Crossing Over the Arcane Hiatus

by RazgrizS57

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Random, Dark, Human, Comedy
Length: 76046

Christopher Roland was abused and kicked around on Earth, and the same might be said for Equestria.

During a traumatic and seemingly unexplainable series of events, Christopher Roland finds himself in the middle of… a cartoon show?
Will anyone in this strange yet familiar new world accept him for who he is, or will his life be as unfortunate in Equestria as it was on Earth?

[Cancelled]

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-04-19 23:45:47 UTC

Chapter 1: Lost in the Woods

Chapter 1: Prologue

No, that’s not it.

How does it do that? Does the rope fit through here?

Where’s the… there it is.

“Done!” I excitingly proclaimed. This was my first time creating a snare trap. I read the instructions carefully again to make sure everything was the way it looked in the picture. It seemed like it would work. All an animal had to do was walk through, get a limb or preferably its head through the noose, and then if it kept moving it would tighten. All I had to do now was play the waiting game, and in the meantime I might as well get a fire going while there was still light out. I walked back to camp and dug out my fire pit from before; last night it flooded with water and the ashes turned into a wet sludge that solidified while I slept.

“Probably should of done this in the morning…” I mumbled to myself.

This time I was going to set a tarp down around the edges, and then pack it in with dry sand. The nearby creek got wider since yesterday, and now resembled a small river. Tomorrow would probably be the day I start moving again.

I had just put everything for the fire together when it started to rain again, and it was good thing the pit was covered by the trees. My tent was sitting beside it, and luckily it was above ground because a small trickle of water was emptying from the stream and was frighteningly close. My fire should at least be okay this time though. I think it was put out last time because water seeped in from underground, but the ground above was still dry around the base so the tree was doing a good job at stopping the rain. I really don't want to waste a match, but the clouds are starting to block out the sun so there is really no other option. After making sure there was plenty of spare wood I checked my watch; it was 8pm. I was also getting pretty hungry so I took my umbrella and went back to check on my trap.

Good news: it caught something. The bad thing was that I couldn’t eat feathers. Some bird must have barely escaped getting caught, so no fresh meat tonight. I went back to camp to more bad news, there was a mountain lion snooping around the camp.

Cats are very territorial if I remember. What was the best thing to do if confronted by one? I think it was to curl up into a ball and pray it leaves you alone. Or was that with bears? Did it work both ways? Wait, it doesn't even notice me yet.

I spoke too soon. After pawing at my tent it noticed me and growled. The sun was setting, and soon my only way of warding off animals would be the fire; and mountain lions apparently aren't deterred by fire. So I stood there motionless locking eyes with the cat and then it started to walk in my direction.

So I reacted with what I thought was the most logical, although probably unorthodox, thing to do time.

I took my umbrella and kept closing and reopening it again. I thought of being as intimidating as possible and so probably against my better judgment I was whooping and hollering too. I think light was reflecting off the gloss coating on the umbrella from the fire, and the rain probably helped with that too. Combined, I was somehow able to spook the animal off and it fled. Hopefully it’d never return, but I lived with a cat before and the thing was stupid and kept acting like a damn lemming, so it always got hurt.

“I guess I’m not sleeping tonight then.” I muttered under my breath, taking refuge in the tent from what looks like a coming storm.

Too whom it may concern, August 15th, 2011. Day 12.

I was writing in my journal while snacking on a power bar.

Today I met my first mountain lion, and things went better than expected; it left me alone. I won’t be sleeping tonight out of fear it may return. It’s still storming and the creak looks like it’s turning into a river. Tomorrow I’m going to be packing up and moving; I got no luck catching food here for the third day in a row. I like the forest out here, finally some adventure in my life. According to this Oregon map I’m about ten miles out of McMinnville, and from there it should be another 40 to Tillamook. I thought this trip would just take about 90 miles and a few weeks, but my math seems way off, you can never truly account for everything. I’m making about 6-10 miles a day when I move, but I’ve been trying to reserve as much food and water as possible so I’ve been staying at my campsites longer then I intended. Soon I’ll be in McMinnville where I plan to stock up, hopefully steal a car and not fail like last time.

I don’t think I told everything before, so here’s my story from before this trek of mine. The first two pages got soaked in water today, so all my writing there is ruined. That’s why I’m not writing in pen anymore. My name is Christopher Roland, and I was about 6 happily living with my parents Albany. Things… happened and I found myself in foster care with my older sister who at the time was 16. She got adopted a month later and we were separated.

The foster home was a single story building, and at any given time there was anywhere from 8-15 kids living in there. I’m surprised social services found the place livable, let alone capable of being a foster home. It was constantly falling apart, and the dad there did little to fix it up. Both he and the mom did okay at raising the kids there, in the sense they provided food and shelter. That was it. They lazily carried the place to the point it was a dictatorship. All the older kids were taking care of the younger ones, and only a few kids to ever live there had jobs, myself being one of them. However nothing in that house is sacred; everything was being stolen by everyone, there were open fistfights over stupid things that were often settled only when one of them cried uncle, and whoever did get a job was forced by the foster parents to use their minimum wage income to buy food for everyone else. However, unlike everyone else, I was smart. I would cash every paycheck I got immediately and opened a bank account. I never used any credit cards in case they got stolen, and kept my valuables in a hole hidden beneath a large rock in the front yard.

If you care to know about myself, I am about 5'8". I have hazel eyes and I'm a brunette. My hair is thick and wavy, but I like to keep it short. I never went to school so henceforth I have acquired no real friends and I learned mostly everything I know from the internet. Of the things I know; I can play drums, I know my way around some electrical wires, and I above all I learned to be resourceful. I also taught myself to sew since most of my clothes kept getting torn, and being able to sew comes in handy more often than you might think. I tend to pay attention to detail which can get annoying at times, but it can really help out when needed. So does being light on your feet; like most of the kids I reverted to stealing, but went for more than just candy and quarters. When I was twelve I stole a laptop, a year later a radio and shortly followed by this watch. About half of the some $8204 I had when I began this trip was also stolen.

A few kids tried running away before, and I don’t know if any of them succeeded. As usual an alert would go out, and any kid seen alone at night was either never heard from again or was caught by the cops and brought back. This is the main reason I don’t stick to roads, and when I get to a town I hide all my stuff in the woods so I can return for it later. My duffel bag is what I carry my clothes around in along with my food, water, and some books. When I go into a town I use the tent’s bag to store what’s in my backpack so I can go shopping. This consists of my laptop, a pocket-dictionary, a car battery that has a modified electrical socket wired to it, so it could charge my things and be charged itself if needed. I also had some duct tape, rope, a calculator, sketchbook, this journal, some pens, and a pencil sharpener. I keep the more important things, mainly my wallet (in it was money, coupons, a bookmark, and a fake ID), switchblade and smartphone, in my pockets at all times. I’ve also got an iPod, map, lock pick, and some matches on me right now too.

A year ago I read a news story about a girl who had her husband murdered in Tillamook (where I’m heading now). Too my surprise, she was my sister! She must have left her adoptive parents’ home when she was 18 and left, and my best bet is she’s living in the Tillamook area. Even though I turned eighteen last month, unlike her I still couldn’t legally leave the foster home. For some reason my foster parents found a loophole to keep me in that house to take care of everyone, since being the eldest I “Knew exactly how to handle everything.” So I packed my things, bought some other stuff such as this tent, and ran away. So here I am now. Also, if anyone finds this, that must mean I likely died and my body must be nearby. Please tell my sister. Just track down the news article from a about a year ago.

I spent the night watching My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic on my laptop which I downloaded (illegally, since I don’t use credit cards) and thankfully that mountain lion hadn’t returned. Yes, I am a Brony, but more or less I’m a closet Brony. Not having any real friends had drawn me into the internet culture of memes and cat videos and the like, and I keep up with trending topics. I also check up on the news and occasionally random web articles.

This wasn’t my first sleepless night so far, and it likely won’t be the last. I lifted my arm to check my watch and it was 6am, and as I set it back down something snagged my right arm.

Ouch… oh no. Blood.

I looked down and realized I left my switchblade open and I must have cut myself on it accidently, right below in the center of my upper arm. The cut was maybe an inch long, and bleeding is something you do not want to do out in the wilderness, especially since I forgot to get any sort of medical supplies. I usually don’t get sick, maybe once a year, so my immune system is probably pretty strong, but I hadn’t got anything worse than a fever before and who knows what could be contracted from an infection. I decided to go out to the fire and recover any embers and burn the wound shut. Thankfully there was one left, and I was very lucky considering the circumstances.

The rain stopped, but the dark clouds still lingered blocking out the sun. I thought the fire should have still been burning as I got out of the tent, but that small trickle of water in the ditch I mentioned before was now two feet wide, and the fire pit walls collapsed outward and fell into it. I quickly found a stick that was still hot on one end and jabbed it into my arm. Letting it sit for a few seconds afterwards I went turn to the creak to wash it out… but I didn't need to. The creak turned into a river overnight and was now some 12 feet wide, coming directly up to where I stood. It was also not too far from reaching my tent either. After washing off I quickly packed up before anything went wrong and continued my journey.

Odd… I’ve seen this before. I was inspecting the burn wound about an hour later.

Heh, it looks like a hexagram. But I think this kind is called “unicursal.” I never really saw one before. The lines, no, a single line builds the pattern, instead of two triangles like on a Star of David. What are the chances it looks like that? Damn I hope this doesn’t scar…

Chapter 2: I Hate Lightning

Chapter 2: I Hate Lightning

Well that’s just peachy.

It was high noon and that thunderstorm was back, raging harder than ever and lightning was arching out in the distance. Figures I was taking a shortcut through the middle of a field. That is no place you want to be during a thunderstorm. You are much more likely to be struck by lightning out in the open. It was also pouring rain now, and that probably made things worse if lightning did strike close enough. I can’t wait to get to town and wash these clothes. Thank goodness I had my hoodie on or I’d be freezing right now. This thing is surprisingly warm...

In the center of the field there was a small hill, and at the top of that stood a large Oak tree. Being the closest sort of cover I could find, I dashed over to it and hunkered down. The tree must have been old, since it was quite thick, maybe three or four feet in diameter. It had an enormous canopy which thankfully kept the rain from falling on me; but not from flying into me. Sudden and random wind gusts shot the rain horizontally, so it kept hitting me in the face even though I was under cover.

“Guess I’m not going anywhere soon. Maybe I should set up the tent. Great, I'm talking to myself. I hope this doesn't keep up... Dammit.” My little self-commentary was the only thing to keep me going, actually. I kind of just wanted to huddle on the ground and sleep.

The tent had a rubber bottom, so that should provide some protection from lightning that decides to jump across the ground. I was setting it up when a lightning bolt struck near with a loud cracking sound that cut through the air. I did get a noticeable shock, and that only encouraged me to get the tent up faster. I threw all my bags in and quickly sat down. I guess I’m not going anywhere for the time being. Town will have to wait. I was also running low on food and water, so I could probably spend another night out. Checking the map, McMinnville must have been about four miles to the north.

A few hours passed, and the storm showed no signs of letting up. Thunder was constant and I kept seeing flashes of light through the mesh of the tent. It was now 7 o’clock and the wind was still going strong, rattling the tent. Only in between gusts did I first hear the static. It’s the same kind of noise you hear when you leave a TV on and gets all snowy. Over the next couple of minutes the noise was getting louder, to the point where I couldn’t hear it anymore. Actually, I couldn’t hear anything. It was 5:12 when the noise became so loud I couldn’t even hear the rain and then the light appeared.

After all the flashes of light I had been seeing through the tent, I knew something was up when one appeared but didn’t go away and it brightly illuminated everything. My hearing stopped at that point and all I wanted to do was retreat somewhere, but curiosity got the best of me. The light started pulsating, and I slowly opened the tent and peered out. About a hundred feet away in the field, there was a white orb dancing around in the rain.

Ball lightning?

I wouldn’t know since I’ve never seen it before. The orb was about the size of a basketball and it wasn’t all that bright either; maybe that of a basic light bulb. It also seemed to be orbiting in the same spot. It was flying only a couple feet off the ground and in an elliptical pattern but it seemed to be slowing down. I kept studying it, and I don’t know what ball lightning was even capable of but this thing was beyond what I imagined. As it slowed it started to discharge small streaks of electricity that arched around the ground. As the orb was gradually slowing the bolts became more erratic and stretch out further, but no longer than a couple yards.

Suddenly it stopped everything and hovered above a small spot on the ground. The thunderstorm was still raging, and albeit the wind calmed down the rain still hadn’t let up, and I still couldn’t hear over the static. That’s when the orb began getting bigger, and then right as I knew what was happening, it hit me.

Or, it almost did. If I hadn’t dived outside the tent onto the grass I probably would be dead right now. The orb shot off like a rocket right at me faster than anyone could imagine, missed me, went inside and out as it punched a hole through the back of the tent. Considering it was likely made of pure energy, I shouldn’t be surprised by its speed, but I really had not been expecting what it did. Right now I had no clue where it was; partly due to the fact I had my face buried into the muddy grass.

But it hadn’t gone far. I picked my head up to see it simply hovering about a foot in front of my face as I laid there like a complete idiot. I should have been running for my life! Oddly, it looked like a big ball of fuzz, didn't give off any sort of heat, and if anything the light had gotten dimmer. The orb wasn’t emitting any more lightning and it just sat there and hovered by me for a couple seconds before shooting straight up and through the tree canopy. It should have made a nice, clean hole in the leaves like it did to my tent. But it didn’t. It just floated up and threw the leaves and now I had no clue where it was, and I did not plan to find out. I was about to turn to retreat back into the tent when I heard the only thing loud enough to break the constant static; lightning.

*CRACK*

This wasn’t normal lightning however, and that much was clear. The bolt that had just struck landed near, maybe thirty feet in front of me. I know this wasn’t normal lightning on a count of two clear facts: the bolt was a vivid hot pink, and it hadn’t disappeared. It was dancing at a single place on the ground, haphazardly shaking as it traced all the way back into the storm clouds. I was dazed by the sight of this and soon came to the conclusion that I was scared shitless. I quickly got up when another bolt struck.

*CRACK*

This one was too maybe thirty feet away and another thirty feet from the first lightning bolt. It too was in one place, ran back to the sky, and danced like its friend, but this one was a vibrant orange. I turned and ran back to the tent intent on grabbing all my things and away.

*CRACK*

I had everything together now and I looked out through the hole in the tent. There was another bolt that struck maybe forty feet away and it mimicked the same actions as the others, but this one was a different color; a smooth turquoise. I threw on my backpack and slung the duffel bag over my shoulder and quickly thought about taking the tent.

No, I can’t drag it, and putting it away would take too much time. I’ll have to buy another.

*CRACK*

Another bolt, but this one a dark red. This pretty much left me with only one exit route. Well, technically there were others; I could run through either of the gaps between the lightning, but this one was considerably the largest. I made a break for it and when I was almost out of this trap another lightning bolt struck.

*CRACK*

The blast of it impacting was more than enough to send me recoiling back. This one landed right at my feet, and it was just like the others but its color was a bright violet. Why hadn’t I been electrocuted? Deciding not to find out I ran back up the hill to hide under the tree. That plan too was abruptly foiled when I noticed the white orb from before was floating right above it, and the lightning hadn’t been coming out of the clouds, but seemed to be coming out of the orb. Oh, and the tree was on fire. So I stood halfway between the burning tree and purple lightning, and went to make another run between two of the lightning bolts before any more appeared.

Good news: the static noise that clung the air had stopped. And so did the rain, thunder, and wind.

Bad news: so had gravity.

Worse news: I found this out after accidentally doing a front flip and smashing my head into the ground.

Looks like God forgot to pay the gravity bill. I was floating a few inches off the ground, and suddenly I realized my summersault hadn’t stopped. I quickly wrapped my hands around some wet grass and latched onto the ground before smacking my face into it again. Blood was trickling… no floating, towards the ground in little bubbles, presumably from what was likely a gash in my forehead. I looked around and saw that the lightning was still there, the tree was still burning (I do not understand the least bit how that still worked), and the orb still glowed above the tree, glistening brighter than ever. Also, I still heard rain and thunder. Somehow, the rain and wind wasn’t doing anything inside the pentagonal shape that formed from the lightning. There was a slight tugging on me and looking behind me, my duffel bag was starting to float up, so I quickly tugged it back in. Then I noticed I was also being pulled up. The wet grass I was holding had torn without my knowledge and I was frantically try to grab it. And I could grab it, but it kept tearing out whenever I made a lunge, so I had to keep switching between patches until there was nothing but mud left within reach. My iPod had also seemed to escape me and I tried to grab it, but it floated away. Then I started floating up too towards the white orb, or more accurately into the burning tree, following a cloud of grass.

And as quickly as it started it stopped. I must have been only feet from the inferno when gravity kicked back in and I fell face first into the ground. My duffel bag had slid in front of my chest and mainly broke my fall, and thank god it was filled with clothes. The bad thing was that my backpack had somehow come off, and landed on my right leg shattering it and sending a jolt of pain up my leg. I tried to carefully slide my backpack off and flipped over onto my back. The storm had stopped and I could see clear skies now. I checked my watch.

7:18pm. There is no way the sky should be blue. Was that a ceiling? No, I was still outdoors, hence the burning tree, so I hadn’t been knocked out.

Then it dawned on me that the lightning was gone, and so was the white orb; I was just looking at the sun, which is weird considering at this time the sun should be setting and not rising. I ran my fingers through the grass and it was still wet, and so was my… forehead. I shot up but quickly was repelled by the pain in my leg. I slowly sat back up and my forehead was defiantly bleeding, which is no good. I took off my sweatshirt which was soaked with water and stained with mud, but the inside was more or less untouched, other than my sweat. I took it off and tightly bound it around my head, stopping or at least absorbing the blood. The rest of my clothes were equally soaked and stained, and my leg was bent at an angle it probably shouldn’t have. The damn car battery probably did most of that. Well, I had my phone still. Could I call 911? Would I be able to tell them where I was?

Looking around, I noticed I wasn’t even in the same place as before. Well I was, but I wasn’t. The tree that was burning with my tent beneath consumed in similar flames, and this was the same hill, but the open field that surrounded it before had been replaced by a forest. Off in the distance I could see a small town through the woods that wasn't there before.

“Where in the hell am I?” I asked aloud to the deaf ears of no one. My vision is pretty good, so I was able to make out some features about the town: There was a farm, and behind it was what must have been the center of the town. I saw a distinctive building style similar to that of German Cottages. I wasn’t sure if they were made of stone or wood, but the roofs seemed to be composed of some sort grass, maybe hay? A river ran through the center of town, and I could vaguely make out tiny outlines of figures moving about. I was getting an eerie sense of deja-vu here when it hit me exactly what that place looked like.

Heh, Ponyville. Wait… what?

Now, it couldn’t be. That was from a cartoon show, My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic. There was no possible way I was in a cartoon show. But then again, I would of said there was no such thing as gravity abruptly turning off on Earth, but I had just experienced that too.

“My mind is full of fuck.” I told myself as I laid back down, shooting another bolt of pain through my leg.

Just as I was trying to figure out what to do, I heard some commotion.

Chapter 3: Strangers Are Not Always Welcome

Chapter 3: Strangers Are Not Always Welcome

“Quickly Rainbow Dash! Put that fire out!” was the first thing I heard.

“I’m already on it!” I looked up and was able to pick out a blue mass from the rest of the sky. Storm clouds quickly started to from above, blocking out the sun once more. If this is real, then someone must be trying to put the fire out.

No way I’m being drenched again. I quickly stood up but collapsed again for painfully obvious reasons. Damn it all!

I dragged my body across the ground and into the woods like I have never dragged myself before, probably because I had never needed to do so before. All the while I tried to keep my leg as straight as possible to minimize the pain, but it was still too great to make much progress. Nonetheless I shrugged it off and kept crawling. I made my way deep into the forest and through several bushes before calling it quits behind a tree.

Oh man do I need some water… wait a minute… Shit!

I left everything behind. No doubt that whoever found it would be digging through it all. My tent was still there too. My iPod was somewhere over there too. I still had some stuff on me though. I pulled myself over the tree and careful not to move my leg, sat up. I was defiantly in a forest, but which one? If this is really Equestria, I hope this wasn’t the Everfree forest. There had to me more than just that one.

“This has to be some sort of dream. Can you even feel pain in dreams?” My question went unanswered as I surveyed my surroundings. I was sitting up against a tree in a dense forest. It was dim, but light was seeping through the canopy from the sun. I had my back to the blaze, and I could also see some light from the fire creating shadows that jumped around from where I was. All around me were tall shrubs, trees, bushes, and some scattered flowers. From what I could tell the forest went much deeper and my view was inevitably cut off by the foliage a couple hundred yards out. I decided to go over what I had in my pockets at the time and see what I could do.

Emptying my pants pockets showed I still had my iPhone. I turned it on and had about 80% charge left, which wouldn’t last forever. I also had my wallet and opened it up. It was made out of duct tape so it was quite durable, but it wasn’t water resistant. My money was completely soaked in a mixture of water and blood, so that meant my leg was bleeding too. Great. Counting it, everything was still there. Was I even able to use it? If I’m in Equestria, then it’s probably worthless. I also still had my Fake ID, which I guess could still come in handy. I also had a now ruined bookmark and some useless coupons.

*CRACK*

“Rainbow! We’re tryin’ to put out ta' fire, not cause ah new one!”

My heart skipped a beat. Rainbow? If so… Was that Applejack talking? It sounded like her accent.

“Hehe, sorry. I’m just making sure there’s plenty of water in here,” said Rainbow Dash. “You can’t expect me to keep putting out your fires Twilight.”

Rainbow Dash…

“Just put it out before it spreads! We don’t need things to get any worse.”

Twilight? The sound of rain could be heard and what light was coming from the fire was quickly diminished. Everything got darker, but I could still hear voices coming behind me.

“Twilight, what was that? There was a bunch of light and then dark and then more light and then fire and I was all like, “AHHH!! FIRE!!” and now here we are."

Okay, that had to be Pinkie Pie. The sound of rain stopped right about now as the forest dimmed down even more.

“I’m sorry girls, I don’t know what happened. I was trying that weather spell the scholars had been working on and it must have gotten out of hooves.” Twilight's tone hinted she was ashamed.

“You mean THAT spell? Darling, last time the scholars tried that Rainbow here went missing for fifteen days!”

That had to be Rarity.

“I’m just glad nopony got hurt.”

…And there’s Fluttershy. So the gang’s all here…

"Uh oh. I'm still twitchy twitching!" Pinkie Pie said in a bit of shock.

“Hey everypony, what is this stuff?” Rainbow Dash asked. “It looks like someone was camping here. There’s, or was, a tent and everything.”

“I don’ know what this is. I haven’ seen anythan’ like it before.” Applejack was saying.

“Do eeth openth?” One of them probably had a bag in their mouth and was trying to open it.

“And just look at this tent! It is completely ruined, and whoever made it obviously had no sense of style!” Rarity huffed.

“I don’t know what any of this stuff either, but it probably belongs to whoever was camping here.” Twilight was talking them down.

“Maybe they started the fire!” Rainbow Dash interjected.

“They could have been responsible. I’m going to have to take this stuff to Princess Celestia. Maybe she knows what it is.”

I heard the sounds of their talking gradually dissipate, so they had to of left. Alright, now I know I can’t get any of my stuff back, and I really must be in the show, or some twisted alternate universe. Still, this could be just a dream. I shuffled through the rest of my stuff and found the book of matches. They were also wet but they should still be usable. I also had the map and a pencil, which was broken, and the lock pick. Were Equestrian locks even compatible with this? I moved slightly and my leg started aching in pain. I took of my leather belt and held it for a second as a thought crossed my mind.

Can I make a tourniquet? Is one even necessary? I know it’d cut off blood to my leg, but would that also cut off the nerves? Oh… Oh God, what if somebody sees me with this? Will they think I’m a murderer? Wait, where’s my knife?

Quickly fumbling through my pockets I realized it was in my hoodie that was strapped around my head. Carefully I took off the makeshift bandage and check the wound. It must have been a large gash because of the amount of blood that was on the jacket, but at least it stopped bleeding. I pulled the knife out of the jacket's pocket and tied it back around my scalp. I took the switchblade out and opened it, examining it. It wasn’t broken and it still opens, so that’s good. I’d probably have to start hunting…

Who am I kidding? I’m going to die out here. I can’t do anything with this broken leg; I need some sort of help. Should I have even run away from those ponies? What would they do if they found me, essentially an alien, in the middle of a forest next to a burning tree? I’d probably be taken to see Princess Celestia. Would I be let off scot-free?

I probably would have kept thinking if I wasn’t interrupted by something.

*snap*

My heart decided to call it quits after that. There was a slight hesitation in what to do. Was something approaching? Was that just a branch falling or what? At first there was silence, but then I could hear more sounds of something rummaging, and it sounded big. Then again, ponies were kind of big. What would I do if I was found out? I’d probably try to make friends, or maybe they would? The show is known for love and tolerance after all.

*snap* *crunch*

Something was definitely getting near and I didn’t know what to do so I sat beneath the tree helpless. No wait, I had a knife! If whatever it was tried to eat me, I could at least defend myself. Now I could hear the thing making noises and they were really soft. I kept hearing more twigs snap and bushes rustle, so whatever it was it was getting closer to me.

“Co… … … … fi… …t …it … ...ow.” What?

“Com… ..t ev….ne. T… fi… out. It’s … …ow.” Okay, so this thing was talking, so it was probably a pony. I still had no idea what it was saying though.

“Come out everyone. The fire’s out. It’s safe now,” I heard Fluttershy monotone.

Thank God it’s just Fluttershy. Of any pony to find me, it’s probably best for it to be her. She’s probably just looking for animals that ran away from the blaze. I hope she doesn’t freak out too much if she sees me though, considering I’m bloody, covered in mud and wet grass, torn clothes…

and then my heart sunk like a stone. I could literally feel the color drain from my face as I looked down to see the shiny yet bloodstained knife I still held in my lap.

Oh God… And right on cue Fluttershy appears.

Fluttershy's coat was a bright yellow, even in the dark shadows of the forest that was easily apparent. Her mane was well groomed and a vivd pink. She didn’t notice me at first; but dammit she was close. Her head stuck out of a bush no more than a foot to my right, and she was looking away from me then put a foreleg out and stepped on my wallet. It immediately caught her attention and then my presence was acknowledged, fixating her curious gaze on me; her face quickly became one that was filled with horror. I didn’t dare break eye contact with her as she quickly looked me up and down and at all the items I had out. I don’t know what scared her the most; the blood, the grime, the knife, or just myself. However she hadn’t budged, and then brought her eyes back up to me. A full minute passed and she seemed to loosen up a bit, but was obviously still scared and I did not want to do anything that would frighten her. I decided the best thing to do was show I wasn’t a threat, so I carefully lowered the knife beside me, all the while she locked onto it hadn’t blinked once until I brought my hand back up and set it back in my lap. She seemed to become more relaxed, and then I did what at the time was either the best option or worst option possible.

“Uhh… hi?” I cautiously asked. What happened next was more predictable as she suddenly shrieked and flew off. I sat there for a second smiling like a twit at how cute that was, but was quickly snapped out of it. Immediately I fumbled around and collected everything I had taken out shoving them in my pockets and put my belt back on. I tried to crawl deeper into the forest but collapsed. I didn’t even realize how tired I was.

Where was Fluttershy going? Was she going to get help? Maybe she just went to go hide. Sprawled out on the grass, I ‘m not making any progress. My leg was still broken, and that likely wouldn’t change any time soon. Could I hop around on my other foot? It’d probably work, but how do I get up?

I shuffled my way back over to the tree and hugged it, slowly pulling myself up. It could work. I quickly put all my weight on my good leg and stood up, balancing myself. I hopped over to another tree and grasped it, looking back down at my leg. Every time I hopped, my leg would ache in pain, but not as much as it has been. This is probably my best option. I was able to make maybe fifty yards of progress when I head some shouting behind me.

Applejack stuck her head up from behind a bush, making eye contact with the strange creature off in the distance.

“Is that it? An what is it?” she asked her nervous friend.

“I-I don’t know! J-Just, please don’t hurt it. It already seems injured...” The yellow pegasus replied.

“On it!” Applejack was now running and quickly caught up to the thing which now leaned itself against a tree. Applejack stood before the creature, and was astonished by its height. Whatever it was it was about as high as Princess Celestia!

“Be careful!” Fluttershy called out. “It has a knife!” Applejack looked back at her friend and then to the creature. It obviously was scared, but it was posing a danger to her and her friend. She noticed the creature seemed to be clutching its lower abdomen and there was a small glisten of metal around its waist. That was all the motivation she needed; Applejack turned around and kicked the thing to the ground, her hooves making direct contact with the creature’s center mass. It buckled, hunched over and collapsed to the ground in a whimper.

“Got it!”

The last thing I remember was the sensation of blood running down my face, and two blurry yet colorful figures standing over me.

Chapter 4: The Warden is In

Chapter 4: The Warden is In

Uhh where am I?

I tried to bring an arm up to my head, but that only resulted in pain. My head was aching, probably due to a massive migraine, and my broken leg wasn’t doing much better. I was face up, sprawled out on the floor; I was alive still, that much was apparent, and the sun was also out. The sun… it hadn’t been easily visible before in the forest.

Where was I? The last thing I remember was Applejack and then… nothing.

After several minutes of staring up, I realized I wasn’t even on grass, or dirt. I rubbed my fingers along the surface and it was hard and smooth, probably some sort of stone. After tapping my fingers it was discovered that the floor was solid, and was definitely some sort of stone.

Maybe it was concrete? Did ponies use concrete? Think dammit! Remember the show…

It felt like a day passed. Occasionally there were muffled sounds of commotion, but other than my own breathing and my heart thumping against my chest it was dead quiet. Except for the constant ringing in my ears. I gained some amount of strength and lifted my head up. There was a wall directly in front of me. Slowly looking about, I realized I was in a room. A stone room, at that. Everything was stone. I then looked back up and noticed it hadn’t been the sun I was looking at, but a light dangling from the ceiling. There were no windows, and there was a single door to my left that led into the room. It seemed to be made of iron, and it had a slight gap in the bottom. Occasionally there were shadows moving, and along with them soft footsteps and the sound of people… no, ponies, talking. My ears were ringing so I have no clue what was being said.

I was still studying my surroundings. The room was cubic, maybe fifteen feet in dimensions. I was in the center, and there was some sort of cloth thrown over me. Tired, I threw my head down and there was a pillow beneath me. Turning my head around I noticed the room was completely empty; there were no sort of furnishings in the room. The only other things that were out of place were two chain links that were imbedded into the side of the wall, assumingly where someone could be chained. My hands were probably too small to work on any hoof-sized shackle, so that’s maybe why I was on the floor. Or maybe it was my injury, and they didn’t want to make it worse.

How is my leg, anyway?

It took some strength, but I sat up and noticed my clothes had been completely removed and swapped out with some of the clean ones I had. So someone must have redressed me, and it seems I was given a bath not too long ago. That must mean they also figured out how to open the bags. I pulled my pant leg up to inspect my broken leg and discovered it was in a cast. I put my hands on my head wound expecting some sort of scab, but my head had been wrapped in a bandage. So had my chest, apparently. They must’ve found a wound I didn’t even know about, or maybe it’s new. Applejack did buck me after all.

At least I was treated before I was put in here. The room however resembled a jail cell, with gray-stone surfaces everywhere. I gave my leg a quick shake, and the pain was considerably less.

Maybe they gave me painkillers? You’d think I’d be in some sort of hospital bed… I wanted to see what time it was, but they took my watch. They took everything from my pockets. And my belt. And I was coughing.

Do they even know I’m awake?

My question was abruptly answered when a guard (guardpony?) opened the door and stuck his face in the room. The glistening gold of his helmet blinded me from the light it was reflecting. His coat was pure white, and he had holes for his wings in the decorative golden armor that ran across his body. He suddenly became wide-eyed and shut the door in a hurry. The sound of several locks being set could quickly followed. My hearing was starting to come back, so I just sat there and listened to a conversation that took place outside the cell.

“It’s awake.”

“Good, alert the Princesses. I’ll go get the researchers.”

“What is it, do you think?”

“I haven’t got the slightest clue, and I’m afraid to find out. Now get the Princesses.”

“Yes, sir.”

So I was about to meet the Princesses, huh? I guess that was understandable; I could see it now… ”A strange creature appears in your country and threatens two of its citizens with a weapon and tries to set a forest on fire.” I guess I was in some serious trouble, since of all places I could be in, it had to be a cell. Was it in the castle dungeon? Did this castle have a dungeon? Well, what castle doesn’t have a dungeon? Then there was foot… or more accurately hoofsteps, outside the cell. The door was unlocked and one of the guards stepped in rather cautiously. Behind him stood some pony in a lab coat that was holding a syringe in its mouth. The stallion was obviously a doctor, and had a light brown coat with a darker shade for a mane.

Note: I am deathly afraid of needles. I quickly shuffled my way across the floor into the farthest corner of the room and put my arms up in defense. I tried to speak out but for some reason I couldn’t talk, and then I realized my throat was aching. All that came out was a slight groan. The doctor, much braver than the guard I might add, approached as another royal guard stepped into the room, came up beside me, and pressed a hoof down against my chest. I felt no pain there, so I guess my ribs weren’t broken. That or I was hyped up on painkillers. The doctor steadily and carefully approached me, aiming for the good leg with the syringe. Even though it was obvious what was about to happen, I was still caught off when he drove the needle into my thigh, immediately tensing it up and my reflexes had pulled it back. This scared all the ponies in the room and they immediately backed off. The first guard got so scared by this he ran out of the room. Then everything became blurry again and I looked up to see the doctor taking the syringe out. The last thing I remember from being in that room was the doctor talking to the other guard as a few more ponies walked in.

When I came to for the second time, my vision was still blurry but I was in a different room. I was lying in a sort of beanbag chair and it was much nicer and softer than wet grass or cold stone. I was still coughing, and I noticed my leg bad had been propped up on something, probably a pillow. My good one however, was chained to the floor. As my vision gradually returned, the first thing to come into focus was a rectangular table sitting right in front of me, and the room itself. It was maybe 20 feet across by 40 deep. I was at one end, and at the other end stood two royal guards in front of a large door. I don’t know if they were the ones from before, but they could be since all these Pegasus guards looked that same. They both nervously tried to avoid looking at me. To my right there was a quill with ink, and lots of paper. I was tempted to grab for it, but when I tried to sit up both my legs shot pain up my spine, so I silently slumped back into my seat. To my left there was a large ivory chest, with no evidence of a lock mechanism. There was no visible combination lock or anything, and it didn’t seem to have any sort of handle to open it either, just some sort of symbol which slightly resembled a pentagram that was etched onto the top. The chest was significantly large, almost as big as the table. That’s when Princess Celestia entered the room, accompanied by Princess Luna and Twilight Sparkle.

“But Princess Celestia!” Twilight clamored, the lavender unicorn entered in between the two royals. Just like the cartoon, her mane was a darker shade of violet with lighter purple and pink highlights. “My friend Fluttershy says it spoke to her! We don’t know if it’s as smart as any regular pony, but if it’s smart enough to talk there’s no reason you should mistreat it.”

“Twilight, my faithful student,” Celestia began, “I don’t intend to mistreat it, but we don’t know what this thing is. For all we know it’s the reason our scholars have been having trouble. It also threatened two of your friends with a weapon, and it could have been trying to set Whitetail Woods on fire.” The alicorn was almost twice as tall as Twilight, and about a foot more than me, and her mane seemed to defy physics as it waved in a windless breeze. Her coat, like the guards, was pure white if not more so.

“Exactly Twilight,” Luna chimed in, “This creature could be dangerous. We need to be as careful as possible.” Heh, if they wanted to be careful they wouldn't come to interrogate me themselves. Luna was the mirror image if her sister, with her mane being a navy blue and her coat a much darker shade. Twilight sunk back behind the two royals. The three of them together approached the table and sat before me. There was a long pause before one of them spoke up, and it was Celestia.

“Who, and what, are you creature?”

I gulped and did my best to speak, but all that came out was a slight squeak.

“Who, and what, ARE you creature?” Celestia repeated herself.

I pointed to the quill and paper.

“Twilight, write this down.” Celestia instructed and Twilight quickly ran over and took the quill along with a sheet of paper and began writing.

“The creature appears to have a rather low intelligence,”

I snorted.

“But does seem to be sentient. It wears clothes that only fit its form, and they have supreme stitching quality. Its brown mane only grows on its head, and there is no evidence of a tail. By reports it also seems bipedal…”

“I’m sorry to interrupt, sister,” Luna suddenly spoke up. “But it was pointing to the paper. Maybe it wants to write something?”

Celestia seemed rather amused by the idea, and motioned for Twilight to give me the paper and quill. Using her magic it was set before me nicely, and on it Twilight had written everything the Princess said before word for word. Cautious to make sure they knew I wasn’t doing anything hostile, I hastily scribbled down a message on the paper, and outstretched my arm handing it to Celestia. All three of them were stunned by this feat, and Twilight levitated it out of my hands and read it aloud:

"Can I please have some water?" Twilight read aloud.

If physically possible, their jaws probably would have hit the floor. Probably five minutes went by before anything was said,

"…Amazing” mumbled Celestia under her breath. Luna, equally surprised, quickly brought herself together as I sat there gaily with the best poker face I could manage.

“G-Guards,” quietly spoke Luna, “G-Get us some water, will you? A lot, please.” A small smile appeared on my face.

“It knows Equine…” uttered Twilight.

”Equine?” That must be their name for “English.”

No longer than a few seconds passed when a guard appeared with a large pitcher of water and three glasses before running away and out of the room. Luna poured me a glass with her magic and set it down on the table. I carefully reached over and grabbed it, chugging down the entire thing. My throat was still aching and I motioned the glass towards the pitcher while looking back at Luna. She refilled my glass, and I drank too quickly and coughed, so I slowed down. This happened again two more times before Celestia nudged the entire pitcher towards me. I happily took the entire thing and drank a good third of it. The three were still staring in disbelief at me, and Twilight still had her mouth agape, and it was pretty funny really. I put the pitcher down and began to smile while clearing my throat. Celestia, and very anxiously, set her hoof on the paper and quill and slid it back across the table to me, never breaking eye contact.

“Go on,” encouraged Celestia. “Write something.” That’s when I started coughing again and finally cleared my throat.

“Umm…” I said at last, fighting back a cough. “I can speak.” I wanted to try to put forward a good impression so I did my best not to laugh. All three of them had their mouths agape again. They looked to each other, then back to me, and then back to each other again, and back to me again. Celestia was the first to say something. Again.

“Y-You can talk?”

“That’s what I said.” At this moment Twilight smugly looked at Celestia and then returned her attention to me.

Luna cleared her throat and began speaking now. “Who and what are you, and why are you here?”

“My name is Christopher Roland, I am male, a Human, and I don’t know why I’m here. But you can call me Chris.” The air was so tense you could practically cut it with a knife. They still had those speechless expressions on their faces and they all tried to regain their composure. Only Celestia was succeeding at that.

“What’s a Human?” Twilight asked herself out loud. Celestia and Luna both seemed just as confused, and Luna gave the paper back to Twilight, who snapped out of it and went back to writing.

“Write down everything,” Luna told her. “Everything that is said.”

Twilight eagerly ran back over to the side of the table with the stacks of paper and nodded. She rolled up the one I wrote in and set it aside and pulled out a fresh sheet. Before any of their questioning could begin, I asked my own.

“What are your names?” I already knew the answer to that, but it might be best to play dumb. “And where am I?”

“You are in Canterlot, the capital of Equestria.” Celestia spoke, “My name is Princess Celestia, this is my sister Princess Luna, and that is my student, Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight wrote that down, and the interrogation began.

“Why did you set the forest on fire?”

“I didn’t. And anyways it was only one tree that caught fire. I had nothing to do with it.”

“Why did you threaten those ponies?”

“I didn’t. Or at least, I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry if I did.”

“Why did you run?”

“I was hyped up on adrenaline and feared for my life. I was being chased after all."

“Where did you get that scar on your arm?”

“I had a cut and I burned it shut with the end of a stick days ago. That pattern was made from the stick.”

“Where did you come from?”

“A planet called ‘Earth.' I'm not sure if that's this world or not. It probably isn't."

“How did you get here?”

“Honestly, I don’t know.”

“What is this?” Luna produced my iPod.

“That’s lets you listen to music, but it’s portable. And where’d you get it?” Celestia was now completely content at this point and motioned to the ivory chest. Her horn began to shine and the pentagram that was etched into the top disappeared, opening it. Out came my backpack, empty duffel bag and its contents, the tent which was still completely burned to ashes, and what was taken from my pockets. I noticed my knife had been wrapped in some sort of ribbon.

“We’d get to this eventually,” Celestia began, “What is all this?”

I guess I’d start with what was already out. “This is a pen. It’s like a quill but has a built-in supply of ink that doesn’t need to be constantly replaced.” Twilight’s face lit up and Luna picked it up intrigued by it.

“This is a phone. If someone else has one, the two of you can talk to each other without being in the same room.” The three were taken back, and Twilight forgot to write for a second, but then scribbled it down before looking back up.

“This is my wallet, it’s what I carry my money in, but I don’t think it has much value here.” I set all of it on the table along with the coupons, and it was still stained in my blood. At least they were dry. I took out what was the bookmark and explained it, and Twilight seemed to look at it in fascination. I produced my fake ID.

“Err… this is my identification. It makes it so I can drive legally.”

“Drive what?” Luna asked, “A ship?”

“Yes…” Celestia raised an eyebrow as I awkwardly put everything back in the wallet. Then I noticed my watch among the items.

“This is a watch. It’s like a clock, but it’s smaller and portable. It wraps around your forearm like so.” I promptly put it on. I don’t think the ponies know what a watch it. Did they have watches? I reached for something else.

“This is a map of the state where I lived.” I opened it and placed it down. Celestia was looking all over it.

“Erm, this is called a lock pick. It helps me open simple lock mechanisms without a key, like what might be on a door. And this, eh… is a matchbook. Inside are these matchsticks, and with those I can create a small flame for a short period of time.” Celestia’s eyes widened and I knew what she was thinking. “…and I told you before. I did not start that fire.”

“And in that bag are the rest of my clothes, some food and water, and a couple books.”

Then it came to my backpack, which seemed like it hadn’t been opened yet. I could see they were eagar to know what was inside, so I took the small advantage I had over the situation.

“Before we start with that…” I looked up. “I have been very kind considering what’s happened to me. I had been injured and thrown in a cell, and this interrogation has more so turned into a presentation if anything. Before I continue I need to know exactly what will become of me.” The room was now silent except for Twilight’s writing which soon stopped. Celestia and Luna looked at each other.

“You will probably…” Luna began.

“Probably?”

“You will,” Celestia corrected her sister, but soon stopped herself. “It is too early to say, human. However I will say that you will not be detained against your will.”

“Alright…” I was more or less pleased. At least I wouldn’t be mistreated. I took out the laptop and presented it to the them

“This…” I began, “I’m not quite sure where to begin. It’s kind of like a multi-tool, In a sense. It works in the same way similar to my phone. But there are other things it can do like,“ I glanced over at Twilight, “Instead of writing on paper you can press the keys down and type with this. It will save all documents you type so they can be opened later.” Twilight had just finished writing what I said, reread what she wrote, and looked up in astonishment. The Princesses were equally surprised as I showed them the keyboard.

“It’s in Equine…” Luna mumbled. I set the laptop aside and took out the car battery.

“This is like a mobile power source. It can be charged up with electricity and then carried around for later use.” I was taking apart the wiring I had rigged it to when Celestia started to slowly lean in and try to touch it. “Don’t!” I stopped her, noticing her… shoes? She quickly retreated and I pointed to the two prongs sticking out of the top.

“Do not touch these two at the same time. Especially with metal. They should only touch what was made for them.” I motioned to the wires.

“One wrong move and you could easily be electrocuted. There is also a very strong acid on the inside, so if this breaks open that would be bad news.” Celestia was in shock now. Luna slightly giggled at her sister and leaned in to the presentation. I took out the duct tape and dictionary.

“Eee-nguh-leesh?” Twilight tried to read the cover.

