Illusions

by Promiscuous Boy

Rating: teen
Tags: Violence, Princess Celestia, Dark, Human, Thriller, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Adventure, Profanity
Length: 8371

Celestia controls minds. Pony minds. A human mind, though, could be a bit of a challenge for her...

Christian Collins, a young police officer, finds his mind dragging him to another world. But he's not alone. Brendan Retmore, a drug dealer who has evaded capture more than a few times, also finds himself caught in the mess.

Now they're both in Equestria, trying to find their way back home while also trying their hardest to keep their minds independent of Celestia's magic. All the ponies are stuck in a trance, but maybe, just maybe, the two humans can do some good along the way.

Big shoutout to all those writers putting in hours of work to perfect their stuff. I appreciate you guys, and hope you appreciate this.

(Tags subject to change)

Published 2021-04-01 22:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2021-08-13 16:05:42 UTC

Prologue - Arrest

Christian was running like hell.

His calves were on fire, his lungs were aching, and sweat dripped down his forehead.

He was chasing the man that Orlando PD had been chasing all week. And he was starting to see why. He was fast, and even after twenty minutes of pursuit he still hadn't lost much energy.

Christian, meanwhile, had lost plenty. But he couldn't stop, even for a moment. This was probably his best chance to catch Brendan Retmore.

It had started to rain, and puddles were beginning to form. In order to avoid slipping and falling on his face, he had to slow down. Brendan didn't. Christian looked at the sidewalk ahead of him and saw large puddles. Brendan was going to slip if he wasn't careful.

"Get out of the way!" He extended his arms to push several teenagers out of his way as he ran. He made sure to keep an eye on the ground, to make sure he didn't slip himself.

After a while of continuing to push his calves to the breaking point, Christian was right. Brendan's right foot jerked sideways, and he lost balance. He fell down face-first onto the concrete sidewalk, extending his arms to break the fall.

Christian walked up behind him, panting and sweating, his uniform soaked through with rain and perspiration. He stood with his palms on his knees for a moment, catching his breath. Brendan began to push himself up, spitting and cursing.

Christian took out his cuffs and forced Brendan's wrists into them. He turned him over. His face was covered with blood from his shattered nose. The rain instantly began to wash the blood away.

"Congratulations, officer," he said, giving Christian a small smile. "You got me." He blinked to keep the falling rain out of his eyes.

His radio crackled. "This is Two. I got him," said his partner. This time Christian smiled. His calves burned, his lungs ached, and his hair was soaked. But he had finally done what he had been trying so hard to do.

"I wouldn't smile if I were you," Christian replied. "I don't know how much money you've made from your little side business, but it definitely won't be enough for a lawyer that can dispute charges of drug peddling. You got caught, and I'm sure your buyer will be more than willing to testify against you in court in exchange for freedom."

Brendan's smile faded. "I can wait, officer," he said. "I'm a patient man. I can wait ten years, twenty years, twenty-five. I know what jail is like. I can survive it."

Christian rolled his eyes. Lots of criminals have said they could survive it. And while survive it they did, the prison experience more than usually turned out to be different from what they had expected. A couple weeks, of work, beatings, and rape later, a lot of young men like Brendan were screaming to be free, out of insanity or agony. It was always the same.

The man he had been chasing was named Brendan Retmore. He looked like your average white guy, clean-shaven, dressed decently. He worked as an accountant for a small bank downtown, but behind the scenes he sold crack and marijuana to boost his income. Christian had caught him attempting to make a sale, and while his partner, Shane, had collared the buyer, the seller had managed to run away.

Christian lifted the man up and walked him the distance back to the squad car. His partner wasn't there. He assumed that Shane had sent for another vehicle.

He pushed Brendan into the back of the car and read him his rights. Brendan remained silent. Once they were both in the car, Christian headed towards the precinct.

The rain had gotten much heavier, and given he was on two and a half hours' sleep, Christian found it far too relaxing. He willed himself not to doze off, but as time passed he felt himself slipping away further and further.

The car went over a pothole, and Christian jerked awake. His body was alert, but he struggled to move. His eyes continued to droop, even though he wasn't tired. He began to panic internally.

"Wwaaaassss.........hhaaaapppeeenniiinnnngggggg," he slurred, drifting out of consciousness.

His body was unconscious, but his mind was far from it. His mind was drifting away, not just from his body, but from his universe, drifting away from Earth, like a paper clip being pulled towards a magnet.

For Christian, everything was dark and hazy, but as his mind traveled farther, he loomed closer and closer to his next awakening...

Author's Note

Whew, I'm really tryin on this one

Please leave a comment, I could use some criticism.

Chapter 1 - Headspace

Christian drifted slowly into consciousness. He saw nothing but a grey mist.

He looked around. There was no one, nothing here. Just him and the mist.

Or so he thought.

"Welcome," said a warm, motherly-sounding voice. Christian still didn't see anyone. The voice was everywhere.

