That's The Night The Lights Went Out In Canterlot

"I apologize for the taste, but do not let it go to waste," Zecora finished as she conveyed her instructions to him in rhyme.

Yeah, medicines,he morosely thought. Their tastes were evidently the same, no matter the planet, it seemed.

Reggie sniffed at the vial he held. It smelled okay. There was even a hint of strawberry in the aroma.

"Okay, bottoms up," he said before swigging the test tube up. He quickly swallowed the oily liquid, not wanting to try sampling the taste first. But there was no avoiding it as the last of the substance entered his mouth.

His body's reaction caught him totally by surprise as he spat the final few drops all over himself and perhaps a good portion of the room while his body went through involuntary convulsions at the foul taste.

"Sweet Sally Salmonella!" he screamed when he could breathe again. "What the fucking hell did you make this from? Liquid cow shit? GYAAHHH! This slime puke is worse than the vegetarian burgers they sell at Walmart! Br-r-rwa-ahh!"

"Did you have to spray it all over me?" Twilight asked, sounding as disgusted as Reggie felt.

"I was aiming for Zecora," Reggie growled at her. "At least you've got it all on the outside! It's nothing compared to how bad it is inside! GYAAHHH!" he exclaimed with an involuntary shudder.

"That's why I always step to the side, when I know my potions are going to go for a fly." Zecorra's voice clearly conveyed her humor at the situation.

"I've … begun to notice that," Twilight said, annoyance also clearly creeping into her voice. "But with so much of it on me, did he drink enough to do any good?"

"I also always make the doses a little more, when some of it is sure to end up on the floor," she replied.

"What the fuck happened to the God damned strawberries?" Reggie asked. "When I sniffed it, it smelled like strawberries."

"Well, I was able to mix the brew so as to not smell like poo," Zecora told him. "Unfortunately, there is little I can do for the taste. As a result, there's always some that's going to go to waste."

"You bitches ever hear of a gelcap?" Reggie grumbled. "It's a digestible container to hold foul tasting medicines, so there's no wasting the product."

"If I did that, I'd never be able to expand my lexis," Zecora replied. "It's amazing how inventive ponyfolk are when undergoing gag reflexes."

"That's some seriously fucked up crap, Zecora!" Reggie finally said, aiming a disgusted glare in her direction.

"'Crap'—that's so new," she happily said. "And you didn't even have to choke down another brew."

Reggie merely coughed in response.

"That's odd," Twilight muttered. "Some of the medicine ended up on your amulet. It's glowing again."

"What's that mean? The potion's going to work?" Reggie asked.

"I don't know about that," Twilight answered. "I've run every test I could think of on your amulet, but it doesn't seem to have any magical properties that I can detect. I'd like to take it for further study, if you don't mind."

"Hey, why not think up of the tests you want to run on it, then ask me to borrow it," Reggie asked. "It's the only thing I've got of my home. I'd like to hold onto it as long as I can."

"Of course," Twilight replied, clearly sounding deflated.

Rainbow Dash was cackling in laughter, and from the direction Reggie could make out, it sounded as if she was rolling on the floor.

"Oh, stop it! You're killing me!" she screamed.

"Yeah, it is rather funny in the retelling," Reggie ruefully admitted. "As well as it being a few days ago for the taste to fade from my tongue." That set her into a renewed fit of laughter.

"Any improvement to your sight?" Rainbow asked, finally overcoming her mirth and settling down beside him again.

"Unfortunately, no," Reggie said as he removed his goggles to set them aside opposite of where she was sitting. "Although, lately, I've noticed I'm remembering more of my dreams. It's always been a struggle to recall anything. But—with you sitting here, I can picture you clearly in my memory. Your mane, all the colors in it. Your eyes, they're violet, and almost red—are those dreams real? I seem to recall your irises change size as well as your pupils. Is that something I'm remembering right?"

"Yeah, our eyes do that," Rainbow Dash replied. "I haveta admit, it's kinda weird and creepy how your eyes don't do that."

"That, and my eyes are so small, right?" Reggie asked, chuckling. "You guys wonder how humans can see anything with such small eyes. I've heard the guards outside when they thought I wasn't near the door."

