The Lost Hero

by Ultimate Warrior of Zera

Assembly and a Few Explanations

Just as Princess Cadence promised, the Crystalling effect wore off after a few minutes, to some of the ponies’ relief and some of the ponies’ disappointment. As the sun started to set, Cheerilee’s class and several other tourists were escorted into hotel rooms and other temporary accommodations. Trixie, Maud, Daring Do, and the others were served diner, which they gladly ate, as the first three haven’t had anything to eat since lunch yesterday.

Clark was carried into a guest room in the palace and put to bed. The guards, especially Flash Sentry, were amazed that he didn’t seem to have a scratch on him, not even a scar on his throat where Doomsday had been slashed. A few briefly held grudges due to what Doomsday had done to them, but were reprimanded by the others. Cadence, Shining Armor, Trixie, and Maud entered the room and Maud quickly moved to Clark’s side and nuzzled him. Cadence cleared her throat.

“I’ve sent messages to the other three princesses requesting their presence as well as the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. They should be arriving shortly via teleportation. Let us wait until everypony is here so that we don’t have to tell the story multiple times.”

Trixie smiled at her.

“Sounds like a plan. Hmm, while we are waiting, we should take care of a few things first. Flash?”

He stood to attention.

“Yes, ma’am?”

“I can’t help but notice you are not carrying a weapon.”

“Oh, about that. My spear shattered against Doomsday and I dropped my sword when I lost my wing. Eh, it’s probably in the rubble somewhere. Don’t worry, I’ll find it eventually.”

“Well, until then…”

Trixie pulled Dawnbreak off her waist with her telekinesis.

“This sword belongs to Clark, but I’m sure he won’t mind if you carry it for a while. I would keep it, but I’m… not used to wielding one.”

She started blushing as she floated it over to him. He briefly blushed as well as he flew up and took it in his front hooves. He examined it, pulling the blade slightly out of its sheath.

“Hmm. There seems to be some writing engraved on the sheath and blade in Neighponese. ‘Dawnbreak’. Huh, that must be its name.”

Trixie and several others in the room double taked.

“You can read that?”

“Yeah. I’ve lived in Neighpon as a colt for a few years. Learned the language and a bit about fighting. This weapon is called a katana.”

He landed, held the sheath with his wing, and drew the blade with his fetlock and pastern. He took a few practice swings before sheathing it.

“Thank you, Miss Trixie. Until Clark recovers, I will wield it with honor.”

“You’re welcome.”

The two grinned at each other. Some of the other guards grumbled to each other that Flash was a lucky bastard while Cadence and Shining smirked.

With a boom and a flash of light, six ponies and a baby dragon teleported into the room.

“Cadence, Shining Armor, we got your message! It was vague but we came here as fast as we could! Is everypony alright!?”

Shining Armor chuckled.

“Calm down, Twiley. Everything is under control for the moment.”

“Hi, you guys.”

The group turned to see who said that.

“Trixie!”

She grinned.

“The One and Only!”

They grabbed her in a group hug.

“How’re yah doing, Sugarcube? Ah ain’t seen yah since that Rough Diamond incident.”

“I’ve been well, Applejack. I’ve just had a really crazy adventure.”

“We had a bit of a slow week. So what’s yer story?”

Trixie was about to talk about her adventure when Pinkie Pie turned towards the bed and gave a big GASP. She hugged her older sister.

“MAUD! I’m so glad to see you! How have you been? What are you doing here? Whoa, that’s an awesome jacket!”

Rarity looked Maud over.

“My word, is that leather?”

The others, especially Fluttershy, gasped. Rarity examined the sleeve with Maud’s permission.

“My mistake, it is a synthetic material. While it seems to have a bit of wear and tear, that’s nothing a needle and thread cannot repair. I must say the pitch black with that silver symbol is a nice effect. Wherever did you acquire it, Darling?”

Maud gave a small smile.

