Daniel has finally taken his revenge on Alexander, and saved Agrippa. But what layed beyond the lights in the distance when Agrippa saved Daniel? A fabled land spoken of in fairy tales.
Daniel has crossed over into another world, a world where all creatures are sentient to a level. When he meets the "Mane six", in human form, he tries his hardest to move on past the dark things that happened to him at Brennenburg castle. Unfortunately, his past comes back to haunt him- in more ways then one.
Daniel pressed his hand against the large, grey doorknob.
"It's finally coming to an end..." He mumbled, the Shadow grumbled behind him, as if impatient for him to finish off Alexander. He opened the door, walked inside, and a strong gust shut the door behind him. There he was, the man he hated so badly, floating in the air, Alexander.
"I was wondering if you were going to show up." He said, Daniel glared at him.
"I see Agrippa convinced you to run some 'errands'- tell me, is everything nice and clear now? Am I the villain?" Daniel stopped glaring at him, and looked down at the floor in guilt. Thinking of the things he had done, how many lives he had taken to save his own skin.
"-Good, and evil... such comforting concepts, but hardly applicable." Alexander continued, Daniel looked up at him.
"-are you so blind, that you see no good in me, or evil in Agrippa?" Alexander said, accusingly. Daniel looked down at Agrippa's severed head- still alive, somehow. His hollow eyes moving under his bald forehead. He let out a "Ummph!" to Daniel. Daniel had promised to free Agrippa, earlier; he had to sever his head to do so, ironically. Daniel looked around the orb chamber, looking for the ancient blue artifact. There, on a pedestal, being zapped by three pylons, was the damned thing he brought back from Africa. Suddenly, one of the pylons gave a burst, Daniel jumped slightly. He walked towards it- and knocked it over.
"No, don't do that!" Alexander said, Daniel glared up at him again. Alexander's expression softened- almost to that of a pastor in his church.
"I realize you doubt my intentions- why would I take such extreme measures to save your life? Maybe, I'm saving mine to." He said, then, everything became clear to Daniel: what he stood to gain. Why he helped Daniel to the extent of killing people. Why he tricked him into doing these wicked things... He looked down at the floor, it felt like hours to him. His shoulders hurt- not from holding Agrippa, but from the weight of the cruel world pressing down on him... he realized it was his fault. Not Alexander's... Was it?
"Do you see it Daniel?" Alexander asked- and a ring of blue light appeared above the orb.
"A whole other world! Isn't it beautiful? I can finally return- home..." Alexander said. The ring collapsed in on itself and became this swirling blue mess of energy- a portal. Daniel stared in awe.
"-But you..." Alexander continued, Daniel looked up at him.
"I am sorry, Daniel. You won't be able to enter. You are still tainted -branded by the shadow. It will consume you either way." Alexander said, then, voices played back in Daniel's mind:
"I'm Innocent!"
"No! Get away from me!"
"No! Please don't take me- nobody ever returns!"
"No! Please I beg you!"
"No... no please! I'll do anything! Whatever you want! Anything...! I'll do anything...! I'm Innocent!
Then, his rage and shame got the best of him. He hurled Agrippa into the portal, the shadow roared.
"No, you fool! You have ruined us!" He yelled, the shadow roared and began to sink into the inner sanctum. Alexander screamed in pain- then, exploded into mist. Daniel felt triumph- but not for so long. The shadow roared again, and approached Daniel, the slime began to consume his leg.
"AH! NO! AHHHHH!" Daniel shouted, but his screams were silenced- and the shadow consumed him... he fell into darkness... then, Daniel saw lights in the distance. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Twilight's Library
Twilight skimmed through page after page, her horn glowing constantly. She had received multiple books from Celestia the other day as gifts. She was intrigued by the legends that they spoke of; they were of ancient artifacts simply known as the "Orbs". She wanted to learn more about there origins and if there were any in Equestria. The curious thing about them was there presence in Equestrian history- in ancient times, they were held by alicorns as a symbol of their power. She closed the book as a knock at the door sounded. She walked downstairs to the door. At the door were her five friends: Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. She invited them in.
"So, thanks for invitin' us for this sleepover, Twi!" Applejack said. They walked in.
"Yes. Thank you." Fluttershy said, smiling.
"Well, I'm glad to invite you! Come on, Let's get some lunch." They sat down and ate the salad Twilight had prepared for them.
"Your cooking skills are unmatched, Twilight. I'm impressed!" Rarity remarked, Twilight's face went red.
"Thank you." She said. Suddenly, the room became slightly dark.
"Hmm?" Rainbow dash said, still chewing on a bite of her salad. A barrage of dark clouds were forming outside.
"That's strange. I thought you said we weren't due for a storm today." Twilight said.
"I did! That's not coming from the factory... for that matter, that doesn't look natural at all..." She said, thunder and lightning roared in the clouds, the clouds formed a large circle in the afternoon sky, then, one, two, three lightning bolts struck down in the center of town, a large light could be seen from the distance. Everyone gasped, got up, and ran as fast as the could to town center.
A ball of blue, spiraling, fiery light had appeared. Everyone in town stared at it in awe. Then, it imploded on itself and opened up into a tall portal, the height of a sky scraper and the width of a house. But it was quiet. It didn't make a noise as it spread to it's full size. Then, they saw a shadow in the far corner of the portal... It was standing upright... it wasn't one of the residents. Orb-shaped balls of light floated around the entry to the portal, then, they heard a voice.
"There he is.... Do you see him, Weyer? He deserves so much more..." Everyone stood back, and the shadow started to walk towards them. They heard a muffled male's voice.
"Please, help him, I know you can." The voice continued. The shadow got very close to the entry, and revealed itself as a human, half asleep and badly injured.
"Don't worry, Daniel. It will be all right." The voice finished, the portal collapsed as did the human to the ground. The human was holding something about the size of a large apple- a blue stone orb. The crowd grew silent, all eyes were on the man laying there. This human wasn't from beyond the crystal mirror...
"I-is that a human?" One said, breaking the silence, and the crowd rambled. The man coughed violently.
"Someone, call the hospital!" Twilight yelled. As the Man was lifted into a hospital carriage, he clung onto the orb, as if his life depended on it.
The main six ran to the hospital, following the carriage holding the now unconscious human. They followed the doctors as they wheeled him into the E.R. They stitched up his wounds and put bandages all over him. They took his pack off, and set it and the blue stone ball on the table next to him. The six stared at him as he slept.
"What's a human doing here? Could someone have followed you back through the crystal mirror?" Rarity asked.
"No. No one followed me. And I never saw anyone dressed like this in the human world... his clothes look like they should be in a museum or something." She remarked. The man coughed. They heard a voice come from the orb, and the image of a highly disturbing deformed face appeared, being held by a human hand. They watched, fascinated and disgusted by the image.
"Daniel! Turn around this instant! You are carrying the shadow with you!" It said, then the orb cleared up. Twilight blinked. Is this one of the orbs? She thought. The man coughed slightly, she turned around to face him. His eyes half-opened, then closed again.
"Please tell me you guys saw that." Twilight asked,
"What was that!? That was... disgusting!" Rainbow dash said, trying to wipe the image of the jawless face out of her mind. The man coughed some more, and his eyes fluttered open. He looked very confused and somewhat scared. He looked down at the girls.
"Sir, are you all right?" Pinkie pie asked, the man flattened himself against the wall, amazed and rather frightened.
"We aren't gonna' hurt you." Rainbow dash said, the man looked at them with even wider eyes. He closed his eyes, and spoke to himself.
"Okay... calm down... your hallucinating." He whispered.
"No... you really are not." Rarity said, she poked his shoulder. The man's eyes opened.
"Oh, dear Lord..." He said. Twilight rolled her eyes.
"You're a human. Right?" She asked, the man looked at her.
"Y...yes...?" He said, still somewhat intimidated.
"What's the matter?" Fluttershy asked.
"You're a... talking horse, that's what's the matter!" He said, he shot up out of his bed, pain shot up his legs.
"Ow!" He yelled, cringing in pain.
"Stay off ya' legs! You're hurt!" Applejack said, forcing him back on his bed. Another awkward silence befell the group, Daniel stared at them now in awe.
"Are you... 'Daniel'?" Fluttershy asked. Daniel looked at her very confused.
"H-how do you know my name?" He asked.
"When you came through, some voice said: Don't worry, Daniel. It will be all right." Twilight asked. Daniel stared, not blinking.
"No, you're not hallucinating." Rarity said, trying to keep him calm. Daniel looked to his side, and saw his pack and orb sitting there. He then looked to the six girls. The cogwheels in his brain started to move- was this Agrippa's way of saving him? Wait, Agrippa! He blinked.
"Did someone else besides me come through?" Daniel asked.
"No."
Daniel gave them a weird look, he felt his exhaustion getting a hold of him again.
"Ah, you're awake." A voice said, Daniel looked up and saw a pony wearing a doctor's suit. He rolled in a wheelchair, and twisted a few gears on it- so it would fit Daniel.
"Uhmm... You're probably really confused right now, you passed out when you came through that portal. Stay of your hooves- I mean- your feet until you can apply pressure without pain." he said, he looked very excited. He trotted out of the room. Daniel put his hand on his forehead, still trying to process what was going on, then he blacked out again, the doctor walked back in.
"Daniel!?" Twilight exclaimed.
" Don't worry, he'll be in and out of consciousness for a while, it's normal; It's the way humans heal, as I recall. Very similar to our kind, don't you think?"
Daniel had a flashback of Agrippa talking to him, it was shortly before he had gone through the portal.
"Listen carefully, Alexander is working on opening a gate- a door to another world. It is where he wants to go. If you could put your anger aside, let him open the portal before you take your revenge. Let me pass the gate, Daniel." Agrippa said, Daniel listened intently.
