> Otherworldly
>  by twisparkle95
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue: Day 0
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Spike, could you get me that book on Changelings I bought last week?" Twilight called while searching through some shelves.

"Sure thing, Twilight.  But why are you so obsessed anyway? You kicked all the changelings out last week," Spike asked as he claimed the ladder leading to the newest addition to Twilight's library.

"I know. But we never know when they could come back, so I want to be prepared," Twilight replied as she walked towards the ladder.

At that point there was a knock on her door. It was the mailmare, Derpy Hooves with a letter from her brother. Shining Armor and Princess Cadance were on their honeymoon in Bridaly and this time, Shining had sent her a picture of them next to the Leaning Tower of Pony. She smiled as she set the envelope, letter, and picture into the organized piles she had made. Spike had just returned with the book, Changeling and Pony Relations over the Ages and promptly gave it to Twilight. She was about to begin reading when Spike began to look a certain kind of queasy, which usually meant a letter was on its way. When it burst from his maw as expected, she caught it in her telekinesis and levitated the letter away from the green flames released upon its arrival. She read it aloud:

'Dear Twilight Sparkle,
Because of your recent assistance regarding the Changeling invasion at the Royal Wedding and the current calm in Equestria's foreign relations, I am releasing you for the week from any academic studies you may be engrossed in. Spend some time with your friends and take some much needed relaxation time.
Sincerely, Princess Celestia'

"That's great, Twilight! Now you can go to Pinkie's party tomorrow! How 'bout we go over to Sugarcube Corner to celebrate?" Spike jumped.

"I would like to, Spike, but I've fallen behind on some books I've wanted to read because of the wedding and now I have books on the Changelings I need to read, too."

"Come on! The Princess gave you the whole week off to spend with your friends! The least you could do is spend at least some time off."

"But..." Twilight sighed. "Alright Spike, fine. I'll only read one full length academic book a day. This does not include casual reading though, okay?"

"Deal!" Spike exclaimed with a smile.

Twilight sat down, opening her book to the first page. After about another hour there was another knock on her door. Spike answered it this time.

"Hey there, Spike. How ya doin'?" The orange mare on the other side said.

"Good! Princess Celestia gave Twilight the week off so she's upstairs reading about Pony and Changeling relations."

Applejack walked into the library and towards the stairs. "Ah could be wrong, but isn't that a little backwards?" she asked with a confused look.

"Well, it's better than her original plan. She was going to read every changeling book in the library before that letter arrived," Spike followed Applejack up the stairs.

"Well, that's Twi for ya," Applejack shook her head. "Hey there, sugarcube! I was wonderin' if you wanted to come to Fluttershy's cottage with me, she was wantin' to show me some new baby animals. At first I wasn't so sure, but Granny practically chased me out of the house with a broom to make me take some time off. So I figured, who else could need some time off but probably isn't taking it? Turns out I was right when I guessed you."

"That's nice. Have fun with Fluttershy, but I'm too busy to go," Twilight replied with no regard to her tone of voice.

Applejack and Spike gave each other a look. Spike spoke up first.

"Princess Celestia gave you the week off. I really think this is exactly what she didn't want you doing with your time."

"Well, I'm sorry, but I can't just abandon my studies. Besides, we had a deal didn't we?"

"Well yeah, but-"

"No buts! Now let me concentrate," Twilight snipped.

"Now sugarcube, no need to be so mean. Spike and I are only trying to help you relax after what you went through at the wedding," Applejack walked toward Twilight.  She didn't respond to the farmer's words or approach but just kept reading.

Spike sighed. "It's no good Applejack. Let's go back downstairs."

Back downstairs, Spike and Applejack said their goodbyes as Applejack left to head to Fluttershy's cottage. Spike picked up his broom and began to clean the library.

A few hours later, Twilight finished reading the book and set it down. "Good. Now, to write a report on this to make sure the information sticks," A purple aura surrounded a quill, a bottle of ink, and a piece of parchment and the three items were pulled across the room to Twilight's desk.

"Pony and Changeling Relations, A Report," Twilight recited as she wrote it. "Before the days of Equestria, during the time when the three pony races did not get along, Changelings were rarely sighted. This is because there was much discontent during that time, so the emotion of love that Changelings feed off of was too weak to sustain a population of Changelings."

A green flash from downstairs drew her away from her work. "Spike! Is everything okay?" She called down the stairs. There was a delay in his response.

"Twilight! Quick! It's an emergency!" Spike shouted. Twilight ran down the stairs and took the letter from Spike. It was obviously from Celestia, but it was hastily written and lacked her usual greeting and closing.

Come to Canterlot immediately bring your friends is all it said. "This must be huge. What could be happening with the Princess that she would write a letter like this?" Twilight thought. "Spike, you go get Fluttershy and Applejack and bring them to the station. I'll get Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash."

Spike left without a word and headed towards Fluttershy's cottage. Twilight headed in a different direction, towards Carousel Boutique. She slammed the door open in a hurry and began shouting for Rarity.

"No need to shout darling, I'm coming," Rarity replied in a calm voice as she descended the stairs from her work room. "I'm sorry, it's an emergency!" Twilight said and showed her the letter.

"Oh my! What could be happening?"

"I don't know. Look, I have Spike getting Fluttershy and Applejack. I need to track down wherever it is Rainbow Dash is though. Could you go to Sugarcube Corner and get Pinkie Pie, please?"

"Sure thing, darling. I'll meet you at the station, okay?"

"Thanks, Rarity!" And with that, Twilight was off again to track down the prismatic mare. The skies were clear which meant that Rainbow Dash had finished taking care of the weather for the day, and was probably sleeping. Twilight saw Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon nearby and hurried over to them.

"Have either of you seen Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked not even trying to hide her distress.

"No, sorry. I think she said something about visiting Zecora though," Bon Bon replied with a thick Manehattan accent.

"WHAT! THAT'S OVER AN HOUR AWAY! I NEED RAINBOW NOW!" Twilight shrieked and ran towards the Everfree Forest trying to catch up to Rainbow Dash. Lyra and Bon Bon shrugged at each other and continued on their way. Twilight continued on her mad dash to Zecora's hut. Trees whizzed by her as she galloped towards the hut.

She arrived just as Rainbow Dash was about to leave. "Rainbow!" she shouted.

"What's wrong, Twilight?" Rainbow asked.

"Canterlot! Princess! NOW!" was all Twilight could say between gasps. She turned around and began running back to Ponyville. Rainbow Dash gave Zecora a look and took off after Twilight. The only reason the purple unicorn didn't collapse from the exhaustion screaming from her body was the adrenaline coursing through her blood. Because of her hunt, they missed two trains to Canterlot. They arrived at the train station and Twilight immediately collapsed. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Spike, Applejack, and Fluttershy were already there waiting. There was another ten minutes before the next train to Canterlot left.

"Can you tell me what's going on, Twilight?" Rainbow asked a little annoyed about being left in the dark.

"Give 'er a minute, sugarcube. Can't you see she's exhausted?" Applejack said.

"The problem is guys, we CAN'T tell you what's going on," Spike said as he picked up Celestia's letter from the panting Twilight Sparkle on the ground. "This is the letter we got from Princess Celestia," he showed the others the letter.

"What do you think could be wrong?" Fluttershy asked.

"Maybe Luna was kidnapped by a horde of rampaging parasprites and now Celestia needs us to go rescue her and then throw a party celebrating our successful mission?" Pinkie guessed jumping up and down.

"Oh no. Do you think Princess Luna is okay?" Fluttershy asked.

"Ah'm sure she's fine, sugarcube. Pinkie just likes to get excited. We'll find out when we get to Canterlot," Applejack said. She started to fan Twilight with her hat to help her recover from her run. The train arrived and the seven of them boarded it. Spike sent a reply to the Princess telling her that they were on their way. He didn't get a response.

By the time the train arrived, Twilight had mostly relaxed, but now it was time to hurry to Canterlot Castle. Celestia was waiting for them in the entrance hall. She had a frazzled look to her.

"Thank you all for coming. I'm sorry, but could I see Twilight alone first?" Celestia asked. Twilight ascended the staircase and followed the Princess to the tower where the Elements of Harmony were kept. There were more guards than usual placed outside to make sure no one got in.

"What's going on, Princess? What's so wrong that you'd need to write such a hastily written letter?" Twilight asked.

"This," was all Celestia said as she opened the door to the hall. Everything looked fine except for a white light in the center of the room. Its general shape was that of a circle, but it's true shape was constantly morphing. It never remained still. Twilight was awestruck as she approached it. She circled around it, mouth agape. It was two dimensional, invisible when looked at at its side.

"What is it?" Twilight asked.

"I don't know," Celestia answered as she approached her student. "While I was waiting for you and your friends, I tried various spells to find out what it was, but none of them could tell me. I even stuck my head through it, but it just came out on the side you were on."

"You mean, like this?" Twilight jumped through it with her closed eyes. When she opened them she was still in the room. Nothing had happened.

"Precisely. If I had to guess, I would say that it was an incomplete spell," Celestia postulated. "Which brings me to why I needed the six of you. I want you and your friends to use the Elements of Harmony on it to see if they can complete it."

"No problem! We'll definitely do it!" Twilight responded. "You get the Elements ready while I get my friends up here."

Twilight returned to the entrance hall to see her friends pacing in circles. They followed her back to the tower where Celestia was waiting with the Elements.

"What in the world is that?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"It looks scary," Fluttershy nervously muttered.

"I think it looks rather gorgeous," Rarity said, eyes widening.

"Whee! It kinda looks like jello! Is that what it is?" Pinkie jumped in excitement.

"Ah wouldn't get too close Pinkie. It doesn't look too safe." Applejack cautiously approached it.

Twilight repeated everything Celestia had explained to her. After she had finished, the six of them put on their Elements and stood in a circle around it with Spike and the princess waiting outside of it. Their Elements began to glow as they prepared to use them. They began to lift off the ground as their Elements brought up a gust of wind. A strand of light from each began to tendril out towards the new, unnaturally magical object in the center of the room. Red from Rainbow Dash, orange from Applejack, yellow from Pinkie Pie, green from Fluttershy, blue from Rarity, and purple from Twilight Sparkle.

The circular, powerless object began to flash colors matching those from the Elements. It cycled the six colors faster and faster. It became brighter and brighter with each flash. It eventually became white again and the light that shone from it was bright enough to be seen from Cloudsdale. Ponies' eyes all over Equestria were drawn to the light. The seven ponies and one baby dragon couldn't keep their eyes open. Eventually a voice came from it.

"H-hello? Is anyone there?" the voice paused. "I-I come in peace. Please, I need help!" it cried. The room's occupants couldn't see it. But slowly, a hoof began to come out of the now finished portal.
> Day 1: New Body, New World
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the light began to fade, the ponies slowly opened their eyes. The portal had disappeared, but on the floor lay a collapsed pony. They approached him as he started to groan and move. He opened his eyes and his first thought was how pretty the tiles on the floor looked. He slowly shifted his gaze up, but stopped when he noticed the ivory hooves he was staring at.

"Are you okay?" a gentle voice from above him asked. His head quickly rose to the source of the voice. Before him stood a very regal looking... pony? Unicorn? Pegasus? What? From her attire he could tell that she must be some kind of nobility. She had a flowing mane with ethereal colors in it. Wait a minute...

"YOU JUST TALKED! But you're a horse. Horses don't talk!" he shouted.

"Hey! Don't talk to the princess like that!" another, more brash voice said. He turned his head to see a light blue pony with a rainbow mane glaring at him. At least this one was easy to identify. Clearly a pegasus, no confusing horn to throw off his guess. At least he was right about one thing. The white one was nobility, a princess no less!

"I'm sorry... I didn't know." He could feel himself shaking. "But still, talking! I've never met a talking horse!"

"You must not be from around here are you?" the white one asked.

"No, I'm sorry." He lowered his head.

"There's no need to apologize. You seem just as confused about this as we are. Just take your time and let's figure out what we can. Are you okay?" the white one said. So gentle. So nice. There must be a reason she is the leader. At the moment, she seems trustworthy.

"I, uhm. I think so?" he stammered out.

"Good. Can you tell us your name?" the white pony said.

"My name... My name is... Wait... Why can't I remember my name!?" he cried. "I can remember everything else. My whole life until this point, at least, I THINK it's my whole life... but I can't remember my name."

"That is unfortunate to hear. Can you stand?" she asked.

"Oh yeah ri-HOOVES! WHERE DID THESE COME FROM? WHERE DID MY HANDS GO?" he shouted.

"Excuse me?" the white one looked puzzled.

"What is happening? Why do I look like this? Am I a horse too? ..." he rambled question after question without letting anyone get a word in edgewise.

"Reminds me of someone else Ah know," a new voice said. He stopped asking questions and turned.

"Who?" asked a second new voice. The two horses talking were an orange one with a yellow mane wearing a hat with no horns or wings, a basic horse, and the other was a purple unicorn with a purple mane.

"I take it something has happened to your body?" He turned his attention back to the princess.

"Uhm, yes. I used to have two legs... and two arms. With hands and feet instead of four hooves," he replied.

"Oh, brother! Not another one!" the blue one said. He turned and gave her look mixed with confusion and a bit of annoyance.

"What do you mean?" he asked. The purple unicorn tried to stop the blue pegasus, but there was nothing that could stop her next words.

"You're obsessed with humans! They aren't real! They're just old mare's tales!" she said.

"Hey! Who are you to tell ME that I'm not real! YOU'RE the one who isn't real to me. There's no such thing as blue pegasi who fly around saying nasty comments without any regard to how annoying they are!" he retorted back. The pegasus began to zoom towards him to get in his face but a yellow aura surrounded her.

"Spike? Would you mind looking after Rainbow Dash outside please?" the princess asked. He looked around and found a small purple... DRAGON? follow the floating pegasus out of the room. So her name is "Rainbow Dash" and that dragon's is "Spike".

"Would you mind describing that portal spell you used?" the princess asked.

"Sure. Well, back where I'm from I was in... well... a situation I'm not comfortable discussing and that portal spell was my only means of escape. Unfortunately, I had already been using so much magic so I was weak. All I could was make an entrance but not an exit. I was trapped in the nexus between worlds without a way out because there's no way for my magic to recharge there. If I had to guess, I'd say that I'm in a total different world than the world I'm from," he retold.

"And how long were you in there?"

"Only a couple of hours. I'm thankful you were able to help me in my escape, um... Miss...?"

"My sincerest apologies! It is rude of a host to not introduce herself to her guests. My name is Princess Celestia. I am not, however, the one responsible for your release. You have the five ponies in this room plus Rainbow Dash for that," she explained.

"My name is Twilight Sparkle," the purple unicorn stated.

"Ah'm Applejack," the orange mare said.

"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!" A pink pony with a pink mane popped up. "I need to start planning your 'Welcome to our world' party!" And with that she just started bouncing around the room.

"Don't mind her darling, she's like that. I'm Rarity," a white unicorn with an expertly styled purple mane and tail said.

"And I'm Fluttershy," a voice squeaked. He looked around trying to find the source of the voice, but couldn't find it.

"Ahem. Behind you," Twilight said. He strained to turn his neck far enough to see behind him. There, he saw a yellow pegasus with a pink mane.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't know you were there." He struggled to try and turn his body around, but it was difficult due to his strange new appendages. Eventually he was facing her. "What was your name again?" he asked.

"Fluttershy," she said after a delay. 'Shy' is right.

"And what may we call you?" Celestia asked. He attempted to turn around again, but after some time the Princess just walked around to be in front of him.

"I don't know. Remember?" he replied lowering his face in sadness.

"So we'll give ya a name!" Applejack said. He lifted his face and then quickly buried it in his front leg to hide his tears.

"Hmm..." Twilight said circling him. "Well, you're an alicorn like the Princess, you've got a ring on your horn, you have light brown fur and a dark brown mane, and your cutie mark is some blue light coming from a blue gem that matches the one in your ring on your horn..."

