Chapter 1
The Mysterious Traveller
There was nothing Rainbow Dash loved more than flying. The exhilaration of wind rushing past her mane, the amazing view of the ant-sized ponies going about their individual businesses, and, most of all, the wild freedom of it all. Of course, if asked, Rainbow would simply state that it’s awesome. Giving elaborate explanations of things was for eggheads like Twilight. She didn't have time for any smart talk like that.
Today, Rainbow was trying to get all the flying time that she could before the prescheduled storm hit. Not that she couldn’t fly in a storm, but she just hated having to maneuver around lightning strikes. The storm is scheduled to come any minute now, she thought. Maybe I should start heading back—
The boom of a thunderclap startled Rainbow from her reverie. Looking up, she saw that the storm was approaching in full force. Great, she thought. She spun around, flying home as fast as she could, grumbling all the way.
A sudden, blinding flash of light caught her attention far below. Looking down, she saw a ring of charred trees, in the center of which was a spot of whiteness. Curious, Rainbow flew down and saw that it was the strangest creature she had ever laid eyes on. Clad from head to foot in white, it seemed to have two legs, like birds, but the similarities stopped there. It didn’t have any feathers, or even fur, except at the top of its head, where a shock of dark brown fur lay. She prodded it with a hoof.
The thing moaned.
Rainbow jumped backward into a tree, and was greeted with a cold shower of loose water droplets running down her neck. The figure sat up, massaging its arm where Rainbow had prodded it. Looking around, it slowly got to its feet (two feet, not four; how strange, Rainbow thought), and lurched unsteadily to the tree in which Rainbow was hiding. It began to hoist itself up.
“Hey!” Rainbow shouted. “I got here first! Get your own tree!”
In its shock, the creature fell off, landing with a thud. It looked up and saw Rainbow in her tree. Slightly irritated, Rainbow continued. “You heard me, find some other tree! Or can you even understand what I’m saying?”
The thing looked taken aback. “Of course I can understand you, I wasn’t born yesterday, you know.” It reached into a pocket on its long, white coat and pulled out a pair of spectacles. It put them on, and said, “In all my life, I never imagined that this would happen. A Pegasus! And one that can talk, to boot! A talking Pegasus!” At this, its eyes widened, its arms began to shake, and a ridiculous grin spread across its face; it looked for all the world as if it had just won the Equestria Lottery.
When he was finished, Rainbow asked incredulously, “What, you mean pegasi don’t talk where you come from?”
The creature chuckled. “Where I come from, they don’t exist, except in myths and legends, of course.”
“What kind of place doesn’t have pegasi?”
“A place called Earth.” The being suddenly looked somber. “It used to be such a beautiful place. Now it is overridden with greed, hatred and cruelty.”
Suddenly curious, Rainbow asked, “What are the ponies like from there?”
“Ponies? They’re mostly kept as pets. Personally, I’ve only met one or two.”
“What are you, anyway? No offence.”
“Me? I’m a human, also known as human being, man, person, and homo sapiens.” He (at least, Rainbow thought it was a he) smiled slightly. “I’m also an adult, a bookworm, a physicist, and, according to some people, a nerd.” His smile disappeared. “Oh God, my lab….” His eyes rolled back, and he fainted.
“Come on, Angel, you need to eat.”
Angel crossed his arms and shook his head. Fluttershy sighed. “Okay, then. You’ll just have to wait until after the storm is over.” She looked outside. The rain was still coming down strong, and showed no signs of relenting anytime soon.
Fluttershy started at a sudden, frantic knocking at her door. She heard Rainbow’s muffled voice coming from the other side.
“Fluttershy! I need help with something!”
Fluttershy opened the door, letting in a soaked Rainbow, dragging in a strange animal.
“He kinda passed out,” Rainbow said.
Fluttershy gazed quizzically at the figure. “Oh my…what is that?”
Rainbow shrugged. “I dunno, he says he’s a ‘human’, whatever that is.”
“Well, let’s get him warming up before he catches a cold.” Fluttershy thought for a moment. “Maybe Twilight knows something about it?”
A few minutes later, the human was bundled up in a thick blanket, in front of the fire.
“I’ve never heard of these humans,” said Twilight, “and I’m pretty sure that Princess Celestia hasn’t, either.”
The three mares were sitting around the fire, each holding a mug of sparkling, sweet apple cider, Applejack’s specialty. As soon as Rainbow had left the man under Fluttershy’s care, she had flown as fast as she could to Twilight’s library.
A groan from the figure in front of the fire caught their attention. He shifted position and fell back asleep. In doing so, a small, leather-bound book slipped from his satchel.
Lifting the book up with telekinesis, Twilight said, “I wonder what this is. Hmm, it seems to be some sort of journal.” She flipped through it, stopping on a page that seemed out of place. It was the last written entry.
Reading aloud, Twilight began, “Thursday, May 20. My dear reader, if you are reading this, then my experiment has been a success. I have proven…”