Hutton couldn't sleep.

It wasn't because he was allowed to sleep in a strange room, although it certainly didn't help, it was just that his mind would not shut off. Rather than toss and turn in the silk-like sheets, Hutton merely propped himself on the large windowsill and looked out towards the east of Ponyville. His mind raced with the prospect of getting home through the efforts of these magical ponies.

But what he wasn't too keen on, was how long Twilight said it would take for things to be readied.

"Time travel maybe science fiction where you're from. But here? It is a very real idea, one that must be tread with carefulness."

Those words from Twilight rang through his mind, echoing like a constant reminder that time travel is serious work in this land.

Staring out, he could faintly see the skyline of a large city resting on the horizon. Before that, there was nothing but a green expanse of trees and fields, stitched together by the empty railroad that stretched towards the city. On occasion, he would see a lone train chugging along the rails, going to and from the various stops along its' route.

He watched as the sun began to peak over the horizon, its' shining beams creeping over the land quickly as the night retreated. He had seen plenty of sunrises in his life time, many of them beautiful. But to experience one in an alien place, well, that just might top his list.

Around seven-thirty, Hutton heard a quiet knocking at the door. Shifting from his position, he walked over to the door and opened it. The hall was quiet and empty. Hutton was about to turn back and close the door, when someone cleared their throat.

"Uh, down here?" said a young male voice. Turning back and looking down, Hutton is greeted by the sight of a green and purple lizard, one who was giving an awkward smile up to him. Coming up to Hutton's knee, a few beads of sweat trickle down the lizards' temple. "U-uhm...Twilight wanted me to come and fetch you for breakfast..." he said nervously, clearly intimidated by Hutton's presence.

"Talking ponies, and talking iguanas. Now I've seen everything." Hutton said, scratching at his chin again. The young lizard became visibly upset at being called an iguana, his face scrunching up into a scowl as he crossed his tiny arms across his chest.

"I am not and iguana. I am a terrible, fire-breathing dragon, thank you very much!" scoffed the lizard, turning his snout up and away from Hutton. The human simply gave an amused chuckle, resting against the doorway.

"A dragon, huh? Kid, you're a little too small to be one. And, where I'm from, dragons are nothing but myth." Hutton said confidently. The lizard simply raised an eyebrow in a 'Are You Serious' manner, complete with a deadpanned expression.

"I know where you're from, and I know that dragons are fake there. You're also in a land full of magical, talking ponies. Do you really find it hard to believe that dragons exist here?"

Hutton blinked. He hadn't considered that until now. Come to think of it, it would make sense for fictional creatures to exist somewhere, right? That only made him wonder what other types of creatures existed in this land. Maybe the Loch Ness Monster actually lived here?

"Huh. You got me there, kid." Hutton said simply. The dragon gave a smug smile and turned on his heel.

"Come on, it's breakfast time!" He said, already jogging off.

Stepping out and closing the door, Hutton followed the little dragon along the hallway, trying to cut his own speed down so that he could follow the dragon to where they needed to be.

"Got a name, kid?" Hutton asked.

"Name's Spike! How about you?" asked Spike, looking up to Hutton.

"Phillip Hutton, but many just call me Hutton. Phil is too common a nickname where I'm from." he said. "Speaking of, how do you have experience with my kind? I thought it was just Twilight who did." Hutton pointed out.

"Huh? Oh! That! Well, I kinda jumped after her through the mirror. I was worried that she might've gotten hurt or lost without her Number One Assistant there to keep her head together. It was a good thing I went along, the moment she came to, Twilight started freaking out." Spike said, a chuckle following his explanation. "It was kinda funny to watch." he added.

"I'd imagine it would be strange entering a world completely new. I didn't have the chance to freak out. I had just survived a plane crash, not knowing what was going on exactly. Kinda passed out before I could register what was going on when I stumbled out." Hutton said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Wasn't it scary?" Spike asked, looking up at him.

