The Explorer and The Princesses

Chapters

Chapter 1 - Worlds Collide
Chapter 2 - A Pleasant Dinner
Chapter 3 - Picking up the Pieces
Chapter 4 - Princesses Don't Knock
Chapter 5 - No Need for Alarm Clocks

Chapter 1 - Worlds Collide

“Jack, We’ve arrived at our destination.” A feminine voice said through the intercom.

In his bed the man groaned and rolled over facing the black bulkhead next to him.

“Jack, you told me to get you up no matter what.” She said again. A few moments later the bed raised up and stowed itself away, causing the man to fall out onto the floor.

“Ouch! Shit ok I’m up Vicky I’m up…. Give me a few minutes to get dressed. And didn’t I tell you to call me ‘captain’ as well?!” The man said, laying on the floor and rubbing his head.

There was no response from the intercom and Jack sat up slowly. He had dark brown hair that was cut short, along with dark blue eyes. He had a few days’ growth of stubble on his face and was wearing nothing besides a pair of black boxers with white stars on them. Sighing he stood up and placed his hands on his lower back, stretching backwards.

Heading to the small bathroom in his cabin he took a quick shower and brushed his teeth. He had rather pronounced canines, much larger than most but nothing too ridiculous. Some people said it was because he was a dog. Mostly women who were a bit upset with him. He headed back into his room rubbing his head with a towel.

“Taking your time I see.” The intercom spoke again.

“Well I thought I could use a shower and I thought you could use a show so it’s a win-win for both of us.” Jack said, tossing his towel into a nearby hamper. He quickly got dressed in another pair of boxers, then a pair of black pants and a red shirt. The clothing was form fitting, almost like spandex. He then pushed a few buttons on a keypad next to him and the wall slid away revealing a segmented set of armor. He gathered the pieces and began dressing himself. He put his feet into the metal boots that locked closed automatically as his feet were secure. He then sat down into the metal leg plates that wrapped around the front of his thighs. Standing up the rest of the armor closed up between his legs and locked itself into place with the boots. He walked backwards into the alcove and pressed his back into the chest piece of the armor which surrounded his front and locked into place. Afterwards he fit his hands into the open gloves that closed and locked into place like the boots. After the gloves were in place the rest of the armor adjusted and locked into place. Blue lights ran from the boots up to the neck of the suit and down the arms, and a chime sounded as it checked that it was sealed.

This suit was mostly black with a few white and blue highlights around the flexible parts. He grabbed the helmet that went along with it, a black one-piece helmet that had a blacked out visor where his eyes would be. The rest of the front was angled so as to deflect high speed projectiles. He didn’t put his helmet on however, and he just carried it to the door of his room. Pressing a switch on the wall, the door slid open and he made his way down the hallway.

Upon reaching the cockpit, the pilot’s chair was turned around to face him. Sitting down and spinning to face the front he reviewed the glowing orange HUDs that fed him information on his ship and the current star system he was in.

“It’s about time…” The intercom spoke again.

“Well I just wanted to make myself pretty for you baby.” Jack answered.

“Don’t call me baby.”

“Alright Vicky, alright. Status report.” Jack said, his fingers moving along the screen to his right, reading about the supplies he had left. He would have to head back in a few days. He’d been out in actual deep space for over a year. A year of warping from one star to the next. Now he was closer than any human had been to the galactic center. These charts were going to make him a fortune. Of course he’d also have to spend about that much time getting back, but that wasn’t a problem for him, he had Vicky to keep him company after all. Another few moments of silence and he rolled his eyes and looked at the screen to his left, checking to see what the scanners picked up.

“Vicky, can I PLEASE have the status report?” Jack asked, looking up at the roof of the cabin.

“All systems nominal. Fuel at 35%. Recommend refueling at the local star before continuing on. Warp Drive ready to engage. Scanners fully operational. Weapon systems stowed.” Vicky answered Jack after he said the ‘magic words’.

“And how are you today Princess?” Jack asked, gripping the flight stick and putting his left hand on the throttle controls.

“Computer systems are functioning at peak efficiency and memory files have been defragmented. I am fine, thank you for asking.”

“Good, can’t have my number one feeling under the weather.” Jack said, laying in a course for the star at the center of this system. He noted that there were 5 other planets and a few asteroid belts here, nothing out of the ordinary. As for what the long range scanners picked up, nothing here was suitable for life of any kind. Another dead star system.

“I never feel under the weather Jack.” Vicky answered. Jack detected a hint of sass in her voice but just smiled anyway.

“Well how about some music then?” Jack asked, turning his head to the right and sorted through some files. He then selected a song (listen to the music by the doobie brothers)

A few minutes of faster than light travel and scanning each of the planets and Jack had brought his ship back in orbit of the star. He flicked the switch on the console that opened the fuel scoop and let go of the controls. All that was left was to wait and enjoy the music.

“One day you’ll dance with me Vicky. I’m sure of it.” Jack said, turning to the right in his chair, then leaning back and putting his feet up on the console.

“I highly doubt that. Seeing as once we’re done I’ll never be dealing with you again.”

“Oh baby, you wound me.” Jack said, placing his left hand on his chest and faking a deep injury. “After all we’ve been through, you’re just going to leave me?”

“I suppose not… you’d be lost without me…” Vicky said after a few moments. “And don’t call me baby!”

“Yes ma’am!” Jack said raising his right hand in a salute while he was reclined. A few minutes later a chime sounded.

“Fuel stores at 100%, retracting fuel scoop.” Vicky said over the intercoms.

“Alright well I guess it’s on to the next one.” Jack said, removing his feet from the console and spinning back around to face front. He opened up a tab of the star system and then expanded it to the current galactic map.

In the few hundred years after the development of Faster Than Light travel, humans had only successfully started colonizing “deep space”. Deep Space. In all honestly they hadn’t even expanded out a single percent of the galaxy, with less than that sufficiently “policed” and only slightly more than that explored. Jack was out here on the frontiers of exploration collecting planetary data for the corporations that effectively ruled humanity now. While he could make good credits selling maps and data, his true goal was a bit more noble. He was searching for intelligent life. All this time in space and Humans were the only life that they had found. Well that, and what was left on earth. The rest of the planets they found were all barren and there were no extra-terrestrial life forms anywhere in known space. We were alone. But Jack wouldn’t believe that. He couldn’t. The galaxy was too big, and if not in this galaxy, certainly there HAD to be life in another galaxy. The universe was infinite. There had to be more than just us.

Finally plotting in a course, taking him back the way he came would be too inefficient so he plotted the most direct route. He would be taking his ship through undocumented space, but fortunately for him space was big and empty. Nothing to worry about. He throttled up and engaged his ships warp drive and a timer began to tick down. 13 hours until reaching his destination, then it would be another stop for fuel and another jump. And then another two weeks of jumping back to the closest outer rim space station to restock on supplies and updated charts. And of course to make ship loads of credits. Enough to buy Vicky’s dreams. Well, her father’s dreams anyway.

Standing up and looking out the large glass cockpit at the blackness of space he wondered what kind of thing’s he’d see. Even after a year he never lost his wanderlust. He turned and walked out of the cockpit and headed down the corridor that ran the center of the ship. He passed by the “captain’s quarters”, then the “dining room” and entered a large open room with a rug covering the metal deck. On one wall was a large red couch and on the other side was a ship monitor he used to watch old data disks.

“What’s it going to be today? More old 20th century fantasy?” Vicky called out over the intercom.

“You know I’m a sucker for the old stuff. Just watching how people imagined the future would be is interesting. It lets me see how far we’ve come and how far we’ve still to go. Take Star-Trek for example.” Jack said, plopping down on the couch and holding his hand up, making a holographic interface come up as he browsed through the episodes.

“They have warp travel and interstellar ships. But ours are much faster and much more sturdy. We however don’t have replicators that can make anything and everything like they can.” Jack said, finding one of the “Voyager” series episodes.

“They also didn’t have me.” Vicky said.

“True, but Data was a close approximation. In all actuality you’re probably slightly behind Data, since you don’t have a body yet.” Jack said, settling in and watching the open scenes.

“That’s right, Yet.” Vicky added. “And when we get back the first thing I’m going to do is slap you.”

“Vicky darling why all the hate? You know I only tease you because I love you right?” Jack said, smiling up at the small camera in the corner of the room.

“Don’t give me that look. I know you tell all the women that.” She said semi-venomously.

“What other women? Are you hiding them from me? Because I don’t remember any of these mysterious women.”

“Well obviously not recently. However, I do still have some security logs of your…. Visitors.”

“Then you’ll know that nothing ever happened.” Jack said dejectedly.

“That’s right. You lured in women with talk of a ‘big ship’. But when they got here they found out you’re all talk and no walk.”

“You know you’re the only woman for me Vicky.” Jack said, smiling up at the camera again.

Just then the alarm went off and the ship shuddered. The telltale sign of the ship dropping out of warp. He cut off the screen and ran back down the hallway towards the cabin. “Report!”

“We’ve dropped out of warp due to a gravitic anomaly. Engines non-responsive. Recalibrating.”

Reaching the cockpit, the door slid open and he practically jumped into the pilot’s seat, checking the HUDs for any information. It was then he looked up and his eyes went wide as his body froze. An Einstein-Rosin bridge, a wormhole. The first anyone had ever discovered. And not just anyone, HIM! He was the first! This would make him a station’s worth of credits!

“Jack! We’ve got a problem!” Vicky said, bringing him back to his senses. “We’re being pulled into the anomaly!”

“Engine status?!” Jack said, turning his eyes only slightly so that he could see the screen to his left and began going through emergency procedures.

“Still non-responsive and other systems are failing due to electromagnetic interference!”

Jack looked down and picked up his helmet that had fallen to the floor. Upon putting it on the neck sealed and attached itself to the chest of the suit, another beep sounded as the internal display lit up. A big green “Sealed and Pressurized” text box flashed before fading and unblocking his vision. The ship began to shake violently and the lights in the cabin went out, replaced by the emergency red lights. All of the HUDs in the cockpit began flashing reading various error messages.

Then just as if it was only a moment the ship emerged through the other side. Jack had hardly even noticed that he passed right through the wormhole. At the other side the shaking stopped but his ship was still unresponsive, save for the beeping. His ship was accelerating towards a planet though. And for the second time his eyes focused on what was in front of him and his body stopped moving. A planet. But not just any planet. This planet was green and blue. There was no mistaking this planet had vegetation and liquid of some sort. Quickly moving again, he commanded his assistant.

“Vicky! Run planetary scanners now!” Jack shouted.

“We don’t have power for that! We need to restart the engines!”

“Goddamn it Vicky we are going to land on this planet either fucking way! Run the scanners!”

“Vegetation, liquid water, various forms of biological life. The atmosphere seems breathable but there is a variable here I’m detecting. It seems like some sort of electric field all over the planet. It shouldn’t cause problems for electronics though.” He had found life. A wormhole AND life? In the same day? But at the cost of his ship. Not yet, he wasn’t giving up yet!

Jack did his best to get flight controls back online and angle his ship for re-entry. He knew they were going too fast and everything was pointing towards a crash landing. Looking around hastily he removed his hand from the throttle and gripped a small box on his waist. He plugged it into the far side of the console, with a wire leading from the box to his suit.

“Vicky get in!” Jack said.

“WHAT?!” Vicky called out over the intercom.

“Just GET IN. I’m not going to lose you now! Not ever! GET IN THE SUIT!”

Twilight sat up out of bed as her alarm went off next to her. She stared bleary eyed at it, her purple and pink hair a mess from the bad dreams she just had. She let a tear roll down her cheek as she switched the alarm clock off. It had been two hundred years since her friends and her had their last adventure together and Twilight was still struggling with Friendship’s final lesson, saying goodbye. Her muzzle quivered as she took a deep breath. Mornings were hard for her now, but she was a Princess and she had her duties to attend to.

Standing up she walked over to the bathroom and took care of her morning routine. A shower to wash away the tears and the sleep, and brushing her teeth to get rid of any morning breath. Upon exiting the bathroom, she had a towel wrapped around her chest and sat down at her vanity mirror. She picked up a white brush with her old friend Rarity’s Cutie Mark on it and she began brushing out her mane. Her horn lit up and she made the bed behind her magically.

After a few moments of fixing her hair she set the brush down, back in its proper place and headed over to the wardrobe. She let the towel fall as she looked for something to wear. Her light purple fur was illuminated by the moon and candle light in her room. Her body was beautiful by any standard of the word, however she never found a special somepony. All of her other friends had one in their time, but she was too focused on her studies. When the time came however, all the stallion’s she knew were settled down, and she didn’t have any younger suiters. Opening the door to her wardrobe she selected a white button up blouse and black knee length skirt and began dressing herself.

Twilight shut the wardrobe and walked out of her room, stopping only momentarily to grab a clipboard and stack of papers out of the mail slot outside her room. The morning science and magical studies reports. She walked down the hallways of the Canterlot Castle towards the dining hall. As she walked the sun raised up over the horizon and flooded the hallways with light. At the same time all of the lanterns in the hallway extinguished themselves.

Twilight was the first to arrive in the Dining hall and she sat down quietly at the table, reading her reports. Nothing out of the ordinary was reported. Progress had been slow in the department of enchanting tools and construction materials, as well as magical acceleration of vegetation. The door opened and in walked the two sisters, Celestia and Luna. They talked over the mundane events of the court and Luna gave a brief summary of the events of the night. They each took their spots at the table when Celestia spoke.

“Ah Twilight, good morning!”

Twilight blinked and put down her reports, forcing a weak smile to the surface. “Good morning Celestia, Luna.”

The two sisters looked on at their fellow princess. They knew Twilight was having an extremely difficult time. They too had to endure this trial, so they knew all too well how it felt. They also understood that Twilight’s friends were much closer than anypony they had when they had to go through this. Uncertain as what to say, since they had said and done it all already, the sisters looked at each other. This was something Twilight would have to work through in her own way, just as they did.

“Twilight, you might be interested in this.” Luna said, choosing to ignore the proverbial elephant in the room. “Last night a falling star was seen landing in the Everfree Forest.”

“A… falling star?” Twilight asked. “There hasn’t been one of those since… well since Star-Swirl’s time!” Twilight said, her eyes finally gaining a bit of shine to them.