None of this was clicking. All of it kept bouncing off of him and he didn't know which piece to pick up first. He decided to start with his appearance. Not too hard to grasp. He had dark brown hair as a human so this wasn't too hard a concept. Next was the ring. A wave of relief washed over him. He was so worried that it might not have made into this world. Without it, he wouldn't have been able to use magic. What was next? His 'cutiemark'? He had no idea what that was anyway. He did understand it's meaning though. Whenever he used magic, the sapphire in his ring would glow. That just left the "alicorn" bit. An alicorn like the princess... If the princess wasn't an ordinary pony like Applejack or Pinkie Pie, or a pegasus like Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy, or even a unicorn like Twilight Sparkle or Rarity, what was she? An alicorn. She had both wings and a horn...

"I HAVE WINGS?!" he exclaimed. His comment shocked the room's other occupants who had become engrossed in coming up with a name.

"He clearly still has questions. Rarity? Maybe you could help him a little," Twilight said.

"Sure thing, darling." Rarity left the group. "What do you want to know about?" she asked him.

"Okay, so with wings I can fly, correct?"

"Correct."

"That's weird though. I didn't have wings as a human. I mean, I had some flight spells. Could it be because... no! Don't mind me."

"I'm sorry, but I don't feel comfortable with you leaving some details out. This is the second time you started to explain but never did."

"I'm sorry, but if you knew the first one, you'd be scared of me. And if you knew the second... you'd probably exile me and shove me right back through that portal."

Rarity's face made a sudden change from inquisition to worried concerned. "Are you sure you're okay, darling?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. I just... I can never tell ANY of you those details. I promise I'm safe. I won't hurt any of you." He mumbled this next bit under his breath, "not WILLINGLY anyway..."

"What was that?"

"Nothing! So, um, what are those horns for? Do they have a function? Or are they for aesthetic reasons? Is this a society whose classes are MUHP!" He put a hoof over his mouth. "Sorry I almost started to ramble questions again. But what I was gonna ask is if this is a society where the classes are determined by the species of pony you were?"

"Well, a horn is how unicorns and alicorns use magic. And to answer you're second I'm going to try to quote my high school social studies teacher. Ahem 'Equestria is an egalitarian society where all are equal in class level'. Although, without wings, one might find it hard to do any of the weather controlling jobs the pegasi usually do, and without a horn, it is impossible to control the sun and moon like Celestia and her sister do."

"So this world is called Equestria?"

"Country. Equestria is one country in this world."

"Oh, okay. So Celestia has a sister?"

These questions continued back and forth with Rarity answering questions as best she could. Most of it was just simple, basic trivia. After a few minutes, the naming group disbanded and returned to his side.

"We came up with the name... Sapphire Spell!" Twilight announced. He was a little less than impressed.

"Sapphire Spell? Doesn't that sound kind of... girly?" he responded.

"I'm sorry. It's not like we had much to go on," Twilight said a little disappointed at his displeasure.

"Well, it fits I guess. If it weren't for the Sapphire in my ring, I wouldn't be able to use spells. And I AM the most potent magic user I know. I don't know of anyone who can make a portal that jumps worlds!"

"What was that about your sapphire?" Twilight asked.

"Well, in my world, everyone has the POTENTIAL to use magic, but very few ever accomplish it. It's such a rare talent, that only about a million people out of seven billion can use it. And the remainder of those seven billion? They don't even know magic exists! It's kept secret from them. People can only use magic if they have a special magical artifact. These come in many forms. I know someone who has a sword, someone with a necklace, a gauntlet, and even another ring bearer like myself. Oh yeah, it's easy to find other magic users in my world once you're one yourself. Once you get a magic artifact, it becomes "loyal" to you. Only you can use it until your death and then it remains powerless until someone else comes along and picks it up. Magic is limited though. If you use too much, it can drain your physical energy and eventually even lead to death if overexerted. You have to let it recharge before you can safely use it again. Well, that just about covers the basics."

"Can we see you use some magic?" Twilight asked.

"Sure," he replied. He closed his eyes and tried to send magical energy to his ring. Nothing happened though. Sapphire couldn't feel anything. He concentrated harder, searching his body for what was wrong. He couldn't feel any magic from inside his body. He felt a force outside. He figured that it was the princess and her powerful magic. He opened his eyes.

"I can't! I don't know why, but I can't tap into my magic. I can't even feel it!"

"Maybe because you're in our world, you use your magic the way that we do now," Twilight suggested. Celestia, Twilight, and Rarity explained how unicorns used magic in this world. They envision the spell they wish to cast and push it out using their horn as a conduit. Sapphire attempted this but this too failed.

"My magic is gone! How am I supposed to get back home now!" he cried and hung his head.

"It's okay, we'll figure this out. Maybe you'll have better luck flying. Fluttershy? Could you help him?" Twilight said.

"I'm sorry, my neck is really starting to hurt. Can you teach me how to stand up first?"

"Ah've got this," Applejack said. After several minutes of Sapphire failing to stand and stumbling over, he eventually managed to pull off a shaky standing position. Next it was time to walk, and time to go back to square one. Sapphire fell over right away and took a long time to stand back up. He eventually managed being able to stand and take slow steps. Next, Fluttershy taught Sapphire to fly.

Standing still he managed to open his wings. He gave them a few flaps to get used to them. Then, he started to flap them continuously, just like Fluttershy had taught him. A wave of dread came over him when he failed to feel the lifting sensation she had described. So he started to flap faster. And faster. And faster still. When this failed, he even tried to jump to force it to work. He fell flat on his face.

"I can't fly either," he said, face still attached to the ground.

"What's going on, princess? Why can't he use his magic or fly?" Twilight asked.

"I'm not sure," was all she could say.

"Great! I'm an alicorn with wings and a horn, and BOTH are defective," he said, legs shaking as he stood up.

"Maybe there's something in the world that can help him?" Rarity suggested.

"Before we go any further, I'd like to work out where you'll be living while in Equestria," Princess Celestia began. "I would suggest Ponyville with the other ponies. They can help you adjust and this exchange of knowledge from a foreigner could certainly be useful."

"I agree, princess. This presents a wonderful learning opportunity," Twilight chimed in.

"In that case, Twilight, would you mind taking him in with you?"

"Sure, princess! Come on girls, Sapphire, let's go back home."

Sapphire watched as four of them took off necklaces that were similarly shaped and colored to the marks on their flanks. He turned to look at his own and recognized what Twilight had described earlier. So this must be a 'cutiemark'. The door to the hall opened to allow a fifth necklace to enter encased in a yellow aura. Twilight took off the crown she was wearing and gave it to the Princess. Sapphire noticed that Celestia's horn was glowing the same yellow as the jewelry. So that's how magic is identified and used. Then Sapphire felt a jolt pass through his mind.

"Hold on a minute!" he said and slowly approached the jewelry. "These aren't normal are they? They have great magical power within them right? These must be what completed my portal here!"

"Almost correct. While these are powerful objects, they are only so when the six ponies are wearing them. The power of their friendship and cooperation is what powers these, the Elements of Harmony. Their combined power is what brought you here," Celestia explained.

'Elements of Harmony'. These three words rang in his mind. THIS was the force he had felt earlier. So, he couldn't use magic, but his magical sense was still intact. There was more though. It was almost as if he knew something about them. No... THEY knew something about HIM! But they weren't telling. Sapphire shook his head and turned away. "I'm sorry. I just, got a weird feeling from them. They're the second most powerful things I've ever felt."

"What's the first?" Rarity asked.

"Secret number two."

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Soon enough, Sapphire, Spike, and the six ponies were on a train heading to Ponyville. During the walk to the station, Rainbow Dash had remained in the front with Sapphire Spell in the back to try to avoid problems, but Rainbow Dash still complained about how slow he walked. When they returned, all but Rainbow Dash wanted to spend time with him, but Twilight shooed them away, taking him to get accustomed to his new home in her library. He was too exhausted to even notice where he was.

After dinner, she walked up to him with a present. "I thought this might help you collect your thoughts," she said.

He had difficulty adjusting to using his hooves as hands, but eventually managed to open the present to reveal a journal.

"A journal? Let me guess... so I can write down all I learn while in this world, right?" he asked.

"Correct. I figured being here must stressful. So this will help you collect your thoughts in an organized way," she explained.

"Thank you, Twilight. I just wish I knew how to write with these hooves!"

After learning how to write with his mouth with mediocrity, he began to write:

"Day 1: New Body, New World..."
> Day 2: Twilight Sparkle
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sapphire Spell awoke with the sun on his face. The guest room in Twilight's house was plenty large enough and filled with... books? Lots of books! Shelves and shelves of them! How had he noticed them before? From floor to ceiling, books! From left to right, books! He got up and left the room. From room to room, books! Twilight Sparkle came in from the kitchen and saw him spinning in circles.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"There are no words..." was all he responded with.

She smiled. "So I take it you enjoy reading?"

"Of course! Once I discovered magic, all I wanted was to know more! I had spent my life reading fantasy books about it and just loving them. Then I found out I could actually USE magic, and I was off on a marathon. But this is a new world! The books here are the likes of which my world has never seen. I have to record as much knowledge down as I can before I leave!"

"How did you not notice them before?" she asked.

"I was exhausted last night. All I wanted to do was sleep. But now that I'm seeing all this with fresh eyes, it's astounding!"

"That's great! Spike's made breakfast so go ahead and have some. I have some work from yesterday that I need to finish up," she said and walked upstairs. Sapphire entered the kitchen and saw Spike savoring an emerald before gnawing on it. Sapphire made up a plate of pancakes and sat down at the table.

"I take it dragons eat gems?" Sapphire asked. Spike swallowed a bite before he responded.

"Yeah. But I've grown up eating the same food as ponies so I can eat that too,"

"Just don't get any ideas about eating my ring, okay?" Sapphire joked.

"I know. Twilight explained it all to me this morning. So you were REALLY a human in your world?" Spike asked.

"Yeah. Do you believe me?" Sapphire asked slowing his eating.

"Why wouldn't I? You have no reason to lie. Besides, you're from another world! There may not be humans in this world, but that doesn't mean there aren't humans in other worlds," Spike said.

Sapphire smiled. "Thanks, Spike. But... does Twilight believe I'm human?"

Spike shook his head. "She doesn't believe it. I said the same thing to her as I said to you, but it barely did anything to her beliefs. She also doesn't believe that you're from another world. She thinks you cast a spell too powerful for you to handle and it changed your memories to make you think you were a human from another world."

Sapphire sighed. "Oh, well. So one believes me and two don't. I just have the opinions of four others to figure out,"

"I'm sure it'll be okay. I know a pony you should meet though. She's an "expert" on humans. I say "expert" because our knowledge of humans is limited to mythology so we don't know if it's true. When she finds out you were a human? You'll be her next research project!" Spike said.

"What's her name?" Sapphire asked.

"Lyra Heartstrings," Spike responded. Sapphire finished eating.

"Thanks, Spike. I think I'm gonna have a look around the library. I think I'll spend the day reading about Equestria's history."

"Don't be a recluse like Twilight," Spike groaned.

"Don't worry. I just want to spend the day getting used to my new body and learning about this world in general. Tomorrow I want to spend the day getting to know the town and Twilight's other friends," he explained. He and Spike entered the library and Spike immediately picked out all of the general history books for Sapphire. Sapphire sat down and began to read.

In two hours, he finished History of Equestria: Volume 1 which told of the divided pony tribes and their union to become country under the Equestrian flag. Spike had spent the time with the cleaning he was unable to do yesterday. Just as Sapphire was about to start Volume 2, Twilight came down the stairs. She saw the books he was reading.

"How long ago did you start?" she asked.

"About two hours ago," Sapphire said.

Twilight was shocked. "How did you read that entire 2000 page book in two hours!?" she exclaimed. Sapphire shrugged.

"Fast reader I guess," he said and returned to the book. Twilight magically levitated a book into its missing slot and put a sheet of paper with writing into a filing cabinet.

"Are you ready to go Pinkie Pie's party, Twilight?" Spike asked.

"Actually, Spike, Pinkie Pie pushed the party back a day. Celestia's letter interrupted her planning and with Sapphire's arrival, she wanted to change it from a 'Equestria is officially changeling free' party to a 'Welcome to our world' for Sapphire. She wants Sapphire to come, but I told her he probably needed a day to get settled. She was very upset but she was okay with it. Well, Sapphire? Do you want to go? If you don't want to you don't have to," Twilight said.

"Of course I'll go! No reason to let Pinkie's party go to waste! I think It'll be fun!" Sapphire said, brightening his composure.  Twilight took another book off the shelf and was about to head upstairs, but decided to stay downstairs with the others. Sapphire finished Volume 2 and set it aside to make room for Volume 3. Volume 2 told the tale of the Alicorn Sisters and their many good deeds as well as Starswirl the Bearded. Volume 3 contained Luna's fall as Nightmare Moon. By lunchtime, he had finished the entire series, all five volumes.

Twilight was shocked. "I can't believe you read the entire History of Equestia series in only a few hours. It usually takes me a whole day to read the whole series."

"But now I don't what to read about. Volume 2 mentioned a unicorn named Starswirl the Bearded. Do you have any books about him?" Sapphire asked.

"Of course I do! Starswirl the Bearded is my favorite! I dressed up as him last Nightmare Night."

"Last Nightmare what? Sapphire asked.

"It's a holiday where everypony gets dressed up in costumes and the foals go house to house asking for candy," Spike explained.

"Oh! We have that in my world, too! We call it Halloween instead, though. Do the kids say 'Trick-or-treat'?" Sapphire got excited.

"No. They say 'Nightmare Night! What a fright! Give us something sweet to bite!'," Spike explained.

"Aww! That's adorable. I wonder what other holidays we have in similarity?" Sapphire wondered. Twilight had remained quiet through this whole conversation and Sapphire had taken note of it.

When lunch was over and Twilight and Sapphire were back at reading, he suddenly stopped after reading something. "Hey Twilight? What's your relationship with the Princess? I mean, you and your friends don't seem like any high ranking government officials, yet you still have this close personal relationship with her," he asked.

"Well, from a young age, I was Princess Celestia's personal student. One day, she sent me here to Ponyville to make friends. When Nightmare Moon returned, my friends and I found and used the Elements of Harmony against her and turned her back into Princess Luna. After that, the six of us had a strong bond with the Princess," Twilight explained. "But why ask so suddenly?"

"I just read that Starswirl was so close with the princesses. It just reminded about you and your friends. I just wanted to know what the story behind it was."

The two ponies continued their light chitchat until dinner. Twilight telling him of her childhood and days until moving to Ponyville. Sapphire telling her of his young life as well. He was bright as a child as well and made into a good private school as well and then continued on into high school. This was as far as they got though before Sapphire decided to go to bed. He awoke in the middle of the night and headed to the bathroom. In the main room, he saw light on upstairs. He checked the clock and it was well past 3:00 AM. What was Twilight doing still awake? He walked up the stairs towards her room. He was about to push her door further open when he heard voices inside.

"-an't keep encouraging him, Spike! He could be lying! What if he's from some far off land that isn't the biggest fan of Equestria? A fake horn and pair of wings passed off as a loss of powers could easily be manipulated." That was Twilight's voice.

"Come on, Twilight! He really needs our help! He couldn't even walk when we met him! He obviously doesn't want to hurt us! He doesn't even know his name, and he can't fly or use magic. What harm could he do?" For a baby dragon, Spike was sure up late.

"Please, there's no record anywhere of portals creating paths between worlds, or of humans turning into ponies! Quite frankly, there's no historical evidence for humans at all!" she said rather loudly.

"Shh! You'll wake him!" Spike said. "You were the one who said friendship wasn't important. Now look! You and your friends have saved Equestria twice! And at Shining Armor's wedding? No one else believed you about Cadance and you were right. You'd think you'd learn to give others the benefit of the doubt after all of that," Spike said. There was no response from Twilight. Spike sighed. Sapphire peeked through a crack and saw Spike get into his bed.

