My Little Pony: The Foreigner's Destiny

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4

Chapter 1

Part 1

Just another day at the office. Answer phone calls, type up documents, eat lunch, and take a break. We were all in the break room and Ronnie just stepped up to try and tell another joke.

“I got one, I got one! Why are dogs such bad dancers?...They have two left feet.”

The whole room was roaring with laughter. Ronnie always had a way to make us all laugh no matter how bad the joke was. I swear the guy could’ve been on the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. Now, we weren’t supposed to be taking breaks at this time of the day, but I had gotten all of my work done and had nothing else better to do, so I wasn’t worried. After I was finished, I could pretty much do whatever the hell I wanted. The trouble was that if any of the other guys did that, there would be some serious hell to pay. Suddenly, the boss barged into the break room and scared the daylights out of several of us.

“What the hell are you doing?! Get back to work!!”

Every person in there scrambled out and got back to their cubicles before the boss even finished saying this. Calmly and quietly, I got up and went over to him.

“Come on, Don. You can’t really blame them. Other than watching, we’ve got pretty much nothing to do around here.” He gave me a dirty look. “Alright. They’ve got pretty much nothing to do. So, don’t blame them for being bored.”

“You know damn well that we can’t take any chances, Mr. Daniel Johnson. We always have to be prepared for something to come up!”

He used my full name. He never does that. “Don, calm down. Nothing’s happened in forever. Not since that one incident with that green Leonardo guy and his brothers!”

“That doesn’t mean that something couldn’t happen today. Or tomorrow. Or even next week. I expect my workers to always be vigilant and-”

“Always expect the unexpected,” I quickly finished for him. “I know, Don. I’ve heard a thousand times more.”

He playfully slapped me on the back of my head. “And you’re gonna hear about a thousand more times. And I know that you’re the special one around here, so I’m not expecting you to go stressing out over everything. But, I don’t want you to make too much of a habit out of slacking off. It rubs off on your co-workers and I don’t want that to happen. You understand, Danny?”

I gave him a mock salute. “Jawohl, mein Herr!”

He chuckled a little under his breath and walked away while shaking his head. I always knew how to cheer him up. But, he had a point. One always had to be prepared when you were keeping track of multiple dimensions. You didn’t mishear that. The business that I’m in, which is classified above top-secret, details keeping track of dimensions that are just as real as our own! But, even if we found a problem in one of the dimensions, all we did was report to our bosses and the big guys upstairs would be the ones to take care of it. So, it was all just mundane. Of course, I had the ability to work faster than anybody in the office, so I got special privileges to use an untraceable computer to go on the Internet to play online games and look at videos on YouTube. And, I would sometimes secretly take a quick peek at the one dimension that I liked the

most: Equestria. Whatever you do, do NOT tell any of those “brony” guys that the world they fantasize about is real. They would stop at nothing to get there! Anyway, we had a special network set up to look at any place in any dimension. But, most of the time, I would only stay focused on one place which was the Ponyville Library and watch Twilight Sparkle hard at work with her studies. She reminded me so much of a past girlfriend that it sometimes felt like I was spying on her instead of a pony. I hope that doesn’t make me a creeper. Sometimes, there would be a winged pony named Rainbow Dash that popped in every once in a while to chat with her. But, that was pretty much all that would happen these days.

So, since I was finished, I just decided to head on home. I grabbed my backpack and headed down the stairs. I could’ve taken the elevator, but I decided to be pro-active for once. Whatever security you could imagine, I had to pass through just pass by the front desk. Retina scanner, handprint scanner, voice recognition, and so on. We take our security measures extremely serious around here. Finally, I made it to my car and loaded up all my stuff. It was just a 2001 Honda

Civic, not what you would expect a “government agent” to be driving. But, that was what I wanted people to think. I glanced at the clock and realized it was 1:00. Usually, I get out at 11:30. Oh well. That just meant that traffic would be a little more crowded than usual. Traveling down the freeway a little above the speed limit, I plugged my iPhone into the audio jack and tuned to some Frank Sinatra.

Suddenly, over the music, I heard The Voice. “Look behind you,” it said. I checked my rear-view mirror and I saw a huge truck speeding towards me. Fearing the worst, I quickly turned into the other lane just as the truck was about to clip me. The truck slowed down, quickly gave me the finger, and sped off. I don’t know if it was God Himself or some kinda angel, but every time I heard The Voice, it was when I was in trouble. I would probably never know what it was, but I chose not to think about it anymore. And just so you know, I’m NOT insane or anything like that. I made it back to my small, modest house

after about 20 minutes of driving. Once again, the house was part of the whole “inconspicuous plan”. It was a small two-bedroom house with one bathroom, kind of like what you would expect a college student to have for a house. I went to the fridge, got myself a Coke, plopped down in the lazy chair, and flipped the TV on. I always loved watching those political debate shows just because normal people were questioning everything about our country. Whenever they mentioned anything about “top-secret stuff”, I would be interested in it to say the least.

“What I want to know is if the government is keeping information from the American people, then what purpose do they have in keeping it from us?”

“Well now you’re sounding as if you’re questioning the existence of government period.”

“No, I’m not saying that government is a bad thing, Mr. O’Reilly. If it wasn’t for them, we probably couldn’t survive in this nation. What I’m saying is that the American people have a right to know what’s going on! Think back to Area 51. We thought that the government was housing alien technology, and it turns out that that was true in a way. They were housing technology that was decades ahead of its time.”

“Well what does that have to do with aliens?”

“Did you not listen to me? If it was decades ahead of its time, then how did they come by it? Were extraterrestrials really involved? Did we get that technology from them? What is the government hiding from us?!”

“You have no idea,” I say to myself as I turn off the TV. I remember back when I used to wonder if there was any kind of ‘secret information’ like that. Then, my mind was blown one day. Just plain and simple, I was called in by a certain group of people, they told me that alternate dimensions existed, and they wanted me to work for them. The end. I’ve been working there for almost two years now, and only five incidents have occurred since I’ve been there. Three of them were concentrated in Equestria, but the ponies resolved all of them before we even had a chance to react. What I wouldn’t give to see it with my own eyes just once. I finished off the rest of my Coke and my eyes suddenly grew heavy. I thought that I could catch a few hours at best before heading out again. So, I leaned the chair back and drifted off into my dreams.

The Next Day

I finally opened my eyes, expecting the darkness of night to be surrounding me. Instead, I felt the painful sting of sunlight in my eyes. Curious, I glanced over to the clock and realized it was 8:50.

“Oh crap! I gotta be at work in 10 minutes!”

I fixed myself up as best as I could, grabbed my backpack and a Coke, jumped in the car, and sped off. Everything was fine until I got on the freeway. Some jerk cut me off and made me spill Coke all over my white shirt. If that wasn’t enough, traffic was so bad that I had to slam on my brakes several times. I cursed up a storm and bang my fist on the console a few times. Finally, after almost an hour, I got to the building and parked in my usual spot. As I was walking to the entrance, two guys in black suits were blocking it.

“Come on, let me through! I’m late and I-”

“Is your name Daniel Johnson, sir?” one of them interrupted.

“Depends. Who’s asking?”

“The CEO wants to see you personally, sir. We’ve already gotten someone to take over your shift for you. Follow us.” And they went into the building and I followed close behind.

I didn’t know how to react. I had a mix between excitement and fear going through my mind. Was I going to get a huge promotion? Was I being fired? Or was I being sent to a federal prison for leaking out information?! The elevator ride was the quietest 20 seconds of my life. I didn’t say a word and neither did the suits. When we got out, I realized that the CEO’s office had to be at least the length of a football field. Everything was lavish and expensive-looking; glass animal statues, an indoor putting range, a drink fountain, even a 70-inch Plasma screen TV! Seeing all this stuff made me think that

the man I was meeting would be an old, wrinkly, narcissistic prick. Instead, when I saw the large desk at the end of the office, there was a young man that probably wasn’t much older than me smoking on a cigar. There were ten suits surrounding him, probably for protection. I saw a chair in front of his desk and took a seat in it. He turned to face me directly and I thought the guy could’ve been my brother.

“You are Daniel Johnson, correct?” he asked me in a refined British accent.

“Yes sir. I’ve been told that you wanted to see me personally”, I said with a gulp.

“Don’t worry. You aren’t being punished for anything.” I breathed a sigh of relief at this. “But, I’ve called you here on a matter of great importance.” He got up out of his chair and went to the giant window behind him before going on. “I have a secret assignment for you, Mr. Johnson. Among the many dimensions that we keep track of in this business, there is one that we have great concern for: Equestria. Not that long ago, there was a mysterious force that suddenly appeared in that dimension known as Nightmare Moon. That force was dealt with swiftly by the ponies and everything was just fine and dandy. Then, another force appeared that was called Discord. Again, the ponies dealt with him using the same method as with

Nightmare. We received readings that these events were about to happen and that they showed the same level of danger as each other. We’re now getting stronger readings than those of these two events combined.” This made me pay even closer attention. “We need to send someone to that dimension that is relatively familiar with it and see what they can find out about this future event. That is why we want to send you.”

My jaw dropped to the floor. At first, I thought he was kidding but the way he said it sounded too genuine to be a joke. “Why the hell would want to send ME?”

