Author’s Note: This story is hopefully going to be a long one. There are multiple elements in this story that may seem factual, but may not be. This is a work of fiction, but I tried my best to make it “realistic.” Pretty soon in the story, a lot of math is involved, and my work may not be completely correct. Like I said, this is fiction but I’m trying to be as realistic as possible, so if you see any big mistakes in my math, please tell me. If you see any loop holes, then also please tell me. I’m also looking for a cover, so if you’re interested, please feel free to message me. Also please point out mistakes, and share your criticism. Thanks guys.

When I was young, my dad used to take me out to the porch, and would sit my on his knee and let me just watch the stars. For hours it seemed, I would sit there, and wonder what was all of this? It’s so mysterious. So... unknown. I remember feeling so small and insignificant compared to everything in the night sky. I wondered, how could anybody in this world matter, when there is so much more than our planet. I remember thinking that there was no way that I could ever matter in such a vast universe. But now, as I sit here and type my story, I’d like to believe that I did matter. Not on Earth. But in the magical land of Equestria.

July of 2013 was the during the summer between my Sophomore and my Junior years in high school. Summer activities were in full swing. I had weight lifting for football in the morning, agility training during the day, and more individual position training in the afternoon. It was a normal summer for most football players. It was a wash, rinse, repeat cycle. Wake up, do my sport activities, finish up by 5 o’clock, have a nice dinner with my family, play some Xbox, and go to bed. Wash, rinse, repeat. It was a normal thing for a 16-year-old. The only thing “ab-normal” about me was that I liked to watch a TV show called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Still, not much special about that considering the vast online community called “bronies.”

July 28 was typical. The wash, rinse, and repeat cycle didn’t have any hiccups. Sports were normal. Xbox was normal. My family was as happy as could be. My dad had just sold his house, so I was staying with my mom full-time for a while. Usually I would switch every week. Besides being divorced, my mom and dad had a decent relationship. They didn’t hate each other. Hell, my step-dad was even good friends with my dad. My little brother was doing the same things I remembered when I was nine. The big talk of his time was Pokemon cards, which somehow made another comeback. My sister had finally gone to college last year, so I didn’t have to share a room with my brother anymore. As I said, everything was normal.

Even though it was a completely ordinary day for everyone, I just couldn’t shake this weird feeling I was having. I couldn’t explain what it was, but it just felt weird. It reminded me of when you’re watching a scary movie, and you’re sure something is about to pop out and scare you, but then it doesn’t. Just the whole mood of things felt... off. I did my best to ignore it. I talked with my family at dinner like usual. My brother went on and on about how “Charizard is clearly the best Pokemon.” After dinner, I retired to my room to spend the rest of my night searching every corner of the Internet to find all things My Little Pony. Again, normal night as ever.

As I browsed the achieves of the MLP sites, I felt the weird feeling growing and growing. It felt as if the tension in the air was about to squeeze me to death. In fact, I found that the more I looked at the ponies that filled my screen, the more intense the feeling got. Wondering if I was going insane, I started looking at “normal” stuff. I’ve never been a fan of Facebook, twitter, or Google +, so I pretty much settled with watching random videos on YouTube. After an hour or so, the feeling eventually lessened. It didn’t cease, but it felt.... lighter than before.

As I’m sure some of you know, almost all roads on YouTube eventually lead back to ponies. I found myself going through pony vids again, and to my displeasure, the ominous feeling returned. I couldn’t really explain it, so I did my best to ignore it. After a couple hours of mindless ponies, I couldn’t take it anymore. I logged off my computer and decided that I might as well go to bed. I took out my phone to check the time before I began the tedious task of getting ready for bed. My phone’s screen told me it had literally just changed to 10:30 pm. That’s when everything went black.

Whenever I usually wake up, I’m always tired. No matter how much I’ve slept the previous night, I’m always wanting to go back to bed. But for some reason, as soon as I opened my eyes, I realized I was wide awake. And then I noticed I wasn’t in my room. I was in a smaller room with pure white walls. Pure white walls, and a door. Nothing else decorated the room. Nothing stood out besides the equally white door. In fact, the only reason I knew the door was there if the first place was because it had a door handle.

I forced myself to sit upwards, blood rushing to greet my waking brain. I notice my clothes are the same, but something looked... off about them. Something I couldn’t put my finger on. The brightness, the contrast, hell, even the texture felt different. But it was clearly still my blue jeans and my black shirt that bore my school’s logo.

As I continue to sit there dumbly, I notice that my un-socked feet looked different as well. The brightness and contrast were off just like with my clothes. I check my contact lenses to see if they’re smudged, and to my bewilderment, I can’t find them. As I prod gently around my eye, I can’t find my contacts, yet, everything looked crystal clear. Granted I was near-sighted, and everything in the room was fairly close, but it even felt like I had them in. Without them, I usually couldn’t read five feet in front of me. Now, I felt like I could see... even better than when I did have my contacts.

Being officially weirded out now, I gain the courage to stand up. Even as I stand, everything feels a bit off. I felt lighter, in a sense. My nose was perfectly clear (I’ve been fighting a cold the past few days) and the air seemed... fresher. I look at my hands and find that they share the same traits as my feet. And I notice something even more strange. My calluses that I acquired from years weight lifting were gone. The multiple scratches and cuts on my arms were unaccounted for as well. The few scars, the scarce pimples, all vanished as if they never even existed.

Being beyond weirded out now, I decide that I need answers. So I make my way to the door. I wasn’t sure why, but I didn’t feel threatened at all. I didn’t feel like I was in trouble. I felt... that I was in harmony. So when I opened the door, I wasn’t bracing for any threat. The room I entered could only be described as magnificent. I was at a loss for words. The room was incredibly tall, easily stretching 50 feet in the air. The front of the room looked like a scene from Game of Thrones. It had large, wide steps leading to a throne. The wall behind me conisited of two small doors on both sides of a set of gargantuan double doors. On the two other sides were beautiful stained glass windows, depicting oddly familiar images. Before I could inspect the images further, a voice from my left startled me.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” a soft female voice said. I turned to get a look at the mysterious voice. I see a girl around 16 or 17 years old, sitting in a simple chair with a book in her lap. She had black hair with a two lavender stripes going down the length of it, one slightly darker than the other, and one slightly lighter than the other. She was wearing simple blue jeans and a t-shirt, which color seemed to be a mix of the two stripes in her hair. But what stunned me most of all was the dark, deep, beautiful purple eyes. I’ve seen enough colored contact lenses to know that these were natural. After a few moments of gawking at the mysterious girl, I realize how awkward I must have looked.

Trying to make up for this, I begin to speak. “Oh um... yeah. She- it- they sure are.” I fumble out. The girl stands up and closes the book, the sound echoing throughout the large room we were in.

“They were hoo- handmade.” she started, not looking at me, but at the windows. “They’re over 500 years old.” she continued, advancing towards me. I was too lost in the sight of her to look at the windows. After a couple of steps, she was a few feet in front of me. All of the features on her seemed... almost too real. Almost too perfect to be real. Her face seemed soft to the touch, her hair seemed even softer. Her slender form would have made many of the girls of my school green with envy. Again, I realize I’m just standing here starring at her.

“Oh... um... they sure are... beautiful.” After the words left my mouth, she gifted me with a small smile.

“You know, I never expected you to react like this.” These words began to snap me out of my trance. “I’ve never seen you act this way before.” Now I was weirded out and confused.

“W-what? You know me?” I manage to get out.

“Of course I do Hunter.” I was stunned to say the least.

“Wh-who are you?”

“I think you know who I am.” she winked at me. Maybe if I hadn’t been so confused, I would have realized what she was hinting at. But no, I stood there dumbly, still no idea what was going on.

“I... I don’t...” She giggled softly.

“You know, for someone as smart as you, I would have thought you could have put two and two together. Straight A’s all of high school. Except I do remember seeing an A dangerously close to a B during your freshmen year. I believe it was in Spanish?” Now it seemed like she was almost showing off.

“How do you know so much about me!?” I said probably too loudly. She began to lightly blush. Blush? Really? I’ve never seen anyone blush before except in cartoons...

“Not to sound creepy but... We’ve kind of been surveying you for the past few years.”

“We...?”

“Well, actually. It’s mostly been my teacher. I only started a few weeks ago.” The weird scale in my mind was broken.

“Okay, okay. What’s going on here, hmm? The last thing I remember is blacking out in my room. Is this some kind of game? Some kind of stupid TV show?” She laughed at that last remark.

“I guess you could almost call it that.”

“What? So I’m on a TV show right now? Is this supposed to freak me the fuck out? Cause that much has been accomplished.”

“Well you’re not on a TV show exactly... And we’re not trying to freak you out.”

“Whose this we you’ve been talking about!?” I was getting a little aggravated.

“I’ve already told you. My teacher.” she gestured towards the throne at the head of the room.

“You’re still not making any sense.” I began to rub my temples in frustration. “Can you at least answer some questions for me?”

