The next morning was rough. I definitely had a good, deep sleep, but the time I've spent in the machine has given me a lasting migraine. Julie explained to me that the amount of brain capacity used in the machine is more than someone uses in every day life, so it'll take time to get used to it. I got out of bed and went down to the cafeteria, greeted in the hallways with smiles and words of encouragement from the white-coated staff of the laboratory. They must all know what happened, and I'm guessing they're all really excited with their work. So I sat down at my usual spot with the breakfast that the chef had prepared for me. "You eat it all now, see? You have a long day of fun ahead of you in that doohickey and your brain needs the energy!" I gave him a silent nod of approval and began to eat immediately. Julie snuck up to the table unnoticed and sat down at my table, with a mile-wide grin on her face.
"What's the good news you've got for me?" I shared her smile of excitement.
"Well, I've examined the results of yesterday's trial and submitted them to the administration!" Her face was beaming with excitement. "They were so amazed at the results, we've been approved for a full operation onto the matter!"
"And what does this mean for me?" I had my usual smirk on my face.
"Not for you, but for anyone else you want to invite to your ponyville adventures! We've just placed an order for a shipment of more simulators to be shipped to us in the next few days!"
"So, I could call up some friends and see if they'll join me in the fun?"
"Of course! With the appropriate consent from parent/guardians if needed, but they have to be of significantly developed age, 16 or above." She looked at me seriously.
"Alright, I know exactly the people I need to contact, can you pay the travel fees?"
"Of course we can, the administration has approved a more generous budget for us to increase and maintain the operation."
"Alright, but before we start warping in new ponies to another dimension, I have a lot of explaining to do with the residents already living there." I sighed.
"Good point, meet me in the lab when you're ready to begin."
I finished eating the special meal that was prepared for my big day. As I meandered down the hall I thought about how I was to approach this delicate situation. My only thought was to go directly to the one in charge of Equestria. I need to speak to Princess Celestia. That was my plan, and I was ready to explain the whole story, I know she would understand, and that we would be welcomed to the new world, but that wasn't what was stuck in my mind. I was thinking about what happens after that, what I would do that day. My first goal would be to meet the elements of harmony, and maybe find a place to stay while I'm in Ponyville. Of course I'll also need a job, I need to do my part in the town, I can't just be a pampered tourist, taking free food and wandering around all day. All in good time, I guess.
After minutes of wandering through the halls, I finally approach my designated room. The cold steel door stood tall in front of me, seemingly impenetrable. There was a single barred window in the center of the door, surrounded my yellow and black caution tape. There was no handle or groove to open the door from. Safety precautions taken to help guard these delicate machines and files of study. I pulled a small white card from my pocket and flashed it to a camera in the corner of the hallway. The door automatically slid open and I entered the room.
"Alright lets get straight into this, I have a lot to do today..." I took a deep breath and walked toward the machine.
"Of course I'll just sit back and record and examine all of the data you create with every single step you take throughout the world, nothing much." Julie giggled at her remark.
"Oh, of course, you can have the hard part, I'll take the fun stuff any day." I gave her my usual smirk. I haven't been smiling this much in years.
"Ok, I'm booting up all of the systems right now, just so I don't leave you blind in there like last time." She frowned.
"Don't sweat the small stuff, I got myself out of there untouched, lets focus on today."
Before another comment was made, my vision went black and the world went silent once more, as the helmet positioned itself onto my head and synced to my nervous system. The colors and sound shot out once more, but this time I was ready, I sat through the "show" again, this time it didn't take as long to come into focus and generate the world, I guess first is the worst in this case. Everything around me was once again vividly animated as Equestria, and just in time too. Apple Bloom came through the barn door with a basket of apple goodies and said, "here ya go! Eat up! Ya have a big day today ahead of ya, right?" I nodded and enjoyed myself on all the deliciously baked goods in the small basket, finishing in a short time.
"That sure ended fast! Those apple fritters didn't stand a chance!" Apple Bloom giggled.
"You're correct! They were deliciously vulnerable to my morning munchies!" I laughed in return. "Now I thought about some things last night, and a came to the conclusion that... I need to speak to Princess Celestia as soon as possible."
"The Princess? Is it really such a big emergency?" Apple Bloom looked worried.
"Yes, I'm afraid so, can you take me to Twilight Sparkle? I know she can send a message to the Princess immediately with Spike's help."
"Alrighty, ah'm not gonna even ask how ya know who they are. ah'll tell Applejack and we'll be off. But ya can't go around knowin' who everypony is without reason!" Apple Bloom glared at me. "It's mighty strange, ya know."