"Sure as Hell was. I was pretty sure that I was going to die." Hutton said simply. Spike simply gave a small 'Whoa' before they finally approached a set of double doors. Grabbing a doorknob, Spike stepped aside to allow Hutton entry into the room. It takes all but a second for Hutton to be amazed by the room he entered. The ceiling was adorned by a twisting and erratic chandelier. The surface looked oddly like wood, while multi-colored lights dangled from the ends of the limbs. The room itself was large and circular, while a large round table complete with high-backed chairs sits directly in the middle. Voices filled the air, all of various tones and conversations. The smell of hot pancakes hits Hutton, causing his stomach to growl.

The growl was loud enough to stop all conversation entirely.

At that moment, seven mares peaked from around the high-backed chairs, looking right at Spike and Hutton.

Five of them give a look of recognition, while the remaining two held looks of either pure shock or curiosity.

"Ah, good morning Mister Hutton! I trust you slept well?" piped up Twilight, a warm smile adorning her features.

"Uh, kinda, I couldn't sleep really." Hutton admitted. Twilight's face turned to one of concern.

"Was the bed too small? Or was it too cold in the room?" she asked.

"No no, my mind wouldn't shut off is all. Just thinking to myself, mostly." he replied. Deeming this an acceptable answer, Twilight signaled for him to join them at the large table. Walking over, Hutton took off his flight jacket and draped it over the back of an empty chair. Taking his seat next to Twilight, he looked at the faces of the other mares, who all stared back at him. "Uhm, hello." he greeted meekly. Chuckling a bit, Twilight extended a hoof to the others.

"Lieutenant, these are my friends; Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack you already know, and Starlight Glimmer. Girls, this is Lieutenant Phillip Hutton. He's a visitor here and will be here for a while." Twilight said, giving a smile.

"A visitor, indeed. Causing such a ruckus on his way in." Rarity harrumphed, taking a delicate bite from her pancake. Twilight casted a quick glance to Rarity before Applejack spoke up.

"How ya' likin' yer visit so far?" she asked, munching down on a bright green apple.

"It's certainly different, but at the same time, it kind of reminds me of home." Hutton explained. At that moment, a plate of pancakes slid in front of him, followed by the sounds of Spike retreating to the kitchen. Looking up, Hutton jumped back, the sight of a obnoxiously pink mare right in his face had spooked him. She looked him over with a look of suspicion. Hutton awkwardly smiled and casted a glance to Twilight.

"What is she doing?" he harshly whispered, although he was certain the pink pony could hear him.

"Let her be. Pinkie Pie is rather...unique, in her own way." Twilight said simply, watching with a bemused smile.

"You don't look like a baddie." Pinkie said, sniffing the air now. Hutton thought he felt a drip of blood trickle out of his ear, the mares' voice was just as obnoxious as her appearance. "You don't smell like a baddie." she added. Suddenly Hutton is greeted by a sloppy lick on his left cheek, leaving the man stunned. Smacking her lips and thinking the flavor over, Pinkie continued, "And you don't taste like a baddie either." Content with this investigation, Pinkie Pie broke her look of suspicion, turning to a look that welcomed Hutton like an old friend. "Welcome to Ponyville Mister Hutton!" she cheered, eagerly grabbing his hand with her hooves. She shook it with the strength of a hundred ponies, rattling the poor man in his seat.

"Pinkie, stop." Twilight ordered calmly. She was used to Pinkie's childish antics, and a calm voice always seemed to resolve them rather quickly. Letting his hand go, Pinkie took a single bound into the air and landed perfectly in her seat before diving into her pancakes. Hutton hooks his hand, rubbing it a bit to regain the feeling he had lost.

"U-uhmm..." sounded a voice. Was it a voice? Hutton could've sworn he just heard a mouse within the room. Looking at the various ponies, he finally rested his gaze on a yellow pegasus. Her face was hidden by a curtain of a long, pink mane.

She spoke so quietly, it was a wonder that Hutton had managed to pick it up. "H-hello..."she squeaked. Twilight leaned over to Hutton, whispering into his ear.

"That's Fluttershy. She's normally shy around newcomers, but she will warm up to you soon. Turns into a completely different mare when you get to know her."

