A young human starts having dreams of Equestria. But are they really dreams, or something more?
Seth just lets life go by, trying to live day by day. But when he starts having vivid dreams of a land with ponies, he becomes curious. When those dreams turn out to be reality, Seth finds himself in Equestria. Why was he brought there? What will he do? And when the time comes, will he want to go home?
Seth dropped his bag on the floor and collapsed on the bed. It had been another long day at school, and it felt good to just lay down and relax for a few minutes. Seth sighed. Finally, some peace of mind. Without getting up, he kicked off his Converse One-Stars, not caring where they landed. Seth closed his eyes, willing this respite from the day to last just a little bit longer. But the world had other ideas.
His eyes flew open when he heard a sharp knock at the door to the apartment. "Seth, I know you're in there," a voice said. "Open this door right now."
Seth rolled out of bed, stifling a groan. He opened the door. Before him stood a short, gray haired lady in a flower pattern dress that was hemmed with a hint of lace. Her hair was stacked in ridiculous curls, and her eyes were framed by thick, round rimmed spectacles.
"Hello, Ms. Henderson," Seth said as pleasantly as he could, Ms. Henderson was their neighbor. She lived in apartment 23-B, one door down. She was the stereotypical apartment neighbor, always into everybody's business, always gossiping about something. "What are you doing here?"
Ms. Henderson somehow managed to slip into the apartment without seeming to push Seth aside. "Your mother told me to check up on you after you got home from school and make sure you didn't slack off," Ms. Henderson said, sweeping her gaze over everything in the apartment, hoping to find something to report to Seth's mother. "I know how you kids these days spend all your time on your PlayBox or something," she continued, "never getting anything useful done."
Seth sighed and rolled his eyes at Ms. Henderson's back. He refrained from pointing out that he didn't own a Playstation or an XBox. All he had was his old second hand laptop that he used for school projects and the occasional random internet search. Instead he said, "Thank you for coming, Ms. Henderson. I was about to make a quick snack before I started my homework."
Ms. Henderson stared at Seth, a stare that might have been intimidating if she didn't have glasses on, or she didn't have to squint to bring Seth into focus. "don't think that I don't know when you're trying to get rid of me, young man," she said threateningly, raising herself to her full height of about five foot four. "I can smell trouble a mile away, and you are a lot closer than that."
She glared at Seth for another minute before turning to leave. "Your mother will hear about this, you may count on that," she said as she left, closing the door firmly behind her.
Seth let out a deep breath before he returned to his room. It was not a big room. The furniture consisted of a desk in one corner, his bed in another, his dresser against the back wall near his bed, and a single shelf that held a few of his favorite books and some knick knacks. Seth sat down at his desk, pulling over his backpack. He pulled out his math textbook and notebook. As he set them down in front of him, he looked up at the only decoration on the walls. It was a small poster, and on it was a simple quote: "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to go dancing in the rain."
It was his favorite quote. He found it motivational and sad at the same time. Sometimes, he felt it summarized his life pretty well. His life seemed to be one big storm, and he had eventually learned to just take what life gave him and make the best of it. Which was sadly not very good. With a sigh, Seth opened his math textbook, and began to work out the assigned problems.
If only the rest of my life were as easily solve, he thought, writing down his work in his notebook.
Seth almost didn't hear the sound of the apartment door opening and closing. It was well after nine o'clock, almost ten.
She's home early, Seth thought, his thoughts neutral. There was the sound of paper bags being deposited on the counter, and cabinets opening and closing. After that was done, Seth heard the old TV set turn on, and the sound of voices mixed with static.
"Seth, I'm home."
Yeah, I noticed, Seth thought to himself. He poked his head out of his bedroom door. "Hello, Mom," he said before ducking back into his room, closing the door most of the way. He lay back on his bed and slipped on his headphones. He didn't have an MP3 player like most other kids did, but he had an old CD walkman that he listened to. He put in one of his favorite rock CDs, and turned the volume down to about a quarter of full. The light rock music filled his head, and soon, he was only thinking about the lyrics instead of everything else in his life. Three songs later, he heard several loud curses. There were several sharp banging noises, and then a shout.
"Seth, TV's shot again."
Seth sighed and stood up, leaving his walkman on the bed. He left his room and headed into the family room. His mother was sitting on the well worn couch. Her short dark brown was a mess, sticking up every which way. Even though Seth had tried to tell her that no one really liked the short and wild hairstyle anymore, she wouldn't believe him. She was wearing a faded pink T-shirt and scuffed blue jeans. In her right hand she held a can of beer. The three empty ones on the tray table next to her, as well as the slightly spacey look in her eyes, meant that she was still only a little bit drunk. Thank God it was Friday, or he would probably have to call her in sick in the morning.
"Yes, Mom," he said, standing next to the TV.
"TV's shot," she repeated.
Seth nodded and started fiddling with the cables in the back. The picture cleared up for a second, but then faded into static again. Seth sighed. "I'll go check the roof," he said. There was a large window next to the kitchen that led to the fire escape. Seth climbed out the window.
Three stories below was a dark alley, but Seth could see the light of several cars passing it as they drove down the street. Seth started to climb up the steep metal stairs. There were three floors above his, and the climb always left him feeling out of breath. When he reached the roof he paused to catch his breath. When he straightened, he immediately saw what the problem was. A bird sat perched on the antenna, staring at him with cold, unblinking eyes. Seth took a step towards it.
"Shoo," he shouted, waving his arms. "Buzz off. Go on, get outta here."
The bird didn't move. It simply stared at Seth, tilting its head to one side. Seth sighed. He lunged at the bird, shouting as he did. The bird, finally seeming to get the message, flew off in a whirl of feathers.
"About time," Seth muttered, and started back down the fire escape. When he got to the apartment window, he saw that the picture had returned to the TV, though still with the same crummy quality it had always had.
Seth closed the window. "I'm gonna go to bed, Mom," he said, heading down the hall.
His mom mumbled something that sounded like an affirmative noise.
Seth closed his bedroom door behind him. He idly weighed the odds of her falling asleep on the couch, and guessed that they were about 50-50. He sat down at his desk and pulled out a simple black composition notebook from underneath a stack of papers. It was his journal. He had started keeping one after his father had run off. He found it was easier to write down his thoughts than keep them inside. He opened to the most recent page. He wrote down the date and time.
Dear Journal,
I have nothing to say.
He signed his name, just like he always did. He looked back at the entries from the past week. They all said the same thing, with the occasional note about a project for Literature class or an upcoming math test. It was the same as last week, as week as the week before. In fact, almost a month had happened since his last real entry, which was reporting a dream he had. He liked writing down his dreams; it made him feel like there was always another world, one that he couldn't touch or go to, but would be there when he slept. Some places were happy and peaceful, where he didn't have to worry about his current troubles.
Seth closed the book. Turning off the lights, he crawled into bed and soon fell asleep.
Seth heard a bird chirp cheerfully. For a moment, he thought he was still dreaming. He turned over, trying to go back to sleep. When the bird chirped again, Seth finally forced his eyes open, blinking at the sunlight that filtered through his window. he sighed. he had been having a good dream. he went over the dream again in his mind before finally getting out of bed. He sat down at his desk, and pulled out his journal. He opened up to a fresh page, and wrote down the date and time.
Dear Journal,
I just woke up from a pleasant dream. I was in a peaceful place, where the sun was shining in the cloudless sky. The birds were chirping happily, almost as if they were singing a song. The air was warm, but not too warm, and it held the fragrance of early to mid-spring. I heard some children laughing somewhere nearby, and their laughter was contagious. I found myself smiling. But it wasn't just the laughter that made me feel happy, it was the very air itself, as if the entire world was filled with happiness. I started to explore. The trees were apparently part of a light forest, and I made my way to the edge to see if I could locate the source of the cheerful laughing. As I peered through the trees, I saw three small creatures playing together. I couldn't see what they were, but they were brightly colored. One was yellow and red, one was white and purple, and the third was orange and magenta. I tried to clear my vision, but i couldn't make out any details of the three creatures. All I could tell was that they were creatures of happiness. I left them, continuing on my way, staying close to the edge of the forest. Some distance away, I could make out a red schoolhouse, the old fashioned kind with a bell tower. Farther away still was what appeared to be a small settlement. Most of the houses were white, with wood supports and thatched or shingled roofs.
I was suddenly in the town, walking towards what appeared to be a large tree. Or was it a house? No, it was a combination of the two. It looked like a house had been grown out of a tree, complete with balconies and windows. I found myself walking inside. It felt like the most natural thing in the world in the world. Inside, the walls were lined with shelves of books. I immediately thought of a library. In the middle of the floor was a pedestal of some sort, that held a handful of other books.
Another of the creatures walked back and forth in front of it, as if pondering something. It was a light purple color, with darker purple hair that had a pink stripe running through it. This close, I could see that it was a quadruped. I desperately wanted to know what this creature was, if only to satisfy my curiosity. Suddenly, a voice shouted from the top of the stairs.
"Twilight, what are you doing?" it said. Anther form, this one a lighter shade of purple splashed with green, entered my view.
