//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7: So... This Is Ponyville. 
// Story: The Flame Chronicles 
// by FlameBrony1625 
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I could see the city of Canterlot moving farther and farther away from my sight as the chariot flew, until after several seconds, it eventually became a tiny speck. I'm not gonna lie, I'm really gonna miss that place. I know I'll see it again in the not too distant future, it's just a matter of when exactly.  

I sighed, and turned my head back to my two pilots, who were flapping their wings as if their lives depended on it. I figured it would be a really boring trip if I just sat down and did nothing, so I figured why not add a little small talk.

"So..." They never turned their heads. This might be harder than I thought. "How long have y'all been guards... or pilots."

"About 3 years now.", the one on the right answered me.

I looked at the other one. "And you?"

"Just about to hit 5 years." I gave a nod, basically saying 'Cool, cool.'

A few seconds of awkward silence went by. This is getting ridiculous. "So... what're your names?"

"Call me Cloud.", the one on the left said.

"How 'bout you?", I asked the one on the right. 

He turned his head slightly and looked at me from the corner of his eye. "I'm also Cloud."

Umm... what?

I blinked twice and moved my eyes back and forth between both pegasi. "So you're both named Cloud?" They didn't answer me. 

I groaned and lowered my head. It's too bad interdimensional travel didn't bring my phone with me, because this is gonna be a boring trip. 

I looked to the side of the chariot, and I can't believe I didn't notice it before, but the view is absolutely breathtaking. There were green fields with a variety of beautiful plants, tall mountains that could touch the clouds, rivers that had no end to them, and... Is that a rainbow? That's a freaking rainbow! And It was arching over the mountains!

I couldn't help but smile at the beautiful scenery. I'll give this world credit; What it lacks in common physics and astronomy, and at times common sense, the landscape is probably the most beautiful I have ever seen. "You ponies have a beautiful world, that much I'll give ya", I said to myself, thinking it would be pointless to try and form a conversation with both Clouds... that would've sounded ridiculous if I said that out loud. 

I put my arms on the side of the chariot, resting my head on them as I continued to enjoy the view for the remainder of the flight.

As if it came out of nowhere, looking at this view suddenly gave me the urge to whistle the opening verse of a particular song that I really enjoyed back at home. As I finished the last of the verse, I then decided to let it out:

Somewhere... over the rainbow
Way up high
And the... dreams that you dream of
Once in a lull... aby~

Somewhere... over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
And the... dreams that you dream of
Dreams really do come true~

Someday, I wish upon a star
Wake up where the clouds are far behind... me~
Where trouble melts like lemon drops
High above the chimney top
That's where... you'll find me.

Somewhere... over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
And the... dreams that you dare to
Oh why, oh why... can't I~

I never really thought of myself as much of a singer back at home, but whenever I would have downtime from studying or if I feel like having a moment to myself, I would sing a song or two, and sometimes it would take out a lot of stress that I had during test week or something. Playing guitar also helps me take out that stress as well.

I turned my head and looked at both pilots, just to see if they even acknowledged my existence, but nope, their eyes were still on the... air, and were flapping their wings intensely. I groaned and laid my head back on my arms.

As we were still on our way to Ponyville, I saw something that actually looked rather... unsettling, and in a very uncharacteristic way for this world. I lifted my head from my arms and really got a good look at it. From what I could obviously tell, it was a really, really large forest... literally nothing but trees for miles and miles. But what makes this forest so edgy were the clouds above it. They were very dark clouds, giving the forest it's really gloomy appearance. It was honestly a little cliche, but it was still pretty creepy.

I was actually starting to feel a little uneasy the more I looked at it. During my short time here in Equestria, I've literally felt nothing but a comfortable and peaceful ambiance in the air. This forest... it definitely isn't giving me that same vibe. I physically and emotionally felt myself shudder at this.

I turned my head to both my pilots. "Yo, uhh... err... Cloud?" Both of them slightly turned their head to look at me. I pointed in the direction of the forest. "There a story behind this creepy forest?"