"Ah, I know her kind. Super conservative and keeps to herself?" he whispered back. Twilight nodded in confirmation, which Hutton returned. The two leaned away and Hutton gave a gentle wave towards Fluttershy. At that moment, Rainbow Dash opens piped up.

"What was that thing you came out of the other night? It sure made a lot of noise!" she said, taking a bite of her breakfast. Hutton could see Rarity nodding in agreement out of the corner of his eye.

"That was just my aircraft." he answered, putting a fork into his pancakes, cutting off a sizable chunk to eat.

"Why was it on fire? Is that normal?" Rainbow asked, fixating him with a look of curiosity. "How fast can it go?" she added.

"It was on fire because I had ran into some trouble," he answered. "As if that was an understatement." he mentally added. "No, that's not normal for it to do either. As for her speed, she can go nearly three-hundred miles per hour with a full load." he finished, taking his bite. The vanilla sweetness of the pancake practically punched Hutton in the mouth, popping his eyes open wide. Unlike his stack, which was just plain with no toppings, the others had various toppings that seemed to reflect their personalities. Hutton could only wonder at the explosion of flavor their pancakes would have delivered to him.

"Oh, it's a 'she', now is it?" Applejack asked, wiggling her eyebrow in a playful manner. Pinkie seemed to catch the implied joke and gave a giggle. Hutton joined Pinkie for a moment, shaking his head a bit.

"No no, nothing like that." he said, waving a hand dismissively. "Like most women where I'm from, machines can be just as temperamental and tricky to work with or even understand. It's a habit for most men to give their machines the name of a woman, but that usually only happens when they've gotten comfortable with what they are operating." he explained, taking another bite off his stack. Rainbow Dash took the beat of silence to continue speaking.

"Three-hundred, eh? That's pretty fast for something that big. Not as fast as me though!" Rainbow said, falling into a boastful tone as she leaned back, like she had something to brag about. Her posture reminded Hutton of the Air Corps fighter pilots he worked with. Each seemed to have something to brag about, whether it be their kill count or about how they were skilled in maneuvering their aircraft.

"She would fit right in with the fighter jockeys, that much I can tell." Hutton thought to himself. Rarity simply groaned and rolled her eyes, casting a glance to the cyan pegasus.

"Rainbow, dear, please don't start bragging at the new comer. Let him learn on his own." she pleaded. Rainbow Dash simply laughed.

"How else is he going to know who the fastest pegasus in Equestria is? He doesn't strike me as the type to pick up a book." she said, smirking at Hutton. Hutton, to his merit, felt insulted at this. He was about to open his mouth when Twilight interjected.

"Rainbow, you've pick up plenty of books, yet you're the most athletic of us. I'm sure Mister Hutton, in his profession, is no stranger to reading the finer works of his people." she said, chiding the pegasus. Rainbow scrunched her face, realizing that she had said something quite rude. In her embarrassment, she took a bite of her pancakes.

"Still," she started, talking through her food. "I hold the record for fastest flight time. I'm the only one can even create a Sonic-Rainboom!" she added, taking another bite. Rarity held a look of disgust at Rainbows lack of table manners.

"Sonic-Rainboom?" Hutton asked simply. Rarity groaned out loud now, knowing what was to come. And she was right, Rainbow Dash let a smile creep across her lips. Flaring her wings and bolting to stand on the table, she presented herself like a hero before Hutton.

"Yeah! A Sonic-Rainboom! I go so fast, I break the sound barrier! The explosion is like a rippling rainbow and I go even faster! I'm the only one who can do it, and it's part of the reason why I got onto the Wonderbolts!" she bragged, rubbing a forehoof against her chest in a ocky manner, complete with a confident smile.

"Oh yeah, definite fighter jockey."

"You also got on the team because you managed to teach Spitfire a lesson or two!" Pinkie Pie interjected, but Rainbow just waved it off. She was in her element, she didn't need to worry about small details like that, even if they did play a bigger role than her unique abilities.

"Sounds impressive," Hutton started. "But nothing can compare to our fighter aircraft." he continued. Now it was Hutton's turn to brag. Twilight was quick to put a stop to it, however.