"Why, those—!" she suddenly growled and he felt her tense up, ready to launch. "I'll give them a piece of my mind!"

"Hey! Easy!" Reggie said, quickly grabbing her. "No need to tear into them like that. Mike, Sam, Scully and Ralph—they're all cool, man!"

"But it's not cool to talk behind a pony's back like that!" she raged, still incensed. Reggie held on to her, his right arm holding onto her chest, his left, he began stroking her back, between her wings; the fingers of both hands working through her fur to try calming her down.

"It's okay, Rainbow! Calm down," Reggie whispered to her. "Easy! It's okay. They didn't mean anything bad by it," he continued to tell her, still stroking her.

She did settle down and had begun to relax to the sound of his voice and his touch. He continued to softly speak to her and stroke her. As she calmed down, he began stroking her with his right hand, too.

And without realizing what he was doing before he did it, he had reached up to her face and turned her toward him and kissed her muzzle.

"Gyaahh!" she screamed, exploding out of his grasp. "Why'd you do that!?"

Oh, shit! Reggie thought, suddenly terrified.

"I'm sorry! I—I—I forgot you were a pony!" he exclaimed, recoiling from her in case she was about to attack.

"Uhh—how could you forget something like that?" Rainbow Dash finally said from where she was hovering. "After all, I've been sitting right there with you holding me."

I've gotta face facts, Reggie seriously thought. I'm going native. But how can I explain this to her? To them?

"Reggie?"

"Sorry, Rainbow. I didn't mean it—" he began.

"You didn't mean to kiss me?" she challenged him, the skepticism dripping from her voice.

What I'm doing would land me in jail back on Earth! On the other hand, there aren't any people about….

"Fuck it! Just tell her the truth, damn it!" he hissed at himself.

"REGGIE!?" she screamed.

"Aw, shit!" he whispered. "You heard that, didn't you?" he sheepishly asked aloud.

"Yeah! And that other thing you said, too!" she spat. "I guess you forgot ponies have ears, too?"

"Something like that," he admitted with a laugh.

"What I was trying to say, I didn't mean to make you upset," he said, looking up at her. "But I have to tell you. I did want to kiss you. I've been wanting to for some time."

"Why?" she exclaimed.

"I've—I've—I've been—I'm stuck here!" he finally got out. He was still struggling to find the words, but if he didn't tell her everything that mattered right now, he didn't know if it'd ever be possible to do so in the future. It was now or never!

"I'm in a prison, Rainbow," he told her. "I'm in a prison that's several layers deep! I'm blind! I'm stuck in a room in a castle! I'm stuck on another fucking planet! And even if I went back to Earth, I'm still going to be blind! Also, with the portal likely to send me back to the cave out in the middle of Nowhere, Kansas, being blind there is quite likely a death sentence! Sort of like what it'd likely be for a pegasus to be blind!

"But you've been a lifeline, to me, Rainbow," he said. "You've been my only friend here."

"Uhh—but—what—but whatabout the Princesses? The guards? What about Twilight? And the others?" she asked, confusion very evident in her voice.

"Sure, they've helped me," Reggie agreed. "And I'm very grateful to the Princesses, especially Luna, for all the effort to let me see you guys in the dreamscape. But—you've been more than that.

"Twilight, she's seriously smart, but I get the impression that she's more interested in what information about my world I can provide her than in me.

"Rarity—I really thank her for all the clothes. My people have a dislike about going around nude all the time. But I think she looks at me as a very oddly shaped—well—thing, that she likes to experiment with her fashion sense. Speaking of which, what do you think of what I'm wearing?"

There was an inarticulate snort of suppressed laughter.

"Right, so what is it? Flowers? Paisleys? Some other weird shit?"

Uhh—can we talkboutsomthingelse?" she responded with clearly suppressed amusement.

"Uh-huh," Reggie sighed, nodding. "That what I thought."

"But you, Rainbow," he began. "You've been here for me. You're smart, honest, kind, funny, generous—"

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Waitaminute!" she exclaimed. "You're making me sound like all the Elements rolled up in one!"

"Elements?" Reggie asked, puzzled.

"The Elements of Harmony!" she exclaimed.

