Disclaimer: I do not own MLP

Chapter one: Off again

Location: Canterlot Palace

Celestia was sitting on her throne; doing her paper work about some new law that was to be passed in Canterlot; she signed it and then went to the next sheet of paper in the pile; she froze

"Now what is this?" Celestia asked; nopony else in the grand room

Dear Princess Celestia; we know what has gone on between the two of us; however we now have a problem that needs to be fixed; and you have the only living creature that can help us.

We need your help; or earth will be destroyed.

We await your quick response _ American Government

"Luna?" Celestia called

Luna flew in, "Yes Tia?"

"Send a letter to Twilight and Skarfly; I need to speak with them."

Location: Ponyville

Ever since I saved Equestria from Raven I was treated like a hero; I knew I was not as strong or powerful as everypony thought I was; I was a normal Pegasus.

Well that last statement isn't all that true; I was the exact opposite of normal; I was a human that was transformed into a pony just so I could fight dark forces. I wasn't even normal for the first twelve years of my life; the thirteenth sent me spiraling down a vortex of questions and conundrums.

At the moment I was trotting through town; looking for Twilight; she wasn't exactly easy to find when you needed to find her; I had a letter from the princess saying she needed the two of us to come to Canterlot as soon as we could.

I turned a corner; a light purple blur ran right into me; I fell to the ground; the wind knocked out of me

"Skarfly; I was looking for you." Twilight said

"I was too; but why the velocity? I'm not that easy to knock to the ground." I got up and looked around

"The princess needs to see us; right now!" Twilight said

"I know; she must have sent two letters." I said; holding my scroll

"We need to go; I already told Nick and Scott." Twilight and I trotted off to the train station

For some reason or another Nick and Scott weren't ponies; they stayed human; I was transformed for some reason I don't care to remember; I turn human in any time or dimension I don't belong

We got on the train; Scott and Nick were waiting for us in the food cart

"Can't either of you go a day without eating?" Twilight asked

"Nick can; I'm not sure about Scott." I said; sitting down

"So why do you think we're being taken to Canterlot?" Nick asked

Nick was a shorter kid; black haired and pale skinned; his eyes were brown and his spirit was undeniable.

"I don't know; I get the feeling that it involves danger and death." I shrugged

I was a Pegasus pony; my mane was brown and my coat was cyan; my eyes were all that I kept when I changed from human to pony; I was known for going on adventures and defying death.

I didn't defy death

I died once; I failed Equestria and died. When I could think; I woke up in a cave; deep in the Everfree forest; I was gone for a long time.

"You don't have to be so negative; it could just be a friendly visit." Twilight suggested

All three guys gave her the same look

I shook my head, "Twilight; when you take me Nick and Scott; not to mention let Scott take his machete."

Scott paused from sharpening the sharp blade

"Yeah; if we take the four of us then we have a problem." Nick agreed

"Well then it's a good thing we're coming along!" Rainbowdash trotted in

"I see that; who else was invited on this suicide mission?" I asked

Applejack walked in, "That would be me."

"Hey Applejack." Nick said

"So two humans and two ponies; let's not forget a guy who can't decide." Scott joked

"Hey; watch it." I said; a warning tone

"Touchy." Nick commented

"Sorry guys; it's always a sore subject." I said; sitting down

Twilight sat next to me; not that it wasn't obvious she was my mare-friend; I always knew that she was hiding something from me; then I caught her staring at me while I was asleep.

The ride was spent on me thinking about what might happen if I failed; I was always worried about what might happen if I traveled; I was a danger magnet.

"Skarfly; we're here." Twilight nudged me

"Huh?" I got out of my head; we already arrived, "That went quickly."

"You fell asleep." Nick said

I got off the train; I had my saddlebags that carried food and other such things

"To the castle; come on we don't have all day." I said; trotting forward

"Halt; what is your business here?" a palace guard faded into existence in front of me

(Or it seemed like that at least)

"Hello; my name is Skarfly." I said; smiling

The guard began to stutter, "O-oh; sorry f-for st-stopping you."

I face-hoofed

The guard left and Nick was walking next to me

"What was that about?" Nick asked

"Ever since I stopped a terrible evil ponies are acting like I'm a celebrity." I answered; keeping a brisk pace

"Why do you seem so awkward about it?"

"Imagine a full adult stuttering at the mention of your name." I said

Nick thought about it, "I wouldn't mind too much."