“To the best of my knowledge, I will answer all of your questions.”

“Okay... First of all, what’s your name?” I was trying to sound as stern and demanding as possible.

“Twilight.” she said flatly. As I remember this now, I almost want to punch myself for being so stupid and not looking at the big picture. I was talking to a girl with purple eyes, purple stripes in her hair, and her name was Twilight. And I couldn’t make the connection. I still facepalm every time I think about this part. Anyway...

“Twilight? That’s... an interesting name.” Twilight herself seemed surprised I still wasn’t making the connection. “Okay, well here’s my second question. Where am I?” She sighed, and then took a deep breath.

“You’re in the magical world of Equestria where the dominant species remains to be ponies. There are, however, three different kinds of ponies. Earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns. We are ruled by Princess Celestia and her younger sister Princess Luna who are both alicorns. Celestia has control over the sun, and Luna has control over the moon. As opposed to your world, here magic exists and is used often and frequently. Unicorns and alicorns are the only two types of ponies who can use magic. Pegasi have control over the weather. And finally, earth ponies are the main food producers.”

As she said those words... I don’t even know how to describe what I felt like. It seemed to be a mixture of rage, bewilderment, and amusement. “So I am on a joke TV show.” I concluded more to myself than to Twilight. “Okay. This was hilarious. You can come out now with your cameras. Oh, and by the way, I’m really fucking sorry for saying ‘fucking’ early. I heard that it costs so much money to bleep something out. So fuck, shit, fucking fuck, motherfucking, asshole, shit, cunt, son of a-”

“You are really vulgar.” Twilight said looking very amused. “I can’t say I’ve never heard those words before, but never in such quantity.”

“Oh,” I began, my temper about to blow. “I’m sorry, and I’m sure you’re supposed to be Twilight Sparkle. From the My Little Pony TV series right?” To my surprise, Twilight let out a sigh of relief.

“Oh good. I’m just glad you’re the right person. That would have been pretty awkward if you weren’t a brony.”

“So what is this? A TV show that makes fun of bronies? Great plot you got there.” I was ready to lash out at something. Only a few of my friends knew I was a brony, and I honestly wanted to keep it that way. But because I thought this was a TV show, I was pissed that I was being humiliated, and that everyone would now know that I watched a show for little girls.

“Actually Hunter, what I told you was all fact. You’re really in Equestria, and I’m really Twilight Sparkle.” Her tone had become much more serious than before. But I still wasn’t buying it.

“Yeah. And I’m the prince of Gofuckyourselfandyourstupidshow.” Completely fed up with what I was being told, I turned back towards the door I entered from. I knew it only led to another small room, but I just wanted to get the hell out of there. Not even after taking three steps, Twilight spoke again from behind.

“If I prove to you that I’m Twilight Sparkle, will you at least stop your swearing?” I paused and turned around slowly.

“Fuck it. Sure, why not. If you prove to me that you’re an animated pony from a television show, then yes. I’ll stop cursing forever.” She didn’t speak in response. She only smiled and walked backwards a few steps.

“Don’t freak out okay? And remember, you said no swearing.” she smirked. I stood there, crossing my arms, wanting this whole ordeal to be over with. Still smirking, Twilight looked down at her own hands. She seemed to be focusing on them intently. After a few moments, they began to glow. Yeah, they freaking glowed. A purple aura surrounded her hands and steadily grew in intensity. The purple glow began to swirl in circles around her arms, and then eventually her torso. The purple continued to swirl around her until it was enveloping her whole body. The aura spun so fast it looked solid, Twilight now completely gone from view. After about ten seconds, the glow began to slowly decrease in height. It shrunk down to about four feet about the floor when I saw something in the center.

As the vortex finally disappeared, and I found myself again not being able to find words to describe what I felt. What was now in front of me was a lavender pony, a unicorn to be exact. She had dark purple hair with two different colored lavender stripes going down the length of it. The exact same color as the stripes before. And she had the exact same eyes as the human that once stood before me. I tried to find my vocal chords, but to no avail. Once again, Twilight was the first to speak.

“So no swearing from now on?” she continued to smirk. She seemed almost sadistic in proving me wrong.

“I... I don’t....”

“Well at least that reaction was predictable.” she giggled. After another moment of awkward silence, she trotted towards me. “Let me inform the princess that you’re now aware of your whereabouts. While I’m gone, I’ll let you absorb what you just found out.” She winked at me, and left through a pair of gigantic double doors.

My whole chest felt heavier and my legs started to buckle underneath me. I stumbled towards the chair Twilight was sitting on earlier, and manage to sit down. Now that I’m finally looking around the room, I realize that it’s an exact replica of Celestia’s throne room in Canterlot from the show. I guess replica isn’t the right word, but I was still very disoriented. The stained glass windows I glanced at earlier came back to my mind, and I took time to actually observe them. After a few minutes of rest, I stand up and begin to examine them.

They were easily twice as big as any stained glass I’ve ever seen before, and they depicted amazing pictures. They were similar to the stained glass from the show in Season 2, Episode 2 after the Mane Six defeated Discord, but they were obviously different. There were six windows on each side of the room, twelve total. It seemed to tell a story almost as the windows moved on. The window farthest away from the door on the left side seemed to be the beginning of the story.

The first picture seemed to be of Discord, whom surprisingly looked very similar from the show. The picture had Discord in the background, and three suffering ponies in the foreground, one of each species. Dark thunderclouds with oddly colored rain was depicted above them. I moved on to the second window, and saw two alicorns, one white and one blue, on both sides of Discord, emitting magic towards Discord, whom was now a dull grey. The next image was very peaceful looking. It had Princess Luna on the top right side, with the moon behind her, and Celestia opposite to her with the sun behind her. Below the two sisters were happy ponies of every species, playing on the left, and sleeping on the right. I was pretty sure I knew where this was going.

The fourth image was of a much larger, and more malicious looking Luna. I assumed this was Nightmare Moon. Nightmare Moon stood on her hind legs with a giant moon in the background and panicking ponies below. Now the fifth image showed Celestia aiming her horn at Nightmare Moon, shooting magic at her much like the way they did with Discord. The final image on the left side had Celestia in the top middle, with the sun on her right and moon on her left. Inside of the moon was the outline of a unicorn’s head. Below her, the ponies were once again joyful and happy.

Before I know what I’m doing, I’m already on the other side of the vast room, looking at the first image on the right side. This one was of Discord again, and it showed him in his stone state. A small, but visible, crack was on the statue. The next picture towards the right was much like first picture on the left side. It had Discord in the background as well. The thunderclouds and the odd rain were there too. The only thing different, was that there were now six ponies underneath the clouds. They were obviously the Mane Six. The third picture depicted a maze, with Discord hovering over it with puppet strings in his hand. Inside the maze were the Mane Six in separate portions of the maze..

The next picture made my heart droop. It showed Discord in the center of the Mane Six. The six ponies were all going separate ways, and their original colors were now gray and dull. Discord had a very displeasing smile on his face. The next window was a little bit different than the rest. It was cut up into six different scenes, three on each side. The top left depicted Twilight reading a scroll, with her original, purple color covering half of her body. The next five frames were all the same. Twilight touching her horn to the forehead of one of the other Mane Six. In every scene, the pony’s color was covering half the length of their bodies, implying that they were regaining their color.

The sixth and final window was by far the most beautiful. The color in it seemed to shine brightest out of all the other windows in the room. It had each of the Mane Six standing majestically on opposite sides of the window, three on each side. They all had glowing auras around them matching the color of their coat. The colors all went upwards and finally connected into a rainbow of color. The single stream went further upward and eventually hit Discord, who was now once again encased in stone. I took a few steps back to fully appreciate the magnificent works of art the decorated the room. I could have stood for hours, just absorbing the beauty of it. However, a majestic voice made me jump from behind.

“Admiring some Equestrian history?” Much like Twilight’s voice, this voice was not exactly like the voice from the show. However they both sounded incredibly similar to the show. So similar, that I could easily tell the it was Princess Celestia behind me. I slowly turn around, and I’m proven right. Standing before me is a large pony, almost as big as a small horse. Her eye level met mine and I stood at least 6 feet above the ground. Her magical mane and tail flowed around her. Her wings were unfurled, but not at full length.

I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to bow, kneel, or just stand there dumbly and look like a fool. I’m pretty sure you can guess what I did. I manage to remember that I have vocal chords, and I force some words out. “Princess Celestia...” I let the words hang in the air. “Uh...” I fumble with my words again. “What an honor it is to meet you...” The way I let the words out make it sound like I asked a question. This gets a soft laugh from both the princess, and Twilight who I just noticed was standing next to Celestia.

“The honor is all mine Hunter.” the ruler of all Equestria says, nodding her heads towards me. She turns her head slightly to the side. “You may leave us now.” Two white pegasi in royal guard uniforms left the room and shut the door behind them. I somehow didn’t notice them the first time either.

