> Last Lights Falling
>  by Kalros
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The true north strong and free… Think about that for a few moments, the images it conjures in your mind.  You probably think forests, lakes, untamed wilderness…  And snow…  If there’s one thing that comes to mind when thinking of Canada it’s the snow.  I’ve spoken with plenty of people in the world; many from countries in warmer climates seem to adore the white stuff. I hate it, not just because it’s cold, but because it forces me to waste money on fuel heating things, it makes travel dangerous, and blah blah blah… I could go on for a while but that makes a boring story and that’s not why you’re here.

No, you’re here to read the story about how my life got completely f’ed up…

Well let’s first get the basics out of the way.

Name’s Jean-Claude Veilleux, But because my first language is english, and I've always lived in an english community I use the name John... Only my father called me Jean, or Jean-Claude if i was in real trouble. I was born in Alberta, but lived all over the country during my childhood before returning to the province after gradation because… There’s work here. And work means money that I can use to get an education. Other than that there’s not much else. Using one word my life could be defined as ‘average’.

It all started on a cold October night in Alberta Canada. Unlike many others who changed peacefully overnight the circumstances surrounding me were much more… Violent. At the time I was rather well off.  I had an apartment, a good job, and was getting ready to head to school in the coming months. The only downside was my job pretty much didn’t give me the option for a social life. I was working for a local gravel and asphalt company (they shall of course remain unnamed) and from 6pm to 6AM, 5 days a week, despite the long hours though it was easy work. I was a quality control tech in a gravel pit about an hour out of town which pretty much that meant I went down and made sure the gravel crushers were doing a good job and the gravel they produced was properly made. Because of how the job works I get a lot of down time as the samples are prepared, a downtime which is usually spent surfing the internet (if I’m lucky enough to be in an area with a signal) or watching movies.

All in all it was a pretty sweet job… 17$ an hour, never mind the 4 hours guaranteed overtime every day…  After 6 months working it all added up to a rather hefty sum, which was all going to be spent on school. The only annoying thing was that the pits usually stop once the snow starts falling, and where I live that usually means October; my supervisor had already hinted a few times that I should probably start looking for a new job over the winter, if I were not heading to school in January.  There’d been a couple flurries already but since the ground had yet to freeze no-one was stopping work.

The night of my change started out pretty normal. I arrived at the pit, got a couple samples, and sat back at a computer to watch YouTube and Netflix. It was pretty much a routine at this point as I queued up an episode of 24 while I waited for some rocks to go through the shaker. I continued this way for a couple hours, lazily watching the antics of Jack Bauer as I examined the size percentage of rocks and noted it down for the fellas down at the crusher. It was about 1 am when I got a call.

Sighing I paused the episode on the computer and answered, thankfully the shaker wasn’t running or id have to go outside to hear anything on my phone.

“Hello?” I found it rather strange to be honest. My boss was usually asleep at this time so whatever she had to say was probably kind of important.

“John? Hey it’s Susan. Listen, we had someone at one of the other pits not show up to work tonight. Do you mind going out and picking up some samples the crew set aside?” I could hear that she sounded pretty tired. Most likely someone at the pit had phoned her in the middle of the night and she was now passing on the work to me.

“Yeah, where’s the pit at?” This wasn’t the first time it’s happened. But usually I got told before 9pm. After midnight was a new record.

“It’s the one by the Smoky River.” inwardly I groaned in annoyance. I hated that pit. Not only was there no internet access but the road down there was hard to navigate, especially at night. I myself had no problems but over the last few weeks there had been a number of accidents as dump trucks hauling gravel would often find trouble maneuvering the winding roads. If I had to compare them to anything the winding Himalayan roads in India spring to mind.

“Alright… That it?”

“Yes. I’ll see you on Monday John,” a click later and I put away the phone. That’s right! It’s Saturday which means I get a couple days to sit around and maybe hang out with some friends. Or I would, but most of them left for school back in September… No matter, a weekend of gaming it is then!

I spent the rest of the hour finishing up with my current work, and after reporting down to the crusher (And finishing my 24 episode) I jumped into my truck and headed off. The pit was about an hour away which I was perfectly fine with. Call me odd but I like driving in the middle of the night. No traffic, the radio tended to play only music and the darkness is rather comforting to me. Sure you had to worry about the odd animal but I wasn’t stupidly reckless. Every encounter id had with deer or any other critters crossing the road had gone well with nothing injured.

As 2am rolled around I turned up the radio as the news popped on. There was the usual stuff, the US elections, fighting in Syria, Benghazi…

“Finally, the world continues to watch in confusion as the Ponedemic seems to get even more complicated. Earlier today a new group announced their existence to the world, the People.Against.Ponies.Association . The group claims to be against the existence of those affected by the pandemic and state their mission is to see them eradicated. While the group itself seems radical the US government has not labeled them a terrorist organization. Now onto weather: A heavy snowfa- “

I stopped paying attention at that point, the idea of a group of people protesting the existence of pastel colored ponies was ludicrous to me. There were plenty of injustices in the world be against, but to protest, or even seek harm on some poor victims of a disease? Ridiculous… Yes I thought it was a disease.  Like many I had no idea how the actual transformation worked but the way the media was spinning things it certainly sounded like pony transformation was something anyone could catch.

As the announcers  voice shifted back to music I found myself back in that peaceful state of driving, slowly making my way downhill to the pit, cursing from time to time as I made my small pickup twist and turn. How the larger dump trucks navigated this I had no idea but the dark was not helping. Somewhere to my left was a sheer cliff dropping into a river. And at this time of year it would undoubtedly be frigid cold due to its glacial origins in the Rocky Mountains.

I gave a sigh of relief as the truck pulled up to the lab I would be using for the rest of the night. I was safe, for now. But because it was October, the sun wouldn’t be rising until eight in the morning, which means id be leaving this place in the dark.

“Ah well,” I grumbled quietly to myself before getting to work. No point in worrying about that now. For the next couple hours I worked quietly, no internet, or music to be listened to. I had forgotten my iPod at home. All in all it was really, really boring.

Finally five o’clock rolled around. I could hear the gravel crusher shutting down in the distance. At this point I was tired, bored, and hungry. And with the weekend just beginning I eagerly hoped into the truck and began the treacherous journey home.

“Almost done… Just a week more of this shit and then a nice two week vacation” I muttered quietly to myself as I ascended the slope out… I usually wasn’t like this but the combination of no music, a couple of bad samples, hunger, and this road was wearing my patience thin.

I was moving at about 30km/hr when it happened. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed something move, instinctively I moved my foot to the brakes to let whatever critter it was pass… Instead what I got was, weird to say the least.

Take your average rabbit… Then put it on stilts. That’s essentially what was passing not a meter in front of my vehicle. Picking my jaw up from the ground I watched in awe as of these creatures clambered across the road. The thing that really got me though was they were crossing the road into an area I knew was just a sheer cliff. Meaning these…  Things, were plummeting to their deaths, unless they were also capable of sprouting wings. Since my headlights were not able illuminate that section of road I could only imagine as these things inexplicably ran off a cliff like lemmings.

“Well of course they can fly,” a voice chimed in the passenger’s seat, causing me to give a surprised yelp. If it were not for my seat belt I’d probably have jumped up a few centimeters…  Looking over I recoiled in fear at the creature sitting there.

Take a worm, then give it brown fur and add the head of a horse. Then add a lion’s paw, a massive eagle claw, and then a random assortment of other zoo animals. After noticing the red scaly tail I gave up trying to figure out and just screamed as I fumbled with my seat belt, only to find the buckle was encased in a sort of green Jell-O.

What I did next I’m ashamed to say was scream like a little girl. This thing was horrifying! The way its eyes seemed to glow with a malicious light, its toothy grin, never mind the fact it resembled nothing id had ever heard of in the animal kingdom. Reaching out I grabbed the nearest thing at hand, my lunch box, and flung it at the creature, only to watch it turn into a cream pie that splattered on its face, which promptly seemed to evaporate in thin air.

“Oh shush, “ that voice… Where had I heard that voice before?  I didn’t bother to ponder that as my screams were cut off, in fact my entire mouth felt… Where was my mouth?!?! Reaching up to feel my face I was horrified to find my mouth was gone…

As I flailed about in a panic the creature just seemed to give a sadistic grin at my panic, its eagle claw tapping away as its chin. If I had to guess I would think the thing was thinking.

“I guess you’ll have to do. A pity I don’t have the patience to find someone more suitable but there are just so many things to be. Ponies to see, things to do… I’m sure you understand” the thing said with a grin. It waited for a couple moments before rolling its eyes and snapping its fingers “Any last words?”

I gave a sharp gasp as I felt my mouth return. What the hell was going on?!?! “I must be dreaming, yes a dream. I’m back at home in my bed and you are just a figment of my imagination” I blurted out, my voice shaking in fear. The creature just rolled its eyes

“Yes yes, maybe it is. But from what I can tell you humans are hardly capable of being so imaginative when asleep. What’s that term your kind use… Pinch me I’m dreaming? ” For some reason I was unable to move as the things eagle claw reached for my arm and gave it a pinch. The sharp pain confirming that I really wasn’t asleep. Which meant… Which meant…

My eyes widened as thoughts ran through my mind. Would I be this things meal? No, it seemed to be toying with me like some kind of pet. Whatever it had in mind was probably far more horrible… What this thing made me think of most however was of a demon, the kind that toyed with your feelings and soul for all eternity. Maybe I was dead then?

“Oh please. I’m just looking to have a little fun,” he said, somehow reading my thought. Snapping its claws I felt my stomach lurch as gravity as the truck seemed to turn sideways, with my body facing down at the ground.

“Well John, I’ll be seeing you soon. Taa taa.” And with a bright flash of light the creature vanished. A moment later my stomach gave another lurch as I felt a familiar sensation grip my body. I was in a free fall. Looking ahead I could see the headlights seeming to reflect off a mirror as I rushed towards it. No, not a mirror, water… I could only watch in terror as I impacted the wall of water and the world faded away in a mix of wet, cold, and pain.

> Dawn
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Every story has a beginning, sounds cliché but it’s true. In my case it has several, one starting in an Albertan hospital, another in Canterlot when Celestia took me in as her apprentice.  Both of these tales carry their own twists and turns as I grew older but that’s not why you’re here. You want to hear about how two different beings came together on a cold snowy morning, how their actions would come to influence two drastically different worlds. I will tell you that tale, but be warned that it is not the story of a hero; at least, not the heroes you know. That story is better left to the real saviors, the Elements of Harmony and their allies in the struggle to fight evil and chaos in a world gone mad. Mine is somewhat darker as I try to bring peace to a mind torn by jealousy, hatred, and greed… With that out of the way we can begin. ..

If there was ever one sound in the world that is bound to wake anyone up it would be the cry of a crow or raven. Their piercing yell is the bane of many sleepers, especially campers hoping to get some rest in the wilds. Sadly I didn’t get the privilege of a nice comfy tent and mattress that particular morning.

My eyes snapped open to stare at the overcast sky above me, a sight that was confusing to say the least. The questions were already starting to run through my mind. How did I get here? Was all that stuff earlier a dream? Why do I feel so weird? Why is it so cold? Is it going to sno-

“CAW!”

….

Stupid bird.

Turning my head I looked at the source of the sound, a raven not a couple feet away from me. I also noticed that I appeared to be lying on some gravel and could hear the loud sound of rushing water nearby, meaning somehow I was in the river valley… Yet again the questions began to flood my mind, at least until a gust of icy cold wind cause me to gasp and instinctively curl up into a peach colored ball.

Peach? Wait…

For a couple moments I stared at the fur that covered my body, my mind trying to process exactly what was going on but drawing up a blank as it simply overloaded. All the events of the past few moments, and those I had either dreamed or had occurred earlier this morning were simply too much as I gave a sigh and drifted into a shock induced unconsciousness.

I came to after who knows what amount of time, a sharp pain in my back causing a rather feminine cry of pain as I flailed out with a hoof to swat whatever was attacking me.

“CAW!”

That blasted raven again! I glared at it for a few moments as it fluttered back to the ground and regarded me curiously. As the haze of unconscious began to lift again tore my gaze away from the black bird to stare at the hoof I had just used, my eyes roving up the limb as it changed from hoof to fur and then up to shoulder, a process that involved my head turning and causing a clump crimson and yellow hair to fall across my eyes. Flailing from the sudden blindness I managed to pull up a hoof and clear my vision before collapsing onto the ground with a sigh.

I was a pony… The weight of what that meant seemed to start pressing upon my mind and I felt my head start pounding in a panic. Closing my eyes I took a deep breathe.

“Ok John, relax. You aren’t the first to change like this and you are certainly not the last. Get a grip man!” I muttered quietly to myself, cringing at that last part. I wasn’t even a man anymore, at least it certainly sounded like it. Unless male ponies sounded like chicks as well, which I knew they didn’t.

Let’s get this out of the way, I’m not a brony. I’ve certainly seen the show of course. In the days after the initial announcement in New York, I along with plenty of others had flooded to YouTube to see just what this all was. I’d watched one or two episodes, and certainly saw the appeal of the show but nothing beyond that. If my viewing schedule wasn’t taken up by a couple Netflix shows I might have watched some more but the news regarding the ponies had broken only a couple days ago. With a sigh I cursed Jack Bauer and Michael Scott for distracting me from something that might have helped me deal with this situation.

“CAW!”

“Will you shut up!” I growl, opening my eyes and lashing out a limb at the creature, which simply hopped out of my reach before resuming its vigil. A moment later another icy gust of wind served remind me that my situation was rather serious and I needed to find shelter, and more importantly, heat.

Rolling over I began the long drawn out process of relearning how to walk, pausing every now and then to push some hair… Or I suppose mane, out of my face. It was during these few moments of learning that I swore  I was  going to cut it the moment I had access to some scissors, who cares if I lacked the digits to use them!

I won’t bore you with any further details of my time learning how to walk but suffice to say it was embarrassing. Thankfully no one was around to watch me, besides that blasted raven… I’m guessing the thing saw me as potential meal. After all I was only about twice its size, had been laying unconscious for a good amount of time, and then my pitiful attempts to walk about on the river bank.  If I had been watching this myself id think the poor pony was doomed.

The size difference was another thing that got to me. From what I could tell I was only about two feet tall standing up; I used to be 6’4”! Seeing everything from this low was jarring to say the least. Never mind the raven had gone from annoying pest, to potential predator.
After about what seemed to be a half hour (but was likely longer) I was able to set up a bit of a rhythm with my legs that over time seemed to get more natural the more I did it. As I managed to move a couple feet away from the shore I have a small cheer of glee, only to shut up as my new voice reminded me of what id lost.

I hesitated for a moment then as a thought entered my mind. Id gotten glimpses of my form. Peach colored fur, red and yellow mane and tail, a weird sun tattoo on my flank…  But no real idea about /what/ I looked like… Hopefully you understand what I mean. Shaking my head (and once again getting mane in my eyes) I headed to the waterline and nervously peered into the water.

What stared back was a bedraggled, scared, and pitiful looking mare. Her mane somewhat mangled from my efforts to manage it, coat somewhat dirty from lying on the ground. For the first time I noticed a horn poking out from my mane. Racking my memory I remembered something about there being multiple types of ponies, and that unicorns could use magic. (Not that I knew the first thing about it.)Finally my stare moved back down my face to my eyes, mesmerized by the frightened and lost look I saw within them.

“CAW!”

Once again that blasted bird snapped me out of my daze. Seriously… What was with this thing? It just seemed to sit there, staring, only hoping away when I got closer.

“Whatever…” I grumbled and turned around, and looked upstream, if I was going to have any chance of surviving It was probably in that direction. The Smoky River ran south to north, and where id been working was upstream of a large bridge that spanned the river. So, as long as I headed that way I’d either run into my truck, or that bridge and hopefully get some help.

Oddly enough I wasn’t too disturbed by the cold. I mean yes I felt it, but it seems my fur was able to keep me warmer that I thought it would despite how short it was. Then again, id seen horses roaming outside of their stables in -40 degrees weather so maybe it shouldn’t be so surprising. I knew though if I had been normal I’d probably be frozen by now. As much as it pained me to admit, id probably be an icicle if not for this change…

“Then again, I might not be here if not for that… Thing” I muttered quietly…  I was still wondering about all that. Was it a dream? Had I fallen asleep at the wheel and my broken mind simply imagined it all? Considering what had happened I find it hard to believe any of that. Many of the events had been absurd. Long legged rabbits? Transforming lunchboxes? Talking monstrosities?  They all seemed like things a lunatic might speak of in an asylum…  But then I remembered how real everything seemed; the Jell-O, the sheer terror, the pain when that creature had pinched me.  Never mind that these sorts of things were not what I usually dreamed of.

No I’m not going into detail about them.

As I walked I felt one of my ears swivel around to the sound of fluttering wings, ( You have no idea how weird that feels…) and I sighed as I noticed the raven land a couple feet  away. Still staring at me.

“So you’re just going to follow me ?” I asked, raising an eyebrow  at the creature.

“CAW!” Huh, a little odd that it would reply to my question but I found it somewhat comforting. At least I wouldn’t be alone for this journey…

> Sunrise
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think it was about noon when the first flakes began to fall, at first it was just one of two, my eyes picking up on the odd white speck as it floated to the ground. I’d been expecting it of course. The overcast skies, the chill in the air…

The radio forecast calling for light flurries. I’m so in touch with nature…

“CRAWW!” turning my head I grimaced as Reginald vocalized his thoughts to me. His vocabulary had increased by a bit in the time he’d been following me. Not just flat caws; I was picking up on subtle shifts in pitch, and once a clack of its bill… Yes, I named it Reginald. If the blasted bird was following me to try and get a quick meal when I eventually keeled over I was going to give it a name. And the idea of a raven named after an English gentleman sounded rather amusing… I’m pretty sure he was a raven… Is it crows or ravens that are the smart black birds? Because lately I seemed to be imagining a small glimmer of intelligence in Reg’s beady eyes, and it’s starting to creep me out.

“Scram, damn you!” I yell out, even though I know the he won’t leave me… Aside from a slight ruffle of his feathers the crow just continues to stare at me with contempt. 

“Stupid bloody bird,” that’s another thing that changed over the last couple hours. My voice no longer causes me to cringe. It’s still a bit weird, sounding like a woman, but when I compare it to the rest of my changes it’s the kinda minor. Humans and ponies talk. Human do not walk on 4 legs. They do not have a set of ears that move of their own accord and rest on top of their heads. They do no- You get the picture.

And so I walked, the dull grey and brown of the river valley slowly passing by. I had plenty of time to think of course… Mostly it was reviewing the survival training id gotten as an Air Cadet. Of course I was violating the first rule by moving away from the area I woke up in, but who after considering a couple facts I decided it was for the best.

First: My logic of heading upstream was sound. Id quickly looked a bit downstream and there was absolutely no way I could have crawled up to where I woke up without remembering or leaving some obvious signs.  Then again I’m no hunter/tracker. What would I know? 

Second: No one had a clue that I was out here. I mean, yes, my work might know. But it was the weekend, I was supposed to be spending it lazing about my apartment watching tv, eating, and generally keeping to myself. Add the fact that I have issues answering my phone… It probably wasn’t going to be until Monday that someone notices I’m gone, and only because I didn’t report in.

I pause walking for a moments as that thought crosses my mind. Was it a sad thing that I could go missing for an entire weekend and no one would notice? I try to rack my mind of news stories regarding missing people and come up blank. I know it certainly wasn’t a good thing but a small part of my mind was nagging me that I needed to rectify this when I returned to civilization.

Third: I was a pony. I’m sure you’re getting bored of me whining about this but after giving Reg a look I realized something… You hear all the time about how animals are more afraid of us than we are of them, us being humans. And really they are right to, we’re loud, confusing, and usually have weapons or can use our intelligence to outwit any potential threats. We are the top of the food chain and our dominance on earth is unchallenged.  But a pony? A 2 foot tall brightly colored unicorn? Yeah, I’m probably very high on some coyotes ‘things I’m willing to mess with’ list. Never mind bears, wolves, and cougars. On the plus side maybe all the bears have already gone to sleep! Ha… Ha… If only I were so lucky.

In case that last bit didn’t get the message across I was scared. Every crack, rustle, and snap in the nearby woods would cause me to freeze and look around in fear. Honestly to an observer I probably reminded them of a deer. 

….

Oh yeah, its hunting season isn’t it?

Fuuuuuuu-

“CRAW CRAW CRAW!” for once I was happy Reg broke my train of thought. The way it was going I was probably going to end up curled up on the ground in fear.

“Right, deep breaths John…   Look at your ha- mane you dolt. Any hunter seeing that colorful mess won’t mistake you for a deer…” I muttered quietly and gave my head a shake. I looked like I was wearing a safety vest with these colors, hopefully the local wildlife would think I was just some surveyor or other human wearing bright clothes and decide to stay away… Then again what if it was one of those anti pon- 

“Right now… I’m hating you so much brain. Common, focus, one foot in- hoof in front of the other, let’s get to the highway…” 

It was at this point two things happened… The snow started really getting heavy… And my stomach started rumbling. 

“Lovely…” I muttered  and glanced around. Nearest source of food was… Reg. And ignoring the fact that I was a herbivore (Ponies can eat meat right? Protein is protein after all…) I knew there was no way in hell I was going to catch and kill that bird with my hooves. As if sensing my thoughts he took to the air and landed on the top of a tree.

“… Not only are you an English gentleman, apparently you can read minds!” I grumble and look around for other options. There weren’t many. And with my vision getting shorter by the minute (Stupid white stuff) I bolted for the treeline in the hopes that there might be some greenery I might be able to munch on. 

Nothing … This late in the year the forest was pretty much in hibernation and I wasn’t about to eat rotting leaves off the ground. Looking up I had noticed some pinecones and edible seeds but they were far out of my reach… In the end I decided to continue on my journey. A human can go days without food… Hopefully a pony can to. Disappointed and still hungry I turned away and head back towards the river.

