Humanity has been ponified, the planet has changed, and the human race is no more. Well, that last bit was true for a few months...
The arrival of 'Equestria'.
If there was a moment where humanity as a whole was involved, it was this one. At first, it was a big mess: Intelligent equines that came with a huge continent-sized island, the misunderstandings that came with the first meetings, and among many, many other things... Equestria's magic.
The untouchable natural energy that gives the ponies their abilities with the weather, land, and magic itself... was lethal to humans.
And that's how the 'Conversion Bureau' became another important event in humanity's history. Perhaps the last one.
The only choice of survival for the humans was to transform into a pony, and while the barrier was expanding, the planet itself had some major changes.
Now, months after a complete conversion, Humankind is now Ponykind.
It's a very confusing sight. Normally, there would be streets, houses, and even bigger buildings, but now everything was replaced with a chaotic mixture of ruined buildings, nature, and few signs of civilization, like traffic lights that aren't working anymore, some vending machines, partially destroyed cars, and old posters with the letters 'HLF' and 'PER' on them.
A stallion was holding a piece of a pamphlet. It had a bunch of silly drawings of clouds, flowers, and hearts. It also had a bunch of text, but the most important message had the biggest size:
⠀
[Let's get rid of our stains and sins: The Conversion Bureau is waiting for you!]
⠀
⠀ "To think it would end like this..."
Another stallion got near him, rolling his eyes for a moment.
"Dude. How many times are you gonna spout the same thing? Get over it."
"Can you blame me, Mike? A few years ago we were still human, and now we are... small horses."
"We are still alive, too. I mean, it sucks that we aren't humans anymore Nick, I know. But I value my life, and the amount of things we've seen since this whole Equestria thing happened is like the stuff from movies!"
Nick dropped the paper, a bit annoyed at his partner but sadly he can't deny it.
"Yeah, yeah. Magic and stuff."
"Hey! Be grateful that you became a unicorn when it was your turn." said Mike, showing a bit of jealousy. "You can levitate stuff, teleport, and all sorts of neat tricks."
"You say that, but levitating objects it's hard as hell for me. And that's like, basic magic stuff." said Nick. "Besides, you got wings. You can fly, dude."
"And you think it's easy?" said Mike in response. "Do you know how many times I've crashed, dude?"
"Hey, you two!"
A female voice was heard behind them, and both stallions turned around to see a pegasus mare.
"Stop wasting your time! Remember our mission."
"Yeah. We know, Lapis." said Mike nonchalantly. "Scout for that Bear with bumblebee wings. We haven't forgotten."
"Next she's going to tell us to call her 'captain Bright Lapis'." added Nick with a quick laugh.
"It's a 'bugbear'." said the mare in a very serious tone. "I hope you two are aware of how dangerous it can be. It's very strong and can fly, too. Not to mention that a bite at full strength can be lethal. Did I mention it has four arms?"
"Jesus, that's a bit overkill..." said Nick, a bit worried now. "Any idea why is that thing roaming around this area? I remember reading in one of those Equestrian books that it's supposed to be only one, yet they claim to have seen it in different areas."
"It was one, but for some reason, that same one started to mate with a bunch of common bears." answered Bright Lapis. "Specifically, bears of this planet, because the bugbear never tried to mate with Equestrian bears."
"Fast-forward a few years, and here we are." said Mike, laughing a bit. "Someone had a good time."
"Ugh... It's not funny, man." said Nick. "It's a good thing we have a way to deal with them now."
Both stallions and the mare were carrying a bag. Bright Lapis took something out of hers.
It's a small ball that looks like it was made of glass. It has some kind of blue smoke inside.
"You're right, Dominick. These beauties explode when hitting the ground or a wall, and the smoke inside can sleep an elephant in seconds." the pegasus mare focused her gaze on the two stallions. "Use these only if you find yourselves in danger. A bugbear's behavior is basic, but they are fast."
"I don't want to go near that thing." Mike said, checking the "projectiles" in his bag. "It's good that we just have to report if we see one."
Lapis looked around for a few seconds, then she put the glass ball back to the bag.
"This area is clear. Let's go to the last one, then we're done."
The trio of ponies began to move. While Nick and Mike were trotting on the ground, Bright Lapis opened her wings and started to fly to look around. Mike looked at his wings for a moment, only to let out a sigh.
"You just have to keep practicing, dude." said Nick. "We've had these bodies for a while, but it's still tough. These are things that we did not have before."
"I know, I know. It's just..." Mike was now looking at her pegasus partner. "It must feel amazing, and I really want to experience that."
Bright Lapis descended to get near Mike, showing him a gentle smile.
"Still having trouble with your wings? Why didn't you tell me! I could have helped you."
"Oh? Aren't you busy with all these scout missions and taking care of your little sister?" asked the male pegasus with a playful tone.
"If you can come to my house, then maybe we can train for a bit, earth boy."
"You are the one who said it. Don't complain later, equestrian girl."
"Is this the part where I say to you two to get a room?" asked Nick in a teasing tone.
"Only if you pal here want to~" was Bright's answer, and this made both stallions blush a bit.
"Sorry. Who was the mare that was scolding us earlier for not taking this seriously?" countered mike.
"All right, all right. We'll check the last area and call it a day, ok?" Lapis did a wink and started to fly again. Nick looked at his friend ready to say something, but...
"Don't say a word, dude."
"I was just gonna say that you're lucky."
"Let's just finish this..."
"..."
"..."
"So... you're gonna get that room later?"
"...Shut up."
"Oh yeah. I want your answer by the end of the day, earth boy~"
"Stop it!"
"Is this really the last place? It looks kind of..."
"Empty. I mean there's nothing here showing that anyone has ever been here."
"I know, but our boss is the one responsible for the designated areas to search and scout, so..."
The area was indeed empty in terms of civilization. Everything around them is a very extensive mix of bushes, flowers, trees, rocks, and stones of various sizes, and last but not least, the neverending dirt on the ground. If one had to make a comparison, the most accurate description would be a prairie, plus the unusual amount of trees.
"Well, it's not like we have to do that much." said Bright Lapis. "We'll divide and scout the area. If we don't find anything in fifteen minutes, we'll call it a day. If you find anything regarding a bugbear, use the communication orb inside your bag to inform about it, and then we'll regroup."
"Got it."
"See you in fifteen minutes, then."
And with that, the trio of ponies separated, each one choosing a different direction to scout and investigate. Nick decided to go in the north direction, while Mike decided to go east. Since they were walking from the south, Bright Lapis decided to investigate the west.
And the minutes passed...
[This is Bright Lapis. Did you guys find anything?]
[This is Nick. Haven't seen anything interesting yet. Same old view since we arrived at this area. The only thing I found is a lake.]
[Mike here. Same view as you two. I found a couple of rabbits with horns, though.]
[Should we stop scouting?]
[I don't think we'll see one today.]
[You guys can stop now. I'll look for another minute and then regroup with you.]
[Got it.]
[Be careful.]
Bright Lapis deactivated her communication orb, and focused on her surroundings, as she was currently in the air.
"(How long has it been? Ten years? And even after all this time, this planet is still changing. Who knows how many things we aren't aware of yet?)"
The pegasus was looking around, trying to see if there was something that would catch her attention amidst the endless amount of trees, flowers, and-
"Wait... What is that?"
It's very far, but Bright Lapis definitely saw some kind of movement there. At the very least, she can say without a doubt that whatever's there, it's not alone.
Without wasting her time, she quickly increased her speed to reach there as soon as possible. Now that she was getting closer, she saw three figures. One had the size an adult pony usually has. The other was slender but taller, and the last one was definitely bigger and wider. She also saw what looked like small colored objects flying towards the wider figure.
"What the hay is going on there?"
She tried to focus her vision, but a bunch of trees in the area got in the way. She had no choice but to go down and get closer to the ground.
The noise of whatever was going on got louder, and the pegasus mare heard a roar that managed to recognize.
"(Oh my gosh it's a bugbear!)"
The unknown duo was fighting a Bugbear! She has to help them! And also inform Nick and Mike! She was going to hurry to the scene and help, but the sudden sound of lightning stopped her, followed by the sound of many things hitting something else. Then...
A loud noise. Like something big fell to the ground.
"(No way... They fought and won?)" She couldn't believe it!
"Nicely done. Your magic has gotten way better."
"¡Por supuesto que he mejorado! Sigo entrenando todos los días y lo sabes."
"(Huh?)" Bright Lapis knew that there were two ponies there, but she didn't understand what the second one said.
"En fin... ¿Porqué este oso tiene cuatro brazos y partes de abeja?"
"Well, if my memory serves right, this is a bugbear. The thing is, this creature should be in Tartarus. I can only imagine that somehow it escaped, which is a problem because, as you just saw, it's a dangerous beast."
"Definitivamente. ¿Que sugieres hacer? No podemos dejarlo aquí porque podría atacar a alguien más cuando se despierte."
"You certainly have point there. Think you can lift it with your magic?"
"No lo sé, pero puedo intentarlo."
"(I know they talking to each other, but they are definitely speaking two different languages...)"
As confused as she was, Bright Lapis knew the fact that defeating a bugbear is a feat that can't be ignored. She has to speak to them. She needs to tell her boss about this as well.
"We also need to know where we are. That town was supposed to be near here, but..."
"Así que tambien lo notaste..."
"(This is my chance!)"
Since the trees were blocking her view, Bright Lapis had no idea how the two ponies looked like. Nevertheless, the least she can do is guide them to their town. If they can also bring the bugbear...
"Hey! Are you two-"
! ! !
She stopped.
"(W-w-w-wha-)"
For a few seconds, she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. Not only it didn't make sense at all...
It was downright impossible.
"(What the...)"
"Ah! Hello there. It seems that we were being watched, but..."
"¿Estas bien? Por tu expresión, yo diría que no."
"(By the Princesses and the stars... Am I actually seeing this!?)"
There was indeed a pony among the two fighters. A somewhat tall stallion with a reddish coat and a mane with a mix of dark red and brown. He was also wearing a red cape, and a rather stylish red hat, with a single but big white feather as an accessory. He seems to be a unicorn, because right next to him is a rather weird-looking sword, and it's floating thanks to a levitation spell. A bright red aura was surrounding the hilt of the sword.
And just now, a few sparks arose from the metal blade. There is no doubt that the sword was somehow involved with the lightning sound from earlier.
But sadly, all these details were lost on Bright Lapis, because all of her attention went to the other fighter. The one she thought was a pony.
But the truth was shocking to say the least.
Bipedal shape.
A large number of clothes like jeans, a t-shirt, a jacket, the so-called 'shoes', although they look kind of unique. It's definitely a 'he'.
Very tall for pony standards, but quite common for 'him'.
But it just can't be...
He should not be in good condition...
He should not be breathing...
He should not be alive.
"Oh. That's right." said the red stallion, looking at his 'partner'. "I tend to forget that your situation is quite unique."
"Oh. Cierto. Hasta yo lo olvidé."
Bright Lapis saw 'him' starting to move.
To get near her.
"Mucho gusto. Mi nombre es Diego, y soy un humano."
"..."
She still can't believe it.
A human...
A freaking human is in front of her, smiling. He has one of his hands raised, moving it a bit. Is he waving? Yes. He is. Like everything is okay. Totally normal. Nothing surprising at all...
"Diego. I think she doesn't know spanish." said the red stallion, almost in a teasing tone. "I told you. Equish, or 'english', as you call it, is the language used almost anywhere."
"(So he's talking in spanish!)" Bright Lapis was brought back to reality after knowing this bit of info. "(Was not there a country with a name very similar to that? And I think there were other countries that used spanish...)"
"Don't be afraid of Diego. He may look imposing with his size, but he is a good fellow." said the stallion. "My name is Crimson Starlit. You could say I'm like his watcher. Make sure he doesn't get in trouble or do something stupid."
"Gracias por tu confianza..." said Diego, although Bright Lapis was sure that he said it as sarcasm.
"Well, both of us know how to fight, so this bugbear was a really good exercise." said Crimson, looking at the creature on the ground. "We didn't kill it. We're not savages."
"Fue defensa personal. Eso es todo." added Diego.
"I... I just... gosh..." the mare was constantly switching between looking at Diego, and then looking at the defeated bugbear. "I-I don't know what to make of this. I mean I'm grateful that you took down a bugbear. That's amazing! But... There's something way more important we have to address right now."
"Well, we also wish to discuss with you. But please, tell us." said Crimson.
"It's you!" the mare pointed at Diego.
"¿Yo?" asked him, and pointed at himself with the index finger of his left hand.
"Yes! The fact that you are not only alive but also healthy and strong is just not possible! It makes everything that happened over the years look like a very bad joke! I mean look at you! A human that's alive!"
Diego and Crimson looked at each other, clearly showing signs of confusion.
"Lo haces sonar como si no fuera la primera vez que ves a un humano..." said Diego.
"He says that you make it sound like it's not your first time seeing a human." added Crimson. "Are there other humans around now?"
"Are you... seriously asking that?" said Bright Lapis, dumbfounded.
"Alright, dear. Stop right there." said the stallion. "It seems that all of us have questions, and since we all want answers, maybe you can stick along with us for a bit. After all, we need to do something about this bugbear."
"Yes... that's right." they had a point, and Bright Lapis didn't think about how they are going to get that bugbear to their town.
"But first..." Crimson Starlit moved his floating sword, and...
"W-what are you doing!?" exclaimed the mare. "You just cut the stinger of the bugbear!"
"Just consider it a reward for defeating it." said the stallion, who then took the stinger with his magic, and then made it disappear. "I have a pal that likes to collect this kind of stuff."
For some reason, Diego started to snicker, and then Crimson glared at him, but quickly returned his attention to Bright. Lapis. "So. Any ideas you want to share?"
"Oh! Yes! I actually want to guide you two to our town and bring the bugbear! It would be a first, and we could learn a lot about them! Maybe enough to understand the way they think."
"Sure. We also need to reach a town. There is no problem with that, right?" Crimson looked at Diego.
"¡Para nada! De hecho nos beneficiaría mucho." was the human's answer.
"How can you two... understand each other?" asked Bright, out of curiosity.
"Oh. That? Diego can understand equish almost perfectly, but he has problems speaking it. I mean, he can, but..."
"English?" said Diego, surprising the mare. "Yeah. I can... speak it. Just... a little." a little rough, but Bright understood every word.
"And as for me, I managed to learn his 'spanish'." added Crimson. "So yeah, I'm also here because he'll need somepony to express his thoughts most of the time. Let's just say that the time he could have used to learn how to speak in Equish was used... in something else."
Bright was about to say something, but a slight vibration inside her bag took her attention.
It was the communication orb. She quickly activated it because she knew it was her friends.
[Yo, Bright! Where are you?]
[Are you okay?]
[Guys! Don't worry. I'm okay, but I really need both of you here. It's urgent.]
[Stay there. We're on our way.]
Once again, Bright deactivated the communication orb, and her focus returned to Crimson and Diego.
It was then, that another question came to her mind.
"(How exactly did they defeat it? This Crimson Starlit guy I can undertand because of that weird-looking sword, and he looks strong for a unicorn. But what about Diego? I don't see any weapon with him, and humans are not that strong. How did he fight?)"
"Well? Can you lift it or not?" Crimson asked to his human companion.
"Supongo que es hora de averiguarlo." answered Diego, getting closer to the bugbear.
"Lift it? Diego wants to lift the bugbear? Are you crazy? You can't ask him that!'"
"Really?" said Crimson, getting her attention. "I suggest you to watch him, then."
Trying to understand why he said that, the mare focused on Diego. He extended his left arm, and for a moment, he concentrated.
That's when something appeared around his left hand. And with that, a smile on his face.
The same thing that was around Diego's hand was now around the bugbear...
An orange aura.
In a matter of seconds, as the bugbear started to float, Bright Lapis once again saw the impossible.
Two ponies were trotting as fast as they could to reach the area where her friend was. The communication orb they have contains a locator function that can be used if a unicorn pours a little of his magic in it. It will link all the orbs used, and depending on the magic's quality, the signal will reach wider distances.
"Are you alright?" asked Mike. "You said it was urgent."
"Yeah. Maybe you saw a-" Nick stopped talking. They focused so much on Bright Lapis that it took a few seconds for both stallions to finally notice the bugbear on the ground.
"Holy shit!"
"A fucking bugbear!"
"My, oh, my..."
The friend duo heard a male voice that neither knew. A few seconds later, Crimson Starlit literally appeared right next to Bright Lapis.
"What a surprise! So other ponies can curse, after all."
"What the-"
"Who are you?"
Both stallions were wary of the newcomer, especially because he had a floating sword at his side. It had a weird pattern, but a few sparks arose from the blade. It was obviously a magic weapon.
"Just a little invisibility spell, folks. Besides, I mean no harm. Your friend here politely offered to guide us to a town." said Crimson.
"Bright? What's going on here?" asked Mike.
"Wait. 'Us'?" added Nick.
"Yes. There's someone else with me. Bright Lapis told us that it would be a very... shocking revelation to see him, so..." Crimson looked at the mare. "Do you mind giving them one final warning? Seriously, if they scream I'll literally mute them with magic."
With a simple nod as an answer, the mare looked at her friends.
"Alright guys. This is not a joke. This will shock you, but nonetheless, it's real."
"Wow. You are not one to get easily surprised by something..." said Mike.
"As if the Bugbear on the ground is not enough..." added Nick.
"Oh colt, do I have a surprise for you." said Crimson, who activated his magic again. There was a quick red flash behind the two friends.
"¡Hola!"
Diego was waving with his left hand, with a friendly smile and positive energy. The two stallions, however...
"..."
"..."
Several seconds passed, but neither of them was reacting at all. They were just looking at the human, with only a sligtly surprised expression. Crimson teleported right next to Diego.
"Well, at least they are not screaming." said the unicorn.
"Creo que fue demasiado para ellos." added Diego.
"Guys?" Bright Lapis approached her friends. "You two ok?"
"Sabía que se sorprenderían, pero..." Diego looked at his friend a little worried.
"I know, right? I mean that creature on the ground is way scarier than you." added Crimson, looking at the unconscious bugbear for a moment. "i don't see what's the big deal."
"What the fuck is going on..." said Nick. Barely. Almost like a whisper.
"How does this shit even happen!?" exclaimed Mike. "It's a human! A fucking human! Breathing! Alive!"
"¿Escuchaste? Estos dos tambien me quieren muerto." said Diego nonchalantly.
At that moment, a paper flying in the wind collided with the left side of his face. Naturally, he took it of, and decided to look at it.
In just a few seconds, his expression changed.
"¿Buró de Conversión? Este papel se ve muy viejo."
His words took the attention of all the ponies around.
"Let me see that." said Crimson, who took the paper with his magic and started to look at it. "Conversion Bureau? Ponification? What the hell is this?"
The words of Crimson Starlit made the other ponies react.
"Ok this weirdo is not making any sense." said Mike.
"¡Hey!" exclaimed Diego, with a serious face.