Celestia smiled and her heart swelled with joy. This was what she was hoping for. Maybe this new investigation could finally bring her Twilight back to her. She sorely hated seeing what time had done to her most precious student and dear friend.

“Yes,” Luna continued. “It fell in the Everfree last night and there was reports of a large explosion that followed soon after. Perhaps it is magical in nature? I thought you might like to investigate it.”

Twilight smiled her first true smile in the longest time the two princesses had seen. Twilight quickly stood up and grabbed the fresh tray of hay toast the chef brought out and ran out of the dining hall. The chef watched and sighed, then went back to the kitchen to continue making breakfast. As the two sisters sat and smiled at one another their belly’s growled and they then noticed that she had made off with ALL of the toast. Luna huffed and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“At least she’s feeling better. I really wanted some toast.”

Jack came to slowly, still sitting in the pilot’s chair he was strapped into. He moved his head and hands slowly, fighting to regain consciousness.

“Vicky….” He said weakly. “Vicky..?”

Without getting an answer he began to come to a little faster. He searched around for the buckle to the seat and unclipped himself. As he came free he stood slowly and then fell to the side, landing on his hands and knees. “Vicky..! VICKY!”

“I’m here Jack, don’t yell.” She answered in his helmet.

“Oh thank the stars. I thought I’d lost you. Don’t scare me like that!” He let out his breath and used the chair to stand himself up.

“You were really worried?” Vicky asked.

“Of course I was worried about you.” Jack said. Vicky was about to say something but Jack followed up with “You’re my baby girl, I’ve got to worry about you.”

“Hmph” came through the earpiece and Jack smiled for a moment before he surveyed the damage to his ship.

What was once a orderly image of technological beauty, was now mostly ruined. Consoles were busted open from overloading, the front viewscreen was cracked the whole way across the canopy. The door was slightly ajar and he could see the hallway was no longer even. That and there was light coming in from the roof, which was never a good sign from a space faring vessel.

“Sweet baby space jesus…” Jack said as he forced his way out of the cockpit. His ship was in ruins. He slowly fought his way through the debris. He had to check the reactor. If that was too far beyond repair he’d never get off this planet.

“Vicky I’m going to need your help now more than ever.” Jack said as he found himself outside in a rather long crater. His ship had broken in half and the forward section was about thirty feet away from the aft.

Once a sleek white vessel that was the flashship model of the corporation that made it, it was now a smoldering blackened husk threatening to go critical. Jack quickly crossed the distance and made his way into the aft section of the ship. Once he reached the engine room he inspected the fusion containment unit. Finding no cracks he looked around at the various consoles. There was one, thankfully intact and he booted it up.

“Low power. Warning, Damage… Yeah you don’t say.” Jack said as he read the screen.

“It seems like the core is stable, but we’ll need a way to restart it. If we could generate enough electricity to start it again, we can get some systems back online and try to rebuild.” Vicky said.

Jack sat down as the console turned off and he looked up at the roof of the engine room. This was going to take a long time, even if he had a whole hangar’s worth of mechanics. Alone he’d be stuck here for years. Well, he was still alive and thankfully he had a month’s worth of power in the suit so he could make something with that time to at least be able to recharge his suit and keep Vicky online.

“Well better not waste any time, let’s go see what we can salvage.” Jack said.

He spent the next hour, caught somewhere between the heartache of picking through the wreckage of his ship, and the giddiness of being on a habitable planet and having gone through a wormhole. He found most of his clothing was intact as well as a set of general purpose tools, a good portion of rations and water, as well as a first aid kit and some of the specialized tool benches in the work room. At least he would be able to refine and process materials in order to speed up repairs.

After packing some general survival gear into a case that could fit on the back of his suit he emerged from the forward of the ship. He looked up at the crater wall and began to climb out.

“I wonder what kind of life is out here?” Jack asked, half giddy with excitement.

Just as he climbed up the last bit of the wall, his head came over the side to see a set of purple hooves, along with several sets of white hooves. He cast his gaze up, following the purple hooves up to purple legs, clad in a black skirt that hugged a nice set of hips. Tucked into the skirt was a button up white blouse that held a very perky set of breasts that were obscured by a set of purple arms holding a clipboard. Just over the edge of the clipboard Jack could make out a shocked expression on the face of whatever this thing was. It’s purple eyes shining brightly. Above its eyes it had a single horn growing out of its forehead and on top of that was a neatly styled purple hairdo with a pink stripe running through it.

“Wow…” Jack, Vicky, and the alien said together in unison.

Chapter 2 - A Pleasant Dinner

After a few more moments of watching each other, Jack finished climbing the rest of the way over the crater wall. He never took his sights off of this new purple life form, his eyes continuously going over the curves of its face and body. He stood just a few inches taller than this purple female with a horn sticking out from its head.

There was a gasp and then the sound of something falling over. It was then when Jack noticed the rest of the “things”. The purple one was surrounded by white beings clad in gold armor. Some of them with horns and some of them with... wings?! The one that had fallen over had a horn and was also clearly a female. He could now at least see some physical differences between the males and females. The broader chests, thicker necks, thicker arms, and a more distinct face. The one odd thing he did notice, is that they were all carrying spears and swords, save for the purple one who was just carrying a clipboard.

The purple one gripped its clipboard so tightly that it began shaking, a noticeable smile never leaving its face. Jack turned his head back to look at her and held up a right hand with his palm facing it, trying to seem non-threatening. The purple creature returned the gesture.

“Do you think they’re dangerous?” Vicky asked.

“Everyone is dangerous if threatened, let’s just not give them an excuse.” Jack replied. He could see the slightly confused look on the purple one’s face.

He stepped to the side, heading for the fainted creature, keeping his front towards the others. As he moved, the rest of the white beings stepped forward and closed the distance with him. He heard a sweet voice call out to the rest of them and they stopped moving. He couldn’t understand the words but he was halfway sure that this purple woman just told them to stop.

“Vicky can you do any translating?” Jack asked as he looked down at the unconscious white guard.

“Not with no prior knowledge of their language, nor any context no. What are you doing?”

“I’m gonna scan this thing, maybe we can learn a little bit about what we’re dealing with.” Jack said, holding his right hand up and pointing it towards the guard. He knelt down and held his hand close to its face and from the underside of his forearm a compartment opened up and a small camera like device slid out. Suddenly multiple blue low intensity lasers pointed and traced over the face of this downed guard. Jack could hear the steps of multiple hooves running over to him, and again that same voice saying the same words.

“Best I can tell that’s ‘stop!’ or something. Maybe it’s kill him later I don’t know.” Vicky said as Jack moved the lasers from the unconscious guard’s face to its chest. A chime sounded and the camera system stowed away again. “Scan complete.”

Jack stood up and turned around, suddenly face to face with a rather upset looking male guard. This guard was as thick as a station bulkhead and as pissed as a cat in a bath. Jack looked up and from behind his helmet smiled.

“Well hello precious.” Jack said.

“Please don’t antagonize the locals” Vicky snapped.

This guard said something very commandingly but once again Jack couldn’t understand him. Becoming more upset that his apparent orders were not followed immediately, he used his right hand to push against Jack’s chest.

Jack’s body twisted a bit but he stood his ground as the thing pushed him. He looked down at its arm and then back at its face. “Please don’t do that again. I come in peace, but I’ll leave you in pieces.”

“Jack, don’t.” Vicky said.

Again the guard moved his arm forward to push him, this time Jack grabbed hold of its wrist with his right hand, his armor’s internal machinery spinning up.

“Well don’t hurt him too bad.” Vicky conceded.

Jack then brought his left fist sideways into the gold chest plate of the guard, denting it and hearing a crack from behind it. He let the guard’s hand go at the same time and watched as he staggered back a few steps. Jack’s eyes opened a little wider, taking in the rest of his surroundings and watching as the guard stepped back ever closer to the edge of the new cliff his ship made upon crash landing.

Jack quickly stepped forward, grabbed hold of the guard, who began to fight back, not wanting to be so easily defeated. Ignoring the mostly harmless punches and kicks, he pulled the guard away from the sudden drop he was about to experience and forced him down on the ground next to the unconscious female.

After he released his rescued adversary, Jack could hear the sound of swords being drawn from behind him.

“So much for first contact…” Vicky stated. “Just like you. You meet a new alien race and beat them up. What about all the nobility of the human race and peaceful talks from that fantasy show?”

Jack sighed and put his hands up, turning around and facing the rest of the guard with drawn weapons.

“Alright, alright. I’m sorry.” Jack said, looking around for the purple female that he thought was in charge. He spotted another white female who had a very determined look in her eye and a set of iron chains and clasps.

“Hmm, seems like they want to arrest you. Well it IS a Friday isn’t it? Standard routine for you right?”

Jack sighed and held his hands in front of him, his head turning to the guard with the cuffs.

“What was that about not doing anything to aggravate them?”

“That was more a guideline. And as far as I know I was just defending myself.”

“Right, with a set of MK IV combat armor against a mostly defenseless being.”

The guard clamped his armored wrists in the irons and looked at the visor in the center of Jack’s helmet. It was then he could see the purple female come from around another guard. She was no longer smiling and something cold ran up his spine as he looked into her narrowed eyes. She walked passed him, her anger seemingly not directed at him, but the guard behind him, the one that was about to take the quick way down to the bottom of the crater.

Jack turned and followed her with his eyes. Now getting a view of her from behind he could see that she not only had a horn, she also had purple feathery wings that were folded against her back. His eyes traveled down and he could see a dark purple tail with a similar pink stripe running through that from base to tip. The purple being bent forward and began to berate the injured guard verbally. Jack however, focused on her more pronounced rear intently.

“If you keep staring you’re going to burn a hole into it.” Vicky said with a hint of anger in her voice.

“Oh I hope so…” Jack whispered.

The female guard next to him slapped the back of his helmet, getting Jack to turn around.

“What? Can’t a man appreciate beauty when he sees it?” Jack asked. The guard however kept her eyes focused intently on the man, her arms now crossed in front of her chest.

Now that he was looking at this guard, he saw that she had brilliant light blue eyes and her face was framed by a golden helmet that almost completely hid a light blue mane. She didn’t have a horn like some of the others, but Jack could see the edges of her wings behind her. He quickly ran his eyes up and down her form. While armor definitely hides a woman’s curves, he could tell she was very well balanced.

“I guess now is as good a time as any to read the results of the scan.” Jack stated quietly. Vicky complied and a screen popped up in his field of view, visible only to him as it projected inside his helmet. There was a transparent model of the female guard he scanned and a few lines of text and some charts.

” Preliminary scans indicated a carbon based life form similar to that of both humans and earth equines. The coloration of their ‘skin’ is actually very fine fur. There are several similarities to the human circulatory system, as well as brainwave patterns. It seems though that they are strictly herbivores and these weapons are possibly only used in self-defense. Unknown chemicals have been found in the brain. The horn is also a mystery. More scans are needed to make a complete file on these beings.”

Jack’s hands were suddenly pulled by the female guard he was half watching and he began walking with her towards a large cart. The guard pointed at the cart, possibly telling him to get in, so he complied. After a few moments, the injured guard and the unconscious one were loaded into the cart with him as well. Jack looked towards the front to see that several of the winged guards were strapping themselves to the cart.

“Huh doing things the hard way eh?” Jack said, turning his head back to survey the rest of the activities.

Just as he turned his head back he was uncomfortably close to the face of the purple female. Her eyes were again soft and full of curiosity. She held a hand out slowly and touched the plates on his chest. As her fingers touched his chest he could feel the electrical impulses from the armor against his skin, just as if she was touching his bare skin. Jack almost remarked that this armor was amazing when he watched as her horn lit up and a soft purple glow surrounded the cart. The cart shifted and began to raise off of the ground. Forcibly Jack pulled his eyes away from the large purple ones that were fixed on him and turned back to the front.

He saw the guards in the front unfurl their wings and begin to fly, pulling the cart along with them. He watched as they were lifted out of the forest. From the air he could see just how much damage his crash had caused. His heart sank as he saw the long line of destroyed trees, upturned earth, and the white shine of his broken ship at the end of the destruction.

“…. Vicky we’re going to be here for a while aren’t we….”

”It seems like it…”

Jack didn’t respond as he continued to look around at the surrounding landscape. Nearby he could see a small town with a rather large crystal-like structure in the center of it. His viewscreen zoomed in so that he could make out various thatched roofed buildings as well as some market stalls. He could see various colored other beings walking around like your standard run of the mill villagers. Jack again looked around to see where exactly they were flying too. Still zoomed in he saw the stone walls and supports of some sort of incredibly massive structure. He zoomed out and saw that there was an entire city suspended on the side of a mountain.

“ That doesn’t seem structurally sound…” Vicky said to him.

“I don’t know if it is or isn’t, but the view from here is remarkable. And if it wasn’t sound, why would it still be standing?” Jack said quietly, the cart drawing ever closer.

The city was a very long distance from them, but the time passed quickly as Jack looked around, taking in the sights from the air. Once they were over the city he could make out the white gleaming streets and buildings that were inside the city walls. Everything seemed so bright and clean. He noticed there were very few open air stands and almost no vehicles. All of the creatures seemed to pull carts behind them and enter and exit various shops. They were all dressed in rather fine garments, all brightly colored that accented their fur colors.

The cart turned abruptly and went behind the most distinct landmark in the city, the large palace. He could see the palace even from the crash site, but now it was even more impressive. Tall spires and windows, decorated with golden and silver emblems of the sun and moon, along with various other natural symbols like leaves and flowers. There was a large garden beneath them filled with hedges and various flowers and animals.

The scenery however, wouldn’t last. Just as they began to slow down, he turned back towards the front with enough time to see them go into a mountain cave. The cart landed with a thud, along with the hooves of the ‘pilots’ in the front and they came to a stop. The sudden shock of the cart landing stirred the once unconscious female that was laying in the cart. The purple one left her spot next to Jack and moved over, helping her up and exchanging some words.

The injured guard slowly moved off of the stopped cart, while two other creatures, this time clad in black armor and grey fur reached over the side and pulled Jack backwards and onto the stone ground with a loud clank.

“So much for prisoner hospitality…” Jack muttered as he was dragged slowly from his spot on the ground. He relaxed and just decided to let them do all the work since they were being the rude ones.