By this point the snow was pretty much a solid wall of white, and the ground was covered with a couple centimeters of the stuff. Looking around I contemplated my options. I could keep walking, and eventually freeze as my body heat melted the snow and then the cold weather refroze it later… At least it might, once again I look to normal horses. How many times had I seen small herds of them standing out in the elements? Without a care in the world? Of course they also had each other to huddle around for heat but as of yet the cold was not really getting to me. Oh sure I felt it, but in the same way that someone feels a chill inside a jacket. Despite their differences these ponies had inherited some hardiness from their earthborn cousins.

In the end I decided to head back into the woods, dragging large piece of drift wood I found I was able to eventually making myself a small lean-to that barely fit me, and clearing out the ground so that I could lay down without getting myself wet or too dirty. It wasn’t the best shelter id ever made, but it did the job, settling down I sighed and watched quietly as the snow fell, the sight filling me with a sense of peace one often gets when watching rain fall during a storm. For awhile I was even able to forget my dire situation and examine myself a bit more. The odd feeling of having a tail, ears capable of moving about, hooves, an altered jaw and mouth structure. That last bit was kind of worrisome, id heard stories how people who’d had their jaws reconstructed or tongues modified (forked tongues, piercings) would have trouble for the first while as they relearned how to talk. From what I could tell this mouth was very different from my old one, a longer tongue, a different tooth arrangement (lacking canines as well)…  My mind was telling me I shouldn’t be able to say a thing and yet…

“She sells sea shells by the seashore, she sells sea shells by the sea shore, seashellseashellsbytheseashore” Thank you Pokemon for teaching me that… 

Despite the obvious voice change I was able to speak that perfectly fine. Sure the ponies in the show were capable of speaking but they’ve been ponies all their lives. I began to suspect some of those skills had transferred over when I became this mare. A thought that was worrying since if speech had transferred over so much more may still be hiding in my head waiting to be unlocked. 

Groaning I settled my head down between my hooves as those last thoughts unlocked more questions. Was I a pony from the show? I remembered a purple one, a white one, pink, rainbow, yellow and orange… But none really stood out to me as being whoever this mare was, well… Maybe the orange one. But If I remembered correctly she had some apples on her but… Not this odd combination of a sun and a Tao yin-yang symbol. No I would certainly remember this mare if I’d seen her. 

Assuming that I really was a pony from the show what had happened to her then? What was her name? Why had this even happened? My ability to talk made me suspect she might be in my head somewhere but then again… I was dealing with a world of magical talking ponies… Nothing about this situation made sense. Maybe she was back in her world running around in my body, the thought of which caused me to laugh. The image of my body running around on all fours, trying to eat grass, or anything else really was rather amusing, embarrassing maybe, but considering I couldn’t do a thing to stop it there was no point in worrying.

From where I was I could see that the wind was picking up beyond the treeline and realizing id be here for awhile I let my mind drift to other topic. Family, friends…  Eventually they drifted even more into the things I normally thought about: video games, money, bills, girls; anything to distract my mind from the situation. As time went on and the snow continued to fall I soon found myself getting sleepy, the falling snowflakes sometimes sending me into a calm trance. I know many consider it bad to sleep in a snow storm, especially without a fire, but right now my body was feeling tired from all the time spent working earlier, and then there was the stress and journey over the last couple hours. Considering the storm was showing no signs of letting up (and I wasn’t particularly cold) I decided to give into those desires and closed my eyes for a short nap…







I was in a tent… Nothing fancy, just a brown thing with two stick in the ground. What surprised me most what that either I was human again in this dream. Or the tent was pony size. My answer came a moment later as I saw a familiar peach colored hoof reach up to rub my eyes followed by a small yawn.

“Morning sweetie, you have a good night sleep?” I hear a voice from outside the tent ask, letting out another yawn I nod, even though I know the voice outside cant see me.

“What was that hon?” I hear the voice ask again, this time im able to put a gender  to it. Male, and from the sounds of things someone about my age…

“Nothing dad, just yawning,” I feel myself reply and start to crawl out of the small tent. 

“Alright, breakfasts almost ready, do you think you can roll up our cots and the tent? I want to get moving before noon” I just nod, once again forgetting the other pony, my father(?), couldn’t see me. Poking my head outside I’m welcomed to the sight of a small camp , a fire in the middle with a unicorn stallion working diligently with a frying pan . I noticed the pan he was using seemed to be enveloped in a yellow glow. The rest of the area seemed to be forest, not too different from those i was stranded in only it was the middle of summer and everything seemed to be green and alive.

“Pancakes!” I yell out, the stallion giving a smile. He appears to have a slightly browner coat color than me, and his mane was the same shade of red that was mixed into mine. As I started making my way towards him I began to notice just how much larger than me he was. And how much younger I sounded. 

“Yes Sunset. But you’ll only get them if you do as I asked.”  Sunset… Somehow I wasn’t surprised by that at all. Her colors, that mark on her flank, they both fit her perfectly.

Letting out groan I watched quietly as Sunset did a 180 and started packing up the tent. It was a bit odd to say the least, like watching television, only I could feel everything she did. The grass in her hooves, the odd gust of wind across her hide, the sudden moment of pain as Sunset accidently pulled too hard on apeg and was sent tumbling backwards. To her credit she didn’t cry or say anything other than a short whine of pain… Within a few minutes the tent was completely stowed away in a small bag which I dragged over to the cart and stopped the moment.

“Well?” Sunset gives a small jump of surprise and looks back at her father who seems to be watching in amusement and expectation.

“Do I have to??”  she asks in the whiny voice you hear children use so often. Whatever her father wanted her to do was akin to asking a child to eat their veggies… Although I don’t know how well that transfers to a completely vegetarian species.
“Yes… If you want to get better at magic you need to practice” he replies smiling. 

Giving a groan Sunset turns her attention to the bag and concentrates. For a few moments I feel nothing but then an an odd sensation creeps into my horn before the sack gets enveloped in a teal aura and begins floating. I can tell she’s struggling, her eyes closing as she concentrates fully on lifting the bag. 

“Almost there sweetie, you can do it!” I hear her father call out encouragingly but I doubt Sunset can hear him. Shes so focused on her magic. 

Finally, after a few seconds she lets out of exasperated sigh and falls over breathing heavily, staring up at the sack that’s now resting on the edge of the cart. A moment later her father comes up and pushes it the rest of the way in, smiling widely.
“You did great sweetie!” he says scooping me up for a hug. Sunset seems completely pooped after that and gives her father a half hearted hug “Your mom would be proud of you.” He then adds and I feel the filly tense up at that and give a smile.
“Really?” she asks, turning her face to look at the other pony. 

“Of course… “ he replies and gives our mane a rustle before setting us down “I know that she’s smiling at you from the Fields of Elysium” he said warmly and starts walking back to the fire. After a couple moments Sunset runs off after him and I feel the world dissolve into a mist of white.

> Morning
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Huh…

That happened…

I woke up god knows how much later to the sight of still falling snow, and a partially buried entrance. Laying there it took a few moments for my mind to register the small chunk of wood in my mouth. It seems like I had decided to have a snack while I slept and spent the next few seconds clearing my mouth of bark and other detritus.

Letting out a yawn I began the process of clearing the snow that had partially covered my shelters entrance. Everything had a sort of serene appearance about it as the snowflakes fell slowly, the wind had died down at some point during my rest and the forest was deathly quiet.

“CAW!”

“Way to ruin the moment Reg…”

Sighing I drag myself out, the cold snow reaching halfway up my legs and jolting me awake… I needed to get a move on, there still seemed to be enough time left in the day to make some progress before I made a camp of sorts. How I achieved that was beyond me though. Besides building a small shelter I was at a loss for how I would achieve a fire with just my hooves and mouth. Even if I were human I doubt I would be able to figure out making a fire before I froze to death.

In the end however I knew I had no choice but to keep going on. I couldn’t give up, not when my life was on the line… No, when two lives were on the line.

That dream from earlier was still bouncing around my thoughts although I don’t think that word really does it justice. In the past, after waking up, I would struggle to remember anything from my dreams the night before. Unless it had been a particularly bad nightmare they just faded away within an hour or so. I rarely had lucid dream but it always felt like I was communicating through water and sluggish. Also, said dreams tended to be about women, (don’t you judge me!), and the only female in that whole sequence was me… And underage. Ick.

Not this. Whatever I had experienced seemed more like a memory than anything else. Perhaps a bit distorted due to my not being in control of the body but that really didn’t matter. I now had a name for the mare whose body I found myself in.

“Sunset…” I mutter, making my way back to the river through the snow.

“Cruk?” I hear Reg call out from behind me. It sounded like a question oddly enough… 

“Her names Sunset… And I think she might still be in my head somewhere” I respond uncertainly. Was she? Or were some of her memories lingering from wherever process had changed me. No matter, there was one other detail in that dream that had stuck out like a sore thumb. Magic. Looking around I began to dig in the snow, ignoring the cold as I cleared out some rocks by the river. 

“Alright… Concentrate…” I muttered to myself, sounding rather uncertain. I was never a believer in magic. Concrete facts and a firm belief in the sciences governed my beliefs. That wasn’t to say I didn’t enjoy reading about it. I’d read Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Wheel of Time… Suffice to say I could go on for awhile. Despite all this though I knew enough to differentiate fiction from reality and the ability to use magic was most definitely fiction…

Then again so were ponies… 

With an irritated sigh I closed my eyes and imagined one of the stones in the pile and concentrated heavily on it floating through the air, trying to replicate what Sunset was doing in the memory. After a few moments of straining I opened my eyes with groan as I saw the rock hadn’t budged an inch.

I repeated this action three more times before collapsing from mental exhaustion… This magic stuff was /hard/. On the last try id started yelling random spells from Harry Potter and gestures with my hooves, all of which resulted in nothing but a couple croaks from Reginald which sounded suspiciously like laughter.

I don’t know how much longer I lay there but my mind was struggling to figure out what might be stopping me… Maybe it was because this wasn’t my body? The magic is tied to a ponies soul and if Sunset was gone from this body perhaps I couldn’t access it. Or mayb-





“You’re trying to hard sweetie. Just calm down and watch daddy ok?”  I feel myself tense as the image of my- Sunsets father floods my mind, overlaying itself on the snow filled scene before me. It’s from the campsite again and I watch as he effortlessly floats me a plate of pancakes. My eyes mostly focus on him however as I notice he’s not straining at all as he then grabs a napkin and utensils for me.

“But dad, it’s just plates and forks… A tent’s much heavier! ” I complain, hearing two different voices speaking at the same time. One from the dream, and the other being my own, or adult Sunsets, as she lays on the snow. Her father seemed to be like a ghost as he walked over and ruffled my mane with a smile again

“Mind over matter hon, just forget how heavy it is and the magic will do the lifting for you” he replies before fading away leaving me with the sight of a hibernating forest and snowflakes in front of me.





What

The

Hell?!?!?

“CAW”

Giving a gasp of shock I scramble to my hooves and back away from the spot the ghostly pony had manifested in, in its place Reg just stares at me before flapping its wings and settling in a tree. My chest was heaving as I gasped for air in a panic, my mind racing as it tried to make sense of what it just saw. 

Looking back on it now I know it was a kind of continuation of the dream I had earlier, Sunsets father trying to explain to his daughter that she had been trying way too hard at the wagon. But to my panicked mind? I was going nuts!

Let’s review what’s happened over the last 15 minutes. I wake up after experiencing a very vivid dream, collapse from exhaustion after trying to dabble with magic, then watch as a ghost lectures me on trying to hard! All things considered it’s understandable that I started running along the river upstream to get away from that spot, trying to ignore the sound of wings flapping as Reg followed me.

I would come to a halt about 15 minutes later, panting in exhaustion “Right.. Get ahold of yourself Jean…” I mutter in a shaky voice for the second time today “It’s just a bit of mental residue left over from Sunset. You are not going nuts alright? We got to get back to civilization, sitting around here isn’t ” I mutter trying to reassure myself, and for once it kinda helps. Whatever was happening wouldn’t be fixed unless I returned home and right now I needed to stay focused. Aside from being a bit freaky, and paralyzing me for a few minutes, they had given me some insight into using magic... I hope.

Taking a deep breath I calmed my mind and focussed on a large rock covered with snow. Closing my eyes I visualized it floating in front of me. Why did I close my eyes? I guess it helped me relax a bit, and let me focus on that one object without getting distracted.

…

…
My horn feels itc- Funny…

Opening my eyes I gasped as I saw the rock floating there in a light blue aura which promptly dropped as I loss focus. Not that I cared. 

“I did it!” I exclaimed in glee and over the next few minutes repeated the action a dozen more times until I could perform the act without needing to close my eyes. Giving a whoop of joy I trotted around a small inuksuk id formed from a bunch of different sized rocks.

“I can do maggiiicccc, I am so awwwesssomme” Shut up… I can hear your mocking laughter! It was a pretty big deal for me. I’d been struggling all day with just my hooves and mouth, barely able to manipulate the environment around me and now here I was making little stone piles with my mind! Imagine having no hands; having to try to take a drink from a bottle, open a door, make a meal… I’d been feeling so helpless until this moment and being able to cast magic was a major morale booster. Add to the fact that the snowfall had stalled to a couple odd flakes falling here and there and you could say I was jubilant at how my luck was turning around.

“Caw!” whipping my head around I spied the raven a bit upstream regarding me again with its black beady eyes.

“What?” I muttered and on a whim tried to use my telekinesis on the bird. I felt me horn tingle a bit but no aura appeared around the animal.

“Stupid bird…” I whispered angrily. Either it took more power to grab a living creature or Reg was special for some reason… I really hoped it wasn’t the later, that bird was really starting to creep me out and the thought of it being immune to magic sent a shiver down my spine. Looking past the bird I suddenly notice where the sun was positioned and the orange glow behind Reg. 

“Oh crap…” It was nearing night already? How long had I been out?!? AS I headed towards the trees I tried to do a recap of the days events but the nap earlier had really skewed my sense of time, looking around I get to work on a small shelter, this time much more elaborate in its design thanks to my magic as I grab some branches from some pine trees. I even manage to find a couple seeds which I reluctantly eat. Turns out they don’t taste half… A bit sticky and ‘pine-ey’ but still edible… 

As I finished up Id noticed that id been using a stick to light up the area like a sort of torch, my magical aura shining bright enough to light up the forest for a couple meters and basking it in a cyan light. 

No…

My horn is doing most of the shining actually… Sitting back on my haunches I let the stick drop but try to keep the image of the lit up forest in my mind. For a moment everything flickers as if my horn was a light bulb but I smile as the light remains shining. 

“I can dooo maaagiiiiccc..” I sing out again and my smile grows wider as I manage to increase, and then dim the light with just a little effort. Things were really looking up for me. I had shelter, a bit of food, and light.

“Now all I need is a fire and I’m set” I mutter out loud and start to head into the shelter.

{Perhaps I could help with that…} I freeze as I hear what and look around in a panic, pausing for a moent to let my horns light shine brightly. That voice sounded really, really, familiar.

{I’m in your head genius} the voice called out again and this time I manage to figure out what’s going on…

“Sunset?” You know how your own voice sounds very different when you hear it on a recording or something? Well as a human id always hated how my voice sounded but as a pony I think I hate it even more. I sounded like some snobby high school cheerleader, at least, Sunset did… 

{ The one and only. Now can you tell me what the hay is going on and why you are in my head?!?}

> Noon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I sat there for a few moments trying to compose a response. Sunset was alive? In my head? What exactly had she seen?

{Plenty. You should be thankful, without me I doubt you’d have gotten the hang of my magic so quickly. But then again you are in the body of a magical prodigy.} Sunset half bragged, half explained. Is it bad that I found her tone of voice to be rather grating?

“So then Miss Prodigy. You know that I’m as lost as you are.” I mutter in response. At this point the sun has set and it’s completely dark outside my shelter. As I lay there I can pick up the odd sound from leaves rustling in the wind, the occasional crack of wood as the temperature falls, or the river flowing a couple dozen meters away. If it wasn’t completely pitch black I might enjoy this. Instead I feel like I’m being watched as every creak and snap of wood causes my head to look around for the source.

{I’m just as confused as you. One minute I’m in the castle, the next I find myself a prisoner in my own head… You’re human right?} I hear her reply which prompts me to respond with a small nod.

“I was… “

{Then why am I pony again…} Sunset mutters {I’m in a human world, I should be hu-}

“Whoa whoa whoa. Hold up there. Are you saying this has happened before to you?” I ask. It certainly sounded like it.

{You could say that. I doubt you would understand but let’s just say I’m kind of an expert on the matter.} she replies causing me to frown.

“I-“

{Stop talking with my mouth. You’re probably alerting all the animals in the area that we’re here.} she suddenly interrupted, a small jolt of pain piercing my skull. Was that supposed to happen? It wasn’t too bad, kind of like a pinch really, but it still got my attention.

“Oww… What if I prefer to talk though?” I respond, lowering my voice to a whisper anyway. She made a valid point.

{I suppose if you are too ‘simple’ to use your mind I shouldn’t try to push you.} I swear, I could see her giving me a condescending smirk with that last remark.

{Who are you calling simple? Just answer my question Sunset, has this happened before?} I reply getting more and more annoyed by her by the minute.

{ Before all.. This… I had been spent a couple years in a world with humans. Only I didn’t have to share a body that time. I would have expected to return to that form after arriving here, I guess I was mistaken.} she trails off as if lost in thought.

“So let me get this straight. You are a pony, that went to a human world, and turned into one of us, then later returned to your own world only to come here?” I asked, piecing the whole story bit by bit.

{Yes. In the other human world, let’s just call it the Mirrorverse, I was a student at a highschool. Over the last couple days many of the students just started vanishing, and then yesterday I woke up back in equestria before blacking out.} she explains causing more questions to pop into my head. High School? Just how old was this pony? As I open my mouth to ask I feel a twinge in my head again.

{Later… Right now you need a fire right?} she asks suddenly acting a little more cooperative.

“Uh. Yes? I don’t know how much you ponies can take but a late autumn night is can get pretty darn cold”

{ A pony can move about comfortably until about -10 degrees Celcius. Judging from how cold it feels right now… I doubt we will last the night…} she mutters and I can only nod in agreement before lighting up the area again with my horn and gathering wood.

{You know I could just cast a heating spell right?} she asks in an annoyed tone.

“Maybe, but you’re not in control right? So unless you can give me the knowledge I need to cast it then I suggest we make a fire instead. Besides when we are in the wild like this I’d like to have a fire as a deterrent for any animals looking for a meal…” I mutter as I float a large branch into the small clearing I’m in and start breaking it into smaller pieces with my hooves.

“Sides… A heating spell is harder to cast than making some sparks for a fire right?”

{If you wish to sleep then yes, I suppose your idea has some merit. Heating spells are not so difficult to cast, however you will need to sustain it even while sleeping. Not a simple task for somepony new to magic like you.} she mutters and I give a nod as I find some dry brush under some roots.

“How about something to dry this stuff up?” I ask, clearing off some snow from a large piece of wood.

{ There is, but I you’re still too new to magic to try it. Even with me hel-} she pauses for a moment {Stop!}

I pause for a moment and sit back on my haunches “What?”

{I’m going to try something. Clear you mind of everything} she explains. I had no reason to trust her, but then again we were both in the same boat. If I were to venture a guess she was going to try and take control and if that meant she could cast the spells we needed to get out of here I had no reason to say no.

“If you’re sure it will help…”

Taking a breath I did as she asked, the light from my horn flickering for a moment before going dark. For a moment a can feel one of my ears pivot around to the sound of wood cracking nearby but I ignore it as I try to detach myself from the world.

{Let me see} I hear her mutter but try to ignore that as I focus on- HOLY HELL THAT HURTS!
I give out a scream of pain as it feels like my skull is splitting in two for what seems like an eternity before collapsing to the ground gasping for air.

“It worked.” my mouth says acting against my will as it emits an arrogant laugh.

{That hurt!}

“Really? I didn’t feel a thing. Now then.” She replies in an uncaring tone and I watch as Sunset spins her body around. A moment later her horn lights up and a bolt of light blue energy lances out striking the large piece of wood I had brought early. For a moment the wood lays there inert before a raging inferno of blue flame erupts all over it.

“A bit rusty but still better than those fools back home can do.” she mutters. As I watch the flames seem to isolate themselves on one end of the stick and change color back to the normal orange and yellow hues one would expect. Picking up the newly made torch I feel the pony start to make their way away from our shelter and towards the river.

{Where are you going?!? I thought we were going to just make a fire and sleep?} I asked in a rather confused, and angry, tone. Ok, I definitely had made a serious mistake. From my new prison all I could feel was contempt for me as I watched everything unfold and was helpless to do anything.

“You might not have heard them but I did.” She mutters placing the torch down nearby the waterside and Sunset turns her back to the light, staring defiantly into the darkness.

{Heard what?} I ask but I already know the answer as a minute later the flames reveal multiple sets of yellow glowing eyes that cluster at the edge of the light.

“Them.”





I felt good, really good. After spending years in that other world, the Mirrorverse, as a human I’d almost forgotten the thrill magic had given me, the rush of power as you made the world your plaything. I almost pitied these dogs for what I was about to do to them.

Almost.

{Why are that one’s eyes glowing green?} And there it was, the one downside to all this. I suppose it’s not his fault but this human, John, was really getting on my nerves. He sort of reminded me of Flash Sentry, my ‘boyfriend’ back in the mirrorverse. There was nothing serious between us, Flash was, like John, a tool I needed to use to get what I wanted.

It only took a moment to find the green eyes John was speaking of. I instantly recognized those baleful eyes when a gust of wind brought the scent of its rancid breath in my face.

