The Cost To Know Everything

Chapters

The Spark
The Sign
The Arrival
The First Contact
The Integration
The Growing Curiousity
The Interview
The Search for The Answer
The Ritual
The Race
The Cost
Prologue
Epilogue

The Spark

Ah yes, high school...the time just before we move on to college...the time where we try to make as many friends as we can and hope to see them again.

I was a senior going to Fernandina Heights High School. I had mostly A's, with only one B in this really difficult philosophy class that I was forced to take, for some reason.

I had quite a few friends, and we all pretty much shared the same interests...well...except the fact that I was the only fan of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic. However, out of all my friends, there was this one who seemed to have...an addiction...to learning. She strived to be the smartest in her class and she was quite the nerd. Her name...was Kayla. The first day I met Kayla, we were already talking about space and thoughts of what lies beyond our solar system. There weren't that many of us nerdy ones around, but when we met other fellow nerds, the conversations became so deep to the point that it was philosophical at some points (and philosophy was the one class I was struggling with).

Lunchtime was usually when we would meet. Some of us would bring drawing paper to illustrate our theories about how the various theories of how our world and others could be connected.

"...so with these jump points, they say that once every so often, when a number of them line up, it creates a bridge to another world. In short, these connections happen sporadically." Kayla explained.

"But what if there was a way we could predict when these jump points are created...perhaps by keeping a sharp watch of the orbit." I replied.

"The next issue would be the absolute precision and timing. We would have to catch the jump point right on time, not one minute later. I imagine there's a window of time we've got before the jump point closes." Lenny interjected.

"But what if there was a way we could keep the jump points connected...there's gotta be some way we could knock them out of orbit to keep them open all the time. Kayla supposed.

"That wouldn't be a good idea Kayla. Who's knows what's beyond those jump points. Who knows what is in those alternate worlds..." I answered, thinking about that one scary movie that Kayla almost made me watch the other night.

"Tell you what, we should see if we could make a device that allows us to keep track of when jump points connect. This way, we could then try and read what lies beyond, see if we could capture some imaging." Lenny stated.

"Gah, I wish NASA would hire us.." I mused.

"Wait a second...if we wanna keep track...we could just use the observatory, perhaps visit there every day to see whether the jump points are lined up." Lenny concluded.

"Sounds awesome! We could rotate every day so that way we won't have to take up our valuable time. Oh man, this is gonna be awesome! Wouldn't it be something if something actually travels through the jump points...?" Kayla asked with an excited and eager look on her face.

"Careful what you wish for..." I warned, for I knew that there was a chance that it could be something that was extremely dangerous.

"Right...then it's settled, I'll head over to the observatory later on. Lenny, you got tomorrow and Ken, you got the next day." Kayla stated with a smile. I nodded in agreement. We mingled for a little while longer, then went our separate ways, until the next day.

The Sign

The next day, school went normally as usual. However, after school, was where the real investigations started happening. Kayla, Lenny and I made their way to the observatory that day. Kayla was especially stoked about seeing the jump points. We drove together and arrived after a twenty minute drive up the mountain roads. Well all showed our IDs and then headed up to the main telescope area.

"Okay, so these jump points are located right in the center point between the earth and the moon." I said as I started to calibrate the telescopes.

"Right, set the viewing angle to 40 degrees and set direction to northeast. Set zoom to 40x." Lenny stated.

"Got it." I chimed as I set the telescope up. I checked the view. The jump points were visible but slightly out of focus.

"Lenny, half turn on fine-tune please." I said.

"On it." Lenny said as he turned the fine tune knob halfway. The jump points were clear as day.

"There they are." I said as I looked. They seemed to be almost lined up.

"Could be a matter of days before they are perfectly aligned." I stated.

"We ought to get the exact time and day." Kayla said as she got out her notebook and started to write down the information that was given already. She was making a formula in order to figure out the exact time when the jump points would be lined up.

"Okay, so I figured something out. The jump points when drawn on this paper move about a half inch closer per day." Kayla concluded.

"But now we gotta convert that, which is easy since the telescope has a line making simulator programmed onto it." I stated as I calibrated the telescope to show the line as if the jump points were already lined up. Kayla solved the formula in about 3 minutes.

"There. According to the formula, we've got 1 day, 8 hours, 23 minutes and 54 seconds until lineup." Kayla said.

"Wow right down to the second..." Lenny commented.

"So I guess we meet back here tomorrow?" Kayla asked.

"Yep, same time." I answered. We left the observatory and went our separate ways. When I arrived home, I went to finish up some leftover assignments. However, when Kayla went home, she spent almost all night researching about the jump points, which cost her the first two classes the next day due to her oversleeping. I had to call her when I had the chance and sadly, Kayla ended up in lunch study, which meant we couldn't talk about the jump points. At lunch, Lenny and I simply talked about classwork that we did.

"Seriously, we must have a conversation with Kayla. You know how she gets completely obsessed with wanting to know more about something, which there's absolutely nothing wrong with that curiosity. It gets dangerous when you put more emphasis on it to the point it causes you to miss the more important things, like school." I stated.

"So true, but you know how Kayla is...once she dips her foot in the water, she'll dive right in and wouldn't want to get out the water until she's seen and learned everything there is to know about something." Lenny replied.

Our group didn't get together until after school, which meant there was even less time for us to chat about the plan for when the jump points connect. Of course, we all had a stern talk with Kayla about her obsession. The thing with Kayla is that she can be quite stubborn at times, and because of this, she really didn't take our advice. After the conversation, we started on our business with the jump points.

During the drive to the observatory, we really didn't mingle as much. I felt bad that we had to talk to Kayla the way we did, but because she was one of the best students in our class, we didn't want her to fail. Once we arrived at the observatory, Kayla's demeanor slowly began to change.

"It's only a matter of time before those jump points are lined up." Lenny stated as we pulled into the observatory. When we arrived in the telescope room, I went to check the settings.

"Awesome! The settings are just the way we left them." I said with a smile as Kayla went to sit down. She quickly pulled out the formula she made from yesterday and calculated the time left.

"We have exactly 1 minute left!" Kayla said with a smile as she made her way to the telescope, gesturing me to move out the way so she could see the jump points. Lenny had set up a timer on his watch for 1 minute. The time ticked away.

"Forty seconds." Lenny started to countdown.

"Thirty seconds."

"Twenty seconds."

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six..." Lenny counted down. Kayla was hogging the telescope for herself. Everytime I tried to get beckon her to scoot over so that I could see, she would shove me away. I managed to get a small glimpse of the jump points.

"Three, two, one, zero, alignment achieved and connection established." Lenny said. The jump points were perfectly in line. They seemed to connect with one another via a form of light.

"So...what now?" Lenny asked.

"We wait. We must have a way to be alerted if something crosses over into our world via the jump points." I said.

"And then we gotta find it. I can't wait to see who comes through the jump points." Kayla said.

"I mean, we know from movies that whenever something arrives on earth from another world, there is a bright light. Therefore, we should make devices that respond to high amounts of lumens." I suggested.

"Great idea. Let's head on over to my place. My dad has a lot of the tools and stuff we need." Lenny said as I started to power down all of the equipment.

