Equestria: The Calling

Chapters

Chapter 2 - An Unexpected Visitor
Chapter 3 - Relearning the Basics
Chapter 4 - Ten Seconds, Meet Five Seconds
Chapter 5 - Destiny's Call
Chapter 6 - The Prophecy of the Three Ponies
Chapter 7 - The Honest Truth
Chapter 8 - Nightmare in the Moonlight
Chapter 10 - The Quickest 60 Minutes in History
Chapter 11 - Training
Chapter 12 - Starry Night
Introduction
Chapter 13 - Out of the Frying Pan
Chapter 1 - The Tall Tale of the Three Lock Locker
Chapter 9 - The Castle of the Regal Pony Sisters

Chapter 2 - An Unexpected Visitor

Chapter 1 - The Tall Tale of the Three Lock Locker

“It’s true! The whole story’s true!” exclaimed Kirkland.

“Yeah and I’m secretly Princess Celestia. There is no possible way that you traveled to Equestria.” I remarked. Kirkland had just told me that Joe, Espen and he had just traveled through a door to the land of My Little Pony. Of course I was skeptical, who wouldn’t. Joe and Kirkland had always been known for pulling pranks, especially when it was about MLP FIM. “You guys are just trying to troll me. Very funny!” I said in a joking voice.

“This isn’t a joke!” Espen shouted, “We were in Ponyville! We talked to Twilight. It was the real thing!” Now I was starting to get worried. I had never seen any of the guys like this. Sure every so often we would joke about our “amazing” adventures that we had in Ponyville, but it was never more than a joke. This time seemed different. Even by the looks in their eyes something seemed off.

“Okay if you really went to Equestria, how did you get there?” I asked. They all looked at each other and then to me and told me about the locker. “A locker with three locks huh?” Now I knew they had to be lying. I had traveled down every hallway in the school and not once did I see a locker with three locks. “Alright if you insist, I will look for this locker, but if you guys are messing with me, I’m not going to be happy.” So I followed Kirkland, Joe and Espen to where they said the locker would be, and sure enough it was there.

“We told you!” They all shouted at me.

“Okay I was wrong, but that still doesn’t prove that you went to Equestria.” I said.

“Well, all we did was pull on the locks and the door opened and BOOM! We were falling into Equestria.” Joe explained. I didn’t know what to say to this. It sounded like a Narnia novel. They open up the door and are whisked away to a magical land.

“All right enough of this nonsense! I will prove once and for all that this is just a plain old locker!” I declared. I walked up to the locker and pulled on the locks. Sure enough all of them released. Not shaken at all I opened the door and saw… textbooks, a coat and a backpack. “Well that proves it. It’s just an ordinary locker.” I sneered. I turned to leave but was stopped by a strange whistling sound in my ear. I turned to see that the textbook was lying open. Suddenly as if a strong wind had blown from inside the locker, the pages began violently turning. I suddenly as it started it stopped, but the whistling sound was now becoming louder and louder. I turned to Joe, Espen and Kirkland who all had this look of utter amazement on their faces. I turn and looked at the book, the whistling sound almost deafening in my ears. I was able to only quickly read three words; Friendship is Magic. I turned to Kirkland again, but before I could say anything, there was a great flash of light and suddenly I was falling! Not only that, but Kirkland, Joe and Espen vanished! All I knew was that I was falling and I couldn’t stop. I thought that this was the end, so I closed my eyes and thought of my family and my friends as I continued falling…falling…falling…

and then all went black.

Chapter 3 - Relearning the Basics

Chapter 2 - An Unexpected Visitor

Who is he? I’ve never seen him around here before. Eeyup. Do you think he’s alright? Maybe he’s dead. No he’s alive, I checked. Shh! I think he’s waking up!

“Hey are you okay partner?” A voice said.

“Ugh…Where am I” I said. I was still fuzzy and I couldn’t focus on anything. All I could see was five figures looking down at me.

“You’re at Sweet Apple Acres in Equestria” said another voice.

“Yeah really funny Kirkland! Enough of the joking around.” I demanded

“Who’s Kirkland? I haven’t heard of anypony named that.” A gentle voice said. My eye sight was finally coming back and the figures started to look vaguely familiar.

“Okay tell me your name.” I pointed at the figure that was closest to me.

“The name’s Applejack. Are you sure you’re okay?” She asked. I could see clearly now, but I thought I was still seeing things! Standing above me was Applejack, Big McIntosh, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo! I was so shocked that I jumped away.

“W-w-w-wait a minute! I-I –if you are all real, then why am I still human!” I franticly stated.

“Um what’s a human? And besides you look like a Pegasus to me” said Sweetie Belle.

“Eeyup” chimed McIntosh

“By the way, why were you falling? It’s not like a grown Pegasus to just fall out of the sky” exclaimed Scootaloo.

“Wait did you say Pegasus?” I looked at my hands, only they weren’t hands, they were hooves! Panicking I ran into the bathroom to look in the mirror and sure enough Sweetie Belle was right. I was a violet colored Pegasus with a dark blue mane. Ironic considering that I had sided on the Unicorns during a debate with Kirkland on the matter of which was better. My jaw dropped not only had I become a pony but my cutie mark was a triforce symbol! I did the only logical thing I could think of for a moment like this. I screamed!

“Everything all right in there?” Asked Applejack. I knew I had to be dreaming and the only way to end a dream was to wake up. I started to splash water on my face hoping that it would wake me up, no luck. I then stomped on my own foot. I hurt but I still didn’t wake up. I finally realized that I wasn’t dreaming. This was the real world. I opened the door to the bathroom and headed back towards the group.

Applebloom looked at me very concerned. “Are you sure you’re all right. You don’t seem well mister um…uh…”

“Jared. My name’s Jared.” I said. I was finally beginning to calm down. I still didn’t know what happened to my friends but at least now my mind was back in my head.

“Jared? That’s a strange name for a pony.” Sweetie Belle stated. Applejack gave her a look and she immediately apologized. I didn’t think a thing of it. I had never thought that human names wouldn’t make sense in a world where your name is based off of objects.

“So Jared where do you live?” Applejack asked.

I was clueless. “I-I don’t live anywhere. Well I used to live in Minnesota but- “Whinnysota! We have relatives, who live there, don’t we Big McIntosh.” Applebloom said with excitement.

“Eeyup” chimed Big McIntosh.

“Well if you don’t have a place to stay, You can stay with us until we find you a proper home?” Applejack suggested.

“Really? Are you serious?” I was ecstatic! I get to spend the night with my favorite pony plus in the morning I’ll still be here! This could work out very well for me.