“Timberwolf.” They didn’t have these creatures in the Mirrorverse. There was not enough ambient magic to sustain them. Instead we had the normal flesh and blood wolves that seemed to be following the wooden creature. A timberwolf leading normal ones; if they were not trying to make me into a snack I would love to investigate this a little further.

{Timberwolf? Aren’t all of these things timbe-}

“Not the same thing, now can you shut up so I can focus?” I mutter in annoyance. I know I berated him earlier for talking but had had a reason.

I had first noticed something was wrong when John was busy using my horn as a light. Odd shadows, the occasional glint here and there from eyes. Then later, once we started talking in the shelter I started to hear them moving about… A pony’s senses are not the same as a human’s, and while I did help John he still was still new to being a pony so I’m not surprised he didn’t notice. It didn’t take me long to figure out that something was moving about in the woods. I suspect the only reason they didn’t attack was because of the magic display, most animals tend to be cowards around the unknown.

Growling, the timberwolf advances forward into the light, its wooden and stone body illuminated by the flames. In my head I can feel John panicking at the sight which caused me a bit of amusement.

“Scared of the big bad wolf John?” I ask in a mocking tone as I move slowly to my side. Since dropping the torch  and focusing my magic on something a bit more…. Practical, for this situation. That log only illuminated so much and while I could just use my horn I wanted something that would  free my horn for other magics.

I stood my ground as the creature stopped a meter away and gave a huff, the horrid stench of its breath wafting over me.

“Jean, I need you to be quiet for the next couple minutes…” I mutter getting no response. Hopefully that meant a yes as I finished off the spell.

It was a simple one, designed by unicorns planning to work in caves or other dark places for extended periods of time. A couple of the beasts gave a yelp of surprise as the pack of wolves backed off for a moment.  It was a definite improvement over the flaming log, the light exposing the pack as all of them, excepting the timberwolf, recoiled.

“Ta-ta…” I taunt the wooden construct. Giving a growl the beast leaps at me only to find empty speace as I manage to teleport a couple meters behind him.

{Wait,wh-}

“I said be quiet!” Grabbing a few stones in telekinesis I begin to pepper some of the fleshy wolves, snapping them out of their daze. A couple of the animals gives frightened yelps and try to bolt for the trees, only for the timberwolf to give a loud growl which froze them in their tracks. Well, almost all of them. Two of the smaller ones were already within the trees and didn’t seem phased by their Alpha’s orders.

“Two down, three to go…” Not including the timberwolf there had been 5 of them… Cowed into obedience the others began to try and circle me again but they seemed rather reluctant. Really I just needed to take down the alpha and the others would cave. Watching the magical creature watch me I had a feeling it wouldn’t be particularly easy.

I had faced these creatures before. In my travels after leaving Canterlot I had ventured into the Everfree and a trio of the creatures had come after me. I didn’t fight them, Celestia had never taught me anything beyond the basics and honestly I really mind. Fighting was something better left to guards, and somepony of my status had more important things to do that learn how to beat a pony with crude magical blasts. Back in the everfree I had managed to evade my pursuers after destroying a bridge over a ravine. The wolves had been crossing it at the time and plummeted down to their doom.

Sadly, this time I had no bridges to cut and no place to run to.

Giving a bark the pack charges at me together and again I teleport a distance away, once more throwing rocks at them, even the occasional energy blast. Unfortunately it does little more than singe some fur and anger them.

{Can’t you just set it on fire?} John asks as I duck beneath a set of snapping jaws, the world then shifting around me as teleport again.

“Setting something on fire takes time and that wolf isn’t going to s-“ my explanation is suddenly cut off by a sharp pain to my chest, one of the wolves that had fled in the beginning had returned and was lucky to be near me when I teleported.

“AH!” we both screamed out in pain then. Twisting my head I manage to hit the thing with a magical energy blast causing it to let go with a surprised yelp. A moment later the world shifts again as I stumble out of another teleport. After creating a small shield I take a moment to look myself over I can see the blood gushing out of the wound. I was hurt, badly. Suddenly my confidence at the start of this whole debacle evaporates.

“Horseapples,” I muttered through my teeth as I watch a pair of wolves, along with the timberwolf rush towards me. Watching them, I came to a chilling realization. I was going to die. My shield might keep them out for a couple seconds, and I probably could teleport again but. The blood loss, my fatigue, I wouldn’t last. Sunset Shimmer, student of Celestia, future ruler of Equestria, was going to die in the middle of nowhere at the paws of a group of wolves. I had worked for years to get what was rightfully mine. I was not about to lose it to some muts and a sentient plant!

Sadly wishful thinking wouldn’t help now. Falling on my side I wince as I pour more magic into the shield which is taking a battering from the timberwolf. Not to be outdone the others follow their alphas lead and start tackling the barrier, causing me to wince as each impact drained me even further. The timberwolf, now confident in my defeat, stopped its assault to glare at me in contempt. It knew it had me. I could teleport maybe one more time but would collapse from exhaustion the moment I emerged. Maybe if I knew more about this place I could teleport somewhere safe bu-

“BOOM!”

In stunned silence I watch as the timberwolf shatters into pieces a moment later.

“Wha?” I mutter in shock, the shield dropping a moment later as my reserves finally gave out. I could feel myself drifting into unconsciousness as another explosion rings out and the wolf nearest to me collapses  to the ground with a yelp.

{A hunter probably.} I hear John mutter, sounding as tired as me. The wolves are in a full panic now, running away in fear as this fires another shot downing another one of the animals. Turning my head to the source of the sound I can’t help but notice the small puddle of blood gathering beneath me.

“Hopefully they’re not too late,” I mutter and lay my head on the ground, the sound of footsteps on gravel being the last thing I hear as unconsciousness takes me.

> Afternoon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

So this is heaven?

Sitting down I stare at the horizon in stunned silence taking it all in. The trees, sky, grass… The rectangular sheep grazing idly on a small hill made of blocks.

“Heaven = Minecraft… Well I guess that’s not bad…” I mutter raising one of my arms and noting that I’m a normal human again, not the blocky avatar players usually play as. Standing up I take a moment to pat myself down. Yep, I’m myself again. Giving a grin I take off running, enjoying the feeling of being on two legs again, the wind blowing through my hair. Everything just felt so…. Right. Despite being in a world of cubes I felt perfectly at peace.

Sitting down I ran my hand over a cube of grassy dirt. It felt like the real thing, don’t know why I expected it to be any different. My curiosity piqued I started to punch the block, giving a small laugh as I saw cracks appear before it broke apart, a small floating cube floating in its place similar to how it worked in the game. Despite smashing my fist into the ground it didn’t feel sore, what was more amazing was how easily I managed to replace it like in the game.

“Well… Better start building a house I guess.”

And so it was, after finding a couple trees, and building some wooden tools, I had managed to create a dirt hut, a work bench, and a small furnace. Not once did I ever feel fatigued however; hungry, but not tired. Luckily I managed to get a couple apples from the trees I smashed so I didn’t need to kill any animals. They might be stupid but if I was going to spend eternity in this place I’d like some companionship, at least until I find some wolves to tame.
Actually, make that a cat. I’ve had enough wolves to last me a lifetime. I don’t care if the things are made of blocks, they were likely the reason I’m in this place.

It’s been about an hour since I woke up. Or, it seems like it. Unlike the game the sun seems to be moving about in a realistic fashion, causing me to worry about what night is going to be like. I haven’t seen any hostile mobs but… I was dreading what night was going to be like if the day-night cycle was in real time.

“Nice place…”  That voice… Rushing out I stopped in my tracks as I caught sight of the source.

“Sunset?” I stammer in surprise. I had been expecting a pony, the mare whose body I’d been sharing. Instead I’m greeted by a woman wearing a black jacket over a purple shirt and orange skirt. Her hair seems to be a fiery red, devoid of the yellow streaks I saw when I was in her body.

“Yeah,” she replies calmly walking about in a set of ridiculous looking boots. “So, are we dead?” she asks looking over the structure with obvious distaste.

“I don’t know… This all seems to be something only I would know about though. Unless you ponies have MineCraft,” I explain and get to work making a sword out of some stone. What I could really use was some iron but right now I didn’t like the prospect of going cave diving.

“No, I had better things to do,” she replies walking up beside me to watch me work. Glancing over at her I can’t help but notice that she’s actually rather pretty. A shame her personality was rotten.

“How old are you anyway?” I ask, making idle conversation as I arrange a couple stone blocks together in a straight line along with a stick. A moment later the blocks begin to disintegrate until all that remains is a pixelated stone sword. Picking it up I’m surprised by how light it is. For something made out of stone I manage to swing it with little effort before placing it down beside the workbench.

“Old enough. Why?” she asks walking over to examine the sword id just made. I’m guessing she wasn’t lying about being a human before, that or she’s really good at adapting.

“Well you look like a highschool student,” I mutter in reply and get to work on an axe.

“That’s because I am… This body is younger than my pony self, something to do with the mirrors magic. Back home I’m about twenty two,” Sunset replies giving the sword a couple awkward swings before putting it down, a look of obvious distaste on her face. So she’s about my age? That’s rather surprising, then again I suspect being in high school for awhile may have had an impact.

“So, unless Elysium caters to humans, I’m probably still alive… Unless Tartarus decided that having you with me would be a suitable punishment for my ‘misdeeds’,” I just give a grunt in response. I’d come to that conclusion also when she had first shown up. While an eternity building, creating, and exploring sounded rather nice… It was sort of soured by Sunsets presence, never mind that she was taking a human form.

“We probably are,” I add a moment later, emphasizing the ‘we’.

“Whatever,” she says in that oh so cliché teenage tone of voice. As I finish the stone axe I lay it aside and sit down on a block of dirt.

“So then, Sunset. Who are you exactly? All I got to got on is some odd dreams about a child, a filly, struggling to use magic and her father. From what I understand you’re much more than that?” I ask pulling out an apple and taking a bite. Tastes pretty good, like a normal apple, I don’t know why I expected something different. Looking at me for a moment she shrugs and leans back on the workbench.

“Sunset Shimmer, magical prodigy and personal student of Princess Celestia,” she explains with a haughty tone, as if expecting me to be impressed by that. I wasn’t. Titles, names, positions didn’t mean much when you were sharing space in my head.  “Now for a question of my own, why were we in the middle of nowhere?” Giving a sigh I look over to a blocky tree id left up as a decoration.

“I don’t really know where to start…” I reply somewhat in thought “In Equestria, is there such thing as a creature made up of different parts? Antlers, alligators, birds…”

“Discord. Although technically it could possibly be any draconequus, but in the end there’s only one with the power… And reason, to do this.” She replies quietly, in thought.

“Discord?”

“He’s the self-proclaimed spirit of chaos. From what I’ve read on him he fought Celestia and Luna for control of Equestria at some point until they used the Elements of Harmony on him. His statue rests in the castle gardens,” She explains, her haughty attitude lessening as she spoke. “I wasn’t aware that he had escaped. But then again, I shouldn’t be surprised that Twilight messed up,” she adds, muttering that last part so I could barely hear it.

“Right… So a spirit of chaos, a god, is the reason we are stranded in the middle of nowhere? What makes us so special? Last I checked the news was saying most ponies woke up in their beds after the change.”

“I don’t know,” Sunset mutters but somehow I don’t believe her. Something about her must have interested Discord. I wanted to believe that maybe she was a threat, after all he had stranded us in the middle of nowhere where we should have died. But the more I thought about it the more it seemed like a petty thing for a god to do. He could have ended my life with a relative ease, so why fling us in the middle of nowhere? Was it all a joke? With a punch line that only a being like Discord could understand?

“So then… What do we do now?” I ask after a few moments silence.

“We wait. Either we are dead or this is just something made by your mind as we lie unconscious. Either way there’s nothing we can do to speed up the process. That fight with the wolves was exhausting for me and my body needs time to recover.” She replies getting up again to look around the dirt house. Sighing I did the same, pausing for a moment to fish a stone pick out of a chest and pass it to Sunset.

“Common, theres a small cave nearby and I think I saw some coal and iron inside,” I explain, getting an ‘are you serious’ look in reply. After a couple moments she gives an exasperated sigh and follows me.

“You humans have weird tastes in what’s fun,” I hear her grumble from behind me, which for some reason makes me smile.

“Oh, it gets much better. Once you manage to get a stable home set up the real building begins.” I reply as we head off towards the cave entrance. With two of us it shouldn’t be so bad. My main fear earlier was having a creeper or zombie sneak up on me but with Sunset helping keep an eye out it should be easier. The main reason I wanted to do this though was to shear the sheep roaming nearby my home and then get a bed for the night.

“So Sun, you don’t mind me calling you that right? Who is this Princess Celestia anyway?” I ask, laying down a couple torches to illuminate the area. Almost immediately I spot a couple coal blocks and start mining away with glee.

“She’s the ruler of our world, the pony who raises the sun, and, the moon after she got rid of her sister,” she explains, a bitter tone of voice. If I were to guess there’s some bad blood between the two.

“I see, so I’m guessing you’re pretty smart if you managed to be her personal student then,” I mutter, already knowing the answer.

“Of course. She may be a hag but Celestia isn’t stupid. I was going to be the next princess, but instead Celestia got jealous and decided to have me thrown out.” I doubted that was the actual truth, more likely Sunset had done something to incredibly stupid that it put someone in danger. At least that’s usually why people got fired, that or just incompetence and after seeing the mare with those wolves I doubted that was the case.

“I’m guessing then combat magic was not your specialty?” I add with a small smile as I finish off the coal, stashing it in my pockets (Seriously… Somehow I was able to fit 10 coal chunks in my pocket, along with a sword, some apples, and so on. It was like they had their own little pocket dimension to store things).

“Besides the basics I never had any interest in that stuff. And Celestia never encouraged me to learn it. Equestria is mostly peaceful and even after leaving Canterlot I was able to find other solutions when I got into a conflict,” Sunset explained, following behind me as we went deeper. “Also, it’s been years since I’ve had to use magic like that. Like any athlete a unicorn’s ability to use magic lessens the longer they go without exercise, if I was in my prime we should have fared better…” It made sense. Although I was already rather impressed by what she had done. A normal human with a gun would not have fared as well as we had in the same situation.

“Uh huh,” I mutter. We travel for the next few minutes in silence before I’m forced to stop. After slapping down a torch at a fork in the cavern I take a moment to listen, smiling as I hear nothing to suggest any mods lie ahead. “Sunset, take these torches and go a couple meters in that way before putting them up. It should keep any hostiles from sneaking up on us when we explore them later alright?” Nothing… No snide comment, or sigh of reluctance. Instead I hear a familiar sound.

*Pomf*

“Sunset?” I call out nervously, turning myself around while I gaze down at the cavern floor. I knew that sound, the sound of an Enderman teleporting in, and I knew enough not to stare at the creatures or else they would attack.“Sunset, whatever you do don’t stare at that thing.” Once again I get no response which sends a shiver up my spine.

~WHO ARE YOU?~

The words hit me like a punch and I stumble back, falling to the ground as my eyes drift over to what can only be the source of the sound earlier. An Enderman, only instead of purple the eyes of the creature seem to blaze with an inner flame. Almost instantly my ears are filled with that familiar drone as the creatures jaw unhinges and it slowly approaches me.

~YOU DO NOT BELONG~

Shoving a hand in my pocket I pull out the stone sword from earlier, swinging out at the creature only to have it teleport away. A moment later I’m sent flying from a blow to my back, the creature had reappeared behind me, rolling over I watch the Enderman kick my sword away and lean in close, its fiery  eyes trying to burn into my skull.

~LEAVE~

Flinching I try to look away but its eyes seem to have a hypnotic quality that draw me in.

~LEAVE~

The burning flames seem to consume my entire vision and I feel myself slipping away into unconsciousness once more.

~LEAVE~
> Evening
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

My eyes snap open to darkness as I emerge from the dream, the followed closely by a panicked flailing about as I struggled against an invisible force that seemed to be strangling me from all sides.

“Whoa! WHOA!” I hear a voice call out; a moment later I feel the strangling darkness recede and light floods my vision followed closely by a sharp pain in my chest as I twist my body. I probably would have screamed in pain if not for the amorphous mass the seemed to be lodged in my mouth.

“How the hell did you… Here, let me help you,” a moment later I feel my mouth clear and give a couple coughs before opening my eyes. I was still in the woods, and still a pony, something I realized as I pushed away the arm that helped me.

Arm.

Blinking a few times I turned my body to face a rather large looking man who seemed to be regarding me with quite a bit of curiosity. 

“There we go. Last I checked ponies arnt supposed to be eating sleeping bags,” he said with a chuckle. Looking around I realize I am indeed in what seems to be a sleeping bag beside a large fire. A couple meters away a large tent was sitting, the door open to the elements.

Seems that my initial thought of hunter had been right, the man was wearing a set of baggy pants and a hunting vest over his jacket, all of which had a woodland pattern on top of it to better help him hide in the brush. He had a rectangular face, with the beginnings of a beard likely caused from not being able to shave in days. On his head a baseball cap rested which beared the same woodland pattern and completed his ensemble.

“W-who are you?” I rasp out, my mouth dry from the sleeping bag. The fact I spoke at all seemed to shock the man, his eyes widening in surprise.

“So you can talk. Damn, now I owe Mitch...” He mutters and turns around for a moment to grab a water bottle from the tent.

“My names Kyle; me and Mitch were the ones who saw your weird little flare and magic show with those wolves. Glad we managed to get there in time. Didn’t look like you were doing well.” He explains setting down the bottle beside me. It’s about then that I notice the bandages wrapped around my chest and the dull pain I feel emanating from there. “Oh yeah, that. The bite was pretty bad but lucky for you we brought a first aid kit. It should be fine in a couple days.”

Giving a small nod I idly float the bottle to my mouth and start drinking, ignoring the momentary surprise on Kyles face. After taking a few gulps I let out a content sigh, and look over to him.

“Thanks… For everything,” I mutter and give him a small smile.

“S’no problem. I’m sure you’d have done the same in our situation. What’s your name?” I freeze for a moment and turn away to look into the fire. My name? Should I tell them my real one? Or say I’m Sunset? Then there was the fact that not only was I a pony, I’d swapped genders.

That last thought hit me like a ton of bricks. Sure if made the realization earlier but my situation had numbed me to that fact. I guess gender should be the least of my worries but somehow it nagged at me.  Despite it being 2012 society was still sort of ‘sexist’ and I tended to follow those beliefs reinforced by the media.  The loss of that identifier seemed more serious that simply losing my entire body. It was something that formed a part of my psyche. What else was I going to lose once this was all over?

“Uh… Do you not remember?” I heard Kyle ask, my ears perking up and following him as he headed down beside the fire. I stare at the flames for a few moments and give a sigh.

“Jean Claude Veilleux. But you can call me John,” I mutter,

“You’re a dude?!?” Yep, that’s pretty much the reaction I was expecting. Female voice, feminine appearance, female parts… (They probably saw when bandaging me. Pretty hard to miss…) Giving a sigh I just nod in response as I stare into the flames quietly. What more was there to say?

“Oh… Shit. Sorry man.” He says a couple seconds later, probably picking up on my mood about the subject “We just thought…” he gives a sigh and for the next few minutes the only sounds I hear are the crackling of the fire and my own pained breathing. Thankfully said feeling had diminished to a dull throb in my side.

Once again my ears perk up as I hear something move loudly through the woods towards us. Turning my head I’m greeted by the sight of another man carrying a massive bundle of wood in his arms. Unlike Kyle hes quite a bit… Rounder, and larger. I wouldn’t call him overweight but the difference between the two men was noticeable.

Mitch, I assume it’s short for Mitchel, is wearing similar clothing to his friend. Although instead of a baseball cap he’s wearing a toque, a mess of brown hair spilling out from beneath, and the camo pattern on his clothing is more military in nature. Actually I think he got his stuff from a military surplus store. Like I mention earlier hes a larger man compared to Kyle, his face rounder but no second chin or anything like that.

After dropping the bundle and throwing a couple sticks in he gives me a wave and a smile before glancing over to Kyle expectantly.

“She… He, woke up about a half hour ago. John, meet Mitch.” Kyle explains while remaining sitting.

“Hey… Again, thanks for coming to my rescue…” I mutter, still rather put off by Kyles reaction. Mitch just gives me a grin and looks back to Kyle.

“Told ya they could talk… You owe me five.” He says laughing. Well, at least he doesn’t seem to mind my apparent gender swap.

“Whatever. I’ll pay for your next two coffees when we get back alright?” Kyle replies, rolling his eyes as he gets up and starts heading towards the tent.

“How did you know I could talk?“ I ask, some of my discomfort evaporating.

“Got a cousin in the states who’s friend got changed. Like you he changed into a girl and seems to have no problems talking. Although, I’m kinda surprised to find one of you out here; seems like most of the changes are happening south of the border.” That certainly explains why he didn’t care about my gender swapping or being able to talk like his friend was. “Care tellin me how you got out here?”

“I… I crashed my truck into the valley. Probably should be dead but I woke up on shore like this,” I explain, waved a foreleg about. The whole thing with Discord was not something I was ready to divulge. They may have saved my life but talking of chaos gods and ponies in my head would probably only make them think I’m crazy. “Where are we exactly?”

“About a kilometer from where we found you, and from there we are about an hours walk from where we parked our vehicle. Lucky for you we didn’t kill anything, sides the wolves of course,” he gave a grin at that and took a seat down by the fire. “Gotta say, that was some impressive… Magic? You were zipping all over that beach which made it hard for me to get a shot. It’s a good thing you eventually stopped and used that bubble thing so I could get a shot on big ugly…” at the mention of the timberwolf he looks away “You have any idea what that thing was? Looked like some sort of robot… But after I blew it to smithereens all I could find were rocks and sticks. “

“Timberwolf…”  I could already see the man was about to say the same thing I had when I first herd it and raised a hoof to stop him “Not one of ours. Apparently  its something from the ponies world. Wolves made out of timber,” I explained and started to wonder what other creatures besides ponies were making the trip to earth. Whenever I got home I resolved to watch the show, if only to get a better idea of what exactly I was getting myself into. Hopefully id learn something about Sunset as well; being the personal student of a princess should net you some airtime right?

