Just a Walk in Equestria (JaWiE), Volume 1

by Warden of Monsters


Dragonshy

Dark... Blissful darkness... Peace... Warm... So... Warm...

Hm? Someone... Is someone calling me? That voice... Sounds familiar... Where...? Ugh, my eyes feel so heavy. Fuck that, my everything feels heavy. Is that what being dead feels like?

"Harley?"

Go away... I feel so peaceful here... What just touched my hand?

"Harley please open thine eyes," a female voice pleads. "The machine... It claims thy heart beats, so why dost thou shun wakefulness?"

What? Shakespeare? No he was a guy... Who do I know that-?

I slowly force my eyes to open, and my already partially open jaw drops a bit more. Beside my bed is a certain blue alicorn. Luna looks the same as the day we freed her from Nightmare Moon, and she has a hold of my hand in her fetlock.

Nightmare Moon!

I try to sit up, but a pain in my chest forces me to stop before I'm even an inch off the bed. Groaning I lie back down, sliding my free hand to my chest, and looks around without moving my head. "...Where?"

Luna uses her magic to levitate a glass to me with a straw poking out of it. My throat feels so dry, and my voice sounded unhealthy enough I don't think twice, taking a generous pull on the straw. "Ponyville hospital," Luna says softly. "Thou was discovered in our former castle... We wish to know why this is."

Sighing softly I grip my hospital blanket over my chest, and ask. "How am I alive?"

She clears her throat, "We... We wish an answer to our question first." She looks at me while I just stare flatly back at her, seriously considering nodding off again. She takes a hint, and looks off to the side. "Thy body has become dependent on magic, much more so than the average pony. Thou was as good as a corpse when though arrived here by sky wagon, retrieved by thy close friends Miss Hooves, and Miss Bonbon... We agreed with our sister that thine only salvation was to replace what was lost... And so we volunteered."

I blink slowly, "...You...put your magic inside me?"

"A small fraction," Luna clarifies. "We are not as powerful as we once were, even before our... Mistake... Yet we felt it needed to be done. It is a step in the direction of correcting our mistake."

I smile softly, and turn my hand to hold her hoof, "You got my letter."

She nods, and looks down as I run my thumb over her hoof. "Indeed we did."

"...I'm dreaming," I say simply.

She looks up at me with a confused look, "Pardon?"

"There is no way you of all the ponies in Equestria can be here, doing this," I croak. "Any minute now the Kool-Aid man is going to come through that wall with a marching band right behind him."

She looks like she doesn't know whether to laugh, or call a nurse to check my head. "We assure thee that thou dreams no longer. Thou hast plenty of time for it over the past three days however."

"Three days," I mutter. "Hm..." I can feel my eyelids getting heavy again. If this place has painkillers that make me feel this lucid, and can see Luna then somepony sign me a prescription! "Woona... Kawaii Woona waifu..."

She raises an eyebrow as I continue to babble, and as I shut my eyes I take the image of a smiling Luna at my bedside with me.

...

A few days later I'm back on my feet. As it turns out telling Derpy to carry that message to Bonbon. Bonbon hadn't liked the idea of me wandering into the Everfree myself, and talked Derpy into giving her a wagon ride over the treetops. They found me easily enough since the tower had been glowing green through the windows while I had been drained. Celestia, and Luna learned about my condition through Twilight maybe fifteen minutes after I was admitted to the hospital. I had just barely pulled through on life support until Luna arrived. Really it was dumb luck I had a doctor who had a few Minotaur patients under her belt, they're the closest thing to a humanoid body in Equestria, and so my doctor had assumed the physiology was the same.

Luna hasn't shown up since that first day however, not that I really expected her to. Still that's a fond memory I'll hold on to for a while now. Not everyone can say they had their life saved by their waifu.

Of course I'm equal part embarrassed, and afraid for my life at the same time. I really, really, REALLY hope she didn't understand me well enough to know just what she means to me.

My friends have stopped by though. The Mane Six brought me treats of course: the first Daring Do from Twilight, a tray of oatmeal-raisin cookies from Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash dropped me a ticket to a Wonderbolts show in Canterlot next week, Rarity has brought me a canister of my favorite tea, and Fluttershy gave me her word that she would look after Cubby until I was discharged from the hospital.