“However there is one condition. While you stay, you are going to help us on the farm or help me with any other work I’m doing” Applejack was always know for hard work but just the fact that I would be working with Applejack made me not care how hard the work would be.

“That sounds like a fair deal.” I said, “when do I start?”

“You’ll start tomorrow morning.” Applejack said “I have to harvest the south orchard and it’s always good to have more than one set of hooves apple bucking.”

“Oh you mean like when you tried to get all the apples out of the trees last applebuck season all by yourself, and you got overworked and needed help?” I exclaimed. Taken aback, Applejack looked a little embarrassed, astonished and a little confused.

“You know, for a pony we’ve never seen in Ponyville, you sure know a lot about me. How do you know so much about me?” She asked. I knew if I told her the truth the whole world could collapse in on itself, so instead I made something up.

“Well you see you’re pretty famous where I used to live.” I fibbed. Again she looked a little embarrassed but she didn’t ask anything else on the matter.

“Well we should all head to bed, there has been a lot of excitement today and we could all use the rest” She declared, “We’ll start work in the morning.” Applejack then directed me to where I would be staying. “I hope you don’t mind but you’ll sleeping in Applebloom’s room” Applejack explained.

“I don’t mind.” I replied. “I just need to get some sleep.”

“Well goodnight then.” Applejack closed the door and left. Well this has been one extremely eventful day, I thought to myself. I knew that in some way or another I was supposed to be here, just like Kirkland, Joe and Espen. But for now I needed to sleep. I had a big day ahead of me tomorrow.

Chapter 4 - Ten Seconds, Meet Five Seconds

Chapter 3 - Relearning the Basics

“Rise and shine! Time to get up!” Applejack called. I didn’t want to get up. I didn’t get a blink of sleep the night before. I slid out of bed and headed downstairs. “Good morning! How’d you sleep?”

“Not too well, but if I get a cup of coffee I should be fine.” I said.

“Well you better hurry up because we start in a few minutes.” Applejack said. The first thing that was a real challenge was learning how to grab things with hooves. It wasn’t as easy as it looked but after a few dropped mugs I finally could hold a cup of coffee again. After I finished my coffee I headed down to the south orchard.

I found Applejack bucking trees and I asked how I could help. “Well you can start by helping me buck the apples down.” She said.

“Um…I don’t know how” I regretfully informed her.

“It’s simple really.” She said helpfully “You just kick backwards with your back legs like this.” And with that she bucked the tree and every single apple fell off and into a basket. “Now you try.”

“All right I’ll give it a shot.” I said. I approached a tree next to Applejack. I reared up and……fell on my face.

“You just need a little practice is all” She said encouragingly. I approached the tree again, reared up and kicked! I hit the tree just right for every single apple fell off and into a basket.

“How’d I do?” I asked. I turned to see Applejack dumbstruck.

“Never in my life have I ever seen a pony, other than myself, applebuck like that! And on your first try too!” She exclaimed. Now I was the one getting embarrassed.

“Aw that wasn’t much. It was just beginners luck.” I sheepishly stated.

“Well let’s see if it wasn’t beginners luck.” She said. “Buck another tree.” I went to another tree, reared up and bucked it and again every apple fell off. Now I was the one who was dumbstruck. “Are you sure you’re wings aren’t fake? Cause you’re a better earth pony then some earth ponies I know!” She told me.

“We’ll to tell you the truth; I don’t know how to fly.” I said.

“Really! Well let’s change that.” She exclaimed “I have an idea when we finish applebucking today, we’ll go find Rainbow Dash. She’ll be able help you learn to fly.”

“Sounds good” I commented.

We finished applebucking around 10:30 which apparently is the fastest Applejack has ever been able to finish work which made me feel good to know. By now the adrenaline was pumping through me. I was going to Ponyville!

When we arrived in town I was speechless. Everything was the same! In fact the only difference from the description that Kirkland had given me was that there was no produce stands everywhere. I thought of pinching myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming, but then I remembered last night and realized I wasn’t dreaming. I was so focused on the town that I didn’t notice where I was going and I walked right into another pony apparently doing the same.

“Oh I am terribly sorry my dear! I didn’t see you there.” She apologized.

“Rarity! Good to see you!” Applejack smiled as she greeted her friend.

“Oh Applejack! It’s good to see you too.” Rarity exclaimed. “and oh! Who is that wonderful looking stallion you’re traveling with?” I felt my face go bright red!

“This is Jared. He’s new to town and is staying with me till we find him a place to stay.” Applejack explained.

“It’s very nice to meet you Rarity” I said. I watched as her white mane went to a dark pink. Then she darted off. Suddenly out of nowhere a purple figure jumped in my face.

“Keep your hooves off her pretty boy! She’s my love interest!” He demanded. As fast as he arrived, he was gone.

“That was Spike the dragon. He’s secretly got a huge crush on Rarity.” She said. Secretly!?! Not really. I watched as Spike walked away wearing an “I heart Rarity” shirt.

“Yeah he’s so secretive about it” I said sarcastically. Applejack agreed with me. We both laughed and once again started looking for Rainbow Dash.

Chapter 5 - Destiny's Call

Chapter 4 - Ten Seconds, Meet Five Seconds

She wasn’t hard to find. We found Rainbow Dash lazily napping on a cloud. It wouldn’t be a normal day in Ponyville if somebody didn’t find Rainbow Dash napping.

“Hey Rainbow! Rainbow Dash!” Applejack called.

“Ugh…Can’t you see I’m trying to take a nap?” She snapped back. Then she noticed me. “Hey who’s the Pegasus?”

“This here’s Jared” Applejack said “He’s new to town and sadly can’t fly.”

“WHAT! You can’t fly!?!?” Rainbow Dash was astonished. “A Pegasus at your age should have been able to fly years ago!”

“That’s why we’re here” Applejack replied. “We were hoping you could teach him how.”

“I’m always up for helping a Pegasus get wind under their wings.” She agreed. We went to an open field outside of town. “Okay the easiest way to take off is to run with the wind and flap your wings till you lift into the air.” She said. I found which way the wind was blowing and began to run with it. “Okay now flap your wings!” I did what she said and began to flap my wings. I slowly started to lift off the ground and before I knew it I was flying! It felt good with the wind in my face. “Good, for a first timer. Now try to keep up!” With that Rainbow Dash flew off like a speeding bullet. Taking this as a chance to race, I pursued her. After a while I finally caught up to her. “Wow! No first time flyer has ever been able to keep up with me!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “But I can still go faster.” And with that she hit top speed and did a sonic rainboom right in front of me. Now I felt like a dare devil. If I can keep up with Rainbow Dash, then maybe I can do a sonic rainboom like her.