They both looked at the forest for a second, then at each other with nervous expressions, then back at me. "That's the Everfree Forest.", Cloud 1 spoke. "One of the most dangerous places in Equestria. Nopony ever goes there unless they're looking for trouble."

"If you had a quarter of a brain," Cloud 2 voiced, "then you would be smart enough to stay far away from that place. No good ever comes to anypony when they step hoof into that wretched place."

I looked at the forest once again as we continued our flight. "What's in there?"

"The real question is what isn't in there. It's home to every dangerous creature imaginable.Timber Wolves, Manticores, Hydras... Ursa Majors."

So basically Equestria's home to pretty much every single mythical creature I've read about when I was younger. But what was that about an Ursa Major? "Isn't that a constellation in the sky?"

Cloud 1 looked at me through the corner of his eye. "No... They're gigantic bears the size of a castle. The only ones that are capable of defeating one are the Princesses. Other than that, they're basically invincible to any ordinary means of defense." I actually gulped at that. Suddenly, a smirked formed on his face. "So yeah, if I were you, I would stay far away as physically possible from that place if you value your life that much."

I took one last glance at the forest as we started to fly further away from it. "Noted."





"We've arrived."

Not much longer has passed since we flew by the Everfree Forest. The next thing I knew, we've finally arrived at my destination, and the next chapter of my life here in Equestria. I'm not sure if I'm entirely ready for this. 

As the chariot descended from the clouds, I inhaled deeply, then let the air out as I could see what could potentially be my new home. It's basically what I expected it to look like: not exactly a big village, but it looks really peaceful just from the sight of it. There were multiple buildings of different sizes and... pretty unusual shapes. They looked a little topsy-turvy, but other than that, it seemed like a normal town. But what stood out the most for me was this really large structure on the other side of town. It looked like a castle, and it was made completely out of what looked like crystals. I had a hunch that's where I'll find Princess Twilight. 

Both Clouds landed the chariot near Ponyville. It didn't look like too far of a walk to the castle unless I felt lazy and decided to use my wings. I climbed out of the chariot, and did some stretching in the same way a cat would. To my surprise, I was able to keep my balance while stretching in this ridiculous way. I twisted my neck in multiple directions, hearing cracks and pops with every turn. I inhaled another large breath through my nose, then let it out of my mouth. I walked up to my pilots. "Well, I can't say that was a very eventful trip... but I appreciate you two helpin' me out."

"Just doing our duty, sir.", Cloud 2 responded. Suddenly, he perked up about something, then reached for an object on his back. "Oh. Before I forget, Princess Celestia wanted me to give this to you." He grabbed what he was talking about, and stretched his hoof out, and there was something dangling from his foreleg.

I raised an eyebrow. "Ummm... saddlebags?"

"Yessir. Princess Celestia wanted you to have something to get yourself started on your life here in Ponyville. There's some food in there suitable for a dragon's diet, and 1000 bits."

"Bits?"

He gave a nod. "It's our form of currency. The Princess said it should be enough for food and anything important, so spend it wisely."

Never expected her to give me money since I barely know her, but I appreciated it nonetheless. I simply shrugged and grabbed the saddlebags off of his hoof. "Preciate that Cloud. Thanks again for the ride." They both nodded, and they started to turn the chariot around in the opposite direction. They both began galloping faster and faster, and eventually lifted off, heading back to Canterlot and leaving me alone with my new saddlebags. I sighed.

I put the saddlebags on the ground, opened one of the bags and began rummaging through it, seeing what Celestia so generously gave me. The first thing I felt was something solid and round. I managed to grab hold of it and pulled it out of the bag, and what I saw was... so... shiny!

It was a large green gem that was sparkling from the suns reflection. I'm pretty sure my eyes were also sparkling from the reflection of the gem. Why did Celestia give me these? These things could be worth so much money! I'll ask Princess Twilight what I should do with them when I see her.

