Twilight walked downstairs and sat down on the couch. She, having come to terms with her feelings, decided that she wouldn't think much of it. Not for now. She was probably just emotionally confused, that's what she thought, anyway. Merlin was still sleeping upstairs and had left his magic book on the couch- Twilight opened it and looked through the pages and found one that caught her eye- Concerning the Experiment of the Mind's Dimension. What an odd title for a spell. She looked at the description.

This almighty spell was used by the Pendragons, it's importance is veritable. Within this page lies a spell which anyone, Karcist (He who conjures up the most powerful spells) or not, may accomplish. Within this chapter, ye shall learn how to bring you and another into a secret world, while he who you do doth summon shall feel it to be just a dream. Its uses are in-finite.

Twilight couldn't help but feel like she was finding a treasure trove. If spells like this worked, there was no telling what else was waiting for her in the Human's magic books. She was curious about the whole six points spell they kept mentioning, but until they found it, that spell would have to wait. She proceeded to read the page.

ZAP! Twilight jumped as the portal began to flash, Merlin shot up in his bed and ran over to the railing of the stairs. The portal flashed again and out came a boy wearing brown leather pants and a leather jacket. He had a conical hat on that looked almost like a cowboy's. He didn't see Twilight, instead, he turned to look up at Merlin.

"Oh, howdy Merlin! Been a while, aint it? Ah sure hope you aint gettin' into trouble." The boy said, Merlin rolled his eyes.

"The very idea of you openin' a portal to another world-- this early on in your education? Now that's phenomenal! Ya' think I wouldn't come through to see? You've riled up the whole school with the news!" John exclaimed, Merlin smiled.

"John... you really can't sit still, can you?" Merlin asked, John shook his head.

"Why not you look behind you and take a wild guess?" Merlin asked, John turned around and saw Twilight standing there, his arms dropped to his sides.

"Ah, you gotta' be kiddin' with me!" He said, Twilight couldn't help but smile- it was actually getting amusing, seeing how almost every human that came through was amazed at the sight of them. John put his face in his palm.

"Okay... I am not seein' this... I am not seein' this..." John repeated, Merlin and Twilight exchanged glances, merlin was struggling hard not to laugh- the look on John's face was priceless compared to Mordred's, Joseph's, Ezra's, and David's.

"Merlin!" He repeated, Merlin and Twilight just laughed harder, but then, John yelled so loud it made Merlin jump.

"MER-LIN!" Merlin shot up in a straight position, and had a look on his face as if he had been caught doing something reprehensible, Twilight froze. John had yelled so loud it made Merlin feel veritable fear.

"Seriously- did ya really open the gate ta---!?" John said finally, Merlin loosened, and yet again, tried hard not to laugh.

"...Welcome to Equestria..." Merlin finally said, John put his face in his palm again.

"Are you frickin' kiddin' me, Merlin? Half a' the town's gonna try ta' pound down your door to get to the portal if they find out about this! And... I recollect those only bein' legends!" John exclaimed, he looked back up at Merlin.

"Turns out that those were true stories." Merlin said, John looked dumbfounded, his eye twitched.

"Ya' really deserve to be in the elites for this, Merlin! Imagine what they'll be thinkin' when they find out where the portal goes! Your gonna' be the talk-of-the-town, no doubt about it!" He said, Getting a grin on his face.

"Well... I guess I'll enjoy the popularity, then." Merlin said, smiling. John turned to face Twilight.

"Well, this is quite the surprise... who might you be?" John asked, kneeling down.

"Name's John. John Amesbury." Twilight smiled at his peculiar surname. She shook his hand... or, had her hoof shaken, as she didn't have hands or fingers. John stood up.

"So- ah don't take it Joseph, David, Mordred 'n Ezra went missin shortly afta' you opened the gate, did they?" John said.

"Uhm-" The door opened, in walked Mordred, Joseph, Ezra, and David. They all looked up at John.