“It is good to see you too, Pinkie and friends. To answer your question, it belongs to Clark. I’m just borrowing it.”

The group looked at whom she was pointing at and beheld the sleeping Clark. Rarity’s eyes lit up.

“Oh my, what a magnificent specimen!”

Fluttershy had a similar look on her face.

“Wow.”

Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie briefly looked Clark over appreciatively while Spike glared unnoticed and muttered under his breath.

“You have got to be kidding me! Not again!”

Maud glared.

“Back off.”

Rarity’s face fell and she backed away.

“Oh, he is your coltfriend? My apologies, how rude of me!”

Maud’s face softened.

“We’ve just met yesterday, but I know he likes me, and I like him.”

Pinkie beamed and hugged her again.

“I’m so happy for you, Maud!”

Twilight looked around the room and did a double take when she saw a certain pony.

“F-Flash?”

Oblivious to her distress, Flash smiled and bowed his head.

“It is an honor to meet you again, Princess Twilight. I haven’t seen you since sometime before that incident with Tirek.”

“O-Oh yes, it’s lovely to meet you again as well.”

Twilight’s friends snickered, remembering the time she bumped into him shortly after her first trip through the mirror. Trixie scowled and whispered into Twilight’s ear.

“Twilight, is Flash your coltfriend?”

Twilight nervously whispered back.

“No.”

“Good. As a friend, I’d like to ask you to please not blow this for me. I like him and would like it to become something more.”

Twilight attempted to protest, but stopped when she remembered this was not the same Flash Sentry she knew.

“I understand. Good luck, Trixie.”

They moved apart. Before anypony could ask what they were talking about, they heard laughter and two ponies talking down the hall. Rarity scowled when she recognized Prince Blueblood’s voice.

“... And when we arrived, he tried to introduce himself to the Yaks with, ‘I am Shining Armor of the Tribe of Night Light.’! Can you believe it!?”

Shining Armor facehoofed.

“Oh no. Why did he have to talk about that? That was so embarrassing.”

Twilight was slightly upset that the advice she gave her brother before his diplomatic mission was being mocked.

Rainbow Dash grew ecstatic when she recognized the voice of Blueblood’s companion.

“Hahaha! That must have felt really silly!”

Prince Blueblood and Daring Do entered the room, both looking very happy. In an instant, Rainbow Dash hugged Daring.

“Daring Do! It’s so great to see you again!”

“Rainbow… too strong… can’t breathe…”

Rainbow let go, grinning sheepishly.

Rarity glared at Blueblood.

“What are you doing here?”

Blueblood was only slightly surprised to see her again before acting nonchalant.

“Oh, hello again Miss Rarity. Long story short, I accompanied my fellow prince to his diplomatic meeting in Yakyakistan. After we got back, there was an incident and these three ladies…”

He pointed at Maud, Trixie, and Daring Do.

“Saved us. Since the train station was destroyed, I’m stuck here for the time being as I lack the ability to teleport.”

Daring Do took over.

“So he decided to help me out. We’ve locked up Ahuizotl and Caballeron in the dungeon and now we’ve been talking. He has some amazing stories.”

Blueblood smiled.

“So do you.”

Rainbow beamed as she realized the two liked each other. She had often enjoyed shipping her hero with various characters in her spare time, even with Ahuizotl.

Rarity took Daring Do aside and whispered into her ear.

“Do be careful with this one. I’ve dealt with him before and he can be most uncharming.”

Blueblood cleared his throat.

“I heard that. I am truly sorry I mistreated you in our last encounter, but I’ve matured since then. Traveling around the world and sometimes risking my life on diplomatic missions can do that for a pony.”

Shining Armor stepped in.

“It’s true. If it wasn’t for him, my meeting with the Yaks would have ended in failure.”

Rarity was surprised, but kept her face calm.

“How lovely. Well, then, Prince Blueblood, you would best treat Miss Do right.”

