> Red Ash: The Struggle > by RedAsh714 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > The Loss Of Everything But Pain. Is This The End...Or The Begining? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “She’s gone… Devon...I’m sorry you had to find out this way,but you had to find out soon and this was the only time we could come.”said Josh.There were three others with him.The other three were his best friend William,William’s sister Sabrina,and Devon’s former pack member Jim.The five of them at the park near his house,so they could talk without interruptions from the other party guests.They had asked if they could talk to him privately saying that it was urgent and important. The thing that they had just told him rocked him to his very core.They had made the trip to Modesto from Antelope to inform him of something that was always in the back of his mind but he had never thought it would come true. “That… t-that can’t… no… n-No!” Devon stammered,”You’re lying!T-that CAN’T be!She C-CAN’T be… dead…,No this wasn’t supposed to happen!This is… this is my fault...I...I should have been there!”he said,”I should have stayed.I could have prevented this,this IS my fault!”he exclaimed ashamed that he let this happen. “There is no way you could have known dude...we are so,so sorry…we know how much she meant to you.”said Jim.Both he and Devon had loved Rebekah.Devon had had to leave the city to move to Modesto,and it was right after he and Rebekah had just started unofficially dating. “Were you two...dating when...when it happened?”asked Devon.He had always that that after he had left that Jim and Rebekah had started dating since Jim also loved her. “Y...yes we were...we started to during our first year of middle school.”answered Jim.He had been dreading being asked that question,his reason being fear that Devon would freak out and attack him after finding out the answer. “Good.I had always wanted it to be you dating her if we didn’t date,it didn’t work out,or I moved.I guess deep down I always knew I would have to move away.We always do when I finally get used to a place,or when things finally start getting good.”admitted Devon. He had no reason to lie about how he really felt about the situation.He had lost the last thing keeping him from being truthfully alone in the world.He had lost the last thing keeping him in this world,the last thing keeping him alive. Now he was a empty shell,Void of life.He knew what he was going to do,which didn’t make the feet any less hard than it was going to be,he just didn’t know how or where he was going to do it. Nothing mattered anymore to him;not school,not video games,not money,not family,and especially not himself.All he could do now was put an end to the pain forever.He planned on doing this by taking away his ability to feel.He would accomplish this by:1.killing himself;2. creating a situation that he couldn’t survive;3.go into a situation that meant certain death. These were going to be his last few days on Earth.The only thing he regretted about his decision was that for some sick,sad,and twisted reason;he felt that this was the road that he was always meant to take and that he was setting himself free from a prison that he had always been in. “I always did hate being apart of this world… and now… I WILL be… free…”he said. And these were to be the last words he would ever speak to any human for the rest of time. It had been two whole days since Devon had heard the news.He had gone home immediately grabbed a few things and left without so much as a word to anyone.There was a search for him going on and it was hindering his efforts to leave the city. “It’s not gonna be much longer before they figure out where I am.”he whispered to himself. He was on his way to the city limits so he could kill himself in peace.He was starting to get angry that he was being chased down for no reason. “So NOW that I actually do leave she doesn’t want me to?That bitch makes no sense sometimes.”he ranted to himself.He had always had a habit of saying stuff instead of thinking it.The real reason being that he actually couldn’t hear his thoughts in his head most of the time so he had to say them to know what he was thinking. ~<+:One Hour Later:+>~ Devon had finally managed to reach the city limits.He was on a constant watch since the cops were still on the lookout for him. “Finally!Geez,you would think that when you finally comply with someone’s request to pack and get out that they would be happy,right?I mean make up your mind you bipolar freaks.” He had been ranting like this the entire hour since he had to rest.He was definitely not in the best of moods.If the cops did happen to show up before he had a chance to kill himself he probably would do something very stupid like attack them.This would only be a help to him in ending his life and he would use this tactic if given the opportunity. He decided to use his knife to kill himself.Though it would not be a instant death he didn’t care.He had stopped caring about anything but fulfilling this goal the moment he had heard that the girl he loved was dead.He also thought of this a punishment for letting this happen. “Well,I guess now is as good a time as any to get this over with…”he said to himself.He was going to do it right there until he spotted a large apple tree a few yards away. “Well what do we have here?”he said.He that back to the fimfiction story he had read that year.The story was about AJ trying to kill herself because she accidentally caused Fluttershy’s death.