As morning broke once again upon Equestria, Tavin was in his bed, sleeping peacefully. The sun's rays shone through the bedroom window and onto his face, causing him to eventually, but slowly, open his eyes. He squinted as to not be blinded by the brilliance of the sun, and propped himself up into a sitting position.

Oh man, that was quite the dream I had! he thought, I was in Equestria, I almost died, and I met the princesses! It was just a dream... Right?

Tavin yawned and looked around his room, his eyes widened at how elegant and classy everything was. From the carpet to the tiniest engravings on the ceiling, it was definitely the most fanciest room he had ever been in.

Wait... I remember this room, and if I just woke up, then that means... Ah, so I wasn't dreaming after all. I'm really in Equestria still, aren't I? How will I ever get home? he wondered. Tavin's thoughts were interrupted when a loud knocking sound came from the other side of his bedroom door.

"Uh, I guess you can come in?" he responded. The door to his room opened, revealing the same guard from yesterday evening. "The princesses have requested your presence in the main hall." the guard stated, "If I were you, I wouldn't want to keep them waiting longer then they should." With that, the royal guard saluted and trotted off back to his post.

Tavin knew that the guard was right. "I better not keep them waiting then." he said and exited his bedroom.

As he was heading down the hall, he heard multiple voices coming from the main hall. He could make out Celestia's and Luna's, but the others? Not so much. As he neared the entrance, the voices were quickly silenced.

Hrm, they probably heard me approaching. I guess they want to make sure that somepony isn't listening to things he, or she, shouldn't hear, he thought. Tavin stopped a few feet away from the entrance. He felt a bead of sweat roll down his face as nervousness washed over him. Come on Tavin, you can do this! Your answers are in that very room. Come on! Tavin swallowed and steeled himself for what was to come. Feeling a bit more courageous, but only by a little, he entered the main hall.

Tavin immediately saw Celestia and Luna standing at what looked like a round table. As he turned his head, he saw the others as well, and his eyes widened with surprise.

"Ah, our visitor is awake at last." Celestia said, "Did you rest well?" Tavin realized that he was being asked a question and turned his focus onto Celestia. "Um, oh, yeah! It was great! Fantastical! Supertabulous! Thank you for asking." Tavin replied.

Celestia gave him a warm smile before she spoke again. "Everypony here, you are well aware by now why I've gathered you here, but I think it would be rude if I didn't introduce our guest to you first, don't you?" she asked. Everypony else at the table nodded in silent agreement. "Good, now everypony, this is Tavin. Tavin, let me introduce you to these three ponies." Celestia said, "The one on the far right is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but everypony mostly calls her Princess Cadance."

The bright pink one with the flowing violet, gold, and rose coloured mane nodded her head towards Tavin. She too, was an Alicorn, like Celestia and Luna.

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" she said. Tavin kneeled in response, "And it's an honour to meet you, Princess." he replied.

"The next pony is known as Shining Armor, he is the husband of Princess Cadance and is also the General of Equestria's army." Celestia said. Tavin and Shining Armor locked eyes, and both nodded towards the other.

Shining Armor stood tall and proud, presenting himself in a formal military manner. He was white with a very well groomed blue mane, which in fact was made up of many shades of blue. He wasn't an Alicorn, due to the lack of wings, but he did have a horn, making him a Unicorn.

"And finally, let me introduce you to the fourth Princess of Equestria. She is-"

"Twilight Sparkle." Tavin said, finishing Celestia's sentence. "Please, don't ask me how I know, but I recognized her when I saw one of the mosaics from earlier. To be honest, I didn't expect her to be here!" Twilight Sparkle was a purple pony with a blue, violet, and rose coloured mane. She was an Alicorn as well, like the other princesses. "But Tavin, that's why we brought you here this morning." Celestia said, "We want to know as much about you as we can, and more importantly, how you came into possession of that orb around your neck."

The other ponies except Tavin nodded in agreement.

"Tavin, that's your name correct?" Twilight asked. "Yes, that is my name Princess Twilight." Tavin answered. He hesitated before continuing, "If you want to know everything, I'll tell all of you, for I have nothing to hide. I'm not your enemy." Tavin looked down at the ground. For some reason, he found his hooves to be very interesting. The orb however, he noticed that its brightness was almost at the same level it was when he had first touched it. Something in the room must be causing it, but what?

"Well, before you do, I need to tell you something important." Twilight said, "I am the voice you've been hearing in your mind." Tavin looked up suddenly, surprised at what he just heard. "Princess Twilight... That was you? B-but that means you were also there when I touched the orb for the first time, which brought me here in the first place!" Tavin exclaimed, "But... why me?"

Twilight took a deep breath, "Because... Tavin... I believe that you... you are the Chosen One."

Everypony else in the room gasped. Tavin couldn't believe what he just heard.