“Don’t worry, I intend to enjoy the rest of our time together, as long as it lasts. After a few dates, who knows?”

Before anypony else could say anything, two more ponies teleported into the room in a flash of light, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Before anypony could react, the pair looked around and did a double take and gasp upon seeing Maud, Trixie, and Daring. Concerned, Blueblood spoke up.

“What’s wrong, Aunties?”

Luna pointed at Maud, Trixie, and Daring.

“You three… have stopped aging!”

Everypony gasped. Worried, they asked how they knew and how it happened. Celestia answered.

“Luna and myself have learned to detect ageless and immortal beings such as ourselves. I suppose, Twilight and Cadence, that we should one day teach you two how to do so as well. Anyway, you three have slight magical auras around you that have halted your aging. The source is… him.”

She pointed at Clark. Trixie stared for a few seconds before laughing in excitement.

“This is amazing! Meeting you guys has been the best thing that has ever happened to me! I’ve always wanted to live forever!”

“Miss!”

Luna was looking at her sternly.

“This is no laughing matter. Besides, you are not immortal, only ageless. There is a difference.”

“Oh, I am sorry Princess. I got carried away there.”

Celestia raised a hoof.

“I suppose explanations are in order. Who is this stallion, and why have you called us all here? Cadence, Shining Armor, your letter was vague.”

Everypony took turns telling their stories. First, Daring Do, Trixie, and Maud told about meeting each other, going on their quest to stop Dr. Caballeron, meeting Clark, stopping Caballeron and Ahuizotl and acquiring the Aegis of Gaia, getting captured by the Changelings, Clark transforming into Doomsday, and finally turning him back to normal with the Crystal Heart. Next, Cadence, Shining Armor, Blueblood, Flash Sentry, and a few other guards told about Doomsday’s attack on the Crystal Empire until the three mares’ arrival. Twilight Sparkle and the rest of the Mane Six didn’t have much to add as yesterday, Twilight had helped the other princesses deal with the Talzwurms and then today, she and her friends didn’t have much to do before being called by Cadence’s message. The most recent exciting thing they did was help Countess Coloratura deal with her corrupt manager last week.

As their stories were finished, Twilight Sparkle was beside herself with excitement.

“This is so fascinating! So he said his true form was a human? Are there perhaps spellcasters in the human world that Sunset Shimmer and their friends were not aware of? And what unique spells! Healing spells, heat blasts, agelessness inducement? What other secrets does he-”

Spike put a claw on her shoulder.

“Calm down!”

Maud stood over Clark.

“You are not dissecting him.”

Twilight immediately looked sheepish, while the others either chuckled or looked disturbed.

“Sorry!”

Luna glanced at a nearby clock.

“Goodness, the hour is late.”

Fluttershy put a hoof to her mouth.

“Oh my, we must have all lost track of time.”

“Indeed, we must all get some rest. On the other hoof, I shall use this opportunity to investigate Clark’s dreams.”

“Sister, are you sure that is wise?”

“Do not be concerned. I shall be careful. I will simply observe and hopefully gain an understanding of Clark and this Doomsday transformation.”

Full of concern, the Mane Six and the others urged her be careful. Everypony was then escorted to sleeping quarters (with Maud reluctantly leaving Clark’s side), where they went to sleep. Luna remained in Clark’s room with some guards.

In the dream world, Luna glided through a void with several standing doorways, arranged to resemble a hallway. She sensed one that matched Clark’s energy signature and entered it.

She was mildly surprised to find herself in a sandy desert at night time. The moon was full and the sky cloudless, illuminating the desert and its sand dunes quite well. As she flew up, trying to get her bearings, she sensed that the dream was just about to begin.

It’s cold, just like a true desert at night. The surroundings do not change when you look away. What an incredibly detailed dream!