Spike was right. Twilight didn't believe him. What would it take to prove that he was really from another world? He was powerless right now so there was no way he could create another portal. Oh, how he missed magic! Only now did he realize that it did everything for him. He would just levitate everything, never lifting a finger. He would teleport everywhere, never taking a step. With the powerful spells he had, it would be easy to convince her. That's when it hit him. Magic always had a dramatic flair. Why would that stop just because he was in another world? This must be his magic testing him. How well he could survive in a foreign place without it. Well, how to survive in general, without it. He stood before the door with his thoughts until he realized where he was and what time it was. He knew he had to convince Twilight and her friends that he wasn't lying. His thoughts ran about how to do it until he noticed the light again. Well, I've got to start somewhere. He opened the door to Twilight's room.

"Oh, hello. Couldn't sleep?" Twilight asked,

"Yeah, no I couldn't. I saw your light on and how late it was and I wanted to make sure everything is okay," Sapphire explained.

"Everything's fine. I'm just doing a bit of late night studying," she replied.

"A bit? It's almost 4:00 AM. Do you plan on going to bed tonight?"

"Nah. I have to be ready in case Celestia decides to give me a test."

"This is ridiculous though! At least Spike knows it's important to go to sleep at a reasonable time."

"Oh, please. He's only been asleep for a couple of minutes."

"And judging from the fact that he''s sleeping so soundly, I can only assume that this is a regular and he's adjusted to it."

"So?"

"SO?! This is unhealthy Twilight! It's almost like an obsession. If magic is similar in our two worlds then yours is probably a lot weaker than it would be if you had a healthy sleep cycle. You need to go to sleep!"

"I'm fine. Just go back to bed." Twilight was starting to get irritated.

"No. Not until you do, and I will poke you with my horn until you finally give in."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"You're only so upset because you're so tired. And since it's not like I can use my magic anyway, my horn may as well be good for something!" And with that, Sapphire poked Twilight in the side.

"Hey! Stop it!" she said.  He poked her again. She ignored him and tried to get back to studying. After a certain point, Sapphire started pushing her towards her bed.

"I said, enough!" Twilight shouted. She teleported away from him to next to Spike's bed causing Sapphire to fall flat on his face.

"Go to bed!" she said. She levitated him with her magic and he quickly and violently flew down to the guest room. The door closed and locked from the outside. Sapphire picked himself up and sighed. That pony has problems.

He walked over to his bed and got in it. He closed his eyes and soon enough, sleep fell over him.
> Day 3: Pinkie Pie
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sapphire Spell awoke the next morning and saw his door open. He walked out, cautiously poking his head out, watching for Twilight.

"It's okay." Sapphire jumped. He turned and saw Spike looking at him. He let out a sigh of relief.

"Good morning, Spike. How are you?" Sapphire asked, still relaxing from his scare.

"Good. I heard you and Twilight's fight last night, though. She spent the next five hours mumbling to herself. She went to sleep about twenty minutes ago," Spike said. Spike sighed. "She's definitely not even gonna wake up for Pinkie's party today."

"I need to apologize to her for what I did last night. It was out of line, but I only did it because I was worried about her."

"So many ponies have tried to get her out of that habit. All have failed," Spike explained.

"I still need to apologize. I'll do it later then. When is Pinkie's party anyway?"

"Soon. We need to leave as soon as you're ready."

"Yikes! I'll get ready right away." Sapphire went to the bathroom and brushed his teeth and took a shower. He still wondered the ponies of this world managed to use their hooves as hands. He had to lean on the sink to keep him from falling over. He then went back to the kitchen and ate some of the pancakes left over from yesterday.

"Wow. I usually end up throwing leftovers out. Neither of us like to eat them," Spike said.

"I'm fine with them. If it was so good the first time, why not have it again?" Sapphire said. Spike chuckled.

"Do you think Rainbow Dash will be at the party today?" Sapphire asked.

"Probably. Why?" Spike asked.

"I need to apologize to her too after our argument the day I arrived."

"Oh right. That," Spike replied.

As soon as Sapphire finished eating, he and Spike were on their way. Sapphire was in awe. Ponyville was such a beautiful place. The buildings had a simple and rustic charm. The whole town did. The air smelled crisp and fresh, with the slight earthy scent from the hard earth pony work that defined the town. He would have preferred to wander slowly around town, but Spike led them directly to Sugarcube Corner. Sapphire noticed the looks he was getting and lingering stares from ponies.

"Hey, Spike? Why are the other ponies staring?"

"You're moderately famous. Your arrival was seen all over Equestria. Celestia told the news that a foreign visitor had done that as a show. Everyone knows you're the foreign visitor, and while most will give you space, you're still someone unknown to them. And also because you’re an alicorn; the only others are the princesses." Spike explained.

"Oh. Okay."

The door to Sugarcube Corner was opened by Spike and Sapphire walked through. A banner hanging from the ceiling read 'Welcome to Equestria'. Balloons and streamers were strewn all over the room. Pinkie was standing behind a cannon aimed at an empty table. She hit the button and a tablecloth and other decorative supplies miraculously landed on the table and decorated it in seconds.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Sapphire shouted.

"Oh, that was my party cannon! It wouldn’t be much of a party without a party cannon!" Pinkie turned and responded. "I'm so, so, so excited you could make it to this party. I've been waiting so long to throw this for you!"

"But, I've only been here three days."

"Which is 72 hours or 4,320 minutes or 259,200 seconds!" Said Pinkie while gleefully bouncing around the room.

"How did she...?" Sapphire stared stunned. Pinkie had way too much energy for her own good, it seemed.

Within the next hour, the rest of the guests arrived and Sapphire was introduced. Twilight's other friends arrived, including Rainbow Dash who took a seat at a table with a quick 'Harumph!'. Sapphire was introduced to Mr. and Mrs. Cake, the baby twins, Pumpkin and Pound Cake, Derpy Hooves, Time Turner, and other various ponies from town. The ones who made a lasting impression was an aquamarine unicorn named Lyra Heartstrings and her earth pony friend Bon Bon.

"Well hey there! Nice to meet ya!" Bon Bon said with a southern accent. "Nice to meet you too Bon Bon!" Sapphire replied with a smile.

"So you’re Sapphire Spell right? The H-U-M-A-N, right?" Lyra asked.

"Uhm, yes?" Sapphire responded with a nervous smile.

"Hmm... I don't know... How many bones do humans have?"

"206."

"What is average height of a human male?"

"Five feet, seven inches."

"Human female?"

"Five feet, four inches."

"How many fingers and toes do they have?"

"Five fingers on each hand and five toes on each foot."

"...I guess there's a chance you might not be lying." Lyra walked away never taking her eyes off with a distrusting glare on her face. Bon Bon rolled her eyes and followed her friend.

"Don't worry. She's just playing around with you," Spike said.

Pinkie started up the music and the party began. Sapphire poured himself a drink and began drinking when Pinkie slowly rose up next to him. "What do you think?" she shouted. Sapphire spat his drink and started a coughing fit.

"Jeez, Pinkie! Give me a heart attack why don't you?"

"A heart's attacking you? Oh no! Where is it? I can't see it! Get off my friend you invisible heart!" Pinkie started flailing the air around Sapphire. He started laughing.

"That's enough, Pinkie. You scared it away," Sapphire said between chuckles.

"Are you having a good time?" Pinkie asked.

"Definitely! Thank you so much for throwing this party for me."

"Of course! I love making new pony friends!" And with that Pinkie bounced off to play some party games. Derpy Hooves and Time Turner walked up to him.

"Well Sapphire, I hope we can get to know you better. In fact, I think we will!" Time Turner said with a wink to Derpy.

"Stop it Do-ime Turner!" Derpy scolded and took a fearful glance at Sapphire to see if he noticed her slip up. He did.

"Anyway, Derpy and I have to go unfortunately. We hope you have a great time in Ponyville."

"Keep an eye on your mail. I think you might get a letter soon," Derpy said and followed Time Turner out the door.

"Bye! Thanks for coming!" Pinkie shouted out the door after them. What a weird couple.

Sapphire turned his attention back to the party. Most of the ponies were on the dance floor having a good time. The only ones not dancing were Rainbow Dash, sulking at her table. and the Cakes, taking care of their little foals. He decided to join the dance floor for moment. 

Pinkie’s music was great to dance to, bass-heavy and captivating, the wubs that reach into your body and make it move. All of the ponies dancing were doing so freely and happily, lost in the fun of the moment. Sapphire couldn’t help but smile and dance with them, this was his party, after all.

After dancing for a few minutes, he noticed a pink blur whizzing around the dancers, many of whom were falling over and being knocked to the side. Eventually, Sapphire found himself being swung around at high speeds. He struggled to turn his head against the speeds he was spinning at, but eventually centered his head on the mare wildly swinging him around the room. He looked right at Pinkie, and she shouted a loud, "WHEE!" before letting him go. He spun around wildly until he landed on a chair and fell over. He heard laughter above him.

He opened one eye and saw Rainbow Dash on the chair next to him laughing at his fall. He launched himself up and started to talk. "Rainbow Dash I've been meaning to-"

He had pushed too hard and fell over in the other direction flat on his face with the chair on his back. Rainbow Dash fell off her chair in laughter. He couldn't help but laugh, too. They picked themselves up and looked at each other with bemused looks. "Anypony want a cupcake?" Pinkie popped up and asked.

The two didn't break eye contact, but the grin on their face grew and they burst out laughing again.

"What? Was it something I said?" Pinkie asked, confused. Neither could respond right away, but eventually Sapphire managed to choke out a response.

"No Pinkie. It's okay. I just need a moment with Rainbow Dash, okay?"

"Okie Dokie Lokie!" Pinkie Pie placed a cupcake between the two of them for good measure, and bounced away.

With Pinkie gone, Sapphire turned his focus to Rainbow Dash, who was looking at him expectantly. He began his apologies.

"Look, Rainbow Dash. I want to apologize for what happened the day I got here. I know what I said was rude. But I mean, even if you don't I’m believe from another world or that I was a human, you do believe I'm from far away at least, right? When I got here, I was nervous. This is a totally new place and I was surrounded by creatures I didn't know I could trust, so I said some things I regret. Can you accept my apology?" Sapphire said.

Rainbow Dash looked away. Admitting she was wrong never came easy to Dash. "Yeah, I guess the way I acted was rude too, I guess. I should have acted with more tact. I accept your apology."

"And I accept yours," Sapphire responded.

"But I didn't apologize." Sapphire rolled his eyes. He decided not to push the issue, and instead set his eyes on the cupcake the pink party pony had left. "No reason to let Pinkie's cupcake go to waste right?" Sapphire suggested. They split the cupcake and, after a bit of work adjusting the icing so neither felt cheated, each ate a half. When they finished eating Pinkie decided now would be a good time to check up on the two, and rocketed up through the table, flipping it over and behind the two dumbfounded ponies..

"How did? When did?" Sapphire stammered.

"I'm so happy you two made up! I knew a cupcake would work! It always works!" Pinkie grabbed the two of them tightly into a group hug. She let them go and went back to her party. The two of them picked the table up.

"Just so we're clear, you don't believe my story, right?" Sapphire asked. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

"Of course not! It's completely ridiculous! But I do believe that you've lost your ability to use magic and fly. So how about in a few days I help you learn to fly for real?"

"Deal!"

Sapphire was then grabbed by Pinkie who insisted he join in the party games. The party continued on for hours, and Sapphire had to admit he was having a great time. After the dinner, most of the ponies started to leave. Before she left though, Lyra came up to him.

"Alright Mr. Human, I study anthropology in town and I want to know if I could learn anything about them from you. Can you come by my house soon?"

"Sure, Lyra. If it will help you with your research, I'll stop by."

“Alright, mine’s four houses down from here, the one with the lyre on the door. Got that?” Sapphire nodded his head in assent, and with that, Lyra was off.

Spike left a little early to go check on Twilight and Sapphire reassured him that he could find his way back to the library.

Soon enough, it was just Sapphire, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and the Cakes. Since the party had quieted down, the Cakes went upstairs to put the twins to sleep and went to sleep themselves.

"So how did this party make you feel?" Pinkie asked. Sapphire stifled a yawn.

"It was awesome. I feel great. I think I'm gonna leave soon, though. I'm exhausted!"

"Darn! I thought this party would help your memory for sure!"

Sapphire's stomach lurched. What did Pinkie just say? Help my memory? There's only one pony so far who's made that argument...

"Have you been talking to Twilight, Pinkie?" Sapphire asked.

"Of course I've been talking to Twilight! She's my best friend! I mean, sometimes she uses these big, confusing words I don't understand, but I still try to talk to her as much as I can. I wanted to see her at the party today, but Spike told me what happened."

"I mean, have you been talking to her about my situation?"

"Oh. Yeah, I have. We all have. She wanted us to help you get better. That's one of the reasons I threw you this party!"

Pinkie certainly doesn't have a filter. But now he looked at things in a different light. He looked up at the 'Welcome to Equestria' banner and thought back to when Pinkie said she loved to make pony friends. His heart sank lower than he thought it could. Did anyone believe him? Was everyone just going to try and make him remember things that never happened? He WAS a human. He DID come from another world. Pinkie had gone into the kitchen when Applejack put a hoof on his shoulder.

"You alright, sugarcube?"

"No. I am not alright. I'm stuck in a foreign place in a foreign body without any of my powers and no one believes me. Twilight, Rainbow, Pinkie... none of them believe that this isn't how I’m supposed to be. I’m stuck in a strange world with nary a being that would trust me." He said with a sigh.

Applejack headed for the door. "Don't worry, sugarcube. Some of us do think stranger things’ve happened."

Sapphire's head shot up. What did Applejack just say?

"Maybe you should come by the farm tomorrow. Granny's been wantin’ ta meet ya. I wasn't able to get you alone to ask that though." Applejack left after saying that. Sapphire just stared at the door after her. Pinkie came back from the kitchen.

"Applejack left? She didn't even say goodbye." Pinkie pouted. Sapphire snapped out of it.

"Oh, she uh, she says that she had a great time, but she needs to make sure her grandmother's getting along okay. I think I'm gonna leave now too. Bye, Pinkie."

"Wait! You can't leave yet! We still have some cake and there are some games we can still play with just the two of us!"

Sapphire yawned, unable to restrain it any longer. "I'm sorry, Pinkie, but I'm exhausted, I need to get some sleep."

Pinkie made a sad look with her face. "Alright then, can you bring these cupcakes to Twilight?"

Sapphire took the package of baked goods on his back and started on his way back to the library. That pony has way too much energy. He arrived at the library and saw a stallion wearing a doctor's coat and a stethoscope leaving the library. A doctor? "Twilight!" Sapphire shouted and bolted in the library and up the stairs up to her room.

She was sitting on her bed drinking a cup of tea.

Sapphire sighed. "Oh good. You're okay. I saw the doctor leave and got worried."

"I'm fine. Apparently, skipping so much sleep can cause you to be so exhausted you fall down the stairs and sprain all four of your ankles." She used her magic and pulled back he covers to reveal all four of her ankles bandaged and being held tightly in place.

"Wow. I don't even know what to say."

Spike opened the door to Twilight's room. "Hey, Sapphire. You're back." He was carrying a tray of food for Twilight. He set it down on her nightstand. "Thank goodness I have magic or this would be really annoying," Twilight said, levitating the sandwich. Her face turned stone before it reached her mouth.

"I am so sorry! I should have watched what I said," Twilight quickly blurted out. Sapphire let out a small smile and shook his head.

"It's okay. I know how important magic can feel. I took it for granted and lost it after all. I'm not offended. I'm the one who needs to apologize. I acted out of line last night."

"It's okay. You were worried about me. I can't believe it took an injury for me to finally learn my lesson about late nights."

"Oh right! I have some things for you. Pinkie was upset you couldn't make the party so she gave me some cupcakes to bring you." He motioned to his back. As Twilight levitated the box off he made a confused look.

"What's wrong?" Spike asked.

"I'm just wondering how that stayed on my back. I mean, I ran up the stairs and there was nothing holding it in place."

The three of them stared at each other.

"I guess it's just a mystery that'll never be answered." Twilight finally spoke up.

Sapphire bid Twilight and Spike goodnight and headed to his room. He got into bed and turned his light off.

Good terms with Twilight? Check.

Good, well, better terms with Rainbow? Check.

