> A Long, Strange, Trip > by TheExhaustedBrony > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > A Long, Strange, Trip > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I've lived for a very, very long time and have seen many things, but checkered cloud patterns? Now I feel like I've seen just about everything. What in Equestria could be making this strange new phenomena occur? Curious, I walked out of the forest using the clouds to orient myself towards... Ponyville? The mere thought of returning to the place that I was chased away from made me sick with fear. So many painful memories of constant hatred. What if they chase me down again? What if they find out about my resurrections and take advantage of it? Will they kill me over and over again just because they can? Millions of thoughts swirled around in my head and before I knew it, I was at the edge of the Everfree Forest. Was I really so lost in thought that I made a several hour trip feel like five minutes? Just through the clearing I could see Fluttershy's cottage. Fluttershy was the one pony that I know wouldn't be disgusted with my appearance. For as long as I've known her, she's always shown kindness to all. Normally, the soothing sound of chirping birds and the flowing stream in front of her cottage would be forever present, however, this time, there was another strange thing that I thought I'd never witness. From the cottage, I was shocked to hear screeching, roars, growls, snarls, hisses, dishes breaking, and the worried voice of a pony who I have no recollection of residing here. Something tells me that today is going to be full of strange things and that this is only the beginning. I slowly crept up to the window on the back of the cottage and slowly peered over the sill. I was dumbstruck to see that the interior of the cottage was a war zone! I was even more shocked to see that Rainbow Dash was in the middle of it all. She was frantically chasing after the animals in what appeared to be an attempt to get them under control but to no avail. The animals were all against her. I could clearly hear many curses escape her mouth through the chaos. Rainbow Dash soon gave up after a few more minutes and just sat down and hung her head in defeat. I scanned my eyes over her. This isn't her forte. Her rainbow mane perfectly symbolizes her skills as a skilled and fast weather pony. Her cutie mark, the three butterflies represent... wait, what? At first I thought that it was my eyes playing tricks on me, but no, what I saw on her flank was a cutie mark that was not her own. Why was Rainbow Dash here, of all places? A bear was stuck in the door frame to the kitchen, swinging wildly at the air, cats were clawing at what seemed like anything and everything that could get destroyed, birds were pecking at all the furniture, and the squirrels and rabbits were preparing a big cauldron of boiling water for... something. I pulled away from the window, nearly out of breath from witnessing the entire ordeal. If Rainbow Dash has Fluttershy's cutie mark, then where's Rainbow Dash's? With my curiosity even more piqued, I resumed my excursion to Ponyville. There was no way I could have been prepared for this. How does one even process events such as that?! Not just two, but five ponies all exchanged cutie marks! If my eyes weren't already walled, I probably would have become wall-eyed just trying to wrap my brain around the chaos that had the entire town in an uproar. Heck, to top it all off, another alicorn princess was born. Princess Twilight Sparkle has a nice ring to it. In the center of town, I saw it happen! There was a bright flash of light and, with my good eye, I saw the most powerful unicorn in Equestria die and become reborn as an alicorn! For many years, I had watched Twilight grow, just as Celestia did. I knew she was powerful, but to become an alicorn? Sharp as always, Princess Celestia, I chuckled. She always had a good eye for things like this. Finally, the day of Twilight Sparkle's coronation ceremony has arrived. I wanted to go, oh did I want to go, but at the same time, I was afraid that someone might notice me and remember my less than subtle visage. I fought with myself for hours, pacing back and forth, trying to convince myself that no matter what ponies think, going to this event is the most important thing I'll ever do in my life. Maybe they've stopped caring about me? I swallowed my fears and made my way to the castle. Unfortunately, with my poor motor skills, it took me a long time to get there. When I finally arrived, I swear on Starswirls' beard that there were at least a thousand ponies crammed into the main hall, all anxiously waiting to see the new alicorn trot down the aisle. There's no way I'd be able to get a good spot to stand. The only open spaces were at the back of the hall towards the door. It would have to do. I'd be the first to see the princess, but that'd only be as she's entering the room. All the good stuff is happening on the other side. I sighed, disappointingly and precariously wedged myself between to other ponies. I hate being the one to make ponies feel uncomfortable, but what can I say? With this many ponies, how could this be avoided? However, what made me the most upset is that the ponies in front of me were just the right height so that I couldn't look over them. Not to mention the many flags, banners, and ribbons that decorated the air didn't improve my already faulty vision anyway. The ceremony was going to start at any second and I didn't want to miss any of it. Almost reflexively, I dropped down to the floor to look through the legs of the ponies in front of me. I know that this sort of behavior is a bit childish, but if I was to see Twilight, I'd have to ignore what ponies might think of me. The crowd went wild as the doors swung open and Twilight began her march. It was beautiful. She seemed so graceful, like she had nothing but happiness filling her mind. However, as she was scanning over the crowd, I noticed her concentration waver slightly when our eyes met.