A tale of 2 high school friends being pulled into the world of Equestria, but not all is right.
Jimmy and George are 2 average high school students. They have also been friends since they were small children. One day they both end up in the world of Equestria. Normally this would be a dream come true for any brony, but not all is well when they arrive. Strange things have been happening across Equestria, and many people take notice that there are now 2 humans in their world, an event that has not happened for 1000 years. Soon, many people begin to accuse the 2 of being a part of all the disasters. Similar disasters that happened right before 3 great events that changed everything so long ago. Now the 2 friends must face 2 challenges: Finding a way home, and learning who they can and can't trust.
Rated Teen for some violence that may emerge in future chapters. First story so please don't be mad if it's not all that good :3
So far today was an average day. Same old schedule every day. Nothing ever really changes when you're in high school. Especially as a junior, it's the same stuff every day. Jimmy's schedule was pretty simple: Gym in the morning, followed by Chemistry, then Art, History, Italian, and finally his lunch break where he could hang out with his good friends. He really didn't care where he ate lunch, whether it was in the cafeteria or Teen Center. All he cared about was being with his friends for a little before going off to his Pre-Calculus class and then English.
Being a brony kept him entertained throughout the day. He could entertain himself by thinking of funny moments from the show. He could even sing a song in his head that he had heard from the show or even the fandom. He also liked to try drawing ponies in his notebook when he was bored. Although he wasn't very good at it, he still tried. He was taking art class after all, maybe he could learn how to draw better without tracing over a picture or using a grid. He was also thinking of writing a story like some of his friends have.
As he walked into the Teen Center he saw his usual friends. He saw his friend Jed, a slightly larger kid who often just hung around with them and talked about anything really. There was also Billy, he was the kid who acted odd but was enjoyable to be around. Then there was Tori and Emel, they were both pretty quiet at lunch. Tori was the girl in every high school who could draw really well and get along with anyone. Emel was the quiet one who liked hanging out with everyone. He saw George, his friend since their 2nd grade year, sitting in his usual spot on the couch doing his english homework. Even this was the same every single day. But seeing his friends was all Jim needed to cheer up.
"Doing your homework like usual Georgenhiemlich?" Jim said as he sat down on a couch next to where George was, trying to avoid stepping on Billy who was lying on a bean bag on the floor.
"Yep, and as usual it's something we need the books for but our teacher won't let us take the books out of the class. Because you know, someone damaging a book older than us with half of the pages ripped would be a disaster." George said as he went back to guessing the definitions to words.
"Well it's still not as bad of a disaster as this 3 day storm. It's been raining non stop all week. Funny, it's been raining non stop and yet we somehow haven't had any flooding. I've never even seen a puddle now that I think about it." Jim said as he just sat down and started relaxing.
"Maybe it's just draining into the sewers, there are a bunch of drains around here too since it's a school." Jed said taking out his headphones.
"OR maybe Jed just drank it all in one big gulp!" Billy yelled out, another one of his obnoxiously loud insults towards Jed.
"Well either way I'm glad this day is almost over." Jim said as he started telling everyone about his day.
"You're always glad every day is almost over at lunch." George said as he finished his homework.
"That's because it's school. It would be more fun if life wasn't so dull and boring. It's the same thing every day. We even eat the same lunch and sit in the same spots every day!" Jim said.
"Speaking of which, anyone have a dollar I can borrow?" Billy asked like he does every day.
"NO!" Everyone said in unison, already knowing Billy wouldn't pay them back.
~~~~~~~~~~ Later that night ~~~~~~~~~~
Jimmy and George were texting each other at 9 PM, about 2 hours before they usually went to sleep. They were mostly talking about anything funny in their day and helping each other with homework. Eventually the conversation turned towards their favorite show, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. They had their usual jokes and funny theories and things hidden in the show. Suddenly both of them felt tired, odd since it wasn't even 9:30 yet. They both decided to just go to sleep and get ready for school tomorrow, since it was Thursday they were getting closer to the weekends, which meant a new episode soon.
Jimmy was going to begin to undress and go to sleep, but he suddenly felt like he was about to pass out. He wanted to panic but figured he was just exhausted after his day. He only slept for 4 hours the night before, followed by 2 tests in gym class, which required him to run a mile and a half each, and walking 2 more miles home after school. He suddenly fell over on his bed and slept, he hadn't even taken off his black jacket or his dark blue jeans. He didn't even have time to put his head on the pillow or cover himself before falling asleep.
~~~~~~~~~~ At George's house ~~~~~~~~~~
George would have usually turned off his computer and Playstation 3 before going to sleep. But just like Jim, he fell asleep the second he got to his bed, feeling as though he were going to pass out. He also fell asleep wearing his brown pants and blue jacket. The weird thing was how both of them fell asleep wearing a shirt with a pony themed picture on it. Jimmy had a light gray shirt that said "Brony" on it with a black silhouette of Rainbow Dash with her cutie mark in color. George had fallen asleep with a brown shirt with a gray picture of Pinkie Pie on it with red letters on top and bottom saying "Pinkie Pie is watching you" on top and "FOREVER!" on the bottom. Both of them drifted off feeling odd, as though they couldn't feel any part of their bodies. Little did they know, this was where their adventure would begin...
OK guys, that was just Chapter 1. This is my first story so let me know what you think, I know, it's mostly about my life but there are small details in here that you should remember for future chapters. Anyway, let me know what you think. I'll get to work on Chapter 2 tomorrow. The story is going to be a little dull at first. But I'll do my best to try and make it more exciting. I'm also going to try and make it a bit funnier from time to time. Also I won't be able to add a chapter every day since, like I said in the story, I'm in high school and 11th grade. So things are a bit busy.
"Ugh...where...am I?" Jimmy stood up in the middle of a field, feeling a little groggy. He looked around and noticed another figure lying in the distance. This figure looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on who it was. It was when he got closer did he realize who it was, and he walked towards him as fast as he could in his distorted state.
"George! George, wake up! George!" He yelled as he shook his friend awake.
"What!? Jim! Why are you in my roo-...where are we?" George asked as he tried standing up, feeling a little dizzy himself.
"I have no idea. I just woke up a minute ago myself." Jimmy looked around and took notice of his surroundings. The sun was shining, the grass in the field was green, and there were several trees around in the distance. There seemed to be a river flowing nearby. All seemed normal aside from one patch of trees that looked to have darker bark and leaves on them. It was giving off a mysterious feeling from it. He also noticed the patch of grass they were in was slightly burnt and black in some parts, forming a circle.
"I guess we should start walking, find out where we are." George said as he began to walk after a few minutes of waiting to see if anyone would find them. He was still a little dizzy and tripped and his knee dug into the grass, leaving an indent in the ground. Jimmy helped him up and they began walking. The both of them decided to walk along the river, in case they needed water and possibly fish to eat. After about a half hour of walking, they decided to take a break and think of a plan of how to find someone to tell them where they were.
"This is weird." Jimmy said as they sat down. He began to inspect the ground where they were sitting and noticed something.
"George! Come here, look at this!" Jimmy yelled as George was poking his finger in the water to see how it was.
"What? What's wrong?" George said as he came towards him.
"Isn't this where your knee dig into the ground before?" Jimmy was pointing to a spot in the ground with an indent, just like the one George left earlier when he tripped.
"Did we just...walk in a circle?! We were walking for half an hour and all we did was get back here! Augh!" George was clearly a little frustrated at this turn of events. He noticed Jimmy was staring in the direction of the forest, the same forest with darkened trees.
"What are you looking at Jim? Do you see something?" George asked looking towards the forest too, straining his eyes and adjusting his glasses trying to see if anything was there.
"No, I just think we should go through the forest." Jim said, not looking away from the dark trees that seemed to be staring back.
"Why there? Doesn't it seem a little...dark to you? There's a bunch of ways to go anyway. We just can't follow that river again." George said as he started to turn around looking for another path to take. He noticed all directions lead to mountains that seemed close by. The only path that had no mountains at the end it would seem, was the forest.
"Look, there's no other way I can think of. You got any ideas?" Jim asked knowing the answer already.
"Well, I guess you're right. Only way to go is in that forest. What do you think is in there anyway?" George asked. He realized at that moment that he hadn't seen a single fish in the water the whole time they were walking.
"I don't know. I haven't heard any noises. No birds chirping, no animals calling. Nothing. It's so weird." Jimmy said as George stood next to him and they stared into the forest together. Just like he said, no animals, no sounds, no signs of life besides the plants.
"Do you think it's possible we're somewhere with only plants and no animals?" George asked
"No, the plants would need Carbon Dioxide to live, which requires an animal. And we're breathing so there's Oxygen in the air which means they're going through the cycle of photosynthesis and-"
"OK I get it! No need to go all scientist on me." George said cutting Jimmy off.
"Oh, haha, sorry." Jim said as they both laughed at the incident.
"I guess we should start walking, any idea when it's gonna get dark?" George asked noticing the sun didn't seem to move at all.
"I don't know which way is north so I can't find out. The sun still hasn't moved has it?" Jim asked George who now had a bewildered look on his face.
"So you noticed it too?" George asked.
"Yep, the shadows haven't moved since we got here. Therefore, the sun isn't moving. I have no idea why but I would love to know where we are. It's some place that doesn't rotate, but if that's the case..." Jim trailed off thinking.