During the drive to Lenny's house, Kayla was completely fixated on the light radiating from the connected jump points. I was a little worried about her that she would completely become obsessed with whatever comes through the jump points. When we arrived at Lenny's house, we immediately got to work assembling the lumen devices. Thanks to a video, we were able to find the best way to construct the devices. Kayla was beyond excited, to the point that she just stared at the changing numbers on her own device. After a little more discussion, we went our separate ways. Kayla went home...and still could not stop staring at the number on her device...

The Arrival

That night...in a land beyond our dimension, a pony, not just any pony, but a pegasus pony was on her way home from a party that night. She had to trek through what was known as the Everfree Forest in order to get back to her home. As she walked, a light from an unknown source seemed to intensify. The light grew brighter and brighter. It seemed to morph into some sort of blob, which turned out to be a portal. The pegasus pony, Fluttershy, shielded her eyes with a squeak as she backed away from the portal. She simply stared at it, quivering and indecisive on what to next. Staring at the swirling blob seemed to put Fluttershy in a light trance, which surprisingly, eased some of her nerves. She took one step, then another, and another towards the portal. Once she was inches away from coming in contact with the swirling portal, she reached out with her hoof to try and touch the portal. However, what she would feel was a very strong pull, causing her to yelp loudly as she was sucked into the portal. Inside the portal was many colors of light. Fluttershy flipped and turned chaotically as the gravitational forces pushed, pulled and spun her around in every direction. This lasted for about 10 seconds.

Back in our world, the time was 11:30pm. We were all sound asleep...all except Kayla of course. She was in a very light sleep. Up in the sky, a bright light illuminated the night. Kayla's lumen device beeped, which caused Kayla to jolt out of bed and right to her window to see the light coming from the jump points. Kayla gasped and immediately picked up her phone. She dialed our numbers.

"Come on, come on...pick up..." She said in a anxious tone. I was in a deep slumber. I heard a vibrating sound and slowly woke up. I looked at the phone and saw Kayla's name.

"Great...either she found an important piece of research...or she had a revelation..." I thought to myself. I answered the phone.

"Ugh...what's up Kayla...?" I asked in a very groggy tone.

"Something has come through!" Kayla said excitedly.

"Already...?" I asked still half asleep.

"Yes! Let's go find it!" Kayla exclaimed. Kayla seemed like she was full of energy. I hoped that this energy would carry over to tomorrow, as we had an important meeting about our science project.

"So where did you see the light?" I asked with a yawn over the phone.

"It appeared over the forest. Let's meet at my house and all drive there in one car." Kayla said.

"Alright, see you then." I said in a still tired tone. The drive to Kayla's house was full of many thoughts.

What came through?

Is it friendly?

What dimension did it come from?

Can it understand English?

After a ten minute drive, I pulled up to Kayla's house. I also saw Lenny's car there as well. I got out my Mustang and knocked on Kayla's front door. I could hear her footsteps as she ran towards the door. The door swung open and there was Kayla.

"Awesome! You made it! Let's head over to the forest. We'll take Lenny's car." Kayla said with a smile, as Lenny walked towards the front door, coming from another room in Kayla's house. We all got into Lenny's car, and drove towards the forest trails.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy had been slowly roaming around the forest, not knowing where she was or what to do.

"Wh...where am I? Wh...what is this place? I...I don't think I'm in Equestria anymore..o-oh my..." She said with a quiver, letting a small sniffle. Fluttershy continue to rove slowly through the dark forest. She eventually became too scared to move forth, and sought shelter in a bush.

Back in the car, we arrived at the entrance to the forest. We grabbed our flashlights and headed out.

"This feels like a ghost hunt or something..." Lenny said.

"Pft, I'm just glad it's not 3am." I teased.

"Oh you two..." Kayla commented as Lenny turned off the engine. We each grabbed our flashlights and headed into the forest to begin our search.

We slowly made our way into the forest, keeping a sharp watch over our surroundings. Everytime we heard something, one of us would point our flashlights in that direction.

"Jeez, there are a lot of stuff roaming around tonight..." Lenny said.

"As long as it's no bear I'm okay with that." Kayla said as some bushes rustled. We all gasped and pointed our flashlights towards the bush. Some whimpering could be heard.

"Shhhh. This could be it." Kayla said in a near-whisper. We all put our hands on the bush and slowly opened it. What was inside would give us the shock of our lives.

The First Contact

There...right in front of us...was a bipedal pony curled up and looking right at us with the most panicked face one could ever have. She let out an ear splitting scream, jumping into the air and scurrying off somewhere. We immediately took chase.

"Let's go, let's go! We cannot lose her!" Kayla commanded as we shined our flashlights in the direction where the pony went. The pony seemed pretty fast, as she had quite the distance on us. We decided to split up, each of us going in seperate directions. This way, we would corner her in at some point. The pony suddenly spread its wings...and flew up in a tree.

"No freaking way!" Kayla shouted as she shined her light in the tree, right where the pony was. The pony flew off to another branch, away from Kayla. Kayla growled in frustration, pursuing the scared and panicked pegasus pony.

"We've gotta get it in a corner." Kayla called out as she tried to find a way to lead the pony in a place where we could finally corral it...well at least calm it down so we could see if it understood us. However, this was going to be a lot harder than we expected. The pony seemed to stay up in the trees.

"Okay...I guess it's time I put my parkour skills to the test..." I said.

"Just be careful. It's late at night, and we don't want you in the hospital." Lenny warned. I climbed a tree slowly and rested myself on a branch, laying across it, looking around. I then got up and leaped to another branch and heard a noise.

"There!" I called out as I pointed my flashlight in the direction the pony went. The light seemed to have made the pony stop with fear. The pony tried to fly off again, but I kept it in my light. It looked like it was going to cry out of fear.

"Let's get closer guys. It seems like it's slowing up because of my light." I stated as I continued to track the pony in my light. I drew closer, with Kayla not too far behind me. The pony curled up even more, looking really scared.

"Please don't hurt me!" She cried as I took another step closer.

"I'm not gonna hurt you. Calm down. Don't be scared..." I said as I looked at the pony, who looked as if she was going to start crying out of fear at any second. Kayla emerged into my light with a big smile on her face. Unfortunately, the pony mistook Kayla's smile for an evil grin, and started to cry. I gently reached out my hand, slowly moving forward.

"Please don't cry...we're really not gonna hurt you." I stated.

"B-but the t-the one b-b-behind you...h-her...her smile..." The pony said crippling with fear, whimpering.

"Hm? What about her smile? She's very excited to see you..." I said looking into the pony's eyes.

"Could you at least tell us your name?" Lenny asked, emerging from somewhere. The pony let out a little scream.

"F-F-Fl-Flu-Fluttershy..." The pony said still quivering with much fear. Kayla took one step close, still with that smile on her face.

"No! Get away!" Fluttershy cried out again. I then turned to see Kayla who was awfully excited.

"Uhm...Kayla...? You may want to calm down. You're scaring Fluttershy..." I said. Kayla sighed.

"But I'm just...way to excited right now. I mean...look at this. We have a pegasus, let alone a yellow one from another world..." Kayla said.

"I understand but look at how scared poor Fluttershy is. She's still trying to process where she is with three humans looking at her." Lenny said. Kayla sighed. However, Fluttershy calmed down and just stared at us, me specifically.

"Things just got a little awkward...would you like to come with us?" I asked.

