Heart of Destruction: Prologue, Part 1, Part 2

Heart of Destruction

Prologue:
Humans are a rather arrogant species. They attribute their successes to things like hard work, genetics, or even divine guidance rather than accept that they were simply lucky. Among the infinite universes that make up the multiverse, there are worlds where the first humans did not survive. Places where they were unable to fend off extinction. And in their absence, other species rose up to become the dominant life forms.
This is the story of a man who, by fate or luck, managed to bridge the gap between universes. This is the story of Anonymous.

Part 1: Wherein Anon Finds Himself in a Strange Land
>Another typical Friday night. You spent the day at your job, giving lectures to disinterested students, then went to your favorite bar to drink, alone, until you had a mild buzz going. Then you returned home to brown the internet and catch up on the latest Anon in Equestria fanfics.
>Some, hell, most people would see your life as pathetic, but you didn’t care. When you were young, you had a desire for human connection, but you were always too shy and scared. Now that you’re older, you are more confident, but you find yourself no longer caring about making friends. This world will still be dreary and gray, with or without friends. At least, that’s what you tell yourself. So, you try to escape this world. Fantasy books and bright children’s cartoons momentarily take you elsewhere. These days you find yourself addicted to My Little Pony, where magic is real, friendship can save the world, and the endings are always happy.
>God, how you wished you could go there. That is the thought around your head as you lay in bed and finally
>fall
>asleep.
>…
>…
>…
>You open your eyes and look around.
“This isn’t my bedroom,” you think, “Last time I checked, there wasn’t a forest in my bedroom. Especially not one that was so…bright.”
>The sky, the trees, the grass, everything was so vivid.
>Well, almost everything. Within a fifteen-to-twenty foot radius of yourself, the grass was duller, more yellowed. The dirt was no longer a rich brown, but a slightly grayish dust. You try to leave this depressing little circle, and to your shock, it follows you. The earth before you grows duller with each step, and when you glance behind you, several yards away, the grass is becoming more vivid.
>You kneel down and pick up a rock. Sharp in some places, smooth in others, covered in grit. As strange as this place is, it feels far too real to be a dream.
>“What are you?” a voice behind you asks.
>You recognize this voice, but before now you’ve only ever heard it on TV. You turn around and find yourself staring at a small purple unicorn.
>Twilight Sparkle.
“Impossible,” you say to yourself.
> “Ah, I suspected you could talk,” says Twilight, “You have clothes after all, so you must be sentient.” She slowly walks closer. “So what are you? Are you from the Everfree Forest?”
>As she crosses the threshold of the strange circle surrounding you, you see her suddenly wince. It breaks you out of your shock.
“Is something wrong?”
> “No, i-it’s just…my head…hurts,” she groans, and raises a hoof to her forehead. You take several steps forward, reaching out your hand to her.
“Hey, are you okay? What’s wrong?”
>Suddenly, Twilight stumbles forward and falls to the ground. She clutches her head and starts to scream.
>You step closer and her screams increase. You start to panic. What do you do? Your grandparents had horses when you were little, but that was so long ago. You don’t know how to treat horses, especially not cartoon ponies.
“Wait here, I’ll get help!” You turn, start to run, and then stop again when you realize you don’t know the way to civilization. Think man, think! Maybe Twilight knows. You turn back to face the pony, and realize she is no longer screaming. She’s picking herself up off the ground, panting.
“Twilight, are you okay? What happened?”
>You start to approach again, and Twilight sees the circle nearing her. She recoils.
> “No! Stay away!” she shouts, backing away from you, “Get away from me!” Her horn glows, and with a twinkling sound, she disappears.
“Well, now what?” you think to yourself. A little distance past the spot where Twilight teleported away, you see the path that she was on before she found you.  You figure it leads to Ponyville, but you have no idea which direction to follow it. Since you are in pajamas and have no shoes, you decide to go in the direction that appears to have fewer rocks.