"Wouldn't it always be hot here then? Wait, it's not hot though. In fact, it's perfect weather." George said taking notice of the temperature.
"Do you think there's a chance that we're...dead?" George asked getting a little nervous now.
"No, if we were dead I don't think we would be together. We haven't seen anyone else. We should get walking now." Jimmy said as he began to walk towards the forest with George right next to him.
After what felt like an hour or two to them, they finally decided to take a small break while in the forest.
"George, have you heard or seen any signs of life since we came in here?" Jim asked getting a little unsettled as he sat on a large tree root sticking out of the ground.
"No, I haven't. Wait, what's that?" George asked as he pointed to what looked like a white stick sticking out of a bush. They began to walk closer and Jimmy, being the closer one to the bush, pulled the object out of the bush. It was a bone, no meat was left on it, as though it were licked clean.
"Oh God!" They both yelled out as he dropped the bone to the ground.
"OK, I guess something else lives here. And it must have died off. Do you think it was another person who came here like us?" George asked as he stared at the bone.
"I don't think so, it's too small to be a human leg. What's this?" Jim asked as he picked up a piece of fur from where the bone was found. It appeared to be lion fur, but it was red, and there were patches of yellow fur on the ground near it. But what lion has yellow and red fur? And why wasn't it mixed if it was from one animal? Something was very wrong here.
"George," Jimmy said as he turned around looking towards him. "We're not alone in this forest."
"So there's something else living here?" George asked trying to avoid looking at the bone on the floor.
"It would appear there are a bunch of things living out here, but they follow a food chain." Jimmy said putting down the fur and looking for anything else left by the mystery creature.
"Do you think it would eat us? I mean, what if it's never seen a human before? What if-wait, why hasn't it attacked us yet if it wanted to eat us?" George pondered, his questions coming out faster than anyone could answer them.
"Well, it could be nocturnal. But that would require it to be night time for a few hours every day. The sun still hasn't moved though and I know it's been at least three hours since we woke up." Jimmy said staring up past the canopy to see the sun. Seeing it hadn't moved he looked back down, thinking.
"Uh...Jim?" George said looking up a few seconds after Jimmy looked down.
"What? What's wro-...that's...not possible!" Jimmy exclaimed as he looked up to see the sun moving at an alarming rate towards one direction, the sky getting dimmer and dimmer with every passing second. Eventually, it was pitch black and neither of them could see anything.
"Oh man! What do we do now!?" George began to panic as he walked into what he suspected was a tree.
"OK, stop moving. Let's try to find each other. Is that your hand? Ugh, this would be easier if there was a moon in the sky!" Jimmy said as he was feeling around trying to find George. Suddenly, it was getting easier to see, it was getting brighter. The both of them began to see better and saw each other, realizing they were only a few feet away from each other.
"Is that...a moon?" Jimmy asked looking up and noticing the moon rapidly rising into the spot where the sun once resided.
"Do you think it will move or stay in the same spot like the sun did?" George asked observing how much darker the forest looked at night.
"Not sure, probably will but we can't be sure unt-...George...don't move a muscle." Jimmy said mid sentence as he froze up staring at George, eyes wide with terror.
"Why? What's wrong?" George asked as he turned around meeting what appeared to be a lion. But this lion had yellow fur with a red mane. George immediately froze up in terror and let out a scream, shortly followed by a roar from the mystery lion.
"COME ON! RUN!" Jimmy yelled as he grabbed George's arm and pulled him away as the creature swung at him with its large arm. They both began running, searching for someone to help them, something to use as a weapon, a house, anything to help them. Suddenly Jimmy tripped over a large tree root, hidden by the darkness of night, hitting the ground and losing his breath. The mystery creature approached him and raised its arm to strike.
"JIM! LOOK OUT!" George yelled as he picked up a rock and threw it and the monster, causing it to stagger back and fall over.
"LET'S GO!" George yelled as he helped Jimmy up and they both began to run. They ran for a few seconds before hearing the creature's mighty roar and the sound of it running. They both kept running until George spotted a house in the distance, a house that seemed to be carved into the lower bark of a giant tree.
"Look! Is that a house?" George asked as they began running towards the house. The creature right behind them. Then Jimmy began yelling at the house for help from whoever was inside.
"Wait! How do we know whoever lives there won't try to kill us? What if they think we're monsters too?" George suddenly asked realized this could possibly be a dead end, trapped between two forces trying to kill them.
"I don't care if they like us or not! It's better than dealing with that thing!" Jimmy yelled. They both stopped dead in their tracks as the door to the house opened and a hooded figure stuck its head out. They felt relieved until they saw the creature fly past them both and land in front of them, brandishing two large bat-like wings and a scorpions tail at them. They both stopped and froze in terror as it raised the large tail and aimed it at them both. Suddenly, the hooded figure ran outside, holding a flask in its hand filled with a strange liquid emitting a powerful odor that would have bothered Jimmy and George had they not been in immediate danger.
"Flee! Flee you nasty beast! You will not add these two to your night time feast!" the hooded figure yelled as it shook the flask at the beast. The beast quickly shrieked and flew away, wanting to get far away from the liquid as fast as possible. The hooded figure, which sounded female and seemed to walk on four legs walked towards Jimmy and George, both of them catching their breath.
"Do not worry about that nasty manticore, he should not bother you two anymore." The hooded figure said as she removed her hood. It was almost hard for Jimmy and George to believe, both of them staring in disbelief at who had just saved them.
"Are you...Zecora?" Jimmy asked as he stared at the Zebra standing before them.
"Ah, you know my name? Well, I wish that for you I could say the same." Zecora said letting out a little laugh as she stared back at them.
"Oh. Uh, well, I'm Jimmy, and this is my friend George." Jimmy said introducing the two of them while George was still in shock over this whole incident.
"Did you just...scare that thing away with some water?" George asked staring at the flask full of clear liquid that now rested on the ground, standing on its base so the liquid stayed inside.
"Oh that? It is a powerful repellent. Most creatures dislike its powerful scent." Zecora raised the flask again and the smell came back stronger than before, causing both Jimmy and George to cover their noses.
"That smells disgusting! I actually think I lost my appetite from that smell." George said as he now used both of his hands to cover his nose.
"Wow, I actually forgot about that. We've been looking for a place for so long that I forgot about finding food." Jimmy said.
"Well then you two should come inside. I do not mind if it is my house in which you reside." Zecora said as she went into the house letting the two in.
"Wait," George said as he grabbed Jimmy's shoulder and stopped him. "If Zecora is here...doesn't that mean we're in Equestria?" After a minute Jimmy seemed to look up and around and link everything together.
"George! You're a genius! This is the Everfree Forest, that thing was a Manticore, and the sun and moon have been acting that way because-"
"Princess Celestia and Princess Luna raise them to the center of the sky and don't move them until it's time!" George declared realizing everything they hand't noticed before. The two gave a quick high five before going into Zecora's house.
~~~~~~~~
OK guys, we're finally here :D They know they're in Equestria now and things are going to start picking up. I'm gonna try to add one chapter every day. Special thanks to my friend xRezurrected. He's helping me by proof reading and brainstorming with me at lunch at school. Yes, that's George from the story. Anyway, you should check out some of his stories, they're really good.
"Wow, this place looks pretty cool." Jimmy said as he walked inside, looking around at the inside of the house. He noticed it was a perfect circle since it was carved into a tree, only it seemed smaller than the tree itself. It had only two doors, the one to the outside that George was walking in, and one to what he assumed was either her bedroom or kitchen. She appeared to have enough things in this main room to cook food.
"Looks a bit smaller than it did outside." George observed as he closed the door behind him.
"Well behind that door is my bedroom. Or would you expect me to sleep on this hard floor or outside on a plume?" Zecora asked with a tone of sarcastic humor in her voice.
"Oh, right. Sorry." George said feeling a little embarrassed.
"Sorry if that sounded a bit rude. Cheer up, and have some food!" She said happily handing George what appeared to be a sandwich with a flower on it. He just stared at it for a few seconds while she also handed one to Jimmy.
"Not to sound rude but...what is this?" George asked as he lifted the bread to reveal a larger flower inside.
"I'm gonna guess that's a dandelion." Jimmy said causing him and Zecora to chuckle.
"I know but, we don't exactly eat flowers." George said as he handed her back the sandwich. Jimmy soon followed and handed his back to her too.
"Oh! That's my mistake. Is there anything you like to eat that doesn't require me to bake?" She asked looking around for anything to give them.
"I guess some fruit and berries." Jimmy said looking outside the window for any fruit hanging from the surrounding trees.
"Look! Apples!" George yelled as he spotted an apple tree right outside the house. The two quickly ran out and grabbed a few apples and came back in and began eating them.
~~~~~~~~~~A few minutes later~~~~~~~~~~
"Ah, that was good." Jimmy said throwing another apple core out of the window.
"Are you sure we can just throw these out the window? Don't you have a garbage can?" George asked Zecora throwing out his last core too.
"Why yes I am completely sure, this is what all animals do in nature." Zecora said as she began staring at the two humans curiously.
”So where exactly did you two originate? I’ve never seen anything like you, and a living thing isn’t something someone can just create.” Zecora asked.
