The next three days pass by slowly, which is the only reason why I bothered to count them. I spend all three days bedridden. The only good thing about being in the hospital for this long is the frequent visits from my friends. There's a huge difference between being alone at home and being alone in a hospital.

There's a knock on the door. I look at it just as it opens. Twilight walks in. My eyes narrow into a glare. Twilight nearly recoils at the sight of me in my bandages. It's that, or the fact that I'm still pissed at her and letting her know it without any words. Despite this, she walks to my side. The steady clopping of her hooves is loud enough to drown out the steady beeps of the EKG machine. Twilight stops walking at the side of my bed and sits down. She doesn't say anything for a brief time. "I'm sorry." She finally says.

I turn my head away from her and look at the foot of the bed. "Sorry about what?" I ask. My voice is far more bitter than I initially intended. Now that I think about it, it's the perfect amount of bitterness. "Sorry about that gryphon bitch handing my ass to me on a platter or sorry that you forced me into physical therapy?"

Twilight doesn't reply at first. "Mostly the latter. I shouldn't have done that."

I turn to her. "Well, I don't fucking care." I calmly reply. "I could give you an entire filibuster on how much I hate being manhandled like that. I'll save my breath. You're smart enough to figure it out now. I don't know why you weren't smart enough back then."

"That was in the past, Mark! Can't you forgive me?" Twilight pleads. She even puts her front hooves together. It gives off the impression that I'm a deity.

I exhale. "Twilight, you're forgetting that I'm not a pony. I'm not from here. I'm from a different planet. Shit, I might even be from a different galaxy or universe. Our minds are completely different." I sit up. A sharp pain digs into my back. I ignore it. "If you don't believe that we're different, let me tell you something about my world. Fourteen years before I was sent here, there was an act of terrorism that nearly killed 3,000 people." She gasps. I'm not surprised about that reaction. "The response was a war that was still going on when I was sent to Equestria. Humans aren't always forgiving. I'm a human and I'm just like that. I don't forgive you."

"Isn't there anything I can do to get you to forgive me?" She asks. She has tears in her eyes.

I turn away and sigh. "No." I reply. "You just need to wait. That's all you can do."

She chokes back a sob. "Th-Then I'll wait." She stands back up. "Goodbye, Mark. I'll see you later." Twilight says. She walks out and doesn't give me a chance to also say goodbye. It's not like I would even take that chance.

Knocking on the door breaks me from my sleep. I grumble and look outside. It's morning. I don't even remember falling asleep. I turn to the door just as it opens. A smiling Rainbow Dash suddenly appears at the foot of the bed. I still don't know how she moves so fast. "Glad to see you can lift your head up." She says.

"Me too." I yawn and stretch my arm. My shoulder pops. It hurts a lot. It's not exactly 'Gilda stabbing me in the chest with her face' pain, but it still hurts. The sound is loud enough to get Rainbow Dash to wince. "Is something happening?"

She chuckles. "I guess that's what happens when you're in the hospital so much..." Rainbow chuckles nervously. I raise an eyebrow. "I've got a race coming up. Applejack, too."

"Same race?" I ask.

Rainbow nods. "Yep. You should come with us to watch. I convinced Fluttershy to join us, too."

I smile. I feel like I haven't seen Fluttershy in a long time. I don't expect Rainbow to be able to convince Princess Luna to join us. I really need to talk to her again. "I'll join. I hope I'm out of here by then." I gesture to all the machines. It's strange how there's modern hospital equipment in a land that uses candles for lighting. My high school English teachers would have a heart attack at this anachronism.

"Good." Rainbow says. "I'm making sure you keep your word." She says, pointing a hoof at me as she slowly backs out of the room. "See you later."

With some luck, I'm taken out of the hospital the next day. Rainbow's race is two days after. With even more luck, I can actually walk for all those days. With a bit less luck, I need to use a cane to help me.

There's a knock on the door. I open it, revealing Rainbow Dash to my house. "Hey, Rainbow. I'm ready to go." I say to her. Something comes to my mind. "Where is it and how are we going to get there?"

"It's in Prance. We're taking a zeppelin."

Oh shit. We're flying there? In a zeppelin? I take a big gulp of air like I'm in some sort of cartoon. "I-Is taking a zeppelin really necessary?"

"Yeah." Rainbow Dash replies. She looks slightly agitated. "Prance is overseas. That means it's across the ocean." She says with emphasis on the last word. "We can't take a train across water, so we have to fly in a zeppelin."

I rub the back of my neck. "Why can't you fly there by yourself? With your own wings?" I ask.