“You have shown skills that put you on a higher level than any of your co-workers. It takes you about 1 hour to finish an assignment that would take others five hours to do. That and you have some interest in Equestria. So, you seem like a worthy candidate.”

BEST PROMOTION EVER!!! I thought to myself. My heart jumped for joy in my chest. I was going to be sent to Equestria?! I wanted to just jump out of my seat and hug the CEO as hard as I could, but then I remembered that he had a dozen bodyguards that were waiting to just pin me to the ground.

“Do you accept?”

Out of my joyful haze, I could only muster up the words, “With every fiber of my being YES!!!”

“Good. Since you won’t be coming back for quite a while, we will give you one day before we send you there. If you have any family or close friends, bid them farewell for now. Report back here tomorrow morning at 10:00, and we will send you on your way. You are dismissed.”

As calmly as I could, I got up out of my chair and walked back to the elevator. But, I was so happy that I couldn’t help but jump up and click my heels. I really didn’t want to wait until tomorrow, but it was a good idea to have one last day on Earth. The only problem was that I didn’t have anyone to say goodbye to. During the long elevator ride, I did some self-contemplation. My parents were never around and neither were any siblings if I had any. I wouldn’t call Don a friend, just an acquaintance. My co-workers only knew my name and likewise for me. As I got to my car, I was still having a little trouble figuring out who was left. Then, it popped into my head. There were people that I could always count on. People that were more of a family to me than anyone. I just had to find them.

“And that’s the gist of it, Sifu. I’m going away and I’m not coming back for a long time. So, I thought I would say goodbye to you. And to my brothers.”

“Young Daniel, it makes me happy that you would not forget the ones that you care about. Even though I will miss you, I believe that you will make me proud wherever you go.” He put a wrinkly hand on my shoulder. “You have always been like a son to me and I will always remember you. Do not forget my teachings and be safe.” I started to see a few tears in his old eyes. So, I pulled him in for a tight hug.

“Thank you, Sifu. I will never forget you and all that you’ve done for me. I just wish that there were some way for me to repay you.”

“There is one way, Daniel.” I perked up at this and released my teacher. He took one finger and touched it to my chest. “Find the place that you belong and cherish your time there. Once you find your own destiny, your heart will tell you where you need to go. I will leave you with one last teaching.” I listened carefully to my Sifu. “If the wind comes from an empty cave, it is not without a reason.” As usual, he confused me with his proverbs, but it was etched into my mind. My Sifu stepped back and bowed to me. I returned the gesture and turned to face the other members of the dojo. “Young Daniel is leaving us! We wish him safe travel and good fortune in the future!” And they all bowed to me, to which I returned it again. Without another word, I turned and went out the door. As I was walking out, I heard the sounds of the dojo becoming alive again. I would never forget my Sifu or my brothers. But, I would miss them.

The day was finally here! The day I would see the realm of my dreams and meet the ponies of Equestria! I had packed a small suitcase of spare clothes in case my stay was longer than anticipated. I arrived at the CEO’s office on the dot at 10:00. When I arrived, he was pleased to say the least.

“Glad you could make it, Mr. Johnson.”

“Glad to be here, sir!”

“Follow me.” We went back towards the elevators but turned right passed them. The CEO stood on a section of the floor that sank under his weight. He bypassed hidden security measures and the door opened to reveal a stairway. He allowed me to go in after him. My hands were shaking in anticipation. When we got to the top of the stairway, I couldn’t believe my eyes. A giant portal machine (that looked similar to the Stargate) had a blinding white light surrounding it, and there were scientists looking over numbers and factors and all different kinds of stuff.

“Mr. Johnson, welcome to Project I.D.T.”

“I.D.T.?

“Inter-Dimensional Travel.” Suddenly, a big man dressed in army garb stood at attention in front of us. “Ah, Sergeant Tesla. This is Daniel Johnson, the one who will be ‘traveling’ today. Take especially good care of him.” The Tesla guy gave a salute and turned his attention to me.

He spoke to me in that regular army shouting voice, “Welcome! It has come to my attention that you will be traveling between dimensions! Are you ready for this Private?!” I started to answer him when he cut me off. “That was a rhetorical question Private! Of course you’re ready or else you wouldn’t even be here! You don’t need to worry about your work here! We will have someone take care of it for you! Now, I’m only gonna say this once so listen up! I’m gonna give you this device to use during your travels!” He handed me something that looked like a microphone attached to a watch strap. “All you need to do is press this button and say ‘I would like to send a message to Sergeant Tesla’ and it will give you a signal of when to start your message! That message will consist of your daily report on your findings while in the other dimension! After you have completed your message tell it ‘End message and send to Sergeant Tesla’. It will give a sound to let you know that I have received your message. That is all and you may step into the portal when you are ready!”

It took me a few minutes to comprehend all that he had said. And another few minutes to think about what I was actually doing. I was about to travel to a world completely unlike the one that I was used to. I looked back at the CEO with a bit of fear in my eyes, but he simply nodded his head to me which told me that it was time. I pulled my knap-sack tight and walked up to the blinding portal with the microphone watch on my arm. Tesla was standing to the side of it and gave me a salute as I neared the portal. For a few seconds, I was captivated by it. It was just…beautiful. I touched it with my hand and I could feel it trying to pull me in. I hesitated and pulled my hand back. Was I really afraid of what might happen to me? Be

strong Danny, I thought to myself. Taking a deep breath, I jumped headfirst into the portal and all I could see was white light everywhere. After about thirty seconds of that, everything suddenly became quiet and I could only see pitch black. I couldn’t even see my hand in front of my face it was so dark. I started to wonder whether I was dead until I felt something nudging at me on the side. An entire array of colors and new sounds filled my senses and light started to return to my eyes. All I could

see was a purple blob next to me. It was trying to talk to me, but I couldn’t understand it. It suddenly ran off and left me there. That day, I was sure that I was dying. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to drift off. Little did I know that my adventures were only just beginning.

Chapter 2

Part 2

I awoke all of a sudden with a painful headache. I could barely even remember what had happened to me. All I knew was that, at one point, I was in that room with the portal and I stepped in. I didn’t know where I was or why. As I rubbed my eyes, I began to check my surroundings. I was in a building of some kind that was filled with hay, a few saddles, and crates full of something that looked like fruit. I must have been in some sort of barn. Or at least from what I could tell. I noticed that I was laying on a pile of hay that was made into a makeshift bed. Whoever found me must have brought me here so that I

wouldn’t be left out in the cold. As I tried to get up, I heard a faint snoring sound not too far from me. I looked around, but I couldn’t see anything except for a little pink bow sticking out of one of the hay piles. Not wanting to disturb whatever it was, I quietly got up out of my “bed” and made my way over to the bow. I shuffled through the hay for a few seconds until I came across something that I never would’ve expected. I saw a little, bright yellow pony with that pink bow in its red hair fast asleep in that hay pile. I had to do a double-take, but I still wasn’t convinced. Gently, I poked her a little to try and get a response.

When she sleepily slapped my hand away with her hoof, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that she was real. I guess the shock of it all made my headache disappear. I tried to get up silently and sneak out of the barn, but I suddenly heard a gasp from that little pony and she ran out of the barn. I panicked. My first reaction was to get out of there as fast as I could. I made

the mistake of opening the barn doors and my eyes were blinded. Whatever this place was, it was a lot brighter and more colorful than Earth. I stumbled around to try and get away when I suddenly felt my body being pulled together by something. I went face first into the ground. Luckily, I landed under a shady tree so that my eyes could recover.

“Whoa there, bucko! We cain’t have ya leavin’ just yet!” a Southern feminine voice said.

I rolled onto my side to see where it came from. I saw that little yellow pony again along with two bigger ponies. One was a gigantic, red pony with a piece of straw in his mouth, and the other was an orange pony with cowboy hat in her blonde hair.

The orange one told me, “Sorry bout that, pardner. But, we’re just tryin’ to make sure that ya don’t go causin’ a ruckus down in town.” She moved closer to me and looked me dead in the eye. “Now, just who and wut in the hay are ya?”

I told her, “My name is Danny Johnson, and I’m a human.”

She looked at me with a more confused look as if she had never heard of a “human” before. But, before she could speak, the little yellow pony jumped into my line of sight and started talking in a more high-pitched Southern drawl.

“Well, it don’t matter who or wut ya are, Mr. Danny! We’re all just happy yer still alive an’ kickin’! An’ we were gettin’ worried cuz ya’ve been asleep for three days now!”

I looked at the yellow pony in disbelief and I asked the big red pony, “Is she serious?!”

He just responded with a simple, “Eeyup.”

Then, the yellow pony suddenly gasped again saying, “Oh sorry! Wut happened to our manners?! My name’s Applebloom, this here’s mah big sis, Applejack, and mah brother, Big Macintosh.”

Big Mac gave me a nod and Applejack gave me a tip of her hat.

“I’d be happy to properly introduce myself. That is, if you could please cut me loose.”

Miss Applejack gave a blush and quickly undid the ropes. As I finally managed to stand up, I realized just how tall I was compared to the ponies. That Big Mac guy was pretty big, but even he probably thought that I was a giant! I looked to see where I was at. To put it simply, it was breath-taking. It was apple trees as far as the eyes can see! “Do you all own this property?”

“We sure as sugar do! This here’s Sweet Apple Acres, the pride and joy of the Apple family. We work our hooves to the bone to manage all this, but it’s all worth it in the end.”

