So you decided to give my story a chance? Well then, I'll try to keep this author's note short. I'm just someone who had some time to kill and decided to try my hand at a FanFiction, with my younger sister being my main inspiration. I tend to write pretty long chapters when I write, so if it's not your thing, spare us both any trouble by backing out. Otherwise, leave a review or follow/favorite this story if you enjoy it.

Additional Note: I do not own My Little Pony. Hasbro tends to get their feathers in a bunch if that isn't clarified anywhere.

Chapter 1 – The Arbiter

"How the hell did I get here...?"

My first thought upon realizing that I was no longer in the guest bedroom at my cousins' house, let alone their house at all.

Or even the world I lived in for that matter...needless to say, I was a long ways away from home.

What used to be the comforting sensation of a queen-sized bed was now a somewhat chilling atmosphere of a large forest. I took this moment to notice that I had been laying face down on a beaten pathway, judging from the small channel in the ground around me. I looked up slightly to see a familiar-looking patch of blue flowers beginning to bloom a few feet in front of me; what were they called...? Poison Joke, I think.

I blame watching one too many episodes of MLP for having knowledge of that plant. Having a younger sister has several extremes.

The trees against the sides of the pathway rose up to a point where overlapping leaves would sometimes block out the sunlight entirely, similar to that of the Everfree Forest. The leaves on the trees also looked to be a cartoon, as I could see the dark green outline on the edges when I squinted my eyes. Seeing as the sun's rays looked to be a little dim at the moment, I'm assuming that the time here is either the break of dawn or in the middle of the sunset. My answer was soon confirmed to be the latter of the two guesses when I noticed the streaks of light poking through to the ground beginning to fade away; a sign that I should look for a way out of this place. Preferrably quickly.

Wait a minute...I feel like I'm forgetting something...dammit! I knew I was going to botch something up. I forgot to make an introduction for myself...then again, why should that matter? If all people care about for a said character are the following qualities:

1. OP strength

2. A personality that's admired by most of (if not all) the other characters, or relatable to the reader in some way

3. Quotes, responses, or monologues that would make them a "badass" or whatever for that moment

4. Love interests

5. A good-looking appearance

Then why should I bother to do so? I don't owe you anything. Plus, I wouldn't consider myself to be a white knight in shining armor (no pun intended) by any means. That title just doesn't seem to be compatible with me.

But since I'm probably going to be given grief for this anyway...

The name's Mages. Weston Mages. And try not to call me "West", especially when I'm within earshot of you when you're looking for directions. Things have a way of becoming very confusing otherwise. Anyways, I am 19 years of age, I live with two of my cousins in Salt Lake City, and I find myself dabbling in reading and writing to an extent. Realistic fiction, sci-fi, and some fantasy are my genres of choice, but I don't really have a lot of motivation or inspiration at the moment. Therefore, I wouldn't suggest expecting any updates from me on a regular, consistent basis. That kind of promise can be broken way too easily. Not to mention that life is kind of a thing with me. Back to the more important matter at hand...

What...? No short stories about my friends or family life? Not much about what I like or dislike besides what I just said? Nothing about my past?

Most of them have disappeared and are more than likely dead by now for all I know (or care for that matter). And why are my interests ever so important to you? To find common ground and soon become the best of friends? Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not very trusting of anyone, including myself for several reasons. Sorry for not being able to fulfill your "sunshine and rainbows" trope. As for my past, if I ever were to tell you everything, or even a small summary of my life up to this point, I might as well have written a tragedy by now. Long story short, have fun with that nightmare fuel. Now can we move on? I don't like to be dismissive, but in case you haven't noticed, I'm L.O.S.T. Emphasis on the L.

I'm almost fully convinced that I'm having a dream right now. Last time I checked, there weren't any discoveries of rifts or portals capable of sending forms of life to other dimensions. Hell, flying cars and teleportation are still an inkling of one's imagination (unfortunate, I know). However, something about this particular "dream" felt very realistic, as opposed to just another nightmare. Like every feeling and thought I had right now was truly genuine. I could actually feel a small breeze against my skin; odd, I feel a bit more hairy than I usually do. Maybe I forgot to close the window before I dozed off. Or perhaps I left the AC on when it was up to 80 degrees in the house. Nevertheless, I'm beginning to feel light goosebumps, as well as my hair starting to stand itself up.

Well, only one way to confirm this for sure...

And with that thought, I closed my eyes tightly, took my right hand, and roughly slapped it against my cheek, hoping that I would open my eyes to a more familiar sight. As I waited for the stinging to fade, I slowly peeked through my right eye to look for any signs of being in my room.

…..shock surprise. As you may have guessed from my moment of silence, I'm still laying in the dirt on my stomach. I guess reading fanfics must have allowed me to get used to the idea of being in another world. Or maybe it's just my force of habit to remain abnormally calm like this. Whichever case it was, I found myself being more ticked off than taken aback by this. Just who is responsible for my presence here? And for what reason was I chosen specifically? Was I meant to become a superweapon to fight an ancient evil of some sort? Was I meant to befriend the residents of this world? Was this all just a simple mistake made by pure dumb luck?

