While Twilight Sparkle and the rest raced through Ponyville, John and Fluttershy sat at the edge of Everfree Forest unaware of what laid within.
The silence disrupted by John earlier returned with vengeance, not even the wind disturbed the deafening void that claimed the forsaken woods. Fluttershy hadn't left John's side despite the cold, as he sat defeated on his knees. Neither of the two had left the spot where their chase had abruptly ended. Fluttershy was unsure of how to comfort her new friend, while John stared off into the distance in search of his quarry.
Finally unable to withstand the cold Fluttershy reached out and touched his shoulder “John...?” A sideways glance was her reply. “L....let's get back inside. Okay?”
With a sigh, and one final look towards the forest, John nodded his head. “I'm sorry.”
Fluttershy gave a soft smile and nuzzled against him, prompting a hug from the wounded human. The pair enjoyed each others warmth until a chill wind blew from the forest ending the impromptu moment. Pulling each other even closer, the pair shuttered and their teeth chattered.
“Wanna go inside?” asked Fluttershy as she tilted her head towards the cottage.
Following her motion, John looked towards the quaint cottage and the lights shinning through the windows. “Yeah...I think that would be best.” Smiling broadly Fluttershy positioned herself under his left arm and began hovering higher and higher, until John rose to his feet.
The pair made themselves comfortable, with his weight pressing down against her, Fluttershy struggled to remain afloat. John meanwhile fought to maintain balance while holding as much of his own weight as he could. As the pair finally reached his full height they took a first step towards the cottage; the pair wobbled and John fell to his knee.
After moments of resting, the pair tried again. Same as before the John rose to his feet, Fluttershy under his arm offering support. With a tentative first step they began making their way to the cottage. As the quaint cottage grew closer John noticed a subtle tingling sensation overcome his senses.
'Must be the cold,' he dismissed the feeling as he took another step. Suddenly John felt something tugging on his pant leg.. Stopping his journey towards the simple home, he turned and looked towards his feet, nothing was there.
'The hell?' questioned John as his vision began to blur, culminating into a swirling darkness.
“What the...?” he whispered as everything went black.
'Please, do not be frightened,' came a voice from out of the darkness. 'I mean you no harm.'
'Who are you?' he asked, 'Are you the pony the broke into Fluttershy's cottage?'
'No, I am the pony of which you speak,' answered the voice. 'The pony you seek fled deep into the Everfree forest. Many horrors await those who wander into forest's haunted depths. If they even survived, you will have little hope of finding them amidst the dark recesses of the woods.' As the voice continued on, John couldn't help but find it familiar.
'Fine, who are you then?'
'Your benefactor and friend,' answered the voice, 'and you are my Champion. The two of us must come together for a grave threat looms on the horizon'
'Grave threat?' he asked. 'Champion? What's going on?'
The darkness swirled and from the void a image came into view. Canterlot was in ruins, ponies running here and there being chased by dark forms, hulking creatures unfamiliar to his eyes. Corpses litter the ground and fires reach up towards a night sky painted red by a crimson moon. Ponies captured by the hulking forms are locked in chains and shackles, forced to walk through the ruins and towards the Everfree Forest.
'What is this?' he asked, as he watched the scene with almost cynical detachment.
'Do these images not disturb you?' asked the voice, disgust evident.
John was going to retort when he finally recalled where he had heard the voice before. Faced with his tormentor he couldn't help but laugh. 'Oh, yeah,' he replied, 'That's messed up. It's just a little tame compared to what I've seen of late.'
'What visions could possibly be worse than these?!' demanded the voice.
'Well let's see, how about this. Every night I have the same dream, a nightmare really. My world is burning and my friends and neighbors are dying. But wait! It get's better! My friends and neighbors, the dead ones, pick themselves back up and begin trying to eat each other. I kill my friends and zombies trying to save myself. Fire and lightning comes down like hail. But wait! It's get's even better. I end up dying from massive wounds in my chest, missing an arm and torn to shreds. Left for dead, I can do nothing but wait until I can't take no more and shoot myself.'
'I...I do not understand,' gasped the voice.
'Really?' he laughed, 'That's odd.'
'Odd? How?'