"What is this place?" he croaked, feeling the soreness in his throat. Why his throat was sore, he wasn't sure.

"This? This is nowhere. This is simply your headspace, as you might call it," the voice said. There was something about the voice that made Christian feel calm, safe. He felt relaxed listening to it.

"Where your full being is, however, is a different story," the voice said. "But before I tell you that, allow me to explain it first."

"Mmh," Christian responded. He was standing up, but felt like he was lying in a warm bed.

"Your world, or the universe in which your being last experienced complete consciousness, was flawed," said the voice. "There was hate. There was crime. There was murder. There was no peace."

"I have seen your world for a while. I have also seen that peopjle cared much more about themselves than anything else. I have created a solution for that. Here, no one will harm you. You will be completely safe. You will be granted anything you wish, upon your request. Your experience here is under your full control. Here, you shall achieve true happiness. Your heart's desires shall be fulfilled."

"So I'm gonna be happy?" Christian asked.

"To put it simply, yes, you will be happy," said the voice. "The only thing I require in return is that you stay. There is much more for you here than there ever was in the world you previously occupied."

"I don't have to work? I don't have to follow rules or anything?" asked Christian.

"My only requirement of you is that you stay here," the voice replied. "Aside from that, no. You will not be required to work. You will not be required to do anything that you do not wish to do. I do not believe in force."

"So this "headspace," is it like, my subconscious? Do I come here when I sleep?"

"Only if you do not wish to dream," the voice replied.

"So if I'm not dreaming, I'm here."

"Correct."

"What would I do here?"

"That is up to you."

Christian knew that what was being explained to him was simple, but he still felt like he didn't fully understand it. Regardless, he decided that it wasn't worth stressing about. "Can I wake up now?" he asked.

"Of course."

Just like that, Christian drifted into consciousness. He was lying in a comfortable bed, his head lying on a large pillow. He checked himself. No scratches, cuts, or bruises of any kind. Nothing hurt.

His bed wasn't like a hospital bed, but more like a bed you would find in a master bedroom, just smaller. But having spent several hours unconscious, Christian felt no desire to fall back asleep. He turned his head to the side and looked over at the bed next to him. There was someone else in it.

Relieved that he wasn't the only human in this new place, Christian sighed. He sat up and took a look at the person's face.

It was Brendan.

"What the hell?" Christian said to himself. Not only was he surprised to see Brendan here, but he also was baffled to see that his face was completely undamaged. His broken nose was gone. He looked completely normal.

Brendan's eyes were closed, which meant he was probably sleeping. I wonder if he's in his own headspace, Christian thought. He looked around the room. In the corner was a small chair and table with a plant sitting on it. There was also a bookshelf. In front of him was a door. Aside from the two beds, that was it.

Christian decided to wait until Brendan woke up. He got up and walked over to the bookshelf, expecting to see titles he was familiar with, given what the voice had told him so far. But when he studied the rows of spines, he noticed something off-putting.

All the books were about the mind and submission.

Christian had read about the mind before, in college. But the part that made him feel uneasy was the other topic on the shelf. Submission.

Why would whoever ran this place put that there? Were they expecting him to read it? Was he supposed to read it? Questions swam through his mind, but were quickly dispatched by the sounds of a voice behind him.

"Officer?"

Christian turned. Brendan was sitting up, looking at him with an expression somewhere between confusion and bewilderment.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"i could ask you the same thing."

"I thought I was supposed to like it here."

"You got a problem with me being here?"

"I'm a dealer. You're a cop. Of course I have a problem."

"That was Earth, Brendan. This is a new place. My cop title means nothing anymore." Christian reached for his badge to take it off, and it was in that moment that he realized that he wasn't wearing his uniform anymore. He was wearing a clean white T-shirt and blue jeans. "The hell?" he said.

Brendan looked at himself. He was wearing the exact same thing. "Must be standard uniform," he said, looking back up. "So what were you saying about your cop title?"

"That it means nothing. I'm not a cop anymore, and you're not a dealer anymore. Right now, we are the only familiar things to each other here. So the best option is for us to coexist. Or at least try to."

"So you cuff me and throw me in a car, and then we switch universes and now you wanna play peacemaker? Give me a break," Brendan scoffed.

"You know damn well I had no choice. It's my job to catch people like you." said Christian. "And you can be pissed all you want, but you have no idea what is on the other side of that door and you know it. So trust me when I tell you, throwing a hissy fit won't help you in the slightest."

Brendan sighed. "I suppose," he said, staring at the door.

Christian was relieved. At least he had one familiar person with him here, one that for now wasn't going to oppose him.

At that moment, the door opened. The being that entered was so far from what Christian had expected, he did a double take. Brendan just stood still.

"Hello, humans. I must say, you seem quite surprised to see me," it said.

Author's Note

Oh, right. author's note. forgot about that.