Whoa...okay...on second thought, I'd better not focus too much on that. I already felt a headache coming on from my little dose of reality about a minute ago; don't need it to become a migraine over something that I wouldn't care for even if I got my answers right now. I'm not a chess pawn, nor am I cut out for such useless sentiment. For now, my sole concern should be to find my way out of here before vision becomes a problem. My stomach was starting to hurt anyway from laying down on it too long.

As I subconsciously lifted myself off of the ground, another thought came to mind. Now that I'm supposedly in the My Little Pony universe...what kind of creature am I exactly? A pony? A dragon? A griffon perhaps?

Allowing my curiosity to take over once again, I took my right "arm" and stuck it out in front of me to see what kind of limb(s) I had.

...even better. I was also given psychic abilities for some reason. I was able to guess what I was on my very first try. Well, now I don't know whether to feel insulted or gifted. Not that I should really feel accomplished by any means; I was beginning to feel a bit different in my arms and legs anyway, considering that I was now a quadruped creature with hooves instead of a bipedal. I looked up to the top of my head and noticed a horn poking through a section of my hair, indicating that I was of the unicorn species.

Alright, I think that's enough analyzing for now. Better get moving...if I could only remember how a pony moves...

How did that walking pattern go...? Ah, I remember now. Despite noticing how my front and hind legs bent in the opposite directions from a human's arms and legs, the way the two species walked or ran were still one in the same.

Let's see...right foreleg forward, left rear leg forward. Left foreleg forward, right rear leg forward. Repeat as necessary. A few more yards...okay, I'm starting to get the hang of it.

Let's try walking backwards now; I'll have to do that at some point or another. Left rear leg backward, right foreleg backward. Right rear leg backward, left foreleg backward. A few more feet...alright, that movement feels natural too.

Now for sidestepping. Left foreleg to the right, left rear leg to the right. Right foreleg to the right, right rear leg to the right. Other direction. Right foreleg to the left, right foreleg to the left, right rear leg to the left. Left foreleg to the left, left rear leg to the left.

Good. Next is trotting at a decent pace. Same pattern as the first; just a bit faster. I'm a little surprised that I haven't tripped or even stumbled yet. How my luck was holding out, I wouldn't know. Luck and I haven't exactly seen eye to eye for the most part. Oh well.

Might as well break into a gallop now; trotting doesn't seem to be a problem. Here goes nothing. Remember that pattern: right, left, left, right, right, left—whoa, almost tripped. Never mind that, got a few more yards to go...

Alright, aside from that little slip-up in the middle, it will have to do until I grow more accustomed to this body. Moving on...

After a few more minutes of walking on the pathway, I came across a fork, which split off into two different "sub-paths" to choose from.

How cliché...then again, so is the setting of this story right now. Doesn't every self-insert start out in the Everfree Forest?

If there was anything that I hated the most about trying to find my way, it was the 50/50 chance of going the right or wrong way. Actually; scratch that, knowing that I don't even have the slightest clue as to how I got here still stands at the top of that list.

Which way to choose...? A large part of my mind was swaying to go to the left, however, for some reason, I felt compelled to begin walking to the right. Looks like I'm going to follow my instincts yet again...

Judging from how the rays of sunlight all seemed to have died down, I'm going to guess that I've been strolling here for about an hour and a half now. With that being said, I'm probably not going to make it out before nightfall. Not good. Then again, I was probably going to have to deal with certain creatures after dark anyway, going back to my love-hate relationship with luck. Danger seems to have a way of seeking me out one way or another.

As I was beginning to once again lose control of my thoughts, I notice a small bag not too far away from me, with a few bits spilling from its opening. Walking up to it to investigate, I noticed something a little different about some of them, particularly their colors. While the majority of them were a light gold, some of them had a white gold or a rose gold material. There were also three or four platinum bits in the middle of the pile, making me wonder if their rarity had a select value of wealth. Figuring that the owner was probably long gone by now, I slid all of the bits into the bag and placed it securely on my back. If he or she could carry around that much money through a forest of all places, then I really shouldn't have to worry about whether or not it counts as a significant theft. This said character more than likely has enough of it to compensate.

It wasn't too long after I continued walking on the trail before the coming darkness made several things fairly difficult to see, as the tops of the trees above me became nothing more than shadows in the night sky. Luckily, the surroundings here seemed to be much brighter in comparison to Earth. And the fact that I could still kind of see what was in front-

However, I didn't see what was down in front of me, as I tripped over what I'm guessing is a tree root or something. Because inconvenience is apparently convenient now.

Before I could start cursing internally about it, I heard a faint scream in the distance ahead of me. Or maybe I'm finally imagining something for once since I got here. Nonetheless, I am now cursing internally about that while I resume walking towards the direction of the noise. Was I going to investigate the source?