"You can tell us more some other time, Mister Hutton. For now, Rainbow Dash needs to be on her way to work, don't you?" she asked, casting a glance to the prideful pegasus. Looking at a nearby clock, panic filled Rainbow's features. In a blur of motion, she grabbed the last of her pancakes and sped out of the castle, a rainbow trail following her. Her plate simply teetered on its' rim before coming to a stop. Turning his attention to Rarity, Hutton spoke up.

"Rarity, right?" he asks, pointing to her. The unicorn raises an eyebrow, glancing to his gesturing finger.

"It's impolite to point darling, but yes, that is correct. I trust you have something to ask?"

"You seem to be in a bad mood. Something wrong?" he asked. While he was not one to dig into another's personal business, if someone seemed to be having a bad attitude, he intended to fix it before things got out of hand.

"It's nothing you should concern yourself with." she snapped, tiling her nose up a bit as she looked away. A few beats of silence pass by before she opened her mouth again. "Except one thing; Your attire."

The others all groaned and facehoofed themselves. Raising an eyebrow, Hutton looked down at his khaki flight jumper, then back to Rarity.

"Rarity, ya' know darn well that it's plain wrong ta judge somepony based on their clothin'." Applejack scolded The fashionista and southern belle exchange looks of silent arguing. Applejack knew she was right, but Rarity tended be quick to judge, even if past events taught her otherwise.

"What's wrong with it?" Hutton asked quietly.

"It's just so...so...bland!" she hissed, turning her full attention to him now. "Honestly, khaki with brown leather? Ugh! Just what type of fashion sense do your people have? I ought to teach them a thing or two about fashion!" she continued.

"Ma'am, you do realize that I serve with the military, right? The uniforms aren't supposed to be fashionable, they're meant to be practical, for everything and anything." Hutton replied flatly.

"I'm sure it serves plenty of purposes, but at least make it appealing to the eye!" she continued, nearly whining now.

"Rarity, it's not his choice on the matter of his uniform. If he's given it to wear, he can't complain. Am I correct?" Twilight asked, looking to Hutton.

"She's right. Flight crews are allowed to personalize their flight jackets, but that's pretty much it. The flight jumpers have to meet regulation standards. It's not fun, but it's expected of us." he said. Rarity, seeming to have heard none of this, pressed her lips together slightly.

"Well, if you are going to be staying in Equestria for a while, I suggest you stop by my shop. I can make a small wardrobe for you, one of which would be more flattering to the eye." she suggested, dropping her judgmental attitude and returning to her prim behavior.

"You do realize I won't have any way of paying you, correct?" Hutton asked flatly again. Rarity wove the statement off.

"Think nothing of it. It will be your welcome package." she said. Looking to the clock, she gasped slightly and hopped out of her seat. "I do apologize, but I must be on my way. I'm afraid I am running late! Mister Hutton, drop by sometime this afternoon!" she called, trotting out of the room as she magically closed the door behind her. Hutton shared a glance with Twilight.

"Well, she's certainly full of herself, isn't she?" he askd. Applejack merely gave a barking laugh.

"That's only tha tip of tha iceberg, sugarcube. She maybe a hoity-toity princess, but she means well. After all, she's well-known fer her fancy garments. Ah'd take her up on that offer if I was you." she said, gesturing to Hutton. Twilight nodded in agreement.

"It wouldn't hurt, Mister Hutton. Later today we can make a stop by her boutique to get you measured up. How does that sound?" she asked. Thinking it over, Hutton nodded, saying that it would be nice to see the rest of the town. "Oh! About your aircraft, I sent word to Canterlot. They're sending a recovery crew down here, and they should be arriving soon. Shall we be off the the site?" asked Twilight.

"Sure, I don't see why not." Hutton said. Looking to the rest of her friends, Twilight walked them out of the castle and said her goodbyes. Pinkie Pie, in her unusual ways, was rambling on about a party of some kind. Twilight seemed to know what Pinkie was talking about, but Hutton dismissed it as simple gibberish. Together, Hutton and Twilight made their way to the wreck of the bomber.