“Is there anything I can get for you?” Twilight asks, perking up her ears. “We have a lot of food and drinks in the castle.” I again almost found myself lost in Twilight’s eyes, but mange to force myself from staring.

“Uh... I don’t... I don’t really know... Water?” I say, still fumbling my words.

“Hehe. Of course we have water.” Twilight said sweetly. She turned her head towards the alicorn. “Princess?”

“I think we may just talk in the dinning hall Twilight.” Celestia turned to me and gave me a sly, but small, smile. “We have a lot to talk about.”

If either of the ponies spoke during our short trip to the dining hall, I didn’t notice them at all. I was too stunned by the pure beauty of the castle I was in to notice anything but what I was looking out. There were guards standing at attention every so often throughout the halls, each giving me very stern looks. However, I didn’t notice any of them. The colors seemed to almost hypnotise me as if I was a two-year-old seeing them for the first time. The weird thing was, I couldn’t really say what made the colors and everything else in this world so hypnotic. All I know is that it could have taken use five hours to get to the dining hall and I wouldn’t have known.

We enter another incredibly large room, but this one was considerably longer, and had a long dinning table in the middle. Celestia sits at the head of the table with Twilight to her right. Celestia gestures a hoof towards the seat to her left, and I sit down in it. A couple of fancy dressed waiters come in to take our order of anything we want. I stick with water, unsure of anything in this world, while Celestia and Twilight both have tea. Not even a full minute after ordering, our drinks come out with unnecessary fanciness. Large silver platters, fancy waiters carrying them, the works. You know? Fancy stuff.

I nervously sip my water while Celestia and Twilight silently sip their tea with their magic. I was almost shaking after five minutes of awkward silence. After seven minutes, I had to break to impossibly loud quiet. “So!” I said probably louder than necessary. Neither ponies jumped, but they both looked at my questionably. “Uh... Um... I mean....” My awkwardness was showing like Celestia’s sun.

“If you’d like to,” Celestia began. “We can get down to why we’ve brought you here.” The relieve on my face must have been apparent.

“I’d like that very much.” I said letting out a huge sigh.

“Well Hunter, to be honest, we’ve been watching you and your planet for a very long time. But before I start, I should probably start from the beginning.” Celestia set down her tea and got comfortable in her seat. I did the same. “The window paintings you saw in the throne room were true events as you may have guessed. When my sister and I found Equestria, it was in utter chaos caused by Discord. He made all of life horrible for unicorn, earth pony, and pegasi alike. So Luna and I used the Elements of Harmony to defeat him, and encase him in stone. However, I’m sure you know this from the show you watched back on Earth.”

“So you know about My Little Pony?” I was again very confused.

“Of course we do. I was the one who came up with the idea for Friendship is Magic.” Celestia spoke as if it were nothing. Many questions raved in my head.

“But what about Lauren Faust? I thought she-” Celestia cut me off.

“Lauren... She was such a nice human.” Celestia seemed lost in memory for a second, but quickly regained focus. “Well, the show you know of back on Earth is not an exact mirror of our world here. The basic idea of Twilight and her friends is about all that is true. Major history events are also true. Such as the narrative at the beginning of the first episode. Also major holidays are true. Nightmare’s Night, Hearth’s Warming, Hearts and Hooves Day, etc. The story of Discord is also mostly true. And the story of how the Elements of Harmony got their cutie marks is true as well. But besides those, the show is fiction.” Thousands of questions poured into my head.

“So what about Lauren Faust? What about-” Celestia cut me off again with her hoof.

“If you would please save all questions for the end, it would be much appreciated.” I got the hint. “As you know, my sister and I imprisoned Discord into his stone state and all was well. However it was only for a few years, unfortunately. I began to experience crippling headaches and attacks of bursts of magic, where I couldn’t control my magical power. Luna and I had no idea what caused it or how to stop it. After many months of the uncertainty, the magic attacks and headaches stopped. But they were replaced with visions of the future. I saw many things that have come to pass, and the will pass. I saw my sister turn hateful and spiteful, and finally turn into Nightmare Moon. I saw my prized pupal earn her cutie mark as well as her friend’s and her defeat of Nightmare Moon. That is why I was so quick and eager to accept Twilight as my personal student the day she got her cutie mark.” She paused for a moment to sip her tea. I sipped my water as well.

“However I only saw part of Discord’s escape. I didn’t foresee Twilight and her friends imprisoning him again. I wasn’t even sure if she was alive when he escaped. I did know that he would be locked away again, but I did not know how. And after I saw him imprisoned again, I did not expect to see him break free a second time. This time, however, he was more powerful than before. He raised an army of chaos, and destroyed the kingdom my sister and I worked so hard to build. But after those visions had passed, I saw something I couldn’t quite believe. A whole different world. Your world. I viewed most of mankind’s history in my vision. I saw the crusades, the Romans, the American Revolution. And throughout the history of your species, I saw mankind’s horrors. Their lust for power, and their hunger for war and violence. I did not expect to see your race survive as long as it did. But it didn’t only survive. It flourished. Your technology was eons ahead of our race. And after seeing what technology could do to a species, I decided to try to keep it from ever reaching Equestria.”

“But throughout the entire history of what I saw, I not only saw your violence, hate, and greed. I saw your love, compassion, and kindness. Those characteristics were not always as strong as they could have been, but they were always there. No matter what time and hardship was going on. At times, you could be much like my little ponies, here in Equestria. But at other times, I feared the very thought of humans in our world. I watched the human world develop and flourish. It seemed I was watching it all in an accelerated state. However my vision of your world slowed down to real time on one particular human. A lovely woman by the name of Lauren Faust.” I sat there trying to piece together the puzzle that Celestia was making. I thought I began to understand.

“I was unsure why my vision slowed on Lauren, and it took me some time to fully understand what my vision was trying to tell me. As you know, your world has much more effort put into your entertainment. Such as television shows and movies. I saw Lauren talking to seemingly very important humans. I was very surprised when I understood what they were saying. The humans talking to Lauren were approaching her on making a television series about a toy line they have had for years. My Little Pony.” Again, many questions poured into my mind, but I managed to hold my tongue.

“Lauren was seemingly not too excited by the idea of rebutting the series. I was still unsure of what my magic was trying to tell me. As the meeting went on, I saw some images of previous My Little Pony series. It was then, that I understood what my magic was telling me. The My Little Pony series didn’t look like our world in Equestria, but it had some similar concepts. The unicorns, pegasi, earth ponies, etc. As I previously said, in the history of your species, I saw you fight relentlessly for things you believed strongly in. However before I could look more into your world, my vision faded, and I was back in Equestria. My vision seemed like it had lasted for years, decades even. Yet when I opened my eyes, no time had passed since I closed them. But I did not forget about what was coming to pass.” By now Celestia’s tea had grown cold, but she sipped some anyway.

“I studied and researched restlessly for weeks, trying to find a spell to link us to your world. After countless days, I figured out a portal spell that would allow me to view, and even take things from your world. At this point, I was unsure if Lauren took the offer to make the series, but I still had to make sure. My plan was to convince Lauren to make the show to find humans with enough compassion to fight for Equestria when Discord made his second escape. I finally was able to use the spell successfully, and I saw into your world once again. But I was again very surprised on what I saw.”

“I know that at least three months had passed since I last viewed Lauren in your world, however when I looked through the portal, I saw that only a few hours had passed. I guessed 8-9 hours only had gone by in your world. And even as I watched Lauren go about her daily business, it seemed incredibly slowed down. As if their whole world was in slow motion. After some quick calculations, I figured that a day on Earth, was the equivalent to a year in Equestria. I was unsure what would happen if I tried to bring a human into Equestria, but I knew I had to try to convince Lauren to go through with the show. A day passed in Equestria, and I saw only four minutes had passed on Earth. I reassured myself that this would be the only way to stop the inevitable escape of Discord. So...” she paused for seemingly dramatic effect. “I summoned Lauren into Equestria.”

“It took several hours to get her to calm down and listen to us. I had seen Lauren’s other works on television and saw that she was one of the kindest humans I’ve ever seen. A few days passed, and I told Lauren of what would happen to Equestria if Discord was successful. She seemed torn on what to do. She wanted to help us, but she didn’t know what she could do. I told her my plan of creating an army of humans. At first she almost seemed angry with the idea. But after growing attached to few ponies she met during her stay, she understood why someone would be willing to fight for us. She agreed to try to make the show to get followers of the cause.”

“Lauren stayed with us for a full Equestrian year. I told her of all of the things I saw in my visions of the future, and she agreed to make them part of the show. I didn’t tell my sister of her decent into Nightmare Moon, because I knew that Nightmare Moon would be essential for Twilight to meet her friends in Ponyville. Lauren was very displeased with leaving, and even asked if she could ever come back. I told her only if I was sure Discord was defeated forever. She agreed, and I sent her home.” By now, Luna had raised the moon, and it was dark outside.