No. Since when did you start thinking that his or her dilemma would become my problem? I didn't come here to save anyone's sorry ass; I'm here to find a way out before my own gets handed to me by some free-roaming creature. Not to mention that I wasn't very keen on being involved in whatever wasn't my business. Tough luck to them...hopefully a funeral can be arranged when the body is found.

No more than about ten seconds later, there was another scream, a bit more distinguishable this time. It was definitely that of a female (or a high-pitched male, take your pick; I'm choosing the former), and was much closer to my vicinity than I had once thought. So she had to be galloping pretty fast away from something in order to be able to close that kind of gap between us.

...

...screw what I just said. I've got an idea.

With that now in mind, and my instincts once again overwhelming my sense of logic, I broke into a gallop of my own. Disregarding any other tree roots and obstacles as if they were non-existent, I weaved my way through them until I saw a small entrance to a clearing of some sort up ahead. As I started to make a full-on beeline for the opening, I also began to think about the damsel in distress again, but for a different reason.

Did I suddenly care for her well-being now that I was running for my life towards her? Well, yes. I do. But not for a reason that I think you would expect to hear in this scenario. I don't care about her feelings in the slightest. I'm just going to use her if and when I help her eliminate or escape from the threat in the area. If she can recall certain tidbits on how she ended up where she was running now, I might be able to find my way out of this damn forest. However, this would be risky if she couldn't remember, and even worse if she was some stupid kid that tried to be brave when they clearly knew better. Children are just company that I don't and never will need. They're assholes. And above all, annoying.

And how was I going to take this said threat out of the equation? Simple. I do what every OC does when they're up against a danger; improvise. Especially when they don't know much about it. It's the only thing that's feasible and reasonable to do at the moment, other than running away like a bat out of hell. Hopefully it doesn't decide to backfire on me.

I eventually reached the entrance to the clearing, where I was finally able to witness the scene of the crime in progress. What I saw before me proceeded to give me three different emotions to summarize my reaction to it. First, I felt disappointment towards the azure unicorn backing away slowly from the...hybrid creature, seemingly too stricken with fear to do much else. Second, I felt a very small tinge of interest towards the aforementioned creature. It looked to be a combination of a lion, a bat, and a scorpion in design. Not bad, I guess. Could've been a bit more intimidating though; its facial features just doesn't portray a predator figure to be honest. Hold on...this animal rings a bell...what was it called? Oh, a manticore. That's what it was. Lastly, I felt agitation, going back to the pony. What was she even doing to piss this thing off? She didn't look strong enough to do much harm to it, as judgmental as that sounds. So what else could she have done...? Meh, what does it matter? She done goofed, I know that much.

…and another familiarity comes to mind. I saw this pony in an episode or two. Azure coat, dark purple eyes, pale blue mane and tail, a magician's hat and cape... Bingo! This is Trixie Lulamoon, the magical performer of Ponyville who didn't exactly prove herself to be as "great and powerful" as she proclaimed to her audience. She is also the rival and polar opposite of Twilight Sparkle in terms of her personality traits in the show.

But flashbacks aside, she backed up from the manticore until a tree behind her made her stop instantly. As the said manticore walked slowly and menacingly in turn, I knew that I would have about ten seconds at most to distract it from the far side of the clearing. Seeing as the force of me throwing a rock at it would be faster than trying to charge it, I quickly scavenged the ground around me for a stone of a decent size.

No dice. Well, guess I'm gonna run for it. And no, I'm not retreating. I'm asking for someone to cue the "Cavalry Charge" bugle call. Because that's exactly what I'm doing.

[BGM: Sakura Angels OST - Shadows And Bloodlust]

...alright, whatever.

As the manticore slowly raised its right paw for the final swing, I ran in a direct course for the creature's midsection, seeing its softness as a weak point if my attack is executed properly. I waited until I was close enough before making a big leap of faith towards its upper abdomen. While I was reaching the pinnacle of my jump, I bent my forelegs and cocked them back with my shoulders as far as my pony form would allow them. Finally, I tucked my head down to align with my forelegs as I thrust them forward in one swift motion. A split second later, the awaiting contact between the manticore and my hooves came as I felt myself vibrate from its roar of pain.

With my forward momentum being stalled enough for me to start falling, I positioned my hooves back beneath my body and landed with a little slide to stop completely. I looked up to notice that my attack had packed a bit more punch than what I was anticipating, as I was able to knock it off of its feet and send it rolling for a few feet. I then took a quick glance over to Trixie, who just now decided to open her eyes to see why she wasn't dead or remotely close to it. Before we could make eye contact however, the manticore had recovered enough to stand back up and unleash a louder roar, this time filled with rage.

Whether or not I was beginning to fear what this thing would try to do now didn't matter, as it ran towards me in a charge of its own. As it reared its right paw to swipe down on my head, I quickly sidestepped to the left, allowing it to freely pass to the right of me. The manticore then tried to backhand me with the same paw, but I just managed to duck underneath it, marking another missed shot. What I almost didn't see coming to my right was its left paw in the air also heading my way; but I was lucky enough to be looking in that direction, as I proceeded to turn left again to leap out of its path.