“You’re telling me that you manage this all by yourselves?!”

“Eeyup,” Big Mac answered.

“Wow! That’s amazing! Anyway, I know this is gonna sound weird, but where am I exactly?”

“Ah’m not surprised. Ah know fer a fact that ya ain’t from round here. Mr. Danny, welcome to Equestria!” Applejack said.

On the inside I was as giddy as a tween girl at a Justin Bieber concert, but I just gave her a smile and a nod at her answer.

Suddenly, we all heard a loud bell ring across the fields. “Soup’s on, everypony!” an old but still somehow loud voice called.

I guess that the sound of that reminded my stomach that I hadn’t eaten that much in three days, which resounded to Apple Bloom and her siblings. She and Applejack giggled a little while I stood there embarrassed.

Then, Big Mac finally said, “We might wanna get some food in yer belly.”

It was the most words he had ever spoken to me since we met! We all walked across the field to a little old house. I could smell the fresh scent of apple desserts being cooked.

“Wait till ya try Granny Smith’s cookin,” Apple Bloom piped up. “Those pies’ll knock ya dead!”

“Not literally,” Big Mac reassured.

As we entered the house, it reminded me a lot of the typical farm house back home. Handmade furniture, hardwood floors, and a little modest kitchen. Speaking of the kitchen, I saw a light-green pony cooking in it. She turned around to see us all come in and said, “Mornin’ lil’ ponies! And Ah don’t think Ah seen yer face round these parts.” She spoke in a Southern accent that was different from the others; it was in a way that reminded me of my grandmother from Arkansas.

Applejack formally introduced us, “Danny, this is Granny Smith. Granny Smith, this is Danny.” Granny Smith didn’t move a muscle. She just stood with that same look and stared at Applejack. “Ya know, that thing that we volunteered to take care of since Twilight found him.”

I perked up at this. Twilight? As in Twilight Sparkle? So, she’s the one that found me first! I’ll have to find her and thank her when I’m done here.

“Oh, that’s right! Sorry, sonny boy. The ol’ noggin just ain’t wut it used ta be. It’s a pleasure ta meet ya!” the old pony said.

“Pleasure to meet you too ma’am.” I said in response. Granny Smith then set a big plate of apple cobbler on the table and proceeded to cut into it. Remembering my old ways, I made the sign of the Cross with my hands and started to pray. When I had finished, all the ponies looked at me strange. “Oh! Sorry.”

“Wut was that, mister?” Apple Bloom asked curiously.

“Well, it’s just a tradition that we have where I come from. It’s no big deal.”

“This is gonna take a while ta cool down, sonny,” Granny Smith said. “We got all the time in the world.”

As if on cue, Apple Bloom scooted closer to me to get every last detail. “Well, I’m part of a group within my kind that believes in an all-knowing being called God. He watches over us and protects us in our time of need. And the thing that we do is saying grace before every meal. Basically, it’s thanking God that we can enjoy the simple pleasures in life another day.”

“Well, that’s a mighty fine tradition there, sugar cube,” Applejack said. “Would ya like to lead us in ‘sayin grace’?”

I was a little hesitant, but they all nodded their heads saying they wanted to. “Alright then. Close your eyes and bow your heads.” They all complied. “Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for the blessings that you have given us this day. Thank you for allowing me to find such an incredible family and that I could share a meal with them. We ask you to bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies, and the hands-I mean hooves, that prepared it. We ask this in your Most Holy and Precious Name. Amen.”

When I stopped speaking, they immediately turned their gaze to me.

“Nicely done,” Big Mac said.

“Thank you.”

Granny Smith then cut into the apple cobbler again and it even smelled the same way as how my granny made it back on Earth! This nostalgia was cut short when I saw that I didn’t have any utensils and that everyone else was eating it with their faces. So, I had to make due and joined with them. They all laughed when I got more cobbler in my face than in my stomach. Then, Applebloom broke the laughter up by starting to lick off what was all over me. Everybody yelled at her and she looked so innocent that I couldn’t help but giggle a little. I could already tell that this was gonna be more fun than I could possibly imagine!

Once we were all finished, Applejack spoke up. “

After a long day on the farm, I decided to hit the hay. Applejack gave me a room in the house instead of the barn. Finally, a warm bed. As I started to go to sleep, I woke up because I just remembered that I hadn’t contacted that Tesla guy in three days now. I pressed the only button on the “mic-watch” and said “I want to send a message to Sergeant Tesla”. It then beeped and I gave him the news. “Hello Sergeant Tesla! Sorry I haven’t sent you a message in a while. Apparently, that machine of yours left me unconscious for about three days. Anyway, I’ve only met a few of the ponies in Equestria and

nothing seems to be out of the ordinary here. Or what counts as ordinary in this place! I still can’t believe that I’m actually here! I wish you could see what I was seeing Sarge. It is so sublime! I’ll keep sending you messages until I’m called back.”

As I said “End message and send to the Sarge”, it beeped again and I took that as the signal that the Sarge had gotten the message. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

I was awakened the next day by an old alarm clock and it was still pretty early in the morning. I prepared myself for another day of work, but Applejack walked into the room I was staying in as I was getting ready.

“Whoa there sugar cube! Ah know yer eager but there ain’t no work to be done today!”

I looked at her confused and said, “Then why did you set my alarm for so early?”

She giggled a little and said, “Cuz you got to go to Ponyville and meet everypony including mah friends!”

I was excited at first, but then wondered how all the ponies would react to seeing a human for the first time. Reluctantly, I walked around with her in Ponyville. The first pony that I saw was pink colored with a pinker, curly mane. I was still trying to adjust to everything and I shyly said hi to her. I was caught by surprise when she gasped and immediately ran off. I was even more surprised when I found that her hair smelt like cotton candy when she rushed past me.

“Don’t worry. That’s just Pinkie Pie”, Applejack stated.

“Does she do that very often?” I asked.

Applejack rolled her eyes and said, “Unfortunately, yes.”

Hopefully, I would be able to meet this “Pinkie Pie” again and actually talk to her. Our next stop was going to be at the cottage of a pony named Fluttershy, but then I was knocked to the ground by a mysterious force. As I struggled to get up, I saw a Pegasus pony with a rainbow-colored mane with a worried look on her face.

Then, I remembered, “Hey! You’re that pony who found me when I first got here!” I vaguely remembered the name of a pony with rainbow hair. “You’re Rainbow Dash!”

She then started to beam when I remembered her, but for some reason she didn’t get weirded out when I knew who she was. Instead, she said, “If you know my name, then that must mean I’m famous not only in Equestria but also wherever it is you come from!” Her proud grin got even bigger when she said this.

“By the way, I’m Danny.” I stuck a hand out for her to shake and she shook it violently with a hoof.

“Nice to finally meet you Danny!” I started to question why ponies weren’t staring at me, but at the moment I just went along with it.

I walked with Rainbow Dash and Applejack to Fluttershy’s cottage and we saw the Pegasus while she was taking care of her animals. She said hi to Dash and Applejack, but when she saw me she hid behind the other two ponies. They shoved her towards me and we were both so shy that we couldn’t look each other in the eyes!

“Umm…hello. My…name is…… Fluttershy”, she said in a barely audible voice.

“Um…hello there. My name…is Danny”, I responded in a slightly louder voice. There was an awkward silence between the two of us before Applejack finally spoke up.

“Fluttershy, he’s the one who got here all of a sudden a few days ago.”

At that, her face suddenly brightened up and she suddenly flew towards me with the brightest smile in the world. She then started to rant in a fast-paced but still very soft voice, “Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry! I didn’t want to talk to you because I didn’t know what you were, but when Applejack reminded me that you were the one that Rainbow Dash found I’m suddenly curious as to what a human looks like.”

Those last words definitely caught me off guard. “Wait! You know that I’m a human?!” I shouted.

Then, Fluttershy backed off a little bit and said, “Oh! Did I upset you? I’m sorry.”

I then told her that she didn’t do anything wrong and it was just that that was the first time that any of these ponies knew what I am. Rainbow Dash then gave herself a “face-hoof” as she remembered something important.

“I forgot to tell both you and Applejack about what happened after I found you. When I saw a blinding white light and somepony coming out of it, I yelled for help and two other Pegasi helped me carry you to the hospital. It was being swarmed by other ponies who wanted to see you, so we had to call in the Royal Guard when you were released. Then, we took you back to Applejack’s farm so you could rest and all of a sudden, Princess Celestia appeared! She announced to everypony that a creature known as a human had suddenly appeared in Equestria and that he wasn’t to be disturbed.”

Applejack then brightened up a little bit in saying, “And Ah didn’t see her because Big Mac and Ah were carrying you into the barn while Applebloom was making yer hay bed. Then, when we got back outside, everypony was gone! It all makes sense now!”

As I started to process this information, I didn’t know who Princess Celestia was. When I asked the ponies, they had looks on their faces that said, “Yeah, he’s definitely not from around here”.

Fluttershy spoke up as much as she could in that quiet voice saying, “Well, um, Princess Celestia is the ruler of Equestria and she is in charge of raising the sun at day. She also has a sister, Princess Luna, who is in charge of raising the moon at night.”

Rainbow Dash flew in front of her and said, “She’s all powerful, all royalty, and all around awesome!!”