“I always kept a watchful eye on Earth and Lauren. The time difference was somewhat difficult for me, but I was able to make some sense of what I was seeing. As the years went on, I noticed Luna begin to show signs of hate and bitterness. More time passed, and I finally knew that Luna would soon become Nightmare Moon. Coincidentally, at the same time Nightmare Moon emerged, the show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic was premiered. I was forced to imprison my sister in the moon for a thousand years as I predicted. And for a time, things were peaceful.”

“As time went on, I learned more about your world. I learned you had the same months and seasons as us, but you also measured years from a certain starting point. I never understood when you choose to start counting, but I digress. I seemed that the show aired October 10, 2010, which was the same day I banished Nightmare Moon into the moon. 1000 years later, as expected, she escaped, and Twilight and her friends used the Elements of Harmony to stop her almost exactly like in the show. 1000 years here was only 1000 days on earth. So 1000 days after October 10, 2010 was-” Believe it or not, I cut off the princess.

“July 28th... Today.” I spoke softly.

“Correct. It was only a few months ago that my sister escaped. And much to my surprise, it was only another few months until Discord escaped for the first time. I was unsure of how to deal with Discord, knowing what he would eventually do. But luckily, Twilight was able to save Equestria again, and trapped Discord in stone again. And that was only a few weeks ago.” My mouth dropped. A few weeks ago, Twilight stopped Discord for the first time. Yet back on Earth, it was already the end of the third season. It seemed like Discord happened long ago. But I did save my questions as per Celestia’s request.

“It was then I told my student of my history and of Earth. A few weeks of studying and here we are.” The way the princess put everything seemed so simple. Yet there were still thousands upon thousands of questions in my head. Thankfully, Celestia spoke once more. “If you have any questions, you may ask them now.” I didn’t know where to start.

I took me a moment to gather my thoughts collectively, and another moment to find the right words. For my first question, I decided on the obvious. “Why me? Why, out all of all the other bronies in the world, did you choose me? Sure I’m an offensive lineman for football. But I’ve heard stories of Marines being bronies. I’ve heard mixed martial arts fighters being bronies. So why me?” This question almost seemed to trouble Celestia, but she responded regardless.

“For very specific reasons, Hunter. Because your world moved at such a slower rate, it was much easier to monitor the bronies of your world.”

“Wait,” I spoke again. “You spied on all off the bronies of the world? How is that possible?”

“It’s fairly simple actually.” Celestia began. “I used some spells to aid me in my task. Luna helped me of course, and Twilight helped also for the past few weeks. We monitored most of the bronies.”

“May I ask why you watched us? What purpose could that serve?”

“Multiple reasons. Firstly, to make sure no brony who was mentally or physically unfit to fight would be summoned to Equestria. Secondly, to find someone like you.” Celestia said simplistically.

“What do you mean someone like me!? And are you saying bronies are going to be forced to fight for you?!” My voice was increasing in volume without me noticing. I was angry because it seemed as if Celestia was going to make humans her personal slaves. That didn’t sit well with me at all.

“Of course not Hunter. No one has to serve if they don’t want to. Even you have the option to be sent home right now. If that’s what you want.” To be honest, I had no idea how to respond with. Celestia was talking about this like it was going to be a full blown war. Were people (or ponies) could easily die. And she was asking me if I wanted to stay and help the cause, or go back to Earth. I won’t lie, life wasn’t perfect on Earth, but it was home. But I felt an odd connection with Equestria. I’ve always wondered why the show always gave me such strong emotions. And now I’m finding out it may be because it’s my destiny to fight to save Equestria. This was a lot to put on the mind of a 16-year-old to say the least.

“And you don’t have to decide now Hunter.” Twilight said, speaking for the first time all night. “We agreed that anytime during your training, you can choose to go home.”

“But you still didn’t answer my question. Why did you choose me? As far as I can tell, I’m the first human in Equestria besides Lauren Faust.” My eyes were heavy, and my mind was wanting rest. But my mind also wanted answers.

“You are correct about being the second human in Equestria. And to answer your question...” Celestia paused, thinking to herself. “We chose you because you’re one of the only humans who may be able undergo a certain spell I recently discovered.” I lost count of how many times I didn’t know what to say. “The spell I’m speaking of has never been used before, but we know some effects that it may have on a human. If we were to take a fully grown human, the spell would most likely break down the human’s body. So we had to choose a human who was not fully grown and hadn’t fully finished developing.” I took a long drink of my water.

“They spell also works the mind, increasing the capability of it. We needed a fairly smart human for the spell to be worth doing. We also needed some human that was physically active, so that their body would be used to physical change. And perhaps the biggest factor in our decision, you’re observations.” I waited for Celestia to go on. When she didn’t, I spoke up.

“What do you mean observations? Like what I’ve seen?”

“Exactly. The spell also targets the memory of the user. Making almost every piece of useful information stored easily accessible.” Pardon my French but, my mind was fucked. “For this particular cause, I made the only information that would be enhanced be of military or fighting nature.” Mind equaled beyond fucked.

“So what are you saying exactly? I’m lost...”

“Let me explain,” the princess began. “All of the information you observe is stored in you brain. However, not all of it is accessible to you. The spell makes all information that would be useful for our cause, easily accessible.” I thought I was beginning to understand.

“So you’re saying military tactics that I’ve learned from, let’s say, a video game, would be easy for me to do?”

“In a sense, yes. We know you’ve had experience with firearms, and all of the information you’ve even heard about them will be fresh in your memory.” The talk of guns worried me.

“So you have guns? In Equestria?” I wasn’t sure if I could/wanted to believe it.

“Yes. They are one of the highest guarded secrets Canterlot has to offer, but we have literally thousands of assorted firearms stored away.” Mindfuckmindfuckmindfuckmindfuck.

“H-how did you...?”

“It was a simple enough task. We used the spell to bring objects in from your world on assorted firearms. We then used a simple copy spell to make exact replicas of the weapons.” Celestia spoke of tools of war as if it were nothing.

“So you brought guns... into Equestria. What else did you bring?” I was praying that I didn’t hear anything with nuclear, or atomic in the names.

“We have brought helicopters and other vehicles and copied those too.” Celestia must have known what I was getting at. “I did not bring the enormous bombs your people have used before. I do not want to resort to that sort of violence.”

“Do you know what guns could do to Equestria!?” My voice had risen again and I stood up from my chair. “The show I know of back home was peaceful enough! Guns and weapons would ruin this world!”

“I know the risks Hunter. I used my own magic to make almost all of the firearms we have. When Discord is defeated, I will destroy all weapons of war I brought into this world.”

“Well how do you even know that Discord would use guns? If he doesn’t know about them, aren’t we essentially handing them over to him?”

“During my vision of Discord’s destruction of Equestria, I saw Discord’s army using firearms. I didn’t know what they were at the time, but I know now. I’m not sure how Discord achieved this, but he would have found the weapons regardless.” This calmed me down a bit, and I regained my cool. I sighed, and sat back down.

“So you were saying something about this spell...”

“Yes.” Celestia said, regaining focus. “The spell would make all useful information easily accessible.” By now, I was dead tired. I usually went to bed around 11 o’clock, and at least two hours had passed since I blacked out at 10:30.

“Can you give me a more specific example? I’m about to fall asleep, so my mind is... you know?”

“Well let’s see.” Celestia began to ponder her thoughts. “You’ve seen many movies in your life, correct?” I nod. “And most of those involve fighting? Hand to hand combat?”

“I suppose...”

“I remember you watching a movie with multiple knife fighting scenes. I can’t seem to remember the name... It was very bloody...” I wondered how the princess fancied my taste for violence. I’ve seen some pretty fucked up stuff on the Internet. Beheadings, hangings, suicide. And I began to worry if Celestia saw all of that too. “It seemed to be almost a medical kind of movie.” I realized what movie she was talking about. I found it pretty ironic that the princess of Equestria would be sitting here, trying to explain the movie Repo Men to me.

“Repo Men?” I ask.

“Yes!” Celestia said in realization” That one! At the climax of the movie, do you remember seeing the protagonist use multiple methods of hand to hand combat?” I recalled the very bloody scene where Jude Law sliced and diced people with knives, saws, and even a hammer.

“Yes...” I began to piece together what Celestia was trying to say.

“All of those techniques you witnessed have been stored in your brain. Regardless if you know how to utilize them, you know the forms and techniques of how to use those weapons.” So what I think Celestia was saying, was that since I saw Jude Law kill those people with his weapons, that I would be able to do the same. After Celestia used the spell on me of course. Even though it seemed like he simply thrashed knives around in Repo Men, I thought about the other movies I’ve seen with similar concepts.

If I was fully understanding what Celestia was saying, I would know multiple fighting techniques from simply viewing them in a movie. I thought about all of the different movies I’ve seen that have factual, useful, and interesting information. And then I thought about actual documentaries I’ve seen on things. I’ve seen a whole lot of documentaries on the Military Channel about sniping, firearm mechanics, tactics used in wars throughout history. Supposedly, all of that information would be available for me to use. I was beginning to like this idea.