She lets out a deep sigh of frustration. "It's an ocean, Mark. A big one. I fly for speed, not for distance." She points out. It's a good one, I'll admit. "Besides, you're coming with us. You are coming, right?"

"Yeah, I'm coming." I reply. I sigh. I guess I have to bring this up. "What if... What if the zeppelin explodes?"

Rainbow looks at me with a disgusted and shocked expression on her face. "What the fuck is wrong with you, Mark? You need a therapist."

I should have seen that coming. "There was a zeppelin that exploded back on Earth and killed a bunch of people. It's the reason why we don't have any zeppelins there anymore."

She mutters something under her breath that I can't catch. I notice that it's a single syllable. She probably said either 'damn' or 'shit.' "...Do you even know why that happened?" Rainbow asks after a short time of recovering from the shock.

I shake my head. "No. I think it's because of the gas used in it. It was probably flammable." I reply with a shrug. "Nobody really knew."

"...Damn." She replies. It's all she needs to say about that. "So... Are you going to come with us?"

I nod. "Hell yeah, I am." The fear of bursting into flames and dying a horrible death isn't enough to keep me away from her. Besides, if she's going, I'm going.

I look at Fluttershy and our extra companion. I lean in towards Rainbow Dash. "Couldn't you have told me about her before the last second?"

"I thought you'd be okay with her."

"I'm okay with Fluttershy." I say. "I thought you knew about the argument I had with her." I gesture to the fourth party.

Rainbow nods. "I did. I thought this could be a way you two could make up." She says.

I narrow my eyes at the alicorn. "I think it'll just make things worse." I say so Twilight can hear. I look at Fluttershy and soften my gaze. "Sorry about that, Fluttershy." Fluttershy only looks away.

Rainbow Dash clears her throat. "Okay... Let's get onboard."

I don't bother keeping track of how long the flight lasts. I spend all of it either throwing up or freaking out. I've never been a fan of flying. The thought of being kept in the air inside something that could easily break, pop, or catch into flames isn't appealing. Besides, I've seen Final Destination.

There's a soft knocking on the bathroom door. "We're there, Mark." Rainbow's voice says. "Can you come out?"

I wipe my mouth. "Yep." I say. I feel more bile coming up. "In a minute." I say right before throwing up. I close my eyes just as I do. As the vomit comes out, I feel my throat burning. There's yet another reason why I don't like flying. I've never done it before now, but it's now another reason why I don't like it.

I wipe my mouth again and walk out of the bathroom. "Are you okay?" Rainbow asks. "You look like shit."

"There's that confidence boost I was looking for, Rainbow." I say with a laugh. Bile threatens to come up again. "Are you sure this thing landed?"

"Yeah, it landed." She replies. The two of us walk off. I don't know where Fluttershy and the alicorn went. I'm too distracted to ask where they are. My stomach growls just as we walk past a few restaurants. Rainbow looks at them and smiles. She looks back at me. "We're going in one."

I sigh. "Do we really have to do this?" I ask.

Rainbow snorts through her nose in a sort of laugh. "Well, yeah. We have to. Prance has a lot of fancy restaurants."

"You sound like Rarity."

"Do you have any reason why we shouldn't go?" Rainbow asks.

I shrug. "Fancy usually means expensive." I point out.

She scoffs and shakes her head. "Okay, let me rephrase that. Do you have any good reason?"

I rub my chin. Admittedly, I do want to do something romantic with her here. An impromptu date works for me. Plus, I just need some food. "Touche, Rainbow. You convinced me. Alright, let's go. You're choosing the restaurant."

"That was surprisingly easy." Rainbow notices. The two of us walk to a restaurant that looks fancy enough. I don't even bother looking at the name of it. It would most likely be in Prench. I'm from British Columbia, not Quebec. That's the French speaking part of the country. It's on the Atlantic side of Canada.

We're brought to a table fairly quickly. Both of us are handed menus. I look at mine and read over it. "Poisonous to humans... Too hard to pronounce... I don't know what that is... Poisonous... That makes me sick... Meat?" I stop for reading out loud for a second. Why do they serve meat in a country with a lot of creatures that can't biologically eat meat? I guess it's for gryphons. I look back at the menu. "Poisonous... Tastes like shit..."

I hear a giggle. I look up to see that Rainbow is the culprit. "You know what shit tastes like?" She asks.

I hold up my hands in a defensive position. "It's an expression." I reply. She gives me a soft glare. I pick the menu back up. "Poisonous... Probably not even edible for ponies..." I look back up at Rainbow. Although she's still glaring at me, there's a smile on her face. "I think I'll just take bread and water."