~ooo000ooo~

Twenty minutes had gone by since Twilight and Hutton got to the wreck. In that time, Hutton took it upon himself to recover any personal items that might have survived the crash. He managed to scavenge a few photos and a couple of maps from the radio-navigation desk. Looking at the scorched and torn items, Hutton sighed heavily.

"I wish there was more to find." he said, carefully unfolding the navigation map. The map itself managed to escape the carnage with only a few tears and gashes torn into the laminated paper. The Navigator, Mallory, had their routes planned out. A red line stretched from eastern Britain, ending at a point near Cologne, Germany. Their exit route took them north through the Netherlands, then out over the North Sea, right back to their airfield.

At least, that was the plan. And now he stood here, a stranger in a foreign land, the lone survivor out of eleven lost souls.

The photos were worse for wear. Unlike the map, they weren't laminated. A photo, although heavily scorched and torn, showed the eleven members of Hutton's Holly-Marie grouped together in front of their bomber. They had just celebrated their tenth successful mission. Another showed a beautiful red-headed woman through the bubbled surface. Although the personal message on the back of the photo was barely readable now, Hutton recognized Holly-Marie anywhere. The last was a photo of both Hutton and Morrison, arms draped over each other in joy.

He remembered that night like it was yesterday. It was their Graduation night from bomber training; They had just been cleared to fly. To celebrate, the two friends pulled a pub crawl through the lower region of London with a group of other pilots. The residents paid them no mind, just a few drunk Yanks. One by one, the group of pub going pilots dwindled until it was just Hutton and Morrison.

At one point, they had the bright idea of barging into Company Commander Argonson's office, acting like they held rank above him. Argonson was livid at their behavior. However, given the fact that there exactly wasn't quite an enforceable policy against drunken behavior for GIs stationed in London established yet, the two were essentially left off with a harsh warning.

That night, not only were they cleared to fly, they swore off drinking entirely. Argonson had put the fear of God into them, and the two men never forgot it.

"Friend of yours?" Twilight asked, snapping Hutton out of his memory.

"Yep." was all he said as he slipped the three photos into an inner pocket within his jacket. At that moment, Twilight heard a male voice call for her.

"Princess Twilight?"

Looking around, the two attempted to locate the owner to the voice. Eventually, they spotted an educated looking pegasus stallion soaring low over the trees. He wore thick, European style glasses and an argyle patterned sweater vest. Landing on all fours in front of Twilight and Hutton, the pegasus introduced himself.

"Slipstream, at your service, your Highness. Head of Mechanical Propulsion. I have been sent from Canterlot to assist in the movement of the wreckage." he said sharply. Looking to Hutton, his eyes widen in surprise a bit. "Ah, so this is a human, correct?" he asked, looking back to Twilight. "I studied your notes on your journey through the mirror. The human world sounded quite interesting." he added.

Twilight scowls. "I thought that information was granted to viewing by Celestia only." she said, an eyebrow raised. "And I thought they were sending me an entire team!"

"She permitted me access. Granted she hovered over my shoulder like a hawk, but she permitted me nonetheless." he replied. Twilight's scowl only deepened before Slipstream continued. "And an entire team? Ma'am, I hate to break it, but I am the entire team." Looking back to Hutton, he continued speaking. "Now, I was told that you have something of significant interest to Equestria's aeronautics research?"

Hutton nodded and gestured to the Holly-Marie. Turning around, Slipstream examined the site carefully. "Ah, yes, I spotted this mess on my way down. I do hope there's something I can salvage from all of this." he said, looking back to the human. "Can you provide blueprints and drawings?" he asked.

"I'm no artist, and I'm not particularly mechanically inclined, but I can give it a shot." he admitted. Slipstream nodded yet again. He signaled for the two to follow him to the wreck. "Something that might be of interest would be the engine. This aircraft was powered by four of them." Hutton said, gesturing to one of the intact engines on the right wing. Immediately, Slipstream made a beeline for the object and began examining it closely.

