Reg's life is strange. But sh*t gets real when he falls into Equestria.
For my entire life, I've had the same dream over and over. Falling to the ground. I get so comfortable with falling that it becomes fun. I wouldn't even notice it. And then it kills me. But I keep falling.
I suppose it would be helpful to start at the beginning. Well, maybe a little before that. But anyway, Hello! My name is Reginald. Reginald Kitterman, Reg to my friends. Not that I had many friends. When I was in elementary school, my parents were always asking if I had made a friend yet. And on some days, I almost said yes. Those times, I'd tell myself 'no, I'll wait until tomorrow.' But every time, was always the same.
Around 3rd grade, I noticed some strange things. Mostly little things, but as they say, little things add up. Mostly I just got weird looks from other kids when the whole room was quiet. Sometimes, a few whiny kids would complain about noises to the teachers, and then I would be put in a separate room, much to my confusion. I didn't then, but I understand perfectly now.
Then there were the dreams. Before I came here, I had strange dreams. I guess I should say dream singular, for I only ever knew one dream. When I went to sleep, I would be falling. I would start in the clouds, or sometimes above. The clouds weren't really that cold, kind of stuffy actually. But whenever I was going to go splat, I'd just goo through it like a ghost! In fact, I kept on falling. It was strange seeing the rocks and dirt fly by. At first, the dream scared the hell out of me. But after about the eight time I got used to it. It even got fun. Gave me a whole lot of time to think. The first time I ever went up in an airplane, the stewardess treated me like I was scared and tried to comfort me. I was just sad they wouldn't let me be strapped to the underside so I could look down. That was when I was seven.
Lets jump ahead to high school. Ahhhh, high school. The one thing I want to remember AND forget. The noise complaints never ended. I took tests and studied in a separate room, and I kept getting in trouble for climbing and jumping out of the tops of trees (and landing perfectly, thank you very much). I never spoke much, and when I did, I sounded stupid. My grades were... not the best. Oh, who the hell am I kidding. I had Cs and Ds. I wasn't unintelligent! I understood everything that was taught, I just didn't care that much. It all felt...artificial. Like there was more. I wished I could start over. I felt like a shadow.
* * *
I had just been told by several people to "stop making those goddamn noises!" Being the submissive one here, I said alright and snuck away. Did I mention I was very sneaky and VERY fast? Well stop complaining cause now I have. Anyway, I went and sat in my favorite tree, a big, really tall cedar. I thought about what I knew. One: apparently I was making a noise that I couldn't hear, but that annoyed everyone around me. Two: I must have had it all my life. Three: EVERYONE else can hear it!! And I take pride in my excellent hearing! I can hear a quiet cell phone on the other side of a crowded lunch room! Huh. I decided to ask somebody about it. Lunch period was ending, so I started to climb down. About halfway down, the tree seemed to...change. I was standing on a completely solid branch, about to step to the next one down, when it disappeared. Having almost perfect reflexes and thinking time, I grabbed the tree trunk in a bear hug. I looked down, and seeing no more branches in my way (and accepting the fact that some weird shit was happening,) I decided to fall the rest of the way. Woah, woah, woah! I was falling way too fast! I couldn't turn to slow down! If I didn't slow down the I would-
Ok. Theres no way in hell i could have survived that fall. which means I died. Im dead. But Im still thinking. And very relaxed.In fact, this seems pretty familiar. Hmmm.
WHOOSH!
A white fluffy thing flew from behind me. No, a cloud flew by me. I looked down. Ohhh, it's my dream! No wonder its familiar! I was so used to falling, I didn't notice it right away. But wow, it was kind of cold this time. I wonder if I'll just keep on falling over again and again. THAT would be boring! Whoosh! Another cloud. Nothing new. Whoosh! Whoos-fff! Ack! I went through one! Wait. Just stop. I've never ever felt a cloud go through me before. Sure, I go through them, but I don't feel them. And that was cold! THIS is new!! Well, so is being dead. I squint down at the ground far below me. I must be about 12 minutes up. You get good at judging distances and times after a while. I look harder. It looks like, a city? No, a small city. Perhaps a town. Huh. About four minutes later, I can make out people moving around down there. Very brightly colored people. And no cars. The roofs look sorta, un-roofy. For roofs, that is. Now I can make out the people better. Those people are weird! There's a blue one! And a orange one! And a...pink one? Wow. Just wow.
(On the surface) "Thanks for the apples Applejack!"
"No prob, Pinkie. Anytime!"
"Okei-doki-loki! Well I need to go set up a Goodbye Party for Bon-Bon, she's taking a vacation, so I'll see you arou-woah!"
"What is it Pinkie? You forget some'thin?"
"N-n-noo. It's jus-s-st m-m-my Pinkie Sense is g-g-g-oing crazy!!"
"Oh no! Which one? The openin' doors one? Or the gummy's in the tub one? Or-"
"The f-f-f-alling things one!"
"Oh no! We shoud git under some cover! C'mon, Pinkie!"
"No, it stopped. And I know what it is now!"
"Oh, what's that."
"That falling monkey, of course! C'mon, AJ! I know what to do!"
* * *
The pink one and the orange one seem to have noticed me. Knowing they don't matter and that ill just fall through them, I roll back upwards. The air smells so fresh and...real! Something blue and colorful shoots by me. I turn to see it better, but its gone. *sigh*. I look back down. I'm much closer now. That pink thing is building a, you know I have no freaking idea what that is, but the pink thing is building it very fast. It looks like a target (to me at least). Huh. Well, why not? I start to aim directly for it. Like I said, I've become very very good at falling. Less than a minute now... There seems to be a crowd of those things gathering around the target. I can see they have 1...2...3...4 legs? Ok, cats? No. Dogs? No. Horses? No. Yes. Perhaps. Ten seconds to the ground. 9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..BOING!!!!
"AHHHHHH!!!!" Suddenly I'm falling backwards. Ok, flying. That must have been a trampoline! But a super duper strong one! And I didn't go through it!?! What the hell? Boing! Up again. I can't really see the faces of those things, but they are looking at me. Boing! Boing! Boing! Um, I'm really skinny and light for my age. Me + Trampoline + strong wind = me hitting the edge and blacking out. Which I did.
* * *
But I kept falling. Falling through myself, falling into darkness, falling in all directions. It never stopped. I could see colors. Spinning around and around. I heard static, like a badly tuned radio, you could almost hear words, chaotic noises. The next thing I saw was the faces of my parents. Then my younger sister. Then faces so fast I couldn't make them out. I was still falling. I had always been falling. I will always fall.
"Ughhh. I feel like I died." Oh wait...not so funny anymore. I hear movement near me and try to open my eyes. Though they whine in protest, I manage to open the right one. I almost scream at what I see in front of me.
"Ok everypony. Stand back now. We don't know what this thing is but-"
"Hey look! It opened its eye!"
I quickly shut my eye. Did I just see...ponies? Did they just see ME? I decide to tell logic to go screw itself and open my eyes again. Yup. Logic is now completely screwed. I am looking at a crowd of cartoon ponies. Cartoons. I have to refrain from shitting myself. As I stare at them, I realize they are My Little Pony ponies. Back before I...died (saying that feels weird) I loved that show. The whole magic of friendship thing was just right for me. I had felt like they were my friends. As I sit up, some of the ponies gasp. Several ponies almost faint when I stand up. Wow. Fragile. I start to speak, but as I do, the one I now know is Pinkie Pie jumps out of nowhere and almost yells in my face.
"Hi! What's your name? I'm Pinkie Pie! I just saved your life! Your welcome! Are you doing anything this Tuesday? Cause I'm free! We can have your Welcome Party then!
Me, being the cool-headed un-fazeable person I am, was gone around 'are you doing'. Wow. I'm fast. I kept sprinting into a forest. I stopped in a clearing to catch my breath.
Ok. Lets review the facts. 1. I am in the land of Equestria, a land of ponies, unicorns, and pegasai. 2. (I pinch my arm) Nope. Not dreaming. Still here. 3. I got here by dying. 4. I just survived a fall no one ever could, even with a trampoline.(Hell, that was much, much farther tap jan the one that killed me!) 5. And now I'm most likely in...the...oh shit. In the Everfree forest. Not a safe place.
So, if I remember the show correctly, Zecora's hut should be here. If I can just go back out the way I came...
* * *
Wow. Even in this world I'm great at getting lost. Oh well. You know, I bet if I sit here, Zecora will find me. I'll just lean up against this tree here, and I won't fall asleep. I won't fall asleep. I won't fall asle-*yawn*. I'm out cold.
My eyes shoot open. I feel something poking me in the side. It's dark so I can't see who, or what it is.
"Hello?"
This is met with an "eep!" so cute that it just has to be Fluttershy. Ok. I can do this. I have a pretty good memory, and I can remember most of the episodes. I can use this to my advantage. Lets do this.
"Fluttershy?"
"Oh, my! U-u-um, y-y-yes?"
"Please don't be scared. And I know that whatever I say, you will be. But please, I need help."
"Oh, ok. B-b-but how do you know m-m-my name?"
"I'll explain later. But right now I need help."
I really do, I realize. I have cuts all over my hands, and my head has some blood on it, not to mention the freaking migraine I have. I tell the pegasi about my injuries, and just as expected, she immediately gets frantic. Good.
"Oh, my. Can you walk? We need to get you to my cottage. It's going to rain soon, so lets, um, move. I mean, I can carry you if you can't walk."
"No, Fluttershy. I can walk. And you definitely couldn't carry me."
We make it to Fluttershy's house just in time. The rain has just started to trickle down. She opens the door, and I know I will have to duck. With no light it's a little difficult, but there's plenty of space inside the dark house.
