//------------------------------//
// Chapter V:  The Long Journey Into The North 
// Story: Host Of Souls 
// by SapphireWings999 
//------------------------------//

And so, after a short trip to the station and an equally short wait boarding the train, me and the girls were finally off to the Crystal Empire.  As I sat in one of the train cars, I received plenty of weird looks from the ponies travelling with me.  I tried not to think about it though as I kept my mind focused on getting to our destination and getting our problem rectified as quickly as possible.

"You girls doin' O.K. up there?" I asked.

Yes, they all replied.

Thanks for asking, Twilight stated, pleasantly.

"Yer welcome.  So how long does a train ride ta tha Crystal Empire typically take?"

Only about a few hours.  We should be there before you know it.

No sooner did Twilight speak then the train came to a screeching halt.

Wait a minute.  Why did we stop? Rainbow questioned.

"Ah dunno, Rainbow.  Maybe we should go out 'n check."

And with that, I exited the train car to investigate, as did many other ponies.  Upon making my way to the train engine, I discovered that a bridge that we had arrived at had been destroyed.  I then sought answers from the train conductor on how long it would take for the bridge to be fixed.  He said it would take a few days at which point many of the mares in my head started to object.

Oh that's just great, Rainbow protested. How're we gonna get to the Crystal Empire now?

Does this mean we're not gonna make it there at all? Fluttershy asked nervously.

That would not be very cool, Pinkie spoke up.

Girls, just try to calm down, Twilight stated.

How can we be calm at a time like this? Rarity questioned.

Do y'all even hear yerselves? AJ asked. Y'all are gettin worked up over nothin.

And with that, all six mares broke out into arguing in my head.  All these voices had me feeling like I was about to get a migraine from the constant noise and bickering that was going on.  Finally, when I couldn't take it anymore, I placed my thumb over my index finger, held it in front of my forehead, and flicked my index finger against it.

Ow! all six of them objected.

"Sorry, girls.  Ah jus needed a moment of silence ta think this all through."

So, with the silence I had been looking for, I began to think over our current predicament and how it could be resolved.  After a brief minute of mulling it over in my head, I thought of something.

"Twi, if Ah were ta jus fly ta tha Crystal Empire from here, do ya think Ah could make it there in time?"

I'm honestly not sure, but it would be faster than it would take for them to fix this bridge.

"Then it looks like it's been decided.  Ah'm flyin to tha Crystal Empire."

But, David, Fluttershy stated, timidly, We don't even know if you'll make it there in time.

"If it means that Ah'll be able ta be with Savannah again if Ah succeed, that's a risk Ah'm willin ta take.  Ah'll either fly ta tha Crystal Empire 'n make it or lose ma soul ta tha darkness tryin."

Well what're ya waitin for? Rainbow spoke up.

"Nothin.  Let's go."

And with a mighty thrust of my wings, I shot up into the sky and began what would be my long flight into the north, all the while praying that this brief hindrance wouldn't be my undoing.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


Flying in the direction of the Crystal Empire was relatively easy as all I had to do was just follow the train tracks as they went north.  Even without the train tracks, I could've probably figured it out by myself.  Back home, I have a very innate sense of direction.  One time when I was all done with a semester at my community college, the only bus leaving from the campus was not the bus that I normally take to get home, but I took that bus up until a certain point where I then got off and walked to the next stop where my normal bus comes by, just as it was pulling up, and I made it home perfectly fine that day.

As time wore on, I tried to keep up conversation with the girls as they also tried to keep up conversation with me.

"So, Twi, how's this girl Sunset Shimmer doin since ya last heard from her?"

She's doing pretty good.  Not really too much to report aside from her being the new frontrunner of this band called the Rainbooms.  She does lead vocals and guitar for them.

"Ah wish Ah could've been in a band.  I actually auditioned for a band one time."

Really? Rainbow asked, her curiosity now piqued. How'd that go?

"Well it was a few years ago when ma mom brought me ta this bar where a band o' 30 somethin's were lookin fer a lead vocalist.  They gave me a list o' some songs ta practice ahead o' time 'n by tha time o' tha audition Ah had bout four different songs memorized.  So we ran through them a few times over tha course of a few hours 'n they said they were impressed by ma dedication in tha sense that most people who came ta audition only bothered ta learn one song whereas Ah learned four.  Aside from that though, Ah never heard anythin from them again after that.  Ah don' know if they found someone else ta be their lead singer or if they jus disbanded."