"Of course, I'll try to remain anonymous." I gave a smirk and started walking towards the house.
Applejack was out apple bucking with Big Mac, so Apple Bloom told Granny Smith where she was going and when she may be back. She didn't mention me because she didn't want to explain everything to somepony all over again. So we started in a gallop to Twilight's library, passing everyone in town with a quick excuse before galloping off again. We finally arrived at Twilight's library, completely out of breath.
"Ah'm glad that nopony stopped us along the way, ah didn't need to do any extra explainin' as to who you are and where you're from, since ah barely understand it mahself." Her breathing started to normalize now.
"Trust me, everything will be explained once I talk to the Princess, I'm hoping she'll understand at least some of it." I said as I knocked on the front door.
A few moments passed and twilight finally answered the door with a smile on her face. "Oh, hello apple bloom! Who's your new friend here?"
"Twilight, I don't have time to explain everything, but I need to get a message to the Princess." I said.
"Who are you? And why do you need to speak to the Princess?" Twilight replied, very confused.
"Alright, I might as well start explaining now. My name is Ironclad, and I come from another dimension." I stated.
"Oh, that's funny," she giggled. "Please, come in and explain what you mean?"
I put a serious look on. "I just explained everything right there. I'm not from this world, I'm from a different dimension and I'm here as an ambassador, if you want to call it that."
"Another dimension?! You can't be serious! Isn't that impossible?!" I thought she was going to lose it.
"This could explain so many things! You could answer so many of my questions! I could learn so much from you!" Her face lit up like a light bulb.
"Twilight, now is NOT the time for this, I need to speak with the Princess!" I argued.
"Of course, let me call Spike, I'll have him take a note and mark it as urgent."
Spike fumbled down the stairs, "it's alright, I heard everything, after the knock on the door woke me up..."
As he approached us he looked up at me and made eye contact. He froze. "Those eyes. Those EYES! Where have I seen that before?"
Spike continued to gaze into my eyes, and my vision was locked with his. His thoughts kept going back deeper and deeper, he kept thinking, trying to remember. I could see my own eyes in his gaze. They were a deep, vibrant green, almost glowing. They were a spectacular sight, even greater than a large, polished emerald. They had an ominous, hypnotic effect on the people who stared into them... Before I was locked into a trance with Spike, Twilight broke the silence.
"Spike, take a note, this is urgent!" She stomped her hoof to bring spike out of his day dream.
"Yes! Of course!" He immediately grabbed a quill and paper, and sat at a nearby desk.
Dear Princess Celestia,
I have a message of utmost importance. A strange pony had appeared at my house a short while ago, claiming he is from another dimension, I'm not sure if he would be telling the truth, but I don't understand why he would be lying. He clearly shows strange characteristics and has an upsetting mental capacity of knowledge about Ponyville and its residents. The evidence is becoming overwhelming, and apple bloom's story correlates perfectly with the sonic boom that shattered across Equestria yesterday evening. I wish to bring the subject at hand to you in person as soon as possible.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.
"Alright, I'll send it right away!" Spike opened a window and set the letter aflame into the wind.
Twilight sighed, "Alright, I guess we just wait..."
And at that, Spike burped a letter onto the floor before Twilight could finish her sentence. She levitated the letter and opened it up. As she read, a smile grew on her face, and she said, "great! We'll catch the next train to Canterlot at noon!"
"We don't have time for that!" Julie's voice echoed in my mind. "Take hold of twilight and I'll get you to Canterlot immediately!"
I started moving towards Twilight, and she started to back up when she took notice.
"What are you doing?!" She was clearly panicking.
"Trust me, I'll get us to Canterlot immediately!" I had a grin on my face.
"What?! How? You're not even a..."
And as she said that, I made contact with her fore hooves. Her eyes glowed white and an aura surrounded us, a split second later everyone in the room was warped in front of the palace. Everyone had a look of disbelief on their faces except for me, I had a wide, cheesy grin across my muzzle.
"But how did you do that?! You aren't even a unicorn!" Twilight was becoming agitated.
"I'll explain everything very soon, but now I need to talk to the Princess." I trotted down the stone path.
As everyone followed, clearly confused, we reached the main gates. They were wide open, a very welcoming feeling. I walked down the path to the door and was soon blocked by two guards in golden gleaming armor.
"Halt, nopony is to enter without order from the Princess." The guard said sternly.
"Twilight? I would appreciate some assistance!" I stood there waiting.
"It's ok boys, he's clear for entry!" She flashed them the letter sent by the Princess.
