> Five Nights at Twily's > by Purple Smart > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Night One > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oh my god. Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god. ... Oh my god. Okay, Mike, just calm down. They'll be gone soon. Just hide out in this weird room in some sort of weird crystal tree house. Those animals have to leave soon, right? Then I can get back to the teleporter and leave this place. No one needs to know. I'll just- I'll just say it didn't work! I was- I was just trapped in a sort of Limbo for a while! Yeah, they'll believe that. I hope. Dammit, how the heck did I get myself into this mess? It was just suppose to be for a few moments. I'd try out that dumb teleporter thing, take a few notes on what I saw, and leave! A simple one day job. And here I am, locked up in one of these rooms. The fact that they seem to be made of an indestructible material is not helping my conscience. But then that... thing... showed up. I didn't even hear it come. It was yellow and pink, it had four legs, and wings, I think? I barely got a glimpse of it cause it was so quiet. I was just turning a corner and I saw that thing float by me and I panicked and turned around, ran towards the first door I could find and locked it. And here I am. I had heard that animal knock on the door but there was no freaking way I was letting that thing in until I am sure it won't kill me. I think it had murmured or something, I couldn't tell, it was so quiet. But a creature that mumbles can't be good can it. I don't even know if it's still there, it's so gosh darn quiet. Now, it seems to be dark outside, but these wall are glowing. Such an interesting material. I want to take some back for further research, but the crystalline structure seems impenetrable. This is good. Use thoughts to calm down, Mike. Keep observing, that's what you were sent to do anyways. Anything to distract yourself from whatever-that-thing-was. Man, for a giant crystal castle / treehouse, this place has a lot of books. Like, a LOT of books.It's like this place is a library or something. Let's see, some history books, some books on... magic? Magic incantations, magic cures... magic, magic, yadda, yadda. Wow. This place seems to be highly influenced by some sort of magical flow. I wonder if I could get someone to- Wait, what was that? I hear... noises. It can't be that yellow creature, it sounds different. There's another voice, and another, and another. There are four more of those creatures?! Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god... I can't possibly survive the night with four monsters running around the place! They're going to find me soon enough, and they're going to kill me! I can hear them now, running all over the place, murmuring in their strange sounds. Jeezuz, all that noise is making me panic. I bet they've already sniffed me out and are just trying to hunt me down! Oh, I shouldn't have volunteered for this dumb mission, I should have just- ...it's quiet again. What could they possibly be doing now? If only I had something to watch them with, something to track their movements around the tree house... oh wait, the cameras! I'm so stupid! I just need to turn on my laptop... set up a few things... and done! Thank goodness! Most of the cameras are working. All but the one camera in the kitchen area, but it's still got audio. I'll fix that if I get out of here alive. Dangit, the images are all blurry! I can't even see what they look like. It appears that they all have four legs like that yellow one from before. Speaking of which I don't see that yellow one anywhere. Oh, god, I hope that doesn't become a problem. Anyways, at least these creatures all have distinct coloring, a cyan one with rainbow highlights, a pink fluffy one, a white one with some strange purple flowing things, and an orange one wearing a hat. Honestly, repeating this in my head, they don't sound that dangerous. But I'm not taking any chances, especially with that one incident back in '87. I don't want to talk about it. They don't seem to be doing anything, just wandering about. I have no idea which camera is connected to what, which is really annoying because one might be in the next room right now, waiting to pounce on me, and I wouldn't even know. I should probably look around this room to see if there's anything to defend myself with. Jeez, how long has it been? Like, five, six hours? Why are they still here? They weren't here before. Or maybe they were. Maybe they're nocturnal. Great, that's what I need right now, creatures that can attack me while I sleep- HOLY COW IT JUST GOT DARK WHAT IS GOING ON MY CAMERAS DON'T WORK OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD I'M SCARED I JUST HEARD THE DOORS OPEN PLEASE DON'T KILL I DON'T WANT TO DIE OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD Calm down, Mike, get a grip. It's pitch black, so most likely they can't see me. I'll just stay in this corner and be as quite as possible. They won't find me. I hope they don't find me. Please don't let them find me. Oh god, something is glowing, it looks like it's coming from a... a horn! Oh god I'm screwed, I'm soooooo screwed. It's one of those creatures, it's getting closer, please don't kill me, I don't what to see it when I die I'm closing my eyes oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my- ...huh? It's... gone? And it's suddenly daylight outside? I guess they are nocturnal, after all. But what's with the sudden morning? This world must have a strange solar/lunar pattern for nights and days to be this... sudden. I should check on that when I get out of here. I don't hear anymore noises, so I think the creatures are gone, I just need to fix the cameras, find the teleporter and *yawn* ... wh-what? I'm so tired... no! I need to wake up! I gotta leave while I'm still alive! I got to ... get out ... *yawn* of... heeeeeere... zzzzz... > Night Two > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- So I got some research done. Actually, I fixed the cameras, searched for the teleporter, gave up in frustration, panicked when I saw the yellow thing again, locked myself back up in the room, cowered for