Darren's POV

Location: ?

Time: ?

I groaned as I felt myself come back to the world of the living. The first thing I noticed was that I felt like crap. It was like my head had thrown a party and I wasn't invited. My body ached all over and I couldn't muster any amount of energy. The second thing was that I was laying on a hard surface, feeling what I could only assure was grass between my fingers.

"Ugh... What happened?" I moaned to myself, trying to gather enough strength to at least open my eyes to see where I was. After a few tries, I finally managed to partially free my eyes from their dark imprisonment, but they could only squint. It was a big mistake; I winced as I was blinded by the cruel light that surrounded me.

As my vision cleared up, I was able to open my eyes completely and see my surroundings. I was staring up at the slowly setting sun shining brightly down from the almost cloudless sky. I had somehow found myself lying in a grass field of sorts, a fence surrounding its boarder. On the other side of the fence was a dirt road that went up one way and down the other and just past that was a drop off to what I could only assume was a cliff.

But that's not the weirdest thing about the environment I was in. Everywhere I looked, everything had an almost cartoony look to it, with very vibrant colours that almost hurt my eyes at a single glance. It was almost like I had been pulled into a cartoon show.

As I looked around confusedly, I grimaced and rubbed my head as the pain throbbed through me again. "Where the hell am I? Why do I feel like I was hit by a train or something?" I questioned, trying to get to my feet on shaky legs, only to fall on my ass multiple times. I felt quite disorientated. I managed to stand and walk around the area, albeit unsteadily. It felt like I was learning to walk again.

"Now, to figure out where I am?" I thought the best place to start would be to look over the cliff to look out upon the place I had ended up in. I gradually made my way over to the fence, clambered over it clumsily, until I fell over it and landed on my back with a thud.

"Well... That's just great..." I groaned, shakily pushing myself back to my feet and very slowly inching my way across the dirt path leading left and right, to another patch of grass that led to the edge of the cliff. I didn't like what I saw.

There was nothing I recognised. Most of what I saw was countryside, but I did see a small town at the bottom of the quite huge mountain I had somehow ended up on, but I couldn't make it out too well because it was so far away. It would be quite a long trek if I ever wanted to make it there.

"Wha- How did I get all the way up here? And where is here exactly?" I question again, looking to see if there was anything I could recognise, like a landmark or something.

Suddenly, I felt a large gust of air as something flew up the face of the cliff and right past my face. I staggered back from the force, once again falling on my back with a thud and a yell of "Woah!" I shook off the ache I now felt in my back, leant up on my elbows, and glanced up at the blazing blue skies to see what had just whizzed past me. My jaw literally dropped at what I saw.

"I-Is that... a Pegasus?!" I stuttered as I stared up into the atmosphere from where I lay. It was an orange Pegasus with a red mane, but I couldn't discern any other features because it was way too high up in the air.

"W... H... How...? What is going on?!" I shouted, throwing my arms straight up in the air, my head laying back onto the grass. They stayed up there for a second before they fell back down by my side in exasperation. I stared up into the clear sky for a while, just trying to contemplating how this could have possibly happened.

As I thought about this for a bit, it felt like there was something pinching the back of my brain. Like there was some important information that I was forgetting about. That pinching started to grow, and grow, until it became a giant slap in the face. I remembered everything.

The weird day I had, the visions, when Twilight suddenly appeared, when I found out that there were alternate universes and that I had magic somehow, Twilight trying to persuade me to come to her world with her but I refused, her deciding to force me to go 'for my own good' before I intervened. I understood what had happened now. I was in Twilight's world.

I was in sheer disbelief. There was no way I was in an alternate dimension. But here I was, in a cartoony world full of magical ponies. The vision had come true. I sat back up, looking at my surroundings again to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. I tentatively crawled back over to the cliff and hung my legs over the edge. I put my head in my hands and let out a groan of frustration. I still felt like shit. You would think that interdimensional travel wouldn't make you feel this rotten.

Wait a minute... This is different from before. In the vision, I didn't feel THIS horrible, and I was laying on a soft surface, a bed to be exact, not a solid surface with grass covering it. I had ended up in a completely different place than the vision had specified. So, I did change my fate after all, even if I didn't actually alter much. Don't know whether it was for the better or worse, but at least I tried to do something about it.

For a moment, I just sat there, swinging my legs over the cliff edge, watching as the Pegasi flew across the sky at high speed and... destroyed clouds by kicking them? How can they even do that? That seems like it would be an impossible task, even for a flying pony...

