Prologue: Don't you hate convoluted magical interference?

"Ahh, so good to be home.” I walk through the front door, letting it shut behind me. It was a long day of work. Well, it feels that way to me. 8:00 am to 2:00 pm isn't exactly long, but it sure feels like it when you work at a thrift store.

I'm Jacob, by the way. I'm twenty-two years old and 5' 10" tall. I have short brown hair and a penchant to play video games, particularly those by Bioware.

I make my way through the house to my room; I still live with my parents and younger sibling. I turn on the TV while readying my 360, planning to finish Mass Effect 3 for the second time. The initial click and hum of electricity sounds through my room as the TV screen comes to life. I press the Xbox Guide button on my controller to turn on the console, expecting to hear that welcoming crescendo that I’m so used to. The universe, however, seems to have something else in mind.

TZZZTT!!!

"What the...." I begin in astonishment as the TV suddenly courses with sparks of electricity. My mind goes blank for a second as the impossible occurs in front of me, streaks of lightning lancing up and down the TV. The electricity has an odd appearance though: each lance seems to have a different color, covering the color spectrum.

"Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!" Charging out of the room, I immediately head into the garage toward the power switches, thinking to throw the one to my room and effectively stopping the surge, and hopefully a fire. I get to the box, open it, and see the switches. Quickly, I read the diagram on the side to see which one of the switches is for my room. I reach out to grab it when suddenly a lance of the prismatic lightning occurring in my room bursts out of the switch and into my hand.

A searing pain courses through my body as the prismatic lightning dances across my skin. Everywhere the rainbow lightning went, it left horrid burns. The last thing I see before blacking out is my hands turning to ash, and the ash speeding off in a sudden gust of wind.

My eyes jolt open only to find that there’s nothing but an empty void around me.

"What happened? Where am I? Ugh..." My head swims as I look around, and nausea overtakes me. This empty, pitch black void is not only leaving me without sight, but without a sense of direction or even balance. The only thing I feel are the clothes I have on; there seems to be nothing else to feel. I’m not lying on the ground - I’m suspended in the air. This is adding to the nausea.

"Well, guess I'm gonna be seeing lunch again." My body attempts to make me puke, but it can only manage some dry heaves. The pain is dreadful and escalates quickly, as my entire body suddenly finds itself wracked with an intense pain.

"CRAP, WHAT’S HAPPENING TO ME!!!" I scream before blacking out, once again.

My mind returns to consciousness after what must have been hours. Slowly, I regain first my sense of touch. I feel a soft sheet covering me, and a mattress beneath me. It isn't my mattress though - it feels odd, unfamiliar. I still have the cargo pants I had been wearing but my shirt is gone, along with my socks and shoes. I feel strange things attached along my right arm, which is placed over the sheet.

The next sense to return is smell. The room really has nothing much to note, other than a pervasive odor of sterility. I must be in a hospital. It could be worse, I suppose.

Next, my hearing returns. I hear the rhythmic pulse of a heart monitor beeping in my left ear, while in my right ear I can hear some quiet whispering. The voice sounds eerily familiar - a feminine voice, slightly raspy, that sounds almost like whomever it belongs to is reading to itself.

My sense of taste still evades me, but I finally decide to work my eyes open. The room around me is, unsurprisingly, how you'd expect a hospital room to look, except one thing: it seems to be smaller than a typical hospital room. It’s shorter and thinner, as well. To my left there’s a small chair with my shirt, socks, and shoes neatly placed in a pile on the seat. I look to my right. About five feet away is another bed, but what’s hidden under the sheets doesn't look human.

"This can't be good."

Author's Notes:

Alright, as this is my first story. I'd like to take the time to more fully introduce myself.

I'm Jerec, a new writer on this site, and probably the only real Non-brony here. Yes, you read me correct, I'm not a brony. Why, you must be thinking, are you doing pony related fanfictions? Answer: Cause I can. You could also be thinking, "How are you not a brony if you're on here?" Well I'll tell you, I found this place from watching the Fiery Jokers reviews. You know the one, where his fanfic is mentioned. So I was curious and checked it out, then after reading through that, I decided to check out other fanfics to see more of what was going on. I'll tell you right now that what I'm doing is trying to find out why you guys like the show as much as you do. So I've watched to date all the canon episodes of the show, and that movie that came out and I'm still wondering, what it is you guys see in the show. I mean, it's not bad, but it's not the greatest thing I've ever seen either. In any case I've decided randomly to start writing. As I write my stories, here are some things you can expect to see, or not see: Anything non-canon (Unless I so decide for comedic reasons), the Ponies being larger than they should be, overpowered ponies, ponies out of personality, ponies attempting to become involved in "Adult" situations, ponies swearing, ponies drinking alcohol, smoking, or doing drugs, and especially no shipping.

A quick bit of information, when my character thinks is marked in apostraphes versus speech being the obvious quotation marks.

Please tell me how I'm doing thus far, and how I can improve.

Also, the stuff involved belong to their respective owners.

Chapter 1: Waking up

"This can't be good." A line that has quite a use in many a circumstance - like this one.

I'm staring at a non-human shape hidden under a white hospital sheet. The mystery figure doesn't remain such for long though, for as soon as I say that, the figure pops its head out. Greeting my vision are giant eyes, cyan fur, rainbow colored hair, a miniscule snout or maybe a muzzle, and long ears. My mind's gears start turning, trying to figure out why this creature looks so familiar. The head looks in my direction, pinpointing me as the source of the voice it heard, and suddenly exclaims, "IT TALKS!"

The gears in my head freeze at that; realization hit me like a ton of bricks.

This can't be happening. This - this has to be a dream. I can't be stuck HERE! It's impossible! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!

I pull my left arm out of the sheet and pinch my right arm as hard as I can. "Ow." I look back up. Nope, still there. Okay, time for drastic measures. I slap my face, once again as hard as I can. Looking over, I still see her. Her. This is impossible. This doesn't happen. How could this happen? Why did this happen?

I look back at Rainbow Dash, her face frozen with a look of confusion and a hint of curiosity. She seems to be having just as hard a time figuring out why I’m here slapping myself as I’m having figuring out how I got here at all. I don't dare get out of the bed, as my right arm has not only the monitor attached to it, but also an IV. I look back to my belongings, and see that the shoes are on top of a bag: the bag for my Alienware laptop. Well, as long as the lightning didn't destroy it, at least it'll provide a distraction. That's when I realize I had things stashed in the pockets of my cargo pants. The pockets still feel full. Time to check. Reaching into the right knee pocket I find my PS Vita, its charger, and a pair of headphones. Was I thinking ahead or something? Well, I may as well check to see if it's fried.

I press the power button on the top and the console silently awakens. Thank goodness for that; my luck seems to be changing a bit. Okay, next pocket. My other pocket contains my 3DS XL, a case of DS and 3DS games, and its charger as well. This is definitely more than just a coincidence that I packed these. Did I subconsciously see into the future and prepare myself or something? Odd. Too bad I couldn't have subconsciously avoided this situation entirely. I check the DS's condition, and find it to be just like the Vita - halfway charged and running fine. I don't bother checking the other pockets; I know their contents and that they are either useless, or way too far out of area to have service.