Behind me I hear the tents open up again and turn to see Kyle dialing on a phone. He smiles and motions to the device.

“Calling the cops and letting them know we have you,” he explains and walks off into the woods a short distance… Mitch meanwhile tosses another stick into the fire causing me to turn my attention back to him.

“So, where did you learn how to do all that stuff anyway? It something all unicorns just ‘know’?” he asks, a suspicious tone entering his voice at the end.

“No… The pony this body belongs to helped me. She’s in my head apparently.” Where was Sunset anyway? I couldn’t feel her presence in my mind and it was rather odd that she’d be quiet at a time like this. Last Id heard from her was back in the cave with the Ender- I thought it had all been a dream. But Sunsets absence sent a chill down my spine. Was she hurt? And what about the enderman? Its flaming eyes and ability to speak suggested something was wrong with that world we had been in.

“CAW!”

No.

You have got to be kidding me...

Turning my head to the source of the sound I’m rewarded with the sight of Reginald sitting on a high branch calmly watching me. At least I assume it was the same bird as earlier, all ravens sorta look the same.

“Oh him? He’s been here since morning. Kyle tried to chase him away but I don’t think the bird will leave unless we shoot it. And I don’t wanna waste ammo. Besides, it’s not hurting anyone,” Mitch says, following my gaze to the bird.

That still didn’t explain why it seemed to be following me. I couldn’t just pass it off as the bird just wanting an easy meal anymore. Something was causing it to follow me around and I did not like the idea of having a stalker.

“Morning… How long have I been here?” I ask, still looking at the raven.

“It’s Monday. Or… Marsday as my phone would like me to think. We would have brought you back to town sooner but we had to hunker down all day yesterday when another storm rolled in. Also I didn’t want to move you until I was sure you were ok,” he explains and I hear him get up from his seat.

I’d been unconscious for a whole day? Pausing for a moment I go over everything that’s happened since I found myself like this. Id crashed Saturday morning, and then spent the next few hours walking… At some point that afternoon id taken a nap and had that weird dream and then I guess that evening is when I got a hang of my magic. Seems like the hours I’d spent in that dream world were somewhat accurate.

After a few moments I watch as Kyle returns with a smile on his face, “Good news! Turns out they found your truck on the side of the road yesterday. What they don’t understand though is how you got here.”

“My trucks ok?” I ask, rather amazed by that revelation. I had thought the vehicle lost. This was great! A moment later though my smile fades away “Wait… Where are we exactly?”

“About 50 klicks southeast of GP… Which is odd considering your truck was found quite a bit north of here. How long were you walking?” he asks looking a bit confused. To be honest I felt the same way. The Smoky river ran south to north, eventually emptying out in the arctic. If Kyle was right I would have been in serious trouble. My decision to head upstream was the wrong one, and if I had kept going I probably would have died. Or arrived in the Rockies….

“Half a day… I thought I was downstream of here I crashed, not upstream…” I didn’t make sense… Then again I apparently didn’t crash my truck… What exactly had happened that night then? Had I been hallucinating? Leaving the truck and stumbling into the valley where I changed? That still didn’t explain how I had travelled so far from my original location.

“So um… Do you think you can walk? They want me to drive you back to the hospital to make sure you’re ok. If not I can carry you. You’re not exactly heavy,” Kyle asks, ducking into the tent for a moment and pulling out a handbag.

Frowning, I get up onto my hooves, hissing as my chest flares with pain. Yeah, not gonna happen. Kyle seems to get the same idea gives me a sympathetic smile.

“Guess that answers that,” he chuckles, “I’ll be back in a couple hours. You fine with watching the camp?” he asks looking over to Mitchel. So that’s how it was going to be then? Sitting back down I start to wrap myself up in the sleeping bag with a sigh. The two men talk for a few more moments before Kyle picks me up and places my on his back. How long had it been since I’d been given a piggy back ride?

“Alright back there?” I give a nod and lay my head against his back and after thanking Mitch one last time we’re off. By this point I was rather… Depressed? I didn’t need to worry about survival, and as a result so many different thoughts id been shoving aside were now surfacing in my mind.

Was I always going to be like this?

How will I get a job?

There go my future plans to join the military…

Do ponies even count as people for the sake of human rights?

There’s a group of people out there who want me dead!

What happens to all my assets?

What was I going to tell my dad?

Actually, that last one wasn’t really a problem. We hadn’t been on speaking terms over the last few months and there seemed to be no end in sight to our squabble. It was a shame really, growing up we just had each other after mom passed away,  but as time went on our differences created too much of a gulf until it finally exploded last year in an impressive fashion.

Finally one question stood out among the others, and had been growing as time went on…

Where the heck was Sunset Shimmer?


> Sunset
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I won’t bore you with a minute to minute explanation about what transpired as I headed to the hospital. Me and Kyle talked for a bit, seems like he and Mitch worked as oil field surveyors and had taken a couple weeks off to do some hunting. Both of them lived in Grande Prairie and had headed out only a day before my accident. They hadn’t found anything yet but that was mostly because Mitch was picky about what they shot. He wanted a nice trophy to hang in his home. It was a shame the timberwolf shattered to pieces when killed. Would have certainly been a better wall ornament than any deer.

I also learned that my truck would be waiting for me at the hospital, which greatly annoyed me since I had no idea how I was going to drive home. Being about 2-3 feet tall really made it hard to drive a half ton pickup, even if I could somehow use magic to help. I chuckled silently at the thought of possibly using stilts and a booster seat to do it but dismissed the idea.
What really made this a problem however was that it was Monday… Or Marsday as the calendar would have me believe. And because of that all my friends were away. Most were already gone due to school but the few I was hoping could help were hours away in camps for the rest of the week. There really was only one person I could immediately think of for help.

After we arrived the two of us were pulled aside by the police. It was nothing serious, they just wanted to get out stories and clear everything up. In addition it seems like much of my gripes regarding my identity were not going to be a problem. Until definite rules were set down the Canadian government was fine with us using our old ID’s. With all that out of the way me and Kyle said our goodbyes. He was off to grab a few items they had forgot to pack and was hoping to return to the camp site before it got dark. Meanwhile I was escorted upstairs to meet with a Doctor Rivers, a veterinarian they had dragged from downtown to look me over. I wasn’t sure if I should have been insulted by that…
 
“And you’re sure you are not a brony?” I rolled my eyes as he asked me that question again. It seems the vast majority of ponies who had appeared on the planet all belonged to that group. Most, but not all…

“No, at most I’ve seen a video or two on youtube and the first two episodes. But other than that I’ve never had any interest in the show.” I mutter as he scribbles away at a sheet of paper he had brought in.

“Alright… One more question then and we’re done. Do you know the name of the pony you’ve become?” he asks, pausing to look up while waiting for my answer.

“Apparently its Sunset Shimmer… She says she was apprentice to the princess or something like that,” I say with a shrug.

“Never heard of her… The only student Celestia has in the show is Twilight Sparkle, and you certainly don’t look like,” he replies marking down something on the paper.

“You watched the show?” I ask, somewhat surprised. Rivers just shakes his head.

“Not regularly but some mornings I watch it with my daughter. She loves it. Anyway as I was saying I’ve never heard any mention or a Sunset Shimmer, and with the colors you have…” he trails off, as if expecting me to piece together myself. In response I just gave him a confused look. What was I supposed to know about any of this?!?
“What?” I finally blurt out, somewhat annoyed that I even had to ask.

“Its very likely you’re someone’s original character,” he says with a small shrug. “Out there somewhere a brony imagined up Sunset Shimmer.”

{WHAT?!?}

There she was!

Like an angry banshee I felt Sunsets presence return to my mind. And boy was she pissed.
“P-please calm down! I could be wrong, relax!” Rivers says, a bit of surprise and fear entering his voice. It’s about then that I realize some of Sunsets anger had bled into my own mood. I as glaring at the vet, breathing heavily, my ears flat against my skull. If I had hands they’d probably be fists right now.  The real kicker though was when I realized that every small object in the room was floating in a cyan aura which I knew originated from my horn. My eyes widening in shock I cut off the flow of magic and wince as the items falls with a clatter.

“Shit shit shit! Sorry!” I gasp, somewhat prepared for the cops to burst in and cart me away to jail. “It’s Sunset. She doesn’t really like what you were suggesting…”

{That’s an understatement. I’m not some by-product of some idiots imagination…} she hisses in my mind, causing me to wince. Thankfully Rivers seems to have recovered from his initial surprise and is chuckling quietly.

“Well you better rein her in. For the most part the cops are not very forgiving of unicorns using their magic as a weapon,” He said clearing up some of the clutter caused by Sunsets (Or was it my own?) magic outburst. “And who knows, the show is set to start its next season… Or was; I have no idea if it’s going to continue now as it effectively becomes a reality TV show. 

Anyway, its possible Sunset Shimmer was meant to appear in an episode at some point. Also being someones original character isn’t that bad. Yo- Sunset still has her memories and knows she existed. It just means someone was able to peek in and record some of that for inspiration.”

{Hmmph!} No matter what the man says it seems the unicorn has developed a hatred for him. Nodding my head in agreement I hop down from the examination table.

“Anyway, you seem to be ok, aside from that wound on your side. Luckily it doesn’t seem infected so all you need to do is change the dressings daily. As for your mind, I have no idea but that’s not my field of expertise. Just try not to get all fancy with the magic,” Rivers says, getting off his chair and opening the door for me to leave. “It was nice meeting you Jean, and Sunset I guess. And if you are heading to New York I suggest you avoid the Empire State Building. Me and my wife waited hours to get inside and on top of that they charged quite a bit. I figure you should be able to find a pegasus fly you to a better location if you want to enjoy the view…”

{Or I could just teleport…} Sunset mutters. I barely notice though, my mind wondering why the man was talking about New York all of a sudden.

“You don’t know?” he asks, probably picking up on my confusion, “I suggest you do some research tonight. Most ponies, including the Element bearers, are headed there. If you want answers you’ll probably find them there.”

I would nod, if it hadn’t been for the fact I was mentally (and painfully) shunted aside the moment Rivers said ‘Elements of Harmony’.  Once again I’m a passenger as Sunset takes control.

“Twilight and the Elements are headed to New York?” she asks and once again I’m weirded out by the feeling of having someone else speak for me. Thankfully it’s short lived as the man gives me a nod and I feel Sunset give me control once more.

{What was that about? Why do you care so much about Twilight Sparkle?} I ask. This wasn’t the first time she’d spoken that name. I remembered her passing comment in that dream and her reaction now made me wonder what exactly was their relationship? Sunset claimed to be Celestia’s apprentice… And according to Rivers the same was true with Twilight. Perhaps they were rivals?

{It’s none of your concern…} she mutters.  Want to press the issue but I notice that Rivers is still waiting for me.

“Sorry… Sunset again,” I explain and he gives a nod of understanding.

“Well I wish you two good luck,” he replies, holding out a hand for me to… Shake? Reluctantly I hold up a hoof to take it but after a moment the guy balls it into a fist and bumps my hoof for some reason. Looking up he has the goofiest grin on his face, like someone fulfilling some supressed dream.

“Yeah… You too…” I mutter and head towards the elevator. The next few minutes were spent ignoring the obvious stares and whispered comments as I made my way to the entrance (Having ears capable of movement really help you pick that sort of thing out) , the only thing I had really was a small plastic bag hovering beside me I took from reception. Luckily for me I left my wallet on the center console of my truck, and the police were able to recover it along with my keys when they brought the truck here. Only thing missing really was my phone. 

Thankfully the reception desk was kind enough to let me use theirs and phone my ride home.
And so it was that I sat quietly in my truck on a cold October afternoon, my mind wandering as I waited. Looking up I flipped down the drivers seat mirror and finally take a good look at myself.

{I look horrible…} Sunset mutters and I have to agree. My hide is covered in dirt, mane had knots and sticks inside. Despite sleeping for over a day I had bags under my eyes and looked exhausted.

“That you do Sun… I wouldn’t suppose you know any magic that might fix this…”

{No. And even if I did it would just be an illusion.} she replies calmly. {The wound though I may be able to help a bit with…}

“What do you mean?” I asks, twisting around to look at the bandage on our chest.

{Healing magic needs a lot of practice and skill, and while I can speed the process[d] I never bothered learning the more advanced magic they use in hospitals. Healing magic also burns energy from both the user and the injured pony and since I’d be trying to heal myself…} she trails off but I get the idea. If she were to try and heal us completely we would probably be drained of physical energy and whatever energy unicorns used for magic.

{Thaumatic energy.} she chimed in response to my unspoken question.

“That doesn’t help me…”

{Thought it wouldn’t. I wont bore you with the details, I doubt you’d even understand. All you need to know is that I have a reserve of energy, a really big one. And while healing myself wouldn’t drain it I don’t want to spend the day bedridden.} she replies.

Its about then that I notice something about her way of speaking. It’s never we. Always my body, my magic, my mind…

“You mean heal us right?” I asks, hoping its just a habit

{No… Why would I? It’s my body after all. You are just a passenger.}

Well that was reassuring. Unfortunately I don’t get to reply as I hear a knocking at the window. Turning my head I’m met with the person who’s going to drive me home. Opening the door I hop down and give him a calm look.

“Hello papa…”
 



 
Allow me to explain some things about me and my dad. First, he raised me to call him Papa. Its French yes, and the only French word that ever entered our daily conversations. For some reason he wanted me to be completely English. I never really noticed until I was about 8 how odd that was and it turns out it was just a habit carried on after my mom passed away.  She didn’t speak French and was an immigrant from outside North America so English was their common language. After she passed away he just continued to use it in day to day. Sure whenever we went to Quebec to visit his family we all spoke French, but at home? Or in private? It was English all the time.

We were close growing up. I didn’t blame him for mom’s accident, and he was the only constant figure in my life as we frequently moved around the country. That all changed however a couple years ago after I graduated high school. I was full of myself, the last couple years id coasted to honor roll and didn’t even really need to study. No real effort involved. As a result id gotten a small sum of money and went into university thinking I could just do the same.

I was wrong.

I flunked out second semester and was left in a precarious position. Thankfully my dad had no problem with me returning. At least I thought.

I was grateful, don’t get me wrong. But as time went on, and I started to recoup my independence, we started to argue more and more often. Maybe it was the testosterone, or I had changed after living alone id changed. I don’t know. That said my dad would often fire verbal jabs my way. Commenting on my failures earlier, missed opportunities, and to top it off her then started meddling in my affairs without permission. Eventually it all came to a head a year ago. The actual cause of the argument was trivial however what happened was not. I was thrown out and was forced to spend the next couple weeks on a friends couch until I could I get an apartment.

 “So…” he muttered, looking calmly down at me one which I tried my best to return.

“Can you take me home?” I ask, somewhat impatiently. The sound of my voice seems to surprise him. Probably because it confirms I was the person on the phone.

“Get in…” he mutters and hops into the driver’s seat. Sighing I walk around and am surprised to see he’s opened the passenger’s side for me. Hoping in I awkwardly put my seatbelt on and stare out the window.

“So you’re one of them?” he asks about a minute later. We’ve left the parking lot and headed south, about 15 minutes away from my place.

“No…” I reply, assuming he means bronies. “I don’t know why I got turned into this it just happened.” I add quietly.

“Yeah right…” he mutters. I’ve lived with him long enough to know that’s pretty much his response when someone says something he doesn’t agree with. As far as he’s concerned I’m a brony.

“If you’re mother could see you now…”

Silently I just grind my teeth and sit there. There was no point in arguing. He was getting me home, and I should be thankful for that. Staring at the window I am confused as we pull into Wal Mart.

“What are we doing here?” I ask in confusion as he pulls us into a parking space.

“You have your wallet right?” he asks, I nod “Well we’re getting you some clothes. We can’t have you walking around naked like that.” My nudity had never even occurred to me as a problem. None of the people had mentioned anything, and I’d assumed the stares had been mostly because of what I was. Last I checked there were no ponies in Grande Prairie.

{Is he serious?} Sunset chimes in. Giving a sigh I levitate my wallet out and open the door, noticing he’s not coming. I’m not too surprised. He’d probably rather die than be seen escorting a pony around. Doesn’t matter if it’s a city and no one will care…

Opening the door I step out before darting across the parking lot into the building, shielding my eyes as the interior glare temporarily blinded me. A couple moments later my vision returns and I’m greeted with the sight of about twenty people, all staring at me in shock.

Oh this was going to be fun….


> Dusk
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Mommy mommy! A pony!”

Well that didn’t last long…

 A few feet away I watch as a small five year old girl is scooped up by a very worried looking parent, which I am very grateful for. The last thing I wanted was to be grabbed and petted by some over-excited brat.

{ You and me both…} Sunset mutters in the back of my mind. Seems she shared by dislike of children, or maybe she was worried by the fact that the girl was about the same size as us. Either way we both agreed. Kids bad. No touchy.

By this time most of the shoppers have recovered from their shock and returned to whatever they had been doing prior to my arrival. Mostly… Much to my annoyance I could see a couple pulling out phones and snapping photos while the mother of the child was struggling to calm her down.

{ Hurry up…} Right. We were here to get clothes, although I had a feeling we would be restricted to whatever was in the kids sections. Nothing else would fit. Giving a sigh I start making my way there, doing my best to ignore the stares and phones following me as I go.

I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised. Despite having a population of 50k Grande Prairie had a bit of an ‘out of the way’ feel to it. Much of the population either worked for the oil field, the lumber mill, or one of the gas plants that were scattered a few kilometers out. While most of us didn’t know one another, news had a way of easily getting around. And as far as I knew I was the only pony in the city, maybe even the province itself. The whole pony thing had seemed like an American problem, most didn’t think it would ever migrate here.

“Any ideas on what to wear?” I mutter quietly as we start to pass the children clothing section.

{Ponies don’t tend to wear clothing. Usually it’s reserved for special occasions or formal events. Meaning I usually wore a dress of some sort when needed.} she replies. Well that wasn’t helpful. I certainly wasn’t about to start wearing a dress. My masculinity had taken enough hits…

{Please don’t buy childrens clothing. It’s embarrassing enough that we’re here.}

“Well what else can I wear? Nothing fits us.” I mutter in reply, pausing to look at a pink dress for a four year old and shuddering.

{Don’t worry about size. Get into a dressing room and I can resize it.} she replies. Well that was certainly convenient. Made me wonder what else she could do with magic.

{A lot. Do I need to remind you what I used to be?} she chimes in. It’s starting to bug me how she can apparently read some of my thoughts. I liked my privacy, and the thought of someone, a stranger, being able to know what I was thinking was rather unnerving. I could feel Sunset in my mind; a presence of sorts but I was unable to sense what she was thinking, not that I wanted to…

“A made up character?” I reply with a smirk, for which I am rewarded by a sharp pain in my head.

{That man was full of it. I am not a fictional character.} she replies angrily.

“Oww, fine fine. Just cut it with the migraine pains alright?” I grumble “And if you really are so talented why did you almost get us killed last… Er, Saturday night?” I ask, pulling a purple t-shirt off the rack to examine.

(What I told you about not being a fighter is part of the reason. There’s also the fact that I haven’t used magic in a couple years.  So it’s a mix of me not being used to using magic as well as I can, and my body doing the same.} The explanation made sense. The same can be said for athletes who go months without training. They can’t just expect to return to their respective sport and expect to perform as well. They needed to retrain, strengthen their muscles, restore that endurance.

{Exactly. Thankfully it doesn’t take as long to get back to peak condition with magic. In a couple days I think I could probably win if we were in that situation again. It certainly didn’t help that I knew nothing of the area.} she grumbles. I was inclined to agree with her; a pack of wolves, cornered, darkness, being tired and unused to magic? The cards had been stacked against us.  

Sighing a drape the t-shirt over my back and move on, avoiding anything overly ‘girly’ as I grabbed a pair of khakis. I knew my dad wasn’t going to be happy until I was completely covered.

“U-Uh, hello?” frowning I place the pants with the shirt and look over to who had spoken. I’m  greeted with the sight of a nervous looking man clutching a somewhat expensive looking digital camera and a pad of paper. If I had to make a guess I’d say he was a reporter.

“Um. My names Scott Grisson for the Herald… I was wondering if I could ask you a couple questions.” He asks, confirming my earlier thought that he was a reporter; and for the local paper.  I never read it. Grande Prairie usually had little news that I couldn’t just digest over the radio. I was rather surprised that they had been able to scramble a reporter over here so fast. Someone had probably called their office from the hospital and then from here. Then again there was a good chance I was wrong. I didn’t know anything about how newspapers worked.

“What for?” I ask, already knowing why. Turning around, I continue perusing the pants selection, in case something better than these khakis popped up.

“Well… Uh. You. You’re the first pony to appear in the city… Our readers would like to know what you’re going through…” he asks. “Do you mind if I record this?” he then adds causing me to look over to him again. Did I want to do this? The Herald Tribune was a small time newspaper, they had no mandate and probably wouldn’t try to misconstrue or warp whatever I say into something else.

“Fine, what do you want to know?” I reply, giving him my full attention. “And I don’t got all day, my dad’s waiting for me.”

{I don’t see the point of this,} Sunset mutters in my thoughts.

{Hes’ going to write an article about us anyway, so we might as well make sure he gets his information right. Besides, wouldn’t you want to make a good impression?}

{I guess.}

“Right. Parents. Well first, what’s your name? And how old are you?”he asks, pulling out a tape recorder and turning it on.

“Twenty one. My name is Jean Claude Veilleux, but you can just call me John.” I reply calmly, watching as he scribbles the information down. “Mind following me around, just to speed this up?” I ask turning around and heading towards a couple jackets that had caught Sunsets attention. For now I was going to defer to her suggestions. She knew what looked good on her body. Well, mostly. Those boots she had been wearing looked horrible. And uncomfortable. 