(sorry but couldn’t find the story again when I began writing this.) “Well I think that this is the perfect way to end one's life.Do it like your favorite TV show characters would.”he declared.It only took him about two minutes to make a decent nous.He planed to do it exactly like AJ did in the story except he planned on actually dieing unlike she did in the story.He climbed the tree and got on a high branch and tied the nous.He then put it on his neck and stood up on the branch getting ready to jump. “My last words to this world is…”he paused for dramatic effect,”FUCK ALL Y'ALL BITCHES!!”and with those words he jumped with his eyes closed. Alright one...two...three...four?I should have died on three.?What the FUCK!?I CAN’T EVEN KILL MYSELF PROPERLY?!REALLY?!YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME!!!! He opened his eyes and noticed a magenta glow all around him. “This looks like Twilight’s magic aura...NO WAY!?WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!?!?!?! AAAAAAAA…”and he then vanished from the face of the earth. It was about two minutes later that the cops arrived on the scene.They were so perplexed by what the saw that the thought that Devon’s body was stolen after he died by some sicko and decided that the case was closed.The thing that they would never know was that he had actually survived. > A Complicated Arrival > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ~<+:Two days ago in Equestria:+>~ “Hello?Twilight Sparkle?Are you home?I really need to talk with you?It’s important!”said the Lord of Chaos himself.He had been knocking for three whole minutes trying to get Twilight to answer the door. “Just a moment please!”she shouted.She had still been asleep when he began knocking and both Spike and Nyx where at Sweet Apple Acres having a sleepover with the CMC. “YES!WHAT IS IT!?!?”shouted Twilight.She was more than unhappy that her sleeping had been interrupted. “Sorry,”Discord apologized sheepishly,”I just REALLY need your help with something!”he stated throwing his hands in the air for emphasis. “YOU need MY help with something?Really?”she said not believing what she had just heard.”The LORD OF CHAOS needs MY help?Now why does that sound so hard to believe?”she asked eying him disbelievingly. “Look even I need help...sometimes…ANYWAY,I need you to cast a very specific spell that I can’t cast BECAUSE I’m the lord of chaos okay!?”Discord said pouting. “Why would that effect you casting a very specific spell?AND why me?Shouldn’t you be asking Celestia for this?I thought she said no more spells after the last mishap?”she asked still not believing this conversation was happening. “WWWEEELLLLLL...I sorta don’t trust her with this one.”he whispered in her ear eying the sun thinking maybe Celestia might have heard him.”PPPLLLLEEEAAASSSSEEEE?????!!!!”he begged on his knees.”This is REALLY important.It feels like someone’s LIFE might end if I don’t have you cast this spell.And that's not even what scares me about this.I think I might KNOW this PERSON.It’s a human and my magic apparently doesn’t work in the dimension that this human is in so I need you to do this for me!I’ll do ANYTHING!PLEASE!?!?”he shouted like his life depended on it. “OKAY!OKAY!”she shouted,”I’LL DO IT!”she finally relented.She wasn’t awake enough for this kind of conversation.”What spell or type of spell do you need me to cast?”she asked. “That’s why I came to you.It’s not very easy and I’m not really sure how to say what I need you to do…”he paused considering his next set of words”Alright I need you to cast spell that will teleport this human here from another dimension when a certain situation occurs around or to him.You can do it,right?”he asked pleadingly. “Um...I don’t actually know if I can do that powerful a spell,and how long is this spell going to need to be active for because that also affects if I would even be able to attempt that advanced and powerful of a spell?”she asked.Wow now I understand why he didn’t go to Celestia.She probably would have flipped if he asked this and thought he was crazy...okay crazy-ER than he already isShe thought. “Only a day or two at most.”he stated. “Hmm...I think I might be able to do that,but that also depends on what situation has to occur.”she said. “A situation that would result in his death or more specifically I would like him to be teleported here to Ponyville before he dies,and if he tries to kill himself I would like the spell to stop him from killing himself before it teleports him here.”he said very professionally. “Um...that's an...interesting situation choice...is that why you asked me and didn’t ask Celestia?”she asked now a little startled and worried that he hadn't just asked Celestia and instead asked her for this.It's important sounding enough that she won't want him turned to stone again...Right?she thought to herself. “YES!Do you know what she would do if I asked her?She would lock me up again thinking I actually went