The most curious present of mine however is a ring, a black ring on my right middle finger, shaped like a college or class ring with a blue Saphire on it shaped like a crecent moon. I guessed it came from Luna so I have yet to remove it, especially after Bonbon visited with the magic book from the princesses. In it I found a letter from Luna.

Dear Harley,

If thou art reading this then thou art surely on the mend. There were a few things we could not share during our visit, thou had thy rest needed of course. We were concerned that thou was not properly safe, and we would feel terrible to have thee near death again so soon in thy mission. So to compensate thee for the loss of thy ability to conjure items of use we have left thee with a powerful gift of our own.
Thou hast the raw power of an alicorn in thy core now, and fear not this power will not run out. It is sustained by thine soul now and while it may resemble our own power it is thine to command as thou see fit. But the ring we left thee with is an inhibitor, removing it will allow thee to access an ability we thought would suit thee in a pinch. Removing the ring will wrap thee in a tight aura of magic, allowing thee to act much quicker by experiencing time differently than those in thine proximity. To them thou shalt be a blur, and to thee the world shalt nearly stand still. We felt if thou found thyself out of thy depth then it would help thee escape.
Please know that while the ring is off thine finger ye will not be able to wield thy magic in the traditional sense, even simple spells such as levitation will be beyond thee. We hope this will serve a great help, and look forward to seeing how these abilities suit thee.

Thine Princess of the Night,
Princess Luna of Equestria

It actually had taken me a while to figure out what she had done to me. Not because of how she talks, I could speak fluent Shakespeare in my Literary Arts class in high school. But the implied meaning of this really tickles me pink. Oh this will be awesome to experiment with.

But on the other hand it's really put a dent in my plans. My summoning abilities were supposed to help Bonbon, and whoever else we enlisted most of our supplies. Now preparing for the future is going to be a lot harder. I need to start planning for how we are supposed to get our resources. The first thing that comes to mind is Fancy Pants, but that's still such a long way off until Rarity visits Canterlot. I suppose we could always consider enlisting Lemon Hearts, Twinkleshine, and Minuette. Or maybe just ask the princesses, if they're willing to go this far for me then providing for this new agency shouldn't be too difficult.

When I'm out of the hospital though the main though on my head is Nightmare Moon. She said she was dying, and the idea of just leaving her there... I can't do it. I'm no monster, I can't leave someone in need like that. So I make up my mind to at least try to help.

But naturally Pinkie had to throw me a Get Out of the Hospital party, which I enjoyed immensely. She even made little cookies shaped like ponies, and iced them to make them look like nurses. She's such a sweety.

Afterwards though it's the moment of truth. I'm on the bridge leading out of Ponyville, and I slip the ring off. The moment it's no longer snug with my finger the world goes into slow motion. Leaves are almost hovering in the air, I see a fish slowly breach the water, and jump. The birds are slowly moving their beaks, and yet I can't hear them so I've got to be moving at least at the speed of sound.

I try walking, and I feel lighter, like gravity has almost forgotten I exist. So I start jogging, and then I jump. I feel like a man on the moon right now, and smile as I start to run. My strides nearly triple in length, and I decide to take a casual lap around Ponyville to get the hang of it. In the back of my head I'm thinking that this must be what it feels like to be The Flash, minus the Lightning effects.

After a while I start to feel a bit winded, and stop, putting the ring back on. The world goes back to normal time, and I marvel at the ring on my finger. "Best. Present. Ever. Gonna want to start a steady routine to build stamina though. Never been able to run for more than four, or five minutes at a time."

So I walk back to town, and notice Fluttershy trying to talk to everyone. Rubbing my head I know this scene is familiar, and then I look up... Black smoke. The dragon! Licking my lips I consider, the girls could handle the dragon on their own, but I need to get back to that castle. So I take off the ring again, and jog for a bit. But hell I'm tired so I just walk. Even then I can easily move around ponies while they're nearly standing still.

