writer: tomer3392
proofreader:rhinotaz

-----------Negev desert, Rafael age 15, 2:00 AM----------

It was the Gibson's annual family camping.

Rafael, his friends and family decided that that year they would camp in the desert.

Rafael woke up from his nightmare needing a drink, he got out of his tent to the food container to get a soft drink, and there he found his close friends laying on the ground and gazing at the beautiful night sky.

"What are you doing out here?" Rafael asked as Tommy gave Rafael a hand signal to come sit with them.

"Not much. just looking at the sky" Idan answered with his juvenile happy voice.

"what is so interesting about the…" Rafael didn't finish his sentence as he looked at god's endless canvas, not like back home where the lights of Tel-Aviv didn’t block the stars, what resulted in one of the most beautiful sights one could ever witness.

"Come, sit with us" Tommy said as Rafael sat between them, still mesmerized looking straight at the night sky.

Rafael felt at peace, he felt happy, he and his friends just laid there not uttering a word because none was needed, the sight before the boys said it all.

"Tommy… I think it's the time to tell him" Idan said to Tommy, as they both shared a glance.

"you're right the time has come" said Tommy.

"What time?" asked Rafael confused from the quick shift of atmosphere, starting to think that his friends were moving away or god forbid sick.

"Me and Tommy will move away, in the end of this summer and I and Tommy thought that right now it is the time for us to tell you " Idan said, it took the eleven year old everything to not start crying while Tommy hid his expression by looking at the sky above.

"So this is our last trip together?" Rafael half asked half declared.

But a moment after that Tommy brought out something unexpected it was a knife and said "Let's make a blood pact, that from this day on no matter what happen, we will look out for each other, and until the end of time we will be brothers" Tommy said as he looked at the surprised faces of his friends.

"Ok I agree, let's do this" Rafael said as Idan nodded his head up and down as a sign of agreement.

First Tommy cut the tip of his thumb and showed it to his comrades, and after a couple of seconds the others did the same "Brothers?" Tommy said as he and the others pressed their bleeding thumbs against each other.

"Brothers!" they all screamed together.

-----------Equestria, week 3, day 2-----------

"Aaaarrrrrrhhhhhh!" Rafael screamed at the top of his lungs, as he felt massive pain all over his body, every day it only got worse.

As of now he got to the last stage of the venom, where all the bones in his body would start to decay, his muscles felt heavy and his nerves were all fired up, it was a miracle he was even conscious.

The only thing that helped him go through the day were the pills that were given to him by the hospital, that were supposed to help deal with his pain.

One of the five ponies that were starting to become more than strangers to him came every morning to give him his pills, and help him do things that at the time with his broken body he couldn't.

That day it was Rarity's turn to help Rafael, but unlike the others she had a letter with her, as she entered Rafael's room she could hear his screams of pain.

Rafael settled down, “screaming in agony is bad to the skin” Rarity said with her stuck up voice, "now, where did pinkie leave the pills, I remember one time…"

"S-shut up!!! Just give me the goddamn pills!!!" Rafael screamed, he didn't have the patience to deal with her at that moment the only thing that he could hear was himself scream from agonizing pain "Aaaaaaarrrrrrrrhhhhhhh".

"Rafael I know that right now you are filed with mind numbing pain darling, but you don't need to be that rude" Rarity said as she started to search the piles in his cabinet near his bed "ha, found it!" Rarity shouted as she lifted a comically large pill in her hooves, "Now open up wide".

As Rafael swallowed the bitter pill he started to feel the effect of the pile starting to kick in, Rarity could only look in wonder as the once angry and bitter man, transformed into a blabbering mass of droll and laughter, in short Rafael became high out of his ass.

'oh, I almost forget about the letter' Rarity quickly brought it to Rafael to read but instantly regretted that choice as he would most likely chew the letter to a ball of muss 'Yeah not, my brightest moment, maybe it will be better if I read it to him'

"Dear Rafael, if you read this letter that means that I'm close to the cure or we are running out of time, anyway I put a spell on this letter that will show up if one of those occurrences comes to pass, I must implore you to not lose fate, and start to head to Canterlot where I currently reside"

After Rarity finished reading the letter, she brought out six tickets for the Friendship Express, showing it to Rafael, hoping to get some sort of reaction from him, but unfortunately or fortunately depending on how one saw it, he was too far at that moment to be reached, because if he could have reacted, the letter would have brought him hope, hope that would have broke him completely if that last resort would have failed.