insane!And she do that because I don’t know why I know this is going to happen or even why I care.I just feel like I owe him this.Like I did something wrong to him and am finally paying him back for whatever it is or something like that.I don’t know why I need to do this I just have this weird feeling in my gut telling me this is what I am supposed to do.”he whispered worriedly looking all around them as if he felt they were being watched. “Are you sure that she would go that far if you ask her?”she said skeptically. “Is that even a real question?OF COURSE SHE WOULD!!IT’S ME WE’RE TALKING ABOUT! I’M ALREADY UNDER CONSTANT SURVEILLANCE!IT WOULDN’T EVEN SURPRISE ME IF SHE DID!”he shouted as if it was the stupidest question he had ever heard. “Well I don’t know about all that but she definitely would be worried.So whats this human’s name anyways?”she asked. “Devon,Devon Chaos.”he said. “That's an...interesting last name for a human.Is it referring to something?”she asked skeptical that that really was this humans name. "It really isn’t that strange a name amongst humans...at least the ones from the Earth that he is from that is.”stated Discord. “Oh..right...different Earth than the one I went to.”Twilight said sheepishly. “So...Can you do really do this or not because I’d really rather not be locked up...Again.”the draconeques said pouting the last part. “Yes,I think so but only for a couple of days at most.”the purple alicorn stated. “WONDERFUL!Oh Thank You!You have NO idea how much this means to me!And the next time you need something just give me a holler!OH!And can you notify me if and or when he arrives that way I can stop by and try to figure out why I have this bad feeling in my gut pertaining to him?” he exclaimed grabbing her up into a bear hug mid sentence and positively vibrating with glee and anticipation. “Ya,no problem.glad I could help.”she said while trying to escape the draconeques’ bear hug,and failing miserably. ~<+:Present Day:+>~ It had been a very boring and uneventful two days of waiting for the purple alicorn princess.She had both been dreading and anticipating the arrival of the human that Discord had said was named Devon.She was dreading the arrival because of the circumstances that would cause his arrival,and was anticipating it because of the opportunity to research this other dimension’s Earth and the inhabitants culture and knowledge.She was ready to go into full research mode the minute she got the chance to. “Uuuhhhggg!Despite how selfish and demented it sounds,I WISH IT WOULD HAPPEN ALREADY!!”she shouted in her frustration and anticipation. “You know getting all worked up isn’t going to make it happen any sooner right?”asked Spike.He was starting to fret that Twilight was going to start ripping the library apart(again) if this human didn’t show up sometime in the next hour or so. “I know but I can’t help it!”she said starting to reach her wits end with all this waiting around.”I just am so excited to learn about a whole nother Earth in a whole nother dimension!This could possibly shatter EVERYTHING we know about the multiverse or even advance our understanding of the one that exists in our dimension!This could change all we think we know about science or math or maybe even our own history.It’s just so EXCITING!!”shouted the antsy alicorn.Oooh I hope he arrives safely though!She thought now feeling ashamed for what she said just moments ago. “Is it really that big a deal?Just one of them and everything goes poof without any proof like a second one of them?That seems really one sided don’t 'cha think?”questioned Nyx.She was still feeling skeptical that this wasn’t another of Discord’s hair brained schemes to get revenge.I know he HAS changed a little but this just is too weird not to be a scheme.Plus something about this human feels…evil...like Nightmare felt like when she was in Spell Nexus.Or at least what I can sense about him from the spell...I don’t like one bit of this...She thought. “Well...yes I guess I do understand why you would think that.The reason is because he won’t exactly be in a position to lie about those things.He will be on a strange planet with talking ponies.I think he’ll tell us about his world if we ask in a friendly and neighborly manner.”Twilight said with a friendly but knowing smile,nuzzling her daughter a bit.”I also understand why you are so skeptical of this whole situation.Seeing as Discord hasn’t exactly the friendliest of beings this past year or so.But trust me when I say I know how to tell when someone is genuinely happy about something.And when I said that I could perform the spell he did the most realistic impression of Pinkie Pie when she makes a new friend that I have ever seen.I thought confetti was going to explode from him when he said wonderful.”she recalled giggling at the memory of the Lord Of Chaos looking giddier than a school filly. “Are you sure we can really trust him?”the ebony filly asked skeptically. “Yes I...Did you feel that?”she asked suddenly looking towards the window and staring out it blankly. “What?”both Nyx and Spike asked in unison looking at each other and shrugging seeing as neither of them know what Twilight was talking about. “I think the spell just activated!”Twilight shouted