It doesn't take me long to find Bonbon, scribble a note, and just slip it between her lips. She should notice that quick enough by my reckoning, and I hurry out of town towards the forest. A little walking helps me get my energy back, and so start running again, headed up the trail. Much faster this time.

When I get to the castle I put my ring back on, and lean on the entrance a moment to catch my breath, and then head up into the castle, making straight for the tower. Upon arriving I call out, "Nightmare Moon?"

No answer.

I sit at the top of the stairs, and fold my hands in my lap. "...I'm too late..."

I know in hindsight this all looks cheesy, crying over a villain I couldn't save... But she held me when I died. She had some good in her... At least in the end.

"You live?"

Jumping I look over my shoulder to see her there, staring at me in wonder. I smile, and I can't help it, I try to hug her as relief washes through me. Naturally I pass right through her though.

"You lost of all your magic, how are you still alive?"

"You're one of the most powerful beings to live in Equestria, what are you doing in a dusty old tower," I retort as I roll onto my back.

She blinks once, and then replies, "I am a spector, my physical form is temporary. I have no host with which to anchor myself, and so I'm trapped in this tower where echoes of my power remain... They are gradually fading however."

"And when they are gone you go too."

"Correct... Something about you seems different from our last encounter."

"Well... Not dying," I shrug. "So there's that."

"Not what I meant... Your presence feels different now, altered somewhat."

"Yeah..." I take a breath, "Luna put a bit of her magic in me, made me magical again."

"Ah, that explains it. I thought something about you felt familiar in an odd way."

"Right... Look, Nightmare Moon, I have a question for you... The magic that was in me, what happened to it?" I just can't shake the memory of what it looked like when Rarity lost the magic in the show. The energy had just floated offscreen, but here..."

"That curse was one of sentient energy. The more a pony uses its power the more powerful it gets, and so in turn does the host's magical abilities. Every host eventually reaches terrible limitations that I warned you of, destroying the host. Then the spirit moves to another host."

"And it keeps getting more powerful with every host?"

"No, the majority of its power is lost in the process of the host's destruction, and more still while it does not possess a host. All this energy is trying to do is survive."

I pull out the book that once held the magic, "And this?"

"A complex talisman to hold the energy in stasis. Even on a foe as destructive as this the princesses could never find it in their hearts to destroy their enemies."

I nod with a sigh through my nose, "Makes sense... So that... That thing is still out there?"

"More than likely, but since you were not inherently a magical creature, and it did not destroy you before departing it cannot have gotten far."

I get to my feet, "So that thing is loose in Ponyville? Dammit, this is my fault, that thing wasn't supposed to be released for a long time! And I might have just altered the timeline by using it."

"Which you felt compelled to do because of me... You are not to blame Harley. You only sought to protect others from my wrath."

I bite my tongue as I pace, and think out loud. "Even if we were to find the infected pony then we couldn't free them without disrupting the timeline again. If we do nothing then it happens anyways because Ponyville doesn't get any big holes blasted in it until Lesson Zero, frigging OP pegasai..." Then I pause as I look up at Nightmare Moon, "Telling Twilight would be a bad idea, we need to interfere with the main characters as little as possible... But an expert of magic would be helpful."

She looks taken aback, and asks, "Me? You would trust me?"

"Well... Weird as it sounds... Yeah, I do, a little bit anyhow. And I'm sure you could earn the trust of my teammates too."

She shakes her head, "Even if that were so, I am not able to leave this tower, and I am not sure I will survive long enough to be of use."

"So let me be your host of you want," I say. "Really I'm surprised you didn't try when I got back here. I mean, you don't want to die do you?"

A whistling sigh fills the room. "I shouldn't have ever existed. My purpose is a farce, and last we spoke you helped me find peace with my destiny. Besides, I haven't the power to fully bond with a host as I am. I would have no control, merely a voice in their consciousness living off them like a parasite... You don't deserve that."

I smile as I step towards her, "But that's perfect! Nightmare, you don't need power to live. You can live in my head, chill out in the back seat... Let me show you a world like you've never seen it, and you can still offer the knowledge of your expertise which we sorely need. Nightmare you don't have to just accept a bad past, let me help you... Let me save you."