She looked down and saw a bipedal, apelike being. Celestia and Twilight Sparkle had told her about humans in the past and Twilight had shown them pictures from her two adventures beyond the mirror, so she was not caught completely off guard. Still, it was surprising to see one herself.

On the ground, Clark shook the cobwebs out and tried to get his bearings. Disoriented, he slowly realized he was back in his original form, wearing the outfit he had when Vartox had banished him, minus his cape. He checked himself to find he had nothing in his pockets and no sword.

“All right, what the Hell happened? Where am I?”

He looked around. Luna remained out of his line of sight, and the wind prevented him from hearing her heartbeat. He saw sections of the sand that had turned to glass.

“Wait a second. The Sahara Desert?”

He attempted to fly up, but could not. Grunting, he sped across the land. Surprised, Luna flew after him and barely managed to keep him in sight.

He could never forget this area of sand and glass. The place where he fought Maxima for the first time, as well as the place where Vartox lectured him before banishing him to Equestria. In the distance, he saw a pale redhead with her back to him, wearing a green dress and black boots. He gasped.

“Maxima!”

He ran to her, but his super speed cut out and he was reduced to normal speed. He persevered, calling out her name several times. When he was about 30 feet away, she turned around and gave him a sad smile. Just as he was about to reach her, her body crumbled into sand and blew away in the wind.

Shocked, Clark knelt in the spot where Maxima was standing and shed bitter tears.

“Oh right, she’s dead. I should have picked it up earlier. This is a dream. Are you there, Morpheus?”

Luna watched with shock as his shadow, which extended behind him, started growing and changing shape. Clark was too distraught to notice the hulking behemoth that crawled out of his shadow, an eight foot tall, grey skinned man with white hair and glowing red eyes and covered with spikes.

“HOW PATHETIC!!!”

Startled, Clark turned around and came face to face with one of his worst nightmares.

“Ah crap, not again.”

Without warning, Doomsday socked him in the gut, launching him into the air, and he came down hard. Clark screamed in agony, clutching his gut and coughing up blood. In an instant, Doomsday was upon him and savagely pounded away at him.

“BACK, FOUL BEAST!”

Unable to stand spectating anymore, Luna flew down and blasted Doomsday, sending him flying. As soon as he landed, Doomsday angrily sped back, intending to rip her in half, but her distraction gave Clark enough time to recover. He quickly grabbed Doomsday and threw him into orbit. Clark caught his breath and did his best to wipe off his tears and blood.

“Heh, that should keep him busy. Thanks for the help.”

Surprised, Luna composed herself.

“You do not seem surprised by my presence.”

“When you’ve lived as long as I have, you get used to others entering your dreams. You are obviously not here to hurt me, or you wouldn’t have saved me. Hello, my name is Clark. What is yours?”

Before she could answer, everything faded to white. The dream was ending.

A few minutes ago in the waking world, Celestia had raised the sun and everypony had awakened and returned to Clark’s room. After a few minutes of the rising sun’s rays falling upon Clark, he jolted awake from the rays energizing him, also causing Luna to jolt awake.

Clark looked around, with the others in the room out of his line of sight, and saw walls and a ceiling made of crystal. He heard several heartbeats.

“The Fortress of Solitude? Am I home?”

He then noticed his body was that of a pony. He sat up and saw all the ponies in the room. Several of the guards were wary of him, while the others tried to maintain their cool.

“I guess not.”

Princess Cadence addressed him.

“Greetings, Clark. You are in the Crystal Empire. I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and this is my husband Prince Shining Armor. You have been asleep for a whole day after your transformation was reversed. Your friends vouched for you despite your rampage, which is why you are not in the dungeon.”

“I see. You have my gratitude, princess. Wait, my friends?”

He looked around, then his eyes lit up.

“Maud! Trixie! Daring! You’re all okay!”

He then double-took when he saw what Maud was wearing.

“Maud, you look really nice in that jacket.”

“Thank you. Now, Clark. Before we all get started, I would like you to answer my questions.”