Looking out the window, I discover that it’s likely still the middle of the night. The room is lit, however, by the light of the full moon and the flashlight Dash was using to read. Well, first things first: they have devices that run on electricity it seems. Hopefully they have outlets just like ours. I mean, everything else in that show is just like Earth, pretty much. Pulling out my now almost useless cell phone, I turn it on and use it as a light. I follow the cord on the monitor all the way to its power source and make a good discovery: the outlets here are exactly just like ours, size included. Thank goodness. Well, I guess since I have time I might as well cope the only way I know how.

Booting up the Vita once again, I select a game that can easily take my mind off of the place: Yugioh GX Tag Force 2. I don't know why it's such an all-consuming game to me - it just is. As usual, I skip past the intro and start the game. In game, I make my way around the island academy and find one of my favorite characters to duel. As the duel starts, though, I hear the clop of hooved feet getting closer to my bed. It seems that the game caused some intrigue, and Dash gets closer to investigate the electronic noises and flashing lights. I decide that it would be better just to let her watch rather than to ignore her, so we end up lying and standing respectively, watching pixelated cards and life point meters on the screen.

Author's Notes:

Once again I ask for hints, tips, positive criticism, and possibly nacho's, also I'm looking for an artist for cover art.

The next chapter will involve a meeting between "myself" and several others, ponies appearing will definitely be the rest of the main six, and Celestia, but if there should be others there as well, I don't mind suggestions.

Chapter 2: First Impressions

Rainbow Dash continues to stare at the screen, and I win another duel. I move the character around some more - looking for another victim. I wonder how long she's going to stand there. It can't be much longer; this game must seem pretty dull to those who aren’t playing it. I find my next victim, Syrus Truesdale, and start up another duel. Rainbow Dash sighs as the now all too familiar duel music sets in. This must be it. Now the question: Is she going to leave or talk?

"Is that all that's ever gonna happen? Geez, boring." Talk it is.

"Oh, and I suppose you could find something more entertaining." Please do.

"Yeah! The Daring Do book I was reading is way better than this!"

The duel with Syrus ended with my victory, as usual. I save and go to the Vita's menu. "Really now, and I suppose you're book can do...THIS!" I load up the game Playstation All-Stars and let the intro play. Whatever expression was on RD's face must have changed, as she doesn't respond or move away. She’s probably entranced by the elaborate intro.

I decide to take advantage of her vulnerability. "So, what exactly happened to me? How did I get here?"

"Somepony found you in a field and brought you in,” she answers quickly and monotone, without taking her giant eyes off my screen. From what I could see, you weren't doin' too hot."

Now I sigh. "Could you be more specific?"

"You were all gray and purple when you came in." A mass of bruises, grand.

"So, do you know who brought me in?"

"A pony named Applejack." She mumbles this as she sets her forehooves on the edge of my bed, stepping forward and pushing me over to make room for her to lie down. Her right wing fluttered gently, the feathers tickling my face.

"Gaah!" I nearly fall out of the bed as I recoil, brushing the feathers away and trying not to sneeze. "Holy crap, it's called personal space!"

"Hey, I couldn't see what was going on in your doohickey from just the side of your bed."

"Right." I press the power button on the Vita, putting it in sleep mode, and slip it back into my pocket, prompting her to back up. "So what landed you in here, then?"

"Tch. I broke my wing. Again.” She blushes slightly as she slides off the bed, showing me her bandaged right wing. "But I should be outta here today. You too, I think."

I lean my head back onto my pillow and look up at the ceiling. Let's see if I've got this straight: I'm stuck in Equestria. When I came in here, I was all bruised up, but those bruises seem to have healed. I don’t know the difference between time flow here and back home, so asking how long I’ve been unconscious wouldn’t help much. I have no way home, but somehow I have my gaming devices for comfort.

Both our heads turn as the door opens. Another familiar pony walks in - all purple with a horn, wings larger than Rainbow’s, and a dark purple mane with a pink stripe running through it. I prepare myself to play Twenty Questions, but when Twilight sees that I’m awake she turns and leaves immediately, with a cheerful smile on her face.

"Uhm, wh-?"

I’m cut off by the sudden arrival of seven more ponies: the other five "Elements", Celestia, and Luna. The sound of their hooves clopping against the linoleum floor echoes throughout the room. I recognize them all instantly, but don't show it. Bronies dream of this moment, don't they? How jealous they would be if they knew. I groan inwardly at the thought, but I stifle my groan when I look at Celestia, the only pony in the room whose face is unreadable, except this slight gleam in her eye.

All the others look at me excitedly and with fierce curiosity. Even Fluttershy, though the nervous pony is hiding, crouched down behind her friends, looking up at me from between their legs.

Celestia finally smiles at me. "I am Princess Celestia. This is my younger sister Luna, and this is my star student and the newest princess of Equestria, Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight cheeks blush and she waves to me as Applejack takes a step forward. "Howdy, I’m-"

"Hi! My name’s Pinkie Pie. What's your name?" The energetic pony gasps and continues without giving me a chance to answer, “Oh my gosh you're new here that means I need to throw you a Welcome to Ponyville party!" There’s a slight pause as she gasps again, remembering that I wasn't even from Equestria. "But I also need to throw you a Welcome to Equestria party! Two parties in one! This needs to be an extra special super spectacular-" Pinkie’s interrupted by Applejack shoving a hoof in her mouth.

A party. That's not something I need right now. What I need is to wake up from this crazy dream...or is it a nightmare?

"Well as I tried to say before, I’m Applejack. That,” she says with a deliberate stare at the party pony, “was Pinkie Pie."

"Hello there, darling. I'm Rarity, Ponyville's most fashionable Unicorn.” She tosses her mane dramatically over her shoulder, holding her chin high and a hoof to her chest. “Now, I couldn't help but notice that when you were found you were wearing the oddest garments. You simply must come to my boutique and tell me all about them. I want to know everything there is to know about the fashion of this ‘other world’ from which you came."

Grand - just grand.

Rainbow punches her hoof into my shoulder, accidentally knocking the wind out of me. Stupid bruises! She doesn’t apologize. "The name’s Rainbow Dash! I'm the fastest flyer in Equestria!"

I nearly roll my eyes. Lastly, Fluttershy is practically shoved into view, hiding her entire face except her left eye behind her long pink mane. "I'm Fluttershy."

At least someone feels about the same as I do. Maybe they’ll all leave soon, and I’ll be able to play some more.

Celestia rejoins the conversation. "So now you know us all,” she says with a soft laugh. “As for how you got here however-" She pauses, both her smile and that gleam in her eye disappearing.

No! Go Back, Be Cheery! I'm looking for good news! GOOD NEWS!

"Unfortunately, even I am not quite sure. Applejack explained to us that her younger sister and her friends found you near their treehouse, unconscious and bruised over. They called Applejack, and then together with her older brother Big Macintosh, they brought you to Ponyville's hospital. That was almost two days ago."

Again. Whatever that means.

"I should probably tell you who and what I am then. I'm Jacob. I'm a human. So, it was nice to meet you all. I do think I should be getting home now, though," I say with a meaningful look at Celestia.

Please let there be a way home.

"That is going to be a problem, as not only do I not know how you got here, but I also have no way to send you back to wherever it is you came from." Her face is somber. She's not lying. Not good. This is definitely not good.