Rainbow snorts in response. That gets a few disgusted looks from nearby patrons. One of them looks at me and nearly has a heart attack. I give her a quick wave. She seems to calm down. "Alright. I'm not going to stop you." Rainbow says, bringing my attention back to her.

Our conversation, and therefore the date, quickly went downhill after that. We were politely asked to leave after a few more disruptions. At least nopony threw up. I feel like it's biologically impossible for them to. I'm not a fan of seeing vomit, but that would have been a perfect time for it.

Anyway, the two of us walk back to the race track. "That was fun, though." Rainbow says.

"I'll admit that it was." I say. "That was your fault."

"Hey, you told that old mare you were a zit." She points out.

"She called me a pig." I retort. "It was self defense."

"Whatever." Rainbow rolls her eyes. "Hey, I'll see you later. I've got to get ready for the race. You need to get your racing card so you know the names and faces of the ponies I beat."

"Alright. I'll try to talk to you after I sign up." I give her a wave as she flies off. I return to Twilight and Fluttershy, who are near a few booths for sign up.

There's four different booths, one for each race of species, excluding alicorns, and one labeled 'Other.' "Oh. I-I guess this means we'll be separated..." Fluttershy says softly.

I kneel down so I'm at her level. She nearly jumps at the sight. "We'll be back together soon, Fluttershy." I rub her head.

Fluttershy gives me a soft smile. "I'll see you at our seats." She says. I give her a wave as she heads off to the pegasus line.

I look at the 'Other' line. The line is hardly existent. The only creature in it is a... Honestly, I don't know what it is. It's almost a gryphon. Its from half is an eagle and its rear half is a pony. "Hippogriff." Twilight tells me.

"Oh. Thanks." I tell her. The two of us get in line behind the hippogriff. It - No, she - is handed a small card. She gives the two of us a nod of acknowledgment as she walks away.

The two of us step up to the small table. "Sorry for the wait." The attendant says. She smiles at her own joke. "Here you go, sir and miss." She says and hands me and Twilight a paper. I look over it. It’s got the names, species, odds, and a picture of the racers. It looks like it took a long time to make.

.......... Name.............................. Species.....Odds

1.......... Equestrian Pharoah....... Earth.......... 5/2
2.......... Applejack....................... Earth.......... 3/1
3.......... Wild Fire........................ Pegasus...... 3/1
4.......... Colt O’ War................... Earth.......... 4/1
5.......... Rolling Thunder............ Pegasus....... 4/1
6.......... Stormstrider.................. Pegasus.... 5/1
7.......... Rainbow Dash.............. Pegasus.... 5/1
8.......... Sky Scraper................... Pegasus.... 7/1
9.......... Light Speed................... Unicorn.... 7/1
10........ Danger Zone................. Pegasus.... 8/1
11........ Dust Devil...................... Earth......... 9/1
12........Event Horizon.................Unicorn.... 9/1
13........ Reflex............................. Pegasus.... 9/1
14........ Burzum.......................... Pegasus.... 14/1
15........ Twinkle Toes................... Unicorn.... 15/1
16........ Viridian........................... Unicorn.... 24/1
17........ Watermelon.................... Earth........ 34/1

"There are only 17 racers this year?" Twilight asks to whoever's listening. "It's usually 19 or 20 ponies in the race." She looks at me. "Who do you think is going to win?"

I fight back a sigh. "Why do you care what I think?" I snap at her. "You didn't before."

"I'm just trying to be nice, Mark." She replies softly.

I look around. A few ponies are glaring at me. Dammit. I know exactly why they do. "Sorry, Twilight." I say to her. She perks up. "Anyway..." I look at the racing sheet again. "It looks like the pegasi and unicorns have pretty bad odds of winning. If I had to go by odds, I'd say Equestrian Pharoah or Wildfire If I had to go by name, Colt O' War or Rolling Thunder. But, since I'm dating a certain pegasus, I'm betting my money on Rainbow Dash."

She gives me an odd expression. I see a mix of confusion and happiness. The latter is definitely from my apology. "You're betting money on this?" She asks.

I nod. "Yeah. Why not? I've got enough bits to spare and to survive a year. If I'm right about this, I'll get even more money."

Twilight gives me a curious expression. "I'm not going to stop you. I don't recommend it, though. I've heard of ponies losing all their money to things like this." She says. I open my mouth, but she speaks again before I get a chance. "I've also heard of ponies winning a lot of bits and going to prison after trying to get more from illegal activities."

I blink. Damn. "I can't say I have. Don't worry about me, Twi." I say. She smiles at my use of a nickname. "I'm not going to bet a lot of money." Twilight nods. "So, who do you think is going to win?"

"I'd like to see Rainbow Dash or Applejack to win, of course." She replies. She looks at the racing card again. "If not them, then maybe Rolling Thunder."