I flew up extremely high and began to plunge towards the ground. The wind was tearing at my face as I flew faster and faster and faster. “What the heck do you think you’re doing?” Rainbow Dash asked. I gave her one look and she knew exactly what I was trying to do. “You crazy!” She said “I didn’t master it till about 2 years ago!” I didn’t care. I flew faster and faster and faster. I could see a Mach cone forming around me. I was so close to a rainboom. “Stop! You’re gonna get yourself hurt!” She warned. But it was too late There was a loud CRACK and then I hit top speed. I looked behind me and saw not just Rainbow Dash’s rainboom but a mystical golden one beside it! I had done it I had done a sonic rainboom. After I slowed back down and landed back in the field, Rainbow Dash basically tackled me to the ground. “How in name of Celestia did you manage to pull off a sonic rainboom during your first time flying?” She demanded.

“I-I don’t know. I just did.” I replied. She seemed irritated at this but it was short lived as Applejack returned with another pony.

“Wow Jared! You can buck like a pro and you can perform a sonic rainboom! What can’t you do?” The pony said. I recognized her as Twilight Sparkle but I still waited for Applejack to introduce me. Well I don’t think I can do magic I thought to myself. “I’ve never seen a pony like you before.” Twilight said “Where did you come here from?” Oh no! Time to fib again. But before I had to lie, Applejack spoke up.

“He’s originally from Whinnysota. But that’s all he’s told me.” Applejack informed her. Rainbow Dash had now joined her too.

“All right we want the truth. Where are you from?” Rainbow Dash demanded.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you” I replied. I could tell they weren’t buying it. “I’m from another world.” I expected the fabric of space and time to fall apart as I said this. But it never happened.

“Another world?!? Yeah right!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. We all laughed. I did it to try and hide the truth and I could tell that Twilight was doing the same. Did she believe me or was she hiding a secret of her own?

“Well world traveler” Rainbow joked “I don’t know about you but I’m famished. Let’s head back into town for lunch and then go to Sugar Cube Corner for desert. I’m sure Pinkie Pie would love to meet our new friend.” Remembering what Pinkie did for Twilight the first time they met, I would expect her to throw a party. Which I wouldn’t mind as long as hot sauce cupcakes aren’t on the menu.

Chapter 6 - The Prophecy of the Three Ponies

Chapter 5 - Destiny's Call

Well I was right about one thing. Pinkie Pie did throw a party. If you know anything about me, you know that I love being in the spotlight. The party was a blast. I should have expected it but hot sauce cupcakes were on the menu. I reluctantly took one to be polite.

“Come on try it! They’re good!” Pinkie said. Now? I thought. “Yes now! It would be a little weird if you were just going to hold it for the rest of your life. Eat it!” She demanded. I should have expected this from Pinkie Pie, seeing into my thoughts better than any fortune teller. I took a bite, and surprisingly it wasn’t half bad. The mixture of sweet and spicy was perfect. I just hoped I wasn’t eating anypony. “Don’t worry. I’m not insane like they show me on Cupcakes PMV.”

“How did you- I stopped mid-sentence. I already knew the answer to that question. Could Pinkie Pie break into the world of reality anymore?

“Oh I could. But then I would have to speak to the writer and that only happens if he lets me.” Alright Pinkie Pie enough breaking into reality. “Fine” She reluctantly said. Now back to the story. “It’s awesome to have a new face in Ponyville. The last time we had somepony new come to town, it was Twilight.” Pinkie explained.

“Wow you really don’t get a lot of new ponies around here do you.” I said

“Yeah. To our standards, Twilight is still new to town.” She said. Speaking of Twilight, where was she? I know she came in with us. Where did she go? “Isn’t she over there?” Pinkie asked once again breaking into my thoughts. She was right though. Twilight was sitting outside all alone reading what looked to be a very old book. What was she doing? I had to find out. I politely excused myself from Pinkie Pie and went over to Twilight.

“Hey there’s a good party going on in there. Why don’t you join us?” I asked. She shook her head.

“As a matter of fact, I need to talk to you.” She said. “It’s about you’re claim of being from another world. I believe you.” For some odd reason I knew she would say this. “Your travel to this world was not an accident. It was destiny.” She said. I was confused, and taken aback.

“My destiny? What destiny?” I asked.

“Well long ago there- But before she could finish, a large fireball exploded behind us. We had no idea what was going on but our only instinct was to run. But at the same time I couldn’t leave my friends to die in what was now a burning building. I ran towards the now blazing Sugar Cube Corner. “We’ve got to get away from this place!” She shouted.

“I can’t just leave Rainbow, Pinkie and Applejack to die!” I shouted back. The heat in the building was tremendous! Sweat instantly began pouring off of my face. I searched and searched but found no one. Then suddenly I heard a voice.

“Help! We’re buried! We can’t breathe!” It called. I ran towards the voice hoping that my friends were with them. I found a large pile of rubble in front of what appeared to be a door. I scrambled to move the rubble away but it was no use there was too much. I looked for a way to get to them and saw that the wall next to the door was weakened by the fire. I kicked it with all of my strength and busted a hole in the wall. I looked inside to see Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and a large group of scared ponies. I turned to Applejack.

“Applejack, help me buck down this wall” I demanded. After some violent kicking the wall collapsed and one at a time everypony made it out. We made it out just in time for just after we exited, the whole building collapsed. I reunited with Twilight and began running. I didn’t know why we were running or to where but we just kept running. Suddenly more fireballs exploded and I realized that we were being attacked. We ran through the fire scorched streets as fast as we could. I knew I could go faster if I flew, but Twilight warned me that it wasn’t safe. We meet up with Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Spike. Fluttershy was apparently at the party the whole time but was too shy to introduce herself.

“Jared, follow me. The rest of you, evacuate everypony out of Ponyville.” Twilight commanded. “I’m afraid the prophecy has occurred sooner than expected.” Prophecy?!? I was so confused. We split up again and hurried to… somewhere.

Chapter 7 - The Honest Truth

Chapter 6 - The Prophecy of the Three Ponies

I finally realized that we were heading to the library that Twilight lives at. “We have to get that book!” Twilight said. Book? Now we need a book? What in the world is going on? But if Twilight needed it, then it must be important. As we got closer to the library, I started to get a very bad vibe. Suddenly the biggest fireball yet exploded just feet in front of us, in between us and the library. The fireball extinguished instantly. I could see a pony, standing where the fireball was, emanating a dark aura. We started to back away but a ring of black crystals cut me off from Twilight.

“I have returned” the unknown pony stated. I had a very bad feeling about this. The pony stepped out of the crater the fireball had made. The pony, which stood in front of me, caused a horrible chill to run down my spine. I couldn’t believe my eyes! It was Sombra!