If I were to have enough time to break my concentration, I would be glaring daggers and a few bullets at Trixie for what she's contributing to the fight right now. Yep, you guessed it. A one-pony audience. Don't tell me that she's now more scared of trying to get rid of the problem at hand (or hoof, whatever) than almost losing her life to it. Then again, she must be pretty useless anyway if running away from it was all that she tried doing; so I really shouldn't be bothered by her incompetence here.

The manticore once again tried to rush at me from the front...not very smart, but I guess it had no better strategy for the moment. This time, I sidestepped to the right to see if I could try attacking its midsection. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a clear shot in time before I had to dodge another backhand from its left paw. This process repeated once again before I started to wonder about something.

Is that stinger on its scorpion tail poisonous? Nothing happened to Rainbow Dash when she tried to make a freeform tornado around one in the second episode, only to get hit by said scorpion tail. I suppose it could be argued that the actual stinger didn't hit her, but then that still just raises the threat level. Guess I should just stick to not getting hit by it.

Back to the fight, the manticore seemed to be slowing down by a tad, but it was still pissed off nevertheless. Not to mention that I was starting to grow annoyed by how long this was dragging out to be. One would think that either me or the manticore would have been able to get the upper hand by now, but that just wasn't the case. For the fourth time now, it tried to swipe me across the face. I decided to try something different and lean back on my hind legs to evade the attack. As the tip of its paw just whiffed past my muzzle, I used its extended foreleg to initiate my new idea; which is probably even more reckless than the first one I had. Immediately after I saw the back of its paw, I jumped up to the middle of its foreleg while it was still stuck it out at where I was previously standing. Before the manticore could retract its leg to make me lose my balance, I quickly launched myself to the top of its head. I tried to wait it out to see if it would try to swat at me with its paw again. But alas, it was too smart for that cheap trick, and instead tried to violently shake me out of its mane. Struggling to keep my footing (or hoofing, damn ponified terminology), I jumped onto its back and tried to think of a plan before it would start following the words of Taylor Swift by shaking me off. Come on...well, what have we here? Another reckless idea that will probably fail? Screw it.

Shrugging off any doubts I had, I leaped into the air as the manticore started to shake itself, intending to get the height I needed for my next trick. As I hit the peak of my jump, I tucked forward and positioned myself so that my forelegs were in front of my head as I looked down at the seemingly unaware creature. I then bent my right foreleg back to muster up every ounce of momentum that I could, while waiting for the right moment to strike. When this said moment came, I shot my hoof forward and brought all of my force down on the manticore's left eye, bringing its head down into the dirt from the sensitive feeling. Though as I tried to bring my hind legs down to its nose to spring myself off of, I mistimed the point of when I needed to plant my hooves, causing me to miss the landing completely and fall square onto my back.

No matter...ow! Nevermind, maybe it does matter. But regardless, this half-assed plan of mine seemed to be working for now. Now for the second phase...

I started to circle-strafe the manticore as it began to thrash about wildly from its newly acquired eye injury. As I ducked and sidestepped its legs and its tail when they came close, I tried to place myself to its left side, where I landed my first hit earlier. It would only be a short matter of time before this thing would regain its vision again, so I really need to get a solid attack in.

After dodging another swoop of its stinger, I leaped forward into a tuck-and-roll maneuver underneath its stomach. When I emerged on the other side of it, I quickly sprang up from the series of somersaults and skidded to a stop. Using the remaining momentum in my bending hind legs, I turned around and made a mad dash for the manticore again. I jumped up and extended my foreleg in front of my face.

Target Acquired. Now for the moment of truth-

*SMACK*

...huh. Greetings, Paw. The name's Forehead. A pleasure to make your acquaintance. Perhaps we can chat more some time in better circumstances.

What just happened, you ask? Well...I don't know. I felt as if I was flying at mach speed towards the manticore, which could have potentially ended the fight. The next thing I know, my vision is blurry and it feels like I'm flying backwards.

...I just got backhanded. How fitting. Looks like my luck has once again betrayed me. As I sailed through the air, I noticed Trixie galloping towards me out of the corner of my eye, worried about my condition. However, I realized something as I braced myself for impact. If I die from whatever injuries I'll probably get now, will I start my afterlife in my world? Or will I just be dead and gone here?

Actually, nevermind that. I don't think this world is going to let me die here.

I finally hit the ground after time seemed to stand still while I was an airborne ragdoll. Tinges of darkness tried to take over my eyes as I bounced and tumbled a few yards before my body came to a stop. But despite having the wind knocked out of me temporarily, I still remained conscious. As my vision slowly became clear again, I saw that Trixie was now crouching by my right side, offering her front hooves to help me stand myself up. Grabbing her left with my right while her other hoof supported my chest, I lifted myself from the ground and stood on all fours again.

"Are you going to be okay, sir?" She asked, concern evident in her tone as she pointed to my muzzle for some reason.