"So, what do you mean that you're the entire team?" Twilight asked, watching Slipstream conduct his investigation.

"Well, after society deemed it unnecessary to invest in newer forms of flight, Celestia cut down on the program. Eventually, she whittled my team of one-hundred to just me. All I have for an office and research space is essentially a broom closet. Honestly, I don't know why Celestia allows me to stay in the castle at this point. If I can't conduct my research and contribute to society, why keep me around?" he ranted, looking into the exposed radial pistons of the engine. "This is just fascinating. Tell me, how does this engine generate power?" he asked towards Hutton.

"It's powered by internal combustion and fueled by aircraft-grade gasoline. Nine cylinders puts out roughly twelve-hundred horsepower for each engine. This thing can clock in at nearly three-hundred miles per hour." Hutton ranted off. Slipstream started working into a fervor now, examining every single inch of the wreckage, moving over the engine to the battered wing structure. Twilight and Hutton simply allowed him to go about his business, watching as he moved in and out of the bomber fuselage, asking random questions to Hutton here and there.

After some time, Slipstream finished his initial look-over. Excitement rattled the stallion throughout his whole body. Eagerly, he asked Twilight for some help in moving the wreckage to Canterlot for further research. With a simple spark of her horn, Hutton watches as his bomber vanished from sight, leaving nothing but the scorched earth where she once sat. Slipstream thanked the two of them and took off for Canterlot, cheering the whole way. Hutton was glad his baby girl was going to be put to some good use, rather than watch her rust in a field. Yet, he couldn't help but feel that he just lost another crew member, possibly for good.

Tapping Hutton's forearm, Twilight mentioned that the two of them should head over to Rarity's shop to get him measured.

"Are we going to teleport again?" Hutton asked, hoping the answer was no. Twilight shook her head with a smile.

"No, not this time. It's just a short walk across town to the Boutique. Besides, it's a lovely day out. Why don't I expose you to the local scene?" she suggested.

"No one else is going to freak out, are they?" he asked, worried that a scene will explode the moment a civilian sees him.

"The few I've introduced you too haven't freaked out, have they? Just a bit shocked is all. You'll be fine, Mister Hutton." Twilight said, waving a hoof dismissively. "Besides, other ponies are used to seeing me with strange creatures. They just stare for a moment and go about their business."

Still unsure of this, Hutton reluctantly agrees to taking a walk through town.

~ooo000ooo~

So far, nothing crazy had happened. During their walk, Twilight talked Hutton through significant sites within the town, both of historic and personal significance. Stopping by Hot Fudge's Parlor, Hutton was exposed to Equestrian ice cream. A soy-milk based ice cream, it packed plenty of organic flavor with the help of natural vanilla and almonds. It was here that he told Twilight about how he and Holly-Marie had met.

"It was the big game night at the high school. Our team had finally won their first championship after a nearly fifteen-year losing streak. Everyone, and I mean everyone, was down at Ma's Home Diner. Kids were dancing, others were chatting, most were eating the home style food cooked up by Ma Dawson herself. I was standing by the jukebox trying to find a song to play, and that's when she hit me."

Twilight laughed for a moment, but stopped when she realized Hutton was serious.

"Wait, she hit you?"

"Yep. Square in the back of my head. Holly-Marie was a new waitress hire at the Diner and was serving tables. In her attempt at navigating the packed walking space, her serving tray clocked me right on the back of my head. I thought it was some wise guy looking to pick a fight, but instead, it was this beautiful red head with bright green eyes. From that moment, I was in love."

Twilight gave a long "D'awww!" at Hutton's sweetness. The man simply chuckled and waved a hand dismissively. Finishing their ice cream and leaving the ice cream parlor, the two continued to make their way through town towards the boutique. More and more ponies greeted the two, paying no mind to the fact that a strange creature was in the company of Princess Twilight.

"I guess you were right, folks around here are used to things that are out of the ordinary." he admitted at one point.

Then, there was Lyra Heartstrings.

