I... am a lot of things.

"Look, Terry. I gotta let you go."

Sure, I've been called lazy...

"You're not doing your job... like, at all."

...absentminded...

"We've gotten several calls from customers about long stretches of silence over the phone before they hear a response."

...and irresponsible, among other things...

"The supervisors have caught you reading during a call, drawing during a call, texting during a call, and just generally doing everything but paying attention to the actual call."

...but the one word you can never associate with me...

The manager reached into his desk drawer, pulled out some official looking documents and slapped them down on top of the desk, "I'm gonna need you to sign these termination forms and turn in your VisuaFone ID badge and headset."

...is stress.

"Alright," I said with a shrug. I pulled the headset from where it was hanging around my neck and put it on the desk along with the ID I had in my pocket. My former manager handed me a pen and I signed my name a few times on each of the forms.

He picked up the forms and set them aside with a heavy sigh, "Look, Terry," he began, giving me one of those stern, fatherly looks, "I like you, I really do - hell, a lot of us here do," he leaned back in his chair, "but we've given you a lot of chances - too many chances if I'm being honest - and we can't afford to keep doing that, you know what I mean?"

"No, I get it, Bill," I replied, waving his concerns aside, "You guys have been great, really." I pushed myself out of the chair with a small grunt, "It was my choice to dick around and I guess I messed up one too many times. You're probably better off without me anyway," I said with another shrug. Probably not something you'd say if you want to keep your job but like he said, I'd been given a lot of chances up until now and I was doubtful I'd get hired again, "It sucks, but it is what it is."

Bill nodded his head solemnly, "At the very least you've got a good attitude."

He sat there for a moment before suddenly slapping his hands on the desk, "I'll tell you what," he started with a small smile, "you manage to find another job and I'll put in a good word for you when it comes time for recommendations."

I blinked in surprise. "Wow, thanks, Bill," I said with genuine gratitude.

He held up a hand, "Don't thank me yet, Terry," he said in that stern fatherly voice, then pointed at me, "that recommendation won't mean shit if you can't do your job, so shape up for the next place you work, yeah?"

I laughed a little, "You got it, man," I said with a grin.

Bill nodded in satisfaction and walked around his desk to pat me on the shoulder. "Good man," he pointed to the open door, "now get out of my office."

I laughed again and headed out the door.

Well, damn, I thought as I got off the bus near my house, left on friendly terms but I'm still out of a job. I let out a tired sigh and starting walking down the street to my apartment.

"Ten bucks says I finally get that eviction notice," I said to myself with a wry smile. I shook my head and looked around my crappy Tucson neighborhood. It wasn't that it was a bad neighborhood full of thugs or drug dealers or anything like that. It just looked... dirty. It felt... dirty. Like, you'd expect to see all this grime when you walked into a house, even when there wasn't any. You just felt like there would be.

My particular apartment happened to be the cheapest one-bed/one-bath I could afford. It wasn't much but I kept it clean and all the appliances worked like they should. All in all I thought I was pretty lucky to get such a decent place for the amount I paid for rent.

I proceeded to curse my luck when I finally made it to my apartment and saw the note on my door with 'EVICTION NOTICE' written in big, red print at the top.

"Dammit." I muttered aloud. I tore the notice off of my door and skimmed through it quickly. As it turned out, the management wasn't kicking me out just yet but I had fifteen days to pay the minimum amount of-

"$725.00!?" I yelled incredulously, "nnnoooope. Fuck that noise."

I said that, but in reality I was probably just gonna borrow money from my aunt and pay her back monthly once I got a new job. Hooray for debt.

Really though, this was something else I brought on myself. I was usually more than a bit late paying my rent each month. I'm not very frugal when it comes to spending and I would often adopt a 'screw it' attitude when it came time to save money for the rent.

I unlocked the door, stepped inside my apartment, threw the notice on a nearby table, and closed the door behind me.

I took another step and froze, a chill running down my spine.

"...The hell?" I whispered shakily.

The moment passed as quickly as it started and I stumble further into the living room. Thoroughly spooked, I took a quick look around the house. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary I walked to my room breathing a sigh of relief. Well that was a thing, I cracked my neck, walked over to my computer, and plopped myself down onto the seat, Now onto the next job.

I always had a difficult time keeping a job for more than a few months because of my general attitude towards tedium and repetition, but for whatever reason I always had a lot of luck getting hired at call centers which, in my opinion, were the height of tedium and repetition. I dealt with it all the same though, because at the end of the day I was making money, and that's what was important.

I booted up the computer and checked some of the call center job sites. Sure enough, there was a job fair going on at one of the centers. This one was a bit further out from my place but I figured an additional bus ride wouldn't kill me. I went to exit out of the site and go play something on my PS4 when I felt that strange chill again.

"Okay, what the hell is that?" I practically yelled, looking around again. When I didn't find anything I threw my hands up in exasperation, "Alright, you know what? Fuck it. I'm callin' it a night."

I got undressed, threw my clothes in a laundry bin in the closet, and fell into bed. I'm creeped out, tired, soon to be in debt, and today just all around sucked, I thought with a grimace. At least I have another job lined up, even if it is another shitty call center. With that thought in mind I pulled the blanket over me and was out like a light in a matter of minutes.

Darkness.

I opened my eyes and that's all there was. Just an endless black void of nothingness. I don't know how long I stared into that all-encompassing darkness.

Minutes?

Hours?

Days? Weeks? Years?

...Who knows.

I didn't bother crying for help. I knew it'd futile. I knew no one was there.

Child...

Actually, I think I might've heard something...

Child of Man... Listen to my words...

I think if I just listened... a bit... harder...

Heed my call, ye who seeks the End!

There! I can hear someone! Who-

AWAKEN, CHILD OF MAN! AWAKEN AND SPEAK MY NAME!

My eyes snapped open...

...and then I slammed them shut again with a groan of exhaustion and annoyance.

"Dammit, why didn't I close the blinds before I went to bed?" I grumbled irritably.

I sat up and rubbed the morning gunk out of my eyes. I almost said 'fuck it' and went back to sleep because I didn't feel like I had gotten any rest. On the contrary, I felt like I had just run a mile.

And then there was that dream.

I couldn't remember a lot of what it was about, but I do remember it being... intense. I also remembered something about a name?

Hmmm...

...nope, can't remember.

I decided to set the thoughts aside and ready myself for the trip to the job fair. I went into to the bathroom for the standard shit, shower, and shave. I took a minute to look at myself in the mirror, making sure I looked at least somewhat presentable.

Dark skin.

Dark Brown eyes.

Thin as a rail, despite my god awful diet... thank you, overly active metabolism.

Haven't seen a barber in like what, six or seven years?

Black dreads, long and out-of-control due to barber neglect.

Thick-rimmed Converse glasses.

Yep... everything checks out.

With that done, I walked out of the bathroom and back into my room to get dressed. I threw on a white, short-sleeved dress shirt - the only one I owned - and some black jeans along with my white Nike sneakers. It was about fifty-seven degrees out so I also threw on my black, faux-fur coat.

I grabbed my headphones and smartphone, turned to leave and stopped.

I blinked and tilted my head a bit in confusion.

"...Huh."

I don't remember closing my bedroom door last night, I thought warily, I also don't remember my door being all blue and glowy.

Yet, there it was in all its blue, glowy goodness.

I stood there gaping, at the door for a moment before shaking my head and giving a small shrug, "Fuck it," I said simply, walking over to the door.

This should be good, I thought as I turned the doorknob and stepped through.

Behind the door was a short, stone pathway leading to what looked like one of those Olde Time-y taverns you see in fantasy RPG's and novels. The real kicker, though?

It was all floating in an empty, black space.

No joke. There was nothing everywhere I looked, aside from the tavern. Why do I feel like I've been here before? I thought with a shiver. I shook off my hesitation and quickly walked to the tavern door, practically throwing it open.

Blue.

So... much... blue.

All the blue, really. Blue walls, blue floor, blue bar counter, there was a man at said counter dressed in an old-school bartender's uniform... a blue old-school bartender's uniform. Just about the only thing that wasn't blue were the tables and chairs scattered around, and I think even those might've been some kind of really light blue - it was hard to tell. It was also much more modern-looking than previously advertised from the outside.

That was first thing I noticed about this place. The second thing I noticed was that it was dead quiet and there were no patrons. None.

Creepy.

I looked back over to the bartender, who had stopped cleaning the glass he was holding to stare at me in... shock?

"Hey..." I started, waving at him awkwardly, "So... uh... what's up with all the blue?" I finished lamely.

"No, no, no, you aren't supposed to be here," he muttered rapidly under his breath. The poor guy looked like he was about to have a panic attack. He kept shifting from side to side nervously, stealing glances at a door behind the counter.

"Um... hey, dude," I said eyeing him warily, "you okay?"

"He said it wasn't supposed to be a human this time - that we we were going to try something new," he continued, completely ignoring me.

I raised my eyebrows slightly at that.

Not supposed to be human? The fuck?

"HEY!" I finally shouted.

The man jumped and snapped his panicky gaze back to me, "Y-yes?"

I took a second to look him over. The guy was tall, pale, and thin... very thin. Like, almost Thin Man thin. He had an annoyingly reedy voice and gave an occasional nervous twitch every now and then. His hair was a dark brown and slicked back.

And his eyes.

They were squinty, shifty, and ice blue.

I didn't trust this man. Not one bit.

"Look, buddy," I said - a bit of annoyance seeping into my voice, "I have absolutely no idea what's going on or where I am. If I'm not supposed to be here, take it up with whoever decided to replace my bedroom door."

"Oh," the man said in surprise, "m-my apologies sir. I-I assure you, w-we had no in-intention of-"

"Hey," I said, cutting off his nervous apology, "It's cool, dude." I raised my hands in a placating gesture, "My day was probably gonna suck anyway," I took another look around the modern tavern, "whatever this is, it's way more interesting than what I was gonna do."

"Oh," he responded, absently fiddling with the glass in his hand.

We just kind of stood there looking at each other awkwardly for a moment before I cleared my throat.

"Sooo..." I started to ask carefully, "what... exactly did you mean when you said you weren't expecting a human?"

His eyes widened at the question and he shot another nervous look at the door in the back, "I'm... not sure I should say..." he replied, uneasily.

I was getting tired of his not-so-subtle glances at the backdoor and decided to call him out on it.

"Hey, man," I said looking at the door, "is there someone I should be talking to back there?"

The bartender shifted uneasily again, "Ah... well, that is - you see-"

A sudden sinister-sounding chuckle that seemed to come from everywhere at once made us both jump.

Send the boy to see me, Reedus.

We both stared at the door for a minute before I turned to the bartender - whose name was apparently Reedus.

I found it fitting somehow.

I looked back to the perpetually nervous man, "Well, you heard the ominous voice, Reedus," I nodded my head towards the door in the back, "You gonna let me in?"

Reedus shook his head rapidly, schooled his features, and looked back at me with an air of professionalism, "Of course sir, the Tavernmaster will see you now."

I raised an eyebrow at the sudden change in demeanor, but shrugged it off and moved towards the backdoor behind the counter. I was about to turn the knob when I heard the front door to the tavern open.

"What in Celestia's name?"

I snapped my head back to the entrance at the sound of the voice and gaped at the figured that walked - or rather trotted - into the tavern.

Well... that's definitely not a human.

BAM!

Inspiration struck and I jumped on the idea. This actually came from something I posted in one of the forums on this site (can't remember which one) and I thought it was too good of an idea to not use. I think it goes without saying, but this will be a lot longer than my previous story - though I don't know exactly how long yet.

And to answer any unasked questions - yes, the rest of the Mane Six will get Personas eventually. Three gold stars to whoever can guess what Terrence and Twilight's Personas are going to be.

P.S. I'm not sorry about the chapter title.

P.P.S. Would you believe the bathroom scene was inspired by Fallout 4?

A unicorn.

An honest-to-god, tiny, purple, talking unicorn.

And it's freaking adorable.

"H-hello?" the unicorn called out nervously. She walked in slowly, taking in her surroundings. It looked like she couldn't decide between fear and awe at what she was seeing.

"Ah, Miss Sparkle I presume?" Reedus asked, every bit the cordial and professional bartender.

Where the hell was all that when I first showed up?

The unicorn - Sparkle - looked back to Reedus with a suspicious eye, "How do you know who I am?" she trotted closer to the bar and her look changed to one of curiousity, "and I don't mean to be rude, but who - and what are you?"

Reedus chuckled, "Well you see Ms. Sparkle-"

"He's a human," I interrupted, deciding to make myself known.

The unicorn yelped and looked over to where I was standing near the bar.

"Heya," I said with a friendly smile and a wave.

"Um..." she blinked and took an uneasy step back.

Apparently I wasn't doing a good job of coming off as friendly. "Hey," I said in what I hoped was a calming tone, "if it helps I have no idea what's going on either."

She did seem to loosen up a little at hearing that, "Right, um..." she cleared her throat and looked back up at me with a polite smile, "my name is Twilight Sparkle," she raised a hoof as if to shake my hand, "what's your name?"

I raised an eyebrow at the gesture but shook her hoof all the same.

"Terrence. Terrence Thurston. People call me Terry, whether I want them to or not," I said with a grin.

"What do you prefer?" she asked curiously.

"Terry is fine," I said with a dismissive wave of my hand, "I take it your good with just Twilight?"

She nodded with a small smile. She seemed to be a bit more relaxed now that introductions were made.

"So you said that pony was a 'human'?" she asked.

"Person," I corrected, "that person over there is a human, yeah. Same as me. And I take it you're a pony then?"

"Yes that's right," she affirmed, "you also said you didn't know what was happening," she furrowed her brow in thought, "did you happen to come here through-"

"A glowing blue door that popped up out of nowhere?" I finished.

She blinked in surprise and nodded.

"Yup, replaced my bedroom door, so I couldn't really go anywhere other than here. You?"

"The entrance - or exit in my case - to my tower," she replied with a grimace, "I wanted to ask the Princess about something I was researching, but there was a blue glow surrounding the exit. I thought somepony was trying to keep me trapped in my tower with some kind of new magic I had never seen before, but when I went to probe it with my own magic, nothing happened."

I nodded, filing my ever growing list of questions away for the moment, "So you decided to try actually opening the door, and here you are."

Princesses and towers, huh? I thought with some amusement and a growing hunch, if I add in the apparently magical unicorn and the 'Ye Olde' Tavern, all of this starts to paint a very interesting picture.

Twilight nodded slowly seemingly lost in thought, then she looked at me with what I think was... growing excitement?

"Um..." I started, a bit weirded out by her sudden intense gaze, "what's up?"

"I think with everything that's happened, it's only now starting to occur to me but," she took an eager step towards me and I swore I could see literal stars in her eyes, "there's no known documentation of your species anywhere in Equestria - not that I know of anyway," she took another step forward, I took a wary step back, "If you don't mind, I have several questions I'd like to ask you. Is that okay?"

"I, uh... Equestria?" I sputtered, caught off guard by the sudden scholarly zeal.

"No wait, hang on," she continued. Before I could say anything, there was a weird humming noise and her horn started to glow.

I blinked, Well, there's the magic I guess.

After a moment of nothing happening, she cut off the glow with a worried expression, "I can't access my notes," she looked at me with growing panic, "my magic's not working!"

Oh boy, I thought with growing concern, she's one of those types of people.

"Hey, hey chill," I said raising my hands in a calming gesture, "I've seen, read, and played through a lot of scenarios like this one, so trust me when I say that whatever's happening with your magic is probably temporary."

She looked at me strangely for a second before shaking her head, "You can't know that for sure," she started pacing back and forth, "for all we know we could be trapped here in... wherever this place is indefinitely. Spike's not here so I can't send a letter to the Princess-" she stopped and gasped, her eyes widening "-the Princess! Oh no. Nononono, what will she think? What is she gonna do? What am I gonna do!?" she started hyperventilating.

Oh god, she's losing it.

She was a complete mess by this point. Her mane was ruined, her eyes were wide and bloodshot, and she was - almost violently - twitchy.

I was honestly kind of scared for her.

Before I could say anything to comfort the distraught mare, there was a loud clearing of a throat.

Twilight and I glanced back over at Reedus, who looked a bit put off at being interrupted and ignored. When he saw the both of us looking in his direction he quickly switched his expression back to a cordial and somewhat sympathetic one, "Ms. Sparkle, Mr. Thurston, if you would head through the door in the back, I'm sure the Tavernmaster would be happy to answer any questions you may have-" he gave a significant look to Twilight "-as well as put your obvious fears to rest."

I breathed a small sigh of relief, grateful for the easy out, "see, there ya go," I said with an encouraging smile to Twilight, "all we gotta do is talk to the man in charge and he'll sort it out," my smile turned sheepish, "I actually kinda forgot about him when you showed up."

I looked back over to Reedus, my sheepish smile turning apologetic, "and sorry for stealing your thunder there, Reeds."

Reedus furrowed his brow at the nickname, "Not a problem, Mr. Thurston," he replied flatly. His tone clearly indicated it was a problem.

I turned back to Twilight, "So" - I clapped my hands together - "You ready to go see the bossman?"

Twilight took a few moments to get herself back under control, taking some calming breaths while holding a hoof to her chest. After a minute she looked at me and nodded, "Let's go," she replied with a resolute smile.

We walked behind the bar and headed to the back door. I turned the knob, opened the door, and held it open for Twilight.

"After you," I said gesturing towards the doorway.

She gave me a nervous but thankful smile and cautiously stepped through.

I straightened up and was about to follow her inside when she let out a cry of surprise and quickly backpedaled out of the room.

"Whoa!" I cried, stepping out of the way. She ran behind me, peeking out from behind to stare at whatever was behind the door in fear.

I looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. What the hell did she see in there? I thought with a bit of apprehension. Without a word, I walked into the room; Twilight following close behind.

"Hello - GAH!" I yelped taking a startled step back.

Sitting at a desk across the room from us was a man I would hesitate to call human. He had some very... mosquito-like features. I could tell, even with him sitting down, that he was tall and way too thin, much like Reedus actually. Really, everything about him screamed 'spindly'. Arms, legs, hands... everything. He also seemed to have a hunchback as well. Oh, he was dressed nice sure; black suit, red tie, and white gloves. The thing that probably freaked Twilight out and made me jump though, was his face.

It was somewhat rounded and he was balding with white hair in the back. Those were about the only human qualities his face had. His ears were pointed, he had big, buggy, bloodshot eyes that sat below some crazy eyebrows, and a too-wide mouth that was currently fixed with an amused grin aimed at the both of us.

Oh, and he had a long nose. Like, really long. Inhumanly long.

Dude had nose for days.

For a long minute, none of us said a word and the mosquito looking man behind the desk just sat there grinning.

He finally chuckled that sinister chuckle I'd heard earlier, "please, there is no need to be afraid," he leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on the desk - fingers steepled, "I'd like to properly welcome you both to the Velvet Room." He raised a hand towards two chairs in front of desk, "come now, have a seat. We have much to discuss."

Twilight looked up at me nervously, an unspoken question in her eyes. I gave her a reassuring smile.

"Hey, you wanted answers-" I nodded my head towards the chairs "-he's willing to talk."

She looked back towards the chairs and the patiently waiting man behind the desk. After a brief moment of indecision she let out a sigh of resignation, "I guess you're right," she looked back at me with a bit more confidence, "let's find out what all this is about."

I nodded and we both walked over and sat down - Twilight a bit more awkwardly due to her shape.

"Excellent," the man said with a smile, "now then-" he clasped his hands together dramatically "-my name is Igor-" he rested his hands on the desk "-and as I said before, this is the Velvet Room. A place that exists between dreams and reality, a place that resides between mind and matter."

Twilight raised her hoof like she was a student trying to ask the teacher a question.

This isn't a classroom, I thought with some amusement.

Igor nevertheless nodded his head towards Twilight, prompting her to ask her question.

"Why did those doorways appear and how were they able to bring us here? I tried using a magical scan and it came back with nothing. Something about this place seems to block my magic," she frowned, "it's like I can activate it, and it feels like something is happening for a moment... but then my magic just stops before the spell can take hold."

Igor chuckled again, "your concern is understandable, but there is nothing to fear. The magic you wield is tied to your world and cannot reach this realm. Once you return, you will be able to access your magic once again."

Twilight visibly relaxed and breathed a small sigh of relief.

I poked her in the side getting her attention, "told you," I said with a smirk.

She was about to retort when Igor spoke again, "to answer your questions regarding the doorways, they are simply a means by which this realm can be reached and are normally only visible to those who have entered a contract."

"Contract?" Twilight asked in confusion, "I don't remember signing any contracts." She looked over at me questioningly.

"Don't look at me," I said raising my hands, "I didn't sign any con... tracts..." my response grounded to a halt.

Wait a minute, I furrowed my brow in thought.

"I'm gonna need you to sign these termination forms and turn in your VisuaFone ID badge and headset."

Out of all the call centers I've worked at, not a single one asked me to sign any kind of termination form. And being the idiot I am...

My eyes slowly widened in realization.

I never once looked anywhere on the papers but at where I was supposed to sign.

"...Oh, shit."

"Terry?" Twilight asked, concern in her voice, "are you okay?"

I turned to Igor with a sheepish grin, "So, as it turns out, I may have actually signed a contract when I got fired from my job."

Twilight gave me a flat look, "...seriously?"

I held up my hands defensively, "hey it's not like I knew I was going to be whisked away to another dimension, and I had no reason to suspect my manager was some kind of devil offering me a deal! Besides I don't know for sure if that is what caused me to be here. I didn't read the forms I signed."

Twilight groaned and put a hoof to her face, "I don't know what a devil is, but I'm willing to bet your lack of attention to detail is exactly what they were counting on," she looked back to me, "seriously, why would you not read any kind of form that requires a signature before signing it? Who does that?"

"I do, obviously," I snarked back.

She gave an exasperated sigh and shook her head. "That still doesn't explain why I'm here, though," she said turning back to Igor, "I didn't sign any contracts."

Igor raised a massive eyebrow at Twilight, "are you sure about that?"

Twilight opened her mouth - probably to confirm that yes, she didn't sign anything - but Igor continued speaking, "as I understand, you were the one that was supposed to arrive here in the Velvet Room first."

"WHAT?" Twilight cried incredulously.

"Oh yeah," I said absently, "Reedus did mention something about that..."

"B-but that's impossible!" she stuttered, "I-I haven't signed anything!"

"Twilight!" I yelled, trying to get her attention, "stop freaking out and think! Think back to what you were doing yesterday."

If my hunch is correct, she probably signed some kind of contract around the same time I did.

Twilight made another effort to get her breathing under control, once again using the same technique as before. Once she finally calmed down enough to think properly, she closed her eyes and hummed to herself in thought.

"I had planned to do some last minute studying on the various magical artifacts of Equestria before the Summer Sun Celebration the next day," she hopped out of her chair and started pacing again, "I'd finally gotten permission from Princess Celestia to check out some books from the Royal Archi-"

She stopped pacing and stared straight ahead, eyes widened in shocked realization - mirroring how I looked just moments ago.

Yep, there it is.

"And how would one check out a book from these Royal Archives, Twilight?" I asked with a grin.

"We use check-out forms given by Royal Archivists that we have to sign... in triplicate," she said in a hollow voice.

"And - being the diligent scholar I'm assuming you are - I'm sure you read through all the forms they gave you... right?" I asked, my grin growing more smug by the second.

Twilight looked away and mumbled something under her breath.

"I'm sorry, what was that, Twilight?" I asked in a mocking tone.

She let out a frustrated groan, "I might've gotten a little too excited about finally being able to check things out from the Archives and because of that I... might've... signed without looking at the forms..."

I laughed a little, leaning down to give a her a reassuring pat on the shoulder... area.

"It's alright, Twilight," I said with another encouraging smile, "we all make that mistake at one point or another."

She just huffed and hopped back in her chair to face Igor, "so apparently I also might've signed a contract," she said sourly.

Igor nodded, "indeed. Now-" he turned to me "-it seems the both of you have quite a journey ahead yourselves."

Twilight and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows, "A journey?" Twilight said, looking back to Igor skeptically.

Igor nodded again, "a grand adventure, if you will." He leaned back in his chair, legs folded and arms on the chair's armrest, "For the threads of fate to pull not one, but two contracted individuals into the Velvet Room at once is quite unheard of - and across two different dimensions no less," he looked around the room contemplatively, like he was taking in his surroundings, "perhaps this explains the form the Velvet Room has taken," he concluded after a minute.

"Form?" Twilight inquired curiously, then her eyebrows raised, "wait, the Velvet Room can change it's form?"

Igor nodded, "Indeed, Ms. Sparkle, the Velvet Room shapes itself in accordance with the heart of the one who enters, although..."

"Since there's two of us, it became a tavern instead because... why?" I asked, legitimately curious, "I mean, I don't drink. I've never even been to a bar." I looked over to Twilight.

"I don't drink either," she confirmed, "not many ponies do. I mean, there's a few bars and taverns in Canterlot, but most patrons are from other nations outside of Equestria."

I looked back to Igor and crossed my arms, "There you go," I said with finality, "neither of us drink."

"Ah, but keep this in mind," he responded, raising a finger, "taverns are much more than their mead," he leaned forward, resting his hands on the desk, "they provide rest for the weary, information for the careful listener, and most importantly-" he waived an arm towards the both of us in a grand gesture "-a chance for new meetings."

I rolled my eyes at that while Twilight just looked contemplative.

"I... guess that makes sense," she said carefully.

"Yeah, I can see that," I agreed, then leaned forward in my chair and gave Igor a serious look, "but at the end of the day the biggest question I'm left with is.. why are we here? You told us we were supposed to go on this 'grand adventure', but why?"

Twilight didn't seem to have anything to add and just waited for Igor's response along with me.

Igor closed his eyes and lowered his head thoughtfully for a second before opening them and looking at Twilight, "Ms. Sparkle, it seems your journey has already been set in motion, by one who is dear to you."

Twilight leaned forward, planting her forehooves on the desk, "Really? Who was it? What does this journey entail? When-"

Igor raised a hand, interrupting Twilight's interrogation, "I am not able to speak of specifics regarding your destiny, I can only be a guide and a provider of certain... services."

I raised an intrigued eyebrow, "what kind of services?"

He waved a hand at me dismissively, "All will be explained in due time. Now then, Ms. Sparkle-" he turned back to Twilight "-if I may continue?"

Twilight sat back in her seat, slightly abashed, "Right, sorry."

Igor nodded and began speaking again, "the beginning of your journey will not be an easy one. You will face a great darkness in the near future, but you will not do so alone. With newfound allies by your side, you must find a way to unlock a great power," his expression grew grim, "or your world will be swallowed by that darkness for an eternity."

Yeesh, no pressure, I thought with a frown.

Twilight just gulped nervously and nodded.

"Keep in mind however," Igor continued, "that the ultimate goal is not the defeat of this great darkness, but rather the acquisition of something very important - something you've neglected to obtain in years past."

I could see Twilight visibly struggling not to ask the obvious question.

From the look on her face, it seemed to be a very tough struggle.

I should probably change the topic.

"So..." I began, standing up and popping some joints, "what's my role in all of this?" I stretched a bit and sat back down with a sigh, "I mean, I wasn't even supposed to be here apparently and yet, here I am."

Igor turned to face me with a dark chuckle that - quite frankly - made me regret asking, "make no mistake, Mr. Thurston, If you signed a contract, you're supposed to be here."

Wait a minute... oh, dammit.

I gave Igor a flat look, "I'm gonna have to help Twilight fight this darkness somehow aren't I?"

"In a manner of speaking," he responded, "you will accompany Ms. Sparkle on her journey in order to face a different kind of threat," he chuckled again, "this is actually where things get a little interesting."

I blinked in surprise, "O... kaaay. Interesting, how?"

"Make no mistake, Mr. Thurston, you will have your own trials and tribulations to undertake. The path ahead will not be without its dangers, but at the end of the road - should you choose to walk it..."

His gaze turned intense and for a moment, I could feel his giant, buggy eyes boring into me.

I shivered.

"...You may either become a great hero or a villain the likes of which we have never seen."

"..."

...What?

"I, um... wow... I... honestly don't know what to say to that other than, okay? I guess?" I said, very unsure.

I looked over to Twilight for help, but she just shrugged helplessly, a look of unease etched across her face.

I turned back to Igor with my own helpless shrug, "I guess I'll just have to do my best not to go down the villain route then."

"Only time will tell, Mr. Thurston. Now then..." Igor stood up. Twilight and I took that as our cue to get up as well.

"As I've stated previously" - he clasped his hands behind his back - "I provide a certain service to contracted individuals. It is not yet time for you two to know what that service is, but you will return here again in the future. Once you've gained the strength to face your inner demons - and you will need this strength - we will find you.

We remained quiet for a time, mulling over everything that was said, when Twilight suddenly spoke up.

"What about the contracts?" she asked, "what about the ponies - er-" she looked at me for confirmation "-persons?"

"People," I corrected.

"People," she nodded and looked back to Igor, "what about the people who gave us the contracts?"

"You may or may not see them again," Igor replied, "that is not up to me to say. As for the contracts," he chuckled that trademark sinister chuckle, "that is also for you to find out."

I tried to hide an amused smirk as she growled in frustration at the vague response.

"So is that it? We done?" I asked turning to Igor.

"For now," Igor responded, then turned to fully face me, "Know this Mr. Thurston, once you leave, you will arrive in a very different place than where you came from."

I gave a nod, "Yeah, I figured as much. To Equestria, I assume?"

"Correct," he affirmed, "though the physical form cannot normally enter this realm, it appears you two are an odd exception, given the circumstances. Because of this, the entrance to the Velvet Room will act as more of a literal gateway between dimensions."

"Oooh, this is so exciting!" cried Twilight, clapping her forehooves together while somehow remaining upright, "I've actually traveled to another plane of existence AND-" she pointed a hoof at me "-I have walking proof of the multiverse theory!" she started prancing around the room, "yesyesyesyesyesYES! Oh, I can't wait to tell the Princess when I get back! I have SO many questions! So many notes to take! SPIKE! Take a lett... oh, right, Spike's not here."

She seemed to realize we were staring at her and cleared her throat awkwardly. "Sorry about that," she said with a weak chuckle, "I guess the reality of what I've discovered finally caught up with me and... well... yeah... so, um... should we go?" she asked, cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Without waiting for an answer she quickly trotted out the door.

I just laughed and followed her out.

I'd be more offended at being seen as some kind of scientific curiosity, but that was so damn adorable I don't even care.

As we walked out of the back room, Reedus turned and gave us a shaky smile.

"W-welcome back Ms. Sparkle and M-Mr. Thurston, I t-trust your talk was f-fruitful?", he asked with that same nervous stutter I had heard before. His eyes shift from me, to Twilight, to the backdoor, and back to me again.

The fuck?

"Yeah," I said slowly, narrowing my eyes, "talk went fine. Learned a lot."

"Are you okay?" Twilight asked in concern, walking over to the fidgeting bartender, "You don't look so good."

Reedus, who had been looking at the backdoor again, snapped his gaze back to Twilight with a nervous grin, "E-everything is fine M-Ms. Sparkle, I assure you," before she could ask any further, Reedus quickly rushed on, "so y-you'll be taking your l-leave then, I as-assume?"

Okay, yeah. This is extremely suspicious.

I thought about calling him out on his fishy behavior but decided against it for now. I didn't know for sure if he was up to something or just had some weird behavioral quirk, so I let it be.

"Come on, Twilight. Leave the man alone and let's get the hell outta here," I called back over my shoulder as I walked to the exit.

Twilight gave one last indecisive look over to Reedus and turned to follow me out of the tavern.

Once we were back on the stony pathway I stretched and let out an exhausted groan, "Jeezus, that took forever," I complained.

"Oh, it wasn't that bad," Twilight responded with a happy smile. She pranced forward towards the exit, "after all, I got the opportunity to learn some incredible things!"

Whoa, hey," I cried running after her, "wait up!"

Giggling, she slowed her pace and I walked up beside her, hands buried in my coat pockets.

"Sooo..." I looked down at Twilight with a grin, "tell me a bit about Equestria."

Done aaannd done.

Sorry if the chapter comes off as a bit slow but I had to get that foundation set up. Next chapter, Terrence finally gets his first look at Equestria... and Twilight finally gets her hooves on some note taking materials.

On a more serious note, it seems I've gotten some... mixed reception regarding this story. If you like the story, great and thanks for the support!

If you don't like the story that's fine too but if your gonna hit that thumbs down please give some feedback as to why. You gotta remember guys, I'm a new writer (to those who didn't already know that, I'm new to writing) and if I want to improve, I need feedback - the good AND the bad (and by bad, I mean legitimate reasons for disliking the story, not flaming).

Anyway, I'll see you guys in the next chapter!

Twilight had just finished telling me about her 'number one assistant' as we neared the exit at the end of the stone pathway.

"So let me get this straight," I said incredulously, "through some... crazy accidental magic boost you had as a kid-"

"I'm a pony, not a goat," Twilight interjected with a raised eyebrow.

I rolled my eyes, "It's one of the names humans use when we refer to children, Twilight."

She tilted her head in confusion, "Why?"

I threw my hands up in exasperation, "I don't know, because we just do. Can I please finish?"

Twilight nodded and I continued, "So after your magic went crazy you turned your parents into plants, hatched a dragon from its egg, and made it temporarily grow to stupidly big proportions?"

"Yep."

"And now this dragon - Spike - is your assistant-slash-mailbox?"

"Well you don't have to put it like that," she said, giving me a flat look, "but yes, Spike helps me with just about everything."

"Uh-huh." I replied absently.

Dragons, man. This place has freaking DRAGONS.

The more Twilight told me about Equestria, the more excited I got to see it. I mean griffons, minotaurs, pegasi, unicorns, super strong farming horses - I guess, FUCKING DRAGONS, and even an immortal god horse princess that controls the sun and moon.

"...rry?"

I wonder if Celestia ever called down the wrath of the sun to smite her ene-

"TERRY!"

I blinked and look down at Twilight, "Sorry, what's up?"

She gave me an irritated look, "We're here," she deadpanned.

"Huh?" I replied looking at her blankly, then I looked around me and saw...

...the aftermath of the bookpocalypse.

Seriously there were books everywhere. The shelves, the floors, the windowsills, the purple lizard staring at me in shock, the-

Wait.

I blinked and looked again.

Sure enough, there was a big purple lizard holding what looked like some kind of present and gawking at me from across the circular room.

"Um... Twilight?" I said, not taking my eyes off the lizard, "little help here? What am I looking at?"

Twilight giggled and walked over to the purple reptile, "Terrence, I'd like to officially welcome you to Equestria - specifically my personal tower at Canterlot Castle," she turned to the lizard, who - I realized with growing dismay - was probably-

"This is my number one assistant, Spike!" she exclaimed proudly.

Fuck. My. Life.

"T-Twilight?" asked Spike in a not-so-quiet whisper, "Who - w-what is that?"

"Spike," Twilight scolded, "don't be rude," she turned and gestured to me like she was showing off a brand new TV, "this is Terrence Thurston, a human from-" she hesitated briefly "-from a distant land, far from Equestria."

