Author's Note

After an upset comment, a fight with a friend, and a threatening e-mail, I've decided that it would be best to put in a warning here about this section of the story.

The Other Manticore refers to the manticore from the condensed mythology of NSP lore. If you have no knowledge of NSP, or wish no knowledge of NSP, I advise that you skip over this chapter, as well as the next two, as you will not enjoy them.

I had tried to make the jokes in such a way that you didn't necessarily need the source material to find it funny, but this was evidently untrue.

Click here to skip this section and move on to the next part.

Episode Seventeen: The Other Manticore, Part One

"I can't believe you agreed to meet and talk to a dragon, face to face!" squeals Twilight, turning the camera to Fluttershy. "This is so awesome!"

"I can't believe you talked me into this," groans Fluttershy. "This is the worst."

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad," smiles Twilight. "I'll be right next to you every step of the way, and this dragon has promised not to do anything harmful or frightening. You'll be perfectly safe."

"You say that, but I'm still unsure." She turns and looks out the train window, watching as the scenery flies by outside. "After all, he's still a dragon, and he's still big and mean with razor-sharp teeth and claws and breathes fire. There is no guarantee of safety, no matter how much you promise."

As the train moves into a tunnel, everything goes dark, not just outside the cars, but inside, as well. The lamps on the walls don't flicker and expire, but rather just black out all at once. The voices of the ponies on the train swell, and then fall silent. For a moment, all that can be heard is the rumble of the train wheels going over the track.

Just as suddenly as it had gone dark, the lights come back on, and the camera sits lopsided on the train seat, still recording. However, everypony seems to have abandoned the train car. Everypony except Fluttershy, who looks around, not sure where anyone is.

"Hello?" she calls out. "Is anypony else here?" She stands up and moves across the aisle. "Twilight?"

She moves out of frame as the scenery in the window begins to slow down. It doesn't quite come to a stop, but it does slow to a crawl. Fluttershy comes back into frame, sitting down and rubbing her hands together uncomfortably. Noticing the camera, she adjusts it to be upright.

"So, I'm all alone again. Twilight, the other passengers, and the rest of the train have all disappeared. The scenery outside doesn't look familiar, either. While I am glad to not be facing down a dragon, I'm not sure that this situation is better. I'm in an unknown place, though a sign outside seems to indicate..."

Shaking her head, she grabs the camera and points it out the window. A large white stone sign in front of a large brick building reads: "New Jersey High School, New Jersey City, New Jersey." A smaller sign beneath it has a message for the students and staff. "Sextant: An instrument with a graduated arc of 60° and a sighting mechanism, used for measuring the angular distances between objects and especially for taking altitudes in navigation. Also, a tant used for sex."

"As you can see, it's not anywhere particularly familiar to me. I've never heard of New Jersey. I didn't even know there was an original Jersey for this one to be new. But, as a favour to Twilight, I will record as much of this as I can for when we reunite. I'm sure she wants me to give her an accurate reading of these events. Twilight, this is for you."

As the engineless train car rolls to a stop, Fluttershy steps off, making sure to turn around and make sure that the footage includes a shot of the front and back of the car to prove that the rest of the train was indeed gone. There are roads everywhere, winding every which way, but nopony seems to be around as she wanders to the east, looking for signs of life, but finding none. She walks in a generally straight line, wanting to make sure she can return to the train car for her own protection.

After a few blocks, the buildings give way to a beach. Despite the emptiness of the town, there is a living being here on the sand. Two, in fact. A man on a jet-black stallion is riding along the delicate sand dunes toward her. He is shirtless, and the wind is blowing through his luxurious jew-fro. As they come closer, the stallion turns out to be a ninja, his eyes wide open and unblinking, flipping her off as he runs.

"Ninja Brian, look," says the afroed rider, "A survivor. And a maiden, at that. Are you hurt, fair damsel?"

"No," answers Fluttershy. "Should I be?"

"You must be careful," exclaims the rider, dismounting the ninja, who is now staring intently at the camera. "There's a manticore lurking about."

"I've dealt with manticores before," informs Fluttershy. "They can be very loving if you know how to approach them."

The ninja slaps his rider so hard that a skin-tight shirt forms over his chest, sky blue with a red star inside of a white circle. "You said it, Ninja Brian." He turns to Fluttershy and takes her hand, kissing it. "I am Sir Daniel Sexbang, well-endowed dragon slayer and purloiner of the musical arts." The ninja slaps him again. "Purveyor, excuse me."

Fluttershy lets him kiss her hand. "My name is Flu--"

"An excellent idea, Brian!" shouts Danny. "Let's go back to my place, where she's sure to be safe. She can wait in the brunch room."

"Actually, I should probably stay near the train car that brought me here."

"Are you sure?" asks Danny. "It's nothing fancy. It's just over there."

The camera follows the direction in which he gestured, straight up in the air. A giant mansion is orbiting around the planet, with large glowing letters that say "Danny's Parents' House."

"I think I'll stay down here with the manticore," nods Fluttershy. "He can't be all that bad, can he?"

Danny shrugs. "Suit yourself." He hops back onto Brian's shoulders. "But be warned: The manticore is dangerous. If his eyes of flame don't consume you, his teeth of steel will." Ninja Brian pulls a large metal placard out of his pants with one hand and gives it to Danny, who struggles to hold it before giving it to Fluttershy. It has the footprint of a grizzly bear embossed on it. "If you see this footprint on the ground, just let out a bloodcurdling scream, and we shall come to your rescue."

Fluttershy takes it. It's very heavy, judging by her struggling with the camera. "Thank you. I'll keep that in mind."

"We may have been too late for everyone else, but we're sure to make it all the way to you. Hyah!"

With Danny still on his shoulders, Ninja Brian jumps into the air and lands on a previously unseen horse, who in turn jumps on a motorcycle and rides off along the beach. Fluttershy drops the placard into the sand and turns the camera to her face.

"That was weird."