“Okay. So you chose me because I watch a lot of movies?” I ask. Celestia chuckled.

“Essentially, yes. You’re one of the few who fit perfectly in every category. But there was one aspect that made us choose you.” I hated admitting this, but I loved recognition from people. I loved when people told me I did a good job, or when people talked about me in good ways. I know it sounds a little shallow and childish, but it’s one of my many flaws. So when Celestia started talking about me like this, I was ecstatic on the inside. “You have the most compassion out of everyone else who we considered for the position. You always cared about whatever you believed in. You stood up for others. To put it simply Hunter, you were nice.” Now it was my turn to blush.

“I... Thank you.” I now this probably sounds girly, but I was touched.

“But now, I need to tell you why we need this position in the first place.” Celestia’s tone grew more serious, so I did my best to listen intently. Celestia sighed before she spoke. “Twilight here...” She paused, seemingly upset with what she was saying. “Is very... contempt in fighting for her homeland.” I looked at Twilight with wide eyes.

“You? You want to be part of this war?” I think anyone would have been surprised when they found out Twilight Sparkle, the librarian of Ponyville, wanted to partake in war. Twilight had a very serious expression on her face, and simply nodded. I turned my attention to Celestia again. “So what does this have to do with me?”

“As you may guess, I’m not pleased at all with Twilight’s seriousness in partaking in war. However she insists that she will fight.”

“I will princess! I don’t understand why you don’t want me to go through with this. You were going to allow other ponies to enlist. Male, female, pegasi, unicorn, earth pony. So why don’t you want me to help?” Twilight was obviously frustrated. I sat there in silence, hoping for Celestia to speak before another awkward silence crept in.

“Because I care for you Twilight. You’re the best student I’ve ever had under my teachings. And believe me when I say; I’ve had many proteges.” Twilight wouldn’t stop.

“But I’m not any different from anypony else when it comes to what I’m willing to fight for. Or die for...” Those last words hung in the air like a dirty joke at someone’s funeral.

“But Celestia,” I croaked out. “I still don’t see what Twilight wanting to fight for the cause has anything to do with me.”

“If I were to let Twilight fight for Equestria, I’d need to make sure she not only had the best training, but that she was always with someone who could protect her if need be. I’m not sure if I could handle knowing that Twilight died in the war when I could have prevented it.” She gave me the sternest look I’ve ever seen. “I’m not taking any chances.”

“So.... I’d be her bodyguard?” I asked.

“No. You would be her instructor during her training, and part of her team during the war.”

“So what about my training? Would you use your spell on me or...?”

“My initial plan was to have you go through the Training of the Royal Guard before I enchanted you with the spell. That way, the information you would have learned from your training will be more easily utilized.”

“But how would I go through the training when, I assume, the program is meant for ponies?” Celestia and Twilight locked eye contact for a second, and then both turned towards me.

“We would of course make you a pony.” And my mind was, once again, fucked.

Author’s Note: It would be really awesome if you guys could comment with some constructive criticism. I do my best to review my writing, but I also need to know if something feels off about the story. Like if the mood feels wrong, or if the flow doesn’t feel right. I’m trying to write chapters as fast as possible without feeling rushed, so also tell me if the quality is lessening. If it is, then I’ll take much more time on the chapters. And I’m still doing my best to find a good cover for this story. Any help with finding a cover would be much appreciated. Thanks again guys.

“You... you can do that?” I stammer out. “You can turn me... into a pony?”

“Of course we can.” Twilight said simply. “You saw me as a human before. I’d just use the same spell. In fact, I’d use the same spell in reverse if I wanted to turn back into a human.” As I’m sure many of you would be, I was ecstatic. But I did a pretty good job at containing myself.

“How did you even figure out how to do that?” I ask.

“It’s actually a fairly simple spell. The difficult part is the usage of the spell. If you focus too much on the wrong thing, you get something wrong. Like feet that are too big, or hands with too many fingers.” Twilight explained.

“Then how did you test the spell without getting deformed humans?” Both Celestia and Twilight gave nervous glances at each other.

“We...” Twilight began. “Had a volunteer to undergo the procedure until I perfected it. It was very painful on her, but she didn’t rest until it was perfect.”

“Who on Earth- or on Equestria, want to go through pain just to become a human?” I ask genuinely confused. The two ponies glanced at each other again.

“We think you may know...” Celestia led on. I had an idea of a pony who would want to become a human, but I wasn’t sure if she even really existed in Equestria. But I decided I might as well guess.

“Is it... Lyra?” I didn’t think I would hear the answer I did.

“Yes, it was.” I hit the record for most mind fucks in one night.

“Lyra Heartstrings!?” I blurt out. “That seems like an impossibly big coincidence.”

“Perhaps I should explain how Lauren knew so much of our history.” Celestia stated. “After I had convinced her to try to raise a group of followers, I showed Lauren my visions of the future. She saw many of the ‘background ponies’ you have in your show back on Earth. Knowing the names was an odd side-effect, but most of the characters you’ve seen in the show have the same names here.” MIND FUCK MIND FUCK MIND FUCK.

“So Bon-Bon, Roseluck, Daisy, Lilly, Colgate, Berry Punch, Caramel, Vinyl Scratch, Doctor Whooves, Octavia? DERPY HOOVES? They’re all real!?” I say too loudly. Celestia and Twilight looked at me like I was crazy.

“Y-yes...” Twilight stammered out. “Those are all ponies from Ponyville. I never knew your world knew so much about them...” Celestia, however, was much more collected than Twilight was.

“It’s possible that due to the link created between our worlds when I summoned Lauren here is so strong, that they seem to overlap in very specific areas.” Celestia concluded. “In fact, that would explain why Lyra seemed so informed of humans.”

“So Lyra knew about humans before you told her?” I wonder out loud.

“Indeed. She noticed many things other ponies had never noticed. Most of our tools invented are directly influenced by my vision of your world. And it would appear that due to bronies’ invention of Lyra knowing about humans in the first place, caused her to know about humans.” I literally scratched my head in confusion.

“What?” I stress out. Twilight giggled at my confusion.

“What the princess is saying, is that the connection between our worlds can cause influences in both different worlds. Because the brony community had the idea that Lyra knew about humans, she did.” Do I even have to say mind fuck anymore?

“Twilight, I don’t think that makes sense.” I say flatly. This gets another giggle out of Twilight.

“I’m sure it must be hard for a human to fully understand such simply concepts.” Twilight said sarcastically.

“Oh, so you’re making jokes now?” I giggle out myself. “Well before we get off track, weren’t we talking about the spell?” Twilight regained focus.

“Of course. Well, Lyra volunteered to be the test subject until I perfected the spell. It took nearly four hours before everything turned out proportional. Lyra was ecstatic after the spell was perfected.” Twilight concluded.

“So then you turned yourself into a human and summoned me here?” I ponder.

“Well not immediately after, but yes. I chose to be in human form just so you wouldn’t freak out when you saw me.”

“Okay... I think I’ve understood most of what you two are saying, but, what happens now? I mean, do you even know when the war will start? I mean, where’s Discord in the first place?” Celestia’s expression changed somewhat. It was almost unnoticeable, but it was apparent she was very scared of what Discord could do.

“Discord is hidden deep within the Everfree forest. We do not know when he will escape, so that is why we summoned you here only a few short weeks after Twilight stopped him.” Celestia’s voice was stern, but you could barely hear a faint tone of fear.

“So what about me? What do I do now?” I repeat.

“Our original plan was to have you in Equestria for 8 hours on Earth. When we summoned you, it should have been exactly 10:30 pm.” Celestia said.

“Yeah, it was. I remember seeing the clock change to 10:30 before I blacked out.”

“Very good.” Celestia nodded. “Then we planned for you to stay in Equestria until 6:30 am on Earth. That gives you time to be situated before your family wakes up.” I quickly did some calculations in my head. If a day here was about four minutes.... I was already lost in my math.

“How long will it be here?” I ask, taking the easy way out. This time, Twilight spoke up.

“If my calculations are correct, around 121 days in Equestria. Which is 17 weeks and 2 days.” Celestia spoke up after Twilight had finished.

“The normal Royal Guard training lasts 15 weeks. We planned it so the next training rotation starts next week, which will give you one week before, and after your training. And as far as everypony else will be concerned, you’ll just be another pony joining the Royal Guard.”

“But won’t I be a little young? I’m only 16. Back on Earth you have to be 18 to enlist in the military. Unless the way ponies age is different than humans...”

“As far as we can tell, you age at the same rate we do.” Twilight remarked.

“And you must be eighteen years of age or sixteen years of age with parental consent to enlist in the Royal Guard.” Celestia said.

“So fifteen weeks of training...” I say more to myself than to anyone else. “That doesn’t sound easy...”