I could already tell that this “Celestia” was probably equivalent to a god in Equestria. After meeting Fluttershy we decided that we should go around and introduce me to everyone else since this was my first time in Ponyville.

This time, I decided on where to go next. I really wanted to check out the library that Twilight Sparkle was staying at, so that’s where we went. When we first stepped in, I saw that it was much bigger than what I saw on my monitor on Earth. Then, I saw a purple unicorn pony reading a book at her desk while another creature with green eyes was on a ladder re-shelving books.

When Twilight noticed that we had come in she shouted, “Spike! We have visitors!” The creature named Spike looked directly at me and waved. Then, he suddenly lost his balance and started to fall. As if by instinct, I jumped and slid across the floor to try to catch him. When he didn’t land in my arms, I looked up and saw that he was covered in purple energy and was floating in midair! Twilight’s horn was glowing with the same energy and she simply said, “You really need to be more careful Spike.”

The energy dispersed and Spike landed with a thud right on my head. He said thanks and I managed to make a muffled, “Don’t mention it.”

I got a closer look at Spike, and saw that he resembled something like a dragon. I wasn’t really surprised since I was already in a realm with candy-colored talking ponies. As I got up, I started to introduce myself to Twilight, but she said, “I know who you are, Daniel Johnson”. I was surprised by this, but I let her continue. “And I know why you are here. You’re here to help us with our troubles in our dimension. The Princess has been expecting you.”

I was so shocked that I backed up into the bookcase and fell to the floor in a heap. Not only did she know my name, but she knew that I was from a different dimension!! Everybody rushed to my side to see if I was okay. I tried to explain to them that I’m not a hero and that I’m here on a documentation assignment from my dimension. But, Twilight stubbornly told me that the Princess is never wrong and always knows best. I told her that I wanted to meet this “Celestia” character so I could give her a piece of my mind.

After that interesting conversation, the ponies told me that I still needed to meet some of the others. They then took me to a place called the Carousal Boutique to meet their friend Rarity. At first glance, I thought that the purple-maned pony was very beautiful. I mentioned this to Spike and he stared at me with an angry glare.

He pulled me down and whispered in my ear, “You might wanna keep your hands off buddy! You see I already called dibs on Rarity, so you better not get any ideas.”

I then blushed and whispered back, “I didn’t say that I have a crush on her! I was just saying that she’s very attractive!”

Spike let go, but he still kept his eye on me just in case I made any moves on his woman. Rarity then saw that her friends had arrived but was taken aback by my…somewhat dirty appearance. She spoke in a way that reminded of a 'Broadway queen from the Bronx', “Oh my stars! What happened to you my dear fellow?!”

I told her that I helped out the Apple family on the farm yesterday to which she replied with a look of disgust. Typical of a drama queen to not want to get her hands dirty. Or hooves in her case. She immediately pushed me upstairs and ordered me to take a shower while she prepared some nicer clothes for me. Of course, Spike rushed up there to keep me in close proximity. I was surprised that the shower could actually fit me, but barely.

While I was halfway finished, she opened up the door and told me that I could come out whenever I wanted to. “Excuse me, darling, but I don’t believe I caught your name!”

I stuck my head out and answered, “Daniel Johnson, Mademoiselle Rarity!” She giggled a little, probably because she thought I was gentlemanly. Then, I saw Spike duck his head in with an angry look and I smiled nervously. When I was finished in the shower, I put on a robe to not make it awkward for any of us. When she showed me the clothes she had made for me, I was surprised to see that they looked like a nicer version of my usual “Casual Friday” clothes. When I put them on and went downstairs, everybody looked at me as if I were a new person.

I thanked Rarity for all that she had done to which she responded, “Anytime at all darling!”

I asked Twilight where Celestia lived, but she said that we couldn’t go there yet because there was one more pony that very much wanted to meet me. The ponies then led me to a place that they called “Sugar Cube Corner”. The room was dark and right when I turned on the lights I jumped at the sound of a great big “Surprise!!!” There were ponies everywhere with hats, party blowers, and a smile on every face. Then, that same pink pony that I first met bounced her way over to me and started talking like she was on a caffeinated high.

“Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie and I threw this party just for you! Did I surprise you? Did I?! Huh, huh, huh?!”

I glared at her all bug-eyed and said, “Of course you surprised me! I saw my life flash before my eyes!”

Pinkie Pie nodded with a grin as if she were proud of her 'achievement'. She then led me to a buffet full of desserts that instantly made my mouth water. There were apple pies, chocolate-covered marshmallows, sugar cookies, and, of course, cupcakes! When I first tasted the desserts, my heart started to melt with the fact that they were so good and that someone would throw a party like this for me just because they met me. I turned to Pinkie, bent down, and gave her the biggest hug I had ever given. Then, for some reason, her body let out a SQUEEEE sound and I looked at her with a concerned look on my face.

She then told me with a smile, “Oh don’t worry. That happens whenever somepony hugs me really hard or whenever I’m just really happy.” That smile of hers made me so happy that I couldn’t help but smile. I then asked her why she threw this party for me in the first place and she must have talked for an hour explaining how she throws a party every time somepony new arrives in Ponyville. The party lasted until it got dark outside and all the ponies left to go home.

Then, Applejack came up to me and said, “Mighty sorry sugar cube, but that room you were stayin’ in was mah room. Ah had to spend the night with Applebloom and apparently her snores are louder than the timber wolves durin’ zap apple season.”

I didn’t know what she meant but I took it that I couldn’t stay on the farm anymore. I gave her a nod and a smile and she returned it. As she started to walk off, I wondered where in the world I was going to stay now.

Twilight came up to me and said, “If you want to, you could stay at the library with Spike and I. If you don’t mind sleeping on a couch.” I gladly accepted her offer and said goodbye to Pinkie.

As Twilight, Spike, and I entered the library again, I told her something that was on my chest for a while, “This is quite a collection of books you have here Twilight.”

“Yeah it is pretty big. Of course, I’ve read through this entire library seven times and counting.”

It took me a while to process what she had just said and I stared at her in disbelief. Spike assured me that it was true and I literally felt my jaw drop to the floor. Spike jumped up and shut it for me, which snapped me out of it. As the night went on, I waited until Twilight and Spike were asleep to send my message to the Sarge. I didn’t want my new friends to get too involved with my own personal affairs. “Hey Sarge. It’s Danny again. Well, I’ve managed to make friends with just about

every pony in Ponyville. Tomorrow I’m going to go and see this Princess Celestia woman because she thinks that I have a destiny to be fulfilled in Equestria. Wish me luck as I try to convince her of the opposite. Talk to you again tomorrow. End message and send to Sergeant Tesla.”

I waited for the beep before I fell asleep. I started to dream about what the Princess would be like. Would she be a kind, loving soul like Twilight and the others said, or would she appear to me as a cruel, uncaring tyrant? As these images floated through my head, they started to turn into nightmares about what would happen to me after I confronted Equestria’s ruler. I found it difficult to get any real sleep. Twilight woke me up in a cold sweat and she asked me if I had a nightmare. I

lied saying that I didn’t because the last thing I wanted her to know was that I was like this just from nervousness. At high noon, I went to Canterlot with Twilight and Spike to seek an audience with the Princess. When we tried to get in, the guard ponies blocked me off but let Twilight and Spike pass through. She explained that I was a good friend of hers and I had important matters to discuss with the Princess.

When they finally let me through I asked her, “Did they let you through just because you’re a girl?”

“Possibly, but also because I’m the Princess’ prized protégé.” She never told me about that! If that was the case, we could have gone at any time. I shrugged my shoulders as we all trekked up the stairs leading to the Princess’ throne room. I expected the Princess to be a small pony just like the others, but I was, once again, taken aback in surprise. This time it was because of the fact that she was as big as I was. She was a white-colored horse with a flowing rainbow mane that seemed to have a mind of its own. I wanted to properly introduce myself to her, but she stopped me with a hoof.

“I already know who you are, Daniel.” I’ll admit that she impressed me by knowing my name. Then again, that was to be expected of Equestria’s equivalent of God. “I also know why it is you are here. I take it that my student Twilight has already explained what I see in you.”

I stepped forward, “Yes Princess. But, surely if you know why I’m here, then you must know that I’m only here to keep an eye on your people. I serve a purpose much like Twilight in that I send a daily report to my higher officials detailing what has happened during the day. I’m not a hero! I’m just a…chronicler of sorts!”

The Princess then smiled and said, “And surely you must know that you and Twilight are similar in many ways.” She came closer to me as she spoke. “She too doubted that she had anything to do with the fate of Equestria. And like Twilight, I can sense a strong power within you even though you may not know it. That is why you were really sent here. To aid Equestria in the banishing of the great evil that is yet to come.”

Twilight became surprised at this. “But you didn’t tell me that there was another great evil coming! I mean, we’ve already defeated both Night Mare Moon AND Discord. What could possibly be more evil than that?!”

“I’m not sure Twilight. But whatever it is, it will be unlike anything we have ever faced before. That is why we need your help Daniel. If there is ever a time that you suspect something is wrong, then do not hesitate to send a letter to me. You can send one to me at any time. Now go! I have my own matters to attend to.”

We all bowed and left the Princess to her affairs and I started to question my purpose here altogether.

