The Stranded Pilot

Maverick stepped into the kitchen. After 4 hours of Twilight grilling him about the human race and Earth, he needed a glass of water. They had covered transport, energy and resources, and she had seemed upset about horse drawn carriages, but he had diverted her attention with the next era of transport, and how they used a sticky black liquid deep under the ground to power metal objects that let them move faster than anything in Equestria. He had explained about how it was damaging the environment, and how it was running out. Eventually, it had led to him talking about his plane, and how it was going to be powered by electricity, which could be gathered with sunlight or wind. Twilight had filled several notebooks.

She startled him as she entered the kitchen behind him. "Your race is very advanced to ours."

He nearly spat his water out, but swallowed it and turned around. "You scared me. I don't want to boast, but our race is incredibly advanced. We can alter material on a microscopic layer, we have the ability to make new animals and plants. We can even enter space." he shook his head, turned around and looked down, leaning forwards against the counter. "All our technology. It's making us greedy." he turned to Twilight who was looking at him curiously. "There's something you need to understand about my race Twilight."

She nodded and another notebook appeared in front of her, but he waved it away. "I'd rather you didn't take this down.

"Ok."

"You see Twilight, my race is incredibly violent. We do things that don't happen here. We fight one another, each country fighting another, for trivial things, like oil, that sticky black liquid I told you about. We have wars. Look," he walked past her and into the basement. He crouched and pulled the M9 out from under the wardrobe.

"This is a device that was specifically designed to bring death." he said to Twilight as she stepped off the stairs. "Like I said, we are incredibly violent. We have no capacity for inventing ways to harm life. My job is to fly that plane, but the plane itself is a weapon of destruction. It is used to take life. Whenever I have to kill some people though, it is always justified. I would never, never take another life for no good reason." he hung his head. "I haven't told you this yet, because you wouldn't have trusted me. I needed to show you I'm a good person. I don't do what I do by choice, I HAVE to do it." he put the gun back under the wardrobe.

"I hope you can still trust me Twilight." he started muttering "I don't know why I told you all that."

Twilight looked at him for a few moments, then nodded.

"I trust you. You're not a bad person." she didn't know what else to say.

Maverick spoke again. "Thank you Twilight. Somepony here had to know that about my race, but please, don't tell anyone else."

"Of course." she smiled "You piqued my interest, what did you say about 'space travel'?"

Maverick shook his head. "I couldn't tell you Twilight, I don't know anything about it. I can tell you what we've achieved, but not how. "

Twilight nodded again. "Ok. What are you going to do now?"

"I need to start planning for leaving. I need to design a runway for my plane to take-off." he said.

"A 'runway'?"

"A long strip of flat land that planes move along fast, to gain enough speed to take-off. Do you have some large paper? Or scrolls?"

"Sure, I have a large piece. One moment." she walked out of the basement. Maverick put his flight jacket on, and felt something small in one of the pockets. He grabbed it, and couldn't believe his eyes. His IPod! He had forgotten all about it. He swiped his finger across the screen, and sure enough it lit up with the familiar slide to unlock. This was amazing; he had a load of his favourite music on this. He selected Stereo Hearts and listened as the familiar starting tune came out the tinny speaker.

"My hearts a stereo, it beats for you so listen close…" the sound went slow and then cut out, and he realized it was out of power. He face-palmed, but guessed he would be able to charge it up with the generator he was going to build. Twilight appeared in the doorway.

"What was that song?"

He tossed the IPod onto the bed. "It came from that device. I'll explain later. Could you come with me Twilight? I could use your magic."

Twilight smiled "Sure. I wanted to get a proper look at your plane."

Maverick held out his hand. "Before we do, can I write a letter to the princess?"

"Sure. Spike!" she shouted.

Spike obediently appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Please take Mavericks letter Spike."

Spike pulled a scroll and quill out from behind his back and prepared to write. Maverick started:

"Dear Princess Celestia

I have settled in Ponyville, and the ponies here have been very hospitable. Your student Twilight Sparkle has been helpful and accommodating," Twilight blushed at this "but I need help only you can provide. To repair my plane, I need ponies with special skills, special equipment and materials. If you can provide them, I would be very grateful. I have included," he stopped and looked at Spike. "You can send 2 things at once right?" Spike nodded, so Maverick continued "…included a list of materials, tools and skills I need. If you can provide these things, I would be eternally grateful.

Signed Maverick"

Spike rolled the scroll up and blew out, sending the scroll up in flames.

"That's how we send letters quickly." Twilight explained.

Maverick shook his head. "Shall we go?"

Twilight nodded and levitated a sort of backpack onto her back, and packed it with the large scroll, some quills and 2 different pots of ink. Maverick held the library door open and Twilight walked out, Maverick following. They made their way to the crash site, making small talk.

"What's your life like back in your world?"

Maverick thought about his answer before replying.

"I don't have many hobbies, other than reading or drawing, and I own a small flat in south London. That's sort of like the Canterlot of England. I'm not married, I don't have a girlfriend, and I love to fly. That's why I joined the air force. I could do what I loved and earn money for it. The only downside, I have to do some things I don't want to like, you know…" he trailed off.