“Oh, we’re called humans. We come from a place calle-“
“Humans you said? Oh no, the last humans were a sign of dread.” Zecora said, interrupting George.
“There were humans here before us? Who were they?” Jimmy asked getting interested wondering who else could have come to Equestria like they did. Maybe they could find them or tell find a way back home.
“What were they like? I wonder what era they were from.” George said imagining all the time periods in human history. Zecora just kept mumbling to herself and looking for something.
“Are you OK Zecora? You’re kind of scaring me now.” Jimmy said as she came to one last bookshelf and began to throw books to the ground looking for just one.
“There is something you should hear, let me just find the book I keep around here.” Zecora said, a tone of fear in her voice. Finally she found what she was looking for, a large and thick brown book with what appeared to be a golden alicorn symbol rising from it. The book had golden stripes on its spine. Zecora opened the book and looked at Jimmy and George and began to tell them a story.
“Now listen closely, and I shall tell you the story, of how Evil rose to glory”
“1000 years ago, humans came to Equestria like you two, but there was little about the danger that they knew.”
“An empire of crystals that lost everything dear, before their corrupted leader cursed them all to disappear.”
“Their evil king was banished by two royal sisters to the ice, but nobody knew how he went to cruel from nice.”
"Wouldn't that be Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?" George asked. Zecora nodded and began reading again.
“There was then a time of calm and bliss, but it was something they would soon all miss.”
“Once again, all was not well. Evil rose again before it fell.”
“The Everfree animals were once kept in check by a Draquonecuus named Discord, they all followed his rules as if he were their lord.”
“His rules kept them in the forest, this let people outside the forest peacefully rest.”
“So Discord controlled the animals in the Everfree? No wonder they're all insane now, their leader is gone.” Jimmy said as he thought about the lack of animals outside of the forest. Zecora nodded again and continued her story.
“Everything changed once he was gone, now it's only safe at the crack of dawn.”
“We are unsure of their exact number, but all they do during the day is slumber.”
“They still obey his rules, and the only people who venture into the forest at night are fools.”
“Despite him being a trickster and a clown, the two sisters were able to chase him down.”
“They realized he too was corrupted because all he did was mock, so they decided they had to turn him into rock.”
“But before he was turned to stone, he cast a spell to corrupt the throne.”
“Nobody had any clue, of the nightmare that would ensue.”
“This was followed by a small time of peace, but Evil once again found a way to leech.”
“In that small time of peace, the humans could adapt. They even showed us weapons called "swords" to craft.”
“Of course only the humans could use them, but knowledge back then was worth as much as any gem.”
“The humans needed to fight, so they could help prevent Evil strengthen its might.”
“Then, Luna began to change, people began to notice that she was acting very strange.”
“She became less and less friendly, and very soon, she succumbed to the darkness and became Nightmare Moon.”
“Nightmare Moon tried to make an eternal night, but the humans decided to help and fight.”
“Despite their best effort, they could not prevent the Evil from doing its worst.”
“The Evil summoned shadows so the humans could be confined, and it is believe that is where they still reside. “
“After that, Celestia decided upon Nightmare Moon’s imprisonment, hoping that it would make her repent.”
“This time the peace seemed to remain, but Celestia knew that Nightmare Moon would come back just as insane.”
“Once again, Equestria has been cursed, except this time the events have been reversed.”
Zecora finally finished her story and put her book down and looked at Jimmy and George, both of whom realized how similar that story was to the actual story of the show.
"Well, we should probably we getting some sleep now. Where can we sleep?" Jimmy asked as Zecora pointed to the door to her bedroom.
"You two can use my beds, a regular and a spare. I won't be getting much sleep with all this research and dread." Zecora said getting several other books to look up more things.
"What are you going to research?" George asked as he began walking to the spare room.
"I'm looking up some things we will need to know, one of which is a way to get you home." Zecora said as she set everything down on the table.
"Well, goodnight and thanks for letting us stay here tonight." Jimmy said as he pulled George into the room and closed the door. The room had Zecora's bed, which was easy to identify because it looked a little messier than the spare bed which had a little dust on its covers.
"OK, this is weird." Jimmy said as he sat on Zecora's bed staring into space and thinking.
"What's weird? The story being like the show?" George asked sitting on the spare bed after wiping the dust off of it.
"Yeah but the events that Zecora mentioned were all the things that happened a thousand years ago in the show. They're also related to Nightmare Moon, Discord, and King Sombra." Jimmy said as he began to take his shoes off.
"So that means they could come back now?" George asked taking off his shoes and blue jacket.
"I don't know, the weird thing was how all those events happened backwards. First the humans came, then Sombra, then Discord, and finally Nightmare Moon. This time Nightmare moon was defeated, Discord was turned back into stone, and Sombra was destroyed. Now we're here." Jimmy said as he took off his black jacket.
"What happens next? I think we need to go see Celestia or Luna and ask them about this." George said as he took off his glasses and laid down on the bed.
"I guess so, not like we have any other options besi-what are you doing? You're gonna sleep with your pants and shirt on?" Jimmy asked as he stopped taking off his jeans.
"Huh? Oh, well we're here together so yeah," George said giving a blank look on his face.
"Well if that's what you want to do then OK." Jimmy said putting his jeans back on and lying on the bed.
"How are we going to get to Canterlot? Wouldn't people panic if they saw us?" George asked staring up at the ceiling.
"No, only Celestia and Luna would possibly even remember that. Everyone in Ponyville should just think of us as 2 animals. We can tell them we're humans and they probably wouldn't care as much as Celestia and Luna would." Jimmy said turning over in the bed.
"So tomorrow we're going to Ponyville?" George asked sitting up suddenly.
"I guess so." Jimmy said as he began to doze off.
"One question." George said as he looked at Jimmy.
"What's that?" Jimmy asked while sitting up.
"Can I give Fluttershy a hug when we get there?" George asked with a wide smile on his face.
"Haha, I guess we can give them all hugs once we get there." Jimmy said as they both began to laugh before calming down again.
"Alright, night." George said turning over and drifting off to sleep.
"Night." Jimmy said as he began to fall asleep himself, still thinking about everything that has happened in one day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sorry for the long wait guys, but I kept falling asleep whenever I got home from school. It was also annoying thinking of all those rhymes >.< Anyway, I'm gonna try to go back to adding one chapter every day like before :D.
The sky was clear and nice, a bit unusual for the Everfree forest but nobody complained, and Jimmy and George were getting ready to begin their journey to Canterlot to seek out Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Zecora was going to take them to Ponyville to find a train to bring them to Canterlot. Most people outside of Ponyville were not used to seeing a Zebra, so they thought it was best for her to not come with them to see the Royal Sisters. They had spent their breakfast time eating fruits while planning on how exactly they would get to Canterlot and who they would bring with them. Finally, their plan was complete.
"So let's get this straight. We're going to Ponyville and getting Twilight." Jimmy said sitting across from George at the table, Zecora on his right, all three of them holding down a map of Equestria.
"Then we're going to get a train ticket and travel to Canterlot and tell the guards to tell Celestia there are two humans at the gate." George said wiping his mouth after eating the last of his grapes.
"The Princess will have no choice, but to come out and listen to your voice." Zecora said as she looked back at Jimmy and George. Their plan was fairly simple but they couldn't plan the details in the middle because they still were not sure if anyone else if Equestria knew what a human was.
"Right, we should probably get going now. We should try to get there as early as we can in case the train only runs early." Jimmy said standing up from the table.
"It would be best for you to wear hoods, as soon as we leave these woods. You should stay in a disguise, otherwise our explanations will be a web of lies." Zecora said as she pulled her own hood up and walked towards the door. Jimmy and George put the hoods of their jackets up and followed behind her, George rolling up the map first and taking it with him. They began their journey through the Everfree Forest, running into almost nothing along their way. Zecora explained to them that the animals usually sleep or hide during the day and come out only at night. They eventually find what seems to be the end of the forest, a spot similar to where Jimmy and George woke up they day before.
"OK, remember not to speak, just stand there and act meek." Zecora said as they walked towards a bridge. Once they were over the hump of the bridge they saw Ponyville. Jimmy and George didn't believe it, they were really in Ponyville. They believed all of this was real but they would never imagine themselves in Ponyville. Off in the distance they could see several ponies walking around, talking, and even playing. They both seemed in a daze, Zecora snapping them out of it and they began walking towards Ponyville, looking for a certain purple mare.
As they all walked into town, people stopped smiling and talking and playing. People were staring in wonder, and the three hooded figures walking through their town. Some were used to seeing Zecora, weather they feared her or not didn't matter now. They were focused on the two hooded figures walking behind her that were almost twice and size and seemed to walk on two legs instead of four. Jimmy and George stared around looking at their faces and wishing they could explain to them who they were, but the risk was too high. Nobody could know they were humans, in case one of them knew the story.
As they traveled they heard some ponies whispering, most of them sounding scared. They could even hear some calling their children back inside and closing doors. It was an eerie feeling to them, especially since they could not talk ,much to each other besides a few whispers between themselves. They simply followed Zecora through the town, keeping an eye out for Twilight, and finally they reached their destination. They stood before a large wooden tree that had windows and a balcony and a large door in front with a picture of a lit candle on it. In front of the tree was a sign with a picture of an open book on it, to them this obviously meant this building was a library.