Chapter 3

Part 3

Even though I was supposed to be on high-alert, I couldn’t help but relax. Life here in Equestria was a lot like life on Earth except that I didn’t have to work as hard. I had fun helping everybody out and just hanging out with them. Of course, whenever two of my friends would get in an argument about something, I felt the need to talk it out with the two of them. I guess you could say that I became the town peacemaker. Most of the time, though, the arguments were between Applejack and Rarity. Even though those two were polar opposites, they always managed to work everything out in the end with my help. Then, there was a dispute between the buffalo tribes of the Blackfoots and the Kalapuya near the town of Appleloosa. It turns out that a male and a female from each tribe had fallen in love with each other, and the chiefs would

rather fight than allow this to happen. The ponies wanted to settle the argument between the two so as to not get caught up in a conflict that wasn’t their own. To do this they called in the cavalry: me. I listened to each of the tribes’ claims and met together with the Blackfoot chief, Thunder Hooves, and the Kalapuya chief, Arrow Head. As we met, we were stopped by Thunder Hooves’ son, Yuma, and Arrow Head’s daughter, Wynono. They had confessed their love for each other and told

us that they would still find a way to be together even if both tribes were to kill each other. So, the chiefs agreed to let this dispute pass if they would join their tribes together by having Yuma, a Blackfoot, be married to Wynono, a Kalapuya. The couple looked very happy with each other and all the conflict was quickly forgotten after the ceremony. Thunder Hooves and Arrow Head even came to terms and from that day on, they thought of each other as brothers. All the ponies cheered and actually threw flowers at the couple’s feet. They smiled and kissed, and I joined in with the cheering when I suddenly saw a

quick flash of light and found an image printed on the back of my hand. It was a picture of two hands shaking each other seeming to come to an agreement about something. At first, I thought it was just something that one of the ponies stamped onto me in congratulations. I went to the river to wash it off, but became concerned when it wouldn’t come off no matter how hard I scrubbed my hands. My concern quickly turned into a mix between fear and curiosity as I took the train back to Ponyville to have Twilight find out what was happening to me.

When I showed her the back of my hand, she was just as confused as I was. “Call me crazy, but I think what’s on your hand is a Cutie Mark!” I looked at her as if she were speaking another language. She explained it to me as clearly as she could, “You see, when ponies are born, they are given the potential to find something that they are good at which will determine what they will do in the future. When they find what that special something is, they are given something called a Cutie Mark to show the world that they have essentially found their purpose in life. Usually that mark appears on the ponies’ flank, so I’m not sure what to think since it appeared on your hand.”

“Not just that, but the fact that I’m not a pony is even more of a brain teaser.”

“We HAVE to write a letter to the Princess about this strange event immediately! Spike? Take a note please”. Spike quickly whipped out a quill and a piece of paper as Twilight started to stat her letter:

Dear Princess Celestia,

Something very strange is happening to Danny. It appears that he has obtained a Cutie Mark on the back of his hand. I did not think that this was possible given the fact that he is not a pony. This question will puzzle me forever if it is not met with a quick response.

As loyal as ever,

Your Faithful Student

Twilight Sparkle

As Spike finished the note, he shocked me by rolling it up and then proceeded to light it on fire! “Spike!” I shouted in anger. “Why would you do that?! She wanted you to send that letter to the Princess not burn it up!”

He stood there confused until he finally realized what was wrong. “Actually, that IS how I send letters to the Princess. See, I’ve got two types of fire: the burning type and the sending type. If I burn something with my sending fire, then the ashes are sent to the recipient and reappear as a letter to them. It’s economical and saves a ton on postage!”

As I finally understood, my concerns went back to this “Cutie Mark” on my hand. Both Twilight and I were pacing the floors awaiting a reply back. Then, we both jumped when Spike literally “burped” up the Princess’ reply letter. I will never understand how that works. Spike read the letter out loud for me and Twilight:

My Dearest, Most Faithful Student, Twilight,

I’m afraid that even I do not know what is going on with your new friend. I also thought it was impossible for a non-pony to receive a Cutie Mark. I can only guess that it has to do with the fact that he is from another dimension. Perhaps the longer he stays in this realm, the more accustomed his body becomes to it. Forgive me for not knowing the exact causes, but I hope that this aids you in your quest for answers. Remember to be vigilant and always be on high alert. We never know when this new threat will surface.

With hope,

Princess Celestia

“So is she saying that the longer that I’m here, the more Equestrian I become?” Twilight and I stared at each other in disbelief as we were trying to make sense of it. We abandoned this concern seeing as though it had already happened. Twilight was going through her enormous library when she found a certain book and laid it on her desk. Spike and I looked over her shoulder out of curiosity. She was then reading an article on the “Elements of Harmony”, which turns out are the things that allowed the ponies to defeat Night Mare Moon and Discord.

When I read the part about there being only five known Elements that give rise to the sixth I asked Twilight, “What if there are more than just six elements?”

She and Spike looked at me as though I was crazy. But, after a few minutes, Twilight started to ponder this. I mean if there was such thing as other dimensions, then that could be a possibility. She then shook her head trying to get that thought out of her mind. Spike and I left her alone to study, but found her asleep on her desk a few hours later with her head in the book. I carried Twilight up to her bed and Spike tucked her in. I felt sorry for Twilight because she worked so hard for everything, but at the same time I admired her for being so persistent. Her mentor’s teachings were definitely rubbing off on her. I looked at her while she was sleeping and I thought that she was even prettier than Rarity. I snapped myself out of it because there’s no way that a human could ever have feelings for a pony. I looked over to Spike and found he was already asleep in his basket. I did him a solid and put the blanket over him so he wouldn’t catch cold in the middle of the night.

As I headed downstairs, I wondered how I was going to break the news to the Sarge. So, I did the best that I could. “Hey, Sarge. I don’t know how I’m going to tell you this so I’ll just start from the beginning: All I did was settle a few disputes between ponies and two tribes of buffalo and all of a sudden, I received something called a 'Cutie Mark' on the back of my hand. Normally this only happens to the ponies, and even Princess Celestia doesn’t know why this is happening. Our only guess is that I’m becoming so accustomed to this dimension that my body is mimicking the life cycles of the ponies. I’m not 100% sure about this, but I think that I may actually have a higher purpose here. I’ll send you another message tomorrow and, hopefully, I’ll know what’s really going on.” I didn’t even wait for the “message received” signal. I was so tired that I just plopped down on the couch and went right to sleep. Little did I know, however, that there were forces brewing that night that would change everything.

That night, as all the little ponies slept in their comfortable beds and warm houses, there was one pony who had no place to call home except for the forbidden Everfree Forest. She was a light-blue colored unicorn who wore a tattered cape and a wizard’s hat filled with holes. She was dirty from head to hoof and wished nothing more than not having to fight for her own survival. That and a nice, warm shower. She would go back to Ponyville if she could, but because of a spell placed on her by a certain purple unicorn, she was to be banished forever.

“How I despise that Twilight Sparkle!! Even though I have trained night and day to further strengthen my magic, this spell will not seem to break no matter how powerful I become. One day, I will find you and make you pay for ruining my reputation! The Great and Powerful Trixie swears this by the moon in the sky!”

Just then, Trixie felt a tremor in the earth below. With every passing minute, the tremors grew stronger and stronger. She was starting to get afraid when she was considering what was causing this phenomenon. Could it be another Ursa Minor, or even an Ursa Major? This new fear made Trixie jump and hide in a bush as she waited for whatever was closing in on her. Then, the ground suddenly burst open with a figure launching itself into the air and out of the crevasse it left behind. Trixie wanted to scream, but she was so afraid that she couldn’t find her voice. As she looked closely at the figure, she could see what it looked like. She had heard about a creature called a human during her previous ventures as a

traveling illusionist. Like the humans that she heard about, it stood up on two legs with two arms to its side. However, it was different because there was only blackness surrounded by a skeleton that gave it a human-like appearance. Around his neck, there appeared to be a necklace made out of eyeballs. The mere sight of it made Trixie cringe in disgust. The figure scanned the area and saw that there was a creature hiding in the bush. With just a twitch of his hand, he made the bush disintegrate into dust and telepathically picked up the small pony.

He spoke in a deep, menacing voice saying, “Are you the one that summoned me?”

Trixie spoke with fear in her voice, “I don’t remember summoning you. I never cast a spell and I certainly wouldn’t summon somepony as…frightening as you.”

The figure gave a quick smile, then let Trixie go and fall to the ground. He spoke, “But you did my dear. It was your hatred towards your enemies that awakened me. You had just the right mix of magical power and malice to break the seal placed on me. I do not know how long I have been imprisoned, but I will seek my vengeance. And if anyone stands in my way, then I will kill them. But, I have a question for you, Ms. Trixie. Would you like to work with me?"

He stuck his boney hand out towards her as if expecting that she would say yes. It just made Trixie even more afraid that he knew her name. She nervously said, “I d-don’t believe that w-we’ve met before. W-Who are you?”

The figure stood up as if he were proud of his name and replied, “I am known by many names; Hades, Satan, the Anti-Savior; but, there is one name that I preferred the most. A tribe of people called the Mayans gave me the name……Cizin."

During that night, I dreamt about Twilight. She and I were standing in a field together with me down on my knees to match her height. I noticed that she was blushing and she was starting to say, “Danny……I think I---”.