“Oh. Alright.”

Pinkie Pie, as Maud’s sister who knows her well, could tell that although Maud seemed to be emotionless, she was jealous.

“Who is Lois?”

He sighed.

“I suppose you’d want to know that after Chrysalis turned into a version of her. Lois was my first wife. She’s dead.”

“Condolences. Who is Mary?”

“My second wife. She’s also dead.”

“Ariella?”

“My daughter with Mary. She lives.”

“And Maxima?”

“My third and most recent wife. She died shortly before I arrived in this world.”

“I am truly sorry. It must have really hurt seeing Chrysalis imitate them.”

“You don’t have to be sorry, it wasn’t your fault.”

Luna nodded in understanding, remembering what she witnessed in the dream, then interjected.

“Excuse me. Who is Morpheus? You mentioned this name in your dream.”

“He is the Lord of the Dreaming in my world. He often visits those who dream. Miss, the dream ended before you could tell me your name.”

“You may address me as Princess Luna. This is my sister Princess Celestia.”

The others in the room introduced themselves as well. Afterwards, Celestia took charge.

“Sir, we know you are ageless and you have rendered these three mares ageless as well. Please explain yourself.”

Clark did a double-take and then composed himself.

“All right. You see, my big brother Billy is a genius…”

Daring Do interrupted.

“First Vartox, now Billy. How many siblings do you have?”

“I actually only have one blood sibling, my sister Mae. Billy is Mae’s husband, was Mary’s brother, and is one of my best friends, so we are brothers in every way that matters. Vartox and his wife Diana have been our friends for so long that we all started calling each other brother and sister. Does that make sense?”

“Yes it does. Please continue.”

“Billy is a very talented spellcaster. When he noticed that the members of our family do not age past our prime, he eventually devised a spell and cast it on us all. The terms are that any being we feel true and mutual love or friendship for stops aging past their prime. If they ever become tired of it, they are free to reject it at any time.”

Twilight could barely contain her excitement and muttered under her breath that she wanted to meet Billy to exchange knowledge, while the other three princesses secretly expressed a desire to learn this spell.

Trixie grinned.

“I’m not rejecting this anytime soon! But wait, how were we affected?”

“Simple. Trixie, Daring Do, after that big adventure we shared, I consider you my true friends, and you two must have felt the same way. And Maud Pie… I like you, and you like me.”

Maud actually let surprise show on her face.

“First question: How old are you exactly? Second question: You like me?”

Slightly nervous, Clark gave his answers.

“By my best estimate, I am about 1,045 years old.”

Several in the room gasped before letting him continue. He crawled out of the bed and approached Maud.

“It’s true. What’s also true is that you are smart, strong, brave, you can fight and were an excellent partner against Ahuizotl and the Changelings, I enjoy talking to you, and you are beautiful. I know it’s illogical with age differences and the fact we are actually different species, but matters of the heart always are. No matter what happens, I will always love Lois, Mary, and Maxima, but that doesn’t change how I feel. You’re not a replacement, you’re your own person. If circumstances allow, I would like get to know you better. I have a feeling I’ll be staying in this world for a while.”

While many of the ponies in the room squeed, especially Rarity, Maud struggled to express herself.

“I appreciated how you respected Boulder and my passion for rocks. I enjoyed talking and fighting with you too. You are very strong and handsome, and your eyes are bluer than pure sapphires. Yes, Clark, I would like to know you better as well.”

She gave him a real smile. He smiled back and moved toward her. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie was a few inches away from him.

“This is awesome! You’ve got to let me plan the wedding, you two!”

Freaked out at her surprise proximity, Clark screamed, then in an instant, he was gone. Bewildered, everypony looked around.

“What in tarnation!? Did he teleport!?”

Trying to keep her wits about her, Twilight corrected Applejack.

“There was no magical surge! That wasn’t teleportation!”

Rainbow Dash, trying to maintain her pride, revealed her observation.