"A-ar-are you...sure? What would the others like you th-think of me?" Fluttershy asked with a worried tone.

"We will keep you safe. We promise." Kayla said. I beckoned Fluttershy to come towards us. She slowly made her way towards our flashlights. I slowly extended my hand out. Fluttershy looked as if she was going to curl up again, but she slowly extended her hand out, looking at me with tears welling up in her eyes.

"It'll be okay Fluttershy." I said looking at her sweetly. Fluttershy slowly put her hand in mine and I gently wrapped my fingers around her hand, holding it. We slowly climbed down the tree. All that was left to do was to decide who Fluttershy would stay with that night. It took some time. Of course Kayla wanted Fluttershy to stay with her so they could talk. However, it was already very late (in fact, it was almost 12:30am by time we got back to our cars), so I decided that I would take Fluttershy to my place for the night. We left the forest going back to our houses and going to sleep for the rest of the night.

The Integration

The next day came. Fluttershy and I had a good night's sleep, despite the short hours we had left of the night. It was nice cuddling with her. However, now came the difficult part: integrating her into our society. It would be quite the challenge. For starters, Fluttershy was not just a bipedal pony, but a pegasus pony...from a completely different dimension. After taking some time to think, I decided to dress Fluttershy in some other clothes that I had laying around. I also had to trim down her mane and tail. She was disappointed about it, but it would grow back as time passed. Finally, to make her look cool, I decided to throw in a baseball cap.

"U-uhm...are-are you sure this is a...*gulp* good idea?" Fluttershy asked as she started to quiver lightly, her wings twitching within her shirt.

"Trust me Fluttershy, everyone is really nice." I stated as I made sure that I had everything, from all my books and binders, to my science project stuff. I then went to the car with Fluttershy, and headed off to school. The conversation in the car was only of a few words. Fluttershy was just so worried about how others would see her.

"Hmmm, perhaps we could come up with a different name for you Fluttershy. People would definately think that something's up if you say your name is Fluttershy." I stated.

"Uhm...I-I don't kn-know Kenneth...I want to keep my real name...but...but..." Fluttershy stopped.

"But what Fluttershy?" I asked.

"I like my name...it's unique and all..." Fluttershy said rubbing her arm. I sighed as well.

"How about Flora? I mean...you look like a Flora, and it seems like you love nature just by looking at you..." I said.

Fluttershy looked over to me as I drove.

"Well...uh...Flora is...nice..." She said softly. I smiled.

"Then Flora it is." I declared as I gently led Fluttershy, now known as Flora to the door, making sure that I had all of my things.

The drive to school was rather interesting. Fluttershy looked around and saw all the differences between my world and hers. The one thing she pointed out was that the colors were duller than her world. Looking at Fluttershy's fur, I could imagine just how bright the colors were in her world. When we arrived at school, Kayla and Lenny were at the front.

"Oooh! Looking good there Fluttershy! Kenneth did a great job picking out that outfit for ya!" Lenny said happily. Fluttershy blushed and tried to hide away cutely behind a binder I gave her.

"Keep it down a little Lenny. Oh, she has a new name just to make sure we don't get that much attention: Flora." I explained.

"Oh! Right...sorry..." Lenny replied, a few beads of sweat running down his face. A few other students turned around and looked at us, seeing Fluttershy with her pink mane coming out of her baseball cap.

It was soon time to go to class. Fluttershy and Kayla chatted just a little. When we arrived in the classroom, the teacher was quite surprised at the sight of Fluttershy. However, after telling an elaborate story and referring to Fluttershy as Flora, everything went relatively smoothly, except those who just kept on staring at Flora, causing her to whimper.

Soon, lunchtime rolled in. Our little group decided to sit by ourselves and eat so we could have a discussion about where Fluttershy could possibly from and most importantly, just how many other dimensions and habitable places are out there. All the while, Fluttershy was also thinking about how she would get back home and her friends.

"...I mean, look at Flora, she's a pegasus pony...a bipedal one..." I said.

"But...ponies aren't usually bipedal." Lenny commented.

"Well, there could be a chance they are...I mean...multiverses...?" Kayla asked.

"You got a big point there Kayla." I said.

"M-my friend...Twilight Sparkle would...really...love you guys..." Fluttershy simply said...rather quietly.

"Twilight...Sparkle..." I thought out loud.

"Now that's a really interesting name. So assuming you're from a..." Kayla started.

"Do you think this a good time to take this thing deeper?" I interrupted.

Kayla let out a quiet sigh. She was getting even more excited as more layers were unfolded about Fluttershy's world. Lunch concluded and it was time for science class. The teacher gave us a free period to work on our projects. Therefore, we took the time to discuss the possibility of multiple dimensions and universes. Fluttershy listened carefully. All the while, Kayla looked at Fluttershy, many more questions starting to arise.

The Growing Curiousity

Kayla thought and thought as the science period went by. If there was a possibility of multiverses, then that meant that there could've been two Fluttershys: the bipedal one and a feral one, which was a little tough to grasp.

"But wait a minute, you know if someone travels to another universe or dimension, depending if the dimension has magic, that being would transform into a version that could adapt to whatever conditions present in the universe/dimension..." Kayla stated.

"But if that was the case, then we would have different forms too...like there could be pony versions of ourselves where Flora is from." I supposed.

"I bet Kayla's pony version is just as obsessed with all this as her human self..." Lenny said with a chuckle. Kayla blushed lightly at the comment.

The science period went by and soon school was out for the day. We all decided to meet at the park and continue our little chat. As time passed, Kayla started to grow more curious and put forth deeper insight to the discussion.

"...I mean, think about it guys. What if we were the chosen ones to travel through the jump points. As I said, we would transform into ponies ourselves." Kayla said.

"So that basically rules out the theory about multiverses. Every universe has its own dimension, which means that if we were to travel to a place in that specific dimension, we would transform in order to adapt to said place." Lenny said.

"Totally reminds me of Darwin's theory." Kayla said.

"That's a little different...this is dimensional travel we're talking about...not evolution." I commented looking at Kayla.

"True, but still, every dimension has its quirks, which means that those living in them must learn how to adapt to those quirks..." Kayla said. She was about to tack in to her sentence but stopped herself, since it would mention Flora's real name.

Science period soon came to an end and we went to our final class for the day. It was that boring philosophy class that I had to take. It felt like the teacher was trying to feed us things beyond our understanding leaving us all wondering why we had to learn it in the first place. Kayla was also in this class, Fluttershy just sat there with a very clueless look on her face. Fortunately, class was shorter today, but that meant we had a quiz coming up. The bell rang and school was out for the day.

"Ugh...it's about time...free from school...and it's Friday...which means the weekend is here." I said with a sigh of relief.

"Now we can absolutely continue our studies on those jump points." Lenny said. However, Kayla had a different plan. The philosophy lesson today really intrigued her about seeking knowledge, and combining that with the fact that Fluttershy was from a completely different world, Kayla just had to delve deeper.

"Hey Fluttershy...I hope this isn't too much but...I'd really like to interview you about where you come from and who you truly are..." Kayla said suddenly.

"Oh boy...here we go." Lenny said.

"Relax Lenny, this could answer questions that have been left hanging..." I deduced as we walked to our cars.

"U-uhm...a-an interview...?" Fluttershy asked stopping. Fluttershy looked quite nervous.