That's too bad, Flutters stated. I'm sure you would've been great in that band.

"Thanks, Flutters."

David, did you ever tell any of the girls about how you used to be an actor? Twilight questioned.

You used to be an actor!?! Rarity beamed. David, darling, why didn't you say so sooner?  Now you just have to tell us all about it.

You should tell them about the Halloween show you did with the Michael Jackson performance at the end.

Hallowhat? Pinkie questioned.

Michael who? Applejack puzzled.

"O.K.  O.K.," I finally gave in. "Fer those of you who didn't know, Halloween is basically ma home world's version o' Nightmare Night 'n Michael Jackson was a very popular performer.  He was famously known as 'The King Of Pop' 'n had numerous hit singles over tha course of his career.  He sadly died about six years ago.  Two years after his passing, Ah was in a Halloween musical at ma local theater where Ah played a vampire nerd named Oscar."

Hahahahahaha.  You played a vampire nerd? Pinkie laughed. That's funny.

"Yes.  It was a pretty funny role ta play 'n Ah had a lot o fun with it, but ma favorite part was at tha very end when Ah got ta break out inta 'Thriller', one o' Michael Jackson's biggest hits.  Ah had such a great time singin that as everybody else was dancing around me.  After one o tha shows, an elderly man came up ta me 'n said, 'Michael Jackson still lives in you'.  Ah was completely shocked ta receive a compliment like that.  Never before had Ah gotten that kind of praise fer a performance.  It was very humbling."

If this Michael Jackson was as great as you said he was, then I'm sure you must've done him proud, Rainbow replied.

Couldn't agree more, Rare followed up.

"Thanks you two."

Was there anything else you acted in?  Surely that one musical can't have been your only performance.

"Well, Rare, Ah was also in another musical 'n five variety shows."

And what exactly is a "variety show"?

"Well it's kind of a mashup of many different things.  There's skits, monologues, jokes, dance numbers, 'n singing.  Some people prefer ta sing alone while others prefer ta sing in a group.  Ah sang solo fer each 'n every one of 'em."

You sang by yourself at all five variety shows? Fluttershy wondered in amazement. You must've been very brave and committed in order to sing in every single show like that.

"Eh.  It just came naturally ta me.  Ah've been singin ever since Ah was- OWWW!!!!"

I was cut off by that all too familiar burning/stabbing feeling I had experienced before.  This time, though, it was in my arms from my shoulders all the way down to my fingertips.  The other mares cried out in agony with me as I watched my hands curl up and harden into hooves.

Pop.  Pop.

As my hands became hooves, the two rings I had been wearing popped off of where my fingers had once been and started plummeting towards the ground.

"Ma rings!!!!"

I then went into a nosedive towards the falling rings, gaining great speed on them.  Using my telekinesis from my horn, I managed to stop their descent and catch them.  I then landed on the ground and held my rings in my hooves wondering how I would go about carrying them with me.

What's soo significant bout those rings? AJ questioned.

"One of these is ma wedding ring from when me 'n Savannah got married.  Tha other used ta belong ta ma grandmother before she passed away from cancer.  It's one o tha few things Ah have left from her.  Tha only problem Ah have now is how'm Ah supposed ta carry them with me?"

You could just wear them on your horn, Twilight suggested.

"Hmm.  Now that Ah think about it, it might work," I answered, using my magic to place both rings on my horn.

Sure enough, both rings fit perfectly.

"There.  That's better.  Ah think Ah'm gonna walk fer a bit ta give ma wings some time ta rest."

As I walked along, I could only imagine how strange I would look to any other ponies.  I now had a pony head, pony tail, and pony forelegs, not to mention my wings and horn.  The only parts of me that were still human were my torso and my legs.  This weird blend would probably seem very odd to anypony who might have seen me walking on hind legs even longer than my forelegs.  Suddenly, Pinkie's voice snapped me back to reality.

What's this? she asked.

