My Little Pony: The Foreigner's Destiny

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.