> In a World Where I Don't Belong
>  by Boogieboy95
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sir, everything is in place and we are ready to begin.  All we are waiting on now is for the security team to bring in the test subject."

"Excellent, we've put this project on hold for long enough, it's time we see what lies on the other side of that portal.  If the intel is accurate, then we may very well be making first contact with a sentient race beyond our world."

"Well sir, that was something I was hoping to talk to you about..."

"Go on."

"Well, this is a really big moment in human history.  The person we send over is going to be humanity's ambassador to the native population. Are we certain we want a D-class to play that role?"

"Not to worry professor, the council has already made clear to us that the test subject we are sending won't be doing anything major like that."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm certain. His purpose is to simply interact with that world, find out how hostile of an environment it is, and if there is anything of high enough value to send research and recovery teams over."

"And what would be considered high value?"

"Anything that could provide aid to the foundation.  Natural resources, rare minerals, advanced technology, etc."

"Seriously? Of all the things we could do, the council is only interested in seeing how many ways we can raid and plunder that world?"

"It's the nature of the beast, professor.  I don't like it much either, but you and I both know what happens to those who try to go against orders."

"Indeed."

"Get back to your station professor, the security team should be here any minute."

A few minutes pass by as the scientists make some last minute preparations, double checking all of the computer monitors and making sure all of the equipment the D-class was taking with him was where it needed to be.  The guards finally show up escorting a lone D-class that appeared to have a recently busted lip.  One of the guards walked up to the professor with a file in hand while the other guard moved the D-class to the staging area.

The doctor gave the guard next to him an annoyed look as he grabbed the file from him "Well it's about damn time you boys decided to show up.  Did the test subject give you any trouble on your way over?"

"Sorry sir, and nothing we couldn't handle.  He was being a smart-ass and kept trying to delay us, but a quick smack with a rifle butt put him in his place."

"Very well, get down there with the other guard and make sure he doesn't try anything else."

"Yes sir."

The guard walked out of the observation room and down to the staging area to find the D-class and the other guard waiting for him. The professor walked in after him and began to brief the D-class about what he would be doing.

"Alright, all of your equipment is right here, as you can see you have a backpack, some MREs, water, a flashlight, a video camera and a radio. The doctor will keep in constant contact with you, so just do whatever he tells you and you will be fine."

The D-class placed all of the gear into his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He gave the professor a smirk and asked "So I'm going on a camping trip huh? Sounds good to me, I'll be sure to take some lovely photos for you once I'm there, maybe even bring back a souvenir or two for my buddies, ain't that right guys?" he asked as he turned to the two guards and waved at them.

The two guards just stood there with annoyed looks on their faces, the guard that hit him on their way overtook a step forward and said: "Shut up and listen to the professor or I'll come over there and split your other lip open."

The D-class, not intimidated at all by his threat, simply chuckled lightly and turned back to the professor and said "I gotta tell ya doc I just love working here, everyone is just so friendly." with just a hint of sarcasm in his voice. The professor simply rolled his eyes and signaled the doctor in the observation room above "We're all set down here sir. Ready when you are."

The doctor, however, was preoccupied with somebody else in the room. He was talking to one of the leading researchers of the site, Dr. Maynard, and by the looks of it, they were having a small argument. "Sir, with all due respect I don't think this is a good idea. Leaving a D-class personnel, especially one with a record like his, alone in a world for a long period of time that has been confirmed to have other intelligent life forms on it cannot possibly lead to good results. Why are we making changes all of a sudden? After so much time and consideration has been put into the plan that is already in place? It just doesn't make any sense to me. If we are going to be leaving personnel over their for months on end we should then at least send some research staff with a security team instead. None of this makes any sense."

Dr. Maynard nodded his head, "I understand where you are coming from doctor, I know this is a big last minute decision but this comes straight from the head chairman himself, and I've been working for this foundation long enough to know that when top wants something done differently, it is best to not ask questions and just do as you are told. Now, I have the barbiturates right here, administer them to the test subject just before you send him through. Oh, and have him leave all of that stuff here, he won't be needing any of it.  All he will be needing is this" he said as he gestured to the large duffel bag in his hand.

The doctor sighed as he took the syringe and bag from him and said: "Alright sir, I'll trust you on this one, but I don't like how any of this sounds."

"You don't have to like orders to follow them. Now, enough standing around, let's get this over with."

With that, the doctor walked down to the staging area and the professor there gave him a confused look and asked "Is everything alright sir? What's with the syringe?  And what's in the bag?"

The doctor simply looked at the confused professor in front of him and said "There's been a change of plans. Don't ask me why because this comes from the top and they weren't willing to share any details."

"Change of plans? How so?"

"You will see soon enough." The doctor turned to the D-class and instructed him to put all of the gear back on the table, to which he reluctantly replied

"Aw man, I was so looking forward to this camping trip. Oh well..."

The doctor simply gave him a smile and said: "Oh don't get so discouraged, you're still going, you will just be taking this bag with you instead, now hold still while I administer this." The D-class, however, didn't like the sound of that one bit.

"Wait what's in that? Get that needle away from me!" and he shoved the doctor back, trying to get some distance between him. The guards, taking that as their cue, rushed the D-class, knocked him to the ground and started beating him with their rifles. After roughing him up some, they grabbed him by the arms and stood him up on his feet. Despite the multiple bruises, cuts, and the blood running down his face from his forehead, the D-class just spat out some blood, smiled, and said "Oh come on guys, I was starting to enjoy our little roughhousing session, even though my grandmother can hit harder than the two of you combined." The guards, tired of listening to his insults, hit him in the stomach and held him down over the table.

The D-class, still not willing to give up his antagonizing, looked at the doctor, and gave him a smirk "You know doc if you wanted me bent over a table you could have just asked." he said while laughing to himself. The doctor simply looked at him, annoyed by his behavior, and calmly injected the serum into the D-class's arm. Once it was empty, he nodded at the guards and coldly said: "I'm done with him, knock him out and throw him through the portal with the bag."  With one swift strike to the head, the D-class was out cold and the guards dragged him over to the portal's entrance.

Stopping just before the entrance, the guards looked back at the doctor to make sure he was ready. The doctor simply nodded and said, "Do it."  The guards looked at each other and one said "On three.  One...two...THREE!!!" and threw the D-class into the portal with the bag.  

The professor, still a little shaken from the altercation that just happened, walked right up to the doctor and began his rant "WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!?!  SENDING A D-CLASS INTO AN UNKNOWN ENVIRONMENT IN HIS CONDITION WITHOUT SUPERVISION!!!  ARE YOU INSANE!?!"

The doctor, visibly angry at the professor's outburst and outright disrespect to his superior, was about to verbally tear the professor a new one when Dr. Maynard stepped in and placed a hand on the doctor's shoulder and gave him a calming look.  "Guards, you are dismissed.  Please, give me some alone time with my colleagues."  The guards politely nodded and walked out of the room and back to their posts.  Once he heard the door shut, he smiled at the doctor and the professor and spoke with a soothing tone in his voice "Gentlemen, today is a very important day in human history.  We have just taken the first step to expanding this foundation's reach beyond Earth.  In exactly one month from today, we will send a small team of operatives into that world to check up on that D-class and see exactly how well he has adapted to the environment over there.  If the reports come back the way we think they will, then we will be one step closer to gaining near limitless wealth, power, and most importantly, the ability to effectively protect humanity from all of the dangers it faces in this universe."

The doctor and professor gave each other confused looks, hoping that the other knew what the lead researcher was talking about.  The doctor decided it was time for him to speak up "Excuse me sir, but how exactly will one D-class in a foreign world accomplish such a task?"  Dr. Maynard gave a small laugh to the doctor's question, and replied "Well doctor, the test subject we sent through was no random pick, didn't you read his profile?"

"I did read his profile sir" the doctor replied, "and I will admit it was quite impressive compared to all of the other D-class personnel we have, but even then he is only one man, are you certain he can accomplish whatever it is the council needs from him?"

"I am certain of it."

"And what exactly is it that the council is hoping he will do?  Unless it's to scare the local population into thinking humans are all greedy sociopaths I doubt he will do much else."

The lead researcher gave the doctor a little smile and said "Congratulations doctor, you just answered your own question." and then turned around and walked out of the room.  The professor, tired of not knowing what the hell those two were talking about, walked up to the professor and asked

"Sir, if I may ask, what the hell is going on?"

The doctor, still looking at the door the lead researcher just walked through, replied: "Do you know anything about the D-class we just sent through?"

The professor, somewhat confused by the what the doctor asked him, shook his head and replied "No, I just assumed he was another murderer, rapist, or arsonist that was sitting on death row awaiting execution before he was handed over to the foundation.  Why?"

The doctor, letting out a sigh in response, shook his head and looked the professor in the eyes as he spoke "If he were any of those things, professor, the council never would have authorized him going.  Now that I think about it, it actually makes sense to send someone like him."

The professor, who was growing more and more frustrated with the doctor's elusiveness, continued to press for more information.  "What do you mean 'someone like him'?"

The doctor opened his mouth to speak, but then decided against it and told the professor to follow him to the observation room.  When they arrived, he made sure all the doors were closed and they were the only ones in the room.  He grabbed the file the guard handed him earlier and handed it to the professor.  "This file contains all of the information you need to know.  Go ahead and read through it and tell me what stands out to you."

The professor, giving the doctor a suspicious look before grabbing the file, began to read through the pages.  His face grew more and more shocked with every paragraph he read.
When he finished, he looked at the doctor, his mouth hanging open like he was trying to say something but couldn't find the words.  The doctor saw the look on his face and knew exactly what was going through his mind.

"Now do you see why the council decided to send him in there the way we did?"  The professor simply nodded, still a little shocked by what he just read.

The doctor stood up slowly and looked through the large window that allowed him to see everything in the staging area where the portal was.  "Remember that syringe I had?  It was filled with some powerful barbiturates that will make him forget almost everything that has happened to him in the past two weeks and keep him in a coma for at least 24 hours.  Think about it, he won't remember how he got there, he will most likely be in a prison cell when he awakes and since there will be a language barrier he will likely just assume they are responsible.  If our reports are correct about the inhabitants of that world and their technology isn't nearly advanced as ours then breaking out shouldn't be a problem for him."

The professor, realizing where the doctor was going with this spoke up "And when he does, he'll be mad as hell about it and start his own personal war against them.  But there is just one problem sir, are you certain they will discover him before he wakes up?"

The doctor, unshaken by the professor's question, responded: "If the information we have on that world is correct, then he will end up inside a well-guarded castle, he won't go unnoticed for long, I'm sure."  He then approached the professor with a smile on his face and extended his arm to shake his hand while saying "Today we have taken the first step towards the conquest of an entire world, professor.  How does that feel?"

The professor, reflecting the doctor's smile, shook his hand firmly and said: "Sir if you will excuse my language, it feels pretty damn good."
> One Small Step for Man...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was yet another beautiful morning in the Crystal Empire.  Princess Celestia once again creating yet another beautiful sunrise as the day was just beginning to start.  Flash Sentry, a somewhat new guard at the Crystal Palace, was on his way to his post to relieve the guard that took the night shift.  His friend, Sharp Spear, who also was on the day shift with him was walking beside him.  They just ate breakfast at the mess hall and were ready to take on the day.  His friend decided to strike up a conversation on their way over.  Being the young stallions that they are, the topic, as I'm sure you could have guessed, was about mares.  "I'm telling you Princess Twilight was eyeing you the entire time dude, didn't you see the way she was blushing at you?"

Flash, however, decided to brush off his buddy's comment by scoffing and rolling his eyes.  "You keep saying that, but I'm telling you now that you were just seeing things.  Besides, I'm enjoying the single life for now and I'm not looking to get a mare of my own anytime soon."

"Not even a princess?"

"Nope."

"Oh, come on man, Princess Twilight has that whole sexy nerd thing going on, I'll bet she's a freak in the sheets, if you know what I mean."  he said as he jabbed Flash in the shoulder with a hoof giving him a wink.

Flash, not surprised by his friend's comment, decided to have a little fun of his own.  "You better hope Shining Armor doesn't hear you saying things like that about her, he is her BROTHER after all."

His friend, almost stopping in his tracks when he heard that, replied  "Dude are you serious!?!  I didn't know that."

"Does it really surprise you that much, private?"  Both Flash Sentry and Sharp Spear stopped with a bolt of fear shooting through their bodies when they heard that voice, not because they didn't know there was someone behind them, but from whom it belonged to.  They would recognize that voice anywhere.

They both turned around, snapped to attention and saluted Prince Shining Armor, who was apparently walking behind them.  Hoping that he didn't hear the first part of their conversation  Flash Sentry managed to say "Good morning, sir.  How are you this  morning?"  with only a small hint of fear in his voice.  Everypony knew Shining Armor is easy to get along with, but he is also fiercely loyal to his family and is capable of casting some powerful magic... magic that the two young guards were now afraid that they were about to be on the receiving end of.  Shining Armor casually returned the salute however and said "I'm doing good, thanks for asking.  What are you two up two?"

Flash and Sharp gave each other a nervous glance and Sharp Spear decided to speak up.  "We're just on our way to relieve the night shift sir."

"Oh, where are your posts?"

"In the East Wing, the same room where that strange mirror is kept sir."

"Ah, I see, must be quite the boring post I bet."

Seeing that his friend is struggling to find the right words, Flash Sentry took a step forward and said "It does alright sir.  It isn't the most prestigious post ever but it could be worse."

"I agree, I've had some not so great posts myself when I was new.  But as I was saying, I never thought it was that much of a surprise that me and Princess Twilight are siblings, we are both exceptionally talented when it comes to magic, afterall."

Sharp Spear saw an opportunity to butter up the Prince and hopefully get him to forget the conversation he was having just a minute ago.  "I couldn't agree more sir.  We all still remember when you kept that huge shield spell going over Canterlot.  What I wouldn't do just to be able to cast spells half as strong as that..." he said.

Shining Armor smiled at the private's compliment, but was aware of what he was trying to do.  He may be prince of the Crystal Empire , but he still remembered what it was like when he was a private.  It was then that he got just the right idea on how to teach the young stallion to be aware of who is around when you're talking about somepony else's sister, and a princess none the less.  "Oh, I just remembered, there is a working party going out to clean up the barracks this morning.  Say uh, Sharp Spear was it?  Would you mind joining them in that?  The more ponies they have the faster it will get done, and don't worry about your post, I'll take your watch until you return.  I've got nothing much to do today anyways."  Shining said as he gave the private a stern look, letting him know why he was sending him in the first place.

Sharp Spear, knowing exactly why he got picked, didn't hesitate to comply with the order and left his buddy and Shining to go field day the barracks.  There was a party going on last night there for one of the guards whose contract just ended the night before so he knew it was gonna be hours before he would be finished, so he walked while his head hung a little, cursing himself for not looking around first before he decided to speak.

Shining Armor and Flash Sentry continued to their posts and relieved the two bat ponies standing in front of the door that lead to the room where the mirror was kept.  Flash Sentry couldn't help but stare for a bit at the two as they left, for whatever reason bat ponies just freaked him out a little.  Maybe it was the teeth?  Creatures with fangs like those usually means that they're a predator of some sort and the thought of a pony devouring an animal was something that sent chills down his spine whenever he thought about it.

Shining Armor noticed the face Flash Sentry was making and thought it would be best to put his fears to rest.  "Don't worry, they're not as bad as you think, it's just the armor.  Princess Luna herself cast a spell on it that makes them look like that whenever they put it on.  It's a little creepy I'll admit, but it's also effective at scaring intruders, don't you think?"

"Absolutely sir."  Flash felt a little better knowing it was just their armor and it was all for looks, but still...

As the hours dragged on, Flash was getting to that point where it felt like the day would never end, when just then he heard a noise come from the other side of the door.  It sounded like something heavy just fell to the floor, followed by another loud thud.  Thinking a stack of books got knocked over somehow, he decided to go in and re-stack them, seeing as to how nothing interesting was going on.  Shining Armor went to go get some lunch for the two of them and should be returning in a few minutes.  But when he pushed the doors open, he was greeted with something bigger and much more interesting than a collapsed pile of books.  He had absolutely no idea what that thing was lying on the floor in front of the mirror, or where it came from.  He was wishing for something interesting to happen ever since he first took over the post, but this... this is something he never saw coming.

Shining Armor walked into the long hallway with two boxes of food for him and Flash, only to see him standing in the middle of the open twin doors.  He immediately became curious as to what it was he was looking at and he trotted over to the guard as he asked "What's wrong Flash?  You look like you saw a ghos-..." he trailed off as he took in the sight before him, the two boxes of food he was carrying with his magic dropped to the floor and spilled their contents.  A strange looking creature that was lying on the floor unconscious with a bag full of something next to it.  The two of them just stood there and looked in awe, not knowing what to do.  Shining was the first to snap out of his trance and said "Quick, let's just send it back through the portal!"  With that, he levitated the creature with his magic and tried to send him back through the portal but to no avail.  Flash had the same result when he picked up the oddly heavy bag and threw it against the mirror, just to have it bounce off and fall to the floor.

Shining Armor just stood there in shock, somehow the portal was apparently only one way now for some reason, he decided the next best thing to do would be to inform the Princesses.  He looked at Flash and spoke with urgency in his voice "Go tell Cadence to come here immediately!  She should be having breakfast at the cafe just outside the castle, GO!!!"

Flash Sentry, giving him a quick salute with a "Yes sir." he took off to the Cafe as fast as his wings could carry him.  Upon arriving, he saw the princess sitting at one of the outside tables, enjoying the weather while sipping on some tea.  He landed next to her, bowing down to her while out of breath.  He landed so loud and sudden that he scared Cadence into spitting out her tea.  She looked over to the guard who just scared her half to death.  Before she could tell him to get up, he stood up and started talking so fast that she could barely understand half of what he said.

"Calm down, uh, Flash Sentry was it?  Catch your breath then tell me what's got you so worked up."  The guard did as she said, strange how he startled her so much and yet there wasn't a shred of anger in her voice or her expression.  Guess that's why she is the princess of love, afterall.  After Flash Sentry caught his breath to the point where he could speak coherently, he told the princess about what just happened.  Realizing that her husband needs her help, she took off for the east wing as fast as she could with Flash following right behind her.

Cadence landed right next to her husband, not able to take her eyes off of the creature in front of her.  After a moment of silence she looked over to her husband and asked "What is that thing?  What happened?"

Shining slowly looked over to his wife, not wanting to take his eyes off of the thing in case it suddenly sprang to life.  "I don't know, I went on a food run for Flash and I but when I came back he  was just standing here staring at this...thing."

Cadence then turned to Flash and asked him the same questions.

"I honestly don't know your majesty.  I was just standing post when I heard a noise.  I opened the doors to see what it was and I just saw that thing lying there.  We tried to send it back through the mirror but it wouldn't go through." he said pointing a hoof to the mirror.

Cadence stood there thinking, then she looked at Shining and said "The other princesses need to know of this immediately.  I'll send a letter to them detailing what happened.  In the meantime, take that thing to the dungeon, there's no telling how dangerous it could be."  Shining nodded in agreement and quickly hugged his wife before she took off.

Shining Armor levitated the unconscious being with his magic off the ground and looked over at Flash Sentry "I'm gonna take this thing to the dungeon, take that bag and lock it in the armory until we figure out what to do with it."  and after that he took off running for the long winding staircase that led to the castle's dungeons.  Flash Sentry picked up the duffel bag by the strap with his mouth and took off flying for the armory, thinking to himself 'Now if only Sharp Spear was here to see this!'


*Meanwhile, at the Canterlot Castle*


Princess Celestia was sitting on her royal throne, reading the letter she just received from her niece Cadence.  Her mouth was hanging open as she reread every line carefully, making sure what she was reading was real and not something she was imagining.

"Dear Princess Celestia,
I am writing this letter to inform you of a very strange occurrence here in the Crystal Empire, more specifically, inside the castle.  It involves the crystal mirror, the one that we sent Twilight through.  Well it seems that one of the creatures from that world found its way through and ended up lying on the floor unconscious, along with a large bag filled with strange devices that I'm afraid nopony is familiar with.  The creature was locked in the dungeon to ensure it wouldn't harm anypony, and the bag that was with it is currently locked inside the armory for safekeeping.  It is still unconscious but I'm afraid I cannot say for how long.  I request that you, your sister, Princess Twilight and her friends come to the Crystal Empire as soon as you are able.  I'm sure you know how serious the situation is, and I look forward to seeing you soon.

Sincerely,
Princess Mi Amore Cadenza"

Once Celestia realized that she wasn't hallucinating, she immediately teleported to her sister's room.  Princess Luna was snoring away in a deep sleep with a little drool coming out of her mouth that was hanging open and left a noticeable wet spot on her pillow. The rush of wind and loud bang that was generated from Celestia's teleportation spell startled the night princess enough to cause her to jump out of bed and land on her rump.  Though her eyes were open, she wasn't fully awake, for her eyesight was fuzzy and she was mumbling incoherently.  After shaking her head to wake her brain up, she looked for the source of what had woken her up and saw her sister standing in the middle of the room, breathing heavily with a horrified look on her face.  Sensing there was something wrong, she asked "Sister, whatever is the matter?  We didn't oversleep did we?" as she looked out the window to get a sense of what time it was.

Celestia walked up to her sister, and spoke with a surprisingly calm tone in her voice given the circumstances.  "I'm afraid not sister, the situation at hoof is much more serious.  This letter contains all the information you need to know.  I will send a letter to Twilight to let her know of what's going on and to gather her friends and meet us at the Crystal Empire.  There's no time to waste sister, we have preparations to make."  With that being said she teleported again, disappearing just as quick as she appeared.  Luna, still confused by what just happened, levitated the letter over to her and began reading it.  Her reaction was much similar to her sister's, and ran off to make arrangements with the castle guard so they can take over while the princesses are away.


*At the Princess of Friendship's Castle*


Princess Twilight was sitting in her library reading a book, which is how she spends most of her free time, when the door to the library suddenly burst open with a loud bang.  The sudden loud noise was enough to scare the princess into jumping out of her seat and onto the table.  Looking towards the entrance to see who it was that decided to barge in the way they did, she relaxed when she saw it was only Spike, but was wondering what it was that got him so worked up.

Spike ran up to Twilight, trying to tell her about the two letters he just received from Princess Celestia that he was holding in his claws "Twi...Twilight...Princess Celestia...needs elements...Crystal Empire."  was all he was able to get out before collapsing to the floor from exhaustion.  Twilight was still confused even after Spike's very brief explanation and started to read the letters Spike gave her and thought 'I wonder what could be so important that Celestia would need all of the elements in the Crystal Empire.'  Noticing that one letter was stamped with Princess Celestia's cutie mark and the other with Cadence's, she decided to read the one from Celestia first.

"To my faithful student Twilight Sparkle,
I do apologize for any inconvenience my request may cause you, but time is of the essence.  I recently received a letter from your sister-in-law and old foalsitter Princess Cadence that something has happened at the crystal palace that requires the attention of my sister and I, along with you and the rest of the elements of harmony.  Please read her letter and meet me at the Crystal Palace as soon as you can.  Her letter can tell you more about the situation than I can.  

Sincerely,
Princess Celestia"

Twilight's eyes went wide and her mouth hung open as she read the letter from Cadence.  Her reaction, though, was much different than what most ponies would expect.  Not two seconds after she read the two letters, she began to jump around the room while yelling 'yes yes yes yes yes!' over and over again.  Spike got up as she was prancing around the room excitedly and before he could stand up straight Twilight picked him up with her magic and brought him in for a tight hug "Oh my gosh Spike do you know what this means?  For the first time in history ponykind is making contact with another species beyond our world and we get to be there!!!  Isn't that AMAZING!?!"

Spike wasn't as enthusiastic as about the whole situation as Twilight was.  He was able to push out of her tight grip and ask "First time?  What about when you were sent through the mirror to get your crown back from Sunset Shimmer?  Or to defeat the sirens?"  Twilight rolled her eyes as she replied "Well those times were different.  I was only sent over there because they were going to cause a lot of trouble for that other world, and even then I was turned into one of them when I did.  You remember, and besides this is totally different!  This time they came to us and not only that but they found a way to cross over without changing into a pony!!!  ISN'T THAT FANTASTIC!!!!"

"I don't know Twilight, what if it's not friendly?  I'm no expert on aliens, but I don't think it's going to appreciate waking up in a dungeon."  Twilight took a second to think about what he just said.  Realizing that he was right, her mind organized a plan to get the girls gathered up at the train station and on their way to the Crystal Palace by sunset.

"Spike, I want you to start packing our things for the trip.  I'll be back in a bit.  I'm going to tell the rest of the girls to start gathering their things around and to meet us at the train station.  You remember where I keep the list of things we will need to bring in case of an emergency trip to the Crystal Empire right?"  Spike stood at attention and saluted the princess as he gave a sharp "yes ma'am" and ran off to start packing.  Twilight teleported outside her palace and flew off to Rainbow Dash's home.  She didn't have to go that far though, for the pegasus was lying on a nearby cloud, snoring away in one her many naps she likes to take during the day.  Twilight rolled her eyes as she thought 'I swear she spends more time sleeping than being awake.'

Calling out her name as she approached, Rainbow Dash merely rolled over in her sleep.  Deciding that she was going to need more motivation to wake up, Twilight flipped the cloud she was on and the cyan pegasus immediately woke up when she realized the soft cloud she was on was suddenly gone.  Flapping her wings wildly to stop her rapid descent, she was able to stop herself and flew up to the Princess who was giggling to herself at the prank she decided to pull on her.  She hovered in front of her friend and gave her a look that was mixed with annoyance and a little bit of anger.  "Very funny Twilight." was all she said while still holding the look she had.

Twilight caught her breath from the fit of laughter she had and replied "Sorry Rainbow, but I need you to be wide awake for what we're about to do."  

The only change in Rainbow's expression was that she raised an eyebrow as she asked "And that is?"

"I will explain later, but right now I need you to go tell Applejack and Fluttershy to get ready for a trip to the Crystal Empire.  I'll get Rarity and Pinkie Pie, you should get ready as well.  Princess Celestia has summoned all of us there.  I can explain when we are on the train.  By the way, it leaves in three hours, so make it quick."  and she flew off back to her palace to get ready herself.  Rainbow Dash just hovered there, still confused by her friend's words.  She didn't always understand what Twilight was talking about, but she knew that when the egghead said to do something, she usually knew what she was talking about.  Especially since Princess Celestia herself wanted them all there.  With that in mind she took off towards Fluttershy's cottage to spread the news.


*Later that day*



"We will be arriving at the Crystal Empire train station in 10 minutes, all passengers please be ready to get off the train shortly."  the conductor said as he came through the doorway to the passenger car.  Everyone in the car grabbed their belongings, making sure that nothing was missing and were eager to stretch their legs after a long train ride.  Twilight and her friends were sitting in the back so that the few other ponies in the car with them wouldn't be able to listen in on their conversation.

"So Twilight, what in the hay is so important that ya had to drag all o' us to the Crystal Empire fer?"  Applejack asked as she realized that the purple princess never really explained why. 

Twilight looked around to make sure nopony else could hear them.  She motioned for all of her friends to come in closer so they could hear her whisper "Well, how do I put this, what do you girls know about the crystal mirror?"

"Oh, you mean the one you were sent through a while ago to get your crown back from Sunset Shimmer?" asked Fluttershy, hoping that she was on the same page as everypony else.

"And to kick the flanks of those sirens." added Rainbow Dash while making some punching motions with her forelegs.

"Yes, that one." said Twilight.

"Well I don't know nearly as much about it as you darling, but I do know it would look absolutely fabulous in my boutique." Rarity said as she pictured herself standing in front of the jewel encrusted mirror in her favorite dress.  She snapped back to reality a few moments later when she realized all her friends were giving her annoyed looks.  She giggled and blushed slightly from the embarrassment.  She gave an uncomfortable smile as she said "Well...uhm, you were saying something Twilight." hoping to get the attention off of her.  Rarity loved being in the spotlight, but only when it was because other ponies were admiring her.

"As I was saying," Twilight said a little louder than her previous whisper to get her friends' attention back "I received a letter from Princess Celestia saying that one of the inhabitants of that world came through, but it was unconscious when it did, and it also brought a bag full of strange objects with it."  Twilight was barely able to contain the excitement in her voice, she wasn't able to learn nearly as much as she was hoping to about that world during her brief time there.  She always regretted not having the time to actually sit down and learn as much as she could about that world.

Upon hearing that, Pinkie Pie got excited as well, except she didn't do as good of a job of containing it as Twilight did.  "OH MY GOSH! I never threw a 'congratulations on being the first weird looking alien thingy to come to Equestria' party before."  Her sudden outburst earned a sharp hush from the group and a few weird looks from the other ponies in the car with them.  Her ears fell flat against her head in embarrassment and then she gave her friends an apologetic smile and a "sorry" in a hushed voice which she used so rarely that she barely recognized her own voice.

"Anypony else want to have another outburst?" Twilight asked with an annoyed tone in her voice.  She gave all of them a stern look and after a few seconds of silence she continued on.  "What makes this so strange is that when I went through, I came out the other side as one of them, a human.  But when one came through to us, they didn't change into a pony.  I wonder why though..." She brought a hoof to her chin in thought and the rest of them looked to each other, hoping somepony in the group somehow knew.  Before anypony could speak up, the train came to a halt as it rolled into the station, it's whistle giving off a few blows to signal its arrival.  Everypony stood up and walked off the train, taking in the site before them.  They have been to the Crystal Empire more than a few times, but the beautiful crystal architecture of the city never ceased to amaze them every time they saw it.

A unicorn guard wearing the traditional golden armor approached them and gave a respectful bow and said "Welcome to the Crystal Empire princess.  Please, if you will come with me, Princess Cadence has arranged for a carriage to take you all to the castle and your luggage will be brought to your rooms for you.  Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have already arrived and they are awaiting your presence inside the dungeon."  He stood up and they followed him to the carriage where two other guards were waiting with the carriage's harnesses strapped to them.  The guard that was escorting them opened the door with his magic and they all climbed in.  Spike was the last one to enter and when he went to get in the guard suddenly snapped to attention and saluted him "My apologies lord Spike!  I didn't see you at first among the group.  Welcome to the Crystal Empire sir."  Spike gave a prideful smile and saluted back "Aw it's ok, don't worry about it.  It happens." and sat next to Twilight.  The unicorn guard relaxed and shut the door behind him and climbed up to the driver's seat.  He gave the order to the two guards that were hooked up to the carriage and they started their way to the castle.


*Inside the entrance to the castle's dungeon*


Shining Armor was pacing back and forth, unable to sit still from the uneasy feeling he had in his stomach.  In all his years in the guard, he never received any training on how to deal with this type of situation and he was hoping that the human (at least that's what he thought his sister said it was) that came through wasn't dangerous.  He knew his little sister would burst with excitement when she found out about this, but his first instinct when it came to any situation that could possibly threaten the lives of other ponies was to protect those around him, especially his family.  The princesses were all sitting in a small circle, making small talk while they were waiting.  Cadence noticed her husband's nervousness and walked up to him "Shining, will you please relax.  I'm certain everything will be fine.  We have handled worse situations than this." she said as she nuzzled his cheek.  He couldn't help but smile when she did that, and returned the loving gesture.  "I know we have, but I can't help but worry.  This is a delicate situation and one wrong move could ruin a potentially very beneficial relationship between our two worlds."

Celestia and luna each shared a smile from the sight of the loving couple in front of them.  They looked back at each other and continued their conversation.  Luna was the first to speak up "So what was that thing called again? A human you said?"

"Yes, I believe that is what Twilight said they are called.  Unfortunately she wasn't able to collect much information on them so I'm afraid we are going into this without much knowledge about them."  Celestia said with slight disappointment in her voice.

"Well, it is better than no knowledge at all.  However we...uh... I must ask, is it really necessary to wait until Twilight and her friends get here?  I'm sure between the four of us we can handle it."  It's been a few years since she returned as nightmare moon, and she was getting better at speaking the same way as everypony else, but her old habits came through every now and then when she wasn't paying attention or was feeling nervous.  She couldn't help but feel embarrassed every time she caught herself, especially when it was in front of other ponies.

Before Celestia could give a response, the entrance to the dungeon opened and everypony turned to look to see who it was and were relieved to see that it was the Princess of Friendship with her friends.  "Twily!" Shining Armor said with glee as he ran up to give his little sis a big hug, which she happily returned.  "How's my favorite little sister in the whole wide world doing?" he asked as he let go of her to let Cadence have her turn.  "I've been great, and nice to see you too Cadence." Twilight replied as she hugged her favorite foalsitter.

Celestia approached the group with Luna at her side and said "I hate to break up this joyful reunion, but there is a serious matter that requires our attention."  All the smiles in the room quickly faded away at the tone in her voice, reminding them all why they were there to begin with.  "I'm certain you are all well aware of why we are here.  The creature is currently locked away in one of the more secure parts of the dungeon, but I want all of you to be careful.  This is a very delicate situation and we must handle it appropriately.  We must do our best to understand this human creature and make it feel certain that it's not being threatened, but be cautious none the less.  Twilight, you have the most experience in dealing with their kind.  I hope you understand that I would like for you to try first at communicating with it.  I'm sure you will have a better chance than the rest of us."