excitedly jumping to her hooves and then suddenly falling over grunting like she was in some kind of pain. Then suddenly a bright bomb like flash of light came from a portal that appeared in the middle of the room.The intense light that it was resonating from it was blinding the filly and dragon trying to make out what it was.Then as suddenly as it appeared the flash stopped and a shimmering orb of soft magenta light appeared where it had been and started to descend slowly towards the floor of the library's main room floor.As it stopped mere inches above the ground a body suddenly appeared in its place and fell the few inches unceremoniously to the ground with a loud thud.As this happened Twilight was finally able to stop grunting and shouting in pain and stared wide eyed at the body in front of her on the floor. “I-It’s h-him.”Twilight said with a tone of both relief and shock.”I-Is he o-okay?”she said turning to Spike who almost immediately realized that Twilight couldn’t get up at the moment from the strain the spell had put on her both magically and physically. “Right,I'll go check.”he said hesitantly.This was for the fact that there was an alien of sorts in the room and he had been asked to go over to it and then touch it to make sure it was still breathing.Not exactly what the baby dragon wanted to do right now,in fact that was the last thing Spike wanted to do right now.But he held his head high and went over to the human and did his duty as Twilight’s #1 assistant. After a few seconds of checking and double checking the baby dragon turned on his heels and frantically shouted’”HE’S NOT BREATHING!”instantly putting his head on the human’s chest to make sure he wasn’t mistaken.”HE’S REALLY NOT BREATHING!!”he shouted even more frantic than ever.”What do we do!”he said. “Contact the hospital and have them send a medical team right away!”she shouted. “Right,on it!”he called over his shoulder as he ran for the desk to get ink,a parchment,and a quill to write the letter.He quickly wrote a short letter saying that an emergency medical team was needed. It took the medical pegasi only about a two and a half minutes to get to the library.They initially looked worried about what they were dealing with but quickly got over it deciding that the health of the creature they were looking at was more important than what the creature was. It had been a whole two weeks since the arrival of the human by the name of Devon.He had been in a coma since they had managed to revive him and was being kept on life support in the hope that his body was just trying to adjust to the new atmosphere and recover from the damage caused from the trip between their dimensions.He was making progress and it was determined that he would awake anytime now. Twilight had been at his side whenever visiting hours would allow because she felt that if she had taken more precautions in casting the spell that he wouldn’t have gone into a coma or have arrived not breathing. “I hope you’ll be okay,I just wish I had been more careful with such a powerful spell…”she whispered to Devon.She had been talking to him and telling him stories while she visited him.The stories mainly were comprised of the adventures,situations,and all around random luck she and her friends had and had been on. She had been telling him about when Spike had his greed growth and went on a rampage on his birthday,”And in the end Spike learned that it is better to give to others than it is to get a bunch of stuff and be greedy.I still don’t understand how for one thing,he got or found a frame small enough to be barely bigger than the kiss,or how he even got it to stay on his face like that.”she said smiling,chuckling,and shaking her head at the memory of Spike with his framed kiss. “heh...heh...heh…”came a weak,raspy,and wheezy laugh. “Who was that?”Twilight said looking about the room not willing to believe that the tiny laugh had come from the person lying in the bed in front of her hooked-up to only Celestia knows how many machines and other devices.After determining that she and Devon were the only ones in the room she turned to him and leaned in to see if maybe he had been talking this whole time but had been just too quiet for anypony to have heard him.”Devon?”No answer.she leaned in a little closer so she might hear him better if he did speak.”Devon was that you?”she asked a little quieter than normal because she was so close to his face.She waited a minute or two listening for any hint of Devon saying something.”Hmm...I guess I just imagined it i-”she tried to say but was interrupted. “W...wh...whe...wher...where a-am I”said a weak,raspy,whisper of a voice from the body in front of Twilight. Twilight nearly broke his ribs when she jilted forward and hugged Devon as if her life depended on it. “OH thank FAUST you’re OKAY!’she exclaimed with tears of joy and relief now streaming down her face and onto his gurney.”