Author's Notes:

Thank you guys for your support and constructive criticism.

I'll work on describing more and telling less, and my grammar can't forget that. Much like this story, my skills as a writer are in the works. I currently have a three more chapter done and another in the works. I'm going to go through them and make corrections with your suggestions in mind.

The glare of the sun burned my eyes as I woke up. I let out a groan and turned my back away from the star. I wanted a few more minutes of sleep before I got up to continue my search for a weapon. My stomach, on the other hand, had other plans and growled. I let loose a defeated groan as I sat up and rubbed my eyes free of boogers. I picked up my glasses and stared at them.“Hehe, boogers,” I chuckled before it turned into a fit of mild laughter. I needed to release some of the tension that had build up over this ordeal. No matter how childish it was.

When my laughter died down I looked down at my glasses and flipped it around in my hand. I glared at the pieces of glass and metal with great distaste. I've been wearing glasses ever since I was two and a half years old. I looked away from the corrective lenses and saw that I could see well enough as it has been for me for as long as I could remember. The only time I felt that I really needed them was when I was driving or reading something small and far away. Since I'm not going to be doing the formal anytime soon, and I could adjust to the latter I don't need them.

So fuck it.

I put the glasses inside of my letterman jacket-pillow, “Alright that’s enough fucking around,” I said as I slipped on my hiking boots which brought my arm’s condition to my attention. It was still blue and fuzzy, but now my fingertips felt…off, they felt stiff, as if they were asleep minus the pins and needles feeling.

Well, I planned on going to Canterlot to see Celestia anyway but I was going to wait until I had a sturdy base. It would seem that whatever I touched yesterday triggered some kind of spell that was...well I rather not think about it right now.

So yea, fuck making a base I guess.

Which means that I need to come up with a plan to get to Canterlot that doesn't cause a scene. Ponyville is my biggest obstacle right now. I'll be able to navigate through the forest if I knew which direction Ponyville was at or at the very least Canterlot. Once I was out of the forest if I could somehow bypass the skittish residents of Ponyville and Pinkie’s ‘Pinkie Sense’ then I'll be set.

“Alright then,” I said punching a fist into my hand, “Today chores are to locate a weapon of some sort, a map, and begin preparations to travel to Canterlot.” I gave nod before I added, “Without locating another artifact that will change my gender or something.”

After a hardy breakfast of wild berries and well water, I restarted my search for the needed items. I took my search slow as many of the hallways had collapsed due to age, or perhaps from battle.

It was better to be safe than sorry.

I had just entered a large room filled with tables and chairs that were rotten beyond use. Plates and other silverware were scattered around the floor. "This must be the mess hall," I muttered to myself, "Since I don't see an elevated area this must have been for the staff and other grunts."

My mused was disturbed by a chilled breeze that swept through the room. As my bones began to freeze I cursed at myself for leaving behind my jacket. Sure the days are warm but for some reason, the air inside the castle was cold and unforgiving.

It was as if the battle and banishment of Nightmare Moon had not only wounded Celestia but the castle as well.

The sound of fluttering reached my ears and I turned to see a banner that was barely attached to the to the window frame. I walked over and examined the window decoration to see that the colors had faded, but I could tell that the banner had once represented Luna’s dominion over the night sky. I pulled it down with ease and the bar that held the banner up came down with a crash that echoed down the hall.

On the banner, there was a crescent moon that was surrounded by star consolations. The dark night background had faded to a light grey, but surprisingly the moon and stars still shined brightly as if they had just been stitched on. The contrast was glaringly obvious, but it still worked together. Another cold breeze swept through the room and iced me to the bone. An idea struck me and I flourished the banner around my body. A few adjustments, and cursing, later I had made a cloak but I needed something to hold it together.

I looked around to see if I could scavenge something to use when I heard a crunch beneath my boots. I lifted my foot up and saw that I had stepped on a golden brooch. On closer inspection, I saw that it was the size of a large coin and had a stylized sun etched on it. I picked up the jewelry and flipped it over to examine the back which I found a small safety pin set up that you would see on those presidential elections button do-hickeys.

Lightbulb moment~

It took me a few more adjustments to my ‘cloak’, but by the time I was done the sun brooch rested on the front of my right shoulder and held everything together. I gave myself a pat on the back for a job well done. Next I looked at the pole that had held the banner up. The pole was made out of smooth and treated wood which could probably explain how it survived 1,000 years of decay…or you know magic.

Because why the fuck not.

Since you know fuck logic and reason right?

