The Seventh Element

Chapter 1

A sleepy sunbeam woke Argent Schild on the first day of the beginning of a long break from classes.  With not much planned for the holiday, Argent decided today was the perfect day for watching My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic—again.  As a brony, this was an activity that occupied much of the twenty-year-old’s free time.  Argent prided himself in this fact.  When it came to the little pastel colored ponies, there was little he did not know.  He loved the show as much as he loved the community it spawned, and was always up to date on what was what in the brony world and all pony-related news.

Aside from his eccentric hobby, however, Argent was not someone to be mistaken for anything a normal person would call “outstanding.”  He was not very athletic, was only smart enough to barely get into his second-choice university, and generally preferred not to stand out when he didn’t need to.  He never saw any downside to exhibiting nearly zero personality traits, so he never did.

Argent lived by himself in an apartment just off his college’s campus.  He wasn’t solitary because he didn’t like people—he had friends and kept in contact with his family regularly—he just operated better alone.  Just the same, he preferred enjoying his favorite activity, watching ponies, on his own as well.  He could perfect the factors around his enjoyment this way.  This morning was no different.  With the exact episode he wanted to watch in mind, Argent drew the curtains closed, poured a glass of milk, assembled a simple toasted bagel and cream cheese breakfast, and sat down in front of his television.

He clicked to the on-demand feature of his TV setup.  He navigated through the kids section, scrolled down to The Hub, and finally selected his desired show.  Upon clicking the episode Fall Weather Friends, however, the television did not begin the episode.  Instead, the screen gave a bright flash and then fell dark.  Instantly upset, Argent got up and inspected the TV to see what was wrong.  The light on the bottom of the monitor indicated that it was on.  The cable box showed no signs of malfunction, either.  He was just about to chalk it up to an issue with the cable provider when the screen flashed back on with a still picture of Twilight Sparkle’s library.  He sat back down to wait for the episode to continue, assuming that the program had to buffer before it could be projected smoothly to the TV.

“Wait,” Argent said to himself, “Twilight’s library never shows up in Fall Weather Friends.  Did I choose the wrong episode?” He had just picked up the remote when Twilight’s head invaded the majority of the screen, surprising him more than it should have.

“Hello?  Is anypony there?” Twilight said.  Argent froze as Twilight’s big, purple eyes searched the room before locking on to him.  She was just in the TV, right?  She wasn’t looking at him, right?  This was just some new episode that was leaked, right?  Just to make sure he wasn’t going insane, he slowly walked across the room, keeping his eyes on Twilight.  She followed every movement he made.

“Hello?” Twilight repeated, “Can you hear me?  Can you understand me?”

Sweet Celestia, Argent thought.  Twilight Sparkle is actually talking to me.

He slowly nodded, being careful not to blink just in case what lay before his eyes was a hallucination that would disappear as quickly as it had manifested.  He cautiously approached the TV and sat down in front of it.  He and Twilight stared at each other for a moment.

“It looks like that dimensional window spell I tried worked, because you’re certainly not anything I’ve ever seen before,” Twilight said finally, apparently proud of herself.  Argent gulped.  NASA had nothing on this type of “first contact”.

“Twilight Sparkle; I know you,” Argent whispered.  Twilight cocked her head.

“What?  You know me?  How is that possible?  This is the first time ponies have made contact with… whatever you are.”  Argent got up and grabbed the first pony related thing he could find: a calendar.  He brought it back to the TV and showed January to Twilight, which had her picture on it.

“I know it sounds weird, but I know all about you.”  Twilight tapped her chin with her hoof.  “Now, how could you possibly know about me, but I don’t know anything about you?  We’re part of two totally different dimensions!” After a short moment of thinking, Twilight gasped,

“It must be the multiverse theory!  It’s real!”  If there was one complicated thing in the world that this completely unremarkable young man did know about, it was the multiverse theory.  The topic was commonly brought up in many discussions he had with other bronies on the possibility of the human world and the world of Friendship is Magic connecting somehow.  Such a possibility was always written off as a pipedream, though, or at least a technology which would not be seen in the current generation.  Bronies had always assumed humans would be the one to break the dimensional barrier.  Never did they guess that the dimension of ponies would break into their own first.