“John… And sure. We don’t want to keep your dad waiting,” he says, still scribbling some things down, the tape recorder resting on the clipboard.

“And no, I don’t live with my parents. He’s just helping me get home,” I add. I don’t know why I said that. I couldn’t care less what others thought of me, or weather I live with my parents.

“Oh. Ok.” He mutters, seemingly put off by my comment “So… John, when did this all happen?”

I sigh and look over to him, considering what to say. “I was driving home on Saturday morning after work.  When I woke up I found myself by the Smoky river. Thankfully some hunters noticed my lightshow that night and brought me home,” I explain, deciding to omit the whole Discord thing, and the ‘The Grey’ moment I had with the wolves. I make a horrible Liam Neeson. “Ask the cops. They wrote up a whole report about what happened.” I could already see he wanted to ask more but it would have taken way too much time.

“I… See… Well alright, another question then. Are you a Brony? And if so, do you know what pony you’ve become?” Somehow I feel I should have expected that question. And will probably get many more like it in the days to come.

{That one will do,} Sunset chimes in as I pull a jacket off the hangar and add it to the clothing pile on my back.

“No… I watched an episode once, and now plan to watch the rest when I get home, but I never was a brony,” I tell him as I head towards the changing room. “As for who she is… I’m a unicorn called Sunset Shimmer. As for how I know… She’s in my head,”

“In your… Well you’re not the first person to say that. But not a Brony? That’s new.” He says, scribbling down some notes furiously. 

“Excuse me” I quickly say and duck into the change room with the clothes.

{Alright, do whatever it is you need to do} I think, no point in freaking out the reporter more by talking to myself. After a few moments I feel my control shift away and after a moment of pain am once again riding passenger.

Now in control Sunset stares at herself in the mirror for a few moments with alook of distaste before wiping some grime off her face with a hoof

{I need a shower, or maybe a bath. Do you have a bathtub at home John?} she asks, floating the different clothes off her back and looking them over one by one, and pulling the tags off.

{Just a shower,} I reply quietly, most of my focus right now is on feeling what is happening with the magic. {What exactly are you doing anyway?} I ask, causing her to hiss in irritation as I break her concentration.

{I’m trying to use a spell I learned many years ago. It resizes the clothes but its only temporary, lasting a couple hours before I’ll have to recast it. Most unicorns prefer to get a tailor instead since their work is, well, permanent,} She replies, channeling a bit more magic into the jacket. { But for now I think this would be an excellent way to exercise my magic as it’s not too intensive,} she adds but I don’t really pay attention as the jackets form starts to warp and shrink until it appears to be wearable.

{Nice…} I mutter and feel her smirk at my comment. A moment later she floats the t-shirt over and starts the process all over again. Once we get to the pants (Which she punched a hole in the back for the tail)  I have the spell sort of memorized. Hopefully once I get back control I won’t need to keep switching just to maintain it…

{There. Now then…} Once again I’m treated to the weird feeling of being a passenger as Sunset starts to dress.

{Wow… Much better…} I mutter as she turns around to look in the mirror. Without realizing it I’d managed to reconstruct her attire from the dreamscape (Sunset was probably behind it all; she had been sort of guiding me in my selection). Without the boots and skirt I have to say it transferred over to her pony form rather well, although I think I could do without the pants. They chafed and it had been a pain getting the tail to fit correctly. Maybe a skirt wouldn’t have been too bad…

 {Yep. Let’s get out of here.} she replies and a moment later I’m surprised as the world around us warps and we’re standing in the parking lot. A couple shoppers exiting the building were standing there in shock, one old lady dropping her bags. This wasn’t part of the plan!

{Wait, are you planning to steal these?!?} I asks in anger. The truck is sitting a short distance away and Sunset is already making her way there.

“Why not?” she asks without any trace of sarcasm in her voice.

{Why not?!? Because we’ll get in trouble! That reporter is still waiting for us, and he’s not the only one to see us go in. I can afford the clothes Sunset. But I can’t afford to go to jail!} I reply. Seriously? She couldn’t see how teleporting out of a store with clothes you didn’t pay for might be a problem?

“Yeah, right. If this world is anything like the other human one I was in, they wouldn’t be able to imprison me..” She mutters but stops walking.

{Sunset, please don’t do this… That reporter can really mess thing up for not only us, but ponies in general if word gets out that you’re using magic to steal.}

“Fine. Just trying to save us a bit of money, but if you insist.” Once again the world warps around us and we’re sitting in the dressing room again.

“Thanks Su- Huh,” I mutter as once again I’m in control. Looking around I grab the tags and step out of the room to a surprised looking Scott.

“Is everything ok? I saw a flash and… And… How did you get those clothes to fit you?” he asks, rather surprised.

“Magic. Sorry about making you wait. Is there anything else you wanted to ask?” I reply calmly. Because apparently being able to use magic is something I’m just accustomed to now. What’s happening to me? Glancing over I take stock of the items floating around me. A bag with my wallet inside, the tags for my clothes… I can only imagine it was looked much crazier earlier when I was looking for clothes.

“Right… Well actually, yes I do. What kind of magic are you capable of then?” he asks, following me as I head towards the cashiers.

“ Right now? Just telekinesis; Sunset was the one to casts the spell in there.”

“So Sunset is capable of taking control?” he asks.

{I’m not talking to him} the mare mutters.

“Kinda? She can help me cast magic,” I reply, complying with Sunsets wish. I didn’t want to give her control again. It hurt! Besides, I wanted to make a good impression, something I doubt Sunset cared much for.

“Alright. Just one more question then,” he says as we arrive at the cashier. Once again I ignore the stares from the other customers, and the slightly angry stare of the cashier as I place the price tags on the counter. “Overall, how do you feel about everything that’s happened?”

How did I feel?

“Confused, frightened, angry…” I mutter, quietly “Why me? Also, can I ever get back to normal? What’s going to happen to me if I can’t?” Once again I start to think about just how messed up this whole situation was and sigh. Maybe one day, when this is all behind me I might laugh, but for now I feel like I’m drowning in worry and stress. 

“Well… If it makes you feel any better you’re not alone… Maybe you should go to New York, I understand many of those affected are heading there in search of answers,” he replies. Honestly it seems like that’s going to happen. There was little reason not to. I was probably unemployed but I had more than enough enough money for the trip. No one would really notice me missing…

Giving a small nod I pass the cashier my debit card and take the tags back along with a receipt “Thanks…” Looking over to the reporter I give a shrug “I probably will. Sounds like New York is the place to be.”

He give me a nod and looks over to the exit “The article should be published tomorrow, and probably front page as well. It’s been a slow news day,” he says with a small shrug before bringing the camera up. “You mind?”

With a sigh I put on my best face, smiling for the camera as he snaps the photo. “Thanks. It was nice meeting you John. Good luck.” And with that he’s gone. Heading out the front entrance.

{So now what?} Sunset asks and I look over at the McDonalds near the doors, reminding me of how little I’ve eaten over the last couple days.

“Food. Then home.”

> Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Right… So griffons exist as well. Mind telling me what other races live in Equestria?” I asked aloud as I watched ‘Griffon the Brush Off’ on my laptop. It had been about a half hour since I’d left Wal-Mart. My father drove me home and left as soon as possible, taking my truck with him. I’d been tempted to argue, but really there was no reason for me to keep the vehicle. I couldn’t drive, in this state at least. He’d told me if I needed to go somewhere in an emergency, just call. Emphasis on the word emergency. To be honest, I was getting the feeling that the guy was afraid he was going to lose me. I was the only thing he had left of mom, and now I wasn’t even human anymore. After a giving me a surprising ‘good luck,’ sped off into the night, leaving me in front of my home with just my clothes, wallet, keys, and a bag of McDonalds.

{Griffons, zebras, minotaurs, donkeys, dragons… And cows I suppose. Many farm animals seem somewhat self-aware.} Sunset murmured in response. For the most part she was being rather forthcoming whenever I asked something as we watched a couple of episodes. Like me, she had no idea about anything in the show besides a couple events she had heard in the news like Princess Luna’s return.

We’d been sitting here for a couple hours now, slowly munching away at the salad I bought at McDonalds while we watched episode after episode. Now I’m sure you’re wondering wether I was enjoying myself. I guess I was. The show itself was mildly entertaining, getting a couple laughs here and there from me and I could see myself following it on a regular basis. The problem however was I was being exposed to this in a crisis of sorts, and I was watching it with a mare who didn’t share my feelings most of the time regarding the mane 6’s antics and adventures. Sunset seemed to regard the ponies with a mix of contempt and annoyance, especially when it came to Twilight.

-POMF-


For a few moments, I panicked as my vision suddenly went black. It seems like the spell Sunset cast on our clothes had worn off. After a few seconds of struggling, I peeled everything off, setting them onto a pile nearby.

“How long was that?” I muttered to myself, pausing the video and checking the clock on the laptop. Since I didn’t have my phone I couldn’t tell exactly how much time had passed since we bought the things. (Watch? What’s a watch? How primitive!).

{The spell usually lasts about three or four hours} Sunset mutters and for a moment I consider redressing myself but… Hey, I’m at home. Who cares if I’m naked? Giving my head a shake I decide to check my email, facebook, a couple forums I frequented. However, aside from a bit of spam, I got nothing. Seems no one really noticed. It’s kinda disappointing really…

{Why do you care?} Sunset asks, once again seeming to read my mind or mood… { Are you looking for empty words worrying about wether you’re ok or not? Because if so, that’s rather pathetic.}

“Ouch. That’s cold,” I reply, feeling my ears droop. “I was just thinking someone might notice and be worried,” I mutter, typing up a status update. “I thought news that I was missing might have filtered out.” The police had said they found my vehicle only this morning, which didn’t make sense now that I thought about it. The crew operating the gravel crushers usually left for the weekend to go home instead of staying in the small camp the company provided them nearby. From what I knew, news of me being missing should have been known by everyone by now.

“Hey all, some of you might have heard I was in an accident. I’m ‘fine’ now. And by fine I mean I’m not hurt. The downside is that I’m a pony… Newspaper tomorrow should explain more” I muttered as I typed everything out with magic. At first I’d been using just a pen, but Sunset showed me a way to manipulate my telekinetic field similar to having fingers. I was still pretty slow however, that message took me about a minute. If I had hands it would have been a couple seconds.

{ So now what? Wait for the messages of ‘I hope you’re ok?’ and ‘Thank ‘insert deity here’ you’re alright?’ } Sunset asks sarcastically.

“No, now we take a shower and get cleaned up” I reply letting some annoyance creep into my voice; which had the creepy effect of making me sound more like Sunset than I was comfortable with. The mare just always seemed to have this annoying ‘I’m better than you’ tone to her voice. “And again, I’m just doing it to calm anyone who might be worried.”

{So you get nothing from it. Perhaps a couple seconds feeling good but otherwise nothing changes when you go back to them} she chided.

“Are you some sort of loner?” I ask, to which I am rewarded with a jolt of pain in my head.
{ No. I’m just not one to waste time like you just did unless I get something out of it in return. A few ‘feelings’ won’t cut it. I’m not a changeling} she replies. The more I spoke with Sunset the more I grew to dislike her. I really hope this was all temporary, if only because I wouldn’t have to live with her anymore.

“Changeling?” I ask, opening the door to the washroom and looking around, on the whole I kind of felt like I was in a stranger’s home. Everything looked rather different when you were only two feet high.

{ An old mare’s-tale. Creatures that can shape shift in order to appear like a pony. They would foalnap ponies and replace them in order to feed off emotions. Pure fantasy if you ask me though.} I wasn’t so sure. In a world of fire breathing dragons, magic, and whatever else, the idea of a race of shapeshifting vampires that feed off emotions was not too outlandish, if a bit dark.

{No shampoo? I knew I was probably not going to get conditioner but…} she trails off. Yeah, I just had a bar of soap. Why? Laziness? I was cheap? A bar of soap was all I really needed. I could use it to clean any grime of oil in my hair. Conditioners and shampoo just seemed unneeded.

The next few minutes passed in quiet relaxation, kind of. My thoughts would constantly turn worrying about the future while Sunset would go quiet. It was somewhat unnerving whenever she did that, mostly because I had no idea what she was thinking about. I had no convenient wiretap on her thoughts like she did mine.

“So uh… Sunset. Have any family?” I asked as I turned my head to let some water hit my face for a couple moments. It was odd, I felt like I was talking to some girl on a first date with her, despite having absolutely zero interest in her. Sure she was attractive, if that humanized image of her in the dream was any indication. But her personality sucked.

{You saw my father in that dream. His name was Meridian.} she muttered after a few moments. I could kind of sense that she didn’t want to talk about it but I pressed on.

“And your mom?” I already had a feeling I knew the answer but…
{Dead. On the Elysium Fields as dad would say.} She said, confirming what I was thinking. I assume the Elysium fields are some sort of pony version of heaven.

{Yes, it’s a term some ponies use for the afterlife.} she adds, reading my mind yet again.
“Could you not read my mind like that?”

{It’s hardly by choice. In the beginning I only caught a couple stray thoughts but, as time went on, I’ve noticed more and more of your thoughts. I’m guessing its part of the spell that put us together, but as to what it means I can only speculate. }

“Well why can’t I hear what you’re thinking?” I ask. It sounded like she was probably getting more access to my thoughts the longer our minds shared a head. Hopefully that’s it.

{Possibly because your mind has to occupy itself with controlling my body? That foalhood memory you saw indicates you’re able to get some things from me.} she mutters { However, since this has never happened before, I can’t really say. Maybe you should check online instead of watching pointless cartoons following the Elements of Harmony…}Rolling my eyes, I grab a bar of soap and begin to lather my hide with the stuff. Her mention of the memory I saw gave me reason to swap the subject. I’d probably do as she suggested, check some news reports, or maybe see if there was a web site that might help.

“So what did you and your father do? You seemed to be camping.” 

{We travel. Dad sort of had wanderlust and would drag me along as we travelled across Equestria. He would do odd jobs here and there for food and when the cold weather came around we headed south. Appleloosa, Las Pegasus… Anywhere that we wouldn’t need to worry about the cold.} I gave a small laugh, a whinny really, at the names of those towns but froze as my brain processed the sound. It was yet another reminder that despite being able to talk and manipulate the world around me, I was far from human.

 “And where is he now?” I ask, trying to shake off that momentary feeling of dread as I let the water wash the soap off me.

{I don’t know… After I got my cutie mark I saw him less and less. He hated being in Canterlot; said it was too crowded and noisy. I suspect that was an excu-} she paused, for a moment I could feel a tinge of rising anger but it soon vanished {It doesn’t matter. You don’t need to know my history.} she said, her tone suggesting that this was the end of my Sunset history lesson.

Giving a sigh, I turned the shower off and floated over a towel to dry myself off. Fun fact, it takes forever to really get dry when you’re covered in fur. However, what surprised me however was how my mane and tail seemed to naturally return to their natural state when dry. Hoping up on the bathroom counter, I gave a smile as I was greeted with a rather different looking unicorn.

Gone was the grime, the dirt, and for the most part, the exhausted look that had been on my (Or I guess Sunset’s) face for most of the day. I looked like a completely different pers- pony.

“I look good,” I said with a small smile, which vanished as I felt some anger drift off Sunset. At least she didn’t hurt me this time.

{That’s my body remember… So don’t get used to it. And I would look better if you had proper cleaning supplies other than just a bar of soap. Ill admit though its been awhile since I’ve seen myself like this} she grumbled.

“That’s right… Exactly how many years were you human anyway?” I ask, moving my head and body around to get a better look at myself. She’d mentioned having spent time in that ‘mirrorverse’ but never went into detail.

{Almost two years…} she muttered. Satisfied that I was completely clean, I made my way back to the couch and started searching for anything that might help tell me more about what was going on.

I’d seen the video of Celestia, or Faust, before. And it was that video that flooded the internet when I searched for anything pony related. I then found a facebook page made by what seemed to be the person that became Fluttershy. A girl named Erica.

“Shot?” I mutter, glancing over a couple worried posts on the wall. Opening another window I manage to find a news report about the incident.

For the next couple minutes I listen to the young woman go on about how this was the first real attack on a pony, and how those responsible were belonging to that hate group I’d heard about a few nights again. P.A.P.A. The name sounded rather silly to me but then again, when sounded out it was the same term I used to refer to my father.

“He’d probably be a proud member of them if not for me… Heck, why would that stop him…” I mutter with a sigh and look switch back to the facebook page.

“Achievem-“ I freeze for a moment as my eyes fixate on the next couple words. Element of Kindness…

“They’re here…” I mutter and lean back to stare at the ceiling. Its only a couple seconds later that I realize how odd I’d just been acting.

“Sunset was that you?” I ask, still looking at the ceiling. There had been no sharp pain. No warning. But I knew there was no reason I should have been that fixated by the phrase.
{… Maybe?} I could hear it in her tone. She was afraid, although I doubt the mare would ever admit it. {I wasn’t trying to do anything. And it didn’t feel like when I was normally in control.} No it didn’t. I was in no way confined to the back of my mind like the previous two times.
“What’s happening?” Our conversation in the shower coming to mind and I type in ‘Pony, human, brain, and mind’ into Google. The results are rather mixed, plenty of people arguing as to whether the original pony mind is in there, or if it’s something else. In the back of my mind I can feel some amusement drift over from Sunset. She was certainly there.

After a few moments of searching I give a sigh and glance to my clock. It was late and despite having slept for over a day I was exhausted after what’s happened today. Despite everything I couldn’t find anything concrete about what might be happening to me and Sunset, although there were a couple mentions of a merge, with both minds slowly becoming one.

{That’s not going to happen…} Sunset muttered as I put the laptop into sleep mode. Sleep was sounding really good right now and I make my way into my bedroom. Like the rest of the house there wasn’t much. A bed, a desk with some Warhammer 40k figurines on it, a couple posters, I didn’t really tend to spend too much money beyond miniatures and a couple games for my laptop.

“No its not… I plan on returning to normal” I mutter, echoing Sunsets remarks as I climb into bed. The thought of a merge was rather off putting. Especially considering how little I knew of Sunset and her personality. Sharing a head with her was pretty bad but I dreaded what would become of myself, my identity, if a merge did happen.

> Midnight
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


“Moo…”
 
I was back in the cube land again. I don’t know how long it had taken for me to return here after falling asleep but once again I was back in my old body. I relished the feeling as I made my way in the direction of the house I had been building last time I was here.  Surely enough it was there, exactly how I had left it before heading off to go exploring with Sunset.
 
She was noticeably absent this time around, which was… Odd I guess. Her presence helped break the feeling of being alone in this place but at the same time I was content to have some ‘alone time’ without having to worry about the mare combing through my thoughts.
 
“Although makes watching my back a bit harder,” I mutter opening a chest and finding the wooden tools I had been using. I still remembered the encounter with the enderman. Its fiery orange eyes and booming voice were not something I was going to forget anytime soon, and not because it killed me. Those who have played Minecraft may know how the creatures should act. They teleport from place to place, taking random blocks then setting them aside elsewhere as if it’s all part of some strange, incomprehensible plan. Instead the one that attacked me seemed to have been hunting me down, purposefully going out of the way to find me and Sunset.
 
“At least I don’t need to worry about death…” I mutter somewhat sarcastically. It was odd, knowing that death held no sway over your actions and you would pop back into existence later on. I wasn’t keen on trying though. Just because I could die without consequence didn’t mean it didn’t hurt like hell.
 
Wooden pickaxe, some stone, a couple blocks of wood and a wooden sword. That’s all I seemed to have left. Everything else was probably laying in that cave where I’d died.
 
Giving a sigh, I got to work on gathering supplies and remaking the stone tools I had. I was probably going to return to the cave, if only to see if my stuff was still there. Despite this all being a dream, I wanted to treat it like I was playing the game for real. It kept my mind from thinking about what was happening to me and Sunset in the waking world.
 
After about a half hour of work I was ready. My stone pick axe in one hand, and a stone sword strapped to my waist (I have no idea how… Like the torches I made, things in this world just work somehow, like in the game). I ventured forth.
 
To be honest, I don’t know why I did it. That enderman had beaten me without a problem, and I had no armor to speak of. Maybe it’s because I’d do exactly this in-game, or maybe I’m just a sucker for punishment. Either way, I guess I felt the need to continue exploring this place and find more resources, iron being top on the list.
 
I found the place easily enough. The torches I placed previously were still burning away in all their 16 bit glory. Creeping along silently, I swallowed my fears and dove into the cave, keeping an ear open for any sign of the enderman or other hostile mobs. This time I had no Sunset to help keep an eye on my surroundings… Not that she made a difference last time. I never did ask her what had happened with the enderman.
 
Thankfully luck was on my side. No ‘pomfs’ or strange sounds to denote an enderman, nor did I hear any. After laying down another torch, I examined the place where my encounter with it had happened, and was rather disappointed to find none of my equipment had stuck around.
 
“Guess it’s a good thing I got replacements…” I muttered, laying down a torch and heading down the right path at random. It was about then I realized the importance of learning how to navigate. In the game you could simply pull up a console and figure out immediately where you were and where to go. I didn’t have that luxury and knew how easy it was to get turned around down here. Add in the fact that I probably needed to breathe ruled out the option of just digging a tunnel straight up (Not that I would anyway. The idea of being buried under a pile of gravel was not really appealing.).
 
For the next couple minutes I explored that fork in the cave, coming up with a few chunks of iron ore, some coal, and an emerald. The latter made me wonder what villagers would be like in this weird mindscape. I had yet to encounter any sort of hostile creature, which I was grateful for, the game had enough challenges and dangers. I didn’t have any desire to feel what it was like to be shot by an arrow or bitten by a spider.
 