The two guards soon moved to the side and allowed us to enter. As we walked down the red-carpeted hallway, my eyes brightened with excitement. Spike also saw it in my eyes. He definitely saw something in my grievously green eyes, I knew what it was. I was happily examining all of the stained glass windows and gleaming sets of armor on display in the castle halls. It was simply amazing being here, in Equestria. We reached the main room, the throne of Celestia. She was gracefully sitting in her throne, surprised to see everypony here, very surprised.
"Twilight? What are you doing here so soon, how did you manage to get here in such time?" The Princess had a shocked frown upon her face.
"I'm here to explain everything. All of it, and to make a proposition." I stated.
"Alright, you must be Ironclad, the pony of mystery."
"Correct, your majesty!" I smiled.
"Guards. Escort our guest to the interrogation room."
Twilight spoke out, "but Princess! He hasn't done anything wrong!"
"Who ever said I was going to do anything bad?" The princess chuckled.
Two hours passed by, twilight treated Spike and Apple Bloom to lunch at the nearby cafe. They sat and talked about me, the pony of mystery.
"So what do you think is going to happen?" Twilight worried.
"Ah don't know, but he seemed awful calm for bein' escorted out by guards to an interrogatin' room." Apple Bloom said curiously.
"I don't know about you two, but there's something about him that really bothers me..." Spike was still thinking about the heinous look of my eyes.
"Well, back when ah found him in the Everfree forest, we were attacked by timber wolves! He's really strong, strong enough to buck the fight outta a timber wolf with one mighty kick!" Apple bloom bucked in the air rambunctiously.
"The only thing that really bothers me is how he warped ALL of us ALL THE WAY to Canterlot! He's not even a unicorn!" Twilight was very puzzled now.
"I guess we'll all know what's going on in time, the Princess will sort everything out." Twilight looked over both of them, "we should really get back to the castle anyways."
Twilight, Apple Bloom, and Spike all entered Princess Celestia's throne room after a short walk from the cafe. I was finishing my proposition with Celestia when they walked in. The princess was very kind in the idea of letting our dimensions mingle to learn more from each other, and that I could bring friends into the world, as long as I do so responsibly.
"So, how did everything go?" Twilight asked.
"Very well! Your friend here is a very interesting pony, he explained everything to me about where he's from and the human race."
"That doesn't explain how he knows so much about all of us for no reason!" Apple Bloom stated.
"I only know so much about everypony because this dimension was... Studied by certain people of my homeland." I smiled. "I was one of the people who studied enough to be elected to travel here." I knew this wasn't the right story, but it'll save me a lot of explaining and defining to do.
"All I need now is a place to stay, but I can't live in that old barn of yours, Apple Bloom, not if I'm going to have others join me in this dimension."
"I've already had a large property assigned for you and your friends, Ironclad. Twilight will show you the way to your new estate." The Princess winked at Twilight.
"I know exactly where it is, let's not waste any more time and head back to Ponyville immediately!" Twilight asked, "can you warp us back to my library again, Ironclad?"
"That's quite alright, I'll do the honors myself this time." The princess smiled again.
And with a wave of her horn, there was a bright flash. We were sent back to the area in front of Twilight's library. Apple Bloom was gone for a seriously long time, longer than she had anticipated. She ran home for the day and was probably being scolded by Granny Smith for being absent so long. Twilight then proceeded to walk me to the edge of Ponyville, where a large, empty mansion stood. It was very roomy inside and had all the needed appliances to support a large family, or, in this case, a group of rambunctious stallions soon to be moving in. After I settled into my new house, I asked if we could go meet the rest of the elements of harmony, since it was going to happen one way or another.
"Who would you like to meet first?" Twilight asked, with a smile.
"Let me think... Well I never did get to eat lunch like you did, maybe start at Sugar Cube Corner and meet Pinkie Pie?" My stomach started to growl.
"Count me in!" Said Spike. "I could go for a treat there any time!"
"Really? Are you sure you want to start with Pinkie Pie? Have you thought about it much?" Twilight had an unpleased look on her face.
"We might as well get it over with. I'm ready for anything right now. Especially a sweet treat!" I smiled.
And so we were off to sugar cube corner. Twilight was very informative, giving me a detailed description of everything around me and introducing me to anypony who stopped to say hi. As we arrived at Sugar Cube Corner, we were greeted at the door by, the one and only, Pinkie Pie!
"Hi Twilight! I heard that there was a new pony in town and that he was really..." She stopped mid sentence.
"Is everything alright, Pinkie?" Twilight asked.
"Oh no! My pinkie senses are tingling, it's driving me crazzzzy!"