Then her face lights up slightly. "Do not be discouraged, though. Luna, Twilight, and I will search for a way to send you back to your home. In the mean time, however, you will have to stay here in Ponyville. Of course you’ll be staying with Twilight or one of her friends."

The others suddenly straighten, their ears perking up. Apparently they weren’t thinking of this. Poor Fluttershy’s eyes seem to be about to fall out of her head.

I’m excited too, Fluttershy. Don’t worry.

Celestia and Luna nod to me and step out of the room, while the other ponies convene to discuss my living arrangements. Pinkie Pie hops around them, simply repeating the word “discuss”, in her high and bubbly voice.

I roll my eyes again, and interrupt their meeting. "Okay, one thing before you all go nuts about this, I'm deathly allergic to cats-"

"Wait, what do you mean by "deathly allergic"?" Rarity looks at me with confusion.

"I mean that when I'm exposed to a cat I get itchy eyes, stuffy nose, it’s hard to breathe - you know. Allergy stuff."

"Oh."

"Anyway, I'm allergic to cats. Pollen too, though it isn't as bad as cats. I just get the itchy eyes and stuffed up nose."

"Well, that seems to rule out Rarity’s and Fluttershy’s,” Rainbow Dash says, acting like the chief justice in the matter, folding her forearms across her chest and leaning back on her bed.

"The pollen thing may be a mite of a problem back at the farm," Applejack shifts her eyes back and forth as she says. Her eyes finally land on Twilight, as everypony else also looks at her.

"Okay, well. That leaves my place. I hope that’s okay with you, Jacob." Though she says this modestly Twilight isn't really hide her excitement too well, what with a massive smile on her face while she bounces back and forth on her hooves. I can just tell that I’m in for a lot of experimenting.

Can this nightmare end please? I don't want to be stuck here. I couldn't handle being away from my family for three days, and the nine and a half months in Virginia a couple of years ago were just awful. This is going to be much worse. Oh, I can already feel my depression setting in.

I decide it’s time to get out of the bed. As I slowly sit up and get ready to stand I practically feel Twilight's gaze focusing on my every single movement. This is probably the most uncomfortable I've ever felt in my life as I shift the blankets and stand up, crossing to the chair with my other clothes and my laptop bag. I first put on my shirt; it's a black T-shirt with a large logo of the Systems Alliance on the back and small one up front, and under it the red 'N' and white '7'. Next I pick up the laptop bag by the strap, pulling the strap over my head and placing it over my left shoulder so the bag landed next to my right thigh. The bag itself is also black with the word 'Alienware' printed along the front.

Then I sit down in the chair, and put on my socks and shoes. My shoes were yet more Mass Effect paraphernalia, made to match the paragon and renegade ratings. If only they knew about Mass Effect, then I wouldn't have to answer the likely coming questions about each of these. That, and at least I’d have something comforting to talk about. Looking outside once again, I see that it is still rather dark, which confuses me. The sun should have come up by now.

Rainbow Dash trots over and looks out the window with me. “Oh good,” she says, exhaling on her bangs to get them out of her eyes. “The weather ponies remembered we scheduled a storm for today.” She struts back to her friends. “I was worried. Those guys can hardly do anything without me.”

Well, at least it's raining. One good thing in this nightmare - at least I hope it's a nightmare.

"Alright then,” I turn to Twilight. “I'm ready when you are."

Author's Notes:

Once again, please leave comments on how I'm doing and how I could improve.

Also, Once again, I'm looking for an artist to do cover art, and maybe also in chapter pics. I can't pay, but I can offer my own advice, my services as an editor for any fics you may do, and/or permission to use characters I create so long as they stay within character of course.

Chapter 3: Optimism meets Pessimism

Another morning I wake up in Equestria and not at home in my bed. Can I just say, I've never really liked sleep-overs, and this is worse because I'm not even with my friends. I’m stuck in a room with several extra-dimensional creatures, almost all of them asking questions, staring in curiosity, and in general not helping me adapt to this environment. The most fun I’ve had here was when they decided to tell scary stories. We watched “Jurassic Park” on my laptop and it scared the proverbial pants off them.

Otherwise, my depression seems to love the seat it's taken in my mind. Time to go stop it in its tracks with some video games.

Slowly and silently, I crawl over to my possessions, where I grab my laptop and put on my glasses. Stepping carefully around the snoring ponies, I reach the stairs and tiptoe down into the main room of the library. I settle myself onto the floor and hit the power button. What game should I play? Maybe Mass Effect would be best - for some nostalgia. It gets to the start screen, and I just decide to let it continue playing Vigil's theme, while I wait for that cool short video to play.

"Many decisions lie ahead - none of them easy." You've no idea how right you are. Let the game begin. Making what’s likely my fourth or fifth character on the PC alone, I decide to go with a FemShep Infiltrator, who was born a spacer but became a war hero. My favorite combination for Shepard's back story. I travel through the first level and get to the point where Jenkins gets killed by Geth Drones.

I hear a gasp behind me and a small “Oh my!" I immediately pause the game. Can I ever get a moment to just relax? I turn my head and find myself staring at a wall of white fur. Above me is Princess Celestia, looking down at the screen of my laptop. How did I not notice her coming in? She has hooves - she's not exactly quiet. Do I really shut out the world around me this much when I play games?

"Uh, hi." Her great eyes fall from the Mass Effect pause menu to me. Her face is contorted with either a feeling of worry or disdain - disdain for what my entertainment seems to be made up of.

"He just died didn't he? Are all the things you entertain yourself with this violent?"

"Not all of them,” I feel my cheeks redden and I fiddle with the buttons on my controller. “Just, heh, just most of them. Look if you knew about human history you probably wouldn't be surprised. And besides, some of these violent games have a lot of thought put into the storyline. Take this one for example: it's actually rated more for the overall storyline and not actually the violence."

Come to think of it, if she knew human history I might not even be allowed to stay here - or at least allowed to roam free.

"So I take it the history of your people is filled with violence." Her voice trembles slightly, each word stumbling out of her mouth.

"Yeah. We humans have a long, rather bloody past. Not all of it is bloody, but a large portion is. Many of us don't like war, but sometimes the violence is, unfortunately, necessary.” War...war never changes. Ah, Fallout. Maybe I should have played Fallout instead. "So, uh, how long have you been up?"

"I awoke just after you had stood up. I was going to raise the sun when I heard voices coming from your...’laptop’, was it?" I nod in response. "In any case, I heard voices coming from your laptop so I decided to investigate, and then I saw that."

Her quivering voice is making me uncomfortable. May as well make her happy. “Well, since this is too violent, I guess I’ll turn it off."

"Oh no, that’s not necessary. I'm actually quite curious about it." I look at her skeptically. When she sees the Geth impale someone on a Dragon's Tooth, she'll lose her lunch, and I’ll lose my computer.

"No, I'm gonna turn it off. There’s a part coming up that you'd definitely not like." I start toward the save button, but she places a giant hoof over my controller.

"I've ruled this kingdom for more than a thousand years. I doubt there's..." As she says this, my skeptical face returns, and she receives the message quickly. She was greatly disturbed by the movie last night after all - and this game easily puts the horror in “Jurassic Park” to shame. But just as I expect her to remove her hoof and let me quit the game, she giggles. "I simply wasn't prepared for that last night; ghost stories and movies here aren't nearly as violent as that, but now that I know what to expect I'm sure I can handle it."