Pinkie's stand on his story? Check.

Upset about it? Check.

Applejack's stand? Now that was still unclear, but what she said still stuck with him.

He turned over and let exhaustion wash over him.
> Day 4: Applejack
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was a knock on the door while Sapphire was eating breakfast. Spike had just left to bring Twilight her breakfast, and Twilight herself was still incapacitated, so he went to answer the door. Derpy Hooves was on the other side.

"Oh, hello. You're that foreign visitor right? Sapphire Spell I think?" she said.

"Very funny, Derpy. We met at Pinkie Pie's party yesterday."

"No we didn't. I had to go to Canterlot on mailmare business yesterday. Anyway, Twilight has a letter from her brother."

"But... but..." Now Sapphire was really confused. He had definitely met her yesterday. Why didn't she remember it? He took the letter and closed the door. Something was off. He brought the letter upstairs to Twilight. She took it with her magic and read it.

"Shining Armor and Cadance are in Bridaly for their honeymoon. They send me pictures of the various places they go," Twilight explained. "This is them in front of the Coltosseum." She showed Sapphire the picture. The two made such a cute couple standing in a pose typical of newlyweds. She placed the letter's components into their piles. Sapphire took a look through the pictures.

We have so many places in common. The Colosseum, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the canals of Venice. Except theirs, Sapphire thought, all have really bad horse pun names... Sapphire listed off the common landmarks in his mind, knowing how Twilight would react.

"What are your plans for today?" Twilight asked.

"Applejack invited me to spend the day at her farm. What about you?"

"I have to stay off my hooves so I'm gonna spend the day reading. Fluttershy said she'd come by and check on me later, though. Do you know how to get to Sweet Apple Acres?"

"I think so. It's on the southeastern edge of town, right?"

"That's close enough. You'll see it if you head that way," Spike said.

"Well I guess I'll head out now. Bye Twilight. Feel better. Bye Spike."

Sapphire left the library and started across town. He'd learned enough about pony gait that he was able to perform a comfortable trot. As he crossed an empty street, he heard a buzzing behind him. He turned around, but there was nopony there. I must be hearing things. He continued on his way. He crossed the busy market humming to himself. He waved to Rarity who was doing some shopping. Eventually, the buildings started to thin out and Sapphire could see the barn of Sweet Apple Acres on the horizon. He entered the farm and looked around. He couldn't see Applejack anywhere, but he did see a large red stallion with an apple on his flank. He look big and bulky, just the kind that you would find on a farm, Sapphire reasoned. He walked up to him.

"Hello there. Is this Sweet Apple Acres?" Sapphire asked.

"Eeyup," was the earth pony's response.

"Is Applejack here?" Sapphire continued.

"Eeyup." Sapphire waited for the earth pony to tell him where.

"Um, where is she?" All the stallion did was point to Sapphire's left without a word. He looked in that direction.

"Um, thanks," Sapphire headed off in that direction. Does he only know one word? It didn't take too long to spot Applejack in the midst of some trees. She kicked one and all of the apples fell off into baskets around its base.

"Hi Applejack!" Sapphire called in his approach.

"Well hey there, sugarcube. Glad you could make it,"

"You invited me and I've been trying to get to know Twilight's friends so here I am. So you're harvesting right now?"

"That's right. Big Mac and Ah buck the trees ta get apples from all of ‘em."

"Who's Big Mac?"

"Mah bad! Big Macintosh is mah older brother. You mighta seen 'im when you walked in. Applebloom is mah little sister, but she's in school right now. There’s also Granny Smith, she’s the oldest member of the Apple family. She's fixin’ up lunch now, so you can join us once it's ready."

What about her parents? "Okay. That sounds good. Can I help you with your chores?"

"Ah don't see why not! Try bucking that tree over there."

Sapphire walked over to the tree Applejack pointed at. He turned his back to it and lifted his hind legs to get ready to buck it, but the sudden change in weight caused him to lose his balance and fall on his face. Applejack walked over with a chuckle.

"You seem to do that a lot don't ya?"

"Apparently. At this point, it might just be easier to walk around like this instead."

Applejack helped him up and he got in position again. This time, he was expecting the shift in his center of balance and compensated for it. He gave the tree the hardest kick he could. Only a few apples fell off.

"That's okay. Ah have years of apple bucking experience. This was yer first time. I doubt you did it much in yer world." Applejack gave the tree a quick kick and the rest of the apples fell. One hit Sapphire in the head and he shook it off.

"Oh yeah! That's something I want to ask you about! Do you believe me about where I'm from? I was a bit confused after last night."

"Ah believe ya, sugarcube. Ah’m real good at tellin’ when ponies is lyin', an’ I think what you told us th’other day was the honest truth. After you went to sleep that day, Twilight got the six of us together to talk about it. She and Rainbow were adamant that you were lyin'. Fluttershy, Rarity, and Ah believed you though. Pinkie was on the fence until Twilight got through with 'er."

So some of them DID believe him! He wasn't alone in a corner with Spike. He was so happy!

"Speakin' a Pinkie, Ah wanna 'pologize for what she said to ya yesterday. She just says whatever comes ta mind, and sometimes it can be hurtful without 'er realizin' it. She didn't mean to offend ya, she just didn't realize what effect it woulda had on ya." Applejack bucked another tree and more apples fell. Sapphire watched her.

"That's okay. I figured out that she doesn't have a filter myself. I know she didn't want to hurt me. Besides, the intention wasn't there. She didn't say it to offend me, she said it because she's probably the type to not keep secrets, am I right? But she legitimately cares about her friends, so I'm okay. Besides, I know now that some ponies believe me."

"That's good ta hear. Why don't we get off this heavy topic and get into some heavy farm work? Since ya can't buck trees, how about ya put the baskets inta’tha wagon."

Sapphire nodded his head and got to work. The basket was heavy and it took awhile to drag to the wagon, and it was even harder to get it up into the wagon. He eventually managed to fill the wagon with baskets.

"What next, Applejack?" he called out.

"Can ya bring the wagon to the barn and put the baskets inside? Bring the wagon back when yer done," she responded. He walked to the front of the wagon and saw the harness. He got it on himself and tried to walk. It felt like the wagon weighed a ton! He struggled and struggled and managed to take the first step. He continued this way and was able to get the wagon to start. He pulled it all the way back to the barn. He stopped and put the baskets in his wagon next to the others. While he was working, Big Macintosh showed up with his wagon. It was larger and held more and he moved it effortlessly it seemed. Sapphire was still unloading his while Big Mac had emptied his and left without saying a word.

Sapphire was only able to do two more trips before he collapsed in exhaustion. "I... don't... think... I can... do this... anymore..." he gasped out.

"That's okay. You've never done farm work before right? It was probably a lot to handle for a newcomer. Why don't ya go see if Granny could use yer help with lunch?" Applejack suggested. Sapphire let out a heaving sigh and forced his exhausted body up. He walked back to the barn and entered the kitchen.Granny Smith was sitting on a rocking chair knitting.

"AHH! It's a robber! Somepony call the cops!"

"No! Granny Smith, I'm Sapphire Spell! Applejack's friend?" 

"What was 'at? Applejack doesn't 'ave any stallion friends! 'Specially no alicorn royalties!" 

Sapphire rolled his eyes. "Come on. She had to have mentioned me!" Granny leaned in for a closer look. She squinted at him and rubbed her chin. He felt uncomfortable with her penetrating glare scrutinizing him like that.

"Oh, I remember now! Yer that feller she mentioned a couple a days ago. What was yer name? Oh right! Safer Shell!"

Sapphire face-hoofed. Then he sighed. "Close enough. Do you need any help with lunch?"

"Nah, it's all in the oven right now. But if you could ring that there bell and let my grandchirrins know about it, it would save my hip lotsa pain."

Sapphire walked over to the bell and rang it. He heard a "Yeehaw!" from Applejack and an "Eeyup," from Big Mac. Then he walked to the oven and took the food out of it. He set the table and when he brought the food in, Applejack, Big Mac, and Granny were at the table.

"What? But? The entrance was behind me. And you were in the rocking chair when I left the room. How are? What? Huh?" Sapphire stammered. He shrugged it off and took his place at the table.

"Now who knew that havin' an extra set of hooves fer the day would be so nice!" Granny said, ruffling Sapphire's hair. He blushed.

"Now Granny, stop it! Yer embarrassin' him!" Applejack said.

"It's okay. I'm surprised I didn't freak out while helping you. I usually have such a problem in nature."

Applejack chuckled. "That sounds just like Rarity. Ah'm pretty sure she avoids comin' here as much as possible."

The conversation continued in this manner with Big Macintosh adding a little "Eeyup," or "Nnope." So he DOES know more than one word! Sapphire looked at the pictures. He saw what must be Applejack's parents. But later pictures didn't have them. In the first ones without them, the older members of the family looked sad. Applebloom was just a baby. Sapphire realized why he had yet to meet Applejack's parents. 

When all was done, Sapphire helped Granny with the dishes while Applejack and Big Mac went back to farming.

"I think I'll go help Applejack some more," Sapphire said.

"You go do that. Ah'm gonna take mah afternoon nap anyway," Granny said.

Sapphire found Applejack bucking some trees. After three more trips with the wagon, he collapsed on the ground again.

"Applejack! Ah'm back from school! Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and I are gonna do some crusadin'!" a yellow filly ran up to Applejack.

"Now, Applebloom. We have a guest. Be polite," Applejack said. Applebloom then noticed Sapphire looking at them from his vantage point on the ground.

"Oh! Yer Sapphire Spell! Applejack's told me all about you! And Ah told Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo!" She said.

A white unicorn filly and an orange pegasus ran up. "There you are, Applebloom! We lost track of you," the pegasus said.

"Guys! This is Sapphire Spell! That traveller from another world Ah told you about!" Applebloom said.

"Wow! He has a horn!" the unicorn said.

"And a pair of wings!" the pegasus added.

"And a cutiemark!" Applebloom finished.

"Wow! That's so cool! How'd you get it?" the pegasus asked.

"When I came to Equestria and became a pony. It was just there. People in my world don't get a physical sign when we've discovered our talent," Sapphire answered.

"So how do you know you've found it?" the unicorn asked.

"We get a feeling deep inside us. Like, 'this is what I want to do with my life'. And from what I understand, ponies get that feeling too," Sapphire explained.

"Now girls, don't you think you should introduce yourselves to Sapphire?" Applejack suggested.

"Ah'm Applebloom!"

"I'm Sweetie Belle!"

"And I'm Scootaloo!"

"And we're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" they said in unison.

"We're on a mission to discover our special talents and earn our cutie marks!" Scootaloo said.

"Come on, girls! Let's get started on today's crusadin'," Applebloom said. The trio of fillies ran off into a deeper part of the farm.

"That's how my lil' sis' and her friends are. You'll get used to ‘em. Sweetie Belle is also Rarity's younger sister if ya didn't know."

"They seem very energetic." Sapphire stood up. "Well, break time's over."

Sapphire brought the wagon to the barn again and was back with Applejack loading it up when the two of them heard a scream.

"Applejack! Help!" Applebloom shrieked.

"Applebloom!" Applejack yelled and ran in the direction of the shriek. Sapphire followed as close as he could. He arrived to see a bunch of.. sticks? circling a tree house. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were huddled inside, terrified.

"What are those things?” Sapphire asked.

"They're timberwolves! Lately they've been gitt'n more and more brazen when they attack the farm. We've never had a group this big!" Applejack responded. There were six timberwolves circling the tree. Applejack threw a rock at them.

"Over 'ere, ya varmints!" she called and then ran off. The timberwolves gave chase, heading straight for Sapphire.

"AHH!" he yelled and ran after Applejack.

He managed to catch up to her, but so did the timberwolves. Using her home turf knowledge she managed to knock two of them to pieces. A third one came up next to Sapphire and he knocked it into a tree, breaking it apart. The two eventually ran into the Everfree Forest.

"Ah I can't find anything else to use! And more are startin' to join!"

Sapphire turned around and saw a group of at least twenty timberwolves, including the three they had already destroyed.

"They can put themselves back together?!"

"Not if ya burn 'em, but that's not an option right now!"

The two skidded to a stop as a giant boulder blocked their path. The group of timberwolves were advancing.

"Is this really it? Is this how it ends?" Sapphire asked looking to the sky. "I just got here! I'm too young to die!"

A timberwolf roared and Applejack and Sapphire hugged each other with looks of terror on their face.

"Ah guess this is it," Applejack resigned herself. The two closed their eyes as tightly as they could. But Sapphire had a hard time keeping them closed. There was this strange light nearby. He opened his eyes and looked at Applejack.

"Applejack! You're glowing orange!" he said.

"What?" Applejack opened her eyes and checked herself. "Ah am!" She looked at Sapphire. "But so's yer ring and eyes!"

"Really?" He looked at his ring as best he could. It was definitely glowing orange. He felt a jolt run through him. He's felt the exact same thing before... The Elements of Harmony! But how? They were still stashed away in Canterlot. Then again, they were connected to these ponies and his magic was connected to the elements so it couldn't be too unbelievable.

Then there was another feeling inside him. He grinned. This one was also familiar. He reared up and when he stomped his hooves, he let loose a blast of magical, white hot flame from his horn. It incinerated the first several timberwolves and the others ran in terror. Applejack and Sapphire Spell stopped glowing.

"But that was magic! How did you do that? I thought you lost yer magic!" Applejack exclaimed in disbelief.

"I'll explain on the way back." The two of them started to leave the forest. "So I figured out early on that my magic was being held captive by the Elements of Harmony. I knew the only way to get it back was to learn to live without it and develop close relationships with you guys. I also knew magic had a dramatic flair, so there was most likely going to need to be a life or death situation as the final catalyst."

"Oh. So you KNEW your magic was going to come back, back there?!" Applejack snorted angrily.

"Of course not! That was all a hunch until a few minutes ago. I really thought we were gonna die back there!" Sapphire defended himself.

"Oh. So why are your gem and eyes still orange?" Applejack asked.

"They're WHAT?!" Sapphire shouted. He ran ahead to the barn and found a mirror and sure enough, his irises were orange and so was the gem in his ring. He checked his cutie mark. Still a blue sapphire.

Granny Smith was grateful about him saving her two granddaughters. He told her not to think anything of it. The crusaders wanted to make him an honorary member, but he turned it down. As he was leaving, Big Mac grabbed him into a silent hug and then let him go and turned to hide his tears. That had to have been the weirdest thank you of them all. He returned to the library.

"Hey, Twilight! Do I have a story for you!" he called. He entered her room and Fluttershy was there with some animals.

"What happened to your ring?" Twilight asked.

"That's part of the story I have," Sapphire stated. He retold the entire event while petting one of Fluttershy's cats.

"Wow. So you can use magic again?" Twilight asked.

"I think so." Sapphire focused on a nearby book. But when he tried to levitate it, nothing happened. He felt the same emptiness he had usually felt when using magic.

"That's not fair! I just got it back! Why is my magic gone again?" Sapphire was devastated.

"I'm sorry. But at least we know it's possible for you to get your magic back," Twilight consoled.

"That's true, I suppose." He took note of Fluttershy taking care of some animals.

"Hey Fluttershy?" Sapphire started, but Fluttershy's shriek scared him.

"I'm sorry! I was just gonna ask if I could go over to your cottage tomorrow. Your animals are very cute."

"Oh. Um. Sure. I guess..." Fluttershy mumbled. She left with a quiet goodbye.

"Is everything okay?" Sapphire asked,

"Don't mind her. You're probably exhausted from the day you've had. Why don't you go to bed."

"Okay. I guess I will."

In his bed, Sapphire thought the way Twilight was so eager to get rid of him was a little weird. Then again, so was the way Fluttershy was acting. He fell asleep with these thoughts in his mind.
> Day 5: Fluttershy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yup. Eyes and gem still orange. Sapphire checked himself out in the mirror. Maybe I should change my name to Topaz...

Twilight had magically examined his ring and found the sapphire's color hadn’t changed, the sapphire itself did. Or, rather, turned into a topaz. Was it ever going to turn to back to normal? He liked his sapphire, and felt it appropriately captured his essence. He sighed and kept on his way to Fluttershy's cottage.

