Author's Notes:

My second try at writing an MLP story. Please be gentle y'all.

I stared at the night sky while my campfire crackled in front of me. A sigh escaped my lips and I brought my head down. I looked around the ruins that I had taken refuge in. Another sigh blew past my lips. ‘Why did is this happen to me?’ I asked myself while I picked up my fire stick and prodded the embers moodily. “Damn dog,” I muttered as I reached over and picked up some firewood. I placed the log inside the fire before I laid down on my makeshift bed of old tapestries and ruined books, with my lettermen jacket as a makeshift pillow. My nose and throat began to flare up as my sinuses started to act up.

A pathetic groan rumbled in my throat.

Why me?

I did the right thing and this is what I get in thanks? A one way trip to the Castle of the Two Sisters in Equestria. “Jinx, why did you do this to me?” I asked the dog that was not there.

The castle was empty as it has been since Celestia banished her sister, Luna, to the moon. My first clue was the crumbling walls and overgrown vines that marked Mother Nature reclaiming the land. Despite these facts the castle still remained intact, I guess this was the testament to pony architecture. Still, I can't help but wonder how long has it been since anyone has lived here. I have not done much of exploring, but the bit I have has shown that it couldn't have been long. You would like that the castle would be in much poorer shape than it was.

But then again what do I know.

My blue-green eyes traced the ceiling and I took in as much detail as I could with the limited light. I notice that there some sort of paintings like the ones you would see in the ancient castle back home but the art was lost on me. My eyes continued to climb until I spotted a hole in the roof where I could see the night sky. I zeroed in on the moon where a faded picture of a black unicorn was painted on its surface.

Seeing as Luna has not been freed from either the moon and Nightmare Moon. I can safely guess that the timeline that I am in is currently before season one of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I can’t believe that I’m here in Equestria. I know that I shouldn’t even be here but the fact that I am is so cool.

A chuckle broke through my lips, and I restrained myself from going fan-boy.

Although I kinda wish my unexpected departure happened with a little more grace, not being pushed by the family’s dog.

Family…

I wonder how they are doing right now. It couldn’t have been easy watching me vanish like that. Then again the entire situation couldn’t have been easy for any of us, but at least Celestia managed to ease any stress.

That train thought continued all the way to when I first met Celestia, face-to-face.

I was sleeping off the tiredness that I had acquired from traveling home from college, but my rest was cut off when mom gave me a little shake and told me that we were home. “Why don’t you go to your room and gets some rest?” she suggested when we hopped out of the car before she began to helped me with my stuff.

I shook my head, “No, its okay,” I said as we entered the house through the garage.

“Mathew you better be getting ready!” Mom shouted as we passed his room then Saige’s before finally passing Mom’s.

My sister, Saige, popped her head out from her room and gave me a wave. I returned it as I took a look inside the room. I just smiled and chuckled. Her room still looks like a bomb went off. Heading down the hallway I said hello to our black Labrador and Border collie mix dog, Jinx.

Jinx began to bark like mad and tried to rush towards me. Thankfully she had a leash on her so she didn’t get far. I promised the dog that I would play with her later before I walked into the living room just as three small blurs shot past us.

“Hello to you too, Tsuki (suki), Nanet, Taio,” I said as one poofy black fur, short black fur, and one tabby cat ran up and down the hallway. I shook my head before I continued on to my room. My sister begged to have these cats and name them too so that is why they have such foreign names. Mom pulled the door to my room to the side and set my suitcase on the ground. I followed her in and took note of the changes she made to the room, again.

“I see you change the color, again,” I said placing my bags on the small bed.

Mom looked around and let out a sigh, “Yea I’m thinking about painting again,” she said as she left my room. I stared at the living room’s wall for a moment before I followed her.

“As long as you don’t paint it vomit green,” I said with a finger pointing at the color she painted the living room and dining space, “I’m fine with it.”

“You moved out so I can paint it however I want,” Mom said while she rolled her eyes before she called down the hall for Mathew to get up and get ready for school. “Leave that to me,” I said with my Darth Vader voice as I went into the kitchen and pulled out a pan and a wooden spoon. I heard Mom just let out a sigh as she got ready for work.

I whistled as I traveled down the hall before I stopped in front of Saige’s door, and I gave it a tap. When sis poked her head out she saw what I had in my hand. With her face lit up she put her hands over her ears as I opened the door with a slam.

