Alexander has survived a lot of challenges; he dealt with difficult high school tests, drama at home, and the occasional playground-type bully here and there. Hell, he's even dealt with a nuclear apocalypse! But now, Alexander now faces his greatest challenge yet.

VRROOO—SCREEECH! VROOOOO—SCREEEEECH! VROO—SCREECH!

...How to properly drive a motorcycle.

Contrary to popular belief, just because one is able ride a bicycle, doesn't mean one knows how to drive a motorcycle overnight, or even the course of a few hours. Yes, Alexander has been on Equus for roughly three hours, and he has yet to get anywhere fast, seeing as how he knows nothing about motorcycles. In school, he never took Driver's Education, and because of that and his recklessness in the Grand Theft Auto game series, he has little to no confidence in his driving skills, to the point where doesn't trust himself behind the wheel.

Or handlebars in this case.

Which leads to his current predicament: trying to explore the new world without being afraid of falling, crashing, or getting hurt in the process. With all of his ideas exhausted and him sick of being afraid, he finally decides to just walk his bike to his next destination, wherever it may be. Eventually, he came up to a rather friendly-looking forest with a dirt road path in the center, finally seeing his luck changing, Alexander presses onwards through the woods.

As he continues forward, Alexander doesn't recognize anything within, so he concludes he's definitely not in the Everfree Forest. Whitetail Woods, maybe? He thinks. But he didn't have an answer right now, all he could focus on was finding his way through the new forest he now found himself in, trying to find civilization before he starved or died of thirst. Granted, he had some food and water from when he was back on Earth, but that can only last him so long, especially when he doesn't know his current location, the portal spell he got off of the Dark Web didn't specify where in Equus he'd end up, so all he can do is continue on, cross his fingers, and hope for the best.

After ten minutes of walking his bike on the dirt road, he begins to hear a voice deeper in the forest, to him, it seems vaguely familiar, almost sounds like whoever is talking is broadly declaring something to many beings.

Wait...could it be...?

(Trixie Lulamoon's Theme)

Leaning his bike against a nearby tree, Alex quietly snuck closer to the location of the voice, and carefully shifted the bushes to see none other than Trixie Lulamoon, on her usual stage carriage, boldly declaring her magical feats to...no one?

Maybe she's practicing...? Alex thinks with a sweatdrop.

"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for!" Trixie declares, "The tale of how the Great and Powerful Trrrrrixie vanquished the evil Changeling Emperor, Jason Wright!"

The "Dreaded Usra Major" I bet...wait, what did she just say?!

//Answer: She is referring to another human being named Jason Wright.//

Yeah, I got that! He yelled in his head, But why is there another human here other than me? And quote-unquote, "evil", no less?!

//Answer: It is very likely he came to this world via the same means as you.//

And my other question?

//Answer: That is something you will need to discover for yourself.//

Typical.

"...And after escaping the Equestrian Princesses, the Great and Powerful Trrrrrixie had used her incredible magic prowess to banish him beneath the depths of Tartarus!"

Somehow I doubt that... Alex deadpanned mentally.

"Thank you, thank you! Hold your applause! Thank you very much...wait...that IS applause! Who's there?!"

(stop music)

Alex jolted in his spot, then suddenly realized that he clapped for her story subconsciously, like he usually does at shows that he believes stinks, and gives the performers a pity clap, "Shoot...!" he whispered, tucking himself deeper in the bushes, "Guess old habits really do die hard...!"

//Uh-huh.//

"Gee, thanks for the confidence booster..."

"A-ha!"

Alex felt something yank at him and found himself in Trixie's face while being held her telekinetic grip.

"Gotcha, you free...loader...?" Trixie looked shocked, then horrified, "AHH! Another human!"

Trixie promptly dropped Alex and scooted as far from him as possible while the former tried to regain his bearings by shaking his head back and forth.

"Sheesh, some welcome..." he muttered, "Hey, um, 'Great and Powerful Trixie', can you tell me where I am exactly?" Alex asked her while trying not to give away his knowledge of the show.