"Hey! Sapphire! Over here!" Lyra called from a nearby window. Sapphire approached it.

"Hi, Lyra. Do you need something?" Sapphire asked.

"I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about humans." Lyra smiled.

"Sorry, I'm on my way to Fluttershy's right now. I promise we'll get together soon, though." Sapphire turned and left a disappointed Lyra pouting at the window.

As he neared Fluttershy's cottage on the edge of the Everfree Forest, the buildings began to thin out as they did when one neared Sweet Apple Acres. He crossed the small bridge over the creek and knocked on the front door. Fluttershy slowly opened the door with great care, almost as if she believed the door would be upset with her if she opened it too quickly.

"Oh. Hi, Sapphire. You're here." She spoke, only a few decibels above a whisper.

"Uh huh. I wanted to get to know you better, Twilight said it might be good for me."

"I suppose now's a good time. The animals are eating, so I have a bit of free time." There was an awkward silence between the two, probably the first of many, Sapphire thought.

"May I come in?" Sapphire asked to break the silence.

"Oh right! I’m sorry, I should have invited you in sooner! Yes please, come in!" Fluttershy responded, slightly ashamed. She opened the door and Sapphire slowly stepped inside. Inside, groups of animals were huddled around different bowls of food. Squirrels, ferrets, rabbits, and other small creatures were eating at their designated bowls. Well, all except one bunny, who was all on its own eating from a larger bowl with more food than the others.

"Wow, Fluttershy. I knew you took care of animals, but I didn't realize that you cared for so many." Said Sapphire, slightly taken aback by all of the organized woodland creatures eating so insouciantly.

"I take care of all the animals that live around Ponyville." Fluttershy said with a meek but proud smile. She walked up to the lone bunny. "Angel, say hi to Sapphire Spell. He's the one from the other world and he'll be spending the day with us." The bunny looked at him and glared, sizing him up. Angel hopped around Sapphire, examining him. When he was finished he hopped back to Fluttershy, crossed his arms, gave a small, indignant squeak at Sapphire and then returned to his lunch.

"Don't mind him. Angel's just a little grumpy because I interrupted his lunch," Fluttershy said.

"What are your plans for the day, Fluttershy?" Sapphire asked.

"I was just about to feed the chickens when you came along. After that, I have some shopping I need to do."

"How about I help you?"

Fluttershy shied away a bit. "Well... I would like some, but I don’t want to trouble you, it’s okay if you just want to stay here while I’m away."

By now, Sapphire had already figured out that this mare was not one to ask favors, so he already had a gentle-hearted reply before she was even finished. “It’s fine Fluttershy, really I don’t mind. It would be better if I got to know where a few stores in Ponyville are anyway, plus I can get a little balance practice taking the bags back.” 

This seemed to have the desired effect. Fluttershy thanked him for his offer and started dragging the bag of chicken feed across the room to the door leading to the back.

"I'll get it, Fluttershy; you go on ahead," Sapphire said.

"Oh no. I have it. You don't have to bother yourself with this."

"I insist. I wouldn't be much of a guest if I didn't help my host."

"I don't want to impose though."

"It's fine! Trust me, Fluttershy."

"Well, okay, if you really want to."

Sapphire could tell that these wouldn’t be very few and far between with Fluttershy and himself.

Fluttershy let go of the bag and went and held the door open. Sapphire picked the bag up and carried it out quicker than Fluttershy would have. The two of them threw some food into the fenced-off coop, and the chickens inside clucked appreciatively. When they were finished, Sapphire noticed a little pen off to the side filled with baby animals.

"And how long have you had these little cuties?" Sapphire asked.

"Those babies were only born recently. Actually, it was two days before you got here." The pen was filled with week old kittens, bunnies, chicks, and puppies.

"They're so cute," Sapphire cooed.

"Be careful! They're still nervous around strange ponies."

Sapphire backed off. After taking another glance, he turned and picked up the bag of chicken feed. He carried the bag back inside and left it with the other bags of food for the animals, which had all finished eating and were let outside by their soft-spoken caretaker. She then put on a saddlebag and placed a small bag of bits and a shopping list into it.

"Are you ready to go?" Fluttershy asked Sapphire. He nodded quickly, "Sure."

The two left Fluttershy's cottage and headed into town. The market was in the center of town, and was filled with ponies at this time of day, all trying to do their errands. Sapphire followed Fluttershy around as she bought her items. This included various vegetables, bountiful berries, and even some small sacks of animal food. Sapphire's tongue was sufficiently tied when the pair arrived at their next stop, a stand selling cherries.

"Well, if it isn't the pegasus who loves her cherries.. For you, this bag goes for 15 bits," the clerk said.

"15 bits?!" Sapphire and Fluttershy shouted in unison.

"That's outrageous! At most that should cost 5 bits!" Sapphire said to the clerk.

"How do you know that?" Fluttershy asked.

"I've been reading all about Equestria, including economics," Sapphire replied.

"The price is 15 bits, no buts," the clerk said.

"Now you listen to me! 15 bits is extortion! If the price is supposed to be 5 bits, I'm only paying 5 bits!" Fluttershy said and placed 5 bits on the counter giving the clerk a stern look. Sapphire was shocked by this change in Fluttershy. The clerk clearly was as well. He tried to give a response, but gave up. He took the bits and gave Fluttershy the bag of cherries. Sapphire and Fluttershy walked away.

"What was that? I didn't know you had that in you!" Sapphire exclaimed.

"That pony can just be so mean sometimes. It makes me mad," Fluttershy explained. She began eyeing a nearby tent.

"Oh Sapphire, I forgot to buy a potato. Could you go back and buy me one?"

"Sure Fluttershy." Fluttershy gave him 3 bits and pointed him towards the booth selling them. He walked there looking over his shoulder until Fluttershy was inside the tent. He then ran as fast as he could, dropping the bits on the counter and grabbing the potato. He ran back to the tent and peeked through the folds.

Fluttershy was cowering away from a stallion pacing the room.

"Enough is enough, Fluttershy! I can't keep giving you this medicine for free! You're so far behind on payments, the bill would shock Princess Celestia herself!" he said to her.

"I'm sorry. I have to help the animals, but I don't have enough income to pay for this. I promise as soon as winter comes and the animals are hibernating I'll get a job to pay you back," Fluttershy responded.

Sapphire backed away from the tent. Fluttershy was having financial problems? Why hadn't she told anyone? There had to be something he could do! The stallion inside sighed. "You're lucky you're trustworthy, Fluttershy."

Sapphire heard Fluttershy leaving so he ran further back so it would look like he just got the potato. Fluttershy looked dejected when she left, but Sapphire could see the medicine in her bag.

"I have the potato, Fluttershy!" Sapphire said. At this point, a crow suddenly attacked Sapphire, going for the potato. Sapphire flailed around, trying to protect the potato. Eventually, the crow flew off and the potato was fine. Whoa, deja vu, but from what?

Fluttershy had a shy smile on her face. Sapphire walked up to her looking frazzled and put the potato in her bag. "Anything else?"

"No, that's everything. We can go back to my cottage," Fluttershy answered. On their way back, Sapphire asked a question he had been thinking about.

"So Fluttershy, why do you believe me when I say I'm a human from another world? Everyone so far has had their reason for either believing or not believing me."

"I believe you because I saw you come from the portal with my own eyes. It was really bright, but I definitely saw what looked like a human on the other side of the portal. When I told Twilight this yesterday, she told me I was seeing things. There was no way I could have seen anything in that portal. It was way too bright. But I definitely saw you! I saw your human form step through! And even if I hadn't seen you, I still would have believed you. You were so scared and clueless, like a newborn. With innocence like that, how could you lie?"

Sapphire was touched by Fluttershy's speech. When they arrived at the cottage, Sapphire put the groceries while Fluttershy checked on the animals. He didn't get very far when a loud screech interrupted him. He ran outside to see Fluttershy's yard mangled. Most of the animals were gone, including all of the baby animals.

"What happened here?" Sapphire shouted in disbelief. Angel came hopping from a bush and onto Fluttershy's head. He whispered in her ear.

"Oh no! That's terrible!" Fluttershy cried. She ran off into the Everfree Forest.

"Fluttershy! Wait!" Sapphire shouted after her. He ran into the Everfree Forest after her. He quickly lost track of her though. While he was looking around, a buzzing noise went by. He turned and looked. There was nothing there. He slowly backed away, scared of what may be out here. He heard a roar and immediately ran towards it. In a clearing, he saw Fluttershy standing before a manticore. That must be what took Fluttershy's animals! Now it's going to hurt her! He sped towards it.

"Get away from her!" Sapphire shouted.

"STOP!" Fluttershy turned and shouted. Sapphire tried to stop immediately and fell over, rolling several feet before ending up on his face. Fluttershy walked towards him.

"This manticore didn't steal the animals. He's trying to help me find them," Fluttershy explained. Sapphire picked himself up and followed Fluttershy back to the manticore. She was trembling from head to toe, though. She was trying to be brave, but she must have been terrified. The manticore sniffed at Fluttershy picking up her scent. Then he smelled the air, trying to find a similar smell. When he detected the smell, he was off running. Fluttershy and Sapphire followed him. They came to a cliff face about 15 feet off the ground overlooking a dangerous scene.

"What are those things?!" Sapphire cried in horror.

"Those are wyverns! They're dragons that can't fly and instead of breathing fire, their bite is poisonous!" Fluttershy said.

Fluttershy's animals were crowded together beneath the cliff, cowering away from the encroaching wyverns. The spines on their back and tail sharpening as their predatory instincts took over. The lone defender of the animals was a snake with a chicken's head. It went up to the closest wyvern, and when it widened its eyes, the wyvern turned to stone.

"What was that?"

"A cockatrice. Their stare petrifies anything that looks at it."

The next wyvern slashed at the cockatrice, knocking it away. It landed before the animals which were now crying, sensing the impending danger. A third wyvern pounced, heading directly for the animals.

"NO!" Fluttershy screamed and collapsed to the ground crying into her arms.

Why isn't working? Why aren't my powers coming back? This situation is life or death! If my magic doesn't activate, all of Fluttershy's animals are going to die, and then Fluttershy and I are next!

The cockatrice picked itself up and in the last second before the wyvern could catch its prey, petrified all of Fluttershy's animals. When the wyvern noticed its prey had been taken from it, it roared in rage and turned to the cocaktrice. The manticore jumped down and swiped the wyvern away. The cockatrice petrified another wyvern and the manticore clawed at another. The wyverns outnumbered them though and both were bitten and thrown away. The wyverns approached the weakening creatures which were now quickly dying from the poison.

"Fluttershy! You have to do something! They need your help! You're the only one who can do it! If you don't, the cockatrice and manticore are going to die! Then your animals will never turn back from stone and the wyverns will come after us next!" Sapphire said trying to get Fluttershy to move.

"But I..."

"Please! Fluttershy!" Fluttershy stared down the cliff face at the stone animals and dying manticore and cockatrice. She took a deep breath and flew down the cliff.

"What do you think you're doing!" she screamed at the wyverns. "How dare you attack my animals in my house! And now you're hurting my friends! You better get out of here right now!" Sapphire could feel an overwhelming force from his vantage point. Fluttershy's anger was extremely powerful. The wyverns felt it too and began to cower away.

"I want to never see you again! Am I clear? If I ever see you hurt any animals or creatures again, I will make you pay!" The wyverns were trembling now. When Fluttershy took a step and gave the Stare, that was enough to send them running. All but one wyvern left. This one was the leader and didn't even seem scared of Fluttershy. With a snarl, it pounced.

"Fluttershy, no!" Sapphire shouted and jumped off the cliff. He smashed the wyvern away from Fluttershy. The wyvern responded by sinking its fangs into Sapphire's shoulder.

"Gah!" Sapphire cried from the pain. He pushed the wyvern off of him towards one of the wyvern statues. It knocked the statue on top of it. Sapphire fell over, already feeling the effects of the wyvern poison.

"Sapphire, hold on! I'll go get medicine for the poison!" Fluttershy flew off to her cottage. Sapphire's breathing became shallow and heavy. He crawled over to the cockatrice. The heartbeat was faint.

"You have to live. You have to save Fluttershy's animals." Sapphire took the cockatrice in his arms to give it his body heat. He could hear the wyvern gnash its teeth from underneath the statue. It was definitely pinned down. Sapphire let himself fall unconscious.

Sapphire's dream was cold as ice. It was dark. Surrounded from all sides by dark.

"You can't escape me. I will find you. I will kill you. I will destroy everything you hold dear. Then I will destroy everything else," a voice dripping with evil and hatred emanated from the darkness. Sapphire knew that voice. He thought he had escaped it. He felt guilty he had escaped it. He had left it behind with no one to stop it. He felt himself fall deeper and deeper into the darkness and cold. Then he felt a yank. It pulled him out. It was warm. A light grew in the distance. The warmth enveloped him.

Sapphire shot up with a gasp and looked around. He was still in the Everfree Forest. He looked at his shoulder. It was swollen and bandaged, but the poison was definitely gone.

"You're awake," Fluttershy said from behind. He turned and saw her caring for the weakened, but alive, manticore and cockatrice. The snarls had stopped and Sapphire saw that the wyvern leader had been petrified underneath its peon. Fluttershy's animals were still petrified, though.

"The cockatrice is too weak to help my animals right now, but it had enough strength to stop that wyvern," Fluttershy explained. She looked so stoic. Sapphire stood up. His right foreleg felt shaky and weak from the wyvern bite, so he avoided putting pressure on it. He limped over to Fluttershy and gave her a hug.

"Everything's okay. We're all fine," Fluttershy said. After an hour of rest, the cockatrice was able to return Fluttershy's animals to normal. They all left the forest together, the manticore and cockatrice acting as bodyguards. When they reached Fluttershy's cottage, the manticore and cockatrice returned to the Everfree Forest. It was late now and there was no way Sapphire would be able to walk back to the library tonight. Fluttershy allowed him to stay in her cottage for the night. Still weak from the recovery, Sapphire was able to quickly fall asleep.
> Day 6: Rainbow Dash
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sapphire’s shoulder was sore from yesterday. Walking was still difficult so Fluttershy made him eat breakfast in bed.

“Do you think you’ll make it back to Twilight’s?” Fluttershy asked.

“If I take it slow. I’m pretty sure if I keep my shoulder a certain way it’ll stop the pain.”

“Well, if you’re sure.”

When Sapphire came down the stairs, he was immediately overwhelmed by Fluttershy’s animals. They all wanted to show him their gratitude for protecting Fluttershy. Even Angel clung tightly to his neck.

“It was no big deal. Come on, guys. I have to go now. I can’t spend the whole day here.”

The animals were reluctant, but they let go of Sapphire. As he was walking to the door, there was a knock on it.  Fluttershy answered the door. It was Spike.

“Sapphire! There you are! Twilight and I got worried when you didn’t come home last night. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Spike. Fluttershy and I had a little... adventure yesterday.” Sapphire stepped onto the porch with Spike, “I’ll explain everything on the way back to the library. So long, Fluttershy. Take care of yourself.”

“Bye, Sapphire. Thank you for saving me and my animals.”

The door closed behind Sapphire and Spike, the latter Spike standing at the door with a shocked look for a moment before turning and following Sapphire.

“You saved Fluttershy and her animals?” Spike asked.

“That’s the adventure we had. I also got injured while having it. Let me tell you what happened...”

As Sapphire and Spike made their way back to the library, Sapphire recounted yesterday’s events in the Everfree Forest. Just as he finished, a rainbow blur could be seen approaching them at an incredible speed, despite which it managed to come to a complete stop just a few feet before them.

“There you slow pokes are! What’s taking so long? I’ve been waiting for over two hours!” Rainbow Dash said.

“Oh, right! Sapphire, I forgot to tell you! Rainbow Dash wants to see if she can get you to fly today. I left her and Twilight waiting when I came to get you,” Spike explained.

“I could’ve just told him myself, Spike.”