"Yes, good to see you!" Mordred said, he turned his attention to Merlin- Mordred was holding a bottle.

"It's called z-medicine- it's better then the sleeping draft, it will keep you from jumping out of your body again." Mordred said, he handed Merlin the vial and noticed it had Luna's cutie mark as it's label.

"Quite... She was very kind to make this for you- it takes a lot of patience." Ezra said, smiling.

"Oh- and Celestia wanted to talk to you, but, she couldn't make it." Mordred said, he held out a note.

Merlin, I have taken notice that you have a few new guests coming in from the other side. I have set up extra rooms at the inner sanctum so that they may have a place to stay. I hope to see you all soon, and, I hope that you'll enjoy the new room I have set up for you- you'll find it even better then your old room. -Celestia, house of Royals

"Merlin- if I may ask... what is this 'inner sanctum' me and David keep hearing about?" Ezra asked, John's attention spiked at hearing this.

"Better- guys? Come with me... and- stay out of sight." Merlin said, he walked towards the door, Twilight, Mordred Joseph, Ezra, David, and John followed Merlin to the carriage, the guards looked at Ezra, David and John with suspicion.

"Their with me, don't worry." Merlin said, the guards loosened. They climbed inside the carriage.

"Wait a minute- I just noticed- am I going mad, or is this carriage bigger on the inside then it is on the outside?" David said, poking his head in and out of the carriage door.

"Hey- yeah- woah- wait a minute- these kinds of enchantments are practically non-existent back at our place!" Joseph said, looking surprised.

"Yeah... about that..." Twilight began, she had a sheepish look on her face, Merlin looked over at her.

"I noticed the steady coming of visitors... so, with Celestia's permission I made some 'modifications'." She finished, Merlin's eyes went wide.

"Jeez Lueez! Ah'd reckon with the power and skill it takes t' do somethin' like this... ya' must be one with powerful magic!" John remarked, Twilight's face went red.

"Well, some people do call me the 'Princess of Magic', so..." She said, Merlin's eyes went wide.

"Uhm- all Alicorns are Princesses..." She said, her voice trailing off near the end of her sentence, the six boys stared.

"It didn't tell you that in those legends I keep hearing about?" Twilight asked, she looked at the boys with a very confused look.

"We knew that it meant you had a high roll in society, but... jeez, Twilight! Normally Princesses live in castles, not libraries... even if it was a huge place you have! Ya' shoulda' told us! Now I feel like a jerk for the way I acted when I met you! Shooting off like that, not even realizing I was talking to a Princess..." Joseph said, he slumped back in his chair.

"Well... actually... I felt that a library suited me better- a castle was just too... flashy. And, I honestly just like being treated like everyone else, so... I don't mind, Joseph." She said, the boys exhaled.

"...My first home here was destroyed in an explosion, I moved into a castle, but, I decided to have a new home built on top of the sight of my old one... it felt kind of nostalgic." She said, the boys exchanged glances.

"No, I've gotten over it. Besides, my new library's bigger then the old one. Not to mention it has all the comforts of home on the second floor." She said, The carriage lurched.

"Woah!" Ezra said, multiple sputters and various other noises were heard from the carriage, smoke began to seep out of the grate in the floor, Twilight and the boys coughed violently.

"Let's get outa' here!" Merlin exclaimed, they all jumped out of the carriage, followed by the guards, blue smoke rose out of the carriage, Ezra coughed violently.

"Eheheh... uhm... I think I may have put a little bit too much energy into that last spell I did."

"Serious- *Cough!*-ly! What is that smell? What do use to drive that thing!?" Mordred said, Twilight's eyes trailed up to the sky.

"...Not again..." Merlin said, he tried to stand up, but couldn't, he continued to cough, a crowd formed around the six boys and Twilight.

"So you weren't just hiding him- but five more, Princess?" One said, the crowd rambled, Merlin put his face in his palm, the crowd rambled excitedly, the guards got between them and Merlin, trying to push back the crowd again, but to no avail.