“WAKE UP SUCKER TIME FOR SCHOOL FOOL!” I yelled in my Mr. T impersonation while I banged the pot which caused the lump in the bed to scramble out. Mathew glared at me before he smiled and tackled me into a hug which I returned. “Nice to see again,” I said we released each other.

I turned around and began to walk out of the room. “Now come on its time for school,” I said when I heard a whump sound. I looked at sis with an unamused frown on my face. “He went back to bed didn’t he?” I stated and she nodded.

“Tell him if he doesn’t get up he’s grounded,” Mom said as she went into her room.

Saige snorted, “As if that would bother him, especially when you don’t follow through,” she scoffed before going back to her room.

“I can ground you too if you want young lady,” mom threatens.

I didn’t stay to listen to the inevitable fight that would occur between the two. If someone was looking from the outside they would probably think that we had issues, but we don’t have any more than the next family. Sis is just hard-headed and stubborn. We all went through some difficult things back in the south, and it’s not been easy for us but we’re getting better.

For myself, I’ve improved a bit and have little more confidence in myself, but it doesn’t take much to push me back to where I was.

At least the negative voices have stopped.

Enough of the down mood, time for some FOOD!!

I went to the fridge and pulled out ingredients for a breakfast burrito. I saw that mom went shopping and got my favorite foods so now I’m a really happy panda. After a few cracked eggs, cut vegetables, light seasoning, some cheese and sizzled leftover ham I had breakfast cooked and on the table. Jinx looked at me as I sat down with her tail wagging with an expected look.

“Don’t look at me,” I told the dog as I took a bite, “You’ve eaten better than I have.”

Damn, I forgot taco sauce.

You dumb ass! How could you forget taco sauce!

Shut the fuck up I haven’t eaten a burrito in three years, so lay off!

That’s no excuse!!

I stood up and headed towards the refrigerator and pulled out half a jar of taco sauce. I headed back towards my breakfast just as Mom walked in grabbed her lunch and put it into her lunch box before walking towards me. She gave me a kiss on the forehead as I placed the sauce in my burrito and re-wrapped it, “I love you and I’m glad to see home,” she said before heading out. “Okay kids time to go!”

“Glad to be home,” I called back taken another bite.

“I’ll bet. Don’t forget to take the dog out!”

“Alright,” I said swallowing another piece of delicious food. As I continue to eat breakfast I looked around the house to see what change.

Not much.

…

Wlep I’m bored now.

I put the last piece of my burrito in my mouth looked at the dog. “Wanna go outside?” I asked standing up taking my dish with me. “Just give me a sec and let you out,” I told the Jinx who, thanks to the leash around her neck, tried to jump on top of the counter. She only managed to put her front paws on the tile. I smacked the area in front of her. “Down!” I snapped at her and she jumped back down.

I went past her with the intent of going to my room and change out of my clothes. “Let me change and we’ll go,” I said disappearing into my room.

I had changed into a pair of sweatpants a long sleeve shirt. Since India has I high humidity index anything that is black or holds any kind of heat is a big no-no. Since I only come home for the holidays which are the coldest part of the year I decided to keep all my winter clothes in a box for me to use when I come back.

“Come on pooch let’s go!” I called out to the dog that was bouncing around eager to go outside.

“Jesus Christ how much do you freaking eat,” I growled at the dog as I shoveled her…leftovers into a dirt hole in our backyard. There was nothing else I could do since we live in a suburban area just outside the city. “And I don’t trust you to behave yourself out in public,” I finished my thought out loud while looking at the dog as she played with a squeaky toy.

Jinx looked up at gave a woof then began to run down the length of the fence.

“Ignoring me huh,” I said covering the hole with dirt and went to put up the shovel in the shed. “Fine, I’m going inside.”

Jinx barked and raced past me before she came to a stop in front of the back door. I just crossed my arms and looked at the dog. “You understood that huh?” I said in mock irritation. “Well then start cleaning up after self then!” she just barked at me jumped on the door.

“Tsh, fine let's go then,” I said before I grabbed Jinx’s collar and opened the door. When we reached inside I grabbed her leash and put it on her before tying her to the door. She likes to play with the cats but due to the size difference, we are afraid that she might accidentally hurt them. Once she was secured I cracked my neck.

A shower sounds nice right now.

I quickly went into the room and rummaged through my luggage in order to locate my toiletries. Finding them and picking up a change of clothes I went to the bathroom and closed the door.

Five minutes later.

“FUCK YEA HOT WATER!!!!”