Twilight was a bit shocked that her mentor wanted her to try first, but she did have a good reason for it.  She wasn't very familiar with human body language, or even the language they spoke for that matter.  When she went through the portal the first time it must have cast a powerful translation spell on her, for when she came out on the other side she understood what they were saying perfectly.  Ever since she came back, however, she could only remember a few words, much less remember what they meant.  Despite that fact, she shook her doubts out of her mind and looked Celestia in the eyes and proudly said "I'll do my absolute best."  Celestia put on a proud smile herself and said "I would expect nothing less from you." and with that being said, they started their way down to the cell where the mysterious creature awaited.


*Curtis's point of view*


I was lying on my bunk when I started to wake up and I tried to move a bit and stretch my muscles.  My body let me know how much it didn't like that by sending a bolt of pain through my whole body which forced me back down.  

"My god, if I got my ass beat so badly last night I wish I would have at least remembered it."  I tried to bring my hand up to rub the sleep from my eyes, but once again found my movement restricted.  It wasn't, however, from the pain I was feeling, but from the restraints that were fastened tightly around my wrists.  I tried to move my legs in protest only to discover they were tied down as well.  My vision started to clear up and that is when I realized that I wasn't lying down on my bunk, but was actually sitting in a sturdy chair that was bolted to the floor.  'God dammit, did I get put in isolation again?' I thought to myself.  I looked around to confirm my suspicions but I didn't recognize the walls as the same ones in the isolation room that I got thrown in more often than most of the other inmates.  The cell I was in looked more like a medieval dungeon than a prison cell.  "What the hell?  Where the fuck am I?"  I asked out loud.  I heard a noise come from the door and looked up just in time to see the view port on the door slide shut.  Although I didn't get a good look at the person on the other side, I could hear muffled voices coming from the other side.  I couldn't make out what they were saying.  It was impossible to even hear what language it was.  The walls and door were too thick to make any sense of what was being said.

'What kind of language was that?  Nothing I ever heard before.  Did I get transferred to a foreign prison?' I thought to myself as I tried to make sense of the situation I was in.  I leaned forward in an attempt to listen in on more of what was going on outside my cell, but could only make out muffled voices that I couldn't understand and multiple footsteps.  The door to my cell began to make a bunch of noises which sounded like the locks were clicking open.  "Great, here we go." I said under my breath.  My captors walked in, one behind the other, and all I could do was sit there and stare in awe at them with wide open eyes and mouth hanging open in disbelief at what was in front of me.
> Escaping Captivity
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Horses.
  

Or not quite horses.  They were smaller, most of them at least, and each one had a more bizarre color of fur and mane than the last.  Their eyes were shaped differently as well.  They looked more human, except larger.  Their muzzles were also shorter and more flat rather than round.  A few of them even had horns or wings, and some had both.  Once the parade of freakish looking horses were inside my cell, I took a good look at all of them and the only thing I could do was laugh.  Not the type of laugh one would give upon hearing a good joke or seeing something funny, but the type of laugh a person would give once they lost the last bit of their sanity.  It got worse once I realized that I wasn't dreaming.  I knew because of the lingering pain that was surging through my body from the fight I apparently had and lost, which only made my psychotic laughter grow louder and more insane the longer it went.  Tears were beginning to well up in my eyes, which I wasn't sure if it was because of me laughing so hard, or from the pain.

My laughter was apparently contagious, for the pink one with a curly mane and balloons tattooed on each side of its flanks began to roll around on the floor and mimic my laughter, which only made the situation all the more laughable to me.  All the others shot a look at the pink one which she either didn't notice or didn't care about.  I finally calmed down enough to regain whatever was left of my sanity, which I didn't think there was much left of since I was sitting in front of a small crowd of short, colorful, weird looking horses.

After the pink one calmed down as well, they all turned back to face me.  The purple one with both wings and a horn stepped forward, looking like it was trying to think of something to say.  Seeing as to how she was having trouble, I figured I might as well give it a shot.

"So what can I do for you all?  Please keep in mind that I can't do much being tied down the way I am."  I said while gesturing to my restraints.  All eyes were on the purple one as they were waiting for her (or at least I think it's a her) to do whatever she was supposed to be doing.





"Well Twilight?  What did it say?"  Celestia asked.  Twilight stood in silence, trying her best to make sense of what he just said.  She couldn't remember anything about their language, but she did remember how to tell the difference between a male and female.  This one didn't have the two growths on its chest, and it had a short mane and a muscular build to it so she was certain it was a male.  "I don't know.  I don't remember anything about their language, but I do believe this one is a male."

"Wait, you don't remember ANYTHING about their language?  Even after all the time you've spent in their world?  It's not like you to forget something that easily."  Rainbow Dash said as she hovered above the group.  The human took notice of her flying and gave her an unbelieving look.  A look that made her feel uncomfortable and gave her the incentive to try communicating with the thing herself.  "What?  Haven't you ever seen a pegasus fly before?"  The human's only response was that it shrugged its shoulders and shook its head.

Celestia walked up next to Twilight and asked her "She does have a point Twilight.  If you spent so much time over there how is it that you don't remember any of their language?"

Twilight couldn't help but lower her head a bit in shame as she replied "I'm sorry princess, but the mirror must have cast a powerful translation spell when I went through because I could understand it perfectly when I was one of them, but now that I'm back it's all a blur to me."

Celestia noticed her student's distress and put a hoof on her shoulder "It's alright Twilight, I'm sure we will work past this obstacle."  She gave Twilight a reassuring smile in an attempt to make her feel better, which seemed to work when she picked her head up and smiled herself.

Curtis decided to comment on the scene in front of him "Oh...my...God you two are just so adorable!  Is this the part when we all sit down and talk about our feelings?"  He let out a small laugh at his own joke, knowing they didn't understand a word he said.  All eyes were back on him again as everypony was trying to figure out what he was saying to no avail.

Cadence suddenly perked up when she got an idea.  An idea that she knew not many of them were gonna like, but if it went well then they would make much more progress than what they were making now, which was none at all.  She stepped forward and pitched her idea to the group.  "If we can't communicate with speech, maybe we should try a different approach."  Everypony looked at Cadence, curious as to what she was thinking.

"What is it thou are proposing Cadence?" asked Luna.

"Well, if what Twilight says is true then we won't be able to communicate using words without a powerful translation spell.  One that would be difficult to cast and would require some time to learn.  Maybe we should next try telepathy."

Twilight was the first to catch on to what Cadence was thinking "Oh I get what you're saying Cadence!  We may not be able to understand his language but maybe if we try influencing him to feel certain emotions then maybe we can at the very least let him know we don't mean him any harm."  Twilight smiled brightly as she looked back at the human while clapping her hooves in excitement.  Curtis took notice of the look on her face and shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"What is that smile about?  Why are you looking at me like that?"  he asked as he leaned back in his chair a little.  Something about the look that the purple one was giving him told him that they were planning something that he probably wasn't going to like.  "Look I appreciate all the lovely hospitality and all but if you could just do me a favor and send me back to where I came from I would very much appreciate it."  He wasn't much of a fan of the prison life but at least he was in a world that was familiar to him and not surrounded by weird looking horses that, judging from his current location, were planning on keeping him as a prisoner of their own.

"I'm not so sure about this, we don't know how he will react to us reaching into his mind.  I want to communicate with this creature just as much as the rest of you, but I don't think it's worth risking upsetting him.  Or worse..." Celestia said as she noticed the worried expression on his face.  She could tell he was getting nervous about the situation, which she understood completely.  "I think we should play this safely and take the time to learn that translation spell."  Everypony fell silent as they thought about what to do.  Both Celestia and Cadence had valid points, but they each came with their own risks.  Learning that translation spell could take hours and it meant they would have to keep the human locked up even longer which he wasn't going to appreciate one bit.  On the other hoof attempting to control his emotions could go wrong and they would risk angering or frightening him which may make him violent.

Luna was pondering on what to do when she had an idea of her own.  "Perhaps I could try something." she said to break the awkward silence in the room.  "Maybe I could visit this creature in his dreams and attempt to communicate with him then."  She looked at everypony in the room to see what they thought about her idea but most of them looked confused.

"No offense princess, but how is that goin' ta be any different than what Princess Cadence wants to try?" Applejack asked.

Luna slowly walked towards the human as she explained "What Cadence is proposing would require this creature's cooperation.  When he senses Cadence trying to enter his thoughts he may reject her and that wouldn't help us in gaining his trust at all.  If I were to wait until this creature falls asleep I may enter his dreams and hopefully gain some understanding as to how he thinks.  Since I will be inside his subconscious we may even be able to communicate in a way we will each understand."  She stopped just in front of the human, maintaining eye contact as she tried to get a sense of what was going through his mind.

Curtis kept his eyes on the dark blue horse that was walking towards him as it spoke in its alien tongue.  It stopped in front of him, just staring at him with a look on its face that made it seem like it was trying to read his mind.  It was so close to him that he wouldn't even have to fully extend his arm to touch it, and he never did like it when someone was less than one arm's distance from him.  He very much enjoyed his personal space and this weird horse thing was invading it.  "Okay that's close enough." he said as he pulled against his restraints and leaned back further.

Shining Armor noticed the creature was trying to break free of the restraints and stepped forward with his horn lighting up, ready to cast a knockout spell should the human prove to be stronger than they thought.  "Princess, you should step back.  I don't think it likes you being so close."  Shining took Luna's place as she backed away and he glared at the human with a stern look, doing all he could to let it know that he wasn't afraid of it.  The human wasn't intimidated, however, at his show of aggression.  It only chuckled as it spoke "Oh, so you must the tough guy here.  Let me guess, you're supposed to scare me into submission aren't you?"  He pretended to be scared of him as he continued to speak "Please don't hurt me!  I'm so scared.  Someone help me, there's a big terrifying unicorn threatening to take my lunch money!"

"SHINING!!!" Cadence yelled as she picked up her husband with her magic and dropped him next to her, smacking him upside the head with her hoof.  "What are you thinking!?!  Are you trying to make enemies with him?" she said as she pointed her hoof back at the human.  Shining Armor glared back at the human as he rubbed the spot on the back of his head where Cadence hit him.  "He was trying to break free!" he said trying to defend himself as everypony in the room was glaring at him.

"You scared the poor thing!  How could you?"  Fluttershy said with a louder tone of voice than normal (to her she was yelling) as she walked up to the human.  "Oh you poor thing, it's ok, he won't hurt you."  she said as she reared up and rested her front hooves on his shoulders.  She was slightly startled when he winced in pain at her touch, and immediately felt sorry when she realized that she hurt him, ironically.  "Oh no!  I'm so sorry!  I didn't mean to hurt you.  Here, let's get you out of these straps."

Fluttershy began to undo the strap on his right hand but Rainbow Dash stopped her before she could get it all the way off.  "What are doing!?!  He could be dangerous!" she said as she grabbed her friend's hooves to stop her but she was too late and the strap was loosened to the point where he was able to get his hand free.  Everypony in the room gasped as he quickly ripped his hand free and shook it a few times to get the blood flowing back into his hand.

"Ah that's much better.  See, was that so hard?  Thank you sweetie, you I like." he said as he gave Fluttershy a smile.  She could tell that the smile was sincere and didn't resist when he put his now free hand on her head and scratched behind her ear.  She giggled and turned to face everypony in the room who were staring in awe at her.  It wasn't the first time Fluttershy did something like this, she once calmed a wild manticore that was throwing a fit all because of a thorn in its paw.  Her cutie mark was from her special talent she had when it came to dealing with animals so it really shouldn't have surprised anypony that she was able to get on his good side.

"See?  He's not bad.  He was just scared, but he seems to have a lot of bruises.  It looks like he got in a fight with something before he came through the portal." she said as she took flight and hovered in front of the human.  She looked closely at the bruises on his face, the human once again shifting uncomfortably at how close she was.  'Do these things have any sense of personal space?' he thought to himself.  She suddenly opened his mouth with her hooves and looked at his teeth.  He sat there with a blank expression 'what the hell is it doing.' he thought.  'Wait...what am I doing?' he thought as he remembered that his hand was free and decided that he had enough of them invading his personal space bubble and pushed her back gently but with just enough force to let her know that he didn't like them being so close to him.

Fluttershy had a worried expression on her face as fear started to creep back into her.  "Oh...my..." she said as she landed and slowly backed away with her head lowered and tail tucked.  

Twilight was the first to speak up among the group "What's wrong Fluttershy?" she asked, curious as to why she went from being confident that he meant no harm to suddenly being afraid of him.

"He...he's a...predator." Fluttershy said with with fear in her voice.

"So?  You have plenty of 'em back at yer cottage, don't ya sugarcube?"  Applejack asked.  She knew her friend has plenty of experience dealing with creatures that would make a meal out of a pony if given the chance, so she wondered why she was so scared of this one, especially since they were getting along so well a moment ago.

"Well yes but it took some time before I was able to befriend them.  Predators take a while to domesticate, especially if they're already matured." Fluttershy said as she looked back at the human, who was more focused on undoing his restraints.  He already got his other hand and right leg free and was now working on the last one.  Once it was off he slowly rose to his feet, groaning as his aching muscles and bruises cried in protest.  Everypony was watching him as he rose, but he wasn't able to stand straight up as his head collided with the ceiling with a thud.  The sudden pain made him kneel down and hold the back of his head in pain.

Shining Armor decided that the session was over upon seeing that he was free and rushed everypony out of the room.  "Get out now!  Guards, lock the door!"  The two guards complied with the orders as Shining closed the door after shoving everypony out.  He heard the clicking of the locks on the other side, indicating that he was now locked inside the cell with the human.  "Alright, we can do this the easy way or the hard way, but you're going back in that chair." he said, gritting his teeth and kicking at the floor with his front right hoof.

Shining Armor waited for the human to attack first but it just stood there with a grin on its face.  "Oh come on now do we really have to do this?  You're almost as adorable as the others, uh, no homo or anything." Curtis said as he got in a fighting stance, ready for the unicorn to charge him.  The two locked eyes, slowly circling around the chair in the center, both waiting for the other to strike first.  A voice came from the other side of the door and Shining recognized it as his not-so-loving wife's voice.

"SHINING ARMOR WILL YOU STOP BEING SO HARD HEADED FOR TWO SECONDS!?!" Cadence said as she looked through the viewport.  "You there, open this door right  now!" Cadence yelled at the guard who was shaking in fear from the princess.  Never in all of his years of service had he ever heard the Princess of Love raise her voice to one of her guards.  Completely ignoring the captain's orders he unlocked the door and let the princess in.  She jumped in and picked the two of them up in her magic and slammed the two against the wall and held them there.  Celestia walked in behind her niece, and gave the captain of the guard a look that sent shivers down his spine.  "I am severely disappointed in you Shining Armor.  How could you treat our guest with such hostility?" she said as she looked over to the human who appeared unconscious.  Concerned that Cadence might have accidentally knocked him out when she threw him against the wall, she ordered her to let them down, to which she complied upon seeing that the human wasn't moving.

Immediately feeling a great sense of dread wash over her as the human layed down on the floor without moving a muscle, she rushed over to him and placed a hoof on his shoulder and shook him.  No response, not even a twitch.  "Oh no..." Cadence said under her breath, tears starting to well up in her eyes as she started to fear the worst.  She rolled him over onto his back and looked carefully for any signs of life.  No movement.  His arms and legs were still, his eyes were shut, and his chest wasn't rising and falling like it was earlier, indicating he wasn't breathing.  It was at this point everypony else had crept their way into the room to see what was going on and looked at the scene in front of them with horror.  Tears were beginning to roll down Cadence's cheeks as the likelihood of her accidentally killing the human when she slammed him against the wall with her magic became more and more possible.  Hoping that she was wrong, she put her ear up next to the human's nostrils to listen for any breathing.  Time seemed to slow to a crawl as she waited to hear the sound of air being sucked into the creature's lungs and pushed back out, but it never came.  Her rear legs gave out and she fell on her rump as the weight of her actions came down on her.  Everypony else started to tear up as well, coming to the same conclusion that Cadence had.

Shining Armor sat next to his wife and wrapped her in a tight embrace as he whispered into her ear "Oh Cadence, I am so, so sorry."  Shining couldn't help but shed a few tears himself, realizing that his actions are what lead to the current situation.  He looked down at the human who was lying still, hoping to see him show some sign that he was still alive.  He was just trying to protect everypony, he didn't want to kill the thing.  It was too late for that now, and they must accept it.  Cadence was crying into his chest, his coat wet from her tears.  He knew Cadence was going to take this whole ordeal the hardest.  She was such a kind and gentle pony and she never wanted to cause harm to anypony.  He looked at the group of ponies standing behind him and many of them had a sad expression on their face with tears streaming down.  Others were silently crying as well, but with angry looks directed towards him, blaming him for the human's death, and rightfully so.  He called over the guards with a choking voice and said "Please, escort everypony out of here. I'll... I'm going to take care of the body."  The guards sensed the tension in the room and everypony except Cadence and Shining Armor slowly exited the room.

Shining Armor lifted his wife to her hooves and spoke with a somber tone of voice "I'm so sorry Cadence...I didn't mean for this to happen.  I was just trying to protect everypo-" he was cut short as he looked into Cadence's eyes, seeing how much she was hurting on the inside.  Seeing her in that much emotional pain took away his ability to speak.  She opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out.  She clenched her eyes shut and looked down in shame, her ears flat against her head.  After a moment of silence Cadence slowly picked her head back up and looked into her husband's eyes.

"What have I done?" was all she was able to get out before her sadness took over once more and fell back into her husband's chest.  He held her close, the only sounds that could be heard was Cadence's soft sobs.  After a few minutes Shining picked her head up to say something, but Cadence was so ashamed of herself she refused to look him in the eyes and instead focused on the deceased human lying on the floor.  "It's not your fault, Cadence.  You should head up with the rest of them.  I'll take care of... of him."  he said looking at the human.  Cadence nodded in agreement and walked towards the door.  Stopping just before she exited, she looked back at her husband and said "Don't take too long, please."  Shining looked at his wife with a loving smile and said "I promise."  That was enough for Cadence and she walked out of the cell and back up to the castle with her head hanging low.

Shining Armor stared at the empty doorway, thinking to himself 'What am I going to do?  What do I even say?'  He decided that these questions would have to be answered later and that he needed to take care of the body.  It was a shame that it ended the way it did, he even brought the bag that the human had with him down here hoping that he could show them what the things inside it did and how to use them.  There was no limit as to how useful alien technology could be.  From what he could tell they looked pretty sophisticated.  He was about to walk out and get a cart to put the human's body on, but he heard a noise come from behind him.  He stopped in his tracks, curious as to where the noise came from considering he was the only living thing in the room.  His eyes went wide and he gasped in fear from what he saw when he looked behind him but before he could react a crushing blow hit him in the side of the head and knocked him out cold.

















"Surprise motherfucker."

> Freedom
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


***A few moments ago from Curtis' point of view***


After the pink one with wings and a horn burst into the room the next thing I knew I was flying backwards and smacked into the wall behind me.  The impact was enough to force the air out of my lungs and almost knocked me unconscious.  My first instinct was to resist against the glowing pink hue that surrounded me since that's what seemed to be holding me in the air and against the wall.  Before I made any sort of movement, an idea popped into my head.  An idea that I was 90% sure wasn't going to work but decided it was worth a shot anyways.  Instead of struggling to get free I closed my eyes, breathed out and made my body go limp.  The large white one that also had both wings and a horn walked in behind the pink one and said something to the white unicorn that was ready to fight me a few moments earlier.  Judging from the tone in its voice it was angry with the unicorn, but I didn't really care.  I was focused on doing my best impression of a dead body and hoped that my captors would be dumb enough to buy it.  The room got silent for a few seconds and I thought that they were on to me when the force field holding me was suddenly gone and I dropped to the floor.  I kept up the act though in case they weren't and continued to feign death.  

The room went silent again for a few seconds and then I heard the sound of hooves rushing up behind me and felt one of them shake me on the shoulder.  'Holy shit they're actually buying it!' I thought as the hoof on my shoulder rolled me over onto my back.  I resisted the urge to smile at that thought and held the act perfectly.  I heard the other weird looking horses walk into the cell and knew that all eyes were on me.  I assumed that the one that was next to me leaned its head down and put its ear right in front of my face when I felt what seemed like hair brush against my chest and I could suddenly smell perfume.  This was a critical moment in my plan.  If I moved or so much as breathed in the slightest this plan would fail and I would be stuck locked in this cell for God knows how long.  I kept my mouth shut and my body completely relaxed and denied my lungs the air they were starting to cry for.

I seemed to be pulling off the playing dead thing pretty well because after a few excruciatingly slow seconds ticked by the horse that was next to me pulled its head back, signaling that it must have came to the conclusion that I was dead.  The thought that this crazy plan might actually work was exciting but I kept my bearing and waited for the sounds of them leaving.  I then heard a noise that I wasn't quite expecting.  It wasn't a noise that startled me into blowing my cover, no.  It was a noise that sounded like a woman crying and I felt a few drops of something wet drip onto my face and chest.  'Is...is that thing really crying?' I thought.  I heard another set of hooves walk up next to me and say something to the other horse that was sitting next to me.  I recognized the voice as the white unicorn's and there was another moment of silence before the white unicorn said something else and then I heard the sounds of the other horses walking out of the cell and down the hallway.

Assuming that the white unicorn told the rest of them to leave, it was down to me, the white unicorn, and the other horse that I didn't know what to call.  The two horses exchanged a few more words in their alien language and eventually one of them walked out of the cell and down the hall, meaning that if I did my math correctly, it was down to me and one of the horses.  At this point it felt like my lungs were on fire and I decided it was finally time to act.  'Alright, it's now or never.' I thought to myself and slowly cracked open an eye to see what the current situation was.  I smiled when I saw that it was just me and that white unicorn that were in the cell, and better yet it had its back turned to me, completely unaware of the fact that I was still alive.  'Perfect' I thought to myself as I slowly and quietly rose and drew in a long and quiet breath of air.  Remaining crouched as I remembered the smack my head got when I first attempted to stand straight up, I stepped carefully and quietly as I closed the gap between me and my prey.  I was right behind the unicorn and readied myself to put the unicorn in a headlock and choke him out.  However, these ponies seem to have better hearing than humans so when I was about to jump the white unicorn it turned its head around at the last second and saw me.  We locked eyes and I knew that if I didn't act fast the white unicorn would alert the others and my one chance at freedom would be gone like a fart in the wind.

Instead of going for the quick and quiet blood choke that I had planned I instead brought my foot up and kicked with all my strength into the unicorn's head.  The unicorn's head whipped in the opposite direction from the impact and collapsed to the floor.  Not wanting to become a victim of my own idea I made sure the unicorn was knocked out by lifting the unicorn's head by the horn and shook it a few times.  The white unicorn laid there with no resistance or excess movement that would indicate that it was faking and I laid its head back down, satisfied that my plan was working.

"Surprise motherfucker" I whispered into the unicorn's ear before leaving my would-be cell.  I peaked my head out and looked both ways and when I didn't see any more of them I decided it was safe to leave.  I did notice a rather large bag on a cart next to the door to my cell and decided to look in it to see if there was anything in there that may aid in my escape.  I unzipped the large duffel bag, opened it up and I felt like a kid on Christmas morning when they first see all the presents sitting underneath the tree.

I was so excited about my very fortunate find that I couldn't help but double fist the air and quietly yell "FUCK YEAH" under my breath.  The bag contained nothing short of a small arsenal of weapons and tactical gear.  I looked around to make sure that nobody was coming before grabbing the bag and heading back into the cell to put on all the gear.  I cracked the door open to make it look less suspicious without locking myself in and threw off my shoes and orange prison jumpsuit to put on the black cargo pants and top and laced up the black steel toed boots that fit perfectly.  I grabbed the black flack jacket and threw that on as well.  Fortunately it already had all of the magazine pouches fastened on and I filled the three magazine pouches with the nine magazines that were already fully loaded with ammo.  It also had a combat knife strapped onto the left shoulder and a machete on the back.  I then put on the black balaclava that covered all of my face except for my eyes and the bridge of my nose and put on the black finger-less gloves that had Kevlar knuckles and strapped on the black Kevlar helmet that even had a pair of night vision goggles on the front of them and a small flashlight on the side.

Next was my favorite part.  I grabbed the M16A4 rifle that had an ACOG scope on the top and a M203 grenade launcher on the bottom and I slung it across the front of my chest.  I couldn't wipe the smile from my face as I strapped the two pistol holsters each containing an M9 around my left and right thighs.  The bag was mostly empty, save for a few ammo boxes, a gas mask, a cleaning kit, some food rations, a canteen, and suppressors for my rifle and pistols which I decided to attach since the silent approach was probably the best way to go in this situation.

I zipped the bag up and put on the strap so that it was carried on my back and opposite of my rifle.  I took one last glance back at the unconscious unicorn to make sure it wasn't about to wake up and saw that it was lying still.  I opened the door to the cell and looked both ways out of the hallway, trying to decide which way was the exit.  I remembered when the others walked away that it sounded like they went to the right and decided to go that way, hoping they were heading for the exit as well.  I quickly and quietly walked with my rifle pointing down the hall, ready to shoot anyone and anything that got in my way.  I stopped when I came to a solid wooden door, thinking only for a second on what to do.  Since I didn't know who or what was on the other side, I knocked on the door to see if there was a response.  A muffled voice came from the other side and I quickly pressed myself against the side next to the doorway so that whoever came through wouldn't immediately see me and give me just enough time to strike first.  The door opened, swinging inward so that I was behind the door and I heard hoofsteps come through the doorway.  Once I saw the apparent guard in his golden armor I came up behind him and smacked him in the back of the head with the rifle butt knocking him out instantly and turned around to see another guard standing in the doorway with a horrified look on its face.  We locked eyes and the expression on the guard's face changed from fear to anger as it charged me, spear at the ready.

I easily deflected the spear with the barrel of my rifle, throwing the guard off balance as he ran past me.  I gave him a smack with the rifle butt as the guard ran past me and landed next to his comrade.  These miniature horses weren't the best fighters but seemed determined to keep me here.  I decided that they were my enemy when I woke up strapped in a chair in a prison cell, but decided that it may not be in my best interests to go around killing every single one I saw.  The fact that the yellow one with the long pink mane let me free and the way that the big white one with the sun tattooed on its ass scolded the white unicorn was enough for me to consider that maybe they didn't mean any harm.  But then again if they had any good intentions I probably wouldn't have been strapped to a chair in a dungeon.  I looked down at the two unconscious guards and felt pity for them.  'If spears are the best weapons these things have to offer then killing them later shouldn't prove to be a challenge' I reasoned and turned towards the doorway and walked out, closing the door behind me.

There was a winding staircase at the end of the large room I was in.  I noticed that there were no windows in the building I was in and assumed I was currently underground.  I went up the staircase, rifle at the ready and reached the top where a small entrance room sat empty with a door on the opposite end.  I slowly approached the door and knocked on it and awaited a response which never came.  I decided it was safe to go through and slowly opened the door and a soft, cool breeze came through which I was grateful for.  That one long breath of fresh air was the second to happiest thing to happen to me since awakening, the first being the duffel bag filled with everything I needed to get the hell out of here.

I was finally out of the dungeon that these weird horses were keeping me prisoner in, but I still had to slip out and escape from the city unnoticed.  Fortunately, it was night out and the cloud cover didn't allow for much of the moon's light to shine down, creating a pitch black darkness that covered everything except the occasional sources of light coming from the windows.  There was a soft and constant breeze that carried a chill with it, indicating that the season was either late fall or early winter.  I wasn't concerned about the weather, however, and my only focus was getting as far away from this would-be prison as possible.  I looked down the empty roads trying to decide which way to go when I saw a ladder leading up to the rooftops.  I would be able to get a better view of my surroundings and maybe find a way out from up there but it would also mean risking silhouetting myself against the night sky.  I looked around once more to make sure nobody was around and decided to climb up to get a better look.

I made it to the rooftop and took in what little I could with the low level of lighting, then remembered I had NVGs and cursed myself for my shitty memory.  After I flipped them down and turned them on I was astonished as to how deep in the city I actually was.  When I first came out of the dungeon I figured I was in a more secluded area but I could only see buildings that I assumed to be houses, shops, restaurants... the typical things one would see in an urban area.  The only thing that stood out was the giant castle looking structure that was less than half a mile away.  I was certain that is where the other horses from earlier were at, and was anxious to let them know how much I "appreciated" their hospitality.

However, I was a seasoned fighter, and knew that castle would likely be full of patrols looking for trespassers.  I decided that vengeance would have to wait, and climbed back down to the ground and set off at a quick walking pace towards what looked like a train station.

I kept my eyes sharp, rifle at the ready and eyes sweeping the area in front of me and to the sides to make sure that no one was around to spot me.  Seeing an alien at this time of night would probably scare the locals half to death and run off screaming, alerting any others that were around to hear, including the night patrols that were surely roaming the streets looking for any trouble makers.  I was confident that I would be able to take them on no problem since the most advanced weaponry  I've seen from them are little more than pointy sticks and dispatching them with a few silent shots would be easy, but killing the inhabitants would only make matters worse for the time being and so I decided to stick to the shadows and play it safe.

After a few twists and turns that almost made me lose my bearings, the train station was only a few blocks away but I could see movement around the entrance.  A night watch, except this one looked a little different than the others I saw.  The sky was clearing up a bit and the moon was starting to glow brightly and so I turned off the NVGs and flipped them up to take a second look at the night guard.  The guard that was standing at the entrance had bat-like wings and fangs, much different from all the other small horses I've seen.  This guard must have been specially trained and bred so that he would be most efficient at night, his dark grey coat almost making him blend into the night.  The only detail about him that made him stand out from the dark was his bright yellow cat eyes.  'Man these things just keep getting weirder and weirder.'

I snuck around to the side of the train station hoping to get by unnoticed and without having to knock out any more guards.  The first few were tolerable but from here on out any abnormal occurrences would just leave behind a trail leading straight to me and I needed to disappear.  The train station was only a small building with an outdoor waiting area with a roof overhead so getting in wasn't a challenge.  Once inside I began to look around for a map of any sort and had a stroke of luck when I found a map of what looked like the entire country, but it was hard to tell given that it was all written in their language, which was hieroglyphic in writing.  'Well this ain't much to go on, but it's better than nothing.' I thought as I observed the map, trying to recognize some key features that would show me where I was at.  Towards the top of the map there was a picture of the castle that I saw earlier and figured that is where I was at.  "Okay so I'm here then that means I need to go...ah ha! there." I said quietly as I pointed to an area that was on the opposite end of the map that looked like a forest.  That is where the map cut off, meaning either that this map was only of the northern part of this land or that the area beyond the forest is unexplored, which would be a good place for someone who wanted to disappear and never be found.

I exited the station quietly so that I wouldn't alert the guard to my presence, and since it was still looking in the same direction it was when I first came in then he was probably completely oblivious to my presence.  I was about to make my escape when I caught sight of another one of the bat-horse creatures flying towards the station as fast as it could.  I hid behind the corner of the building and hoped that the one flying in didn't spot me and listened closely for the sound of any hoofsteps or wings that may be coming towards my hiding place.  I was a little relieved when I heard the flying one land next to the guard and speak frantically in their alien tongue.  'Sounds like they found the bodies.'  More of the creatures came by to reinforce the first two guards and then I saw the large dark blue horse with both wings and a horn that was trying to gaze into my soul when I was tied up in the dungeon.  It said something to the guards and flew off, probably to pass the word that there is an escaped alien armed to the teeth that has already taken out three of their comrades.

The group of guards spread out and began to search the area, thinking that I was going to try to escape the city by train, which they were half right.  I planned on travelling along the tracks to reach my destination, but I was planning to go on foot  since a train travelling down the tracks at an unscheduled time would be a dead giveaway.  I looked around and the only other cover around was the train that was parked at the station for the night and I decided that I would have a better chance of hiding from the guards underneath the cars rather than out in the open.  I quickly took off the duffel bag and tossed it underneath the car and followed it in the same fashion and I was lying still between the wheels of the car to give me the most cover.  The guards were patrolling around the train, checking inside the cars for anyone that wasn't supposed to be in them.  I could hear them walking around and inside the car directly above me, praying that none of them were smart enough to think to look underneath the train.

Everything seemed to be going well all things considered.  My escape thus far was proving to be an easy one, and the guards were beginning to move on from the train, giving up on the possibility that the escaped alien was hiding on board, but little did they know I was right underneath their noses...literally.  After a few minutes passed by the sounds of hoofsteps went away and the only noise that could be heard were the sounds of the whistling winds.  I assumed that the guards have moved on and was about to take a peek to see if the coast was clear but before I could the train's whistle gave off two blows and lurched forward.  "Oh shit..." I said out loud and without missing a beat I grabbed my duffel bag and threw it out from underneath the train and rolled out just in time before the wheels of the train split me down the middle.

I threw the bag onto a passing cargo car and hopped on behind it as the train rolled out of the station.  Fortunately nobody saw me board and now I was on a long train ride to God knows where on an alien planet run by miniature horses with horns and wings.  A few minutes after my escape the adrenaline was almost out of my system and I could start to feel the cold temperature.  I didn't care much, winter has always been my favorite season and I enjoyed the colder weather.  It was a clear and starry night and the moon was shining brightly.  I may no longer be on Earth, but I had to admit this planet did have a much better night sky than Earth did.  I sat on the edge of the doorway and took in the view as I compared them to the map I got back at the train station.  I was certain that the city I was just in was the one in the northern part of the map because there was a picture of the castle I saw earlier at the center of it and the snow covered mountains were another indication of it as well.  I followed the tracks with my finger and my hopes of making a clean getaway were getting more and more dim as I saw how far away the forest actually was from the city.  Not only that, there were also more stops along the way, one in what looked like another major city on the side of a mountain and another stop in what looked like a small town.

