Clouds of smoke and steam filled the air as the Friendship Express raced down the tracks, bound for the station just outside of the Crystal Empire. In the third car from the engine, Nathan leaned back and laid his head against the window ledge as he stretched his legs over onto the seat on the other side of the passenger car. As he did, a slight pain in the back of his head would constantly make him sit back up in order to relieve the pressure. Once the pain went away, he leaned back and closed his eyes to try and get some sleep until he felt something tap him on his leg.

"Umm.... Nathan?" Fluttershy said while holding a pillow under one of her wings. "I uh... couldn't help but notice you rubbing the back of your head as though it was hurting you to lean back. So I brought you this pillow so your head could be in a comfier spot."

"Thank you, Fluttershy." Nathan kindly replied before reaching out to grab the pillow. "My head was starting to get a little sore from being pressed against that ledge." He then placed the pillow into position against the wall and leaned back again, gently pressing his head into the pillow. "This feels much better." He quietly said, making the pegasus smile.

"I'm glad to hear that." She said. "I've also been wondering how you've been since Pinkie's party. I was over by your machine earlier, but saw you were still sleeping despite it almost being noon."

Nathan quietly chuckled at what she said. "I've been doing fine." He replied. "I think my body is just trying to catch up on some deprived sleep that was the result of Discord's dreams." Another yawn passed between his lips after he finished talking. After that, he could hear the sounds of multiple ponies snoring softly. "Take it the others are napping as well?"

Fluttershy simply nodded her head in response. "Yes. Don't feel bad when I say this. But I think they were all so excited when you first arrived that they didn't get much sleep."

Despite being told that, the human still sighed a little in response. "And what about you?" He asked. "Did you have trouble sleeping too?"

"Well, a little bit." She replied. "But that was because I was afraid that you wouldn't have been friendly and would've started attacking us as soon as you woke up."

"Fluttershy..." He said before reaching out to run his hand through the pegasus' mane. "I promise that I will never attack anyone or anypony unless they attack me or my friends first." This made another smile form on the pegasus' face. "Its always been a code of mine back home. And seeing as now Equestria is my home, and you guys are my friends, that covers ya'll too."

"That's good to hear." She softly replied before Nathan yawned again. "I think I'll let you try and get some sleep now." She said. "Sweet dreams."

"Same to you." Nathan replied before watching the pegasus return to her seat. He then leaned back into his newly acquired pillow and went back to staring up at the ceiling of the passenger car. His eyelids started feeling heavy as the gentle rocking of the car slowly helped send him onto the path to dream land.

The afternoon sun shined bright in the clear blue sky over the town of Victorville as Nathan sat beside the tracks in a lawn chair underneath a red parasol umbrella. He leaned back and took a sip of his ice cold root beer, taking in the beauty that was his former home, until he began to hear footsteps coming up behind him.

"Greetings Nathan Bridgeport." A voice said, making the human turn around to find one of the alicorn Princesses that he had met before now walking up to him. "How are you doing on this fine night?"

"Oh uh...." He stammered, stunned by this unexpected visitor. "I'm doing pretty good, I guess." The dark blue alicorn stopped beside the human and looked around. "You're uhh... Luna, right?"

"Correct." Luna replied.

"And uhh... how are you in my dream?"

"It is part of my duties as Princess of the night to watch over my subjects as they dream." She replied. "And seeing as how you are now living in Equestria, I felt that it was right to come by and talk to you."

"I see." Nathan replied. He watched as Luna kept looking around at the surroundings.

"I take it that this is the world you came from." She said while gazing at some of the nearby houses.

"Yep." Nathan replied. "Just because I can't physically go back in the real world doesn't mean I can't dream about it."

"I see." Luna replied before sitting down next to his chair while still looking around. "I've seen many interpretations of new worlds from the dreams of my subjects. But to see one that is actually real is just breathtaking." Just as she finished her sentence, the sound of an oncoming freight train's horn echoed in the distance. "What, pray tell, was that noise?"