“For a split second, I saw him turn into a blur and run out the room. That was pure speed!”

As the other ponies were amazed, Pinkie grinned.

“I’ll find him!”

She zoomed out of the room as a pink blur. The guards and Rainbow Dash attempted to follow, but Maud stopped them.

“Don’t waste your energy. I’ve experienced this before; they’ll be back. Just observe and wait. Besides, you wouldn’t be able to catch up to them anyway.”

Rainbow reluctantly swallowed her pride as she realized Maud was right, remembering when Pinkie chased her during that time Pinkie forgot it was her birthday and thought her friends didn’t want to be her friends anymore. The guards stood down, while Flash mused that since his special talent wasn’t activating, neither Clark nor Pinkie were in danger. Everypony looked out the window overlooking the city.

Clark finally stopped somewhere in the snowy mountains, trying to calm down.

“Damn, that scared the-”

“Aww, why did you leave?”

He looked up to see Pinkie looking down from a ledge.

“Oh no.”

He ran back into the Crystal Empire and stopped in a random street. Before he had a chance to think, he found Pinkie was already there. He leaped onto the top of a building, but Pinkie was there again. This continued for several minutes, confusing the citizens who could only see blurs and Clark and Pinkie appearing and disappearing. No matter how fast Clark ran or how far he leaped, Pinkie would beat him to where he was going, occasionally asking him if he wanted her to be the party planner for his and Maud’s wedding. Finally, he gave up and returned to the room he started in, only slightly winded. This time, Pinkie entered after him, pronking and cheerful as if she hadn’t been running throughout the empire. Clark stared at her in amazement, then turned back to the others.

“I am really sorry I did that. She startled me and I panicked.”

Celestia waved a hoof and indicated the window.

“It was a good show.”

Rainbow pouted and crossed her arms.

“Yeah, you two were awesome, I guess.”

Clark addressed Pinkie.

“Your speed is exceptional. Now that I’m not panicking, it brings back memories of whenever I tried to race either Vartox or my late friend Barry. I always lost, but it was fun.”

“Aw shucks, it was nothing.”

Rainbow jaw dropped.

“You’re saying there are guys even faster than you are!?”

“Yes, Rainbow Dash. There’s always someone better at something. It’s a universal fact.”

Applejack chuckled.

“Ain’t that the truth?”

Pinkie walked up to Clark once more.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

Maud cuffed her on the head and then hugged her.

“Pinkie Pie, you know I love you little sister, but please tone it down a notch. Clark hasn’t even had a chance to mourn his wife. We haven’t even had a date yet. It’s too early to be talking about marriage.”

“Okie dokie lokie!”

Clark sighed in relief.

“Thank you Maud.”

Now that things started to calm down, Shining Armor brought up the elephant in the room.

“Excuse me, may we please get back on topic? You haven’t explained Doomsday yet!”

Clark groaned.

“It had to be brought up sooner or later. Where to begin? Doomsday was a creature born eons ago. One with the ability to revive himself stronger than before and immune to whatever method that defeated him. He hated all life and would not rest until everything was exterminated. Me and my friends have battled him three times, each at great personal cost. The third time was about 1,002 years ago. Maxima finally ended him for good by tossing him into a black hole-”

Pinkie interrupted.

“A black what?”

Luna answered.

“A vortex created from a collapsed star. Nothing, not even light can escape its pull.”

She paused at several ponies’ amazed reactions, then explained.

“I rule over the night, including the stars. It is part of my duty to know these things.”

Clark raised an eyebrow and continued.

“Although Maxima defeated him, a few minutes before that, he was injured and some of his blood splashed into my mouth. It wasn’t until later that we learned that this allowed a copy of Doomsday to live on as a part of me. We’ve determined that it’s pretty much impossible to separate us, as he’s been bonded to my very DNA. Times when he’s been able to take over are very rare, only whenever I truly succumb to hatred, rage, and despair, and my friends are able to hold him off until I change back. Unfortunately, it happened when Chrysalis was draining my love. I am truly sorry for all the damage Doomsday had done.”

