> Never Wish
>  by Ximer
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Wish
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been another hard day at work, tirelessly reviewing the medical data sent by hospitals in preparation for the new processing system to take effect. Most of them were getting it right, but there were a few in the state that were slower than others. Not that they weren’t smart, some simply lacked the man power others had to keep up.

With a sigh, I left all thoughts of work behind me, and began the long drive home. It was a cold winter in the south which meant snow would more than likely start to fall in the following months. An alarm started to sound on my phone with the message "post office" which jarred my memory of a text message my sister had sent earlier.

She was the explorer in the family, literally, I was the boring child. Doing what I was told, never trying to step on toes which always seemed to backfire for some reason. I was the good kid, and got accused of favoritism on more than one occasion. Still, Isabella and I tried to remain close, even if she was on another continent.

Once I was at the post office I quickly checked box 29, and sure enough there was a package inside with a note attached to it. I could have opened it then, but I decided to wait until I got to my house. Whatever was inside felt heavy and it gave me something to look forward to.

I impatiently unlocked the door to my house, and dropped most of my stuff off in the kitchen before heading to my room. Once there, after fighting against the packing tape, I opened the box to find an egg shaped stone. It looked more like a door stopper than any natural stone and appeared to have been cut into its current shape.

Confused as to why a door stopper had needed so much packaging I decided to open the letter, hoping it would provide some explanation.

Daniel, how long has it been? Three years perhaps? The time spent away from you, mom and dad has started to escape me. When I volunteered to go see new places and live my dream, I never really took the time to ask myself where I’d be right now. Still, I’m glad I’ve had the opportunity to go on my adventures, and hope that I can go on more in the future. A part of me wishes you would have come with me that day, which is why I sent you this wishing stone. Your life must be pretty dull and I felt a wish might be able to liven it up, even if it seems childish I thought you would appreciate the gesture. Now, stop being boring and live your life.
With love
Isabella

I put the letter down and picked up the ‘wishing stone’. Her ‘boring’ comment had cut deeper than it probably should have. It made me question if people really thought I was just plain, bland, and uninteresting. While I enjoyed my job and felt like I was doing a good thing, I couldn’t help but sigh when I had to explain what I did for a living greater detail than most. 

I had tried multiple times to get into hobbies and crafts, only to fail miserably at them. I was mediocre at art, and I had even tried pottery which I ended very quickly after receiving massive flak from my friends. I had finally given up and just…settled, my sister was right I was boring.

My brief period of depression gave way to anger, not at anyone but myself for what I had become. The more I thought about it the angrier I became. I gripped the stone tighter and tighter in my hand as I looked in the mirror at myself. I saw a sad expression staring back at me despite how angry I was. Was this why she had left me, because I was boring?

“I’m boring huh…you know what I wish for you worthless piece of junk? I want to prove people wrong, I can be…I don’t know, not boring! Ugh I’m so mad I can’t think straight!” I exclaimed.

“I wish I could be…I want to be some body, not just another face. Oh who am I kidding?” I asked aloud throwing the stone away.

I sat on the bed and hung my head in defeat, until a sharp pinging noise brought me out of my pity party. It wasn’t at a painful pitch, just annoying and attention grabbing. I looked at my phone, thinking something might be wrong with it, but found nothing.

I suddenly felt a brief tugging sensation that made me jump from the bed. I turned my head behind me to see nothing but the stone, that seemed brighter than before. The tugging returned, this time pulling me off my feet and onto the floor.

The pinging noise had grown louder and the room was starting to grow brighter. The noise had soon reached a deafening crescendo. I closed my eyes as the light in the room became blindingly bright. It felt like a wave was washing over me, only instead of retreating back into the ocean this wave seemed to continue to flow around me, pushing me in some unseen current.

“Sleep…” said a voice over the pinging.

The noise and light suddenly faded, as did the rest of my senses. I felt exhausted from whatever it was I had just endured, and the voice’s advice started to sound pretty good. I briefly wondered what had happened before I succumbed to sleep, those questions could wait.

I opened my eyes as the sun’s rays cruelly roused me from my sleep. I tried to grab a handful of bed sheet to cover my face, only to feel something cold and loose. I opened my eyes lazily to find my fist was full of dirt. Even more alarming was where I had been sleeping.

“A…forest?” I asked with a yawn.

I was surrounded by apple trees, which seemed to be in rows, making my first assumption inaccurate, this was an orchard. Most of the apples seemed ripe, and a rumbling in my stomach made me forget about questioning how I ended up here in the first place. I found the trees to be only slightly taller than me as I got to my feet.

“Was there some sort of LSD dust or drug in that box?” I asked recalling last night’s events.

I was ignorant when it came to drugs, being the good kid in school. While it had paid off with a good job and nice house, it left me out of the loop when my friends would make jokes about them, and had served to cast my name in with the boring lot in school. Had Isabella tried to force an adventure on me? If so it seemed to have worked a bit too well.

“What in tarnation are you supposed to be?” asked rather accented voice.

I nearly jumped out of my skin upon hearing it. I spun around, afraid of being shot for trespassing with a southern accent like that. I didn’t have an excuse to save myself if it came to that, I honestly didn’t know how I ended up in an apple orchard.

Instead of seeing a shotgun wielding woman behind me, I turned to see an orange pony with a hat. It had a confused expression on its face and the eyes were unusually large as it studied me.

“Is someone there?” I asked ignoring the pony for the time being.

“Down here!” came the voice again.

This time the pony seemed to be a bit miffed at something as her eyes never left me. It gave me the chills looking at her eyes, they were just unnatural.

“Are you okay?” …asked the pony.

I froze after watching her mouth move, and produce intelligible words. Dolphins and Chimps, two of the smartest animals, weren’t even capable of this feat, yet a pony that came up to my kneecap had just asked me a question. I did what any sensible human being would do upon coming to this realization.

I screamed, and turned to run before feeling a sharp pain in my forehead as I collided with a low hanging branch. In a matter of seconds I was on my back clutching my head. The pain spiking through me was enough to convince me this wasn’t a dream, but it didn’t seem possible.

“Ah reckon that’s a no.” said the pony with a light laugh.

There was a tug on the front of my shirt and I felt the ground slip away as my torso was pulled upright. The pain in my forehead lessened as a result and I opened my eyes again to see her sitting across from me.

“How are you doing that?” I asked.

“Doin' what?” the pony asked in return.

“Talking, ponies can’t talk.” I said rubbing my forehead.

“Shucks everypony Ah know of can talk. Name’s Applejack, what’s yours?” Applejack asked.

“Daniel…wait, every pony? As in there are more of you?” I asked wide eyed.

“All over Equestria. This here is Sweet Apple Acres, what were ya doin' out here anyway?” Applejack asked.

A multitude of thoughts were demanding my attention at once. How far from home was I? If this pony, Applejack, didn’t recognize what I was did this mean I was the only human? The most pressing of all though was if I was still on Earth, and if I wasn’t how would I get home?
> A Tall Secret
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applejack seemed nice enough, though I still found it hard to come to terms that I was explaining my story to a small, orange, four legged creature that shouldn't be able to talk. She sat quietly as I recalled what had happened from start to finish.

"So ya woke up here then?" Applejack asked, putting a hoof against her mouth.

"Yeah, and then you showed up...and you've never seen anything like me?" I asked looking at the seemingly endless rows of apple trees.

"Nope, but Ah bet Twilight would know somethin'." Applejack said optimistically.

"I assume this Twilight is another pony?" I asked standing up.

"Yep, she's a princess too." Applejack said proudly.

"Well let's go see this princess then, if you think she can help me get home." I said.

"Whoa there partner, Ah don't think it's a good idea fer the rest of Ponyville to meet ya until Twilight's said so. No offense or nothin' ponyfolk just act differently. Ya don't want to spook them being big like ya are." Applejack said looking up at me. 

"Big? You mean tall? I guess that's understandable...why weren't you afraid?" I asked.

"Ah've handled bigger things than you believe it or not. Besides ya don't look like one fer causing trouble, come on." Applejack said motioning for me to follow her.

I could only imagine what she meant by 'bigger things'. I wondered for a split second if that included giant teddie bears with big pink bows on them. As insulting as the thought was, I couldn't picture this tiny pony taking on much else.

Applejack led me to a barn and opened one of the large doors. I got the idea and went inside. The smell of hay was heavy in the air with a few stray rays of sun shining through the occasional hole in the wooden walls of the building. It didn't seem that different from barns on earth, I was still unsure if this was another world or an alternate dimension being unversed in such things.

"Now you wait right here til Ah get back, okay?" Applejack said as she closed the door.

I suddenly felt like roles had been reversed, ponies weren't supposed to be the ones putting humans up in barns. I could think of a million different planet of the ape references. So far there hadn't been any hostility from Applejack but that didn't mean she wouldn't be back with a mob, and a branding iron.

I was unsure how long Applejack had been gone, but when she returned she wasn't alone. There in the door way, was a unicorn with wings folded against her sides. A crown was on her head, a symbol of royalty, or the winner of a beauty contest. 

The odd looking unicorn approached me with a smile that was a bit over enthusiastic. I could only assume this was the 'Twilight' pony Applejack had spoken of.

"I had my doubts, but an actual human...how did you get past the mirror?" she asked.

"Mirror? I don't think I came through a mirror...not to be pushy Miss Twilight, I think, but I really need to find a way back home I was hoping you knew a way." I said.

"O-oh, right, but if you didn't come out of the mirror then how did you get to Equestria?" Twilight asked.

"I'm not sure myself." I replied.

Twilight looked me up and down once more as if she was searching for something she might have missed the first time. Her eyes narrowed which made me more nervous than it probably should have.

"Applejack said your name's Daniel, is that right?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah is that important for some reason?" I asked nervously.

"It's just an unusual name...there may be older magic at work here. Until we know what brought you here I can't send you home." Twilight said.

I couldn't help but sit down on a nearby hay block with a defeated expression on my face. With those words the energy had simply left my body. My mind tried its best to come up with an answer as to why this was happening, but it never produced a suitable one.

"Are you okay?" Twilight asked her hooves making a clacking noise as she approached me.

"No, I'm not. This kind of thing isn't supposed to happen." I said, embarrassed, as I felt a tear escape one of my eyes.

Stress had finally whittled down my resolve and I didn't care anymore. The possibility of being stuck here and never seeing my friends or family was the last straw. I had a life...a boring life, but a life none the less. I wasn't some fearless hero explorer like my sister, this would be right up her alley.

"Hey, it's okay, trust me things will work out." Twilight said placing a hoof against my side.

I took off my glasses and rubbed my temples. I knew she meant well, but it wasn't very convincing, and there were no clues as to what sent me here. I regretted getting mad at my sister, and making that wish, wishes always backfire.

"A wish...I made a wish with some rock." I said catching Twilight off guard.

"Rocks don't grant wishes, right Twi?" Applejack asked.

"Stranger things have happened. This one might have, Daniel I think it's time I introduced you to somepony very important. Even if I can't help I know she can." Twilight said smiling at me.

"Okay...but how am I supposed to get to this pers-err pony?" I asked.

"Leave that to me." Twilight said confidently.
> Another Lesson
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have never been a fan of heights, so when Twilight’s method of transport was a flying carriage I was opposed to the idea. I probably sound like a wimp; well, you’re not wrong, otherwise things might have been different in my life.

“Here we are.” Twilight said, getting out of the carriage.

“I’ll stick to the ground next time.” I said, following her on unsteady legs at first. 

There were ponies in armor around the entrance to the castle I had been brought to. Each one stared me down as I followed Twilight through the doors leading to the interior of the large structure. Some were unicorns, while others were pegasai, and there were a few normal ponies, like Applejack.

“I feel like the odd man out here.” I said, as we walked through a long hallway.

“They’re just doing their job, besides you’re the first of your kind to set hoof here, can you blame them for being a little suspicious?” Twilight asked.

“Not really...so do you always say everypony, hoof for hands and feet and...ponify everything?” I asked.

Twilight giggled “You might be in culture shock for a while, but trust me not much is different.” she said.

I had to take her word for it. In a strange way everything made sense, everypony meant everyone or everybody. Somepony was the same as saying someone, still it felt weird to even think it let alone say it.

“Princess Twilight!” saluted two guards at a set of large double doors.

“Hello, is Princess Celestia busy?” Twilight asked.

The two guards looked at each other nervously before turning their attention back to Twilight “Prince Blueblood is in there…” one of them said quietly.

“Blueblood? Kind of a pompous name.” I said, thinking out loud.

Both guards turned to me at my statement. “You have no idea, he’s been a thorn in the Princess’ side for a while now.” one said.

“Hey, what exactly are you anyways?” the other one asked staring at me.

Twilight’s eyes widened as an idea formed in her head “He is the first of his kind to this land, somewhat of an ambassador, if you will.” she said winking.

“Oh, well we can’t keep somepony of importance waiting.” the guard on the right said, winking back before opening the door wide enough to slip through.

“So what are you, really?” the other guard asked, still hung up on his question.

“It’s a long story.” I said, which left the guard with a curious stare, but at least it wasn’t menacing like the others had been.

There was a shout from behind the door, followed by several heavy clacking sounds. I had come to recognize them as pony foo-hoof steps, and could only assume news of my presence here hadn’t been taken well.

“Who is this…ambassa-dor?” asked a white unicorn, most likely Blueblood, who I had half expected to be blue. 

A look of terror was etched on his face upon seeing me, which made the guard still at his post snicker. I have to admit, seeing someone, or somepony man this would take some getting used to, go from livid to terrified within seconds was priceless.

“Sup?” I asked, causing him to take a few steps back.

“What is that thing!?” Blueblood asked.

“I am not a thing, I am a human.” I said.

Blueblood didn’t say anything, only scrunching up his face as he walked past me. His pace was rather quick, and he kept looking back at me until he rounded the corner. The feeling was less than encouraging, even if he was a jerk.

“So, this is the ambassador I was informed about?” asked an angelic voice.

On a throne, towards the end of the room, was a white mare with a mane and tail that seemed to flow with magic. Even though she was sitting down, it was obvious that she was much taller than the others. Which raised the question, if I was to refer to her as a pony or a horse?

“Sorry Celestia, I wouldn’t intrude under normal circumstances, but there’s a problem.” Twilight said, giving a small bow of her head before continuing. I guess she was humble even though she was a princess herself. I bowed as well not wanting to offend them.

“What problem would that be?” Celestia asked.

I felt a nudge in my leg, and looked down to see Twilight motion her head towards Celestia. I took a small step forward, and the fear that was racing through me seemed to vanish. I briefly considered the possibility that this was Celestia’s doing somehow, but pushed the notion from my mind.

“You’re majesty, this is all an accident, I woke up on one of your subject’s land and the thing is I’m not from here…as in from this world, not that you didn’t probably didn’t guess that.” I said.

“So, how did you get here then?” Celestia asked, a confused look on her face.

“Do you know what a wishing stone is?” I asked in return.

Celestia closed her eyes, as if in deep thought. A low “hmm” escaped her as she pondered on what I had asked making me worry if she could help me get home. After a few seconds she opened her eyes, and looked down at me with a sad expression.

“I can’t say that I do…” Celestia said.

“Is there something you’re not telling us? Any detail at all about how you got here?” Twilight asked.

“I’ve told you everything, I was ranting about a stupid letter my sister sent, then out of spite I made a wish, and I say that lightly, then there’s a bright light and loud noise and I passed out.” I said.

“Magic leaves little to wishes, I don’t think it was what you said that brought you here.” Celestia said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“While I may not know what brought you here, I don’t believe it was an accident, especially something this significant.” Celestia said smiling.

“Princess, I’m anything but significant, trust me this is a huge misunderstanding. I just want to go back to my old life.” I said.

“And you enjoy this life?” Celestia asked.

I hesitated in answering her. I hadn’t been mad at my sister that night, even though her letter is what started all of this, I was mad at myself. Truth was, I hated my life, and wanted change. I thought about arguing for my family, but even that fell in my mind as I recalled how I was broken goods to a drill sergeant father because I wouldn’t join the army, My mother wasn’t much better, constantly reminding me of my failures. She called it pushing, I called it annoying.

“No, but…I don’t know, I just don’t belong here.” I said.

“Twilight, may I have a word with you?” Celestia asked, prompting a guard to show me out of the room.

***
“He is a strange creature, are these the ones you saw when you ventured through the mirror?” Celestia asked.

“Yes, but I don’t think he came through the mirror, so his story holds up. If he had, he should have been affected by the spell and changed like I did.” Twilight said.

Celestia looked at the doors, pondering on what to do with the being just beyond them. He seemed harmless enough, but looks could be deceiving. Still, this human seemed to lack the confidence to do anything outrageous and posed little threat if there was any malice in him. Then there was the question of how others would treat him.

“Does anypony else know about this new comer?” Celestia asked.

“Applejack, but only because she’s the one who found him. I was worried how the others would react to seeing him.” Twilight said.

“I fear this as well, and with Blueblood having seen him who knows what will be said. I don’t want to use quarantine while we look into what force sent him here, but maybe it’s for the best.” Celestia said.

Twilight stared at the doors “I’ll do it.” she said her, glance not wavering.

“You’ll do what, Twilight?” Celestia asked.

“When you sent me to Ponyville you tasked me with making friends, and learning all I could about friendship, you never said anything about them being exclusively ponies.” Twilight said, looking up at Celestia.

“No, I suppose I didn’t. I'll see to this mysterious stone, I don't think it would have been a simple wish. To preform a spell powerful enough to send a non-magical being to another world would be next to impossible without the aid of an already established gateway." Celestia said, nodding to one of her guards. 

***
The doors opened to Twilight and Celestia, both discussing something I was too far out of range to hear. Twilight looked back at me with a smile that was up lifting. Celestia was standing now, and I was right, she dwarfed her guards and Twilight, though I still had at least half a foot on her.

"What is your name?" Celestia asked "I don't think I caught it before."

"Daniel, your majesty." I replied. 

"Well Daniel, until we can determine what exactly caused you to appear here, Twilight has offered to help you try and co-exist." Celestia said, with a smile.

Co-exist, a word humans have never been able to nail down in our years as a dominant species. In this world, I had a feeling I'd be hard pressed to find crime anywhere, and there was only me. 

I took in a deep breath before exhaling "Okay, we'll do it your way then." I said, looking down at Twilight. 

> The Sleep Over
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What would you say you’re best feature is?” Twilight asked as the carriage came to a halt next to a cottage near the edge of a forest.

This game of twenty thousand questions had started once we left Celestia’s castle. For a pony that had been to our world, she seemed to be awfully curious about me. It felt like an interview for a job at times, but it kept my mind off of being in the air. 

“I guess my height. So what’s this place?” I asked, following Twilight as she left the carriage.

“I wanted to introduce you to one of my friends. She can be a little shy at first, but she’s one of the nicest ponies I know.” Twilight said,  knocking on the door with her hoof.

What sounded like a squeak came from the other side of the door, followed by a crash. Everything was quiet for a while, save for some chickens that were pecking at the ground occasionally, and the soft flowing of a brook beneath the bridge we had crossed.

“Hey Twilight, if ponies don’t eat meat why keep the chickens?” I asked.

“The same reason you do, for the eggs.” Twilight replied.

Twilight knocked on the door again, this time a bit softer “Fluttershy, it’s me!” she called out.

Not long after that, the door slowly opened to reveal a yellow pony with wings. Her pink mane was long enough to partially touch the ground. On her flank were three little butterflies. I had noticed something similar on Twilight, Celestia and Applejack but hadn’t bothered asking about it.

“Oh, hey Twilight, what brings you out here?” Fluttershy asked, her pupils growing comically smaller when she noticed me.

Here it comes. I thought to myself.

“T-Twilight w-w-what’s that?” Fluttershy asked with a whimper.

“This is Daniel, he’s not from around here.” Twilight said nonchalantly.

Twilight had made the claim this was the nicest pony she knew. I figured it would be an uphill battle trying to prove I wasn’t a monster of some sort, but with the reactions I had received so far it felt more like a lost cause.

“Hi.” I said, with a small halfhearted wave.

“H-hello.” Fluttershy said still unsure of me.

It felt like the floor was about to fall out from under me. Twilight had stuck up for me, for whatever reason she deemed justifiable. She had faith this would work, so I couldn't throw in the towel just yet. Pushing rejection out of the way, I tried again, to start some kind of conversation.

"So, what's with the butterflies?" I asked.

"B-butterflies?" Fluttershy asked "O-oh you mean my cutie mark?"

"If that's what they're called yeah I guess...is it like a tattoo or something?" I asked, squatting to try and appear less intimidating.

I was mentally praying this would improve things. Once I was about the same height as Twilight, Fluttershy seemed to relax a little and the nervous shaking stopped. Her eyes no longer looked like they would pop from her head at any given moment either.

"Oh goodness no, you get them when you find your special talent." Fluttershy said looking back at her mark.

"So your talent is butterflies?" I asked forcing a smile.

"Well it actually has to do with an-" Fluttershy started to explain, until a gurgling noise from my stomach stopped her.

I hated my stomach's timing, but it was my own fault for not addressing the issue sooner. I hadn't stopped to eat while I was still home last night, nor did I say anything when I was at Applejack's. It was a mystery how my stomach managed to stay silent during my talk with Celestia but I chalked it up to occupying my mind with more important matters.

A much quieter noise came from Twilight's stomach which almost made me laugh "Did I cause you miss out on meals?" I asked.

"No nothing like that, besides it's not every day a new species comes to Equestria." Twilight said.

The species part made me sigh, even if it was true. It would be something I would have to get over. Like it or not, I was the new thing to these ponies. 

"A new species? Oh wow, where are you from?" Fluttershy asked, her personality doing a complete about face.

"Uh, Earth." I said, a bit scared by this sudden emotional shift. 

"I've never heard of Earth before! Is it a hidden place somewhere?" Fluttershy asked excitedly.

I was about to answer before my stomach spoke for me. It really did have the worst possible timing when it decided to let others know I was hungry. 

"Oh you poor thing, come in before you starve." Fluttershy said flying behind me.

I felt a soft push against my back, and assumed it was her trying to move me. The pegasus wasn't very strong, but to humor her, I stood up and ducked down to avoid hitting my head on the door frame. I looked back to see Twilight smile as she followed us in.

Ha! Eat it low hanging objects! I thought to myself, right before I hit a birdhouse with my head.

"Now, what do you eat?" Fluttershy asked, forgetting our height difference as she flapped her wings to stay eye level with me.

I paused, considering what to tell her. Twilight said she knew about humans, which meant she probably knew my dirty little secret about eating others who had been baked or cooked. This pegasus was heart attack inducingly innocent, and I couldn't bring myself to confess my carnivorous side just yet.

"Fruit is fine." I said sitting on the floor after examining the couch carefully and deciding it was not worth the risk.

"Okay that's simple enough, Twilight I already know what you like, so I'll be right back." Fluttershy said landing on the floor with a soft clop sound and walking into what I assumed was a kitchen.


While she was gone I observed the inside of the cottage, and was impressed by how many different bird houses she had. There were small doors on the walls as well, similar in size and shape to the hole I had seen a cartoon mouse use before.

I always felt afraid to touch or go anywhere in someone's house. Part of this fear was out of respect for the owner. The other part was an unhealthy fear of breaking something if I so much as moved.

The furniture in the house was all miniaturized, making me feel as if I was in a large doll house. While the furniture was probably more stable than I gave it credit for, I doubt the carpenter had envisioned a six foot alien sitting in it.

“See this isn’t so bad is it?” Twilight asked with a proud look on her face.

"I feel like Wreck-It Ralph in here." I replied.

"Who?" Twilight asked.

"You didn't see that movie while you were in my world? You missed out, it was pretty good." I said.

"I was preoccupied. My visit wasn't out of pleasure, or in the name of discovery. My crown was stolen." Twilight said.

My response was silenced by a small plate being held up in front of me. Fluttershy had returned, unsurprisingly quickly with how simple my request had been. On what would be considered a coffee cup plate, by my world’s standards, were some apple slices and grapes.

Twilight had a simple sandwich that had daisies between the two slices of bread. A purple light covered the sandwich as did Twilight’s horn. The sandwich floated inches from the alicorn’s face as she started to eat it.

I noticed Fluttershy had a third plate in her mouth and was already sitting down across from me near what I assumed was a coffee table. I could only guess since everything here was built around the ponies' smaller size.

Fluttershy’s eyes were locked on me as I ate an apple slice. It was unnerving to say the least.

“So what’s Earth like?” Fluttershy asked before taking a small bite of her own food.

“Well, it’s not much different from Equestria really. The whole floating sandwich thing is new though. Everything is a lot…bigger.” I said taking another look around the room.

Fluttershy looked at Twilight’s sandwich, then back to me with a horrified look “You don’t have magic?” she asked.

“No there’s no magic in their world Fluttershy. That’s why we’re trying to get to the bottom of how he got here in the first place.” Twilight said taking a break from her sandwich.

“How do you get anything done?” Fluttershy asked.

“Hundreds of years ago magic was used to explain a lot of stuff, but now we rely on technology.” I said.

Magic seemed to play a vital role in this world from Fluttershy’s reaction. So far it felt like all I had done was answer questions about how different my world was from theirs. I decided it was time to get some answers of my own.

“So the cutie mark thing, how does it work?” I asked.

“Oh, well when a colt or filly is born they don’t have a cutie mark. It appears when they learn what sets them apart from everypony else. Mine appeared when I learned I had a gift for taking care of animals animals.” Fluttershy said, looking at the three butterflies on her left flank.

I noticed what looked like a picture behind Fluttershy that had a bunch of different squares and half squares. I took it for a piece of art, but it seemed too simple to be framed, maybe this was another difference?

“What’s the deal with the picture?” I asked.

“Oh that’s not a picture; it’s an article on Rainbow Dash when she performed the sonic rainboom.” Fluttershy replied following my gaze.

“So those are words?” I asked, which made Twilight nearly choke on her food.

“I guess we have more to cover than I thought we did.” Twilight said recomposing herself.

The three of us turned our heads towards the sound of a clock alerting us of the time. It looked like an old grandfather clock I had seen at my grandparent’s house when I was younger. I also began to wonder if time flowed at the same rate here as it did on Earth.

“Oh wow, I didn’t realize how late it was. I really need to get back, not to mention establish a plan to introduce you to society. It’ll take a little work to get you past everypony else though.” Twilight said walking towards the door.

“Wait! I mean, it’s late and I could let him stay here for tonight…if that’s okay with you.” Fluttershy said.

Twilight grew silent in thought at the offer “That would make things easier. Does that sound okay?” Twilight asked as both ponies’ eyes fell on me.

“That’s fine, as long as Fluttershy isn’t bugged by me being here.” I replied.

“Oh goodness no, trust me you’re not a bother.” Fluttershy said.

Her words hurt, they weren’t malicious by any means but they still hurt. I was independent in my world I had everything. Here I had nothing but the clothes on my back yet I had been shown kindness that I felt I didn't deserve. 

"Are you okay Mister Daniel?" Fluttershy asked concern on her face. 

"Yeah I'm fine, just thinking about some stuff. Humans zone out sometimes." I said.

"You might want to work on that, because tomorrow you're hitting some books." Twilight said as the door turned purple before opening. 

"Bye Twilight, I guess we'll see you tomorrow?" Fluttershy asked.

"Of course, don't let him stay up too late Fluttershy." Twilight said as she closed the door behind her. 

I'm sorry did I age in reverse as well? I thought to myself.

I looked at the couch and stood up, if this was going to be my place of rest for the night, I might as well get used to the idea of small furniture. I could only hope that they made bigger houses once I found a way to earn whatever their source of currency was.

"If something goes horribly wrong, I apologize in advance." I said, looking back at Fluttershy.

Fluttershy looked puzzled by my statement, but seemed to catch on and giggled "Oh don't worry about that, it's held somepony your size before." she said.

"Really? I thought Twilight said I was the only human here." I said. 

"He's not human, he is different though." Fluttershy said with a smile. 

I shrugged and sat down surprised that, true to her word, the small furniture held up. Perhaps I had been too hard a judge on their craftsmanship. 

"Um Mister Daniel, can I ask you a question?" Fluttershy asked, "You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"It's fine Fluttershy, what's up?" I asked in return.

"Well, do you have a talent, or do you have something like a cutie mark?" Fluttershy asked innocently. 

"I was good at a few things, humans aren't good at just one thing in their lives. I worked from behind the scenes though, so I guess mine wasn't as important as say giving a speech or something. My sister would have loved this place, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I didn't want a boring life." I said.

"Sometimes we don't get what we want, we get what we need instead. At least I like to think so." Fluttershy said.

"I guess that's a better way to look at it." I said with a yawn. 

"You're going to sleep already?" Fluttershy asked surprised.

"I think world hopping takes more out of you than they claim it does." I said with a smile.

"Oh, okay I'll see you in the morning then, goodnight Mister Daniel." Fluttershy said as she flew towards the stairs.

"Hey Fluttershy," I said stopping her "Am I scary, you know to be around and stuff?" 

"You were a little scary at first, but I think you're nice, and I'm sure everypony else will too, if you give them a chance to get to know you." Fluttershy replied before disappearing up the stairs. 

I tried to get as comfortable as I could on the couch. I'd slept on them countless times, but never one this size before. It took a while but I eventually found a position that was comfortable enough to slowly drift off to sleep.

Sleep was no aid to my weary mental state of mind. Visions of my family, friends and the life I had left behind filled my mind. It was a small tapping sensation that eventually brought a small amount of relief from what could neither be called a dream nor a nightmare. 

I looked down into the darkness of the room to see two eyes looking back up at me. Their owner was a small white rabbit no bigger than my hand. His forelegs were crossed as if in agitation and I felt something rough against the back of my hand. 

I moved it to see a carrot that was quickly snatched up by the rabbit who disappeared into the darkness of the cottage. As I tried to get back into my original position I noticed a blanket had been draped over me. There was little question as to who was responsible. 

Then a moment of realization hit me. I had fallen asleep and woken back up in this world, Equestria. All of this was real, the magic, the ponies, everything. Tomorrow I was supposed to start learning about this new culture and it made me wonder.

"How much of my humanity will I be forced to give up?" I asked myself quietly. 
> Square One
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Something smelt good, better than it had any right to. As the strong scent slowly woke me, my still groggy mind tried its best to place a name to the smell. It was too strong to be a fruit and the smell of baking bread had a distinctly sweet smell to it. Was it really meat being cooked?

“Can’t be.” I said to myself getting up a bit too quickly.

The couch had worked as a makeshift bed, but that was all it had done. It had done little for my back and my constant tossing and turning probably hadn’t helped. Bones popped in protest as I stood up, my neck being the worst.

I stretched out my back hearing several oddly satisfying pops which made the rabbit from last night cringe. Even the animals here were strange; at most a dog would have tilted their head and went on about their business.

I carefully walked into the kitchen where Fluttershy was humming something. My heavy foot steps alerted her to my presence as an ear swiveled in my direction before she turned her head.

“Oh I’m sorry was I too loud?” Fluttershy asked.

“No, um question is that meat?” I asked rhetorically upon seeing what was in the pan.

“Well, yes I thought you might like some.” Fluttershy replied.

“How did you know I eat meat? I mean isn’t that taboo to you guys?” I asked.

“You sleep with your mouth open, so when I came to check on you this morning I saw you had canines. Like I said yesterday I work with animals, enough so to know how the circle of life works. I’m no stranger to bears and other carnivores.” Fluttershy said sweetly.

A part of me was horrified that this sweet, innocent little pegasus was capable of even handling meat let alone preparing it. I couldn’t help but picture Fluttershy with a chainsaw laughing like a maniac as she shredded a smaller creature. I shook the image from my mind before I dwelt on it for too long.

My stomach was less concerned about how she acquired it, but my morals were getting the best of me. While fruit was hardly filling, eating from my favorite food group did little in my case to prove I wasn’t some sort of blood thirsty monster.

“Okay Fluttershy you’re right I like meat. Here’s the thing though I really can eat both plants…and other animals. I need you to promise me this will be our secret and I won’t eat meat again, I’ll find something else I promise.” I said dejectedly.

“Oh okay, so do you not want this then?” Fluttershy asked.

“I do, this will just be for the last time okay?” I asked in return smiling.

“Okay it’ll be our secret then.” Fluttershy replied.

I felt a little less guilty about eating what she had prepared now. Fluttershy watched me take a bite of the food just as fascinated as yesterday. I nervously swallowed not entirely used to an audience.

“Well how is it?” Fluttershy asked.

“It’s good; I’m going to miss it.” I said.

“I’m glad, I mean not that you’re not going to eat meat anymore. You can still eat other things to get protein.” Fluttershy said trying to cheer me up.

“I know Fluttershy. There are a group of humans that eat nothing but vegetation because they don’t believe in eating other creatures so it’s do able it’ll just take some getting used to.” I said.

Fluttershy seemed satisfied with my response as I finished the food she had made. She flew over to what looked like saddle bags and put them on.

“So what do you normally do after eating?” I asked.

“I feed the chickens and other animals. What do humans do?” Fluttershy asked.

“Well I’d normally shower.” I said.

“There’s a tub upstairs.” Fluttershy offered.

“That will work.” I said

Fluttershy left me to my own devices, presumably having a great deal of faith that I knew what I was doing. Fortunately this tub didn’t seem too different from the one I had in my house. I was confused when I could only find one container. For some odd reason it took me a minute to remember that a pony’s body was covered in fur, they probably only needed one form of body wash.

Opening the cap I was greeted by the very strong scent of strawberries. I was reminded of the cruel pranks my sister would play when she would empty out my shampoo and fill it with hers. I really didn’t want to walk around smelling like fruit all day, but Fluttershy was being nice enough to let me use it.

Once I was clean and out of the tub I considered my clothing situation. I had worn the same cloths back to back before, but it was only out of necessity. Twilight would probably be the only one to actually care if-

NO! I thought giving myself a mental slap.

Giving up meat was one thing, but I was not about to walk around exposed. The fact that I even considered it was disturbing enough.

Once I was clothed again I made my way back down stairs to see Twilight with a book floating in front of her. She noticed me and the book lowered itself onto the table.

“Why do you smell like strawberries?” Twilight asked.

“Because all the cool kids smell like them. Why don’t you?” I asked in return.

"Uh huh...anyways I thought we would get the basics out of the way first." Twilight said, my humor apparently lost on her.

There was what looked like a scroll on the table that had both the symbols from the article on the wall and letters from the alphabet. I summed up Twilight had put this together to make things a bit easier. 

"Start memorizing that and writing the letters down. We'll start with the equivalent to your A and work our way through the alphabet." Twilight said as the book occupied her vision once more. 

I decided to test this little cheat sheet she had made me and started translating the title of the book she was engrossed in. T E A C H I N G F O R B. My brain filled in the rest of the blanks which made me chuckle a bit. 

"Teaching for beginners?" I asked.

"Yes, I've never taught somepony from square one so this is new to me." Twilight said as a quill pen and piece of paper were levitated towards me. 

She was serious about this even if I felt it was a tad ridiculous I was certain she had some line stored away that would relate to taking things one step at a time. I reluctantly took the quill and started writing, though for a while it felt like drawing. Fluttershy finally came back inside noticing us and giggled a little.

Once I was through the repetitive writing two more scrolls were placed in front of me. The first was blank, the next one had basic words on it. 

Twilight looked up at the clock and sighed levitating her things back into the saddle bags she had brought with her. Her behavior made me wonder if I had done something wrong or if I was taking too long which I didn't think I was. 

"We'll have to pick this back up later today. I have other matters to attend to I'm sorry." Twilight apologized as a smaller book placed itself on the table. There was a picture of a pegasus in an explorer outfit. 

"I'm going to assume this is a book geared towards kids?" I asked unable to keep my face from displaying my displeasure at the situation. 

"You have to start somewhere. I know you're not stupid if that's what you're worried about, I just don't think handing you a history book with only a basic understanding of our written language is a good idea, and no it's not just for colts and fillies" Twilight explained. 

"You're the boss." I said dejectedly as she left. 

"Daring Do huh?" I said aloud after relying on the letter sheet once or twice.

There was a noise outside that sounded like a crash. Looking through the small window I saw a yellow maned pegasus rubbing her head with her hoof before sliding a letter into Fluttershy's mailbox. 

With a shrug I returned to the mundane task I had been given. I was already relying on the sheet Twilight had made for me and I was only done with one page. It was hard to get into the story at first, but I found learning what each page said and rereading it helped. Perhaps learning a new language was different for each person on Earth.

"Is it hard?" Fluttershy asked checking in on me as I neared the end of chapter one.

"Well I've come to my own conclusions about some things. The symbols are a result of using 'mouth writing' as opposed to hands. Oddly enough your alphabet is an exact copy to the one I'm familiar with so this is more of a matching game that shouldn't take the ideal ten thousand hours to achieve fluency." I said recalling how much grief my french teacher had given me in school. 

"Goodness that sounds like a long time, how many languages are there on Earth?" Fluttershy asked wide eyed. 

"Too many for me to name them all off the top of my head, but that's the beauty of it. It'd be boring if everyone back home was the same. Nothing new would be created because everyone would think the same thing." I replied. 

"I guess that's true, it looks time consuming though." Fluttershy said.

"It is but I've done something similar before. There was a book series about a detective named Sherlock Holmes, and one of the stories had a code that had to be deciphered. It was called the Dancing Men. A few of my friends thought it would be cool to try and re-create the code and use it in school." I said smiling at the fond memory. 

"I think that's the first time I've seen you genuinely smile." Fluttershy said. 

I was starting on chapter two when several rapid knocks came from the other side of Fluttershy's door. Twilight hadn't been gone long so it was unlikely it was her, not to mention the alicorn hadn't knocked so rapidly the first time. 

"Hey Fluttershy!" a voice called that was a bit more pronounced than Twilight's or Fluttershy's. 

"Oh no, Rainbow Dash! I forgot she was coming today!" Fluttershy said in a panic. 

"Oh that's cool I-" I started to say before the yellow pegasus shook her head.

"No you don't understand! Rainbow can be a bit, defensive. Besides Twilight said you weren't ready." Fluttershy protested. 

"Fine, so where exactly do I vanish?" I asked as another round of knocking came from the door. 

"Um..in here!" Fluttershy exclaimed leading me to a closet. It was small but it would have to do. Fluttershy threw a sheet over me for good measure making me sigh in frustration. 

Just as Fluttershy closed the closet door I head the front door open startling her. I grew quiet and stared into the darkness of the small room. 

"Fluttershy are you okay?" asked whom I assumed was Rainbow Dash. 

"O-oh yes I'm fine just doing some cleaning." Fluttershy lied. 

You're very bad at this. I thought to myself. 

"I came to bring Tank by like you asked me to." Rainbow Dash said. 

"Right, his check up." Fluttershy responded.

Their conversation soon shifted to small talk until a gasp came from the other pony in the room. I head the rustling of paper which reminded me I had left my things out on the table. 

"Fluttershy, are you coming up with a secret code?" Rainbow Dash asked. 

Crap she found it! I thought. 

"Oh um...Twilight was here earlier, she must have left it." Fluttershy said. 

"So this is some secret princess code then?" Rainbow Dash asked excitedly.

"Maybe, I'm not really sure." Fluttershy said. 

I could here something that sounded similar to when someone pressed a pen or pencil harder than necessary onto a piece of paper. There were irritated grunts followed by a spitting sound and something hitting the floor. 

"How are you supposed to write this?" asked Rainbow Dash frustrated. 

"Tank's finished." Fluttershy said with an underlying hint of urgency.

"Oh cool, I'll see you around Fluttershy, tell Twilight that code of hers is kinda lame." Rainbow said before she left.

"Mister Daniel?" Fluttershy called out to me as she opened the closet door. 

"One of your friends?" I asked. 

"Yes, oh no! I forgot Applejack is coming over too!" Fluttershy exclaimed starting to shove me back in as if she would arrive any second. 

"Whoa easy, I've already met Applejack." I said tensing so she couldn't move me. 

"You have? Oh thank goodness." Fluttershy sighed in relief. 

I was starting to feel more and more like an inconvenience to these ponies. This feeling was only intensified by my inability to go outside without the risk of being seen. 

I decided to see what Rainbow Dash had tried to write and found a multitude scribbles. If I ever did see this mysterious pony this would be something I could have up my sleeve as a joke. 

With a sigh I resumed reading with the sinking feeling Twilight would be on my case if I didn't make any progress. I stuck to the same pattern I had now with recognizing a few symbols more easily than others. 

I was starting on chapter three when Applejack arrived and looked shocked to see me. I waved and turned my attention back to the book. 

"So this is where ya ended up?" Applejack asked. 

"Yeah I'm a big secret though so don't tell anypony." I said rolling my eyes. 

"Oh so you have already met each other, that's good." Fluttershy said. 

"Yep, strange critter, but a nice one s'far as I can tell." Applejack said. 

"A bored one too." I commented. 

Three hours had passed and there was still no sign of Twilight. It must have been something involving a court or some other national matter. 

Applejack looked at the scroll that was on the table clearly just as baffled by it as Rainbow Dash must have been. She then noticed the other pony's failed attempt at replicating the English alphabet. 

"What the hay is this?" Applejack asked. 

"Those are the frustrated scribblings of Rainbow Dash." I said turning the page. 

"Has Winona been feeling better?" Fluttershy asked drawing Applejack's attention away from me. 

"She's get'n there. With what you've been given her I bet she'll be back to her ol self in no time." Applejack said. 

Their idle chitchat faded into the background as I listened to my thoughts more than what was going on around me. They were certainly social creatures, humans were too but there were introverts as well. 

"So is that all ya'v today?" Applejack asked breaking my train of thought. 

"Yeah, I don't want Twilight on my case about not learning how to read and write your language. Still, I'd give just about anything to get outside and do something." I said putting the book down. 

Applejack narrowed her eyes in concentration before speaking "How much can you lift?" she asked. 

"I don't know if it would be an accurate number, since size seems to be a bit different here." I replied. 

"Can ya lift this at least?" Applejack pointed to the table. 

I stood up and lifted the table with little effort. Its smaller size made it laughably easy and I wondered how she could really get an accurate gauge of what I could and couldn't lift from this little exercise. 

Fluttershy had covered her mouth with her hooves in horror. Those eyes sank like needles into my heart and I quickly put the table back down. The pegasus sighed once she saw her furniture was no longer in danger. 

"If yer really bored I can try talkin' to Twi, but it can be hard to change her mind sometimes." Applejack said. 

"Sure, what did you have in mind?" I asked. 

"Well I wouldn't wanna be takin' ya away from learning what ya need to. If you're serious though I think it'd  be a good way to get some exercise, not to mention help your image a bit." Applejack said.

"Not that image, I mean of how the ponyfolk in Ponyville might look at ya." Applejack said when she saw me looking at myself questionably. 

"Oh, yeah that sounds cool. I don't see why Twilight wouldn't be for that." I said.

I was later corrected when Applejack submitted her idea to Twilight when she arrived back a few hours later. It seems Applejack knew her friend a bit better than I did. 

"I'd still be reading and I've felt bad not doing anything all day except read." I said.

"I don't think it's wise, there's a lot of things to take into consideration." Twilight said. 

"I'll be more exposed to your culture outside than inside. I can read until I pass out, but unless I'm around it and utilizing it nothing will stick." I said.

"I think what he's try'n to say is books can't do everything Twi." Applejack said trying to calm her friend down. 

"Um, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea. He has been kind of down today." Fluttershy said siding with us. 

"Ugh, fine...tomorrow you can go with Applejack, and...if you can finish five chapters then we'll see if this revision works." Twilight said with a defeated tone. 

Twilight could have pulled the princess card and had the final word, but I was surprised by the level of maturity. Most politicians wouldn't hesitate to pull some sort of string to get out of a crisis. I had to admire her for that. 

***
Celestia sat on her bed reading a letter that had appeared in a puff of green smoke. She had little doubt who sent it and pushed her other matters aside for the moment. 

Dear Princess Celestia

Today was the first day trying to prepare Daniel for Equestrian citizenship. While I have little doubt in his abilities to comprehend and retain the information I fear he feels undermined by what I have given him. I'm sure there is a lingering resent of being stuck in Equestria even if he will not admit it. 

He has already met Fluttershy and the two seem to have gotten along well. I can only hope this means that if a human can earn the trust of the most timid pony in Ponyville he'll be able to gain the trust of others as well. 

Tomorrow, with some persuasion from outside sources, I have agreed to let him spend the day with Applejack in the hopes that some time spent around her farm, and family, will have a positive impact.  

Sincerely yours

Twilight Sparkle.

Celestia giggled a bit when she noticed Twilight didn't add the word student. It was fitting, she seemed to have one of her own now and the mare felt the circle was finally complete, even if it was in a way she had never imagined it would be. 
> The Simple Things
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun was just starting to rise, or be raised as Twilight had explained it, by the time I arrived at Applejack's. She warned me not to complain today, no matter what happened which made me question just what exactly the earth pony had in mind.

The door to a rather sizable house opened revealing Applejack, who put her hat on as she walked outside. Seeing me she gave a wave and met me halfway as I approached.

"So what's first?" I asked with a yawn, trying to wake up.

"Have ya ever bucked apples before?" Applejack asked.

I shrugged, I was pretty certain she meant picked, but I didn't want to look like a complete moron in case I was wrong. Bucking for an equine meant kicking, that much I was sure of. How that fit into harvesting apples was beyond me. 

"It ain't hard, watch." Applejack said with a laugh, as she led me to a nearby apple tree.

Applejack spun around looking over her shoulder, lining herself up. She dug her fore hooves into the soil before lifting her hind legs off the ground, and slammed her hooves against the trunk of the tree in one fluid motion.

Several apples fell into waiting baskets and the earth pony looked quite pleased with herself. It was impressive to say the least, and a creative way of collecting the fruit.

"You try." Applejack said, pointing to a neighboring tree.

I let out a nervous laugh, not quite sure how to approach 'apple bucking' as opposed to just picking them. It probably would have been simpler to pick them, most of the apples were within my reach but there were a few that were higher up.

I opted to try ramming it instead of kicking the tree, not convinced it would be enough to bring down as many as Applejack had. The pose just seemed a bit ridiculous for a person as well.

A few apples fell which prompted me to ram the tree a second time. More fell the second time than the first. Applejack seemed puzzled by my method at first but nodded approvingly after seeing the results.

"It's a strange way of doin' it, but it gets the job done. Now all we're waitin' on is Apple Bloom and Big McIntosh." Applejack said.

A few minutes passed before a small filly accompanied by a stallion appeared. The filly stopped when she saw me, but followed after the stallion that didn't seem to care about my presence.

"Daniel this here's ma big brother, Big McIntosh, but we all call 'im Big Mac fer short. And that's ma little sis Apple Bloom." Applejack said pointing to them as she said their names.

"Nice to meet you." I said.

"Eeyup." Big Mac said looking up at me almost as if he was bored.

"Hey mister." Apple Bloom said hiding behind her big brother.

"Apple Bloom, Ah told ya he ain't a monster, now come on out here." Applejack scolded.

It worked with Fluttershy. I thought to myself kneeling.

Apple Bloom came out from hiding and cautiously approached me. She seemed more curious now than afraid as if she was trying to put her hoof on what exactly I was supposed to be.

"Alright, now that introductions are out of the way let’s get to it." Applejack said.

Applejack and Big McIntosh were the apple buckers while Apple Bloom handled the baskets. I had the privilege of being an honorary 'bucker' even though my tactic was a bit more brutish than Applejack's and her brother's.

As the morning progressed I tried gently shaking the tree at least once which only ended up dislodging two apples. This at least made Apple Bloom laugh and seemed to lessen the lingering tension. 

"So have ya ever done anything like this before?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Not really, but it's a lot better than being under lock down." I said.

"Fluttershy's ain't that bad." Applejack said in between kicking a tree.

"No, but I was starting to get in the way. You guys have helped me so I wanted to return the favor, or try to anyways." I said.

"Well yer helpin' supply Ponyville with food, if that counts fer anything." Applejack said.

“Eeyup.” Big Mac said after kicking a tree. 

I got the impression Big McIntosh didn’t say much. He seemed like the soft spoken type and was probably pretty lax when it came to life in general.

As much fun as hitting trees was, my shoulder was starting to get a little sore. I swapped shoulders and pressed on, noting how Applejack’s family didn’t seem fazed by the constant activity. Doing it most of their life probably had something to do with it.

By now the sun was high in the sky; the benefit of working under trees though was the shade they provided. Off in the distance I could hear the whistle of a train which made me notice just how far we had worked from Applejack’s house.

“How big is this place?” I asked.

“Pretty big.” Apple Bloom said.

I heard the whistle again and walked over a small hill in the direction I had heard the noise. There off in the distance were a few buildings I could just make out between the rows of trees.

“Is that Ponyville?” I asked.

“Sure is, don’t worry you’ll get there.” Applejack said.

“Seems easier said than done at this rate.” I replied.

“Welp, ya can think about it more after ya’ve got a full stomach, it’s about lunch time.” Applejack said calling for the first break of the day.

Curiosity got the best of me and I took off my shirt to examine my shoulders. They were a little red, but for the most part seemed okay. My shirt on the other hand, had some tears in it.

“So why do ya wear cloths all the time anyways?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Well…it’s just something my people do.” I replied, not wanting to go into the details.

“But why?” Apple Bloom asked, her childhood curiosity not satisfied with my answer.

“Well some clothes on my world are for protection, others are for work…the latter of which I wish I had.” I mumbled under my breath.

“Oh…okay!” Apple Bloom said happily, now content with the great conspiracy I apparently brought with me to this world.

Lunch with Applejack’s family was enjoyable. Despite the morning’s small hang up I couldn’t tell that they were treating me any differently. Most of the food was apple related, and I got awkward stares when I told them I’d never had apple pie. I had never really tried any pie for that matter.

Applejack came up with a cruel method of forcing me to try some. Being a bit faster than I was the earth pony took the book I was supposed to read hostage until I took at least one bite. Begrudgingly I took a bite and found it to be quite enjoyable.

I met Granny Smith, who was an interesting character to say the least. Like all grandmothers she had some information on Applejack which the mare probably wished I hadn’t heard.

As lunch came to a close and we left the house I found out firsthand what a deer caught in a set of headlights must feel like. On the other side of the door were two white unicorns. I found myself frozen in place like an idiot, as if I stared at them long enough they would disappear.

“Hi.” I said making both of them scream.

“Rarity stop!” Applejack shouted rushing past me.

“Applejack? Oh thank goodness you’re alright!” the older of the two unicorns exclaimed.

“Whadda ya…oh him? He’s harmless.” Applejack said.

The unicorn looked unsure, that same fearful expression on her face like the others. I considered myself fortunate to have been found by one of the braver ponies in Equestria.

“Did it come out of the Everfree Forest?” asked the smaller one.

“No, I’m not native to your world.” I said.

“Are all you’r- gracious what happened here?” the older of the two asked approaching my shirt that I had slung over the chair I had managed to sit in.