She got cut off when I woke up. At that point in time, I didn’t know what to think or feel. I really started to wonder whether I liked Twilight as a friend or something more. I kept telling myself that a human and a pony couldn’t be more than friends. But, I thought about that movie Shrek and how Donkey fell in love with a girl dragon. I was starting to think that it could work out between the two of us. For that matter, it could work out well for Spike and Rarity. Then again, that was just a movie and this is real life. I looked over at the clock and saw that it was about 10:00 in the morning, but I was surprised to see that Twilight and Spike weren’t in the library. I shrugged it off and went outside to greet everypony, but what I saw made

cold chills run up my spine: Ponyville looked like a war zone! In fact, now it looked like it had been hit by an atomic bomb! There were ponies lying everywhere, but they were all being kept alive by the local doctors. As I was relieved at this, my first instinct was to find my friends. I had to make sure that they were okay. I was confronted by some sort of horde of demonic soldiers. I don’t know what got into me, but I suddenly went wild and beat them all to within inches of their lives. I left them because they weren’t worth wasting any more of my breath. I checked everywhere in Ponyville; the Boutique, Sugar Cube

Corner, Town Hall, even the Train Station. All destroyed. All gone. Finally, I ran as fast as I could to Sweet Apple Acres, but found that it wasn’t much better over there. Then, I saw somepony open the doors to an underground bunker and beckoned me in. I’d recognize that grey body anywhere: Derpy Hooves. As I raced towards the bunker, I heard more explosions behind me. I could tell that Derpy was scared, so I just ran as fast as I could without looking back. As I felt the heat of the explosions

behind me, I jumped down into the bunker and Derpy helped me to close the doors. We felt the doors being hit by a powerful force, but they didn’t break. On the outside they looked like wood, but on the inside the doors were made of pure steel. Pretty handy.

I suddenly remembered where we were: Applejack’s apple cellar. I guess she must’ve turned into a bunker to prepare for the upcoming disaster that was now happening. I looked around to survey the uninjured ponies. There was Applebloom, Big Mac, Granny Smith, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Cheerilee, Mr. and Mrs. Cake with their babies Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake, Dr. Whooves, the Mayor, and many members of the Royal Guard. I looked further to see Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie surrounding Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. The two Pegasi looked really banged up, so Twilight

and Rarity were using a spell to heal them. As I was walking towards her, Twilight finished her spell on Rainbow Dash and sighed in exhaustion. She saw me approaching, and she literally tackled me to the ground in a strong hug. Every time I tried to pull her off, she just kept hugging me and hugging me. After the umpteenth attempt, I finally just gave up and returned her hug. Then, I felt her tears soaking my shirt and flowing down her cheeks.

She spoke with her voice cracking, “I thought you were dead! I didn’t know if the protection spell I used on the library worked or not! I was so worried when I saw all the damage outside that I thought I lost you!”

When I realized how sad she was that I might have died back there, I started to cry telling her that everything was alright and that I would always be there for her. So that’s why the library wasn’t destroyed! Twilight used her magic to protect me! We looked at each other in an intense gaze and I saw that she needed some comforting. I did the first thing that came to my mind and pressed her lips to mine. She was shocked and blushed at this, but she returned the kiss a few moments later.

I don’t know how long we stayed like that, but we were snapped out of it when Rainbow Dash flew up to us and pretended to be nonchalant in saying, “You guys having fun?” At that, Twilight and I jumped and our faces were both a deep shade of crimson. We tried in vain to explain to Rainbow Dash as well as the others what happened, but it all came out as gibberish and everypony giggled while Dash was just laughing her flank off. I’m not sure if they were all giggling at the fact

that a human just kissed a pony, or how stupid we made ourselves look afterwards. For whatever reason, there was an awkward silence between Twilight and I until we finally looked at each other out of the corner of our eyes. She gave me a soft smile to which I returned. Even after I made myself look like an idiot, in my heart, it was totally worth it.\

The silence was then again broken, this time by Twilight in asking me, “Isn’t Spike with you?”

“No,” I replied. “I thought he was with you!”

We were both horrified when we thought about what might have happened to him. We jumped at the sound of a banging on the doors. Derpy looked through her peeping hole and what she saw scared her so bad that the color literally left her face. She begged me to help her open the doors and I got up as fast as I could and helped the Pegasus. As the doors opened, I was just as shocked as Derpy when I saw Spike in front of us barely able to stand, bloodied and beaten to a pulp.

“Danny!” he said weakly. “You’re okay! That’s good. That’s really, really great…”

Spike passed out with those last words and I immediately caught him in the air. I took him over to Dr. Whooves who volunteered Rarity to be his supervisor unicorn. “Spiky-Wikey!! No! Those demons must have gotten to you! Please don’t die on me! I can’t live without you! Please Doctor! You’ve got to help him!”

“There’s not much that I can do Ms. Rarity.” At that, Rarity broke down in tears. She was snapped out of it by Twilight who actually slapped her across her face.

“Pull yourself together! You can still save Spike! Use the healing spell that I taught you and stop moping around! If all you do is sit here and cry your eyes out, then Spike really will die!” That made Rarity forget her tears almost instantaneously and she turned her attention to Spike. As she concentrated the healing spell, Spike’s wounds were already starting to go away. It would take time, however, to get him back up to full strength.

Twilight took action by formulating her plan. “Okay, while Rarity’s taking care of Spike, here’s what we’re going to do. Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack: you all have to stay and keep everypony safe. If those demon soldiers come back, then you have to do anything and everything to make sure that they don’t harm any more ponies.” They all acknowledged their orders by saluting her. “Danny, come with me. We have to make it to Canterlot so that we can find the Princess and the Elements of Harmony. They’re the only things that can stop this.”

I didn’t want to discourage Twilight, but I still said, “But how will we get there? If we go out there, then those soldiers will find and attack us!”

Twilight looked at me with a different look in her eyes and said, “Then we’ll step on any bug that tries to stop us.”

Either it was just me, or that new look in her eyes actually gave me chills! I was thinking that I liked the old Twilight better, but now wasn’t the time to dawdle in personal interest. As Derpy prepared to open the doors, Twilight readied her magic and I prepared myself for the brawl of my life. Derpy opened the doors while saluting us and Twilight and I charged towards our opponents with bloodcurdling screams.

Chapter 4

Part 4

Twilight and I fought our way towards Canterlot. She used her magic to knock any foe back and I used my fists to knock down any soldier that she wasn’t in her line of sight. We must have brawled for hours until we were so exhausted that we could barely move. As we finally neared the kingdom of Canterlot, I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that everything was going too smoothly. We entered the castle and expected there to be bloody carnage and screams, but

everything seemed relatively calm. It was relieving, but at the same time, it was eerie amidst all the chaos outside. As we approached the steps to the Princess’ throne room, my sinking feeling turned out to be right. More of the demon soldiers

showed up and were more numerous than the groups that we fought before. Since we could barely move there was little we

could do to fight back. The soldiers easily overpowered us and tied us down with rope. One of the soldiers drew his sword and pointed it at Twilight’s neck. I was yelling at him to take me instead and let her go, but the soldier looked at me with an evil smile.

He raised his sword and just when he was about to strike, Twilight whispered to me, “I’m sorry.”

Time seemed to slow down for me. With the adrenaline pumping through my veins, I became angry at them all for trying to take the pony that I loved. My eyes started to glow red and with new strength, I broke the rope and caught the sword with my right hand. The soldier was surprised and scared at the same time. He thought that there was no way that any being could catch a sword with one hand without getting it cut off, and he finally asked, “Who are you?!”

I looked at him with malice in my eyes and replied in a demonic voice, “Your worst nightmare.” With that, I broke the sword in two and let out a primal roar as I proceeded to partake in my killing spree.

I awoke in a room on a hospital stretcher next to Twilight. We were both covered in bandages and my right arm was in a cast. As I saw her lying there, I was relieved to know that she was still alive, but there was still fear in my heart because I came so close to losing her. I held her hoof in my hand tightly and she responded. She turned to me and gave me a calm, warm smile as she went to sleep.

I saw that Princess Celestia had entered the room and I asked her a single question, “What happened to me?”

“Something horrible. But, let me explain what is happening first, as it will tie in with your question. And do not worry about your friends. I brought them all to Canterlot and placed a time-stop spell on all of Equestria to ensure that those soldiers would never reach this place as long as I am able to hold the spell. Also, I have wiped Twilight’s memory of when you turned into that monster and replaced it with simply blacking out.” I was most definitely in the Princess’ debt for that. “I can assure that this has nothing to do with Discord or Night Mare Moon. This threat is an omnipotent being that feeds off of the

malice of others. The name that he prefers to be called is Cizin.” I looked at her with confusion as if she expected me to know who that was. “The story of Cizin is a tragic one. Many centuries ago, there was a conflict within the Eternal Herd. Cizin was one of the most prized creations of the Great Shepherd and soon became prideful of his beauty. Soon, Cizin thought that he was more beautiful than the Great Shepherd and led an uprising against him. Cizin failed and was banished to the center of

the Earth in the realm of the humans. There, a civilization known as the Mayans worshipped Cizin as a god of death and their sacrifices to him made him grow more powerful. Soon, he tried to revolt a second time, but failed once again and was banished to the Underworld that is under Equestria. But now, he has broken free and will not stop until he feels that his vengeance has been exacted.” Even after all that, I was still as lost as I was before. If something horrible was happening to me, then I didn’t want a history lesson. Celestia saw my confusion and continued, “Before his fall from the Eternal Herd, Cizin

made his own creation forged from his own blood and the Heavens themselves. This child was kept secret until twenty years ago. After his discovery, the Great Shepherd commissioned one of the Herd to send the child to another realm and watch over it. That child became a mortal human and started to grow into a fine young man. The one that the Shepherd commissioned was me." I was stopped dead in my tracks when I heard this. But I truly wasn’t prepared for what she would say next. “And the one whom Cizin created, his own son……is you.”