Snapping out of my bewildered state, I put the gem back in the bag and closed it. I grab the other bag, and started hearing a bunch of clinging sounds as if there's nothing but coins in it. I slid my hand in the bag and I felt myself digging through a pile of what definitely felt like a large stash of coins. I grabbed a few of them and took my hand out of the bag. I opened my hand and saw thick, golden coins. I'm guessing these are the bits Cloud 1 mentioned... or was it Cloud 2? Dammit, I already forgot which on was which, but that doesn't really matter. Doubt I'll really see them again, honestly.

I put the bits back into the bag and closed it. I couldn't find the food Cloud mentioned. I'll worry about it later, so I simply shrugged. "Okay... Now how the hell am I supposed to put this thing on?" I tried to lift it over my head so it could slide down from the back of my neck and onto my back, hoping it won't mess with my wings too bad. I managed to toss it over my head, and the bag slid down my back and was placed rather smoothly, right behind my wings. "Huh... that was easier than I thought." With that all good and done, I then gave my wings slow and even flaps, and eventually picked up speed. A few seconds later, I was a few feet off the ground. I smiled with pride. I then flew forward. However, I heard a loud thump from behind me, and also felt I wasn't carrying any weight. I turned around and saw my saddlebags on the ground. I sighed and facepalmed. "Never mind... this is gonna be harder than I thought."





After many numerous and very annoying attempts to keep these saddlebages on a stable position on my back while flying, I decided to walk all the way to Princess Twilight's castle. "I swear to God, this whole trip better be worth my time."

While what happened was probably one of the most frustrating things I've ever dealt with in my life, I felt myself calming down as I walked across a small bridge that leads into town. I got a good look at what was around me.

In front of me was a large building that kinda looked like a giant carousel or something. Don't really know if it's anything important, so I just walked around it. I'm gonna be here a while, so I'll check it out later.

As I walked around the large building, I got a good look around everywhere else. The first thing I noticed was the crowd. There were many different types of ponies: Unicorns, Pegasi, and normal ponies. Do the normal ponies have an actual name for them? I need to start figuring all this stuff out. Every single one of them were talking amongst each other and had smiles on their faces as they headed where they needed to go.

I walked closer to a crowd of ponies, a few of them gave me looks, but then immediately went back to their business. Yeah, this place is definitely a lot different from Canterlot. The looks I got there were basically that of disgust, but here it's like they're saying 'Oh hey, he looks new'. I guess Celestia wasn't kidding when she said this place was peaceful.

"Alex?!"

I looked around to find the source of the ecstatic voice calling my name. I eventually looked to my left, and saw a very familiar mint green Unicorn, who had a bewildered but joyful look on her face. I felt a very wide smile forming on my face. "Hey, Lyra!"

She suddenly bolted right after me, and it wasn't much longer until she wrapped her hooves around my neck and squished her cheek against mine. My smile never left my face because of her gesture, and I decided to return the sudden embrace.

We finally broke away from the hug while laughing, and Lyra still had the same gleeful look on her face. "What're you doing here?!" She suddenly formed a snide smirk and nudged me with an elbow. "Did you come here cuz ya missed us that much?"

I rolled my eyes, but my smile never left. "While I can't deny I wanted to see you and Bon Bon again, don't go flatterin' yourself there." Now that I mentioned Bon Bon, she wasn't with Lyra. "Speakin' of which, where is she?"

"Oh, she's just running some errands. I basically have the day to myself." She suddenly perked up about something. "Hey, you wanna hang out or something?"

I rubbed my hair a little bit. It would be pretty nice to chill with Lyra, but I still need to see Princess Twilight. "I don't know Lyra. There's a pretty good reason why I came here."

She gave me a pout, but I doubt it was for real. "Oh come on, dude! Just for a little bit? Pleeaaaassseee?" She kept looking at me with those wide puppy dog eyes. I scrunched up my face, trying to resist the urge to say yes. Suddenly, she lifts herself up and down rapidly, like an eager child wanting to play. "Please please please please please please-"

"Okay, okay!", I yelled in between chuckles, grabbing her shoulders and stopped her from jumping, giving in to her plead. "Calm down, would ya?" I let go of her and shook my head while chuckling at her child-like demeanor. "Sure, we can hang out, but only for a little bit. There's something important I gotta do. I need to meet with Princess Twilight... uhhh, Sprinkle?"