'Well you see, every time the dream comes to an end. I end up in a setting a lot like this now that I think about it. Darkness as far as the eyes can see and only a voice to speak with. A voice telling me to go somewhere. Telling me that I'm suppose to save my world and yours. A voice like your's, never answering my questions but laying claim to my pain.'
A stammering fills the void, 'Champion, you cannot believe that I would...'
'Oh I can believe whatever I want,' retorted John.
'When I summoned you, I had intended for you to remain with me. These nightmares you speak of are not of my doing. I wanted to speak with you and explain to you the full force of the threat. I want, no NEED your help. Why would I risk that?'
'I don't know,' he replied, 'I don't who you are. You danced around the issue earlier! How can I trust someone who won't even give me their name.'
'Very well,' gasped the voice, catching John off guard. 'Will you trust me if I give you my name?'
'Trust? No. Give the benefit of the doubt? Sure.'
A sigh cut through the darkness, 'My name is Nightmare.'
'Nightmare?' John asked, 'Nightmare Moon?'
'How do you know that name?' asked Nightmare. 'Did the other ponies speak of me? What did they say?'
'Nothing,' snapped John as he fell into a defensive stance, or as best he could. Even in this darkness he wounds caused him pain, reminding him what had happened since she had brought him to Equestria; further fueling his anger. 'I knew about you before I even came to Equestria. What do you want from me, Nightmare? I won't help you hurt the ponies or Princess Luna.'
'That's not my intent,' pleaded Nightmare. Under normal circumstances John would have recognized the honesty in her voice. Unfortunately the circumstances were anything but normal.
'Why should I believe you?' he yelled. 'You tried to kill everyone on Equestria! You kidnapped me! Nearly get me killed! Look at me!' John demanded and pointing to his clothes. 'Do I look like I'm prepared for winter?!'
'Please my champion,' Nightmare begged, 'hear me. You said you would give me the benefit of the doubt. Remember?'
John growled, 'Fine....Go ahead.'
'Thank you,' Nightmare sobbed. There was a pause as Nightmare prepared herself, 'John, I had no intention of summoning you as I did. I had only cast my spell in search of somepony willing to help me. Somepony who could forgive me my past. Someone who'd be willing to listen.' John said nothing, but waited for her to continue.
'When you arrived within the fountain of the ancient ruins, I was unprepared to see one such as you. Even in all my life I hadn't seen one like you and yet....' the pause caught his attention. '...and yet I felt a terrible familiarity. Something frightened me beyond anything I had experienced before. Even the moment of my creation was less horrifying.'
'Your creation?' interrupted John. 'What do you mean?'
'Luna....'
'Princess,' he corrected.
'Princess Luna creat...' Nightmare began only to pause. 'Oh no....'
'What...' began John as the darkness swirling around him started to shine with purple light. Throwing up his hands he blocked his eyes from the light, 'What's happening?'
'The elements of harmony have arrived,' answered Nightmare before an image appeared of the girls talking to each other, Fluttershy in tears and the other visibly concerned looking at him.
'Why is Fluttershy crying? What happened?!'
Nightmare hesitated, 'To carry out this conversation I needed access to your mind. So I wrapped you with my magic and kept you from moving to far away.'
'To far away?' he asked.
'My magic is nearly spent. I couldn't hope to speak with you if you had returned to the cottage. I wasn't expecting her to react so dramatically.'
'Oh dear lord,' he grumbled.
'John, please hear me. Keep what's been said here private. If the elements learn of my survival I cannot hope to remain in this world. Celestia and Luna wouldn't rest until I perished for my crimes.' John didn't speak, only gave a quick nod. 'Thank you, John. Thank you. Please come and find me when you are able and fit. I wish to share with you my story.'
John took a deep breath, 'Fine.' With that the darkness dissipated and John saw himself being enveloped in Twilight's magic. “Hey girls.” When he spoke the girls looked to him and each of them smiled. All at once the girls began speaking as Fluttershy hugged John tightly around the neck.
Twilight looked confused as she kept focusing her magic upon him. Turning to Fluttershy, she asked a question, Fluttershy broke the hug and answered, leaving Twilight stunned. Focusing her magic once again, her magic sent waves a tingling sensations throughout his head. “John can you hear me?”
“Hey Twilight,” he answered. “Man I missed being able to hear. Spending a day deft can really teach you to appreciate something so basic.”