I knew that word of my escape would travel and if the authorities there got word before the train arrived then getting by unnoticed was going to be much more difficult.  I sat and thought about what I was gonna do when I arrived at the first stop but then I got an idea.  'You know what, fuck it, this train ain't gonna stop until I say it does.'  I slung the duffel bag onto my back and climbed up to the roof of the car I was in and made my way to the train's engine by jumping from one car to the next.  Once I reached the engine I was relieved to see that there was only one horse (what was the name for small horses again? Ponies? Yeah that's it!) well one "pony" occupying the conductor's  cabin and it was currently sticking its head out the window and looking towards the station.  'Looks like he's getting ready to stop the train, we'll see about that.'  I hopped down to the platform just outside the door to the conductor's cabin.  The conductor didn't hear me land which only made things easier.  It wasn't until I opened the door that the conductor finally realized that he wasn't alone.  The conductor looked towards the door to see who it was and was instantly frozen with fear when he saw me standing in the doorway.

"Hey there buddy!  You look a little tired, how about I take over for a while, huh?" I said.  The conductor just stood there looking at me with a horrified look on his face.  I took a step towards him and the conductor reared up and wildly kicked his legs and let out a panic induced scream.  The flailing and screaming stallion was no match for me as I easily manhandled the pony into a headlock while keeping him up on his rear legs.  This only made the poor conductor panic more as he tried to escape my tightening grip but only succeeded in tiring himself out.  Once he stopped resisting I decided to have some fun with the conductor, I was probably gonna be stuck in this world for a while so why not make the most out of it?  I removed the conductor's hat and stroked his mane while making a shushing noise into his ear.  The conductor finally gave up and realized I was too strong for him to break free.

He was starting to tear up because he was so scared and started rambling in its horse language.  If I had to guess it was probably saying "Please... please don't kill me!  I have a family!"

I continued to pet the conductor's mane as I whispered into its ear "Hush now, it's okay.  I'm not gonna hurt you.  I actually need your help.  You see, I need to get to the forest which is to the south of here and it's a very long ways away.  So, I need you to do me a little favor and just keep this train rolling through whatever stops there are along the way and you will be free to go."  I said this knowing that the conductor wouldn't understand a word I was saying.  The conductor was struggling to breathe so I let him go and he landed on his front legs but then collapsed from exhaustion and gasped for air.

"Oh I am so sorry, I didn't realize I had that tight of a grip on ya."  I said and patted the conductor on the head which startled him and he backed into a corner.  "Now that's a good pony, just stay in the corner and make yourself comfy, we're gonna be in here for a while." I said as the train rolled straight through the station without slowing down.  Once the conductor realized that we just zoomed through the stop he was supposed to make he made a move for the controls but I blocked his path and readied my rifle.  "Oh no you don't.  I am the conductor now."  The conductor looked at me with a fearful look on his face and then shrunk back into the corner.  He muttered to himself as he sat back down, not knowing what would become of him. 





All Aboard has worked for the Friendship Express for many years.  He knew every stop the train made and at what time it made them and he was proud to claim that the train was always on schedule ever since he became head conductor.  However, that would all change for what started out as a regular shift took a drastic turn for the worse.  The train was hijacked by this odd looking creature for Faust knows what reason and seemed determined to ruin his reputation of always being on schedule.  Since they blew past the stop in Canterlot they were due to arrive in Ponyville fifteen minutes early.

Not that anypony would notice, of course.  Hardly anypony rode the train at this time of day and the only passengers on board were the elements of harmony and they would all be sleeping at this time so it's not like they would notice they skipped a stop.  'Wait a minute, the elements!  They will know how to deal with this creature!' All Aboard thought to himself, now if only he could slip back to the passenger cabin they were in so that he could alert them of the situation.  He looked up at the creature that was holding him hostage and saw that it appeared to have dozed off at some point.  He wasn't going to waste this opportunity and quietly got up and opened the door.  The creature didn't notice the extra noise and the conductor slipped out and gently shut the door behind him and took one last look back to make sure the thing wasn't waking up.  Once he saw that it was still out he made a mad dash through the cars to the center car where the elements were seated.

He burst through the door with a loud crash that woke up all the elements, or at least most of them.  Rainbow Dash was still snoring away on the cushioned bench she claimed to herself and was currently sprawled out on.  Princess Twilight noticed the distress on his face and approached him.

"Uh, is there something wrong?" she asked.

"Come quick, there's a monster that has taken over the train and it was holding me hostage!" he spat out in his panic.  That answer only made the others more confused than what they already were by his sudden arrival.

"Umm...what?" Was all Twilight could respond with.  She had no idea what it was that made this stallion get so spooked but decided that it would be best to investigate anyways.

"Alright, come on girls, let's go see what the conductor is talking about and...Rainbow?" Twilight noticed that they were short by one and looked over to where Rainbow Dash was laying down and saw that she was still out like a light even after what just happened.  She sighed and face hoofed, not surprised at all by her friend's unique ability to sleep through almost anything.  "Will somepony please wake up Rainbow Dash?" she asked the group with an annoyed tone in her voice.  She was already annoyed by the rude awakening from the conductor and just wanted to get back to her home after last night's events.

"Don't worry sugarcube, ah' got this." said an enthusiastic Applejack.  She trotted up behind Rainbow's seat and bucked her onto the floor.  Not using too much force of course, she didn't want to hurt her friend, just wake her up so that she could accompany the rest of the elements to confront whatever this "monster" was.

Rainbow Dash landed on the floor of the car with an "oomf."  She shook her head and flew up into the air in agitation.  "Seriously, what is it with you girls and all the crappy ways you find to wake a mare up from her nap."  She asked with an irritated tone of voice.

Applejack trotted over to the rest of the group waiting by the door as she replied "We just don't want Equestria's number one flier to miss out on any of the fun stuff is all." she replied while chuckling to herself.  Applejack and Rainbow Dash were good friends, but they always took an opportunity to jab at the other, all in good fun of course.  It was just a part of their competitive personalities.

Rainbow Dash didn't say anything in return, she just grumbled to herself as she flew over and landed next to Applejack.  "Miss out on what?  What in the hay is going on?" she asked.

"Please hurry, there is some sort of creature in control of the engine and it has been holding me hostage ever since we passed through Canterlot!  I was lucky enough that the creature dozed off and I managed to slip away but it may wake up any minute now and we need to stop it.  Who knows what it's planning!" All Aboard shot out, still shaken from his experience.

"Oh, is that all? Well come on girls, let's go get that thing!" Rainbow Dash said as she flew for the door but she was yanked back to her original place by Applejack when she grabbed her tail with her mouth and pulled her down.

"Hold on now RD, ah' reckon this is somethin' we may wanna be more careful with.  If that thing up there is as frightenin' as he makes it out to be then it could be dangerous." Applejack said.

"Applejack is right, don't worry sir, we'll take care of whatever it is that has taken over the train."  Twilight said.  But before they could make their way up to the front, the train jolted and it seemed to be slowly losing speed.  "That didn't sound good." she said as they all looked to each other with worried expressions.





I was jolted awake by a bump in the tracks and saw the town that was to be the second stop coming up.  "Well it looks like I'm almost there."  I turned around to check on the pony that was in the room with me but it was gone.  "Oh you sneaky little bastard." I cursed and looked out the window to see the sunrise and could just make out the train station in the distance and I could see multiple little spots and some were moving around.  'Damn, looks like there are more of those fuckers waiting at the station.  Well I guess I better think of something.'  I decided that my best chances are to make a jump for it and opened the door to jump but noticed something when I stepped out.  The train was moving fast enough that if I did jump, I would probably walk away with a broken bone or two.  I looked at the system of levers, switches and gauges that were the train controls and had no idea how to work them.  I did notice, however, that there was a unique looking lever next to me.  "Well, worth a shot I guess." I said to myself and pulled the lever which took some force but once pulled entirely to the other side there was a metallic click and a jolt from the train engine and the cars that were once attached to the train engine were now unhinged and slowly lost speed while the train engine kept moving forward.

"Huh, it worked." I said to myself, surprised.  I was about to turn around and head back into the cabin when I noticed something in the passenger car that just unhooked was coming towards the front and saw none other than the conductor accompanied by six of my would-be captors from last night.  I smiled as I slowly raised my hand and flipped them off as the car they were on slowed down more and more while the train engine I was on went faster and faster from losing all of the weight it was pulling.  "Not today bitches!" I yelled at them.  I didn't care if they could hear or understand me or not, it still felt damn good saying it.  I turned around and entered the conductor's cabin and slammed the door shut, satisfied with my victory and the train engine blew through the train station at the small town and kept on chugging forward.  There was a map on the side of the cabin that was similar to the one I had and it showed all of the stops.  It appeared that the entire region was connected in one giant loop.  According to the map there were no stops near the forest, and the next station was in another city that was probably hours away.

Realizing that this was as close as I was going to get to the forest by train, I started messing with the controls to find the brakes.  After a few wrong guesses I finally found the lever that activated the brakes and the train came to a screeching halt.  "Well I guess this is my stop." I said and hopped off the train.  I was at least ten miles out from the town and it didn't look like any search party was coming for me and the edge of the forest was only a few hundred yards away, all I had to do was cross an open field and I would likely never be found.  I took off running towards the edge of the forest but when I got there I stopped and took a good look.  The vegetation was thick and even though the sun was rising very little sunlight shown through the treetops which gave the forest an eerie appearance.  I looked back in the direction of the town and decided that I would be better off taking my chances with the forest than facing off against my captors.  I wasn't afraid of them, but I didn't know enough about them to know how to properly fight them.  One of the worst mistakes anyone can make is underestimating their enemy and I decided that it would be best to lay low for a while and watch them from a distance and see what I could learn.

With that in mind I took off into the forest where I hoped that nobody would ever find me and I could begin to form a plan to get back to Earth and get revenge on those who have wrongfully imprisoned me.





(If this story had an intro song, this would be it and this is where it would start playing)

> Curtis the Dragon Slayer
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was early morning and Celestia's sun was beginning to rise.  The sun's orange glow shined through Applebloom's bedroom window and the little filly began to stir from the light.  She was used to getting up at the crack of dawn and she stretched and yawned as she started to plan her day.  It was the first day of the weekend which meant no school and applebucking season doesn't start until a few more weeks.  Sweetie Belle was staying with her parents for the weekend and Rainbow Dash was going to take Scootaloo to Cloudsdale so she had the whole day to herself.  She enjoyed hanging out with her two best friends but every filly needs to have a day to herself once in a while and she was going to put all of her free time to good use.  Before she could head out, she needed to get some breakfast in her belly so she got out of bed, went through her morning ritual of brushing her teeth and mane and went downstairs to the kitchen.  Before she even reached the bottom she could smell the food cooking and, just like every meal on the farm, it's delicious smell made her mouth water and stomach growl.

"Mornin' granny! Mornin' Big Mac!" she said with more enthusiasm than usual.

"Well good mornin' to you too Applebloom!  What are you so excited about?" Granny Smith asked as she finished cooking the last batch of apple crumble waffles and set them on the table.

"Oh nothing much, just thought I might head over to Zecora's later today.  She has been meaning to teach me more about potions and since I ain't got anythin' else to do I figured that today would be a good day to see her."  Applebloom replied.

Granny Smith couldn't help but feel a little worried about the filly going into the Everfree forest all on her own.  She knew that Applebloom has made multiple trips to get lessons from Zecora and she enjoyed each and every one of them but the forest is still a dangerous place for a little filly to be all on her own.

"Really?  Well I suppose it would okay, but only if Big Mac can accompany you on the way over. That darn forest is no place for a filly to go explorin' in all by her lonesome."  Granny said.

Big Mac downed a waffle in two bites and gave his trademark "eeyup" response.

"But Granny, I've made the trip plenty of times already by mah' self, and it ain't like I'm gonna be explorin', ah take the same path to her hut every time.  It's the same one she takes to get to Ponyville.  It ain't dangerous ah swear!"  Applebloom pleaded.

"Well it may not be dangerous but ah don't think Applejack would appreciate it much if I let you go on your own.  She is supposed to be back sometime this morning, why don't you wait a while for her to come back?  I'm sure she would be interested in seeing what this Zecora has been teaching you about magical potions and elixirs and what not."  Granny said, trying to convince the filly to go with somepony to protect her.

"Applejack ain't gonna wanna come!  She's gonna be plum tuckered out when she gets back from the long train ride from the Crystal Empire." Applebloom argued.

Big Mac downed two more waffles while listening to the two. He swallowed the last bite and gave another "eeyup" in agreement with Applebloom.  Instead of reaching for a fourth waffle, he decided that it was his time to add his part to the conversation.

"Come on now Granny Smith, let Applebloom go on her own.  She's made the trip plenty of times now on her own and she's starting to grow up. I'm certain she will be perfectly fine."  Big Mac said.

"See!  Big Mac agrees with me!"  Applebloom added.

Granny Smith rolled her eyes and gave in.  "Oh alright, you can go, but first why don't you sit down and enjoy some breakfast.  You have all day so there ain't no need to be in a rush."

Applebloom beamed with happiness that Granny Smith said she could go.  She hopped up to her chair, ate her share of waffles as fast as she could and trotted out the door while yelling back to the two "Thanks Granny!  Thanks Big Mac!"

The two earth ponies waved goodbye to the young filly and Granny Smith shouted "Be back before sunset."

Applebloom waved in response and trotted off to the path that she took to get to Zecora's hut.  On her way over she took in the scenery around her.  The sun was shining warm and bright and the apples on the trees were a bright red.  Applebuck season wasn't far off and once it came most of her time would be taken up with chores around the farm and helping her sister and her brother with the harvesting.  She decided to take a longer route to the forest which went around Ponyville instead of through it, taking in the natural beauty of the surrounding hills and plains.  Off in the distance though she could hear a screeching noise that sounded like the brakes on a train.  'That must be Applejack's train arriving, I'll say howdy when I get back later today.' she thought to herself.  Then she realized that the Ponyville train station was about ten miles back from where she was.  Confused as to why the train was making a sudden stop out here she looked to the tracks and saw that there was only the engine and no cars attached to it.  'What in the hay is goin' on?' she pondered to herself.

What she saw next made her question if she was actually awake, or if she was just having a dream that felt real.  She kicked herself lightly to make sure she wasn't dreaming and the small amount of pain told her that what she was seeing was most certainly real.  A strange creature dressed in all black and stood on its hind legs got off the train engine and ran towards the Everfree forest.  Applebloom crouched down hoping that whatever that strange looking thing was wouldn't spot her and thankfully it didn't.  It stopped just in front of the forest, briefly looked back towards Ponyville and then it ran inside the forest.  Her first instincts were to run back to the farm and tell her family about what she just saw, but she knew that they wouldn't believe her for a second and would probably ban her from ever getting more lessons from Zecora thinking that she experimented a little too much with hallucinogenic potions.  With that in mind she followed the strange looking alien into the forest, making sure to keep a safe distance so that it couldn't hear her or see her.





I ran through the forest, doing my best to follow the dimly lit path.  The map cut off at the edge of the forest so I had no idea where I was going, but I was trying to focus on finding a good place to hide from the search parties that would eventually sweep through the forest looking for me.  I wasn't having much luck, however, everywhere I looked all I could see was more forest with no ideal places to take shelter.  Through the thick treetops I could make out a mountain not too far from my current position, no more than 3 miles away.  I climbed a tree to get a better view of it and once I reached the top I could make out what looked like a cave opening.  'Well, it's worth a shot' I thought to myself and climbed down from the tree and headed for the cave.  After a half hour of walking I reached the entrance to the cave and even though the cave was high enough that the sun would illuminate the entrance, the inside was still dark.  I figured that there probably wasn't anyone living in the cave so I decided to save the batteries in the NVGs and turned on the flashlight on the side of my helmet and entered the cave.

I was only exploring for a few minutes before I came across a large cavern that was surprisingly filled with gold and gems.  I was standing there in awe at my newfound fortune, admiring all of the gleaming gold and shiny gems.  "Well, maybe me getting kidnapped by these little horses wasn't such a bad thing after all." I said to myself as I set my bag and rifle down on the cave floor and explored the cavern more to find out just how much gold and gems were in here.

I was inspecting a handful of gems when I heard what sounded like hoofsteps coming from the other side of the pile of riches.  'Goddammit, they're on to me already!?!' I cursed as I dropped a handful of gems and drew my M9 pistols from their holsters.  I knew the noise made from the falling gems would give me away but I didn't really care.  If the soldiers that came looking for me were anything like the guards in the dungeon then I would be able to take them on no sweat.  With that in mind I ran around the gem pile while letting out a war cry with my pistols ready to shoot any living thing I saw.  To my surprise I only saw one pony standing next to my rifle and bag, the triggers on my pistols were half squeezed before I stopped myself from firing.  It was different from all the other ponies I saw, most of them being no taller than my stomach but this one came up just above my knees.

It wasn't its size that made me stop, but rather the scream it let out.  It sounded just like a little girl's, no older than 12.  I looked down at the smaller pony that was now shrinking away from me, and noticed the pink bow on its mane.  I realized that this one was only a child and that it was probably following me through the forest out of curiosity.  I could tell by the frightened look on its face and how it was trying to make itself as little as possible that it was terrified of me.  There were no other ponies in the cave, just me and this little uh...filly!  That's the word, but if it didn't return home soon then the townspeople may assume that I killed her and that wouldn't help my situation at all.

I lowered the pistols and put them back in their holsters and the little filly began to relax a bit also.  We stared at each other in awkward silence for a few moments, trying to decide on what to do next.  The little filly said something in its strange language, the only part that made any sense to me was "Applebloom" but that didn't tell me much and I wasn't very interested in entertaining the little filly so I pointed a finger towards the cave entrance and said "Alright, you need to get back home to your parents so go on, get out of here."  The little filly gave me a confused look and started to say something when it looked towards the cave entrance and then got a horrified look on its face.  It started to back away from whatever it saw.  I was confused by the filly's strange reaction and looked towards the entrance to see what the filly was so scared of and immediately saw why.

Standing in the entrance to the cave was a huge dragon with green scales and an angry look on it face with smoke coming out of its nostrils.  Its voice echoed throughout the cavern but I couldn't make any sense out of it.  As far as I could tell it spoke the same language that the ponies did which meant I wasn't going to get very far with communication.  I heard the filly say something from directly behind me and I turned around to see that the filly was hiding behind me.  'Oh okay, I guess I'll be your shield then.' I thought as I turned around to face the dragon that growled at the filly's response.  I could see the dragon's mouth was beginning to glow like fire and if the dragons in this world were anything like the ones from the fairy tales back on Earth then that meant it was about to let loose its flame on us.  I picked up the filly in my arms and dashed behind the large pile of gold and gems as I felt the heat of the dragon's fire on my back.

I set the filly down and drew my pistols and quickly climbed to the top of the pile and started firing at the dragon's head.  The dragon roared as it covered its face with its claws trying to protect itself from the incoming  bullets.  I saw my opportunity to get in close and quickly holstered the pistols.  I drew out the knife and machete as I made a mad dash straight for the fire-breathing lizard and buried the two blades into the dragon's chest as deep as I could.  The dragon roared in agony and smacked me away, sending me flying across the cave, the blades still buried in it's chest.  I rolled across the cave floor, dazed by the sudden hit and my body was in pain.  I looked up and saw that the dragon was busy trying to pull the two blades out of its chest and realized that I landed next to my rifle.  I also noticed that the dragon was standing directly underneath a group of very sharp stalagmites that were on the cavern's ceiling and got an idea.  I picked up the rifle and fired the grenade launcher at the ceiling directly above the dragon.  The dragon looked up to see what the loud boom was that came from above and saw multiple stalagmites falling down straight at his face.  It tried to move out of the way but it was too late and the stalagmites buried themselves into the dragon's body.

After the dust cleared I saw that the dragon was lying on the cave floor motionless with blood pouring out of its chest and all the places where the stalagmites stuck out of it.  I picked up the knife and put it back in its sheathe but the machete was still stuck in the dragon's chest.  I grabbed the handle and pulled but the machete didn't budge.  I had to use both hands and placed a foot on the dragon's throat to pull it out and I put the machete back in its sheathe.

"That should teach you to mess with me mother fucker." I said to the dead dragon and turned around to see the little filly standing behind me, its face one of complete shock and awe.  

"There, you got your show, now get out of here." I said to the filly and pointed towards the entrance.  The filly didn't say anything in return, not that I expected it to since we still didn't have any idea what each other was saying.  It made its way out of the cave, taking one last look at me before it left for good.

"To the victor, the spoils." I said to myself and started filling my bag with as much gold and gems as I could.
> A Plan in Motion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applebloom ran off in the direction towards Zecora's hut as fast as she could.  The events of what just happened were starting to sink in.  She had just witnessed an alien take down a full grown dragon, one of Equestria's most dangerous predators, within a minute and steal from it's horde.  A creature with that kind of power is surely one that shouldn't be looked upon lightly.  Zecora was the closest pony she could think of that could do something.  Normally it would take over an hour to reach her hut from the farm, but the cave was relatively near and after a few minutes of running, the yellow filly was frantically banging on the zebra's door.

Zecora was in the process of mixing together a complex potion in her mixing pot when a sudden banging on her door startled her into nearly dropping the bottle she had in her mouth into the pot.  Luckily she was able to catch it just before it went into the pot and and placed it back on her shelf.  Zecora trotted up to the door to see who was banging on her door like there was a monster right outside.  Zecora opened the door to a terrified Applebloom and before she could ask what caused her to be in such a panicked state the little filly started rambling in a panicked voice.

"ZECORA!!!" Applebloom yelled.  "You gotta come quick!  There's this weird looking alien thing up in that cave that the dragon was living in and the dragon came back while we were still in there and it tried to kill us but the alien thing had a bunch of alien weapons and it took down the dragon by making the cave's roof drop on it and when I left it was taking gold from its hoard and we need to hurry before it gets away!"

Zecora, needless to say, was dumbstruck.  She was standing in the doorway looking down at the filly with wide eyes and mouth hanging open trying to process all the information Applebloom threw at her.  Shaking her head to get a clear mind, Zecora asked the filly "Applebloom my dear, what is it that has caused your mind to be clouded with fear?" the zebra asked in her usual rhyming accent.

Applebloom was still breathing heavy trying to catch her breath, and she was trying to explain to her alchemist teacher what exactly went down.  "Ah... ah was following this weird looking creature that got off the train in front of the forest and I followed it into a dragon's den but the dragon came back while we were still in there."  Applebloom was starting to tear up from all the stress and paused for a moment to compose herself before she fell into another panic induced fit.  Zecora could tell she was struggling to keep it together and placed her hoof on her shoulder.

"It is alright young Applebloom.  Now tell me, how did this creature save you from certain doom?"

"It... or he ah think, its voice sounded like a stallion's.  But anyway, it had these weird looking gadgets that I'm pretty sure are weapons and I don't know exactly how they work but he pointed them at the dragon and they started making this loud explosion noise and..." this part was what shook up Applebloom the most.  "It charged straight at the dragon while yelling, like it wasn't even afraid one bit.  I didn't see what happened after that but I remember hearing this loud boom and when I looked to see what happened the dragon was lying dead on the ground with stalagmites from the cave's roof stuck in all over his body and as I left the cave it was filling its bag with gems from the dragon's hoard."

Applebloom then started to silently weep into the zebra's chest as she hugged her tightly.  Zecora slowly rubbed the filly's back in an attempt to calm her down while thinking what to do next.  Alarms were going off in Zecora's head.  Applebloom mentioned that she saw this thing get off a train in front of the forest, even though the closest stop would be in Ponyville, meaning that this creature had to have stolen it.  Whatever this thing is, if it can take on a dragon without breaking a sweat and hijack a train then it is certainly something that is capable of doing worse, and that it needed to be captured as soon as possible.  Zecora grabbed her saddlebag and filled it with potions and powders that she used to ward off timberwolves and other predators in the forest whenever she left her hut to collect ingredients.

"If what you say is true and that creature is near, then we cannot stay here.  We will go to Ponyville and alert Twilight before this creature causes a major fright."  Zecora said and rushed the young filly out the door and down the trail to Ponyville.


*****At the Princess of Friendship's castle*****


Twilight was pacing back and forth nervously as she was telling Spike what to write down in the letter that he was desperately trying to keep up with.

"-and I respectfully request that you send a detachment of guards to Ponyville to help look for the escaped human as soon as possible.  Sincerely, Princess Twilight Sparkle."

Spike finished the last letter and sent it to Princess Celestia.  "I sure do hope she responds back quickly, if we don't do something soon who knows what that thing is going to do." the young dragon stated with obvious worry in his voice.

"Me too Spike, right now that human is out there somewhere plotting who knows what."  Twilight said as she still paced around the map room.  Starlight Glimmer was sitting silently on one of the chairs listening to what was going on and had some questions about the whole situation.

"So wait, you mean to tell me that the Crystal Empire has a mirror that also acts as a portal to another world that is inhabited by humans, and one of these humans came through the portal and escaped custody, stole a train and is now hiding in the Everfree forest."  Starlight asked.  The question was enough to snap Twilight out of her trance.

"Well, yeah pretty much." Twilight admitted.  After all of her trials and achievements, this incident was quite the embarrassment.

"That's strange considering that when you went through the portal it changed you into a human but when one of them came through they didn't change into a pony.  I wonder why." Starlight wondered.

"That's another thing I can't figure out.  Why is the change only one way?  It doesn't make any sense." Twilight said growing more frustrated with the situation.  There were so many questions going through her head and she had no idea on where to look for answers.  As a devoted student and bookworm, she loved reading books and having answers for questions but right now she had neither a single book to read on the subject at hand or any place to answer her questions which wasn't helping with her already stressed mental state.  She started to make a list of all the things that needed to be done when Spike belched out a letter with Princess Celestia's royal mark on the seal.

Starlight levitated the letter over to her and began to read it.  A look of relief came upon her face as she read the letter and levitated it over to Twilight.

"Hey Twilight!  You're gonna want to read this."  She said as Twilight took the letter in her magic.

The same look of relief came across Twilight's face as she read the letter:

Dear Princess Twilight,

Although it worries me that this human is now on the loose in the Everfree forest, I must say that I am relieved to hear that you and your friends are unharmed, and even though he may have escaped, there is already plans in motion to recapture him.  Prince Shining Armor is already on his way to Ponyville with a detachment of guards to help search for the human and should arrive by sunset.  Thankfully nopony was seriously injured, two guards were found unconscious where the human was being held, most likely knocked out by the human as he made his escape.   If anymore news comes up about the human please do not hesitate to inform me.  Luna and I would like to be there to aid you as well but I'm afraid we have our hooves full between Canterlot and the Crystal Empire.  When the human is recaptured he is to be sent to Canterlot where he will be kept safe from harm and so that he may not harm any of my subjects if he turns hostile.  But please remember that even though this situation is dire, keep in mind that he is not our enemy.  I wish for this situation to be solved in a peaceful manner and as the Princess of Friendship I am certain you will find a way to get through to him.

Sincerely,
Princess Celestia

Princess Twilight was relieved that she would be getting some much needed help, but her nerves were still on edge because of the last part.  As the Princess of Friendship making friends was her specialty but there was still a language barrier to take care of.  The only way she knew how to instantly learn the language the human spoke was to cross through the portal but that was out of the question and the only pony she knew that could also speak it was Sunset Shimmer but the only way to communicate with her was the book she had.

"THAT'S IT!" Twilight yelled in excitement to herself at the sudden realization which startled both Starlight and Spike.

"What is it?" Starlight asked Twilight.

"We can use the book I use to contact Sunset Shimmer with and she can translate for us!"  Twilight exclaimed.  "Spike, write another letter to Princess Celestia telling her how we are going to translate.  I need to go write Sunset Shimmer and tell her to be ready to translate for us."  and with that Twilight ran off to fetch her book with new found hope that the chance to befriend the human wasn't completely lost.


*****SCP Foundation facility No.[REDACTED]*****


Dr. Chase was sitting in his office taking care of some reports of recent tests when he got a call over the phone.

"Dr. Chase speaking." he said into the receiver.

"Dr. Chase sir.  We have a situation with SCP 7938-C."

"What is it?" the doctor asked.

"It's...It's vibrating and glowing sir."

This got the doctor's attention.  From what SCP 7938-B has told him about it is that whenever it does that, it means that someone on the other side has written something and is trying to get in contact with her.  This may very well be because of the D-class that was sent through yesterday.  The doctor was getting excited to possibly see what was developing on the other side.

"Make sure nobody touches it.  I'm coming down to look for myself." he said before hanging up the phone.  Dr. Chase pulled his ID out of the computer and went down to where the book was being kept.  He slid his ID through the scanner and made his way down the hallway where it was being kept along with the less dangerous SCPs and entered the room where it was in.  Just like the guard said on the phone, it was vibrating with a faint glow.  

"Get SCP 7938-B to the interrogation room immediately.  This is a crucial moment and we cannot afford any mistakes."  Dr. Chase said to the security guard and then he grabbed the book and went to the interrogation room.





Sunset was sitting on her bed inside her room, which looked similar to a college dorm, reading a book when the intercom made a buzzing noise which signaled that someone was about to come through the door.  She put the book face down on the bed and sat on the edge, waiting for when they were going to come in.  The past month has been rough for her.  She was finally starting to rebuild her life with her friends and things were almost back to normal after the Friendship Games incident.  It would seem fate had a different plan for her because not long after that these people which identified themselves as agents of the SCP Foundation took her into custody and confiscated the Canterlot High statue that served as a secret portal between Earth and Equestria.  Dr. Chase walked in with two armed guards.

"Good afternoon Miss Shimmer, I hope you are doing well.  I hate to disturb you but right now I need your assistance.  Please, come with me and I will tell you more once we are there."  Dr. Chase said.

"Okay." Sunset said glumly as she got up and followed the doctor.  The personnel here were polite for the most part.  They gave her an actual dorm instead of a cramped cell like some of the other people who worked here.  Still, she was a prisoner none the less and if she didn't cooperate they would just drag her to wherever they wanted to take her.

"Please, have a seat." Dr. Chase said as they arrived in the interrogation room that they brought her to when she first arrived at the facility.  She sat down and now it was her and the doctor who pulled out the journal she used to keep in touch with Princess Twilight and placed it down in front of her.  It was vibrating with a faint glow, meaning that Twilight wrote to her.  She could feel a small amount of happiness seeing that her friend didn't forget about her and she opened the book to see what she wrote:

Hey Sunset!  It's Twilight.  I know this is going to sound strange but I really need your help.  You see, yesterday a human man came through the portal and was found unconscious.  He was locked in a dungeon for safe keeping until we could interrogate him but he somehow escaped by tricking us into thinking he was dead and now he is hiding out in the Everfree forest.  A plan is already underway to recapture him but we need you to act as a translator for us.  I know you must have a million questions and so do I but for now I'm afraid I can't answer them.  Please write back as soon as you get this message.
Sincerely,
Princess Twilight Sparkle

Sunset felt nervous now.  The Foundation has been in possession of her and the portal for over a month now so the only way someone could cross through to Equestria was if they wanted someone to.

"Well Miss Shimmer?  What does it say?"  Dr. Chase asked.

"It says that a man was found unconscious on their side of the portal and that he escaped the dungeon they were keeping him in.  They are going to try to recapture him and Princess Twilight wants me to translate for them."  Sunset said.

"I see."  Dr. Chase said while rubbing his chin in thought.  "Well it would seem that your friend on the other side needs your assistance.  I will allow you to do as she asks, under my supervision of course."

"Thank you." Sunset said while she blinked back a few tears.  She was happy to hear from her friend but she couldn't shake the feeling that the Foundation has bad intentions for Equestria and that this was only the first step.


*****A few hours later at the Castle of Friendship*****


Shining Armor and the guards just arrived in Ponyville and Shining was going through the plans with his officers when Twilight and her friends came up along with Applebloom and Zecora.

"Twily!"  Shining said as he embraced her, relieved that she was unharmed from when the human escaped.

"Hey big brother!  I'm glad to see you.  How's Cadence doing?"  Twilight asked.

"She's okay.  She felt better when she found out that the human wasn't dead, but given the circumstances it really isn't a reason to be celebrating.  Her pregnancy is going well though.  She is due in two weeks and the little one seems eager." Shining responded.  Despite the circumstances, the thought that he was about to become a father filled him with pride, joy, and even a little worry.

"Well I'm glad to hear she's doing better, but right now we have a job to do, so what's the plan?"  Twilight asked.

"I agree.  Right now capturing that human is top priority and it's already late in the afternoon and sunset will be on us in a few hours and I don't want to be wondering around in the forest at night.  That place is dangerous enough without a human running around so we need to act fast." Shining said with seriousness returning to his voice.

"Ah-hem, uh, excuse me yer highness, but ah think Applebloom has something she wants to tell ya before y'all leave, ain't that right Applebloom?"  Applejack said while glaring at her younger sister.  Shining Armor looked down to the little filly with a confused look, wondering what it was she had to say.

"Is that so?  Well then let's hear it."  Shining said.

Applebloom walked up to the prince with a shameful expression on her face.  She looked back at Zecora for encouragement and the zebra smiled at her and said "Go ahead Applebloom, tell them the truth and this situation will end soon."