"Oh, hey Spike," the first form said. That voice was definitely female. It sounded young, but not as young as the laughter in the field. "I was trying to figure out how..." she stopped, and turned toward where I was standing.
I opened my mouth to apologize, but the words never left my mouth.
"Twilight?" the purple and green form said, "are you all right?"
The first form, Twilight, I assume, shook her head. "I'm fine, I just thought I saw something, that's all."
I found myself back outside the strange tree house, walking along the streets. The smile returned to my face as I took in the peaceful scenery. The last thing I remember seeing was the outline of a castle on the side of a mountain off in the distance.
Seth paused in his writing. He looked thoughtfully down at the page, then continued:
I am not one who wonders at the meaning of dreams, but this one was strangely vivid, with the exception of the figures that appeared in it. I wonder...no...it doesn't matter. I kind of hope that I dream about that place again. It was just so...peaceful.
Seth capped the pen he was writing with after he signed his name. He was not a particularly talented writer, but he tried to avoid gross spelling and grammar mistakes in his journal. He closed the notebook and looked outside. It looked like it would be a nice sunny day. He emptied the contents of his backpack onto his desk, and put his sketchbook inside. He tossed in a pencil case full of colored pencils, and some pens. After some searching, he found a pencil sharpener, which he put in his pencil case.
He left his room, closing the door behind him. He headed into the kitchen, and was only slightly surprised to not see his mom sleeping on the couch. He made a sandwich and put it in a zip bag, as well as filled a water bottle. After a few moments thought, he grabbed an apple from the refrigerator and bit into it. Now, with breakfast and lunch set, he left his apartment, making sure to close and lock the door behind him.
The apartment building had an elevator, but it was old and slow, so Seth took the stairs. When he stepped out into the street, the noise that greeted him made him wince slightly. Cars honked their horns, street vendors were shouting.
"Hotdogs."
"Burgers, get your burgers here."
"Churros. Nice hot churros."
Seth waited for a lull in the traffic before he dashed across the street. The apartment building sat across the street from a large park. Young children chased each other around the playground, while a group of high school students tossed a football around. Everywhere, people were jogging, biking, or walking. Seth walked along the foot path. he saw a family of four setting up a picnic blanket under a tree. He turned and left the path and headed toward a small oak tree that stood a few yards away. Seth set down his backpack, then sat down on the ground himself. He pulled out his sketchbook and a few pencils, and looked around at the scenes before him, seeing if there was anything worth drawing. He finally settled on the picnicking family. He quickly put down the basic lines and shapes and began to fill in the details. Every so often he would look up, changing a minute detail or two. When he had all the basic details down, he pulled out his colored pencils. They were nothing special, just the cheapest brand he could get from the local superstore. But they worked well enough for him. He paid attention to every detail, the man's blue shirt, the red and white checker pattern of the blanket, the way the little girl's hair streamed behind her as her brother chased her. Both the children giggled is sheer childish happiness.
Seth stopped. Their laughter reminded him so much of the laughter of the creatures from his dream last night. Seth abandoned the picture of the family, and turned to a new page. With practiced ease, he laid out the basic shapes of the scene that was in his mind. It took less than two minutes to add the details in, and soon, Seth found himself adding color. First light green, then a slightly darker green. He colored the building red, then went over it with a light touch of brown, shading the shadows with a darker brown layered with more red. The sky he filled in with a pale blue. Deciding that it was too light, he went over it again, darkening it. The sun was a simple yellow-orange orb. Seth put down the pencil, looking over his work. It was the schoolhouse from his dream. Seth opened to another page and began to draw the tree house from his dream too. It was much harder, and Seth found himself using his eraser a couple of times. In less than half an hour, Seth looked down at his finished drawing. It wasn't too bad, though he saw a couple of areas that could have been done better. He put down the book and tug inside his back pack for his lunch. As he took a bite of his sandwich, he paused. Why was that dream still hanging around in his mind? He usually wrote them down, then forgot about them in a day. This one seemed to stick in his mind. He shrugged, and continued to eat his sandwich.
He spent the rest of the afternoon sitting and admiring the goings on of the other people in the park, occasionally making a rough sketch. When the crowds of people started to thin, Seth headed back home. When he opened the door to his apartment, he wasn't at all surprised to see his Mom half asleep on the couch, with a pile of empty beer cans on the tray table. Seth scooped up the empties and dropped them into the recycling bin, then went to his room. There wasn't much else to do, so he opened his computer and started typing his Literature paper. his thoughts weren't in it, though, and he finally closed his computer with a sigh. He spent an hour doodling on a blank sheet of paper, drawing stick people fighting each other in a comically exaggerated battle. The last two standing were in the middle of dueling each other with over-sized swords when his mother called him to dinner.
They both ate the ordered Chinese food in silence. Seth poked at the last of the kung pao chicken, trying to decide if he was really hungry enough to eat it, when his mom spoke up.
"What did you do today?" she asked pleasantly.
Seth was stunned for a moment. "Uh, I went over to the park and drew some pictures," he answered. It was unusual for his mom to ask such a question.
"You know, Seth, it's not your fault for your father leaving," she said. "He was a worthless bastard anyway."
A slow realization came upon Seth. His mom was drunk again. She sometimes thought back to the time when his father left when she drank. In the morning, she wouldn't even remember.
"I'm all right, Mom," he said, standing up. "I gotta get back to work on my Lit paper. It's due on Tuesday."
"You're a good kid, Seth," his mom said, her words starting to slur together. "I'm so proud of you."
Seth left his mother at the dinner table and returned to his room. He closed the door all the way, then grabbed his backpack. He opened his window. From here, he could step onto the fire escape. he climbed up to the roof of the building. He sat down near the ledge at the front of the building. From there, he could see much of the city. The buildings were beginning to light up, and the sun colored the sky a bright rainbow. Seth pulled out his sketchbook. He always loved drawing cityscapes at night.
Tonight, the sky was clear, and Seth could make out a single faint star in the sky. Seth decided to make that the focus of his picture. He began by coloring the sky a dark midnight blue, leaving the star white. Using a combination of blue, purple, and black, he filled in the city skyline, occasionally adding a yellow rectangle as a lit up window. When he finished, he admired his work. The star shone white on the paper, almost appearing to give off a light of its own. The buildings below seemed to subtly point to it. In the spur of the moment, Seth titled the picture "A Star to Wish Upon" and then signed his name at the bottom. With that, Seth put away his sketchbook, and descended the fire escape. It was nearly eleven o'clock when he climbed into bed after writing a short journal entry. When Seth looked out his window, he could still see the faint star in the sky. With that image in his mind, he fell asleep.
Seth woke in the morning feeling well rested and refreshed. he also thought back to his dream last night. It had been a simple dream, where he had watched the night sky. The stars were bright and the moon was full. The star he had seen last night was the brightest in the sky, almost as bright as the moon. he lay in a grassy field, merely gazing at the sky, he even saw a few shooting stars, their tails streaming behind them as they shot across the sky. Seth sighed, content. This was a peaceful place.
Seth rolled out of bed, walking over to his desk. He wrote down his dream in his journal, then headed down the hall to the bathroom. He showered, brushed his teeth, and combed down his hair with his fingers. The face that stared back at him was unremarkable. Thick brown hair that looked like it might need a trim soon, and eyes that were several shades darker than his mother's were. His face was neither handsome nor ugly, though his complexion was clearer than most other teenagers. He was somewhat proud of his body. He was thin, some might say borderline scrawny, but there was no excess fat, and no excessively bulging muscles. He didn't work out much, which everyone told him would catch up to him eventually, but he didn't really listen. His mother once told him that his father was also thin, and never seemed to gain weight.
Seth shrugged, and went back to his room. He dressed in a black T-shirt with a sports company name on it, and pulled on a pair of worn cargo pants. He started to collect the dirty laundry on his floor, tossing it into a hamper in his closet. Sundays were always laundry days, and he had been doing the laundry for almost five years. Since his mother had started forgetting more often than not. It was still early, but he knew his mom would probably sleep until noon anyway. Seth walked across the hall, and knocked politely on his mom's door. It wasn't closed all the way and swung open. his mom was sprawled on the bed, still dress, snoring lightly. Seth went over to where her dirty laundry sat. It picked it up and left the room, gently closing the door behind him.
He left the apartment and took the stairs down to the laundry room. The advantage of doing laundry this early was that the laundry room was practically deserted. Seth walked over to a machine in a corner and started loading laundry into it. He added the proper amount of detergent, closed the washing machine, and inserted five quarters. The machine hummed as it began cleaning the clothes inside. Seth sat against the wall and pulled out his laptop. He worked on his Literature paper for a while, though he didn't really feel like working. After half an hour, he closed his laptop and started to move the laundry from the washer to the drier. Once the load was started, Seth sat back down, not really wanting to go back to his paper. He pulled a small notebook and pencil out of his pocket, and started doodling. He stared down at the page which he had filled with stars and swirls, not feeling very inspired. His thoughts returned to his dream from the other night. Seth shook his head. Why did that dream keep popping up? What was it about that dream that held his attention. Seth felt his pencil begin to lay the groundwork for another picture in his notebook.
