Again, the exhilarating feeling of being instantly ripped apart into tiny molecules (if that doesn’t sound painful) consumed me as we were on our way the magical land of Twilight Sparkle’s kind. This trip lasted a bit longer than I expected, but I assume it was because we were going much further than just a few towns away in the same universe. Just like last time, everything around me was black and silent, save for a vague image of what looked like a giant tree with a door, windows, and a balcony on it. This trip lasted for what felt like an hour before we finally arrived.

“At last! Home sweet… Um, what are you doing?” Twilight asked with contempt as she looked at me and saw me hunched over on the ground, ducking for cover.

“I ain’t tryna run into no more doors again!” I cautiously responded.

“Well, you can relax now, because we’re here. As you can see, this trip didn’t need you to do any running.” She had me there. I lifted my head to see a most colorful landscape. Everything was so… vibrant and incredibly flamboyant. I looked around and spotted a town in the distance that looked like a typical medieval village, but as it seemed, everyone I could see was some sort of horse, pegasus, or unicorn with a coat color totally unnatural to a horse in my world. In addition, their eyes were so big and shiny, with irises of colors I’d never thought to have been possible; even for a human being. I also saw that each of them had some sort of tattoo adorned on their rears, every one of them unique in that they were pictures of seemingly random things. I thought back to what Twilight said about “super special talents,” and was quickly able to figure out what they meant.

“Are you going to keep gawking into space, or are you going to come in?” Twilight asked impatiently from her door, snapping me out of my trance.

“Oh! Uh… coming!” I replied as I got up to follow the unicorn into what I assumed was her home. Of course, seeing as Twilight was a bit smaller than I am, so were quite a few things in this new place. I barely fit through the door, being forced to duck low as I entered. I was relieved to see that the inside of this tree-house thing was at least a little bit roomier than the doorway, but what I saw shocked me; the place looked like a sort of library, but if the library was also a home for the owner. Given that we were inside of a large tree, most, if not all of the furniture was made of wood.

“Sooo… This is my home,” Twilight began.

“I figured that,” I said. “You sure wasn’t lyin’ when you said you was a studious mare… This is a LOTTA books to keep in your house…”

“That’s partly because my house also serves as the town library.”

“Ohh… so I assume you’re the librarian here?”

“Yes, technically. But my real job is to research and study the magic known as friendship. This place serves as sort of a base of operations.”

“Twilight? You’re back! Finally!” I heard a voice call from the top of a staircase. What I saw running down those stairs confused the hell out of me. A big purple-and-green lizard with green eyes and a green Mohawk-styled set of scales trailing over the center of his head that led down to the end of his tail, as well as some green scales of a similar design on the sides of his head. He walked upright on two legs, and had the voice of a 10-year-old human boy. “Uhh… I see you brought company…” He said, giving me an unsure look that basically conveyed he had no idea what he was looking at.

“Good morning, Spike!” Twilight happily greeted the lizard. “I’ve brought a visitor from another land far beyond the reaches of Equestria. He showed me around his world while I was gone, and now it’s my turn to show him around ours! Go ahead and introduce yourself!”

“Okay… uh… Hi. I’m Spike. I’m... a dragon. I’m also Twilight’s #1 Assistant,” Spike timidly said, approaching me with extreme caution.

“Wassup? I’m Tyshawn,” I replied nonchalantly with a nod as I kneeled down to offer him a handshake. His… claw, I guess I should call it, was hardly bigger than a kitten’s paw, so I just used my thumb and index finger to shake his claw with.

“Nice to meet you,” he said, seemingly over his nerves.

“Likewise.” He turned to Twilight with a look of confusion on his face.

“So... What… is he??” he asked.

“He’s what is known as a ‘human’ in his world. Where he comes from, his species is the ruling kind, just like ponies are here. His world is wildly different from ours, but strikingly similar at the same time.” Twilight answered as if she were teaching a class.

"Yyeah, you lost me," Spike remarked, seeming only more confused than he already was. "What do you mean by 'his' world? I get that he might not be an Equestria native, but you sound like you went to a whole different planet or something..." Twilight merely smirked at the dragon's inquiry.