On one end of the pole, there was a small hook that held one end of the banner. The other end had no such device so I had to assume that it broke off some time ago, or when I pulled it down. I picked the pole up which stood just shy of six feet, or just a little past my head. The weight felt good and I gave it a few experimental swings before I gave a satisfied huff that it would handle the stress of daily use. While I wouldn’t be killing any Manticores or a pack Timber Wolfs with it I would at least have something to use.

With my walking stick in hand, I traveled down the hallway to continue my scavenger hunt.

Three days have passed since Celestia poofed into my house and the princess seemed to be settling in just fine. Saige isn’t exactly thrilled having a little girl cartoon character as a roommate but she wasn’t going to cause a fuss, and Mathew couldn’t really care less, but Mom on the other hand absolutely loves her. I'm not surprised since they are both similar in a way. Both of them have a motherly aura about them, and I found out that just like mom Celestia needs a shoulder to cry on.

I was making lunch for us one day when I heard a sob come from my room, I had given it to Celestia to use during her stay, and so I went inside to see what was wrong.

Inside I found Celestia curled up in a ball crying softly, her mane pink and deflated. This is just like what mom would do when she had a particularly bad day. Mom went through a lot back in the south and she put up with it for our sake. Sometimes it would be too much for her and she would explode at us before went to her room to cry her eyes out. During those times I would simply go to our parent’s room and give her a hug until she was better. There is not much a teenager could do. She, in turn, would always do the same for me when things got tough at school especially during that whole rumor nonsense.

So I went to comfort Celestia just like I would my mother when I heard her whimper out, “Oh Luna,” which gave me pause. She must be thinking about her sister that she had to banish to the moon. I’m not very good with words I prefer to let my actions speak for me, but for something like this would anything I do help? Is there anything I could say or do to make her feel better?

No, nothing could mask the pain of having to send your own flesh and blood into exile, but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t help her heal.

I made my way to the bed and slowly lowered myself on to it. “Princess,” I said softly.

Celestia stopped her shaking and ever so slowly lifted her head to look at me. The sight before me broke my heart. Celestia’s perfect alabaster fur was stained grey from her tears and the area around her eyes was red and puffy. She let out a sniffle and I placed a hand on her neck. Suddenly, I nearly had my eyes gouged by the Sun Princess’s horn as she slammed her head into my chest and her crying recommenced.

After checking to make sure I wasn’t going to lose an eye. I looked down to the crying princess. It’s odd to see this side of her. I mean I figured she always regretted having to send Luna to the moon, but the few times she was shown in the show she was always portrayed as invincible. Not small and helpless like she is now. It made her more human...more normal, real.

As she cried into my chest I simply wrapped my arms around and rested my head on top of hers, careful not to be skewered by her horn, while I whispered soft words of comfort into her ears.

I don’t know how long we stayed like this and honestly, I didn’t care, she needs this. When Celestia released whatever she had pent up in her. She moved her head into the crook of my neck. “Thank you,” she whispered.

With a chuckle, I answered, “Anytime.” There was a loud growling sound that came from the princess and I pulled my head back to looked at her with amusement. “Hungry?” I asked to her blushing face.

“Perhaps a little,” she said as she squirmed in place and I will admit it was kinda cute. Celestia looked at me before she bit her lower lip in nervousness. “Sorry about that,” she said with her hoof pointed at my shirt, which had become soaked from her tears.

I looked down and pulled at the drenched clothing. “Don’t worry about it. Let me change and I’ll whip something up for us.”

“There’s no need for you to do that,” Celestia said as she got up so that I could move.

“Well, I know you don’t wear clothes but I don’t like to cook naked,” I said going to my suitcase and pulled out a t-shirt. I heard Celestia snort behind me.

“I mean you don’t have to cook anything for me,” she said as her hoofs softly touched the carpet.

This time I snorted. “Who said was going to cook you anything? I was just going to give you a bag of carrots for you to munch on,” I said with a sly smile on my lips as I turned to look at her. I did this so that she knows that I don’t really mean what I said. I did warn Celestia that we tend to rib each other and that we have a strange sense of humor. Surprisingly not only could she take it, but dish it out too.

I'm surprised at myself really. I very rarely got along with other people, and I tend to avoid social interactions due to certain... incidents. Usually, it takes a long time for me to warm up to someone to the point that I’m like this around them. Maybe it because I know her from the show and I feel that I could be myself around her, or perhaps it’s because she not human so the anxieties that I have with people didn’t really apply with her. It could also be that Celestia’s aura is so calming in nature that it soothes me.