He glanced down. He could already tell that it was a scene from the street in his dream. He added a few details, stopped, then added a few more. He shaded in some shadows, using his finger to smudge the graphite. When he finished, he was somewhat pleased with the final picture. It was far from perfect, but he had been drawing on a smaller scale than he was used to. The buzz told him that the laundry was done. He stood up, putting the notebook back in his pocket, and transferred the now clean laundry to the hampers. he carried the clothes back up the stairs to his apartment. He left his mom's clean clothes outside her door, and took his own to his room. He thought about putting them away, but instead just put the basket down in front of his closet. He started listening to music, but quickly grew bored. He sighed.
He left his room and went to the kitchen, where the phone was. He called his friend Drew, and asked if he wanted to go meet somewhere for lunch, and hang out afterwards. Seth hung up the phone, grabbed his wallet, and left a note for his mom before leaving the apartment.
He and Drew decided to meet at a small pizza parlor a few blocks from Seth's apartment building. After that, they headed over to Drew's place. He had an XBox that they could both play. Seth spent the rest of the day doing that and chatting with Drew. They both thought about working on their science project, and they both agreed that doing it later would be fine. When Seth got back to his apartment, he made himself a small dinner, and decided to watch a little TV before he went to bed. He flipped through the channels, stopping at an action movie he had seen before. When the movie was over, he headed to his room. It was still a little early to go to bed, so he listened to music for another hour before he started drifting off to sleep.
Seth found himself in a long hallway. The floors and ceiling were made of the purest white marble, pillars were embedded with gold. Large tapestries of purple and gold hung on the walls. Seth started walking down the hallway, then stopped to look out a window. Outside was a city that seemed to be created in the same style as the hallway was: white marble, with large purple and gold domes. Flags waved in a slight breeze. The closest one depicted two figures circling a sun and moon. Seth continued down the hallway. He passed several doors, each one appearing to be made out of solid gold. But he continued walking. Towards the end of the corridor, he saw a large, elaborately decorated door. Hanging on either side of the door was a tapestry with the same pattern as the flag outside. It appeared to be two winged creatures, one dark blue, the other pale white. They circle a sun and moon, vaguely reminiscent of a Yin Yang symbol. Also hanging directly on the door were two banners. One was pure white with a stylized sun wrought in gold and orange thread, and the other was a deep midnight blue with a crescent moon embroidered in silver thread. The door were slightly open, and Seth heard voices within.
"I see you have proven me wrong once again, my sister," said one voice, "and made a night even more beautiful than last." The voice was so elegant that Seth found himself listening to every word. There was something in that voice that commanded respect and the wisdom of countless years.
"You flatter me, sister," said a second voice, "but I thank you all the same." The second voice sounded younger, almost timid compared to the first voice, but still held that same attention-grabbing quality.
Seth edged the door open slightly so he could see who was talking. Two figures stood on a balcony, staring at the sky. the one on the left was slightly taller, and was pale white. There was no mistaking her for a female, but what caught his eye was her hair, which was multiple colors and seemed to flow in a nonexistent wind. she had wings, which were partially extended, and, Seth thought, a horn on her head. The other figure was a dark navy blue, with blue hair that flowed like the other's in an imaginary breeze. She too had what appeared to be wings and a horn on her head.
Suddenly, the taller one stiffened slightly. The figure became blurred slightly, and Seth couldn't identify any of her features besides her wings and hair. She turned around, sweeping the room with her eyes.
"Celestia," the blue figure said, joining the first, "is something wrong?"
"I don't know, Luna," the first figure said, "I thought I sensed something."
Seth froze, afraid that he would be seen if he so much as drew a breath. The figures both seemed to radiate power.
A sudden gust of wind pushed the doors open, causing Seth to stumble back.
"Did you feel that, Luna?" the white figure said, staring at the door.
"I did, my sister," the blue figure replied.
Seth slowly started to back away.
"I know you're there," the white figure said. "Show yourself." Even when her voice held an edge of anger, there was an unusual elegance in her tone.
"'Tia, I don't see anyone," the blue figure said.
The white one fixed her gaze on where Seth was. there was no malevolence in her stare, only curiosity mixed with caution. It felt like an eternity had passed before she broke the stare with a sigh. "I guess you're right, sister," she said.
"you should get some rest, sister," the blue figure said, "I will watch over the night."
"I-I guess I will," the white figure said. "Goodnight, my sister," she said, then started to leave the room. As she walked toward where Seth stood, the world began to blur. The last thing Seth saw was that the figure walked on four legs.
Seth woke from the dream. The sky was still dark, but the sun was just beginning to color the sky. He knew he wouldn't get any more sleep that night, but he still lay in bed for a few more hours, puzzling over the dream he had just had.
That day at school, Seth couldn't help but remember his dream from the previous night. It had seemed so real, how detailed the scenery was. It was also strange that the figures in the dream had been blurred, just like the dream from the other night. Stranger still was how similar both figures had been to the ones in his other dream. Seth couldn't shake the feeling that the dreams were somehow related.
Seth sighed, and looked down at his notebook. Instead of geography notes, there was a drawing of the flag from his dream. The two figures circling the sun and moon. He thought about the figures in his dream, and finally concluded that they were the same ones on the flag. Though why would they be on a flag that flew over a city? They didn't seem like dictators, or queens. In fact, they seemed to Seth like gentle rulers would, the kind that he occasionally read about in a fantasy story.
Listen to me, he thought to himself, wondering about the personalities of two characters that happened to appear in a dream. They are nothing, merely a subconscious image projected in my mind while I slept.
And yet, that assumption felt wrong, as if he were trying to tell himself only what he wanted to hear. Seth shook his head, opening to a new page in his notebook, and hurriedly began to take notes before his teacher moved on.
During his lunch period, Seth sat alone at a table in the corner, drawing in his sketchbook. Several small pictures covered the page, ranging from lunchroom scenes to pictures of the figures from his dreams. He tried everything he could to sharpen and focus the image and see what kind of creatures had wings and a single horn. He made a note to try an internet search when he got home. though he doubted he would find anything.
As he sat there, twirling his pencil, his mind began to drift. He somehow found himself back in the town from his first dream.
He walked down the street, looking for any sign of life. Before long, he found himself standing in front of the tree house/library. He heard voices inside.
"come on, Spike," the voice said, "This spell needs both of our attentions to make it work."
"Twilight," the second voice said, "We've been at this for hours. Why don't we take a break?"
"Uhh, Spike, I told you," the voice of Twilight said, "I need to learn this spell before I meet with Princess Celestia tomorrow. she will want to see that I've been taking my studies on magic seriously. I haven't written a report to her in over a week. She'll be wondering what I've been doing this whole time."
"Twilight," said Spike, "how do you expect to keep casting spells when you haven't eaten since breakfast?"
"It's not that late," Twilight said.
"Oh, really?" Spike said, "three in the afternoon isn't 'that late'?"
"Oh, Spike, it's not that late," Twilight said with a laugh, "it's only....three in the afternoon. Oh."
"come on, Twilight," Spike said, "Let's go get something to eat, and then we can go back to practicing."
Seth was jolted out of his daydream by the clanging of the bell announcing the end of the period. He hurriedly started packing his sketchbook when he paused. The name "Celestia" stuck in his head. Hadn't that been the name of the white figure from his dream last night? No, that couldn't be right. And "Twilight" was from the other dream. Seth shook his head. Not only were these dreams still stuck in his mind, but now they were starting to blur together. he sighed. he needed to do some research on the subject, because this was getting ridiculous.
Seth walked home from school, his thoughts still absorbed in the matter of his daydream. On his way, he passed a small store that sold TVs and other electronic things. He decided to have a look around. Maybe they had the new CD from that one band. He went inside, a bell tinkling over his head. Some of the various TVs were playing different shows, their volume lowered to keep the noise level down. Seth started browsing the rows of CDs, looking for anything that looked interesting. He was examining the cover of a rock album he had never heard of when a bit of dialogue from his daydream suddenly surfaced in his mind.
"Uhh, please Spike, I said no," Twilight said.
"Huh. Fine, if that's the way you wanna be," Spike said.
Seth blinked and looked up suddenly in surprise. That hadn't been from his dream. But those voices were exactly the same. he looked around, trying to identify the source of the dialogue. Surely, it had only been two people talking, and his mind was merely filtering the voices through his already occupied mind. He finally found a TV in the back that the voices were coming from. On the screen was what appeared to be a purple, cartoon unicorn and a small, purple and green dragon. Seth only partially heard the words they were saying, while the rest of his mind tried to grasp the significance of what he was seeing.
What is this? he thought to himself. His eyes fell on the watermark at the bottom of the TV screen. My Little Pony Mare-a-thon.
"My Little Pony?" Seth muttered to himself. "Isn't that, like, a little girl's show?"
He left the TV shop, his minds now even more troubled than it had been before. When he got home, he immediately pulled out his journal and began writing.
Dear Journal,
I already mentioned my dream from last night, so I feel no need to repeat it. However, today during lunch, I started day dreaming. In this daydream though, I heard the voice of the characters from my first dream, the ones called "Twilight" and "Spike". The one called "Twilight" mentioned something about "Princess Celestia", whom I remember being from my dream last night. Now, at first, I merely thought that it was a result of me thinking too much on both dreams, and that they had started to blend together. However...