She stares at me, and then shuts her eyes, deep in thought. I put my hands in my pockets as I walk to a window, giving her the time she needs to think. My eyes wander to the mountain where the smoke is filling the sky, diving into my own thoughts. Time is in flux right now, it could all change... It makes me wonder what else has changed here. I need to be there when that dragon faces the Mane 6, but I can't abandon Nightmare Moon.

"...You have a special talent for inspiring hope... I don't believe I ever asked your name."

I look back at her with a grin. "It's Harley... Nice to meet you."

"Likewise... Harley... Please, tell me... What out in the world is worth binding my mind to yours until your passing?"

I offer her my hand, Palm up, "Only one way to find out."

She stares at my hand for a minute before floating closer. Then she shuts her eyes as she lays her horn across my palm. I curl my fingers around it as a warmth spreads through my body, a sensation like a hot shower after playing in the snow. Her spectral body dissolves, turning to black particals that gravitate into my shadow, and I jerk when I feel something in the back of my skull. Swallowing I think at the source of the pressure in my head.

...Nightmare Moon, is that you?

I... I am here... This feeling, I... I can feel your emotions...

The feeling is mutual, putting a hand to my chest I think I feel hers as well. She's scared, a bit cautious, and a little curious. Emotions I share with her, and I sense among our shared emotions is a tentative trust. Small, but it can be built on. She doesn't respond to my inner musings, making me suspect we can only hear the thoughts we want to share, and her not responding to that thought confirms it.

"Alright," I say out loud as I glance at the smoky mountain. "Time to get to work!"

Pardon?

I slip the ring off my finger, and I feel her startle as I rocket down the hallway, running on the wall to avoid tripping on the stairs. All the while she's sputtering in my head at me so to save time on explaining I push the memories of Luna's letter to her.

Very well... But where are we going? That mountain, what is so relevant about it?

Again, I show her my memories, this time of the episode Dragonshy. I gloss over the trip up, mostly showing her some of the antics of the Mane 6. As we near the mountain I'm only sorry I missed out on Fluttershy impersonating a Fainting Goat.

When we reach the cliff I pause, wondering if I can run up it. I hop back a few steps, and give it a running start... But a few steps into it my feet cannot keep traction, and I end up sliding back down. Those few steps had gotten me a good ways up that mountain side too...

I have a suggestion. When flying against a strong wind one throws their weight into the force of the wind with every wingbeat. Perhaps you can do so with your arms, rather than trying to direct your weight upwards you do so forwards, and let your legs propel you up the cliff face.

...Nightmare, that's genius!

Smiling I grab a branch to stop myself, and then yank myself towards the cliff while pushing with both legs. Sure enough I practically fly up that cliff face using her technique, and even overshoot the edge a bit, landing a few meters from the cliff edge. Pausing to catch my breath I set off at a power-walk, following the direction of some hoof prints by a few dozen tick-tack-toe played in the dirt.

Thank you Pinkie Pie.

Internally I feel pleased, and can sense a little smugness from Nightmare Moon. She has every right to be smug in my opinion so I don't comment. The rest of the trip is a breeze, we find the route easily enough through my memory, and the small clues left around. A feather here, streamer there, and the occasional footprint... Stuff like that.

All in all we make a trip that took half an episode in roughly five minutes of jogging/power-walking. When we get to the cave we spot almost everyone in front of the cave. From the looks on everyone else's faces it looks like Rainbow Dash just charged into the cave to buck the dragon in the face.

Call her arrogant, a braggart, and attention hoarder all you want... But you gotta admit that pony has more balls than most folks. Then again this is the pony who supposedly can kick the ass of a Transformer.

Of a what?

Again to save time I just share the relevant memories, and duck behind the boulder, waiting. For us it takes several minutes until we see Rainbow come tumbling through the air, knocking her friends down like bowling pins. Funny how the scene was blink-and-you-miss-it in the episode, but with time at a crawl she's actually moving at speeds more noticeable to my own. Makes me wonder if I'm actually past the speed of sound, or if something else is keeping the world quiet around me.