Part 2: Wherein Introductions Are Made and Questions Are Asked
>You aren’t sure how long you have been walking. It seems like a long time, but any walk would seem longer without shoes. In any case, the trees are thinning out and soon enough you are at the edge of the forest. You now find yourself looking out at a landscape of green pastures and gently rolling hills. In the distance, you can make out a small town. Closer to you is what appears to be a farm. What has your attention however, are the ponies standing before you. Twilight and Applejack are blocking the path in front of you. You hear a rustling behind you as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy float down from the trees, cutting you off from the forest. At least, Rainbow is; Fluttershy appears to be attempting to hide behind her friend.
>Suddenly you feel a rough rope slide over your head and shoulders, and tighten around your stomach, pinning your arms to your sides. The other end is gripped in Applejack’s mouth.
> “Now you Twilight!” she mutters around the rope.
> You glance at the unicorn to see her levitating another lasso in your direction. Once it crosses the threshold of that strange circle, however, it falls limply to the ground.
> “What’s happening?” shouts Twilight in shock, “My magic, it’s not working!”
> You take advantage of the distraction. Luckily, the lasso had tightened above your elbows. You reach up and grab the rope, then throw your full weight backwards. Your goal was to yank the rope out of Applejack’s grasp, but instead you send the orange p0ny flying.
>Right into the circle.
To your surprise, her reaction was not the same as Twilight. Rather than pain, a look of astonished fear paints itself upon her face. She glares at you.
> “What the hell are you?” she gasps.
> While you struggle to get the lasso off of you, Rainbow Dash leaps into the air, flying up and away for a dive bomb. As she crosses into the circle, however, her wings suddenly fail and gravity takes over. She still has enough momentum, however, that when she slams into your back, she sends you stumbling forward into a kick from Applejack’s hind legs. The air is driven from your lungs and you collapse to the ground.
> “Damn,” you think “these p0nies are stronger than you thought.”
> “That’s enough!” shouts Twilight from the edge of the battle, “Don’t hurt him!”
> “Twi, this thing aint normal!” Applejack yells back, “Can’t ya feel it! That creepiness as soon as ya get close? It’s evil!”
> “He’s dangerous, but I don’t think he’s trying to be,” says Twilight, “In the forest, I think he was trying to help me. Fluttershy, can you see if he’s alright? I can’t get close to him for some reason.”
>AJ and Dash stand aside to let the yellow Pegasus timidly approach. She seems as creeped out by your presence as the other two, but at least she’s not screaming in pain like Twilight was.
> “A-are you okay?” she asked. As scared as she is, she can’t turn her back on a hurt creature.
“What…does it…look like?” you gasp through gritted teeth.
> “It looks like you were on the receiving end of one of Applejack’s kicks,” says Rainbow Dash, smirking. Using a hoof, she nudges you onto your back and looks you in the eye. “Now tell me this? Why did my wings stop working as soon as I got near you?” She flaps them fruitlessly to demonstrate.
> “And why do I get the shudders and feel all disconnected?” demands Applejack.
> “Girls, he needs to breathe,” says Fluttershy, “give him some time.”
> “They’re right though,” says Twilight, “we need answers, and once he recovers, he’s going to give them to us.”
>The p0nies back away until they are outside of that strange circle. They want to spend as little time near you as possible. Dash is relieved to find that she’s able to fly again once she is away from you.
>Your stomach still hurts, but you can breathe unhindered again, so you sit up and face Twilight.
“Alright, I’ll answer your questions,” you say “but in return, you need to answer mine.”
>Twilight nods. “First of all, who and what are you?”
“I’m a human,” you reply, “and my name is…” you pause. In your world, this place exists in a TV show. Do you really want your identity broadcast across the world, especially on a show watched by internet weirdos? “Actually, just call me Anonymous.” >Twilight didn’t seem too pleased with this, but she let it slide.
> “Fine. My name is-“
“Twilight Sparkle. And that’s Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy,” you finish for her.