I'm not sure if i'm going the right way with this, but i like the feedback and i'll do my best.

peace

Chapter 2 - Introductions

"What the fuck?" Brendan said, blinking hard.

"I must ask that you refrain from using such language," said the being, a large white unicorn with wings and a multicolored mane, which appeared to be flowing. Perched atop the creature's head was a small tiara.

"I mean, I heard the myths," said Brendan. "But this is ridiculous."

"You two are the first humans to arrive here," said the unicorn. "I must say, I was quite nervous about how you would react, but based on what I'm seeing so far, I think I've been successful."

"Wha...who are you?" asked Christian. Brendan folded his arms and stared intently at the unicorn, waiting for an answer.

"Of course," it said with a smile, "You may call me Celestia. I manage this world, as well as the wishes of everyone within it."

"So, this is like some Fantasy Island type shit?" asked Brendan.

"Please, avoid using those words," said Celestia. "And I'm not sure what Fantasy Island is, but if it revolves around your wishes, then I suppose so."

"Wait, so we can have anything? Anything we want?" Christian asked.

"I believe I have already informed you of this," Celestia replied. "But yes."

"So what do we do? Just ask for stuff and we get it?" said Brendan.

"Your experience here is based entirely on the lifestyle you envision," said Celestia. "While you may require some time to adjust, I'm sure you will both find yourselves comfortable soon enough."

"Wait, so if we're the first humans, then does that mean everyone else here is..." he stared at the unicorn.

"Not exactly," Celestia replied. "Most of them are smaller than me, but yes, they are ponies."

"Soooo, what if I wish not to see ponies?" Brendan asked. Christian sighed. Of course he had to play the smartass. Christian was beginning to understand him more and more.

"That will be dealt with in due time," said the unicorn. "For now, make yourselves comfortable while I fetch somepony to show you around."

And with that, she left.

Christian was, for the most part, still calm. He was a cop, and though still young, he knew how to keep it together in almost any situation. This world didn't immediately worry him, but he couldn't help but feel something was going on behind the scenes that Celestia wouldn't want him to know about.

"This is fucking insane, man," Brendan said. "I wanna go home."

"I think this is our home," Christian said. "We might as well go with it."

Brendan sighed. "I don't know, man." He ran a hand through his straight dark hair.

"Hey, come look at these books," Christian said. He motioned for Brendan to follow him over to the bookshelf.

Brendan bent down, studied the volumes, then came back up. "Weird," he said. "Guess the unicorn likes neurology."

"But what I don't get is-" He was cut off by the sound of Celestia reentering the room.

"Hello again, humans. You wouldn't mind informing me of your names, would you?" she asked.

"Christian," said Christian. Brendan also gave Celestia his name.

"Well," she said. "I have two ponies I'd like you to meet." From behind her emerged two smiling ponies, indeed smaller than Celestia herself. Their smiles were quite wide.

"This is Snow Branch," she said, pointing to a white pony with a light brown mane. Their was a snow-covered branch on the pony's flank, which Brendan was the first to realize. His mouth opened slightly and he closed it quickly.

Snow Branch waved and somehow smiled a bit wider for a moment. Christian hardly noticed.

"And this is Summer Breeze," she said, pointing to another pony. This one looked more like a male, and his smile was a bit less wide than that of Snow Branch. He was ocean blue, with a mane the color of grass. He waved as well.

"These two will show you both around, and make you familiar with Equestria, which is where we are," said Celestia. "I do hope you two fit in well, but if you feel uncomfortable about anything, please do ask me." She turned to leave, and in a few seconds she was gone.

Christian walked towards the ponies. "So where we going?" he asked. Brendan's mouth dropped open.

"Wait!" he said. "You're okay with this?"

"Sure, why not?" he said. The white pony led him out of the room. Through the door was a hallway, lined with only a few doors. At the end was a door bigger than the rest. They walked through it, and Christian stepped into the sunlight. He stopped and blinked. The pony swept a hoof over the scene that to Christian was not yet entirely visible, and said, "Welcome to Ponyville."

Once his eyes had adjusted, he looked up. The area before him was filled with small houses and shops. But rarely any of the few ponies scattered across the scene were talking to each other. It seemed like they all had business to attend to.
Christian didn't notice the slightly dazed look in their eyes. He noticed Brendan also being shown around, much to his dismay by the looks of it.

The pony led him through town and eventually stopped at a small house similar to the rest. "This is your home," she said. A small sign next to the door bore the number 1.

"A few more things to know," said Snow Branch. "Don't be out past midnight, no swearing, and no sleepovers. Have a nice day!" She trotted off.

"Wait!" said Christian. "What about....the......other places...." he trailed off.

He felt uneasy as he entered the house. Don't be out past midnight, the pony had said. Not Try not to be out past midnight or Please don't be out past midnight. All she said was don't. The thought of what might happen to him if he was caught outside at midnight unnerved him.