They walked up to the door and knocked, but there was no answer. They waited and knocked again, this time a little harder. Jimmy wanted to look inside a window, but thought if she was in there it might scare her. After a third knock, this one a little harder than the other two, they decided they should just open the door and walk in, It was a library so it should be public, but at the same time it was her house. Just as they were about to open the door they heard someone yell.
"OH MY CELESTIA! HUMANS!"
Jimmy and George both looked up at the same time and whispered the same thing, "Shit..."
At the same instant, George and Jimmy both turned around to see who had yelled that out. They both spotted an excited Unicorn standing there in the middle of the road. She had a sea-foam green coat with a light mint green tail with a white streak in the middle. Her hair style was similar and she had wide, excited looking yellow-orange eyes. Her cutie mark was a Lyre, light brown with gray strings. She stood there with a wide smile pointing at them, her wide eyes gleaming.
"HUMANS! I TOLD YOU ALL THEY WERE REAL! LOOK! LOOK! SEE!? I TOLD YOU!" She was frantically yelling as she jumped up and down like Pinkie Pie. Jimmy and George began to get nervous as she trotted towards them. What was she going to do? Did she know the story of the humans who came 1000 years ago? Was she going to tell everyone about it and get them chased out of town or worse?
"HI! I'M LYRA!" She said as she grabbed George's hand with her hoofs and began to violently shake it up and down. George just gave a slightly worried look and a nervous chuckle and looked over to Jimmy for help. Lyra turned her head and looked as though she just realized George was not the only human there. She let go of George and jumped onto Jimmy, knocking him to the ground.
"OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH! THERE'S ANOTHER HUMAN HERE! THIS IS GREAT!" Lyra yelled as she jumped up and down on top of Jimmy.
"George! Unf! A little gaah help here?" Jimmy asked as Lyra continued jumping up and down while talking at a speed nobody could understand. George sat there chuckling with Zecora, about to help Jimmy when they saw another pony approach them. This one was an Earth Pony with a light beige coat. Her hair was two sided, one side being navy blue and the other being a bold pink. Her tail was navy blue with the bold pink streak in the middle with curly ends. Her cutie mark appeared to be three pieces of wrapped candy. She stared at Lyra with a nervous look in her dull blue eyes.
"LYRA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" She yelled as she pulled Lyra off of Jimmy who stood up with the help of George.
"BON BON LOOK! HUMANS! I TOLD YOU THEY WERE REAL!" Lyra said as she was jumping up and down again. She turned to look at George again when Bon Bon pulled her back.
"You're making a scene! Stop jumping around like that." Bon Bon said as she calmed Lyra down as best as she could. She walked towards Zecora, trying to avoid looking at all three of them in the eyes.
"Zecora, who are these two? Are they really...humans?" Bon Bon asked whispering the last word as though it were some sort of curse. Zecora looked at her for a moment and then towards George and Jimmy, wondering if she should tell her the truth. Jimmy and George gave a small nod.
"Yes, indeed they are. Also, I believe your Unicorn friend may have gone too far." Zecora said nudging her head towards Lyra who was now jumping in place again with a desperate look on her face while staring at Jimmy again.
"OOOOOOHHHH! I have so many questions for them! Why is that one taller? Why does he have glasses like the ones we have here? Where did he get them? Why is his coat so many different colors? Is that thing on his chest his cutie mark? Why is he always walking on two hooves? Where was he all this time? How-" Lyra was cut off by Bon Bon grabbing her and telling her to calm down. After a few minutes of them talking to each other privately, while walking away from the trio, they returned any Bon Bon spoke to Zecora, this time looking her in the eyes.
"Zecora...can Lyra ask these two...humans...a few questions so I can bring her home?" Bon Bon asked her and she looked at the two humans thinking of all the questions Lyra just blurted out a minute ago. Zecora looked at Jimmy and George who were now backing away slowly from Lyra who was staring at them again. They both looked at Zecora and after a few seconds of thought decided it was OK.
"She can ask whatever she wants, even about how they stand. Just make sure that-" Zecora was cut off and Lyra jumped towards George and began asking him questions again faster than he could answer them. "She doesn't get out of hand..." Zecora finished with an annoyed look on her face. Lyra looked towards Jimmy and for the first time, she sat there and wasn't jumping. This worried Jimmy more than it did when she was jumping around.
"Are you really a human?" Lyra asked as she stared at him.
"Yes, my name is Jimmy, and this is George." Jimmy said as he gestured towards George.
"Wow! Why are you so bouncy and he isn't? Do you have some kind of magic powers?" Lyra asked as she began to get hyper again but quickly calmed herself down.
"Oh that? No, I'm just a little uh...overweight for a human. George is a bit too skinny but that's a medical condition so yeah. No magic." Jimmy asked as he began to feel more comfortable now that she was calming herself down.
"Where are you guys from? Where are you going? Why are you at the library?" Lyra asked as she finally realized they were outside of the library waiting for someone to open the door for them.
"Well, we're from a place called Earth. We're going to Canterlot to find a way home, and we need Twilight to help us get there since she knows it so well and Zecora can't come with us." Jimmy said as he realized that nobody had answered the door yet after all this noise going on outside.
"You're going to Canterlot? Wait, does this relate to what happened all those years ago when humans appeared and brought about the rise of Nightma-" Lyra was quickly cut off by Jimmy lunging at her and closing her mouth while George grabbed her head and they both pulled her towards the library and put themselves between her and the crowd who had been watching this whole time, some becoming curious now.
"Lyra, listen to me. Nobody here can know about ANY of that stuff that happened all those years ago. They would panic and we might be chased out of town or worse. Now you don't want that do you?" Jimmy whispered to her as she was still mumbling something they couldn't understand while her mouth was closed. Lyra nodded her head no and they let go of her.
"If you guys are going to Canterlot, can I come with you?" Lyra asked with a smile on her face.
"Sorry Lyra, but we're only bringing Twilight with us. We might bring the other 5 Elements of Harmony with us, but besides that, we can't bring anyone else." George said as Lyra had a sad look on her face.
"Oh, OK then. Well, good luck, I hope you get home safe." Lyra said as she walked away towards Bon Bon.
"Ugh...Lyra." Jimmy said as Lyra looked up and looked at him. She seemed as though she was about to cry. "I guess, when we find Princess Celestia we can come back and visit. But we have to find her first." Jimmy almost regretted saying that as Lyra jumped towards the both of them and pulled them into a hug with a huge smile on her face.
"OHHHHH! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!" Lyra exclaimed as she squeezed tighter, Jimmy and George gasping for breath and starting to turn blue. Finally Lyra let go.
"No problem. Just please don't freak out next time you see us OK?" Jimmy said as he was rubbing his neck and George was gasping for air.
"When are you coming back?" Lyra said looking excited again.
"Well, we don't know." George said, finally catching his breath.
"Awwwww, but that's probably gonna be a while!" Lyra said looking a bit sad.
"Don't worry, we'll be back soon. Who knows, we may pass through here again or see you somewhere else if you ever travel." Jimmy said trying to comfort her.
"Oh yeah, I guess so." Lyra said suddenly getting a look on her face as though she were forming a plan. She then thanked them and walked away with Bon Bon.
"Well, that was interesting...and odd...and close." George said.
"Yeah, a little too close. Why hasn't anyone opened this door yet?" Jimmy wondered as he knocked on the door again.
"Who's knocking out there? This is a PUBLIC library you know!" An angry voice from inside said. The voice sounded annoyed and a bit angry. Finally the voice spoke again. "Spike! Get the door please? I think somepony is outside.". The door then opened after another second and a small purple dragon with green scales on his spine stood before them. He had a sudden look of wonder on his face and turned his head and backed inside a bit.
"Uhh...Twilight. There's 2...creatures inside. I don't know what they are." Spike said as he welcomed them inside. "Zecora is with them." Spike said as he noticed Zecora follow them inside. Suddenly Twilight came from downstairs and walked into the room they were in.
"What? Who is it? I'm very busy studying the alignment of these stars that shone brighter than usual last night in a weird shape. Who could is possibly-" Twilight stopped mid-sentence as she noticed the two humans in her house.
"Oh no, I was right...this is very bad!" Twilight said as Jimmy and George stared in shock, forgetting that she was a genius and probably knew the legend well enough. Especially one that concerned Nightmare Moon, Discord, and King Sombra. How would she react to this? Two humans, signs of dark things to come?
"I was right! Oh no this is bad!" Twilight exclaimed as she quickly walked towards the two humans. They both immediately tensed up at the thought of what Twilight was about to do. Was she about to kick them out? Was she going to use magic on them? Or was she just going to tell everyone outside about what their presence meant and let them take care of the humans? These ideas were all quickly proven wrong when she ran past them both and went to her front door and looked outside.
"Um...Twilight, what are you doing?" Spike asked after watching her stare at the sky for a few moments. The small dragon, getting no response, walked up to her and poker her side, asking his question again. This time, Twilight looked at him with a somewhat look of shock on her face. She walked back, not even noticing the two humans standing along with Zecora in the middle of the room.
"What am I doing? WHAT AM I DOING?! Have you seen the sky, Spike? What do you notice about it! Look!" Twilight yelled as she pushed Spike out the door and pointed at the sky. Spike stared at the sky for a while before commenting back to Twilight, who was staring at him, looking agitated at his lack of knowledge of what she was talking about.