"Don't worry Fluttershy...I really wanna get to truly know you and where you come from. See...all my life I've always been fascinated by how things are connected, and I really want to know just how our worlds are connected..." Kayla went on for a bit. I looked at Lenny and Fluttershy sort of curled up just a little.

"Just...don't overwhelm Fluttershy okay? I sense she misses her home and her friends. Heck, we don't even know when the jump points will line up again...it could be a while...months...maybe years...then what?" I asked. Fluttershy let out a little sniffle.

"Y-years?" She asked sniffling again. I hugged Fluttershy close.

"Don't worry Fluttershy. You're safe with us and when we figure things out, we will make sure you're home safe and sound with your pony friends. Now hurry along then. Kayla's waiting for you." I said.

"O...okay..." Fluttershy said with a gulp, walking towards a room where Kayla was. Kayla had written down some questions and had them all set for Fluttershy.

Author's Note

Ideas from Doctor Strange Multiverse of Madness were used in this chapter, specifically, the idea that due to the multiverses, everyone existed there yet with different forms.

The Interview

The room was set. Kayla had made sure that everything and every question she had for Fluttershy was all ready to go. Meanwhile, I had pulled up to Kayla's house with Fluttershy. I got out and helped Fluttershy out of my car. We walked to the front door of Kayla's house and approached the front door. Fluttershy looked quite nervous.

"There's no need to be nervous Fluttershy. You've known Kayla for quite some time now; besides, this isn't some formal interview for a job." I said.

"O-okay..." Fluttershy simply said, still unsure of this whole interview thing. Fluttershy nervously walked into the room, and there was Kayla, with a pencil and a notebook. Kayla wanted to record the interview, but I told her it wasn't a good idea in case something happened. Kayla was a little disappointed, but it was for the best, as we had to keep all of this info safe.

"So...glad you agreed to this interview Fluttershy. I am just so excited to learn about your world and how it is connected among other worlds and dimensions." Kayla said.

"I-I...I'll do my best...my friend Twilight would surely love this..." Fluttershy simply said, playing with her mane a little.

"Okay, first question...let's make it easy...where exactly are you from?" Kayla asked.

"A large land called Equestria..." Fluttershy answered.

"Equestri...wait a second...no...that...a land of ponies/horses. That's crazy...Equus is the genus of the horse...are there any other species among you ponies?" Kayla asked inquisitively.

"Oh yes...I myself take care of animals from birds and butterflies, to even deer, bears and even cows..." Fluttershy answered.

"Wow...that's just amazing. So...it seems like you do that for a living...is taking care of animals your full time job?" Kayla asked.

"Kinda...it is my...special talent after all..." Fluttershy said.

"Wait...special...talent? Does that mean...?" Kayla started, but stopped.

"Yes, everypony has a special talent...it is represented by a symbol on our flanks called a cutie mark..." Fluttershy said.

"Cutie Mark? I have to see it to believe it...mind showing me yours Fluttershy?" Kayla asked.

"Uhm...o-okay..." Fluttershy said softly, blushing as she shifted, pulling her pants down, showing her cutie mark: three pink butterflies.

"It looks like a...tattoo...so...if I understand correctly, when you find your special talent, the cutie mark appears on your flank?" Kayla asked as she drew a rough sketch of Fluttershy's cutie mark in her notebook.

"Y-yes...no two ponies have the same cutie mark..." Fluttershy answered.

"So...if there are Pegasus ponies like you...are there unicorns too?" Kayla asked.

"Oh yes, my other friend Rarity is a unicorn...her special talent is making clothes and finding gems..." Fluttershy answered.

"Very interesting...you mentioned another friend...Twilight...Sparkle...was it? Is she a unicorn too?" Kayla asked.

"Well...she used to be...but...now she's an alicorn..." Fluttershy answered fidgeting with her mane again.

"Wait...an alicorn? What's that?" Kayla asked.

"It's a pony with both wings...and a horn. That means they can fly and do magic..." Fluttershy answered, her wings twitching a little.

"So...can a pony be born an alicorn? How does that work?" Kayla asked.

"Well...it's...different you see...my friend Twilight became an alicorn after she...completed a spell...not just any spell, but after realizing the true meaning of friendship. She became the princess of...friendship..." Fluttershy said. Kayla was taking notes and writing this stuff down.

"So...basically anyone can become an alicorn by discovering the true meaning of something deep? Surely it's related to their special talent..."

"Well...technically..." Fluttershy said. "I'd be the princess of...kindness..." Fluttershy said.

"You certainly are the kindest pony I've ever met..." Kayla said. Fluttershy blushed at this remark.

"But...I have a question for you..." Fluttershy said.

"Oh? Turning the tables a bit are we? Sure...go ahead." Kayla said smiling.

"If you were...sent to my world...Equestria...what species would you want to be...?" Fluttershy asked.

"Hmmm...I would want to be...a...unicorn...because I'd definitely want magic and all...plus...you've already seen just how much I love science..." Kayla said, as she began to draw what she would look like as a unicorn. It was a pretty decent sketch.

"You would absolutely get along with Twilight...is there anything else?" Fluttershy asked.

"Nope, I got everything I need...now I just gotta analyze it and search for answers." Kayla said getting up. Fluttershy and Kayla exited the room. Lenny and I were sitting and waiting. Kayla sort of veered off to another direction, probably back to her house.

"And there goes Kayla...off to...maybe her place to start the search for answers to all this." I said.

"Well it is the weekend...so...she's got quite a bit of time." Lenny said. Fluttershy looked at both of us.

"So...what now...?" Fluttershy asked. I looked up at Fluttershy.

"Well, let's head back to my place then. I'll catch up with you later Lenny." I said.

"Alright then...see ya." Lenny said as Fluttershy and I exited the school building. I helped Fluttershy into my Mustang and headed back to my place to relax and chill, knowing that Kayla was on a mission for answers...

The Search for The Answer

Kayla arrived at her place and started to spread out her notes. She put them into organized piles after tearing them out of her notebook. Kayla then laid the drawing of herself as a unicorn in front of her, but not paying attention to it as much.

"Okay...Equestria...a land of ponies...they must be feral if Fluttershy came here in a bipedal form like us humans...ponies have cutie marks that represent their special talent and get them when they discover their special talent...destiny...hmmm..." Kayla said as she started to put things together. She then opened her laptop and opened her internet browser. In the search bar, she typed in the phrase "connection of universes". Several pages of articles appeared.

"Universal law...nope...vastness of the universe...nope...wait...theory of connectivity? Surely this could be it..." Kayla said to herself as she clicked the webpage link. It took her to a research study done by students at a university.

"So we're not the only ones who have been studying this...gotta go deeper..." Kayla said to herself. Meanwhile, I was talking with Fluttershy.

"So you're saying that in your world...your special talents are represented by symbols on your flanks called cutie marks?" I asked.

"Yes...Kayla asked me the same thing in the interview..." Fluttershy answered.

"Kayla really wanted to get a lot of info from ya...I tell ya she won't give up until she finds the answer...but I just hope that she doesn't do any crazy stuff..." I said with a worried look on my face.

Back at Kayla's house, Kayla continued her deep dive search for her answer, but wasn't coming up with anything significant.

