//------------------------------// // Crikey! (EDITED) // Story: The Reject Chronicles // by Darth Pestilence //------------------------------// John found himself in a dark room with an old wooden door directly in front of him. Without a moment's hesitation, he stepped forward and opened it. The room he found himself in after passing through the threshold was one of extreme familiarity. A stone staircase lined with torches led the way down to a large mirror with an ornate design carved into the borders… and what appeared to be golden, clawed feet. An inscription was written along the top: Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on woshi . He walked down the staircase until he stood directly in front of the strange mirror. Looking into it, he saw himself, happy and successful, with a beautiful woman and two smiling children standing by his side. John immediately realized what mirror this was. "This is the Mirror of Erised," he thought, transfixed by his greatest desire: a loving family and a peaceful life. "Like what you see, John?" asked a voice from behind him. John's eyes widened. "That voice!" He slowly turned around, finding himself face-to-face with the person he had idolized since childhood. "H-Harry Potter?!" John stuttered, not believing his eyes. The Boy who Lived smirked playfully. "The one and only. Sorry if you're disappointed. Would you rather have met Ron instead?" "N-No! I'm not disappointed at all! I'm excited to actually meet you," John exclaimed, feeling a wave of nostalgia hit him as all the fond memories of staying up all night to read the Harry Potter books with a flashlight under the covers as a child came rushing back to him. Harry's smile fell ever so slightly. "I hate to ruin your excitement, but this is most likely the last time you and I will chat face-to-face." John's face fell. "Oh," he muttered. Harry frowned. "Yeah, this is all a dream." "But then, why does it feel so... real?" John asked, hoping against hope that it was not a dream that he found himself in. "It's... hard to explain. To put it in simple terms, this is the point in time in which you would have taken up my role here in Equestria," Harry said. "What? Your role? What are you talking about?" John asked in confusion. "I'm talking about the merchant and the fact that you were sent to your own little version of Equestria. The thing is, you were supposed to have been wearing a Harry Potter costume when you bought that cloak. If you had, then you would have been sent here as The Boy who Lived," Harry explained. "Sent here as... you?" John questioned, even more confused now than before. "Yes. But for some reason, you and the other two you're here with didn't wear the costumes you were destined to wear. You were supposed to be me, Mason was supposed to have been Freddy Krueger, and Robert was destined to become Batman. But for some odd reason, none of you did. Heh, maybe this proves destiny really isn't set in stone," Harry mused, looking into the mirror. "W-What? But how is this even possible? How are you even here and talking to me?" John asked. "To be honest, I don't know. But what I do know is that your stay in Equestria is about to change drastically. Things are going to get difficult quickly, but don't worry, you and your friends aren't going to remain ordinary humans for long." "What do you mean?" Harry gave John a knowing smile. "Let's just say that magic works differently in this Equestria." Harry then turned his head upwards. "Looks like our time is up. So long!" "Wait!" John shouted, but Harry had disappeared. "Please! I have so many questions!" John's eyes flew open. His vision was blurred, his head hurt, and he felt a strange sensation in his body. He looked around wildly, then his vision cleared up and he calmed down at the sight of the cabin he had fallen asleep in. He relaxed, letting his heart rate go slowly back down. Once he had recovered, he sat up and looked around. Zecora's bed was empty, the zebra herself preparing breakfast, apparently. He faintly heard her saying something about toast. A brief glance around the room revealed that Robert and Mason were still fast asleep. "Good morning, John," Zecora greeted, finally noticing that John was no longer asleep. "Oh, good morning, Zecora," John slurred, for he was still tired after abruptly waking up from his dream. Zecora looked John over, a frown appearing on her muzzle. "Are you alright? You look slightly startled." "I'm alright. I just had a strange dream last night," John explained as he stood up and stretched. "So, what's for breakfast?" Zecora carefully picked up a plate and showed John what was on it: four pieces of toast, all covered in some kind of jelly. "I'm sorry it isn't much, but I am running out of food. I have been having to conserve rations for awhile now. I want to put off a trip to Ponyville as long as I can." John mustered up a smile. While he was disappointed by the