"This 'weirdo' can stab you with this sword or even struck you with lightning. Easily." added Crimson. "None of you look suited for combat."
"Mike... watch your mouth." said Bright Lapid. Who then looked at the other stallion. "And you Nick... Have I ever lied to you?"
"Well... no." was his answer.
"Espera un segundo. ¿Porqué ellos dos tienen nombres de humanos? Eso no suena para nada como los nombres de ponis."
"That... is a great question." said Crimson, focusing on the two other stallions. "Why do you have human names?"
"Have you guys been... living under a rock or something?" asked Mike.
"You know, it would be for the benefit of everyone here if you just answer the question instead of being outright rude."
"Are you saying that you were humans before but now you are ponies?" asked Crimson, not really believing them yet.
"Yes!" this time it was Mike who answered, and he was a bit angry now, judging by his face. "For the same reason that in the end every human had to ponify!"
He then used one of his front hooves to point at Diego.
"And for the same reason he should be dead right now!"
"Solo van unas horas y ya estan deseando mucho mi muerte el dia de hoy..." said Diego, obviously not happy with the words of the pegasus who claims to be a former human. "Ya me estoy preguntando si esto al final fue una buena idea."
"Ok. Let's say I believe you." said Crimson. Although he is still not buying it. "Tell me: Why should my pal be dead?"
"(Why are they asking such obvious questions?)" thought Bright Lapis. "(Nothing about them makes sense... especially Diego!)"
"The magic! Equestria's magic! You know? The thing that started to kill the humans? That thing!"
"¿Que disparates esta diciendo este tipo?" asked Diego while looking at his friend. "He estado con ustedes por casi diez años y no me ha pasado nada. Bueno, está lo que pasó cuando apenas llegué pero..."
"You are right." said Crimson, who then looked at the other ponies. "You know why I don't believe you? Diego has been in Equestria for years."
"That's impossible! Equestria arrived to the Earth ten years ago! There's no way a human was in Equestria before that!" countered Nick.
"¿Qué?/What?"
Both Crimson and Diego spoke at the same time.
"¿De que diablos estás hablando? ¡Estamos en Equestria!"
"He said something about Equestria, did he?" asked Bright.
"Yeah. He said that we are in Equestria, which should be true because we know that the town of Magic Log is near here. We are also not that far from Neighagra Falls."
Bright Lapis and her friends looked at each other for a few seconds, before focusing on the human.
"I still don't know what the hay is going on, but I can tell you this much: Right now, we are outside Equestrian territory. This is Earth's territory. Well, now the correct term would be Gaia's territory."
It was now Crimson and Diego's turn to be speechless. This brief moment of silence was broken by the human.
"¿Estamos en la tierra? ¿Estamos en... mi mundo?"
"..." Crimson closed his eyes. The three other ponies were a bit confused by this, but Diego knew that he was deep in thought.
"Tenemos mucho de que hablar." dijo Diego. "Nada de esto tiene sentido."
"Besides, if this is really Diego's world, then we'll have to see it for ourselves." said Crimson, opening his eyes again. "I'm also curious about what you said about our magic killing humans, considering what my pal can do."
"What do you mean with that?"
Mike's question was left unanswered, but he would get it very soon.
"So. In the meantime, we'll follow you guys to your town, and maybe we can exchange more information. We still have to get this bugbear out of here." said Crimson, and then he focused on the human. "Ready to lift that creature?"
"¡Por supuesto! Aunque creo que utilizaré el método sólido que he practicado. Será más fácil así."
"If you say so..." replied Crimson.
"How is he gonna lift that bugbear? It's impossible!" said Mike.
"Believe me: He can. The 'how' will probably blow your mind, too." answered Bright Lapis, who had a look that would suggest she was going to have a headache.
And that's when Diego's left hand started to glow again in an orange aura.
An aura of unicorn magic.
And when they saw how the bugbear was being lifted...
"WHAT THE FUCK!?"
"Is this what your heart and soul desire?"
"..."
"I see..."
"..."
"I have seen your nightmares. It must have been very hard for you. Even now, you are hurt."
"..."
"I cannot guarantee you success. However, I will give it my all to try to make it true."
"..."
"If this does work, then I hope to see you again. I would love to speak with you in our castle."
"..."
"Luna?"
"Ah. Sister."
Princess Luna. Sovereign of the Night in Equestria. The dreams and nightmares are her domain. She also has the power and duty to lower the moon.
In Equestria, that is.
Now things are a bit different. It's another world after all. The Equestrian territory is almost the same, but the sun and moon are not. This world has its own day-night cycle. At least that's one less duty for her and her sister, Princess Celestia.
This world was also inhabited another species: humanity.
It has been a rough and challenging decade for every living being in Equestria, but especially tiring for both Princesses. Until today, there is not a single clue about what was responsible for the gigantic teleportation of their land. There were a lot of problems in these years. Both small and big.
But the worst one managed to divide humans and ponies for a while.
Equestria's magic.
The natural energy from Equestria came with them, but for humans... It was harmful.
No, that's putting it lightly.
It was deadly, and it was slowly spreading to the new world. A fact they learned in the worst way possible, months after Equestria's arrival.
This is what originated the iniciative of the conversion bureaus. Both Princesses didn't like this idea so much, but they were running out of time, and the first humans who volunteered for ponification proved that it works, and are currently living in Equestria.
Some humans weren't against the idea simply because they didn't want to die. Other were against it. Some humans accepted this peacefully, and some of them didn't want to become ponies, staying as humans until their last days when Equestria's magic was able to reach their homes.
And now, Princess Luna was looking through the window of one of the many corridors of her home: The castle of Canterlot. The view was the same as before, but she knew that some of the ponies down there were former humans.
"It's very unusual to see you awake at these hours. Did something happen?" asked Celestia, more curious than worried.
"I assure you that is nothing to worry about, sister." was Luna's answer. "I was only reminiscing good memories of years ago."
The Princess of the sun approached her sister, getting right next to her.
"The first human?"
"Yes. I was thinking about him. The young boy who was hurt. Both physically and emotionally. Yet he had such a resolve to stay alive. After I tried to grant his wish... we lost contact."
"The dreams are your domain, Luna. I'm sure that you did a good job."
"But his dream... he was so far away, sister." said Luna, getting a little worried. "After the many reunions we had, and after talking to him about our home...."
Luna lowered her gaze.
"He wanted to come to Equestria. He wanted to see me and talk to me in reality. It's been years... what if he-"
"Luna. Never underestimate your powers and authority as Princess of the Night and dreams." said Celestia, interrupting her sister. "Until we are proven wrong, I would like to assume that for some reason, he is not able to reach Canterlot. Besides, you told me that the chances of remembering a dream are very low, and you only remember it clearly if you are dreaming again."
"I know sister, but it is frustrating to be in the dark for so long. I want to see him. Talk to him."
"Don't lose hope Luna." said her sister, who put a wing on her back like she was hugging her. "I'm sure that one day, he will come here."
"So... let me get this straight: We are on my pal Diego's planet, that was previously named 'Earth', but now is named 'Gaia', and the whole land of Equestria just randomly and luckily appeared in the middle of this world's ocean."
"And that was ten years ago."
The unusual group was walking back to a town called 'New Leaf', at least according to Bright Lapis and her friends. Both Nick and Mike are looking at something that they still can't fully believe yet.
The human named Diego, who was walking right next to Crimson Starlit, had the bugbear right next to him, and it was being carried in what looked like a giant orange hand.
He was using magic. The kind of magic the unicorns from Equestria use, because the human's left hand had the same magical aura the unicorns show when they use magic.
"And then it was discovered that Equestria's magic is lethal to humans..." said Crimson, looking a bit confused. "Well, it's hard for me to believe that. I mean, look at him. He's using it." this last bit was said while looking at his human friend.
"Sigo pensando que es un chiste de mal gusto." said Diego, completely serious. "Convertirse en poni o morir..."
"Oh yes. These years have been crazy!" said Mike. "At first it was super weird to see colored ponies. Especially if they could fly or do magic! And now look at us! The whole world is a pony now. Well, at least that's what I thought."
"But is not this amazing?" asked Nick. "A human that didn't die! And not only that! He can use their magic!"
"But how is this possible?" asked Bright Lapis. "Something like this is bound to be known. This is the sort of news that would shake the whole world!"
"And we keep telling you that we live in Equestria." said Crimson.
"Where?" asked Bright. "I'm originally from Manehattan."
"Si no fuera clasificado y te pagaran lo suficiente." said Diego, as if he was teasing her.
"Diego, no one will understand your movie references. Especially if it is in spanish." said Crimson. "As for your question Bright, we live in an area like Cloudsdale."
"A city in the sky!" said Nick, getting the attention of his friends. "That must be awesome."
"That still doesn't explain why this guy is still alive." said Mike, still looking at Diego. "Seriously, it's like a really bad joke."
"Y yo pienso que convertirse en ponis para sobrevivir es ridículo." said Diego.
"Well... my pal is a bit of a special case." said Crimson, looking at his friend. "He was already in some sort of pain when we found him."
"We?"
"Oops." Crimson chuckled a bit. "I said too much. The point is that Diego has been in Equestria for many years since then."
"Wait. How did Diego end up in Equestria?"
"Now that is a great question." answered Crimson. "And I say that because he always gives the same answer."
"Tengo una pregunta."
Diego approached the three other ponies, holding the same paper from before.
"Aquí dicen cosas sobre un grupo con las siglas 'HLF'. Tambien de uno con las siglas 'PER'. En ambos parecen estar reclutando miembros. ¿Que rayos es todo esto?"
Since Bright Lapis and her two friends don't know spanish, they focused their gaze on Crimson Starlit.
"Sorry, but I didn't undertand anything of that." said the pegasus mare.
"Me neither." added Nick.
Mike didn't say anything at all. After all, it was the same answer as his friends.
"He's asking about two groups with different acronyms. One is 'HLF' and the other is 'PER'. If they were mentioned in that paper about the ponification, then we can't ignore it."
"Oh! The first one was a big deal for a few years." said Mike. "HLF stands for 'Human Liberation Front'."
"¿Frente de Liberación Humana? Déjame adivinar: Totalmente en contra de la idea de convertirse en ponis." said Diego.
"Anti-ponification group, then." added his unicorn friend.
"And very violent." said Nick. "They ended up killing so many ponies in the name of their cause..."
"Mierda..." said Diego, getting Crimson's attention. "¿Usaron pistolas o escopetas?"
"I'm not familiar with those words." said Crimson, a bit worried.
Diego focused on Nick.
"Did they... use guns or shotguns?" asked the human.
"So he can speak english!" said Mike, who was honestly surprised.
"Yes, but not too much." said Crimson. "Can you answer his question please?"
"Man, it was worse than just guns and shotguns." said the pegasus. "They even had some military stuff. It was a big mess."
"Governments from various countries and Equestria itself united together to fight this dangerous threat." said Nick. "And three years ago, the group disbanded. Of course, some individuals are still out there, but they no longer have the resources they previously had."
"And what about the other group?" asked Crimson.
"To be honest, they are more of a rumor. Their existence was never proven." it was Bright Lapis who answered this time. "PER stands for 'Ponification for Earth's Rebirth."
"Ponificación por el Renacimiento de la Tierra... ¿Es en serio?" Diego let out a sigh before looking at the group. "Adivinaré otra vez: A favor de transformarse en ponis."
"So... humans that considered ponification a good thing?" said Crimson.
"But like, to a religious level." added Mike. "Again, only rumors, but it is said that they stole a large amount of the ponification serum and started to transform humans into ponies left and right."
"By Celestia that's horrible..." said Crimson.
"Horrible no le hace justicia..." added Diego. "Obligarlos a transformarse solo porque estan obsesionados con una estúpida ideologia..."
"Well, no wonder they remain in the dark now. Technically they won."
The words that came from Crimson Starlit managed to get Everyone's attention.
"Oh. Tienes razón." said Diego, a bit surprised. "Todos los humanos del planeta se convirtieron en ponis. Supongo que al final lograron su cometido. Aún así... me inquieta que no pasen a ser más que un rumor."
"Yeah. Me too." added his friend. "If they remained as a rumor, that could mean they are really good at hiding their activities."
"It's all in the past now." said Bright. "Equestria's magic spread to the whole planet and every human that didn't convert died."
"¿Y que les pasa a los humanos cuando entran en contacto con la magia?" asked Diego.
"He is basically asking how our magic harm humans." added Crimson.
"Well, there was no way to see it. We only knew that it was slowly expanding across the planet." said Nick. "At a certain distance, it only weakens your body. The closer you get though, the more harmful it is. Humans that were affected by it and managed to survive talked about feeling like there was poison in their bodies. Others describe it as if your body was slowly melting from the inside."
"Diego. Do you really feel ok? Nothing hurts? Any kind of weird or unknown sensation?" asked Bright Lapis, focusing on the human.
Diego started to look at his body for a few seconds, before looking at the pegasus mare.
"Nope. Todo bien y no tengo heridas. ¡De hecho me siento de maravilla!"
"(And he's still carrying the bugbear with his 'magic'.)" thought Bright, who almost forgot about it, as if it was natural.
"I don't know how everypony is going to react to him." said Mike, a bit worried. "I mean, as far as I know, he is the only human alive."
"This situation is far more complex than what I thought." said Crimson, looking at his friend. "What do you want to do Diego?"
"Lo primero es dejar a este bugbear donde no pueda atacar a otros ponis." said Diego, who then took a few seconds to think. "Luego de eso, creo que debemos volver a informar de la situación."
"Sounds good." said Crimson in approval, and then changed his focus to the other group. "So, we are not in Equestria. Then where are we?"
"On a certain island not so far from Australia." was the answer from Nick. "In these years, many things have changed, Diego. You're going to be surprised many times. Starting now, actually! Because this island was not here before."
"What, so it just appeared like Equestria?" asked Crimson.
"Not exactly. This whole island was previously below in the ocean." continued Nick. "I can't explain in detail, but to sum it up: Equestria's magic has been changing the planet over the years."
"¿Y esta isla emergió a la superficie debido a la magia de Equestria?" said Alexander, still trying to process that piece of information. "Que loco."
"So, we revealed something big. Now it's your turn." said Mike, focusing on the human. "You say that you were living in Equestria. At this point, I'm inclined to believe you, but... How did you get there?"
Diego checked that his magic was grabbing the bugbear properly, then looked at the pony asking the question.
"Con un deseo."
Nick then looked at the human's friend, waiting for an answer.
"His answer was: With a wish."
"A wish?" said the trio of friends at the same time.
"Told you it was a great question." said Crimson. "Now let's focus on bringing this bugbear to your town."
"Are you seeing this!? I'm not the only one who's seeing it, right!?"
New Leaf is usually a peaceful and quiet town. However, today was going to be an exception. They knew about the Bugbear threat, and they have been helping the other nearby towns to scout for them and if necessary, defeat them.
But the bugbear was nothing compared to what was going on right now. After all, it's not every day that you see a species that is considered 'extinct'.
As the amount of ponies gathering at the town's entrance was getting bigger, the group led by Bright Lapis was watching with different reactions.
"Told ya." said Mike.
"I mean it's not a surprise." said Nick, looking at Diego. "Considering who is coming with us."
"Look at that, pal." said Crimson Starlit, looking at his friend. "You're going to be famous now."
"Si todo eso de ser el último humano es cierto, entonces no sé si deba ponerme contento..." said Diego in response.
"Let's just focus on getting this bugbear to a place where nopony gets hurt." said Bright Lapis. "We can worry about this 'human miracle' thing later."
"Yeah... good luck with that." said Mike, seeing all the ponies that were looking at Diego either in awe or like they have seen a ghost.
When they finally arrived, the ponies around were whispering a lot, but everything they were saying was related to Diego.
"My God... it is a real human!"
"It must be some sort of unicorn magic! It has to be!"
"I... I saw one of my friends die from that magic a few years ago. How is this dude... alive?"
"Look, mom! It's one of the hoomans! Didn't you tell me they moved far away?"
"Yes... they did, honey. Maybe this one is lost..."
"Look! His hand!"
"Is that..."
"What the fuck..."
"¿Me pregunto cuantos de estos ponis eran anteriormente humanos?" asked Diego, looking at the ponies around him who were still whispering.
"Who knows, pal?" said Crimson, who then focused on Bright and her friends. "He's wondering how many of these ponies around us were humans before."
"Most of the ponies living in this town are former humans." said the mare. "I am one of the few native equestrians."
"Think we can explore a bit after we deal with this bear?" asked Crimson, who was also looking around.
"Sure. Why not?" was Bright's answer. "For now, follow me. I'll show you where we can leave this creature."
"You ok there, Diego?" asked Mike, looking at the human's hand that was surrounded by the orange magic aura. The same aura that was around the floating bugbear.
"Tranquilo. Tengo energía para rato." said Diego with a proud smile and doing a thumbs up with the other hand.
"He's ok." said Crimson Starlit.
"That's still impressive." said Nick, who was looking at the bugbear which was just a few centimeters above the ground. "Considering the weight of the bugbear, and the fact that we have been walking for a while."
"Diego trains his magic every day, and I mean it." said Crimson Starlit. "Even I'm surprised at how much he can do."
"¿Qué puedo decir? ¡Me encanta la magia!" said Diego in response.
The group kept walking to New Leaf's central area. As they keep moving, Diego quickly noticed the stares from the other ponies. Some of them weren't able to react properly as if they were seeing the impossible. Others were trying to find a logical explanation. It was a human, after all. Everyone remembers the events from years ago.
A few even tried touching him to see if he was real.
"¿Que acaso soy un perro callejero?" asked Diego, who was now a bit annoyed at their behavior.
"As I said before, pal: You are famous now." said Crimson with a smirk.
"It's a good thing this is limited to the town." added Nick. "Imagine if the rest of the world knew!"
"World-class harassment." said Mike, chuckling a bit at the end.
"Yo no lo encuentro gracioso." said Diego nonchalantly. "No tengo problema si me quedan mirando como si fuera un fantasma, pero si otro poni me toca sin permiso-"
"Here we are."
The group stopped at a large building with only a couple of windows on the front and a big entrance door. Diego managed to see many ponies that were using custom armors commonly used in Equestria, while some other ponies had a more modern-looking military attire.
"Que confuso..." said Diego, looking at the ponies that he assumes are guards of some sort. "Es como si no se hubieran puesto de acuerdo en que tipo de ropa usar para la vigilancia."
"This is a containment facility for dangerous creatures." said Nick, getting the attention from both Diego and Crimson Starlit. "During the whole 'Conversion Phase', creatures from Equestria escaped to Earth's territory, and so, containment facilities became a thing. Captured creatures are contained here until a special division of soldiers from Equestria come here and take them back with a special teleport spell."
"So it's not just the bugbears. Got it." said Crimson, actually grateful for this piece of information.
"It's a good thing these facilities got everything covered. Even for big creatures like this one." said Mike, looking at the bugbear.
"Hey there. We brought a Bugbear for containment and future dispatch." said Bright Lapis to one of the ponies in the building.