“Oh that, I only have one set on me so I had to make do working in that shirt.” I said perplexed by her fascination with it.

“Why would you travel to Equestria with only one set of clothes darling?” she asked.

“Well I didn’t actually plan on coming here. I was…honestly I still don’t have an answer I’ll have to check with Twilight about that when she comes back.” I said.

“I don’t know if its common practice to get good clothes ruined where you’re from, you should have come to me if you’re in such dire need of them.” she scolded.

“After how you reacted Ah doubt he’ll come at all now.” Applejack said rolling her eyes.

“Yes I suppose I did over react a bit. I’m just not used to seeing somepony so…tall coming out of Applejack’s door. Let’s start over; my name is Rarity and this is my sister Sweetie Belle, and yours?” Rarity asked.

“Daniel, and it’s cool, I’ve been getting that a lot lately.” I said with a shrug.

"So what were ya doin' out this way Rarity?" Applejack asked.

"Oh Sweetie Belle had wanted to see Apple Bloom, so I thought I'd get out of the boutique for a while and come see her off." Rarity replied.

The two fillies had already broken away from us and were carrying on a hushed conversation. I had two little cousins who were always getting into trouble and all of their schemes started with that all too familiar huddle.

"Well we've still got some work to do so it might be a while before Apple Bloom will be able to play." Applejack said.

"Aww c'mon please can't I go play with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo?" Apple Bloom pleaded.

"Nnope." Big Mac said.

For being a pony, Apple Bloom had the art of puppy dog eyes mastered. It was the look little kids had in their arsenal against the weaker willed, namely me.

"I can pick up the slack. Besides my shoulders are still kind of sore." I said.

"Alright, but no stayin' out till dark this time, understand?" Applejack said with a sigh.

Though Applejack was Apple Bloom's big sister, I could see a motherly side to the relationship as well. She would probably never answer me on the subject, and it would be offensive to ask, but I hadn't seen Applejack's parents.

I'd seen this far too often, an older sibling stepping up where a parent wasn't present or was negligent. It took a strong bond that most probably wouldn't understand unless they went through something similar.

The two fillies didn't stay long after that and hurried out the door giggling, supposedly at whatever scheme they had.

"Well it seems somepony has a soft heart. Not a bad thing mind you." Rarity said.

My shirt folded itself which was impressive enough I had to stop myself from clapping like an idiot at a magic show. I had to keep reminding myself that this was normal for them.

"I'll be taking this, I'm sure you can do without it for one day hmm?" Rarity asked.

"Uh, sure but why would you want my shirt?" I asked in return.

"Well to fix it of course, you really are new here. Fashion is my life darling and I cannot, no will not, see somepony who has an appreciation for clothing like myself walk around in little more than garments turned rags!" Rarity exclaimed.

"But...I..." I said stumbling over my words.

Rarity's rant, as off as it was, made me reflect on something I never had before. I really took clothes for granted, I woke up each morning and there they were. I took having things that most probably didn’t in general for granted and the more I thought about it the more it showed on my face without realizing it.

"Is something wrong?" Rarity asked.

"No, just a zone out...it's a human thing. Thanks for offering to fix my shirt, um could you do me a bigger favor and not tell anypony you saw me?" I asked, getting used to replacing anyone with anypony.

"Yes I can see why you'd want to stay hidden, but I'm afraid Ponyville is too small of a town to keep something like you a secret for long." Rarity said with a frown.

"Yeah, but Twilight wants me off the record until I'm 'ready'." I said with air quotes which caused Rarity and Applejack to look at one of their fore hooves. Oh the fun with fingers.

"Just food for thought dear, au revoir." Rarity said.

"Bonne journ'ee." I replied making her stop.

"Tall and well spoken, you a mysterious one Daniel." Rarity said taking her leave with a smile.

The fact that a pony knew French raised a multitude of questions. English was one thing, but French? Twilight's guide had seemed to suggest that there was only one language which simplified things. I no longer hated my French teacher and the unnecessarily difficult test he would give if that wasn't the case. 

"Welp let’s get back to it." Applejack said signaling the end of our break.

The rest of the day was uneventful and my shoulder appreciated it. I was able to move much faster than Apple Bloom so it wasn't a complete loss. I still felt down that I couldn't do more to help though Applejack assured me I had helped more than what she thought I would.

Carrying them was probably how I helped more than any other way I had tried to. While Big Mac could handle most of this easily, having arms and fingers enabled me to carry more than one at a time. I tried four at once because of a friendly dare from Applejack and managed, but for the sake of not spilling any of their produce we quickly decided against any further attempts to see just how much I could do.

Even though it was work, I still had fun with the company. I couldn't remember the last time I felt like this. It was a satisfied feeling of accomplishment that I had been missing for a long time.

"Ya did okay today, not the best bucker in Equestria, but I'd say ya earned this at least." Applejack said shoving a small pouch towards me as we sat at a picnic table. Inside the pouch were a few small coins no bigger than a quarter.

"I'm going to assume this is money? If it is I can't take it, Applejack you've been more than nice to me but I can't take your money. I came to help you with my only motive being to get outside for a bit and I had fun." I said.

"They're bits, and you earned 'em. I know you don't want to stay here in Equestria, so if ya do go home think of em as somethin to remember us by. But if ya do stay I know Crafty Crate is always looking fer hard workers. I might be able to put in a good word fer ya." Applejack said.

"Thanks Applejack, I'll keep that in mind." I said pulling one of the coins out.

I slowly spun it around between my pointer finger and thumb. The glow from the sun was incredible even though it was worn with age. I was so deep in thought about what Applejack had said that I almost didn't notice the third pony amongst us in the reflection of the bit. 

I spun around startled only to see Twilight approaching us. I felt confident I had seen another pony that wasn't Twilight but push it to the back of my mind. I could worry about hallucinations and image distortion later. 

“You’re not too tired are you?” Twilight asked.

“I’ve got energy to burn.” I lied truly exhausted. 


> The Forest
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“That didn’t work last time.” Scootaloo said dejectedly as she crumpled a piece of paper before tossing it over her shoulder.

“Have we really run out of ideas?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Maybe we could-nah we already tried that.” Apple Bloom sighed.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders sat in their club house trying to formulate a new way to earn their cutie marks. This wasn’t an uncommon practice, but after a multitude of failed attempts it seemed like the impossible had finally happened, they had run out of ideas.

All three fillies let out a simultaneous “hmm” as they strained to think of something, anything to try and get their cutie mark. The chiming of a clock on the wall alerted the group that school was about to start sending the three friends into a panic. They had decided to try coming up with a plan early in the morning as opposed to in the afternoon hoping for different results.

Their plan had backfired now and they were now in a mad rush to get to school. Miss Cheerilee wasn’t too strict, but when it came to attendance she was a bit of a stickler. The mare wanted her students to excel at whatever life had in store for them.

Panting and sweating from their mad dash to school the three fillies piled in just before their teacher entered the room. Cheerilee was a bit surprised to see her students so out of breath but dismissed it.

While the other students were busy paying attention to the lesson Miss Cheerilee had prepared, Apple Bloom continued to think about what else there could possibly be in order to get their cutie marks.

“That’s it!” Apple Bloom exclaimed causing the entire class to stop and stare at the filly.

“So you have the answer to the question then, Apple Bloom?” Cheerilee asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Heh…maybe…” Apple Bloom replied nervously.

Before Cheerilee could interrogate her any further the bell rang indicating the end of the school day. Apple Bloom hadn’t realized how deep in thought she had been. She vaguely remembered recess but the rest of the day was a blur.

The classroom emptied in what qualified as a miniature stampede of fillies and colts. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo followed Apple Bloom away from the chaos inquisitively. Her sudden revelation in class must be good if she was so vocal about it.

“Okay out with it, what’s the plan?” Scootaloo asked.

“Ah know somepony who’s…not from around here. He’s kinda strange but I overheard mah sister sayin Twilight’s tryin to help him learn about Equestria.” Apple Bloom added

“A teacher cutie mark? Hmm…while we’re at it we could ask him if he has any ideas. He’s got to have something different if he’s not from here.” Sweetie Belle added.

“You guys are making this up. Where else could this pony be from?” Scootaloo asked.

“He didn’t really say, and he ain’t a pony, but you gotta promise to keep quiet about this. Applejack said not to tell anypony okay?” Apple Bloom replied.

“Okay it’s worth a shot I guess.” Scootaloo said as the three departed from the school grounds.

Unbeknownst to the trio their conversation had not been as private as they would have liked. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon quietly emerged from a nearby bush.

“I don’t see why we stayed after school just to listen to their stupid ideas.” Silver Spoon said.

“Think about it, what pony isn’t from Equestria? On top of that isn’t even a pony weren’t you listening?” Diamond Tiara asked.

“I guess…so what do you want to do?” Silver Spoon inquired.

“Featherweight…I’m sure he’d love an anonymous little tip for the paper.” Diamond Tiara said with an evil smile.

***
Fluttershy was tending to her animals as she did every day. I had offered to help since she had been so nice to me. She seemed to appreciate the help thus far, though she wouldn’t let me take part in anything that involved the carnivores she said she kept.

Fluttershy’s ears swiveled towards the road while we fed the chickens, her ears serving as an early warning in case somepony came too close to the cottage. Most of the time they would continue on their way, but this time Fluttershy turned her head towards the road.

I watched the road with a held breath only exhaling once I recognized two of the approaching fillies. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, though I had only met them yesterday as long as they were ‘in the circle’ there wasn’t any real need for concern.

It was the third that I didn’t recognize, a small tangerine colored pegasus with a purple mane. She was on a scooter which surprised me. The fact that a pony could use a scooter was odd, until I gently reminded my brain which world I was in.

“Oh hi girls, what brings you out here?” Fluttershy asked sweetly.

“Him.” Apple Bloom replied pointing at me.

“Me? Did I do something I’m not aware of?” I asked.

“I told you he was real Scootaloo. I bet he knows lots of neat stuff.” Sweetie Belle said her voice cracking a bit.

Scootaloo continued to stare at me, not in fear, but in disbelief. Rarity’s warning came to mind as I found myself cornered with Fluttershy. It really would only be a matter of time before I wasn’t a secret any more. Twilight’s plan might have an early end date.

“You’re tall.” Scootaloo said wide eyed.

“Uh thanks, so what did you guys want?” I asked.

“We wanted to know if ya needed help learnin about Equestria.” Apple Bloom said.

“Well you helped me with that yesterday, you probably didn’t know it though. I learned how your food is gathered and all kinds of things while we were talking.” I said with a smile.

“Aww, Apple Bloom now it won’t work!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

“What won’t work?” I asked, baffled at the negative reception of what I thought was good news.

“Now we won’t get our cutie marks for helping you.” Sweetie Belle said.

“Wait girls, we also came to ask him some questions.” Apple Bloom said.

“Yeah, what do ponies where you’re from do?” Scootaloo asked.

This was a question I could afford to lie about. Not only was it offensive to the majority species, but it would probably reflect poorly if I came right out and told them ponies were used for children’s amusement at petting zoos and as rides at fairs. Though it was still interesting to think about, I would probably never look at ponies the same again once I was home. If I ever made it home, that is.

“They are kind of shy, a nice group though. I don’t remember any of them having cutie marks.” I said.

“No cutie marks? They sound strange…do you have a cutie mark?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Girls, I don’t think Mister Daniel’s race has any kind of markings or symbols that work like ours do.” Fluttershy said.

“Oh, so what else do you do?” Scootaloo asked.

“That’s kind of a vague question, there’s people who play sports for a living. You’ve got medical staff and computers. There’s a fire department and law enforcement job field. There’s game designers and graphic artist…the question of what we do has a broad answer.” I said.

“There’s a job for making games?” Scootaloo asked.

“Yeah, Final Fantasy, Megaman X, and Pokemon are a few of my favorites that I grew up with. Oh and Monster Hunter is a good time killer they did a good job on that one.” I said.

“That’s a job?” Apple Bloom cocked an eyebrow.

“Well I wouldn’t say it’s a job, more like a chore at times. You had to gather herbs and craft stuff, and you’d have to track down the monsters which had some sort of luring gimmick sometimes.” I replied.

“Thanks Mister Daniel, Ah think we’ve got enough to work with.” Apple Bloom said looking at both her cohorts mischievously.

“Um okay, I guess we’ll see you later then.” I said as they quickly departed.

Fluttershy seemed nervous about something. When dealing with kids I don’t blame her I wasn’t the best at it, but for some odd reason they seemed fascinated with stories and whatever it was adults were doing.

“I can’t help but feel like I just did something bad…did I do something bad?” I asked breaking Fluttershy’s train of thought.

“I don’t know. Those girls are always up to something. I’m sure everything’s fine though.” Fluttershy said.

The rest of the afternoon was uneventful and slow paced. I was nearing the end of the book Twilight had given me and had the symbols down, albeit slowly. I felt like a little kid again, but I brushed it off.

***

“So what do we do first?” asked Scootaloo as the Cutie Mark Crusaders entered the Everfree Forest.

Apple Bloom had visited Zecora plenty of times. As long as they didn’t stray from the path it would be simple to get back home.

“Daniel said somethin about herbs, that sounds easy enough, and Zecora knows about mixin em.” Apple Bloom said.

“What was the part about hunting though?” Sweetie Belle asked nervously.

“Ah think we can skip that part.” Apple Bloom replied.

“Well if we’re going to do it right then we have to go hunting…maybe we should’ve asked him about that part.” Scootaloo said sulking.

“We ain’t here to look for monsters right now. Let’s just find the herbs he was talkin about and get that cutie mark!” Apple Bloom said.

“What herbs were they again?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Uh…Ah don’t think he said.” Apple Bloom said.

“Great, we’re out in the middle of the forest and we won’t even get our cutie marks from what that weird thing said!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

“He ain’t weird!” Apple Bloom retorted.

The three’s conversation had slowly devolved into an argument that carried through the woods. Their fighting had not gone unnoticed however; as three sets of glowing green eyes now watched them from the shadows.

***

“Done.” I said quite pleased with myself for having completed my first book in the Equestrian written language.

“You finally finished it?” Fluttershy asked looking up from feeding her pet, Angel Bunny.

"Hey what's that supposed to mean?" I asked with a laugh.

"Oh I didn't mean anything by it, Rainbow Dash always finishes those books within a day or two, when a new one comes out she can't put it down." Fluttershy said with a giggle.

"Rainbow Dash, I still don't get her. Do you really think she would have been mean?" I asked.

"I wouldn't say mean, just protective. I'm sure she'll like you once you get to know her." Fluttershy said.

Though I hadn't met Rainbow Dash face to face yet, from what I had been told she wasn't exactly a girly girl, or a marely mare in this case. Images of what she looked like presented themselves before my mind's eye and while it was never good to assume anything, with my 'work' done there wasn't much else to do.

I thought back to the other pony I saw yesterday, or thought I saw. Because of the color of the bit I couldn't exactly make out what color her coat or mane was, but I was confident I had seen a mare behind me, not just Twilight.

As I allowed my mind to wander a bit I started up the what if game. Only this time it wasn't for fun or jokes. I had some things I needed to consider in my life.

The thought of leaving had developed into a painful tug at my heart. I had started to become attached to these ponies, especially since Applejack had talked about putting in a good word for me if I stayed hurt to dwell on. These ponies had been kind to me, something quite literally out of this world.

I could actually see myself dwelling in this world, making a living somehow. There was always the lingering doubt that the other ponies would be as nice as Twilight's friends. I would never begin to dream of doing anything to hurt them, but getting them to believe me would be the real challenge. The fear of never being accepted was enough to hold me back from truly embracing, and accepting, the idea of staying. 

This left me with the question of time, was it still the same time I left back on Earth or did time flow the same here? If time flowed the same here as it did on Earth then I was probably, hopefully, reported missing. I found it odd I couldn't picture anyone really missing me for long.

It made me think about the impact I had, or thought I had, on people. If I couldn't get home and was declared dead, would anyone other than my family show up just to make sure a closed casket was put in the ground? I shivered and pulled my mind away from the darker corners of my subconscious. I needed air, and decided a brief trip outside would be best.

My plan never came to fruition, as the door to Fluttershy's cottage slammed open. Applejack was breathing heavily, not panting but it was obvious she had just run a long distance. Rarity was with her, she looked exhausted compared to Applejack whose expression changed once she saw me to one of sheer panic. My attention was drawn to a cyan colored pegasus with a rainbow colored mane and tail, I had a feeling this was Rainbow Dash.

I was in a slightly awkward pose upon their intrusion. I was in the middle of standing up at the time, which meant I had to bend slightly to avoid Fluttershy’s bird houses. The yellow pegasus was almost directly below me, which probably made me look like a predator about to pounce on her. I cursed my poor timing in wanting to stretch my legs.

The cyan pegasus’ eyes narrowed "What is that thing?" she asked.

"Rainbow he ain't from this world, take it easy on him." Applejack said, confirming my suspicion of her identity.

"I bet you know where they went! What did you do with them?!" Rainbow Dash demanded.

"What?" I stammered, just before a blue blur flew at my head.

Run idiot! I thought to myself, forcing my dumb founded body to move.

I was thankful for the ponies’ small structures just this once, since I had less distance to cover in order to get out the door. I scanned the area quickly before noticing a forest edge. I couldn't go back in the lion's den so forward it was.

"Get back here!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

Taking a quick glance behind me, I saw Applejack had Rainbow Dash's tail in her mouth, trying to keep her at bay. I could see the earth pony being drug slightly before readjusting her hooves. As odd as it may sound, I was genuinely concerned at what might happen if she caught me. Being terrified of a pony wasn't exactly masculine. 

Once I was in the woods it became noticeably darker. I started to question if this had been the smartest decision, but seeing how irate Rainbow Dash was made me confident in my choice. As I caught my breath I couldn't help but feel like a coward, chased off by a pony...a pony that could, according to an article, break the sound barrier.

"I'd like to keep my head intact." I said, swallowing my pride.

I thought back to what she had said, and their physical condition. They all seemed out of breath, save for Rainbow Dash who probably used her wings. The pegasus had accused me of doing something with 'them', but my mind drew a blank as to who she could mean.

Three screams echoed through the woods causing me to scan my surroundings. My brain was still trying to process the comments made at Fluttershy's when the screams were heard again, closer this time.

"Help!" echoed the trio of voices, one in particular standing out.

"Apple Bloom?" I said, a chill traveled up my spine.

You can't help alone, go back. that annoying voice of doubt whispered. 

I'm the closest, and it might be too late if I go back.... another part of my mind reasoned.

It was a classical situation of having an angel on one shoulder, and a demon on the other. When I was on earth this was always how my mind worked. Fear was my demon that had held me back from so many things in life. The funny thing was I couldn’t even remember why I was so afraid in the first place. I had just accepted safety over risk, but now someone else was in trouble, not me.

"I've been afraid all my life of others, and of what ifs...no more, I'm not leaving a friend behind." I said to myself, silencing my doubt.

I ran towards the voices, noticing what looked like paths here and there. Perhaps there was one through this forest but I couldn't rely on it now. I couldn't trust my vision either, the deeper I ventured the darker it seemed to get. I wasn't sure where I was going, but each step felt guided somehow. 

I felt vines covered in thorns pull at my pants, and the warm trickle of blood start to ooze from the cut left behind, but I managed to push it out of my mind. The howls of what sounded like wolves now joined the three screams. 

Bursting through the dense foliage, I found the three fillies, nearly tripping over them. This victory was short lived however; as my attention was pulled away from the Cutie Mark Crusaders by the sounds of snapping maws and deep, rumbling growls that sounded canine in nature. The source of the unsettling noise was three wolves that seemed to be made of wood with bright glowing eyes.

Oh boy...well, I'm boned.. I thought to myself.

Two of them seemed to change their attitude after getting a good look at me, slowly backing away into the forest. One stayed behind, this one much larger than the others. It wasn't going anywhere, determined to get at the fillies, whether I was present or not. 

"Girls, get behind me, take it slow." I whispered not taking my eyes off the larger dog like creature.

The three fillies didn't hesitate, and slowly retreated to hide behind my legs. I couldn't let them see I was afraid, even after the pep talk I'd given myself. Though this fear lingered, I wasn't about to let anything happen to Rarity or Applejack's sisters, not after how nice they had been. 

The creature slowly inched forward looking at me, then at the fillies. Its instincts were apparently still in conflict over fight or flight. It let out another growl, which produced a fowl smelling green gas.

"Go on, get out of here!" I shouted, hoping it would react like any ordinary dog and flee.

Much to my dismay it did the exact opposite, and snarled bearing all of it's sharp, unnatural, teeth. The creature then broke out into a charge as more of the green gas leaking from the sides of its mouth.

Damn it! I thought, putting myself in the way of its charge.

The dog like creature reared up on its hind legs to try and reach my face. I put my left arm up by instinct against its wooden neck and slung my free arm at its left front leg, dislodging the limb from the creature. I was surprised at how fragile this creature was, but the moment of shock was interrupted by the feeling of something sharp raking across my left arm.

I pushed against the creature sending it to the ground. I straddled it before it could get back on its remaining legs. My weight and size held it in place, despite its frantic attempt to free itself. It began to howl and try to bite whatever it could to no avail.

Its neck was made up of twigs and vines, each moved similarly to that of an actual bone, and muscle structure which gave me an idea. I started grasping at whatever I could get my hands on and pulling as hard as I could. Despite the material, it was harder than I thought it would be compared to the creature’s leg. I tried again, this time feeling a few pieces give way. A few more snaps followed before the head fell from the body in a massive clump of leaves, twigs and bark pieces.

I felt the body beneath me go limp and looked down to see it had dissolved in a similar fashion. I slowly stood up; my body was still surging with adrenalin, and my brain was on auto pilot as I shook slightly from the experience. 

"That...was awesome!!" Scootaloo exclaimed, bringing me out of my adrenalin induced daze.

"Let's...never do that...again okay?" I asked trying to catch my breath.

"We're sorry." the three fillies said in unison.

"It's cool....your sisters are the one you're going to have to explain this to though." I said, wincing as the pain numbing affects of my adrenalin rush wore off. 

"Okay....let's get it over with." Apple Bloom said.

"I hope one of you knows how to get out of here." I said, looking around the clearing.

Apple Bloom looked around, and started leaving the clearing. I could only hope the self-appointed navigator knew what she was doing. She was either concentrating or really good at faking.

"Here! Zecora's taken me this way before; it took me a minute ta remember." Apple Bloom said sheepishly.

True to her word Apple Bloom managed to lead us back to the path that led in and out of the Everfree Forest. Whoever this Zecora was I would have to thank later for indirectly helping save four lives.

"Apple Bloom! Sweetie Belle! Scootaloo!" called out four familiar voices.

"We're right here!" Sweetie Belle shouted.

The voices grew quiet, replaced by the sound of vegetation being crushed as the search party approached us. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were the first to appear followed by Rarity and Fluttershy.

"You!" Rainbow Dash snarled.

"Cool your jets Skittles, I didn't do anything alright?!" I shouted.

"Skittles? Is that some sort of joke or something?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Oh my goodness your arm!" Fluttershy exclaimed, getting between me and Rainbow Dash to examine my wounds.

"I'm fine, it was just some stupid dog thing." I said making Fluttershy's mouth go agape.

"Yeah, the timber wolf was all like "rawr I'm gonna eat you!" but then he was like "no you don't!" and it awesome!" Scootaloo said, motioning with her hooves.

"We need to get you stitched up, come on." Fluttershy said gently pulling on my good arm.

"And when we get home yer gonna have a lot of explain' ta do." Applejack said, looking down at Apple Bloom.

"I agree, come along Sweetie Belle." Rarity said, doing her best to keep her composure.

Rainbow Dash didn't say anything. She unfolded one of her wings to shield Scootaloo with it as the two left the forest. She looked back occasionally, as Fluttershy and I followed them.

Once they were out of the forest Rainbow Dash helped Scootaloo onto her back and took off into the air, leaving a dust cloud behind her on the ground. My first impression of the mare was less than admirable, to say the least. 

"I guess they don't call her Rainbow Dash for nothing." I mused, as I followed Fluttershy back into the cottage.

The night was less than peaceful as Fluttershy worked to pull splinters from the claw wounds. It was a painful process, and I couldn't help but flinch each time she started to pull one out.

"You can handle this just a few more, I promise." Fluttershy said before she poured something over the wounds. It burned worse than peroxide which made me question the contents of the bottle.

At long last she started to stitch the wounds up. I was impressed by how effectively she could stitch with only her mouth. Since she worked with animals though she probably had some experience with wounds similar to mine.

"There, just try not to use your left arm so much and you should be fine." Fluttershy said.

"Wow, I'm impressed Fluttershy, you're really good at this." I said giving my arm a small experimental flex. The stitches held firm.

Fluttershy gave a cute yawn before starting to put her things away after patching me up. Twilight had never shown up, which made me wonder what might have come up. My train of thought was interrupted by Fluttershy trying to hide another yawn.

"I've got this Fluttershy, you need rest. I think I can manage a first aid box." I said with a reassuring smile.

"Oh, okay, thank you Mister Daniel. Don't stay up too late." Fluttershy said as she headed up the stairs.

"I won't." I said, picking up where Fluttershy left off.

Once I was done I noticed some of the town lights were still on and wondered what could be going on. It must have been some kind of celebration or meeting. I decided to step outside to get a better look.

The view wasn't that much better, but I could definitely hear some sort of music. A feeling of alienation crept over me, as I watched and listened. I could picture the others there and how I had probably held Fluttershy back here.

"No matter what I do I'm still screwing things up." I said.

What sounded like a sneeze caught my attention. I looked around until I noticed a rather low hanging cloud. I wouldn't have paid it much mind to this except the cloud wasn't that far from the ground.

"Hello?" I called out.

A familiar cyan pegasus peaked her head out from the cloud and stared at me. Her piercing gaze was unnerving and I to stop myself from retreating back into the cottage. 

"What are you doing?" I asked, trying to sound more annoyed than afraid.

"Keeping an eye on you. What are you doing?" Rainbow Dash asked in return.

"Getting some air, what's the deal with you anyways?" I asked prompting her to show more of herself.

"I don't trust you. Applejack says you're from another world. They may trust you but I don't, you're-" Rainbow Dash started.

"Different? Not a pony? Tall? A monster? I've heard them all by now so take your pick. You don't have to trust me I just don't want to have my head torn off behind my back." I said.

"You're a big....thing, you can handle it." Rainbow Dash said with a shrug.

"Right, look if you don't want to be friends will you settle for being acquaintances?" I asked

Rainbow Dash was silent for a while, almost as if she hadn't heard me. "Sure, whatever, we can be 'acquaintances' just don't let me catch you hurting my friends." she warned with a snort before flying off.

"Well that's a start." I said as I returned to the cottage.
> Exposed
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Local paper finds new…creature…how did this happen?” I asked, looking at the news paper Twilight had brought with her. On the front page was me, with my back turned.

“I don’t know, I thought we were doing a good job keeping you under wraps. Think, who in Ponyville has seen you?” Twilight asked.

“Applejack and her family, Rarity and her sister, you, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo…none of them had a camera…I didn’t even know you guys had cameras.” I said fascinated.

“Now’s not the time to be awe struck. Somepony must have seen you and jumped to conclusions; “towering monster” and “Everfree dweller” are not words you want associated to your name.” Twilight said.

“We have to tell them the truth then. Time to come out of hiding.” I said hesitantly.

I thought about all the possible outcomes and not many of them were good. Personal opinion was already against me, and the fact that I had been hiding probably didn’t help, and only served to cast suspicion on me.

“We can’t do that, they might over react.” Fluttershy said.

“Secrets have torn my society apart back home. Granted the one about me eating meat is probably best kept off the record, but no more, everything goes guys.” I said a bit more stern than I had intended to sound.

Fluttershy looked at the floor defeated. I regretted the small outburst, but I couldn’t take it anymore. I felt like a prisoner and I was tired of hiding.

“I can’t let you do that…not alone anyways.” Twilight said. 

The last part of her sentence took me by surprise and made me smile a bit. The what if game could take a back seat for now. Her words gave me an idea as to how to approach the issue at hand.

“Is Rarity awake by now?” I asked.

“She should be why?” Fluttershy asked.

“Because she still has my shirt.” I said setting the paper down.

“What does a shirt have to do with anything?” Twilight asked.

“It gives me a reason to be in town. As long as somepony’s not scared of me I don’t think things will go too bad…though I don’t know where Rarity is, or anything for that matter.” I said.

“I um…I can take you. If that’s okay.” Fluttershy said nervously.

I could tell she wasn’t crazy about the thought of attention being focused on her if she was seen with me, but she was sincere in her offer. It made me question which one of us was braver.

“Okay, thanks Fluttershy. I’ll try to keep up with you.” I said making her smile.

“I still don’t think you’re ready.” Twilight said dejectedly.

“I don’t think life always waits for people, or ponies, to be ready.” I said trying to reassure her.

“Okay, but this doesn’t make you a citizen. You realize this right?” Twilight asked.

I nodded knowing I still had work to do. I didn’t know what went into gaining citizenship but I had reading down, my writing was to be desired, admittedly, but with one came the other. Twilight called my writing that of a third grader’s. With symbols I hadn’t put much thought into penmanship, but it was now one of my main areas for improvement.

“Let’s go then.” Twilight said opening the door.

I followed her out the door with Fluttershy. It felt different somehow, as I walked down the path I had taken to get to reach Fluttershy’s cottage the first time. I noticed there wasn’t a carriage, I guess Twilight didn’t like to be carried everywhere she went, not that it would have been needed this time anyways.

“I’m guessing that’s yours?” I asked pointing at the castle in the middle of town.

“Yes it is.” Twilight replied

“Cool, so what exactly do you govern or manage?” I asked.

“I ensure friendship is maintained in Equestria.” Twilight replied proudly.

“Friendship…so peace and that sort of thing? That’s quite a lot to shoulder.” I said, as the castle and surrounding buildings grew larger.

I heard an odd noise coming towards us, it sounded like something straight out of a cartoon. I could only describe it as the bouncing noise characters in cartoon's and movies used to make when they would jump. 

A small pink earth pony appeared jumping up and down in time with the noise I was hearing. She had a contagious smile on her face and her mane reminded me of cotton candy.

“Hey Twilight, hey Fluttersh- GAAAH run! It’s the monster!” the pink pony shouted before finishing her original thought.

“Pinkie calm down! He’s not a monster, he’s my friend.” Twilight said.

The pink pony seemed unsure and studied me for a few seconds before producing a bubble pipe and detective hat. I felt a few of my brain cells fry upon witnessing this from the total disregard of all natural laws as to produce something from nothing. Was this a pony or some sort of deity?

“Hmm.” The pink pony said walking around me once.

“Okay! If Twilight says you’re her friend then that means you can’t be bad, but the paper says you came from the Everfree Forest.” she said.

“The pony that wrote this never asked me where I came from. I get it I’m tall and probably scary, but maybe you should form your own opinion before agreeing with everything you read.” I said.

“That makes sense. My name’s Pinkie Pie, what’s yours?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Daniel, well it was nice to meet you Pinkie Pie.” I replied.

“You’re leaving already?” Pinkie asked.

“We’re kind of on a mission to clear his name Pinkie. Ponyville needs to know he’s not a monster.” Twilight said.

“And Rarity has my shirt…I’d kind of like that back too.” I added quietly.

“Oh oh can I come? can I?” Pinkie asked excitedly.

“Uh sure I guess.” I said

Pinkie Pie was an energetic pony. She seemed to quite literally bounce all over the place. She always had a smile on her face, and her personality was contagious. I felt a smile slowly spreading across my face as she asked her questions so fast I sometimes had trouble keeping up with her.

“Whatkindoficingdoyoulikeonyourcakeohohwaitdon’ttellmeIbetyoulikechocolatebecauseveryponyliekschocolatebutyou’renotaponysoIdon’tknowwhatflavoryoulikeorifyoulikeparties.DoyoulikepartiesbecauseIlooovepartiesdotheyevenhavepartieswhereyou’refrom?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Um…yes?” I replied.

Fluttershy and Twilight giggled at my answer. They had grown accustomed to the rapid stream of questions Pinkie Pie asked, and were able to tell what she was saying. I was only able to catch bits and pieces of what had been said.

Ponyville was peaceful for the most part. There were small market stalls, and a few shops. The castle was certainly bigger than I had anticipated, but what else was to be expected of castles? The numerous ponies staring at me was the most noticeable feature though.

Fluttershy had positioned herself slightly behind me and Twilight. Pinkie Pie had stopped bouncing and stared back at the others before looking up at me in anticipation.

“Hi.” I said with a wave, triggering the expected numerous screams of panic.

“Stop! Ponies of Ponyville, is this any way to treat somepony new?” Twilight asked stepping forward.

“That thing came from the Everfree Forest, what’s it doing here?” asked a lime green earth pony.

“He’s not a thing! He’s a human and he has a name…oh sorry, I mean he does have a name, and he’s not from the Everfree Forest like the paper said…” Fluttershy said with a bit of confidence, before it dwindled back down due to the crowd.

“How do we know it’s not a trick? How long has he been hiding here? Where did he come from then?” asked several of the ponies in the crowd.

“Ya’ll need to calm down. He ain’t here to hurt no pony, now he may not look like much but he’s got a good heart that much Ah know fer sure.” I heard Applejack say.

I looked around to see her leaving a stand with several types of apples on display. Three ponies had already stood up for me against a town that seemed to have its mind made up. It made my heart ache in a way that I hadn’t felt before. It wasn’t a hurtful pain, and pain can’t necessarily be called good, but that’s the only way to describe it.

There were a few ponies in the crowd that seemed to be debating with one another, while others continued to gather and ask questions. It didn’t seem like such a lost cause any more, but swaying the minds of a few wouldn’t be enough.

“If he’s not a danger why were we kept in the dark? How do we know he won’t turn on us?” asked a few that remained undecided.

“Honestly, what is all the commotion?” asked a voice that sounded very similar to Rarity’s.

The white unicorn stopped when she saw me but smiled knowingly. She had saddle bags with clothing material poking out of the upper corners of the pouches. She slowly approached us, despite a few protest and warnings not to.

“I don’t see what all the fuss is about. He’s no stallion obviously, but that doesn’t make him a monster or mean he’s evil.” Rarity said pointing a hoof at me.

“Thanks…I think.” I said.

“Oh darling, I wasn’t talking about your looks. So what made you come to Ponyville?” Rarity asked.

“The newspaper…and my shirt.” I replied.

Rarity’s eyes went wide “Goodness gracious, I almost forgot! Oh I’m so sorry, I got caught up with work and yesterday’s fiasco with Sweetie Belle didn’t help matters.” she said.

“It’s cool I wouldn’t want my shirt to come before your work anyways.” I shrugged.

The crowd remained firm with its position on my presence here. The judgment in their eyes was clearly visible, and it seemed like nothing said could sway their stance. I wasn’t sure at that moment what to say, and if it would have helped anything or made things worse.

“Hey! Twilight said he was her friend, so he can’t be bad I don’t think she’d make friends with somepony she didn’t trust.” Pinkie Pie said.

“Um, Pinkie you only just met him.” Fluttershy said.

“I know, but you guys were saying good things about him. I didn’t want to be left out.” Pinkie Pie said with a giggle snort.

Even with this support it looked like the voices of the crowd were starting to rise again. Twilight seemed lost as to why they wouldn’t believe her and her friends. The power of fear was terrible indeed, and it seemed like it would win this fight.

“Quiet!” shouted a voice I never expected to hear.

Rainbow Dash landed beside Applejack as the crowd grew silent at the request, or were stunned by the eardrum rupturing shout. All eyes shifted to the cyan pegasus as she cleared her throat.

“I’m not saying I trust him, but maybe calling him a monster is a bit much. Besides he didn’t come out of the Everfree Forest we had to go in looking for him.” Rainbow Dash said.

Gee, thanks for the low shot. I thought to myself.

"Let him speak then!” one stray voice shouted once Rainbow Dash was finished.

The crowd was in one accord with the demand. So far Twilight and her friends had spoken for me. Now that I was on the spot I didn’t know what to say that could make them feel at ease. I wondered if they would believe me if I told them the truth.

“My name is Daniel, and I am not from Equestria, or this world for that matter. I was brought here against my will and with no discernible way back home.” I said, picking my words carefully.

That was all I really had, everything else had been said by the others. I knew that wouldn’t be enough to convince them that I wasn’t some dark sinister schemer who had tricked a princess. I looked down at the ponies I had come to call my friends, and even though Rainbow Dash wasn’t exactly my friend, she had stood up for me, sort of. The more I thought about them, what needed to be said started to come to me. 

“I came here with nothing. These ponies who have spoken for me have all made me reflect on a lot of things in my life. I think most of it has been for the better, I don’t know if I can go home. Either way I’ve made some pretty awesome friends and I can't begin to imagine doing something to ruin that. You don't have to be my friend; I just want peace for a change." I said making Rarity's eyes tear up a bit. 

From the crowd came three small fillies, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. A purple mare proceeded to try and block their path towards me. A hushed conversation took place before the mare let them pass, an anxious look on her face. 

"We were gonna do it later, but since you're here we thought we'd apologize now." Apple Bloom said.

"Yeah, sorry you got hurt." Scootaloo said looking down at the ground. 

"We didn't mean for it to happen." Sweetie Belle added. 

I had the feeling that Rarity and Applejack had something to do with this. I hadn't seen Scootaloo's parents though. My mind briefly wondered why Rainbow Dash came looking for her instead, until I realized I hadn't responded to them yet. 

"It's okay, just don't make it a habit and I think we'll be good." I said watching their frowns turn to smiles simultaneously. 

"I'm just curious who took the photo of me...they were very sneaky about it." I said. 

"Shady Daze must have." Sweetie Belle said. 

The crowd had grown quiet and shifted until the colt was exposed. His eyes grew wide when he realized he had been found out. He quickly looked around unsure of what to say. 

"I...uh...Featherweight approved it!" Shady Daze exclaimed pointing to the colt on his right. 

"Well...Diamond Tiara is the one who told us about it!” whined Featherweight. 

“I did not! How would you know anyways?” demanded a magenta colored filly. 

“The note you wrote the tip on has “From the Desk of Filthy Rich” on it.” Featherweight replied. 

“Oops…heh.” Diamond Tiara said as some of the ponies in the crowd started to send angry looks in her direction. 

“I’m very disappointed in you.” a rather well dressed stallion said. 

Diamond Tiara was led away by the stallion and the attention shifted back on me. There was an awkward silence before the mare that had tried to stop Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle slowly came forward. 

“I thought I had made it clear to my students to get all the facts when it came to the paper. I-I’m sorry that this misunderstanding happened Mister um...” she said not making eye contact. 

“It’s okay, and it’s Daniel.” I said. 


“Cheerilee.” she said finally looking up at me with a shy smile. 

I felt a tap on my leg and looked to my left to see Rarity. The water works in her eyes were no longer visible now that things seemed to be calming down. 

“I believe I still have something that belongs to you, I was heading that way if you’d like to walk and talk a bit.” Rarity said. 

“That would be awesome.” I replied. 

The crowd dispersed as I followed Rarity to her shop. Applejack returned to her stand and several ponies seemed to crowd around her, more than likely with questions. Rainbow Dash didn’t stay long either and was gone before I could ask why she bothered saying anything at all.

---

The Carousel Boutique was impressive, I only had to duck a little bit in order to get inside which nearly made me cry for joy. There was enough room between the ceiling and floor that I could stand straight, but it was still low enough that I could touch it with little effort. 

Rarity sat her saddle bags down and walked over to a cabinet to pull out my shirt. It looked like it had come straight out of the store and had never been worn. 

“Sorry again about the wait, after I finished I got wrapped up in getting orders out. I must say though, this is very well made. Since you’re here would you be opposed to letting me take some measurements?”  Rarity asked. 

“Uh I guess not. Thanks again for fixing it Rarity it looks like it’s brand new.” I replied. 


“It was my pleasure to be the first to work with the clothing belonging to somepony from another world.” Rarity said as a measuring tape levitated towards me, “Now umm… hmm...I suppose we should start with your forelegs.” she said gesturing at my arms. 

I stretched them out and the tape measure started to move seemingly of its own accord while a separate pencil and a note pad floated over towards Rarity and started to write something down. 

“That went…a little better than I had expected it to go.” Twilight said. 

“You guys didn’t have to stick up for me and put your reputation at risk.” I said.

“It’s what friends do for each other.” Fluttershy said. 

“Oh oh a party would help introduce him to everypony!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. 

I considered her idea for a minute, it would be a good way to see just who exactly was comfortable enough to show up, and wasn’t truly afraid of me. A party was a celebration though and since news of my existence hadn’t been as well received as I would have liked I didn’t think it warranted one. 

“Pinkie, I don’t think a party is the best idea right now.” I said. 

“W-w-what!?” Pinkie Pie stammered, causing the others to stare at me in disbelief. 

“I’m not a citizen so…I don’t think it would be right to throw me one just yet. How about this, when everything is sorted out and legal could we throw one then?” I asked. 

Pinkie Pie’s pupils grew large with excitement “Then we’d have TWO reasons to throw a party!” she exclaimed. 

Her personality really was contagious. All of the sadness I had felt from being judged, and the fear of alienation and rejection had been swept away so easily. I counted myself lucky to have friends like these. 

After the morning’s events there were still a few stares, but the angry looks had ceased. Twilight had left the Carousel Boutique saying she needed to let Princess Celestia know what had happened. At the very least, I could finally move about freely. 

As Fluttershy and I passed a field, I noticed Rainbow Dash with Scootaloo. The cyan pegasus would fly in the air a short distance before landing again and motioned with her hoof while talking to the filly. 

“Hey Fluttershy, can you wait here a minute?” I asked, before walking towards the two pegasi. 

Rainbow Dash spotted me approaching, and flew the short distance towards me. The expression on her face was sphinx like. I could tell that, true to her word, she still didn’t trust me. 

“I’m kind of in the middle of something so make it quick.” Rainbow Dash said.

“I just came to say thanks.” I said. 

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at me, as if to silently ask if I was serious. “I didn’t do it for you, I did it for her.” she said pointing in Scootaloo’s direction “She told me what happened, so I decided to return the favor. Now we’re even.”  

“Oh…well uh see you then.” I said before walking back towards Fluttershy. 

Rainbow Dash returned to Scootaloo’s side to resume whatever activity they had been doing before my interruption. I understood now why Rainbow Dash had gone trekking through the woods to find the filly, but my question about her parents still lingered. 

The rest of the day was uneventful until Twilight stopped by with more reading material. Now that I was out in the open I no longer had an excuse to drag my feet. It was night by the time I finished the first few chapters of the new material and I felt my eyes start to grow heavy.

Sleep now…don’t be afraid…
> The Answer
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sound of dice hitting the table entered my ears. I hazily saw myself standing across from one of my friend's, Ryan. It was a game of Warhammer 40k being played, one that I remembered well.

"This...this is a dream...it has to be..." I said in disbelief.

"What manner of enjoyment dost thou receive from such activities?" asked a rather authoritative voice.

I turned in the direction of the voice and saw the mare from before. I couldn't believe it, she had finally decided to show herself, but why now?

"Who are you?" I asked.

"We asked thee a question first." the mare said, judging by her alicorn appearance I could only assume she was royalty.

"Um its Warhammer 40k...this was my first victory against a Necron Army. I played Chaos Space Marines against him, this was really special because I used to lose all the time to them." I said watching as I saw Ryan's slip up all over again.

He was so concentrated on trying to break my spirit, and caught up in gloating he forgot about my other unit that had just finished off his Scarabs. I declared the charge and his over watch only produced four wounds.

When I made it into combat on the charge it was all over from there, his units were too close together and they started to flee with their reduced leadership. When the final turn came the look on his face was just as satisfying as it was the first time.

"Thou art a being of chaos then?" the alicorn asked.

"No it's just a game, none of it's real...who are you?" I asked.

"You may address us as Princess Luna, thy arrival was an unexpected one...we have been searching your memories for clues to your appearance in our world." Luna said, as the image faded into darkness.

"So Lun-" I started.

"Princess Luna." Luna corrected as several lights appeared in front of us.

"Princess Luna, was that your voice the night I arrived here?" I asked.

"Indeed, we could not permit thee to escape, and ensured thoust would be found." Luna replied.

"Why not finish me off? I mean I was a stranger in your land." I said.

"Thoust were and still are an unknown creature, save to one in Equestria. If you were of the Everfree Forest then you would return or be chased back. If you were something else, which you are, you were left in good hooves." Luna said as one of the lights became blindingly bright. She had apparently thought this through or had a great deal of faith in the ponies I had come to call friends.

"And at Applejack's farm?" I asked.

"We were keeping an eye on thee, per our sister's request." Luna replied as objects started to form.

"This is the night-" I stopped when I saw myself with a box.

"Is that what brought thee here?" Luna asked approaching the other me.

"Well what's inside brought me here...I think." I replied.

The events started to play out once again. I was only a helpless onlooker, as my former self threw the stone taking Luna by surprise. Despite this she investigated the stone now that it was no longer in my hand.

"Princess Luna...it's something else isn't it?" I asked, as the stone started to glow.

"Indeed." Luna said as the memory continued.

"Princess Luna can't you tell me something? Anything reassuring or...something?" I asked, not wanting to think about the possibility of bad news.

"We understand thy need for closure on this matter, but why insist upon such a hasty return? It was our understanding from Twilight Sparkle that thou hadst made peace with Ponyville." Luna replied.

"I wouldn't call it peace, everypony there is still cautious of me. I'm not some dribbling monster that is waiting to eat them or something. Staying might be cool, but not if it means I'd have to be alone for the rest of my life. You're a princess, you wouldn't understand." I said. 

Luna looked hurt from what I said, if words could kill, mine certainly looked like they almost did the job. The alicorn let out a sigh before turning to face me after recomposing herself.

"We know all too well that feeling. Twas an insecurity that cost us dearly, and one that should not dwell within you. Today Twilight Sparkle wrote a letter detailing the day's events and your words, how can you truly feel unwanted?" Luna asked.

"It's kind of obvious not everyo-pony wants me here. I was telling the truth, but I've got friends in two worlds now princess...my friends have meant more to me than my family sometimes because they've been there for me." I replied.

"Then it seems you have a choice to make." Luna said.

"...please don't say that." I said quietly as everything started to grow foggy.

I rose up from the table to be greeted by the sun's rays. The books from last night were right where I had left them. There was a note not far from me on the table which I groggily picked up to read.

Daniel I've gone to Twilight's for a bit. I was going to tell you but you were sleeping, I'm sorry I didn't wake you if you wanted to come. I'll be back later today I hope you won't be too bored.

Fluttershy


Just like that, it seemed I had the day to myself, which was a scary thought. What would I do with a few hours alone? There wasn't a theater or a store I could go to and waste time. Had I really been asleep for as long as Fluttershy made out like I had been in her note?

The thought of sleep brought up last night's strange turn of events. The mysterious mare had finally revealed herself, and the questions she asked were personal. I didn't want to choose between friends, I hated choices. Because I always seemed to make the wrong decisions. I preferred a simple, straight line in life, no surprises or risk.

I left Fluttershy's cottage with no real destination in mind. I just needed to clear my head. If all of what I had seen and experienced last night was real, then it probably wouldn't be long before I had an answer whether or not I could return home. Luna would most likely reveal her findings to Twilight or Celestia.

I passed a few ponies who stared blankly at me. Though the chaos of yesterday was over it was still going to be a long-no there would be no road to their trust, I was going home right? Of course I was, I couldn’t stay in a world full of ponies…ponies that had been nicer to me than most humans ever would.

Something within me told me that this internal conflict was swiftly coming to a close. That sour, gut wrenching feeling just before an anticipated disaster took place remained a constant presence, despite my best efforts to shut it out. It was starting to make me physically sick. 

Thankfully, I found myself near a pond and decided to rest under one of the trees for a bit. I stared out across the water to see the occasional fish jump and catch a bug. I leaned my head back against the rough bark of the tree and closed my eyes.

The temporary peace was interrupted by the sound of hooves crushing grass beneath them. I turned in the direction of the noise to see a baby blue unicorn with a plum colored mane and tail, with red streaks through them approaching. Her horn was aglow with a magenta light.

"Whew." she said, sitting down exhausted.

"You okay?" I asked making her jump.

"Oh sorry, didn't know this spot was taken...hey you're that new uh...what are you exactly?" she asked putting a hoof to her chin.

"A human, and it's Daniel...yeah I'm the new guy." I said rolling my eyes.

"Harmony Chorus, so what made you come to Ponyville?" Harmony asked.

"You missed the whole spill about me being dragged here against my will?" I asked in return.

"Well yeah, I only got here a few hours ago. I can relate to being taken to places you really don't want to go though." Harmony said.

The more I studied her the more I could tell something was off. Harmony seemed like a perfectly normal unicorn until I noticed her eyes, I hadn't really paid it much mind since all the ponies here had strange eye colors, but hers were foggy, she was blind.

"Uh don't take this the wrong way Harmony, but how did you know about me...like what I looked like?" I asked.

"With magic duh. It's my special talent, you probably noticed huh?" Harmony asked she almost seemed excited to talk about it. Her cutie mark was a mic that had three small shapes that looked like sound waves coming out of the top.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't mean to stare or be rude." I said ashamed of myself.

"Don't be, I can see you as long as you talk or make a noise. It's pretty cool, I can hear and ‘see’ things most can't, you're the one missing out, not me." Harmony said cheerfully.

"Yeah, I bet that is pretty awesome...so where did you come from?" I asked, deciding to try and have a civil conversation with somepony other than the six I already knew.

"Well, I was in Manehattan finishing up a concert; I thought I would stop by here to pay my family a quick visit. I didn't expect to get caught up by some fans." Harmony replied.

"Well that explains the microphone." I said making her blush.

"Yep, I had to get away from everypony you know? I'm glad that I chose to go public and preform, but sometimes I'd trade all of this to be normal again." Harmony said.

"Being normal isn’t all it’s chalked up to be." I said.

"Okay out with it, what's eating at you?" Harmony asked smiling.

"Nothing really." I lied.

"Daniel you know somepony's heart rate increases when they're stressed or lying right? I'm blind not stupid...come on, who's going to judge you the trees and water?" Harmony asked, with a light chuckle. I briefly wondered if she could hear my heart beat which was a scary thought, but cool all the same.

"I've got a tough choice to make, I've been wanting something so badly that it's been occupying my thoughts constantly. At the same time, I've been working hard to accomplish the exact opposite goal and...I don't know why, I just feel...bleh." I said unsure of what else to add without sounding sappy.

"Bleh is a very bad feeling...it sounds like your subconscious and conscious want two different things. I've been there, and speaking from experience, you normally don't work at something for nothing." Harmony said.

Here I was talking to a complete stranger, a unicorn no less, having an epiphany. I had finally one upped the guy from those stupid beer commercials. 

"Hey, I want to show you something." Harmony said standing up.

