//------------------------------//
// IV - Dream 
// Story: The Average Day of a Bad Self-Insert 
// by Alfoals Trottenbauer 
//------------------------------//

Ace got up from the fall. He trotted forward toward the opening. The tiles he landed on were broken. A detailed imprint of him was pressed into the ground.

He continued to the edge of the opening. There didn't seem to be much of anything holding the structure up.

He used a flight spell, giving him wings in exchange for his magic.

He hesitantly jumped off the ground and spread his temporary wings.

He looked back. A tiny cloud was holding the whole thing up.

He looked down. A mountain was close under him.

Not paying attention, he didn't notice the tree he was about to crash into.

"So this is what it's like to be a pega-"

With a loud crash, he collided with it. The tree splintered and fell off a cliff side, carrying Ace with it.

The tree landed.

"Ow."

He got up again.

"Well, that's a way to get down from there." Ace said to himself, mainly.

"Anticitizen One spotted, preparing verdict." A metrocop said.

"Road apples." Ace muttered.

He galloped away from them, they shot in his direction.

A piece of the cloud-suspended structure fell on the group. After a tone, their radios went off.

"Horseshit detected, administering salt." A mares voice rang.

"Uh... See you, then."  Ace said as he trotted off.

He trotted to Canterlot.

"That fast?" Ace asked the air.

"The writer was impatient. He really needs to work on pacing." Twilight's voice said.

"Why are you still following me? Stop. I'm serious." He asked.

"Alright..." She said, disappointed.

With her gone, he trotted into the castle. Princess Celestia happened to be trotting around the corner.

She looked at him, wide-eyed.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"W-well, I uh, was wondering why Equestria is so strange, recently..."

"You see, [Convenient exposition to plot]" She explained.

"What?"

"[Convenient exposition, possible mention of McGuffin]" She repeated.

"Oh, I understand now." Ace lied.

He trotted away awkwardly in the direction of his home.

Once there, he ate, and pretty much fell asleep in front of the table.

Twilight never really left.