Returning to the fork, I paused as I noticed an odd glow coming from the other passageway that hadn’t been there before.
 
“Weird…” I muttered. It wasn’t the orange glow of a fire or lava. Not did I hear any odd noises. Pulling out my sword I gave a sigh and approached it carefully.
 
It was… I’m not sure what it was. In game terms, I’d never seen anything like it; probably because it wasn’t a pixelated or cubic construct. Instead, hovering about a foot off the stone floor, I saw what could only be described as a large glowing, orange, sphere. How had I missed it earlier? After a couple minutes staring I saw the reason.
 
It was moving.
 
Not very fast mind you, but just enough that while I had been busy its glow had reached this area of the cave. Moving around it, I found myself drawn to it for some reason. Looking down i was surprised to find my free hand reaching out to touch it.
 
“Yeah… I’m not that dumb,” I muttered, pulling that hand into my pocket and pulling out a chunk of stone. Taking aim I tossed it, hearing what sounded like glass as the rock bounced off harmlessly. The orb just continued to float there, slowly making its way towards me.
 
“Alright… Didn’t explode, next test,” I muttered and held my sword out. Inching myself forward I gave the orb a light tap. Once again I got no response other than the chinking of glass. No signs of damage where it tapped it, and it continued to float on.
 
“Hmm… Well… YOLO?” I can’t believe I said that. But before you judge remember. I was alone. There was no one to hear me! And in this case that statement wasn’t really true. It seemed I could get myself killed over and over again without consequence. Reaching out with both my hands, I grabbed the surprisingly warm orb,  and was surprised by how warm it was. As it made contact with my skin, I saw a small ripple form from each point where it touched me but so far nothing that worried me. Bringing it up to my face for inspection I gave a smirk.
 
“Really isn’t anything more than a big glowing basket-“ And with that the world collapses around my as I fell into darkness.
 




“Sunset! Get back here!”
 
Giving my head a shake. the world around me spun into focus and I found myself staring up at a rather snobbish looking stallion wearing what appeared to be a tux and top hat. Looking down at me he. gave an annoyed huff and strutted off, with his muzzle in the air.
 
“See darling, this is why we shouldn’t let commoners around the castle,” he muttered to a nearby mare wearing a frilly pink dress and carrying a parasol.
 
“I-I’m so sorry sir. I-it won’t happen again!” I heard a familiar voice call out. It was about then that I realized this was another memory where I was simply an observer. Reaching up with a hoof I felt Sunset get back onto all fours only to start flailing as she was picked up in a magical aura.
 
“Daaad!” Sunset whined, her voice almost the same as the previous memory. To be honest I rather liked this version of her; adorable, innocent, and happy. A real nice change from the annoying mare I would come to share a head with.
 
“What did I tell you about running off? We’re in Canterlot! On the castle grounds no less! You can’t just run off like that,” he scolded, turning the filly around to face him.
 
Meridian looked the same as he had in the last memory, if a bit more frazzled. I wasn’t an expert on pony body language, but if I had to guess, he was nervous about even being here.
 
“But I thought I saw the princess!” I, or Sunset I suppose, whined, still flailing as we hovered in mid-air. (A really weird feeling to be honest. It wasn’t the same as being weightless.)
 
“Maybe you did. But you can’t just run up to them like that. What if the guards had seen you? Or another unicorn? Or…” he trailed off and pulled the filly into a hug. “Please promise me you won’t do that anymore ok? It might be fine when we’re on the road but not here,” Yup. He was definitely nervous. Rolling her eyes, Sunset reluctantly hugged him back before being set down on the ground.
 
“Sorry…” she muttered, giving a sigh and looking around again.
 
My god, this city was gorgeous…
 
I wasn’t sure where to start. The gleaming marble towers, the castle gardens, statues of pony heroes. On the horizon I could see vast fields and massive mountains stretching up into the sky, and yet they all seemed to be beneath us. Not one stretching higher than the city. In the air I watched as an airship dipped out of sight, followed soon after by another emerging. I wondered briefly if they were transporting goods to parts unknown, or simply ferrying passengers away from the city. I was thankful that Sunset shared my sense of awe, her eyes wandering slowly around and letting me take in the beauty of this city.
 
There was no place on Earth that could really compare. I’d been to Rome, walked its streets and admired the architecture of the city and The Vatican. In Venice, I’d drifted down canals, feeling the culture that permeated the one time city state. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I’d visited bustling cities like Toronto, Manila, Tokyo. Cities that boasted the best, and worst of our modern society. And yet none of them could hold a flame to Canterlot. This was truly something ripped out of a fantasy novel. Like Minas Tirith or Camelot.
 
“Dad… Why did you leave again?” Turning around, I found myself wondering the same thing. Who would want to leave here? Sure the two ponies from earlier seemed rather unpleasant, but that was something I could tolerate just to live in this monument of ponykind.
 
“Well, you mom for one… And there were other reason hon. Don’t worry about it. Besides, you like traveling with me right?” he asked, ruffling my mane and giving his daughter a smile. It was obvious he didn’t want to talk about and wanted to redirect the conversation elsewhere…
 
“I guess…” the filly muttered, looking back onto the horizon and focusing on what appeared to be a large group of clouds. No wait… Was that a city?!?!
 
“We better hurry up Sunset. Your exam starts in fifteen minutes,” Meridian said, causing the filly to turn around in a panic and ruining my chance to figure out just what I’d seen. “You’d been begging me to take you here for weeks… You don’t want to be late for the exam right?”
 
Giving a nervous nod, Sunset started to rush off, only to turn around as her dad called her back. We’d gone the wrong way. Giving a nervous laugh, he then led us the correct way into a large tower where a bunch of other ponies Sunset’s age, along with their parents, were waiting… All of them unicorns. (The children at least)
 
We sat there for awhile. Sunset pulling out a tattered book on magical theory (I could barely understand a lick of it), and her father pacing nervously as child after child went in and out of the adjoining room; some crying, many more jubilant. After a few minutes I managed to piece together just what was happening. This was a test… And from the poster nearby the door it seemed to be for entrance into ‘Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns’ it was for some sort of pony version of Hogwarts? 
 
“Alright Sunset. Remember what I told you?” Tearing her attention away from the book Sunset gave her dad an uncertain nod. The stallion in return sighed and sat down, still occasionally glancing about the room from time to time but making an effort to focus on her daughter.
 
“Right… The test. You don’t have to succeed. They just want to see what you’re able to do, and how you think about solving a difficult problem alright. Even if it doesn’t work, try to use one of the spells I taught you. alright?” he explained with a pained smile. “During my test, they asked me to transfigure a chunk of coal into a diamond… I still got in, even though I only managed to turn the coal blue.” He adds.
 
So Meridian had attended school here? That seemed… Odd, considering what Sunset had told me regarding his wandering about, avoiding crowded cities and towns. (Which kind of explained his nervousness…)
 
“Just remember what I taught you, and what you learned in those books.”
 
“Ms. Sunset Shimmer? They’re ready for you inside.”
 
This was it. Giving a nervous ‘gulp’, Sunset got up, following her father through the door being held open by a yellow unicorn.
 
“Sir, if you could remain by the door. Sunset, please follow me.” Glancing back nervously at the stallion, I saw him give Sunset a smile of reassurance.
 
“You’ll do fine sweetie…” he said, not really sounding sure. Looking back at the mare I watched as she directed us to the center of the classroom. Near the back three other unicorns waited, each one looking back and forth at the filly and then their clipboards. After giving a knock on another door, the mare moved up to join the other three, grabbing a clipboard and pen before scribbling furiously on it.
 
From the door a stallion (Looking back I realize he was the first non-unicorn id seen during this whole memory) pushed in a cart filled with hay and at the center lay an… Egg? It looked about the size of a goose egg, and was colored tallow, with orange flames coming up from below.
 
“A… A phoenix egg?” Sunset asked out loud, looking around the cart for anything else. Aside from an image showing a bird and two halves of the egg, it seemed to be bare. Seemed like they expected the filly to be able to hatch this thing… Or make an omelette. (Do ponies eat fried eggs?)
 
“You may begin Ms. Shimmer.”
 
It’s times like this I kinda wish I could know what Sunset was thinking and feeling. For a few moments, she just sat there, examining the egg, then looking at her dad who just gave a nervous smile.
 
“Eggs need… Warmth. And…” she trailed off, jumping up and leaning on the cart to look at it closer.
 
“We don’t have all day…” one of the unicorns called out, causing Sunset to jump in surprise.
 
“Hey! She can’t concentrate if you pester her like that!” I hear Meridian call out angrily. Sunset just stays focused on the egg however, taking a couple steps back and taking a deep breathe before closing her eyes. Her horn tingling as she got started.
 
“Sir! Please be quiet!”
 
A part of me was rather surprised by what I was feeling. The filly had really improved since that shaky attempt at telekinesis in the previous memory. That and she was able to focus despite the arguing in the background. The spell was similar to the same one she used to light our campfire and soon I could feel some heat emanating from in front of us.
 
“Don’t you tell me to be quiet you hag! You started it!”
 
Was Sunset even aware of the arguing going on? It certainly didn’t seem like it….
 
“Laurel. Please get the guards in here to esc-“
 
“You don’t have to! We can leave on our own!” Meridian yells and I hear him trotting closer, even though Sunset seems oblivious to it until she’s grabbed.
 
“Wh- Dad? No! Stop!” the filly yelled, failing in the stallions grip. Through her panicked eyes I see a small fire burning beneath and around the egg. Somehow it was contained and not spreading to the cart or hay.
 
“Common Sunset, I knew it was a mistake to come back here,” he grumbles, walking away with us held firmly. Despite it all i could feel Sunset trying to continue her spell despite having no ability to concentrate.
 
“Dad! Please! Just let-“
 
“I said we’re going!”
 
“NO!”
 
I don’t quite remember what happened next. One minute Sunset was yelling, the next a bright flash enveloped us all, blinding us as I felt a surge of power from the filly’s horn. When we finally regained vision I was treated to a scene that would have been humorous if not for the destruction in the room. Coughing, Sunset got back to her hooves, her eyes wandering about.
 
The room looked like a bomb had gone off. Ash and soot covered most of it, including the ponies which seemed to be otherwise unharmed. Laying sprawled a short distance away I saw Meridian give a cough as he stared in shock.
 
“I-I’m sorry…” Sunset muttered looking at the teachers, then to her dad…
 
“What is there to be sorry about, my little pony?” another voice cut in. Calm, regal, kind… I’d heard this voice before…
 
“I almost burned down the school and hurt everypony and - Eeep!” Turning around to face the newcomer, I was greeted with the sight of a large white mare with a long flowing mane. Which I promptly lost sight of as Sunset slammed her face into the ground in what seemed to be a mix of cowering and bowing.
 
“Sunset, please, I am not here to punish you. I was watching the entire time and while I was surprised by these events nopony was ever at risk of harm.” She said, putting a golden clad hoof on Sunsets shoulder. Looking up at the mare I was struck by just how regal she looked. She just exuded poise and grace, and even in a crowd would stand out. Not just because of her appearance. This pony was a leader… No. THE leader. The pony I had seen on the news, despite sharing her appearances, was nothing compared to Celestia…
 
“Y-you were watching me?” Sunset stammered, slowly getting up.
 
“Indeed I was. Imagine my surprise when I saw that the daughter of one of this schools brightest was due to take the entrance exam,” she explained, looking over at Meridian with a calm smile “Professor North Star often speaks highly of you, Meridian. It’s such a shame you never finished your studies.”
 
“I… I had my reasons princess,” he said, getting to his hooves and bowing to the… Goddess? Didn’t the show say she raised the sun and the moon? Lived for a thousand years… I could see some ponies regarding her as a god.
 
“I understand… Now then,” turning around, I felt Sunset shrink back is fear as the princess looked at her again. “Sunset Shimmer… It is not often we see a pony with such raw power at the school, and never have a seen a filly capable of controlling it like you did,” she pauses, moving over to the center of the explosion.
 
“B-But I destroyed the egg.” Sunset mutters, following?
.
“Did you? Take a closer look,” she said, pointing a hoof.  Trotting up Sunset approached a large pile of ash that the princess was pointing at. As if on cue a small sneeze was heard causing Sunset to stumble back coughing, waving a hoof in front of her face to clear the floating ash.
 
Sitting there, cute as can be, and with a coloring similar to Sunsets was a small bird. Giving a chirp the chick bounded over to a stunned looking Sunset, cooing as is rushed up to nuzzle a hoof, getting ash and soot on itself in the process.
 
“I don’t… I-,”
 
“-Out of all the species that lay eggs in Equestria, only a few would thrive after what you did Sunset. A phoenix is one such creature. And like many birds, their young imprint upon those they see after birth,” she explained, something I kind suspected myself as I watched the chick chirp and bounce around the filly through Sunset’s eyes.
 
“It thinks I’m its mom?” Sunset asks, pulling a hoof away uncertainly, the chick simply moved onto one of her rear legs. 

Celestia gave a light laugh and nodded. “Yes, and because of that, I feel it only right that you take care of it,” Sunset blinked and hawked at the princess, then the bird, and then the princess again who gave her a kind smile.
 
“But. I don’t… Dad?” she turned to look at the stallion who seemed a bit stunned by everything that was happening. Her daughters words causing him to snap out of a daze… “Can I keep it?”
 
“Uh… Sure hon…” he muttered looking at the bird, her daughter, then the princess. “Your majesty, what happens now?”  he asked as he left my field of vision, Sunset seemed to have taken great interest in the chick now that she had been given ‘permission’. Leaning down at eye level the small bird hoped over and gave a soft chirp causing the filly to giggle in response.
 
“I need a name for you…” she muttered, rubbing her chin with an ash covered hoof… “Whats a good name for a phoenix… Burny? Pyre? Nightlight?”
 
“Can I make a suggestion?” once again Sunset squeeked in surprise as she noticed the princess’ head a few inches away, observing both her and the phoenix chick. “In my long life I have heard many different names, from different lands and cultures. Across the sea, in the lands of the minotaurs they have a word that describes a love so strong that no force can break it… “
 
“What is it?” Sunset asked, a bit of awe in her voice.
 
“Philomena… I feel such a name would be fitting of a unicorns phoenix companion, don’t you?”
 
“Phi-lo… Me-na?” she seemed to ask, sounding out each part. The phoenix meanwhile chirped in agreement before bounding forward to nuzzle Sunset’s hoof again, getting itself more dirty. “I think he likes it!”
 
“She… And I’m glad she does. Now Sunset, I have an important question to ask of you and your father.” the alicorn made her way between the two ponies. “Your acceptance into my school is a given. Meridian, your daughter shows so much promise and I would like to give the teachers here a chance try and bring forth her full potential.” The stallion seemed to open his mouth to object but quickly closed it after seeing the giddy smile upon her daughter’s face.
 
“However, what I want to ask is if Sunset would do me the honor of becoming my personal protégé. I feel that aside from her basic lessons, she has the potential to shine brighter than any other unicorn I’ve ever seen, provided she is willing to work and study hard,”  she said, giving Sunset a smile. Meanwhile, the filly was twitching with excitement, and I didn’t blame her.  Not only was she realizing a dream to attend the school. But, the ruler of the nation had personally picked her to teach out of all the other ponies here.
 
“Y-Yes! Oh yes yes yes!” she squealed in delight, hoping in place around the two only to stop as she saw the pained look on her fathers face. “B-But. What about dad?”
 
“Don’t worry about me Sunset… This is your dream right?” he asked, pulling the filly in for a hug. Planting her hooves on his chest, Sunset leaned back to stare him in the eyes. Despite what he was saying, I, and sunset too, could tell he didn’t want her to leave.
 
“Meridian. It would be easy for me to arrange a place for you stay within the castle… Or nearby should you desire it,” Celestia said walking over behind the stallion. Letting Sunset go Meridian tuned to stand before the princess.
 
“I… For my daughters sake that would be acceptable princess… Thank you.” I could see it wasn’t what he wanted, to be back in Canterlot… But at the same time, I was happy he wasn’t going to ruin things for his daughter.
 
“Excellent. If you both are free I would like to extend an invitation to share lunch with me so we can discuss this in more detail,” she says, starting to walk away but pausing beside Sunset for a moment to look at her.
 
“We’d be honored princess. Right Sunset?” Meridian asked.
 
Unfazed by both grown ups staring at her. Sunset gave a nod, reaching down to pick up little Philomena and placing the bird on her head where it nestled in with a happy chirp.
 
“Then it’s settled. But first,” Celestia’s horn glowed for a moment as she floated out a tissue, rubbing it against Sunset’s flank. The filly jumped back in surprise which soon turned to shock as she saw was was under the ash. “We should get you both cleaned up,” Sunset barely seemed to hear her though as she saw what had been revealed.
 
There, laying upon her hide, and surrounded by ash lay a beautiful gold and crimson sun with sort of yin and yang symbol within.
 
“W-what does it mean?” Sunset asked, her voice filled with a mix of shock and awe. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Meridian move over to get a look at the cutie mark with a wide smile on his face; one that reached his eyes, no hints of nervousness or uncertainty here.
 
“Magic, Sunset… Your special talent is magic.” And with that the world faded away in a rush of light as the memory ended.



 

~YOU PERSIST~
 
As far as wake ups go, booming voices in your head had to rank amongst the worst ways to come out of unconsciousness. Groaning, I opened up my eyes to see an enderman towering above me.

 
“Oh… Fuck,” pardon my language but… Yeah. It seemed about right then. Any minute now this thing would kill me and I’d reappear in the middle of a block field or wake up. Reaching down, it grabbed me by my shirt and shoved me against the wall. Thankfully, this time I didn’t get that strange drone in my ears that I had gotten last time upon looking at the creature.
 
~WHO ARE YOU? WHY DO YOU SEEK TO ENTER OUR DOMAIN?~
 
Well… It seemed to be in a chatty mood. I’m guessing most of the things it killed didn’t tend to come back for seconds. That said its words confused me. His domain?
 
“I-ack… Can you loosen your grip?” I asked, not really understanding how a creature with no fingers managed to hold me here and make it difficult to breathe. Thankfully, it did heed my request, loosening its grip a bit and making it easier for me to move around. “Thanks. I don’t know what you’re talking about though. I thought this was my mind.”
 
~NO. YOU SIMPLY SHAPE IT SO THAT IT IS FAMILIAR. YOU DO NOT BELONG~
 
I briefly wondered if this thing had a volume switch, but decided it was not a good idea to provoke the ten foot tall slenderman wannabe.
 
“Yeah… You said that before. I’m not here by choice!” I reply angrily. “Something put me into Sunset’s body, or something like that. I don’t know!” The enderman’s eyes widened in surprise, its grip loosening.
 
~THE EVENT? WE FELT IT, AND WERE UNABLE TO PREVENT IT FROM DERAILING SUNSET FROM THE PATH WE HAVE SET BEFORE HER~
 
Well that wasn’t ominous…
 
“Um… Path?”
 
~NONE OF YOUR CONCERN.~
 
“Right. Care to let me go? I’m not an enemy…”
 
~AND YET YOU INTERFERE WITH OUR WORK ALL THE SAME. NO. A SOLUTION HAS BEEN FOUND.~
 
“Oh… Care to tell me what that is?” I ask, inching my hand to my stone sword. Whatever his solution was, I doubt, thankfully he seemed focused on me. Those flaming orange eyes seemed to stare into my soul.
 
~YOU WILL BE SEPARATED; YOUR MIND REMAINING HERE, WHILE HERS REMAINS FREE TO CONTINUE DOWN OUR PATH. YOU WILL NOT-~
 
Moving as fast as I could I whipped out the stone sword and swung it in an arc, managing to cut the arm that was pinning me. I then followed it up with a thrust into its chest.
 
“Ha!” I shouted with a grin.
 
~YOU WILL NOT INTERFERE ANY FURTHER,~ with that, the enderman seemed to dissolve before my eyes into orange pixels that simply hovered there for a time before floating away.
 
“Wait. You can’t mean you’re going to trap me here!” I yelled. Chasing after the orange pixel blob as it made its way out of the cave.
 
~YES WE DO. ONCE A PERMANENT SOLUTION IS FOUND WE WILL RETURN,~ It called out before rising into the sky.
 
“You can’t do this!!” I yelled in desperation, falling to my knees. The orange cloud continued to rise before vanishing. The sky flashing red and yellow for a moment before shifting to a night time scheme complete with moon and stars. In the distance I watched as a couple zombies and skeletons suddenly appeared. I had no reason to believe what that thing had said was true… But a part of my mind suspected it wasn’t lying.
 
“Well…” I muttered, a zombie noticing my presence and started to make its way towards me.
 
“Fuck.”


> Moonlight
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I’d like for it to be known that I, Sunset Shimmer, have no idea about, nor am I responsible for the disappearance of Jean-Claude Veilleux.  At least, I don’t see how I might be responsible for his disappearance from my mind.

The morning started off with me struggling to remove the large pillow that had managed to wedge itself in my mouth. At first I didn’t question the quiet in my head, or why I wasn’t just a passenger in my own body. Jean could easily have been asleep still, his consciousness deciding to rest longer than mine.

After a couple seconds dislodging the pillow from my mouth I proceeded to hop out of bed. I hadn’t had control since that bit in the dressing room and I wasn’t going to pass it up. The room itself had little of interest to me, beyond the clock showing that it was just a bit before noon.

“Three days since arriving here, and I’ve spent less than a day awake…” I muttered with distaste. So much time wasted. Why had Discord decided to drop us in the middle of nowhere? Provided Jeans memories of what happened were genuine.

“Oh, they are…” a voice called out from outside the bedroom, snapping me out of my thoughts. Making my way out of the room my jaw dropped as I saw the… chaos, that had engulfed the house.

The kitchen was filled with tiny figures, cooking, cleaning, and squabbling as they worked the stove, sink, and other appliances. Upon closer inspection I realized just what the three inch tall creatures were.