Seth paused. How could he say it?
However, today, when I was walking home from school, I stopped inside Joe's TVs and Records. I was browsing through the various CDs when I heard a bit of dialogue from my daydream. But it wasn't from my daydream. The voices were the same, but the words were different. I searched around, and found that one of the TVs was playing a show called "My Little Pony". But the voices of "Twilight" and "Spike" were an exact match. And also, so were the colors from my first dream. "Twilight" was a purple unicorn with a darker purple mane and tail with a pink stripe running through both. "Spike" was a small purple dragon with green spines. The strangest thing though, is this: how can I have had a dream with characters in it from a show I've never heard of? And a little girl's show besides. And the mention of the name "Celestia". I wanted to believe that all three dreams were unrelated, but now...well...it is an unusual string of coincidences. I must do more research into this. Who or what is "Celestia"? How is she related to "Twilight"? And why am I dreaming about a children's television program?
Seth looked over the entry. Even to him, it sounded crazy. "How is this happening?" he murmured.
Seth went to bed at midnight. He had spent almost five hours on the internet, looking up "My Little Pony". he had found a few episodes from the show, which was called "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic". He hadn't really found any connected episodes yet, but they all featured the same characters. A brief internet search led him to a community of people who loved the show called "bronies". And the number was staggering. There was everything from brony music to fanfictions. The show itself puzzled Seth. It was obviously aimed at young girls, but there was something about it that made him like it. The bright colors, the peaceful scenery, the happy ponies, they all seemed to fit together perfectly into a well woven story set in a beautiful world.
Now, as Seth prepared for sleep, he wondered what this land of Equestria was like. As his eyes drifted shut, he couldn' help but smile at the thought of the beautiful world he had just so recently discovered.
I'm dreaming, Seth thought. He found himself floating above a large room made of white marble chased with gold and purple. Below him, though he couldn't see, he heard voices that he recognized as Twilight Sparkle's and Princess Celestia's.
"Twilight Sparkle, my most faithful student," Celestia's voice said. "It is so nice to see you again."
"Thank you, Princess," Twilight said, "I've prepared the spell you sent me to learn."
Seth found that he was unable to move his body, and consequently, unable to look down.
"That was fast, Twilight," Celestia said, "I wondered of you could learn such an advanced spell so quickly."
Seth missed Twilight's reply as he was suddenly overcome with a sense of extreme vertigo. Everything in his vision blurred and spun, and he felt like he was falling. "AHH," he cried, then felt himself hit the ground. his vision darkened, and he felt no more.
* * *
Celestia and Twilight were startled by a loud cry from above, and a form falling with a loud thud between them.
"What the hay?" Twilight said, shocked. "What is that? How did it get here?"
Celestia ignored her student for a moment as she examined the prone form before her. Her eyes widened when she recognized the shape from an ancient book.
"It cannot be," she murmured in shock. "Twilight, tell one of the Royal Guards to go fetch Princess Luna. No one else is to enter this room."
"Y-yes Your Highness," Twilight said, too stunned to do anything but follow her mentor's orders.
Princess Celestia bent closer to examine the form in front of her. There was no doubt in her mind what it was. The alicorn took a step back, preparing her magic should the worst happen.
Luna arrived shortly. She took in the form on the floor and her sister's expression, and immediately understood the situation.
"Twilight, stay back," she ordered as she walked towards where her sister stood.
Twilight backed away, then sidestepped to get a clear view at what was happening. Her natural curiosity warred with her conscience and the Princess's orders. Her mind was bursting with questions, but for now, she kept a firm control of herself. there would be time for inquiries later. Now she kept her attention on the figure on the floor.
* * *
Seth opened his eyes. Everything around him was a blur. he blinked, trying to clear his vision. It helped some, but not much. The world still seemed to be spinning, he shut his eyes again, taking deep breaths. He started to get up, then stopped when his head seemed to explode with pain.
He groaned softly. "Uhh, my head." He let himself fall limply back to the ground, still taking deep breaths. When the pain faded to a dull throb, he opened his eyes again. He was staring at a white wall, and he could see a bit of gold. His vision started to clear up.
Seth finally managed to get up to his hands and knees with effort. He closed his eyes until another wave of dizziness passed. He did a mental check on how he felt. Everything was sore, as if he had been smashed through a wall, but his head hurt the most. He finally pushed himself upright, so he was sitting on his knees. He took in his surroundings. Everything around him was made of white marble and gold. Rich purple tapestries hung from the walls, each depicting the two winged figures circling a sun and moon.
He brought a hand to his head, massaging his temples. "Where am I?" he said to himself.
"It seems to be confused," a voice said softly behind him.
Seth turned around. Behind him were two winged and horned equines, one white as snow, the other midnight blue. Seth cried out in alarm, trying to back away from the figures. He made it halfway to his feet before he stumbled and fell flat on his back. "Ouch," he said. He stared at the figures more closely.
The one on the left was white, her mane and tail striped magenta, blue, green, and violet. She wore a necklace around her neck, embedded with a pure purple amethyst. On top of her head was a crown made in a similar fashion. The one on the right was navy blue, and her mane and tail were the same blue as the midnight sky. She wore a blue-black necklace bearing a white moon, and a small tiara made of the same dark material. Both beings radiated power and wisdom as their manes and tails seemed to flow in a nonexistent breeze.
Seth threw up an arm as if to protect himself, but neither figure moved. He lowered his arm after a moment, staring back at the two equines. The white one had soft lavender eyes that were both curious and steely. The other one's eyes were a dark turquoise-blue, and were just as curious and hard as her sister's.
Sisters. The word floated into Seth's mind, ringing a bell deep in his confused mind.
The white figure stepped forward and spoke. "who are you?" she said. "How did you get here?"
Something in that voice prompted Seth to answer without question. "I-my name's Seth," he said shakily, "And I don't know how I got here. Or where 'here' is."
The blue figure's eyes narrowed slightly. Her horn glowed, surrounded by a blue aura. "It speaks the truth, sister," she said.
The white figure returned to the blue one's side. They leaned close together, exchanging words in hushed voices. Seth took that time to get unsteadily to his feet. In an off handed way, he noticed he was tall enough to look the blue figure in the eye. He looked around. The room was made entirely of white marble and gold, and decorated with the tapestries he had noticed earlier. The only other figure present was the stunned Twilight.
Twilight? Seth thought.. How did he know that? A thought in the back of his mind tried to find something else to connect that one to, without success.
"Excuse me," he said, addressing the white and blue figures, "but could someone explain where I am and what's going on?"
"how dare you talk to the Princesses like that?" the purple unicorn, Twilight, suddenly shouted, leaping to stand beside the two taller figures. She was barely half Seth's height, but for some reason, Seth found himself taking a step back. "She deserves to be treated only with the utmost respect."
"Twilight, please," the white figure said, laying a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. she looked directly at Seth. "I am Princess Celestia, and this is my sister, Princess Luna," she said, gesturing to the blue figure, "we are the rulers and protectors of Equestria."
Seth stared at the white princess blankly.
"I think the memory spell worked, sister," Princess Luna said. "It doesn't know about us or..."
"Excuse me, Your Majesties," Seth finally said. "But could you explain to me what's going on? The fall seems to have effected my memory. You see, I was asleep in bed, and when I woke up, I was falling, and then I found myself here."
"You are in the world of Equestria," Princess Luna said, an edge of hostility creeping into her voice.
"Equestria?" Seth said, confused. The name tugged at the back of his mind.
"Sister, please," Princess Celestia said. "Yes, you are in Equestria."
"But, um..." Seth started, "where in the world is Equestria?"
Celestia stared with thinly veiled curiosity at the human that stood before her. It had been many years since she had last seen one. He was nearly as tall as she was, and thin in build. He had thick brown hair on top of his head, and almost pure blue eyes. However, despite his height, he had a young looking face. Celestia judged his age to be around fifteen years. he was wearing a simple ensemble of light pants and a plain white shirt. He didn't appear to be carrying any weapons, or even standing in a threatening stance. If anything, he appeared to be a little dazed and confused. She could easily believe that he had been asleep when he ended up here. The how was what troubled her, though. It took incredibly powerful magic to cross between worlds. humans occasionally dreamed themselves into Equestria,but never enough to completely cross over.
The boy shifted uneasily at the long silence. He looked down at the floor, hiding his face from view. She sensed him trying to figure out what was going on. the curiosity of his mind reminded her of the presence she had felt four nights ago. Had this human already visited Equestria by accident.? Or at least tried to, if unintentionally? But he was here now, and that presented several problems.
"sister, what shall we do?" Luna asked, turning toward her sister.
"We must send him back," Celestia murmured. The boy, Seth, suddenly looked up.
"but how is this possible?" Celestia heard him mumble under his breath, "Isn't Equestria a fictional place? That shouldn't be possib..." The boy's eyes fluttered and he collapsed to the ground for the second time today.
"Oh dear," Celestia muttered.