a few hours, and did some research. More or less the same thing. Jeez, there are so many books in this giant tree house, which is apparently an actual castle. It's called Twilight Castle or something. Actually, the book I found called it "Twilight Sparkle's Castle", but that's ridiculous, who would have such a name as "Twilight Sparkle"? Anyways, It seems I have landed in some sort of world called "Equestria", whose main inhabitants consist of ponies, unicorns, and pegasi. Again, re-confirming that these do not sound like very dangerous creatures. That's when I turned the page and saw that this world also has dragons, changelings, Cerberus, sirens, vampires, centaurs, and a God of Chaos. Great. Just great. But that's besides the point. Those things that showed up last night seem to have extra detail about them. I'm pretty sure that proves that I should pay extra attention to avoid them, as they will probably show up more frequently. First one, Rainbow Dash. According to this book, she's a loyal, fast, and reckless pegasus. Maybe I can somehow get on her good side, and that could possibly get her to be loyal to me? What am I saying, I'm trying to befriend a light blue pegasus. Scratch that, I should just keep a careful eye on her, otherwise she would just bolt in on me. Next, there's Applejack. Physically strong, morally strong, headstrong, yadda yadda, I get the point, she's strong. I should probably keep an eye on her too, since she could probably knock down these walls in an instant. I should also probably find something to reinforce the door too. Then again, the only things in this room are books and book accessories, and I'm not going back out until I figure out what the story is behind that really quiet yellow horse. Did I mention how freaking quiet she is? Next on the list is Rarity. Into patterns, fashion, and the works. Huh, that's doesn't sound so bad. Then again, I'm pretty sure she was the unicorn that I encountered last night, and I'm pretty sure if get on her bad side that horn will probably end up in my chest, and I do not want my Cause of Death to be "stabbed by a unicorn". Next up, Pinkie Pie. It says here she's fast just like Rainbow Dash. There's also apparently an emphasis on her... randomness? Like, a lot of emphasis. Looks like this is another character I need to keep my eye on, since I won't be able to keep track of her movements unless I do. Speaking of keeping track of movements, I think I figured out why everything went dark. I discovered that the Sun and the Moon are apparently raised by two --- what are they called again? Alicorn princesses? --- into the sky like clockwork, at sunrise and sunset. This raises so many questions, but it's probably best to save that for another time. This world seems to be powered purely on some sort of magical energy, and my purely electrical equipment is interfering with the flow of magic. Thus, with action-reaction forces, my cameras deplete magic energy from the castle, and the castle drains my battery life faster. Essentially, when my cameras die, the tree house goes dark. I better limit my use of power tonight, otherwise the other ponies will get suspicious and search around. Now what was I.. oh, yes, the last pony. Let's see here, her name is... Fluttershy! And I need to be aware of her... shyness... and caringness... and cuddles? And her stare? Hmm... she sounds harmless. Maybe I can sneak out of this room and get something to- Wait why is it dark outside did I just waste all my time reading this stupid book oh god I need to turn on all my cameras wait no that's a bad idea I need to save power but then how do I keep track of all those technicolor horses oh my god oh my god oh my Get a hold of yourself, Mike! You can't keep doing this every night! You need a plan! Let's see if I remember correctly, the first time I saw them they were all in the... aha! The Living Room, perfect! There's Rainbow Dash, sleeping on the couch, Applejack is just walking around, Rarity is reading a book, that Fluttershy still doesn't seem to be anywhere, and Pinkie Pie is... is... HOLY COW WHERE IS PINKIE PIE. Okay, calm down, it's only one pony, the rest don't seem to be moving yet. I can easily find her, and go back to the rest. Let's see, where are the rest of the cameras pointed? East and West hallway right beside me - nothing there. Kitchen - still couldn't fix the visual there, but it's quiet, so she's not there. Living Room - still just the four ponies. Supply Closet - why the heck did I put a camera in the Supply Closet? There's nothing here! Bedroom - nothing. Basement - empty. Outside Porch - HOLY COW SHE'S STARING RIGHT AT THE CAMERA OH GOD WHY ISN'T SHE MOVING. ... ...She's still staring at the camera. I wonder if this is part of the randomness, or if she's just stunned. Or maybe she's just tired. In that case, this would be fine. I just let the ponies tire themselves out. I just do this every night until I can find my teleporter, then I can leave this place and no one will ever know that I'm aaaaaaaaaaand Pinkie Pie ran away. Crap. ... aaaaaaaaaaand there are footsteps coming my direction. CRAP. > Night Three > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have never been more scared of pink fluffy horses in my entire life. Except for that one incident with Pinkie Pie, nothing else really happened on the second night. However, she was banging on the door for an entire 30 minutes, and I'm pretty sure she's gotten the remaining ponies suspicious. Or not. I really can't tell with her, she's one crazy chick. Well, pony. Suspicious or not, they all left in the morning again. I shouldn't stay here much longer, this world is obviously not like anything from my home world. The longer I stay, the more likely I'll be found, and chaos will most definitely ensue. But the problem is, I still can't find the teleporter. The teleporter is not very big, it can be held with just one hand. I left the teleporter in the corner of the Living Room, where no one would see it. However, it's no longer there. Since I have not moved it, this leads me to three theories: One: I simply forgot where it is, and should search around the castle in hopes of finding the teleporter. I really hope this