Me? The Chosen One? What on Earth does that mean? Tavin wondered. "Twilight, you can't be for certain can you!? Surely this was all a big mistake right? Right?" Tavin asked. "No Tavin, I know that it must be you, did you notice anything strange when you first arrived here?" Twilight asked. Well, besides the fact that I wasn't human, he thought. "Of course! I noticed how a symbol on my flank was shadowed out. But I haven't thought about it since." Tavin replied.

"Tavin, that's because it's your cutie mark, all ponies in Equestria have one or gain one eventually, but yours is special. You technically have yours, but you haven't yet discovered your true potential. That's why it is blackened out." Twilight explained.

"But what about the orb?" Tavin asked, "Is it somehow important to all this?" "Of course it is!" Twilight exclaimed, "I enchanted it to help find the Chosen One, which turned out to hopefully be you. But other than that, it's probably just a decorative piece now."

The glow being emitted from the orb slowly faded away. "Ah, I see, well I'll keep it anyways because I've grown rather attached to it now. Literally." Tavin replied.

"There is one more thing I need to say Tavin." Twilight said, "There is also a prophecy regarding the Chosen One, but you are not ready to hear about it yet. Perhaps that time will come soon."

Tavin sat down on the floor, finding it somewhat hard to take in everything he just heard. Celestia cleared her throat before speaking. "Tavin, you must listen to me very closely." Celestia said, "I know that this may be a lot for you to take in, but I trust Twilight, and I now need you to trust me."

Tavin looked up at Celestia. "I'm listening." he said.

"If Twilight's words are true, then I must send you with her to Ponyville, I don't want to risk you falling into the wrong hooves." Celestia said, "Do you understand?" "Yes Celestia, I do." Tavin replied as he got up on all four legs.

"Then you and Twilight shall leave on the next train to Ponyville immediately." Celestia said, "This council meeting is adjourned for today, we'll all meet again at the same time next week. Oh, and Tavin?" Tavin turned around to face the Princess. "Yes your highness? What is it?" Tavin asked. "While you are in Ponyville, try to make some friends." Celestia said and she smiled warmly before returning to the throne with Luna. "Yes Celestia, you can count on me!" Tavin replied.

Twilight ran over to Shining Armour and Cadance. "Wait, you both aren't returning to the Crystal Empire already are you?" Twilight asked. Shining Armour chuckled at Twilight's question. "Oh Twily, I'm just escorting Cadance to the train station that goes to the Crystal Empire. I have some important work to complete here still, and besides, someone needs to rule the Crystal ponies right?" Shining Armour explained. "Oh, right, of course!" Twilight replied, "Stay safe you two!" "And you two as well." Shining Armour responded.

"Come on Princess Twilight! I was told that the next train to Ponyville leaves in ten minutes!" Tavin exclaimed. "Oh gosh you're right! Hang on, I need to call for Spike." Twilight replied, "Oh Spiiiiiiiiike!" "I'm here Twilight! I'm on my way!" Spike replied.

"Ah yes, Spike the dragon, your assistant! I almost forgot about him." Tavin said. Spike slid to a stop beside Twilight, panting for breath. "Who- who is this pony?" Spike asked, pointing a claw at Tavin. "It's a long story Spike, I'll tell you on the train ride back to Ponyville." Twilight answered, "Come on! We are going to be late!" Spike jumped onto Twilight's back and she began to gallop towards the castle entrance, with Tavin following close behind.

---

"Sooo let me get this straight. You brought this pony here and believe that he is the Chosen One?" Spike asked. "That's correct Spike, I believe that he has the necessary abilities in order to stop whatever has been harassing Equestria for these past couple of weeks." Twilight answered.

Tavin, Twilight, and Spike were on the train to Ponyville, as ordered by Princess Celestia herself. "So, uh, Tavin is it? What do you think of Equestria?" Spike asked. Tavin turned his head away from the window. "Hm? Oh yes! I think Equestria is a beautiful place. I've always dreamed of coming here. However, I now realize that Equestria can be a dangerous place if you aren't careful." Tavin responded. He returned his gaze to the window, observing the beautiful countryside as the train rushed passed it.

"That's absolutely correct Tavin." Twilight said, "Despite Equestria's beauty and grace, it has also been home to powerful villains. Fortunately, they were stopped in the end, but Equestria's fate has hung in the balance far too many times these past few years."

"Yeah! But luckily we had Twilight and her friends stop them! We would have been goners if not for them!" Spike exclaimed. Twilight blushed a little. "Oh Spike, you know we only did what we had to do. Besides, I would rather not think about what would have happened if we failed." Twilight said.

The speakers on the train car suddenly crackled to life and made a bing bong sound. "Attention, this is your conductor speaking. We will be arriving in Ponyville momentarily. Please wait for the train to come to a complete stop, and thank you for choosing the Pony Express Line." the speaker said. There was a click and multiple ponies started to gather up their belongings.

"Well, we are almost there!" Tavin exclaimed, "I'm so excited! I can't wait to meet everypony!"