* * *
Seth found himself once again waking up in an unfamiliar place. He was laying on a couch in a small, study-like room. The room was richly decorated. the floor was covered with a thick plush rug. There were a few bookshelves crammed with books, and a writing desk crafted out of some dark wood. Spread out on the floor were several cushions, upon which three figures were reclining. One was Princess Celestia, another was Princess Luna, and the third was Twilight Sparkle. the two princesses were talking softly to each other, while Twilight stared at Seth with barely suppressed wonder. She looked like she was about to start asking questions at any moment.
Seth blinked a few times and sat up, pushing a palm against his forehead until the dizziness had passed. When he opened his eyes again, all three figures were looking at him. Seth fought the urge to squirm under the scrutiny of their gaze.
"Here, drink this," Princess Celestia said, levitating a cup in front of Seth, "it will help with the dizziness."
Seth grasped the cup carefully with both hands. he felt a slight tingle when his fingers touched the aura of magic around the cup, but the feeling quickly faded. he took a cautious sip of the tea. He felt a warmth spread through his limbs and a calmness settle over his mind. He took another sip. "this is good," he said, then remembered his manners, "Your Highness."
He finished the cup of tea as quickly as courtesy allowed, savoring the last few sweet drops. He felt calmer, and his mind felt clearer, as if a haze had been lifted from the back of his mind.
"Now that that's out of the way," Princess Celestia said, taking a sip from her own cup of tea, "You must explain to us how you came to this world. Every little detail."
Seth gulped. It made him nervous, thinking about how he had been dreaming, and the thought of sharing those dreams. He took a deep breath. "It started four days ago, or at least, four days for me. It was a Friday night. I remember having a dream where where I was in a light forest. I heard laughter nearby, so I went to investigate." Seth recounted the events of his first two dreams. he explained how each time he had been unable to see any of the figures clearly, and that though they couldn't see him, they seemed to sense him. In his one daydream, he had heard the voices of Twilight and Spike through the walls of the library. It was only later that day, when he was walking home from school, that he had found out that the voices, names, and figures weren't just figments of his imagination, but they came from characters in a children's television show that he had never heard of. That night, the night he had somehow arrived in Equestria, he had been doing research to try and figure out more about this fictional world that he had dreamed of before he knew it existed.
"I remember thinking I was dreaming, when I heard you and Twilight talking below," Seth said to Princess Celestia, "But then I suddenly got very dizzy, and the next thing I knew, I was falling."
Princess Celestia was silent for a long moment. Seth began to think she wouldn't say anything when she finally spoke. "A long time ago," she began, "humans would occasionally visit Equestria. that was when Luna and I were still young, and the nation of Equestria was still unfounded. however, as time went on, it became apparent that human beings were becoming a more and more violent and chaotic race, unlike us ponies, who are peaceful by nature. Luna and I decided that it was necessary to create a barrier that separated our two worlds, in order to keep the growing violence of humankind out and protect the peace of ponykind. Myself, Luna, and over a hundred unicorns pooled our magic to erect the barrier. Many unicorns died to provide the necessary magic." Princess Celestia stopped for a moment, closing her eyes. "Into the barrier we wove a memory spell so that any humans who somehow stumbled through the barrier would be confused and disoriented. For several centuries, this worked, with only two humans making it to Equestria, purely by accident.
"One day, almost two thousand years ago, a human stumbled through the barrier, much the same was you did, through a dream. The difference was that with this one was that the memory spell only slightly hindered her memory. She went by the name of Faust. Naturally, Luna and I went to go send her back to where she had come from, fearing she would taint this world. Instead, we found someone who accepted this world for what it was, a place of peace and harmony. She didn't want to leave." Celestia smiled slightly. "We spent several days debating what to do. We finally sent her back to her world, but let her keep her memories of her visit."
Princess Celestia took a deep breath before she went on. "After that day, though, Luna and I strengthened the barrier in order to keep more humans from venturing into our world. And until today, it had worked."
Seth was silent for a long moment. "Faust," he said, rolling the name around in his mind. "but how is that possible? You say she visited here nearly two thousand years ago, but in my world, she is still alive. In fact, she created the television show that I believed this was all from." He paused. "I guess it was the opposite. But then how could she know about Twilight and all the rest? They weren't alive back then."
"I suspect that though she cannot return physically, her mind still does return in her dreams," Princess Celestia said. "Also, time does not always flow the same between our worlds."
Seth thought about that for a minute. "What happens now?" he asked.
"It will take Luna and I a couple of days to make preparations, but we will send you back to your world," Princess Celestia said. "Until then, you will be given a room to stay in. please do not leave it. It will cause no small amount of confusion through out Equestria."
"Thank you, your Majesties," Seth said, rising to take a bow. "It is a kindness that I would not have expected."
The white alicorn nodded. "Luna, take our guest to his room," she said.
"Yes, sister," Princess Luna said. She walked over to Seth, her horn surrounded by a glowing blue aura. There was a bright flash of light, and suddenly Seth was standing in a new room in the castle. His whole body was tingling from the effects of the magic. Princess Luna stood in front of him. Seeing that he hadn't collapsed again, she turned toward the door.
"Feel free to rest," she said as she left the room, closing the door lightly behind her. Seth was left alone in the room. Overcome with a sudden weariness, he found his way over to the bed. He pulled back the covers, and was asleep the moment his head touched the pillow.
Seth woke when the sun shone upon his face. He opened his eyes. For a moment, he was confused by the unfamiliar surroundings. Where was he? A few seconds later, he remembered. He had somehow been transported to Equestria. He rose out of the bed. For someone who had crossed to a new world, fallen a good fifteen feet, and passed out twice, he felt remarkably well rested. He was a little sore, but only a little. Seth stretched. After a bit of exploration, he found a small bathroom through one of the doors in the room. He found a towel and soap had been set out for him. Seth took a nice warm shower, scrubbing himself clean. After he finished, he combed through his hair with his fingers. Lacking a toothbrush, he rinsed his mouth out well with water. having completed his usual morning routine, he returned to the main room.
It was not a particularly big room, though it was easily two, maybe three times bigger than the size of his room in his apartment. The bed was across from the door, set to one side. There was a nightstand next to the bed, and a simple but elegantly crafted lamp sitting on top of it. Next to the window was a writing desk, though its height suggested it was meant for ponies and not humans. A wardrobe stood across from the bathroom door. The walls were painted a calming, pale yellow, with orange and white accents here and there. A few simple paintings depicting both day and night scenes hung on the walls. The only other thing of note was the empty fireplace mirroring the placement of the writing desk. Seth didn't know why, but he felt the urge to make the bed, as it seemed oddly out of place in the otherwise immaculately clean and organized room. He tugged the covers back into place then wandered over to the window. Outside, the sun was well over the horizon. Below, the city Seth had seen in his dream a few nights ago was laid out before him. In the sunlight, the marble almost seemed to glow, the purple and gold domes glimmered, and the flags gently stirred in a light breeze.
Looking down, Seth could see the forms of ponies going about their daily business. Their coats, manes, and tails could be found in every color imaginable. He wished he had his sketchbook and colored pencils. Instead, he went over to the writing desk. After some searching, he found a few sheets of paper and a small pencil. He sat on the floor, folding his legs "Indian style". He looked back out the window, then put the pencil to paper. He started with a cityscape drawing, making sure that he got the way the sun glinted off the domed buildings just right. Or as well as he could without actual colors. After he finished the cityscape,, he started to draw the scene he had seen laid out before him. From where his room was, the ponies below looked like insects. Bird's eye view pictures were not his strength. He didn't hear the door open, so he nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a polite cough behind him. He dropped the pencil and turned around.
Twilight Sparkle was standing in the doorway. In front of her she levitated a tray laden with food and a teapot. She took half a step backwards at Seth's sudden movement.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," she said.
"It's alright," Seth said, sitting back down. Even sitting, he was able to look Twilight Sparkle in the eye.
"I-uh," she said, "The Princess sent me to bring you breakfast." she set the tray down on the writing table. She poured two cups of tea, and floated one to her own mouth. She took a quick sip and seemed to relax a bit. This close, Seth could see that she looked tired, like she had been up most of the night.
"Please, feel free to eat," she said, taking another sip from her cup of tea.
Seth turned his attention to the tray. There was a cinnamon bun on a plate, as well as a bowl of oatmeal and a big red apple. the apple was the best he had ever tasted, and the cinnamon bun he considered a rare treat. It had been a long time since he had eaten a proper breakfast; usually he just fixed himself a bowl of cereal in the morning. It wasn't until he finished eating that he noticed Twilight staring at him out of the corner of her eye.
Seth tried to think of something to say to break the silence. "So, uh, Twilight Sparkle," he began.
"Please, just call me Twilight," she said, "all of my friends do."
"Okay, Twilight," Seth continued. "I was wondering if you're feeling all right. you look really tired."
Twilight laughed slightly. "Well, I was up a good part of the night, she said, "I was in the Canterlot Archives, doing research."
"Research about what?" Seth asked, though he could probably guess the answer.
"Well, about humans," Twilight said. "But I couldn't find anything." She was visibly disappointed.
Seth cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well, what do you want to know?" he asked, "I might be able to answer some of your questions."
Twilight's ears perked up. Her eyes almost literally sparkled as she stared at him with a big smile on her face. "Would you?" she said, "Really, truly? Because I have so many questions, like what is your world like? why do you walk on two legs? Who is the ruler of your world? And..."