"Hey! So you guys made it! That's one less thing to worry... about." One of the ponies in armor walked to the group but stopped when he saw Diego.
"Hey t-that's..."
"Yes. He is a human. No. It's not the end of our world." said Bright. "Trust me. I don't know how he is standing there, but he is. Don't insist."
"But... but how-"
"I'm afraid you don't have the time to worry about that." Crimson Starlit interrupted him. "You are working, after all."
"Yes... you are right." the pony took a few seconds to compose himself, and then he focused on where his coworkers were. "They brought a bugbear! Call group 3 and the boss!"
The other ponies soon noticed Diego.
"Y aquí vamos otra vez..." said the human without emotion in his voice.
"Hey... What is-"
"Dude! That's a human!"
"You serious!?
"What if he is a changeling?"
"Don't you remember the incident about a changeling almost dying when he tried to transform into a human?"
"Oh, right. So how do you explain him?"
"No idea."
"Yo! What's he doing with his hand?"
"Is he... No. Freaking. Way."
"T-t-that's m-magic!"
Diego just let out a sigh.
"Que todo el mundo piense que debería estar muerto es un tanto deprimente. ¿Sabes?" said the human, now showing a tiny bit of sadness on his face. "Era algo extraño con Bright y los otros dos, pero ahora ya esta comenzando a ser ridículo."
"Ok. I'm starting to feel a little sorry for you." said Crimson, this time being actually serious. "You know, we don't need to explore this town today. We can always come back tomorrow."
"No lo sé. Me gustaria conseguir información sobre el planeta antes de irnos."
While the two friends were talking, another group of ponies came from the building, along with a large cage being carried by the combined unicorn magic of three ponies.
"Heya boss. We have a bugbear here." said Mike with a confident smile.
"What the..." the pony in charge was currently seeing something bizarre, to say the least. Yes, they brought a bugbear, and they also brought a human. A human that somehow was using magic to carry the bugbear. The human was also speaking in another language with another pony that seemed to understand him.
"You do have a point. You told us a bit about this planet before, but now it has changed enough for you to be worried." said Crimson Starlit.
"Equestria es como un país, y la tierra tiene cientos de países de distintos tamaños." said Diego. "Pero ahora con todo esto del 'Buró de Conversión' y de que este lugar antes estaba bajo el mar, puede que hasta el planeta entero sea distinto a como lo recuerdo."
"Hey, Diego." Bright Lapis approached the human. "Think you can put the bugbear inside that cage?" she pointed at the cage with one of her hooves.
"Claro." was the human's answer. He did a slow movement with the hand that he was using for magic, and the bugbear moved to the only side of the cage that was open.
"Entrega especial~"
As soon as Diego finished talking, the aura around the bugbear disappeared and it became still. The ponies closed the cage and put a lock with magic. After a few seconds, the lock started to glow.
"A magic reinforcement on the lock. I see." said Crimson Starlit. "At least you guys are taking measures to prevent the creatures from escaping."
"Aunque los que haces tú son mejores." added Diego. Crimson simply smiled proudly.
"That's one less creature attacking innocent ponies." said Bright's boss, while the other ponies were taking the cage with the bugbear inside back to the building. "Thank you for your efforts. Did you use the dream smoke?"
"Actually boss, this time you have to thank these two." said Bright, pointing at Diego and his unicorn friend. "They are the ones that defeated the bugbear."
"We were just defending ourselves, really." said Crimson Starlit.
"Nos alegra haber ayudado. Incluso si fue sin querer." added Diego.
"Even when I see you in front of me, it's really hard to believe..." said Bright's boss. "It's been a few years since the last time I saw a human."
"Recuerden: Siempre esperen lo inesperado." said Diego with a smirk.
"They don't understand spanish references, Diego." said Crimson while looking at his friend unamused.
"Where do you come from, human?" asked Bright's boss. "How did you survive the spreading magic from Equestria? How can you use it?"
"We already told Bright Lapis and her friends that we come from a place similar to Cloudsdale." said Crimson Starlit. "Inside equestrian territory. Well, it was in Equestria. We didn't know that our land came to this planet, and if we add what you guys said about this planet changing..."
"Tal parece que mientras Equestria se movió, nosotros nos mantuvimos estáticos en el aire." added Diego.
"Inside Equestria? How-"
"Not going to answer that one. Sorry." said Crimson, interrupting the pony.
"So... now that the bugbear issue is solved... What are you going to do now?" asked Nick.
"Me gustaría recopilar información sobre el estado actual del planeta. Quiero saber que tanto ha cambiado desde que me fuí de él." said Diego, who was now more serious.
"He basically said he wants to gather information about the planet and how much it has changed." added Crimson.
"Hey boss. Do you mind if we show him the town's library?" asked Nick. "I'm sure that if we left them alone, everypony else will bother them."
"Well... you brought a bugbear. We can study it before the ponies of Equestria retrieve it. All right. You guys are free today."
"Ok. Since we are free now..." Bright Lapis started to walk, catching the attention of the two visitors. "Let's guide mister crimson and his walking miracle of a friend to the library in the north area."
"..."
"I see. You certainly have quite a creative way of thinking."
"..."
"Yes. For reasons that I have yet to discover, our unicorn subjects lack your way of thinking. Even when they are gifted with magic."
"..."
"I am sure that if you were a unicorn, you would enjoy our magic. It would be difficult at first, but with a mindset like yours, you would have a guaranteed improvement."
"..."
"Who knows? If it ever happens, I hope you show me how much you have learned."
"It has been a while, Twilight Sparkle."
"Nearly four months, Princess Luna."
After a little chat with her sister, the Princess of the night was on her way to her royal bedroom on the highest floor of Canterlot's castle, also known as her home. It was just a coincidence that she saw Twilight in one of the hallways. If Equestria was in its original place, Twilight would be in Canterlot more often, but due to the 'clash of worlds', as some former humans call it, several things have changed for her.
For everypony.
"I didn't know that you returned to our equestrian territory." said Princess Luna, giving Twilight a quick hug. "How is Gaia's territory treating you?"
"Better than the last time! It has been a few months since the total conversion, and there are still former humans that need to adapt to their new bodies. Not all of them are ready to accept this new change, but they are strong, and they strive to keep moving forward. Of course, we do our best to help them in this process."
"I am sure my sister appreciates all your hard work, and so do I."
Even though it has been many years since Equestria's arrival on planet Earth, there are still some problems that need to be solved, both big and small. For starters, the planet itself has changed due to Equestria's magic: Tremors and earthquakes in various areas around the world, even in places where there was no precedent. The good news is that since two years ago, there has not been a single earthquake reported on the planet.
There is also the problem that large portions of land in many countries began to move, separate, or even collapse and fall to the ocean. Luna knew that the two major changes were in the human continents of 'Africa' and 'Asia', but that doesn't mean that the other changes weren't an issue. The now-former humans had a very chaotic situation a few years ago. There are even lands that were previously on the ocean and now they resurfaced. This is obviously related to the global seismic activity issue.
Several animals around the world changed, possibly for being in contact with the magic of Equestria. Some were unaffected by it, and while there is not enough evidence, it is believed that some of them died just like humans. The ones who changed, though, are the biggest surprise, because they didn't change equally. Some animals of the same species became bigger, while others developed another trait or a 'skill', as some former humans say as a joke. That also means that there is a chance for undiscovered changes that the human, or pony eye cannot see. There have been endless reports about animals of different colors, various sizes or that can change their size, or with a more developed body. Some of them became dangerous and had to be contained. Not many cases of that last one are known, but both equestrians and former humans are constantly on the watch in case a new dangerous beast appears.
Not to mention that many of the magical creatures native to Equestria have wandered into the human territory since the first months of the 'event' where the land of Equestria appeared in what the humans call the 'South Atlantic Ocean'. During the years there have been numerous incidents where creatures like timberwolves, manticores, cockatrices, and even dangerous beasts such as bugbears, cragadiles, and even ursa minors have been seen in the human territory. Sadly, some of them started to breed with the animals from the human territory, adding more magical creatures to the wild.
And those are just the most known issues.
"And what about your best friends? Have you reunited with the other Elements of Harmony?" asked Princess Luna. "I know that all of you were among the first ponies to help us when we were sent to this world, and it's no surprise that even to this day, you still do."
"Well, sort of." was Twilight's answer. "Thanks to the former human's technology, we keep in touch using special cell phones and sometimes we use laptops to make a... video call? I think that's how they call it."
"That is good to know. Places like Manehattan and Fillydelphia rely a bit more on technology, but even then, humanity's technology is way more advanced. It is good that you and your friends can benefit from it."
"It's such a shame that it can also harm others." said Twilight. "Now that they are ponies, maybe now they can put their differences aside and work together for a peaceful lifestyle."
"Yes. Their technology is both a blessing and a curse. Their past is proof enough of that." said Luna. Both Celestia and her have read countless books about the history of mankind. They were surprised that they had information from even millions of years ago, and can even predict events from the far future based on what they know now.
There have been times of peace and war. Of fortune and famine. Of joy and sadness.
Despite everything, humanity is strong. They have the strength to keep moving and overcome any challenge. This is the reason why both sisters believe that humanity, now ponykind, will stand up once more and be strong. These years have been proof of that.
"A lot has happened in these ten years." said Twilight, looking at one of the many windows. "This planet is so much bigger and has a lot to offer. Some former humans were damaging it, but others were doing their best to protect it. Princess Celestia told me about their potential. That a push in the right direction can help them."
"We have been helping their countries and now we have a bond. We are also happy to receive former humans that need help with their lives." Luna's expression changed, now looking a bit sad. "I just wish that humanity didn't have to change species just to survive. Even if the mystery of how we arrived in this world remains unsolved, it was our fault that our magic changed it."
"We did everything we could, Princess Luna." said Twilight, trying to reassure the sister of Celestia. "In the end, the conversion initiative was our only chance, and even then, some humans refused to change..."
"They had the right to choose, and they did." said Princess Luna. "We can only hope for a better future for all of us."
For a few seconds, both of them remained in silence. That is until Twilight focused on the Princess.
"May ask you something, Princess Luna?"
"What is it?"
"Princess Celestia told me that you had a special connection with humanity. Does that mean that you met them before?"
To Twilight's surprise, the Princess began to smile.
"In a way, you are correct. If you follow me, I can tell you about him."
"Him?"
"Yes. The first human I met. A young human with big dreams living a harsh reality."
The small group led by Bright Lapis was now in the north area of New Leaf. Diego and Crimson noticed that this area had a more 'rural' feel. Many buildings were made of wood. Trees, bushes, and flowers were almost everywhere. And almost all the ponies around that were looking at him seemed to be older. It was clear as water that the young ones don't live here.
"So you speak spanish, yet you are not from Spain. Right? Where did you live, then?" asked Nick.
"It has the name of a spice." said Crimson Starlit with a smirk, while Diego sighed.
"A spice?"
"Yeah. A spice. Help me out, pal." said Crimson, looking at his human friend. "What was it again? Chilli pepper or-"
"Chile." said a slightly annoyed Diego, interrupting him. "Vengo de Chile. Espero que algún día se te quite ese mal habito tuyo. Yo no le digo 'Caballo-landia' a Equestria."
"Chile? Where is that?" asked Mike.
"Chile está en el continente de América del Sur. Si tuviera un mapa les mostraría la ubicación." said Diego. "Estamos muy lejos de Estados Unidos que está en América del Norte. ¿Sabían que parte de la Antártida es territorio de mi país?"
"He said that Chile is in the continent of South America. And that a portion of the... 'Antarctica', I think he said, is also Chile's territory." added Crimson.
"Wait seriously?" said Mike, honestly surprised.
"Es la verdad." said Diego. "También tenemos la variante de español más confusa del mundo."
"Oh yeah. I tend to forget that." said Crimson, who then focused on the other three ponies. "The spanish used in Chile is... weird. It's like they have their own language or something. Good thing they don't speak like that all the time, although Diego did speak like that when we first met..."
"Con todo el tiempo que he estado fuera de mi país, ya hasta se me quitó la costumbre, pero puedo hacerlo si quiero." added Diego.
"Are you serious?" asked Bright. "Try speaking some of that unique spanish, Diego."
The human stared at the pegasus mare for a few seconds before smiling.
"Por la rechucha que pulenta e' la miel por la conchetumare. Que wea má' deliciosa weón. Puro' gile' lo' que se pierden e' ta maravilla culinaria."
"By Celestia... I couldn't understand even half of what you said." said Crimson, with a face of utter confusion.
"That... was different, no doubt." said Bright Lapis, and her two friends nodded in agreement. "So, what did you understand of that?"
"He said something about honey and something like 'culinary marvel'. I didn't get the rest." said Crimson. "Seriously, it sounds like he is speaking an ancient language or something."
"Oye Bright. Dices que vamos a una librería, pero... ¿Tienen información actualizada?" asked Diego. "No me sirve la información previa a la llegada de Equestria. Bueno, tal vez podria revisar si ya se arregló la situación de hace unos años."
"My pal wants to know if the information in the library is recent. We need to know about the changes in this world after all." said Crimson.
"This may be just a small island, but there is useful information in the library. Enough to know the basics, at least." was Bright's answer.
"The library is over there, folks." said Mike.
Diego saw a building not so far from their location. Even from afar, you could see the big 'LIBRARY' sign on the top.
Diego decided to ignore the stares from the other ponies, but at least their reactions weren't exaggerated.
Surprisingly, there were a few guards near the entrance. Guards that you would see in Equestria. Gold armor included, and even using spears as weapons.
When they saw Diego, they... didn't react. They did stare, but nothing else. Crimson knew those guards couldn't believe what their eyes were seeing.
While the guards were talking among themselves, Diego and his friend decided to ignore them and enter the library.
"Hey Bright." said one of the guards, and the mare stopped while Mike and Nick followed the human. "That was-"
"A human. Yes." was her answer. "Very real, and very alive. Don't ask me how, because I don't know. I met the guy and his unicorn friend like an hour ago. The only thing I know about him is that he speaks spanish."
She does know a bit more than that, considering that he and Crimson Starlit fought a bugbear and won, but for some reason, she didn't want to give more information to them. Diego did say that this situation is weird for him, and it must be very annoying to hear everypony say that he should be dead.
"A human... When was the last time we saw one? Three or four years ago?"
"Yeah. That guy from Australia."
"The magic reached there and he had no other choice but to ponify. Thank Celestia her wife and his child encouraged him to do it."
"And now this human... I know we just saw him, but... he just walks in, smiling like there's nothing wrong."
"We saw humans scream and get angry when the conversion bureau initiative started. This changed their lives. What I mean to say is that it feels weird to see him."
"Call it a miracle if you want." said Bright, going to the library. "Anyways, don't bother him, please. He also feels weird seeing just ponies on his world."
When she went inside the building, the guards looked at each other for a moment.
"It's not like we do it on purpose, but..."
"Some of them died with Equestria's magic, and the rest converted to ponies to stay alive."
"I guess everypony wants to know the same thing once you see him..."
...
"How did he survive?"
A few seconds after she entered the building, Bright spotted Diego and the rest of the group looking at the bulletin board. Surprisingly, the other ponies that were already inside haven't seen him yet.
"¿Entonces este mapa es real?" asked Diego.
"Seems like it." said Crimson, a bit confused. "Even if it's a drawing."
"Oh, that's because one of the guys in the local guard likes to draw the map of this 'new world'." said Nick. "Every year he draws an updated map."
"A lot of effort was needed for this, you know?" said Mike. "A ton of pegasi were needed to look and analyze the whole world in order to get this map. We don't have an image or something more professional because... well, this town is kinda far away from big countries. Besides, they do this every year."
"And how does that guy know what to draw?" asked Crimson, still a bit confused.
"Lo que él dijo." added Diego.
"That's because his cousin lives in Equestria." the answer came from Nick. "He sends pictures of every area, and he... draws it. That's it."
"A good citizen, huh." said Crimson, who then looked at his human pal. "So... How different is your world now?"
"Los continentes no se ven tan diferentes, pero se ve como si grandes pedazos de tierra fueron removidos. Se ven pequeños trozos de tierra alrededor del mundo y parece que Africa y Asia tuvieron los cambios mas notables."
"What did he say?" asked Nick.
"He basically said that the world looks a bit different." was Crimson's answer. "He also said that Africa and Asia are the biggest changes."
"Well, he is not wrong." said Mike.
"Y esa tierra marcada con azul... ¿Tiene nombre?"
"He is asking about the land marked with blue."
"Oh. That?" said Bright Lapis, getting the attention of the human and his unicorn friend. "That's Equestria."
"¿Eso es Equestria?" asked Diego while pointing out the map with one of his fingers.
"Se ve un poco más pequeño que America del Sur, pero sigue siendo grande."
"Well, at least now we know where is Equestria." said Crimson. "And where are we right now?"
"In that small island right next to Australia. Here..." said Mike, pointing at a certain location with his hoof. "That one. North-west."
"No kidding when you say it's small." said Crimson. "Compared to everything else."
"Hey Diego." Bright Lapis got the human's attention. "Where's Chile?"
"¿Chile? Está aqui..." Diego pointed at a certain area of the South American continent.
"Huh. Look at that. Chile is not that far away from here." said Mike.
"Still a lot, though." said Bright. "You guys are far away from both Equestria and Chile."
"Muy bien." said Diego. "Ya sabemos algo sobre los continentes y Equestria. Es hora de investigar que cosas han cambiado."
"Man... Was that real?"
"You saw him, dude! Heck, you even touched him."
"It's been years since the last time I saw one. I can't even guess his age correctly."
"Young adult, perhaps?"
"He didn't speak english."
"I think his unicorn friend said 'spanish' at one point."
"Spanish, huh? I don't speak that one."
"Me neither."
"And his hand... Did you see what he was doing? He was carrying the bugbear!"
"Yeah! With magic! How cool is that?"
"Just by being a human is a miracle. He was healthy and with a smile on his face!"
"But to also use magic. The unicorn's magic. Equestria's magic."
"But... If he is a living human, then..."
...
"Was the 'Conversion Bureau' initiative really necessary?"
Many ponies were talking about the human that appeared in their town. Many of them were still having a hard time believing what they saw. Most of the ponies living in the town are former humans, and they know that Equestria's magic was lethal to every human. It's the whole reason the Conversion Bureau initiative was proposed.
And yet they saw one. Healthy and even happy.
Worst of all, they know nothing about him.
As the ponies in town kept talking about him, a certain pony overheard the group. When he heard of a 'human' suddenly appearing in town, he asked about him to the group, and once he got all the information the group had to offer, which was not so much, he thanked them all and hurried to his house in the west area.
Without wasting time, he went to his bedroom and took something from one of his drawers: A piece of jewelry. A ruby amulet with golden decorations around it. Once he touched the amulet, it started to emit a faint glow.
"Please, please, someone..."
...
[Hello?]
"Hello. What is your code?"
[...]