Celestia wiped her eyes clear and assumed her dignified stance. “I refused to be fed like a common animal,” she said her tone becoming that of royalty, “I would only accept my food to be served with the best tableware.”

I peeled off my shirt and tossed it at her head “Clean yourself up, Princess.” I said quickly as I slipped on my replacement shirt. My old shirt slammed into the back of my head. I let out a chuckle as I took it and balled it up before I threw it into the hamper to be washed later. I looked at Celestia who looked better. Her eyes were still a little puffy but at least the streaks of tears were gone. “Better princess?”

Celestia nodded as we exited my room together. “I am, thank you, Sean,” she said as she nuzzled my side.

“Don’t worry about it Princess Celestia,” I said with a wave to dismissed her appreciation.

“Please call me Celestia,” she said as she looked into my eyes.

I was silent for a moment as my mind worked, “Okay PC,” I said walking towards the kitchen.

“PC?” came the inquiring comment.

I spun around with a small smile on my face. Celestia had a mix of curiosity and caution on her muzzle. I waved a finger around like I was conducting a band, “Well yea, Princess Celestia, PC for short.” Celestia snorted as she strolled by me but not before she whacked my head with her wing.

"That's a stupid nickname," she commented.

"You're stupid, you retarded horse!"

That was the start of our friendship and it would continue to grow during her stay here.

"Hairless Monkey."

"Bitch."

I stood in my base camp with the salvage I collected during my search which wasn’t much. So far I collected an old saddle bag, some rope, a bow and a few arrows, a knife, two books, and last, but not least, a very old map.

During my search, I came across an armory of sorts for the guards. Inside I found all sorts of weapons and armor, but strangely everything that had not been crushed was still good as new. Honestly feel a bit unsettled by the preservation. It just seemed so...unnatural.

Not that I’m complaining of course.

With hope in my heart that I would find something of use, I searched the room. Somebody must have been looking out for me today. I found the bow in a case that kept it protected from the elements. The case was encrusted with jewels so that is why I believe it to be the property of Luna or at the very least someone high up in the guard.

Next, I found where they kept the arrows but all of the regular arrows were destroyed. A few elite guard arrows looked usable so I took them. After that, I placed them next to the bow and continued my search. I came across a small cross-shaped knife had a little rust on the hilt. The grip was nothing more than polished wood, and against my better judgment, I put the knife with the rest of the salvage. Another sweep and I couldn’t find anything that I could use right at this moment. So I left the room and used my newly acquired knifed and marked the door with an X.

I then came across the library, which was thankfully close to my campsite, where I found the map and two books. One of the books depicted the history of Equestria while the other was written in some gibberish, well they were both written in gibberish. My stupidity must have been flaring up again because I brought them with me.

Currently, I was trying to get the saddlebags to work so that I could use them, but I wasn’t having much success. If I knew some sewing I could pull out the leather…uh…string?

String it is like rope only less MANLY!

*Cough* right, I don’t know the name for them but they held the pieces together.

Whatever.

I put the bag aside and brought the map over and carefully unrolled it.

The map was defiantly outdated as Ponyville is no were in sight, and according to Celestia Ponyville has been around for a while. Fortunately, I remember the general layout of Equestria so I was able to find the mountain that Canterlot used as its base. After studying the map I found that if I could just find the river and follow it to the north I should be able to find Canterlot.

Plan A: Find Ponyville, if its there, and follow the train tracks which will lead me straight to the city. The drawback on that though will be the lack of food and water going this way, but if I can stock up in or around Ponyville I should be fine for a day or so. It wasn’t really specified in the show how long it takes to reach Canterlot via train or they did and it was in one of the episodes that I missed.

Plan B: Follow the river all the way to the city and pray I don’t have to rumble with any of the wildlife, but at least I’ll have water.

“Alrighty then,” I exhaled as I rolled up the map and placed it to the side. I stood up and picked up the recurved bow that had once belonged to Princess Luna herself, or one of her guards. I figure that because of the dark blue color and the stars painted on the main body with crescent moons attached to the ends. The arrows that I managed to scrounge up belonged to both the Sun and Moon Guards.

The arrows that belonged to Celestia’s personal guards had a yellow-orange shaft with yellow tear shaped arrowheads. The fletching was made out of very soft feathers, but I couldn’t tell from what. The animal that it came from had the cleanest white feathers I have ever seen. These arrows looked friendly and kind. Of course, the person on the receiving end would think otherwise.