The unicorn slowly approached me and stopped inches from me. I was a bit confused as to how a blind mare could show me something. Until she slowly lowered her head to mine which made me back up. She pulled away with a giggle apparently able to see me through the sound of my movement.

"Relax I'm not going to hurt you. Trust me okay? I can hear your breathing, so I can see you." Harmony assured me lowering her head again.

Her horn came to rest against my forehead and in seconds my vision faded and was replaced by what looked like waves that seemed to pass over an invisible surface. I felt the wind blow against my skin and my vision swam with the odd sight, if it could be called that.

"What is this?" I asked.

"This is what I see." Harmony replied, backing away.

"It's amazing." I said, my own voice sending out waves that traveled a short distance before fading.

“When I sing on stage and the crowd cheers I can see much more than this. The air is filled with what you see now, watch this.” Harmony said.

Harmony started to sing the notes from a musical scale. A few years in school choir had me familiar enough with the notes to tell what they were, but actually seeing them travel was a completely new experience.

"That was...beautiful." I said as the waves faded.

"Close your eyes." Harmony instructed.

I did so and felt something pass over me. I didn't feel bad or wrong, but the sensation of something missing was now present in my mind.

"Okay you can open them again." Harmony said.

I did so with mild disappointment. I could see everything as I normally would, but after seeing and experiencing what Harmony saw I now understood what she meant by me missing out. Seeing, or maybe hearing, the world from somepony else’s perspective wasn’t just a figure of speech here.


"Thanks for showing me that...and listening to my stupid problems." I said.

"Thanks for not going crazy on me, here I had three ordered for my family but they gave me too many, something about coming in sets or whatever." Harmony said, producing two little lanyards each with a fancy card design that said VIP in bright bold letters.

"You're giving me VIP passes?" I asked in disbelief.

"Well yeah, why not? I mean, it's not like I'm going to use them, and you've given me an idea for a new song." Harmony said smiling.

"Well thanks, uh when is it?" I asked.

"In a month, you're not planning on standing a mare up are you?" Harmony asked with a sly grin.

"No, I'm not that kind of guy. I'll be in uh...Fillydelphia by then, I promise." I said quickly reading the pass.

"Good, see you then." Harmony said holding her hoof out.

I stared at her, unsure if she wanted me to shake it or something else. As fun as talking to Harmony had been, I probably should have been studying more about their culture in order to avoid awkward situations like this.

"Don't leave me hanging now." Harmony said.

I was familiar with that phrase, and the gesture it was linked to, and fist bumped her hoof. It seemed a bit awkward but the mare seemed satisfied.

"See you later Daniel." Harmony said walking back towards town leaving me to my own thoughts.

“Hey Harmony, one last question.” I said stopping her.

“What’s up?” she asked turning around.

“What are friends…to you I mean?” I asked.

“You must not be very social huh? My friends are like extended family; Not matter how far I travel, they’re always in my heart just like my real family. You’ve got a cool new one so no worries alright?” Harmony replied, before resuming her trip back to town.

“Yeah…no worries.” I said staring down at the VIP passes.

I was left alone to my thoughts once more. Even though my eyes remained locked on the VIP passes, I could only think about what to do next. I didn't have a definitive answer, staying here or going home both seemed logical, but I still remained in limbo.

"Hey why the sad face?" Pinkie Pie asked startling me.

"Pinkie...don't do that." I said.

"You're funny, oh I was supposed to tell you something, no wait don't tell me." Pinkie Pie said sticking her tongue out in concentration.

"You're not going to pass out on me are you?" I asked as her face turned red.

"Oh I remember now! Twilight wanted to see you, she said it was important." Pinkie Pie said proudly.

I grimaced as the horrible feeling in my stomach returned. I tried to convince myself that she might want to see me for something else, but with all of the events that had led up to this moment I knew it was a lie. 

"Is everything okay?" Pinkie Pie asked. 

"Nothing, just something personal I'm dealing with." See you later Pinkie Pie, I'll be at Twilight's." I said waving goodbye.

"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie Pie replied happily.

I thought about all I had seen and experienced so far as I slowly walked towards the castle. I had seen and done a lot during my time here and it had brought a joy in my life that I hadn't felt in a long time. As I traveled through town I received the occasional glance but was otherwise ignored.

All too soon I was in front of the castle doors, two guards were posted outside. Their expressions were just as off putting as the ones at Celestia's castle. As I got closer they opened the doors and stepped aside, allowing me passage into the large structure, they must have been expecting me.

One of the guards inside motioned for me to follow him. His neutral expression was a bit more comforting than those outside the castle but this was only a small improvement. 

The castle seemed to be made almost completely of crystal, which was amazing. This feeling was soon masked when I reminded myself of why I had come here. I was here for an answer to my question. Should I continue with my trial to understand this place or give up and go home?

I couldn't help but feel I only had a small say in the matter. No doubt Luna's finding had proven invaluable to the search. It made me wonder how exactly something so powerful came into the possession of humans? A question I'm sure they had already asked themselves.

"I've been instructed to go no further. Go straight and you'll be at Princess Twilight's door." the guard said stopping.

I walked forward, my mind already starting to drown out any coherent thought with countless possibilities. I didn't even notice when my hand touched the door, all I remember is seeing Twilight sitting in the throne room with Fluttershy. There were other thrones each, oddly enough, sporting the cutie mark of the ponies that Twilight called her closest friends.

"There you are. I take it you slept well?" Twilight asked.

"A bit too well." I replied.

"Heh, yeah I can imagine, so...I guess you know why I called you then?" Twilight asked.

"I have an idea why you have, yes." I nodded.

"Follow me, there's something you need to see." Twilight said, getting up from her throne.

I followed her and Fluttershy into a nearby room that was surrounded by book shelves, and in one corner was a mirror that seemed to shimmer constantly. A book sat above it which seemed to glow with a strange energy. There on the table, next to an open book, was an exact replica of the stone I had received.

"That's-" I started

"A Banishing Stone, made by Star Swirl the Bearded. It was one of his experiments, from what Luna described happened in your memory, cracking the stone must have reactivated its power...effectively banishing you here." Twilight said.

"So, I'm stuck here?" I asked.

"That's the good news, you're not. All I have to do is put this stone where that book is and it should be able to send you back to your world, but because of how brittle it is it would be a onetime use. There wouldn't be any visits." Twilight said looking up at me.

Fluttershy hadn't made eye contact with me the entire time I was here. I couldn't blame her, she had been so nice to me and I was still entertaining the thought of bailing on her. 

I sighed and sat on a small stool near the table. If I didn't leave now, I knew I never would. My friends and family were on the other side of that portal, but I had friends and connections here as well, heck one was a princess. I couldn’t deny the fact that I had been happier here than I had been on Earth.

I felt a hoof come to rest comfortingly on my shoulder, pulling me back to reality. Twilight stood beside me, she had been trying to make sure I knew all there was about Equestrian society to help me become a citizen. She wasn't the only one who had put effort into seeing that plan come full circle, leaving now meant throwing away the work others had done as well, including myself. 

"What if...hypothetically speaking the stone didn't work?" I asked.

"Well then you couldn't leave." Fluttershy replied speaking to me for the first time since I had arrived.

"I figured that, but the health risk involved, I mean using a banishing stone to send somepony back to where they were banished from does seem a bit risky, doesn't it?" I asked.

"Well I made-I mean yes! It would be very high risk." Twilight said catching on.

"Then I'm sorry but, I cannot in good faith make the jump." I replied.

"So...does that mean you'll stay?" Fluttershy asked.

"I don't want to chance being burnt to ashes, so yes." I said, feeling a sudden weight against my neck and chest seconds after I finished speaking.

Fluttershy had wrapped her forelegs around my neck. I couldn't help but return the hug, a bit more gently than I had received mine. The pain of not going back was still lingering, but it was slowly fading, like pulling a splinter.

"What made you change your mind?" Fluttershy asked.

"I made a pretty cool friend today, and like somepony told me, sometimes you get what you need instead of what you want." I said as she relinquished her hold on my neck.

"I think the others will want to know. They're your friends too, after all." Twilight said.

"Who's friends with who Twilight?" asked what sounded like a kid’s voice.

What looked like a small lizard walked into the room and stared at me wide eyed before fainting. I had hoped everypony had gotten that out of their system by now, but apparently there were a few who weren’t quite there yet.

"That's Spike...he's my assistant, I guess I forgot to mention you were coming." Twilight said with a laugh.

"I'll be gone before he wakes up, wouldn't want the big bad human scaring him again." I said trying to drown out the rest of my remaining sorrow with humor. It would take time and I would never really forget my home, but somehow, I knew I made the right choice.

Fluttershy had left to go back to her cottage while I stopped to see the others and tell them. A stray piece of paper caught my attention, I gently put my shoe down over it before it could be blown away again. Picking the paper up, I recognized it easily as the note my sister had wrote me.

The ink on the paper was now smeared in a few spots and it was dirty, and to one who didn't understand what was written on it the letter it probably seemed like another piece of garbage. There were a few words I could still make out towards the bottom that made me smile.

stop being boring and go live your life.

I folded the letter up as neatly as I could and started walking towards Rarity's house.



> Challenge Accepted
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I sat alone, reading by the pond I had discovered. The new green shirt I had was a nice change of pace from the one I had been wearing, and I was ecstatic when I found out that overalls existed in this world. Not because I wanted a pair, but because after seeing them and feeling the texture they were exactly like Earth’s, they were made of good old fashioned denim, just like jeans. 

Rarity found my request for them odd and had expected my taste to be of much higher caliber, but she understood after my explanation. I was glad that was one thing I didn’t have to give up and it felt like a little piece of home.

Something hard brushed against my leg, breaking my train of thought. A ball had rolled up beside me with some initials on it, more than likely belonging to a foal. I looked around and it didn’t take me long to spot four colts that seemed hesitant to come any further.

I gently rolled the ball over to them and continued on with the book I was supposed to be studying. If the article had done anything positive, it had served to grant me a bit of freedom, though I limited my trips to town as much as possible.

I finally came across other regions being mentioned aside from Equestria. The home land of the griffons made me uneasy and I counted myself lucky that I had been found by a more tolerable species. I looked up from the book, closing it with a sigh, only to frown a bit at what greeted my upward gaze.

Well for the most part anyways. I thought to myself, as I watched a rainbow trail streak across the sky.

I left the pond and headed towards Applejack's to see if there was something else to do. Inactivity had gotten to me again and even if there wasn’t at the very least a visit wouldn’t hurt. I owed her and Fluttershy a lot.

When I arrived I saw Applejack heading into her barn with a basket on her back. She waved to me as I easily jumped the white fence. Big McIntosh was nowhere to be found, he was probably still out in the orchard working.


“Didn’t come here to mess up those clothes did ya?” Applejack asked pointing at my new attire.

“I think it’ll take a bit more effort to ruin these than last time.” I replied.

“Well if ya came to help we’re just bringin’ em in now.” Applejack said pointing to a nearby basket full of apples.

“No problem.” I said accompanying her out to the orchard. I remembered Fluttershy telling me about my arm, but just decided I would only use my good arm instead of both today.

As I got ready to pick up one of the baskets I noticed movement under the apples. I slowly lifted the top apple to see what the source of the motion was only to be greeted by a snake. I screamed and fell backwards knocking over another basket by accident. I absolutely hated snakes ever since I was little after having a bad experience.

“No no no no!” I exclaimed crawling away from the…fake snake?

As I studied my would be attacker more closely I noticed the eyes were stitched Xs, and a fake gaping mouth with a string tongue. My heart was still racing when I heard laughter come from behind a tree.

“That was awesome Pinkie!” Rainbow Dash said, giving away her hiding spot.

“You should have seen the look on your face!” Pinkie Pie giggled holding some sort of device with a wire that I kicked myself for not noticing earlier.

“Ha ha real mature.” I said, picking myself up.

“Lighten up. It’s not our fault you screamed like a big baby.” Rainbow Dash snorted.

I did my best to ignore the jibe. The only one acting like a baby was her, but I held my peace as I started to pick up the apples I had knocked over. I had been patient with her, but my patience was starting to run out, especially with this little stunt.

“Yep, I’m the baby, Skittles.” I said, setting one basket on top of another in order to carry two before picking them up.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Only little foals pull such childish pranks.” I replied remembering to replace kid with foal.

“Who are you calling little? I could fly circles around you!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, zipping from her spot to get eye level with me.

“You probably can, but I don’t have wings so I guess you can’t really go by that huh?” I said, enjoying getting under her skin a bit.

“Anything you can do I can do better anyways.” Rainbow Dash said boldly.

“Really? You want to play that game?” I asked.

“Oh oh I love games! I smell a competition!” Pinkie Pie said making Rainbow Dash’s ears perk up.

“Pinkie don’t add wood to the fire.” Applejack said.

“There’s a fire?” Pinkie Pie asked sincerely which made Applejack face hoof.

“How about it? You and me, one on one?” Rainbow Dash asked with a smirk as she landed.

The pegasus that could perform what was called a sonic rainboom was calling me out. Under normal circumstances I probably would have, and should have, declined. Today though my brain’s advice went unheeded while my ego spoke for me.

“Sure, not like I’ve got anything better to do.” I replied which was a lie. Twilight was going to let me hear it when I told her I had put off studying, again.

---
“I think it’s a great idea!” Twilight exclaimed after I told her what had happened.

“You do?” I asked confused.

“Of course, it’ll be the perfect chance to see the difference in strengths between our two species.” Twilight replied.

“But um Twilight I don’t think he should-“ Fluttershy started to say.

“Taking into account that you don’t have wings we’ll have to put a limit on Rainbow Dash with some things.” Twilight said.

“That’s just the thing, I don’t know if-“ Fluttershy tried to interject again.

“The main things I’m curious about are speed, strength, endurance and of course wit.” Twilight added writing something down.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked with a small laugh.

“WAIT!” Fluttershy shouted bringing an end to our conversation.

We both turned to the small pegasus who was now staring sheepishly at us. “Sorry, it’s just your arm is still bad, and I don’t know if it’d really be up to the task.” Fluttershy said.

“Oh that’s not a problem.” Twilight said approaching my arm.

I felt warmth encase my injured arm that I had been trying to be careful with ever since Fluttershy patched me back up. It started to glow purple as the heat increased at a surprising rate. When the glowing faded my arm was void of the stitches Fluttershy had given me. What’s more an old scar I had received from a biking accident was missing as well. 

“Wow.” I said bending and flexing my arm, it felt amazing.

“A word of caution, I can only use that spell once every three months. If I used it too much it would start to drain your energy in order to heal your body.” Twilight said informatively.

“I’ll try not to pick any more fights with tree dogs.” I said nervously.

“Timber wolves.” Fluttershy corrected.

“My money’s on Rainbow Dash, no offense.” Spike said.

“None taken, to be honest I wasn’t really thinking when I agreed to do this…so what’s the lineup Twilight?” I asked, hoping the shame I might endure wouldn’t be too unbearable.

“Well because of obvious body structure differences, the choices will have to be something both of you can feasibly do.” Twilight said as Spike pushed a chalk board into the room with a scale comparison of a human and pegasus.

Is that really needed? I thought to myself.

“I bet he’d be good at tug of war! That would be super-duper exciting for everypony to see!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed making me jump a little.

“Everypony…no Pinkie I’d rather this not go public because I’m pretty sure I’m going to crash and burn.” I said.

“Tug of war can go on the list along with a leg race.” Twilight said.

“How exactly do you plan on pitting our wit against each other?” I asked

“I have an idea, but I think I’ll keep that to myself for now I wouldn’t want you to have an unfair advantage.” Twilight replied.

I hardly felt as if I had any advantages at all. Even if I had size on my side I still came out as the underdog. It didn’t help that an infant dragon was already announcing who he’d put money down on, it kind of rubbed salt in the soon to be wound to my pride.

“What about a marathon?” Spike asked.

“Spike that takes weeks to train for, I might pass out since all I’ve really done is study since I got here.” I said.

“Really?” Spike asked.

“Afraid so, though that’s something I’ve been meaning to kick off my bucket list.” I replied.

Twilight’s face brightened as she wrote something else down. My mind feared whatever was being written. I hoped she hadn’t taken Spikes suggestion into consideration, that would be absurd.

“I think I can work with this list, I’m still impressed you actually accepted her challenge in the first place.” Twilight said.

“Why is that?” I asked.

“Rainbow Dash can be a bit smug at times, but you know it was only a prank right?” Twilight asked.

“Yes I know, but I think the ‘little’ comment escalated things.” I replied.

“I have a question, why do you keep calling Dashie Skittles?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Her mane, it reminds me of a candy I used to eat back home.” I replied.

“You used to eat manes!?” Pinkie Pie asked shocked.

“How did you get that out of what I said?” I asked in return.

“I dunno.” Pinkie Pie said with a shrug and a giggle.

“You’re an enigma Pinkie.” I said with a raised eyebrow.

Fluttershy was asked to find Rainbow Dash to organize a time and place for this event to take place at. The one upside to this ‘challenge’ I now found myself in was that I had gotten out of studying for a while, or so I thought. That was soon taken away from me as a book levitated in front of me with a cough from Twilight.

Sighing I took the book and sat cross legged on the floor and started reading. I felt I had already put my brain through enough but with alicorns it seemed a limit on the intake of knowledge didn’t exist.

“Hey Spike if you went with Twilight through the mirror why did you pass out when you saw me?” I asked.

“Oh that, I just never expected to see a human actually come to our world.” Spike replied.

“Did you ever see Godzilla?” I asked.

“No why?” Spike replied.

“It’s just you’re a dragon and you kind of remind me of him…just smaller. He was one of my childhood heroes when I was little, I used to watch his movies with my uncle.” I said.

“You mean a dragon was a hero?” Spike asked.

“Yep.” I said not having the heart to go into the details of how Godzilla was actually a dinosaur turned radioactive mutant.

“What did he do?” Spike asked his curiosity piqued.

“Well his main foe was a three headed dragon called King Ghidora, whose goal was to completely destroy the humans.” I said starting to tell him a little bit of the story.

Twilight shook her head with a sigh giving up on trying to get me to study while we waited for Rainbow Dash. It seemed Godzilla had come through for me one more time, saving me from the deadly book worm monster.

“What happened then? Why was he trying to destroy the humans?” Spike asked with a hint of fear in his voice.

So studying turned into story time as I did my best to recall what happened from the movie. Spike would occasionally ask why something happened, but not too often. Pinkie Pie was sitting down with the dragon now listening intently. Their eyes got wide when I described the others monsters from the movie, as if two hadn’t been enough.

As I described the final confrontation a smile crossed Spike’s face, especially when I told him King Ghidora fled the Earth after being beaten and humiliated. I was impressed with myself that I could remember that much of the movie. Then again I had been obsessed with the big guy ever since I was little and I had started collecting old Godzilla figures when I moved out on my own.

“So what happened after that?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Well they all went their separate ways in peace, until the next story.” I replied.

“There’s more!?” Spike asked excitedly.

“Yes, but I think those will have to wait, Twilight might get mad if all I do is tell stories.” I replied.

“Aww okay, but promise you’ll tell me what happened in the others?” Spike asked pointing at me.

“I promise.” I said holding my hands up in mock surrender.

I found it funny how I had become friends with a dragon, a little one mind you, but a dragon all the same. In stories humans and dragons fought constantly and were depicted as sworn enemies in some books and works of fiction.

“Oh did we miss something?” Fluttershy asked having returned with Rainbow Dash.

“Not reall-“ I started to say.

“You just missed the coolest story ever!” Spike exclaimed.

“It’d be pretty hard to top some of mine.” Rainbow Dash said.

“This was about a dragon though, a good dragon.” Pinkie Pie said.

“A good dragon?” Fluttershy asked.

“Spike’s a good dragon, why the fixation on the words “good” and “dragon” going together?” I asked.

“Most dragons are…mean and scary.” Fluttershy replied.

“Daring Do can take him.” Rainbow Dash said.

I couldn’t control myself as I fell into a fit of laughter. After reading a Daring Do book and actually visualizing the sight of a tiny pegasus trying to take him on was funny for some reason.

“What’s so funny?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Godzilla’s like four hundred feet tall and he’s radioactive. Daring Do would fry before she got close enough to do anything.” I replied.

“She’s Daring Do, she’d study him to find a soft spot and BLAM!” Rainbow Dash said slamming her hoof down on the crystal floor.

Well I found this world’s ‘because I’m Batman’ card. I thought to myself.

The conversation soon devolved into a human and pony defending their respective hero until Twilight came and separated us for a bit. It had started to get a bit intense. By the time Twilight had arrived I was already crossed eyed from being so close to Rainbow Dash and trying to stare her down. I questioned why my ego chose random times to surface and get me in stupid situations.

“You two are acting like foals, save it for tomorrow okay?” Twilight asked.

“Fine, just be ready to eat my dust.” Rainbow Dash said.

My mind was blank, after all the smack talk I had done to Daring Do I couldn’t believe I had nothing to come back with. All I could think of were lame or passive aggressive remarks which wouldn’t make any sense.

“Just make sure you’re on time.” Twilight said rolling her eyes.

---

“Oh goodness.” Fluttershy said upon seeing the crowd of ponies that had shown up.

“But how? I didn’t think anypony…Pinkie Pie.” I growled.

“Yer not nervous are ya?” Applejack asked.

“Me? Why would I be nervous? I’m just surrounded by a populace that trust me about as far as they can throw me.” I replied.

“It ain’t like that and you know it. Now be a good sport about it.” Applejack scolded.

“Good you’re here, Rainbow Dash was insistent the leg race be the first event. I can understand why given the circumstances.” Twilight said pointing to a small track.

I noticed Rainbow Dash had a small harness like device on. It seemed strapped over her wings preventing them being used. She wiggled and squirmed clearly in a bit of discomfort with the device on. I could see just the smallest amount of movement from her wings as she tried her best to adjust them.

“I’m not opposed to that.” I said as I heard Applejack mumble something about rope.

“Good luck.” I said approaching Rainbow Dash at the starting line.

“May the best pony win.” Rainbow Dash said popping her neck.

Rainbow Dash’s name was being chanted from the crowd that Pinkie Pie had so graciously gathered which only added pressure, something I wasn’t a fan of preforming under. I heard what sounded like an announcer and rolled my eyes. I started to wonder just how much work Pinkie put into this until I heard a whistle.

Rainbow Dash was off the line before I knew it leaving me behind. I bolted as fast as I could trying to block out the crowd. The pegasus was incredibly fast and the distance between us continued to grow at an alarming rate.

It was a hopeless endeavor as I reached the other side Rainbow Dash had already crossed the finish line, even without her wings she was still incredibly fast. I gave up and walked across the field in order to avoid walking all the way around.

Twilight helped the pegasus with the harness which Rainbow Dash was relieved to be free of. She stretched her wings out and flapped them a few times, checking to make sure they still functioned. She gave a small flex as the crowd cheered her name for her victory. While I was disappointed I wasn’t too upset already having an idea of how this would have turned out.

“Next up is Pinkie Pie’s suggestion, Tug of War.” Twilight said taking a few notes.

“You got this.” Applejack said giving me a gentle nudge in the leg as we approached a mud pit with a rope.

Rainbow Dash gripped the rope with her teeth. I could just make out a smirk which looked comical with a rope in her mouth. I picked up the other end of the rope and gripped it tightly with both hands as Rainbow Dash pawed at the ground with her hoof and unfurled her wings in anticipation. She was really getting into this.

“Go!” sounded a voice over a speaker system which I was stunned they had.

I felt a slight tug on the rope followed by several more solid ones. Rainbow Dash seemed to be having trouble. I could tell she was trying her hardest to get me to budge, but her progress was hardly noticeable. I could feel my feet slip a little bit and adjusted myself accordingly to stay balanced.

“Is it my turn?” I asked playing the ignorant card.

“phat er hue halking habout?” Rainbow Dash asked her words muffled a bit.

I took a step back and found it relatively easy. There was some resistance, but it wasn’t enough to make up for the body size difference. A stunned look crossed her face as she dug her hooves into the ground in an effort to stop her gradual advance towards the mud pit.

Rainbow Dash’s body was just too light in comparison. She had to be in order to stay airborne. This seemed more like a test of physics than a fair test of strength and for a split second I felt bad about it, until Rainbow Dash took to the air to try and use her wings to her advantage.

She pulled back making me lose a bit of ground. I gave a rather forceful tug which seemed to have the desired effect of pulling her closer. Rainbow Dash wasn’t about to quit despite the hopelessness of the situation. Two more tugs and the red flag crossed my side.

“That’s one for Daniel.” Twilight said taking a few notes down.

The crowd was silent for a few seconds in disbelief. It was obvious who the crowd favorite was. Applejack looked around before giving a whistle which got the crowd back in the spirit of the game. Rainbow Dash had a stunned look on her face as she relinquished the rope.

“I…lost?” the cyan pegasus asked aloud.

“Told ya you had this.” Applejack said with a tip of her hat in my direction. I gave a nod in return

“So what’s next boss?” I asked my hands were a little sore from pulling on the rope so hard without gloves.

“Pushups, surely you can do those.” Twilight replied.

“Oh goodie.” I said rolling my eyes.

Having a father in the military was not the ideal situation for avoiding the fate of having to endure JROTC in high school to gain his acceptance and endure a torturous amount of pushups, drill exercises, all for it to be for nothing upon finding out you couldn’t serve and never hear the end of it. The word ‘pushup’ put a bad taste in my mouth.

Rainbow Dash was already waiting for us in the middle of the track. Her expression was a little less smug now and more determined than it was before. She had shaken off her loss and I had the sinking feeling this was something she could quite possibly beat me at.

I lowered myself onto the ground and got ready. Rainbow Dash did the same, concentration evident on her face. I was never the best when it came to pushups and usually lost when it came to any debate had in school in JROCT. Our instructors would have us settle disputes with sit-ups or pushups and I resented them for it, band was far more democratic.

“GO!” screamed Pinkie Pie’s voice.

We both started at the same pace while Applejack and Rarity kept count for us respectively. Rainbow Dash didn’t stay matched with me long though, picking up speed as I started to slow down. I was kicking myself for not being in better shape than I was. Despite the growing pain in my arms I forced my body to keep going, each time I tried to rise back up this became increasingly difficult to do.

I couldn’t take it anymore and propped myself up on my elbows, giving Rainbow Dash the win. My arms were throbbing from being forced to carry on past my limit. The cyan pegasus rose up off the ground and the crowd started cheering her name again.

“Well that was short lived, but insightful.” Twilight said recording my defeat.

“You have a way with words you know that?” I asked rhetorically.

“So I’ve been told, this next one should put you on equal ground though.” Twilight said.

I sighed as I got to my feet and picked up what little was left of my pride. I was thankful I was the only human here, otherwise this would be even more embarrassing. Twilight’s plan to make things even must be the one little event she wouldn’t tell me about.

I was shocked when I saw what exactly she had in mind in order to have a test of wits. Thereon a table was what looked like...Boggle. The gears of my mind came to a grinding halt. I had seen speakers, cameras, and a variety of other things which made me question how advanced the ponies where when it came to technology. 

"Boggle...you're going to make us play a game of Boggle?" I asked in disbelief. 

"Yeah I'm kind of lost on this one too." Rainbow Dash confessed. 

"What's Boggle? This is just a game where you find the words the cubes make." Twilight replied. 

"That's what Boggle is." I said.

"Oh...well I thought it would be beneficial for you win or lose." Twilight said.

"So why do I have to do this?" Rainbow Dash asked. 

"She thinks this will determine who's smarter." I replied. 

"Fine, let's get it over with."  Rainbow Dash said with a sigh. 

The crowd grew quiet as we got situated for this absurd game. I personally hated Boggle, but was decent at it. While Rainbow Dash was athletic, I had no idea how intelligent she was. I couldn't assume based on interest, some jocks from school had been smart enough to land pretty decent jobs after high school, the key word being some. 

"You can write in your language if you want, since there's somepony here who can read it." Twilight offered. 

The blocks were in their strange symbols which I had come to have a better understanding of with each passing day. The reading material I had was steadily increasing in difficulty so I felt confident enough to keep up with Rainbow Dash.

"No, you wanted this to be fair so that's how it's going to be." I said declining the offer. 

The box containing the cubes was shaken and set down as was a small hour glass. I wanted to know how in the world this existed here. Was it just called the Word Game in Equestria? If so it was kind of unimaginative. 

Rainbow Dash had started writing with her mouth looking at the cubes. She was a much faster writer than I was, but she also took a bit longer to spot some of the longer words. The longer ones were worth more points, but shorter ones added up if you could find enough of them. 

I started to see the reasoning behind Twilight's choice. This was also the only thing she assumed I'd be able to pick up quickly enough. It was certainly a test for my memory falling back on all of the letters and word lessons I'd had to endure.

I looked up to see the sand in the top of the hour glass almost empty. I started to search frantically for anything I might have missed. There was nothing obvious that jumped out at me at first glance which made me nervous and wonder if I had enough to beat Rainbow Dash. 

"Time!" called Spike. 

Twilight took our two sheets and looked them over. I had only been able to get twenty down before time had been called. Writing in their language was slow, to me anyways. Rainbow Dash had been putting down words left and right with ease. 

"Rainbow Dash wins...by a lot actually." Twilight said impressed.  

"Really? Yes!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as her name was chanted by the crowd again. 

I stood up and stretched before turning to leave. I was going to tell her good game, but watching her soak up the attention led me to believe it'd be a while before I'd get to tell her much of anything. 

As I walked to the pond I had come to call my 'get away from it all' place I couldn't help but think of the story I had told Spike and Pinkie Pie. I chuckled a little at my current situation and associated it to King Ghidora's  end result of trying to out do Godzilla. While I hadn't been hit by a radioactive blast, my ego was still pretty bruised. 

"Hey." came Rainbow Dash's voice from above. 

The pegasus was standing on a tree branch looking down at me. Her face was less menacing than usual which was surprising since she was the one who didn't put much trust in me. 

"Come to gloat?" I asked. 

"I wanted to know why you didn't write in..whatever you're used to?" Rainbow Dash asked. 

"Because I wanted it to be fair. I could have wrote much faster and spotted words a lot quicker as well if it was in my language, but I'm not on Earth any more, this is your world. I'm trying to learn to play by your rules, but it hasn't been easy, and I almost gave up." I said. 

"I know...maybe...maybe I was a bit quick to judge you." Rainbow Dash said gliding out of the tree.

"I've been told you're just really defensive of your friends." I said making her smirk.

"Do you want to start over?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Sure." I replied. 

"One thing though, the name's Rainbow Dash, not Skittles." Rainbow Dash said holding her hoof out. 

"Daniel." I said bumping her hoof with my fist. 

"Come on, before I left Pinkie had an after competition party started." Rainbow Dash said leading the way back to where our small competition had taken place. 

"So why did you call me Skittles anyways?" the pegasus asked. 
> Nightmare Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I sat in the library wing in Twilight’s castle prepared to be bombarded by another set of questions. These were supposedly related to the test I would soon be taking. Celestia and Twilight’s friendship had been my saving grace when it came to how much time I’d had to study for the citizenship test while living here. I’m sure my circumstances on arriving here in the first place played a role in this as well.

Twilight was convinced I had a grasp on their language enough to pass the language section. She had done a pretty decent job teaching me, it was civics and history that would make or break me. I knew Twilight couldn’t tell me what was on the test and she could only do so much with the questions she was reading off.

“Capital of Equestria?” Twilight asked.

“Canterlot.” I replied quickly.

“Name three cities.” Applejack said.

“Ponyville, Fillydelphia, and Manehattan.” I answered.

“Forty two times twelve go!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

“Uh…” I was caught off guard by the question and tried my best to quickly come up with the answer to no avail

“Pinkie Pie, that’s not going to be one of the questions.” Rarity said.

“Betcha it will be.” Pinkie Pie retorted in a sing song voice.

“How is the weather maintained?” Rainbow Dash asked getting back on topic.

“Cloudsdale’s weather factories and weather team.” I replied receiving a nod.

“Well he’s definitely getting faster. I think he’ll be ready soon.” Twilight said.

“Um…can you name a holiday?” Fluttershy asked.

I opened my mouth to reply but didn’t have an answer. I knew all of my holidays; Halloween, Thanks Giving, Christmas. I couldn’t believe I didn’t know a single Equestrian holiday. I had just come to assume that with all the similarities they were the same thing and not bothered to think about the subject anymore.

“I think you broke him Fluttershy.” Pinkie Pie said.

“You’re kidding me, you can’t think of a single one?” Twilight asked astounded.

“None.” I replied.

“There’s no need to fret dear, Nightmare Night will be upon us soon enough, you can actually partake in it.” Rarity said.

“I’m going to assume that’s the same thing as Halloween.” I said looking to Twilight who nodded.

“I don’t know about this Halloween, but Nightmare Night is a holiday revolving around the story of Nightmare Moon.” Rarity explained.

“Nightmare Moon, who’s that?” I asked.

“Nightmare Moon was the dark side of Princess Luna that took control after she became so jealous of her sister she tried to over throw her. We managed to return Princess Luna back to her former self though with the Elements of Harmony.” Twilight replied.

I thought back to what Luna had told me, to not dwell on insecurities. That’s why it must have hurt her so much when I told her she didn’t understand how I felt. I found myself wishing I could meet her again so I could apologize.

“So what do you do on Nightmare Night?” I asked fairly certain one of the activities was to collect candy.

“Well fillies and colts will go door to door to collect candy. There are games too. It’s the one day of the year you want to be scary.” Twilight said

“Awesome so I just go as myself and I’m good.” I said.

“Absolutely not, if you’re going to participate you’re going to get into the spirit one hundred percent.” Rarity said.

“I’m the scariest thing in Ponyville why not just go as myself?” I asked.

“Because you’re trying to change that image right?” Twilight asked nudging me in the shoulder.

“Fine, what do I go as?” I asked.

“What’s scary from your world?” Pinkie Pie asked.

I thought for a moment, it couldn’t be too scary but I didn’t want to be lame either. I probably didn’t have to worry about whatever I picked being too scary since Twilight and Spike were the only ones who had been to my world.

“Blood free mister.” Twilight said authoritatively making her friends cringe upon hearing the word blood.

“I’m not a fan of it anyways, it’s too much work.” I said.

“You mean you’ve put blood on yourself before?” Fluttershy asked horrified.

“It was colored corn syrup mixed with a bunch of other stuff. It was fake Fluttershy I promise.” I said putting the timid pegasus at ease.

“Why not go as a hero instead of a villain?” Rarity offered.

“Most of the heroes from my world are bipedal and the others probably wouldn’t get it.” I replied.

“Why not go as a ghost? Then nopony would know who you are.” Pinkie Pie said.

“I’m pretty sure they’d be able to tell it’s me, I’m taller than you guys and don’t walk on all fours.” I said.

“Maybe go as something cute for a change and not scary?” Fluttershy asked.

“No offense Fluttershy but I don’t think going as something cute would be good either.” I replied.

Every part of my being rejected the idea of having some sort of bow tied on by Fluttershy as she tried to make me look like a rabbit or a squirrel. I shivered and tried to shake the image from my mind.

“Ya could be somethin’ simple, it ain’t gotta be complex.” Applejack said.

“I’d say a zombie then, but no blood or nasty stuff, Twilight’s orders.” I said rolling my eyes.

“There has to be something awesome you can go as. Your world can’t be that boring Nightmare Night’s in two days.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Don’t worry I’ll have something figured out by then I promise. I still think I could go as myself and be good.” I said.

“That’s what you did in your world isn’t it?” Twilight asked with narrowed eyes.

“Every year.” I replied with a grin.

“We’re breaking that habit, if you don’t have anything by tomorrow you’re going as a fluffy bunny. Fluttershy will be in charge of making it happen.” Twilight said.

Fluttershy was clearly pleased with this option over the others that had been proposed. The thought of being in a fluffy bunny suit returned to my mind and stayed despite my best efforts to block out the image. As adorable as the yellow pegasus’ smile was I couldn’t endure that.

I left Twilight’s castle with Applejack brain storming as I walked. The other ponies in town didn’t seem as scared of me now. Some of them still were and I understood why Twilight had insisted on my selection not including blood, fake or otherwise.

Rainbow Dash beating me may have been a blessing in disguise. A few of the ponies in town waved which was a vast improvement. I assumed it had to do with a sense of relief knowing the “big bad human” wasn’t really as bad as they thought.

Not everypony in town was as trusting yet. There were a lot who still stared at me despite all that had transpired. I couldn’t blame them though, Rainbow Dash hadn’t trusted me at first either.

“Are ya sure you can think of somethin’ by tomorrow?” Applejack asked as we approached the road that led to her family farm.

“I’m sure; I don’t think I could be seen out in public again after being a fluffy bunny.” I said.

“Alrighty then, let me know if ya think of somethin’.” Applejack said as we parted ways.

I sighed as I continued towards Fluttershy’s. I wanted my own place and I couldn’t wait until this stupid test was done and over with. I wanted to be independent and not feel like I was intruding, though I knew realistically that goal was a long ways off.

I hadn’t met Crafty Crate yet, perhaps I’d be able to find out who he, or on the off chance she, was. I frowned when I considered the possibility that this pony might have been watching me and Rainbow Dash. If that was the case then it probably made me out to be an idiot.

“A box…I could always go as a box…the Metal Gear box!” I exclaimed, the word crate having stirred my memory of one of my favorite video games. 

“A box? Surely you can do better than that.” said a mysterious voice.

“Who’s there?” I asked looking around unable to locate the source of whomever or whatever had spoken to me.

“Perhaps it’d help if you broadened your search, beyond the ground.” the voice said prompting me to look up.

There was a cloud with a face on it. It was slightly disfigured, the eyes looked poorly made and there seemed to be a small sinister tooth hanging out from the mouth. It was as if a young colt or filly had drawn on the cloud putting almost no effort into it.

“Okay Rainbow Dash enough fooling around.” I said convinced the pegasus had some sort of control over the cloud I was unaware of.

“I assure you, I am by no means Rainbow Dash.” the cloud said, disappearing and a strangely shaped creature took its place, “I am Discord, lord of chaos, and you my unusual fellow must be Daniel.” Discord said.

The strange being stood eye level with me which was odd given how short every other creature I had met so far had been. Discord certainly looked like his namesake being made up of what looked like a bunch of different animal parts.

“How do you know my name?” I asked.

“Fluttershy and I keep in touch. She’s mentioned you a few times in her letters.” Discord replied.

“Oh…well, uh cool meeting you.” I said starting to back away.

“What’s the rush? We’ve only just met.” Discord’s voice said from behind me.

I spun around to see an exact copy of Discord who waved at me innocently. He said he was friends with Fluttershy but I had a bad feeling about this creature. Not because of his looks but because of his insistence on me staying.

“I’m trying to avoid being put in a bunny suit.” I said. 

“A bunny suit? Oh that’s right Nightmare Night is coming up, so is that what your box is for?” Discord asked.

“Yeah, it’s from a game. The others had some good ideas but I’m not from this world so even if I was something awesome from back home no one would get it.” I replied.

“Hmm…why not think outside of the box instead of in it and go as yourself?” Discord asked.

“I already tried that. Twilight wouldn’t have any of it.” I replied rolling my eyes.

“Right Fluttershy mentioned you trying to blend in and adapt, but perhaps you could try bending the rules a bit?” Discord asked as he bent backwards until he disappeared and reappeared to my right sitting on a rock.

“Bending the rules? How so?” I asked, approaching the rock cautiously.

“Twilight wanted you to be something else right? I can help you still be yourself while accomplishing this goal. Like you said, who would understand whatever you chose?” Discord asked.

I thought back on the Metal Gear box and how nopony would understand it. I thought it was funny and clever. It would also irritate Twilight a little in good fun since she told me to come up with something, she never did specify what. Still it was from a game that didn’t exist here and felt like a lost cause.

“What are you driving at?” I asked.

Discord smiled an unnerving smile. It was the kind of smile that a mischievous plan often hides behind. Being the lord of chaos I could only imagine what his idea might be. I liked chaos in Warhammer, but I never thought I would actually see it embodied which made me re-think my stance on the subject.

“How about this? For three days I can give you a new outlook on life, you’ll be accepted by all and feared by none. The question is will you want to go back to the original you when all is said and done?” Discord asked holding out his lion paw like hand.

It was a strange offer to say the least, one that had come with an odd warning. Would whatever Discord was offering me really be that altering? I liked myself as I was, but the thought of being able to carry on a conversation with others without being awkward was too good to pass up.

“What does it do?” I asked cautiously.

“Like I said, it’ll give you a new outlook on life. I’m doing you a favor if you want me to be honest, since we’re both such close friends with Fluttershy.” Discord replied.

I raised my hand up to take his but hesitated. Something didn’t feel right about this, it felt off somehow. I tried to write it off as paranoia and convince myself Discord didn’t mean any ill will, but a part of me was still resisting.

“Tick-tock goes the clock, I haven’t got all day. It’s not going to hurt you.” Discord said his two mismatched horns morphing into a small clock.

With that I wrapped my hand around his paw and felt a tingling sensation travel throughout my body. I wanted to jerk back out of shock but found myself unable to do so. Discord smiled knowingly and with his bird claw pushed a finger against my forehead making my vision swim with a myriad of blue, yellow and purple hues.

I was unable to focus on anything and felt my mouth fall open. My muscles felt weak, as if I’d just spent an entire day exercising none stop. I felt myself sway from side to side as my balance became nonexistent. “For three days, you’ll be wearing your heart’s reflection as your sleeves.” I heard Discord’s voice say before everything went black.

---
“Wakey wakey.” said Discord as I felt a slight jabbing sensation in my side. He must have been poking me.

“What happened?” I asked groggily.

“You decided to take a nap while the magic took effect.” Discord replied standing over me.

I tried to stand up only to receive painful protest from my muscles. It felt like I had been hit by a freight train and lived somehow. I wished now he would have left me to sleep off whatever it was he did.

“I thought you said this wouldn’t hurt.” I complained.

“I never said anything about making you tired as an adverse side effect now did I? Oh and I'd take it slow trying to stand up.” Discord responded.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked before noticing how close to the ground my view was.

“Three…two…one…” Discord counted.

I screamed in panic until I heard the sound of fingers snapping and something like tape covered my mouth turning my cries of terror into muffled grunts. In place of arms that I thought I had propped myself up on I had forelegs and hooves. Looking behind me showed similar changes as I noticed a blue coat of fur and a green mane. 

On my flank was a traditional cutie mark, albeit one I might have trouble explaining. It looked similar to the mark of Tzeentch from the game Warhammer I used to play. Tzeentch was the changer of ways in the game. I personally hated Tzeentch which made me a little disappointed on top of the panicked realization that I was no longer human.

“Let me know when you’ve calmed down.” Discord said as a chair appeared underneath him while a newspaper appeared in his hands.

I glared at the strange creature angrily. I tried to walk towards him only to fall flat on my face. It was then I noticed a group of feathers as they fell into my vision upon tripping, I had wings. I focused on them and they moved. I picked myself up off the ground and looked at my back folding and unfolding the wings I had been given.

“You probably won’t be flying any time soon if that’s what you’re wondering.” Discord said never looking up from the paper he was looking at.

As much as I hated to admit it, he was right I couldn’t even walk. I would have to change the way my mind worked if I wanted to get anywhere. I was still processing movement as if I had my human body, I had to picture it on all fours. Hands and knees would have to do.

I closed my eyes and I visualized myself still in human form. I put my theory to the test and was surprised at how well it worked. In my mind I was putting my arm and hand forward, but in reality it was my right foreleg, I did the same with each leg picturing myself crawling instead of walking up right. I looked back at Discord who was still ignoring me. With mobility under my nonexistent belt I approached his chair stumbling a bit. 

“Mrpph.” I said trying my best to get his attention.

“Hmm? Say something?” Discord asked looking down at me with a grin.

I growled through whatever was covering my mouth, the sound muffled a bit.

“Okay hold your horses killer.” Discord said snapping his fingers which removed whatever was obstructing my mouth

“What the hell did you do?” I asked as calmly as I could.

“I told you exactly what it would do. It would give you a new outlook on life, and your heart apparently reflects that of a pegasus. I would have thought earth pony.” Discord replied as the chair and paper vanished.

“I didn’t think you meant it would actually change me like…this. Undo it.” I said.

“No can do, you’re stuck like that for three days.” Discord said.

“The others aren’t going to recognize me, what am I supposed to tell them?” I asked stomping the ground with a hoof in frustration.

I thought back to how I had only recently earned Rainbow Dash’s trust and while she would probably be a bit more tolerable of another pony, I didn’t want to have to go through all of that again. I regretted not sticking with the box idea. Even if it was a bit corny and lame it would have been better than being a flightless pegasus.

“I’m sure you’ll think of something, I don’t think you’re putting enough faith in your friends.” Discord said.

I scoffed and started to leave the odd dragon like creature behind. I was on my way to Fluttershy’s anyways, I might as well resume my original path. I stumbled a bit still not entirely used to relying on four legs as opposed to two.

“Oh don’t be a spoiled sport, you agreed to this remember?” Discord said as he shrank in size and appeared on my snout.

“Don’t you have someone else’s life to screw with?” I asked my wings involuntarily flaring out from anger.

“I haven’t screwed with anything. I’m keeping an eye on you since we’re headed in the same direction anyways. I could leave you high and dry if you like though.” Discord said perching himself on top of my head.

“Fine.” I said as I picked up the pace deeply regretting ever trusting this creature.

“Hi Ho Silver! Away!” Discord shouted making me sigh.

---
Fluttershy’s cottage finally came into view. It didn’t feel like I had walked as far as I normally had with two legs. I suppose four legs weren’t such a bad thing some times, still the change in height bugged me. I had been experimentally flexing my wings, which was cool and depressing at the same time.

I had always wanted to fly back home, I had never even been on an airplane before. After all of the mishaps that I had seen on television I just didn’t trust them. The closest thing that came to flying for me were video games which I was better off without anyways. I had more energy now than I did back home so it was a fair trade off.

The weight that had been present on my head vanished as Discord reappeared beside me and knocked on the door to Fluttershy’s cottage. I could hear the light clip clop of hooves from within as the pegasus approached the door.

The door cracked open just enough for Fluttershy to see us. The door suddenly burst open as a yellow blur collided with Discord almost knocking him down. From the way Fluttershy reacted to seeing the dragon like creature it appeared he was telling the truth about being friends, I let a bit of my hard feelings towards him go but still resented the fact that he danced around the little details of what I had agreed to.

“How have you been?” Fluttershy asked relinquishing Discord from her hug.

“I’ve been well. I just had the chance opportunity of meeting this stallion who was on his way to see you. I think we’re going to be best buddies.” Discord said grinning at me.

I’d rather have a hole drilled in my head. I thought to myself. 

“Oh really? Well what’s your name?” she asked.

“It’s me Fluttershy, Daniel.” I replied.

“Oh your name’s Daniel too? Mister Daniel would be excited to meet you.” Fluttershy said.

“No Fluttershy it’s me, I’m Mister Daniel. They guy you patched up after I got clawed by a timber wolf.” I said.

Fluttershy tilted her head to the side with a confused look on her face. Discord was silent, observing the scene as it unfolded. I was silently praying she would believe me, she had to.

“Mister Daniel? Oh my goodness what happened to you!?” Fluttershy asked stunned at my new appearance.

“Your friend here had a hand, hoof, paw…something in it.” I replied.

“Discord I thought you weren’t going to use your power for mischief anymore!” Fluttershy scolded.

“I assure you I had the best of intentions, he wanted help to avoid being a bunny for Nightmare Night. So we worked out a little deal to make him look like one of you. Believe me this is much better than his box idea.” Discord replied.

“Well that doesn’t sound so scary. I think the box would have been a good idea.” Fluttershy said happily.

“You do?” Discord and I asked at the same time.

“Yes, it would have been nice. Now change him back.” Fluttershy said.

Discord suddenly became nervous at Fluttershy’s request. “Well that’s the thing, the spell is in effect for…three days. I was only trying to help, honest.” Discord said looking down.

“It’s true Fluttershy, I agreed to this.” I said.

As much as I wanted Discord to catch some flak for this I couldn’t let him get painted as a bad guy. I could have walked away but didn’t. I would just have to make the best of things.

“Well you do look cute either way. I think the bunny costume would only add to it.” Fluttershy said.

“No thanks Fluttershy. Now that I’m…normal, I may just stick to Pinkie Pie’s suggestion.” I said blushing a bit.

“Oh okay.” Fluttershy said sounding a bit disappointed.

“See? You were worried over nothing.” Discord said looking down at me.

“You’re certain there’s nothing you can do to make the spell end quicker?” Fluttershy asked.

“It’s composed of my chaotic magic, since rules are in place they must be abided by. As much as I love breaking them, there are some things even I can’t do.” Discord replied.

“It’s cool Fluttershy, I think I can manage three days. Besides I don’t think I’ll get as many stares as I have been for a while which will be nice.” I said.

“You shouldn’t need magic or tricks for that, you should want ponies to like you for you...I can’t say I’m happy with either of you.” Fluttershy said with a sigh.

“Please don’t be upset Fluttershy; I’m sorry I put the idea in his head. You said he was having a hard time fitting in so I thought I would try and help out.” Discord said.

“I know you meant well. That’s why we make mistakes, so we can learn from them.” Fluttershy said patting Discord with her hoof.

Twilight was right when she said Fluttershy was one of the sweetest ponies around. She didn’t need to go into a detailed lecture to make others apologize or straighten up, she killed them with kindness so to speak.

“So now that you’re a pegasus for three days what are you going to do?” Fluttershy asked breaking my train of thought.

“I don’t know, I haven’t really been to town for extended periods of time. I might try socializing.” I replied.

“Everyone’s going to laugh at you if you tell them your name. Fluttershy believed you but I don’t think the rest of the town will be so willing to jump on the bandwagon.” Discord said.

Discord raised a good point, my name didn’t exactly match my new body. I sat and attempted to think of something. I couldn’t seem to think of anything good, another problem was coming up with something nopony else had. I looked at my cutie mark which still had me baffled as to why that one had branded itself upon me. Despite my distaste for it the odd mark gave me an idea.

“Comet Guard.” I said taking inspiration from the game I was so fond of.

“Comet Guard? Well it’s certainly…unique.” Fluttershy said with a nervous smile.

“That’s the idea; now that the name’s out of the way I should be good to go.” I said.

“Go get’em tiger.” Discord said as I walked away.
---
I hesitantly entered Ponyville, I wasn't sure why I felt so uncomfortable. Perhaps I had grown accustomed to every head turning towards me in anticipation. Now I found myself being ignored, treated like any normal pony would be. Everypony seemed to be getting ready for nightmare night.

I grew a bit more confident as I ventured deeper into town with no real destination in mind. Walking on all fours wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and once I couldn't see anypony around I tried trotting instead of just walking.

I was impressed by how fast a simple action could move me. Hands down, or hooves in this case, this was starting to turn into the coolest experience ever. That is until I collided with something gray.

“Ow.” a voice said.