"St-st-st-stay away...! Trixie...I've heard r-r-rumors about a human who destroyed Ponyville, and if you ARE one, I want nothing to do with you OR your kind!"

Great job, EMPEROR Jason Wright, Alex thought sarcastically, if this is how ponies are gonna treat me when I come around, this'll definitely make things a whole lot harder, not to mention he painted humanity in a bad light already...hang on, DESTROYED Ponyville?!? Alex forced his fear and surprise down and tried to calmly speak, "Look, I may be human, but I'm not dangerous. I don't know WHO this Jason person is, or WHY he destroyed Ponyville, but I'm NOT HIM. I just want to find a way out of this forest, whatever it might be named, find civilization, and then I'll get out of your hair. Promise."

"How does Trixie know she can trust you?" she asked, slipping back into her third person persona.

Alex sighed, "...To be frank, you can't." Trixie looked surprised, "I doubt anything I say will get you to trust me right away...but, I haven't hurt you in any way, have I?" she then had a look of realization, "If I wanted to hurt you, I would've done it already, but I didn't. Because I know right from wrong. And you haven't hurt me in any way. So basically, you haven't given me a reason not to trust you, just as I haven't given you a reason not to trust me."

Trixie still seemed apprehensive, but eventually relented, "Fine—um, that is to say, The Great and Powerful Trixie, shall allow you lenience this time...but only this time. But, should you ever cross Trixie, or betray her trust, you will pay dearly!"

Alex sighed, "I suppose that's the best I'm gonna get right now..." he then looked around swiftly and suddenly, "Hey, did you hear that, too?"

"Hear what?"

The bushes nearby began to rustle, "There it is again...!" Alex started whispering loudly, "I think there's something in the bushes...!"

"Oh, please!" Trixie dismissed, "There isn't anything dangerous in these woods, we're not in the Everfree Forest—" just then, a large creature burst from the foliage and two more like it followed, something that looked all too familiar from the first two-parter of MLP...

"A-a-a-a-a-a-a—"

"—A manticore pack!!!" Trixie finished for Alex since he was stammering, "Run for your life!!!" she made a beeline for her carriage, but Alex stopped her, "What are you doing?!?"

"Your carriage won't protect you! We need to get outta here!"

"But Trixie's belongings, she won't leave without them!" A manticore suddenly jumped onto the aforementioned carriage and smashed it to bits, "Never mind, let's go!!"

Alex ran and led Trixie to his new bike as he hopped on, "Get on, get on!"

Trixie did so and asked, "What's this hunk of junk supposed to do for us?!"

Alex didn't answer right away as he turned the key to the bike's ignition and starting it up, There's no time to figure out if I'll handle this thing right or not, this is an emergency! "As a flying machine lover once said...HANG ON TO YOUR UNDERWEAR!!!" Alex hit the gas and sped off away from the predators he left in his dust.

(Run For It!)

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!" Trixie shrieked over the loud motor of the machine.

"Not in my ear!" Alex had shout over his own ride, "I'm driving here!"

"What kind of bicycle IS this?!?"

"A motorcycle! Don't ask how I got it! It just happened!"

Trixie looked behind her and saw the manticore pack from before, "The kitties are back! And they're gaining on us!"

"Hang tight! I'll try and lose 'em!"

Alex tried maneuvering around the trees, boulders, bushes, and anything he could put between him, Trixie, and their mythical animal pursuers.

Luckily, one ran smack-dab into a tree and another slammed into a boulder.

Unluckily, however, the last one was barely able to dodge all of them and gain more ground towards its prey.

"This isn't working!" Trixie yelled.

"Well no shit!!!" Alex yelled back.

//Notice: use of the Unique Skill [Seer] might give you an edge to escape from the manticore.//

"'Unique Skill [Seer]'? What's tha—" suddenly, Alex's vision was filled with a glimpse of what was about to happen; the manticore will have caught up enough to leap at him and Trixie, and tear them asunder. Then, Alex's vision went back to normal, "What the fuck was that?!?"

