It was a beautiful summer morning that Monday. The sky was clear, and the birds were chirping happily in the trees that lined my neighborhood. I had decided to go for a walk that day just because I felt like it. I was bored cramped up in the one-story house, so I thought it couldn’t hurt to walk. Walking down the street, with my headphones around my neck playing music, I sighed. It was summer break and, as usual, my closest friends were out doing something fun. Don’t get me wrong; I’m glad they get to have fun and, right then, I didn't exactly care. I was enjoying the quiet while it lasted. They could get annoying at times, but what could you do? Relish in the peace while they were gone, that’s what you do.
Walking past the ditch in our little cul de sac neighborhood, I heard high pitched screaming and laughter behind me. I turn around and...nothing. I shrugged it off, readjusted my glasses, and continued my walk, thinking it was just my ears playing with me. Then I fell. I didn't trip though. I just dropped, like I just walked off the edge of the ditch, and for a second, I thought that happened. But something was wrong. I wasn't in pain, I wasn't tumbling, I didn't feel the dirt, and I couldn't see anything. I was falling through what seemed like a tunnel. I yelled at the top of my lungs. I had no idea what was going on, and I was terrified
A second later, I looked down, and I saw “the light at the end of the tunnel.” I couldn't call it anything else until I got closer and saw red. All I saw was molten magma, although it didn't radiate heat, that wasn't of concern. I yelled again.
“I’m going to die!!!” Then, I was out of the tunnel. I bounced off something soft and hit the floor. I groaned as I got off the floor. Then I realized I was breathing, checked myself over, and stood up, throwing my fists up in the air, yelling, “I’m alive,” to the heavens above over and over until a thought popped into my head. “What if I’m not alive,” I thought out loud, “What if I’m dead and I went to heaven?” Right then, I chose to test my theory. If I felt pain, I wasn't in heaven, because what heaven would allow its patrons to suffer. So I decided to bite myself. I wasn't in heaven. When I bit down, I bit down hard, sending a wave of intense pain. So maybe I was alive, I thought.
The next question to answer was: Where was I? The room I was in was big and, considering its size, empty. The only things there were a bed, the thing that saved my life and a pretty big dresser. The windows were stained glass, and off to the side, there was a balcony. The room itself gave off a royal feel to it. Maybe I’m in a castle, I thought, looking around some more. My eyes found the door and, wanting to see if I was indeed in a castle, I pushed through.
I was definitely in a castle. All the windows were stained glass, the roof was always a hundred or so feet above my head, there were red rugs everywhere I went, and the doors were still super big. As I perused the building, I made a mental note of something I found slightly odd. Wherever I was, they liked horses. Real and fictional. I found pegasi fountains and saw pegasus, unicorn, and regular horse statues when I found my way outside. There was even a flag with a day and night side with two horses with wings and horns, one black and one white.
Another weird thing was that there was nobody there. As I walked and wandered around the castle, I saw no one. It was as if the place had been deserted. I regularly felt chills walking down each corridor.
After about twenty minutes of wandering, I found yet another room. It was a throne room, although the term "throne room" was actually kind of an overstatement. It was a long hallway with two thrones at the end. Stained windows lined both sides of the throne room, and while one side, the one to the left, was the same type of stained windows I saw throughout the whole castle, the other side had paintings in a stained glass form. I decided to focus on the thrones in front of me. They were both red and yellow. One smaller and off to the side. The only other difference was the symbol on top of both thrones. The bigger, central throne had the sun, and the smaller, off to the side throne had a crescent moon. Seeing nothing else of interest, I got bored and felt it was time to leave. I walked back to the door and when I opened it, saw something I wasn't expecting.
Purple eyes. That was what was staring at me — big, round, surprised, purple eyes. Although I was shocked when they appeared in front of me, what surprised me was what those eyes belonged to. A horse. A big, white, majestic horse. Its mane and tail looked like aurora borealis, and it flowed effortlessly, but there was no wind. Glancing to its rear, I saw the picture of the sun plastered on her flank. It was like the one on the throne. I also saw that I had wings as well as a longhorn that was centimeters away from impaling my forehead. She also wore a golden tiara with a purple jewel just behind its horn and using that tiara; I guessed that it was a mare. She still stared at me, and I stared back. It was the most awkward staring contest I have ever been apart of. She was eye level with me. Then her horn started to glow a light yellow hue as a sound emanated from it. Then before I knew it, I was up in the air, encased in a yellow aura, and she cried out.