"Ugh, it's like I have to really dig to the core to find these answers." Kayla said a little frustrated, exiting out of a webpage and back to the search results. Kayla found another article, but it was pretty much the same. It felt like a wild goose chase to Kayla, which was getting her even more frustrated.

"Do I literally have to perform some spell or ritual just answer a..." Kayla paused for a moment...realizing what she had just asked herself. She wasn't one who believed in the paranormal or any of the sort. Nonetheless, she had to find the answer to how the universes were connected...which meant she would go to any length until she found the answer.

"Be careful Kayla...you're about to enter treacherous territory." Kayla's inner voice warned. Kayla sighed. She wanted to find the answer...and as of now, it felt out of reach. Kayla gulped and started to type in the search bar.

"Ritual to gain knowledge." She said as she typed in the search bar. She then pressed enter. Beads of sweat started running down Kayla's face. She felt hot. It was that feeling...that feeling whenever someone knew they were about to risk everything just to gain something. The search results appeared. There were quite a few, in fact, over 10,000 results. One of the results contained a ritual where one had to summon a being that would answer any questions, but there were hidden risks and it required several other people. Then Kayla stumbled upon "The Answer Man".

"Nope...definitely not putting my friends through anything...especially...oh jeez! Heck no!" Kayla said backing out of the webpage when she read about the price one paid if they upset the answer man. She then found one called "Lady Spades".

"Lady Spades hm? She seems...oh jeez...nope! Not gonna have some ghost lady haunting me. Why is it that you have to summon something just to answer a question?" Kayla asked in frustration. She was about to close her laptop when something caught her eye.

"Hm? What's this...?" She asked as she clicked a link titled "The Most Dangerous Games: Channel Infinity".

"You may have just hit the jackpot Kayla." Kayla said to herself with a smile across her face. She started to read all about the ritual.

"Thank goodness I still have the old crt tv..." Kayla said to herself as she continued to read. The ritual's directions stated that there needed to be a 3 hour window between the time after the initial setup and the start of the ritual.

"Welp, I know what I'm doing tomorrow night..." Kayla said to herself as she continued to read. The website outlined all the things she needed.

"Looks like I'll have to borrow the axe from the toolbox..." Kayla said as she continued to read. The website then outlined that after Kayla answered the initial questions on the tv, one of three things would happen: she would have to watch her favorite tv show but all the characters would die tragically, an image representing her worst fear would appear on the screen in which she would have to use a sledgehammer to break the screen, or a portal would open and she would be taken to a negative version of our world.

"As much as I hate jumpscares...I hope I get the #2...it's the fastest..." Kayla said to herself. Nonetheless, she read how to proceed if she was taken to the negative version of our world.

"Wow...so much to do..." Kayla said. She then came to the part about the moon's color.

"Wait...the green full moon is that bad? How bad can it be?" Kayla asked. She scrolled to the part on details about the green full moon. However...all there was were 5 words:

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Sorry? About what? Ah forget it...as long as I don't see the green full moon, I'll be a-okay and now that I have found the answer, the others are gonna be stoked! Ahh I can't wait to embark on this journey!" Kayla said excitedly. She then texted Lenny and I with the simple phrase:

"Come to my house! I have found the answer!" Meanwhile, I was with Fluttershy just watching some tv, when I read the text.

"Well Fluttershy...good news...Kayla found the answer to the lingering question to how the universes are connected...at least I hope. Come on, let's go to her place." I said.

"O-okay..." Fluttershy said, putting on the baseball cap I gave her. I smiled at her as I headed out the door and got in my mustang. Fluttershy got in as well. We drove to Kayla's place. When we arrived, Lenny was there too. I knocked. Kayla opened the door quickly.

" So glad you guys could come. Tomorrow, I'm going to embark on a journey to channel infinity to finally get the answers I need to how the universe is connected." Kayla said with a determined look on her face.

"Are you crazy? You know how those sort of things end..." I said.

"Trust me Kenneth. Everything is going to be okay. I am going to do it tomorrow night and I am looking forward to getting all the answers I need." Kayla said, not backing down. Fluttershy gulped. She had that worried look on her face.

"Don't you worry Fluttershy, when I arrive at channel infinity, I will have answers." Kayla said with confidence.

"I'll be at a car show tomorrow night...be sure to call me after to tell me how it went." I said.

"Ugh...fine...just promise you'll pick up when I call." Kayla said.

"I...I can stay with you..." Fluttershy said.

"Great! What about you Lenny?" Kayla asked Lenny.

"I got this stupid conference my parents made me go to...ugh..." Lenny said frowning.

"Okay...guess I'll ring up Jenna and Kelsey then..." Kayla said. So Kayla called her other friends and agreed to be with her. That evening. I searched for "Channel infinity" on the web myself to find out more details. I read through another website that had more details than the one Kayla read. When I came to the details about the green full moon, I gasped loudly.

"Goodness gracious! What the hay is Kayla thinking?!" I asked myself loudly. Fluttershy heard me and came quickly.

"What? Is everything okay?" She asked looking at me with a concerned look on her face. I sighed.

"Kayla is about to risk everything with this channel infinity thing." I said. Suddenly I got a game invite from a friend.

"Pardon me Fluttershy, gotta reply to this message." I said as I picked up my phone and proceeded to reply to the message. Meanwhile, Fluttershy read the details to the green full moon. A few tears ran down her cheeks. She wiped them quickly.

The evening went by and soon it was Saturday. Kayla spent the morning getting her mind set for the journey to channel infinity. It was going to be the journey of a lifetime...at least...she hoped...

Author's Note

Sources of the alluded ritual games can be found in these three links:

https://theghostinmymachine.com/2017/06/19/the-most-dangerous-games-the-answer-man/

https://theghostinmymachine.com/2016/01/04/the-most-dangerous-games-lady-spades/

https://theghostinmymachine.com/2016/09/12/the-most-dangerous-games-channel-infinity/

https://creepypasta.fandom.com/wiki/Channel_%E2%88%9E

The Ritual

Saturday came. Lenny and I went to the gym together along with Fluttershy to exercise. Kayla woke up with that confident look on her face. This was it. That night was the night where Kayla would perform the ritual to reach channel infinity, where she would hope to find the answers she needed about the connection of the universe.

"Tonight is the night. You got this Kayla." Kayla said to herself, feeling psyched up. Fluttershy was still very worried, and so was I. Knowing that there was a 25% chance something terrible was going to happen, both Fluttershy and myself felt uneasy about the whole thing.

"You look so worried Kenneth...I am worried too. Kayla is making a mistake doing this..." Lenny said as he ran on the elliptical machine next to me.

"Well with a 25% chance of something going horribly wrong of course I'm worried. This is our friend Kayla we're talking about.

Lenny was taking a sip of his water...and pulled a spit-take when he heard there was a 25% chance something was going to go terribly wrong.

"25% chance?! Kayla must be out of her mind! Any sort of those ritual things is messing with the paranormal and that's certainly not smart!" Lenny said in a sort of panicked tone.

"Indeed it is not...but you know Kayla...sadly, it could prove to be one of the traits that gets her into serious trouble...I mean...you remember the time just before the jump points lined up Kayla overslept big time right?" I asked.

"Yep and she had to go to lunch study because of it. What's most important her health and success in school...well, and getting our friend Fluttershy back to her home safely..." I said.