"Woah there! We can't leave the train just yet." Twilight said, "Besides, I think you'll need a new name while we are here to keep your identity a secret, just for safety." "You're right." Tavin replied, "But what would be a fitting name for somepony like me?"

All three of them sat pondering in their seats. Spike was the first to speak. "Oh oh! How about Shadow Horn?" Spike said, "Or Brownie Top? Or Black Hoof? Or Ocean Breeze? No wait, that one is already taken..." Tavin shook his head at all the names Spike mentioned. "Drat, that's all I can think of." Spike said.

"I got it!" Twilight exclaimed, "Tavin, based upon your appearance, I think your name should be-" she whispered it into Tavin's ear. Tavin's face lit up and he smiled. "I love it!" Tavin replied, "Blaze Starfall... I... Thank you Twilight." "Oh it's no big deal, really." Twilight replied, "It's just that when you appeared here, you came crashing down almost like a shooting star."

"You know, I was just about to mention that name." Spike said. Tavin and Twilight looked at each other and bursted out laughing as the train came to a complete stop. "We're here! Come on guys!" Spike shouted. As their laughter died down, Twilight was finally able to respond. "O-okay Spike, we're going, we're going." Twilight said.

The first to get off was Spike, followed by Twilight, who were both suddenly met by cries of joy and excitement.

"Welcome home Twilight!" the orange pony said, she had what sounded like a southern accent. "We're mighty glad you made it back safely."

"Oh girls! This is a wonderful surprise! But really, I was fine the whole time Applejack." Twilight replied, "But I do appreciate seeing all of you here."

The pink pony was bouncing up and down at a constant pace. "Twilight! Twilight! Twilight! You got my letters right!? You opened them right!? Did you like what I wrote!? I missed you sooooo much! This calls for a welcome back party!" The pink one exclaimed with glee. "Yes Pinkie Pie, I got your letters, and a party sounds wonderful! I'm glad to see you too." Twilight said.

Pinkie's face lit up with joy when she heard she was allowed to throw a party. "Ooo ooo! I better get my party cannon! I'll be right back!" she said and disappeared.

"Oh darling, it's delightful to know that you are all right. We were worried when we heard that Celestia had urgent need of you." the white pony said. "Everything was all right Rarity, I'm just glad to be back." Twilight replied. "Excellent! Now I need your honest opinion dear, how do I look in this new dress I made?" Rarity asked and did a little spin. "You look gorgeous Rarity! A masterpiece like always!" Twilight said. "Oh Twilight, you flatter me!" Rarity replied.

The yellow pony then decided to speak. "Um... Hi Twilight... It's nice to... Have you home at last." the yellow pony said. "Thank you Fluttershy, how have you and Discord been?" Twilight asked. "Oh, I'm doing just fine thank you, Discord's busy attending to the animals while I'm gone. He's been getting better ever since T-Tirek was defeated." Fluttershy answered. "That's good to hear." Twilight said, giving Fluttershy a warm smile.

"Hey Twilight, why'd you take the train? You know how slow they are." the blue pony said. "Nice to see you again Rainbow Dash, and I took the train because I didn't feel like flying, plus I-" Tavin at this time decided to finally reveal himself to the others. He stepped off the train and trotted over to Twilight's side.

"Uh, I don't mean to be rude or nothin, but Twilight, who in tarnation is that?" Applejack asked. Twilight opened her mouth to reply, but Rainbow Dash was faster.

"Oh him? That's the stranger that I saved yesterday from the Everfree Forest!" Rainbow Dash answered, "Saved him from the jewel dogs!" "And you couldn't ah told us all this before?" Applejack asked.

Rainbow Dash gave a guilty smile. "I was underneath an oath, but since Twilight's here, I felt I could now." Rainbow Dash replied. "Applejack, Rainbow Dash had good reason to keep this secret, I'm sorry if we hurt your feelings." Twilight said. Applejack relaxed before dipping her head. "It's okay Twilight, I understand." Applejack said, "After all we've been through before, I couldn't possibly stay mad at y'all." Twilight hugged Applejack. "Thanks for understanding Apple Jack." Twilight said, "Now without further delay, everypony, this is Ta- I mean, Blaze Starfall. Blaze, these are my friends."

Tavin kneeled before them as best as he could. "It's an honor to finally meet you, heroes of Equestria." Tavin said. The orb around his neck started to glow softly. "So, uh, Blaze, where did ya come from?" Applejack asked. Tavin got up and was about to respond until Twilight spoke. "Everypony, we'll have time to ask questions back at the Friendship Palace, it's safer there." Twilight said. Everypony nodded in agreement and they started to leave the train station, with Spike and Tavin following close behind.

Pinkie Pie arrived back at the train station. "All right everypony! I brought my party cannon! Let's get this party started!" she shouted joyfully. She looked around and noticed that they were leaving, and that a strange pony was with them. "Oh! Wait for me!" Pinkie shouted and galloped after them with her party cannon in tow.