THE EVENING BEFORE THE SEVEN FRENDS MET STARLIGHT GLIMMER

"Hmm..." Ryan groaned, tossing and turning in bed. He was having a terrible nightmare. Ponies were screaming at the sight of him, calling him a freak, and lots of other horrible things. "No. I'm not a threat." he said aloud talking in his sleep. Eventually, Ryan tripped, falling to the ground with a SPLAT! Flipping over onto his back, he saw a crowd of ponies coming towards him, armed with all kinds of torture devices. "No!" Ryan cried. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he shut his eyes, bracing for the first blow.

"STAY AWAY FROM HIM OR WE SHALL VANQUISH THEE!" a voice shouted.

"What?" Ryan said. Looking up, he saw a dark blue alicorn soaring down to his aid.

"Are you alright, Ryan?" Princess Luna inquired.

"How do you know my name?" the teen asked.

"Your friend Twilight has written to me and my sister about you, and also all princesses know their subjects." Princess Luna giggled.

"Oh." Ryan said. the human then clung to Luna tightly, his eyes squeezed shut. "Save me." he squeaked. Princess Luna made all the ponies disappear with her magic.

"Wait..." Ryan said, looking past Luna and spotting a Police Box standing a few feet away. "That wasn't there before. I wonder if...Nah, it couldn't be." he shrugged the thought away.

"Pardon?" Luna asked, confused.

"That Police Box." Ryan clarified, pointing. "Not only was it not there before, but it kind of reminds me of a fictional time machine from my universe."

"Oh, I see." Luna nodded. Too internally eager, Ryan went over to the Police Box, and examined the exterior. "Seems similar." he mused. Shutting his eyes, the teen put a hand on the door handle, and pushed the door open. He walked inside, using his hands to feel for any walls. Not finding any, Ryan opened his eyes...and his jaw dropped. It WAS what he thought it was!

"It's the TARDIS!" he gasped. "I must be dreaming."

"Indeed you are asleep." Princess Luna said with a smile. Ryan paused in his glee.

"Awwww." he sighed, now disappointed. "I wanted it to be real so badly. Ah well, not your fault Luna." He sighed again. "Can I talk to you about something?" he asked the night princess, walking out of the TARDIS and shutting the door. "I want ponies to accept me, but I'm scared that my being a human will scare them. What should I do?" the teen dropped to his knees, silent tears dripping onto the ground. Princess Luna put an assuring hoof on his back. "It's just..." Ryan said between sobs. "All my life I've been bullied for liking something that wasn't meant to be for me." the teen didn't mention what that 'something' was, but was sure Luna would get the gist all the same. "I'm scared Luna." he added, looking into the alicorn's eyes. "What do I do?"

"There there." Luna assured him. "I know exactly how you feel." FLASH! a bright white light came out of nowhere. And silhouetted against this light…

"Mels?" Ryan asked, starting to stop crying. He walked over, and Mels put a hand on his shoulder. "Mels, I'm scared." the teen said, inferring, since it obviously wasn't the real Mels, but a dream version, she'd know what he was talking about. "What do I do?" he asked. Dream-Mels just smiled. When she finally did speak…

"Ryan, just be yourself." She told him.

"How?" Ryan asked his cousin.

"Be you." Mels smiled. Ryan gasped, waking up.

"That's right!" he realized. "I don't need to be or do anything special! I should just be myself!" Seeing that it was morning, the teen got out of bed, put on his shoes, and walked outside. "Hi everypony!" he shouted to everyone in the area. "Don't worry, I'm not an evil monster, Just a fun-loving guy who loves hanging out and partying all day!" He noticed Vinyl Scratch a little ways away, finishing with setting up her musical equipment. "Hit it DJPON3!" Ryan called, and Vinyl put a Rock n' Roll record on. Once the music was playing, Ryan busted out some dance moves, and even played air guitar at one point! All the ponies cheered him on. "HELLO EQUESTRIA!" Ryan shouted into a microphone, having grabbed one from Vinyl. "MY NAME IS RYAN MCCRIMMON AND I INVITE YOU ALL TO DANCE, DANCE, DANCE!" As they all danced, the teen spotted Princess Luna among the crowd. He winked at her, showing recognition. Later, when the dancing started to wind down, Ryan pulled out his mic again. "FILLIES AND GENTLECOLTS," he shouted into the mic. "BEFORE WE END THIS PARTY, I JUST WANT TO THANK THE ONE PONY WHO HELPED ME REALIZE I SHOULDN'T HAVE WORRIED ABOUT FACING A NEW WORLD! PLEASE STAMP YOUR HOOVES FOR...PRINCESS LUNA!" A loud cheer erupted from the ponies. Princess Luna blushed. Ryan flashed a drunken-like grin in the princess's direction. Princess Luna waved to the ponies. The ponies were complimenting her, saying things like "Your the best princess ever!". Princess Luna's face turned red. Later, at Sugarcube Corner, the teen was drinking some cider, when Luna walked into the store. "Hey Luna!" he called, gesturing to the alicorn.

"Hello Ryan." Princess Luna walked up to his table.

"Quite a party huh?" Ryan said as Luna sat opposite him.

"Mmm-hmm." Luna nodded.

Thanks for the help last night." the teen continued. "I know you probably think you didn't help much, considering that dream version of my cousin came in, but you helped me out more than you realize."

"Your very welcome Ryan." Princess Luna smiled.

Ryan sipped at his cider. "Who knows what adventures I'll go on now that I'm here." Ryan mused. "Whatever it is, I'll be ready for it."

THE END