“Discord…” I muttered, my horn lighting up as I conjured up a shield around myself, an act that caused a couple of the miniature draconequi to jump back in alarm before scampering off to help with the others carting the milk carton around.

“Good morning my dear, you woke up just in time to join me for breakfast!” A voice called out and I was greeted with the conductor of chaos himself; literally. Floating there in a tuxedo, wearing a frilly wig (Or maybe it was actual hair,) and waving a baton around in his lion’s paw was Discord himself, his miniature clones bouncing to the beat of whatever tune was going through their conductors mind.

“You’re joking…” I muttered, my eyes flickering to a pair of mini Draconequi arguing over a sponge before diving at one another in anger. A small dust cloud sprang up and the fight was only broken up when Discord jabbed his baton at the pair which was followed by a pop as the two exploded in a mix of confetti and glitter.

“Not at all Ms. Shimmer. If it eases your mind, I come here waving the flag of peace.” As if on cue, the baton he was waving suddenly sprouted a white flag.

Was I scared? No. I already could think of a dozen ways to leave Jean’s home unharmed. Granted, most of them involved teleportation. But if that was not an option I knew i could figure something out.  I hope.

What worried me though was the ‘why’ of this whole situation. Why was he here? Was he hoping to strike up some bargain? Perhaps an alliance?

“Maybe yes, maybe no.  But first! How do you like your eggs?”

I sort of understand now why Jean did not enjoy me peering through his thoughts.
“My dear, that is not the worst thing your mind has done to him. Now, eggs.”

“Scrambled,” I blurted out, frowning as my mouth answered him without my say so. With a wave of his baton a trio of mini-Discords began the process of cracking open a couple eggs followed by the milk team from earlier as they added the liquid to the mixture.

Making my way around the kitchen, I took a place by the table and watched in silence as Discord did his thing. In one pan, I could see another team working on some pancakes, ignoring the heat from the stove as she hoped into the pan to drag out a completed pancake while another team stood by, waiting to tip over a bowl and….

Why did I care? The lord of chaos was here, in the flesh, and whatever his motives were I knew it wouldn’t be good for me in the end.

“I must say Miss Shimmer you have impressed me. I knew dragging you from that backwater world was the right idea.”

And with that, he had my attention.

“You had a hoof in me coming here?” I asked, my eyes focussed on the back of the creature’s head as he directed another group to bring over a glass of milk for me.

“Already using pony terms? I’m surprised by how well you’ve adapted from being a hairless, magically challenged biped, Sunset. Then again, unlike the rest of the population on this rock you do have the most experience with changing species I suppose. Changelings and queens not included of course.” He says with a laugh.

“Answer the question…” I replied in a flat voice. I didn’t have time for his games. What role did he play in getting me out of the ‘mirrorverse’?

“Testy… Well allow me to explain my dear. I was just minding my own business the other day, poking through the castle when what should I find but a mirror leading to the most curious of places.”

“Get to the point,” I replied as he paused for a moment, drawing an annoyed look before it was washed away with an amused smile. I didn’t need a recap as to where I was, or how he found me. He obviously did not care for any physical barriers between worlds, and other than the elements, there was nothing that could stop him.

“Well, not only was I surprised by the way it ‘mirrored’ Equestria’s citizens. But, to borrow the human phrase, you stuck out like a sore thumb,” he explains, jabbing his baton at the team of draconequi bringing me milk. Giving Discord a sharp salute, the group deposited their glass and scurried back to the stove to help the others deal with the scrambled eggs. At some point the mix had sprung to life and the miniature discords were trying to keep it in the frying pan using toothpicks, pins, bits of string, and a toothbrush (probably Jean’s).

As to his comment about sticking out; I had taken great care to fit into that school, although it certainly helped that the ‘other’ Sunset Shimmer never showed up despite being a student. I’m not exactly sure but I suspect that it wasn’t really a complete universe like Equestria or Earth was. It was dependant on who was in Equestria and I suspect when a pony hopped through the mirror they would take their counterpart’s place. I couldn’t prove anything though since I was trapped and couldn’t drag somepony through to be sure.

“Not that kind of standing out my dear. I mean your magic. You were a flame in the darkness of that dreary world,” he added on, either noticing my confused look or reading my mind again. “And I had absolutely nothing to do with regards to bringing you here. The mirror spat you out of its own accord. And when you returned to Equestria you were brought here.”
“So then why did you try to kill me and Jean? Why did you shove us both into the middle of nowhere?”  asked somewhat angrily, motioning to the bandages wrapped around my chest. Jean had changed them the night before but it still hurt.

“Oh don’t be so dramatic. You were never in any real danger. I simply wanted to see what you could do. And I must say I was impressed,” I seriously doubted those two hunters, whose names I couldn’t be bothered to learn, were drawn there by Discord. It seemed way too ‘in control’ for a being that exemplified chaos. The timberwolf? Yeah that seemed right up his alley. But not guiding a bunch of hunters around.

“So what exactly do you want?” I ask, wanting to get this whole visit over and done with. Glancing down I notice a team of mini Discords dropping a plate of pancakes and some of the scrambled eggs (no longer suffering from its bout with life) in front of me, something mirrored across the table as Discord floated down to take the seat. “And why the breakfast?”

“Oh this? After what happened with Chrissy, I decided to try a different approach so as not to scare off your human. Imagine my surprise when I realized you’d already taken care of that,” he said with a laugh, which only seemed to increase as he saw my confusion “You don’t know? Oh well that is surprising. My dear Sunset Shimmer, it seems your mind has taken steps own its own to ensure the two you don’t merge. I don’t understand it myself, but then again, I don’t want to. Suffice to say you don’t need to worry about him interfering with any plans you might have. In a way he’s ‘asleep’ and given time. I’m sure a unicorn of your skill can figure out a way to separate him from you permanently.”

I wasn’t sure if I should feel relived or worried about that. One the one hoof my worried about what was happening to our mind were no longer an issue. But why?  I’d never trained myself in the art of resisting mental invasion. My mind didn’t have the barriers and mental traps that would fool and turn back any probing attempts. And yet Discord said I had managed to separate the mind of another being  without actually trying. Maybe it was just something that came naturally to me like my magic did. Somehow I doubted it was that easy.

“So then why are you here,” I asked again.  Discord sat there for a moment watching me, sprinkling pepper onto his pancake.

“I want a truce Sunset my dear. With Ms. Sparkle and the Princesses out of the picture only you and one other pose any immediate threat to my plans. There’s no other unicorn like you on the planet right now,” he said, his voice becoming somewhat serious for a bit. “Sure I could ‘deal’ with you in some special way. But short of killing you, which is such an unimaginative solution I must say, anything I do will simply direct your anger towards me,” he was right… Take my magic away. Shove me in a cage somewhere. Whatever he did, if I managed to escape, I would track him down to exact revenge somehow.

“However, unlike the Changeling Queen I doubt you have any interest in an alliance. So I propose this. You make no efforts to interfere with whatever I do, and in return I will leave you free to pursue your own goals. Whatever they may be.“ That was it? A simple agreement to just ignore each other? Considering I already had his attention I saw no reason why I would refuse. Provided Discord could not: be trusted (And I doubt he could), it meant I had one less thing that might potentially stop me from fulfilling my goals. And once I finished with that, I doubt even Discord could stop me.

“How do I know you’ll keep your word?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. I had yet to even touch the meal Discord had prepared (And really. Why would I?)

“You don’t!” he exclaimed with a laugh before raising up his eagle claw hand “But perhaps a gift from me might help you decide,” he continued before snapping his fingers.

With a cry of pain, I collapsed in my chai. My mind suddenly felt like a thousand needles were poking away at it. Gripping my head in my forelegs, I curled up in a ball, as if that position might help with the pain.

It didn’t. But thankfully, after what seemed like forever, if faded away to nothing. Getting back onto my hooves, I tried to focus on summoning up a shield around myself again. I don’t remember having dropped it but after this attack…

“W-what did you,” I muttered, trying to look at Discord. He just sat there looking amused.

“Just wait for it…”

I could already feel it. The reason why I couldn’t focus enough to even use telekinesis was my mind was being flooded with new information. Numbers, passwords, a whole new language… After a moment I managed to figure out that Discord had essentially unlocked all of Jean’s memories for me.

“Pretty much. This world has so many rules and regulations and without that information it might be difficult to get anywhere,” he explained in an amused tone. After a moment he scooped up a pancake and began to… Drain the color from it? After a moment it disintegrated before my eyes into a sort of dust. “Important memories, passwords and information. My gift to you should allow you to impersonate Jean and make use of what he has without running the risk of merging or something silly like ‘asking for permission’.”

“You could have warned me…” Taking a few hesitant breaths I tried to compose myself. I could still remember events of my own life, but now there was another set, that were obviously not my own. There was a clear distinction between them.

“Well then. What do you say? Truce?” he asks, extending a claw to shake. After a few moments I extended a foreleg and shook it, a grin erupting on the draconequus face when I did. Oddly enough it felt like… Shaking a lions paw. No strange magic, no thunder or lightning. It was a normal paw/hoofshake.

“Excellent! I tell you Sunset, you won’t regret it,” with that he hopped off the chair, snapping his claw and causing all the mini discords to vanish. Leaving the kitchen looking like it was never touched today, aside from my plate with the pancakes and scrambled eggs on it.

“With our business concluded I will leave you to your devices my dear. However, I do extend an invitation for you to come watch the festivities in New York later this week.” He added with a bow before vanishing with a flash.

Oddly enough, I was starting to regret what I had just done. I made a deal with the devil, and despite his aid I doubt it was going to end well for me.


> Solar Wind
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I ate the breakfast.

I know how strange that may seem. After all, Discord himself cooked it. But after spending fifteen minutes straight magically probing it for any sign of chaos magic or any sort of tampering, I came up with nothing. And to be perfectly honest, I’m not one to let food go to waste.

I spent the next couple hours reviewing the new set of memories I had been given. Jean lived an interesting life, somewhat similar to my own now that I was able to see it in detail. We both were raised by our fathers, both had seen much of the world, and both had ambitious goals. Thankfully the similarities ended there.

As I tried to rearrange my mind I also decided to finish watching the show. (The password to his computer was ‘perogies’, after a human dish I had yet to try. Thankfully his memories indicated there was a container full of them in the fridge which I had for dinner later on.) Most of it bored me. What interest did I have in a group of fillies trying and failing to get their cutiemarks. Nor did I really care about what most of the element bearers did. What interested me most were the season finale and opening for season 2.

It was interesting to see how Discord liked to do things; overconfident, playing others against each other. I’m surprised he even entertained giving the elements a chance to assemble; but then again, it’s chaos. Nothing he does should make much sense.

The changeling queen (Why didn’t she get named during the episode?) really grabbed my attention. As I had mentioned to Jean earlier they were mostly just a myth. Creatures’ parents often used to scare foals into behaving. Suddenly Discord’s ramblings made some sense. The changeling queen was on the planet, and Discord had approached her with an offer. I wasn’t sure if I should feel honored or worried though that he lumped me in with the Changeling Queen. Chrissy I think he called her. Probably some pet name, Queen Chrissy of the changelings doesn’t exactly instil fear in the hearts of your enemies.

It was about mid afternoon when my mind finally calmed down. Jean’s memories were like a book I could open and review whenever I wanted, but at the same time they didn’t mix with my own. It seemed like whatever Discord did it didn’t cause me to start questioning my identity.

“J’espère que ça continue comme ça…” I said quietly to myself in broken Prench (Or French I suppose). I was hardly fluent in the language like Jean was. But I could understand, and speak it. I wondered if I would get to keep it once this was all over. Not the memories but the skills. It was rather convenient that in the space of a day I learned a completely new language.

Besides French, I now knew how to drive a vehicle, scuba dive, and pilot an aircraft. None of which I could see myself using but… Skills are skills. Since I didn’t actually have to spend the time to learn them myself I was more than happy to take them.

To be honest, this transferring of abilities got me thinking about figuring out a way to apply it in day to day life. Unfortunately, I barely knew any mental related spells, nor did I ever have any interest in them. Most of what was taught at the school was limited to helping others remember, or finding specific memories. I was most interested in influencing the thoughts of other ponies, getting them to do as I wish. (Apparently that’s a bad thing…)

Skills and memories aside I finally got around to figuring out what I needed to do. I was obviously bound for New York. My chances of intercepting Twilight before she got there were… Slim. Besides, apparently she was already in the area, if that new report was to be believed. I had nothing against the mare, she was my replacement, the new tool Celestia needed since I wouldn’t dance to her tune. What I wanted was the Element of Magic. I doubt the unicorn fully understood the power that lay untapped within it, the power I had spent years trying to understand so I might unlock it for myself.

After a couple minutes searching the internet, and then looking for Jean’s wallet, I managed to book a flight leaving at about noon tomorrow, with a lay-over in someplace called Edmonton, and another in Montreal. So long as everything went according to plan id be in New York just after midnight on… Threesday?

It took me a moment to realize that the name wasn’t on purpose. Jeans memories indicated that sometime last week the rest of the calendar had changed, extending this week into a whole year somehow. Sounds like something Discord would do. No matter. Two days from now I’d be in New York. What could possibly go wrong?
 



 
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN MY PASSPORT IS INVALID?!?!” I yelled, ignoring the stares and worried looks from the passengers around me as I waved the document around in my magic.
“It says right here! Jean Claude Veilleux! THAT’S ME!” 

You have got to be kidding me! The last couple hours were mostly uneventful. Despite being the only pony on each flight, I was mostly ignored by the other passengers on my way to Edmonton. Once there, I only had a couple minutes to catch my next flight so I managed to avoid idle chitchat with random people curious about me. (And avoid the little girl that wanted to make me her personal cushion).

The flying itself was rather uneventful. It wasn’t the first time I’d flown; as a pony I’d gotten the chance to ride with Celestia in her carriages when she wanted to show me something or I asked to tag along. Flying in an aircraft was much more boring by comparison, although Jean’s knowledge of how they worked kind of reduced my boredom. The flight attendants seemed more than happy to give me space and since the plane was not full no human’s wanted to sit beside me. (It was amusing to see them freak out when I used magic to maintain the size charm on my clothing. You’d think I was going to blow up the plane or something.)

“Mam, I don’t make policy. Unless you get an updated passport from the embassy. we cannot allow you through customs. Not unless you’re one of the…” she pauses for a moment to think. “Elements of Harmony.  Now please calm down or I’ll have security escort you out.”

I was so close! Why was it only here, at customs, that my identity became a problem?!? The only exception was the elements?

“Listen miss…” I pause to look at the name tag, before putting on my most ‘desperate’ face, “Mackenzie. I need to get to New York. Everypony is going to be there an-“

“I can’t bend the rules. Sorry. Next!” And just like that I was stuck. Giving the woman behind the glass an angry glare I marched off towards the entrance and stared out at the traffic. It was getting late, nearly 9 o’clock. Letting out a sigh I took a look around the entrance, ignoring the stares of all the humans yet again. Heading over to a restaurant labeled ‘Tim Hortons’ I, after grabbing myself a vegetarian sandwich, opened my laptop to try and get an idea of what my options were.

It didn’t take long.

After seeing just how close Montreal was to New York (6 hours driving) I started to formulate a new approach for the city. It was clear I was going to have to hop the border illegally. Not that I had a problem with that. Jean’s passport was useless, and unless I could impersonate one of the element bearers I was out of luck. Sighing, I made a note to do some research on illusion magic when I got the chance.

Instead it seemed I would be staying the night in Montreal. Tomorrow I would take a bus or taxi to a town near the border, afterwards it would just be a matter of trudging through the forest. Maybe some teleportation if I got caught but I doubt that would be an issue. Jean’s memories seemed to indicate that the border between the two nations was extremely low on security, and I doubt they were sufficient to stop a magical prodigy like myself.

What came after though? I suppose I could just call a taxi when I crossed over. Or even better; buy myself a car. Jean had a sizable portion of money saved up. I’m sure he wouldn’t notice. And if he did ill just toss him a few bits or gems after I get back to Equestria and separated from him. It’s funny how much value humans place in those items which could be found easily back home.

Closing the laptop, I tossed out the sandwich wrapper and proceed to the exit. Pausing to buy a bus ticket to get downtown. It’s almost nine o’clock, and I figure I should get a night’s sleep before continuing on tomorrow. Besides, after combing through Jean’s knowledge of the city I think I’ll take the opportunity to do a bit of shopping, get some fancy food, and spend some of his money.

“Ticket?” I’m snapped out of my thoughts and float over the stub. He just stares at it like it’s poison and I roll my eyes.

“It’s not going to hurt you,” I mutter in irritation, causing him to scowl and take it. A moment later I take the stub, smirking as he withdraws his hand as if the piece of paper might burst into flame. “D-don’t go casting any big stuff on my bus ok?” he adds, as if trying to save face. Rolling my eyes just move into the aisle, and frown as I see that almost every place is taken. And those that don’t have someone sitting by the window. Suddenly I’m regretting not taking a taxi.

“Oo! Oo! You can sit with me! “ a voice calls out from the back, sitting there is a young looking man sporting a shirt with… Was that Rainbow Dash?

Giving a sigh I make my way over and take a seat. At least he looked happy to see me, unlike the others that were either, afraid, confused, or irritated by my presence.

“Oh wow! I… You’re a pony!” Yep. Really wishing I took a taxi now. For a moment I consider just teleporting away but the bus jerks into motion and I don’t want to risk messing up and carrying my momentum with me when I vanish. Giving a sigh I give him a flat stare which he returns with a nervous laugh.

“Eh heh… Sorry it’s just… You’re the first one I’ve seen. I guess you used to be a human right? What’s it like?”

“Annoying…” I reply, returning my attention to the window as the bus pulls out “My life has been pretty messed up because of this…” I add, adding in some of Jean’s sentiments. I was pretending to be him after all. Thankfully none of these idiots knew him so I didn’t have to try too hard.

“I guess…” he mutters and goes silent for a bit. “But what about being a pony? Instead of human?” I suppose this is where I shined. Having been both for an extended amount of time and all..

“Hands… I might have magic but I miss fingers,” I reply truthfully. I wouldn’t trade one for the other mind you. Magic was my special talent. “Maybe if I knew more besides telekinesis things would be easier,” I add, smirking as I see some of the other passengers relax, they’d been listening in.

“Yeah, you kinda sound like Lyra would. You know her?” he asks stupidly. I think he realizes how ridiculous his question is a few moments later as well. “Well, of course you don’t. I mean… You know from the fandom right?”

“I’m not a…” what was the term Jean used? “Brony,” I reply, which draws a look of surprise from him.

“Wow, really? I thought only bronies were affected…. “he says with a shrug… “So this must be extra strange for you… I’m guessing you don’t know what pony you are then.”

“Her name is Sunset Shimmer,” I reply, “She’s in my head and apparently she used to be Celestia’s personal student before Twilight.”  Am I bragging? I guess. I mostly wanted to see what sort of reaction it might get.

“Never heard of her. Celestia’s only had one student and that’s Twilight. Sounds like your pony is an OC or something,” he replies with a shrug and suddenly I’m tempted to teleport him outside. Not accounting for momentum.

“She says,” I mutter in irritation “that not every pony appears in the show. And that you don’t know anything about where she lives, or Celestia. So you shouldn’t make assumptions,” What was it with these humans and thinking I’m some made up character? The man obviously picked up on my mood and raised his hands.

“Whoa. Sorry, I didn’t mean to get you angry, season 3 was about to air before this all began, so maybe you we’re gonna show up there,” he says, trying to calm me down by saying something similar to the doctor at the hospital a couple days ago. Rolling my eyes I look away.

The rest of the ride into the city goes by silently. The brony not wanting to ask anymore questions and honestly I preferred it this way. Stepping off the bus I didn’t give him a second glance as I headed up from the terminal to street level.

Montreal was big… And its downtown was… Impressive. While it lacked the beauty of Canterlot it was still quite a sight. As people pass by i catch snippets of French; looks like Jean’s skills would be of use.

“J’espère que t’es prêt Montreal…”


> Sundance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

You know what I said about French being useful?

I was wrong.

Sure it’s good for signs I suppose. The whole province apparently had laws that no English was permitted or something like that. (After reviewing Jean’s memories of Quebec, I’ve come to the conclusion they are all rather ‘special’ and reminded me of those foals you see raising a fuss just to get attention. So when it came to navigating I wasn’t completely lost.

However, every time I tried to converse in French with a local, they would instantly pick up on my accent and swap to English. Considering the fact I was making an effort to try and learn the language you can understand that by the time I left the hotel the next morning, I was really annoyed.

I spent most of the night wandering around downtown, looking at the closed stores and taking notes of anything that interested me. There wasn’t. A few high end stores, some restaurants. And a great many strip clubs. I wasn’t sure if I had made a wrong turn but considering the proximity of a mall nearby, I suspect it was meant to be easily accessible or something. Not hidden away in some dirty part of the town like one would expect.

The rest of the night was spent in my hotel room. Idly flicking through TV channels before deciding to just spend it on Jean’s laptop doing some more research on ‘Bronies’. They are an odd bunch. Mostly male, and all liking the television show for some reason or another. At first I thought it was pretty tame but… Then I came upon some of the art.

I was really tempted to toss the laptop out the window.

Suffice to say my opinion of them turned from ‘strange’ to ‘perverted deviants’ rather quickly. Most of the time the anato-

I’ll just stop there.

The next morning was spent dining in a small restaurant nearby that served waffles. Once again I ignored the stares and just ate in peace, or I tried to.

“Hey Pascale! C’est un de c’est ‘tit chevaux. De ‘My Little Pony’? “

Seriously?

Glancing behind me I could see a couple looking over. The speaker was a woman, holding up her phone to try and snap a photo. Her coltfriend, or husband, twisted around to look at me and gave a small wave.