"Funny you should mention that. You see, I actually DID wind up going to a different planet of sorts instead of a different city when I used that spell the other day... Though I think 'planet' would be a bit of an understatement in this context."

“Uh-huh…” the dragon child(?) murmured in perplexity as he took a good look at me. “You’re huge!"

"So I've heard..." I curtly replied.

"How do you expect to go walking around Ponyville without anypony panicking and thinking that you’re some sort of monster?” He asked, bringing up a VERY valid point of concern.

“…Y’know, tha’ss a good point…” I answered. “Hey Twilight, how am I supposed to blend in here?”

“Hmm… You’re much too big to fit into any saddlebag…” She began to ponder. I chuckled a little at her saddlebag thought. The unicorn went silent as she thought for a minute. "Maybe you could um... pretend to be my pet... monkey?" at that, I shot her an incredulous look.

"You mus' be out'cho damn mind..."

"Yea, that ain't gonna fly," I refused.

"Why not?"

"One, I don't have a tail. Two, I ain't no animal tha'ss gonna be paraded around town. I got too much pride for that."

"Oh, but you making me pretend to be a DOG wasn't degrading for me?" she shot back.

"...Touché, Twilight... But I still ain't doin' it."

"Fine. But if that won't be the case, then we HAVE to do something with you so you can blend in..."

"Ooh! I've got an idea!" Spike suggested.

"Yeees?" Twilight urged, intent on hearing him out.

"What if... um... What if you used a size-reduction spell on him? You could shrink him down to the size of a hoof and hide him in your mane. Or a saddlebag."

"Hmm... That SOUNDS plausible... but I'm not sure I've fully worked out the kinks of the size-reduction spell just yet... I think it'd be a bit risky to try right now, too..."

"Yea, an' I'd rather be within her line o' sight so she doesn't accidentally crush me or somethin'..."

"Also a good point," Twilight agreed before we went back to the drawing board. The three of us pondered for a few minutes before one of us came up with an idea...

“If hiding you isn’t an option, and neither are pretending to be an exotic animal or shrinking you, then…" Her eyes went wide in realization as she gasped in noticeable excitement, casting her gaze toward space for a brief second. "OOH! Spike!" The unicorn beckoned her... pet dragon, I guess, pointing towards one of the many bookshelves with her hoof. "Hand me that copy of—!”

“Anthology of Anatomy, coming right up,” Spike finished excitedly, already on his way to retrieve the oh-so-convenient book Twilight was about to ask for. He quickly found it and handed it to Twilight. She levitated the book towards her with her magic as she opened it to a seemingly random page.

“Now let’s see here… Ponies... Stallions. Here we go,” Twilight mumbled as she read.

“What…? Why would…?” I mumbled. A sudden idea had hit me as for why Twilight needed that book. I was skeptical, so I brushed the thought away with a “No way…”

“Mm-hmm… Mm-hmm… Okay! Spike, please get me the copy of ‘Magic Guidelines and Guiles Volume Two, Sixth Edition',” Twilight requested.

“…Wait, WHAT???” I asked in total disbelief as the idea I’d ignored was now the only thought in my head. “You don’t SERIOUSLY PLAN ON—!?”

“…Attempting to turn you into a pony, yes,” Spike finished matter-of-factly as he fetched another book from a shelf and handed it to the unicorn. Again, she magically flipped to a seemingly random page and carefully read the contents. I was so scared out of my mind of what could possibly happen with something as outlandish as being magically transformed into an animal from a completely different universe that I was trembling.

“…Hold on! Is this safe?? I-is it gonna hurt?? W-w-will I be stuck that way??” I asked in rapid succession, overcome with terror.

“Yes, it’s safe… I think. No, it won’t hurt… well, maybe a little. And no. It says here that this spell is temporary and that you’ll be a pony for a maximum of one week, or until any point during that time you’d want me to change you back.”

