Part I: Chapter One: Universe-Hop

Having a way to move between universes was something that, I had just now learned, came with responsibility. I was being called upon to save humans from other universes, two of them, I presumed. This sounded really dangerous to me, and the chances of my finding these people were probably pretty slim; it had been three weeks since Discord stranded them wherever they now are, and left them there as some kind of... scavenger hunt, I guess. Without a doubt, this adventure would be difficult, and I'd probably be facing it alone, unless, of course, some of the ponies wanted to come. They might, they do like adventure, especially when there's a cause involved.

I set about filling my backpack with whatever I thought I might need. I crammed about a dozen granola bars, a few water bottles, my crown representing the Element of Order- just in case-, a flashlight, a book, my bottle of letter-sending dragonfire- the one Twilight Sparkle had given me before I left Equestria-, and a lighter, in case I needed fire. It was Friday, just after five in the afternoon when I left my house, leaving a note:

"Gone to Equestria to help the universe again, I'll try to be home on Sunday."

It felt silly writing that, but after all that had happened to me, it wouldn't surprise anyone at home. I wasn't entirely sure if two days would be enough time to find this lost person, but at this point, I wasn't entirely sure of anything except that Twilight wanted me to go to Equestria, and that I was to find a lost human in a universe I'd never been to. If was lucky, then it's a universe I already know of. I thought about all of the universes I knew anything in-depth about. There were a lot of em', and considering the types of fiction I read, played, and saw, not many of them were pretty. I reached a point in an ATV trail near my home that, if I recalled correctly, was a corresponding spot in this universe to Twilight Sparkle's library. I zipped open my universal portal, using the ability granted to me by Discord, and stepped in.

I appeared in the middle of the library. Twilight was standing at a small desk, writing something. She hadn't noticed my appearance.

"Hey, Twilight."

Twilight was startled, let out a gasp of surprise, and turned around.

"Zach? You're here already? How did you get in here?" she asked, still surprised.

"What's the matter, Twilight? Why are you so on-edge?" I asked.

She sighed, "Princess Luna's coming to visit soon, to await your arrival. She wanted to tell you what was going on in person. I was just... surprised when you came in here first, without knocking."

"Sorry, Twilight. I didn't mean to, I should have written you a letter. What do you know?"

"No more than you do, I'm afraid."

Spike entered the room we were in at this point, carrying a stack of large books that partially obscured his vision.

"Hey, Twilight, where do I put these? Is Zach here yet?" he asked, struggling slightly with his balance.

"Right there is fine, Spike."

The small dragon set down the books on Twilight's desk, and noticed me then.

"Oh, hi, Zach." I was much taller than Spike, and even though he knew I was harmless and a friend, he was slightly intimidated by my bulk.

"When do you suppose Luna will get here?" I asked.

"A few hours, I think, when the sun goes down." Twilight answered. I wondered why Luna wished to tell me in person what was going on. It wasn't like Twilight was incapable of relaying a message.

"Well, what should we do between now and then? Talk to your friends?" I suggested. I had a hard time considering the ponies my friends. After all, our only previous interactions, apart from letters I'd sent, had been in pursuit of a common goal: saving the universe. Besides that, being friends with beings you'd only known as characters several weeks prior was a difficult concept to realize.

"Well, Applejack is out of town, visiting family, Pinkie Pie is preparing a party somewhere, a big one, Rarity's busy creating some sort of new line of clothing that's 'bound to be fabulous', Fluttershy's caring for Angel, who's sick with a cold or something... as I see it, only Rainbow Dash, Spike and I are available."

"Then let's go see Rainbow," I suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea. Come on, Spike."

Spike assumed his position on Twilight's back, and we left the tree-library-house in search of the fast pegasid. We looked into the sky, which was clear, as usual, and the sun was beginning to retreat toward the horizon. I recieved a significant amount of recognition from the denizens of Ponyville. Celestia had held a parade celebrating our success in repairing the universal barrier between Equestria and Earth, and now almost every pony in Equestria knew who I was, by appearance if not name. The Mane Six were treated in a similar fashion, but were not as recognizable, being ponies like everypony else. I wasn't a pony, I was a human, only three of which have ever been here. The identity of the other two humans was never discovered, and the man that released Discord was the only one known to have caused any problems.