"I wonder who might be causing it..." I muttered.
"It's you, silly! There really IS something special about you! Something REALLY GOOD!!!" Pinkie had the biggest smile.
"That's great, maybe we could sit down and have a..." I was cut off.
"A party?! That's a great idea!" Pinkie had her party cannon ready.
"No, no, not yet at least! Save the party for when my friends arrive!" I little lightbulb went over my head. "We can have it later at my new home, when my friends get here." I hoped for approval.
"That sounds like a super-duper idea! When do they get here?"
"I'm not sure yet, tonight I'll make a point of getting in touch with them and bringing them here as soon as possible, but for now, I'm just really hungry."
"Oki-doki-loki! I'll get you all some snacks from the back! It's on me, for our new guest!" Pinkie Pie started to bounce back into the kitchen.
We all enjoyed ourself on Pinkie Pie's cupcakes and had a great time. Pinkie Pie couldn't sit still in her seat as she had a barrage of questions for me to answer. I felt the magic of friendship at work, I felt like I was home, where I belonged. After we finished, we said our goodbyes and moved onto the next pony to visit. Rarity's boutique was the closest, so we took a short walk over to visit the fashionista. A quick knock on her door was all it took. Rarity opened the door, and so it began...
"Hello Twilight, what brings you to my boutique at such a time like this?" She opened the door a bit more, to reveal myself standing next to her. "And who is your friend?! He is just gorgeous! Those emerald green eyes are so mysterious and his deep blue coat is just gleaming! You sir! You must model for me, you must do something! You must!"
"I'll do what ever you need me to do miss Rarity, but I'm afraid it will have to wait another day, we're on a schedule here." I took her hoof and gazed into her eyes.
"Oh my Celestia! Those eyes are to die for! I can't even find an emerald that looked so lustrous!" She squealed in delight.
"Yes, Rarity, this is Ironclad, he's a new pony in town, he just moved in today." Twilight gave an unamused look, from Rarity's display.
"Did you say Ironclad? THE Ironclad stated in the letter from Princess Celestia?" Rarity questioned us.
"Yes, that Ironclad, but I had no idea that the Princess was sending out letters, I guess it's for the best of the town."
"Oh yes, of course, she sent out a letter to Ponyville explaining how he's from a different world and will be staying among us for the time being." Rarity said informatively.
"Ok, well I wasn't sure if you were busy or not, so we'll be leaving if we troubled you." Twilight smiled.
"Oh nonsense, please come in! I just have a few things I would like to try on for our new guest of Ponyville!"
So after about half an hour of suits and designs, plus the wonderful conversation and questions asked by Rarity, we were ready to move on once again.
"Alright, how about rainbow dash next?" Twilight suggested.
"That sounds like a good idea, I've been looking forward to this for a while."
"Now, to find her... This might be a slight problem." Twilight frowned.
"Oh no, there is no problem, she's been following us all day." I stated as I looked towards a particular stray cloud on a sunny day.
"Rainbow Dash! You know how rude it is to spy on people, that and to wait all day before introducing yourself?" Twilight was clearly unhappy.
The cloud burst and dissipated into the sky. The rainbow pony giggled, circling Twilight and I, before coming to the ground to give her "spectacular entrance."
"Yours truly!" Rainbow Dash gave a smirk. "And I was totally going to introduce myself, until you all magically flashed to Canterlot and didn't come back!"
"Well now I'm right here, so you can introduce yourself properly to me, of course there's no need, I know who you are and what you're about." I smirked back.
Rainbow Dash's smirk turned into an awkward smile. "Not that its weird or anything, but that's cool, there's nothing much to do now, I guess I'll be on my way."
"Why not just walk with us? Or fly at least, our next stop is Fluttershy, you can talk along the way while we go to her cottage, I know that you have questions that you want answers to." I smiled warmly.
Her signature smirk returned, "alright, but only if you insist!"
And at that note, we were off, walking to Fluttershy's cottage. Rainbow Dash had many questions, as I predicted. As I answered them, the topic arose. How was I going to approach Fluttershy? She's more than likely to hide from me behind her mane, not able to speak loud enough for me to hear.
"Don't worry, I'll get her warmed up, make it easier for you to talk to her and all." Rainbow offered.
"That would be great, I would like to make a half-decent first impression, even though first approaches don't go well with Fluttershy." I said.
As we approached her cottage, Rainbow Dash stopped me at her mailbox and said for me to wait here. After a minute had passed by, the three ponies walked down the path and approached me. I waited for Fluttershy to make the first move, bad idea.