"I don't see anything Twilight. All I see is a nice sunny day, nothing else." Spike said, starting to walk back inside the library. Suddenly, he was grabbed by Twilight and pulled back outside.
"WHAT?! Don't you see it?! There are no clouds, Spike! NO CLOUDS!" Twilight yelled pointing all around the sky again. She began to ramble on to Spike about her studies from a week ago showed all there would be few clouds in the sky. It was drowned out by Zecora stepping in front of Jimmy and George.
"You must forgive her, she's very interested in science. But I know, with her, you two already have some reliance." Zecora said while trying to think of a way to get Twilight to stop talking to Spike. Suddenly, Twilight let out a groan at Spike and walked back into the library.
"Well, clearly you're not paying attention and won't ever understa-AH!" Twilight jumped back, startled by the two strangers in her house, and readied her magic to attack. Jimmy and George both put their hands up and backed away slowly, trying to avoid anything happening before they even introduce themselves. Zecora stepped in front of her, which instantly calmed her down a little.
"Zecora? What are you doing? Who are these two strangers in my house?" Twilight began asking questions and kept staring at the two humans. She seemed ready to attack at any moment. Zecora, trying to avoid any accidents, quickly spoke up.
"Hello, Ms. Sparkle. I hope you will hear me out, and not let your opinion of these two be partial. I found these two in the forest the night before, running away from a ferocious manticore. They need to talk to the Princess, and every moment we wait, our time left becomes less. This is a matter of great importance, and I hope you will trust me about these two and their innocence." Twilight stared between Zecora and Jimmy and George, looking from one to the other for a few moments. Finally, she stood up straight, her horn stopped glowing and she looked more relaxed.
"Sorry, I'm just insecure lately. After everything that happened lately, especially coming back from the Crystal Empire." Twilight said walking up to examine George more closely. She walked around both of them and stared from several angles, talking about her day while secretly trying to figure out what they were. Finally, Twilight stood in front of them and stared for a few seconds.
"What exactly are you?" Twilight asked. "I've never seen any animal like you before. But if you're with Zecora, that could mean you're some uncommon animal from the Everfree Forest." Twilight used her magic to make a book from a nearby shelf float towards her. She opened it in mid-air, the title reading, "Everfree Animals". After a few minutes and several page turnings, she finally put the book back on the shelf.
"Nothing in this book matches you or anything about you. Are you a new species of something?" Twilight asked seeming a little excited at the thought of discovering a new type of animal. She quickly dashed to a shelf and used her magic to pull out a notepad and a quill.
"Sorry to burst your bubble, but we're not from the Everfree Forest." Jimmy said, walking up towards her. George quickly grabbed his shoulder and pulled him closer.
"Are you sure we should tell her about us being humans? I mean, she is Celestia's top student and she does read a lot of stories." George whispered with a look of concern on his face. They both looked at Twilight, who was now sitting there with an anxious look on her face, quill floating and ready to write down whatever they told her about themselves.
"Twilight, are you familiar with something called a "human"?" Jimmy asked her.
"No, I've never heard of a...what was it? Hooman?" Twilight asked, a look of curiosity on her face as she tried writing it down on her notepad.
"Humans. That's what we are, My name is Jimmy" Jimmy said as he walked towards her with his hand out, not realizing she wouldn't know what a hand shake is or be able to return one. After a moment of awkward silence, Jim backed up, giving a light chuckle.
"I'm George, nice to meet you." George said as he walked up to her and gave a quick wave.
"Well that's interesting, are you two different species of...uh...humans?" Twilight asked writing down their names.
"Uh, well...no. That's just our names, like how you're name is Twilight Sparkle and your friends name is Rainbow Dash." George said.
"Wait, how do you know my name? How do you know my friend's name?" Twilight asked, getting a bit suspicious.
"Well, where we come from, everyone knows about you. I mean, you're a-" George was quickly cut off.
"An Element of Harmony, who hasn't heard about you six? Right?" Jimmy said putting a fake smile on his face.
"Oh well, that's true. I never knew that our story would spread to far, even to other parts of the world." Twilight said grinning.
"Right, well, anyway. We came here because we need a favor." Jimmy said sitting down on the floor.
"Oh? And what would that be?" Twilight said sitting down also, the two were now about the same height and made direct eye contact.
"We need you to write a letter to Celestia, and tell her that two humans are here in Ponyville." Jimmy said, a serious look on his face. "And make sure to tell her it's a matter involving the Evil that changed Princess Luna.".
"A letter to Princess Celestia? Why? I only write to her when I have a report on a lesson I've learned about the magic of friendship. And what do you mean the 'Evil' that changed Princess Luna? She was changed by jealousy for Celestia's days being more popular than her nights." Twilight said giving a look of curiosity between the two friends.
"Well, that's kind of what happened. The whole story is actually a little bit more complicated." George said staring back at her.
"Why don't you just tell me the whole story while we have some lunch? Spike, bring us some food if you don't mind." Twilight ordered to her assistant as she used her magic to pull up four cushions for Jimmy, George, Zeocra, and herself.
"Sure thing! What do you want to eat?" Spike asked running into the kitchen and putting on a chef hat, "We have flowers for sandwiches, some vegetables for soup, and some apples I got from Applejack's farm this morning."
"I guess I'll have some apples." Jimmy said.
"I'll have some too, what kind are they?" George asked.
"What kind? You mean what color?" Spike asked, looking confused.
"I guess they don't have different types of apples. I mean, it would be kind of weird if we were named after food items." George whispered to Jimmy. "I'll take any kind."
"I'll have some soup, and how about you, Zecora?" Twilight said, sitting down on her chair.
"As much as I would love to stay and eat, I have to formally retreat." Zecora said as she put her hood back up and walked towards the door.
"You sure you don't want some food to go? I'd imagine it's hard to find a lot of food the the Everfree Forest." Twilight asked getting her magic ready to open the door, anticipating Zecora's answer before she even finished her question.
"Thank you, but do not fret. The Everfree supplies me with a good diet." Zecora smiled as she walked out and headed towards the forest. Twilight closed the door and walked back and sat at the table, where Jimmy was sitting on the cushion on his knees, while George was trying to get comfortable on his.
"How do you sit like that? It feels weird." George asked, finally just sitting down and crossing his legs.
"This is how I sit when I pray, so I'm used to it. I find it weird that they have benches but not chairs here." Jimmy said, watching Twilight as she came back over and simply sat down, much like a dog would sit down.
"So, what exactly is this 'Darkness' that you mentioned before? And how is it responsible for Princess Luna becoming Nightmare Moon?" Twilight asked picking up a notepad and quill, getting ready to take notes as she probably did in Celestia's school when she was younger and heard legends like this.
"Well, basically it's an entity that somehow corrupts anything it can find a weakness in. It's actually responsible for changing people into some of the most dangerous enemies that you've encountered." Jim said, waiting for Twilight to finish writing down whatever she could have gotten from that short statement.
"It changed Discord, Somra, and Luna. Apparently it doesn't know when to give up. And it has some kind of hate for humans like us." George said.
"It changed Sombra and Discord!?" Twilight exclaimed, dropped her quill and paper. "How could it have changed them?! We defeated Sombra and reformed Discord!" Twilight yelled out now.
"Relax Twilight!" Jimmy said, trying to calm her down. "This happened a long time ago, about 1000 years to be exact.".
"Then...how do you know all this? You two can't possibly be 1000 years old. If you were, you would have to be related to the Princesses!" Twilight exclaimed, getting worked up again.
"Zecora told us a story when we found her in the forest. She said that it changed them by exploiting their weaknesses." George said.
"Weaknesses? What weaknesses?! They were the most powerful people in Equestria! Discord has the power to manipulate logic and physics. King Sombra was one of the most powerful unicorns ever. And Nightmare Moon was more powerful than even Princess Celestia, without the Elements of Harmony she never would have been banished to the moon, or changed back to normal." Twilight was still talking frantically, despite knowing herself that they were no longer a threat to her.
"They were POWERFUL, but that doesn't mean they didn't have any emotional weaknesses." Jimmy said, finally calming her down. George sat there wondering how Spike hadn't come in by now, seeing as he usually over exaggerated and panicked at the slightest news of danger. "Sombra was greedy and desperate, he could have easily made a deal with the Darkness. For all we know, he could have used his magic to create it or summon it from another dimension. Discord was isolated and lonely, animals in the forest can't talk like he does. And Zecora didn't live in the forest 1000 years ago. Finally, Luna was jealous that nobody celebrated during her nights and looked up to Celestia and loved her days. It probably wanted to corrupt her the most, which is why Nightmare Moon had a mane different from Luna's, that was the Darkness adapting to her powers, like it probably did to all of them." Jimmy said, trying to sum up everything he and George had learned from Zecora and discussed on their way to Ponyville.
"Then why were Discord and King Sombra still evil when we met them?" Shouldn't it have left them when it found Princess Luna?" Twilight asked, picking up her quill again, a little shakily this time.
"We assume that when they were imprisoned by Celestia and Luna, the Darkness was trapped too. That's why Sombra was able to become a shadow, because it probably put so much effort into corrupting him. Discord doesn't have anything like that because it didn't want to make the same mistake, and Discord already had enough powers." George answered her.