Of course, at first I thought that this was some kind of elaborate prank made by the Princess to lighten the situation and I started to laugh a bit. After a few minutes though, the Princess had the same look on her face as when she finished. I denied it with every fiber of my being. There’s no way that the one causing all this pain and devastation to my

friends could possibly be my ‘father’. It just couldn’t be true! But then, something clicked. It all suddenly made sense. I never

knew my biological parents, I always seemed to be in the right place at the right time, and in my youth I sometimes felt that someone was watching over me. It was true. All the answers pointed to the conclusion that Cizin, a being of immortality, is my father.

“Then, that means the one who was watching over me was…” The Princess nodded as I looked towards her. I started to tear up when I realized that Princess Celestia, an Equestrian, was the closest thing that I had ever had to a mother. She put her long neck around me in an embrace that could only belong to a mother and her son. The Princess even started to tear up knowing that she could finally give the boy that she cherished the love that he had waited so long to

experience. It hurt me badly to move, but I wrapped my arm around Celestia’s neck. After a few minutes of embracing and tears, I realized what had happened to me. Celestia told me that all descendants of the Eternal Herd are given a mark to symbolize their ancestry. Because I had a Cutie Mark, then it proved all the more than I am the son of Cizin. Also, because my father feeds off of the malice of others, I took in the malice of those soldiers that were trying to kill Twilight. In short, I was becoming my own worst enemy: my father.

Celestia added, “You still have a choice my son. You can choose to use your father’s power for the same purposes as he, or you can choose to forsake those powers and use the ones granted to you by the Heavens.”

“But I don’t know what powers the Heavens have given me. How will I know which is which?”

“I’m afraid that is something that you must find out for yourself, Danny. Now rest. You will need to get your strength back up if you are to help your friends.” As Celestia turned to leave the room, I asked her to wait.

She turned and I asked her, “Would be acceptable if I referred to you as my mother?”

At that, the Princess broke down in tears and ran back towards me. Ignoring the pain, I got up from my bed and we hugged each other with tears in our eyes. “You don’t know how long I’ve waited to hear you say that”, the Princess---no. Mother, said through her tears.

I jokingly told her, “I think I have an idea of how long”.

Twilight slept in a very comfortable bed and felt peace within her mind. She felt something holding onto her hoof and was curious as to what it was. As she opened her eyes, she saw that it was me. I noticed that she woke up and was overjoyed. The first thing she wanted to do was give me a hug, but it hurt very badly when she moved. She then saw not only her bandages, but mine as well. “Yeah, I found that out when I first woke up too.” She looked like she was getting

depressed, so I leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. This immediately made her brighten up and she gave a look that just said “thank you” all over it. Our moment was interrupted by Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Spike bursting through the door.

Rarity was the first to enter with an obsessed look in her eyes saying, “WHERE IS HE?! Where is Princess Celestia’s son? I have to meet him!” She then grabbed me by the collar and shouted in my ear, “Do you know where he is?!”

This was the last thing that I wanted to tell my friends. When they all checked on Twilight to make sure that she was alright, everypony including Twilight shifted their focus to me. So, I had no choice. I told them everything; about who I really am, where I really come from, that Cizin is my father, and that Celestia is my adoptive mother, but I consider her to be

my true mother. The room went silent. Everypony’s jaw was on the floor. I couldn’t blame them for finding out that their ruler

was the one who watched over me my entire human life. It was starting to get awkward, so I got up and started to head out the door but was pushed back by my friends screaming, “WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATT?!!!”

“Yer tellin me that our Princess considers you her son?!”

“That’s completely unexpected, but it’s still so very amazing!”

“Whooooaaa.”

“That is totally AWESOME!!!”

“I don’t understand why the Princess wouldn’t even tell me!"

“Um, wow. I really wasn’t expecting this. In fact, I’m so surprised that I could just scream!!” Fluttershy let out the loudest scream that she could muster up, but it was nothing more than a long squeak to everypony else. I gave her credit for trying.

Twilight finally spoke up again, “There’s no way that could be true! If it were true, then the Princess would have told me!”

Just then, Celestia came through the door saying, “Forgive me Twilight. But all that Danny says is true. I was the one who watched over him, therefore I consider him to be my son and he considers me his mother. The reason I didn’t tell you is because I knew you would not believe me since I have never had a husband. I’m sorry that this is the way that you had to find out, my student. But, I can still assure you that it is true.”

It took Twilight a few minutes to acknowledge that my mother was telling the truth. She surprised all of us by telling Mother that she understood and she just left it at that.

“Well,” I finally said, “why don’t we go find the Elements of Harmony and stop my evil dad from destroying all life as we know it?”

“Don’t worry my son. I am one step ahead of you.” She already had the Elements of Harmony on her person. I knew I was proud to call her my mother for a reason. As the ponies donned the Elements, Twilight’s wounds were instantly healed.

“Come on, everypony. Let’s go!” She immediately jumped up out of her bed and went to the front of the group. They stood ready at attention. Suddenly, I saw a ball of light enveloped me, much to the ponies’ dismay. Twilight immediately jumped towards me, but her face slammed into the wall as I disappeared. She screamed bloody murder when she knew that I was gone.

When the light faded, I noticed that I was back in the portal room in the CEO’s building. Sergeant Tesla was standing there at attention once again shouting in that army voice, “Welcome back Private. We’re very much glad to have you back in one piece. We just recently received a reading that that dimension has basically gone to hell. We pulled you out of there as soon as we—”

I cut off the Sarge when I told him, “Send me back.”

“Excuse me Private but you don’t the orders around here. I am your Commanding Officer. Anything that I say goes and that is final Private.”

My eyes once again glowed red and I picked up Tesla by the throat. I told him in my demonic voice, “Send me back now or you’ll be going home in a body cast!”

It was the first time that I ever saw Tesla with fear in his eyes. Then again, this was only my second time seeing him at all, but you get my point. Tesla shouted to his scientists to do whatever I said. I told them to send me back to the current location of the Elements of Harmony. When it was locked on, the portal glowed with that blinding light and I was about to step through it.

“Here, Sarge. I won’t need this anymore.” I took the mic-watch off of my arm and tossed it to Tesla. It fell to his feet as if he didn’t even know it was there. As I was turning back around, I noticed that Tesla was saluting me. I guess that was his way of saying good luck. I jumped through the portal hoping that I wasn’t too late to save my friends.

Back in Equestria, Cizin had finally appeared before the ponies. Twilight recognized what the being looked like almost immediately. “Trixie? Is that you?”

The figure looked like Trixie, but it was surrounded by some sort of skeleton that looked like that of a pony’s. The figure responded, “No, my little pony. Ms. Trixie, I’m afraid, is not here at the moment. Well, technically she is here because she can hear you even though you cannot see her.”

Cizin unleashed a ball of lightning towards the ponies. It was moving so fast that not even Rainbow Dash could dodge it. It knocked the ponies back several yards away and they struggled to get up.

“This is incredible!” Cizin announced. “I knew that this pony had a great reservoir of magical power, but I did not expect to be able to combine my spells with hers. Destroying the universe will be easy now!” Cizin started to laugh maniacally. As Twilight got up, she became afraid that even the Elements of Harmony couldn’t defeat this monster.

Just then the blue unicorn suddenly regained her psyche back and shouted, “Twilight! Please forgive me for all that I’ve done. This is your chance to right the wrongs of the past! Use your precious Elements to destroy me along with this fallen god! It is the only you will save your beloved Equestria!”

That moment didn’t last for long as Cizin emerged once again. This time, he didn’t speak; there was only hatred and malice in his eyes. Twilight now knew what they had to do. The six friends used the Elements to create the Rainbow of Power. But, as it was flying towards him, Cizin created a force field which managed to completely shatter the rainbow and made its power disperse. No one could believe their eyes when they saw this. Were the ponies just not powerful enough to

stop the combined power of Trixie and Cizin?! Then, the ponies noticed that the Elements were starting to crack. Without warning, the Elements had shattered and turned to dust. Twilight felt her knees buckle in fear that all hope was lost. As the others stood in disbelief that their only means of saving Equestria was gone, a bright light suddenly appeared before them. When the light subsided, the six friends were amazed to see that they had one more friend in this fight: me.

I stood between my friends and Cizin not even knowing what I was doing. But, I couldn’t just leave them to die and allow my sadistic father to have his way and torture Equestria for all eternity. As I prepared to charge my new enemy, I was stopped by my friends who were holding me back.

“Please just stop Danny!” Twilight beckoned to me with tears in her eyes. “The Elements have been destroyed. All hope is gone. We should just give up and accept our fates.”