“’English.’ I corrected her. “That’s the language I speak, and seeing as your language and mine are similar, this may be similar to yours as well. It’s a dictionary.” Twilight perked up while muttering something to herself.

“English…” Celestia repeated to herself.

“What about that?” Luna pointed a hoof at the duct tape. “It seems like a tape of sorts.”

“It is, and it’s called ‘duct tape’. It’s very strong and resists pulling, but can easily tear.” I tore off a bit and stuck it to the table.

“Duck-tape?” Twilight asked worryingly. “Like the animal?”

“No,” I reassured her, “It’s not made from ducks. It’s called ‘duct’. It sounds similar but it’s spelled with a ‘T’ at the end instead of ‘K’.” I set it aside and took out the remaining objects from my backpack.

“Here’s some rope, here’s an empty book, a pencil, pencil sharpener, and a calculator.” I laid them all out on the table.

“Now about this…” Luna set the destroyed tent on the table and dropped it on everything.

“That was my tent, and I do believe I have an umbrella in there somewhere.” The tent was picked up in a white glow and set back in the chest.

“There is nothing harmful here, so no weapons, and I pose no threat.” Only now after looking through everything I noticed my belt was missing from the bunch. I look at them and it seemed both Princesses went to speak but Twilight beat them to it.

“Why were you camping in the Whitetail Woods if you didn’t know how you got there?” she asked. Equally curious, the Princesses leaned in too.

“Well… I was hiking in the woods when there was a storm, so I set up my tent and took cover. That's the just of it.” I told her. Luna tilted her head in skepticism and Celestia went to speak, lifting up the knife.

“If you have no weapons, then what is this?” She set it down in front of me. I forgot about that. My switchblade was wrapped in some sort of intricate bow.

“Well, yes, I guess. It is a knife, and I use it for self-defense.”

“But you have killed with it. It is covered in blood.” Celestia said with determination.

“Yes…” I reluctantly said, “but some of it is actually mine. I don’t know how long ago it was when I was first found by you… ponies, but I cut myself the day before that by accident. That’s why I had to burn the wound shut so it wouldn’t get infected.” I lifted my sleeve up to show them the burn again. “And also, Humans are omnivores, meaning we eat both meat and plants. So yes… I have killed and cooked some fish and a raccoon or two using that.” I sheepishly sunk into my seat. Knowing this was a kids’ show, murder is probably worth whatever the maximum sentence was. Is there a pony-court? Oh man, this whole scene would make for one hell of an episode. I looked at Celestia and then back to Luna.

“But any knife can be used to kill.” I added. “I carry it around mostly for self-defense.”

Twilight seemed exhausted from writing; she had written through some twenty pages at least. The Princesses huddled together and then Celestia spoke,

“We will discuss the rest of this later, as it’s nearing nighttime. We’ll need to lower the sun and raise the moon.” looking back to me, “and about where you’ll be staying...” Celestia was now hesitantly shifitng her attention to Twilight.

“My faithful student,” Celestia seemed almost ashamed by what she was saying. “Why don’t you take …Chris… to your old home here in Canterlot for the night? I’m sure he won’t pose any threat to you in his current condition, and there will be guards stationed at your door. Perhaps you can teach him about our culture and learn of his?”

“Of course Princess!” Twilight was suddenly alert. “Come! I can’t wait to learn about this stuff some more!”

“About that…” Celestia began. She placed mostly everything back into the chest and the seal reappeared on the door. The only things she left me were my backpack, all the books, a pen, my map, wallet, and clothes. Now she turned to me.

“And Chris, We will discuss… the situation in the morning.”

Chapter 5: Compromise is Mandatory

Chapter 5: Compromise is Mandatory

The palace was huge. Down every hallway there were integrate and decorative murals and all the widows were made of stained glass. The windows themselves were maybe fifty feet high. The walls were marble and chandeliers hung from the ceilings. Potted plants littered the ground and long rugs ran down the length of each hallway, each one a different color. I was given a makeshift crutch by Luna to walk with; it was a long metal rod with a hook on the end that I could put under my arm, and my guess is that it was torn from a hat stand. Twilight was alongside me and by my estimate she was maybe four feet tall, and she seemed to notice I was looking around. We were being escorted by some guards down a maze of corridors until we came to one that had numerous doors on either side. We kept walking down to the end of the hall where a small fountain was trickling water. Next to it was a door and the guards stopped and took their places on either side. Twilight opened the door and led me in.

“Home sweet home.”  Twilight sighed. The room was exactly how I remembered it from the show; a large window that was the size of an entire wall overlooked Canterlot, blue walls, bookshelves everywhere, and a telescope pointing outward was sitting on a small balcony near the window.

“Sorry about the mess.” Twilight picked all books that were on the ground with her magic and hastily set them in a pile off to the side. I looked up to notice a large circular skylight, and then I could see the second story. There was a single staircase leading up to it where I assumed was a bedroom and more bookshelves. Twilight walked upstairs and patiently waited as I wobbled up them. On the second floor there was indeed a bed, actually there was two of them, but one was labeled “Spike”, and a desk was nearby. There were more bookshelves and another staircase that led to a third story balcony that had even more bookcases.

“I’m sorry…” she began again and sent a beanbag chair toward me. “You can sit there. I need to write a letter to Ponyville and tell my friends I’ll be gone for the night.” I looked outside the massive window and the sun was just starting to set. Twilight seemed to have finished her letter and then ran out of the room only to reemerge a few seconds later. I still stood there looking at all the towering bookcases, and slowly tried to sit down, but the crutch slipped out from under me and I fell backwards into the chair.

“Are you alright?” Twilight seemed worried.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve never used a crutch before.” I sat up and took my backpack off. Twilight opened it and took out all its contents, spreading them out on the floor. She sat down beside me, and then a couple books floated off the shelves and landed near her.

“I was hoping we could talk about our worlds!” She seemed really eager right now. Oh boy… “Maybe you could read some Equestria history books and I could read some of yours?” There was no use in fighting her. She sent me a book labeled ]he Sun and the Moon. I handed her the dictionary and the map I had.

“I don’t have any history books.” I told her, “but I do know a lot. I could tell you what I know. Also, that map is of the state I lived in, which is part of the country,” she opened it up and flipped it over, “The United States.” On the back there was a large map of the US, and in the corner there was a smaller map of the world. “And this is a small map of my planet.” Twilight was ecstatic and took out another book off the shelf. It was black, thick, and seemed like it had never been used. She opened it and the book was blank. Then she looked off towards a desk, stopped, and nervously looked back to me.

“Erm, can I try using that?” pointing to the pen.

“Sure. You can keep it if you want.” I took off the cap and handed it to her, but she ripped it out of my hands in an instant with her magic. After taking a minute to study the pen, she started writing in the book while looking back and forth between the map, the pen, and her work.

“Uhh, if you’re just going to copy the map, you can just keep that too. I have no use for it here anyway.” She perked up and grinned from ear to ear, quickly closed the book and then went to studying the map. Figuring there was nothing better to do, I began reading the book she handed me. It was the same book from the introduction in the first episode of the show.

Should I even tell them about the show? How would they react knowing they weren’t real? Or were they? I was here with Twilight in front of me, and she was real. So was the room, the floor, my broken leg, the pain, the book I held... I looked back to Twilight who was still overlooking the map. She kept saying city names and occasionally asking me if she pronounced them correctly.

“Oree-gun?”

“Oregon. That’s the name of the state.”

“Tut-wall-a-ten?”

“Tualatin.”

“Tualatin… Ee-you-gene?”

“Yup. Eugene.”

“Sherwood?”

“Correct.”

This went on for maybe an hour, and the sun was now set. I checked my watch and it was about 9am. Remember, ‘am’ is afternoon, ‘pm’ is the morning. I closed the book, realizing I was still on the first page. I noticed the other books Twilight had and looked them over. Lands of Equestria, probably geography, and a newspaper, Equestria Daily, which is likely sent nationwide.

“Quick question: How long has it been since I was found?” I asked her.

“Oh, just this morning, actually.” She replied. I looked back to the paper and it was dated August 16th, the same day as the storm. Looking back to the other book, I vaguely remember any geography of Equestria, but I do believe I know the general area where I assume I’d be spending a lot of my time. How do I get back to Earth? Is it even possible? Twilight spoke up.

“Chris you’re probably not really dangerous…” she said. “If either Princess thought you were there would be no way they’d let you near anypony. This whole thing is probably just a big misunderstanding and I’m sure it’ll blow over soon and we can find a way to get you back home.”

“T-Thank you for trusting me.” I smiled at her and she smiled back. Wait… do I even want to go back? I had nothing on Earth, and here I have at least one friend and a place to stay…

“Wow Chris,” she was now scanning through the dictionary.

“Yes?”

“Humans sure seem like a friendly species!” She turned the dictionary in my direction and it read;

Human -adjective; Sympathetic, Humane.

“Twilight…” I felt the need to tell her how people actually acted. “That’s not entirely accurate.” She seemed perplexed by this new information, and looked back to the dictionary rereading the definition.

“While it’s true, Humans are generally nice around their family and friends, there’s a bigger and darker side to things. We are a very smart and advanced species, but this has driven some to lust for power. So there is constant corruption, thievery, murder, and war seems to happen nonstop. On Earth, there is constant famine in some countries while others simply throw food away. Humans reap resources without hesitation regardless of the consequences. There is overpopulation, ecosystems are ruined and the air itself are polluted, forests get destroyed, and entire animal species have gone extinct because of us.” Twilight was obviously horrified, but tried her best to hide the look. “Don’t get me wrong though, Earth is a beautiful place, as long as it’s untouched. I could show you some pictures on my laptop, but Princess Celestia has that right now. People just have a habit of destroying everything. There are others who try to fight against this, but corruption is so deep they have little to no impact on anything.”

An awkward silence filled the room after my brief explanation of Human civilization. Twilight was obviously shocked, but then solemnly chimed in. “We have that here, too.” She was forlorn with her head to the ground, and then looked back up to me.

“I just thought…” she closed the dictionary and kept talking, “Equestria prides itself on not being like that. We have always opposed conflict and pushed for compromise, so Equestria hasn’t been at war for more than a thousand years. However the rest of the world doesn’t fare much better, and albeit things are not as …extreme… as your world, such problems still persist.”

Another awkward silence, but this one was quickly halted by a knock at the door. “I’ll get it.” Twilight slowly got up and made her way to the door, only to return a minute later with a platter of food.

“A guard dropped this off.” She set the plate down, and only then did I realize how hungry I was. It was covered with assorted fruits and vegetables, as well as grass and flowers.

“Seeing as you’re an omnivore,” Twilight kept on, “It shouldn’t hurt you to switch to a vegetarian diet.”

“Of course!” I quickly snapped out of a trance and smiled. “I wouldn’t want to get in trouble again while I’m here.” She too popped out of the gloom we bestowed upon ourselves and smiled back. I started to eat some of the apples, and noticed Twilight had reopened the black book and was writing down everything I ate.

“You don’t suppose I could get some sleep soon?” I asked. “Princess Celestia said I should, and I’m starting to get tired.”

“Sure thing, come over here.” She replied. I struggled to get up with the crutch, but it slipped out from under me and I fell forward.

“I got ya.” I landed on Twilight’s back as she stopped my fall. “Need any help?”

“Yes, thank you.” She helped me get my balance and I followed her to the beds, limping the whole way.

“Here, you can sleep in Spike’s bed tonight. He’s my assistant, and since he’s not here I don’t think he’ll mind. It may be kind of small though.”

“It’s alright. I’ll survive.” I made my way over and fell into the bed. “So soft…”

Twilight left to go clean up the mess in the center of the room.

“Oh Chris, what about these?” Twilight eagerly lifted the two novels off the floor and walked towards the beds. “What are they about… oh, I see.” She giggled as the Human lay passed out in the bed. “You must be real tired from today. Get some sleep.” Twilight walked over to the dictionary, and started shuffling through it again.

It’s so strange that English and Equine are the same language. I wonder if there’s anything about Equestria in here… she skipped through to near the end of the book. Here we go…

Unicorn –noun; mythical creature resembling a horse with a single horn in the center of its forehead. Unicorns are often associated with cleanliness and purity.

So to Humans, Unicorns are just a myth? Twilight looked at the mess on the floor. Well they got that part wrong. Twilight smiled as she went up to a bookcase and found a dusty, dark green book. It was obviously aged and some of the pages were fading and torn, and the cover read Ancient Myths and Legends.

“Chris, get up please.”

“Hrmph. Just five more minutes…”

“You said that five minutes ago! And five minutes before that.”

“Ugh. Sorry…” I sat up. “I’m not a morning person.”

“…Obviously.” Twilight retorted. “Now get ready, we have to meet the Princesses in twenty minutes!” She looked at me with a very serious expression and ran off. I got up and shifted about, grabbing my crutch and followed where she went, right into the kitchen. It was a small kitchen, and not surprisingly it to had bookcases in it. In the center there was a small circular table with food on it, with four chairs surrounding it. Twilight was busy searching through all the cupboards above the sink. There was also a small stove and refrigerator.

“The guards came by earlier, and after I told them what you… what you’d be eating, they brought you breakfast. Partially because I don’t have any food here anymore.” On the kitchen table there was a large bowl of apples, some carrots, and amusingly a large pitcher of water. Twilight motioned to me and I sat down and begun to dig in.

“Come on, you can’t go see Princess Celestia and Princess Luna with your mane like that.” Twilight was looking at me wearingly.

“My, what?”

“I meant your hair. Now sit still.” Out of nowhere I was attacked by something, got caught off guard, stumbled, and fell out of my chair. Twilight burst out laughing while I tried to get back up.

“At least tell me what you’re going to do! That scared the hell out of me.”

“Alright, here,” it was a hairbrush, floating, and she set it on the table, “You can do it yourself.” She was trying her best to contain herself at what just happened.

“Thank you.” I took the brush and began to straighten out my hair when there was a knock on the door that led back out into the palace.

“Oh, it’s time to go! You can leave your stuff here, I’ll be sure it gets back to you later.” Twilight very quickly threw on one of those satchel-things over her back, and put a few books in it. Then we were out the door.

You’d think that being injured and relatively scared would at least calm them down somewhat. The four guards that were escorting us were very nervous around me, but Twilight seemed calm like I was just anyone else. We zigzagged ourselves back through the maze that was this enormous palace until we came to what must have been the front entrance. There was a large staircase to my left that went up the back wall and then separated into two smaller staircases that each let to different hallways. At the landing where the stairs separated there was a large stained-glass window with images I couldn’t quite explain. The one hallway we came out of was on the ground floor, and it opened up perpendicular to the beginning of the stairs. All walls of the entryway were white marble, similar to the rest of the castle. Princesses Celestia and Luna were standing in front of the large golden double-doors that lead outside. There was also a pony talking to them; an older brown stallion wearing red robes with gold stitching, and a darker shaded hood ran over his head.

“This could be the source of our problems.” The stallion was talking to Princesses. “We need to keep it contained.”

“We don’t know that for certain, and until there is any definitive proof we have no right to revoke the natural rights of any being.” Celestia replied.

Were they talking about me?

“Even if he is not a native to this world, this is still Equestria.”

Yup. The two probably would have kept talking but Luna diverted their attention towards us as our party approached. The stallion who Celestia was arguing with turned to me and went wide-eyed.

“So that… is it really…” he was mumbling under his breath.

“Chris…” Celestia began, looking to the stallion and then back to me. “After much debate, it has been decided not to detain you against your will.”

“Thank you, your highness.” Was that even the correct term to use?

“It does…” the robed stallion kept mumbling and kept looking up at me. “…It’s like... just like the…” The stallion murmured something else before running off.

“Even though you are not native to these lands or even this world as it would seem,” the Princess continued, “You will have the full right of an Equestrian from this point on, but that does not mean you can do whatever you please. You will also be put under constant surveillance as our scholars and researchers learn more about your kind and the events that took place yesterday.”

Scholars? Oh right, I overheard them being mentioned in the forest yesterday. Was that robbed pony a scholar?

Celestia now turned her attention to Twilight. “My faithful student, I trust you to report to me at least once a week on Chris’s behavior; what he does, how he acts, and how others see him. Seeing as the two of you seem to get a long, it will probably be the least stressful if you keep an eye on him. Why don’t you spend the day showing him around?”

“Alright, Princess.” Twilight looked like she had been when I first gave her the dictionary. “Also,” she opened her satchel and gave the black book to Celestia. “In here is everything I’ve learned so far since yesterday. And the stuff you gave him before is still in my room. We left it behind because we didn’t want to be late.”

Celestia seemed pleased and took the book from Twilight. She used her magic and the book disappeared in a small flash of light. Then I noticed Luna had produced my duffel bag and gave it to me.

“In there is everything of yours we hadn’t given you before.” Luna said, “And don’t worry, we’ll send the rest of your belongings to the library in Ponyville.” Before I could thank her Celestia spoke up again.

“And Chris, anypony you meet might not take kindly to you at first. However they should lighten up if they get to know you.” She winked.

“Thank you, Princesses.” I looked at the two royals. “I don’t think I have much of an option.”

“Yeah Chris,” Twilight was now talking to me. “Everypony in Ponyville is real nice, and I can’t wait for you to meet my friends!”

Great…

Now we were outside the large double doors. I took a deep breath of fresh air.

“So where are we going?” I asked Twilight.

“Well, mostly everypony here in Canterlot is kind of stuck up…” Twilight said with a slight frown. “So we should go to Ponyville first. Everyone there is really nice and understanding, and I can’t wait for you to meet my friends!”

I looked down the path through the front garden that led downhill when I heard a small noise.

“Hey, Twi’ out yet? She should‘a been out by now.”

Was that…

“Miss Sparkle?” Replied the familiar monotone of a guard. “Yes, she should have just been let out. Seeing as the two of you are close friends, you can go up and wait for her by the front gate, if you want.”

Yup. Here comes Applejack...

Chapter 6: Meet the Herd

Chapter 6: Meet the Herd

“Hey Twilight! There ya are.” The orange mare was trotting up the path, her dusty and worn hat blocking the sun and cast a shadow on the rest of her face. Her yellow mane was tied at the end but still got in her way with the slight wind. She nudged it aside and then locked eyes with me, with a confused expression on her face. However confusion turned into surprise followed by what looked like anger.

“Twi'! look out!” Applejack suddenly went into a full blown sprint. I knew what was coming and tried to at least move, but my body wouldn't respond. It’s not like I’d be able to run that far anyway.

“Applejack?” Twilight said in confusion, and then quickly realized what was going on. “Stop! What do you think you’re doing? He’s friendly!”

“What am ah doin’?” Applejack stopped in her tracks as Twilight jumped between us. “What’re ya doin’ callin’ this thing friendly fo’?”

“Because he's friendly, AJ. His name is Chris, and he’s not going to hurt anypony. He’s not even from around here.” I gave a sigh of relief and looked to Applejack.

“Uhh… hi? I’m sorry about before. I think we got off on the wrong start. My name is Chris.” I smiled and she looked around, to me, to Twilight, and then back to me,

“Did it just talk?” She was dumbstruck.

“Yes I did. It’s… nice to meet you Applejack.”

“Uh huh… Twilight, can I talk to ya fo’ a minute?” The two mares huddled up a few yards away, leaving me clumsily handling the duffel bag.

“Twilight… tha’ thing kills animals. And ah found some skin on it when ah knocked it out and buried it in the woods.”

So that’s where my belt went. I shot her a look. They didn’t seem to know I could hear them.

“Applejack, I know. But he’s not going to be doing that here. Trust me.” Twilight whispered back.

“Hey!” I shouted at them getting their attention. “I can hear you two."

Twilight was speaking louder now, “Applejack, that’s just how his culture is. He’s not from here, and he promised not to do anything like that while he’s here.” Twilight craned her neck back to her friend while coming towards me.

“Here, let me carry that.” Using her magic she picked my duffel bag out from under my arm, almost tipping me over. “He’s hurt Applejack, and Princess Celestia said I should introduce him to everypony.”

“Well, if Princess Celestia says so…” Applejack seemed embarrassed and kicked the dirt. “Ah’m sorry about before. No hard feelin’s?”

“No hard feelings.” I replied with a smile on my face, and that seemed to brighten her mood.

“Hey now wait a minute. Twi', if you’re goin’ to Ponyville we’re gonna be movin’ alwful slow.” Applejack was motioning in my direction pointing out my injuries. “Ya think we could get a ride back ta Ponyville?”

“That’s not a bad idea! Let me go back inside and see if I can catch up with the Princesses. They could probably get us a ride!” Twilight smiled and turned to run back inside when the doors suddenly opened. Princess Luna appeared carrying my backpack. Applejack and Twilight immediately bowed, and I tried to do the same but couldn’t without falling.

“Oh, you’re still here?” Luna curiously asked. “I was just about to go deliver your satchel to the Ponyville library.”

“Ahem, Princess Luna,” Twilight started, “If we were to walk to Ponyville, we may not make it back in time by nightfall, due to Chris’s condition. We were wondering if you wouldn’t mind perhaps getting us a ride back into town?”

“Oh of course friends.” Luna dropped my backpack down on the front porch. “I’ll go make sure an escort comes over and picks you up.” She smiled and turned around back into the palace.

“Well that’s mighty convenient.” Applejack said with a sigh of relief. “Also, ah’ve never been in the Royal Chariot before!”

The chauffer probably wouldn’t be getting here anytime soon, so I walked over to the grass and sat down. The cobblestone porch became a path that twisted its way down the main gate. The front lawn was enormous and was recently cut, and the various plants that lined the walls were also trimmed. The sun was directly out overhead and my watch said it was 11pm. My sitting for some reason picked up Twilight’s interest, and she set my duffel bag down, took another book out of her satchel and wrote something in it. Applejack looked at what she was writing, shook her head, and then wandered over towards me.

“So, err,” She nervously began, “What are ya?”

“I’m a human.” I told her, but it didn’t look like she was at ease.

“About what happen’d in the woods…” Applejack continued.

“Oh no, it’s alright.” I said trying to reassure her. “I don’t blame you for what you did. It must have been scary when you first saw me, all bloodied and whatnot.”

“Heh, ya,” Applejack tried to hold back a smile. “Ya must’ve been as scared as ah was. Again, sorry about buckin’ ya. I must’ve got ya right in the gut.” The mention of that suddenly shot some pain across my chest. I completely forgot about the bandage that ran around my abdomen. I lifted my hands and touched the one on my head to make sure it was still there, and then looked back at down at my leg. The pain subsided for the most part, but returned whenever I put pressure down on it. I smiled and looked back up her and to Twilight, who was still writing.

“I was pretty banged up anyway.” I told Applejack with a slight smile, and she smiled back. “Whatever you did couldn’t have been any worse than what happened to me before,” motioning to my leg. Twilight seemed to have been eavesdropping and looked up at us from the book.

“Hey, how’d you break your leg anyway?” She asked.

Right… I hadn’t told anyone about what exactly happened…  I cleared my throat and explained,

“I was camping when I noticed the tree above me caught fire. I kept all my food in the tree so bears wouldn’t get it overnight.” Okay, I was lying. It may not be the best thing to tell the truth right now.

“I tried to climb the tree to get this bag down when I fell and broke my leg. I also hit my head against a rock, I think. I can’t really remember anything else before that.” Applejack shamefully blushed and kicked the ground again. Twilight had accepted this answer and wrote it down before closing the book.

Then our chauffer appeared, and it was the golden royal chariot drawn by two royal guards. The pegasi landed down in the front lawn and calmly stared into space, a blank expression across their faces. Applejack helped me stand back up Twilight lifted all my things into the chariot. The three of us boarded and then we were off through the sky.

Add flying to my list of fears. I’d never flown before and being several hundred feet above the ground with more than half the cabin open wasn’t reassuring. I huddled near the front holding onto what I could for my life.

“I take it you’re not fond of flying.” Twilight said with a slight grin. “Don’t worry. We’ll be at Ponyville in about twenty minutes. Just try to relax.”

“Hey Applejack!”

The three of us looked around in confusion at who just spoke. I peered over the side and saw that some pony was flying alongside us. Her coat was a light cyan almost exactly that as the sky, and her mane was vibrant with different colors; Rainbow Dash. Against my judgment I looked down and then threw myself back down onto the floor.

“Howdy Rainbow!” Applejack confidently leaned over the side of the chariot. “What’re ya doin’ up here?”

“Well, I can fly…” The pegasus began, “And I was about to ask you the same thing. You were going to help me with my new trick today!”

“Oh, right. Well, ah tell you what. We’re on our way to Ponyville and ah’ll help ya out when we land, how’s that?”

“Actually, this is kind of convenient.” Rainbow Dash flew over us and landed in the center of the chariot, almost knocking Twilight over the edge.

“Oh hey Twilight! I wasn’t expecting you in here. Actually, I didn’t expect any of you in here. And uh, what’s this?” Rainbow Dash was puzzled by my presence.

“My name’s Chris.”

“Chris, huh? Well okay then, my name is Rainbow Dash, and you look really beat up. We can chat later though; I’m kind of in a hurry.” After looking over the edge, Rainbow Dash now diverted her attention over to Applejack. “Are you ready?”

“Uhh, fo’ what exactly?” Applejack intrigued. Her answer was Rainbow Dash shoving her over the edge of the chariot and flying after her. While I was sitting in the corner in shock, Twilight looked over the edge after her friends.

“Oh they’ll be fine.” Twilight reassured me. “They’re above a river so Applejack will be alright, but you shouldn’t worry about that; Rainbow Dash is one of the fastest pegasi in Equestria. Oh, and I forgot to ask before and seeing as Rainbow Dash briefly been brought it back up, how long does it take a broken Human leg to heal?” She pulled out the black book again and reopened it.

“Usually no more than twelve weeks. Sooner if you’re lucky.” I remembered that one article I read online. My head was full of stupid information I thought I’d never use. Twilight quickly wrote that down and returned the book. “But that depends on how badly it’s broken. It could take several months if it’s completely shattered,” I added.

“Oh, yours is only fractured in two places.” Twilight confidently said.

“…And you know that how?”

“Oh, nopony told you?” Twilight was upset and sat down. “Well, hopefully you won’t be here that long. I’m sure the scientists and scholars back in Canterlot are trying to figure out how you got here and get you back home.”

We arrived in Ponyville after about fifteen minutes of flying and touched down in front of the Library. The streets were surprisingly calm while we disembarked, except for a mint green unicorn with a sky blue mane who sat at a table a few yards away. She was trying to eat a sandwich but hadn’t yet closed her mouth while Twilight helped me step inside the library, which was just as I remembered it from the show. It was a tall hollowed out tree with the second story partially hidden in the canopy. When we got inside, there was a small desk near the front door and then a hallway which led to an open room where most of the books were kept. On the second story is where the bedroom was, with even more bookcases. We walked into the center room where Spike was dangling on a ladder trying to put a couple books back.

“Spike!” Twilight called out, “I got someone here I want you to meet!” Turning to me, she whispered, “He’s a dragon. A baby dragon.”

Spike tried to turn around but fell, taking a few books with him. The stubby, small reptile was covered with shiny violet scales except for some larger green ones protruding out of the spine and down the length of his tail.

“Yeah? Who is…” Spike sat up and stared at me in silence before snapping back into reality. “Wow, and what is it?”

“Err… Long story.” Twilight answered for me. “Spike, meet Chris. Chris, Spike.”

“Nice to meet you.” I waved at him.

“Nice to meet you too.” He clumsily picking up the books that now riddled the floor.

“Oh, and here.” Twilight was carrying my bags along with her satchel, and using her magic she dropped them on Spike who fell over again. “I need to get a letter to Princess Celestia; can you take these upstairs for me? Chris will be staying for a while so he’ll be sleeping in the spare bed.”

“Uhh… sure…” He pulled himself out of the pile and picked the bags up. “Ugh. What do you have in here anyway? Bricks?” He scoffed before walking away.

“And Chris, there lots of books in here. You’re more than welcome to read anything you want.” Twilight said while writing in one of those scrolls she sends to Princess Celestia. “Let me finish writing this and then we’ll go over to the Carousel Boutique. My friend Rarity lives there and she should be able to fix up some of your clothes, but she’s really busy right now so I don’t want to burden her with extra work. I’m sure she won’t mind though if we stop by and say hi.”

The walk through town to meet Rarity was… unique, to say the least. Most ponies were more intrigued if anything by me, but I'm not sure if it's because they likely haven't seen a human before, or if it was my condition. For the most part the townsfolk kept their distance but were still close enough that I could reach out and touch one if I wanted to, but there were a few who darted off into the nearest building in fear. We were stopped by the occasional passersby for small talk, but Twilight plowed a path through whatever major crowds appeared. Having her alongside me probably reassured some of them slightly.

We only walked for a few minutes and I was already getting weak. “Hey Twilight, it’s about noon. Could we stop somewhere for a bite to eat?”

“Sure! Sugarcube Corner is close by, we can stop there. My treat!”

*GRRROWWGRBBL*

My stomach let out a happy roar and Twilight giggled. Sugarcube Corner was just ahead, and was just as vivid and colorful as the show. It resembled a large gingerbread house like something out of a fairytale. As we walked in a bell on the door rang as it opened, and the inside looked just as colorful as the outside; the storefront was littered with several candy colored display cases and a few tables. Mr. Cake appeared out from the kitchen and walked out into the front room.

“Oh hi Twilight and… friend?” Mr. Cake froze and gasped, but relaxed after Twilight gave him a slight nod.

“Hello there.” I said, soon followed by my stomach.

*GRBL*

“Ah, well, I was just about to head on out and get baking supplies. Those pastries won’t bake themselves after all.” Mr. Cake was running out the door now, “Pinkie Pie should be here, she can order you two up something.” And like that he was gone.

“Pinkie Pie’s here?” Twilight was now hyped up. “Great! She’s one of the friendliest ponies in Ponyville! I need to introduce you to her-“

“Introduce me to who?” Pinkie Pie suddenly jumped up from behind the register. Her pink coat obviously gave reason to her name, and her equally pink mane resembled cotton candy.

“Ooooohh…” Pinkie Pie hopped over the counter and started bounding in circles around me. “Well, obviously it must be him. Or her. Are you a her? Maybe you’re an ‘it’! Or maybe a strange combination of-“ Her face met Twilight’s hoof and she stopped in her tracks.

“Heehee, sorry. The name’s Pinkie Pie, and I don’t know who, or what, you are because I’ve never met you before, or seen your kind before, so that means you must be new here! Oh, I should throw you a welcoming party! It’d be great way to meet the townsfolk! Also, what happened to-“ Twilight shoved her hoof in Pinkie’s mouth again.

“Pinkie Pie, this is Chris. Chris, meet Pinkie Pie. He's going to be in town for a bit.” Twilight released her hold from Pinkie Pie, who sat down on the floor eagerly listening. “We were just in the neighborhood and he was getting hungry, so I thought we’d stop by for lunch.”

“Oh of course!” Pinkie Pie sprung up again. “And because I don’t know you, well I know you now, but because this is my first time meeting you the first one is on the house! So, what you want?” Pinkie Pie quickly ran over to one of the display cases.

*GRRRRBBRRRLGRBL*

“Um…” I began, clenching my stomach. “Do you have anything with a lot of protein?” They both were confused by this question until Twilight remembered my old diet and Pinkie Pie seemed to get what I was asking.

“Just one second, I’ll be right back!” And Pinkie Pie disappeared behind the counter only to pop right back up. “Here you go!” She produced a cupcake. It was slightly larger than any others in the display, and had a darker tint to the dough than the others too. It was elegantly designed with a rainbow pattern of frosting, and a small yellow lightning bolt in the center. A rather disturbing thought crossed my mind for a second, but was immediately surpassed by hunger and I ate the entire thing in about ten seconds.

“Wow, you must be hungry!” Pinkie Pie was surprised, and Twilight got a few coins to out and started to give them to Pinkie Pie.

“Oh no no no no no!” Pinkie Pie shoved back the money. “I told you this one was on the house. And seeing as how hungry you are, and that you’re hurt, have another one! Consider it a gift from me to my new friend!” I went to saw thanks but was rudely interrupted.

*GRBL*

I guess that groan was thank you enough for her as a large(r) grin ran across her face. She quickly took out similar cupcake and after setting on the counter I devoured that one too.

“We usually reserve these high-protein ones for big muscly predators like gryphons who pass through. No offense but you are big but not that muscly. Are you a carnivore?” Pinkie Pie hadn’t stopped smiling.

“Omnivore, actually.” I corrected her as I swallowed the last bit. “My complements to the chef.”

“Teehee, thank you.” Pinkie Pie shifted away hiding a blush before turning back. “You better not go around eating any meat while you’re in Equestria though, especially here in Ponyville. A majority of the inhabitants are ponies, and they don't think kindly of that kind of thing.”

“Don’t worry Pinkie Pie, we already discussed that.” Twilight smugly glanced at me.

“And Chris, those are only worth twenty bits each, so albeit not that cheap, they aren't expensive either.” Pinkie Pie calmed down a lot from earlier. “Stop by anytime and I’ll have another ready.”

“Bits?"

“Oh right, you’re not from around here, are you?” Pinkie Pie hopped back over the counter and started dancing around me again. “Let me give you a quick rundown: A gold coin is equal to 1 bit, a silver coin is worth 5 bits, a nickel coin is worth 10 bits, and copper coins are worth 50 bits. If you’re really rich you’ll probably come across a 100 bit coin, and those are made of Aluminum! Also there’s supposed to be 1000 bit coins made of obsidian, but I’ve never seen them before so I think they’re just a rumor.” She stopped between Twilight and I giggling to herself. “Why don’t I throw you a party later?”

“Maybe some other day,” I began, and that sentence had threw Pinkie Pie into a slight depression, “Twilight was going to show me around town some more.”

“Yeah! Pinkie Pie, why don’t you join us? We were on our way to Rarity’s.” Twilight chimed in.

“Sorry, but I can’t.” Her mood immediately dampened again. “Mr. Cake had just gone out, and Mrs. Cake is upstairs taking care of the foals, so I’m in charge of the store for now.”

This pony is sort of like an emotional rollercoaster. I thought as she perked back up.

“But maybe some other time? We can have a party then!”

“Alright, some other time.” I sighed as another large grin ran across her face. “I guess I’ll see you around Pinkie Pie.”

“Yup! You sure will!”

After saying goodbye we were back outside and on our original path to Rarity’s.

“I’m sorry; I completely forgot to explain this to you.” Twilight laughed to herself as we walked through town. “As I’m sure you noticed, there are four types of ponies here in Equestria: Earth-Ponies, Pegasus-Ponies, Unicorn-Ponies, and Alicorns. I myself am a unicorn, evident by the horn, and therefore I can easily harness the power of magic. Pegasi are able to fly, such as Rainbow Dash, and Applejack and Pinkie Pie are examples of earth ponies who don’t have any such abilities. Alicorns however, like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, can both fly and use easily magic, and Alicorns are usually taller than the rest of us. Also there are these things on everypony’s flank called a ‘Cutie Mark.’ As you can see, mine is a six pointed star, it symbolizes magic which is my specialty. Do you understand?”

I nodded and she continued. “When a filly grows up, they get their Cutie Mark and it symbolizes either obviously or abstractly what their special talent is. For example, Pinkie Pie’s is a pair of balloons, hence why she loves to throw parties, and- oh look! We’re here!”

We arrived at the boutique, and the building was bigger than I thought. It was a large, white two-story structure set aside from the rest of the town. Practically every inch of the building was decorated in one way or another on the outside to the point where it looked more out of place in Ponyville and belonged in Canterlot. Then again, this is Rarity so that shouldn’t be too surprising.

The inside of the boutique was just as clean as the outside, except for the floor in main workroom where Rarity was comparing fabrics. Her indigo mane that was well kept and in curls, and a light bluish-gray coat stood out from the fabric she was working on.

“Is somepony there? Oh hello Twilight! And... who’s this?” Rarity turned around, shaking a measuring tape off her neck. Lifting her head up we both made eye contact and she stared up at me and sat back down on the floor perplexed.

“Hello Rarity, this is my friend Chris. He’s going to be town for a while so I’m spending the day showing him around.” Twilight cheerfully told her friend. "I thought we'd stop by and say hello."

“Hello Rarity.” I said, leaning against a wall. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Oh, well I’m sorry to say I don’t have time for this right now.” She pouted. “However, do allow me to formally introduce myself; my name is Rarity, fashion designer and shopkeeper here at the Carousel Boutique. Now I don’t mean any offense, but I am quite busy and must return to my work for some very important clientele,” she said turning her attention back to the floor.

“We can chit chat again some other time.” She picked up a roll of fabric before walking away.

“Oh course Rarity; we’ll let you back to your work.” Twilight said to an empty room as we backed out the door.

“She’s usually not that busy,” Twilight told me as we walked down the street, “But most of her clients are in Canterlot, so when she does get a project on her hooves she wastes little time.”

“I understand. Now where to?”

“Well, there’s still somepony I want you to meet. Her name is Fluttershy, she’s really docile but nervous around those she hasn’t seen before, so be very nice.”

Oh shit. I forgot about what happened in the woods.

“Hey Twilight, I think-“

“Yes?” She asked nonchalantly.

“… Isn't Fluttershy that yellow mare with a long pink mane?”

“Yeah… how’d you now that?” Now she was confused.

“In the forest when Applejack found me, she was there too. At the time I was covered in blood, so I think she might be afraid of me.” Wearily, Twilight looked back up to me.

“Oh. Well in that case let me talk to her first. There’s no reason to scare her even more. Actually, there she is now.”

The marketplace we were at was clustered with stalls. There were ones selling soap, paintings, pies, utensils, vegetables, drinks, and books amongst others. The ponies behind the stalls and even the ones who were shopping paid little attention to me, at the most doing double-takes and whispering to each other. It’s like my presence was already known throughout the town. Fluttershy was at one of the stalls buying carrots.

“Fluttershy…” Twilight began softly moving towards her friend. “This is Chris. He’s a friend of mine and you don’t need to be afraid of him.”

Fluttershy turned around and started to say what I thought would have ended up as a "hello" but she never finished the word. She immediately backed up in fear at the sight of me.

“Hello...” I waved at her only for her to retract further. “Sorry about before, I didn’t mean to frighten you in the woods."

“Umm… umm... uhh...” Fluttershy took a deep breath and sighed. “Tw-Twilight...?”

“Fluttershy, it's alright.” Twilight peacefully told her.

“Okay…” Fluttershy nervously got up. “My... my name is... Fluttershy…”

“It’s nice to meet you Fluttershy. My name is Chris.” I smiled but she just brought her head to the ground, hiding herself behind her large pink mane.

“Umm, ex-excuse me,” she now backed up again before taking to the air. “But I need to get these carrots to Angel. That bunny won’t feed himself.” And she took off leaving a small cloud of dust on the ground.

“Fluttershy’s really nervous around those she doesn't know.” Twilight turned to me, “but give her time and she’ll loosen up. Speaking of time, we have a lot left in the day. Is there anything you want to do?”

I looked up into blinding sun for a minute and then back down to check the time; just after 1am. I took a deep breath and thought for a moment. For the most part, every pony I’ve encountered was either really nice or didn’t seem to care about my presence, almost like I’ve already been accepted into the town. Then some pain shot up my leg and I started to hunch over but stopped myself.

“Actually,” I admitted, “I’m getting kind of tired from walking around. Could we go back to the library? On my world, it’d technically be midnight right now.”

Twilight was not surprised by that bit of information and replied, “Sure. I’m getting pretty exhausted myself. The library should be just down this street. We’ve actually just walked in a big circle.”

Back in the library I went upstairs and sat on what I assume is now my bed, since it had all my things on it, and Twilight’s bed was adjacent to mine on the other side of the room. I opened up my bags and emptied their contents in my lap, soon afterwards Twilight appeared.

“Can I come up?” She asked.

“This is your home, you shouldn’t be asking permission.” I sarcastically said. Twilight laughed and walked up.

“What are you doing?” She asked curiously, picking up the car battery with her magic only to remember what it was and carefully placed it down exactly where she got it.

“I’m just going over everything, making sure things aren’t broken, that sort of thing.” I answered her and she jumped up on her bed. “What do want?”

“I was actually hoping you could show me some of this stuff in detail. You gave rather vague descriptions back in Canterlot.”

“I see. And I forget, but what are those?” I pointed to her satchels that lay in the corner. “I know what they are; I just keep forgetting the name to them.”

“Saddlebags.” She responded and opened one of them up, taking out the dictionary, one of my pens, and the black book.

“That’s the name.” I snapped my fingers and that seemed to of frighten her for a second.

“What was that?”

“This?” I snapped my fingers again. “Oh right, you have hooves. If you have fingers, and put pressure on them like this, you can make this noise.” I snapped once more.

Twilight was impressed and jotted that down in the book as I opened and turned on my laptop. As I was making sure there was nothing wrong with it she picked up my wallet with her magic and took out all the money, some of it bloodstained.

“So this is your currency?” She asked.

“Yup. Not sure what the exchange rate is here though. And after Pinkie Pie explained what is used for currency here, I can’t imagine it being worth anything.”

Twilight was counting it all. “$7,450. How much is that worth?”

“$7,450? I thought I had more than that, oh well. Anyways, for about $2 you could buy a pound of apples. I don’t know how much a pound of apples is worth here though.”

Her jaw dropped. “Applejack sells apples at a bit a piece!”

“Well, I had been saving for almost two years.” That didn’t change her expression. She recounted it all before returning it to the wallet and then picked up my makeshift wall outlet.

“Actually I need to use that.” Twilight reluctantly set the wires in my hand and instead picked out one of the novels. I took the car battery and connected everything and sat it back down on the floor to charge the laptop.

“What’s this book about?” Twilight held it up.

“Lord of the Flies. A bunch of kids get stranded on a desert island and have to survive.”

“Can I read it?” she asked enthusiastically.

“Sure, but I’ll warn you; it can get graphic at times.” She was elated and set the book down, and brought over another. “What’s this one? It doesn’t have a title.”

“That’s my... diary. Could I have that back please?” I was embarrassed but at the same time didn’t want anyone to read that. It’s my journal with the events after when I ran away jotted down, and nobody needed to read that.

Or at least not yet. I set aside and tossed her the other novel I had.

“That one is The Grapes of Wrath. It takes place during an economic depression and is about a family that tries to survive. Again, that one can be graphic at times too.” Twilight picked up the book and added it to the pile. I turned on my iPhone and it was at 70% battery life, so it should last for another day.

“Oh, is that the… what was it? A phone, right?”

“Yeah, but it’s kind of useless now. I highly doubt there’s another one somewhere in Equestria, let alone do I have their number. You can play games on it though.” I turned on Angry Birds and handed it to her, and she picked it up with her magic.

“There’s no buttons. And what do you do, anyway?”

“It’s a touchscreen, meaning you touch the screen.” I showed her how to play and use it, and she was able to use her magic to get the screen to respond. While Twilight was preoccupied with that, I took out my iPod and it too was only low battery so I plugged it in to charge. I took everything that I thought wasn't too important in my backpack and slid it under the bed. Looking at my clothes, I only had a few clean outfits left, along with a spare jacket. I folded them up nicely and placed them in the duffel bag and slid that under the bed too.

“Hey Twilight, is it alright if I use this nightstand?”

“Yay! I beat the level!” She cheered. “I’m sorry, what? Oh, yeah you can use it.” And she went right back to the game.

Opening the top drawer there were some books, so I took them out and put them in the bottom drawer. Then I placed my food and water in there along with my duct tape and the knife, which I'm surprised they gave back. Also, somehow the ponies back in Canterlot were able to fold up what was left of my tent and umbrella and I slid those under the bed too.

“I know it’s 2 o'clock in the afternoon, but I’m going to go get some sleep. I’m tired.” I yawned, crawling under the sheets.

“Alright, I'll wake you up if anything exciting happens.” Twilight answered, still playing the game. “I guess I’ll see you in the morning.”

Chapter 7: Living in a Dream

Chapter 7: Meet the Herd

What day is today?

It was… I don’t even know. I grabbed my crutch and shifted my way out of bed, taking the sheets with me and almost tripping over the car battery left on the floor. Pissed at the trap I set myself up for, I unplugged what was charging and pushed them all under the bed. Great way to start my second day in Ponyville.