“How is that possible? You died in the Arctic!” I stated.

“Ah but that is what I wanted you to think.” Sombra said. “I was never truly dead. Only my physical body had been destroyed. The power of the crystal heart nothing compared to the power that I have that kept me alive, and now I’m here to take my revenge on Equestria. I think I’ll start by killing you!” With that he lunged at me. I jumped out of the way in the nick of time but he was still too fast. He lunged again and hit me square in the chest. I was knocked into a large crystal. I couldn’t breathe well since the air was knocked out of me.

“Ha! For the hero of prophecy you certainly don’t put up a fight.” He mocked. He lunged at me again but this time I was ready I turned and bucked him in the face. He seemed shocked that I could land a hit on him. “Lucky shot!” he snapped. “But I’m still not finished with you!” and with that, he vanished into thin air. I didn’t know what to do.

“Come out you coward!” I yelled.

“I you insist.” He said. He reappeared right behind me and kicked. I was launched across the battlefield and hit another large crystal. I felt a sharp pain in my left wing. I tried to fly but I couldn’t. My left wing was broken. “You disappoint me hero” He mocked “I was expecting a pony with more strength. But no matter. I will end you swiftly.” A large magical field surrounded me. I braced myself for the end but it never came. Suddenly a purple light flashed before me and the field that had engulfed me disappeared.

“Jared this way hurry!” yelled Twilight. I ran over to the gap in the crystals that Twilight was yelling from.

“That’s right hero run. Run while you still can!” He laughed. I got to Twilight.

“Hold on to me. We’ve got to leave now.” She said. I grabbed on to her. A purple ring appeared around us and before I could ask what it was, we disappeared.

We reappeared at what looked to be an ancient ruin. Twilight immediately entered it but I stopped.

“All right that’s it!” I said. “I am not taking another step until I get some answers!”

“All will be explained inside the ruin.” Said a gentle but strong voice. It was Princess Celestia! If Celestia was here, something was definitely wrong. I followed Princess Celestia and Twilight into the ruins. “It is only expected that you have no clue where you are or why you have come here.” She said. “But I tell you the truth. Your presence is not an accident.” We walked to a large altar in the center of the ruin. On top of the altar was a large golden crystal. Princess Celestia shot a beam of magic at the crystal. Suddenly we were hovering over Equestria. I was afraid I would start falling again so I tried to fly but my wing was still broken. “Do not fear” Celestia said “This is only a vision, a figment of your imagination.” Suddenly a dark storm appeared in northern Equestria. “Long ago before, Nitemare Moon’s banishment, the world of Equestria was attacked by an extremely powerful pony.” The vision changed to the form of a sinister looking pony. “His name was Sombra and his plan was to dictate over Equestria by harnessing the power of the elements of harmony.” The vision changed once again changed, this time to what appeared to be a battle between Celestia, Luna and Sombra in the castle of the royal pony sisters. “He was turned to shadow by the power the pony sisters, but not before he was able to curse the crystal empire; however that was only part of the story. He also placed a curse on the younger of the pony sisters. This caused the incarnation of Nitemare Moon to be born. Sombra again returned after 1,000 years of banishment. He was thought to be killed at the hands of the crystal ponies but he survived. He is one of the last remaining holders of the ancient power.” The vision changed once more now showing three ponies each one standing at the tip of a large triangle. “Before the formation of Equestria, explorers from around the world traveled to this land in search of a relic that was said to hold ultimate power. One group of these explorers was Telagaph, Romulus, and Vitasome. These three ponies all wanted to create a perfect world by using the ancient power; however, Romulus was black of heart. When they found the relic, Romulus betrayed his friends and tried to take it for himself. But because of his black heart, the relic broke into three pieces and embedded itself into the three ponies. Romulus was excluded from the group and left for dead, but the power the relic had given him allowed him to thrive in the wasteland he had been left in. Sombra is the descendant of Romulus and has the same power his ancestor had. Twilight is the descendant of Vitasome, and you Jared are the descendant of Telagaph.” I was lost for words. I have an ancient power passed down from my ancestors.

“But that still doesn’t explain why I was brought here from another world.” I said

“When Romulus was banished, he promised to the others that he would return to claim what was his. So to stop this from happening Telagaph left the world of Equestria through the Alicorn Gates.” Twilight explained. “He transported himself to your world and sealed the only way back to Equestria. He knew that one of his descendants would harness the power of the relic and defeat Romulus once and for all.” “That someone is you.”

“So what must I do to stop Sombra?” I asked.

“The only way to defeat Sombra is to obtain the spirits of the elements of harmony and earn the blessing of the three tribes of Equestria.” She explained. “Only then can you stand a chance against him.”

“But where will I go?” I asked “I don’t know where I’ll find the spirits of the elements of harmony or where to find the blessing of the tribes.”

“I know where to find the spirit of magic.” Twilight exclaimed.

“Well don’t leave me guessing. Where is it?” I demanded.

“You know so much yet you can’t figure it out.” She said. “The spirit of magic resides in me, and the other spirits reside in our friends.” Why couldn’t I figure that out! A purple orb of light appeared above Twilight. Suddenly it shot strait towards me and embedded itself inside of me. I felt a power I had never experienced before. It filled me with a sensation of warmth and peace. The aching pain in my wing left me and a healing sensation filled my wing. My broken wing had been mended!

“The others have been sent to designated points in Equestria.” Said the princess “Sadly those points have been cursed by Sombra and now your friends are trapped. You must free them and obtain the spirits of harmony residing in them.”

“I understand. I won’t let you down!” I turned to leave but was stopped by Twilight.

“Wait Jared” She said. “I – I’m going with you. You’re bound to get into some sticky situations and you’ll need a hoof to get you out.” I wasn’t going to argue with her. She had that look in her eyes that said, no matter what you say, I’m still going. I turned to Celestia.

“Where do I go to collect the next spirit?” I asked.

“The nearest spirit is the spirit of honesty.” Celestia explained. “You must travel to the Everfree Forest and enter the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. You must be careful. Sombra has cursed the castle. It is most likely filled with demonic spirits. Locate Applejack and obtain the spirit of honesty. I trust that the two of you will succeed.”

“We will not fail you.” We said.

“Then go. You have no time to lose.” She said. With that we set out on our quest. We would encounter many hardships but we must prevail, for the sake of Equestria.

Chapter 8 - Nightmare in the Moonlight

Chapter 7 - The Honest Truth

“So you knew I wasn’t truly a pony this whole time?” I asked Twilight as we walked. I was interested on how she had figured out my true self.