His house was, in a word, basic. A small kitchen, which featured an abnormally large refrigerator, and a small living room with no TV. Christian sighed. There was a small staircase, and upon climbing it Christian found himself in a small bedroom, which was comprised of a bed and a nightstand. That was it.

"For real?" he said to himself. "This is it?" He went back downstairs and opened the refrigerator. It was empty except for a white fog. He scratched his head. "Okay," he said, closing it. "Maybe I gotta tell it what I want."

He stared at the white box that was the refrigerator. "Can I have a burger?" He opened it to find a decent-size cheeseburger.

"Woah," he said. He grabbed it and took a bite. It tasted like nothing, but he could feel it filling him inside. He ate the rest of it and wondered about its bland taste. He walked over to the small couch and sat down. Kinda wish I had a TV, he thought. He blinked and in front of him was a moderately large TV. The kind he had always seen in the Best Buy commercials.

"Huh," he said. "I wonder what would happen if I asked for a girlfriend."

There was a knock on his door.

"Ah, shit."

Author's Note

ummmmmmmm......

sorry if this one aint as good yall

im strugglin wit other stuff so im tryin

Chapter 3 - D'Angelo

Brendan Retmore was never really a bad guy.

He had always gotten decent grades as a kid. He never hung around bad kids. He got his first job at a Taco Bell, and two years later, at age 19, he was fed up with earning minimum pay making tacos and burritos. He always got free lunch, but he needed another source of income.

That's when the idea hit him. He knew a lot of people in his area who clearly spent their time smoking or looking for shit to smoke, and most of them weren't really picky about what went up their nose either. He decided to capitalize on the smoking habits of these people, and after gaining their trust, sold them what they wanted for much more than he got working at a fucking fast food joint.

He was sure he was done with after slipping in that puddle, and like the cop had said, no lawyer could save him. Now, what seems like less than ten hours later, he's in a new universe, surrounded by ponies seemingly dead-set on making him a part of their community.

As he sat in the small house that the blue pony had led him to, he thought about this. He had already realized that he could have what he wanted, but that was the thing. He didn't know.

He also didn't want to be here. Christian, on the other hand, was calm from the start. It made Brendan sick when he finally connected the dots.

The books, Brendan had thought. He's been brainwashed or something. It made sense.

But who could he run to? He wasn't on Earth anymore. And the only other human had clearly been affected by some sort of spell the large white unicorn had cast on him.

Brendan sighed. He closed his eyes, and soon found himself sleeping.

Meanwhile, a good distance away, a certain large white unicorn was regulating his dreams. Based on what she had seen of him so far, she had assessed that she might need to work a bit harder to get him to conform. Christian had been easy. But Brendan seemed to have much more will. His mind was still mostly under his own control. But that would be taken care of.

Celestia didn't like to think of her process as inhumane. Mainly because she did give everyone what they wanted, and also because she wasn't human. But seeing Brendan reacting the way he did, she wondered if she would face a problem with him. She watched his dreams and said to herself, "Don't worry, Brendan. I promise you'll fit in just fine in this world. Soon."

She decided to take a look through the tiny mental window she had into the human world. She closed her eyes.

Almost immediately, a satisfied smile crossed her face. "Well, hello there...." she said to herself.

Her horn began to glow.

D'Angelo Walker closed his laptop and sighed. His college paper was finally submitted, and now he had the rest of the weekend to relax. He leaned back in his chair, which turned out to be uncomfortable as he was sitting in one of the wooden chairs at his kitchen table. He got up and walked over to his sofa. Much better.

As a young kid, the thought of college dorms was horrible to him. Since age 9 he worked small jobs and did whatever he could to save for an apartment in the future. He was glad he did. He closed his eyes.

After a minute or two, he remembered that today was trash day. His can was still at the curb. He tried to open his eyes, but they only opened halfway. He tried to move, but his body felt heavier than a car. He was stuck.

He panicked internally, trying to get up. Eventually, he began to slip out of consciousness. His vision faded to black.

After a while he awoke. Though he didn't yet know it, he had entered his own headspace. Eventually, the voice spoke to him.

D'Angelo Walker had been told in the first grade that he was gifted. However, he refused to join the program. He had always done regular work with regular kids. He knew he had brainpower he wasn't using, but he was perfectly content with that. The moment he entered his headspace, Celestia was into his head. It only took a matter of a few minutes for her to take almost complete control.

But Celestia didn't know about D'Angelo's untapped giftedness. As she would eventually realize, some time in the future, it turned out that there was quite a bit that she didn't know about the humans that she was bringing into on Equestria. She thought she was seeing everything about them. But humans were different from ponies. Thus, D'Angelo, though his mind had been deeply infiltrated by Celestia's magic, the small part that remained would turn out to be the part that Celestia would most deeply regret missing.

D'Angelo went on to be assigned his own small home, with the same small sign out front as the others. His bore the number 0.