“I’m hungry.” I mumbled to myself, opening the nightstand drawer to take out a breakfast bar. I only have a few of them left so I’d need to save them incase anything happens. I fumbled over to the stairs and was greeted by the sun through an open window, but the clock on the wall says its 2pm. But I went to bed at 2pm...

Great, I just slept for a good twenty four hours straight. I was able to east my way down the steps into the main room, towering bookshelves everywhere. Spike ran into the room but for an instant, and grabbed a book off a shelf. He flipped through it for a few seconds, then wrapped it tightly under his arm. The thud of feet landing on the last step alerted him to my presence.

“I was beginning to fear you wouldn’t wake up.” He smugly looked up to me.

“Sorry,” I apologized. “My time is off of yours by twelve hours. I just need to get used to it. Dumb lag... Hey, what day is it?"

“Tuesday. Also you look like a mess.” Spike criticized, flipping through the book once more. “There’s a bathroom down the hall that way. I’d take a bath if I was you.”

“Thanks, but I think I’ll eat first. I'm a bit hungry."

“In that case, Twilight usually keeps some food in the kitchen. I’m sure she won’t mind if you help yourself. Wait, do you eat gemstones?”

“Err… no. Where is Twilight anyway?” I asked.

“Oh, uh... I dunno. She said she was... heading out and not to disturb you.” Spike smiled and bolted out of the room with the book. Following his example I set off to the kitchen to grab an apple. After eating, I made my way to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror at myself, I saw my hair was atrocious.

Rarity would probably be horrified. God, did I look like this all day yesterday?

Slowly and carefully I took off the bandage around my head to reveal a large scar maybe six or so inches across my forehead. The gauze was crusted with dried blood, and so was the wound as it had already begun to scab over. Thankfully my hair should cover this up, and I pressed it down to cover it. Hunching over, I lifted up my shirt revealing the humorously large band-aid that was wrapped around my abdomen. Carefully I peeled that off to, revealing a hoof-sized bruise right below the breastplate. I felt no pain in that area so I decided to leave both bandages off and throw them away. Looking around the restroom, nothing really stuck out of the ordinary. There was even a toilet and everything.

“Hey Spike, I’m going to take a bath. Are there any spare towels I can use?” I called sticking my head out of the door.

“Yeah, Twilight covered that already. There should be some on her bed.” Spike yelled back. I started the trek once more upstairs and found on Twilight's bed a towel, some shampoo, and a bar of soap. I don't know how I missed that when I first woke up. I sat down on my mattress and pulled out the duffel bag searching for a pair of clothes, finding that they were all neatly folded.

I don't remember them being organized like this, I chuckled to myself. Twilight probably went through it. She is kind of obsessive when it comes to organization. I looked around and saw the small private bookcase kept with dust-free tomes, a desk sat in the corner with the dictionary resting on top of it, and even the floor looked like it had been polished recently. Her bed was also made, and deciding not to be rude I remade mine before going back downstairs.

I was sitting around the center of the library reading Magic and The World. I’m not sure why though. I can’t even use magic, but maybe I could learn more about how things work around here. The book says earth ponies have a strong bond with, well the Earth, and this makes them unnaturally strong and resilient. Pegasi can manipulate the weather and walk easily and clouds, and magic itself is what gives them the ability to fly. Makes sense seeing that those wings shouldn't be the least bit capable of hauling a pony's weight. Unicorns have the most obvious use of magic, can theoretically use it for almost everything imaginable, but only about a thousand spells have been created, the most common of which is Telekinesis. The book doesn’t go into much more detail unfortunately.

“Hey Chris, you here?” Someone called out from the front door. I recognized the voice almost instantly.

“Rainbow Dash? I’m in here reading.” Rainbow Dash turned the corner and the door slammed shut behind her.

“Reading? Tried it once, never really got into it. Stuff's lame. Yeah...” She coughed, nervously looking around at the bookshelves as if searching for something. “Anyway, AJ told me about you. You’re not from here, huh? And you threatened Fluttershy with a knife?”

“I did not threaten her with a knife! It was just bad luck she stumbled upon me covered in my own blood and with that out.” I said, closing the book. An odd mixture of fear and skepticism crossed her face.

“Why did you have a knife anyway? And why were you bleeding?”

Please don’t ask questions. I wanted to say that but held it back. I took a deep breath tried to explain,

“I woke up and a tree was on fire, so I ran off into the woods the take cover.”

“Then how’d you break your leg? And where did the knife come from?”

“I always kept the knife on me in case I was ever… attacked.” That wasn’t a complete lie. “As for my leg, I tripped on something and smacked my head into the ground.” That was a lie though. Okay, it kind of was.

Her worried expression began to gently fade away. “Attacked? By Fluttershy?” she laughed, staggering to catch herself from falling onto the floor. “Alright, do you remember anything else before that?”

“Why do you ask?” My turn for questions. Rainbow Dash really looked nervous about something when she first came in, but other than the strange creature in front of her I don’t have a single clue what would make her nervous. “Why are you here anyway?”

“Me? No reason,” she said turning away, head held high. “I just thought it’d be a good idea to check up on a hurt friend is all. Maybe check out a book.”

Friend? I hardly know you. Well I know you, but you hardly know me. Then again, everyone here hardly knows me.

“Well that’s nice of you, but why are you really here? I know you’re lying.” Those words shook the pegasus like she’d seen a ghost. Her ears flopped down and her wings visible shuttered against her sides. “…and your reaction just made it obvious. And didn't you say you hated reading?"

"I didn't say I hated reading, in fact I... oh fine. I like to read! Happy?"

"That shouldn't be anything be ashamed of..."

“Oh, well Twilight said she got a new Daring Do book in yesterday, and I can't wait to read it!" She let out an iconic fangirl squeal, and I dropped my tome to cover my ears.

"Daring Do? Never heard of it." By the daggers she glared at me, I knew I'd end up regretting those words.

"WHAT!?" She flew from her position to where she was within inches of me, pressing her forehead right up against mine. Damn wall wouldn't let me lean any further back. "How do you NOT know the Daring Do series!?"

I shoved her back. "Well sorry if I just arrived here yesterday and currently know nothing about this place's literature."

Rainbow Dash scoffed, and flew up to a bookshelf. "Here," she tossed me a book, Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone. "It's the first in the series," she added and swept back down beside me.

"Alright, I'll be sure to read it sometime. Now why are you here?"

"I told you, to check out the new book."

"Nice derail attempt, but I can tell that isn't the truth. Why are you really here?"

Rainbow Dash nervously looked around the room, tugging on her mane. "Oh. Like I said, I'm here to check out the new book. And it doesn't hurt to check in on a friend does it? Besides, Twilight's out and asked me to watch over you."

Something is up.

“Well, that’s nice of you. But I don’t think I can get into much trouble around here.”

“You’d be surprised,” she rolled her eyes. “A lot of weird things happen around here on a regular basis.”

“I probably wouldn’t, actually.” She cocked her head at that and I quickly changed the subject. “What’s Twilight doing right now that has her so preoccupied anyway? She has my phone.”

Rainbow Dash paused for a second before responding. “You mean that rectangle thingy?” She drew out a rough shape in the air with her hoof. “She… she said she was playing with it. Yeah, I don’t know what it is anyway but it had her really preoccupied. Yeah, that’s what she said.” Rainbow Dash awkwardly smiled. “What’s it do anyway?”

“Well, if you have one and someone else does too, the two of you can talk to each other without being anywhere near each other.”

“Really? That's kind of pointless. I’d bet there’s a spell for that. And Twilight said it played games.”

“Well, it can do that too. It can actually do a lot of things, sort of like a little computer.”

“Computer? Never heard of it.”

“Upstairs under one of the beds there’s a large rectangular thing made of plastic. It’s also a computer, and if you want to get it I can show it to you. I really don’t feel like getting up right now.”

“Nah, too much work.” Rainbow Dash slouched over and lied down on the floor yawning. “So what are you, exactly? Everypony is saying you’re a ‘human’ but I’ve never seen one before.”

“Well, I am a human, and this is kind of what a human looks like.” I threw my hands out over my body in exaggeration, but this only annoyed her.

“Well, DUH. I can see that now.” She groaned, stretching out on the floor.

“Then why’d you ask?”

“Just trying to keep things interesting. I’m so bored right now.”

“Well, like I said before, you don’t have to be here.”

“And like I said before, I do have to be here! I have to keep an eye on you so you don’t wander off.”

An awkward silence filled the room. Spike ran in momentarily to grab a bucket of paint out of a closet before sprinting away and out of sight.

“You know, I can’t imagine humans being so strong. I could probably just stand on you and crush you.” Rainbow Dash said with an intimidating tone, locking eyes with me. “After all, you tripped and broke your leg so easily.”

“You know Rainbow Dash, one would imagine the wings of a pegasus to be similar to that of a bird. I can’t imagine them being hard to snap like a twig. It’d probably be easier for me since I have opposable thumbs.” I retorted with a devilish grin, rubbing my hands together. I snapped my fingers catching her by surprise, and then clapped my hands in delight. We both stared at each other for a second before Rainbow Dash lost it and started laughing.

“You’re not too bad Chris.” Rainbow Dash calmed down short of breath. I sighed and lay down on the floor beside her, looking up towards the ceiling.

“I can’t help but shake the feeling this is some crazy dream. Like I’m in a coma or something.” I don’t know where that came from, or that I even said it aloud. Rainbow Dash got back up and looked down at me.

“If this was a dream, you wouldn't feel pain.” She playfully kicked me in the shoulder. “I’m not sure about a coma though. Can you feel pain in a coma?” She lifted up a hoof and dangled it above my chest.

“That won’t solve anything.” I pushed her leg aside and she sat back down. “It’d likely just make things worse.” I pulled up my shirt, revealing the large bruise left by Applejack.

“Owww…” Rainbow Dash stepped back. “Applejack can kick hard. I learned that myself more than once.” Rainbow Dash lifted herself up and was now flying in small circles around the room.

“I’m so bored.” She moaned again, practically spitting out the word.

“Well if you’re going to babysit me, what do you want to do?”

“I don’t know.” Rainbow Dash crashed to the floor with a loud thud. “I just hate being cooped up. I never thought watching you would be so boring.”

“Forgive me if I bore you. We could go outside.” I sat back up grabbing my crutch. “I promise not to run away; as if I could.”

“No can do. Pinkie thought it would be best if you don’t leave the library.”

“Pinkie Pie?” Rainbow Dash went pale and shifted away.

“Uhh… uhh…” She hastily got up and started flying in circles again. “Twilight asked Pinkie Pie and me who wanted to watch after you, and I volunteered, so, yeah.”

“Rainbow Dash,” I tried confronting her, “What exactly is going on? I know you don’t want to be here.”

“I can’t say. It’s a secret.”

“Is something happening?”

“It’s a secret.”

She was now flying erratically and kept looking away from me, so maybe it'd be best I jump to the obvious.

“I think I know where this is going. Is Pinkie Pie setting up a party for me and you’re here to make sure I don’t find out?” That must be it. Right after I guessed she flew straight into a bookcase before falling to the ground with a mountain of books following her.

“What? No! She would never do that!” Rainbow Dash stuck her head out from underneath the pile.

“Pinkie Pie? Never throwing a party?”

“For the love of Celestia, alright fine! Pinkie Pie is throwing you a surprise welcoming party and I’m here to make sure you don’t find out!”

“So much for it being a surprise!” Twilight silently appeared out of nowhere, and was obviously upset. Rainbow Dash sunk back into the pile of books and out of sight.

“Rainbow Dash, I thought I could trust you.” Twilight hung her head down and trotted into the room with Rainbow Dash still hidden under the pile of books. “Pinkie Pie is not going to be happy.”

“Well it’s not my fault! He kept pestering me!” Rainbow Dash shot up, sending books everywhere.

“Watch it!” Twilight used her magic to catch all the tomes, both in the air and on the ground, and returned them to their respective spots on the shelves. “These are delicate! You could easily tear a page if you’re not careful.”

“Well SORRY. I guess I’m not needed here anymore then. The party is supposed to start soon anyways.” Rainbow Dash disappeared leaving a rainbow contrail that went out the door, slowly fading into the air.

“Sheesh. That pony can be so…” Twilight turned back to me. “I’m sorry about that. She just had to ruin the surprise.”

“Don’t worry, Twilight. I’ll be sure to act surprised when we get there. And why is Pinkie Pie throwing me a party? I thought that was going to be some other day.”

“Well, by Pinkie’s logic, today is some other day. And why'd you take off your bandages?"

“My wounds aren't too serious for them. They were making it more awkward to move around then it should be. Also, do you still have my phone?”

“Oh right. About that…” Twilight produced the black object and sent it over to me. “Please don’t be mad, but I think I broke it.” Twilight retreated, sheepishly drawing circles in the floor. “I was just playing with it, and I was showing it to Rarity when it suddenly stopped working! I just don’t know what went wrong.”

“The battery’s probably dead.” I reassured her. “As long as you didn’t submerge this in water or drop it, it should be fine. I just need to recharge it for a few hours and it’ll be as good as new.”

“That’s a relief. Anyways, the party is supposed to start soon. I was just coming to get you.”

“Alright, let’s go. Where is it, anyway?”

“Sweet Apple Acres. Come on, we don’t want to be late.”

The sun was setting when we made our way through Ponyville to the farm. The entire town was eerily quiet, and all the lights were out in almost every building.

“Did Pinkie Pie invite every pony in town? It’s dead quiet around here.”

“She probably did. That pony usually invites the whole town to every one of her parties, but not everypony shows up. I guess it’s quiet because there was a larger turnout than normal. Maybe it has something to do with the “special guest” that the party is for.”

“I guess that’s me then.”

Twilight nodded in agreement and we continued down the street. The silence was abruptly broken when a small party rushed us from the side. The three mares stopped short of us, one of them shrieking. There was that mint-green unicorn from before; I believe her name was Lyra. She was accompanied by two others that I easily identified as Bon Bon and Carrot Top.

The five of us were standing in a small circle, and Carrot Top shrieked, but more out of joy than fear. Bon Bon was staring at me in disbelief, and Lyra had the creepiest and largest smile I had ever seen.

“You’re a human, aren’t you?” Lyra asked, not altering the expression on her face for a moment.

“Yes…”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to what was going on right now. I glanced at Twilight, who looked to me and then back to the group and sighed.

“I KNEW IT! THEY’RE REAL!” Lyra yelled at the top of her lungs before running off. Bon Bon blinked several times before Carrot Top grabbed her and they chased after her friend.

“What the hell was that about?” I asked.

Twilight took a deep breath and continued walking with me following her. “That was Heartstrings, Bon Bon, and Golden Harvest. Heartstrings has always believed in humans being real but nopony else did before. She's really enthusiastic right now. Earlier in the day she was-”

“Wait, humans exist here?”

“Well, yes and no. They didn’t exist on this world until you came along. Before that they only existed as mythical creatures in fairytales. I thought it’d be best not to tell you because I didn’t want to scare you.”

“Well that’s kind of you, but you don’t need to hide anything from me. I think I can handle it.”

“I don’t know. There are some things I’m too afraid to tell you because of how you might react.”

Boy, do I know that feeling.

“This orchard is huge!” Apple trees went on for acres before my vision was blocked by a hill, and my guess is that there are more trees beyond that. Twilight shyly smiled at my response.

“I know. It looks like it goes on forever at times. And Applejack and her family have managed this farm since Ponyville was first founded.”

We continued down the path and came up to the large arch. A wooden sign with an apple carved out of it hung from the decorative entrance, and it connected to a white fence marked the property line between the orchard and the rest of the farm. From the main entrance several paths diverted off to cornfields, grape vineyards, and a chicken coop. More paths led off from there to other areas that were now hidden by the night. An enormous red barn proudly rested atop a hill.

“Are you sure the party’s here? The farm looks dead.”

“Trust me. Just remember to act surprised and Rainbow Dash and I might not get in so much trouble with Pinkie. You do not want to make her angry.”

“I intend not to,” I smiled holding back the thought about Cupcakes. I still get the occasional nightmare.

We made it up to the barn door and Twilight knocked three times before opening it. There was the obvious noise of ponies giggling and rummaging around, but I couldn’t see anything do to the room being pitch black.

Then somepony turned on the lights.

Chapter 8: Party Hard

Chapter 8: Party Hard

”SURPRISE!!”

Even though I knew it was coming I was never truly prepared. Pinkie Pie abruptly jumped down from the ceiling nearly giving me a heart attack. I fell off my crutch and would have landed on my back had Twilight not been there to catch my fall.

“Heh, sorry about that. Didn’t mean to scare ya!” Pinkie Pie jumped up and threw her face into mine, making me fall down again. This time Twilight wasn't there to catch me.

“Welcome to Equestria!” The pink mare shouted almost deafening me before bouncing away.

“Quite the welcoming party,” I smiled standing back up.

Looking around the room it was awfully quiet and all eyes were drawn to me. I could make out the Mane Six from the enormous crowd amongst a few others. There must be at least forty ponies crammed in barn. Straw was thrown out across the floor and hay bales were used like tables. Balloons and streamers hang everywhere and an enormous banner hung from the ceiling with the words WELCOME TO EQUESTRIA, CHRIS written in big bold letters.

Oh god… that banner. I tried to hold back a blush.

At the back of the barn stood two momentous speakers and a turntable sat in between them. I could make out a white unicorn with blue fire-like hair. DJ-PoN3, or Vinyl Scratch, sat at her electronic throne wearing those signature purple glasses. She took a second to look at me, smiled, and then broke the silence.

“Let’s get this party started!” The DJ screamed, turning up the bass.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, regardless of the odd new creature that stood awkwardly to the side who this whole gathering was dedicated for. The party looked like it was going pretty well. I’d never been to one before, so for my first couple of minutes I stood underneath one of the barn trusses drinking some fruit punch. It seemed that being able to pick up the ladle without your mouth or magic was some sort of miracle, or that's the response I got from the small crowd that watched me intently. Most ponies were either having side conversations or in the middle dancing. Although the walk to the farm suggested there’d be more ponies here, the crowd was surprisingly small. Maybe the town had a smaller population then I thought? But there were tons of buildings; at least twice as many as the ponies here. Looking at the clock on the wall it read it was just before ten, so maybe not everyone was here yet? I kept my ground near the punch bowl until Pinkie Pie ran over.

“Hey you, what’re you doing over here? Come on, there’s more outside!” Pinkie wrapped a foreleg around my arm and led me towards the door. I stumbled, fell off my crutch, and was able to grab on to it as Pinkie Pie dragged me outside.

So that’s where everyone else is.

Outback behind the barn stood several food and game stalls, a corn maze, and an obstacle course. It seemed the rest of the town was out here if they weren’t dancing inside, as evident by the hundred or so ponies.

“Pinkie Pie, this looks more like a festival. You didn’t have to go all out.”

“Nonsense! Come on, let’s go to maze!” She sang and bounded down the hill to the towering stalks of corn. She eagerly jumped in place waiting for me to catch up. The maze was enormous to say the least. There was no line, and some ponies excitingly ran headlong into it while others stopped in front of the intimidating stalks before turning away. Pinkie Pie led me down into the entryway and we made a couple yards inward before the path forked.

“Which way you want to go?” I asked her.

“Last one to exit is a wet sack of hay!” And she bolted down the left side in a cloud of dust.

"Gee, thanks for abandoning me."

I glanced back towards the entrance and thought about leaving, but decided against it. Pinkie Pie shot off like a rocket down the left side, so I figured I'd head right.

Just keep your hand on the wall and keep turning right. You’ll eventually make your way out.

A YouTube video taught me that. I never thought I’d have to put it into practice though. Maybe five minutes of walking passed, and I encountered a few ponies that stopped to ask me questions, but mostly about things like how tall I am or how I can walk on two legs instead of four. After several more minutes of this, they were finally satisfied and left down a corridor. Continuing my strategy, I made my way to a dead end and turned back around but stopped when a scream echoed through the maze.

Or more of a squeak. Fluttershy was in the same alley I was in and turned the corner behind me, quickly backing away and hiding her face under her mane.

“Hi Fluttershy. I didn’t expect you to be in the maze.”

*Squeak*

Daww… I almost blurted out.

“Fluttershy? Are you still afraid of me?”

She hesitated at first but nodded, maintaining eye contact with a speck of dirt on the ground.

“Well you have nothing to be scared of. I’m just trying to be friendly.”

Fluttershy brought her head up, moonlight reflecting off her blue eyes. “Um… o-okay…”

“It’s alright. Are you lost in here too?”

“Um… yes…” She sunk back deeper behind her mane.

“Well, you can even follow me if you want. I’m getting out of here one way or another.”

Either she was easing up to me, or the thought of being left alone scared her. I started walking away and after a few feet looked back to see she was following me, albeit at a distance. The pegasus had wings, so she could fly out of here at any instant. I’m not sure why she was even in the maze anyway. Fluttershy softly spoke up.

“S-Sorry about being so… afraid of you. I’ve never m-met a human before… and I thought you wanted to… hurt me back in the forest. I… I’m sorry about how I reacted.”

“I forgive you. It must have been scary for you to stumble across me the way I was. I wouldn’t hurt anything for the fun of it.”

“Fluttershy! There ya are!” Applejack came running up from behind and joined our group.

“I see ya found Chris. Sorry fo’ losin' ya back there. Won’t happen again!”

“Oh, it’s alright Applejack. I’m not mad at you.”

“Good to hear. So Chris, how ya likin’ the welcomin’ party so far?”

“It’s great. Pinkie Pie lured me into this maze and darted off. I guess we’re trying to see who can get to the end first.”

“Well, this is mah corn field, so ya’ll have better luck if ah’m with ya.” Applejack took the lead with Fluttershy following close behind us. After a few minutes and several more dead ends we came to a fork that led off in three directions.

“Hmph. Ya’ll wanna split up?” Applejack asked

“No!” Fluttershy cried out. “Or, i-if that’s okay… besides, the one on the right is a dead end.”

“And I came in from that one on the left, so I guess we’ll take the center one.”

“Sounds like a plan.” And the three of us went down the path.

“Hey look! There’s the exit!” Applejack ran off to the end, but Fluttershy kept by my side until I got out. “Haha! And it looks like we beat Pinkie Pie! Yeehaw!”

“No ya didn’t!” Pinkie Pie appeared out of nowhere, again. “Chris is a wet sack of hay!” She cheerfully gloated and then bounded off back towards the barn. The vibrant colors of light that seeped out of every crack in the building made it all-too-convincing that there could be a rainbow factory tucked away in there. The only thing to denounce that thought was the party music that played so loud it visibly shook the structure.

“Sigh… that’s Pinkie Pie for ya. So what ya’ll want to do now?” Applejack craned her neck to Fluttershy and I for ideas.

“I don’t know. I was thinking of trying some of the games," I answered

“Okay, well ah'm goin’ to try out the obstacle course!” Applejack started to turn but was cut off by Fluttershy.

“But...” she nervously stopped her friend, “Are you sure? It looks so dangerous…”

“Aw, nonsense sugarcube. Come, ah’ll show ya!” Applejack grabbed Fluttershy by the tail with her teeth. “Enjoy ya'self, Chris!” She said, dragging Fluttershy away.

“No, wait! Applejack! Nooo…!”

Poor thing.

“Oh she’ll be alright. It won’t kill her.”

That voice startled me and I almost lost my balance. Rainbow Dash was standing behind me.

“When did you get there?”

“A few seconds ago, don’t be such a foal. You want to go play some games?”

“Sure. I was just on my way over there.”

“Yes! Try and beat that one!” Rainbow Dash boasted. We were throwing horseshoes and hers landed a few inches from the post, but mine kept going off to the right. “Last one. Think you can hit it?” She flung the horseshoe up to me.

“Well, I might.”

My last two throws went off in the same direction, so I turned my entire body slightly to the left to compensate and went to throw it as closely as I could to mimic before. I thought I overshot as the horseshow went high, but it came back down and landed perfectly around the post with a thud.

“Yes!” I excitingly cheered. A few of the ponies that gathered around did so too before wandering off.

“What? I... lost?”

“Don’t be such a sore loser, Dashie," I taunted, getting a punch to the abdomen as a prize.

“Oh shut up. You had an unfair advantage! Your… fingers! They helped you!”

“Well I can’t exactly throw with anything else…” I wheezed.

“Whatever. What else can I beat you at?”

Rainbow Dash started running in and around the stalls and other games that were set up. It wasn’t long before something appealed her interests and she ran back over to me.

“You’re going to love this one. Have you ever played ‘pin the tail’?”

“No I haven’t, but I can’t imagine it being all that hard.”

“We’ll see…” she said with a devilish grin leading me off into the crowds.

Rainbow Dash lifted her blindfold and inspected the poster in front of her.

“Ha! Try and beat THAT.” We’re playing pin-the-tail-on-the-pony (which if you ask me just seems wrong) and Rainbow Dash stuck the tail maybe a foot from where it belongs. There was another crowd that formed around us as Dash gave me the tail, slid a blindfold over my eyes and spun me around in circles. I get dizzy real easily so I hunched over my crutch for a second trying not to lose my lunch, but some pony shoved me off in what I assume is right direction. I lost my balance and tripped; arms outstretched trying to grab something to break my fall. However despite my futile attempt I still landed face-first into the ground. I did catch something though, and I lifted up my blindfold to see what.

I accidently stabbed a pink unicorn in the thigh with the tail, who promptly shrieked and ran off.

“Sorry!” I called out to her as she scrambled away. A few ponies hurried after her to console their friend while the rest stood about laughing. Rainbow Dash came up and wrapped her teeth around my collar, sitting me up right.

“Ha! I win that one!” She boasted in an intimidating tone.

“Hey, technically I pinned the tail on a pony. I should have won.”

“That wasn’t the target, egghead!” She playfully smacked me on the head with a hoof. “Get up, let’s go do something else!” And she ran off again. A bystander helped me get back up and another handed me my crutch.

Everyone sure is nice in this town. Then again, it wouldn’t be the show if they weren’t.

“Hey kid, you okay?” I turned around to see a brown stallion help me get back on my feet.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you for the help.”

“No problem. Just being neighborly.” He smiled before wandering off into the crowd, and Rainbow Dash appeared again with a giant lollipop shoved in her mouth.

“Hatiy! Ahve hadth enough gams. Ah’mth goings backth inside.” She drooled, taking to the air and flying up to the colorful spasm of noise that was the barn.

Third time left alone, I sighed. The crowd dispersed at this time, and I didn't hear the pony who approached me from behind until she bumped into me.

“Hey, why the glum face?”

I turned around to see Derpy happily floating upside down.

“Come on! Smile!” One of her golden eyes stared intently at me while the other lazily drifted off into the night. Derpy momentarily forgot how to falp her wings or something and she fell like a stone. The gray pegasus’ yellow mane was now covered in dirt, and she laid on her back contemplating what just happened. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Ha ha! I got you to laugh!” She excitingly praised. Derpy quickly got back up and flew away over to, or into, one of the stalls, almost knocking it and a bystander over.

Oh Derpy… I smiled at her as the bystander started chewing her out but Derpy stood her ground smiling wide, handed him a muffin, and disappeared into the crowd.

“Oh Chris! What are you doing outside? You’ll get cold!” Rarity jabbed her horn into my side. “Come! Back inside with you.”

“Rarity, it’s a summer night. It’s still pretty warm out.”

“I don’t want to hear it. As far as I know your body is completely hairless. You are much more likely to get ill in the cold than anypony else.”

"That's what these clothes are for; they keep me warm and-"

"Nope! I will not be taking 'no' for an answer. I would feel dreadful if you got sick and there was something I could have done to stop it!"

Back inside the barn music was still playing louder than ever. The giant speakers shook the air the point you could barely see dust dancing on the floor.

“See? Isn’t it much warmer in here?” Rarity led me off to a vacant area and motioned for me to sit down. I leaned up against the wall and slid down to the floor.

“Wait here. Let me go get you a drink.” Rarity left to go to a punch bowl and poured two glasses, but only after pushing a magenta pony out of the way. The two scolded each other for a good thirty seconds. Rarity clearly had the advantage as the other slowly retreated, nodding to everything she was saying. After that the mare split off back into the massive group on the dance floor, and Rarity with her head up high trotted back towards me.

“Sorry about that. That mare seems to think it’s okay to drink straight from the bowl!” Rarity sat next to me and looked at the floor in disgust. Her mood quickly changed and she floated me a glass. It wasn’t the same color of the punch I drank before.

“Thank you for being so generous. What is this?”

“Hard Apple Cider. The farm is well known for the stuff.” She said taking a sip of hers.

“Is there alcohol in it?”

“Well of course. That’s why it’s called Hard Apple Cider.”

“But I can’t drink alcohol, I’m underage.”

“Come on, this whole party is for you. A tiny bit won’t hurt.”

“Rarity, don’t make him drink if he doesn’t want to.” Twilight appeared with her horn glowing and a floating cupcake in tow. “So how do you two the party?”

“It’s great, I guess." Rarity and I both spoke in unison causing us to both nerovusly smile.

"I've never been to a party before," I continued, "so I don’t really know what to do.”

“WHAT!?” Pinkie Pie jumped in between me and Rarity, almost knocking her over. “YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN TO A PARTY BEFORE!?”

“Pinkie Pie, calm down.” Rarity shoved her out of the way. “Maybe you should show him how to have fun at a party.”

“Yeah! Hey Chris, can you dance?”

“Nope. Can’t dance to save my life.”

“Neither can Rainbow Dash,” Twilight snickered. Above the middle of the dance floor the cyan pegasus was flying around so chaotically she could have been having a seizure. She accidently misjudged her routine and flew into the ceiling, crashing down in front of us.

“Nice going, Rainbow Crash.” Pinkie Pie teased, making the group laugh and I hesitantly grinned. I noticed Rainbow Dash was gritting her teeth and still had the lollipop in her mouth, or at least what was left of it. She opened up her mouth and its shattered remains fell out and onto the floor.

“Dang it!” Rainbow Dash quickly picked up the stick and sucked on whatever flavor remained. “That was a good one too.”

“You’re dancing wasn’t though.” Twilight said and the four of us started laughing again as Rainbow Dash sat up blushing.

“So dancing isn’t my forte, whatever. I’m trying.” She irked, grabbing the glass of cider out of my hand and drank it before charging back into the crowd of dancers.

“Oh my, she drank all of that didn’t she?” Rarity looked into the crowd concerned.

“Why? Is that a problem?” Twilight asked her.

“Twilight, Rainbow Dash gets tipsy very easily.”

“Well it might improve her dancing.” I mumbled. Pinkie Pie was the only one to hear and fell to the floor laughing. Twilight and Rarity had no idea what was going on and looked to their friend who was rolling across the floor.

“Hee… sorry…” Pinkie Pie wiped a tear off her face, taking a deep breath. “Oh Celestia...”

“Did ah miss somethin’?” Applejack walked in smacking dust off her hat. Fluttershy was behind her, hyperventilating as she tried to get dirt out of her mane.

“Do NOT make me do that again!”

“Sorry sugarcube, ah thought you might’ve enjoyed somethin’ new.” The two mares joined the small circle.

“So Chris, have ya tried the Cider? Stuff’s real good.”

“No he has not. He’s too afraid of a little alcohol.” Rarity scoffed taking another sip from her glass.

“Rarity! You can’t make somepony do something they don’t want to do!” Twilight yelled to her friend but the message didn't appear to get through. Fluttershy shot an annoyed look to Applejack who didn’t take notice.

“Aw come ‘on. At least TRY some. This cider is some of the best in all of Equestria!” Applejack went and grabbed a bottle bringing it back to me.

Ah, peer pressure. It’s always there.

“Alright, I’ll try some.” Applejack handed— or mouthed, I guess— the bottle to me. I took a small swig and set the bottle down.

“It’s okay…”

“See? What’d I tell ya?” Applejack punched my shoulder. “It’s not goin’ to kill ya."

“It will if he drinks too much it will.” Fluttershy suddenly spoke up. “Alcohol isn’t a game you know.”

“Speaking of games, that reminds me.” Twilight shifted her attention to me. “Hey Chris, that other rectangle-thing you have, the white one, does that play games too?”

“You mean the iPod? No, that just plays music. It only has a couple thousand songs on it though.”

Twilight’s jaw opened up again like I’ve seen it do several times before. After Fluttershy shook her, she snapped out of her shock and shook her head in disbelief.

“I’m probably not the only one here who doesn’t know, so I'll say it. What is an ‘aye-pod’?” Rarity asked to no one in particular.

“It’s about the size of… that phone I showed you. Remember?” Twilight looked to her friends who all nodded their heads.

“How many ponies did you show my phone too?”

“Just a couple… dozen. But still, there are a thousand individual songs stored inside that? And you can play them at any time?”

“At least two thousand songs, actually. And yes, you can play any one of them at any time, as long as you have headphones or speakers plugged into it.”

Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy were the only ones to have understood what was being said, as evident by their stunned expressions. Applejack just looked confused and Pinkie Pie was busy playing with a balloon. She squeezed up against her chest and it popped, her iconic curly mane deflating. She rolled over onto her stomach and jumped back to its familiar zany look.

“Heh, you’d better show that to Vinyl Scratch some time. I’m sure even mentioning what it does would make her your new best friend.” She happily announced before running off onto the dance floor.

I didn’t know Pinkie Pie was listening to that whole bit, and I looked down to the bottle of cider I still held in my hand. Applejack took notice and playfully punched me again, prompting me to take another drink. Fluttershy came up and sat on the other side of me against the wall, obviously tired. Rainbow Dash appeared again above the crowd and flew over to us.

“Hey guys!” she slurred her words, shakily flying into the wall and falling on top of Twilight.

“Hey, get off of me!” Twilight kicked out from underneath Rainbow Dash. “Geez, Rarity wasn’t kidding about you.”

“W-What do you mean?” Rainbow Dash tried to get up but fell over.

“That’s what she means.” Rarity shook her head in disappointment. I realized now that when I sat down beside them, a pony was about a head taller than me. I don’t know why, but this revelation got me to take another drink from the bottle.

“Whoa there cowboy.” Applejack was getting worried. “Ah’m honored, but ya don’t wanna go drinkin’ too much of that. Trust me.”

Confound these ponies, they drive me to drink. Kinda always wanted to say that.

Chapter 9: Delusional Allusions

Chapter 9: Delusional Allusions

So here I am, and I don’t know where ‘here’ is.

In all likelihood I’m not even in my own universe.

I can’t remember anything since last night.

My head hurts.

And I can’t get up.

Albeit I have been in worse situations. For instance, two days ago I woke up in a jail cell and was interrogated. That was a first.

I laid down for what felt like an eternity. I’m not even sure what I’m lying on. I can’t move, and I can’t really feel either. The room was dead silent pitch black. My eyes slowly adjusted to make out a ceiling, or at least I hope it was. For all I know I could be on my side, or I could be on the ceiling looking at the floor. There was a cupcake stuck to the surface, and I decided to pass the time analyzing it. The wrapper was foil, probably tin although it could be wax. The cupcake had a visible bite taken out of a side, and I could see by the dark innards it was chocolate. The frosting is really thick, so that explains why it hadn’t fallen off the surface it clung to. I can’t make out the color due to the low light levels, but my guess it was a bright red or pink. There were also star-shaped sprinkles. The diameter of the base is maybe two inches across, possibly three.

After deciphering the properties of the cupcake, I closed my eyes hoping to go back to sleep. No luck. There was a loud plopping sound and I looked back up and the cupcake had moved. I don’t know where it went, but I’m guessing that what I was looking at was a ceiling because there were no smears indicating it slid down a wall. The residue from frosting that still clung to ceiling made an odd abstract shape somewhat resembling a cross between a radio and a blazing inferno. That could just be the texture of the ceiling though. It’s made out of some sort of wood. Probably Oak, but I’m no expert at the stuff.

“Hngh?”

Someone gtoaned. So I wherever I am I’m not alone. Something shifted above me and I realized that I couldn’t move because whatever it was it was on top of me. Suddenly I felt weight on my chest, but it’s not that heavy; rough estimate of 50-70lbs, maybe more. I had no trouble breathing, so it isn’t a big issue right now. What is an issue is the drum solo playing in my head right now.

I am never drinking again. How in the hell is alcohol so damn popular?

I found the strength to turn my head to the left. I was in a bedroom, but I’m not sure who’s. Beside me there was a nightstand with a small lamp on it, and a window with the shades pulled down. I could see a dresser on the far wall and a chair leaning up against it. The dresser looked handcrafted, and was obviously done by a professional. On top of it sat a few picture frames, but I couldn’t make out what pictures sat inside them. There was also a door next to the dresser. I turned my attention to the lamp on the nightstand. It was made of some sort of metal, probably bronze or brass. The lamp shade wasn’t anything special and was made out of wool.

Please turn on.

My pleas weren’t working. This lamp sure is stubborn.

Please? I’ll buy you a nice… light bulb? Oh wait. I don’t have any money.

I stared at that lamp. I could tell it was mocking me, so I prepared myself for battle. I studied every curve, every dent, every square centimeter of that lamp for probably an hour until I found the strength to move my arm. I gave it my all to pry my arm out from under the sheets and lift it up. I aimed to move my hand and positioned it properly; right underneath and inside the shade. I fumbled with what I thought was switch and tugged, but that only sent the lamp crashing to the floor.

I didn’t hear it break, so it should be alright. Wait, that means I’m elevated.

It sunk in that I was, indeed, on a bed.

Then why do I feel so crammed? Beds are supposed to be bigger than this.

In defeat, I hung my arm over the side of the bed. I thought about trying to find the lamp, but that was impossible. There was no telling how far it fell and where it landed, and I couldn’t even touch the floor. For all I know it could be twenty or so feet below. That would explain why I didn’t hear it break; if it fell so far down sound couldn’t travel back in time for me to hear it. That made sense.

Wait, no it doesn’t… this is a hangover, isn’t it? Oh right, I drank that cider last night and then…

That thought never finished. Defeated, I turned my head around to examine the other side of the room. Something was blocking my line of sight though. It took up most of my vision, but I could see above the mass even if what I saw was only more ceiling.

A hill? No… a pillow. That must be it.

I brought my arm around and poked it.

It’s not squishy like a pillow. It’s fuzzy though. Is it one of those fuzzy zebra-like pillows?

It makes sense. Even in the dark I could still make out slight color differences, and there was stripe pattern to the pillow. But what was in the pillow that made it so dense? I poked it again.

“Nuhh.”

There’s that noise again. No, it’s a different noise. Did the pillow do that? I kept poking it in hopes of finding my answer.

“Stop it.”

My heart skipped a beat. Did the pillow just talk? I froze out of fear, but curiosity kept me going. Somehow I mustered the strength to speak.

“P-Pillow? Did you talk?”

No answer.

“Pillow?”

I poked it again.

“I said stop.” It replied.

So pillows can talk. I never knew that. No! I’m hung over! I’m delusional! Pillows don’t talk! Then who’s talking?

My only answers seemed to come from this stripped lump, so I went with my best lead and kept poking it. After a few more exchanges of it telling me to stop, it started moving all on its own! I froze again, hoping I didn’t piss it off. I went to poke it one more time but the figure flipped over.

“OW!” It cried out.

Oh, it’s Rainbow Dash. She’s not a pillow. I accidently jabbed her in the left eye, and she slowly started to open her good one.

Wait, Rainbow Dash? Why the hell am I in a bed with you?

She must have had the same thought. Her glare became one of confusion and then horror. I don’t know who screamed first, but we both did.

“Will ya knock it out? Some of us are tryin’ to sleep!” I heard Applejack say from somewhere in the room.

Rainbow Dash started fidgeting violently trying to get up, but she was trapped too. I looked at her and shook my head, and it dawned on her that we both weren’t going anywhere soon. Her eyes narrowed at me and I could see a cold sweat form on her face. Pegasi must be stronger than humans, because she brought her head up to look over the bed. I hope she saw whatever it was that rested on top of us. I gave up hope and dug my face into the mattress. Whatever was there it wasn’t going to budge. I glanced at Rainbow Dash to see her eyes filled with fear, so it couldn’t be good.

“What is it?” I whispered to her.

“I-I don’t know.” She practically cried. The fear of being trapped forever must have given her a surge of adrenaline, because she kicked out with a newfound strength, sending whatever it was on top of us flying into the ceiling and relieving the pressure off my chest. Her face went from joy to fear to anger and then she turned to face me, and kicked me off the bed.

I landed on the ground, taking the bed sheets with me. I almost fell on the lamp which sat on the floor beside me, and that would have been painful had it been a few inches to the left. I looked up and saw Rainbow Dash jump off the bed and over me, and straight into the dresser knocking her out. Whatever she kicked into the air came back down on the bed with a large thud.

I heard two separate squeaking noises quickly afterwards. One came from the bed (and it could have just been the bed itself) but another sounded more feminine. There was a moment of silence before another loud thud, but this one sounded harder like something hit a wall. I moved my head to get a sense of direction, even though I still couldn’t get up. I lost the ability to move my arm and the rest of my body was still unresponsive. As I looked about, I immediately regretted inspecting under the bed.

Two glassy eyes stared out from underneath, prompting me to scream again. My scream was joined with that of two others, one was that feminine voice again and a new one. Terror sunk in and I somehow stood up, but I forgot my leg was broken, and shifting all my weight on it was a bad idea. Immediately crumpled to a knee and then back onto my back. I couldn’t see what was under the bed anymore, but there was a horribly disfigured being on the bed. It looked like a pony but had an enormous growth sticking out of its head. I tried to focus, but my eyesight was blurred from the light that now shone through cracks in the blinds.

“Chris? What the hay are ya doing in mah room?” The figure stood up on the bed.

“Applejack?” I suddenly realized it was her as color appeared everywhere in the room from the sunlight.

“Wh-What happened to your h-head?” I shakily pointed at the black lump on her scalp. She raised a hoof and prodded it, and then brought it back down and sniffed it.

“Chocolate?”

Blinding light now flooded the room as if someone decided to start a magnesium fire. The room got drowned out by the intense white light, and I tried to get up again but stumbled face first into the floor.

“What’s everypony doing?” I heard Fluttershy’s voice. Looking up, I saw she had just flicked on a light switch.

“Is everypony alright? What’s going on?” She rubbed her eyes and blinked, surveying the room.

I sat up and looked around too. Applejack was now standing on the bed a bit flustered, but intact. She had a cupcake protruding from her forehead, and it must have been the one that was on the ceiling earlier. Rainbow Dash was still unconscious, but Fluttershy was trying to wake her up. And as for the unknown being under the bed…

Pinkie Pie stuck her head out. “Hey, what’s all the commotion?” She scared me half to death and I recoiled back, almost kicking her in the face.

“What in tarnation?” Applejack leaned over the edge. “What’re ya doin’ under mah bed? And what’re ya’ll doin’ in mah room?”

"Why you all forget?" Pinkie Pie crawled out and popped up. Fluttershy got a groggy Rainbow Dash to come to and the entire room shifted its attention to the pink mare.

“Let me explain from the beginning, since you all don’t seem to remember. Chris drank the rest of that bottle of cider and got drunk. He started arguing with his crutch, threw it against a wall, and fell asleep on Rarity’s shoulder. After a couple minutes I thought it’d be funny to tickle you and you kicked Rainbow Dash in the face knocking her out. Applejack said it was alright if the two of you spent the night in her room, since Chris was already passed out and would just be a hassle to take back to the library, and Dashie was out cold too. So Rarity and Twilight brought both of them up here and set them to bed. Fluttershy was also tired but didn’t want to go home in the dark so she crawled in the bed in the middle of the night. After the party around 3 o’clock Twilight and Rarity left to go home, leaving me and Applejack. AJ offered me to spend the night, so I did. She was really worn out and must have forgotten about you three because she crawled right on top of you and went to sleep. There wasn’t much room anywhere else in the bed, so I slept underneath it where it’s surprisingly nice and cozy.”

After she took a deep breath, Pinkie Pie sat down grinning.

“Forgetty Forgettersons!” She playfully smacked Rainbow Dash on the back of the head, almost making her black out again.

“Oh, and we signed your cast last night after you fell asleep but before you kicked Dashie.” Pinkie Pie added, and Rainbow Dash angrily glared at me.

I lifted my leg to look at the cast, and it was completely covered in signatures. Some were more elegant and simple while others looked like they were scribbled on with a jackhammer. Covering up most of my shin, Rainbow Dash had very poorly drawn her cutie mark. There were maybe forty signatures total, but I didn’t recognize more than ten of them. Aside from the Mane Six, I could also make out Big Mac, Cherilee, Lyra, and Vinyl’s. The others were either too illegible or I simply didn’t know who they were.