is what happened. Two: The teleporter went back without me. This is fine, as the coordinates have been pre-programmed, and will come back here eventually. Three: One of those ponies have found the teleporter, and took it to figure out what it does. Worst case scenario, they teleported back to my world, and I'll have a lot of explaining to do when I get back. Oh, wait, I just thought of another theory: Four: Fluttershy stepped on it. Why did I come up with this theory? Because Fluttershy just stepped on it. ...well, crap. Whelp. That's it, I'm just going to lock myself up in the room forever. Wake me up when I'm dead. Actually, I'm a bit tired, I need to just lie down for a little bit, just a quick nap, and then I'll prepare myself for tonight when I have to... zzz... ...Hmm... well, that was a nice nap, now I just have to spend the remaining daylight left to prepare for WHERE DID THE DAYLIGHT GO HOW LONG WAS I ASLEEP GOD DAMMIT NOT AGAIN. *sigh* Well, it looks like I'm going to have to get through the third night without any form of defense... again... This is getting very tiring, literally. I've been stuck in the same room for three nights now, all because I'm scared of that Fluttershy character, who I'm not even sure is actually dangerous. Then, I am always somehow unprepared for the evening, when four more ponies show up, each one more active than the one pony I have to deal with in the morning. Tomorrow, I'm just going to leave this tree house and probably hide out in some forest. I heard there was a place named Everfree Forest, that sounds like a very calm place to go to instead of having to deal with this impenetrable crystal fortress. Until then, I should probably check my cameras. The second night worried me, as I only had 9% battery life left (after watching that pink horse the entire time. God, she's so random.) But for some reason, all the batteries have been recharged, just like it did after the first night. Probably has something to do with the magic in this world, so I'm not going to think about that again. This world defies so many laws of physics, common sense no longer works here. What was I doing again? Oh yeah the cameras. Well, the living room seems fine, there's the four ponies all together at the moment. Rainbow Dash seems to be sleeping, which confuses me, since the book I read about her says she's energetic. Pinkie Pie, on the other hand, is just bouncing around all over the place, which for some reason scares me. Rarity and Applejack seem to be reading a book. So far so good, I should put down my camera to conserve power. I should probably go through some of these books some more, since I obviously can no longer use my prior knowledge on how stuff works in this world. Then again, most of these are just spell books, which means I would need to be able to control magic, which I can't. Or maybe I can? Is there a possibility that I just might have the potential to do magic if I tried? Wait, what am I saying? I'm distracting myself! I need to check the cameras to make sure that they are all- Only Rainbow Dash is left in the Living Room. Dammit, now I got to waste time looking for the rest of the ponies. However if suspicions are correct... Yep. Pinkies staring at the camera on the Outside Porch again. Just standing there. And staring. Totally not creepy at all or anything. I should probably just keep watching her, but I need to find the other two ponies. Bedroom - nothing. Living Room - still just Rainbow Dash, snoring loudly. Supply Closet - why do I still have the camera there?! Tomorrow I'm going to remove this camera and - wait... there's Rarity, looking for something. Hmm... maybe this camera will be useful after all. East/West hallway - nothing. Kitchen (still no visuals) - I can hear pots and pans clanging, so I'm guessing that this is where Applejack is. I should probably recheck each pony. Rainbow Dash is still asleep, Rarity looks like she got whatever she was looking for, Applejack is making a pie (I think), and Pinkie Pie is running down the east hallway. Everything seems to be fine right n- PINKIE PIE IS RUNNING DOWN THE EAST HALLWAY. Crap, I slammed the door too loudly. There's Pinkie Pie banging on the door again. Please go away now. Dammit, Rarity heard the commotion, and is trotting down the west hallway. Thankfully, I remember what happened just 7 seconds ago, and closed the other door carefully. Luckily, She'll just pass it off as nothing. Rainbow Dash is stirring in her sleep. Jeez, Pinkie, be quiet already... The kitchen is quiet, which probably means Applejack is on the move again. I check the battery power. 45% left, three hours to go. This third night just got ridiculously hard. > Night Four > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I can't keep doing this. It's been three nights already, and they keep coming back. That Pinkie Pie was knocking on my door longer than the previous night, and then that Applejack came along and gave the door a swift kick. If she had done it a few more times, she probably could have knocked the door clean off its hinges. And then there was Rarity by the other door. I don't know what she was doing, but the door on her side was glowing ite a bit. Magic or something? I'm surprised that Rainbow Dash didn't wake up from all that racket. If all four ponies went at that door, I'm pretty sure I would have been a goner. Regardless, like clockwork, all four ponies left in the morning. It weird, does anyone actually live here? There's that one pony in the morning, and those four ponies at night, but I haven't seen a single pony stay the entire time. Is this place abandoned? No, that can't be true, there are these ponies showing up. Maybe they're housekeepers? Castle-sitters? Is that even a real thing? You know what, I don't care. I need to get out of here. I can't deal with them coming back every night, I need a place where I can plan ahead, and not be thrown into the darkness every time, literally. The teleporters busted, so I have no other choice but to live the rest of my days away from this blasted place. I'm just going to grab my stuff, get out of this room, go down the hallway, turn right, and I'll be as free as I can be- ...hmm, this isn't the way