"Please, find the ingredients and prepare the tonic Weyer describes. And do so before you assemble the orb. The barrier keeping you from the inner sanctum will only be breached for a short time. Unless everything is taken care of before mending the orb, you won't be able to save me." Daniel nodded, then his vision went white.
He woke up sitting in a wheelchair- he was being pushed toward a library. He looked down at his legs and saw that they were covered in bandages. The orb was in one of the pockets in the sides of the wheelchair, his pack was slung over the other side. He looked behind him to see who was pushing him- it was the purple unicorn from earlier.
"You awake?" She asked.
"Yes... I just have a brain-splitting headache..." He said.
"Forgive me, I never asked your names- who are you?"
"I'm Twilight. Twilight Sparkle." She said, Daniel smiled. What an adorable name... He thought.
"What happened to me?" He said.
"You passed out again. I'm taking you back to my home." She said, she continued to push Daniel. Daniel's legs ached from not only his wounds, but also his ordeal at Brennenburg. The physical exhaustion was taking its toll on him, he almost fell asleep again, but he resisted. They came to the door, Twilight opened it and Daniel rolled himself in. She helped him onto a couch, and he laid there.
"I hope you can trust me. You're safe here." She said, she walked out of the room and came back, balancing a glass of water on her back, she gave it to Daniel.
"Thank you, Twilight." He said, he slowly drank from the glass, and put it down on the end table near him.
"Would you mind telling me what happened- before you passed out? Before you entered the portal, I mean." She asked, Daniel looked over to her.
"I... I barely remember anything... I woke up in a castle... amongst very faint memories, all I can remember now is my name... I was locked inside and I couldn't get out- so I made my way deeper into the castle..." Daniel told her his story of waking up inside Brennenburg. He didn't mention Alexander or the things he had done, otherwise she wouldn't trust him- or, more likely, have him locked up.
He only told her about the horrors he went through after he drank the Damascus rose potion. How he went to extreme lengths to make his way down to the inner sanctum- how he had to hide among corpses to avoid getting attacked by a metal-armed creature. How he evaded other, horrifying monsters. How he saved and met Agrippa, how he mended the orb... and about the shadow chasing him.
"Oh my Gosh, you've been through so much... Can you remember anything else?" She asked.
"I don't remember anything. I have this weird taste in my mouth... it's been lingering ever since I woke up... I know it sounds silly, but, I wouldn't be surprised that its the cause of my amnesia." He said, trying to hide the fact he knew what it was.
"I hope we can piece your memory back together." Twilight said, she smiled at him.
"Hmmm... anyway, after I was able to help Agrippa, the shadow followed me into the orb chamber. I hurled him through the portal... but the shadow got to me before I could enter. My vision went black... That's when I saw some faint lights in the distance... I followed them, then I crashed to the ground... after that I woke up, and... I was in that hospital bed." Daniel said.
"And that's how you got here?"
"Yes." Daniel finished.
"I've never heard something so horrifying in my life... I wish there would be something I could do, Daniel." Daniel laid his head back and groaned, he put his hand on his forehead, he exhaled, stressed.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm just really... really confused right now... most of the animals from the human world... don't exactly... talk." He explained.
"Oh. Right, I forgot. Humans are the only species that are intelligent in your world, right?" She said.
Okay, I either have gone completely mad or have been transported into some fairy-tale story... He thought.
"Oh well, I should have expected this..." Daniel mumbled. Twilight gave him a weird look at first, but she then gave him a half-smile.
"I need to go pick up something from the hospital- some medicine for your wounds." She said.
"All right..." Daniel said, he was falling asleep again, but he resisted. Twilight trotted out of the door. Daniel reached for the blue stone orb and pulled it out of the bag. He held it in his hand as one would an apple. He saw a haze appear on the surface. As he continued to concentrate on the orb; he saw his experience at Brennenburg play before him, vibrantly as if it were a re-enactment.
He focused mainly on the oblivion still left in his mind, so he might be able to unlock some new memories which he had yet to remember. Then, he heard a faint whisper:
"Hazel..." and it faded away.
"Hazel?" Daniel repeated, and the face of a girl showed herself on the surface of the orb with long brown hair, like Daniel's, but it quickly faded as Daniel's concentration was broken by a knock at the door, he jumped slightly at it, remembering how the last "knock" he heard was one of the monsters at Brennenburg bashing down a door. He gave a relieved exhale, when he remembered he was safe there, without the monsters chasing him.
"Anyone there?" a female's voice called.
"The door is open." He called. And in walked a pegasus with a rainbow colored mane- it was one of the girls from earlier.
"Hey. You hangin' in okay?" She asked, Daniel hesitated to say anything- what was he supposed to say? He just left a living nightmare behind, and was now in a fairy-tale like land, though he thought he might just be losing his mind, he answered-
"Yes."
"You're Daniel, right? Name's Rainbow Dash." She said, Daniel smiled at her name.
"Good to meet you." He replied, she walked over, and looked back at the doorway.
"Fluttershy- it's all right. Come on in." Daniel heard a faint whimper, and a yellow-haired pegasus with a pink mane walked in, she hid her face behind her mane.
"Did I say something?" He whispered.
"No. She's just really...really...shy." she answered. Just like the name implies... Daniel thought.
"It's all right. She does not have to speak to me. I have no problem with that." Fluttershy, upon hearing this, revealed her face.
"Uhm... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you..." She said, Daniel held up his hand dismissingly.
"Believe me, miss. You've done nothing wrong." Daniel said, and she walked slowly towards him and Rainbow Dash.
"By the way- there's a huge difference between a 'horse' and a 'pony', thank you very much." Rainbow Dash said, Daniel looked at her with a weird look, then, he relaxed.
"So, you woke up inside a castle and didn't remember anything?" Rainbow Dash asked, Daniel nodded.
"Sounds scary... waking up not knowing where you were..." Fluttershy said, almost whispering.
"I know. It sounds silly, doesn't it?" He asked.
"After seeing that portal open, I'd believe anything!" Rainbow Dash answered, Daniel scratched the side of his head and sat up straight, being careful not to apply pressure to his legs.
"Anyway, I'm able to remember a few things about my past... for instance... I know that I was an archeologist- I had helped a team unearth a tomb in Algeria." He said, Rainbow Dash looked confused.
"'Algeria'?" She asked, Daniel gave her a weird look, but then realized why she was confused.
"Oh- forgive me- it's a country back in my world. It's part of a larger continent named Africa." He explained.
"Anyway, when I entered the tomb- I found that orb sitting on the table over there." He pointed to the orb, and it, as if hearing him, glowed.
"That belongs to you? Uhm... we saw something in it back at the hospital." Rainbow dash said.
"Inside of it? I do not see anything." Daniel said.
"No- I mean it was like this vision- we saw a face... it looked like a human but... it didn't have a jaw." Rainbow Dash looked down to the floor with a disgusted look on her face.
"I think I have a pretty good idea on what are speaking of. Perhaps one of the creatures I encountered at Brennenburg."
How is it this guy isn't traumatized!? Rainbow Dash thought, but she dismissed her thought when she saw the look of post-horror and Daniel's face.
"I am sorry you had to see that... they were disturbing to me as well..." He said, his voice trailed off.
"Uhm... about the orb?" Fluttershy said.
"I'm sorry, but I do not remember much... all I do know is that as soon as I picked it up- it cracked in my hands. I was able to repair it, however. By some miracle it didn't break again."
"Is it that fragile?" Fluttershy asked, Daniel brushed some of his hair out of his face.
"No- the orbs are mystic artifacts, sometimes they'll break or even disintegrate into nothing if used by an uninitiated." Daniel explained.
"Huh... what can these things do?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"If my few memories serve me properly- I should be able to channel its power." Daniel said. He reached forward and held the orb in his hands.
"Wait- w-what are you going to do?" Fluttershy asked.
"I... honestly I don't know, but, I think you'll find it interesting." Daniel said, he raised the orb above his head and the orb flared with blue, fiery light. As Daniel concentrated intensely on the orb, he was able to tame the storm of light. Blue balls of light floated lazily around the room, like fireflies on a crisp winter night.
"Woah..." Rainbow Dash said, her face followed one of the blue spheres as it passed in front of her- Daniel continued to stare into the orb's light- and then, he slowly calmed the orb's light.
"Th-that was amazing!" Fluttershy said.
"I'm not done yet." Daniel said, he focused even harder- and one could see stars, galaxies and nebula inside the orb. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash stared in awe. They watched as the celestial images appeared on the orb. Daniel had fallen into a trance-like state, and as he focused- he felt like he was falling into the orb. His trance state was broken when Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy caught him as he stumbled under the weight of everything, he shot up as soon as his legs touched the ground.
"Whoa! What did you do?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Like I said, I really don't know... if you focus on it long enough- it's power gets drawn into you." Daniel explained.
"Daniel? Fluttershy? Rainbow Dash?" A voice said, they turned to see Twilight standing at the door..
"Oh, hey Twilight!" Rainbow Dash said, she walked over to Daniel and gave him a bag of small capsules.
"Take one tonight and one in the morning and you'll heal a lot quicker." Twilight said, Daniel nodded.
"Guys, Princess Celestia wants to see us. Daniel? Try to get some rest." Twilight said, Daniel gave her an odd look.
"Celestia?" Daniel asked.
"You'll probably meet her later- she just got word you're here." Twilight answered, Daniel laid his head back on the cushion.
"See ya' Danny!" Rainbow Dash said, suddenly, Daniel lurched forward and he fell off the couch.
"Daniel!?" Twilight exclaimed, Daniel's head hit the floor- his eyes opened to reveal two white veils in place of eyes, his body contorted, foam formed at his mouth- then, the foam cleared, his eyes shut, and he rested. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Mother! Father! Hazel just said her first word!" Daniel called, his father threw his paintbrush down to the side and ran up to Hazel's room, his Mother stopped reading her book.