“It is not.” Celestia pointed out. “However normal training is only nine weeks. The other six weeks comes from your training of the Celestial Guard.”

“What’s the Celestial Guard?” I ask, not realizing how stupid it must have sounded.

“Well our military is divided up into three main divisions. The Celestial Guard, the Lunar Guard, and the Royal Guard. As the name suggests, the Celestial and Lunar Guards are the personal bodyguards of me and my sister. The Royal Guard consists of all of the rest of our military. Mostly peacekeepers and castle guards. Only the elite best are offered into the Celestial or Lunar Guards. The training is the most difficult Luna or I could devise.” These words were not comforting. But they did peek my interest.

“Sounds like a hell of a work out...”

“As for the two weeks you don’t have training,” Twilight started. “Celestia and I have decided that you should come to Ponyville and meet with my friends. After all, some of them will be apart of our team.”

“So you’re saying, for example, Pinkie Pie is going to be on our squad? For when we go fight in the war? And starting killing things?” Pinkie Pie has always been my favorite of the Mane Six, and part of that was because she seemed so innocent. It’s been widely adopted by bronies that she was the youngest of the Mane Six, and the thought of her fighting in a our worried me. Immensely.

“Not all of the Elements of Harmony are going to be on our team.” I let out a sigh of relieve in my head. Twilight continued talking. “I’ve told them all of the expected war. But only two of them volunteered to partake in it.” In my mind, I guessed Applejack and Rainbow Dash. They seemed the strongest, and bravest. “They all have offered their help in the cause, but only Applejack and Rainbow Dash offered to fight.” I WIN A MENTAL BROHOOF FROM MYSELF!

“So I’ll be meeting them in Ponyville?” Twilight nodded. That’s when the reality began to really hit me. I was in Equestria. Talking to Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia. And now I was going to go to Ponyville to meet all of the other ponies from the show. If I wasn’t about to fall asleep, I would be literally jumping up and down with excitement. But all I could manage was a very dumb looking grin on my face. “Well are they like they are from the show? I just don’t want to expect Fluttershy to be all quiet and timid and find her to be like Rainbow Dash.”

“From what I can tell from the show, they are similar in characteristics.” This made my grin elongate even more. I sat back in the chair, looking at nothing, thinking about how amazing it was going to be. The next thing I know, I’m asleep in the chair. If any brony wants to slap me for falling asleep while talking to Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia, then be my guest. I probably deserve it. But I do know for a fact, that I fell asleep with the biggest smile I’ve ever had.

“Princess...” Twilight spoke softly, her voice barely a whisper. “I think he fell asleep.” Both ponies slightly chuckled.

“It would appear so.” Celestia responded, her voice too was very soft. “If you would kindly teleport him to the guest chambers.”

“Of course Princess.” With a bright glow of Twilight’s horn, Hunter was now sleeping soundly on a giant mattress, leaving Celestia and Twilight alone in the dining hall. “Do you think we should tell him how much the spell hurts?” Twilight asked her mentor.

“Which spell?”

“Both, I suppose.” Celestia pondered her mind for a moment.

“I suppose it would be best to tell him. I suspect the body acceleration spell will hurt much worse than the transformation spell. But if he’s who I think of him to be, he’ll be up for the task.” Celestia stood and walked towards the window, gazing at Luna’s bright moon. “Let him sleep as long as he wants tomorrow Twilight. He’ll need his rest.”

“Of course Princess.” Twilight said cheerfully, oblivious to the conflicting thoughts Celestia was having. “If you don’t mind, I think I’m going to be going to sleep as well.” Celestia slowly turned to her student, strong emotions raging a war in her mind. She smiled whole-heartily.

“Good night Twilight. Get your rest.” Twilight smiled back, and teleported from the room. Celestia, now alone, looked back out the window, towards the Everfree forest. She spoke softly. “Discord, if you can hear me, I hope you’re preparing for a war. Because that’s what’s coming for you.”

Author’s Note: Hey guys, I’ve got another chapter already out. My goal I set for myself is to type something everyday. That doesn’t necessarily mean a chapter everyday, but I just want to get some progress done everyday. I’m still looking for a cover if anyone is interested. (Applejack: Hint, hint.)

A Change

I wake up in a bed, which confuses me. I don’t exactly remember falling asleep, but I do remember screaming in my mind as my eyelids shut. I see that I’m not even under the covers, and that I’m laying perfectly straight. I guess that Twilight or Celestia had brought me here by magic. I sit up and look around the simple enough room. It reminded me a lot of the room that Rarity stayed in during her trip to Canterlot in “Sweet and Elite.” There’s a fancy bed, a simple enough bathroom, a desk with ink and quill, and the door. Nothing really special.

My first thought was to take a shower, but I really didn’t want to get all clean only to get back into these dirty clothes. I decide to fuck it, and not take a shower. Hopefully I didn’t smell too bad. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to wait in here for a summoning, so I decided it would probably be best to just wait a while and see what happens. I wander aimlessly about the room for a few minutes before boredom sets in. I enter the bathroom and find it looks completely normal. After finishing my business in there, I search briefly for a clock, and come up with nothing. After about half an hour, I’ve had enough, and I venture out of the room.

The hallways in the castle all seemed the same to me. My brief trip from the throne room to the dining hall didn’t give me any clues as to how to tell where I was going. Winging it, I turn left. I pass guards occasionally, sometimes getting looks of question, and sometimes looks of almost disgust. To say the least, I didn’t want to stop and ask for directions. After various random left and right turns, I find my way to the mess hall. This was immensely different from the dining hall. It seemed all of the guards and servants of the castle ate here. It was very simple compared to everything else I’ve seen in the castle. In fact, it looked pretty much like a high school lunchroom. Long rows of tables with ponies busy talking away. I jump at the sound of a voice from behind me.

“There you are!” Twilight said with a relieved tone. After she noticed she had scared me, her cheeks slightly turned red. “Oh, sorry.” she said sweetly. “I guess I should stop doing that.” I laugh awkwardly before I talk.

“It’s okay Twilight, my football buddies did that to me all the time.” Because Twilight was in her pony form, she was nearly two feet shorter than me, so it felt a little awkward staring at her from above.

“I’ve been looking for you for the past half hour,” she said regularly. “When I didn’t find you in your room, I wasn’t sure where to look.”

“Well I kind of just wandered around until I found you, or rather you found me.” I smiled dumbly as I spoke. I then realized what I was doing. I wasn’t feeling as awkward as usual when I was around girls. And my head felt a little bit lighter than usual. I try to push the thought in my mind away, but it kept coming back to me. Twilight was really cute. My mind was fucking with me. I also have to keep reminding myself that thinking to myself causes more awkward silences. Twilight cleared her throat before she spoke.

“Well the princess would like to finish the conversation we were having last night. Before you fell asleep, that is.” she added the last sentence mischievously.

“Yeah, sorry about that.” Now I’m feeling embarrassed too. “I was really tired.” I don’t say? Twilight giggles at my dumb answer.

“We’ll be meeting in the dining hall again.” Twilight said, starting to walk off towards her left. “This way, we can get some breakfast.”

“What time is it anyway?” I ask, now following her. “I haven’t seen a clock all day.”

“It’s only 9 o’clock or so.” she says flatly. Now, I’ve never been good at conversations, let alone with girls, but I was determined to not seem like a freak around Twilight. I didn’t really take into account that Twilight said she had been monitoring me for the last few weeks.

“How do you not get lost in all of these hallways?” I ask, trying to get a conversation going. “They all look the same to me.” Twilight looks around briefly, still trotting on.

“Hmm...” she ponders. “You know I’ve never really noticed it before. I’ve lived in the castle for most of my life up to a few months ago. I guess you kind just get used to it.” Thankfully, we arrive at the same door as last night before another silence set in. As we enter the room, we are again bombarded with waiters wanting to take our order. Twilight tells one of the waiters she wants her regular meal as she sits down in the same seat as last night. I look questionably at Twilight, hoping for some help. “Just order anything you’d order back on Earth.” Twilight says sweetly. “Without meet of course.” she added quickly.

“Uh... a ham- I mean a cheese omelet?” I request as I sit in my seat. The waiter simply nods and leaves without a word. Now it’s just me and Twilight in the room. Ugh... not another awkward silence. Thankfully, the food comes out only a minute after we order. I guessed that it was either because it was magic, or because we were apparently very important. I laughed at the thought of myself being anything like royalty.

Eating makes the silence more acceptable, so I munch on the eggs and cheese on the plate in front of me. I finish rather quickly, and sit there patiently as Twilight eats her food. Her plate consisted of an omelet with flowers sticking out in various places, and hash-browns. Now I was feeling weird just sitting here watching her eat.