Is she trying to hide where I'm - wait, I never actually told her where I was from. Whoops.

I looked at Spike again.

Well, given how Twilight looks, I should've expected this.

Hiding my disappointment, I leaned down to shake Spike's hand - claw... thing. Whatever.

"Yo, how's it going, man?" I asked jovially.

Spike looked at my hand, then to Twilight, who gave him a reassuring nod, then he turned back to me raising his claw to slowly shake my hand with a weak grin.

This was, without a doubt, the most awkward handshake of my life.

"Alllright then," I said straightening up, "What's up with the present?"

Spike looked down at the gift in his claws as if he'd forgotten it was there."Oh yeah!" he cried, "Hey, Twilight," he turned to where Twilight was standing... a moment ago, "Twilight?" he asked looking around.

I was so focused on Spike and the present that I didn't see her leave either.

Here and gone, like a ghost in the ni-

POP.

"SPIKE!"

"GAAH!" Spike shouted.

"JEEZUS!" I cried at the same time.

Where the HELL did she come from!? Where did she even GO!?

"Twilight, you KNOW I hate it when you do that!" Spike growled irritably.

I whipped around to look at Spike incredulously, "You're telling me she does that shit all the time?"

Spike looked at me strangely for a second, then shrugged, "Yeah, she just learned how to teleport recently and now she does it constantly."

"Well, damn, that's actually pretty awes-"

"Nevermind that!" Twilight cut in, "Spike, I need you to help me take some notes."

She practically shoved what looked like some old-school parchment and a quill into Spike's claws and rounded on me with her own parchment and quill floating right beside her in a magenta glow.

Levitation. Neat.

I raised an inquisitive eyebrow at Twilight,"So what are you-"

"Sit."

I blinked and looked around me, "There's no chai-"

"SIT."

"Yes ma'am," I said simply, raising my hands defensively as I sat down cross-legged on the floor in front of her and Spike.

Probably not a good idea to piss off the magic horse that could potentially magic me into oblivion.

I looked over to Spike who just gave me a sympathetic smile, then back to Twilight and her way too intense gaze.

"Tell. Me. Everything." said demanded, her eyes almost literally burning with academic curiosity.

Well, Terry old boy, you knew this was coming eventually. It's time to play 20,000 Questions with Twilight Sparkle.

"Um, actually, Twilight? Shouldn't we be heading over to Moondancer's for the party? I mean I got her a present... and... uh..." Spike stalled out as Twilight leveled a dangerous glare his way, "or we could just, y'know, continue with your, uh... scholarly pursuits," he finished weakly.

You did your best, buddy. You did your best.

Twilight turned back to me, "So, where are you originally from?" she asked with a wide smile. The sudden change in demeanor was kind of unnerving.

Really, I didn't mind answering Twilight's questions - I was an alien in every sense of the word after all - but I'd rather it not have been by way of interrogation. Steeling myself for the inevitable onslaught of questions, I answered, "Well my home planet - yes, Spike, home planet - is Earth, with a capital E. The planet formed roughly 4.6 billion years ago - assuming your Equestrian calendar runs on a 365 day year."

Twilight nodded, eyes sparkling as her quill flew across the parchment, "Fascinating," she whispered in awe, "tell me more."

For the next two and a half hours, I told Twilight what I could remember about the planet Earth and everything in it. I told her about our governments, what I could remember of various statistics, philosophy, history, religion and what little I could remember about math and the sciences.

I didn't sugarcoat how horrible humanity could be, but I did make sure to let her know that we could be just as benevolent, given the chance. She found it particularly heart-warming when I told her about the Christmas truce of 1914.

I was in the middle of a talk about some of our more awesome technological advancements when Spike interrupted.

"Hey, Terrence," he started.

I turned away from the frantically scribbling Twilight to face him, "Yeah, what's up?"

"I've been meaning to ask you," he said with a curious look on his face, "what are those headphones connected to?"

I reached up to where my headphones were hanging around my neck.

Holy shit, I completely forgot those were there.

"Oh, you guys are gonna love this," I said with a smirk, and pulled my Samsung phone out of a pocket on the inside of my coat.

"This," I said grandly as I held up the phone, "is a smartphone."

Before I could elaborate further I felt the phone fly out of my hand. I looked over to Twilight, who was now examining it closely in her magic.

"This flat piece of metal is a phone?" she asked with a skeptical raise of her eyebrow, "how does this even work? There's no place to put your ear or dial numbers."

I reached over and plucked the phone out of her magic.

Wow, that actually worked?

"This 'flat piece of metal' is one of the most advanced pieces of technology humans possess. It can play music - which is where my headphones come in, video - do you guys have video?"

Twilight nodded an affirmative, "It's a relatively new media we use in our theatres."

I chuckled, "Well, I'm willing to bet you've never seen videos of the quality this thing can produce," I cleared my throat and continued, "as I was saying, you got music, videos, pictures, games-" I looked over to Twilight with a smirk "-and books."

Just like I expected, Twilight eyes lit up like a child who got too many presents on their birthday.

"Oh yeah," I teased, "I've even got a couple squirreled away on here somewhere. And if you have enough storage space - which I do - you could probably fit about" - I gestured around the room - "five times the amount of books you have in this room alone... Twilight your getting drool on your parchments." I said with another smirk.

She wiped her mouth with a hoof and looked at the phone with awe and a little bit of... hunger?

"H-how do you even-"

"The books - along with everything else on here, really - are stored as electronic data. Don't ask for the science behind it, I don't know it."

"Wow," Spike whispered reverently, "all that in that tiny little piece of metal..."

Oh my god, I can't believe how fun this is. Now for the kicker.

I turned to Twilight, "Hey, Twilight, remember how I told you about the internet?"

"How could I forget?" her eyes glazed over for a second, "a medium with access to almost limitless information..."

"And you can access almost all of that info right here," I said, tapping the phone.

Twilight and Spike just stared at me.

I laughed in amusement, "And to think, we've mass produced phones that are even more powerful than the one I have."

Actually now that I think about it, will the wi-fi even work here?

Before I could ponder on that further, I was suddenly face-to-face with a pair of crazed amethyst eyes.

"Whatever you need to do to activate that thing, do it... NOW, " Twilight all but commanded.

I laughed again and waved her off, "Alright already, just gimme a second."

I went to hit the button to turn the phone on, but before I could, I heard a belch followed by a sharp, whoosing noise - like a fire flaring up suddenly.

Twilight and I looked towards Spike to see him standing there with a slightly smoking roll of parchment.

For a couple of seconds, no one said anything, then Spike chuckled nervously.

"It uh... looks like the Princess wants to see you, Twi," he said meekly.

"..."

"..."

Twilight's eye twitched.

Oooh this can't be good.

Her mane 'poomfed' into a frayed mess.

Yeah, this definitely isn't gonna end well.

Spike and I both backed away from the volatile mare as her mane started smoking.

Holy shit, is she gonna EXPLODE!? Can ponies do that!?

"C'mon, Twi, remember the breathing exercises Cadence taught you," Spike said with no small amount of fear in his voice.

"Yeah, Twilight, just chill," I tried, "we can always check the phone out later. Beside, I'm not even sure I have access to the internet here in Equestria."

SHIT! I should NOT have said that! Damn it Terry what the fuck were you thi-

Fire.

She freaking burst into flames.

It would've been pretty metal if it weren't so goddamn terrifying.

It was when she let out a scream of pure unadulterated rage that Spike and I booked it out of the room without another word.

Huzzah! Another chapter!

Sorry this one's shorter than normal, but story-wise I just had to end it there. I would've had this out last night but my internet got shut off. Good news is it's back up and I'm already working on the next chapter.

Speaking of the next chapter, Terry and Twilight get see the Princess and finally get their adventure underway.

Look foward to it!

Spike and I burst through the exit of Twilight's Tower and I got my first glance of the world outside.

I say 'glance' because that's about all I was able to do as the little dragon and I were currently on the run from an enraged flaming demon horse.

What little I was able to process was pretty neat. Apparently the room we were in was a loft at the top of a tower overlooking the rest of Canterlot Castle. The castle itself looked more like a massive clump of colorful spires than any proper castle I had ever seen.

Kind of gaudy, but I'll be damned if being the student of a princess doesn't come with some major benefits, I thought to myself as I fled for my life.

As I ran down the spiral staircase outside the door, I realized Spike wouldn't be able to keep up with me on his stubby legs, so I scooped him up - ignoring his cries of protest - and continued my descent down the stairs.

We reached the bottom of the stairs and I was able to make out more of the castle.

What I saw made my jaw drop.

"Hey, Spike?" I said, panting in exhaustion from the rather lengthy climb down.

"What?" he responded grumpily from under my arm.

"Did your princess seriously have the castle built between a mountainside and a goddamn cliff?"

Spike looked up at me with a raised eyebrow, "Yeah, why?"

Rather than answer, I just continued to gawk at the castle, shaking my head incredulously.

I mean, if you think about it, this does make the place easily defendable against a siege... but that's only if you're not taking the weak foundation into account. A few well-placed explosives to the cliffside and that castle's going down. Literally.

"It's nothing," I finally answered, "don't worry about it."

Spike looked at me for a few seconds more, then shrugged, "Well, whatever," his look changed to one of annoyance, "can you put me down now?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that," I said apologetically, placing him on the ground, "kinda freaked out a bit when your caretaker decided to go supernova on me."

"Well," Spike began, brushing himself off, "It was kinda your fault, y'know," he said looking up at me with an accusatory eye.

"What?" I asked in disbelief, "how the hell is this my fault?"

He crossed his arms, looking at me pointedly, "You don't just dangle knowledge in front of Twilight like that and then not deliver."

I frowned and crossed my own arms, "Okay, first of all," I rebutted, "I had - and still have - every intention of showing Twilight how the phone works, your princess just has shit timing. Second," I continued, cutting off Spike's retort, "I had no way of knowing she could spontaneously combust like that. Yeah maybe I took it a bit far with the teasing," I conceded, "but it was all in good fun, and like I said I was gonna-"

"By Celestia's mane, what IS that creature!?"

Spike and I whipped around and saw two ponies - a mare and a stallion - dressed in fancy looking outfits, staring at me with what I assumed was fear and disgust.

"Ugh, it's hideous!" cried the mare who had spoken before.

I just raised an eyebrow at the rude pony.

Snobby accent, fancy suit and dress, upturned noses, blatant disrespect... yep, those are textbook nobles alright.

"Honey," she said, turning to poke the stallion in the side, "call the guards, quickly."

Seriously?

"Already on it, darling," the stallion cooed, then he turned in a seemingly random direction, "GUARDS! ARREST THIS BEAST AT ONCE!" he bellowed.

Ouch. I know I'm not the best looking guy out there but, damn...

I looked around, but didn't see any ponies that looked like guards.

I turned back to the snobby couple to say as much, but then-

"What seems to be the trou - SWEET CELESTIA!"

Apparently one of the guards had just turned a corner and spotted me.

"HALT, IN THE NAME OF THE CROWN!" he commanded, leveling a spear at me with his hooves... somehow.

"...I wasn't moving," I deadpanned.

For fuck's sake, man. Are all ponies this high-strung? And is that gold armor? Seriously, how has this kingdom lasted this long?

"Thank Celestia you're here." the mare cried dramatically, "get this... thing out of my sight at once!"

Laying it on a little thick there aren't you, lady?

I turned to Spike with a raised eyebrow, "Anything to say on the matter?"

He rubbed his temples with an exasperated sigh, "Just wait for Twilight to get here and sort things out."

This time I raised both eyebrows, "Seriously? Isn't she like, a raging demon mare from hell right now?"

He smirked, "Yep. Just give it a minute."

"What are you... wait..." my eyes widened in realization and I gave an impish grin to match Spike's mischievous smirk, "Oh, this is gonna be good."

In the brief moment Spike and I had been talking, more guards had shown up, pointing spears at me. I just stood there with Spike, hands in my pockets and waiting for the inevitable.

"Heya," I waved with a smile, "how goes it?"

"Silence, creature," one of the guards spat. The guard that spoke was a massive white unicorn with a two-tone navy and baby blue mane. His armor looked a bit fancier than the rest.

Must be high ranking.

He took a threatening step forward, "I don't know what your intentions are, but I do know you're going to step away from that tower and accompany us to see the Princess. Now."

"Um, Shining Armor?"

The white stallion and I looked towards Spike - the stallion in surprise and me in confusion.

What the hell? what does shiny armor have to do with... wait... seriously? I thought with growing amusement, His name is actually 'Shining Armor'?

"Spike?" he asked, bewildered, "what are you doing here, with that?" he finished giving me a nasty look.

And just like that my amusement was gone, replaced with growing irritation.

"Okay, dude, seriously," I said, crossing my arms with a frown, "I have a name and gender."

Before anyone could say anything else, there was a loud 'POP' and an apologetic looking - and noticeably not-on-fire - Twilight appeared right in front of me, making everyone jump - me especially.

"Hey, Terrence," she said with her head bowed, looking ashamed and embarrassed, "I wanted to say I'm sorry for... y'know... blowing up at you like that-" she looked up at me with a sheepish smile "-literally."

Huh. That's a bit disappointing. I wanted to see her rail on the guards, but I guess it's better this way.

"It's cool, Twilight, really... but, uh..." I gestured behind her with a finger, "we kinda got a situation here."

She blinked and looked behind her.

"Shiny?" she asked in surprise, "what are you doing here?"

Snapping out of the shock he was apparently in, Shining Armor spoke to Twilight - glaring at me all the while, "Twily, back away from the creature! We don't what it's capable of and you could be in danger!"

Shiny? Twily?

I looked down at Twilight with a quizzical expression, "Are you two like, together or something?"

She looked back at me in confusion, "What? What are you talking abou... oh!" her eyes widened before she recoiled in disgust, "ew, no! He's my brother!"

Well, that explains the overprotective attitude, I guess.

Alright, alright, I got it," I said, raising my hands defensively, "could you tell your brother and his cronies to back off a bit?" I gave Shining Armor a pointed look while still speaking to Twilight, "especially since I clearly know you and haven't done anything?"

She just sighed and shook her head before turning back to Shining Armor, "It's okay, Shiny. I do know him," she turned to properly introduce me, "this is Terrence Thurston. He's a human that arrived here recently from... a foreign land."

"A very foreign land," Spike muttered.

Twilight ignored him and continued, "I was just showing him around when we got... separated," she finished a bit awkwardly.

Shining Armor looked between me and Twilight for a bit before he sighed and faced Twilight, "Alright, Twily, I understand," he turned to face me - no longer hostile but still stern, "but he still needs to see the Princess."

Twilight nodded, "We were actually on our way to do just that-"

"Before Honey and Darling over there started harassing me," I interrupted, pointing a thumb over at the two noble ponies.

The two huffed indignantly and walked off - noses in the air.

Fucking nobles, man.

"Spike and I can take it from here, Shiny," Twilight said, turning back to Shining Armor.

He looked indecisive for another moment before nodding reluctantly, "Alright Twilight, I'll trust that you know what you're doing."

He walked over and ruffled her mane playfully, "Just be careful, LSBFF. You know how much I worry about you."

Twilight giggled and pushed him away, "I told you not to worry so much. I can take care of myself just fine, BBBFF."

Ugh, more sibling pet names?

Shining Armor turned to his guards, "Alright, everything's clear. Let's move out!"

They all saluted and marched away, further into the castle area. Shining Armor followed for a bit until he stopped and turned to give me one of those protective older brother glares, pointing a hoof from his eyes to me. He then walked off to follow the other guards the rest of the way.

I just rolled my eyes at the gesture.

"Can we go now?" asked Spike impatiently, hopping on Twilight's back, "I'm getting sick of just standing around out here."

"Same here," I said, stretching my arms, "I wanna meet this 'Almighty Goddess of the Sun and Moon'."

Twilight groaned in exasperation and started heading for the castle gates, "The fact that she's a powerful and immortal alicorn doesn't automatically make her a goddess."

I, once again, shoved my hands in my coat pockets and followed after her and Spike. "Whatever you say, Twi," I responded, unconvinced.

After a bit of walking and some opened-mouthed stares and whispers from the populace aimed in my direction, we finally reached the castle's front gates where two guards stood statue-like.

I expected them to do the whole 'state your business' spiel, but apparently Shining Armor informed them we were coming ahead of time and we were let in without complaint - though they did make sure to eye me suspiciously on our way in.

We made it inside and I whistled in appreciation at what I saw.

Well, despite what I think about how it looks from the outside, the interior looks a lot nicer - if not still a little whimsical in its design.

It was all large, grandiose marble hallways, spiral staircases, and giant stained-glass windows. They went for a back-and-white checkerboard patterned floor lined with regal red carpet for most areas and a standard off-white everywhere else.

I liked it, though my mom - being the interior designer she was - would've fled the place screaming.

"So," I turned my attention back to Twilight, "what can I expect with the princess? From what I've seen, this place looks peaceful enough, so I'm assuming she's a benevolent goddess?"

"Ugh! I told you she's not a-" she cut herself off when she saw my amused smirk. She huffed and turned back around, ignoring the sound of Spike snickering from her back.

"Although she's not a goddess," she continued, "she is benevolent. You'd be hard pressed to find a kinder ruler and pony in general. She's also very wise-"

Can't be all that wise, I thought, thinking back to the 'strategic' placement of the castle.

"-but that's to be expected, given she's well over twenty-five centuries old."

I furrowed my brow.

"And how long has she ruled Equestria?" I asked.

Twilight turned to look back at me with a raised eyebrow - likely curious about the sudden seriousness in my tone. When I indicated I was waiting for her response, she shrugged and put a hoof to her chin in thought.