"Well..." He began to reply as he stretched his arms and legs out. "Soon, you'll see what I used to do in this world." This made Luna look toward the direction that the sound was coming from as not even 10 seconds later, a tanker train raced by.

"This is what you used to do?!" Luna yelled over the sound of the train.

"Yeah!" Nathan yelled back. "I'd drive these things at least three times a week across the desert!" After saying that, the two sat back and watched until the train completely passed by. Once it quieted down, Nathan saw the amazed expression on the alicorn's face. "Pretty cool, don't you think?" He asked before taking another sip of his root beer.

"I've... never seen anything that big... move so quickly..." She replied. "And that machine of yours can do that as well?"

"Pretty much."

"Fascinating." She replied before clearing her throat. "So. Are you adjusting well to your new life?"

"I guess." He replied. "It's gonna take a while to get used to this."

"How so?"

"Well..." Nathan said. "First I still need to get a house. Also, tell Princess Celestia that I am extremely grateful for her generosity in offering to purchase a home for me."

Luna smiled when she heard that. "I'll be sure to tell her that." She said.

"But besides my diesel and a few other things, I don't have a bed or anything else." Nathan continued. "All my stuff is back on Earth and even if I was back there, I wouldn't be able to retrieve it because of Discord's magic."

"Hmm..." She said while placing a hoof to her muzzle. This made the human look at her with a confused expression.

"What." He said. "Do you know of a way that I can get my belongings?"

"I'd have to look through a few books that come to mind." She replied. "But I may be able to help you with that."

"You're serious?" He exclaimed. "I'd be able to bring my things here?" As soon as Luna tried to reply though, the ground beneath them began to shake more so than when the train passed by. "What's going on?!" He called out as the vibrations made him fall out of his chair.

"Come on Nathan..." Twilight's voice echoed across the land. "Time to get up."

"It would seem that your slumber must come to an end for now." Luna said before she took to the sky. "Until next time, Nathan Bridgeport!"

"Come on sleepy head." Twilight playfully said as she nudged Nathan's leg. "Lets get going."

"5 more minutes..." He groaned before rolling over onto his stomach, making the others around him giggle.

"Come on, sugarcube." Applejack said. "Up and at em." The human groaned again but slowly rose up to a seated position. He then stretched his arms out, making a few cracking sounds in the process as well.

"Are we there already?" He asked as he rubbed his eyes before yawning.

"Yes." Twilight replied. "Just take a look out your window." Nathan did as instructed and as soon as his eyes caught sight of the kingdom in front of him, his jaw dropped in surprise.

"Woah...." He said in an amazed tone. "I've never seen anything like this in my entire life."

"It is beautiful, isn't it?" Rarity asked as she joined the human in looking out the window. "I always do enjoy coming here."

"Breathtaking is more like it." He replied before standing up to follow the rest of the ponies as they disembarked. As soon as Nathan stepped foot onto the platform, he instantly froze in place as his eyes focused on a pony that seemed to be made of crystal. "Uhh... Twilight?"

"Yes?"

"When you said that everything here was made of crystal, I didn't think you meant everything." He said while gesturing towards the crystal pony who was now looking confused by what she was overhearing.

"Well what did you expect in a place called the Crystal Empire?" She asked in her playful tone as the others started giggling again.

"Good point." He replied before following the others as they began walking towards the city. Along the way, Twilight would always catch Nathan as he stopped to stare at the crystal ponies. Sometimes they would do the same when looking at him. A quick throat clearing though would always bring him out of his self-induced trance though with slightly redder cheeks.

As the group approached the castle, the human could see a group of guards standing in front of the main doors.

"Your highness." One of them said as he stepped forward and bowed, making the others behind him to do the same. "It is good to see you here."

"Thank you." She replied. "But the bowing isn't necessary." The lead guard stood back up and immediately looked at the human.

"I take it that this is the peaceful creature that Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor were talking about?"

"Yes." She replied before pointing her hoof at the human. "Allow me to introduce you to Equestria's first human inhabitant, Nathan Bridgeport."

