{*Omniscient point of view, Ponyville Library*}
Griffin’s mind was still trying to process the events that occurred before him, even though he was taking great pleasure in consuming the cupcake that the offender had given to him. He chewed slowly, his eyes lost to the upper left corner of his vision, wondering just what fraction of his adventure thus far had been true and what had been just a trick of his mind. All the girls around him, save for Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, were absolutely appalled and disgusted on how he ate the slimy delectable with such lack of care.
“Ok, I’m pretty certain that I’m high and that this is all just a dream now. One-hundred percent sure.” he mused, gulping down the bits of sugar he bit in to.
“Silly billy!” Pinkie Pie cried out, jumping up and putting a hoof around Griffin’s shoulder from behind. “You’re not dreaming! We’re right in front of you, after all! What kind of a crazy person would dream about ice cream coloured ponies in a bright world that looks like a six-year-old’s scrapbook?”
Griffin’s expression became neutral in an instant. All the mares gave concerned looks at each other as they witnessed Griffin’s sudden reaction. Rarity raised her eyebrows, finally realizing the reality that Griffin was experiencing at that very moment. Fluttershy took a few steps towards the biped cautiously, her head low but her gaze high. She watched as Griffin stared straight ahead, not reacting to anything. There was a brief flash of light in the room and thunder crashed after a few second of silence, the pitter-patter of rain against the windowpanes filling the room.
“Griffin? Are… Are you ok?” Fluttershy asked.
He said nothing. After a few brief moments of tension, he took a deep breath in, and back out slowly. Twilight couldn’t help but use the moment to float over her notes and a quill to start writing down notes on human breathing behaviour.
“I’m done.” And with that, be approached the front door.
“Griffin! Where in Equestria are you going?” Rarity inquired, worry reflecting off of her eyes.
“I’m done! I’m fucking done!” the human announced, bending over and placing his hand on the doorknob. “This is bullshit! This is just complete and utter bullshit! After I finally get a hold on this place’s physics and mechanics, something else happens that blows my mind.”
He opened the door. A blast of chilling wind and rain slammed into his figure, blowing his face and hair back and causing him to squint. As he felt the warmth of the fireplace rush past his ankles to the outside world he swiftly closed the wooden barrier.
“Never mind.” he said, turning around. “But Applejack! You’re another pony that neither has wings nor a horn! Surely you can’t be able to appear out of nowhere too!”
“Er…” Applejack iterated, adjusting the hat on her head.
Twilight took a step forward. “It’s just Pinkie, Griffin. Pinkie can do things that no pony can understand. You can’t let yourself think about it too much.”
“But this makes no sense!” Griffin pointed out, gesturing over to Pinkie Pie, who was swatting at the empty air with an annoyed expression.
Twilight held her hoof up in admission. “I know it makes no sense. But it isn’t supposed to make sense. You just have to take it at face value. I once tried to figure out why Pinkie’s so random, and none of my data or research got me anywhere except in a wheelchair.”
Griffin was thoroughly shocked.
“I-It wasn’t that bad!” Twilight exclaimed. “I recovered quickly! I wasn’t permanently injured or anything! I swear.”
He gave a shifty expression to Pinkie.
The hyperactive baker pouted. “You’ve being no fair, Griffy-Griff! You barely know me and you’re already making conclusions about the way I am!”
Griffin sighed, his shoulders slumping. “You’re right. But this… this…”
Twilight decided to take her turn again. “Don’t. Think. About it.”
“Fine! Fine. I give up.” Griffin announced, throwing his arms up in resignation. Twilight took notice on the rings around Griffin’s fingers, as they were glowing blue more harshly than before.
“Uh oh.” Twilight thought, turning towards her the door to her own room to get another pair of inhibitor rings. Before she could get anywhere however, another crazy event occurred in her slowly deteriorating peaceful home.
“Yiiikes!” Rainbow Dash cried out, launching out from her lying position on the floor and up into the air.
Several stacks of paper that had been sitting on Twilight’s table had been swept upward with the wind coming from Rainbow’s powerful wings. Open books on Twilight’s nearby work desk flipped pages rapidly, quills were taken with the powerful air currents and ash from the fireplace blasted forward, the flame raising in height and intensity from the sudden influx of oxygen. All the mares and the single dragon screamed as they were blasted by a storm of soot, paper and feathers. A window beside the stairs burst open with a shutter, the chilling outside air flooding the library and quickly carrying the warmth out of the chamber. Rain mixed with ash and there were suddenly tiny puddles of mud appearing on Twilight’s usually pristine floor.