He, just like the other two humans, did next to nothing. As they would all come to realize, that was a trademark of this world, a staple. Do nothing. Drift between conscious and unconscious, and in both scenarios all you need to do is think. That was the only bit of control Celestia allowed the humans and ponies over their own minds. The ability to think about what they wanted, so she could provide them with it.

Keeping everyone busy in their own homes made it easy for Celestia to keep an eye on everything. As long as their minds were too subdued for them to go outside, she didn't have too much to worry about. She enjoyed it, being able to see the desires of every creature, pony and human alike. It also gave her an immense feeling of power, of superiority over everything else. These thoughts made her smile.

Brendan was bored.

He could think about anything and it would be his. This world had even gone far enough as to project images of his family before him, but they were ghosts, just pictures from his mind. He walked over to the window and looked outside.

What he saw made his stomach drop.

A young kid, maybe 18, 19, was being led around by a bright yellow pony with an orange mane. He had lightly bleached braids hanging around his head, and he appeared to be staring at nothing, Brendan could tell his mind wasn't the same as it was supposed to be.

"Holy s-" he stopped himself. He hadn't intended to; it just happened. He furrowed his brow, confused. He shook his head. It didn't matter. What did matter was what Celestia was doing. The all-powerful, all-knowing, magical unicorn with wings was somehow pulling humans from Earth and bringing them here. But what Brendan couldn't believe was that she would target a kid barely out of high school. His heart ached for him.

"I gotta tell Christian about this."

Author's Note

For those of you still reading, a few notes:
1. I intend to make each chapter around 1,000 words long, since it's not too much for me to write in one day.
2. I'm open to plot suggestions, sometimes I hit writer's block and could always use the help to keep this somewhat promising story going.
3. Can we make this story featured? That would be so cool.

Chapter 4 - Boundaries

"It's been a weird fuckin' day," sighed Christian as he sat on his small bed.

The sun was setting outside the curtained window. He went over to it and looked out. There was no one outside. No one. Despite it being nowhere near midnight, the entire area was deserted.

He began to think about the human race in general and if it was doomed. His thoughts were immediately dissipated, though he wasn't sure why.

"Ah, can't be too bad here," he said as the bed began to heat. "Huh, guess that's another perk," he added.

It wasn't long before Christian Collins had fallen asleep.

It was eleven minutes past midnight.

Brendan Retmore refused to sleep. He was trying to focus, but he couldn't. Every time he attempted to pull his thoughts together, something scattered them. It was pissing him off, but every time he tried to speak his anger, his brain wouldn't let him. It took all he had in him not to let it enrage him further.

He had had anger issues on Earth. Not often, but sometimes he couldn't help himself. He would lash out. Since coming to this place, he was having much more success keeping his emotions under control. It was a benefit he couldn't deny.

He peered out the window. There was no one out there, as he had expected. He pressed his face to the glass, trying to see as much of the area outside as he could. He still didn't see anyone.

He turned to the door and, very cautiously, turned the knob. He assumed that humans were the only ones to have houses with doorknobs. He poked his head outside. There was not another soul in sight. His heart began to race as he stepped outside, closing the door quietly behind him.

A little voice inside his head came to life. Go back inside, it told him.

No, Brendan responded mentally. I gotta find Christian.

Go back inside, the voice repeated.

I'm not doing it.

Go!

No!

GO!

NO!

The voice continued to persist, but Brendan did his best to ignore it and walked over to the next house. This house had no sign in the front. He walked to the next one. No sign. He inspected two more houses before he finally found one with a sign in front of the door bearing the number 1.

He walked up to it. Slowly he opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind him. He saw a large TV, several bottles of drinks he was pretty sure didn't contain alcohol, and a few other luxury items. But the kicker was the black Apple iPhone X sitting on the small table in the kitchen. Something only the human world could produce.

He assumed he had found D'Angelo's home, as he could imagine this was what a young college student would want. He climbed the stairs carefully, quietly, and as he reached the top, the voice in his head intensified. He covered his ears, trying to shut it out, but to no avail. He couldn't go on. He stumbled back down the steps, back out of the house, back into his own, and the voice finally stopped.

He sat down, breathing heavily. Something had held him back. He had been so close...

He tried to imagine how he could erase the voice from his head, but as usual, something scattered his thoughts. He growled. He was never able to fully focus on his thoughts. Apparently everyone was supposed to get what they wanted here, yet the thing he wanted most was the thing he never got.

Brendan sighed as he climbed the stairs and entered the small room where his bed was. He flopped onto it, and felt himself getting drowsy as it started to heat up. He wanted to say he didn't care about it, but he'd be lying. It felt comfortable as hell. Eventually, Brendan was asleep, his mind absent from reality.

Celestia was relieved, but also worried. she had managed to steer Brendan back into his home, but it had required intense magic. The other two relinquished their minds easily, but Brendan was clearly different. She needed to figure out a way to get Brendan to be as compliant as the others. She decided to visit him.