"Please , one at a time," Seth said with a slight smile. "Although, I'm sure how well I can answer some questions."
For the next two hours, Twilight asked Seth question after question about humans, from history to culture, from average day to extraordinary events. Seth answered her questions to the best of his ability. He smiled to himself at the young unicorn's insatiable curiosity. She wanted to know everything about everything, staring at him with rapt attention, hanging on to every word he said. It was nearly noon when Twilight's questions ceased.
"Sorry," she said with a giggle, "I've kept you talking for hours with hardly a break."
"It's okay," Seth said, "I don't know what else I would have done with the time."
"If you say so," she said. "I have some things I need to do, but I'll bring back lunch in an hour or so."
Seth nodded, and the purple unicorn opened the door and closed it behind her. To be honest, he had barely noticed the passage of time. he looked out the window at the street below. There were more ponies walking through the streets than there had been earlier. Seth found a new sheet of paper, and started sketching. He found himself drawing a picture of Twilight. He tried to capture her curiosity in her pose, her eyes, her ears. His first attempt was only average, she he erased a few details and tried again, with better results. He smiled, pleased with the result. He started to grab a new sheet of paper, but then thought better of it. He only had three sheets of paper left. Instead, he started a new sketch in an unused part of the paper. He tried to draw a picture of Princess Celestia, but every time he started in on the details, he found himself frustrated. He couldn't seem to get it right. He sighed, and drew a faint X through the picture.
He shook his hand, massaging the wrist to relieve some of the tension that had gathered in the muscles. He had once gotten tendonitis because he had spent so much time drawing. Ever since then, he had learned to take breaks. Right now, he lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling while he thought. When Twilight returned, he would have to see if she was still free to talk. he was curious about the world of Equestria. He had only spent a few hours researching it on his computer back home.
Twilight returned around 12:30, arriving in a bright flash of light that startled Seth. She was levitating a new tray, this one piled with several sandwiches sliced into quarters. Though it was her method of arrival that surprised and interested him the most.
"How'd you do that?" he asked.
"Sorry, did I startle you?" she said, blushing slightly. "I was running late, so I teleported."
Seth stared blankly for a moment, then shook his head. He wasn't even going to try and understand how that worked. "So, Twilight," Seth began, "I was wondering if you're busy right now, or if I could ask you some questions."
"Of course you can," she said, setting the tray down on the writing desk. "The Princess asked me to keep you company while they made preparations." Her brow furrowed slightly, and Seth inferred that she would very much like to know what sort of preparations the two princesses were making. "Where do you want to start?"
Seth went over the list of questions he had formed in his head. He finally settled on one that seemed simple enough. "What is the tattoo on your flank?"
Oh, my cutie mark? It's a symbol of my special talent," Twilight said, glancing at the pink and white stars on her flank.
"a...cutie mark?" Seth said, more to himself then to Twilight.
"Yup," she said, "every pony gets one when they discover their special talent, the thing that makes them different from every other pony."
"So what is your special talent?" Seth asked, curious.
"Well, my special talent is magic," she said, trying to hide her pride, "Which is why Princess Celestia took me as her personal student."
"Really?" Seth said, intrigued, "that must be neat."
Twilight tried to keep the smile off her face, but failed. "Don't humans get cutie marks?" she asked, smile disappearing.
"Well, no," Seth said. "Our world is devoid of magic. Some humans never realize what their special talent is."
"Do you have a special talent?" Twilight asked.
Seth shrugged. "I'm pretty good at drawing," he said, "though there are people who are better than me."
Twilight looked down at one of Seth's sketches on the desk. Her eyes widened slightly. "This is really good," she said, holding it up in her magic. "When did you do this?"
"Earlier today, before you brought breakfast," Seth said. "It's not that good, I usually prefer to work with colored pencils."
Both ate in silence for a minute, before Seth asked another question. "So, why do the Princesses have both wings and horns?"
Twilight thought for a moment, and finally said, "They're alicorns. they are equal parts earth pony, pegasus, and unicorn. They have incredibly strong magic, In fact, Princess Celestia raises the sun at dawn, and Princess Luna raises the moon at night."
Seth nearly choked on that statement. "Really? Where I'm from, we have determined that the sun, moon, and stars move across the sky because the earth travels around the sun while rotating on it's axis, and other scientific stuff. In order to move the heavenly bodies, they would have to be essentially gods...er...goddesses."
Twilight stared at him for a moment, her expression serious. "They are," she said quietly, "or at least, very close to it."
Seth waited for an explanation.
Twilight went on to explain how alicorns were immortal, or very nearly so. She gave Seth a brief lesson in the history of Equestria, or what was recorded. She talked about the era before the Princesses, the reign of Discord, and the alicorn sisters' ascension to power. Seth listened as intently as her as Twilight had to him.
The two convered for several hours, sharing information about their respective worlds. In fact, neither of them realized how late it was until Seth looked out the window and saw the sun had started to set.
"Wow, is it that late already?" Twilight said. She stood up. I guess I'll go fetch supper then."
She vanished in a flash of magenta light, leaving Seth once again alone. he looked out the window again, wishing he had colored pencils to capture the majesty of the sunset.
When Twilight returned, she informed him that she couldn't stay and chat, as the Princesses had requested her presence. She left Seth with a freshly made garden salad, a bowl of soup, and a roll before she departed once again. Seth ate his dinner and watched the moon rise. He found it hard to believe that a pony, even an alicorn, could raise and lower the moon with magic. After a few hours of gazing at the night sky, he slipped into bed and went to sleep.
Seth slept in a little later than he normally did. He judged the time to be about a quarter to ten in the morning. Seth sat up in bed and stretched. He felt incredibly well rested, more so than he had felt in a while. He walked over to the window and looked out at the city of Canterlot gleaming in the morning sunlight. Seth wondered what the day to day life was like for the ponies below. He looked over at the writing desk. His drawings were still spread out from when Twilight had looked at them. She really thought they were good, and wished she had bits to buy one from him.
Seth piled the sheets together. He started a new drawing in the corner of the top one, still trying to find the right pose for the two Princesses. He wished he had some way of repaying them fort he kindness they had shown him during his brief stay. He spent half an hour on the picture before giving up. He sighed.
There was a knock on the door before Twilight stepped in. "Oh, good, you're awake," she said, carrying a tray with breakfast.
"Good morning, Twilight," Seth said with a slight smile.
"And a good morning to you, Seth," she said, returning his smile.
Seth ate breakfast, though Twilight declined his offer to join him on the grounds that she had already eaten. She did share a cup of tea with him. When Seth finished eating, Twilight informed him that the Princesses wanted to see him.
Seth modded and stood up. He picked up his pile of drawings and, folding them carefully in half, stuck them in his pocket. Twilight's horn glowed briefly, and Seth felt a faint itchiness come over him.
"I cast an invisibility spell on you," she said. "Follow me, and try not to make too much noise."
Seth followed Twilight out of the room. The hallway was empty. Twilight led him through the twisting hallways. the occasional Royal Guard would greet Twilight, and she would respond in kind,but nobody saw Seth, or noticed the faint shadow he cast.
Instead of heading to the throne room, which Seth had expected, Twilight led him to the far end of the castle. They stopped before a large set of double doors, engraved with an intricate pattern dominated by five symbols surrounding a sixth symbol that resembled Twilight's cutie mark. The two Royal Guards that flanked the doors nodded to Twilight, their horns glowing briefly as they opened the doors. Seth followed Twilight inside, the doors booming shut behind him.
He stood in a long rectangular room. It was not as big as the throne room, but it was just as lavishly decorated. Tapestries hung from the walls, and the floor was made of polished white and black marble. A deep purple rug ran from the entrance to a pair of thick looking doors at the other end of the hall. Standing in the middle of the room were Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.
Twilight knelt before them, and Seth bowed deeply.
"Twilight, thank you for bringing Seth," Princess Celestia said. "Seth, step forward."
Seth did as he was told. He stood before the two Princesses. Princess Celestia's horn flowed briefly. A large circle on the floor suddenly lit up, its interior crisscrossed with several lines and curves. The circumference was surrounded by strange runes. There was another two circles of runes outside the initial circle.
"What is all this?" Seth asked, staring at the symbols with interest.
"These are for the spell that will send you back to your world," Princess Celestia answered. "When you return, this will all seem a dream."
"Why?" Seth asked, though he had a feeling that he already knew the answer.
Princess Celestia looked at him, her face serious. "Our worlds were not meant to cross. understand this: I will do whatever is necessary to protect my subjects from harm, and to maintain the harmony throughout Equestria."
Seth nodded, understanding. "Okay," he said, "I'm ready."
"Step into the ring," Princess Celestia instructed. Seth did so. Princess Celestia's horn started to glowed, surrounded by a pale yellow aura. Princess Luna joined her. The runes on the floor began to glow blue-white. they grew brighter and brighter, until Seth had to cover his eyes. there was a flash of white, then darkness.
