Urgh... The bright morning sun pounds against my tired eyes like a wrecking ball. I turn myself to have my back facing the window. Was last night all a dream?

Get up. No, it wasn't. Great, now not only do I have a devil on my shoulder, but now she's waking me up.

"Yeah yeah, give me a bit."

You don't have a bit, Daybreaker says as she leans over my bed and looks at my watch. " I would say about.... ten minutes."

"What am I getting up for?"

Breakfast. Now hurry up. I pull myself out of bed and throw on my clothes hastily. I sling my t-shirt, button-up shirt, and jacket over my shoulder so I can save time. As I leave my room, I bump into Rainbow Dash and Rarity.

"Morning Eric." Rainbow says as she wraps a hoof around my shoulder "How's your first morning after an AWESOME battle yesterday?"

"Ouch," I reply as the hoof connects with my right shoulder. "Honestly, sore. Can barely lift my right shoulder and my chest isn't doing so hot. It's why I'm not wearing a shirt or jacket right now."

"That's to be expected, darling. After all, Daybreaker was throwing you around like a toy." Rarity says. She looks at my chest and tilts her head. "If I may ask, what might that be?" Rarity asks as she points to my chest.

Oh, right. My tattoo. Something I had done a while back.

"It's called a tattoo," I reply. "It's an ink drawing you can get done for a fee. It is drawn onto your body with a special tool that gets the ink permanently etched into your skin. Some people get them done for reasons such as a memorial or as a forfeit or even for symbolic reasons. This one was done for another though. It's from a thing that inspires me." I finish by stopping and placing my hand on it.

"That sounds... strange, if I may be blunt" Rarity replies. "I must ask though, what is it?"

"It's the millennium puzzle. It's from a series that I watched as a kid that I have stuck with to this very day. It's from that series where my childhood hero came from."

"This 'hero' of yours got a name?" Rainbow Dash asks. "And are they as awesome as Daring do?"

"Comparing characters is not a practice I like doing. But yes, he does have a name."

"What's his name?"

"Pharaoh Atem. He was my role model growing up. I could gush about him for hours but I'm starving, to be honest. Just know that he taught me to never give up no matter the odds." I say with nostalgia in my voice. To be expected, Dash and Rarity have questions but I do my best to brush them off when I remember something

"Bollocks! Forgot my camcorder. Sorry, you two but could you go on without me?" I ask.

"If we left you alone we would lose you for a million years." Rainbow Dash replies. "Rarity, tell everyone else where we're gonna be. We won't be long." Rarity goes on ahead as Rainbow and I walk back to my room. On the way, Daybreaker appears. God even as a ghost I still shiver when I see her.

Does this ego-inflated pegagus really have to come with us?

Look who's talking miss all powerfull. Compared to you, Rainbow Dash is tolerable

I see how you want to play this. Ok, enjoy her boasting. Daybreaker's voice voice disappears along with her ghostly image.

HHHRRRRNNNNGGGGGGGGG...

MAKE. IT STOP. Rainbow, I get it. Daring do is awesome. Big whoop. Reminds me of Indiana Jones. But after a bit, I START TO REEEEAALLY NOT CARE.

Having fun? NO. I pick up my pace until we reach my room. Rainbow waits outside while I quickly pick up my bag and camcorder. If I left this, all of the things that happened would have been for naught. I make an effort to sweep the room as thoroughly as I can before leaving. Bag? Check. Headcam? Check. SD cards? check. Canteen? Check. Sanity? Check.

I also use this chance to put my t-shirt, button-up shirt, and jacket on. As I exit, Rainbow asks me about Atem some more. Oh boy, Rainbow. You have just opened the floodgates...

The large room for dining shows itself as me and Rainbow Dash head inside and take our seats. Breakfast is... Exquisite! Or it would be if I had a pony palette. INSTEAD. Bloody HAY. HAY BREAKFAST. I mean, what did I expect? some Frosties? CoCo pops? EVEN SOME CORNFLAKES? NOPE! In all fairness, it doesn't look all that bad. Hell, they have HAY PANCAKES! Certainly, the healthiest breakfast I've seen in ages. I say seen because I'm unsure whether my body will keep hay down.