Twilight was holding her hoof over her eyes, trying to keep several flying objects out of her face. “Rainbow! What’s wrong?”
“Haaa! Hot! Hot hot! Yeeowch!” Rainbow cried, slamming against the floor and promptly started rolling around.
Rainbow’s landing allowed Twilight a split second to see what all the hubbub was about. The end of Rainbow’s tail was a host to a flame that was slowly eating up the hair. It was traveling up the line of rainbow strands at a frightening speed. Rainbow flailed about, trying to put out the heat that was lit quite literally under her butt.
Twilight focus her magic and her horn was ignited with energy. The girls behind her were still screaming, running around in a panic except for a certain human and farmpony. She focused on the fiery end of Rainbow and the air around her tail distorted, killing the flame instantly. There was a tiny trail of smoke that was left of Rainbow’s smoldering behind, which was too squashed out by Twilight as she cast a cold spell around the area. Rainbow stopped, having realized that she was no longer in danger, and laid on the floor, panting. The objects around the room continued to fly around, although with less ardour since the Pegasus creating the wind current in the first place was now firmly grounded. Twilight watched with growing frustration as some of her stray notes flew right into the fireplace, burning them to dust instantly. A symphony of thunder and lightning played in the background, making Griffin see stars from all the sudden bursts of light. The open window was shut and latched, the outside air rapping against the glass aggressively. The pieces of paper, quills and ash quickly decent onto the floor. One by one the mares stopped panicking, with Spike to be the last to realize that there was nothing left to panic about.
They stood in silence, Twilight fuming in the quiet, Rainbow ticked off and Griffin annoyed in general.
“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight began, turning around to face her friend. “After all the chaos and mayhem you managed to bring into my quiet, little home, I have one question for you.”
Rainbow looked up, a scowl on her face.
“WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?” Twilight screamed, the Royal Canterlot Voice spell activating to fully display the emotions in Twilight.
Rainbow shook her head back and forth and picked at her ears, trying to get the ringing out. She glanced up at the window. “Who the hay put me right beside the fire? I got my tail burned off for crying out loud!”
Everyone looked at Rainbow’s Tail. It was absolutely ruined, and the stench of burnt hair permeated the room.
“I did, Rainbow, and I was going to dry you off with a spell too, but I got distracted. I’m sorry you got set on fire. I thought that you were already far away enough from the fireplace to not get harmed.”
Griffin gave a sheepish look, glancing around to see if anyone would look at him. “Oh crap. Maybe I shouldn’t have opened the door in the first place. That initial surge of oxygen that hit the fire and set Rainbow alight might have been my fault.”
“Since when do you lock your windows anyways, Twilight? If I had been able to get through, then I wouldn’t have gotten set on fire in the first place.” Rainbow Dash said, rubbing the end of her sore muzzle.
Twilight’s brows furrowed. “You know just as well as I do that there’s an extreme storm causing havoc outside. Only a crazy pony would keep their window unlocked, which apparently happened to my window anyways when you rammed into it. Besides, most of the time when you do enter my home through the window, you forget to actually open it up first, and I have to keep replacing my library window on a monthly basis.”
“But I pay for the damages all the time!” Rainbow complained.
“No you don’t!” Twilight accused, walking up to Rainbow and pointing at her. “You pay for the window sometimes, but other times you forget, or you don’t have the money and you tell me that you’ll pay me back later and then forget anyways. I’ve been letting it go because you’re my friend and you’re accident prone, but I have to put my hoof down somewhere! I enchanted all my windows so that they’re reinforced to not break all the time!”
“That’s a lie!” Rainbow shouted.
“She ain’ lyin’!” Applejack proposed, taking her own steps forward.
“This is none of your business!”
“Like hay it is! All of us in the room were un’er an assault of paper and rain because of you! The least you could do is pony up for eur actions.”
Rainbow got to her hooves. “I got set on fire! Of course I’m going to panic!”
Applejack approached. “It ain’ matter, ya’ll gotta stop bein’ a wuss an’ calm down for a sec!”
Rainbow was muzzle to muzzle with Applejack. “You wanna say those words to my face again, punk?”
“Rainbow! Stop it this instant!” Twilight ordered.
“I dare you to hit me. I double dog dare you!”
“Whoa whoa whoa, let’s just all calm down and think of a way to the solution without pounding each other’s face in.” Griffin said, running up to the two and trying to gently push them away from each other. Applejack kept her deadly glare at her rival, but Rainbow took a few seconds for Griffin’s presence to sink in for her.
Her eyebrows narrowed into a scornful gaze.
“This is all your fault!” she shouted, tackling the human.
