaxed. Thankful that a battle had not taken place, Jackson decided that he would wait for the night to withdraw so that he could at least maybe meet some of the locals. Perhaps he could converse with them?

The line of thought made him stop for a moment. He hadn’t talked at all so far, and all he made so far were deep grunts and growls that resulted from the body of a beast rather than an actual, thinking person. So he tried to talk.

“Hello, hi, hola... woah.” His voice was deep, extremely deep. He sounded nothing like his former self; instead he sounded like a cartoon villain. That was a bummer, the locals might not like a giant beast made of metal that sounded scarier than the beasts of the wild. He decided to wander the forest, which seemed to lack much of the things you would expect from a regular forest. The trees themselves looked like they wanted to kill him and there a strange aura of dangerousness that filled the forest. Despite this, he pushed forward. He doubted the beasts of this forest could stand a chance against the power of several tons of metal crushing them. He thought about this for a moment. Maybe the true monster of this forest was him. He was bigger than any of the dangerous grizzly bears or cats that wandered the forest where he once lived. However, Jackson dismissed this thought as soon as it entered his mind. How could he be a monster? A monster is not just a large animal. A monster is something that finds solace in cruelty. Adolf Hitler, Vlad the Impaler, Joseph Stalin, and more recently, Joseph Kony. These were true monsters. They may not have had the raw power of a grizzly bear, or the size of a dinosaur, but they had the cruelty that no animal could ever have. This one factor is one of the many reasons he considered humans and animals different. One is mindless and only exists to reproduce and eventually die. One commits the greatest atrocities that any living thing could commit.

...that was dark. Jackson always thought way too much. He was starting to think it was unhealthy for him. Whenever he was doing something boring, he would always end up having philosophical debates inside his mind, thinking of the depravity of humanity or his own religion. Perhaps this amount of thinking led to great things. He would never know, as he was no longer on earth.

Jackson thought about the ponies he had seen and the things they owned. All their buildings were colorful, and they always seemed to smile. Perhaps they had found a way to live peacefully, not making the same mistakes his own ancestors had. If so, he would be all too eager to meet them. Maybe this was his purpose here, to become a new person and live like he always wanted to, kind and respectful, and willing to do anything to show everyone that violence was never the answer. Such a statement may be obvious to most, but often times human beings rejected peace. In recent years, division and conflict seemed to build up. The society which he knew seemed to be rapidly deteriorating from when he was born. There was so much... hate. He hated to see it. He wanted to fix his country and reintroduce peace to his society. This was his chance to find out how.

His monologue that was going on inside his head was stopped by the sign of a castle, and in front of it were six mares, all walking toward the large building. This was his chance to meet the locals and introduce himself. Saying a quick prayer, he walked toward the six mares.

Author's Note

Paladin encounters a Nightmare Moon then has a philosophical debate inside his head. This is a bruh moment. Dark themes!