“Guards! Hurry and get restraints big enough for the Cerberus! And get some parchment, too. I must send a letter to Princess Twilight.” I was in shock. One, she talked, and two, she said Cerberus. If that creature exists here, then I am dead. And worse, I’m in Hell, I thought.
The guards, both white with golden barding, shoes, and helmets, left with a stern, “Yes, Princess Celestia!” My mind moved back to my previous panic, and I started thinking out loud.
“Oh man,” I began, “I really am in-“
“DO NOT SPEAK, FOUL CREATURE!” A new voice cut me off. Loud and brash, but also feminine. I spun in the air to find another horse by the white one known as Celestia. She was dark navy blue, closer to black, and her mane and tail, like Celestia’s, were always in flowing. Her mane and tail were the night sky, with little stars. On her flank, I saw a crescent moon like the one on the smaller throne. She was shorter and looked younger, but also had wings and a tremendous horn. She had blue eyes and wore a black chest plate with the crescent moon, black tiara, and black shoes. I look over to Celestia and find that she was also wearing a golden chest plate with another purple jewel and golden shoes. I was confused, but I wasn't going to let that “foul creature” comment slide.
“Hey! ‘Creature’ I can understand, foul I am not. If you should know, I took a shower this morning,” I huffed at the mare. “So let me guess you're some demon aren't you?” I asked, taking a shot in the dark.
“A DEMON?” She asked, almost deafening me in the process.
“Yeah. A demon. You're orchestrating my suffering because I'm in hell,” I said.
“HELL?” she asked again.
“Yeah. Hell,” I continued, getting an idea of the horses' plan, "Hey! You can't fool me,” I looked at Celestia, “you and she are trying to get me to let my guard down while explaining the place where I am so I'll forget about the Cerberus and my eternal suffering aren't you,” I asked. Once I did, the guards rushed back in with a spiky collar, a chain, and paper.
The collar and chain seemed too big to do anything to me until the yellow aura surrounding me also surrounded them, and they shrank. The now smaller restraints levitated toward me, and they hog-tied me in the air. They placed the collar so that an end of the chain fastened there. After Celestia put me on my curved back and I flopped to the side, she levitated the paper to her, got a quill and ink from nowhere, and started writing. Once she was done, the paper rolled up and disappeared.
“Hey, Celestia! What are you going to do to me now that I'm in Hell?” I asked, worried. I thought that at any second, Satan would take me to my torture chamber. The answer was not what I was expecting.
“What is this ‘Hell’ you speak of,” was her reply. I was taken aback by her motherly tone. The fact that she knew what the Cerberus is, but didn't know what I was talking about.
“Y’know, the place of eternal suffering. There are the screams of the departed sinners. The wails of those whose souls who were corrupted with malice, evil, and sin when they died. There’s the Cerberus that guards the gate in case a soul tries to escape,” I explained. She and the smaller one looked at me blankly.
After they explained to me that the closest to what I had described was a realm called Tartarus, where the creatures sent there didn't die, I asked her and the other, smaller one a slew of questions before they taped my mouth shut. Using both the information they had given me before they got annoyed and the knowledge I had acquired on my own, I found out that I was in quite the pickle. I was a land called Equestria, where ponies, not horses, roam the earth with other creatures, and this place is full of equine puns. If the name of the land wasn't punny enough, the castle I was in the capital, Canterlot. Yeah, pretty bad. The most important thing I got out of this was that I was indeed alive, but not asleep. You can’t feel pain while you’re sleeping, and those chains chaffed.
Stuck there, hog-tied, chain connected to my new collar, and mouth taped, I laid next to Celestia in that throne room, probably so I didn’t try to escape. I sat there on my side for a week. The only time they removed the tape from my mouth was also the only time I got to turn on my stomach to eat. I ate unceremoniously without hands, but I was okay with that. But I did have a complaint. They only served me literal plants, though I understand why. They were herbivores, after all. But still, I would've liked my tastes to be considered at least. Once I was done eating whatever flower they presented me that day, a new piece of tape would be placed firmly upon my lips. I don’t know if it was me being a captive, or being in that world period, but I didn't have to use the bathroom at all. It wasn't until the next Monday that I got to speak again. All I did to pass the time was sleep, think, and observe.
That Monday started like the ones before it, being a captive, it was uneventful. I woke up and ate breakfast. I think they gave me an apple. That was new. I thought about what will happen when that Twilight pony showed up, like every other day, and took a nap at some point. I was awakened by the sound of doors slamming open and a female voice panting.