"Hey guys, I finished the soup and I cut up the apples into slices. Who's hungry?" Spike asked walking towards the table and setting the food down. "I got myself some gems before, let me just bring them here so we can all eat."
"Actually Spike, could you eat upstairs or in the kitchen? We're talking about something and I'd rather you not hear it." Twilight said, not wanting him to be scared by everything they were talking about.
"Why? I'm sure I could hear whatever it is. Is it about some new spells? Or are they some new animal? I bet they're in one of these books," Spike began asking questions and looking on the shelves for books about different animals.
"Spike, it's something different, and you can't hear about it." Twilight said sternly.
"But-but I-" Spike saw the serious look in Twilight's face and knew it was something serious. Still, he didn't want to hear anything that would scare him. "OK, I'll just be upstairs then if anyone needs me." Spike said as he quickly ran into the kitchen and got a plate of gems and ran upstairs.
"Spike, just make sure to write to Celestia. Tell her we have two humans and need her to meet them!" Twilight yelled as Spike ran upstairs.
"OK, tell me anything else you know about this before Spike gets a reply from the Princess." Twilight said, getting a new parcel to write more on.
"Nothing. Except that there were humans here before us." Jimmy said, trying to remember anything else.
"Do you know who they were? Did they know you?" Twilight asked with a look of curiosity.
"Well, Zecora said they were willing to fight it. So they were probably from a time period in the past when monsters were thought to be real." George said, recalling Zecora's story.
"They knew how to craft swords. I highly doubt they were from our time period." Jimmy said, wishing Zecora was there to recall the story word for word.
"Wait! Didn't the story say that the Darkness got them and then it disappeared. Around the same time that Nightmare Moon was weak enough to be banished to the moon? Is it possible that it came to our world?" George stated, him and Jimmy coming to a dark realization. The Darkness had been in their world before. And they both had a feeling when it was there.
"Twilight! Twilight!" Spike yelled, running down the stairs with a letter in his hand. He held it out to Twilight, who used her magic to pick it up and levitate it towards her.
"It's a reply from Princess Celestia! Let's see." She said as she opened the letter and read it to herself. After a short amount of time she put down the letter and looked towards Jimmy and George with a mixed look of disappointment and relief, handing the letter to George.
"What does it say?" Jimmy asked looking over George's shoulder to read it. The letter read:
My Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle,
Do not worry. There is no immediate danger at the moment. If there was, Luna or myself would have discovered by now. There is some concern however, due to humans being in Equestria again. Unfortunately, I am in Saddle Arabia. I am escorting the delegates who will be visiting us for the upcoming festival I asked you to provide entertainment for earlier this week. I will be back in Canterlot by tomorrow night. Please bring them there whenever they are ready and bring this letter to the guards at the castle so they can provide chambers and food for them. Thank you, I know you will not falter in this task.
Princess Celestia
There seemed to be a stamp on the letter, probably the proof the guards need to know that Celestia really wrote this letter. Jimmy and George both read the letter to themselves before Twilight pulled it back and wrapped it up.
"Well, I guess we should get going then. We don't want to miss the next train to Canterlot. " Twilight said putting up the wrapped up letter in her saddle before putting it on her back and getting up. Jimmy and George got up and got ready to leave.
"Wait." George said, Jimmy and Twilight stopping in their tracks and turning to look at him.
"What's wrong?" Jimmy asked, walking towards him.
"We forgot to find Fluttershy and give her a hug." George whispered to Jimmy with a smile on his face. They both began to laugh and walked towards the door with Twilight waiting outside the open door. They walked through the town, getting some stares like before. They finally got to the train station and Twilight went to the ticket booth alone to get tickets. There was a short line, so Jimmy and George decided to stand back and talk while they waited for her. They had both unzipped their jackets since it was a warm day.
"So, this has been uh..." Jimmy started but couldn't find the words.
"Weird?" George asked, trying to complete Jimmy's sentence for him.
"I guess. I mean, it's funny because I would imagine any Brony would want to be here. But this...I don't know. It's not really a planned visit." Jimmy said, leaning back against a nearby wall.
"I wonder how much time has passed since we left. I mean, does anyone even know we're gone?" George asked, leaning against a different wall.
"I don't know. It doesn't really matter I guess, not like they're gonna find us if we're in Equrstria. How did we even end up here?" Jimmy asked.
"I just remember falling asleep. I felt really tired once I lied down on my bed." George said, recalling the last night he had on Earth.
"Me too. I felt tired and just passed out on my bed. Then I woke up here with you." Jimmy said. "Do you remember anything else? Did you have a dream?" Jimmy asked George, trying to recall anything else himself. George nodded his head no. Both of them sat there, trying to remember anything. Suddenly, Twilight ran towards them with a look of worry on her face.
"Guys! The train is broken! It's not going to be running again until tomorrow afternoon!" Twilight said.
"Oh well, I guess we're gonna be here for a while. I guess we might as well-Wait a minute." Jimmy said, getting off of the wall. He noticed a familiar looking sea-foam green Unicorn hiding behind some luggage carriages, clearly trying to avoid being seen by them. Jimmy got George's attention and pointed towards her, she immediately ducked, knowing she had been spotted.
"Is that Lyra? Why is she following us?" George asked, walking towards her. He and Jimmy went around the carriage and saw Lyra, cowering on the floor and covering her eyes with her hooves. George tapped her on the head, to which she responded by jumping in the air and giving a shriek.
"Lyra, why are you following us?" Jimmy asked her.
"Me? Following you? I'm not following you. I was coming here to take a train and I saw you. So I decided to come say hi while I wait for my train to come." Lyra said to them, putting a nervous smile on her face and letting out a little squee.
"Really? When is your train coming?" George asked, knowing she was lying. Lyra looked away from them, trying to think of a time the train usually comes.
"Uh...it should be here in 15 minutes." She said. Jimmy and George gave her suspicious looks.
"Only one problem with that story, Lyra: The train isn't working and it won't be running again until tomorrow." Jimmy said. Lyra seemed to get nervous, knowing they knew she was lying now.
"Oh well I uh...got this ticket weeks ago. I was planning a vacation with Bon-Bon to Baltimare and I wanted to check it out alone first." Lyra said with that nervous look on her face again. "Well, I better be going then. Bye guys." She said as she quickly turned around and ran back towards the entrance of the station. Leaving George and Jimmy standing there, bewildered. Finally, George spoke up.
"You don't suppose she's gonna follow us to Canterlot do you?" George asked.
"I doubt it. Even if she did, she can't get into the castle. Now then, I guess we should wait at the library I guess." Jimmy said, walking with George towards Twilight. When they got back to where she was she seemed curious.
"What was that all about?" She asked, trying to look towards the direction Lyra had run off to.
"Nothing. Just someone we ran into when we came looking for you." Jimmy said.
"So I guess you're gonna be here until the train is fixed. Would you like to stay with me? I have extra space at the library for you two. You could even read some books while you're there and tell me more about your world." Twilight said with a hopeful look in her eyes. She seemed to be interested in learning from them since there was no danger and they would be there for a whole day. She led them back towards the exit to the station and back towards the library. While Twilight quickly trotted towards the exit, George and Jimmy stayed a little behind her to talk in privacy.
"Why is she so happy now? I thought she would be sad since she can't do what Celestia asked her to do." George commented, noticing her mood changing suddenly.
"I think she wants to ask us some more questions and learn more. I mean, it's not every day that a human pops up around here and you can learn about them. We are considered myths after all." Jimmy replied.
"I guess that makes sense. I guess they also forgot to take notes on humans all those years ago when there were a bunch of evil people suddenly showing up everywhere." George said.
"So, when we were trying to figure out when those humans lived, I got an idea." Jimmy said.
"Me too. I hope we have the same idea, because if we do it's probably right and we can try to realize what the Darkness was and if it's still around. I think they're from-" George was cut off by Twilight turning and yelling so they could hear her.
"Hurry up, we should get back to the library early so we can have some dinner and get beds set up for you." Twilight said, stopping and turning to look at them. They both began to walk a little faster. Suddenly, George was knocked over by a flying pink object that landed on top of him. Jimmy and Twilight both turned around and walked towards him to make sure he was OK and see what hit him. Standing on top of George was Pinkie Pie, who seemed excited.
"Twilight! I finally found you! I heard you had some new people, where are they?" Pinkie Pie asked looking towards Twilight with a large grin on her face. Twilight and Jimmy stared at her as George groaned below her. That seemed to get her attention as she looked down, noticing someone she had never seen before.
"Oooohhhh. Who are you? I've never seen you before. I'm Pinkie Pie, I like meeting new people! I see you've met Twilight already!" Pinkie Pie began talking excitedly faster and faster, jumping up and down on George the whole time. She only stopped when she notice her own face on George's shirt.
"Uh, Pinkie. We're kind of trying to get back to the library." Twilight said as Jimmy helped George up after Pinkie got off of him.
"Not so fun, it is?" Jimmy asked, a smile coming on his face as he recalled when they met Lyra.
"Would have been fun if she wasn't crushing my ribs." George chuckled as he wiped the dust off his of clothes. They both noticed Pinkie Pie stretching her neck trying to look behind Twilight and get a better look at them. The whole time Jimmy had helped George up, Twilight was explaining to Pinkie that they were staying with her for a day while the train was being fixed. Suddenly, Pinkie ran up to them and shook their hands.