Applebloom nodded her head and looked back up to Shining Armor, who could see she was intimidated.  "Come on now Applebloom, if there is anything you can tell me about the human, please I need to know.  It will go a long way to helping us find him."  Shining said to help put the young filly at ease.

Applebloom let out a sigh and started to tell the prince about her encounter with the human.  When she finished her story just about everypony was staring at her, wide-eyed and mouths hanging open.

"That thing can take on a full grown dragon?  How...how are we going to capture that thing?"  One of the officers asked the group.  Everypony was looking at each other for an answer.  Shining thought for a moment but then came up with an idea.

"Alright listen up everypony.  I know this mission seems risky, and I won't lie, it is.  If that human can take on a full grown dragon and walk away without a scratch then it is definitely something that we don't want to get into a direct confrontation with.  We are gonna have to get the drop on him if we are going to have a chance and we won't be able to accomplish that with a large group.  Gentlecolts,  I want you to take your guards and patrol Ponyville and the surrounding area to make sure that thing doesn't come into town.  Zecora, I need you to lead Twilight and I to that cave and see if we can find any evidence as to where he went.  With luck he will still be there."  Shining said.

"You got it big brother."  Twilight said, confident now that they were going to succeed.

"Wait, can ah come with y'all?  He knows me so ah might be able to help."  Applebloom said.

"No way!  You are going straight back home, ya hear!?!"  Applejack said.

"But AJ..."  Applebloom pleaded.

"No buts young lady.  You get on back to the farm and stay in yer room until I get back.  No exceptions."

"But I...okay." Applebloom said reluctantly and started her way back to Sweet Apple Acres.





I was sitting on the cave floor with my back against the giant pile of gold and gems.  Despite waking up in a dungeon and being held captive by magical horse creatures, I was actually happy with what I've accomplished so far.  I successfully escaped by playing dead, something that still amazes me.  I also hijacked a train that my former captors were on and escaped from them a second time.  To top it all off I killed a dragon and was now sitting on a pile of gold and gems that I didn't even know what to do with.  All things considered, it could be a lot worse, and right now seemed like a nice time to get some much needed rest.  I figured I would wake up sometime around sunset and I wouldn't be able to go out during the day without running the risk of being spotted.

A few hours later I woke up from my nap and as planned the sun was almost set for the day, only a faint orange glow came from the horizon and the moon and stars were shining brightly with only a few clouds in the air.  I walked to the front entrance to the cave, taking in the beautiful scenery.  This was another part I liked about this world.  Even though I've been in this strange place for less than a week, it seemed to be filled with beautiful scenery.  A growl from my stomach indicated it was time to eat and I went back inside to eat one of the three MREs that were inside my bag.  I took one out and looked at the other two while shaking my head.  'Three MREs won't last me very long, a few days at most.  I hope there's plenty of game to hunt.  Something tells me I'm gonna be here a while.'

After eating the MRE, I picked up my bag and rifle and was about to leave the cave.  I didn't want to leave behind all of the gold and gems but I already filled the duffel bag with as much as I could carry and would have to settle for that.  There was bound to be a search party sweeping through sooner or later and I wasn't up for a fight just yet.  As if on cue, I could hear the sound of multiple hooves towards the cave entrance and they were getting closer.  'Well, this it.  Game time.'





Shining Armor was leading the group, using his magic to illuminate the surrounding area.  The sun's orange glow was nearly gone and soon they would have to head back.  Zecora was walking next to him showing the group the way to the dragon's lair.  They stopped just short of the entrance and Zecora turned her head to talk to Shining Armor.

"Here it is, the dragon's lair.  Be careful your majesty, for that beast may still be in there."  Zecora said.

Shining Armor nodded his head at the warning and cautiously entered the cave, the stench of death hung in the air and almost made the prince gag in response.  Twilight followed after him and gave a similar response to the smell coming from the cave.  The pile of gold and gems that the dragon stole over the years came into view, as well as the dragon's corpse, which had stalagmites sticking out of its body just like how Applebloom described it.  The sight made their eyes open wide in amazement.

"Wow...that human really did take down a dragon." Twilight said.  She could feel the fear creeping up her spine as she began to think about what it could do to them.

A noise came from the other side of the gem pile which startled the two, Shining Armor's horn started glowing as he readied his magic to prepare for an attack.

"COME ON OUT!"  Shining yelled.  He was preparing himself for the fight that was bound to happen.  He focused his thoughts on protecting his sister as well as his wife and unborn child.  However what happened next was something that he wasn't expecting.  Instead of jumping out from behind the gem pile and charging at them like he was expecting, the human instead just walked around the pile, clapping his hands and laughing to himself as he did.  This didn't ease Shining Armor one bit and he gritted his teeth in anger, not only was this human not afraid of them, but was actually mocking them.

Twilight slowly walked up to her brother and put a hoof on his shoulder.  He looked her in the eyes which were pleading with him not to do anything that would only make the situation worse.

"Please Shining, just trust me on this.  This doesn't have to end in violence."  Twilight said to her brother.

"Alright Twily, I'll let you try your idea, but if he tries anything I won't hesitate to take him down."  Shining said sternly.

Twilight gave Shining a brief hug out of gratitude and levitated the book she used to write Sunset Shimmer in front of her, hoping that she had the book ready like she promised.  Twilight wrote down a short introduction into the book and watched the words fade away, and slowly levitated the book over to the human who was watching her every move.

The man grabbed the book from her magic without taking his eyes off of her and looked at the book only to see blank pages.  He looked back up to them with a confused look and glanced back to the pages to make sure there wasn't anything written down.  He shook his head in disbelief as the words appeared on the page and read the lines.

"Hello, I know your current situation may seem weird and maybe even a little scary.  Please, just bear with me.  I am Princess Twilight Sparkle and the unicorn stallion is my brother Prince Shining Armor.  I'll introduce you to him later but right now we need to put an end to the hostilities.  I know you have no reason to trust me but I ask that you do in order to prevent any more conflict.  We really didn't mean you any harm and when we found you, you were unconscious and looked like you were recently beaten.  Please come with us and we can settle this in a nonviolent way.  I hope that you will find it in your heart to forgive us for the rude awakening you had and I will see to it that you will be pardoned for your actions as well.  There is so much that we can learn from each other and as the princess of friendship and a faithful student to Princess Celestia herself I am eager to show you the magic of friendship."





It took every fiber of my being to not burst out with laughter at the purple one's title.  'Princess of Friendship?  That's rich!' I thought to myself and looked up to see the "Princess of Friendship" smiling at me with a hopeful look on her face.  I had to cover my eyes with the book to save myself from having a cute overload.  Once I composed myself I pointed to the quill she was levitating and she eagerly floated it over to me, dancing in place while doing so.  I wrote down what I had to say.  

"Alright princess, tell your brother to stand down, I ain't gonna hurt any of you.  My name is Curtis and I respect your desire to end this without violence and after kicking that dragon's sorry ass earlier I'm done fighting for today.  I'll go with you without any resistance, just make sure your brother keeps his distance.  Dragons are one thing, but a big, scary looking unicorn like him just terrifies me."

I offered the book back to the princess who grabbed it with her magic and quickly looked at the blank page, eagerly waiting for it to translate what I wrote down.  The words appeared after a few moments and she looked like she was about to explode with anticipation when she started reading them.

She giggled at the last line, which was obviously a joke.  Shining Armor gave her a questioning look and she showed him what I wrote down.  He smiled with relief as he read the first two lines, but his smile dropped when he read the last line.  His reaction only made Twilight laugh more and as he gave me an annoyed look.  It was for the best that we ended this whole situation without bloodshed, but I couldn't help but feel a little disappointment.  I was so close to waging my own personal war with them and I knew I would have the time of my life while doing it.  Sure I would most likely lose, but like the saying goes, "It's about the journey, not the destination."
> Meeting Royalty
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was early morning and the horizon was just starting to glow.  It would be about another hour before the sun rose but, Shining Armor, Twilight and I were already awake.  Twilight and her brother took me back to the castle in the town I passed earlier where I would stay the night and be sent to Canterlot before sunrise so that my departure wouldn't cause a disturbance to the town's residents.  As of now, there were only a handful of ponies that knew of my presence in Equestria and until this "Princess Celestia" decides that it's safe to introduce me into Equestrian society, that's how it would remain.

Shining Armor and I were getting on the chariot that was waiting for us behind the castle.  Despite Twilight's wishes to come with, she had to stay in Ponyville to help prevent the spread of rumors.  An entire detachment of guards suddenly showing up and then leaving as quickly as they arrived would certainly be the talk of the town.  Shining Armor was to speak on my behalf until a more permanent solution to the language barrier could be found.  There was apparently another individual translating the conversation between Twilight and I.  Said individual can't translate 24/7 for us but the last letter Twilight received suggested that Princess Celestia may have found a way to solve that issue and wanted to question me herself, much to Twilight's disappointment.  She had a never-ending list of questions that she wanted to ask me but that would have to wait.  I did agree to leave most of my belongings with her on the promise that she would keep them locked up and wouldn't touch them while I was gone.





Shining Armor hugged his little sister one last time before he left with the human to Canterlot. "Okay Twily, it's time for us to go. I know you're disappointed about not being able to come but I'm sure Princess Celestia will keep you updated on his progress," he said. 

Twilight let out a sigh in response and said "It's okay.  I have full faith that Princess Celestia is making the right decision.  Who knows, maybe if she decides that he can be introduced to our society, he could come back here!  Besides he doesn't seem that bad." Twilight said as the two siblings looked at the human who was waiting on the chariot.  He was looking at the two pegasus guards that were hooked to the front end of the chariot with an uneasy look on his face.  Both Twilight and Shining could tell that the gears were turning in his head and that he didn't quite like the idea of flying.

Twilight looked back to her brother and said "I know you will take good care of him Shining.  I hope you have safe travels and don't forget to send me an invitation to the crystalling when Cadence gives birth!"

"Thanks, Twily.  I promise you will be the first to know." Shining Armor said before getting on the chariot with Curtis.  The two pegasus guards got a running start, jumped into the air and took off towards Canterlot.  Curtis held onto the edge of the chariot as they took off to keep his balance.  Shining Armor quietly chuckled to himself at the human's behavior.

The flight to Canterlot was short compared to the train ride for they arrived at the Canterlot castle shortly after sunrise.  There were two Earth pony guards waiting for them and the two guards escorted them to the throne room where Princess Celestia was waiting.  Shining bowed down to the princess when they approached the throne.

"Your Highness, I humbly present to you the human that escaped our dungeon.  He claims to go by the name of Curtis and peacefully surrendered to my sister and I and has agreed to allow me to speak on his behalf until a solution to the language barrier is found."  Shining said and rose to all four hooves.

Celestia returned the stallion's bow with a gentle nod of her head and replied "Thank you Shining Armor.  I knew I could count on you and Twilight to come to a peaceful resolution to this difficult situation.  As for the language issue, I believe I know a solution."

"You mentioned that in your last letter, what did you have in mind, your highness?" Shining asked.

"Well, not me, but I know of a certain draconequus that may be able to help.  Discord, you can come out now." Celestia said and with a flash of light Discord appeared between Celestia and Shining Armor.

"Well well well, so this must be the human that I have heard so much about.  I must say I am quite intrigued."  The draconequus said as he floated around the human, who just followed him with an astonished look.  Discord noticed the look on his face and then reminded himself why he was summoned in the first place.

"Oh yes, right.  You can't quite understand what I'm saying, can you?  Well, have no fear!  One translation spell coming right up!" Discord said as he charged up the spell and then touched one finger on Curtis's forehead and cast the spell on the human, who fell to his knees once it hit him.





I shook my head to clear my blurry vision from a painful headache that came and left the instant whatever the hell that floating goat thing touched my forehead.

"What the hell man!?!  That fuckin' hurt!" I yelled as I rubbed my head.  Celestia and Shining armor were taken back by my outburst.  

"Well, that's no way to speak to your hosts.  You really should work on your manners." Discord replied with a smirk.  The anger I had building up was gone the moment that thing said those words.  Not because he told me to watch my manners, but that he said it in English.

"Wait, you could speak English this entire time?  What was that zap for then?" I asked.

"That zap you felt was the spell I just cast on you.  Thanks to me, you will be able to communicate easily with us now.  You may think you are speaking and hearing your language, but I assure you it is all an illusion.  You are actually speaking Equine and so are we, I just cast a little translation spell on you to make communication easier on all of us." the goat thing said as it floated over to me and put his arm that looked a lot like a chicken leg around my shoulder before floating back to Celestia's side.  I just stood there, looking at him with complete disbelief.

"I'm not even going to try to understand how that works, but if it makes life easier then I'm all for it I guess,"  I said as I shrugged off any attempt to comprehend what he said.  I was still a little shocked at the fact this world had actual "magic" but all things considered, my situation could be a lot worse than what it was so I decided to just roll with it.

"I'm happy to hear that human.  I'm also very grateful that you decided to come here peacefully.  Allow me to introduce myself.  I am Princess Celestia and I rule the land of Equestria with my sister Princess Luna.  I am afraid you will have to meet her later." Celestia said with a slight bow of her head.

I looked at Celestia for a second, silently questioning how her mane and tail were flowing even though there was no wind.  I returned her bow with a nod of my own and replied "My name's Curtis.  Nice to meet you, princess.  I'm already acquainted with Shining Armor over there, so who is that?" I asked, pointing at floating goat thing.

"I am Discord, the spirit of chaos and disharmony." Discord said as he shook my hand.  I couldn't help but chuckle at my situation.  Less than a week ago I was sitting in a prison cell awaiting execution.  Now I'm stuck in a world of magical horses, so it would only seem fitting that I would be shaking hands with the physical embodiment of everything that doesn't make sense.

"Spirit of chaos, huh?  Sounds like fun." I replied.  Celestia gave a satisfied smile after the introductions, happy that everything was going smoothly so far.

"I'm glad to finally have a proper introduction.  Discord, I'm sure you have other things to attend to.  Prince Shining Armor, I am very grateful for your help in this matter, and I am certain you are anxious to get back to Cadence with the foal so close to delivery.  So if the two of you don't mind, I would like to speak with our new friend here alone please." Celestia said.

Discord disappeared in a flash of light and Shining bowed down again before he left and trotted out the doors to the hall.  Once the two left, Celestia stood up from her throne and came up to me.  She was much taller than all the other ponies I've seen and so far was the only one I didn't have to look down for in order to make eye contact.  We were actually almost eye level with each other with her being half a head taller than me.

"Please, follow me.  I wish to continue our conversation somewhere more comfortable."

"Sure, this is your home after all," I replied and followed the princess of the sun out the doors to the throne room.  We made small talk along the way to Celestia's chambers which were in one of the castle towers.  We were sitting on her balcony and I was busy admiring the view while Celestia poured some tea for the both of us.

"I must say, princess, I'm kinda jealous of your current living situation," I said as I took a seat at the small table.

Celestia smiled a little at the compliment and replied "Yes, being a Princess does have some perks, but it doesn't come without its challenges.  Anyways, I wanted to ask you some questions."

"Ask away."

"Well...I would like to know how and why exactly you came to Equestria.  We have a crystal mirror that acts as a portal between our world and yours.  When my guards found you, you were bruised up pretty bad and you were also unconscious and had a bag containing equipment that we are not familiar with."

I nodded my head, already knowing that was gonna be the first question she asked.  "Well your highness, I was actually hoping you would be able to help me out with that.  You see, I don't remember anything before going through that portal.  I was just sitting in my cell, minding my own business, and everything between that and waking up in that dungeon is blank."

"A cell?  Is that what humans live in where you're from?" Celestia asked.

"Uh... no, not exactly.  I was kinda in prison before I came here."  I said as I nervously rubbed the back of my neck.  Celestia couldn't help but frown from that, disappointed that the man sitting across from her probably did something that would deserve such a punishment.

"Something must have happened, for it doesn't explain how you ended up here.  Oh well, there is a certain zebra I know that may be able to help with your lost memory, but we will deal with that later.  What were all of those things that were inside that bag of yours?" Celestia asked.

"You have a point there, princess.  As for the bag, that's another thing I can't explain.  Inside it was nothing short of a miracle for me.  There were weapons, ammo, food, there was even a gas mask, body armor, and the clothes I'm wearing now.  I would show you them if I brought them with me, but I left all that stuff back with that other princess.  Uh...Twilight I think her name was."

"Do you know why you would be sent through with those things?" she asked.

"I don't know exactly why, but I would guess it means that whoever sent me through plans on me staying here for a while,"  I answered.

Celestia nodded her head in thought.  "Very well, I hope we will find answers in the near future.  As for now, how about you tell me a little about yourself?" she asked.

"What do you want to know?"

"Well, aside from the...misunderstanding we had when you first woke up, you seem to be handling the whole 'waking up in a new world' deal pretty well."  Celestia pointed out.

I smiled a little and thought about how best to answer.  "Well let's see, in less than two days I escaped a dungeon, hijacked a train and oh- sorry for that by the way.  I also killed a dragon that wanted to eat me and a little filly for dinner, and now I'm sitting in a castle, meeting royalty and talking to the ruler of this beautiful land full of magic and talking, colorful miniature horses.  All things considered, it could be a lot worse.  And trust me when I say I have been in much worse situations than this."  I said as I downed the cup of tea in one gulp and set it back down.

"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly do you mean by 'worse situations'?" Celestia asked, visibly concerned by my response.

"Well... I mean, I didn't pick up the skills needed to escape a dungeon and slay a dragon overnight.  I joined my country's military so I could fight in the war that was going on.  However, I was never a fan of taking orders so I got out as soon as I could.  It wasn't all a waste of time, though.  My performance in combat got the notice of a private military group and they hired me on.  The missions we did were off the books, nothing that the government wanted to have any official ties too.  That way if the mission ever went south they could easily bury it like it never happened."  I said, making sure to tell the princess just enough information to make it seem like I'm being transparent while leaving out certain details she didn't need to know.

"Oh... I see.  Does the human race wage war often?" Celestia asked with a sad and concerned look.

"More often than not, I'm afraid."

"Well, I am truly sorry to hear that.  We may have our problems here, but war is, fortunately, a rare occurrence here."  Celestia said.  "Oh, one last thing, I don't believe you ever told me how you earned yourself a prison cell."  Celestia pointed out.

'Fuck!' I thought to myself, hoping she would have dropped it.  Oh well, it was my fault for letting it slip anyways.

"You're right, princess, I didn't.  Just to clear it up right now, it wasn't for anything that I did.  I was framed, actually.  Remember when I told you that the private military group I worked for did mostly off the record stuff?  Well, one day I was on a mission, shit hit the fan and people died that didn't need too.  It wasn't my fault, but since I was the only one alive from my group they pinned the bodies on me, charged me for war crimes and next thing I knew I was sitting in a federal prison on death row."  I said, hoping to have some dramatic effect to help me out.

It seemed to work because Celestia was staring into my eyes with a look of fear and sorrow on her face.  "Oh my... I am truly sorry to hear that.  It must have been hard dealing with all of that."  Celestia said.  It certainly wasn't the response she was expecting.

"I appreciate you telling me this, Curtis.  It shows that you have trust in me, and I will certainly return that trust.  Defending young Applebloom from that dragon then peacefully surrendering to Twilight and Shining Armor is more than enough to convince me that you are good at heart, despite your past.  I will allow you to live among my subjects as long as you obey our laws and customs, and should the opportunity arise that you may go back to your world, I will be certain to let you know as soon as I am able."  Celestia said with a smile.

"I appreciate that princess, I don't really like the idea of being tied to a chair deep underground for the rest of my life," I said with a wink at the end, reminding Celestia of how we first met.

Celestia couldn't help but giggle as she thought about it, realizing that they didn't really give a good first impression.  She stood up from her cushion she was sitting on, satisfied with what she got from our conversation and invited me to walk with her as she showed me around the castle.  We continued to make conversation, most of it being Celestia telling me about Equestria's laws, culture, history, etc.  We walked around for little over an hour before Celestia had to take care of other royal duties.  

"It's been nice talking with you Curtis, but I am afraid there are other matters I must attend to.  See if you can find Prince Shining Armor, I already sent word that you are to go with him to the Crystal Empire.  I am certain Princess Cadence will be anxious to meet you, she has been filled with grief ever since you escaped, believing that this was all her fault.  I hope you will be able to cheer her up."  Celestia said as we parted ways.

Now familiar with the layout of the castle, I decided to go to the castle guard's training area to see if Shining Armor left yet.  I never really got a chance to apologize to the stallion for knocking him out.  I could see some guards exercising in a group with what I guessed was their equivalent of a sergeant leading them.  Most of the guards only stared for a few moments before carrying on with their business since most already saw me casually walking around with the princess.

I eventually found Shining Armor, who was setting up the chariot to go back to the Crystal Empire.

"Hey Shining!" I called out and waved to the prince.

"Oh, hey Curtis, everything went well with the princess I'm guessing?" Shining asked.

"Yeah, she gave me the all clear to live amongst her subjects as long as I behave.  Where are you off to?"

"I'm heading back to the Crystal Empire.  My wife Cadence is expecting any day now and she would NEVER forgive me if I miss the birth of my own foal.  I also got word that you are to come back with me, I guess I just can't get away from you, huh?"  Shining joked.  There was a  moment of awkward silence between us before Shining Armor spoke up.  "Hey, sorry for the rude introduction I gave you yesterday.  I was worried that you would try to hurt the others and I guess I kinda overreacted."  Shining said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Bah, think nothing of it.  You're a husband and soon-to-be father, that's punishment enough as far as I'm concerned.  Besides, if I remember correctly I did kinda knock you out shortly after that, sorry for that by the way." 

Shining laughed a bit at the human's jest.  "Well, I guess that makes us even.  Hey, Princess Celestia says you're okay to live here and that is more than enough to convince me you're okay.  I'm sure Cadence would love to meet with you now that we have this whole misunderstanding cleared up." Shining said.

"Alright, why the hell not?" I asked as I got on the chariot with the prince and we left for the Crystal Empire.

The flight over took little more than an hour, and the chill of the northern climate was obvious.  It didn't affect Shining Armor or the guards much, but since I only had the one layer of clothes on, I couldn't help but shiver from the cold, even after we entered the empire's weather shield.  We came to a stop underneath the castle as we got off the chariot and the guards took off.  Shining looked over to me and couldn't help but laugh.

"Not used to the cold I see." Shining stated, amused by the man's shaking.

"Well I don't exactly have all the body hair you ponies have now do I?  Bloody hell I'm so cold I'm probably a woman by now."  I said as I just started to get feeling back in my fingers.

Shining laughed at the joke, assuming a "woman" was the human equivalent of a mare.  We started to walk towards the castle entrance but one of the servants burst through the door, breathing heavily as if she just ran a marathon.

"Your Highness!!!  It's Princess Cadence, she's gone into labor!" the servant managed to say despite being out of breath.

Needless to say, the news hit Shining Armor like a freight train, and for a moment he just stood there processing the information.  I noticed the trance he was in and attempted to snap him back to reality.

"Hello, Shining?  Your wife is giving birth!  You should probably get a move on." I suggested and waved a hand in front of the prince's face.  The prince snapped back to reality and realized the gravity of the situation.

"Oh my gosh! CADENCE!!! THE BABY!!! HOLD ON HONEY, I'M COMING!"  Shining yelled as he took off as fast as he could, determined not to miss this crucial moment in his life.  He ran past the servant, whose eyes were fixed on me.

I started to chase after the prince and as I passed the servant who was looking at me with a complete 'W.T.F.' look on her face, I shrugged my shoulders and said "Parents can be so dramatic sometimes am I right?" and ran after Shining Armor.  Since I only had half the amount of legs Shining Armor did, I couldn't keep up with him and nearly got lost.  Fortunately, all I had to do was listen to the sounds of Princess Cadence giving birth to know which way to go, the castle staff giving me looks and the occasional scream when I ran past them.

I eventually found the royal couple's bedroom where the princess was giving birth.  The room looked like the typical scene one would see at any other time a woman was giving birth.  The woman, or mare in this case, lying on her back with her legs held up while breathing rapidly and screaming in pain every few seconds.  The loving husband was next to her, dabbing her forehead with a wet cloth and holding her hoof.  Hospital staff frantically running around while the doctor barked orders at them.  All of this excitement and chaos just because a certain prince didn't pull out.

"You're doing great honey, keep it up you're almost do-aaaggh" Shining was cheering on his wife Cadence, who apparently wasn't in the mood for it for she suddenly had the prince's throat in a tight grip with her magic.

"Shining, I love you, but once this is all over I swear I will kill you!!!"  Cadence threatened.

"Wha- why!?!" the prince managed to get out.  The fear and confusion now evident in his face.

"BECAUSE YOU DID THIS TO ME!!!" Cadence snapped before another contraction made her let go of her husband, who collapsed to the floor gasping for air.

'I should probably introduce myself later.'  I reasoned before slowly backing out of the room, closing the doors behind me.  I turned around to start wandering around the castle but before I left a pegasus guard with an orange coat and blue mane approached me.

"Uh...excuse me?  You must be Curtis, we have received word that you will be living in the castle for the time being and so we have prepared a guest room for you during your stay.  I was sent to escort you to your room and show you around the castle if you desire." the pegasus guard said.

"Sure thing.  I should probably find something to do anyway since the Prince is a little occupied at the moment."  I said right as Cadence yelled in pain.  Both the guard and I looked at the closed doors and cringed a little.  I turned back to the guard and said "Alright, lead the way uh...I didn't get your name."

"Oh, my name is Flash Sentry.  Follow me."
> Hail to the King
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was sitting at the desk in my room, reading a book titled "Equestria and You: a Traveller's Guide to Pony Customs and Culture" to help pass the time and learn more about my current home.  Since Princess Cadence gave birth a few days ago, both her and Shining Armor have barely been getting any rest and the fatigue was showing on the both of them.  I helped out where I could as my way of saying thanks for letting me stay in the Crystal Palace free of charge, but most of the population were still wary of me.  News spread of how I escaped the dungeon and how I killed a dragon and walked away with nothing more than a few bruises.  It didn't bother me much, I was never much of a people person and hated being in crowds.

Today was a special day, however, the plans for the Crystalling were almost complete and the last few parts were up to Shining Armor.  His sister Twilight was coming to the Crystal Empire for the ceremony with her friends, and I was going to be traveling back to Ponyville with them and stay with Twilight in her castle.  They were set to arrive in the afternoon and Shining Armor was going to meet them at the train station.  I would have offered to go myself, but since most ponies aren't used to my presence I decided against it and avoid the risk of causing a scene.  Princess Celestia and Princess Luna arrived at the palace earlier that morning and I was finally able to meet the Princess of the night.  She had a slight accent and spoke like she was still adjusting to modern society after her banishment.  Despite being royalty, she was surprisingly casual.  Something I noticed about all of the princesses I've met.  The only one I haven't been formally introduced to was Princess Cadence but she was so busy with the newborn that she didn't have the time or energy to meet strangers.

I was growing tired of reading the book and decided to take a walk around the castle to stretch my legs.  I set the book down on the table, making a mental note of what page I was on and stretched as I stood up.  I walked over to the door and opened it right as a servant was about to knock, surprising the mare and earning a quick gasp from her.  I ignored her reaction, as it was the usual response ponies gave me anytime I so much as walked into the same room as them.  I looked down at her and raised a curious eyebrow, waiting for her to say whatever it was that she came here to say.

The maid took a second to calm down, her body language indicating she was intimidated by me since I towered above her.  "Oh...good afternoon Mr. Curtis, I hate to disturb you but Prince Shining Armor will be returning shortly and has requested for you to meet him at the entrance to the palace." the mare said with a nervous smile.

"Alright, I'll be down shortly," I responded.

"Thank you, have a nice day." the mare said and she hurried off down the hall, anxious to get away from me.

I made my way outside the castle entrance and was observing the crystal heart as I waited, fascinated by the way it was suspended between the two pillars and spun all on its own.  I was waiting for only a few minutes before the curtains were spread apart by a purple aura of magic and I could see Twilight and company walking towards me.  None were as happy to see me as the one wearing a cowboy hat, for the pony had rushed up to me and gave me what was probably the strongest death grip of a hug I had ever received.

"Well if it ain't the hero that saved mah little sister!  Ah can't tell you how much ah appreciate what you did, but what ah can tell you is that you'll always be welcome on the Apple family farm," she said, giving him me an extra tight squeeze before she let go.

I had to take a second to catch my breath after having the air forced out of my lungs.  I knew that these ponies were stronger than what they looked, but if they were all as strong as uh, Applejack I think her name was, it may be in my best interests to avoid as much physical contact as possible.

"Nice to see you too, just give me a warning the next time you're gonna try to squeeze the life out of me," I said.

"Oh, sorry.  Sometimes I tend to forget mah own strength." Applejack said as she lightly blushed in embarrassment.

I shook the awkward moment from my mind and looked at Shining Armor, who was struggling to stay awake.  I almost felt sorry for the stallion for he looked like...well... anypony who had to plan a national ceremony while taking care of a newborn baby at the same time.  Twilight took a step towards me to speak up.

"It's nice to see you again Curtis, how is the Crystal Empire treating you?" Twilight asked.

"It's okay, haven't gone too far away from the castle however.  The locals here don't seem to like me very much." I replied.

"What makes you say that?" Twilight asked, curious as to why the crystal ponies weren't exactly welcoming.

"I would guess it's something about seeing a strange creature that killed a full grown dragon walking down the street," I replied with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Oh... right," she responded, forgetting that the only things most ponies know about me are the stories and rumors that were spread about me.  Most of which were exaggerations on how I fought a dragon in the Everfree forest. 

"But hey, enough about me.  I'm certain you're all anxious to meet the new baby.  Don't ask me questions as to how she looks, I haven't seen her yet either."  I said, trying to change the topic.

They all looked at Shining Armor, who was currently napping while standing up.  Twilight nudged her brother to wake him up and he snapped back into consciousness.  He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts and remember why they were all there.  The look of confusion on his face told the group that he was drawing a blank, and needed help remembering.

"Uhh, hello?  The baby?"  Rainbow Dash reminded him.

"Wha-?  Oh!  Right, follow me."  Shining said, slightly embarrassed that he fell asleep in front of them...again.

They all made their way up to the nursery where Princess Celestia, Luna, and Cadence were waiting for them.  They all gathered around the cradle, letting out a soft "awwwe" in unison.  Well, except for me.  I stayed back in the doorway, watching the rest of them and scoffed to myself and shook my head at their reaction.  I never understood why most people thought children and babies were so cute.  I always thought babies looked weird since they were mostly chubby with heads almost as big as their bodies.  My thoughts were disrupted when the group of mares let out a gasp.  I didn't need to move to see what caused the sudden change in mood, for I could see the wings sticking out of the cradle from where I was standing.

"The baby is an Alicorn!?!"  Twilight asked, surprised by the baby's wings.  I didn't find it very strange, since Cadence was an alicorn herself.

"But...but...but I thought alicorn wings had to be earned by accomplishing some princess-worthy deed?"  Rarity asked.

"Yeah, how can ya just be born with 'em?"  Applejack chimed in.

"The birth of an alicorn is something that Equestria has never seen before."  Celestia said.

"It is beyond even our understanding."  Luna added.

I was content to just stand back and listen to them talk about it, but after hearing what Luna said, I was worried that I may have to explain the birds and the bees to them.  Just the thought of it made me want to laugh and cringe at the same time.  Not wanting to get involved in the conversation, I turned around to take my leave.  Just before I left though, I heard the baby sneeze and what sounded like a giant laser going off.  I turned around to see that there was a giant hole in the ceiling and the maid that I talked to earlier was looking down at them.  The top part of her mane was smoking and looked like it was just pulled out of a fire.

"It appears her magic is more powerful than that of a newborn unicorn." Celestia said with concern.

'All the more reason for me to stay the hell away from it.' I thought to myself before leaving.  I was now anxious to be anywhere that wasn't the palace for I didn't want to be near a baby that could potentially disintegrate me if I was so much as standing in the wrong place at the wrong time.  I walked outside and wandered through the streets, deciding that I didn't really care if the locals would run and hide as soon as they saw me.  I wasn't too worried about getting lost since the palace towered above all the other buildings, which I just now noticed were all made of solid crystal.  I didn't even want to try to figure out how long it would have taken to build an entire city out of solid crystal back on Earth, not to mention the cost of such a project.

As I was walking down a rather busy side street, an orange and white unicorn stallion with a messy red mane and beard wearing glasses and a blue cloak with stars bumped into me as he turned a corner.  The unicorn was practically running when he ran into me, and as a result, fell on his rear and dropped the books he was carrying in his saddlebags.  The stallion was a bit dazed from the impact and shook his head to stop his vision from spinning and adjusted his glasses.

"Oh my goodness I am so sorry, I really should have been more careful with...where I...was..." the unicorn stallion trailed off when he realized who exactly he ran into.  The ponies that were walking in the street stopped when they saw what happened and were looking back and forth between me and the stallion.  I could feel the eyes of everypony around on me and knew they were afraid of what I might do.  To the surprise of the crowd and to the unicorn stallion, I held out a hand and helped the unicorn to his hooves.

"It's alright man, don't worry about it.  Just try to be more careful about where you're going next time." I said as I dusted off the unicorn's cloak.  I looked around at the crowd and noticed how they were all looking at me in awe like they were expecting the complete opposite of what I did.  The surrounding ponies began to disperse and go about their day.  I turned back to the unicorn that ran into me as he finished placing the books that he dropped back into his saddlebag.