"I...I do miss Equestria...Fluttershy said looking at the both of us as she pedaled on an exercise bike slowly.

"Don't worry Flut- I mean Flora, we will find a way." I said, remembering I was in public.

The day went on. There were 6 hours remaining before Kayla would officially start the ritual. She planned to start it at 9pm, when the sun was just about set. It was mid spring and daylight savings time had started not too long ago. Fluttershy and I decided to go visit Kayla since i wouldn't see her until after the ritual. Fluttershy decided she wanted to stay with Kayla.

"Kayla...I really don't think this is a good idea...you're risking so much for this..." Fluttershy said looking at Kayla as she fidgeted with her mane a little.

"Listen Fluttershy, I need to find the answer to how the universe is connected and I won't stop until I find it!" Kayla said. Kayla's tone had changed into a more serious tone, with some anger mixed in. Fluttershy winced at Kayla's tone, reminding her of when she first met Kayla in the forest. Fluttershy let out a soft whimper. There was just something about Kayla that absolutely worried Fluttershy. Meanwhile I was preparing my Mustang for the car show...and Lenny was with his family for that conference. Fluttershy decided to walk back to my place. As I was working on my mustang, I saw her.

"Oh! Hey there Fluttershy! Everything ok?" I asked.

"N-not really...Kayla...she's...changed...like...she wants to do this so bad...it has taken a toll on her attitude..." Fluttershy said with a small whimper. I sighed.

"Kayla is a strange girl. She's just so obsessed with obtaining knowledge on things. I knew she would go to great lengths to find the answer, but I didn't know it would be this bad...but Kayla needs you Fluttershy. She's risking everything with this. Stay strong Fluttershy. Do it for me, for Lenny, for Kayla, and for all your pony friends back at your home." I said smiling. I offered Fluttershy a hug. She hugged me, and started to cry a little.

"It's so hard...what if it...goes wrong..." Fluttershy said crying softly.

"It'll be okay Fluttershy. We hope that Kayla's heart is in the right place." I said slowly breaking the hug. I looked at my watch. It was 5pm. There were 4 hours left and 1 hour until the window between setup and ritual time started.

"Kayla needs you Fluttershy. I gotta get ready for this car show." I said taking Fluttershy's hand and walking her to the edge of my driveway. Fluttershy started to walk towards Kayla's house as I waved goodbye. I then worked on the final preparations for the car show, then headed out.

An hour passed. The setup window has begun. Kayla turned on the old crt tv to a static channel. Kayla then gathered the supplies needed which included two handheld mirrors, a weapon of some sort, a key, her favorite book about the universe written by Stephen Hawking, her solar system necklace (an item that Kayla held dear), a sledgehammer and her iPhone 11 (the mobile communication device). It took Kayla some time to find the the weapon, but she decided to go with axe that was also in the toolbox.

"Okay...got everything I need...and now...time to get mentally prepared." Kayla said to herself. Suddenly, there was a knock on the front door. Kayla went to answer it. It was her other friends Jenny and Kelsey. Kelsey was a huge fan of these rituals, but she had never heard of this one.

"Honestly Kayla, I am nervous for you about this one. I've never heard of it and it seems like it's very risky." Kelsey stated as she took a sip of her water.

"I'm just...here for moral support. I really hope you make it through this Kayla..." Jenna said, unconsciously leaning against Fluttershy. Fluttershy blushed lightly and moved over a little. Jenna looked at Fluttershy.

"So this is the pony you were talking about. She's quite...cute if you ask me." Jenna said smiling softly at Fluttershy. Fluttershy tried to hide in her mane.

"She's quite shy that's for sure." Kelsey said.

"Her name is Fluttershy...so...yea..." Kayla said, her voice sort of trailing.

"Huh..." Kelsey said inquisitively.

"Anyway, I need to go get my mind straightened up. I'll call you from upstairs when I need you three." Kayla said. She then went upstairs. Kelsey and Jenna tried to start a conversation with Fluttershy, which took some time, but they eventually got something going. Meanwhile Kayla was up in the ritual space. She lined up everything and looked up at the time. There was exactly 1 hour left. Kayla then went to her own room and pulled out her notes on everything thus far. The time seemed to fly by. Then, the alarm on her iPhone went off, signaling it was 9pm. This was it. There was no turning back now. Kayla went back downstairs.

"Alright everyone, listen closely. Stay outside the room until I open the door. Do not enter the space. I will give you some stuff and then that's it. Got it?" Kayla asked.

"Yep..." Jenna said.

"Got it." Kelsey said with a nod.

Fluttershy simply nodded. Kayla then led the group to just outside the ritual room and blocked the doorway so they wouldn't peak inside. She then entered and closed the door. Kayla then took a deep breath. This was it. There was no turning back now.

"And so it begins." Kayla said to herself as she started to stare at the blank static tv screen. She stared and stared. Suddenly, Kayla started to feel disoriented. This was the first checkpoint.

"F-Fluttershy...? Come to the d-door...ugh I hope this feeling goes away soon..." Kayla said. Fluttershy walked to the door with trembling steps. Kayla opened the door just a little, and gave Fluttershy her beloved solar system necklace saying nothing. Kayla then closed the door, then positioned the mirrors as stated in the directions: one reflecting the tv screen and the other reflecting herself. The remote was next to Kayla. Five minutes went by. Suddenly, there was a beep. It came from the TV. There was a question up on the screen. Kayla picked up the remote. She took another deep breath.

"Okay Kayla, be honest now..." She said to herself. It seemed she would have 10 questions to answer. As Kayla answered the questions, they started to become more deep and personal. Kayla took longer on the later questions, but got through them all. The screen was black for a while. Thinking that the image of her worst fear would pop up, she rested a hand on the sledgehammer...but it didn't appear. Instead, a whirring sound as a portal slowly opened. Kayla sighed. Outside, Fluttershy could hear the sound.

"Oh no..." She said in a broken voice, almost sounding like she was going to cry. Jenna hugged Fluttershy tightly.

Back in the room, Kayla picked up the key, her iPhone, her book on the universe and the ax. She stepped into the portal...and surprisingly landed in the same room...except...it felt different. There was a negative energy continuously surging. This must've been the negative version of the world Kayla lives in. Kayla looked around. She then exited her room, noting Fluttershy and the others were not there. Kayla felt a little nervous, however, she didn't let her nerves get to her. Down the stairs she went and to the front door of her house. She exited her house to be greeted with a red sky, grey sun and a vermillion mist.

"Surely this is the negative world..." Kayla said to herself as she walked the quiet neighborhood. The school was not to far and when she arrived, she used the key to open the door. The door opened and she walked into the halls, holding the ax and her book. Kayla entered a classroom, closed the door and sat down at a desk. Kayla then began to read her book. All of a sudden, she heard footsteps. Kayla shuddered a little, but didn't move. Instead, she kept reading. The footsteps stopped. Kayla started to count.

"One...two...three...four..." She counted out loud. When Kayla reached ten, she heard a single footstep and paused. She then resumed counting. She realized that for every factor of 10 she reached, the footstep would get louder.

"Two hundred forty eight...two hundred forty nine...two hundred fifty." Kayla counted. There was then a knock on the door. Kayla got up and answered the door. When she opened it, she was face to face with a statue of...Fluttershy. Kayla winced. She had to destroy the statue. She took the sledgehammer and bashed the statue on the head. She then used the ax to cut the left hand of the statue off.