He bowed his head. Fluttershy put a wing around him.

“There there. We forgive you. Right, everypony?”

Even the guards who had reservations about this found they couldn’t resist Fluttershy. Cadence smiled grimly.

“Let’s just say we are grateful there were no casualties.”

Shocked, Clark turned to Flash.

“Wait, didn’t you lose your wing!?”

“Whoa, you remember that?”

“Just as some of my memories bleed into his, some of his memories bleed into mine. It just takes a while.”

“Well, don’t worry. Trixie fixed me right up.”

“It’s true, but I wouldn’t have been able to if you hadn’t shown us that healing spell. Thank you, Clark.”

“Really? That healing spell was pretty much the only spell I’ve been able to master. I’m glad it was able to do some good.”

Now Twilight was really confused.

“The only spell? But Clark, the others talked about how you can release waves of heat.”

“That’s not magic. It’s a natural ability of my species, Kryptonian.”

Daring interrupted.

“Didn’t you say you were a human?”

“I said that because I wanted to keep things simple, and Kryptonians look like humans anyway. We absorb sunlight to fuel ourselves, enhancing our strength, speed, senses, and giving us other abilities. Billy is technically human and is the expert on magic. He’s tried to teach some to us, but I’ve never really gotten the hang of it.”

Celestia double-took.

“You absorb sunlight!?”

“Indeed. A sunny day means I don’t have to eat very often, and my injuries heal faster.”

“I see.”

Luna voiced her concerns.

“Are you sure you have your transformations under control? I saw Doomsday attacking you in your dream.”

“Rest assured, your highness, that only happens when I hit a low point in my life. I was remembering Maxima’s death and wallowing in misery. I will do my best not to do that. Besides, no matter how terrible it gets, he's never beaten me there.”

Luna nodded.

“I suppose that answers all of our questions except one. How did you come to be here?”

“I’ve already explained it to those three but I suppose I could add a little more detail. Shortly after Maxima died, I was unable to handle it and I retreated to a desert. I suppose I would have transformed if Vartox hadn’t found me. He beat me up and lectured me on my behavior before opening a portal and throwing me through it. In hindsight, I realize now that he was showing me tough love. As I lack the ability to open a portal, I have no way back unless Vartox or the others decide to retrieve me.”

Twilight, under the mistaken impression that Clark’s homeworld was the same as the one that Sunset Shimmer and her friends called home, hopped in excitement.

“Don’t worry! I know a way to the human world!”

Shocked, Clark turned to her.

“You do?”

“Yes. All we have to do is-”

Clark heard something and interrupted her. He opened the door and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who had been eavesdropping outside, tumbled in.

Applebloom nervously chuckled.

“Hi ya’ll.”

Author's Note:

Trixie saying “The One and Only” when meeting the Mane Six is a reference to Alex Warlorn’s Pony POV Series, where Trixie started calling herself The One and Only Trixie instead of The Great and Powerful Trixie as part of her Heel Face Turn.

Rarity, Fluttershy, and Spike’s reactions to seeing Clark reference the IDW Comic’s Reflections Arc, where they had a similar reaction to the Mirror Universe King Sombra.

I’m not even going to attempt Luna’s Elizabethan English, because I’m sure I’d mess it up. Besides, she doesn’t talk like that all the time.

I considered having Maud Pie and others joining Luna’s journey to Clark’s dreams, but decided against it.

Maxima’s dress is based on the one she wore in the Smallville episode “Instinct”.

That dream may have been a little short. I’d chalk it up to the fact time flows differently in a dream.

Barry is of course Barry Allen, The Flash.

Sorry for the heavy exposition and cliffhanger.

Comments

[Sakinah Mlpfan]

7686212 AWESOME