Twilight nodded. "It doesn't sound like much, if you don't mind me saying."

"Of course I don't mind. It ISN'T much. The only friends I really have are on the carrier. I'm respected because where I'm from, I'm tough and one of the best fliers there are, but the only real friends I have are the 3 people I usually fly with."

They were silent for the rest of the trip. The guards stepped aside when he approached, but stopped Twilight.

"It's ok, she's with me."

The guards nodded and moved aside for. Maverick continued to the guard's tent. He pushed the flap aside and asked for Captain Barehoof. He stepped out and spoke to Maverick.

"Yes, how can I help?" he asked.

"I need a table. I'm going to make a plan and list of stuff I need."

Barehoof nodded and one of his lieutenants pushed a fold out table forwards. Maverick picked it up and placed it outside, waving over Twilight, who got out the large scroll, a quill and the ink with her magic. Maverick plucked the quill out of the air as Twilight laid the scroll out flat.

"Thanks. Here's what I have to do," he knelt down on his knees to reach the table, dabbing the quill in ink. He drew the clearing and the crash course of the fighter, but none of the other details like the tent or the wreck. He scooped up a handful of dirt and let some of it drop into the other pot of ink, changing the colour. He dabbed the quill in the new colour, and started drawing again, overlapping the original drawing with the new colour.

"I may as well make a runway here, where it's mostly clear already. I just need to make it longer and pave over it with cement." He drew a large rectangle along the crash path on the scroll, slightly wider than the crash path, and a small square on the side of the runway at the clearing end.

"That square can be where I put the plane while I work on it. Well, me and anypony Celestia sends to help me." He drew another square in the clearing, away from the rest of the new drawing. "That can be the headquarters, where we keep the equipment and anything else we need. We can put up tents or something like that to keep the weather away.

A moment later he stood up, and then there was a bright light behind him, and when he turned to look he saw Princess Celestia. Twilight bowed by his side, and he bowed by kneeling down on one knee, doing his best to mimic her.

"Rise Twilight, Maverick. I received your letter, and have come to tell you in person how I can help you. Canterlot has many skilled ponies and unicorns with the skills you're looking for. I can arrange for them to be here soon, possibly within the week. However, the materials you need, like rocks for this 'runway' and some of the tools will take longer to arrive. It should take roughly 2 weeks to gather everything. In the meantime, may I hear what you plan to do?"

Maverick nodded. "Of course Princess. I've drawn a rough diagram here of what I need to do," he pointed at the scroll behind him. "The black ink is clearing as it is now, and the brown ink is what I need to do. I have to make the path where I crashed longer and wider, and possibly flatter. I hate to say this but, I have to cut down some trees." he smiled sheepishly at the princess.

Celestia thought about this. "What about the animals?"

Maverick looked blank, before realising what she meant. "I suppose I could move any that are left, but I'm fairly sure the crash will have scared most of them off."

Twilight spoke up for the first time since the princess had arrived. "Fluttershy could help you with that, and I'm sure Applejack could help you with the trees, being an orchard farmer."

"I'll ask them, and I can do that while I wait for the expertise to arrive." Maverick said.

Princess Celestia nodded "Can I have a word with Maverick in private, Twilight?"

"Of course." Twilight said and walked over to the royal guard tent. Maverick wondered what Celestia wanted. A moment later, she spoke again. "Does anypony know about the violence of your race?" she spoke quietly, making sure no-pony else could hear her.

Maverick nodded seriously. "I told Twilight about it, why we do it, I even showed her my gun, and she seemed to take it all well. I told her this morning, but no-pony else knows."

Celestia nodded. "If my student trusts you, then I shall as well, but I don't think you should tell anypony else." she stopped and looked over him. "I see you have some new clothes." she smiled.

Maverick looked down "Yeah, Rarity made them for me."

Celestia nodded and looked over to the plane. "Can you explain to me how this works? I have been curious ever since Rainbow Dash found you here."

Maverick nodded as he made a mental note to thank Rainbow Dash, whom he hadn't seen since she had left the library the day before yesterday, for finding him. He walked over to the plane to show the princess how it worked, and explained why it crashed. Twilight had made her way back over here by now.

Maverick stopped speaking and looked at the wreck for a second. He turned to Celestia. "How can we lift it?"

She smiled, like she knew something he didn't. "Like this." suddenly the horn on her head glowed with a magical aura. A second later, a twig lifted up into the air.

Maverick realised what she meant. "So we use magic? Could you do it now?"

The princess nodded. "It looks very heavy though. Twilight, could you assist me?"

Twilight nodded. "Ready." she lowered her head.

"Wait wait wait!" Maverick climbed up and into the cockpit, settling himself in and hitting the power button, listening to the familiar whirring noise. He had 2% power left, but it would be enough. He turned to look at the ponies outside, who were looking at him curiously. Captain Barehoof and 2 of his lieutenants had stepped outside of the tent to look at the commotion. Maverick nodded at the 2 magical ponies. They simultaneously closed their eyes and lowered their heads, magical auras appearing around their horns, and a moment later a huge aura appeared around the plane Maverick was sitting in, emanating power.

