Project New Genesis

After a few minutes, Twilight returned in company of orange pony with blond mane, green eyes and cowboy hat. The second one was pulling a carriage.

"Applejack, this is Jacob Dracons." Twilight introduced him.

"You can call me Jacob." He said with smile.

"Howdy, partner." Applejack said with characteristic accent. "The name's Applejack. Ah' heard, that ya' have a lil' problem with ya'r legs, fella."

"Yeah."

Twilight and Rainbow helped Jacob to get on the carriage.

"You're pretty heavy." Rainbow said.

"Jacob, now, don't show to anypony, until I will tell you, okay?" Twilight said in very serious tone, like real princess.

"Yes, ma'am." Jacob answered with displeasure, because he hated any kind of orders, except those about fixing things. Twilight locked the carriage and gave Applejack signal to move.

"Twi, can Ah' ask ya' 'bout somethin'?" Applejack asked.

"Sure, Applejack."

"It's about Jacob. Ah' have really bad feelin's 'bout him. Messy hair, goatee... this guy smells me."

"Applejack. Because somepo... someone looks different, doesn't mean, he's bad." Twilight lectured Applejack. "It's not like, he's criminal from other planet, who escaped from the prison." Twilight decided to search something about Jacob on tablet.

In the meantime, engineer decided to change little his haircut and facial hair with isolation knife, after Applejack's comment about his look. After a few minutes, his hair was short, but still little messy and goatee was also short and straight. Now, he looked more, like someone in his age and status.

"Where should we take him?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Now I think, that he will draw too much attention in Ponyville."

"Maybe Fluttershy's cottage?" Twilight proposed. "She could even help us with him."

"Monkeys are animals, too." Rainbow said.

"I'm not a monkey." Jacob said with anger. Tired anger.

After some minutes, they were in front of the cottage with leafs on roof. Around were bird houses and little brook.

"Fluttershy is a hippie or what?" Jacob asked, looking from the carriage.

"She's a... vet." Twilight explained. "She helps animals and she might be able to help you, too."

"Okay. But, if she will give me a banana... you'll gonna need a straitjacket." Jacob warned.

"Um... Is anypony there?" From behind the door left a quiet and delicate voice.

"It's me, Flutters." Rainbow said. "With AJ, Twilight and... guest?"

The door opened. Inside the cottage was a pegasus mare with light yellow coat, pale pink mane and deep green eyes. When she noticed Jacob, her eyes whitened.

"Is that... a human?" She asked surprised. "I thought, they are only a myth."

"This is getting even better and better..." Jacob commented.

"Wait, wait, wait..." Twilight interrupted. "How do you know about his species?" Fluttershy walked inside her cottage and returned with book in mouth. "'Myths and theories-Out of Equestria.'" Twilight read the title, with little shock.

"I... sometimes like to... read things, like this." Fluttershy said but it was more like a loud whisper. Pegasus walked to engineer. "Um... good morning? I'm Fluttershy. What's your name?" She asked with little smile.

Jacob froze by her cuteness. "This is the cutest thing, I've ever seen!" He thought, trying to say something. "I'm Jacob. Jacob Dracons." He finally spitted it out. "Nice to meet you, Fluttershy."

Before anyone explained everything, Rainbow Dash saw something metal on Jacob's neck. "Hey Jacob, what's this on your neck?"

Jacob presented it little more. "Those are my dog tags."

"So... ya're a soldier?" Applejack asked with little relief, knowing that their guest isn't any criminal.

"Pvt. Jacob Dracons. At your service." Jacob introduced himself as a soldier only for fun. "3 years in military and still only a greenhorn. The biggest thing, what I was fighting on Mars, was stomach flu, after eating 4 days chili."

"Let's take him inside, before he will say something even weirder." Twilight proposed, confused about Jacob's style of talking.

Jacob could walk by himself, already, but it was still a challenge for him. He's never used special implants before. He knew only a theory. On Mars, before the start, safety inspectors told Jacob and his crew to use those implants only in emergency situations. Engineer managed to get himself on a nearby sofa. Inside the cottage was a lot of many kinds of animals. Jacob was surprised, because those animals lived earlier on Earth. His looking around was interrupted by a big sneeze.

"Bless you." Fluttershy said.

"You have any rabbits around?" Jacob asked, then sneezed again. "I'm allergic to them." After this words, Jacob felt a small kick on his right side. He looked there and saw little, white rabbit with angry look. "What are you looking at, carrot-eater?" Jacob said and sneezed once again. Fluttershy grabbed the rabbit in her hooves.

"Angel, be nice to our guest." Fluttershy told to rabbit. "I'm sorry for him, Mr. Dracons."

"Mr. Dracons. That sounds so formal... Call me Jacob." Jacob said and looked at Twilight.

The alicorn princess was reading the book, what Fluttershy gave her. She had a cutie mark in the shape of sparkle. It looked like hole in crystal tree, what Jacob saw earlier. He thought, it's just quirk of fate.