"Where could she be?" I asked. We were having no success in finding Rainbow, and I was thinking of places other than the sky that we could look for her in. An idea came to me quickly. "Sweet Apple Acres. She's probably taking a nap there."

"That makes sense, actually," Twilight agreed, and we headed in the direction of the apple orchard.

Searching the place would take time, and, fortunately, Rainbow found us first. We saw her flying, a few meters above the ground, weaving between the trees in some sort of agility exercise. She slowed and landed when she noticed us, and trotted over.

"Hey. What're you doing here, Zach?" she asked, curiously.

"I'm here to rescue another human from another universe," I replied.

"That's cool. Is anypony going with you?"

"Not as far as I know."

"Can I come with you?"

"Rainbow, he doesn't even know where he's going, or whether or not he'll need any help," Twilight interjected.

"I'll probably need help. Not every universe is as pleasant as this one or mine, I'd bet on it. But we should still find out where we'd be going."

"Luna is due to arrive soon, we should head back to the library," Twilight said.

"Luna's coming here? Why?" Rainbow asked.

"She's going to tell us what we need to know," I answered, "hopefully."

The four of us returned to the library. It had been about two hours, and the sun was slipping below the horizon when we arrived. We were surprised to find Luna already inside.

"Greetings," she said, cordially. She was sitting on the far side of the room, reading a book. She closed it when we entered. We all hastily kneeled.

"Oh, I'm so sorry we kept you waiting, Princess," Twilight apologized.

"It is nothing, Twilight Sparkle. Zach, you arrived safely, I presume?"

We all stood again. "Yes, Princess. I've been told that you know what's going on. Can you tell us?"

"With pleasure. The magicians of Canterlot and I have determined with certainty where one of your missing fellow humans is. They describe this universe as being 'dark, gray, with poisonous water and air. Giant animals, frenzied machines, and hideous monsters prowling the scarred land'. I don't know what this means, but I believe you might. Do you?"

There were only one thing I could think of when the Princess described this universe; Fallout. The human is trapped in the Fallout universe. The video game series I had poured hours into, killing monsters and people alike, seeking valuable bottle caps and coveted items. Now I had to go there.

"I think I do. It's called Fallout in my world. It's fiction, in the form of a game, not unlike this universe. Unlike this universe, however, the Fallout universe isn't safe, not in the slightest. It's about as bad as you've described it. It's similar to mine, but a great catastrophe has made the world really inhospitable and dangerous." I explained.

"As I've predicted, you will probably need some help with this. Twilight Sparkle, you've travelled to other universes with Zach before. I want you to go with him."

"Me, Princess? Are you sure? I'm not very good at fighting or anything..."

"Yes you are, Twilight. Your magic is really-super-amazing!" Rainbow joined the conversation, "What about me, Princess. Can I come too?"

"Are you certain that you wish to partake in this quest with Twilight and Zach?" Luna asked.

"Positive! They don't call me the Element of Loyalty for nothing." Rainbow was unfazed by my explanation of a dark, inhospitable world. She craved adventure, and she would have it.

"What about me?" Spike asked.

"You are a valuable assistant to Twilight, Spike. You should go with them as well."

"But Luna, it's far too dangerous to take him with us," Twilight said. I shared the sentiment.

"Twilight, Spike is a valuable asset to have in this quest. If I believed that you were at any significant risk of failure, I wouldn't have even told you about this in the first place." Luna had great faith in our abilities as a group, it seemed. The others in it had always gone over the hurdles, succeeded in all of their trials, and came through together. She held us all in high esteem, especially Twilight.

"Come on, Twilight! I'll be good, I won't cause any trouble or anything," Spike urged.

"Very well, Princess. We'll go with Zach," Twilight said after a few moments of thought.

"You may depart tomorrow, I bid you good luck." Luna exited the library, and we were left to pack, plan, and prepare.