"You sure you’re sure?"

She takes on a determined look. Oh no, looks like she's accepted the challenge!

I smirk and turn back to my computer. When she’s settled herself onto the floor next to me, I press “continue”.

Within minutes, a metallic sliding sound is heard, accompanied by the sickeningly wet sound of flesh being rent and torn.

Celestia is staring at the screen, her hoof over her mouth. "May-maybe I wasn't as prepared as I thought I'd be." Her face has turned slightly green, and I can hear her body trying to disgorge anything that might be in her stomach. I twitch a little with each gag she makes. Her face is rather close to my own. Do none of these ponies know about personal space? I’m close to just saving and quitting.

I turn to face her and I can’t help but let out a small chuckle. She’s somewhat hunched forward now with both of her wings curled over her mouth. Her pupils have shrunk to the size of a needle’s head, but she continues to stare at a Dragon’s Tooth that has a recently impaled victim on it.

“Are you satisfied?” I ask smugly.

She shuts her eyes. "N-no, continue. I'm still intrigued by this, but I have to wonder just how you consider this entertainment." Her eyes open again and start returning to normal, and she seems to be getting control of herself again.

"Alright, but just so you know it's only going to get worse." Her pupils shrink once again.

"Y-you mean that the impalement isn’t the worst of it?!" She looks at me in near shock, wondering how exactly it could get worse. I am actually impressed that Celestia has made it this far. I mean, in the show they'd mentioned war and they've gotten into some combat scenarios but none of it was anywhere near as bad as this.

I shrug and look at her blankly. "Not even close. You sure you want to continue watching? I'm fine with turning it off. As much as I'd like to continue playing, I realize that you can't handle this much violence." She seems to consider my offer, but as I say the last part of that sentence her face shifts to that determined look again. Pony “challenge accepted” face.

I'm doomed. She's going to confiscate all of my gaming supplies and my depression will be left unchecked.

“No,” she commands. “You may continue.”

Half an hour later, I save after Shepard awakens on the Normandy. Celestia decides that now is as good a time as any to raise the sun. I try to work it out in my head. If the sun is rising now, then it’s probably about five o’clock back home. Then I woke up at what was likely about four o’clock Earth time. Maybe.

Shortly after the Celestia raises the sun, the rest of the group wakes up and gets ready for the day. We go to Twilight’s kitchen for breakfast: pancakes and eggs. I watch carefully as the pancakes are made, making sure no inedible oddity is added. I’m very hungry after all; it’s been I don't know how long since I’ve eaten, and I don’t want any digestion issues to arise because there was hay in my pancakes. As we sit around the table eating, I start to feel like someone is missing. But then I look over at Pinkie Pie.

"HOLY CRAP!!" I stare wide-eyed as she engulfs four stacks of pancakes in one go. These stacks are taller than me. She just swallowed the weight and height of probably me and an entire pony in pancakes. Of course, though, her meal has almost no effect on her appearance. All that happens after she swallows the pancakes is a quick inflation of her body to almost three times her size, then a return to normal.

Note to self: never trip into a large cake. You will never be found. The others just shrug it off. I’m sure it’s normal for them, but I can’t stop staring wide-eyed.

"Time for seconds!" Pinkie skips back to the stove to make another batch of pancakes. Seconds. I don't even know what happened to her firsts; they were there and then they were gone. Almost seconds later she returns to the table with even larger stacks of pancakes, and they vanished all the same.

"Pinkie Pie, I don't mean to be rude or anything but...where do you put it all?"

Pinkie Pie puts a hoof under her chin and appears to ponder. With a glance at Twilight I see that she, along with all the others, has stopped eating to focus, as if they were about to hear the answer to life, the universe, and everything. Pinkie’s pondering comes to an end with a shrug. She then bounces excitedly in place, giggling. "I've always wanted to find out though. Wanna help?" She bounces up to me and then places her front legs on my knees, staring me in the face while simultaneously sending a flashlight out of her mane, and into the grasp of that front lock of hair.

Immediately I grab her muzzle to keep it closed. "No thanks. That's better left to your doctor." I let go after she gives me a nod.

"I would but he vanished one day." Her face turned from her normal extremely cheery face to a somewhat serious, slightly worried face. "I asked everypony in town, but they don't know where he went."

For a half a moment I swear I hear muffled yelling.

After seeing Pinkie Pie's method of eating first-hand, breakfast ends quickly for me. I am too disturbed by the physical absurdities of this pony to have any appetite. Especially now that she’s having her fifth helping, and still as skinny as usual. She's like a freaking TARDIS!

Making my way back to the main room of the library I find myself in the company of Rarity. My shoulders fall. All last night she was bothering me about my clothes. I ignore her gaze and go to the corner I’ve basically decided to claim as my own and sit down. She trots over and quietly inspects me, however, looking at my clothes at an uncomfortably close distance. "Does anyone here understand personal space, or am I the only one?"

At that she jumps and blushes, retreating a bit further away. "Oh my. Excuse me darling, I just got caught up looking at those odd but fashionable symbols on your clothing. They look simply amazing." She’s fawning over the Mass Effect icons, but I notice her modest aversion to my clothes in general. Finally she comes clean. "Though I must admit, the rest of your ensemble needs quite the touch up. Those pants are hideous." Maybe a little too clean...

"They're cargo pants. I wear them because they're comfy and can fit a lot in their pockets."

"Oh, but I could make them look so much better,” she exclaims. “You could really stand out and, even better, you'd be the talk of fashion everywhere!"

"No thanks."

"What?!"

"As I said, I wear clothes because they're comfortable. Not to make some fashion statement."

“Well I could still take your measurements and make some new clothes for you,” she says desperately. “It may just give me some new inspiration."

I roll my eyes, but so that she can’t see. "Uh, kinda short on finances at the moment, and I doubt you'd accept the little bit of money I have anyway."

"Nonsense, darling! The inspiration this task will provide me with will be payment enough. We'll just have to get you to the boutique first."

"That will have to come after Twilight presents him to Ponyville.” Celestia’s interruption came as a relief, but after I hear the end of it, I’m even more anxious. “Luna and I would, but we must return to Canterlot for our duties - though I must admit this short break was welcome. Goodbye and good luck, Jacob." She smiles at me, then exits the room.

"Do not worry,” Luna says to me. “As was said before, Celestia and I will continue to search for a possible way for you to return home. We will also assign others to search the library at the Crystal Empire, and I’m sure Princess Twilight will be working hard to help you as well.” The two princesses smile at each other. “With luck we shall find something." Luna then leaves too.

"Well this should be nice and awkward."

Twilight turns to me, confused. “What makes you say that?"

"Just a hunch, Twilight. Just a hunch."

It doesn’t take long to prove that my hunch was accurate. Once everypony’s ready, they decide to take me on a tour of Ponyville. Immediately as we head out of the library, I notice that as the residents see me, their eyes nearly pop out of their heads and they become pretty eager to shut themselves in their houses. The only thing that seems to be keeping them from panicking is my entourage. But I can't say I blame them for being nervous around some new tall, gangly creature. We keep wandering, Pinkie Pie bouncing around and pointing out all the fascinating aspects of town - like that pebble. And that blade of grass.