All the mares gasped as Griffin went soaring across the room with Rainbow Dash plowing against his stomach. He hit the wall hard and fell to the floor, a shower of books toppling over him. He put his arms and knees up to protect himself from the onslaught of 500-page hardcovers. Before he had any chance to react, Rainbow jumped onto his stomach and reeled back.
“Stupid monster! Stupid alien monster and your stupid storm and your stupid, stupid, stupid…” Rainbow said as she wailed on Griffin, Griffin trying his best to block her attacks.
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight called as she enveloped Rainbow with her telekinesis. Rainbow twisted and turned, struggling with the spellcaster’s hold.
“Lemme go! Lemme go!” Rainbow pleaded.
“Ya’ll need to shut up and calm down!” Applejack shouted.
Twilight glared at Applejack. She looked back at Twilight and took the hint. The cyan Pegasus didn’t stop moving, grunting with effort as Twilight lowered her to the ground. Griffin rolled over to his stomach and got up, wiping drool off the side of his mouth with his sweater sleeve. Sweat matted his forehead and the ringlets that once sat dropping over the side of his crown were now sticking out everywhere in a tangled mess. Fluttershy fluttered over to him, whispering “Are you ok?” barely loud enough so he could hear. He said nothing, and the glow from his rings grew.
“Rainbow, what has gotten into you?” Twilight asked. “You can’t attack ponies like that! Just because you’re mad at something doesn’t give you the right to harm it!”
“It’s his fault that it’s raining outside!” Rainbow shouted, still trapped in full-body telekinesis. “I saw him fall from the sky onto Sweet Apple Acres, and then the storm appeared right after it! We couldn’t control it! The clouds went completely out of control!”
The other mares were thoroughly shocked, eyes wide and lips parted. Twilight and Applejack shared a knowing glance. They knew when exactly the storm came, but they didn’t really think about it too much. It had slipped their mind after they were busied with bringing the alien to the Ponyville Library in secret, delivering the apple cart back to Sweet Apple Acres and trying to decide what to do with him. If the Pegasus ponies couldn’t handle the weather, and the storm was acting as wild as weather from the Everfree Forest would…
“Darling, it can’t possibly be that bad.” Rarity scoffed. “I mean, you’re speaking as if he started the end of the world or something.”
If looks could kill, Rainbow would have eviscerated Rarity on the spot.
“Look, if you can’t control yourself, then I’m going to have to ban you from the library!” Twilight warned, advancing towards Rainbow.
“Shut up, Twilight!”
Rainbow tried one last time to escape, and in doing so hit Twilight across the face with one strong backhand swing.
Twilight shouted out in pain and shock and was sent a few feet back. She collapsed on the ground, focused wavering. Her telekinesis was released on Rainbow. The prismatic flyer abruptly fell to the ground, wondering briefly what just happened. Thunder crackled in the distance.
“Rainbow!” Rarity scolded.
Rainbow looked up at Twilight, who was getting up from the ground, rubbing the side of her cheek. “Twilight? I-I’m…”
Fluttershy squealed and raced off behind Applejack as Griffin’s inhibitor rings blasted apart. Bright blue flames engulfed his hands as the ends of his hair and clothes seemed to float with a will of their own. His eyes reflected a chilling light blue and he grit his teeth, blowing hot air from his flared nose. Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, Spike and Fluttershy all backed up to the wall besides the front door, shivering without words. The fire in the fireplace was snuffed out in an instant, leaving only a small trail of smoke and cinder behind. Twilight’s eyes widened as she realized she was too late.
“Oh no…” she thought to herself.
In an instant, Griffin rocketed towards Rainbow Dash and shot his fist forward right into the side of ribcage. She flew into the opposite bookshelf and her neck whiplashed, hitting her head against the cold, hard oak. A cascade of think encyclopedia fell on her unmoving body and she was buried in a landslide of endless information.
“Dashy!” Pinkie cried out, stepping forward from the corner of the room. Her eyes promptly grew orange. “You hurt Dashy!”
Griffin was hunched over in the middle of the room, his legs slightly bent and his head hanging down with his wrists curved upward and his nails jutting out. The fireballs emitting from his palms flickered and danced upward, swaying in the invisible wind. He glared at Pinkie and shouted from the very being of his soul, shaking everyone in the room to the bone. His voice was nothing like anything Twilight had ever heard. There was the roar of a Manticore, the primal screech of an Ursa Minor, but then there was the utterly horrific scream of a human gone mad. She tried to get up and start up her magic, but as she stood the room started spinning and she had a hard time focusing her eyes on the target.