"Oh, um, here. Let me light a candle. There we go. Now we need to treat your inj-EEEP!"
She just saw me properly for the first time, and my size ( compared to a pony I'm huge) must have frightened her.
"Please, Fluttershy. I won't hurt you. I'm hurt. Please help me."
"Oh, your right. I'll go and get my medical things."
While she is gone I succumb to both mental and physical exhaustion. Once again, I'm out cold.
I awake to the sound of singing birds. Opening my eyes, I find my self on the couch, looking out the window. It's very relaxing.
"A-hem"
"Sweet mother of-!" I don't complete my sentence as I seeTwilight Sparkle standing in the middle of the room.
"So, can you speak?"
"Yes. Yes I can Twilight."
"And how in Celistas name do you my name? And Fluttershy's name?"
Oh, this is going to be fun.
"The same way I know Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Spike, your brother, the two princesses, Discord, The changeling queen, king sombra, oh wait, I doubt you've met him yet, your parents, and the daughter you haven't had yet! I know many things Twilight Sparkle, many things."
Wow, did I just pull that off with out planing? I'm good! It took Twilight a few moments to recover from this. Ok, a good half-hour. But her expression was hysterical! When she had recovered, she was much more wary of me. First she asked what I was.
"An alien from outer space." Close enough.
"And how did you get here."
Didn't you see me yesterday? I fell out of the sky!"
"That was...2 days ago."
"Oh well. Time flies when you sleep."
"Ok. Could you come with me to my-"
"Library in a tree? In Ponyville? Where you and spike your number one assistant live? Ok!" I interrupt.
For the full effect on Twilight, I don't stand up until I get outside. When I do, she looks up at me with something bordering on fear.
"I don't want to scare anybody, so I'll just tell you now. The thought of hurting ANY of you, in any way possible, horrifies and disturbs me. I repeat: I will not hurt you."
Her face relaxes somewhat, and we head towards town.
* * *
The moment I step into Ponyville, heads turn. Ponies whisper, look at me with a mix of fear and wonder. We go by the spot where the target thing is. It's being taken apart. As we head to the library, I can hear ponies following. I can also hear their cameras. I tell Twilight, and as the first flash goes off, she zaps each camera with her horn. Wow. First magic I've seen, and its being used to defend me. The cameramen (camera-ponies?) seem pretty angry, but Twilight throws them a menacing look. They back off. All but one. He nervously approaches me with a notepad and pen. Twilight moves to stop him, but I'm cool with this guy. I go over to him and kneel down next to him. He's pretty scared now.
"U-um, do you have any, um, comment at this time, um, sir?" He asks.
"Well, yes. Yes I do. I would like everypony to know that I am not, I repeat, am not going to harm you. I have no idea how or why I am here, but I am here. Also, I am not any kind of monkey. Please don't call me a monkey. I am a human. H U M A N. thank you."
The reporter pony thanked me and trotted out of there. I turned to Twilight and followed her into her tree.
"Ok, first of all, it's h u m a n. I doubt I'll be in any of your reference books. The only one who might know about me is Lyra Heartstrings. Don't ask why. Oh Hi spike!"
Spike promptly falls over.
"Oh come on! I'm not that scary!"
Twilight sighs. "He'll be fine. And either way I'm going through all my books."
"Alright. Suit yourself! But one question. Can I call you Twi? Please?"
She looks at me funny. "How do you know that all my friends call me...oh, I guess..."
"Yippie!"
<much later>
"Wow. Never in all my years have I ever not found a single book on something!"
"Yeah, too bad there's no reference guide for humans like there is for the elements of harmony..."
"But how did you-, I mean- but that top secret! Do you know everything?"Twi exclaims.
This is way too much fun for me.
"In the meantime, I can tell you a bit about us humans, if you like."
"Ok..."
I then proceeded to tell Twilight the basics of a human. Speech differences, society, government( but not a lot), clothing, lack of magic. At the lat one, Twi interrupted.
"No magic at all? But how do you have all these complicated things without magic?"
"We have our own kind of magic. Wow. That sounded really bad."
"It sounded fine to me."
"No Twi it's...oh god. I can't make ANY dirty jokes here can I? RGGGHHH!"
I spent the night on the library main floor. It was pretty comfortable for a floor. Kind of squishy. There's magical tree houses for you! Anyway, I woke up pretty refreshed. Twilight was making breakfast. Toast. I was about to offer to make bacon but then remembered the fact that this is not earth. I almost cried at the thought of no bacon ever again. But toast is good.
"Good morning, Twi!"
"Good morning, um. hmmm. you know what? You never told me your name!"
Ahhhh. A name. I could pick anything I wanted for a name. Hmmm. I don't think I want to be Reg any more. I'll be...
"My name is Quinn."
"Well, then good morning Quinn!"
"Thank you! So, am I going to be revealed to the world of Equestria today? Or are you going to take me to Celestia?"
"Well, I DID send a letter to the princess, but she is busy, I doubt she'll-"
"Twilight! A letter from the princess! It says its urgent!"
"Oh! Thank you spike."
I can't stop laughing. It's like I'm living in the tv show!
"So Quinn, the letter says we are to come to Canterlot at once."
After packing, Twi gives spike a list of instructions for while she's away.
"Aw c'mon Twilight, it's only for a few days!" Spike and I say at EXACTLY the same time.
"And that proves I know everything. Even what your going to say."
* * *
Outside, I get the same looks as yesterday, but much warmer looks too. Seems Like my 'comment' got publisher pretty fast.
"C'mon Quinn. The train is-"
"Twi, I know where the train is. I can even see it from here."
"Ok, ok...sheesh..."
* * *
"Quinn, you look bored. Here, I brought some-"
"Books? Wow, Twi. Way to go. As a matter of fact, I really like to read. What have you got?"
"Well, there's Daring Do, Rainbow likes those, and there's a few magic books, a grammar book, and a general history of Equestria book."
"I've got to see what's up with Daring Do. I know how much Rainbow loves those. Enough to steal them in fact...but anyway! Thanks!"
* * *
"Final stop, Canterlot! Final stop!"
"Here we are! Welcome to Canterlot!"
A wall of sound washed over me. I'm not kidding here. The sound felt, yes felt, more important than in other places. Weird, right? Anyway, on to the princess!
"So, with everyPONY (there, I got it right) not knowing about me, are we getting a royal guard escort, or teleporting, cause I know you can, or can I have some fun with this?"
"Fun? What do you mean, fun?"
"Like this!"
I jump out of the train car (well, climb out, but with style.) and stand up to my full height. I was never a exceptionally tall person, but when all other creatures around you are between knee and waist hight, 5'9'' is pretty tall.
Almost immediately, the mood(?) of the sound changed from snob to awe and wonder. I kinda liked this feeling. Hey, we got a path straight to the castle because of me. No complaints here! At first the gate guards freaked out. I mean, who wouldn't? But when they saw Twi, they were all 'let me get that for you miss Sparkle' and 'would you like some tea miss Sparkle?'. Ugh.
We went up the stairs, down a hallway, down some stairs, turn, more hallway, more stairs, then the last hallway. At the end of this one were the two princesses, Celestia and Luna. I bowed as we reached them.
"Twilight Sparkle! My most faithful student! It is good to see you again!"
"And you, princesses!"
"But on to business. You are here because of this... You called it a human?"
"Yeah, I'm a human. And my name's Quinn."
At this, the two Alicorns look at me in surprise. Ugh. I hate it when people, or ponies, assume superiority!
"As you can see, Princess, Quinn is sentient, and not only that, but extremely well-informed on, well, everything about us! He even knows our personalities!"
The Princesses look at me with suspicion.
"We will need some time to think about this. But Quinn, just how much do you know?"
"A lot. I know names, towns, holidays, general information. I know about the elements of harmony, the nightmare moon incident, the Discord encounter, the Changeling attack, and King Sombra."
As I say the last several names, Celestias face takes on a look of horror.
"T-thank you. We will think on this. During your stay here, please do not speak of what you know to anypony. Thank you."
I bow as we exit the great hall. I can tell the two princesses are eager to talk about this. Twilight gives me another strange look.
"How do you know so much about us?"
"If I told you, your head might explode. I'm not joking. When Celestia asks me directly, I will tell her, but nopony else. It would terrify you. Where I come from, crime and violence are normal, daily things. Every day, humans kill other humans. We are known for our greed, hate, and wars. We have weapons that could erase Equestria from the planet. I intend no harm, but if other humans make it here, then no promises. " My voice got darker and darker. "And there are humans who know much, much more about you than I do."
Wandering through the streets of Canterlot, I focus on the sounds around me. I close my eyes. But I can still see...things. Colors. Shapes.
"Quinn? Hello, Quinn?"
I snap open my eyes. "Yes, Twilight? Are you going to suggest a restaurant? Or perhaps a hotel?"
"A meal sounds like a good idea. I'm not sure if any of the good restaurants here will let you in, no offense."
"None taken. But I'm not that scary! And besides, you're an Element of Harmony!" I say, gently poking her in the shoulder.
"Yeah, but I don-" She is interrupted by a transparent purple wall suddenly appearing between us.
"Stay back from my sister! I said get back!"
Oh look. It's Shining Armor. How nice.
"And hello to you too, Shining. How's your day?" I sarcastically reply.
"Oh stop it Shining! He's with me! He won't hurt anypony!" Twilight shouts. Wow. I have a friend.
"Oh yeah? Well then WHAT is he? A naked monkey?"
"No! I'm a human! H U M A N! Please don't call me a monkey!" Sheesh!
Shining has reached us, and brings down the magical shield. Twi runs to his embrace.