Lyra laughed out loud, thumping me on the shoulder. "It's Twilight Sparkle, ya doofus. She's actually an old friend of mine. Don't let the Princess part scare ya. She's just like everypony else."

"Well that's a relief to hear. So, whaddya wanna do?"

She put a hoof on her chin, obviously thinking about what we should do together. She suddenly smiled brightly again. I swear she's the happiest living being I've ever met in my life. "Hey, I have an idea! There's this place that has the best hayburgers ever! Let's go ahead and grab a bite."

I blinked twice. Did I hear that right? "Did you... just say 'hayburgers'?"

"Yeah! You mean you never..." Her smile faded away as if she realized her mistake. She chuckled sheepishly. "Oh, right... you're a dragon... so I'm guessing hay isn't exactly a part of your diet." You don't say. "That's alright. This place has plenty of stuff for you to be able to keep in your mouth."

I simply shrugged. "Guess I'll believe it when I see it. Lead the way."

Before she began walking to our destination, Lyra looked behind me and pointed. "By the way, you probably don't wanna forget that."

I looked behind me to see what she was talking about, and I saw my saddlebags on the ground once again. I felt veins on my head and neck beginning to pop. "Seriously?!", I whispered venomously, trying to make sure I don't cause much of a scene in this peaceful town.

Lyra let out a hearty laugh. "It must've fallen when I hugged ya. I take it you don't wear saddlebags a lot?" All I could respond to that was a groan. She chuckled once again, and her horn suddenly glowed a bright gold color. The aura engulfed  my saddlebags and lifted it up off the ground. It was then levitating towards me, and it was eventually over my back. The gold aura dissipated, and the saddlebags dropped on my back, causing me to grunt a little bit at the weight. My saddlebags were placed over my wings, so I gave my back a wiggle, and to my surprise, the saddlebags were in a stable position. "There ya go!" I turned back to Lyra, who had her eyes closed and smiled brightly. Not gonna lie, it was pretty adorable.

I couldn't help but smile back. "Preciate that, Lyra. This thing's been a pain in the neck... and back, hehe. So, we ready to go?"

"Yep! Follow me. I could even show ya around town on the way there." She started to walk in the other direction, causing me to follow suit and walk beside her. "By the way," she catches my attention, "Why do you need to see Twilight?"

"Well, Princess Celestia had me-"

"Woah woah woah woah, hold up!" She unexpectedly cut me off while both of us stopped walking. "You met with Princess Celestia?!"

I raised an eyebrow at her question. "Uhhh, yeah. Did I not tell ya that back in Canterlot?"

She shook her head saying no. "You kinda left that part out."

"Hehe, my bad." We both started walking again. "She and Luna asked to see me as soon as I woke up from my coma."

She tilted her head, curiosity obviously taking over her. "How come?"

I opened my mouth to answer her, but at the last second I realized that she doesn't know that I'm actually not from this world. I looked away from her. "That's a... long and complicated story." I looked at her once more. "I'll tell you about it later."

She seemed to be confused by what I said. "Uhh, alright then. So, why did you need to see Twilight again?"

"Celestia is letting me stay with her until I figure things out here."

She raised an eyebrow. "Why? Can't you just go home?" 

That question caused me to stop walking. Lyra was a few steps ahead of me, but she stopped and fully faced me. I closed my eyes and sighed, feeling myself becoming downhearted.

"Alex?" I opened my eyes and saw a worried expression on Lyra's face. "Why can't you go home?"

I looked away from her and lowered my head. "That's... part of that long story."

"Oh." I looked at Lyra, who had her head facing the ground out of sorrow. Crap, I think I made the happiest pony in this world depressed.

A few seconds of awkward silence passed by, but thankfully it ended after I heard my stomach gurgle. I chuckled a little. "I just realized I forgot to eat before I came here."

Lyra looked at me and raised her head up, and she let out a soft laugh. "Yeah, not exactly the best idea there."

I rolled my eyes, but never wiped away my smile. "Yeah, yeah. This place ain't too far, is it?"