"What did she say!? Was it Daddy?" His father was very excited, the mother just stared.
"No- she said my name. She called me 'Danny'." Daniel answered, the father was smiling ear to ear, as was his mother.
"Daniel?"
The mother scooped up the young girl and held her in her arms-
"Daniel!"
and hauled her downstairs to get her some milk to drink, Daniel and his father were clearly excited at the girl's new development and -
Lightning struck, and Daniel shot up in a sitting position- he was back in the hospital, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were standing there.
"Daniel! You scared the heck out of us!" Twilight said, she looked distressed, Daniel groaned, he opened his mouth to say something, stopped, then began to speak, he put his hands in his lap.
"Forgive me, I should have told you... I've been having flashbacks ever since I woke up in Brennenburg... I can't really get rid of them." Daniel said, Twilight brought Daniel's wheelchair up to the side of the bed.
"What happened? I just called you 'Danny' and you had a seizure!" Rainbow Dash said, she looked even more distressed then Twilight, Daniel put his face in his palm, trying to remember what is flashback was about- then, he remembered, his eyes went wide.
"I-I just remembered! That was the nick-name one of my family members gave to me... she was my sister... my younger sister- Hazel...!" Daniel said, the three stared in surprise.
"You have a sister?" Twilight asked.
"Yes- I do... I remember now..."
"Are you sure it's not your mind playing tricks on you?" Twilight asked.
"I'm positive! There's not a doubt in my mind about it..." Daniel said, the girls gave him a strange look, a silence befell the group, Daniel began to fall into thought as he looked down at his hands. How could I have been so foolish to forget about her? My dearest sister... my flesh and blood... my only friend... Daniel thought, he looked up at the girls, the saw the distress in his eyes.
"Well... whatever the case is-" She held out her front hoof and helped Daniel get into his wheelchair.
"-be careful not to hurt yourself if you feel a flashback coming on again, we don't want you stuck here in the hospital again." Twilight finished, Daniel began to lazily wheel himself towards the three.
"Sorry for giving you a scare there, I don't have much control over them." Daniel said.
"I brought you the orb." Twilight said, her horn glowed and Daniel's eyes went wide as she levitated the orb out of a bag slung over her back, he wheeled back to the wall in terror.
"M---m---m---mother of Christ!" Daniel forced out.
"What?" Twilight asked.
"W-what- how-? You-! How did you-!?" Daniel rambled.
"I'm a unicorn. We have the ability to use magic- you can't?""
"I've used the orbs before- but I can't do that!"
"Yeeeah, Twilight? Daniel showed me what the orb he had was capable of- it wasn't weaker then your magic, but, he used it for different things then what you do... I don't take it humans see stuff floatin' around all the time."
"E-exactly as she said, precisely, actually." Daniel said, clenching the orb in his hand, and breathing rapidly.
"Uhmm... sorry." Twilight said, realizing why he was so startled, Daniel slowly calmed down, then he exhaled. Oh yes, I've gone completely mad... he thought, wondering what else this new world had in store for him. --------------------------------------------------------------------
Daniel rested on the couch, now even more exhausted then before. His neck was sore, and his legs ached from his wounds, he took one of the pills Twilight had given to him- much to his dismay, it made his legs go numb and he couldn't move them. Well, better then them aching constantly... Daniel thought, and the door creaked open.
"Daniel? You all right?" Twilight asked.
"Yes, just very tired..." He answered, and pushed his arms so he would sit up.
"That's good. I didn't mean to startle you back there, Daniel... Sorry." Twilight said.
"It's all right. I should have expected as much..." Daniel answered, he lay his bead back on the couch.
"Uhmm... there's something I've been meaning to ask you, Daniel." Twilight said.
"Yes?" He looked down at her.
"Do you want to go back?" Twilight asked, Daniel looked puzzled.
"I mean, back to your world?" Twilight said, she looked very nervous. Daniel's eyes trailed off, thinking about what he knew about himself, then, he looked down at her.
"To be honest... I don't have a reason to go back, or stay here... but... back there, I know that those creatures will be waiting for me... If it's not a problem... for the time being I wish to stay." Daniel said, Twilight looked relieved, for some reason.
"Good." She said, Daniel looked out the window.
"...I'm tired."
"You should get some sleep, here, I'll get you some blankets." Twilight's horn glowed, and a heavy sheet came and covered Daniel on the couch, he slowly began to fall into a deep sleep, then, he began to dream. Twilight smiled sadly at Daniel as he slept, but then it just was sadness on her face. She walked outside to find Celestia standing there.
"Have you asked him?" Celestia asked.
"Yeah..."
"And?"
"He says he'd like to stay- for now." She answered.
"Good... let's hope he never changes his mind."
"Yeah... I wonder how he'll take it... when he finds out he'll never be able to go home..." Twilight said, and the princess turned sad.
Daniel lazily woke up. His eyes were heavy and his head hurt, his legs ached. He took one of the tablets Twilight had given to him, and picked up his orb, still lying on the end table next to the couch. For whatever reason, the shadow decided not to follow him. Either that, or it was too far away to get him now, or perhaps it did not want to harm him...
Daniel took the orb in both his hands, and concentrated, images poured into his head and appeared on the surface of it. He saw an image of a spiraling tower, and endless desert, and numbers which were endless. As he tried to make sense of them more images appeared- then, sounds. Then, he heard a voice behind him.
"I hear you breathing, Daniel, do you hear me? Have you changed your mind?" Daniel whirled his head around, then saw a cloud of red mist. It dissipated quickly, as if it wasn't there at all. Daniel blinked, not knowing what to make of the situation.
"Alexander..." Daniel whispered, mortified.
"Daniel?" Twilight called, she trotted downstairs with a smile on her face, she was using her magic to carry a book. It was a shade of dark green and very ornately decorated.
"I found you something- I think you'd like to read it." She said, Daniel took the book and the aura -caused by Twilight's magic- faded. ARS ARCANUM was on the front of it.
"What is this?" He asked.
"Open it." Twilight answered, she looked excited.
Daniel did so, his eyes were caught on the first image- it was a sketch of a blue, stone orb. He looked up at Twilight with a small smile. He began to read the contents.
"This is a book on 'Orb Magic'?" Daniel asked.
"The Princess gave it to me- it was stored on the shelves in our libraries a long time ago- nopony could find a good use for it without an orb."
'Nopony'? Daniel thought, he chuckled at the made-up sounding word.
"What's so funny?" Twilight asked.
"N-nothing..." Daniel said, but it was obvious he was trying hard not to laugh, then, Twilight caught on. She smiled.
"Oh... right." She said. Daniel began to read.
"Mithras Empowerment of the river C'has? I wonder what this will do..." Daniel scratched his head.
"Well... only one way to find out!" Twilight said, Daniel took his orb in his left hand, and began to chant the ancient language.
"Payash, salila, Mithras, aavartate, C'has, niire, apah... apah... apah... he chanted, the orb suddenly jolted up from his hands- and glowed with blue, fiery light, then, it focused it's rays on Daniel. Daniel began to feel his limbs less and less- then he lost sense of his body completely.
The orb stopped glowing and slowly descended to the ground.
"Uh- I can't feel anything! Twilight, is this normal!?" Daniel demanded, suddenly, Twilight jolted to the side- as if frightened.
"OH MY GAW-- Daniel- look at your legs!"
Daniel looked down, his pants and legs had become completely see-through- they looked like water. The strange state of his legs began to spread and go up to his face. Then, he could feel his body again. He stood up and looked down at his body- the pain in his legs was gone.
"D...Daniel??" Twilight said, very confused, now staring at the transparent Daniel. He couldn't speak. Daniel's now crystal-like eyes flashed a look of complete and utter confusion towards Twilight.
"H-hold on, let me see- uhm... aavRittiM?" She tried, a flash came from Daniel- and he appeared normal again, he looked down at himself and then at Twilight, he fell to his knees.
"Gyaaah~~! Christ on the cross...!" He cringed in pain from his legs yet again.
"Daniel-!" Twilight let out, she focused her magic on him and lifted him to the couch. He sat up and looked at Twilight, then at the book. They both looked bewildered and surprised- then excited. They both scooted towards each other and started reading page after page. ----------------------------------------------------------
They spent the whole afternoon reading, trying each of the spells in the book. Page after page, word after word, until they came to one page in the huge tome and stopped dead.
"'To Have night or day, whenever you wish...?' That can't be possible." Daniel said.
"I wouldn't be too sure... try it!" Twilight said, a knock came at the door, Twilight walked over to the door and Daniel shut the book. Twilight opened the door- and a crowd was waiting outside. Daniel tilted his head to get a better look- half the town was out there. Most of them looked past Twilight to get a look at Daniel.
"Uhmmm...." One of them said.
"He's not exactly in the best of shapes for it right now. Come back in a few days." Twilight said, the crowd looked disappointed, and they reluctantly walked away. Twilight shut the door and turned to Daniel.
"Sorry, what exactly was that all about?" Daniel asked, Twilight had a sheepish look on her face.
"Uh- half the town was begging me to let them talk to you... You are the first human here in a long time, after all... with any luck after they talk to you they'll leave us alone." Twilight said, Daniel raised his eyebrows and looked to his side.
"Well, I'm in a pickle, then..." Daniel said, Twilight smiled.
"The people in this town are real nice, I wouldn't worry about it... Daniel?"
"Yes?"
"You know, you can trust me. I hope you know that." She said, Daniel raised an eyebrow.
"Sorry?"
"I'm just saying... you've been through a lot, so-"
"I understand... but do not trouble yourself over my own troubles, I'm just glad my ordeal is over..." Daniel said, Twilight frowned.
"You sure you can't remember anything?" Twilight asked, Daniel peered into the dark veil that covered his memories- and saw nothing.