out. Maybe if I go the other way, and turn left, I can get out of here- ...no, that's not it either. Well, if I go down these stairs, maybe I can- ...well, at least I know where the supply closet is. Well, this is just great. Now I'm lost in this freaking giant castle! How do those ponies keep finding my hiding spot in this huge place?!? I mean, come on, how many books does a castle need? I go into this room, there are shelves filled with books. I go into this room, there are shelves filled with books! This room? Oh, wow, golly gee! MORE BOOKS! What a surprise! This room has books, this room has books, this room has a yellow pony, this room has a- HOLY CRAP IT'S THE YELLOW PONY. Now, remember when I said that this pony was really quiet? ...scratch that. This pony is loud. REALLY LOUD. I don't know if she ran away from me or is chasing me, but I don't care right now. She has the scream that gives ear-splitting headaches. My head's already throbbing from three nights without sleep, I really don't need this right now. So I ran. And then... I started flying? No, wait, I'm not flying. Just falling. And hurting my head more. It's dark again. I'm in my room again. The ponies are back again. This is really scary. The last thing I remember was going unconscious on the library floor. Well, one of them. The fact that I'm in this room makes me wonder who had put me in here. Is there another creature? Should I be more worried about it then I am about these ponies? Ugh, my head really hurts now, I feel like I'm going to throw up. I can't black out now though, I need to check the cameras... 80% left. How long was I out? This can't be good. All four ponies are roaming about now. They all look a lot more serious than the previous nights? Did I do something that could have triggered this? What could possibly- I figured it out. It was Fluttershy. Running into her must have caused panic in the rest of the ponies, and now they're definitely hunting me out. I knew this was going to happen. I keep thinking there's something moving around in here. I don't know if I messed up my brain when I hit my head, but I could swear I see something squirming. But when I take a closer look, everything is still. I really hope there's nothing there. Checking the cameras again. Pinkie Pie's still staring freakishly at the camera. Rainbow Dash is knocking on each door. Rarity trying to open each one. More noises from the kitchen, probably Applejack. Pinkie Pie's running again, I gotta prepare for her ceaseless knocking again... ... ... odd, it's still quiet. Where could she- There are voices coming from right outside the doorway. "Darling, this door doesn't seem to open easily. Would you be a dear and open it for me?" Hmm, what a posh tone. "Aw, forget about that one, that door there's always locked, ah've tried." Wow, that is a strong Southern accent if I've ever heard one. "Well, we gotta try this one now! It's the only one left!" That is such a bossy- wait, only one left? What are they trying to- "Don't be rude, silly! We need to see if there's anyone in there first! HELLO? ANYONE THERE?" Well, there's the persistent knocking again, I'm guessing that the last sentence was from Pinkie Pie. Now that every pony is here, I need to- Wait. THESE ARE TALKING PONIES. Okay, now I know my brain is really messed up, not just today, but all four days. I'm been stuck in this enchanted crystal tree house filled with colorful talking horses. Then at night, I have to hide in this room so they don't kill me. Now, not only are all four ponies right outside the doorway, I keep thinking that there is another pony hiding in this very room, probably about to push me out. This is definitely a dream. None of this can possibly be real. It's just one of those really, really long nightmares I keep having since the incident in '87. I obviously haven't let that go yet, and now my brain is making up all this fairy tale nonsense to get me to snap out of it. I'm just going to lie down here, and wait for to be all over. I can't keep doing this. It's been four nights and they keep coming back. > Night Five > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The ponies left in the afternoon, much later than they normally did. They seemed dead set on hunting me down. The power ran out and it was pitch dark for a while, and I spent a good hour and a half just holding myself against the door to make sure they don't break in. God, I need to lie down now. Let the cameras recharge. I'm tired. I'm hungry. I'm weak. I don't think I can last another night like this. I'm already starting to fall asleep. I can't go on like this. Dammit, Mike, why did you screw up so bad like this?! This was only suppose to last one day, not five nights! You're a screw up, Mike, you've always been. That's why you're stuck in this rut, because you can't fix a simple mistake you caused back in '87. You just had to do it, didn't you, Mike. You could have just walked away that fateful day. walk away, and nothing would have ever happened. You'd be at home, in your nice little bed, reading a nice little book. Well, Mike, you got a whole ton of books now, that's for sure. Ugh. I can't move. That Applejack character sure can kick. I feel sore all over the place. My hunger and fatigue from the past four nights aren't helping. Paranoia's being a jerk, too, making me think that I see something squirm under the table. I checked under the table for probably the fifth time since the ponies left, but there's nothing there. Every time I move, the struggle shoots a dull pain up my spine. I might as well just rest now. It's obvious I won't be able to move past the hallway, never mind trying to get out of this castle. This castle. Such a fascinating building when I got here, what with everything being somewhat smaller, just the right size for a pony. Heh, it's kind of adorable how this world turned out to be. Everything exactly just like my world, albeit a bit behind in technology, lacking humans, and being highly influenced by magic. Heck, if I can somehow make it out of here alive, I might consider staying in this world for a while. Away from all these creatures, of course. Well, it's almost time. Right from the start, those four ponies