Taking the hint, I crossed my eyes to look at the part of my body in question. Noticing that I was bleeding from that area, I licked the blood off of my lips and wiped my snout with my left hoof.

Wait a minute...The Great And Powerful Trixie. Addressing me as "sir"? Moi? Wha...?

Back to her question, no. I was not okay. Aside from my bloody muzzle, my back pain grew even more unsettling from when I fell flat on it earlier. All of my legs were crying out in pain, and the headache I was trying to avoid getting deep in the forest had made its presence known, probably even more intense now.

But most of all, I was pissed. Here I am, trying to save Trixie's flank from this damn manticore; and I could barely make a single scratch on the thing. Had we been on my world, this animal would've been dead minutes ago. But this? This was just getting even more ridiculous with each minute this fight dragged on. I could've been out of here by now. I SHOULD have been out of here by now. Why the hell was I wasting my time here? Who the hell put me on this planet?!

At this moment, I failed to notice that the manticore had already began making its way towards where we were standing, with its mind set on getting the double kill deal. My eyes were closed tightly as an electrifying sensation began to take focus on my head; specifically where my horn was. As this feeling became more prevalent, I felt my muscles tighten to their full capability, making my entire body shake violently. Trixie also started to back away from me, not wanting to get in the way in any shape, fashion, or form. Subconsciously allowing my pent up anger to take control, I slowly walked up to the manticore, intent on letting it know who is really the bigger menace here. As I took the time to open my eyes again, my vision was now tinted with a sinister magenta color.

Assuming that my new weapon of some sort was ready to fire, I focused my line of sight to the area in between its eyes.

Target Acquired.

Ready.

Aim.

Fire.

As soon as the manticore grew the nerve to try to retaliate with its paw, I unleashed the power from within my horn. Everything in my eyes flashes in a bright purple light as what I guessed was a Halo Spartan Laser shot was released from my grasp. Judging from the roar of pain I hear about a split second later, I assumed that I shot it right in the head.

[BGM Ends]

When the purple screen of death faded from my eyes, I noticed that everything in my vision still had a tint of magenta to its appearance, signifying that I must still be in my little magic surge. I then looked ahead of me to see that the manticore had landed on its back on the other side of the clearing, looking to be almost completely motionless. Did I kill it? I hadn't planned on doing some hunting today, but I'm not complaining. I don't have any affection for these animals.

Curious to find out if I had to suddenly get away with murder, I trotted towards the creature and looked for any signs of an active pulse. Its chest and stomach still seemed to be rising and falling, albeit a bit shallow to be considered normal. There also appeared to be smoke and singed fur spanning from the top of its head down to its midsection. Nonetheless, I had it disabled and unconscious for the moment. I'm sure it won't be long before it decides to wake up again, which brings up a question to think about now. When it wakes up, will it foolishly try to seek revenge?

It'd practically be suicide, with me being as fired up as I made myself out to be. Call it a hint of arrogance if you wish, but I think we both know who is going to come out on top here.

Meeting the manticore at its hind legs, I stuck out my left foreleg to softly nudge one of its toes, wondering if it would wake up and run off, or attack again. Sensing that this plan could go in either direction, Trixie lit up her horn with a light pink aura as she closely followed me. When my hoof finally made contact with its paw, I felt a few muscles twitch in response, awakening it from its short slumber. Taking this opportunity to reignite my horn, I took up a defensive stance alongside Trixie, who seemed be waiting for my signal to either stand down or strike. As it rose from the ground to get itself situated, I switched to a more offensive stance and slightly leaned forward, anticipating the right moment to commit.

However, this right moment never came, as the manticore's eyes dilated to that of horror when I decided to take another step towards it. Appearing to know in its right mind that I would fry it if it were to try anything suspicious, it took a step backwards to answer my advances.

Then another one.

A third one.

Four. Five. Six. Seven.

It lets out an audible whimper, giving me the notion that it was considering the option to retreat back to wherever it came from. Deciding to intimidate the creature one last time, I took another two steps forward and put more energy into my magic. With one final step back, it turns around and makes a break for the deeper section of the forest, ending the encounter.

About time...now to search for a way out of here...again...

I allowed for my magic to die out and my vision to return to normal, while turning around to see that Trixie's magic has also faded from her horn. As she began to make her approach again, I did a quick assessment of any more injuries I might have sustained in my little moment of rage.

My back pain seems to have died down a bit...my hooves are still kind of sore however. And as for my headache-

Aaahhhh-! What the hell?!

As if it was suddenly convenient to become a problem, my said headache became amplified with its intensity, making me have to double over in clear pain. It was pretty common of me to have severe headaches every other day, but this one felt like a entirely different animal altogether.

"What's wrong?" Trixie asked, quickly trotting over to me and placing a hoof on my left shoulder.

Did you get the license plate of the paw that backhanded me about five minutes ago?

"Oh, I'm fine. Just got a pounding headache right now..." I replied a little sarcastically, lifting my head back up to meet her amethyst-colored eyes with mine. When they made contact, she instantly retracted her hoof and started blushing slightly, from what I assume is embarrassment.