Once the formerly unconscious female and the injured male were taken care of, the purple female returned and began yelling again at the beings dragging the man. They let him go and he fell backwards, looking up at them from his back.

He could see the stern faces from below of the two dark guards and he turned his head slightly to look at his purple defender. He smirked in his helmet as he could just barely peek up her skirt, however it was so dark in this cave he couldn’t see anything. One looked down and saw where his visor was pointed and it kicked him in the head.

A few more words were exchanged and the purple one quickly brought her hands down to her skirt and took a few steps back.

“Good, you got caught finally.” Vicky said cheerily.

“You know that kick hurt right?” Jack said back to her.

“Poor baby…” She responded sarcastically.

Jack was then hefted to his feet by the two grey guards. He was then shoved from behind and began walking down the corridor in front of him. The hallway was lit with several torches, and he could see the metal bars of empty cells.

“Seems like I’m the first visitor in some time…” Jack said quietly.

One of the guards opened a cell at the end of the hallway and the other shoved him into the cell. The door slammed closed and then was locked. The purple one looked slightly sadly at him and her horn once again lit up. He then heard a click and the irons unlocked around his wrists and fell to the floor. She said something as she approached the bars and put a hand on one.

Jack shook his head again, still unable to understand her and she left a few moments later. Taking inventory of his new luxury apartment, he found that he had a cot with a blanket and a toilet in the corner. Well it was more a square seat with a hole in it that led somewhere unknown.

“Is the air breathable Vicky?” Jack asked as he sat down on the cot. The only light came from the torches in the hallway.

“Yes but it probably wont smell too pleasant.”

“Well I guess we can just see where this goes…”

Jack unhooked the backpack from his suit and set it down next to the cot. Whatever these things were, they weren’t very smart. Or at the very least they were inexperienced with prisoners. They let him keep his bag. Jack laid down fully on the cot and looked up at the ceiling. The sound of creaking wood was heard and then he fell directly through the cot onto the stone ground with a thud.

Jack sighed and laid there, wondering if it was worth getting upset or if it was just comical that this happened the way it did. After a few minutes there was a soft “Ahem” from the bars to his cell. He looked up out of the debris of the cot to see the purple female from before holding a salad.

Jack got up, causing a bit more wood to break. He moved over to the bars and then took the bowl of salad that was handed to him. He once again held his hand out and scanned the food.

“Looks safe to me. Surprisingly it seems more nutritious than some of those food packs you like to eat.”

Jack nodded and set the bowl down before reaching his hands up to unlock his helmet. There was a click and then the sound of pressurized air blowing out of the bottom of the helmet. Jack pulled his helmet off, hearing a gasp come from his visitor, along with a slight chime.

Immediately smelling the air, he began to cough. “Holy… shit... that’s rank!” He said between coughing fits. He looked up to see a bit of concern on his visitor’s face and then her look down at her clipboard.

Jack set his helmet down and used his left hand to fish something out of the inside the suit near his right shoulder. He then pulled out an earpiece and fit it into his right ear, allowing him to continue to hear Vicky.

”I told you you wouldn’t like the smell”

“What are you talking about, smells like paradise…” Jack said, smirking and looking with his own eyes into the purple orbs of the curious being that was standing incredibly close to the bars now.

She took a step back and then her horn lit up once more, causing a click to come from the cell door.

Jack raised an eyebrow as she opened the cell door and stepped in. She closed the distance with him soon after and slowly brought a hand up. Jack took a step back, causing her to frown a bit and bring her hand down.

After a moment’s pause he reached out and took her by the arm very gently and brought her hand up to the left side of his face. Her eyes lit up along with her horn as her fingers pressed the temple of his head. Suddenly there was a flash of purple light, causing his vision to blur. He let her go and took another step back, now pressed against the wall with her standing in the center of the room.

“Can you hear me now…?”

“Yes Vicky I can hear you still…” Jack said.

“That wasn’t me Jack."

Jack rubbed his eyes, clearing his vision and looked over at who actually spoke to him.

“Who’s Vicky…?” She said.

“You can understand me?” Jack asked.

“We could always understand you, but it seems like you couldn’t understand us.” She said, never taking her eyes off of him.

“Oh son of a bitch…” Jack said. He could hear Vicky laughing through the earpiece but he just leaned against the wall, raising a hand to his face.

“My name is Twilight Sparkle… what’s yours?” Twilight said after a moment.

He brought his hand down and smiled up at her. “Twilight Sparkle huh… nice name. I’m Jack. Nice to meet you.”

He held his hand out to her. Twilight looked down and gently put her hand in his, beginning to shake it. He quickly brought it up to his mouth and kissed the back of her hand, his eyes not leaving hers.

“Oh come on! Not even here a day and you’re already doing this?!”

“Thank you for bringing me food and sticking up for me.” Jack said, letting her hand go.

“N-no problem” She said, a light shade of pink in her cheeks. “I have so many questions!”

Jack moved passed her, picked up his bowl of salad and then back to the wall near his pack, trying to decide how he was going to handle this.

“What are you?” Twilight asked, holding up a clipboard and a quill, ready to take notes immediately.

Jack stared down at the salad and scratched his chin with a finger. “I’m a human male. What are you?”

Twilight scribbled down his answer and returned it. “I’m an alicorn female.”

Seeing no other alternative he reached in with his hand and picked up some of the salad and started eating it, crunching loudly as he watched Twilight.

“Why don’t the other alicorns have horns and wings, why do some only have one or the other?”

“Oh, those are normal ponies. Our species is divided into three main races. Unicorns, with horns, Pegasi with wings, and Earth ponies without either. Then there is a fourth, the Alicorns like myself… Do you like the salad?”

“Best food I’ve had in prison yet.” Jack said after he finished his first mouthful. He quickly replaced it with another mouthful of food.

“Who’s ‘Vicky’?”

“Look if you’re going to be asking me a million questions you may want to get a chair or something. I’d offer you a seat, but unfortunately I broke the bed.” Jack motioned to what used to be his ‘bed’ and Twilight’s eyes followed his movements.

“Oh you’re right, of course!” And with that her horn lit up and she blinked out of existence.

“What the fuck…?” Jack said wide eyed, a piece of salad falling out of his mouth and back into the bowl.

There was another flash and Twilight reappeared with a somewhat comfortable looking chair.

“Okay hold on what the fuck that?!” Jack motioned to… all of whatever that was.

“Oh that was just teleportation magic.” Twilight answered nonchalantly.

Teleportation… magic. There was just something off about how flippantly she said those words, as if anyone would know what that was. It was commonplace. Even humans hadn’t mastered teleportation in all their years of trying. And magic, sleight of hand. Anything else could be explained away by technology.

“Uh huh…” Jack said, still reeling from trying to process this whole thing. “So… you… ponies? Can use ‘magic’?”

“Yes. Unicorns and Alicorns can use magic, although most unicorns can only use a few spells suited to their special talents.” Twilight smiled, sat and crossed her legs. Jack’s eyes immediately went to her thighs and lower legs, then back to her face.

“So, who’s Vicky?” Twilight said a little more determined. “You called me Vicky just now.”

“Oh, she’s my best friend.” Jack said, finding something certain to finally focus on.

Twilight’s quill snapped as it began to write the word and her heart sank, immediately reminded of her best friends. Her face fell noticeably before she forced herself to smile. Jack however, could see through that trick as he’d used it before.

“Hey… Twilight are you alright?” Jack asked slowly.

She stood up and nodded. “I-I just remembered… I have to… check something.” Twilight said, trying her best to keep her voice from wavering. Again her horn lit up and she teleported away, leaving the chair in the cell.

“Did I say something wrong?” Jack asked quietly, standing and looking around.

“I don’t know. Check to see if the door’s open.”

“Good thinking. See Vicky that’s why I like you.” Jack said, standing and placing the mostly eaten salad in the chair and moving over to the cell door.

It was still unlocked and he pushed it open a bit, looking down the hall. He couldn’t see any guards, nor any sign of Twilight. He sighed and went back to the chair, moving it against the wall and picking up the salad. He sat down in the chair and continued to eat.

“What are you doing?”

“Finishing my food. This is actually pretty good.” Jack said with a mouthful of food.

“And why are you not escaping?”

“Because, sweetheart.” Jack swallowed. “If I leave and Twilight does come back, or another guard comes, how is that going to look? Remember first contact?”

Jack laid down on the floor of the cell again, looking up at the ceiling with his helmet facing him. It had been a few hours, or so he thought since Twilight had abruptly vanished and left him alone. That was fine though, it took a bit of time for him to process what happened and give Vicky accurate translations of what was said so that she could form a basic translation matrix.

Jack thought back to the incident in question, wondering why she would just so suddenly change her mood like that. ‘She’s my best friend.’ Was all he said. Was she upset because Vicky was a woman? Or because she was his best friend? Or was it something else completely unrelated.

Just as he took in a deep breath to sigh, there was that telltale flash and Twilight stood outside of his cell, looking in a much better state than she had left. He let out his breath slowly and sat up, wondering if he should say something.

Twilight pushed the door open and found it to be unlocked, then looked at Jack sitting on the floor. “The cell is unlocked… why are you still here?”

“How would it look if I just ‘escaped’ while no one was looking? It would make me look suspicious and untrustworthy, that’s how.” Jack said.

“Oh… right. Well… I’m here to take you to the castle and give you appropriate rooms. I’ve already had the charges dropped from your record.”

“Oh well thank you very much.” Jack said, standing and picking up his pack, reattatching it. “Wait, charges?”

“Assaulting a royal guard.” Twilight stated, opening the door fully and taking a step back.

“Oh… well is he ok? And that other one? Is she ok?” Jack picked up his helmet and made his way out of the cell.

Twilight looked at him, her eyes running all over his face as if seeing someone she hadn’t seen for years.

“… So… this way I take it?” Jack said with a raised eyebrow, beginning to walk away and down the hall. He shifted his helmet so that it was facing forward under his arm.

Twilight nodded and began to lead him out of the cell block, then back out of the mountain itself. The sun had crossed the sky and Jack figured that it was much later in the day, possibly having spent the whole day in that place. Once he was outside he took a deep breath, the fresh air filling his lungs and the sweet smell of the castle gardens not too far off filling his nose. She continued to lead him down a mountain path to an enormous set of wooden double doors reinforced with iron plates.

Jack only had a moment to wonder at the construction of such massive wooden doors, easily two stories tall, before they opened and revealed the interior of the palace. Wealthy didn’t begin to describe what he saw. Marble walls, floors, and columns supporting almost impossibly high roofs. Stained glass windows surrounded by silver and gold tapestries dedicated to the sun and the moon, as well as chandeliers made of what seemed to be crystals.

Jack couldn’t help but have his mouth hang open in awe at the sight as he made his way down the red carpet in the center of the hallway. Twilight smiled as she watched his reactions. The pair made their way down hallway after hallway. Jack could see several other ponies either unicorns or pegasi, but no alicorns. Some were in guard uniforms, some were in maid and butler outfits. As they passed, all but the guards stopped what they were doing and stared at him. He felt slightly uncomfortable at their stares, but quickly reassured himself that he was staring at them in the same way, so everything was fair. Or as fair as it could be.

Twilight reached out and touched his shoulder, causing him to look back at her. “The guest rooms are this way.”

The pair rounded the corner and found themselves in a hallway with doors on either side of them. There were about eight different rooms here, all the doors were shut besides the one at the very end. A maid was walking backwards out of the room, pulling a cart with towels and cleaning supplies. As she turned and began walking towards Twilight and Jack she stopped and gasped, seeing the pair.

“Princess Twilight, I just finished cleaning the room, I hope your guest enjoys it….” She said timidly but quickly.

“Thank you Morning Dew. I’m sure he’ll be pleased.” Twilight said, nodding to her. Quickly Morning Dew moved to the side and passed them, her head turning just before she turned the corner to get one last look at the thing with Twilight.
“Princess huh?” Jack said as they reached his room.

“Oh, yes. I suppose I didn’t mention that did I?” Twilight said after a brief chuckle. “You can set your things here; we have to get to the dining hall for dinner.”

Jack nodded and set his pack down inside the door. He kept his helmet with him however and stepped back outside. “Well let’s get to it your Highness.”

As they resumed their walking, Jack noticed that the sun set rather quickly here. It seemed like it was late afternoon, then suddenly night. Maybe he just wasn’t paying much attention. However, the light never seemed to fade from the hallway. Just as the sun went down, the lights in the hallways illuminated, from the torches on the walls to the chandeliers up above.

“Try not to make a fool of yourself Jack.”

Deciding it was better to not answer Vicky, seeing how it somehow upset Twilight the last time, he just kept his retort in his own mind.

Reaching the dining hall, Twilight pushed open the door revealing a wooden table with a handful of chairs around it. “Wait here” she said. “I’ll tell the chef that we’ll have another guest here tonight.”

Jack nodded and walked around the room a bit as Twilight headed to the kitchen area. Jack spied a window and moved over to it. As his back was turned he heard a door open and shut, along with the sound of footsteps and a chair sliding across the ground. He turned around expecting to see Twilight, but instead he saw the side profile of a different woman. She had white fur, along with multicolored flowing hair. She was an alicorn, just like Twilight but her muzzle was a bit more pronounced and her hair and tail flowed in a nonexistent breeze. Jack’s eyes however went down her slender neck which had a golden chain around it. He could only see the chain as the pendant was tucked down the open top of her white dress that hung tightly to her very generous breasts. Her light purple eyes were focused on a floating scroll surrounded by a golden aura.

Jack smirked and walked over to this new beautiful thing and pulled the chair out next to her, sitting down.

“You know… It hurt when I fell from heaven, but now I’m here to make all your dreams come true.” He said, leaning his elbow on the table and facing towards her, his dark blue eyes focused on her light purple ones.

She smiled and turned her head to look at him. Her eyes blinked and then fluttered halfway shut. “Oh I hope so...” She said seductively.

The door opened again, at the same time the sound of glass shattering was heard from the opposite side of the room.

“You messed up now mister.”

Jack looked over to the sound of shattering glass, finding Twilight standing there with a tray that had slanted forward, spilling its contents onto the floor. Her mouth was agape as if about to speak but unable to find the words. The white female next to him began to chuckle, causing the smile on Jack’s face to crack a bit. She then turned to face who had just entered the room.