After a very long shower, I plopped myself on the couch and powered up the family’s Xbox 360. When the screen loaded I put Netflix on and clicked on my profile. I looked at my watch to check the time and saw that it was lunchtime. “Time to get some munches,” I said to myself as glided across the carpet floor, past the dining space, and came into the kitchen. From there I searched the cabinets to look for something to eat.

When I stepped into the kitchen a wave of exhaustion hit me. “Better yet maybe some sleep would do me some good,” I said to myself as I turned around and slipped inside my bedroom. I haven’t slept except for the few hours on my flights and the small amount on the way home. So yea I’m a little sleepy. With a flop I slammed down on my bed pulled the first layer of covers. Moments later I was in Sandman land.

I don’t remember what I dreamed of during my rest nor after I was disturbed by mom to ask if I wanted dinner, and I just mumbled out a no before I went back to sleep.

“Excuse me,” a voice awoke me from my deep slumber. The voice was motherly yet authoritative, and there was a small hint cautiousness mix into as well. This wasn’t mom but it sounded really familiar to me. I cracked my eyes opened to see a large white blob standing in front of me I blinked to clear my vision.

The blob began to take the form of a horse a few more blinks and I saw that the horse had wings and a horn. I clenched my eyes tight and opened them once more and saw a sight that should be impossible.

Princess Celestia in all her mane waving glory stood in my bedroom with a small nervous smile on her muzzle.

I stared at the cartoon character that did likewise to me. My mind must still be muddled from lack of sleep because there is no way Sunny D is in my room. I let out a groan and flipped around so that my back was to the mind fuck.

“Nope,” I grumbled out as I covered my head with a blanket.

I chuckled at the memory before I let out a series of sneezes as the dust irritated my nose. My left hand went to rub my nose when the fur tickled it and I sneezed again. When I recovered I gave a dejected look at my left arm. It was fine up from the shoulder to the elbow but after that the skin pigmentation began to transitions to a blue, and as it progresses down to my fingers everything becomes fur like an animal.

So much has happened to me since that fateful day Celestia popped into my house. After coming to terms that Celestia in my house was legit, she had to glue me to the ceiling for me to actually believe that I wasn’t high or something.

Anyway once Celestia pried me off the ceiling I had a quick bout of denial which I got over when Sunny threaten to zip my mouth shut and stick me to the ceiling again. Once things calmed down the Princess explained that she needed a place to stay while she finds a way back home. I had asked how she got here in the first place. The answer, to put it simply, was…

Magic.

Yea I pulled that card I wasn’t going to even begin to figure out what she said or how she got here. Surprisingly enough it wasn’t Twilight’s fault or anything like that. Thankful she had already figured out a way home or at least a possibility. All she had to do was wait until her magic was restored. The only problem with that is Earth’s lack of magic or in other words non-excitant She could build up her reserves but the only issue is that it would take time, a month to be precise, to gather enough to put her plan into action.

During this time she needed a place to stay while she did so. I asked her if she thought it was a good idea to walk into someone’s house to look for help. She could have walked into someone who wasn’t as understanding as I, or nice. I mean I’m sure any fan of the show would do everything to help her but the more... disturbed individuals might not have good intentions in their hearts.

She said that she performed a spell to see if I was ‘pure of heart’ or something. I think she just guessed, but eh what do I know.

I wanted to help but technically this is my mother’s house and I’m only staying for the holidays so if Celestia wanted to stay she had to ask my mom. I could feel the nervousness coming off the princess even though her face was schooled. I reassured her that mom will help her and allow her to stay.

That evening was eventful to put it lightly, but in the end, Celestia got permission to stay as long as she needed. I was going to help her in any way possible since I stay at the house all day as and didn’t have anywhere to go. The next thirty days proved to be an interesting experience for me. I mean it’s not every day you meet a somewhat fictional character and actually developed a relationship of any kind. That’s not to say everything went smoothly there were a few bumps here and there but nothing that could destroy the permeant the bonds Celestia and my family and forged.

But all things must come to an end.

Sooner than I like, the day came when Celestia had to go. We went to the backyard and said our goodbyes. It was sad to say goodbye, but everyone knew that it had to be done. Celestia belonged to Equestria and she was needed there as well. Then she did something that shocked everyone.

Princess Celestia offered me a place in Equestria.

For a while, I was ecstatic and angry at her. How could she ask something like that of me? She knew what I had going for me and I had to do to get where I was at. But I don’t blame her for asking me in the first place. We had grown close over the past month I treated her like a normal person…er pony and in return, she treated me like a friend. I had thought about asking her the same myself before, but just as Celestia belonged to Equestria I belonged here on Earth, and no matter how much I wanted to go I knew that I couldn’t drop everything and go. I had duties and responsibilities.

