Where the sun doesn't shine.

Chapter 2: Where the land doesn't thrive.

The Terran, after his rather unfortunate first visit to the city, was given shelter and food, in condition that he would not cause any chaos and helped around when he was called for; in the weeks that passed he worked hard and started building the trust of the ponies in the city, which accepted him as one of their own, even though they had no idea what he was.

He laid in his bed, looking at the ceiling while thinking about the blinding light that brought him there. He stood up and shook his head deciding not to think about such event, it would only create more questions without possible answer and give him another headache. Preparing a cup of tea, he started remembering what he did immediately before being knocked out with a chair back then in the city hall; the documents he saw didn’t contain anything helpful for him, but that wasn’t what concerned him. Inside those documents were taxation and economical systems utterly obsolete in his world, such was the degree of obsoleteness that he could create a new one with the knowledge learned back in Terra. After drinking his tea he walked to his wardrobe and took out his long coat, hat, scarf and sunglasses and decided to head for the city hall.

Upon entering, the sight was the same as the last time, except this time there actually were ponies inside. The Terran walked up to the receptionist’s desk and asked to see Atticus, to which the receptionist answered that since it’s him that was requesting to see him, he was allowed to do so immediately. Any other pony and it would have to wait days at most. The receptionist pointed at the staircase and told him that the room at the centre was the governor’s room, to which the Terran thanked the unicorn with glasses. He walked upstairs and knocked on the governor’s door, after a few seconds the governor’s assistant opened it.

“Terran? What are you doing here?” Asked Atticus.

“There is something I need to discuss with you. Privately, if possible.”

Atticus told his assistant to leave while the Terran sat down on the chair in front of the desk. After he left, the Terran started talking about how this city could be improved if certain ways were followed. Atticus, sceptical at first, failed to understand how it could be made better, but the Terran kept on talking, slowly changing the governor’s mind.

“These laws you have are from medieval times in my world, they weren’t efficient enough and were replaced with better ones. Laws were replaced and replaced and the economy of my world kept on increasing to levels which were unimaginable back then. I understand your concern, you have a whole city under you care, after all. I don’t ask you to try it all at once, maybe just testing these ways in a small part of the city and see if it goes as planned.”

“Your ways show promise…I’ll try these methods in a small scale as you said, we’ll see if they succeed. Also, since you’re the only one with this knowledge, you should be the supervisor of this project.”

“I will. I thank you for your time.” The Terran stood up and gave the governor a handshake before leaving.

Years passed as the project was succeeding far more than previously excepted. The Terran would always supervise it to avoid any mistake, this being the project that would change the city completely. The result wasn’t impressive by Terran standards, it was actually below average; but that result, compared to the current medieval ways, really stood out.

Atticus was impressed, to say the least. He expected this project to be stalled before even starting, but it grew to something he just wasn’t ready for. He was convinced at last and decided to implement these laws in the entire city, much to the Terran’s happiness.

After more years, the city bloomed more than ever before, to the point that it was double the size it was back then when the Terran didn’t even arrive to this world. He was sitting in his home at midnight, drinking tea while reading what would be the city’s newspaper when a strange voice started talking in his head.

"You're doing good, partner..."

The Terran almost spilled his tea due to the surprise and looked around, to find that no one was there.

"Oh please, stop looking around like a fool...You won't find me like that..."

"Who are you?"

"That doesn't matter right now, you have improved the life of many ponies, even though you are not even a pony yourself...I come...To reward you..."

"...With?" He said while raising an eyebrow.

"Let us think...How can you continue to improve lives...forever?"

"I don’t know…A recorder?"

"No, keep thinking. The key word here is ‘Forever’"

"...Immortality..."

"Exactly, and I'm the one who can give it to you, and you don't have to give me anything at all."

"Immortality to keep helping these ponies forever, without giving you anything...Seems legit."

"I understand your scepticism. I am unable to lie, so I'll give you the specifics...With the gift I can grant you, you won’t suffer from sickness, your wounds will heal, any limb or part of your body ripped off will regenerate, you won’t suffer from insanity, and you won't ever age..."

"Prove that what you said is true."

"I know you are not from this world, and your world is able to witness what happens here."

"How the…Okay, now I’m listening…"

"Princess Celestia banished Princess Luna to the moon for a thousand years...And we both know a pony can't even survive for a hundred."

"How can I achieve this ‘Immortality’?" The Terran’s eyes started turning grey as he talked.

"Remember the location where you first appeared? There is a forest nearby, I'll give you more instructions when you arrive."

By the end of the conversation, the Terran's eyes were only white and grey. He took his long coat and his rifle, packed up food and water, and decided to head for the location his voice spoke of.

After an hour of walking through the sea of grass, he had arrived to where he woke up after the lightning hit him. He looked around the horizon and saw the forest the voice was talking about, not wasting another second he started walking towards it. After a while, he reached the forest’s border.