"Positive... not a thing." Daniel answered, Twilight smiled sadly, then, left the room. Daniel sat in his wheel chair and looked at the orb, curiously. He was right to have thought that merely banishing the shadow -although he failed in the end- was only the beginning, and now, it really was the beginning of something extraordinary- if he could do the things he did with the orb, who knew what potential lied within it? He felt himself being pulled into the orb in concentration- images appeared on it again. This time it was the camp he and Professor Herbert had set up. The Arabs took shelter in their tents from the blazing sun as Daniel and Herbert rested in theirs, they spoke.
"I say, my friend, you must return to England! You're in no shape to continue, without a hospital 'round, if you stay out in the heat, we may have to forfeit the entire expedition! You wouldn't want that, would you?" Herbert said.
"N...no... I can still... ugh!" Daniel grunted, resting on the bed adjacent to Herbert's chair.
"You will get full pay and whatever you brought out of the tomb with you... those stones seem intricately colored for what they are- William Smith will have a blast if you go home now. Who knows, maybe you'll learn of something more important then anything else in the tomb!"
"St...stones?" Daniel asked.
"Yes, you were holding onto these shards-" Herbert brought out a cloth filled with shards, on each one was a curved side- they were pieces of the orb Daniel had found, Daniel thought about for a second, then realized that this might have been what the Professor had been keeping from him, so he replied simply;
"Oh... All...right..." he then began to pack some of his things into a cart.
Daniel stopped concentrating- he knew about these memories already. He knew about Herbert to begin with. What he really wanted to know now, was what his childhood was like; this was what he knew the least about, as he began to concentrate, however, he was interrupted.
"Daniel? I'm back!" Twilight called, Daniel looked up from the orb to see not only Twilight, but the other five ponies he had met in the hospital the other day, Twilight walked up to Daniel, the other five stood back.
"Forgive me- I haven't asked you three- what are your names?" Daniel asked.
"Rarity."
"Pinkie Pie."
"Applejack" They each answered, and they approached Daniel.
"A pleasure." Daniel said.
"Is Equestria treating you fairly?" Rarity asked.
"Well, so far, yes... but now half of the town wishes to speak to me..." He said, smirking.
"Well, probably comes from being the only human in Equestria." Rainbow Dash said.
"Most likely. That, or, me coming through that portal..." Daniel said, his eyes followed the wall up to the ceiling as he laid his head back, then towards the girls again.
"Well, we got a place for ya' to stay besides here. One of the castles here has a few spare rooms- if you wanna'." Applejack said.
"Well, all right then." Daniel said, he took his orb and the book Twilight gave him, and put them into a bag, he used his hands to lift himself into his wheel chair, he rolled himself towards the door, outside was a carriage waiting for him. He started to roll towards it.
"So..." Pinkie Pie started, Daniel looked down at her.
"Woah, woah, woah! Mistress, one question at a time!" Daniel exclaimed, recoiling in his chair, Pinkie Pie gave him a weird look, then, Rainbow Dash laughed.
"Daniel!" Twilight called, Daniel took a last look at the library before wheeling away to the carriage waiting for him. He stopped.
"What's wrong?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"There's a storm coming. Is it safe to be on board a... flying carriage?" Daniel asked, thinking he sounded like an idiot when he mentioned 'flying carriage'.
"The carriage has a special device on it to protect against lightning bolts- you'll be fine!" One of the guards said, and Daniel wheeled himself into the carriage.
"I'll meet up with you later, Daniel!" Twilight said.
"See you there..." Daniel said, and he shut the door. The carriage lifted off the ground and Daniel was hauled off to the distance.
"Well, now what?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Now, I need to pack a few things- I'll be at the castle for a few days with Daniel. You guys mind helping me?"
"'Course not!" Rainbow Dash said, the other four nodded their heads and walked inside, the room darkened, then, Rainbow Dash stopped dead.
"What's the matter Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked.
"Waaaaait a minute... we didn't schedule rain for today, either!" Rainbow Dash said, Twilight was about to say something when she was interrupted as a bolt struck down in the middle of the town, then a second one, and a third one. A blue ball of light appeared at the spot. The six ran outside.
"What the hay? Again?" Applejack exclaimed, the sphere imploded on itself, then expanded to a large volume and a spiraling vortex stood before them. It then dissipated and all that was left was a device of some sort, a wooden arch... and something hanging from it- a body of a human.
"Eeeew!" Rarity let out.
"What's a d-d-dead body d-d-doing here!?" Pinkie Pie stuttered.
"I don't know, let's get it out of here, the rest of the town might panic." Twilight said, grimacing at the sight. They approached, but when they got very close- the head turned up towards them.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" The six yelled, it had white eyes with no pupils, it's mouth hung open.
"Help...me..." It said, the six stared in terror.
"Pull the s-switch..." It said, the six loosened.
"Please..." It pleaded.
"Help...me..." It said again, Twilight's eyes went wide- then, she pulled the switch of the device with her magic, a low tone was heard, then, a voice came from it.
"Thank you. You have my gratitude." It said, the six stared confused.
"My name is Agrippa. Who might you be?" Twilight stood forward.
"I'm... Twilight..."
"Twilight? Were you born at sunset?" It then laughed, Twilight rolled her eyes.
"I got that enough during kindergarten!"
"Oh my, it seems I'm the only one who's seen it... hahahah!" Twilight gave Agrippa an uneasy smile.
"Don't worry, miss. I am not here to harm you... if you would- remove these ropes from my limbs?" Agrippa asked, the other five backed away cautiously as Twilight cut each of the ropes with a spell, and held the limp Agrippa with her magic.
"You'll need to bring that device there to be able to communicate with me." Agrippa finished, and they brought him inside Twilight's house, she -very gently- set him down.
"Thank you, again. You are Celestia's student, are you not?" Agrippa asked, Twilight didn't answer.
"Mistress?" He asked.
"Uhmm..."
"Forgive me if my appearance is a little... unsettling. Thought I'd be free of this dead husk as soon as I was hurled through the portal... to my surprise, I just grew a new one..." Agrippa said, his voice giving a hint of disgust. ----------------------------------------------------------
The carriage carrying Daniel flew quickly across the sky. Daniel looked out at the countryside and took it all in. His thoughts were drawn back to Brennenburg and his nightmares. First of all- was this all just another dream of his? From what he could remember, his nightmares felt real... but this wasn't a nightmare. At the very least, it was a dream. No, this was real... it had to be... Daniel argued -mentally- with himself, trying to piece together what he knew... but the lingering affects of the Damascus rose potion weren't helping, he turned to face the two guards facing him.
"Uhmm..." he said, the guards didn't break their blank expressions. Daniel looked at them curiously, then, looked away -slightly- and saw out of the corner of his eye that one of them smiled, as if freaking out about the fact there was a human right across from him, he turned his head back toward them and he immediately went back to his blank expression.
"Nice try, I saw that." Daniel said.
"Damn it..." The guard muttered, Daniel smiled, he turned his head back toward the window.
Pomf! Daniel whirled his head back towards the guards where a letter stood, the first guard took it, read line after line, then, his eyes went wide. He stopped the carriage.
"Is there a problem?" Daniel asked, the guard looked up at him.
"Sorry, sir. You need to return to Twilight's library."
"For what?"
"...Someone named... 'Agrippa' came through." He said, Daniel looked shocked. ---------------------------------
Daniel quickly wheeled himself from the carriage to Twilight's front door, he pounded hard on it. It opened.
"Daniel?" Twilight asked, and he wheeled himself in, he stared at Agrippa when he saw him.
"Daniel! Thank goodness you are all right! I thought I'd lost you!" Agrippa said.
"I-I thought that I- how-? When-?"
"The portal crossing seemed to have caused me to... regrow that old husk of mine..." Agrippa remarked, Daniel sighed.
"Well, at least you are all right." Daniel said. He wheeled his way over toward Agrippa.
"So... you two... are friends...?" Rarity asked, looking creeped out.
"Acquaintances, to say the least... I was kept prisoner in a castle- Daniel here helped me out."
"Wait a minute... Daniel- is this the 'Agrippa' you were telling me about?"
"Yes." Daniel said.
"You didn't tell me he was all... how should I put this..."
"The Baron of Brennenburg had sustained my soul in this dead husk for years... I have no idea how many... for all I know I was trapped for hundreds until Daniel came along!"
"So... that's why you're like this?" Fluttershy asked, looking very intimidated.
"Quite. I lost my own ability to move a long time ago..."
"Yikes... sorry, sir." Rainbow Dash said, Daniel stared.
"What is it, Daniel?" Agrippa asked.
"Was all of this the way you intended to help me?" Daniel asked.
"Quite- I'm an old friend of Celestia, the leader of this place... I was hoping I'd meet her crossing over, but, to my dismay, she wasn't there... It wasn't easy getting though the gate to the other side." Agrippa explained, Daniel looked at Twilight.
"Weren't you going to introduce me to her?" Daniel asked.
"Yeah..."
"Maybe we should bring Agrippa along, then." Daniel said, the six looked distraught.
"Uhmm... it might freak out the other town members, though..." Twilight said, looking over at Agrippa.
"Miss...?" Agrippa asked, Twilight blinked.
"If that's the case- why not send her a letter asking her to come here? I'm an old friend." Agrippa said, and with that Twilight picked up her ink and began to write a letter to Celestia.
-------------------------------------------------
Celestia walked in and her jaw dropped at the sight of Agrippa.
"Been a while, hasn't it?" Agrippa asked.
"Heinrich?" Celestia asked, she ran towards him.
"The same." He answered.
"What in Equestria happened to you? Where have you been? We had held a funeral- we thought you were dead!" She asked, looking more concerned then disgusted.
"That baron I was telling you about? He'd kept me prisoner." He answered. Celestia looked to her side and noticed Daniel, who -instinctively- knelt down. Celestia looked rather uneasy, for some reason.
"Princess, how do you know him?" Twilight asked, Celestia turned back to Twilight.