We’re making our way to the town square, so I can be introduced to Mayor Mare.

"So, is Mayor Mare her full name, or is her name just Mare, and the Mayor part is just a title?"

"You know, after all this time, I've never actually thought about that." Twilight looks up, pondering. The others do so as well. It seems nopony thought of that before.

I close my eyes and try to crack my neck when I smash into something. The dirt road that I land on hurts plenty, and the weight of the object crashes down onto my sternum, knocking me onto my back. I look up angrily for whatever hit me, but when I figure it out, all the pain I’m feeling goes into my head.

On top of me is a blonde Pegasus with a grey body lying on my chest, her head swaying back and forth, eyes rolling in her head. I have to look away - her dizziness is making me dizzy. Then I feel as she shakes her head, and almost hear her brain rattling. I look back at her to notice that her eyes had settled in an odd cross-eyed look. My eyebrows fall over my own eyes. "Excuse me. But could you, you know, get off?"

"Oops, sor-" She pauses mid sentence and tilts her head quizzically. "Whoa!" She jumps off, and backs away a bit.

I take that moment to sit up at least, rubbing the back of my head from where it collided with the ground.

She still looks confused, but then she tries to look apologetic. "Uhm, I'm sorry for crashing into you." She gives me this cheesy little smile that I swear makes her cheeks squeak.

"Don't worry about it. I just hope this doesn't become some regular thing with the rest of the town." I could end up in the hospital...again.

As I stand up however, the Pegasus moves a little behind Twilight and the gang.

"Derpy, don't be scared of him; he's not so tough. He's kinda cool actually.” Wow. Thanks, Rainbow Dash. Sure means a lot.

"Whoa, cool dude! Hey, RD what's that thing you're walkin' with?!"

'Thing’. That's new. I look toward the new voice's source and see a white Unicorn mare with electric blue hair and metallic purple shades. She was sitting at a turn table and had a large smile on her face.

Rainbow flies over and hoof bumps the Unicorn. "Yo Vinyl. This is Jacob. He's something called a hue-man. He's gonna be hangin' out here for a while."

"Sweeet."

Twilight decides to break in at that moment, pushing Derpy out from under her legs, where she had hidden herself, unconvinced by Dash’s claims. "Yes, and we need to get to the Mayor's office. We need to introduce him to the rest of Ponyville."

“Okay then! Hey RD, catch ya later dude!" She scratched at her discs and waved goodbye, while Derpy stood by, dizzily watching us go.

We head on toward the Mayor’s office. I hope this goes better than the reactions I’ve seen so far.

As soon as I enter the office, I know it'll be somewhat awkward. Even though Twilight entered first, explaining the situation, once she saw me, Mayor Mare simply stared with disbelief and an open mouth at my presence. If I made a bet on the reactions of the towns folk, I'd be rich. As I sit there, letting the others talk, the Mayor keeps adjusting her glasses, probably hoping that I'm just some kind of hallucination due to them. I feel just as uncomfortable as you, ma’am, but we're stuck here. Accept it. She squints at me a little, then removes her glasses completely and starts cleaning them on her tie. I roll my eyes. "Your glasses work fine. I'm not going to be disappearing anytime soon. Unfortunately."

"Oh,” she says as she laughs nervously. “Sorry about that." She finally takes her eyes off of me. "Princess Twilight, I'm just not sure how well this will go. Are you certain this is the best way to deal with the situation?"

"As long as we stay with him for the first few days, I'm sure everypony will get used to him."

"Okay, as long as you're sure," the Mayor says, hesitantly, but assenting.

"Of course I'm sure. We’ve handled tons of crazy situations. This will be easy in comparison. What could possibly go wrong?"

I can’t help myself, and I spit out, "Famous last words!"

Twilight simply looks at me, shaking her head.

When we’re all outside again, Twilight says "How about to start, we head to the train station? The train from Canterlot should be pulling in soon, and we need to pick up Spike." Oh, that’s it. That’s who we’ve been missing.

"So, who is Spike exactly?” Of course I know who he is. I just want to hear her say the phrase.

"Spike is a young dragon, and my number one assistant!”

As we continue on, we pass by more ponies, who stare at me with intrigued but fearful eyes. Then our path is crossed by a light brown stallion with a dark brown mane and an image of an hourglass on his hindquarters. Somehow he's supposed to resemble The Doctor, but I don't see it. His eyes were closed until he passed our group, and that's when he stops. His eyes open, showing his confusion. He hears me walking, hears that I don’t have hooves. Looking in our direction, he sees first the group, but then me as well. His eyes widen, while his pupils reduce in size. Then Fluttershy smiles at him, and he seems to relax. He falls into a trot beside her.

"Uhm,” he whispers, though I can still hear him. “Wh-what exactly is that thing?" Really? Again with calling me a ‘thing’?

"He's a human,” Fluttershy whispers back. “He's going to be staying in Ponyville for a while." At the moment the word ‘human’ was mentioned I feel suddenly like someone is watching me. Of course, almost everyone on the street is watching me, but this feels more like a intense stare. I glance around and catch an aquamarine Unicorn staring at me from behind a nearby bush. As soon as we make eye contact, though, she vanishes into the leaves.

I look forward again, and try to ignore that.

Dr. Whooves, apparently satisfied, continues on his way, though at a much faster pace than before. The rest of the way to the train station was full of more stares. It was actually rather unnerving, all these odd-looking Technicolor creatures just staring at me as if I’m the freak. I just had to end up here, didn't I?

Finally we make it to the train station, and just in time for me to catch more stares from everypony getting off the train. ‘Everypony’. That word is just so easy to adapt to your vocabulary, yet I feel myself wince each time I think it. Most of the ponies trying to dismount the train stop dead in their tracks, slowing progress. However, others decide they're better off hightailing it out of here, so it isn’t too long before a certain young dragon steps off the train.

Twilight and the group gallop over to greet him, while I decide to sit down on a nearby bench. I hope that meeting Spike isn’t as annoying as meeting Mayor Mare, though I know the “Number One Assistant” already has some points counted against him.

"Okay Spike, I know he looks different but don't be scared. Just go introduce yourself." Looking over I see Twilight trying to encourage an obviously nervous and very scared Spike.

What's he nervous about? He's the one with the fire breath.

Spike gathers his courage and approaches me, his little claws curled into determined fists, though he’s still clearly nervous. He waddles over to my bench and says, "H-Hi, I'm Spike." How is he a dragon? He has no wings and yet he's clearly meant to be a European Dragon.

"Hello Spike. I'm Jacob." He seems to loosen up just by hearing my tone.

We then continue the tour of the town. This time, Twilight takes over leading it and is sure to take the time to point out the different shops and such. Each pony also shows me around their homes. Though Rainbow offered to fly me up, I happily observed her house from the ground. The final stop on the way back to Twilight's library was the Carousel Boutique, where Rarity forcibly took my measurements. Finally heading toward the library, I notice something very off about the surrounding area, and the size of our current group.

"Uhm, where'd Pinkie Pie go? More importantly, why is the town devoid of life?"

Author's Notes:

Comments, questions, and concerns accepted.

Chapter 4: The Difference is as Plain as Day....