"Like I said before I truly am deeply sorry for causing such a scene, but I'm sure you have other business to attend too.  Have a nice day." the stallion said sheepishly as he hurried off down the busy road, seemingly afraid that my mood may change any second.  I only looked on, wondering to myself 'Is everybody around here really that scared of me?'  I decided to reflect on it later and continued to wander about aimlessly.


I eventually came across a small crowd that was gathered around a large statue that resembled the baby dragon that was living with Twilight.  What made it seem even weirder is that he was striking a heroic pose while holding the crystal heart.  'A nation that hails a child as a hero.  There must be a good story behind that.' I thought to myself.  I looked to where the crowd was paying attention to and saw the same little dragon sitting in front of them, telling them the tale about how he saved the Crystal Empire from somepony by the name of King Sombra.  I stood behind the crowd, listening to Spike as he talked about his heroic deeds.  I only caught the end of it, for the young dragon ended his story and claimed that he and Starlight "had an important lesson to do by order of the Princess of Friendship."  A title that still made me laugh a little every time I heard it.

The ponies were not aware of me standing behind them until they heard me chuckling to myself.  Most were quick to leave when they saw me, except for Spike and Starlight.

"Oh, hey Curtis!  How's it going?" Spike asked as he hopped down from the stool he was sitting on.

"I'm alright, just walking around to pass the time.  What are the two of you doing?" I asked, generally curious as to why they weren't going to see the newborn with all the others.

"We're on our way to reunite Starlight here with her foalhood friend Sunburst."  Spike said proudly.  I looked over to Starlight and could tell she wasn't as excited for their reunion as Spike was.

"Oh come on, Spike, I'm sure Curtis would love to hear the story of how you saved everypony during the Equestria Games." Starlight said with a nervous smile, her eyes pleading with me to help her out.  I picked up on her hint and knew exactly what to say.

"You know what Starlight?  That actually sounds like a very interesting story.  It's unfortunate that you have to get going on your uh, 'mission,' for the princess.  I'm certain Spike can tell me all about it on the train ride back to uh...Ponytown or wherever.  I'm gonna head back to the palace and check up on everyone.  You two have fun now." I said as I smiled and waved at the duo, most of it being directed towards Starlight.

She gave me an annoyed glare in return for not helping her, but she gave in with an audible groan as she tossed her popcorn bucket and got up from her seat and said "Alright, fine.  Let's get this over with." and she walked down the road with Spike at her side, and disappeared around the corner.

I was making my way back to the palace and was a few feet away from the heavy curtains when an ear-splitting scream rang out from the other side.  Even though I covered my ears they were still ringing and I hurried inside to see what was the cause.  I ripped back the curtain and saw all of the main ponies I interacted with standing around the spot where the crystal heart was at.  I noticed that they were all looking down at the ground and could see shards of crystal scattered along the ground.  I looked up and noticed that the crystal heart was no longer there and put two and two together.

"What the hell just happened?" I asked to nopony in particular.

"The crystal heart...it's..." Princess Cadence said before her voice fell silent, the baby now resting in her embrace.

"Ah'm guessing that's gonna make it hard ta do the Crystalling." Applejack said as she walked up to the remains.

"It's worse than that.  Without the heart, the Crystal Empire is about to be buried underneath a mountain of ice and snow."  Twilight said as she pulled back one of the curtains to reveal a giant snowstorm forming in the distance, and was approaching fast.

The ponies continued to talk amongst themselves, so focused on their inevitable doom that they didn't even notice me.  I was trying to keep up with what they were saying but the more I tried to listen, the more confused I became so I just took in what I could and ask about it later.  Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy went outside to try to convince the crowd to go back to their homes, Celestia and Luna flew off to fight the storm and everypony else ran back inside to try to find two things.  The first being a spell to fix the shattered crystal heart, and the second to find the baby that teleported out of Shining's hooves and could be heard inside the palace somewhere.  I was still standing there, trying to make sense of what I just overheard, and eventually decided to try to help those inside anyway I could.

I was working with Shining, Pinkie, and Rarity to try and catch the newborn that was having so much fun running from us and blowing holes in the palace while doing so.  Every time one of us would get close, she would teleport away to a different section of the library.  It got to the point where I was convinced that she was trying to get us to trip over each other.  An example would be when Rarity and I put together a plan where I would chase the baby alicorn down an aisle and Rarity would jump and grab her when she reached the end.  Rarity's timing was a little off and instead of grabbing the baby, she ended up tackling me to the ground as the baby teleported away into a different part of the library.  Rarity was on top of me and our faces were only a few inches apart.  

"Well now, whatever shall we do?  I don't think they'll notice if we're gone for a few minutes, hmm?" Rarity asked while giving me a seductive look.  There was so much wrong with what she suggested that all I could do was give her a brief look of disgust before shoving her off of me and ran off to the section of the library where I could hear the baby.

Pinkie eventually was able to get a hold on her but right as she did the baby sneezed and shot a beam of magic straight at Rarity who blocked it with a mirror.  I continued to watch the magical ray of death bounce from Rarity to Shining, to Starlight and Spike who just walked in, and towards Twilight.  More specifically, the book Twilight was holding with her magic.  Although nopony was injured, the way Twilight and Cadence were looking at the book told me that book was probably the one they were looking for.

"I'm guessing that book had the spell we were looking for?" I asked Twilight.

"That spell was the only thing we found in this whole library that was even CLOSE to what we needed!" Twilight said.

The situation was getting worse by the minute.  Not only was the one spell that could have saved us now destroyed, but the storm was still fast approaching despite Celestia and Luna's best efforts.

"Does anyone have a plan B?" I asked the group of ponies.  Everypony was silent for a moment until Cadence spoke up.

"Twilight and I will try to fix the crystal heart with what we can remember. But we should evacuate the city just in case.  I need the rest of you to lead everypony to the train station before the tracks freeze over." Cadence said.

"We will, but between you and Twilight, I'm sure you will remember the spell." Shining Armor said as he passed the baby over to Cadence and gave his wife a goodbye kiss before running out the doors with Pinkie and Rarity following behind him.  I stayed back since I probably wasn't going to be of much help to them.  I walked up to the table where Twilight was writing down what she could remember from the spell and the three ponies left were having a conversation of their own.

"Sunburst?  I don't recognize the name but, if he is an important wizard you should bring him here.  Maybe he will know what to do if the spell fails." Cadence said to Starlight.

"Of course!" Starlight yelled with newfound hope and ran off to find whoever this "Sunburst" was.

"Curtis, Spike, you two should go with her.  Cadence and I will be fine here." Twilight said to me and the dragon.  Spike gave her a nod to show he understood and ran off after Starlight.

"No rest for the wicked, huh?" I sarcastically asked her before running out the door after Spike and Starlight.

We made it out of the palace and into the streets and eventually made it to the house where Sunburst was living in and barged through the door to get away from the freezing weather.  The wind was blowing so hard that it took both me and Starlight to close the door.

"Sunburst!  Haven't you looked outside?" Starlight yelled at the stallion at the end of the room.  I recognized him as the stallion that ran into me earlier and we gave each other a brief look of shock.  We didn't have time to properly introduce ourselves, for there were more important matters to attend to.  Starlight was telling Sunburst about the recent events and that they needed his help, but he claimed to be too busy with "important wizard work."  A claim that I could tell was a bullshit lie.

Starlight continued to press Sunburst as to why he couldn't help them and eventually struck the nerve she was looking for cause the orange stallion burst out "I'm not an important wizard!  I'm not even a wizard at all!" and ran into the back part of his home.  Starlight and Spike gave each other a worried look before looking back to me, their faces pleading with me to come up with an idea.

"Let me talk to him.  You two wait out here, and I'll call you in if I need you."  I said as I walked into the room where Sunburst was sitting in.   I walked up behind Sunburst and cleared my throat to get his attention.

"So you mind telling me what that was all about?"  I asked.

"Why do you care?  It's not like it matters anymore."  Sunburst replied with a defeated tone.

"Well if it doesn't matter then there's no harm in telling me.  So I'm guessing that you told Starlight and Spike that you were some important wizard?"

Sunburst didn't say anything, he only nodded his head in response.

"And now when it comes time for you to prove it, it kinda blew up in your face."  I pointed out.

Again, Sunburst didn't say anything.  He just nodded his head, this time a little lower.

"Alright, so what?  You lied to impress the girl you have a crush on, but now that your words got thrown back in your face you're ready to just give up and cry about it?"

"I do NOT have a crush on Starlight!" Sunburst retorted.

"Then why did you lie, Sunburst?"  I asked, poking a hole in Sunburst's defense.

"I don't know,"  Sunburst replied, growing frustrated.  "I just wanted to impress her I guess.  I mean, after I left for magic school, I figured she went on to do something big.  She's traveling around with the Princess of Friendship for crying out loud."  Sunburst pointed out.  "I just didn't want her to think I wasn't worth her time."

"Why would she think you wouldn't be worth her time?  She came all the way from Ponyville to see you and try to restart your friendship.  To me, it sounds like she definitely wants to be friends again."  I said, trying to convince Sunburst.

"I just don't think she would understand why I never achieved greatness,"  Sunburst said, tears starting to form in his eyes.  I looked over to where Starlight and Spike were waiting and motioned for them to come in.

"Why wouldn't I understand that?" Starlight asked as she walked into the room.

Starlight and Sunburst continued the conversation while I looked out the window to see how bad the storm was getting.  It was getting worse with every passing minute, and we didn't have much time left to convince Sunburst to help.  After a few minutes, it sounded like the two worked it out and Sunburst was gathering some spell books he seemed confident in that would help turn back the storm and restore the heart.  We all headed to the train station to stop the evacuation and turn everypony around to do the crystalling.  While everypony ran back to the palace, I volunteered to look for anypony that may have gotten lost in the storm.  Since I wasn't a pony, nor a part of the empire, my absence shouldn't matter.

I was scouting out the area around the outskirts of the Crystal Empire when I spotted a cave opening not too far away.  I reasoned that ponies may try to hide in there to get out of the storm and hurried in before I froze to death myself.  I called out every now and then to see if anypony was around, but only my echo responded.  I was about to leave when I spotted a soft red glow a little deeper down one of the cave tunnels.

"Hello?  Is anyone down there?"  I called out, but not getting any response.  I continued down the tunnel to see a glowing blood red horn sticking out of the snow.

"What the hell?" I asked myself and reached down to pick it up.  Before I picked it up a large black cloud spewed out of it and caught me by surprise.  I fell on my back and scrambled back to my feet, wishing I had my weapons.

"Well now, what do we have here?  A strange creature stumbles into my domain."  The words came from the black cloud, and I could now see a face with large green eyes and a toothy, sadistic grin.  The look of it was quite intimidating, but I wasn't about to back down.

"Who or what the hell are you?"  I demanded.

"I could ask you the same thing." the cloud responded.  "But since you asked first, I am King Sombra, the rightful heir to the throne of the Crystal Empire.  So who and what are you?  And more importantly, why are you here?"  Sombra asked in response.

"My name is Curtis, I'm a human and I'm stuck in this world through no means of my own."  I replied.

"Stuck here in Equestria, you say?  Are you certain?"  Sombra asked.

"As far as I know.  The only way back to my world is not working at the current moment."  I said, not letting my guard down.

"I may be able to help you with that.  But only if you are willing to help me."  Sombra offered.  The offer sparked my interest.  As nice as this world was, I still wanted to get back to humanity where I belonged.

"What do you want from me?"  I asked.

"I need your assistance, my power is growing weak, and I can't manifest myself far from this cave or else I would risk getting discovered.  You, however, can help me with that."  Sombra explained.

"And how am I supposed to do that?  If it's magic you're looking for I'm afraid I don't have any."  I replied.

"Oh on the contrary.  The fact that you don't have any magic is exactly why you are the perfect one to help me.  You see, I can hide away inside your consciousness.  Since you have no magical abilities, nopony will be able to detect my presence.  I can reside inside you, slowly absorbing magic to gather my strength to the point where I can rise again, and take what is rightfully mine."  Sombra explained.  We were now face to face, an attempt to intimidate me into doing what he needed me to do.  Despite his dramatic entrance, I refused to so much as flinch.

"So you want me to let you live inside my head, slowly growing strong enough to the point where you can overthrow the same people that have given me a place to call home while I'm here.  That sounds like a raw deal to me, so if you're done wasting my time, I think I'll take my leave."  I said as I turned my back on the self-proclaimed king.

"WAIT!  I'm not finished." Sombra yelled as he blocked me from leaving.  "I've been watching you from the shadows.  Ever since you first awoke inside the dungeon.  Tell me, how long do you think it will be until they betray you?  Until they learn about the things you've done and throw you back into that hole they first put you in?"  Sombra asked.

"What I've done?  And just what the hell have I done?  You don't know a damn thing about me!" I yelled at Sombra.

"That's where you're wrong, human.  I know things about you that you don't even know about yourself.  Like how you came to Equestria, for example."  Sombra said with a grin.

"Really?  You know how I came to be here, even though you've been stuck in this cave?  Fine, tell me, how did I end up here?"  I asked, trying to call the king's bluff.  However, Sombra didn't even flinch at the question.

"It would be easier to just show you."  Sombra replied.

"Show me? what the hell do you-"  before I could finish the question Sombra cast a spell on me, and I lost consciousness.  I soon woke up, but I was no longer standing inside the cave.  I was standing in a pitch black room and I couldn't see anything, but at the same time, I could see my hand in front of my face perfectly fine.  'What the hell?  Where am I?'  I thought to myself.

"We're in your mind, Curtis."  Sombra's voice sounded like it was coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

"Sombra?  What the hell did you do to me?  Where are you!?!" I yelled into the darkness.  Sombra soon made himself visible, walking up to me in his true pony form wearing his armor, crown, and cloak.

"Calm down, human.  You are perfectly fine.  I brought you here to show you something."  Sombra said in a calm manner.

"And just what the hell would that be?"  I asked.

"Watch and you will see..."  Sombra said as his horn glowed and a small room began to materialize in front of us.  I somehow recognized the room with its cramped space, single bed, and toilet on the opposite wall, but couldn't pinpoint it exactly.  What felt even more strange is that I could see myself laying down on the small bed in the room, staring at the concrete ceiling.  That's when it clicked.

"Wait a minute, I recognize that room.  That was my shitty prison cell.  Damn thing was hardly big enough for me to stand in, let alone walk around."  I said, amazed that I somehow forgot about it.  A few seconds later and the solid steel door to the cell opened up and two armed guards were standing on the other side.

"Come with us.  The boss has a unique job opportunity and you're the lucky one that gets to do it."  The first guard said.  I moved closer to get a better look at the guards, feeling like I knew them from somewhere.  What did strike me as odd is that they didn't look like regular prison guards.  They looked more like soldiers than security guards, given the fact they had assault rifles, bulletproof vests, and kevlar helmets.  The scene in front of me looked so surreal.  It felt like I was watching a movie, but instead of a movie, it was my memories that I had forgotten and was watching them from a third person view.

"As much as i appreciate the offer, boys, you can tell your boss that he can give it to the next poor soul you twisted fucks want to torture."  The Curtis in the memory said.  The first guard quickly smashed him in the face with the rifle butt and dragged him out of the cell.

"I knew I recognized that guy!  He's the fucker that busted my lip!"  I said to Sombra, who couldn't help but grin knowing that his plan was working so far.

The two guards escorted memory Curtis into a room with a large machine in the center that looked like something out of a sci-fi movie.  The scene that played out explained how I was sent to Equestria and why I couldn't remember a thing.  The vision ended and Sombra and I were back inside the snowy cave.

"So, a shadow organization called the SCP Foundation sent me here with all of my stuff and shot me up with some drugs so I wouldn't remember.  But why?"  I asked Sombra.

"That I do not know.  But what I do know is that it is only a matter of time before somepony else finds out about your past, and I don't mean what we just saw."  Sombra replied.

"What do you mean?" I asked, although I already knew where the king was going with this.

"Because I am not the only one that can access your memories.  There are others with this kind of power, but they may not be as kind about it as I have.  I have shown you what you have forgotten so you could see how you ended up in Equestria, but I have also seen the 'work' you have done before you ended up in the hands of the foundation.  Tell me, if they are willing to lock you in a dungeon just for not knowing what you are, how do you think they will react when they find out about all that you've done?  All the people you enjoyed killing and getting rich while doing so?"  Sombra asked.

"Now don't you try to lay the guilt trip on me.  I'm proud of what I've done.  If I could go back and keep doing it I wouldn't hesitate.  My only regret is getting captured and getting thrown in prison."  I said defiantly.

"Exactly.  You are proud of doing what you know is right, and I agree completely with you.  However, Equestria doesn't work the same way your world does.  Equestria hasn't even seen war since it was originally founded.  So, you can see how your past and personal beliefs conflict with Equestria's." Sombra explained.  The more I listened to the king talk, the more convincing he sounded.  If the others did find out about me, I can kiss my freedom goodbye and count on spending the rest of my life inside that dungeon I first woke up in.

"Alright, you made your point.  So if I let you live inside my head, you can eventually regain your strength and do what you want to do.  But how does that benefit me?"  I asked.

"With me inside your body, you won't have to worry about any of what we just discussed.  I can block anypony who tries to enter your mind, without giving myself away.  Also, I would absorb any magic that hits you at will, so I can protect you from any magic that would harm you.  Since you and I will share your body, I can also cast spells through you and use it if the need arises.  Not only that, but when I do rise again and take back my throne, you will be by my side, and we can rule Equestria together or I can send you back to your world.  Whichever you prefer."  King Sombra was smiling, certain that I wasn't going to turn down his offer.  As much as he hated the fact he would have to rely on somepony else for survival, this was perhaps his only chance to restore himself back to his full power and take back his kingdom.

"How long will it take for you to regain your strength?" I asked.

"Although I cannot say for certain, it will take a while.  Months, maybe even years.  It depends on how much magic you are exposed to, and how much I can safely absorb without making myself noticeable."  Sombra replied.  "So, what do you say?  Is it a deal, or are you willing to take the risk of losing everything and hope that the 'magic of friendship' will save you?"  Sombra asked in a mocking tone.

I took a long moment to consider my options.  Although what little information I knew about the king told me he was a shady character at best and I couldn't fully trust him.  I let out a sigh, weighing my options, considering the risks and rewards of both scenarios.  I had already told Celestia that I used to fight in the war back home and that part of my job involved killing, but that explanation glossed over most of the details I knew Celestia would throw me back in the dungeon for.  After a few moments of consideration, I made my decision.  Although I didn't feel completely confident that it was the right one, I knew that it was the one that would guarantee my security for the future.  I walked out of the cave, looking at the sky to see that the snowstorm had disappeared and that the Crystal Empire was back to normal.

I made my way back to the palace and met up with Shining Armor, the princesses, and the rest of the ponies that I would primarily spend my time with while I was in Equestria.  We all enjoyed the festivities of the crystalling, playing games and eating some delicious food (even though there wasn't a single ounce of meat to be had!)  That was something I was going to have to find a solution to, I wanted some meat and was already getting sick with all of the vegetarian dishes.  I made a deal with myself that I would go hunting in the Everfree forest as soon as I got the chance.  After spending the day celebrating the birth of Shining and Cadence's foal, it was time to go back to Ponyville with Twilight and her friends.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna returned to Canterlot, and I was at the train station with Shining, Cadence, Twilight and her friends.  Apparently Shining and Twilight's parents were coming to the crystalling as well but their train got delayed by the storm.  That is when Shining and Cadence revealed that they decided to name their baby Flurry Heart, a tribute to the day's events.  Twilight's parents, whose names were Twilight Velvet and Night Light, gave their son and daughter-in-law one last hug goodbye and boarded the train.  Twilight did the same and boarded the train with her friends following behind her, minus Starlight, who was talking to Sunburst in their own private conversation.





"Well, I guess this is goodbye for now.  I'll be sure to keep in touch with you.  Maybe I can visit sometime if you're not busy with your duties as the royal crystaller."  Starlight said to Sunburst as she hugged him goodbye, taking in a small whiff of his cologne that he decided to use for some reason.  When she let go of him she could see that he was noticeably blushing and tried his best to hide it.  She couldn't help but giggle at how cute he looked when he was embarrassed.

"Indeed, I'll be sure to write whenever I can as well.  Something I should have done a long time ago but...didn't."  Sunburst trailed off as he hung his in shame.

"Hey, don't be like that.  That's all in the past now, and I know that we'll get it right this time."  Starlight said as she put a hoof to his chin and raised his head up so she could look him in the eyes to let him know it was going to be okay.  When their eyes met Starlight couldn't help but notice that he was actually a rather handsome stallion.  She realized she was staring for an awkward amount of time and it was her turn to blush in embarrassment.

"Anyways, I suppose I should get going, don't wanna keep the others waiting."  Starlight said as she turned around.  Sunburst was about to leave himself when he felt a warm kiss on his cheek and saw Starlight sheepishly smiling at him and she trotted back to the train.  She sat by the window and waved him goodbye.  Sunburst was so stunned by her act of affection that he held a hoof to his cheek and looked down at it and back to Starlight, realizing that he didn't imagine what just happened.  He smiled as a warm and fuzzy feeling flooded his chest and waved back to his foalhood friend that had grown up to be the most beautiful mare he had ever seen.





I was engaged in my own conversation with the royal couple but still caught the moment between Starlight and Sunburst that confirmed my suspicions.  I couldn't help but give the stallion a devilish grin.  Sunburst walked away while shaking his head, knowing that I was going to brag about being right about him and Starlight.  I turned to Shining and Cadence, who missed what happened since they were paying attention to Flurry Heart.  

"Well, it's been a real pleasure staying with you guys, but I guess it's time I head back to Ponyville.  Do I really have to live with your sister though?  I hear mares have something called the cooties and it's very contagious." I joked to Shining and Cadence, who both laughed a little at the jest.

"I'm sure you'll be fine.  Who knows?  Maybe if you ever stop fighting dragons she might let you get a house of your own."  Shining poked back.

"I used to foal-sit Twilight so I know she can be a bit overwhelming at times, so please do your best to bear with her.  I just know she will have a never-ending list of questions and experiments for you."  Cadence said.  I couldn't help but feel worried about that last part.

"Uh...experiments?  What kind of experiments?" I asked as I looked back at the train and could see Twilight sitting in the window.  She waved at me and gave me a big smile, excited that she will soon be able to ask me all the questions she could think of.  I gave a nervous smile and waved back and turned around to face Cadence again.

"Seriously though, what is she planning on doing to me?"  I pleaded with Cadence, who only giggled at me in return.

"Just keep an open mind and an open heart and you will be just fine, trust me,"  Cadence said, adding a wink and a reassuring smile.

I took a seat on the train, thinking about what Cadence said.  'Keep an open mind and an open heart and you will be just fine.'  Those words repeated themselves in my head as I watched the sunset through the window.  I was so far lost in thought that I didn't even notice Twilight had sat next to me after the train rolled out of the station.  She put a hoof on my shoulder to shake me out of my trance.  The sudden touch was enough to make me flinch away.

"Oh, sorry.  Didn't mean to frighten you.  You just seem to be thinking hard about something.  Mind if I ask you what about?"  Twilight asked with an innocent smile.  I had to admit, most of the ponies I've seen were pretty freaking adorable.

"Oh it's nothing much, just wondering what I'm going to do when we get to Ponyville is all," I said, hoping to change the topic from what's on my mind.

"Really!?!  Me too!  Don't worry, as a guest in my home I will make sure to keep you entertained to the best of my abilities.  Not only that, but I have so much to ask you.  Do you realize how great of an opportunity this is?  You are the first human to ever come to Equestria and we can learn so much from each other..."  Twilight continued on for what felt like hours, even though it was only about 45 minutes.  We were still hours away from Ponyville, but Twilight finally calmed down, and decided to take a nap, and so did everypony else.  Twilight curled up beside me and let out a soft yawn before resting her head on her hooves and drifting off to sleep.  I was considering either gently pushing her away or moving to a different seat, but honestly, I was too tired to care at this point.  That and Twilight's parents were sitting across from me and they both looked back and forth between me and their daughter with knowing smiles before closing their eyes as well.

I decided to ignore the looks Twilight's parents gave me and what Cadence said earlier and leaned my head against the window to catch some sleep.  The warmth I felt on my side from Twilight pressing against me was only making me more tired, and I was ready to turn in after a busy day.  Before I drifted off to sleep, I thought back to my encounter with King Sombra and felt a little more confident that I made the right decision.  I put my hand on my chest and rubbed the spot where the king's horn entered my body and thought about the future to come.  To me, it came down to a simple phrase...










Hail to the King

> Sunset's Predicament
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The moon was high in the clear night sky when the train arrived in Ponyville.  Twilight's parents got off in Canterlot so it was just me, Twilight and her friends left in the train car.  Everypony was taking a nap except for me, I didn't need much sleep and was already awake when the train rolled into the station.  I looked around the cabin and saw that everypony else was still out.  I looked down at Twilight who was still curled up next to me and I placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her a bit to wake her up.

"Wake up, everyone.  We're here." I said out loud.  They all slowly began to wake up and stretch their limbs as they gathered their luggage.  Well, everypony except Rainbow Dash and Spike.  Twilight levitated Spike onto her back and Applejack was getting into position to give the rainbow pegasus another one of her wake up kicks.

I motioned for her to stop and said "I can get her this time." as I walked up to her.

Applejack raised a curious eyebrow and replied: "Have at it."  Wondering how I was going to wake up her friend.

I looked down at the sleeping pegasus who was snoring softly on her seat.  Instead of giving her a little shake like I did with Twilight, I decided to have a little fun and plugged Rainbow's nose shut with my hand.  Rainbow Dash stopped snoring and was quiet for a few seconds before she started to shift around in her sleep.  She suddenly flew up gasping for air but forgot that she was on a train and smacked her head on the roof of the train car.  This caused most of the group to bust out in laughter before trying to stifle it as best they could.  Rainbow Dash hovered down to my eye level and got face to face with me.

My face was turning red from holding back my laughter, and I could only look the angry pegasus in the eye for a second before I would lose control of my laughter.  I got a grip on myself after a bit and regained enough composure to make eye contact with Rainbow Dash and keep my cool.  Rainbow Dash was stilled giving me a pissed off look and was waiting for me to apologize.

"Alright alright, enough with the stink eye.  I'm sorry."  I said, trying to sound as sincere as possible.  Rainbow Dash continued to stare me down for a few seconds before smacking me upside the head with her hoof.  I continued to snicker as I rubbed the back of my head as we all got off the train and onto the station platform.  We all said our goodbyes to each other and split off into the directions of our homes.  I followed Starlight and Twilight back to the castle, even though I would have found my way easily enough since it towered above all the other buildings in Ponyville.

While we were walking I would catch small movements out of the corner of my eyes moving in the alleys we passed by.  Either Ponyville had a number of stray animals, or we were being watched.  Judging from how I was easily able to spot them, they had to have been amateurs.  I ignored them for now, thinking they were probably nothing more than hoodlums looking to rob anyone passing by but if they had any sense they wouldn't mess with royalty.

Shortly enough we arrived at the castle and Twilight opened the doors with her magic.  I looked behind us once more before going inside and I saw the familiar shadows running away, knocking over a trash can as they did.  'Amateurs.' I chuckled to myself as I walked inside.

"*yawn*  I think I'm gonna go straight to bed.  I'll see you all in the morning.  Twilight, I'm assuming I'll be staying in the same room I was in before?" I asked the princess.

"Sure, consider that room all to yourself.  All of your things should be in there waiting for you.  I'm gonna get Spike here into bed and do the same.  Goodnight."  Twilight said as she walked off to her room at the top of the castle and I walked with Starlight towards the guest wing.  After a few moments of silence I decided to break the tension.

"So, you and Sunburst are a thing now, huh?" I asked Starlight, whose face immediately turned red.

"W-well, I don't know if uh, we're actually a 'thing' but...I don't know if Sunburst wants that type of relationship.  After all, we've been so far apart for so long and I'm certain he has all kinds of mares chasing after him.  You know with him being a big important wizard, crystaller and all..."  Starlight stuttered out in embarrassment and avoided eye contact by looking around.

"Yeah, you're probably right.  After all, how often does a friendship between two people turn romantic?"  I asked sarcastically.

Starlight only shook her head at me and stopped in front of her door.  "Okay, well this is my room.  Yours should be just a few more doors down.  Have a good night, Curtis."  Starlight said to me as she walked into her room and closed the door.  I waved back to her and made my way to my room, anxious to have my weapons in my hands after what felt like ages being apart from them.

I walked into my room that was illuminated by the moonlight shining in through the windows.  My bag was sitting on the bed and I opened it up to reveal all of my belongings still in there, untouched as promised.  I smiled as I held the M16A4 in my hands, running them along the rifle, admiring the way it looked in the silver moonlight.  I stood the rifle against the side of the bed and held the two M9s in each hand, feeling their weight.  I admired them the for a few seconds before I placed one on the nightstand and one underneath the pillow, just in case.  I looked inside the bag and saw all that was left apart from the gems were the ammo boxes, gas mask, suppressors, the cleaning kit, canteen and one ration.  Feeling hungry from the long train ride, I tore open the ration and ate the tasteless food inside.  I disposed of the ration bag into the trash can and put the duffel bag inside the closet where my flak jacket and kevlar helmet were hung up along with the balaclava.

The ration filled up my stomach and I let out a yawn as I stretched and stood up from the desk.  Feeling the fatigue of the day wearing on me, I stripped down to my underwear and shirt and got into bed.  It was by far the most comfortable bed I ever been in and felt the cold metal of the M9 in my hand underneath the pillow.  Ready to get some real sleep I closed my eyes and drifted off into another dreamless sleep.




*****SCP Foundation site No. [REDACTED]*****




Sunset was sitting inside the interrogation room, waiting for Dr. Chase to come in.  She had the same gloom look on her that she had ever since she was first taken by the foundation, and for every day that goes by, she missed her friends from Canterlot High more and more.  The staff treated her nice enough, nobody was flat out rude or mean, but she couldn't help but feel like another one of the prisoners kept here.  In reality, that's all she was, a prisoner.  It didn't matter that she was given a nice dorm to live in, time to go outside and stretch her legs, all the tv shows, movies, and books she could ask for, none of it could replace her friends.

On the other side of the observation glass, Dr. Chase was observing Sunset as he talked with Dr. Maynard, who has become much more involved personally with this project than any of his previous ones.  Dr. Maynard, an older man with grey hair and a short beard of the same color, was observing Sunset as well.

"So this is the girl you were talking about?"  Dr. Maynard asked.

"Yes, that is her.  So far we haven't heard much from our agents on the other end, only that they have found the D-class we sent through and he did escape as we planned."  Dr. Chase explained.

"Really?  Is that all?"  Dr. Maynard asked unbelievingly that was all they have learned so far.

"Well, there is more but..." Dr. Chase hesitated.

"But what?"  Dr. Maynard pressed, slightly agitated by Chase's hesitation.

"It didn't exactly go down as we thought it would.  It seems that one of their leaders, a princess by the name of Twilight Sparkle, has convinced the man to surrender peacefully the day after he escaped.  Not only that, but he has also managed to kill a fully grown dragon.  If the dragons of their world are like the ones from myths and legends, that has to be quite the feat."  Dr. Chase explained.  Dr. Maynard bit his bottom lip upon hearing this, slightly perplexed by the information Chase has given him.

"Well, it may not be the result we were expecting, but it doesn't matter.  The rest of the operation is still on schedule and is going smoothly.  We will still be able to hit them where we need to.  Anyways, I am here to witness the interrogation process, I am aware that the book is doing what it was before and that means that someone on the other end has written a message, correct?"  Dr. Maynard asked.

"Correct sir.  Sunset has been compliant thus far and has agreed to serve as a translator for us."  Dr. Chase said.

"Excellent.  Go ahead and begin the interrogation, doctor.  I'll be watching in case you need any assistance."  Dr. Maynard said and Dr. Chase entered the interrogation room.

"Good morning, miss Shimmer, how have you been since the last time we've talked?" Dr. Chase asked as he entered the room and sat across from Sunset.

"I'm fine."  Sunset lied, but she was certain that Dr. Chase wasn't actually concerned about her well being.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that.  The reason we're here today is that I need your services again." Dr. Chase said as he laid Sunset's book on the table.  It was giving off that same glow and vibration that it did last time and Sunset's eyes lit up upon seeing it.  She anxiously opened it to the page with the writing on it and read the message from Twilight:

Dear Sunset,

I am happy to inform you that things are going well for us on this end.  The man that I told you about is named Curtis, and he is now staying with me in Ponyville.  He's a little rough around the edges but seems nice enough.  I haven't got a chance to sit down and actually talk to him but that will come tomorrow.   I just wanted to give you a little update and thank you again for your help, I don't think we would have been able to do it without you.  As it turns out, he came through with some things from the human world, mostly being weapons of some sort.  He was able to use these human weapons to take down a fully grown dragon all on his own!  I'll be honest, I'm a little nervous about having him around, but I'm certain that with the help of my friends, he will become a functional member of Equestrian society.  Who knows, maybe if things go right, this could be the start of our world and the human world making official contact with one another!  I'm still curious as to how he was able to just waltz right through the portal with all that stuff and not remember anything not to mention how he somehow avoided changing into a pony, but I'm certain answers will come in time.  Anyways, I hope you and the girls are doing well for yourselves and I will let you know if anything else develops.