Was I making any sort of judgments because of it? Not really. I don't really see what there is to be ashamed of here. And frankly, if there was, I really wouldn't have cared that much.

Needless to say, Trixie narrowed her eyes a little from that response and blushed more for some reason. From that look on her face, she definitely didn't seem convinced by that.

"Do you need to see a doctor?" She asked, getting a little closer again.

"No, I'll manage. After all, I've had to deal with worse before." I said while cracking my neck and holding my head completely up now. I've had three concussions to back that up.

She still didn't look too persuaded, but I'm guessing she decided to not ask further due to her current silence. After a short moment however, she spoke up again.

"Umm...t-thank you for the help...back there...y-you saved my life..." She said, by all means more timidly than what I think a majority of the fandom could ever imagine her being.

"Eh, no problem I guess." I answered, not really sure how to handle the heartfelt gratitude she was showing me. I'd inquire why she did nothing to stop the manticore right about now, but my fatigue was just not having any of it. And I'm still kind of lost here. "Are you heading back to Ponyville by any chance? If so, could you lead me back to the entrance? I lost track of where I was heading." I asked instead, wanting to avoid mentioning how I actually woke up here.

"Yes, I am. Follow me." She replied, turning around to the polar opposite direction of where I came from.

So I was going the wrong way the whole damn time?! Cue the "Rage Guy" and give me a table.

Because I'm about to start flipping shit.

...anything...? Ah, forget it.

"Where did you find this bag?"

Oh hell no-!

"I'm sorry; I got so caught up with the manticore that I forgot to ask you your name." Trixie said regretfully as she turned to me while walking by my left side.

"It's not a big deal. The name's Mages. Weston Mages. And I'm hoping you do forget it to be honest." I replied truthfully. Because really, what good reason could she have for wanting to keep me in her memory? If it's along the lines of what she deems as "heroic" or "selfless", that's just a useless matter of perspective. An implied "promise" like that is bound to be broken at some point.

"Why is that? You don't think that I should remember you for what you did for me?" Trixie asked, seeming to be genuinely curious about what I would say.

Once again, The Great and Powerful Trixie actually has a humbling personality underneath that magician's hat and cape she wears on her magic tours. Who would've guessed it?

"Let's just say that I'm really not worth wasting that kind of time on to be thinking about." I responded, not wanting to be the focus of the conversation.

But of course, she was going to be adamant on buttering me up, as I saw the now appalled look on her face.

"That's not true! If you hadn't showed up like you did...I don't even want to think about what that manticore would have done to me. That's definitely worth remembering your name for!" She exclaimed, earning an eye roll and a scoff from yours truly.

"And to be honest, I really didn't want to. Had I known where I was going, I'm not really sure if I would've came to your rescue. But what's done is done I suppose." I said, showing no sign of remorse even with her terrified expression.

"You mean that you would've left me out here?" Trixie asked, a small tinge of underlying anger in her voice.

"That would only apply if I wasn't so lucky in trying to find you. And even if it did apply, I mentioned that I wasn't sure. So in that aspect, you would've "had a chance" so to speak." I responded, evading the chances of her getting really angry. Though what I say here is true; I would likely mind my own business if this place wasn't a maze like in the first Discord episode.

"That doesn't make me feel any better..." Trixie commented, a small glare on her features.

"Meh, it wasn't supposed to." I retorted, looking straight ahead again while shifting my weight to prevent the bag from spilling out the bits.

Again, I'm not here with the intentions of being a hero for anyone except myself.

"By the way, what were you even doing here to make the manticore that upset anyway?" I asked, wanting to know the reason behind the whole encounter.

"Well..."

Well...? Why are you hesitating, Miss Lulamoon? I'm still not going to be happy with you no matter what you say. But I'm not going to just blow up after you're done explaining. That's time I'd be wasting instead of following you out of here. So out with it, Trixie.

"...I was practicing a new trick for an upcoming show I'm doing in Ponyville..."

...and then you screwed it up...

"...but I got kinda carried away and shot my magic at the manticore by mistake..."

...then the manticore got pissed off...

"...then it chased me all the way to the clearing where you came to my rescue." She finished, looking down shamefully afterwards.

"So I see." I quickly replied, not really making anything of this new information. I don't see the point in trying to make her feel better; I'd make things worse.

"By the way-"

Oh great, more talking...

"-how did you learn to use that kind of magic?" She asked as she glanced at my horn. "I've never seen anything like that before..."

"I couldn't tell you; I only seem to use it when I'm really angry. Maybe it's some sort of instinct that I have when I'm in danger...I don't know." I replied, fabricating an explanation in the best way I could.

"Hmm...that's...interesting to say the least. Perhaps you could teach it to me once you learn more about it. It seems like it would be useful to learn." She commented, taking my words into consideration.

"I guess so. I'll have to be sure to get back to you if I find anything." I said, half-lying through my teeth. Sure, I would like to find out more about this power, but I have better things to do than to be a trainer.