Ponyville around us is now totally devoid of its citizens. To make this complete, a tumbleweed even drifts by. I can hear the wind whistling through the streets. The only ones left it seems are Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Spike, myself, and that aquamarine Unicorn that I saw on the way to the train station. She stood where I last saw Pinkie, making Fluttershy seem like an extrovert. None of these ponies were confused, though.

After a quick look around, Twilight just gives me a small smile, which leads to an odd squeak, and she finally lets out a nervous chuckle. Why am I the only one confused by the town’s sudden disappearance? I turn to the new arrival and say, "Uhm, hello there."

She squeals and ducks behind Applejack, peering up at me from behind her.

"Okay then. Twilight, care to explain to me what's going on?"

She’s still grinning at me, with wide darting eyes. “How about we go into the library? I'll explain everything in there!" She starts heading to the door, letting out another nervous laugh. I raise one of my eyebrows. She opened the door revealing a pitch black room.

Oh, this isn't happening. Twilight motioned with one foreleg for me to enter. No no no.

I reluctantly walk through the door, and all Tartarus breaks loose.

The lights blaze, revealing the entire town and Pinkie Pie, none of them as nervous as earlier. Balloons, streamers, and confetti burst out of every corner. In the center of the room was a large banner, the text on which everypony shouts.

"Welcome to Ponyville!!" How did I not see this coming? Curse you, hindsight.

Pinkie Pie comes bouncing up, her face brimming with excitement. She stops right in front of me, still bouncing. How does she do this?

"So how do you like the party? I've been planning it since Chapter Two!"

I roll my eyes. "It's really great Pinkie- Whoa, wait. What do you mean by Chapter Two?"

She shrugs. "Oh, you know!" Her face falls blank for a half a moment, before returning to its original glee. "Come on, I've got to introduce you to everypony!" She starts pulling me around the room with strength that’s impossible to fight, and she points and names all the ponies in the room.

It takes an entire hour to introduce me to everyone. Being pulled around the room combined with her rapid-fire speech takes its toll. Just how does she keep going? She's like the pony version of the Energizer bunny! Which I just realized is pink, and carries a bass drum.

None of the ponies she introduced me to, including the ones that had seen me before and reacted with a nervous curiosity and fear, had any signs of that anxiety. In fact, some were quite the opposite, smiling widely, saying gleeful “hello”s, and even giving me a hand/hoof shake. Only in Ponyville. When in doubt, throw a party.

As the party goes on into the night, ponies eventually start filing out. However, it felt like it was never going to end. Vinyl Scratch was in one corner of the room, blasting music on her turntable. There was also a dance floor in that area, where ponies were getting down. In the other corner there were tables of snacks and drinks.

It was probably another good two or three hours before the last ponies were leaving. The mane six and Spike remained, but the last two ponies were just leaving. It was the aquamarine one and a tan earth pony with a purple and pink mane. What were their names again? Oh right, Lyra and Bonbon. When Pinkie introduced me to Lyra, the Unicorn hid behind her mane and peeked out at me. Bonbon nudged her shoulder, and smiled at me awkwardly when Lyra refused to stop hiding.

She just looks at me with the same strange interest as she leaves, and Bonbon just shakes her head at her shy friend.

The clean-up doesn't take long; between magic and Pinkie’s inexhaustible energy, it’s done in about five minutes. After that, we call it a night, and everypony leaves, worn out from the crazy party.

Meanwhile, in the real world:

"Another chapter down." I scroll up, and am just about to click the save button when I notice a speck of pink on the screen, slowly getting larger. "What the heck?"

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie fills the screen. "Hey, why does walking around the town get almost five thousand words and my party only gets a little over a thousand?!"

I fall back in my chair with a yelp. She crosses her forelegs and stares at me.

"Why, huh? WHY?!"

"Uh, how about I just make it up to you when I get to the Cheese Sandwich episode? I'll go off on things that may have happened during RD's party. How's that sound?"

"YAY!"

Author's Notes:

Yay, fourth wall!

Once again comments, questions, concerns, odd ball thoughts.

As usual looking for an artist or group of artists. More info on my blog post.

Chapter 5: .... And Night

Now that it’s just me, Spike, and Twilight, things calm down quite a bit. I walk down to Twilight's basement to grab my stuff, which I stashed there during the party.

"Well, since I'm stuck here, and you offered, I guess I should take this time to set up whatever quarters you decide I should stay in." Hopefully I'm not bunking in your room.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Uhm, follow me." Her horn lights up with her bright purple aura and an extra bed in the corner is illuminated and raised. She trots back up the basement stairs with it floating behind her. I cross my fingers, but she still opens the door to her room and heads in. Crap.

"You're not having me stay in your room, are you?"

"Yeah, why not?" She carefully sets the bed onto the floor and turns to me. She has confusion on her face, accompanied by a slight annoyance. I saw this coming; she's not exactly knowledgeable about things like social protocol. Though I suppose it could be different here, somehow I doubt that.

"Because I'd kind of like some privacy." Even if I got that though, I'd still probably change in the bathroom. No need to get caught changing by a pony - that'd be a new low.

"Oh." She blushes for a moment, realizing what I mean. But then she stares off in thought. After a moment she looks down, sighs, and turns back to me with an apologetic look. "Sorry, but I really don't have room anywhere else." Crap baskets. I cringe when I realize that this means I'm going to miss a lot of DBZ Abridged.

"Fine then, I suppose I can deal with it. I'd still feel better if we each had our privacy, though." She moves the bed across from her own. Then she leaves to retrieve extra sheets and another pillow. As long as she doesn't think of this as one big slumber party. Why must I be living some brony's odd fantasy? WHY?

Twilight returns with some plain white bed sheets and a violet quilt. Ah, purple: the theme of the place. She sets the blankets down own bed and starts unfolding each one and tucking it over the mattress.

“I can do that myself, Twilight,” I sigh, defeated.

“Oh, I was just being a good host." She starts clapping excitedly. “Isn’t this exciting? It’ll be like having a slumber party every night!" There it is.

"How about this instead: I'm your first roommate." I then look at Spike, who’s actually already fast asleep in his basket. "Or maybe second."

"Second roommate?” Twilight looks at me and sees what I mean. “Oh, Spike’s actually more like my little brother than a roommate." She glances up, lost in thought again. She rushes back through her door, stopping to pop her head back into the room. "I'll be right back.” As she skips down the stairs, I can hear her ask herself, “Do I have a roommate guide?" I facepalm. Here we go.

I walk over to my bed and stoop to untie my shoes. Too bad I don't have my pajamas; it’ll be uncomfortable sleeping in my clothes. But I’m sure not taking them off if I’m sharing a room with Twilight. I do take off my socks and shoes, however. I place the socks inside the shoes and slide them under the bed, then move to the other side, where there happens to be a small desk with a lamp on it. I follow the lamp's cord to the outlet. Thank you, whoever invented the power strip. I retrieve mine from my laptop bag and plug it into the outlet, then plug in the chargers for all my devices. I'm still just glad that I had randomly decided to take all this with me - or was it random? Did I see this coming without realizing it?

After plugging it all in, I decide to turn on my laptop and take a moment to unwind with an old anime. I turn the volume down so as not to wake Spike, and then go into my folders and open up the one labeled “The Big O”. Nothing like the classics. I double-click on the first episode and pause it to set it to fullscreen. Then I press play. I sense awkward moments in my future. Then again, I’ve been sensing that since I got here.

