A white minivan rolled down the busy streets of Manehatten. To anyone else, it was just another midday commuter, working it's way down a main thoroughfare, but inside the van was chaos. Fluttershy's GPS and Rarity were engaged in a heated debate. The GPS insisted that they should turn right, while Rarity remembered heading straight a while longer. Pinkie Pie and Applejack were of no help at all to either cause, and Fluttershy's driving was slowly getting more and more erratic as the debate grew more and more heated. The three hour trip to Manehatten left them all exhausted, and more than ready to stretch their legs, but first they had to find the house. Eventually, Rarity turned the GPS off, and guided Fluttershy to where she remembered the house had been. Many twists and turns later, the minivan rolled into the driveway of a modern townhouse, bearing the address Pinkie's text indicated it should. The girls exploded from the van. Many stretches were had, Fluttershy apologized for her driving again, and then they were off.
The sleepover had begun.
The girls were sitting in the living room of the townhouse when Applejack finally let it out. "So, I've gotta ask; how goes the superhero act?" The day had passed enjoyably, with a walk to the local doughnut store, several board games, and much idle chatter, but the topic of Twilight and Rainbow's night jobs had been carefully avoided by all present. Applejack's comment earned her a stern look from Rarity, to which she responded "I just worry, ya know? I'd hate to see any harm come to y'all."
"Very well then, darling." Rarity replied, before she addressed the couple in question "Since the topic has been breached, I must admit, I'd love to know how my suits are holding up."
"We couldn't be more grateful Rarity." Twilight started "And Applejack, you really don't need to worry. We always have her" she gestured to Sunset "watching out for us. This city needs us. In the last two months crime has dropped nearly sixty percent. Now we even get to take the occasional night off." she chuckled "Really, we should just focus on having a good time tonight. You don't have to worry about us, okay? We're always careful."
"If you say so, sugar cube. I just hope you're as safe as you think." Applejack trailed off. Reaching to her neck she drew out her orange gemstone necklace. A perplexed look spread across her face "Now that is strange. It don't normally glow like that, an' it's warm." She dropped it to the floor in shock "Ouch! Now it's just downright hot! Sunset, you have any idea what's goin' on here?"
Sunset moved closer to the gem to get a better look. It was glowing bright orange, but before she could really investigate, there was a burning sensation just below her throat. With a little yelp, she pulled her necklace off, revealing a glowing white gemstone, nearly identical to the orange one lying on the floor. Over the course of the nest minute the same thing happened to each gemstone, and soon seven glowing stones covered the floor. "Dash, get my spectrometer from the bunker, and seven vials."
"On it!" Rainbow disappeared for an instant before reappearing with the vials. "Umm, Sunset, what does the spec-tro-me-thingy look like?"
Sunset groaned "Twilight, can you..?" Twilight nodded, and summoned not only a spectrometer, but a plethora of other tools Sunset couldn't name. Unfortunately, none of it did any good, for at that moment the light intensified tenfold before receding completely, leaving the 7 girls temporarily blinded in the living room.
Rainbow Dash was the first to react, her eyes adjusting quickly to reveal that in the middle of the room, surrounded by the gemstones, was an unfamiliar figure. He was average height, clearly male, and young, probably around her age. His skin was an off peach color, with long yellow hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in a grey hoodie and athletic shorts. More importantly, to Rainbow at least, he was an intruder in their house, late at night. Before he or anyone else had time to react to the situation, Rainbow looked him over for weapons, saw nothing, and pinned him to the wall, with her forearm across his throat. By the time everyone else's eyes had started working again, she was already delivering her threat. "Okay, this is how this is going to go. You see the six girls behind me? You are going to explain everything to them; who you are, how you got here, and anything else they ask. If they are satisfied with your answers, they might be able to convince me to let you go. Maybe. Do you understand?"
Rainbow's plan was to cut him off and force him to nod in agreement, but when she pressed on his throat, she found she couldn't actually move it. The boy coughed, clearing his throat, and then began to speak. "Funny. You are funny." He raised his voice, ignoring the Rainbow haired girl. "Is this you, Armok? You filthy slimy bastard! I thought I taught you a lesson last ti— ah, wait, no webs, not his style." He looked back to Rainbow. "Wait, you, you'd know, wouldn't you? How'd I get here?" He grabbed her arm, and with considerable strength, pushed Rainbow off of him, knocking her to the floor. "Speak!" He demanded.
Rainbow's fall spurred the others into action. Applejack stepped forward, and with her immense strength pushed the boy back into the wall. The collision made an audible thunk. "Now, I ain't one to lie, so believe me when I tell ya that ya just crossed a line, mister." Grabbing the boy by his collar, she hoisted him off the ground and pinned him to the wall with one hand on his chest, leaving his feat a good three inches off the floor. "Now, ya feel like talking, or do I have to get brutal?" He coughed, the strength being applied as pressure to his chest had clearly shocked him. He looked Applejack directly in the eyes and nodded. She removed her hand, letting the boy fall to the floor. "Good. Now, no funny business and we all walk away from this just peachy, ya hear me? What's yer name?"
"Erin." His voice had lost all of it's attitude from earlier, leaving it sounding almost empty. "My name is Erin. And if it helps, I didn't mean to end up here." He sounded almost desperate when he asked "Will you tell me where I am?"