“Wait, where’s mah hat?”

“Now that you mention it,” I set my leg back down, “Where’s my crutch?”

“Probably still the barn. If everypony helps clean up I’m sure we’ll find them in no time!”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes narrowed and she stared at the window.

“Oh no ya don’t!” Applejack jumped off the bed and landed beside her friend. “You’re helpin’ clean up the mess.”

“Fine…” The pegasus tried to stand up but fell over. Applejack dragged her by the tail and out the door with Fluttershy in tow.

“Hey Pinkie Pie, can you help me? I can’t really get around that easily.”

“Sure thing! I’ll help you find Crutchy in no time!”

“What…?”

“You named your crutch ‘Crutchy’ last night. Remember?”

“No…”

Back in the barn everything was chaos. At least a dozen unconscious ponies were sprawled out around the floor. One of the two enormous speakers was on its side, and the place reeked of sweat and apples. The banner that hung up before was completely obliterated, and what pieces remained were scattered around the place. The walls were covered in stains of various colors, and smashed cakes and other pastries littered the ground. If this is how the barn looks, I do not want to see how things are outside.

Fluttershy flew around the room with a gas mask and several cans of air freshener before she started cleaning. Rainbow Dash was putting bottles, mugs, and glasses in separate bins while Applejack was trying to wake up the other ponies while she ran around with a broom. The magenta pony that got in a fight with Rarity was still here, and she shot across the room and threw up into one of the bins Rainbow Dash was dumping glasses into.

“Eh. It’s all getting washed anyway.” She shrugged and kept piling in glasses, even as the mare kept puking.

“Found mah hat!” Applejack dug her head out from underneath the DJ’s turntable, smiled, and returned to sweeping.

Fluttershy landed next to a stallion and woke him up. At first he looked grateful to meet Fluttershy, but that expression passed when she handed him a towel and a bucket before flying away. A mare that was lying next to him took the bucket and vomited in it, only to pass out again. Pinkie Pie brought me over to a wall sat me up against it. She disappeared for a second and returned with a box of trash bag

“Pinkie Pie, are your parties always like this?”

“Yup! But this one was one of the biggest!” I realized she smelled like candy. Slowly but surely I was regaining my senses.

“Until we find Crutchy, you can tie these garbage bags closed as we fill them.”

Ugh. I wish smell could of waited to return.

“Please stop calling it that.”

“Why? It's cute!" she snickered and trotted away.

Something urged me to look into the garbage bag I held but I resisted, and quickly tied it off and tossed it aside. Pinkie Pie emerged again carrying another, and I tied that one too. This process repeated itself ten more times before Twilight walked into the barn.

“Wow. That really was one heck of a party, wasn’t it?” She used her magic to pick up the fallen speaker. “I thought things would be worse in here though.”

“We’ve been cleanin’ for almost twenty minutes Twi.” Applejack stopped to address her. “It was a lot worse earlier. How’s it like outside?”

“Not too bad actually. There’s just a bunch of garbage on the ground, but otherwise it’s pretty clean compared to how it is in here. Need any help?”

“If ya don’t mind. Chris can’t find is crutch.”

“Oh, you mean Crutchy?” Twilight teased.

“Stop that!” I called out to her. Twilight looked at me and started laughing before going about cleaning.

“Heh, Chris you’re not sobered up yet are you? You look terrible.” Rainbow Dash sat another bag of garbage in front of me.

“You don’t look like Princess Celestia herself either Rainbow Dash.”

“Yeah I probably don’t. Here have some breakfast.” She tossed me a still intact apple pie.

“Thanks, but I’m not that hungry right now.”

“Okay then, more for me!” She leaned over and took an enormous bite out of the pie. “Itth good!” She spat chunks of it out as she talked, which fortunately wasn't long. Rainbow Dash turned and spread her wings. She tried to take to the air but stumbled and fell over. She mumbled something and stomped a hoof on the ground and went back to work. Pinkie Pie appeared again with another trash bag and dropped it down.

“Still haven’t found Crutch… your crutch yet. Also, now that I’m thinking, what were you dreaming about last night?”

“I don’t remember any sort of dream. Why?”

“You were talking in your sleep, silly!”

“I’ve never talked in my sleep before. Are you sure it was me and not Applejack or someone else?”

“Nope! It absotutie-lutly was you!”

“Well, what was I saying?”

“You were rambling on about going to a place that sells walls and you wanted to buy somepony. You also said something cardboard, a bird cage, and fiery lemons.”

A place that sells walls? Is she talking about Wal-Mart?

“Just so you know slavery isn’t socially acceptable nor is it legal.” Pinkie Pie sternly bonked me on the head.

“Slavery?” Twilight walked up with another bag of trash. “What about slavery?”

“Chris was talking in his sleep last night about going to a wall store and buying some innocent pony!”

“Wal-Mart, I think you mean Wal-Mart.” I spoke up. “It’s the name of a store where I come from that sells just about everything you could imagine, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t sell individual walls.”

“Well then why call a store that?” Pinkie Pie asked and I shrugged.

“They sell anything? Even other ponies?” Twilight cocked a brow.

Wait… shit. I think I know where this is going. I must have been talking about the show in my sleep.

“No, just the toys.”

SHIT! I need to stop talking!

“What toys?”

“Err…” I sheepishly looked to the floor. Pinkie Pie’s eyes bulged to the point they might have popped out of their sockets, but Twilight looked at her disgusted and smacked her on the side of the head.

“Oh my. I-I don’t think he means those kind of toys Pinkie Pie.” Fluttershy said. When did she get here?

“I-I don’t! I swear! Just toys of the show!”

“What show?” Twilight kept pestering.

DAMMIT! I don’t think I can lie my way out of this now…

“Chris?”

“I-I can… sigh. I thought this was going to happen sooner or later.”

“What?”

“I-I can’t say. I’m sorry. I just can’t. I don’t know how you all will react.”

“It’s alright, Chris. You can tell us, after all we are your friends.” Fluttershy sat beside me and put a foreleg over my back. “We are your friends, right?”

“Of course you are! You’re some of the best friends I could ever have. Kind of the only friends I’ve ever had.” I mumbled that last sentence. I don’t do well under pressure and I just wanted to sink away into the floor and out of sight. Fluttershy heard that one way or another and wrapped me in an embracing hug.

“Hey, the party’s over fellas. Also, ah found Crutchy. Thing somehow got up in the rafters.” Applejack walked over carrying my crutch. She slowly placed it on the ground and took a minute to absorb the scene.

“Now what’s goin’ on over here?”

“I’m not entirely sure.” Twilight tried to explain but couldn’t bring out the words.

“Well, does it concern us?” Applejack asked, not fully expecting an answer.

“Yes.” I quietly spoke in almost a whimper. “All of you. It kind of concerns your whole world.”

Chapter 10: A Fictional Truth

Chapter 10: A Fictional Truth

Oh man, how the hell am I going to do this?

I asked myself that question countless times since I got back from the party. It was late in the evening and I was sitting on my bed in the library contemplating what to do. The Mane Six would be gathering here any minute now for my ‘announcement’ and I still had no idea how I was going to say their world wasn’t exactly real. Well it is, since I’m living in it right now. Maybe I could show them an episode of the show? I had the whole first season on my laptop after all. It could probably do a lot of the explaining for me, or at least provide evidence that I wasn’t crazy.

Let me piece everything together: so I’m in Equestria, a fictional yet real country with fictional yet real characters in a fictional yet real world. Alternate universe, maybe? Although they were just theory on Earth there was no concrete evidence debunking them either. So if there are alternate universes, does that prove the Multiverse theory? I crossed between one and landed in this one, so I guess so. I never really paid attention to astronomy. I’d love to look into the subject more on my laptop but there is no possible way for me to get a Wi-Fi connection. Maybe Twilight had books on the matter? Last time I checked there were only ones about the constellations and nearby star systems. Maybe I’m in the same universe, but a different galaxy? The chances of one world making a cartoon show about another planet’s civilization down the last detail without the two never coming into contact is incomprehensible. Is the government hiding something? Well, it always is, but did they leak the info to Hasbro so they could make a cartoon show? No, I’m just overthinking things again.

Still, I could just be in a coma. That would explain everything.

The first ones to come to the library were Rarity and Fluttershy; they both wanted to get here before the sun completely set. Twilight used her magic to turn a small chair into a circular table that now resided in the middle of the room, and I sat down on the floor at one end with my laptop sitting open on the table. I didn’t know she could turn one object into another like that. The table was maybe eight feet in diameter and made of the same wood as the chair was. Rarity and Twilight were making small talk at the opposite end and I saw Fluttershy looking over at me puzzled.

“What is that?” She pointed to the laptop.

“A computer.”

“Oh… Like your phone?”

“Yeah, except it’s bigger and can do more things.”

“Oh.” Fluttershy walked up and sat next to me inspecting the laptop. She started fiddling with the screen and accidently closed it.

“Oh my!” I-I’m so s-sorry!” She started to tear up.

D’aww…

“It’s perfectly fine, you didn’t break it. It’s supposed to do that.” I opened and closed it repeatedly to show her it was still in one piece and she took a deep sigh of relief.

“So how long is this supposed to take?” Rarity asked, “I should be catching up on my beauty sleep, and I have a lot of orders to complete.”

“I can’t imagine it taking more than an hour, Rarity.” I told her. Rarity just pouted and threw her head down on the table with a loud bang.

“Oww…” She moaned. Fluttershy got up and sat down next to her stroking her back right when there was another knock on the door. Twilight got up to answer it and returned with Applejack and Pinkie Pie, who sat down next to Rarity and Fluttershy respectively.

“So exactly what is it ya want to show us?” Applejack turned to me and I opened the laptop back up trying to hide behind the screen.

“Not yet Applejack,” Twilight said, “We’re still waiting for Rainbow Dash.”

“Then ah guess we’ll be here all night.” Applejack moaned and set her head down on the table too.

“Oh what IS that?” Pinkie Pie jumped up onto the wooden surface and leaned over me to look at the screen.

“It looks like that other rectangle thingy but it’s bigger and has another rectangle thingy with rectangle buttons all over it!” She excitingly smashed her hoof down on the keyboard. “What’d that do?”

“Nothing. And if you keep doing that you could break it,” I pulled the laptop away and her ears went flat.

“Oh. Sorry!” She cautiously stepped back and jumped backwards off the table, landing behind Twilight and startling Fluttershy.

“So where is Dashie? I thought she’d get here before we did.”

“Really?” Applejack brought her back up sternly staring at Pinkie Pie who slowly backed away and behind Fluttershy.

“Sorry I’m late!” Rainbow Dash burst through the door and ran up to the table, skidding to a stop and slamming into Applejack.

“Sorry I’m late!” She repeated. “I got caught up doing something… important…”

“Sleepin’?” Applejack scoffed. “We should all be doin’ that right now after that party.”

“Sorry girls,” Twilight began, “but Chris said it was really important, so I thought it couldn’t wait. And now that we’re all here, we can begin!” Twilight brought out that black book again and set down on the table.

“Hey wait, where’s Spike?” Pinkie Pie spoke out.

“Out gathering gemstones.” Twilight answered, “I don’t think Chris would want him here for this anyway.”

“Alright, now do begin.” Rarity said bringing her head up. The whole room now looked at me, and I slid out from behind the monitor. I took a deep breath and sat up.

“Might as well get this over with. I’m not quite sure where to begin, so I might as well say it;” I started off. By their blank faces, I'd say so far so good.

“You’re world isn’t… mine is…” I hesitated, a cold sweat running down my neck. “Erm…”

“Dang it Chris, spit it out!” Applejack got up but quickly sat back down, hiding her face shamefully under her hat. “Sorry…”

“Come on Chris, just say it. It can’t be that bad.” Twilight tried covering for her friend.

“Alright, here it is. Your world isn’t exactly 'real'.”

The room fell into an awkward silence. There were numerous glances between each other from all of us with some form of nonverbal communication. Twilight had that black book open in front of her and went to write what I said down, but decided against it and lowered the quill. A few more seconds of silence passed before Rainbow Dash busted out laughing.

“Not real? I’m pretty sure I’m real.” She brought a hoof up and pounded on her chest. “I’m pretty sure you’re real too. And so is Applejack and all of us. This floor too.” She stomped her hoof back down on the floor.

“Chris, you called us all down for this?”

“Wait a second, let me rephrase that.” I cleared my throat and started again, “You’re world is real, but in my world it exists as a cartoon show, or rather it's fictional.”

I should have expected them all to start laughing. Even Fluttershy tried to hide back a smile but couldn’t. Twilight and Fluttershy tried to calm themselves and the others fell to the floor. Applejack got back up and threw herself down on the table.

“Ya really expect us to believe that? That yer not of this world and ours is fake?”

“Wait, what’s a cartoon?” Pinkie Pie immediately stopped laughing and stood back up. Rarity and Rainbow Dash took a bit longer, but they calmed down too eventually.

“A cartoon is basically the same thing as a comic, Pinkie Pie.” Twilight told her. Pinkie Pie took a minute to absorb this and put it into context, only to fall over laughing again.

“You sure you’re not a wee bit tipsy still, Chris?” Rainbow Dash sarcastically spoke.

“No, I’m being serious. I can prove it.” I was about to open up an episode on my laptop but Rarity interrupted,

“Then prove it. Tell us something about ourselves that we wouldn’t have told you.”

“Alright, I can do that too...” I moved the computer aside and cleared my throat again.

“Pinkie Pie, you once thought all your friends abandoned you causing you to have a bit of a meltdown. Twilight has a toy doll named Smarty Pants and Rarity has a crush on Prince Blueblood. Applejack, you can be a bit too prideful at times and end up only hurting yourself. Fluttershy, you once went into an extreme fit of rage at the Grand Galloping Gala. And Rainbow Dash had successfully pulled off a sonic rainboom only twice in her life, once when she was a filly and more recently at a competition in Cloudsdale. Also, you six are the physical representations of the Elements of Harmony; Kindness, Laughter, Loyalty, Magic, Honesty, and Generosity.”

The room went quiet and stayed quiet for a while. There were many exchanges between the mares, before Twilight spoke up.

“Alright, so you know some things about us. It doesn’t prove anything. Somepony could’ve told you all that.”

“That’s why I have the show on my computer. I’d like to show you all an episode to prove myself.” I started up the first episode and turned the laptop around so they could all see, and I moved over to their side of the table to watch as well.

”Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land..."

“Alright, so ya got some fancy movin’ pictures.”

“Shh…”

”My Little Pony, My Little Pony, ahh ahh ahh ahhh…"

(My Little Pony)

"I used to wonder what friendship could be"

(My Little Pony)

"Until you all shared its magic with me...”

Twilight looked repulsed. “Was that… me? My voice…?”

The others were more in confusion if anything. Rarity looked at me and I shrugged. As the introduction rolled, they more so became horrified or repulsed as to what they were seeing. Personally I don’t blame them; I don’t like the intro either.

”…There you are, Twilight. Moondancer is having a little get-together in the west side castle courtyard. You wanna come?”

“Oh, sorry girls. I got a lot of studying to catch up on.”

“Does that pony do anything but study?...”

Twilight blushed and sunk back a bit muttering something under her breath. Fluttershy looked down and tried to comfort her, but her attention was quickly drawn back to the screen.

”…Soup’s on everypony! Now why don’t ah introduce y’all to the Apple family?”

“Thanks, but I really need to hurry…”

No real change in their facial expressions, but Applejack stifled a laugh behind her frozen glare. They were all wide-eyed and sat in stony silence. Applejack lifted up a leg during the part where she introduces her family, looked at her hoof and poked Rainbow Dash.

“…Hm… There’s supposed to me a pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash clearing the clouds.”

“Well, she’s not doing a very good job, is she?”

*crash*

“Uh, excuse me. Let me help you… Oops…”

Twilight grunted and Rainbow Dash blushed sheepishly trying to hold back a smile. Oddly she laughed and fell to the floor in unison with her onscreen self.

”…Oh, you mean my mane? Well, it’s a long story. I’m just here to check on the decorations and I’ll be out of your hair.”

“Out of my hair? What about your hair?...”

“That’s… me.” Rarity looked down and mumbled something before bringing her head back up.

”…Oh my. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten your birds. I’m just here to check up on the music and it’s sounding beautiful. I’m Twilight Sparkle. What’s your name?”

“Um… I’m Fluttershy.”

“I’m sorry, what was that?...”

Fluttershy, embarrassed, sunk down hiding under the table. Twilight looked at her, sighed and went back to watching the show. Fluttershy brought herself back up a few minutes later.

Surprise! Hi. I’m Pinkie Pie and I threw this party just for you. Were you surprised, were you, were you? Huh huh huh?”

“Very surprised. Libraries are supposed to be quiet.”

Pinkie Pie giggled and playfully leaned on Twilight. “Ah, that was a fun party.” She whispered in Twilight’s ear.

“…This can’t be good.”

“Remain calm, everypony. There must be a reasonable explanation.”

“Ooh! Ooh! I love guessing games. Is she hiding?...”

Pinkie Pie looked around and Applejack shot her a confused look. Pinkie Pie shrugged and motioned for her to be quiet.

“…Does my crown no longer count, now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years? Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?”

“I did, and I know who you are. You’re the Mare in the Moon. Nightmare Moon.

“Well well well, somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I’m here.

“You’re here to… to…”

“Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!...”

The credits just finished. The room was so dead quiet you could hear everyone’s individual heartbeats; some pumping faster than others. Twilight still had the book open and she looked down to it, closing it; she hadn’t written anything. The six of them, still wide-eyed (I don’t think they blinked once watching that) slowly turned their heads to face me. I was sitting off to the side and stared back at them with the greatest poker face I could manage. I slowly slid over to my laptop and closed it.

“And that’s just one episode. There’s a whole season and a second one was supposed to air soon.”

They still haven’t broken eye contact yet. Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Pinkie Pie patted themselves on the chest one after the other to make sure they were in fact solid. Applejack was the first to break the silence,

“So…” she began.

“We’re… not real?” Fluttershy finished her sentence.

“No, you’re real! I’m real, I’m here talking to you guys, you’re talking to me. Living, breathing…”

Twilight slipped out of her trance and looked at the closed laptop.

“So… in your world, we’re just characters in this cartoon show… but our world is real…” the gears were grinding in her head and the words tumbled out of her mouth. “…How many episodes are there?”

“Twenty-six."

They seem to be taking this better than I could’ve hoped for.

“And you watch this why?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Uh… about that… the show has a… unique… fanbase,” I began, “While the show was probably intended for little kids no older then twelve, it has actually gotten very popular with those up to the age of forty… most of them male…”

None of them took that news well. Fluttershy was, well, flustered. Rarity looked disgusted and to Pinkie Pie what I said seemed to have gone in one ear and out the other. Twilight and Applejack were still processing the information and Rainbow Dash looked absolutely horrified.

“You mean…” the pegasus tried to say, “there are guys twice your age, who watch US go about our daily lives!?”

“Yeah, but there’s no harm by it! They love the show, they love you guys, they love the… plot… a lot of them just think it is a really awesome and funny show! That’s why…” I cut myself off. I don’t think they wanted me to go into any more detail.

“These… fans…” Rarity hesitated, “What are they like? What do they… do?”

Oh god I don’t know how to say.

“It’s… really complex. There are some… fan made fictional stories about a lot of the ponies here in Equestria, and not all of them are that pleasant. I can tell you later if you want.”

“Don’t worry,” Twilight reopened the book, “we have all night.”

Two hours later I had finished explaining everything I knew about Bronies, fan fictions, the community, fan art, haters, and the development team behind the show. They wanted to see more of the show, so I let it play for them and they watched the next few episodes. Spike returned in the midst of it but avoided us all and went to bed. The whole time Twilight was burning through the book writing down everything I said previously furiously trying to catch up.

Episode five just finished (the one with Gilda) and it was decided they had enough and needed to get to sleep. After all they hadn’t slept well last night either and it was just after midnight now.

“That sure is an eye opener.” Rarity said. “Goodnight everypony. I guess we’ll see each other again tomorrow then?”

“Yeah, but ah need some sleep. Why don’t we meet up here again after lunch?”

“I’m fine with that, you girls head off. I’m going to bed soon too.”

“Hey Pinkie Pie, sorry Gilda treated you like that. If I had known I would have stopped her sooner.”

“Don’t take it personally Dashie.” The pink mare yawned. ”You’re not responsible for the actions of others.”

“Okay, well… uh… good night everypony, and Chris.”

The door closed and they were gone, leaving me and Twilight alone the library.

“AGH!” I don’t know why I screamed or why I smashed my head against the table. I hit it so hard it shook and turned back into the tiny chair it was before with my laptop landing neatly in my lap.

“So Chris,” Twilight shifted towards me, “That was… interesting. So my world exists as this cartoon show in yours, and there's only one explanation I can think of. Although that is just a theory, it does kind of make sense. The scientists back in Canterlot would know more about this stuff than I do.”

She pondered, looking up to ceiling in deep thought. Her gaze slowly lowered the open book in front of her she had almost completely burned through. “I should get this book to those scholars immediately!”

“Well, it is getting late.” I protested. “Why don’t you deliver it tomorrow? Or do you have a spell that can transport books?”

“I have spells that can teleport myself, although I can’t use it over great distances. Spike usually sends my letters to Princess Celestia, but he’s ever sent a whole book before. I’m not even sure if it would survive!”

“Then I guess you’ll have to deliver it yourself.”

“Yeah, I guess so. So are you going to bed then?”

“Yeah. I’m getting tired. Good night.”

Everything went better than expected, I guess. I’m not hated, I don’t think, and there were no violent uprisings either so I’ll call it a win. Tomorrow should be interesting.

Chapter 11: Prophecies and Quantum Mechanics

Chapter 11: Prophecies and Quantum Mechanics

“That was fast!” Twilight happily cheered. Spike had just barfed out a letter from Princess Celestia and read it aloud to all of us.

”My faithful student Twilight Sparkle,” She began,

”We have had some time to read through what information you have gathered. The fact that your work is incomplete, along with that it was delivered two days early implied it was of dire importance.

And indeed it was.

The news has been met with widespread criticism across the Royal Equestrian Chamber, and in response the material has been entrusted with our top scholars and scientists for analysis. The High Council itself has requested inquiry into our friend and desires his immediate presence in Canterlot, as well as yourself and the rest of the Elements of Harmony. I have sent a chariot to take you here and it should be arriving at noon. It of the utmost importance that you do not tell anypony about the current situation, let alone leak any of the information you gave us.

Sincerely, Princess Celestia.”

“What information?” Spike asked.

“Oh right, you weren’t here last night. We can’t tell you, sorry.”

“I was here! …Sleeping.”

“I’m sorry Spike.” Twilight frowned. “But this is a direct order from the Princess! You cannot come, and please do not tell anypony where we are going.”

“Fine…” Spike got up and walked out of the room.

“Wait wait wait. Did she say at noon? That’s in ten minutes! I still need to get the clouds cleared!” Rainbow Dash cried out.

“What? Ah thought ya could clear the sky in ‘ten seconds flat’.” Applejack smugly retorted.

“Yeah, well… there are a lot of them today!”

“It’s alright Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy got up, “I can help you.”

“Alright, but we need to be quick!” Rainbow Dash shot out of the room leaving her signature contrail. Fluttershy slowly floated away and after her.

“So, the High Council wants to see us?” Rarity asked to no one in particular. “They must be really interested in this.”

“Well why wouldn’t they?” Pinkie Pie spoke. “How would you handle it if you just learned your world is a cartoon show?”

“Pinkie Pie, dear…” Rarity tried to get through to her friend.

“Oh, right. Teehee.”

“What’s the High Council?” I intrigued.

“The High Council, second to the Princesses, is the highest authority in Equestria,” Twilight answered, “And the Royal Equestrian Chamber below them. The High Council consists of six ponies; hoof selected by Celestia herself, and they are Celestia's top advisors. Not much else is known about them though. It wouldn't be a far cry to call them a secret society.”

“Um… excuse me everypony, but the chariot is here.” Fluttershy stuck her head in through a window.

“Fluttershy! Get back out here and help me!”

“Oh… sorry.”

The flight to Canterlot was something of its own. The royal guards touched down, got all seven of us to cram into the chariot, and we took off. For some reason they didn’t want Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy to fly, and of course Rainbow Dash argued. After we got to about three thousand feet, it became obvious why; our escort was being escorted. Two Pegasus guards appeared and flew in formation with us, and a second chariot came up in front of ours. There was a Unicorn guard (I’ve never seen one before) in the chariot. This guard’s armor was the same in every way to the pegasus guards, but his helmet bore a snow white crest instead of blue. His gray coat was a stark contrast to the rest of the chariot, and his horn began to shine with a pale green. A small bubble formed above and around our chariot, enveloping it completely for the remainder of the flight.

And for the remainder of the flight; Twilight looked around in awe at the bubble, Applejack slept, Rarity tended to her mane, Fluttershy and I were in the corner cowering in fear from height and claustrophobia, Rainbow Dash looked bored, and Pinkie Pie kept trying to get us to play a game of ‘Eye-Spy’.

The party came to a stop in the middle of the castle courtyard. One of the walls embedded into the side of the mountain. The bubble that encased us disappeared, and our escorts flew away leaving us alone in the yard. The courtyard itself was significantly small compared to the rest of the castle, but was still larger than most parking lots. Rectangular in shape, eight paths converged to an enormous marble fountain in the center that must be two stories tall. Well-kept hedges ran along all the outer walls, only to stop to make way for a doorway. At the opposite end, one of the doors opened up from a building the stuck out of the mountain, with Princess Luna walking out to greet us. Even though the sun shone bright and there was no wind, her mane still moved fluidly and small stars twinkling in its transparent shade of blue.

“Ah, Twilight and friends, it is nice you were able to make it, and I apologize for the short notice. Once we understood exactly what was going on, we wasted no time getting you here. ‘Tia is inside waiting. Will the seven of you please come with me?”

“Of course, Princess.” Twilight bowed when talking to her and we followed Luna through the door she came from, closing it and presumably locking it with a faint glow of her horn.

“Um… Princess Luna?” Rarity asked but didn’t get an answer.

This part of the castle was far different from the others I had seen before. The nondescript door we entered through gave into a long, windowless hallway where the only form of light came from a spell cast by the Princess’s horn. The hallway was carved into the mountain; the floors and walls all the same dull, hard brown stone. Water trickled freely through cracks in the ceiling and walls forming shallow puddles on the ground below. They never got much more than an inch deep; the water easily seeped through the rocks and out of sight. Moss clung to almost every square inch of surface area, penetrating the several cracks that ran along everywhere. The hallway itself was as tall as it was wide, maybe fifteen feet. However there was no telling how long it was as beyond fifty feet darkness took over hiding everything behind shadows, only to be revealed as Luna approached with her spell and consumed again after she passed. We clung by the night deity’s side for the long, quiet walk ahead. The silence was almost intolerable since nopony spoke during the trek. Only the sounds of our steps and running water could be heard along with the faint buzz of the light emitting from Luna’s horn. Twilight and Rarity tried to cast their own spells but gave up since theirs could not go to any extent that could rival Luna’s. Finally, after about ten minutes we came to a large stone door that had an odd symbol carved into the door; some sort of geometric figure made of overlapping circles.

“The Flower of Life.” Luna said, closing her eyes and placing the tip of her horn on the center of the symbol. The light faded to that of a light navy-blue glow that barely made the door itself visible.

“Sacred geometry,” Luna continued, still not moving her head but slowly opening her eyes. “This is the visual expression of magic; magic which is what flows through all forms of life and interconnects them to each other, space, and time itself.”

The lines of the symbol slowly started glowing themselves, matching the color and intensity of the light of Luna’s horn. The color slowly changed into a deep purple and then into a pale turquoise before fading away. With that the soft glow from Luna’s horn also faded into pitch black. Silence and darkness quickly refilled the corridor. I heard Fluttershy squeak and Twilight started up her light spell for a second time.

“No need.” Luna spoke from somewhere in the dark, only to be partially illuminated by Twilight before she shut off her spell and returned the darkness.

“The door will open soon,” she added.

As if on cue, there was a loud clang followed by the friction noise of hard stone grinding against hard stone. Rays of light crept through tiny cracks as the door slid down through the floor. The small rays gave into a momentary blinding light the enveloped all of us. Our eyes quickly adjusted and standing before us on the other side of the doorway stood Princess Celestia with a timid expression. She bowed and so did Luna with rest of us following suite. I was only able to lower my head out of fear of slipping over the smooth surface of the stone floor.

“I am thankful you were all able to make on such short notice,” Celestia began, “do come in.”

She turned away and we followed into the dimly lit circular room behind her. The room was domed at the top and stood probably fifty or so feet high, and another fifty feet in diameter. The only source of light came from a small window carved out of the mountainside rock. A single stone bench wrapped its way along the circumference of the room, only stopping to allow for a pathway into the room. Off to one side stood an enormous, jagged obelisk made of obsidian. An integrate pattern of circles was carved into its face, each connected to others by straight lines. Somehow I thought I had seen it previously but whenever that was it escaped my mind. In the middle of the stone room stood Princess Celestia, and carved into the floor was another geometric pattern, but this one was comprised of touching circles that did connect like the obelisk nor did they overlap like the Flower of Life symbol that was etched onto the stone door. Luna turned back towards it and touched her horn to the ground, raising and closing the door.

“I am sure you must have many questions.” Luna walked over stood by Celestia who continued from where she left off, “However they will have to wait. I hope our explanation does answer them, but before I can continue I must first ask you all a question.”

Celestia leaned into the group, but we all stood our ground.

“What you had and will see, what you are and will be hearing, is of the highest in national security. So much as briefly mentioning anything outside of this room to any other living creature can and will be considered high treason regardless of position, political or otherwise. Swift, precise, and harsh actions will be taken against you if you so much as speak of this conversation.”

Celestia paused and we all sank back against the wall. This was the first time I had ever seen her as being something to be afraid of, and the others must have felt the same way. Fluttershy and oddly enough Rainbow Dash were almost in tears and struggled to hold them back. Celestia approached us and continued,

“Do you seven; Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and… Christopher Roland; do you vow to never utter a word about the events of today and what will follow?”

“Yes, your highness,” the seven of us spoke out in startling unison.

“Good.” Celestia sighed, turning away into the center of the domed room and returned next to Luna’s side.

“I apologize for the severity of my tone, but times are serious now.” Celestia added finally before walking over to the tiny window. Her horn glowed with a faint bronze before gently fading. She turned and sat down on part of the stone bench, and motioned for the rest of us to do the same. Luna sat beside her sister near the window, and the rest of us sat on the opposite end between the door and the obelisk.

“This is the Fruit of Life.” Luna said, pointing a hoof at the symbol scratched into the floor. “It is the blueprint of the universe; it is the design of every planet, every being, every dimension, and every time.” Luna now shifted towards the obelisk.

“Obsidian.” She continued, “Hard and brittle, so it stands the test of time. Carved into it is the Tree of Life; symbolizing life itself and how it connects to other life and the physical world. Together, the Tree of Life and the Fruit of Life can be found within the pattern of the Flower of Life.”

Luna stopped and Celestia took over, “This obelisk has gone by many names; The Apple, The Harmony Stone, The Glass Tomb, but regardless of what it is called it has come to be known as The Dodecahedron. Albeit it has more than twelve faces, the stone itself is still quintessence. It is what the Elements of Harmony were originally extracted from.”

The room fell silent after that and jaws hit the floor. Everything remained quiet for another minute or so until Twilight spoke up.

“The elements… came from that?”

“Yes, my faithful student. However, the set is still incomplete.”

“What?”

“The Tree of Life: connected between every line is a circle, and each circle symbolizes an element. The Elements of Harmony are derived from Life itself and when all the elements have been removed from the obelisk and united; eternal peace can be brought to every creature on our world. Famine, disaster, corruption, all would be wiped clean. When combined with the Fruit of Life, they form the Flower of Life. Eternal peace and harmony can be brought to our planet and our universe, possibly others.” Celestia nodded in my direction.

“However we have only recovered six elements so far; Honesty, Laughter, Loyalty, Kindness, Generosity and Magic. But there is supposed to be ten. There is no telling when another element could be produced, which one, what it will be, or what circumstances are required. The last time an element was created was over two thousand years ago after the founding of Equestria, that element was Loyalty. You six are the physical embodiments of the elements, and after you eventually pass on another will take your place. We believe now that a new element is soon to be revealed from the obelisk.”

The Flower of Life carved into the stone door began to glow with a faint red. Celestia got up from her seat and walked over to it, placing the tip of her horn on the center. The symbol changed colors again into a turquoise before the door slid open and hooded six ponies walked in, each wearing dark red robes. Celestia returned to her seat beside Luna, and the robed ponies each took individual seats, three on each side of the princesses.

The High Council?

“Yes Chris, we are the High Council.” One of them abruptly spoke.

Did… did he just…

“Yes, yes I did.” He spoke again with a smile and they all removed their hoods. Only one of the six was female; a dark gray pegasus with an orange and red mane similar in style to Rainbow Dash’s, and she started to address us.

“We are the High Council, and I am Libra.” She began, motioning to her right at a light gray unicorn with a short black mane who sat next to Celestia; the one who seemed to have been reading my mind.

“That is Theo, and to my far left is Newt.” I recognized Newt as the same robed pony I saw during my last visit in Canterlot who had been talking with Celestia and Luna. He doesn’t seem too happy to see me for some reason.

“Over near Princess Luna is Thesus.” The brilliant silver coated unicorn nodded. His mane is also short but more of a pure white then the rest of his coat.

“Beside him is Noah, and next to him is Specs.” Noah was also an earth pony, a dull brown with a much darker red shaded mane. Specs was a pegasus, and as his name implies he wears glasses. His dark blue mane blended well with the sky-blue color of his coat.

“Now that introductions are over,” Thesus spoke, “we can get on to more pressing matters.”

“Hey, we didn’t get to introduce ourselves.” Applejack said.

“It would be a waste of time, Applejack.” Thesus continued, “Besides, we already know who you are. However our focus isn’t so much on you as it is on Chris.”

Thesus’s horn started glowing with an intense blue light. A small stone ball started to from in front of him before it molded itself into a paper scroll. Twilight and Rarity were both stunned by this feat and watch as he floated the scroll across the room to Newt. Newt took the scroll and opened it, reading aloud whatever was written on it.

“The Arcane Prophecy…” he began but was cut off my Pinkie Pie.

“What’s an ‘arcane’? Can you eat it?”

“No you cannot. The word ‘arcane’ means secret; knowledge that is known by very few. You cannot eat it. Now allow me to continue;

Towards a nonexistent goal

Through splintered doors left ajar

Lost in space, a being as high a the crown will save the mother.

The human will wipe the ashes clear.

The bane will give a touch of gray to a world of color.

The blood will be spilled upon the mother with quickened grace.

On the outside looking in

Sorrow will shatter a broken nation.

But the mother will give the land new life

From the organs it gave itself.”

“That is the prophecy.” Newt concluded. The scroll turned to ashes before him and disappeared into the air.

“This prophecy has been interpreted in many ways.” Theo added, “but until recently most parts have still been less than clear. We believed at first ‘Human’ was a name or a place, but it in fact is you Chris; a human.”

“Now wait a minute.” I interrupted. “What exactly is going on?”

“Chris...” Celestia spoke, “This prophecy has survived countless millennia. It had been written eras ago by the first and long dead pony civilization that occupied the same land Equestria does now. They constructed this room, the obelisk, and therefore the Elements of Harmony. The prophecy has been passed down through countless years, and dozens of ponies thought they deciphered it only for their predictions to fail. We do not even know if the Arcane Prophecy has anything to do with the elements, but you are our first major development in a thousand of years.”

“Yes.” Noah nodded his head in agreement with the Princess.

“Lost in space, a being as high as the crown. You are almost as tall as Princess Celestia. You are also not of this universe.”

“Agreed.” Thesus went back to speaking. He’s obviously the leader of the council. “We have come to the conclusion that you are destined to benefit Equestria for the greater good, and it will happen fast and soon. Somehow you could potentially reveal a new Element of Harmony, and bring us one step closer to eternal happiness.”

Celestia returned to speaking, “As for ourselves, the interpretation of the Arcane Prophecy is still loose, yet it is stronger than it has ever before. The fact that our world exists as nothing more than a cartoon in yours further refines the third verse; A creature lost in space, and possibly the seventh as well. What it explains is that our universes are alternates. Whether you agree with it or not, to us it is concrete that this ‘being’ is you, and it goes on to validate other claims as well.”

“Chris, you will save Equestria. From what though is yet to be determined, but it will reveal itself soon.”

“That was…” Rarity started but never finished her sentence, her mind trailing off into space. We were back in the courtyard now, and our escorts would return by sundown so we still had a few hours left in the day to fool around in Canterlot. Everypony seemed to be looking at me, but they didn’t know what to say. I didn’t either. I didn’t know what to do. All Celestia said was that I’d be pulled back to Canterlot in time when situations develop. I blindly looked off into space and sat down on the ground. I picked up my crutch and held it in my lap.

For the time being, my broken leg hinders me. I can’t go anywhere without some form of supervision.

I don’t know where that thought came from, but the next think I knew I chucked it across the courtyard, the crutch landing with a splash in the fountain. Everypony was startled by this, and I laid down my back staring up to the sun.

“Um… I’ll go… get that.” Fluttershy nervously flew over to the fountain.

“Hey, Chris? Ya alright?” Pinkie Pie and Applejack stood over me.

“I… I-I don’t know,” I moaned. Pinkie Pie smiled and put a hoof over my forehead.

“So, why don’t we go see those scientists?” Twilight asked, “Princess Celestia said we could stop by Lab-7 today and they could explain to us more about what’s going on.”

“Hey Twilight,” I sidetracked, “When was the first time you came to Ponyville? Like how long ago did you move into the library?”

After a slight pause she responded, “I think it was seven years ago, maybe six. Why?”

“Because in the show, season two was about to be released in a few weeks before I ended up here. If what happened in the first episode happened seven years ago, whatever happens in the second season and probably any following season has already happened too.”

“Interesting…”

“Well, why don’t we go see those scientists? Maybe they can explain just how deep in this we are.” Rainbow Dash said, “And where is Lab-7 anyway?”

Twilight smiled, “I know the way, follow me.”

We turned down another long hallway and stopped before a large iron door.

“This is it.” Twilight gleefully knocked on the door.

“I do hope they can simplify what was being said before.”

“Rarity! We’re not supposed to be talkin’ about that!”

“Hey, I didn’t mention it specifically by name, nor have I said anything that indicates anypony involved.” Rarity scoffed and stuck her head up.

The door opened and a gray unicorn stuck his head out the doorway.

“Hello… what do we have here?” He looked around before stopping at Twilight. “Twilight, is that you?”

“Uncle Hadron?”

The two stared at each other in disbelief before Twilight cheerfully screamed and ran into the stallion embracing him in a hug.

“I didn’t know you worked in Lab-7!”

Pinkie Pie ran up to me and whispered in my ear, “It’s her uncle. He’s a physicist.”

“I think I got that.” I whispered back.

Hadron and Twilight released each other and then he diverted his attention to me.

“Oh my, you must be the human! Ha! Take that Strings! Proof I was right! Do come into my lab, all of you.”

It was a lab alright. Plain white walls, tile ceiling and floor, and several work stations lined up against one of the walls. Several papers and books littered not only them but the floor as well. On the opposite wall was a large glass window with a big copper pipe running across on the other side. The words, DANGER: HIGH VOLTAGE were spelled in out in big bold letters above the window which must have been at least an inch thick. There were also several hazard lights, a fuse box, chalk board with some equations on it, and a fire extinguisher on the wall in between the desks and the window.

“So too what honor do I owe myself of having the human in my presence?” Hadron excitingly asked.

“My name is Chris, by the way.”

“Chris! Ha! Chris Chris Chris!” He cheered. Rainbow Dash mimicked him behind his back getting Pinkie Pie and Applejack to giggle.

“We were hoping you could tell us more about the universe and how he got here. It would explain a lot.” Twilight spoke to her uncle. “It’d be really helpful.”

“Sure thing! You are not of this universe, right?”

“No, I’m pretty sure I’m not.”

“Good! You’re basically living proof of the multiverse theory! The theory states that an infinite amount of outcomes exists in an infinite amount of universes that all occupy the same space, but in an infinite amount of different dimensions. For example, there are infinite copies of me right now occupying the same space doing exactly as I am, but you can’t see, feel, hear, or interact with them in any way because they exist in different dimensions. Now say I walk over here to the right. Infinite copies of me did exactly what I just did, but other infinite copies would stay in the same place I had just been. It boggles the mind, but once you understand it it’s actually quite simple. Chris, the fact that you, a nonnative creature to this world, is here basically verifies the multiverse theory but could also prove that wormholes exist!”

These ponies sure do know more about science then I thought they did.

“The only logical way for you to have traveled between dimensions is through a rip in the space-time continuum; or an interdimensional wormhole. Some sort of event must have momentarily made our worlds contact each other, the two jumbled up a bit, and now you’re here! Do you have any idea what may have caused it?”

“It’s still kind of fuzzy, but I remember lightning and zero gravity. And a burning tree.”

“That was probably just the fabric of space tearing around you. Do you remember any more details?”

“Sorry but that’s all he wrote.” Rainbow Dash butted in. “Come on, our ride’s going to be getting here soon and I need to sleep! I haven’t gotten any good sleep in the past couple of days!”

“You got to go?” Hadron asked in disappointment. “Alrighty then… but do stop by again sometime! I’d love to show you to Strings and rub it in his face!”

“Alright, we’ll do that Uncle Hadron. Thank’s for explaining that to us.”

“Not a problem for my favorite niece!”

“Chris, did ya understand what he was sayin'?”

“Yeah, I got the just of it.”

“Good, cause ah didn’t.”

Interdimensional universe traveler, destined savior of Equestria from an unknown threat, and my crutch is wet. Somehow I’m not that entirely surprised.

Towards a nonexistent goal

Through splintered doors left ajar.

Lost in space, a being as high a the crown will save the mother.

The human will wipe the ashes clear.

The bane will give a touch of gray to a world of color.

The blood will be spilled upon the mother with quickened grace.

On the outside looking in

Sorrow will shatter a broken nation.

But the mother will give the land new life

From the organs it gave itself.

Something tells me I won't be forgetting that anytime soon.

Chapter 12: Leaving the Nest

Chapter 12: Leaving the Nest

Well, it’s my one-week anniversary. I’ve been here in Equestria for a whole eight days and much to my surprise I have not gone completely insane yet. Or maybe I am and just don’t realize it.  After all, I’m in a cartoon show. And supposedly I am destined to save Equestria from something that no one even has a clue about. It was early in the morning, and here I am lying in bed staring at the ceiling. My internal clock seemed like it finally adjusted to the time so hopefully I shouldn’t be having any insomnia anymore. Shifting out of bed I looked down to my cast which was really starting to annoy me now.

SO. ITCHY.

I collapsed to the ground desperately trying to scratch underneath the cast.

“Damn.” I rolled over the floor onto my stomach. This itching is getting intolerable. Maybe Twilight knew a spell that could do something about it?

“Hey Twilight?” I called out, but got no answer.

Still on the floor, I reached over and grabbed my crutch and noticed somepony had written “Crutchy” on one of the sides. It was probably Pinkie Pie, but I don’t really know anypony’s hand… hoofwriting. Mouthwriting? If you wrote with magic, is it magicwriting?

Oh wait, I have their signatures on my cast.

I sat up and examined my cast, looking back and forth between the writings.

So this was likely either Pinkie Pie or Applejack, but I’m not too sure.

I stood up and called out to Twilight again but still didn’t get an answer.

Downstairs, the purple unicorn was passed out on the floor. Looking at the clock, it was about nine in the morning, and she’s usually up by now. There was a book about the moon opened laying on top of her, and I nudged it off exposing the rest of her head. She had her face planted into another open book and was drooling all over it.

“Twilight?” I gently nudged her with my leg.

“Hnngh. Five more minutes…”

“Twilight, it’s almost nine. Can you help me with something before you go?”