I looked down to find myself staring at the pegasus I had seen at Fluttershy's a few days ago. It wasn't until she looked up at me with her golden eyes that I realized I was on top of her, literally.

“Oh my gosh I'm so sorry!” I exclaimed getting off of her.

I tried to offer her a hand only to be reminded at the sight of a hoof being raised instead that the normal good will gesture might not work the same here. Much to my surprise the mare was able to take my hoof as easily as a human would anothers out stretched hand which baffled me a bit.

“Don't be, I run into things all the time.” the pegasus said.

“I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going though so it's kind of my fault.” I said.

“Hey...have I seen you before?” she asked inquisitively.

I couldn't help but notice she her eyes seemed to be a bit off, but other than that she seemed nice. She had what appeared to be a mail bag and matching hat to go with it indicating her profession. I felt bad knowing I had interrupted her route.

“Probably not I'm not exactly from here.” I replied.

“Oh, so is this your first time in Ponyville? It's full of nice ponies. My name's Ditzy Doo, but some ponies call me Derpy.” Ditzy explained.

“I'm Comet Guard...so which do you prefer to be called?” I asked almost forgetting my fake name.

“Ditzy is fine, well I should get back to work. A mail mare must see her route through to the end!” Ditzy said giving a small salute before waving goodbye.

She seemed like a nice pegasus and she had carried on a conversation with me without shivering or cowering in fear. The happy feeling was shattered when I reminded myself that this would come to an end in three days. Three days that I would have to make count.

That could wait though, Rarity had told me to get into the spirit of this holiday one hundred percent. On Halloween back home pranks and jokes were a big part of it. Looking myself over once more a wicked grin crossed my face.

I slowly pushed open the door to Rarity's house which doubled as her place of business. A bell announced my presence and I cursed at the sound, my plan had been foiled. Rarity appeared shortly after the bell had sounded and I decided that pranks could wait for now, I'd just see what she thought of the temporary me.

“Hey Rarity.” I said.

“Oh, you know who I am? Well then I guess my reputation really is spreading, sadly I can't say I've ever seen you before.” Rarity said.

“Sure you have, I'm usually not this short.” I said.

“Short? I'd hardly call you short.” Rarity responded.

“It's Daniel, Rarity.” I said.

Rarity didn't respond for a while looking at me as if I was a ghost. I was a bit stunned that she didn't call me a liar or crazy right off the bat. The awkward silence that filled the room was becoming uncomfortable and I started to wonder if she was trying to decide how to throw me out of her shop.

“How cute, he set you up to this didn't he?” Rarity asked.

I thought for a second before answering her. “No Rarity I didn't set anyone up to anything.” I said purposefully replacing anypony with anyone .

“Sweet Celestia it is you! What happened dear!?” Rarity asked in a panic.

“I don’t suppose you know Fluttershy’s friend Discord do you?” I asked in return.

“He did this to you? What in Equestria for?” Rarity asked her face twisting into a hateful expression.

I quickly explained that it wasn’t all Discord’s fault, although most of it was. I had agreed to this and I had to see things through to the end. Rarity seemed to understand my reasoning but she was still just as disappointed in me as Fluttershy had been. It almost made me want to turn tail and go back as I started to assume the others would react in a similar fashion.

“So do you know how to fly?” Rarity asked pointing at my wings.

“No and since I’m only going to look like this for three days I don’t think I’d learn how to before time was up.” I replied dejectedly.

“I’m sorry you won’t get to experience everything, but look on the bright side you can say you’ve at least had the chance to see if the grass was greener from our point of view. You just need to learn to be happy with who you are first though.” Rarity said.

“You’re right, I just wanted to fit in and be normal. It seemed like a good idea at the time, I didn’t know it’d make my friends hate me.” I said.

“I don’t hate you for wanting to fit in darling, everypony wants to fit in and be loved. I dislike the fact that you’re using magic instead of letting things happen naturally. Although I must say you do look rather dashing as a stallion. Since you’re here would you mind helping me with something?” Rarity asked with a smile which produced a noise that sounded like a squeak.

“Uh sure I guess if it’ll help make up for me being stupid.” I replied.

“Excellent now you just stay right here and I’ll be right back.” Rarity said leading me over to what looked like a stage with mirrors behind it.

The unicorn disappeared leaving me to wonder just what I had volunteered for. Given her occupation I could only assume it had to do with clothing or some other fashion related question. I turned around to look in the mirrors and saw my new reflection. I unfurled my wings with a smile a part of me wishing this wouldn’t end so I could actually learn how to fly.

“Seems somepony’s grown attached.” Rarity said watching me.

“Yeah, ever since I was a little kid I wanted to fly. So what was this favor I’m supposed to do?” I asked as my wings flattened against my sides.

A suite that looked like it belonged on a large dog from Earth levitated in front of me. I noticed there were several others on hangers.

“You see dear I hardly ever have a stallion to use as a model. Ponyikins are nice and all, but it really helps to see it on a living pony.” Rarity said as I took the hooked section of the hanger in my mouth.

Putting on clothes as a pony was an awkward experience. I was quickly regretting agreeing to this, but Rarity had helped me out so it was only fair to return the favor, though I never knew it would be for an hour.

“Hi Rarity, hi new pony. Wait a new pony!?” Pinkie Pie asked with a gasp as she entered the shop.

“No Pinkie Pie I’m afraid this isn’t a new pony, this is Daniel.” Rarity replied tightening something that pulled my stomach in painfully. 

“Too tight.” I said causing the strap to relinquish its vice like grip on my body.

“It’s formal wear dear, it’s supposed to alter your posture and form, not be comfortable so as to take a stroll around town.” Rarity said.


“That doesn’t look like Daniel. He’s supposed to be tall and not a pony.” Pinkie Pie said.

“It’s me Pinkie, it’s not permanent though so I’ll be back to my old self in three days.” I said.

Pinkie didn’t seem nearly as concerned as Fluttershy and Rarity were. Until Rarity mentioned why I looked the way I did which resulted in the same situation as before. I had to explain myself all over again and hear the same lecture.

“So now that you’re a pegasus what are you going to be?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“A ghost I suppose, it’s simple quick and keeps me from being a bunny.” I said as I removed the last suit in Rarity’s line up.

I swiftly dismissed myself before Rarity could find more clothes she might have forgotten about. I still hated trying on clothes, even in this world. It was time consuming and the thrill women of any species found in it was lost on me.

I unfurled my wings and looked at them deep in thought. So what if I had a time limit, I at least wanted to try to fly. I couldn’t do it here though, I would need to find some place more isolated. Not many ponies made regular stops by Applejack’s. It was my best bet as far as avoiding an audience.

I would have to explain myself again though which made me question if it was really worth it. A light breeze passed over my feathers and it sent an oddly satisfying chill down my spine. As quick as the sensation had passed I was left yearning for it again. Explanation be damned I was going to do this.

---
Applejack was busy loading up a cart of apples, presumably getting ready like the rest of the town. It was probably a good business opportunity for her since apples could easily become candy apples with a little creativity.

“Hey Applejack.” I said taking the mare by surprise.

“Howdy there uh…” Applejack started to say trying to place a name to my face.

“Daniel.” I said rolling my eyes.

“Oh Danie-wait one second there, there’s only one pony with that name and he ain’t a pony. Now who are you?” Applejack asked her tone scaring me a bit.

“Applejack chill it’s me, honest. You found me out in your apple orchard and I didn’t know ponies could talk or anything remember?” I asked nervously.

Applejack studied me in silence and I could feel my heart racing. Running now would only make matters worse but it was tempting the way she was staring at me.

“How’d ya get like this, if yer who ya say you are?” Applejack asked.

“I ran into a dragon thingy named Discord and he said he’d give me a new outlook on life for three days. My idea for a costume was going to be a box, but now I’m just going to be a ghost. You told me to come by and tell you if I got any ideas remember?” I asked.

Applejack’s facial expression changed upon hearing my explanation. “I reckon I did tell ya to swing by.” she said finally believing me.

I sighed in relief now that the risk of my skull being kicked clean out of my head was over. Discord was right I needed to put a bit more trust in my friends. While Fluttershy Rarity and Pinkie Pie had seemed to accept the news well enough, convincing Applejack had been a slightly scary experience.

“So you’re a pegasus?” Applejack asked relaxing a bit. 


“Yeah for three days.” I replied.

“So why did ya really come all the way out here?” Applejack asked suspiciously.

“I wanted to try these out.” I said stretching out my wings

“I think ya would’ve had better luck findin’ Rainbow Dash for that sugar cube.” Applejack said with a light giggle.

“I just wanted to try some place where nopony could see me, and I don’t think Rainbow Dash would’ve been the best pony to go to.” I said following Applejack as she continued to load apple baskets onto the cart.

“If yer mind’s made up then ya can try out there.” Applejack said pointing towards what looked like a pasture for sheep.

“Thanks Applejack.” I said before heading towards the clearing.

---
I was much farther from the farm than I realized as I turned around to look back at the building. That was fine though, I didn’t want an audience. I unfurled my wings and flapped them experimentally not quite sure where to start in terms of actually getting off the ground.

I tried flapping my wings as hard as I could before jumping up into the air. I fell backwards after traveling a few feet from where I was originally. I got back up and tried again this time trying to lean forward a bit. The result was the same only instead of backwards I landed flat on my face.

I quickly lost track of time, and how many bruises I had accumulated in my struggle to stay airborne for more than a few seconds. I had tried a multitude of times already and I was ready to give up. I looked at my wings and folded them against my back with a sigh.

“You’re not about to quit are you?” asked a voice from above me.

I looked up to see Rainbow Dash sitting on a cloud. I briefly wondered how in Equestria she found me until I recalled Applejack suggesting I look for the pegasus first. I sat on the ground as Rainbow Dash landed a few feet from me.

“So…a pegasus huh?” she asked.

“I’m guessing you already know?” I asked in return.

“Your form is off and you’re flapping your wings way too hard to try taking off with a jump.” Rainbow Dash said with a smile ignoring my question.

“You’re not mad or anything?” I asked.

Rainbow Dash sighed as she rolled her eyes. “I get the fact that you wanted to be cool, but I’ll tell you the same thing I tell Scootaloo you can’t force something to happen.” she said.

“Thanks.” I said.

“For what?” Rainbow Dash asked baffled.

“Not tearing my head off.” I replied.

“Don’t get all sappy on me. We’ve still got some daylight to burn, now I want to see those wings flap!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed producing a whistle and blowing in it making my ears ring.

By the time Rainbow Dash had either determined I’d been put through enough torture, or grown bored of watching me crash, I was exhausted. I could hover, that much I had down, but I could do little else. 

Celestia was already starting to lower the sun but there was still enough light for me to notice I was covered in bruises. I had two cuts on my left foreleg that I hadn't noticed until now from the brutal workout Rainbow Dash had just put me through. 

“Cloudsdale wasn’t built in a day.” Rainbow Dash said helping me up for the last time. 

“Yeah but I don’t think I’ll be flying before time’s up.” I said dusting myself off as best I could. 

“We’ll see, Twilight wasn’t that great of a flier at first either but she got the hang of it.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Oh crap…I forgot about Twilight. She’s going to tear me a new one.” I groaned.

“Suck it up, she’s not gonna kill you. You big baby.” Rainbow Dash said hitting me in the side gently with her hoof. Despite the pulled force behind it, the pegasus had unknowingly hit a tender spot which made me cringe in pain. 

Rainbow Dash had a point, I’d done plenty of stuff to get under Twilight’s skin by now and I was still breathing. Accepting chaos magic from a dragon creature though would be a new one.

---

Luna had already raised the moon and stars by the time I arrived at Fluttershy’s cottage. A carriage pulled by four pegasi in armor made it clear the shy animal caretaker wasn’t alone. I nervously approached the front door and knocked. I had hoped no one would answer but was disappointed when the door opened by itself.

“I see you managed to come up with something.” Twilight said looking at me.

“Yeah you could say that” I said.

“Don’t bother explaining, let me see if I can guess based on what I’ve heard so far. You had a chat with Discord, the lord of chaos who only recently truly reformed himself mind you, just so you could get out of wearing a bunny suit…am I on the right track so far?” Twilight asked doing her best to hold back her anger.

“Yes.” I replied.

“Magic is never to be taken lightly, am I clear? It’s what sent you here in the first place and caused you a great deal of grief if memory serves.” Twilight said her voice was more akin to a scolding mother than the friendly tone I was used to.

“I know that, you think I’d just forget all of that? Just once I wanted to walk through town without being reminded by every single pony’s gaze that I don’t belong here. Why was that so much to ask for?” I asked.

“Because it’s temporary, wouldn’t you rather have something permanent? Something that mattered?” Twilight asked.

“Yes.” I replied reluctantly. 

“You're not the only one who's ever been out of their element. I've been in your place before and I know it's not fun, but you have to trust me when I tell you things will get better in their own time. Fooling ponies with magic won't solve anything.” Twilight said a bit calmer now. 

“I know, I'm just tired of waiting.” I said. 

Twilight looked ready to say something else but shook her head. I guess she figured I'd received enough criticism. She looked me over once more assessing me and cringing a bit when she noticed the bruises I'd received from earlier. 

“Did you get in a fight?” Twilight asked. 

“If Rainbow Dash's training counts as one then yes.” I replied sarcastically. 

“That explains the bruises then...they are pretty unsightly and I can't have you walking around on Nightmare Night looking like you just got out of a fight.” Twilight said with a sigh.

Fluttershy perked up as if an idea had just crossed her mind. She leaned over to Twilight and whispered something that made the alicorn smirk mischievously at me. My ears swivel towards them trying to catch some part of their hushed conversation. 

“I think Fluttershy has a solution to your problem.” Twilight said. 

---

Fluttershy adjusted the fake ears on my head that obscured my vision slightly. The suit was itchy and uncomfortable, or perhaps my subconscious despised my current position so much it was making me believe it was. 

I fidgeted in place, my wings occasionally stretching out of their own accord. Nightmare Night had arrived and out of some sick twist of fate I had ended up in the very thing I had tried to avoid. 

“Don't be so upset, I think you make a cute wittle bunny.” Fluttershy said sweetly. 

A knock on the door interrupted any further adjustments to the suit. Fluttershy opened the door to reveal Pinkie Pie in a Crocodile outfit and Rarity who was dressed as what I assumed was the pony version of a vampire. Both started the giggle when they laid eyes on me. 

“I expected you to be throwing a fit after being made to wear that.” Rarity said as I left the cottage.

“You mean he's not mad?” Pinkie Pie asked. 

“Oh I’m not mad, no I'm absolutely livid about this whole experience.” I replied in an unnervingly calm voice. 

“It's only for one night, and you're not the only one dressed as an animal.” Rarity said pointing at Pinkie Pie as we headed to town. 

Fluttershy had opted out of coming with us, and celebrating the holiday all together. She wasn't a fan of meeting what she considered scary ponies, even if they were just outfits the timid pegasus wanted no part of this particular day of the year. 

The town looked amazing in terms of decorations. I felt something slip in between my lips and looked down to see a plastic pumpkin with a hole in the top. Pinkie Pie had shoved what I assumed was a makeshift trick or treater's candy bucket. 

“Punke U'm tuu owld ta trunk er treet.” I said doing my best to talk and grip the plastic handle that was in my mouth. 

“You're never too old for candy, come on!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed dragging me with her towards a house. 

I was reluctant at first, but after the first two houses I started to loosen up a bit. I decided I would give the candy I got to somepony else. I had never been a big candy person and I didn't feel the need to consume a massive amount of sugar, Pinkie Pie on the other hand amazed me at how much she could consume and appear perfectly fine. 

He bag never stayed more than hall full since she was almost constantly eating out of it . The sugar rush she had from the massive sugar intake must have been phenomenal. She started talking a bit faster than normal which was starting to drive me a bit crazy. 

I finally had to separate from the pink earth pony and get a little breathing room. Looking around I noticed several games which were activities more to my liking. The spider toss was just as its name implied, tossing a fake spider on a web for points. 

It reminded me of a few bean bag games that I had seen at several gatherings before. Instead of an actual spider's web there was a simple board that had holes cut in it for points, but the concept was the same. 

“It seems somepony is enjoying himself.” Twilight said from behind me. 

“Trying to anyways. They aren't electronic, but they'll do.” I said as I half-heatedly tossed a spider. 

“You miss video games that much?” Twilight asked picking one up herself and tossing it on the web across from mine. 

“Well before I came here, they were how I escaped reality. That's what they were for, but now that I'm actually in another reality they've slowly started to lose their meaning.” I replied. 

“I guess I still don't understand.” Twilight said confused. 

“If I wanted to be a war hero, I could be one. If I wanted to be an absolute monster, I could be one without actually doing anything.” I said. 

“Escaping meant that much to you?” Twilight asked tossing another spider. 

“At times...I wasn't always-never mind.” I said stopping myself and accidentally tossing the spider I had harder than I had intended to. It actually landed on the highest point value which was neat, but at that moment I didn't care and walked away. 

Twilight didn't follow, that much I was thankful for. There were some things I didn't want to share, not here anyways. I traveled some distance from the festivities, but I was still within earshot of the games, music and other ponies collecting candy. 

It was the odd sound of a sniffle that made me look around curiously. A stifled sob helped me pin point the location of whoever was in distress. There against a bench was Scootaloo looking at her scooter as if the world had just come to an end. 

“Hey kid what's up?” I asked before I remembered I looked a bit different than I normally did. 

“Huh? Oh i-it's nothing mister.” Scootaloo replied. 

“Scootaloo it's me, the guy from the Everfree forest. The whole timber wolf thing. I probably look a little off because of a spell, but it's me I promise. You asked me a bunch of questions while I was at Fluttershy's cottage.” I said hoping it would convince her. 

“Really? Magic made you look like a pegasus, though you look kind of lame in that outfit.” Scootaloo said running a fore hoof across her eye to try and hide a tear. 

“Yeah I've gotten that already, so what's up with you? Why are you all the way over here?” I asked.

“I was supposed to meet Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, but my scooter got messed up.” the filly said hanging her head in sorrow. 

I looked the scooter over and saw where the handle bars and wheel had been knocked out of alignment. For a while scooters had been the cool thing to own and every kid in the neighborhood had one, myself included. This wasn't an uncommon problem. 

“Believe it or not kid I used to have one of these. This happened to me all the time since I was kind of accident prone. I learned a pretty nifty trick for fixing it.” I said setting the pumpkin full of candy down. I found using a hoof to carry it was much better than using my mouth. 

I stood on my hind legs and made sure the wheel was between the hooves. I placed my forelegs over the handle bars in order to shift them back into place. I pulled forward on the handle bar and the wheel beneath me tried to shift but couldn't which resulted in the bar twisting forwards back into its original position. 

Scootaloo's sad expression quickly changed as she saw her scooter restored with a simple act of force. The little filly proceeded to inspect it for any other signs of damage and smiled finding none. 

“How'd you do that?” Scootaloo asked.

“Experience will teach you a lot of lessons kid. Not all of them are good, but every now and then they come in handy.” I replied sliding the plastic pumpkin full of candy her way.  

“This is yours though!” Scootaloo exclaimed.  

“Pfft Pinkie Pie drug me around town and made me collect all that. I'm too old for that kind of thing, so go ahead I wasn't going to eat any of it anyways.” I said with a shrug. 

The tangerine pegasus hung the pumpkin on one of her handle bars and got back on her scooter. She headed towards the busier part of town after giving me a quick wave goodbye. 

With nothing better to do I decided to make good use of the vacant bench and took a seat. I stared up at the night sky vaguely wondering if Earth was somewhere out there or if this was really another dimension. 

Two days had already come and gone as far as Discord's magic was concerned. Tomorrow would be my final hours as a pony. I wasn't too heartbroken about it though. I missed being tall and having fingers not to mention only having to worry about two legs.

“Happy Nightmare Night.” I whispered as my thoughts trailed off to fonder memories of my childhood, back when candy was the most important thing in the world on a night like this.

“You’re not getting all depressed again are you?” Daring Do asked.

“Daring Do?” I asked. 

“Pretty convincing huh?” the mare said spinning around once revealing a familiar cutie mark.

“Rainbow Dash…you dyed your coat mane…that’s creative.” I said. 

“Yep, I had expected something a bit cooler from you though.” Rainbow Dash said. 

“You and everypony else, you can thank Twilight for this.” I said. 

You wanna get some revenge?” Rainbow Dash asked mischievously. 

Before I could answer I felt myself hoisted into the air and placed on a cloud. I thought I was going to fall through it at first until I remembered pegasi could walk on clouds. The cloud started moving as Rainbow Dash pushed it towards the festivities. 

I could see Twilight speaking with a few of the locals. No doubt she was like a celebrity here which I found cool to think about. I didn’t know any famous people back home, here though I was pretty close friends with one. 

“You ready for some pay back?” Rainbow Dash asked joining me on the cloud. 

“I guess, but how do you plan on doing anything from a cloud?” I asked. 

“When I tell you to slam your hooves down on the cloud do it. Trust me it’ll be fun.” Rainbow Dash replied. 

Twilight was completely oblivious to our presence which was perfect. I watched Rainbow Dash raise her hooves above her head and I did the same. She slammed her hooves down on the cloud and I followed suit causing a loud bang. It was the sound of thunder which made several ponies jump in surprise and fear. 

Twilight lost her composure at the loud noise and looked around as if Ponyville was under attack. Rainbow Dash fell backwards laughing at her friend’s reaction and I couldn’t help but laugh as well. Our combined laughter gave away our position. 

“Can’t you two find anything better to do?” Twilight asked annoyed. 

“This is much better than candy or games.” I replied. 

Hands down I had a new favorite holiday. Nightmare Night. 

> Pencils Down 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Rise and shine sleepy head.” came Fluttershy’s voice stirring me from my sleep.

“I don’t wanna.” I moaned rolling over to form a cocoon of sheets around me. 

“Today’s your test though remember?” Fluttershy asked.

I slowly rose off the couch smelling something familiar, something I hadn’t smelt in a long time. Its scent was distinct and troubled me a bit as well as served to clear my mind of sleep at a faster pace than I was willfully doing myself.

“Fluttershy, I thought we had a deal, no more meat.” I said while the predatory part of my mind was ready to throw a party.

Living amongst a population of herbivores was difficult when meat had been a staple part of my diet in some shape or form. On my second day in Equestria I had made a promise to never eat meat again for the sake of trying to adjust. It was a part of my humanity I kept suppressed and a secret.

It drove me mad at times, and it had been extremely hard to keep myself from giving in. The more I thought about it and dwelt on it, the more I wanted it.

“I know, but you’ve been putting a lot of time and energy towards this test so I thought I would try to boost your spirits a bit.” Fluttershy said presenting the plate before me.

I looked at the clock and came to the quick realization that I didn’t have a whole lot of time to debate the matter. This time the filet was a bit bigger which raised so many questions in my mind about its source. I still found it amazing how such a soft spoken, timid pony could prepare this.

I took a bite and had to stop myself from letting out a moan of sweet satisfaction. This blew fruit completely out of the water in terms of taste and texture. I couldn’t help myself from consuming the entire filet Fluttershy had made much faster than she had anticipated.

“Goodness that was fast.” Fluttershy said as I finished.

“I’m sorry.” I said sheepishly.

“I didn’t realize it was that important to you. You seemed to really like it at least.” Fluttershy said with a soft smile.

“Heh, yeah I guess I got a bit carried away there. Fruits and veggies are good and all but I’ll always have a heart for something a bit more filling. Let’s stick to our original deal from now on I promise I’ll be okay.” I said knowing I was lying to myself but it was something I’d get over, eventually.

“Okay, but you’ve got some where to be.” Fluttershy said doing her best to hurry me up stairs familiar with my morning routine by now.

I missed being able to stand and shower, but small sacrifices had to be made in order to live here. My sister wouldn’t have stood for less though. Despite being the more adventurous of us she refused baths and only took showers, even if there hadn’t been any other option, she wasn’t exactly the girly type.

I looked at myself in the mirror once I was out of the tub and noticed my hair was starting to grow out a bit. I preferred keeping it short, but I didn’t have the time or patience to try cutting it myself. My hair wasn’t the only thing I noticed that seemed off. The last time I had stopped to really look at my reflection, my human reflection, I was home.

Two tired and worn out eyes that had seen more than their fair share of trouble had stared back at me. Now I saw someone I didn’t recognize, a person who was slowly starting to let go of some things in life. I smiled a bit at the sight so engrossed in my personal growth that I almost didn’t hear the door open.

For some strange reason humans seem preprogrammed to turn, spin, or at least look in the direction of a noise that seems out of place. A door opening, especially one to a bathroom, that you yourself aren’t moving is a noise that warrants such attention. What it doesn’t warrant is being disrobed and dripping wet fresh out of the tub.

I turned to see Fluttershy who didn’t seem fazed by my lack of clothing which made sense; she saw lord knows how many animals before. What made it awkward was how I froze in place like a kid caught stealing a cookie.

“I was just coming up here to check on you. You were tak-.” Fluttershy started to say before I bent over in an awkward attempt to cover myself.

“Close the door please!” I exclaimed trying my best not to sound mean or upset.

With a small whimper Fluttershy closed the door but the lack of her hooves clacking against the floor told me she was still there. I quickly slid on my pants before giving her the go ahead to come back in.

“Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked.

“I’m fine, I just didn’t expect to be caught with my pants off…literally.” I replied.

“I don’t see what the big deal is, you seem to be in decent health and-“ Fluttershy started, giving me an analysis from just a quick glance which confirmed my fear, she had seen it, all of it.

“Aaddadadbleh…let’s not go into an explanation of why you think I’m healthy.” I said cutting her off.

The Pegasus looked confused. To them I was just another creature, one that wore clothes all the time which wasn’t a common practice. If I had chosen to walk around with nothing on they probably wouldn’t think any differently of me, clearly Fluttershy didn’t which was comforting and a bit disturbing at the same time.

“Oh umm okay, anyways we need to hurry. Sorry if I interrupted you.” Fluttershy said closing the door behind her.

I sighed telling myself that they didn’t view clothes the same way. Come to think of it I had been nude for three days here, though I looked no different than the next pony which made the experience and claim void in my mind.

“Time to change citizenship.” I said shaking off the awkward moment. 

---

Any sign that the town had celebrated Nightmare Night had been taken down with a surprising amount of speed. I guess they preferred a tidy environment, the decorations at home, no matter the holiday, would stay out for quite some time which was procrastination at its finest. This was especially true when Christmas lights were still out in the middle of February.

Fluttershy had escorted me to what she informed me was town hall and for some reason the only thing that popped into my head was the little tune from the Pokemon Red and Blue games at the indigo plateau. For some odd reason ever since I heard that tune it would always pop into my mind right before a test in school, some things never change I guess.

A few of the ponies seemed shocked as I walked up the small steps to the doors of town hall. I sighed nervously; this is what I had been working towards for a while now. I had made my choice and it was time to see it through to the end.

I opened the doors to see Twilight already inside. She had told me these test were normally held in Canterlot but given the odd circumstances she had managed to have special accommodations arranged.

“You must be Daniel.” said what I had to assume was at least a middle aged mare if that was a thing.

She had on glasses and her mane was grey and white giving her the appearance of an older pony, but her coat didn’t match her age. Then again I wasn’t quite sure how ponies aged and what changed first

“That would be me ma’am.” I said.

“I’m Mayor Mare, if you would be so kind as to follow me we can get you started.” she said walking towards a set of double doors within the building.

“We can’t go with you, not here. This is something you have to do for yourself. I’ve seen your progress though; I know you can do this.” Twilight said.

“Yeah, I’m glad somepony thinks so.” I said following Mayor Mare. 

I followed the earth pony into a vacant room which was eerily quiet. There was a folder at a desk that was closed which I assumed held the test. Twilight was right when she said I would be alone, the mayor was the only other occupant in the room.

I opened the folder and flipped through the questions curiously, one in particular catching my eye. I smiled as I studied it to confirm its presence and ensure I wasn’t misreading it.

“Forty two times twelve.” I said quietly.

---

“Where is he?” Rarity asked as the others followed her into town hall.

“He’s already inside.” Fluttershy replied.

“We didn’t get to wish him good luck though.” Pinkie Pie said sulking.

“I’m sure he knows ya wanted to wish him luck Pinkie, ya just gotta have a little faith in him.” Applejack said.

“Applejack’s right, he’s worked hard for this. I’ll admit there have been a few bumps along the way but I think he’ll do fine.” Twilight added.

“How long does he have to get through it?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Two hours, he shouldn’t need that long, but given the circumstances I wouldn’t be surprised if he cuts it a bit close.” Twilight replied.

Twilight was just as curious as the others in wondering how Daniel was doing. She could easily check in on him, not physically, but mentally with her magic. As easy as it was she had promised herself that she wouldn’t interfere today.

Two hours was a long time and one by one Twilight's friends had started to grow restless. They had at least found ways to amuse themselves while they waited. Be it reading or in the case of a certain cyan colored pegasus, napping.

"Twi, I don't mean to be a downer, but ain't he been in there a while now?" Applejack asked looking up at the clock.

Twilight bit her lip nervously tempted just to take a quick peek, but reason won over temptation by a small margin. She had to trust him, if anything was holding him up it was probably civics and he couldn't afford to miss too many in that particular category.

"I agree, it's getting close to the two hour mark." Rarity said nervously.

No sooner had Rarity brought up the subject of time the door to the room Daniel had walked in opened. Mayor Mare walked out with a folder followed shortly there after by their human friend. He wore an uneasy look on his face which made Twilight nervous and she immediately assumed the worst.

---

"How do you think you did?" Twilight asked looking anxious.

"I would like to know why a test for something like this has so many questions when in my world it's short sweet and to the point?" I asked ranting a bit.

"That bad?" Twilight asked cringing.

"Oh no, I should pass this no problem, I was just frustrated is all." I replied.

"I worry about you sometimes." Twilight said.

The test had been tedious and annoying more so than hard or complicated. History was a pain and I would rather drill a hole in my head that sit through that again. I was praying that this would be the only time I would have to endure this sick punishment devised by these adorable equines.

I noticed the greeting party, a few of its members either passed out asleep or preoccupied with something else. I was a bit stunned to see them knowing that they had other things they probably needed to take care of.

"How long have they been here?" I asked.

"Since you walked through the door." Twilight replied.

"He's out!" Pinkie Pie shouted causing Rainbow Dash to roll off the bench she had fallen asleep on and onto the floor in surprise.

"Didyoupassordoyouknowyetofcourseyoudidafterallwehelpedyouwithitsoyoushouldpassnoproblemwhichisgoodbecausenowwe'llbeabletothrowyouthepartythatIwasgoingtothrowyouinthefirstplacebutdidn'tbecauseyouaskedmenottobecauseyoudidn'tthinkanyponywouldshowupbutIbettheywouldhave." the pink mare said rappidly making my head hurt trying to process it all.

"How was it? It wasn't too torturous was it?" Rarity asked.

"Ain't no torture in a test Rarity." Applejack said.

"It was just really long and slightly annoying." I replied.

"So what now? Can he finally do things everypony else can?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"The assessment of his test shouldn't take as long as it did putting the answers down, we'll know if he can soon." Twilight replied.

If the situation were less tense I would have used the classic line of "win or lose I tried" but since my future here hung on the result that came back I held my peace. This had to go through no question about it.

"Ugh more waiting." Rainbow Dash complained.

Despite her tone the mare's drawn back ears gave her true feelings away. She was just as worried as the others. Rainbow Dash seemed to have a knack for keeping a cool atmosphere about her even in a stressful situation. 

Waiting for the results was almost as stressful as taking the test itself. Twilight would occasionally ask me a question in the hopes of it being on the test and receiving a correct answer from me even if it wasn't. She cringed once or twice at my answers which made an uncomfortable feeling start to form in my stomach.

Fluttershy put her hoof against my shoulder hoping to calm me down. It helped but I still couldn't get the possibility of a complete failure out of my mind. I felt pretty confident about the answers I had picked. 

After what felt like an eternity the mayor called for Twilight and I to join her in her office. Papers were stacked on top of her desk in a half organized half chaotic manner which didn't surprise me since she was involved in politics.

"Did he pass Mayor Mare?" Twilight asked, she seemed more anxious about the answer than I did.

"While his knowledge is to be commended and I can tell you put a lot of effort towards this...you passed, just barely though." Mayor Mare replied.

Both Twilight and I sighed in relief almost in sync. It was finally over, all of those study sessions had paid off in the end. Twilight was a pretty decent teacher.

"Was it history?" I asked.

"Yes that's where most of your trouble was, but you met the minimum requirements so no need to worry." the earth pony replied.

"Well now that we know I won't be pursuing a teaching profession what happens now?" I inquired as the weight of uncertainty  lifted itself from my shoulders.

"That's up to you from now on, after we get your signature on a few more papers, congratulations." Mayor Mare said taking me by surprise.

"Thanks." I said still processing the fact that somepony other than my small circle of friends had given me any kind of positive response. 

"Is something wrong?" the earth pony asked concern in her tone.

"I don't think he's used to positive feed back just yet, he'll come around." Twilight said.

I grinned a bit and finished signing the necessary papers, the last line where my signature was needed brought back a flood of emotions I thought I had buried, emotions that I kept bottled up even now. As I signed I couldn't help but feel like I was signing away my old life for good.

It was a haunting feeling that seemed to return in one last defiant attempt to derail my progress, to drag me back down into the pit I had worked so hard to climb out of. That others had helped me escape. Its return was short lived as I put the pen down a slid the papers to Mayor Mare.

As quickly as it came the depressing feeling, my demon, passed. If that fateful day in Twilight's castle hadn't given me enough closure, this certainly did, especially when a small blue card was given to me.

"Now you can say you're one of us." Twilight said.

I left the office with a sense of peace. It was the type of peace that comes from accomplishing a task with a lot at stake. Outside the other five ponies were waiting anxiously for the verdict I had been given.

"I passed." I said only to be immediately knocked to the ground as I received a group hug.

This was why I stayed behind, as odd as it may sound I felt happier here than I did in my own world. While there were a few things that this world could never replace I was still happy for a change.

"Pinkie, now we can have that party." I said as I was released from the hug.

The earth pony's eyes lit up with excitement and glee. I felt as if I had just opened Pandora's box, but what good is an unopened box anyways.

"You mean it!?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Yes Pinkie, and don't worry about the details, surprise me...just no coconut if you do make a cake, I'm not a fan of coconut." I replied.

"Leave it to me! You need to go somewhere else though." Pinkie Pie said pointing a hoof at me.

"So where exactly do you want me to go then?" I asked.

"Ya could pay Crafty Crate a visit." Applejack suggested.

It had been on my list of things to do once I became common knowledge, now seemed a good a time as any. Before I could think more on the matter I felt myself being shoved towards the door. Pinkie Pie meant business when it came to planning parties, when she said she wanted me gone she apparently meant now.

Taking the hint I left the building unable to make out what she was saying as the doors closed. Applejack had opted to stick with me since I still had no idea where this Crafty Crate pony was.

"So is this stallion, or mare, a pretty down to earth pony?" I asked.

"He's a stallion, and he's actually a pegasus." Applejack replied.

I wondered why she had danced around my question until I realized how I had worded it. When an earth pony was an actual race of pony it made the figure of speech a bit more complicated to use if not completely useless.

"So is this pegasus pretty mellow or is he up tight?" I asked rewording my question.

“He’s a pretty decent one; just don’t get on his bad side and yer good.” Applejack replied as we approached what looked like a post office.

“Huh…wonder if Ditzy’s in there?” I asked aloud.

“You met Ditzy Doo? How’d that turn out?” Applejack asked.

“Well I was a pony when it happened so it was pretty casual, now though…yeah I'm not going to hold my breath.” I replied.

“Just keep yer spirits up, sides the way I see it you ain’t no different after that test. You belong here just as much as they do.” Applejack said pushing the door open.

All small talk and work flow within the building ceased once I ducked through the door behind Applejack. The interior of the post office was what one would expect, a wall lined with small boxes with locks on them, postal boxes. I could see over the counter easily into a back room where several sorters were shifting through the mail putting letters in bags.

“Umm can I help you?” a lemon colored earth pony asked.

“I’m here to see Crafty Crate.” I said nervously.

The earth pony looked to one of her pegasi co-workers who motioned with her head towards an office in the back. The baby blue mare waved to me, apparently one of the ponies in Ponyville that had come to terms with me dwelling here.

A tannish colored pegasus returned with the earth pony, his cutie mark was a simple box. The stallion seemed to have a rough exterior and if his facial expression was any indication of his personality then this would be an interesting conversation to say the least.

“You wanted to see me?” Crafty Crate asked his voice actually intimidating me.

“Uh…yes?” I replied.

“You don’t sound too sure of yourself. You sure you wanted to see me?” Crafty Crate asked.

“He’s sure, just a bit nervous is all.” Applejack said stepping in.

The stern looking pegasus looked at Applejack, then back up at me. “Alright, let’s take this to my office.” he said leading us behind the counter.

I found Crafty Crate’s office to be a bit cramped. Being made to house ponies and not an alien from another world left little room for me to fit into the confined space.

“Okay Applejack what’s this about?” Crafty Crate asked

“Well Crafty I was hopin’ I could talk ya into giving Daniel here a chance to get his hooves wet working in Ponyville.” Applejack replied.

“Him? Applejack you’re a good mare and I know you’re an honest judge of character, but I don’t see what he can bring to the work force.” Crafty Crate said.

“If he can keep up with me I think he can keep up with yer ponies here.” Applejack said.

“Hmm he’s got size going for him…but that’s also an inconvenience as well. Kicking trees and delivering items are two different things. I’m sorry but I don’t think this would be an ideal work environment.” Craft Crate said.

Applejack snorted at the dismissal and left the office without so much as another word. I slowly stood and was careful not to knock anything over though it was extremely difficult to do so. Applejack’s occupation was anything but a simple one, while the action involved could be summed up to kicking a tree, after preforming the same action over and over it can really start to take a toll on you.

My train of thought was interrupted at the sight of two boxes falling towards me. I caught them with relative ease, taking note of the weight of each box. I took two steps back as my legs adjusted to the sudden weight increase.

I was keenly aware that all eyes were focused on me again which I despised. As I looked around I noticed an earth pony near a broken rope which I assumed had originally held these two boxes together. The stallion had been carrying them on his back most likely when they snapped.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, you probably just saved my job.” he replied happily.

I set the crates down as I heard the door to Crafty Crate’s office opening. The tan pegasus approached me with a somewhat angry expression. I braced myself for some sort of fit of rage from the pony.

“You want to explain why you’re holding up progress?” Crafty Crate asked with a snort.

“He didn’t sir, the packages slipped, it was my fault. He caught them.” the earth pony said.

Crafty Crate was silent as he looked at the packages I had managed to “save” in time. They looked large enough to house a pony in them but weren’t too heavy. The pegasus seemed to be in deep thought as he looked back up at me narrowing his eyes.

“Tomorrow, be here by six.” Crafty Crate said taking me by surprise.

“Okay?” I said with an uncertain expression plastered on my face.

“You asked for a chance, do you want it or not?” the pegasus asked.

“Yes sir.” I replied.

Crafty Crate dismissed me with a nod and flew back into his office. I would have to work on being a bit more confident around this pony.

“Not the way I figured ya’d get the job, but I guess beggars can’t be chooses.” Applejack said once we were outside the post office.

“Nope, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit nervous though. Crafty Crate seems pretty strict.” I said.

“He's a good stallion once ya get to know him." Applejack said.

"Where I'm from that's code for "hey this guy's an asshole but you learn to tolerate him." I said.

Applejack rolled her eyes at my negativity "Well now that yer done with Crafty Crate, what else can ya think of? Pinkie will still want ya to vanish for a bit." she said.

There wasn't really much left on my to-do list. It was pretty nonexistent at the moment and I didn't feel like adding to it either. There wasn't much else left to do but enjoy the rest of the day until Pinkie Pie was finished with whatever it was she had planned.

"I'll find something to amuse myself with. Maybe just relax or take a walk, heck I might even take a nap." I said.
---
I woke up to the sound of the clock alerting me of the time. The sun was already being lowered and I cursed for having slept so long. The others had told me to stay out of town for a bit and looking at the clock I felt as if I had overdone it a bit.

“Oh good your awake, umm I’m supposed to take you to-I mean I need you to come with me.” Fluttershy said correcting herself.

“It’s cool Fluttershy, I’ll act surprised I promise.” I said coming to the conclusion why she had been waiting for me.

“Was I that bad?” Fluttershy asked dejectedly.

“No, it’s just we already talked about it so it’s not a surprise surprise. I meant I wanted Pinkie to do whatever she thought was best when I said surprise me.” I said.

“Oh, that makes sense. Promise you’ll act surprised?” Fluttershy asked.

“I promise.” I replied.

We both left the cottage and headed for Ponyville, our path lit by the slowly setting sun. Everything seemed right for a change, and while I had never had a shipping or postal occupation I didn’t expect it to be too terribly difficult. I just hoped I wouldn’t be a carrier, or whatever it was they called their delivery ponies here.

A breeze rushed past me and I stopped, briefly remembering what it felt like when I had wings and for a few seconds I had what I assumed amputees called phantom limb sensation. It felt as if they were still there, catching the stay breeze as I stretched them out. The chill that traveled down my spine was weaker than it had been and I now fully understood Discord's warning, wanting to go back seemed like a tempting prospect.

Just one more day to try and fly, to feel that rush that I never truly experienced but I had wanted, no needed! I couldn't help myself, those feelings had been a part of me, and I didn't dare mention this to Twilight. I feared what she might say or do.

“Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked.

I realized that I had been standing in the same spot, zoned out longer than any normal person should. I blushed in embarrassment and caught up to the yellow pegasus.

“Yeah I’m fine, just thinking.” I replied.

The tingling sensation lingered but eventually faded as Fluttershy and I carried on our way with a bit of small talk. This hadn’t been the first time this had happened and I could only hope it would stop altogether given enough time.

----

We arrived at a building that seemed closed down for the night and I grinned a little. Pinkie Pie must have convinced everypony that this was a surprise party and had the lights shut off in typical preparation of surprising the pony, or in my case person, of interest.

“Remember you said you’d act surprised.” Fluttershy whispered.

“I know I know…doesn’t look like anypony’s home though, or that this is even a home, looks more like a store.” I said making sure I was a bit louder after I had responded to Fluttershy.

I would play along, I didn’t expect there to be that many inside anyways so what harm could it-

“SURPRISE!” shouted a multitude of voices at once.

Holy shit! I thought to myself nearly jumping out of my skin.

I had been wrong about there not being many attendees to this little party Pinkie had put on for me. I was inside what looked like a pastry shop that was packed with ponies. A large banner hung from the ceiling that said “Welcome Daniel” along with balloons and streamer to bring the party environment together.

“Wow that was really convincing.” Fluttershy said smiling at me.

“I try.” I said as I felt my heart slow down to its regular pace.

“Were you surprised? Were you?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Yes Pinkie I was really surprised, but how did you convince all of these ponies to come out to this though?” I asked looking around the room.

“All I did was ask, duh.” Pinkie Pie replied with a giggle.

“Really?” I asked baffled.

“I think you sell yourself a bit short dear. Not everypony is out to get you.” Rarity said joining Pinkie Pie in greeting me.

“I guess not.” I said before being nudged from behind.

“Don’t just stand there. You’ve got hooves to shake, speeches to give, foals to kiss.” Pinkie Pie said ushering me towards a crowd.

“That’s what politicians do Pinkie.” I said.

“Details details, just go mingle.” The pink pony said giving me a good shove.

Two pegasi approached me who looked as if they could be twins save for their different hair styles and cutie marks. The mares giggled as they whispered something to each other before speaking to me.

“So what was your world like? Yeah has it been hard getting used to things?” the two pegasi asked.

“It was pretty dull compared to this one, and it’s been hard at times.” I replied making both of them giggle a bit.

“So is there another part of your name or is it just Daniel? Yeah is it supposed to mean something?” they asked as a nearby earth pony stopped by to listen in on my response.

“Well I have a last name but I prefer to be called by my first name so I keep it to myself. My name does mean something actually. It means God is my judge, my mom wanted me to have a decent set of morals I guess…or the name was pretty popular I don’t know.” I said with a shrug.

“Well I’m Flitter and this is Cloudchaser, you seem pretty cool for a hooman…I think I said it right.” Flitter said turning to Cloudchaser.

“Hu-man, and thanks. I don’t want ponies thinking I’m some kind of monster.” I said.

“I think Rainbow Dash put that myth to rest. Everypony was making the claim you’d try to eat her whole though.” a unicorn said from behind me.

“It’s actually impossible for me to do that, besides I wouldn’t eat a friend.” I said.

“So what do you eat?” the earth pony asked.

“Fruit mostly, apples and the like.” I said withholding an incriminating piece of information in terms of my diet.

The questions seemed to be endless and no sooner had one pony grown satisfied with the knowledge they seemed to have about the alien dwelling amongst them, another would take their place. This carried on throughout the night and I started to feel more relaxed around them as I learned their names and a little bit about the community.

I eventually found myself sitting cross legged on the floor instead of standing the entire time. The ponies at the party seemed to prefer the shorter version of me than the towering alien they were familiar with. It was understandably easier to hold a conversation with somepony when they’re eye level with you.

“How’s your party going?” Twilight asked.

“Pretty good, though I probably need to call it a night soon, I have to be up by six.” I replied.

“Applejack told me the good news. I’m very proud of how far you’ve come since you first arrived.” Twilight said unfurling her left wing just enough to allow something to levitate out from under it.

“What am I looking at here boss?” I asked holding what appeared to be a key.

“Just something I managed to put together. If you’re ready to leave we can head that way.” Twilight said.

“He can’t leave yet, not without a parting speech.” Pinkie Pie said.

“Yeah, let’s hear one.” Rainbow Dash said with a laugh raising a cup full of punch above her head.

You’re not helping. I thought to myself.

I was unaware that “parting speeches” were a thing in Equestria, but when in Rome. I nervously cleared my throat as the music that had been playing in the background stopped.

“I honestly didn’t expect a lot of ponies to show up, so thanks for proving me wrong I guess. The ones who really deserve to be celebrated tonight are the friends I’ve made. I would have given up if it wasn’t for them, Applejack, Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. I hope in time I’ll be able to get to know you all a bit better.” I said.

The ponies seemed satisfied and cheered for a bit before Pinkie Pie became the center of attention at the prospect of starting a new game for the party. Twilight closed the door behind us as the music started back up.

“So are there really parting speeches? Or was that a Pinkie thing?” I asked as I followed the alicorn.

“A Pinkie thing, I thought it was nice though.” Twilight replied.

“It was the truth. So where exactly are you taking me?” I asked.

“You’ll see, trust me it’s not far.” Twilight replied.

“Do you want me to wear a blind fold too?” I asked rhetorically only to feel Twilight’s wing swat me.

I followed Twilight to what seemed like a less populated part of town. While only illuminated by the occasional house light and glow from the moon it seemed peaceful. It didn’t have the busy air about it the more concentrated parts of town had. While I appreciated the walk I was still lost as to why I had been brought here.

“This way.” Twilight said leading me towards one of the house that seemed a bit off.

I noticed the door was roughly my height and while I was a bit dense at times it didn’t take me long to figure out why I was here now. I looked back at the alicorn, stunned at the realization of her true intentions.

“You can’t open it without unlocking it.” Twilight said illuminating the area with her horn.

I unlocked the door and slowly pushed it open. The interior of the house was vacant of any furniture in the main room. I had a thing for empty houses that I couldn’t quite explain, I liked the echo of being inside one and every foot step carried throughout the house.

The most noticeable thing about this particular building however was the ceiling. As trivial as this might have been to a pony, to a six foot tall human who had bumped his head more times than could be considered safe, it was a big deal not having to duck through a door or inside a room.

“Applejack might have mentioned something about you feeling a bit intrusive at Fluttershy’s cottage. Finding a house that had a higher ceiling took a while and the door took a little modifying, but…what do you think?” Twilight asked.

“It’s awesome…I can’t accept this though Twilight…I wanted to earn it and you guys have been nice enough already.” I said.

“Stallions and their pride…you did earn this, you earned the right to be here. I'm pulling the princess card now, don't let anypony ever tell you that you didn't earn this. I watched you earn it. That's not a request." Twilight said looking up at me. 

I knelt down to the floor and wrapped my arms around her neck. She tensed a bit before returning the hug. I was grateful to have a friend like Twilight. 

"Thank you." I said quietly. 

"You're welcome." said Twilight  tightening her hold a little. 
> First Day 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sound of an alarm clock was my wake up call as opposed to the soft voice of Fluttershy I had slowly grown accustomed to. I reached for the alarm only to accidentally push it off the night stand, its persistent beeping even after being dropped slowly irritating me.

"Why in Equestria did I set you so early?" I groaned as half of my body hung off the bed while the other half remained covered.

"Oh yeah the job thingy...I should get on that." I said with a yawn.

I was thankful Twilight had the forethought to put a bed in the house. I was grateful to even have a place to stay to begin with. While I enjoyed Fluttershy's company I had never wanted the arrangement we had to be long term.

I ordinarily didn't sleep in any clothing, this morning I regretted such habits once I emerged from the covers. While I was at Fluttershy's I had made an exception and must not have noticed how the temperature was dropping since it always seemed a bit warm in her cottage.

While humans would consider this the normal seasonal change in temperature it was the weather team at work. Animals had to hibernate and there were several other factors that were involved with the gradual drop. It was a sure and steady decline unlike Earth's fickle patterns that would probably drive most weather workers insane.

Once I was dressed and as ready as I could possibly be I looked outside a window to see the moon still out while the stars were starting to fade one by one which I found fascinating. It had to be Luna's doing in preparation for her sister to raise the sun and was interesting to observe until I remembered I had set my alarm early for a reason and left for the post office.

No lights were on from the other houses which made me wonder what exactly, if anything these ponies did. I had expected them to be up around five but apparently that wasn't the case.

As I walked to the post office it dawned on me why I hadn't seen anypony else. There wasn't any traffic in Ponyville, maybe even the entirety of Equestria. It made sense in my world to wake up at ungodly hours to beat rush hour traffic but here such things didn't exist and I mentally kicked myself for not realizing that.

Despite my time spent in this world I was still trying to associate it to Earth. For instance the forecast came in the paper and was one hundred percent accurate thanks to the pegasi. While some might find this a bit boring, I was actually looking forward to a guaranteed white Christmas, or in this case Hearth's Warming Eve if the two could be considered similar.

I noticed the moon finally start to descend from the sky and I was reminded of the time mechanics in some of the Zelda games I played as a kid. I counted myself lucky to have the streets to myself for the moment to watch Luna in action.

As I reached the busier parts of town I noticed a few lights on. It made me feel a bit better about waking up so early. Though traffic might not be an issue here it seemed even ponies had early schedules.

The post office's lights were already on which prompted me to approach the front door and give it a tug to no avail. I found this rather odd since most post offices in my world left their doors unlocked so that people could still get to their boxes.