I probably shouldn't question how the world work.

I reflected on today's events as I watched the sun start its descent towards the horizon, about how I got here in the first place. My mind wondered to my family, sadness welling up in my body, tears starting to form in my eyes. I held back the tears, however, knowing that I can't let my emotions get the best of me. I'm not the type of person to cry my eyes out over everything; I'm not that weak minded. Instead, my thoughts quickly wondered to why I was here, and my sadness quickly turned into anger as my blood started to boil and my fists clenched on reflex.

That pony... Twilight... When I find her, I'm going to make her pay. She's going to wish she never brought me here. I thought morbidly, hands going to my head to interlock with my curly hair, ready to pull it out at any moment. I know I shouldn't feel like this, but I couldn't help it. She took me away from my family, my home, my LIFE, and I wasn't too happy about it. Knowing that I should calm down, I used some breathing techniques to calm myself down, only marginally working. I promise I'll make it back to you. I promise you'll see me again, if it's the last thing I do.

"Well, there's no point in sitting here and making myself angrier. I guess my next course of action should be to go to the nearest town or city and see if I can find her. She is going to send me back whether she likes it or not!" I reasoned, slowly pushing myself to my feet. I looked out upon the landscape below the mountain, only seeing the town I saw earlier. There is no way I would be able to get there before nightfall.

But, just then, I looked up and saw the Pegasus from before suddenly fly to the right and dive bomb towards the mountain. I was scared for a second that they would crash into the side of the mountain, but I didn't have to worry because he dove into the walls of a large city build into the side of the mountain down the dirt path. "Huh... How did I not notice that before? For that matter, how is that city even holding together. Oh well, it's a place I can go that's close at least." I said to myself, cutting my loses and heading for the city, hoping for the best.


Twilight's POV

Twilight's Castle - Library

7:00PM

I could start to feel myself come to. I wasn't sure what had happened to knock me unconscious but I did know that my head was pounding in my skull, my horn felt like it was on fire, there was ringing in my ears and I had absolutely no energy. I couldn't even open my eyes. I could feel that I was laying on the hard floor though. As I lay there, the ringing started to lessen and I could actually make out voices, two in fact, but I couldn't define who they were.

"...Is she going to be alright?" The first, distinctively young male voice, asked with worry in his tone.

"She'll be fine. Things like this happen to her all of the time. She doesn't have any cuts or bruises luckily. I just wonder how she managed to get herself in that sort of situation this time." The second, clearly female voice, replied to console his uneasiness.

"She probably just fell asleep while reading again. She can get like that something." The male voice said.

"I wouldn't be surprised. Although I'm surprised it managed to knock her out." The female voice replied. I groaned as I started to feel my energy come back to me, the pain seeming to worsen and spread around my body as a result.

"Hey, I think she's coming too." The male voice said. I slowly opened my eyes, momentarily being blinded by the bright sunlight hitting my eyes. After a few moments of adjusting, I was finally able to make out who the ponies that were standing other me were.

On my right stood Spike and, on my left, stood Starlight, both eyes of green and purple filled with concern stared back at me. I looked around to see I was in the castle library, books stacking the shelves in the wall from floor to ceiling. I noticed that there was a messy pile of books on the ground a few feet away from me. I shook my head to try and get rid of the pain but it only seemed to make it worse.

"Ow... My head... What happened?" I moaned, just about managing to move a hoof up to my head with the little amount of strength I had in me.

"We were hoping you could answer that question. We were starting to get really worried about you; you've locked yourself in here for the last week." Starlight answered.

"We heard a loud bang, so we rushed in to see what had happened. We found you under that pile of books knocked out cold." Spike continued, pointing towards said books as Starlight started to put them back on the shelves with her magic. "Are you alright?"

"Not really. My head is killing me, my entire body feels in pain and my horn feels like it was cooked over a hot stove." I responded. Even moving my head to looked at them was giving me pain.

"Do you need to go to the hospital?" Spike asked.

"...No. I'm sure the pain will be gone soon. No need to worry, Spike." I gave him a comforting smile, seeing his tense body relax at the gesture.

"What were you even doing in here anyway? Must have been important for you to be in here for a whole week. You hide yourself away so suddenly. Just be glad that the students are away for the summer." Starlight inquired, trotting back over to us after having stacked the books away. I racked my brain for the answer, but try as I might, it just wasn't coming back to me. It's like the pain was mental blocking out the memory.

