Amidst the bustle of the diner, you spy a larger pony, grey in color with a pale yellow mane and tail, standing at one of the corner tables. He appears to be wearing the armor of the Canterlot guard, though modified slightly. Set on the floor, leaning against the table, are a sword in its scabbard and a shield emblazoned with Celestia's sun. The stallion wears a grimmer countenance, but he still is inviting enough. Not many ponies carry weapons with them, so seeing a stallion as heavily armed as this is a little peculiar and intriguing even. You needed a place to set and relax anyway, so striking up a conversation with this stranger wouldn't be a bad idea.
"Hello there, soldier!" you greet him with.
"Hello to you too. Name's Glint Hoof." Seems kind enough.
"You aren't from around here, are you? Here in Baltimare, that is."
"Can't say that I am." An expression of mild pain crosses his face and a wistful look fills his eyes at that.
Though tentative at first, you figure someone like this probably has a tale or two to tell, and you'd rather not eat alone this evening, so you ask. "Where are you from?"
The male pony's face pulls into a little bit of a frown. After a long pause, he lets drop, "...Ponyville." You've heard the stories, but to actually meet a pony from Ponyville, well. Silently you wait, knowing from his expression that he was about to share his tale. The stallion takes a mouthful of the cider mug sitting on the table in front of him and then launches into his recount.
"I was there, that day in Ponyville, about 4 winters ago, when everything went wrong," said the pony over his tankard of cider. "First there was those pink clouds. Thought Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were just up to one of their tricks again. I paid it little mind and continued my day at the smithy, making some new wagon wheels. I could tell something'd gone wrong when the entire sky was covered in the pink and chocolate milk was falling from the sky. From there it only got weirder. Roads turning to soap, animals changing shape, more and more bizarre. From within my shop, I watched the day turn to night and back again in a matter of minutes."
He takes a long draught of the apple beverage.
"Things were plain screwed up, and I wasn't sure what to do. Fearing the worst, I thought of my family and rushed home. My house had turned around backwards, but I guess I was one of the lucky ones. Other homes had turned upside down, inside out, and whatever else. My father, Rocky Runner, said we should get out of Ponyville before things get much worse. We couldn't trust the train, so we took to the road, bound for Canterlot. I didn't want to be caught out in the open with who knows what happening, so I took my sword and shield with me. I'd never needed it, Ponyville was usually not the sort of place you'd need weapons, but after the scare with Nightmare Moon, I was headstrong enough to believe I needed what the Canterlot guards had, or similar. I was glad I did."
"We made it most of the way to Canterlot; the road wasn't soap anymore, and these strange creatures came out around the corner and attacked us. I don't know what you'd call them, only that they were like green monkeys with claws and sharp sticks. I wasn't much good with my tools then, and the monsters probably would have killed us if not for the battalion of Canterlot troops that came down the mountain road and spotted us. That was the first time in my life I'd ever killed something. Never thought I would, but there you go."
The gray stallion swirled his mug, looked inside a little disappointed, and downed the remaining liquid.
"Anyway, some of the troops took us back to Canterlot while the majority of them went down to Ponyville to support, I guess. Poor fellas, no idea what happened to them. We were brought up to see the Princess herself, and we told her our story. She said she'd sent Twilight and her friends to find the Elements of Harmony, to stop some being called Discord, the menace responsible for all this ridiculous change. She commended me for my courage, though I certainly wouldn't have called it that. From one of the balconies, we watched what was happening below in Ponyville and things continued to change. The princess left us, saying something about letters as she trotted away."
"A couple hours went by, and there were all kinds of crazy happenings, the landscape shifted and changed checkerboard, and we saw a hot air balloon racing around the sky for no apparent reason, least what we could see. But not much later, we could tell something was happening down there when there were bright lights and all kinds of colors swirling around. A huge rainbow burst through the air, and we knew that the Elements would save the day once more. As the rainbow came back down though, there was a bright white flash, and everything was gone. All of Ponyville, poof."
"Celestia came back in with a grave look on her face and spoke directly to me. She told me that I was needed, to help Equestria. She brought me over to the armory and I was fitted with a full suit of the Canterlot Guard armor. She told me I was to be a protector and a messenger, that I should go to the neighboring towns and cities and tell them what happened, and protect them from whatever else Discord might have created. Naturally, I was shocked and afraid but she told me I would go with her blessing. I didn't think something like this was possible, but her horn glowed brilliantly, and I could feel something inside me changing. I looked down at my flank where my cutie mark was, and my mark changed before my eyes. Now I've got this one, and I'll tell you know, this one feels as much myself as my old one did."
Glint here turned his haunch to show his brand, a shield with a sword crossed behind, set on a sun identical to Celestia's. "My family is still in Canterlot, I'm pretty sure, but I left as soon as I was ready, bound for Manehattan. I think the changes in the world Discord made sort of equalized with the rest of the unaffected world, but the combination created things Discord probably never intended. From what I heard Celestia describe Discord, he was always more interested in the 'game' than actually truly hurting people, so I'm pretty sure he didn't create the monsters that now seem to roam Equestria. And it's not just the monsters. Magic has changed too. I've seen other Earth Ponies casting spells somehow. I've come across structures that I'm pretty sure never existed until that day, filled with items unimaginable. I've even kept a few for myself."
The pony gave a light chuckle at his comment. "My point is, Equestria is a very different place, as I'm sure you know now, and everypony would do well to keep a weather eye on your surroundings. Life in Equestria isn't as easy as it used to be, but that doesn't mean you can't find happiness. I find it in serving Celestia and helping ponies out. Find what makes you happy in the messed-up world, and stick to it."