"Wait for it." I said to myself

"Okay; now I can see it." Nick said; mildly disturbed

"Exactly; we just need to get to the palace as soon as we can." I said

Location: Canterlot Palace

I trotted into the castle; it was quiet; too quiet

"Where is everypony?" Twilight asked; trotting up next to me

"I don't know; let's get to the throne room." I suggested

Nick and Scott were watching behind us; Scott had his machete out

"Scott put that away." Nick said

"And if we get attacked?" Scott asked

"Then you can take it out; not yet." Nick countered

Scott put the weapon away; we proceeded down the deserted hallway

"We have to find out where everypony is; this could be why she summoned Twilight and me here." I said

"Just you two?" Rainbowdash asked

"Yes just us; I was still going to ask you guys to come anyway." I said; annoyed

We made it to the throne room doors; they were wide open; Celestia and Luna were in their thrones

"Princess Celestia; we came as quick as we could." Twilight said as she bowed

I didn't bow; I waved hello to Luna and got down to it, "Okay; why do you need us?"

"Skarfly; show some respect for the princess!" Applejack hissed

"She called us here for a reason; by the way the scroll was written it didn't sound like we have time for formalities." I countered

Applejack never seemed to trust me; she always was angry and testy whenever I was around; although I was always kind to my friends.

"He is correct; Skarfly is here for a dire cause." Celestia said

"Of course." Nick muttered

"So what do you need?" Scott asked; ready to use his machete

"It may require all of you to complete this task ahead." Celestia continued, "For this time the shadows are not in Equestria."

My gut tightened; it usually did this during times when I knew something bad was going to happen

"This time they have attacked your homeworld of earth." Celestia finished

I took a step backwards; shock drying my mouth

"Earth is under attack?" Scott asked, "Finally a home field advantage."

"We're going in alone." I said

All activity stopped; Twilight looked at me, "What do you mean?"

"I meant what I said; I can't have you three throwing yourselves into danger to protect my planet." I affirmed

"You can't go just the three of you!" Rainbowdash said

"I can't have my friends in danger for my mistake; I wouldn't be who I am if I did." I asserted

"We have a portal set up here for you; go as soon as you can." Luna said

Twilight looked at me with imploring eyes, "You don't have to go right?"

"It's my responsibility; I have to stop the shadows; that's the whole reason Equestria chose me." I sighed

"At least let them come with?" Nick asked

Scott pulled the lever that activated the portal

"Scott; that portal wasn't ready!" I shouted over the howling winds

"Too late for that; hold on!" Scott shouted back

A bright flash enveloped the room; right before I saw that we were the only ones in the room; then it went all white

Location: ?

I felt my face; the portal worked; I seemed to be in a hallway of prison cells; I looked myself over

Somehow my normal Florida clothing was different; I had a blue jacket on; black winter pants and green winter steel toe boots; my brown hair was stiff; it was really cold

"Well that worked." I said; looking around

"It was supposed to take us to the problem; but it went off early." Twilight said; she was no longer a pony; she wouldn't like that fact

"Twilight; look at yourself." Nick said; still in a marine uniform

Twilight raised her hand level to her face; he skin was slightly tan and she no longer had a horn; her cutie mark was on her jacket; the jacket was light purple with a dark purple fluff at the end of it; their hair was also their mane color and design.

Rainbowdash and Applejack wore similar outfits; cutie marks on shoulder; color of coat as jacket color; mane color fluff at end of hood.

Scott sat up, "That could have gone better."

"This is what you get for firing off that portal early." Nick said

"Let's find out where we are; everyone follow me." I said; going down a hall

"How do you know the way?" Twilight asked

"I don't; I just remember this from somewhere." I answered

The walk was silent; having a new body was weird enough for me; I could only imagine what it was like for Twilight and the others; I gained things; they lost it.

"So where does this hallway lead?" Scott asked

"To one of the towers; we can see everything from there." I answered

We got to the tower; my gut sank when I saw the famous Golden Gate Bridge on the horizon

"I know where we are now." I said

"Where are we?" Twilight asked

"Alcatraz Prison." I said

"What's Alcatraz prison?" Rainbowdash asked

"Only the best prison ever made by humans." Scott said

Rainbowdash smiled, "So we're on an island; I'll just fly over and-"

"You lost your wings in the transfer; we only gain one thing from that; lose a lot more." Nick said

"What good could come from that?" Twilight asked

"How about blending in?" Scott suggested

I was looking at the sky, "You might want to see this."

The sky was filled with clouds; usual for California; the only thing was what was going on up there.