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After what seemed like hours of non-stop questioning, the crowd finally dissipated, they gave Merlin and the other boys excited smiles and amazed looks as they left- Merlin had to reveal practically everything about his home world during the questioning, and he was mentally exhausted from the nonstop questions from half the town. He sat down on a bench near the broken-down carriage. Mordred glared at Merlin.

"Admit it, you enjoyed every second of that!" Mordred exclaimed, Merlin had a guilty look plastered on his face.

"Okay, fine, it wasn't too bad! Big fat, hairy, deal!" Merlin said, sounding majorly annoyed.

"Ugh... never mind... Twilight? Is there another carriage in this town?" Mordred asked, Twilight looked down.

"...Oh! I just remembered!" John exclaimed, he reached down a large bag he was carrying on his back- and brought out six slick broomsticks.

"...Are you serious, man!? You had those the whole time!? We could've gotten away from the crowd!" Joseph complained.

"Says the guy with rocket-boots, I'm mighty surprised ya' didn't shoot off on us." John said, Joseph's face went blank.

"...Well, now I'm feeling like an idiot." He said, there was an awkward silence, then, Merlin, Mordred, Joseph, Ezra, David, John, and Twilight all burst out laughing.

"No- seriously... what are those things even for? How are those going to help us get to the inner sanctum? They're just brooms." Twilight said, the boys looked at her with odd looks, then, excited looks.

"Watch." John said, he mounted the broom, kicked off from the ground and rose twenty feet into the air.

"Their enchanted to let you fly them- their pretty useful, and wicked fast... Merlin?" Mordred explained, Merlin looked up and nodded his head, he jumped off the ground and rose to the air, then he had a look on his face that said one thing; he had forgotten something. He lowered back down to the ground.

"You sure you can make the thirty-mile trip?" Merlin said, Twilight pondered it for a second, then answered.

"I'm not sure, actually, I don't fly that much." She admitted, Merlin smiled and raised his broom a few feet off the ground.

"Then hop on and hang on." He said, Twilight flew up and wrapped her forehooves around Merlin's back, Merlin then took off with surprising speeds.

"Because of their shape, they get to top speed real quick. Impressive?" He asked, Twilight smiled.

"Y-yeah! Whoever made these must be real good at magic!" Twilight said, Merlin's face went red.

"I'm the one that actually designed these, I'm flattered you like them." Merlin said, Twilight's eyes went wide.

"Yeah- Uh-oh!" Merlin exclaimed, he jerked out of the way as a male pegasus shot by and nearly collided with him.

"Merlin, let's go above the clouds- there's less 'hazards' up there!" Joseph said, and the six followed Joseph as they rose above the clouds. They could see all of Equestria within 50 miles- including the faint blur of the inner sanctum.

"Hey, guys! Watch this!" John said, he then kicked his legs up- and stood up on his broom, standing on the shaft.

"Woah, dude! Knock that off! That's dangerous!" Joseph said, but he looked amazed at the sight, John then simply dropped back down onto his broomstick, as if nothing happened. Twilight merely held onto Merlin as they flew closer and closer to their destination.

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They were a few miles off from the sanctum when fog began to cover their visions.

"I hear ya- guys! Listen up- let's get out of this fog, if we lose sight of each other, just keep going to the top of Mount Everfree- that's where the sanctum is. Got it?" He called.

"See ya' there!" Joseph called, and Merlin lost sight of them completely, after a few minutes, he couldn't see anything.

"I'm gonna' try something- hold on tight!" Merlin said, he raised his right hand off the shaft of the broom, a white orb of light appeared in his hand. Wind blew in their faces, and the fog moved out of the way- they were alone in the sky, and they could see the inner sanctum. They could also see Mordred, standing in the landing area. Merlin exhaled.

"I don't know." Twilight answered, she let go of Merlin and kicked off from the broom, she flew next to him. She looked down towards the inner sanctum, and glided to the landing pad. Merlin followed her, and they landed.