“Huh? Oh my Celestia! It’s morning! I’m going to be late!” Twilight jumped up with a surge of energy. “I got to go!” She quickly threw on her saddlebags and ran out the door.

The past two days have been like this; Twilight runs off early in the morning to meet up with Princess Celestia for ‘official business,’ Spike is either really busy or is out hunting for gemstones, and the rest of the Mane Six are out doing something else leaving me all alone in the library.

And it gets boring all alone in a library.

*CRASH*

“What the hell?” I cried out falling to the floor. “What was that?”

“Sorry…” I heard somepony say with a muffled voice. A bit of silence followed, but that crash sounded like something hit the library. I got up and went over to the front door to see what just happened.

“Hey Derpy. What are you doing here?”

The gray pegasus was on the ground desperately trying to pick up the several dozen letters she must have dropped. Her mailbag sat on the porch as she ran back and forth seizing the letters before the wind could take them away. I bent down and picked up her mailbag just as she returned with a mouthful of envelopes.

“HANKE-YOT!” She smiled releasing the wad of assorted paper back into the mailbag. “Sorry, I accidently fell.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t your fault. So what brings you here?”

“I got a letter for a… Twilight Sparkle.” Derpy spoke, one of her eyes lazily looking into the mailbag I still held. She drove her head into the bag, coming back out with a single white envelope. I took it from her, and she eagerly retook her satchel from my grasp.

“I’ll be sure to get this to-“

“Why so sad?” Derpy interrupted me, tilting her head.

That’s two for two. How does this pony read my face so well?

“Oh, I’m just bored.”

“Well, do want to help me deliver letters? I only have a few places left on today’s route.”

“Sorry, but I can’t really move that well with my broken leg. I’d probably just slow you down. Thanks for the offer though.”

Derpy kept her innocent smile, unfazed by my decline. “Well how about when you feel better? Do you want to help me deliver letters then?”

“Eh. Sure, why not?”

“Do you promise?”

“I promise.” Those words made her squeal with joy.

“Yay! I can’t wait!”  She smiled back to me nodding her head excitingly, only to turn away and run into the library sign that stood near the front door. She stumbled back, shook it off and giggled to herself before flying away.

I turned back inside closing the door behind me. Something about that mare has brought a smile to my face every time. I set the letter down on the kitchen table and took an apple for breakfast. I really need to find something else to eat beside fruits and pastries; this couldn’t be good for my diet, and I’ve already given up meat. Sitting down I decided to look at the letter, and I don’t know how mail in Equestria is different from Earth, but other than Twilight’s name on it there was no indication of a return address or a stamp. How does everything work around here? I sat the letter back down and pulled out my phone expecting it to get reception. It didn’t, and I slid it back into my pocket in disappointment.

*knock knock*

“Now who’s here?”

Great, I’m talking to myself again.

I slowly got up and walked back to the door and opened it, half expecting to see Derpy again. It wouldn’t surprise me if she forgot something. But no, instead it was Lyra accompanied with Bon Bon and the two were really nervous about something.

“Do you know where…? Aha! I thought you were staying here!” Lyra eagerly stuck her head in the doorway and looked around. “Are you alone?”

“Lyra…?”

“Lyra? No, it’s called a ‘lyre’.” Lyra flashed her side showing me her cutie mark. “My name’s Heartstrings and this is Bon Bon. Although I kind of like ‘Lyra’. You can call me that if want.”

“I like ‘Lyra’.” Bon Bon commented, “What’s your name again?”

“It’s Chris.” Lyra answered for me. How the does this pony know me already?

Oh right… the party… A cold shiver ran down my spine. I am never drinking again.

“So what are you two doing here?”

“I was hoping you could tell us more bout Humans!” The two mares grinned from ear to ear. “I mean, it’s always been said that Humans are just legends; some old filly’s tale, but then you showed up! I always thought they were interesting creatures.” She blushed and backed out of the door onto the front porch beside Bon Bon.

“…That is, if you don’t mind.”

“By the way, what was that scatterbrain doing here?” Bon Bon intrigued.

“Scatterbrain?”

“You know, that pegasus that was just here.”

“Bon Bon, Derpy’s a mailmare. My guess is that she was just delivering mail.” Lyra sarcastically addressed her friend.

“She’s really nice.” I added followed but a short, awkward pause.

“So anyways, can we come in?”

“Sorry, but I’m not so sure Twilight would want anypony in the library right now. I think it’s supposed to be closed while she’s out.”

“We can sit out here then! And there’s a café down the block, we can talk there too and I’ll buy you some breakfast, my treat for the talk.”

“Uh, sure, I guess. Let me just leave Twilight a note in case she comes by while we’re out.”

Lyra had that creepy grin again and Bon Bon nodded happily.

“We’ll wait out here!”

Okay, if I remember correctly Lyra is supposed to be obsessed with Humans, and so far that seems like it’s holding up. I’m not too sure about Bon Bon though, but she seems interested too, and a bit mean.

I pulled out a napkin and wrote a small not on the table for Twilight;

Twilight,

Heartstrings and Bon Bon stopped by and wanted me to tell them more about humans. They invited me for breakfast at a café down the block, so that’s where I’ll be if I’m not here. Hopefully I’ll be back by noon.

~Chris

“Hey Chris, what’s taking you so long?” Lyra appeared outside the kitchen window shoving her face up against the glass.

“I’m coming, just hold on a minute.”

I sat my note down on the table beside the letter and looked back up to the clock. There’s no way Lyra and Bon Bon could drag out a conversation for over two hours.

“Can I see your hoofs?” Lyra asked.

“My what? Why?”

“Hey, we bought you breakfast and lunch!” Bon Bon snapped. They did, but garden burgers didn’t exactly taste that well. My lunch was still half eaten and sitting on the table. No doubt its cold and dry right now; not that it wasn’t cold and dry to begin with.

“Fine…” I complied, taking off ones of my shoes and a sock, setting my foot up on the table. “I warn you though; human feet don’t always have the best smell.”

“Oooohh.” The two mares stared intently at my foot.

“What are these?” Bon Bon asked as she prodded my foot.

“They’re called ‘toes’. They’re like smaller fingers but I can’t control them that well. Can I bring my foot down now? It’s starting to get cold.”

“Hold on…”

It was two in the afternoon right now. Somehow our conversation dragged on for over five hours.

“Hello Chris. What are you doing?” Rarity walked up to our table outside the café carrying a shopping bag through the air behind her. Fluttershy was with her and two were very surprised to see me here talking to Lyra and Bon Bon.

“Hi Rarity. Hi Fluttershy. We were just…”

“Don’t you know you’re going to be late? Come on, we have to get going!” Rarity warned getting a confused look from Fluttershy and the table.

“Late? For what?”

“Don’t tell me you forgot! I’m sorry girls, but I need to take him so he’s not late.”

“Aww…” the two mares groaned. Rarity rolled her eyes at the two and Fluttershy tried to get her attention.

“Okay…” Lyra sighed. “But thanks for the talk! We’re kind of running late too…” The two smiled, got up and left in a hurry. Rarity motioned for me to get up as I was pulled my leg down and slipped my sock back on. Fluttershy still looked at her friend in confusion who was now intently watching me as I tied my shoe.

“What am I late for?” I got up, wrapping what’s left of my lunch in a napkin.

“Oh nothing. It’s just that you looked so forlorn, and those two are really obsessive about humans. I was thinking that you must have been here for a while, and I just had to rescue you.”

“Rarity!” Fluttershy made a small outcry in a menacing voice. Rarity and I were stunned by this, and the pegasus quickly realized her tone and immediately quieted down. “I-I’m sorry about that. But that was mean what you did Rarity, breaking up their conversation.”

“Oh shush Fluttershy.” Rarity scoffed. Fluttershy shot her head back in surprise and then glared to Rarity. “I think we both know that he would have never escaped them.”

“B-but...”

“I did the right thing. Didn’t I Chris?”

“Well, this was only supposed to take-“

“See, dear? Come on Chris, let’s walk.”

“Sorry, but I need to get back to the library. I left Twilight a note saying I’d be back hours ago.”

“Why don’t you come with us? I was hoping we could talk.”

Fluttershy and I both looked at each other in confusion. First Rarity takes me out of one conversation and then tries to bring me into another? What is she trying to do?

“Rarity, I-“ both Fluttershy and I spoke at the same time trying to divert whatever the unicorn was trying to do. I really needed to get back to library, but Rarity did not let up.

“Please?” Rarity asked tilting her head.

“Oh, don’t give me that look,” I told her. Rarity stared at me, her pupils were widening and she started to pout.

“Nope. Not falling for it.” Rarity groaned and continued trying to suck up to me. Fluttershy sighed and stared to the ground shaking her head. Rarity got closer and brought her face about a foot from mine, blinking affectionately.

“Do… do you not like me?” Rarity muttered, trembling her lower lip.

“Yes, I like you... as a friend… but I’m not falling for your antics.”

“Ugh, fine.” Rarity backed off obviously upset. “You sure are stubborn, you know that?”

“Rarity, you’re the one being stubborn.” Fluttershy said in a sarcastic tone.

“Well I just thought he could help me with something.”

“With what?”

“It’s nothing, since you really don’t seem to care. Come on Fluttershy.” Rarity motioned to her friend as she walked away head held high. Fluttershy rather reluctantly turned to follow her.

“The goodbye! I guess I’ll see you two some other time then.”

“Wait!” Rarity, now about fifty feet away, turned back around and ran after me leaving Fluttershy confused. The pegasus was obviously irritated. She sighed, hung her head, and flew away. Rarity was now standing at my feet.

“I’m sorry about that. Do forgive me, please.”

“It’s… fine. But I think Fluttershy is the one you’ll need to apologize to.”

“Never mind her,” Rarity sighed. “Look, can we talk please? I really need some help.”

“What kind of help?”

“Well, I see you have fingers and that you also only seem to have a few old, torn outfits…”

My clothes are a little beat up… “Your point?”

“I could give you a discount for new clothing…”

“Thanks for the offer Rarity, but I don’t have any money to begin with.”

“I could give you some…”

“For what?”

“Let me cut to the chase. I’ve been getting swarmed with orders lately at my boutique and I have been very busy. The only reason I’m not working now is because I had to go and purchase some more fabrics…”

“Rarity…?”

“Oh right. Chris, how would you like to serve as my apprentice?”

I didn’t see that one coming. Actually, of all possible outcomes that was one of the least expected. I stood there for a second to process what she just offered.

“As my apprentice, you would get an employee discount.” Rarity continued, “There would also be pay, and I’m sure it beats sitting around in that library all the time. You could also create your own clothes with any of my left over fabrics.”

“Thanks for the offer, but…”

“Oh please do help me,” Rarity said pathetically, practically crying. “I just, it gets, it’s late summer and ponies are going to be wanting new autumn clothing soon. Sweetie Belle isn’t enough, and it’s just… Please?”

“Rarity, I-“ I was about to answer but the unicorn kept going on.

“I’d ask somepony else, but nopony seems to have any knowledge about fashion in Ponyville. And those who do are either unskilled or they are not unicorns, so they can’t use magic to do anything properly!”

“Rarity, can you just-“

“I saw how you tied your boot with your… hands and I just thought that you’d be exceptional and that you’d have the ability to-“

The only thing I could think of to shut her up was to shove my half-eaten burger in her mouth. That did the trick and she stumbled back in shock, spitting it out.

“Rarity, Listen! If you want help from a friend, I’d be more than happy to oblige. Just calm down, please.”

“Oh thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou! You have no idea how much this means to me!”

No, I probably don’t…

“Come on then! I need to start teaching you.”

“Wait, Rarity. I should check up with Twilight and tell her-“

“Oh don’t you worry about her. I’ll be sure to take care of it. Come on!”

It was late in the evening when Twilight got back to the Library. She left with her saddlebags empty and returned with them filled to the brim on books about electricity, astronomy, and the Old Kingdom; what the civilization the existed before Equestria is commonly referred to as.

“Chris? Spike? I’m back!” Twilight called out but got no reply. “Anypony?”

The unicorn sat her saddlebags down and walked into the kitchen to find an envelope on the table.

A letter? From whom? She sat the envelope back down on the table and saw a note that was hastily written on a used napkin. Something else had been written above it but was crossed out and faded with what looked like a coffee stain.

Dear Twilgiht,

Chris will be in my company for the time being until further notice. I am training him to be my apprentice, he requests that bring over the remainder of his belongings over to my boutique in the morning.

Sincerely, Rarity.

Chapter 13: At the Boutique

Chapter 13: At the Boutique

“Sweetie Belle? Are you home?” Rarity called out to her sister as we walked into the boutique. After a few seconds of silence Rarity shrugged and turned on the lights.

“Sorry about the mess.” She apologized, shoving a mannequin out of the way. The place sure is a mess; the main lobby was surrounded with mannequins and most of them were knocked over, several rolls of fabrics laid sprawled out on the floor, and some curtains were torn off their hinges.

“Where is that filly? Sweetie Belle was supposed to be cleaning today!” Rarity shook her head in disappointment, picked up a few rolls of fabric and took them into another room.

“That filly is in for a heap of trouble. In here, Chris.”

I followed Rarity into what appears to be her main workroom.  A few mannequins with completed outfits stood in a corner, but they were the cleanest things about the room. On her main work desk several drawers were pulled out, their contents spilling over and riddling the desktop. There were two sewing machines, one of which had seen better days considering it was wrapped in a ball of thread. Assorted spools of fabric and thread littered the floor and a large table that sat near a window; it’s stained, torn, and wrinkled curtains blocking out the sun. Rarity cleared off the table, simply sliding everything on it onto the floor, and sat her shopping bag and the rolls of fabric she carried in.

“So Chris, how much experience do you have with sewing?”

“I know the basics. I’ve had to repair some of my clothes myself and I’ve stitched together some pillows before amongst other things...”

“That’s wonderful; in which case I don’t have to go into much explanation.” Rarity started taking out supplies from the shopping bag and spread them out on the table.

“I currently have fourteen orders to complete, and I get new ones almost every week so time is of the essence. Since Sweetie Belle is not here, could you assist me in gathering supplies?”

“Sure. What do you need?”

“A pair of scissors, my measuring tape, one spool of lime green nylon threading, one spool of golden nylon threading, a one meter strip of burgundy ribbon, one sheet of navy-blue cotton fabric, one- no I got that here, a pin cushion with roughly thirty pins, and my sewing chest, and my basket of assorted buttons.”

Rarity walked over to the working sewing machine with an empty mannequin in tow and I began the scavenger hunt.

“That is one down, several more to go!” Rarity proclaimed happily, hoisting the completed tuxedo in the air and dressed the outfit on a mannequin. Other than the studded bowtie, the suit looked just like any ordinary blue tuxedo.

“This definitely would have taken at least two hours longer if I didn’t have help. Thank you, Chris. I’m sure you’re wondering about your pay…” Rarity drifted away for a minute before snapping back into reality. “How about twenty percent? Sale price usually depends on the quality of the outfit… so that would be… a hundred bits?”

“The outfit costs a hundred bits?”

“Heavens, no! I’d be paying you twenty percent, so a hundred bits.”

a HUNDRED bits!? Wait… Pinkie Pie sold those cupcakes for twenty and she called them cheap… those were probably worth like five bucks. Applejack sells apples at only three or so bits each, so a pound of apples is worth maybe ten bits. I could buy a pound of apples for about two dollars, so that seems accurate…

“…Chris?”

“What? Oh, nothing. How much do you usually sell your outfits for?”

“Again, it depends on the quality. Admittedly, this one is on the low end of the scale so five hundred bits is a fair price. Some of my higher quality and pristine pieces have sold for thousands of bits. My most lucrative sell was a few years ago actually; a general of the Royal Equestrian Army needed a dress for his wife and I sold him one for well over a hundred thousand bits! Oh and it was simply marvelous! The threads themselves were solid gold, the collar; elegantly designed with emeralds…” Rarity started drifting off into her own little world.

“Rarity, I’m home! What’s for dinner?” A faint voice called out followed by the sound of a door closing.

“Sweetie Belle?” Rarity looked up, coming back into reality. I was sitting on the ground trying to untangle a spool of thread.

“Oh dear, she hasn’t seen you yet has she? Don’t worry though; she is the friendliest filly you will ever meet, though she can be a little overexcited at times. Wait, you probably knew that.”

I looked up and gave her a smile and a slight nod, and Rarity cautiously smiled back.

“Rarity? Where are you?”

“I’m in the workroom Sweetie Belle! There’s a pony… a person here I want you to meet!”

“A ‘person’? What’s a ‘person’?” Sweetie Belle asked as she opened the door into the room, tripping over some boxes that were on the ground. Her curly pink and purple mane would have gone over her eyes had her horn not blocked it. She quickly sat up on her haunches, analyzed her foreleg and shook off some dust from her pure white coat before getting up and going over to Rarity.

“Sorry I’m late, Rarity.” Sweetie Belle looked up to her sister and received a pat on the back from Rarity. “And what’s a ‘person’?”

“That’s a person,” Rarity motioned off to me, “And his name is Chris.”

Sweetie Belle looked over to the other side of the room in confusion, her expression slowly changing as her eyes bulged and her mouth opened in disbelief. Rarity and I both smiled but Sweetie Belle didn’t move as an unbelievably large smile started to form across her face.

“Yes! Applebloom and Scootaloo both owe me a bit!” Sweetie Belle cheered and ran up to me.

“I knew I’d find you first! We’ve been looking all over Ponyville for you!” The little filly was just below waist height, and as I sat on the floor she was just as tall as I am.

“Sweetie Belle…” Rarity tried to get her sister’s attention but to no use. Sweetie Belle was jumping up and down around me in circles asking questions like no tomorrow.

“You’re the human? Why’s your name Chris? Do you have a cutie mark? Where are you from? Why don’t you have a tail? Can you really walk on two legs? Can you talk? Can you write? Do you know Equine? How tall are you? Do you know my sister? Do you know we’re sisters? Have you met Apple Bloom or Scootaloo yet? Can you fly? Can you use magic? Who made your clothes? How long have you been in Ponyville? What are you doing here?”

She probably would have gone on but Rarity used her measuring tape to quickly subdue Sweetie Belle and wrapped her mouth in a gag.

“Sweetie Belle, this is Chris,” Rarity explained, removing the gag. “He will be helping me get these orders done, and so I am going to be making him an apprentice. Also, he’s hurt so please do not pester him.”

The filly just now realized the condition of my leg. “Okay! Hey, can I sign your cast?”

“Sure. What was that you were…?”

“Apple Bloom and Scootaloo? We were having a bet to see who could find you first! And since I’m the first one to find you, they both owe me a bit!”

“Actually, I was going to ask about…”

“Sweetie Belle!” Rarity yelled, catching the two of us both by surprise. “A bet? I thought you knew better then to be swayed into gambling!”

“Rarity, it’s not really gambling!”

“You made a bet with your friends,” Rarity scorned. Sweetie Belle sunk backwards and tripped, landing in my lap. “And you were supposed to clean the lobby today!”

“I said I’ll get it done later and it’s not later yet!” Sweetie Belle yelled back locking eyes with her sister.

“Please get off me…”

“Sorry…” The filly snapped out of the conflict long enough to step off me before returning to the staring contest.

“Sweetie Belle, you are not allowed to play with your friends anymore until you help clean up that mess!”

“That’s not fair! I’m not the only one who made that mess! Why don’t you make your new apprentice clean it up?”

“He still doesn’t know where everything goes-“

“Then teach him!”

Rarity got taken back for a second from her assertiveness and angrily returned the favor, “Sweetie Belle, you are grounded until you clean that up!”

Those words stung the poor filly. “Well, can I at least have some help?” Sweetie Belle, defeated, sunk backwards again. During the shouting match, I shuffled across the floor and awkwardly sat things out.

Note to self: do not make Rarity mad. Or anypony mad for that matter.

“You know, that’s not a bad idea.” Rarity pondered for a moment, “Your friends helped make that mess; surely they can help clean it up.”

“Fine…” Sweetie Belle reluctantly backed out of the room, tripping over another box before slamming the door behind her. Rarity sighed and picked up a piece of fabric on the floor and gazed into it. A few seconds later she set it back down and looked to spot where I once was. Confused, she looked around the room until she saw me cowering in a corner.

“I am very sorry about that. Children…”

“Believe me I know how it feels.” I stood up trying to forget what just happened.

“Are you alright? I hope that didn’t frighten you.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m just…I just don’t like fighting. I try to avoid conflict whenever possible.”

Rarity gave a sympathetic smile, “You are so kindhearted. I would be willing to bet you had lots of friends back on your world.”

No, not really…

“Well it is getting late. How about we have some dinner?”

“Hey, what do humans eat?” Sweetie Belle asked, standing beside me. There were no chairs in the boutique’s kitchen so I sat on the floor at the foot of the table. Rarity was putting out napkins and drinks and got us all forks.

“Well he does seem to enjoy garden burgers.” Rarity answered for me. The mention of those things made my stomach churn. I don’t understand how any human could stomach those.

“I don’t think so.” Sweetie Belle smiled at my disgusted look. Rarity acknowledged, trying to hide a small smile.

“Well, we don’t have the necessary ingredients to make one here anyway. So what does everypony want?”

“Oh! Oh! Oh! Can I have some pancakes?”

“Sweetie Belle you had those for breakfast. Plus, we would burn through the pancake mix at this rate. I could make sandwiches; daffodil or daisy?”

“Sorry, but I can’t stomach flowers.”

“Blegh. I had those for lunch!” Sweetie Belle cried out, irking Rarity. “And your sandwiches aren’t all that great either.”

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.” Rarity walked into the kitchen opening the fridge. “Do either of you two have any ideas?”

“Pancakes…” Sweetie Belle mumbled, setting her muzzle down on the tablecloth.

“Do you have any eggs?” I asked.

“Yes, actually I do, even if it’s not technically supper-food. However I suppose it’s better than nothing. I really need to go grocery shopping at some point… Sweetie Belle?”

“Eggs are fine with me,” she perked back up.

“Alright, do you want your eggs scrambled or sunny-side up?” Rarity produced a carton of eggs and set them on the counter.

“Could I have mine in an omelet?” I asked, getting a confused look from Sweetie Belle.

“Ooooo… sounds fancy! Although I’m afraid I don’t know what an ‘omelet’ is.”

“Here, I can show you. All you really need is eggs and shredded cheese so they’re quite simple to make.” I got up and went over into the kitchen and Rarity took out a skillet and put it on the stovetop.

“First you take three eggs, crack them into a bowl, and add some salt and pepper.” Rarity pulled a mixing bowl out of a cabinet and set it on the counter. I took the eggs, cracked them, and started to beat them with a fork. Sweetie Belle ran up to us and jumped up on the counter to get a better view, but Rarity gave her a block of cheese to start grating. The filly looked to her sister with a scowl, and Rarity sighed and started to do it herself. I added the salt and pepper to the mix and continued to stir.

“Wait, do you have any butter?” Sweetie Belle nodded and jumped off the counter to the fridge and returned with a stick of butter.

“Okay, now cut off a small slice and put it in the saucepan. You want to melt it so the eggs don’t stick.” Smiling, Sweetie Belle ran up to the stove and turned on the heat, adding the butter.

“Okay it’s melted!”

“And I just finished with the cheese. Is that enough?” Rarity showed me a small bowl of the freshly grated cheese.

“Yeah that should work for one omelet. Now that the eggs are well stirred, you add them to the frying pan.” I moved over to the stove and Sweetie Belle jumped back up on the counter.

“Need anything?”

“A spatula would be great.”

Sweetie Belle hopped back off the counter once more and ran over to a drawer, returning with a large metal spatula. I poured the egg mix into the pan with Rarity watching intently. The eggs quickly evened out along the bottom and I took the small bowl of cheese.

“Now you add the cheese and let it simmer.” I sprinkled the cheese atop the eggs and let it cook. “You’ll know when it’s done when the eggs are no longer runny on top,” I added.

After a few minutes the omelet was finished. “Now take the spatula, get underneath it, and fold it in half. Serve warm, and you’re done!” I slid the omelet off onto a plate and set the pan back down on the burner.

“Can I try some?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Me too, it looks delicious.”

“Sure, you both can.” Rarity took a small nibble out of one corner while Sweetie Belle took an enormous bite out of the other. “You can add other stuff to an omelet to, either when you add the cheese or now when it’s done cooking; herbs, garnishes, peppers, mea- mushrooms, onions, olives, spinach, just about any vegetable.”

“I admit, it’s actually quite good. I’m surprised I have not heard of this before.”

“Can I have one? With carrots and jelly beans?”

“Jelly beans?” Rarity looked at her sister expecting her to be joking, but Sweetie Belle had the most serious expression thrown across her face. “Eh… no. Please, something healthy Sweetie Belle, you’re growing up.”

“Fine.” Upset, Sweetie Belle jumped off the counter and went back to the table. “I’ll have mine with just carrots then.”

“Alright, one ‘omelet’ coming up!” Rarity giggled, “I’ll make her and myself one. Chris, you can eat… the rest of yours.” Rarity floated what was left of my omelet up to me and I returned to my seat at the table.

“Well, it’s getting late. I should really get back to the library before it gets completely dark,” I said, shoving my empty plate aside. “Thank you for the hospitality Rarity, Sweetie Belle. I guess I’ll stop by tomorrow?”

“What? No no no no, why don’t you stay here?” Rarity nervously spoke from across the table, almost choking on the rest of her omelet.

“What?” Sweetie Belle and I both asked at the same time.

Why does that keep happening? I don’t know what’s more surprising, Rarity’s proposal or that others and I keep saying the same things at the same time. Wait, why am I thinking about this?

Rarity overenthusiastically smiled at me expecting a reply, but I was lost for words.

“Just for tonight?”

She hesitated, “Not necessarily, preferably permanently. Besides, there’d be no telling when I could be overwhelmed with orders! As my apprentice, I might need you at a moment’s notice!”

“Well where will he be sleeping?”

“We have that guest bedroom down the hall. He would stay there.”

“What about my stuff? It’s still over at the library, and Twilight would probably need to know about this.”

“I’ll be sure to take care of it,” Rarity smiled, getting a concerned look from Sweetie Belle.

“Hey Chris! If you’re her apprentice, then you’ll need to learn where everything is! Why don’t you help me clean up tomorrow?” Sweetie Belle asked. I gave her an annoyed stare and she smiled happily.

“That’s not a bad idea. It’d be a very good way to learn what goes where,” Rarity agreed, “But don’t think you’re getting out of it Sweetie Belle. Your friends are helping too; right after school.”

“Chris, I need to go run some errands. We’re short of food and orange wool, so I’ll need to go purchase some more. Twilight will be over anytime now with your belongings, and Sweetie Belle should return from school at about noon with her friends. Hopefully I’ll be back by then. Too-da-loo, and please don’t wreck anything.” And with those words she was off out the door, leaving me all alone in the boutique.

“As if there’s anything that isn’t wrecked already.” I mumbled, standing up a fallen mannequin. I don’t really understand how a building could look so enormous on the inside, yet so disproportionately small from the outside. I guess that’s cartoon physics for you. After a few minutes of wandering the boutique there was a knock on the front door and Twilight let herself in.

“Sweet Celestia, this place is a mess!” Twilight said in disbelief, nudging aside a few boxes that were in her path.

“Hey Twilight.” I turned a corner to greet her.

“Hey Chris! I see you’re still alive.” Twilight responded with a sly smirk. I saw she had my duffel bag, tent, and backpack in tow behind her and she set them on the floor.

“Here’s all your stuff; clothes and everything. So apprenticeship, huh? And for Rarity of all ponies?”

“She can be… assertive… and I’m getting paid, so that’s a plus.

“Well she is the element of generosity after all, even though sometimes she’s just the opposite. Don’t let her take control of you, because she’s done it to ponies before, myself included. Do you even know anything about fashion?”

“Not really. I know the basics when it comes to sewing though, and I’m pretty sure she’ll be teaching me more. Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo are supposed to be coming by after school to clean up this mess.”

“Good. I was afraid she was going to drop all this on you. And those fillies can be a hoofful. Don’t let them get into your head.”

“Heh, I’ll try. Hey, did you get that letter?”

“Hmm? Oh yeah! I was going to tell you; it was from the Ponyville Hospital. Sometime soon they want to give you a physical and take blood. It’s just for their records incase anything goes wrong. And that reminds me…” Twilight’s horn began to glow a dull pink and a small vial of red liquid appeared in front of her. She uncorked it and drifted it too me.

“I talked to Zecora. She said that that potion helps assist in regeneration. I figure it could help your leg heal faster, and the faster it heals the sooner you get off Crutchy.” She smiled, trying to hold back a laugh. Irritated by that remark, I took a second to look at the swirling red ooze and took a small sip from the bottle.

“It’s real sweet.” I said before drinking the rest of it.

“Yup, Zecora adds things to her concoctions to make them easier to stomach. Anyway, I got to get going now. Do you think you could stop by at the hospital later today?”

“That could probably work.”

“Alright, I’ll be sure to tell them. See you later!”

“See ya,” I waved goodbye as she left, closing the door behind her.

It’s about nine in the morning, so I got three or so hours to kill before the crusaders get here. I picked up my backpack and the tent and dropped them off in the guest room. Or… I guess it’s my room now. It was a simple room; itself being maybe fifteen feet by fifteen feet, and maybe ten feet high. Right across from the door and in the right corner stood a twin size bed; two very fluffy white pillows, a faded violet bedcover, and white sheets. Oddly there’s no closet, but against the far wall was a wooden dresser, and right above that a window. The window has a really nice view of a tree trunk about thirty feet away, but other than that there was nothing else worth noting. The floor was some sort of hardwood, but the furniture and a red rug took up most of the floor space. There was also a lamp. I don’t know why, but I really like the lamp. Probably because it’s as tall as I am, so I don’t feel like a giant. Since all the ponies are about four feet tall, they don’t usually go anywhere up past the lower part of my breastbone. And fillies are even shorter. Other than the Princesses and some wildlife, I’m probably one of the tallest beings to ever visit Ponyville. I threw my tent and backpack onto the bed, and returned with the duffel bag and reunited it with its friends. Sitting on the bed, I opened them up to make sure I still had everything.

Looks like Twilight put everything back in here. Except for the two novels I gave her. And the dictionary, those pens, and the map. Other than that, everything is where it belongs. She even put the car battery in here.

Dammit! I left the duct tape, knife, and my food and water in the nightstand! She didn’t pack those… damn. I think I left my journal in there too. I hope I did.

“See? I TOLD you he was living here!”

“Sweetie Belle?” I looked around and saw her sticking her head through the open door, along with two other fillies, their mouths agape. Apple Bloom was one of them; a small, pale yellow pony with a brilliant rose mane and a pink bow on the back of her head almost the size of her body. Scootaloo was the other one, an orange pegasus with a fuchsia mane similar in style to Rainbow Dash’s.

“Why is it everypony who first meets me has to have their jaws wide open?” I asked them, not expecting any sort of reply. Sweetie Belle kicked the door completely open, and the three walked into the room, not changing their expressions one bit.

“And what are you three doing out of school so early? Doesn’t class end at about noon-ish?”

“Cherilee let us out early. Something about an indigestion?” Sweetie Belle answered

“Infestation. There were bugs all over the room!” Scootaloo snapped, correcting her friend.

“So ya’re real.” Apple Bloom kept looking me up and down and turned to Scootaloo, “Ha! Told ya Applejack wasn’t lyin’! Applejack doesn’t lie!”

“Whatever. So you’re the human? Somehow I felt you’d be… scarier.”

“…Thanks?”

“He’s actually very nice! And he can cook!” Sweetie Belle shifted towards them, telling her friends every bit of what little knowledge she had about me.

“Calm down, Sweetie Belle. We just got out of school, please don’t give lectures now.” Scootaloo shoved the unicorn filly aside.

“What are you? A chicken?” Sweetie Belle retorted, getting Apple Bloom to laugh.

Heh, all there needs to be now is a reference to Sweetie Belle being a dictionary.

“No! It’s just I don’t want to learn anything now! That’s why there was school!”

“That’s why there is school.” Sweetie Belle smugly smiled, irritating Scootaloo.

“Oh shut up, you dictionary.”

And there it is. Life is complete.

“Hey, what’re ya smilin’ at?” Apple Bloom called me out.

“Eh? I just thinking... But stop fighting, it gets you nowhere.”

“Hrmph. Ya sound just like Applejack when ya say that,” Apple Bloom said, looking away.

“Hey, how’d you break your leg?” Scootaloo asked.

“Oh, I uh… fell out of a tree. A tree that was on fire.”

“What?” The three asked at the same time.

“Long story. Anyways, isn’t there something the three of you are supposed to do?”

“Sign your cast?”

“Oh yeah! I didn’t get to sign yet!”

“Can ah sign too?”

“Sigh… sure. Here’s a pen.” I handed Apple Bloom a pen and she immediately started writing her initials somewhere on the cast.

“What’s a pen?” Sweetie Belle asked me. Apple Bloom had just finished and spat the pen out to Scootaloo, who started feverishly looking for a place to sign.

“Ah don’t know,” The filly answered for me, “That is?”

“A pen is like a quill, but it has a built in supply of ink that doesn’t need to be constantly replaced.”

Scootaloo stopped in the middle of her writing, spat the pen out and studied it closely, shrugged, and finished her signature before giving it to Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom looked like she was trying to get a grasp on the concept I just told her, and took back the pen after Sweetie Belle finished to study it further.

“Anyway… Sweetie Belle? Isn’t there something we were going to do today? The four of us?”

“Huh? Oh yeah…” Sweetie Belle slowly walked over to the door and smartly closed it. “Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, we have to clean up that mess in the lobby.”

“WHAT!? No way! Ah told ya it wasn’t mah fault that Winona got in there!”

“And I didn’t do anything! I just… knocked over something. But it was an accident!

“Either way, Rarity said the three of you need to clean it up,” I tried my best intimidating voice, but that didn’t really work.

“Well why should we listen to you? You’re not Rarity!”

“No, but I am her apprentice. Plus, I’m at least twice your size and I’m pretty sure I’m older than any of you.”

The two rebellious fillies stood there in stony silence and looked at each other before they burst out laughing.

“HAHAHA!! You? Rarity’s apprentice? Please, at least come up with something good!” Scootaloo cried out. Apple Bloom was rolling across the floor laughing just as hard.

“It’s true girls. He really is.” Sweetie Belle told them, slightly embarrassed. Her friends immediately stopped laughing, awkwardly glancing back and forth between the two of us.

“Are ya serious?”

“Yes I am! And I’m pretty sure if we don’t clean up, he’ll tell Rarity and we’ll be in a lot of trouble!”

“I’m pretty sure I won’t even need to tell Rarity. All she has to do is walk into the boutique. She’s out shopping right now, and should be getting back in about three hours, give or take.”

“Uh-oh.” Scootaloo stood up and the color drained from her face. “We do not want to upset Rarity. I learned that firsthoof,” she sighed, rubbing the back of her neck.

“Alright then. The faster we get this done the faster ah can go home.” Apple Bloom got up and took charge, running out the door. Sweetie Belle jumped after her and reluctantly Scootaloo followed.

“Anypony home? I’m back from the market!” Rarity walked into the boutique with several shopping bags and set them down on the floor. “I see you fillies are cleaning, and good work! I can actually see the floor now,” she added, giggling to herself.

“And I bought something special for everypony…”

“Oh! Is it Apple Juice?”

“Cupcakes?”

“Pancakes?”

“I won’t say. You three will get your surprise when you finish cleaning,” Rarity smiled. The room was considerably cleaner, and for the most part you actually couldn’t see the floor before. I was sitting on the ground watching them put everything away, making mental notes of what goes where.

“It’s funny Rarity, they really picked up the pace after you walked in the door.”

“Shut up…” Scootaloo mumbled under her breath, kicking a spool of thread at me, missing, and hitting Apple Bloom.

“Hey! Watch it!”

“Girls! Quiet down!”

“Sorry Rarity…”

“Well now that you’re here Rarity, you can take charge. I need to get going.”

“Oh? Where?” Rarity asked in curiously.

“Twilight stopped by and told me the hospital would like me to visit soon. Something about a checkup.”

“Oh, that’s fine then. Have a safe trip!”

Chapter 14: Cast Off

Chapter 14: Cast Off

Probably should have asked for directions before I left.

I’m lost. Judging by my surroundings, I must be in the town square or something of the like. Surrounding me on all sides are buildings, and town hall is right beside me. The good thing is that I’m more or less known around town, so getting help shouldn’t be too difficult. The bad thing is that I don’t do well with introductions, so getting help will be a bit difficult for me.

Another thing is that I don’t think I like to submit to defeat so easily. That’s probably why I’m still wandering around and haven’t asked anypony for help yet. That and the whole socially awkward bit.

“Good afternoon, Chris.”

I can’t go anywhere without being surprised or scared, can I?

“Oh my, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you. A-Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked, obviously concerned.

“Oh Fluttershy, it’s you. I-I’m alright. How are you doing?”

“I am fine, thank you for asking. I-I was just on my way to the hospital, I’ve had this cough recently and I fear I might be getting sick.” She looked at me and smiled wearily, blowing her mane out of her face. Something caught Fluttershy’s attention and her eyes wandered off into space.

“Oh no…” she mouthed the words so discretely it could have just been her breathing. Her facial expression turned from one of worry to that one horrific face one would make if they stuck their nose something terrible. She heeled up on her hind legs and waved her forelegs wildly in front over her, falling back on her haunches. Fluttershy, still holding the same face, slowly opened her mouth and brought both of her front hooves up to cover it.

”Ack!” She coughed.

D’awww… Fluttershy brought herself back onto all fours and looked up to me in distress.

“It’s awful, isn’t it?”

“You probably think it’s worse than it really is, Fluttershy.”

“It still doesn’t hurt to see a doctor.”

“True. Speaking of which, I’m also trying to get to the hospital. Can I follow you?”

“What’s wrong? Is something broken? Are you also sick?” Fluttershy went into overprotective mode and started asking me sorts of questions, poking my chest and inspecting my arms.

“Oh no, what if I gave it you? That would be… what if you gave it to me? No, what if it’s something I don’t have yet? My immune system is already weak!” Fluttershy shot into the air, hovering about ten feet above me.

“No! I’m not sick, Fluttershy! I’m not going to infect you!”

“A-Are you sure?” She lowered herself down landing a fair distance away, still hesitant to get near me.

“Yes, I’m fine. The hospital wants me to stop by so they can give me a physical and do blood tests. I’m not sick.”

“Oh. S-sorry for overreacting.” She sheepishly walked back up to me. “The hospital is this way though. I-If you’re going to follow me, you might want to be at a safe distance. I-I don’t want to get you sick.”

“I’ll be fine. I’m pretty sure my immune system can handle whatever virus you might or might not have.”

“Here we go, Ponyville Hospital.” Fluttershy and I walked up and through the main the doors. The reception lobby was… predictable. Somehow it the inside looked exactly like what I thought it would; the walls were lined with pale green wallpaper with very fine and ornate white swirls in it. Numerous paintings hung from the walls, evenly leveled and spaced apart. The ceiling, a sharp leathery brown, also had the same sort of decorative swirl textured on it, standing out from the wood grain. A light blue plush carpet made up the floor, with the exception of cyan colored tiles that made a smooth pathway around the room and down several corridors, and assumingly the rest of the hospital as well. A nurse stood behind the receptionist counter, scribbling something down on a clipboard. By what I could tell she was visibly older than most of the other mares in Ponyville; her coat light gold and her curly cyan mane were both fading.

“Umm… hello? I-I don’t feel so good…” Fluttershy spoke to the nurse.

“Do you have an appointment?” She deadpanned in response, not even looking up from the clipboard.

“Um, no… but he does. I think.”

The nurse looked up to Fluttershy with a compassionate yet bored expression, and then around her to see me. Her eyes quickly widened in shock and a small smile appeared. Without talking back to either of us she hastily returned to her clipboard, finished whatever she was writing, and took off with it down a hall.

“Well that was rude.” Fluttershy said in a huff.

“The doctor will be out in a moment!” The nurse appeared from behind the wall, again smiling as wide as ever, before turning back down the hall. Her brief and sudden announcement scared Fluttershy and she yelped gritting her teeth, her legs going stiff, and promptly fell over onto the ground as if she was made of stone. Thankfully she fell on a pillow so she shouldn’t be injured. Actually, there were so many pillows around it’d be hard not to step on them. Sighing, I took a seat on one of them and Fluttershy held her pose, too afraid to move.

“Fluttershy, she’s gone. You can snap out of it now.”

No response other than her pupils frantically searching whatever part of the room she could see without moving her head.

“Fluttershy?”

Nope. Still nothing.

“Well… your cough’s probably gone now, right?”

After I said that she stopped searching and her eyes narrowed, focusing on some imaginary speck of in the distance.

“Ack!” Taking a second to absorb what just happened, the yellow pegasus started hyperventilating in addition to her frantic searching. She still hadn’t broken that pose, but at least she was moving more of her body now.

“Come on Fluttershy, snap out of it. You’re fine.” I tried one more time but again to avail.

Stop before you make things worse. Just let her do her thing.

“Hello? Aha! You’re finally here!” A voice said from behind me. I turned around to see an obvious doctor-figure standing before me, apparent by the stethoscope he had wrapped around his neck. He wore a white collar shirt that covered the front half of his body, which itself was a sandy-yellow color. His thick light brown mane stopped right above his unicorn horn. I’m not even sure if his horn was holding his hair up or not.

“I take you’ll be my doctor?”

“Yup. Doctor Stables. I must say, it is an honor to be the first to analyze a new species!”

“…Thanks?”

“Well let’s not waste any time. Follow me down here and we’ll-“

“Wait!” Fluttershy jumped up and screamed, “W-what about me?”

“Alright Fluttershy, I suppose we could start with you. What seems to be the trouble?”

“I-I got this terrible cough!”

“You don’t seem to be coughing right now. Is there anything else?”

Fluttershy looked at the doctor blankly, her eyes narrowing again. Once more she stood up on her hind legs, pawing at the air with her hooves and fell back onto her haunches.

“Ack!”

Dr. Stables simply smiled at her, chuckling to himself.

“It’s awful isn’t it?” She whimpered.

“It sure is. Hold on a second, I think I might have the solution,” he said and left back down the corridor her came from. Fluttershy watched as he went, and didn’t divert her attention from the doorway until he got back. Dr. Stables returned with a paper cup of some sort of liquid.

“Here, drink this.” He calmly gave her the cup and she immediately drank it in a rush.

“Feel better?” He asked.

Fluttershy stood motionless, glancing back and forth between him and the cup. “Mm-hmm! Thank you so much!” She finally said at last with an enormous smile spread across her face. She took a second to thank the doctor once more before she asked worryingly, “How much is it going to cost me?”

“Oh, it isn’t much. I’ll take care of it for you.”

“Oh, bless you. Thank you so much!” Fluttershy said again, getting up and leaving through the front doors, “G-good luck Chris!” She waved a hoof at me before flying away.

“What was that you gave her?” I asked him.

“Hmm? Oh, it was just water from the fountain.” He smiled, picking up the cup Fluttershy had dropped on the ground. “She comes by with something silly about once a month. It’s no big deal really. Come on now.”

He turned back down the hallway and I followed. The ceiling lights dimly lit the hall, only the window at the end and any opened doors allow brighter light to make its way around. The hallway also had the same color scheme as the front lobby, and other then the occasional beeping of machines or small talk between patients everything was quiet.

“In here. Room A-7,” he said, leading me into a very small room. A single hospital bed sat in the middle with a not to comforting IV machine sitting next to it. The assorted needles and biohazard-labeled lunchbox on a bedside tray weren’t to reassuring either. But aside from that, the room looked like it would be any ordinary hospital room. Not that I haven’t had the luxury of even being in a hospital before. A cabinet sat in one corner and a desk with all sort of instruments sat in the other. A small scale was tucked away underneath the desk, and atop it are several odd looking objects. I assume they’re for checking things like blood pressure and body temperature.

“Alrighty then, please remove your shoes.”

I complied, and he pulled out the scale and set it on the ground for me to stand on. I hadn’t noticed a nurse had followed us into the room, and she was taking the readings from the scale. I hadn’t seen… no I’ve seen her before in the show. Nurse Redheart was her name, or at least it was the fan-given one.

“One hundred and twenty five pounds,” he told her and she scribbled that bit of info down on a clipboard, somehow holding a pencil and a clipboard with her mouth at the same time.