Applejack looked around. Rainbow had stood back up, a scowl etched into her face. Pinkie, Twilight, and Sunset looked concerned. Fluttershy was obviously scared, but Rarity was giving Applejack a reassuring nod. Applejack looked back to Erin "Sure thing. Yer in Manehatten."
He gave a light chuckle. "Manehatten? Well, that's not helpful. I'm sorry, I can explain everything. Look, I know this is going to sound strange, but I'm from the future. At least, I think I am. I was just in twenty-two oh one, I'm sorry what year is it?"
Applejack rolled her eyes. "We've seen stranger things I suppose, it's Twenty Seventeen. Saturday, November, uhh... Twi?"
"Eleventh" Twilight added. "I'm a scientist, do you mind if I run a few harmless tests on you, Erin?" she summoned even more scientific apparatuses. "If Applejack trusts you, then I do too, but I'd love to know what time travel does to the human body."
"Wait," Erin interjected "Applejack? Twi, as in Twilight?" He got to his feet "No way! I mean, I knew this was possible, but... no way!" He looked around the room, finally taking in all of the people present. He pointed to them one by one, naming them off. "Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Sunset Shimmer, right?" A chorus of confused nods met him. "Okay, okay, look, I get it, it's creepy that I know your names, but I can explain."
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Pinkie Pie chimed in. "Are we, like, super famous in the future?"
"Well," he continued "Sort of. Let me explai—"
"Oh, wait, I've got it" Pinkie interjected again. "We're all from a TV show in your past, and you didn't just time travel, but traveled between dimensions!"
"No, actually you're all from a TV show in... my... past..." He cocked his head "How did you... You know what? Never mind. Pinkie Pie, would you like to continue to tell my life story?"
"Nah, sorry, that only works when it's comedically appropriate."
"That's, a little relieving, actually." He said
Sunset Shimmer piped up "If it makes it easier, I could just read your mind, and tell your story for you"
Panic. "Please no. No, thanks. I'm good. Thanks." His response came suspiciously quick and at a slightly higher pitch than usual. One steadying breath later, and his voice had returned to normal. "I mean, I can explain by myself just fine, and Applejack can tell you if I'm lying. Forgive me, but I'd prefer to keep some irrelevant, personal details to myself. Everyone has secrets, right?" He took a deep breath. "Okay, so, here's the short version. I'm from a different dimension. I discovered inter-dimensional travel, and later, time travel. I devised a plan to go back in time and solve my human race's issues by re-structuring society in the past. Unfortunately, on my way back in time, I was pulled here by something. I'm hoping you can tell me what."
He started to pace as he continued. "In my travels, I found that alternate dimensions exist in different forms. Simple Multiverse Theory suggested that all realities are due to random chances in the past splitting one reality into two. That is true, to an extent, but other varieties exist. Some realities are fixed, and have windows into other fixed realities. TV shows, books, movies, many of them are actually windows into another reality. That's why I know who you all are. On my earth, you're all in a TV show. Well, actually a movie. Actually, a movie series. But that's not the point." He took a pause, then resumed "Look, I'm sure you all have questions, but can you please tell me what happened to bring me here first?"
The girls all looked at each other, and once Applejack confirmed that Erin was telling the truth, Rarity took the initiative. "Sure, darling" she began "You see, we were just having a pleasent little get together when these" she held up her gemstone "began to glow, and burn us. We put them on the floor, and then, in a brilliant flash of light, you appeared." Her eyes grew distant. "Upon reflection, it was actually quite the display."
"The elements? But, why on earth would they do that? That... That makes no sense!" He growled in frustration. "Look, maybe I can just leave, you can get back to your business, I can get back to mine. Do any of you mind if I try?" A chorus of 'not really' prompted him to grab his watch and press a button. Whatever he had expected to happen simply didn't, so he pressed it again. When nothing happened again, he let out an irritated grunt. "Well, it looks like I'm stuck here. Look, I've survived in 75 different dimensions before, usually in makeshift shelters. I know it's a lot to ask, and I can certainly make do without, but if you had a place I could stay for a few days while I figure this out, I would really appreciate it."
The girls looked to each other for confirmation. Rainbow was the first to speak up. "Applejack, he's not lying?" Applejack shook her head, and Rainbow continued "Well, we have the space."
Sunset interrupted "Okay, hold up. I'm all for helping out, but I say favors for favors. I have a place you can stay, but you have to let me read your mind." She gave Erin a stern look "This isn't up for debate. We need to be able to trust you completely, and it seems you already know quite a bit about us."
He looked between the seven faces, before letting out a defeated sigh. "Okay, some rules then. You read my mind, but you keep the details to yourself. If you can still trust me after you read my mind, you can tell the others that I can be trusted, and anything significant I've left out, but no specific details. Please, I'm not exactly proud of my past." he took a breath "And, um, we do it alone. I want to be able to talk to you about what you see first. Applejack can tell you that I'm telling the truth: I have no reason nor desire to do you any harm. Deal?"
"He ain't lying," Applejack said "an' everyone's got somethin' they'd like to keep private. Sounds fair tah me. Sunset?"
"Deal."