"We're old friends." She said, her horn glowed and Agrippa rose up.
"Well, sending you over to your home world and having you return in this state wasn't necessarily what I would find the most desirable outcome of our experiments, but you returning in general was. Welcome back- now, you're this 'Daniel' person I've been hearing about?" Celestia asked, raising an eyebrow at Daniel.
"Quite." Daniel answered, trying to be polite in the presence of someone who was obviously royalty.
"You must come with me as well. It is imperative." She said, sounding very serious,
"Very well." Daniel said, he turned to Twilight- who looked very confused, Twilight just stared.
"Let's go." A guard said, nudging Daniel, and He, Celestia, and Agrippa left the library to a carriage waiting for them, Daniel turned around and saw Twilight standing at the entry- she gave Daniel an odd look. Daniel stepped inside the carriage, and it lurched as it took off from the ground, and began it's trip to Canterlot.
Twilight walked back inside her library where her friends were waiting.
"I've never heard Celestia like that..." Twilight remarked, the others nodded.
"She acted almost like she knew Daniel..." Rainbow Dash remarked, the others nodded.
-------------------------------------------------
Daniel looked out at the countryside as it passed him by. It was lush and full of plants and animals he had never seen before- or at least that's what he thought, due to his amnesia. Celestia's eyes seemed to be boring into him. He glanced at her and noticed she seemed to be... mad? Daniel brushed it off, then, she spoke.
"Seize him." She said.
"What!?" Daniel exclaimed, two guards seized him and pulled his pack off his back. They dumped everything inside of it onto the floor.
"S-stop that!" Daniel demanded, then, they stopped as a vial of a pink liquid fell out and landed on the ground. Celestia picked it up with her magic, she stopped glaring at Daniel.
"W-what is the meaning of this!?" Agrippa demanded, The Princess looked shocked at Daniel, she loosened.
"Let go of him."
"But- your highness-! You said this one is a mur-" One of the guards exclaimed.
"Let go of him. Now." Celestia said, the guards reluctantly let go of Daniel. Celestia used her magic to gather up everything that had been poured out of Daniel's pack, and placed it neatly back in.
"Wh-what is the meaning of this!?" Daniel exclaimed, trying to get up, but the pain in his legs was unbearable.
"Calm down, Daniel. Sit down." Celestia said, Daniel reluctantly sat down, flattening himself against the back of his chair, Celestia looked the vial over several times, opened the cap and sniffed it, then closed it. She turned to Daniel.
"Damascus Rose. Mixed with vitae, it can cause massive amnesia." She said, looking at him, Daniel's heart was growing slower, and slower.
"Celestia, dear friend! He did not deserve that!" Agrippa said, the Princess shook her head.
"No. He didn't. I didn't know you had taken this potion, forgive me." She said, Daniel's heart began to pound.
"Yes, I know. Just as I know what you did at Brennenburg before you took it." Daniel's heart stopped. -------------------------------------------------------
He jumped from the carriage onto a cliff they were passing by, throwing his wheelchair out first, then using every ounce of his strength, escaped.
"Bring him back." Celestia said, sounding rather mellow.
Daniel sped through the forest, he didn't look back. His arms continued to turn the wheels.at a fast pace, he could hear them closing in on him, he was speeding closer and closer to a river. This was the end. He knew it. All his efforts to cover his past up would be for naught... then he remembered; he still had the orb with him. With one last push his wheelchair started to roll down the hill towards the river. He started to chant.
"Payash, salila, Mithras, aavartate, C'has, niire, apah... apah... apah..." He said, his voice echoing. His body, with a flash, became like water yet again, he dived into the river.
The guards slowed to a halt as they neared the river bed. They couldn't see where Daniel was.
"Where'd that child-killer go!?" One guard exclaimed.
"You can't hide from us!" The other said, he kicked a sizable amount of dust into the water, the dust settled on Daniel's face.
"There you are." The guard said, getting a sneer, he raised his spear but was stopped by a bolt of golden energy.
"I said bring him back. Not to kill him." Celestia said, Glaring at the guard. The guard stopped and backed away from the water. Celestia stared down at Daniel, and lifted him out of the water with her magic. Daniel had a mortified look on his face.
"If you had let me finish, I was going to say I wasn't going to harm you." Celestia then set Daniel on the ground.
"And... would you mind telling me... what on Earth did you do to make yourself look like that?" Celestia asked, the now translucent Daniel did a face-palm.
Well, if she's not screaming at me, this could go well... maybe... Daniel thought.
"Let me get one thing cleared up; you were watching me the whole time?" Daniel asked, Celestia nodded from across the table. Earlier, Daniel had been brought to a giant castle in a town named 'Canterlot', and had been escorted to a conference hall.
"Yes... I watched you as you tortured multiple people... and I also watched as you slipped into sadness when you realized what you had done... I hadn't watched you drink the potion." Celestia finished, she stood up. Daniel looked extremely upset.
"So it's true... all those flashbacks were real..." Daniel said, he looked like death had grabbed his grace and thrown it to the ground.
"Your terror was not with disgrace. You chose to forget your entire life then live with the guilt. You made a rather impulsive decision... but in the end, you got rid of a murderer. Your past self." Celestia said, sounding very Solemn.
"But I still killed so many people... my actions were unforgivable."
"...What we do in the past doesn't define what we will do now. Especially if we erase our pasts- even if we remember them." Celestia walked over to Daniel.
"You must keep your 'other self' hidden. Promise me you'll carry him to the grave, and I promise you I'll give you a home, a bed to sleep in, and a good life. I hope you can forget about Brennenburg." Celestia said, she turned to walk away.
"All I've done is forget... I want to remember." Daniel said, Celestia looked confused.
"What you did at Brennenburg?" She asked.
"No. I want to know what I did with my life. I know I have a sister, but, that sums up what I know... if I don't remember, I'll have nothing. Nothing but journal entries that might not even be accurate... I don't know." Daniel said, Celestia frowned.
"Very well. I'll leave you to think about it." She said, and she turned and walked away.
Daniel sat there, wondering what he would do next. He opened his pack and took out one of his journal entries.
19th August, 1839,
I wish I could ask how much you remember, I don't know if there will be anything left after I consume this drink. Don't be afraid Daniel, I can't tell you why, but know this: I choose to forget. Try to find comfort and strength in that fact. There is a purpose. You are my final effort to put things right.
God willing, the name Alexander of Brennenburg still invokes bitter anger in you, if not, this will sound horrible: go to the inner sanctum, find Alexander, and kill him. His body is old and weak, and yours, young and strong. He will be no match for you.
One last thing: a shadow is following you. It's a living nightmare, breaking down reality. I have tried everything and there is no way to fight back. You need to escape it as long as you can.
Redeem us both, Daniel. Descend into the darkness where Alexander waits, and murder him.
Your former self,
Daniel.
"...Then what do I do now?" Daniel asked, and he put his palm on his forehead.
He decided to stop worrying in that moment... and instead, to start living with what he had: a couple of letters, a few new friends... and his lantern. The thing that lit his way through Brennenburg. He looked at it, curiously. His former self had carried it, and now, it was time for him to carry it, into a new light- a new life.
That is, a life in a land of fairytales... if anything, it was the closest thing to a 'normal' life he could have after his punishments in Brennenburg. And just knowing what he had gone through, and where he was now, he was grateful for it.
He rolled his wheelchair out the room, and began to make his way to his new room, carrying his belongings with him.
In that moment, he remembered something.
Didn't the orb disintegrate when I passed through...?
"Don't forget... some things mustn't be forgotten... The shadow hunting me... I must hurry."
"My name is Daniel... I live in London at..."
"At... ah..."
"Mayfair."
"What have I done? This is crazy... No, don't forget... Don't forget! I must stop him, focus!"
"My name is... is... I am... Daniel." He collapsed to the floor and passed out. _____________________________________________________
He awoke to the sound of a hoof pounding against his door, shaking away the lingering affects of his flashback from his sleep, he spoke.
"It is open." He called, Celestia walked in.
"Your highness?" He asked, she smiled.
"You do not have to call me that." She answered.
"I slipped the Damascus rose into those two guards' drinks. They don't remember what I told them." Celestia said, Daniel looked surprised at her.
"What?" Daniel asked, he sat up.
"You are not the same man as you used to be. You are like an innocent child yet again. You know nothing- hence, you have done nothing to deserve the hate one would have towards a murderer." Celestia said, she walked toward him.
"You can expect a doctor to come by later. Your ordeal left a lot of cuts on your legs, he'll give you antibiotics if you need it..." She said, she looked over to the nightstand- and noticed an almost burnt down candle was laying there. Still lit.
"...Daniel?" She asked, eyeing the candle.
"I have Nyctophobia..." He said, Celestia raised a brow.
"I wouldn't blame you. Your descent into darkness must have been all the more horrifying because of that. I myself would be traumatized." She said, Daniel leaned over and blew out the candle.
"Might I ask- do you still have the orb?" She asked, Daniel nodded. Celestia smiled.
"Take it out." She said, Daniel raised a questioning eyebrow, but complied. He reached over and pulled it out of the drawer in his mahogany nightstand. Celestia gazed into it.
"Leot Forbaernan." Celestia whispered, the orb gave off a soft yet bright light. Similar to that of a candle.
"Remember those words, the orb will serve as a night light." She said, Daniel smiled.
"Thank you." He said, he then noticed that a blank, ornate book had been placed on his nightstand.
"What's this?" He asked, Celestia smiled.
"Write down each new incantation you learn. You'll eventually be able to use them without the orb." She said, and she turned to walk away.
"Wait- your highness-" Daniel said, Celestia turned to him.
"Yes?"
"...Thank you." He said, Celestia smiled and walked away. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He wheeled his way down the hallway to find a pair of guards waiting for him- the same guards that had chased him earlier. Their eyes went wide went they saw Daniel.