"Welcome to Ponyville! Twilight told me everything and I'm going to get a party ready for you guys! Enjoy your stay!" She exclaimed as she ran off. Jimmy and George continued walked with Twilight towards the library.
The trio continued to walk towards the library. The whole way there, Twilight was asking several questions about the human world. Jimmy and George had no problem answering any question they were able to answer. Most of her questions were about how nature worked in their world. How did Winter Wrap Up happen without Pegasi to get the birds or clear the sky? How did the sun and moon raise themselves without Celestia or Luna? It was hard explaining to a unicorn, a creature based around magic, what the laws of nature in the human world was, even though Twilight was very much into science herself. Finally, they arrived at the library.
"Well, your world doesn't seem to make much sense if you ask me." Twilight said, opening the door and walking inside, Jimmy and George following her. By now it was the middle of the afternoon. The three of them decided to just spend the rest of the day in the library, Twilight doing some studies while Jimmy and George planned out what they would do. They were still thinking about how they got to Equestria, and how they would get back.
"Maybe some unicorn used magic and somehow opened a portal to our world." George said.
"But who would do that? How would they even be able to? Besides, why would they want to? And how could they open a portal, pull us in, and not wake us up?" Jimmy asked.
"Maybe they used some sort of sleeping spell." Twilight replied.
"But then why did we wake up in a field? Why not in their house?" George asked back. Twilight had been looking at spells in several books, some of which she had never looked into before, trying to find a spell that could open a portal to another world and pull things through it. The trio had tried all day to think of a way it could have happened. Finally, George had an idea.
"Maybe the Darkness just brought us here?" George asked.
"How? And why would it? If it wanted to be in our world, why would it come back? And why would it bring us?" Jimmy asked. Every answer seemed to only bring in more questions, many of which couldn't be answered.
"Maybe because we're so in touch with this world because we know it so well." George said.
"Yes but why only us? Why two of us? And if it wanted us so badly, why wasn't it anywhere in sight when we woke up?" Jimmy asked, almost immediately remembering something. George seemed to remember it at the same time.
"That weird feeling from the forest!" They both yelled in unison. Twilight looked up from her books wondering what they were talking about. Surely they didn't travel into the Everfree Forest. But then where did they find Zeocra?
"Do you think it could have been hiding in the forest? I mean, why didn't it just come and take us when we woke up? Actually, why didn't we wake up in the forest then?" George asked.
"Remember the manticore?" Jimmy asked,
"Do I remember the thing that almost killed us? The thing that chased us to Zecora's house. That whole thing that happened yesterday? No Jim, clearly I don't remember it." George said sarcastically with a smile on his face.
"Right, anyway, what if that was the Darkness? Or what if it took it over?" Jimmy asked.
"Maybe, but why bring us here in the first place?" George asked.
"Maybe we should just give up on this until we meet Celestia. I'm sure she'd know how this all happen-" Jimmy was cut off by a rapid knocking on the door. Twilight went to open the door since it was her library and nobody needed to know there were humans staying there. When Twilight opened the door, Pinkie Pie ran inside, looking immediately at George and Jimmy.
"Oh God!" George yelled as he quickly jumped off of the couch and ran towards the kitchen.
"WAIT! COME BACK!" Pinkie yelled running past Jimmy and after George into the kitchen. The sounds of George yelling and pots and pans crashing against each other finally caused Twilight and Jimmy to run in to look. George was trying to run around a table to get away from Pinkie who was following him.
"No! You're not jumping on me again!" George yelled.
"Where did you get that shirt? I wish I had a shirt with my face on it! Where did you get it!?" Pinkie said going from sounding happy to serious in a flash.
"A store back in my world. They don't have any here." George said, finally running back behind Twilight.
"Pinkie! What are you doing!?" Twilight asked, a little mad that her kitchen was now a complete mess.
"Well, I want to throw them a party, but I need to know anything about them that I can find out. And I guess Fluttershy would know more about them since she knows a lot about animals. But I noticed before that my face is on his shirt." Pinkie Pie said, pointing to George.
"Well, I guess Fluttershy would know more than we would. She knew about Spike being a baby dragon and seemed to know a lot about dragons before we even became friends." Twilight said.
"Come on, George. You wanted to hug Fluttershy anyway, right?" Jimmy asked George with a smile on his face.
"I guess, but don't jump on me this time, Pinkie!" George said, looking at her.
"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" Pinkie said, making the gestures with her hooves before finally poking her own eye.
"OK, ready whenever you are." Jimmy said. Pinkie walked outside, Twilight followed her. Jimmy stayed back for a moment.
"It's pretty warm out. Maybe we should leave our jackets here." Jimmy said, taking off his black jacket and putting it on a nearby couch. George copied him, placing his own jacket on next to it. The two then walked outside and followed Pinkie and Twilight. They walked until they came to a cottage outside of Ponyville, which they immediately all knew was Fluttershy's house. Pinkie Pie walked up to the door and knocked on it. The door was divided by a horizontal line in the middle of it, allowing you to open the top or bottom alone. The top part opened and a yellow Pegasus with long, pink hair answered the door.
"Oh. Hello Pinkie Pie. What are you doing here?" She asked in a soft tone with a light smile on her face.
"I want to throw a party for some new friends. But I have to know what exactly they eat first. And since you're the animal expert here, I figured you would know." Pinkie Pie said.
"Oh, well, what exactly are they?" Flutttershy asked with a confused look on her face.
"I don't know exactly. I've never seen them before, or anything like them." Pinkie Pie said.
"Well, bring them in and let's find out." Fluttershy said, smiling and opening the door to let her in. Twilight followed Pinkie Pie inside.
"Hi Fluttershy. You don't mind me being here either, do you? I want to study what humans eat and record it for the books." Twilight said.
"Oh not at all. Go right ahead. Pinkie Pie, where are they?" Fluttershy asked. Right as she did, Jimmy and George both walked in. Fluttershy, startled by two creatures slightly taller than her, jumped up and landed on top of a hanging ceiling lamp. Shaking, she stuck her head out to get a better look.
"Oh dear, what are those?" Fluttershy asked in a squeaky tone.
"We're humans. We're kinda from another world." George replied to her.
"Oh. I see. Well, I'm..Fluttershy." She said, staying up on her lamp.
"Come on down, Fluttershy. They don't hurt you. They're friendly." Twilight said.
"Yeah, and one of them is fun to bounce on!" Pinkie Pie yelled, bouncing on the floor, trying to get Fluttershy to come down.
"Oh, OK. If you say so." She said as she came down and took a closer look at Jimmy, then George.
"So you've never seen or heard about humans?" Twilight asked.
"No. I'm sorry, but I haven't." Fluttershy replied, seeming to calm down now.
"Well, I guess we have a mystery on our hands." Pinkie said, turning towards George and Jimmy. "What do you guys eat? I want to know so I can have it at my party." Pinkie Pie asked them.
"Well, so far we've had fruit and berries. Pretty much it." Jimmy replied to her.
"We don't really eat grass and flowers, but we do eat bread." George added.
"Well how about candy? And chocolate and ice cream and punch?" Pinkie asked.
"Yep." George replied.
"Okie doki then, that's all I need to know. I'm gonna go set up the party, I'll find you guys when it's done." Pinkie said, jumping up and quickly dashing out the door.
"I guess she breaks the laws of physics in this world too." Jimmy said to George who chuckled at the realization.
"FLUTTERSHY! WHERE ARE YOU!?" A voice called out. All four of them stuck their heads out the window to see who it was. They all saw a blue Pegasus with a rainbow colored mane fly towards the house, looking around for Fluttershy, Finally, she seemed to spot her looking through a window and dashed down and landed in front of the door. She casually opened the door and let herself in.
"Oh, hello Rainbow Dash. Can I help you with something?" Fluttershy asked.
"Uh, Yeah. You were supposed to help me practice some stunts on clouds so I can show the WonderBolts! And you're the only Pegasus around here willing to help." Rainbow Dash said, seeming to not notice Twilight or the two humans a few feet from her.
"Oh! I almost forgot. Sorry." Fluttershy said. "I was just helping Pinkie Pie and Twilight with their two friends over here." Fluttershy said, pointing a hoof at Jimmy and George.
"Who are they? What are they? Wait, is that a picture of...me on his shirt?" Rainbow Dash asked, spotting her picture on Jimmy's shirt.
"It doesn't look much like you. It's just a black shape." Fluttershy said.
"But it's my shape, with my cutie mark." Rainbow said, pointing to the cutie mark. "And what's a...Brony?" She asked, reading the word on the shirt.
"Well, it's a shirt made for fans of-" Jimmy was cut off by Rainbow Dash grabbing him and flying up.
"I knew it! I have fans! Even if they aren't ponies! I bet you're from some big fan club of mine. I am famous across Equestria after all. Not only am I the fastest flier ever, but I performed the legendary Sonic Rainboom! Oh, and I'm also one of the ponies that stopped Nightmare Moon, turned Discord into stone, and saved the Crystal Empire." Dash boasted about herself in front of them. Not realizing everyone in the room was already well aware of all this.