A mass of yellow-orange lava appears and starts to roil and form a face as a piece of classical music is played. "Cast in the name of God ye not guilty." I love this show! It cuts to a shiny black car driving down a road in a dreary looking city, while in the background a 1920s-30s jazz theme plays. "My name is Roger Smith. I perform a much needed job here in the city of amnesia." Steve Blum, this is probably one of your best roles, besides Tom or Grunt. The music continues as he heads to an old warehouse and parks the car.

"What's this one?" I jump slightly, and look behind me to see Twilight sitting on the bed, looking over my shoulder, a book floating nearby. Seriously, they have hooves. How are they this stealthy? She continues to watch, clearly curious as to what is occurring.

"This is an old show I used to watch called ‘The Big O’." I pause it. "So, you found a book on roommates I see." It'd be hilarious if it were titled “Roommates for Dummies”.

"Yup, it's called ‘Roommates 101’." Too bad. She offers me the book and I accept it. I flip to the table of contents and look through the chapter headings.

Chapter 12: Romance. I cock my eyebrow. Seriously? I look to her with an expression that screamed 'I am not amused'. "Skip that one."

"Which one?" I point to the chapter heading, shaking my head. I know they probably have some knowledge of those things, but this is NOT going to happen. Or do they have more knowledge of it than I think? Oh crap, I forgot about the episode where Pound and Pumpkin Cake are born. I scoot a little farther away from Twilight.

"Oh, don't worry about that, I'm definitely not going to follow this one to the letter." Right, five bucks says you will. I've seen the show, I know it's only a matter of time before your OCD kicks in. That's when I run fast, and far.

"Well, how about we forget about the book, and I just let this play?" The episode goes its course, ending with the familiar 'to be continued'.

"Ooh there's more, can we watch more?"

"Sure, why not?" I set up the next episode and let it roll. I figured that she'd got used to death at least a little bit, since she didn't seem too freaked out about the part in the last episode with Wainwright, and then of course there was the bit of violence just afterward. But then she saw the older man claiming to be Dorothy's grandfather get shot and killed.

"How could someone just do something like that, with no second thoughts?!" She almost looked like she was crying.

"Don't worry, Twilight, this isn't real. It's just a T.V. show. Besides they'll get what’s coming to them." I keep my eyes on the screen so she can't see me cringe.

Episode two comes to its end and Twilight calms down a bit, glad that Beck and his men were arrested. Then I notice another file in my videos folder. I wonder how she'd react to my little bro's school video. "Hey Twilight, want to see my little brother and his friend? My brother shot a short film he called ‘Drake and Re's epic adventure’ in high school for a class. I'm even in it."

"Ooh, really?" Her face has an eager look to it. Hook, line, and sinker.

"Okay, rolling the film." I double-click the video and let it play.

"Agh, really?!" She sees the film’s introduction shot, where my brother and his friend look like they’re going to have a sword clash, but then my bro pulls a gun and just shoots him. Yeah, really. "So which one is your little brother?”

"The one who drew the gun. His friend is the one who dropped to the ground. That person there is his teacher. Oh, and there I am: the world's worst film pickpocket." The video keeps going, and Twilight screams when the person in the skull jacket shoots himself just as the scene cuts. "Don't worry, the guy's still alive. By the way, Spike is probably the heaviest sleeper I've ever seen, or is it just that he's got earplugs?"

Twilight just lets out a deep exhale and flies over to her bed. "Well, I think that's enough of that for today. Good night." As she gets under her covers and goes to sleep, I shut down my laptop and decide to do the same. Good thing I'm kind of used to sleeping in the same room as a stranger.

"Good night, then." I tuck myself in under my own covers and try to fall asleep.

Author's Notes:

For any who want to see what I've shown the ponies, here are links to the Youtube videos:
Zoids: New Century Zero - episode 1

The Big O: Episode 1 part 1

The Big O: Episode 1 part 2

The Big O: Episode 2 part 1

The Big O: Episode 2 part 2

Ha, can't find out who I am anymore, my younger brother deleted that google account so the video is no longer up.

As usual all questions, comments, concerns, feedback, etcetera are welcome, heck wanted.

Chapter 6: An Odd Dream

"Why subconscious, just why?" I find myself on the main floor of Twilight's library, but there’s one itty-bitty problem. I'm only about a couple inches tall. "Okay, this is obviously a dream. Worse, it's one of those dreams. Just grand." I start to wander through the newly towering and actually oddly accurate depiction of the library. As I ponder at this, I walk over to one of the tables and flick the nearest leg. That's when I discover another problem with the dream.

"Oh great, not only can I control my actions in this dream - thank goodness for that - but it's one of those dreams where you'd almost swear it's real because you can feel along with sight and sound. Brain you are evil. I hate you." I continue my minute tour of the first floor, and finally find evidence that this is in fact a dream, which is assurance that I was beginning to really need.

Unlike most of the library, which is well-defined and accurate to a T, the undersides of the bookcases are rather undefined. I’m able to see underneath about an inch or two before a thick grey fog blocks my view. Another assurance was that, besides the few books I had seen, the other books in the library were replaced with books from my world, such as Eragon or Webster's Dictionary or Garfield comics.

"Welp, time to end this dream and try for a different one." I slam my fist into a wall, only to receive the pain I'd expect from punching wood, with no end to the dream. "Oh crap, it’s one of those dreams, too!” I decide to make myself scarce before the dream can get any worse. I take off at a sprint, heading to the safety underneath a bookcase, only to find that the thick fog also acted as a barrier. "Video Game physics! No! Why am I not able to have an inner monologue?!” I take a deep breath. “Okay, calm down. Yelling like crazy will only attract unwanted attention. Time to find somewhere else to hide."

Turning away from the fog, I’m immediately greeted by two extremely large purple eyes, staring down at me with extreme curiosity. I press myself against the fog barrier as much as possible, but to no avail. The aura of her purple magic surrounds me and levitates me out to eye level.

"Hmm, what is this thing?" After she calls me that, she turns and starts walking - just a casual movement for her, but to me it’s worse than anything a rollercoaster could attempt to pull off. My ride ends with me being put on the floor, and Twilight sitting down. Looking around I notice we aren't alone. It seems to be part two of last night’s slumber party, now featuring a tiny human.

"Hey everypony, look what I just found by one of the bookcases!”

"Oh what is it?! Does it like cookies?! No wait, do you think it likes cake?!?!" No, no! Keep the cake away from me! The cake is a lie!

"I ain’t never seen a bug like that before."

"Icky! Keep it away from me!"

"It would be about 20% cooler if it could fly."

"Ahh, look at the precious little thing. Hello, there."

Brain, you've gone from evil to absolutely diabolical.

As I watch the gargantuan ponies all start talking about "this tiny new creature", Luna's horn lights up and I’m grasped by her aura. Oh, not this again! She gently sets me down on her muzzle, the aura around me dissipating, though her horn is still lit up. The color in my face drains faster than water in a kitchen sink. I'm doomed.

Then the rest of the dream vanishes, changing to a different landscape entirely. This one I haven't seen before; it’s a room with large stone walls, crescent moon banners, a desk with some quills and ink, some packed bookcases, a lit fireplace, and lastly a large bed on which Luna is positioned.