Like finding the portal that sent me here and slamming it shut once I'm on the other side. Also, how out of character is Trixie going to be right now? She's practically a mix between Twilight and Fluttershy.

...beats me. I'm just going to keep walking.

After spending the rest of the trip trying to clear my mind of recent events, Trixie and I finally saw the exit of the forest, along with a decent view of the town of Ponyville. The marketplace looked a lot bigger than what I had imagined it would be, considering that the area was pretty small compared to Canterlot. As expected, most of the lights in the houses and stores were out, signifying that the residents must have already closed shop and called it a night.

"Well, here we are. The entrance to Ponyville is straight ahead." Trixie said as we looked over the tops of some buildings. "Can you find your way back from here? If you're going far, you should hurry; it looks like there's a storm coming."

"Yeah, I'm not going that far. Thanks for guiding me here." I replied, once again lying to her as I looked up to see dark clouds closing in. I honestly have no idea where I'm going to go from here.

Then again, I've never had a problem with rain, so that shouldn't stop me from getting to where I decide to go.

"You're welcome...and thank you for saving-"

Well, right on cue. A bright flash of lightning followed by a loud crack of thunder interrupted her, prompting us to cut our conversation short.

"We should get going on our separate ways now." I said immediately after, already starting to walk towards the town.

"Right. Hopefully we'll see each other again..." Trixie replied, giving me an expectant look as she started for her own way into Ponyville.

Not wanting to say anything to imply a promise, I just nodded my head as my response, then turned away and started to gallop.

The storm was now in full swing as the heavy downpour saturated my coat, while the strong winds chilled my skin to the bone. The thunder and lightning also began to intensify, booming and striking roughly every ten seconds apart. I knew that running around like I am now would basically be asking to get hit by a bolt. Not to mention that my soaked body could also get me lit up, even if I try to slow down my movements. But between that and possibly catching pneumonia or hypothermia, I'll take the former.

Besides, I'm pretty sure ponies get struck by lightning here all the time and have nothing happen to them. So relatively speaking, I should be fine.

After a few more minutes of galloping in no specific direction, I stumbled across a small red sign with "For Sale" written on the front. I looked up at the house that it was advertising and was greeted with a familiar sight.

The house was formed from the hollow inside of a very large tree, and worked its way to the exterior with its oddly articulate design. There were several patches of moss that grew over the windows, which highlighted the main rooms. The windows also appeared to be jutting out a little from the tree, adding to its grotesque layout. There were two balconies that stuck out from the second floor; one of them had a telescope behind a window, while the other one sat outside of a bedroom. The beehive that would normally be hanging from one of the branches seemed to have been yanked off, most likely due to the wind. The single lantern that signified the first floor was lit for some reason, as well as the candle on the front door.

The Golden Oak Library...and it's on sale. I guess I'll think about trying to buy it tomorrow.

And with that, I know how far into the show I am now. This isn't even the first season yet, which means that it shouldn't be too long before Twilight gets here to confront Nightmare Moon...right?

Guess I won't be alone here...how unfortunate.

Yeah, you heard me. I'd rather be isolated than socialable; the latter takes too much effort. But with the friendly ways of these ponies here in Ponyville, "isolated" might as well be a bad word.

It was against my better judgment, but seeing how the candlelight illuminated the door coerced me into walking up to it. I then wrapped my foreleg around the handle and gave it a light tug. To my slight surprise, the previous owner had left the door unlocked after he or she left.

Or maybe someone (or somepony, whatever) unlocked it somehow, walked in, and is currently waiting for me to become an unsuspecting victim or something.

...nah. I don't think this world would allow that either.

As I was anticipating, all of the lights in the house were out, leaving me to search for a switch of some sort. Where is it...?

Ow! Damn bookshelf...

Ah, there it is.

After my eyes began to adjust to the new brightness in the room, I looked around to see what I could potentially be working with. Let's see...looks like the genres on this floor consists of ancient prophies, supernatural medicines, and the history of Equestria to my left. On my right...realistic fiction, classics, and some autobiographies. Seems like everything from common knowledge to the more detailed subjects is on this floor.

What else do we have here...?

Podiums...

Drawers...

A ladder...

A statue of a horse's head for the centerpiece...huh. Maybe this is where the "Headless Horse" lost its head...

And a door which I'm guessing leads to the basement...I'll found that out later.

I guess that's everything on this floor; time to find the bedroom before my body makes one out of this very spot.

As I started walking up the stairs, I felt my headache start to flare up again, causing me to duck my head down and cradle it with my right foreleg. Waiting for the pain to subside as I continued up to the last few steps, I tried to backtrack to see what could've caused it.

Sure, it all started when I got knocked back by the manticore's paw, but it become more intense after I retaliated with my magic. Perhaps I just wasn't ready for that kind of power? After all, I didn't do any training with it while I was in the forest...so that's probably the result I get from doing more than what I'm used to.

Looks like I'll be trying to sleep this one off.