“Yes I did.” She answered. “I knew you weren’t of this world when I saw your cutie mark. It’s the same cutie mark as in the description of the hero of prophecy. That and I could see that somehow you had been studying our technics. No pony just gets up one day and does a sonic rainboom.”

“Ah. I have another question. Why are you coming with me truthfully?” I asked. She turned away from me for a minute as if she was trying to hide something. When she turned back around I could tell that she had been holding back tears.

“I – I want to save our friends. They’re very important to me.” She said. “I just don’t think I could’ve lived with myself if I didn’t try to help save them.”

“I understand. Don’t worry we will save them.” I told her. She calmed down and we continued to travel to the Everfree Forest.

We reached the forest by sunset which met that we would be exploring the forest during the night; I had read more than enough novels and played enough videogames to know that when the sun went down, evil creature would run ramped. We proceeded to hack our way through the trees and foliage. Even in the light of the moon, at some points it was almost impossible to see where we were going. After about two hours of backbreaking work we made it to a small clearing.

“Let’s set up camp here for the night.” Twilight suggested. Princess Celestia had been kind enough to pack us a week’s supply of food and two sleeping bags. I made a small fire pit in the center of the clearing. I was preparing to start the fire when Twilight stopped me.

“Let me do it instead. It’s the least I can do to be of some use.” She said. I watched as her horn began to glow a faint purple and before I knew it a small fire had ignited in the pit.

“You know, you are by far the best magic user in all of Equestria!” I complimented. Twilight blushed at this comment.

“To tell you the truth, I think the only reason that I can do this kind of magic is because of the ancient relic.” She said. “I probably wouldn’t have been accepted to Celestia’s academy for gifted unicorns without it.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” I said back. “I was told some time ago by a good friend of mine that we must discover our talents on our own and that nothing in the universe can do it for us.” She smiled at this statement.

“Well Jared, tell me a bit more about yourself and where you’ve come from.” Twilight asked.

“Well what do you want to know?” I asked.

“I want to know how you and your people came to know us.” She said.

“Well I am part of a specific group of people from my world that came to know you and your friends through television. We call ourselves Bronies and Pegasisters, or Brother ponies and Pegasus sisters.” I explained.

“That seems sensible but what is television?” She asked.

“It’s basically a glass screen that allows us to watch things from other places or times. A lot of television is documentaries and information, but there are places where cartoons and fictional characters are shown for our entertainment.” I said.

“That’s a little confusing.” She replied.

“Don’t go thinking about it too much. You’ll start to get a headache.” I warned.

“We’ll I think I’m gonna hit the hay. It’s been a long day and we could both use the rest.” Twilight said. “That and we’ve got our work cut out for us come tomorrow.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” I replied. “Let’s get some shut eye. Will get to the Castle tomorrow.”

“Goodnight Jared.” Twilight said as she went to sleep.

“Goodnight Twilight.” I got into my sleeping bag and shut my eyes. I could tell that I was tired since I went right to sleep.

Chapter 10 - The Quickest 60 Minutes in History

Chapter 9 - The Castle of the Regal Pony Sisters

I woke up to the sound of a camp fire the next morning. I looked over and saw Twilight cooking some eggs over a small fire. “Good morning!” she said. I was quite surprised that she was cooking a form of meat. However, cake and pastries are made and eaten in Equestria which include eggs so I guess it was normal. “You should eat before it gets cold.” She said. I ate rather quickly and we began to travel towards the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. After about an hour of hiking we made it to the castle.

“What an amazing site!” I exclaimed. The castle was larger than I expected. The keep was very high and at the top emanated a faint orange glow. “That must be where Applejack is.” I exclaimed “Let’s go!”

“How?” asked Twilight “The bridge is out.” I didn’t realize this. She was right. The bridge was out and it appeared that the there was no way to get to the castle without one…and then I remembered I had wings.

“We have to fly over there.” I stated.

“Are you crazy?!” She exclaimed. “We won’t make it!”

“You have any other ideas?” I asked. She shook her head. “Well it’s the only way. So let’s just do it.” I took to the sky and flew to Twilight. I grabbed her by her waist and began lifting her into the air. I wasn’t expecting her to be light, but I still strained to lift her off the ground.

“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” Twilight asked nervously.

“This is the only way!” I exclaimed. I started to fly over the open pit that was between us and the castle. we were about half way across when I felt my hooves begin to lose grip.

“Jared! I’m slipping!” Twilight shouted.

“Hold on!” I hollered back. I began frantically flying faster but Twilight was slipping faster than I was flying.

“Jared!” Twilight screamed. I tried to hold on but I lost my grip. I watched in horror as she began to plummet into the pit. “Jared!” she screamed again. My mind raced. I did the only thing I could think of; I raced after her. “Jared!” she screamed a third time. I could see the bottom of the pit coming into view. “Jared! Wake up Jared! Jared!” Twilight screamed. I closed my eyes and when I opened them again I was standing at the edge of a bridge to the Castle of the Regal Pony Sisters.

“Twilight! How-I saw you fall and- I flew after you- how?” I stammered.

“You were in some kind of trance. I was worried you were going to walk off the cliff!” She exclaimed. She pointed to where I was standing. I looked over and saw that I was only a few feet from falling off the edge. I quickly move away. I knew something wasn’t right.

“Twilight, is there any spell you can cast that can guard our minds?” I asked.

“Well we could try a mental protection spell,” She suggested “but is only works for two hours.”

“It’s better than nothing.” I said “Let’s do it.”

“Okay. Here goes!” Twilight’s horn began to glow a faint purple. I started to see a glowing ring appearing around both of us. Twilight’s horn grew brighter as a dome began to form on the ring. As soon as the dome completed, it disappeared.

“Good job Twilight now let’s get-” I turned to see Twilight swaying tremendously. The color from her mane had faded to an extremely pale shade of purple. “Twilight are you all right?” I asked

“Yeah I’m fine.” She said “I just need to lie down for a minute. I just…” Before she could finish her sentence, her knees buckled and she collapsed to the ground.

Chapter 11 - Training

Chapter 10 - The Quickest 60 Minutes in History

“Twilight! Twilight!” I yelled. My voice was starting to give way. I had been trying to wake Twilight up for about an hour. We were running out of time. We had only an hour till the mind guard spell was broken.

“Ugh… wha- what happened?” Twilight slurred as she came to. I explained to her as best as I could.

“We better get moving.” I said “Were running low on time.” We walked into the Castle. Everything seemed normal in the entrance.