"So sorry Fluttershy..." Kayla said to herself as she then headed towards the door. She could see that night had fallen. This was it...the final step. Kayla took a deep breath, opened the door to the outside, looked up in the sky and saw........a green.....full.....moon. Kayla felt woozy. She felt like she was going to pass out. She fell, back, but didn't hit the ground. It seemed like she fell into a void...but it was a portal back to her world. Back in the real world, a whirring sound was heard, followed by a woosh and a thud, like a body hitting the floor. The time was now exactly 10pm. Fluttershy gasped when she heard the thud and burst through the door to find Kayla on the floor nearly unconscious.

"Nooooo!!!" Fluttershy screamed, bursting into loud sobs, flying out the nearby window. Jenna and Kelsey ran into the room, trying to get Kayla to respond. She had 30 minutes left to live. It was then deep within Kayla's mind, she remembered those five dreaded words.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Fluttershy flew back to my place in tears. I left a window cracked just in case Fluttershy got home early. Fluttershy curled up on my bed bawling. After all that time getting to know Kayla, all that time trying to figure it all out...Kayla risked it all...for naught. Meanwhile, I had arrived back home and got out my Mustang. I could hear sounds coming from my room. I quickly ran inside. I recognized it as...crying. I ran upstairs to find Fluttershy curled up.

"Fluttershy! What's wrong? Tell me!" I said hugging her.

"She saw it! She saw it!!" Fluttershy managed to exclaim in between her sobs.

"Saw wha..." I started...but after a pause, I realized what happened. I couldn't believe. I gasped loudly and just had to confirm.

"You mean she...?" I started to ask.

"YES!" Fluttershy cried hugging me tightly.

"Oh shoot!" I yelled painfully.

"I told her! I freaking told her it wasn't a good idea and now she's got 30 minutes left of her life! Stupid old me! I should've stopped her. This is what happens when you risk everything for knowledge! And now we gotta find a way to save Kayla!" I said emotionally, picking up Fluttershy and carrying down to my Mustang after closing the window.

The Race

I gently put Fluttershy in my Mustang but quickly. I ran to the driver's seat and gunned the motor. The 5.0 liter V8 engine roared loudly to life. Fluttershy just continued to sob. I was trying not to cry myself. To lose my longtime friend Kayla to a ritual would be beyond deveststing. I just couldn't think about what life would be without Kayla. I peeled out the driveway and floored it down the straight neighborhood road. I made a left turn, power sliding around the turn, the tires screeching loudly. Fluttershy clinged on to whatever she could find, still sobbing. Five seconds later, I arrived at Kayla's house. It was now 10:04pm, 26 minutes left to save Kayla. I came to a screeching halt, and quickly dialed Lenny's number. The phone rang.

"Please pick up Lenny..." I said to myself.

"Hey Kenneth. Everything alright?" Lenny.

"Not at all. We need you right now. It's Kayla, she's in dire need of help." I said. Lenny sighed with a mix of a growl.

"Let me guess...the ritual..." Lenny said with serious tone.

"I'm afraid so." I said.

"On my way." Lenny said as I banged on Kayla's door.

"It's Kenneth!" I called out. Fast footsteps could be heard. Kelsey opened the door with tears in her eyes.

"I came as fast as I could. We don't have much time. We've gotta save Kayla."

"H-how much time do we have?" Kelsey asked choked up with tears running down her face. I sighed and looked at my watch. It was 10:06pm.

"Twenty four minutes." I said. Kelsey gasped and started to break down into tears. I put my hand on Kelsey's shoulder.

"We gotta stay strong...for our friend. Kayla is our friend. We won't let her..." I was about to say when I heard another bang on the door.

"Oh thank goodness, it's Lenny." I said as I opened the door for Lenny.

"I came as fast as I could. I knew this wasn't a good idea. We need to find a way to save Kayla." Lenny said with a serious look on his face. Fluttershy was still crying in my arms. We all rushed upstairs. Kayla was still breathing, but was quite weak to the point she could barely move her limbs. We all entered the room to see Jenna hugging Kayla who was still on the floor. The time was now 10:08pm, 22 minutes left to save Kayla.

"Quick! Find any of this sort of thing to stop this...anything...even a soul transfer, which I bet is impossible to find!" I exclaimed. Lenny searched up soul transfer and pulled up something. He started to read. Meanwhile I was searching myself, but everything required a summoning, which we wouldn't dare try. Lenny continued to read what he had pulled up. Two minutes passed. It was now 10:10pm. Twenty minutes left.

"I think I may have just found the thing we need." Lenny proclaimed.

"You're a godsend Lenny. What do we need?" I asked.

"Okay, Kayla's body is withering away as we speak. Does anyone have a drawing of something we could use?" I asked. Fluttershy's ears perked up. She gasped.

"Wait, what is it Fluttershy?" I asked.

"During the interview with Kayla...she drew what...she would look like...as a pony...she did it in her notebook..." Fluttershy said with a few sniffles.

"Notebook...notebook! Lenny, find Kayla's notebook!" I commanded.

"On it!" Lenny said.

"In...the..." Kayla said weakly, with a cough.

"Easy Kayla...what did you say?" Jenna asked looking at Kayla.

"Notebook...in the...bag..." Kayla said wheezing. It was now 10:15pm, and we still hadn't set up for what we were going to do.

"Which bag? There's like 3 bags in here!" Lenny said panicking.

"The...brown..." Kayla started but ended up coughing again. Lenny started pulling papers and stuff out the bag, until a lone paper fell in front of Fluttershy. Fluttershy looked at what was on the paper. Lo and behold...it was the unicorn sketch Kayla drew.

"I got it!" Fluttershy exclaimed.

"Okay! Now we need a bed sheet and two candles." Lenny said. Jenna rushed to Kayla's room and pulled the bed sheet off the bed.

"I'll look for the candles!" Kelsey said jumping up and running downstairs. It was now 10:20pm.

"Hurry! Ten minutes!" I yelled.

"Oh...oh..." Fluttershy simply whimpered, looking like she was going to cry again. Kayla's breathing started to become more shallow.

"Ok, the ritual requires five bonded friends in order for it to work." Lenny said.

"But...there's only four of you! It won't work!" Fluttershy exclaimed, starting to cry again.

"Wait, hasn't a certain yellow Pegasus been here with us the entire time and gotten to know us truly?" I asked. Fluttershy gasped.

"Th-that means...!" She said, wiping her tears as Kelsey rushed into the room with the candles and matches.

"Okay, we must cover Kayla up with the bed sheet and place the drawing on top of her." Lenny said. We quickly covered Kayla up with the bed sheet. We could hear her starting to gasp for air. It was now 10:25pm...five minutes left to save Kayla.

"Come on Kayla stay with us!" I said.

"Light the candles Kelsey!" Lenny commanded.

"Okay!" Kelsey yelled back. She lit the match after two failed attempts and lit the candles.

"Everybody gather around Kayla. We must all put our hands on the drawing and close our eyes and concentrate." Lenny said. I put my right hand on the drawing, followed by Lenny's right hand, then Fluttershy's left. Next, Kelsey put her right hand on the drawing followed by Jenna's left then Fluttershy's right hand. It was 10:29...one...minute...left. At this point, Kayla was gasping for air hard. We all closed our eyes. Kayla's gasping stopped. It was 10:30pm...