> “How do you know that?” demands Rainbow.
“It’s…complicated,” you respond.
> “Well, we aint goin’ anywhere and neither are you, so ya might as well uncomplicate it,” says Applejack.
“I don’t suppose you know what TV is?” They don’t, but they do have film and animation, so it’s not too difficult to explain TV shows. What is difficult is telling them that their lives are shown as a cartoon in your world. Rainbow seems to enjoy the knowledge of being a celebrity, while Fluttershy nearly has a panic attack. Applejack doesn’t show much reaction. Twilight, of course, becomes even more curious.
> “So where is your home and how do they know about us?” she asks.
You pause before saying, “That’s a…tricky question. I’m not certain where I am and thus I’m not sure how I can describe my home in relation to this place.” You furrow your brow in concentration. “This seems too real to be a dream, and if this was all in my head, I’d like to think I wouldn’t have had my ass handed to me by a bunch of p0nies. No offense.” Rainbow Dash gives a harrumph. “This probably isn’t an alien world because it’s simply too similar to my own. Such similarities only happen in science fiction. I suppose this leaves parallel dimensions as the only remaining explanation I can think of.” You look up at Twilight. “I think I may be from another universe.”
> “A place identical to here in its origins, but with differences in its history that become compounded over time,” remarks Twilight, “Yes, I suppose that could explain things. If there are an infinite number of realities, it may be possible that one could produce a fictional work that just happens to reflect our reality.”
> “Sounds like a load of hooey to me” snorts Applejack. You ignore her.
“I think I can assume you didn’t bring me here,” you say to Twilight, “and I have no idea how I could have come here by myself. Can you think of anyone who could have summoned me here?”
> “If you are from another universe, then bringing you here would have taken a great deal of magic,” says Twilight “There’s only a few beings capable of doing that. Luckily, I know a couple of them. I’ll ask them about this as soon as I can.”
> “Twilight, ask him about the whole circle thing and why I can’t fly near him,” says Dash.
“You could just ask me yourself,” you say, slightly annoyed, “and the answer is, I don’t know. I have no idea why you can’t fly or why Twilight feels pain.”
> “Ummm, I think I might know that,” says Fluttershy, “I spend a lot of time around birds, and they all have much larger wings compared to their bodies than pegasi do. I think Pegasus flight is magically assisted.”
“So I’m, what, nullifying magic?”
> “I think you’re onto something Fluttershy,” says Twilight, the gleam of discovery in her eyes, “that might also explain why I get a terrible headache from him!”
> “Yeah, cuz yer fulla  magic,” chimes in Applejack “but what about me? I aint a Pegasus or a unicorn, so why do I get all creeped out by him?”
> “Earth ponies tend to have a strong connection to nature,” Twilight explains, “in your case, you have a connection to plant life, especially apple trees. When you get near Anonymous, that connection is severed.”
“Alright, my turn to ask a question,” you say, “how do I get home?”
> The other p0nies look to Twilight.
> “I’m not sure. I don’t know of any spells that can cross universes.” She sees you look of sadness at this and adds in “Don’t worry though, I promise, I’ll do whatever I can to get you home!”
“Well, what should I do? Where can I stay?”
> “We can’t bring him into town,” says Rainbow Dash, “That whole magic nullifying thing is gonna cause problems.”
> “H-he can stay at my place” offers Fluttershy.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” you say, “who knows what effect I’ll have on your animal friends.”
> “We got an old barn he can stay in,” says Applejack, “We were getting ready to tear it down, but we can  just build our new barn somewhere else.”
> “That could work,” says Twilight, “Applejack seems to be the least affected by him, and this way he won’t be near Ponyville.”
“Thanks Applejack,” you say, offering a smile, “I’d really appreciate that.”
> She glares at you. “I aint doing this for you. I just want ya nearby so I can keep mah eye on ya.”
>Well, this is going to be fun.