“…Is that normal for a human your age?”

“I’m eighteen, but I haven’t had a checkup before in... a long time, so I wouldn’t know. I might be slightly underweight.” I helplessly shrugged and he did too. Next he measured my height and had Nurse Redheart write that down as well, then motioned for me to sit down on the bed. He took his stethoscope and was about to put it on my chest when he hesitated.

“Err… where is your heart? And your lungs?”

I smiled, and pointed to the dead center of my breastplate.

“The heart is contained inside my ribcage which protects most of my vital organs. My fits inside a small pocket between my lungs.”

He nodded in approval, and went to rubbing my chest with the cold piece of metal.

“I’m counting about eighty-five beats a minute. Is that normal?”

“Yeah, it should be. I know it’s not safe for it to go over a hundred or below sixty.”

“And we’re supposed to be the doctors.” Nurse Redheart joked, getting a slight chuckle out of the doctor.

“Yeah, well now that that’s over with, time to draw blood for our records.”

“I knew that was coming,” I sighed, getting a curious look from Nurse Redheart. Dr. Stables went over to the tray of needles and picked up a syringe. I cringed at the sight of the thing.

“I’m terrified of needles…” I shuddered, getting a sympathetic nod from the two of them.

“Well, it’ll be over before you know it.” Nurse Redheart tried to reassure me.

“I-I don’t even know what vein that goes in.”

“No worries. Your physiology doesn’t seem that far off from ponies, so it shouldn’t be that challenging to fine the right vein. Could you pull up your sleeve?”

“Eehhuhuh…” I don’t know what that was, but I reluctantly did as I was told.

“I’m assuming this large blue vein is correct one,” he said, positioning the needle right above the vein.

“Hey! I know it’s not supposed to be that low on the arm!”

“I knew that,” he scoffed with a nervous grin, and repositioned the needle.

“Not really reassuring. How much blood are you going to need?”

“Just enough to fill this one syringe. I don’t want to take out more then I need.”

“Right. Hey, nurse? Could you maybe hold my arm down? I’m afraid…” I spoke too late. Dr. Stables was using his magic to hold my arm down already, and I hadn’t noticed he already stuck the needle in me, and the syringe was already half full! Of my blood.

“See? That wasn’t so bad,” he smiled, and nervously I smiled too. Nurse Redheart came up with gauze and wrapped the wound tight.

“I believe that’s all we need for now. I’ll be sure to keep you posted if we need any more tests done.”

“Thank you two for not killing me,” I sarcastically said, getting the two of them to smile again. I stood up and put on my shoes, ready to get the hell out of here. I’ve already decided I do not like hospitals.

“I’m sure you’re wondering about the hospital bill, but don’t worry. In the name of research, we won’t charge you a bit.”

“Thanks again,” I said waving goodbye and turned down the hall.

“Wait a minute! What about your crutch?” Nurse Redheart called after me.

“What?” I turned around and saw her holding my crutch in her mouth. I looked down at my leg, and yes it’s still in its cast. Getting a nervous surge of adrenaline I fell and sat on the floor.

“You just walked with a broken leg,” she said, walking up to me and setting the crutch down. “Did you feel any pain? Is your leg healed already?”

“No, that shouldn’t be possible. It takes months for a broken leg to heal!”

“If you don’t feel pain, it should be fine.”

“I… I took a potion this morning. Twilight Sparkle gave me some red liquid in a vial earlier.”

“Did Zecora make it?” Dr. Stables asked, appearing behind Nurse Redheart.

“Yeah. Yeah she did!”

“Well that’s interesting. Usually her healing potions take a few days until they reach full effect. And yours did so in just a few hours?”

“Huh. Can we X-Ray it to be sure?”

“Of course, that shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Rarity, I’m back. Sorry I took so long.” I walked into the boutique and threw Crutchy onto the floor.

I see the Crusaders cleaned up the place in my absence. It actually looks presentable. I looked at the few mannequins that stood in the center of the room on a pedestal. There were sixteen total, but only six of them were dressed. One of them wore the suit I helped Rarity make earlier. Maybe this was where she put her completed work?

“Oh thank heavens! Come quick, I need your help nnnooooooooooow!” She called back from the workroom, and I ran off to meet her. The workroom was still the mess it had been when I left though, and Rarity was frantically working on her sewing machine putting the finishing touches on some garment. Sweetie Belle was off to the side cutting fabrics to predetermined sizes.

“Oh darling, I know it was important of you to go but now time is of the essence! One of my clients will be picking up his gown earlier than expected, and it hasn’t even been started yet!”

“They’ll be here today, actually.” Sweetie Belle innocently spoke, “Hey your leg’s all better!”

“Sweetie Belle! Back to work!” Rarity barked to her sister who immediately went back to cutting. “Yes that’s nice and all but we can celebrate later. Chris, I need you to bring me that piece of Kevlar.”

Kevlar? Why does… who does… never mind. It’s nice not having to shift my weight onto that crutch so I could very easily get across the room now. Or compared to before. The workroom was still a complete mess and it’s still hard not to trip over something.

“Here you go.” I handed Rarity the Kevlar. Without hesitation she yanked it from my grasp and stuffed inside a dress, stitching it shut.

“Just some finishing touches…” Rarity softly mumbled to herself, “Sweetie Belle! Do you have the decorative patch done?”

“Yes ma’am!” Sweetie Belle jumped up from the floor and ran over to Rarity with an oddly shaped piece of red fabric. The emblem slightly resembles a heart, but the tail was pulled down and back up, wrapping around the rest of it coming to a point near the top. Rarity took the fabric and returned to her sewing machine.

“Who’s this for?”

“Sorry but I can’t say,” Rarity finished and pulled the dress off and dressed to a mannequin before walking away, “Customer privacy and such.”

Rarity brought the mannequin to the other end of the room and pulled out a white chest that sat off to the side. Opening it, countless gemstones lifted out of the box and floated around her, and she meticulously examining every one. As she looked through them all, she either dumped the rejects back into the box or added others into a small cloud of stone behind her.

“Fabulous. Horrid. Horrid. Perfect. Wonderful. Hideous. Fabulous…”  Rarity kept talking to herself as she sorted the gemstones. The familiar ringing of a doorbell sounded, followed by that of a door opening.

The cloud of gems fell to the floor, scattering dozens of them across the ground. Rarity quickly brought her head around and stared through the doorway, her legs trembling. “Oh dear,” she muttered.

“Chris! Sweetie Belle! I’m not done with the dress yet and the client is here! I need you two to stall him now!” Rarity commanded, getting a salute from Sweetie Belle before she darted out the door, and I quickly followed behind.

“Hello Commander Ares!” I heard the filly say as I rounded the corner.

Commander?

Sweetie Belle sat on the floor in front of several outfits, obviously showing them off to who I assumed is the customer. I hope he’s the customer. One of Celestia’s Royal Guards stood before Sweetie Belle. Unlike the unicorn guards I have seen previously his armor is not gold but silver and covered more of his body then a normal guard’s armor would; plated armor wrapped around the entirety of his abdomen instead of only covering his back and the boots that usually only ran up the front of the shins wrapped around the entire lower leg. The galea crest that usually runs down the top of the helmet is not the normal shade of white but a fading black, his tail matching. His coat still the normal dull gray, but his eyes had a dark blue shade to them instead of the normal brown.

The unicorn looked down to the young filly, the normal expressionless face replaced with a warm smile as the two made small talk like they were distant friends. The sound of my footsteps alerted the Commander and he shifted his attention to me, the smile across his face slowly fading into a blank stare.

“Um… hello Commander.” I nervously walked into the room, getting him to cock a brow.

“So the stories are true. You can talk.” He spoke bluntly, dull but with authority. Sweetie Belle still sat on the ground, an overenthusiastic grin wide across her face.

“Christopher, yes? I see your leg healed. It’s no longer broken?”

“Yeah, how’d you know it was broken in the first place?”

“I lead the extraction team that recovered you in the Whitetail Woods.”

“You brought me back to Canterlot then.”

“That I did, and you were in quite the… wounded state. I didn’t know that...”

“Humans!” Sweetie Belle chimed in, getting a small smile to appear across the unicorn’s face for a brief moment before it receded.

“Yes, humans. We didn't know how hazardous you would be if you were to wake up, so after a brief examination we locked you in a cell. Be happy I was able to get convinced to give you a pillow. I didn’t even think that humans could heal so fast.”

“Well, I owe it to Zecora. She made some sort of healing potion that accelerated everything.”

“Zecora? I see you’re already making friends far and wide,” he chuckled to himself at the thought and returned to Sweetie Belle, “So is the dress ready? I can’t wait to see it.”

“Oh yeah, about that…”

“Who’s it for?” I intervened, getting a sigh of relief from Sweetie Belle. I forgot we needed to be stalling. The Commander turned his attention back to me, slightly surprised by the outburst.

“Are humans always so assertive?” He spoke in a negative tone, obviously upset.

“You would be surprised. And forgive me for my lack of manners. I’m not use to such formalities.”

“I do suppose I can’t hold you against it; call me Ares. But if you must know, the gown is for my wife. Her birthday is tomorrow.”

“Don’t want to forget that,” I rolled my eyes, getting him to nervously laugh.

“Ah… yeah. I learned my lesson before. And before I forget, since you’re here I don’t have to waste time searching for you. You have been summoned to Canterlot by Princess Luna, and I’ll be taking you there myself as soon as possible.”

“Canterlot? Can I come please?” Rarity appeared from out of the workroom and walked up to us.

“Sorry Miss Rarity, but I’m afraid we can’t take you. I was only ordered to pick up Chris. We’ll be leaving shortly.”

“He’ll be leaving again? But I need my apprentice!”

“Apprentice?” Ares looked to me confused, and all I could do was shrug.

“I need to get money somehow.”

Ares awkwardly shook his head in disapproval and went back to Rarity, “So, is it finished?”

“Why of course! Here we are.” Rarity’s horn began to glow a soft blue and a mannequin drifted into the room wearing the completed outfit. Several long, silver strands of silk run down the length of the navy blue dress from the bottom to the collar. The red heart emblem Sweetie Belle made was stitched on the flank where a cutie mark would be, and small blue sapphires outlined it. A light blue star proudly rested on the chest, similar to that of the one on Ares’s armor. Rubies also outlined the star and the front holes where the forelegs stick out of.

“My wife will love it. I could always rely on you Miss Rarity.”

“Oh you flirt…” Rarity turned away blushing getting Ares to blush as well.

“Ah. Yes. Well, about your pay... what do I owe you?”

“Forty-two thousand bits,” Rarity said cheerfully, and enormous smile spread from ear to ear. Sweetie Belle and I were completely shocked by this, but Ares nodded in satisfaction.

“You’re killing me Rarity,” he joked.

“Well Kevlar is expensive, darling.”

“That it is,” he sighed. His horn began to glow a dim green and a lockbox materialized in front of him. Rarity took the dress and folded it neatly into a bag and the two exchanged gifts.

“Thank you again Miss Rarity, but I must get going now. Follow me, Chris.”

“Wait a second,” Rarity stopped him, “When will he get back?”

“No telling when, sorry. But I can’t expect it taking more than a few hours. No guarantees though. And Chris, bring your… technology with you. Princess Luna made it explicitly clear that you take it with you. All of it.”

“So… why so much Kevlar?” I casually asked Ares, but he ignored the question. The usual blank stare guards normally expressed brought itself dimly across his face. The flight to Canterlot sure is going to be a long one.

Chapter 15: A Double Edged Sword

Chapter 15: A Double Edged Sword

“So, why exactly did Princess Luna call me to Canterlot?” I asked Commander Ares as our chariot touched down in front of the castle.

“I don’t know,” he replied bluntly with authority, “But if I did know, I still wouldn’t to tell you.”

All my previous attempts to start up a conversation with him had been shot down the same way. Then again, he’s in charge of the entire Royal Guard and only takes orders from the two Princesses themselves, so I guess it makes sense he’s rather ignorant. The two of us hopped off the chariot and onto the cobblestone porch that led into the castle. Simultaneously the chariot left and the front doors opened, revealing some dozen or so guard ponies in their signature golden armor.

“Security,” Ares uncomfortably reassured and motioned for me to follow him inside, like I have a choice, and we made our way through the labyrinth of hallways that made up the interior of the enormous castle. The guards that accompanied stayed close to us, eight on either side, in a tight formation. I don’t know if they led or if Ares did, but the group moved as a whole in a single fluid motion.

“A lot of guards here for a small walk. I didn’t know you could be ambushed in your own castle.” I mumbled sarcastically to myself, just loud enough to be overheard. I could hear a few of the guard ponies snicker to themselves nervously, and the one next to me look away in hesitation. It dawned on me just how tall I am compared to these Royal Guards. They’re intimidating in every sense of the word, but somehow they weren’t when I stood beside one. I’m a good foot taller than them, not counting the crest on their helmets. The show probably helped make me not that afraid of them even though any of one of them they could probably kill me with a single, well-placed kick.

“Times are… tough,” Ares sighed. “I’m sure you’ll find out more soon enough.” He knew what was going on and why it was happening, but still kept it to himself.

“We’re here.” The guard at the front of the pack knocked on a set of doors before nudging them open. The formation broke in two halves, one on the outside and the other followed Ares and I in and stood on either sides of the doorway. The room was rather small however. Actually, it’s the same room from where I was interrogated when I first arrived. Princess Luna sat at the far end of the room smiling at me as Ares and company approached. The chest that previously stood there was gone, but the large metal table was exactly where it was before. Luna sat where I had been, comfortably shifting around in a beanbag chair. Ares looked to me and nodded, and I followed him up to the Princess. We were about to bow when Luna raised a hoof for us to stop.

“I appreciate the gesture, but no need for formalities here,” Luna said with a smile. “No go on. Get.” Luna playfully waved her hoof at Ares, wanting to kick him out of the room.

“I… what?” He took a step back in confusion.

“I assure you he isn’t dangerous. His body is no physical shape to even defend its own being in any event,” she said with a small chuckle. “I am more than capable of defending myself. Plus, I’m pretty sure the mere presence of several guards would make him nervous with fright. And we don’t want that…”

Thanks...

“What? But Princess Luna-“

“I don’t want to hear it. What happens in this room will only be between those allowed. Now shoo.” She playfully waved her hoof again, giggling to herself. Ares stood in shock, but grunted and complied with the order. He turned to face me, asserting intimidation and power.

“If you so much as breathe the wrong air, I will kick down that door and personally shove my hoof up your-“

“Commander!” Luna bellowed in a tone I had never heard conceived possible. Her voice shook the air with gale-force winds, almost knocking me off my feet. Her voice shook the air with gale-force winds, almost knocking me off my feet. “Leave!”

Ares looked up to her like a puppy that just upset its master. He shrugged, and after briefly glaring at me, left. The rest of the guards who awkwardly sat out the ordeal followed behind him, shutting the door.

“Sorry about that,” Luna spoke in a sympathetic tone, nothing like the words she just screamed. “That was the ‘Royal Canterlot’ voice. I try to not use it anymore, but it does come in handy!” She awkwardly smiled as if that brief explanation solved everything that just happened. Oddly, it kind of did.

“Come! Sit!” she added, floating in a beanbag chair out of nowhere and set it down next to her. I walked around and took my seat, gently laying my backpack on the ground.

“So…” I tried to begin.

“I’m sure you’re wondering what I called you here for.”

“Yeah…”

“Well that will have to wait. ‘Tia is on her way and I’m sure she’ll want to be here for this.”

“Princess-”

“Please, just call me Luna. Like I said before, there’s no need for formalities. And I see your leg is healed already!”

“Yeah, thanks to one of Zecora's potions."

"Yes, that zebra is marvelous at what she does."

"Okay… So if I may ask, where is Celestia?”

“Sister is down in the archives. She’s…” Luna covered her mouth, stopping herself from finishing the sentence.

“What?”

“You’ll have to wait and see.” Luna sorely said, but abruptly snapped out of it and a large grin spread wide across her face.  “So I told you to bring your technology~!” she hummed, throwing her face very close to mine and eagerly smiling from ear to ear. “…did you?”

“Luna?” Celestia had walked into room, accompanied by Twilight who closed the large wooden doors behind her, absentmindedly straight into the faces of a few guards who stuck their heads in the room. I realized that having Princess Luna’s face pressed up next to mine wasn’t likely the best impression to make on her sister. Blushing, I tried to scoot away but fell over onto the floor. Luna erupted into laughter and Celestia let out a soft sigh. Twilight awkwardly stood beside her mentor double checking her saddlebags for something.

Celestia cleared her throat and I sat back up beside Luna. “I’m sorry about our previous meeting here,” she began. “It didn’t do a proper introduction justice, and unfortunately we spoiled any previous opportunity to do so. Although, it seems you already knew a lot about us, yet we still know very little about you. That is, except what you told and have shown Twilight. But I prefer to get my information from the source.”

Blushing, Twilight’s ears folded down as she tried to hide a sheepish smile. Celestia approached the table and sat down, Twilight following close behind. The two of them sat opposite of me and Luna and Twilight opened up her saddlebags, taking out that black book again, a pen, the dictionary, and a strange white book. Luna nudged my shoulder, pointing to my backpack. I took the hint, opened it up and placed its contents on the table; my laptop, phone, and the iPod. Celestia took interest in the items and picked up my phone, examining it.

“Chris, sorry I haven’t been around that much recently,” Twilight apologized.

“Yes, I have been having her come to Canterlot to deliver daily reports on…” Luna finished for her but trailed off herself. Although it was probably due to the disappointing glare Celestia shot her.

“Twilight Sparkle, I do not believe it will be necessary to document what will be said today. Right now, anyways,” Celestia said. Twilight reluctantly returned everything but the dictionary to her saddlebags.

“Anyways,” Celestia sat my phone back down on the tabletop. “Why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself, Chris?”

“Well, I don’t really like talking about it.”

“Oh come on, we won’t tell anypony.” Luna playfully elbowed my arm. I looked at her blankly and her joyful smile slowly faded.

“Moving on,” Celestia broke the awkward silence. “Why don’t you tell us how you got here? From start to finish.”

“Well,” I started. “I never told anyone this, and I’m kind of confused as to exactly what happened…”

“Well what do you remember?”

“…there was lightning. There was a thunderstorm above me, it was late at night, and I was camping underneath a tree. This tree was sitting all by itself on top of a hill. Suddenly there’s this static noise, and I can’t hear anything…”

“Static: noun – Interference due to electricity.” Twilight said aloud after looking through the dictionary.

“…and I saw a bright white orb floating in the middle of the field, just flying around in circles. Next thing I know, it rushes me and flies through my tent, burning a hole in it. And then… and then… lightning stuck. But it didn’t hit me. Rather it was almost like the ground was emitting it. The lightning like, stayed there, unmoving from the spot it struck. It still zigzagged its way into the sky though. Oh, and it was a hot pink.”

“Pink lightning?” Twilight looked up from the book. Luna looked at me in surprise and Celestia raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, and the weird thing is that it stayed put and didn’t evaporate or anything. And then… four more like that one. These ones were orange, another was a light blue, one was a dark red, and the other a shade of purple. They sort of made a pentagonal pattern. And then… it stopped.”

“Just like that?” Celestia frowned.

“No, not the lightning. The static, the rain, the gravity, the wind, it all just stopped.”

“Gravity stopped?” Luna looked at me showing signs of confusion and horror.

“Yeah. And the tree was on fire. Now I’m floating up towards the fire, and I see the white orb is floating in the sky above the tree and then… I fell, broke my leg, and I guess you know happened from there.”

“This is troubling. Sister, you know what this means, right?”

“Of course I do Luna. The prophecy does not mention how he was to arrive here, but it troubles me more is that that’s how he got here.” Celestia hung her head. “The High Council will surely have to answer to this.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt Princess, but what is going on?”

“Hmm? Oh, forgive me. I almost forgot you two were still here…” Celestia trailed off and let the sentence die. “Before we dive into your technology, Chris, I have something I want to show you.” Celestia’s horn began to glow a dim white, and a heavy cloth materialized in front of us and fell on table with a dull thud. The linen cloth, aged and torn beyond belief, was tightly bounding a long object with fraying ropes. Luna let out a depressed sigh and looked away as Celestia undid the binding, revealing the last thing I could have ever been expecting, and to Twilight’s apparent dismay; a sword.

Still in its metallic sheath, Celestia rotated the weapon slowly above the table. Twilight and I stared at it speechless, and Luna did everything she could to look away. A symmetrical pattern was etched into the sheath and I recognized it as the Tree of Life pattern on the obelisk thing, ‘The Dodecahedron,’ in that hidden away room buried deep into the mountainside. The same symbol was also mirrored on the other side, along with some sort of cryptic letters. Frowning at something, Celestia slid my laptop out of the way to make room and set the weapon down in front of me. Luna took the silence as an opportunity to leave the room. Several guards stuck their heads in the room again as she exited, only to have the doors slam in their faces. Again.

“Th-That’s a sw-sword…” Twilight stuttered. “…for k-killing…”

Celestia slowly rubbed Twilight’s back, trying to calm her down. I don’t think it was working.

“I’ve seen them in mu-museums before, b-but… these types of we-weapons are outlawed!” Twilight screamed. “Only the g-guardsponies can use s-such weapons, but none are as an-ancient as this!”

“Sssshh, Twilight. It’s alright. Allow me to explain.” Celestia released contact with the lavender unicorn, who was now visibly trembling and refused to break her gaze off of the weapon. Celestia turned her attention back to me.

“Chris, we know nothing about this sword aside from what we can see now. The sheath is made of solid titanium and the hilt-“

“Titanium!?” Twilight cried out. “Why did you not just melt it down? That’s enough titanium to buy Ponyville!”

“I take it titanium is precious here…” I commented.

Twilight shifted to me, “Of course! It’s the rarest natural element in Equestria! Just one gram is worth at least a thousand bits!”

Well, that’s a bit of a surprise. The sheath alone must weigh at least a kilogram of titanium, so that’s like… This thing is worth at least a million bits! That’s like ten thousand dollars if my currency conversion is correct.

“Twilight, dear,” Celestia interrupted and stopped her student from continuing her rant. “I’ll get to the point. This artifact was discovered in the same location where the Arcane Prophecy was discovered long ago in the ruins of the Old Kingdom. Nopony knows where it came from, how it was crafted, or even what it looks like. This sword had never been drawn. It can’t be unsheathed.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. Luna and I had countless times to remove it, but it resisted every method. Even our magical strength combined was not enough. The weapon’s blade has never been seen.”

Twilight shot a worried glare at the princess. “This wouldn’t happen to be that sword, would it Princess?” The lavender unicorn looked up to her mentor with curious eyes.

“Yes, Twilight Sparkle. The legends are true.”

“What legend?” I asked.

“That ancient blade was found embedded within the remains of a Draconequus,” Celestia said eyeing me for some sort of response. My confused look prompted her to continue, “A Draconequus is a spirit physically manifested into the world. They are often capable of indescribable amounts of magic. Physical attributes vary greatly between any given specimens, since every limb is that of a random animal. We have a statue of a Draconequus, specifically Discord, the spirit of chaos, in the palace garden. Perhaps I can show you some time.”

Discord… wasn’t he going to be in the second season’s opener? Damn, and it was only a few weeks away too.

“That’s not all, though.” The deity of the sun continued, “You probably noticed my sister’s… behavior… towards this weapon, and I don’t blame her. It has had a dark past, to say the least. Please don’t bring it up to her, or bring it anywhere near her.”

“Wait, “bring it near” her? You’re giving me this?”

“Princess! You can’t just-“ Twilight protested for a second, only for her lips humorously turning into a zipper that shut itself with a glow of Celestia’s horn.

“I’m not sure myself if I should be giving this to you, Chris.” Celestia continued, oblivious to Twilight who had just undone her spell.

“As you can see there are these markings on the side,” Celestia twisted the sword around to show the ancient text. “These are runes. A long dead form of magic that had been lost with the fall of the First World, which existed millennia before Luna or myself came into existence. Very complex, they do not interact with the world the way normal magic does, and only four examples of runes have ever been known to exist. The best of which is what rests on this metal.”

“Furthermore,” Celestia rotated it to show me the worn hilt, the only exposed part of the weapon. “On the bottom of the pommel, embossed in gold, is a unicursal hexagram. The same symbol that is…”

“Burned onto my arm…” I finished for her. Lifting up my shirt sleeve, the scar tissue hadn’t quite healed yet and the same symbol was barely visible.

“Correct.” Celestia said. “The runes’ language dictates a locking mechanism of sorts, and since you bare the same symbol as what’s on here, I would like you to try to remove the sword.” Celestia sat the weapon back down on the table. Twilight, obviously disturbed by its mere presence, became overcome with curiosity. Slowly I reached out and set a hand on the cold metal that was the sheath. I ran my hand up to the hilt and grasped it tightly. Upon contact, the gold stenciling that made the hexagram on the pommel literally melted away in a bright green glow.

I dropped the weapon out of shock, and the second I released it the glowing stopped. It fell onto the table with a loud clang. The three of us eyed it intently, Twilight and I each with our jaws slack and Celestia was doing her best to keep her eyes inside her head. I slowly drew my hand back to the weapon and grabbed it by the handle again. The green glow started once more, and when I put my other hand on the sheath the runes started emitting the same shade of green. I quickly yanked on it, and the sword easily slid out.

It was a straight sword and double edged, one side being menacingly serrated. Now that I held it, it was surprisingly lightweight considering it was probably made out of titanium too. The blade was maybe two feet long, coming into a very intimidating point at the end, and in all reality it didn’t look anything special. It was weathered, old with small dings and scratches here and there, a small patch of dried blood, and a few faded gold engravings. The only unique thing about the weapon aside from the serrated edge and the hexagram was right above the guard. Etched into the titanium and filled with what looks like a single piece of carved jade, was a simple word.

”Cindersbane.”

No one moved after I said that. The sounds of everyone’s hearts beating hard against their chests could clearly be heard by everyone as we oddly sat in excitement. Celestia’s for seeing the blade for the first time in her life, Twilight’s for the new artifact that could now be studied, and mine for simply holding the thing in my hand. The green hue from the pommel and sheath had both flickered out of existence. Curious, I plucked a hair from my scalp and let the thing fall onto the sharpened edge, half expecting it to be to cut cleanly. It wasn’t, and simply fell off and onto the floor.

Don’t know why I did it, but temptation got the best of me. I’m surprised neither Celestia nor Twilight bothered to even try and stop me as I tapped my finger against the blade.

“Thing’s dull,” I frowned and prodded it again this time using more force, but I didn’t even knick a layer of skin. I tried to poke the tip of the sword expecting some sort of tingle, but got nothing. I even ran my palm against the serrated edge a few times.

“Huh.” I gently tapped the blade against the corner of the metal table in front of me.

The sword cut into the solid steel like it was butter, stopping only after I jerked my hand back off the handle, which left the weapon embedded about half an inch in the metal table.

“Erm…” I looked up to see Twilight and Celestia were once more speechless, their jaws sagging much like the first time we met in this same room. I pulled Cindersbane out of the table, cautiously running my finger against the same part of the blade that just cleanly cut into the steel. It was dull to the touch.

The next thing I did was rather stupid admittedly, but somehow I thought it would work after this pattern I’ve seen. So I outstretched my arm, in plain view of the two equines in front of me, and with all the strength I could, drove the sharpened blade down onto my skin. Gasping, Twilight’s horn glowed a furious purple and covered Cindersbane in the same aura, but whatever she tried was either too late or magic simply didn’t work on it. Celestia sat in dumbfounded enthrallment as the sword harmlessly bounced off my arm, rebounded making me lose my grip on the handle, flew through the air behind me, and embedded itself halfway into the stone wall before coming to a stop. The loud thunk of the impact echoed through the room, just loud enough for Luna to stick her head back through a crack in the door to see what was going on accompanied by the curious muzzles of several guardponies.

Luna quickly pushed them back and slid into the room, shutting the door behind her.

“Forgive me for… leaving,” Luna hung her head. “But, I’m feeling more confident now. And what was that noise?”

Her answer was me pulling Cindersbane out of the back wall, staring at the weapon in fascination. Luna took a look at myself, the sword, the faded color of Twilight’s paralyzed body, and Celestia’s usual content self.

“P-P-Princess…” Twilight was able to fumble the words out of her mouth. “That... that… ma-magic doesn’t, it-it doesn’t work. N-Not on that.”

“I thought I said that before,” Celestia mused, bringing her attention back to me. Luna slowly approached the table and sat next to her sister, noticing the small newly-formed notch in the metal framework. Celestia’s smartly floated the sheath my way. Taking the hint, I sheathed Cindersbane and went to retake my seat at the table. Luna, still uncomfortable around the weapon, had been overcome with interest. Celestia let the mental gears shift in her head, and the colors of Twilight’s stunned body began to slowly reemerge.

“Chris,” Celestia began, closing her eyes. “Please sit still. I want to try a… an experiment.” Her horn began to glow an unsurprising milky white, but a few seconds later it slowly began pulsating like a kaleidoscope. Celestia opened her eyes, the pupils gone entirely and replaced with a bright white light; much like Twilight’s had when she used the Elements of Harmony to defeat Nightmare Moon. And in a bright flash of golden light, everything stopped. Celestia blinked her pupils back into existence. The royal alicorn was obviously disturbed by whatever she just did, and did little to hide it.

“Alright, now to confirm this…” Celestia unknowingly said aloud to herself, getting curious stares from the rest of us. “Please remove… Cindersbane… and keep the sharpened blade pointing skywards.” I complied, following her exact order. Twilight flinched as a small glimmer of light bounced off the metal as I unsheathed the sword, and Luna looked at my hands confused as to why I was so easily able to remove it. A small spark emerged from the tip of Celestia’s horn, and it grew into a glistening bubble about the size of a baseball. Luna’s eyes widened as she watched the bubble fall slowly onto the edge of Cindersbane which cleanly cut through it like nothing was there. The small bubble erupted in a tiny explosion before vaporizing into the air.

“…What was that?” Twilight asked. It almost looked like she had asked the sword itself for the answer as I carefully sheathed it.

“Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student, have you ever used magic on Chris before?” Celestia answered with a question of her own.

“Um, well, I floated things to and from him…”

“No, have you ever tried anything deeper? Such as seeing into his memories or something simpler like hindering one of his senses? Even manipulating one of his limbs?”

“Why would I ever need to do that?”

“I see…”  Whatever thoughts went through Celestia’s head also went through Luna’s as she the deity of the night stared at me in bewilderment. Twilight and I glanced at each other confused as to exactly what just happened.

“Do you want to tell them or should I?” Luna asked her sister.

“No, it’s fine. I got this,” Celestia cleared her throat. “That spell, just now, was a master level defense spell. A ‘force field’ if you will, albeit a small one. The mere fact that Chris had removed this weapon so easily while countless ponies, myself included, had failed to do over thousands of years…”

Twilight’s jaw fell slack for the nth time in the past hour, as she slowly gained a grasp on what Celestia was saying.

“…And also seeing as it was dull to his touch, but more than capable of slicing through the strongest form of defense in the known world can only mean one thing.”

“No, that shouldn’t be possible!” Twilight squealed. “That must mean that this-“

“Cindersbane is enchanted with the dark magic of a Draconequus, and Chris is its chosen wielder.”

Chapter 16: Reintroductions

Chapter 16: Reintroductions

I dropped the sword and it fell onto the table with a sharp clang.

“Dark magic? What’s dark magic?” I asked. After a deep sigh, Luna answered.

“Dark magic isn’t actually ‘evil’ as the name might imply,” she explained. “The word ‘dark’ just signifies the form of magic being an exact opposite in the way it works compared normal magic. We could say it’s ‘anti-magic’ but that doesn’t make much sense. Plus, it doesn’t easily roll off the tongue.” Luna levitated my laptop to demonstrate that yes, she can use magic, and set it back down on the table. “Dark magic is everywhere around us, just like normal magic is. The two balance each other out, allowing for cosmic equilibrium. The only problem with dark magic is that nopony can manipulate it in the same way as normal magic; it’s just how things work. Dark magic as far as we know can only be controlled by spirits, such as a Draconequus. Since there is a far fewer number of beings that utilize dark magic, it’s comes in stronger doses to those who can.”

“The magical powers of the Draconequus this sword was bonded to means that this weapon has the entire magical potential of that very spirit,” Celestia took over the lecture, “which is essentially infinite. Now that Cindersbane has been bonded to you, only you can use that magic. How to control this magic, what it can do, and what you can handle is anyone’s guess. Not that I do not trust you or anything, but I do not just want to give someone a weapon that cuts through anything but its wielder. However seeing as it won’t even be pulled out of its sheath by anyone but you, I do believe I have little choice but to set it in your care.”

“We could always lock it away,” Luna chimed in, giving the sword a disgusted glare.

“So it could only gather more dust?” Celestia huffed. “Besides, the Draconequus remains hinted that it was young, so its magical powers are nowhere near as extreme of that as a developed spirit such as Discord. And since dark magic and normal magic cancel each other out, I highly doubt that any dark magic that is used will come in any significant amount.”

Twilight looked at the weapon in curiosity. Some thought must have popped itself inside her head, and it didn’t look like it would be leaving soon. Twilight’s horn emitted a dull purple aura, and wrapped Cindersbane in it. Her eyes narrowed and she tried to concentrate, but whatever she was doing wasn’t working.

“I can’t even pick it up!” She cried out.

“Twilight, dear,” Celestia turned towards the lavender unicorn. “I don’t expect you too. As this is dark magic, it takes a lot of effort to overcome the balance and influence it with normal magic, even if it’s something simple like lifting it.” Celestia smiled, her horn glowing and a white aura floated around Cindersbane now.

“Why, even I-“ she stopped and looked to the sword frowning. Her eyes narrowed and Celestia leaned to where she was within inches of it. The magical aura became more profound, less faded and much stronger. Celestia moved in ever so closer, squinting as a cold droplet of sweat ran down one of her cheeks.

A small spark jumped from the sword to the tip of her horn.

“Augh!” Celestia recoiled back onto her haunches at the slight shock. Twilight and I screamed. The wooden doors were promptly kicked in and splintered as two dozen guardponies rushed in. The first thing they did was make a full on attempt to tackle me to the ground.

Luna reacted swiftly and immersed the four of us and the table in a dark blue bubble. The guards who were already in mid-leap harmlessly bounced off the shield and smashed on to the floor. The rest of the angry and confused mob halted after receiving a death glare from the deity of the night.

Celestia stood up on all fours, her free flowing mane looking more like the jagged teeth of a chainsaw than the waves of a gentle ocean. She pouted, staring at the motionless sword in surprise at the small electric shock. The sun deity shook her head violently like a dog would to shake off water and the swift motion fixed her mane of its rigidity. She blinked several times and craned her neck around to the group of confused guards.

“There is nothing of the matter here. Now that door better be fixed before somepony gets demoted,” she said half seriously and half joking. Hesitantly, the guards scurried out of the room. The unicorns used their magic to fix the splintered wood back into two double doors, secured them on their hinges, and closed them behind as the left in haste. Luna dropped the force field, and all eyes turned to Celestia as she sat back down, glaring at the weapon.

“I thought I was going to have a heart attack!” I gasped for air while clutching my chest. Twilight was sprawled out on the floor; desperately trying to get some oxygen of her own and her saddlebags were huddling under the table. Luna looked to her sister puzzled and the two alicorns exchanged nervous glances.

“Well, that was interesting. Minutes ago I was tossing it around in the air, yet now I can’t seem to pick it up either.”

“What’s interesting is that you squealed,” Luna joked with a sly grin, her words stinging in Celestia’s ears. “In all my life I have never heard you so afraid.”

“I wasn’t afraid!” Celestia barked, only for Luna to stifle a laugh. “Besides, I wasn’t expecting what happened.”

Twilight and I were finally able to sit back up. Dazed, Twilight looked up to her mentor, her chest violently pulsating as air continued to push its way into her deflated lungs. I sunk back into my seat constantly checking my heart to make sure it was still beating.

“I hope that didn’t scare you two.” Celestia turned to the two of us.

“Oh no, Princess! It’s fine! W-We just weren’t… *gasp* weren’t… we’re okay.” Twilight nervously reassured her.

Speak for yourself!

“Let’s forget about this for now and get to why we’re really here,” Luna spoke calmly. Celestia, content as always (save one incident,) nodded in agreement. Twilight sighed and looked to me with worry in her eyes. The two alicorns did the same, but more demandingly.

“I… I’m fine. Right. Technology. Show.” I sat back up, plucked Cindersbane off the table, and threw it aside onto the ground. The sword bounced a few times before coming to a dull stop in the corner of the room. I saw that the three equines made mental notes that I could still move the thing physically, but they turned their attention to me when I flipped open the laptop. Twilight motioned to the two royal sisters, and the three of them shuffled around the table and sat next me.

“A password?” Luna asked.

“Yeah, these machines are meant to be personal. You don’t want just anyone to have open access to it.” I quickly typed it in and the desktop showed up. They were probably confused by the Lamborghini that I had as a desktop image.

“That is a picture of a car, a really fast one at that. It’s sort of like a self-propelled carriage,”

I explained. Twilight’s jaw went slack once more, and by today’s track record it probably won’t be the last time either.

“This thing always amazes me,” Twilight confidently spoke to the alicorns, boasting on my behalf. “I’ve only seen it get passed here once. I’ve never been able to get through the password screen.”

“Wait, you tried to use it without my permission?”

“Just once!” Twilight blushed. “I was curious…”

“Right… Anyway, I figured you two would want to see the show, so here.” Celestia followed the cursor’s motion and my finger as it raced along the touchpad. I opened up the media player and scanned through for the first episode. Right before I clicked on it I stopped and turned to Luna.

“Luna, I don’t want to offend you, but seeing as the topic is probably delicate, the first two episodes deal with the return and defeat of Nightmare Moon.”

Luna bit her lip. “No, that should be fine. Thank you for warning me.”

“You’re welcome. Now, the show generally revolves around Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and the rest of the elements.” I pressed play on the screen.

”My Little Pony, My Little Pony, ahh ahh ahh ahhh…”

Much to the disappointment of everyone else, I decided to end the show after episode nine. Twilight would probably go insane with embarrassment if knew about the next one, Swarm of the Century, especially with the two princesses here to watch. Deciding no harm could come of it, I showed them the rest of what the laptop could do without internet connection.

I opened up a text document and let Twilight type a message to Celestia and saved it. I closed the document, getting a confused look Twilight as Luna did her best not to let her sister see the screen. Then I reopened it for Celestia to read aloud. Twilight’s eyes beamed with delight after hearing Celestia read what she had previously wrote, and went back to typing another document. Many happy smiles were exchanged between the three as the watched what they wrote disappear only to reopen and have everything else previously there intact. However, now there was a cluster of files cluttering the desktop. They were even more amazed when I made a new folder and shoved all the documents in there, and opened it up to show that I hadn’t deleted them.

After that, regrettably, I showed Luna Solitaire. She quickly figured out how to play and it was obvious I wouldn’t be getting the laptop back soon. So I turned my attention to my iPhone for the remaining two equines. Twilight took it from my grasp and showed her teacher Angry Birds.

While those two were distracted I went back to the laptop to see Luna sheepishly closing it, a blank stare across her face. I reached my hand out to reopen it but she planted a hoof on top in protest.

“Did the screen go black?”

Nothing but a brilliant poker face.

“Did it say the words ‘Shutting Down’?”

A small nod.

“Did it say anything about a battery?”

“Yes…”

“Haha! The battery’s just dead, probably from the three hours we spent watching the show. Don’t worry about it,” I nudged her shoulder. She smiled at the gesture and returned a playful punch to mine.

“Batteries?” Celestia looked up from the device she held, the white glow that engulfed it quickly faded but Twilight caught it in her own before it could hit the floor. “Like that larger one?”

“Yeah. All these run off batteries. It’s just that the larger one recharges these. Speaking of which, I need to figure out a way to charge that one up…”

Celestia looked to her golden boots and raised a hoof to her face, examining the bottom of it. She reached out and poked the iPhone Twilight was busy playing with, shrugged, and turned her attention to the iPod.

“So this is the music playing device, if I remember correctly. How does it work exactly?” Celestia shrouded the iPod in her ghostly aura, lifting it up for closer inspection.

“Yes. Now correct me if I’m wrong, but I do not image a vinyl record fitting in there.” Luna leaned over to get a view of it as Celestia twirled it in the air.

“No, you’re right. Records can’t fit in there, so instead it works in similar ways to that laptop. Here, if you put these ear-buds in your ears you can hear the music. They’re like little speakers.”

The two alicorns each took one of the ear-buds and inspected them meticulously. Celestia looked at me in confusion as Luna got the general idea of what to do. She floated one and snugly settled it in her ear, and after a brief argument, got Celestia do the same with the other.

“Alright, what kind of music do you two like?”

Celestia started listing off; “Symphonies, Smooth Jazz, A Capella…”

“…Rock, Pop, Punk, and a bit of Metal never hurt anypony.” Luna finished off her interests, getting deathly glares out of her sister. She simply smiled at Celestia’s disapproval.

“I do not understand how you could enjoy that new-age rubbish.”

“I don’t get why you’re still listening to that ancient junk, ‘Tia.”

I intervened, “Sorry Celestia but I don’t have much of that. Let me find something you might like though.”  While the two deities were busy sneering at each other, I found a song that hopefully wouldn’t make Celestia go insane.

“This song is called Unwell, and it’s by a band named Matchbox Twenty.”

I think I found a band that wouldn’t make Celestia go nuts. However, Luna gained control over the iPod was busy tormenting her sibling.

“Oooo… ‘Rise Against’ sounds like a fun band!”

“No, that name makes them sound like a bunch of anarchists. And you chose the last one so it’s my turn. Hmm… ‘A Day To Remember’ sounds rather pleasant.” Celestia made a face. “No, let’s try something else.”

“Hey! That was getting interesting!”

“Too bad little ‘sis. Here, how about this one? ‘Coldplay’ sounds like a band that doesn’t want to mutilate my ears.”

“Fine. But after this we’re listening to another Metallica song.”

“Ugh…”

While those two were occupied, I leaned over to see Twilight playing with the camera. She waved her hoof in front of the lens and it appeared on screen. She squealed in delight and snapped a picture of her hoof. This was quickly followed by several more pictures of her hoof.

“Hey, can I see that for a second?”

“Hmm? Sure! It’s yours after all.”

“Thanks,” I turned to the alicorns and raised the camera. The two kept arguing over what song they should listen to, and Celestia mentioned violins so she must have just discovered Vitamin String Quartet, or so it was implied by Luna’s protests. Their images appeared on screen and I pressed record. Twilight watched the red dot appear in the corner of the screen, but eyed my fingers more intently waiting for them to take a photo.

“Are you going to take a picture?” She asked.

“Nope. I’m recording a video.”

“Video?”

“Here,” I stopped recording and lowered the phone back down and hit replay. The last twenty seconds played before Twilight’s eyes. She watched in silent shock as the video showed the two alicorns bickering over song choice, Celestia coming out victorious, and Luna pleading for it to be changed only to get taunting teases in response.

“That’s amazing!”

I chuckled at her amusement. “This little guy can do thousands of things, really. It just depends on what program you’re running.”

“’Program’? It’s male?”

The doors into the room opened again, but this time not into a thousand pieces. Twilight and I turned to see Ares sticking his head in. After I nonchalantly waved to him, he opened the door wider and let in three ponies donning white lab coats before closing it behind them. A few splinters of the recently repaired door fell off and onto the ground.

“Uncle Hadron!” Twilight squealed, running up to and hugging the physicist.

“Hey kiddo! Didn’t expect to see you here of all places! Then again you are Celestia’s protégée…” Hadron turned to the other two ponies who I assume are fellow scientists. A dark blue-green unicorn mare with a lighter sky-blue mane happily smiled at Twilight, brown saddlebags thrown over her back that were filled to the brims with who knows what. The other, an earth pony stallion, didn’t seem too enthralled to be here. His gray mane did little to contrast out his bleach white coat. If his lab coat wasn’t covered in the occasional stain, it would look like he wasn’t even wearing the thing at all.

“Hey, what do have here?” Hadron looked at the dark black rectangle Twilight had brought over with her.

“Oh! This is some of Chris’s technology! A phone!”