"Good. You shouldn't answer that to everypony just because they ask. I am in a hurry though. This is 'Ruby-seven'. What is yours?"
[The Ruby division? But that-]
"I am retired, I know. However, this is an emergency."
[This is Opal-ten, sir]
"Nice to meet you, Opal-ten. I'll make this quick: There is a rumor here that I believe it's worth investigating."
[Your amulet... you are in Australia!]
"That is correct. As I was saying, there's a rumor here. Something that may interest the Princesses."
[The Princesses? So... you know about it, too.]
"Indeed."
[What is this rumor, then?]
"The ponies of my current home in 'New Leaf' are talking about... a human."
"Are you really sure about this, pal?"
"Entiendo que suena loco, pero... no puedo encontrar otra explicación que tenga sentido."
"Hey. I don't think you are lying to me. We can keep looking for clues later."
"Tenemos que saber que año es este."
"Yeah. It's the only way."
"Como dije... es posible, y no encuentro otra explicación."
Crimson looked at his human friend, and for the first time today, he was looking truly concerned. If what he says is true... then he would be in the same condition. It was then, that Bright Lapis and her two friends came to see them.
"I know we said that we would give you some space to do your research, but Diego looks worried about something. Like, really worried." said Bright.
"Did something happen?" asked Nick.
"Something about his country, perhaps?" said Mike.
"Not exactly." was Crimson's answer. "If it is what he suspects, then it's worse."
"Worse? What could be worse for him? He's a human in a world full of ponies, and let's not forget that this world is his world."
"¿Qué año es este?"
The sudden question from Diego caught the trio's attention.
"He's asking what year is this." added Crimson.
"The year? It's 2025." the answer came from Nick. "I suppose that if you arrived in Equestria before all of this happened, you must be from... 2015 perhaps?"
"Conchesumadre..." Diego put his left hand on his face, clearly frustrated.
"Oh boy..." now it was Crimson's turn to show that he was really concerned about something.
"What's wrong? And what did Diego say?" asked Bright. Mike and Nick were also curious because it was obvious that something was going on.
"Don't worry about what he said. It was a slur. I think. It's from his country." said Crimson, looking at the trio. "We do have a problem, though: The years don't add up. I know that when we found him, Equestria was not on this world, and you guys say that it has been like ten years. Right?"
"Yup. I still don't see what's the problem. He is back. Right?" said Nick.
"Thanks to my pal, I know that we share the number of days that equal a year. When we found Diego, he was... younger."
"Han pasado casi diez años." added the human.
"Yeah... nearly ten years have passed since we found him." said Crimson.
"See? It makes sense!" said Mike. "And now with Equestria here, he is back to planet Earth! Well... planet Gaia. You know, the change and all that."
"Yeah, it should." Crimson had a neutral expression, but it quickly changed to that same concern from moments ago. "But here is the thing: We had a bit of trouble in the first weeks. Remember that he is from Chile, so his english at the time was almost nonexistent. Luckily, we had somepony who knew his language. Well, the equestrian equivalent of spanish. Thanks to that, we knew his name, where he was from, all that stuff. Most of it didn't make sense to us at the time, but after a few months, Diego was more relaxed and told us about the day he appeared in Equestria. About his wish..."
"I fail to see the pro-"
"About what happened on that day: June 17, 2021."
...
...
...
The silence was well justified.
"You see now?" asked Crimson. "As I said, the years don't add up."
"Oh wow..." Bright was at a loss of words. "Sorry, I just don't know what else to say. I mean, that is weird."
"But there has to be an explanation, right?" asked Mike.
"Maybe..." Nick took everyone's attention. "Maybe this is some kind of... time travel situation?"
"You know... in the past, I would be laughing at what you just said." Mike then looked at Diego. "But with Equestria in our world, and with magic being a real thing now, a part of me can actually believe that."
"Yeah. Nice theory." said Crimson. "But we believe it's something else. You see, when we found Diego, just by looking at him, we knew he was sick. Very sick. We took him to our hospital, and it took almost three days for him to wake up, and even then, he could barely move. To be honest, his fate was uncertain, but thankfully he got better. At one point we asked him about his sickness. He said that it was some disease that originated in a place called 'China', but then spread to almost every country in the world. The name was..."
Crimson turned to see his human friend.
"What was it called?"
"Se llama 'COVID19'. Se le solía decir 'Corona Virus'." said Diego, still looking concerned.
"That! COVID19." said Crimson, looking at the other ponies again. "Started in China, spread to the world, and even the day Diego came to Equestria, it was still a threat."
"That sounds horrible." said Nick. "I assume this disease managed to kill many humans, and Diego got really lucky."
"Yeah. He got lucky with us." said Crimson, although there was no emotion in his voice. "According to Diego, this COVID thing killed millions worldwide."
The silence returned. This time, it took several seconds before anyone said anything. However, a thought came to the mind of the three ponies. While the arrival of Equestria is and will be the biggest event in human history for the years to come, a disease like that, killing that many people across the world would surely be covered by the news, newspapers, and every form of social media.
And yet...
"No hay datos de ello aquí. Nada. No hay mención de que siquiera haya ocurrido. ¡No hay nada!" Diego's sudden outburst caught Bright and her friends off guard. "No hay nada en en los libros, ni en la internet. Nada..."
"Diego... says that we searched everything. Every book that we found about recent changes in the world was filled with mentions of Equestria and the magic spreading to this world. Everything else was normal. Diego also used the computer they have here to look on the internet. There is no mention of anything related to COVID19. No disease, no victims, nothing..."
Crimson looked at his friend, knowing that he had a mix of emotions right now, even if he doesn't show that much. He is sure that Diego must be a bit confused, but also a bit angry because this looks like a mess from fate.
"As if it never happened."
"What? How does that work?" asked Bright. "I don't think Diego would lie about that, especially because he suffered from that disease."
"Which is why my partner has another theory." was Crimson's answer. "He says that this is indeed planet Earth... but not his planet Earth."
"This place? Alright. Gonna set the coordinates here..."
Crimson Starlit's horn began to glow, and soon, a circle made of magical energy and matching the unicorn's bright red aura slowly formed on the ground where he and the human were standing.
While Crimson was 'setting the coordinates', as he likes to call it, Diego was looking at the sky. For a moment, the unicorn focused his vision on his human friend.
"You know you don't need to hide how you feel to me. We're pals, and seriously, considering this whole mess, I don't blame you for being angry or sad."
"Lo sé..." said Diego, although nonchalantly. "Y honestamente no estoy triste, y extrañamente tampoco enojado."
"Oh? May I ask why?"
"Porque en realidad... estoy confundido y frustrado."
"Confused and frustrated... alright, I think that makes sense." said Crimson, still doing the spell. "I know you are a human of strong will, but please, don't be afraid to talk about this with me, or anyone back home."
"Lo sé. Ustedes son mi hogar ahora." said Diego, now looking at his unicorn friend with a smile. "Si sucede algo, serás el primero en saberlo."
"Good to know." said Crimson with a smile, and after a few seconds, his magic aura diminished. "Aaaand we're done. You ready?"
"Estoy listo. Tenemos mucho de que hablar con el resto."
"Ok. Now this will take a few moments, since this is the first time using this location."
The circle on the ground became brighter, and in a few seconds, a red light manifested in the whole area.
When the light disappeared, so did the two friends.
"Man... It still feels unreal." said Mike.
"I know, but it really happened." said Nick. "We saw him, we spoke with him, and he has problems like everyone else."
"I wonder where they live?" asked Bright Lapis. "I understand why they are so secretive about it. I mean, it's a human. But still, I'm curious."
"That Crimson fellow said that it was a place like Cloudsdale."
"As far as I know, Cloudsdale is still in Equestrian territory." said Bright Lapis. "The Princess would do something about it if that wasn't the case. Just where does he live?"
"A human with magic, friend of an enigmatic unicorn and an unknown home... Diego has the whole package." said Nick.
The trio of friends was reunited in New Leaf's central park. It has been a few hours since the pony named Crimson Starlit and the human named Diego left the town. They wanted to escort them back to the town's entrance, but Crimson politely declined. Bright and her two friends were swarmed with questions after that, to the point that it became annoying. What did everypony expect? They just met them today!
"This makes me wonder how he felt." said Nick. "I mean, not only is he the only human alive, as far we know, but he is also from another planet Earth! We are talking about parallel universes here!"
"Do you really think he is from another universe?" asked Mike. "I'm still not convinced of that one."
"He has no reason to lie to us, Mike." said Bright Lapis. "I believe him. How do you explain that 'COVID' thing he was talking about? Do you really think he would lie about something so serious?"
"Well..." Mike had to admit it. They had a point.
"And what about that 'Pokémon' thing he showed us on his phone?" asked Nick. "How do you explain that one? He had entire wiki pages saved on his phone."
"Anyone can edit wiki pages, dude." said Mike.
"Did you see how much information he had?" countered Nick. "Names, places, history about Pokémon and some companies named Game Freak and Nintendo! Do you really think he made all that up?"
"Alright. I get it." Mike gave up. "But I still find it hard to believe."
"Just the fact that he is still a human is supposed to be impossible." said Bright Lapis, almost as if she was tired. "This whole day has been a wild ride."
The three friends kept talking about these two visitors, and how sooner or later, Diego's existence is going to shake the whole world. Especially to the former humans. After all, most of humanity decided to 'convert' into ponies only because there was no other option.
But if they see him...
"Excuse me."
A male unknown voice took the attention of the trio. They noticed that a pegasus pony approached them. He was certainly an adult, but he looked in good shape for his age.
"I've been told that you three were the ones who discovered the human." said the pegasus.
"Well, more like they helped us dealing with a bugbear." said Bright Lapis. "Then they helped us bring it to the facility."
"So the human didn't come alone." said the pegasus.
"He had a unicorn friend." said Mike. "Since the two defeated the bugbear, they must be strong."
"And it's true that he can use magic?" asked the pegasus.
"Yes. He can." answered Nick. "We don't know how, but he is able to use Equestria's magic."
"Who are you?" asked Bright Lapis, getting the attention of the pegasus. "I know everypony is talking about him, but it sounds like you were not here when it happened."
"Ah. My apologies. It's true. I wasn't here when it happened." said the pegasus. "My name is Wind Chaser. I used to be one of the leaders of the Gem Squad."
"The Gem Squad!" Bright's attitude changed immediately. "Sir! My apologies for being rude! It's an honor to meet you!"
"Bright?" asked Mike.
"What are you doing?" added Nick. Both friends were confused.
"You guys are former humans, so you don't know about this." said Bright. "During the first weeks after Equestria's arrival to planet Earth, Princess Celestia created a special team in the royal guard."
"And that's the Gem Squad, right?" asked Nick.
"That's right. The Gem Squad had a single purpose: To explore the unknown. To explore what was beyond our land. In other words, to explore your world. That's how we established contact with humanity. Thanks to them, the Princesses were able to contact the leaders of your countries before chaos ensued. Well, there were still several cases where misunderstandings led to... not good things."
"Indeed." said Wind Chaser. "Some of my comrades were hurt. Others were hunted and ended up being treated like prisoners, or worse... test subjects. Still, it was our duty to discover everything we could about this world. About you."
"Damm... I didn't know that." said Mike, clearly not happy about those things. "I just knew the world was going nuts because of talking ponies, and boy, it took a long time for me to get used to it."
"It's all in the past now." said Wind Chaser. "To be honest, the reason I'm interested in this human goes beyond surprise or disbelief."
Now this got the attention of the trio.
"Wait. What you do mean?" asked Mike. "A living human after the whole conversion thing is not surprising to you?"
"It is, but since I haven't seen him..." said Wind Chaser, a bit disappointed. "Anyways, what I mean to say is that there is another reason I want to know about him, and if possible, to meet him too."
"If you want to meet him, it must be important." said Nick.
"It is, but I'm afraid I lack the authority to explain it in detail."
"Well, they didn't tell us if they will come back." said Nick. "I mean, considering what happened..."
"What happened?" asked the pegasus.
"I'm sorry, but I don't want to trouble him anymore." said Bright Lapis. "If you want to know, you'll have to ask him about it."
"But what if they don't come back?" asked Mike.
"It's their choice." replied Bright, who then looked at Wind Chaser. "You can try your luck tomorrow. Maybe they'll come back."
Wind chaser simply nodded.
"Very well."
"Aaand here we are!"
It took only a moment. Crimson Starlit and Diego were somewhere else now. Their surroundings changed, replacing the outskirts of New Leaf with a different sight. One that Diego has come to enjoy over the years.
"Nunca me canso de esto." said Diego, smiling as he looked around.
"Me neither. It's a beautiful sight." added Crimson.
It was the blessing of nature.
The land around the town of New Leaf was nothing compared to this. Healthy grass as far as the eye can see. A generous amount of trees, bushes, and flowers, a forest not so far from their location, and a lake nearby.
Not to mention the clouds that are way closer to them. Diego knows that there are even clouds below the ground he is standing on right now.
After all, that's the kind of sight that offers a floating island.
"Una isla flotante... es un privilegio vivir aquí." said Diego, feeling refreshed.
"I still find it weird that what you consider 'fantasy' is pretty much 'everyday' for us." said Crimson. "Anyways, Vendaval should be here any second now..."
"De hecho allí viene." added Diego, looking at something in the distance, flying near the clouds and getting closer to the two friends.
As the seconds passed, that something began to acquire form. It was also getting bigger and bigger.
And what mighty and impressive form it was: Strong claws, long and marvelous wings, a very long tail, and finally, green scales as beautiful as emeralds.
"¡Vendaval! ¡Por aquí!" shouted Diego, waving with his left hand, as if he was greeting a friend.
"Careful when you land, draco-dude!" added Crimson, focusing on the dragon. "Don't destroy the flowers. Fauna will hate you forever if you do."
"I appreciate your concern, Crimson. However, there is no need to worry." said the dragon, with a voice that Diego can only classify as 'gentleman'. Strong, yet likable.
The big dragon landed with grace, almost like a noble's arrival. His landing was so gentle that the flowers and bushes around him barely moved.
"It would be unwise to unleash Fauna's wrath. I know that very well." said the Dragon, who now focused on the human. "I have to say, this trip of yours was shorter than what I expected."
"It was for a good reason, Vendaval." said Crimson, getting the dragon's attention. "Something big happened outside. We need to call everyone."
"Everyone?" this took Vendaval by surprise. "Are you sure? You know the implications of calling everyone to an emergency meeting. Just what happened down there?"
"Descubrimos... cosas importantes." said Diego, not very happy. "Cosas que el resto debe saber de inmediato."
"Our pal is not lying, draco-dude." added Crimson. "Honestly, I don't know how everyone else will take this, but it needs to be known and discussed."
Vendaval took a moment to look at his two friends. Like Crimson, he ended up learning Spanish, so he knows what the human said. Seeing Crimson more serious than usual is a slight surprise, but the worry in Diego's voice is what worries him the most.
"Very well. You should activate the signal. We will go to Starsight, and wait for the others to arrive."
"Already on it." said crimson, focusing on the magic energy that was gathering around his horn. After a few seconds, the energy increased its brightness and then disappeared. "Done."
"Let us go, then." said Vendaval. As soon as he said that, Crimson activated his magic and disappeared, only to reappear on the dragon's back.
"While I do not know what bothers you, I do know that you are a strong human, Diego." said the dragon, who then extended one of his claws and presented it in front of Diego, like an open hand. "Your willpower is something to be admired. Be proud of it."
"Gracias, Vendaval. De verdad lo aprecio." said the human while jumping into Vendaval's claw. The dragon then moved his claw, carrying the human to his back, where Crimson was waiting for him.
"You know, at this point, you are pretty much ready to learn about teleportation." said Crimson. "Can you finally give it a chance?"
"Tentador, pero me sigue asustando la idea de ser pulverizado o perder partes de mi cuerpo en el proceso." said Diego in response.
"Would you reconsider it if I told you that I have a technique to make it easier?" said the unicorn with a smile of victory.
Diego, on the other hand, was now glaring at him.
"¿Y me lo dices ahora?"
"You didn't ask for help~" teased Crimson.
"He is right. You cannot deny it." added Vendaval.
"Ok. Lo entiendo." said Diego, knowing there was no way to deny that. "Lo intentaré, pero no prometo nada."
"That's all I ask." said the unicorn, winking at his human friend.
"Como si no tuviera ya suficientes preocupaciones..." said Diego, clearly with a lack of spirit.
"You can whine later. For now..." Crimson activated his magic. "Don't move."
The human stayed still while his unicorn friend used his magic to envelop both of them with it. After a few seconds, the magic disappeared.
"We are ready, big guy!" exclaimed Crimson.
"Very well. Please enjoy both the wind and the view. The journey will not take long."
As the dragon finished talking, his powerful wings moved, and after a starting jump, the group began their travel in the sky.
Diego did exactly as the dragon told him, and wasted no time in admiring the endless sky around him. The view of the floating island from an even higher height is always a unique experience.
"Como dije antes: Nunca me canso de esta vista." said Diego, smiling like a kid in a toy store.
"Is the spell working properly?" asked Crimson.
"Si. Funciona perfectamente." was Diego's answer. "No sé para qué preguntas si ya sabes la respuesta."
"Yeah. I never fail those, but I have to ask just in case." said the unicorn with a smirk.
"Me sorprende que se te haya ocurrido este hechizo." said Diego, looking at his feet.
"A neat trick, don't you think?" said Crimson. "With this spell, we have become part of Vendaval's body. Even if some mighty force was able to make him move violently, we would still be glued here."
"Crimson. Why so much secrecy? Is it really that bad?" asked the dragon with a strong voice.
"It is, big fella." was Crimson's answer. "That's why everyone is needed."
"Esto podría... No. Esto definitivamente afectará nuestro futuro." added Diego. Once again, not too happy.
"..." Vendaval wanted to say something, but it was clear that whatever happened down there, it was something really important.
The nearby forest and a few lakes were part of the scenery that the trio was able to see during their trip. The endless grass and some rock formations continued to appear for a while, until finally, they were approaching to what looked like a village. Many different buildings that by shape and size, were undoubtedly houses. There is also a big tower that stands out from the rest of the buildings not only because it's the tallest, but also because of what was on the rooftop.
Although the sky shows no signs of the night approaching, the area above the tower was another story. It's such a contrast, especially during the day, that even knowing it must be some magic phenomenon, Diego is still amazed by the sight of the stars, and the night itself.
"You really like the stars. Don't you?" asked Crimson, also looking at the unique sight that the tower offers. "I remember that a few weeks ago, you said that the stars above the tower looked different. I guess now we know why..."
Diego just stared at the tower, thinking about today's events. From the bugbear attack to the current situation on planet earth.
No.
Planet Gaia. That's the new name.
A few minutes later, they arrived at their desired location: The rooftop of the tower. Vendaval had no problem landing there. It's big enough for him, and he even began to move freely. Crimson activated his magic two times. One to cancel the spell that kept them in the dragon's back, and the second time to teleport both him and Diego to the rooftop.