~ooo000ooo~

Hutton and Twilight had just entered the south side of Ponyville. The two could see Carousel Boutique off in the distance, sitting on just the fringes of the town. As the two conversed between themselves, Hutton was convinced that he felt a pair of eyes on him. The feeling had been nagging at him for the past few minutes, and it eventually forced him to stop and look around the area.

"Is something wrong?" Twilight asked.

"Do you feel like we're being watched?" Hutton muttered. The rising paranoia caused his mind to fall back into his basic training instincts. His eyes scanned the bushes and windows, looking for anyone who might be peaking down at them. Twilight began looking around as well, having caught the feeling Hutton mentioned. Her ears folded back as she looked, uncertainty etching across her features.

Then a sound could be heard.

It started out low, the started to grow. It almost sounded like an excited giggling of some kind. The boarder line crazed giggling grew so loud, that Hutton didn't realize that the sound was coming from behind him.

"You. Do. Exist!"

Both Hutton and Twilight jumped with a yelp. Turning on his heel, Hutton's instincts kicked in, causing him to throw out a punch into thin air as he spun around. A few seconds later, he realized that there wasn't truly anyone behind him. Well, there was, but they weren't at the height of a person, like he had instinctively thought.

Standing at his waist was a mint green unicorn with a silver mane and tail. Her golden hued eyes gazed and examined Hutton's form, causing her already eager smile to stretch further than it normally should.

"You do exist!" she whispered again. Hutton and Twilight exchanged uneasy looks.

"Erm, well, yes he does Lyra." Twilight started, using a tone one would use when dealing with a mental patient.

"I know he exists, he's right here in front of me!" Lyra said, throwing a hoof forward, accidentally knocking it into Hutton's gut. The man gives a simply 'Oof!' as the air was knocked out of him. "I'm saying that humans actually exist!" she added, looking to Twilight. "Now nopony can call me crazy!!" she continued, nearly cackling at this point.

"So...." Twilight started cautiously. "You haven't seen the files...?" she continued, treading lightly.

Immediately, Lyra's focus locked on Twilight. The alicorn shrinks back a bit under Lyra's harsh gaze.

"What. Files?" she whisperd. Time and space seemed to fall apart around the two ponies as they held their gazes. Hutton was certain that there was going to be a fight of some kind. The tension was so thick, he could have cut into it and used it to butter his toast.

"Nothing! Don't worry about it!" Twilight snapped as she held an awkward smile. "Come along Mister Hutton! We must not keep Rarity waiting!" she said, almost as if she was panicking. Twilight planted her forehooves into Hutton's lower back, trying to push Hutton past the boarder line crazed unicorn.

"NO!" Lyra lashed, throwing her forelegs around Hutton's waist now. "I HAVE MUCH TO DISCUSS WITH HIM!!"

"HE. HAS. AN APPOINTMENT. LYRA." Twilight growled, throwing her shoulder into the effort. The two ponies snap and growl at each other like two alley cats fighting over a fish.

"TWILIGHT, TELEPORT!!" Hutton growls, trying his hardest to pry Lyra off his waist. The mare, despite her smaller stature, held on as if she had steel in her bones and muscles. With a grunt of effort, Twilight sparked her horn and the spell flashed.

~ooo000ooo~

Hutton jerked awake.

Sitting upright, he checks himself for injuries. Seeing he was not bleeding or showing signs of broken bones, he got to his feet and brushed off some dust. He looked around, looking for any familiar landmarks he would recognize from town.

Unfortunately, there are none to be found.

Instead of the small town landscape, Hutton found himself on a plateau of some kind. He had woken up closer to the edge of a steep cliff face. From his vantage point, Hutton looked out towards the plains that sat below him. A gust of wind rustled the golden wheat below, causing waves upon waves of billowing crop. These waves seemed to stretch on for miles as the wild blew. From up here, Hutton felt alone, almost as if he was on top of the world.

As the wind blew, he could hear the sounds of shifting metal groaning from behind him.

Turning around to find the source of the sound, Hutton felt his blood run cold as his gaze landed on the origin of the groaning metal.

As it had turned out, he wasn't as alone as he had initially thought.

Author's Note

Damn it Lyra! What did you do!!?