“Luna, hehe, Come here.” She said, motioning over to ‘Luna’.

Jack looked over to see a tall, dark blue alicorn female standing in the doorway. Her hair was dark blue and shimmering, as if the stars themselves were sprinkled into her hair. Like the other, it too was blowing in a non existent breeze. Her part of her hair however covered one of her light blue eyes and Jack found his eyes drawn to the silver necklace. It too had a pendant that was tucked away in her dark blue dress that was just as fitting as the other, only her body was much leaner. Her breasts, while not as ample as the one sitting next to him, were pert and pressed against the fabric of her dress. He could see that down to her legs there was a long slit in the sides of the dress, revealing very toned and powerful legs, with the slightest hint of a tattoo at the very top of her thigh.

“What’s so funny Celetia?” Luna asked, approaching her and the sitting man.

“Go on, tell her what you said to me, hehe.” Celestia said, placing a hand on Jack’s thigh.

Jack’s confidence was now almost completely shattered, doing his best to keep a smile on his face. “Uh... ahem... heh...”

He could feel Luna’s deep blue eyes burning into his own, the weight of disappointment all to real even before he said anything.

“It… hurt when I fell from heaven, but now I’m here to make all your dreams come true…” Jack said. He realized it was a lot more horrible sounding the second time around.

Luna looked from Jack, to Celestia who continued to chuckle.

“He doesn’t know who we are, does he?” Luna said, taking her seat next to Celestia.

Celestia sighed and turned back to Jack. “Don’t worry about her she doesn’t have a sense of humor.”

Jack looked over to see Twilight still frozen in place. “Uhm.. is… she going to be ok? Twilight?”

“Oh! I think you should handle that, since it is your fault.” Celestia said, moving her hand from his thigh to running a finger under his chin.

Jack nodded and stood up and walked over to the frozen purple statue formerly known as Twilight Sparkle. He took care not to step on any broken glass or any of the liquid that was now on the floor.

“Uhm. Twilight…? You ok?” Jack said, leaning close to her and asking quietly.

Twilight quickly came too, her ears flicking towards the sound and she turned her head. She quickly brought the silver tray up and across the side of Jack’s face, sending him to the floor.

“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!” Twilight shouted.

Luna, Celestia, and Vicky all laughed heartily, filling both the room and Jack’s head with the sound of feminine laughter. It almost eased the pain of the tray connecting with his face, his face connecting with the floor, and the wound he suffered to his ego… Almost.

Twilight huffed and turned back to the broken mess on the ground and lit her horn up. Jack watched as a purple aura surrounded all the pieces and the liquid on the ground, then it all floated up and into the kitchen with Twilight just behind it.

He sat up and rubbed his face, sucking in air sharply through his teeth from the stinging pain.

“Serves you right…"

Twilight returned with a new tray along with new glassware and a teapot. She made her way over and placed it on the table and turned back to the man sitting on the floor. “Jack, please join us.”

He hopped to his feet quickly and moved over to the table. “Yes ma’am.”

He pulled a chair out for Twilight and bowed slightly to her. “Your Highness.”

Celestia again started tittering, a hand covering her muzzle. Luna however continued to stare at him, trying to crush him under the weight of her gaze. Twilight nodded and sat down in the chair as Jack pushed it gently up to the table before taking his place beside her.

“So, Twilight. Please introduce us to your… Guest.” Celestia said carefully.

Twilight looked out of the corner of her eye at Jack and then nodded, still obviously a little upset at his previous display.

“Jack this is Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna.” Twilight held out a hand and motioned to the white female, then the blue one respectively. Jack nodded at each of them.

“These are the rulers of Equestria, who’s castle you are currently in.”

“Oh, sexually harassing royalty of an alien race. Way to reach a new low.”

Jack, now feeling the weight of his actions just sank in his chair, wishing he was part turtle so he could tuck his head into his armor. Celestia tittered again, seeing his discomfort.

“Celestia, Luna, this is Jack. He came out of the fallen star.” Twilight said.

“And it seems he’s just like every other stallion…” Luna stated dryly.

A brown furred male appeared dressed in a chef’s coat, carrying a tray with several bowls of salad and a large plate of crackers. Jack turned and watched as he set the tray down. This pony didn’t have any wings or a horn so he concluded this was one of the “earth ponies” Twilight mentioned. He did however, look as thick as a vault door. The chef then turned and walked away back into the kitchen.

“So, Jack. Why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself?” Celestia said, significantly less seductively and more… caring.

“Well… I … uh… what do you want to know? I don’t really know where to begin.” Jack said, reaching a hand up and rubbing the back of his head lightly.

“Where are you from? And what are you?” Luna said, directing the conversation now.

“Well… Far far away? And I’m a human.” Jack said after a few moments pause. He looked down and found a fork on the table and reached out to grab a bowl of salad. “These salads are pretty damn good your majesties.”

They all watched as Jack began eating the salad.

“You didn’t answer my questions to my satisfaction.” Luna said, her horn glowing dark blue and pulling a salad bowl and a few crackers over to her.

Jack swallowed and put his fork down, noticing Twilight almost sneak the clipboard and a new quill out onto the table.

“Well, in terms you’d understand, I’m not from Equestria. I’m not even from this planet. I’m from very far far away. So far away in fact that I seriously doubt I will ever get back home. And again, I’m a human. A human is a me. I’m a male of my species. Also, we don’t have wings or magic.”

“Wait, you said you don’t have wings or magic, but what about horns?” Twilight asked.

”Right into the trap… come on girl even I saw that one." Vicky groaned into the headset.

“That’s for later tonight if you’re good.” Jack said, picking up a cracker and eating it.

Celestia laughed heartily as Twilight’s eyes went wide, making the connection. Luna this time also chuckled a bit at Twilight’s reaction.

Jack looked out of the corner of his eye at the extremely flustered purple princess and moved his chair away slightly, lest he risk another strike of vengeance from her.

“What is that thing in your ear?” Luna said, a slight smile forming on her face.

Jack noticed he was no longer being stared down, or at least some of the weight of her expectations had been lifted. He did however, take a moment to look at Twilight and then back to Luna.

“It’s an ear piece. It… uh… let’s me hear things better.” Jack said.

“You have problems with your hearing?” Celestia asked.

“Well, no, not serious problems. But if I take another couple of hits from Princess Twilight here I might.”

Fine, Prime directive time. Jack thought to himself. Better just get it out and over with before any expectations of anything arise.

“Before we go any further let me say something in all seriousness.” Jack sat up and looked sternly at the women surrounding him.

“I am not from this planet. My race, the human race, is a technologically advanced species. That ‘fallen star’ as you call it, was my star ship. It allowed me to travel between stars at faster than light speed. I however am a believer in the ‘Prime Directive’.”

Twilight perked up and began writing down furiously as Celestia and Luna watched the man, their expressions becoming mostly blank. Celestia had a slight smile on her face.

“What is this Prime Directive?” Twilight asked.

“It’s a code that states that in the event of contact with a non-space faring entity that I am not allowed to use my skills to affect any outcome that does not directly relate to my survival. I am not allowed to take sides in a political debate, nor am I allowed to give any advanced technological information that may or may not lead to the upheaval of an already established society.”

Twilight finished writing and slowly looked up at him. “So… you just came down to say hi, attack a guard and then leave?”

“He did what?!” Luna shouted.

“Easy now sister, I’m sure Mr. Jack has a perfectly reasonable explination.” Celestia said, placing a hand on Luna’s shoulder.

“Yes, well, that was sort of self defense. I did stop him from falling off a cliff though, if that counts for anything?” Jack said, then turning back to Twilight.

“And honestly I don’t know. It’s been a dream of mine to meet another species of intelligent life. Humans have never made contact with another species in the 200 plus years we’ve been expanding across the galaxy.”

“So why the impartiality and sequestering of knowledge?” Celestia asked.

“Human history is full of conflict due to the disparity in technological prowess. As I have said before, we do not have magic. Everything we have, we created through science.”

Twilight’s eyes began to shimmer in the light as she wrote. The more Jack told her, the more she wanted to know.

“Human history is a very bloody one, which mostly stems from those with the technological advancements dominating and subjugating those without. I just don’t want to have that happen somewhere else.”

“So you would rather have other humans show up and subjugate us because we are technologically inferior to you.” Luna stated flatly. Her eyes slightly narrowing.

“No, I don’t want that either. I…” Jack trailed off and looked down at the table. He knew full well what would happen if certain factions found this planet first. If it was the Dominion, they would either enslave or completely eradicate these ponies. The Brotherhood however would be much friendlier, but doubtfully it would share any information with them.

“Look, I’m sorry but right now I have a few things I need to get taken care of before I can even begin to think about the actual ramifications of giving you specific information. I can give you generalities, but I can’t give you exact specifics.”

The alicorns looked at each other silently as Jack stood up from the table, grabbing his helmet.

“Thank you for the dinner and sorry for my lack of discretion and poor actions. With your permission I would like to return to my room for the night.”

Celestia stood up, causing the other two to look at her. “Very well, I will escort you there.”

“Celestia I can...” Twilight started, but she was quickly silenced by Celestia.

“No Twilight, I will take him. You finish your notes and enjoy your dinner. I will return presently.”

Jack looked over at Celestia and could now see just how dire any consequences would be. She was at least a head taller than him, and that was not counting the horn. She walked out of the dining room and down the hallway. After a moment Jack followed her out of the room.

One part of his brain was running through what kind of ruler she was. He had basically outright refused to help her and he wondered if she would do anything in her power to get information out of him. The other part of his brain was looking at the rather curvaceous figure in front of him. This was a tall woman for sure, but she looks like she was built to please. Wide hips that sat atop legs that seemed to go on for miles, not to mention the ample flesh he could see peeking out on either side of her chest. She walked very dignified and proper, but she also knew how to sway her hips. This was a woman who know what she had and how to show it off.

The walk to the room was all too brief for his liking, but then again he also dreaded the conversation that awaited. Celestia opened the door and let herself in, moving to the center of the room before turning around to face him.

Jack stepped into the room and shut the door quietly behind him, then set his helmet down on top of his pack.

“Mr. Jack,” Celestia stated firmly. “I understand and accept that you may not wish to help us in political or technological matters. I do however have a personal matter to discuss with you.”

Jack looked around the room and then back up to her. Her face was … saddened? The whole time she was in the dining hall he had only seen her smile and laugh, but now, now he could see sadness in her light purple eyes and a slight frown on her muzzle.

“What’s this about Princess?” Jack asked. “Would you like to take a seat?”

Celestia took a deep breath and shook her head “No, this will not take long. Mr. Jack… This is hard for me to ask this, since I am not one to ask for favors.”

“Alright, well you can be assured that this will just be between us.”

“You said you were here to make my dreams come true? Well I want to hold you to that.”

Jack looked at her curiously and brought his hands together, rubbing them nervously. She couldn’t possibly mean what he thought she meant, could she?

“I want you to look after Twilight Sparkle. It has been too long since I had seen her smile. It broke my heart every day that I would wake up and see her for breakfast, so torn apart by grief and loneliness that I was beginning to lose hope. And then you, quite literally fell from heaven. So I ask you, not as a Princess, not as royalty, but as a mare that cares deeply for her friend. Please. Please, do what you can to make Twilight happy again.” As she spoke large tears fell from Celestia’s eyes onto the ground. Her body shuddered as she fought to keep any sense of regality before she finally sat down on the bed behind her and sobbed.

Jack was stunned, he felt his heart start to crack as he listened to her story. He quickly walked over to her and put his arms around her neck, holding her gently against him. He knew the cold metal of his armor was probably uncomfortable, but he had to do something. He couldn’t stand to see a woman cry, even if she was an alicorn princess from another planet.

“I will try Celestia, I will try. I can’t promise I will succeed, but I will try with every fiber of my being.”

Celestia wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him back, her sobs slowly subsiding.

They stayed like that for the next few minutes as Celestia regained her composure. Once she had done so she pulled away slightly and released her hold on him. Jack did the same and took a step back, surveying the remnants of slightly mussed makeup on her face.

“If you want to go wash up you can use my bathroom if you wish Princess.” Jack said, smiling softly at her.

Celestia returned the smile and made her way to the guest bathroom to wash her face.

“I guess that means you have to stop being a dog and actually care about a woman for once.” Vicky said as Celestia was out of the room.

“Hey, I do care… I’m just, not that great at it I guess. So I’ll need your help now more than ever.”

Celestia returned a few moments later, make up fixed and the soft smile on her lips and relief visible in her eyes. “Thank you again Mr. Jack.”

He nodded and she walked to the door, opening it. “If you do a good job, I might have other personal matters that require your attention.” Celestia said with a wink before exiting the room, leaving Jack in a state of emotional confusion.

Chapter 3 - Picking up the Pieces

The alarm from the clock next to his bed blared out right next to Jack’s head. The sound made him bolt out of bed as he thought it was the ship’s alarm system.

“VICKY! STATUS!” Jack said, standing on the cold stone floor with his bare feet, completely naked.

After not getting a reply and the alarm fading slightly, Jack regained his situational awareness. That had been a deep sleep too. He hadn’t slept on a mattress like that in, well ever. He turned and fiddled with the alarm clock, finally switching it off and moving to set it back down. Before he did however, he noticed that this clock wasn’t attached to a cord. He began flipping it around and inspecting it, finding a small hatch on the back, which he promptly opened. In the slot, where he expected to find perhaps a battery, he saw a small purple cylindrical crystal. Checking the front as he pulled it out, the numbers flashed off. This crystal was a battery! He put the clock back on the table and spent a few moments staring intently at this crystal as he wandered off to the bathroom.

He then stared at the tub, finding no plumbing going into or out of the wall, just a free standing tub with a faucet, two knobs and a showerhead. Along with a curtain for privacy.

“Curiouser and Curiouser…” he said as he moved to the sink and opened the drawers underneath. There he found a similar thing. There were no pipes leading to the wall. There was a small basin and a few pipes that led up to the taps and from the drain, but nothing leading the water anywhere. It was like this was all just for show.