"What are you doing here, Twi? And why is that...human with you?"
"His name is Quinn, and he is from a different world. He knows, well, a lot. About, all of us."
"Yeah, he knew my name!"
"And I also know how protective you are of your sister." Having snuck up on them, Shining spins around in a defensive stance.
"Don't do that!" he snarls. Twi joins me in laughter.
* * *
"So, are we going to have that lunch soon? I'm starving." I realize I haven't eaten since I died. (Still sounds weird.)
Twilight remembers our conversation from earlier. "Oh, right. Would you prefer a salad or a sandwich? Or a salad-sandwich?."
"I would love a sandwich! A grilled cheese, if possible."
Shining looks up. "I know just the place!" he says. "It's right on this corner."
We go in, getting the strangest looks from the pony customers. Twi goes to ask for a table.
"I'm so sorry ma'am, but we cannot allow you to bring a pet monkey into the establishment. It would be against our regulations. I'm sorry."
I hear this and quickly join them.
"Excuse me? For one thing, I'm NOT a pet. And for the last time, I'm not a monkey!". We got a very nice table.
"So, Quinn. You never told me HOW you got here. I'm very interested." Well, she asked for it.
"Okay, Twilight. When ponies go to sleep, what happens?" My question completely catches her off-guard. "Umm, they dream?" she says, looking confused.
"Exactly. Humans do the same thing. But not me. When I go to sleep, I'm up in the sky. Falling. Every time I go to sleep. I never get hurt, it's just a dream! Because of my dream, I have absolutely no fear of heights. I like falling. It calms me. Before I came here, I would climb up high so I could fall down. It scared some people, others just thought I was weird. I landed perfectly every time. I DID have a lot of practice, after all." They chuckle at this. "But I guess I was too comfortable. I was in a large tree, about forty feet above the ground. And, I guess the tree...changed. There were no more branches! I was hanging on to the tree itself. I pushed off to fall. Oh god how I screwed up. I died."
Twilight looks at me with the saddest eyes I have ever seen. "I...I didn't realize. I'm so sorry." She gets up and gives me a hug.
"It's ok. But anyway, the next thing I knew, I was in my dream again. But real. Pinkie built a trampoline under me. She saved my life. If I'm alive."
Now Shining looks at me with sadness. I remember how fragile ponies are. They should be. In a world with no war, crime, or murder. Good things are all they know.
* * *
Later that evening, we make our way back to the castle. We make good time thanks to the mysterious lack of ponies ( I'm not that scary!). We say good bye to Shining at the guard station. I have one last to check with him, just to confirm timelines. I pull him aside for a moment. "Please just answer yes or no. Are you married?" His facial expressions are almost comical. "How did you- does Twi know about the wedding? Did she tell you? It's over 2 months away!" Ahhhh...
"I can't tell you how I know. But trust me, she suspects nothing. And good luck."
* * *
We arrive at the main hall. Woah. My footsteps reallllly echo in here. I stop for a moment and just listen. The sounds feel so, big.
"Equestria to Quinn! Wake up!"
"Wha- oh. Yeah." Wait, did she just say...
"Thank you for returning so promptly, Twilight. We have been thinking about what we know, but would like to meet privately with..."
I am led into a smaller room off tho the side of the great hall. The walls are a dark blue, and there are no windows. "Please, sit down" Celestia says, indicating several cushions on the floor. I sit on one and they follow suit.
"Now, would you please begin with...with.."
"Everything?"
Their laughter sounds like tinkling bells. Looks like it too. Weird.
"Yes please."
And so I proceeded to tell them first about me, then humans in general. I tell them of our great wars, our weapons of mass destruction, science, and of our violent nature towards the unknown. I can see that they know of such violence and hatred, but have a hard time understanding why. "I don't know why humans are so violent. Almost daily, there would be more killings and crimes. How you two keep such peace is amazing."
We eventually arrive at how I know so much. "Im not going to sugarcoat this at all. Where I come from, the land of Equestria is a fictional place. It is shown in the cartoon called 'My Little Pony'. Think of it as a story you watch. The story begins with Twilight Sparkle and the Nightmare Moon incident." Princess Luna is so stunned she doesn't even flinch at this. "The story gives very extensive information on the lives of the elements of harmony, the two of you, and many other things." They are speechless. "Not only that, but earlier I asked Shining Armor if he was getting married. He said in about a month. If things stay on track, then I have a pretty good idea of the near future. And it's not pretty."
The two princesses look at me like never before. I know what their thinking. "I know what your thinking. You can use this knowledge however you want. I just want to help. I give you my word that I will not hurt any of the citizens of Equestria. But please, I ask that you not try to communicate with my world. The consequences would be unthinkable." Wow. I sound good.
They thank me for this, and ask that I wait here for a little bit. They go back into the great hall. As they do, I listen and notice they do not lock the door. They trust me somewhat. Oh well, I'll just have a nap...
* * *
I am woken by the soft voice of Celestia. "Quinn? Quinn, please wake up!" I sit up and stretch out my arms. I wonder what time it is?
"Have you decided what I should do?"
"Yes. But we would like your input first. And to confirm one last thing."
"Alright."
"We were wondering, have you noticed any strange changes of yourself? Perhaps something you were never able to do before?"
"Hmmm. Now that you mention it, when I landed, I should not have survived. Even with Pinkie Pie, that was impossible. Other than that...oh, wait! I've been hearing things differently! Not only hearing, but almost seeing and feeling the sounds. I really don't understand it."
"Well, we do have a theory. We think that every time you ever went to sleep and dreamed of falling, you were actually in Equestria. Not physically, but mentally. Now, a unicorn uses magic with mental strength only. We think than every time you fell, you were 'infected' with magic. Magic that could never be used on earth. But then your body fell too. It is very possible that you contain some unknown, new kind of magic."
I thought about that. It certainly made sense.
"Ok, so if I'm hearing things differently, then that means...sound? Magic sound?" Not what I expected, but ok.
"That would seem to be the case. And that is why you will learn to use this new magic from-"
"Twilight Sparkle. Yup. I saw that coming."
"So you agree with this plan?"
"Yes. However, I don't mean to sound rude, but I really get the felling that you are not telling me something."
"Yes...my, you are observant! Yes, there is more the plan. You may know him on your world too. He has also spoken of humans. Tell me, what do you know of the Doctor?"
I was laughing so hard that Celestia took a step back in surprise.
"You can't be serious! The Doctor? Here? As a pony?" I can't stop laughing! The only two tv shows I ever really watched? My Little Pony and Doctor Who!
"That's just amazing! The Doctor!" My laughter sputters out.
"You know of him then? Good. He should meet you when you get back to Ponyville."
Alright then.
* * *
"So! Twilight! Have you met the Doctor?"
"Well, yes. Two times. He's been very helpful."
"Helpful? Without him, there wouldn't be anything! An exaggeration, of course, but he keeps the universe together! I'm going to be working with him."
* * *
The ride back to Ponyville was uneventful. We got back around 2:00, so I still had time to look around before meeting the Doctor at 4:00. I walked through the town market, and as I did I noticed much warmer smiles toward me. I see Twilight again at a book store (surprise) and asked her about it.
"While you talked to the princesses, I sent a letter to spike telling him to warn everypony that you might be staying here for a while. They know you mean no harm."
Ahh. That was kind of her. I thanked her and decided to go check out Sweet Apple Acres.
Once again, the show was right. Sweet Apple Acres was beautiful. It was so peaceful! It sounded peaceful, too. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the sounds. I started to see an image in my head. No, blobs of color. Green. Dark green. Hmmm.
"Howdy there, uh, Quinn, was it? I'm Applejack!"
My eyes shot open. "Oh. Hi Applejack! I was hoping I would meet you! I have some questions."
"Alrighty then. Fire away!"
"First of all," I said, sort of kneeling to be at the same level as her. "do I scare ponies? Am I scary?"
"Well, the truth is that when you first fell outta the skies, I was pretty dang scared. But now that we all know that you ain't gonna hurt us, I'm much more curious then scared. Why d'you ask?"
"Because I don't want to scare anypony! Thank you, Applejack. I'll see you later!"
"See ya'!"
* * *
It's 3:25. I should head back. The Doctor should meet me behind the town hall. As I walk back, I hear a WHOOSH, and the next thing I know, Rainbow Dash is right there, flying along beside me.
"Hey, Quinn, isn't it? I'm the amazing, one of a kind-"
I cut her off, totally ready for this moment. "I thought it was 'the amazing and astounding Rainbow Dash'."
Her wings stopped for the slightest moment. I prevented the inevitable face-plant by catching her. "Thanks. How did you know that I -"
"Like to be awesome? Yeah, you are pretty awesome. The one and only sonic rainboomer..."
"I did one of those once, but only as a filly. How did you know?"
Ok, stop. So I'm before the 'sonic rainboom' episode? What? So, if my brony mind is working, we're still in season one??? And ' A Canterlot Wedding' a month away??? Then I met Shining way before...ohhhhhh. Very interesting! They have yet to meet Discord! Oh, have I said too much?
"Oh, I heard about it from another someone. I knew it had to be you."
"Wow. I didn't know I was famous in another species...." Rainbow, you have no idea...
* * *
I made it to the town hall right on time. I was leaning on the back of the building when the classic 'scrwoooom-scrwoooom!' sound started. The TARDIS faded into view. It ended with a 'thoooom!' and the door opened.
He steps fully out of the police public call box. Yes, chestnut brown coat, darker brown mane, and hourglass cutie mark. The Doctor.
"Hello, Doctor. I can't believe it's you!"
"I can't believe a human is HERE!" He says, walking around me. "Yes, yes you are a human. Well! Isn't this just fantastic!"