“You have a theory of the multiverse, too?” Argent asked.

“You do, too?” Twilight gasped again, “This is unprecedented!  This is unbelievable!  This is—wait, how did you know my name?”

“What?”

“You called me ‘Twilight’ earlier, but I never introduced myself.”  Argent held up the calendar again. “Yes, that’s my picture, but that still doesn’t explain how you know who I am.”  Argent went on to explain everything he knew about Twilight Sparkle, her friends, and her world.  With each fact, the purple unicorn grew more and more astounded at the volume of knowledge he had.

“Amazing!  Are you some kind of pony expert in your world, then?” Twilight asked.

“No, not exactly.  You see, I’m a brony,” Argent said.  Twilight’s face was not what Argent had expected when he explained to her what a brony was.  She seemed fascinated rather than disturbed by the notion of grown males enjoying something that was meant to be for little girls, especially since she was part of the creation.

“I think I understand now,” Twilight nodded, “In your world, we only exist as fictional creations of this ‘Lauren Faust’ character.  To you, our world is her imagination turned into the ‘TV show’, and you ‘bronies’ embrace and expand on that.  Thus, our world exists without really existing.”

“Um, what you said,” Argent agreed.

“So, what are you, exactly?  Who are you?” Twilight asked.

“I’m a human.  My name is Argent Schild.”

“Huh, what an interesting name.  Oh, this is so exciting!  Now I want to know all about you.  Your species, I mean.”

“I can tell you what I know, but it’s going to take a while.  Why don’t we keep it interesting by sharing facts?  I’ll say something about my world, and then you tell me something about Equestria that I don’t know yet,” Argent suggested.

“Okay, we’ll do that,” Twilight smiled.  Argent and Twilight spent almost two hours telling each other about their respective worlds.  It was an odd conversation in many aspects.  For one, two beings from two completely separate realities were communicating.  Additionally, for the first time in his life, Argent actually came to life.  He explained concepts and facts with enthusiasm and gusto.  He was actually showing character.  Twilight was invested in the conversation as well, relaying information that Argent thought would never be revealed by the show Friendship is Magic itself.  Equestrian history, science, all things that were hidden behind the veil of an entire dimension was being leaked through this tiny hole in the fabric of space and time not 40 inches across.

“Unlike in your world, we’re the only creatures on the planet that can communicate on a level like this.”

“What do you mean?”

“Horses, cows, and donkeys don’t talk here.  We don’t have gryphons, dragons, or cockatrices either.”

“Oh, it sounds like a lonely world.”

“I wouldn’t say that.  There are about seven billion humans in the world.”

“Well, then it sounds like a crowded world,” Twilight and Argent laughed.  After a bit more of exchanging information, Argent got an idea.  It was one thing to talk to a being in a different dimension, but could it be possible to actually travel to another one?  They could see each other, after all.  You can’t do that with a normal TV without some sort of recording device.

“Say, Twilight.  You called this a dimensional window spell, right?” he asked.

“Yes, why?” she answered.  Argent gave a little smirk,

“Windows aren’t just for seeing through.  They open and close, as well.”

“Well, sure they do, but I don’t see what that has to do with my—Argent, what are you doing?”  As Twilight spoke, Argent had moved aside his furniture to create a corridor to the television.

“You might want to move aside, Twilight,” Argent announced.  Twilight followed suit as Argent charged at the television.  He half expected to slam right into it and wake up in his bed, convinced everything that had happened up until now was a dream, or at the very least suffer a painful concussion while destroying half of his living room.  No such collision occurred, though.  Instead, when Argent opened his eyes, his were met by the gaze of an astonished Twilight Sparkle, who was suddenly a lot closer, and a lot more real than she was through the TV screen.

“By Celestia, I can’t believe that worked!  I mean, it turned you into a unicorn and all, but it worked!” Argent’s eyes flew wide,

“It did what!?” He looked down at himself, and sure enough, what were once legs were replaced with four hooves, a pony’s body with a brown coat, auburn hair for a mane and tail, and even a horn.  Argent did the only thing he could think of after being turned into a pony.  He screamed at the top of his lungs.