"Well," she began slowly, "I think she first took the throne about 1500 years ago - just after the reign of Discord if I'm remembering what she told me correctly."

Ruling unopposed for centuries... so, assuming what Twilight tells me is true, Celestia is running a benevolent dictatorship. And who the hell is Discord? Sounds like a villain, but I don't know the details of his reign and what Celestia did to take the throne. There might be an interesting story here...

My thoughts were interrupted by a sudden tug on my jacket.

I looked over to see Spike giving me a flat look, "we're here," he deadpanned.

Huh. Deja vu.

I looked ahead to see we were indeed standing in front of a massive set of double doors. The guards on either side gave me a disapproving glance but said nothing as they pushed the doors open.

"Well," Twilight spoke a bit nervously, "let's head inside, shall we?"

She took the lead and I followed behind her.

I stepped inside what I only just realized was the throne room. I was surprised to find that it was rather...

...unremarkable. Especially compared to the rest of the castle.

You had your standard vast open space and high ceiling. The columns lining the way to the throne and the giant stained-glass windows were a nice touch, but everything else was a boring off-white marble and the red carpet running all the way to the throne was something I already expected to see. Even the throne itself was disappointing - a large golden oval backed seat with red cushion, modified to fit a pony, sat on a raised platform... and that was it.

When you're raised by an interior designer, you notice these kinds of things, I guess.

What was remarkable however, was the pony sitting on aforementioned throne.

Even from a distance I could tell she was taller than any of the ponies I had seen so far. Her coat was pure white and her chromatic mane and tail were both constantly blowing in a breeze that wasn't there. And naturally being royalty, she had a golden crown, a peytral - because she was horse royalty, and golden horseshoes - again, because horse royalty.

Her throne room might suck, but she's definitely got the regal look down pat.

As we got closer I could see was in the middle of a conversation with another pony. Judging by the conservative mane style, thick glasses, neck ascot, parchment and quill floating beside her, and pen and inkwell... butt tattoo? She was probably some kind of royal aide.

I really need to ask about those butt tattoos at some point.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight called out, trotting over to where the princess was sitting.

Hearing Twilight's voice the princess looked over with a gentle smile, "Ah, Twilight, my faithful student. I've been waiting for you," I finally caught up to Twilight and Celestia turned her gaze to me, only showing a small hint of surprise, "and who might this be?"

Before Twilight could respond, I introduced myself.

"The name's Terrence, Your Majesty. Terrence Thurston," I said. I spoke with the polite tone and smile appropriate for the occasion, but I didn't bow.

She wasn't my princess after all.

Celestia nodded with a polite smile of her own, though it was obvious she was still wary, "It's nice to meet you Terrence. I must admit, I've never seen one of your kind before, and trust me," she said with a small chuckle, "I've been around for quite some time and have seen many things." Her features became a bit more stoic, "Tell me," she asked with equal caution and curiosity, "where do you hail from, and what are your intentions here in Equestria?"

Straight to the point. I can dig that.

Twilight looked like she wanted to say something, but again, I spoke first, deciding to be completely candid about my origins, "Believe or not, Your Majesty, I'm actually an alien. A human from the planet Earth - that's Earth with a capital 'E'."

This time Celestia made no attempt to hide her surprise.

She whipped around to face the pony she had been talking to before we came in - a somewhat intense look on her face. "Ms. Inkwell, what we discuss here is not to leave this throne room, is that understood?" she command in a low, but urgent voice.

The pony in question - who was, up until that moment, staring at me in shock - looked towards Celestia and nodded jerkily, "Y-yes Princess."

Celestia nodded in approval and turned to face some guards standing by the doors just inside the throne room, "That goes for the rest of you as well. Nopony outside of this room is to know of what transpires here."

The guards each saluted with an, "Understood, Your Majesty," and went right back to their statue-like state.

Once she was satisfied, Celestia turned back to me, "Now then," she continued, all business, "that explains the 'where' somewhat, but not the 'how' or 'why'. Care to elaborate, Terrence?"

"Well, Princess," I began, "before I answer those questions, I think it would put your mind a bit more at ease if I mentioned that - should you have any further questions about my kind or where I came from - Twilight has written some... very extensive notes on the subject."

She took a glance at Twilight who confirmed what I was saying with a nod and a small smile.

Celestia gave her own small smile and returned her gaze to me, "Very well, that does make me feel a bit better if I'm being honest. I thank you for your cooperation with my student."

Didn't really feel like I had a choice in the matter, actually, was what I wanted to say. Instead I continued from where I left off.

"As far as your other questions are concerned... well..."

Twilight and I glanced at each other, trying to figure out how best to explain our situation to the princess. It was Twilight that finally turned back to answer Celestia's questions.

"Earlier this morning I was on my way to ask you some questions about some books I had checked out from the Royal Archives. When I went to leave my tower, I noticed there was something... strange about the door," she explained hesitantly, "it was a completely different shape and gave off an eerie blue glow."

"Huh," Spike cut in, raising a claw to his chin, "the door to the tower seemed fine when I came in and saw you guys," he shrugged, "I just assumed you found Terry wandering around outside the castle and decided to help him out."

Twilight shook her head, "That's just it, Spike. According to what Terry and I found out, you wouldn't have been able to see the door."

Celestia raised an intrigued eyebrow, "And what exactly did you and Terrence find out? I'm assuming you went through this mysterious door?"

Twilight looked back to Celestia with a sheepish smile, "I'm sorry, Princess, I'm kind of getting ahead of myself. Where was I?"

I rolled my eyes and continued in Twilight's stead, "It's like this, Princess, for some reason or another, there are people - and ponies apparently - going around with special 'contracts' of some sort. The ones that sign these contracts-" I gestured to Twilight and myself "-like us, are able to enter some place called the Velvet Room. I got there through the same door Twilight did when it replaced my own bedroom door."

Celestia hummed to herself in contemplation, "The 'Velvet Room'," she mused thoughtfully, "I've never heard of such a place."

Twilight nodded and continued excitedly, "It was incredible, Princess! From what I understand, the 'Velvet Room' is a shape shifting construct that lies within a completely separate plane of existence from our own. Apparently, it changes form based on what lies within the heart of the one who enters."

"Oh?" asked Celestia curiously, "and what shape did this Velvet Room decide to take upon your entry?"

"Well," Twilight started awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck, "that's where things get a bit weird - well, weirder than they already were. You see, Princess, for whatever reason I'm still not sure of, I was the only one that was supposed to enter the Velvet Room initially," she looked over to me, "but Terrence got there first. From what I've been able to deduce, the unexpected development caused a fundamental change in the way the Velvet Room works and it ended up reforming itself into... well..."

"We opened the door and found a tavern just kind of floating in the void. Shit was weird," I finished.

Twilight shot me a dirty look, but I just shrugged.

"I... see..." Celestia responded, a bit stunned, "do you have any idea why it became a tavern of all things?"

"Igor - the person we talked to - told us that it might've been indicative of our chance meeting from across dimensions," Twilight answered, "that's not exactly what he said, but I think that's what he was trying to imply."

Celestia nodded, "And this... person, Igor, what was he like? What was his role?"

Twilight shivered a bit as she remembered the mysterious man, "He was... odd. He looked like a human but... not exactly."

Twilight tried to describe him as best she could and I threw in my own two cents occasionally. I wasn't sure what kind of picture we painted of the man for Celestia in the end, but we did the best we could with our explanation. We also took a bit of time to mention Reedus as well, though not in as much detail.

"Well, he certainly does sound like a strange individual," she chuckled, "I can understand you're initial shock."

No kidding.

She continued on, "So, what did this 'Tavernmaster' want from the two of you?"

It was here that Twilight started to look a bit uncomfortable, "Well," she started, once again hesitant, "he first mentioned how we were able to go through the doors because of the contracts we signed - unwittingly as it turns out - and then..."

As Twilight recounted our conversation with Igor, Celestia's expression gradually changed from cautiously curious, to outright unreadable by the end. This made me narrow my eyes a bit.

She definitely knows something.

I looked over to see if Twilight had noticed, but if she had she didn't outwardly show it.

"So what do you think all of this means, Princess?" Twilight asked worriedly.

Celestia shook her head slowly, "I'm not quite sure, Twilight-"

Bullshit.

"-but if Igor is to be believed, the best thing we can do for right now is to keep an eye out for any sign of this coming darkness. And-" she turned to me with a wary scowl "-it appears you have some important role to play as well."

I shrugged, feigning nonchalance, "Apparently,"

She wants to play this game? Fine, I'll play.

"I have an idea of what you're thinking, but I have no intention of becoming any kind of villain. That said, Igor did allude to some other kind of threat from the one Twilight is supposed to face," I made sure to look her straight in the eye as I asked my next question.

"Do you have any ideas as to what that threat might be?"

"I'm afraid I don't, Mr. Thruston," she replied, meeting my gaze evenly.

Can't tell if she's lying or not this time.

I looked at her for another moment before shrugging again and placing my hands back in my pockets, "Ah well," I responded, "I'm sure I'll find out eventually."

Twilight looked between the two of us in slight bemusement before moving on, "Anyway," she said, turning back to Celestia, "You said you needed to see me about something Princess?"

"Ah yes, that's right, I have a special task for you and Spike," Celestia's horn lit up and she pulled the roll of parchment away from the royal aide and floated it towards Twilight, who started looking it over, "I'd like you two to travel to Ponyville to check on the events for the upcoming Summer Sun Celebration."

Curious, I discreetly looked over Twilight's head at what was on the parchment. What it showed were sketches of five ponies and what I guessed were the event's they were in charge of.

"Who's that?" asked an awestruck Spike, pointing at one of the sketches.

Twilight looked to where Spike was pointing, "Says here her name is Rarity," said she replied, "and it looks like she's in charge of... decorations for the Ponyville Town Hall."

"Wow..." Spike responded almost reverently.

Twilight and I raised an eyebrow at Spike, but didn't say anything about it otherwise.

To each their own, I guess.

"So, Princess," I said, looking back to Celestia, "is it alright if I tag along with Twilight and Spike? Y'know, make sure everything goes alright?"

She looked surprised for a brief second but then took on a more thoughtful look as she tapped a hoof against her chin. I could practically see the gears turning in her head as she looked me over and I couldn't help but feel like she was hatching some kind of scheme.

What's your game here, Princess?

"I don't see why not," she finally answered, "whatever your fate is, it seems to be tied with Twilight's, so it might be a good idea to keep you two close together should this darkness make itself known."

"Sweet," I said smiling, then my smile switched to a knowing smirk, "and I'll make sure to pass myself off as a visitor from out of country. Is that acceptable, Your Highness?"

Celestia matched my smirk with her own, "Perfectly, Terrence. And Twilight?" she looked over to the mare in question.

"Yes, Princess?" Twilight asked.

"Do try and make some friends while you're in Ponyville," Celestia finished with a gentle smile.

With newfound allies by your side, you must find a way to unlock a great power.

And then it clicked.

Oh, you scheming, conniving, manipulative bit-

"Are you coming, Terry?"

I looked behind me to see Twilight and Spike already heading out the double doors. Twilight had stopped and was looking back at me expectantly.

"Yeah, gimme a minute," I called back with a fake smile, "I gotta ask the princess something."

Twilight looked over to Celestia, who simply nodded and waved a hoof for her to continue.

She and Spike looked at each other, shrugged, and walked the rest of the way out of the throne room.

When she was out of sight I turned back to Celestia, who had just finished dismissing her aide and the guards in the room.

I may not know everything that's going on, but I know she knows. And judging by her actions right now, she knows I know.

She then turned to me with that same unreadable expression I had seen earlier.

"So what was it you wanted to ask me, Mr. Thurston?" she asked in a neutral tone.

"Do you care about Twilight?"

Her eyes widened, clearly caught off guard by the blatant question, and I was able to make out a few emotions running through them. Shock, indignation, and even a bit of hurt.

Perfect. Exactly what I wanted to see.

She quickly recovered and gave me an icy glare, "Of course I do," she hissed, "I don't know who you think you are to ask me a question like that, but-"

"Look," I interrupted, unfazed by her anger, "I don't know what kind of history you and Twilight have and I don't wanna tell you how to run your kingdom, but there's some red flags being raised here, that's all I'm saying. Sorry if I upset you, Your Highness, but I'm just calling it like I see it."

Celestia narrowed her eyes and I realized only then that I walking on a knife's edge.

"Just what is it you are implying, Mr. Thurston?" she asked in a dangerously calm tone, "We are alone, so speak plainly if you would."

I let out a low sigh of resignation.

Well, I'm in the shit now. Might as well keep going.

"Maybe I'm off the mark here," I began, once more looking Celestia in the eye, "but during our entire conversation, you've been giving off some heavy Machiavellian vibes."

The Princess blinked, then frowned, clearly caught off-gaurd by my words, "I'm sorry, Machia... what?"

"A schemer, Princess," I clarified with a shrug, "Your words, your expressions, your body language... it all makes me think you've got some... machinations going on behind the scenes."

Celestia opened her mouth to retort but then stopped, brow furrowing. After a moment of silence she spoke again, her tone suddenly and unnervingly casual, "I am a ruler who tries to do what's best for her subjects, Terrence Thurston. I like to think I rule with a kind and fair hoof, but I am not above scheming in the shadows when the safety of my subjects is at stake. I cannot afford to be."

"Sure, alright," I replied with a nod, "I can get behind that reasoning... but where does Twilight come in?"

She glared at me then, just for a moment, but then let out a tired sigh and looked off into the distance at something I couldn't see. For a long minute, neither of us spoke. She continued to wistfully gaze at nothing in particular and I just stood there, waiting for her to make that inevitable speech.

"Twilight... is very precious to me, Terrence," she finally said - though it seemed like she was talking more to herself, "I do have plans, and they do involve Twilight. Had I a say in the matter, that wouldn't be the case, but as things stand now, she's the only option I have left. The only hope. If there was another way, of course I'd choose it, but between her and my s..."

She trailed off and I raised an eyebrow, "...and your...?" I prompted.

She continued to stare silently off to the side for a bit more before shaking her head and turning back to face me with a smile that was equal parts gentle and morose, "There will be danger in Twilight's future, but if she trusts in herself and learns to trust in the bonds born of friendship, I have faith that she can overcome and grow stronger for the experience," she said.

Something flipped over in my mind at her words, like a flag being raised, but before I could think too deeply on it, Celestia continued. I picked up a hint of both hope and a pleading note in her voice as she spoke, "I don't know what kind of destiny has been laid out for you, but... please do your best to look out for her."

The somber atmosphere lifted, but I still winced at the Princess's words.

Well, shit... no pressure.

"Yeah, sure, I'll do what I can," I replied with one of my signature shrugs, "I like Twilight. Combustion tendencies aside, she's a cool mare."

"That she is," Celestia agreed with a nod, "Now, I think it's about time you caught up with her and Spike or they might be liable to leave without you."

"I doubt that," I replied with a wry grin, "Twilight seemed ready to lock me in a cage until she dragged every bit of info out of me before you sent her that letter."

We both laughed a bit and, while all the cloak-and-dagger bullshit still didn't sit quite right with me, I decided to let the matter go for now. Not only did my gut tell me she was being genuine, but it wasn't my place to tell her off regardless. I know I'd tried to initially, but giving it some more thought, that was a stupid move in retrospect.

Yeah, the idea of a horse princess was absurd, but she was still living and breathing royalty. I wouldn't get anywhere worth going by antagonist someone like that. Best to just shelve my personal gripes and deal with it for now.

Time would tell if the Princess' intentions were as good as she was implying. In the meantime, I had no problem sticking by Twilight and had every intention of doing so regardless of Celestia's request.

And on that note...

I turned to walk out of the throne room...

The hour approaches, Child of Man... Heed my call... Speak my Name...

...and almost hit the floor as I stumbled over my own two feet. A wave of nausea washed over me and I had to fight to keep the bile down. The sudden fog in my brain didn't help matters and by the time I gathered my hazy thoughts, I found myself down on one knee starting at the plush red carpet beneath me.

What... the actual fu-

"Terrence?" I could hear Celestia call out, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, just... gimme a minute," I called back, waving the mare down as she moved to rise from her throne, "Felt dizzy for a bit, but it's... I'm good now. I'm good."

I rose to my feet and gave the Princess a reassuring grin, but she clearly wasn't convinced. Unfortunately, even if she asked, I had nothing to give her. I had no idea what the hell that was or how to explain it.

Sorry, Princess, just heard some kind of booming angry voice in my head making vague proclamations. No need to worry. Pfft, yeah right.

"I'll be fine," I insisted, seeing that Celestia was about to argue the fact. Looking for a distraction, I found one as I looked around the throne room and realized something, "More importantly... where am I actually supposed to go?"

She hesitated a moment, still looking unsure, but then shook her head and chuckled as she began heading toward the entrance to the throne room, "Come, I'll show you where the castle's flight deck is located."

"Oh, sweet. Thanks," I said gratefully, and turned to follow her out of the room.

...Wait.

Did she say 'flight deck'?

Chariots.

On a flight deck.

Something wasn't adding up here.

"Are you serious?" I asked, turning to Celestia with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" she asked in return, a smirk playing across her face, "you're not scared of heights are you?"

I shook my head, "Well, no but... they're chariots. I mean come on, what the hell? Why are there freaking chariots on a flight deck?" I threw my hands up in sheer bemusement, "what's up with that?"

Twilight had arrived on the scene just as Celestia finished laughing at my obvious bewilderment.

"Terry? Princess?" she asked in confusion, "what's going on?"