“All right. Now if I was sent to guard the spirit of harmony where would I be?” Twilight wondered. Remembering that I saw an orange glow coming from the top of the keep, I suggested we try there. 50 minutes left. We entered the keep and continued to climb. I remembered that Twilight could reverse the gravity and get us up to the top really quick but I hesitated knowing that she was already overworked. 40 minutes left. We made it to the top of the keep to find a locked door. I could see an aura on the other side and the outline of a pony. We began trying to bust the lock. It was harder than it looked. The lock held tight no matter how many ways we picked at it. Fed up with the lock I proceeded to kick the door in. Sometime later the door gave and fell down.

“Applejack! Thank goodness we found you!” I exclaimed. The figure turned and looked at me. Something wasn’t right. Her eyes were glazed over and she was walking clumsily.

“AJ? What’s wrong?” Twilight asked. Suddenly Applejack let out a horrifying scream. We jumped back, unsure of what was happening. Without warning Applejack ran full steam strait at us. We moved out of the way in the nick of time before she bucked the wall behind us. The force of her kick knocked out the wall and the exterior of the tower collapsed around us. We expected to see the sky above us but instead the image inside a kaleidoscope was in its place.

“Welcome hero!” Said a deep voice “To your final resting place.” I turned to see that Applejack was walking towards me. She began to speak but instead of her voice the deep voice spoke. “Allow me to introduce myself.” It said “I am Iniquitous. The being of dishonesty.” Suddenly Applejack disappeared and reappeared directly behind me. “As you can see. We are not in the Castle of the Regal Pony Sisters. We are in fact, inside your little head.” She disappeared once again and reappeared in midair. “It’s been fun toying with you but let’s get down to business.” And with that she dived at me. I tried to dodge but she moved with my movement and hit me in the chest. I expected the blow to hurt but what I felt was by far worse than I had imagined. I was overcome with fear. I couldn’t hurt Applejack. She was my friend!

“What’s wrong? Is the mighty hero scared that he might hurt his friend?” She mocked. Seeing that she wasn’t going to land, I took to the sky only that this was easier said than done. Iniquitous must have been messing with the gravity because I couldn’t takeoff. “What’s wrong? Does the little Pegasus not know how to fly?” she teased. I was furious at this comment and began to flap my wings viciously. Suddenly, as if a spring released, I shot up like a rocket. I tried to bank left and found myself turning right! “Wow you can’t steer either!” Iniquitous hollered. She was playing me for a fool. I could see her to my left on her back laughing hysterically. I again tried to pitch right and this time I went left like I was hoping. However Iniquitous was one step ahead. Instead of flying at her I was now heading straight for the ground. I tried to break but only found myself flying faster. I hit the ground… hard. I struggled to get back to my feet and face my opponent. “Give up hero! You’ll never win against me in this realm!” She demanded. Then it hit me.

“You think I’ll give up that easily.” I asked. “If so you are more of a fool than I thought.” And with that I thought of Iniquitous slamming to the ground, and to my surprise, she did. When she stood back up she looked very shocked.

“H-how did you do that?” She stammered.

“You see Iniquitous; you foolishly told me your weakness.” I explained. “You said that we are battling inside my head. So I have control; not you!” I then proceeded to attack her in thought and every attack I thought affected her. She tried to retake control over me, but my willpower prevailed. After a few minutes of intense fighting she fell at my feet.

“Th-this is impossible!” She exclaimed. “Nopony has ever been able to hurt me.”

“Well I’m no ordinary pony.” I said. I then proceeded to drive out Iniquitous who was embedded in Applejack. Iniquitous screamed as she was forced out of her body. “Leave this place and never return.” I demanded. She shuttered in fear and then vanished. Suddenly reality appeared around me. I had never been so happy to have normal gravity effects in my life.

To my amazement Applejack was unharmed. She was alive and well.

“Thanks Jared. Whatever that thing was, it won’t be bothering us anymore.” Applejack stated. She seemed very calm for the situation. This made me relax as well. “Because of your acts of valor in the face of dishonesty I am pleased to present my spirit of harmony to you; the spirit of honesty.” She said. Suddenly an orange aura appeared around Applejack. The aura concentrated into one point, creating a small orb of light. Just like with the spirit of magic, it launched itself at me and embedded itself inside of me. I felt a sensation similar to the sensation I felt from the spirit of magic, only this one was more pronounced. It filled my nose with smells of fresh apple pie. I could hear the wind blowing through the trees, and the flavor of cider tickled my taste buds. I felt energy coursing through my body as I absorbed the power of the spirit of honesty. “You truly are the hero of legend.” Applejack exclaimed.

Chapter 12 - Starry Night

Chapter 11 - Training

I was relieved to get away from that castle. It had been physically and mentally exhausting. We had at least been able to plunder some equipment from the castle. I hadn’t realized it but I was weak. My mind suddenly realized that this was just the first of many tests I would have to pass. I would have to get stronger.

“Applejack? I need some help.” I said.

“What do ya need?” She asked.

“I need some help training.” I explained “If I’m going to be fighting all forms of monsters, then I’ll need to be stronger.”

“I here ya” She replied. “With all the fighting you’ve been doing, it’d be good for ya to get some better training.” Applejack took me and Twilight to an open field outside of the Everfree forest. She then began to build a mock training course. I had no idea that ponies could use so many weapons. From swords to spears to javelins even a bow.

“I have to admit.” I stated. “I wasn’t at all expecting this.”

“What. Did you expect us to only fight hoof to hoof?” Twilight questioned. I agreed with her. It was rather primitive to not fight with weapons. Applejack brought over two stick mock swords for practice.

“Pick one up and try to attack me.” Applejack said. I figured that I wouldn’t be able to pick it up with my hooves. I grabbed it with my teeth and clumsily tried to swing at Applejack. Big mistake. She parried and jabbed me in the chest. I backed up and winced in pain. “Focus. The sword is an extension of your body. Try again.” I got back up and tried again. I aimed low this time seeing if I could knock A.J. off her feet. She parried this hit but that was what I was expecting. I then aimed for her neck seeing if I could land a blow. However she was one step ahead of me. She blocked the counter and tripped up my feet. I fell to the ground again.

“Dang it!” I yelled.

“You just need a little practice.” Twilight encouraged. I continued sparring and losing to Applejack. After a while we finally switched to a different task, finding food. Applejack sent me and Twilight out into the Everfree forest to find a source of food. I ached all over, but the walking helped ease the pain a little. I was given a small sword if there was any trouble. “Applejack worked your flank off.” Twilight said as we walked.