A second later he felt the plane shudder, and it was lifted 4 feet into the air.

"What now?" the princess asked.

"One second."

He hit the landing gear controls, and both felt and heard the landing gear go down. He shouted in triumph; at least they were still working.

"Push it away from you, and put it down." he shouted.

He felt the whole thing move away from the ponies, the unicorn and alicorn concentrating on the object they were lifting, the Royal Guards with their mouths agape at the sight they were seeing before them. He felt the plane touch down, 4 meters from the trough it had formed when it crashed. It had only dropped a foot because of the landing gear closing the gap.

Maverick pushed himself out of the cockpit with both his arms, his bad one having healed a good deal. He slid down the outside of the jet and landed of his feet precariously. He walked over to the ponies that were watching him.

"Thanks, now it will be easier to fix."

"What did you do?" asked Twilight, looking at the rubber wheels on the end of each of the landing gear.

"It's called 'landing gear'. Little wheels that let the plane roll along the runway and gain speed. They retract to keep the plane streamlined and let it go fast while flying. Now, I need to get Fluttershy so she can help me with the animals, then I guess I'll go ask Applejack about the trees. Is it ok for me to go Princess?" he asked.

She nodded. "Remember what I said."

Maverick nodded while Twilight looked between the two curiously.

"It was nice seeing you again princess. Thank you for your help, and if there's any way I can repay you, just let me know."

The princess smiled "I will. I'll let you go now."

With those words, she disappeared in a bright light, and Maverick looked at Twilight.

"Teleport?" he asked incredulously.

"Teleport." she nodded.

Maverick sighed. "No matter how long I'm here, I'm not going to get used to all this magic." he set off towards the unofficial entrance to the clearing, Twilight having put the ink, diagram and quill back in her backpack.

After 10 minutes, they reached Fluttershy's house, another hollowed out tree. Twilight stepped up and knocked on the door.

"Coming!" said a quiet voice.

10 seconds later the door opened, and revealed the yellow pegasus with a basket in her mouth, behind her, a small white rabbit. She put the basket down.

"Oh, hello Twilight, hello John."

"Oh yeah, I'm calling myself Maverick while I'm here." he said.

"Oh, ok. I was just planning to go a picnic with angel, but if you wanted to ask something, I suppose you c-could come with me."

Maverick smiled "Sure, I'd like to. Twilight?"

"I can't, I have to get back to Spike. See you both later." she turned and walked off.

Maverick looked back at Fluttershy. "Shall we go?"

She smiled. "O-ok." she leant down to pick up the basket with her mouth again, but Maverick picked it up first.

"Please, let me, it's the least I can do." he gestured to his bandaged arm.

"O-oh, I should change that." Fluttershy said.

"Well, if you want to, but after the picnic. I think he's getting impatient." Maverick gestured to the small rabbit behind Fluttershy.

"Ok then. Let's go." Fluttershy picked the rabbit up with her mane and walked out, closing the door behind her. Maverick followed her to a small field on the edge of the forest where he crashed, a 5 minute walk. He set the basket down, and let Fluttershy go through the contents. While she was doing so, he looked around, at the beautiful hills, the open skies and the amazing animals. He could see Ponyville over a hill in the distance.

"It's so beautiful here." he whispered.

Fluttershy looked up and smiled, then laid a blanket flat on the grass.

"What was it you wanted to ask me?" she asked quietly, placing some paper plates on the blanket.

"Well, I need to cut some trees down were my plane crashed," he replied straight to the point as usual "I don't want to, but I have to, so my plane can take off again. I thought it would be ok, as most of the animals anywhere near there would have been scared off by the crash and moved somewhere else, but I wanted to ask if you could come and move help with any animals still there. Twilight said you're good with animals."

Fluttershy nodded, giving her rabbit a carrot and getting herself a sandwich. "I suppose I could try, but the animals would have to have somewhere else to live. It would be terrible if we made them homeless.

Maverick nodded and thought it over. "Can you think of anything?"

Fluttershy rubbed her chin with a hoof. "We could make them some homes."

Maverick smiled and nodded. "Sure, I'll help make them."

"Ok. Would you like a daisy sandwich?"

"Uh, no thanks, I'm good." Maverick laid back on the grass, put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes, enjoying the sunshine.

"You don't usually get sunshine like this where I'm from."

Fluttershy looked up. "Y-yes, the weather teams made today very, nice."

Maverick was enjoying himself, but heard a buzzing noise near his face. Thinking it was a fly or some sort of annoying bug, he tried to slap it away, but as he was about to put his behind his head again, he felt a stinging sensation in the palm of his hand. He opened his eyes, and saw a bee had stung him, and was still there.

"Aw crap, that's not good." He said, sitting up and swiping it away with his other hand.

"What? It's only a bee sting, isn't it?" asked Fluttershy, getting worried.

"Yeah," he held up his hand, which had gone red and was swelling up. "but I'm allergic to bees.