I was in the lab waiting, anxious beyond belief. At least I was pulled from school to do this. The scientists beyond the glass door were debating over certain things, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. My nerves were starting to get the better of me when one of the scientist's voices broke the silence over an intercom, "Ian, its time for the moment of truth, enter through the glass door so we can begin!" She definitely showed the excitement that I felt.
I politely asked, "now, when I enter the world, I'll be such a pony as you described?"
"Yes of course, your pony has been defined exactly to the description you provided us with, down to the point, but we've also given you a certain power." The scientist became increasingly excited. "Since you're our first test subject, we want to give you a certain advantage in this dimension, incase we have to administrate over anything outside of our own capability."
"Really?" I pondered... "What is this certain 'power' that you speak of?"
She brushed the curly brown hair behind her ear and fixed her glasses. "We've given you a genetic modification. Your veins carry dragon blood, you understand how dragons work in this new dimension, I presume?"
"Of course I do, it should grant physical and magical capability to my body and mind, correct?"
"Correct, but this power can only come from a state of mind. You need a collection of some sort, you need a hoard to guard. And only when it becomes endangered will your power be fully granted."
I looked up with an eyebrow raised, "fully? Are you saying I'll have the strength of a dragon at my command whenever I need?"
She chuckled at my excited remark. "Not exactly, you'll definitely be well built and a stronger stallion from the dragon's blood, but to unlock full potential, you will need the motivation like I described."
I gave a bland reply, "so what, you generate a stash of treasure and I protect it to gain power?" I didn't understand how this was going to work.
She gave a stern reply, "how do we record data from your surroundings in a new dimension if you just sit in one place?"
Then she laughed, "you'll understand soon enough, just get to ponyville in one piece, in fact, you'll be able to hear me communicating to you through your conscience."
And at that, the journey began. She walked me to the machine and I stood before it. It was a large cylinder with a sliding glass door. Inside was a small seat with a helmet hanging from cords coming from the roof. As I stepped in and sat down, another scientist positioned the helmet onto my head, and a tingling sensation ran down my spine. I could hear the female voice in my head. "Ian, can you hear me clearly?" Her voice ringing gently through my mind. I spoke out but could not hear or feel myself making sound.
Her voice rang out once more, "Do not speak, but think the words you want to say, it'll take some getting used to."
I let my thoughts run free. "Can you hear me now?"
"Yes, I hear you perfectly!" She was clearly shocked at the results. "This is amazing! Mental communication has been achieved!"
"Alright, what's the next step?" I asked impatiently.
"Well, you should address my as Julie now, since we'll be conversing much more now"
"Alright Julie, my vision is black, when do I enter the world of ponies?" I was growing more excited, yet very impatient.
"Please, calm down, I'm going to put you through some tests before sending you into the real thing."
I groaned in frustration, "alright lets get this over with."
All of the sudden, vivid colors and crystal clear sounds warped through the machine into my head. The colors were bright enough to blind me, and the sounds were going to make me deaf, but then I realized that I wasn't seeing or hearing, I was thinking. After a moment I got used to the extremities and enjoyed such an amazing and vivid trip through space and time, at least I think this is what was happening. I heard Julie's voice chime in as the sounds died down, "it's ok, you're probably going to be a bit overwhelmed at the start, your brain is syncing with the machine." I couldn't come to make a reply, as she was correct, I was completely overwhelmed by the feelings going through my body and mind. I've completely lost track of time, but it felt like minutes have gone by as the colors and sounds begin to die down and take form. Soon everything was white, but I could see a faint shape of myself taking form, it was one of the single, most strange feelings I will ever experience in my life. I was a pony! I saw my cutie mark, it was a gleaming iron fist locked in a grip. The feeling of being on four legs and hooves at my feet was confusing at first, but then I started walking, then trotting. I soon broke out into a full on gallop into the never-ending white world. It was unbelievable, I couldn't describe my emotion.
Julie's voice rang out softly, "slow down pony boy! You still have to pass some tests, but you've clearly passed the locomotive examination."
"Ok, what's my next test, Julie?" I said confidently.
