There was screaming. Screaming and yelling in terror and fear. Helpless children ran in all directions, fleeing from the horrible atrocities behind them.

Through my binoculars, I spied one boy, Stephen James, tumble and fall. He looked back on his friend, Hector Shelby, get hoisted in the air in a net. The tension was palpable as the ropes went taught, and the trap was sprung.

The sap coated his legs, and the streamers fell atop the sap. We knew he'd be needing quite a few showers before any of that came out. We laughed like maniacs. It didn't matter how loud we were, they wouldn't hear a thing over their own panic.

High fives were exchanged (or would they be high hooves?), and the eight of us stayed up on the ledge for a few hours, waiting for the students to migrate back to the city before descending down the mountain, taking the long walk back, almost two hours.

The whole time back, we reminisced about the massive prank we executed. Pinkie wrote and performed two songs about the whole event. The best part was when she let me name the second one. I called it “The Sap Song”. That was, frankly, an honor.

We arrived at my home, and we partied like madness. Pinkie called it the “Second Last Day on Earth Party”. We knew there would be another tomorrow. Maybe one once we arrived in Equestria.

On that subject, after the party, we sat down and chatted about Equestria. Namely, where in the world I was gonna settle down.

I looked at Jack. “That's a valid question. Where is he gonna live?” I looked to my friends. I've been giving quite a bit of thought to what Jack needs to do in relevance to the prophecy, but as for his downtime? Or what happens after he fulfills the prophecy?

Rainbow nodded. “Well, he can't stay with me.” We all looked at her. “What? Cloud house, remember?” Oh, yes. Jack would fall to his death almost instantly.

Pinkie piped up. “Actually, there's no free houses in Ponyville! The next foal who can move out can't do that for another...” She poked her hoof for a bit. “...three years, two months, four weeks, and six days!”

I nodded. “Alright, so Rainbow's out. Rarity's got Sweetie Belle, so she's already got her hooves full. Fluttershy has all her animals, so more responsibility can't possibly help. Unless you're good with animals, though.”

“Alright, so no Fluttershy. Pinkie lives with the cakes, and I doubt they'd want a sixth member of their household. That leaves me and Applejack.”

AJ put her hoof up. “I'd love ta help, but we don't have the room. No guest bedroom, and the barn's full up.”

I started to talk, but Jack interrupted me. “I just wanna say Twi, if I do stay with you, it'd be temporary. If I can't buy a house, maybe I'll build one.”

“Yes, that does sound good. Until then, you can sleep in the library's basement. You okay with that, Spike?”

He grinned and nodded. “Yeah! It'll be nice to have a someone help out with the chores!”

Twilight stood up and levitated a pen and a pad of paper to herself. “Let's see, what will we need... definitely a mattress, some blankets, maybe a shelf or two to put stuff on...”

Her ears perked up. “Oh!” She turned to me. “Jack, are you going to be bringing anything with you to Equestria?”

She rubbed her chin. “About a bag's worth.” Then she jolted straight upright. “Oh, of course! Jack, grab a bag!”

Startled a little, I nodded and walked to my bedroom to grab my backpack. After checking it's contents (empty, as per the norm), I returned and handed it to Twilight.

She grabbed it in her magic and stared intently at it. Suddenly, it was enveloped in purple ribbons, and after a few seconds they dissipated.

Puzzled, I put my arm in a small bit. Twilight coaxed me, and I stuck it in further.

I reached out and felt nothing. I pawed around a bit, and then stood up, plunging my arm into the bag, all the way to my shoulder.

Grabbing the bag from her, I peered inside. The edges were the same, but it didn't a have a bottom. At all.

An idea popped into my mind, and I bolted downstairs to my secret hatch under my closet.

Jack came up a second later holding a guitar. It was an eight string guitar, with the last two being much thicker than the rest. The end was jagged, but the body was smooth, and it had a curve that I assumed was for one's leg. There was a panel at the bottom of the body, with a plethora of switches and dials, and a big red button labeled “OVERDRIVE”.

He held the guitar and strummed out a tune, the sounds making it clear that it was an electric guitar. However, there were no amplifiers in sight.

Jack grinned wider. “Like it? Liz was made in 2021. I got her when I was seven. She's got amps in the body, variable string widths, two bass strings, optional overdrive, and the switchboard, which does all sorts of stuff. Two of the switches don't actually do anything, though. Decorative.”

Jack walked over to the bag on the floor and slid Liz inside. I cleared my throat.