"Oh, Twilight," Celestia turned her attention to Twilight, still chuckling mirthfully, "it seems Terrence is a bit lost as to how our chariots work," she glanced at me with what I swore was an impish grin, and then back to Twilight, "would you care to explain the details?"

What are you up to? I wondered looking at Celestia suspiciously.

Then I looked back to see Twilight's eyes giving off that same eager shine I saw back in the Velvet Room and that's when I knew exactly what she was up to.

Oh, you scheming, conniving, manipulative bit-

"I'd love to Princess!"

FUCK!

Twilight closed her eyes, raised her hoof, opened her mouth... and what followed was a not-so-brief history on flying chariots and the pegasi that made it all possible.

Spoken word-for-word exactly as it was written in the book of the same name.

This lasted until we made it to the chariot where Spike and the pegasi who I assumed would be pulling our cart were waiting.

I made it to the chariot first and just kind of slumped in without a word, resting my head in my hands once I was sitting down.

"Wow," Spike said, with a raised eyebrow, "what's up with you?"

Without looking up, I jerked a thumb over to where Twilight was still talking animatedly - oblivious to the fact that I clearly wasn't listening anymore.

"Ah," said Spike nodding in understanding.

As we took off into the sky I looked over the edge of the chariot, watching the castle move further and further away. I turned to look at the actual city of Canterlot and realized I had never actually got to see it.

Well, that's a damn shame... looks nice from up here at least.

"Hey, Terry?" came a somewhat subdued voiced from behind me. I turned to face an apprehensive Twilight and once she saw she had my attention, she continued, "Do you really think I can do it? Stop the darkness I mean?"

"Sure, I mean-" I turned to fully face Twilight "-from what you've told me, you were ridiculously powerful even as kid-"

She gave me a look.

"-foal. Whatever," I waved my hand dismissively, "my point is, whatever might happen I'm sure you'll be strong enough to handle it. And hey, even if you aren't, Spike and I have got your back, right Spike?"

"Yup," Spike assured, "don't worry so much, Twi, you'll get through this no sweat."

Twilight gave us both a wide, thankful smile, "Thanks, you two, it really helps a lot to hear you say that."

Before either of us could response, Twilight winced and put a hoof to her temple.

"Hey, you okay, Twi?" Spike asked in concern.

She shook her head as if trying to clear it, "Yeah I - AGH!"

This time she grasped her head with both hooves, gritting her teeth in obvious discomfort.

"Whoa," I leaned closer to Twilight trying to keep her steady, "you don't look so g-"

"What is this voice!?" she cried suddenly.

I froze.

No way.

I grabbed her by the sides and forced her to look at me.

"Twilight, listen to me," I commanded, "the voice in your head, what is it telling you?"

She ignored me and continued to hyperventilate.

"Twilight!" I yelled, a bit nervous about having a panicking mare in an open air flying cart, "I seriously need you to stop freaking out. Use those breathing techniques."

She seemed to hear me this time and started inhaling and exhaling deeply, a hoof planted on her chest.

"...Better?" I asked after a minute.

She nodded shakily, "Y-yeah, sorry about that."

"Geez, Twilight," Spike said with a worried frown, "what was that all about?"

Twilight shook her head slowly, staring at her forehooves, "I-I don't know. I was fine a minute ago, but then my head started to hurt... a-and then I heard a voice."

"And what did this voice tell you?" I asked seriously.

Twilight gave me an odd look.

"It said something about the hour drawing near. That my 'fate awaits me'."

I nodded slowly and leaned back in my seat, a contemplative frown on my face.

This has to be related to the Velvet Room somehow, or... maybe those contracts?

"Terry?"

I blinked and looked over to Twilight, who was giving me her own thoughtful look.

"You've heard it too, haven't you? The voice?" she asked me.

I nodded an affirmative, "I'm pretty sure this has to do with what happened to us either in the Velvet Room, or when we signed those contracts."

Twilight hummed to herself in thought and turned back to face the front of the chariot. I once again, turned to look out over the side, watching the hills and plains roll by below me.

Neither of us said anything for the rest of the trip - each lost in our own thoughts, which probably amounted to the same thing:

Just what the hell is going on?

HAHA! GOT THIS OUT JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS AND DAMN DOES IT FEEL GOOD!

Seriously though, Merry Christmas, you guys and I hope you enjoyed what I guess was your Christmas gift from me to you!

I hope you're looking forward to more!

It was getting later in the afternoon when we finally touched down just on the outskirts of Ponyville. To be honest, it looked just as I expected a place called 'Ponyville' to look; old fashioned stone bridges, wooden carts being pulled around by various ponies, open air markets, and thatched roof houses - and that was just what I could see from when we were still airborne.

I could tell that what happened earlier with the voice still weighed on Twilight's mind, and I didn't blame her. I was still kind of reeling from the shock too, in my own way. Still, we each decided to set the matter aside for the time being, seeing as we had no concrete answers and there were more immediate issues to distract ourselves with.

Once we were grounded I hopped out of the cart, shortly followed by Twilight and Spike. Spike had opted to take a ride on Twilight's back rather than walk like the rest of us mortals.

Lazy bastard...

I stretched my arms a bit before giving the scenery a quick once over. What I saw was, well... idyllic. Very Idyllic.

So idyllic I could've sworn it was all fake.

I walked over to Twilight, not taking my eyes off the too-green pasture and overly lush trees, "Hey, Twilight?"

Twilight 'hmm'd' noncommittally, eyes glued to the checklist she had written just before we landed.

I waved my hand in front the list to catch her attention. It must've worked because gave me an annoyed scowl.

"What?" she groused.

I leaned in close to her and Spike, whispering conspiratorially, "This place kinda creeps me out."

Twilight raised an eyebrow and looked behind me. Her gaze swept over the green landscape and back to the town a little ways into the distance. She glanced at the ponies milling about, minding their own business and then back to me, confused, "Everything looks normal to me," she whispered back.

"Yeah," I responded quietly, "too normal. I don't like it."

"I think this place is kind of nice," Spike added just as quietly.

"Me too," agreed the pink pony, "but why are we whispering?"

We all jumped and stumbled back in alarm.

No one said anything for a moment - that is until the pink pony giggled, stopped giggling abruptly, gasped suddenly as her eyes bugged out, and then took off like the goddamn Roadrunner.

I'm not gonna lie - it kinda scared the shit out of me.

After a second I turned to Twilight, gesturing towards where the pink nightmare disappeared and gave her a 'This is exactly the kind of shit I'm talking about.' look.

She looked at me, turned to Spike who had just gotten up and was dusting himself off after falling off her back, turned to where The Pink One, vanished, and then turned back to me.

"Um," she began awkwardly, then she hovered the list over to her face and Spike to her back, "let's just... go to the first place on the list, shall we?"

She began walking further into the open field and I took one last suspicious look back at the town before following behind her.

"So, where we headed?" I asked as I caught up to Twilight.

Spike took out the roll of parchment Celestia had given us from Twilight's saddlebags and looked it over, "It looks like we're supposed to go to Sweet Apple Acres and meet the mare in charge of catering for the Summer Sun Celebration."

"Right," added Twilight, "according to my list, we're supposed to meet with a mare named Applejack."

"Sweet Apple Acres, huh?" I repeated thoughtfully, "So, we're probably headed out to some farmlands then."

Sure enough, we started seeing rows upon rows of apple trees as we walked further.

An apple farm... of course it's an apple farm.

Truth be told, I've actually never been a big fan of apples. Unfortunately - given the name of the farmlands, the name of the mare we were supposed to meet, and the abundance of apple trees - these ponies were most likely gonna be all about the apples.

Joy.

"YEEHAW!"

Snapped out of my musings by the sudden cry, I looked up just in time to see an orange coated mare in a Stetson run up, turn, and buck one of the apple trees. Apparently the kick was so strong it knocked all the apples out of the tree and into some buckets set up at the base. She repeated this a few more times with some other trees before she stopped and looked over her work - looking all kinds of smug I might add.

Well aren't you just a regular cowpoke?

Before I could say anything to the farmer, Twilight walked over to her first, "Excuse me," she called out.

Once she had the mare's attention she continued, "Sorry to interrupt, my name's Twilight Sparkle and-"

That's all she was able to get out before the farm pony gave her one of the most intense hand - hoofshakes I had ever seen.

"Well, howdy-do there, Twilight!" she greeted enthusiastically, "name's Applejack! Always good ta meet a new friend!"

"Whoa there," I said, steadying Twilight once Applejack had finally let go of her hoof, "bring it down a notch, Calamity Jane."

"Calamity who?" Spike asked. Everyone ignored him, naturally.

"Well now, ain't you a big'n," she observed, looking up at me with a bit of surprise.

I leaned down and held out my hand to shake her hoof, morbidly curious to see just how ridiculous her hoofshake really was, "Name's Terrence Thurston - call me Terry," I said with a friendly smile.

My friendly smile turned a bit pained when she grabbed my hand and jerked my entire arm up and down, much like she had Twilight's hoof.

"Don't rightly know whatcha are pardner, but it's good ta meetcha all the same!" she said with that same overbearing enthusiasm.

"Yeah, well," I started, wincing a bit as I tried to rub some feeling back in my hand, "you're definitely a far cry from the nobles up in Canterlot."

Applejack gave me a knowing smirk, "I'd imagine so," she chuckled and gave me a jovial smile, "ya seem like the friendly sort at any rate, so why would I treat ya any different?"

"Fair enough," I conceded with a shrug.

She nodded and turned to Twilight, "So, what can ah do for ya?"

Twilight cleared her throat and went into... business mode, I guess? She looked over her notes one more time before addressing Applejack.

"I'm actually here from Canterlot to check on the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration on Princess Celestia's behalf," she gave Applejack a pointed look, "from what I understand, you're in charge of the banquet, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am" Applejack confirmed, then she looked thoughtful for a second before beaming at the three of us, "in fact, if yer lookin' for a taste test, me and mah family are about ready ta take a lunch break ourselves."

"Oh," Twilight began nervously, "well, that's awfully kind of you to offer but it's getting late and we still have a lot to-"

"Oh come on, Twi," Spike whined from her back, "I haven't eaten lunch today and I'm starving!" he folded his arms and gave a disapproving look, "and besides, you haven't eaten at all today. You said you'd 'get around to breakfast' but never did."

"I know, Spike," she argued, "and I'm sorry, but it's imperative that we get this done before-"

"Now hold on a minute," I interrupted, "he actually makes a good point. Because of all that Velvet Room crap, I never got to actually eat breakfast."

Twilight went to retort but her stomach beat her to the punch and growled audibly. Her face reddened for a second, before she let out a defeated sigh, "Okay we can stay for a quick lunch - but only one serving," she quickly added.

"Well that settles it then!" Applejack laughed, then she walked over to a wooden post with an old fashion metal triangle and rang it a couple of times.

"SOOOOOUUUPS ON EVERYPONY!!!"

And that's when all hell broke loose.

It started out as a slight rumbling I could feel in the ground.

"What is that?" Twilight asked, looking around nervously.

I didn't answer her because I was too busy looking at a point in the distance she couldn't see with her lower vantage point.

"What the fuck?" I whispered, squinting at a rising cloud of dust.

"Oh no," I heard Twilight utter quietly, horror evident in her voice.

I was wondering what she was worried about, when I heard it.

Hooves.

The sound of dozens - maybe hundreds - of hooves could be heard over the horizon, getting closer by the second.

"Oh, hell no!" I cried. I turned to Twilight, "Twilight, take Spike and get the fu-"

That's all I could manage before they were on us.

For what seemed like an eternity, nothing in the world was right anymore. I felt myself being pushed and pulled in every direction violently. I think I heard Spike yell something, but I couldn't be sure. I didn't know which way was up, all I could see in this brand new world of disorientation were blurs of color. I swore I lost my mind at one point.

And then it was over.

I blinked a few times and looked around.

Twilight, Spike, and I were now sitting at a table with a plate of apple pie in front of each of us.

We looked at each other, completely dumbfounded at what had just occurred, when Applejack suddenly appeared right next to me, making me jump for the umpteenth time today.

"Now that we got y'all settled in, lemme introduce ya to the family," she offered excitedly.

"I don't think-" Twilight tried, but Applejack continued on.

"We got Apple Fritter, Apple Bumpkin, Red Gala, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious" - with each pony named, more and more plates of apple based snacks were piled on top of what we already had - "Caramel Apple, Apple Strudel, Apple Tart, Baked Apples, Apple Brioche, Apple Cinnamon Crisp," she pointed over to a large red stallion, "Big McIntosh-" the big guy 'eeyup'd' and Applejack moved on "-Apple Bloom," the little yellow filly waved with a friendly smile, "and Granny Smith."

The last pony in question was a wrinkled old bright green mare that snapped awake at the sound of her name. She mumbled something I couldn't understand and hobbled over to the table.

The three of us just kind of sat there gaping at the size of the family and the ridiculous amount of food on display.

We looked at each other again and with a shrug, Spike and I started grabbing whatever we could get our hands and claws on.

"Hey!" Twilight snapped, "I said one serving!"

I paused my ravenous consumption long enough to turn and give her 'the look', "Twilight, do you see how much food they practically threw at us?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean we can sit around eating the day away. We've got a schedule to keep," she argued, poking her checklist with a hoof for emphasis.

"Relax, Twilight," Spike interjected, mouth full of apple strudel, "we'll be done in no time. Besides, this stuff is amazing!" swallowing his food, he offered an apple tart to Twilight, "you gotta try it!"

Twilight looked at the tart and then to Spike and I. All we did was waggle our eyebrows and gesture to the mountain of food. With a snort she looked over to the Apple family who just gave her the puppy dog eyes - and when I say the Apple family, I mean all of the Apple family.

Eventually she gave a frustrated groan. "Fine, I'll try the food and then we're off to our next stop."

All the ponies cheered as she grabbed the apple tart in her magic and took an angry bite.

And then another.

And another.

And before we knew it, she had polished off three apple tarts, two apple strudels, and an entire apple pie.

In the end, she ate more than I did, with Spike eating the most out of the three of us.

Once she had gotten over her embarrassment and I had answered some of the Apple family's questions about myself, we moved onto our next objective.

"Hot damn," I exclaimed happily, "I am stuffed!"

We made our way into Ponyville proper and I took the time to look around a bit more. I was still a little leery of the town, but I couldn't deny the sheer... coziness of the place. As I walked along the dirt path I made sure to come off as friendly as possible, smiling and waving like some president or king at a procession.

The reactions of the townsfolk were... interesting.

Some of them showed the typical fear response - hiding behind their various stands or rushing back into their houses, others just gawked, whispered to each other, or did a combination of both. And yet there were a few who actually returned my greetings - if a bit nervously.

While I was busy trying to not make an ass of myself, Twilight and Spike hung back behind me, having their own conversation. At one point I heard my name come up. Curious, I pulled back to listen in.

"...with all those weird words he uses anyway?" I heard Spike say, "what do they even mean?"

"Honestly, Spike," Twilight responded thoughtfully, "I'm not one hundred percent certain, but based on the context in which he seems to use them, they might be human curse words."

Spike nodded in understanding, "You mean like ponyfeathers or horseapples?"

"Spike!" Twilight reprimanded, "you shouldn't use words like that, even as examples."

"Hehe, sorry, Twi," Spike said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Twilight shook her head and smiled, "It's fine, Spike. To answer your question though, yes, I believe they're similar to those words."

I chuckled at the conversation and turned back around to face forward - just in time to see a rainbow colored blur speeding in our direction.

I didn't hesitate this time.

Whipping around, I ran towards Twilight and shoved her out of the way.

I barely had time to register her cry of surprise before something slammed into me, hard.

I was sent flying right into an inconveniently placed mud puddle nearby.

Shit, not the headphones!

At the last second I turned in the air so that my back hit the mud.

I know it might've been a weird thing to focus on but, dammit, these things were expensive. Not only that, I doubt they would've sold this particular brand here in Equestria.

Coat was pricey too but I could wash that so it was whatever.

I coughed and spat out some mud that made it in my mouth, "Alright," I sputtered, "that one hurt."

Hearing laughter somewhere above me, I looked up.

Draped over my chest was a cyan pegasus mare with a mane so colorful it was almost painful.

"Oh, geez. That was my bad," she said somewhat apologetically, "are you... okay?"

She faltered as she turned to see who she was apologizing to.

"Um..." she said, staring at me in confusion.

I just looked back at her with an impatient frown.

"You gonna get off of me anytime this week?" I deadpanned.

"Huh?" she uttered, blinking in surprise, "oh, yeah. Sorry." She flew a little ways above me and I got to my feet, trying to wipe away some of the mud.

I looked up to see the pegasus giving me a strange look.

"What?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

She must've realized she was staring and started to responded, when Twilight ran over with Spike in tow.

"Oh my gosh," she cried, "are you okay, Terry?"

"Back's a bit sore, but I'm good otherwise," I replied, waving her concerns away.

"What the hay are you?" a scratchy voice blurted out.

Twilight whipped around and glared at the rainbow maned pony, presumably about to tell her off for her lack of tact, but I just laughed at it.

"It's cool Twilight," I assured, still chuckling, "I got this."

I turned to the cyan pony with a grin, "I'm a human from a place way outside Equestria. Name's Terrence but you can call me Terry."

"A foreigner, huh?" she said, looking at me as though she was sizing me up. After a moment she shrugged, "That's cool," she then puffed out her chest and gave me a cocky smirk, "I'm Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in Equestria and future Wonderbolt extraordinaire!"

Oh, boy, I though, rolling my eyes, here we go.

"And what exactly is a Wonderbolt?" I asked, already regretting my question as I saw her face light up.

"You don't know who the Wonderbolts are?" she asked incredulously.

"Um, no?" I said flatly, and pointed to myself, "foreigner, remember?"