"Are you the human?" The first asked, Daniel looked at them oddly; it felt strange re-introducing himself to the guards that had tried to kill him earlier...
"Yes." Daniel answered, the guards smiled.
"We're to accompany you to one of our old libraries- Celestia wants you to look at some of the old books on orb magic." He said, Daniel wheeled closer to them.
"Very well, then." Daniel replied, they began to make their way down a marble hall.
"So, uh, how's it going?" The first guard asked.
"I'm fine thanks." Daniel said.
"Good to know. We'd hoped Twilight and the others hadn't worn you out. I mean, she's a princess after all." He said, Daniel stopped.
"What?" He asked, seeming very bewildered at what the guard had just said.
"Yeah, she's a princess, you didn't notice the wings on her back?" He asked.
"What?" Daniel asked again, sounding even more bewildered.
"When an equine becomes royalty, they get a horn and pair of wings- they become alicorns." Daniel looked even more confused.
"What's wrong?" The second guard asked.
"Well... I'm just surprised. She didn't exactly act like she was... royalty." He said, the guards sighed.
"Well, she hasn't exactly been... liking her position. She moved out of her castle a while ago- kept it as a meeting place for her and her friends- and... she instead decided to make a small library out of the old inn that was for sale. The poor girl's been through a lot." The second guard said.
"Hmmmm... I'll speak to her in a little while."
"Oh- I just remembered- the room hasn't been opened in a long time- it's still gas-lit from the renaissance. You'll need to take something to light the lamps." The first guard said.
"Already have something." Daniel replied, he brought out one of the leftover tinderboxes he still had from Brennenburg.
"...Hmmm... well, that's convenient." The second guard said.
"Huh?"
"They stopped making tinderboxes a while ago... where'd you get those?" The guard asked.
"...A castle named Brennenburg." Daniel replied, the guards raised their eyebrows.
"Oh well. We're here." The first said, they stopped at a huge stained glass door.
"We'll need to shut the doors behind you. Open the gas valves before you try to light the lamps, got it?" The second asked, Daniel nodded.
"Good." The first said, Daniel wheeled his way in, and the doors shut behind him. He went over to the wall where a small valve was. He turned it, and heard gas flowing. He wheeled his way over to one of the orb-shaped lamps, reached up inside it, and struck his tinderbox ablaze. The gas lighting illuminated the room, and Daniel was impressed to find that as he lit the first one, a small fuse that had been put in place triggered the others to activate.
"...Just like London." He muttered. Wait. Just like London! He remembered his hometown now... Regent's Park, the university, his home, his drawing room... some of his memories began to resurface. His vision went white, and he heard voices.
"Father?" Daniel called.
"Ah! Daniel! Wonderful to see you! Come in, Come in, have yourself a look-see- I'm nearly finished with my latest painting. What do you think?"
"It's of Regent's park, isn't it? The lake!" The 14-year-old Daniel asked.
"Yes! Very intuitive of you! How are you feeling?"
"I'm good. How's Hazel?" Daniel asked, his father's cheerful demeanor changed to rather a rather bland one.
"Well... your sister's been coughing a lot, but, we think she'll be all right." He said, Daniel smiled.
"Good." He said.
"Now, Daniel... there's something I've been meaning to ask you. How would you like to become an archeologist when you get older?" He asked, Daniel looked surprised.
"You mean I passed? I got the scholarship?" He asked.
"Yes. You passed the history exam with flying colors- you've earned the master's scholarship to the university."
"Oh, dear lord!" Daniel said, trying to hold back his excitement, his father was beaming with pride.
"Yes. And there's something else- I got you and your friend Herbert a very special book." He said, he brought out two copies of a black book with the title: 'The Adventures of Odysseus', Daniel promptly took the copies.
"I thought they were sold out of this book!" Daniel exclaimed.
"Apparently not! You two are lucky boys, you and Herbert. I take it... you'll help me get some new firewood?" His father asked, Daniel looked up smiling at his father.
"Yes, of course!" He said.
"Absolutely not!" A woman's voice said, Daniel cringed in fear as a woman looking veritably angry at Daniel and his father walked in.
"G-good afternoon mother." He stammered.
"Do not 'good afternoon' me. Have you seen the Godforsaken state of your room!?" The woman exclaimed, making Daniel tremble in fear.
"Minerva, honey, please. The boy barely has any time to eat nowadays, much less clean his room!" His father retorted.
"The boy can make time- get up to your room now!" The woman screamed, Daniel ran to hide behind his father.
"Honey, you must calm down. You'll upset him and the neighbors." The father said.
"You must stop being so soft on that boy." The woman said, and she walked away. Tears streamed from Daniel's eyes.
"Daniel... 'tis all right." The father said, he bent down and embraced his son.
"Your mother has been very... ill. She does not mean what she says." He whispered, but Daniel shook his head.
Then, Daniel shook his head for real. The flashback was extremely tolling on his emotions- for a moment, he forgot where he was- then he remembered- he was still in the library.
To get his mind off of what he just remembered, he picked up a red book with gold stars all over it. He proceeded to read from the old parchment pages, however, his vision went white again.
"Wicked child!" His mother screamed, tears streamed from his eyes as his mother kicked him repeatedly.
"Stop! Please!" Daniel yelled, his sister ran from the room.
"Shut up!" She yelled, and kicked him again, the front door opened.
"Daniel, I got you- Minerva! What in God's name are you doing!?" His father shouted, and restrained his wife.
"Go to hell, Daniel!" She shouted, and lunged out of the Father's arms, and continued to beat Daniel.
"Stop!" Daniel shouted.
"Police! Help!" His father shouted, an officer ran up the cobblestone path into the house, and restrained the mother.
"Bastard child!" She screamed, and was dragged out of the house, leaving the father to tend to the wounds left on Daniel's body.
--------------------------------
"What!?" His father exclaimed, horrified.
"...I... this is my fault." Daniel said, looking to the floor in shame.
"You beat up that bully in school? With a rock!?" his father asked.
"...Please, father... I've been putting up with him tormenting me for so long... I couldn't stop myself..." He said, tears streamed down his face and mixed with the blood coming the small cuts on his cheeks.
"...How long has this been going on?" His father asked.
"...Four months... Ever since mother started acting... strange..." Daniel said, his father dabbed a cloth with cold water and cleaned Daniel's wounds.
"... This is not your fault." His father said, Daniel shook his head.
"But- I..."
"Daniel, this family has been through so much ever since your mother started... hearing things." His father said, the light of the candle on Daniel's nightstand flickered.
"And... she's probably not portrayed herself as the ideal roll model..." The father said.
"...So, you shouldn't blame yourself. You broke under pressure. I won't punish you for that." He said, Daniel looked up at his father.
"...Really?" He asked, his father wiped some of the blood of his head.
"True to the word." His father replied.
"...I'm going to home-school you for the rest of the year." Daniel's ears perked up at this.
"What?" He asked.
"I got wind of the fact that you weren't doing well social-wise in school. I hadn't thought that you were in that state of desperation, so, I thought we could fix things... but I was wrong. I got a permit from the state to teach you..." His father said, Daniel laid back in his bed.
"But... what do we do about Mother?" He asked, his father looked to the foot of the bed.
"...Your mother is to be admitted to the mental hospital." He said.
"What-?" He asked.
"And... I've officially decided... I'm getting a divorce." Daniel stared at his father with a mix of confusion, disbelief, and utter surprise.
"I know, it's probably a bit of a shock, but... I think we can both agree, father to son, that our lives are terrible right now, when we're with her. So, I've decided that we must get her out of our family portrait. In time, you'll understand that this is fair to the both of us." His father said, but Daniel shook his head.
"No... you don't have to convince me. I already don't like it here." He said, and his father began to remove the clothes from his drawers and placed them into a small trunk. ---------------------------------------------------
Twilight was waiting for him outside the doors as he wheeled his way out of the library; he was covered in sweat and was obviously upset.
"Daniel?" She asked, he was silent.
"...I had another flashback... two, actually." Daniel said, Twilight walked up to him.
"Daniel...?" She asked, Daniel looked at the floor.
"...I remembered some of my childhood." He said, Twilight stared at him.
"And...?"
"...I remember... my mother was... mentally ill..." He said, growing quiet, Twilight's eyes widened.
"I remember her... beating me." He said, Twilight looked somewhat upset when she heard this.
"Oh... Daniel... that's..." She said, growing quiet.
"And I remember my hometown and father... I was from... London. My father was an artisan." He said, growing rather uncomfortable looking.
"Daniel..." She said, she couldn't find words. Standing in front of him was a poor man who just remembered his childhood- his abusive childhood.
"I'll be all right... I just need some time to myself. This wasn't exactly what I was expecting." He said, and he wheeled his way back to his room. ------------------------------------------------
She cracked the door open to see him sitting at his desk, depressed.
"How is he?" A voice whispered, Twilight turned to see Rainbow Dash standing behind her.
"...You heard?" She asked.
"Yeah. I just got here- the guards overheard your conversation." She explained.
"...Poor guy, huh?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Yeah... maybe we should just leave him alone." Twilight answered.
"...Maybe... but I've got a weird feeling he isn't telling us something." Dash whispered.
"Daniel's been completely honest with us. Besides, what could he have to hide?" She asked, Dash scratched the back of her head with her hoof.
"I dunno... I just hope he isn't hiding something that's hurting him." Dash said.
"Hmmm... well, I'll talk to him later. She said, and the two left. Then, the guards walked by. The first guard stopped.
"What is it?" The second asked.
"...Hey, call me crazy, but, haven't we met him before?" He asked, the second guard opened his mouth as if he wanted to respond, but then stopped.
"...Your getting the same feeling." He said, the second guard nodded.
"...Do you remember having a drink forcibly shoved down your throat by Celestia?" He whispered, almost inaudibly.
"Preposterous!" The second guard said, but then he stopped for a second.