Sincerely,
Princess Twilight Sparkle

Sunset was feeling mixed emotions from her friend's letter.  Part of her was relieved that they were able to come to a peaceful resolution, but at the same time, he has the skill and firepower necessary to take on dragons all on his own.  When she was living in Equestria, dragons were one of the most feared predators around, but now it seems that's all starting to change thanks to the efforts of her captors.  She wanted to tell Twilight about the danger they were in, warn her about what's really going on, but with Dr. Chase watching her every move that was going to be impossible.

"Well, miss Shimmer?  What does your friend have to say this time?"  Dr. Chase asked, getting impatient.

"It says that the man you sent through is now currently living with Princess Twilight in her castle.  She has also expressed some concern over the circumstances of him coming to Equestria."  Sunset explained hesitantly.  Dr. Chase rubbed his chin in thought, pondering how best to respond.  He needed to come up with something to put the princess at ease but at the same time not give the foundation away.  The less those ponies knew about the human world the better.  He was about to come up with something until Dr. Maynard entered the room.

"Dr. Chase, will you excuse us for a minute please?"  Maynard asked, giving him a look that told Chase that was more of an order than a request.

"As you wish, sir."  Dr. Chase said with a hint of aggravation in his voice.  He hated it when the higher ups would step on his toes, but this was a delicate operation and was willing to put his pride aside for the time being.  Dr. Maynard waited for the door to close behind Chase and turned to face Sunset.

"Hello miss Shimmer.  My name is Dr. Maynard.  I am the head researcher of this facility and I don't think I need to tell you why my organization has so much interest in you and your uh, origins, shall we say."  Dr. Maynard said in a relaxing voice.

"What do you people want from me?"  Sunset asked, struggling to maintain her composure.

"It's not exactly what we want from you, my dear.  Really, it's about where you are from.  This land that you call Equestria.  You see, we have been watching you for some time.  Long before we took you and that statue into custody.  I know you have been through a lot of stress over the past few months, and I think you are probably wanting some answers as to what exactly is going on."  Maynard explained.

Sunset didn't say anything, she could only nod her head slightly and fight the lump in her throat.

"The organization I work for, the SCP Foundation, is a group dedicated to the protection of humanity and safeguarding it from threats beyond our understanding.  Be it unnatural phenomena, mysterious artifacts or creatures, and even other worlds and dimensions.  As well as beings from those other worlds and dimensions that seek to do humanity harm."  Maynard continued.

"Then why are you coming after me?  After Equestria?  We haven't done anything to you!?!"  Sunset burst out, unable to fight back the tears.

"On the contrary, Ms. Shimmer.  You see, the ruler of your world, the one you identified as 'Princess Celestia' has a nasty habit of sending the unwanted villains and trash of her society into our world, without any regard to what might happen on this side of the portal.  Your existence here is proof of that.  Because if I remember correctly, you were banished from your world and sent here to ours because you were getting power hungry, weren't you?  And then you continued your efforts on our side, and came very close to possessing an entire high school of students into following you back through the portal in your conquest for revenge.  But not before you managed to blow an entire wall out of said high school, and blasting another crater just a few feet away from the entrance.  All without the use of any weapons or explosives of any kind.  This was all accomplished by using a magical crown from your world that turned you into what you described as a raging she-demon."  Maynard said firmly.  Sunset could only look down in shame at the reminder of her past mistakes.

"But that was only one example.  We are also aware that a group of three girls, roughly about your age by human standards, that turned out to be ancient beings from your world called sirens, that feed off of the energy of those around them, causing their victims to become rather hostile in nature.  Again, they were sent here to planet Earth, by this Princess Celestia.  They as well nearly accomplished something similar to your goals, except they were going after humanity instead of Equestria."  Maynard said.

"And a third occurrence is when the magic from your world was actually leaking into ours, ripped holes in time and space, and threatened to merge our two dimensions into one.  The disastrous effects of such an event would be catastrophic at the least, possibly ending both our worlds at the same time.  Is anything of what I said not true?"  Maynard asked in a calm yet demanding tone.

"Everything you said is true, but you don't have all the facts."  Sunset said, wiping away her tears.

"By all means, enlighten me."  Maynard said.

"Princess Celestia sent Twilight to stop both me and the sirens.  Without her help, I would still be a raging she-demon and all of humanity would be under control of the sirens.  My friends and I were able to take care of the third incident."  Sunset said, defending her former mentor and friend.  Dr. Maynard sat in silence for a bit, taking in what Sunset told him.

"I see, so let's assume what you told me is true, and that maybe Princess Celestia has realized the error of her ways.  It doesn't change the fact that she put humanity in grave danger on at least two separate occasions.  Not only that, but the fact that this was all done by the use of magic, a force that only individuals from your world are able to naturally control.  Can you see why this would cause much concern to me, the foundation, and humanity as a whole?"  Maynard pointed out.

Sunset tried to think of an argument, but everything the doctor said was true.  Equestria's magic and those who abuse it would wreak havoc on this world if given the chance.  But why take her?  Why couldn't they just take the wondercolts statue and leave her with her friends?

"You are right.  But why take me?"  Sunset asked with pleading eyes.  Maynard couldn't help but feel a little remorse for the girl, sure she may have been less than good in the past but she appeared to be heading on the right path before they took her into custody.

"Because we need your help.  I... need your help.  You see, just like there are those in your world that would seek to do humanity harm, there are those who would seek to do the same to Equestria.  It is the goal of the foundation to prevent all of that from happening, and our two worlds can continue on existing without posing a constant threat to each other.  That is a goal that requires mutual cooperation.  We sent that man through to see how your society would react to a human living among them.  We needed to know exactly how well our two worlds can live with each other if we are to cooperate with one another.  Do you see what I'm getting at here?  Help us to help you, and I give you my word you will be free to go as soon as possible."  Maynard pleaded with Sunset.

Sunset was thinking about what the doctor said, and he was making a convincing argument.  Every incident that has occurred involving Equestrian magic has only gotten worse and worse.  How long would it be until it gets out of control?  She still didn't fully trust Dr. Maynard, or the foundation for that matter, but it seems that they may need to rely on each other if they are to accomplish what the doctor claims to be his goals.  Sunset calmed down for the most part and wiped away the last of her tears as she regained her composure.

"Alright doctor, tell me how I can help, and I will do my best."  Sunset said, an offer that made Dr. Maynard smile.

"I am glad to hear that.  I assure you, with our combined efforts, we will accomplish our goals.  When we do, I am certain I could pull a few strings to get you back to your friends in Canterlot high.  It's the least I could do."  Dr. Maynard said.

As distraught as Sunset was, the thought of seeing her friends again made her smile, and a new feeling of hope began to rise inside her.  She had to do this, for both her friends and Equestria.

"Well, that concludes the end of this session.  You are free to head back to your room.  I'm going to have a chat with Dr. Chase about a few things.  I look forward to your cooperation, Ms. Shimmer."  Dr. Maynard said as he got up from his seat and exited the room, holding the door open for Sunset who followed right behind him.  The door to the interrogation room opened up into a hallway that stretched along to the left and right.  Dr. Chase was waiting for Dr. Maynard around the corner and the two walked down the right hallway to the section of the facility that was meant for personnel only.  Sunset's own personal guard, a young lieutenant by the name of Kyle Orowitz.  He was a few years younger compared to the other guards, but made up for his lack of experience in skill and wit.  Although most of the staff treated Sunset as either a prisoner or another experiment, Kyle was really the only one who treated her like a person.

"Hey Sunset, how'd it go?"  Kyle asked as he stood up from the wall to greet her.

"It went alright, I'm actually gonna start helping out with the research around here."  Sunset admitted.

"That's great!  I'm sure it will beat the hell out of sitting inside your room all day.  Speaking of which, I was able to convince my captain to give you some extra time outside." Kyle told her.  Sunset was excited to hear this.  Being stuck in an underground facility made being outside so much more enjoyable, even though it would only usually be for an hour.

"Really!?!  How did you do that?" Sunset asked.

"I offered to take on a few extra duties this month in exchange for some extra off time.  But I'm willing to use it so you can spend a few extra hours outdoors.  After all, I know how much you enjoy the sunset."  Kyle nudged her at that last part, mocking her name.  It was true, watching the setting sun was one of her most favorite things to do.  For some reason she could always think more clearly and feel at peace whenever she did.

"Oh, you didn't have to do that for me."  Sunset said with a smile.

"Ah, don't worry about it.  It's nothing, really." Kyle replied.  There was a moment of silence between the two before Kyle spoke up again.

"Come on, we only have a few minutes before sunset, and I don't want my extra effort to go to waste."  Kyle said as the two made their way to the facility's courtyard on the surface.

The elevator came to a halt and the doors opened up to the room that served as the security checkpoint for those entering and leaving the courtyard.  After a quick search from security Kyle and Sunset made their way to the wide courtyard and the sun was just beginning to glow orange over the horizon.  The facility's location was a closely kept secret, not even Kyle knew exactly where the facility was located.  They could tell by the cold winds and surrounding mountains that they were located in a mountain range, but not much else.  Not that it mattered for now.  The only thing Sunset was worried about was how beautiful everything looked in the sun's late evening glow.

Everything from the clouds to the guard towers seemed so much more peaceful at this time of day to her and she was already feeling better about her situation.  She may be a long ways away from home and her friends, but today seemed like a step in the right direction.  While Sunset was admiring everything around her as she slowly wandered around, Kyle stayed back near the entrance and watched her with the same fascination.  Normally he wouldn't develop crushes on high school girls, but Sunset told him about how she was really from Equestria and over there she would be closer to her late twenties.  That came as a relief to him because it helped him feel like less of a pedophile.  He continued to watch her bask in the sun's orange light, and how she seemed to just naturally glow.

Sunset saw out of the corner of her eye that Kyle was staying back and watching her and she waved over to him.  Embarrassed that Sunset may have just caught him ogling her, he walked over to her while discreetly trying to hide his face.

"Isn't it beautiful?"  Sunset asked Kyle while looking at the setting sun.

"Yeah...it sure is."  Kyle replied, knowing they were talking about two different things.  Sunset looked Kyle in the eyes for a moment before she threw her arms around him to give him a hug.

"Thank you Kyle, really.  You have no idea how much this means to me."  Sunset said as she could feel Kyle return the hug.  After hugging for a few seconds longer than normal they let go of each other and sat beneath one of the trees growing in the courtyard to watch the sun go down.  After a few minutes of sitting in silence, Kyle spoke up.

"So, have you ever thought about what it would be like to go back to your home world?"  he asked.

"I've thought about it from time to time, wondering how different things were since the last time I left.  But then again, I've been human for so long now I've nearly forgotten what it feels like to be a pony."  Sunset replied.  "Why do you ask?"  She asked curiously.

"I don't know.  Just wondering what it would be like in your world.  It all just seems so weird."  Kyle explained.

"What do you mean 'weird?'"

"Oh, you know, walking around on four legs instead of two.  Eating nothing but hay and flowers.  Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and grow a horn like you did."  Kyle joked.  Sunset laughed a little at his mocking and punched him in the shoulder.

Things weren't the best, but it could certainly be a lot worse.  Her old friends may not be around to help her but at least she still had one friend and that was better than none.  Their moment of peace didn't last forever though, for the siren indicating that the courtyard was closing sounded off and it was time to go back down to her room.  Kyle stood up first and helped Sunset to her feet.  Soon enough they were back down in the facility and Sunset was in bed, ready to sleep after an exciting day.
> Foalnapping in Ponyville
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Take long as fuck to post a chapter

*Promises to not take as long to post next chapter

*Take long as fuck to post next chapter





It was late in the morning when I started to wake up, Celestia's sun was shining brightly through the windows into my room.  I sat up in my bed and stretched my muscles to wake up the rest of my body.  Despite the craziness of the past few days, that was the best night's sleep I've had in a long time.  I rolled out of bed and noticed the rather distinct 'odor' following me.  Turns out that not showering for a few days tends to leave a nasty stench on the body.  I walked into the bathroom to see if the room came with a shower and fortunately it did even though it was considerably shorter than I was.

'Fucking ponies, why the hell do they have to be so short?' I thought to myself.

"Well we all can't be tall, hairless apes now, can we?"

The random voice from nowhere caught me off guard and I spun around to look and see who else was in the room with me.  To my surprise, I was alone.

"Easy now apeman, there's no need to be alarmed.  Look behind you, in the mirror."

I knew who it was before I even looked at the mirror for the voice could only belong to the one other person...or pony I should say...inside my head.  I don't exactly function at 100% after waking up, but then again who does?

"Good morning, friend.  I say we are off to a good start.  They don't suspect a thing about you and I."  Sure enough, there in the mirror where my reflection should be sat the former King of the Crystal Empire.

"Sombra, is now the really the best time?" I asked.

"That's KING Sombra to you." Sombra said with a hiss.

"Oh I'm sorry, I forgot that you're the supreme overlord again now that you're no longer a horn stuck in a cave.  Now you're just a horn that's stuck inside me."

"...Are you sure you don't want to rephrase that?"  Again, my mind isn't fully functional in the morning so it took me a second to realize what the hell he was talking about.

"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!!!" I yelled in frustration.  So apparently the former king is a sarcastic asshole, I knew we would get along.

"Nevermind.  I just felt like you should know that while you were sleeping last night, Princess Luna did try to take a peek inside your dreams to see what was going on in your head.  Don't worry, I easily blocked her out."  Sombra said.

"And you managed to do that without giving yourself away?"

"Of course.  After all, she can only see your dreams if you are dreaming.  I just used a minor telepathy spell so you wouldn't have any.  That is all."

"And why are you telling me this?"

"Just letting you know that I am still holding up my end of the bargain, and I expect you to make progress on your part today in return."

"If the opportunity presents itself for me to get zapped with some magic, I'll be sure to take advantage of it."

"Good, I look forward to our next chat.  Don't disappoint me."

After that he faded away from the mirror and I was staring at my own reflection.  I stood there for a minute, wondering if the conversation I just had was real, or if I was losing my mind.  More so than what I already have.

"Just remember, I'll always be watching." Sombra's voice rang from the back of my mind as my eyes turned the same green and red as Sombra's.

I splashed some cold water on my face from the sink to bring myself back to reality.  I decided that I was done talking to the voice in my head and turned on the shower.  The water was instantly warm and I wasted no time undressing and awkwardly positioning myself in the shower meant for ponies half my size.  After I finished, I put on all of my clothes but left most of my gear in the closet and decided that I would only bring my pistols.  I strapped the twin M9s to each of my legs and walked out of my room, closing the door behind me.

Realizing that Twilight never really specified a time and place to meet, I decided to wander around the castle and familiarize myself with the place.  It didn't take long for me to catch the smell of something cooking, and I followed the delicious scent towards its source.  After turning a few corners I made my way into the kitchen where Spike was busy cooking breakfast.

"Morning Spike.  What's on the menu?" I asked the young dragon.

"Good morning, Curtis.  I'm just whipping up some eggs and pancakes for everypony, and I'm almost finished.  Twilight and Starlight should be down in a few minutes.  I make sure to wake up extra early to cook them breakfast every morning."  Spike said with pride.

"Alright, I'll just hang out here until it's ready." I said and took a seat at the table.  Twilight and Starlight entered the kitchen shortly after and Spike set down all the food as everypony took a seat.

"So Twilight, what are the plans for today?" 

"I'm glad you asked.  I've prepared a list of all the things we should go over."  Twilight said as she summoned a long scroll of parchment out of thin air.  She floated the scroll over to me to look over.  I was in awe from the seemingly unending list of topics and activities she had planned, most of which weren't very interesting.  The topics of discussion ranging from personal questions to human culture and history.  I'm not much of a scholar or intellect so I wouldn't be of much use there, the activities she had planned seemed a bit more interesting though.

She wanted to give me a tour of Ponyville and introduce me to all the residents at once by holding a town meeting, that wasn't going to be pleasant.  I did see the words 'weapons demonstration' somewhere and that gave me some hope that today wasn't going to be completely dull.  I looked up at the princess to see her happily waiting with a wide grin for my thoughts on the plans she made.

"I know it may look overwhelming but I've already planned everything out and as long we stick to the schedule everything will be just fine."  Twilight said with a reassuring smile.

"If you say so, but this can wait until after we're done eating." I said and turned my attention back to my food.  Everypony else did the same and a few minutes later, everypony was finished and Starlight cast a spell on the dishes to clean themselves in the sink, which I thought was pretty damn cool.

"Well, now that everypony is full, we can start our day.  Starlight, I need you and Spike to go around town and tell everypony that there will be a town hall meeting this afternoon.  If anypony asks what for, just tell them it's an introduction for a special guest we will be hosting for a while."  Twilight said as she winked at me.

'For a while, huh?  Hopefully not too long.'

"Sure thing, Twilight."  Starlight said as she trotted out the castle doors with Spike next to her.  After the doors closed behind the duo, Twilight turned her attention to me.

"Well, we have the whole castle to ourselves and we have a few hours before the town meeting, so how about we go somewhere a little more private.  I like to keep things personal whenever I'm interviewing somepony and since this is the first time a human has come to Equestria, I don't want any distractions." Twilight said as she walked towards the kitchen exit.




*****Starlight and Spike*****





Starlight and Spike were walking down the main road through Ponyville, deciding to start at the top and work their way down.  Usually the streets are full of ponies browsing one of the many shops or stalls lining the road but today the streets were strangely empty.

"This is weird, where is everypony?" Starlight asked Spike.

"I dunno.  Usually everypony is out and about by now."  The duo continued to wander through the streets until they found a large group of ponies gathered around one of the houses.

"I wonder what's going on over there..." Starlight said and the two picked up the pace to see what was going on.  Starlight couldn't help but feel worried that something bad happened.  As she approached the house, she recognized the house as Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon's home.  What worried her even more was that the front door was smashed in.

"What happened here?" Starlight asked Carrot Top, who was standing next to her.

"It's Lyra and Bon Bon...they've been foalnapped."

"What!?!  By who?"

"Diamond dogs, and they weren't the only ones.  They got Octavia and Vinyl Scratch as well."  Her words sent chills down Starlight's spine.  She looked at Spike who had the same concerned face as everypony else.

"We need to tell Twilight!" Starlight wasted no time and quickly teleported herself and Spike back to the castle.





Twilight and I made our way to the castle library so she could start asking the long list of questions she had for me.  We sat down at a small table in the center and she removed the scroll she had tucked under her wing.  She unrolled it in front of her and it was significantly shorter than the one she showed me earlier.

"Change your mind about some of the stuff you wanted to ask me?"

"Hmm?  Oh no, that list I showed you earlier are my long term goals.  What I have here is just a list of things I would like to do today."

"Alrighty then.  What's first on the list?" Twilight looked at the top of her list to see what we should do first.

"Hmm....Build an atmosphere of trust and confidence by asking questions about each other."  Well shit, I was hoping we were gonna hold off on the personal questions.

"Okay.  That's as good of a place to start as any.  Since I'm the guest why don't you go first, your highness."  She giggled a little bit at that last part.

"You don't have to call me that.  'Twilight' is just fine.  Since you offered, What do you remember before coming to Equestria?  I know you said you couldn't remember anything but any details you can provide would be wonderful."  Twilight said as she levitated a scroll and quill over for taking notes.

"Like I said, I don't remember a whole lot, but what I can tell you is that I didn't come here on my own will."

"Oh, how do you know that?" Twilight asked curiously.

"I didn't get these bruises and cuts on my face from the dragon, and I'm starting to recall a little bit more now that my mind had time to settle down.  I was a convict being held at some sort of special prison.  I do remember talking to some people who I think were scientists just before coming here, but I don't remember about what." I decided to play it safe and not tell her everything that Sombra showed me.  Twilight was a little surprised when I mentioned being an ex-con, and I could tell it made her a bit nervous by the way she was shifting around in her chair.

'Prison? Scientists? That doesn't sound anything like the Canterlot high I remember.' Twilight thought to herself as she made note of it on her paper.  She couldn't help but feel concerned about her friends in the human world. Surely Sunset would have told her about something as extreme as that, right? She made a note to ask about it later in the interview since they were still getting to know each other.

"If you don't mind me asking...how did you end up going to prison?" Twilight asked.  The look on her face told me that she was afraid of what the answer could be.  Should I mess with her?  It's tempting since I had this conversation already with that other princess.

"What do you think I got sent to prison for?" I asked, deciding to have some fun.

"Uhhhhhh..." was all Twilight said before she started fidgeting with her hooves in nervousness, questioning herself if she really wants to know the answer.

"I already told your other princess about that part of my life.  So if you would rather get the details from her and move on that would be okay with me." I said to her relief.

"Whew, okay.  Well that counts as a question for me, so your turn.  What would you like to know?"  Twilight asked.  I thought for a moment about what I should ask her.  Maybe now would be a good time to bring up magic.

"Okay, I got one.  Where I'm from, magic exists only in fairy tales and fantasy.  Now that I'm seeing it with my own eyes, I'm honestly interested in learning what I can about it.  I heard that you're the best in the business when it comes to that sort of thing so I was wondering if maybe you could show me a thing or two?  Maybe even teach me to use it myself if possible."  I honestly don't know whether or not she is the best at magic, but hey, flattery can get you anywhere right?

"Yo-...you want me...to teach you, about magic?" Twilight completely zoned out after that.

"Uh, hello?  You still there?"  I stood up from my seat and walked over to her side for she completely zoned out.  I waved my hand in front of her face to no avail.  I even booped her nose and still no reaction.  Twilight.exe has stopped working.

"Good job, you broke her." I heard Sombra's voice say from the back of my mind.

"It's not my fault!  Unless you have an idea to bring her back you can shut the hell up." I accidentally said out loud.

"Oh I have an idea.  Try rubbing her horn.  Horns are sensitive to the touch so it should work."  Something about that seemed off to me but with no better idea I decided fuck it, why not?

I gently grabbed her horn and slowly rubbed up and down to hopefully get some form of reaction, and boy howdy was there a reaction.  Twilight's eyes rolled up to the back of her head and her wings shot out with a resounding *pomf* as she let out a moan.  Words cannot describe how much I wish I could rip Sombra out of my head and beat the ever loving shit out of him for this.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA" I could hear Sombra laughing his ass off in my head and it only made me want to beat the shit out of him even more.

'You are so dead when I get my hands on you.' I said in my mind so that only Sombra could hear me.

"As long as you don't fondle my horn the same way you did hers, I'll be fine." Sombra replied before breaking into another fit of laughter.

I was done with him for now and I tuned him out and looked at the princess who was curled up on the chair with her hooves over her face to try and hide her heavy blush.  Her wings were still stiff as a board.

"Twilight, I am so sorry, I had no idea horns were like that." I said trying to defend myself.  She looked up at me from under her hooves and calmed down enough to sit up and refold her wings.

"It's alright, you didn't know.  But from now on, avoid touching any unicorn's horn.  They are very sensitive and with enough physical stimulation it can make any unicorn have an orga-"

"Okay okay you don't have to go into details.  I gathered enough information from your orga-, I mean reaction to know what that does now.  How about we agree to just not tell a soul about what happened here and keep our hands, hooves, etc. to ourselves?" I offered.

"Agreed."  We each took our seats and sat in awkward silence and avoided eye contact for a minute before I spoke up.

"So does this mean that I can't get magic lessons now?"  Twilight perked up when I asked that.

"Oh don't be silly, of course I'll still teach you about magic!  I was just so shocked that you would ask me to be your magic tutor even though we just met."

"Is it something that's normally done by individuals who know each other well?"

"No, it's just I really like teaching and when you asked me to teach you about magic I just didn't know how to react." Twilight said sheepishly.  "I mean, I am the element of magic and an alicorn so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you would have asked me."  I raised an eyebrow at this, and she caught on that I didn't know what she was talking about.

"Oh, I'm sorry.  I thought Princess Celestia would have told you about how my friends and I are the elements of harmony."  I held my questioning gaze for what she said made no sense to me and didn't help explain what she said just before.  She brought a hoof up to her chin as she thought of a better way to explain it.

"How about we save that discussion for later on and focus on the topic at hand?" I asked her.

"Oh, uh, right." Twilight said as she rubbed her foreleg in embarrassment. Her face was still had a tinge of red from earlier.

We were about to continue the Q&A session but then Starlight and Spike teleported into the room.  They both had a distressed look on their faces and ran to Twilight.

"Twilight!  Something happened during the night.  Diamond dogs broke into someponies homes and foalnapped them!"

'Foalnapped?  As in kidnapped?  Why do I get the feeling this is the start of a long list of horse puns.'  I thought to myself.

"What do we do?"  Spike's voice brought me back to the present.

"Who did they take?"  Twilight asked as she hugged Spike to comfort him.

"They took four ponies from what I've heard.  Lyra Heartstrings, Bon Bon, Vinyl Scratch, and Octavia." Starlight replied.

"I don't understand why they would do this.  They tried this before when they took Rarity, I thought they learned their lesson then but I guess not." Twilight said in agitation.  I stood up from my seat, wanting to deal with this problem swiftly.

"There's no time like the present.  The longer we sit around and do nothing, the more those ponies suffer.  I'm going to go grab my gear.  All I need is someone to show me where they are."  I said before taking off to my room to throw on my gear.  I was fully ready in less than a minute due to years of experience.  I turned towards the door as I loaded a magazine into my rifle and I saw Twilight standing there with an angry expression on her face.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Twilight asked.

"To bring back those ponies.  We don't have time to argue about this."  I shot back.

"Look, I know you want to help, and I know you are more than capable of doing it on your own.  But you just can't run off and kill everything that you don't like." Twilight said as she took a step forward.  "My friends and I dealt with them before.  They're not as bad as your thinking.  They more than likely took them to find gems for them but they are not the brightest of individuals.  All I have to do is threaten to bring Rarity back to them and they will release the ponies they foalnapped."  Did she really just say that?  Or did she have a sudden case of diarrhea of the mouth?

"These animals break into the homes of your people and rip them out of their beds and carry them away to do God knows what to them and you tell me they are not that bad?" I was growing agitated with her.  I remember her friend Rarity.  She's that one with the snow white coat and likes to hit on anything with a pulse and a penis.  I can see why they would be terrified of her.  Who knows where the hell she's been.

"Trust me on this.  Not every problem has to be solved with violence.  You are not going on any rescue missions anytime soon, now stay here with Starlight and Spike until I get back."  Twilight ordered as she trotted out the room.

"I'm coming with you." I said as I followed after her.  She stopped and turned her head to shoot me an annoyed look.  "I'll hang back and let you try your way.  If you fail then I'll deal with them my way."  I told her.  She rolled her eyes and continued her way out the castle doors.  I saw Starlight and Spike standing behind me, looking up at me with worried looks on their faces.  Spike walked up to me nervously and hesitated a second before he spoke up.

"You're not gonna let anything happen to her, right?"  I knelt down so I wouldn't tower over him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"If Twilight is certain she can handle this, then I won't question her ability.  But it never hurts to have some back up in case things go wrong."  I said in the most calm voice I could muster at the time.  He nodded and went back to Starlight's side.

"Please, just be careful.  Those diamond dogs have left Ponyville alone for a long time.  It's weird that they would do this all of a sudden."  Starlight said as she put a hoof around the young dragon.

"I've handled tougher characters than these.  I'll be fine.  It's the other ponies I'm worried about." I said as I turned towards the castle doors and found Twilight standing at the entrance.  Before I walked outside I could see that every pony in town was standing in front of the castle entrance.  Many of them looked scared and uncertain, but I could see a few in the crowd that looked angry, and their anger was directed at the princess judging by the way they were staring her down.  Her other friends were also by Twilight's side, backing her up.

"I know many of you are upset and worried about what just happened, and I understand your frustration.  It has been a long time since the diamond dogs ever bothered us and I do not know why they did this all of a sudden.  I give you my word that I will bring back the ponies they foalnapped and make sure they won't bother us again."  Twilight said, trying to put the crowd at ease.

"That's what you said last time, but here we are again!" a random mare shouted.  The crowd sounded off in agreement with her.

"What are going to do when they come for our foals?" another voice asked.

"We need a permanent solution!  This isn't the first time they did this and it's only a matter of time until they do it again!" a stallion in the front yelled.  The crowd was getting more and more riled up with each outcry and Twilight was getting nervous she would have angry mob to deal with if she didn't do something to calm them down.

"Now hold on y'all.  Ah hear what yer all sayin' and ah get where yer comin' from, but we can't forget that Twilight has gotten us out of more than one hairy situation.  Hay, if it weren't fer her Nightmare Moon would still be ruling over Equestria." Applejack said as she trotted up to her friend's side.  Some of the angry members of the crowd hung their heads in thought, taking in the earth pony's words.

"Yeah, we totally kicked their flanks last time, we just gotta hit 'em a little bit harder this time!" Rainbow Dash chimed in as she punched the air in front of her.

"Mommy, what is that?" a little filly asked her mother as she pointed towards me.  Guess introductions will have to be earlier than what Twilight planned for.  I stepped out into the open to reveal myself to the crowd.  Everypony other than Twilight and her friends all took a step back and gasped in awe as soon as they saw me.  Twilight wasn't having much luck at crowd control so it was up to me to put the crowd at ease.

"Morning everyone, er, pony.  I am aware that some of your friends have been taken during the night by these diamond dogs.  I know many of you are upset and want something done about it.  I'm no politician, so I'm not going to stand up here and bullshit you an answer.  Can anypony here tell me where the diamond dogs might have taken your friends."  I yelled so they would all hear me.

"What do you think you're doing?" Twilight hissed at me.  I paid her no mind as I looked over the crowd, waiting for an answer.

"They make their home in the gem mines just outside of town to the southwest."  A large red stallion with a short blonde mane said as he stepped in front of the crowd.

"And who might you be?" I asked him.

"Name's Big Macintosh, but mah friends call me Big Mac."

"BIG MAC!!!" Applejack shouted at the stallion who didn't even flinch at her outburst.  They must know each other.  They both have apples on their asses.  Related, maybe?

"Thank you, Big Macintosh."

"Eeyup."

"Everypony listen up!  You may not know who or what I am, but I'm afraid introductions will have to come later.  Please, go back to your homes and spend the day with your family and friends.  This could have happened to any of you so be grateful it didn't.  Now, if you will excuse me, there's work to be done." With that being said I walked down the castle steps and headed towards the mines.  I didn't have to look behind me to know that the crowd was watching me in awe as I left.

"Now why in the hay did you go an' tell him that, Big Mac?" Applejack demanded as the towns ponies turned their attention back to the mane six.

"Ah reckon that's the fella who saved Applebloom from that dragon, it doesn't take a genius ta figure that one out.  If he can take on a dragon on his own, ah'm willing ta bet he can take on a few diamond dogs." he explained.

"Maybe so, but we've dealt with 'em before, an we don't need anypony gettin' themselves hurt playin' hero." Applejack stomped her hoof.

Twilight trotted up next to Applejack and said, "I appreciate the assistance, but I need to deal with Curtis alone.  Please, don't fight me on this.  I'm the only one who can stop him and I don't want to endanger my friends."

"But Twilight we did it before an' ahm certain we can do-"

"I know, I have no doubt that we can handle the diamond dogs.  It's HIM that worries me." Twilight said in aggravation.  They both looked back at their friends behind them to see that they were unsure with the thought of confronting the human.  They didn't consider him an enemy, but they all knew he was still dangerous to be around.  They all looked at each other, waiting for the other to speak up.  Fluttershy, of all ponies, was the first to say something.

"Um...I think we should let Twilight handle this.  She spent more time with him than the rest of us combined.  I-if that's okay with you."  Fluttershy said as she looked at the ground to avoid eye contact with anypony.

"Fluttershy is right.  Twilight, you have the most experience with that eh, human.  If anypony can deal with him, I know it's you." Rarity added.  They all nodded in agreement.

"Then it's settled.  I'll go take care of Curtis and send him back to the castle, then I'll get those ponies back.  You girls stay here and make sure nopony else was taken."  With that being said, Twilight took to the air and flew after the human, who was waiting behind a tree, just outside of town.

"What are doing?  Are you crazy?  I told you to stay at the castle!" Twilight yelled, "I had the situation under control.  If you would stop being so hard headed I would have been done with this whole situation already."  The princess was hovering just a few inches in front of my face, trying to scare me into backing down.  Considering she looked like she belonged on a shelf in the little girl's section of a toy store, she wasn't as intimidating to me as she thought she was.

"If I stayed inside the castle, you would still be dealing with the crowd.  They didn't want to hear empty words or promises, they wanted action." I shot back.  Of course she was none to happy with that.

"I don't need you running off and injuring yourself or somepony else.  Now go back to the castle and wait for me to get back."

"No."

"Excuse me!?"

"I said no, I'm not going back."

"Are you not aware that I am a princess?"

"I am, I just don't care.  I"m not Equestrian, so I don't take orders from you or any of the princesses."  Twilight dropped to the ground had a face of complete shock, then of anger.  I was getting under her skin, and I knew royalty like her don't like it when someone tells them no.

"Listen princess, the longer we stand around arguing, the longer those ponies suffer.  So I'll tell you what, you go ahead and try your way while I hang back a bit and watch.  If you're not successful then I'll come in and take care of business.  How does that sound?"  Twilight didn't respond, but her horn started glowing and a bright flash of purple light filled my vision.  Next thing I know, I was back in my room at the castle and Twilight was standing on the bed with the same angry expression from before.  The world was spinning and I collapsed to the floor from dizziness.

"It sounds like you're staying in this room until I get back, and we will have a talk about your behavior when I do."  Twilight pointed her horn towards the door and cast a spell on it, then she disappeared in another purple flash of light.  

