Will this work? He thought to himself as he stood at the edge of the "shield" of Equestria. There's no reason it shouldn't he replied to himself, finally silencing every negative remark his brain could have and he began to step over the border fearing the worst. But nothing happened, despite the thousands of other cases of humans dying or exploding into flesh colored fluid he remained fine. Of course he knew why but he still had his qualms about whether or not this would work, after all 5 years of evidence that humans couldn't cross the shield told him otherwise despite him knowing what made him drastically different from them. The fear was good, it made him cautious and cautious had saved his life more than once out in the wastelands.


"What's taking him so long?" thought Rainbow Dash out loud as she waited by the border.

"Sorry, I had to work up the courage to risk my life by taking one step forward, a step most people might actually consider suicide. Took me a while to pluck up the courage to take it." Said a familiar voice behind her.

"DJ?" she said as much in shock at him being inside the shield, as much as him simply having returned as she turned around seeing her friend for the first time in a year.

"Yes, Dash" he replied smiling as wide as the Grand Canyon. "It's me, and no you're not dreaming I'm actually in Equestria. And I'm not dead or dying." He held his arms wide for the inevitable.

"YOU'RE ALIVE!' she yelled as she barreled into him hugging her old friend as hard as she could "What happened to you?"

"I had things that I had to attend to, and they required me to stop writing to you." He said apologetically hugging her back as much as she was hugging him.

"That's no excuse!" Dash said as she continued nearly suffocating him.

"It is when I had to maintain the secrecy behind it." DJ said laughing.

"So what's this secret? And why did you ask me to meet you here at the border?" Asked Rainbow Dash as she let him go and stepped back finally getting a good look at what her friend that still walked on two legs was wearing.

"You'll find out soon. And I wanted you to be the first one I met once I returned." He said smiling again. DJ was wearing a pair of jeans, he had never liked anything else, always saying "jeans are all purpose, I can't think of a single situation where they aren't worth wearing." A long sleeved black shirt and a vest of some kind over it, but the one of the oddest things he was wearing was the coat/robe kinda thing, it seemed like the ensemble piece of the whole get up, he wore it with the front open though it seemed like it was able to be worn with the whole front closed up and a head band with a symbol Dash had never seen before engraved on a piece of metal.

"Sort of an odd clothing choice for a human isn't it?" asked Dash as she looked him over.

"Hahahaha!, you'll see the significance of it soon enough." he said. Ruffling her mane like he used to do in the old days.

"So why are you back now?" she asked

"It was the time for me to finally return." He said simply "And besides it's not like I can ever resist seeing you totally dumbstruck." He was grinning like a fox again

"Oh shut up!" Dash responded hitting him softly on the shoulder with her hoof.

"Ohh no! You might have broken my arm!" he said in mock alarm in the way that only old friends could find funny.

"I did not you big baby!" she shouted, trying to hold back a laugh "And, maybe if you had written even ONCE I might not have had to hit you at all."

Time for a bit of backstory, Dash and DJ had met two and half years ago back when he still used to live in New York. She had clipped a building one day while she was delivering mail causing her to spin out of control; her uncontrolled fall caused her to run into him, literally, and ended up breaking two of his ribs while his body had saved her life. She had went to visit him in the hospital and she found him to be the most likable human she had ever met, and he found her to be the most interesting and fun pony he had ever met and the two had been good friends ever since.

"Don't worry Dash you were the only one I thought of writing to when I was going to come back." He said finally stopping the charade of over dramatically clutching his arm.

"Not even your famil-"dash started to say, and then covered her mouth up with her hooves suddenly realizing what she had started talking about.

There were very few topics that were taboo between the two friends, and one of them was DJ's family who had left him to undergo ponification at one of the bureaus three years ago. He personally disliked the idea of ponification saying that it required him to give up what he had a born right to. Despite his obvious differences with his family he continued to write to them constantly even when he had left the cities to wander the un-occupied rest of the U.S. with others who had refused ponification. Sending them handwritten letters and pictures to let them know he was OK in the violent world left behind the wake of "mass exodus" as he called it. Up until the day he had disappeared a year ago and stopped writing letters to anyone altogether.

"No, not even my family Dash" he said sighing knowing exactly why Rainbow Dash had reacted so suddenly to that topic. She had brought it up exactly once, back in the first few weeks when they had first met. And he had nearly scared her away with the cold anger that had consumed him when he had thought of them. Of course after that he apologized almost endlessly and asked her to never bring it up again. Naturally she never did, not wanting to risk their friendship over her curiosity.

"Sorry." she said as she lowered her hooves, an expression of worry on her face.

"It's OK. I got over that a while ago, I'm not quite as uncomfortable talking about it as I used to be. Especially not with me being one of like 20 humans still left on the planet." He said smiling reassuring her she hadn't done something wrong in the first ten minutes of meeting one of her best friends that she hadn't seen in a year.

"So why are you in Equestria? Never mind that, more importantly HOW are you in Equestria?" Dash asked a completely confused expression on her face.

"Well to the first I'm here to go meet with Celestia in a week, and as for the second you'll find out in time." DJ answered.

"Ohhhh you know I hate waiting!" Dash shouted, her impatience showing.

"Of course I know, but since when have I ever not taken the opportunity to see how long you can take waiting for something?" He said grinning.

"Never." Rainbow Dash grumbled. Her curiosity as to how her friend was able to be in Equestria dominating everything else in her mind.

"Sorry Dash but I seriously can't tell you until I talk to Celestia, she doesn't want anypony to know until she hears it herself." He said seeing her crestfallen expression. "On the upside, I have to stay in Ponyville for a couple days while the princess gets things sorted out for my arrival. Didn't you say you've always wanted to introduce me to your friends?"

"Of course I do!" Dash shouted suddenly energetic and rising up into the air," I've always wanted to have you meet them but they all live in Ponyville and well, back then I didn't think you could come there. But now that you can I definitely want you to meet them! Let's get going!" she shouted as she prepared to shoot off towards her home.

"Um, Dash? I don't know if you noticed but despite me being in Equestria I still don't have wings." DJ said.

"Oh that's right. Sorry it's been so long since I've had to wait up for somebody." Rainbow Dash said as she landed.

"Is that a challenge?" DJ asked smiling again.

"What do you think?" she answered matching his smile.

"You're on. Even though you have an unfair advantage." He said taking off running down the road with the sign that said Ponyville pointing down it.

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "No head starts cheater!"

"Hey! I only have two legs remember?" DJ shouted back laughing the entire time.

Rainbow Dash chased after her old friend thinking to herself I've got more than just my friends over there in Ponyville you just wait DJ I've got surprise that'll make you speechless!