I walked around back and saw another door which I took the time to knock on this time. The door opened to reveal a grey earth pony who looked up at me with a smile. He had on a small vest with the same postal symbol I had seen on Ditzy Doo's hat and mail bag.

"Yo." he said nonchalantly.

"Sup?" I replied.

"You're that Daniel thingy Crafty Crate was talking about, come in, name's Timber by the way." the earth pony said as I was granted access into the building.

"You already know mine, so I guess we'll skip straight to me asking where everypony else is at?" I asked looking around the building.

"Eh Strong Deck is in the back, Crafty Crate's finishing a cup of coffee." Timber replied as I followed him.

The post office had been much more active when I had been here the first time. Granted it had been during the day when I arrived the first time.

"So what do you do here?" I asked.

"Processing mostly, it's a steady job so I'm not going to complain." Timber replied.

We both turned to the sound of a door opening. Crafty Crate had emerged from his office with a tired expression on his face. He had asked me to be here early while he appeared to have just woken up.

“Well you’re here on time, that’s a start I guess.” the forestallion said looking lazily at the clock.

“So what’s the plan?” I asked as Crafty Crate took another drink from his cup.

“You’ll be with Timber this morning…train should be here in about an hour or so.” Crafty Crate replied.

I had to restrain myself from asking if that was all. It was still pretty early and I didn’t want to push the morning rage button all bosses seemed to have. I was probably doing good to get what information I had gotten out of him given his current posture and expression.

“Yes sir.” I said as he left us to presumably get more caffeine.

“He’s not much of a morning pony so don’t let it get to you.” Timber said motioning for me to follow him.

A cart with a multitude of packages was being brought outside by a taller than average tan earth pony. The pony seemed unfazed by the multitude of items that were in the cart. I could only make assumptions on its weight but there were enough items that it required rope to secure all of them and they weren’t all small boxes either.

“Who’s this?” the earth pony asked looking up at me.

“The new hire. Daniel this is Strong Deck, the handy stallion around here he can fix just about anything.” Timber said.

“You’re a tall bastard huh?” Strong Deck asked.

“I look exactly how I was intended to.” I replied with a shrug making the earth pony laugh.

“This stallion’s okay, come on we’ve got a train to meet.” Strong Deck said as we walked through the still abandoned streets.

As the sun started to rise the occasional pony could be seen leaving their house presumably heading to whatever occupation they held. I waved to Miss Cheerilee who waved back which boosted my confidence a little.

A cold breeze washed across me and I stalled for a split second before mentally forcing myself to continue walking. I shivered not only from the cold temperature, but from that same alien feeling. There had to be a way to stop this from happening,

I was off to a great start this morning…damn you Discord. While I’m thinking about it, I don’t have a jacket of any kind I probably need to talk to Rarity. I thought to myself.

“You okay?” Timber asked.

“Yeah I’m fine.” I replied.

“Okay didn’t know if you went deaf on us.” Timber said.

“I didn’t know you asked a question, I kind of drifted off to my own little world there for a bit.” I admitted.

“Eh no big deal; I was just curious what made you want to work here?” the grey earth pony asked.

“It was Applejack’s idea. I still have a lot to learn about your culture, even if a piece of paper says otherwise.” I said trying to be humble about my recent success. In all honesty though, the others deserved just as much credit if not more for helping me through the test.

“So how do you know Applejack so well?” Strong Deck asked.

“She found me, I owe her and her friends a lot actually.” I replied.

“Oh, that’s cool I guess.” Strong Deck replied sounding a bit disappointed with my answer for some reason.

When we reached the train station I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t a train so that we could get started. As much as I hated it, we would have to play the waiting game. I felt like I hadn’t done anything yet and it bugged me a little inside.

My first day back into society, the productive side of it anyways, and I hadn’t done a single thing except show up. I leaned against the side of the station as my disappointment with the current situation built. I may not be the adventurous type, but I’m a firm believer in staying active and that an idle mind and body will start to rot.

An hour passed before the train’s whistle finally sounded in the distance. I was anxious to see what the train looked like up close instead of from a book’s picture. Since I was taller than most doors I was curious how I would measure up to a train and if it would be possible to fit in one.

I was pleasantly surprised at the device’s size when it finally arrived at the station. The doors didn’t seem too small, but as I had expected were still shorter than me. The way the train was designed it looked as if its parts had been made out of candy; a ginger bread train was the best way to describe it.

“You stallions and uh…thingy, here for the shipment?” asked an elderly unicorn.

I rolled my eyes, the “thingy” comments weren’t so much hurtful as they were annoying. I was a species, the only one of my kind in this world, but a species none the less.

“You ask us that every time it’s your shift you know that?” Strong Deck asked.

“I’ll leave you to your work then.” the older unicorn replied ignoring Strong Deck’s question.

Okay time to show these ponies what you’re made of. I thought to myself.

The doors to the shipping car of the train opened to reveal packages that were about as big as the pegasus that hired me. While some of the packages were a little heavy it wasn't too difficult a task, in fact this was easier than working with Applejack which made me a little disappointed.

"You've got that face again." Timber said, looking up at me.

"Sorry, I was just expecting something more fulfilling." I said grabbing two more packages.

"Well if it means anything you're making things a lot quicker." Timber said shouldering off his box onto a cart.

"I guess. Where I'm from though I had a pretty important job so it's kind of a positional adjustment as well." I said as I grabbed the last box.

"Crafty will probably be keeping you, I don't think we've ever finished this early before." said Strong Deck.

"A unicorn or two could probably put me to shame levitating some of this stuff." I said as the items in the cart were secured.

"Unicorns are better at sorting mail, wouldn't want to sully their magic with hard labor." Strong Deck said as he started to pull the cart away from the station while Timber and I followed.

"Their magic is kind of cool though." I said recalling what Harmony had shown me with hers.

"I'm just saying they aren't going to volunteer is all. They're not the strongest lot." Strong Deck said with a snort.

That made a bit more sense. From what I had seen earth ponies were much stronger than the other two races. Harmony had said she had developed her magic to work like sonar which probably took a lot of time and patience. Something that complex probably took a lot of knowledge too.

"So what do we do after this?" I asked changing the subject.

"Since you're being brought on part time I can't really say. Usually Strong Deck and I help with processing which is probably what Crafty Crate will have you do." Timber replied.

We had brought more packages to the station than we had received which made returning the cart easier. I had been dreading what the return trip would be like but as it turned out the streets were only just starting to show signs of life. How late did some of these ponies sleep?

---


"You bozos know that you're supposed to drop off all the outgoing items right?" Crafty Crate asked as we entered the post office.

"We did sir; hope your processing team's ready." Timber said as the forestallion approached the cart.

His expression made it difficult for me to fight back a grin. I didn't want to come off as smug but it was hard not to be when I doubted the pegasus had much faith in me to begin with. When he looked over at me I simply raised my eyebrows twice in quick succession.

"Not bad, since you're here I guess you wouldn't mind helping the others would you?" Crafty Crate asked rhetorically.

Whenever your boss, no matter what species they happen to be, ask you to do something it always seems to be in a tone that doesn't really give you the option of declining. You can decline, but you risk losing your job in doing so which made me wonder why bosses bother asking in the first place?

I shrugged and followed the two earth ponies into a larger room. This didn't seem much more complex from what I had originally been assigned. I guess Crafty Crate intended to see what all I was capable of.

I was stunned to see what appeared to be some sort of scanner which made me scratch my head a bit. Ever since I had arrived I had some difficulty determining how advanced in terms of science these ponies actually are. At times it seemed as if they were caught between the industrial revolution and modern times if I were to compare our two worlds side by side.

"What?" asked a unicorn as I stared at the device.

"I wish you guys would make up your minds." I replied.

"Oookay." said the unicorn that was levitating the scanner over to a box.

Scanning boxes and packages was a bit mundane. The only thing that kept it interesting was the occasional question I would get asked. I was already starting to consider Timber and Strong Deck friends since their personalities were so laid back.

The two earth ponies had attended the welcome party Pinkie Pie had thrown for me. Not all of Ponyville had shown up however, there were still a few ponies that hadn't given into the hype of trusting I wasn't a villain. I didn't really care anymore though since a majority of the town seemed to be at peace with me.

As boring as I may have found the job to be and though it was part time a job is still a job. Even if Fluttershy would never admit it I'm sure she was glad to have her couch back and my back was grateful for the bed I had now.

"Not too shabby." Crafty Crate said sneaking in to check on me.

"Thanks." I said refraining from telling him that helping Applejack had been more interesting and challenging, physically anyways.

"I think we're going to keep you in processing for a while. I might move you eventually but I don't think you're ready for a route yet." the fore stallion said.

"I'm not sure how good I'd be on a route anyways. I don't really know my way around Ponyville just yet." I said.

"You see that mare over there? If she can do it I know you can." Crafty Crate said pointing a hoof at Ditzy Doo.

I hadn't seen her since the incident with Discord which brought out mixed emotions. She had been nice to me when I was a pegasus, but I hadn't seen her at the party which made me wonder what she thought about me as a human.

"Was she bad at it or something?" I asked.

"Nothing like that, just a bit accident prone. She didn't have a good feel of Ponyville either but she's one of my hardest workers now." Crafty Crate replied proudly.

I honestly didn't want a carrier route, not yet anyways. I couldn't get behind the idea of carrying a mail bag around that would probably look more like a purse since it was made to fit a pony.

Crafty Crate eventually left me for the comfort of his office, if a work office could be considered comfortable. Mine had been and I enjoyed being able to close everyone out around me from time to time so I could think better and without distractions.

I looked back over at Ditzy Doo and decided to throw caution to the wind. She would have to meet the real Daniel eventually, or as far as she was concerned the real "Comet Guard" and I didn't want to be friends because of a spell.

"Hey Ditzy." I said having closed the distance between us much sooner than I had anticipated.

"Oh hey there...Daniel right?" Ditzy Doo asked.

"Yep, just thought I would say hi." I replied.

"You've said more than "hi" though." Ditzy said with a giggle.

"Yeah I guess I have huh? I wanted to introduce myself is a better way of phrasing it." I said admiring her wit though I wasn't quite sure if it was intentional or not.

"Well you already know my name though sometimes ponies call me-" Ditzy Doo started to say.

"Derpy." I finished.

"Yeah, but how did you know that?" Ditzy asked a stunned look on her face.

"A friend told me a bit about you actually, he said you were a pretty cool pony." I replied.

"Really? Is it somepony I know?" Ditzy Doo asked smiling.

"Comet Guard said you might remember him, though he had to leave for a trip." I said.

"Oh I remember him, he's the pegasus with the weird cutie mark. I forgot to ask him what it meant. I bet there's an interesting story behind it judging from the looks of it." Ditzy Doo said.

Oh it's an interesting story alright. I thought to myself.

Ditzy Doo looked up at the clock as it alerted all of the staff of the time “Time for me to get going, ponies need their mail delivered!” she said giving a small salute before leaving with a bag of letters.

As she turned around her tail knocked a jar full of pens off a counter which I managed to catch in time before the entire thing spilt its contents onto the floor. Four pens slid out which was enough noise to make the mare turn around and blush at her small blunder.

“My bad...good save though.” Ditzy said before turning around more cautiously this time.

I grinned as I picked up the pens and set the jar back on the counter. I was surprised how my first day had been pretty smooth so far. Normally first days on the job were by nature the days to screw up and ask questions.

---
Lunch had finally rolled around and I wasted little time in making my way to the market to get some basic needs. I also needed to see Rarity about a solution to my “problem”. The bits Applejack had given me for helping her with the ins and outs on her farm were finally going to come in handy.

Food for the fridge which again left me a bit confused, but I brushed it off. Other odds that I deemed necessary were the last things on the list before I rushed home to drop my purchases off. I briefly considered using some sort of organization system but the clock on the wall made me reconsider this course of action for a better one.

“No shits given, everything in the fridge.” I said to myself shoving all of the items in as quickly as I could, food and all. .

I quickly walked out the door and headed to Rarity’s. I had some time to burn and wasn’t at risk of being late but I didn’t want to take any chances. I considered waiting until after work but taking care of this sooner was better than later.

As I pushed open the door the familiar bell hanging above the door frame alerted the white unicorn of my presence. She was already down stairs and looked surprised to see me.

“Daniel? I thought you would be at work.” Rarity said.

“Lunch break, back on Earth I would always try to take care of errands and stuff during them.” I said.

“I see, well in that case what brings you here?” Rarity asked.

“It’s getting colder now, and I just don’t have a coat of fur like you guys do. Would it be possible to make a jacket of some kind?” I asked.

While I truly needed a jacket and it was getting colder there was another reason for my request. I had a theory that wearing one would put an end to my little “episodes” as well as keep me nice as warm.

“Yes I can see where that might be a problem. A jacket should be simple enough, any particular color?” Rarity asked.

“Blue I guess.” I replied.

“Here I thought you had a challenge for me, oh well I already have your measurements…unless your kind never stop growing.” Rarity said.

“Last time I checked I wrapped up that horrifying experience a few years ago.” I replied making the white unicorn giggle a bit before I left for work again.

---

Strong Deck and Timber were already waiting on me when I returned. The cart had been brought out again which led me to believe there was another shipment that came in later in the day.

“You stop to see your marefriend or something?” Strong Deck asked teasingly.

Though he meant nothing by it that was a sensitive topic that I really didn’t want to address since I assumed marefriend was the equivalent to girlfriend. I came close to snapping off at Strong Deck but held myself together and managed to shrug the question off.

“I’m not late if that’s what you’re driving at, besides I don’t have a marefriend.” I replied.

“Just messing around with you.” Strong Deck said as we left for the station once again.

“You never did say what you did before you came here.” Timber said.

“I was an analyst; I kept things in my world up to date and worked with others on projects, kind of boring.” I said.

“Sounds like it.” Timber said.

“Well you asked. I’m just a regular guy where I’m from, maybe someday it won’t be much different here.” I said.

“Don’t count on that happening. You’re an oddity here, don’t take this the wrong way but ponies will always either welcome you or be afraid of you. Just like how Celestia has been around for a thousand years or something and she’s still treated like a goddess.” Strong Deck chimed in.

“Which are you?” I asked.

“You’re not scary.” Strong Deck said confidently.

While Strong Deck raised a good point about the opinions of other ponies I failed to see the connection between me and Celestia. The mare could control the sun at will. On that thought, did the two sisters actually control the sun and moon respectively or did they control this world’s orbit?

It was a question I would have to save for later as we reached the station. I felt as if I had barely broken a sweat today.

“So is this all there is to this job?” I asked.

“Yes and no, it picks up in a few months.” Timber said.

I didn’t respond as I waited for the train to come to a halt. There were passengers this time, some of which took the time to stare at me. The schedule had said Canterlot which meant these ponies hadn’t seen me yet.

“At least they aren’t screaming.” I said.

“Told you.” Strong Deck said.

I rolled my eyes and started to lift up a surprisingly heavy box. I had to put a bit more effort into lifting it but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed I had drawn an audience as I worked.

Two little colts stared up at me wide eyed. I continued to focus on the task at hand until I noticed a third had joined their group. I did my best to dismiss it as nothing more than childhood fascination with the unknown.

“Is that really heavy?” one of them finally asked.

“Some of them are sort of heavy, they’re not so bad though.” I replied grabbing another box.

“My dad says you’re an alien.” the smallest of the group said.

“I guess I am.” I said.

Timber and Strong Deck snickered at me. I didn’t mind questions, in fact if it helped put a pony’s mind at ease about what I am I was more than happy to answer them. What bugged me was answering them while I was trying to do something.

I looked at one of the boxes and saw Fillydelphia on the label. Seeing it reminded me of the two VIP passes I had and made me ponder just how popular the singer was, I had promised to go and I was a man of my word. I had been given two though, meaning I could bring somepony else with me.

“Hey kind of a random question, but have you guys ever heard of Harmony Chorus before?” I asked.

“Yeah you haven’t?” a colt asked in return.

“I have, just didn’t know how popular she was.” I replied.

The answer put my mind at ease, at least whoever I asked wouldn’t be in the dark who I was talking about. Now all I had to do was just figure out who to ask and I would be all set.

“Are you and the crate going to get a room or are you going to finish up?” Strong Deck asked.

“I don’t think there’s a thing in this world that could handle this.” I said grabbing the last item off the train.

“Rainbow Dash can.” Timber said.

“Apparently that joke flew straight over your head.” I said before we started the return trip the post office.

---

I unlocked the door to my oddity of a home, it wasn’t until I closed the door behind me that I realized the only one of my friend’s I’d seen all day had been Rarity and that had been business related. Now that I had finished what Twilight had been determined to help me through was I just going to become another face again?

I walked over to the fridge as I dwelt on these thoughts and began to sort the items I had brought home. The upcoming concert pushed its way into my mind again and I wrinkled my face as I thought about who to take, and if they would even go.

I owed Fluttershy for all she’d done, but a loud setting didn’t seem like the kind of thing the timid pegasus would go for. She was scared of her own shadow and hoof steps some times. Who knows though, maybe just asking would mean the world to her.

I finished my business with what I had brought home and decided to make a simple dinner, but one I had tons of practice with when I was younger. Before I worked for the state I had worked at a pizza restaurant. I learned most of what I knew on the job which freed up time to study other things.

It was a pretty decent job, the occasional dough fights and odd toppings were some of the things I enjoyed about it. I pulled out what I needed to make a simple cheese pizza, it would be weird without my favorite topping, pepperoni, but I’d live.

As I worked I thought about the others who might say yes to a little trip to Fillydelphia. Rainbow Dash came to mind though I didn’t know what her taste in music was. She would fangirl all over the place when it came to Daring Do or the Wonder Bolts and if the passes had been related to those two subjects in any way shape or form she’d be the first and only one I’d consider.

Applejack didn’t seem like the right pony, she would probably get bored or lose interest. Although if it was the right kind of music, I would assume country if that was a genre here, then she might go for it. I was making a lot of assumptions though with the earth pony.

Rarity was another option; she seemed like the type to enjoy music…classical anyways. I was selling the trip a bit short, it wasn’t like the concert was the only thing to do. The schedule I had now was pretty flexible which would give whoever I asked enough time to do other things. Rarity seemed like the traveling type unless I was an absolutely horrible judge of character.

Pinkie Pie could be fun to take along; the randomness that often came as a result of her presence was enough to brighten even the crappiest of days. The big question was if I could keep up with her and not the other way around.

Twilight was probably too busy to hang out and go to something like this. She had important matters to attend to after all. I did owe her though, probably more than I was even aware of. Asking would probably mean a lot and if she could go then awesome if not no big deal.

“Maybe somepony completely different? It’s not like I have to do everything with them all the time.” I said removing the pizza from the oven.

There was still time before coming to a final decision, even if none of my friends wanted to go I had made a promise and I would have a good time freaking the inhabitants out. To the few in Ponyville that were still a bit turned off by my presence I had been tempted to make a game out of their reactions.


Taking a bite of the pizza I was satisfied that I hadn’t lost my touch when it came to cooking. I was by no means a professional but I knew enough to survive on my own. I decided to call it an early night, I didn’t really have any reason to go back out and I just wanted some time to myself for a bit.

---

Celestia looked at the guest list and sighed. While she didn’t hate the griffons they were still a nation founded upon war. Their latest victory over the Satyr was unsettling, but it was a conflict that the bipedal creatures had started and paid for dearly.

The declaration of war instead of a peaceful end to the conflict had burdened the two kingdoms with a great deal of distrust. While magic could easily keep a griffon at bay, there was only so much one could do against their swarm tactics. It was horrible to think such things, but it was the reality of the situation.

For the sake of her people she would avoid unnecessary conflict at all cost which made the task of being a good host to yearly peace parties much more difficult. Being the carnivores of the party it made things a bit awkward between the other guest that were herbivores such as herself.

Last time things had almost ended in disaster and Celestia didn’t want to tempt fate again. There had to be something she could do to make things smoother. Shining Armor helped when it came to military discussions but even that got old after a while, she needed something new.

An idea suddenly came to Celestia as she dwelt on the topic. Perhaps she was over thinking things and the solution had been in front of her the entire time. The princess saw no harm in her plan which was a plus for all parties involved and decided to proceed.

A scroll and bottle of ink levitated over to the bed where she rested. A pen dipped itself in the ink bottle before scribbling on the paper.

Dearest Twilight

I have a favor to ask of you…
 
> Playing Pretend
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I request the presence of your human friend Daniel. I believe he may...oh no, she can't be serious!" Twilight exclaimed as she read the letter.

The letter had arrived during the night and while Twilight was grateful Spike hadn't disturbed her with the unsettling parchment then it didn't make the message any less outlandish now. Princess Celestia couldn't seriously consider Daniel to be diplomatic material.

Twilight had been sharing the human's progress with the princess and she seemed to be impressed by his adaptability if nothing else. Ponies were by nature deeply rooted in believing the whims of fate. Humans however, could pick multiple subjects throughout life and become skilled at them as opposed to one.

Despite this, Twilight didn't see Daniel picking up politics of any sort overnight. He had come out of his shell since his arrival but having him meet a multitude of creatures his kind considered myth at once might not be the best idea. This had to be a joke, a very bad joke at that.

"I'm not sure how to reply to this." Twilight said quietly.

"Just tell the princess you don't think it's a good idea I'm sure she'll understand." Spike said.

"I don't know if I can turn her down Spike. This is really important." Twilight said.

"She must have a reason Twilight." Spike said.

Twilight trusted Celestia, this was asking a lot though. While it might not be a life threatening disaster it could easily become one. The lavender alicorn wondered if she had been too vague on the details of her observations of the human, she was certain she'd been very specific about everything from his habits to what history he'd share. What he could remember anyways it always seemed to be about wa-

"That's why she wants him there. She thinks he can impress the griffons and keep things calm." Twilight said.

"That's a bit much to hope for." Spike said.

"It makes sense in theory, but I'm not sure how it would work in practice." said Twilight.

There was no guarantee this would work or that Daniel would even agree to going. It would be hard to simply pull him away from a job now, of course that could always be excused with a letter.

"Spike, let's give Celestia our answer." Twilight said.

---

"Opalescence you get down from there this instant!" Rarity exclaimed fuming at her cat.

Opal simply meowed and stared down at the furious unicorn. She had just finished making a general nuisance of herself when Rarity tried to trim her nails down and put the bow back in her hair.

"I hate cats." I said watching the scene unfold.

"Opal can be difficult at times, but she really is a sweet heart." Rarity said.

I had my doubts when the white feline looked down and hissed at me. I raised an eyebrow at the small fuzzy creature. I was the wrong person to hiss or spit at especially after work. I had never been a fan of cats for several reasons, their mightier than thou mentality being one of them.

"I could just reach up there and get her out of the tree...why don't you use your magic anyway?" I asked.

"I don't want to scare her any more than she already is." Rarity replied.

"I'm going in then." I said reaching up for the cat.

"There you are, I've been looking all over for you!" Twilight exclaimed making me cease my advance momentarily.

"Oh hey Twilight." I said returning to my original task.

Twilight cringed as she saw me reaching for Opalescence. A low growl came from the cat and the hair on her back started to stand straight up as her ears flattened against her head.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Twilight advised.

"Please, I did this a hundred times with my mom's cats when I was little." I said stopping once more.

"Did your arms come out looking like shredded curtains afterwards?" Twilight asked.

"Nope." I lied reaching for the cat again.

"So what brings you my way Twilight?" Rarity asked leaving me to my fate.

"I was trying to find Daniel he's been summoned by Celestia." Twilight replied.

"That's quite the honor, I'm assuming he's not in any trouble right?" Rarity asked.

"She-" Twilight started before my screams of pain interrupted her "It's something private I need to discuss with him. I assure you it's nothing bad though." she finished.

I approached the two ponies with fresh claw marks running down my arms as I held a still hissing Opalescence. She managed to wiggle free and ran into Rarity's house. The white unicorn gave chase leaving me alone with Twilight who had an "I told you so" expression on her face.

"A hundred of times huh?" Twilight asked.

"One hundred and one thank you very much." I replied.

Twilight shook her head and sighed. Though my arms were burning with pain I found a little joy from irritating the alicorn, I would have preferred said irritation to be with pain being inflicted upon me.

"So before I become blindingly irritated at the cat, what was it you wanted?" I asked.

"I think we should go to the castle for this, it's not something to be taken lightly or discussed over coffee." Twilight replied before teleporting the both of us.

---

"Absolutely not." I said crossing my arms.

"Stop being childish, besides your presence was requested by Celestia not me." Twilight said levitating the letter towards me.

I looked it over again as if it's lettering would change through sheer will power alone. Princess Celestia had indeed asked for my attendance to some sort of political gathering. While politics for a human were simple and pretty much centered around lies I doubted the same tactics worked here.

"I'm baffled that she'd even consider this to begin with." I said looking past the letter at the lavender alicorn.

"You and me both, but what's done is done. It's not like you had anything important to go to." Twilight said waving a hoof dismissively.

"Work." I said flatly.

"A letter can take care of that." said Twilight.

"Look as much fun as bsing my way through a party like this would be I know next to nothing about the other nations. This isn't something I can pick up in a few hours from books like you guys can." I said.

"I'm not overly thrilled with the idea either, but you do kind of owe Celestia." Twilight said pinning me with the favor card.

"I'm not good with crowds. I'd bend over backwards for you and her, but I always screw up and here I'm basically an alien. This is a train wreck waiting to happen and I don't want to be responsible for something bad happening." I said.

"You wouldn't be alone. We'd be there with you, it's not like we're-" Twilight started.

"Don't say throwing me to the you know what." I said cutting her off.

"Right, sorry I forget sometimes." said Twilight sheepishly.

"Twilight, I don't belong there. I'm the only one of my kind what am I supposed to tell them? That humans are starting to come through a portal? Under whelm them with unheroic tales of my mundane accomplishments?" I asked.

"Celestia wouldn't ask for you unless it was for a good reason. Only those of important status are going to be attending." Twilight replied.

I sighed and walked over to a nearby book shelf. I didn't want to have to resort to this, but Twilight was leaving me no choice. I didn't want to go to this thing and I was hell bent on making sure I wasn't invited.

"What are you doing?" Twilight asked.

"I'm not going." I replied taking two different books off the shelf.

"You wouldn't dare." Twilight said narrowing her eyes at me.

I glared back at her, matching her stare as I swiftly swapped the two books position on the shelf. I had to fight back a grin when Twilight let out a cute little gasp as if I had just committed murder.

I swiftly swapped two more books which seemed to have the desired effect on the alicorn book worm. I couldn't help but let out an evil laugh as she flew towards me and started to restore order to the book shelf I was just at, completely unaware I was causing mayhem at another until it was too late.

"No! You can't mix those, have you gone insane?!" Twilight asked exasperated.

Eventually Twilight managed to focus on me long enough to hold me in place with her magic while she finished undoing the "damage" I had done to her library. It was funny how the simplest thing threw one of the most powerful beings in Equestria for a loop.

"Are you done?" Twilight asked.

"I have but begun to fight." I replied.

"You two are acting like an old married couple." Spike said as he walked past us.

"Not now Spike." we said in unison.

Twilight turned her attention back to me still a bit irritated that I had defiled her organized book system. I felt a bit ashamed of myself afterwards and looked down at the floor.

"I'm sorry." I said.

Twilight was quiet as she studied me. "I'm asking you to do this for me, please?" she asked breaking the silence.

I really didn't want to go. I didn't belong at something fancy like this and both princesses knew this. Still they wanted me there and claimed it was important. Besides I wanted to do something to repay Twilight for all the help she'd given me.

"Fine...just don't ask me to be a social butterfly." I said swallowing my pride.

"That's a start. One more thing before I let you go, don't reorganize my books like that again." said Twilight as her magic around me vanished.

---

The sound of something heavy hitting the ground filled the air and was followed in close succession by the sound of another heavy object falling. The sounds seemed to echo off the walls of a red room that was slowly growing more detailed.

"Come on tank accept the raise!" someone shouted.

Raise? I thought to myself before my vision cleared completely.

I saw a terrifying creature approaching me as I got to my feet. It was roughly the size of a two story house with bright yellow eyes. Its arms were the size of trees and the ground shook when it walked.

"Titan?" I asked in disbelief.

"TO THE LAST, I GRAPPLE WITH THEE!" Titan boomed.

I recognized this creature from Final Fantasy XIV. He was considered one of the harder bosses due to his brute strength. It had taken me a multitude of tries to beat him which was a testament to the monster's difficulty.

"This has to be a dream!" I exclaimed as I rolled out of the way just as the demigod brought his fist down onto the ground.

"I've got him!" shouted an unfamiliar voice.

I noticed a Dragoon drive her spear into the creature's thick hide before jumping away from the beast. Several spells hit Titan at once as two mages started to quite literally work their magic on him.

"Why are you just standing there? Hit him!" one of the others shouted at me over the chaos.

I noticed the axe in my hands and the familiar routine of the warrior started to come back to me. I took a mighty swing at Titan's knee, splitting the skin open. The demigod retaliated by raising his fist in the air to create a shock wave in my direction.

I jumped out of the way in time for the attack to send a few rocks falling harmlessly to the bottom of a pit. I didn't have long to relax however as the creature dug his hands into the ground beneath him. With a mighty effort Titan sent what could only be described as a tidal wave of rocks in my direction which knocked me off balance.

"I SHALL GRIND THEE BENEATH MY HEEL, MORTAL!" Titan shouted.

The white mage's magic managed to heal me just as Titan was about to stomp on my injured form. I ducked beneath him and swung my axe at the tender spot behind his knee, cutting the tendons.

Titan roared in pain as he supported himself with his arms and shifted to his good leg. The dragoon and black mages seized the opportunity to attack the being once again, showing no mercy on the cripple creature.

An agonizing cry filled the room as the final blow was struck and Titan began to dissolve into the abyss. One by one the other members of my party started to disappear as the sound of hooves clapping together echoed off the rock walls of the cavern I was in.

"An excellent performance, we are most definitely pleased!" exclaimed the familiar voice of Luna.

"Lu-Princess Luna?" I asked catching myself before addressing her without her title.

"Indeed, it is us subject. Tell us why you never spoke of such adventures before?" Luna asked approaching me.

"You never asked, and they're not really that special." I replied.

"Perhaps you will enlighten us with more tales at the party?" Luna asked.

"I guess I can." I replied.

"Excellent, we apologize for intruding upon thy slumber and shall see thee at the appointed date." Luna replied as a door appeared from thin air.

"Wait Princess Luna, before you go I wanted to say I'm sorry. You were right about everything and I was an idiot for saying you didn't understand how I felt." I said stopping her.

"Thank you, we look forward to our next meeting." Luna said before departing.

The world around me shifted and grew fuzzy as I slowly stirred from my sleep. I had almost forgotten all about that video game, fun though it was. I was kind of glad I got to relive what a gamer would consider a pretty big achievement.

I rolled out of bed trying to decide what to do with my day off. I had been brought on at an odd time of the week. I had assumed Crafty Crate would have waited until the week after to hire me, but apparently they had different policies in this world, that or he thought I would be a flop.

It put a smile on my face knowing that I was able to prove him wrong if that was the case. Applejack was right when she said I could keep up with his other workers, maybe not when compared against a few of the unicorns but I could hold my own. I walked outside to my mailbox more so out of routine than genuine anticipation of a letter.

Oddly enough there was a letter that had Luna's seal on it. I had learned the princesses had what one could consider shifts, one ruled by day the other by night. I had a pretty solid idea what the letter was about as I walked back into the house.

Dear Subject

"I have a name." I said rolling my eyes before resuming reading.

You are cordially invited to the Tranquility Celebration, an event which is to celebrate the unity of our allies from afar. You must present this letter as proof of your invitation upon entering the grounds. We look forward to your attendance.

Princess Luna

It was her signature, I had never seen a royal letter from Earth, but I assumed they couldn't be too different. Her seal was at the very bottom as if to reaffirm the letter's importance and validity for any who dared question it.

"I can't decide if that was genuinely a dream or if Luna had something to do with it." I said putting the letter down.

A knock came from my door. I sighed as I got up to answer it, I hated it when I would just finish sitting down only to be forced to stand back up again. I didn't want to answer it and for a few seconds considered pretending I wasn't home.

"It seems this was the right address after all." Rarity said looking up at me upon opening the door.

"Oh hey Rarity, what brings you all the way out here?" I asked stepping aside to let her in.

"I haven't gotten the chance to see your home, and dropping this off would give me the perfect excuse to stop by and see it, if you aren't too busy." Rarity replied as a blue jacket levitated out of one of her saddle bags.

I tried it on and was amazed at how warm it was. If I stood still long enough I probably would have fallen asleep standing up. Even though it was simple in appearance a lot of love and care had been put into making it.

"It's certainly warm...like sleep warm." I said.

"I took into account your lack of fur and compensated a bit on the material. Believe me the difference will be noticeable once you're outside, but not to the point it's troublesome." the white unicorn said proudly.

"How much do I owe you?" I asked taking the jacket off.

"Oh you don't have to worry about that." Rarity replied.

"Rarity, at least let me give you something." I said.

The small disagreement continued until finally Rarity relented and "allowed" me to pay her. She was generous but I didn't want to abuse that by any means.

She followed me over to the counter and gasped when she saw the letter. Her eyes were wide with excitement as she skimmed over what had been written. I could only imagine what was running through the designer's mind.

"You got invited to a royal gathering?" Rarity asked.

"Yeah I guess, more so out of necessity than actually being somepony of importance." I replied.

"Surely you're not going in that." Rarity said flatly.

"What's wrong with jeans and a t-shirt?" I asked.

"Were you raised by barbarians? Denim is absolutely not acceptable besides you want to look your best for the princesses." Rarity said starry eyed.

"In all honesty I really don't want to go, I'm not the political kind of guy it's not-" I started to say.

"Surely you don't think this is some trivial, unimportant social gathering?" Rarity asked cutting me off.

"No, I don't have the temperament. I hate politics in general; I'd rather drill a hole in my skull than sit in a room or whatever and talk about them all night." I replied.

"Since you're the only one of your kind in this world one would assume you are the representative of your race if you want my opinion. You simply being there will probably be enough to talk about rather than listen to the hum drum of war and the like. If you're dressed like a bum then they won't take you seriously." Rarity said.

"I promised Twilight I would go, and Princess Luna so it's not like I'm trying to weasel out of going" I explain before noticing a smile spread across Rarity's face.

"I see, well we most certainly can't have you going in that now if that's the case." Rarity said.

"You're lucky you guys are too adorable to say no to. So can you have something ready in time?" I asked.

"You're talking to somepony who's managed to pull off some incredible feats when it comes to the clothing industry, a single suit is hardly a challenge. Now if you would be so kind as to follow me back to the boutique we can talk a bit." Rarity replied.

---

Rarity hummed a happy tune as she measured me again despite having taken my measurements once before. While I didn't quite understand the point I was confident the unicorn knew what she was doing.

"So you mentioned Twilight, but Princess Luna's name was on the invitation letter, care to explain?" Rarity asked.

"Twilight approached me about it first, apparently Celestia wrote her a letter requesting my presence. Since it's an invite only though I would still have to have some sort of formal letter on me so I guess Luna sent that one which is kind of weird." I replied.

"Why would you think a letter from a princess is weird?" Rarity asked in return.

"Just seems like something Celestia would handle...also this was the second time she was in my dreams." I said.

"Dreaming about a princess twice? That is strange." Rarity said trying to hide her smile.

"It's got nothing to do with that." I said.

"I've no idea what you're talking about, arms out." Rarity said innocently, at least she got my anatomy right this time.

The idle chit chat helped to put my mind at ease about the entire situation, that is until she asked what I knew about etiquette. I knew how to behave myself, it was the trivial information like what silverware you should use for what dish.

"I don't see why it takes a spoiled stallion to have good etiquette." Rarity sighed.

"Probably because they're forced to learn it. Honestly the privileged aren't care free, they're just a prisoner to their title. A slip up here or there can shame them for life in the eyes of the public and themselves, if you or one of your friends messed up it'd never go public unless it was something major." I said.

"You have a point, I still find good manners a must though." said Rarity.

"I think if I wing it I should be fine, nopony knows what I am anyways and there's still the chance I'll clear the building just setting foot inside." I said.

"Just when I thought we were making progress on that negativity of yours." the unicorn sighed.

"You have, I just like to look at a situation realistically." I said.

Any talk of the party died down after that. I hadn't meant to offend Rarity and thankfully she didn't seem upset by what had been said.

"Have you already met Prince Blueblood?" Rarity asked in a tone that was unstintingly neutral.

"I think I have, he's not a talkative pony to say the least." I replied.

"He's an absolutely dreadful unicorn who according to Twilight pesters the princesses day in and day out." Rarity said bitterly.

"I've met his type before, they just need a good kick in the ass." I said making her giggle.

"While a good kick in the flank would do wonders it would also cause half the guard to descend upon the one who delivered said blow. Even though I'm sure they'd love to get a kick or two in themselves." Rarity mused.

"He messed with you huh?" I asked.

Rarity stopped her work and sat down in silence. She sighed before looking up at me with a face that screamed the answer to my question.

"I believed him to be something more, somepony worth his salt as it were. Blueblood displayed his selfish mannerisms continuously all the while I ignored them simply because he was a prince. I suppose that puts me in the wrong as well, turning a blind eye to another's actions because of a title?" Rarity asked.

"We all get star struck sometimes. There's nothing wrong with that...you know I could scare him a bit, nonviolently of course." I offered.

"It's nice to see a stallion willing to defend a ladies' honor, but I assure you I handled it myself...although..." Rarity said smiling up at me mischievously.

---

When you're forced to attend something you hate, that's a pretty bad situation to be in. What's worse than that is knowing said event is coming and having to wait for it as if it's something you want to go to when in fact you really don't.

As flattering as attending a peace dinner or whatever with a princess was it still didn't change the fact that if there was a revolver in my hand I'd probably use it in half a heartbeat. I was just an average Joe, there was no reason for me to be here other than the sun princess, as well as her sister, requesting my presence.

"Popularity sucks." I mumbled before receiving a swift swat to the back from Twilight's wing.

"You said you'd behave yourself." Twilight scolded.

"I will, I also said I wouldn't be a social butterfly. I'm here as a ornament remember?" I asked.

"I doubt Celestia had that in mind when she asked for you." Twilight replied.

I rolled my eyes, I could hardly wait for this to be over and I hadn't even set foot through the door. The suit Rarity had made was comfortable at least, those from Earth failed in comparison.

"Excuse me sir, ma'am; your invitations please?" requested a guard that had odd bat like wings and bright yellow eyes.

Both Twilight and I pulled out our letters respectively and showed them to the guard. With a small bow of his head he push open the door to let us through into the main dining hall. It was a massive room that was neatly decorated, and the full moon's light shining through the large windows added a nice touch, though it was nowhere near as impressive as the stained glass hall we had passed to get here.

"Presenting her royal highness Princess Twilight Sparkle and Ambassador Daniel of Earth!" announced a unicorn on the other side.

The room was filled with a multitude of creatures that should logically not exist, but here they were. They ranged from minotaurs to bipedal dogs, and what I swore looked exactly like a griffon. They all stopped and stared at us as the doors closed behind us.

"So when did Equestria become Narnia all of the sudden?" I asked quietly.

"You're not nervous are you?" Twilight asked as we approached the group.

"Yes, horribly so." I replied.

I could see a few of them whispering to each other which made my heart race. I had wanted to stay a wall flower, but thanks to the guard that was now impossible. I suddenly found the once comfortable suit growing unbearably hot.

It's okay, it's not like Equestria could suffer if you screw something up...no pressure. I thought to myself.

The music in the background was soothing, but did little to ease the tension. I felt as any one of these beings would try to tear me limb from limb. Most had done so according to old myths from my world most notably was the minotaur that dwarfed me in size by a good foot, not to mention muscle mass.

"I've never seen one of his kind before." I heard one of the guest whisper as we walked by.

I opted to stick with Twilight as she navigated her way about the room. It was taking every ounce of self-control not to duck behind one of the pillars in the room and remain there the rest of the party, anything to escape the others gazes.

"Twily!" shouted an unfamiliar voice that stole the alicorn's attention.

"B.B.B.F.F! Cadance!" Twilight shouted abandoning me to greet a white unicorn and bubblegum pink alicorn.

I was half a second from going after her when I felt something cold rest upon my shoulder. Spinning around I was relieved that it was only Celestia. After my brain processed that bit of information the sense of dread came washing back over me two fold. 

"Thank you for coming." Celestia said.

"N-no problem, just uh glad to be here Princess." I lied.

"Then there's somepony I'd like you to meet, I think you share a bit more in common with their kingdom than you think." Celestia said motioning for me to follow her.

The mare led me to what looked like a trio of griffons. They were roughly the size of a pony like Twilight and their only notable intimidating feature were their hooked talons that clicked against the tile floor as they walked. 

"Ah Princess Celestia, so this is the whooman you spoke of?" the shortest one asked.

Hue-man, is it really that hard to say human? I thought to myself.

"Indeed it is Great Claw, this is the ambassador from Earth." Celestia replied.

"Earth seems like a peculiar name, were your kind aware of the earth ponies when your kingdom was settling on a name?" asked what I assumed was Great Claw's advisory.

There was a third Griffon amongst them that seemed to have a green glass eye. It was a bit unsettling to look at and I did my best to avoid contact with the individual.

"No we were not, and Earth is split into several different lands. I come from the United States of America." I replied.

"So what made the United States wish to be the first to approach Equestria with an ambassador?" Great Claw asked.

"Well I'd like to think our nation has always been the one to take the first step, or try to anyways." I said.

While I had a patriotic side I couldn't help but feel a bit boastful, like one of those idiots from Facebook who would go out of their way to post how the U.S is the greatest nation despite having its own flaws. I despised sinking to the level of a braggart and wanted to avoid doing so though tonight I might not have much choice if I valued my head. 

"Are your ties with the other nations of your land fairly secure?" Great Claw asked.

"I'd like to think so, I have a good friend in Germany who I keep in contact with as much as possible. Now that I'm here though that has become a bit harder." I replied.

"Yes political affairs tend to put strain on friendships. I must confess you're a very unique individual, not to mention a bit young for such a title." said the griffon with the glass eye.

"I'm no older than those that make up the military. A fine group of men and women." I said.

"Why did you not take up arms then? Or have you already served perhaps as General Sharp has?" Great Claw said motioning to the glass eyed griffon.

"I come from a military background yes, I've lead an army before so I'm no stranger to the risk of war. I prefer fast strikes over foot slogging as a few of my piers do." I replied neglecting to tell them that it was a game and my army was nothing more than plastic.

"We find strength in numbers tend to over whelm even the most brutish of enemies. Needless to say I believe you "fast strikes" are impressive as well." General Sharp said.

Oh so it's a dick measuring contest now huh? I thought to myself smiling a bit.

"The Tyranids utilized this on us before, though Spirit of Combat and Brother Rex made short work of the purple tide. Warlord Titans are known for their devastating fire power and I consider myself lucky to have two at my disposal." I said proudly, the titans took forever to make sometimes since no model existed for them and only the data sheet was available.

"Titans? I've never heard of such war machines are they really as powerful as you say?" General Sharp asked skeptically.

"I trust you know what a cannon is? Picture one the size of a cathedral." I replied.

"There's little I wouldn't give to see such a construct." Great Claw said.

"Unfortunately due to its nature I don't think it would be wise to bring one to Equestria without a justifiable cause. The behemoth of a war engine causes a great deal of damage to the landscape as well as its enemies." I said hoping they would buy the excuse.

"Let's hope things never come to that, of course we are still in the process of peace negotiations." Celestia said helping solidify my excuse.

"Of course, forgive my hastiness, I just think such a marvelous device should be a symbol of honor, I'm certain having two means you have some sort of power in your land." Great Claw said.

I thought about how to respond to the griffon. So far things were going smoother than I had expected. These griffons were none the wiser that I was talking about a game, but the power statement made me think for a minute.

"While I do have them at my disposal I also know that the position I have does not exist to serve my own agenda. I believe having a position of power exist so that you can serve others, not yourself." I said.

"I couldn't agree more, there are times that call for difficult action though, when the timber wolves must be fought off and kept at bay." Great Claw said.

The griffons were truly a nation of war, if any of the equipment I had spoken of was real there's no telling what they might do to possess it from the way they reacted. I didn't want to think too much on the matter and completely ruin my opinion of them, besides Great Claw seemed okay.

"Daniel come here I want to introduce you to somepony." Twilight said doing her best to contain her excitement.

Oh thank God saved by the book worm! I thought to myself.

"It was nice to meet you all, Princess." I said giving a small bow to Celestia before departing from the group.

"See it's not so bad." Twilight said once we were out of ear shot.

"Yeah, they just didn't ask any hard questions that time." I said

"Just keep playing nice with the other foals and you'll be golden." said Twilight smugly.

"So who is this you wanted me to meet? It's not another war monger is it?" I asked ignoring her previous comment as we approached the two ponies Twilight had ditched me for earlier.

Both seemed a bit nervous at my presence, but quickly masked it with a smile. The white unicorn was dressed in what appeared to be a soldier's formal attire. I'd seen my dad's a few times when he would attend a military ball or some other formal occasion.

The alicorn was in regalia much like Twilight, except the crest on hers was a heart instead of a star like Twilight's. It made me wonder what exactly it was she governed and why I'd never heard mention of her before.

"Daniel this is Shining Armor, my big brother and his wife Cadance." Twilight said introducing the couple.

"It's nice to meet you both." I said.

"You seem a bit nervous, are you feeling okay?" Shining Armor asked.

"Yeah a little, I've never been to one of these things before and I'm not a fan of crowds." I replied.

"I wouldn't think somepony as big as you would scare easily." Cadance said.

"I'm just trying to put on a good show and not start any wars." I said with a shrug.

"Twilight tells me you're from another world, is that true?" Shining Armor asked.

"It is, your sister has helped me get acquainted with the populace of Ponyville. It was a rough start, but I think I've almost got all of them convinced I'm not some terrifying monster. I'll take a wild guess and say you're in the military?" I asked in return.

"I used to be captain of the royal guard here in Equestria, now I'm in over the Crystal Empire with Cadance." Shining replied.

"What is it that you do?" Cadance asked putting me on the spot.

"Right now I'm still in talks with Celestia about the future of our two worlds co-existing. Given the reaction I received I'm hesitant to bring another human over." I said hoping they would actually buy this bs.

If I actually had any say so in the matter I would never bring another human here. Simply because it wasn't right to choose between two worlds and secondly if they could mingle together where did that leave these ponies?

They had magic, but the greed of some men was a great threat. This place was the closest thing to utopia I had seen and I couldn't stand the thought of something ruining it. An oil pipe line or a shopping center parking lot wouldn't make this world any better.

"That's understandable I think-" Cadance started to say before Celestia's voice caught our attention.

"Dearest friends and allies of Equestria I thank you for your attendance tonight. The peace and friendship that has fostered between our nations is not something to be taken for granted which is why we hold these celebrations. To commemorate the efforts of all leaders who have set aside their differences for a greater purpose." Celestia said as cheers came from the crowd.

"Dinner, you're almost there." Twilight said encouragingly.

---

I had hardly socialized with any of the other beings, that is until I realized that seating was prearranged. I was to be wedged between Luna and a centauress named Teal. I had the feeling the mare that was to be sitting to my right had arranged this to ensure I kept my promise.

I had been pulled around all evening and I felt quite helpless in my current situation. I tensed a bit as Luna took her seat next to me which was ebony in color and much more detailed than the one I was in. I noticed the other princesses seats weren’t exactly thrones either but much more care had been taken in crafting them for obvious reasons.

“We pray the gathering hast given thee an appetite?” Luna asked.

Her choice of language was a bit antiquated to say the least, but I could appreciate it. She also used the royal we unlike her sister which led me to believe she was a bit more serious when it came to the regular activities of royalty.

“Sort of, I’ve never been to anything like this before so my nerves are kind of dulling my sense of hunger at the moment.” I said before I noticed a steak of some sort being set in front of Great Claw.

I don’t need it…I don’t need it…I don’t-screw it I need it! I thought to myself.

Luna ordered something I didn’t quite understand through her old English, which I didn’t think was possible to order in, as the waiters came around the rather large table. When one finally asked me what I wished for I grinned and asked for a simple salad and a steak similar to what the griffons had which shocked those around me.

“We were under the impression thoust were an herbivore such as ourselves.” Luna said.

“I’m an omnivore, I can survive on both. It’s a trait that comes in handy when living among a populace that primarily doesn’t eat meat.” I said.

“Your race must be an indecisive one.” Teal said startling me a bit; I hadn’t expected her to speak to me at all.

I couldn’t help but stare longer than I intended to, at my core I was still human. Teal was the closest thing to a human female I had seen, and needless to say her upper half was far easier on the eyes than her fellow male centaur. She could have passed for a model were it not for her blue skin and fur covered equine lower half.

“You’re not far off the mark.” I said.

“We request to learn of the events that took place after the creature was slain.” Luna said her expression shifting once I turned to face her, had she been upset about something?

“Well after Titan was beaten we decided to take a break for a while before taking on Ultima. It was a nasty fight that I didn’t make a habit of repeating. The Crystal Tower was full of traps and dragons that took three parties to get through.” I said.

“Dragons? I wouldn’t take you for a slayer of dragons; you don’t look like you have the killing spirit in you.” Teal said with a coy smile.

“The dragons where I’m from are a bit different, besides I’ve come to call a certain dragon by the name of Spike friend.” I said.

“We can attest to his abilities as a warrior, such an adaptive race would be ideally suited for such trials.” Luna said her voice carrying the smallest hint of irritation.

I was curious about what Teal was in terms of a diplomatic position, but a small voice in my head advised against asking. I had the feeling the centauress was competing for attention that I had technically already promised to the princess of the night.

Teal narrowed her eyes at Luna’s response and shied away from the topic. So much for celebrating unity and peace at the rate this conversation was going. While most would find my situation favorable, I didn’t enjoy being sandwiched between a princess who could call upon darkness itself and a centauress who could do who knows what to even dare make a facial expression like that towards Luna.

Oh thank God! I thought to myself as a plate was placed in front of me.

As I ate I couldn’t help but notice Luna and Teal watching me as they chewed their own food. I chewed slower and looked back at them, alternating my gaze between the two of them. Teal turned her attention to her own plate while Luna continued to watch me out of mild fascination as, true to my word, I consumed both vegetation and meat.

I noticed the stray glances from the griffons who seemed to nod to one another as they carried on a hushed conversation while watching me. I couldn’t help but feel like I was on display as some sort of attraction.

There wasn’t much talking after the food was served and any that was had was brief and lighthearted than serious. Luna would occasionally asked me about some of my other “exploits” which equated to a game’s story line, but if it made the princess happy so be it.

---

Twilight scanned the departing guest for her friend, it was as if he had vanished. A hoof being placed on her shoulder made the young alicorn jump, her attention caught up in trying to find her friend.