Rarity started gently levitating Rafael to his wheelchair, to collect the rest of the girls, so they all could be able to share the happiness of their friend, or once again they would have to see him broken down, only this time for good.

---------------- Friendship Express station, 9 hours later------------

The girls waited patiently for the train to arrive, almost all of them discussing their plans while Applejack watched from the side lines, how once the proud human that vowed to return to his home one day, became nothing more than an empty shell, and in her heart she blamed herself for that.

As she started to move towards him she heard Pinkie call for her "Applejack! Why are you so quiet and not happy for Rafael, he will get his body back to what it was" she said happily, trying to hide her fear for what the rest of the letter said.

"Ah just can't Pinkie, the one that was suppose to be there is me not him, Ah wasn’t suppose to be the one too…" Applejack didn't have the chance to finish the sentence, as she and rest heard the loud whistle of the train coming from the distance.

"All aboard!!!" the train's conductor yelled as the serenading ponies started to gather in a straight line giving him the train tickets.

As the group entered the train with the rest of the crowd, six shadows came out of the darkness and with a blinding speed fused with the wood of the train, waiting for the right time to strike.

The pills started to wear off and Rafael started to feel clearly again, but unfortunately the pain gradually comes with it and in a couple of hours Rafael would need to take them again.

As he started to look at his surroundings, he started to understand that he was not in the library anymore but inside a train for some reason.

It would have seemed that he was in the business class cart, because of the fancy surroundings, the decorative bunks with the carving of the princesses cutie marks, the golden framed windows and a mirror beside every bunk bed, so the nobles could flatter themselves by telling themselves they are above anypony around them, and please don’t forget the classical music that was heard true out the cabin, and the way ponies acted and looked.

And when he looked at the other passengers hoping to see a familiar face, he saw no one. Only the nobles that stared at him with disgusted looks, not known to him that all his friends at that time were staying in the back with all the other commoners.

Rafael was confused and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't remember because he was too wasted at the time ‘Damn it! Blasted pills, no matter now it's not the time to get angry, I need to find the others and get away from this snobs fast before I blow my brain’s out’ Rafael hands started to shake and he knew that it was the first Sign to the pain to come 'I don't have much time, I need another pill. No I want it!' Rafael screamed in his mind as he started to sweat like a pig.

As Rafael moved with his wheelchair towards the door to the other cabin he started to hear bit and pieces of the discussing of his friends "You sure that Twilight…can't help him?" said a voice that most likely was Fluttershy's.

"Darling, all I know from the letter is…there is a big chance he will never be the same again" After Rafael heard what Rarity said he started to feel sick, and the feelings of dread started to come out of him, he started to push the door with his wheelchair a bit so he could hear their talk more clearly.

"Then we will help him, even if he can't wipe his own ass, we will help him go through this!" Rafael heard the brash voice of Rainbow and her words were like Steven knife riddling him with holes again.

'It can't be I will be strapped to this fucking chair all my life?! Will I be so useless that I need help just to live?! Did I do something to deserve this?!' Rafael mind was riddled with questions and none of them were good, and as time went on, he felt himself falling again to depression and doubts.

"No, I can't let myself think like that, I'm sure Twilight will find a solution, I'm sure of it "He started to roll back to where he waked up, not having the courage to face anyone of his friends, he just looked at the floor not blinking. Hunted by the things to come.

----------Canterlot Castle a day before-------

Twilight looked everywhere, she went to the library reading the old tomes and scrolls in hope of finding a cure but it was only a waste of time, when she started to work on a solution of her own she found that the venom itself was not responding to unicorn magic, and even if at that moment she was an alicorn, her body still didn't adept to her new abilities.

As she felt the time ticking away and her choices limited she had only one more thing for her to try, asking help from the Princess.

At that moment she stood at the throne room with her old mentor hoping that she would help her find a solution.

"Princess I…"

"Twilight, you know that as of your ascension we are equals, you don't need to keep formal with me" Celestia said with her trademark kind and knowing smile to her old student.

"Sorry Celestia. It's still hard for me to see you more than a teacher, not that I only think of you that way" Twilight said, as Celestia laughed a little, showing that it was alright and she understood that it would take time for Twilight to cast aside her old habits.

"So Twilight, I take it you want to ask me of a favor?"

"Oh yes it's very important! You see there is someone very important to me that needs my help and I…"

"Wait, some-one?" Celestia never heard of that term, usually ponies and other beings regard themselves as somepony, griffon and even monkey, but she had never heard of the term someone.