"I should warn you, Celestia and I agree that no contact is to be made with our universe. I think you know what would happen."
"Indeed I do. Yes, that would be bad...But anyway! Lets get on with it! Allons-y!".
We enter the TARDIS. He looks at me expectantly. "Well, aren't you going to-"
"Yes, alright! It's bigger on the inside!" Having said that I had to stop and really absorb this. It WAS bigger on the inside. Oh well. I bet Pinkie's house is like that too.
I turn to face the Doctor. He's got his sonic screwdriver in his mouth, scanning me. He puts it down. "So how did a human make it into this world? I must admit I was a little shocked when I heard the television bit, but with parallel worlds and all, I suppose it is possible..."
"Yeah, truthfully I'm pretty shocked myself, but I have a second chance! Who gets those?"
"I do. And I know how you feel. And having such accurate foreknowledge must be a new feeling for you."
"You bet!" The console makes a sound. "Ah, let's see... Well, you are a human, that certain, but you do have some kind of energy stored inside you. Celestia was right! But this energy, it's strange... It is very similar to what powers my sonic screwdriver. Its inactive, but its there."
"So, I'm a sonic screwdriver?" Really didn't see that coming.
"No! No, much more! With the energy linked directly to your mind, you should be able to control it with great precision, and on a much greater scale! This is fascinating! And I think...I may be able to...yes! Fancy that! I can activate it with my screwdriver!" He begins running around the central console, pushing buttons and flipping circuits. "I'm moving us to a safer location. We don't know what to expect when we activate it."
The TARDIS gives a loud 'thump!'. "Well come on!" The Doctor is already at the doors. I follow him outside. We've moved to a large, flat valley. It makes me think of New Mexico.
"Wait, this isn't safe?" I ask.
"Is anything?"
"Good point. But...will it hurt?" I sound like a little kid.
"I have no idea! Stand over there, please." He indicates a completely clear area with his hoof. When I am in place, he says "on three then?"
I nod. "One, two, three!" His sonic screwdriver lights up green, and I feel a strange vibration in my chest.
"Any pain?" I shake my head, and the sound intensifies.
The space around the screwdriver looks like ripples on a pond. "Keep going." He nods, and it gets louder.
After a few moments, the noise fades. Suddenly, I hear birds singing. Then that fades, and I can hear Twilight's voice. "...just got back from Canterlot a few hours ago. I don't know where Quinn is but..." Then that fades, and there's silence for a few seconds before I'm hit with a wall of white noise. I almost scream as I am physically pushed to the ground. It only lasts for a moment, though. Soon I can hear normally again.
My breathing returns to normal, and I look the timelord in the eyes.
The Doctor looked at me. "I haven't the slightest."
As he said this, I noticed something strange about his voice. It sounded...more compleat, almost like there were a whole new part of his voice I had never hread before.
"Doctor, you're voice is different!."
"Well, you are now using a large quantity of sonic energy, I suppose it would have altered your senses somewhat...how is it different?"
"It's like, your voice has a shape, a color, and a texture all at once. Sort of an oval, a bluish oval. And it feels like, a...a nice sports jacket. Weird."
The Doctor was deep in thought. "Being able to hear the full spectrum of sound...hmm, tell me what happens when I do this!" He sits on his hindquarters and claps his hooves together. What looks like a small shock wave erupts from his hooves.
"It looked like you threw a rock into a pond."
"Good, good. This should only be temporary, and then you should be able to control it, among other things. Come along, lets go back to Ponyville."
We return to the TARDIS. Only this time, everything is colorful! It bombards me with so many new things that my mind can't take it. The TARDIS spins as the world goes black.
* * *
When I regain consciousness, fortunately I can't hear a thing. This may be due to the fluffy earmuffs that have been placed on my head. I begin to sit up, but a lavender face appears, and though her mouth is moving, I hear nothing. I lay back down and tale the earmuffs off.
"-and we didn't know if you were going to be ok, and then the Doctor said 'don't let him hear anything', and we had no idea what he meant, and-"
"Ok! Ok, I get it. You were worried." I say. Having someone that cares for me all of a sudden is new for me. Although ponies are kind and caring in general. I sit up fully and she hugs me. "You were asleep for almost two days! Of course I'd be worried! And you made strange noises while you were sleeping."
"Strange noises? Like what?" She sits on the bed next to me. I scoot back so I don't have to bend my knees so much.
"All kinds of them! Squeaking, whirring, crashing, staticky noises, loud ones, quiet ones, even what sounded like words, or ponies talking! I never knew you could make so many different sounds!"
"Neither did I. Is the Doctor still here?"
"No, he just came in, told me you were outside and to make sure you didn't hear anything for a while. By the time I had gone and seen you lying on the ground outside, he was gone! What happened?"
"Even I don't know..."
* * *
"So you're saying that you have magic?"
"Yup" I respond, while inhaling toast and cereal. I was hungry after having slept for a day and a half.
"And this is a new kind of magic, so we're going to have to start from scratch?"
"Yup."
"At this point, I can't decide wether to be exasperated or excited."
"I know, right?"
"Well, I suppose I could begin by doing some-"
"Research. I'm so surprised." I drop my cereal spoon on the floor. After picking it up, I hit my head on the table. Instantly, a deep, vibrating sound resonates throughout my body from my head.
"Ohhhh! Twi! Do you hear that! Do you hear it? Do you feel it?"
She looks at me with alarm. "Hear what? Is your head ok?" The noise starts to fade.
"It's fine. But when I hit it, it was like a shockwave of noise! How did you not hear it?"
Her eyes light up. "Oh! Stay there, Quinn! I'll be right back!" She dashes up and around the stairs. Within mere seconds, she comes streaking back into view, quill and parchment in hoof. "Now describe to me exactly what happened. Don't leave out a single detail!"
I describe the hitting my head, and then the noise. After writing that down, Twilight goes to a bookshelf and starts looking. "S...s...s...sounds! Magical sounds: a reference guide! Perfect!" I do a double take.
"You're kidding, right? You've just got to be kidding!"
* * *
After going through the promising book (twice) and finding nothing, I lean back and stretch. "Admit it Twi. You don't have a book for this! It's completely new!"
She gives me a look that says 'I still don't believe you, but alright.'. "Ok. Lets review what we know." She grabs a piece of paper with her magic and begins making a list. "1. Quinn has a new kind of magic inside him. 2. It has something to do with sounds. 3. Ummmm...."
"Seems legit. And I like it. Feedback...yeah!" I say with a smile.
She writes this down. "Anything else?" I think for a minute.
"Nope! But I have an idea. Can you find me a really heavy book? And I mean HEAVY!"
"Um, alright...here! Try the 'Basic Spells Compendium: Vol. 1 with appendixes.'" She leads me to a pretty thick book, about 2 inches thick. "Yeah, this'll work!" I say, grabbing the book and placing it on the floor in the middle of the room.
"Do you mind if I, um, drop this book? Like, from the ceiling to the floor?" She looks at me with confusion. "I have no idea why you would do that, but I think it's alright."
"Good. Now I'm going to stand over here. You magically lift it up, and then let it fall."
Her horn began to glow, and the book slowly lifted up into the air. When it was higher than my head, I nodded, and she let go. WHAM! We both jumped a little.
I shook my head. "Try again." She nodded, lifted it, and let go. This time, however, I concentrated on that feeling from before, with the Doctor. When the book hit the floor, what looked like a shockwave flew away from the book.
"Woah!"
Twilight looked around. "What? What is it?"
"When it hit, it was like I could SEE the sound! It was a ripple through the air!"
She dropped it again, and the same thing happened. And again. I tried clapping my hands. Another shockwave. When I clapped rapidly, the air around my hands looked like water, distorted and rippling.
"Ok, 4. Quinn can 'see' sounds."
We try other things. She drops the book and I poke the shockwave. No effect. When I concentrate on just the wave, it gets clearer. More like a wall than a wave. At one point, I try pulling on the wave. Not really pulling it, pulling with my mind. The sound is instantly gone.
"What did you do? It just ended!"
"I don't know. I sort of 'pulled' on the wave, and it was gone! Just like that!"
"Where did it go? Can you feel it anywhere?"
"No. I wonder what happens if I 'push' a sound. Drop it again."
This time, I push with my mind. An explosion erupts from me, pushing the book across the room into the shelf behind it. Twilight stares at me, wide eyed. "What did yo-" "Again, I don't know. I 'pushed' the wave, but I felt another wave sort of join it. I think it was the one I pulled from before."
We decide not to try that again inside.
"Well, Quinn, we have made a lot of progress today. And look! We've skipped lunch! And dinner!" I look at the clock. It was 5 'o'clock. How did that happen? Oh well. Time flies when you're having fun. And all that weird magic has made me tired. I decided to have some pizza with Twilight, and then head for the new guest bed. Tomorrow should be interesting!
When I awoke the next day, I found a note on my bedside table from Twilight. 'Went to do some shopping, will be back around 12.' With time to kill, I made a breakfast of toast and an apple. After confirming that I was officially bored, I sat by the open window and closed my eyes. Listening, no, feeling the sounds from outside was very relaxing. I opened my eyes, concentrating on SEEING the sounds. After a few moments, I saw distinct disturbances in the air. By focusing on one in particular, I saw that there were subtle differences in how they looked. Colors, shapes, and speeds all depended on the noise.
Out of curiosity, I tried 'pulling' on a random wave. It disappeared. That is to say, one of the ponies talking near my window could no longer speak. Realizing my mistake, I was about to 'push' the sound, but then remembered yesterday. Instead, I tried relaxing my mind. Bam! She could speak again. Now what did I just do? I 'pulled' a wave, but then that pony couldn't make any more waves!