"Sup?" Nathan asked before extending his hand out. The guard looked at him with an extremely confused look on his face before looking back towards Twilight.

"A rather... unique creature to say the least." He replied before turning around. "Now if you all will follow me. I will lead you to the detention chambers where the trespasser is being held." He then used his magic to open the doors and stepped inside, followed closely by Twilight and the others before the remaining guards closed the door behind them.

"So how long has this former student of Celestia been here?" Twilight asked.

"Since last night." A voice called out, causing the group to turn to see Princess Cadance and Shining Armor walking towards them. "According to the guards, she showed up while we were in Ponyville with you guys."

"I see." The purple alicorn replied. "And what was she doing here?"

"We don't quite know yet." Shining replied. "She's remained silent when we interrogated her. Princess Celestia thought maybe you'd be able to get her to speak."

"All I can do is try." She replied as Shining now led the group down a hallway toward a door made of iron bars which led to another hallway. When Twilight stepped in, the first thing she saw was her old teacher. "Princess Celestia." She said as she eagerly went over to be next to her. "We came here as soon as I got your message."

"It is good to see you." Celestia replied before looking at her friends and the human. "And I'm glad you all could join her as well. I wish this was a more joyous occasion though."

"So who in the hay is this former student of yours?" Applejack asked.

"Her name is Sunset Shimmer." She replied. "A former student of mine who began her studies with me not long before Twilight." The white alicorn began to walk down the hall, making the others follow as she continued to speak. "She was once a great student, learning magical spells faster than anypony I had ever seen. But one day, I decided to show her something. A mirror that would allow you to see into your future. I don't know what it is that she saw, but ever since then, she would not let it go." This made Twilight raise an eyebrow as another door came into view. "It wasn't until I caught her in a room that contained forbidden spells and dark magic that I finally saw that she would never be ready for the next level of her studies. I had no other choice but to remove her as my pupil."

"So this Sunset Shimmer could be just as talented as Twilight?" Rainbow asked as she hovered next to the human.

"Yes." Celestia replied before stopping in front of the door. "But after I had sent her away, I found that she had knocked the guards who were escorting her out of the castle unconscious. They had said that she disappeared into the mirror. Ever since then, I had always kept a close watch over it, in case that she would someday return to Equestria to seek my guidance." Twilight looked inside to see a unicorn mare with gold colored fur and a fire colored mane sitting inside. Looking closer, she saw a silver ring was placed on her horn.

"Why would you need a magical inhibitor ring?" Twilight asked. "Is she a threat to Equestria?"

"The guards placed it on her because she kept using her magic to teleport away whenever she found herself cornered." Shining replied. He then levitated a set of keys off of a nearby hook and placed one into the lock on the door. "Be careful, little sis." He said before turning the key and began to open the door. Twilight looked back to her friends and each one gave her a smile. She then looked up at Nathan, who gave her a smile as well.

After Shining Armor opened the door, he stepped aside, allowing his sister and Celestia to step inside. Sunset looked up when she heard the noise of hooves stepping inside her cell. Once her turquoise colored eyes caught sight of her old teacher, a look of anger appeared on her face before she looked at the young purple alicorn next to her.

"Hello... Sunset Shimmer." Twilight said in a hesitant tone. "My name is-"

"No need for introductions, Sparkle." Sunset interrupted in a defiant voice, making Twilight take a step back. "I know exactly who you are."

"H-how do you know my name?" Twilight asked, now beginning to shake a little. "I-I know very little about you."

"I'm afraid that I'm the reason for that." Celestia replied before draping a wing over the frightened alicorn, which seemed to calm her down. Her horn then lit up and soon, two books appeared in an aura of bright yellow magic. One book had a symbol that was similar to her cutie mark while the other had a symbol that looked like Sunset's. "With these two books, I was able to keep Sunset up to date with all that has been going on here in Equestria so that if she came back, it would've been easier for her to readjust."

"But that doesn't explain why she's locked up." Twilight said.