“Sorry for the wait, Celestia and Luna.” I look up to see six ponies and a baby lizard thing — the same ones in the window paintings.
“It was no trouble at all, Twilight,” Celestia assured the purple pony with wings and a horn. I guessed she was Twilight. Being on the side of the throne, they hadn't noticed me yet, but that didn't last long.
The ponies were all female because of their size. The white unicorn from the windows had a mane and tail that curled and a deep shade of purple. She had three blue diamonds on her flank. The regular orange pony had a brown Stetson on her blonde mane, which, like her tail, was in a ponytail. She had three red apples on her flank. The regular pink pony had a pink mane and tail that seemed uncontrollable. She had two blue balloons underneath a yellow balloon. The yellow pegasus was on the ground, and her mane and tail were a flowing pink that curled before it touched the ground. She had three pink butterflies on her flank. The blue pegasus was in the air. Her mane and tail were a frazzled mess of the rainbow, no kidding. She had a rainbow bolt of lightning underneath a cloud on her flank. Twilight had a purple mane and tail with a pink streak in the middle. She had a pink six-sided burst with five more white ones surrounding it on her flank.
“So where is this creature you want me to turn to stone,” Twilight asked. I immediately tried to tear the tape off of my mouth, and by somehow getting a hold of it with my teeth, I got it off.
By the time I got the whole thing off, I was once again floating in the air.
“Here,” Celestia deadpanned. I spat out the wad of tape and yelled.
“Whoa, wait! Timeout! Stone!? Won’t I die!? Are you a gorgon!? Why me!?” I never said I yelled out with intense confusion and fear.
“It can talk?” Twilight asked, surprised.
“Ugh.Yes. He can talk. And he is mad. Dammit! Un-hog-tie me, Celestia! These chains have been hurting like hell for the past week,” I exclaimed, wiggling to get free of my chains, only to find myself tumbling head-over-heels in the air.
“A feisty one ain't he,” the orange pony asked in a southern accent.
“So you want him to be like Discord was before, right,” Twilight asked. I found the other end of the room and pushed myself back to the group of ponies as best as I could.
“I got three things to say,” I called as I bounced off the wall behind the thrones, “One, It’s weird to be named ‘Chaos.’ Two, who is he? And three, what do you mean by ‘like he was before,’” I asked as I finally lost momentum.
“It’s Discord, not ‘Chaos,’” Twilight began before I cut her off.
“I know, that’s what discord means.”
“I know what it means. Anyway, he’s the embodiment of chaos. He was turned to stone before he was let free and reformed,” Twilight explained. I was shocked. They let the embodiment of chaos become reformed, and they want to turn me into stone immediately.
“That’s not fair,” I wailed. I didn’t want to be sentenced to the literal stony lonesome. I turned to Celestia and tried to assume the begging position, but it looked like I was trying to stretch.
“Wait,” a voice called. It was gruff but still feminine. I turn to see the blue pegasus fly toward me. "That cloud symbol on your back. I've seen it somewhere before,” She said. I looked down at my shirt to remember what she was talking about. It was the red cloud of the Akatsuki from Naruto. I had the shirt of the villages they came from with a scratch mark.
“Yea, I saw it, too. When we fell through that portal Twilight made before she made another portal that took us back home, I saw him,” the pink earth pony bubbled.
“Pinkie Pie,” Twilight looked at the pink mare, “Why didn't you say anything before?”
“You didn't ask,” the pink mare known as Pinkie Pie singsonged.
"So that was what I heard on my walk," I said. That is when I turned to Celestia, and she had an eyebrow raised in interest.
“Would you like to explain?” She asked
Sheepishly, Twilight explained that she and her friends happened to come across a different universe spell. When she cast it, she didn't know that the portal was going to appear below them. Next thing they knew, they were falling through the air, and she cast the same spell again before they hit the ground.
“I guess that in my...er... our panic, I cast two other universes spells,” The ending of her explanation intrigued me, in a bad way.
“So in other words, I’m here because of an accident, and tied up for no good reason,” I hissed, tumbling towards her. I missed, of course, but her next comment made me wish that I hadn't.
“Not for ‘no good reason.’ You are a new creature so you may be dangerous,” She shot back at me.
“If I wasn't chained up like this and on the ground, I would show you dangerous,” I said, heading for the ceiling. I had a plan.
“Oh really, this why we need to turn you into stone,” Celestia spoke, “But I think that, along with my sister and Twilight, I am curious to see what you can do so that we can make an appropriate choice.”
