After a nightmarish magical error, a small group of university students sent to Equestria for a study are now unable to return home. Permanently. Companionship with one another had never become more important for them.

Well, minus one. His name was Joey Belfort. Nothing quite remarkable or unremarkable about him on the surface, which unfortunately often leads to being overlooked. Constantly forgotten, overshadowed by his peers. Sometimes the road to success is a treacherous and painful one.

Of course, he of all people already knows this. This is his story.

(Takes place in G4 after Twilight becomes a princess.)

Edit: Featured on day 2 of release! Holy cow! Thank you guys!

Double edit: featured again!! That's craaazy

Featured on May 14, 2013. And again on November 29, 2014 more times than I can count thanks to you guys.

Now with our own TVtropes page! Help us catalog the awesomeness.

Holy crap we've got a trailer too!
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIguvceYEiY]

MLP:FIM is the property of Lauren Faust
Bleach is the property of Tite Kubo

Plot aspects for chapter thirty six onward contributed and improved by Ketvirtas and Alondro
Chapters 0-88 proofread by xbox432
Chapters 89-onward proofread by LyonAzakura
Partially inspired by Dirty Bit's story Cuatro
Further inspired by Christopher28's story A Different Viewpoint of Equestria
Further inspired by Trinary story Friendship is Empathy
Random plot elements inspired by SwimmingDalek98 and Phoenix Archangel
Story structure and pacing inspired by Tite Kubo

Ulquiorra Cifer was defeated at the hands of a mere human and died in Las Noches. Or at least that's what he thought. In the boundary that separates life and death for all Hollows, he's found by one that finds him interesting enough to give a second chance at life free from Aizen's control, and free to do as he pleases; he was just never told that his second chance of life would take him to an alternate world he never could've imagined even if he tried.

The land of Equestria is a magical place full of hope, and second chances. In this land where friendship is considered the most powerful magic in existence, can the Cuatro Espada find something that's been missing and learn how to live? Or will his presence be the downfall of the peaceful world and all of its inhabitants?

Jason Wright returns at a pivotal moment in Equestria's history. He bares his vengeance, not with the hand of a conqueror or an invading force. But with the greatest weapon of all; the truth. And the truth is seldom pretty when it reveals the lies we tell ourselves.

This story is inspired by the Ending-verse.

First impressions are important. A bad one can ruin one's credibility for a long time. John Wildman - the second human to ever arrive in Equestria - is learning that the hard way.

After almost hunting down Applejack, he is trying to adjust to his new home - struggling not only against his own demons and doubts but also against prejudice and hatred.

Ashamed by the bigotry she is witnessing, Celestia is starting to wonder if her subjects are really as forgiving and kind, as she thought. Together with the help of edgy human super-soldier James "Bastard Man" Gastovski and Twilight, she is determined to figure this out and help John before it's too late.

Meanwhile, CMCs and Cheerilee are trying to figure out, why Scootaloo became reckless and vile all of a sudden - forcing new human, to be a participant of their investigation - whether he likes it, or not.

Can an outcast like John make some friends and maybe... save someone in the process?

This story can be considered somewhat of a sequel to both:

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/353834/lonely-among-us
and
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/409639/dashing-to-dirty-conclusions

with James, as a recurring character, alongside the new guy. However, reading the above stories is NOT necessary.

Silhouette vector from:
https://pixabay.com/pl/zdesperowany-stres-podkre%C5%9Bli%C5%82-2676556/

Planned story length:
90-120 K words

Changelog:

2019-08-13:
- Removed 'Comedy' tag - it was suggested by a lot of people that this story has become too dark, and tag should be removed. Sadly, I had to agree.

Celestia travels to a far corner of her kingdom to investigate a rumor about a colt with strange, illicit cutie marks. She meets Radish Root, a boy whose marks make him an anomaly in the fabric of Equestria, a mystery to himself, and an outcast among society.
When Radish joins the Royal Guard just prior to the return of Nightmare Moon, he finds his life being complicated by all the changes coming to Equestria. His marks will lead him into adventure, intrigue, and trouble... but will they ever lead him to answers?

Proofreader: Slavenger Karl
Cover Art Gallery
Table of original characters
A reader is translating this story into Spanish. Check it out here.