I see Fluttershy headed for our Boulder while her friends panic, and I dart behind a tree Applejack had shot two apples at earlier. Then the dragon makes his appearance... I can understand why Fluttershy is so afraid of fully grown ones now.

This thing is just as big, maybe a little bigger than the Ursa Minor that tore through Ponyville a few days back. Plus its claws are easily as big as me. It's a dark red with a yellow underbelly, and very serpentine with long sharp ridges spaced down its back from head to tail. Plus it has a long snout full of teeth as big as my arm, and it looks pissed!

I dart back to the boulder, hiding behind Fluttershy as I watch the dragon rear up over the other five ponies. Then it inhales...

Harley, look at the nostrils!

I look, and my breath catches in my throat. Nightmare Moon knows like I do that in the episode the dragon just blasted the ponies with smoke, and the force of his breath. But in the nostrils I can see the growing glow of flames.

They're gonna roast! This is bad, even with my speeds the nearest source of water is too far away to get any in time, and without my conjuring magic I can't pull any out of the air... Wait, air, that's it!

What is it?

In my world there is a superhero called The Flash, and he's the fastest character ever conceived. He can create tornado vacuums with his arms!

You're risking their lives on the abilities of a fictional figure?! Here's an idea, why not carry them to someplace the dragon can't see them? Pull them out of the literal line of fire?

Because I've messed with Canon enough lately, and this is one of Fluttershy's greatest moments to shine. She needs this, and besides if it doesn't follow Canon then what's stopping the dragon from chasing us all to Ponyville?

...A fair argument I suppose, but keep my idea in mind as a Plan B.

Of course. If these ponies die then Equestria is boned.

So I hop over the boulder, and stand in front of the ponies as they squeeze their eyes shut. All except Twilight whose eyes are wide in terror. I take a breath, and raise my right arm with my fingers pointed at the dragon's face, hand flat. Then I start to whirl it in a small circle, trying to get faster, and faster with it.

I can't tell if it's working!

I see the dragon's mouth starting to crack open, and the light of flames is visible between its lips. A while back I had seen a documentary where two dragon bodies had been found buried in ice in a mountain cave in Romania. From what they found there the dragons had used molar teeth in the backs of their jaws to grind up flint, or Platnium I think it was, then later using it to ignite a second set of lungs filled with hydrogen. Equestrian dragons eat gems so I'm hoping they follow the same physiology, and all I have to do is snuff out that first spark of flame.

Harley... You can do this. You were brought to this world for a reason, and now these ponies are depending on you.

I look back at the ponies, and I can see Twilight's eyes fixated on me. She looks so scared... Memories of hanging out in the library, talking, and everything I've done with all these ponies... It almost reminds me of my sisters...

I feel a fire burn in my gut, and I turn to glare at the dragon. I failed my sisters once... Never again... Never again!

I grab my right shoulder with my left arm, and force myself to spin my arm faster, and faster until even to me it's blurring. My muscles burn, and the pain just pisses me off even more, like my own body is telling me to quit. FUCK THAT!

The Dragon's maw opens, and the head starts to go forward towards me. I can see the glow in the throat, and aim for it, making smaller, tighter turns of my arm. Then I smile... I can see the glow in the throat getting dimmer, and dimmer, yet I keep spinning my arm.

I won't stop, I can't!

When the light is completely black I keep spinning, and sighing thirty seconds I see smoke spew from between those teeth, traveling down the vortex I made, which is now slightly visible with it pulling the dust, and moisture in the air. Then I dive to the side, and clutch my arm as I hide behind the tree again. I think I almost tore a muscle with that little stunt, but the sight of the Mane 6 engulfed in smoke instead of flames makes it entirely worth it.

Fishing my ring out of my pocket I slip it on, letting time resume its normal pace. The force of the dragon's breath pushes the five ponies across the ground, and into Fluttershy's boulder, cracking it. When it splits apart Fluttershy looks over the rubble at her dazed, and sprawled friends.

The Dragon looms over them, fists clenched, and teeth bared. Fluttershy looks from it to her friends, and back again before she bows her head with her eyes shut.