...sniffle...You have NO idea how worried we have been...and how worried...I...have been...”she said the last part looking away sheepishly and blushing.She suddenly got up and galloped to the door of the room and shouted,”HE’S AWAKE!SOMEPONY GET THE DOCTOR!” outside to anyone of the staff that could hear her. The doctors had only taken about an hour to do their preliminary check-up to make sure that Devon was indeed conscious and not just sleep talking.They determined that he was in fact conscious but was not fully alert to those around him or where he was.He was suffering from mental relapse and would not be able to fully process any information for at least a few days of rest, some medication to help, and someone talking to him somewhat frequently to make sure that he is at least trying to make out what the ponies around him are trying to say to him. This job was quickly and happily taken by Twilight Sparkle.She was still feeling guilty as ever and wanted to do whatever she could in order to help Devon with his recovery. “Do you think that he will be able to start communicating with us sometime soon?”Twilight asked Nurse Redheart who was next to her checking Devon’s vitals. “T o be honest with you I don’t know.He is recovering at a very fast rate,but that might not be the case for his entire recovery so we can’t really say for certain when he will be able to do thing normally again or if he has any complications since he can’t tell use.So I have no answer to your question,but I wouldn’t give up hope in the slightest if I were you dear.This on seems to be a real stubborn one.I don’t think he’s going anywhere tell he can at the very least talk to us!”she said cheerfully and certain that she was right in her assumption. “Thanks…”Twilight said a little meekly,”I guess I really just needed someone to tell me that even though I already believed that was the case.”she said thankful that the nurse was so nice and understanding of her situation. “No problem.We all just need a little assurance from others some times to make us believe that what we think can or is correct.It is the same with everypony else,believe me you aren’t the only one in doubt in these kinds of situations,why even I am in need of some assurance sometimes in these situations.”Nurse Redheart admitted. “Really?”Twilight asked disbelievingly,”But you deal with this kind of stuff as a profession!How would you need any assurance?”she asked dumbstruck that a professional nurse would be doubtful of her own work. “Just because I do something as a living doesn’t mean that I don’t have doubts about mine or my colleagues work at times like this.I actually doubted that we would be able to help him at all,” Nurse Redheart said pointing to Devon who appeared to be listening intently as if hearing this from the nurse had surprised him. ”But the others just kept telling me that as long as we do what we can to the fullest of our abilities,that it would turn out okay.So I did just that;but I also allowed myself some time to take care of my own health as well as my other duties outside of my job.Believe me why I say that worrying like this and neglecting your own health as well as your other duties will only cause you trouble later down the road;so,take some time off;go on a picnic with Spike,Nyx,and your friends,”the nurse said the last part with a knowing smile because she knew that Twilight had not don this in a very long time. “Take a few days off from visiting.Or if you really insist on it then why don't you bring them all along and introduce then to Devon.It just might help him with his recovery,you know?"the nurse said the last part as a question that was meant to as if Twilight was okay with the idea of others knowing about Devon's existence on Eques. "Okay.I'll bring them to meet him tomorrow afternoon.That is an okay time right?"Twilight asked. "Yes,that will be a perfect time to visit and introduce all of them."replied Nurse Redheart. So after saying goodbye and thank you for the advice Twilight left the hospital and began the preparations for the big visit that Devon would be receiving tomorrow.She decided to invite here friends over by having Spike send each of them a letter requesting them to stop by the library at 7p.m. that night so she could explain her plan and the situation to them all at once.And also not have to repeat the same thing several times. > Preparations (wip) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was 6:45 p.m. and Twilight of course was stressing over how to tell her friends the situation and ask them if they would be willing to come and be introduced to Devon even though he probable won't to communicate with them or even understand what's going on or being said to him. "Okay,so I was just wondering if you girls would be willing to come with me to the hospital tomorrow so I can introduce you all to Devon;who is a human from another dimension that I teleported here because Discord asked me to and also I'm kinda the reason he's in the hospital because I wasn't careful enough with the spell I used...and...Ugh!THEY'LL NEVER agree if I tell them that!What am I gonna do!What am I gonna say!Ugh!WHY DOES THIS HAVE TO BE SO COMPLICATED!?!?!?"she ranted while pacing,and making another grove in the floor around the table in the libraries main room,in her frustration. "Although I don't seem to have a lot of luck with you not pummeling me when I say this,I'm gonna say it anyway:Twilight don't worry about it.Everything is going to be fine.Besides,doesn't something bad usually happen whenever you stress out like