"And now, we wait." said the unicorn.
It is not just empty space. It is mostly empty space. There is a big table made of wood, with many different chairs. Some of them were bigger, and some had unique designs. Around the table and chairs were various circles made with magic, and each one had a different color. Right now they were all inactive.
Several seconds passed, in which the human sat down on the roof to enjoy the impossible view of the stars above him. Vendaval stood where he was, and Crimson sat in one of the chairs.
Until finally, one of the circles started to glow. It was the green-colored one.
The circle started to generate magical energy that was slowly moving around, and gradually taking shape. After a few seconds, it took the form of a bright green door.
The door was opened, and...
"My goodness! It has been months since the last meeting."
A soothing, female voice was heard. A voice that the other three know very well. She was not a pony. Rather, she is a friend of the forests. With a beautiful brown, almost orange-looking fur. Eyes as bright as sapphire, and both her ears and tail were rather small. Something completely normal, considering that she is a deer.
As soon as she arrived, the magical door closed and then disappeared. With this, the circle became inactive again.
"Indeed. It will be good to see how everyone is doing." said Vendaval. "I am very glad to see you, lady Fauna."
"Vendaval! You look as radiant as ever. I am tempted to ask for a few more of your scales. The last ones proved to be very useful."
"I do not see why not. We can discuss it later." said the Dragon.
"That was quick, Fauna." said Crimson, smiling while looking at her. "Good to see you."
"And hello to you too, Crimson. It's good to see that you are still alive. Now, where is my lovely-"
She stopped when she saw Diego, who was waving with his left hand.
"Hola Fauna. Es bueno volver a verte."
Fauna disappeared in a flash, and the next thing Diego felt was the fur from Fauna's chest, as she was hugging him.
"Diego! My sweet little human! It is wonderful to see you again! I missed you so much!"
Diego was saying something, or rather, he was trying to say something.
"Uhhh... Fauna. I know you get all motherly when it comes to Diego, but..." Crimson was doing his best to suppress a laugh, while Vendaval just did a quick, light chuckle. "Please, let kid breathe."
"Oh my!" Fauna quickly released the human. "I'm so sorry dear. It's just that I'm genuinely happy to see you."
"También estoy feliz de verte, Fauna." said Diego with a smile. "Pero recuerda que ya no soy un niño."
"You will always be like a child to me." said Fauna with a motherly smile.
Just then, another magic circle activated. This one was blue. Just like the previous one, a door made of pure magic energy was created. When it opened...
"Hey! I wasn't the last one to arrive. That's good."
A young male voice was heard, and then a gryphon came from the other side. Well, it would be a gryphon if it wasn't for his hooves. He is actually a hippogriff. Taller than the average male gryphon, and also with a unique quality: Most of his body is of pure white color. Only a few of the feathers on his wings were of a yellow, almost golden color, and his eyes were brownish.
"Fauna! Crimson! Vendaval! Good to see you guys." said the newcomer.
"Hello Maximilian." said Vendaval with respect. "I hope the upper section of the island is treating you well."
"Yeah. It never ceases to amaze me." added Crimson. "You have some powerful lungs there."
"I do hope your wife and daughter are doing well, too." said Fauna, focusing on the hippogriff.
"The family is healthy and strong, and I feel blessed for it." was Maximilian's answer. He then focused on Diego.
"Hola Max. Es bueno verte." said the human with a sincere smile.
"Ah. Our miracle and honorary member!" said Maximilian while inspecting Diego. "To think that a few years ago we found you sick and weak. Now look at you! Strong and tough."
"Y es todo gracias a ustedes." said Diego in response.
"I don't see little Beannacht." said Maximilian, looking around the rooftop. "And Helena is not here either! Never expected those two to be late. They love it when we reunite."
"Been wondering about that, too." added Crimson, looking at the other two magic circles. "Everytime I call you guys, they like to come here ASAP."
"Maybe they heard you." said Fauna, smiling as she and everyone else saw a new circle activating: The purple one.
But in this case, instead of a door, it created... a purple mushroom. Bigger than usual, but a mushroom nonetheless. However, in the center of the mushroom, there was a smaller door, and when it opened...
"My apologies everyone! I was running an errand when you called. I came as fast as I could!"
It was a male pony.
A very, very small gray male pony. His mane and tail are of orange color, and they are larger than what a pony normally has. He has two curious-looking antennae, and wings that could easily belong to a butterfly. These wings are almost transparent.
Even though he is a male, his voice was a bit high-pitched. He was also wearing a tiny amulet around his neck.
"Well, it ain't easy being a breezie." said Crimson with a smile of understanding. "Don't worry about it. Is the amulet still working? Do you need to recharge it?"
"Don't worry my friend! The amulet is in perfect condition, and there is still plenty of magic inside."
"Good. Let me know if anything happens to it." said the unicorn.
The breezie started to look around, and his expression changed to one of disappointment.
"Bliskes! I can't believe I was so late!"
"Please, Beannacht. It is not your fault." said Vendaval. "We all have responsibilities in our respective zones."
"I was in the middle of making a new potion when I received the signal." added Fauna.
"And I was checking the crystals in the Echo Caves." said Maximilian. "Like the emerald dragon said, we all have more stuff to do now."
"Además Helena todavía no ha llegado." said Diego, looking at the only magic circle that has not activated yet.
"Diego! Back so soon?" asked the Breezie, flying to be face to face with the human. "I thought your journey would take at least a few days!"
"Asi es. De hecho... es la razón de la reunión de hoy."
Fauna quickly noticed the change in the mood of the human when he said that. Her eyes changed focus to look at Crimson, and the unicorn noticed.
"He is telling the truth. We came back because this... is something huge." said Crimson, who was also showing signs of sudden unhappiness.
Before she or anyone else could speak, the last magic circle activated.
The yellow one.
Like all the other magic circles, it manifested a magical door. A pure yellow door that opened almost immediately.
"¡Diego!"
"¿Qué-"
"Blusken!"
Now Diego was on the ground, and on top of him was...
"Helena! Don't tackle him like that!" shout Fauna, clearly a bit angry. "You could have hurt little Beannacht, too!"
"Yes! Be careful next time!" said the breezie, who managed to move on time.
"¡Helena por la chucha eso me dolió!" said the human. Thankfully he didn't hit his head when falling. Only his back. "Te agradecería que me avisaras para la próxima. No tengo problemas en abrazarte si lo necesitas."
"¡Diego! ¿Como estás? ¡Te extrañé muuuuucho!" said Helena. "It's been an entire month!"
"Tranquila, tambien te extrañé." said Diego with a small chuckle. "¿Pero puedes dejar que me levante?"
"Not yet, cariño!" said Helena. "I'm still recharging. I've been helping Shujaa since early in the morning. I swear he never takes a break!"
"Good to see you, Helena." said Crimson, focusing on her. "But seriously. The first thing you do after seeing Diego is to eat? C'mon!"
"I can't help it!" was Helena's answer. "His emotions are sooo tasty!" then she quickly looked at the breezie. "Oh. Hi Bean! Sorry for scaring you like that."
"Yes, yes. You are a changeling, you feed on emotions, we get it." said the unicorn. "We've talked about this so many times that I can't remember all of them. But you should remember that he is your friend, not a snack."
"Excuse me, but I know that! You don't need to repeat that everytime I feed on him! ¡Por Celestia!" was Helena's answer, getting up.
She was indeed a changeling. Not your typical changeling though, because they don't have a yellow mane and tail as she does. She also doesn't have many holes in her legs, and her wings are bigger. Roughly the same size as a pegasi wings. Actually, her whole body has the size of an earth pony, making her bigger than most changelings, except for a King or Queen.
"Diego. Do you feel ill? A headache or anything?" asked the changeling, looking at the human
"Nope. Solo me duele mi espalda por tu tacleada." was Diego's answer, also getting up and dusting his clothes.
"See? He's fine! I'm always extra careful when feeding from him, now stop whining." said Helena, looking at Crimson. She then got closer to Diego and started whispering something in his ear.
"Sigue creyendose tu papá cool." she said.
"Bueno. El es cool." said Diego.
"Nunca cambies, mi bonachón humano." said Helena, and now she approached the group near the table. "I hope all of you are doing ok in your cozy houses in your cozy zones. Shujaa wanted to come too, but he is rather busy at the moment helping Elder Law."
"You will have to tell him about this meeting later. In fact, all of you will have to inform those who live in your zones." said Crimson, who then looked around. "Since everyone is here, I think we can begin now. Here under the eternal stars, we begin this meeting regarding our future from now on."
The others nodded in agreement, taking special attention to what Crimson Said, and in a few seconds, they sat on one chair each. Diego is still amazed that each chair was made according to everyone's specifications. The whole thing reminds him of the round table from the tales of King Arthur.
There is also a chair for him, though it's just a normal wood chair with a very good cushion on it. What else would he need? There's even a tiny chair for Beannacht! Although that one is on the table, with a special spell to keep it attached.
The only one who was not using a chair was Vendaval. For obvious reasons.
"I... really don't know how you guys will take this, but this day is going to be remembered by everyone. That's for sure." said Crimson, suddenly serious.
"It seems that both you and my dear Diego feel uneasy about something in particular." said Fauna, a bit worried already. "To think you would call all of us for this!"
"Yeah dude. It's kinda surprising." added Maximilian. "Don't get me wrong. It's very good to see that everyone is doing ok, but if you called all of us, then this must be something huge!"
"They refused to elaborate when I asked them." said Vendaval, looking at Diego. "I can understand Crimson being serious from time to time, but when I saw how worried Diego was..."
"Oh boy... Where to begin?" said Crimson, who then looked at his human friend. "I suppose it would be for the best if our pal here tell us. This also affects him."
"¿Están seguros de que quieren escucharlo en español?" asked Diego.
"Don't worry Diego." the answer came from Helena. "I taught them well. Maybe they don't speak it, but they can certainly understand you. Well, as long as you don't mix in your weird spanish from your country."
"Oh. Ok. Intentaré no mezclar mis chilenismos." said Diego in response.
Diego had to admit that Helena has been a lifesaver many times, both in the past and present. She is the reason the group managed to understand his situation when they found him. She was the only one that knew spanish, or the language of the 'Purasangre' as they call it in Equestria.
And of course, it's thanks to her that now the entire group understands him. He knows he needs to improve his english, though.
"Bueno, la situación es... única. Intentaré ser lo más detallado posible: Crimson aprobó mi petición de explorar un poco de Equestria, siempre y cuando él me estuviera supervisando, y entonces..."
"..."
It took Diego several minutes to explain everything: The encounter with the bugbear, the fight, and the encounter with Bright Lapis and her friends. Friends with human names. And with that, he dropped the bomb.
The whole land of Equestria was transported.
To another world.
Not just another world, but the same world where Diego comes from. Where humanity lives. Or rather, where humanity lived.
Diego shared every piece of information he found during his brief stay in New Leaf: Equestria's arrival on planet Earth, the chaos during the first years, Equestria's magic expanding through the planet, and the shocking discovery of how harmful it is to humans. The 'Convesion Bureau' initiative, and all the consequences that brought with it.
Finally, about the current state of the planet. How entire continents were changed during all of this. How everyone, or rather, how everypony's life changed. How they had to adapt to their new bodies...
The extinction of humanity as a race.
And the icing on the cake being Diego's unique situation: This planet Earth is not his planet Earth.
"..."
And now everyone was deep in thought. Diego decided to practice with his magic in order to clear his mind.
After a while, the first one to say something was...
"I must admit: I was bracing myself for some dire news, but..." Vendaval stopped talking for a moment. "Something like this... there is no way anyone would remain calm."
"Yeah..." was the only thing Maximilian managed to say.
"And... Is it only Equestria?" asked Helena, a little anxious.
"As far as we know, yeah." was the not-so-happy answer from Crimson. He knows why she is asking. "However, we overheard two ponies talking about a changeling that tried to mimic a human but almost dies, so that means a few changelings are here, too."
There was a brief expression of relief on the changeling's face. Only brief.
"The whole territory... Is that even possible?" asked Fauna, almost like a whisper. "Is there a spell or an artifact with such an unthinkable amount of power?"
"But it's weird! Why only Equestria? How can you be so specific about it?" asked the breezie, clearly confused about this whole situation.
"That's ticking me off, too." said Crimson. "Even the Princesses of Equestria don't have a single clue about this. No one knows why. it just happened."
Crimson now focused his attention on his human friend, who was busy with a spell. Specifically, he created two big solid hands made of magic, and the hands were now doing motions, like punching and slapping.
"And humanity had to transform into ponykind because Equestria's magic was lethal to them, yet Diego is not only in perfect condition, but he can also use Equestria's magic. As far as we know, he is the only human left in this world."
"What a chaotic situation..." said Vendaval, still trying to understand everything. "I am honestly surprised that you look so... calm about this, Diego."
"Tal como le dije a Crimson: Solo estoy confundido y frustrado." said the human. "Sobre todo porque la enfermedad que me estaba matando y la que mató a millones de personas no ocurrió aquí. ¡Era un problema mundial!"
"Is that really all, my dear?"
Fauna's question took Diego by surprise, and the others got a bit curious.
"..." Diego remained silent, but his face was still showing signs of frustration.
"Even if you were able to hide your emotions, your eyes do not lie." said the deer with a gentle voice.
Diego let out a sigh of defeat.
"Han pasado ya varios años desde que me encontraron. Equestria es mi hogar ahora. Después de tanto tiempo, ya estaba dejando el asunto de mi planeta atrás... y sucede esto."
Crimson noticed that even when Diego was now joining the conversation, he was still controlling the hands he created with his magic.
He was still practicing.
Improving.
"Lo dije anteriormente allí abajo: Parece un chiste de mal gusto. Si algún Dios existe, de seguro se está riendo de mi justo ahora."
"I hate to be that one pony, but..." Crimson got everyone's attention. "Our priority right now is to decide what to do from now on. This world is way bigger than Equs, and to make things worse, our location is different. We are not floating in Equestrian skies."
"Well... for starters, Elder Law will have to be notified about this. About everything." said Vendaval. "If we are not within Equestria's territory, he may consider moving the island as an option."
"Shujaa... I'll have to tell him." said Helena, still worried. "We never noticed it. In a way, Diego's request to explore a bit of Equestria made us realize what was happening."
"This also means that we'll have to increase our security." said Maximilian, who was now a bit annoyed. "If the world is bigger now, there may be new creatures or even new threats."
"Tal vez, pero las amenazas no serían por cosas de Equestria." said Diego, getting the hippogriff's attention. "Sino que de amenazas militares. La tecnología de la tierra ya permite que vuelen a grandes alturas con vehículos especiales que hasta pueden tener armamento para atacar enemigos."
This of course took everyone's attention.
"Are you talking about military forces?" asked Maximilian.
"Así es, pero todo lo relacionado a operaciones militares es delicado y es constantemente supervisado. Sin embargo, tarde o temprano, algún país podría intentar explorar el cielo y toparse con esta isla de pura casualidad." was Diego's answer.
"Time and fate will guide them here, sooner or later." said Fauna. "I think Elder Law will consider this and will agree to move the island back to Equestria."
"Aunque ahora que todo el mundo es poni, me pregunto si ya han adaptado los vehículos para que un poni los utilice..." said Diego, getting curious. "Aún no hemos visto vehículos o alguna ciudad humana como para saber."
"I have to ask: Just how big is this new world now?" asked Vendaval. "Were you two able to bring a map?"
"We don't need one." said Crimson, activating his magic. This got Diego's attention, to the point of stopping the movement of the hands made of magic. The reason was that his unicorn friend created seven 'red papers' made out of magic. One of those being smaller, and another one being bigger. Then, the papers were guided to each one on the rooftop. The smallest paper was sent to Beannacht, while the biggest one was sent to Vendaval.
"¡Wow! ¿Acaso lo recuerdas de memoria?"
Diego was surprised for a very good reason: The paper had a perfect replica of New Leaf's world map drawing!
"I took the liberty of adding Equestria's current location and our current location, judging by where we appeared when we used the portal." said the unicorn.
"By Celestia... This is indeed a big world." said the dragon. "And what are these names?"
"You see, Equestria is considered a continent." said Crimson. The other names are other continents."
"Some of them are bigger than Equestria..." said Maximilian. "To think this is how the world looks like now... I think we got lucky up here."
"I'll call for another meeting in a few days." said Crimson. "Once you guys tell the residents of your respective zones what's going on, and Elder Law makes a decision about moving the island or not, we'll discuss further."
"And what about my dear?" asked Fauna, focusing on the human. "What is he going to do?"
"That's a good question." said Crimson, focusing on his friend. "What are you going to do, pal? You are quite the celebrity down there. At least in New Leaf."
Diego deactivated his magic, and the hands disappeared.
"Bueno..."
"If this does work, then I hope to see you again. I would love to speak with you in our castle."
Diego let out a sigh, although he was smiling. This increased the curiosity of his friends.
"He may come back for more answers, Mike. This is not something you settle on a single day."
"A better question for you two: Is Sir Chaser here because he's also waiting for them?"
"Probably. As a former leader of the Gem Squad, he must have an immense amount of patience, Nick. If it is to serve the Princesses, I'm sure he can stay here for hours and not make a single noise."
"Dude..."
It's been a day since the unusual event inside New Leaf. Almost everypony in the town saw it, or rather, saw him.
The human.
A living human. Healthy, happy, and for some reason speaking a weird language. However, the icing on the cake was that he is capable of using magic.
Equestria's magic.
The very same magic that killed so many humans, and forced the rest of the world to transform into ponykind.
Diego was a miracle in every sense of the word, but soon, some ponies had a question on their minds...
How?
How is he alive?
How can he use Equestria's magic?
And why he didn't need to convert? How he managed to remain human?
"And are you sure we are in the right place?" asked Nick.
"Yeah. I saw them from afar, but it was here. I'm sure of it." was Bright's answer.
"Man, if they really don't come back then this whole thing will feel like a dream." said Mike. "I mean he was here yesterday, and the whole town saw him."
"He was very friendly, too." added Nick. "I wish I could speak to him again. I want to know about his magic."
Bright Lapis was about to say something, but a brief flash of light stopped her. Obviously, it managed to get everypony's attention.
"What the-'"
"What was that?"
"Look! It's them!"
Nick's voice made the other three ponies focus once again on where they were previously looking. His words were true. There were three figures now, and they recognized two of them.
"Diego! Crimson! Over here!" Nick was the first one to react and wave with one of his front hooves. "It's good to see you two again!"
"Well now, it seems that you three were very eager to see us again." was Crimson's reply as he, along with Diego and the newcomer walked towards Nick and his two friends.
"¡Hola!" said Diego with a smile. "Que bueno verlos otra vez."
"And now we have a new guest." said Bright, looking at the new companion. "Are you a deer? That would be a first here."
"Indeed I am." was Fauna's answer. "Fauna Flora. It is a pleasure to meet you three. Dear Diego told me that you were very kind and respectful to him."
"He helped us capture a bugbear!" said Nick. "And he also helped us carry it to a safe location."