"What's going on?!" Trixie asked in genuine concern.

Alex looked back and saw the manticore leap just as it did in his vision, and almost immediately, his survival instincts kicked in and he swerved to the right, causing the manticore to look confused...right before it hit a big tree head-first, knocking it unconscious.

(stop music)

Trixie looked astonished, then overjoyed, "We're safe!" then she turned to Alex, "That was amazing! How did you do that?!"

Alex, however, looked completely shellshocked, "...I have no idea."

As they both rode off to safety, Alex's thoughts dominated his mind, What the hell just happened? First this [Hijack] Unique Skill thing, now [Seer]? I mean, I was able to see into the immediate future like Shulk from Xenoblade Chronicles but only when he wielded the Monado...but it seems like I'm not under such restrictions with that Unique Skill. I gotta get some answers.

Meanwhile...

Watching from afar was a pony-like figure, only it was pure black, its fur looked more like bug-like armor, had holes in its hooves, and piercing blue eyes. It began to contact its superiors through the hivemind link to report its findings.

"Come in, Commander! Come in! This is an emergency!"

//Did you find the source of the magic surge?//

"Yes, but...it's not what we expected...at all."

//Elaborate.//

The changeling sighed, "...I'm reporting a Priority H sighting, Commander."

Silence on the other end, and then, //...I'm sorry, I must've misheard you. Would you kindly repeat that?//

The changeling flinched at the harsh tone, but repeated himself all the same, "...I'm reporting a Priority H sighting."

//A human? Now?! This has to be a joke, no human can use magic!//

"Well, apparently, this one can! All I was able to hear was 'Unique Skill Seer' and he looked as if he was in a trance, then reacted as if he knew the manticore chasing him would pounce right then and there!"

//...// Another bout of silence, at least for a few moments, //...Return to the hive for debriefing. I'll have our remaining scouts keep a close eye on him until then. The Emperor needs to hear this. And this BETTER not be some kind of sick joke.//

"Understood, sir."

The link cut out.

The changeling sighed, "What a pain in the tail-end..." he began to fly back to the hive and deliver the news, "I just hope Agent Y doesn't do anything drastic like usual..."

Canterlot Castle Courtyard, moments after Alex and Trixie's escape...

It took some time and a lot of convincing, but Princess Celestia was finally able to gather enough pegasus guards to pull her chariot towards the direction of the magical surge. After hearing about the situation, the guards were very hesitant to go anywhere outside of Equestria due to Jason's invasion, but relented when she mentioned that this may help them in some possible way.

Not to mention she guilt-tripped them by telling them fear, as well as anger and hate, was what made Jason who he is now.

Soon everyone was ready for flight, Celestia climbed onto her chariot with Luna approaching near, "Sister, are you sure this is wise? Whoever cast that spell may not have pure intentions."

"Yes, but we do not know that for absolute certain. Besides..." Celestia looked down, "the least I can do is ensure my subjects are safe from whatever that surge was, if they even need any safety at all."

Luna wanted to say something, that she can't let Jason's complete change in personality rule her life, even if it was her fault, but she bit her tongue and said instead, "...Very well, sister. Just be back soon and in one piece, okay?"

Celestia managed a weak smile, "Always, dear sister." she raised her head and called out to her guards, "Take off!"

"You heard her, boys, let's fly!!" the leading pegasus guard declared as the chariot took flight.

Once they were all out of earshot, Luna muttered to herself, "Stay safe, Celly..."

Author's Note

//Next time: The Changeling Scout.//

A callback to another Ending-verse story called Endings and Beginnings by morbiusgreen and a reference to the Cartoon Network TV show Codename: Kids Next Door. Apologies if this chapter was really short. When you find time, give morbiusgreen's Ending-verse story a read if you haven't already, you might like it!