"Oh, right," she said, chuckling sheepishly, then she continued excitedly, "Anyway, the Wonderbolts are-"

"Equestria's premiere stunt flying team. They do shows all over Equestria and also serve as a royal military force when needed," recited Twilight, completely stealing Rainbow Dash's thunder.

Rainbow glared at Twilight, who was too busy checking over her list to notice.

"Ah-ha," she suddenly exclaimed, "I thought your name sounded familiar."

Forgetting her earlier annoyance, Rainbow Dash smirked at Twilight's apparent recognition.

"Yeah, I should've known ponies were already talking about me," she gloated, idly leaning back in the air with her forehooves behind her head.

How the fuck?

"You're the pegasus that's supposed to be keeping the skies clear for the celebration, right?" asked Twilight with a frown.

"Oh, yeah," Rainbow Dash said with a roll of her eyes, "that."

She flew up and proceeded to lounge on a nearby cloud.

Alright, that's pretty neat, I thought with an impressed nod.

"I got plenty of time to clear these up," she said, not bothering to look our way, "just gonna do some training first."

For what? The Lounging Olympics?

"I don't think the Wonderbolts are going to recruit somepony that can't follow a directive the moment it's given to them," Twilight challenged with a smirk.

"Whoa, hold up," Rainbow Dash responded, finally turning around to face us from her cloud, "This is completely different from something like that-"

Somehow I doubt that.

"-and besides, I can clear these skies in ten seconds flat if I wanted to."

Twilight snorted in disbelief, "Oh come on, that's ridiculous! I mean sure, you say you're the fastest flyer in Equestria but I mean really, even if that was true, the physics involved would-"

"I say go for it," I suggested, cutting off Twilight's argument, "let your wings do the talking, RD."

Rainbow Dash huffed, spread her wings, and took off like a chromatic bullet.

What followed were a series of rainbow colored lines pinballing across the sky and clouds rapidly vanishing in their wake. After what seemed like a few seconds, Rainbow Dash appeared in front of Twilight with a smug grin.

Well, damn. Way to put your money where your mouth is.

"Like I said, egghead, ten. Seconds. Flat," she accentuated each word with a boop of Twilight's nose.

"Alright already," Twilight conceded, batting Rainbow's hoof away, "somehow, you managed to do the impossible and defy established scientific fact." she gave Rainbow Dash an impressed smirk, "I guess that was pretty cool, Rainbow Dash."

"You know it was," Rainbow Dash said with a laugh, then gave Twilight a friendly grin, "you're alright, egghead. We should hang out sometime."

"My name's Twilight Sparkle, by the way," Twilight said flatly, "not egghead."

"Yeah, yeah," Rainbow responded dismissively, then she flew back over to me, "hey uh, Terry, was it?"

"Yup," I responded, "what's up?"

"Sorry again about, y'know, flying into you and stuff," she said with an apologetic smile.

"Nah, it's cool, Rainbow," I replied casually, "don't worry abo-"

"So I'm gonna make it up to you!" She interject, and before I could say anything, she was pushing an ominous looking cloud over my head.

Oh, fuck me.

It took me a split second to realize what was about to happen and I only just managed to flip my hood up before I was nearly drowned in a deluge of water pouring from the rain cloud.

By the end of it I was standing there, completely drenched - clothes and all.

"Oh come on, seriously?" I cried glaring at the pegasus, "you couldn't have warned me first?"

"Whoops," Rainbow said with a nervous chuckle, "here, hang on a sec."

"Wait, don't-"

It was too late.

Before I could make any kind of protest, I suddenly found myself caught in a rainbow colored wind tunnel. I think Rainbow Dash was saying something but I couldn't hear it over the howling of the air around me. A few seconds later and the wind tunnel vanished, leaving me dazed, a little nauseous, and - to my surprise - completely dry.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's not how laundry works, but whatever I guess.

"So, whad'ya think?" Rainbow asked, practically glowing with pride.

"I think you should've warned me first," I responded, giving her a flat look.

"Ah, whatever," she drawled flippantly, "you're dry aren'tcha?"

I went to respond but she smacked my leg and flew off.

"Anyway, I gotta fly," she called back with a wave, "see you guys later!"

And with that, she was gone.

"Wow, she was pretty amazing, huh?" asked Spike, staring in awe at where Rainbow had gone.

I honestly forgot Spike was there, he hadn't said one thing since the cyan pony had shown up.

"You're right about that, Spike," Twilight agreed, "she's definitely one of a kind."

"Yeah, she's something" I added absently, "but seriously though, Twilight," I said, turning to the lavender mare, "I'm surprised you kept your cool when she actually managed to pull off something you swore up and down was impossible."

"Well, I can't really argue with what I was able to witness with my own eyes can I?" she responded, like it was the most obvious thing in the world - which I guess in a way, it was.

Wow, that's actually a pretty mature way of looking at-

"And besides," she continued, giving me that dreaded manic scholar look, "I'm sure we'll meet again. And then we can discuss just how amazing she really is."

Spike and I shivered.

Okay, this chapter is gonna get way too long if I continue so I'm splitting it up into two parts. I don't like split chapters and you won't see a lot of them from me, but in this case I figured ya'll have waited long enough and I'm also working on another project at the moment that I'll hopefully have posted by the middle of next week.

Next up:

Fashion time with Rarity.

Story time with Floots.

Party time with The Pink One.

As always, hope you're looking forward to more.

The walk to our next destination didn't take too long, thankfully. In fact, we met Rainbow Dash - or Rainbow Dash met me - practically right outside the town hall.

"So who's up next again?" I asked, Spike.

All I got in response was a dreamy sigh.

Twilight and I both looked towards Spike in confusion and saw him staring at the dossier with hearts in his eyes.

...No, seriously. There were literally tiny pink cartoon hearts where his pupils were supposed to be.

I stared at him for a minute before leaning towards Twilight. "Is uh... is that, like, a normal thing that happens here?" I asked, both confused and slightly creeped out.

Twilight just rolled her eyes and yanked the scroll out of Spike's claws with her magic. She read over it before glancing at town hall.

"According to the dossier, we're supposed to check in with a mare named Rarity on how the decorations at town hall are coming along."

"Alright," I replied, eyeing the tall cylindrical building, "that doesn't sound too bad."

Before long, we had reached the town hall and Twilight and Spike entered first with me taking up the rear. Stepping inside, I could see most of the decorations were already in place. Baby blue streamers covered the walls and balconies and there were several banners depicting the sun and moon. In the middle of it all, putting up the last of the streamers was a snow white unicorn mare with an extremely curly violet mane and tail.

"There she is," Spike whispered in awe, "my beautiful ivory goddess."

Twilight and I groaned and started heading over to the mare when Spike quickly spoke up again.

"No wait!" he cried in a panic, "I'm not ready! Twi, How do I look? Is everything good? Are my spines straight? Do I have anything in my teeth?"

"Whoa, Spike chill," I said raising a placating hand, "just put a lid on the googly eyes and let Twilight do the talking for now, alright?"

Spike huffed but didn't say anything as Twilight trotted up to Rarity.

"Excuse me, are you Rarity?" she began, but the white mare cut her off with a dismissive wave of her hoof as she continued to adjust the decorations.

"No... no, that's not right either..."

"Um... hello?" Twilight tried again.

"Oh nononono, that simply won't do!"

"Excuse me, I-"

"Give me a moment, darling," she said in a posh, cultured tone, "I'll be right with you. I'm 'in the zone', as it were."

Wait, don't tell she's another noble, I thought in dismay, was she commissioned from Canterlot or something?

Twilight gave a grunt of frustration and was about to try again when I put my hand on her side, "Here, let me try."

I casually walked over to one of the streamers and made a show of examining it critically. I glanced at the mare out of the corner of my eye and saw that she was getting closer to where I was standing, eyes still on the rest of the decorations.

Once she was close enough I spoke in the most posh voice I could muster.

"You know," I began, sweeping my gaze over the entire room, "I think these decorations are missing something."

"Oh, I couldn't agree more, darling," the mare replied, too engrossed in her work to actually bother looking at me, "I just can't quite find that... that... flair I'm looking for. That oomph, you know?"

"Oh, I know what you mean," I responded, nodding in understanding, "my mother is an interior designer. There were often times when she would spend hours at her desk, sketching away only to toss several of her designs in the trash in aggravation. Tell me, Miss..."

"Rarity, darling."

"Rarity," I repeated, giving Twilight a significant look over my shoulder, "have you not considered adding something to make the streamers and banners shine? I find the current design rather bland."

"Make them shine..." she muttered to herself, furrowing her brows in thought.

I looked over and gave Twilight a cheeky grin, to which she responded with a hoof to the face. Spike just looked surly.

"That's it!" Rarity suddenly cried. Her horn glowed light blue and that same glow enveloped a nearby bucket full of glitter. she took the glitter in her magic and spread it evenly over every streamer and banner in the room.

"Oh, that's perfect!" she exclaimed, "a little sparkle always does the trick. I really must thank yooouuuwahaHA!"

She had finally decided to actually face me and flipped out, just like I was expecting.

"Hey, what are you - ow, my arms! If you gimme a second I could just - OW! Jeezus lady, take it easy!"

What I wasn't expecting, was for her to practically rip my coat off of my body with her magic so she could eyeball it.

"Fuck, man," I muttered, rubbing a sore shoulder, "coulda just asked. Damn near tore my arms off..."

"Oh, my! this coat is simply fabulous! I've never seen it's like before! What an exotic fiber, and..." she halted her rambling and looked at me quizzically, "darling, is this real fur?"

Oh, right, I guess slaughtering animals for their fur wouldn't fly in a place like this. Thankfully...

"Nah," I answered, waving my hand, "it's faux fur - completely synthetic."

"Ah, that makes sense," she nodded, "normally, it would cost a fortune to import donated fur. Not many designers in Equestria are willing to put up the bits."

Oh... well I guess there's also that.

As I watched her turn my coat this way and that, I remembered something important.

"Hey, be careful with that, I haven't taken my phone out of the-"

She flipped the coat over and my phone slipped out of the pocket.

For a heart pounding second, I thought I was gonna be out a phone, but apparently Twilight was just as worried about my phone as I was, because a magenta colored aura caught the phone just before it hit the ground. I breathed an audible sigh of relief.

"Nice save, Twi," I said appreciatively.

"Of course," she replied, looking over the phone in her magic, "there's no way I'm going to let this thing break until I find out how it works."

"Yeah... thanks, Twilight," I deadpanned, "you're a real pal."

She gave a noncommittal grunt and I just shook my head, turning back to Rarity.

"Hey, I'm glad you're into the coat and all, but we actually came here on business," I said, trying to get back on track.

"Hm?" she responded, eyes still fixed on the coat, "what was that, darling?"

I rolled my eyes, walked over, and snagged the coat out of the air, causing Rarity to blink in surprise and look over at me.

"We're here to check on the decorations for the Summer Sun Celebration," I said, putting my coat back on, "my name's Terrence by the way. Terrence Thurston."

"Oh!" she replied after a moment of staring, "I'm terribly sorry, dear. I've been an awful host," she cleared her throat and held out a hoof, "my name is Rarity, Ponyville's premiere fashion designer and seamstress. I'm also the owner of the Carousel Boutique, where we are chic, unique and manifique!"

Okay so, not a noble. Just speaks like one.

"Alright that's... cool," I replied returning the hoofshake, then I gestured over to Twilight, "this here is-"

"Hey! It's doing something!" Twilight exclaimed ecstatically.

Seriously, Twilight?

I looked back over to Rarity with an apologetic smile, "gimme a second."

"Wait, what are these numbers? Some sort of code - HEY!"

I had walked over to where Twilight was poking at the lock screen with a hoof and promptly snatched the phone out of her grip. I reconnected the phone to the headphones still hanging around my neck and shoved it in my coat pocket, giving Twilight a flat look to match her look of indignation.

"Later, Twilight," I promised in a low voice, then I gestured to Rarity, "why don't you introduce yourself, Twi?"

She glared at me for a few more seconds, then huffed and turned towards the white mare - putting on her friendliest, fakest smile.

"Hello Miss Rarity," she greeted with false cheer, "my name is Twilight Sparkle-" she turned her head towards the baby dragon her back "-and this my assistant... Spike," she finished flatly. The drake in question was staring at Rarity openly with a dumb grin on his face. When he finally noticed all the attention he was getting, he flinched and looked away awkwardly, face all kinds of red.

"Uh... h-hey there," he muttered, rubbing the back of his head and looking anywhere but Rarity.

Rarity, for her part, just tittered, covering her mouth with a hoof.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," she said with a gracious smile.

Aaaaand there's the dopey grin. I thought. looking at Spike with a smirk.

She turned back to me with a look of curiosity, "So, Mister... Thurston, was it?"

"Just Terry or Terrence is fine."

"Terrence, then," she amended, "where exactly do you hail from? I've never seen a..."

"Human," Twilight chimed in.

"Human, such as yourself."

Here we go again

"I'm from an, as of yet, undiscovered land far outside of Equestria," I responded easily.

"Oh, my," she responded, eyes practically glowing with interest, "how mysterious! Tell me, where is your homeland? What's it called?"

"Now, now Miss Rarity," I replied, bringing out my fake posh accent, "a gentleman has to have some secrets now, wouldn't you agree?" I asked with a wink.

For a moment her mouth just flapped wordlessly and I had to bite down a laugh. I even got a snicker out of Twilight.

Sounds like something she'd say, so why not flip the script?

"I suppose that's true, yes," she reluctantly agreed with an adorable pout. She cleared her throat and looked between each of us, "So, you were all here to check on the décor, yes?"

"That's correct," Twilight confirmed, looking around the room, "So far everything looks to be in order. She brought out a quill from her saddlebags and checked something off on her list, "the Princess should be pleased with these arrangements."

"The Princess?" Rarity asked, tilting her head questioningly. Her eyes widened in realization and she got right in Twilight's face making her take a step back, "wait, you're doing this on behalf of Princess Celestia?"

"Yes," Twilight responded warily, "she sent us here from Canterlot to oversee the events for the celebration."

"You've been to Canterlot?" Rarity practically squeed.

"Um, I... live in Canterlot."

"Oh, darling I'm so envious!" she gushed, "the glamour, the sophistication! Oh, I've always wanted to go there!" she started pushing Twilight and Spike out the door of the town hall, "Come now, to the boutique! You simply must tell me all about it."

"Wait, no - but we still have to-" Twilight tried to protest, but Rarity wasn't having any of it.

"Maybe I can even whip up a little something to match that beautiful lavender coat," she continued. She looked back at me over her shoulder expectantly, "are you coming, darling?"

"Nah," I responded with a shake of my head, "we still have another event to check up on, so I'm gonna go ahead."

"Hey! Don't leave me with-"

"Suit yourself, dear," Rarity responded, ignoring Twilight's complaints and pushing her through the door, "remind me to ask you more about your attire later!" she called back.

"Will do," I responded, waving lazily.

Once the door had closed behind them, I stretched and cracked my neck with a sigh.

"What a ridiculous town," I mused aloud. I took one last look around the inside of the town hall before turning to leave.

I stopped dead when I heard the sound of a door quietly closing shut behind me. At the same time that happened I felt a familiarly cold shiver run down my spine.

What the fuck? Again? Here?

I quickly spun around towards the source of the noise, but there wasn't even a door in that direction. In fact the only door in the entire room was the front one.

For a moment, I just stared at where I thought the sound had been coming from with a slight frown.

...Nope, I'm out.

With that, I turned back to the front door and walked out into the late afternoon sunlight.

I hadn't taken even five steps outside before I realized I had no idea where to go.

And Twilight has the dossier... dammit.

To make matters worse, I didn't see Twilight or Spike anywhere. Somehow they had managed to disappear entirely in the few minutes I had lingered in the town hall. I took a look around my surroundings for a moment before shrugging and heading off in a random direction.

Eh, I'm sure they'll find me.

As I continued to walk, I tried to remember what I had seen from the dossier Celestia had given us.

If I remember correctly, the last event had something to do with music... but who was the pony in charge again?

I took some time to appreciate how peaceful everything was as I walked through a small glade, hands in my pockets and just kind of spacing out. The only real sounds around me were the soft flow of a river somewhere nearby and the musical chirp of the birds in the area.

Wait a minute...

My face scrunched up in confusion.

One of those birds sounds... off.

I looked around, trying to find the off key avian and spotted a small group of birds singing in a tree. That wasn't too weird to see - birds did that all the time.

What was weird, was the butter yellow pegasus conducting them.

Well that's... new.

Intrigued, I slowly made my way over just as the yellow mare was confronting the offending bird about its crappy singing. After a few tries, the bird was singing as well as the rest of them while the pegasus continued to conduct. I waited a few more minutes for the 'concert' to end and walked towards the mare.

"Oh, you all did wonderfully today," the yellow pegasus cooed to the birds, "I'm sure the Princess will be thrilled to hear you sing tonight."

Isolated, soft spoken, talks to animals, gives off a strong bashful vibe... and apparently in charge of the music for the celebration.

I didn't really want to bug the no-doubt shy pony - and normally I wouldn't have - but she seemed to be the one I was looking for.

A choir of birds for the celebration's music though?

Shaking my head, I carefully walked next to the mare, trying to make sure she knew I was there without startling her.

Once she noticed I was there she 'eep'd' and backed away quickly, making the birds take off in surprise.

"Hey, it's cool," I said bending down and raising my hands to look as non threatening as possible, "I'm not gonna hurt you, I just wanna talk if that's okay."

She didn't run, but she also didn't say anything either. About the only thing she did do was peek at me from behind her somewhat ridiculously long pink mane - eyes full of nervousness and... curiosity?