“It doesn’t matter who told him. Anyway, I’m going to head back to the library to watch Twilight. Why don’t you two get started?” Spike continued on his way, leaving Rainbow Dash and Sapphire to get started.

“Let’s head to over that nearby field, it’ll give us more space to practice.” Rainbow Dash pointed to the small hill nearby, covered in grass and flowers. When she noticed how slow Sapphire was walking, she finally noticed the bandage on his shoulder.

“What happened to you?” Rainbow Dash asked. Sapphire told the story once again.

“Wow. That’s rough. Good thing I’m teaching you how to fly so you have an alternative to walking. Hang on a second, I’m going to go get your first lesson.” Rainbow flew away into the clouds and Sapphire continued climbing the hill. Rainbow Dash returned to ground level holding a cloud.

“Our first test is to see if you can stand on this cloud. Spread your wings and try to step on this cloud.”

“What will spreading my wings do?”

“When your wings are opened up, it lowers your weight and density and allows you to walk on a cloud without destroying it.”

“Seriously?! Pegasi can do that?! Just change their weight and density on a whim? That has to have more practical uses.” Sapphire began to become absorbed in his thoughts about the strange properties of ponies’ wings and how they worked in a system.

“Snap out of it! Now step on the cloud.” Rainbow instructed. He opened his wings and became concerned when he didn’t feel any change in his weight. Pushing back the negative thoughts about this and bringing up hopeful ones of this plan’s success, he raised one hoof and placed it on the cloud. The cloud couldn’t take his weight and immediately dissipated.

“Well that was a disappointment,” Rainbow Dash said. She brought down another cloud.

“Now this time, really concentrate and try to envision standing on the cloud. Maybe that’ll work.”

Rainbow Dash’s willingness to just try out theories blankly both impressed and worried Sapphire. He opened his wings and closed his eyes. He imagined himself standing on the cloud in his mind. He was as light as a feather. He took a deep breath and took a step. He didn’t open his eyes.

“Well? Did it work?” he asked.

“Umm... no,” Rainbow Dash replied. Sapphire opened his eyes and saw that the cloud had once again dissipated. His wings drooped a little.

“Don’t worry! This was only the first test! We still have plenty of others to go through before I give up!” Rainbow Dash said.

“The next is to see if you can flap your wings and fly a little bit.”

“But Fluttershy already did that with me and it didn’t work,” Sapphire explained.

“That’s because you used the Fluttershy method. You need the patented Rainbow Dash method!”

“What’s the-!” Sapphire’s sentence was cut off as Rainbow Dash grabbed ahold of him and started lifting him into the air.

“What are you doing!”

“Teaching you the way baby birds learn! Your powers tend to activate in life or death circumstances, right? So we’re going to put you in one!”

“You’re crazy!”

“Crazy enough to get you to fly! Better learn quick kid!” And with that, Rainbow Dash let go of Sapphire almost a hundred feet off the ground. Sapphire’s legs were flailing and his wings were flapping as hard he could get them. It wasn’t enough. Sapphire couldn’t even slow down how fast he was falling. He closed his eyes in terror. Please! Please fly! Sapphire begged his wings. He felt no response. No feeling growing inside him that recognized the the threat he was in. He was falling. He was going to hit the ground. There was nothing that he could do.

Suddenly, Sapphire felt himself slow to a halt still in the air. He opened his eyes. Rainbow Dash had caught him only about five feet from the ground. She lowered him to the ground.

“That didn’t work either?! I was sure it would!” Rainbow Dash yelled at herself and turned herself away from Sapphire to grumble about her failure. Meanwhile, Sapphire was sprawled on the ground, still gripped with fear.

“Alright! New plan! We’re going to have do it slower I guess,” Rainbow Dash said. Sapphire raised himself up, but a sharp pain through his shoulder made him yelp.

“Whoa! Are you okay?” Rainbow Dash quickly offered a hoof. Sapphire swatted it away.

“No! I’m not okay! Your stupid hare-brained scheme almost killed me!” Sapphire shouted. “And because of that fall, my shoulder now feels like there’s a knife stabbing it!” With that, he turned and began to limp, slower than ever, down the hill away from a stunned Rainbow Dash. Towards the bottom, he tripped on a rock and fell onto his face and injured shoulder. He cried in pain.

“Here! Let me help!” Rainbow Dash said flying over. Again, Sapphire rejected and stood up on his own. He turned and glared at her, fighting back the tears of pain growing.

“Haven’t you done enough harm!” he yelled at her. He turned away and kept walking.

He kept his head low and and glared ahead of him, steaming about what had occurred. When he finally made it back to the library, he slammed the door shut using his right foreleg. He immediately regretted this choice as he clutched at the new shooting pain in his shoulder and anger towards Rainbow Dash.

“Sapphire? What are you doing back so soon?” Spike asked from the top of the stairs.

“Rainbow Dash is a terrible teacher and I can’t believe I ever agreed to her help. All she did was injure my shoulder even further and embarrass me about my lack of ability to fly.”

Spike gave Sapphire a concerned look. “Follow me to the bathroom. We’ll redress your shoulder.” Sapphire followed Spike to the bathroom. With the bandage removed, the two could easily see that the day’s activities had reopened the wound and blood was slowly flowing and pus was slowly gathering. Both Sapphire and Spike winced at the sight. Spike cleaned the wound, put some Neighosporin on it, and bandaged it up again. Sapphire slowly climbed the stairs to Twilight’s room.

“What happened?” Twilight asked.

“Rainbow’s training was a little too severe to be of any effect on Sapphire’s flying abilities,” Spike explained.

“That’s a shame,” Twilight said. She noticed Sapphire’s angry face. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Sapphire looked at her and sighed.

“Her actions are way over the top! I don’t even think she cares about how insulting and hurtful she can be, be it physical or emotional! She expected me to learn how to do something I’ve never done before in  the span of a day! Nobody can do that as easily as she wants! In the six days I’ve been here, I’ve almost died three times and fallen on my face every single one! I don’t need her turning one of those almost deaths into an actual one!” He finished his rant and began gasping for air. Twilight looked over his shoulder.

“Do you have something you want to say... Rainbow Dash?” Sapphire whirled his head around and saw a timid Rainbow Dash at the window.

“You! Go away! I never want to see you again!”

“Please! Let me apologize! The way I’ve treated you since I got here was awful. I’ve antagonized you, was immature about your apology at Pinkie’s party, and now I tried to force something I couldn’t and shouldn’t have. I’ve been an awful pony and certainly not the kind of friend you deserve. You’ve been so nervous being in Equestria, and I’ve just made it miserable for you. I am so, so sorry, but I know nothing I say will make it right. So... please. Can you find it in your heart to even consider forgiving a jerk like me?”

Sapphire’s face changed. It was now full of forgiveness and mercy, instead of the rage and hatred it used to hold. He walked up to Rainbow Dash and held up a hoof. She flinched at first expecting a different reaction. When she noticed it was an act of kindness and not anger, she took the hoof. They pulled each other into a hug.

“I’ll forgive you Rainbow Dash, if you take it easy on our next flying lesson.”

“Well, Rainbow Dash? I think Princess Celestia might want to hear about this,” Twilight said.

Sapphire was confused. “Why would she want to know?” he asked.

“My friends and I have been given the assignment to report to the princess whenever one of us learns a lesson about friendship; and I’d say Rainbow Dash has learned a big one,” Twilight explained.

“I sure have. Spike, take a letter,” Rainbow Dash said. Spike took out a quill and piece of parchment. While Rainbow Dash was walking towards the center of the room, a packet of papers fell from her person.

“Dear Princess Celestia, today I learned a lesson about insensitivity..” Rainbow Dash began. Sapphire was more concerned with the papers she dropped. He picked them up. It was an application to a place called the “Wonderbolts Academy”. One of the sections asked for a recommendation from another pegasus. Sapphire looked at his wings. Well, I’m a pegasus. He turned to Rainbow Dash.

“-just because you’re an expert at something, doesn’t mean you can force others to be just as good as you. Everyone-”

Sapphire smiled. He picked up a quill and began writing.

Dear Admissions Board,
I’d like to tell you about Rainbow Dash. She is absolutely the most...

He scratched his chin with the quill.

...incredible pegasus I’ve ever met. Her talents are indescribable so I’ll try my best to give you an idea. Her flying abilities are like none that I’ve ever seen. She could outfly any pegasus I know. But I’m sure all of your applicants are that way too. So why is she special?

He looked over at Rainbow Dash. “-need to work at their pace. Not yours. They’re special. You can’t force them to be you, but you can’t give up on them either-”

She’s the most loyal pegasus. She is devoted to her friends and ensuring that they are the best they could possibly be. A pegasus like her would make a great Wonderbolt. She’s a leader. She can push others to their limits to make them better. Her determination is insurmountable. Please, consider Rainbow Dash when you choose your accepted applicants.

As he finished writing, he felt a jolt surge through him. His vision went black and instead he was looking almost like through a window at events earlier today.

“Spike will be back with Sapphire soon, Rainbow Dash. Why don’t you have a seat?” Twilight said. Sapphire tried to respond.

“Sure. Thanks, Twilight.”

That wasn’t my voice. What’s going on? Why am I not in control? Twilight? Help!

“You’re going to try to help Sapphire to fly again today, right?” Twilight asked.

“Yup.” Sapphire’s vision quickly shifted left and right, as if checking to see that no one else was around. While this was happening, he saw glimpses of a rainbow mane and cyan fur.

Am I... Inside Rainbow Dash’s body? But it’s supposed to be sunset, not morning.

“I’m gonna tell you something, but if you tell anyone, I’ll say you’re lying. I really hope Sapphire learns to fly again because I want a flying buddy.”

Flying buddy? Come to think of it, none of the pegasi in Ponyville could compare to Rainbow Dash. She wants me to get my powers back so I’ll go flying with her?

“Really? What about Fluttershy? And the other weather pegasi?”

“The weather pegasi don’t take flying as seriously as I do. And Fluttershy... well, her wing power is 5.0 in a serious emergency. She can’t fly with me. Sapphire really wants to fly again, so maybe if he gets his flight back, he’ll fly with me.”

If Sapphire could smile, he would. Even though you keep using the word “again” to describe my when I’ll fly despite it being inaccurate... I’ll go flying with you Rainbow Dash. Alright, I guess this vision can end now.

As if almost on command, the scene started to melt away. Sapphire’s mind was in the darkness again for a moment until his normal vision returned. No time had passed since finishing the recommendation and the jolt of power was gone again. Sapphire looked at his reflection in the mirror. His eyes and ring were still orange. I guess that didn’t quite count in terms of using magic.

He folded the application back up and turned around.

“-Your loyal subject, Rainbow Dash. Okay, Spike send it.”

Spike walked over to the window, opened it, and with a belch of fire, the letter was consumed in the flames and floated off towards Canterlot as smoke.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash, you dropped this a second ago,” Sapphire said, handing the application to her

“Oh, thanks. I can’t lose this. It’s way too important. Bye Twilight, Spike... Sapphire,” Rainbow said and flew out the open window. Spike closed it behind her.

“I saw what you did, Sapphire. And I have to say that was really nice of you,” Twilight said.

“Did what? I didn’t do anything!” Sapphire said, acting innocent. Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Right when you finished though, you jerked your head up and looked out the window. What was that about?”

Sapphire grinned and winked. “That’s my little secret!”

“That makes three now, you know. One day you’re going to have to tell us you know.”

Sapphire’s face hardened. He looked out the window. He thought back to the nightmare he had after being bitten by the wyvern. “One day... But today is not that day.”

There was an awkward silence until Spike spoke up. “I’m gonna go get dinner ready. Why don’t you relax Sapphire?”

After dinner, Sapphire entered his bed, careful to not put pressure on his right shoulder, and went to sleep.
> Day 7: Rarity
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Just a moment, please!” Rarity called from inside after Spike knocked on the door to Carousel Boutique. Spike was assisting Rarity with gem hunting today and Sapphire tagged along to meet Rarity. She opened the door.

“Oh! Spike! Sapphire! How are you doing? My apologies, I was working on the dress I want the gems we find today to be a part of.”

“It’s no problem, Rarity! Are you ready to go?” Spike asked.

"Yes, let me just lock the shop up and we'll be on our way," Rarity said. She levitated a wagon from inside her shop, closed the door, and locked it. The three of them then walked off towards the edge of town closest to Canterlot. This area appeared to be a quarry.

"You search for gems here?" Sapphire asked.

“The gems here are top quality. According to Twilight, it’s because the inside of Canterlot Mountain is a gem mine and that stretches out underground,” Rarity explained.

Sapphire turned behind him. Ponyville was a few miles behind them. “So Canterlot is built on top of a gem mine that stretches out almost to Ponyville?”

“Thats correct. Although, when it was built, nopony knew that the gems were there.” Rarity’s horn lit up.

“Oh! Spike! I’m getting something!” Rarity called. Rarity began to wander around seeming to try to close on something. Spike followed with the wagon. Eventually, she stopped.

“They’re right here,” Rarity said pointing a hoof at the ground. Sapphire walked up to what appeared to him as a boring patch of dirt and rock. Spike, however, began digging at this spot. He eventually unearthed a small group of gems. He placed them in the wagon.

“That’s incredible! You have a gem finding spell?” Sapphire was astounded.

“That’s right! In fact, it was the first spell I ever cast completely. Until this spell, all I’d been able to do is weak levitation spells that ultimately failed. One day, my horn just started glowing and dragged me all the way to a rock filled with gems, and when I laid eyes on what the spell had led me to, I got my cutie mark.. Ever since, I’ve been able to use this spell..”

Her horn went off again. “Spike, I’ve found some more!” Rarity’s call snapped Spike out of his gem trance. He brought the wagon around. Sapphire followed along. This group of gems was larger than the previous one.

“So Rarity, since we’re in appropriate company, I’ve been wondering, why do you believe me when I say I’m a human from another world?” Sapphire asked.

Rarity was tracking some more gems. “Yes. Do you remember when you first arrived? And you were asking me those questions?”

“Yes.”

Spike was digging up the lode of gems. “That’s why. You knew nothing. Everything was a blank slate to you. You didn’t even know how to walk! I’ll admit your secrets make me nervous though, but I still believe that you are foreign to this world. And so does Spikey-wikey.”

Rarity gave Spike a pat on the head as he placed a jackpot of large and various gems into the wagon. The pile now reached the top of the wagon. Sapphire couldn't help but snicker at “Spikey-wikey”. The three continued gem hunting until the pile of gems threatened to fall on them. When they returned to Carousel Boutique, Rarity gave Spike the largest ruby in the pile.

“Bye, Rarity! Bye, Sapphire! I have to go back to the library and check on Twilight. See you tonight, Sapphire.” Spike walked off carrying his ruby in his arms. Sapphire thought he had heard a sigh come from him. Sapphire turned to see the largest sapphire hovering in front of his face.

“Thank you for assisting for me today.”

“But, I didn’t even do anything.”

“Well, take it anyway. I know you miss your sapphire so take this one in the meantime.”

“But it’s the biggest one in the pile.”

“So? I have plenty to keep me working for over a while.”

“Well, thank you, Rarity.” Sapphire took the gem in his hoof and stared at it.

“Now! My inspiration for this new dress is still strong! How about you go get us lunch and I’ll close the shop while I work.”

A quick idea flashed through Sapphire’s mind. “Actually Rarity, I was wondering. I want to repay Twilight for letting me stay at her library and housing me isn’t free so I thought I might get a job to pay her back. How about it? When you get strokes of inspiration you don’t have to close the shop and you don’t have to pay me much.”

Rarity thought for a minute. “Alright, I’ll agree to it. I can’t deny that you would be a big help and I can’t say no to anyone who has such generosity.”

Rarity led him inside.

“This is the showroom. This is where all of the dresses are displayed. If you need a different size than what’s here, that backroom has them. Those rooms over there are part of my house. No customers are allowed, okay? The second floor is my bedroom and the third floor is my work room. That’s where I’ll be while working on this dress. Later, I’ll have time to give you proper training, but this should be good enough for now. Good luck!”