Rather than walking to his dwelling, she simply teleported there. She knew he was asleep, but she couldn't wait. She decided to wake him up using her magic rather than knocking on the door, knowing that it would most likely scare him to death if she did. She heard him coming down the stairs, and after waiting a moment, finally knocked.

Brendan had no idea what woke him up, but when his path to the coffeemaker was interrupted by a knock on the door, he began to have an idea.

He didn't bother walking over to it. "Come in," he said, fiddling with the different options on the brewing machine.

Celestia, in all her glory, entered. Brendan turned around. He was surprised to see that regardless of the fact that it was midnight, she looked perfectly fresh. He, on the other hand, looked like shit. He scratched his head. "Yeah?" he said.

"I hope you don't mind me stopping by so late," she said. "But I believe you should know I can see everything you do."

Brendan stopped moving. He figured she would know, but there had to be a certain reason she was telling him that she knew not long after it happened.

"I understand that in your world, deviation from expectations are much more common and rarely disciplined," she said. Brendan grabbed his full coffee cup and took a sip.

"However," Celestia continued, "I intend for things to be a little bit different here. If my instructions were correctly followed, the pony who escorted you here made you aware that you shall not be out at or past midnight, correct?"

Brendan sighed. "Yeah, they said that."

"Wonderful. So please do tell me what exactly made you decide to do it anyway."

Brendan was beginning to fear this celestial being more and more every second, but he did his best to conceal it. "I don't know," he replied. "I just wanted to find Christian, so that's what I went to do."

"Well," said Celestia. "I'm afraid that once this time of night comes around, I can't allow you to do that. However, you will be granted an opportunity to speak with him soon."

"When?"

"I will be sure to inform you when. Now, may I see that cup of coffee?"

Brendan was taken aback by this. "You want some? Sure." He handed it to her.

She took a small sip, then handed it back. "Thank you," she said. "I wish you a good night." She left.

Brendan took a decent-size sip of the coffee himself, and sighed. It was much better than the shit coffee machine that Taco Bell had put in the kitchen for employees pulling the night shift.

He drained the coffee and was about to look out the window but stopped. His brain felt woozy, but he automatically knew he shouldn't do that. He walked upstairs and returned to his bed, falling back asleep.

Author's Note

Chapter 4 yall. Sorry for the wait, finding a proofreader/editor to help me with this has been rough. Hope yall enjoy this though, I did my best on it.

Peace.

Chapter 5 - Change of Plans

Celestia didn't need the coffee.

What she did need was a way to up the amount of magic in Brendan's head. And the coffee was a perfect way to do it. Much better than what her original plan was.

She could hope that the magic would last for the time she wanted it too, but Brendan had a much stronger mind than she had originally realized. It was a risk she couldn't take.

However, she felt she wanted to bring in just one more human...

Scott Blevins had ADD. He'd had it since he was a kid.

He had always had a tough time focusing until he got behind a computer. Even at age 22, his focus still sucked, but he was a better techie than your average Apple IT guy. Thus, he landed himself a job with Valve, the creator of Steam.

His job was to monitor the company's firewalls, as hackers in the past have tried and succeeded in stealing games and data several times. With him on the job, six attacks had been prevented. He was a valuable asset to the corporation. But today, he felt like sleeping.

He had been working since 7 AM, and though he got to work from home, he had been sitting at his kitchen table for the past three hours watching the terminals Valve moved data through. He struggled to stay awake as he drained his fifth cup of coffee. He had been up late last night watching a football game, and now he was paying the price.

He started to feel himself slipping away, and slapped himself in the face. But it didn't work. His eyes kept closing, until he could see nothing but darkness. He felt his head fall onto the keyboard of the laptop before him, but before he could feel any pain, he drifted out of consciousness.

Celestia had now gone through the process with four humans. It was less than she wanted, but it would work for now. She had next to no trouble with Scott. He had problems with focus, which made him an easy target.

But having humans, as Celestia knew, was a short-term thing. It was time to move forward.

She would start with D'Angelo.

She looked to see what he was doing. He was in his home, reading. Perfect. She used her magic to get to his front door. She decided to see how he was doing first.

She knocked twice, waited a moment, then opened the door. The young human was sitting on the sofa, reading a novel. In front of him was a TV, with a black box sitting on the floor beneath it. The box had a small white ball on it, with what appeared to be a curved "X". The things humans have in their world, she thought. Fascinating. Next to him was a black object with two weird-shaped handles and several buttons. She assumed it was an entertainment system of some sort.

"What's up," he said as she approached him. He didn't take his eyes off his book.

"Hello, D'Angelo," she said. "How have you been?"

"I've been okay." He licked his thumb, turned the page, dog-eared it, and closed it. He turned around to face her. "What is it?"

"I wanted to..." she searched for a word, "...experiment. I was hoping you could be of service. You wouldn't mind coming with me, would you?"