"I... don't know. I remember arriving home from Canterlot, rushing in here not long after I got back and looking through lots of books and scrolls, 'cause who wouldn't want to study piles of books for days on end..." I saw Spike roll his eyes at that comment. "I remember being really excited about something."

Starlight looked at Spike and me with a confused expression. "Why were you so excited about A Study of Alternate Dimensions and Parallel Universes: Truth or Fiction? The last time something happened involving other universes... It didn't end so well." She levitated the two respective books off of the table, downcast look on her face. She really should stop thinking about her past like that.

"Alternate dimensions?" Why was I so excited by alternate dimensions? It's not like we haven't been to them before. Why would it be so special now? I could feel my memory start to clear up. I remembered casting a spell that let me got to an alternate universe. There I discovered the human race and I met...

DARREN! I gasped as I suddenly remembered what had happened over that time period. Realising that he was nowhere to be seen, I hastily try to get to my hooves and run around like a mad mare to search for him, but with my lack of any energy, I immediately crumpled into a heap on the crystal floor, almost falling into a bookcase. My ex-student and my number one assistant rushed over to me to check I wasn't hurt.

"Whoa, Twilight! Are you ok? What's the big rush for?" Spike asked as Starlight checked me for any injuries.

"No! Where is he? I have to find him!" I shouted, trying to get to my hooves once more, but ultimately struggling and falling, out of breath. Starlight said something, but I wasn't paying attention.

"Where could he be? I'm sure I cast the spell properly, unless his little 'interruption' made me lose my concentration. What in Equestria was he thinking doing that? Maybe I shouldn't have brought him here. He did say that he didn't want to come, but I thought that I was doing the right thing. Oh, this is all my fault!"

"TWILIGHT! Calm down... Breath..." Starlight said, befuddled by my frantic behaviour. I was surprised by her loud voice, but I took her advice and tried some breathing techniques to calm myself down. Once I had sufficiently calmed down, Starlight continued, "Now, what are you talking about? Who's 'he'?"

I signed. I don't know how they are going to take this. "I guess you two have the right to know... The truth is... I haven't actually been in here the whole time."

"But we saw you run in here with the biggest smile on your face, and you haven't come out since. Where could you have possibly been?" Spike asked.

"...Would you believe me if I told you that I've been in an alternate universe for the past week." I gave them a nervous smile, waiting for their reaction.

To my surprise, they didn't seem all that fazed by this revelation. "Well, it's not like we haven't been to other universes before." Spike mentioned.

"But this is so much different than those times. Nothing like those timelines where evil won!" I asserted, Starlight cringing at my harsh tone.

"Come on, what could be more bizarre than Canterlot high?" Spike doubted with a wave of his clawed hands.

"Yeah, from what I heard of this 'Canterlot high', I don't really see what could be any weirder than that." Starlight chimed in.

"How about a human world where some of them have so much malice and hatred towards each other that they will literally do anything to get what they want." I growled, thinking back to some of the horrible things I had seen and heard that those humans have done.

I could almost see their blood run cold at my harsh words. "T... They can't b-be that bad... right?" Starlight sputtered.

"Starlight, if someone even tries to disagree with what they believe in, they can go to some extreme lengths to 'rectify it.' Even to the point of starting a world war and... k... kil..." I couldn't even bring myself to say it. It was just too horrible.

Starlight immediately knew what I was trying to say. "Whoa, ok. Spike does not need to hear about stuff like that." She quickly covered his ears, laughing nervously.

"Hey! What is it? I can take it." Spike defended, using his wings to push himself out of her grasp.

"No, she's right Spike. There is no need for you to hear about these things."

Starlight gave me a questioning look. "Wait, how were you in such a horrible place for a whole week? Couldn't you just transport yourself back?"

"No, I couldn't. The spell to take me there and back takes a lot of magical energy. I had to 'recharge,' so to speak, so I had no choice but to stay there."

"Really? Well, you're back now. You don't need to worry about those dreadful things anymore." Starlight reasoned, putting her hoof on my shoulder.

"A-About that..." I hesitated, looking away from the two ashamed.

"What did you do this time?" Spike asked warily.

I couldn't look them in the eyes as I thought about my next words. "I may have brought a human to Equestria."

"YOU WHAT?!" They both shouted, before Starlight continued. " But you said..."

"I know what I said, but he's not like that. He's kind, selfless and insanely loyal, especially to his family. He'd put everyone else's wellbeing over his own and would risk everything just to save the life of a complete stranger."