"Nope! We're almost there. Come on." Lyra and I continued our journey for food.





Lyra and I made it to the restaurant she kept boasting about, and it was literally called the Hay Burger. A+ for originality.

As we sat down, Lyra got herself two hayburgers. I just ordered a plate of fries, or to be more specific, hay fries, and I made sure to order them extra crispy. I don't know how, but these fries taste exactly the same as regular fries back at home. This world really doesn't make sense.

As me and Lyra walked here, I got to see some very... interesting buildings. "Again, who's the genius that decided to combine quills and sofas in a store?"

Lyra swallowed her food. "That's Davenport for ya. He has a weird mindset when it comes to business." Ain't that the truth. I took a handful of fries and shoved them into my mouth. "So... about that long story."

I stopped chewing for a moment, closed my eyes and sighed through my nose. I swallowed my food and opened my eyes, seeing a curious expression on her face, her elbows on the table and hooves under her chin. "Well, to start off..." Here it goes. "I'm not actually... from this world."

Lyra just stared at me with those wide eyes. Very unexpectedly, she actually started snickering, causing me to give her a 'what the hell' look. The next thing I know, she starts laughing out loud, and I'm pretty sure I saw water in her eyes. I moved my eyes in both directions, and I saw every pony around us looking at us with raised eyebrows. I frowned, because Lyra had probably been laughing for a good minute.

Her laughter finally started to die down. She wiped away a tear with a hoof. "Phew. I don't think I've laughed that hard in a long time. That was way too funny. Are you seriously trying to tell me that you're from another world?" I kept staring at her with an emotionless face, not even thinking about smiling, and hoping she gets the message. Lyra's smile slowly started to deflate. "You... are joking, right?"

I sighed and rubbed my hair a little. I then crossed my arms on the table. "Get comfy, Lyra. This is gonna take a while."

I basically told her the same story I told Flash. I was originally a human from Earth, and I got sent here because of Althea's Comet, and there's no way for me to get back. Lyra hasn't said a single word throughout the entire time I was telling the story, so I'm guessing she's taking me seriously this time. "... And that's what happened to me. Still think I'm joking?"

Lyra was rubbing her head, obviously trying to let everything sink in. "I... I'm finding this really hard to believe."

I snorted. "Trust me, you're preachin' to the choir on that one. I'm still tryna convince myself that this is all just a dream."

She stopped rubbing her head, but she still looked absolutely dumbfounded after hearing my story. "I... really don't know what to say."

I crossed my arms and leaned back on my seat. "There really isn't anything to say. I was taken from my home, and I probably won't ever get back." I lowered my head, basically staring at my plate of fries. No matter how much I try to not think about never going back home, it always finds a way to be fresh on my mind.

"Alex?" I looked back up at Lyra, who was looking at me with a more remorseful look. "Are you... gonna be okay?"

I sighed, rubbing my hair again. "Well, I haven't lost my sanity yet. I just need to accept the fact that I'm stuck here."

Lyra gave me a small smile. "I'm sure everything will go well for you in the end."

I looked at a window, seeing a bunch of ponies outside with smiles on their faces.

"Yeah... me too."





Lyra and I paid our food and started walking to where I was supposed to be this entire time. Hopefully Princess Twilight won't be too upset that I took longer than expected.

It wasn't a very long walk, and after maybe about 5 minutes, I found myself standing on a hill, and maybe about a football field's length away from us, was Princess Twilight's castle. And my hunch was right: It's made entirely out of crystals. I whistled. "Pretty impressive."

"Yeah, for real... So..." I looked at Lyra. "Guess ya gotta go in, huh?"

"I guess so." I looked back up to the castle. Not gonna lie, I started to feel pretty nervous. Not as nervous as I was before I met the princesses, but I still felt my heart beat a little faster than usual. Suddenly, I felt a hoof being placed on my shoulder. I looked at Lyra, who stared at me with a concerned expression. I gave her a small smile, letting her know I'm ok. "Don't worry, Lyra. I'll be fine."