Thinking about this, I begin an experiment. Going into the kitchen, I turn on the faucet. I look at the waves the water is making, and pull. I can't hear the water flowing anymore. I turn off the water, then back on. Still no sound. But I can see the faint outline of a wave flowing toward me. Being absorbed by me! I hadn't cancelled the sound, I was taking it! I had been 'pulling' the whole time. I suppose this made more sense. If I just pulled once, I would only pull a tiny bit.
I heard hoofsteps approaching, and Twilight opened the door. "Hello? Quinn? I'm back!"
I walked into the main room and greeted Twi. "I've been doing some thinking. I think we should go try more...things with my magic."
She smiled at me. "I was thinking you would say that!"
* * *
We were just reaching the edge of the Everfree forest.
"So, we go to Zecora's, and then go find a field large enough for anything unexpected?"
"That's what the list says!"
We head into the forest, Twilight easily navigating between the trees. Soon, we are in front of a huge stump-turned-house.
"I'll go in. I just have a few herbs for her anyway." Twilight enters the hut. I wait outside. When Twi returns, we head out for a clearing. We quickly found a meadow about the size of a soccer field. "This should do nicely!"
I walk over to the middle and sit down.
"Quinn? I want you to tell me everything you do." Says Twi, pulling out a quill and paper. "We need to record all of this."
I nod my head in agreement. "First, I'm going to 'see' all the sounds around me."
I close my eyes, and then open them again. I can see the waves all around me from the birds, the trees swaying in the breeze, and the sounds of the forest.
"I'm now going to 'pull' the sounds in the field to me." I pull them in. This time, I can feel the different sounds inside me. I report this to Twi.
"Ok, Quinn? Try pushing only one sound. Only one! And not at me!"
I focus on a single birdsong inside me, chirping and warbling. I push it to my left. Twilight gasps. I look, and the grasses and leaves to my left seem to have been pushed by a nonexistent wind.
"I going to try again, but this time, I'll push harder."
I push to my right, with much more force. The same thing happens, but much stronger. Good sized branches go flying.
"And now push with as much force as you can."
1...2...3
I push as hard as I can. The air in front of me vibrates with the low bass sound that flows from me. Instead of a light breeze or wind, this is more like a focused hurricane. The trees in front of me seem to just dissolve, the ground being ripped up and away from me.
I quickly stand up and run over to Twilight, hiding behind a tree. We look at each other, both with fear and amazement.
During our trek back to Ponyville, we deiced that I won't use my magic in town until I have more control over it. Twilight also suggests that I write a letter to the princess to keep her updated.
My letter:
Dear Princess Celestia,
You were correct. I do have magic inside me. And it is sound-related. The Doctor activated it from its inactive state inside me, and I have become more aware of sounds around me. That is, I can 'see' the sounds. Not only that, but I can mentally absorb them, and push them away. Twilight Sparkle and I have just returned from the Everfree forest, where I discovered I could 'push' a sound with so much force that it became destructive. The pushed sound tore up the ground and seemed to dissolve large objects. I will be extremely cautious. Quinn.
I handed the scroll to Spike, and with a spurt of green flame, it was sent.
"Well, that's done. Now Quinn, lets make some lists of what we know."
Ugh.
* * * <Celestia's observatory>
Her kingdom below her, the princess of the sun looked at it with pride. A thousand years, and she had kept the peace flawlessly.
A whoosh interrupted her thoughts, as a scroll fizzled into existence.
'A letter from Twilight? Hmmmm...' She magically opened the letter.
'Ah! From the human. Quinn. Lets see...'
She read it once, twice, and a third time. A look of worry fell upon her face. Destructive forces? Being used by an alien being with knowledge of the future? After thinking for a moment, she had come to a decision. Standing up, she began to descend to her own library.
'Dear Quinn...'
* * *
<back in Ponyville>
Done with my afternoon nap, I take a walk in the market. The locals seem less and less afraid of me each day.
I walk to the edge of town, thinking about things. Specifically the future. If this world follows the story line, then I'm still in season 1. Somewhere in the first half of it. That means Nightmare Moon has been defeated, and the elements know who they are. I'm not sure if anypony else knows who they are, though. So I won't go shouting about it.
But, season 1 means there's still Discord, The Changelings, and King Sombra. My guess is that none of them have ever seen a human before, either. Before I fell into this world, I never was able to help in any big ways. But here...it's a whole new game. And I know all the rules.
I get so lost in thought that I don't notice the rock that decides to trip me. I do notice, however, the ground I hit with my face. As I begin to get up, I see a pair of white hooves. And they are attached to the body of a pony.
A pony named Vinyl Scratch.
* * *
"Woah! You ok there? Whatever you are?" I get to my feet. Vinyl suddenly has to look up instead of down.
"Ow...yeah. I'm ok." She looks kind of surprised when I speak.
"Good. Like I said, what in Celestia's name are you? You look like a mon-"
"No. I'm not a monkey." That's the fifth time, I think. "I'm a human. Quinn. And you're Vinyl Scratch. DJ PON-3."
Her face was priceless! After picking her jaw up and dusting it off, she gave me the usual.
"Wha-how do yo-I mean-like-WHAT?"
"Lets just say I know a lot of things. For now, that's all I should really say. But I am glad I ran into you. You see..." I proceeded to explain my sound magic. By the time I was done, she had removed her goggles, and her eyes were huge.
"Oh my Celestia! C'mon! Lets go to my place!"
I follow Vinyl to a house on the very edge of town. She leads me through a swamp of cables and sound equipment. She opens the door to her backyard. Ways to describe the 'yard': football field. Her house was on the edge of town for a reason. Concerts.
As I recover from the sheer size of it, Vinyl is plugging in speakers, flipping switches, and pushing buttons. "Hey! Human! C'mon!" I snap out of my daze, and walk across what I now know is a stage.
"So you can absorb sounds? And direct them? And even see them?" I nod. "I'm jealous. Even I can't see sound... But anyway! What does this look like?" She pushes a button, and the speakers burst to life, pumping out a mild electronic song. I close my eyes, then open them again.
What I see is beautiful.
The waves I had been seeing up to this point were just single sounds, like a handclap, or a word. But the waves flowing out of those speakers had color, shape, and everything else in between. I gasped. Noticing this, Vinyl turns it way down. "Quinn? Are you ok?"
"Yes! I'm fine! Turn it back up! It's amazing!"
Oh my god. It looked like the air was water. Rainbow water.
The song ended, and I just looked at the white unicorn. "I can't even begin to tell you what that was like. It was...amazing."
"In that case, prepare yourself! I'm a bringin da wubs!" What I heard next sounded like dubstep. But what I saw...here. Let me make a list.
1. Low sounds are darker. 2. Loud sounds are less transparent. 3. Wubs look like a freaking laser being blasted out of the speakers. In color.
After telling Vinyl this, I asked for a song with very low bass. She selected a cd, and once it started, I pulled the waves in.
They felt alive. I could see them inside me, trapped. It felt GOOD!
Thinking back to when I blasted sound in the forest, I focused out into the sky, over the trees but not straight up. Raising my hand, I pushed one of the low sounds. Instantly, the wave shot out of my palm like a laser. It was accompanied with a sound so low that it was felt more than heard. Vinyl gasped. "What the buck? What was that?"
"I pushed one of the sounds from the music. Don't worry, I didn't hit anything. It went-"
"I saw it. It came out of your hand." Huh? I thought only I could see it? But she only saw it when I pushed.
I began pacing back and forth on the stage.
Well, magic can be seen. When a unicorn uses magic, their horn glows. But I don't have a horn, so then wha-
Once again, I hadn't been looking where I was walking, and fell off the edge of the raised stage. And fell. As a prepared to land, I put my hands out.
I was (unexpectedly) back in my element. I was going up, which was new for me. But I suppose its the same thing, just backwards.
But anyway. Now that I had a few minuets (I'd say at least four), what just happened? I fell off the stage, check. I turned so I could land on all fours, check. Land expertly and not get launched straight up into the sky, not check. I think I see the problem here.
I notice that I'm slowing down (slowing up?), and I begin my descent. Now I'm relaxed.
Wait. Relaxed. I realize all the other sounds from Vinyl's song are gone. And I was launched when I put out my hands. Processing. Processing.
I was launched from the waves being released from my hands. This gives me an idea. I begin to pull all nearby waves in to me. In my mind, I imagine them combining into one single wave. Now I feel only that one sound.
I force my hands below me. I don't really push the wave, just relax my mental grip on it. With a low boom, I begin going back up. This is awesome! I can practically fly!
I pull more waves and combine them, but this time, I divide the big one into smaller ones. I aim to the left. Bam! Now falling to the left, I release to the right. Bam! I roll over. Bam! Now I'm falling down much faster than before.
Using this new means of transportation, I locate Vinyl's field. Kind of hard to miss, really. Now falling towards it, I realize something. Landing. After thinking for a moment, I divide waves into minuscule size, only enough to push me about a foot left or right. As soon as I'm close enough, I start releasing them rapid-fire. Yes! It's working! I begin to slow down, until I'm barely moving at all. I stop the waves, and twist my legs down for a perfect landing. Hearing the thump, Vinyl emerges from her house, her eyes red.
[authors note. Yes I know her eyes are normally red, but this time it's because of crying.]
"Oh thank Celestia! Where did you go?" She runs over to me. I crouch down next to her. Had she been...crying?
"Vinyl? Are you ok?"
"Am I ok? Am I ok? You fell off the buckin stage and flew into the buckin air faster than I could say 'buck'! I thought you died! I thought you fell off my stage and died!" She grabs me in a hug.