"What's with the weather; ya'll better get a weather pony on that." Applejack suggested

Nick Scott and I burst out laughing; I was tearing up

"What are ya'll laughing about?" Applejack demanded

"On earth we don't have any control over weather; it all just happens." Nick explained

"Well we can't do anything from this tower; we need an idea." Scott said

"Being an avid Mythbusters watcher I have seen a way to get off alive." I said

"What do we need?" Twilight asked

"We need fifty raincoats; some rubber cement; duct tape; an accordion; a funnel and a ping-pong ball; also we need food and some hammers." I said

"We don't have any of that." Nick said

"If I'm correct then we can find most of that stuff lying around; then we can use it." I pointed out

"So we have to search Alcatraz prison for random stuff that will help us escape?" Scott asked

"That's the basic idea." I said

"Let's do this; it's a big prison and we'll be here a while." Scott said

LATER

(I am not going to describe the search for items; it would take me two hours to type.)

"We got almost everything; we just couldn't find an accordion." Nick said

"That one was vital; we'll worry about that later however." I said

"Why did we need raincoats?" Rainbowdash asked

"We're making a raft; it's the safest way to shore." I explained

"Like the Mythbusters episode; I thought I knew you well enough." Nick said; shaking his head slowly

"Okay; we'll need a pontoon shape; from there we can….."

LATER AGAIN

I stood; looking at the raft; I managed to get the paddles made

"Frank Morris would be proud." I said

"Who?" Twilight asked

"The guy who was the brains behind the original escape; we'll have more weight on the raft so I reinforced the bottom with duct tape and more raincoats then the original thirty."

"We needed thirty minimum; otherwise we wouldn't have enough." Nick said

"Are we ready to head on down?" Scott asked

"Earth won't save itself; here we go!"

Location: Alcatraz shores

"Okay; it's the right time of year to let the tides take us to the Marin Headlands; we need to paddle north to stay away from the Golden Gate Bridge so we're not swept out to sea." I explained

"Are you sure this is safe?" Twilight asked

"Sure? I'm never sure of anything; that only means trouble." I said

We put the raft in; Rainbowdash was going to manually pump air into the raft so we could focus on paddling the raft to safety.

"Okay; let's go!"

We began the crusade across the bay; I was working one of the paddles; alongside Applejack

"Keep up; we oughta keep moving along." Applejack said

"We need to be synced; if one of us goes too fast we could end up in freezing shark infested waters." I said; deadpan

Applejack slowed down; I was using the paddle in the way I learned to use it; slow and deliberate

The tide pulled us along; I was starting to wonder what was with the sky; I dismissed it and would describe it when we got across alive.

"How are we doing on air?" I called to Nick

"Rainbowdash; keep going." Nick said

Twilight was keeping us on track; we were going north so the tide would pull us to the Headlands

We shored; the sun was setting over the horizon

"Escape from Alcatraz?" I asked, "Myth confirmed."

I started to climb up the rocky hillside-thing; I didn't know the terms because I wasn't from around here

I got to the top; Twilight and Rainbowdash made it up next; followed by Nick and Scott; then Applejack made it up too.

"Where is everypony?" Twilight asked

"Everybody." I corrected

"What?" Rainbowdash asked

"Here we say everybody; it'll help us blend in." I said

"We need to get to the problem; the princess didn't tell us where it was." Scott said

"We'll follow that." I said; pointing into the sky

The sky was heavy with cloud; which was normal; but strange wisps of light were appearing and vanishing; like strange lights

"What could have caused that?" Nick asked

"I don't know; I intend to find out." I said

"Well it couldn't be… her again could it?" Twilight asked

"We better hope not; I don't want to deal with Raven again." I said; trying to ignore the situation

Raven was an evil villain known as Raven Shadow; she had been watching me ever since I got to Equestria and even managed to take it over; I took it back.

We walked down the deserted Californian streets; nothing seemed to be in use; not even the street lights

"Good thing I brought my flashlight." I said; snapping on the LED flashlight

"Well I could always use… oh." Twilight hadn't gotten used to the fact she didn't have a horn

"Come on; I don't want to stay out in the open like this." Nick urged

"Yeah; we should find a place to hole up." Scott agreed

We found a small store; it looked like a jewelry store

"We should keep watch; I don't like the prospect of being found yet." I suggested

"I'll take first watch." Scott suggested

"Okay; we'll move at nine o clock." I said

---

American commander Johnson Adams was sitting in his desk chair; they attacked earth for some reason; and the only place to turn was to Equestria. They had asked for help and Equestria didn't write back; they were likely on their own.

"Out of all the places; why here?" he mumbled to himself

What he didn't see was a pair of eyes out the window; a pair of hate-filled piercing blue eyes