Dusk Glow found himself standing in a completely white space.
There was no up or down, no beginning or end, no visible boundary anywhere.
The only things that existed here were countless strange “threads” drifting endlessly through the void.
Where am I?
Dusk Glow’s mind was filled with questions.
He had only just met Princess Celestia, so how had he suddenly ended up here?
He tried to take a few steps, only to realize that he couldn’t move at all.
Even stranger, he could clearly feel his own “hand” resting against his chin, as though he were striking the pose of The Thinker.
What is going on?
Dusk Glow was just about to speak when he suddenly heard “his” own voice say,
“Got it.
That’s what I’ll do.”
A book suddenly appeared before him.
Its cover bore the side profile of a pony.
The “Dusk Glow” in front of him opened the book, then summoned a pinkish-purple quill and began sketching on a blank page.
A few seconds later, the final stroke was drawn.
Dusk Glow stared in astonishment.
On the page was a drawing of a pony almost identical to himself.
Except this version had both a horn and wings.
A full-fledged alicorn.
“Perfect.
I’ll use this as my basic design for now,” the mysterious version of Duskglow said.
Then he seemed to reconsider.
“Although…
starting out as an alicorn wouldn’t be very interesting.”
“Ah!
I’ve got it!”
The drawing suddenly split into three separate versions.
One had a horn but no wings.
One had wings but no horn.
And the last had neither.
They represented Dusk Glow’s three forms: unicorn, pegasus, and earth pony.
“For the early part of the story, I could make him switch between three different forms, kind of like Ultraman Tiga!”
Duskglow could practically hear the pride in his mysterious counterpart’s voice.
“That’s a pretty original idea.
Nobody’s going to steal it, right?”
Ultraman Tiga…
Three different forms…
Duskglow was completely bewildered.
Who is this person?
Why is he drawing me as a pony?
And how does he know about Ultraman?
Could he be from Earth too?
Before he could think through any of those questions, his vision began to blur again.
His consciousness slowly faded…
Before he could ponder any further, Dusk Glow felt his vision blur once more as his consciousness gradually returned…
Waking up once again, Dusk Glow saw an unfamiliar ceiling.
A golden chandelier refracted light in the morning sun.
He shook his head and struggled to sit up, only to find himself sitting on a soft silk four-poster bed.
“Oh, my goodness!
You’re finally awake!”
A voice full of pleasant surprise drew Dusk Glow’s attention.
He saw a light blue mare by his bedside lift her head abruptly.
Her dark purple mane was slightly disheveled from napping.
“Uh, excuse me, who are you?”
“My name is Porcelain Teacup.
I’m a maid here at the Canterlot Palace.
Her Highness asked me to look after you while you were unconscious.”
She quickly straightened the little maid’s headpiece on top of her head.
Dusk Glow also noticed her cutie mark: a white teacup.
“You’ve been unconscious for two days,” Porcelain Teacup explained.
“The princess said you fell out of the sky, so she asked me to make sure you were well taken care of.”
Two days?
Dusk Glow couldn’t believe he’d been asleep that long.
“Um…
may I ask where I am?”
“You’re in one of the finest guest rooms in Canterlot Palace,” Porcelain Teacup replied enthusiastically.
“Only the most important guests are allowed to stay here.”
“Oh, right!
You must be starving.”
She smiled brightly.
“I’ll go get you something to eat.
Then I’ll let the princess know you’re awake.
In the meantime, please stay in bed and get some rest, all right?”
Dusk Glow nodded.
Porcelain Teacup hurried out of the room.
The moment the door clicked shut, Dusk Glow immediately threw off the blankets, stumbled out of bed, and made his way toward the full-length mirror on the other side of the room.
His reflection looked a little thinner than he remembered.
And, just as he’d expected, he currently had neither a horn nor wings.
He was an earth pony.
Then Dusk Glow remembered his dream.
Maybe I should try it.
He focused his thoughts.
In an instant, he felt something change atop his head.
A horn emerged from his forehead.
Dusk Glow’s eyes widened.
It worked!
He excitedly tried using telekinesis.
The spell took hold of the full-length mirror, and to his surprise, he was able to manipulate it with ease.
Compared to the last time he’d used magic, his power had increased dramatically.
After carefully returning the mirror to its place, Dusk Glow focused again.
This time, he summoned wings.
His horn vanished.
A pair of feathery wings unfolded from his back.
Dusk Glow cautiously tried lifting himself off the ground.
To his surprise, flying came almost instinctively.
He was still clumsy and inexperienced, but the wings felt strangely natural, almost like having an extra pair of arms.
Suddenly, the door opened.
Dusk Glow hurriedly hopped back into bed and reverted to his earth pony form just as Porcelain Teacup walked in carrying a tray of tea and refreshments.
“Your refreshments are here.”
She smiled as she placed the tray on the bed.
“Her Highness will be here shortly, so please have something to eat first.”
“Oh.
Thank you.”
Dusk Glow looked over the tray.
There were delicate little cakes, fresh fruit, and a steaming cup of tea.
He was just about to dig in when he realized something.
Wait.
I don’t have hands.
How am I supposed to eat this?
Dusk Glow suddenly found himself facing a rather serious problem.
He still hadn’t completely adjusted to having a pony’s body.
How do ponies even eat again?
With their hooves?
Their mouths?
He cautiously tried picking up one of the cakes with his hoof.
To his surprise, his hoof could bend.
Well, that’s useful.
Apparently, pony hooves could serve a variety of purposes, almost like hands, even if they obviously weren’t capable of the same fine movements.
Seriously, how did ponies build an entire civilization using these things?
Just as Dusk Glow was about to put the cake into his mouth, his hoof slipped.
PLAP.
The cake smacked directly into his face.