“John what happened?!” cried Fluttershy. Looking upon the gentle pony, John felt quilt.
“I...I'm not sure.” The ponies all looked confused, Fluttershy most of all. Thinking of something, he picked the most obvious. “I didn't get a whole lot of sleep and the cold could have messed with my head.” Wearing only a simple thin t-shirt, denim jeans and boots with strips of bandages and gauze sticking out from underneath, John was hardly dressed for winter weather; especially winter weather at night.
“Of course,” said Rarity relieved as she lifted a sizable package off her back. After levitating the item in the air, John could tell it was a suit bag, one large enough for him. “Twilight help me get this on him, before he catches his death of cold.”
With a nod, Twilight and Rarity clad John in a large coat, colored mostly black with blue and red accents. The interior was silky smooth and almost unnaturally warm, while the exterior was the smoothest wool. Once the coat was upon him, John felt weak in the knees.
“Oh my god,” he stuttered. “This is amazing.” The sudden warmth sapped him of his strength, he could feel his eyes growing heavy. He could feel the weightlessness that heralds deep, restful sleep. He hears the cries of three fillies coming towards him.
“What?”
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS CREATURE CATCHERS! YEAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!” declared the three fillies as the pushed past the older mares and charged the weary human. With a force unexpected for their diminutive size, the three girls push John off his feet and to the ground, where the proceeded to wailing and assault their quarry. The crusaders had expected cries for mercy or roars of anger, not giggles and laughter from the creature.
Despite his fatigue and the pain in his leg, John kept laughing as the three fillies kept up their assault. The hooves of the light ponies did little more than tickle the tired human. “Please stop!” he gasped, “I....I can't take anymore!”
“Whoa there,” said Apple Jack as she pulled off her younger sister, “Didn't ah tell y'all to stay at the farm?”
The cutie mark crusaders exchanged a quick look before looking downcast and flashing puppy/pony eyes. “We're sorry.”
“Sweetie Belle,” scolded Rarity, “you should know better. What if you three got lost?” Sweetie Belle looked at her sister, eyes round and pleading, but to no avail.
Hang her head in defeat, she said, 'Sorry, sis."
As her friends went about being punished, Scootaloo looked up to Rainbow Dash. The latter was talking with Fluttershy and ignored the looks of expectation from the little filly.
“Ah come on,” yawned John as he sat up. “They're just kids. Cut 'em some slack.”
“Be that as it may, they should have listened to us,” countered Rarity as she wrapped are foreleg around her younger sister. “They could have gotten seriously hurt.”
“Kids will be kids. You can no more control them than you can the weather.”
“But we can control the weather,” replied Scootaloo before looking towards her idol, “right Rainbow Dash?”
John opened his mouth to protest before remembering where he was, shrugging in defeat he gave a smile, “Okay bad analogy. Anyways, what are all of you doing here?”
Pinkie Pie appeared from inside John's coat and whispered, load enough for everyone to hear, “My Pinkie sense told me a doozy was happening and that you were in danger. So I got the girls as we raced here to find you.”
“Really?” he asked, 'Crap! What now?'
“Well...” sniffled Fluttershy, “Somepony did break into my house.” As if in response Pinkie Pie began to go through the final phase of her Pinkie Sense, her body contorting into weird, often impossible shapes and positions before settling back into her normal form.
John, more than anybody, watched in confusion, 'That was it? The break in? It wasn't Nightmare?'
“Well that's it everypony!” chirped Pinkie Pie, only to catch John's confused look. “Is something wrong?”
Snapping out of his confusion, John switched his attention to the cotton candy mare, “What? No. Just wondering what the crime rate around here is, that a simple break in is considered a doozy?”
“Crime Rate?” asked Twilight. “Nearly zero? Mostly misdemeanors. Break ins are very rare, even in Canterlot.”
He couldn't help but be blown away, “Wow, y'all got it good.”
“what happened to the thief?!” asked Rainbow Dash, getting the conversation back on track.
“John chased them off,” answered Fluttershy.
“Nice!” cheered the fillies and Rainbow Dash as the others gave approving looks.
He just shrugged, “Meh, I don't take kind to thieves.”
“Did you see what they looked like?” asked Twilight.