“So... Twilight?” She looks up while shoving a fork full of hash-browns in her mouth. She was using her magic, so it made me wonder how would a non-unicorn use silverware. I realize that I just got Twilight’s attention and then started looking at her strangely. I guess my awkwardness around girls didn’t cease. STOP. FOCUS. USE YOUR WORDS. “Uh...” Now I forgot what I was going to say... FUCK M-. Twilight giggled. After swallowing her food, she spoke to me.

“You’re cute.” What? She seemed to notice what she said at the same time I comprehended the words. “I mean! I don’t think you’re... I mean I do! But I...” Now it was my turn to laugh. After another second she laughed too. Once we regained our composure, I responded.

“I think I know what you meant.” I said, still giggling. I was about to speak again, but I was interrupted by the double doors opening to reveal Princess Celestia. She dismissed the two guards behind her and took a seat at the head of the table.

“I’m sorry for my tardiness,” Celestia started. “I had several matters that I needed to attend.” The princess seemed very rushed and stressed as she spoke. “As for your matter, Hunter, I believe it would be best for you to get acquainted with the other Elements of Harmony as much as possible before your training begins. You will be leaving for Ponyville later today.” In a way, I was excited, but the way the princess was talking seemed very strange. She turned towards Twilight, who also seemed slightly confused at her mentor’s mood. “Twilight, if you would brief Hunter of the rest of our plans on the way to Ponyville, it would be much appreciated, my student.”

“Yes Princess... whatever you say.” Twilight’s voice was filled with uncertainty.

“Excellent.” Celestia remarked. “Thank you both for your help in this matter. I will see you both in one week’s time.” And with that, Celestia just got up and left. Leaving both me and Twilight very confused.

Because I was teleported to Equestria with literally nothing but the clothes on my back, I was ready to leave right away. Twilight on the other hand (hoof?) need to pack all of her notes and books. And she had a lot of both. I stood by the door of her room awkwardly, waiting for her to finish packing. Her room was more personalized than mine was. She had a few pictures hanging on the walls, a few awards here and there. I guessed that this might have been her room before she moved to Ponyville.

“Okay, now all I’m missing is my copy of...” she trailed off. “AHA! Here it is!” she said proudly, presenting a book called The Interesting Tale of Dr. Saddle and Mr. Hide. Twilight sighed. “Nothing beats the classics.” she said to no one in particular. She turned her attention towards me. “Hunter, before we go...” her voice was slow and unsure. “I think it would be best to turn you into a pony. This way, you won’t receive all of the strange looks I’m sure you’ve already seen. And this way, you’ll have more time to get used to being a pony” The words hung in the air. Of course, I had to make the moment more awkward.

“YES!” I yell, with a very, very, very, very, apparent voice crack. The immense change in tone in the word made it would like I hiccuped while saying it. I feel my cheeks burn up and I look at my shoes. “I mean; Sure, why not?” Twilight wouldn’t have that. She burst out laughing right then and there. She even fell on the floor with her hooves in the air. Very cliche, but still cute. Wait, now I just called her cute... Or did I? My inner-monologue was cut off by Twilight regaining composure and speaking to me.

“Well, I didn’t know you would be so... ecstatic.” She giggled softly. I did my best to play it off.

“Yes, well... I meant... Yesss...terday... YESTERDAY! Yeah, yesterday, I....” My mind drew a blank. “Okay, fine. It sounds really awesome okay?” I chuckle to myself quietly. “I think any brony would act the same way.” Twilight giggled softly, but then her expression turned serious.

“I must warn you, the process isn’t exactly... pleasant.” Twilight spoke, choosing her words carefully. “I’ll be blunt, it was the worst thing I’ve ever felt in my life.” Was it, THE. WORST. WORST. POSSIBLE? I was so lame. “The process is relatively short, but it seems like time slows down during it.” Her seriousness made me hesitate. But only for a second. I’m pretty sure most bronies would take the pain for the option to be a pony.

“I’ll do it Twilight,” I said, trying to reassure her and to reassure myself. “I don’t care what it’s going to be like. It’ll be worth it.”

“I’ll have to use a spell to soundproof the room before we start.” Twilight said emotionlessly. She walked towards the door and shut it. Her horn lit up briefly, and a purple glow materialized on the walls of the room. She reopened her eyes, and looked at me intently. “Last chance Hunter.” Her voice seemed different. Not in a bad way, but it seemed full of... worry. I swallow the lump in my throat, and nod.

Twilight closed her eyes again, and her horn lit up with the purple glow. For a few seconds, that’s all that happened. Then, her horn shot out the purple towards me, engulfing me in the luminous glow. I felt the pain immediately. It seemed to start on the most inward parts of my body. My heart, the lungs, etc. I could feel my heart pounding in my ears, and then it stopped. My heart literally stopped. and my lungs ceased to receive oxygen. I was having a heart attack while being suffocated. I would be screaming, but all of my internal organs seem to be shrinking, including my vocal chords. My muscles constricted and cramped up, and I was forced to my knees.

I felt the cracking more than I heard it. My arms start to violently spasm, the bones twisting, snapping, deforming. I feel each individual finger dislocate and eventually shrink into my hands, leaving two nubs. I feel as if someone clapped clamps onto my ears and hooked them up to a car and took off at full speed. My eyes felt as if they were being forced open by chopsticks. My jaw broke and tore my skin open. Now it felt like the bones in my legs were collapsing into each other, this pain the worse yet. My toes imitated what my fingers did, and shrunk back into my feet. Somehow, through all the pain, I still managed to make one thought through. I must look like a monster. My shoulders broke from my torso with a loud snap, and repositioned themselves. My two nubs of hands were in pain from what felt like a giant fingernail breaking through the skin. The same feeling went to my feet. My hip joints popped out of my pelvic bone and I felt them crack and change in shape. At the bottom of my spine, I felt the bone elongate and break the skin painfully. About halfway up the length of my back, I felt a vertebrae split off into two directions, both piercing the skin. They stretched out and cracked some more.

My heart started up again, and my lungs found precious oxygen. My bones settled in their places, and I felt my skin begin to tingle. My eyes were forced shut by the pain, so I had no idea what was going on. I felt like I was a newborn baby, or I guess foal would be a more accurate word. The tingling sensation didn’t cease for another few minutes, and then all pain stopped. I was lying on my side, my ears ringing. I was scared of what would happen if I opened my eyes. I told myself what a pussy I was being, and forced them open. I see a teary eyed Twilight staring down at me with relief in her eyes.

“I remember breaking my arm during gym class back in Magic Kindergarten.” Twilight remarked. “I thought that there was no greater pain in the world than breaking a bone until I first used the spell. Imagine breaking all of them. I’m sorry to say this, but it’s just as bad the first time you turn back into a human.” I’m still scared to even speak, so I just groan in my mind. My body didn’t even feel sore, but it felt... new. Almost like it could easily be broken. I blink uneasily, gauging my options. I gain enough courage to look at my hooves. Yeah, I said hooves.

I had grown actual hooves, sorta like Big Macintosh. I didn’t just have legs with fur all the way down the length of them. The fur on my legs was an auburn color. It was hard to explain what it felt like without fingers, but it didn’t feel... wrong either. I moved my joints and flexed my muscles. After I got the general feeling, I roll onto my stomach. I see a dark orange colored mane fall right above my eyes. I strain my leg muscles, both front and back. I manage to stand up fully, my head about six inches higher than Twilight’s. I breath slow and steadily. In through my nose and out through my mouth. I feel significantly shorter than before, and feel immensely lighter than before.

I see Twilight’s horn light up again, and a wheeled mirror rolls over in front of me. It feels surreal. My eyes were the same color, a dark, deep brown, but they were much bigger and ovaled. My ears were long and perked up. My mane was the same dark orange color I saw before. I looked like any other pony from the show. I was in heaven. I even notice that I have a pair of feathered wings on my back. It felt funny, having new appendages. But it felt very naturally moving as well. My mouth unknowingly turns upward into a smile. Then a grin. And then... whatever is bigger than a grin.

“Twilight,” I say, realizing my voice is exactly the same as before. “Thank you so much.”

After Twilight had gotten me to calm down, I helped her finish packing. I was ecstatic and hyper the entire time. I had to be honest, hooves made grasping things a lot harder. (If that wasn’t already obvious to begin with.) Twilight used a spell to teleport us and her luggage to what seemed to be a airport of sorts. It appeared to be on one of the edges of the castle grounds. There were chariots with varying in many different sizes. Twilight trotted up to two white unicorns who were standing at attention by a door leading back into the palace. She spoke with them briefly, and I was too far away to hear any of the conversation. The two guards levitated all of Twilight’s bags onto a medium sized chariot, with three white pegasi already harnessed to it.

“Thank you Hilt, Crest.” Twilight said, nodding to the two unicorns who had carried her bags for her. She stepped on the chariot and motioned for me to follow suit. She glanced at the three pegasi in front of us and spoke to them. “Sharp Edge, Helm, Quiver, thank you for flying us all the way to Ponyville on such short notice.” Again, the white guards only nodded in response. They took off flying without a word.