"Well, that's nice and all but uh...could you put me down now?" Jimmy asked.
"No way! I need to bring you to Rarity so she can make more of these shirts for everyone in Ponyville! No, everyone in Equestria!" She said, flying out the door and carrying Jimmy with her.
"Wait! Hey! Stop! Help!" Jimmy yelled as he was carried away by Rainbow Dash. George and Twilight looked out the window, trying to find them, but they were going too fast. Luckily, they knew she was heading to Rarity's house.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Rarity!" Rainbow Dash yelled for Rarity while she was outside of her house, still holding Jimmy. "Rarity! I need you to make me some shirts for all my fans!" Dash yelled to the boutique. After a few moments, a white unicorn with long purple hair ending in a curl came to the door to see what all the commotion was.
"Rainbow Dash, what are you doing? And...what is that thing you're holding?" Rarity asked.
"Not sure, all I know is that it has a shirt with a picture of me one it. So of course I knew right away he was a fan of me. I am pretty famous after all." Rainbow Dash said, finally dropping Jimmy onto the ground.
"Ouch! If you wanted to know so bad you could have just asked!" Jimmy yelled at her.
"OK then, tell me." Dash replied.
"I'm a human, I'm from another world. You're famous in my world but not for being fast, you're on a television show." Jimmy told her,
"A television? What's that?" Rainbow asked.
"It's something in my world. It let's you show things by...ah it's a long complicated process, you wouldn't get it." Jimmy said.
"Well, it sounds very exotic. Where exactly are you from again, darling?" Rarity asked, seeming interested in hearing about a foreign land she's never heard of before.
"I'm from a world called Earth. It's a whole different dimension. Me and my friend, George, somehow ended up here and we're going to Canterlot to see Celestia and ask her how we could get back." Jimmy replied.
"I see. Well, while you're staying here, could you tell me more about this er, Earth? Do they have fashion there? What kind of fabrics do they use?" Rarity questioned him.
"Uh...well they have several different kinds of fabrics. Some more comfortable than others. And we have plenty of fashion celebrities there. Although some fashion gets weird, but it never becomes famous." Jimmy replied.
"Riiiight. Anyway, can you make some shirts like this one for all those people in my fan club?" Rainbow Dash asked Rarity, doing some areal tricks while talking.
"I suppose I could, that is if you don't mind, er, what was your name again? I don't believe you ever said it. My name is Rarity." Rarity said, bowing her head down.
"My name is Jimmy. And I would love to help you, but I have to go find George and Twi-" Rainbow Dash cut him off by picking him up and flying into the Carousel Boutique.
"Of course he wouldn't. What fan wouldn't want one of their own designs to be the signature design for my fan club?" She said, flying him into the back room where Rarity designed her dresses.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Hello? Anypony here?" Twilight asked, opening the door to Carousel Boutique and letting herself and George in. They both walked into the back room, where there was some commotion going on through the closed door. They opened the door and peaked inside. Inside, Jimmy was wrestling with Rainbow Dash, who was trying to get him to stay still so Rarity could look at the design and copy it down.
"What is going on in here?" Twilight asked, opening the door and coming in.
"Oh, Twilight! Rainbow Dash brought him here and pulled him into the back room and didn't even give him a chance to properly answer my question or even have some tea! Can you believe that? And now she's trying to get his shirt for the design. I mean, look at the mess she is making!" Rarity replied to her, using her magic to pull a couch from the other room and fall back onto it.
"Just give it to me! I want to make a bunch of them!" Dash said, trying to wrestle Jimmy to the ground.
"No! I'm not giving you my shirt! Get off of me! George! Help!" Jimmy yelled, noticing George and Twilight standing there. Twilight used her magic to separate them and put Dash across the room.
"Come on! I just need Rarity to copy it! Please!?" Rainbow began to beg.
"Look, once all this is done, just ask and I'll let her copy it. But right now we're busy and I'm not exactly in the mood to be kidnapped by you and brought here." Jimmy said to her, catching his breath.
"Why? What's so important?" Rainbow asked.
"Well, if you want to know so badly, we're going to Canterlot to get Celestia before some evil force gets us. And if it does it could possibly cause King Sombra, Discord, and Nightmare Moon to all reappear at the same time!" Jimmy said to her. Rainbow Dash froze and just stared at him. Rarity put her head up too, hearing those names again brought back the memories of terror.
"Wait. How could they be back? We destroyed Sombra, and reformed Discord, and Nightmare Moon is gone, she's back to being Princess Luna. What are you talking about?" Dash asked, a tone of anger and fear in her voice.
"It's a long story, and I'm sure once this is all over Twilight can tell you everything. Or Princess Celestia can tell all of you. But for now, we're getting ready to go to Canterlot. We're taking the train tomorrow." Jimmy told her. She seemed like she was about to ask another question, but she was cut off by a voice.
"Uh, 'xcuse me, y'all, but what's going on in here?" An orange Earth Pony asked. She had a light brown hat on to cover her long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail. She walked inside the room.
"Oh, hey Applejack. We just came here to uh...get this person that...Rainbow Dash kinda kidnapped?" Twilight said, not sure how to quickly explain the situation.
"Uh, right. Anyway, I just came by to get Applebloom. She should be here playing with Scootaloo and Sweetie belle." Applejack replied, still staring at the scene before her.
"Oh yes, of course. Sweetie belle said they were going to their clubhouse to try some kind of stunt to get their cutie marks. Knowing them it's probably something involving a stunt that won't work." Rarity said, sitting up.
"Alrighty then, thanks Rarity. So uh, what exactly is going on here again?" Applejack asked.
"These two humans came from another world and I'm bringing them to Princess Celestia tomorrow. They're going to be staying with me until tomorrow afternoon when the train will be running again." Twilight replied.
"Oh, so how are you two enjoying Ponyville so far?" Applejack asked, excepting something negative after seeing what just happened.
"Not that bad, aside from being kidnapped, jumped on, and wrestled. But it's been OK so far." Jimmy said. Surprising George and Twilight, who expected him to say something worse.
"Uh, yeah, it's pretty nice around here." George added.
"Well that's good to hear. Did Pinkie Pie throw you a party yet? She usually does that with new people." Applejack asked, a smile forming on her face.
"Not yet, she said she's going to set it up." Jimmy replied.
"Oh, well if y'all are going to be staying here until tomorrow afternoon, you should stop by for the Apple family reunion tomorrow. You could stop by and have a bite to eat before you leave." Applejack offered.
"Sure, I guess we could." George replied.
"We could, we just might leave a little earlier than everyone else so we can leave." Jimmy said.
"Well, that won't be a problem at all. I better go find Applebloom now, she has to help me set everything up. This year, everypony is coming to the reunion, and it's gonna be big." Applejack said, walking out of the boutique.
"Well, I guess we should go back to the library now." Twilight replied. Rarity just sat there trying to clean up the room. Rainbow Dash was still standing there in the corner. She was still thinking about what she heard before, about Nightmare Moon and the other villains coming back.
"Rainbow Dash, are you quite alright, dear?" Rarity asked her, giving a concerning look. Everyone was looking at her, which seemed to snap her out of her trance. "I gotta go." She said before flying out through the door and flying off into the distance.
"Well, it was nice meeting you, Rarity. Sorry about the mess." Jimmy said, trying to apologize for the mess.
"Oh, well it's not all your fault. Rainbow Dash was being a bit rash back there, but I can clean this up. Actually...this is giving me an idea for a new design!" Rarity replied, starting to draw a new set of dresses. Jimmy and George decided it was a good time to leave, they followed Twilight outside and began walking back to the library.
"So George, did you get to hug Fluttershy?" Jimmy asked, trying to lighten up the mood.
"Yeah, after you guys flew away we were going to chase after you, but I had to hug Fluttershy first." George said, a smile forming on his face.
"So how was it?" Jimmy asked, starting to laugh.
"It was amazing! It's like cuddling with a fluffy pillow." George said.
"Well, sounds like fun." Jimmy and George began to laugh as they saw the library in the distance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Well, I'm off to bed now. Goodnight you guys." Twilight said as she walked up the stairs to her room. Jimmy and George were lying on opposite sides of the couch in the main room of the library. They shared a large blanket, and as usually, they couldn't sleep right away.
"Hey, Jim." George said.
"Yeah?" Jimmy replied.
"Where do you think the humans before us are from?" George asked.
"Well, judging on the fact that they used swords, were familiar with magic, and there's some mythology of unicorns and flying horses back then, I'd assume they were from Europe. Ancient Europe." Jimmy replied.
"Yeah, but when are they from? I mean, I think we'd notice a story similar to Nightmare Moon or Discord in our world. And I mean, we would definitely a story about a big black travelling puff of smoke. News of that would have spread like-" He was cut off by Jimmy.
"A plague? Like the Bubonic Plague?" Jimmy said.
"So, we were both thinking the whole Black Death thing?" George asked.
"Guess so. Makes sense when you think about it. It appeared out of nowhere and disappeared. Wait, it's not gone!" Jimmy sat up, realizing something. "It still exists, it's just weaker now!" "It brought us here to make itself stronger and then come back with us and start the disease again!" Jimmy said, he and George making another dark realization. The night was quiet as they both sat there, eyes wide. Staring at each other, realizing what was at stake now.