"I just need to make sure your 5 senses are working properly, then I'll progressively generate the world, and you'll be off to Ponyville!"
"Alright lets do this!" I blurted out in my endless white world.
The first test was sight. Julie generated a series of shapes, letters, and numbers, all of them different colors. I passed the test with no errors. The next test was smell, which wasn't as easy to examine in depth, since there was no precise confirmation as to if I was correct or not. Nevertheless, I made it through with a general description of each smell, thank God she didn't generate anything bad. Next was sound. She rang different noises in each of my ears and sometimes in both, I passed yet again flawlessly. We moved on to taste. She actually generated vague shapes in front of me to consume and I gave detailed descriptions of what they tasted like, I passed again. We then moved onto touch, we were almost done. Julie actually generated a portion of Equestria itself around me. I could feel the warm glow of sun on my deep blue coat, and suddenly felt the tingle of my shorter, thin, sandy brown mane behind my ear. I became excited and started to touch everything I saw with my nose. Everything felt so realistic and detailed, I was almost overwhelmed again with the idea of, well, everything! The world kept generating, I could see more and more into the world and what was around me. I was in a small clearing next to a cliff on the edge of the Everfree forest. There were no trails to my left or right, or through the forest in front of me.
I thought to myself, "great, I spawned in the middle of no where..."
Julie's voice broke the silence, "don't worry Ian, or should I say, Ironclad!" She chuckled.
"Great, I guess there's no privacy in my thoughts, then." I smirked at the idea.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to watch you like a hawk, but I'll answer to your call if you ever need me."
I started, "so I just call to you through thought..."
"... And I'll try to answer in the shortest amount of time." She said.
"Alright," I sighed. "I supposed you know the way to Ponyville then?"
"Don't worry, I'll keep you out of trouble the best I can trying to navigate through this forest."
"Thanks, I don't want to have to fight off any timber wolves while I'm out here." I cringed at the thought.
"Oh, you wouldn't be interested in a test of strength in a battle, then?" She said happily.
I was about to reply, when I heard footsteps, and a rustling through the bushes coming closer to my location. Julie started to panic, "prepare yourself! I haven't had time to load any scanning programs or over watch systems into the world yet! We have no idea what could be coming through those bushes!" I took a defensive stance, with an eager smirk on my face, ready to face whatever came into the clearing. Neither of us were prepared for what tumbled into the clearing, but we were clearly relieved. Apple Bloom stumbled up and stared at me curiously, and clearly out of breath.
"Ah heard a loud boom while ah was on mah way to Zecora's hut, is everythin' all right?" She continued to stare at me with her head slightly tilted.
"Yeah, I'm fine, but, what are you talking about? What boom?" I asked.
"There was a really loud boom, so ah came runnin' as fast as ah could to see what happened." She said, still breathing hard.
"Alright slow down and breathe," I said. "I've got all day, I'm not going any where."
Apple bloom saw my cutie mark and asked, "who're you? Ah haven't seen a pony with that kinda cutie mark around town."
Julie echoed through my head, "don't tell her what really happened! She wouldn't even comprehend what has happened and would just consume more time."
I replied calmly, "I was just on my way to ponyville, I took a wrong turn and ended up here in this clearing."
Apple bloom still had plenty of unanswered questions. "Where'd ya come from? What was that boom all about? Why are ya headin' to Ponyville? And what kinda cutie mark is that? Ah've never seen anythin' like it before."
I just took a deep breath and said, "how about we get out of here, I've got to get to Ponyville as soon as I can, once we get there I'll answer all of your questions, Apple Bloom."
Apple Bloom smiled and almost made a reply, when a timber wolf crawled through the bushes and took off in a sprint towards our direction. Before Apple Bloom could even turn around, I was past her and in the timber wolf's twisted wooden face. With a reflexive turnaround I gave a forceful buck so strong, it knocked the green glow from it's eyes and shattered the poor thing to pieces. Apple Bloom looked at me in disbelief. I gave her a look of agreement.
"What in the world just happened?" Apple Bloom still had the same look of disbelief on her face.