small breakfast, he certainly wasn't going to be angry. After hearing how the townsfolk treated her, he could understand why she wanted to put the trip into town off. "Don't worry about it, Zecora, I understand and I know that the other two will as well. Besides, I still have some fruit left that we can eat." Zecora's eyes lit up. "Fruit? What kind?" "Apples from Sweet Apple Acres. Would you like one?" John offered. Zecora nodded. "Yes, please." "Alright, let me grab one from the bag," John said. He found his backpack and pulled one of the big, juicy apples out. Zecora's eyes lit up at the sight of the apple. John chuckled. "You must really want this apple." "Yes, I do. It has been quite a while since I've had any fruit to eat and I hear that the apples from Sweet Apple Acres are some of the most delicious in the land. Tell me, are they as good as they say?" Zecora asked. "I couldn't give you a proper judgement, but they're certainly better than any apple I've had before," said John. With that, Zecora took the apple and began devouring it, relishing in its delicious taste. Meanwhile, John picked up one of the pieces of toast and bit into it. It was decent, not great, but not horrible either. John calmly took another bite while Zecora continued to rip apart the apple, sending bits of it falling to the floor and drops of juice flying out. Zecora and John looked up from their apples when they heard a loud yawn coming from Mason, who was just now waking up. He wiped a drop of apple juice off of his cheek and sat up. "What is that sound? It sounds like some kind of animal eating," Mason grumbled. Zecora blushed and began to nibble her apple, slowly and neatly this time. "Zecora... really liked the apple I gave her. Sorry about waking you up," John said, Zecora's blush deepening. Mason glanced at all the pieces of the apple on the ground. "I can see that," he deadpanned. "F-Forgive me. I have not had something so delicious in a long while. I'm sorry if I woke you up," Zecora apologized, taking a final bite of her apple, which was now an apple core. "It's alright. I managed to get a good night's sleep before I was woken up. No big deal," Mason said as he stretched. "So, what's on today's agenda?" "Well, I was planning on collecting some food and water from the forest later today, but I'll do that around nighttime when less guards will be around," Zecora explained. "Sounds good. We'll go with you," John said as he handed Mason one of the pieces of toast. "What? I cannot-" Zecora began to say before John interrupted. "We're going with you. You think we're going to stay here while you go into the Everfree Forest at night? Nope, not happening." "But I've gone out at night before!" Zecora argued. "Well that was before we started living here," Mason remarked in between bites. Zecora opened her mouth to argue, but shut it after realizing that she would not be able to convince them to let her go alone. ‘I'm simply looking out for them when I tell them to stay here... Then again, they are also looking out for me. I've heard that friends look out for each other... It feels nice,’ she thought. "You think we should wake Robert up?" Mason asked. The other two occupants of the room turned to look at the couch, where Robert was sprawled out, sleeping soundly. "Nah, let him sleep. He's had to sleep in trees for the past couple days, so I think we should let him enjoy the couch for now," John answered. Zecora nodded. “I agree, let the boy sleep for now. In the meantime, I’ll prepare the supplies for later today and then get back to work on the new clothes I’m making for you,” she said. “Give Robert his toast when he wakes up.” When Zecora was out of earshot, Mason said, “I just realized something.” “What?” John asked. Mason pointed at the remaining piece of toast on the plate. “How did she toast that bread without a toaster?” John opened his mouth, but he had no answer. Instead, he and Mason stood there for a good twenty minutes, pondering the question that would never be answered. “Edible plants… a few herbs I might need in the future... all I need now is a little water for later,” Zecora said out loud. ‘More water? You got some yesterday,’ Mason whispered from under the Cloak of Invisibility. Zecora glanced over her shoulder at the three humans trailing behind her. Though she could not see them, she certainly knew they were there. “Well now that you three are staying with me, it would definitely be wise to gather extra supplies,” she said in a hushed tone. ‘I suppose that makes sense,’ Mason muttered. ‘Zecora, are you sure there are no more guards around? It would look awfully suspicious to see a Zebra talking over her shoulder when nobody seems to be there,’ John whispered. “Of course I’m sure. The predators of Everfree begin their prowl around this time and they know it. The guards are probably returning to their camps if they haven’t already. And don’t worry, you’re only here for my protection. ‘And maybe I can convince them that I’m a crazy pony who talks to herself if they catch me,’ she finished with a whisper so that nobody other than the three humans would hear it. ‘Well then you better be a pretty good actor,’ Mason commented. “Alright, I’ve gotten to the stream,” Zecora said out loud, ignoring Mason’s last statement. ‘Would one of you mind filling the other bucket for me, I want to leave as much as you three do. So please help me so we can start heading back as soon as possible.’ ‘Alright, let me take care of this,’ Mason whispered. He walked out from under the Invisibility Cloak and grabbed one of the buckets. He quickly helped Zecora and began making his way back to the Cloak when- “Freeze!” Mason turned around and saw a guard racing towards them from the other side of the creek. “Crap! Let’s get out of here, maybe we can lose him in the woods!” Mason said, going back under the Cloak. By this time, the guard had arrived at the creek. He hopped onto a large stone that was sticking out of the water in order to get to the side where they were, for he was an earth pony. This, however, was a fatal mistake. Because that particular stone was alive, had just been woken up from its nap by the stallion on top of it… … And was VERY hungry. *SNAP* It had happened so fast that it took the group of four a moment to process exactly what had happened. They probably wouldn’t have known what happened if it wasn’t sitting right in front of their faces. When they did realize what had happened to the clueless guard, they were stricken with absolute horror. The limp legs of the lifeless guard were hanging out of the sharp-toothed mouth of a Cragadile, who was very pleased with its latest meal. It chewed on the bloody body a few times before swallowing. The four of them were silent for a few moments, staring at the horrific scene before them, all of them barely managing to keep the toast they had eaten for breakfast down. “Holy shit! It ate him!” Mason yelled, getting the attention of the still-hungry beast. “... Fiddlesticks,” Robert uttered. The four of them turned and ran, abandoning all caution as the Cragadile pulled itself out of the large creek to pursue the tasty looking creatures running away from it. John ran so fast that his hood came off, revealing his head to the outside world, as well as getting ahead of Robert, who was now revealed as well. “How long will it take to get back to the cabin?!” John asked in between breaths, daring not to look over his shoulder to see how close their pursuer was. “Since we are running, it should take us about two minutes!” Zecora answered. But just as she said that, the tail of the Cragadile slammed them into a tree, knocking the wind out of them and even knocking Zecora unconscious. The Cragadile crept toward the trapped humans and zebra, licking its jagged teeth in anticipation for the upcoming feast. “Oh shit, oh shit!” John said, his mind clouded by panic. Mason tried in vain to reach his bladed glove while Robert clenched his eyes shut, bracing himself for the end. The Cragadile leaped at them, its jaws opened wide. “NO!” John screamed, throwing his hands out in front of him. His hands briefly glowed with a bright yellow aura before an intense ball of yellow energy shot out of his hands. The ball of energy hit the Cragadile in the mouth, knocking it a few feet back and even knocking it unconscious. Mason’s jaw dropped and the now open-eyed Robert was looking back and forth between the unconscious Cragadile and the now unconscious John. “What the heck…?” Robert said in confusion. “Mason, what just happened?” “I… I don’t know,” Mason answered. “John’s hands were surrounded by some kind of yellow aura... and then he shot some kind of yellow orb at it.” Robert looked back at the Cragadile, seeing the effectiveness of John’s unintentional attack. “...Wow. Looks like John’s got some firepower.” Robert then recalled the events that had transpired. “That guard… it ate that guard,” Robert said sadly, lowering his head in mourning. “Yeah,” Mason cringed as he responded. “I don’t particularly like the ponies, but I do wish his death wasn’t so… brutal.” The sound of howls brought Mason to his shaky feet. “C’mon, Robert, we need to get back to the cabin before something else tries to eat us,” Mason said. Robert was silent for a moment before he too stood up. “Okay. You grab John and I’ll grab Zecora.” Robert picked up the unconscious zebra, while Mason picked up their bald human companion, along with his invisibility cloak. “Alright, let’s get going,” Mason said in a hushed voice. The still conscious humans hauled their unconscious friends in the direction they knew would lead them back to their cabin sanctuary. Before they left, Robert took one final glance at the unconscious reptile, bowing his head in respect for the deceased guard. “Rest in peace,” he whispered, before following Mason back to their home.