this?"Spike half stated half asked after having dawned his 'Twilight's freaking out armor'(1). If looks could kill,then the look that Twilight gave Spike when she turned to him would have blown the planet up from her dreaded 'What did you just say to me' glare(1). "DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT!?!?!"the purple mare screamed not loud enough to be called the 'Royal Speaking Voice',but still loud enough that you could probable hear it all the way from Fluttershy's house. Do you realize what they'll do or say when they hear that one Discord asked me to teleport him here FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION!!"she quietly shouted,"Two that Devon has been here in the hospital for TWO WEEKS and NONE of them were informed!And if that aren't skeptical enough of my sanity by that point then when they ask if Celestia knows about Discord asking ME to do what he asked me to do and I tell them NO BECAUSE SHE DOESN'T!!!!THEY'LL THINK I'M FULL BLOWN INSANE!!!!"she screamed because she had lost the ability to stay quiet when she got to the last few parts. "So YOU tell ME!!WHAT PART OF THIS SHOULDN'T I BE WORRIED ABOUT!?!?!?!?!!" She screamed the last sentence so loudly that all the windows and other glass objects in the house all but shattered from the shear volume of her voice.(which was so shocking because all the windows were 4 inch thick quadruple reinforced shatterproof glass.Reason for this being a certain rainbow maned pegasuses constant crash landings through said windows.And all the glass objects in the house had a spell to make them just as strong.) Needless to say that both Nyx,who had been on the sidelines watching this all unfold, and Spike,along with anyone in the immediate vicinity of about 40 feet,were deaf for about 10 minutes and would be hard at hearing for the next 3 hours. The other 5 bearer's of the Elements of Harmony arrived collectively at about 7:05.Noticing the still shattered windows Rainbow Dash decided that she would be the one to knock on the door,but still did so very,very cautiously.Could be some kinda trap by a new villain or or something...right?I mean how else could the windows be shattered,as much as I hate to admit it but those windows are almost indestructible.Even to somepony as awesome as me.she thought as she reached to knock on the door. Knock,Knock,Knock. No answer."Hey Twi?You home or what?"she paused for a second to listen and see if there was any shuffling or if Twilight would answer.Which there were not. Rainbow was now a little agitated that they had been called to a meeting and now that they were here Twilight was ignoring them or lost in her own little world while reading,again. The cyan mare soon called out with a hint of impatience in her voice,"Twilight open up!We're all here!HELLO?!"she shouted the last part in her frustration. "Ya do relies that ain't gonna make her answer any faster,right?"Applejack questioned from behind Rainbow. Rainbow let out a frustrated sigh and replied,"Ya...I now."she then pouted,wishing she could just go back to practicing her stunts instead of waiting. "COMING!Just one moment!"Twilight finally could be heard saying along with the sound of shuffling and a few shouts that were not Twilight's. "Finally!"Rainbow said before she could stop herself. "Rainbow!"Applejack shouted as she cuffed the pegasus in the ear. "OW!Sorry!Shesh!"she shouted while rubbing her ear. "Oh!There you girls are.You're seven minutes late by the way."Twilight said suddenly said from her spot in the doorway,effectively startling all five mares because they all,yes Pinkie too,had not heard her open the door. "Ya,Sorry about that Twi.I kinda was the reason Fluttershy was late.Tank accidentally crashed through one of my cabinets,Again, so I asked her to give him a check-up.And Scootaloo here,"Rainbow paused and pointed to one of the three fillies that were behind the group,"Wouldn't let me leave without taking her."she said before adding,"And it looks like AJ and Rarity had about as much luck getting out of it as I did." "Yes!"AJ and Rarity grunted together in frustration. "Well...I guess that's okay.But they have to promise not to tell ANYONE about what they see and hear tonight or tomorrow...If you all say yes that is and they come with us.You girls are going to have to make the same promise until I say otherwise as well."she said looking as well as sounding very hesitant about said decision. They all decided that it was for the best to just agree and as if they had been practicing for hours,the five mares and three fillies all said the words and did the motions for a Pinkie Promise in perfect unison. "Alright,come on in."Twilight said motioning for them all to come inside. As they were all going inside,the group was met with the sight of a very mentally scared looking Nyx and Spike.Both their eyes were the size of saucers and their ears were twitching constantly. "Um...Twi?"Applejack whispered in Twilight's ear. "Mhm?"Twilight said innocently. "Why does it look like you just,um...'flashed'...Nyx and Spike?"AJ whispered hesitantly. "I can assure you I didn't 'Flash' them.As to why they look like that...you could probably ask the windows that question and get the same answer."she said sheepishly. "Geez Twi!"AJ quietly shouted,"What did he say ta ya this time girl?"she said already knowing that Spike had said something that set Twilight off. "Let's just say that I think Spike finally learned not,to tell me not to worry about something when I'm already worrying about it."the purple mare said with an amused grin on her face when she stole a glance at Spike and Nyx to see the CMC trying to interrogate them on why they looked the way they did.