"Ah, there you are, brother." Mordred said, Merlin and Twilight walked towards him.

"Their inside the sanctum- Celestia's teaching a few things to them." He answered, Merlin looked down at Twilight.

"Well, I can tell you one thing, brother: Ezra hasn't left the library's healing section since he got here, and David's stuck himself in the alchemical laboratory... I think that says a few things, to say the least." He remarked, Merlin smiled.

"Hmmm... all right, then. Let's go inside." Merlin said, and they walked up the path to the gates.

"Ahhh... am I glad that's over." Merlin said to himself, he walked inside of his new room, and was dazzled at the beauty of it: It had marble walls and a black, warm, carpet. A lantern hung from the ceiling, and two sofas stood across from one another in front of a small glass table under the lantern. Off to the side was a king-sized bed with thick, red cotton blankets and a set of pillows. The wall near the glass table had a fireplace, with wood ready to be set ablaze. And off to the right was a desk with magic tools and books.

"Wow..." Merlin whispered, he walked in and sat down on the sofa, and found it to be very comfortable. He noticed that the glass table had a compartment on the side, he opened it, and found two bottles of freshly made apple cider waiting for him, along with a few crystal glasses. He took one of the bottles and opened it, pouring some of it into the glass. He sipped it- and a rush of flavor filled his mouth. He read the side of the bottle.

"You know, Applejack's family are the one's who made that cider, right?" Merlin looked back to the entryway to see the cheerful face of an alicorn staring back at him. Merlin nodded his head.

"Well, it does say 'Applejack's' on the front, so, yeah I had an idea." Merlin said, one of the cups suddenly rose up, engulfed in a hot-pink aura.

"May I?" She asked, Merlin smiled again and poured her a glass. The cup zipped over to her, she took a sip, and hopped up next to Merlin on the sofa.

"Because earlier today you seemed real... upset about your dreams- I mean... O.B.E." She said, Merlin looked ahead.

"Well... I've had this problem for a long time, actually. It started when I was in kindergarten, before I was even able to use a wand properly... then, Prince A.A. came to our school and gave a huge speech about the power of magic... I was intoxicated by it- I began devoting most of my time to it... but one day, I accidentally picked up the wrong book..." Merlin said, he paused for a second.

"...It was a book on ancient magic- using spoken incantations... improperly used, they could cause lifelong damage or side-affects. I said one by accident... and I got covered in this purple mist... then, I woke up in the hospital a week later. After that, nothing seemed to have changed... until I started practicing the beginner's spells... simple sparks, levitating objects, lighting candles- again, really, really simple stuff..."

"Well, when I tried creating the spark, I sent my professor flying- I created a small explosion instead." Merlin said, Twilight looked surprised.

"Then, when I tried lifting a feather off my desk... the whole desk started to levitate- just by a few inches, but, it caused the guy next to me to start freaking out." Twilight's eyes went wider.

"What about the spell for lighting candles?" Twilight asked, Merlin's eyebrows raised and his eyes widened in memory.

"...the flame was so big it nearly set the building on fire." Twilight's jaw dropped.

"I don't know what that incantation did, I don't even know if it was the cause of my sudden power boost, but, shortly after I had come to, I started having those O.B.E.'s- I just thought they were lucid nightmares at the time... jeez. If I had told my professors that I was able to leave my own body- that would have been enough to get me sent to Prince A.A.'s magical academy ahead of time!"

"Wait- you weren't already there?" Twilight asked, having a sly smile on her face, Merlin's face went red in flattery.

"Oh, no, no, no- heheh.... I was in The Karcist's School of Aspiring Students- If I wanted to get there at the age I was at... I would have had to..." Merlin stopped, his face went blank.

"Well, you had to have three weeks of magical flying lessons to get in- I wasn't nearly old enough to be allowed to take classes on how to fly a broom." Merlin said, he had a guilty look on his face.