Rarity took the wagon in her magic and trotted upstairs with it leaving Sapphire to absorb all she said. He looked around the showroom getting a feel for where the dressing room was and how the outfits were organized. Soon, there was a knock on the door. There was a pink pegasus on the other side.

“Welcome to Carousel Boutique!” Sapphire said with a large smile.

“Ugh, a newbie. Fine! Whatever! Just don’t screw up. I have a date tonight and I need something fancy,” she said.

“No problem!” Sapphire said. Stuck up rich girl. Sapphire dug around a group of dresses looking for something good.

“What’s taking so long?!” she called.

“Just a minute!” So help me... He returned with a green dress fit for a cocktail party.

“Are you kidding me? I look awful in green!”

“It’s only the first one. There are plenty of others.” Pink, pink... what goes with pink? He found a black dress and brought it out.

“Are you KIDDING me? That dress is CLEARLY made for earth ponies! Where am I going to put my wings?” the pegasus yelled.

“I’m sure we have a pegasus version in the back. Give me one moment.” Sapphire went into the back room and found the same dress only with holes for a pegasus’s wings. While leaving, he tripped on a longer dress and brought down several dresses on top of him as he fell to his face. When he returned, with one dress over his head and another on his body, she snatched the desired dress from him and marched into the dressing room. He rolled his eyes and hung up the dresses. She returned from the room with an aloof look on her face.

“I SUPPOSE this is ACCEPTABLE,” she said, never losing her condescending tone. Sapphire walked behind the counter and rung the dress up.

“75 bits,” he said.

“Here’s 53,” she said and dropped them on the counter with no concern.

“Okay. Now where are the other 22?”

“After the service I just had? You’re lucky I’m paying anything at all!” she said and began to reach for the dress. Sapphire stuck his hoof between her and the dress.

“No bits, no dress,” Sapphire said and picked up the dress and hung it behind the counter.

“Hey! I DID pay!” she yelled.

“No. You partially paid. You’re going to have to pay the full price. No discount,” Sapphire said not losing his cool.

“Give me. The dress.” A glare formed on her face.

“No.”

“I. Said. GIVE IT TO ME!” she screamed and smacked Sapphire. She reached and grabbed the dress from behind the counter. Sapphire recovered enough to make a grab for her. He missed her, but managed to rip open her bit bag. As she flew from the store, 30 bits fell from it. He sighed and placed all 83 bits into the register. He returned to the back room to fix the mess he had made.

Nothing else happened for the rest of the day until an earth pony mare entered.

“Welcome to Carousel Boutique! How may I help you?”

“Heee---eello there, good sir! I was wondering if I could speak with Rarity? I’m an old customer of hers and her dresses were so sensational, I just have to get my hands on another!” she said.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Rarity is busy working on a new design,” Sapphire said.

“Ooh! Exciting! I hope she shows it to me! I simply looo-oove the work she does. In my line of work, it’s important to look my best.”

“What do you do for a living?” Sapphire asked. The mare stared at him intently. He began to feel uncomfortable. She leaned in closer and squinted her eyes a little. He began to fidget a little.

“You... don’t know who I am, do you?” she asked. Sapphire shook his head. She smiled.

“Well, I’m an artist of sorts like Rarity. How’d you meet Rarity?”

“Well, when I had nowhere to go, she and her friends took me in, so I’m trying to repay the favor,” Sapphire explained. The mare smiled. Rarity called from upstairs.

“Sapphire! I’ve done it! It took longer than I had originally planned, but it turned out so much better!” Rarity’s hoofsteps could be heard descending the stairs.

“I wonder how she knew I was here,” the mare said. Sapphire gave her a weird look. When she reached the bottom, Rarity gave a shocked gasp.

“Sapphire Shores! I didn’t know you were here! I’m so terribly sorry for making you wait,” Rarity said.

“That’s alright. Your lovely new alicorn employee has been keeping me company,” Sapphire Shores said.

“Oh! Speaking of. Sapphire Shores, meet Sapphire Spell. Sapphire Spell, this is Sapphire Shores, the Pony of Pop.”

“Oh, so that’s why you called out Sapphire before. You were referring to him, not me,” Sapphire Shores said.

“Anyway, what do you need?” Rarity asked.

“Well, I have a concert coming up and I need some outfits. Yours were so popular before, I figured I’d use you again. Now, I’d only need one outfit, so you’re not overwhelmed this time.”

“I have the perfect dress! I just finished it!” Rarity excitedly said.  She revealed a dark purple dress. It was long, long enough to cover all of Sapphire Shore’s legs and then some. The bottom was adorned with a lighter purple fluff glittering with what appeared to be a shattered ruby. The rest of the shimmered in the light from crushed sapphires and amethysts. There was a wing design on that was incredible. Both of the Sapphires’ eyes widened at the sight.

“It’s... beautiful...” Sapphire Spell said.

“It. is. PERFECT!” Sapphire Shores exclaimed. “This dress is perfect for the worldwide debut of the song I’ll be performing at the concert. I’ll take it! How much?”

“200 bits,” Rarity replied. Sapphire Spell almost choked .

“I’ll take it!” Sapphire Shores said. She opened her bit bag and laid out 250 bits. “Keep the extra as a tip for your hard work and as a thank you to your new employee.”

Sapphire Shores turned to leave but stopped and turned back. She dug around into her pockets until she pulled out three envelopes.

“I’ve been thinking about who to give these to. I think maybe you two will have better luck.” She gave the three envelopes to Rarity.

Sapphire Shores left the store carrying the newly made dress with her.

Rarity opened one of the envelopes and gasped.

“What? What is it?” Sapphire asked.

“It’s a front row ticket and a backstage pass to Sapphire Shores’s Nightmare Night Concert later this month!” she cried. She opened the other two. “They’re ALL front row tickets and backstage passes to Sapphire Shores’s Nightmare Night Concert later this month!”

“What did you do?” Rarity asked.

”I don’t know! I mean, we talked for a little while, but not much else,” Sapphire said, legitimately confused by the events. Rarity split the bits 25/25 and gave Sapphire two of the envelopes.

“Give one of those envelopes to Spike. Oh! I’m so excited! The three of us are going to be spending Nightmare Night as VIPs at a Sapphire Shores concert!” Rarity said jumping up and down.

“Did anyone else stop by?” Rarity asked.

“Only one. A pink pegasus,” Sapphire replied.

“Understandable, Wednesdays are the slowest. Wait, did you say pink pegasus? Did she have an attitude?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah, why?” Sapphire asked.

“I am so sorry you had to put up with her! She is the most difficult of all my customers! Did she pay?”

“After much difficulty. I got 83 bits for a dress that was 75.”

“She OVERpaid?!”

“Well... I ripped her bag trying to stop her from stealing the dress and that came out.”

“Wow. I have to say. You are great.” Rarity dug in the cash register. “Here, this your pay.”

Sapphire received 40 bits from Rarity.

“Thank you Rarity! Should I come back tomorrow?”

“Well you are my employee now. So yes.”

“Bye, Rarity!” With that, Sapphire left Carousel Boutique and started walking away.

Now, where’s that pharmacist Fluttershy owes money to?
> Day 10: Lyra Heartstrings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hold still. I don’t know if this will hurt,” Spike said as he wrapped a claw around Sapphire’s bandaged shoulder. Sapphire braced himself as Spike began to unwrap it. Soon, the bandage fell to the floor. No sign of the wyvern bite remained except for the color of the new skin. Sapphire gave his shoulder a little shake. He felt nothing. He started walking, then trotting. No pain. Sapphire’s shoulder was fully healed.

Twilight looked on from her bed as the excited Sapphire trotted around her room.

“It’s great that you’re all better, Sapphire,” Twilight said. She used her magic to pull back the sheets. “But some of us aren’t so lucky.”

“The doctor said just three more days and you’ll be on your hooves again,” Sapphire said.

“So what are your plans for today? Now that Rarity has given you a day off?” Twilight asked. Sapphire came to a stop near Twilight’s bed.

“I’m gonna go see Lyra Heartstrings. She’s been wanting to meet with me since Pinkie Pie’s party and I figured the sooner I go, the sooner she’ll stop pestering me. Besides, if she can give me any information about how to become human again or get my powers back or get back to my world, I’ll take it!” Sapphire said. Twilight frowned.

“I don’t want you to meet with her. She can be a... bad influence on somepony so... impressionable as you,” Twilight said.

“I’m going to meet with her. At least she believes that I’m a human and not suffering from false memories!”  Sapphire said.

“Because it’s completely illogical! Just admit that you have a problem and we can get Equestria’s finest doctors help you get your true memories back!” Twilight said.

“My only problem is a bunch of technicolor pony weirdos who think I’m a liar!” Sapphire stormed out. Twilight couldn’t even respond to his outburst. He was fuming as he approached Lyra’s house. He knocked on the door. Bon Bon answered the door.

“Oh, ‘ello. It’s nice of ya to be ‘ere,” Bon Bon said in the thickest and worst British accent Sapphire has ever heard. “Lyra! That human you wanted to dissect is ‘ere!” she called. Sapphire smirked and rolled his eyes.

“Didn’t you have a southern accent the last time I met you?” Sapphire asked,

“I ‘ave an undiagnosable disease where my accent changes everyday,” Bon Bon explained. Lyra descended the stairs.

“Sapphire! You’re here! Perfect! Come with me to my study. I have a questionnaire for you,” Lyra said. Bon Bon moved so Sapphire could enter the doorway. He followed Lyra up the stairs and into the study. Using her magic, she placed the questionnaire and a quill in front of Sapphire.

“Fill this out. These are a bunch of questions relating to humans and their culture. Just by filling this out, you’ll be accelerating research on humans by about 300 years!” Lyra said gleefully.

Sapphire took a look at the packet. There was at least 50 pages to it. All of it was written responses. Sapphire gulped and got to work. He answered questions relating to human biology and the purpose of organs, questions related to human use of magic, questions about cultural differences, questions on literature. Sapphire began to see double after the first hour of this, and he was only 11 pages in! By the time he reached page 50, he was so exhausted, he fell to the floor.

“Why did I do that?” he said, moving his jaw from holding the quill. Lyra was flipping through pages with an excited look on her face.

“I can’t believe it! Do you realize what you’ve done? It’s like a treasure trove of information! We knew almost none of this! And some of what we thought we knew was wrong! This is amazing! Thank you so much Sapphire!” Lyra said reading his responses. Sapphire’s stomach growled and Lyra snapped back to attention.

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry, I completely forgot! I made lunch for you. It’s downstairs,” Lyra said. Sapphire’s face brightened and he headed downstairs leaving Lyra with the packet. He arrived just in time to see Bon Bon finish the last of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich Lyra had left for him. His mouth opened in horror as he felt his heart shatter. Bon Bon noticed the look on his face.

“What? Is ‘ere some jelly on my face?” Bon Bon asked.

“No it’s... Lyra made that sandwich for me...” Sapphire said.

“What? Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize,” Bon Bon said. “Hold on, I have an idea.” Bon Bon walked over to her bag on the counter. She reached in and pulled out a piece of candy.

“Eat this and drink some water,” she said as she handed it to him. With a confused look, Sapphire ate the candy and drank some water. He instantly felt his stomach fill up as if he ate a full meal.

“How is this possible? That candy was so small,” Sapphire said..
“Perfect! It works just as it should,” Bon Bon replied.

“Wait, you mean you just experimented on me!” Sapphire shouted.

“Terribly sorry, I just wanted to know if my new dehydrated candy worked,” Bon Bon said. Those words failed to soften Sapphire’s face of stone shock.

“Oh come, now. You got your lunch and I get a new candy to sell. Nothing bad happened.” Bon Bon tried to reason.

Sapphire grumbled under his breath and reluctantly saw the logic in Bon Bon's words. Lyra came down the stairs.

"Sapphire! I had something I was going to tell you later, but I'm just too excited," Lyra said.  "Deep in the Shagya Desert in Saddle Arabia, the ruins of a temple were found. It's believed to have been left behind by humans. I'm leading an expedition to explore it in a few days. What do you say? Maybe it'll have some clues as to who you are or where you came from?" Lyra continued.

"Are you kidding?! That sounds great!" Sapphire shouted, unable to contain his excitement.

"Great! I'll add you to the list of archaeologists, " Lyra said. "There are some preparations that need to be done. Why don't we go to Sugar Cube Corner for some celebratory shakes?"

"I can agree to that," Bon Bon said. The three of them left the house and headed to Sugar Cube Corner. Lyra and Bon Bon went inside to order the shakes while Sapphire stayed outside and held the table. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie came by while he waited. 

"Hey, Sapphire, why are you sitting outside all by yourself?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Lyra and Bon Bon are inside ordering some shakes," Sapphire explained. 

"Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon? Why are you with them?" Rainbow Dash asked. 

“Because I was helping Lyra with her research and she invited me on an expedition to Saddle Arabia,” Sapphire said, prepared for the negative response.

“Are you kidding?!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “You’re still adamant about being human?”

“Yes, because it’s true,” Sapphire said

“Yeah, Dashie! If I think about it hard enough, I believe that I can talk to a bunch of ponies who can see me, but I can’t see them,” Pinkie added. Rainbow and Sapphire followed her gaze. She was looking at nothing. There were no ponies or buildings where she was looking.

“Hi, reader! How many hooves am I holding up?” Pinkie continued to say at nothing.

“Uh, Pinkie? What are you doing?” Sapphire asked.

“Just being Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow Dash sighed. She turned back to Sapphire.

“Anyway... Sapphire you need to stop. This is crazy and you need to admit the truth,” Rainbow said.

“Yeah! Even I’m not that loco in the coco!” Pinkie said. Sapphire’s face of indifference began to shift.

“Are you kidding me! I came out of a portal that you have no idea how it was made, I have a full set of unbroken memories with zero holes that has no information about this world, and you say that I need to admit the truth?! You’re supposed to be the Element of Loyalty; maybe it chose the wrong pony!” Sapphire spat.

Rainbow Dash began trembling as her cerulean blue began turning a bright red. With a loud scream she took off at a blazing speed, fast enough to cause a Sonic Rainboom that shook the town. Sapphire clung to the table for life as a powerful gale shook Ponyville. When things had calmed down Sapphire lifted his head to see Pinkie Pie with a serious face.

“That was mean.”

Sapphire watched as Pinkie went after Rainbow Dash. Lyra and Bon Bon emerged from the store carrying three milkshakes.

“Did Rainbow Dash just do a Sonic Rainboom?” Lyra asked.

“Yeah,” Sapphire responded. The three toasted their milkshakes. As Lyra began explaining the plans, Sapphire became distracted. He had a strong feeling of guilt rising up.

Hey! She’s the one who doesn’t believe me! Why should I feel guilty about this?

The guilt was replaced by anger towards Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight Sparkle. He refocused on Lyra and her expedition.
> Day 15: Broken Promises
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After Sapphire’s outburst at Rainbow Dash, she and Pinkie Pie refused to talk to him. Twilight wasn’t pleased as well.

”Why are you antagonizing us? We’re trying to help you!”

Sapphire had just left Twilight’s house after another heavy atmosphere breakfast made worse by the fact that Twilight could now rejoin them at the table with her sprains healed. While he tried to be excited and happy for her when her casts came off, she was still confrontational towards him so he gave up on trying to be amicable. He was on his way to Carousel Boutique for another day of working with Rarity.

”While I agree that Twilight, Rainbow, and Pinkie shouldn’t doubt you like that, darling; the way you spoke to Rainbow was completely out of line. You mustn’t be so rude if you wish to make friends. I must also agree that visiting Lyra was a bad idea. She can be a bad influence. Not because she’s a bad pony, but the others believe her to be enforcing wrong ideas in your head. She’s a bad influence on your friendships.

He sighed to himself on continued on his way when he felt himself being pushed in another direction.

“Who?” he cried in shock. He turned to see Lyra pushing him with her forelegs.

“Lyra? What are you doing?” he asked.

“The expedition is in three days! Now is the time to buckle down and get this done!” Lyra said.

“But I’m supposed to go into work today. Plus, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and I were going to get together for lunch,” Sapphire tried to argue.

