"Ow!"
The yell of pain echoed around me as I landed hard on my butt. I looked around. I was in a castle. One I recognized all too well. It was Celestia's castle. But what am I doing here? I don't even like the show! I turned around and saw a portal rapidly close behind me. Well crap.
I let out an irritated sigh and tried to figure out how this happened. I remember I was heading off to bed like usual, and then I went to sleep. And somehow, I ended up here. I doubt this is a dream, though. The ache from that landing can attest to that.
"Did someone kidnap me or something?" I wondered aloud. No, that can't be right. All the doors and windows to my house were locked. Wait, if I'm stuck here, what about my family?
...Oh shit.
"They have to be okay, right?" I said to myself, as panic set in. Wait... calm down, breathe... focus. I should try and find a way out of this loony world as soon as I can. But how?
"Ah, you've arrived!"
I spun around to see the source of the voice. Much to my chagrin, it was Celestia. I'll be honest, I never liked her.
"It seems that the portal worked perfectly," she said, grinning. So she's the reason I'm stuck here? "I assume you know why I've brought you here?" she asked, interrupting my thoughts.
"I'm going to assume this has something to do with friendship," I responded in an already ticked off tone. She didn't seem that fazed by it. No surprise there.
"You're perceptive," she quipped. She then cast a light out of her horn and onto the wall. Some kind of hologram, it looked like. It showed me, or at least, a slightly younger version of myself, walking through the high school, through the throngs of other students. Which is weird, because I graduated a few months ago.
"Am I supposed to gather something from this?" I asked. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. But when I turned towards Celestia, she looked... mildly concerned.
"It looks like you haven't been bothering to make friends," she said. Seriously? That's what this is about? And more importantly, how long has she been watching me like this?
"We're going to have to fix that," she continued. "By the time we're done, you'll have learned all about the magic of friendship," she said, now smiling. I, on the other hand, wasn't amused.
"Okay, first of all, why are you stalking me? That's creepy as hell," I stated. "And second, I already know all about this friendship business, and I'm not interested."
She gave me a confused look. "Look," I began. "Unlike you ponies, not all humans want to be all buddy-buddy. You know what an introvert is?"
"I can't say I do," she responded. Great.
"Well, to put it simply, introverts, such as myself, don't really make friends. This is not a flaw, it is just who we are. Now, please bring me back home," I stated.
"Um, about that," she said, now sporting an uncomfortable look. I already knew what this meant.
"Let me guess, you can't for some reason."
"Yeah, I can't," she admitted.
"Well, if it's gonna be like that, I'll just find my own way home," I said. She looked at me like I was crazy.
"You realize that's incredibly difficult, right?" she responded. "It took a lot of resources to even bring you here."
"I don't care," I retorted. "If I was somehow brought here, there's bound to be a way back, and I intend to find it." With that, I began to make my way out of the castle. When I stepped outside, it was night time.
"You can't be serious," I heard her say from behind me. "You really think you can pull something like this off? No offense, but you don't even have any magical abilities!"
I turned around, looked her dead in the eyes, and said, "You underestimate me." With that, I walked out of the castle.
A few days later...
Well, things could be better, but at least I'm surviving. I managed to sneak off into some nearby woods. I managed to steal a rather nice looking serrated sword from the Royal Guards' barracks. I also carved a mask out of wood from a big black tree. I carved it into the shape of a dragon's head, and took out some red sand I had found. I started a fire, and after eating, I placed the sand into a crude mold I made out of rock. The sand smelted into glass, and I attached the two glass pieces to my mask's eyes, as a sort of lens. I also stole a neat looking black cape. It doesn't help me with anything, I just think it looks cool.
Now, I said I'd find a way home, but truth be told, I don't really have a plan. So for now, I'll just explore and see if I can find anything of use.
A few hours later...
Okay, still nothing that could bring me home. But I did find a nice hat. Black like the cape and with a wide brim, so at least it'll keep the sun out of my eyes. I've also found a very wide plateau. Maybe I'll look around here a bit. It looks like there's a cave here too, and I think I can hear voices inside. I'm not sure, but I don't think that they're ponies. Maybe they could be of help?
Suddenly, three figures stepped out of the cave. They appeared to be... canines of some kind? Wait, I remember hearing about these! They're diamond dogs! I hid behind a nearby boulder, intending to eavesdrop.
"Huh, coulda sworn I saw someone out here," one of them grunted.
"Well, maybe get a pair of glasses, cause I don't see anyone," another one grunted.
"Hey, wait a minute," a third one said. "Behind that rock!" Crap.
They rushed to my hiding spot. But instead of attacking, they just stared at me, dumbfounded. I stared directly back at them. "Who are you?" one of them asked, after what seemed like an eternity.
"Call me... Kagekamen," I answered.
To be continued...