“Don’t remind me.” I stated. I had been over confident in my battle with Iniquitous. I thought I was strong though I had just gotten it handed to me by Applejack. Sensing my self-doubt Twilight tried to pick me up

“Applejack’s one of the strongest fighters in Equestria. No one has been able to come close to matching her.” She encouraged. We were lucky to find a few apple trees in the overgrowth. We bucked down the apples and continued back to the camp. “Hey. At least you can still buck like a pro!” Twilight commented. This was true. I could yet be as strong as Applejack. I was warmed by Twilight’s words for a moment but it was short lived. Out of the foliage emerged two large creatures. Two timber wolves stood between us and the camp. Instinctively I drew my sword. “Jared! What are you thinking?!?” Twilight panicked. The two wooden beasts began approaching us. I knew that the only way out of this would be to fight off the two wolves. The one closest to me leaped towards me. I remembered what Applejack taught me and dodged to my left and swung hard at the wolves’ side. Blade met wood and the beast hollered in pain. The other, seeing that I had wounded its partner, lunged at me. I wasn’t fast enough to dodge this attack and the wolf placed a large cut on my flank. I dropped down to my knees, unable to stand back up. The creature pounced on me. I realized that I was at an advantage. I angled my sword at the center of its chest. The blade stabbed strait into the beast. The shocked wolf collapsed into a pile of sticks and foliage. The other had recovered from its injury and now was furious. I was now stuck. I couldn’t move and the monster was quickly approaching. All of the sudden a large beam shot from behind me strait at the wolf. The animal exploded into an assortment of twigs and sticks. This gave me time to get back on my feet. I winced in pain. The gash was still fresh and bleeding. Twilight was now at my side ready to help. “I knew this was going to happen!” she scolded. All I did was give her an adamant grin, pick up the food we had found and continued down to the camp. When we arrived I was bandaged up and given hot apple cider.

“What the hay happened?” Applejack asked. I told her about the whole event and how we had defeated two timber wolves.

“That was a really foolish thing you did there Jared” Twilight scolded. “You could’ve gotten both of us killed!”

“Well did you kick major flank?” Applejack asked. I nodded.

“You’re not going to scold him for being so foolish?!?” Twilight exclaimed

“In the words of my brother, nope!” She replied. I couldn’t help myself; I started laughing!

Introduction

Chapter 12 - Starry Night

I couldn’t sleep that night and I didn’t know why but I just couldn’t fall asleep. I decided that, since it was a beautiful night, I would star gaze for a while. Hopefully it would help me fall asleep. I looked up and noticed that the night sky was exactly the same as at home only flipped! I sat there for a while just trying to relax when Twilight walked up next to me.

“You can’t sleep either?” I asked.

“Nope.” She replied “What are you up to?”

“Just doing some star gazing.” I said “I always seem to relax when I stare into the vastness of space.”

“Mind if I join you?” She asked. She sat down next to me. “So Jared, has Equestria been everything you expected since you got here?”

“Well to tell you the truth,” I explained, “When I got here, I thought I knew everything there is to know about you and your kind. I now know that I know less about you then I thought.”

“Even so,” Twilight replied “You still know more about me than I have ever known about you.”

“Well, tell me what you want to know and I’ll tell you.” I said.

“What’s it like being a human? Do you have any family?” She asked

“Well I am the oldest in my family except for my parents. I have a younger brother and a younger sister.” I explained

“Does the rest of your family know about us?” Twilight wondered.

“Well, they do, but not in the same way I do.” I said.

“They don’t believe we exist.” Twilight said.

“That’s about right.” I replied. It felt really awkward to be talking about my own family. “If I ever get back home, I still don’t think they would believe me.” There was silence for some time. It became very awkward for me. I was hoping for something to break the silence when all of the sudden a bright light streaked across the night sky.

“A shooting star!” Twilight exclaimed. Thank Luna, the answer to my request. “It has been a long time since I’ve seen a shooting star.” I said, “Heck, it’s been a long time since I’ve gone star gazing. I don’t think I even remember all of the constellations.”

“Here, let me show you.” Twilight’s horn began to glow and right in front of us a telescope appeared. I was so surprised by this that I fell over. I could hear Twilight giggling at my clumsiness. I didn’t understand it at that moment but my heart was starting to race. She brought me over to the telescope and began showing me the night sky. I hadn’t noticed it till now, but Twilight’s eyes seemed to sparkle in the light of the stars. Our eyes locked for a brief moment. I quickly looked away, trying to hide my blushing face, my heart racing all the more.

“Which constellation is that star part of?” I said trying to concentrate on something else.

“That’s Alpha Librae in the constellation Libra.” Twilight explained also trying to hide a blushing face. “Look at it through the telescope.”

Really, I had to pick Libra the zodiac sign for love and romance. Smooth move, Jared.

I looked through the telescope but all I saw was a blurry bunch of smudges.

“Here, let me focus it for you.” She came up and adjusted the focus dial on the telescope. In the process, she brushed my forehoof with hers. My heart was pounding in my chest.

“Thanks.” I managed to say.

What was happening? Why was I feeling like this? Was I truly having feelings for her? Was I falling in love with a pony?

I lay back down in the grass. I looked up again at the night sky. I was getting rather tired now so I began to close my eyes. A few minutes later I felt something nuzzling against my neck. I opened my eyes and saw that Twilight had fallen asleep next to me. I smiled, “Goodnight Twilight.” and I fell asleep.

Chapter 13 - Out of the Frying Pan

“Rise and shine ya two love birds.” Applejack teased. I woke up to see that I had been snuggling with Twilight in my sleep. We untangled ourselves from the awkward position we were sleeping in. I was so embarrassed. Applejack was standing behind me the whole time snickering. “Well shucks. I always knew you two had a thing for each other.” She joked. At this, we both turned and glared at her.

“We’re just friends.” We said in unison. We turned and looked at each other, both of us totally embarrassed. Applejack was now on her back laughing hysterically. I walked passed her scowling and grabbed a ration of cheese and bread that Celestia had given us for the trip.

“All right you.” I said, “Where are we going?”

“We need to head north” She said getting back up, “to the Drakenridge Mountains. Fluttershy and the spirit of kindness are there.” I opened up my ration and began to eat my breakfast.

“But aren’t the Drakenridge Mountains the dragon breeding grounds?” Twilight asked. I nearly choked on a piece of cheese.

First manticores and timberwolves and now dragons? You’ve got to be joking.

“That’s right” She replied. “But don’t worry; the mating season isn’t till the spring.” There was always the risk though. Dragons were rarely seen outside of their cave that they call their home. When threatened, dragons are vicious monsters. Not only can they fly, they can breathe fire and are cover in thick scales that block most attacks. They are streamlined tanks.

“How long will it take to get there?” I asked. She turned around and pointed towards a small bump on the horizon.