“Princess Celestia, I’m sorry I didn’t see you.” Twilight apologized.

“No need to apologize, I wanted to tell you and Daniel thank you for coming, I think it made things a bit more bearable with our carnivorous friends, they didn’t seem as isolated…I may have to borrow him in the future if you don’t mind.” Celestia said.

“Well it was a struggle to get him here...he rearranged my books.” Twilight confessed. She was stunned when Celestia tried to stifle a laugh.

“It seems like he’s come a long way from the timid creature you brought before me. You should be proud of the progress you’ve made with him.” Celestia said.

Twilight’s expression brightened a bit at the praise from her former teacher. While he was a bit stubborn at times, Daniel’s heart was in the right place and that was enough for her. Working on his habits and mannerisms could be a side project.

“Thank you princess, I wish I knew where he was though.” Twilight said scanning the crowd once again.

“I’m sure he can’t be too far, perhaps he got held up by one of the other guest.” Celestia said.

“Princess, were you actually planning on allowing humans to come to Equestria? I know we can’t control what happened with Daniel, but were you considering opening up to them?” Twilight asked recalling what Daniel had told Cadance.

“I don’t know. Truth be told he reminds me of Discord…not in a bad way, but in the sense that he’s hard to read. Most ponies have a set life style, having the ability to change that on a whim is something akin to Discord’s chaotic power…while I sense no malice in Daniel I can’t help but assume not all of his kind are as understanding.” Celestia replied.

“You’re probably right, I just feel sorry for him some times. I told him I knew what it was like to be out of my element once, but being the only one of your kind is something I can’t begin to imagine, that feeling of loneliness.” Twilight said.

“I wouldn’t say he’s completely alone, as long as he has you for a friend I don’t think he’ll ever have to endure that hardship.” Celestia said.

Twilight was about to respond when she saw the familiar figure of her friend approaching. He had on an unusually bright smile, but Twilight dismissed it as nothing more than his attempt to act like he was enjoying himself.
---

“I’ve been looking for you, are you ready to go?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, I think I’m about partied out. It was cool to see all of the other leaders though, and thanks for going along with my story Princess.” I replied turning to Celestia.

“It was an interesting one to say the least. I hope you won’t be offended if I call upon you again? I’d hate for Twilight’s library to suffer your wrath.” Celestia teased.

“Heh, no problem Princess.” I said nervously.

“Good, I think I’ve kept both of you long enough. Have a safe trip home.” Celestia said with an angelic smile.

“Where were you anyways?” Twilight asked as we approached her chariot.

“I was looking for a bathroom a very nice guard helped me.” I replied with a grin.

Twilight gave me a skeptical look but didn’t press the issue. I closed my eyes after stepping into the carriage, I found it odd how as a pegasus I wanted nothing more than to fly yet I was terrified of heights. I smiled in amusement at my upside down life, not willing to trade it for the world.

---

Prince Blueblood could hardly believe Celestia had invited that filthy hairless monkey to such an important occasion. Not to mention the being seemed to have spent his time mingling with Luna, oh how it disturbed him so.

“How can a beast be held up in such a manner? A fragile animal given more attention and prestige than I?” Blueblood asked aloud as he opened the door to his room.

The prince let out a cry of terror which triggered two guards to come rushing towards him. He could hardly believe what he had stumbled upon; it was truly a horrific and maddening sight.

“Prince Blueblood! What’s wrong?!” one of the guards asked having never heard such a mortified scream come from the unicorn before.

“Look!” Blueblood said pointing a hoof at the interior of his room.

“I don’t see it.” one of the guards said.

“Are you blind to the madness that has transpired? Look you fool!” Blueblood said getting to his hooves and pointing at one of the walls.

“The painting is tilted?” the guard asked unsure if his guess was correct.

“Not just that painting! All of them! Who could, or would for that matter, do something like this?!” Blueblood demanded.

“I’ve no idea Prince Blueblood, but I can assure you we’ll get to the bottom of it.” the first guard said fighting back his laughter.

“Be sure that you do! This crime cannot go unpunished!” Blueblood said slamming his door shut. The sound of something sliding against the walls could be heard from outside the door as the frustrated prince tried desperately to correct the wall decorations.

“So, you let him in after all?” the first guard asked the other.

“Absolutely, he said he needed to find the bathroom and halfway there he asked if I wanted to be in on a little prank…this turned out to be better than I thought.” the other one replied before the two burst into laughter.

> A Discorded Trip
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I let myself fall onto the bed and sigh into the sheets. I didn’t want to move after work, I just wanted to lay here and do nothing the rest of the day. Reluctantly I rolled over and looked at the clock on the night stand to see what time it was. My attention was drawn to the two lanyards for the concert’s VIP pass.

I mentally kicked myself for not asking Twilight when I had the chance the other night at the party, but no use crying over spilt milk. Come to think of it, I hadn’t received any more “visits” in my sleep since the party, perhaps Luna had gotten over whatever fixation she had on my dreams and memories.

The co-rulers of Equestria had been alive for well over a thousand years, the sight of something new and strange was probably very appealing to them which would explain her behavior a bit. It made me wonder what they’d think of me after I-no, now wasn’t the time to ponder such things.

All of my friends that I had asked had turned me down when I asked them to go leaving just one left to ask, Fluttershy. A part of me knew what her answer would be, but I forced myself off the bed anyways. As tired as I was this needed to be done.

I slipped on the jacket Rarity had made and headed out the door to Fluttershy’s house. I hadn’t been there in a while, or what I considered a while anyways. Despite this the path to her cottage was burned into my memory by now after having lived there for a decent amount of time.

A mint green unicorn waved at me as I left my house, she always seemed enthusiastic about seeing me for some reason. I would have to take the time to say hi to her instead of just the casual wave every day. Something Heartstrings if I remembered correctly.

I let my thoughts trail off on several different topics until I finally reached Fluttershy’s cottage. As I got closer I could hear voices from inside the house. I softly knocked on the door, aware of what would happen if I knocked too fast or too loud.

The door swung open much to my surprise given the nature of the pegasus who called the cottage home. It didn’t take long to figure out why the door was opened so abruptly. Instead of Fluttershy standing in the doorway was Discord.

“Oh, it’s you.” Discord said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.

“That you’re you. I opened the door and I’m acknowledging your existence as a sentient being. Honestly what’s so hard to grasp about that concept?” Discord asked.

“Who is it Discord?” Fluttershy called from inside the cottage.

“Your human friend.” Discord replied.

Fluttershy was at the door seconds after learning of my presence. She had the same tender smile she always had that made her too adorable for her own good.

“Hello Mister Daniel, what brings you here?” Fluttershy asked.

“I was hoping to catch you alone, but whatever. Did you want to go to a concert as a VIP with me?” I asked skipping straight to the point.

“Oh I’d love to! When is it?” Fluttershy asked taking me by surprise.

“Well I was going to leave for Fillydelphia tomorrow.” I replied.

Fluttershy’s smile faded “I’m sorry, but I already had plans with Twilight that day.” she said.

Just like that Fluttershy had crushed what little chance there was of me asking Twilight now since I already knew what her answer would be. It was disheartening to say the least, but I wasn’t going to let it get me down.

“Have you tried Rainbow Dash? I’m sure she’d love to go.” Fluttershy suggested.

“I have, and the others as well. They all said no.” I replied.

“Oh, I’m sorry…I’m sure it will be a lot of fun though.” Fluttershy said trying to stay optimistic.

"Well if none of your pony friends will, why not me?" Discord offered as several signs in the shape of arrows appeared pointing towards the strange creature, some with neon lights.

"Why would you want to go?" I asked.

"It would be the perfect chance to spend a little time with the only other being like me." Discord said as the signs vanished.

"I'm nothing like you." I replied flatly.

"Oh? So there's more humans on the way? Have you suddenly grown wings or a horn? Maybe you'll sprout another pair of legs?" Discord inquired holding out his lion paw with a small clay figure that resembled a human. As he spoke the changes occurred before the figure disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"I think it would be a great idea." Fluttershy said.

Of course you would. I thought to myself.

"You see? Even a close friend of yours thinks it would be a wise decision." Discord said crossing his arms and holding his head up triumphantly.

"No, I still remember what happened the last time I trusted you." I said.

"Oh don't be like that. I'm sure if you gave him a chance you'd have fun." said Fluttershy.

It was a huge red flag that I couldn't ignore. Why would Discord suddenly want to come on a trip with me? It didn't make any sense, then again chaos never does. This didn't feel right, but Fluttershy was my friend and I didn't want to test the strength of that bridge over something trivial.

"Fine." I said crossing my arms with a sigh.

What sounded like several of Pinkie Pie's party cannons going off at once boomed around me making both Fluttershy and I jump as confetti filled the air and party favors sounded by themselves.

"Oh thank you! I promise you won't regret your decision." Discord said sticking a cigar in my mouth which I quickly removed.

I stared down at Fluttershy who lowered her head a bit blushing and gave me her trade mark smile that somehow produced a small squeak. She was too adorable to stay mad at, and maybe it was for the best, the others had lives and I didn't need them in mine all the time.

---

"You know I could have teleported us there." Discord said lounging on two of the seats due to his long serpentine body.

"I'm well aware of what your magic is capable of, but you're not the only one on this trip. If you'd like to teleport you can at any time." I said dismissively.

The train ride was souring rather quickly due to the self-invited guest. I trusted Discord about as far as I could throw him. If causing a scene once I got to Fillydelphia had been a problem, it would be even worse now that I was accompanied by the lord of chaos.

"You need to lighten up a bit." Discord said snapping his bird like fingers which caused my skin to glow a bright green "See? Much better."

I fell out of my seat startled by the sudden change. Upon hitting the wooden floor of the train the light thankfully faded from my body. I cast an angry glare at the mismatched creature who had altered my complexion temporarily to turn me into a living glow stick.

"I don't know why I agreed to this." I said taking my seat again.

"Oh I think we both know why you're doing this." Discord said.

“Enlighten me…without turning me into a stage prop.” I snapped.

“You’re trying to impress them, despite what you might say your body language betrays you.” Discord said with a wave of his arm which caused several letters of the alphabet to fall to the floor before disappearing.

“Sorry to bust your bubble, but you’re wrong. They helped me out and for a while were my only friends.” I said rolling my eyes.

“Touchy touchy, but I think you’ve only proven my point with your little quip. Besides you could have said no to Fluttershy if that was the case. ” Discord said with a grin.

Silence fell over the two of us as I turned away from the odd creature and looked out the window. I didn’t want to give him an answer, not after that little remark about Fluttershy. True I could have said no, but I didn’t want to upset the kindhearted pegasus and I was put on the spot.

“So have you thought about what you’re going to do once you get there?” Discord asked breaking the silence.

“No.” I replied.

“So you’re just showing up for the concert then leaving? That’s not very fun.” Discord said.

“Contrary to popular belief I’m not the most interesting person.” I said.

“I’m sure that will change the second you step off the train.” Discord said with a small laugh.

“Yeah well what would you expect? Ponyville has come to terms with my existence at least.” I said continuing to stare out the window.

“I could help with that…if you wanted me to that is.” Discord said mischievously.

“Absolutely not, I’m just fine without your little tricks.” I said turning around to face those mismatched eyes and snaggletooth smile.

“Are you certain you’re fine? Because I’m amazed you didn’t jump at the chance to go back…it’s been bugging you hasn’t it?” Discord asked disappearing only to reappear beside me.

“How would you know about that?” I asked, a cold chill traveling down my spine.

“I can sense disturbances; I am the master of chaos after all. So tell me what’s wrong, despite your opinion of me I might actually be able to help you.” Discord said as the seat I was in turned into a couch similar to one you’d see in a therapist office.

I looked over at Discord who was back on the other side of the train car in a suit with a pair of glasses and a note pad. It was unsettling that my secret problem wasn’t as secret as I thought it was. I had at least found a way to nullify the cause.

“If you must know ever since you worked your “magic” I’ve had…visions and phantom limb syndrome, as if I still had wings. It’s like for a split second I can feel them again.” I said deciding to roll with it.

“Pegasi have the born instinct to fly, it’s unusual for them not to. My only guess is that a part of that stayed behind after the magic wore off giving you your phantom whatever syndrome.” Discord said.

“Can you get rid of it?” I asked hopefully.

“No, I can’t I can alleviate the problem if you wish.” Discord said scribbling on the note pad.

“Figures, and wouldn’t going back make it worse?” I asked.

“That depends on you. Do you want closure on something, which from the way things sound I’d say a part of you does, or do you want to be miserable always dwelling in the “what if” zone?” Discord asked.

“I don’t know I mean I like being tall and having fingers and feet. Being only two feet off the ground really got to me. I don’t need the mess and headache it brings though with everything else on my mind” I said.

“So that’s not the only thing that’s been bugging you then?” Discord asked raising one of his fuzzy eyebrows.

I started to lose track of time as I slowly laid out what was on my mind to the strange being. I didn’t feel I could do this with the others for a multitude of reasons, the glaring one being that they weren’t guys and would try to give advice from their perspective and replace everything with pony. It was good to have a normal conversation for a change.

“It feels good to get all of that off my chest. I mean it’s awesome to finally have someone I can spill all of these bottled up feelings out too, Twilight and the others really wouldn’t understand things like this you know?” I asked with closed eyes.

Discord had been awfully quiet most of the time; then again I hadn’t stopped talking since he made the suggestion to keep going. I was under the impression that therapists were supposed to ask how you felt about a certain subject, but I was content to simply express what was on my mind.

The sound of something shifting from the seat across from me made me open my eyes to see Discord rubbing his eyes. His glasses had fallen down as well and he swiftly picked them back up.

“You with me?” I asked startling him.

“Huh? Oh yes right.” Discord said.

“Were you napping?” I asked.

“No no I just drifted a bit.” Discord replied with a grin.

“Those are drawn on eyeballs on your eyelids...where did I lose you?” I asked.

“Something about JRO- or the army?” Discord replied.

“So you heard none of it then.” I said crossing my arms.

“Well what do you expect? I’m not a real therapist, I cause the things ponies need therapy for. I’m not normally in the business of c-“ Discord started to say

“Of what? Caring?” I asked.

“I was going to say curing problems, I’m not completely heartless you know.” Discord replied.

“You know what that reminds me of my dad, what an asshole. I mean I get it that his dad was hard on him, but that’s no reason to continue the drill sergeant tradition you know? I mean there are better ways of teaching your kids right from wrong.“ I continued.

I could hear Discord sigh and continually started to agree with me as I started to pour my soul out again.
---

"Time to rise and shine." said Discord shaking me awake.

I stood up in a daze only to fall right back down as I hit my head on the ceiling of the train car. I was certain that the days of injuring myself were far behind me, but it seems the ceilings of this world had claimed one more victory over my skull.

"Dick...why'd you do that?" I asked still a bit disoriented.

"We've reached our destination...far later than need be I might add." Discord replied with a huff.

"I think I cracked my skull open...don't do that again." I moaned rubbing my forehead.

"You'd be dead if you had. At any rate they'll be letting us off soon so..." Discord said before the misshapen creature vanished leaving behind a tan unicorn with a dark blue mane. His cutie mark looked like a tornado which didn't make sense given the race of pony.

"Discord?" I asked getting back to my feet.

"The one and only, if you want to stick out like a sore thumb then by all means be my guest. I'll be sure to have the best seat in the house as the calamity unfolds." Discord replied with a laugh.

I should have known Discord would use his chaotic magic to change his appearance at will. It was how he could slip in and out of crowds where as I would become the center of attention at a new town.

"Fine." I said hanging my head.

"Fine what?" Discord asked looking up at me.

"Use your magic, do whatever." I replied.

Discord put a hoof to his mouth as if he was thinking. A sly grin started to form on his face which made me very uncomfortable to even be in the same train car with him.

"I don't know if I should; you have been quite rude to me, not at all something a friend would do." Discord said turning his back to me.

I sighed and clenched my fist "I. am. very. very. VERY. sorry I hurt your feelings." I said wanting to literally kick a puppy after saying those words.

"Apology accepted ol' chum, now hold still." Discord said spinning back around as his horn started to glow.

"Wait I 'm not rea-" I started to say before my vision started to blur and shift into a pool of multiple colors.

"Whoops, did I do that? How clumsy of me." I heard Discord say as the colors slowly gave way to darkness as my mind slipped into the same trance like state it had the first time this happened.

My muscles hurt, the pain was all too familiar, what wasn't familiar were my surroundings. I looked around to see a what looked like the inside of a hospital room. Everything seemed to be normal for once; nothing was hilariously small and seemed to make sense.

"Am I home?" I asked aloud sitting up only to notice my hands were now hooves.

"Oh good, you're up." a soft voice said.

I turned to see a mare with a standard nurse cap on and adorable little coat. I found her presence alarming, not because she was a nurse, but that I was unsure how I ended up in a medical facility when I clearly remembered being on a train.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You slipped and bumped your head pretty hard. Your brother had your brought here, he's waiting out in the hallway." the nurse replied.

"Brother...oh, right my head." I said deciding to roll with whatever story Discord had told them.

"I'll go tell him you're up. In the mean time I'll have to ask you some questions and you should be free to go." the nurse said which was a relief.

The questions were tedious and most seemed pointless, but protocol always seems to trump common sense. After the flood of questions the nurse left and no sooner had the mare left her presence was replaced by Discord’s.

"Brother? Really?" I asked.

"The train was starting to leave what did you want me to do? Leave you on it?" Discord asked with a smug grin.

"Let's just get out of here. We've wasted enough time as it is." I replied jumping out of the bed.

I had almost forgotten about my wings. I had received a pleasant reminder as they opened of their own accord to soften the impact of my landing, however short the distance might have been. I flexed them a few times, feeling the blood course through them.

"You seem awfully happy given the circumstances." Discord said.

"Yeah well, let’s hope this was worth it." I said as we left the room.

---

The streets of Fillydelphia were somewhat crowded, had Discord not had the forethought to shrink what we had brought to a more manageable size it probably would have been a bit more difficult navigating the streets to the hotel. Having him as a "brother" for the rest of the trip was sure to be an interesting conversation starter.

"I can't say this is the most fun I've had in years, but I'm sure things will liven up a bit." Discord said ominously.

"I'll tell Twilight if you misbehave...little brother." I said.

"Little? I think I have you beat by a few hundred years." said Discord.

"You're the guest on the trip, you're the little brother." I replied finding it hard to believe I was actually playing along with his story.

"Fine, just don't expect me to be your wing stallion." Discord said.

"You're just jealous of my pegasus swagger." I said grinning at him.

"Are...are you actually having fun with this?" Discord asked stopping with a stunned look on his face.

"Yeah, I suppose I am. Might as well since I can't walk around on two legs." I replied.

It was rather odd how complacent I was with the situation. Last time I had been outraged the first day I had been trapped in this body, but now I didn't care. As the days had passed during my last experience I had grown used to walking, running and doing just about everything as a pony save for one thing that I yearned for most of all, to fly.

When we got to the hotel Discord's spell was starting to catch up with me and all I wanted to do was curl up on one of the beds in the room we received. We had arrived a day early on purpose, to avoid any potential straggling crowd and last minute planners.

"You need to work on that spell of yours so that it won't exhaust somepony." I said with a yawn.

"You're actually tired? You slept through the spell how can you possibly be tired?" Discord asked.

"I do-n't know, I just am." I said being interrupted mid-sentence by another yawn.

The sun was only just starting to set as I looked outside the window. I was certain there were things to do at night, but today I just didn't feel like it. We had all day tomorrow anyways.

"Well what am I supposed to do while you sleep?" Discord asked.

"Don't you sleep?" I asked in return.

"Of course I do, but only when I feel like it, it's not a requirement for me to do so. You mortals can be frustrating at times." Discord complained.

"Yeah, we can be but that's what makes us interesting." I said stretching my wings out before closing my eyes.

"You don't want to be a human while you sleep?" Discord asked.

"Not today...too tired." I replied nestling deeper into the covers.

Discord grew silent and it didn't take long for my exhausted mind and body to succumb to sleep. I had been worried about sleeping in a bed that wouldn’t fit me, now that I was a pegasus again that was no longer an issue.

---

I slowly came to; the room was dark for the most part save for the light coming out from the door way which led out into the main hall. I got up and stretched a bit taking note of Discord's absence from the room.

He must have gone out. I thought to myself as I continued to stretch before leaving the hotel room as well.

The hallway was empty and only the occasional conversation from behind the doors was any indication the hotel had occupants. With the haze of sleep steadily leaving my system I decided to go for a midnight stroll.

In my world such activity was risky due to the crime rate and the looming threat of muggers around every corner. Here in Equestria though I'd yet to meet a criminal or anypony wanting to cause me any harm for the sake of causing it.

Once I was outside the hotel I realized I had no real destination in mind and by now the streets were starting to empty of life. Fillydelphia was an odd place indeed, it was as if rural and city life mingled together in one location leaving a few duplexes and standard houses like the one I had back in Ponyville.

I noticed what looked like a park off in the distance. With nothing better to do I made my way there. By now the moon was high in the night sky accompanied by the host of stars that filled the endless abyss.

It was a pleasantly warm night, until I reminded myself that I had fur now instead of bare flesh. The temperature was probably still dropping I just couldn't notice the subtle changes through my fuzzy body.

As I continued down a lit paved path I noticed what looked like a large hill. It was admittedly a bit out of place, but I'm sure fillies played tag or whatever games kids played here. The inner child in me won out over maturity as I made a detour to climb what I had originally mistaken for a hill, the other half was gone producing a decent drop off.

Due to the poorly lit surroundings I had nearly walked over the edge, my wings unfurling in response to my sudden realization. I took a few steps back as my wings flattened against my sides once more.

I sat down looking at the edge as my mind slowly started to think back to when Rainbow Dash had attempted to teach me how to fly. I thought back to the medical room when I had jumped off the bed and an idea entered my head.

I stood up and walked away from the edge, far enough to where I would hopefully pick up enough speed for my plan. This was extremely risky, but if it worked then I could hopefully find peace on a certain subject that had been bugging me.

A strong breeze blew past me as I spread my wings sending the familiar tingling sensation down my spine with renewed strength. Something deep within my subconscious stirred as my nostrils flared, the heat from my breath creating two small temporary streams of steam.

"I can do this." I said to myself as my heart rate increased.

My wings folded against my sides as I took off running towards the edge, a part of me wanting to stop. Any notion of stopping was soon ruined as I felt both forelegs wave in midair trying to make contact with the ground.

Now! I thought to myself spreading my wings as my hind legs kicked off the edge sending me forward a few more feet.

I closed my eyes expecting the ground rush up to meet me, instead the sensation I felt was more like being on a swing when I was a little kid only it was taking forever to come back down.

I opened my eyes to see the ground slowly approaching as I slowly glided down. While it wasn't flying it was close enough for me, but I wanted to experiment. I decided to flap my wings a few times which resulted in an unsteady rise in altitude before I stopped and kept my wings stationary again.

Eventually my hooves hit the ground again and I felt a sense of pride swell up in my chest as I looked behind me to see the lights that had illuminated my path nothing more than shining dots in the distance.

I laughed a little as I realized how far I had traveled. I slowly started to walk towards the lights, their warm glow serving as a beacon. While Twilight would probably kill me if she knew I had given in again, Rainbow Dash would probably be thrilled with the news.

"I finally flew!" I shouted.

"Shut up! It's nine thirty damnit!" the voice of a stallion shouted back.

I slowly pushed open the door to our hotel room to find Discord reading a book. Upon closer inspection of said book I realized he was holding it upside down, even the simplest of things weren't safe around this creature.

"Well I hope you had fun doing whatever it was you felt the need to do alone." Discord said sounding disappointed.

"I flew." I replied closing the door behind me.

---

The sun’s warm rays slowly stirred me from my comfortable position I had finally found last night. I stretched, reminded of my current form as I felt an extra set of limbs stretch out alongside the four I was used to accounting for, even if their position had shifted slightly.

A wing found its way in front of my face and I slowly started to nuzzle one of the feathers, eventually taking it in my mouth and twisting it ever so gently until it slid smoothly against the rest. I pulled my head back startled by what I had just done.

The last time I was stuck in this form I never did whatever it was that just took place. It was strange how my body seemed to know what to do despite me being unfamiliar with the action myself.

A sense of urgency made me resume the strange task, something inside my head telling me that the feathers had to be smooth. I was eventually satisfied with my strange work as I ran a hoof over each wing as best as I could to feel the smoothness of the feathers.

It wasn’t until I was finished that I actually looked around to see if Discord was still in the room or not. Much to my surprise he was and he was back to his normal chaotic self. The strange being had a shit eating grin on his face that made me a bit uneasy.

“All done preening for the pretty mares Casanova?” Discord asked.

“Oh, so that’s what that was…weird.” I said tapping a hoof against my chin.

“What did you expect? When I made you a pony the first time I went all out, instincts, wants and needs ect. It’s normal pegasi behavior to tend to their wings like that. I’ll be here when you want to have the birds and the bees talk, son.” Discord said rolling off his bed in a fit of laughter after his last sentence.

I didn’t reply as I jumped off the bed and was halfway out the door when Discord looked up confused. I just stared back at him, not really in the mood for his morning antics, especially on that topic.

“What’s wrong? Did I hit a nerve?” Discord asked.

“You could say that.” I replied closing the door on him.

No sooner had the door clicked shut a cloud of smoke appeared beside me revealing the tannish unicorn from yesterday. I rolled my eyes at Discord as he started to follow me like any real little brother would just to annoy their older sibling.

“You’re going to die at an early age if you keep letting the little things get to you so easily. We need to get you-” Discord said.

I quickly spun around and shoved a hoof in his mouth “Don’t you dare say it.” I said.

“A hobby, what did you think I was going to say?” Discord asked after removing my hoof from his mouth.

“Uh nothing, never mind. Let’s just go get something to eat before I have a mental melt down.” I replied.

We left the hotel after eating breakfast, Discord seemed insistent on finding something to do. This eventually equated to an odd cloud formation forming over the park I had visited last night that began to pour chocolate rain. I was instantly reminded of that horrid song from YouTube and cringed, the Darth Vader remix was better.

“Discord, Twilight will flip her shit if you don’t remove that little floating disaster.” I said pointing a hoof towards the cloud.

“This place is EXTREAMLY dull Daniel, how can you possibly be content to just come for a concert?” Discord asked as the pink cloud disappeared.

“I don’t know really. All of my hobbies are back on earth, admittedly this place is rather dull at first glance. Fortunately you and the others exist to keep my life in constant turmoil.” I replied.

“You should be so thankful for it too. I’m sure your life was boring before we came along.” Discord said puffing his chest out a bit.

“Most of my hobbies are back on earth, probably sold by now since I’ve been gone. video games, my army of Chaos Space Marines, everything that held any value is gone for good.” I said.

“So you did dabble in chaos, I knew I was right about you, and you almost had me convinced with the “good guy” act.” Discord said.

“Discord it was a game, there’s no such thing as magic in my world. It’s just a fantasy, in fact you and the others shouldn’t even exist.” I said rolling my eyes.

“A vacation to your world, now that should have been where we went.” Discord said rubbing his fore hooves together with an unsettling grin.

“I can never go back Discord; it’s either here or Earth.” I said causing his expression to falter.

“What? But that’s ridiculous surely there must be some way to travel back and forth without consequence?” Discord asked.

“I’m afraid not, it’s a one way ticket to Earth if I want to go home. Legally speaking I’m a citizen here now so I kind of turned my back on my species and home land if that makes any sense to you at all.” I replied.

Discord didn’t seem to register what I just said, his confused expression clearly displaying this fact. I hadn’t seen this side of the odd creature before. He normally had a retort for everything I said or some quip, but not now, just confusion.

“So you’ve just given up? That’s it? “ Discord asked.

“Why is that so hard for you to process?” I asked in return.

“Maybe…we aren’t alike, perhaps…I was wrong.” Discord said sitting down.

I opened my mouth seconds away from asking him why he had been so certain we were anything alike, but then it hit me. Discord was the only one of his kind in this world, just like me. As irritating as he could be he was probably the closest being I could relate to with the difficulties of fitting in and not really belonging anywhere.

True he had Fluttershy as his first, and closest, friend but at the end of the day she was still a pony and he a…whatever he is. He was still probably lonely being the only one of his species. Being out of place where ever he went was hard, I knew that first hand, but having someone else that could relate to that feeling was probably a wish come true.

I sighed and sat down next to him staring out in the distance “You know I only gave up because I’m content. I like it here. I wasn’t lying when I said you guys add a bit of excitement to my life. You guys are my friends and I wouldn’t trade what I have now for anything.” I said.

“So you’re just content with the way things are?” Discord asked his trademark eyebrow raised even though it wasn’t as bushy as it normally was.

“Yeah, can’t a guy be happy with his life? Sure I’ll want to improve on something eventually, humans aren’t the best at staying put and honestly we’re an indecisive bunch.” I replied.

“You’re by far the most peculiar being I’ve met.” Discord said as a grin slowly found its way on his face.

I felt a small smirk start to work its way across my face. I wrapped a hoof around Discord and pulled him into a bro hug, something I hadn’t done in a long time. Spike was still a little kid by my standards and while I would still treat him as a friend I knew there were things I couldn’t share with him that I could somepony older.

“If you ever tell anypony about that I will plot your murder.” I said releasing him.

“I won’t tell, not until we get the ring anyways.” Discord said ruining the moment.

“Screw off!” I exclaimed giving him a shove just as a clock tower bell started to sound.

I looked towards the large tower that had the time displayed for all to see. I slammed a hoof against my face as I realized that the concert was going to start in about two hours. It made me wonder how long we had actually been walking around.

“Crap, we have to book it back to the hotel if we want to get the-“ I started to say until I felt something materialize around my neck.

“I think we only need to book it to the concert now.” Discord said as the second VIP pass appeared around his neck.

---

“You know I’m actually impressed you’ve kept your chaotic shenanigans to a minimum.” I said as we toured backstage.

“I’m simply fulfilling a promise, nothing more. Besides the little cotton candy cloud was my method of “venting”.” Discord said.

“Yeah I don’t think Twilight’s going to like what happened.” I said as what looked like a bouncer eyed us suspiciously before noticing the passes and proceeding to ignore us once more.

“I’m sure you’ll vouch for me, a little hiccup was all that happened. I’m not used to working with a horn after all.” Discord said with a grin.

“Whatever, just try not to break anything.” I sighed.

My left ear shifted as I heard a familiar voice that seemed to be climbing a musical scale. I followed the sound until my suspicions were confirmed. There on the door was a large golden star against the solid blue paint job.

“Aren’t you going to knock?” Discord asked.

“It’d be a Ponyville repeat, she won’t recognize me. Besides she’s probably trying to get ready.” I replied.

Discord sighed and stepped past me knocking on the door before I could stop him. My mouth hung open like a slack jawed idiot in response to what the mischievous creature just set in motion. I would say I couldn’t believe he would do something like this, but that would be undermining the embodiment of chaos itself which really didn’t have to play by the rules.

The door opened shortly afterwards to reveal Harmony, her horn steadily glowing. She seemed to have her mane styled differently than before which made sense since the last time I met her she was just trying to get away from it all for a bit.

“Hey Harmony.” I said nervously.

She tilted her head at me with a puzzled look on her face. “Hi.” Harmony said.

“Oh I get it now.” Discord said sporting an unusually large grin.

“I’m sorry…I thought you were somepony else for a second. I didn’t mean to stare.” Harmony said.

“Um, Daniel not to be rude but how is she able to…you know, see?” Discord whispered.

“She can see with magic, and she probably heard everything you just said.” I replied.

“Wait…you can’t be him, he’s a tall, oh what was he called again.” Harmony said scrunching her face up in thought.

“Human.” I said.

“Yeah that thing, you sound just like him but-“ Harmony started.

“Wait, you can see sound waves AND recognize voices?” I asked dumbfounded.

“Pfft yeah each voice carries a different wave pattern…how would you know what I can do with my magic?” Harmony asked.

“You once showed me something at a little pond, I guess it’s my turn to return the favor. Discord can you lift the spell?" I asked.

"That depends, do you want to pass out before a concert?" Discord asked raising a good point.

"I guess not, looks like you don't get to see the magic trick after all." I sighed.

"It is you! But how!?" Harmony asked excitedly.

"I didn't want to cause a scene at your concert so my bro here helped out." I replied draping a foreleg over Discord's back.

"I would have preferred the hilarity of the situation that followed if I hadn't intervened. I can picture it now, a few torches and pitchforks simultaneously poking up from the crowd as they all try to take you down." Discord said.

Harmony giggled a bit at his ideal scenario of me being lynched by a mob. Discord raised his eyebrows at me twice upon observing her reaction.

"Well well well, somepony that actually appreciates a bit of dark humor. You my dear are a rarity if ever there was one." Discord said.

"I don't think that would have happened; the ponies in Fillydelphia are pretty nice. Still its sweet you took me into consideration. I go on in a few minutes so I'll see you guys later." said Harmony.

"Yeah sorry about interrupting you like that." I said looking down at the floor.

"Hey, relax I'm really glad you got to come. It means a lot you came all the way out here. Oh one more thing before I forget , the first song is the one I was talking about that day in Ponyville." Harmony said smiling.

"We'll leave you to it then, come on, bro." Discord said prompting me to leave Harmony to her own devices.

---

A few minutes turned into thirty four, I knew the exact number thanks to Discord's boredom as he started to count out the seconds, then minutes that Harmony had made it to the stage yet.

"Unless you want a tragedy to occur I highly recommend you stop counting...though knowing you that's probably incentive to keep counting." I said.

"Am I that transparent?" Discord asked grinning.

I was about to reply when cheers started to come from the crowd as the name "Harmony" was chanted. From the side we watched the lights slowly dim as the music for the first song started to play.

I was enthralled by the song's lyrics and beat. It was hard to believe this little pony could give a few human artist back home a run for their money. The crowd’s reaction to her voice was a clear indication she was doing something right.

Discord didn't seem to be as moved by the performance as I was but he remained steadfast none the less. I had been wrong about him, true he could be infuriating at times and I wanted to kill him more than once, but the fact that an extremely powerful being was willing to tolerate and put up with my pissy attitude towards him spoke volumes for his character.

Discord wouldn't be one you take for having a serious bone in his body. I often wonder if he even has any or if he got rid of them for his own amusement at some point in his life. I've learned never to place too great a limit on the unpredictable creature.

My thought process was interrupted as Harmony's voice was amplified as she spoke to the crowd before continuing on with the concert. I noticed Discord actually get into the second and third song which made things a little better, at least it wasn't a complete wash for him.

I was friends with the spirit of chaos, the thing that fueled nightmares. I was also friends with a talking purple pony princess and what equated to a goddess in this world which made me wonder why I was so surprised at this revelation. Perhaps it was because chaos was something to normally be feared and avoided yet here I was befriending it.

Just another average day for me. I thought to myself.

---

Discord looked over at the sleeping form of the human as the steady clacking of train tracks gave off an oddly peaceful sound. It was this sound that had lulled the creature to sleep after a long trip and it made the draconequus ponder how such a strange being was able to survive without magic.

Chaos was shunned by the ponies and only recently had Celestia sought to find a helpful purpose for his magic. He had a comprehension that he felt surpassed the knowledge of the two sisters and prided himself on such a feat.

They feared dark magic and never truly wished to understand it leaving him to his secrets. Despite this he had felt what it was like to be deprived of everything, both his magic and friends and had turned from his old ways for good, even though the occasional harmless unexplained phenomenon occurred from time to time.

Despite all of this however, he was still baffled by this creature. It was almost as unpredictable as he was, and yet Daniel was satisfied with being normal? How could any chaotic being be satisfied with being normal?

"Perhaps someday I'll come to understand your odd disposition. For now though, I'll settle with being a "bro" as you called it." Discord said with a laugh as an idea entered his mind.

---

Fluttershy was there to greet us as we got off the train. She almost immediately tackled Discord in a hug as expected of the kindhearted pegasus. I was thankful that somepony else was on the receiving end of her hug after I had slept on my back funny.

"How was your trip? Did you two get along okay?" Fluttershy asked looking up at both of us.

"I'd say we put aside our differences at the very least." Discord replied.

"Well good, I'm glad both of you had fun at least." Fluttershy said.

"Yeah it was pretty cool." I added nonchalantly.

"As much as I would love to stay and relive the experience I have others matters to attend to...but before I go I feel I have a dept. to repay." Discord said putting his lion paw arm around me.

"Uh what?" I asked nervously.

"Think of this as a little token of my appreciation and something that will hopefully help you loosen up a bit." Discord said before snapping his fingers.

In a bright flash of light he was gone without a trace. I checked to make sure he hadn't done anything permanent to me and was relieved when I found everything to be exactly where it should be, and no notable additions, like wings.

"W-what did he do?" Fluttershy asked nervously.

"I'm not sure...if it's all the same to you though I think I'm going to head home now. As fun as our little trip was it was kind of exhausting and I didn't rest too well." I confessed.

"I understand, I'm just curious what Discord meant by a token of his appreciation." Fluttershy said as we departed the train station.

Even after we parted ways to continue on to our respective homes I still couldn't wrap my mind around what Discord might have meant. He had kind of invited himself which didn't really make him owe me anything in my book, just made him a bit of a nuisance.

As I opened the door to my house I was greeted with a familiar sound. It was unmistakable which made me run the rest of the way into the house and to the living room. I was dumb founded as I stared at a TV and a Nintendo 64. The system was on and the cartridge occupying the slot was a classic, The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time.

"No way." I said blinking a few times to ensure I wasn't seeing things.

I walked over to the gray controller and pushed start twice to see if it actually worked. Sure enough it took me to the main menu where three empty files sat ready. I still couldn't believe that this was sitting in my house; I actually felt a tear escape my eye as both nostalgia and an overwhelming sense of gratitude for this small little slice of home, my original home.

I didn't care to ask how; I already knew what the answer would be. Never put a limit on chaos, it has a mind and will of its own and it seemed to have excellent choice in both console and game selection which I was grateful for.

---

Princess Luna walked the lonely halls of Canterlot Castle after finishing her task of raising the moon and stars. The occasional guards were her only real company on nights like these when the others were too busy or fast asleep.

"Why the long face Loony?" asked a paining on the wall.

"Discord, state thy business." Luna said coldly.

"Off putting as ever I see, I just wanted to thank you for your "assistance" with what we talked about last night." Discord said appearing before her with a small bow.

"We have found his memories to be...entertaining. Tis the only reason we agreed to divulge such information to thee do not take this as common practice for future agendas." Luna warned.

"I wouldn't dream of it, Loony, ta-ta." Discord said before disappearing.

"Accursed creature...we despise that nickname." Luna huffed.


> Home for Hearth's Warming part1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Daniel, wake up wake up!” Isabella exclaimed trying to shaking me awake.

I groaned and clung to the sheets of my bed tightly. Isabella was always an early riser and was the main reason why I didn’t have any kind of alarm clock. It was almost guaranteed that she would be the one to wake me up before I would wake up on my own, which I was perfectly capable of doing.

“Come on dork I don’t want to have to wait on your butt to open presents.” Izzy said hitting me with a pillow.

That got me up much quicker than her shaking ever would. Name calling was one thing, but hitting a man while trying he’s trying to sleep is on the list of low things you can do. With alarming speed for a half-awake child I jumped out of the bed prompting Isabella to dash out of my room.

There would be no mercy for invading my room only to whack me with a pillow. My weapon of choice would be a Nerf gun. Making sure it was full of darts I rushed out of my room after my sister, firing three of the foam bullets at her.

She laughed as she turned a corner and the three projectiles bounced off the wall harmlessly. I growled and ran after her. Her longer legs gave her a slight advantage in terms of speed which made pursuing her more difficult. Still I had a ranged weapon; I only needed to see her, not catch her.

I saw a long blond ponytail head down the stairs and grinned as I followed her. I felt like I was a secret agent, trying to hunt down my arch nemesis. When I reached the bottom of the stairs however, I was greeted not by another attack from my sister, but a tree with bright lights and a multitude of boxes wrapped in paper just begging to be torn open.

“Merry Christmas, Daniel.” my mom said giving me a hug.

My dad sat in his recliner lost in the paper, presumably sports. He had on the traditional Santa hat that Isabella and my mother all but forced him to wear. I suddenly felt like an idiot, how could I have possibly forgotten it was Christmas?

“Hey now that the bug’s out from his room can we start?” Izzy asked grinning at me.

I stared at her momentarily before firing a single dart at her arm which made a satisfying “pop” sound. My sister recoiled from the stinging sensation and for a few seconds I enjoyed my small victory which made my dad laugh, that is until my mom decided to restore order by taking the toy away and separating us.

I sat on the floor across from Isabella garbed in an oversized brown military t-shirt due to my small frame. I had the aspiration to one day fill the shirt out as my dad did though that day was still a long ways off. For now I was content to make dinosaurs fight each other and slay villains in their castles until then.

I tore off the wrapping of yet another present that had been sitting under the Christmas tree. It was Star Fox64, the game I had been bugging my dad to get for me. Isabella rolled her eyes at my reaction and what my parents had dubbed the “happy dance” which was a ridiculous creation of my own childish mind.

“Hey dork you’ve got one more under the tree.” my sister said quickly gaining my attention.

I was about to call her a liar until I saw a decent sized box out of the way behind the tree I hadn’t noticed before. We normally had the same number of gifts which made me excited that I was getting an extra one. I had been getting better grades than Izzy, she hated that nickname, and perhaps this was a reward to encourage me to continue the good work.

I tore into the present and was confused as I looked into the box to see a stone. As I reached for the peculiar object a black cloud formed within the box from the stone itself. I dropped it horrified as a black mist started to roll out across the living room floor. I was pulled to the floor by some unseen force as the mist slowly filled the room.

No matter how hard I struggled against the pull of the dark vapor I was slowly dragged towards the stone. I could see my families faces seem to melt and dissolve, becoming unrecognizable. I let out one final cry of terror before my vision was shrouded by the black mist.

I sat up in my bed covered in a layer of sweat as my heart raced within my chest. I was shaking from both the temperature and the nightmare I had just experienced. Tonight was one of the nights I wish Luna had intruded upon my dreams. I looked outside my bedroom window and was treated to the pleasant sight of moonlight reflecting off a fresh blanket of snow on the ground.

I slowly got out of bed and made my way to the bathroom to wipe the sweat off of me. This was not the ideal way to be woken up at three in the morning. I would now be tasked with trying to fall back asleep before my shift started. The prospect of staying home wandered into my mind only to be chased away by reason and duty. I had never been a skipper and I wasn’t about to start now.

As I left the bathroom I looked over to the TV and Nintendo 64. The gamer inside of me could practically hear their little imaginary voices calling out to me to get in a few minutes of game play before work instead of sleeping. This too was a tempting offer, one that I had to regretfully turn down.

“Sorry sweet heart, you know daddy loves you.” I said aloud continuing to the bedroom to try and take another crack at getting a good night’s sleep.

---
Noctra scoped out her next target just before dawn, Twilight's Castle. Supposedly there had been a rare treasure sent there but the specifics were kept private from the general public. 

To say the bat pony was a little nervous would be an understatement. While she had stolen from high security buildings before this was a princess. Her contact had given her a pretty hefty stone which gave Noctra a rough idea of what to look for. If everything went according to plan, then it would be a swipe and switch. 

"Everything will be fine Noctra, you can do this." the bat pony said pacing.

Noctra's sensitive eyes squinted involuntarily as the sun started to rise forcing the bat pony into the shadows. This was all she had left after being kicked out of the Night Guard for "insubordination".

She hated Princess Luna for not hearing her out, but not being the model soldier didn't do her any favors when she tried to plead her case. She was an outcast now, and had to make a living as well. Pushed to desperation she had been reduced to a thief, there was no celebration for the bat pony like all the others. 

---

“Come on you skipped the Running of the Leaves. You have to come this time Danny.” Pinkie Pie said walking backwards as I finished my shift with Strong Deck and Timber.

“Yeah Danny, this week’s usually the last rush that we have for a while.” Timber said picking up the nickname Pinkie Pie had given me.

“First thing, don’t call me Danny, she gets away with it because she’s Pinkie and I could tell her to stop until I’m blue in the face but she never will. Second this is a pony holiday, by that I mean one that you guys celebrate about your culture.” I said.

“You’re just being a silly willy head, I bet you’d have fun~.” Pinkie Pie said.

Pinkie Pie had a way of wearing down another individuals resolve. I had yet to determine if it was the smile alone, or her over friendly disposition that was border line annoying but not quite there. Try as I might to stand firm on my position that contagious smile slowly started to creep across my face as she grinned at me.

“Fine, I’ll come to the Hearth’s Warming Eve pageant.” I said with a sigh.

I had taken the time to look into the history of the holiday and truth be told it seemed like something special that needed to be set aside for them. I had my own holiday I could celebrate, though it would kind of suck to celebrate it alone. I had looked forward to Hearth’s Warming Eve until I realized it was about the unity of the three races of ponies. I had nothing against that, it just didn’t seem like something a human could celebrate.

“I want a Pinkie Promise mister.” Pinkie Pie said sitting down in front of me in an attempt to block my path until I complied.

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” I chanted going through the motions with my hands the pink pony had shown me before.

“Great! I’ll have to tell Twilight you changed you mind, oh I bet she’ll be super-duper excited!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed taking off like a rocket.

"So do you have something against holidays about ponies?" Strong Deck asked.

"No Deck I don't, it's got nothing to do with having anything against ponies. Like I said I'm not a pony, no matter how many times you guys tell me I fit in there are some things that I as a human just don't really belong to." I said trying to argue my case.

"I think you're putting too much thought into this. Holidays are supposed to be laid back and a day off, what's wrong with that?" Timber asked.

"Nothing, I just have my own way of celebrating." I replied.

“You know you don’t have to “belong” to a Hearth’s Warming Eve to celebrate it. It’s about unity not just history.” Timber said.

“Can you honestly look at me with a straight face and tell me unity was the first thing you had in mind when you saw me?” I asked with a grin.

“That was when everypony thought you were evil.” Timber replied waving a hoof in the air dismissively.

“Cheap excuse.” Strong Deck said with a laugh before being hit in the back of the head with a snowball by Timber.

I laughed a little as the large earth pony shivered from the impact of the snowball. My laughter was short lived as a wad of snow silenced me. Some of the cold substance managed to travel down my jacket and past my shirt. I yelped as it made contact with my bare skin.

“Oh it’s on now!” I exclaimed forming a snow ball and hurling it towards Strong Deck

The earth pony managed to duck behind the cart just in time for the snowball to make that satisfying bursting noise as it made a small white stain on the side of the wooden cart while the rest of it fell to the ground. Timber was quick to join him behind their makeshift barricade only permitting their heads to peek out from over the edge.

I ducked behind a bench that was just big enough to provide cover from two snowballs. The two ponies taunted me as I readied a few snowballs of my own. I stood up quickly and threw the two in my hands at them managing to hit Timber only to be hit in the shoulder before I could take cover again.

“Don’t mess with the king!” Strong Deck shouted.

“King my ass, it’s two against one!” I shouted back from behind the bench as two more snowballs hit the wooden barrier I was hiding behind.

“Yeah whatever you-ophm!” Strong Deck exclaimed as he was nailed in the head by a snowball. It had come from their exposed right. There ducked behind a house was a familiar gray mail mare, Ditzy Doo. She already had another snowball in her hooves as she took cover around the corner of a building.

It was now a legitimate snowball war between co-workers as snowballs started to fly across the street. Eventually more ponies took up soft powdery arms, picking sides as it became one side of the street against the other. With all of the activity even when I was hit by a snowball it only served to cool me down instead of the painful chill it had inflicted moments ago.

“What are you guys doing?” I heard Scootaloo ask as I hid behind a building.

“Oh, hey kid, just a little snowball fight you want in?” I asked.

“Sure!” Scootaloo replied excitedly, her little wings flapping happily making a sound similar to the buzzing of a bee’s wings.

“Alright, here’s the mission, we’re going to sneak around back and catch them off guard. I need you to be my second set of eyes.” I said.

The tangerine filly gave a salute before giggling a little as we made our way to the other side of the street. I was amazed nopony saw us since I stood out like a sore thumb amongst the combatants. Scootaloo had left her scooter behind since it couldn’t move in the snow very well anyways and would have only slowed her down.

Once we were on the other side the two of us worked our way around the building a few of the ponies were in front of. The noise from the street masked our approach even with Scootaloo’s stifled giggles at our plan. The others were completely unaware of us even as we took aim at them.

A pair of battle cries startled the other ponies as the two of us landed several shots on a small group before being forced to find cover. Scootaloo shook her head to get rid of the snow still caught in her mane from the return fire from the other group. This meant that a majority of the cold powder landed on me as well.

“You did alright kid; watch an old pro at work.” I said making a larger snowball than I normally would.

The ball of frozen water droplets was nearly as large as Scootaloo’s head. The little filly smiled at the prospect of watching the pony on the receiving end of the monstrous snowball’s reaction. While it didn’t require the use of both hands, I wanted to put a bit more force behind this particular snowball.

I left the safety of our cover and flung the snowball only to regret doing so the instant I saw who it made contact with. Crafty Crate now had a large piece of the snow stuck to his fur and seemed to be shaking, from anger or the cold I couldn’t be sure. Denying I threw it would be impossible given Scootaloo’s current fit of laughter from behind me.

“What…in Equestria…are you idiots doing?” Crafty Crate asked his voice trembling.

Timber and Strong Deck both looked at each other nervously and then to me. I wore the same nervous expression as them and shrugged with my mouth open. I was unable to give an answer despite my best efforts to speak. I quickly regretted holding my mouth open as a snowball from my boss slammed into my face, pieces of the projectile finding their way into my mouth.

Scootaloo threw a snowball at Crafty Crate before ducking behind me and reinitiated the miniature war that had broken out in the street. This was one of the coolest experiences I’d had in Equestria. The only thing that could make this better would have been snow forts and giant sling shots to turn the snowballs into skin bruising white cannon balls.

Eventually the fighting died down and with everypony good and wet, from both sweat and snow, life seemed to pick back up, albeit there was a noticeable bounce in the ponies’ steps. The citizens of Equestria were known for their parties so I wasn’t too surprised others had joined in on a snowball war, even though it wasn’t a party it was just as fun if not more enjoyable, to me anyways.

I now sat in front of the TV in my home with a blanket wrapped around me. My jacket was partially wet and was hanging in the bathroom drying out a bit before I dared to venture out into the cold again. While I waited I picked up where I left off on Zelda as I powered on the Nintendo 64. I enjoyed the more modern systems like the PS4, but the older systems would always be my first crush, or crushes to be more precise.

I childishly decided to attack the chickens, or cuckoos as the game called them, triggering the attack response from the game. It didn’t really do anything and honestly was counterproductive both in real life and in the game, but I enjoyed the challenge of trying to survive the endless wave of killer birds.