He stood up and turned the sink on and against all logic or reasoning, water came out of the faucet! He checked underneath again, this had to be some joke. Seeing the same thing he just saw, he stood up again and felt it with his hand. Yep, wet like water. He then looked at the tiny crystal and wondered if the water too could be generated with this crystal. I mean, these ponies could teleport seemingly anywhere they wanted at any time they wanted to, why would they not be able to generate electricity and water “magically”.

As he formed that word in his mind he sneered at himself. Magic. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. There was a reason for this, he just didn’t have the understanding to figure it out. Yet. Turning the faucet off and putting the crystal down he walked back out into the room and fiddled with the earpiece on the armor.

“Good Morning --- PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!” Vicky shouted, her voice filling the room.

“Morning to you too Vicky.” Jack said, smirking. “Why don’t you find me something to listen to while I take a shower, I’m in need of a little pick me up.”

“Fine! JUST GO AWAY AND COVER YOURSELF!”

Jack laughed and quickly moved towards the bathroom and shutting the door, not without slapping his bare ass once towards his helmet though.

“UGH!!”

Vicky randomly selected one of Jack’s “pick me up” songs and began to play it through the speakers. She had recent video logs to delete.

(what a feeling by collie buddz Song)

Jack stuck his head out of the door as he heard the song play. “Good choice baby girl.”

“DON’T CALL ME BABY!”

Jack laughed and shut the door quickly, heading to take a shower.

Morning Dew pushed her housecleaning cart down the corridor, incredibly nervous about this new creature she was going to have to clean up after. Hopefully he wouldn’t be there, and hopefully he wouldn’t leave a mess. Her blonde hair and tail were done up in a bun so as not to leave any stray hairs in the room. She had aqua colored fur and emerald green eyes. She was an earth pony, so all the work she had to do was by her own hands. She wore a very conservative maid outfit that went down to her hooves and down to her wrists, along with a blue woman’s tie that gave off a very professional look.

Reaching the designated room, she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. If she could just clean the room quickly, maybe she wouldn’t have to see him. She let her breath out heavily and then forgot to breath as she heard music coming from the room. Oh no, he was still in there.

She knocked on the door, hoping that he would answer and tell her to go away. Just the sound of music. She knocked again.

“Room cleaning…”

Still no response. Orders were orders and she swallowed thickly, her mouth becoming dry. She opened the door and peeked in.

“Room cleaning. Mr. Jack, are you here?”

Still not getting a response, she stepped in and surveyed the room. Inside it was mostly clean, besides the table in the corner which had pieces of the armor she had seen him in yesterday. The bed was a mess, with covers and pillows all over the place, along with clothes laying on the floor. She spied the alarm clock face down and went to right it, finding that it was off.

She growled as she removed the cover, finding the crystal missing. Great, now she’d have to write a request to get a new one made and come BACK to replace it. She put the cover back on and placed the clock back on the night stand.

She next went to work on the bed, she pulled the pillow cases off and tossed them towards the door, then began to strip the bedsheets and blankets. At least there weren’t any gross stains, for that she was thankful.

She picked up his clothes off of the floor and folded them neatly, placing them next to his armor. She gave a curious glance at it, but left it alone, now entirely sure he was still here. She heard the water running in the back room and set her mind to just making the bed and leaving before he was done with whatever he was doing in the shower. Gathering up the removed linens, she placed them on her cart and pulled out fresh pillow cases, sheets and a new blanket.

While began making the bed up, wondering to herself why she had to draw the short straw. She was too preoccupied to hear the water turn off.

Jack opened the door, walking out into the room while he dried his hair. His head was covered with the towel, determined to taunt Vicky some more. He closed the distance with the bed, his bag sitting right next to the night stand with the alarm clock on it.

“My boo cooler than a cup of ice, sexy momma lookin’ hotter than a Cajun spice…”

Morning dew, hearing a different voice behind her, froze.

“Sweeter than an apple pie, can I have a slice?” Jack said taking another step forward and pressing his hips into something that shouldn’t have been there.

He stopped and pulled the towel off of his head to see a maid earth pony bending over his bed trying to fix the sheets. Her hands gripped the sheets as she turned her head, eyes wide.

Twilight Sparkle walked down the hallway, clipboard in hand and quill along with it. She hadn’t noticed that she had breezed through the morning quickly, excited to get back to learning whatever she could about Jack. Even if he wasn’t going to share all of the information he had about science, she would find some way to get what she wanted to know out of him. Her mind was filled with thoughts, her imagination running wild. What was space like? Where exactly did he come from? Were things similar or different from life in Equestria?

Morning Dew screamed as she ran out into hall “PERVERT! YOU BEAST! GET AWAY FROM ME!”

Twilight blinked at her sudden return to reality.

“PRINCESS TWILIGHT! PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS CRUDE THING!” Dew screamed.

“Please calm down Morning Dew, what happened?” Twilight said, moving in front of the door to find Jack holding a towel in front of his waist with one hand and holding another hand up trying to calm the hysterical mare down.

“Twilight! Thank the stars you’re here! Please explain to this good woman that it’s all an accident!”

Twilight’s brain fizzled as she saw a mostly naked Jack standing there and a hysterical maid behind her. She turned and smiled slightly to Morning Dew. “I will handle this. Thank you Ms. Dew. Your services are no longer required…”

Morning Dew nodded, grabbed her cart and ran down the hall in the opposite direction.

Twilight turned back to Jack. “Get dressed please Mr. Jack. You are expected at breakfast.” With that she shut the door while she was still standing in the hallway.

She kept a small crooked smile as she stomped down the hallway, broken clipboard in one hand, broken quill in the other.

Jack sat uncomfortably quiet next to Twilight. He had gotten dressed in his armor again since his only “clothing” was the inner layer suit that connected his skin to his armor. He would look at her out of the corner of his eye every now and then as they waited for the other two princesses to arrive.

“So… Twilight…”

“Nope.” She said quickly, cutting him off.

“I’m so going to enjoy this.”

After a few more minutes Princess Celestia and Princess Luna entered the dining hall. Celestia looked fresh faced and radiant, a bright smile on her muzzle and a gleam in her eyes, while her sister Luna looked almost completely exhausted. She had a faint smile on her lips as well, but she quickly sat down across from Twilight.

Celestia sat between Jack and Luna at the head of the table and looked over at the duo, her smile fading very slowly.

“Good morning Pri---“

“Be quiet Jack!” Twilight snapped.

Luna perked her ears up and looked at Twilight, Celestia did as well, more concern growing on her face.

“Now, why don’t you explain what happened this morning.” Twilight said, facing Jack with a look that could shatter diamonds.

“T-there was a slight accident this m-morning in my room...?”

“What hap—“ Celestia started

“Oh an ACCIDENT HMM?!” Twilight said. “You sure you weren’t trying to FORCE YOURSELF on Ms. Morning Dew?!”

Luna and Celestia’s jaw dropped.

“No! What had happened was…!”

“Yes Please, do try to explain this!” Twilight snapped, crossing her arms. “Especially after what you said last night to Princess Celestia!”

“I’m trying! What happened was I was taking a shower. Then I came out drying my hair. She was making the bed and I walked into her from behind. That’s it!”

Celestia and Luna closed their mouths, watching this exchange. Twilight was still seething, clearly not buying it.

“Look hold on.” Jack said hastily, grabbing his helmet. “Vicky please help me for the love of all that his good and just.”

“I’m sorry Jack I delete everything that has you naked in it. I don’t want to see that.”

“No, oh please no! Tell me you’re joking. I swear I’ll do whatever you ask. I won’t call you baby anymore. I won’t torment you, please just help me!”

All three of the mares now looked at this seemingly insane creature pleading with his helmet and growing more and more desperate as he did so.

”Fine, remove the projector and I’ll play back everything I saw. I had an … unfortunate view.. of the events.”

“Oh thank you ba-- Vicky thank you. Sweet sunshine thank you!”

Jack scrambled to his feet and put the helmet on the table. He removed a box from his hip and opened it up to reveal a small multitool. He began tinkering inside of the helmet removing various components.

“What does this have to do with anything?!” Twilight asked.

“Twilight. Let him finish.” Celestia said sternly. She was going to get to the bottom of this, especially after their conversation last night.

The chef pony came out from the back room carrying a tray full of toast, along with a couple glasses of orange juice along with a pitcher so they could refill their own glasses. He placed the tray on the table, casting a curious eye to the man fiddling with the inside of his helmet, wondering what all the fuss was about.

Luna, seeing her opportunity, quickly nabs the plate of toast and begins chomping down on it.

Finally, Jack removed the projector from inside his helmet and looked around for something to cast it onto. He moved all of the glasses and silverware off the tray and stood it up. “Look at this. This is the video that will show you exactly what happened!”

The mares blinked at him and then looked at each other.

“Just come here and watch this.” Jack said, angling the projector at the back of the silver tray.

Luna and Celestia stood up and walked around the table. Luna moved next to him, crunching on a piece of toast as Celestia stood behind him. He felt the weight of her press against the back of his armor and he leaned forward slightly. He also could feel her breath on the right side of his face, in between him and Luna.

“I hope I’m not intruding.” Celestia said quietly.

“N-no. You’re fine. I mean you’re not bothering me… Ok Vicky please play back what happened with me and Ms. Dew the maid.”

The projector lit up and began to draw the scene of exactly what happened in the room on the silver platter. It played forward, showing that Jack had actually walked into her from behind with a towel on his head, then jumped backwards, covering himself and holding a hand up while the maid freaked out. The video continued to play until Twilight showed up and shut the door.

“There see! Just like I said!” Jack said, finally vindicated.

Twilight looked at the platter, a blush spread across her cheeks, and then back at Jack and sighed. “Very well. I’m sorry for blowing up like this. I’ll make sure I talk to Ms. Dew and clear this whole thing up.”

Luna smirked and moved back to the other side of the table, returning to her mostly finished plate of toast.

“I knew I could count on you…” Celesita whispered in his ear before pulling away and returning to the head of the table. Her voice sent chills down his back and he looked over at her.

“You owe me for this.”

Jack leaned over and tried to grab a piece of toast from Luna. She saw his hand however and growled at him, causing him to pull his hand back quickly and wait for the chef pony to bring out more breakfast food.

“So, Jack, other than meeting the staff, what are your plans for today?” Celestia asked, chuckling.

Jack looked up and forced an awkward smile. “Heh… well… I was thinking I could see if I could find some materials in order to keep my armor in working condition… And then after that probably start working on fixing my ship.”

“Can I help with any of that?” Twilight said quickly.

“Uh…. Well… I mean…” Jack looked back at Twilight, who was now leaning close to him, expectantly.

“I mean… You can probably help me find the materials, but as far as doing the work, no I’m afraid not…”

Twilght’s face fell a bit as she sat back in her chair.

“…But you can watch?” Jack said, feeling a tug at his heart.

“I think that’s a grand Idea. You could use somepony to look after you so you don’t have any more ‘accidents’.” Celestia said, while Twilight’s smile grew once again.

Jack nodded to Celestia and then looked back at Twilight. “Looks like you’re stuck with me Princess.”

The chef pony returned with another tray, this time it had four bowls of oats, along with a basket of apples, a large plate of pancakes, and a small plate of sugar coated pastries.

Jack looked at this large tray of food and his stomach gurgled loudly.

“Somepony’s hungry hmm?” Celestia said teasingly.

“Oh yea…” Jack said, rubbing his hands together.

“So, Jack, what exactly do you like to… eat…” Twilight started but faded out as she watched Jack pull the whole plate of pancakes and several apples and the pastries.

Luna and Twilight both looked at Celestia, knowing full well that those pastries are for her and her alone. However, her light smile never faded and she began eating her healthy bowl of oats quietly.

Celestia watched, her eyebrow twitching a bit as Jack started by devouring all of the pastries and downing his glass of orange juice. He refilled his glass quickly and began cutting into the stack of pancakes.

“You know there are three other people here that have to eat as well, right?

Jack had a fork of pancakes in his mouth as Vicky reminded him where he was. Jack paused and looked around at the rest of the mares. He slowly chewed, eyes darting between Luna’s supremely disappointed face, Twilight’s halfway shocked look and Celestia’s slight smile. Celestia however was staring at him with her light purple eyes and he thought he could feel the fires of hell on the back of his neck. He swallowed thickly and slowly pushed the plate of pancakes back to the center of the table.

Jack sat silently and watched as the rest of the princesses at breakfast. The silence in the room grew extremely tense as he sat there, the constant glare from Luna and Celestia keeping him in his chair.

Luna finished her food and stood up, the sound of her chair sliding across the ground breaking the silence. “Well, Until tonight Celestia, Twilight.”

“Good night Luna.” Celestia and Twilight responded, both nodding towards the exiting princess.

Luna pushed her chair up to the table and walked towards the door. Jack followed her with his eyes. She walked much differently from what he had seen from Celestia last night. She walked with determined purpose, almost no sway in her hips. She wasn’t as full figured as her sister, but from what he could see, her body was much more firm. He sipped his orange juice slowly as he wondered what her fur would feel like under his fingers before feeling a nudge from his side. He looked at what it could be to see Twilight slightly scowling at him.

Guy can’t even look at anything. Jack thought to himself, bringing his eyes back to his glass.

Celestia was the next to stand, however a bit more refined in her movements. “Well I suppose it is time to start Day Court. Twilight, please be sure that our visitor does not find himself in anymore… situations.”

Jack noticed the distinct change in her voice. She no longer had that gentleness to her speech. He wondered if it was because of his actions, or if she just dreaded going to this ‘Day Court’. Or perhaps it was a combination.

“Yes Celestia. Have a good day.” Twilight said, standing and bowing her head slightly.

Celestia exited the room, much the same as she did last night, only now she walked as her sister did, more determined and stiff in her movements. She must be upset about something. Maybe tonight Jack would ask her about it over dinner.

“Come on Jack, let’s go get the day started.” Twilight said, pushing her chair in to the table.

Jack finished his glass of orange juice and snatched up an apple from the table, along with his helmet. He pushed his chair in and followed Twilight out of the room, shutting the door behind him. The two of them began walking down the hall in silence.

“So… what do you Princesses do during your… Princess Hours?” Jack asked, genuinely curious.