“Holy crap!  The hooves and the mane and th-the horn!” He looked over at a mirror on one of Twilight’s desks, “My eyes are huge!” Argent tried to pace frantically to properly gauge what just happened, but suddenly having twice the locomotors as usually proved extremely problematic.  He tripped and fell on his face, which only embarrassed him to the point of shedding a few tears.

“Calm down, Argent!  It’s all right!  I know it’s shocking, but you look fine,” Twilight assured him, resting her hoof on his head.  Argent took a deep breath and did his best to stand up.

“I’m sorry, Twilight.  It’s just that it’s not every day I change species.  I thought I’d stay human when I jumped through.”

“I did, too,” Twilight admitted, “I wonder what caused the transformation.” Already in scientist mode, the Element of Magic began examining Argent a little more thoroughly than he would have liked.  He didn’t speak until Twilight zeroed in uncomfortably on his flank,

“Um, is there something interesting back there?” He did his best to force an awkward smile.

“Yes, actually there is.  You don’t have a cutie mark,” Twilight said.

“Why would I?” Argent asked, “I’m a human, or I was a human, and we don’t have anything that identifies our skills or talents besides our ability to actually do them.”

“Well is there anything that you’re good at?  Anything you have a passion for?” Argent thought back as far as he could, but no particular talent came to mind; he regretted not standing out in anything for once.  He wondered what his cutie mark would have been if he actually put his mind to any of his tasks sometimes.

“Nothing, really.  I’m not all that remarkable,” he said.  Twilight actually looked a little disappointed, but as soon as her expression faded, she perked up again,

“I’ll tell you what I tell Applejack’s little sister and her friends all the time, then: It’s never too late to figure out what makes you special.  Your cutie mark will come with time and determination.”

“It looks like I’ll be getting that time,” Argent said, “The dimensional window is closing.”

“What?  Oh, no!  I forgot it had a time limit!  Let’s see, how am I supposed to extend its time again?” Twilight flipped through her books fervently; trying to find the one that contained the spell she cast to open the dimensional window.  Though Twilight was worried, Argent seemed perfectly content while the purple unicorn tossed tome after volume around while the magical portal slowly closed.

“Twilight,” Argent called.  Twilight did not respond.

“Twilight,” again, she continued to search for her spell.

“TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” Argent yelled, stopping Twilight in her tracks.

“You scared me!  I thought you were my dad for a second,” she sighed.

“It’s fine that I’m here for a while.  I don’t need to be anywhere for a few days, actually.  So, since I’m in Equestria, would it be all right if I stayed here for a couple days?” There was probably no better way he could imagine spending his holiday than hanging out with his favorite characters in Equestria.  Amid the confusion from when he first jumped through the dimensional window, Argent had forgotten that he planned on asking Twilight earlier.

“Sure, I guess that’s okay,” Twilight replied with a puzzled look, “But aren’t you worried about getting home?  What if you’re stuck here?”  Argent had thought of that.  Not just before he jumped through the television, either.  He often pondered the thought of actually living in Equestria since becoming a brony.  It would mean giving up a lot.  Technology, the perks of being a bipedal with hands, the necessity to wear clothes most of the time; all would mean little or nothing with life as a pony.  It would also mean, depending on the circumstances, leaving without a trace or much explanation as to where he had gone.  His family and friends would worry to the point of desperation.  Would he forget his old world, though?  He didn’t think so, which is why he usually concluded that if he were to go to Equestria for an extended period of time, it would be best to have a method of return.

“You’re a smart mare, Twilight,” Argent said finally, “If anything, I’d count on you to find a way back.  After all, it’s not like you can’t just use that spell again and open the dimensional window.” Twilight nodded in agreement.  Suddenly, something caught her eye,

“Well, would you speak of Tartarus.  There’s that spell book right there!  I should store this in a safe place for when you’re ready to—” the purple unicorn didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence.  As soon as her horn’s magical glow began to surround the book, it began burning in a brilliant blue flame.  Argent and Twilight barely had a chance to say anything before the key to returning the former-human back home—and to his original form, floated to the ground in a pile of scraps and ashes.  Argent was now legitimately nervous,

“Now this is a problem, isn’t it?”