Author's Note

The "five bonded friends" in the soul transferring ritual is a reference to the "five righteous Saiyans" needed for a super Saiyan god ritual.

The Cost

The room was dead silent. Our eyes were closed. Fluttershy started to sniffle. We didn't know what was going on and we hoped this wasn't all for naught. I had to shake off every thought of Kayla being dead. I concentrated hard, imagining Kayla's soul being transferred to the drawing. Fluttershy started cry softly, a tear running down her face and falling on to the paper. A soft wispy sound like a gentle tone produced by the wind was heard. I gasped softly. The noise died down. Then...there was a groan...like someone waking from a nap. I pulled the cover off...and there was Kayla...as a blue unicorn. Kayla slowly opened her eyes.

"Wh...what happened?" She asked groggily.

"It...worked! You're alive!" Fluttershy cried joyfully, springing forward, giving Kayla a tight hug. We all joined in the hug.

"We did it guys...we did it." I said happily as Kelsey blew out the candles.

"Did what?" Kayla asked.

I took one of the hand mirrors Kayla had in the room and aimed it at her. She gasped loudly, looking at her hands cover in blue fur and her mane and tail, which were the same color as her hair in human form: medium brown.

"No way!" I-I...I'm a..." Kayla started but stopped, feeling her forehead...rubbing her horn.

"I'm a unicorn! H-how?!" Kayla exclaimed.

I sighed.

"We have to tell her..." Lenny said.

"Tell me what?" Kayla asked.

"That ritual...channel infinity...the one you tried...it failed. You almost died...or you may have died for like 30 seconds...we had to perform this other ritual to save you...I'm sorry Kayla...but...you're a unicorn for the rest of your life." I said. Kayla gasped covering her mouth.

"That means...I...I..." Kayla started but stopped, realizing the terrible mistake she had made.

"I'm so sorry!" Kayla cried hugging me, starting to sob. I hugged Kayla tightly. The others gathered around us.

"You were right all along! I should've listened to you yesterday! I got so swept into wanting to know all there is about the universe...that I...I let my pride go...and now look what it's done!" Kayla cried, sobbing heavily.

"Listen Kayla...we forgive you." I said.

"Yea! We all get caught up in things...but we are in control of our own ego. We can't let ourselves fall into traps like this..." Lenny said.

"...and we certainly can't know everything..." Fluttershy said.

"Nailed it right on the head Fluttershy." I said.

"I'm just glad you're alive...even if you're not a human anymore." Jenna said.

"But...that means....I may...no...I will have to go back to Equestria with Fluttershy..." Kayla said. I sighed. It was tough...but this was the price Kayla had to pay for letting her ego running loose trying to seek out knowledge that was forbidden.

"But I think that's the best for you Kayla. We will miss you...dearly...but you get to experience a whole new world...make new friends...and tell them all about us and the world you came from." I said.

"Life is surely gonna be different without Kayla around." I said. Meanwhile Kayla was trying to get her horn to light up. She was grunting. I had to chuckle. Fluttershy giggled too.

"Aww Look! Kayla's trying to do magic!" Jenna said giggling. Kayla blushed at Jenna.

"Stop it Jenna you're embarrassing me!" Kayla said in a pouty voice, her grunting sounding more adorable. A spark crackled and finally after 10 more seconds of grunting and small sparks, Kayla was able to light her horn.

"Yay she did it!" Jenna said applauding. We all smiled and laughed.

"Grrr, why do you have to embarrass me like that Jenna?" Kayla asked in that same pouty tone.

"Honestly, you kinda look really cute when you pout as a unicorn." Jenna said.

"Hmph!" Kayla crossed her arms making a really cute pouty face. Fluttershy was giggling quite a bit.

"She makes pouty faces as adorable as my friend Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy said.

"Alright alright everyone...let's chill with embarrassing Kayla now...and focus on...how in the world we're gonna get Fluttershy and Kayla to Equestria...and how to explain to the teacher why Kayla won't be coming back to school." I said. There was an awkward silence. By now, it was 11pm.

"Let's...wait for the morning for that..." Jenna said with a yawn.

"Yea...I'm absolutely exhausted from that rush." Lenny said scratching the back of his head.

"You all can stay you know...I don't mind." Kayla said. So we all tucked ourselves in and went to sleep for the night.

The next day, we woke up and went to church. Of course, Kayla had to dress up a little more, just to hide her horn and pony features. After, we all met at my house.

"Well...I guess this is goodbye for now..." I said.

"Surely this has been one heck of a ride." Jenna stated.

"...and it all started with those jump points...can't believe what has happened in the course of like 3 days..." Lenny said.

"G-got everything Kayla?" Fluttershy asked. Kayla was carrying her signature brown bag on her shoulder. She had her iPhone and other things in it.

"Sure do...wow...all of a sudden I feel the magic...in me..." Kayla said, feeling a little strange.

"Oh wait! Let's take a group selfie before you go!" I said.

"Right!" Kayla said taking her iPhone 11 out along with her selfie stick. She set it up and we all took a selfie. Kayla took a deep breath.

"Okay everyone...stand back." Kayla said. We all stood back as Kayla gathered her magic. There was a whirring sound and Kayla fired a bright beam out of her horn, spawning a portal back to Equestria. It would only last 15 seconds. Kayla took Fluttershy's hand as she walked forward. We all waved goodbye.

"Call me when you get settled!" I called out.

"Only if they have service in Equestria!" Kayla called back as she entered the portal with Fluttershy. The two disappeared within the light of the portal. The portal closed and it was all over. I looked at Lenny and Lenny looked at me. Jenna and Kelsey looked at the two of us.

"Now what?" I asked.

"I don't know...let's just...take some time and....meditate on what we just went through." Lenny said.

"Good idea." Jenna said. So we all went to my house and just...sat and thought, because thinking can lead to...something.

Prologue

Albert Einstein once said "...knowledge is limited." Throughout time, man has sought to learn and decipher the deepest truths in all of the cosmos. Legend has it that some knowledge out there...is forbidden, and if one were to learn that knowledge, they would be cursed and scarred forever. However, the pride of man and willingness to take risks when the odds are heavily stacked against have plagued man for centuries. This pride has driven man to seek out absurd ways to obtain this hidden and unknown knowledge. It makes one ask: "Is it really worth it?".

Epilogue

Kayla settled well in Equestria. She met Twilight Sparkle and the two quickly bonded. Kayla also met Starlight Glimmer who taught her some other spells. A day even came when Kayla got her cutie mark and of course, she sent us a pic of it. I couldn't believe Equestria actually had cell service. And of course, Kayla's cutie mark was a mix of space, science and magic. It was a pretty interesting design, slightly more complex than
Fluttershy. Kayla even learned how to use a flying spell...which made me so jealous. It was really cool talking on the phone with Kayla from
another world, and sometimes, Kayla would let her pony friends talk with me as well. Lenny and I had learned so much about Equestria from Kayla. Yes...we missed having Kayla physically with us, but as her friends, she was always in our hearts.

Yes Albert Einstein said that knowledge is limited and we can't know everything...but sometimes...simply living it can reveal so much.

Author's Note

This story takes place before Season 9 of MLP FIM