She returned a smile, and the next thing I knew, she lightly wraps her hooves around my neck and presses her chest against mine. I had no other choice but to return her hug. We broke away after a little while, and Lyra never let go of her smile. She then lightly thumped me on my chest. "Hang in there, dude. Everything'll be ok."

I chuckled lightly. "Preciate that, Lyra. Thanks for showin' me around. See ya soon?"

"Yep! Tell Twilight I said hi." She turned around and started trotting away. "See ya!" She moved farther away from my sight, leaving me alone on the hillside near the castle.

I kept staring at the castle, not moving a muscle. I still can't believe this is about to happen. Right now, I'm looking at the next step to my new life here. No matter how much I want to deny that this whole thing is real, I still try to convince myself that this whole thing is just a really long dream. I inhaled deeply, then let it out, and then reluctantly, I started walking towards the castle.

As I was walking down the hill, I looked to the right, and saw a completely different building on a hillside. If I had to guess, I would assume that this was the School of Friendship Princess Twilight mentioned in her letter. It basically looked like if Hogwarts was designed by the people who made the Barbie dolls. Celestia mentioned that a power-hungry villain took over the school, so I guess it might as well be Hogwarts. I also didn't see anybody around. Is it already the weekend? I kinda lost track of the days after I woke up from my coma.

After nearly a minute of walking, I made it the stairs just before I found myself in front of large double doors. "Okay... here it goes." I lifted up a fist, and started knocking on one of the doors. The knocking left an echo, so hopefully someone heard it.

Not even a minute had gone by, and so far nobody answered. I knocked the door again. I placed my ear on the door, hoping to hear any footsteps coming this way. The doors are probably too thick, so I couldn't hear anything and pulled my head away from the door. I rubbed my hair a bit. "Huh... Guess nobody's home."

I started to turn around and leave, hoping to come back a bit later. However, right before I was about to turn around, the door suddenly opened slowly, and then I heard, "Geez, would ya cool it with the knocking?!" The voice sounded really young, like a little kid, and also pretty irritated. The source of the voice walked out of the door, and what I saw caused me to widen my eyes. It was a little dragon! "You're disturbing my--" He immediately stopped talking after laying eyes on me, and reflected the look I was giving him.

He was a lot different from how I looked. The biggest difference was that he was standing on two legs instead of four. He had a row of spines starting from the top of his head all the way down to his short tail. He had a frill on each side of his head where his ears should be. I also saw a pair of wings folded up on his back.

We both did nothing but stare at each other with dumbfounded expressions on our faces. I blinked twice, and at the exact same time, he did too. 

Alright, one of us has to break the ice.

I cleared my throat. "Umm... hi?"

"You're him, aren't you?"

His sudden question caught me a little off guard, causing me to move my eyes in both directions. "Uhh--"

In a split second, he flies right in front of my face, his eyes inches away from mine. "HOLY CELESTIA, IT IS YOU, ISN'T IT?!"

"Woah, what the--"

"Holy hay!" He suddenly starts flying circles around me. "I knew you were a dragon, but you look nothing like I imagined!" Suddenly, he grabs a little bit of my hair, causing me to wince at the stinging. "Why the hay do you have hair?! I've never met a dragon with hair before!"

"Yo, would ya let go of my--"

"Woah! You walk on all fours?!" He flies lower and lifts up my left forearm. "I've never seen that either! Well, except for Lord Torch."

"Who the hell is Lord To--"

He flies right in front of me. "Hell? What does that mean? Is that a place from your world?" I facepalmed and groaned. "This is so cool! A lot of weird stuff has happened in Equestria, but you are definitely something el--"

"YO, KID!"

My yelling caused him to yelp and stop flapping his wings, causing him to fall to the ground on his behind. I know I may have went a little overboard with the shouting, but if this kid keeps yapping on, my headache might come back. Trying to keep my composure, I breathed in deep, then let it out. I looked at the kid, who was still sitting on the ground, and stared at me with a somewhat frightened expression. That actually kind of made me feel bad. I sighed. "Look, kid. I'm sorry I yelled like that, but I've had a pretty rough couple of days, or weeks if ya wanna count the whole time I was in the hospital. I'm really tired, and I need to see Princess Twilight."