"Oh... Hello, I'm Fluttershy..." She appeared calmer than what I've witnessed before.
"Hello Fluttershy, I guess you don't know exactly who I am, since you haven't been able to read this." I showed her the note sent out by the Princess earlier today.
As she read the note, she started to back away. "A different universe? That means that you're sort of like... An alien..."
I thought about it for a second. "Well, yes, you could say that, but I'm not here to harm, I just wanted to fit in."
She backed away more, hiding behind her mane. "Oh no... Of course not... Your story is... Very amazing..."
I took that opportunity, I didn't waste time to even think about my words. "Not as amazing as you are." I didn't turn my head away for a single second.
She stopped backing away and blushed. "That's very kind of you, but..." She made eye contact with me, gazing into my deep green eyes, and screamed.
"DRAGON!!!!" She immediately jumped back and cowered away further.
"Dragon? Where?!" Rainbow Dash flew in a frantic circle.
Fluttershy looked up and made eye contact once again. "Oh my! Your eyes a such an evil green color... Just like a scary dragon!" She stopped hiding and finally came within our group.
"Oh my Celestia! That explains why Spike took up such an interest into the gaze you gave him." Twilight exclaimed.
"Oh of course, I'm multi-blooded, how could I have forgotten!" I sighed with relief.
"What?!" Each of the ponies yelled in unison.
"Of course, I'm a regular pony, just like anypony else could be, but I have dragon blood running through my body. It was a modification made for my own good when I entered this world."
"Well this easily explains your raw strength and speed that Apple Bloom explained during lunch." Twilight started to process the days events. "Of course, this explains so many things that went unnoticed today!"
"Well I'm glad that we've finally answered all the questions that have occurred today. And just in time too, it's getting late!" I looked at the stars beginning to show in the sky.
"We don't really need to stop by for Applejack, I've already spent yesterday at sweet apple acres, and with the message and Apple Bloom, she'll piece everything together easily!"
Twilight and I walked back to the old mansion, the sky getting darker every minute. We talked some more, meandering the streets. We were nearing the edge of town, to the location of the mansion. Something caught both of our attention, as a short green little figure stepped out of the shadows.
"Oh no, it's another goblin! This problem is becoming worse every day."
"Hello pretty pony. Come 'ere, I got somethin' for ya..." His voice was gnarled and twisted.
"Don't worry, they aren't the most organized or intelligent creatures, they just cause trouble throughout the town." Twilight stated with a troubled look.
The goblin pulled out a blunt, knife-shaped weapon. It could easily do damage to any regular pony.
"Oh my! He means business!" Twilight jumped at the sight of the weapon.
"Come get your present, ponies! I worked hard on it for ya!" He started walking hastily towards us.
I looked over at Twilight, who was readied to cast some sort of spell to defend us. I looked back over at the nasty little mongrel running at us with the blunt weapon, and what happened stopped both of them from doing anything. Twilight lost her focus on the spell and just stared at me. My eyes glowed a deep, evil green and my deep blue coat shimmered and glistened with a scaly texture in this glimmer. I felt myself becoming angry, no, protective. I had the urge to defend my friend from this attacker. I gave a snort of thick, black smoke from my nostrils and took a step for the goblin. He slowed down majorly, but not enough. He was right in front of me. I turned around and loosed a powerful buck to his short, yet broad chest. Something cracked and the force sent him flying, flying so far that we couldn't see him anymore when he presumably landed somewhere in the Everfree. As I calmed down, I regained my train of thought and looked at twilight, she had a mix between surprise and true horror written across her face. I thought of myself and what I've just done.
"Sweet Celestia... I'm a monster..." I dropped my head gloomily.
"You aren't a monster, you're a protector. Your dragon blood erupted your protective side over me, your friend, and the energy you had was exerted on the sad soul that chose to charge you."
She smiled and blushed. "Thank you for being there to protect us. I know you'll do a good job." She leaned in and kissed my cheek.
"Nobody is going to lay a hoof, or goblin finger, on my treasure..." I leaned and kissed her back gently. Her face turned the most glorious shade of red.
"I think I'll walk you home, just in case any other goblins want to pick a fight with us again." I started walking with Twilight at my side.
She could've just flashed home, we both knew it, but the moon was full, and the princess of the night was looking down upon us. Spike was inside waiting for Twilight to return home. There was no trouble after the goblin incident. And I casually walked home, admiring my surroundings. I reached the mansion, ready to sleep the rest if the night away. I walked in, went up the stairs, and went to bed. As my head hit my pillow I immediately started drifting to sleep and desynchronized from the world.