Dusk Glow stared blankly ahead.
He had suddenly acquired the appearance of Santa Claus after losing a fight with a bakery.
“Pfft!”
Porcelain Teacup desperately tried to hold back her laughter, but several little snickers escaped.
“I’m sorry!
I’m sorry!”
She quickly grabbed a cloth and began wiping the cream from Dusk Glow’s face.
Dusk Glow could feel what little dignity he had left slowly slipping away.
At that moment, the door opened again.
Princess Celestia entered the room with her usual graceful stride.
Her eyes immediately fell on Dusk Glow, whose face was covered in cream, and then on Porcelain Teacup, who was obviously trying not to laugh.
The corners of Celestia’s mouth curled upward.
For just a moment.
She quickly returned to her usual regal expression.
“How are you feeling, little one?” Princess Celestia asked warmly.
Dusk Glow tried to sit up, but Celestia gently shook her head, signaling that he should remain in bed.
“I’m doing fine.
Thank you for taking care of me, Your…
Majesty?”
Dusk Glow hesitated.
He had called Nightmare Moon “Your Majesty” before.
Surely that was the proper way to address the ruler of Equestria.
Celestia smiled.
“Princess will do.
There are no queens in Equestria.”
“Right.
Princess.”
Celestia nodded.
“I’m simply glad you’re awake.
I must admit, I am rather curious about you.”
She studied him carefully.
“What is your name?
Where did you come from?
And why did you suddenly appear here?”
Dusk Glow hesitated.
He was not sure how he should explain that he had come from another world.
The last time Nightmare Moon had believed his story, she had searched through his memories first.
Dusk Glow really did not like the idea of somebody rummaging through his memories.
“My name is Dusk Glow.
I’m from a human world.”
He decided there was little point in hiding it.
“I know that may be difficult to believe, but it’s the truth.
I really am from that world.
I don’t know how I ended up here, and I certainly don’t know why I turned into a pony.”
Celestia listened carefully.
But the moment Dusk Glow mentioned the word “human,” she paused.
She then turned toward Porcelain Teacup.
“Teacup, I would like you to keep everything you’ve heard here confidential.”
“Of course, Your Highness.”
Porcelain Teacup bowed respectfully before leaving the room.
Once the door closed behind her, Celestia looked back at Dusk Glow.
“Another world…
inhabited by humans?”
Her voice remained gentle, but there was a faint tremor beneath it.
“That is certainly unexpected.”
“You believe me?”
Dusk Glow sounded genuinely surprised.
He had expected that he would need to provide some sort of proof.
“I do,” Celestia replied.
“I have seen your world before.”
Dusk Glow’s eyes widened.
“My former mentor developed a special form of magic capable of crossing into parallel worlds.
I accompanied him across dimensions more than once.”
Celestia paused for a moment.
“Although I never personally traveled to the human world, I was able to observe it through other means.”
She gave him a knowing smile.
“Two legged beings, remarkably dexterous hands, and the ability to create things that seem almost impossible.”
She tilted her head slightly.
“Am I mistaken?”
Dusk Glow stared at her in disbelief.
She really has seen the human world?
He never would have imagined that Princess Celestia had experienced something so extraordinary.
“Princess…”
Hope suddenly filled his voice.
“Then can you send me home?”
Celestia’s expression softened.
Slowly, she shook her head.
“Dusk Glow, I don’t want to give you false hope.
The spell was never perfected.”
She spoke carefully.
“Although I know how to perform it, crossing dimensions carries far too many unknown risks.
I don’t know the coordinates of your world, and I cannot guarantee that I could send you back safely.”
Her expression grew serious.
“One mistake could have disastrous consequences for both worlds.”
She lowered her head slightly.
“I’m truly sorry.
I know how much you want to go home, but I have no safe way to get you there.”
“No, no!
Please don’t apologize!”
Dusk Glow hurriedly waved his hooves.
“This isn’t your fault.”
Celestia looked at him quietly.
“You’ve already done more than enough by being honest with me,” Dusk Glow continued sincerely.
“Back home, we have a saying called ‘Bloom where you’re planted.’ It means that when you find yourself in circumstances you cannot change, sometimes the best thing you can do is adapt, make peace with your situation, and find a way forward.”
He took a slow breath.
“Anger and despair aren’t going to change what happened.
If my way home is closed for now…
then maybe I should try to see what I can do here.”
He looked around at the strange yet wonderful world surrounding him.
“In this new world, with this new body, maybe I can find a new purpose.”
Something in Celestia’s eyes changed.
There was genuine admiration in them now.
The Princess of the Sun had ruled Equestria for more than a thousand years.
She had seen countless ponies face hardship, loss, and uncertainty.
Yet the speed with which this young newcomer had gone from being torn away from his world to accepting his new circumstances was remarkable.
His resilience was far greater than his appearance suggested.
Of course, Celestia did not know the whole truth.
Dusk Glow was not actually as desperate to return home as she believed.
His parents had died when he was young, and he had no close friends or family waiting for him there.
Sometimes, the silence of the house where he lived alone had weighed heavily on him.
Here, however, he had discovered things he had never even dreamed of in his old world.
Magic.
He could change between three different forms.
He could fly.
He could use spells.
And everything in Equestria was strange, fascinating, and full of possibilities.
Then there was Princess Celestia herself.
She was kind, wise, and incredibly powerful.
For the first time in a long while, Dusk Glow felt as though there might actually be something worth looking forward to.
“That is a wise decision,” Celestia said solemnly.
“And one that I deeply respect.”
She smiled warmly.
“Equestria welcomes you, Dusk Glow.”
“As the guardian of this land, I promise that we will do everything we can to help you find your place here.”
Her expression softened.
“And we will continue searching for a way to return you home.”
“However long it may take.”