A lack of playing the game had left me a bit rusty and after a solid two minutes I finally died to a group of angry flightless birds. I would have considered this a pretty big blow to my ego, but I had already been publically beaten in a competition by a pastel flying pony so this was miniscule, I was just glad no pony was around to see it happen.

I didn’t bother saving and simply restarted, I had beaten this game plenty of times and the suspense of what happened next in the story was lost on me. Despite this it was an amazing story for a video game and one that I would gladly replay.

Hunger was starting to get to me the further I progressed in the game and eventually I had to give it a break, stomach’s orders. Today had been surprisingly fulfilling, I was certain my job was at risk for a few seconds today but other than that everything else was perfect. I looked about the house and noted that it was still kind of barren.

While I had been working on adding furniture, I wasn’t the best at interior design and I didn’t need much to live. The house had another room which I considered doing something with but never got around to deciding what I wanted it to be. With Christmas right around the corner I had considered getting a tree, but if I was the only one celebrating it I didn’t see the need.

A tree wouldn’t be needed anyways since I was going to some pageant for Hearth’s Warming Eve. I just hoped I wouldn’t be forced to participate in it that would be really awkward and strange. I felt it was safe to assume no humans were involved in the founding of Equestria or uniting three tribes of ponies for one common cause.

I had never seen Canterlot from the ground before; I had always seen it from the air when I was stupid enough to look down. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but as long as I wasn’t going alone it couldn’t be too bad. Plenty of ponies from Canterlot had seen me by now due to my occupation.

I had heard horror stories about the snobbiness of Canterlot from Applejack. Not being fond of big city environments myself I was inclined to believe her and that was making me dread this whole experience even more.

“Eggs…I’ll do eggs.” I said to myself needing a break from the greens for a bit.

It wasn’t meat, but it was the next best thing. I would have to ask Twilight how the general public looked at fishing. It wouldn’t be chicken or any other four legged animal like a deer, which I found out were a sentient race. I could remember going on hunting trips with my dad and it made me feel a little guilty talking to one. The whole “I killed your kin and ate them” thing just didn’t hold water so I tried to avoid them as much as possible.

Minuette, one of the first ponies to trust me after I was made public, had been bugging me about my teeth and wanting to examine them. Each time I had opted out and informed the inquisitive unicorn I brushed and flossed regularly. Though I knew eventually I would have to pay her a visit for an actual appointment.

Only a few knew of my meat eating tendencies and I intended to keep that circle as small as possible for as long as possible. Minuette would surely see the canines and come to the same conclusion Fluttershy had, though her reaction might not be the same as the kind hearted pegasus’ was.

As I ate the simple meal I’d made I noticed now more so than ever how quiet the house was. Winter always seemed to have that effect on a house, abandoned or occupied. It served as a chilling reminder that while I may have friends in this world I was still alone, and no amount of company could change that status if they tried.

I would go to this event with the biggest smile I could muster and hope for the best. I tried to see the positive side of things that it was just a new experience and one more custom I would have to get used to. If I tried hard enough I might even have fun.

"Speaking of customs." I said noticing the book on Equestrian traditions I had borrowed from Twilight's library.

I had been told about the previous library and how it was ruined in a nasty fight against some centaur. Knowing how OCD Twilight could be when it came to books I could only imagine what the end result would have been if a library was destroyed. 

"I should probably get this back before she tries to fine me." I mused throwing on my slightly dried jacket before heading outside.

It was starting to get late, video games had a tendency to make the player lose track of time rather quickly, good ones anyways. A snowflake drifted gently to the ground followed by another signaling the arrival of a fresh blanket of snow, just what the kid in me wanted and the adult in me dreaded.

I would have to make this little visit quick. The last thing I wanted was to be caught outside while it was snowing. As amazing and peaceful as it was to watch snow fall gently to the ground my jack was still a bit wet. 

The satisfying crunching sound the snow made beneath my feet was almost enough to mask the lighter "pit pat" noise that small hooves made against the icy substance. I turned when I heard a strained grunt as if somepony was putting a lot of effort into something which made me stop.

Scootaloo was trying to move her scooter through a patch of snow that was too high with what looked like overstuffed saddle bags. Twilight wasn't going anywhere, and if she was then it didn't matter if I stopped or not.

"Need a hand Scoots?" I asked freeing the scooter with little effort.

Looking at the wheels I noticed ice particles which meant underneath the snow it had actually been frozen, that explained why she couldn't move it. It must have been sitting here a while for it to get to that point though.

"Yeah thanks, the bags made it a little hard." Scootaloo admitted rubbing the back of her neck with a hoof.

"It's getting kind of late kid, what are you doing out here anyways?" I asked doing my best to clear the wheels of ice.

"O-oh, well there was...a meeting at the club house later! A slumber party really!" Scootaloo said her voice sounding a bit shaky and unconfident of her own answer.

"You're a pretty bad liar kid. Who's going to tell anypony? The street signs? There's not a whole lot of ponies out at this hour anyways." I said kneeling down to her level.

"I know, but Sweetie Belle made me promise not to tell anypony, including you." Scootaloo said, I clearly wasn’t going to get the truth from her. 

"I can't just leave you here Scoots. I was on my way to see Twilight real quick, but I think Timber might try to get the jump on me again." I said fighting back a grin as I thought up an excuse to keep her out of whatever trouble she was trying to get into.

"You're not scared of Timber are you?" the tangerine filly asked with a giggle.

"Oh very much so, that's why I was lucky you were there to help take them by surprise. Think you could watch my back again? At least until we get to Twilights?" I asked.

"Well, you are pretty clumsy sometimes." Scootaloo said as I finished clearing the ice off the wheels of her scooter.

I laughed a little at her comment as we both started towards the castle. It was even more impressive when it was snowcapped as I'm certain the others were as well. A few more snowflakes started to fall, though not at an alarming rate, as we talked about different things along the way.

When we arrived at the castle doors I was let inside by the guard without question. Twilight had brought me here frequently enough that they didn't bother. I assumed it was like that for all her friends, since each one had their own throne.

Scootaloo shook what little snow was on her off before following me. It was warm inside and I was grateful to be out of the cold. Oddly enough the castle itself wasn't freezing, I had assumed that being made out of crystal would have surely made the building unbearably cold.

When it doubt blame magic~ I sung in my head.

"Oh hey you guys!" Spike exclaimed excitedly.

"Hey Spike, I just stopped by to give this back to Twilight-" I said as the little dragon greeted us.

"And I'm making sure no pony tries to get the jump on him." Scootaloo added proudly.

"She's back this way." Spike said motioning for us to follow him.

As I had predicted, Twilight had her nose in a book reading. The little alicorn had god like power and she chose to pass her time reading. I could think of a million things that I could do with something like that, mostly in my world where there were problems on a daily basis; here, her boredom was understandable.

"What's up you two?" Twilight asked as the book she was reading closed itself.

I held up the book I had borrowed wordlessly and she gives a small nod motioning for us to follow her to the library. Scootaloo looked around the room curiously once we were inside the library wing, why these two rooms were so close together was anypony's guess, but I had a feeling that while it was still empty it had been personal preference.

"So Pinkie Pie tells me you're coming with us." Twilight said as she returned the book.

---

Noctra landed next to a window and carefully pushed it open; Ponyville was far too trusting a location to keep something this valuable, if what she had been told was correct. She still had no idea why he wanted it, but that didn't matter to the bat pony as she landed quietly in the hallway.

Noctra’s yellow eyes gave her superb night vision and her ears alerted her to any nearby guards that happened to be in the area. The bat pony easily maneuvered her way past the oblivious guards, while her kind were unable to control the weather, bat ponies could easily cling to flat surfaces with their hooves much like their name sake.

The guards of Twilight’s castle were completely unaware of Noctra as she walked above them. The bat pony stuck her tongue out at them as she slipped through an open door. There was light from within and with practiced reflexes she flew to the shadows of the room, keeping out of sight.

There were four others in the room, one of them being the princess herself. The others were a small filly and a dragon, the fourth creature she didn’t recognize. It was a strange being that almost made Noctra lean out of her cover to get a better look. It was an oddity as it clearly towered over the princess yet it didn’t seem violent, quite the opposite was true, a pet perhaps?

Noctra shook her brief fascination with the creature from her head and looked around the room as the four talked. The bat pony observed the door and noted that it had moved slightly when she entered making a stealthy escape impossible. She would have to wait them out before leaving.

As she continued to look around from the shadows of the room she noticed something familiar on one of the shelves towards the back of the room. Her prize sat out of the way and would have gone unnoticed unless somepony was specifically looking for it. It looked like an ordinary stone save for a few distinct markings.

There you are! Noctra thought to herself plotting a course to the stone.

The bat pony slowly crept along the wall, using the dark shadows the bookshelves cast to mask her approach. Every so often she would stop and look down at the others in the room, a small sting of pain resonating in her chest as she watched them carry on without a care in the world. This caused her to bump against one of the decorations that lined the top of the shelves making her freeze in place.

The tangerine filly looked up but shrugged and returned to listening to something the tall creature was saying. Noctra waited a few more seconds before continuing towards her prize, her cat like pupils widening with anticipation as she reached a hoof out to take the stone, only to knock an ornament to the hard crystal floor, shattering it.

Four heads turned towards the bat pony and for a few seconds it was as if time stood still. Noctra could have sworn her heart stopped, the only confirmation that it hadn’t was the fact that she was still conscious as her body prepared itself to flee at the first sign of trouble.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” the filly asked stepping forward bravely.

---

I watched in horror as a bat pony slipped the last Banishing Stone into its saddle bag. The power behind that seemingly harmless rock was not something to be taken lightly, why any pony would want it was beyond my comprehension.

“Are you crazy?! Put that back!” I demanded as Twilight closed the doors with her magic.

“Sorry monster, not up to me. I’ve got orders.” the bat pony said taking off from the bookshelf, toppling it to the floor.

Books littered the crystal floor now and Twilight’s expression turned from confused to angry. Pushing the “Sparkle” button was probably the single worst thing the bat pony could have done. Sure enough a ray of purple light raced towards the thief colliding with the wall as the bat pony escaped.

Twilight flew up into the air to cut the burglar off and fired again. This time the alicorn managed to hit the bat pony, sending it to the floor with a high pitched screech. I rushed to catch her, not out of compassion, but with the knowledge of what might happen if the stone was activated.

I dove to catch the falling pony in time and silently cheered in my head when I felt something soft and fuzzy land in my arms. The crisis had been averted, but if that was the case why did Twilight have such a horrified look on her face. A gentle thrumming told me all I needed to know.

Twilight’s magic had not just hit the bat pony, but the stone as well. The familiar tugging pulled me back to the floor as I tried to get away. A wave of despair washed over me as the noise started to grow louder and louder, the second warning sign.

“Get out of here now!” I shouted desperately over the noise.

The light was already starting to become blindingly bright in the room and my cries for the others to flee as I was pinned to the ground by the powerful magic were soon drowned out by the loud thrumming sound which forced me to cover my ears. This time Luna wasn’t present to render me unconscious and I was greeted by a cold cloudy sky as the light faded.

I lay there motionless save for the rise and fall of my chest as I took in deep breaths of air after the traumatizing experience. I eventually found enough strength to roll onto my side and take in what I could of my surroundings.

I was surrounded by woods on all sides, even though the area was thinned out noticeably it was still safe to assume I wasn’t anywhere near any major city. This changed the situation from bad to worse at the realization that I had no idea where I was as well as there being snow on the ground.

A few muffled cries brought me out of my pity party and drew my focus to a pair of squirming tangerine hind legs and swishing purple tail. I used my hand to rake away a bit of snow which caused Scootaloo to tumble out of the mound she had been trapped in. The filly looked up at me and let out an adorable squeak as she smiled up at me.

“Thanks, I thought I was a goner there for a few seconds.” Scootaloo said rolling over and pushing herself up out of the snow.

“We’re not out of the woods yet kid, literally.” I said looking around to see if any of the others hadn’t been fortunate enough to escape in time.

“Where are we anyways?” Scootaloo asked looking around confused.

“That stone was designed to send things to one world as far as I know. I’m inclined to think Twilight never changed or altered the stone’s magic after she told me about the door in case I ever wanted to go back…Scoots, this is my home, my first home.” I replied standing up brushing the snow off me.

Scootaloo still looked lost at my explanation. She hadn’t been there when I was depressed about being stuck here so I wouldn’t expect her to completely understand our current predicament being as young as she was.

“Scootaloo, this is my world, Earth.” I said surprised at how dejectedly I had just said my own world’s name.

“Wow! So this is where you lived before you came to Equestria?!” Scootaloo asked.

“Yes and no, I had a house and everything like I do in Ponyville.” I replied.

Both of our heads turned towards the sound of a groan of pain. A small purple mass was spread eagle in the snow, said mass being Spike. If he was here it made me wonder who else had been brought here by this terrible accident.

“Why does my everything hurt?” Spike moaned.

“Great, I thought hiding one of you was going to be hard enough, two will be worse.” I said contemplating my next course of action.

“Uh Daniel, you might want to make that three.” Scootaloo said as I helped Spike get to his feet.

I turned around to see Scootaloo pointing a hoof at the bat pony that had caused all of this in the first place. My anger slowly started to kindle inside me as I marched towards the still unconscious pony, she’d never know what hit her if I let my anger get the better of me. She was lucky Scootaloo was present, the filly watching my every move forced me to consider my next action carefully.

“I say we leave her, she caused all of this in the first place.” Spike said crossing his arms shivering a bit, the cold obviously didn’t agree with reptiles from any world or dimension.

At least Spike would side with me on this one. This bat pony had not only wronged me, but others as well. Scootaloo and Spike didn’t deserve to be brought here, there was the very real risk of them being captured and put on some sort of display or worse.

“Negative Ghost Rider, as much as I want to we can’t let her freeze to death. No pony deserves to be abandoned, even if they have wronged others.” I said relenting to my morals.

I looked at the unconscious bat pony, trying to figure out the best approach to the task at hand. Spike was still shivering but Scootaloo seemed relatively unfazed by the temperature which gave me an idea.

“Spike, this is going to sound really weird but I need you to get inside my jacket.” I said unzipping the front.

“W-what? N-n-no way m-m-man!” Spike exclaimed his shivering starting to affect his speech. I briefly wondered how a dragon, being what I assumed to be a type of reptile, could shiver in the first place.

“I wasn’t asking.” I said picking him up with little effort and sliding him inside before zipping the jacket up to his head.

Spike struggled briefly before realizing it was much better than freezing to death. Now that he was taken care of that left Scootaloo, I didn’t want to outpace her so I gently picked her up and sat her on my shoulder. The filly proceeded to nestle into my hood with her hind legs for warmth while her fore legs draped over my shoulders.

“As for you.” I said scooping the bat pony up before walking from the clearing.

I had to take things slow, being careful not to dislodge Scootaloo or exhaust myself. I was thankful I had been blessed with the occupation I had in Equestria. Lifting and carrying packages for a living had done wonders for my endurance.

Spike had drifted off to sleep due to the conflicting temperatures, I felt sorry for him. Scootaloo on the other hand was wide awake and asking me a multitude of questions about my world and what she might see. She seemed a bit down trodden when I told her that we couldn’t meet all of my friends, but we were going to meet somepony very important to me, if she was still here.

I heard what sounded like cars passing each other on a road and my heart soared with hope. Finally something positive for a change. Now all I needed was to come up with the next part of my plan, I couldn’t let the others know I was doing my best to wing us out of this mess.

---

“Oh no oh no oh no! This-this can’t be happening!” Twilight sobbed as she stared into the room where only moments ago her friends had been making plans for Hearths Warming Eve.

Tears fell to the floor as she slowly walked to the exact spot where they had disappeared. She tried to stop the thief, she had failed her friends and now they were gone. What little part of Twilight that was still processing this information logically was trying to find some way to work through this, but she couldn’t see any way around this obstacle life had just given her.

“Spike…no…NO!” Twilight shouted letting herself fall to the floor as she cried.

The princess covered her face with her hooves, shutting the world out as she wept the loss of her friends, and one of the closest friends she’d ever had. Spike had been with her through it all, losing him was more than she could take.

“Princess Twilight! Are you alright?!” a guard asked bursting down the door to the room as three more piled in behind him.

“N-no…I…I don’t-“ Twilight said in between sobs until a guard put a hoof gently on her shoulder to try and calm her down.

“Take your time Princess, we’ll do whatever we can.” The guard said trying to reassure her as best as he could.

Twilight slowly gathered her thoughts and recomposed herself as she told the guards present what had happened. Some felt guilt, while others felt nothing but rage at the fact that somepony had slipped past them and caused harm on their watch.

“The thief slipped past me as well, and none of you intended to let the pony in. We need to act fast though, Daniel will be fine, but the others might not fare as well in his world.” Twilight said wiping away a few more tears.


---

I had eventually found a gas station which was a god send. I had already swapped arms carrying the bat pony who I was starting to worry about, the steady snoring told me that it was probably her internal clock that was keeping her out cold. Bats were nocturnal and I assumed a bat pony was the same.

My legs were starting to feel weak, so many times I wanted to take a break, but I mentally pushed myself onward. If it had been just me I wouldn’t have cared, but I had others with me. This didn’t stop me from taking a short rest however when I saw a bench outside the gas station.

I unzipped my jacket which released Spike into my lap. I set him down on the bench next to the bat pony and Scootaloo who had also dozed off. I threw the jacket over them as best I could and dug into my pockets praying the next part of my plan would work.  I recognized this particular station from my life in this world. When I lived here I’d stopped by in numerous times, the familiar scratch across the neo logo still present.

I remembered it because the store’s owner had complained after the damage had been caused by a storm that blew through the area. He hadn’t shut up about it for weeks and would bug his customers, asking if he should just tear it down and replace it which he threated to do but obviously never did.

I pulled out four bits once I reached the pay phone. This was the moment of truth, everything hinged on these simple little golden objects. I held my breath as I picked the phone up and pushed the first coin into the slot. I was relieved when it didn’t spit it back out and I shoved another coin in followed by the others.

I thought carefully about who to call, there was only one person I could really trust with all that had transpired, but the pressing question was if she would believe me. If not then this was all for nothing and I had wasted precious time and energy.

I dialed the number that I had called multiple times before and waited anxiously for an answer. The second ring passed followed by the third which made me worry and I started to regret my course of action. I held my breath as the fourth ring sounded only releasing it once I heard a familiar voice on the other end.

“Hello?” the voice on the other end asked cautiously.

“Hey Izzy, how’ve things been?” I asked receiving nothing but silence in return for a few seconds.

“Do I know you?” Isabella asked inquisitively.

“This is Daniel, Izzy.” I said praying to God that she would believe me.

“You’re really sick you know that?” Isabella asked.

“You’re the one who sent the stone and told me to go on an adventure and you call me the sick one?” I retorted quickly.

There was another long pause on the other end of the phone. I was dreading the possibility of hearing the familiar click that signaled the end of a call, but fortunately that sound never came and instead I heard sobbing on the other end.

“Izzy?” I asked as my heart fell to pieces listening to her cry.

“Daniel…is that really you? Am I in a dream or-?” Isabella asked her words breaking down as she cried.

“It’s me Izzy, I’m by Ferguson’s gas station. Listen I need you to do me a favor, don’t tell anyone I’m here yet okay?” I asked.

“Are you crazy?! We looked everywhere for you!” Isabella shouted outraged at my request.

“Izzy, listen I called you because I know you won’t…do anything crazy with what you’re going to see.” I said.

“What in God’s name is that supposed to mean?!” Isabella asked.

“That stone you sent me wasn’t some novelty item, that’s why I’ve been gone.” I said trying to reason with her.

I could still hear the sobs of my older sister as she tried to process everything I was telling her. I figured this would happen, but at least she hadn’t hung up on me yet. There were a few deep breaths on the other end, heralding an end to her wrath.

“If I keep my mouth shut there had better be a very good explanation for all of this.” Isabella warned.

“There is, please just trust me.” I said.

“I’ll be there soon.” Isabella said hanging up before I could say goodbye.

With that I hung up the phone as well and looked over at the bench. Scootaloo was awake and looking around groggily at her new surroundings. I smirked and walked over to the filly and ruffled her mane a bit which woke her up a little quicker.

“So where are we now?” the little filly asked hopping into my lap, as cold as it was and without my jacket I appreciated the extra body heat.

“We’ve got a ride on the way so that’s taken care of. Once we meet up with my sis we can start working on a way to get back home.” I replied.

A car pulled up and I held my breath, Scootaloo was out in the open, exposed for all to see. There was a little girl in the car and she stared directly at the tangerine filly. I had to think of something fast, otherwise these interlopers’ days of freedom were numbered.

“Scoots, don’t move, don’t blink or anything. Act like a doll, that kid is evil. She won’t bug you if you don’t move.” I lied, not having time to explain any further.

I watched Scootaloo grow stiff as a board. It was an odd sight to see, but at least she didn’t ask questions as the little girl got out of the car with her mother. The kid kept her eyes locked on the filly, constantly tugging on her mother’s jacket sleeve in an attempt to get her attention, spoiled brat.

“Mommy, that man has a pony.” the girl said.

Shit! I thought to myself.

“Oh sweetie, that’s just a doll.” the girl’s mother said dismissively.

Hah! Shove it kid! I thought triumphantly.

Apparently the little brat saw my smirk because she stuck her tongue out at me. I knew she was a little kid, but it still got under my skin how the parent did absolutely nothing. It was comforting to know that the parenting skills of my world were still as underwhelming as when I left.

“Scoots, you can move now.” I said once the pair had left the station.

I felt the filly relax and fall flat on my lap comically. I chuckled a bit, grateful to have avoided the “monster’s” wrath. I scratched her ear a little making her laugh until a rumbling noise caught my attention. Scootaloo looked up at me with an embarrassed smile.

"Don't worry, we'll get that taken care of soon enough. Unfortunately I don't think cashiers would be as easy to fool with these as pay phones." I said holding up a spare bit. 

"What's your sister like? Is she nice?" Scootaloo asked.

"Very, I wouldn't trust anypony else with this." I said realizing after the fact that I had just referred to my sister as a pony.

Scootaloo grew quiet as she settled down. Her gaze was fixed on the road watching for any more "evil" creatures that might come into the gas station. I was thankful that Furgeson was a bit paranoid about cameras and only installed one inside after his wife finally nagged him to death about it. 

"So what do you think she was wanting with that stone?" Scootaloo asked pointing at the bat pony sleeping soundly. 

"I don't know to be honest. I heard something about orders so I think it's safe to assume she's just a pawn." I replied as one of the bat pony's hind legs kicked a bit. 

Scootaloo must have been satisfied with my answer or too tired and hungry to continue the conversation as things grew quiet once again. I was starting to wonder if Isabella would show up and even worse if she had told anyp-one about me. 

A white car pulled up directly in front of me and I grew nervous. At first my mind jumped to the conclusion that it was an undercover cop car, fortunately for me a very feminine figure exited the driver side door, a somewhat agitated look on her face. 

"I see you kept your hair long, looks good." I said before being slapped across the face hard enough to force my head sideways. 

Yep, had that one coming. I thought to myself.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" Scootaloo shouted making Isabella jump back in fear. 

"W-w-what is that thing?!" Isabella asked terrified as she pointed at Scootaloo. 

I rubbed my cheek before answering her. "That would be Scootaloo, she's a friend of mine. Over there is Spike taking a nap...and we have a random bat pony." I said pointing to the fourth member of our party. 

"Daniel said you were nice, why'd you slap him?" Scootaloo asked glaring at my sister. 

"Ease back Scoots, I kind of deserved that one. I've been gone for a long time and I owe her an explanation. Did you tell anyone?" I asked looking back at my sister who was shaking as her eyes darted from me to the others. 

"It...it talks!" Isabella exclaimed. 

"Izzy, did you tell anyone I was here?" I asked relieved when she shook her head no. 

"Your sister's weird, weirder than Sweetie Belle's sister." Scootaloo said looking up at me. 

"Izzy, listen to me. We need to get them out of here before someone else sees them. Can you help me do that?" I asked placing both hands on her shoulders to try and snap her out of the trance she was in. 

"Y-yeah, sure..." Isabella replied turning her head back to Scootaloo at the sound of her stomach rumbling. 

"Also Scootaloo's hungry." I added. 

---

"So one more time from the top; the stone I gave you was actually a magical object that sent you to another world where the dominant species is a race of talking ponies?" Isabella asked as we drove into town. 

"They're not the only sentient beings there, so there’s not really a dominant species. Scootaloo is one of three main races, a pegasus pony." I said ruffling her mane a bit. 

"So how do you explain the bat thing?" Isabella asked motioning blindly with her thumb towards the now bound bat pony. 

"That's a bat pony, they're a sub race that pledged loyalty to Princess Luna." Spike replied now that he was warm and awake again. 

The car fascinated the two off worlders. Normally drawn carriages were the casual method of transportation. This device however moved all by itself and was completely closed off from the outside world making it a bit informal but much more private and comfortable. 

"I guess you guys have never been in a Fiesta before?" Isabella asked casting a quick glance at Scootaloo. 

"What's a Fiesta?" the filly asked innocently. 

A pain filled groan stopped my sister from answering as all eyes fell upon the bat pony that had been out cold until now. Her eyes slowly fluttered open while her head swayed like a tree blowing in the wind due to disorientation. 

"Why did I have to sit in the back again?" Spike asked nervously.

"Yeah about that, I wasn't planning on her waking up until nightfall...weird." I replied.

"Where am I?" the bat pony asked as she leaned a little too far to the right and hit the passenger window with her head. 

She winced at the impact but didn't seem too hurt and was content enough to keep using the window to support herself as she tried to move against her bonds. When she finally noticed them the grogginess started to disappear at a faster rate as panic set in. 

"Sorry about tying you up, but we can't let you go especially not here." I said.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" the bat pony screeched. 

"We're not in Equestria anymore; the stone you were stealing was an artifact that can banish beings to another world, namely mine." I snapped in response. 

The bat pony stopped struggling and her face twisted into one of disbelief as tears started to form at the corners of her eyes. It was hard to tell if this was real remorse or a cheap attempt to gain sympathy for something she'd have to answer for when we got back, if we made it back to Equestria at all. 

"Crocodile tears won't win you any sympathy." Spike said crossing his arms. 

"I didn't know what it would do! Now you're telling me that we're not even in our own world anymore?!" the bat pony asked, her voice now more of a shrill cry than a steady flow of words. 

"Hey! Cool your tits you're giving me a headache!" Isabella exclaimed.

"Daniel, what are-" Scootaloo started to ask before I covered her mouth with my hand. 

"Scootaloo I'll explain that word some other time." I replied embarrassed, I could tell this was going to be a fun filled experience with Isabella’s infamous nonexistent filter.

Isabella's harsh words did little to deter the bat pony from breaking down into sobs which were more akin to nails being drug down a chalk board. I clamped my hand over her mouth forming a C with my hand in order to hold her head still while ensuring the screeching ceased.

"Hey, I'll let you go if you stop screaming, I just want to ask you some questions...think you can handle that?" I asked keeping my grip firm as she nodded.

I released my hand and waited anxiously, ready to hold her mouth shut again if I had to. Now that she was still and I could actually focus on her I noticed the little details I had missed before, like her cutie mark being that of a pad lock that was unlocked, fitting given the circumstances. Her mane and tail were maroon and pink in color while her coat was charcoal and was somewhat fluffier than a normal pony's coat of fur with tuffs at the tip of her ears. 

Two purple wings were tied against her back, a precaution to ensure she didn't hurt herself or others in an attempt to escape. A pair of bright yellow eyes with cat like pupils stared back at me. Two small fangs protruded constantly from the top of her mouth giving her a rather intimidating appearance.

"Let's start with your name." I said. 

"My name's Noctra." the bat pony said hanging her head. 

"Okay Noctra, what were you doing last night? You must have known going in that stealing from a princess was a bad idea right?" I asked. 

"She stole from a princess? Girl has some guts." Isabella commented with a laugh. 

"It was a job, impossible or not I needed the bits. This isn't the first time I've been asked to steal from the upper class but I didn't expect Princess Twilight to have company...I was just following orders." Noctra replied. 

"Twilight's not some run of the mill pony. You should have known better." Spike said defensive of his friend. 

"Look when you're pushed to desperation come give me your self-righteous speech, but until you've been in my position save it." Noctra said rolling her eyes at the little dragon. 

"I like her." Isabella said smiling. 

"Not that it matters much if we can't get home, but for curiosity's sake who was paying you?" I asked.

"How should I know? He never gave me his name, I know he has a blond mane but that's about it." Noctra replied rolling her eyes. 

"Are you hungry?" Scootaloo asked randomly.

"Yes actually, it's almost been a full twenty four hours since my last meal." the bat pony answered grinning at the pegasus filly. 

"So who's going to offer their neck to the vampire?" Isabella asked. 

"I don't drink blood, that's disgusting! I eat fruit!" Noctra exclaimed mortified by my sister's assumption. 

"Well you're in luck then, I know of a place that has something I think everyone can enjoy." Isabella said taking a sharp right turn and heading towards a sign that was made up of two golden arches. 

"Everypony, they don't acknowledge everyone like we do." I said correcting my sister. 

"That's really weird and I'm amazed you haven’t turned into a pony by now." Isabella said raising an eyebrow. 

"You have no idea." I said quietly. 

Scootaloo jumped when she heard the voice of the worker project through the intercom next to menu. The pegasus pressed herself as close to me as possible, trying to hide in my jacket from the loud, unseen specter that had apparently spoken. 

"It's cool Scoots she won't hurt you." I said reassuringly.

"Oh...uh hello." Scootaloo said just audibly enough for the intercom to pick it up. 

"Well hello to you too sweetheart." said a friendly voice on the other end with a chuckle. 

Scootaloo smiled and relaxed a little as Isabella started ordering from the menu. We had missed the breakfast menu so lunch was the only option available to us now. I requested chicken nuggets, I hadn't had them in what felt like forever. While the secret of my diet might be out of the bag after this I was too hungry to care. 

Isabella only wanted french fries, which was typical. She didn't really have a thing for fast food joints unless she was traveling. We ordered for Scootaloo as well and got her an order of french fries and the apple slices off the kid's menu, just in case she didn't like the sliced potatoes from the restaurant. 

Spike was a bit harder to order for. This particular dragon loved to consume his own weight in gems. While they may have been abundant in Equestria, on earth Spike's diet would eventually cost someone an arm and a leg to keep him fed. Even though he said he was fine with fries his disappointment was clearly displayed on his face when he learned no drive through dealt with gems.

Noctra's order was easy enough, another order of apple slices since she turned her nose up to any of the other suggestions. Ponies, no matter the type, seemed set in their ways to a certain extent, but humans were the same way so it was hard to hold them at fault for that. 

Neither of the drive through window workers noticed the three nonhuman passengers as we stopped, too busy to really stop and get a good look at them. Even though they were too preoccupied handling food and money I still didn't really relax until we were on the road again.

“Y-you eat meat?” Scootaloo asked as I greedily ate one of the chicken nuggets. 

“Yes Scootaloo I do, or I can anyways. Eggs have been a substitute since I know you guys aren’t too fond of the whole eating animals thing.” I replied. 

“H-have you ever eaten a…pony?” Scootaloo asked cautiously.

“No Scoots, I don’t eat ponies. You guys are too adorable and awesome, now eat a french fry.” I said pushing one into her mouth. 

The filly comically pulled the fry completely in her mouth with her teeth before chewing it with a satisfied expression. It amazed me how they were capable of grasping anything with hooves at all, but I once again observed the principle in action as Scootaloo took the box of fries and started to chow down on them. 

Spike was a bit more reserved and glared at Noctra the entire time. He was understandably miffed that this bat pony had torn him away from his friend. Even though I shared a bit of that anger right now wasn’t the time for it.

“Open up.” I said holding an apple slice in front of Noctra. 

“Oh my, aren’t we the gentle colt. I could do this myself, if you untied me.” Noctra said batting her eyelashes

“Yeah not happening, not in the car anyways.” I said sliding the apple slice in her mouth when she tried to respond. 

Noctra stared at me before chewing the apple up. Isabella was snickering at the awkward pose I was in keeping Scootaloo in my lap while trying to feed a bat pony in a vehicle. I couldn’t think of any possible way this situation could get any worse or strange.

---

“Yer starin again, Twi.” Applejack said snapping her friend out of her trance. 

“Huh? Oh right, I’m sorry, has Rainbow Dash returned?” Twilight asked turning to her friend with sleepless eyes. 

“No sugar cube, but Ah think ya need rest. Can’t help no pony if yer plumb tuckered out.” Applejack replied. 

“Applejack’s right dear you’ve been pouring over those books for well over…oh I’ve lost count now. I think rest would do you some good.” said Rarity. 

“We have to finish altering the mirror though…there has to be some sort of spell…something…” Twilight trailed off as she started to sway on her hooves from mental and physical exhaustion 

Twilight had been trying to find some sort of reversal spell. So far nothing had turned up and the alicorn had turned to her former teacher and her long lived life in the hopes that she knew something about the fickle stone that had taken her friends away. 

She had tried to do the right thing, so why had something bad happened to the ones she cared about? It didn’t make sense. Without Spike there was no quick response from Princess Celestia so she had requested the help of Rainbow Dash to try and deliver an urgent letter for help. 

The sound of double doors bursting open derailed Twilight’s train of thought. Rainbow Dash had returned with a letter partially sticking out of her saddle bag. A look of determination seemingly welded to her face. Scootaloo had been one of the victims, to the cyan pegasus this was extremely personal. 

“Anything?” Rainbow Dash asked approaching the group. 

“Ah’m fraid not.” Applejack replied turning her gaze to the ground. 

“Did she send a reply?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah but it was really weird, she burned the first letter before writing this one.” Rainbow Dash replied handing Twilight the letter with the royal seal on it. 

Twilight opened the letter, her eyes scanning its contents with haste. The message confused her at first, while she couldn’t personally be here due to her own duties she had at least given the young alicorn some information, confusing as it was. 

Twilight

I’m so sorry to hear about this. While I know this must be hard on you please understand there’s little you can do from your current position. Which is why I’ve sent another set of instructions to a friend of yours to help you. At the bottom of this page are instructions for creating the same candle I used to send letters to you when you were my student. I think you will find it most helpful in your endeavor as will putting a little faith in your human friend. I know he would never let anything bad happen to your friends, especially since they are his friends as well.

Good luck!
Princess Celestia

Twilight looked up from the letter at the mirror in deep thought. It wasn’t just in her hooves now, it was like building a bridge with only half the instructions. It didn’t make sense, surely Celestia couldn’t be trying to turn this into a test.

The more she thought about it however, the more she realized that this wasn’t a test at all. Even if she had the other set of instructions it wouldn’t do her any good, just like it wouldn’t aid Daniel. She looked over the instructions for the candle and smiled. It was exactly like building a bridge.

---

No sooner had I opened the doors to Isabella’s house Spike rushed past the others searching for something, clutching his stomach and mouth with his claws. I felt bad for him assuming grease didn’t exactly agree with his system. 

“Dude, is he going to hurl? Bathrooms are upstairs.” Isabella said. 

“Spike? Are you okay?” Scootaloo asked, approaching the baby dragon cautiously now that he was doubled over. 

“Great Twilight’s going to kill me.” I said dropping the bat pony off on the couch before rushing to Spike’s side. 

Noctra laughed at the baby dragon’s misfortune. Her laughter came in short “kee” like squeaks instead of an actual laugh. I rolled my eyes as I heard her roll of the couch and onto the floor with a thud from her laughter. 

“Hey she actually rofls, neat.” Isabella said using short hand for rolling on the floor laughing. 

“That stopped being funny in high schoo-“ I started to say until a blast of green fire silenced me. 

There on the floor was a letter with a royal seal on it. I could hardly believe my eyes and hesitated picking it up. Once I did however, it only confirmed that it was real and I quickly opened it. The parchment was from Celestia herself. 

Daniel

I hope this letter finds you, if it does then my theory is correct, and half of the problem is already solved. Spike is able to send and receive letters by a magical flame. I have sent Twilight a set of instructions for making such a flame of her own since Spike was her method of communicating with me. If what Luna informed me is true, you must retrieve the stone from your world. I hope you’ll be able to find it easily enough. I have faith that you will look after those that were brought with you and I pray for your safe return. 

Sincerely 

Princess Celestia.

I was now on a team assignment with the book worm, as much as I liked the odds of success a lot depended on me finding the stupid stone. The last time I had seen it was when it was laying against my bedroom wall. 

By now the house had probably been sold and the stone long gone from its original resting place. Still, it was a nudge in the right direction when I originally had none to begin with. It would take some time to sort out but now that there was a way back things didn’t seem as hopeless. 


To be continued...

> Home for Hearth's Warming part2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike’s eyes were glued to the living room television as Godzilla roared onto the screen. The little dragon had gone through three movies so far, not noticing the bad dubbing or other faults, simply enjoying a good monster movie which had helped take his mind off our current predicament.

Scootaloo had gone exploring around the house that was massive by pony standards. I had advised against it but Isabella’s argument for the green light was along the lines of “my house my rules” only with a much more colorful vocabulary. As much as I loved my sister she could be a real pain at the most inconvenient of times with her carefree attitude.

Noctra remained motionless on the couch still bound by rope. The bat pony simply glared at me occasionally as if it would make me change my mind when it only enforced my decision to leave her tied up.

“Cut her loose bro, I mean where is she going to go?” Isabella asked.

Begrudgingly I cut the ropes to Noctra’s bindings and watched on edge as she shook a bit before stretching out. The odd bat pony proceeded to fly up to the ceiling and look down at us.

“You’re just going to stay there the entire time?” I asked looking up at the two bright yellow eyes looking back at me.

“Maybe…” Noctra replied.

“She’ll come down when she gets hungry enough.” Isabella said leaving the living room.

“Spike keep an eye on her.” I said as I followed my sister, fairly certain I heard “yeah sure” from the little dragon.

I followed Isabella up the stairs and into a room that had a desk and several different types of rocks and pendants to name but a few of the objects on display. If anyone ever questioned my sister’s occupation as an explorer all they had to do was step inside this room to be proven otherwise.

Two of her books lay on a table next to a spare chair in the room that I felt was only missing some kind of animal head mount in order to be complete. Instead there was an empty bird cage, an odd choice unless you knew the story behind it and what it had once held.

“That stone was never a novelty item like you accused me of earlier. After I found it at the site I was at my buddy told me it was some kind of rare rock, I mean it looked cool. Instead I thought I'd try to spark something in you...apparently it worked." Isabella said.

“So you lied about the “wishing stone?” I asked with air quotes.

“Like I said I thought it would so you some good.” Isabella replied. 

"Yeah thanks for that by the way, and before you get the urge to slap me again this is technically your fault by your own admission." I said narrowing my eyes at her.

"My fault? Okay that was an accident asshole, and why are you hell bent on not telling people you're home?" my sister asked leaning forward.

"I've got my reasons Izzy, I don't want to go into details. I'm not here for this I just want-" I said brushing her off.

"No don't call me that, this isn't funny. This is your home, where you belong and you're being so...secretive about it!" Isabella exclaimed.

"This isn't my home anymore!" I shouted making her lean back.

"What do you mean this isn't your home? This has always been your home, how can you possibly say that?" Isabella asked.

"Sis, I was miserable here, living the same boring life from day in to day out. Why do you care anyways I mean you ran away from home, so why does it bug you so much?" I asked.

"That's not fai-" Isabella started.

"It's perfectly fair." I said cutting her off.

The room grew silent save for the ticking of a clock as the seconds passed by where words remained unspoken. I could see the sun starting to set from a quick glance at the window behind Isabella and sighed.

"I'm sorry...I've got a kid in there that's away from her family, and a dragon that's missing the only real family he's got. I don't know what I'm going to do with the bat but I'll think of something. I need your help right now, not your criticism." I said.

"I just don't want to lose you again...jerk." Isabella said standing up from her chair to hug me.

"I know, I'll never stop being your brother. You told me to go have an adventure; I’m not done with it just yet." I said returning the hug.

I heard Isabella chuckle as she hugged me tighter. Despite all the fights we had it remained impossible to break the sibling bond between us.

---

Scootaloo stood outside the door, she had never heard Daniel raise his voice before but it hurt her ears and sent chills down her spine. What really hurt the filly was when the human mentioned her family, the one she didn't have. Nopony had ever told him that she was an orphan.

The pegasus' wings fluttered nervously as she bit her bottom lip in thought. She couldn't believe he was in the dark, would it have upset him? She didn't stick around as the two continued to talk and wandered off through the house until the found a partially opened room.

With a gentle push the door revealed a room that looked like it didn't really belong here. There were toys and what looked like a desk covered in paint stains. What appeared to be a white dragon sat on the desk in midflight, held up by some see through object.

There were several boxes that didn't seem to serve a purpose. Their colors ranged from gray to black and there was even a purple one. They were different shapes and sizes and their usefulness was a mystery since some seemed too small to hold anything of value or had an awkward lid, at least what she thought was a lid.

There were a few trophies that had a strange figure at the very top. It looked exactly like a human holding what looked like a large ball, while a few more had a human in a lower position holding some kind of stick up to its face. One of the trophies had a medal hanging from it with an eye catching design.

Finally her eyes fell on two creatures that she mistook for miniature humans at first. It seemed as if they had arms, but instead of falling to the side they were outstretched and lacked what Twilight called had called hands. Their heads were also awkward and were about the size of her hoof.

They stood about as tall as Rainbow Dash and stared at her ominously. Scootaloo frozen when she saw them not wanting to make any sudden movements, but when no response came from them she moved in closer and bumped one with her hoof. The creatures weren't creatures at all, just another model.

Just beyond them on the wall was a picture that had been clipped from a newspaper showing Daniel with two other humans. They were covered in mud and were flexing like Bulk Biceps had once.

"So this is where you went?" asked a familiar voice from behind her.

---

Scootaloo jumped at the sound of my voice knocking the two Warlord Titans over. Dust covered the filly as several books and other models were taken out with them. I sighed as I walked over to the pegasus' side and tried my best to dust her off.

"Scoots your all dusty now." I said dejectedly.

"You scared me, I didn't think any pony was behind me." Scootaloo replied.

I turned around when I heard footsteps from behind me. Isabella was there with a smirk on her face. Apparently the filly's antics brought a small form of amusement to my sister.

"I could make a joke right now, but I'm more concerned about the mobile dust ball that's been created. I can't have her carrying it all over the place." Isabella said.

That was the bad thing about pony fur, dust and dirt clung to it like glue. I could pull it off but I risked hurting Scootaloo and honestly there was too much of it to be worthwhile which prompted me to skip to option b.

"Fine, come on Scoots." I said scooping the little pegasus up.

Her wings flapped rapidly as I picked her up and carried her down the hall. As I walked down the upstairs hallway I could still hear the TV playing Godzilla, at least Spike wouldn't be hard to keep track of. That only left Noctra who was still hanging upside down in the same spot as earlier.

I pushed open a door in the hallway revealing a rather large bathroom. The yellow walls were hideous and would make any decent person want to kick a puppy. I shook my head and set Scootaloo down. A tub hadn't been much different in her world so I wouldn't expect it to be too complicated for her.

"Think you can work it?" I asked as the tangerine filly climbed over the edge, lingering a bit before flapping her wings and kicking her hind legs to slide into the tub completely.

I quickly saw a glaring flaw in option b as Scootaloo tried her best to grip the handles. I thought back to the ones in Fluttershy's and realized that they were designed with ponies in mind. The filly sighed defeated and sat down in the tub hanging her head.

"I've got you Scoots." I said turning the water on playing with the temperature a bit before putting the drain plug in.

Scootaloo was being awfully quiet; normally she would be asking questions or carrying on some sort of conversation. She had acted weird the night before as well. A part of me wanted to know what was wrong, but I remained silent as I turned the water off once it reached a justifiable level.

I cupped my hands and poured a bit of water over her head causing her mane to fall flat against her head, covering one eye slightly. She was still wearing that same defeated look as if someone, or pony, had just died.

"Scootaloo are you okay?" I asked concerned now.

"I...there's nopony waiting for me in Equestria." Scootaloo replied taking me by surprise.

"That's crazy talk Scoots, I bet your mom and da-" I started to say.

"I don't have a mom or dad...I'm an orphan. Rainbow Dash is probably the only pony that really cares." Scootaloo said quickly interrupting me.

I put two and two together as I recalled last night's events. I was right when I had assumed Scootaloo was lying, she was doing something far less innocent than a simple slumber party with her friends, I just hadn't considered the severity of it.

"Last night you were running away? Why?" I asked.

"Because nopony wants me. Face it, I can't fly, I don't have my cutie mark, who would want me?" Scootaloo asked waving her hooves as she spoke before letting them fall back into the water, tears now falling from her eyes and disturbing the surface.

I felt needles pierce my heart as I watched her cry. Kids were a sensitive topic for me, to the point that I'd wanted to deck the lord of chaos in the nose for taunting me about the subject.

"Scoots, I can't do…some things either. It's one of the reasons I was abandoned by somepony I trusted my heart with. The one thing I've always wanted more than anything in the two worlds I've been in is just outside of my reach, I know how you feel kid." I said.

"I saw all those trophies though, and that medal. How could you not have what you want?" Scootaloo asked.

"I can't have a family of my own Scootaloo, I've tried. You though, you've got your whole life ahead of you and trust me somepony in Equestria wants you, they'd be crazy not to." I said borrowing some of my sisters wash.

"You mean you can't have a foal with somepony else?" Scootaloo asked.

"No I can't, I was married once and we tried multiple times. Things...happened and we eventually got divorced." I said rinsing the suds off of the filly.

"That's stupid...she's stupid." Scootaloo said slamming a hoof down in the water.

"Yeah, I thought so too, but sometimes adults do stupid stuff." I said with a halfhearted laugh.

I pulled the drain plug to release the now slightly bubbly water and picked Scootaloo up out of the tub. I sat her down on the bathroom rug and started to dry her off with a fluffy towel. Unsatisfied with my work the tangerine filly shook the remaining water off herself and onto the floor and walls with a giggle.

"I suppose that works too." I said throwing the towel in the bin.

---

"Donated?" I asked flatly staring at Isabella from across the table.

"Yeah, after you vanished I kept the stone for a while but James said it was some kind of rare...something and asked if I'd donate it to the museum." Isabella said taking a long swig of her beer afterwards.

"Great, you didn't think about keeping it as...I don't know, a keep sake?" I asked.

"I've got a room full of them, why would I want the last gift I sent you? It was a bad memory." Isabella replied.

"Can't you ask for it again?" Scootaloo asked looking up from her food.

"Once something is in James Heartlock's hands you might as well kiss it goodbye." Isabella replied.

"There has to be some way to get it back." Scootaloo said before yawning.

"It's a bit late to start thinking about heroics. The stones definitely not going anywhere if it's with James so I say we call it a night." Isabella said.

I looked up at the clock surprised at how fast time had flown by. Noctra was busy eating her fourth apple, unfazed by the time. She noticed my stare and gripped the apple with her fangs taking to the ceiling again, finishing her food upside down which was impressive to watch.

"Come on Scoots let’s get you into bed, Rainbow Dash would kick my face in if she found out you stayed up too late." I said letting the filly ride on my shoulder up the stairs and to one of the guest rooms.

Scootaloo looked around the room as she padded up to the pillows, the mattress bouncing slightly with every movement she made. This made her laugh a little until a faint howl came from the woods beyond the window.

"You don't have Timberwolves or...monsters here do you?" Scootaloo asked looking up at me.

"That was probably just a coyote, they can't get you inside. They're afraid of humans because we're scarier than them." I said holding my hands up like paws while bending my fingers to look like claws on some sort of vicious creature.

Two more howls came from the woods and I felt something wrap around my arm tightly. Scootaloo had semi permanently attached herself to my arm and was nervously staring at the window as if any moment a monster would come crashing through it.

"C-c-can you stay? At least until they go away?" Scootaloo asked nervously.

"No problem, let me get the light okay?" I asked in return relieved when I felt my arm relinquished from the filly's grasp.

I left the hall light on and the door open allowing light to stream into the room just like when I was little. Scootaloo's gaze hadn't left the window and only faltered once I sat on the edge of the bed and ruffled her mane.

I leaned against the head board and felt something warm press itself against me. I looked down to see Scootaloo, forcing her eyes shut, her ears folding flat against her skull as another cry from a coyote made her cringe.

"What if they don't leave?" Scootaloo asked.

"Well then I guess I'll just stay here." I replied.

I had nothing to lose if only a few hours of sleep. I had nowhere to be in this world and as far as Earth was concerned I was a dead man anyways. If being on nightshift for a scared kid was the worst thing to happen to me then I couldn't really complain.

"All night?" Scootaloo asked groggily.

"All night." I replied looking at the moon from the window.

I had lost track of time when I heard what sounded like a loud belch. I felt the small filly beside me stir slightly only to remain fast asleep despite the disturbance. I slowly got up only feel a small hoof paw at my wrist before falling limply to the bed.

"Goodnight Scoots." I said leaving the room.

I walked out into the hallway to hear what sounded like Spike's clawed feet running up the stairs. I turned the corner and met the little dragon half way. Whatever it was certainly had the little guy excited.

"Daniel! Check this out!" he said holding up a letter.

Daniel

I hope this letter reaches you, I did everything I was supposed to so there's no reason it shouldn't. I'm sorry this happened, I never should have kept that stupid stone after you said no. It's imperative that you stay together, I'm making modifications to the mirror but unless I have the stone from your world I won't be able to bring any of you back.

I need you to try sending something solid back, roughly the same shape as the stone, we need to know if Spike's fire can do something like this or the entire plan is ruined. Princess Celestia has tried to reassure me that everything will turn out fine, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried.

Now that business is out of the way, I've been asked by several friends present at the time this letter is being penned to ask how things are in your world. I myself was wondering if Spike is okay, if you're reading this then I assume that's a yes. Just lets us know everything is okay and don't forget to try sending something to us.

Best wishes

Twilight Sparkle

I folded the letter back up and looked at Spike who was tapping his claws together nervously. I wasn't quite sure how we could go from letter to magical rock, but I understood what Twilight was asking for.

"Spike, can you send and receive other things besides letters?" I asked curiously.

"Well I received a bunch of tickets for the Grand Galloping Gala once, that counts right?" Spike asked.

"Those are still paper bro, I mean like a stone, a package or something." I replied walking down stairs.

"Umm...maybe? I guess we'd have to try. I mean the tickets came inside a letter what's to say it wouldn't work the same way?" Spike asked nervously.

"You don't sound overly confident about it, get some rest and we'll try in the morning. I know exactly what to send anyways and it'll have to wait until then." I said with a grin.

---

Twilight looked around her bedroom as the sun started to rise in the sky. She wanted this to be a nightmare she could wake up from, but there would be no such relief until she had everything she needed to set things right.

She had stayed up as long as she could the previous night; waiting for some kind of reply from the human in the hopes that he had received her message. She started to question if she had messed up somewhere along the way when the flame from the candle she had made flickered to life of its own accord.