“You are DEFINITELY convincin’ me…” I quipped, trying to build a shield of sarcasm.

“Well… to be perfectly honest with you, Ty… this is the first time I’m trying anything like this… You should consider yourself lucky! The first thing you get to do here is become a test subject for an experiment of mine!” Twilight said with excitement, trying to cheer me up, seeming to ignore my obvious fear of such a procedure.

“You and your experiments,” I shot back. “Remember the first experiment you tried on me? Y’know, the one that made me get into that losin’ fight with my door?”

“Relax! At the very least, you know it worked!” She yelled. “Besides, the second experimental spell, the one I used to heal your injuries from said ‘fight’, worked like a charm! Now stop being such a foal and let me try this!”

"Heh, y'know, I-I think I'd rather uhm... go with the 'pretend t' be a monkey' idea, huh? I mean, er... I-it might be degradin', but at least we'll be sure it won't hurt..."

"...anything but my pride, that is..."

"Sorry, dude," Spike apologized. "Once Twilight gets into her mad scientist mode, it's VERY hard to pull her out of it. Trust me, I know. I've lived with her for as long as I remember."

"Really? Oh..." My heart sank. I did NOT want to be a lab rat... not so soon... not like THIS! "Hey I've got it! Why don't you... use Spike here as a test subject first!"

"Hey, don't try throwing ME under the carriage!" he complained. "It's YOU who needs the disguise, not me."

"Yea, but... what about you? You're a--!"

"Nice try, but I'M widely accepted in the pony community despite being a dragon," he countered, already knowing what I was about to argue with. "Now toughen up! You seem big enough to handle a measly little spell..."

“…I don’t suppose there’s any changin’ your mind on this, then, huh?” I asked the inspired lavender mare.

“To be blunt, Ty… nope! This is an opportunity I just CAN'T afford to pass up! Now let’s get this started,” the unicorn commanded as she set the book down and charged up her horn.

“Whoa, wait! Ain’t there some kinda prec—!” I tried to spit out, but I was interrupted by an impact from a magenta-colored beam of energy. I levitated into the air as my arms and legs were forced to be straightened out…

Now, to say that this spell hurt would be a SEVERE understatement. You ever have one of those times where every bone, organ, and muscle in your body was slowly contorted, separated, and reformed into the shape of another animal? No? Good for you, because what I am about to say here will likely sound pretty graphic…

“AAAAAAAAAGH!” I shouted intense agony as my limbs were the first to undergo the transformation. I felt my hands and feet curl up and seemingly disappear into my wrists and ankles, respectively. Next, the nubs where my hands and feet used to be were stretched out to form large, flat circles that hardened on the surfaces. Next, my arms and legs stretched out in separate directions on their own and with a series of eardrum-shattering *SNAPS* and *POPS*, were detached and twisted in varying, indiscernible directions at each connection point. This was by far, the worst of it. Thankfully, this horrible pain subsided as quickly as it started, as my limbs felt like they’d healed completely in just a few seconds after they were reset. I'm guessing that was because they went numb...

“Uhh, Twilight… he seems to be in a LOT of pain… You sure this will work?” I heard Spike ask with concern.

“I’m positive that this will work,” Twilight replied. “I just never thought that the spell would cause this much pain…” she finished with a guilty tone.

The next thing I’d felt was my insides shifting around in my body. Every muscle, every organ, and every bone was being detached, reshaped, and/or shifted in one way or another to change my form into that of a horse (or “pony,” in this regard). I felt like I was being subjected to some kind of cruel medieval torture. I let out another wail of despair as the spell worked its seemingly-sadistic magic. I just wanted to pass out and let the spell finish without me feeling it. That’s exactly what I was going to do, too, until I heard Twilight's voice.

“It’s almost over, Ty! Hang in there!” Twilight shouted, jolting me awake for no reason I could explain. The next step was the changing of the formation of my head. This part, while thankfully taking the least amount of time, came with an added effect I wasn’t expecting; my clothes were stretching and fusing onto my body. Every part of my head began to reform itself into a different shape, which caused a migraine like I’d never had before. That was done in a few seconds, but the throbbing pain stayed. It was as if someone had bashed me over the head with the heaviest rock they could find... Repeatedly.