"How dare you," she says as she looks back up, meeting the dragon's eyes glare for glare. Then she takes to the air shouting, "HOW DARE YOU!"

Then she literally gets in the dragon's face, standing on its snout, and stomping up to glare right into its eye. "Listen here mister! Just because your big doesn't mean you get to be a bully! You may have huge teeth, sharp scales, snore smoke, and breathe fire! But you do not- I repeat- you do NOT! HURT! MY! FRIENDS!"

I don't think anypony even blinks as this pony who jumped into a bush at the sight of her own shadow not two hours ago goes so far as to give this beast the Stink Eye, and challenges it, "You got that?!"

The spines on the dragon droop as it lowers its head with a whimper. Fluttershy hovers in front of it with a raised eyebrow. "Well?"

"...But that rainbow one kicked me," he explains, pointing down at Rainbow Dash who actually nods with a proud smile. I'm tempted to go smack her up the back of the head, but now is not the time.

"And I'm very sorry about that," Fluttershy says in what I call her motherly voice. "But you're bigger than her, and you should know better. You should also know better than to take a nap where your snoring can become a health hazard to other creatures."

The dragon looks off to the side in shame, "But I-"

"Don't you 'but I' me mister," she says as she puts her hooves on her hips. "Now what do you have to say for yourself?" When the dragon blinks with no answer forthcoming she repeats, "I said what do you have to say for yourself?"

That's when the dragon actuall breaks down bawling, crying like a kid that just got scolded, and his hands smacked by his mama. The sight makes me smile, and relax against the tree I'm hiding behind.

"There there," she coos as she strokes the dragon's snout. "It's alright, you're not a bad dragon, you just made a bad decision. Now go pack your things, you just need to find a new place to sleep, that's all."

Fluttershy flies down to the ground, and I hear all her friends cheering for her. I sti behind the tree, and lean back against it when seconds after all his scolding the dragon just flies off, leaving the practical fortune of gold, and jewels in the cave.

I suppose getting away from these ponies is worth more to him than his hoard. Extraordinary, dragon's have always been famous for their greed.

Well can you blame him? I mean these are the same six ponies that beat you after all.

A fair point...

I can sense her unease at being reminded of that so I sigh, and say, Sorry, I'll do my best not to mention that again in the future... Think we should take the gold? I mean the agency is going to need funding.

Are you certain it's not out of your own greed?

You know it is partially, you can feel that. Still it's nice to think of others first.

And so we wait until the ponies leave before headed into the cave. There is so much gold here, so many jewels, more than I've ever seen in my entire life! And it's all mine... I've never been exceptionally rich, even working steady I was lucky to have more than $500 dollars in the bank every week, which I know is more fortunate than a lot of people so I won't complain much. Still, seeing enough gold to fill a public swimming pool to overflowing is just... Wow

I walk over, and lay in the gold, "Now how to get this all back to town...? Could probably pay Derpy for the favor of hauling it, but where to keep it all until we can take it to the bank?"

...

It didn't take long to get it all squared away. Derpy was more than happy to fly bankers up there to count it all after she's done helping clear the sky of smoke, and they'll take care of the shipping. Me personally I'm down in Ponyville again, watching Rainbow Dash try for a record for how many times she can bounce a ball on her head. I lean on a building as Twilight comes out on a balconey to watch... Then Pinkie scares the living day lights out of Rainbow by imitating the dragon's roar.

I can't help laughing when the rest of them, and bite my tongue when Fluttershy comes over to comfort her.

"It's okay Rainbow Dash," she says. "Not everypony can be as brave as me."

Rainbow however is only half listening, blowing a leaf up out of her face. That leaf lands on the behind of a certain hovering Pegasus, scaring her senseless. Fluttershy snaps her wings inwards, and her wings go rigid as she flops onto her back, making us laugh.

There it is! The fainting goat!

Harley?

Yeah?

...Thank you. I think I'm starting to see what you meant... The world does have a certain... Beauty, even in the daytime.

Smiling I rub the back of my head softly, "You're welcome."