Suddenly the chain and collar disappeared, and I floated to the ground on my feet. I performed a well needed stretched as the ponies looked on. Once done cracking and popping what seemed like every bone in my body, I sat down and laid back. After a few seconds, I sat back up. I was done. I just sat there, staring back at them.
“Aren't ya gonna do something,” the orange pony asked. I looked at her and told her the truth.
“No.” She looked at me, sternly.
“But ya said...”
“I know what I said. I bluffed to get me down. I was starting to get dizzy, tumbling around,” I cut the orange pony off.
“I don’t take kindly to lying,” she continued to pressure.
“I can see that. But I’m not that stupid. I may have my moments, but I can asses a situation,” I casually stated.
“And that means,” the pegasus pressured and got ever closer to me.
“Well, Skittles, you and the cowgirl over there look like you’re pretty strong, and Pinkie looks unpredictable, as well as Little Yellow over there. It’s always the quiet ones, y'know? As for the ones with horns in the room, along with not wanting to be impaled, like I almost was when I got here, I also don’t like the fact that they can lift me I also don’t want to find out what else they can do,” I finished. Celestia nodded.
“A wise choice.”
“Besides, I can’t do anything. I would need a weapon for that. My body isn’t that strong. The only thing good physically about my body is that since I’m tall, I take longer strides, which makes me faster. Also, because I’m black, but that’s a racist stereotype,” I continued as I lay back down and stare at the high ceiling. Before anybody can ask questions, I hopped back up and started walking out of the room.
“WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING,” Luna roared.
I rubbed my ears and called back, “Geez, I’m going outside. I found a garden around here. I've been in this room for a week, and now that I have free will, I want to leave the room if you don’t mind.”
Of course, they did mind. The ponies took me to the garden themselves to keep an eye on me just in case I had the power to control plants. I let them have that one to themselves as we walked in the garden. The plants looked so colorful, the statues were interesting, and the sky was beautiful; like with everything, though, it was weird knowing it was different. I stared at a cloud and noticed that it wasn't moving. I saved that question for later and enjoyed the silence the world brought at the moment. This is nice, I thought. Of course, timing decided that I needed a wake-up call. I heard screams to my left and turned to see ponies looking at me, in terrifying worry. I knew that if I moved to them, they would run away, so I left. I hadn't realized the garden was public, and, not wanting to cause trouble, I walked over to Celestia and the others and walked back to the castle.
Once completely inside, I turned back around and asked, “So, what’s my judgment?” Celestia had decided to give me the benefit of the doubt and gave me three weeks in a place called Ponyville. That pun wasn't even trying to be hidden. I was going to be sent there to prove that I wasn't dangerous.
“Why don’t I go back now?” I asked and looked to Twilight, who looked down like Little Yellow whenever I looked at her.
“My magic reserves are depleted. That spell calls for a lot of magic just to cast it once, but using it three times in one day drained me completely.”
“Don’t worry, darling. We’ll give you the best hospitality in Ponyville,” The white unicorn said; her voice was that of pretentious hierarchy.
“Y’er darn tootin’ she’s right,” the orange cowgirl said in agreement.
“Considering your situation, you’re taking this very well,” Twilight said.
“Really?” I asked. “You're wrong. Hey, Luna, can you do me a favor?” She nodded, and I asked her to soundproof me. She looked confused but did it anyway. Soon enough, I was engulfed in a blue shell. Before the whole thing was closed, I started my primal yell. Once done, I sighed. That yell took a lot out of me. And it was a tiresome day. When the shell disappeared, I walked out with the seven to take me to this ‘Ponyville’ place as they led the way.
The train ride to Ponyville was a whole ordeal itself. Twilight had to explain to the conductor and to the other passengers that I might not be dangerous. They didn’t like the word ‘might’ in the explanation, and they were steadfast against the idea of me sitting in the same car as them. They were persistent; I'll tell you. Getting tired of them talking about me as a monster, I climbed up the train and onto the train.
“If you don’t want me on the train, I’ll be on top of the train,” I said, looking at a concerned Twilight. She opened her mouth to say something, but I stopped her, “I know what you’re thinking; I know that I’m not heavy enough to stay on this thing. Do you know a spell to make me heavier?” She nodded. “Alright, use it on me.” She enveloped me with lavender aura, sunk lower, causing a slight crater in the place I was sitting. I looked over to the rainbow maned pegasus in the group. “Hey Skittles,” I called to her. She gave me a look and pointed to herself, as if to say, “Who me?” I nodded and told her to come to me. Once in front of me, I instructed her to try and lift me to make sure I was heavy enough. She was, of course, hesitant at first, but once I was sure I was secure, everybody got on the train.