(Trying and failing on the CMC's part because of the partial deafness from Twilight's scream.) "Wow.I think I'll keep that in mind next time I plan on doing that."Applejack said while visible wincing. "WHAT?"both Nyx and Spike suddenly shouted.(They could could not tell that they were because of,again,the partial deafness.) "Um...Girls,could you follow me upstairs?I still want as little information about this to have a chance of being revealed as possible."Twilight asked a little sheepishly. The five mares looked to each other,shrugged,answered "Sure",and then preceded upstairs to the second floor of the library soon followed by the alicorn mare herself. When they were all upstairs Twilight shut and locked the doors and windows as well as put a soundproof spell on the room.She then turned to her friends and was about to start explaining what was going on but was interrupted by Rarity before she could even start. "Darling,whatever is going on?I mean,a soundproof spell on this room after you already put one on the library itself.Really darling I think that you really are starting to develop a serious trust issue.And,what did you do to poor Spiky-Wiky and Nyx?We saw the windows,dear."the fashionista asked suspiciously. Twilight let out a deep sigh to try and calm her mind before she answered her friend's question. "Look,what I'm about to tell you...the kids,excluding Nyx and Spike because they already know and were there when it happened,can't know about yet because...well..."she let out another sigh before continuing,"I honestly don't trust them not to accidentally let out any of this information."she admitted hesitantly. "Twi,this had better be darned important 'n classified info if'n you honestly don't trust our sisters."Applejack deadpanned as she glared at Twilight. "Girls...Someone's life might be in danger if this gets to the public right now.And as far as I'm aware neither Celestia or Luna knows about him or the information that I'm about to tell you right now and maybe show you and the kids tomorrow."the alicorn admitted with shame,regret,and fear evident in her voice and on her face. "And I need it to stay that way...at least until this situation gets better...or until I decide that there is nothing else to do but tell them."she added hesitantly.She was beginning to regret her decision to bring her friends and their sisters tomorrow. "WHAT?!?!?"the other five mares in the room exclaimed. "What do you mean someone's life might be in danger?!And what do you mean you DON'T want the princesses to know what's going on?!?!"Rainbow Dash shouted,unable to accept the fact that their friend,'Princess' Twilight Sparkle,would even THINK let alone SAY those words. The alicorn mare sighed hoping that this wasn't going to be as long a night as she could see it becoming."I guess I should start where this all started..About two and a half weeks ago while Nyx was in school and Spike was on his way home from your place AJ,I was woken up by a unusual and unexpected visitor,Discord.And he asked me to do something for him that he couldn't ask Celestia for because he was afraid of what she would do to him when he asked her.He asked..." ~<+: 20 minutes later:+>~ "So,now that you know the situation...I was wondering if...maybe tomorrow...you girls would be willing to come and visit Devon in the hospital?"Twilight asked hesitant yet hopefully. "So let me see if'n a got this right,Twi..."the farmer paused to collect her thoughts,"Discord asked ya ta teleport a human here,a human from another DIMENSION,which ya do;But he arrived not breathen and he has been in the hospital for 2 WEEKS,and now ya want us ta go 'n visit him 'cause ya think if'n we go 'n see him it might help him ta recover faster?"she asked before adding,"AND ya haven't even told the princesses yet.Nor do ya won't fer 'em or the general public ta know about him tell he can talk 'n stuff again?"the farmmare finished still sounding skeptical that there wasn't more to this than what Twilight had said to them. "Um,Yes?"the purple mare answered hesitantly making it sound mare like a question than an answer. "And yer sure ya didn't leave out ANY details at all?"Applejack questioned sounding just as skeptical. "Cross my heart,hope to fly,stick a cupcake in my eye."Twilight replied confidently while doing the motions. "Alright.It's not like I got anything better ta do tomorrow anyhow see'n as it's one a ma days off.And I reckon Apple Bloom can come to as long as she promises to behave 'n not tell anypony about Devon.Until ya say so that is."stated the farmmare. "And Dash,before ya even get started,"she continued turning to the pegasus in question,and effectively cutting her off,"I already know ya don't got anything better ta do tomorrow so just say 'yes' already 'n get it