Starlight continues to have a very confused look plastered on her face. "But how can you possibly trust him, especially after what you've seen from his species? You don't even know him very well."

"Sometimes, actions speak louder than words, and I've seen him help multiple people out of the kindness of his heart, even if they are bad people and are mean to him afterwards. I trust him like I would with any of my other friends."

"But you didn't know him until a week ago. For all you know, he could have been really bad before you met him."

Before I could formulate a response, Spike butts in. "She trusted you, didn't she?" That comment definitely struck a nerve.

"Spike! You shouldn't say things like that!" I scolded.

"No, Twilight. He has a point. I wasn't very nice before you met me, but you trusted me anyway..." She sighs in resignation. "...Anyway, back on topic. Where is he?"

"That's the thing. The spell should have sent us both here, but he's nowhere to be seen. I swear I cast the spell correctly, so I don't know what went wrong."

"What happened before the spell was cast? Maybe if you recall what happened, you can figure out why the spell didn't work as intended." Starlight suggested.

"That's not a bad idea." I replied, thinking back. "I offered him the chance to come to Equestria, which he outright refused because he didn't want to leave his family, I tried to cast the spell on him anyway, against my better judgement, but then..." I paused, quickly realising what was wrong.

"Then... What?" Starlight urged on expectantly.

"He... tackled me, in a last-ditch effort to stop me. I must have lost my concentration and casted the spell before it was finished charging up. It sent me all the way, but not him." I finished, worried look on my face.

"And that means?" Spike asked, not completely getting what I was saying.

"It means it only sent him halfway! It was supposed to send us both here, but I'm the only one here, meaning that the spell sent him to a random location. He could be literally anyway in Equestria right now and we wouldn't know!" I clarified.

"That's not good. Being sent to a world against his will that he had no prior knowledge of. Even I would be scared out of my mind." Starlight added, sharing the same expression as me.

"We need to find him, before something bad happens." I start to get up again on shaky legs, still struggling with no energy.

"Whoa whoa whoa, you are in no shape to go on a full-scale search across Equestria. You shouldn't overexert yourself. You need to rest." Starlight advises, putting a hoof on my side.

"No, I need to find him! It's my fault he is in this mess, I should be the one to fix it." I asserted, once again trying to get up, with mixed results. After a few more failed attempts, I finally managed to stand on four hooves, albeit quite wobbly.

"There's no way we're persuading you otherwise, are we?" She said with a deadpan look.

"Nope. Now, let's go find him." I finished with a smile, slowly making my way towards the door, Spike and Starlight close behind. As we got to the castle entrance, I tried using my magic to open the door, only to walk right into the still closed door, Spike bumping into the back of my legs as a result. "Ow... What... Why didn't my magic work?"

"That spell took a lot out of you, didn't it?" Starlight said alongside us.

"Yeah, but this is different. On earth, I could at least use my levitation spell. It's the most basic spell a unicorn can learn, so I don't get why it didn't work." I said, trying again, only to start sweating as I strained to use even an ounce of magic. In the end, only small sparks of purple energy emerged from my horn and I gave up, coughing and panting from the exertion of my mind.

"Hey, hey. Take it easy. It probably took a lot more energy to bring this mysterious human here. It would make sense you can't even use levitation." Starlight stated, walking up to the door and opening it manually.

"You're right. We can't be wasting time like this." I said, walking out of the castle and heading into the heart of Ponyville, intent on finding Darren before he got into any trouble. "Please be ok, Darren. Please be ok."


Darren's POV

Streets of Canterlot

7:49PM

After hiking for about two miles up this steep mountain, I finally came to the main gates of the gravity defying city. I could see that the sun had set considerably since I left the cliff edge. I would have made it here a little quicker if it wasn't for the fact that I still didn't have my full amount of energy back yet, so I had a slow, leisurely walk to the top. As I meandered towards the gate, I noticed a wooden sign stuck in the ground outside the city limits that said 'Welcome to Canterlot. Capital city of Equestria.'

"Wait, Canterlot..." I said to myself as I remember something said to me by Twilight.

"Oh, of course. As I said, I am Twilight Sparkle. I am the Princess of Friendship, one of the ruling Princesses presiding over the Kingdom of Equestria."

"Equestria? I've never heard of it before?"

"That's because it doesn't exist here. It's in a parallel universe where ponies replace humans."