My horn shined up for a moment I snagged the phone in my magic and set it down on the table with a small bang (Not hard enough to damage it. I just wanted to get the message across).

“Do you mind?” I growled. Ignoring their shocked expressions and returning to my meal. The rest of the restaurant seemed to share their feelings and stared at me like id grown a second head.

“Maudit grincheux. Je voulais juste une photo…” she muttered, from behind me.

“Madame… Could you please refrain from disturbing the other customers?” a waiter asked a few moments later, probably having seen my little display.

“ Alors, demandez qu’elle fais la même chose…” I reply in French, pretty much saying that she should ask the same of the woman. I don’t want others snapping photos of me without asking. The waiter sighs and gives a nod.

“I will, but please refrain from using your magic like that again please,” she replies. Once again ignoring that I was trying to speak in French, and heading over to speak to the couple. I didn’t really catch much of their conversation but she was much nicer to them than me…

Finishing my meal I left what I owed on the table ( With no tip) and stepped outside, keeping close to the buildings to avoid pedestrian traffic. The bus leaving for New York and the border was still a couple hours away from leaving, so I had time to kill as I wandered the streets aimless-

“What you gonna do now, horse?”

I stopped in my tracks as the sound of an angry male English human drifted into my ears. Strangely enough there was no pedestrian traffic in the area. Seems I had ignored the signs and wandered into an empty construction site, the street itself was torn of asphalt and it seemed like they were working on redoing it completely.

“Well, I think I’ll run, but I see that that’s impossible, as you gentlemen seem to be blocking the exit.” Creeping closer to the alleyway I was not surprised to see a large earth pony stallion facing down four humans. All male.

He was a bit bigger than me, with a yellow coat and blonde mane. For some reason his appearance nagged at me. He seemed familiar, although the hoodie and rucksack threw it all off… His accent seemed to suggest he was a pony from Appleloosa or something.

“Look, it’s trying to sound smart!” One of the others barked out, the others laughing.

“If you could maybe move out of the way, I can just leave, and we can move on, no harm done.”

“No harm? Where’s the fun in that?”
 
“Well, if you attack me, it gives me a reason to retaliate, and after years of harvesting apples by literally kicking the trees until they fell off, I think I could handle myself in a fight.” It seems like my guess of him being Appleloosan was right. I doubted he could do much in a fight though. All he had was brute force against four humans who were probably armed. No magic, no ability to just fly out of their reach. 
 
Did that mean I was going to help him? No. Not now at least. Let’s just see how this all progressed. I wasn’t going to let him die, but that didn’t mean I had to intervene right at this moment.
 
From my hiding spot I watched as the earth pony gave no resistance as they started to-
 
“Ow, shit! The little fuck kicked me!” Never mind. I stifled a laugh as he rolled away after delivering a kick to one of the humans groin. The others pulled out their knives and started to advance when a turquoise blur joined in the fighting.
 
The newcomer was a pegasus, with a messy green mane and two musical notes on his flank. Seems the Appleloosan wasn’t alone. Good. Maybe I wouldn’t have to get involved then, a thought that was proven wrong a few moments later.
 
The two were… Horrible. The pegasus just looked like a mess of limbs before he was grabbed, yanked to the ground and hog tied. The earth pony managed to get a couple decent kicks but he eventually just gave up; the threat of their knives apparently enough to make him give up. Both were eventually placed side by side, gags in their mouths.
 
“You two could fetch a pretty price,” Slave trade? That was something new. Or maybe there was some sort of trade that’s sprung up to sell ponies to satisfy the perverted brony desires. Nopony deserved that.
 
Looking around I gave a sigh and picked up a couple decent sized rocks in my magic and flung one at the human that seemed to be their leader.
 
“Eh bien... Ce q’est passe ici?” I asked with a small grin on my face.
 
Rubbing the back of his head the man and his friends all turned around in surprise which turned into a grin as they noticed me.
 
“We got another one?” One of them grinned. “And a unicorn too...” Yes you did, not just any unicorn but the most powerful one in this world if Discord was to be believed. I almost felt sorry for them. Knives and rope? A human saying of bringing knives to a gunfight sprang to mind.
 
After flinging another rock, I took a couple steps back as one of them got his rope ready. This was going to be easy compared to the wolves. They were being so nice, not trying to close in on me quickly, giving me time to cast…. This!
A bolt of lightning flew from my horn, striking the cord one of the men were handling. A moment later it started to writhe with a life of its own. An odd spell, it imbued ‘life’ in an inanimate object and placed it under my control. But in this situation it had its uses. Directing the now living rope to tie up its owner I focused on the others as they started to pick up the pace…
 
“Shit, what the fuck?!” He dropped the rope on the ground, stamping on it in fear. The rope wrapped around his leg, snaking around and tripping him up.
 
Grinning, I waited just until the others were within a meter of me before teleporting away in front of the two hogtied ponies.
 
“You two gonna run? Or do you wanna help me teach these morons a lesson?” I asked, hoping they would be willing to join in. More targets for them meant less chance I was going to get hurt. Yanking the gag out of the pegasi’s mouth he stared at me with a mix of fear and surprise.
 
“I- What? Of course I’m gonna run!”
 
Coward. Unlike the Earthpony, he seemed to have an accent that reminded me of Trottingham… Or Scoltland? I wasn’t too sure. Accents in that part of the world all sounded similar to me.
 
“We tried fighting, and look what happened!”
 
They didn’t have me… Rolling my eyes I quickly removed the gag from the Appleloosan, the humans were still looking around for where I went, one of them finally spotting me at the back of the alley and alerting his compatriots.
 
“You too?” I asked him, looking for another weapon to use against these four (Three really. The one with the rope was alone and failing to free himself as the rope anaconda began to restrain him completely) , my eyes settling on a dumpster. “N-no!!” 

I figured… Looks like it’s up to me to save the day.
 
With a flick of my horn I sent the large dumpster careening into the group, causing them to scatter in a panic and splitting the group in two. I followed it up by wrenching the closest human’s knife out of his hand, sending it spinning on the floor. Giving a groan, the man lunged at me, only to fall on his face as I teleported a short distance away.
 
“Get that bitch!” Glancing away from the human, I’d momentarily incapacitated, I turned my attention to another that had managed to get around the bin. I wonder how…
 
The man let out a scream of fear as I managed to lift him up in a telekinetic field. He was heavy… But his slow speed and my ability to see him clearly made it easy to focus and send him flying into the dumpster, his legs hanging over the side as I slammed the lid closed.
 
“Gotcha!” The man on the ground from earlier had recovered faster than I thought; his hand grasping at my rear leg as he tried to crawl onto me. Grimacing I kicked out with my other leg. I was no apple bucker, but it was still enough to dislodge his grip on my leg so I could get free for a teleport.
 
“Where’d she go?!” One of the men asked.

 I almost laughed as I reappeared behind the only human who had been left somewhat alone the whole time.
 
“Behind you!” The man who had tried to grab me gasped out. Spinning around, the final upright human gave a grin as he began to walk towards me.
 
“No escape this time!” he said. Which was a rather stupid thing to say really. My back was to the street and I could have escaped easily. Instead I just sat there, my horn glowing as he gave me all the time in the world.
 
“Not running?” he asked, somewhat surprised. I just shook my head with a small smile.
 
“Up.” Is all I said, before tipping over the metal garbage can id been floating over him. He let out a scream as a stream of garbage and detritus poured onto him before I slammed the can down with enough force to knock him unconscious.
 
“Oh shit… I…” the last man made a break for it, running by me only to be stopped when I teleported him  again in front of me  and hit him with a stunning spell at point blank, ending the fight.
 
That was, exhilarating. No uncertainty caused by darkness. My enemies had been slow and lumbering buffoons, and it had been easy to take care of them.
 
Letting out a small laugh, I grabbed the human who’s head was trapped in the garbage can and tied him up with the sentient rope. Once that was done I ended the spell, leaving the two men tied together, and checked on the others. The one in the dumpster seemed to be alright while the one who had been hit by my stunning spell would probably be out for a few minutes. My work complete, I turned to leave with a small smile on my face.
 
“Hey!”
 
Oh yeah…
 
 “You gonna untie us or what?” Rolling my eyes I returned over to the two ponies, grabbing one of the knives and started to undo the ropes.
 
“Thank you.” The earth pony said, as I worked on freeing him.
 
“So what brings an Appleloosan and a pony from Scoltland here? Or are you a pair of french humans turned pony?” I asked, removing the last of his ropes and moving on to the pegasus.
 
“We were told to come here,” he explained. “I guess it was a trap.”
 
“A pretty poor one. I’m surprised you couldn’t take them out on your own...” I muttered, cutting through the ropes around the pegasus. It looked more like the actions of a couple random thugs than any sort of organized ploy to catch the two.
 
With the pegasus free I turned to leave. The two were fine. The humans dealt with… I had no reason to stick around.

“H-Hey! We tried, okay? They had ropes! And knives! There were four of them!” the pegasus retorted. So? You had the advantage of flight. And I just proved that numbers were not an issue.
“So, you’re just gonna leave, while insulting us, after having just saved our lives?” the Appleloosan asked, “I’m getting mixed signals here.”
 
Turning back to look at him I shrug. “Well, I have no reason to stay,” I replied and floated out the human inside the dumpster and the one I’d stunned before tying all four up together.
 
“Well, you’re strong, you’re smart... We could learn a lot from you.” Appealing to my ego huh? Beside me, the man with the trash can on his head began to scream as he came to. Sighing, I floated up a rock and dropped it onto the can, stopping his screaming instantly.
 
“While true, I still don’t see why I should stick around you two.” I muttered, turning to leave again.
 
“Because we’re weak and hopeless, and in an unfamiliar place,” The Appleloosan continues.. “We, well, need help.”
 
“Unless you’re too full of yourself to help us,” the pegasus added. I ignored him and focussed on the earth pony.
 
“What exactly do you need help with?” I asked. “I’m not exactly planning on remaining in this city for long.” I had a feeling they were in a similar situation as myself. Stuck on the wrong side of the border.
 
“Well, neither are we!” The pegasus exclaimed

“We need to get to New York,” his companion then explained "And they're not gonna let us through without passports. Unless we're Elements. Which we're not. So, we need someone to take us through. I was hoping you could help with that."

 
“Im quite aware of that” I glanced at the pair. “Incompetence on the local governments part or something” Not wanting to recognize ponies who have changed based on something stupid like their old passport photos… Yeah that screamed incompetence in my books. “Fine. I was staying at the Delta Hotel last night. There’s a bus station nearby. Meet me there in two hours.” I said after a few moments. And started walking away.
 
I wasn’t really looking forward to having travel companions but… They might be useful. Having a pair of stallions looking to do my bidding was something I missed from the mirrorverse. And if we were caught I could just ditch them to slow down the authorities.
 
“Hey! What’s your name? Just kinda wondering...” The earth pony again. Seemed like he was the leader of the two.
 
“Sunset Shimmer,” I said, smirking as I looked back at the two. “Be there on time. I’m not waiting.”


> Sunblock
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I’m no trader, merchant, salesman. 

As a child I’d failed miserably every time the school or an organization I was a part of decided to have a fundraiser. My dad and close family friends often bought the minimum of chocolates or whatever we were selling so that I wasn’t a complete failure.  After graduating I never thought I would be in this position ever again...

“Huuh...”

For what seemed like the 5th time today I resisted the urge to smack the... Thing... across from me.

“I’m telling you, a diamond chest plate is not worth 7 emeralds!” I growled but that didn’t seem to faze the villager that stared back at me with a bored expression and shaking his head.

It had been what seemed like a week now since I’d become trapped here. And while at first I’d panicked, 3 ‘deaths’ later I’d resigned myself to my fate. There seemed no immediate way to escape that I could see, and it’s not like ‘escaping your own mind’ was something I learned on the job or at school (Although you have to wonder how the final test for that would go). It was on the 2nd day that I remembered how this game itself ended, and that quirky scene after beating the game. It sounded like the plot to some movie but... Maybe I could get out by beating this? Slowly gathering resources and slaying the big bad Ender Dragon? 

It sounded pretty bad ass in my head, Jean the Dragon Slayer, escaper of mind traps! While no one would ever believe me it was still something that kept me going as I dived cave after cave in the search of diamonds and ores and I’d amassed quite a bit so far. On my head a gleaming diamond helmet sat which matched the sword at my hip. The rest of the armour was iron but it was all remarkably lightweight and fit my form rather well despite being a bit blocky. I felt like I was almost ready...

“Huuuh”

And then there’s this guy, honestly I don’t even know if he was a figment of my imagination or something Sunset conjured up to annoy me along with the rest of this village.

Yes I blame her... Who else could be behind it all?

Giving a resigned sigh I fish out a half dozen emeralds and an iron sword as an offering.

“How about this instead?” to his credit the villager actually picked up the sword and began to look it over, seems like they were smarter than those generated by a computer at least, and could be bargained with. It was still a rip off but by this point I’d given up. After a few moments he looked at me and gave a nod, taking the items and stashing them away in the bottomless pockets we all seemed to have. Motioning for me to follow he then led me into the back of his home where the diamond chestplate he had shown me the day before sat on a table undisturbed.  Dashing forward with glee I scooped it up and put it on, my iron equipment being put away in my pocket for later.

Grinning I turn to the villager and give him a nod, “Pleasure doing business with you,” 

“Huuh,”

“Right back at you,” and with that I left the home smiling.

I was ready. Sure I didn’t have a full set of diamond armor but considering my destination I didn’t want to risk losing so many valuables if something went wrong and I died. Not that I planned to, dying hurt ( Being pin cushioned by arrows and falling in lava  was excruciating!) and it wasn’t a great experience to jolt out of your bed as if waking from a bad dream every time it happened.

The village was a couple hours walk from home, and I made it back as the sun was setting. It wasn’t much, an iron door in the side of a cliff with a bed, some chests, a small farm outside and further in my next destination... The Nether portal. This was what I was preparing for, a world that was not too far away from what i imagine hell would be like.

A short distance away from it was another room filled with bookshelves lining the walls and a table with a book lying upon it in the very center. Occasionally ethereal letters would fly from the shelves into the book on the table as I approached it opened to my presence.

Pulling off the chestplate I set it down on the table and picked up the book itself. It was strange, while ‘magical’ this was nothing compared to what I had felt when using magic as Sunset. There was no feeling as mana was channelled through my body, no power that I directed and controlled with my will alone. Instead I simply peeled words from the pages of the black book and tossed them at the chestplate, hoping that some would stick like they had on my sword and helmet.

After a few minutes I seemed to have something that worked, although its exact enchantments I didn’t know. I lacked a UI that could tell me all this so I hoped that whatever enchantments were on the armor, it would help in the Nether. 

Speaking of which...

As I approached the portal with a lit torch I paused for a moment and a bit of doubt flashed through my mind before I pushed it away, I had to stop Sunset from whatever she was doing. While sleeping I occasionally got flashes of what was happening in the real work and one had included a flight. Seems like she had been heading to New York, for all I knew she managed to succeed somehow. I was planning to head there anyway! Why couldn’t that annoying mare have just cooperated?!? Sighing I shook my head and mentally went over my plan of attack.

1: Find Fortress

2: Find Blazemen

3: Kill Blazemen for shiny rods.

4: Avoid death by burning, explosions, pigmen, slime, lava, swords, falling, ect.

I really wished their blaze rods were available for trade with the villagers so that I didn’t even need to enter the Nether but alas... And even if they did have rods it would probably cost me an arm and a leg the way those thieves ran things.

“Nope, vacation in hell it is!” I exclaimed and tossed the torch onto the obsidian. At first nothing seemed to happen but then the torch was swallowed up as a sickly purple vortex swirled into being. 

“Ugh... I hope I don’t regret this,” I mutter, extending an arm into the portal. It felt weird, and the part of the arm in the portal itself seemed to vanish completely despite the fact I still felt it. “Actually, I already do,” and with that I took a breath and jumped through, the world spinning away before being swallowed up in darkness.





“Wake up...” a calm voice called out to me, an oddly familiar one at that.

“Wake up Jean...” Mom? No, she’d died during childbirth. I’d only ever heard her voice in old recordings my dad had made. And yet...

Groaning I rolled over, I hadn’t expected netherrack to feel like clouds... Or for the temperature to be room. Frowning I snapped my eyes open and stared at my surroundings.

This wasn’t hell... It wasn’t anything.

I was greeted with a white void. You know that place movies often use for limbo or heaven sometimes? Just complete white where the actors seemed to still be able to stand and walk despite no obvious floor, that’s how I would describe this place. And there standing a distance away was...

“Sunset?!” I asked in surprise, then gasping as one again I seemed be in the ponies body as well, or at least my... No wait, i got peachy hooves. I’m in Sunsets body again, great.

Giving an annoyed huff I slowly got to my hooves and glared at the other pony, my expression shifting somewhat as i noticed that it wasn’t the annoying unicorn. While she looked similar there were a few differences that set them apart, the most obvious being...

“You’re a Pegasus? Who are you?” the mare gave a light laugh and took a couple steps toward me. The mane style was similar to Sunsets, as was the tail, but instead of a blend of yellow and red this ponies mane was black. Her eyes though glimmered with the same color of teal that Sunsets did, and her peach coloured flank had an image of a raven in flight.

“Me? That doesn’t matter does it?” she replied cryptically, looking me over “You’ve grown up so much...” she then muttered softly in a longing tone

Right...  That wasn’t foreboding at all. Frowning I take a couple steps to the side.

“Am I dead?” I then ask, trying to figure out who this pony was, I definitely had a hunch but I didn’t want to assume right away...

“No, and if things go right you won’t for years and years to come...” 

“Things go right. What do you mean? And if you won’t tell me who you are then how about what?” This was some serious Inception shit happening here... A dream within a dream?

“I could be many things, I myself am not sure. A ghost? A memory? A construct of yours or my daughter’s minds? Perhaps I’m all of them but does it really matter?” Yes! Yes it did! The only thing i managed to get from that cryptic bit was that she was Sunsets mother.

“Great, where’s her dad? Let’s get the whole family in on this!” I retort with a glare, which doesn’t seem to phase the Pegasus one bit.
“Meridian has his own path to take, and i don’t know what has happened to him. I’m only here to talk Jean, and maybe help clarify some things...”

“Well then how about you tell me why I’m stuck in a world of blocks instead of the real world?”

She nods and looks away,

“You met it then, I call it the Echo. I don’t know how it came into being, but it’s fed by my daughter’s thoughts and feelings and in turn drives her ambition. Her anger, hatred, greed, and lust for power has t given it much power and I fear the two might one day become the same being.”

So... Sunsets evil side? I guess that made sense... 

“So why does it see me as a threat then?” That really did bug me. I was nothing special, no paragon of virtue that could banish the evil... Right?

“Because you have the ability to change her... The event, the coming of ponies and other creatures to Earth, has derailed its plans, and the potential fate of you and my daughter threatened to ruin them completely. “ 

“How?” I asked. Potential fate? What is all this hogwash?

“The merge. You felt some of its effects when you and her were together. Eventually, had you become one mind the Echo would have faded away, its influence unable to affect the new individual...” 

Wait, what?

“Your mind is a balancing force Jean, one that would act as a counterbalance to my daughter’s darker thoughts.”

What...

“It was my hope when you two found each other that you might help her from becoming a monster.”

Waaaaaaaaaaat...

I stood there in stunned silence for a bit before frowning and glaring at the Pegasus, taking a couple steps towards her.

“Let me get this straight. You think I... A random guy with absolutely nothing at all going for him, would be able to counterbalance HER?!? Have you seen the size of her ego? I’d hardly make a dent in that, never mind the rest! And this merge thing, you realize it’s suicide. Jean Claude Veilleux would be dead, gone, poof. So would Sunset, how could you want your daughter to die? And what makes you think I might be willing to be the one that makes it happen?” I ask accusingly, this was ridiculous!

“The merge would see you both destroyed, but at the same time would create something new. Both your strengths and weaknesses would become one, and in some cases cancel one another out. I’ve seen your mind Jean, and you sell yourself short. You’re kind, generous, and humble. You work hard to achieve what you want and don’t take the easy route if it means hurting others,” she explains, giving a smile in the hopes it would calm me down... And damn her if it didn’t...

“But why me then? There’s millions of humans that would fill that role. Why not the pope or Dalai Lama, I’m sure there would be better fits.”

“I don’t know. But fate decided you would be better. Perhaps it’s because while different you also share some things with my daughter, many similarities in both your lives and personalities. You both dreamed grandly as children, and have lofty goals for the future. Perhaps on a different scale but the point remains. I could continue but in the end Jean, I want you to keep what I’ve said in mind. You’d be saving a life in a way, and while you worry about what might happen to your own being you both will live on in the end should you accept it,” She says and then much to my surprise wraps her forelegs around me and pulls me into a hug. “I just want you to consider it and not be afraid of it as an option. My daughters path is set and barring some extreme intervention I see little hope for her.” 

Sighing I eventually hug her back, although my mind is still trying to wrap around it all.

“I’ll think about it, but you’re asking quite a bit so I make no promises or guarantees,” I reply and break the hug, much to the mares disappointment.

“Alright, thank you Jean... Now unfortunately there’s nothing I can do right now to undo the Echoes work so when I leave you will be returned to that place... But what I can tell you is that you’re on the right path to breaking the barriers. Good luck.” And with that the mare fades away and I’m left staring at the void for a time before that too vanishes.





Groaning I get to my feet and wince as I’m hit with the hot and hellish atmosphere of the nether, Sunsets mothers message still fresh in my mind. As I regard the fields of fleshy ground, hordes of pigmen, and lakes of lava I can’t help but think this place isn’t as scary anymore with the knowledge of what I might have to do in the end. It’s still a last resort, if I can find another method of dealing with this ‘Echo’ before it becomes a problem then I certainly will do it.

“Well, back to work I suppose,” I mutter, unsheathing my blade and staring at the massive fortress looming off in the distance.