I'm shocked. First of all because from what I knew of the DJ, she almost never showed much emotion. Second of all, because I wasn't used to any kind of serious emotion towards me.
She releases me from her grip. "Where did you go? And how did you even do that? All I saw was you go over, and then there was a 'whoom!' sound, and you streaked up in a blur!"
I explain to her what happened. Once again, she picks up her jaw, and hugs me again. "Weren't you scared? Falling is one of the scariest things ever!"
"Are you kidding? Falling is the best thing ever!"
"Well, if you say so."
It was getting near dinner time, and I said good bye to Vinyl, getting hugged several times in the process. As I step onto the cobblestone road, I remember that I don't have to walk. Smiling, I pull in nearby sounds. After combining and splitting them, I jump forwards. Whoom! Having aimed at an angle, I shoot across the town in an arc, releasing small waves when needed. I nearly take out what must be Rainbow Dash. My suspicions are confirmed when she follows me.
"Quinn? How are-you don't have any wing-what?" I was getting that a lot. Making sure she can see, I point up. I release a pretty big wave, shooting up so fast it almost hurts. Rainbow quickly joins me.
"How are you flying? You don't have any wings!"
"Oh, it's nothing special." I reply with a smile. I reach the apex of my flight. Quickly finding the library, I aim myself at it. 3...2...1... "It's just MAH BASS CANNON!"
I left Rainbow behind as I went faster than ever before. Ok, slowing down, more, more...
I practically float in front of the library. I break the waves into such small pieces that they won't move me. I release the rest, and land with a thump. As I entered the treehouse, a lavender blur nearly knocked me out. Ooof. More hugs? Sheesh.
"Twilight. Stop. I get it. And by the way, I can take care of myself. I'm not spike." This was followed by a "hey!" from the kitchen.
Twi released me from the death hug. "But where were you?"
"I just went for a walk. And met Vinyl Scratch. And learned how to fly."
"Well if that's all-wait, what? Vinyl? Flying?"
She gave me a look that said: EXPLAIN. NOW. I sighed.
"Why don't we go outside? C'mon!" I turn back to the door. With a huff, Twilight follows me out into the warm evening air.
I look around and spot an area of road completely clear.
"Now, Twi?"
"What?"
"Stand back"
I release all the sounds around me as one, firing myself up so fast that even I can't see for a moment. Up, and up, and up. Once I reach the top, I fire back down to the ground. I prepare to land, but then have a better idea. Using the small waves for support, I push up and forward right before I hit the ground. It worked! I was now 'sputtering' along the surface! Now this was flying!
Swerving around, I see Twilight, her mouth open in wonder. I spin as I glide to a stop next to her. Hovering. This is so cool! I land perfectly.
"So? What do you think?"
"I need to write a letter."
* * *
We return to the library, and Twi goes upstairs. She calls for spike to follow, but he hands me a scroll first.
"Before I got this, I got one saying to give this letter only to you."
I thanked the little dragon, and he went up after Twilight. I carefully opened the letter.
'Dear Quinn,
I am not blaming you for anything that happens. You did not try to come to this land. But I am required to make a decision. I do not know if I can trust you. I ask that you meet my sister and myself in the same meadow you were in today, at 11:00. Please do not be late.
That night I couldn't sleep. I sat by the window, gazing out at Luna's moon. A different moon than the one I was used to. It was strange to think about, another moon. Another sun even! This cartoon world had been disconcerting at first. But unlike the show, things were three-dimensional. It was difficult to wrap my mind around at first. I had to adapt to a world I knew how to adapt to.
I must have fallen asleep, because when I opened my eyes, sunlight was poking me right in the face. "Ughhh." I looked at the wall clock. 10:30. Oh crap! I'll be late!
Quickly leaving a note for Twilight, I grabbed my single coat and ran out the door. Sprinting behind the treehouse, I looked around. Good, nopony was in sight.
I jumped. Bam!
* * *
Coming to a stop about 2 minutes above the meadow, I let gravity do its work. I absorb plenty of waves for my landing. I wait until the very last moment, and land in a half-kneeling pose. At about a foot above the ground, I drop. Standing up, I raise my hands in the air, dispersing excess waves with a low hum.
I look around, and the two princesses emerge from the trees. "Thou are early."
I bow to the two sisters. "If I may ask, why does this meeting in secret?"
They exchange glances. "We are gust taking precautions. And testing you." Ahh, testing!
"We need to know if we really can trust you." Celestia's expression was grave.
"Alright then. What would you like me to do?"
"As you probably know, Applejack, the element of honesty, has a sense of lies and truth. We will ask you some questions, and she will confirm them. We will modify her memory afterword." I could tell she was uncomfortable with doing this. She turned to Luna and nodded. With a flash of light, the princess of the moon had vanished. After a moment, another flash revealed now two ponies, Luna and Applejack, a surprised look on her face. "Quinn? Where are we? Wha's going on?" She sees the princesses and immediately bows.
"Rise, Applejack. We apologize for taking you so suddenly, but it was necessary. When we ask Quinn questions, please tell us what your element tells you."
Applejack looks at all of us nervously. "Alright."
"Quinn, do you intend to hurt anypony in any way?"
"No. I do not." Applejack nods.
"It's the truth."
"Do you really know what will happen, both bad and good?"
"Yes." Once again, Applejack nods.
"At our last meeting, you mentioned several names. Names that only we know of. Names of evil. What do you know of them?"
At this point, I really am torn. If I tell them, the timeline will be forever changed. If I don't tell them, I know things will work out in the end, but they may not trust me.
"I know what will happen, but I can't tell you." Luna's face darkened, and her horn began to glow.
"Wait! Sister! Let him explain."
"If I tell you, I can't guarantee...harmony. Foreknowledge will cause unforeseen outcomes. The fact that you know the names already could have changed things! I won't risk telling you anymore."
After thinking about this for a moment, Celestia nods. "From what I know of the workings of time, you are correct." I sigh with relief.
"In light of these new facts, I believe you should have as little contact with ponies as possible." Luna and Applejack disappear again. "This forest is an ideal place for that."
"Perhaps I could make sure that the timeline stays accurate, and correct anything wrong? And after a certain point, my knowledge ends, meaning I won't need to worry about interfering."
"Yes. But you must promise that until then, you will not interact with others. I'm sorry to ask this of you, but it is necessary."
"I understand. And I agree. If major events occur as they should, I will stay out of it." Celestia smiled.
I sat down on a stump. How long would it be? Two months? *sigh*... But if being alone kept thousands of others from possibly being screwed up, it was worth it.
I began walking deeper into the forest. Even if I did get lost, I could always sky-hop back. In fact...
I jumped up and shot up. When I could see most of the forest, I used small waves to hover. Now I had a pretty good view of the entire forest, my new home. I could see plenty of big clearings and two large rivers. I chose a meadow with one of the rivers through it, and fired myself down to it. I landed in the center, but carefully. If I was going to live here, I shouldn't destroy it.
Yes. I would live here. Carefully launching back up, I made sure I could find it again. It was the only one with river, so it should be pretty easy.
I still had most of the day left, and I wanted to really learn how to use my magic. Gathering more waves than ever before, I launched towards what looked like a desert.
It turned out to just be a huge open flatland. But more importantly, unpopulated! I landed again.
After a moment to recover from the wind blasting into my face, I looked at the sounds around me. Not as many birds here, so not much birdsong. But in such a flat place, waves from far away could echo. I began taking in waves.
Flying and destroying things is great and all, but if this really is a form of magic, shouldn't I be able to do more? Come to think of it, I had no idea how unicorns normally used their magic. I stop pulling in waves, and I focus on one. I keep this one separate from the others. I visualized it as a small sphere. Without warning, a small, blue sphere appears in front of me. I look at it with amazement. I had just thought of it, and there it was! I poked it. It flew away from me like gravity didn't apply to it. I imagined it falling to the ground and rolling back to me. It fell, and rolled back! I made it into a cube, a pyramid, and then a sphere again. Picking up the baseball-like orb, I pictured it flying. It obeyed.
After a few minutes, it seemed to fade. It was more gray now, and was transparent. I pictured it disappearing. With a small 'pop!', it was gone. I thought about this for a minute. If I controlled waves with my imagination, I could create anything! Over the next few minutes, I formed a variety of objects from earth. A pencil, a soda can, a lightbulb, even a small one-story house! I imagined them all as waves again, and pulled them in.
So I could create things, but they would fade. Alright. I thought back to when I was at Vinyl's house. When she told me she could see the 'beam' coming out of my palm. I remembered what those waves had looked like. To be honest...they looked like freaking lasers. And that was cool. I imagined the waves inside me being in front of me. Not as anything, just waves. Mentally piecing them together, I tried to recreate what had been coming out of the speakers. The range of colors, the shapes, all of it! Once I had a whole bunch of cool looking combinations, I pulled on one of them. Yes. It felt different. Like before, it felt alive inside me. Raising my palm, I pushed on the wave.
A beam of pure sound erupted from my hand. The noise it made was like melodious scraping metal. A dead tree that was unintentionally in the path of the beam was destroyed. No, that doesn't do it justice.
It was fucking vaporized.
I stop pushing the wave. The beam stops. For a moment I just stare at my palm. It's slightly warm. I suppose it should be.
Inspired by these new 'powers', I form normal waves into several targets. I put them randomly around me. Then I blast them.
Spinning around, I fire my right hand, then the left, then right. Each time I destroy one, it explodes. Only one remains. Putting my wrists together, I take the combined waves, and visualize them as a sphere between my hands. I launch the glowing, screaming ball straight at the target. It explodes with such force that I fly backwards several feet onto my ass. I stand up and clean myself off.