He stood back up, rubbing the back of his head and chuckling sheepishly. "Sorry about that. I just never thought of meeting somepony from another world."

I raised an eyebrow. "You mean somedragon?"

"Hehe, yeah. I'm guessin' that's not the first time somepony's said that to you?"

"You'd be correct."

He lifted himself back up in the air at eye level. "Well let me be the first to introduce myself: I'm Spike, Twilight's number one assistant and friendship ambassador of the Dragon Lands." I hope he realizes he's not the first one I've met here. He then reaches his open hand towards me.

This little guy's demeanor caused me to smile a bit. I lifted my hand and grabbed his, shaking it. "I'm Alex Flame."

"I know! It might not be the coolest name I've heard, but I don't mind it."

I shrugged at that. "Eh, I'll take it. Better than what everyone else has been sayin' about it."

He then turned towards the door. "C'mon. Twilight and the others are waitin' for ya."

Others? "Hold up. I thought I was just meeting with Princess Twilight."

"Well after she got that letter from Princess Celestia, she immediately told the other Elements of Harmony."

I frowned. "Oh... great." And I really need to ask what that even means.

"Well, c'mon!" He already flew inside the door. I sighed, and walked inside the castle.





As I walked through the doors, the only thing that I could see was a fairly long and wide corridor. Each side had three green glass windows and support columns made of crystal. At the end of the corridor was another pair of double doors like the ones that lead outside.

Spike landed in front of me and pointed right at the doors. "Just go on through those doors and they'll be right there."

I twisted my neck a few times, trying to prepare myself. "Well, here it goes. Thanks, Spike."

He puffed his chest out proudly. "No problem. They don't call me the number one assistant for nothing." He then sent me a wink.

That caused me to chuckle a bit. "Ain't that the truth." And with only a little hint of hesitation, I started walking toward the doors.

As I made it to the doors, I was just about to push them open, but before I could lay a stubby claw on them, I started to hear voices from behind. I pressed my ear on the door, hoping I could listen better.

"Oooohhh! I really hope he gets here soon!" This voice sounded like it was both anxious and excited. "The opportunity to meet somepony from another world is too much!"

"Wasn't he supposed to be here like a half hour ago?" This voice sounded really scratchy, and obviously annoyed. "What's keepin' 'im?!"

"You don't think he got lost, do you?" I could barely hear that one, because it sounded timid and quiet.

"This here castle's the biggest darn thing in Ponyville." Not gonna lie, the southern drawl I heard from that voice made me chuckle a bit. Reminds me of home. "There ain't no way he could be lost."

"I certainly hope he hasn't forgotten about us." This voice had some kind of elegance to it. It kind of reminded me of those snobs back at Canterlot, but it was different in some way. "It's not very gentlecoltly to keep a mare waiting, let alone six." Eh, close enough.

"Do you think he likes cupcakes?! Or regular cakes?! Or ice cream cakes?!" Geez, talk about hyper. "THIS IS SO EXCITING!!!" That caused me to move my head away from the door, because it was surprisingly loud.

I breathed in another deep breath, and let it out, preparing to introduce myself. "Ok... moment of truth."

I placed my hand on the door, and slowly pushed it open. When the doors opened, I slowly walked in and looked around at what was around me. This had to be a throne room without a doubt. When I turned my head directly in front of me, what I saw caused me to stop moving. In the center of the room was a round table, and on it looked like a holographic projection of something. It kind of looked like a map of some sorts. Around the table were six tall, crystalline chairs with different symbols on them. The main reason I stopped moving was when I saw what was on the chairs; They all had a pony sitting on each and every one of them, and they were all staring at me with wide eyes.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, they all stood up from their chairs and started to make their way toward the front of the table and formed a line in front of me, still staring at me with the same bewildered expressions.

Knowing I'm gonna have to break this uncomfortable silence once more, I cleared my throat, lifted my hand in the air, and gave them a nervous smile.

"Umm... hey."