In contrast, Luna’s personal guard arrows were black as death and the arrowheads were triangular with jagged sides. Simple in look, but deadly in action. It seems like Luna was the warrior of the two. The jagged edges acted like barbs so that even if you survived long enough to get medical treatment. It would be extremely painful to remove. Seeing these in action would most likely erode at the moral of the enemy soldiers.

In total, I managed to recover two quivers of the Solar or Sun Guard arrows, which had fifteen per quiver, and half a quiver of the Lunar or Moon Guard arrows. So I had roughly thirty-seven arrows. I would save the Lunar Arrows for an emergency since there were so few of them. I did grab two arrows from my stash and one quiver of the Solar Arrows as I headed outside to practice. It had been a few years since I earned my Archery Merit Badge at summer camp, but it shouldn’t be too difficult for me to pick back up.

Once outside I began to set up a shooting range which took an hour or so. It was an old storage building wall that I leaned against the castle walls. Next to the wall, I rolled an old tree trunk with the help of my new walking stick before I broke off the branches for firewood. After that, I sat down and had a small lunch. As I finished off my berries I decided that before I head off into the forest I should find an alternative food source like fish or something.

Then a howl of a wolf echoed from the forest.

…and that’s not doing for my nerves at all. I should have enough food to last me another day or more if I really stretched it out. Perhaps I could go into the forest...

Another howl came from the forest.

…tomorrow.

Yep, tomorrow besides I need to practice, and maybe there was more berries or something around the castle I could use instead.

Well, as long as the targets aren’t too far away and move slowly I should be fine.

Fun fact: my converted left arm lessens the pain from the bowstring when it releases.

Go furry arms!

Fun Fact 2: ONLY USE LUNAR ARROWS WITH MOONBOW IF YOU WANT TO FUCK SHIT UP!!!!!

Learned the second one when I blew up my firing range. I should have stopped when I notched the Lunar Arrow and the damn thing lit up like the Fourth of July. BUT NO! My dumbass self-thought ‘eh why not’ and I fired away resulting in the burning remains of my ghetto target range in front of me.

With a tired sigh, I began to curse at myself for my stupidity. I glanced up to the sky and saw that the sun had begun to set. Hues of pink and orange were painted across the sky.

"You sure know how to make a sunset beautiful, Celestia," I said to myself as splashes of purple began to dance with the oranges. My heart beat a little faster as my thoughts drifted to the princess.

Celestia...I'm coming.

“Well I need to head inside anyway if I want a decent start tomorrow I need to head to bed early,” I spoke to myself as I gathered the bow and arrows. With a quick glance, I found that there was nothing left of the arrows I shot. I let out an angry huff and kicked one of the burned beams. Steel toes rock!

Another sigh pushed past my lips as I made my way inside. That is when I noticed a tree in the distance. With a squinted eyes I saw a few red things hidden within the green leaves. Curiously I made my way towards the tree, and as I got closer the red objects became clearer and took a more defined look. A familiar look of a well-known fruit.

“HOLY SHIT! IT'S APPLES!” I yelled as I ran towards the apple tree, but as I got closer I slowed down to a halt. One glaring obvious fact came to my mind as I stood in front of the tree with my head looking up.

“How in the world am I going to get them,” I said as I came to realize that I can’t climb trees despite the fact that I was born in the year of the monkey. As if to taunt me, a breeze whisk by and moved the apples from side to side. I can almost hear them now.

‘Eat me, Eat me, oh, that’s right you can’t because you suck.’

I growled at the fruits, which for some reason sounded like the youtuber Wildcat, before I remembered about my walking stick. With a predatory like grin on my face, I ran back to camp and brought my stick to the apple tree. Laughing, I took the hook end of my walking stick and reached towards the nearest apple. “We’ll see who laughing now,” I said as I hooked the apple’s stem and pulled….

Only for the hook to break off.

‘HAHAHA YOU RETARDED DUMBASS!!’I grounded my teeth together and I was about to launch a massive counter retort when I realized that I was about to have a fight with a piece of food. With a facepalm, I took a deep breath and looked back at the apple tree. Now that my mind is calm and not raptured with excitement I was able to study the tree more closely. I saw that there was a branch that I might be able to reach if I had a running start.

So I backed up a few feet away from the tree and took a deep breath to calm my nerves before I ran forward. My boots made contact with the tree’s trunk ripping off chunks of the bark and I hurriedly ran up with my arms flailing towards the branch. First time I missed by a hair breath and I hit the ground hard, and on my shoulder. Sucking breath to prevent myself from crying out I laid there waiting for the pain to pass taking time to watch the sky slowly morph into darker purples.