“Oh it’s just a lunch date. What’s more important? Returning to your true form and powers or gossiping about who’s dating who?” Lyra said.

“Well, we don’t know if the ruins will be able to return me to my true form. Plus, I had to cancel my lunch plans with Fluttershy yesterday to help you. I lied to her saying I didn’t feel well. I don’t want to blow her off again,” Sapphire tried to reason. Lyra stopped pushing him and moved in front him.

“Sapphire. This expedition is so important! If we can prove that humans once lived in this world, everyone will stop doubting us,” Lyra said. 

“I know, but... I have other things going on in my life. And... they took me in when I had no place to go. I can’t just blow them off.”

“Hmph! They’re holding you back! You need all your concentration if this expedition is going to be successful.”

“How about I meet you after work? We can do as much planning as we need then.”

“Unacceptable! We need all day if we’re going to get this done!”

Lyra had put her hoof down. Sapphire sighed. He went along with her to plan for the expedition.  At Lyra’s house, they went over the plans for transportation and the amount of supplies they would need. Around lunchtime, Sapphire was no longer paying attention. Lyra was going over the plans if there was an emergency. Sapphire was staring out the window when her noticed something.

Rarity was a buildings walking towards the restaurant they were supposed to meet for lunch. She looked furious. Sapphire brought his eyes to the floor as he felt a sickening guilt rise up.

Why did I abandon them?

After their own lunch break, the two of them were back at it. Sapphire became acquainted the profiles of all the other ponies on the expedition. He learned their names, faces, skill sets, and degrees. It wasn’t until this was finished and the sun was setting that Lyra finally let him leave.

On his way to Twilight’s library he heard crying. He began to go towards it when he heard voices.

“D-d-d-does he not l-l-like me?” he heard Fluttershy cry.

“Ah’m sure that’s not it, sugarcube. He’s just... busy gittin’ used to bein’ here is all,” Applejack replied.

Sapphire hid himself in some bushes and slowly approached them while remaining. Fluttershy was crying under a table while Applejack and Rarity tried to comfort her.

“Oh, yes, I’m sure that’s it, darling. Don’t you remember? He had such a wonderful time with you only a little over a week ago,” Rarity said.

“Are... are you sure?” Fluttershy asked sniffing.

“Sure, Ah’m sure! Sapphire-” Applejack received a dirty look from Rarity.

She’s still angry at me. Not that I’m surprised, but I didn’t think my name would invoke that response.

“Ah mean, Ah’m sure something really important came up and that’s why he couldn’t make lunch.”

Sapphire saw Rarity mumble something under her breath. He couldn’t tell what she said, but Applejack hit her and put on a fake smile. She growled at her, but when Fluttershy turned to look at her, she put on the biggest smile she could fake.

“Then why won’t he have lunch with us!” Fluttershy sobbed. Rarity and Applejack sighed.

Sapphire couldn’t take anymore. He moved away from them and headed towards the library.

I made Fluttershy cry and Rarity is almost as mad as Rainbow Dash was. What am I doing?

When he arrived, Twilight was upstairs. Spike was there though. He had a stern look on his face. They stared at each other for a while until Spike shook his head and walked away. Sapphire watched him leave the room. He walked into his room and collapsed onto his bed and sighed.

> Day 18: Letter to Celestia
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today’s the big day. Sapphire was awake before dawn and snuck out before either Twilight or Spike were up to meet Lyra at the train station. When he got there, she was asleep on one of the bags.

“Lyra? Wake up.” Sapphire shook her awake.

“Wha? 27!” she shouted as she snapped awake.

“What does that mean?” Sapphire asked.

“Oh! Nothing! Good morning, Sapphire! How are you on this exciting day?”

“I’m great and I’m ready to go,” he said.

“Awesome! The train should be here in about five minutes. Isn’t this exciting? In five minutes we’ll be off Manehattan where we’ll board the ship for Saddle Arabia. Then it’s just three days at sea until we get to the Shagya Desert Ruins.”

“HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO FLUTTERSHY!” a voice roared from nearby. Sapphire was tackled by a rainbow blur and he tumbled with another pony on top of him. When the tumbling finished he saw it was Rainbow Dash who had tackled him.

“Rainbow Dash! Get off of me!” Sapphire struggled against her.

“Not until you apologize for what you did to Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash yelled at him. Rainbow Dash was then surrounded by a violet glow and lifted off of him. Sapphire picked himself up and saw Spike, Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie before him. All of them but Fluttershy, who looked at the verge of crying, wore angry faces. Sapphire cringed at the sight.

“Sapphire! Are you okay?” Lyra called as she ran over.

“I can’t believe you, Sapphire! After all we did? We gave you a place to live!” Twilight said.

“We gave you friends!” Rarity added.

“We gave you support when you had no one!” Spike said.

“We gave you help in getting your powers back!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“We welcomed you as one of our own,” Fluttershy whispered.

“We threw you a party!” Pinkie Pie said.

“We gave you food!” Applejack said.

“And after all of that, you still treated us horribly,” Twilight said.

“You’ve yelled at us!” Rainbow Dash said.

“You’ve abandoned us!” Rarity said.

“You’ve picked fights with us!” Twilight said.

“All we wanted was to help you, a stranger, and you’ve treated us so mean,” Fluttershy said.

Sapphire was struck silent until Lyra spoke up.

“Sapphire! The train’s here! All the bags are onboard. We have to leave now,” she said. Sapphire turned to her.

“Oh no you don’t! If you go with her, you’re gonna lose the seven best things in your life right now!” Rainbow Dash said. Sapphire cringed as he looked at her.

They were right though. The only reason he had lasted this long in their world is because of them. And while it was a bit unfair that they were forcing him to give up this expedition, he had done terrible things to them. The way he antagonized Rainbow Dash and Twilight, the way he abandoned Fluttershy and Rarity, and the way he ignored Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Spike, he had to make things right.

He looked back and forth between his friends and Lyra. Lyra was busy loading the train while his friends stared him down. He sighed. “Lyra! Forget it. I’m not going on the expedition,” Sapphire said. He could feel his friends faces relax as they breathed a sigh of relief.

“What?! After we put so much work into it?” Lyra turned back to him.

“I’ve been a terrible friend. It’s time I make things right. I won’t abandon them anymore,” Sapphire said. The train blew its whistle announcing its departure. Lyra turned back and forth between Sapphire and the train.

“What? But? You?” Lyra became flustered. She got on the train just before it left the station. Sapphire sighed.

“I’m sorry everyone. I shouldn’t have done that to you, but I promise I’ll never do it again,” Sapphire said. Fluttershy, Rarity, and Spike ran over and hugged him.

“We forgive you,” all seven said in unison.

“I also promise I won’t bring up the human thing anymore,” Sapphire said.

“And Rainbow and I promise we won’t bother you about it anymore,” Twilight said. Sapphire smiled. “There is one more thing though. As you know, we write letters to Princess Celestia telling her about any lessons in friendship we learn. Would you mind writing one since you just learned a lesson?” Twilight asked.

Sapphire nodded his head. “Sure.” Later that day, they were all gathered in Twilight’s library as Sapphire prepared to write the letter.

“Dear Princess Celestia. Today, I learned something important. Recently, I thought my friends were holding me back, trying to stop me from discovering who I really was. Today I learned that isn’t the case. My friends had my best interests in heart. I was just too caught up in my own ideas to realize it. I learned that I shouldn’t take them for granted, and always keep their feelings in mind whenever I do something and do everything I can not to hurt or betray them. Your humble visitor, Sapphire Spell.”

“How was that?” Sapphire asked when he finished reciting the letter to Spike. The ponies smiled and gave their approval. That night, they went to Sugarcube Corner to celebrate and for the first time in a long time, no one had any bad blood toward another.

> Day 22: Nightmare Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sapphire and Spike were running the main library room in a great excitement.

“I can’t believe the day’s finally here!” Sapphire said.

“I know! Tonight is going to be the most amazing Nightmare Night ever!” Spike said.

“Would you two keep it down down there?” Twilight called from upstairs.

“She’s just jealous that we’re going to a Sapphire Shores concert and she isn’t!” Spike said. Sapphire and Spike laughed at that. At that point there was a knock on the door. Spike pushed Sapphire onto the ground in a hurry.

“I’ll get it,” he said. When he opened the door, Rarity stood on the other side with a newly styled mane, makeup, and a dress of her own creation. “Come in… Rarity,” Spike said.

Rarity walked into the library and saw Sapphire on the ground with his eyes spinning. “Come now, Sapphire, I know I look good, but there’s no reason to overreact.” Rarity giggled.

Sapphire got a hold of himself and stood up. “What? No! I was just…” is all he could get out before Rarity burst out in laughter.

“Come on! Let’s go or we’ll miss the train to Canterlot!” Spike said. Spike hopped onto Sapphire, and the three of them made their way to the train station.

“Oh! I can barely believe it!” Rarity said. “Sapphire Shores’s NIghtmare Night Concert is one of the most publicized events! And we have VIP passes!” she continued.

“I’ve never been to a concert before,” Sapphire said.

“Really?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah. Back home, me and my friends were too busy fighting evil mages and the monsters they created to have much free time. But at the same time, we were famous so people always wanted us to show them some magic,” Sapphire said.

“Wow, I didn’t know that about you,” Spike said.

“It must have been a hard job,” Rarity said.

“Yeah, but it was fun and rewarding,” Sapphire said. “That is, until it showed up,” he whispered.

“What was that?” Rarity asked.

“Nothing! Look our train’s here. We should get on,” Sapphire said. Spike and Rarity gave each other a look, but all three boarded the train.

The train ride was filled with other ponies in their Nightmare Night costumes. Sapphire, Spike, and Rarity talked amongst themselves until the train pulled into the Canterlot station. Canterlot’s own Nightmare Night celebration was in full swing. Skeletons hung from windows and jack-o-lanterns lined the streets. The three of the made their way to the concert arena and then around to the VIP entrance. After showing their passes, they were ushered in.

It didn’t take long for Sapphire Shores to spot them. “Rarity! There you are! And you brought your assistant and a cute little friend,” she said.

“Of course! We wouldn’t miss this concert for the world! We’re so excited to be here,” Rarity said.

“Well, help yourselves to the refreshments and introduce yourselves to anyone you like. There are quite a few celebrities here tonight. I have to get ready for the show,” Sapphire Shores said. She then entered her dressing room. With that, the three began scanning the area. Every so often Rarity would gasp and point out some celebrity. Spike and Sapphire would just look at each other and shrug.

Eventually, instead of gasping and tugging at them, Rarity would just go off and introduce herself to the celebrity. “Want to check out the refreshments?” Spike asked.

“Sure,” Sapphire said. The two walked over to the refreshments. They watched as all the tech ponies rushed around making everything was set up for the concert. As Sapphire was looking around, he felt a cold breeze. He looked around. It seemed that no one else felt it. He looked up at the ceiling.

Something feels… off. I don’t know what though.

“Sapphire!” Rarity’s voice snapped him out of it.

“Gah! Rarity! Sorry, what did you say?” Sapphire asked.

“I said it’s time to go take our seats. The show’s starting soon,” she replied.

“Oh. Okay,” Sapphire said. With one last glance at the ceiling, he followed Spike and Rarity to their seats.

The concert started and the concert hall erupted in sound and cheering. Sapphire Shores took the stage in a Nightmare Night costume and sang some of her more holiday themed songs. She then moved on to her more popular songs. After about 45 minutes, the concert took intermission and the three of them went backstage.

It was noticeably colder than it was before. “Brr. Why is it so cold?” Rarity asked. One of the technicians was fiddling with the thermostat, trying to warm up the area. The celebrities were standing closer to each other than they were last time. They were trying to maintain their dignified stance without giving away how cold they were.

After about 20 minutes, intermission ended. The three went back to the seats concerned about was happening, but unsure of what to do. Sapphire Shores took the stage again, this time in the dress Rarity had made. Rarity immediately began jumping up and down in excitement. “This dress was made a very talented friend of mine. She’s an up and coming designer from Ponyville,” Sapphire Shores said. Rarity fainted after that.

The first song began, but at about two minutes in, all the power in arena went out except for one spotlight on Sapphire Shores. Sapphire could feel the pit in his stomach. All of the spectators were chatting amongst themselves, wondering what had happened. Even Rarity recovered from her faint to join in the worried expressions.

“What do you suppose could be wrong?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” Sapphire said. Then, a loud cackle spread throughout the arena, quieting everyone. Then, out from the floor in front of Sapphire Shores, a transparent shape grew. Revealed to be the source of the cackling, it charged at Sapphire Shores, entering her body. She was struck cold and stopped moving.Then she fell over. Two ghosts came from her body.

The arena erupted into panic as the ghosts shut the last light and locked the doors. Sapphire ushered Rarity and Spike to a hiding. All that could be heard was screaming ponies and the cackling of the ghosts as they multiplied. One would enter a body and two would leave leaving the pony motionless and seemingly dead.

Before long , there were over 100 ghosts and still multiplying. This went on until Rarity, Sapphire, and Spike were the only three remaining. As the ghosts closed in on them in the pitch black concert hall, Rarity and Spike couldn’t even look and Sapphire futilely stood his ground. As a ghost charged at him, he felt something.

It was the same thing that had happened back when he and Applejack were cornered by the Timberwolves! He turned to see Rarity glowing blue and his own body as well. With a grin, he turned to see that the ghosts couldn’t approach them.

“Light!” he cried, and using his horn, bolstered by power from his ring, he cast a light into the darkness. All of the ghosts were sent flying and some even returned to their bodies.

“Light!” Sapphire called again as he used the spell over and over again. Spike and Rarity had recovered and were cheering him on.

“Alright! Go, Sapphire! Show those ghosts who’s boss!” Spike called out. Eventually, Sapphire lit up the whole arena with the floating orbs of pure light. Some of the ponies had recovered, but were still too terrified to move.

“You can do it, Sapphire!” Rarity called out. Charging up another Light spell, Sapphire sent the remaining ghosts into their bodies. The only ghost to remain was the original one. WIth one swipe of his hoof, it faded away. Sapphire could feel the power he had gained from Rarity fading away. With the disappearance of the last ghost, the power returned to the arena and it warmed up. Rarity and Spike came running over.

“Oh, thank goodness you were here!” Rarity said. “Do you think your powers will stick around this time?” she asked.

He shook his head. “No. I can already feel them fading. But how do I look? My gem and eyes have probably changed color again,” Sapphire said.

Spike examined him. “They have! They’re blue again! Well, not the same blue. They’re a bit lighter now,” he said. Sapphire Shores picked herself up off the floor.

“Ugh. What happened?” she asked. Sapphire went on stage and took the mic.

“There was a ghost attack. They used your bodies to multiply, but Light magic scared them off and returned your life forces,” he explained and gestured to the floating orbs of light. One curious pony tapped one and it burst sending off light like a camera flash.

“Thank you so much,” Sapphire Shores said. “You saved my, and my fans’, lives tonight,” she said. With that, Sapphire Spell got off the stage and Sapphire Shores insisted on finishing the concert. Many ponies left though, still shaken up about what happened. After the concert, Rarity, Spike, and Sapphire caught a train back to Ponyville before they could be mobbed by ponies trying to learn about their hero and his two companions. It wasn’t long before they arrived back in Ponyville.

“I’m exhausted. Almost dying really takes the energy out of you,” Rarity said.

“No kidding,” Spike said from atop Sapphire’s back. Sapphire gave him a look. “What?” Spike asked.

“Now, I expect to see you at work tomorrow,” Rarity said.

“Really? We almost died tonight. Can’t we take one day off?” Sapphire asked.

Rarity considered it for a moment. “Good point. We’ll take the day off and go to the spa. Oh! It’ll be so much fun! And we can get Fluttershy to join! Maybe even Pinkie Pie!” Rarity said to herself as she had walked off before Sapphire could respond. Sapphire and Spike went home, but before going to bed, Sapphire looked in the bathroom mirror to see his new gem.

Spike’s right. It’s not quite a Sapphire. Maybe an Aquamarine? Yeah. So, first Topaz and now Aquamarine.

It didn’t take long for Sapphire to fall asleep.