I stood in disbelief when I heard these words from the pony whom I loved. I pulled everypony off and looked at Twilight dead in the eyes. I gave her a broken smile and a hug. Not even a few seconds afterwards, all my friends had joined in. As we broke away a few moments later, I stood once again and announced, “Cizin! I may not belong in this dimension and

I may not know how we’re going to stop you, but we’re not going to quit now! Even though we may die here, at least we sacrificed ourselves for what we believed in. But, know this! You may be a god of death and you may be my father, but we will not surrender to you, we will never give up, and we will NEVER BACK DOWN!!”

Just then, right above our heads, there appeared seven glowing lights. The lights dispersed and turned into the Elements of Harmony again!! However, there was another Element and went towards me. It even matched my Cutie Mark!! Could this have been what my mother meant when she referred to the power inside of me? As I donned the necklace, I immediately felt some sort of newfound power welling up within me. I knew then that I was an Element of Harmony! I smiled to

my friends as they realized it as well. We all turned to face Cizin who was trying to scrape his jaw off the floor. We all joined together, hand-in-hoof, and concentrated our powers. With the Elements back, we unleashed a more powerful Rainbow of Power. The death god once again surrounded himself with a force field, but the Rainbow didn’t shatter this time. Our power matched Cizin’s as we reached a stalemate. Then, I was suddenly transported to a place that was pure white everywhere.

I looked around confused as to what was going on. Wasn’t I just with my friends trying to stop Cizin? I then turned around to see that Celestia was in front of me with a proud smile on her face. “I see you have found your power, Daniel. You know that you are one of the lost Elements of Harmony and that it is your destiny to join with your friends to stop Cizin from destroying the dimensions.”

I asked in retaliation, “But where am I? One minute I was with my friends and the next I’m here. What is this place?”

“This is my personal realm. I go here whenever I need time to think about an important decision. It is of good use because time does not flow in this realm, so I can take as long as I need to.”

“Then you have to help me! Even with all of the Elements, we still can’t outmatch his power. Why isn’t it working?”

“The reason is you my son. You are not concentrating your power properly because you do not know what your Element is…You are the Element of Patience. You showed this when you became Ponyville’s peacemaker. To truly unlock your power, you must think of a moment when you had the most patience with someone and you will be able to then stop Cizin. Now go Daniel! Your friends need you!”

As my mother went away, my senses snapped back to our battle. I then thought of when I was solving arguments between ponies like Applejack and Rarity, and of when I settled the dispute between the buffalo tribes. I felt my eyes glow with power and shouted to my friends, “Let’s give it everything we’ve got everypony! For us; for our friends,” and we all shouted at once, “FOR EQUESTRIA!!!” A new light enveloped the Rainbow of Power and hit Cizin with an even more powerful force. His force field was starting to crack.

Within her mind, Trixie was suffering as Cizin was sucking out her power to use for himself. Her eyes turned angry and finally shouted, “Even if I die, the Great and Powerful Trixie will not allow you to hurt anypony anymore!!”

She used the last remnants of her magic to weaken Cizin, which allowed his force field to shatter and to be struck by the Rainbow. Trixie managed to get pushed out of her prison and Cizin turned to stone. With the fallen god finally defeated, the stone statue then exploded into nothingness and Trixie lay on the ground weakened by her ordeal. Twilight and I ran to Trixie to see if she was still alive, and she slowly opened her eyes and turned to us with a smile. “Thank you. Cizin has finally been destroyed. You’ve saved your precious Equestria.”

“What happened, Trixie?” I asked vehemently. Trixie started to wheeze with pain as she tried to talk, so I cradled her in my arms to allow her to breathe.

“When he found me in the Everfree Forest, he offered me a proposition. If I let him take over my body for a while, he would allow me to be free and kill those that humiliated me. I agreed to him, but instead he imprisoned me within my own mind. I knew what he was doing with the combination of his power and mine, that he was pushing ponies to the brink of death with our magics. But I couldn’t do anything to stop it no matter how loud I screamed.” Trixie turned to the side and started to

cough more violently, this time she started to cough up blood. My friends rushed over to her to comfort her in what could be her final moments. “It looks like Cizin has pushed me to the brink of death as well. I still can’t believe that after all I’ve done, you still had the sense to not destroy me along with that sadistic god…I’m…happy.” The ponies started to tear up at the sight of Trixie dying, even Rainbow Dash! But what really surprised me was when Twilight spoke to Trixie between her tears.

“I’m sorry Trixie. I should have given you another chance. If I hadn’t driven you out of Ponyville, none of this would have happened.”

Trixie looked at Twilight and shook her head. I guess that meant that Trixie blamed herself. I started to tear up myself while Pinkie Pie was crying waterfalls. The last words that Trixie could manage was, “Thank you…….thank you”, before she breathed her last. As the light left her eyes, we all finally broke down in tears.

Every pony in Ponyville and Canterlot attended the funeral. I talked to Trixie’s parents saying that I was sorry that I couldn’t do anything to save her. It turns out that those were her adopted parents. Trixie’s real parents left her near a circus tent when she was just a baby. It was there that she learned to use her magic to become a master illusionist. When she started to take credit for everything, she angered them and she ran away. She never saw them or her biological parents

again. This made me tear up even more and I couldn’t find the energy to stand. As I sat down in a chair and started to cry, I saw Twilight in front of me with tears in her eyes as well. She put her forelegs around me and hugged me tightly. As I returned the hug, we both finally lost it and bawled our eyes out in each other’s shoulders.

As Trixie was laid to rest, she was given a hero’s goodbye. Her closest friends laid roses around her in the casket. Her former fans Snips and Snails, her parents, even Twilight and I. Celestia presided over the ceremony. “Fillies and gentlecolts, we are gathered here today to mourn the loss of a dear friend. Even though she had caused trouble to Ponyville in the past that has all been forgotten. She aided our heroes in destroying Cizin and saving the dimensions by weakening

him from inside her mind even though she knew the cost would be her own life. She will be dearly missed. But, we must all learn a lesson from this brave filly: no matter who you are, what you do, or what you have done, you can still be forgiven if you forgive yourself.”

With that, the casket was lowered into the ground and a trumpet pony played something reminiscent of Taps to salute Trixie for her sacrifice.

It has been two years since that day. We succeeded in rebuilding Ponyville, but there is still much work to be done. Much has changed in that small town. Both Rarity and Spike now run the Carousal Boutique, and they got engaged a few weeks ago! It turns out that Spike had an enormous gem stashed away in the library and was saving it to ask for Rarity’s hoof-in-marriage. She told him that she would only say yes if he wouldn’t use the gem so he ate it. Rainbow Dash fulfilled her

lifelong dream of joining the Wonderbolts, though she stills makes time for her friends. The Apple family’s business has grown exponentially and there are now more ponies working on the farm than just the four of them. Pinkie Pie is now the head baker at Sugar Cube Corner, but it’s still owned by Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Fluttershy is still an animal care-taker and Twilight is still studying under the Princess. I guess the biggest changes are that I’m now a permanent Ponyville resident and I’m studying magic with Twilight as my mentor. Trixie definitely influenced me to take it up and she’s probably smiling down on

Ponyville up there with the Eternal Herd. Recently, Twilight and I had been having some troubles with our relationship. My mother heard about this, and called me and Twilight to her chambers. She explained that just before the age of the ponies, the Eternal Herd had created a spell to give themselves physical bodies to roam the lands of each dimension. If my mother could modify it, then it could be possible to transform a human into a pure-blooded pony! This was an answer to prayers if the Great Shepherd did.

My birthday; February the 4th. Mother had finished the spell and performed it in front of all Canterlot in the same spot where she raises the sun during the Summer Sun Celebration. The crowd was amazed when I turned from a human to a tall, handsome stallion. My body was blue-green and my mane was a dirty blonde, the same as my human hair. Just a little something to remind me of my past life. I had a horn and a pair of wings, so I was an alicorn just like my mother. And, of

course, what pony could be complete without his Cutie Mark. I smiled to my mother and embraced her in thanks. The first thing I wanted to do was find Twilight, so I bolted off of the platform to try and search for her. However, since I wasn’t used to my stallion form, I tripped a few seconds after I started running. I slid across the grass to the feet of the mare I was looking for.

I immediately got up and said, “How do you like me now baby?!”

Twilight just smiled and shook her head. Then, we looked in each other’s eyes and kissed. Everypony started to cheer, even my mother. Then, Rainbow Dash did a Sonic Rainboom to help signal the start of my new life. Just a little something I called in as a favor from her. I definitely owe her for that one. And now, who knows what’ll happen next? Well, whatever does happen, I’m sure that it’ll happen for a reason.

Twilight and I were walking in the Royal Gardens of Canterlot a few months after my ‘rebirth’. We had been talking for quite a while when I had finally come to a decision. I took Twilight to the Gardens as an ideal spot for ‘it’. As I led her through, she stopped when she spotted her friends, her parents, and even Luna and Mother in there with us. She looked at me with a confused look on her face to which I returned with a warm smile. I turned to Pinkie Pie and she pulled a little red

box from out of nowhere. She tossed it over to me and I caught it with my magic. I knelt down on my legs and floated the box to her. When I opened it, she was rendered speechless and her eyes filled with joyful tears. Inside the box was a diamond necklace.

“Twilight Sparkle, will you do me the honor of being my wife?”

She answered me with a passionate kiss on the lips. Everypony around us awed (except for Rainbow Dash) and stomped their hooves to congratulate us. And now came the hard part. Getting ready for another wedding.