Anyway, my ears shifted to the top of my head and took on a pointed shape, my hair grew longer, my eyes got larger, and my mouth and nose were pulled outwards and reformed into a muzzle. The last thing that happened was that my shorts and shirt seemed to begin covering and wrapping tightly around my entire body, save for my eyes, mouth, nostrils and hair. In addition, once my clothes fused into me, I felt a large plethora of tingles and stings all over me, which I’d assumed was the fabric turning into a fur coat. I especially felt the tingling sensation from just above my rear. Lastly, I felt my now pony-fied body shrink considerably, and with a sudden *CRASH*, the transformation was finally complete. The magic suspending me in the air subsided, and I landed on my back with a thud, panting heavily as the migraine took its toll on me.

“Quick! Help me get him to my…” was all I’d heard before I blacked out...

I slowly awoke to find myself in a bed with an outer space-themed blanket on it. I moved to place a hand on my forehead, but jumped out of the bed and fell onto the floor when I realized what I was looking at.

“AAH! What…?” I almost asked, but then it all came flooding back to me; I’d been painstakingly turned into one of Twilight's kind. “Oh, right…”

“Oh, good! You’re awake!” Twilight happily announced as she cantered over to help me up. Standing up was a bit of a struggle in itself, given that this new form seemed... foreign.

“Yeah… remind me t’ NEVER let you do anythin’ like that again,” I groggily replied as I looked down at my new hooves.

“Aww, c’mon… It wasn’t THAT bad, was it?”

“Depends on if you’ve ever been forcibly stretched out, twisted around, an' turned into a completely different animal before…” I bitterly quipped, cutting my eyes at her. "Thanks t' you, I now know how circus balloons feel." Both the unicorn and the dragon grinned, though their faces read differing emotions ranging from amusement to unspeakable guilt.

“You got me there… Sorry, I didn’t know! I-it was an honest miscalculation! All part of the scientific process!” Twilight nervously defended.

“Yea, okay… Hey, speakin' of, why doesn’t everything hurt?” I asked as I noticed an alarming, yet relieving lack of physical anguish.

“I used another healing spell on you just in case anything drastic happened to you while you were unconscious. I’m relieved to see that you’re alright… Do you want to see what you look like?”

“Sure.”

Twilight didn’t hesitate to bring me a large mirror to examine myself with. I found my look to be… odd, compared to the ponies I’d seen (given that Twilight and the vague glimpses of the local townsfolk were all I had as references). Whereas every pony had a solid, usually-bright coat color, mine was a solid, definitive jet black. I also noticed that my eyes, instead of being a dark brown, were now a lighter, more golden-brown. My… mane, I guess, was formed into a medium-sized afro with long, very curly hair lining the back of my neck. My new tail had the same dark, puffy texture. I didn’t see any horn or wings, which was kind of disappointing, but I couldn’t complain. I took a look at Twilight standing next to me and noticed that, even though I’d shrunk, I was still a bit larger than she was. The thing that really caught my eye was the tattoo that appeared on my flanks; a white comic book-styled thought bubble.

“Sooo, how do you like it?” Twilight asked.

“Not gonna lie; this is pretty cool!” I answered enthusiastically.

“Good! What do you suppose your Cutie Mark means, though?”

“My wha…? Oh, right! The tattoo thing… Hmm… A thought cloud of all things... Well, I do usually have my head in the clouds..."

"How so?"

"I did always find enjoyment in thinking about everything and givin’ advice to friends who needed it… But mainly, I’d find myself thinkin’ about ways to do somethin’, dependin’ on the situation I was in. Otherwise, I’ll sometimes lose myself in my own train of thought when I’m alone. Basically, I’d like to see myself as a pensive kind of pers— I mean, pony. I generally like t' study minds.”

“Interesting… Now, when you say 'study minds', you mean--?”