"Ok, I guess that makes sense. Wait, you said you were ONE of the Princesses?"

"Yes, along with Princess Celestia, the Princess of The Sun, Princess Luna, the Princess of The Moon, who rule from the capital city of Canterlot, and Princess Cadence, the Princess of Love, who mainly governs over The Crystal Empire."

"This is where the rulers of this land live. Well, who better to find a princess than a fellow princess, right?" I reasoned, striding into the grand city, curious as to what awaited me inside.

What lay inside was quite stunning. The city was massive, with high-class buildings on every inch of the streets, showing off their bright pink, white and purple colours. Although there were no skyscrapers in sight, you could tell that it deserved the title of capital city of Equestria. Unfortunately, you could almost feel the snobbiness of the residents as they trotted past, noses so high in the air you could see them over the city walls, wearing the fanciest dresses and suits you will see in your life, and, unfortunately for me, my appearance hadn't gone unnoticed.

As soon as these ponies spotted me, most of them stopped whatever they were doing to observe me. Some just sat and stared at me, some gave me the dirtiest of looks, others started whispering to their companions, some had fearful looks in their eyes. It was starting to make me uncomfortable. To try and get away from the large glaring eyes of these extravagant ponies, I quickly tried to make myself scarce. It was a fruitless venture, however, as there were classy equines wherever I turned.

I tried my best to ignore the gawking eyes and murmuring voices as I stalked through the metropolis. It didn't take me long to locate the castle, seeing as it stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the other buildings, and I swiftly made a beeline for it.

After going up multiple hills and stairs, I stood at the bottom of the palace as it loomed overhead, glad to be away from all of the prying eyes, and castle was HUMUNGOUS. Do two princesses seriously need this much space? Seems like a bunch of space would be unused. I get why the Queen of England has such a big palace, because of her large family. I should know, I live in England, and am proud of it, but why do two princesses with hardly any family as far as I know need all of these rooms. Oh well, it's not my place to judge how royalty live.

I tried to go through the gate but I'm immediately stopped by spears blocking my path. The guards posted next to the gate stopped me in my tracks. They both had horns and were wearing golden armor, but one has white fur while the other has black fur.

"Halt! Who goes there!?" The white furred guard on my right demanded in a gruff voice. Really. 'Who goes there.' Could you be anymore cliché. He gives me a scowl, but I can detect a hint of shock and fear in his eyes. The black furred pony on my left, however, was noticeably shaking with fear.

"Oh, sorry. I don't mean you any harm. I just wanted to see the Princesses." I answered quickly. His composure broke slightly when he heard me speak, but he rapidly collected it again.

"Do you have an appointment with Princess Celestia?" He asked, trying to keep up his professionalism, which I have to respect seeing as he is having to deal with an intelligent creature that he has never seen before.

"Umm... no. I was hoping I could just... walk in?" I said awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck.

His glare only intensified. "Then you are not allowed inside."

"But it's really important. Is there no way you could let this slide?" I asked hopefully.

"No. Unless you have an appointment, you're not seeing the princesses." He repeats sternly.

"Oh, ok then. Thank you anyway." I said, slowly walking away dejected, knowing there was no way I was getting in this way.

As I marched away, I couldn't help but overhear. "Sir, what WAS that thing?" The black stallion on the left asked the other in a higher pitched voice. Must be younger.

"I have no clue, Rookie, but you need to pony up and stop acting like a wimp. You're making me look bad." The one who addressed me answered back.

"Sorry, sir. I'll do better next time." He replies. I think I can just about hear the white stallion reply with "You better." before I'm out of earshot. Asshole.

How the hell am I going to talk to the princess now. I thought as I turned around and observed the castle, out of the eyeline of the guards. Just as I was contemplating this, I saw two ponies pulling a large cart with a tarp over it towards the main gate.

"We have a food delivery for the Canterlot Royal Chef." One of the ponies said to the guards.

That's my way in. I thought with a mischievous grin on my face. I have a knack for not fully thinking through my plans before I execute them. In hindsight, it was definitely a very bad idea, but I sneaked behind the cart, lifted up the back of the tarp and jumped in anyway. The cart bounced slightly as I got in but it seemed like the ponies didn't notice, because I felt the wagon lurch forward.

If I know what was going to happen in the next few minutes, I wouldn't have even tried.

My nose was filled with the delicious scent of fruits, vegetables, baking goods and... hay? The ride was pretty bumpy, ricocheting me around the cart like a bouncy ball. After what felt like an eternity of this, we finally stop, breathing a small sign of relief.