John shook his head, “They were wearing a hood. I couldn't see anything. Though I can hazard a guess that it was a unicorn.”
“Really?” asked Twilight.
As John began to explain, the Cutie Mark Crusaders looked on. “What do you think that thing is?” asked Scootaloo.
“Ah danno,” answered Apple Bloom. “It seems tah know mah sister and the others.”
“You're right,” whispered Sweetie Belle, “Rarity did make that jacket for it.”
“What is it though?”
“Firstly, I'm not an it,” interrupted John as he stood over the fillies thanks to Rainbow Dash's help. “Secondly, I'm an alien come to eat your brains!” The crusaders huddled together and screamed in terror.
As John stretched forth a hand to further scare the fillies, Apple Jack swatted him upside the head with her hat, “Stop scarin' mah sister, that ain't funny.”
“Awww, I didn't mean any harm,” he groaned. The crusaders, seeing the self proclaimed alien cowed by the farm pony, stopped screaming and began giggling. “Anyway girls, my name is John. It's a pleasure to meet you.”
“Hi, ah'm Apple Bloom!”
“I'm Sweetie Belle!”
“I'm Scootaloo and we're...” finished Scootaloo as the fillies grouped together, prompting everypony to cover their ears, “THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!!”
“We're on ah quest tah get our cutie marks!” declared Apple Bloom.
“And we're not stopping til we find our special talents!” chirped Sweetie Belle.
“We'll take on any challenge,” continued Scootaloo.
“Great!” groaned John, who was unable to block out the loud screaming of the excitable fillies, “That's great girls.”
“So where yah from mister?” asked Apple Bloom. “The Everfree Forest?”
“Hhmm? Oh, I was serious about being an alien. I'm not from this planet.” The others just face hoofed.
“Really?!” gasped the fillies. As the crusaders began peppering him with questions, “Do you have a space ship? Lasers? Cool Powers? Time Machines?” the others began the trek back to the cottage.
John, for his part, answered the questions the little fillies asked as best he could even as the group entered the cottage. “No girls, for the third time, I do not have a space ship.”
“My little ponies!” called Twilight after John was sat down on the couch. As the crusaders turned to look at the purple unicorn, she sighed and looked towards the clock. “Okay girls, it's time to get to bed.”
“Aaawww,” sighed the girls.
With the fillies resigned to their fates, Twilight turned to the master of the house. “Fluttershy, do you mind if we sleep here tonight?”
Fluttershy, who up until this point was talking with Pinkie Pie, smiled warmly, “Oh not at all. Let me get some blankets for everypony.” As Fluttershy hovered upstairs, the others pick out spots on the floor, Rarity having claimed the largest chair for herself and Sweetie Belle.
“Hey, John?” approached Scootaloo, “Can I ask you another question?”
“Shoot kid,” yawned John as he laid down sleeping bag for the others.
“Uh, thanks for that. Anyway what kind of sports do you play on your world?”
Lying on the couch and accepting a blanket for Fluttershy, “Thanks Shy,” John pondered the questions. “Basketball, football, soccer, volleyball, rugby...”
“Rugby?” asked the filly with a yawn.
“It's a sport like football, except it involves far more beatings and pain.”
“That doesn't sound fun,” grumbled Scootaloo as she curled up with the blanket provided. Casting a weary gaze towards her idol, she asked, “Any sports about being the fastest?”
“Nascar, but that requires a car,” yawned John as he too curled up with his blanket. “Not much else to be honest, track and field stuff....” Immediately John sat up in the couch, his eyes wild with excitement. “Actually Scootaloo, there is such a sport!”
The deceleration caused everyone to jump, “Come on John, I was just about asleep!” yelled Rainbow Dash as she buried her face into a throw pillow.
“But Rainbow Dash! I think I have a sport in mind that's just perfect for you,” giggled John.
“What's that,” groaned Rainbow Dash, though her ears perked up excitably. Scootaloo couldn't fight the smile on her face.
“It's a game,” yawned John, as he wrapped himself back in his blanket. “I'll have to tell you about it tomorrow. Trust me though, you'll absolutely love it. It was made for you.”
Scootaloo practically beamed, even Rainbow Dash spared him a look, “Oh, yeah? What's it called?”
“Quidditch.”