"I told you." said Crimson while looking at Fauna. "He keeps improving."
"Honestly, Crimson and Diego did us a huge favor defeating it." said Mike. "So you guys will stay here today? Or..."
"Well, about that, we do have an idea of what to do for now." said Crimson. At the same time, Diego noticed the other pony that was still looking at them. It seems like he was not yesterday because that stallion was very surprised.
"Así es. Ya tenemos algo en mente." said Diego, and it was true. This was discussed during yesterday's meeting.
"A promise?" all of Diego's friends reacted at the same time.
"Si. Una promesa." said Diego, while looking at his friends. "Supongo que recuerdan mi respuesta de cómo llegué a Equestria."
"Yes we do, dear." said Fauna. "And it's always the same answer: It was a wish."
"Así es... pero nunca les dije quién cumplió mi deseo."
"Narsken!" Beannacht's eyes were almost glittering. "He is finally going to say it!"
"Ah, his biggest secret. Yes..." added Vendaval. "I must admit that I always wanted to know. Bringing someone from one world to ours? It should be impossible, and yet... All of Equestria was brought to this new world."
"So? What mysterious force brought you to Equestria, pal?" asked Crimson. "If it's possible, I'd like to say thanks to whoever did it."
Diego started to chuckle, once again picking up everyone's curiosity.
"Tal vez tengas la oportunidad de hacerlo. Debo confesar que ustedes no fueron los primeros seres de Equestria que conocí. Conocí a cierta poni, desde mucho antes de que fuera enviado a Equestria."
"Oh? A pony?" asked Crimson.
"She?" added Fauna.
"Así es, y esa poni... es la Princesa Luna."
"What?"
"¿Quién es él?" asked Diego, still looking at the stallion.
"Is he a guard?" asked Fauna. This took Bright's attention. Nick and Mike were also a bit surprised.
"Why do you say that?" asked Bright.
"His posture." the answer came from Crimson Starlit. "That's the posture of a royal guard. He doesn't have any openings. If that stallion was attacked right now, he would certainly be able to strike back."
"Indeed." added Fauna. "The way he is looking at us shows that he has patience. Since he didn't avoid our gaze, he is not easily afraid. He must possess a fair share of combat experience."
Bright noticed that Crimson and Fauna were serious, and even a bit wary of Wind Chaser. Before any of the three ponies of New Leaf were able to say anything to Diego and his friends, Wind Chaser began to walk, getting closer to the group.
"Even when I already knew about him... it doesn't lessen the shock." said the pegasus. "A human in the flesh."
"Bueno, al menos eres el primero que me ve solo con sorpresa y no como si fuera un bicho raro." said Diego, clearly in a good mood.
"Is that... spanish?" asked the stallion. "No wonder the entire town was so confused. I'm glad that I was able to be within your expectations."
"Oh?" Crimson looked at the stallion with a bit of curiosity. "You can understand him?"
"Yes, I can. Since Equestria's arrival, we had to learn a few of the human languages, and fortunately, I learned spanish. At least most of it." said the pegasus, who then did a quick bow. "Pardon my late introduction. My name is Wind Chaser. A former leader of the Gem Squad. It is a pleasure to meet you."
He then focused on Diego.
"Especially you, human Diego."
"Bueno, ya conoce mi nombre. Un gusto." said Diego.
"Crimson Starlit. A pleasure."
"Fauna Flora. Nice to meet you, Wind Chaser."
"I am terribly sorry for saying this when you just teleported here, but there is something I would like to discuss with you." said Wind Chaser. "Would you three give me a few minutes of your time?"
"Sir Chaser wanted to meet you yesterday, but he was out of town." said Bright, noticing that Crimson and Fauna are still looking at the pegasus with caution.
After a few seconds, Crimson and Fauna looked at the human.
"What do you say, pal?" asked Crimson.
"Do you wish to hear what Wind Chaser has to say?" added Fauna. This particular way of speaking to the human didn't go unnoticed by Bright, her friends, and Wind Chaser. The former leader of the Gem Squad had a theory: Those two are protecting the human. He is a miracle among miracles in this world.
"Seguro. Escuchemos que tiene que decirnos." was his answer.
"Alright then." said Crimson, activating his magic, and a red aura enveloped his horn. After a few seconds, a red barrier expanded around the entire group.
"A soundproof spell." said Wind Chaser, observing the barrier. "You are an experienced magician, Crimson."
"It is good to see that you are not rusted, Crimson." said Fauna in a teasing tone.
"In your dreams." said Crimson, looking at her friend with a cocky smile.
"¿Entonces? ¿Que es lo que necesitas de nosotros?" asked Diego, a bit more curious now.
"I will not beat around the bush." said Wind Chaser, looking more serious than before. "Would you be willing to go to Canterlot with me?"
"Why do you need him?"
The one who asked that question was Crimson.
"I cannot tell you all the details about it, as I lack the authority to know." was Wind Chaser's answer. "However, I can tell you that every member of the Gem Squad, be it active or retired, received the same order as me: If by any chance we find a human that is still alive, and is somehow able to withstand the magic of Equestria, then we must try to arrange a meeting between them and the Princesses."
"A meeting?" asked Mike and Nick at the same time.
"Why?" added Bright Lapis. "They knew that no human was able to survive the magical barrier."
"We don't know either, but it is what it is." said Wind Chaser. "They must have a reason."
Then he focused again on Diego, Crimson, and Fauna.
"Of course, there is no problem if you two, or anypony else comes too. As long as Diego comes to Canterlot, the Princesses will also welcome his family, friends, and acquaintances."
"Why should we trust you?"
Now it was Fauna's turn to ask a question. This caught the other ponies off guard.
"You are right. The Princesses must have a reason to issue such a specific order." continued the deer. "But considering the current situation of this world, and the previous humans that were transformed into ponies in order to survive..."
There was something about her gaze that made Bright and her two friends feel a bit uneasy.
"How do we know that the Princesses have good intentions?"
"What?" the response from Wind Chaser was almost immediate. "Are you suggesting that the Princesses want to harm Diego? Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have done everything in their power to work alongside humanity! To help them since the arrival!"
"And yet humanity is no more." said Crimson, taking everypony's attention. "Now there is only ponykind. Well..." the unicorn looked at Diego. "Almost."
"Still, they would never-"
"My goodness... your blind loyalty is disconcerting." said Fauna, focusing on the pegasus.
"Why, you-"
But before Wind Chaser was able to say anything else, he was interrupted by Diego, who extended his left hand as a sign to make him stop. He then looked at his two friends.
"Ustedes dos se pasaron de la raya. Entiendo su preocupación, pero no sean duros con Wind Chaser."
"My... apologies." said Fauna. "Dear Diego is right. I could have expressed my thoughts in a better way."
"I guess what she meant to say is that just because they are the rulers of Equestria doesn't mean that everything they say is the absolute truth." added Crimson. "But still, my pal is right. We are worried about him, but we said some unnecessary stuff."
"Yo no puedo decir nada de la Princesa Celestia hasta que la conozca." said Diego. "Hasta entonces, prefiero permanecer neutral, aunque espero que al final sea una buena poni."
"I... kinda get their point." said Nick.
"Nick?" asked Bright, a little annoyed, and Wind Chaser got surprised too.
"Don't get me wrong." said the former human. "I think Princess Celestia is a good Princess and we've seen her good deeds over the years on TV. I'm just saying that Crimson and Fauna have good reasons to be overprotective of Diego, especially if he is the freaking last human on the planet."
"That we know of." added Mike.
"It's been months since it was announced that there were no humans left on the planet." continued Nick. "And suddenly a human appears just like that? The world will want answers, and maybe they will try to contact Diego."
"And that means attention." said Mike. "Both the good and the bad kind."
"Ok, ok. Antes de que se vuelvan locos con las teorías y posibilidades..." Diego took everyone's attention again. "Enfoquémonos en lo que preguntó Wind Chaser."
The human waited a few seconds before continuing.
"Acepto, pero tengo condiciones."
"Name them." said the pegasus.
"Primero: Como dijiste hace poco, mis amigos son bienvenidos. No quiero que ningun guardia se atreva a siquiera amenazarlos con sus armas, sin importar de que especie sean."
"You have my word." said Wind Chaser. "I may be a former leader, but I still have enough influence in the royal guard to assure your security, as well as the security of your friends."
Diego did a nod in approval.
"Segundo: Nos defenderemos de ser necesario, sin excepciones. Incluso si se trata de un poni o incluso de alguien de la guardia real."
"That is a fair condition." said the pegasus. "Anything else?"
Diego then looked at Bright Lapis and her two friends.
"Me gustaría que ellos vinieran con nosotros."
"He's looking at us." said Mike. "What did he say?"
"He is asking for you three to come with us."
"What?" the three friends managed to speak at the same time.
"Why do you want them to accompany us, my dear?" asked Fauna.
"Creo que disfrutarían del viaje." was Diego's answer. "Además nos ayudaron cuando no sabíamos absolutamente nada sobre la llegada de Equestria al planeta tierra. Les daría la oportunidad a Nick y Mike de conocer Equestria, y a Bright Lapis de visitar algún lugar en específico si así lo quiere."
"We can't force them to go, you know?" said Crimson.
"I'll go!" The answer came from Nick, not a single trace of doubt in his voice. "I'm willing to go."
"Really?" Mike was a bit surprised. The same with Bright Lapis. "Why dude?"
"Why not? Aren't you curious about what Equestria looks like?" said Nick. "And now Diego is giving us a chance to go! Besides, I think Equestria is the perfect place to improve my magic."
Mike pondered for a moment, then looked at Bright Lapis.
"Are there special areas in Equestria where I can train these?" asked Mike, using one of his front hooves to point at his wings.
"Well, Equestria doesn't have planes like you guys, so pegasi can fly almost anywhere." was Bright's answer. "There are flying schools and all sorts of training courses for it, too."
"Oh man, that's kinda the thing I need right now. To learn and master the basics." said Mike, starting to like the idea. "And Nick is right. It would be nice to see Equestria. See how different it is compared to Earth, I mean Gaia."
"Well, that's two down." said Crimson, now focusing on the mare. "What about you, Bright Lapis? Maybe you can be their guide."
"Ahora que lo pienso, en Canterlot podrían recibir ayuda de la guardia real para sus entrenamientos de magia y vuelo." added Diego. "No pierden nada al preguntarle a la Princesa si puede ayudarlos."
"Well..." the mare looked at Wind Chaser. "But we don't want to be a bother..."
"As long as you don't mind coming with us, then everything is okay." said the pegasus. "These conditions are fair, and I'm sure Princess Celestia will accept any kind of condition, as long as it's within her power."
"I'd like to add one more condition." said Crimson. "Our pal here will not be treated as a test subject, nor some kind of lab rat. I don't care if it's Princess Celestia or Princess Luna, they will not try to do some weird experiment on him."
The unicorn was smiling as always, but something about the way he said that made Wind Chaser feel like it was a threat.
"As I said before, Princess Celestia would never harm a human. I can promise that she will not harm Diego in any way." said Wind Chaser. "Is that all?"
"You don't want free snacks or something, pal?" asked Crimson, looking at Diego with a smirk.
"Creo que eso sería todo. No quiero que piense que nos estamos aprovechando de la situación." was Diego's answer.
"Well then..." Crimson focused on Wind Chaser, while deactivating the barrier. "Looks like we have a deal!"
"I thank you for your cooperation." said Wind Chaser with a smile. "Perhaps you can come to my house and wait while we prepare for our journey."
"Sure thing." said Crimson.
"I do not see why not." added Fauna.
"Oh man, I have to tell my family about this!" said Mike.
"Same here." added Nick. "They can't say no if Princess Celestia is involved."
"And I'll have to tell my aunt and little sister." said Bright Lapis. "Hopefully they will understand."
"Tal vez puedo acompañarlos para que expliquen que necesitan ir conmigo." suggested Diego.
"That is a good idea." said Wind Chaser. "If you explain to your families that you are helping the nation of Equestria, I'm sure they will understand."
"Crimson, Fauna. Voy a acompañar a Bright y los chicos." said Diego.
"Do you guys know where Wind Chaser lives?" asked Crimson Starlit.
"I do. Well, we all saw his house yesterday." answered Bright. "Don't worry. We will not let other ponies pester Diego."
"Yeah. Even I know it must be annoying." said Nick, and Mike nodded in agreement.
And with that, the three friends and the human were the first to move, approaching one of the entrances of New Leaf. Wind Chaser was about to move too, but...
"Sir Wind Chaser. Please wait a moment."
Fauna's soothing voice got his attention, and when he turned to see her, something caught him off guard.
Her eyes. They had a faint orange glow. Her smile was natural, and yet... something was off. He knew it. Crimson Starlit was smiling like usual, but that didn't reassure him. Somehow the pegasus began to feel a certain pressure.
"What is it?"
"As a retired soldier, I believe you are a stallion of your word. It is obvious that you have a sense of justice, and we are inclined to believe you this time." there was no change in her voice, and her smile never disappeared.
! ! !
Wind Chaser felt something on one of his front hooves. As if something got stuck there. When he looked down at his hooves, he saw something unusual.
Vines.
Somehow, a good number of vines emerged from the ground, trapping not only his hoof but also up to his knee. These vines also had the same faint glow Fauna had in her eyes. The most frightening detail about this was that they didn't make any sound at all.
"But let me be clear about one thing: If you fail to keep your promise. If you, the royal guards, or anyone harms my dear Diego..."
The vines began to squeeze harder, to the point that Wind Chaser felt some pain.
"I will not hesitate to tear you apart."
The vines returned to the ground, and Fauna began to walk in the same direction as if nothing happened.
"I wouldn't like to be on her bad side." said Crimson, who also started to walk, but just when he was passing right next to Wind Chaser, he stopped.
"I also like to be direct like Fauna. I don't care if you work for the Princesses. Hurt him and you're dead."
And just like that, he resumed his walk, following Fauna. Wind Chaser stood there for a few seconds while looking at the unicorn and the deer. His mind was carefully reviewing everything that just happened.
"(I've heard stories of deers when Equestria was still on our planet, but... Is she able to control plants? What kind of magic was that? And that Crimson guy... his magic cannot be underestimated either. It seems that those two have combat experience as well. To think they care so much about Diego... I'll need to be careful. Those two are not to be messed with.)"
"No matter how many times I look at it, it's the same as the one in Equestria. And yet..."
Princess Celestia was on the balcony of her royal bedroom, looking at the sun.
The sun of planet Gaia.
A sun she felt no connection with whatsoever.
Since the arrival of Equestria to this planet, she had to put most of her time and effort into trying to understand this new world and the beings that were inhabiting it: Humanity.
It was certainly a surprise when they found out that the whole planet, the sun, and the moon act like the Everfree Forest, with its own weather and ecosystem. And that was just the beginning. There was so much to learn: The advanced technology, the mysteries of this universe beyond this planet, and both the wonders and dangers of most human creations...
All the effort paid off.
So many things happened, and Gaia is slowly recovering. It changed a lot in the process, but in the end, it was worth it.
But Celestia is not happy.
"Why?" mussed the Princess. "Why was our magic so harmful to humanity? Why it had to be like this? And..."
Celestia now focused on the streets of Canterlot, ponies walking and talking to one another, happy and content. There is a high chance that many ponies down there are former humans. The first humans that volunteered for the Conversion Bureau initiative, and have been living in Equestria for some years now. Of course, there are way more in the other cities and towns.
"Why us? Why here? Was there a purpose to our arrival? Is there anything powerful enough to send us here? Even now, we still don't know the cause..."
She pondered these questions for several seconds while still looking at the ponies below, that is until she heard a few knocks on her bedroom door.
"Princess? This is Marcus. I have an important message that you need to hear."
"Come in."
The door opened, revealing a royal guard that instead of the standard golden armor, was using a silver one with a few differences in design. He began to move to the balcony, and once there, he did a respectful bow and focused on the Princess.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything, Princess."
"Worry not, Marcus. I was just relaxing." said Celestia. "I hope your day has been peaceful so far, my little pony."
Celestia knows him: Marcus Hunter. A former human who joined the Canterlot royal guard a few years ago. Started as a simple recruit, but his hard work and exemplary behavior earned him a few promotions. Enough to earn Princess Celestia's trust to the point of calling him a friend.
"Seriously Princess, I'll never get used to that." said the former human. "And so far it has been peaceful, thank you very much. However, as I said before, a message arrived from Gaia's territory. Priority 'Harmony'."
"I see..." priority 'Harmony' is only used on very, very important messages, and the only ones who are allowed to use this level on Gaia's territory are...
"A former captain of the Gem Squad wants to contact me." said the Princess. "Who, may I ask?"
"Former captain Wind Chaser. Code 'Ruby-seven'. Currently living in the country known as 'Australia' in Gaia's territory."
Celestia's smile brightened.
"So it's him. One of the best. An indomitable spirit that helped us a lot during the first years of the arrival, and a good friend." said the Princess.
"I've heard stories of him." said Marcus, showing interest. "Tales of how he was in many battlefields when we... humanity reacted poorly to you. Tales of bravery and unity."
"And all of them are true." said Celestia. "The Ruby division was the best among the Gem Squad. Now... What did he say?"
"He requested a formal meeting using the communication mirrors." said Marcus. "He said that he will wait the entire day if necessary."
"Then I guess we should not make him wait any longer."
And with that, both Princess Celestia, and her personal bodyguard Marcus left the royal bedroom, and moved to a different room on the same floor. A room with very restricted access, for only the Princesses and those they deem trusty enough, can enter.
Marcus watched as Princess Celestia unlocked the three magical locks on the door. After several seconds, the locks disappeared, and the two ponies went in. As soon as they were inside, the door closed, and the locks appeared once again on it.
The room was very simple. There were no decorations at all. Only sturdy walls enchanted with several advanced protection spells both for privacy and safety...
And a mirror that has two orbs attached to the upper border.
"It's been a while since the last time I used the Portrait Mirror." said Celestia. "And somehow it still manages to put me in a good mood."
"(Well, it does look like a portrait, except it's a mirror.)" thought Marcus.
Celestia noticed that one of the two orbs was shining with magical energy. It means that the second mirror at the other end is ready to communicate. Seeing no reason to keep Wind Chaser waiting, the Princess activated her magic, and the golden aura around her horn also enveloped the mirror.
Slowly but steadily, the reflection of the Princess and Marcus began to change and distort. After a few seconds, instead of showing their reflection, the mirror was showing an entirely different view, and there was a pegasus looking at them.
"Ah! The signal seems to be stable." said Wind Chaser from the other side. "Or at least I think it is. Can you hear me, Princess Celestia?"
"Loud and clear." said the Princess with an honest smile. "It has been a few years, Wind Chaser. It's good to see you again. How is life in Australia?"
"Very peaceful, Princess." said the pegasus. "And I have to admit that it was for the best. In a way, I would compare New Leaf with Ponyville, but without the occasional magical beast attacks."