are going to be at my door, banging on it over and over again. That's it, I can't handle the throbbing in my head anymore, I need to lie down. If anyone gets me now, so be it, I don't have the strength to fight back... ...fight back, that's what I should have done back in '87. Why is my mind so focused on the incident in '87 so much? Is it that I no longer have anything else to do? Living the rest of my life, regretting the single most important decision I have ever made, and almost causing complete and utter destruction? Coming into this world in hopes of regaining my confidence and my reputation, but instead gaining utter defeat. Now that I think about it, it wouldn't surprise me right now if this whole thing was a hallucination. I'm probably locked up in an insane asylum right now. Probably none of this is real. The ponies aren't real, this castle isn't real, the incident of '87 never happened. I'm just some figment of imagination trapped in some insane person's body, and now I'm forced to live out his twisted fantasies. Wow. That got dark. I guess that's what happens when my brain can't think straight. It looks like the sun is almost about to go down. Time to prepare for the fifth night. Ha, "prepare". I've done no preparations since day one, and that was merely to set up the cameras. I've done nothing to benefit me. It's just the typical horror story cliché, me hiding out in an isolated room, with nothing to protect me, waiting out the rest of my days until I am caught. Gah, I'm still thinking about the incident in '87. Well, I got nothing else to do, and all this waiting is making my head hurt more, I guess I might as well explain what happened. The procedure was simple. Analyze a mysterious substance, if the substance remains unidentified, leave testing and further handling to more experienced researchers. Heck, you didn't even have to do anything, analyzation was completely optional. I should have just passed it on. Better yet, I should have just labeled it "hazardous" and put it in quarantine. Put an end to all that nonsense. But I had let curiosity get in the way. The substance had no similar traits to anything I have ever seen. If anything, I thought its characteristics were changing. I just had to experiment on it, I just had to make a fool of myself. The substance... it was... I don't know. It hurt my friends, it ruined my life. Years later, here I am. Forced by my own guilt to search out the last known trace of the unidentified substance and put an end to the mystery. Sadly, it appears that I won't be able to find it now. I know I've said this many times already, probably because I can't think straight right now, but I'm tired. I'm tired. I'm lost. I'm scared. Well, this is it. I'm down to two percent. Just a few more seconds, and all power is lost. I like to think that I was in control of this situation from the very beginning, but let's be honest. I couldn't accomplish my goal. I couldn't keep myself hidden. I can't even man up to five technicolor horses. It was hopeless from the start. One percent left. It'll be all over soon. Farewell, I've had quite a run. I give up. ...The power is out. The doors are unlocked. I'm still alive. This can't be right. I should be dead by now. Why am I still alive? Why do I still have to put up with this agonizing suspense? There is a sixth pony. I think there's a sixth. There's certainly a different voice I hear outside the doors. It seems to be talking to the other ponies, but I can't hear what they're saying. I'm too tired to even try. Finally, the new voice spoke up a bit. "Hello? Is everything okay in there?" It said. Huh, funny, she sounds really friendly. Maybe she isn't so bad. "Fluttershy, are you in there?" A pony head pops out from behind the couch. "Twilight, is that you? I'm in the-" I didn't hear the rest of that sentence. I was screaming too loud. > Night Six > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight Sparkle quickly ran towards the castle, a baby dragon following close behind. "Why are we -huff- in such a hurry, Twilight?" asked Spike, "we just got back from Canterlot!" "I know," said Twilight, "that's what I'm worried about. Our friends should have been at the train station to greet us. They knew we would be back today, but they weren't there." She looked worriedly at the Castle, whose normally bright exterior is dimmer than usual. Suddenly, the castle became dark, and Twilight let out a small gasp. She teleported herself and Spike to the front door of the castle to asses the situation. Once she was there, the door was completely open. "Um, girls? Are you there?" Asked Twilight to the empty living room. No response. "Spike, wait here." commanded Twilight as she entered the room. Everything was pitch black. Twilight was worried. In the entire time that Twilight has been in charge of the castle, never once had it gone out of power. It should have had enough magic in it to keep it bright every night. Twilight checked every room, and eventually found Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack all huddled together in the East corridor. They seemed to be listening for something. When they looked up. They immediately jumped on Twilight in joy. "Twilight, thank goodness you're here" said Rarity in whispers. "It's nice to see you girls," said Twilight, relieved that her friends weren't hurt. "but what's going on? Why is the castle dark?" "Ah dunno, but ah think we got other things to worry about." said Applejack, "like, the fact that Fluttershy hasn't been seen since yesterday." "Huh?" Twilight became worried again. "But, where could she have disappeared to?" "We checked everywhere in Ponyville! Even the Everfree Forest!" Rainbow Dash pointed to the door. "The only place we haven't checked was that room, 'cause it's locked." "Locked?" Twilight went up to the door and tried to push it. It wouldn't budge. "That's strange, I didn't lock any doors. Have any of you tried calling her name yet?" All the ponies shook their heads. Twilight leaned close to the door to see if she can hear anything move. She thought she heard some heaving breathing, as if from a hurt animal, but she wasn't sure. "Hello? Is everything okay in there?" Twilight strained to