Pinkie was deterred for a total second before she shook off the fright and pounced at the demon. He screamed again, his head cocked back towards the ceiling and a pillar of fire burst as a circle around him, reaching up to the top of the room. Pinkie hit the barrier and bounced right back into her friends near the front door, the ends of her mane and tail smoldering. She was caught by Fluttershy, and to her spectators’ surprise, managed to not fall over but instead hold her ground and give Pinkie Pie her loving, motherly eye.
“Are you ok, Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked with the pony in her forehooves.
“Ah, so that was the doozy I felt earlier…” Pinkie muttered to herself, having lost all motivation to fight. She started blankly at Griffin, who was still surrounded by flames.
As Griffin’s pillar died down, the flames revealed that his body was completely on fire, from toe to the tip of his head. He was a walking pyromaniac covered in blue flames. Just as quickly as the heat appeared however, it shrunk down and withered out. Griffin was uncovered, his clothes still intact and the glow in his eyes calming down. The room was cast into darkness, save for the light emitting from Griffin’s person. He huffed and his limbs drooped before his head perked up for a second.
“Wha?” Griffin uttered, taking in his surroundings as if he had been asleep in a dream for a long period of time. He saw Rainbow’s tail peeking out from the hill of books that he had inadvertently created. His vision shifted over to the left and he saw Twilight leaning against one of her desks, trying to steady herself as her heart raced. He turned his attention behind him where four ponies plus one dragon were staring at him, shivering and hugging into the back wall as much as physical limitation allowed them. They all huddled into a group, a shaking fear in their eyes rocking their world.
The human looked down at his hands and took in a great gasp. They were still on fire, and right in front of him, attached to his wrists.
“Oh no.” Griffin said, waving his hands around trying to get the fire to go out.
“Oh no, oh no.” he spoke, backing up slowly. He lost his footing and slipped, letting his foot get tangled beneath him as he sat on it.
“No no no no.” the human pronounced, shaking his head back and forth as he shuffled backwards with the aid of his two legs and his left hand, which was still ignited.
“Nooo…” the alien sobbed, crawling into the corner as the fires dies out and his fingertips smoldered with a fine black mist appearing from his fingernails. He curled his legs and pulled his knees close to his body, his shoulder leaning onto one side of the wall as he held his own two hands in front of him and stared.
“What am I?” he asked himself. “What am I, and what have I become?” Tears started to trickle out of the bottom rim of his eyelids. “Am I some kind of monster, having been cast out upon this land to wreak havoc and dismay? Am I a destroyer, with the power of fire to cleanse and burn?”
“What am I?” he whispered. “What have I become?”
The ponies and dragon that were standing in beside the front door peered around the wall to take a look at where their only source of light had went. Pinkie jumped down from Fluttershy’s hold and got on to her own legs, taking a trot near the seats and trying to get a look. She glanced back at where Rainbow had landed and saw some of the books slid down the slope, Rainbow groaning and moving the thick tombs off of her slowly but steadily. Twilight finally had her head stable enough to make her way to the coffee table, but stumbled forward and had to catch herself on the red sofa. She peered over the edge of the fabric at the poor, pitiful creature who sat in the corner.
Fluttershy took two tentative steps forward towards the animal after hearing its whimpers and sobs. Her ear twitched and she observed onward as the organism hugged its legs and turned towards the wall, shivering violently. She moved over the figure and bent down, trying to make herself as small and harmless as possible while approaching the wounded beast. It barely acknowledged her presence as it muttered insane nonsense to itself.
“I wanna go home. I wanna go home.” it said, hiccupping between sentences. It repeated the same four words over and over again.
Fluttershy gave a sorrowful look and wrapped the monster into a hug. The monster didn’t react to anything, but instead sat there in his own deteriorating mind.
“Where am I? Where? Someone please tell me where I am?”
Fluttershy held him tighter. The others approached him from behind. Twilight could still see the faint glow in Griffin’s eyes remain even after Fluttershy had cover her view.
“Please, someone tell me where I am. Where am I?” it said, accepting Fluttershy embrace into its own.
“Where am I? Where am I!?” It shouted. “Tell me where I am! I’m lost and I wanna go home!”
Twilight got off of the sofa and took cautious steps towards the whipering beast, taking care not to spill over in her own drunken balance. Her friends looked at her and stepped aside, leaving Twilight just with Fluttershy and the alien.
Twilight gave a look at the magical anomaly that no one in the room could place.
“Where am I? No one even told me where I am!”
Twilight stared, feeling queasy.
“Welcome to the magical world of Equestria.”
{END OF CHAPTER}