Because I’ve only ever been flying in an airplane before, the experience was incredible. I’m not sure if it was because I was apparently a pegasus, or if it was just because it was a new experience, but the feeling of the air up in the sky was different. In a very good, relaxing, appealing way. I close my eyes and breath slowly, savoring the feeling.

“If you have any other questions Hunter, now would be the time to ask.” Twilight said, snapping me out of my trance. “It’s a good two hours to Ponyville.” Come to think of it, I actually did have a lot of unanswered questions. I jumped at the opportunity. But before I spoke, I remembered that there were three other ponies within earshot.

“What about the guards?” I ask, jabbing my head towards the flying pegasi. “I don’t know if I should ask some questions if they can hear me...”

“Oh, all the chariots are enchanted so they have a small protective barrier around them. It blocks most of the wind that would otherwise make hearing any words impossible. They can’t even hear us now.”

“Well, then let me ask; Why are the guards so freaky?” I put bluntly. “All I’ve seen so far are white guards who never speak.” Twilight didn’t answer immediately. She seemed to be trying to find the right words to form her thoughts.

“Well...” she started slowly. “It’s somewhat complicated. You see, all Celestial and Lunar Guards are from one family.” I interrupt her before she can continue.

“What do you mean? Like they’re all related or something?”

“In a way... yes. Most of them come from the Guard family.” Gee that was original. “As you know, before Celestia and Luna ruled over Equestria, Equestria was controlled by a royal family. This royal family was nearly eradicated when Discord usurped the power of Equestria, essentially becoming a dictator. After Princess Celestia and Princess Luna defeated Discord, there only remained two of the royals left. Both alicorn sisters felt somewhat in debt to the previous royal family for taking over where they left off, so Celestia granted that their family’s bloodline would never end.”

“In a sense, they’d be immortal.” I added.

“Correct. The Guard family was so grateful of this gift, that they offered to become the personal guards of Celestia and Luna. They happily accepted. The royal family was known for being extremely disciplined and skilled fighters. Though after their Celestial or Lunar Guard training is ended, they take an oath of silence until their service is completed.” I sat back and pondered for a moment. Another thought popped into my head.

“So if they’re the personal guards of Celestia and Luna, then why can you order them around.” Twilight blushed slightly before speaking.

“Well... as you know, Celestia wants to keep me as safe as possible. It’s kind of embarrassing, but for the first few years I was her personal student, she had her guards follow me everywhere.”

“Sounds like she was a little over protective of you...” I led on. Twilight blushed again.

“She was for a very long time. But after I graduated from her personal teachings a year earlier than anypony else ever has, she became much more lenient. I supposed it was because she knew I could handle myself from then on.” More questions had been accumulating in my head this whole time.

“So that kind of relates to another thing I had in mind. How old are you?” I smiled meekly.

“I’m seventeen.” Twilight said simply. To be honest, that surprised me.

“So you’re saying you defeated Nightmare Moon and Discord when you’re only seventeen?” I inquire. She had looked around seventeen when she was in her human form, but I wasn’t sure if that really reflected her own age.

Twilight blushed yet again before she spoke. “Well... I was actually only sixteen when I defeated Nightmare Moon.”

“So you graduated high school or magic school or whatever when you were only 16?” I knew Twilight was smart and all, but I hadn’t expected this.

For the fourth time, Twilight blushed. “Actually...” she started slowly. “Celestia’s teachings were highly advanced, so when I graduated those, it was like graduating from college with a bachmare's degree.” Now that stunned me. Twilight was still blushing a bright red. I laugh slightly at the sight.

“Why are you blushing so much?” I ask, half joking. “If I’d done all that, I’d be bragging about that to EVERYONE!” I found my voice volume get away from me again. Twilight smiled meekly and looked at the floor.

“I just don’t like that sort of attention is all.” she softly smiled to herself. “I’m proud of my accomplishments sure, but I just feel like a huge flank if I start bragging.” Twilight is so cute. I thought to myself. Wait... UGH! I’ve got to stop doing that!

“Well next question,” I start. “Where’d my clothes go?” Twilight seemed flabbergasted by my change in topic. The look on her face was significant evidence. “Hehe, sorry. ADD and all.” Twilight smiled softly and replied.

“Haha, it’s okay. And to answer your question, I really have no idea. The transformation spell is very atypical. It also seems to slightly alter the subject’s mind state ever so slightly. For example, as soon as I turned human, I felt embarrassed for being naked for the first time. Basic human/pony mind sets seem to be added to the subject’s mind when the change takes place. I don’t suppose you feel awkward for being naked right now, do you?” Come to think of it, she was right. Back on Earth, I hated taking my shirt off in public. Now I was buck bare, and had no objections. It just felt as if it was natural.

“I guess you’re right.” I ponder my mind for a moment to select another question. “Why don’t I have a cutie mark?” Saying it out loud sounded about as bad as I thought it would.

“Well I’m guessing it’s because you don’t know your special talent yet. Most ponies who enter the Royal Guard get their cutie marks in training.” Speaking of the Royal Guard made another question sneak into my mind.

“So you said that most of the Celestial and Lunar Guards are apart of one family, correct?” Twilight nodded. “So then won’t it be weird if I’m there? I think it’s pretty obvious the I’m not apart of the Guard family. And if they can’t talk, who’s going to train us?”

“Well like I said, most of the them are apart of that one family. They do allow the very best of the Royal Guards to join. Celestial and Lunar Guards who aren’t apart of the Guard family usually are never seen in public. Mostly for show and to keep up the tradition. And after their service is over, they can either retire, or become drill sergeants for the trainees.” I was just going to keep bombarding her with questions.

“So you said that you, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash are going to be fighting in the war. What are you going to do for training? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a female guard before. In the show, or in the real Equestria.”

“It’s been traditional to keep all Guards male. And as for our training, we have planned on having a special training course after you have finished both of your training rotations. So you’ll be back on Earth during our training.”

“So I’m going to be here for about 120 more days, right?” Twilight replies with a nod. “So then I’m going to spend a day on Earth while you train?” Twilight nods again. “But when the war starts, I don’t think you can send all of the bronies who are fighting back to Earth for 2/3rds of the year.”

“That’s another thing,” Twilight began, looking slightly worried. “We hoped that you wouldn’t mind... not going back to Earth during the war. As far as everyone else on Earth will be concerned, all the bronies who decide to stay will be missing.”

Twilight and I were both silent for a minute. I knew that I would still do it. I knew I would still fight. But I was just worried about how my family would take it. I wasn’t sure how long the war would last in the first place. If a year here was a day back on Earth, then it wouldn’t be as bad as it seemed. But when I would arrive back home, I’d be years older than when I left. I’m not sure how my parents would understand. And then to top it all off, imagine that thousands of people go missing for days, and then all come back, years older than when they left. That would be a media and political nightmare. For everyone involved. My will to stay wasn’t altered in the slightest, it was just that I was thinking of what would be more difficult for everyone. If went back to Earth completely changed, or if I stayed in Equestria, leaving everyone to assume the worst. I did my best to not think about it.

Twilight noticed my serious expression, and tried to console me some. “Hunter, you can back out of this whenever you want. You can always leave-”

“I would never. Leave, I mean. If what Discord can do is as bad as I think it is, I won’t ever leave Equestria willingly. Sure I’ll miss my family, but this is for the greater good. I know my family can make it without me, but I couldn’t live with myself if I knew that innocent peop- err, innocent ponies were dying, and I could have helped stop it.” We both were silent again, just going over our thoughts in our head. For about five minutes we sat in silence. Eventually, Twilight gained the courage to ask me something.

“Hey Hunter...” I turn my head to look at her. She looked a little nervous, and was twiddling her hooves. “I know this may seem a little awkward... but I didn’t exactly get a whole lotta sleep last night... So I was wondering... Would you mind if I leaned against you while I took a nap?” Twilight looked like she just asked him on a date or something. She was red as a beet and was twiddling her hooves faster and faster. This was beyond cute.

“Sh-sure...” I stammer out.

Twilight let out a immense sigh. It looked like she just had the biggest relief in her life just now. “Thanks...” she said dreamily, scooting a little to her right to ger her head to rest perfectly on my shoulder. I couldn’t help but smile the whole time. After a couple of minutes of flying peacefully through the air, Twilight’s breath became heavier and slower. She was also occasionally letting out soft snores. Let’s just say I gave her all of my D’awwwwww.

I shifted slightly to get more comfortable. I remember reading in a fanfic, that a pegasus was sitting next to his girlfriend, and he put his wing around her kind of like a blanket. I thought I might as well use my new appendages for the first time, and did just that. My wingspan seemed average enough, but I wasn’t familiar with pegasi anatomy. I didn’t really remember that there were three pegasi in front of us, pulling the chariot. I turned my head and they didn’t seem to be looking at us. But I did see the slightest in of a smile on all of their faces. Even though my fur was pretty red already, I knew that I was blushing worse than Twilight.