"Is it just me or does the load seem heavier than usual." A voice asked, who I could only assume was one of the ponies pulling the wagon. I gritted my teeth at that comment.

"…Nah, you're just imagining things. C'mon, all of this pulling and lifting has made me hungry." The other equine replied nonchalantly. I could hear the clicking of hooves on the hard floor slowly fade away until it was gone.

"Phew. That was close." I whispered to myself as I slowly peeked out from under the sheet of fabric. Seeing no one, I jumped out of the cart with a faint thump. I had ended up in a big storage room stock full of food and other such materials up to the ceiling. I quickly identified the way out and slowly inched the door open.

I was now in a long hallway that had pristine white walls and a vibrant red carpet rolled down the middle. In front of me was the kitchen, where I could see the chef preparing to make the princesses their meal. Knowing full well that he would be coming this way to get his ingredients soon enough, I swiftly creeped down the hall, checking down every corridor to see if I was being followed.

After a few minutes, I had been walking down hallway after hallway, feeling like I wasn't making any progress. How could anyone figure out how to get around this place without getting lost? I came to a divergence in the path for the umpteenth time, one path going straight ahead and the other turning to my right. I was just about to continue forward when I start to hear voices and see two shadows about to come around the corner, and by the fact they looked like they were wearing helmets, it was more Royal Guards.

Without much thought, I quickly and sneakily move through the other corridor, hoping to get away before they spotted me. Unlucky for me, I saw another guard shadow coming down the way I was currently shifting through. I was trapped. I looked around the hallway, hoping to find a way out of this mess I had created for myself, until I saw a set of double doors that were decorated quite extravagantly, but I didn't really pay them any mind. I just need to get out of this hallway, so I quickly ducked into the room and shut it behind me.

I seemed to have found myself in a bedroom, but I couldn't see too well because there were black out curtains drawn across the windows. It was quite large for a bedroom, with dark coloured walls and white shapes painted on the walls, but I couldn't make out what they were exactly. I could make out various pieces of furniture, including a four-poster bed.

Remembering why I was in here and holding my breath, I pressed my left ear to one of the doors to listen for the guards. I heard three sets of hooves converge in front of the door and start talking to each other.

"Is it just me or did you hear shuffling around here?" One of the guards asked the others, slightly muffled by the blockade between us.

"...Nah. You're just hearing things." A second guard answered.

"Did you find anything out of the ordinary?" A third voice questions.

"No. Nothing yet." The second voice replies.

"Let's go down that corridor. It's the only way we haven't checked yet." The third guard suggests with a bit of authority. I start to hear two of the hoofsteps moving away but, much to my dismay, the third set sounded like they are coming towards me. I grit my teeth as the handle slowly turns and the door opens, light pouring through the crack as I slink across the room and kneel down behind the bed.

"Wait, what are you doing?" The third voice questioned, in a more hushed voice for some reason.

"Checking Princess Luna's room." The first voice answered, leaving the door slightly ajar.

"Do you really think it's a good idea to go in there right now?" The third guard mentions.

"...Oh yeah. She's still asleep. Duh. Ok, let's go." The first guard realises, quickly closing the door behind him as the group leaves.

"Phew, that was close..." I whisper to myself.

"Wait, Princess Luna's room?" I quickly realise, slowly getting to my feet and giving the bed a second glance. To my utter shock, there is a body lying under the covers, breathing softly in its sleep. I can't make out any discernible features, but she is definitely bigger than the ponies I've met so far.

"Crap. I need to get out of here." I carefully tiptoeing away from the bed and towards the door, making sure not to step on anything, move anything or make any noise. I get to the door after an agonisingly slow walk and opened it gradually.

"HOLD IT INTRUDER!" A booming voice calls out from behind me, stopping me in my tracks. The universe just seems to have it out for me today, doesn't it? I exhaled the breath I had unknowingly been holding in defeat and turned back around stiffly. The desk lamp next to the bed had been switched on and, on the bed, sat Princess Luna, her night sky blue mane defining physics by flowing in the air like the wind was blowing through. She was not happy, giving me the most intensely angry glare I had ever seen in my life.

"I am so sorry Princess! I didn't mean to intrude on your peaceful sleep... I'll just be leaving now." I apologised, hoping to save my ass from getting arrested, before I turned to try to leave again.

"Not so fast!" She shouted in a quieter voice, making me stop once again. "Who are you and what are you doing in my bedroom?!"