"Where?" A regular human might have been concerned by this, but as D'Angelo was under a spell, he wasn't worried at all. Just confused.

"Oh, you'll be resting while I take you there, just to be safe. I promise nothing bad will happen to you."

For a smart kid turned simple-minded by pony magic, that was all it took. D'Angelo shrugged. "Sure," he said.

"Wonderful." Celestia's horn glowed, and within seconds D'Angelo was slumped over on the couch, unconscious. The Princess of the Sun looked down at him. There was no remorse; just resolve as she prepared to haul him to where she wanted him. Her horn glowed again, slightly brighter this time due to the increase in the magic she was using, and D'Angelo Walker's body was lifted off of the couch as it began to float along with Celestia as she made her way out of the house and towards her castle.

Brendan Retmore's late night run-in with Celestia had alarmed him, especially being told that she knew his every move. Despite this, he decided to spend most of his time looking out the window. Not to take it all in, but rather to watch his surroundings to see if the alicorn would return. He took small breaks, but though he could have almost anything he wished for he found much more interest in keeping an eye on the bit of neighborhood surrounding his house.

He sipped some tea while he watched. It helped keep him calm much more than coffee did. He had been watching the window for the past hour and a half, determined to catch something. After all, the last time he looked outside, he saw another human being led into a house, so he could only imagine what else he would see.

But no matter what he imagined, none of it was even close to what met his eyes. He watched as Celestia appeared in a ball of white light in the middle of the open area, went over to a house not too far to the left of his, and went inside. He immediately focused on the spot where he had seen her enter. After five or so minutes, she came back out. Floating next to her was the third human. The kid. His eyes were open, staring blankly at the sky.

Brendan spit out the mouthful of tea he had been about to swallow, sending it splattering all over the window. He dropped his mug to the floor, where it shattered. "Holy fuck!" he yelled. "Holy fucking shit! She's gonna kill him! He could already be dead! Fuck!" His anger and shock in the moment were so powerful they momentarily overwhelmed Celestia's expletive-reducing spell, giving him the ability to curse like a sailor. Which he did.

He wanted to run outside and scream at her to let him go. But he couldn't. All he could do was watch. He pounded on the window with his fist in agony. Mainly for the kid, but also because he was worried he might be next. He didn't cry, but he was pretty damn close. He sighed. Don't kill him, he thought as he watched Celestia disappear along with the young human. Please don't kill him.

"He's special."

"So?"

"So he needs to do it. He needs to be with others on his level."

"He's perfectly fine where he is now. He doesn't even want to."

"He's not like the normal kids. It's not good for him."

"Dammit, don't tell me what's good for him! He's my son!"

"And I'm his father! If he's got potential, it needs to be recognized!"

"He just wants to be normal!"

"Well, he NEEDS to get the best grades he can!"

"Just let him live his life! You didn't care so much four years ago, did you?"

"FUCK YOU! He's GOING to be in whatever classes I PUT him in!"

"I'm not going to let you control his life!"

D'Angelo curled up on his bed and covered his ears, not wanting to hear any of the shouting in the hallway. But once the shouting stopped, it was replaced by something worse: The sound of glass breaking, and something heavy hitting a wall.

D'Angelo sobbed on his bed, wishing it could all go away. He hated listening to his father act like this. In the hall, the sounds of banging and grunting intensified.

That night, Jain Walker was arrested on charges of assault and battery. After he stepped out of the house, in a pair of handcuffs, he would never return to the premises or to his son's life. His mom, Lydia Walker, would go on to support D'Angelo's opposition of his father's views for the rest of his grade school career. He would never enter a gifted class, never use that bit of potential that his father had assaulted his mother over. He never wanted to hear about either of them again.

Yet now, his mind was weak. Weak from magic intrusion. And the untapped intelligence that remained in his brain was still there. All it took was one push from the spell assaulting his brain for it to be released. However, it may already be too late...

Author's Note

So was this chapter good or nah? I hope it was, it took a while.

Next chapter comin soon yall.

Peace.

Chapter 6 - What Must Be Done

Celestia used her magic to carefully set D'Angelo down. He was laying in a small white space on the floor that Celestia had prepared specifically for this purpose. She used her magic to remove his all of his clothing, which she folded neatly in a small pile.

After ensuring that he was still unconscious, she took a small syringe filled with some of the most powerful magic in Equestria, lifted D'Angelo's chin up, and injected the magic into a vein in his neck.

His limbs began to jerk slightly. His fingers twitched, and his eyes shot open for a moment, only to flutter closed again. It took some strength for Celestia to watch the gruesome transformation.

After a few minutes, D'Angelo's body stopped moving. His eyes opened again as he regained consciousness. Celestia smiled warmly as he looked up at her through large, round, green eyes.

"Let's get you back home," she said.