"I'm glad to hear that. Now, is it correct to believe that your call has something to do with your previous information? You recently contacted a member of the Opal division."
"Indeed, Princess. I believed it was worth investigating, even if it was just a rumor. As you know, ponies around New Leaf were claiming that a human was visiting the town."
"A human..." Celestia's face changed, unable to hide a portion of her sadness. "Forgive me Wind Chaser if I say that I do not believe their words. These recent months have proven a sad truth: There are no humans left on the planet. We've been searching around this planet in hopes that maybe, just maybe..."
"I understand Princess. No one would have predicted that our magic is harmful to humans." said Wind Chaser, knowing her Princess is hurt by this.
"Had I known about it, we would have done our best to Isolate Equestria until a solution was found..." now Celestia didn't bother to hide her sadness.
"No one saw it coming, Princess." said Marcus, concern on his face. "Besides, both humanity and Equestria were worried about... other things at the time."
"I know, but as a Princess of Equestria, I should have done more..." Celestia hung her head. "And because of that, humanity was forced to make a choice: To change bodies and live, or stay human and die. The Conversion Bureau initiative was a desperate solution. The last resort. Lives were saved... at a cost. A huge one."
There was a moment of silence. No one dared to speak, and patiently waited for the Princess to continue.
"I'm sorry for that. Even after all these years, it doesn't make it easier to manage."
"That's the power and curse of emotions, Princess." said Wind Chaser with respect. "Now, with everything we said until now, I think you might like what I have to report."
Celestia and Marcus saw the smile of the pegasus. A smile that sparks confidence. The Princess was going to ask about it, but Wind Chaser looked to his left and made a gesture with one of his front hooves as if he was indicating somepony near him to get closer.
But who...
... ... ...
Is...
Is that-
"Impossible..." the first one to react was Marcus. "There's no way..."
But he stopped talking, still trying to understand what is happening. Princess Celestia couldn't even say a word. Just like his personal guard, she is still trying to process what she is seeing. A bunch of possibilities ran through her head to try to explain this, but none of them did.
They were just talking about this.
It was a fact.
And yet there he is...
A human. Waving with his right hand and with a smile so full of positive energy, ready to infect you with happiness.
And happiness is what Princess Celestia began to feel in her heart and soul. There is one! There really is one! They would not dare to joke with her about such an important topic as the survival of a human!
"Make no mistake, Princess. He is real." said Wind Chaser. "It's not an illusion or a trick. He is breathing, he is healthy, and he is alive."
"I... I..." Princess Celestia was so shocked that she was having trouble speaking. "How is it possible?"
"To be honest, I don't know either." said the pegasus, who then looked at the human. "Why don't you introduce yourself to the Princess?"
The human did a quick nod, then focused again on Celestia.
"Es un gusto conocerla al fin, Princesa Celestia. Mi nombre es Diego Fernández."
"Huh?" the face of Marcus changed from surprise to confusion. "What did he say?"
"My apologies. I forgot to mention that Diego speaks Spanish." said Wind Chaser.
"..."
"Princess?" Wind Chaser noticed that Princess Celestia was even more surprised than before.
"Princess? Is something wrong?" added Marcus, looking at the alicorn.
"(That name...)" when Princess Celestia heard his name... "(There is no way I could forget it.)"
"A human?"
"Yes, sister. He is a being we have never encountered before, and he is still a child."
"And you see him in the Dream Realm?"
"Yes, but it is odd, sister. Unlike our little ponies, his dream is... far away, almost Isolated. But his stories are fascinating! He describes a whole different world. They cannot use magic, but they make up for it using technology far superior to ours."
"Looks like you've grown fond of him, Luna."
"Indeed, sister. He is a brave child. He told me that he is in constant pain due to a disease, but he refuses to be defeated by it. He has a strong will."
"I would like to meet him someday. What is his name?"
"Diego Fernández. It certainly is a foreign name. It seems that he does not speak Equish, but in the Dream Realm, language barriers do not exist."
"(We meet at last, brave child.)"
Celestia did a slow but graceful bow, surprising the other two ponies and the human.
"Princess! What are you doing?" asked Marcus. Wind Chaser and Diego were confused by this, too.
"Diego Fernández... el placer es todo mio."
Princess Celestia spoke in Spanish, and she spoke so fluently that anyone would think it was her native language. Now this caught Diego off guard.
"Wow. No esperaba que supiera hablar español, Princesa." said Diego.
"Existen tantos idiomas en este planeta, y he dedicado una parte de mi tiempo libre en aprenderlos. Aún no puedo hablarlos todos, pero al menos ya tengo un dominio de los más utilizados." said the alicorn.
"Eso es increíble." said Diego, with a mix of surprise and happiness. "Yo estaría contento si puediera hablar dos idiomas, mientras que usted ya conoce varios."
"En parte los aprendí por la necesidad de comunicarme con las principales autoridades de distintos países, pero también sentí curiosidad por la cultura humana, y para un alicornio como yo, el aprender algo nuevo siempre es motivante." Celestia said every word as if she was born on this planet.
"I feel like we are being excluded..." said Marcus, who couldn't follow the conversation.
"You will have to learn Spanish, then." said Wind Chaser with a smile. "Diego understands Equish, or 'English' as the humans call it, and while he can speak it too, he can only have basic conversations."
"But... How is he alive?" asked Marcus. "I've seen what happens to humans who refused to change. It's straight out of a horror movie. It was a blessing if it was only poisoning. Some people had a much worse fate." and it was true. He still remembers that one time a group of humans who refused to change got in contact with the magic, and they started to melt. Nopony will forget the screams of agony of those who died.
"I'm sorry, but your questions will have to wait." said Wind Chaser, getting serious again. "Princess. Diego has accepted to travel to Canterlot, as long as certain conditions are met."
"And what conditions are those?" asked the Princess, curious about this.
"Diego is not alone. He has friends that are traveling with him. I assured him that all of his friends are welcome to Canterlot. Plus, if they somehow feel threatened, they will defend themselves."
"I do not see any issue with that." said the Princess.
"Furthermore, three ponies from New Leaf are coming as well. They are the first ponies that found Diego and his friends. Two of them are former humans, and one is an equestrian pony."
The Princess nodded in agreement.
"And the last condition... is that Diego will not be harmed or treated as a test subject for any kind of experiment."
This last condition took the attention of the Princess and the royal guard next to her.
"The Princess would never hurt him. He can be at ease." said Marcus.
"Marcus. You are witness to a miracle." said Celestia. "As far as we know, he is the only human on the planet. It's only natural for him and his friends to be wary." she then focused again on Diego. "And I agree with all the conditions you have requested, Diego."
"Muchas gracias Princesa Celestia." said Diego respectfully.
Then, Princess Celestia added an extra bit.
"A Luna le encantaría verte. No te ha olvidado."
Marcus didn't understand since he doesn't know Spanish, but Wind Chaser do, so he got a little confused by the words of the alicorn. Diego, however...
"Y yo tampoco me he olvidado de ella." said Diego with a bright smile. "¡Dígale que pronto nos veremos!"
"Princess... there is something else." said Wind Chaser. "And this is just as important as Diego's existence."
The Princess knows Wind Chaser, and he is not one to say lies. He would not say that without evidence.
"What is it, Wind Chaser?"
The pegasus simply smiled, then looked at the human.
"The stage is yours, Diego."
Celestia knew that something else would happen. She was trying to guess what, but when she saw Diego's left hand, she had to use a lot of her willpower to not gasp. Marcus was at a loss for words. He couldn't say anything. He actually wanted to scream, but his voice just didn't work.
If someone asked Princess Celestia about her choice of words to describe her current situation, that would be her answer. Equestria's magic turned out to be harmful to humanity. Everyone knows that by now.
She was unfortunate to see countless examples herself, and hear so many sad tales about humans who refused to change, only to suffer an agonizing death.
Everyone knows that Equestria's magic was humanity's blight. The endless discussions, the pain of families and friends who wanted answers, the chaos that lasted for a few years...
It was painful for everyone. Especially for Celestia. To feel so powerless. To not be able to find a solution for humanity, even with all the wisdom she and her sister accumulated over the years...
It's the whole reason the Conversion Bureau initiative was implemented.
And now...
She was looking at the impossible.
Not only is she looking at what must be the only human left on the planet, but also...
A human that can use their magic.
Equestria's magic.
A human that instead of suffering for it, can harness it.
"En realidad esto es solo lo básico." said Diego, using his magic to levitate many objects around him. "Puedo hacer otras cosas, pero el espacio de esta habitación me impide mostrárselo."
"I still... can't believe it." said Marcus from the other side.
"And yet the proof is right in front of us." said Celestia. "Diego is capable of using our magic. The very same magic that killed so many humans..."
"Aún no me cabe en la cabeza el hecho de que la magia de Equestria haya causado tanto daño..." said Diego, who then showed concern about something. "Un momento. ¿Acaso Luna cree que tambien me transformé en poni?"
"Considerando la situación con la magia de Equestria y el Buró de Conversión, era obvio pensar que también serías un poni." was Princess Celestia's answer.
"Por favor no le diga ese detalle a Luna." said Diego with a wink. "Supongo que cuando le cuente de mí, intentará buscarme en el plano de los sueños. Quiero sorprenderla."
A tender smile decorated Celestia's face.
"Consideralo hecho, mi pequeño humano."
Diego used his magic to put every object he was levitating to its original position.
"You can go back now, Diego." said Wind Chaser. "There are a few things I need to discuss with the Princess before we plan out our travel."
"Claro. No hay problema." said Diego, while walking to the room's door to exit.
Just as he left, he saw a very, very small red sphere pass right next to him. In response, he only smiled as he closed the door.
"Now then..." said Wind Chaser, but then he noticed that Princess Celestia was a bit distracted. "Is something wrong, Princess?"
"No. It's just that..." Princess Celestia was trying to look behind the pegasus on the other side. "I thought I saw something behind you, but it must be my mind playing tricks on me. I'm sure it's because of the shock of knowing about Diego's existence."
Just to be sure, Wind Chaser took a second to look around the room, but he saw nothing suspicious.
"There is something I need to tell you, Princess, regarding some of Diego's friends. Well, I think 'guardians' would be a better word."
"Guardians?" asked the Princess with a mix of confusion and curiosity.
"Yes. That last condition about not using Diego as a test subject of any kind of experiment was a condition imposed by them."
"It's good that they know how important Diego is right now." said the Princess.
"But they are not just common beings, Princess." said Wind Chaser, once again getting her attention. "They have combat experience, and I daresay they must be seasoned fighters. One of them is not even a pony."
"Wind Chaser... Are you telling me one of Diego's companions is from Equestria, but not a pony?" asked the Princess.
"Indeed, Princess. She is a deer." was the answer of the pegasus.
"By the sun..." the Princess did not hide her surprise. "This day is truly blessed. A surviving deer!"
"It seems that she is somehow capable of controlling plants. She managed to hold one of my hooves with a strong vine that came from the ground."
None of the two stallions noticed it, but for just a fraction of a second, Celestia's eyes reacted after hearing this information.
"Her name is 'Fauna Flora'. We must be careful to not anger her. The same goes for his companion, Crimson Starlit. He is a skilled mage, as he was able to cast a soundproof spell as if it was foal's play."
"Soundproof spells are not easy to cast." said Celestia, thinking about this new information for a few seconds. "So he is a unicorn."
"He seems to be relaxed most of the time, but make no mistake. His eyes are always focused. It gives me the impression that his attitude is just a facade to make others lower their guard."
"You were right. Guardians would be an appropriate word to describe them." said Marcus, who then looked at the Princess. "If such strong individuals are protecting Diego, then maybe we are not looking at the full picture."
"A clever observation, Marcus." was Celestia's answer. "For now, let's focus on guiding Diego to Canterlot. We must show his companions that we don't want to hurt him. It's quite the opposite. I want to ask him so many questions: How did he survive? How does he feel when he wields our magic? I want to know how a brave soul such as him managed to defy destiny and win."
"It may take us a day to depart. I will try to contact you again once we arrive at a secure location." said Wind Chaser.
"I look forward to the next report." said Princess Celestia. "It was a pleasure to speak with you again, Wind Chaser."
"Same here, Princess." said the pegasus with a sincere smile. "Goodbye."
As the seconds passed, the mirror returned to its original state, showing Princess Celestia and Marcus. However, both of them were in deep thought.
"Marcus." Princess Celestia was the first one to react. "Tell Twilight and my sister to go to my bedroom as soon as possible. We must tell them about him. Only them, and nopony else. Understood?"
"Of course, Princess." was the guard's answer.
"Let's go." said the Princess, activating her magic. A few seconds later, both ponies disappeared.
"¿Y? ¿Qué dijo?"
"Well, to sum it up, he spoke really well about us to Princess Celestia. I'm flattered, honestly."
Crimson Starlit and Diego were outside of Wind Chaser's home. Bright Lapis, Nick, and Mike were inside, waiting for the pegasus to finish his meeting with Princess Celestia.
"Espero que espiar conversaciones ajenas no sea un hábito tuyo." said Diego, looking a bit serious.
"Nah. Don't worry." was Crimson's answer. "It's just that I still don't trust him that much. I know he is doing his job as Princess Celestia told him to, but his orders can change at any moment. I need to be prepared at all times."
"Si tu lo dices..." said Diego, looking at the sky. "No creo que esté mintiendo."
"Let's just hope you are right about that." said Crimson, mimicking his human friend. "Or else..."
"Si, si. Le patearás el trasero. Lo sé." said Diego, still looking up. "¿Te ha contactado Fauna?"
"Not yet." answered the unicorn.
They kept looking at the sky in silence for a few seconds.
"So... Princess Luna, huh?"
"Así es."
"I know what she looks like. I've seen a few newspapers about her in the past. What I don't know, is how she behaves."
"Definitivamente se comporta como una Princesa." said Diego with a smile. "Cuando hablé con la Princesa Celestia, noté que ella es muy cordial y atenta. Por ahora creo que sus intenciones son buenas. La Princesa Luna en cambio es un tanto mas seria. Es activa, directa y no tiene problemas en expresar lo que piensa. Sin embargo, al igual que su hermana, tiene un aura de cordialidad y cuando lo desea, puede ser tan atenta y gentil al punto de relajarte."
"Well now..." Crimson smiled, but... "She left quite the impression on you."
"Sí que lo hizo." the smile on Diego's face slightly changed. Crimson knows the human only smiles like that when he is truly happy. "La Princesa Luna es la razón de que haya podido sobrevivir a esa basura de COVID-19 cuando todavía estaba en mi mundo. Ella hizo que valiera la pena luchar para sobrevivir."
"Looks like we all owe her big time." said Crimson, who then looked surprised for a moment. "Oh! Fauna contacted me. Looks like they are ready."
"Ya quiero ver la cara de Wind Chaser cuando lo vea." said Diego, snickering for a bit.
"Oh, I'm sure he'll love it." said Crimson. "Maybe. Who knows? Anyways, I need to draw the circle, so..."
"Si, si. Ya me muevo." said the human, moving closer to the house. "Esperaré adentro."
"Sure. This won't take long though." replied Crimson, activating his magic and starting his work
Diego went inside Wind Chaser's home. This got the attention of the three ponies who were in the living room.
"Hey Diego!" the first one to speak was Nick. "Sir Wind Chaser is almost finished. I mean, he already ended the conversation he had with Princess Celestia, and now he is preparing for the trip."
"And... you guys?" said Diego, doing his best to speak english, surprising the trio. "Have everything... you need?"
"Yeah. Our bags are over there." answered Mike, who focused on the three bags that were on a large table. "We're all set."
"How about you?" asked Bright Lapis. "Do you have everything you need? Maybe you missed something back at home?"
Diego negated with his head.
"Nope. Todo listo." was his answer, using his left hand to do a 'thumbs up'
"Does that mean he is ready?" asked Bright, looking at Mike and Nick.
"Yeah." said Mike. "You still don't learn that?"
"A thumbs up means that you agree with something. Basically a positive answer." added Nick.
"Hey! It's not my fault. It's been a while since the last time I saw a human do that." said Bright.
It took her a full second to realize what she said, and she quickly took action.
"D-Diego! I'm so sorry for that! I didn't-"
But Diego just raised his left eyebrow, a bit confused.
"Why do you... apologize?" asked the human.
"W-why? B-but I just said something... that might make you feel uncomfortable..."
Still showing a bit of confusion on his face, Diego thought about it for a moment. And then...
"Not... really?"
Now it was the turn of the three pony friends to be confused.
"No puedo decir todo esto en inglés, así que lo diré en español." said Diego, changing his expression to a happier one. "Todo este tiempo he estado viviendo en Equestria, y han sido unos años maravillosos. Todo esto del Buró de Conversión y los humanos cambiando a ponis no es que me afecte tanto. Mis inquietudes están en otras cosas."
"Well, I don't know what you said, but judging by your smile it must be something good." said Nick.
"Indeed it is."
A new voice joined the conversation, and from the other side of the living room, Wind Chaser was closing the door to his bedroom.
"He said that he has been living in Equestria, and his life until now has been wonderful." continued the pegasus while approaching the group. He finally stopped and focused on the human. "I didn't know you were living in Equestria before."
"(¿Acaso espero a que terminara de hablar porque quería más información sobre mí?)" thought Diego while giving an answer. "Es una larga y confusa historia."
"Maybe you could tell me? We'll need to wait until tomorrow for a special air chariot to begin our journey."
"(Buen intento, pero no esta vez.)" thought the human while giving an answer. "No estaría tan seguro de eso último."
Before Wind Chaser or even anypony else could say anything, a bright light from outside took their attention.
"Creo que ya llegaron." said Diego, looking at the door leading outside.
"Arrive? Who?" asked Wind Chaser, surprising Bright and her friends.
"Fauna fue a buscar algo que olvidó, y tambien fue a buscar a alguien." was Diego's answer.
When the human was just in front of the door, he turned to see them with a smirk on his face.
"No sean timidos con él. Es todo un caballero."
And that's when they heard a series of screams from outside, along with a few voices saying something, but due to the distance, and the fact that they were mixed with the screams, no one understood what they were saying.
"What's going on?" asked Mike.
"Como dije, ya llegaron."
The human opened the door and went outside. That's when Wind Chaser and the three friends saw something green outside.
And it was big.
Intrigued, yet worried at the same time, they didn't move for a moment, but seeing the human go outside like there was nothing wrong made them gain enough courage to go there, too.
The screams increased in volume.
There was panic around Wind Chaser's home. Ponies were running, obviously scared of something. That something is very big. Much bigger than a house, indeed, and very much green. That something has a pair of huge wings that just moving them could create a gust. Claws so big that could pierce a pony like a piece of paper! A mouth so big it could eat you alive in one fell swoop! A breath so hot and terrifying that could melt-
"¡Vendaval! ¡Tiempo sin verte!"
For a moment, Wind Chaser, Bright Lapis, Nick, and Mike focused on the human.
Waving at the mighty dragon as if he was talking to a friend.