I flicked a glare at the apple tree before I stood up and walked away from it. When I was a good distance away I spun around on the ball of my foot and ran full tilt at the tree yelling, “LEROY JENKINS!!” When I jumped up “ORHA ORHAORHA ORAH!” I screamed as I climbed I stretched my arms as far as I could to the branch and I latched on.

“YES!” I cried out as I basked in my victory...

...only for me to swing forward and the bark of the branch broke causing me to lose my grip and fall to the ground. My landing was hard and painful on my back.

This time I did cry out in pain as the air escaped out of my chest. When I was able to breathe properly I rolled over and growled glared at the tree. I gave the trunk a mighty kick to vent my anger which only caused my foot to start to hurt. “Fucking tree,” I muttered before something clonk me on the head.

“WHAT THE FUCK NOW!!!” I roared as I punched the ground before I looked around to see what hit me while rubbed where I was hit. Relief swept through me as I didn’t feel anything wet which meant that I was not bleeding. My relief turned to ‘I’ma gonna kill a bitch’ when I spotted a red apple a few inches from me.

Looking around I saw that all the apples that the tree had littered the ground. I turned my head down and took a deep breath to calm my rage. “Okay, just relax take the apples and go back inside and let’s just pretend that I hit the trunk first and the apples fell down like they do in the show.” I collected the apples and placed them in my cloak-made basket before I headed back to my base camp.

Later that night I sat around the fire chewing on the dental gum that I had stuff in my jacket. I already felt the cancer-producing chemical giving me a small headache. I had just finished packing for the trip tomorrow and now I was just mulling thoughts in my head.

Since I found the apples I decided to just go the whole way to Canterlot. I mean why wait? The more time I wait the higher the risk that something will happen to me. Another thing I want to avoid is ripples. Ripples in the cannon that is. I’m sure that me just being here has already disturbed the flow, but I rather keep them to a minimum. If I can do that then hopefully any damaged could easily be fixed. The last thing I need is a Zagreus terrorizing Equestria or the multiverse.

So I need to get to Canterlot as soon as possible. The biggest concern is how to get inside the castle once I’m there. I just can’t walk right through the front gates and ask to meet the princess.

Can I?

No, they most likely run me off or worse kill me.

But do they kill? If this is the same as the version I saw on the show than I shouldn’t have to worry about being killed, but~ the ripples. Unless this is an alternative Equestria that isn't squeamish and/or is more human-like.

This could be an...M rated Equestria.

With a shake of my head, I pushed those thoughts away. That is irrelevant, it doesn't change the fact that I had to get to Canterlot and into the castle.

I could always try and climb the wall.

Right, because I did so well with the apple tree. Dumbass.

Yes, well let’s see what happens between here and there. I can make all the plans as I want but it will pointless if I don’t get to Canterlot first.

I stomp my boots on the stone ground to clean the dirt off. I took them off and set them to the side just as I laid down on my bed. I spat my gum into the fire before I closed my eyes and lulled myself to sleep. My mind drifted home to where my family was at. Were they worried? Did they think I died?

Of course not you dumbass! They saw what happen.

You what's funny, when I was on Earth I would spend so much time dreaming and imagining myself in other universes, and yet here I am. Actually living in one of those universes and yet I dream of home.

It’s a shame really. I really want to stay and live here, to live a different life than I what I had, but I have other responsibilities back home.

And I can't forget my family.

The next morning brought a slight chill to the air and it served as a wakeup call for me. I contemplated whether or not I should restart the fire and go back to sleep, but after seeing the sun slowly rise I decided not to. Instead, I had a quick breakfast of an apple and a few mouthfuls of water.

I took a deep breath as I tied the sleeves of my letterman jacket around my waist and then donned on my cloak. My boots came next and once I put them on I doubled tied them and made sure that they were tightened. Lastly came my walking stick and saddle bag which I decided to sling over my shoulder.

I couldn’t do anything to the saddle bag to make it easy to carry without compromising it, but I still needed it to carry my supplies so all I did what I could. The bag was carrying all the apples that I could fit along with the map. Unfortunately, I didn’t have anything to hold water so I would have to do without until I got to the river. I slammed my walking stick down and the entire room echoed with a solid clang.

“Time to go then,” I said as I took my first step. The voice of Bilbo echoed in my head.