I look at the racing card. Her odds are pretty good. Better than Rainbow Dash's. That's a bit of a concern for me. "Yeah, she looks tough."

"She's built like a tank." She says. I hear an adoring sigh coming from her. Twilight totally wants to fuck Rolling Thunder. "She's also a war hero."

"That's impressive." I reply. I wonder if I'll get the chance to talk to her later? I know a few things about war. I could probably help her out with any PTSD she might have. I'm not a psychologist, but I've helped out a few people that have had it. My brother included.

A few minutes later, I find Rainbow Dash. She's preparing for the race. "You'd better win, Rainbow." I say to her. I lean on a nearby fence. "I've got a hundred bits on you."

She stops practicing and turns to me. "You're betting money on this?" She asks. "And on me?"

I nod. "Yeah. Why not?" I reply. This is just how the conversation with Twilight went. "It's something I've wanted to do on Earth. Besides, we're dating. It's sort of an obligation to bet on you." I give her a wink. She leans on the same fence I'm on. She blushes at my wink. "But, yeah. I'm pretty sure you'll win."

Rainbow Dash gives me a toothy grin. "Thanks, Mark." She stands on her rear legs and gives me a kiss on the cheek. I return it to her. "A hundred bits is a lot. I'll make sure you get the money back."

I look into her eyes with a serious look on my face. "Focus on the win, Rainbow." I tell her. "Don't win this for me. This is for you." She nods once. "I've going to give Applejack a pep talk too."

Rainbow gives me a playful punch on the shoulder. Actually, I'm not sure if it was entirely playful. It'll probably give me a bruise. "Are you cheating on me or something?" The smile on her face tells me it's a joke. "Yeah, sure. Go ahead."

"You had me for a second there, Loyalty." I say to her. "Kick some ass, Rainbow Dash." That near rhyme was unintentional. The syllable count is also unintentional. I could write a song.

"There aren't any donkeys in the race, Mark."

"You know what I mean."

"I'll see you after I win." She says confidently. Rainbow jumps off the fence and returns to her stretching.

"Hey, Applejack." I say as she's in my view. She turns to me and gives me her trademark smile. She doesn't stop stretching.

"Heya, Mark. Ah don't have much time tah talk." She stretches out her legs. "What's up?"

"Just checking in on you. Giving you a pep talk." I reply. I watch as she keeps stretching. She's surprisingly flexible, especially with her rear legs. It's probably from all the apple bucking. "I gave Rainbow a pep talk before I got to you."

She rolls her eyes. I think I hear her scoff. "Of course ya did..." She mutters. Do I detect jealousy? If so, it's not the first time another girl's been jealous of my current girlfriend. It never ends up pretty. A shiver runs down my spine. I hope Applejack isn't like those girls. "Thanks fer checkin' up on me, anyway." She says. She doesn't stop stretching.

I don't exactly like the way she said that. "Do you not want to talk to me or something?" I ask her.

She stops stretching and looks up at me with a worried expression. "What? No, of course not. Why?"

"It's just the way you said that. You sounded a bit jealous."

Applejack chuckles in response. "Oh, no. Ah'm not." She replies and goes back to stretching. "Ah think Ah see why yah'd think that. Ah'm just focused, that's all. Ah'm determined to win this." She says with a cocky smile.

I give her one of my own smiles. "A lot of ponies want to win just as much as you do, Applejack."

"Don't Ah have the best odds?" She asks, still with that smile on her face.

"Uh... No. Equestrian Pharoah's got you beat." I reply.

"What?" She asks. Her smile drops. I show the racing card to her. Her eyes narrow. "Well... Least Ah'm in second..."

"Yeah, you are." I say. Her smile returns. "Tied with Wild Fire." Applejack puffs out her cheeks. The sight makes me chuckle. It's actually a pretty cute face she makes.

Before she gets the chance to respond, there's a buzzing noise coming from somewhere.

"That's the five minute warnin'. Already." She gives me a grin. "Yer pretty distractin', Mark. In a good way, Ah mean." She says before trotting off to the starting line. I'm not convinced that she's not jealous of Rainbow Dash. I don't know why. There's, what, six mares for every stallion? I could handle another mare in my arms.

Author's Note

That list of racers was an absolute bitch to make. Using the tab key didn't work for it.

I'd also like to take a second to point out that the name 'Equestrian Pharoah' is purposely misspelled. It's a reference to the racehorse American Pharoah, which is misspelled. I think the typo for American Pharoah came from a mistake during the application for the 2015 Kentucky Derby. Watermelon, however, is an original name. I just thought it would be a good name for a pony.