hear if there was a response. The heavy breathing seemed to quiet down. "Fluttershy, are you in there?" Finally, she heard the familiar quiet voice. "Twilight, is that you? I'm in the-" Then, a loud frightening scream cut through the nearly silent room, causing every pony to jump back in fear. Unfortunately, being in a hallway, this caused every pony to trip over each other and fall down. Moments later, a bipedal creature charged out of the room still screaming. He saw the ponies on the floor, and screamed even louder. Twilight heard the phrases "need to leave" and "run away" among the mostly incoherent nonsense. Then he fell on the ground, silent. It wasn't that he simply just couldn't process this information and his brained ceased functioning, but when you start screaming and running around, it's highly unlikely that a unicorn wouldn't try to put an end to it. Especially if that unicorn happens to also be a very panicky alicorn. Spike came running in. "Is everything okay? I thought I heard-" He stopped when he saw the creature on the floor. He poked at it. "Um, Twilight? Is that thing... you know... dead?" Twilight casted a spell to lift him up and observed him. "Hmm... I think he's okay. I only casted a knock-out spell, putting him into a deep sleep. If anything, it would probably make him refreshed when he wakes up. Maybe then he'll stop yelling." She let him go, causing him to fall back down with a thud. "Whoops, well, maybe not completely refreshed." "But what the hay is that thing?" Asked Applejack. "It could be dangerous." "OOH! I know, maybe it's a Minotaur!" blurted Pinkie Pie, "No wait, he doesn't have horns. Oh, maybe it's a centaur! No wait, that's not right either, it only has two legs." Pinkie Pie continued to ramble on about how the creature on the floor could not be the various creatures she listed. Fluttershy spoke up. "Um... I don't think he's dangerous..." "Huh?" Twilight was studying the creature, but Fluttershy's word caught her attention. "How do you know this thing isn't dangerous. Do you know what it is?" "Um, well... no." Admitted Fluttershy. "But I've seen this thing around the castle for quite a while, and he hasn't caused any harm. He seemed to be more scared, actually." "Wait, you've seen him for a while?" Rainbow Dash was confused. "Fluttershy, I hang out with you, like, all the time, and I have never seen you with this... thing. How long have you seen him? "Oh, he started to show up around the castle about five days ago." "FIVE DAYS?!?" Everypony was shocked. Twilight continued. "Fluttershy, that's when I left for Canterlot! Why didn't you let me know?" "Well, I didn't want to bother you on your important business in Canterlot, and I didn't want to make the rest of you worried." Fluttershy jumped as the body, still unconscious, rolled over into a more comfortable position to sleep in. "Fluttershy, darling, you were suppose to inform of any unusual activity during the day so we can fix it!" said Rarity. "What has he been doing all these days?" "Well, he's just been walking around the castle. He mostly stays in that one room." Fluttershy points to the room, which had books strewn all over the floor. "He seemed to be worried about not being able to get back home. I wanted to help, but I don't know where his home is." "Hmm..." Twilight looks at the creature more carefully. She couldn't help but think that she has seen this species from somewhere. A book maybe? She needs to study this more. "Well, there's only one way to find out" Twilight took the sleeping creature and laid him carefully onto a couch. "C'mon, girls, let's get this placed fixed up before he wakes up." > Night Seven > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- When Mike woke up, it was dark, 48 hours since he was knocked out. At first, he thought he just had a nightmare, and was sleeping in his own bed. After a while, though, he realised that the bed was really small. Then he realised that he had the worst cramp ever. After trying to adjust to the size of the bed several times, he eventually gave up and got up to stretch. That's when he came face to face with Twilight Sparkle. "Oh!" Twilight was surprised. "You're awake! That's good. How are you feeling?" Mike was silent, but he shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, good you can understand me. Well, you might still feel a little drowsy, that knock-out spell takes a while to wear out. Would you, um, like anything to eat or drink? You must be hungry after all this time." Mike shrugged again. "Um... okay. Wait here, I'll see if I can find anything." Twilight left and came back with a glass of water and some carrots. "Now, I'm not sure what you eat, but I hope this is okay." Mike accepted the food and started eating. As he ate, Twilight began jotting down some notes, while Mike continued to stare at her. Twilight, after realising she's being watched, became embarrassed and quickly put away the notebook. "Eheh... *ahem* So, do you know how you got here? Or how to get back to your home? Not that I'm kicking you out! It's just that, um, you're quite... different from the other ponies here, so I was wondering if, you know, um...?" Mike continues to stare at Twilight. "Well, would you feel better if I got the other girls here? That way, maybe we can clear up any misunderstandings we have between each other. Does that sound like a good idea to you?" Finally, Mike spoke up. "I'm still dreaming..." he murmured, trying to go back to bed. "So... I'm not dreaming?" Asked Mike for the fifth time that evening. The rest of the ponies just shook their heads. "No, silly, you're in Ponyville!" Said Pinkie Pie, for the third time that evening. "Fluttershy here says you've been here since seven days ago. And now you're stuck here forever!" "So, if I get this straight, I'm trapped in a world dominated by colorful ponies, my teleporter is broken, and I'm stuck in this world with no way back?" "Yes!" said Pinkie. "And... this isn't a dream?" "NO!" everypony shouted. "Look," Rainbow Dash was getting tired of talking in circles. "you're stuck here, deal with it. There's no way back, because according to you, your only way back is broken to bits," She points at the teleporter, which