"I think I can help with that." Shining said as he stepped into the cell, holding an object in his purple magic. "We found this in the satchel that she was wearing when she was apprehended." As soon as he said that though, the sound of Sunset quietly chuckling made him look at her. "And what exactly is so funny?"

"Oh nothing." The restrained unicorn said. "I'm just so sure that you must be proud of the fact that it took an entire squadron of your guards to hunt down and capture a single mare."

"Hey!" Twilight objected. "You don't talk to my brother like that!"

"And what exactly are you going to do about it?" She asked before turning to look at her. "I know you won't attack me while this ring is on my horn. And I'm sure you know that the moment it comes off, I'll just be gone in a flash of magic." As the two stared at each other, Princess Celestia took a close look at what Shining had in his magic. It appeared to be a cheap knockoff version of the crown of Equestria's newest Princess.

"What exactly were you planning on doing with this?" She asked as she took hold of the crown with her magic.

"What difference does it make if I tell you or not?" Sunset replied. "The mirror portal is likely closed off by now, leaving me stuck here. So the plan I had has already failed." She then chuckled to herself a little. "I do need to say this though." She said before looking back at Celestia. "I wasn't expecting you to tell me about an upcoming Princess Summit only for me to show up and find no one except a bunch of guards. Didn't think you had it in you to lie."

"I would never do such a thing, Sunset. And you know it." Celestia replied, a bit of anger could be heard in her voice before she let a sigh escape her lips. "We just had an abrupt change in plans."

"Really." Sunset said in a sarcastic tone. "What could be so important that it would change the schedule of the four alicorn Princesses of Equestria?"

"Funny you should ask." Twilight replied. "Because the reason is standing just outside this cell as we speak."

"Oh please." She said while rolling your eyes. "I highly doubt your friends are the reason."

"Hey!" Rainbow's voice called out from outside the cell.

Twilight cleared her throat a little before turning to look at the door. "Nathan." She said. "Could you come in here for a moment, please?" She looked back towards Sunset who raised an eyebrow as the sound of footsteps drawing close echoed in the small room.

"What did you need, Twi?" Nathan asked as he stepped into the doorway of the cell. But all Twilight did was point her hoof at him while looking at the restrained unicorn. Nathan then looked at turquoise eyes of the unicorn as they widened in shock at what they were seeing.

"H-how in Equestria is there a h-human here?" Sunset stuttered, making Twilight's and Celestia's eyes instantly widen as well.

"You know what he is?" The young alicorn asked.

"Of course." Sunset replied, but in a different tone now. "After all, I was in a similar form in the world beyond the mirror portal."

"Wait." Nathan said. "You used to be a human?"

"Yeah." She replied. "But I don't really feel like talking anymore!" After saying that, she lowered her head until she was looking at the floor. This made everyone in the room look at eachother before looking at the now silent unicorn. Before he looked away though, Nathan watched a tear drip off of Sunset's face before it hit the floor. He proceeded to step out, allowing Twilight, Celestia, and Shining Armor to walk out before a guard used his magic to close the door.

"Well...." Celestia said. "I wasn't really expecting this."

"Me neither." Twilight added. "It's like as soon as she saw Nathan, her whole mood changed from being defiant to being sad. Almost as if she was reminded of her old... world." Twilight then looked at the human as he was looking back at the cell.

"I'll be sure to have a team of guards watching over her cell." Shining said. "I'll write to you if anything comes up with her."

"That is fine." Celestia replied before letting another sigh out. "Sunset wasn't always like this. She was once a model student who excelled in anything she set her mind to. I'd give anything to see her like that again." She proceeded to start walking towards the door leading out of the hallway. "I suppose I must be on my way back to Canterlot."

"You can ride with us if you like, Princess." Twilight said. "We were heading there for Nathan's tests with the scientists." Celestia replied with a simple nod before everyone began walking to the door. As he allowed the others to leave before he did, Nathan turned to look back at the cell where Sunset was still in. But before he stepped out, he could hear faint sounds of crying and sniffling coming from where she was.

"I don't know why." He thought as he turned to walk out. "But I have a feeling that I'll be seeing that unicorn again sooner rather than later."