"What's what?" I asked back. "What're ya talkin abo-"

Before I could finish, a memory came back to me, though not through my own will.  The memory was of me, sitting at home on my bed, watching episodes of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.  Episode after episode flashed through my mind as I realized my worst fear had come to fruition: one of the ponies (Pinkie Pie in this case) had managed to get into my personal memories and now had access to them.

"Hey hey hey!  Those are my personal memories!" I protested. "Stay out of there!"

But we're in em so it's personal ta us too, Applejack came back, defensively.

Why are we in your memories from before you even met us? Rainbow Dash lashed out.

David? Twilight asked firmly. Is there something you wanna tell us?

I had known this was gonna happen sooner or later; I guess I had always hoped that it would be much later.  But now there was no avoiding it; I had to come clean and tell them how I had known about them in the first place.

"Alright," I uttered, still walking, eyes fixed ahead. "In tha world Ah come from, each 'n every one of you are part of a kid's TV show called My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.  It basically chronicles yer everyday adventures startin from when Twi first moved ta Ponyville ta prevent Nightmare Moon's return up until y'all defeated Lord Tirek.  There were even two movies made revolvin around Twi's visits to the alternate dimension where everyone's human.  That was how Ah first found out bout you guys a little over a year ago."

After a brief period of total silence, Fluttershy finally spoke up.

W-why didn't you say anything about this?

"In all honesty, Flutters,... Ah don' know.  Ah jus... never knew how ta tell any o' ya until now.  Not ta mention it's not necessarily tha easiest thing ta tell somepony that there's a TV show based around their everyday life in another dimension."

I guess you're right.  That would be rather difficult to tell anypony, Rarity admitted.

So... does that mean that... none of us are actually real? Pinkie questioned, nervously. Are we all just... figments of someone else's imagination?

I imagined Pinkie's mane and tail deflating and ears folding back sadly at the thought of something like this.  Thankfully, I knew how to remedy this.

"No no of course not," I replied, softly. "Yer all real.  Yer real ta tha audience who watches yer show, yer real ta tha writers who transcribe yer adventures, yer real ta me.  It's because of all y'all that Ah've become a better person.  Y'all do exist in this dimension.  There are just special people where Ah'm from who're allowed ta see glimpses inta yer dimension 'n share those stories with tha world.  Ah like ta think of these people as Authors: people who observe many things, both wonderful and terrible, happenin in ma world as well as others 'n chronicle them fer others ta experience fer themselves"

Wow, Rainbow uttered. That's... that's quite a lot to take in at once.

"Well how bout Ah take yer mind off of it with a song?"

Oooh oooh oooh.  I love songs, Pinkie piped up.

How about we hear a song you did for the theater? Rarity suggested.

"Good idea, Rare," I stated as I stopped walking. "Ma legs are gettin tired so Ah think Ah'll let ma wings take over.  As fer the song, this one is a Backstreet Boys classic called As Long As You Love Me."

And so, as I took to the sky, I began to sing the upbeat tune as we all let our troubles slip away in that one brief moment of happiness.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


About a half hour later, I was making decent progress as I continued my flight towards the Crystal Empire.  Over that time, I had been singing song after song from my home world to keep the mares in my head entertained from Michael Jackson's Thriller to Journey's Don't Stop Believing to Keith Urban's Put You In A Song to Owl City's When Can I See You Again to the song Up All Night from one of my new favorite TV Shows, Empire.  With each song I did, they all seemed genuinely impressed by my vocal talent.

Wow, David, Fluttershy marveled after I had finished Florida Georgia Line's Stay, you have a really great singing voice.

I'll say, Rainbow added. Had you ever tried to pursue that as a career back home?

"Well, Rainbow, it's funny that you should mention that.  Several years ago back home, Ah actually tried auditionin fer this reality competition show called American Idol where tha point o' tha show is ta find tha next greatest singer in all America."

Really? Twilight asked, amazed. How far did you make it?

"Up ta tha celebrity judges.  Before Ah even got there, there were three rounds of auditions Ah had ta go through.  In tha first round, Ah auditioned with a group of four other contestants 'n Ah was the only one in that group ta make it through.  As if that wasn't enough, later on when Ah auditioned in front o' tha four executive producers o' tha show, Ah needed three yeses ta make it through ta tha celebrity judges.  Ah got three exactly."