Oh, this can't be good. This dream's going into its final stage, isn't it? Sweat starts to bead up on my forehead. I keep my focus on Luna, quivering in fear at what might be going through my subconscious, particularly since this dream had decided to go on the full five sense tour. Luna's huge eyes gaze at my tiny dream form. Seriously, can't I be dreaming about Mass Effect, Gundam Wing, or something that isn't this? As her gaze continues I decide to just sit down. Whatever’s going to happen will take a while, from the looks of it. As I sit, she keeps her curious look.

Luna clears her throat, which startles me especially since I’m still on top of her muzzle. Oh no! Is it about to start? She lets out a giggle that shakes me slightly.

"Well, little Jacob, you really don't have to worry anymore. Your dream is over." As she speaks I brace myself against the earthquake of her moving mouth.

"Why don't I have to worry anymore exactly? The only real change is the amount of ponies and the scenery. Otherwise, this is still a dream - one that I'm still worried may continue to get worse in these circumstances."

"You don't have to worry any longer because you are no longer actually in your dream. I have brought you to mine. I, being the Princess of the Night look after all of my subjects during their dreams, just as Celestia looks after them while they’re awake."

"Then why am I still tiny?!" She only stares at me, strangely. Then I realize that she’s got a smug look on her face. I roll my eyes and stare back at her. "This is revenge for ‘Jurassic Park’, isn't it?"

Her eyes close completely and her head tilts a little further toward the ceiling, causing me to clutch onto her fur. She hums a prideful affirmative. Afterward, she repositions so I don't need to hold on to her. I look off to the side and twiddle my thumbs. "So, you know about my, uh-" She interrupts with another hum of affirmation. "Do you know about the other-" She hums again. "Two things. Firstly, thank you for preventing this dream from being like my others. I really didn’t want to involve any ponies in any of that.” I can see Luna’s cheeks blush. “Secondly, how did you find out about my other dreams?"

She relaxes and giggles again. “I wouldn't thank me yet, Jacob. My vengeance still has not been fully exacted!” Oh, well isn’t that nice. “But as for your question, in order to aid with a pony’s nightmare, I have to see why they are having it. This often means that I have to look through their memories. These...feelings of yours were actually difficult to find the root of. Your mind is so different from those of my subjects that it was much harder to get in, let alone glean that information. But don't worry, I only obtained the information I needed. Your memories are still private."

"So, if my mind was 'blocking you' then how are we-"

"I'm not exactly sure, maybe your subconscious was able to discern my entering your dream as an attempt to aid and allowed me through. Just so you know, I will be entering your dreams as often as I can partially to keep in touch and partially to get used to the subtle differences between your mind and a pony's."

I let out an exasperated breath. "I thought you were respecting the privacy of my memories.” She just shrugs. “Great, so I can look forward to similar visits then?" My eyes were half-lidded in annoyance.

"Don't worry, I promise you won't be in this position every time."

I groan. Our conversation continues on for a while before she leaves to see to other dreams. She allows me to go into a much more peaceful dream until the morning, but only after gaining the rest of her vengeance, much to my dismay.

"I never want to see that again..."

Author's Notes:

One more day, then my character will start going through the episodes of season 4, episode 3+ as I said, with some chapters actually being an alternative to the episode as I won't be involved in all of them, or some episodes just being mentioned.

Okay people, please, I'd like to find an artist, can any of you help me in this endeavor, whether it be that you are an artist or know an artist?
Thank you.

Chapter 7: Discoveries Both Malignant and Benign

Stupid habits. Why do I always wake up early, even if I want to sleep in? I open my eyes to be greeted by a dark room. My body says it's around six o’clock. It’s an evil thing, not allowing me to sleep. I get up, grab my laptop, and head out once again to the spot that I've basically claimed on the main floor.

With a yawn and a stretch, I set my laptop on the table and sit down. Flipping it open and turning it on I wait for my desktop to load, and as soon as it’s finished I decide it’s time to wake my brain up with a little bit of strategy. So with a quick double-click on Age of Empires 2: The Conquerors, away I go. About fifteen minutes into the game I notice the sunrise, and only a few minutes after that I hear the telltale clip-clop of Twilight getting up. Finally, I'm able to know what's going on both in-game and in real life. Well, real life, relatively speaking. Though, I don't mind if she sees this game; at least it's not like yesterday with Mass Effect. Sure enough, between the music and the sounds of the game, I find Twilight peering over my shoulder quite quickly.

"Ooh, what's this one?"

"This is called Age of Empires; it's a strategy game about controlling, well, an Empire. You’re given resources to conquer the opposing empires but you also have to defend the allied empires. It's all based on the medieval ages of my world." I’m playing on the map 'Arena' as the Chinese, because the Chu-Ko-Nu are awesome. Deal with it. At the moment, I’m at the village, constructing more buildings and getting more villagers to gather resources, but then comes the minor mistake of going back to my scout and giving him a new area to explore.

"Wow, this is amazing. Hey, what is that pony doing there?" She gestures to a cavalry unit, her face confused and clearly not pleased.

"It's not a pony, that's a horse. We have horses in my world, along with ponies, but they aren't...uhm, how should I explain this? Well, where I'm from humans are the only sapient species on the planet." She seems okay with that explanation, but looks at me like she has more questions. "You aren't taking this quite as badly as I thought, given your being a pony."

Her expression goes from questioning to stern. "Actually, no, I don't like that your species has done that to horses and ponies, but-" She suddenly becomes very excited. "I never thought I'd be able to learn about these game things and your history at the same time! Hold on, I need to go get some parchment, some ink, and a quill!" With that, she zips off. If she thinks this is good, maybe I should introduce her to Civilization IV. Wait, bad idea. I wouldn't get my PC back until she finished copying every word down. That would take forever.

So I keep going, creating additional units, exploring, and expanding the reaches of my empire. She gets back and immediately there are more questions. "What does that one do? What are the weapons they are using? What materials are the buildings constructed with?"

After a few more questions, I can't take it anymore.

"Here, how about instead of asking me about this stuff, I let you find out from the section meant just for that in the game." I resign from that game and go to the history section of the game. Twilight is more than thrilled, though she looks at me sheepishly, embarrassed that she had caused me some minor irritation. I let her know that it’s okay, and tell her to go ahead and explore the history that Ensemble had gathered and summarized.

I take to looking at some of the library’s books as Twilight goes into study mode looking at the AoE history section. Having to read pony books instead of playing games...this is not helping my depression! I don't find anything really interesting to me at the moment, though I do manage to find the book that Twilight read in the first episode, but I skip over it. I walk back over to my spot. Twilight’s still sitting there, eyes locked on the screen. Every so often the mouse moves to scroll the page or change the topic. I circle behind her and look at the topic she's just moved to. Cavalry; oh, this can only end so well.

As she reads, Twilight raises her hind leg and starts to scratch her ear. Doing that, she reminds me of my dog back at home, and before I know what’s going on I’m already scratching the back of her head.

"Hey, what are you...oh my…” She sighs, stretching out her ears and curling her neck under my fingers. “That feels so good." She lets out a shiver of delight.

Wait, what am I doing?! Immediately I pull my hand away. As soon as I do, though, Twilight looks up at me, her lip pouted and her eyes screaming for more.

Oh no! What have I done?!