"That boom you described, you weren't the only one to hear it." I quickly replied, "we need to leave, now!"
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After 3 more timber wolves tried to pick a fight with me, I got a taste of the strength that Julie mentioned in the lab. I had speed, power, and quick wits. Apple Bloom only had more questions for me when we returned to sweet apple acres. This was going to be tough, I was going to have to explain everything to Apple Bloom, or as much as I could. It was a good run back to the barn, but we both made it without being hurt. And then the questioning began.
"OK, who are you and how did ya know mah name back there in the clearin'!?" Apple Bloom yelled frantically.
"I know, I have a lot of explaining to do..." I lowered my head and tried not to make eye contact with the furious little filly.
"Ah'm waitin' for some answers, mister!" She glared at me.
"Alright... That boom you heard, I'm guessing, was the sound of inter dimensional travel." I said softly.
Apple Bloom looked confused. "Inter dimentawhat? Just tell me your name, stranger."
I sighed with relief. "Alright, my name is Ironclad."
"Alrighty then, that's a start." Apple Bloom calmed down. "What were ya doin' in the Everfree forest all the way out there?"
"Well... That's where things become complicated. It's very hard to explain, I'm not sure if anypony around here could even grasp the idea... Let's just say I'm not exactly from this world..." I grimaced and looked for her reaction...
"What? Not from this world?!" She initially looked very confused, but soon had a frown across her face. "You don't have anywhere to stay, do ya?"
"No, in fact, you're the first pony I've spoken to since I came here." I felt relieved now that the topic has been changed.
"Lemme go talk to mah sister! Maybe you can stay the night in our empty barn!" Her face lit up with a smile.
"That's very kind of you, I'll just wait out here until you come back."
I stood out there for a minute, kicking at the dirt, waiting for Applejack to come and speak with me. Then my face lit up. I was going to meet Applejack! I never thought it would happen. Me, meeting the element of honesty! I need to keep calm in a situation like this, I'll probably see the other 5 elements within 48 hours, given the circumstances. Applejack came out with Apple Bloom and greeted me with a big, warm smile on her face. "Howdy partner!"
"Greetings Applejack! It's a pleasure to meet you! I just hope I'm not intruding."
Apple Bloom had a strange look on her face, "how did ya know mah sister's name? Ah never told you who she was!"
"I told you Apple Bloom, its very hard to explain..." I started getting nervous again.
"No matter, its gettin' late, and you need some place to stay!" Applejack offered, "it'll be mighty fine for you to bunk in our old barn for the night, tomorrow we'll sort things out."
"I'll gladly accept the offer, I'm definitely exhausted from all that running and fighting, I can explain it all tomorrow."
Applejack looked surprised and worried at the same time, "fightin? With who? Apple Bloom, where were y'all this afternoon?"
"Just like he said, explain it all tomorrow!" Apple Bloom rushed into the house and quickly jumped into bed.
"Alrighty then, ah trust everythin' was alright, since ya both made it back in one piece from wherever."
"Yep, we definitely had an adventure! I'll see you tomorrow, I need to get some sleep." I said as I yawned.
Applejack walked me to the barn and supplied me with a good place to sleep. I thanked her for everything and she left for her own bed. As I lay down I close my eyes and begin to fade into a slumber, but then everything changed. The bright colors and confusing noise came back and I soon found myself in the real world again.
Julie just looked at me, "you've got a lot of explaining to do tomorrow."
I sighed, "yeah, don't remind me..."
"Well all in good time, just tell them exactly what's going on and hope for the best. I'm sure they'll all understand." Julie smiled.
"You're probably right, what time is it, by the way?" I wondered how long I was actually in.
"You were gone for about 4 hours, the time scale for different dimensions don't correlate, apparently."
"Alright, I'll be in my dorm for the night then, I'm gonna try and get a good night's rest for tomorrow."
I returned to the dorm, my cot was in the corner of my room next to a small table. On the table was an alarm clock, a wallet, and a picture of family members. I lay my head on my pillow and drift into a deep sleep, my mind was worked hard from being in that machine.