is now busted up, wires and jagged metal sticking out in random places, "and we don't have the knowledge or tools to fix it!" Fluttershy whimpered. "I'm really sorry about that. Honest." Mike sighed. He was really hoping that this whole thing was just a dream. But after being stuck in this world for seven days now, that hope is quickly diminishing. He's just going to have to face up to his misfortune and make the best of it. Mike got up and walked out of the living room. Every pony wondered where he was going, but didn't try to follow him. After a while, he came back with a book, the cameras, and his laptop. "My journal!" cried Twilight, looking at the worn notebook. "Where did you get that?" "In the room I secluded myself in." replied Mike. He handed the book to Twilight. "It was my only source of knowledge about this world. I figured it was yours, so I'm giving this back to you." Twilight bit her lip. True, it was her book, filled with her letters to Princess Celestia, as well as the adventures she had with her friends. She treasured it dearly, and would hate to lose it. But, here is a lost creature, who can't go back home, and if the book really helped him, then... "You can keep it." Twilight levitated the book back to Mike. "I think you can use it as a guide to our world." Mike hesitated from taking the book, not because of the book itself, but because he was still unfamiliar with magic and was worried about the levitation. Eventually, he grabbed the book and held on carefully. "Thanks." he said. Twilight beamed. "But there's still one thing I don't understand," said Rainbow Dash. "What made you even come to our world, anyways?" Mike shrank back from the question. "W-well, I h-had to, um... no, w-wait, I was... um... ah..." Applejack put a hoof on Mike's shoulder. "You ain't gotta tell if you don't feel like it. We understand." Everypony nodded in agreement. Well, almost everypony. Rainbow Dash was a bit reluctant, but in the end she also agreed. Mike paused for a moment, then looked down. "No, I probably should explain, I got into this mess because I screwed up. I was-" "Why don't we tell this story together? C'mon, it'll be fun!" Everyone looked up to see who was talking. The room erupted in blue flames that faded away, revealing a familiar Draconequus in the middle. "DISCORD!?!" The ponies shouted in surprise. Mike looked at Discord in shock. "Wait a minute." said Twilight, "what does Mike have anything to do with you?" "Well, I sensed a disturbance in the balance of magic here. Anyways, why don't we let him explain?" said Discord, pointing at Mike. He frowned. "Hmm, uh, Mike. It seems that you have a little something on your shoulder there... " Everyone turned to look at Mike's shoulder except Mike himself. He already knew what was going on. He has seen enough of Discord's shenanigans to know what happened. Even if he had any doubt, the intense heat gave it away anyways. Some of the blue flames Discord made had accidentally hit Mike's shoulder. Mike is now covered in flames. > Final Night > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- After several rolls of gauze, a container of ibuprofen, a stern scolding from Fluttershy to Discord, and a half-sincere apology, Mike was finally well enough to tell his story. Discord, being the person he is, tried to conjure up a flashback for everypony to see. Unfortunately, this led to quite a few questions from the ponies. "It all started in the year 1987-" "Wait, what's all these fancy tools?" "-uh, those are lab equipments-" "Why is this room so pristine and white?" "-because it's a laboratory, specifically the decontamination room. Now can I-" "But my laboratory is no where as bright as this! How can you even get it this bright?" "Aw, heck, everything thing looks cold and gloomy, ain't ya world got any apple orchards or something?" "-well, yeah, but that's not-" "Alright, enough already, when are we find out why Discord's part of this?" "Ooh, who's that lady over there? Is she your special somepony?" "...that... that's my... sister..." Mike started to tear up. Everypony became quite. Mike put his face in his hands and cried for a moment. Finally, he lifted his head up and took a few breaths. "Look," he said, "I know- that you guys are interested in everything about my world. But this is really hard for me, and I'd like to get it out. So can we hold off on questions? Please?" Everypony nodded and remained silent. "Okay, let's try again..." It all started in the year 1987. A few months before then, we had discovered a mysterious substance. In an attempt to categorize it as a new chemical element, we discovered that the substance rarely maintains a consistent characteristic. In order to find the cause of this nature, a select few scientists and analysts, myself included, was given special permission to study the substance. *cutscene to Mike looking through a microscope* "Ugh, first it's a crystalline structure, then a double-helix, then it's asymmetrical! Just stay normal!" *A young female walks in* "Hey Mike, what'cha doing?" "J-Jessie? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at home?" "Nah, it's boring at home, and I wanna hang out with you." "Jessie, you know it's dangerous to be here, you should be more careful." "Aw, don't be such a worrywart. Hey, what's that?" Jessie grabs the substance. "Hey, don't touch that!" I tried to grab it out of her hand, but it slipped out of my hand, near the power generator. I was going to grab it when I hesitated. "Hmm..." "Hmm?" Jessie was curious. "Why are you saying 'hmm?'" "Well, if I remember correctly, one of the shapes that this substance takes is a double helix. The unique cylindrical figure is often found as diribonucleic acid, and is often a sign of sentience." "...what?" I quickly grabbed some wires. "What I am trying to say is that this... might be alive." I start to power up the generator to produce a charge. Jessie looked worried. "Are you sure this is safe?" she asked. I should have seen this as a warning. Now the odds of creating life using a simple electric spark was absurd, but the possibility of creating life hexed me, so I sent an electric pulse through the substance. Suddenly, the substance grew bigger and bigger, starting to take on the form of an animal. In all due respect, this should not have been possible, but I was too foolish and conceited to think anything bad of it at the time. I had created life! But then, the animal... it no longer remained docile, it bared it's fangs. It claws became more pronounced. And it had a wicked, twisted laugh. And it was looking at Jessie. "JESSIE! LOOK OUT!" But Jessie remained petrified, and I felt like I couldn't move. It was as if time had stood still. Except that animal was still moving around. He got closer and closer to Jessie, looking ready to pounce. "NO! DON'T YOU DARE!" I tried with all of my might to move, but I couldn't budge an inch. I was hopeless. The animal leaped, fangs open, at Jessie's frozen, terrified face. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" As soon as the animal made contact, it faded in a cloud of smoke. Slowly, Jessie fell over, and I burst out of my static position and ran towards her. "Jessie, are you alright? Speak to me? Are you okay? SAY SOMETHING, ANYTHING!!!" But, although she was not hurt, she could not say anything. Ever since the incident, she has never spoken a word to anyone. She retains an unsteady movement, shaky as if in fear. And no matter what emotion she has, whether it's happy or sad, her eyes always give the same shocked expression, forever frozen into her eyes, cold and unyielding. I promised myself that I would help her no matter what. So when they found remaining traces of the substance, I knew that I had to take the chance. I just had to... Mike sighed. "I just never thought I would never be stuck in the world of the Chaos Beast." "My name is Discord." The draconequus protested, but Fluttershy shushed him. Twilight walked up to Mike. "It must have been upsetting, not being able to help your sister for over a thousand years." Mike looked confused. "A thousand? I'm not even 50 yet! What could make you think that I was... you know what, never mind." Now it was Twilight who looked confused. "But... Discord has been in this world for over a thousand years. How does this make sense?" "I believe I can explain that." replied Discord. "You, see Twilight, when I entered this world, I couldn't let those pesky humans find me. So, in order to slow their search, I turned this world's timeline... sideways! So, this world's time was suppose to run perpendicular to theirs. But, it would seem that it was slightly skewed, so it still runs forward along with Mike's world, albeit much, much slower. A science man like you should be able to understand, right, Mike?" Discord patted him on the back, causing Mike to wince from both his fear of discord and the pain from the burn marks. "Whoops, sorry." apologized Discord. "Discord, enough of your nonsense, fix it now!" demanded Twilight. "I would if I could, honest!" said Discord innocently, "but it's been over one thousand years! Even if I still remember how, it'll be even more difficult to realign the timeline now." Twilight sighed in exasperation. "Sorry, Mike, it looks like you really are stuck here." "I figured." Miked looked around. Huh, he thought, it's really sad that I couldn't say goodbye to my friends and my family... especially Jessie. I was doing this all for her. He looks at every pony carefully. Still, this isn't the worst place ever. I have these ponies that really care about me, and really understand the pain that I feel. Maybe I can make this work. Maybe I can adapt to a life here. Maybe I can finally relax. "Well, since I'll be here for a while." Mike was hesitant with his words. "Would it be okay if... I could... stay... friends?" Hmm... friends... I like the sound of that. Everypony smiled. "Of course." said Twilight, nodding her head. "We'll help you get settled. Everypony will treat you nicely. I hope this world won't be too much of a setback for you." Mike takes one more look at the broken teleporter, then looks around the room. Now, after seeing all the familiar books and faces, he finally realized that he no longer minds. It would be a nice change of pace to finally... just... relax... Sorry, Jessie, I tried. I tried to help you, and I hope it was worth it. I won't be seeing you in a while, take good care of your self. "No, it's fine" Mike said to Twilight. "Let's get started." Eight Days Ago "A few minutes before the teleporter is ready. Now is the time to say goodbye." Say goodbye? That's ridiculous! It'll be a one day job! I got all my cameras fully charged, I got my laptop, and I'll just go in and go out and put an end to this nonsense. Still, I should check up on Jessie before I leave. After all, I'm doing this for her. "Three minutes, Mr. Schmidt." Gotta make this fast. I walked to Jessie. "Hey, Jessie, are you feeling any better?" Silence. "Well, this is it. I'm going to leave soon, but I'll be back, I promise." She looked at me. I could see fear frozen on her face, but I also saw another emotion. I saw compassion. Huh, strange, she never showed anyone else that face before. "Um, I'll be okay. Take care of yourself, you hear?" Suddenly she leaped up and hugged me. She said, in a quiet whisper "Mike do not worry about me. If you leave, and don't come back. I just want you to know that you didn't fail. You are the best brother I ever had, and I couldn't ask for a better one. I'll miss you when you are gone, but I won't think of you as a failure. Promise me that you won't think of yourself as a failure." The entire room was quiet. This was the first time Jessie had spoken in years. Just hearing her speak was enough to surprise everyone. "Um... okay, I promise." Tears started flowing down her face. We hugged tightly for a while. A voice spoke up. "Um, ahem, Mr. Schmidt? Thirty seconds left." I had to let go of Jessie. I needed to go through this teleporter. I must locate the source of the substance and fix everything. This is all my fault, and I'm finally going to fix it. I get myself ready, and looked at Jessie one last time. "You're not a failure." She said one last time, smiling. For once, her face didn't have a hint of fear in it. "Thank you." I said, smiling back. But I shouldn't have anything to worry about. This was just a one day job. I need do this right.