He nodded. “A friend gave it to me that year. He said that's when it was made, and I'm inclined to believe him.”

We spent the next two hours packing, which was mostly spent printing off a couple boxes worth of sheet music, and then we settled down to bed. Despite everything, we all slept well.

In the morning, we all gathered in Jack's living room for the transport to Equestria. I grabbed the small box we kept the Elements of Harmony in, and we were ready to go.

I was giddy. I admit it, I was fangirling a little. Okay, maybe a lot. Okay, I was freaking out.

Destination: Equestria. The real deal! No bull, no joke, real life Equestria! Dream come true, much?

Twilight came into the room with the box, and giggled at my excitement. I guess I did look kinda silly.

Rainbow nodded. “Grab elements, open portal, walk through. Pretty simple, Twi.”

Twilight sighed. “Yes, but we need to remember the number eight. Any less, and someone will be trapped here. Any more, and someone else can come through.”

Squirt,

I don't know what these necklaces and the crown are supposed to be, but they seem important, seeing as you hid them so well. Luckily, I got a hold of them, before some bull headed idiot got them. Or, you know, you did.

If you want them back, meet me at the National Audubon Society up Upper Canyon Road. You know, the old burnt place? Meet me there on September 4th, Tuesday. Otherwise... well, you might not like the otherwise.

Butch

That's it. I ran to the garage and grabbed my helmet. Slamming the keys into the ignition, and sped down the street.

Suddenly, a yell echoed from behind me. I slammed on the brakes and turned around to see Twilight running down the street. Well, human Twilight, raggedy clothes and all.

I drove back to her, pausing at her side, still fuming. She flinched a bit, but regained her composure.

“I'm coming with you.” I started to talk, but she put up a hand. “You're clearly not thinking straight. You'll need somepony there to stop you from...” she paused, clearly disturbed. “...losing control.”

I said nothing, but nodded. She got on the bike, and I sped us down the street. She hugged me for stability on the bike, and my mood improved. She may be a human right now, but a hug from Twilight Sparkle's a hug from Twilight Sparkle.

After a few minutes, we saw the National Audubon Society up ahead. It was burned down at some point during the war, but right now a bonfire was lit, clearly started by Butch and his goons.

We pulled onto the property and spied Butch and his friends, slowly applauding us. “Well done, Squirt! I doubted the note would get to you, most of us here didn't think you could read!”

He smirked and held up a cloth bag. “Meet my terms, and you can have em. Don't,” he extended his arm in the direction of the bonfire, “and we'll see what happens to metal when it gets super heated.”

He signaled for me to come closer. I nodded to Twilight, and she let me walk to him. Stopping when I was a step or two in front of Butch, I looked him in the eye. He smirked and punched me in the face.

I dropped to the ground, my face slamming into the dirt. I heard laughter, and I got up to a crouch. Butch's fist connected with my forehead, and I fell again. This time, he spoke. “Now kneel.”

As much as I wanted to fight back, I saw Twilight out of the corner of my eye. Closing my eyes and spitting out some blood, I complied.

I took a deep breath, and looked once more into his eyes. He grinned evilly. “Admit what you never could.”

Jack grinned and stood. “I said it. You're better than me. That's what it is, isn't it? That's the one thing you've wanted me to say since we were kids. You were always the top gun, the big kahuna. But throughout it all, I never admitted it. Well, here ya go. You win.”

Butch's friends started talking among themselves. I overheard the gist of it, and none of them expected Jack to comply. I smiled and sighed. It's better than a fight.

Jack extended his right arm, opening his hand. “I'll take what's mine, now.”

Butch stood there for a moment. Then he dropped the bag and grabbed Jack's arm, swinging him around towards the bonfire. I screamed almost as much as Jack did when his left arm plunged into the pits of the fire.

Myself and two of Butch's friends began bolting to them, as Butch pulled a flaming stick from the fire and started to scream and stab Jack's arm repeatedly. Jack flailed and yelled, but to no avail.

Butch's friends yanked him off of Jack moments before I pulled Jack from the fire. The two of them looked to me. One nodded. “Go, get him some help.”

I nodded and started crying as the smell of scorched flesh met my nostrils. Another boy helped me hoist Jack onto his bike. He sat on the bike in the driver's spot. “We can fit three, just hold onto him.”

“Thank you...” I managed, still weeping. “Take us to his house, I can help him there.” the boy said nothing, but nodded. The three of us sped towards Jack's home, the boy saying nothing, Jack groaning, and myself just holding onto them both for dear life and crying.