You'll keep it down and I'll make sure of it. Oh right, Daybreaker is a pony. Makes sense she would want me to consume hay-based foods. I grab some pancakes and say a prayer to myself before taking a bite. Hot damn, THIS IS BLOODY LOVELY! I quickly grab some more before demolishing them.

Ah, I forgot about the group of ponies staring at me while I'm devouring pancakes. As I realize this, I slowly look across the room with a mouth full of pancakes. I slowly swallow before wiping my mouth with the provided napkin before saying

"Erm... Pancakes are great! Tell the chef that I would bring my kids here if I could!" A pony wearing a chef's hat appears before saying a very large thank you. I shake her hoof as I continue. "No, I mean it. Hand on heart, if I could, I really would bring my kids here to try this. Might give them a new perspective on cooking!"

Laughs are exchanged as breakfast wraps up and we all get up to go our separate ways. Before that, however, I am stopped by Celestia

"Eric, might I talk with you, please?" Celestia asks.

"Sure" I reply. We walk out of the room and down a corridor. "What's up?"

"I'm afraid I must ask to see the mark on your arm again. There is something I must verify with it." Huh. Ok? I present my arm to Celestia and she uses her magic to gently pull my sleeve up. She then lights up the mark and area with magic. She frowns before continuing

"As I thought. My magic is still inside of you. This mark I-... Daybreaker, left has been connected directly to me. It's as if there is a slight leak in my magic. Think of it like a very small leak in something a barrel of water. Nothing too bad, but is noticeable by a trained eye. From this, we are now linked."

"Linked?"

"Yes, seeing as Daybreaker used magic that originally manifested from me when it was put into you, you gained a small portion of my magic. but seeing as humans do not possess means of keeping magic power, it needed a way to stay. So my power formed an unintentional connection. Think of it like this: since my power was ever so slightly put into you, we now share a mana reserve. In theory-"

"Eric could use magic!" A voice cuts off Celestia. We both snap our heads to find Twilight standing there with quite an expression plastered on her face.

"Yes, he could." Celestia continues. "But that's what concerns me. Alicorn magic is very different too regular magic. You of all ponies should know that, Twilight." Hang on, Celestia and I LINKED? I COULD USE HER MAGIC?

I wouldn't get excited. You would need proper training and even then you would only be able to do basic spells. Humans can't possibly imagine the complexity of the sort of spell you're thinking of. Oi, shut your trap, you.

"When you lot do the spell to send me home, would it be possible for me to learn it and use it?" Celestia and Twilight shake their heads. Celestia's eyes widen and she offers a smile as she puts the pieces together.

"You want to return here, don't you?" She saw right through me.

"The desire crossed my mind. I wasn't joking about what I said at the table." I reply. Celestia ponders something before offering a suggestion.

"The best we could do is use our link to open up a channel in our minds. We could do that right now if you so wish. We could contact each other whenever and wherever. Would you like that?" I nod my head. Celestia approaches me and offers her hoof. I place my hand on her hoof.

"We can only do this because we share a similar magic reserve. That being my magic reserve. Are you ready?" I nod as her horn glows. I close my eyes and open them to see a thin rope connecting from my forehead to Celestia's horn. Wait, that was it? Huh. Thought it would be worse.

"haha... My apologies, but I'm not quite sure what you were expecting." OH GOD, SHE CAN READ MY THOUGHTS TOO. Celestia lets out another gentle chuckle before continuing. "We can communicate telepathically but I'm not reading your thoughts. You just have to know how to turn it off."

"Can you teach me?"

"Yes, we can use the chance to get to know each other properly. Now, I would love to hear more about your life on earth!"

Author's Note

TELL ME WHAT YOU ALL THINK. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM APPRECIATED!