I could use that...

"So..." I began carefully, "I bet you haven't seen anything like me, right?"

She pawed the ground with a hoof and gave noncommittal squeak.

Okay, this isn't working, new plan.

Putting on my kindest smile, I sat down cross-legged on the ground.

"You know," I said conversationally, "my people aren't too different from you ponies. We fear what we don't understand just like you do right now."

She still didn't say anything, but I could tell I had her attention.

"So, here's what I'm gonna do," I gestured to myself, "I'll talk a bit about me, and all you have to do is listen, does that sound good?"

I really wasn't keen on talking to her like she was four, but it seemed to work, because she gave a slight nod of approval.

"Excellent," I exclaimed, "now then, my name's Terrence Thurston - Terry for short. I'm what you a call a human - a relatively unknown race that lives far from Equestria..."

And I proceeded to rehash everything I had already said countless times before. It wasn't too bad this time around. She seemed to come out of her shell a little more as I continued to explain what I could about me and humans in general - leaving out the unpleasant parts obviously.

"Fascinating," she whispered after about half an hour of me talking. I was getting a little tired of the one sided conversation, but I eventually managed to get her to say something.

It was only one word, but I was gonna call it a victory anyway.

"Yeah," I responded, "we have our flaws, but humans aren't too bad."

I think now's a good time to get back on track.

"I know I said you didn't have to talk at all, but can I at least know your name?"

Her eyes widened and she blushed a bit. "Oh, dear, I'm so sorry," she backed up and crouch in on herself looking to the ground, "my name's... Fluttershy."

It was quiet, but I was sitting close enough to just barely pick it up.

"Well it's nice to meet you Fluttershy," I said with a smile, "I'm sorry to bug you, but from what I overheard it seems like you were the one in charge of the music for the Summer Sun Celebration, is that right?"

She gave a tiny nod.

"That's good to hear," I continued, "you see, me and a couple of friends of mine were sent from Cante-"

"TERRY! TERRY, CAN YOU HEAR ME?"

The sudden shout from nearby made me jump - again - and poor Fluttershy nearly ran for the hills when Twilight suddenly burst through the shrubbery along with Spike walking by her side.

"TER - oh, there you are!" she said glaring me, "I've been looking everywhere for you! I can't believe you just left me with-"

"Twilight," I hissed nodding towards the cowering ball of fur hiding in a nearby bush, "you're scaring our composer for the Summer Sun Celebration."

"You found her?" she asked. looking at the bush in confusion. She looked back to me and I nodded.

"Yeah, her name's Fluttershy and she definitely lives up to her namesake, so be gentle when you talk to her."

She nodded and slowly trotted towards the bush with Spike.

"Hello? Fluttershy?" she asked softly.

Fluttershy peaked an eye out from her hiding place and let out an audible gasp.

"A baby dragon!"

"Wha - oof!"

I watched with more than a little amusement as Twilight was sent flying into some shrubbery, knocked aside by Fluttershy in her eagerness to interact with the purple drake.

"I've never seen a baby dragon up close before, how adorable!" she cooed.

"Well, well, well," Spike said, looking over to a still recovering Twilight smugly.

I chuckled and, tuning out Fluttershy and Spike, walked over to where Twilight was trying to pull herself out of the bush.

"Need some help?" I asked, holding out a hand with an amused grin.

She groaned in annoyance and held out her hoof, allowing me to grab it and pull her up.

"can we please finish this inspection?" she groused, "I'm getting tired and we still need to make our own preparations for the celebration."

"Wait, what?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, "what do we need to do?"

She looked over to where Spike was still talking at Fluttershy animatedly before looking back to me with a worried expression.

"It's nothing official," she said shaking her head, "but I want to get some research done on anything relating to any kind of dark force that could potentially threaten Equestria. I wanted to see if I could find some kind of bestiary of evil creatures or a book of prophecies foretelling a great darkness."

I continued to look at her with my eyebrow raised, until something suddenly dawned on me.

"You think that darkness thing is gonna happen tonight?"

"I don't know for sure, but I have a bad feeling based on what I heard from the voice," she said with a frown, "I just want to be prepared in case the threat does show up tonight."

Huh... that actually does make sense. The voice in my head did say something similar to the voice in Twilight's head.

That thought led to another and I looked over to Twilight to voice my question.

"Hey, Twilight," I asked.

"Hmm?"

"Earlier, after you left town hall, did you... feel this weird chill down your spine?"

She raised a hoof to her chin in thought for a moment before slowly nodding.

"Yeah, I did, but I just assumed it was the thought of Rarity trying to make me wear a corset."

Okay, gonna ignore that one.

"Well, I was still in the town hall for a bit after you guys left and just before I left I heard a door clicking shut from behind me, right before I felt that chill."

"Behind you?" she asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"I was facing the entrance and that was the only door in the room," I clarified.

"Ah," she responded, "well that is... strange, but we can't really do anything about it right now."

I thought about it for a second before nodding, "Yeah, guess that's true. Might as well start with what we can do."

"Exactly," she replied with a smile.

By some unspoken agreement, Twilight and I made our way back over to where Spike and Fluttershy were.

"C'mon you little chatterbox, it's time to go," Twilight decreed, magically lifting Spike onto her back without breaking stride.

"But I wasn't finished telling her about-"

"Don't care, we're leaving." Twilight interjected, trotting at a brisk pace.

Fluttershy looked as if she wanted to follow but couldn't make up her mind, shifting from one hoof to another nervously. Twilight looked back at her briefly and groaned again.

"You can talk to Spike along the way, but we're not stopping so keep up."

The yellow pegasus smiled brightly and flew after Twilight. Once she had caught up, she and Spike resumed their conversation with gusto while Twilight just grimaced in annoyance.

I briefly glanced back at the town hall before running back to Twilight.

We'll figure that bit of weirdness out later.

"...and that's pretty much everything that happened up to right now."

"Twiliiiight," I whined, "make him stooop."

"I think he's done, Terry," she replied wearily.

"Hey, she was the one who wanted to know!" Spike defended.

"And you were more than happy to oblige," I retorted.

"Oh dear," Fluttershy added shrinking back slightly, "I-I didn't mean to take up so much of your time, it was all just so... fascinating."

"Don't worry about it," I said, waving her concerns away, "you were just curious, nothing wrong with that. Seriously though," I turned to Twilight with a questioning gaze, "where are we even headed right now?"

Twilight's face brightened considerably at the question and she turned to answer me with a wide smile.

"According to what Princess Celestia told me before we left, we're going to be staying at the Golden Oaks Library until the celebration starts."

"We're staying... in a library." I responded with a flat look.

"I know! Isn't it exciting?" she replied eagerly, completely ignoring my lack of enthusiasm and utter confusion, "I didn't even know live-in libraries existed before Celestia told me about this one!"

Oh, that explains it. Must have a bedroom hidden away somewhere. But wait...

"Wasn't your tower a live-in library?"

Twilight shook her head, "That was just a tower modified for my personal use. The Princess let me use it since it was vacant and I decided to turn it into a library. My actual bedroom was in the castle."

"Ah," I said, nodding in understanding.

"Uh, hey guys?" Spike asked poking Twilight in the head to her attention.

"What's up?" I responded while Twilight just gave him an annoyed look.

"Where did Fluttershy go?"

"What?" Twilight asked in confusion, "weren't you just talking... to... her?" she trailed off as she looked behind her and saw that she had indeed vanished.

"I was focused on your conversation," Spike explained, "when I went to ask Fluttershy what she knew about the library, she was gone."

We all glanced around trying to spot the shy mare, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Okay, what is up with the ponies in this town, man? They ain't right.

"We'll worry about that later," Twilight said distractedly, "there's the library!"

She ran the rest of the way to a big ass tree with... windows and a door?

Dude, what? What is this, the Hundred Acre Wood?

"Come on, Terry!" Twilight yelled from up ahead.

I sighed and ran over to where Twilight was waiting next to the door.

Once I had caught up, she, opened the door and stepped inside - Spike on her back and me following right behind.

The door shut behind us and we found ourselves bathed in complete darkness.

"Well, shit," I sighed, "I think now would be a good time to mention that I don't do too well in the dark, guys."

"What, don't tell me you're scared?" I heard Spike ask mockingly.

"Nope, just can't see too well."

"Terry," Twilight added flatly, "none of us can see too well right now." I could practically feel her deadpan stare.

"Well, you make a good - and obvious - point, but that's not exactly what I was talk-"

"SURPRISE!!!"

To my own immense satisfaction, I didn't jump this time - though I did stumble back a bit in shock as the lights suddenly flared to life in the room. I stood there trying to rub the spots out of my eyes for a moment. When I opened my eyes again, I had to take another moment to comprehend the ridiculous amount of colors around me.

I turned towards where I thought Twilight was, only to find a face full of pink instead.

"SURPRISE!"

"Gah!" I backed up a couple of steps and got a better look at my... assailant, for lack of a better word.

God dammit, it's that pink nightmare!

"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!" she said waving enthusiastically, "I threw this surprise party for you and your friends because I hadn't seen you in Ponyville before, and I know everypony Ponyville. I figured since I had never seen any of you - especially you - I thought I'd throw a 'welcome-to-Ponyville' party here in the library! Although in your case it might double as a 'welcome-to-Equestria' party because I'm preeeety sure you're not from around here, and by here I mean Equestria, not Ponyville. Although Ponyville is in Equestria, so I guess I do mean Ponyville!"

She giggled.

Not a single breath was taken the entire time she was talking. Not one.

"Okay... Pinkie... that's great and all, but-"

"Were you surprised? Were you? Huh, huh, huh?"

"Yes, yes, yes already! Where's-"

"Have a cupcake!"

She promptly shoved what I assumed was a cupcake into my mouth and pronked off to who knows where.

I stood there for a second, mouth full of cupcake and very confused. Eventually I just shrugged and ate the rest of the sugary treat.

When in doubt, just go with it, I thought as I walked further into the heart of the party to look for Twilight and Spike.

As I made my way through the crowd of ponies, I could see many of them chatting, laughing, dancing, or playing cliche looking party games.

At least, the ones that weren't openly staring at me and whispering.

I did take some solace in the fact that the majority of gawkers seemed more intrigued and curious than scared.

Some friendly waving and a few greetings here and there seemed to placate the onlookers and I waded through the mass of moving fur until I got to the table of refreshments where I finally found a moody Twilight being talked at by a bouncing Pinkie Pie. I didn't see Spike anywhere.

When Pinkie saw me, she bounce right into my face with a slight frown that I already found uncharacteristic in the few minutes I had known her.

"Did you guys see Fluttershy on your way here?" she asked me worriedly.

"Yeah," I responded in an unsure tone, "she was walking with us on the way here, but she just up and vanished before we made it."

"Oh, okay."

Pinkie looked away for a second before looking back to me with her happy smile back in place.

"I'm sure she just wanted to make it here at her own pace. Maybe she's already here and I missed her!"

With that she bounced away into the crowd - presumably to look for Fluttershy.

I looked at where she had disappeared to with my own frown.

I think Twilight might not have been to far off the mark with her bad feeling. Speaking of Twilight...

I walked the rest of the way over to where Twilight was.

"So... Pinkie..." I prompted casually as I stood next to her and examined the refreshments on display.

"She's a menace," Twilight replied grumpily as she poured herself a glass of...

"Uh... Twilight?" I asked in bemusement, "why are you pouring hot sauce into that cup?"

She stopped pouring abruptly and looked at the bottle. After a second she growled and slammed the bottle back onto the tabletop, tossing the plastic cup and it's contents into the nearby trash bin with her magic.

"Whoa, easy there, Twi," I said as I reached for a plate and a few glazed doughnuts, "I know you're pissed about all the delays, but we're just gonna have to wait it out. We've still got a few hours left before the celebration, so in the mean time we might as well enjoy it."

"That's just it, though!" she cried in exasperation, "we don't know when this darkness is going to strike! It could be now, during the celebration, or anytime after that!" she slammed a hoof down on the table in aggravation, "and because of this stupid party, we're wasting valuable time that could be spent trying to find a way to stop it!"

I placed a reassuring hand on her back and my eyes widened slightly.

She's shivering... damn, I didn't realize the pressure was getting to her that bad.

I started to feel a bit guilty for not realizing just how worried she really was about the imminent threat looming over us.

Well, shit. So much for looking after her, I thought with a sigh, I've been taking it easy while Twilight's been fretting her ass off about whatever's gonna happen.

"Hey."

"Just go away, Terry," she muttered unhappily, "go enjoy your party while it lasts-"

"You do realize that just because there's a party going on, doesn't mean you can't do research, right?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked, turning to look at me in confusion, "there's no way we can-"

"Twilight," I interrupted again, giving her a flat look, "this is a library. Not only that, it's a live-in library. Think about what that means."

She blinked and looked around the room - her gaze passing over the many bookshelves and the staircase leading to what was likely the bedroom. It took her a minute, but by the dawning realization and growing smile on her face, I figured she had gotten what I meant. She looked back at me and I grinned.

"Well, should we get started?" I asked, pointing a thumb over to the bookshelves.

She shook her head before giving me a quick hug and rushing over to the nearest shelf, dodging party-goers along the way.

I smiled and looked around for Spike. I spotted him over near the back of the room, playing some kind of pony version of pin the tail on the donkey.

"Hey, Spike!" I called as I walked over to him. I was able to catch his attention before the other ponies started spinning him around. He raised the blindfold from one of his eyes to look at me and I beckoned him over. After a few words with the other players, he waddled over to me.

"What's going on, Terry? Where's Twi at?" he asked curiously.

"Me and Twilght are gonna do some research about the darkness, away from everyone," I replied pointing over to where Twilight was scanning the books on the shelves, "I wanted to see if you wanted to help."

"She doing research now?" he asked incredulously, "but there's a party going on! We got plenty of time for that. She should have some fun while we're here."

"That's what I thought at first," I said nodding with a serious frown, "but, Spike, she's really freaking out over this whole unknown darkness situation, and I don't blame her. I didn't stop to think about how serious this actually is, so I decided to help her out."

Spike grimaced, his head lowered, "Well... when you put it that way..." he muttered.

"She also thinks some shit might go down tonight," I continued, "and I'm starting to feel the same way honestly. So the sooner we can figure something out, the better."

He didn't say anything for a few seconds, seemingly lost in thought. After some time he looked up at me and nodded with determination in his eyes.

"You're right, Terrence," he stated, "what kind of number one assistant would I be if I left her to do this on her own?"

Well I mean, she wouldn't have been on her own, but it's the thought that counts I guess.

"Let's go help Twi figure this out," he said, heading towards the bookshelves.

"Right behind ya," I responded as I headed towards the refreshment table.

Spike raised an eyebrow and I shrugged.

"I'm taking the doughnuts with me, those things look good."

I could have ended this chapter one of two ways, the second way would've resulted in a cliffhanger. I decided not to go that route for a couple of reasons.

One reason being that I'm not too fond of cliffhangers as it is, and the other - more important - reason, is that I'm going to be putting this story on a short-ish hiatus for reasons I've already talked about in my blog posts (If you haven't read it yet I recommend checking it out).

Story won't die, I just need a bit of time to bring things together in a more coherent way story-wise.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed and are looking forward to more in the future!

DO NOT SKIP THIS A/N!!!

For those of you who've already read the story up until this point and are eager to jump back in from this chapter after so long, DON'T. I've made some updates and edits to some of the previous chapters, ranging from a few sentences here and there to whole paragraphs in one case. Most of the story remains the same, but the changes I've made will affect the overall plot going forward, even if it doesn't seem like it now.

With that said, before you jump right in, I implore you to re-read the story from the beginning before pressing on, annoying as it might be. With that said, glad to finally be putting this one back into my story rotation.

It didn't take Twilight long to find what she was looking for in the library. Okay, well, that wasn't entirely true. It did take her a few minutes longer than it should've, but that was only because she had to stop scouring the bookshelves to glower at passersby who tried to get her to participate in the inane party games every so often. They were quick to back off, but it still took up precious research time—or so Twilight complained.

Thankfully, the little purple unicorn already knew what she was looking for more or less, and before long, she, Spike, and I had made our way to the upstairs bedroom with books in tow. What followed was a group study session that—even in a magical pony fantasy land—did nothing to endear me to the idea of extensive or even just perfunctory research. Yeah, learning a bit more about another world and its culture was fascinating at first, but it was still studying at the end of the day.

Shit got old fast.

It didn't help that Twilight was in a foul mood. Part of the issue was Spike. Despite his claims that he'd help Twilight with her research, the little guy wasn't as immune to the allure of a good time as Twilight. His attention kept getting dragged toward the ongoing party below. Twilight gave him shit for losing focus for a while, but eventually, she just gave up and let him go back downstairs to the party.

The other factor contributing to Twilight's surly humor was the whole phone situation. I'd wanted to listen to some music to pass the time while researching, but the battery didn't even last through the first two minutes of the first song I tried to play. Of course, I was forced to give Twilight the bad news, and—while she didn't go all flaming demon horse on my ass this time, thank god—she still didn't take it well.

"It's fine! It's fine!" she'd said with a smile and eyes that were both a bit too wide for my liking, "Once we get this whole mess sorted out, I'm sure we'll find a way to get your electrical device working again! I even have some ideas for a few tests I could run!"

I tried to talk her out of whatever madness she was working herself into, but no dice. The most I could do was remind her that there were more important things to focus on right now. And so, we spent the next couple of hours or so studying tomes and grimoires and textbooks, looking for vague answers to uncertain questions. I hadn't given the fact that Twilight and I appeared to be speaking the same language much thought until I opened one of the tomes and realized I could read everything in it.