"That—sounds like something I've heard before—but I can't recall," he muttered uncertainly.

"Elements of Harmony," Rainbow repeated. "I'm Loyalty. Rarity is Generosity, Pinkie Pie is Laughter, Fluttershy is Kindness, Applejack is Honesty, and Twilight is Magic. You've met us all before."

"Sure," Reggie acknowledged. "Although Applejack and Fluttershy haven't been around all that much, and Pinkie Pie has been around way too much," he said, thinking about it.

"And I can't compare to the others, like that," she protested. "Twilight may be an egghead, but she's the smartest pony I know!"

"Well, don't sell yourself short, Rainbow," Reggie countered. "You're plenty smart. Sharp as a tack and always ready with a quick comeback."

"As for honesty, I'm nowhere near Applejack. I've told plenty of fibs and lies in my day!"

"But you've been honest with me," he responded.

"Well, not—entirely," Rainbow protested.

"How so?"

"Well—for example, when you asked about what you're wearing, I wasn't honest with you," she admitted. "Truth is, you're wearing flowers AND paisleys—AND—what you call—'other weird shit'!"

Reggie barked in laughter.

"And you're funny as all get out!" he said.

"I'm nowhere near as funny as Pinkie Pie," she insisted.

"Believe me, Rainbow. You make me laugh. She doesn't. She fucking terrifies me!" Reggie responded.

"Oh, it can't be that bad," she protested. "Haven't you forgiven her, yet?"

"My eyes have healed," he said, sighing. "But blasting confetti into people's faces, even if they have sight, is damned right irresponsible. Yeah, I've gotten over it. No permanent damage done. But I can't get near her without the urge to make sure my goggles are securely in place."

"And I've not given you any presents," she continued, trying to dissuade his notions about her.

"You've given me your time to visit," Reggie countered. "You've told me about your adventures and you've listened to mine. You've been both kind and generous in ways that neither Rarity or Fluttershy have been.

"In short, you've been everything and given me every reason to fall in love with you," he said.

There was the sound of a thump where she had been hovering.

"Rainbow?" he called out, concerned that she may have fainted. He slid down from the bed and reached out, crawling in her direction.

"Yeah, I'm here," she responded with a flat voice. He found her sitting on the floor a few feet out.

"I—Rainbow, I know it must make you uncomfortable to hear me say something like this," Reggie said, pulling back to sit apart from her and give her room. "Hell, it's making me rather uncomfortable to say it, too. In my world, something like this would get me thrown in jail."

"Because ponies in your world aren't ponies, right?" she asked. "Your ponies and horses aren't intelligent?"

"Not as we are here, no," Reggie confirmed, nodding.

"But I've fallen in love with you," he told her. "I know you probably don't feel the same way about me. And I can certainly understand if you never want to feel like that about me. If that's the case, I'd still like for us to be friends—just friends, and nothing special, if that'd be fine with you.

"Kissing you—it was just something—a moment of weakness on my part," he told her. "It won't happen again, if you don't want it."

They sat there in silence for several minutes. Reggie hung his head as he waited her verdict.

He felt something softly touch his arm.

"Reggie?" Rainbow hoarsely whispered. Reggie raised his tear-stained face to look at her.

Suddenly, he was enveloped in a tight hug. Instantly, he returned her grip, wrapping his arms about her shoulders as he buried his face into her neck as he wept.

"Reggie?" she said after they held each other for several minutes. "I—I don't know if I can say I'll ever love you. Not like how you're thinking about me. But it's so very nice of you to feel so. I'm—I'm just—not into such mushy stuff, if you know what I mean? But that kiss was rather nice."

She released him from her hug and he reluctantly did likewise. They sat there, facing each other.

"But for now, let's just be friends," she told him.

Then she kissed him.

Instantly, he reached up with both hand to embrace her face, caressing her as he responded to her kiss with a passion of his own. They held like that for several moments, finally breaking lip contact before leaning their heads against each other.

"Yeah!" Reggie whispered. "Yeah! I'd like that!"

He smiled as tears slid freely down his face, still holding his forehead against hers.

"Wow! That thing's really lighting up!" Rainbow Dash suddenly exclaimed.