"Nonsense, boy. We saw each other a few hours ago! That said, it is good to see you. It seems that Lady Fauna and Crimson are keeping their promise."
"Who do you take me for, draco-dude?" asked Crimson, who was in front of the mighty newcomer, surprising the others who were awed by the fact that he was also talking to a dragon.
Just your everyday stuff.
"Now, now. Remember that we are guests here." said Fauna, who was on Vendaval's back. "There's no need to start a pointless discussion in front of Wind Chaser and Diego's friends."
"l guess you're right." said the unicorn in response.
"I can understand why everypony is in 'panic mode' as Diego would say." said Vendaval looking around. "Meeting a dragon is certainly not something you would consider common, especially during these circumstances."
"Yeah. Now you are right..." added Crimson, turning back to see Wind Chaser. "Can't you do something about it? Alert the guards so they don't try to attack him?"
"I... can." managed to reply Wind Chaser. "Do I have your word that he won't hurt us?"
"Although I understand your concern, not every dragon is a savage beast." said Vendaval, getting everyone's attention. "Violence is not instinct. It is a choice."
"Vendaval, te presento a mis amigos más recientes: Bright Lapis, Nick y Mike." said Diego, using his left hand to indicate them, but that was just formality, as the dragon can see a lot from where he is. "Y también a Wind Chaser. Un ex-guardia que es cercano a la Princesa Celestia."
"I see, I see..." said the dragon, lowering himself a bit. Fauna took this chance to jump out of the dragon's back. "It is a pleasure to meet you all on this day. My name is Vendaval, and I must thank you for being such generous hosts and allowing me to participate in Diego's journey to Equestria."
He slowly moved his wings upward while lowering his head a bit more. That's when Wind Chaser, as well as Bright Lapis and her two friends, noticed it.
It was almost as if he was bowing.
"¿Lo ven? Todo un caballero." said Diego with a friendly smile. This certainly eased up the tension from earlier. At least to Bright, Mike and Nick.
"I will go and... inform the local guard. And everypony else." said Wind Chaser. That's all he said. That's all he managed to say. He had a lot of questions but knows that right now is not the right moment to ask them.
"So... a dragon." said Nick, focusing on Vendaval. "Even with this whole Equestria thing, this is... something else."
"Jesus you're huge!" said Mike, doing the same thing as his friend. "And you can also speak! That's awesome!"
"Of course I can speak! I was under the impression that such basic knowledge should be known to anyone by now."
"Ellos no son nativos de Equestria, Vendaval." said Diego, getting the dragon's attention. "Para nosotros los humanos, todo lo que son los dragones, la magia y otras especies fantásticas era solo eso: Fantasía. Ahora con todo este asunto de Equestria la cosa es distinta, pero hasta donde sabemos, ningún dragón ha sido visto en el planeta."
"Ah, my apologies. I forgot about that." said the dragon apologetically.
"I can't keep up with you." said Bright Lapis, focusing on the human with a smile of defeat. "It's one big reveal after another. Just... How?"
"Spoilers." said Crimson with a cocky smile. "Let's not spoil the fun. You may ask him questions later."
"Is he really coming with us?" asked Mike. It seems that he is the most relaxed of the three. Excited even. "Is he our bodyguard or something?"
"Technically, I consider myself one of Diego's bodyguards along with Crimson Starlit and Lady Fauna." was the dragon's answer. "But I also have the mission of transporting everyone to Equestria."
... ... ...
"WHAT!?"
"Yup. You heard the big guy." said Crimson. "He is our premium driver and transport."
"Are you serious?" asked Mike, although his face clearly shows that he is more than happy about that. "That's fucking awesome!"
"Dear boy! Language!" exclaimed Vendaval, focusing on Mike. "There's no need to be so vulgar."
"En realidad entiendo su entusiasmo." said Diego, who then focused on Mike, too. "Pero tambien entiendo a Vendaval. ¡Nick! Controla tu lengua. Es como si yo dijera 'conchetumare' cada dos segundos."
"Diego!"
It was a synchronized exclamation by Fauna, Vendaval, and Crimson.
"¿Lo ves?" said the human.
"What did he say?" asked Mike.
"He basically said to watch your tongue, but he also understands your enthusiasm." it was Crimson who gave him an answer.
"Is he big enough to carry all of us on his back?" asked Nick.
"I am." was the firm response of the dragon. "However, this time Crimson Starlit will help us. He will make this journey an even more enjoyable experience for all of you."
"Yup." said the unicorn, who noticed the retired guard was coming back. "Hey! Just in time to hear about it."
"Let me say something first." said Wind Chaser, in a more serious tone. "Next time, tell me when you have a species considered dangerous as a friend. Ponies were fearing for their lives here!"
"All right, we deserve that one. We are sorry for the trouble, Wind Chaser." said Crimson, now he getting serious. "But this is just in case someone from Equestria tries to do anything suspicious to Diego."
There was an unsettling silence for just a second.
"Besides, I'm sure both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna will be glad to see that ponies weren't the only species that got transported to planet Earth." added the unicorn with his usual attitude.
"Lamentamos las molestias, Wind Chaser." said Diego, now looking at his dragon friend. "Pero Vendaval nos llevará más rápido a Equestria."
"Hold on. He what?"
"You thought we were going to just sit here and wait?" asked Crimson. "Diego wants to go now, so..."
"Please forgive Crimson's rudeness. I am afraid there is no solution to his attitude." said Fauna, gaining a confusing glare from his unicorn colleague. "However, he is right. Our friend Vendaval is more than capable of transporting us to Equestria, and to protect us if necessary."
"But we need a carriage!" said Wind Chaser. "I agree that your dragon friend is huge, but what is your plan? To make all of us ride on his back? That's just plain dangerous!"
"Oh. About that..." the unicorn looked at Fauna. "I take it that everything is ok back home?"
"But of course!" said the deer. "We have prepared everything for a cozy stay."
"Cozy... stay?" asked Bright Lapis, who was just as confused as her friends and the pegasus guard.
"Oh yeah..." said Crimson, with a triumphant smile. "You guys are gonna love this, I'm sure."
"As you can see, Twilight Sparkle... our first contact with humanity goes way back."
"Now that I think about it, the day we first encountered humanity, the Royal Guard acted... fast. Almost as if they-"
"We may have known about some of humanity's technological advances and behavior thanks to him. A basic idea, but even that was valuable information."
"Wow... to think his stories would help us years later!"
Twilight Sparkle and Princess Luna had a conversation a while ago. One that began yesterday, and the topic was about the "first human". The one Princess Luna found in the dream realm. A child of a different species who she formed a bond with. Unbeknownst to them, this would be the prelude to a historical event for both humankind and ponykind.
"I know you already promised me, but please do not divulge this information."
"You can count on me, Princess." said Twilight, reassuring the alicorn. "But I don't understand. Why is it that you lost contact with him?"
"I..." Princess Luna hesitated for a moment, before continuing. "I do not know. The day I tried to fulfill his wish, to bring him to Equestria, was the last time I spoke with him. After that, I wasn't able to locate his dreams anymore."
The Princess stopped for a moment to look at a nearby window, while Twilight saw on Luna's face that this was a sensitive topic for her.
"My sister tells me that I should not underestimate my power. However, the fact that I cannot know if my efforts paid off... It saddens me. While it is true that we only met during dreams, We spoke so much, to the point that I consider him a friend. Diego knew that I was a Princess, yet in his eyes, I was a mare. just a mare, with troubles like anypony. I trust him, and he trusts me."
"Princess..." Twilight was honestly surprised. It is not every day that you see the Princess of the night like this. Compared to Princess Celestia, she is more assertive and direct. Even nowadays, there are still royal guards who feel a bit intimidated by her presence.
"Princes Luna. Lady Twilight."
A new voice took both mare's attention, revealing a third pony that was coming from the other side of the corridor they were currently in.
"Marcus." Princess Luna was the first to react. "Does my sister require our presence?"
"It is as you say, Princess Luna." said the former human. "She requests a private reunion with you two in her bedroom. Considering what happened earlier, it's not surprising."
"Earlier? What happened earlier?" asked Twilight.
"Somehow I feel it is not me who has to break the news to you." replied the royal guard. "It's too important, and Princess Celestia will be able to explain in detail."
"Let us go, then."
As soon as Princess Luna said those words, she activated her magic, and a slightly transparent dark-blue bubble of magical energy was formed, getting all three ponies inside. After a quick flash of light, both the bubble and the small group were gone.
And it took a single moment for them to reappear inside Princess Celestia's room.
"My! That was fast." said the Princess of the day, unfazed by the sudden apparition of the group. "Thank you Marcus."
"Do you want me to leave the room Princess?" asked Marcus.
"There is no need, my little pony. Your opinion and judgment are important to me." replied Celestia with a sweet smile. Marcus, however, just let out a sigh.
"Nope. I'll never get used to that..." this response got a chuckle from Twilight. She knows Marcus a bit, and it's always a sight to see his serious attitude clash with the motherly, yet playful personality of Princess Celestia.
"Sister." Luna approached her older sister. "Marcus refused to elaborate on whatever it is that you wanted to tell us."
"Yeah. It's very unusual for him to be all cryptic." added Twilight.
Celestia then focused on her younger sister, still smiling like a mother looking at her child. This only increased the confusion between the two mares.
"We found him."
There were a few seconds of silence, as both mares didn't understand at first.
However...
"He... is he..." Luna was at a loss for words. "S-sister! You would not dare joke about this! Tell me you are not!" Princess Luna was now right in front of her sister, her face now with a mixture of sadness and hope. "Please..."
"I would never joke about something so important to you, Luna." Celestia's smile never faltered. "We found Diego. He is currently in Australia, Gaia's territory."
"Gaia's territory?" Luna pondered for a few seconds. "But... How is that possible? If his wish was fulfilled, then he should have appeared in Equestria!"
"Are we talking about the Diego? I was just talking about him with Princess Luna!" said Twilight, who was also surprised by the news. Truth be told, since knowing about his circumstances, a small part of her wants to meet him.
"Indeed we are, Twilight." it was Celestia who answered her. "A close friend of mine who lives there found him by coincidence. Sadly, just like Luna, I have many questions, and for now, the answers elude me."
"He knew about Canterlot. I told him about us." said Luna, still trying to figure out what went wrong. "The spell was supposed to bring him near me! He should have appeared within the castle!"
"Luna. Please calm down." said Celestia. "You don't have to worry about the details now. After all, he is coming to Equestria." Both Luna's and Twilight's ears perked up upon hearing the news. A detail that didn't go unnoticed by the alabaster alicorn. "I do, however, need to tell you something else: He is not alone. He has pony friends with him, and even guardians as well."
"Guardians?" asked both mares.
"At the very least, he has two." Continued Celestia. "And one of them took me by surprise. I haven't seen them yet, but I heard a name I was not expecting to hear at all: Flora Fauna."
"Flora Fauna? Who is that?" asked a curious Twilight.
"By the stars..." Luna's reaction was quite different. "She is here too?"
"And it looks like she met Diego." continued Celestia, who now focused on Twilight. "She's an old acquaintance of mine. At least, I consider her a friend."
"We... share a few traits." added Luna. "We have not been able to meet recently, but I do remember we were on good terms. To think she is in Gaia as well..."
"With these recent developments, I'm sure we'll be able to speak to her when she and Diego's group arrive to Canterlot." said Celestia. "The other guardian is named Crimson Starlit. A unicorn that Wind Chaser himself considered a talented mage."
"There is something about that name..." Luna was deep in thought. "I believe I heard it before. At the very least, 'Starlit' is a word that somehow resonates with me. If I manage to remember, I will tell you sister."
"My faithful student. I have a favor to ask of you." Celestia now focused on Twilight. "I need you to contact your friends and prepare an online meeting. We all need to discuss a certain topic, and humanity's technology will help us speed up the process."
"Leave it to me, Princess!" Twilight's answer was immediate. "I'm sure we'll be able to meet in about an hour. Pinkie is always the last one to pick up her new phone, and Applejack still needs to get used to her laptop."
"Once you are ready, go to the guest room right next to my bedroom." said Celestia. "And remember, this conversation is considered 'sensitive information', and as such, it will not leave this room. Don't speak with anypony else about this. You have been warned."
Marcus, Twilight, and Luna nodded in agreement.
"Then that is all."
"And this here is the games room. Pretty cool, don't you think?"
"There is no need to brag about it every time we bring guests, Crimson."
To say that the group of ponies from New Leaf was surprised would be an understatement.
After all, when Crimson Starlit explained the idea, it was a very tempting offer: To use the same magical teleportation system he uses and stay in a cozy building located in the area where Diego and the rest of his acquaintances live.
Not even the former royal guard could resist the offer. While he is aware of both Crimson and Fauna's abilities, he also wishes to know where exactly they live.
The group experienced the mysterious teleportation magic of Diego and his friends for the first time.
A blinding light was all they could remember before it was over. Once they opened their eyes, they managed to distinguish a few things, like the vibrant sky, the clouds that were closer to them, and that now they were inside a transparent building, like a giant terrarium. After that, they approached the only door that was in a colored wall, and after a bit of walking, they arrived at the 'games room'.
"Holy shit is that a super nintendo!?" asked Mike, almost screaming. "I haven't seen one of these in years!"
"This cartridge..." said Nick, getting closer to the console. "Oh my God, it's Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars!"
"Wow. This room looks very cozy." said Bright Lapis, admiring the place. "There is a lot of human stuff here, especially games."
"Yeah. We do like to have fun and relax from time to time." said Crimson proudly. "And the human super ponytendo? Both the console and the game are Diego's property."
The room itself was fairly simple, compared to the bigger area where they appeared a few moments ago: A fairly big TV that was not in use, and next to it was the super nintendo both Mike and Nick were admiring. There was a dart board hanging on one of the walls, with all the darts on it, a table with some cushions around and a single chair, probably for Diego, and next to the table was a big piece of furniture holding a lot of board games. There were even some unique-looking speakers on another wall, probably to have some music while playing.
"There is also a kitchen in the next room, prepared with both food and drinks." said Fauna with her usual smile. "So please, do not hesitate to ask for something if you feel hungry, or if you want to drink something."
"If Diego sold this super nintendo alone, he would be so rich." said Nick. "Since the conversion, the entire videogame industry stopped producing games, and of course, video game consoles, and many consoles were lost when the earth had its changes during the years."
"Ah, I've heard about that." said Mike. "Because of that, the prices of games and consoles have skyrocketed."
The only one who has not said a word since arriving in the new place, was Wind Chaser. He was, however, looking around the room, like he was examining every single detail.
"Give up, Wind Chaser, you won't figure it out."
Crimson's words got his attention.
"What are you talking about?" asked the former royal guard.
"You want to know where we are, like, our position on the global map." continued Crimson without changing his 'friendly tone'. "Not happening, dude."
"Do you really think we would be so foolish as to reveal our direct location?" added Fauna, also with a gentle tone. "Even if you were a unicorn, you would not be able to transmit our current location to anyone."
"Just relax while our dragon partner carries Diego down there." said Diego's friend. "This is faster and safer, don't you think?"
Wind Chaser opted to remain silent. This is indeed a faster way.
As for Diego and Vendaval...
"¡Jamás me voy a cansar de esto!"
"I am glad to see you maintain your love for the skies."
The human and the dragon were the only ones to remain below, and right now, both were flying as the dragon was carrying Diego on his neck, and near the dragon's chest was a big equestrian flag that was previously attached, courtesy of Wind Chaser, to indicate that Vendaval is not a wild creature, and is protected by the laws of Equestria.
"I know Crimson Starlit must have asked you this question already, but..." Vendaval's voice showed a bit of concern. "Can we really trust Wind Chaser?"
"La Princesa Celestia confía en él. Ella nunca dejaría que alguien que no fuera del calibre de Wind Chaser hiciera algo tan importante como guiarnos. Él es sin duda un verdadero ex-guardia real con un sentido de honor y justicia." said Diego, who then focused on the dragon's head. "¿No te duele la cabeza? ¿El hechizo de Crimson funcionó?"
"It worked splendidly." was Vendaval's reply. "It is like I can visualize the map in my brain! And it does not interfere directly with my sight."
Before departing, Crimson made sure to get every detail and problem solved. Diego was once again under the influence of his spell to stay attached to the dragon's neck, and he also cast a special spell on Vendaval, using Wind Chaser's map as a reference, allowing him to 'see' the map in his thoughts. He also secured a way to observe Diego from a distance, so even up there with the rest of the group, he will know if something unexpected happens.
"So... according to his map, our first stop would be a big island named "Terra Haven." said Vendaval. "Wind Chaser said that it was previously a huge land from the ocean, that emerged due to the changes on the planet, and is now used as a place to protect exotic or endangered species."
"Especies protegidas..." Diego was deep in thought. "Anteriormente tuvimos que lidiar con un bugbear, así que tal vez los animales en este mundo también tengan cambios, con todo esto de la magia esparciéndose."
"It looks like you will not be bored, then." said the dragon, keeping a steady pace, flying in an endless sky, and an endless ocean below.
"I thought we were going to die!"
"Never thought I would see a dragon, even with everything that has happened recently."
"A real dragon!"
"So the guards told us that the dragon was friends with the human..."
"That human is full of surprises. Comes out of nowhere and has very unique friends."
"Man, I wanted to ask him a few questions..."
"He doesn't speak English, dude."
"That was Spanish! I'm sure of it! And I do know a little."
"Well, doesn't matter, he left. With the dragon. And also Wind Chaser. If it is what I think it is, the world will be in an uproar in the next few days."
Many residents of New Leaf were chatting about the recent events, from the human's arrival to the dragon that suddenly appeared, bringing panic and chaos only with his presence. Quite the contrast with the peaceful usual lifestyle they have, minus the occasional magical beast hunt.
While these events made the ponies living there live a unique experience, the question remains...
How did he survive?
As the ponies were still talking, one single pony covered in a dark cloak was looking at the crowd from a safe distance. He stood there for several seconds, hearing their conversations, until at one point, he began to walk away, heading to a more secluded place.
As the pony arrived at a room with many boxes and crates, he finally moved one of his front hooves near his face, revealing a small gem tied to it that began to glow.
After a few seconds, a voice was heard from the gem.
[How do you feel about yourself?]
"Free. Away from the corrupt desires of my previous weak vessel."
[How do you feel about others?]
"Happy for those who have seen the light, and sad about those who are still in the dark."
[State the codeword.]
"Panacea."
After a few seconds of silence...
"Your allegiance has been proved. This is codename 'Root'. It was agreed a few years ago that this channel was no longer necessary. Identify yourself."
"This is codenane 'Fang'. I am aware of the final orders, as I was there at the goal celebration party. I do have a very important reason for using this channel again."
[Even if our goal was achieved, do remember that there are consequences for using these secure channels as playthings.]
"I know that very well." The pony's face was partially covered, showing only the serious expression of his mouth, and his dark purple coat.
The pony then took something from his cloak. It was a photo.
A photo showing Diego.
"However, our work is not over. There is one human left."