over wit."AJ finished with a serious tone that made it clear that not going wasn't going to be an option. "Ugh!Fine!"RD shouted,irritated that she had been cornered into going. "Well,I for one am most definitely interested in seeing this human for myself.Maybe I can even design him a new ensemble when he gets better and,or is in need of it."Rarity said with stars in her eyes. "You know you can count me in Twilight!And I Pinkie Promise not to be my usual self around him until you say I can!"Pinkie said with her rarely ever heard serious tone and face. "Um...I don't have anything planned for tomorrow either..so..I guess..I can come to...If that's okay with you of coarse."said Fluttershy in her usual quiet and meek manner. Twilight was brought to tears of joy by how well her friends were taking all this considering the circumstances. "Thank you girls!"the alicorn exclaimed galloping up and giving them all a group hug,"You have no idea how much this means to me!"she continued through her choke like sobbing.After a few more moments of hugging she pulled away and wiped her eyes before saying,"Thank you all for being so understanding about this girls...It really is great to be able to talk about this to someone other than Nyx,Spike,or the medical staff at the hospital that Devon's in."she sighed happily after finishing. "'Course!What kinda friends would we be if we just left ya hang'n like that Twi!?"Rainbow exclaimed in her usual prideful yet loyal sounding manner. "Even if I am still a little skeptical about this whole thing not being some big elaborate scheme by Discord to get back at us."she admitted with a bit of shame on her face and in her voice from her admitting to not fully trusting Twilight's judgment and from the disapproving look that Fluttershy was giving her. "Rainbow,if you weren't at least a little skeptical about this whole crazy situation I honestly would think you were a bit crazy yourself.Even I'm skeptical about this situation.But that still doesn't change the fact that I need to do whatever I can to help Devon because if I had been more careful when I cast the spell,then he wouldn't be in the hospital or unresponsive,and we would probably already know why Discord wanted him teleported here and why or even how he knew that Devon would do what he did.So until Devon gets better and possibly tells us what the heck is going on,"Twilight paused for a moment to choose how to say her next words. "Then I will do anything and everything in my power to both protect him from possible danger and help in any way possible to help him him get better and recover from the mess that I put him through."she finished with an air of confidence and determination about her. Twilight was sitting at her full height waiting for her friends to ask a question or do something.After a few moments of silence had passed she decided that it was time for them to decide what time they would all meet up and go and visit Devon. "So...Since you all have agreed to go...What time do you all what to meet here so we can go to the hospital together?"the alicorn asked. "What time the visiting hours start at would be nice to know before we decide."Fluttershy stated before quickly adding,"If you want to tell us that is." "Oh!"Twilight exclaimed,now starting to blush at the fact that she had left out that important piece of information."Sorry...Um,let's see,"she paused to recall what time they started at,"Visiting hours start at 12:30 and end at 6:30."stated the purple mare. "Then if'n it's alright with everyone else,then let's meet up at 12:50 and leave at about 1"AJ suggested. "Sounds good ta me!"exclaimed Rainbow Dash. "The only problem I see with that is what about the kids?Tomorrow is a Tuesday is it not?"questioned Rarity. "I was kinda thinking...Maybe we could take them out of school early for this?"Twilight asked hesitantly. As the alicorn mare finished that sentence the jaws of the other 5 mares in the room dropped simultaneously.After a few agonizingly long moments,the silence was finally broken by Fluttershy. "Um...Twilight,are you...feeling okay?"the canary mare asked with concern evident in her voice. "What?Yes!I'm fine!I...kinda already said that Nyx,Spike,and I would be going tomorrow...and that I would ask you girls if you would be willing to go...And!,this might actually help him with becoming responsive if he is exposed to other ponies,and dragons,other than me and the medical staff at the hospital."she said. "Also,if you think that something is wrong with me just because I plan on taking my daughter out of school early...then all I have to say to that is;Really?FAR stranger things have happened you know."Twilight said with a bit of irritence that her friends immediately think something is wrong when she says or does something even remotely strange. "Well if'n that's the reason why then I don't see why we should be concerned.'A mean she's only keep'n a' her promises,and I reckon Apple Bloom does deserve a break after all the work she's been doing both in school and on the farm.So count the both a' us in."AJ said,relieved that Twilight was only keeping one of her promises to somepony. "Sweetie Belle has been doing fairly well in school too,as well as a giant help around the Boutique