Within seconds a package wrapped in paper appeared. Twilight's eyes widened as she gasped with excitement at the realization that he had received her letter. What's more he had managed to send...something.

"Poor Spike, I hope it wasn't too much trouble." Twilight said quietly as she unwrapped and opened the box.

Inside was a camcorder which took Twilight by surprise. Of all the things Dniel could send why choose something so random? She smiled when she realized why he'd picked this particular item and quickly levitated it out of the box.

After looking the device over Twilight found the power button and used what knowledge she had on the strange device to see if anything was recorded. Much to her delight there was something on the memory card as humans called it. This was news worth sharing.

When the others had gathered as she requested she brought out the camcorder which left them a bit confused. Twilight had to give brief explanation of how the device worked before turning the screen on the recorder around for the others to see.

Hello Equestria, I got your letter Twilight and if you're watching this right now then I guess all we need now is the stone...which I don't have unfortunately. Daniel said through the small screen.

"It's Danny, he's alive!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, her mane instantly returning to its natural poofy state.

"Yes dear we can see, he's trying to say something." Rarity said trying to calm her friend down.

The stone right now is in the possession of another human, my sister Izzy is going to try to work something out. Say hi Izzy. Daniel said as he reached towards the screen and the focus shifted on another human that had long blond hair and bright blue eyes.

High...sky high. Isabella said with a grin.

Rainbow Dash laughed a little at the other human's sense of humor. She appeared to be a polar opposite of her brother which seemed appropriate.

You're not funny. Daniel said from behind the camcorder

I bet your friends say otherwise. Hey pony people, or uh...something. Isabella said before disappearing from view.

Twilight here's a better look at your culprit behind all of this in case you were wondering. Her name's Noctra and she was apparently paid to try and steal the stone, she didn't have a name unfortunately. Daniel said as the focus shifted towards the ceiling.

A bat pony opened her eyes groggily at the mention of her name and yawned before drifting back to sleep, unconcerned with the human's taped message to the princess.

The sound of something rubbing together came across the speakers before the screen showed the carrier ascending a set of stairs and heading down a hallway. Inside a room there was a familiar tangerine filly and purple dragon.

Who's winning? Daniel asked.

I am. Spike said not averting his gaze from the screen as he held some sort of rectangular device in his hand.

Nuh uh! Scootaloo retorted pressing her hooves against a similarly shaped object that rested flat on the floor.

"Scootaloo!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed excitedly.

"Told ya she'd be okay, ain't got nothin ta worry about." Applejack said.

Scoots, did you want to tell Rainbow Dash hi? Daniel asked.

Rainbow Dash can see me?! Scootaloo asked spinning around quickly, no longer concerned with the game.

Yes she can, when we send this off to her she'll be able to see and hear you. Did you want to tell her anything? Daniel asked.

Umm...I really miss you and Sweetie Belle and Applebloom and the others. I'm doing okay, I just hope you're not mad at me when I get back. Scootaloo said looking at the screen.

"Squirt, I wouldn't be mad at you over something like this. That's crazy talk." Rainbow Dash said as if the screen could hear her.

Wait that's what you're wanting to send to Twilight? I don't know...I mean we can try but- Spike said as the focus shifted to him.

Come on Spike what's the worst that could happen? Daniel asked.

Okay, but you'll need to put it in some kind of box, I probably can't burn whatever that is like I can a letter and this is really stretching things. Spike said putting the controller down.

Well you heard the dragon, this is the moment of truth. I hope you guys get this to ensure that we have some chance of getting home. I hope to see all you guys again soon, Earth out. Daniel said before the screen went blue.

"That's it?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I'm afraid so Rainbow Dash, but this tells us that everypony is okay. All that's left is to get the Banishing Stone from his world so we can bring them home." Twilight replied setting the camcorder down.

"Guess we'll just have ta trust him then, Ah don't care much fer that bat pony though." Applejack said.

---

Isabella scanned the halls of the museum, tour groups were the main occupants. She rolled her eyes, this wasn't how you learned about the past. You learned by getting your hands dirty. To Isabella there was no other method.

She eventually found what she was looking for. To her right down a long hallway was a wall line with rocks on display shelves with labels. Each label gave a brief description about what the stone was made up of and other miscellaneous information.

"There you are." Isabella said her eyes falling on the one she had relinquished.

"Catching up with your friend?" asked a voice that made Isabella cringe.

"James, I wouldn't expect to see you out this early in the morning." Isabella said stopping herself from making a hooker joke.

"I still have a few good years in me, no reason I can't enjoy the building from time to time, especially when it's host to such a pretty young lady." James said.

"Mmm this pretty young lady was wondering what she would have to do to get this little jewel back from you?" Isabella asked holding back a flood of insults.

James was a disgusting womanizer. He had been divorced three times yet his charm still seemed to work on every woman he talked to, except for Isabella of course. James had mocked her brother throughout school and shown his true colors.

"I'm afraid museums cannot return donated items or records once they have been legally accessioned into the permanent collection. When you donated it you passed private control of it to us." James said with a smile.

"Way to give a girl bad news. You sure there's no loop hole you could exploit for a friend?" Isabella asked, wanting to off herself for even entertaining the idea that the two we friends.

"I wouldn't call us "friends" Isabella, more like associates. You find old things that benefit others and well, I take them off your hands. Honestly I'd prefer we kept things on a professional level...besides I'm afraid there are no loop holes anyways." James replied.

Typical legal bullshit. Isabella thought to herself.

"The last time we talked about you little prize here you could hardly wait to get rid of it. What made you change your mind?" James asked.

"Change of heart I guess, I just want my brother home for the holiday." Isabella said.

"Ah I see, and you associate our little friend here with him? Touching, but the answer is still the same. However, if you're in need of company this season-" James started.

"I am not some one night stand that you can scratch off your list!" Isabella snapped finally losing her composure.

"And you need to stop clinging to ghost and miracles like some lost little child." James retorted with a laugh.

Isabella wanted so badly to tell him that Daniel wasn't a ghost, that he was alive. She remembered her promise and what he said, he didn't intend to stay here. That could change right now, all she had to do was tell James and prove to him that her brother wasn't dead.

"Take care of yourself James." Isabella said, with a smile before walking away.

Betraying her brother was something that she couldn't bring herself to do, even if it meant she might lose him again. He had already made his choice and he wasn't a little kid anymore, she had to respect that. Besides, maybe it was time for a new adventure of her own.

---

"It's inside a display case and there's no convincing James of letting it go...he has the legal system on his side." Isabella said with a huff.

"He hit on you didn't he?" I asked making her face turn red in frustration.

"He's a slime ball that mocked you in front of me just because he thinks you're dead!" Isabella exclaimed.

I chuckled almost wishing I could have been there to step out of some corner with some cheesy one liner. It was a missed opportunity that I wish I had until I rationalized how complicated the day would have been if I suddenly appeared back from the "land of the dead".

"We need that stone Izzy, can't you sue or something?" I asked.

"Afraid not; there's no loop holes and I doubt a lawyer would touch a case if we made one." Isabella replied.

"Why not steal it?" Noctra asked.

The bat pony had a small smile on her face as she swiftly consumed a banana. I found it rather disgusting how she even ate the peal. I wasn't an expert in fruit by any means but I was certain that couldn't be good for you, then again she wasn't human.

"We can't just walk in and steal something it's against the law." I replied.

"According to what blondie just said the law's not going to help you right now anyways. So unless you have a better idea I suggest you put your morals on the back burner." Noctra said grinning.

"Stealing got us into this situation in the first place remember?" I asked coldly.

"I only steal to take care of myself, I never take more than I need. I was desperate and right now you seem like you're desperate to get back." the bat pony countered.

Noctra had a point as much as I didn't want to admit she was right I couldn't think of any way around this problem. I could hardly believe I was resorting to thievery in order to accomplish a goal, but we were out of options.

"Fine, how would you go about breaking in?" I asked making the bat pony smile.

"Well I'd need to see the building first, preferably at night." Noctra replied tapping a hoof against her chin in thought.

"Okay what else?" I asked.

"I want a promise that I won't be arrested the second we get back to Equestria." Noctra said.

"I can't guarantee something like that, but if you help us it can't hurt your chances. I'll tell Twilight what you did and maybe she'll understand." I said.

Noctra shook her head "Not good enough, I want guarantees or my services are off the table." she said crossing her fore legs.

I rolled my eyes at her response. I assumed she would try to worm out of getting into trouble somehow but holding us here wasn't going to solve anything. It would only make things worse. Not to mention I couldn't keep Scootaloo or Spike in my world forever.

"The ones you're really hurting are those guys in the other room. I promise you, you help get them home it'll look good on you." I said.

The bat pony closed her eyes and didn't reply. I wouldn't have taken her for a deep thinker and I was right not to. After a few seconds of silence I heard the soft sound of somepony snoring. I could hardly believe it; Noctra had dozed off in the middle of a conversation.

"Did she just nod off?" Isabella asked dumbfounded.

My sister slammed her palm into the table making a loud bang causing the bat pony to jump. Noctra looked around in panic as if she had completely forgotten where she was and what we were talking about.

"What was that for?" Noctra asked rubbing her eye.

"You dozed off while trying to barter for your freedom, which we can't guarantee, but if you help us it'll be a step in the right direction. We can't do this without you; I know you're not a bad pony." I replied.

"Ugh...fine, but you have to be willing to do exactly as I say. A moral compass like yours will screw us over." Noctra said relenting with a huff.

"Thank you Noctra." I said.

"Yeah yeah don't think me just yet. I still need to see the building. In the meantime I'm going to need a few things if your world has them." Noctra said with a smirk.

---

Isabella had a habit of never decorating for Christmas, despite having multiple decorations. I decided to go through them for old time’s sake and try to remember the good things about Earth. There was far too much bad in this world, but just a little ray of light, like the warmth of a fond memory, would be enough to get me through this.

I pulled out an old music box from one of the containers and turned the key a few times. Silent Night started playing as I set the music box on the ground. It had been my grandmother's and was a family keep sake ever since she passed away.

She always gave us a lecture every Christmas morning before Izzy and I would ever get to open our gifts. That it was never about receiving, but giving that was the true meaning of Christmas. It was an old fashioned notion but she had been adamant in making sure we were raised right.

"What is all this stuff?" Scootaloo asked poking her head in one of the boxes.

"Decorations, some family stuff mixed in oddly enough." I replied pulling out another box.

"Do you think we'll be home in time for Hearth's Warming Eve?" Scootaloo asked as she rolled a plastic ball ornament between her hooves.

"Maybe Scoots, you know it's funny...tomorrow is Christmas Eve." I replied with a laugh.

"What's Christmas?" Scootaloo asked.

"It's kind of like your Hearths Warming Eve holiday only less meaningful now days." I replied as the filly poked her head inside another open box.

"Han hu hed ish?" Scootaloo asked holding a book in her mouth.

"A Christmas Carol, I remember this...it might be a bit boring to you though." I said taking the book and looking it over.

"It can’t be that boring." Scootaloo said.

The tangerine filly seemed like a pegasus of action, I came to this assumption since I caught her drifting off before the ghost of Christmas present had arrived in the story. I chuckled at the snoozing filly and put the book back in its box. I left Scootaloo sleeping on the couch and headed towards the room that had all of my old belongings in it.

I sat on the bed and looked around at all the items my sister had opted to keep, presumably when they were picking over my house like vultures after they assumed I was dead. I noticed the picture that had my two best friends with me.

“All good things come to an end.” I said averting my gaze from the picture.

I stood up from the bed and walked over to the desk in the room that I had sat at and painted models at for hours at a time. An army was made here, customized and sometimes built from scraps that made something unique.

I picked up a dragon like model that was called a Heldrake and turned it over in my hand a few times. It was one of my favorite models, Raptors being a close second, and I considered it the trump card in my army. What made it special was that I chose white as the primary color instead of the traditional darker color schemes.

“She let you get dusty huh buddy?” I asked before blowing dust particles off the model.

I sat the model in front of me and opened up one of the containers on the floor. I pulled out a figure that had what appeared to be a jetpack on and set it beside the Heldrake. A part of me wanted to play the game again, stay behind and pick up where I left off.

I stood up and started to look for a backpack until I heard the door open followed by the clip clop of hooves against wood. I left the room behind and turned the light off, casting darkness over my past achievements and memories of the life I’d opted to leave behind. It was an oddly fitting image, one that made me uneasy.

Noctra and Isabella had returned and were discussing something amongst themselves as I approached. The bat pony had a prideful look on her face and grinned once she saw me Isabella sported a similar expression, leave it to my sister to make friends with the pony that got us into this mess.

“Well how did things go?” I asked.

“From what I’ve seen it shouldn’t be too hard to get our stone.” Noctra replied happily.

“Oh well that’s goo-“ I started to say.

“For me, you guys on the other hoof will take a bit of effort to get inside the building.” Noctra said cutting me off.

“I assume you have sort of plan?” I asked crossing my arms.

“We do, but it’s going to be a doozey.” Isabella replied her smile falling.

---

Twilight had been unable to focus aside from thoughts involving her friends. She had waited for another letter or package to follow behind the one that had been sent to her previously with disappointing results.

The alicorn looked at the calendar and noticed a circled day that read Hearths Warming Eve. She didn’t want to spend Hearths Warming Eve without Spike, he had been a part of her life for a while now and thought of him missing it was hard to accept.

As much as Twilight didn’t want to acknowledge the possibility of her friends missing Hearths Warming Eve, it was starting to look like only a miracle could bring them back in time. This was all assuming they could get the stone back of course which made her pace as she dwelt on the matter.

“What if something bad happened…no I can’t think like that they’ll be okay.” Twilight said shaking her head in an attempt to rid herself of doubt.

Twilight looked up to the midnight sky through her window and stared at one star that she thought was brighter than the rest. She hadn’t stopped to look at the stars in a long time, but even this past time failed to bring her joy.

“Please come home.” Twilight said quietly.

The alicorn’s attention was pulled away from the endless night sky by the sound of something hitting the ground. Twilight gasped with excitement as she saw a crudely folded piece of paper, Daniel's craftsmanship no doubt. 

"He could send a sticky note at this point and-" Twilight started to say stopping as she read the letter. 

Twilight shook her head and blinked a few times to make sure her vision wasn't failing her. The letter was oddly specific and thought out for somepony like Daniel who she didn't really consider the planning type. 

"Twilight, it's time-" Twilight read aloud as she re-read the letter to ensure she hadn't missed anything. 

---

"From the top." Noctra said walking on the ceiling of the kitchen akin to a drill sergeant.

We had been reviewing her plan for a while now as minutes turned into hours. I was already dreading the thought of being caught or worse, one of the others getting caught and taken away by some agency never to see the light of day again. 

"There's three guards in total, they're a bit lazy though so they shouldn't prove to be much of a threat. There's also a window that light was coming from last night. I'm inclined to think somepony is there but it could have been an accident." Noctra said rubbing the back of her head with a hoof. 

"Anyways, I'll be getting one of the side doors and from there we'll work our way deeper into the build. That's were blondie comes in, she'll have to lead us to the stone since I couldn't actually get inside the building." Noctra said 

"What about the cameras? Even if we sneak past the guards there will no doubt be cameras throughout the building." I said.

"The cameras osculate and are a bit outdated. Besides I've got an idea on how to keep them occupied for a bit." Isabella said grinning. 

"Okay so assuming we run past the cameras how do you plan on getting the item out? I'm sure the glass case has some sort of sensor." I said pointing out a less obvious security measure.

"That's going to be the part where we run...unless you have a better idea?" Noctra asked. 

"I can talk to Twilight, give her the specifics. If she can somehow open the portal...or have her come up with plan D." I replied. 

"Don't you mean plan B?" Isabella asked. 

"No I mean plan D, trust me it's impossible to explain." I replied. 

"All letters of the alphabet aside, I can't stress enough how important speed will be. We'll need to carry the other two since I doubt they can keep up with us. No offense." Noctra said looking over at Spike and Scootaloo. 

"None taken." Spike said while Scootaloo refused to acknowledge the remark about speed.

"Worst case scenario I just do what I did to send me to Equestria in the first place and hope it works again...I'd like to avoid that though." I said looking up at Noctra. 

"You sure are putting a lot of faith in this princess of yours." Noctra said with what I assumed was a grin since she was upside down it appeared to be more of a scowl. 

"She's putting a lot of faith in us too." I said crossing my arms. 

With that the bat pony departed for the living room and proceeded to cast a glance at the setting sun before trying to sleep just a bit more before our plan. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve, a night when everyone would be at parties and with their families. It was the perfect time to strike. 

"Are you sure you want to come?" I asked looking at Isabella once Noctra had left. 

I was a bit surprised by my sister's plans to follow me back to Equestria. Still the adventurer in her had apparently overridden any doubts or second thoughts. I knew what going back meant. Equestria and the world I had dwelt in was unlike anything she had ever experienced before. 

"I'm sure, tonight I'll be getting my affairs in order, unlike someone." Isabella replied. 

I crossed my arms and gave her my customary "what the hell did you just say" face. This only made her laugh at my displeased facial expression. While a part of me was a bit upset I couldn’t help but chuckle as well, if Isabella really was planning on coming with me at least I wouldn’t feel so alone anymore. 

“Seriously though I’ve left for three years at one point in time. Me disappearing off the face of the Earth isn’t an uncommon occurrence. You on the other hand, well it’s kind of unusual, you get my point.” Isabella said with a wave of her hand. 

“I think you’ll fit right in.” I said smirking at the hand gesture. 

---

It was time, the sun was setting fast and soon Christmas Eve would give way to Christmas Morning.  Before then we had to ensure that we were inside the museum. I was still wrestling with the fact that I was about to break into a building, but I honestly couldn’t see another way out of this mess. 

The trip to the museum was quiet until we reached the large Christmas tree that the town always decorated. I couldn’t help but stare as we slowly started to pass it until I put a hand on my sister’s shoulder. 

“Please tell me you’re not getting cold feet.” Isabella said. 

“Just pull over for a second, there’s method to my madness.” I said rolling my eyes. 

Isabella parked the car and Scootaloo and Spike hid in the two back packs we had brought to carry them in during our little mission. Spike poked his head up through the bag that was on my back while Scootaloo did the same with my sister’s. Noctra opted to stay in the car not one for bright lights to begin with. 

“It’s so pretty.” Scootaloo said looking up at the tall tree that was surrounded by little reindeer composed of Christmas lights on the ground. 

“Who’s the big guy?” Spike asked pointing to a figure lined with red lights. 

“Santa Claus, he gives presents out and all that good jazz.” I replied. 

I stared up at the start at the very top of the tree. It’s light only grew warmer and brighter as the sky steadily darkened around it until finally it was more like a beacon than a simple ornament on top of a tree. 

Here I was, with two friends from a completely different world and my sister, standing before a Christmas tree. I could picture families from both worlds celebrating right now and eating some kind of special family dinner or parties held in honor of the holiday. 

“Did you know that during the first World War both sides shared Christmas together once?” I asked aloud. 

“What’s that got to do with anything?” Isabella asked in return. 

“Unity, it’s like this is the one day the world stops fighting and arguing.” I replied. 

“Hearths Warming Eve was when all the ponies finally stopped arguing with each other. If Christmas is about peace then I guess things aren’t as different as you think huh?” Spike asked happily. 

“No, I guess they aren’t.” I replied. 

The sound of a bell ringing in the distance signaled the time changing. Isabella took out her phone and sighed before putting it away in her pocket. She cast one last look at the tree before heading back to the car. I followed her looking back at the tree several times wanting to ensure that this memory would stay in my mind. This was what I wanted to leave with, a memory of something precious, peace. 

I gently put the back pack Spike was in in the back seat before getting in myself. Noctra had started to twist a strand of hard metal into an awkward shape that I could only assume was to aid in our break in. She had been filing down a key before we left. I recognized it as a bump key from my days in college. 

I hoped she wasn’t planning on using it unless absolutely necessary, bump keys made a lot of noise and we wanted to avoid that. I was impressed that she knew how to make a bump key in the first place since it was originally a lock smith’s trick before it became used for less than honorable purposes. 

“How’d you learn to do all of this anyways?” I asked as Isabella pulled out her phone and started to call someone. 

“Before the guard or my life of crime I helped my dad who was a lock smith. When I got older I wanted to see the world and joined the guard…only to have a knife planted in my back.” Noctra replied as she continued her work. 

“I’m sorry.” I said feeling guilty for judging her. 

“Don’t be, I wasn’t the best soldier so that didn’t help my case. It was like they were glad to be rid of me. I couldn’t return home with that shame on my back, but I couldn’t starve either…so I was pushed to the point of desperation.” Noctra said holding up what looked like a modified pin of some sort, appraising her own work. 

“What happened?” Spike asked quietly. 

“I’d rather not talk about it…I’ve been trying my best to forget.” Noctra said tucking the tool away. 

“I hope story time’s over, we’re here.” Isabella said as the car came to a stop. 

I let out a nervous sigh before stepping out of the car. I made sure Spike was secure inside the backpack before walking away from what I hoped would be my last car ride for a while. If things went south here, I might be going on another one. 

I heard the familiar sound of doors locking and turned to Isabella who was tucking her keys away. I raised an eyebrow at her before shaking my head. 

“What?” she asked confused. 

“Why are you locking it?” I asked. 

“Because it’s…oh yeah…let’s just go.” she replied with a huff. 

Noctra quickly flew to the side door and froze. Isabella held up her arm to stop me and smirked as she watched the road across us. I followed their line of sight and tried my best to locate just what it was they were seeing. 

“What are we waiting for?” I asked. 

“Just give it a minute.” Isabella replied. 

A few seconds after she spoke a pizza delivery car pulled in front of the building. He looked a bit confused but started walking towards the building with two pizza bags built to keep the heat in the boxes. 

“Okay how’d you know?” I asked dumbfounded. 

“I used to clock you when you worked at that pizza joint. How do you think I knew when to hide the booze so you wouldn’t rat us out?” Isabella replied.

“Whoa…she’s good.” Spike said poking his head out of the bag.

“And the fan club extends to Equestria ladies and gentlemen.” I said rolling my eyes. 

Noctra shushed us as she set to work on the lock, her hooves working with two tools that seemed like they should be impossible for a pony to use, but seeing is believing. Her tongue slid out between her two fangs comically and it made her look like a fluffy plush doll you could win at a carnival. 

A quiet click could be heard as Noctra played with the lock. I turned the handle and pulled slowly smiling as the door opened before us. The bat pony beamed with pride before tossing one of the bent utensils to the ground.

We quietly walked into the hallway that led to another door that had a traditional EXIT sign next to it. I found this odd since the exit would be through the door we just entered but pushed this thought to the back of my mind. 

Noctra’s eyes had a mysterious yellow shimmer about them as we walked in the dark. She stopped and set to work on the locked door that would lead into the hallway. As she was working the sound of heavy footsteps approaching could be heard just beyond the door. 

We all froze as the footsteps drew closer and closer. I could tell they were nearly at the door as the sound developed into a loud “clacking” noise against the tiled floor of the building. I silently prayed whoever was there would walk past. 

The footsteps slowly started to fade as whoever was on the other side kept walking. I mentally sighed, holding back my physical reaction for fear of attracting the guard’s attention even with the simplest of noises no matter how unrealistic the chance of him hearing it may have been. 

Noctra resumed her task and began to unlock the second door. She worked much slower than she had before, with the threat of a guard patrolling the hallway even with Isabella’s distraction it made her job more unnerving. 

When she finally heard a click she stepped aside and let Isabella open the door. My sister peeked around the corner cautiously shocked when Noctra strolled out as if nothing was wrong. We both held our breath before she looked back at us. 

“Trust me, that guard’s long gone, these ears of mine can confirm that.” she said as her ears swiveled a bit before returning to their forward position. 

“Just watch out for little red lights.” Isabella warned as she took the lead. 

“Roray Rhaggy.” I said in a mock Scooby Doo voice. 

“Shut up.” my sister hissed elbowing me in the arm. 

It didn’t take us long to run into our first camera, the red dot slowly disappearing as it turned. I could hear Isabella quietly counting the seconds it took for the camera to turn back around. I could feel Spike shift in my backpack as he poked his head out to investigate his surroundings. 

“Look at all this stuff!” Spike whispered excitedly. 

“Yeah, real shame we’re in a hurry.” Isabella said a hint of regret in her voice. 

“We’re trespassing, I doubt now would be the ideal time to traverse the exhibits.” I said watching the red light come into view again. 

Isabella waited until the dot slowly started to disappear before dashing past the camera. I followed suit while Noctra simply took to the ceiling and walked across casually. No one would ever think to look for a thief on the ceiling, no wonder she had gone undetected for so long in Equestria. 

The footsteps echoed along the hall way again making Noctra flatten herself against the ceiling. While she was safe we weren’t. I looked around quickly and found a solution to our problem, even if it went against the guy code in doing so. 

“Come on.” I whispered grabbing Isabella by the arm and pulling her into a restroom. 

I caught the door with my foot and slowly closed it, muffling the sound as the noisy footsteps filled the hallway. I had never ever wanted to enter this cursed and forbidden realm. It was truly as horrifying as the legends said. 

“So there really is pink paint with floral wallpaper…wow.” I said looking around. 

“This is the women’s restroom what were you expecting you derp?” Isabella asked rhetorically punching me in the shoulder. 

Once the footsteps grew quiet once more we slow made our way out into the hallway to see Noctra looking down at us with a fanged grin. Isabella took the lead once more; Scootaloo occasionally poked her head out to glance around whenever my sister came to stop only to sink into the bag once again when she started moving out of fear of being dislodged. 

“How much further Izzy?” I asked as we avoided another camera.

“It shouldn’t be far now…right around-“ I was swiftly grabbed by the shirt collar and pulled against a wall. Isabella flattened herself against it next to me as she pointed to the ground. A light was slowly scanning the tiled floor and reflecting off the glass. 

Fantastic! I thought to myself. 

Noctra opened her mouth and looked like she was about to scream. I could feel my anger swell up in me, this little backstabbing bat was about to betray us. 

A soft squeak echoed from down the hallway as Noctra’s ears folded flat against her skull while her face twisted into a strained expression, as if she was yelling. It almost sounded like a sneaker spinning on a smooth surface similar to basketball games where the sound was more prominent. The sound of heavy footsteps rushed in our direction as three more squeaks traveled down the hall. 

The guard rushed past us and towards the sound of the phantom intruder as Noctra landed beside us. She beamed happily at me, proud of her ability to save us from an awkward confrontation. 

“For a second there I thought you were going to go rouge on us.” I admitted as Isabella led us to a glass display case. 

“Nah, you guys are too much fun.” Noctra replied. 

Our lighthearted conversation died quickly as our eyes fell upon our goal. The last Banishing Stone, the rock that had caused me so much grief was just out of reach, encased in a glass barrier. It was time for the final hurdle; so far everything else had gone smoothly.

“How much time do you think we have before the police show up to back up the mall cops?” Isabella asked. 

“I’d say about ten seconds to explain yourselves.” replied a gruff voice from behind us.  

We spun around to see a startled security guard, neither one of us moving as we studied the other. His previous bravado had gone out the window the second he saw Noctra and her intimidating appearance though I thought it was more adorable than scary now given her mannerisms. 

“W-w-what is that?! A demon?!” the security guard asked backing away. 

“I’m really sorry about this.” Isabella said before landing a punch right on the guard’s jaw, knocking him out cold. 

“Awesome!” Scootaloo exclaimed before covering her mouth with her hooves when her voice carried down the hallway. 

The sound of shuffling and the quick pace of footsteps could be heard down the far end of the hall across from the knocked out security guard. Things were starting to take a turn for the worst as Isabella picked up the guard’s light and smashed the glass case, no doubt triggering a silent alarm. 

Isabella tossed me the stone just as another light fell on us. This guard’s reaction was almost the same as his predecessor’s, the difference being that he had a bit more sense and started to stammer uneasily into his radio. 

Noctra flew at the man, pinning him to the ground and hissing at him. It was a noise I didn’t think a pony could make but logically ponies shouldn’t be able to talk either. 

“Spike get started!” I exclaimed passing the dragon the stone. 

The lights in the building were slowly starting to come on, their low hum audible as the bulbs warmed up. Whatever message or code the guard had shouted through his radio must have gotten through in time. 

“Oh no…oh no…bright lights…” Noctra whimpered as her head darted from light fixture to light fixture. 

“Spike start burning!” Isabella exclaimed. 

I scooped Noctra up in my arms as the terrified bat pony shielded her eyes. I could feel Spike shifting in the backpack as he tried to fit the stone in the box we had brought along. We were almost done, it was going to be out of our hands soon, I could only hope Twilight was ready. 

“Okay I’ve got it!” Spike shouted popping out of the top of the backpack. 

The baby dragon placed the box on the floor and took a deep breath before expelling his green flames upon the box. The fire started to consume the box, though it was not all at once like the letter Twilight had been sent. The ashes from the box seemed to vanish into thin air as the box continued to burn. 

I noticed flashing lights out of the corner of my eye and looked out the window to see a police car pull into the parking lot. Another soon joined it as the two officers from the first quickly approached the front door. 

“How’s it look?” I asked watching the other officers exit their car. 

“Almost…almost…done!” Spike said as the last bit of his flame flickered away. 

“Good because we’re going. More guest have arrived.” I said.

We ran down another hallway full of old war objects like a trench shovel and canteen, nothing too spectacular or intimidating. Voices could be heard behind us followed by what sounded like a swarm of bees. I could only assume the noise was originating from the police officers and their radios. 

Come on Twilight! I thought to myself. 

---

“Perfect, I’m almost finished.” Twilight said looking past a book she had borrowed from the Canterlot Archives. 

Applejack and Rainbow Dash had both worked to reposition the mirror while the others gathered what Twilight had needed in order to reverse the spell on the stone. She would need to work fast with what information she had been given about Daniel’s method for retrieving the stone. 

“Oh oh Twilight! The flame’s back!” Pinkie Pie shouted excitedly. 

Another box appeared and much to Twilight’s delight the stone was within it this time. The alicorn smiled as she levitated the stone out of its container and quickly started to cast the spell she had been preparing on the troublesome stone. 

“Why does this have to be lined up with a star again?” Rainbow Dash asked. 

“The spell calls for something to bridge the two worlds, the North Star is the one thing that came to mind last night since Luna always places in the same spot.” Twilight replied. 

The alicorn worked quickly watching as the stone’s blue coloration faded and turned a shade of dull red in response to the first part of her spell. So far things were going well, she just hoped they were close together when it was finished. 

Though Twilight was accomplished with magic this was a spell she was unfamiliar with and hadn’t had a chance to exactly practice casting. Her theory was based off the process she had used to travel to Earth the second time, this was all assuming that the dimensions were the same, if they were different then there’s no telling what might happen. 

Confetti and balloons suddenly filled the room taking group by surprise. A banner that had WELCOME HOME in a multitude of colors strung itself from the ceiling while a large cake appeared on the table. 

“Welcome back my- oh they’re not here…” Discord said looking around the room disappointed. 

“Discord, now is not a good time!” Twilight exclaimed. 

“Of course it’s not a good time, you haven’t brought them back yet.” Discord retorted making the decorations and cake disappear with a snap of his fingers. 

“Okay who told him to come?” Rainbow Dash asked. 

“Um…I might have mentioned something about it, I mean he did seem concerned when I told him his friend vanished.” Fluttershy said sheepishly. 

“I wouldn’t dream of losing the only other chaotic being in this world.” Discord said.

Twilight shook her head turning her attention once again to the task at hoof. The stone started to glow a soft magenta as Twilight’s magic levitated it into the slot just above the mirror where Sunset Shimmer’s book had been moments ago. 

“Okay, time to bring our friends back.’ Twilight said leveling her horn at the mirror.

The alicorn’s horn shone brightly due to her concentration on the stone and mirror. There was a low humming noise as the stone started to glow red. The mirror’s glass shimmered and warped into a red vortex that slowly spun counter clockwise.

“Come on Twi, you can do it!” Applejack cheered as the vortex started to spin faster. 

Twilight’s face twisted into one of pain as she strained to keep the connection. Through her mind’s eye she could see them, just beyond her reach. The more she focused on them the closer she became until they were only inches away. 

The stone’s light had started to grow dim and Twilght felt the gap she had worked so hard to close reforming as fatigue set in. She forced herself to keep going closing a bit of the distance but unable to get as close as she had been. 

I can’t give up! Twilight thought to herself. 

The vortex flickered like a dying flame as the spell started to lose power. It required a constant flow in order for the reversal to work and retrieve something or somepony that had been banished instead of casting them out of a realm. 

Discord watched the alicorn, impressed by the amount of effort it was taking to break reality between two dimensions. The draconequus tapped his chin as he studied the mirror and stone from a distance before approaching them with a grin on his face. 

“Discord what are you doing?” Fluttershy asked. 

“Helping.” Discord replied before snapping the padded fingers from his lion paw and the fingers of his eagle hand in unison. 

---

Isabella flipped the light switch in the hallway off as they ran past it, no longer caring if the cameras saw them or not. The guards knew they were in the building and the police officers were actively pursuing them through the museum. 

“I thought you said she knew what she was doing?” Isabella asked.  

“She does, just give her time Izzy.” I replied. 

“There they are!” yelled a voice as a light fell upon us. 

I grabbed my sister by the arm and pulled her quickly around a corner, desperately searching for something to buy us a bit of time. I was startled by a sudden screech and what appeared to be a long snout in my face. 

A motion sensor had been tripped causing an animatronic dinosaur to lunge at me. We had to push forward, setting off more of the jump scare animatronics as we proceeded through the exhibit. 

“Contrary to popular belief Velociraptors were nowhere near the size of those depicted in movies. Instead th-“ the voice trailed off as we left the hallway. 

“Thank God that’s over with.” Isabella said. 

“It was getting to the good part.” Spike sulked. 

I could hear the screams of the dinosaurs again as we were followed, the officers having to maneuver their way through the maze as we had. One of them called the poor animatronics a name that I couldn’t distinguish, but I’m sure it wasn’t pleasant. 

“Guys we’re about out of building.” Isabella said. 

“I didn’t come all this way to rot in a jail cell.” I said turning left since it was the only option left to us. 

I looked out the window to see if any more police cars had arrived. I caught a glimpse of a bright star in the sky, it was unusually bright compared to the others and found it odd, almost enchanting. The sound of heavy footsteps brought me back to reality. 

A set of stairs came into view leading up to some sort of balcony that overlooked a brass model of the world. Making a judgment call on the fly I opted to lead us up them if only to buy a few more precious seconds. 

We couldn’t assault a police officer, the whole gun thing ruled out any kind of retaliation except running. I was amazed we had been able to stay away this long. The building and the dark had probably helped us keep our distance, though neither of which would matter now. 

Two pairs of lights fell on us from below the stairs and the officers slowly ascended, keeping their lights leveled, and quite possibly their hand gun which couldn’t be seen. 

“Don’t move!” ordered one of the officers. 

“Jesus what is that?” one of them asked as the light shined on Noctra who hissed. 

“It’s…my pet demon, yeah real nasty.” I said walking towards them which in turn made the police officers back away. 

“Guys it’s fake just cuff these idiots.” another said nonchalantly. 

“Who are you calling fake?” Noctra said turning her head towards the man who had called her fake. 

“Holy shit!” the officer said dropping his flashlight. 

Even with Noctra’s appearance keeping the police at bay it was only buying us a few seconds. They wouldn’t stay intimidated forever, especially when they found out she wasn’t actually a demon. It felt like the rug was being pulled out from under me by some sick twist of fate. 

It actually felt like something was pulled out from under me as I fell down to the cold tile floor. I noticed Isabella had been drug down as well. Scootaloo remained in my sister’s backpack somehow while Spike was shaken from mine by the force of the next pull. 

The police officers were hesitating, unsure what to do as a low hum built to a deafening high pitched whine. I felt another forceful pull as light started to flood the room forcing my eyes shut. 

I suddenly felt as if I was on a slide, only instead of riding it down correctly I had opted to slide down backwards. A part of me was relieved that Twilight had come through for us. I smiled, waiting for the sensation to end. 

Once it did I opened my eyes abruptly as I felt nothing beneath me for a few seconds. I looked down and saw I was on a collision course with a marbled floor below me. 

“Oh s-“ I said, before I felt surrounded by something soft and cool. 

I looked around and took note of my surroundings. There were pillars and other statues around me that were expertly crafted giving me a good idea as to where I was. I then noticed the blue aura around me as I was slowly lowered to the ground at a much more comfortable speed brining me eye level to several ponies who were clearly upper class.  

“Daniel, tis a pleasure to see that thou hast returned safely…though we must inquire as to what ends brought thee to night court?” Luna asked as her aura left me. 

“I’m not quite sure Princess, but uh you know me, had to stop by and say hello to you first.” I said with a nervous laugh. 

For a split second I could have sworn I saw a blush before Luna cleared her throat and called for a guard. I looked around at all of the nobles, the expressions within their crowd mixed with disgust and amusement. 

“We are certain your friends have been awaiting your return. We shall detain thee no longer.” Luna said. 

I followed the guard out of the court room and grinned when the double doors opened to reveal a familiar white unicorn. The terrified expression on his face was priceless and was well worth being brought to Canterlot Castle by some twist of fate. 

“Sup buddy?” I asked. 

---

Isabella rubbed her head as she woke up. There was a magenta light in front of her that disappeared when she reached out to touch it. 

“Not too fast now darling, you took quite a fall.” a kind voice said. 

Isabella looked around her to find herself surrounded by curious ponies. Another creature was tall and serpentine like, mixed with a bunch of different animal limbs and parts. Isabella sat in silence for a while not registering any questions she might have been asked. 

“Can you hear me?” asked a purple unicorn that also had wings like Scootaloo. 

“Umm, yeah…you’re Twilight right?” Isabella asked in return. 

“Indeed, I think it’s safe to assume you’re Izzy?” Twilight asked with a smile. 

“Isabella actually, Izzy is a nickname my brother gave me.” Isabella replied. 

She looked around and saw a swirling vortex contained within a mirror. Inside a container was the stone that had caused all of this in the first place though instead of a soft blue it was now red. She was just glad to be out of the close situation with the police. 

“Oh crap! Where’s Scootaloo and Spike?!” Isabella asked getting to her feet. 

“Don’t you fret none, they made it.” the one Daniel had described as Applejack said as she pointed with her hoof. 

Isabella followed the hoof and saw Spike sleeping peacefully with Scootaloo next to Fluttershy. They had been through a rough time and it had finally caught up with them. 

“As for you, you’re going to be lucky if you can feel anything below the neck once I’m through with you!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed cornering Noctra. 

“Skittles wait!” Isabella exclaimed stirring Spike and Scootaloo from their sleep. 

“Skittles?” Rainbow Dash asked flatly. 

“Noctra helped us, she’s the main reason we’re here right now.” Isabella said putting herself between Rainbow Dash and the bat pony. 

“That still doesn’t change what she did!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. 

“Rainbow Dash it’s true, she’s not a bad pony.” Scootaloo said groggily. 

“But…” Rainbow Dash said looking at Scootaloo then back to Noctra. 

Twilight walked past Rainbow Dash and Isabella until she was in front of Noctra. She looked down at the bat pony that had pressed herself against the wall trying to look as small as possible now that she was in the presence of the princess she had stolen from. 

“Thank you for helping my friends.” Twilight said. 

Noctra looked up at Twilight with uncertain eyes. The bat pony slowly got to her feet while averting her gaze to the ground. Any previous sign of pride had been chased away in the presence of Twilight, her fate resting in her very hooves. 

“I’m sorry I stole from you. It was just a job, I didn’t know it would affect others the way it did…I was desperate for the bits.” Noctra said. 

“I forgive you.” Twilight said taking the bat pony by surprise. 

“Thank you…” Noctra said quietly. 

Twilight smiled, even though she had every right to be mad she knew Noctra wasn’t evil. The bat pony had just gone through a difficult time and lashing out at her would only make things worse at this point. Besides tonight wasn’t the night for pointing hooves or casting judgment. 

“Hey where’s Danny?” Pinkie Pie asked. 

“Pinkie’s right, everypony is here and accounted for except him.” Rarity said. 

“I’m sure he’s just fine, I can tell he entered Equestria…he’s headed here now actually.” Discord said reclining on his tail. 

“Couldn’t you have brought him here?” Fluttershy asked. 

“Chaos can be a bit unpredictable under pressure, even for me.” Discord replied rolling his eyes until they literally came loose like screws and hit the floor before he picked them up again. 

“So will you be staying in Equestria as well?” Twilight asked turning to Isabella. 

“That all depends on how you guys feel about me being here. I thought it might be cool to see new some places.” Isabella replied. 

“Ah don’t see why another human couldn’t fit in if one already has.” Applejack said. 

---

The carriage came to a stop outside the castle in Ponyville, a sight that was a blessing for sore eyes after the dull colors of Earth. Even at night it was still more vibrant than the most extravagant buildings back home as it was illuminated by the moon. 

“Thanks guys.” I said waving as the night guard departed from the castle. 

I greeted the guards at the door who seemed happy for a change. Once I was inside I walked a bit faster, anxious to know what had become of the others. I wondered if they had been scattered to the wind like me, or if I had been a special case. 

I remembered Noctra and my mind started to create scenarios of what Twilight might do to her. None of them ended well. 

I finally reached the door that led to Twilight’s library and pushed on it. Streamer and balloons filled the room as well as an oversized chocolate cake. A smile crossed my face when I saw a familiar pink earth pony taking a big bite out of it. 

When her gaze met mine her eyes lit up with excitement. With speed that was on par with Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie tackled me in a hug and started to squeeze, a bit too tight. 

"OhDannyweweresoworriedaboutyouguys!Twilightcouldn'tsleep!RainbowDashwasworried sickaboutScootalooand-" Pinkie Pie said as she continued to hug me tighter.

"Pinkie...too tight..." I wheezed as I was painfully reminded that earth ponies were super strong by nature. 

"Alright now, give him some breathin’ room. It's good ta have ya back" Applejack said prying Pinkie Pie off me. 

"Did the others make it?" I asked. 

"We made it, where did you go?" Isabella asked with a smirk. 

"I had a brief visit with Princess Luna, so that was fun...where's Noctra?" I asked. 

Isabella side stepped to reveal a bat pony that was still sulking, but other than remorse seemed to be fine. I was certain she would have been hauled off by now if not for some form of intervention. 

"She explained the situation to us, and I've forgiven her for it." Twilight said. 

"I was afraid I wasn't going to get to you guys in time, I'm glad Izzy was here." I said. 

I saw Scootaloo in the corner with Sweete Belle and Applebloom. I could hear bits and pieces of their conversation as she told them about her adventures on Earth. I could tell Spike was tired, but he was doing his best to stay awake. 

"So this is your sister? You don't really look alike now do you?" Discord asked.

"I guess not, but yeah she's my sister Discord." I replied.

"I simply adore her mane err...hair rather." Rarity said.

I smiled as Rarity and my sister continued to chat. I looked over at Rainbow Dash. She smiled and nodded her head in my direction, keeping her cool personality on display. I felt a gentle tug on my pants leg and turned around to see Twilight motion with her head for me to follow her. 

"Do you think they'll be as skittish around her as they were me?" I asked once we were away from eveypony else. 

"I think things will be okay. She doesn't seem like the studious type though." Twilight replied. 

Isabella would have to endure that nightmare of a test I had to, and she hated test of any kind. She hated studying even more unless it was something that she was interested in, then you could hold her attention for more than ten seconds. Though Twilight was in for a surprise if she underestimated Isabella; she was quite smart despite her goofy and carefree personality. 

"Thanks for letting Noctra off by the way." I said. 

"She said she plans on going back to her family, hopefully she can start over. I just hope she's learned her lesson." said Twilight. 

“I think she has.” I said as we approached a closed balcony window. 

As we approached a large window I looked out to see Ponyville. Most of the ponies were already asleep given the lack of lights that illuminated the sleepy, peaceful town. After being in the busy, loud cities of Earth again, I felt at peace here. 

“Happy Hearth’s Warming Eve Twilight.” I said.

“Merry Christmas Daniel.” said Twilight.  






> Epilog
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Morning had arrived after the stressful, previous night. I had fallen asleep on the couch, letting Isabella have my bed. One would assume a woman would gladly take a bed over a couch, my sister was an odd case.

I smiled as I stood up from my makeshift bed, and stretched, bones popping in response. I looked over at the fire place, and saw a few embers were still active. I worked on the fire a bit, using small pieces of wood that had splintered off, before adding larger pieces that were a bit aged.

After a few minutes the fire came to life once more providing its familiar warmth. With the fire started I decided to grab my jacket and get some air while Isabella was still sleeping. By now I was used to waking up early with my work shift starting in the odd hours of the morning.

Crafty Crate had recently offered to try and move me to a mail carrier position, but I turned down the offer. Sure, it was more bits, but I was happy working with Timber and Strong Deck. Crafty Crate seemed to understand and told me the offer was still on the table if I wanted it.

The cold air broke my train of thought as I opened the door as quietly as possible. I kept my hand on the door handle, and pulled it shut, slowly, only releasing the handle once I was certain it wouldn’t catch on the frame. I had learned the trick from Isabella after I witnessed her sneaking out one night.

The satisfying crunching of snow beneath my shoes brought a smile to my face as I walked. The streets were barren, but a few voices could be heard from within the multiple houses. Hearth’s Warming Day had arrived, and families were probably inside, celebrating and sharing stories.

I eventually found myself in the park, that was now populated by snow ponies of various types and sizes. I had to resist the urge to topple every single one of them as the evil little kid in me started to stir.

I opted instead to be a bit more constructive, and build a snowman, I was certain such a creation would get a few reactions out of the ponies in Ponyville. I began the process of searching for a spot to build, since snowman making required the perfect snow and location for the base.

Finally satisfied with an area, I set to work forming a snowball, and rolling it on the ground. As it rolled, it collected more and more snow with it, revealing grass in its wake. Soon the first snowball, if it could be called that now, was large enough to support the other two pieces. I used my arm to smooth the orb out, giving it the more traditional snowman look.

I repeated the process for the other two body parts, and used two twigs as arms, while rocks formed the eyes and mouth. Lacking a carrot for the nose proved problematic, but it’s not like I had originally intended to stop and build a snowman in the first place anyways.

“It needs a nose.” a bubbly voice said, making me jump.

“Hey Pinkie, what are you doing out here?” I asked.

“A better question is, what are you doing out here? It's Hearth's Warming Day, shouldn't you be spending time with your sister?" Pinkie Pie asked, answering my question with one of her own.

"She's still asleep Pinkie, besides I didn't actually plan on celebrating it to begin with. It's not a human holiday, and I was only going to the pageant because I promised I would. Then I got carried away along with Spike and Scootaloo." I replied as I turned to walk back home.

"Well then since the pageant was canceled, I guess we'll have to move the party to your house then!" Pinkie exclaimed happily.

"Aren't you going to spend time with the Cakes? Rainbow Dash left pretty late last night, but she was set on making it to Cloudsdale." I said knowing that the train stopped it's rounds for public transportation long before our return to Equestria.

"I was, but you still seemed down in the dumps about something, so I thought I would try to cheer you up a bit. Besides, nopony should miss out on Hearth's Warming Day!" Pinkie Pie said excitedly.

"Heh, I suppose not. I just didn't want to get in anypony's way, since this day is pretty important to you guys. I was going to stay home and chill, but I guess we could do it your way since I promised I would anyways." I said.

"Mmhmm! Something' been bugging me though, what was Scootaloo doing with you in the first place?" Pinkie Pie asked bouncing at my side.

"I'm afraid I can't say Pinkie, she's probably be embarased and I doubt she would want it going around Ponyville." I answered, shaking my head. Throwing Scootaloo under the bus like that would have been a dick move on my part.

"You can tell me, I promise I won't tell anypony." Pinkie Pie said trying to reassure me. Here I thought Pinkie Pie was the queen of secrets, not wanting them to be exposed.

"No...that's final." I said, not being swayed by the blue doe eyes that were silently pleading with me to tell her the origins of that fateful night.

Pinkie Pie opened her mouth, presumably to ask once again, only to turn her attention towards the sound of irregular padding hoofs through snow. One could tell who ever it was seemed to be having some difficulty with the frozen substance.

I sighed as I took note of the source of the noise. A purple tuff was protruding from a pile of snow which was soon disturbed by an tangerine filly climbing out of the pony size pit she had created upon stepping onto the unstable snow pile.

"Scootaloo," I said startling her as I approached. "What are you doing?" I asked hoping that she wasn't attempting to run again, in broad daylight no less.

"Oh, I was just wanting some time alone. The orphanage doesn't exactly do a great job with Hearth's Warming, and Rainbow Dash isn't in town so..." Scootaloo replied, drawing a circle in the snow with her hoof, refusing to make eye contact.

She didn't have any saddle bags, or her scooter, which made sense given the snow's density, so another flee attempt was out of the question. I could sympathize with her boredom, my first few days in Equestria were mind numbingly dull. I could only imagine what a rambunctious little filly probably contemplated during said boredom.

Scootaloo was Rainbow Dash's understudy. She idolized and tried to mimic everything about her, this included her prideful nature sometimes, intentional or not. The filly didn't need to be out in the cold like this, but I couldn't exactly force her to return either. 

"Scoots," I said gaining her attention. "You're welcome to come with me and Pinkie Pie to celebrate...if not you shouldn't stay out too long, do what you will though." I said turning to walk away motioning for Pinkie Pie to follow me which she did so hesitantly with a confused look on her face.

Three...two...one. I counted down the seconds, anticipating the filly's response.

Sure enough, reverse psychology proved to be just as effective in this world as in mine, evidence of this present when Scootaloo did her best to catch up to us. With a grin I purposefully slowed my pace, giving her a chance to do so.

"There's nothing else to do, I guess I can see what your home looks like compared to the one you had in the other world." Scootaloo said playing her decision off in a similar fashion as her mentor would.

"Good, I feel honored to have the coolest filly in Ponyville come and visit." I said making Scootaloo beam with pride.

I felt Pinkie Pie bump into me, greeting my gaze with a knowing smile. At least the need to know of the private matter that led to Scootaloo's involvement was gone for the time being, replaced now by the shared goal of trying to give her some sort of celebration to be a part of.

---
Later that night...

Scootaloo lay awake under the covers of her bed. The rest of the fillies and colts were all sound asleep, but not her. Her mind refused to let her drift to the peaceful state that the others had. Her mind was flooded with thoughts, and questions that she didn't have the answer to. 

That night...he stayed...he stopped me...why? Scootaloo thought to herself.

True, Rainbow Dash had kept an eye out for her, and she knew the cyan pegasus would never let anything bad happen, but this felt different, somehow. She couldn't quite explain it, but she knew whatever it was was genuine, not like the mare that ran the orphanage. It was almost like...

No Scootaloo...don't go there...don't dream...you know that dream will never come true. Scootaloo thought to herself, a single tear escaping her eyes as she closed them for the last time that night.


To be continued...in Never Dream