Another flash of lightning lit up the bedroom loft as I made my way up to the top of the staircase. When I entered, I took a quick look around; once again seeing what I would be working with if I moved in here.

More bookshelves, two beds, a house plant, a floor mat, some horseshoes, a cuckoo clock, and a telescope on a table by the window. There also seems to be a "middle level" between the two main floors, which consists of...more bookshelves and a small desk. Maybe that's where I'll do some writing if I feel the need.

But for now, time to "hit the hay" as they say-

Aaahhhh-! Not again!

Deciding that this would be a good moment to lie down, I walked over to one of the beds and fumbled with the blanket to slide myself in. As soon as my last leg made its way in, I quickly flicked the blanket over my shoulder and made myself as comfortable as I could possibly get.

Dammit, forgot to get the lights.

Whatever, I don't feel like getting up now. Hopefully no one (or nopony, I'm not using that terminology unless I'm in a conversation) cares enough to want to rectify that.

After a few minutes of trying and failing to block out the pain, I closed my eyes and tried to clear my mind of the day behind me. About a minute later, I felt my body ease up and start to relax from the comfort of the bed.

Everything completely fades to black shortly after.

Weston's Dream Sequence

The sounds of the ground shaking and glasses breaking startled me a little, as I was shaken awake from the movement of my bed. As I lost my balance and landed harshly on the carpeted floor, I began to hear screaming from downstairs. I would've speculated that my cousins were playing Outlast in the dark again, but even they couldn't be this rambunctious; not even on a sugar rush that could lead to diabetes.

This felt like a earthquake.

As the glass window in my room started to crack under the pressure, I made a beeline for the staircase, jumping down as far as I could without spraining or breaking my ankles. When I reached the bottom, I bolted for the kitchen and hooked a sharp right to the entrance of the family room where they all were.

...or matter-of-factly, where they were supposed to be.

My eyes widened in shock as I saw that the wall where the TV was attached to had been pulled off, as well as the couch, the treadmill, the exercise bike, and the Xbox One. The two other walls were also beginning to crack, while the debris gravitated towards...

...a giant gaping hole in the ground.

Wait, correction. A swirling, bright pink...portal-shaped hole that has sucked in part of the house...along with the girls...

What. The. Fuck?

At this point, I'm just too damn confused to be scared. Or calling 911. Or running away like my life depends on it.

Taking advantage of my stillness, the hole began to vacuum in the house again, this time taking me, the walls, and parts of the ceiling with it. As the soles of my feet got ripped from the ground, I turned around to see glass shards and larger pieces of debris heading my way, allowing for my parkour and free running instincts to go to work. I ignored the deep gashes from the glass cutting into my skin, as I timed my jumps from piece to piece, hoping to escape to the patio in the backyard. I came to about five feet of the back door and was about to leap for the handle; however, a heavier part of the wall collided with the piece I was standing on, causing me to lose my footing. I got the wind knocked out of me as I tumbled into a mess of saw dust and glass, hurting myself even more. Still trying to get away, I slowly attempted to crawl to where the walls gave out, where I saw several neighbors trying to rush over to me to help. But a final gust of wind was enough to pull me into the hole, sealing my fate.

Was this thing trying to drag me to hell? If so, then I'm not all that surprised anymore. I probably deserve it, even if I wasn't there already. But now that I'm going, that leaves one question that will probably be left unanswered.

Why is everything pink?

A few minutes of falling later, everything around me began to fade to white. I no longer saw the debris from the house...so...where am I now? Did everything just disintegrate? Was I going to die that way? Well, guess I'm not going to say any last words...

What...? They're too cheesy.

Wait a minute...I feel lighter. Must be falling again...

The white space around me turns into clouds as I fall right through them until the ground below me becomes visible.

Looks like I'm on a different planet now...not quite as advanced in terms of technology. This can't be Mars; for one thing, the ground looks grassy instead of its' red clay color. And the sky is still blue.

Okay, this falling thing is starting to get annoying. Can I just crash-land before I start to get hungry like that scene in Spy Kids 2?

...too late. I can hear and feel my stomach grumbling.

As I crossed my arms and waited for my free fall to end, I felt a tingling sensation on the top of my head, making me feel inclined to look up and reach for it. The second that my fingers make contact, everything in my vision starts to grow purple. In the matter of a few more seconds, it's the only color I see.

You know what? Forget it. Every time I try to interfere, something else happens.

Might as well let things go as it's so obviously planned...

And that concludes the first chapter.

Honestly, I felt like my writing here was pretty mediocre. I had sentences that were a mouthful to say, my pacing was kind of off, and I don't feel that I did the best job with developing my character. I didn't want there to be a lot about him in the beginning stages of this; then I write this chapter out and barely know who he is anymore. Hopefully I can figure out something for the next chapter.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this, for those of you that were willing to give it a read. If you did, again, please leave a review with your feedback and follow/favorite this story. Constructive criticism is welcome and will be greatly appreciated. I'll put my responses to your comments/questions in my author's notes for the second chapter.

Until then, have a nice day...I guess...

- StrategicApathy