"Psychology, yes. It's been an interest o' mine for a little while now."

"Wow... I've studied up on that subject myself..." she informed, seemingly amazed by my chosen interest. "Do you think human minds work the same as ponies?"

"Considerin' who I've come int' contact with, I'd LIKE t' assume so... but I couldn't give ya a good answer until I explored this place a bit... Speakin' of, when you plan on showin’ me around?”

“As soon as I’m sure you’re able to walk and run like a pony. I hypothesize that, because you were a human and you’re now a completely different species of life-form, you’ll probably have some difficulty with basic pony movements.”

“No way! Humans can crawl, and I hypothesize that this won’t be as hard as you sayin’ it might be!” I challenged thinking I knew instantly how to move like a horse.

“Okay, Mr. Daring,” Twilight said with a smirk as she walked to the other side of the room. “Come here,” she ordered, motioning a fore-hoof in a come-hither motion. I smirked as I tried my first steps as a pony. A problem arose immediately. I’d been so used to bending my knees forward that when I tried to move my hind legs in the same way, they locked up. I also forgot that I was so used to my arms bending towards my body that my forelegs also locked up. I fell flat on my face, my rear sticking high into the air.

“What the…?” I growled with my face still firmly planted on the floor. The combined laughter of the scientific mare and her reptilian assistant, who was sitting on the bed, was no help. “I hate’cha… Hate’cha both…” I moaned with a sigh, finding myself unable to move from this embarrassing position. Spike jumped off the bed to help me set myself up again, still laughing.

“Care to try again?” Twilight asked, stifling a giggle.

“Yea. I see my problem already… My forelegs an' hind legs kinda feel like they bend in the opposite directions of what I’d expect, which is throwin’ me off. I wanna say this DOES sort of feel like crawlin’ as a human, but I think I’m s’posed to be usin’ more o’ my front legs to keep me steady rather than relyin’ on my back legs to do so...” I took a few lengthy moments to examine exactly how my new limbs bent... where exactly my legs were supposed to connect at the joints, which I was surprised to see that my legs simply bending backwards was NOT the case in point for joint movements. Turns out equine bodies were similar to humans in some ways... it's just that this new form, after only spending my entire LIFE as a human being, was a bit difficult to master. I also needed to figure out how exactly to communicate with my human-wired brain in a horse-like body... THIS took a while to get used to.

I tried and failed numerous times to get the hang of things in this new body... I just COULD NOT get my brain to work my body the right way... It's almost as if I'd had to clear my mind of how to walk as a human, shut down, and completely reprogram my basal ganglia (the part of the brain that controls movement) to meet the expected commands that needed to be delivered to my somatic and other various nervous systems. Twilight offered some insight on exactly how a pony walks, but even that didn't help me much. She offered more help than SPIKE did, though. The little bastard just sat there laughing at me because I couldn't learn right away how to walk. I swore to get him back somehow. However, I persevered, and after a few VERY long, humiliating hours, I'd finally gotten the basics on equine movement.

“Okay, Ty... We've been at this for the last, give or take, three hours now," Twilight drearily let me know as if I didn't have enough to feel ashamed about. "Try again.” On her command, I began to move, keeping everything I'd learned. I started with my right fore-hoof. Then my left hind-hoof, followed by my left fore-hoof, after which came my right hind-hoof. I finally comprehended the pattern and internalized it as I approached my Equine Anatomy 101 tutor.

"There," I stated, finally getting the hang of things.

“I’m impressed! You’re a quick learner!” Twilight cheered as she patted my afro-mane with a hoof.

"Quick? We've been here ALL morning! THAT'S quick?"

“Wow, your mane is just about as puffy as Pinkie Pie’s…”

“Pinkie who?”

“A friend of mine I’d like you to meet later. But there is one more lesson I need to teach you before we take off. I'd like to see if you know how to gallop.” Twilight instructed. Nodding at her order, I turned and began to trot very slowly...

"Okay... slow an' steady wins the race here... jus' be careful not t' bust ya ass again..." I sped up the trot to a humble canter.