The next two weeks were pretty calm. I built a small lean-to in my meadow. For food I mostly ate fruits and stuff. There was a small area that had wild potatoes, and I ate those too. Honestly, it wasn't that bad.
I learned that if I used waves like I did when I was flying, but toned it down a little, I could pull of stuff like backflips or jumps that would be impossible. I just use the waves to give little nudges. I became very comfortable with the Everfree. It was very calm, but full of sounds at the same time.
Most days, I would hop over to the flatlands where I practiced. There was almost never anypony there, so I was safe. I had been trying to see how many waves I could contain when I first listened to a wave. It was from a bird chirping, miles above me. That got me thinking...
I jumped back to the forest. I landed pretty close to the edge, but not close enough to risk being seen. On foot, I headed towards Ponyville.
I felt kind of silly hiding inside this bush. But it's not like anypony could see me... I looked at the waves around me. Then I LISTENED to them. I was bombarded by voices. I focused on one at a time, words tuning in and out like a radio. Finally, I heard Twilight's voice. "-op it, Spike! We don't have all day! Hurry up!" I didn't recognize these words from any episode in particular, but its not like I memorized every one!
I looked for her voice again, but it was lost in the jumble of sounds. Oh well.
I bounced back to my meadow. It was getting dark. I had some apples for dinner, and went to sleep.
* * *
My eyes opened. Fully rested, I jump to my feet. And fall down on my ass as I slip on the soapy suds covering the ground.
Discord.
Quickly, I stand up carefully, using small waves under my shoes to keep me from slipping. I put my coat on properly, and jump up.
As soon as I'm above the cloud cover, I build up enough waves to push me to Canterlot. I've never gone this far before, so I'll need as much sound as I can get. 3...2..1
BOOM!
Instantly, I'm flying so fast it almost hurts. I can see the castle in the distance. I have to adjust a few times, but I'm heading right for it.
I go right for what I know is Celestia's tower. I slow down and curve around it, landing right on the roof. On hands and knees, I crawl so that I can't be seen easily from the rest of the city.
Yes, it's Discord. Streets of soap and purple-checkered grass. It's almost funny!
* * *
It's been several hours. I'm getting hungry. Why didn't I bring food? Wait. Is that...? I focus on the waves coming from the huge palace maze below me.
"...and no magic! And everypony has to play. Or the games over, and I win!"
Oh man. I gotta see Discord.
Faster then ever before, I launch straight at the entrance. I fly straight into the bushes before I'm seen. I peek out. And there he is. Discord. Spirit of chaos. Or, at least his back.
Ok, this is the part where he disappears. I quietly shove my way through the bush and onto the other side. Lets see...the only other important parts of the episode take place back in Ponyville.
With that, I'm off again.
* * *
I've been in the upper branches of the library for a while now. I grabbed some food from the kitchen earlier, being careful not to wake up Spike. The chaos had escalated from before.
There! Twi and her corrupted friends just came over the hill! They made there way over to the treehouse and entered. I stayed perfectly still. Wait? What am I thinking? I have bucking sound powers for Celestia's sake! I cancelled all waves within about a foot of me. Now I could scream all I like. I look down into the room below. I couldn't hear a thing, but I saw Fluttershy slam the bucket on Twilight's head.
I couldn't help it. I cracked up. That was just so perfect!
Now they were fighting over the book with the elements. After a bit of a scuffle, Twilight had it. She opened it, found the elements, blah blah blah. I knew it'd be another couple of hours before they all got un-corrupted. Time for a power nap.
* * *
I woke op to shouting from outside. I poked my head out of the tree. Yikes!
I launched across the street, then dashed towards the six ponies, pushing myself with waves to run faster than anything ever could. I skidded to a halt behind a huge house of cards.
"-st go on and shoot me already! It's not like your silly elements will work! And when they DO fail, I'll tear your silly little limbs off!"
Woah, woah, woah! Stop! Discord is...talking about killing them? That's new! He always just wanted to cause chaos, not murder ponies! What's going on?
"Ready, everypony? Ok...go!"
The six mares rose up into the air, eyes glowing. From them flowed a huge rainbow, arcing towards Discord. He just laughed.
"Oh, I'm so scared! The pain! The pain!" It wasn't even touching him! There was some kind of bubble protecting him.
I can fix that.
With a slight boom, I dash behind him. Charging up mixed sounds, I fire repeatedly into the shield. It began to crack. I just kept firing. The repeated screeching was sort of beautiful. But no time for that now. One more.
Like before, I formed a sphere. I launched it dead center of his shield. It split and completely dissolved. My work is done.
I surveyed the scene below. After he lost his shield, Discord was hit with the full blast of the rainbow. A Discord statue now lay in the center of a small crater below. Good.
Bam. Zooming back across the forest, I look down to the familiar meadow. Back to normal.
Setting down, I walk over to my 'sitting stump'. I think about what happened. The timeline must have changed slightly because of something I did! Because of me, Twilight and her friends were going to be killed by Discord! Killed! And, he had more power than before! Harmony couldn't hurt him; it took me to do that. So it stands to reason that the changeling army and queen could be much more violent and powerful too! Because of me!
If anypony dies because of me, I will never forgive myself. I screwed up my life on earth. I won't screw up others here!
* * *
I worked on a better house over the next few weeks. It's more of a shed now. I've noticed the animals are more friendly towards me. I replicated a birdsong, attracting several birds.
Days flew by, and I fell into a routine. Wake up, train, eat, sleep. The same thing every day. I had found the ultimate training area in those flatlands. Partially open space, partially rocky, and a cliff face on one side. I became very good at using my magic. I started to develop reflexes around it.
After the third week, I began checking on Twilight daily, knowing she would be getting the invitation to her brothers wedding soon.
* * *
I nearly missed the arrival of the letter. I was checking on the six ponies as usual, when Spike came running to them. Holding a pair of scrolls. I tuned in to their voices.
I had been thinking about timey-wimey stuff, and I'm pretty sure that if I help fight the changeling army, I won't change anything big. I'll just have to stay out of sight.
It'll be at least a few days before the real wedding, so I headed back to the forest. If I could help, I would. And that meant I needed to be able to fight well.
More training!
* * *
Beam. Spin. Another beam to my left, then one to the right. Crouch. Jump with waves, firing down below me.
I landed in the center of the crater that had been forming around me. I dusted myself off.
I had mastered precision of the 'lasers', and could fight with normal waves as well. Living in the forest for two months had made me stronger.
I figured the wedding preparations were nearly done by now. I wave-jumped up to the cliff-top above me. From here, I could see Canterlot. Time to go.
I jumped.
* * *
I had positioned myself on the back of the next train about to pass thought the bubble shield. I really hoped this worked. 3...2...1.
I passed right through the pink wall. Instantly, I burst away so I wouldn't be seen. Wow. If it was that easy to sneak in, it's no surprise the Queen did it.
I zipped straight down, landing in a small alley with a perfect view of the castle. I remember from the episode that Celestia and Luna took turns watching from the high tower. I wouldn't be surprised if she saw me arrive. But she knew I had to have a good reason to be here.
I focused on the waves coming from the castle. Oh my god. I never thought I would hear it.
"This day is going to be perfect! The kind of day of which I've dreamed of since I was small..." I listened to the rest of the aria in awe. Though it was only the evil half, it was still amazing.
Oh, right. Evil.
I knew the wedding itself wasn't too far off now. I spent the next half hour in the back of the alley, waiting.
I was ready.
* * *
They began swarming the entire city. The first few waves went by, then a few stragglers. Two made the mistake of noticing me. I propelled a huge wave through the alley, throwing them far, far away.
I dashed out into the street, launching wave after wave into every changeling I saw. Boom boom boom. I made sure not to kill any of them. I don't like killing. And I despise killers.
After a few minutes, several royal gaurdsponies joined me, seeing that the swarms were not invincible. We took on wave after wave of the things.
The guards had this handled ( hoofed?), so I jumped to the base of the castle. Back into the fight!
Spinning and jumping, I danced as I fought. With something close to grace, I kicked and punched the impostors, eventually getting tackled and covered by a group of them. I waited. 3...2...1.
Shockwave.
Blasting those on me and around me with a shockwave big enough to ring down a building, I jumped to the platform above, using the shockwave to push me. It must have looked pretty cool, erupting out of that pile and flying straight up.
I landed in a crouch, and moved into the shadows so not to be seen. I listened to the voices.
"-and when I have finished feeding off of all of your love and friendship, well, an army needs more than love. We will drain all of you, and then we will devour you! One silly little pony at a time! And we will save you for last, Celestia! We will make you watch it all!!!"
I had to stop from throwing up right there. This was wrong. In so many ways.
What is happening? When did chrysalis become so violent? Killing?
My brain was trying to explode, but somehow, I kept it together. Using a trick I picked up in the forest, I listened to the waves from heartbeats in the room. Only two. Chrysalis and Celestia. I hope I don't regret what I'm about to do.
I stepped out into the light. The Queen had her back to me, looking out one of the huge windows on the other side of the room. Celestia was lying in front of her seat, tied in green ropes. She opened her eyes. When she saw me, I could see the fear in her eyes. Fear for her citizens.
I walked into the center of the great hall.
"You are a monster."
Surprised, the Queen turned away from the window. "Who, no, what are you? How did you get in here?"
I smirked. "If I were to explain, it would take a while. Lets skip that part. I know you, Chrysalis. You do not kill ponies."
She looked at me for a second, then laughed. "And if I do, I suppose you're going to stop me? I'd like to see you try, puny monkey!" Oh no she didn't.