* * *
Princess Celestia looked at the spot that the human had been standing in moments before. he had vanished in a bright flash of light. Already the runes that she and Luna had spent a day inscribing on the floor were beginning to fade. Soon there would be nothing remaining of the human but a memory, and even that memory would fade in time. She closed her eyes, sighing silently. the spell had taken a great deal of energy to cast, even with Luna's aide. But that was not the only thing on her mind.
It had been a little over one thousand five hundred years since the last human had appeared in Equestria. And yet, both humans had shared the same curiosity about this world. She briefly wondered what their world was like, and what sort of place was capable of creating such remarkable creatures. Celestia mentally shook her head. Humans did not belong in a world like Equestria, just as ponies did not belong in their world.
As Celestia left the Chamber of Harmony, she had a strange feeling. A feeling she hadn't seen the last of the boy named Seth.
* * *
Seth woke in his bed. A memory lingered of a different room, one of white and gold. But the image quickly faded. Seth sat up, and looked at his clock. Six thirty in the morning. It was still half an hour before his alarm would go off. Instead of going back to sleep like he normally would, he got out of bed. He had to write down his dream in his journal. It had been exceptionally vivid. He opened the notebook and dated the top.
Dear Journal,
Last night I had a strange and vivid dream. I dreamed that I had accidentally traveled to Equestria. I met Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna. Strange, that I remember being there for a full day, and two nights sandwiching that day. I had a long talk with Twilight about here world. And she asked me endless questions about mine. I can still remember the details of the conversation, which is strange, considering I don't normally remember words from dreams all that often. The last thing I remember was Princess Celestia and Princess Luna sending me back to my world.
After Seth finished the entry, he stood up to stretch. When his hands fell back to his sides, he felt something in his pocket. He reached in and pulled out a few sheets of paper that had been folded in half. He unfolded the papers, and on top was a picture of Twilight looking at him inquisitively, her eyes practically sparkling with the thought of learning more.
Seth flipped through the sheets, finding scenes of Canterlot, or pictures of Twilight, or attempts at drawing Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Seth sat down heavily on his bed, the papers falling from his grasp.
"But it was just a dream," Seth whispered. After all, Equestria couldn't be real. Could it?
At school, Seth told his teachers that he had been sick the day before. Apparently, a day had passed in Equestria as well as here. At least he didn't have any tests to make up. Seth went through the day almost mechanically, his mind elsewhere. He kept trying to fit together the pieces of the puzzle. He would have sworn the time he had spent in Equestria was just a dream. And yet, he distinctly remembered drawing those pictures, and the pictures were real. It was impossible that Equestria existed, but it was the only explanation that seemed to fit.
At lunch, Seth sat alone at his usual lunch table, idly doodling in his notebook. He was startled to awareness when Drew sat down across from him.
"So where were you yesterday?" he asked.
Seth shrugged. "Home sick," he replied simply, "Mom apparently forgot to call me in."
"Uh-huh..." Drew said, not sounding convinced.
They were silent for a while, then Seth asked, "Hey, Drew, can I ask you something?"
"Sure, shoot," Drew said.
"Have you ever had a dream that was so vivid, that it almost seemed real?"
Drew shrugged. "Not really, why?"
Seth shook his head. "No reason," he said, and looked down at his notebook as he continued doodling.
The school day ended without anything memorable happening. Seth walked home by the same route he always did. He had almost convinced himself that everything had been just a vivid dream, except that the drawings were still on his desk where he had left them. He sighed and opened his laptop and opened an internet browser. He was going to get to the bottom of this.
* * *
Seth spent the rest of the week between school and the internet. He delved deeper and deeper into the show "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic", and explored almost every branch of the fandom. He would never have thought that there could be so many songs, fan fictions, and pictures made by adult fans of the show. He watched every episode, learned about the characters, left a few comments on websites, though always anonymous, or under the screen name "Pencil Sketch".
In those few days, Seth nearly filled an entire sketchbook with drawings. some were inspired by stories or songs, but most were from his head. He had street scenes of Canterlot and Ponyville, portraits of the "Mane 6", as well as several background ponies. he finally managed to get a picture of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, which greatly pleased him.
It was late Friday night, and Seth sat at his desk, drawing a picture of a pony he didn't know. Not that he cared; he liked sometimes just creating a new pony. He had thought what he would look like as a pony, and laughed at the thought. Less than a week ago, he had barely even known about the show "My Little Pony" and now he was a full blown brony. He was finishing up his sketch when he suddenly felt very tired. he yawned, closed the sketchbook, and turned off his desk lamp. he flopped down on his bed, only bothering to pull the covers up before falling asleep.
* * *
What do we have here? a voice said in Seth's head.
"What?" Seth said. All around him was a dark void. He couldn't seem to pinpoint the direction the voice had come from. "Who's there?" he said.
No one of consequence, the voice said, or maybe I am someone of consequence. The voice laughed. It was a laugh that sent a shiver down Seth's spine.
"What do you want?" Seth said defiantly. But the words felt hollow.
I just want to talk to you, the voice said. It's been so long since I've talked to a human. They are such wonderfully...creative beings.
Seth turned around. For a brief instant, he saw Equestria. But it was different. The clouds were pink, the ground was a blue checkered pattern, and some of the buildings were floating at random. "But...that doesn't make sense," Seth said.
The voice laughed again. What fun is there in making sense, human? the voice said. A long, serpentine silhouette appeared before him.
"Discord," Seth said.
"Ah, so you have heard of me, human," the draconequus said.
"What are you doing here?" Seth said with an edge in his voice.
"Well, I'm not one to give away my plans," Discord answered, "But I like you, so I'll tell you: I am trying to gain enough power to take back Equestria, and fill it with my wonderful chaos."
Seth raised his eyebrows. "But...I thought you were reformed by Fluttershy to use your magic for good?"
Discord made a gagging motion. "Please, a being as powerful and handsome as myself could never be 'reformed' to serve someone as boring as Celestia. No, I am merely biding my time."
"When I tell the Princesses..." Seth began.
"You won't," Discord said darkly, "because you won't remember this when you wake up." A clock with random numbers on it appeared. "Well, look at the time," Discord cried. "Wakey wakey, human," he said, and snapped his fingers.
* * *
Seth woke from the nightmare with a start. He sat up in bed, nearly blinded by the sunlight streaming through his window. He shook his head.
"Was I dreaming?" he said. He looked at his clock. It was 6:30 in the morning. Seth got out of bed and sat down at his desk. He pulled out his journal. He was about to start writing when he stopped. He remembered his dream clearly, but he couldn't seem to find the words to describe it. After several attempts, he finally settled for the vaguest description he could. He also expressed his displeasure at being unable to find the words as well, and closed the notebook. All he could remember was that Discord had been in his dream. Seth began to get ready for the day. he started making some toast, all the while humming the tune of a song he had found the previous night.
Discord, I'm howling at the moon And sleeping in the middle of a summer afternoon. Discord, what ever did we do To make you take our world away? Discord, are we your prey alone, Or are we just a stepping stone for taking back the throne? Discord, we won't take it anymore So take your tyranny away!
The toast popped out of the toaster. Seth put some butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar on top, then headed sat down to enjoy his early breakfast. However, the memory of his dream weighed heavily on his mind.
Twilight was working on a research project at the Golden Oaks Library in Ponyville, her home and workplace. However, she was finding it hard to focus on her work. Her mind kept going back to the incident with the human. Over two weeks had passed since then, and Twilight found herself thinking about their conversation. Every time she did, she kept thinking of more questions she wished she had asked, so much so that she had started keeping a list.
Twilight shook her head. This was not the time to be distracted by the human. "Spike," she called out, "can you get me that book called Preclassical History Volume 13? Oh, and also Early Unicorn Spellcasting?"
Spike saluted. "I'm on it," he said. He used a ladder to climb up to the appropriate shelves, retrieving the books Twilight had requested. Twilight levitated the books from him. As she did so, Spike's cheeks bulged out. He belched, and in a flash of green fire, a letter appeared.
"A letter from Princess Celestia?" Twilight said, "I wonder what she could need me for." Twilight read the letter, and her eyes widened slightly. "Spike, I'm going to Canterlot tonight," she said, "I should be back in the morning."
"Ok, Twilight," Spike said. when Twilight closed the door, Spike began to clean up the mess she had left from her excessive studying.
Twilight bought a ticket at the Ponyville train station, and took the next train to Canterlot. when she arrived, she went straight to the Royal Palace. The guards let her past without incident. They all recognized hr as the Princess' personal protege. Twilight found her mentor in the throne room.
"Princess Celestia," Twilight said, "I came as soon as I got your letter."
"Thank you, Twilight," the Sun Princess said, "I summoned you here so that I could..." Celestia stopped talking.
Twilight was about to ask what was wrong when she felt a tingling at the base of her horn. Somepony was performing magic nearby, and powerful magic at that. The tingling turned into a dull throbbing, and Twilight put a hoof to her forehead. "Princess, what is..." she started, when she was cut sort by a loud thundering boom that echoed through the throne room. A flash of white light blinded Twilight, and she was thrown back off her hooves.