"...Wait a minute..." He stammered.
"...Let's get to the captain. Keep this between you and me."
"All right, got it." He responded, and they ran down the hall to find their commander.
Daniel crashed to the ground, gasping in the murky air. He found himself in absolute darkness, he waited for his eyes to adjust, but no shape or contour appeared.
He felt as if he were on the verge of breathing his last breath- that's when he saw a feint blue shimmer.
His weakened body was pulling him to the floor, but he slowly pushed himself towards it- fresh air filled his lungs as he approached the glimmering light.
As he reached out and closed it in his hands, he could feel all of existence pour into him, then, he fell.
He heard the voices of men pulling him to safety- and could feel the shards of a most peculiar relic in his hands.
----------------------------------------
His vision was in a haze as he opened his eyes to his familiar surroundings. He was in his room back at the castle, laying on the floor. He rubbed his eyes slowly and using his arms, carefully pulled himself up and into his wheelchair. There was a knock at the door before he got up, and the door opened.
"Daniel- I got you some antibiotics-" It was Twilight, she was holding a bottle with her magic. She saw Daniel as he slowly pushed himself into his chair.
"...Did you fall?" She asked, Daniel nodded.
"Oh my gosh, are you okay?" Daniel had a dead-blank look on his face.
"I had another flashback." He said, Twilight's eyes went wide.
"Are you okay?" She repeated, Daniel looked down at her.
"...Yes. Let's not worry about this-" he turned his head away only to be interrupted.
"Daniel, you could've injured yourself!" Twilight said, Daniel looked down at her again.
"Miss, I am fine. Something you could really do to help me is not worry to much about my problems."
"But-!"
"I need to handle this by myself. Can you respect my wishes?" He asked, Twilight just stared.
"Look, I can get through this, but I seriously think that your intervention is unnecessary. They aren't harmful, you shouldn't have to worry." He said, trying to sound uplifting. Twilight's ears flattened to her head and she gave a half-adorable and half-pitiful frown. Daniel felt his chest tighten at how begging she looked.
Oh, come now, how is that in any POSSIBLE way fair!? Daniel thought, he exhaled.
"All right, if it is really that important to you, then would you mind helping me find a book that might teach me how to control them?" Twilight immediately lit up.
"Sure!" And she bolted off.
Hmmm... strange... wait! I just remembered!
"Twilight!" Daniel called, she came bolting back towards him.
"Yeah?" She asked, Daniel tilted his head to look at her back- sure enough, a pair of wings.
"What- my wings?" She asked.
"I was told you were a... princess." He said.
"Well, yeah, actually." She said.
"Hmm... why didn't you tell me?" Daniel asked, curious.
"Well, I just like being treated like everyone else. I mean, I haven't had much of a normal life lately..." she confessed, Daniel gave her a small smile.
"Well, I don't have much of a life to remember, so I can't say I have a normal life, myself." He said, Twilight smiled, and walked out.
-------------------------------------------------
Rainbow Dash walked down the hallway towards Daniel's room, then knocked on the door.
"Come in!" Daniel called.
Rainbow Dash opened the door and trotted in.
"Rainbow Dash?" Daniel asked,
"Call me Dash." She said, Daniel smiled.
"Dash it is, then." She walked up to him.
"How are your legs?" She asked.
"I...I think I'll be able to walk soon." He said.
"You okay?" She asked.
"Yes, I'm fine..." Daniel answered, Rainbow Dash tilted her head and saw that Daniel had drawn a rather impressive sketch of a Victorian-styled city.
"What's that?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I had a flashback earlier about my home- this is a sketch of it." Daniel explained.
"It looks kind of..." Rainbow Dash stopped.
"What?" Daniel asked.
"Well, kind of peaceful, yet, it looks like a lively place." Rainbow Dash explained.
"From what I can remember, London was quite an active city. There was a decent amount of products being made at the time in the city, and it was somewhat of a trade center... I'm pretty sure my father was an artist... and that he sold a lot of his paintings. I guess his artistic skills got passed down to me." Daniel said.
"Hmmm... London, huh? Cool name... what was your Dad like?" Rainbow Dash asked, Daniel smiled.
"From what little I know... he was a great man." Daniel said.
"And your mother?" She asked, Daniel went pale.
"I'd rather not speak of that. What I've seen is rather..." He couldn't finish.
He felt something warm wrap around his shoulder- Rainbow Dash had put a comforting wing around his back.
"Hey, you know you can trust us, right?" She asked, Daniel gave her a quizzical look.
"What?" She asked.
"Why do you keep asking me that...?" Daniel asked.
"Huh?"
"You and the others have been rather... well, continuous about that subject." Rainbow Dash took her wing away.
"Well, you've been through a lot... and, well, the way Celestia acted towards you..." She stopped.
"What is the matter, miss?" Daniel asked.
"Well... it just gives us the feeling there's something you're not telling us, I mean... not to be judging or anything..." She explained, Daniel's eyes shifted.
"N-now come on, I've told you everything that I know." Daniel said, Rainbow Dash gave him a smug look.
"Come on, what is it? Your love life?" She asked, giving him a sly grin, Daniel's face went beat-red in embarrassment and anger.
"I-I-I beg your pardon! What!?" Daniel asked, giving Rainbow Dash a heated glare.
"I knew it! What a dirty rotten liar!" She said, half laughing.
"Now hold on just a moment-!"
"What a Dirty-! Rotten-! Liar!" She said, laughing, she nudged Daniel in the shoulder.
"Oh come now, I never said that was it."
"You liar!" She said, still laughing, Daniel did a facepalm.
After Rainbow Dash stopped laughing, she noticed Daniel was relatively annoyed by her exploit, and realized her mistake.
"Come on, I'm just teasing!" Daniel looked up at her, still relatively annoyed.
"I never said I had a love life to begin with." Daniel said, still glaring at Rainbow Dash, her ears flattened and gave a half-pitiful and half-adorable look. Daniel's chest tightened again.
"Oh, god, not again..." Daniel said, Rainbow Dash smiled.
"Very funny." Daniel said, still annoyed, Rainbow Dash then realized that maybe he wasn't in the best of moods. Oops.
"H-hey... I'm just trying to lighten the mood for you." She said.
"Hmmph."
"D...Daniel." Her ears flattened in shame.
"...Sorry." She said, Daniel put his hand on his head.
"You all right?" She asked.
"My head hurts." He said, Rainbow Dash gave him a look of sympathy.
"Sorry, buddy." She said, Daniel ruffled his hair.
"Oh- I just remembered- word about you being here has spread like wildfire- the whole city's talking about you right now." She said, Daniel looked at her rather surprised.
"Really?" He asked.
"Yeah- You're the guy everyone's talking about right now! You should see- you made the headlines!" She said, she bolted out of the room and came back with a newspaper. On it, a title in bold print:
"New Race Discovered! The First 'Human' in Equestria!" It said, Daniel looked up at Dash.
"I'd do anything to be in you're place, Daniel! Seriously! You're the talk of the town!" She said.
Daniel was dead-silent.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"...Does it sound strange that I don't really want this?" He asked, Rainbow Dash rose an eyebrow in confusion- but then saw he looked very nervous.
"...Oh... You don't like crowds?" She asked, Daniel nodded.
"No- I'm just somewhat claustrophobic... half of the time I was creeping through Brennenburg... I don't do well in tight spaces." He remarked, Rainbow Dash gave him a small smile.
"Hey, cheer up! Better then getting chased around by those things at that castle!" She said, Daniel cringed.
"...Don't remind me." He said, but he then smiled.
"Oh well... Uhm, miss, if I may- I don't mean to be of a bother- I think I actually can walk now. Would you mind...?" He asked, holding out his hand.
"That was quick." She remarked, she held out her right hoof while hovering in the air, and helped him to his feet. His legs only were minimally irritated from the pressure. He exhaled.
"Thank you." He said, and he walked out the door.
---------------------------------------
He walked down the hallways filled with guards, carrying his orb.
"Hey, Danny!" A squeaky voice called, Daniel turned around to find Pinkie Pie bouncing towards him.
"How ya' doin'?" She asked, Daniel couldn't help but have a smile come to him from her comical personality. It was almost as if she was spreading euphoria.
"I'm doing fine, thanks." He said, still smiling.
"Heydidyouhearaboutthennewsaboutyoubeingasuperdupercelebrity?" She said, Daniel's eyebrow raised and he repelled slightly as Pinkie Pie took in a huge breath. He struggled hard not to laugh.
"Say that again? A tad slower, maybe?" He asked, smiling.
"The news! Did you hear about the news? You made the newspapers!" She said, holding up an identical newspaper that Rainbow Dash was holding earlier.
"Yes, in fact I did." He answered.
"Well, there are other ponies outside crowding around the castle- they wanna' meet you!" She explained, bouncing up and down, Daniel found himself being -rather comically- being pushed by Pinkie Pie to a window to see a huge crowd outside.
"Huh."
"I know, right?" She asked, nudging him.
"I didn't even say anything."
"Exactly!" She said, Daniel looked extremely confused.
"Your too up tight! Loosen up!" She said, nudging him again. Daniel looked at her quizzically; if any one of these curious characters made him thought he was losing his mind- it was her.
"...You my friend, are perhaps the most random person I have ever met." He said, Pinkie Pie smiled.
"Meh, I try." She answered, and she bolted off.
Daniel did a face-palm before looking out the window at the crowd again- they hadn't noticed him. He backed away from the window.
He let out a minor chuckle. -
He walked down the hallway to a large door- Princess Celestia's chamber.
"Enter!" She called, Daniel pushed the door open to find the Princess and Agrippa talking.
"Daniel?" Agrippa asked.
"Yes, it is me." He answered, Celestia got up from her chair and walked over to Daniel.
"...There is something we must discuss." Celestia said, Daniel sat down in a chair, Celestia followed.