“Chris? The human is here?” The seaweed-colored unicorn looked around at the two deities who were currently arguing to each other over another rectangle shaped object. Beside them, I was trying to get them to stop their bickering.

“Uh, Princesses…”

“I’m telling you ‘Tia, just give it a chance!”

“No! I gave you a chance when you convinced me to suffer through Avenged Sevenfold. We are going to try this ‘Nickelback’ now.”

Why in the hell do I still have that? I yanked the iPod free of their magic auras. The two looked to me in shock as if I just did the unthinkable (for all I know I just did) but very quickly Celestia regained her calm, authoritative expression. Luna simply pouted at me.

“Trust me; I’m helping you in more ways than one.” I pointed to the group standing in front of the door. They two brought their heads up and suddenly became aware of the scientists’ presence.

“How long were they there?” Luna whispered in my ear.

“They just got here,” I shrugged. Celestia audibly cleared her throat prompting the three scientists to bow.

“My little ponies, thank you for finding the time to join us today,” Celestia gave a warm smile.

“We wouldn’t miss it for the world, Princess!” Hadron returned an enthusiastic smile, the other two scientists following suit. “I can’t imagine passing up an opportunity like this!”

“What ‘opportunity’?” I whispered to Luna but got no reply. Instead the group trotted up to the table and sat on the opposite side. Twilight came around the other end and sat by me again, setting the phone down on the table. Speaking of which, the objects on the table were the only things that broke the scientists’ eyes away from staring at me. All too eagerly they went in to pick them up, and all too fast I swept in and took back my possessions.

“Laboratory Department 7, it is nice of you three to join us.” Celestia began, “why don’t you go and introduce yourselves to our guest?”

“Name’s Hadron! But you already knew that because I met you before. Told you Strings…”

“His mere presence here doesn’t prove anything Hadron!” The white earth pony shot back. “Ahem, allow me. My name is Stings and I have one of the best understandings of the universe-“

“In your dreams,” Hadron huffed.

“Hey, Hadron! Listen here…”

“Foals! Shut! Up!” The mare snapped at the other two scientists. “For goodness sake, it’s bad enough that you bicker every day, but in front of Princesses of all places? For shame.” The two stallions slumped back, daring menacing glares at each other.

“Forgive their insolence Princess Luna, Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle, and… Chris.” The mare turned to address me. “My name is Tangent, and it is a pleasure to finally meet you. I’m the brains of Lab-7, both figuratively and sometimes literally, and I am also the lead engineer for the REC.”

“Nice to meet you too, Tangent. I don’t mean to be rude, but could someone tell me what you three are doing here?”

“I can do that!” Hadron grinned excitingly. His horn began to glow and pulled several items out of Tangent’s saddlebags. He pulled out a calculator, several textbooks, quills, pencils, and an Equine dictionary. At the sight of the later, Twilight’s eyes widened and she retrieved the English dictionary out of her own saddlebags. Tangent took out a quill and opened a notebook to a blank page.

“We have been told that our worlds are very similar, but the question is how similar? Anything you’ve noticed since you’ve been here that’s eerily the same in your dimension?”

I turned to Celestia. “Do they know-“

“No.”

“Should I tell-“

“No.”

“Alright… moving on!” I clapped my hands together. “Things I’ve noticed… appliances are basically the same. Refrigerators, stoves, microwaves, speakers, and even medical equipment and lighting fixtures are pretty much the same.”

“…as expected…” I heard Luna whisper into her sister’s ear.

“Most of our machines run off of magic,” Strings explained. “Certain things require certain levels of magic depending on how powerful they need to be to operate. For the most part by magic enchanted gemstones to be exact; or ‘Megs’ as we call them. Depending on the size, structure, type of gemstone and what it will be used for, a meg can last a few minutes up to several years. After they run out they turn to dust and you just pop in a new one. With some machines, unicorns can simply use their magic without the need for megs.”

“That’s why we were so perplexed by your machines, or ‘computers,’ Chris.” Twilight added on, “Yours somehow uses electricity and your ‘batteries’ are very similar to megs.

“What? You harness the power of lightning to fuel your machines!?” Hadron leaned on the table eyeing my devices. “Do you not know how dangerous that stuff is if it’s not handled properly!?”

“Don’t worry,” I reassured him. “Humans have a very knowledgeable understanding of electricity. So much so, that we can create it artificially without the need for actual lightning.”

They’re jaws hung open for the nth time. I don’t even know how many times that’s happened today alone.

“So you power everything with electricity?”

“Yes, but not all the time. Electricity is a significant portion of humankind’s energy and there are several ways to create it. Namely there’s hydroelectric power, solar energy, geothermal, natural gas, wind turbines, burning of fossil fuels, even nuclear energy. Other sources of power come from things like steam and combustion engines.

“I didn’t understand half of what you just said,” Strings frowned.

“Do you actually expect us to believe your kind has harnessed nuclear energy?” Tangent said sarcastically, looking up from her writings.

“Yeah,” I deadpanned. Her eyes widened at the severity of my blank stare.

“Okay, now on to some of the juicy stuff, transportation!” Hadron rustled through one of the textbooks, opening to a page about the wheel. “I mean, come on. You can’t just walk everywhere.”

“A lot of people do, actually. But most people drive cars. If you’re going long-distance, people generally go by train, plane, or ship.”

“Car –noun; an automobile.” Twilight recited the text while flipping through the dictionary. ”Automobile –noun; a passenger vehicle designed for travel on ordinary roads and typically having four wheels and is commonly powered my electric motors or an internal combustion engine.”

“Exactly. The closest things Equestria has to those are wagons and carriages. But these are self-propelled and most are capable of doing 100mph. Some can even go over 200mph.”

Tangent smiled at this and jotted the information down. Hadron tilted his head trying to image anything going that fast across land. And Strings…

“Is that a dictionary? In his language?” He asked Twilight.

“Yup! He let me have it!”

“…Can I look at it?”

“But… I’m using it…”

“Please?

“Strings, give it up,” Hadron hissed. “Knowing my niece, she isn’t going to willing give something like that over anytime soon. I’m sure she’ll let us look through it eventually though. Right?”

“Of course!” Twilight bobbed her head up and down. “Just, not now.”

“Now, what about your aircraft and ships?” Tangent looked up from her notes. “While pegasi don’t use aircraft for obvious reasons, non-winged creatures prefer ballooning and zeppelins.”

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.” I went on to explain, “Humans have several types of aircraft, the most common of which are planes. Some are driven by propellers but most modern planes use jet engines. Jet engines are essentially giant combustion engines. Most jet aircraft can go about 500mph, but some military planes are capable of going three times the speed of sound. Another common type of aircraft are helicopters. They got this giant spinning propeller above them that pushes the air down and generates lift. They’re pretty slow, but they can go almost anywhere a plane can’t. That is, except for outer space. You need special craft to do that.”

“S-Space!? Are you telling me, in complete honesty, that your world has perfect space travel!?” Hadron’s eyes widened in excitement.

“No, we haven’t perfected it. Most of the stuff that gets launched just orbits our own planet, so it doesn’t get far. And most of it isn’t manned either. It’s stuff like communications satellites and telescopes mainly. Another common thing to do is send probes into deep space and other planets. At one point in time we even landed people to the moon.”

Luna cringed. “Why? What would they have done that made them deserve that?”

“What? Oh! Nothing! It was forty or so years ago when we put man on the moon. It was about exploring, not banishment. And when they got back they brought tons of moon rocks and such.”

“You willingly sent people to the moon so they can explore it and they were able to come back on their own?” Twilight looked up. “That. Is. AMAZING!!”

“Well it hasn’t been repeated since. I don’t know why, but it probably has something to do with it being too expensive nowadays or lack of interest. Right now we were trying to figure out how to land people on a nearby planet, Mars. We send robots and probes there to explore all the time. Anyhow, that’s the just of human aviation.”

“Okay, now what about ships?”

“I can’t imagine ships being that different from yours, other than that they’re probably a lot bigger and are specially designed for certain tasks. Really big ones haul cargo, Aircraft Carriers can launch and land planes at sea, and others can plow through fields of ice. Submarines however can go underwater for extended periods of time and explore the ocean’s depths!”

Tangent hastily scribbled down her notes. “Nuclear power, automobiles, aircraft going three times the speed of sound, space exploration, and underwater ships? Well that’s something. I’d say your world is at least a century more advanced than ours, if not several.  It’d take an unimaginable amount of megs to create or sustain any one of those things.”

“Speaking of megs, I’d like to get back onto the topic of machines,” Strings pointed at my electronics. “Could you explain what those are and what they do?”

I picked up the laptop. “This is a computer, but the batteries are dead right now. I’ll need to recharge them before it’ll work again.” I sat the laptop back down and produced the phone.

“This is a smartphone, which does more functions than a regular phone. If you and someone else each have one, you can talk to each other without being in the same room. And my iPod…”

“…is missing.” I looked up to Celestia and Luna. Celestia sighed, and a small white flicker glowed in Luna’s ear canal. Out popped the ear-bud, and the rest of the iPod appeared from under the table. Luna innocently grinned and I looked down to see she was listening to. Bad Religion? This alicorn sure has good tastes…

“Anyway, this is an iPod. It plays music through these tiny speakers you stick in your ears and it can hold tons of songs. Right now I’ve only got a few thousand.”

“You have a few thousand individual songs on that tiny thing!?” Hadron blurted out. “Why, such technology could revolutionize Equestria!”

“Actually, since they’re mine, I’d rather you not dissect them.” I pulled back everything. Hardon’s horn began to glow and so did the iPod, but a quick hoof to the back of the head delivered by Tangent stopped that issue.

“But that doesn’t mean we can’t play with them!” Strings reached out and grabbed the iPhone. Twilight was quick to react and ran over to the other side of the table, instructing the scientists on how to use it and what it could do. Luna had retaken the iPod and was happily basking in the foreign music.

“Wow, I wish Bunsen was here. Things just seem incomplete without him,” Tangent sighed.

“I’ll say! He’s missing out on all the good stuff!” Hadron smiled and watched Twilight try to give Strings an understanding of the device, but being an earth pony he couldn’t quite operate it that well.

“Who’s Bunsen?” I asked the crowd.

“Bunsen’s our ace when it comes to chemistry and biology. He’s in Sacramaneto right now on some business trip. I’m sure he’d be going nuts taking notes about you and gathering samples and whatever else it is he does.”

I shiver ran up my spine. Ugh… needles…

“Hey Chris, what’s a ‘Foo Fighter’?” Luna asked.

“It’s an old term that World War II aircraft pilots used when they encountered unexplainable phenomena.”

“World War Two?”

“Yup. There’s still a lot about my world that you don’t know, nor do you likely need to know.”

“Why would a band call themselves that?”

“Because they can? I don’t know…”

Luna reluctantly accepted the answer and went back to the device. Tangent was now in control of the iPhone with the rest of the ponies hovering around to see what she was doing. And Celestia was… nudging my shoulder? She had gotten up to retrieve Cindersbane and held the weapon by the grip in her mouth. She gently set it down and dropped it in my hands.

“It is extremely odd how it is no longer influenced my magic,” Celestia frowned at the weapon and awkwardly hung her head. Her eyes came back up and met mine. “There’s still a lot more we can learn about it now that it can be unsheathed.”

“So… it’s mine to take care of I assume?”

“Yes, and since it’s a priceless artifact I would like you to keep within reach at all times. However I don’t exactly like the prospect of you walking through Ponyville with a deadly weapon. Even if you never have the need to use it. After all, you saw how Twilight reacted to its mere presence.”

“When would I need to use it?”

Celestia rose back up so now she was towering over me. “Chris, I would like to extend my hospitality and relocate you here to Canterlot; for both your safety and for the research opportunities.”

Not quite sure how to respond to that. You can’t really just say no to the damn Princess…

“My safety? But, Rarity’s counting on me to-“

“I’m sure she’ll be fine. She’s got plenty of friends to help her out with her work and I can send somepony to pick up your belongings.”

“I… I don’t really know. I can’t really just quit on Rarity after one day, and I agree with you about the sword. I just… I just don’t know. I feel like I’m not really being given a choice, and if I am it’s rather an impossible one. Why is this for my safety?”

“Tell you what. I’ll give Miss Rarity a compensation for your absence, and in the meantime you stay here in Canterlot for a week or two.”

“Well can I write her a letter? I’d like to get her input.”

“Of course,” Celestia nodded in approval.

“Chris? Is that you? Thank heavens your back so soon! I need your help with- oh. Hello Spike.”

“Heheheheeee… Hi Rarity…” Spike dragged his foot through the dirt in front of the boutique. Rarity stood in the doorway, drawing out the awkward silence.

“May I ask what you are doing here?”

“Huh? Oh! Right! I got a letter from the Princess for you-“

Rarity eagerly snatched the scroll from the love struck dragon, absentmindedly slamming the door in his face.

“Okay! Bye, Rarity!”

Back inside the boutique, Rarity ripped the ribbon off the piece of parchment and unraveled it.

“WHAT!? The Princess wants Chris to stay in Canterlot!? Without meeeee….? Why I have the… hmm? A compensation for is absence? I don’t really… Oh my. Those are a lot of zeros. Tell me she put a decimal… ah! She did! And it’s way over there...”

Chapter 17: Philosophy Lessons

Chapter 17: Philosophy Lessons

“…And these are the palace gardens,” Celestia lifted a hoof and swept it across the landscape. The sunset was a nice touch. I’d only seen the gardens once before and that was from the air, the most obvious feature being the gigantic hedge maze that took up just as much acreage the castle did if not more. It was now a little after six, and since Celestia generally gets the nights off since the control of the moon was handed over to Luna, she and Twilight decided to give me a formal tour of the place. The path we were taking ran along the outer wall of the maze and between a series of ponds. The cobblestone pathway cleared and opened up to vast, expansive meadow of finely cut grass almost half the size of the labyrinth.

We continued our small trek through the meadow and started to head back in to the castle when Princess Luna appeared out of nowhere and landed in front of us.

“I have just cast the spell that will put the moon into its orbit,” Luna explained to the group. “It is scheduled to rise in another hour. Now how’s the tour going?”

“I’ve only seen the outside so far.” I turned around faced the giant maze that was now off in the distance. “But the outside of the castle is simply beautiful. I can only imagine what the rest of the inside will look like. I haven’t seen much of it.”

Celestia took the compliment well by slightly blushing. Twilight nodded her head in agreement to my assumption and Luna simply eyed me strangely. I followed her gaze to my waist where her custom made sling for Cindersbane wrapped around my waist. Who’d have thought the deity was good at stitching?

The more I became aware of the sword however, the heavier it seemed to get. Pushing that aside I tightened the makeshift belt and looked back up to Luna’s curious stare, which was now accompanied by Twilight and Celestia.

“Is something wrong?” Twilight asked.

I shrugged. “No, nothing.”

There was a slight tugging on the sword, like what a little kid might do to your shirt if wanting to ask you a question. I looked down and saw no one pulling on it, but there was another small tug back to where I just walked from. I craned my head around off towards the hedge maze again in order to decipher any secrets it might yield. There were none.

There was one more tug on the sword off in the direction of the labyrinth. I could feel the eyes of the three equines behind me looking at and over myself, trying to see what I couldn’t.

“Do you want to see the statue garden?” Luna questioned. Before I could answer Celestia chimed in.

“But of course!” The Princess shook her head. “How could I forget to show you that? It is arguably the centerpiece of the gardens.” Celestia began a slow trot off toward the maze and the rest of us followed close behind. After a minute or so of walking we reappeared in front of the maze, but this time at its entrance.

Several dozen stone statues of various ponies and other creatures were scattered around in front of the labyrinth. One had a pony standing on its two hind legs holding an oversized scroll. Another statue showed a royal guard standing triumphantly over the dead body of a cockatrice. Twilight was nervously weaving between the statues while Luna and I walked up to Celestia.

“I can’t believe I forgot to bring you here.” Celestia apologized for the second time, stopping in the middle of the fields. “There really is no better place to learn about Equestria’s history and noblest of ponies than the Canterlot statue gardens.”

“Could have gone to the library…” Twilight’s voice mumbled from somewhere, lost in the maze of stone figures.

“Why? You’re not afraid of a few statues are you?” I teased the air.

“Only one,” her disembodied voice hissed. “Discord is kept here.”

Standing behind them I saw Celestia and Luna visibly shudder. “That was going to be brought up eventually,” one of them said. “Why don’t we get it over with?”

“Might as well.” The other agreed, and together they motioned for me to follow.

Discord, huh? Damn, now I really wish I saw season two. I sighed and followed the two alicorns through the garden of stone.

”It’s a shame, really.”

Great, now I’m thinking to myself. I swear I’m going insane. Celestia and Luna led me to the other side of the plaza to a statue isolated from all the others. Twilight was waiting for us with a look of distaste in her eye. Going off of Celestia’s brief explanation earlier today, I’m going to assume this statue is of a draconequus evident by the mismatched body parts from a wide variety of species. I’d seen concept art of Discord a few days before my sudden appearance in Equestria a little more than a week ago, and the statue fit the image. Although in the way the bust was positioned, Discord didn’t look too scary. In fact I’d say he looked absolutely terrified. The statue of the spirit uselessly held his arms in front of him as if trying to stop and oncoming train.

“This is Discord, the spirit of chaos and disharmony,” Celestia began, looking disgusted. “Over a thousand years ago, he overthrew Luna and I so he could rule Equestria. Our nation was thrown into a state of disarray and the pony’s way of life was in shambles. Fortunately, we were able to retake the throne and banish Discord into an eternity of stone imprisonment.”

“He would do no harm kept as a stone statue,” Luna took over, “Until five years ago when he somehow escaped. Thankfully the Elements of Harmony were able to return him to stone, with hopes he will stay that way forever.”

“So, that’s actually Discord?” I asked. Celestia nodded her head.

”Somehow I think they’re leaving out some important details…” I thought. Shut up newfound voice in my head. Go away.

Twilight notably kicked the ground and brought her eyes back up to Discord. Her gaze shuffled around the stone tomb of the draconequus and behind it.

“Oh! Oh! Star Swirl the Bearded!” She yelped and ran off. “Is this a new addition?”

Celestia chuckled and walked around to the other side of the statue, leaving my eyesight just like Twilight. Luna stayed put though and kept her eyes on Discord. Bored, I walked past her to catch up to the other two.

“And Belona the Wise! I didn’t even know there was visual documentation of her!” I heard Twilight cheer.

Celestia nickered and responded as I walked around the statue. “We do have one painting in the Canterlot Library. She’s hidden quite well behind Star Swirl.”

Something grabbed my Cindersbane’s sheath agian, stopping me dead in my tracks. This was more intent though, almost tripping and sending my feet out from underneath. Luna probably wanted to ask me something so I twisted around expecting to see her holding me with her magic or something.

She wasn’t even there. Wait… I thought Cindersbane was unaffected by magic? I glanced down and my heart sank. Cindersbane was in its sheath, but hoisted horizontally in the air defying physics. The tip pointed like a magnet, straight towards a certain statue.

“…Chris? Is something wrong…” I looked around to see Luna standing between myself and the others. Her eyes were just as wide as mine, I imagine. We were both frozen in place. Cindersbane tugged in the direction of Discord.

“No!” Luna shouted. Twilight and Celestia twirled just in time to see Luna jump at me. I was speechless, stuck in place as my legs refused to move. Cindersbane tugged harder until it pulled me across the ground and out of the alicorn’s path of travel. I smacked my face right into the stone figure of Discord and blacked out.

”Hey… Wakey, wakey…”

Something poked me, pointy but not sharp, like being gently prodded with a pair of closed scissors.

“Aw come on! I didn’t mean to push you that hard,” said the same crackling voice. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for one of you to come along the right path?”

Wearily I opened my eyes and was immediately greeted by a great white fog. And it was everywhere. I’ve never been in the middle of a cloud before but this place could accurately sum this up.

“Great…” I moaned. “One moment I’m in the castle gardens and now I’m…”

“…In Hiatus.” The same voice answered. “Glad to see you’re awake, Christopher!”

“What? How do you…?” My eyes shot around the foggy abyss. “Where the hell am I?!”

“I told you. You’re in Hiatus.” The voice mused, slightly annoyed.

I stood up, yanking Cindersbane out of its sheath. “Where are you? Who are you?”

The voice chuckled. “Please, you don’t even know how to handle that thing. Regardless, you can’t cut my skin just like you can’t cut your own.”

How the hell did anyone know that? “…Celestia?”

The voice laughed. “Please, Cindersbane can easily slice through the Princesses like a hot knife through butter.” The voice started cackling uncontrollably. “Oh butter! I haven’t tasted the stuff in a long time! Then again, I haven’t tasted anything in a long time…”

“…”

“What? OH! Heavens no, I’m not going to eat you!” The voice nervously snorted before breaking down into a cautious giggle. “Why in the world would I kill our only savior? Come on, put that toy away.”

I lowered Cindersbane, but refused to sheath it. “Who are you?”

“Before I answer your question allow me to ask one of my own,” the voice said. “How many episodes have you watched?”

“Of what?”

“I think you know.”

“…Only the first season. The second one was going to air soon but then…”

“You wound up here. Darn, my job would have been a lot easier if you had watched at least the season opener. Then again, it’s probably good you don’t get any bad impressions before I tell my side of the story. I assume Celestia told you hers?”

“Story? What story?”

“Oh, right. Allow me to introduce myself!”

“Please do,” I grumbled.

The white mist parted ways in front of me to reveal a long, narrow corridor as if a tunnel was just bored straight through the mass. At the very far end, a wooden door appeared. It opened, exposing a dark room. Frighteningly, just like in the cartoons, a spool of red carpet bounced out of the doorway. It rolled itself out along the corridor until it eventually stopped at my feet. Out of the doorway emerged a figure, a very, oddly shaped figure. For starters it was about nine feet tall. Something else was off in the way it walked on two legs, as if a waddling penguin attempted to take long strides. Whatever it was, its face was hidden behind a giant purple fedora with a black feather sticking out of the brim.

Or in layman’s terms, a fucking pimp hat.

I can’t deny it went well with the rest of its getup; the signature broad-shoulder purple tuxedo, silky and long purple pants, and even a black cane. Whatever the hell this thing was, it took its merry time strolling down the newly made path of red carpet. I impatiently waited for it to get closer, tightening my grip on Cindersbane.

Four and a half minutes later, the weird biped finally got to the other side of the hundred foot hallway. Its hat was not fully secured on its head and tilted down, blocking its face. The creature brought up a… lion paw…? It brought up its paw to the front of its hat and with a flick of thumb sent it upward, exposing its face.

“Wa’sup hommie?” Discord smiled at me through a toothy grin.

Even with the vaguest of descriptions I got out of who he is; somehow I think I shouldn’t be surprised by this. And yet I was. And I was slightly petrified. A wrapped both hands around Cindersbane and brought it upright, threateningly pointing the blade at his neck.

Unfazed, he simply smiled at me. “You don’t shoot first before you ask questions, don’t you know that?” He brought up his other appendage, an eagle’s claw, and touched the tip of the blade that could cut through just about everything.

And the hardened titanium sword that was Cindersbane went limp like a garden hose.

I uselessly smacked him across the face with it.

*twack*

His purple fedora tilted slightly. Discord frowned. “I see Celestia was still able to corrupt you even without magic. That’s disappointing,” he moaned. Discord took a step back and grabbed ones of his pant legs. In a single, fluid motion he pulled upright taking the garments, hat, cane and all along with it. He snapped the fabric like a whip and in a burst of flame it was gone, as was the hallway behind him and once more I was completely surrounded by the white fog. Except now I had an unwanted companion.

“This is going to take so much longer than expected, but I think we should have enough time,” he stated lost in thought.

I stood my footing wielding a stick of rubberized metal. Short of breaking down, I’m not quite sure what to do now.

Discord clapped his palms together. “Well, I suppose I’ll let you decide. Shall we start off with an explanation of that weapon you are holding, the real history of Equestria, or your destiny?”

What.

Discord leaped into the air and started flying in rhythmic circles around me. I swung with Cindersbane but only ended up hitting myself in the jaw. Being hit in the face with cold, limp titanium still feels like being hit in the face with cold, hard titanium.

This only seemed to make him annoyed. “Well, since you perceive me as being the evil one, I suppose I’ll tell you my side of the story. Let’s start with the real history of Equestria, shall we not?” Discord chuckled and did a backflip, landing beside me on a plush sofa that was previously not there. He sat up; legs crossed, and dug a free hand deep in between the cushions. He pulled out a very large tome as well as some reading glasses. After donning his new spectacles, he patted the seat expecting me to go sit by him.

With nothing better to do I obliged.

“Good boy.” Discord grinned. “Now what I’m going to tell you may shock you, but your human brain should be able to process and comprehend the information. After all, if I’m not mistaken, it should sound very similar to some human history.”

I stopped struggling to sheath Cindersflop and looked up to him. “How do you know anything about humans?”

Discord opened the tome to a random page. “Please, Christopher, this is a history lesson. We can talk about your destiny next if you so desire. Now then, allow me to begin.” Discord cleared his throat and squinted at the book. The pages, I might add, were completely blank save one page that simply said ‘Press Start’.

“Read,” Discord instructed the book.

The book did not reply.

He pressed a finger firmly on the text.

Nothing happened.

“Oh Phooey. Out of batteries.” Discord shrugged and tossed the worn tome behind us. It sailed effortlessly though the walls of the mist and a few seconds later, exploded. I looked back to the Spirit of Chaos and he was busy stroking his beard.

“Okay, my memory may be a bit rusty but hey, I’m part elephant. At least I think I am. I forget. Anyway, on with the show! A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…”

I scowled. “You’re kidding.”

“Yup!” he replied happily. “Another thing, before we begin, I couldn’t help but notice you believe in the multiverse theory Hadron had put so much hard work into.”

“Yes…”

“Throw it out the window!” Discord flicked his wrist in the air. “There is only one universe and that is this one. Every possibility of existence lives in this one universe. There are no others, just this one. And it is infinitely expansive! It never began and it with any luck it will never end! Those ‘maps’ of the universe you humans have are just the limits of what your technology can reach. Your ‘forever expanding’ theory is completely ludicrous. It’s just like being in a bubble caught in the open air, really.”

I stared, with what I hoped was look of disbelief clearly etched on my face. “So your telling me there just happens to be an actual world a cartoon show was 100% accurately portrayed?”

Discord snapped his talons. “Bingo, we got a winner! Just a different bubble in the same field of open air, really. Every possibility exists. The only way to cross from one to the other is through the gaps in between, also known as Hiatus, which is where we are now.”

I continued to stare. “Sounds like a lot of bubbles.”

He smiled. “There’s a lot of open air. Now then, on to the real lesson. I fully expect you to believe this, as literally saving everything relies on me gaining your trust. This is the 100%, unrated truth and not whatever it is Celestia has told you. I’ll even Pinkie Promise! Cross my heart and hope to fly stick a cupcake in my eye!” Discord jabbed himself in one of his pupils and began his tale.

Forty thousand years ago, Equestria did not exist. Instead there was an old kingdom that stood over the same land, appropriately titled the Old Kingdom. There were two rulers, a King and a Queen, who maintained order over not just their nation or the entire world, but the universe itself. They had done so since the beginning of nothing. The King used dark magic and maintained the control of chaos, making sure there was enough natural destruction and violence in the world. Meanwhile the Queen used light magic and was in control of order, making sure there was enough peace and prosperity in the world. Together the two royals created a perfect balance; an equilibrium of equivalent exchanges. After all, chaos cannot exist without order, nor can order exist without chaos.

These two rulers did not interfere with the lives of their world’s inhabitants directly. Rather, their actions and decisions were known as the natural harmony, as was it across the universe. Nature flourished and it diminished across the galaxies. Nature killed itself and it regenerated. So was the way of the natural world.

What were these two rulers, you might ask? Why the King was a draconequus! And so was the Queen! With every offspring they gave rise to a new species to introduce to the universe. Dragons, dogs, gryphons, you name it they gave birth to it. But their crowning achievement was the equines. They were flawless and imperfect, orderly and chaotic; the essence of natural harmony. At the Queen’s decision they were to be honest and strong. And with the King’s wisdom they were to be liars and frail.

So came the Earth Pony.

At the Queen’s request, they were to be intelligent and loving. And with the King’s judgment they were to be dumb and heartless.

So came the Unicorn.

At the Queen’s rule they were to be understanding and bold. And with the King’s will they were to be arrogant and meek.

So came the Pegasus.

But even with these amazing new creatures, ones that would intermingle and bring natural harmony to themselves, they were far from the perfect being. Perhaps they were too intelligent? Or was it that they were not arrogant enough? The unbalanced traits of the equines made them a threat to themselves, to the point where they even refused to submit to the Crown. In order to save their children the King and Queen combined them all.

So came the Alicorn.

The alicorns were flawless in every way. They had the traits and characteristics of all the other ponies combined into one form. The natural harmony was perfectly stable within the alicorns and they were able to guide the other equines, straightening them whenever they came out of align. They stood as the pinnacle of the King and Queen’s achievements, the intermediaries between them and the ponies they created. Equine life was at a natural balance, and it was so for ten thousand years. That is, until the Cataclysm struck.

It is still unknown what caused it and it likely never will. A sudden imbalance in the natural harmony of the universe occurred. Planets, life, and civilizations everywhere across the universe were threatened by the fluctuation as an excessive amount of unnatural chaos rapidly surged. The King was powerless to stop it, and in his feeble attempts he withdrew all measures of creating more chaos while the Queen used an excessive amount of order to bring the situation under control. As a result, not only the Old Kingdom but the entire universe experienced peace on an unprecedented scale. There was no war, no famine, and no violence. Everything was prosperous and life thrived.

However there was no longer a balance of harmony. Order cannot exist without chaos after all. In a desperate bid to save the universe from the Cataclysm, the Queen destroyed herself.

And chaos cannot exist without order. Without both the universe would tear itself apart.

In an attempt to save harmony, the alicorns came to the King in this time of need, by taking complete control of throne of the Old Kingdom. The King himself stepped down from power so he wouldn’t upset the delicate balance of equivalent exchange. Now, the elder draconequus lived amongst the creatures he created.

However he was still the essence of chaos. Everywhere he went, he threatened to upset the natural balance of the world and the universe. The alicorns came up with a simple solution; they split themselves. Instead of a single alicorn being a combination of chaos and order, there were now two, one for each respective element.

And this worked. To counteract the swelling chaos of the Old King, the alicorns would respectively increase their numbers in order while restraining their numbers in chaos. Over the next ten thousand years, the chaotic alicorns died out and the Old King returned to his seat on the throne.

And the security of natural harmony was once more intact.

But now there was another problem. The equines were failing themselves again like they had twenty thousand years ago. And with no alicorns to watch over them they threatened to create an unnatural surge in chaos that could cause another Cataclysm.

And so came the next generation of the draconequus. The King mated with the alicorns, striving to create the next species that could rule over the equines. And after a few years of trial and error, came the ruler of all equines.

And her name was Epona.

Epona was a strange draconequus. To everyone’s surprised delight, she was just like the first generation of alicorn; the perfect combination of all equines. She even looked like an alicorn too, so much so that she used the title of one. Epona reigned over the equines for the next five thousand years. Natural harmony was once more held in balance.

But what happened to the other draconequi; the failed attempts? Why, they were used as enforcers of order and chaos, spreading across the universe to maintain the natural harmony of the beautiful system. Some however, were kept in the Old Kingdom as a precaution in case of another near miss with a Cataclysm. Hopefully they would never be needed.

Five thousand years after Epona began her reign, she came to a decision: Her job was too tedious for one spirit to manage. With no help coming from the King or the alicorns, and the draconequus reserve being kept on constant watch, she came to only one option. Epona split herself much like the previous generations of alicorns had.

So came Nightmare and Daydream.

Nightmare would administer chaos to the equines when necessary, and Daydream would do the same with order. This natural harmony was kept constant for another five thousand years. The entire universe was kept in impeccable stability.

Ten thousand years before the creation of Equestria, another catastrophe struck. The alicorns were dying. The very creatures the held the position of the Old Queen was ironically in disharmony themselves, and as a result there would be the risk of a Cataclysm. Gradually, the reserve draconequi began to replace their ranks to keep natural harmony in check. But now Nightmare and Daydream were faced with a cold fright. They were the last of the alicorns. And they too would eventually die. In a bid to save their race, they had many children together.

Two thousand years later, Nightmare and Daydream came to a sudden realization. The Old King and the reserve draconequi were absentmindedly letting uncontrolled uneven amounts of natural chaos and order slide past. They thought saw the signs before the Crown did, and swiftly addressed the Old King about their fears.

But the Old King reassured them he was aware of these minor inequalities of chaos and order. They were nothing significant, and in the event one of which became greater than the other, the Old King would simply switch out one of the reserve Draconequi with one of the opposite element. Nightmare was pleased with this.

Daydream was not.

Any changes in natural harmony, she warned, could cause another Cataclysm no matter how small they were. The Old King stood his ground arguing that he would fix any significant change before a powerful surge could happen and that the current inequality was too disproportionate when compared to near misses of the past. Daydream continued to protest, declaring him foolish and unwise.

In the name of keeping peace, the Old King offered her a seat as Queen of the Old Kingdom and to throw the other draconequi back into reserves if she was not pleased with the current system. Daydream accepted and became the new Queen, maintaining order through the universe.

But there was no order with the equines.

Nightmare was left solely in charge of the species. The Old King realized his mistake and tried to convince Daydream to return to the rule over the equines yet she refused to move. With no other choice he brought out the reserve draconequi to reign alongside Nightmare. However the ponies would not even consider not being ruled by none other than the alicorns. Nightmare was forced to take from her own children and put them in power, much like what the Old King and previous generations of alicorn had. Natural harmony once more blossomed.

Five thousand years before the founding of Equestria, Daydream passed away due to coming of age. Nightmare would soon die as well. The Old King once more brought out the reserve draconequi, but not before capturing the essence of Daydream. He promised to do the same for Nightmare when her time came, and he would pass their qualities on to two offspring of her choice.

Nightmare decided upon her most recent offspring, two sisters; Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

With her passing a thousand years later, the Old King made Princess Celestia the element of order and Princess Luna the element of chaos. The other alicorns stepped down from the throne and once more natural harmony was achieved. This time, to avoid a similar event, the Old King did everything in his power to hide the tiny harmony changes he was in charge of from the two alicorn sisters. And this worked for another thousand years.

Yet he was unsuccessful. Princess Celestia noticed the indiscriminate changes and began to worry. Princess Luna reassured her older sister that nothing was wrong; however Celestia did not want a repeat of the events with Daydream and Nightmare so she took to addressing the problem herself.

By raising the amounts of natural order.

The Old King immediately noticed these changes. As he tried to compensate, so did Celestia until the entire universe was dangerously yet again on the verge of a Cataclysm. With no other option, he banished Celestia to the world’s sun, imprisoning her until things died down. Luna immediately made the wise decision of sending herself to the sun along with her sister, so harmony could be maintained on every level.

Again the equines were in a state of disarray which threatened to spin out of control. Luna was able to convince Celestia to return peacefully and she did, once more calming the equine population. Another near miss with a Cataclysm was swiftly avoided.

However, resentment filled the heart of Celestia. She became enraged at the Old King, accusing him of wanting to destroy the universe. He fought back, accusing her of the same actions and threatening banishment to the sun; one that wouldn’t be so short lived. Celestia was stubborn and would not allow the Old King have the universe residing in his unreliable hands.

Celestia, the deity of order, declared war on the throne.

What he created would be his undoing. With another Cataclysm on the horizon, the Old King sacrificed himself to maintain preservation of the universe. The reserve draconequi were once more sent into hiding. The Old King himself granted the alicorn sisters to be the rulers of all of the Old Kingdom, giving them unimaginable power so they could finally keep the world in natural harmony for eons, just as the Old Queen and he himself did millennia ago.

The two sisters were to be known as Daydream Sun and Nightmare Moon. With the consent of the Old King, they entombed him in stone for the greater good.

The two sisters took manual control over the natural harmony of their world so they maintain order and chaos on a much more accurate scale. They raised the sun and lowered the moon, even. Then they sought to create an artificial backup system; one that could administer appropriate amounts of chaos and order automatically. They hoped that one day it would be able to run itself.

They created the Elements of Harmony.

The first of the ten elements produced is arguably the most important; Magic. Over the course of the next thousand years, five more would be created; Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, and most recently Loyalty. These six alone were enough to maintain natural order. Equine life flourished. Times were good. To celebrate, the alicorn sisters renamed the Old Kingdom. It is now known as Equestria.

However, order cannot exist without chaos.

A thousand more years passed and Nightmare Moon feared the worst. The remaining four elements have yet to be created. The automatic backup system that was the Elements of Harmony was overwhelmingly biased towards order. No element that could cause chaos had been produced yet and her fears became graver when she realized her sister had been corrupted by order. Any attempt to show Daydream Sun the truth and possible consequences did not go well. Daydream Sun argued that the Old King had simply made up the stories of natural harmony, just so he could maintain power over the throne. Order was tranquil! There was peace! No wars or suffering! Nightmare Moon protested, but her elder sister was more powerful than she was. Daydream Sun was going to doom them all.

So reluctantly, Nightmare Moon created chaos by keeping the moon locked in the sky, all to keep natural harmony in balance. Daydream Sun tried to convince her sister otherwise, but Nightmare Moon stood firm to do what is right. And the two alicorn sisters fought.

Using her light magic, Daydream Sun overwhelmed her younger sibling’s dark magic and banished her to the moon. And in honor of her sister, she dropped the title of Daydream Sun. Over the course of the next thousand years, Princess Celestia would periodically attack the mind of her sibling; warping the memories of her sister and implanting thoughts of her own all so that when she eventually returns, Celestia could bring her back to her side and they could rule Equestria together once more as sisters in peace.

Equestria prospered in the time of Nightmare Moon’s banishment. War was nearly nonexistent. Famine was almost unheard of. Violence was practically unimaginable. However, the Old King still lived even from within his stone tomb. And he still had power. Ever since he was turned to stone, he had been hard at work maintaining the amount of chaos in the world. Because of Celestia’s power, Equestria had been made unreachable but the rest of the planet was not. To maintain equilibrium, the rest of the world suffered while Equestria prospered. Eventually Celestia was being pushed hard by political adversaries of aggressive nations, and the Old King took every opportunity he could to infiltrate what was once his nation. Over time he gained footholds in the land, some environmental like the Everfree Forest, others social like slaved labor enforced by Diamond Dogs underneath the country’s own soil.

After all, chaos cannot exist without order.

Equestria might no longer be in full order, but it was still missing incomprehendable amounts of chaos. The entirety of the universe still stands on the edge of another Cataclysm even to this day all because of this. The Old King couldn’t deny that the balance hasn’t shifted slightly in his favor, but he needed an edge to make full natural harmony. And with the return of a now twisted Princess Luna, he was pushed back further from that goal. Simply causing chaos was enough for the time being, but if another Cataclysm struck due to a surge of excess order he would be powerless to stop it. He mourned his wife. Epona needed to return. He needed to retake the throne.

He started by releasing the draconequi reserves. All of them. However, since they were already in equal numbers of chaos and order this was a useless attempt.

Next, he tried to escape himself and forcefully administer righteous amounts of chaos. However he soon realized he was too weak and was once more turned to stone, this time by the unfinished Elements of Harmony.

So he came up with a third plan: bring in specialists of chaos. He decided upon a world billions of years old; one he created long ago and since forgotten. One with a species previously unknown, one that developed on its own from the natural harmony of the planet.

He brought humans to Equestria.

WHAT. THE. FUCK.

Celestia is some sort of wicked tyrant?! Nightmare Moon was trying to save the universe by refusing to lower the moon?! Discord is a good guy?! This just throws a wrench into everything I knew.

Discord, amused by my bewilderment, leaped off the couch and landed a few meters away with his back turned against me. “I guess you could say…” he began.

“…That the phrase, ‘my little pony’…” He turned back towards me. His reading spectacles were gone and in his palms was a pair of sunglasses. He slipped them on.

“…Has taken on a whole new meaning.”

“YYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!” came a disembodied battle cry.

I stared at him. “I… I don’t even… do not know what to believe…”

Discord poked me in the chest. “Well you better believe. It’s your destiny to save the universe, bucko. And hey, humans are a naturally cynical and sarcastic being! You’ll do fine!”

“Well I’m going to need some convincing then,” I mused while standing up. This was a lot to suddenly take in, even if it was real. “For starters, Earth isn’t exactly the most orderly planet. Why hasn’t a Cataclysm happened there yet? And why Equestria? Why do you stay on this world and not any others?”

Discord stroked his beard. “To answer your first question, I won’t deny that you’re planet is out of align. True, there is a bit more chaos than what would be ideal, however it could be a lot worse. The children I sent out to maintain balance in the universe are constantly struggling to keep things steady. Another thing is that the whole system interconnects. If I may use the ‘body’ analogy again as before, imagine each world as a separate organ. A virus infects one, and all the others are ill as a result. Believe me; your civilization is long overdue for some order.”

“And as for your second question, it’s simple really. This world is the center of the universe; the focal point that Hiatus is anchored to. Just like the brain of a body, magic pulses of order and chaos are sent throughout Hiatus across the universe to make sure natural harmony is at a balance. But this brain has a tumor. ‘Affect one you affect them all.’”

Discord jumped into the air. A portion of the cloudy mist stretched outwards in a horizontal pillar for him the lay on. He continued, “Which leads us to the next lesson; your destiny. Shall we discuss the Arcane Prophecy? Actually, no. Where’s the fun in that? I love riddles!”

He continued to take pleasure in my… whatever I was feeling. Anger? Confusion? All of it and more. “So what, Celestia is really a draconequus? You’re insane,” I stated bluntly.

“Hey! I don’t suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!” Discord rolled around on his pedestal laughing. “And no, Celestia, Luna, nor any other current alicorn is a draconequus. When Epona split, she made sure of that.”

This guy is undeniably nuts. Everything he’s saying just goes up against everything I’ve known. Albeit it wasn’t much before I came to Equestria and even now I still know very little. The show was very vague in the history of Equestria, and Celestia still could have changed the history books I suppose, but still…

I raised an eyebrow. “You mentioned humans…”

“Oh yes, humans! How I most certainly love your kind! Naturally chaotic and orderly, they are the absolute perfect being. What’s more is that I had no influence over your species’ evolution! It was all natural! If any creature deserves a hand, it’s you.”

Discord offered me a high-five that I kindly refused.

He shrugged. “Anyway yes, I have brought many humans to Equestria. A couple hundred humans to be exact. Although it’s a bit funny really; common sense doesn’t appear to be all that common among you does it? Of the 264 I brought here, there’s now a lovely population of thirteen. Fourteen if you count yourself.”

He twiddled his thumbs. “And I have some; I suppose you’d say ‘unconventional’, methods of sending humans across Hiatus. You see, unlike beings here in Equestria your planet appears to be very distant from all forms of magic. So to send a single human here it requires a lot of dark magic that needs to be focused on a single point. This usually results in a swift kick to the jaw or a knee the crotch courtesy of mwah.”

Much to his enjoyment I winched.

“And I’m sure you know I didn’t kick you to send you here. Oh no, instead I set up an elaborate trap that utilized a gargantuan amount of magic, all in the name of preserving your human body. Whenever I previously sent a human here, their body conforms to the magic of Equestria and POP! Your human is no longer human! Rather their bodies were turned into that of a pony. Well, usually it’s a pony since their much simpler. I’ve experimented with turning some humans into dragons, gryphons, or what have you, and often with some exceptional results. You are the first one I’ve been able to keep in their original body.”

Slowly I nodded. “And for that I thank you.”

He gave me another one of those toothy grins. “You’re quite welcome, my dear. Now, there are thirteen other humans in Equestria and you need to find ten of them. They no longer look like humans, and they were smart enough to go into hiding. Admittedly, other than the fact they are still in Equestria I have no clue where they are so we have zero leads. Any questions?”

What the hell is going on? “Yeah, I got one. Why should I believe any of this?”

His eyes narrowed and he growled. “Because the literal fate of the universe rests on your shoulders? You think I would be making this up? Are you willingly going to sit by and watch the universe fall to another Cataclysm, one that would destroy it, me, you, and everything?!”