It couldn't have been English, given I was in another world entirely. Maybe some kind of translation magic? Or maybe I had it all wrong. Maybe this was English, and I was just under some kind of hallucination or a coma or something. Somehow I felt the former guess was more likely, but I wasn't complaining either way, nor did I care enough to question it too much. Instead, I did my best to stay invested in the slow grind of extensive research.

The novelty of learning about a whole new world could only go so far, though, and the whole process grew agonizing by the hour-and-a-half mark. Thankfully, I was saved from my immense boredom and constant fidgeting when Twilight finally spoke up, her voice ecstatic as she shot up from where she'd been resting on the plush-looking bed near the bedroom's only window.

"This is it!" she cried, "Terrence, I think I found it!"

I turned to watch Twilight from where I sat cross-legged on the floor near the nightstand next to the bed. She raised the book she'd been reading in her magical grip and scanned the page closely as she continued in a mumble almost to herself, "Mare in the Moon... longest day of the thousandth year... the stars shall aid in her escape..."

Without another word, the mare dropped the book back onto the bed and another pulled itself from the comically large stack near where I sat. Enveloped in a soft magenta glow, it flew toward Twilight, where she cracked the thick text open and flipped through several pages until she found what she was looking for. Judging by what I could see on the cover, it looked like a collection of myths and fables.

Twilight continued to read for another few minutes without elaborating on what she'd found, but that was fine. If I'd waited this long, I could wait a bit longer. And then Twilight frowned, and that frown grew more pronounced the further she read like she was working something out. Trying to put the pieces of some kind of puzzle together. Eventually, and with much less vigor than before, she closed the book and slowly set it aside.

She didn't look at me, instead staring straight ahead at nothing as her face went through some interesting changes. Her expression started out thoughtful, but that quickly shifted to confusion. Then she seemed to come to a realization, after which something flashed across her face, but the emotion vanished too fast for me to pin down, replaced by resolution.

The hell was that all about?

"Twilight?" I tried cautiously. The mare flinched at the sound of my voice and whipped her head around to find me watching her warily and I continued in a careful tone, "You, uh... good over there?"

Her shock, along with the sudden tension in her body, faded quickly, but the smile she gave me was oddly strained as she spoke, "Yeah, sorry, Terry. Just... I think I know what we might be getting into, and it's... a lot."

"Uh-huh," I replied slowly, "You wanna fill me in?"

Twilight grimaced and hopped off the bed before speaking again, "I'll start with a bit of context," she paused a moment as though collecting her thoughts, then began pacing the room as she pressed on, "There's a... myth of sorts. It's a story attributed directly to Princess Celestia and some scholars believe the events might actually be part of Equestria's history, but the Princess has never confirmed one way or the other."

Here she paused again and her frown deepened slightly. I wanted to ask what was up, but she moved on before I could say anything.

"In any case, I'll spare you the long version, but essentially the myth talks about how Princess Celestia had a younger sister. Together they ruled Equestria as a diarchy, and it was the sister who originally took on the role of raising the moon along with watching over the dreams of her subjects."

"Ah," I nodded in understanding as something clicked in the back of my mind, "The night to Celestia's day. Gotcha."

Twilight returned the nod distractedly before continuing, "According to the story, the younger sister, feeling lonely and neglected as her subjects basked in Princess Celestia's light and ignored her beautiful night, grew bitter. That bitterness turned to resentment, and the resentment eventually twisted the mare into a hateful monster who took on the name Nightmare Moon."

"So... the younger sister went full supervillain and tried to take over Equestria," I surmised, putting the rest of the pieces together, "That sound about right?"

Another nod from Twilight.

She stopped pacing and settled down onto her haunches next to me, but her eyes were locked on the opposite wall. Her gaze was distant, and her expression troubled, but her voice was steady.

"She tried to wrest control of Equestria from her older sister," she continued, "but, as the legend goes, Princess Celestia used a set of magical artifacts known as the Elements of Harmony to banish Nightmare Moon to her namesake, and there, within the moon, is where she was to remain, imprisoned for all eternity."

"But that prison's not gonna hold, is it?" I guessed, already knowing where this was going.

Seriously, Celestia, what the hell is your game here?

Nightmare Moon's eventual return was obvious now that Twilight had explained the myth. This was a fantasy land with actual magic, from what I'd read so far, the impossible could be made possible with startling ease in a lot of cases. Given that, and the fact that I'd seen and heard this type of plot before, the whole thing with Nightmare Moon wasn't hard to put together.

That would've explained the so-called darkness we had to face in the immediate future, but there was more to it, I was sure. I felt like I could almost see the bigger picture, but I was still missing something—something in what Twilight said. Something in the story. Fortunately, it didn't take long for Twilight to not only confirm my suspicions about what was going on but also outright give me the missing something I was looking for.

"Well, that's where the Mare in the Moon prophecy comes in," Twilight replied. She snatched up the book she'd been reading earlier in her magic and pulled it open before flipping through the pages, "Nightmare Moon was supposed to remain imprisoned in the moon forever, but this prophecy directly contradicts that."

She finally found what she was looking for and tapped at one page with a hoof as she read aloud, "The Mare in the Moon, a powerful pony who wanted to rule Equestria, defeated by the Elements of Harmony and imprisoned in the moon. On the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal."

Twilight shut the book and set it atop the precarious stack beside her, then turned to face me directly, "Like the fall of the Lunar Princess, the Mare in the Moon has been reduced to a mere myth, but if we treat it as a prophecy—and assuming what Igor said about the approaching darkness was true—then it all adds up."

Star Swirl the Bearded? Seriously?

"And how do you figure?" I asked aloud.

"The Summer Sun Celebration itself is the answer," Twilight replied, her mind racing even as she explained, "The festivities are meant to celebrate not only the longest day of the year but the defeat of Nightmare Moon as well."

"Wait, hang on," I raised a brow at the mare sitting beside me, "So if you guys are celebrating the defeat of Nightmare Moon then wouldn't that mean—"

"I know what you're thinking, but it's not literal," Twilight interjected as she held up a forestalling hoof, "The 'defeat of Nightmare Moon' is meant to be symbolic—light triumphing over darkness and overcoming one's own struggles through the magic of friendship and harmony and all that."

Twilight put her hoof down and tapped it meaningfully against the floor, her gaze intensifying, "The thing is, this particular Summer Sun Celebration just so happens to mark the one-thousandth anniversary of when Nightmare Moon was supposedly defeated by Princess Celestia."

"Well, how about that?" I gave Twilight a wry grin, "Any chance it's all one big coincidence?"

"Could be, but I highly doubt it," Twilight snorted, then scowled, "it all lines up too perfectly to be any kind of coincidence."

"And where do these Elements of Harmony fit in?" I asked as I stretched and stood up, "They actually exist do you think?"

"If we assume the myths aren't just myths, then they'd have to," Twilight answered, "and if they do, then we at least have a plan—or the beginnings of one at least."

"Find the artifacts, use them to take down the big bad when she breaks out of prison, save the day," I surmised.

"Pretty much," Twilight nodded and rose to her hooves, "I know it's just broad strokes, but it's better than stumbling around in the dark without any way forward."

Without any sort of preamble, Twilight used her telekinesis to retrieve the pair of attached satchels—saddlebags she'd called them—from the corner where she'd dropped them when we first entered the room. Resting them on her back, she snatched up a few books from the pile and slipped them into one of the bags, then grabbed a large map I hadn't noticed from a nearby desk, folded that up, and shoved it in the other bag.

This all happened in a few seconds and I didn't get a chance to ask what she was doing or where she was planning to go before she spoke up again, "If the Elements of Harmony do exist, then I think I have an idea of where they might be. We'll grab Spike and—"

The hatch door to the room burst open just as Twilight started making her way toward it. The unicorn jumped back with a startled yelp as the small purple dragon in question popped up from below. The pale blue lampshade shoved atop his head was definitely a... festive touch.

"Twilight! Terry!" Spike exclaimed once he spotted the two of us.

"Spike! You scared the daylights out of me!" Twilight breathed at almost the same time. Recovering quickly she began moving again, her next words quick and distracted, "I'm glad you're back, though. I think I worked out what's going on, and if I'm right, we don't have a lot of time to waste."

"Wait, wha—whoa! Twilight, wait!"

Spike, who'd fully entered the room as Twilight was talking, found himself scrambling to one side as Twilight pushed past him and hurried down the rather steep staircase. A moment later I heard her call back up from below.

"Spike? Spike, where is everypony?"

"That's what I came back up here to tell you, Twilight," Spike replied, his voice thick with well-worn exasperation as he pulled the lampshade from his head, tossed it aside, and followed the mare back down the steps, "The party's already over! Everypony left for Town Hall to see Celestia raise the sun. Y'know, that really important central event that's supposed to kick off the Summer Sun Celebration?"

"Damn, is it really that late?" I asked as I, too, headed downstairs, "Didn't feel like the sun set that long ago."

This whole "star manipulating demigoddess" thing is really fucking with my sense of time...

A quick glance around the first floor of the library was enough to tell me that the partygoers had indeed vacated the premises. I hadn't even noticed, and neither did Twilight evidently, because she looked taken aback by the lack of festivities. Once Spike reminded her of the celebration, her surprise and confusion turned to thoughtful silence. Her brow furrowed and I could practically see the gears turning in her head.

"The Summer Sun Celebration," she muttered just loud enough for me to hear, "That's right... it might be a good opportunity... if she's there, then maybe I can..."

It wasn't long before Twilight's distant gaze refocused on me and Spike, her expression suddenly resolute as she spoke a bit louder for us to hear, "Spike, Terrence, change of plans. We're heading to Town Hall to see Princess Celestia once she arrives."

"Change of plans? What were you planning to do?" Spike asked, his face scrunching up in bemusement.

"Any particular reason?" I asked with a curious raise of my brow, "Didn't seem all that interested in the celebration before."

"There's a place deep in the nearby Everfree Forest, an old ruined castle left behind from when the Everfree served as Equestria's capital—or so the legends say," she began. She started moving toward the library's entrance as she explained, "Ancient legends aside, I was planning to head there to look for clues on the whereabouts of the Elements of Harmony, but—"

"Whoa hang on, Twilight," Spike interjected, looking from her to me with both bewilderment and concern in his adorably draconic emerald eyes, "The Everfree? An ancient castle in the forest? The Elements of Harmony? What in Celestia's name are you talking about? And more importantly, were you seriously planning to wander into that deathtrap of a forest alone?"

"Of course not, Spike, I'm not an idiot," Twilight snorted before giving her little purple assistant an innocent grin, "You and Terrence were coming along too, naturally."

"Naturally," I deadpanned with a roll of my eyes.

"That's not... Twilight we can't..." Spike floundered then gave an exasperated grunt, "Having us around won't do any good if we get ambushed by a... a manticore or something! We'd be completely helpless! Er, unless..."

Spike faltered and eyed me curiously. It took me a second to figure out why, but I got it quick enough. In response, I raised my hands and shook my head helplessly.

"Nope, just a poor defenseless human over here," I replied to his unanswered question, then gestured to Twilight, "Hell, if we do end up setting foot in that forest and get attacked, it'll probably be Twilight saving our skins. Thankfully, she's changed her mind, apparently."

"Not quite," Twilight was quick to correct as she used her magic to open the front door to the library, "I still want to take a look at the old castle, but there are some things I want to ask and discuss with the Princess first, hence, my decision to head to Town Hall instead of directly to the Everfree."

"Twilight, that isn't a good idea," Spike pressed, "Going into a forest full of dangerous creatures and who knows what else at night? With just the three of us? You're a smart mare, Twilight. You can't tell me that's not a dumb thing to do. You shouldn't need me to tell you that!"

Twilight had already stepped out into the warm night air and both Spike and I hadn't had any choice but to follow after the determined unicorn as she began making her way down the paved path leading deeper into town from the massive treehouse library... thing.

"It'll be fine, Spike," Twilight huffed with growing impatience, "I've already done some reading on the Everfree so I know what to expect, and besides, it's not like I'm helpless. I have those defensive spells my brother taught me, remember?"

"Okay, sure, granted," Spike begrudgingly conceded, "but still, Twilight, that doesn't mean we—"

"TERRY!"

"Gah! Holy shit!"

The three of us stumbled back in surprise as a familiar rainbow-maned cyan pegasus descended upon us like a prismatic bolt of lightning from the night sky. One second it was just the three of us for what seemed like miles, and the next, a pair of wide purple-red eyes were taking up my entire view. The curse was mine, obviously; The others just gave wordless cries of shock as the pegasus appeared out of goddamn nowhere.

"Jeezus, you scared the shit out of me!" I gasped, one hand over my rapidly beating heart.

"Never mind that," Rainbow Dash replied. She didn't address my comment but she did back up a bit as she spoke, thankfully, "You guys seen Fluttershy? The Celebration's about to kick off and I can't find her anywhere."

"Huh, she didn't strike me as the celebration type," I mused before giving the mare a helpless shrug, "Sorry, though. We ran into her earlier before the party, but she up and disappeared on us while we were on our way to the library."

"Did she say where she was headed?" Rainbow asked. It sounded like she was trying to hide it, but I didn't miss the slight worry in her tone.

"No," Spike took the opportunity to jump in and shook his head as he replied, "She really did disappear. One second she was right behind us, the next, she was just... gone. We have no idea when—we didn't hear her leave."

"Seriously?" Rainbow scowled, "She just... vanished?"

"She just vanished," I repeated, "Don't know what to tell you, Dash. I'd point you in her direction if I could, but..."

I trailed off with another helpless shrug but before Rainbow or anyone else could reply, Twilight spoke up, trying to sound sympathetic but unable to keep the impatience entirely out of her voice.

"Look, I wish we could help you, Rainbow Dash, I really do," she said even as she started walking past the concerned pegasus, "but we have some problems of our own that need taking care of. Maybe you can try asking that pink earth pony mare, um... Pink... uh..."

She paused and frowned.

"Pinkie Pie," I offered dryly, "Her name is Pinkie Pie, Twilight."

"Pinkie Pie," Twilight parroted like she'd known all along, "Why don't you try asking her?"

"I already did," Rainbow groused, following after the distracted unicorn as she started walking again, "She can't find her either."

"Alright, well I... I don't know!" Twilight struggled silently with her irritation for a moment before her eyes lit up with an idea, "Why don't you ask one of the Royal Guards? They're supposed to arrive here in town with the Princess. Given how late it is, they should be around here somewhere by now, right?"

Rainbow scoffed at that for some reason and opened her mouth, probably to retort, but then closed it again. She furrowed her brows, seeming to give the idea some actual thought, but then shook her head. "Nah," she finally replied, "If we're talking about the Royal Guards, then I have a better chance of finding her on my own."

That made Twilight freeze in her tracks. The mare raised her head to face the airborne pegasus, her eyes narrowed, "And just what's that supposed to mean?"

At first, the hostility in her voice confused me, but then I remembered.

Oh yeah, that's right, her brother's one of those Royal Guards, isn't he?

"Sorry, just thought of a few places I haven't checked yet," Rainbow said, completely ignoring Twilight's question as she stared off at some distant point on the starlit horizon, "No time to chat, see ya at the ceremony!"

And just as quickly as she'd come, Rainbow Dash was gone, a prismatic trail left in her wake as she flew off into the night. The three of us were left standing there in complete silence, watching that prismatic trail fade. It took a few seconds for one of us to say something but eventually, Spike spoke up, his eyes locked on where Rainbow had sped off to.

"Well, that was... something," he said before looking over to me with a concerned frown from where he'd hopped onto Twilight's back, "You think Fluttershy is okay, wherever she is?"

"Who knows?" I replied with a sigh, "Honestly? My gut's telling me she probably isn't, but then again, there's all kinds of red flags being raised tonight so I wouldn't be surprised."

"I'm not sure what you mean by red flags," Twilight jumped in as she strode off down the road yet again, "but if Fluttershy did get into some kind of trouble that's all the more reason why we need to hurry up and sort this out with the Princess. She'll know what to do. Now come on, we're wasting time."

The conviction in Twilight's voice as she ushered me to follow after her was almost convincing, but I could hear it regardless—the doubt. I wondered as I obediently followed along if I should tell her what her precious equine sun deity and I talked about after she and Spike left the throne room. Would that be rocking the boat too much?

Celestia hadn't technically told me to keep my mouth shut about whatever scheme she was cooking up. I hadn't missed that, but I also hadn't bothered to question it. Truthfully, I think both of us had just assumed discretion on the matter and that nothing more need to be said about it. That was a dumb way of looking at things in hindsight—you know what they say about assumptions and all—but in the end I decided to trust that Celestia knew what she was doing.

Was that a mistake? Maybe, maybe not. I had yet to determine as much, but now, watching Twilight hurry off to Town Hall, desperate to get the Princess' input on the matter, I started to wonder. Was this all part of her plan? Even if it wasn't, did Celestia truly know what she was getting Twilight into? What she was getting me into?

My thoughts distracting me from whatever Spike and Twilight were discussing, I turned my eyes to the night sky as I pondered things. My pensive gaze found the full moon and the strange pockmarks on its pale white surface.

Huh, they almost look like...

My thoughts screeched to a halt as I caught the movement of the stars immediately surrounding the moon twitch, flicker, and wink out completely. At almost the same moment the pockmarks vanished, their strange pattern fading to nothing and leaving the moon's pale white surface unblemished. I blinked once, thinking I might've imagined it, but no. The pockmarks were gone, as were the stars surrounding the moon.

That sense of foreboding that'd been hanging over me like a blanket intensified then. Somewhere, far in the back of my mind, I swore I could hear it again at that moment, that eerie voice. I could almost make it out, asking me—demanding me to call its name.

Ah, shit...