"Yes. I know what was supposed to happen, and this is not it! The only explanation is that I caused a change." Her face was becoming more confused by the minute. "And if you kill ponies because of me, I will kill you."
"Oh please! Like I said, I'd like to see you try!"
I raised my hand. "You don't have to see it."
"You can hear it." I snapped my fingers.
I channeled every wave within five miles into the evil Queen. Needless to say, she went far, far away.
In a way, I was correcting the timeline. The Changelings were also caught in the blast and propelled who knows where. I rushed over to Celestia.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, I will recover. But you should not be here! You need to go!"
"I know, but don't worry. I can repair this. But we need Shining Armor and his true wife. Quickly!"
I run out the huge doors, and nearly trip over a white hoof. Shining's hoof. Perfect! I form waves under him and his wife and float them into the hall.
"Princess, can you alter their memories? It's vital that you can!"
She nods. "Yes, I can. I don't like to, but I will. What should they remember?"
I give her the details of how the episode ended. "Alright. This will take a moment." Her horn glows with light, and the newlyweds glow as well. After a moment, the light dies down.
"There. It is done. Now you must go! My student will return soon!"
"Goodbye. But I may see you again soon. My knowledge of the future is almost in sync with the present." I run to the balcony and jump up on the railing.
I awoke to the sounds of the forest around me. It felt good to just relax for a while. Yesterday's events had been troubling to say the least. My presence was having a bigger effect than I originally thought. And if the pattern continues, King Sombra will be much worse than the last two.
That reminded me that I had no idea how long it would be until the Crystal Empire returned. It could be days, weeks, or today! I would guess about a week, though. Just a gut feeling.
I wasn't sure I wanted to even observe the empire, in case Sombra WAS much more violent and powerful. But as the cause for this, it was my duty to make sure it was as accurate as possible.
My fight with the Changelings had revealed that I had physical prowess as well as magical. I added runs to my routine, and started practicing punches and kicks on wave-formed dummy opponents (both human AND ponies).
* * *
Every day, I would go up in the sky and just fall for a while. Not anywhere in particular, just falling. It helped me think.
One day, I went especially high. And I saw it. To the north, in the snowy part of Equestria. A glittering tower, rising above all.
Damn. That was, what? A week? A week and a half? This shit was happening so fast.
I decided to wait. No need to go shooting off into the snow, right? Aw, fuck it. I shot myself in a loopy curve before heading north.
I landed on top of the sparkling spire, looking down below. In the distance, I could see several ponies that just made it through the blue shield protecting the city. Twilight and da cru? Yes, it certainly was them. Only one pony has that much pink.
I dove off the tower, spotting an alley that looked nice enough. What was with me and alleys recently? I knew that if Twi and her friends were just arriving, it would be a while. Time for a power nap.
* * *
When I next awoke, it was dark. Excellent!!
Stretching, I stand up. Time to explore. Taking a running start, I do a front-flip into the night air. Soaring up, I look around.
I have to stop for a moment to really admire the way the moonlight reflected all around the crystal city. In some places, it even looked like daytime! It was true beauty. I can see why Rarity liked it so much.
I spend the rest of the night looking around. It was like being a ninja. With freaking super-powers.
I had never really thought about it that way. How would I be seen with these powers back on earth? Hmmmm...
I eventually return to the alley, near dawn. I curl up in the back, where I won't be seen.
* * *
My usual dream is Interrupted by a large amount of black crystal shooting out of the ground. Up and out!
The siege has begun. The blackness is slowly spreading inward from the south gate. I needed to help! But what could I do?
Out of curiosity, I landed in an area fully overridden with the blackness. Charging up, I fire a combined soundwave into it. It blasts a hole clear through it. Good to know. Next, I try to make as low a sound as possible. CRACK!
The crystals all around me have been shattered. But not by brute force. It's like they shook them selves apart.
I hear a loud growl from the sky above. It's Sombra! He's going after the Heart! How could I be so unobservant! It had just gone over the edge of the tower. Any second now, Cadence would come shooting out to grab it. Any second now.
Fuck.
Sombra had the heart. I knew I was going to have to interfere. It was ok, wasn't it? It's not like I knew the future after this point! I spun into the air, charging up as many waves as I could.
"King Sombra!" He turned his black head toward me.
"Fight me! Fight me, and I bet this entire kingdom you can't beat me!" I've landed next to him on the balcony. He's tall. His horn is above my head.
He looks at me and just laughs. "I will fight you because it amuses me! I agree to your silly terms! For I will win, as I always have!"
I rose into the air, and he followed on a pillar of black crystal.
When we reached the top of the tower, we both stepped onto the platform.
He attacked first, causing spikes of crystal to grow around me. I simply jumped up and out of the circle.
I was forced to dodge small bullets of crystal being pelted at me. I caught one of them with my bare hand. Now I had his attention. He was getting angry.
Blast after blast of magic was hurled from his curved horn. I just jumped and skipped around them in a dance. A hop, skip, and a jump!
I landed, and spun to face him. "Are you done?" He just looked at me.
"Good."
I promptly blasted him off the platform. Running after him, I joined his fall. Pushing myself past him, I saw the look of fear on his face.
Once below, I rolled and began blasting with both hands. Not to kill, just huge waves. As we approached the ground, I slowed to let him pass. With one final blast, I fired into his back. That was not a normal wave. I destroyed him, leaving a crater below. I landed in the center of the crater.
I had won. I had saved Equestria. Not only that, but I could live in the land I just saved normally again. I could be with my friends.
"We are gathered here today in memory of Quinn." They were gathered on top of a hill outside Ponyville. It looked like the whole of Equestria had gathered in one place. Twilight Sparkle had stepped up to the podium.
"Most of you know about him and the things he did to protect ponykind. He came here with knowledge of our future. To protect us from harm, he spent several months living in the Everfree forest. His presence had already affected events. Somehow, something caused evil forces to become much more powerful and violent. Discord, The Changelings, and king Sombra were, according to Quinn's foreknowledge, not supposed to be bloodthirsty killers. But they were. Quinn saw this and secretly aided us. After defeating Sombra and saving the Crystal Empire, he was able to end his solitude and return to Ponyville. From then on, Quinn, a complete stranger in this world, swore to protect and defend us. For twenty years he fought the forces of evil. But he was more than a warrior. He was a friend, and I am honored to know that I was one of his many friends. He had magic beyond anything ever seen in this world. With all his power, he could have easily overpowered us all. But he was kind and loving, something he told me not all humans would be if they were here. From what I was told of his race, humans have no magic. Instead, they have weapons that could destroy and kill. Death and crime were daily occurrences there."
At this, some of the ponies looked amazed and scared.
"Yes, I know it's hard to believe. A world of violence and hatred seems impossible. But it's true."
She pauses for a moment, checking her notes. She sighed, crumpling up the parchment.
"Quinn only dreamed one thing. Falling. His entire life, he spent his sleep falling. He was relaxed while falling. It was his element. And at the age of fourteen, Quinn fell and died."
The crowd gasped.
"He kept falling. But he fell into this world. I still don't understand it completely, but he fell into Ponyville. After I met him, we discovered he had an unknown magic inside him. A magic of sound."
"He stayed for only a short while, before disappearing. I now know that he had begun living in the forest to protect us from future knowledge. But he was always watching. Waiting for the three evils he knew of. Secretly, Quinn helped us defeat Discord, the Changelings, and finally returning to fight king Sombra. He swore to protect the throne and ponykind forever."
At this point, Twilight starts crying softly. Fluttershy flaps to her side with a hoof-ker-chif. "Th-thank you, Flutter-sh-shy." But she shakes off the tears, determined to finish.
"Over the years, Quinn defended against the forces of evil. He battled every inhabitant of Tartars, and then some. He defeated Discord another two times, and prevented the return of the Changelings. He kept Equestria safe."
"But three days ago, Quinn was forced to go to war against evil again. Three evil beings, formed out of pure smooze. To defeat them and destroy the smooze, he sacrificed his life." The tears started again, this time others crying as well.
"His b-body was n-n-not found. The b-blast was too g-great." She dried her tears.
"But he left something for us. One final thing. In his world, much of the culture is associated with music. Using his powers, he recreated a song from his memory. Vinyl, if you would please."
Vinyl Scratch pressed a button, and the speakers hummed to life. Soft sounds filled the air, and then, words.
"When she was just a girl, she expected the world."
"But it flew away from her reach, so she ran away in her sleep."
"And dreamed of para, para, paradise. Para, para, paradise."
"Every time she closed her eyes."
And from the sky above, the music was joined by the voice and sounds of another. With the final note, something crashed into the ground. The dust cleared, and a figure climbed out of the crater.
"Uhh...hi everypony. What's going on?"
Twilight gasped upon hearing the voice. "Quinn!" She galloped over to him, helping him stand after the rough landing.
"But...how? How are you alive? You were blown to bits..."
The man just laughed. "You think I'd die that easily? No, no. Just a bigger blast than I expected, that's all! Now tell me, why are there so many ponies here?"
Twilight just looked at him. "This...is your...memorial service." She said sheepishly.
Quinn did a double-take. "You mean...my FUNERAL?" Then he roared with laughter. "We'll have to check THAT off my list! And wow! I didn't expect this many ponies to know or care that much about me..."
Princess Celestia stepped forward. "Almost everypony knows of you. The other races as well. In short, you are legendary."
"Well! How about that!" The man walked up to the podium and looked all across the crowd. "I'd like to thank you all for being here. Even though you thought I was dead, I'm still proud to count ponies as my friends."
"Now, to be completely honest, I really don't like sad parties. Vinyl! Hit it!"