“That is Dragon Tooth Mountain way out there in the distance.” She explained “If we move out now, we’ll get to the base of the mountain by noon.” We quickly packed up our supplies and headed out on the vast plain in front of us. Celestia had graced us with a beautiful sunny day and a cool breeze. Since I wasn’t horribly burdened with supplies, I took to the air. I felt good to have the wind in my face. We walked and walked and walked for hours on end. The mountains slowly came into view. From a distance Dragon Tooth Mountain looked tiny but when we reached the first mountains of the range, it was towering over us. It was intimidating.

“How long is it going to take us to climb that thing?” I asked.

“Well for you it would take only a few minutes, but for us non-flyin folk, it could take a good two hours.” She said. Great so that meant I was grounded again. We stopped at the base of the mountain for a quick lunch and then began the exhausting task of climbing the mountain. About half way up the face of the mountain, a horrible odor began to emanate. It smelled of gasoline and rotten eggs. I noticed that the trees and foliage that we had seen further down the mountain had turned to basically nothing. I was observing all of this when suddenly the whole mountain shook.

“HOLD ON!” I yelled as I tightened my grip on the cliff face. As we held on for dear life, I watched as a column of black smoke rose from the top of the mountain. I immediately put two and two together. “Applejack, I think it might have slipped your mind to tell us that THIS IS AN ACTIVE VOLCANO!” I yelled. She didn’t have time to yell back. Before she could speak, the volcano shook again, this time even more violently. Suddenly the top of the volcano exploded to life spewing tons of molten rock it the air. “KEEP CLIMBING!” I screamed. We continued to scale the now erupting volcano. Instead of flowing lava, the mountain was launching large amounts of burning hot pumice down its slopes. We began to get pelted by a barrage of falling rocks. We pushed on hoping the eruption would subside. To our luck it did. I was worried about the well-being of the others. There was an outcrop a little higher up. It was large enough to get all of us on it at once. “Let’s rest here for a bit.” I proposed. When we finally sat down for a break, the adrenaline in my body wore off. I was exhausted. Seeing my fatigue, Twilight handed me a piece of bread from her pack.

“Keep up your strength.” She encouraged, “It’s not over yet.” I finished off my food and we continued to climb.

Chapter 1 - The Tall Tale of the Three Lock Locker

Introduction

Long ago, before Equestria was unified, there was the relic. The relic held unimaginable power. It could gift the wielder with unlimited power. In the right hands, the relic could create peace and prosperity, but in the wrong hands could lead to chaos and disaster. To make sure that this wouldn’t happen, the relic was sealed away in hopes that no one would ever find it.

However, many sought to find this relic.

A group of three travelers went on a journey together to find this relic. Telegaph, the leader of the group, sought for the relic to revitalize his barren homeland. Vitasome sought it for its wisdom. However Romulus, the last, wanted the relic for another reason. He wanted it for himself. The adventurers traveled for months on end hoping to stumble across the relic. To their luck, they did. Unknown to them, Romulus was planning to betray his companions. In one swift move he attacked and defeated both Telegaph and Vitasome. He believed that he had the relic in his grasp. But the relic had other plans.

Because of Romulus’s black heart, the relic shattered into three pieces. It bounded with each of the travelers. Telegaph regained his strength from the relic and was able to defeat Romulus. Romulus was banished to the Saddle Arabian desert for his betrayal. He vowed to the other two that he would return to claim what was rightfully his. To prevent this from happening, Telegaph reluctantly left his home world and his new found love, Vitasome. He traveled to the human world through the alicorn gates to stop Romulus from ever gaining his part of the relic. Peace returned to the land and life went on. The relic was passed on from parent to child at the end of the holder’s life. Over time the story of the relic became no more than legend.

~~~~~

Many generations later, we turn our attention to a young man. His name is Jared. Jared was your normal school boy. He was a good student. Smart, friendly, kind, fun to be around nothing made him stand out from everyone else in the constant king of the hill game that was high school. But there was one thing that made him different, he was a brony. He was one of the guys who didn’t care what others thought of him. He had his friends who were also bronies and that was all that mattered. He didn’t care about who was the most popular or if he had a girlfriend or not. He knew that the one who truly loved him wouldn’t care about what he liked. Jared went about his days like every other teenager, go to school, do homework, go to bed, repeat. That was until his best friend Kirkland told him of an incredibly strange story.

Chapter 9 - The Castle of the Regal Pony Sisters

Chapter 8 - Nightmare in the Moonlight

When I opened my eyes, I was in the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters.

“How did I get here?” I wondered. Last I remembered I was in the Everfree forest. I wasn’t sure how I got here but I knew something wasn’t right. Suddenly a Manticore appeared out of nowhere. I wasn’t about to fight a Manticore so I turned and ran. This wasn’t a very smart move. The Manticore turned aggressive and ran after me. I ran as fast as I could, but the Manticore was gaining on me. I ran until I came to a cliff. I was trapped with nowhere to turn. I readied myself to attack but was stopped by a soothing voice.

“A warm welcome to you chosen hero” The voice said. The Manticore transformed into an Alicorn with a blue mane and a mystical glow. “I am Luna, princess of the night. I have been assigned to protect your dreams and mind.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. “Why does my mind need to be protected?”

“The demonic spirit that has been summoned to the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters can enter into ponies’ minds and cause horrible visions. The Manticore you saw earlier was one of those manifestations.” Luna explained. “You must be careful. If it is allowed to enter you mind, you will be completely powerless to defeat it.” I felt myself beginning to wake up as I watched the vision fade. “Train yourself to resist its power. Only then can you defeat it.” She said as she disappeared.

I woke up late into the night. I turned to see that Twilight was still next to me. It was just a dream I thought nothing more, but I knew that it was more. I knew that who or whatever was in the castle was more powerful than I thought. Still the fact that I was under the protection of Princess Luna was shocking to me. I saw that Twilight was stirring as well. Perhaps she was visited by Luna as well.

“ugh…princess?...Princess!” Twilight jumped. She turned to me. I could tell she had experienced the same vision I had. “I…I saw Princess Luna.” She exclaimed. “She told me to guard my mind. What does this all mean?” she asked.

“It means that whatever is in the Castle of the Regal Pony Sisters is stronger than we thought.” I said. She looked at me with a concerned look on her face. “Don’t worry.” I said comfortingly. “We’ll be fine.”

“I hope your right.” Twilight replied.

I hoped so too. I wondered what would happen if we failed. Would Equestria fall to the power of Sombra? Would I never find the rest of our friends, or would my mission start over like in a video game. All these things began to swirl around in my mind and made my head hurt.

“Dawn is approaching and we have a lot to do in the morning so let’s try to get a little more sleep.” Twilight motioned. I agreed with her. We needed to get as much rest as possible. I lay back down and closed my eyes and returned to sleep.