Sweat beads fell into Brendan's eyes as he watched the window intently. He was anxious to see if the kid would ever return, but he wasn't very optimistic about it. Finally, he noticed the familiar ball of bright white light. His heart began to beat at the speed of light as he watched Celestia materialize....

...with a pony. The creature was beige, with a brown mane. Where the hell is the kid? he thought, both confused and scared.

He went over to his sofa and sat down, wondering where that kid had gone. Was he imprisoned? It wouldn't make sense. He was compliant, and probably didn't have full control over his mind anyway. He continued to pore over it, mainly because it gave him something to think about, at least until his thoughts were scattered yet again.

He turned on his TV, which he rarely used, and absentmindedly flicked through channel after channel, none of which caught his interest. He was bored, but he knew he couldn't leave his house. Really, he didn't want to, though he wasn't sure why.

Christian Collins, relaxing in a bathtub stretched to fit his size, was enjoying the luxuries of being able to imagine something and have it. He was beginning to drift off, so he decided to hop out. He toweled himself dry, put on his standard jeans and white T-shirt, and flopped down onto his small but comfortable bed. He was about to fall asleep when a knocking at his door made him jump.

Wonder who that could be, he thought as he headed downstairs. He opened the door to meet Celestia, wearing her usual warm smile. It only took her three minutes to convince Christian to come with her. Given his mind was under the influence of magic, he didn't question anything.

As the two walked toward the castle, Christian stopped. His mind had been battling against Celestia's magic since it had entered his mind, and for a moment Christian's mind was free, thus releasing into his head an extreme migraine. Christian yelped. As soon as it appeared, it was gone. Christian rested his hands on his knees, trying to recompose himself.

"Are you alright?" Celestia asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Christian replied. "I just...lost my mind for a moment."

"Hmmm....interesting. Well, then, let us continue on."

Brendan's mind was freeing itself more and more from Celestia's magic every day. Today Brendan felt like it was easier to think about things, but as always he couldn't do it for long. After watching D'Angelo disappear, he felt uneasy about Celestia's plans for the human race.

He was trying to think of a way to get her to release him when he heard a brief yelp. He looked outside to see Christian. Walking with Celestia.

Toward the castle.

His hands were on his knees for a moment, before he regained himself and continued walking with the large white mare. He tensed. He had to see if Christian would return. He thought about praying for the guy, but decided it wouldn't matter.

It was less hard to watch the second time.

Christian's pony form surprised Celestia. He was a bright orange, with a red mane. He had no cutie mark. D'Angelo hadn't had one either. "Well, little one," she said. "Let's take you back home."

Celestia knew better than to put off Brendan's transformation. He would be difficult, but not impossible. To save time, she used her magic to transport Christian back to his residence. She looked over to see Brendan's curtains slightly parted. She was out of his field of view, thankfully, but he was watching. She sighed, then began walking toward his door.

The knocking surprised Brendan.

Questions popped up immediately. Had she seen him looking? Was she going to take him like Christian and the kid? He didn't think he wanted to find out, but he had to. He walked over to the door and opened it to reveal the all-powerful Celestia. "Yes?" he said.

"May I come in?" she asked.

Brendan stepped aside. "Do I have a choice?" he said.

Celestia didn't respond, but instead made her way into the house. Once the door was closed, she looked into Brendan's eyes. "Let's not pretend," she said. "I can't control you."

"Guess not," Brendan responded. "And I damn well don't want you to."

"Well, I'm afraid there isn't an alternative," said the princess.

"There is," said Brendan. "You tell me what the fuck is going on. You tell me where the other humans are. What you did to them. You answer my questions."

Celestia smiled. "Very well," she said.

"...Really? That's it?" said Brendan, surprised. "Not gonna zap me with some of your weird horse magic or-" At that moment, Brendan was hit by a beam of Celestia's weird horse magic.

When he woke up, he was angry. "Seriously??" he yelled. "You said you would answer my questions! Not give me a splitting headache! He raised his hand to rub his head, but when he did so he noticed his hand felt like it had been replaced with a rock. He looked at it, and almost fainted. "Oh God!" he said. "Oh my God!"

"Who is God?" asked Celestia.

"What have you done to me??" Brendan looked at the rest of him. "I'm a horse! I'm a fucking horse! How? Why?? I'm never gonna be a human again!!"

Celestia waited for Brendan's hysterics to subside. After a good seven minutes of Brendan ranting about being a pony, he finally composed himself. He sighed and stared at the ground. "I hate cutesy," he grumbled.

"Well," said Celestia. "It is what must be done."

Author's Note

Finally, I finished this damn chapter.

I've been doing a lotta stuff on here lately, and my mind has been buzzing with new story ideas that make it difficult for me to stay consistent with any story. I'm still trying to get this story to an epic finish line, and I won't stop until I do. If you read this, and even more so enjoyed it, you a real one. I fought writer's block with this one, and I'm still figuring out the direction of the fic. So thanks for reading, and try to stick with me on this ride.

Peace.