I was silent. Discord continued to stare daggers, literally. Actual daggers were protruding out of his eye sockets. I’ve never been able to tell when someone lies, but being the brink of rage would probably make it hard to not tell the truth; a point I know for a fact when the mind is weak. Discord, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but he appears to be telling the truth. Or at least he thinks he is. Whether it’s the actual truth or what he simply believes is yet to be determined.

“Tell me about Cindersbane.” I threw the floppy sword onto the foggy ground. I unbuckled the sheath from my waist and tossed it away as well. Discord sighed and picked up the weapon by the hilt. A flick of the wrist later and it was completely straight again.

“Ah yes. It has been a long time since I’ve seen this marvelous thing. Perhaps this deserves a history lesson too, huh?”

“We have all the time in the world, don’t we?”

Discord sighed. “And there lies the problem. I’ll have to keep this brief.”

It was five thousand years ago. The Old King had just been dethroned and accepted his fate. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were now in control of the natural harmony of the world, and therefore the entire universe. The Spirit of Chaos was once more wandering the lands, pursued by the alicorn sisters who together with their magic would easily overcome the elder draconequus.

However he needed time, for it would not be the last time the universe would hear of him. With the alicorns in control they would easily be able to find him. So in order to be harder to track, he kept his production of chaos to a minimum. The draconequus wasted no time retreating to deep within the southern jungles to his mountainside sanctuary, the one where the reserves were held; where his children were safe. Using as little magic as possible, the Spirit of Chaos pried opened the casing and released one of his kin.

This one, a very young draconequus not too unlike him, emerged. Her body was of a tiger, her head that of an eagle with tuffs of silver feathers sticking out of the normal brown. Her tail was sleek and long like what belonged to primate. Her legs were built for running so all four were adopted from a cheetah. Her wings had the aerodynamics and muscles stolen from the design of a hummingbird. She was made for speed.

“Father,” she started. “What is it you inquire?”

“A mission,” The elder draconequus stated bluntly. He clapped his palms together and slowly began expanding them. With every inch he separated them, dark matter began to reform and take place in the gaps between. He continued to increase the distances of his hands; six inches, eight, a foot, two feet, all until the object he desired materialized in front of him. A sword with matching sheath, and a scroll.

He handed off the weapon to his daughter. “Take this and hide. Secure yourself deep within the crevices of the farthest corner of this once great nation and wait.”

The draconequus took her new possession, unsure of her new quest. “Wait for what, father?”

“Time.” The Spirit of Chaos snorted. His whip-like tail snapped against the stone ground of the jungle clearing. “Only time will be able to tell. Make haste, Unity, for right now there is very little of it, especially for me.”

“I hope you care to explain, Discord.” A new voice demanded. The elder draconequus spun around into a defensive stance. Unity grasped the weapon tight against her body, hiding behind her father. Two silhouettes eclipsed the evening sun before landing in front of them.

“Princesses…” Discord hissed. “May I ask what you are doing here?”

“Just a little cleanup,” Celestia jeered. “I thought you were going to come willingly.”

Discord tensed. “And I thought I should be able say goodbye to my children.”

Luna smiled empathetically. Unity shifted from behind, ready to run away. “Goodbye?” She questioned.

“Hush Unity, Daddy’s talking to his granddaughters,” He mused from over his shoulder. “…Your young, rebellious nieces.”

Discord turned back to face Celestia who’s horn was now fully glowing. Luna, oddly enough, was standing back unmoved. Celestia began a slow approach. Unity tightened her grip on the sword she was just given.

“It’s a shame it had to come to this, Discord.” Celestia glared as she got within yards of him, her horn shining bright like the sun. “If only you weren’t so tyrannical.”

“I was about to say the same actually,” The draconequus hummed, bringing up his claw. He snapped two of his digits together and now a swirling ball of dark energy manifested itself in his palm. Celestia took a step back and Luna swiftly ran up to back up her sister, her horn glowing as well.

“You wouldn’t dare…” Celestia hissed.

“Nope!” Discord said happily. The ball of dark energy disappeared in a flash. The two alicorns blankly stared in confusion; their own magical weapons primed to go off in an instant. Discord stepped aside and swung his arms into as if to present something.

But there was nothing to present. Unity was gone.

“WHERE DID SHE GO?!” Celestia screamed in rage, her horn now encased in a layer of overglow; another layer upon the original aura. Her usually ever-flowing mane now resembling the licks of fire rather than the calm of a watery stream.

Discord shrugged. “Somewhere safe,” he said silently. “Now then, it appears my fate is sealed. Let’s get this over with shall we? I find it very funny that you, the deity of order, are the cause of all this chaos.”

Celestia snarled. “I am the deity of order, granddad,” the word spat out of her mouth. “And I am bringing it.”

“You are destroying it,” Discord hummed in content. “Ironic, is it not?”

Behind Celestia, Luna shuddered. Discord took notice and curiously stared. Then he grinned. “Well, let’s get this over with. Hopefully you two can maintain perfect, absolute natural harmony.”

She softened a bit. “We will.”

Celestia’s horn bellowed out pure, raw light magic. Luna quickly recovered, pushing her own abilities and together they produced enough magic to overwhelm Discord’s own. However he did not even bother fighting back. Instead he whistled a merry tune, calmly waiting for the inevitable. Celestia charged the draconequus, stabbing him with her elegant horn. Only it didn’t penetrate. Rather, it began a cascade of events that would render the draconequus crippled.

Discord only laughed as he was turned to stone.

Discord rubbed his temples. “And that’s all I know of Cindersbane. I created it, infused it with most of what remained of my magic, and then used the last of my reserves to brisk Unity away. What she did with it is her story.”

He slumped from his position on the outstretched pillar of fog. It suddenly broke off into a cloud that he was now floating around the room-like cavern on. Still holding the sword and its sheath, he lowered his desired mode of transportation low enough to come to eye level with me.

“You see this?” He pointed to the tree of life symbol carved out of the sheath.

“Yes. It’s the tree of life; sacred geometry and all that stuff.”

“Exactly.” Discord mused. “And the tree of life symbolizes…”

I finished his sentence. “…It’s the symbol of life itself. It connects life to the physical world. When combined with the fruit of life they become the flower of life; the blueprint of the universe.”

Now he looked impressed. “Impressive…” Just as I thought he’d say. “I suppose Celestia told you that too?”

I shook my head. “Luna did, actually.”

“Luna, huh?” Discord scratched his chin. “Eh, never mind that. Anyway, each of these circles represents a place a soul can be bonded to the weapon. When ten souls are bonded, one for each respective grove, Cindersbane will force a new Element of Harmony. It will be the first of chaos, one that will finally start to turn the tides of things.”

What.

“Force a new element?” I’m not genuinely surprised anymore. “Which one?”

Discord shrugged. “Nobody will know until it’s produced. You see, of the ten there are four elements of order, four of chaos, and two of neutrality. The ones of order are Laughter, Kindness, Generosity, and Honesty. The two of neutrality are Loyalty and Magic. The four of chaos are obviously unknown.”

“However there is a catch. A few, actually…” He went on to explain. “The souls can only be bonded when this…” He showed me the unicursal hexagram etched on the pommel. “…touches that.” Now he pointed to my arm, where beneath the sleeve the same symbol was scarred into my arm when I burned a bloody wound shut.

“You are already bonded with the weapon, though.” Discord sheathed Cindersbane and tossed it my way. “And another catch is that those symbols are on every human in Equestria, of which we have got no clues to where they are. And there are thirteen of them. And you need to find ten. And if one dies when they’re bonded, you’ll have to replace it with another. Make sure no humans die for it’ll make things ever so slightly easier for you.”

I held the weapon in my hands. A pulse of visible green arcs of electricity shot down the entire length of the sheath, illuminating the runes that were on it much like when I first held it earlier today. They shined dimly in the afterglow before they faded. The surges of electricity stopped as suddenly as it began.

My mind is full of fuck right now…

“And the final catch…” Discord sighed. “You have no idea how to use the dark magic contained within it, nor do you even know how properly wield a sword. Don’t lie to me; I remember your efforts to swing at me earlier.”

“Hey, you could barely call it a sword when it acts like a slinky!” I yelled.

“Point taken.” He smiled. “But you need some basic training. When a manticore charges you in the woods you don’t want to miss. That sword might not pierce your skin but it doesn’t mean everything else can’t.”

Discord popped off his cloud and landed on all fours. He began stomping the misty floor rhythmically until a large pillar of fog erected out of the ground, standing up right. He glided over to the new formation and snapped his fingers. The mist parted to expose a wooden mockup of a manticore, roughly eight feet tall.

“Go on, give it a swing.” Discord motioned to the effigy. Not quite sure what to do, I drew out Cindersbane and took a step forward, tightening my grip. The wooden target was ten feet away and I closed the gap. Raising the sword high over my shoulder like a golfer post-swing, I aimed for a vulnerable part. The face seemed important. I brought the sharpened blade straight down between the eyes before embedding itself halfway in the wood.

“Good,” Discord applauded. “A manticore always expects their prey to sidestep to avoid the attack, so coming straight at them would have thrown it off. However, this one was stationary.” Discord clapped his hands together and the manticore faded out of existence.

“Quickly, two o’clock high!” He pointed and I followed. Another massive wooden effigy of a manticore was barreling down on me, forearms outstretched with pointed claws drawn.

I screamed. Not thinking I grabbed Cindersbane by the blades and held it up to cover my face. The manticore smashed straight into the flat sending vibrations all across my arms, rattling my ribs as the force propelled them both straight into my chest.

But it didn’t hurt. Cindersbane was glowing blue, somehow absorbing most of the momentum carried from the dummy. The target awkwardly fell to the ground in a heap, its entire head cracked from the force.

“I see you didn’t do that consciously…” Discord mused, inspecting the damage. “It will take time before you can do anything on a whim. Just keep practicing and you’ll learn to do so eventually. Now then, six o’clock high!”

I quickly recovered and turned, holding Cindersbane snugly in my grasp. But this target wasn’t a manticore. Instead, a wooden gryphon swung down like it was on a pendulum. It was too close to even lift my weapon so I dove to the ground to avoid its menacing talons. I watched as it kept flying, turning up and around to do another strafing pass.

I was still on the ground though, so that was a bit of a problem. But maybe it wasn’t though, as an idea crossed my mind. I squeezed the handle and rolled over as the gryphon dove downwards. I rolled once more and slashed up and out, missing the center mass but making contact with my intended target. Cindersbane effortlessly clipped the gryphon’s right wing and it tumbled out of the sky and through the mist of the ground below.

Discord clapped. “Well done! You’re learning faster than expected!”

I stood back up. “Well, it’s basic logic. It had the high ground advantage, so I took that away.”

He smiled. “Well, let’s see how you deal with something that always has the high ground.”

Confused, I watched as he snapped his claw. Behind him, two giant obelisks of wood emerged out of the foggy ceiling and landed behind him. Discord flew over behind me and laughed at whatever face I was making. I bet he wished he had a camera, but now I think it’d take more time to take a picture than for me to die. Those two wooden structures belonged to the front arms of an enormous wooden dragon.

“What do you do now?” Discord whispered behind me.

“Run?” I squeaked.

“Correct!” Discord laughed and the dragon disappeared from sight. “Sometimes it’s better to run than to fight. Now, how about this one?”

I turned around to face Discord but he was gone. In his place was the wooden body of a pony, a filly unicorn nonetheless. Needless to say I was shocked. Largely in part due to it being a pony, but also because of the steak knife it held in its mouth. And it was advancing. Fast.

“What’s the matter?” Discord’s voice called out from somewhere. “Can’t kill a pony?”

My heart was jumping. Discord was trying to get me to kill a pony, but why? Was this just some sick psychological game? Hell, who’s to say everything he’s saying isn’t? How the hell do I know I’m not comatose right now? Oh right, pain. I don’t think you feel pain when in a coma.

The filly effigy bolted past me, the knife slicing at my shin. “Dammit!” I yelled, hopping back on my other foot. The filly was coming around again for another pass, blood dripping off of the knife it held. This wasn’t a pony anymore. This was a threat.

Cindersbane, one way or another, was now arching with red streaks of electricity. As the filly got closer I swatted at it. I didn’t even use much force; I just wanted it to get away but the sword sliced straight through the neck decapitating it with no resistance whatsoever.

“Hmm…” Discord flew in to inspect me, thrusting his face awkwardly close to my own. “You can’t bring yourself forward to slay a pony yet. That’s troublesome, but I suspect you’ll get around that eventually.”

My eyes went wide. “No… no I won’t. I-I won’t kill a pony.”

Discord sighed. “And yet you did. You channeled the dark magic of the weapon to do what you wanted it to do.”

I glared at him. “I wanted it to leave me alone!”

“And it did! Poor sucker won’t be going anywhere!”

I was about to argue but Discord raised a claw to stop me. “Nope, not enough time to dispute this. I showed you all I can in this short amount of time and we’re only just scraping the surface as it is. I sincerely hope you believe me and that the things I taught you will aid you on your journey.”

“What journey?” I asked, but then realized it was rather obvious.

“You better get started,” Discord ignored me. “The next Cataclysm will strike in a little over a year if you don’t stop it. But to give you some more time I’ll send you some years back in time, maybe two or three. More if necessary. I’ll give you a few days to gather supplies first and then I want you to go to the ruins of the old castle in the Everfree Forest, you got that? Find ten humans, bond them, and force the next element to save us all.”

“Wait what are you-“

He cut me off and kept talking. “I’m running out of concentration, so that’s all the time we have. Good luck!” Discord waved at me with a cocky smile. I was about to speak again but then everything went black.

The cymbal-clapping monkey in my mind is on a drug-fueled craze right now. Everything was still black, but I could see. At least, I hope I could. I can feel my eyelids batting for what it’s worth. Oh lord I hope I’m not blind. No, wait, that’s the moon high above me. A bit blurry, but I can see. It must be nighttime.

“I-I think he’s… he is! He’s awake! Chris is awake!” I heard Twilight’s distant voice.

“He’s awake!” She cheered. Suddenly she sounded like a jet engine as she threw head in front of my eyes.

“Twilight! Calm down!” I heard Celestia’s monotone voice call out. Twilight was shoved out of the way by magic. I groaned, rubbing my eyes. What the hell just happened? Somehow I… where the hell am I? Oh right, moon, I’m outdoors still. Stone gardens perhaps?

I shifted my head to the base of the statue of Discord. Yup.

Celestia now filled my vision. “Christopher? Are you alright?”

“I think so…” I said weakly and sat upright. Surrounding me was Twilight, Celestia, Luna, and two dozen or so Royal Guards.

“I knew he shouldn’t have been given that sword…” I heard Twilight mutter to herself. Geez, don’t these ponies know I can hear them fine? I thought I already established that with them!

“Chris? Did anything happen? Did you see …Discord?” I turned my head and saw Luna leaning over me.

“Um… yeah… he wanted me to, to...” Oh god I’m still grasping my head around it.

“We can discuss it later, Luna,” Celestia waved a hoof. “Forgive me, Chris. This whole time you were in contact with the statue and we were afraid to pull you away. There was no telling what could happen, so we had no choice but to let you be.”

I chuckled ever so slightly. “…Probably for the best then, right?”

Celestia nodded. “Come on now, you must be tired. We can discuss tonight’s events in the morning.”

A/N: inb4phallicjokesandconspiracytheories.

Also, it wasn’t easy, but I made this chapter over 10k words long to celebrate the achievement of over 10k page views. Sorry it’s a bit late, but I want everyone to know that I love you guys.

Also I drew my idea of Cindersbane.

Chapter 18: Fits of Lunacy

Chapter 18: Fits of Lunacy

Ares woke me up in the morning; apparently I passed out again on the way inside the castle and spent the night in a hospital bed. For my own safety, they took Cindersbane away and closed the stone gardens. He said I had slept for a solid thirty-two hours and other than a bloody nose I was physically sound. Mentally on the other hand I was anything but. The events in the statue gardens are just boggling the mind right now, worse than Applejack’s hard cider even. Not too surprising that the Princesses wanted to talk to be about what happened, which so happens to be where he was escorting me.

Part of me wants to tell them everything but something else is holding me back. I can’t deny that Discord believed what he was telling me, it was painfully obvious by how much emotion he put into what he was saying that he honestly felt like he was saying the truth. But Equestria being too peaceful? Celestia being so tyrannical it made her too nice? That this world actually needed chaos to survive, that there are more humans in Equestria, and that the Elements of Harmony are unfinished and I was destined to force the next one into existence? That’s…

Well, now that I remember, Celestia had said when we were in that round stone room that she thought another Element of Harmony was going to be created soon. And what about that damned prophecy; ‘wise’ old Discord didn’t even bother telling me what it meant. Does that mean he wrote it?

Something else that disturbs me is how I came to Equestria. Discord did say it was his doing that brought me here, but I first got here I overheard Twilight saying she was trying a weather spell that got out of control. She said the High Council was trying it out, but if pegasi control the weather why would such a spell be necessary?

And I just thought Twilight knew that I got here because of that odd lightning, but now that I think it about it seems like she was oblivious to it. ‘Oh, a random alien appears in the same neck of the woods that your out-of-control spell struck, scattering his possessions in the exact same spot. No connection at all.’

But the real bothersome part is that after I gave my explanation of where I came from, everyone was so eager to help me get back. Twilight was so enthusiastic about learning of my world and then, it just stopped. We all stopped. Stopped asking questions, stopped being concerned on how to send me back, just as if they were told to accept me. Why didn’t any of them freak out by my simple presence like with Zecora? None of this makes sense!

I’m overthinking again. I really am going insane.

Same metal table, same Princesses sitting before me, same feeling as though this was an unfriendly interrogation. I’m really starting to hate this room. I miss that ivory chest. I want to hide inside it so badly.

“Let us begin,” Celestia’s monotone voice echoed off the walls. Luna sat beside her with enough blank pieces of paper to write a dictionary and enough vials of ink to have killed off an entire family of squid. Both Princesses were as blank and expressionless as the guards that patrolled the castle, save this one room at the moment. Luna’s horn constantly shone a faint aura of blue, creating a magical cocoon of sorts that I was told would soundproof our conversation.

“I know you must be afraid right now,” Celestia cooed. “But you are safe here. We will just be asking you some questions and then I want a full recap of everything that had happened.”

I nodded, although not reassured. I have to admit that I’m a bit uncomfortable right now. There are no guards in this room and there’s a spell going on that won’t let anyone hear us. Celestia smiled and asked the first question, “Did you have any visions of Discord or encounter him in any sort of way?”

“Yes,” I said bluntly. Luna floated a quill with her magic, jotted that down and Celestia started her series of questions.

“Did you talk to him?”

“Yes.”

Celestia’s brow furrowed. “Did he ask anything of you?”

“Yes, he wanted to…” I hesitated. I should probably watch what I say here. “He wanted to apologize for his wrongdoings in the past and for me to ask you to release him.”

While Luna seemed mildly surprised by this Celestia was unmoved. “Did he tell you what his wrongdoings were?” she asked.

Yeah, that you may be an autocrat with good intentions but you’re going to destroy us all. “It’s a bit hazy, but I think it was something about making the world chaotic long ago?”

Both of the alicorns looked at me curiously. As far as vague descriptions go, that was probably one of the most obvious I could deliver. I don’t think either of them bought it however, implied by the stern stares I was getting.

*knock* *knock*

Someone was at the door! Distraction! Yes! Now to decide if I should lie or not…

Celestia sighed. “Excuse me a moment.” She used her magic to open the door slightly and a very nervous unicorn stuck her head in the room.

“Princess Celestia!” She exhaled a breath in relief. “The High Council requires your immediate presence! There are issues concerning the Germaneigh-Equestria border, again.”

Celestia looked annoyed. “Can’t the council deal with it themselves?”

“Forgive me Princess, but no. The Germanes have sent an ambassador and he requests to speak to you directly.”

Princess Celestia looked like she was about to protest but held it back. Luna nudged her. “Go on, ‘Tia. I can handle things from here.”

Her sister didn’t look too reassured. “Are you sure Luna? Will you be alright by yourself?”

‘Alright by herself?’ I guess I am perceived as a threat then. That’s wonderful news.

Luna glanced to me and smiled. “I’ll be fine. Chris shouldn’t be any trouble, now will he?”

I sunk back in my seat. “Nope.”

The unicorn at the entryway was growing impatient. Celestia looked at me one more time, glaring, before she got up and left closing the door softly behind her. Not a second later Luna’s horn flared in amplitude, increasing the dim aura of her sound-cancelling spell that surrounded the room.

“I was beginning to think she would never leave,” Luna sighed. Wait, why would she want her sister gone? She immediately picked up the quill again with her magic and grabbed a piece of paper waiting to write. “Now Chris, when you were talking to Discord, did he reserve any information?”

Odd way to ask a question. “What do you mean?” I asked.

Luna planted her front hooves on the tabletop. “Did Discord, by any chance, tell you the history of his crimes?”

Is… what…

“It must have been some crazy Daydream, am I right? Or would a Nightmare be more accurate?”

Is she really suggesting that… if what I’m gathering is correct… “Ahem. Um, Discord did say that he wished for only harmony…”

The alicorn grinned so wide it probably should have split her face. “Anything about the nature of it all?”

I played along. “He talked about avoiding a Cataclysm…”

Luna smiled with delight. “Okay, we can drop the act now,” Luna told me. “Discord obviously told you about the Old Kingdom, did he not?”

“He told me everything,” I admitted, ready to receive any sort of punishment. “Even what happened before he was turned to stone.”

Luna simply grinned at that tidbit of information. “I assume you know the full story then: about Nightmare Moon, the Cataclysm, and natural harmony?”

I gave a small nod. Luna picked up the quill again with her magic and began writing, burning through a page in less than thirty seconds. “Don’t worry, this is going to be my ‘official’ report of our conversation, do you understand?”

“As in… fake?”

Luna was already on her second page. She continued, “Yup. There really isn’t much for me to say but I do suppose I owe you some answers. So ask away and I’ll do my best, and perhaps afterwards you can answer some of my own.”

So, this is real then? Everything Discord said was the truth and Celestia is some sort of orderly tyrant? And I’m destined to save the universe?

“Do you have any questions?” She asked again.

Hell, where do I start... “A few, actually. Maybe you could tell me why no one is concerned with sending me back home, why no pony freaked out a strange simply being around them, and why you’re writing a fake conversation.”

Luna looked thoughtful. “For your first question, you can thank my sister for that. Order is her specialty; keeping Equestrian lives good and whatnot. Besides, by the stay you’ve had so far it doesn’t appear like you have an interest in leaving? If I were to speak with an open mind, I would suggest that Ponyville has already accepted you as one of their own and they would simply hate for you to leave. For that, you can thank Mrs. Pie’s party.”

Point taken, I suppose. “But it’s like everyone forgot entirely about it.”

She sighed. “Again, you can thank ‘Tia for that. Like I said, keeping things orderly. If you must know, Ponyville and its inhabitants are under a spell with no intention other than keeping the Elements of Harmony safe. However, there are some repercussions. I believe that also answers your second question. Plus, having somepony around with you does tend to comfort the mind.”

“And as for the third, it’s simple really.” She twirled a hoof in the air. “We have to have something to show, don’t we?” Luna said with a sly grin. So she was willing to lie straight to her sister to make sure this conversation was private? Suddenly the atmosphere felt a lot… heavier.

“I got one more question, actually.” Luna cocked her head waiting to hear it. “It’s about Cindersbane. Celestia said before that the sword had a dark past. Do you care to tell me about it?”

Luna stared at the ceiling for a moment. “Not dark per se, rather I just had an unpleasant experience with it,” She corrected me. “However it’s a… delicate topic so forgive me if I stumble over my words.”

I thought for a moment. “If you don’t want to…”

“Nonsense.” She waved a hoof at me. “It’s probably for the best you know as much about that sword as possible, right? I’ll tell you everything I know.”

Two thousand years ago, a young pegasus was assigned to investigate a reported ruins recently discovered by a group of villagers just south of Equestria’s northernmost border. Said group of villagers had uncovered a cart-sized stone covering in the middle of an empty field. After opening it, an enormous sink hole greeted them. Wisely, none of the villagers were adventurous to travel down the crevice themselves so they called in an expert.

This archeologist, who for safety reasons will remain unnamed, arrived on the scene a few days after the find. After a couple hours of meticulously planning, gathering supplies and information, he began his trek into the abyss. Although he carried a torch with him vision was reduced to no more than beyond a few meters. The pegasus slowly descended, recording the distance traveled all the way with a rope knotted every meter. Twice he had to return to the surface to grab another. After a cautious forty minutes, he finally landed his hooves on the surprisingly flat floor of the pit. (The height the hole went down was a staggering 314 meters!)

The chamber that presented itself was to say the very least, dull. The opening in the ceiling he emerged came from opened up to a small, circular stone room, one no bigger than the average bedroom. And it was completely empty; not even a speck of dust could be found on the room’s perfectly solid floor. This tomb or whatever it was downright baffled the researcher as such architectural finesse was beyond anything he could think of. Maybe the closest being the Pyramids of Gizzard in the Gryphon Kingdom, or perhaps the Romane Coliseum, but the skill that went into every detail of the room! The perfectly flat and solid floor, the incomprehensible amount of labor to mine out all the rock, the ability to carve deep into the ground for such a length, not the mention the pristine and smooth walls…

His report on the catacomb was brief, being as there was not much to present, and was stuck deep within the Canterlot Achieves. The entrance was resealed, the report forgotten, and in the end it was as if nothing had happened.

That is, until a month after the archeologist’s find. Nightmare Moon stumbled across the report and became immediately interested in the matter. Daydream Sun gave her sister a week off from raising the moon so she could go make her own investigation. After all, archeology is one of Nightmare Moon’s favorite subjects.

She wasted no time getting to the site and began her own examination of the chamber. Much to her chagrin, there was nothing other than what the earlier explorer had published. That is except for one minor detail. Perhaps it was because he wasn’t a unicorn so he didn’t notice it, but the powerful alicorn was more than capable of detecting the minor magical presence. But something was off about it; something couldn’t quite put a hoof to…

“Hello, Luna. Long time no see.”

Nightmare Moon immediately spun around on the tips of her hooves. Standing before her was a face she’d only seen briefly yet one she hadn’t forgotten.

“Unity…” Nightmare Moon scowled at the draconequus. Her horn splayed a vibrant blue in defense that illuminated the room as she slowly backed away into the far wall. However, the circular room was so small that the maximum difference between the two beings never grew beyond ten feet. That is, if such a distance could be achieved. Unity quickly pushed forward and grabbed Nightmare Moon’s horn with a paw, cancelling out the alicorn’s magic.

“Oh no, no, no… put that toy away,” Unity teased. “There’s no need for magic here. We both know nothing good will come out of it.” Unity released her grasp on Nightmare Moon whose horn once more shinned brightly, this time with no intention other than the see.

“What is it you want?” Nightmare Moon spat.

“An audience,” Unity mused. “To be specific, an audience of one.” The draconequus walked over beside Nightmare Moon and wrapped an arm over her withers. “I want nothing more than for you to see the light, Princess Luna.”

Nightmare Moon pushed off Unity. “I have dropped that title,” she said sternly.

“What title? Your name or your position?” Unity joked. “You might be Nightmare Moon yet you will always be Princess Luna: the co-ruler of Equestria and the Equine deity of chaos. Do not forget that.”

Nightmare Moon stood still. Unity shrugged and walked over to the far side of the room. She set a paw on the smooth surface of the wall. “Do you know I have been waiting for you?” She craned her neck around. “Ever since daddy Discord sent me here I have waiting. Three thousand years has been a long time to wait for someone, don’t you think?”

Nightmare Moon’s horn pulsed slightly. Unity chuckled and turned her attention back to the wall. Her paw twisted in place and then pulled out a long, metallic object out of the stone. Unity took the object she had just materialized and showed it off to her new friend.

“This thing,” Unity said as she grabbed the object by both ends and pulled, revealing that the object was a sword. Nightmare Moon was about to react but waited for Unity to finish. “…This wonderful thing is quite the marvel. When daddy made this he never did tell me what it was for. At least, until I read this.” Unity produced a scroll and tossed it on the ground between the two of them. It promptly vaporized and Nightmare Moon tensed, readying a defensive spell.

Unity turned back around to the wall she pulled the sword from, holding the weapon by the blade like a pencil, and began carving into its surface. “You see Luna, daddy is beyond wise. Wiser than your sister could ever hope to be, but perhaps you are wiser; not so like daddy but more than your sister. I do believe you know about natural harmony, correct?”

Nightmare Moon hesitated before responding. “Natural harmony is achieved through a seamless balance of chaos and order. In a perfect world the two cancel each other out allowing for nature to be nature.”

Unity kept to her carving on the wall. “And is it not a perfect world?”

“Of course! Daydream Sun and I-“

“Luna, don’t lie to me,” Unity momentarily stopped her work interrupt. The room fell quiet for a brief period of time before the steady scraping noise of metal on stone resumed. “When natural harmony is disrupted, what happens?”

Nightmare Moon took a step forward. “As a divine being of order you should know this! What is the reason for your presence here? Why are you-“

“Luna, let’s not get off topic. What happens when natural harmony is disrupted?”

Nightmare Moon took two steps back, bumping into the wall. “When there is a greater concentration of chaos than order, nature very well will tear itself apart. When there is a greater amount of order than chaos however, nature thrives yet is not allowed to develop any further and evolve. Chaos cannot exist without order, so when one is taken out of the equation the other ceases to be.”

“…And as does the former. Nature would cease to exist as would the universe itself,” Unity finished for her, a bit annoyed. Nightmare Moon fidgeted from her spot. The alicorn was strong, fierce, well respected, and to suddenly be thrown into a lecture by a being of equal if not greater status, although infamous, was unsettling.

“Tell me Luna, do you see the light? Or are you shrouded in darkness?”

Nightmare Moon glanced up the light illuminating from her horn then down at her coat and grimaced. “If this is some sort of joke, I assure I am not laughing.”

Unity snickered, continuing the scratch at the wall. “Nothing of the sorts, my dear. Perhaps I should rephrase my question so it’s not so… poetic? Do you or do you not notice the fluctuations in natural harmony? More specifically, the arbitrarily biased amount of order?”

Nightmare Moon sighed. “So this is why you’re here? You waited millennia just to ask me this question and carve whatever it is you’re doing into a wall?”

Unity craned her neck around and blankly stared at the alicorn.

Nightmare Moon groaned. “…If you must know, yes. I am aware of the minor amounts of order that are-“

She was cut off again, but this time it was almost her neck. In a clean, instantaneous motion Unity threw the rapier at the alicorn like a hatchet, passing within a hair’s width of her muzzle. The blade closed the distance faster than it would take the eyes to register the image. The only indication anything happened was the loud ‘thunk’ of the sword embedding itself to the hilt in the stone beside Nightmare Moon.

The deity of chaos’ blood went cold. She was unresponsive as Unity approached the alicorn and jabbed her in the snout with a paw.

”MINOR?!”” Unity bellowed, staring daggers into the sockets of the alicorn. Nightmare Moon had never felt fear like this, fear that touched the deepest pits of her soul. In a blink, the luminescence of her horn died away to fill the chamber with darkness.

“You think these changes in natural harmony are minor? Look around you Luna!” Unity screamed through the shadows. “Well, there isn’t really anything down in this crypt, but you know what I mean! Equestria is flourishing. War is a vague concept only the eldest of equines can grasp. Famine is a thought that goes unregistered. By Tatarus, you control the moon and your sister the sun! There is nothing natural about that!”

Nightmare Moon’s horn raged in light, almost blinding the two deities. She threw her face into Unity’s and yelled right back, “We do this for the safety of our subjects! Daydream Sun and I control the celestial bodies to make sure another Cataclysm never occurs! We created the Elements of Harmony to keep natural harmony balanced!”

“And yet you are blind!” Unity screamed, retaking her spot as chieftain of the shouting match. She flicked Nightmare Moon’s horn and the light faded, once more claiming the room to the shadows. “Equestria is the quintessence of order! Your pegasi control the weather! Your earth ponies landscape the earth! Your unicorns manipulate the world to their whim! Where is all the chaos? It exists here!” Unity grabbed the alicorn by the neck and shoved her up against the wall. Nightmare Moon helplessly struggled in the grasp of the draconequus as her power swiftly drained.

“You! You are chaos! You, Luna, are Nightmare! Because of your mere existence equines are naturally chaotic! Yet your senseless, blinded sister suppresses the natural harmony of the equines so they can live in prosperity and you are too weak to do anything about it! We have never been closer to a Cataclysm than we are now and the two of you, the entrusted keepers of natural harmony, are too blind to see it!”

Unity pivoted on the balls of her feet and threw the alicorn to the other side of the room. Nightmare Moon impacted the wall with a deafening crack against her skull, crumpling the floor in a heap. Struggling to stay conscious, she coughed up saliva and tasted an off-putting flavor of iron. The sound of the sword in the stone being drawn was like nails on a chalkboard.

“You are blind,” Unity hissed. Her footsteps got closer and closer to the alicorn who struggled to get up only to fall back down again. Her horn began to slowly trickle light again. Nightmare Moon looked up, just to see the draconequus towering over her with the sword in her grasp.

“Do you honestly think this is harmonious?” Unity asked only to get an uneasy cough in reply. “The Elements of Harmony are brilliant if you ask me, but they lack chaos. Without chaos this whole system that is the universe will fall apart. You are not powerful enough to produce the next element, and I don’t think daddy is either; combined perhaps, but no guarantee. Daddy already wasted enough of his magic to create this surefire method.”

Unity raised the sword high above her. Nightmare Moon shut her eyes expecting the worse, but only got another loud ‘thunk’ for a reply. Daring to open her eyes, she was met with the glimmer of metal not an inch away from her. Glancing down at the crack the weapon forced into the rock, she saw glints of crimson filling in the gaps.

Unity took notice of the alicorn’s first time bleeding. “You are not immortal, Luna.” She deadpanned, “You might have one of the strongest hides in the known universe yet it can still break. Only the draconequus is undying, and that is why we need a being of natural harmony that will forever withstand the test of time. Does the name ‘Epona’ ring any bells?”

Nightmare Moon gagged on the collection of blood in her throat, swallowing it. “S-She… she split int-to… Nightmare and… and D-Daydream…”

Unity gave the most unnerving of grins. “Yes, Epona. She was a perfect balance of order and chaos. Alone she should have been able to maintain natural harmony over all of the universe, yet the ignorance of the equines wouldn’t let them to be ruled by anything other than an alicorn, not even themselves. So when the daunting task of managing them became overwhelming, she split herself in two, one of chaos and one of order. However they were not immortal. When the remaining four elements of chaos are created, we might be able to bind the essence of Nightmare and Daydream together, once more bringing Epona into existence.”

Unity shifted and leaned against the wall beside the quivering alicorn whose light was slowly fading. She pointed to the sword. “That there has a name, and it is Cindersbane. Originating from Old Draconeq, Ignis Hostis, or the Enemy of Fire. This weapon was the one daddy wielded when he was still at the throne. He used it create the colors of the rainbow, if you can imagine such a thing. But now this everlasting blade serves another purpose. A purpose that admittedly I am unaware of but daddy knows.”

The draconequus extended a claw and drew in the stone floor, mixing with the trickling blood from Nightmare Moon’s mouth that eagerly seeped into the crevices. The design was simple enough and it was something Nightmare Moon had never seen before.

[img] http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/108/0/9/arcane_hiatus_ch_18_doodle_by_razgrizs57-d4wnwgk.png[/img]

“That symbol means a lot,” Unity explained to her injured companion. “That emblem there symbolizes True Will. True Will does not come from conscious intent but the interplay between oneself and the universe; the mark of nature. Commonly referred to as natural harmony.”

Nightmare Moon wheezed. The bleeding had stopped but the iron taste hung in her mouth. “Why…” She was able to moan.

“Why, as in why am I telling you this?” Unity questioned. “Or why daddy told me to? It’s simple really; this world needs chaos, my friend. You see, daddy may be imprisoned but he can still control chaos. As we speak he is wreaking havoc across the planet to compensate for Equestria’s continuous onslaught of order but it is not enough. Your sister is too blind to see the disaster she is causing, and with you being a deity of chaos perchance I could make you see the light. I hope I accomplished that.”

Unity snapped her fingers and pointed up to the wall she leaned against. Nightmare Moon tilted her head on the stone floor to see what the draconequus had spent her time scratching into the surface.

“That’s the ‘Arcane Prophecy,’ as daddy calls it. It has to do with some plan of his to fix the universe you and your sister is slowly destroying. Don’t bother asking me to answer that riddle because I myself can’t make heads or tails of the thing.” Unity leaned over and plucked Cindersbane out of the floor. The final glow of magic from Nightmare Moon’s horn faded away.

In complete darkness, she heard the sound of bones raddling on the floor, the sound of the sword being sheathed, the clang of metal on stone, and finally a clapping noise. Unity’s disembodied voice rang out from somewhere, “Tell your sister you killed me or something. Don’t worry, you’re not hurt. Just keep this little conversation between us, okay?”

There was another clap and then silence. Nightmare Moon felt a surge of power return to her body and her horn practically exploded with magic, illuminating the room like a summer day. The alicorn immediately jumped to her hooves and swiveled around expecting to find her assailant, but Unity was gone. The only differences in the room were a newly manifested skeleton of which Cindersbane was thrown in, the prophecy etched into the wall, and the symbol of natural harmony craved into the ground.

“Logically, what happened next was the entire chamber was sealed off, its secrets removed and locked away, and all records of its existence destroyed. At least, until recently.” Luna said solemnly. Her eyes slowly began to water and she was constantly wiping her face with a hoof. “I… I didn’t know what to feel after that. I kept telling myself that it was just a ply to try to corrupt me and yet… I wasn’t the one who was corrupted. ‘Tia was, and still is, slowly killing the world.”

Luna hesitated and took a deep breath. Her body visibly shuddered as she exhaled. “Deep down, I knew Unity was right; there was no lying to myself anymore. ‘Tia raised the amounts of order for the good of Equestria and as a result is threatening the universe. And I simply sat back and let it happen! I… I did try to make my dear sister see what she was doing but to no avail. I… I had to take matters into my own hooves.”

The Princess fell silent, save her irregular breathing pattern. The quill that had been writing on its own stopped writing for a second before resuming. I snapped my fingers to get her attention and when I did the alicorn slowly raised her glassy eyes to me. “You refused to lower the moon.” I said awkwardly. That probably could have gone without saying.

Luna gave a little nod. Somehow she forced herself to keep talking, although frowning the whole way through. “When I spent my time on the moon, I wasn’t truly bound there for a thousand years. Honestly, I could have left at any moment. However I endured a millennium of solitude to assist maintaining natural harmony. If I were to leave before my sentence was due ‘Tia and I surely would have fought again, throwing us closer to another Cataclysm.” Luna coughed and sheepishly smiled. “But to make sure she didn’t go too overboard with order, I might have loosened the restraints of Discord; to the point where he could still manage chaos more freely, yet was still entombed.”

She frowned again. “The essence of Nightmare still exists within me, Chris, as does Daydream with ‘Tia. Do not forget that. My sister may have repressed Daydream so it’s nothing more than a distant memory, but Nightmare still burns inside me like another heart.” Luna gulped. “When the Elements of Harmony first ‘defeated’ Nightmare Moon, they simply canceled out chaos with order. Nopony will ever be able to erase Nightmare from my soul. Nightmare is the crux of chaos to ponydom; Discord to the universe. I’ve had little choice but to cause chaos in Equestria whenever I can to keep things marginally harmonious. However I am weak my sister is strong, consequently Equestria still flourishes blasphemously.”

Luna chuckled to herself. “Thank Epona I loosened up Discord before my banishment. My sister has been maintaining unnatural order for so long; if I had never interfered a Cataclysm surely would have struck by now. ‘Tia has been especially concerned with Ponyville and keeping the elements safe. While it is a good idea, it also greatly disrupts natural harmony. As from the ‘show’ you’ve been watching you’ve probably seen some of my work to counteract that.” She winked at me. What little smile she had been able to keep so far swiftly faded. Luna took a deep breath. “It’s odd really. I’m the bringer of chaos to ponydom and if you think about it, I am trying to maintain natural order. My mere existence is what drives ponies to be violent, mischievous, and corrupt. Yet, I don’t like what I do even though it has to be done.”

I let that sink in for a moment. Luna’s gaze gradually returned to a spot on the floor. In all honesty I simply wanted to go up and hug her, but Celestia could return at any moment. That would be one uncomfortable and likely difficult thing to explain. “Discord said Celestia ‘attacked your mind’ several times when you were on the moon…” I pushed forward.

She sighed. “Yes, ‘Tia did try to ‘persuade’ me to see things her way countless times,” Luna said with a scowl. “She loves me, just like she loves everypony and the world… though she failed in her attempts to sway me. I believe she only further convinced herself of those thoughts, locking away her own memories of the truth or forcing it out of her mind entirely. ‘Tia is… hurting.”

Oh god, to see Luna so sad just makes me regret even mentioning that. The alicorn bit her lip. Lost in thought, she tried to bring the right words out of her mouth. “Chris, her heart is in the right place but her mind is not. She’s hurting not just herself but our universe. If Discord sent you hear with a purpose, one that can save ‘Tia from herself and return natural harmony, then there’s no reason I should doubt him. Please, if there is anything I can do to help, tell me,” Luna practically begged. The Princess took in a deep breath of air to try and calm down.

I just stared at her. So this was all true then, wasn’t it? Celestia was simply trying to change Equestria into some pristine utopia and in doing so threatened the universe. Equestria needed a severe dose of chaos and Luna knew all along. She’d been secretly causing terrible amounts of it personally to keep things moderately in control and now there’s the possibility to end this. Somehow I found myself in that wonderful position of power. Fantastic.

“Time…” I muttered. “Discord said that more than anything I need time. He wants me to meet him in the castle ruins off in the Everfree Forest. He’s going to send me back in time a couple years to make sure I have enough.”

Luna wiped at her eyes and gave me the most sincere of smiles. “I have Cindersbane locked away for now, but I can gather it and the rest of your belongings and secure them for you; along with some other things I believe you might find beneficial. When did he want you to meet him?”

“In a day or two,” I answered frailer than intended.

She tilted her head slightly to the left. “Is something wrong?”

I threw my head into my lap. “Actually… yes there is. This… I’m just… this is a lot to take in and I’ve only been here for two or so weeks. I mean, I’ve been thrown into a world that supposedly I’m destined to save. Discord’s expecting me to take lives on this little adventure he’s setting up, and I…”

“I’m sorry,” Luna said out of the blue. Odd, if there’s anything for her to say it shouldn’t be that. She’s been doing right for the past few thousand years.

I dragged my head up to see her uncomfortably fidgeting across the table. Her eyes registered nothing but sorrow. I forgot; at least remotely she can probably somehow relate to how I feel. For an instant she looked like she was about to say something else but withheld it. Luna brought a hoof up and clutched the crescent moon on her necklace, mouthing something almost like a prayer. The faint aura that had been enveloping her horn for the past twenty minutes darkened ever so slightly. The nearby floating quill suddenly stopped its printer-like speed. She brought up the final paper up to her eyes and squinted at it. Nodding her head slightly in self-satisfaction, she neatly stacked the sixty or so sheets together of our ‘conversation’.

Luna picked up the previous discussion like nothing had happened. “As far as getting to the ruins, I cannot take you there myself without causing suspicion; moreover I don’t think you’ll be able to leave the castle grounds regardless for the time being. Essentially, ‘Tia plans to place you under house arrest until she deemed you as no longer being a threat.”

I shook off our little moment of empathy. She looked to me apologetically as I pieced her words together. “…I imagine it’s thanks to that little incident. And if I’m a threat to her that probably makes me a threat to everyone. That means I won’t be able to get to the ruins.”

Luna nodded. “There lies the problem.” She stared down at the fake conversation she’d been writing this entire time. By what I could see, she had documented how benign and clueless I have been, reporting me with a mild case of PTSD. As both our eyes scanned the last page, hers suddenly widened at the latest words she wrote, with her face slowly breaking into a mischievous grin. Using her magic she picked up the quill for a final time and went to write something. However she only wrote one word before the quill haphazardly scratched the tip along the surface of the paper, snapping in two and making a jagged gash in the parchment.

“I have a plan,” she gleefully mused.