"I... E-Err... I-I'm... Um..." I had absolutely no idea what to say to that question, so I did the only thing I could think of... violently swung the door open and sprinted down the right hallway like my life depended on it. In hindsight, maybe I should've just answered the question and she MIGHT have understood, but I panicked.

"GUARDS! WE HAVE AN INTRUDER!" I heard the princess bellow behind me as I ran. It seemed like every guard in this area of the castle had heard the princesses voice because large groups of guards were coming from every damn hallway just to catch me, forming a massive horde behind me with Princess Luna leading the pack, beams of magic passing past me left and right.

It felt like I spent an eternity running away from the mob of guards down a labyrinth of endless corridors. When I finally came to a crossroads, I swiftly turned right towards a closed door at the end of the hallway and pushed it open and closed it behind me, pausing to catch my breath and breathing a sigh of relief when I hear trampling of hooves move away from the door.

As I rested my hands on my knees, I suddenly heard a gasp come from behind. I slowly turned around to see what seemed to be the main hall of the castle chalked full of official looking ponies, all wearing fancy clothes and giving me surprised looks. There was also another hallway ahead of me, a door to my right that seemed to lead back outside and stairs leading up in two directions.

They had to have some sort of event going on, on the day I decide to sneak into the castle. Just my luck.

"For god sake! Ok, Excuse me. I need to get through here!" I shouted to the crowd of ponies as I started making my way through the masses. Multiple ponies started shouting and screaming for the guards to get in here and making so much noise that I could hardly hear myself think. I needed to get out of here before-

Too late. The doors on every side of the room burst open to reveal even more guards than before. "Princess Luna! It's in here!" One of the guards on my left shout back behind him. I saw her fly through the hallway behind the guards and land in the hall faster than I could see.

"STOP RESISTING YOUR INEVITABLE ARREST!" The princess roars, nearly making my ears bleed with how loud she is. There is no way I'm going to pony jail.

"Excuse me! Coming through! One side! MOVE OUT OF THE FUCKING WAY!" I shouted aggressively as I pushed more ponies out of my way as I moved towards the stairs to the second floor, making ponies fall to the ground, or in some cases fly up in the air, either with their wings trying to avoid me, or from me flinging them upwards, in the process. I made my way up the first set of stairs and turned left to go up the second, the guards and Princess Luna on my tail the entire time.

I was back in a maze of corridors, speeding past room after room finding a place to hide so I could find my objective, dodging beams of magic that skimmed past my body. These hallways just never seemed to end. I finally came to a set of wooden double doors. Seeing nowhere else to go, I hurriedly barged the door open and slammed it shut behind me, but it was ultimately a fruitless venture as it was blasted open a second later by Luna, wood splinters flying everywhere, almost knocking me off my feet.

I turned and sprinted further into the room, finding that I was in yet another corridor, but this one was different. It was quite extravagant, with giant windows with intricate designs of various ponies and creatures on them. I didn't pay them to much mind, however, as my mind was on getting away from the horde behind me. I saw another door at the end that had a sun symbol in the middle with light purple, dark purple and pink designs and six blue circles on it. A possible escape route.

Suddenly, I felt an excruciating pain in my right leg and I tumbled to the ground in a heap just before reaching the door. "OW! SHIT!" I screamed, sitting up and examining my leg to find a large burn mark on the side, blood slightly leaking from it. I looked up to see Luna's horn powering down. Looks like I wasn't so lucky in dodging her attack this time.

I shakily got to my feet and tried reaching for the door, but there was no handle. I tried pulling at the crack in the middle of the door and even at the hole in the centre of the sun symbol, but it didn't budge. "You've got to be fucking kidding me!"

"Escaping is futile, fiend. You are trapped." Princess Luna stated, giving me another intense stare. "Now, tell us who you are and why you are sneaking around the castle."

I attempted to hobble past the guards, but I didn't get very far with my injured leg, falling down in front of a window depicting six multicoloured ponies firing beams at a larger, more menacing pony. I noticed that one of the ponies looked familiar, but I had more pressing matters to deal with.

"You are not going anywhere with that injury you have sustained. Just give up, there is no escape. Now, I repeat, who are you and why are you sneaking around the castle?!" She shouts as I start to get up again, trying to regain my breath. I look at the rest of the windows that I'm not standing in front of. They all seem to depict a possible moment in history, with ponies fighting creatures and other such events.