"Well... a few years later, when I was.... ten, I think? Yeah, ten- I went out into the forest and started collecting twigs and a large branch. I took it home... and had a makeshift broomstick. I casted the enchantment myself- and then, taught myself how to fly... but, since it was technically outside the school, it didn't count. I had to wait for an opportunity. Then something happened that was a once in a lifetime chance, for me. There were rules on who could take flight classes... but not on who could race with brooms."

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A crowd cheered excitedly, on either side of a snow covered, dirt road. A tower with three people on podiums stood to the side. A man at the center with dark black hair stood up.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and Girls! Welcome to twenty-first annual Witch's cup! Twenty racers this year- here's the lineup!"

Merlin sat in a waiting room with nineteen other racers, amongst them, John. An old friend of his, John suddenly caught a glimpse of Merlin, he ran up to him.

"Merlin! Gosh, man! You sure your up fer' this? This aint no ordinary race, y' know! I didn't think of ya' t' be a racin' type!" John said, Merlin smiled.

"If I do well in this race, I'll get a free scholarship to Prince A.A.'s Academy- I'll be the first in my grade level ever to get in, so, I can't pass up the opportunity! I'm glad I qualified." John smiled at his friend and put his hand on his shoulder.

"I think you might give me a run for my money, I'll admit that... after the way you did in the tag racing tournament- I'm scared of you!" Merlin answered, half laughing.

"Well, I'll go easy on ya- for the most part. Don't be gettin' no ideas, though. I saw you lookin' in the 'explosives' section in yer spellbook!" John said, Merlin's eyes shifted.

"Uh... actually, you know that chalkboard incident my teacher went through a few weeks ago?" Merlin said, John's face went blank, then, he started laughing.

"Yer' tellin' me that was you!? Hahahah! Oh, gosh, Merlin... you broke 'em! He didn't know WHAT that was all about!" John said.

"How was I supposed to know that the potion he was working on would-" Merlin was interrupted by the man at the podium.

"First up, we have Merlin Pendragon! Prodigy in magic and soon-to-be Adeptus Major! If he does well in this race, he'll get a one-way-trip to Prince A.A.'s Academy!" Merlin heard a huge crowd scream excitedly outside. He smiled.

"Seems you've gotten mighteh' popular from the sound of all the screamin'! What'd you do?" John asked, Merlin smirked.

"I'll tell you later. All I'm gonna' say is that it had something to do with the immersion test that ended in me wowing the class."

"Second! Mordred Pendragon! Worker at the talismanic robes shop and master at enchantments! He too will win a scholarship if he does well! Good luck to the Pendragon brothers!" Merlin's jaw dropped as he slowly turned around to see his brother standing there.

"Thank you very much for the 'vote of confidence'- yes, I did pass the major tests. Now don't think I'll be dragging behind you the whole time- their judging on our performance, not what place we get in, remember?" Mordred said, Merlin tilted his head.

"...You were saying about enjoying the race?" Merlin said, glaring at John. They turned around to see a girl with blue robes and long, silky black hair, she had pale skin and paler eyes.

"I find it extremely rude to be talked about in that manner. You boys have no respect for a powerful witch, like myself. You guys should try to get along with me better!" Morgan exclaimed, sounding very irritated.

"W-well excuse me!" Merlin said, he was trying to make it overly-obvious he was being sarcastic.

"One would assume yer' blind, considerin' ya can't watch yours! Zip it, and get lost!" John said, Morgan glared at him.

"Fourth! We have Jamie Rachel!" Merlin whirled around at hearing the name- an older girl with long pink robes entered the tent, wearing a hot-pink conical hat and heart crest on her robes.

"Oh look, you got yourself a girlfriend, I see?" Morgan asked, Merlin almost erupted.

"She's my cousin, thanks." Jamie looked very confused at the sudden change of atmosphere.

"Why don't you just go polish your outdated broomstick? Go on!" Merlin said, Morgan walked away, with a look of disgust on her face.

"Never mind her, what are you doing here? I thought you were staying in London!" Mordred questioned, Jamie smiled.

