This is my first MLP fanfic.

Twilight and her friends looked at the creature before them. He stood about six feet tall and was bipedal. Twilight had identified him as a human, a creature she had encountered before when she had traveled through that magic mirror in the Crystal Empire. He was rubbing his head, shock having taken him after he woke up.

What had started as a normal day quickly turned strange. Fluttershy had planned a picnic for the girls and Spike to enjoy. As they were getting situated there was a sudden flash that was accompanied by deafening thunder. When the light cleared and the thunder subsided, the girls looked up to find the human lying unconscious in the grass nearby. Once Twilight had told the girls what exactly he was, she placed him against a nearby tree using her magic.

When he had woken up, he had blinked a few times, seemingly trying to figure out if he was hallucinating. When reality had hit him his eyes went wide and he shot up, back to the tree. He had reached for his hip and, finding nothing there, looked down. Some words escaped from his mouth that Twilight didn't recognize.

"Where am I," he had asked, "and how did I get here?"

Twilight stepped towards him slowly, "Take it easy sir. You're in Equestria. As to how you got here, I'm afraid we don't know. There was a sudden flash and then you appeared here."

The human looked down in thought. He sat down and began rubbing his head, shocked and confused. That's how he had been for the past hour. He occasionally muttered words in a language that Twilight and the girls didn't recognize.

They took this time to take him in. He wasn't dressed like the humans Twilight knew. Based on the pictures from the human history books she recalled, he appeared to be dressed in a medieval style. He wore a dark blue, cloth tunic that sported an apron that reached his knees. This apron was mirrored in the back and the whole tunic was outlined in gold. Beneath this he wore a long sleeved black shirt. His legs were covered with a pair of black leggings and he wore a pair of black traveling boots. His hair, which hung down to the middle of his neck, was jet black with streaks of silver running through it. But it was his eyes that caught Twilight's attention. They were bright green and seemed to glow with some inner power. At his hip was an empty scabbard for a sword.

After a few minutes more, Twilight spoke up, "May I ask your name?"

The human looked up from his thoughts, "My name is Magnus, Third Seat of the First Circle of the Guild of Magi. And whom, may I ask, are you?"

"My name's Twilight Sparkle. These are my friends, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Apple Jack, and Spike." Twilight pointed to each of her friends in turn.

Magnus nodded and looked around, "This land, you said it is called Equestria?"

"That's right," Rarity said.

Magnus chuckled and looked off to his left, seeming to stare at nothing and everything at once. "I thought this place was but a myth," he said. "A world far removed from my own. Yet, here I sit. Through what means I was brought here, I know not. But fate has some plan for me in this place, of that I am certain." He let out another chuckle, "Who knows? Perhaps I'll be happier here."

"What do you mean sugar cube?" Applejack asked. "Weren't yah happy back home in y'er own world?"

Magnus looked at the gamboge colored pony, "Not really. My life was full of constant work. It was rare I even managed to get any sleep. I was under constant command to research some obscure arcane reference or another. Occasionally I would receive some magical artifact that no one knew what it was. Sure, some turned out to be rather powerful, but most were just simple protection charms in one form or another." He looked back out the land, "I didn't have much of a social life, and what few friends I had were other magicians like me, seeing as how the non-magicians were terrified of us."

Twilight perked up a little at this, "You can use magic?"

Magnus looked at the purple Alicorn curiously, "I can, though I do so sparingly. Why do you ask?"

Twilight smiled, "I'm a magical student myself. But the reason I ask is this: I've been to the human world once before and I couldn't use my magic. Although I think I traveled to a time farther forward than your time."

Magnus frowned, "Strange. I suppose that the gift for magic could have eventually been lost entirely as time progressed, but I don't see why." Magnus shrugged, "Who knows? I suppose it's out of my hands now." He would have said something else had his stomach not started growling. He sighed, "And once again, I've forgotten to eat."

Twilight looked over to the picnic basket and pulled out a couple of apples using magic. This caught Magnus's attention. Twilight floated the apples over to Magnus, "I know it's not meat like humans are used to…"

Magnus waved it off, "Don't worry about that. I'm a vegetarian." Magnus took one of the apples and took a bite. His eyes sparkled at the flavor. He made quick work of both apples, leaving only the cores. He let out a content sigh, "Those were the best apples I've ever eaten."

"Well they should be," Applejack said. "First apples of the harvest after all."

"So why do you think you're here, Magnus?" Spike asked.

Magnus sighed, "If only I knew. One moment I'm sitting at my desk working on translating an ancient manuscript, next thing I know there's a bright flash. After that all I remember is waking up here." He looked around, "This land is beautiful. The world I come from is horridly disgusting. The streets are crowded and filthy, crime is rampant…" he shook his head.

"Why doesn't your ruler do anything about it then?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Magnus let out a loud laugh, "As if that pompous fool would do anything for his people. The only thing he cares about is filling his already full treasury."

"That's just awful," Fluttershy said.

"Indeed."

"So what do you plan on doing now?" Twilight asked.

"I suppose just wait until I figure out what it is I'm supposed to do. Until then, I guess I'll just try to help out where I can."

"Hey Twilight," Applejack said, "Yah reckon the Princess might know somthin' about all this."

"It's possible," Twilight said. "At the very least, it's worth a try."

Magnus gave Twilight a questioning look, "Princess?"

"My mentor, Princess Celestia. She's the ruler of Equestria alongside her sister, Princess Luna. I'm actually supposed to go see her tomorrow. Until then, you're welcome to stay in the library with me."

Magnus nodded, "Alright, although it's probably best that I'm not seen." He closed his eyes and murmured a few words that Twilight and the others couldn't here. A green glow formed around his the crown of his head and moved down. As it progressed, he seemed to vanish from sight.

Twilight's eyes went wide, "I didn't think invisibility was possible."

"It's not," Magnus's disembodied voice said. He was still by the tree. "All this spell does is bend light around me, essentially rendering me unseeable." They heard an audible sigh, "I guess we should be getting along now. It's getting dark."

Twilight looked at the sky. Sure enough, Celestia's sun was setting in the west and Luna's moon was rising in the east. They had been out there longer than any of them realized. They quickly packed up their picnic and headed back to Ponyville, Magnus following close. They reached the center of town and each went their own way.

Magnus sat on the floor, his eyes closed in deep thought. Twilight observed him. He seemed calm about having been transported to another world.

"Magnus?" Twilight said.

Magnus opened an eye to look at the Alicorn, "Yes."

"How are you so calm? I remember when I went to your world, I freaked out. Although, in hindsight it was probably because I had turned human."

Magnus smiled and opened both eyes, "One of the greatest lessons I've ever learned is this: All things happen for a reason. We don't always know what that reason is, but it's usually for the better. I admit, I was a little shocked to find myself in a new world, but I've come to terms with it." He chuckled lightly, "Besides, with me being a magician I've learned to accept the odd things in life."

Twilight chuckled too, "That's true. You cast a spell expecting one thing and something else happens."

"Well then, sounds like we both have some stories to tell. We must trade them once we have time. For now, sleep beckons."

Twilight nodded, "I have a guest bed upstairs. I don't know if it's big enough though."

Magnus smiled, "That won't be a problem." They headed upstairs to find Spike had already fallen asleep. When he got to the bed, he mumbled a quick spell and the bed grew a couple of feet in length, sheets and all, making it just long enough for him to sleep on. Magnus and Twilight then bade each other a good night and fell asleep. The next day was sure to be full of excitement.

Next chapter, Magnus meets the sisters and part of the plot revealed.