'Okay, that's not fair.' I thought to myself after I regained my balance.  I tried to open the door but the door knob wouldn't move in the slightest.  I kicked at the door and it didn't even budge an inch.  The room I was in was a few stories up so the window wasn't an option.  Great, she locked me inside my room like I was a child.

"Well done, before the day is even halfway over, you got the princess to use magic on you.  You got her so worked up that she almost used twice the amount of magic on it than the spell called for.  I still need much more but that was an impressive first dose." I heard Sombra say in my head.

"Glad I could be of service.  Now unless you have an idea to get me out of here, please shut up." I said out loud.  I sat down on the bed, trying to come up with an idea to get out of here.

"I do have an idea, in fact.  I can still cast spells the same way any unicorn can.  However, since I'm stuck inside a body that's completely void of all magic, the only way I can charge my reserves is by absorbing magic cast on you."

"So what you're saying is you can teleport us out of here?"

"I could, yes.  But it wouldn't be wise to do it so soon.  The princess is under the impression that you cannot use magic, so if I teleport you out of here right now she will know something is going on."  As much as I hate to admit it, he did have a point.  I hated the idea of sitting around and doing nothing, but I guess that's what I'll be doing for the next few hours.

Time rolled by slowly, and I spent most of it staring out the window of my room that gave me a view of most of the town.  The streets were mostly empty, aside from the occasional pony wandering through the streets.  The clock in my room indicated it was a little past two in the afternoon when the door creaked open and I was waiting for the lecture from the princess to begin.

"Curtis?  Can I ask you for a favor?"  Those weren't the words I was expecting, nor was it the voice I was expecting either.  I turned around and saw Spike standing in the doorway, fidgeting with his claws and looking around in nervousness.  I could tell he was worried or scared about something.  Guess the spell on the door was only one way.

"Sure thing, little man.  What do you need?" I asked.  He took a deep breath before he continued.

"Can...I was hoping that maybe you could go check on Twilight and Starlight?"  This raised a red flag in my head.

"Check on them?  Where are they at?"

"Twilight said that she was going to go take care of the diamond dogs, but she left over four hours ago.  Then around noon Starlight left to go check on her but she hasn't returned either!" Spike was starting to lose control of his emotions and I could see tears welling up in his eyes.  I walked over to him and knelt down in front of him pulled him into a hug to comfort him.

"Everything is going to be alright, Spike.  I'll go get them.  In the meantime, is there somewhere you can go so I won't have to leave you here alone?" I asked.  He wiped the tears out of his eyes and sniffled before he responded.

"Twilight would always send me to Rarity's boutique whenever she was busy or didn't want me home alone.  I could go there."  He said as he started to calm down.

"That will work.  I can take you over there then I will bring them back for you, okay?"  Spike nodded in agreement and so we left the castle to go to Rarity's.  It was a surprisingly far walk, Ponyville looked a lot smaller from the window, but we made it there and nopony else was outside.  A few doors would slam shut as we walked through town and I would see the occasional head peak out of a window and quickly duck down when I looked in their direction.  We made it to the boutique and a bell rang as I opened the door and ducked my head as we walked in.  Rarity was keeping her mind busy by working on some dresses but seemed relieved when she saw me and Spike.

"Oh good afternoon Curtis, Spike.  What brings you by?" she asked with a forced smile.  Spike didn't offer an answer before he ran up to her and latched onto her and she sat down and embraced him.

"What's wrong Spike?" she asked, concern evident on her face.  Spike looked up at her with tears running down his cheeks and then back to me before he buried his face back into her chest.  She looked up at me with a confused expression, hoping for an explanation.

"Twilight still hasn't returned.  Starlight went after her a few hours ago but she hasn't returned either."  That was all the explanation she needed.

"Oh, I see.  What do we do?"

"I'm going to go deal with those diamond dogs.  You stay here and look after Spike."  Rarity opened her mouth to say something in protest but couldn't offer up any arguments so she just nodded in agreement.  I turned around and opened the door just before I left I felt a tug on my pant leg.  I looked down to see Spike standing there looking up at me, tears still in his eyes.

"Please...bring them back safely." I smiled at him and knelt down to hug him one last time.

"I'll bring them back.  I promise." I said as I hugged him and he wrapped his arms around my neck.  Rarity was standing behind Spike, she as well had tears in her eyes but she smiled at me as I released Spike and stood back up.  Rarity walked up to me and nuzzled my hand before leaning her head into my side.

"Thank you Curtis.  I know you will bring them back, just please be careful."  I froze where I was, not sure what to do.  For some reason, I placed my hand on her cheek, her fur slightly wet from the tears rolling down her face and this made her press a little harder into my side.  After an almost uncomfortable amount of time passed, she lifted her head from my side and walked back into the main room to her boutique.  Her and Spike both smiled at me as I walked out and shut the door behind me.

As I walked away, I couldn't help but feel something was off about what just happened.  I looked at the hand that Rarity nuzzled and thought back as to how that felt strangely... good.  I had a dog growing up and she would stick her muzzle in my hand and lean her head into my side all the time.  Rarity did exactly that except this time it felt much better for some reason.  My hand and side felt warm and tingled slightly, but in a good way, I think.  I don't know why it bothered me so much, maybe because it felt so unnaturally good, but I made a promise to myself then to avoid any unnecessary physical contact with her and anypony else for that matter.  I was probably just being paranoid but better safe than sorry.

I shook the thought from my head and quickened my pace to get to the mines.  The sun was starting its journey down and I didn't want to waste anymore time than what I already have.
> Mr. Tough Guy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was laying down on a hill top over looking the entrance to the gem mine for almost an hour, observing the area to see if the diamond dogs had any sentries posted outside or if they made regular trips to the surface.  My surveillance turned up nothing, for the mine appeared to be abandoned.  Either they were being smart by keeping a low profile, or they were dumb enough to think no one would come after them.

'It's now or never.' I thought to myself as I stood up and rushed to the entrance, rifle at the ready.  There were large dirt mounds scattered around that one could easily use to surprise an unsuspecting passerby so I made sure to keep my distance.  When I got to the mine entrance, I could hear some voices coming from within.  Judging by how quiet they were, it was likely they were deep inside.  I pulled back the charging handle slightly on the rifle to make sure I had a round in the chamber.  I did the same with my pistols and holstered them before making my down the mine.

If it weren't for the constant noise and voices coming from within, I would probably be wandering around in circles for ages.  Tunnels seemed to branch off randomly in different directions, each one leading to another intersection.  How exactly they navigated their way through here was beyond me.  The voices slowly grew louder and more defined as I went deeper, and I was able to make out parts of their conversation.  Although I couldn't make out much, I did overhear something about the princess.  Was that their plan all along?  To trick the princess herself into coming over here using her own people as bait?  If so, then these diamond dogs were smarter than they let on.  Then again kidnapping royalty didn't exactly sound like the smartest idea either.

The voices were very distinct now, I could clearly make out what they were saying.  I stopped just behind a corner to listen in.  I risked a peak around the corner since the tunnel I was in had no lighting and my black clothing and gear allowed me to blend in with darkness surprisingly well.  At first, I thought I was going after a gang of pony thugs and "diamond dogs" was what they called themselves.  However, they were quite literally dogs except for a few human like features.  They were certainly bigger than any dog back on Earth, and they walked on two legs instead of four.  And of course they could talk, I wonder if every living creature in this world had a higher form of consciousness.

There was a total of five I could see, two were standing on either side of a doorway, obviously they were sentries, and there were three others standing together a little ways in front of them.  These three must be the source of the voices I heard coming in.  Two of them were wearing dark grey vests with collars around their necks, and the third had on a red vest and a jewel hanging from his collar.  This one must be their leader.

"Well done boys, with the ponies we have, we'll dig up enough gems to last us for months!"  The one in the red vest said.

"If we're gonna dig up gems that fast, then why don't we just keep the ponies around?"  The tallest of the three said.  He clearly wasn't the brains of the operation.

"Because you fool, it's only a matter of time before the royal guard shows up now that we have their princess and I want to be long gone by the time they arrive.  We'll keep them working until dusk, then we'll take all the gems and head out."

So they're using them as forced labor, not the worst of fates for someone who's been kidnapped, but it would be best to not let them drag it out any longer.  Under most circumstances, I would take the stealthy approach.  However, in all my infinite wisdom, I neglected to bring my suppressors.  There was no doubt in my mind that there were more of them deeper inside the mine, and they would all come running as soon as they heard the gunfire.  I would have to be quick and precise if I was going to maintain the element of surprise.  I remember from that book I read that unicorns were one of the few races on this planet that could directly control magic and focus it into a spell, and that alicorns were more powerful than any unicorn.  Considering these diamond dogs were able to subdue Starlight and Twilight, they had to have a few tricks up their sleeve.

'Ah, now this will be interesting to see.  I can't wait to see you in action.'  Sombra chimed in.

"Now really isn't the best time."  I thought so only he would hear it.

'Just put on a good show, I'm anxious to see how you handle yourself in a fight.'

I forced Sombra's voice to the back of my head so I could focus on the matter at hand.  Since there was no sneaking around them and the rest would know I'm here as soon as I fired my first shot, there was no point in trying to be stealthy.  I took a deep breath as I rounded the corner and let my rifle hang in front of my chest from the sling.  Might as well give them a chance to surrender and hand the ponies back, although I knew they wouldn't.  That way when Twilight bitches at me for killing them I can say I tried.

"Excuse me" I yelled out to gain their attention.  They all turned towards me in a fighting stance.  At least they weren't as frightened when they first saw me as everyone else was when they first saw me.

"Who and what are you?"  the leader asked.

"Who and what I am is not important.  What is important is what I want."  I answered back.

"Oh, and just what might that be?"  the leader asked as the two sentries moved up beside him.

"The ponies you kidnapped from Ponyville.  I want them back."  I replied.

"Oh yeah?"  the leader asked as he took a whistle out from inside his vest and blew it.  It let out a high pitched whine and a dozen more diamond dogs came rushing up from deeper within the mine.  "You and what army?" he asked with a smug grin on his face.  In total, there were now seventeen diamond dogs.

'Well done, now they have us surrounded.' Sombra pointed out.

"Oh I know they do.  Those poor bastards."  I didn't wait for Sombra to reply before I drew my pistols and unloaded as fast as I could into them.

Four dropped before they even knew what happened, the rest charged forward once they realized the fighting started, and three more fell to the ground before they got half way.  The three dogs with vests ran off with their two body guards as the rest came at me, making it a 5-1 fight.  Although better, it still wasn't good.  One of them was closer than I thought and tackled me from the side as I put two rounds through his head.  I shot another dog in the leg before the gun in my right hand locked back, indicating it was out of rounds so I dropped it now that it was little more than dead weight, the other pistol likely not far behind.  The fight was down to 3-1.  Sure one of them may be on the ground but so was I, and this 200+ lb dead dog on me wasn't doing me any favors.

The remaining two that were still in the fight saw their opportunity and pounced.  I took aim at the one on my left and fired but he was too close and smacked the gun out of my hand and it slid across the cavern floor.  He drew back his fist and I knew what was coming next was going to leave a mark, fortunately it would just blend right in with the other bruises on my face.  The punch hit hard, but it was far from being the worst hit I ever took and threw one right back at him.  I hit him in his nose as hard as I could in my position and it was enough to knock him back for a few seconds, enough time for me to roll the dead body off of me.

I pushed myself up but a flying kick from the other diamond dog connected with the side of my head, knocking me back down and onto my back.  He raised his leg in a move to curb stomp my skull, but since I was no longer being crushed by his recently deceased friend I had full access to my knife.  I drew my blade and stabbed it into his raised foot, or paw I should say, and he screamed in pain as he fell back taking my knife with him.  I then rose to my feet as quick as I could and drew my machete from my back and faced towards the dog I punched earlier.  He was no longer dazed from the hit and was back in his pathetic excuse of a fighting stance.  He glanced at his comrade lying on the floor screaming and holding  his foot/paw thing and at all the rest of his fallen friends and back at me.  I could tell he was angry, that he wanted to avenge his brethren, but he knew that to try would likely end in his demise.

"You had me outnumbered seventeen to one, now look around.  Five of you ran off like cowards, nine are dead and two injured, and through all of your combined efforts, you only landed two hits on me.  Do you really want to do this?"  I said, trying to reason with him.  "The way I see it, your two friends need medical attention, and your leaders abandoned you to your fate.  You owe no loyalty to them, not after they left you to die.  Take your friends and get them the help they need.  There's no need for all of you to die, I'm only after the ponies."  This seemed to get through to him as he relaxed his stance and nodded in agreement.  I sheathed my machete when I saw he was done fighting.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the the dog I shot in the leg crawling towards my pistol that I lost.  He grabbed it and raised it towards me but I put a round right between his eyes with my rifle, and he dropped my pistol as he laid there motionless.  I swung back around to the dog I just spoke to and he screamed and fell backwards as he pushed himself back against a wall.

"Scratch what I said,  10 of your friends are now dead.  Can I trust you two to leave this place and never come back, or should I go for a full body count?"  The two remaining diamond dogs didn't say anything, they just shook their heads, to scared to speak.

"Good."  I walked over to the dog that had my knife in his foot and grabbed a hold of his leg as I placed a hand on the handle of the knife.  "Sorry about this, but I kinda need this back."  I ripped the knife out, causing him to scream in another fit of pain.  I flicked some of the blood off the knife and placed it back into its sheathe.  The two diamond dogs hurried off, the one with the injured foot using the other for support.  I turned towards the doorway that led deeper into the mine, and waited for a second to see if there were any more coming up.  All I could hear was the faint voices of the three dogs that ran off barking (pun intended) orders and arguing with each other.  I collected my pistols and swapped out the mags with fresh ones and placed them back into my holsters.  I did a quick gear check to make sure I didn't lose anything in the struggle and continued my descent into the mine.





Twilight was sitting in her cell, trying to pry off the device the diamond dogs put on her horn to no avail.  No matter how hard she tried to get it off or cast a spell strong enough to break it, the device wouldn't budge an inch.  Starlight was attempting the same thing, but had just as much success as the princess.

"Ugh, what is this thing?" Twilight huffed in frustration.  "Where did they even get these things?" She asked  as she continued to struggle against the strange contraption that rendered her horn useless.

"It's no use, Twilight.  I don't know what they are but they're obviously too sturdy to break."  Starlight said in defeat.

"No, I almost got it.  I just need to.. ARGH!" Twilight cried out as the metal device locked on her horn administered a powerful shock, making her world turn white for a brief moment in pain.  Starlight rushed over to her side in worry, fearing her teacher may be seriously injured.

"Twilight are you okay?  What happened?"  Starlight asked as she helped the princess sit up.

"I don't know...I thought I felt it come loose but then it shocked my horn."  Twilight explained as she brought a hoof to her head.  Her mind was pulsing, each one feeling like a sledge hammer coming down on her head.  Twilight was convinced that trying to remove the device by force was only going to result in more painful shocks, and conceded that she would have to find another way to break out.

"I just don't understand, how did the diamond dogs even get a hold of these things?"  Starlight wondered.

"I don't know, but we have got to find out where they came from.  There's bound to be more where these came from." Twilight said as her crippling headache slowly began to subside.

"Without our magic, we won't be freeing ourselves anytime soon.  And it may be a while before help comes along." Starlight said as she sat down next to Twilight, afraid as to how long they may be held captive.

"Don't worry, I'm sure our friends are on their way.  They would never abandon us."  Twilight said, confident that the other elements will come along shortly.  Until then, there wasn't much they could do besides think of where the diamond dogs would have gotten this technology.  Starlight and Twilight took turns looking at each other's device, looking for weak spots or where there might be a release.  Despite the situation, Twilight's inner scientist was fascinated by the devices on their horns.  Twilight suspected they weren't of Equestrian origin since they didn't resemble any technology that came from Equestria, which only perplexed her more.  Equestria is the most advanced nation on Equis, and she wasn't aware of any other nation that had the capabilities of developing such technology considering there were only a few other species other than unicorns that could use magic.  Even then, these devices seemed to be designed specifically with unicorns in mind since they fit so perfectly around the horn.

"Princess Twilight?  Is that you?"  Twilight was shaken from her thoughts when she heard her name.  The voice belonged to a minty green unicorn that was standing on the other side of the door to her cell.  The unicorn approached the door to her cell, stunned that the princess of friendship suffered the same fate as she did.  Twilight looked to her horn to see if she had one of the devices on her horn as well, but to her surprise she didn't.  Twilight rushed up the door to her cell, hope rising up within her that they may be freed sooner than they thought.

"Lyra!  Thank Celestia you're here.  Quick, get us out of here!  They put these strange things on our horns and I can't use my magic."  Twilight explained.  Instead of breaking the lock to her cell, Lyra gave a pained look to the princess.

"I'm sorry your highness, but I can't do that."  Lyra said regretfully.

"What? Why?"  Twilight asked, frustrated.

"These diamond dogs kidnapped us for forced labor.  Right now they're keeping Octavia and Bon Bon locked up and are threatening to hurt them if Vinyl and I don't find gems for them."  Lyra explained.

"Yeah, and now since they have you two as well, that's all the more reason to not provoke them."  Vinyl Scratch added as she walked up to the cell door next to Lyra.  Twilight let out a sigh as she thought of what to do, but couldn't come up with anything.  As capable as Lyra and Vinyl may be, any attempt at freeing themselves would put the lives of her subjects in jeopardy, and that wasn't something she was willing to risk.  She hated to admit it, but for the first time the diamond dogs had the upper hoof and there wasn't anything she could do about it.

"Alright, for now just do what they tell you.  The other elements will come along soon enough to get us out of here.  We beat them before, and we can do it again." Twilight said to try and assure them that they will be rescued.  Lyra and Vinyl nodded at her words but before they could continue the conversation, loud popping noises echoed throughout the mine, making them jump in surprise at the sudden noise.

"What's that noise?"  Vinyl asked the group.  They could hear diamond dogs barking and screaming mixed in with the rapid pops.

"Sounds like rescue came sooner than we could have hoped for." Lyra said in anticipation.  Vinyl and Lyra had hopeful expressions that they were about to be rescued, but Twilight knew who was behind the source of the noise and was none to pleased about his presence.

"Twilight, is that who I think it is?"  Starlight whispered to the princess.

"Unfortunately, it is.  Oh that idiot, I told him to stay in the castle!  How did he even get out?  I locked him in his room and cast a spell on the door!" Twilight answered, clearly agitated.  Lyra and Vinyl looked back at the princess, confused about her outburst and why she would be upset that rescue was coming.

"Princess, what are you talking about?  Whose coming?" Lyra asked.  Before she got an answer, five diamond dogs came charging into the room and slapped the devices onto her and Vinyl's horns before they got a chance to charge a spell.

"Get them back into their cells!  We'll deal with them later. He has to come through there to get to them.  We'll ambush him then and make him pay for what he did!"  Their leader said as the two unicorns were thrown back into their cell with Bon Bon and Octavia.  Octavia rushed over to help them up.

"What is going on out there?" she asked the two unicorns, clearly distressed about the situation.

"Don't worry Tavi, the other elements are coming and will free us soon enough."  Vinyl said to her housemate, much to her relief.

"Oh thank Celestia!  I thought we would be trapped in this mine for ages."  Octavia exclaimed.  All were clearly excited at the thought of being rescued, except for Bon Bon.  She was looking out from behind the cell door with a rather stern expression, and this caught the attention her closest friend.

"Bon Bon,  Are you alright?  We're about to be rescued, shouldn't you be excited?" Lyra questioned her creme colored friend.  Bon Bon looked back at Lyra, and gave her a forced smile.

"Yeah, I am.  It's just this whole thing has me feeling exhausted and I just want to get back home."  She explained.  Lyra nodded, feeling the same way.





The mine was now quiet except for the sounds of my footsteps, which was a dead giveaway that the dogs that ran off earlier set up an ambush.  I kept my rifle pointed in front of me, scanning for the smallest signs of movement.  The tunnel soon opened up to another large cavern, this one was well lit with torches on the wall and the gems sticking out reflected the light from the flames.  I stopped a few feet away, sensing that this was where they would try to catch me by surprise.  At the other end of the cavern, I could see a cream colored pony looking at me.  Unlike all the other ponies that saw me for the first time, this one eyed me with suspicion and didn't look at all surprised that I was human.  I ignored her glare and thought on how best to approach the situation.

I couldn't see any diamond dogs from my position, so they were most likely hiding on either side of the tunnel opening, hoping that I would blunder right through for them to jump on.  I took a few steps back and sprinted towards the cave opening, making sure that my footsteps were loud enough for them to hear.  Just before I reached the cave opening, I dropped to the ground and stuck a leg out as I slid past the opening like a baseball player sliding into home plate.  As I suspected, the were waiting on either side of the opening and two of them jumped out to try and tackle me.  Since I slid into the cavern I was lower than what they were expecting and they smacked into each other and collapsed onto the cavern floor dazed from the impact.

I stood up and spun around in time to see the two sentries from earlier throw their spears at me.  The first spear was easy enough to dodge, but doing so forced me into the path of the second spear and I spun to miss it just in time for it to miss its mark and it grazed my left arm instead of burying itself into my chest.  My arm flared in pain as I could immediately feel blood come out of the wound, but I paid it no mind as I pointed my rifle at the dog who threw the second spear and put two rounds in his chest and a third in his head, ending his life.  The diamond dog that threw the first spear was charging at me, hoping to get me while I was distracted.  I knew I couldn't bring my rifle around in time to shoot him, so I went for the next best thing and brought the butt of my rifle up and smashed him in the face as hard as I could.  A sickening crack and yelp echoed throughout the cavern at the impact and he fell back holding his face, blood pouring down between his fingers.

The last diamond dog who I identified as their leader jumped up from behind a mine cart that he was hiding behind with a dagger in his hand and swung his blade around in a fury.  I aimed at him and pulled my trigger but he smacked my rifle away as I did so, sending the bullet into the wall of the cavern.  He raised his arm to bring his dagger down into my neck and I grabbed his arm as he did, stopping the blade's progress.  He tried to punch me with his other hand but I caught his fist with my other hand and we were locked in a battle of physical strength.  Knowing that there were two more dogs behind me that could join in at any moment, I needed to break out of this deadlock and brought my forehead down on the diamond dog's face knocking him back as he grabbed his nose.

The first two dogs recovered faster than what I thought and came up behind me, each one taking an arm into their grasp and holding me in place.  Their leader slowly looked up, smiling sadistically at seeing me immobilized.  I was in trouble, there was no doubt about it, I could see Twilight and Starlight looking at me from one cell, horrified at my current state.  There were four others who I assumed to be the kidnapped-or foalnapped-ponies from Ponyville, looking on with the same expressions.  I turned my attention back to the leader of the diamond dogs as I struggled against the two holding my arms to no avail.  Their leader cackled in laughter, believing that they had won.

"Not so tough now, are you?  I don't know who or what you are, but you are going to pay for what you did to my pack!" he brought up his dagger with a sadistic smile, thinking of the ways he was going to make me suffer.

"Listen, enough of you have died already.  Let me go and I'll let you live.  Refuse, and I'll be forced to kill all of you." I replied.  This only earned laughter from all three of them, confident they had me beat.  Oh how were they wrong.

"HA!  You really think I'm that stupid?  We have you beat, and now it's time for you to pay." the leader said as he came towards me, dagger raised.

I waited for him to get close enough then I grabbed a hold onto the vests of the dogs holding me, and used them to lift myself up and use both of my legs to kick their leader as hard as I could in the chest, forcing the air out of his lungs.  He tripped over a small boulder and fell backwards.  I landed on my feet and before the two holding knew what to do next I kicked the one on my right in the side of his knee causing his leg to bend in a way it shouldn't with a loud snap.  He hollered out in pain as he let go of my right arm and I immediately brought my fist into the face of the dog holding my left arm.  I felt his nose break from the impact and he staggered backwards, caught off guard.  I grabbed a gem from a nearby cart and shoved it into the eye socket of the dog whose nose I just broke, making him shriek in agony.

Eager to silence his loud crying, I grabbed his head and in one swift motion I twisted it around, breaking his neck with a loud crack and he dropped to floor.  One down, two to go.  The leader was still on his back, trying to catch his breath and the other was in tears, holding his leg that was obviously broken.  I picked up one of the spears that was thrown at me and charged at the one with the broken leg and with full force I plunged the spear into his back and lifted, picking him up as the spear exited through his stomach.  He looked down at the spear, horrified beyond imagine at the foreign object sticking out of him.  I set him back down and grabbed hold of the spear that was sticking out of the front of him.  He looked up at me, a cry for mercy in his eyes as he knew what I was about to do.  I didn't say anything as I placed my foot on his shoulder and kicked back as I pulled the spear all the way through him and his lifeless corpse dropped to the floor.  Then there was one.

The leader was slowly standing back up having regained the ability to breathe.  He looked at his two dead partners and back at me, tears of anger streaming down his face.

"Don't say I didn't warn you, buddy.  I gave you and your boys a chance to walk, but you refused."  I said as I unbuckled my rifle from its sling and placed it in an empty mine cart and did the same with my pistols, knife and machete.  "But since I've been kicking your ass left and right, I'm gonna tip the odds in your favor and let you have your blade and I'll use nothing but my bare hands." I proclaimed as I lifted my hands to show him I had no weapons on me.  He didn't say anything in reply, he just let out a pathetic battle cry as he charged at me with his dagger in rage.

He swung his blade around in a blind rage, not using any form or technique.  His judgement was clouded with anger, and the only thought on his mind was to end my life for slaying his entire "pack" as he called it.  I kept dodging his wild swings easily enough since he would give away his next move by pulling his arm back before striking.  He lunged in towards me and I grabbed his arm that was holding the dagger and brought my knee into his gut, knocking the wind out of him a second time and landed a punch on the side of face, forcing him to the ground.  I decided not to take advantage of his weakened state and instead backed off to let him recover.

"Oh for Christ's sake, I'm not even using any weapons.  You can do better than that, now come on! COME ON!" I antagonized him.  He didn't even wait until he regained his breath before he charged again, not learning his lesson and used the same wild slashes he did the first time.  I repeated my last move, blocking his attack and slamming my knee into his torso, except this time I was done playing with him.  I pushed him back and landed my fist in the center of his face, making him stumble back.  I kept up this bull rush tactic of pushing then hitting him to keep him dazed and off balance until I got his back to a wall.  I kicked and sent him sailing into the wall, knocking the air out of him a third time.  He was beaten, bloody, and could barely stand from all the hits he took.  I approached him to finish him off but in a burst of adrenaline he raised his dagger and brought it down towards me.

I caught it easily enough, and he unwittingly just gave me what I needed to end this.  I pretended to slowly lose my strength, letting the dagger creep closer and closer to my chest.  I heard one of the ponies cry out in fear at the scene playing out in front of them, and I decided that it was time to end this.  I grabbed his hand that was holding the dagger and slowly turned it towards him.  He struggled back as hard as he could, he even tried punching me in the side to get me to ease up, but it was no use.  Years of fighting, both in combat and in brawls has taught me how to deal with pain, and he might as well have hit me with stuffed animals.

Once I had the dagger positioned just above his heart, I slammed my palm into the hand holding the dagger, burying the blade into diamond dog's chest.  He drew in a sharp breath at the sudden jolt of pain and I eased him down to the cavern floor as he grew weaker by the second.  Despite being moments from death, I could still see the anger in his eyes, how much he hated me, how badly he wanted the situation to be reversed.  One day I'll find myself in his position, fighting someone who is just a little bit better, someone who is just a little bit faster.  But today is not that day, and I watched as the life left his eyes as I have for so many others.

I stood up from the dead diamond dog and turned around to see five of the six ponies gawking at me, whether it was in awe or disgust I wasn't sure.  The sixth one, the cream colored one that I saw when I first came in here, didn't look shocked at all by what she saw, she actually looked more impressed than horrified.  I've got a strange feeling that I'm gonna have to keep a close eye on that one.  I turned my attention to the princess of friendship, who was sharing a cell with Starlight.  They both took a step back as I looked over to them and I could tell by their faces that they were terrified of me.  I took my time gathering my weapons from the mine cart to give the ponies some time to snap back to reality.

Now, this is the point of the story where you're probably expecting me to have a sudden realization of how terrible I am, how I'm a monster and I should feel bad about taking the life of another living being, and all that other bullshit you read about when the hero of a story kills someone.  Then they go on to become the perfect and ideal man, become OP as fuck and gets chased after by every girl in the story like you would read in a bad fan fic 'shut up, I know'.  Well tough shit, this isn't that kind of story.  The looks those two gave me as they backed away is nothing new to me.

"Twilight!" I said a little louder than I normally would to get her attention.  Her ears went flat against her head as she tucked her tail and shrunk down, still mortified by how much of a heartless monster I was.  "Fancy seeing you here, I just wanted to drop by and see how that whole 'let's resolve our differences by sitting down, talking about our feelings and  singing kumbaya' was working out for ya."  I paused for a moment to see if she had anything say or any lectures to give, but she remained silent.

"Hey!" I heard one of the other ponies call out to me.  "When you're done terrorizing the princess, would you mind letting us out of here?" it was the cream colored earth pony.  The other ponies she was sharing a cell with looked at her like she just challenged me to a fight, and volunteered her cell mates to join her.  I lazily took a few steps towards her cell, slightly surprised at her outburst.

"As much as I hate to disappoint such a fine lady such as yourself, I'm afraid I'm under direct orders from the princess to not undertake any rescue missions.  However, she didn't mention anything about not dropping by and seeing how she was doing.  She assured me that she had the situation under control and that I don't need to worry.  So with that being said, I bid all of you a good day."  I turned around and started walked towards the exit.

"Wait..." I heard Twilight weakly say from her cell.  I stopped in my tracks knowing what was about to come.  I turned back towards her cell and saw that she was no longer huddled on the floor, but instead was standing in front of the door, her head hanging low in defeat.

"Yes, Twilight?  Is there something you need?" I asked.  She let out a sigh and gave me a sharp glare before continuing.

"Will you PLEASE let us out?  They put these strange devices on our horns and we can't use our magic because of them."  Okay, I was expecting her to ask me to let them out, but the whole 'strange device' thing I was surprised by.  These diamond dogs seemed like little more than organized thugs, and although I'm no expert on how magic works, a device that could render an alicorn's horn useless seemed like something that characters like these wouldn't normally be able to get a hold of.  The keys to their cells were hanging from a hook on the wall, and I opened both cells without a word.  Twilight was defeated solely because she underestimated her enemy.  A mistake that most don't get a chance to atone for, but there was no need to rub it in.

The ponies came out of their cells, and they couldn't help but look at the broken and bloody bodies, much to their own disgust.  Hope their not too squeamish, cause they're gonna have to pass by more on the way out.  There was one pony that was far more interested in me than the dead.  The minty green unicorn slowly came up to me, looking up at me in awe like I had rainbows shooting out of my ass.

"You..you're...human!" she said to my surprise.

"You know what?  You are the first pony I've met that actually knows what I am.  I would give you a gold star if I had one."  She walked around me in circles, closely observing every inch of my body.

"You know if you take a picture it will last longer?" I asked her to get her to stop gawking at me.  She realized what she was doing and looked away and blushed from embarrassment.

"Oh..I-I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to stare." I rolled my eyes at her apology and walked towards the tunnel that led to the surface and the others followed right behind me.  I warned them about the dead diamond dogs up ahead so they would have a chance to mentally prepare themselves, not that it would help much.  The walk towards the mine's entrance was quiet, the only noise being the clopping sound coming from the ponies' hooves.  I didn't expect much in the way of conversation, most people go internal after a traumatizing experience like what they just went through, and I wasn't going to try to force them to open up.  We made it to the surface as the sun was starting to set, the air was slightly cooler than what it was when I first entered the mine.  The walk back to town was just as silent, and as we got closer I could see that ponies were out and about again, trying to get back to normal.

Ponies noticed us coming down the road and dropped everything they were doing to tell the rest of the town's residents that we were coming.  Soon enough a large crowd was gathered in front of Twilight's castle, and they all cheered as we approached.  Princess Twilight didn't acknowledge them as she walked up the stairs to her castle and entered through the doors, the other ponies followed in after her.  Starlight was the last one to enter and she looked back at me before closing the door behind her.  I turned to face the crowd and raised my hand to quiet them down.

"Everypony, I appreciate the welcoming committee, and I am glad to announce that the ponies the diamond dogs kidnapped are back and no serious harm has come to them, to include the princess and her student.  Now please, they have been through a lot today, and require some much needed rest.  There will be plenty of celebration and merriment tomorrow, but for now, let us take some time to recover."  The crowd was satisfied with my words and everypony trotted off to their homes, ready for some sleep after the stressful day they had.  All except three.  Still standing at the foot of the stairs was Big Macintosh, the little filly that I rescued from the dragon, and an elderly green pony that I didn't recognize.

The filly hurried up the stairs and motioned for me to come down to her level so she could tell me something important, so I complied and knelt down so I wouldn't tower over her.  As soon as I was down, she threw her front legs around my neck in a tight hug.  I couldn't help but smile from her adorableness as I hugged her back, careful not to use my injured arm so I don't end up getting blood on her.  Big Mac and the elderly pony laughed and smiled at the little filly's actions, and she let go of my neck and let me stand back up.

"Mah name is Applebloom!  Thanks fer savin' me from that dragon, mister.  Ah can't thank you enough."  She said, her southern accent making her seem all the more innocent.