"Good, good... it seems you're finally learning how to control your body..." After a few moments of cantering, I broke into a slow, steady gallop, making ABSOLUTELY sure not to get ahead of myself. Somehow, I managed to surprise her, as I noticed her jaw dropped in shock. “You’re able to do that already??”

“What?” I asked as I galloped around the room a couple times before slowing myself to a trot, then stopping completely in front of Twilight.

“Lesson complete!”

“Alright! What do I win?” I jokingly asked.

“A no-expense paid trip around the fair town of Ponyville!” Twilight answered, matching my joke with another.

“No expense-paid? Darn! Oh well, let’s go!”

“Wait! One more thing,” Twilight began. “Spike, take a letter.”

“With gusto!” Spike enthusiastically answered as he grabbed a feather (or QUILL, as it's called) and a piece of paper (parchment).

“Alright. Dear Princess Celestia... The latest spell I learned, the spell that was supposed to let me instantly transport myself to different places like Fillydelphia, Las Pegasus, and even Canterlot, I am sorry to say was a failure in that department. However, this same spell instead let me travel to someplace where nopony has gone before. I am delighted to inform you that I may have discovered intergalactic travel! I have even brought a guest from the universe I visited, as well as a plethora of notes! I wish to show him around Ponyville before bringing him to Canterlot to discuss his knowledge with you, if that is okay. Faithfully Yours, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Aaaaand done!” Spike declared as he finished writing down Twilight’s words. He then rolled the letter into a scroll and, with a strong breath of green fire; he burned the scroll to sparkling vapors that flew out of a nearby window.

“…What was the point of that?” I asked, confused. “Why write a letter, and then burn it up?”

“The letter didn’t actually burn,” Spike answered.

“You see, Ty, when Spike breathes fire on a letter, it is dematerialized and sent instantly to Princess Celestia, where it will reform itself for her to read. Spike here is a sort of messenger. Through him, I am able to send and receive letters with The Princess,” Twilight explained.

“Ahh, wow, so Spike’s like your personal magic mailma— mail-dragon?”

“Exactly!” As Twilight answered me, Spike’s cheeks ballooned like a chipmunk’s.

“Why ya makin’ that— WHOA!” I shouted as I ducked under the dragon’s sudden fiery burp. I felt something land in my afro-mane almost immediately after he was done belching.

“Wow, she responded pretty quickly!” Twilight excitedly announced before grabbing the foreign object out of my mane with her mouth. She took the scroll into her hooves and opened it to read its contents:

Dearest Twilight Sparkle,

While it is unfortunate to hear that your spell did not work the way you’d intended, it is most wonderful to hear that you’ve discovered something entirely new with it! In all my millennia, I have never heard of a pony being able to travel outside of one plane of existence and into another one! You never cease to amaze me, my Most Faithful Student, and I hope to meet this intergalactic friend of yours soon.

Yours Truly,

Princess Celestia

I was completely unable to process what just happened as my mouth fell open and I just gawked stupidly at the unicorn.

“I understand that this is a lot to take in, but we don't have any more time to dilly-dally! We’ve got to give you a tour around the town! Let’s go!” Twilight commanded, snapping me out of my stupefied trance. I moved to follow her, but then my stomach growled with the intensity of an angry bear.

“Oh, right… I was in such a hurry to get here that I forgot to eat,” I sheepishly informed the unicorn with a toothy grin. "Plus, all that walkin' practice kinda took my mind off it till now..."

“Well that...” she began as her own stomach began to growl. “…definitely tells us where we’re going first," she finished, smiling sheepishly. "Onwards, to Sweet Apple Acres! Come along, Spike!”

"Sure!" the dragon eagerly complied, climbing onto the unicorn's back. "This, I don't think I WANNA miss..."

"Huh... Even though they're sapient, they STILL have qualities akin t' horses back home... Interestin'..."

"All set! Let's go!" Twilight commanded.

“Mmm… Apples…” I hungrily moaned as we finally headed out the door and into the town of Ponyville…