"What, I can't visit my cousins from time to time? London was getting boring after a while- what with the absence of magic, that is. I invited a couple of people to come to one of the magic schools- they're skeptics, but, I think once they see what we're capable of, they'll be great students." Jamie said, Merlin smiled. Mordred tilted his head.

"I thought only the elites had that kind of privilege- inviting outsiders to magic schools I mean."

"Funny you should mention that..." Jamie said, and a pair of light-pink wings sprung out from her back, Merlin jumped.

"Yep! It's true!" Jamie answered, smiling ear to ear. Mordred and Merlin looked baffled.

"The race is gonna' start soon, you guys better get ready." Jamie finished, her wings folded back up. She walked away.

"Wait-!" Merlin called, but she didn't turn around, he turned to Mordred, who looked like his brain had frozen.

"I'm sorry- did you just see WINGS poking out of Jamie's back!?" Mordred exclaimed, Merlin did a face-palm.

"They never tell us about stuff like this! She's our cousin! Prince A.A. should at least tell guys like us that our cousin has become basically a Goddess!" Merlin complained.

"Well, I guess I was too late to tell you, then." A majestic voice said, Merlin's heart stopped. He knelt down after whirling around to find the Prince there, himself.

"Y-your majesty! I-I-I didn't m-mean... a-any of-f-fense..." Merlin stuttered, the Prince smirked.

"Come now, I'm not some barbaric king from ancient Greece who beheads anyone who insults him, Merlin." He answered, merlin stopped hyper-ventilating and stood up.

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"Anyway, so, yeah... for some reason, Achilles seemed to have gotten word of my talents in magic- he made me an offer; if I completed the race, I would get unrestricted access to the magical archives." Merlin finished.

"Let me explain... I was nearing the end of the race..."
------------------------------------------------------

"I don't think so!" She retorted, and slammed into him, sending John off to the side a bit.

"Wanna' play rough? Let's play rough!" He said, and he slammed back into her, sending her flying off the trail, Merlin was right behind. He looked over his shoulder- and saw that she had landed in a pile of sharp rocks. He skidded to a stop.

"It seems the racer Merlin has stopped in the middle of the track!" The announcer said, Merlin was quiet for a second. He looked over at his rival- she was gasping for air. Merlin slowly turned away from the finish line- and found himself floating above Morgan- she was obviously in pain.. He hopped off his broom.

He couldn't see it, but Achilles was leaning forward in his chair to get a better view of him. He placed his hands around Morgan and helped her onto his broom.

"I'm thinking an 'almighty witch' should finish her race." He answered, and he slowly took to the finish line.

"She was badly injured... better to see an educational opportunity pass me up then watch a girl potentially... well... fill in the blank." He said.

"And you got into the academy even though you came in fifteenth place? Why did Achilles let you in?" She asked, Merlin looked up at her.

"I don't know... he just... saw something in me, I guess." He looked out the window.

"...It was a really weird day, honestly... all my gut instincts were telling me to stay at home... I don't know why, but, my accidental soul travel experiences became more frequent after that day... I don't get it, it doesn't make any sense..." He said, one could hear thunder.

"Perhaps... I don't know." He answered, he sat down on the sofa across from Twilight.

"I wish I knew the answer to that question." He finished, but they were interrupted by the sound of a hoof pounding at the door- a guard.

"Princess! The sisters request your presence!" He called, she made her way to the door, but then turned around.

"You left your spell book in the laboratory, by the way- It's on the first desk." She remarked, and walked out.

Merlin sat in silence as a storm began to brew, heavy rain pelted the ground outside. He looked out the window- and saw something hurdling towards him- Joseph.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He shouted, and slammed into Merlin, Merlin let out a shout as the found themselves up against the wall.

"A lightning bolt threw off my balance!" Joseph complained, Merlin groaned and did a face-palm.

The Return of the Humans

by DaringWizard

Chapter 12: John