"Look, I didn't want any trouble. I just wanted to talk to Princess Celestia. I didn't want it to turn into this, but I felt like I had no choice." I explained, focusing back on the task at hand.

"What could be so important that you would need to sneak into a high security castle?" Luna interrogated.

"I... would rather talk to Celestia about the matter. It's really important. I just need to talk to her and then I'll be out of your hair." I said vaguely, not daring to look her in the eyes.

"But what you have done is against Equestrian law. I have no choice but to put you into the Canterlot royal dungeon until we can notify my sister." She declared, two unicorn guards trotting towards me.

"Wait, please! Don't do this! There must be some understanding we can reach. I can't go to jail." I plead in distress.

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you broke into the castle. Let's go!" One of the guards walking towards me said aggressively before he and his comrade fire up their horns and grasp their magic on my sides, trying to push me.

"No! I'm not going with you even if it's the last thing I do!" I shout stubbornly, struggling against their magical hold. I then elbowed one of the guards in the face hard enough to knock him unconscious and tripped up the other with my good leg, hearing a loud crack as he fell to the floor on his side, shrieking out in pain as he examines his left forehoof. Sometimes I don't know my own strength. I could see that Luna had had enough of this charade and was about to step in, when a familiar voice shouted out.

"He's going to get away again!" Pushing past the mass of guards stood the same guard from the gate who was treated badly. With determination on his face, he galloped towards me at full speed.

"No Rookie! Don't!" The guard with the broken hoof shouted, but in was all in vain. He jumped at me with the intent to stop my rampage, but I managed to sidestep his attack just in time and watch as he sailed past me...

And towards the window behind me. I suddenly realised too late what I had just done as the pony crashed through the window, smashing it into millions pieces, and started freefalling down the mountain.

The other guards quick moved over to the window to see what happened. I looked to Luna to see her give me a death glare, but she can see that I look distressed. What have I done! I have to save him! I thought as I did the first thing I could think of.

"Move aside." I said intensely to the guards at the window. They look back at me with looks of anger and confusion, with exclamations of "What?" Which only served to piss me off. "GET OUT OF THE FUCKING WAY!" I shouted furiously, taking off my leather jacket. That definitely got their attention. They all started moving at my outburst.

Once the window is clear, I took a running start, running as fast as I can with an injured leg, and jumped out into the air, falling toward Rookie. I straighten myself out so I can fall faster and start to gain more speed.

I saw the jagged rocks at the base of the mountain approaching fast and I was still quite far away from him. I've never been more scared and determined in my life. I extended my arms and reached out hoping to grab him. Rookie noticed me and looks scared at first, but realised that I'm trying to save him and tried to reach out his hoof for me to grab. We're mere inches from each other, but the ground wasn't that far away either. It was going to be close.

My adrenaline skyrocketed and I stretched out as far as I can, finally grabbing hold of his hoof and pulling him towards my chest. I flipped us around so that I'm on the bottom and he's on top and I held him close to protect him as much as possible. I would take most of the impact. I closed my eyes, knowing that I probably wouldn't survive this, but I smiled knowing that I tried to save another life before I died.

Suddenly, I felt power surge around my body and then a weird warmth surrounded me, but I didn't pay it much mind in my last moments. I then hear the sharp crack of my bones breaking and feel the searing pain as I hit the rocks, throwing Rookie away from me as I lose all feeling in my arms. I felt myself bounce on more rocks as I tumbled down the base of the mountain, more bones breaking as I land.

I finally come to a stop on something softer. I felt blood pouring down my legs and arms and I could hardly move, but I had enough strength to open my eyes. I saw in my blurred vision that I had landed in a grassy field at the base of the mountain. I see Rookie laying limp next to me, looked very cut and bruised, but hopefully not as bad as me.

Please... be... ok... I thought to myself, my mind starting to slow shut down. I started to feel weaker and weaker by the second and I couldn't hold my eyes open for much longer. I started to think about my family. Dani, Harry, Scarlet. I felt a small smile on my lips thinking about them, but I knew they would never see me again.

"I'm sorry... I broke... my promise..." I whisper slowly, my resolve breaking as I feel a single tear streak down my blood drenched and face, making my cuts ache. I didn't want to die, but knowing that I might have saved a life made it all worth it. I suddenly saw a foursome of dark blue hooves land in front of me but before I could look up to see who it is, I passed out from blood loss and pain, my final though being that I hoped that I'd see my family again in the afterlife.