"Now. I called you here for a reason. Can you guess what that reason is?" She asked, Daniel shook his head.
"It's your flashbacks... you gave my student quite a good scare." She explained.
"Now- Agrippa and I have been talking. And we think it would be best if you took a potion to try and suppress them. They are not exactly helping your health- if you fall at a not so... lucky time, you might injure yourself." She said, her horn glowed and a vial of an opaque blue fluid was levitated.
"Now, this is completely your choice... but if you don't want to have any more flashbacks- this potion we've prepared will help you stop them." Agrippa explained, Daniel took the vial.
"Drink it in moderation- only half of the vial per day. Okay?" Celestia said, the vial stopped glowing.
"...Very well..." He answered, he began to leave the room.
"Daniel?" Celestia called, Daniel turned around- Celestia was tilting her head towards Agrippa.
"Agrippa knows." She said, Daniel looked terrified, but, upon seeing this, Agrippa laughed.
"Calm down, now. You aren't even the same person after you drank that mixture! If you hadn't told me, I would have thought you were just a passerby! Don't worry, Daniel. Celestia's told me everything." He explained, Daniel sighed.
"Scared the life out of me." Daniel remarked, he turned and left the room.
"...He's becoming somewhat irritable, don't you think?" Celestia asked.
"Ah... well, comes from adjusting from a horror story to a land of peace I guess... I wouldn't call it irritable. I wouldn't blame him if he was nervous about people knowing his secret..." Agrippa said, Celestia smiled.
"Fair point." She answered.
"Now- as for our experiments- you said you had met with Weyer before I got back?" Agrippa asked. -------------------------------------------
Daniel opened the door to his room and entered, he sat down on his bed and looked at the vial. He wondered what to do- drink it, or not? His thoughts trailed back to his memories from Brennenburg... much of the things he knew was horrifying. Memories of being given lessons on how to torture. At first, he wanted to down the potion in that instant... but then memories of his father and sister came to him. He wanted to know more...
A tear rolled down his cheek- he couldn't even remember his sister and father. Up until this point, if they had run up to him, he wouldn't have known who they even were... it didn't sit well with him. He looked over at the orb on his desk- and realized he didn't need flashbacks- he could just use the orb to peer into his past... right?
He looked at the potion carefully... was he really doing this? Would this truly benefit him?
Celestia and Agrippa seemed rather honest about their intentions...
...
He slowly brought the vial to his mouth... but the moment the glass touched his lips, before even a drop of the potion passed his lips, his body gave out from under him.
He began to twist and contort in a violent seizure. His eyes flung open to show electricity flying through his eyes, and electricity could be seen shooting through the walls of his mouth. Arks of stray bolts flew from his body and struck the walls- then, he stopped contorting, and rose five feet into the air, weightless on his back. Then, he passed out- but not after he saw a vision of flying back towards the Girls' home- and seeing another human, badly injured, lying near the edge of a forest. A single name came to his mind:
Wilhelm...
He crashed to the ground, and shot up. He then ran to go get Princess Celestia's help- and a shout of agony could be heard coming from the opening of the Everfree forest.
Wilhelm screamed in agony as pain rushed up his spine and blood trickled from his eyes onto his death note... The baron had poisoned the wine. That bastard... he had tricked him this whole time into kidnapping innocents... and now he was paying the price for it. As he hit the ground his past began to flash before him...
Then, all of the sudden... the pain stopped. He opened his eyes- was he dead yet?
Then he realized- he wasn't in the same room as he was before- he was near the opening of a forest- he could hear people talking- was he near the village? How? He took out his pocket knife and drew it- just to be safe. He slowly approached the entryway- and was surprised to see a different village than Altstadt. And there were horses everywhere... multicolored ones. And they looked different- their faces were much more expressive, and their hooves were less defined... where on earth was he? And where were the people he heard talking? He ducked behind a tree stump closer to the village and behind what he presumed to be a bakery...
That's when it scared the life out of him. He saw a flash of pink out of the corner of his eye before a squeaky voice made him jump.
"Watcha' doing?" One of the horses just talked to him!?
"Oh my- God!" He shouted, jumping back in surprise, he stumbled and ran from the scene.
"Hey! Wait!" It called, he didn't listen- he just ran.
What on earth is this!? Wake up, Wilhelm! Wake up! He mentally screamed, he stumbled over tree stumps every few steps... He ducked behind another tree and flattened himself to it- and was dead silent.
He took the second to take everything in, despite how bewilderingly confusing everything was... where was he? This wasn't Prussia- the architecture was different- and they certainly didn't have... talking horses... what was this place? How was he still alive? Just a second ago he was dying alongside his men after they drank poison wine- now this?
He shook his head in disbelief. This was too much... his mind couldn't handle this...
He peered his head around the tree and saw the Pink... horse-like creature looking around. He ducked his head back when he saw her head turn. He inhaled and exhaled in fear- this was too much for his poor brain. Just a few seconds ago, agonizing pain had scrambled his mind- was he going insane?
"Hey!" She yelled- somehow appearing right next to him, he jumped and hit the back of his head on a tree.
"Ah- OW!" He shouted, he clasped his hands to his head.
"Uh... eheheh... oopsies..." She said, giving him a nervous smile, Willhelm grabbed his knife and started slashing it in front of him.
"Woah-! Easy-!" She shouted, Willhelm kept swinging to create a barrier of sorts.
"Get-! Back-! Get away from me-!" He yelled, Pinkie stood back.
"Okay! Okay! Just- don't hurt me." She said, and slowly backed away from him about ten feet. Willhelm sat down- still pointing the knife at her.
"What the hell are you...?" He said, still having his knife pointed at her, she sat still.
"H-hey, easy! I'm not gonna-" She jumped back as Willhelm thrusted his knife in front of him in a threatening manner.
"Get back!" He shouted, and she complied.
The obvious terror and confusion in his eyes became obvious after a few seconds of merely looking at him, and she realized that. Pinkie Pie just sat there until Willhelm lowered his knife - albeit very very cautiously.
"Uhm-" She started, he immediately raised his knife again.
"Don't even think about it." He said.
"Okay! I get it, just, please, calm down." Pinkie Pie said, looking at him in a rather 'begging' look.
He lowered his knife again as the tension left his mind.
There must have been something else in that wine... He thought, he then coughed and some blood stained the sleeve he coughed on.
"Oh no..." He whispered.
"Hey- you all right?" Pinkie asked, Willhelm was somewhat startled by her voice as he was dragged out of his train of thought.
"Hello?" Someone called, Pinkie immediately recognized the voice.
"Daniel! Over here! I found the guy you were talking about!" She called, Daniel rushed over to Willhelm and knelt down next to him.
"Are you all right?" Daniel asked, Willhelm's eyes shot between Daniel and Pinkie.
"Uhm... other then the fact there's a talking horse in front of me-"
"Hey! Big difference between a horse and a-" Pinkie was interrupted.
"You're not hallucinating." Daniel said, putting his hand out to help Willhelm to his feet, and as he looked around, he noticed Celestia.
"Wh... where am I?" Willhelm asked, Daniel smiled.
"Equestria." Celestia answered, smiling. Willhelm put his hand to his face.
"Ugh... *cough!*..."
"Is he all right?" Daniel asked, Pinkie pointed towards his sleeve. Daniel looked towards Celestia.
"Let's get him checked out." Celestia said, and she walked Daniel and the others towards a carriage.
"By the way, Pinkie, how did you get here so quickly? I didn't see you on the carriage." Daniel said, Pinkie gave him a smug look.
"Secrets." She winked, Daniel looked at her oddly. Pinkie grew real close to his ear.
"I'll tell you later!" She whispered, and they left.
Wilhelm sat up in the hospital bed. They had put him under some sort of sedative and claimed they had checked out his lungs- how, he wasn't sure, only that he wasn't coughing up blood anymore. His eyes were sore and his chest felt numb.
The door opened and in walked the Pink... thing... from earlier. He couldn't call it horse- it looked almost human... and to call it a 'creature' just sounded demeaning...
"Hey, how's it going?" She asked, Wilhelm put his hand to his head.
"Well, other then the fact I have a large bruise on my head... and considering I've probably lost my mind... I think I will be all right." He said, sounding rather intimidated.
"Hey, relax." She assured, walking up to him.
Wilhelm groaned in confusion. The weight of it all fell heavy on his poor brain.
"Miss... where exactly am I?" He said, looking around at the strange devices on the wall.
"You're in a hospital." Pinkie said, looking somewhat confused.
"I've never been in a hospital like this before... what are those devices for?" He said, pointing at several pipes and surgical tools. Upon hearing this, Pinkie looked even more confused.
"Those are what they used to look inside of your lungs...?" She said, the confusion growing on her face was only trumped by the sheer shock that had not yet registered in Wilhelm's mind.
"...What??" He asked.
"You've never seen machines like this? Really?" Pinkie asked.
"You have equipment that can peer into a person's organs? It was only theorized back at my home! I must be going crazy..."
Well, the guy might be right about being crazy... but for the wrong reason... Pinkie thought, but then she noticed something about him: his clothes. They seemed to not just be old-fashioned... but almost last-century.
"...Wait a minute... Will- you don't mind me calling you that?" She asked.
"Go ahead... yes?" He asked, looking exasperated.
"...What year was it before you came here?" She asked.
"Eighteen thirty-nine. Why?" He asked, Pinkie looked shocked.
"...This is too big of a plot twist even for me!" Pinkie said, Wilhelm shook his head in confusion.
"What??" He asked, his face scrunched up.
"Never mind. I gotta' go." She said, and before Willhelm could say a word, Pinkie bolted out of the room.
Willhelm was beginning to feel less like he was going mad, and that he was entering a mysterious, hidden world...
...and just as he was getting into the realization of this, he heard something. A sound defying description... a voice from the void, and a mighty thunder could be heard from the distance.