We reached our destination after what seemed like an eternity. The boy helped me bring Jack to the door. “I hate to leave you now, but by now there'll be a war back at the bonfire.”

I nodded. “Yes, of course. Thank you so much.” He nodded back. “No problem. Hey, if you ever need someone, call me up. Name's Colin, but my friends call me Kaz.”

“Yes, of course.” He waved and started sprinting down the road. I opened the door and dragged Jack in.

Rainbow entered the hall. “You're back! How'd it-” she froze as she saw Jack. “Get the girls!!” I yelled, and Rainbow sped off.

Moments later, everyone was in the living room, Jack propped up on a chair, and the rest of us doing whatever we could to help. Fluttershy translated her veterinary skills to treat the burns, Rarity and I mopped up the blood, Applejack put a tourniquet on his arm, and Rainbow and Spike acted as assistants.

I tilted Jack's head towards me. “How do you feel?” He groaned. “Don't worry, I'll be fine.” I scoffed. “You're bleeding out!” He twinged as Fluttershy did something to his arm.

Suddenly, the door opened. We all froze and glanced at the hallway to the front door. “Jack? You there?” came a voice, sounding grown up and it had what they on earth call an English accent.

Jack's head darted around, glancing at all of us. “Hide!” he hissed, and we all complied. We rushed to the basement as quietly as we could. Once everyone had entered the stairwell, I turned to close the door. Thinking quickly, I held the door open a crack, peering through.

The man I saw enter the room was old, with mostly gray hair and a slightly wrinkled face. His clothes were fancy and trim, and he even wore gloves. A smile plastered his face, but it looked out of place, like he was unaccustomed to the gesture.

Peering in a different direction, I saw Jack with his left arm hidden from view behind a chair in a disinterested position. He looked to the man with a face that used anger and disgust to hide his pain. “Hello, Alistair.”

The man's smile faltered. “Now now, Jack. You know what I asked you to do last time I came to town.”

Jack scoffed. “I'm sorry, that was so long ago. I completely forgot what it is you asked me to do, Alistair.”

I shifted back as the man walked past the basement door. “Come now, it's not all that hard. I simply asked you to call me father.”

This is his dad? I leaned forward, trying to get a better view. Jack scowled. “You will never be my father, Alistair.”

Alistair shook his head. “You'll never get far in life like that, Jack.” He shifted towards his son. “Now, I know we haven't talked in a few years, but-”

Alistair turned. “Like hell you are! Let me get my first aid kit from the basement.”

Jack shot to his feet, sprinting at his father. He tackled him to the ground just as Alistair opened the door and saw me. I turned and ran down the stairs when Alistair yelled “Gythar shapeshifter!”

I hit the bottom of the stairwell hard, and bolted to my friends. “Open the portal!” I yelled, and we got into position. Within seconds, the power of the elements combined with the urgency of our thoughts opened the portal to Equestria.

A series of loud thumps echoed through the house, and we turned to see Jack slam down the stairs, bleeding heavily. He glanced at us. “G-go!” he started to his feet, but Alistair leaped down the stairs and slammed him back to the ground.

“You're being manipulated by the Gythar, don't you understand, dammit!?” Jack reared up and threw his father off of his back. “They're not Gythar...” he turned and slammed his right fist into Alistair's face. “...they're my friends!”

The man reeled back, and Jack used the opportunity to stumble towards the portal. Alistair roared, and ran at his son.

That's when Applejack planted her hind hooves into his face in a bone shattering buck.

He flew back, slamming into some boxes. He groaned with the last fragments of energy he had, and glanced up at the grinning Jack.

Now I can't understand why my friends didn't throw up once they showed up in my room. This portal's so topsy-turvy, that it's a miracle I'm even still conscious.

Okay, it also might be my heavily bleeding arm. Whatever inter-dimensional gateway we're going through right now is gonna be filled with quite a bit of blood next time someone decides to use it.

After what seemed like an extremely painful eternity, we fell out of the portal and landed in a throne room.

I glanced around, and saw Rainbow Dash drop my backpack on the floor. At least we got that.

A shadow overtook us, and we all looked up. Princess Celestia looked down on us, a little angrier and taller in person. Well, in pony.

“Who is this? What is this?” she looked at Twilight. “Is this, thing, the hero we were looking for?”

The Epic Tale of Jack Darrius

by Ponyswamp

The Fantastical Adventures, And So It Begins, Chapter 6