Applejack let out an impressed whistle at that statement before I continued.

"Ah consider maself lucky ta have made it as far as Ah did, especially when ya take inta account that Ah started out as one o several thousand originally 'n made it to a point that only a few hundred ever do."

Have you ever thought of going back and trying again? Rarity questioned. Surely something like this can't have just completely lost your interest.

"Oh all tha time definitely.  It's been on ma radar fer a while now, it's jus that tha past few years Ah've been really busy with a lotta stuff.  College, ma job, Savannah.  Life has a way of slipping right by ya before ya even know it.  Maybe Ah'll try again this year once Ah get back home... that is if Ah ever get back home."

I then started to lose confidence that I'd make it to the Crystal Empire in time.  Applejack was quick to offer reassurance.

Don'cha worry Sugarcube.  Ya'll make it ta Celestia, have this problem fixed, 'n be back with Savannah before ya know it.

I smiled as I started to reply.

"Thanks A-"

My reply was interrupted though as I accidentally crashed into something/someone.  My focus had not been on where I was going and this collision was a byproduct of that.  I started rubbing my aching forehead with my hoof.

"I am soo sorry," I apologized instantly, not seeing who I had crashed into as my eyes were closed. "I didn't mean to-"

"Why don't you watch where you're going, dweeb?" a familiar voice condemned.

Wait a minute, Rainbow started, I know that voice.

Meep! Fluttershy let out nervously.

I knew who that voice was also.  It was the voice of one who I hadn't seen or heard since Season 1, but the voice was unmistakable.  Sure enough, as I opened my eyes and looked towards the direction of my accuser, I saw that it was Gilda the Gryphon, rubbing her own forehead.

"You!" I responded with venom in my tone. "What're you doing here?"

"That's none of your beeswax," she answered just as malicously. "What're you doing here?"

"That's none of your beeswax so I guess we're both going to be disappointed."

After Gilda had finished rubbing her forehead and got a good look at me, she looked dumbfounded as I figured she might at the sight of this weird Human/Alicorn hybrid hovering in front of her.

"What the flying feather are you supposed to be?"

"That's really not of any concern to you, but I happen to be a human descendant of an Alicorn Princess from thousands of years ago who wound up in my home world as a human and had many descendants over those millennia leading up to me in the present.  Now if you'll excuse me, I have someplace very important to be," I replied, trying to fly past her.

"What's the hurry?" Gilda asked as she blocked me. "I thought we were just getting to know each other... or am I not good enough for you?"

"That's not what it's like at all," I answered, getting slightly annoyed as I tried to pass her again, "I just don't have a lot of time to waste right now and I need to get somewhere very quickly."

"Oh is that all I am to you?" Gilda questioned, offended. "A waste of time?  Gilda's not good enough or cool enough for you to hang out with?"

"Enough please, Gilda," I stated as I flew away from her, hoping and praying that I could get out of this situation before I did something I'd regret.

"No no no.  I get it," Gilda lashed back. "All you ponies are the same.  Just a bunch of lame-o's who think that you're better than others.  None of us are ever good enough for you ponies to even bother with.  Well you know what?!?  You and your friends are no better off than a Changeling!"

That was it.  My slit eyes were full of fury as I turned back towards Gilda.

"I SAID ENOUGH!!!!!!!!" I screamed with spite evident in my tone.

But at that moment, something happened that I didn't intend: A powerful blast of dark magic shot out from my horn and struck Gilda on her chest, resulting in a bloody wound appearing there as if she'd been slashed with a sword.  A look of horror immediately crossed my face as I watched her body plummet towards the ground.  Thinking fast, I dove after her and caught her with my normal magic before lowering her to the ground.  Her breathing was heavy and labored as I focused my energy on trying to heal her.  Within a short while, her wound was healed, but she gazed at me with a horrified look on her face.

"Monster!" she screamed as she fled from me. "MONSTER!"

As she flew away, I turned back in the direction that I was originally heading as I replayed the whole horrific scenario in my head.  I began to fear that the darkness was taking control of me much faster than I'd originally anticipated and my faith that I'd make it to Celestia in time was fading fast.