“Princess Celestia raises and lowers the sun. She also presides over the Day Court, which sees to the affairs of the nation and anything that the ponies petition her for. Luna raises and lowers the Moon and presides over the Night Court. They both share administrative responsibilities that deal directly with ruling Equestria, as well as overseeing meetings of the parliament.”

Jack bit his tongue at the ‘raise and lower the sun and moon’ bits, feeling that it was just some sort of religious or nationalist brainwashing propaganda. Even a brief overview of celestial mechanics stated that the planet revolved around the sun and the moon around the planet. There was no need for manually controlling these cycles, nor would it be feasible to do so EVERY DAY.

“And… what about you Ms. Twilight?” Jack asked, hoping for a better answer.

“I oversee the Magical and Scientific Research institute here in Canterlot.” She said, a bit of pride in her voice.

“…Magical AND Scientific?” Jack said aloud. “Aren’t those…. I don’t know… mutually exclusive ideologies?”

“Yes and no. They are separate wings of investigation, however we use both magic and science in our daily lives. We’re heading there now actually.”

Jack sat in a rather spacious office with his hands in his lap, tapping his fingers impatiently. Well the office would be spacious if it didn’t have too many filing cabinets, shelves full of scrolls and charts, and several writing desks. This was Twilight’s “office” where she kept up to date on each and every report that was generated from both wings of the Canterlot research center, AS WELL AS any research done throughout Equestria. This mare clearly had an insatiable appetite for knowledge, or maybe a dire need of distraction from her own thoughts, as Celestia had mentioned.

“Scan some of these documents for me.” Vicky said through his earpiece.

“We can’t just take whatever research these ponies have been working on without asking, it’s wildly hypocritical.” Jack said, crossing his arms. “Besides I already know what I’m going to ask for…”

Twilight opened the door and walked in, carrying a new stack of papers in her hands and a cookie in her mouth. She rounded the desk, shutting the door with her magic and plopped herself into her seat, dropping her papers at the same time.

“You didn’t bring me one?” Jack asked slyly.

Twilight’s eyes opened a bit wider, apparently having completely forgot about Jack in the time it took her to make her rounds.

“Erm Serrie” She said through a mouthful of cookie. She blushed and then pulled the cookie out of her mouth with her magic. “I’m sorry I mean.”

“Well you can make it up to me by telling me about this…” Jack held up the cylindrical crystal he pulled out of the alarm clock that morning.

“Where did you get that?” Twilight asked, getting up and moving over to him.

“I took it out of the alarm clock that woke me up this morning. It peaked my curiosity since I didn’t think you guys had electricity.”

“You need to make sure you put that back when we return to the palace. Those things are hard to make.” Twilight said, putting her hands on her hips.

“Ok I will, but what is it? I take it that it’s some kind of battery.”

“It’s a crystal that holds a small lightning spell enchantment. It uses the enchantment to power the clock.”

“So it’s effectively an electric battery…” Jack said, putting it away and rubbing his chin. “How big and powerful can you make them?”

Twilight blinked. “Well… about… this big.” She motioned with her hands to about the size of a tennis ball container. “But they are extremely difficult to make and even more difficult to fully enchant.”

“I suppose it’s out of the question to ask for an electrical rating. Can I get four?”

“FOUR?!” Twilight shouted.

“And something that can link them together that effectively makes them one big crystal.”

Twilight put a hand to her face, her mouth open in disbelief. What could he possibly do with that much lightning energy? It couldn’t be safe. “I’d… have to clear it with the Princess…”

“Well I guess I’m in luck since you are the Princess of Science and Magical Research. So how bout it Sparky?”

Twilight took a step back, stumbling a bit. Jack immediately jumped up and grabbed a hold of her sides, stabilizing her. She looked up at him as he picked her up and gently set her rear down on the desk so that she wouldn’t fall.

“Don’t go falling out on me now Princess.” Jack said.

“I don’t think you grasp how much power you’re asking for…” Twilight said softly.

“I don’t think you know how much power I need. And if my very rough guess is correct, that will be just enough for me to get things started.”

Twilight shook her head in disbelief, her eyes moving down to his chest as she tried to fathom just what he was talking about.

“Don’t worry, once I’m done you’ll get your crystals back. Then you can do whatever experiments you want with them.”

Jack took a step back and removed his hands from her side. Twilight was rather light in his grasp. Then again the added strength from his suit was probably the cause of that. She smelled rather nice though, he had to admit.

Twilight stood up after a moment and with a distressed look on her face, walked out of the door, leaving Jack in the office again.

Jack returned to his seat and once again, drummed his fingers on his lap, waiting for Twilight’s return. A few minutes went by and she returned, worried look still drawn on her face.

“It will take a few days for your first request for materials to arrive, and another three weeks before the crystals are ready.” Twilight said, looking only at her desk, wondering silently that he wasn’t planning on blowing something up.

“Thanks Princess. Can we go to the ship now? I have some things I need to pick up.”

She put a hand to her face and rubbed her cheek gently, then nodded. At least now she would be able to find something out about this mysterious fallen star, or ship as he called it.

“Let’s go to the loading dock and see if we can get some ponies to take us over there.”

Jack sat in the wagon looking across at Twilight, who now had a large purple satchel filled with parchments and quills, along with a few vials of ink. He almost didn’t have the heart to tell her she wouldn’t be coming inside with him. Almost.

The wagon landed in the forest once again with a thud and a creak. Twilight stood up and quickly disembarked, rounding to the front of the wagon to thank the pegasi ponies for taking them down.

Jack looked over and spied that it was a male and female pair. He remembered that Vicky needed more scans so he jumped over the side and approached them along with Twilight.

“Excuse me, sir and ma’am.” Jack said after Twilight had finished talking. “I was wondering if you could help me with something.”

The pair looked at each other and then the female spoke. “I suppose… what do you need?”

Jack held his hand up and showed the small camera like device under his forearm. “This is a scanner. Don’t worry it doesn’t hurt. It basically takes your picture and gives me information about you.”

“I… don’t know. That’s kind of personal don’t you think?” The female said.

“Well what I meant is that it gives me information about you as a pony, not your life. Like your bone density, blood pressure, and so on. Think of it like a physical only less intrusive. Also it’s for science.”

The pair looked at Twilight, who was looking at Jack. “Princess Twilight?” The male asked.

“I… don’t think it’s unsafe. He’s already… scanned a pony already and she’s fine. But I leave the decision up to you.” Twilight answered them, still unsure of just what exactly Jack had done last time.

“Well.. if you’re sure that it’s safe” the male said. “You can go ahead and scan me Mr. Jack. What do I need to do?”

Jack smiled and approached him, holding his hand up. “Nothing, this will only take a second. Just stand still please. And close your eyes.”

The male Pegasus nodded, closing his eyes while Jack’s scanner hummed to life. Several blue streams of light covered the male’s face and scanned him from head to toe. Jack moved quickly up and down his body as he could see the obvious discomfort from the opening and closing hands.

“Alright all done.” Jack said as the blue lights cut off and a chime sounded in his ear. “Would I be able to scan you next?” He asked to the female who was watching.

She said nothing but nodded her head and closed her eyes. Jack repeated the process just as swiftly as with the male, another chime sounding in his ear.

“Alright thank you both very much. If you could just wait here with Ms. Twilight, I’ll be back in a little bit.” Jack said, putting his helmet on.

“Wait what?!” Twilight said, half shouting. “You’re taking me with you right!?”

“Afraid not Princess. Prime Directive and all that.”

“You know that’s not real right?" Vicky said in his ear.

Jack walked over to the edge of the cliff, once again looking down at the broken remains of his ship. He frowned to himself and positioned himself to slide down the cliff wall safely.

“Oh no you don’t I’m coming too!” Twilight said, walking over to him.

Jack looked back just at the right moment to slip and tumble down the cliff face instead of sliding down it safely. A series of clanks and crashes was heard until a loud thud reverberated through the clearing as his back connected with a piece of the roof still in tact. The force of the impact knocked the wind out of him as he laid looking up at the sky.

“Smooth Jack, real smooth”

Twilight landed next to him on her hooves, her wings unfurled in the light. She quickly knelt down next to him. “Oh my, Jack are you alright?”

Taking a deep breath in, fighting through the pain in his chest he nodded lightly. There was nothing broken besides his pride and he turned his head towards her. The first thing he noticed unfortunately was that the way she was kneeling he had a clear view of a pair of lacy white panties on under her black skirt, then the fact that her skirt and slid up her thigh a bit more than it should have.

He moved his head back to the front to face the sky after a moment and began to sit up slowly.

“Easy now, are you ok?” Twilight asked again, placing a hand on his back.

“Yeah, just wounded my pride is all.” Jack said, standing and brushing the dirt off of himself.

Twilight looked around and stood up as well, tapping her foot on the metal of the ship.

“Careful, you’ll scratch her.” Jack said with all seriousness.

Twilight stared at the back of his head in disbelief. He was worried about a small scratch when there was clearly more damage to be concerned with. She watched as he walked to the broken entrance of the ship and hopped down off of the side with another thud. She flapped her wings down and flew up once again, then over to him and landed lightly next to him in between the two halves of the ship.

“Look Sparky. I know you’re curious. But please st—“

“I’m going with you regardless of what you say. You don’t have to tell me how anything works, but if you want those supplies, you have to let me come in with you.” Twilight said firmly, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

”She’s got you there Jack.”

Jack chewed on the inside of his cheek. “Alright fine! Just do me a favor and Don’t. Touch. Anything!”

Twilight clapped her hands happily as Jack turned to the closed door in the front of his ship. He approached it and forced it open with a bit of a grunt, revealing to Twilight the dark corridor with a small glimmer of light at the end of the hallway. She watched as he entered and followed slowly, her eyes wide with wonder.

Jack walked down the familiar hallway and held his left hand out, brushing his fingers against the black bulkhead until he got to his room. This door was unlocked so he slid it open by hand and stepped in.

”Make sure you clear the lines before you remove the rack.” Vicky reminded him. Safe as ever. Even if she wouldn’t admit it, she still cared for his safety when it counted.

“Yes ma’am.” Jack said approaching a small panel on the wall.

Twilight stepped into the room behind him, her eyes having trouble focusing in the dark. She lit up her horn and cast a very basic illumination spell, filling the room with light.

Jack turned at the sudden bright light from behind him, hoping that something hadn’t shorted out that could hurt Twilight. Seeing that it was just a large glowing light coming from the tip of her horn he turned back around and opened the panel. He then turned back around quickly realizing what he had just seen.

Twilight looked back at him. “What?”

“Nothing… I just saw the light.” Jack said uneasily returning to his task. He pulled the fuses just in case there was still energy in the system, even though there was no connection to the generator. He made his way over to the far corner on the opposite side of the room and opened another panel in the floor.
Twilight watched curiously, her attention turning to the open fuse box, then walking up behind him and peering over his shoulder.

Actually thankful for the light, Jack quickly found the power supply line for the armor rack and ensured that it was grounded properly. He then replaced the panel and pulled a drawer out next to the rack.

Twilight scribbled notes quickly behind him as she watched him pull out a box from the drawer and move over in front of the armor rack.

“So Jack, why don’t you tell me about what life was like back where you came from?” Twilight asked, standing close behind him.

Jack sighed and set his tool box down, fishing for some tools. “Alright. Well up until recently, My life was mostly spent in here, this ship, with just Vicky and the stars for company.”

“That… must have been lonely. At least you had Vicky…” Twilight said quietly.

“Yea it was, and I did. She’s very special to me. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her, and she wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for me. We’re kind of like brother and sister I guess.”

“Oh…?”

Jack sat down facing the empty armor rack and began working at it, trying to free it from the wall.

“Yeah. See I grew up an orphan on a space station controlled by one of the major factions that basically rule the human race now. Unlike you ponies, humans have several ‘rulers’. It just depends on basically what city you live in.”

“You don’t have a consolidated government?” Twilight asked.

“No, it’s more each ‘government’ is a corporation that owns basically every aspect of the life that people lead while they live on their property. The only true commonality is the monetary system that these corporations use to buy and sell with each other.”

“That sounds… terrible.” Twilight said. Jack could hear the scratching of her note taking, smiling softly to himself.

“Yea It’s pretty bad on some stations, on others it’s not so bad. It’s more like you just get used to it because that’s just the way it is for so many people.”

“Anyway, I grew up an orphan on a station controlled by the ‘Brotherhood of Knowledge’.” Jack said. He could feel Twilight swell with excitement as he said the name. Jack however chewed the side of his tongue, trying to find something positive to say about them.

“Brotherhood of Knowledge? So you were a scribe? Or a scientist?” Twilight asked, moving over and sitting down close to him.

“Me? No such luck. If you weren’t born into a specific set of families, you didn’t get to be a scientist or scribe. I was an orphan, so I got to be a delivery boy. I ran packages from one side of the station to the other for almost no pay and definitely no thanks.”

Twilight’s heart sank.

“That is of course until I met Dr. E.” Jack said, looking out of the corner of his eye at her shifting emotions.

“Dr. E. was an engineer that moved to the station when I was a teenager. I didn’t know him too well at first, but he was the first and only person that ever thanked me and told me I was doing a good job. So naturally, I started to like Dr. E. He was a good man and he taught me a thing or two about science and engineering.”

“Wow, he sounds like a great pony!” Twilight said, inching closer to him. “Tell me about him!”

“Well, He’s Vicky’s father for one thing. And I guess at some point he became a father to me, although not in name. He’s how I met Vicky in the first place.”

Twilight flipped a page and kept writing, listening intently. “Dr. E was Vicky’s father?”

“Well… in a way.” Jack paused as he freed one of the boot slots from the wall. “I was about sixteen at the time when Dr. E. had put his ‘finishing touches’ on his latest project. He never told me what it was until the day I showed up in the lab after work.”

“He told me, ‘Jack my boy, I have someone special I want you to meet.’ I was so excited, it was usually just us two in the lab and I never talked to any other scientists. It was then he introduced me to Vicky. At first I thought it was just a ‘computer program’.”

Twilight looked down at her notes, flipping to a new page and continued writing.

“It was a very intriguing program, and I’m not sure she’s forgiven me for how I acted in the beginning. See at that time, I only thought of Vicky as a thing. A tool that could be used. Dr. E was very upset with me and scolded me for my lack of understanding. I couldn’t understand why he was so defensive at first, but then I learned exactly what she was.”