The train started to move, and once it got to speed, I realized that I was astoundingly wrong. Once the train started going over about 100 miles per hour, I rolled back with a lot of thumping sounds. I was incredibility lucky that the caboose had space for ponies to stand outside, or I would have been stranded or dead. The ponies that were seated in the caboose yelled and ran to the other cars. I heard Twilight and the others running to check on me. They never came, though. I looked over the edge of the side of the train car and found out the ponies somehow disconnected the caboose as I saw the train getting farther and farther away. I sighed and cursed to the air. I sat there for a minute until I got a stupid idea.
I consider myself as moderately strong. My arms may be the equivalent of big noodle arms, but I can use them to carry pretty heavy things, but all the muscle is in my legs. Even so, my idea was dumb, but I didn’t want to waste any more time in the hot sun. I decided to run to Ponyville. My plan worked well, if by well you mean almost dying from lack of oxygen, and muscle exhaustion and hours running and jogging to Ponyville. Anyway, I ran the length equivalent to that of a triathlon. It was way out of my league. It was also the middle of summer, and that had me sweating bullets nonstop. At one point, it seemed that there was just no end.
When I got to the station hours later, the train was still there and so were all the passengers waiting for something, probably the caboose so they could leave. I guessed they had a ticket for another destination and sent someone to get the train car, but I wasn't concerned about that. Once I got to the end of the train, everything but my brain shut down, and I collapsed, gasping for air.
I heard gasps and murmurs. Pinkie was cheering and saying things like, “I can’t believe he ran all the way here!” and “Whoa, he has so much stamina!” I heard the rainbow one agree with the last statement. I disagreed immensely. I felt like I was about to die. I heard Twilight shouting to get some water, and a minute later, I felt the cold and tasteless liquid. It was like I had died and went to heaven. After that brief but ecstatic feeling, I felt the urge to turn and thank the pony for saving my life, but what happened was a failed attempt to move and a shameful and meek “thank you.”
Lying there, I felt heavy. I couldn’t move my legs. Once I felt my throat start to return to normal, I coughed and choked out, “I can’t stand on my own. Would it be alright if someone carried me until I gather enough strength to walk?” Twilight agreed to carry me. She picked me up with her levitation spell, and I was up in the air again. Yay, I get to tumble again , I thought, but I was wrong. Twilight didn't let me turn. I was firmly locked in a fixed position above her. I could move my limbs if I wanted to, but in the state I was in, I was glad to be in that position. Celestia must have been relaxed with her version of the spell. A few minutes past and I could feel the pain calm down. "Thank you, Twilight. I can walk for myself now," I said, my voice considerably less raspy.
"Are you sure?" Twilight looked at me. I nodded, and she put me down. I stretched my legs a bit. They were still sore, but I could manage, and by the time I began to walk, we were already in the town. It didn't take two seconds for the ponies of Ponyville to burst into chaos after a stray blue pony decided to point me out, at the top of his lungs. The crowd dispersed into their houses and huts, but a few street vending carts turned over, their contents spilled all over the ground. I sighed. What was I expecting? New town, new reaction. I thought they overreacted a little, though.
"Sorry about their reaction, darling. They are very..." The white unicorn trailed off, looking for a word, "Excitable. They will be a lot friendlier once we- I mean they, know you aren't dangerous." She chuckled nervously. Her very noticeable slip-up didn't help much.
"It's okay," I sighed. I started to walk deeper into the town, stopped, and turned to take in the sites. Most of the buildings were well-constructed huts that varied in lengths. Some of the buildings were noticeably different. A gingerbread building, a carnival tent, a tall building, and a castle of sorts. Blue, pink, and flashy. "That castle is really out of place," I mutter to myself.
"Well, c'mon then... What was your name again?" The cowgirl pony interrupted my thoughts on the castle.
"My name's Caleb."
"Well c'mon then, Caleb," the orange one said. I turn to see the six ponies ahead of me. "We should have some room for ya in the barn." They started walking again, and I quickly caught up. As we walked in silence, I couldn't help but notice the ponies in their houses peeking out to see what was happening. If I tried to make eye contact, they panicked and ducked behind the door, and when I turned away, I could barely see their heads come slowly back up. I sighed again and asked myself, why is this happening to me?