"Don't sweat it kid.  It was the least I could do.  After all that dragon was trying to roast my hide as well."  She trotted back to the side of the old pony as Big Mac approached, seeming it was his turn to thank me.

"Thanks again fer what you did for mah little sister, my family owes you debt of gratitude."  he said as he extended his hoof out to me.

"I was just in the right place at the right time, but if I ever need something, I'll be sure to let you know." I said as I grabbed his hoof in a hand-hoof shake.

"Big Macintosh is right.  If ya ever need anythin' don't hesitate to come on by the farm and we'll help you out as best we can.  We ain't got much, but it's the most we can offer.  Name's Granny Smith, by the way."  The older pony said as she walked over next to Big Mac and extended her hoof the same way as Big Mac did.  I was extra careful when I shook her hoof to make sure I didn't hurt her and let it go after a brief moment.

"Well, like ya said it's been a long day, and little Applebloom here needs to get ta bed.  We can talk more later Curtis.  It's been a real pleasure." Big Mac said as he made his way back down the castle steps.  Granny Smith followed after him and they all waved goodbye as they headed off towards their farm.  I waved back and turned to enter the castle and saw Applejack standing in the doorway, giving me a look I didn't really know how to take.  Her expression was one of what looked like admiration coupled with the look one would give when they knew something the other didn't.

"What?" I asked her.

"Nuthin'."  She chimed as she turned around and walked back into the castle.  Okay, from the way she said nothing, there was definitely something.  She was trying to antagonize me, maybe for the way how her family thanked me.  She was trying to play mind games, unfortunately for her, I could see right through what she was trying to do and didn't even give her the dignity of a response.  I followed her inside the castle and she led me to where everypony else was waiting in what looked like a lounge area.  All of Twilight's friends were here, along with the other ponies I rescued.  They all looked exhausted, but I knew they weren't gonna rest until I at least looked at the devices on their horns.

"Alright, let me take a look at those things on your horns, maybe I can get them off somehow." I said as I entered the room.  Everypony looked at me and gasped in horror as they all saw my arm that was hit with a spear and had a decent amount of blood still covering it though the wound stopped bleeding.

"Oh you poor thing.  You're not doing anything until we get you all fixed up.  Wait here, I'll get everything I need to make you all better."  Fluttershy said as she flew off.  She came back less than a minute later with a first aid kit.

"Don't worry about it.  It's little more than a scratch." I said trying to get them to stop worrying.

"Don't be ridiculous darling, we need to get you cleaned up so it doesn't get infected." Rarity added.

"It'll be fine." I argued back.

"Will ya quit being such a little foal about it and let us help?"  Applejack asked in a forceful tone.  They all had the same stern expression on their faces and I gave up trying to convince them it was nothing too serious.

Alright, fine." I threw up my hands in forfeit and sat down in a chair Rarity pulled up with her magic.  I took off my rifle and flak and set them on the floor.  She took one look at my top and was disgusted from its current condition.

"Ugh, would you please remove...whatever that ugly thing is you're wearing?  I don't want to touch it."  I rolled my eyes at her and complied, unbuttoning it and throwing it off to the side.

"Wow...what kind of cutie mark is THAT!?!" Rainbow Dash asked as she pointed at my right arm.  This drew the attention of everypony else in the room and they all flocked to me to get a view at my full sleeve tattoo, which they thought was a 'cutie mark.'  I remember reading about them from the book I borrowed from the crystal palace's library.  If I remember correctly, they're supposed to be some sort of mark on a pony's flank that tells them what their special talent is.  Twilight immediately snapped out of her depressed state and was at my side in an instant.  She grabbed my arm and slowly ran her hoof across it, admiring every inch and detail.  The others were crowded around her and looked on with the same fascination.

"I hate to disappoint you all," I said as I took my arm back from Twilight's grasp, "but that's not a cutie mark.  It's a tattoo, and I've had it long before I came to this world."  This earned me looks of disappointment and confusion, but the most curious was Twilight.

"Tattoo?  Is that like a human equivalent of a cutie mark?" she asked.

"No, not really.  You ponies magically get cutie marks when you discover your special talent.  Humans get tattoos on their own for different reasons.  Some get them because they think it looks cool or it may have special meaning to the person.  Other times it's because a person gets blackout drunk with their friends one night and pass by a tattoo parlor in Pensacola with Pokemon in their display window and so they think it would be a good idea to get a squirtle that's wearing shades and giving a thumbs up tattooed on their ass." (True story by the way.)  They just stared at me with blank expressions.  I might have confused them a little with that last part. 

"Do you have more?"  Pinkie asked.

"Yeah, I do.  I got some on my chest and back as well."

"Oooh, lemme see!" Pinkie made a move to grab my shirt and lift it up but I grabbed her hooves before she could.

"I don't think so..." I said as I let go of her and she dropped back to all four legs.

"Awww, why not?"  Pinkie whined.

"Because you don't need to see them." I responded.

"Oh come on darling, we just want a peek." Rarity argued.

"This conversation is over.  I can take care of my own arm." I said as I grabbed the first aid kit from Fluttershy and stood up from the chair, making the mob of ponies take a few steps back as I rose above them.

"Ahem.  Aren't you forgetting something?" the unicorn with the shades asked me as she pointed to the device on her horn.

"Are you sure you want me to look at it in the state I'm in?" I asked her.  I lifted up my left arm to show them how much blood was covering it.

"Okay, maybe you should wash up first." she admitted.

"There's a bathroom just down the hall, I'll show you." Spike volunteered as my guide and showed me the way to the bathroom.  I thanked him and he left me so I could have some privacy.  I closed the door behind me and removed my shirt so I could get a clear view of the cut on my arm.  It wasn't anything serious, most of the bleeding has stopped and aside from a small scar it wasn't going to cause any problems.  I grabbed a wash cloth from the towel rack and soaked it with water in the sink and began to wash off the blood on my arm.  I heard the sound of hooves slowly clapping and I knew who it was gonna be before I looked.

"Well done, Curtis.  I must say I am very impressed.  You managed to take down an entire den of diamond dogs.  They may be little more than mindless brutes, but they can be dangerous when in large numbers.  Yet you came out on top with little more than a scratch."  Sombra was in the mirror in front of me, appearing just like he did this morning.

"I am honored to hear that his excellency is impressed with the skills of his lowly subject in combat." I responded sarcastically.  "If it pleases the crown, is there any other ways this humble servant may serve his king?"

"Since you asked, some more magic would be excellent.  As nice as the dose I received this morning was, I still require more.  MUCH more."  Sombra responded seriously.

"Again, I'll get as much as I can without trying to give it away, so please be patient.  After all it's not like you're going anywhere."  Sombra was none to pleased with my remark, and the death stare he was giving me showed it.  He lightened up after a moment as if he had something to counter it.

"Need I remind you where I currently am in your body?  My horn lies directly next to your heart.  Should you ever go against our agreement, I may be forced to do something...rash." He threatened.

"A death threat? if I die with you inside me, you won't have anyone to seep magic from.  Meaning that if I die, you die with me."

"Perhaps, but in the end, the fact that I took you down for betraying me would be worth it."

"Likewise." I responded to his threat.  He stared me down, our eyes not daring to break from each other's gaze.  He looked for any sign that I was bluffing.  Any small movements, twitches, or so much as a drop of sweat running down my head.  After a few moments of staring each other down, he laughed to himself as he broke the stare down.

"You know what?  I think I'm beginning to like you.  So many ponies cling to life, desperately holding on no matter what the consequences.  But you?  You're willing to end your own life as long as it means you will take down your enemies with you.  Perhaps you and I have more in common after all.  Until next time."  Sombra said as he faded away.

"Heh, yeah...maybe." I said under my breath.  Aside from the story I heard from Spike on how he saved the Crystal Empire from Sombra, I didn't really know much about him.  I could tell that he was very different from most of the other ponies I've met and possibly a little bit on the psychopathic side, but then again most would say the same about me.  I wonder how many books Twilight has about the history of the former King and the Crystal Empire.  I pushed the thought to the back of my mind for a different time as I finished cleaning the blood off my arm and could see how bad the wound really was.  It wasn't serious, barely deep enough to leave a scar.

'Another one for the collection.'  I joked to myself as my eyes scanned the rest of my upper body, looking over all the other scars that were scattered across its surface.  Despite only being a contractor for a small time, I got a lot of combat experience under my belt and I've received many scars during my time.  Each had its own story, I had one on my right shoulder from a sniper that miscalculated his shot, a few others scattered along my left side from getting hit with grenade shrapnel, and a few random ones from getting stabbed or cut.  Some were from terrorists high on fumes, some were from street thugs looking to make a quick buck, I even had one on my left shoulder blade from a psychotic ex-girlfriend.

The one scar that stood out from all the others was the long one that ran down the center of my chest.  That one, along with others, was earned during the time I was enjoying the hospitality of those that captured my team.  It happened over a year ago but the memories were still fresh in my mind.  I ran my hand down its length as the memories played in my mind on their own, unwilling to let me forget and move on.  It was strange, I knew it was all real, that it happened and proof of it was literally carved into my body.  But every time those memories flashed through my mind it felt like I was remembering a long forgotten nightmare from my childhood.  What made it worse was that the memories brought back more than just images.

Even now I could still hear the shouting from my captors, cheering and taunting as the torturer made his cuts with the cold steel of his many blades.  All the pain that came with being strapped down to an old metal bed frame as electricity was sent rocketing through my body.  Having my head held underneath water until I nearly drowned, brought up for air just before and barely having the time to take a breath before being forced back under.  All the drugs, poisons, and toxins that were injected into my veins in varying combinations, each having its own unique way of inducing pain and agony.  A knock on the door brought me back to reality.

"Curtis?  Are you okay?  Do you need any help?" I heard Starlight ask from the other side, her voice muffled from the door.  Her voice brought my mind back to reality and I realized that I was drenched in a cold sweat.  My legs gave out and I caught myself on the sink in front of me so I wouldn't slam my head into it and give myself a concussion.  My legs slowly regained their strength, even though my entire body was now shaking from the artificial cold I felt.  Another knock came from the door.

"Curtis?  Is it alright if I come in?"  Starlight asked, growing concerned from my silence.

"I'm fine Starlight!  I'll be out in a minute, just gotta wrap it up and I'll be out." I responded, barely able to calm my voice enough to hide my current state.

"Oh, okay.  Just wanted to check."  Starlight said, not entirely convinced.  It was enough to get her to leave, though, for I could hear the sound of her hooves as she trotted down the hall.

I was almost fully recovered from the sudden attack, after experiencing them enough I learned little tricks to help bring myself back faster, but they only helped so much.  I kept my eyes focused on the reflection in front of me.  Focusing on a single location helped with the dizziness and confusion.  Slow, deep breathes helped to reclaim control of my body.  I was almost back to normal, I continued the breathing exercises and focusing on my reflection, my red eyes staring back at me.

'Wait, red eyes?  I don't have red eyes.' I remembered as I shifted my focus back a little, thinking I was trying too hard and was starting to hallucinate.  When I did, I saw that it wasn't my eyes that I was focused on, but Sombra's.  In my current state, I couldn't read his expression clearly.  Concern?  Pity?  Disgust?  Fear, maybe?  I didn't care, I forced him to the back of my mind, along with the memories that insisted on me reliving them.  Fortunately the episode was almost over.

The shaking was gone, I no longer had a cold sweat, and my thoughts became more clear by the second, it was finally over.  I've lost count of how many times that has happened, but one thing is for certain is that they never get any easier.  I remembered that I still had a room full of ponies waiting for my return so I used the wash cloth to wipe the sweat off my body and wrapped up the cut on my arm.  I was grateful that it happened while I was isolated and none of them had to see it.  I threw my shirt back on and looked down at my hands to make sure they were done shaking.  After seeing I had full control over my body I left my room and walked back to the lounge area where the ponies were still waiting for me.  When I walked into the room, the cream colored pony came up to me and she had something in her mouth.

"Hur, tahk thiff."  She mumbled as she dropped a small key card with a magnetic chip in my hand.  "The leader of the diamond dogs used this to take those things off their horns.  I don't know how he did it though."

"Thanks." I said as I took a seat in the chair from earlier.  "Alright, one of you come here."  Right after I finished my sentence, the minty green unicorn slid in front of me and looked at me with a big smile on her face.

"Ooh!  Ooh!  Do me first!" she pleaded.  She glanced around at everypony once she realized we were all giving her the same weirded out expression at her unusual anxiousness to be examined by an alien.  She coughed nervously into her hoof as she tried to play it off.

"I mean, I should go first since we don't want to risk anything bad happening to the princess or Starlight, right?"  I rolled my eyes at her lame excuse, and held out my hands for her to come closer so I can get a better look at the device locked onto her horn.  She looked at my hands in awe, admiring at how foreign they looked compared to hooves.  I started to get a little creeped out by the way she was staring at my hands, wondering if hands were really that fascinating to ponies.

"Well?  Are you gonna come closer so I can get that thing off or what?" I asked her.  She looked up at me in shock, and then back down at my hands.  With a nervous gulp she gently placed her head in my left hand, letting out a soft squeal at the touch.  It was obvious that she was blushing and wouldn't take her eyes off of me as I pretended to not notice her gaze.  I tilted her head a little in either direction to see if there was a specific spot I was supposed to hold the key card to, but aside from a small red glowing light, there were no defining features to it.  The unicorn shifted around nervously as I did so.  I heard a few giggles from the group of ponies to my side and I glanced over to them to see some of them whispering to each other, Rarity being the center of attention among them.

"Oh, don't mind us darling.  You two keep doing what you're doing." Rarity chimed as she brought a hoof to her mouth to stifle her laughter.  I was getting a little agitated from them so I did my best to ignore them and turned my attention back to the unicorn in front of me.  Since there weren't any obvious spots to hold the key card to, I held it in front of the red light to see if it would do anything.  After a few seconds, the device beeped and released itself from the horn and dropped to the floor.  The minty unicorn sighed in relief, and mindlessly pressed her cheek into my hand as she closed her eyes.  She looked up at me after a few short moments with half-lidded eyes, and saw that I was giving her the same weirded out expression from before.  She shot up straight once she realized what she was doing.

"Um...Th-thank you.  My name's Lyra by the way.  Lyra Heartstrings." she introduced herself as she held out her hoof, and I took it in my hand and gently shook it.

"It was nice meeting you Ms. Heartstrings.  My name is Curtis.  It's been a real pleasure." I responded.  She let out another weird, nervous laugh as she continued to mindlessly shake my hand, not realizing the growing awkwardness in the room.  The group of mares let out another burst of giggles, this one louder than the last, and Lyra finally snapped back to reality.  She gave me a nervous smile as I let go of her hoof and she trotted over to join the group, knowing that they weren't going to show her any mercy.

"Alright, who's next?" I asked, and a snow white unicorn with a short blue mane and tail with some oddly cool looking sunglasses took Lyra's place in front of me.  At least this one wasn't going to be nearly as awkward as the last one.

"Sup dude, name's Vinyl Scratch but most ponies know me as DJ Pon-3.  Don't worry, I promise I won't fawn over you like Lyra did." Vinyl said loud enough for Lyra to hear.

"SHUT UP! I DID NOT!" Lyra defended, shifting her gaze away and scrunching her muzzle in embarrassment at being called out.  I didn't bother looking over at Lyra to see her reaction, I kept my stern gaze at the unicorn in front of me.

"I don't care if you all want to tease each other, but do it some other time.  I just want to get this over with so we can all call it a day." I responded with a serious tone.

"Alright Mr. tough guy, no need to be so salty." Vinyl said as she sat in front of me.  I held the key card in front of the light on her device and it clicked open and fell to the floor just like the last one.  Vinyl didn't move, however, she continued to sit in front of me and stare up at me.  At least I think she was staring at me, I couldn't see her eyes because of her glasses.

"Well?" She asked.

"Well what?" I shot back.

"Awe come on, you gave Lyra a scratch under her chin, don't I get one?"  She asked.  I knew it was more of a shot at Lyra than an actual question.  I folded my arms and didn't say anything in response to let her know I wasn't going to play along.

"Ugh, fine..." She sighed and trotted back to the group.  Starlight took her place in front of me and I unlocked the device around her horn the same way I did the others and she got up with a quick "thanks" and trotted back over to the group.  At least she was reasonable.  The last one to go was the princess, and she trotted over in front of me and sat down like the others.  She tilted her head forward a little to make it easier for me and I held the key card in front of the light on the device like the others and after a few seconds it clicked open and dropped to-

ZAP

A blast of magic from Twilight's horn shot out and hit me square in the chest, sending me flying across the room.  I landed on my back with a hard thud and slid across the floor a few feet before coming to a stop.  There was a sharp pain in my chest and it was impossible to breathe.  I heard the group of ponies gasp and run over to me, a few of their furry faces appearing in my vision that was going dark.  Twilight was the first one to reach me and although I could hear her voice, I couldn't make out any of the words she was saying.  Her face was way too close to mine for comfort, and if I could have I would have pushed her away, but my vision continued to go dark as I felt my consciousness fade away and soon enough I was out.
> Bedside Manners
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It took a few moments for everypony to realize what happened.  One moment the human was unlocking the horn restraints and the next he was flying across the room after getting hit with a powerful spell from Twilight.  Everypony rushed over to Curtis to see if he was okay.  The force of the impact knocked him unconscious but there didn't seem to be any other injuries as far as they could tell.  Rainbow Dash was the first to speak up.

"What they hay Twilight!?!  I know you and him had a tense argument about the whole diamond dog situation but was that really necessary?"

"I didn't...I don't-I..." Twilight was unable to put her defense into words.

"Now hold on, ah'm sure Twilight didn't do it on purpose...right?" Applejack asked, trying to defend Twilight.  Twilight looked around at the room full of ponies who were all staring at her.  Some looked more accusing than others.

"It was an accident, I swear!  I didn't even feel myself cast the spell.  It had to have been that...thing!" Twilight responded, pointing a hoof at the restraint that was once on her horn and now lying on the floor.

"Just how would that 'thing' do something like that?" Lyra retorted with an accusing tone.  To everypony's surprise, Lyra looked almost as upset at the situation as Twilight.  "Mine didn't do that and neither did Vinyl's or even Starlight's!" Lyra said as she jabbed the princess in the chest with a hoof.

"Lyra..." Bon Bon tried to call her friend back but her voice fell on deaf ears.

"What do you have against him?  We all know you weren't happy with him coming to rescue us.  Is that it?  Did him disobeying you warrant that?"  Lyra was so furious that she was backing Twilight into a corner.  "Are you so upset that he came and stole your glory that you had to knock him out cold when all he was doing was helping?  That he succeeded where you FAILED?"

"LYRA!"  Bon Bon yelled at her friend, finally breaking her out of her rant.

"What!?!"  Lyra snapped.  Bon Bon didn't flinch, she stood her ground and stared Lyra down as she pointed a hoof at the princess.  Lyra, starting to realize what she was doing, followed the direction of Bon Bon's hoof and saw that Twilight was lying on the floor, quietly weeping with her hooves covering her face.  She soon realized how harsh she was acting towards the princess of friendship.

"Princess Twilight...I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it.  I don't know what I was-"

"No, don't apologize.  You're right, I should have known that would have happened." Twilight said weakly as she wiped the tears from her face.  Starlight picked Lyra up with her magic and firmly set her down next to Bon Bon and shot her an angry look before trotting up to Twilight.

"Don't be ridiculous, there's no way you could have known that would have happened."  Starlight said trying to console her friend.  Spike came to Twilight's side and threw his arms around her neck.

"Don't listen to Lyra, Twilight.  I know you wouldn't have done that on purpose.  It's not like SHE did anything to help." Spike said as he glowered at Lyra.

"I hate to state the obvious but shouldn't we get this guy to the hospital?" Vinyl Scratch interrupted.  

"Vinyl is right.  I'm no doctor but he could be seriously injured, he took a pretty hard hit."  Octavia added.

"I can take him to the hospital, everypony else should go home for the night.  It's been a long day."  Starlight said as she levitated the unconscious man with her magic, taking extra care not to move him any more than necessary in case he did have internal injuries.  "Spike, please make sure Twilight doesn't beat herself up over this.  I'll be back once he's admitted to the hospital." Starlight said as she trotted out the castle with Curtis floating just behind her.  Once outside, she took off running towards the hospital, hoping the night staff wasn't too busy.

The sun had set over an hour ago and Luna's moon was shining brightly in the clear night sky.  Usually, the streets of Ponyville wouldn't be so empty this early in the night but it seemed most ponies made an exception for tonight considering what happened.  She arrived at the hospital to find that Nurse Redheart was sitting at the receptionist desk, scribbling away at some paperwork with the pencil in her mouth.

"Please, I need a doctor!  He's hurt."  Starlight pleaded.  Nurse Redheart looked up from the paperwork she was doing and dropped the pencil she was holding in her mouth when she saw who exactly Starlight was referring to.

"Is that the human everypony's been talking about?  What happened to him?"  Nurse Redheart asked.  She didn't wait for a response before jumping to her hooves.  She pushed the button on the intercom at her desk to make an announcement "Doctor Horse to the front desk.  Doctor Horse to the front desk."  She rushed to get the largest gurney they had since most were meant for ponies of a size much smaller than he was.  She returned just as quick as she left and Doctor Horse rushed in as Starlight set Curtis down on the gurney.

"Is that the human everypony's been talking about?  What happened to him?" Doctor Horse asked, repeating the nurse's questions.

"He got hit pretty hard with magic.  He went unconscious shortly after."  Starlight answered trying to keep it short.  Doctor Horse was busy casting a spell on the human to see what the damage was.

"I see, there doesn't appear to be any internal damage but I still want to examine him to be safe.  Miss Glimmer, please fill out the forms on one of the clipboards and have a seat in the waiting area.  Nurse Redheart will be back shortly."  Doctor Horse said and rushed off with the nurse to get a closer look at Curtis.




Meanwhile, at Twilight's castle




Octavia and Vinyl Scratch left shortly after Starlight took Curtis to the hospital.  Spike finally convinced Twilight to get some sleep and her friends left after they were certain Twilight would get some rest.  Bon Bon and Lyra volunteered to take Curtis's belongings to his room.  They followed Spike's directions on how to get there and they found it easily enough.  Lyra opened the door with her magic and trotted in with Curtis's flak and helmet and Bon Bon followed in behind her carrying his rifle in her mouth since she insisted on carrying it instead of letting Lyra hold it with her magic.  Her reason being she "didn't want it to accidentally go off."  Lyra set the armor in the closet since that's where the rest of his stuff was at.  Bon Bon set the rifle down on the table and took a seat in the chair.  She proceeded to take out the magazine and pulled the charging handle back to eject the round inside the chamber and put it back inside the magazine.

"What are you doing?" Lyra asked, shocked at how casual her friend looked handling the strange weapon.  Bon Bon's eyes slightly widened, as if she wasn't aware of what she just did.

"Huh?  I was just making sure it was safe, probably shouldn't leave it loaded." Bon Bon replied.  Lyra cocked her head in confusion.

"Loaded?" Lyra asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, loaded."

"...And how did you know how to...unload it?" Lyra asked, wondering if that was the correct word.

"Oh uh, you know..." Bon Bon paused for a second as she tapped her hoof on the desk "I just watched him do it in the mine.  Besides it's not like it's complicated or anything." she said defending herself.  Lyra continued to give her friend a confused look, searching her own memory if she could remember the human doing whatever Bon Bon just did.

"If you say so..." Lyra conceded.  She didn't remember seeing the human do anything remotely close to whatever Bon Bon just did but concluded she must have missed it.  Afterall, it's not like Bon Bon would lie to her right?




Back at the hospital




Starlight Glimmer was sitting in the waiting area, trying her best to ward off sleep even though her eyelids seemed to be getting heavier by the minute.  The sound of approaching hoofsteps was enough to wake up her mind and she saw Nurse Redheart enter the waiting area.

"Excuse me, miss Glimmer?  Could you come with me please?" Nurse Redheart asked.

"Certainly, is Curtis going to be okay?" Starlight asked, concern in her voice.

"He'll be fine.  He has a large bruise where he got hit but it should heal after a few days.  I just need you to come with me to his room and sign some paperwork for us and we'll keep him overnight."  Nurse Redheart answered.  Starlight let out a grateful sigh at the news, happy to know that he will make a full recovery.  Starlight stood up from her seat and stretched before following the nurse to Curtis's room where Doctor Horse was waiting for them.  Curtis was lying on a hospital bed with a blanket covering his entire body except for his head.  His clothes and pistols were neatly folded and stacked on a small table in the room with his boots on the floor beneath the table.  The room was dimly lit, the only light source being the lamp on the table.

"Here she is, doctor." Nurse Redheart announced as they entered.

"Ah, miss Glimmer, thank you for your patience.  I was just finishing up some paperwork.  Your friend here will have to stay overnight but he should wake up sometime tomorrow morning.  If you would just sign here acknowledging you are aware he is here you will be free to go." Doctor Horse said as he floated a clipboard over to Starlight with the papers.  She signed in the place where the doctor indicated and gave it back to the doctor.

"Thank you so much for your help doctor.  As you could imagine it's been quite a stressful day."

"It was my pleasure, after all, it was the least we could do for him after he rescued you along with the princess and those other ponies.  If you don't mind me asking, how did this happen?" Doctor Horse asked.

"It was an accident.  He was taking off these weird things on our horns when it happened.  He removed most of them just fine but for some reason when he removed Twilight's restraint she just..." Starlight trailed off, wondering to herself what exactly happened.

"Are you saying Princess Twilight did this to him?" Doctor Horse asked, shocked that the Princess of Friendship would do such a thing.

"Oh Celestia no!  Or at least not on purpose.  Even she doesn't know why it happened.  Honestly, I think it had something to do with the thing on her horn."  Starlight responded.  Doctor Horse rubbed his chin in thought.

"Perhaps you're right, that does seem pretty out of character for her.  Oh well, not my field of expertise.  In the end, your friend will be fine aside for some bruising but that will heal in time so no real harm was done.  Besides, judging from the massive scar on his chest I'm certain he has recovered from injuries far worse than bruises.  Our work here is done, for now, you are free to leave when you are ready.  The nurse and I will leave you be."  Doctor Horse said as he and Nurse Redheart exited the room.  Starlight looked back at Curtis, replaying the doctor's words in her head.

'I wonder what scar he was talking about.' Starlight thought to herself in curiosity.  She walked over to his bedside and used her magic to gently move the blanket down so she could see what scar the doctor was referring to.  Starlight's jaw dropped in awe at the large scar that ran from the center of his chest down to his stomach.  Her mind was trying to comprehend what could have caused such a mark.  She didn't want to even try to think about how much pain it would have caused.  As she looked on she noticed other scars on the man's body although these weren't as nearly severe.  Along with the scars, she saw the other tattoo he mentioned before the accident.  In the center of his chest was the head of an angry looking honey badger.  The meaning behind it was lost on her.

"By Celestia...what happened to you?" Starlight asked aloud, a feeling of deep sorrow coming over her for the man.  She realized she was gawking at the half naked man and decided it would be best to cover him up and call it a night.  She moved the blanket back to where it originally was and left the room, leaving Curtis in the dimly lit hospital room and headed back to the castle to get some rest herself.  Unbeknownst to her, blending in perfectly with the shadows of the room, was the former king of the Crystal Empire, watching her every move.  After the sound of her hoofsteps could no longer be heard and the only noise was coming from the constant ticking from the clock hanging from the wall, King Sombra stepped out of the shadows and stood in the same spot Starlight was just in.

"That is the question, isn't it?  Just what did happen to you?" Sombra asked aloud.  When he first entered the human's body and peered into his memories, he thought he saw everything he needed to see.  But when Curtis had that flashback, it was as if he was experiencing those horrors himself.  If that wasn't strange enough, he couldn't even remember what happened.  Curtis was tortured, Sombra didn't doubt that.  As to how, why, or for how long he had no clue.  Sombra has been trying to find those memories on his own since the man was knocked out but had no success.  He couldn't even find any memories that even seemed related to what happened.  They had to be buried deep down in his subconscious where he couldn't get them.  Fortunately, this meant neither could Luna.

Some good did come out of the whole accident.  Curtis was hit with so much magic that Sombra could now accomplish his goal of restoring himself to his true form.  He would, of course, have to go into hiding for a few years until he could gather all his strength.  Afterall self-restoration is no easy feat.  Hell, just preserving himself in his horn for such a long time was an accomplishment that even Starswirl the Bearded could only dream of doing.  Of course, that would mean leaving behind the man responsible for him being able to restore himself and breaking the deal they had, but what was that worth to him?  If it wasn't for Sombra, the magical blast would have blown a hoof-sized hole in the man's chest.  Come to think of it, they would both be dead if it wasn't for the other, so Sombra decided they were even.  Since whatever memories Luna could access would only reveal whatever he already told Celestia, there was no need for Sombra to continue blocking her attempts to see his dreams.  Sombra began to charge up the restoration spell that he personally made himself.  He felt the magic build up, every second that ticked by was another second closer to freedom.

'Casting the spell would surely cause a lot of damage to the hospital' Sombra thought to himself. 'Maybe it would be best to wait until I can do it without causing a scene.'  No, it was now or never and he would be able to easily slip away under the cover of night.  He was the pony of shadows and darkness.  The spell was almost fully charged and he could see his horn glow inside the man's chest.

'What if casting it now would end up killing him?'  Sombra paused for a moment to consider that thought.  He didn't need Curtis to survive him casting the spell, all he was is a means to an end.  Now that he had all the magic he needed, the man was irrelevant and whatever happened to Curtis after he was free wouldn't matter.  'But surely Celestia wouldn't let me get away so easily, especially after murdering...' Again, Sombra had to stop and think about what he was about to do. 

'So what?  After I take back my what is rightfully mine, it won't matter.  I will become more powerful than Celestia could ever dream of.  When I do, I will crush her beneath my hooves, and her sister, and anypony else who gets in my way.'  This was it, the spell was fully charged.  The magic was so intense that the room was bathed in a blood red glow.  A glow that was coming from his horn, which was inside the chest of the man who gave him a second chance at life.  The man who he was maybe about to kill.

This was it, it was time to set himself free.  All he had to was cast the spell.
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Yep, just casting the spell was all that was left.  It was fully charged and ready to go.
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That's right, no more waiting, no more absorbing magic, no more hiding, just one spell cast away from achieving his destiny.
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He will finally be able to take revenge on those responsible for all his suffering.  All he had to do was cast the spell.
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Any day now, while we're still young.
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"What the hay are you waiting for?  Just cast the spell already and be done with it!" Sombra told himself.  For whatever reason, there was a part of him that wouldn't let him do it.  Sombra looked down at Curtis and used his magic to pull the blanket down to look at his scar with his own eyes.

'Oh to Tartarus with it.' Sombra thought as he gave in to whatever mysterious force that was preventing him from taking the final step.  'Now isn't the best time.  I already have all the magic I need, I just need a little more time to come up with a plan.  Once I have the perfect plan put together I will finally be able to fulfill my destiny.  For now, all I need is patience.' Sombra reasoned.  How long would that take?  Maybe a week?  Soon everypony will bow down to him and beg for mercy after he takes back his empire and all of Equus will-

"Is somepony in here?"

'SWEET CELESTIA'S TEATS!' Sombra was so deep in thought that he didn't hear Nurse Redheart open the door and quickly blended in with the shadows at the far end of the room where he was originally hiding.  The only thing that saved him from being discovered was the nurse asking her question out loud before entering.  Nurse Redheart looked around, completely oblivious to who else was in the room with her.  She looked over at Curtis and saw that his blanket was down just above his waist.

"Must be having a bad dream." she reasoned to herself as she walked over to his bedside and went to grab the blanket with her mouth but stopped suddenly as if she felt a presence in the room with her.  "Doctor Horse?  Is that you?" Nurse Redheart asked seemingly nopony in particular.  A few seconds go by with no response.  "Well since we're all alone, how about we have a look and see what we have here..." Nurse Redheart said as she grabbed the blanket in her mouth.

'What is she doing?  Wait, she isn't...' Sombra watched in awe as Nurse Redheart gently pulled the blanket off Curtis, fully revealing him and all of his...extremities.

"Oh, my!  Well, you most certainly aren't 'compensating' for anything.  I wonder, is that what it always looks like, or does it get bigger with arousal?  Hmm, well we probably have some spare neighagra in the pharmacy.  I wonder if..."

'Alright, that's it!  Peep show's over.' Sombra reached out with his magic and used just enough force to push the clock off the wall and it fell to the floor with a loud clang, scaring the nurse out of her wits.  She was so startled that she tripped over the blanket she ripped off and landed face first on the floor.  She quickly picked herself up, holding a hoof up to her nose as a trickle of blood leaked out.

"Stupid clock!" Nurse Redheart cursed.  "Well great, now the mood is killed.  Oh well,  I'll remember you for later." Sombra couldn't tell if she was referring to Curtis or a certain part of him.  Either way, his distraction worked and Nurse Redheart covered him up with the blanket the same way it was originally and exited the room to tend to her bleeding nose.  Sombra came out from the shadows and stood next to the man's bedside.  He looked at the door where the nurse just exited and felt disgusted with what he just saw.

"Despicable..." Sombra spat out and turned his attention back to his human counterpart.  "First we were even, now you owe me one.  Fortunately, you'll be leaving before Nurse RAPEHEART gets ahold of you." Sombra reentered the human so he wouldn't have to worry about anypony seeing him and decided he needed some rest himself after today's events.