At that moment thoughts of why Luna knew about Rafael's existence and not Celestia came to her mind, she did send two letters for both princesses so Why didn't Celestia know about Rafael?

"Yes. About that, for the past three weeks I befriended an alien from another dimension named Rafael, that found himself stranded on Equis for two years, and now his life is in danger because he was beaten by Timberwolves in the process of saving three school fillies with his bare hands alone" Twilight explained to her mentor as her face only showed confusion "And… he is a nice guy?" Twilight said in a shy voice that would make Fluttershy proud.

At that moment the throne room became quiet as both parties stared in to each other's eyes waiting for a reaction to come from any of them.

"Twilight you know our rules when it comes to stallion's right?" Celestia's voice was filled with sorrow is she still wore her trademark smile, nothing of Twilight's story seemed to faze her and the way she talked now was like she had been told the same story again and again.

"But he’s not even from Equis! You can't let him die!" Twilight shouted at Celestia.

"Hold your tongue Twilight, because I never said anything about letting him die" Celestia raised her voice at Twilight and after Twilight calmed down she continued with her speech.

"Even if he’s not a pony he is still a male, and males are something we are severely lacking right now, I will cure him enough that he can do basic movement and walk again" Celestia tried to find the right words to sugar coat what she wanted to say but she couldn't find any so she told Twilight the truth "but not enough to run and work on his own, he like all the males of this kingdom will stay and raise a family, and even when his time to returns come I will not let it, it is for his own good because if I give him full control over his body he will hurt himself"

"Who are you to alter his life like that, he is my friend and I will never allow this" Twilight again screamed at her old mentor.

At that point Celestia patience grew thin and out from nowhere all the windows in the room shattered, her eyes glowing with unnatural orange and her hair no more was in the colors of the rainbow but a blue flames, and where her hooves touched started to burn and go up in flames.

"I'm the raiser of the sun!!! I for generations watched over Equestria, keeping it safe like it was my own child, and even if I need to destroy the life of one individual, I know that by that I help keeping countless others safe, this is the rule of the Princess to keep Equestria safe at all cost" Celestia used the Canterlot voice with tears in her eyes "Even if I hate myself afterwards" she said in a half whisper.

Twilight couldn't believe what she was hearing, even if the justice was on her side she knew that Celestia was right, she for over a thousand years had to rule alone, she had to carry the weight of millions of fates on her shoulders, and it wasn't or would be the last time she would need to make a heart breaking decision.

"I'm sorry, I'm sure he will understand and see it from your point of view”.

As Twilight started on her walk back to her chambers, a diamond dog entered the throne room.

Celestia had to get out of her depression and go back to her usual self as the representative of the Abyss kingdom entered with great news.

As he bowed before her he took a scroll from his backpack and started to read "Oh great ruler of the sun. It is I, King Aizan, with news regarding the annual peace talks we do every one hundred years, unfortunately I will not take part of it tomorrow for reasons I can't tell but my son will come to visit your beautiful land, he is a little cocky and he has yet lots to learn but I'm sure he will accomplish the job as I would if not better" as the messenger finish reading his king’s words he waited for Celestia's response.

"Very well, tomorrow peace talks will be continued by King Aizan's son" Celestia declared, and the messenger started to head back.

It took Celestia a couple of seconds to notice she didn't take the Prince’s name "for the love of mother!" it wasn't Celestia's day, that was for sure.

------------- Equestria, Canterlot, week 3, day 2----------

Rafael woke up from his slumber when he heard the whistle of the train, he knew that meant that the train would stop soon.

'That's strange, I didn't have a nightmare, why is that?' When he looked at the rest of the cabin he saw that the rest of the passengers still slept peacefully.

He looked out of the window to see a new environment, no more the great plains and forests were before him, but a giant city that was built on the side of a mountain, reaching to the heavens with golden spiraling towers.

Three weeks ago he would have believe that a sight like that only belonged in wondrous fairy tales and legends, but at that moment he knew that what was impossible before now, before his eyes, was actually reality.

"Beautiful, isn’t it?" Rafael would have jumped out of his chair if he could, when he looked back to see who spoke him he saw five kind smiles before him.

"Welcome to Canterlot Rafael!!!" Pinkie with her go lucky voice said to Rafael and the only thing he could do was smile back and look at the top of the city with determination. Straight at the castle that held his very fate.

Author's Note

Please leave a comment if you have something to say about the chapter, and favorite if you like.
The next chapter will come in 3 weeks and from there we will start the next story arc of the story.