Celestia understood why I rejected her offer. She wasn’t happy obviously but she respected my decision. The princess kissed my brow before she departed through the portal with tears in her eyes just as I did. It was this time when Jinx broke free and for some reason charged at me and rammed my back. Caught off guard I stumbled forward…

…and fell right into the pull of the portal. The last thing I saw was the shock and scared looks of my family before my vision swam with the colors of the rainbow.

I don’t remember what happened next but when I gathered my bearings I found myself in the ruins of The Castle of the Two Sisters. After I spent some time freaking out I decided to make base camp inside the ruins. It took the rest of the day but I managed to build a decent shelter and a fireplace so that I could at least get through the night. My father might not have done what he promised when he signed me up with the boy scouts, but I’m glad I stuck with it to the end. I did forget the knots that were used but everything else I remember.

Fucking knots.

This morning I made a to-do list consisted of locating sources of food and water, find materials to better improve living arrangements, and find a map of the surrounding area. I found some water from a well outside, and while I can’t guarantee the quality it at least looked clean. I would use it temporarily until I found a more reliable source. Food was tricky as there were only a few berry bushes near the castle that looked like raspberries taste like them too, but again with the water, I wasn’t sure about the edibility of them. During my wanderings, I found the bridge that connected to the Everfree Forest and one side needed to be retied. I put that off until I had something to defend myself from the animals of the forest which led me to search the castle for an armory of some kind.

I figured that if they were any weapons inside they would be completely unusable, but I still looked around because who knows I might find an alternative. Possibly something that I can use to make a makeshift weapon of some sort.

That’s when I found the room.

I stumbled on to the room when I tried to pull a spear from a set of pony armor. Like the suit of armor, you would find in castles. Out of everything, I saw so far the spear was the only thing still in usable condition, but the weapon turned out to be a dud and was only a switch. And like that one scene from that one movie I fell through a trap door. I was flung into a chute of some kind and began to slide to some unknown destination. The trip down was short and sticky from the cobwebs.

The first thing I did when I landed was wiped the spider webbing off my face and body. I’m not arachnophobic or anything, but I am afraid of possible life-threatening bites. I had to be careful. If I got seriously hurt or sick then I’m pretty much fucked since I have no idea where Ponyville is at much less Fluttershy’s cottage. Out all of the inhabitance she is the most likely the only one who would be willing to help as the others might be too scared or rash to be of any help.

After I was sure that I didn’t pick up any passengers I looked around the room I was in.

Darkness was all that I saw. The only exception was the light source from the shout that I had come from but it only revealed two feet of me, and all that I saw was a grey stone floor. The second later the light quickly disappeared when the trap door closed. Alone in the dark, I began to lose my courage. I have never been afraid of the dark no there’s no reason to be so.

It’s what’s in it that scares me the most.

My skin began to prickle and felt something shift in the air around me. The moldy air began to burn my nose and throat as my hands began to get clammy. I was about to lose myself in despair when suddenly a flare of light caught my eye and my head snapped to meet it. What I saw was...strange

There, sitting on a stone pedestal was a small bright orb was illuminated with a rainbow-like glow. It couldn't be any bigger than a softball and it looked like it was made out of a crystal-like substance yet it was smooth like skin. The way the light reflected off its surface was hypnotic and I was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. Despite a part of me screaming at me to run and get as far away from this…thing as I could. There was something drawing me in clouding my sense of judgment and I couldn't help but slowly walk towards the orb.

That turned out be a huge mistake.

When I touched the orb some force grasped my arm and I felt my veins burn with liquid mercury. My vision turned sky blue before streaks of red, purple, violet, light blue, topaz, and lime green sailed through my eyes before a black curtain fell.

I woke up a few hours later just outside the base camp that I had set up just off to the side in the main courtyard. That is when I notice my left arm’s transformation and immediately did what anyone would have done.

I flipped my shit.

By the time I had finished my newest ‘episode’ it was getting close to dark if the rapid fall of the sun was anything to go by which leads us to now.

I dropped my arm down and turned over to stare at the fire as it burned. I slipped off my glasses and place them beside me. For the first time in my life my mind didn’t wander to any of my ‘mind adventures’ that I tend to do that keeps me up at night, and why should I. I’m living in one now.

The crackle of the fire help soothes me to sleep where I dreamed of the family that I left behind.