“And… that is? Dr. E’s filly?”

“…Daughter, yes. What? Filly?” Jack said, looking over at Twilight.

“Oh.. that’s what we call children. Fillies are female children and Colts are male children.”

“Ah.. I see. Well. Yes Vicky was his daughter. Only the current computer program wasn’t Dr. E’s actual daughter. His wife and daughter died about ten years before.”

“Oh no…” Twilight said, her writing coming to a stop.

“Dr. E was a weapons developer for the Dominion. Well he was an armor developer for them. The Dominion of Man is a mostly militaristic corporation that provides security forces for banking and other minor corporations. One day, there was a riot on the dominion station that Dr. E worked at.”

Jack swallowed as he recalled the face of Dr. E, tears welling up behind his glasses as he told Jack the story.

“There was a fire, and his wife and daughter were among the casualties. Dr. E soon left the Dominion and fled to seek asylum with the Brotherhood in exchange, he would work for them.”

Twilight placed a hand on his shoulder as he continued to work, he could hear slight sniffles coming from her.

“So, during that time he worked on Victoria, an Artificial Intelligence modeled after his daughter. Grief makes people do strange things, and his only wish was that his daughter could be there with him. He told me that had his daughter been alive, we’d be the same age.”

Jack pulled the second boot socket free and got up on a knee, beginning to work on the legplate socket.

“Well, like I said, when I first met Vicky, I thought she was just a computer program. Dr. E spent a large amount of time and care teaching her and explaining things, basically raising his daughter all over again. This time he had a daughter and a son, and it seemed he couldn’t be happier.”

Twilight smiled and continued writing.

“Vicky and I quickly became friends, possibly because I was the only other one besides Dr. E that knew about her. I never had any family, but now I finally felt like I belonged somewhere. Those were the happiest years of my life to this point.”

Jack pulled the legplate socket down and set it next to the boots, moving to the glove sockets.

“Then, just as things seemed to be too good to be true, they were. Six years ago the Dominion found out what happened to Dr. E and they attacked the station.”

Twilight once again stopped writing, listening intently.

“The dominion are a formidable military force. They had better be, they had over two hundred years of experience. The body count was relatively low considering, only all of the scientists on the floor that Dr. E was on died. About forty in total.”

Twilight could hear the change of tone in Jack’s voice. He was trying to keep his cool while he worked.

“Dr. E had just finished working on Vicky’s emotional matrix a few days prior and she was learning how to deal with human like emotions. What a way to break the poor girl in…” Jack said quietly.

“The plan was… To escape with Dr. E and Vicky on the Head Archivist’s ship. This ship.”

Timidly, and perhaps regretfully, Twilight asked. “What happened to the Doctor?”

“We were in the last corridor before we got to the ship. Dr E... He… he told us that he would catch up. I knew he wasn’t … but he made me promise…” Jack’s voice broke as he pulled the glove sockets out and sat down, placing them on the ground. He sucked in a sharp breath of air as he stood up and continued to work.

“He made me promise to take care of my sister… And to protect her and let her grow into the woman she was supposed to be. He wanted her to be able to make her own decisions and live her life in whatever way she saw fit. And then he … He went to go distract the Dominion troops.”

"Jack..."

He could still hear Vicky’s cries for her father as he closed the airlock and made his way to the cockpit. She screamed for hours as they went through warp, leaving the station and everything they ever knew behind. She didn’t speak to him for weeks.

Twilight sat silently, tears rolling down her cheeks while Jack worked, freeing the rest of the metal from the wall.

“H-h-How do you do it…?” She asked, her voice breaking as she looked up at him.

Jack looked down at her, seeing tears roll down her cheeks just like Celestia had the night before.

“How do you… keep going? Knowing… knowing…”

“Knowing he’s never coming back?” Jack asked, stopping work and kneeling down in front of her.

She inhaled sharply as he said that so flippantly. She then nodded.

Jack sighed and removed his helmet, showing his face to her, tears in his eyes as well. “I don’t know… but I do know what Dr. E told me. He said… ‘The one’s we love are never truly gone. Yes, they may no longer be beside us, but as long as we remember them, they’re always with us.’”

Jack put his arms around her gently, Twilight quickly returned the hug, burying her face into his neck. He felt her tears roll down his neck and he rubbed her back gently.

Author's Note

Song name "What a feeling" by Collie Buddz. https://youtu.be/22TkBlNUlUg

Chapter 4 - Princesses Don't Knock

After a few moments Jack and Twilight separated. He smiled down into her purple eyes and used his thumbs to wipe her tears away.

“I’m almost done here Twilight, then we can head back and get some lunch. How’s that?”

She sniffled and nodded, her smile slowly coming back.

Jack turned back to the armor rack and began unplugging the various lines that were left in the wall that routed power to the pieces. He then moved over to the drawer he got the toolbox from. He emptied the contents out and then removed the drawer from the wall, making it effectively a large metal crate.

Jack filled the crate with the chords and pieces of armor stand and the tool box, while Twilight stood up and brushed off her skirt. She wiped her face again, trying to regain her composure.

“Can I help with anything?” She asked, watching him walk out into the central corridor of the ship.

“Nope. Just stand there and look pretty.” Jack called over his shoulder.

Twilight blushed and looked around the room, seeing that Jack had left his helmet on the ground. She picked it up and looked around inside of it.

Jack dropped the box down as he entered the dining room of his ship, causing Twilight to jump from the sudden crash coming from across the hall.

Scrounging through the cabinets, Jack pulled out several small brown boxes and tossed them into the crate as well. Twilight slowly peeked her head into the room, holding his helmet close to her chest.

”Tell Twilight while I appreciate her picking up your helmet, I don’t like a view screen full breasts.”

“Take a picture!” Was Jack’s immediate response, receiving a heavy sigh in return.

Jack turned and walked towards the door, stopping just in time from walking directly into Twilight. “Excuse me…” He said, looking at her and scooting sideways back into the hallway.

His last trip was to the “workshop” area of the ship where he forced the door open. He was much closer to the front of the ship now and Twilight followed behind him. Seeing the light shine in from the cockpit, she stepped quietly down the hallway and into the open door.

She stood amazed at the large window that made up most of the room, a single chair in the center and several blackened screens all around. It was rather spacious all things considering and she glanced over various consoles before sitting down in the rotating chair. She smiled and swung side to side, looking around at the room before swinging to the front to inspect the consoles there.

Jack threw the rope and several small black boxes into the crate.

”She’s in the cockpit.”

Jack sighed and placed his hand on his face, walking down the hall to fetch the curious purple princess.

Twilight reached a hand out and gripped the flight stick, running her fingers gently over the various buttons.

Jack placed his hands on her shoulders and leaned forward next to one of her perked up ears. “I thought I said don’t touch anything.”

Twilight jumped as she felt him take hold of her, pulling her hand back from the stick and gripping the helmet again. “Sorry I just…”

“It’s ok, I know I’m boring. I have everything so we can go back now.” Jack said. He stared at one of her ears, resisting the almost overpowering urge to nibble on it to see what she’d do. He released his grip from her shoulders and headed back down the hallway towards the crate.

Twilight took one last look around and then hopped up, following him quickly.

Jack picked up the crate and turned to see Twilight following him, so he headed back out to the canyon wall with his supplies.

Back out into the sunlight he squinted and set the crate down. He tied the rope he retrieved from his workshop around the crate and attached the long free end to his belt. He then began the climb back up the side of the wall.

Twilight unfurled her wings and flapped them down hard, flying up and over the cliff face and landing, facing Jack as he took the long way up.

“Show off. Look at me, I’ve got wings.” Jack said quietly to himself as he finally crested the cliff face.

“I also have good ears.” Twilight said, smirking and placing a hand on her hip.

Jack turned around after biting his tongue. That’s not all you got that’s good. At least he was still safe in his own mind. Or was he? Could they read minds and just not tell him? He removed the rope from his waist and began pulling the crate up the cliff face.

After ensuring that everything was there, he put the excess rope on top of the rest of his junk and picked up the crate. He turned, along with Twilight and headed back to the cart.

Inside the cart however, the two Pegasus ponies had found something to occupy their time, each other. The female was grinding her hips against the male’s as they groped and kissed each other. Jack could see them forcing their muzzles together, every now and then they would separate just enough to breathe. However, their tongues never let go of each other and they quickly resumed their kiss. Jack saw that both of their wings were fully extended and eyes were closed.

Jack walked quietly over to the back of the cart, leaving a blushing Twilight to cover her face and peek through her fingers at the couple. Jack let the crate slam down beside the furiously kissing ponies, causing them to jump and look over at him, finally separating their mouths from one another.

“Sorry that took so long, but I’m sure you two didn’t mind.” Jack said, smiling. Inside he was chewing through his fake smile reserve. The sight of these two ponies reminded him that he was just a worthless orphan, not even worth dating, let alone make out material. What woman would have him? Even the women he managed to get on his ship left immediately after they found he didn’t have a credit to spare on them.

The two Pegasi ponies scrambled to their hooves, and jumped off the front of the cart, strapping themselves up and fixing their mussed manes and armor. Twilight slowly made her way to the back of the cart, still visibly flustered.

Jack stepped up onto the cart, then turned and held out his hand to Twilight. She took it and stepped up onto the cart. “Thank you Jack.”

“No problem” he said, his hand still held out and the smile still on his face. “Helmet please. And thank you for remembering it.”

Twilight nodded and handed his helmet over. Once back in his possession, Jack put his helmet back on and dropped the fake smile.

“Are you two ready to head back?” The male Pegasus asked. Twilight nodded while Jack wrapped some of the rope around his leg, making sure that his crate didn’t fly out of the cart on the way back.

The pair sat in silence for most of the way back. Jack watched as Twilight’s hair blew in the wind and she held tight to her satchel of papers. Deciding now was as good a time as any, he crossed his arms.

“Vicky, can I get those scan reports?”

A cascade of files came up on the inside of his helmet and Jack held his right hand up slightly, flicking his finger from side to side while reading the information.

Lighter bone density than the unicorn pony, hollowed bones similar to birds. Feathers on their wings and increased nerve and muscle clusters in the wings. Blood pressure and other internal workings were similar to the unicorn pony, only they didn’t have horns protruding from their skulls.

Jack swiped his finger again, closing the reports and continuing on to the files for the male Pegasus.

“WHAT?!” He shouted, causing Twilight to jump suddenly.

“what is it Jack?” Twilight asked, leaning forward a bit.

“N-nothing. I just thought there was something wrong with my helmet…”

Jack leaned back, swiping his fingers again and closing the files. He smoldered just under his helmet, his mind spiraling down the negative path he had to fight every day he was around human women. He was an orphan, and a delivery boy. Now, in this world of ponies, he was that AND physically inferior. According to the scan and the supposed percentage difference in ‘normal variation of length’, he was just better than half. Fifty percent as “satisfying”. Even he knew his sparkling personality wasn’t enough to seal the deal, and even if it was, the only smile he would be bringing to the party, would be the momentary laughter at his equipment. He continued to crush himself with his inadequacies the entire way back to Canterlot.

The carriage shook and landed in the back courtyard used as a loading platform for the Research facility. The cart came to a stop and Jack stood up without a word, unwrapping the line from his leg and picked up his crate. He hopped off and walked passed the two Pegasus ponies. “Thank you.” He said curtly, not waiting around for a response.

Twilight watched and followed him off of the cart, but spent a little more time with the Pegasus ponies. “Thank you very much you two. Have a nice day.”

“You too Princess Twilight.” The female said, nodding to her.

Twilight looked in the direction Jack walked off to, seeing he was walking quickly and hurried off to catch up.

Jack sets the crate down in his room, finally burying his feelings enough to pull his helmet off. He reached down into the crate and fished out a small brown box, reading the label and turning around to see Twilight standing in the doorway.

“Time for lunch?” Jack asked, walking over to her.

Twilight could see that something was bothering him, but she took a step back, letting him out into the hall and nodded.

“Yes. It will be just us two, since Princess Celestia has a meeting.”

Jack walked down the hall ahead of her, Twilight just a few steps behind him. There was definitely something bothering him. She had to do something to help him, but what?

Jack pushed the door open to the dining hall and sat down in his usual spot, Twilight however went to the kitchen to inform the cook. She spent a few extra moments, trying to think of something special to make for him. Maybe if she made him something tasty, he would feel better?

The chef pony brought over peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to show Twilight and she nodded, then set about making a salad for him. He seemed to enjoy that when he had it. She still didn’t know exactly what he liked to eat, so she went off of whatever little knowledge she had of him. Once finished, Twilight took the sandwiches and Jack’s salad out to him.

“Here’s lunch Jack. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and a special salad for you.” She said with a smile, setting the food on the table.

Jack looked up at her and smiled softly. “Thanks Twilight.”

Twilight sat next to him while the chef pony brought out a pitcher and a few glasses of apple juice for them to wash their food down with. The two of them ate in silence, Twilight occasionally peeking over at his face to see if his mood had improved.

Jack quickly drank down a glass of apple juice and refilled his glass. He then pulled up the brown box he had and opened it, revealing a clear package filled with several reddish brown pieces of food in it.

Twilight looked curiously as Jack struggled to open the package with his hands, so he opened his mouth and bit it apart. It was only when he ripped the package open, she saw his rather large and sharp canines. She was then hit with a wave of horrid smelling something that was inside the package. She pinched her nostrils closed quickly and moved her chair away.

“What is that smell?!” She asked.

“Beef Jerky. Teriyaki flavor.” Jack pulled out a piece of jerky and bit into it, tearing it apart. Twilight suddenly realized that he was eating meat and her stomach lurched. The smell, combined with the sound of tearing flesh made her immediately sick.

Jack looked over at her and took a big bite of salad, enjoying the mixture of the greens and dried meat. “You ok Twilight?”

She placed her free hand over her muzzle and quickly left the table, her chair falling over backward as she left the room.

Great, add making ponies vomit to the list of your most endearing qualities…

Jack finished his food quickly, drinking down another glass of apple juice. He collected the plates, picked up Twilight’s knocked over chair and did his best to straighten things up. He picked up the dishes and carried them to the kitchen.