* * *
Seth woke up to his alarm going off. he reached over and hit the snooze button harder than necessary, then fell back into a light sleep. He was having a pleasant dream, and he didn't want to get up. When his alarm went off again, he simply reached over and turned it off. When he finally decided to get up, he realized he was running late. He leaped out of bed. He took a hurried shower, and grabbed a pair of pants and a t-shirt out of his dresser. He skipped breakfast in his haste tossed his backpack over his shoulder, and bolted out the door, only pausing to lock it.
The air outside was a bit chilly, but Seth hadn't thought to grab his jacket. He ran as fast as he could down the sidewalk, knowing that he was still going to be at least five minutes late. A taxi honked at him when he ran in front of it as the light turned green. Seth ignored the driver's cursing, and cut down an alleyway, across a side street and a small playground, rounding a corner and crossing the street to his school. Seth pushed open the doors and headed down the hall to his first class.
His history teacher, Mr. Delsher, had already started his lecture. He looked at Seth when he entered.
"Nice of you to join us, Mr. Williams," the teacher said dryly.
Seth blushed slightly and took his seat. He pulled out his notebook and started to take notes as Mr. Delsher continued his lecture.
The rest of Seth''s day looked to be going just as poorly. he found out at lunch that he had left his wallet at home. During his Literature class, he got his paper back, and had gotten a C on it. Between the last two periods of the day, one of his backpack strap broke. In art class, his last class of the day, someone accidentally knocked over a cup of paint filled water on his right leg, soaking his pants. When the final bell rang, Seth sighed and began to trudge home. He was looking forward to just crawling into bed and relaxing after a day like today.
So lost was he in thought that he didn't notice the pickup truck flying down the street. A horn startled Seth out of his daydream, but by the time he looked up, it was too late. The pickup was practically on top of him. He briefly thought about his life. People he knew, that history assignment he had to do, his and Drew's science project that was still unfinished. his mother and her problem with drinking, and a dozen other thoughts filled his head in an instant.
Could this day get any worse? he thought. Seth flinched on instinct. There was a bright flash of light, a loud bang, and then, nothing.
* * *
Twilight blinked. Her head was still ringing from the explosion, and from having hit her head when she landed. She got to her feet unsteadily, and took in her surroundings. The throne room was mostly as it had been. Princess Celestia stood a few steps back from where she had been a moment ago, but appeared unharmed. What drew Twilight's attention was the large black scorch mark on the floor not ten feet from where she had been standing. The floor was broken and buckled, and smoke was still rising from the crater. What Princess Celestia's gaze was on, and what Twilight's mind slowly comprehended, was the form lying in the middle of the blast. It was a human, and though he wore different clothes, and was covered in soot, she recognized him as the human from a few weeks ago.
Twilight cautiously approached the human, as did Celestia. Once she reached the edge of the blast, Twilight realized that the human wasn't moving. "Is he..." she started, thinking that maybe something terrible had happened.
"He is alive, but hurt," the Princess said, her expression unreadable.
"We need to help him,then," Twilight said. "Should I call a doctor?"
"No," Celestia said with an unusual amount of force. "Right now, we can't let anypony else know about this. I will take him somewhere safe, you go find Princess Luna and tell her to meet me in the dungeons."
"The dungeons?" Twilight repeated, "But he didn't do anything wrong."
Just do it Twilight," Celestia said. "Please."
Twilight nodded, knowing that her mentor probably had the best interests of Equestria in mind, and raced off to find Princess Luna. Celestia, after watching her student leave, levitated the prone form of the human, and teleported out of the room.
Twilight followed Princess Luna deep in the heart of Canterlot Castle, down several flights of stairs into the dungeons. The dungeons beneath Canterlot were seldom used, only occupied by the rare pony that would fall on the wrong side of the law while they awaited their trial. The corridors were lit by magical torches that produced no smoke and little heat, making the air feel a bit cold. Luna stopped in front of a thick wooden door imbued with several strong protection spells and magic neutralization spells.
Luna opened the door, and Twilight followed. She was instantly surprised by her surroundings. She had expected a dark, cold, stone cell. Instead, the room was well lit and well furnished. The stone floor was covered by several thick rugs. The walls were painted a light blue trimmed with white. The furniture, though plain, was tasteful and obviously hoof-crafted. The bed looked like it was soft enough for any noble, and that was where the human lay. His bag was set next to the bed, and Princess Celestia was already using magic to examine the boy.
Twilight noted that the soot had been removed from his face, revealing a few dark bruises. His left leg was bent awkwardly, and a faint trickle of blood ran down his cheek, which the Princess wiped away with a scrap of cloth.
"Sister, what is the meaning of this?" Luna asked.
"I believe that you can see for yourself who this is, Luna," Celestia replied. "As for calling you here, you are better at healing than I am."
Luna merely nodded, and her horn became surrounded by a blue aura. The human's chest began to glow faintly, as did his leg. The bruises slowly faded away, leaving him looking once again normal. The whole process took over an hour, and Luna was sweating by the time she was finished. The boy was breathing more easily, but remained asleep.
"It is done," she breathed, "though it may take some time before he awakens." Luna turned to leave and nearly tripped over the edge of a rug.
Celestia helped her sister out of the room. Twilight looked once more at the human, and followed the Princesses out of the dungeon.
* * *
Seth woke slowly. The first thing he noticed was that he was sore. His left leg felt stiff and heavy, and his breathing felt like it was just a little bit forced. He finally opened his eyes. The light of the room was soft and didn't hurt his eyes. He blinked. He wasn't in his room at home, or in a hospital bed.
Wait, why would I be in a hospital? he thought. He tried to remember what has happened before he woke up. He remembered a loud noise, a flash of light, and then nothing. At least, nothing until he woke up in this strange place. He set his mind to work trying to figure out what happened. He went over his memories leading up to the blackout. He had been at school. He had had a bad day, and was walking home. He had been thinking about what song he would listen too. He started crossing the street. He remembered a loud honk. He looked up, saw a wall of red, and then...nothing.
Seth tried to figure out what it all meant. A honk...that reminded him of a truck. Wait, a truck? he thought. suddenly, everything returned in a flash. He had been crossing the street, then a car came out of nowhere. He looked up just in time to see it hit him. It had been going far too fast, at least fifty miler per hour. All of that, and more, flashed in his mind, and boiled down to one question.
"Am I dead?" he asked himself, his voice barely audible even to himself.
"No, you're not," a voice said to his right.
Seth turned his head. his eyes wouldn't focus, and all he saw was a purple blur. he blinked, forcing his eyes to adjust. The blur resolved itself into a purple equine laying on a couch with a book. "T-Twilight?" he said, confused. He closed his eyes. "I must be dreaming," he muttered.
"No, you aren't," the unicorn replied. Seth started to sit up. "I wouldn't do that," she started.
Seth stopped when a sudden burst of pain shot through his side. He fell back on the bed with a groan. Once the pain faded to a dull throb, he opened his eyes again. "Wh-what happened?" he asked. "How the heck did I get here? I wasn't even sleeping."
"As to that," Twilight said, "the Princesses were wondering the same thing." The cell door opened. "Speaking of which," she said.
Princess Celestia entered the room, followed by Princess Luna. Seth gulped. The two royal equines looked serious.
"I see you're awake," Princess Celestia said. Her voice held an almost no emotion, just making a statement. Seth nodded, unable to speak. Celestia levitated a tray from somewhere behind her and set it on the bed before Seth.
"Wha-?" Seth said, confused.
"Eat first," Princess Celestia said, "we can talk after that."
Seth flinched slightly at the way she said "talk", even as Twilight helped him into a sitting position, propping pillows behind him. Though she tried to be as gentle as she could, Seth winced in pain. He managed to suppress a moan of pain though. He noted idly that his left arm ached and felt thick and heavy. He looked down at the tray, seeing food he recalled eating from his previous visit to Equestria. Knowing that his left arm would probably be nearly useless, Seth started eating using only his right hand, feeling somewhat self-conscious with not one, but three strangers watching him.
Despite the awkwardness, the food was delicious. However, even that made Seth feel uneasy, hoping that this wasn't going to be his last meal. Once he was finished, the tray was removed from his lap and set on a table next to the bed.
"Now," Princess Celestia said, "I will be blunt, Seth. I did not expect to see you return to Equestria. So, how did you get here?"
Seth gulped, starting to feel sweat prickle on his brow. "I-I really don't know," he said, curling up slightly.
Celestia blinked, but other than that, she did not look affected in any way. "Explain," she said flatly.
"Well, you see...I was walking home from school," Seth said, "I had been having a really bad day, and wasn't really paying attention to anything. I was crossing the street, when a car came out of nowhere. I remember looking up and seeing it too late. There was a bright flash of light, a loud bang, and then...well, I woke up here."
The Princess' face remained inscrutable as she pondered what Seth had said. She was silent for a long time. Princess Luna started to shift slightly, while Twilight looked somewhat uncomfortable. Seth tried not to look anxious about what the Princess would say of do.
Finally, Princess Celectia spoke. "You will stay here until you are fully healed," she said. "After that, we will figure out what happened, and send you home."
Seth nodded. "I understand," he said, simply relieved that the Princess wasn't angry.
Celestia nodded. "Then we'll leave you to your rest," she said. "Twilight will be here if you need anything." With that, the two royal equines left, leaving Seth to rest and heal.