"I knew you would come! I'm so proud of your decision! Now, in several stories, in the middle of the forest there is something large with liquid in it that looks like it belongs inside a city...know what it is?"

"A well?"

“…Something less dug in, perhaps?”

“A fountain.”

"Ding ding! We have a winner! Now, it’s a marble fountain with purple water--"

"Hold up, purple water? Aren't you forcing this too much?"

"I follow the rules, I don't make them...Now, as I was saying before I was brutally interrupted...It is found in the centre of this forest. There is a big spider guarding it though, so I'd be careful."

"Spiders...why did it have to be spiders..."

The Terran took a deep breath and ventured inside the forest. The voice kept trying to start a conversation but he shut him up every time due to irritation. The top of the trees blocked the moonlight, making it harder to see than it should be; the utter silence was enough to drive someone insane, even though the voice was driving the Terran insane already. After a long walking, they reached what appeared to be the centre.

"Uhhh...Voice?"

"Yes, lord 'shut up'?"

"You said there would be a fountain in the centre..."

"And a spider guarding it. Look above you."

The Terran slowly looked above him as commanded, to find that a spider twice his size was looking at him and preparing its web.

"I forgot to mention, this is that kind of spider which is always on top of trees."

"...Thanks for being so early."

"I'd run right now, were I you."

With a swift movement, the Terran took his rifle, aimed and shot. The spider dropped dead.

"Terran...I wasn't expecting that..."

On top of the spider fell a marble fountain twice as big, utterly smashing the spider's corpse. Soon afterwards, a purple liquid started flowing from it.

"Voice...I wasn't expecting that..."

"That's it. Drink it and you'll be immortal."

"...That's it? You want me to drink a strange purple liquid coming from a marble fountain which fell from the sky on top of a dead spider twice my size?"

"Yes."

"ALRIGHTY THEN!”

The Terran walked closer and took a sip of the liquid. Nothing happened.

"So...that's it then?"

"Well, DUH! It gives you immortality, not a third arm or anything...Go ahead, test it."

Following the voice’s idea, he took out his knife and decided to make a simply cut in his hand. It healed almost instantly, but the pain remained.

Confused, he decided to head back to Stallinox; the voice stopped talking in his head from that moment on. After a long and tiring walk, he finally arrived to where he belonged, the city which accepted him after knocking him out with a chair to the face.

Another 2 years passed. The Terran was lazily sleeping when suddenly somepony knocked on the door. “Go away…I’m sleeping…” he grunted, but the knocks didn’t stop. Irritated, he stood up with his eyes almost glued shut and walked to the door, almost falling back asleep in the trip. After opening it, he saw a pony holding a letter and handed it to him; he bowed his head and walked back from where he came from. He closed the door and walked back to his bed while opening the letter, to which he decided to read while sitting on his bed.

“Your presence is requested at the town hall immediately. The governor wishes to speak with you about an extremely important matter. Do come as soon as possible.”

The Terran sighed. He left the letter on the bed and walked to his bathroom to wash his face and wake himself up. He looked at the mirror and realized he still had the grey eyes from back then when the voice contacted him, but didn’t worry about it. He put on his usual outfit and left home.

Once he arrived at the city hall, the receptionist told him that the governor was waiting upstairs. He passed through the several doors until he reached the governor’s office, which he knocked and was granted permission to enter.

“What do you need me for, governor?”

“I’ve been thinking this for a while, Terran, and reached a conclusion. My retirement age closes in, and there have been numerous candidates for governor. None have as much skills as you do, so it is only logical how my decision came to be. Terran, congratulations, you can now be governor of this city.”

Silence engulfed the room as both of them stood silently looking at each other.

“What?” Asked the Terran dumbfounded.

“You heard me right, you are the best for this position.”

“I…don’t know what to say…being a governor…”

“Don’t be scared. I’ll be your advisor, since there is no retirement age for that and it’s a voluntary job. I’ll help you in every way I can and do as you order; an ironic turn of events, isn’t it?”

The Terran, honoured to granted such position, stood firmly and determined.

“I thank you for considering me for such a position, I shall try my best.”

“That’s the spirit! Here, you’ll need to sign this page for it to become official.”

The Terran complied and signed the paper after reading it.

“Before I start, though, I’ve got some questions.”

“Ask away, I’ll answer them to the best of my abilities.”

“You said this was an independent city in Cabalderio, are there other independent cities?”

“All the cities and towns in Cabalderio are independent. I don’t know why, maybe there was a civil war that separated them all, or it was always like that to begin with.”

“All? You mean there isn’t some sort of kingdom or unity between them?”

“Not at all, the only thing connecting us is trade; and even then, not everyone is fond of it.”

“I see…thanks for the answers.”

“Any time, new governor.”

Several more years passed and Stallinox, under the Terran’s management, continued blooming like no other city. It became a major force in this region, even able to support its own small military force. The Terran, though, had plans not only for Stallinox, but for all of Cabalderio…