“Hey, where do you want the dirty dishes?” He asked to the group of ponies working in the kitchen. They all stopped what they were doing and stared at him. One in the back slowly raised her hand and motioned over.

“You can put them here sir…?” She said quietly.

Jack approached her and placed the dishes on the counter top next to her. “Here ya go. Thanks.”

He turned and walked out, leaving the rest of the ponies to look at each other and then back at the now closing door.

Jack returned to his room in silence, finding the bed made and everything in order. He sighed and rubbed his chin, he’d have to make sure to thank the maid staff after what happened this morning.

”What is wrong with you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You just wrote off the world after that touching moment with Twilight in the ship.”

“I still don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jack said, squatting down over the crate and pulling out his tools and the pieces of the armor rack.

”I’m not blind and neither is Twilight. Why are you acting like this?”

“Why am I acting like what? I’m just being normal old me.” Jack said, setting himself to work.

”Acting like a fucking prick that’s what. You just completely ignored Twilight during lunch, even when she knew there was something bothering you. She even made you a salad. Then, when she got sick, you just let her fuck right off!”

“So what am I supposed to do? Sacrifice everything I am just to develop feelings for someone only to be told that I’m not good enough? I’m not worth the air that I’m breathing? That I never had a chance? That I don’t deserve to be happy?!” Jack said, throwing the pieces of metal to the ground and walking to the window, looking out towards the horizon.

”Jack, you can’t think like that…”

“Why not Vicky!? You were there when those women just walked out. You read the reports. You know me better than anyone else. There’s no way that I’ll ever …”

” You’re right, I do know you better than anyone else. And you know what? You’re wrong. Yes those women walked out, but they were no good for you. You’re too good for them. Just look at what happened earlier today. You comforted Twilight. And last night, you did the same for Celestia. Not even a whole day here and you’ve already lightened the hearts of arguably the most stressed and pressurized people on this planet. So yes, when those harpies left you, it was for the best. You don’t deserve to be treated like a walking wallet, you deserve someone that will love you. Like you deserve to be loved.”

Jack turned and slid down the wall, sitting down and facing the closed door. “Vicky…”

”Daddy was right when he told me you were special. He saw greatness in you Jack, and I do too. It’s about time you start believing in yourself now.”

Jack smiled softly, placing his right hand on his chest.

”And besides, who gives a shit how big your dick is. You have me, and together we’ll make something that will have those pony women lined up for kilometers just to get a chance at seeing you.”

Jack laughed, feeling significantly better knowing that Vicky was still with him. What would he do without his sweet sister?

Jack’s stomach growls as he finishes tightening the last bolt on the armor stand. It had no power, and wasn’t secured to the wall yet, but it was together. He took a step back and wiped his forehead and smiled at his work.

”It should be time for dinner Jack. You have someone to apologize to.”

“You’re right. Well let’s go see how everyone else’s day went, shall we?”

Jack put his tools away quickly and picked up his helmet. This time he left any ‘extra’ food in the crate, so as not to further upset anyone.

Once again, night had crept up on him, the sun already down but the lights ever bright in the hallways and his room. He pushed the door open to the dining room, finding the three princesses already eating.

“Sorry I’m late ladies, got caught up on something.” Jack said, smiling and rubbing the back of his head.

“Ah, Mr. Jack, we were just wondering where you were.” Celestia said.

“Still kicking around, don’t worry Princess.” Jack sat down next to Twilight, who slid away slightly. “Sorry about earlier Twilight. I guess I should have given you a heads up.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “What happened earlier?”

Jack stuck a finger into his mouth and pulled his cheek out, revealing his teeth to the other two. He then pulled his finger away. “I kinda ate some meat in front of Twilight. I wasn’t thinking and she got a little sick. It was rather rude of me.”

Twilight crossed her arms and looked away from him. Jack frowned a bit and then perked up.

“So… how was everyone else’s day?”

“Restful.” Luna said, using her magic to cut a piece of vegetable lasagna and raise it to her mouth. Her hands held a glass of water and a parchment, possibly reviewing for Night Court.

“Another wonderful day serving my little ponies. The meetings with the parliament could have gone better however.” Celestia picked her glass up and sipped from it.

Jack leaned forward and cut himself some of the lasagna and a rather generous piece of the cake that was still sitting in the middle of the table. He poured himself some water and then leaned back in his chair.

“Everything else go alright for you Twilight?” Jack said before taking a bite out of his meal.

She didn’t respond but continued to eat in silence, her eyes cast down at her plate.

Jack looked around at the other two at the table, and again saw a look of disapproval come from Luna. He looked back over to Celestia and he could swear it wasn’t this hot a moment ago. Why was it so hot? A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead and he picked up his glass of water for another drink.

“What did you do today Jack?” Celestia said. He could hear the slightest hint of something in her voice, but he couldn’t say what.

“It was alright. I spent a good bit of time with Twilight here and got some things done.” Jack wasn’t going to explain his lapse in mood earlier today. What these women didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him, he figured. Besides, how is ‘oh I found out I have a tiny pecker’ polite conversation?

Dinner came and went without another word. Luna stood and set her papers down. “Well, I believe it is time for Night Court.” She said, brushing her hands down her dress, trying to straighten it.

“Until the morning Celestia, Twilight.” She said, receiving nods in return. She walked out of the room. As she reached the door, Jack called out to her.

“What? I don’t get a good night kiss?” Why did the room become so cold all of a sudden?

Luna looked over her shoulder, her steel blue eyes glaring daggers at him. “Until the morning, Mr. Jack.” She then exited the room and slammed the door behind her.

Celestia waited just a moment and then erupted in laughter, putting a hand to her chest and the other on the table. “Oh my stars! Jack!”

Twilight looked at Jack as well, horrified.

“What...? It was a joke?” Jack asked looking at Twilight, suddenly feeling like a mouse caught in a cage.

“That was amazing!” Celestia said, calming down a bit. “I never thought you had it in you! Most ponies are too afraid to even SPEAK to Luna, let alone tease her!”

“Oh…” Jack said. Twilight again returned to her now empty plate before standing up.

“Good night Princess Celestia.” She said quietly and politely. She pushed her chair back into the table and walked out the door.

Celestia, now calmed down, looked at Jack. He was already on his feet and headed for the door. She smiled to herself, again reassured that she picked the right pony for the job.

“Twilight, wait up!” Jack called out to her, jogging to catch up with her.

“What do you want?” Twilight asked, not turning to look at him. She just kept walking.

“I want to apologize if I upset you this afternoon. I also don’t think I properly thanked you for the salad.”

Twilight stopped in front of a pair of wooden double doors, finally turning to face him, her hands placed on her hips.

Jack stepped up in front of her and smiled softly.

“Well?” Twilight said, expecting him to start.

“Oh, right.” Jack said, reaching a hand back and rubbing his neck. “Twilight, I’m sorry for what happened this afternoon. It was wrong of me to ignore you, and also to not warn you.”

Twilight’s features softened a bit, shifting slowly from disappointment.

“I’ve just… well this whole place is new to me and I’ve never been in a situation like this before, so it’s hard. I don’t always think about what I do to other people and I guess I treated you poorly. No, I know I treated you poorly. You’ve been kind to me throughout this whole thing and I guess I took that for granted. I’m sorry, truly I am.”

Twilight quickly wrapped her arms around him and pressed herself against his armor, putting her face in his neck once again. Jack returned the hug and placed his hands on her lower back, smiling as he enjoyed the smell of her hair.

They stood like that for a few moments before Twilight pulled away and placed a hand on the doors. “I forgive you Jack. Good night.”

“Good night princess.” Jack said as she opend the door. He peeked into what he figured was her room, spying a large purple bed in the center and not much else before she shut the door.

”No stalking and no peeping.

Jack walked down the hall, shaking his head. “You take all the fun out of it Vicky, you really do.”

He looked out a window and saw the night sky. He stood in place as he looked out at the stars and the large moon that hung overhead. Deciding this was a golden opportunity, Jack wandered around the castle until he could find a door out to the gardens.

Jack, now finally outside, crossed the large open area in the gardens and found a nice spot in the grass to lay down. He laid on his back and put his hands behind his head, gazing at the stars.

A few minutes, or maybe a few hours passed, he couldn’t be sure, and he heard someone walking through the grass approaching him. He leaned his head back a bit and saw the figure of an upside down Princess Luna approaching him. She still had a stern look on her face, so he looked back up to the sky, thinking of a good way to apologize for earlier. He was apologizing a lot, maybe he should stop being such an asshole. Maybe tomorrow.

“What are you doing out here?” Luna asked as she stood next to the lying man.

“Looking at the sky. What are you doing? Don’t you have princess things to do?”

Wow great, super smart to open with that. He thought to himself

“I’m checking on our visitor, and ensuring that castle security is acceptable!”

“So you just wanted to come see me. I get it.” Jack teased. Deeper and deeper

Luna growls and stands next to him. “Why are you looking at the sky?”

“Because it’s beautiful. I’ve never seen anything like this before and it’s breathtaking. I just figured I would come out here and look at it for a while to unwind.”

Luna became silent as she looked down at the man, expecting this answer to be another filled with sarcasm and half truth. She however, found no such sign. Jack, seeing the slightest bit of emotion come to her face, decided that he was starting to get through to her.

“I grew up in a place that had no sky. Sure I lived among the stars, but there was no day or night. Just the lights of the station and a clock to tell you what time it was. This is the first time I’ve had a day and night cycle and I have to say, I will probably remember these nights for the rest of my life.”

“I’m… glad you like it. It’s been so long since anypony told me my nights were beautiful.” Luna said quietly, her gaze turning up to the sky as well.

Jack looked up and over to her. “Would you like to look at the stars with me Princess?”

She looked down at the man, her light blue eyes shining in the moonlight.

Jack smiled and patted the grass next to him. “There’s a pretty good spot right here.” He placed his hand back on his chest and then shifted his gaze back to the stars.

Luna stood still for a moment before moving next to him and laying down in the grass. She sighed quietly and smiled, relaxing for the first time in what seemed like ages.

The two of them lay quietly watching the moon slowly crawl across the sky, before Jack yawned somewhat loudly.

“Man... what a day. I’m going to turn in Princess. It was nice spending some time with you. We should do it again soon.”

Luna sat up and looked over to him, putting her hands in her lap and fiddling with her fingers.

Jack stood up and brushed whatever loose grass had stuck to him from laying in the ground so long. “G’night Princess.”

She watched as he walked off, back towards the castle. “Goodnight Jack…”

Returning to his room, Jack placed a hand on the back of his neck, trying to sort out the day’s events. There was so much that had happened in such a short amount of time. It was another emotional rollercoaster for him. He secretly enjoyed it though, as his other alternative was the mostly mind-numbing loneliness he felt warping from star to star. He began removing his armor, getting ready to take a shower and placing it on the table. His stand wasn’t powered, nor secured to anything so the weight of the armor would make it fall over in the night, causing a sudden jump of panic to wake him up.

Jack heard his door open and then quickly, without warning, someone and let herself in. He heard the click of hooves on the floor.

“Mr. Jack.” Celestia said, shutting the door behind her.

Jack turned around, his shirt off and with his hands gripping the waistband of his pants. “Princess Celestia.”

She quickly crossed the room and threw her arms around him, pulling his head firmly between her breasts and squeezing him tightly.

For half a moment he thought he had died as his face was buried in her soft full breasts covered only by the fabric of her dress.

“Oh Jack thank you so much!” Celestia said, not releasing him.

Jack managed to lift his head up just enough so that he could breathe through his nose, his mouth forced open against her right breast. “Err Elem?” (You’re welcome?)

She ran a hand through his hair on the back of his head. “I just got a letter from Twilight!”

Jack, unsure what to do with his hands, slowly raised them and put them around her back, careful not to place them anywhere inappropriate, although he desperately wanted to grab two handfuls of her rear.

“I haven’t gotten a letter from her since… well since her friends began passing. This is the first one in over a hundred years!” Celestia squeezed him again, leaning her head down on top of his and rocking him from side to side.

Jack patted the small of her back gently, trying to return the affection and his congratulations. She removed her arms from around him and then took a step back. Jack could see the broad smile on her face and the gleam of happiness in her eyes. He returned the smile and wiped the little bit of spit he had forced out of his mouth by her surprise hug.

“Glad I could help Princess.”

“Oh I am too! You’ve already made such progress in such little time. Where have you been all this time?”

Jack remembered she said ‘one hundred years’. “Not born yet…? Over one hundred years?”

Celestia chuckled a bit, her breasts bouncing along with her voice. “Oh yes, I don’t think anypony told you. Twilight is a little over 220 years old.”

Jack blinked, then looked over at the door, then back to her, unsure of what to say.

“Oooh and she’s the youngest of us. My sister and I are 3567, and 3568 respectively.”

“No… You can’t be. You don’t look a day over thirty…” Jack said, trying to wrap his mind around the news of the princesses’ supposed immortality.

Celestia took another step forward, running a finger up his chest and under his chin letting her eyelids fall slightly. “Oh Jack, flattery will get you everywhere. But honestly, we have all been alive for, quite some time, young man.”

Jack felt a rather warm sensation run up his body along with her finger. Celestia leaned down, her muzzle coming ever closer to his lips. She moved so close that he could feel her warm breath against his face. He exhaled slowly, unable to breathe back in. His mind, half panicked that she was sucking his very soul out of his mouth, the other half just enjoyed the sensation of his impending doom.

Just before their lips met she pulled away and opened her eyes fully. She tapped him on the nose with her finger. “Oh yes, that reminds me.”

Jack blinked, returning to reality and breathing in once more.

“The sweets at breakfast and dinner are for me. You may have some if you ask, but if you ever take them all again, well…” Celestia smiled and chuckled lightly as she leaned in close again. “We both know that won’t happen right?”

Jack nodded slowly, his eyes transfixed on her and his hands slowly rubbing together nervously.

“Have a good night Mr. Jack.”

She turned and walked away, the sway in her hips much more pronounced along with the swish of her tail. He also watched as her hand slowly moved up her thigh to her rear, then to her chest. He stood there, his brain trying to process the cascade of emotions and thoughts that just transpired between him and an immortal being that supposedly had the power to move an entire star. What a day…

Chapter 5 - No Need for Alarm Clocks

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