Inside cottage was much hotter, than outside, so Jacob decided to take of his armor, once again.

"Holy horseapples!" Applejack shouted with surprise and fear. "Ya'r arm is... made on metal?"

"It's just a technology from Jacob's land." Twilight explained.

"Ah still don't get that..." Applejack said with 'What the buck did I just heard?' face.

"Also, it's not a simple metal. It's very durable and light nano-alloy of carbon, titanium, silver and lite. Can we leave my arm?" Jacob asked, feeling uncomfortable.

"Anyways..." Twilight started. "interesting book, Fluttershy, but I have to set us up a meeting with Princess Celestia. She have to know about our guest. I'll write a letter and come back soon." Twilight said and left, leaving Jacob alone with three mares. Fluttershy noticed a bandages on Jacob's right hand. She noticed, that they weren't red from blood, but dark, like starless night.

"J-Jacob..." She gasped. "Y-your hand..."

Jacob looked on his hand. The view was terrifying. He quickly took of the bandages. The cut turned into a black mark. "What the fuck? What's happening?" Jacob felt sudden and strong pain in his right arm. It's veins started to turn black and grey. When it reached the elbow, pain stopped.

"I'll go get Twilight!" Rainbow screamed terrified and left the cottage. Just after that, Jacob felt strong and familiar headache.

"They are lying to you. You are a fool, believing them. They will make it even worse. But if you want to stay, I'll give you advice, kid. Beware of the Moon." The headache stopped. Jacob started to be bored of this cliché, villain lines. But, Jacob was wondering, what's this all about this: 'Beware of the Moon'.

Rainbow and Twilight returned to the cottage, in company of two other ponies. The first one was a white unicorn mare with dark blue, light curly mane and blue eyes. She literally, in Jacob's thoughts, screamed 'Bitch, I'm fabulous'. The second one was a pink earth pony with pomfy mane and light blue eyes. Jacob felt weird about the second one.

"Jacob, how's your arm?" Twilight asked worried.

"It's made of metal, silly." Pink mare commented.

"There's no time and place for jokes, like this, Pinkie." Unicorn mare responded with anger to her pink friend. "Twilight meant the second..." She looked at this with fear and disgust in eyes. "SWEET CELESTIA! Darling, what happened to you?"

"I'll tell you later. Maybe at dinner?" Jacob couldn't resist to make joke, like this.

"Oh my! Twilight, why you didn't tell me, that our guest has such warm voice? Where are my manners? My name is Rarity. I'm sorry for my manners, good sir." Her accent became more noble and kind.

"Don't worry about it. I'm Jacob Dracons. Call me Jacob. Can we get to the hospital or something? I want at least one normal arm."

"Jacob's right, we need Princess Celestia's help, immediately!" Twilight hasted. "We don't know, what that infection can do but maybe she will know something about this."

When Twilight finished the sentence, to the cottage came little, purple dragon with green spikes on head and back. "Why... you have to.. run... so fast..." Baby dragon sighed tired. He looked, like he run a marathon. "Wait, is that this... Jacob?"

"The one and only on this weird planet." Jacob commented his situation.

"Good to see you, Spike." Twilight sighed with relief. "You have to write important letter to Princess Celestia. Possibly, the most important letter in Equestria."

Spike took from nowhere quill and piece of paper. "Ready."

"Dear Princess Celestia." Twilight started to dictate. "I just discovered something, that will change Equestria. In our universe exists life, besides us. In Fluttershy's cottage is living evidence of this. Human, named Jacob Dracons. He didn't came alone, but his companions gone missing. Their ship, Athena, was attacked by King Sombra. He caused very weird infection on Jacob's right, fore arm. I suppose, it's connected somehow with Sombra's return. The rest will be explained, when you will arrive here. Your faithful, former student, Twilight Sparkle." Spike rolled the letter and breathed with green fire on it, turning it into sparkling smoke. "Now, we wait."

A few seconds later, it door of Fluttershy's cottage, appeared a snow-white alicorn, with amethyst eyes and waving mane, similar to aurora. She was wearing golden crown, necklace and shoes. On her face was mix of surprise, fear and confusion. "Where is this 'human'?" Alicorn cried out.

Jacob walked to terrified mare. "It's me. You don't have to be afraid." Jacob was as tall, as her, what made alicorn even more scared. "Are you Princess Celestia?" Jacob asked.

"Y-yes." Princess said, felling the shivers on her back. Celestia looked into Jacob's eyes. Normally, she could see a little bit of soul in them, but Jacob's amber eyes seemed empty. His fake arm wasn't making it better. Princess was wondering, how Twilight and her friends weren't afraid of this being. She faced many enemies and saw many things but she's never been scared more, than now. She was literally paralyzed by fear.

"I know, I'm handsome, but I didn't know that it can intimidate." Jacob said with warm smile.

Celestia exchanged the fear for a giggle. "That was the cheesiest joke, I've ever heard." Celestia started to see Jacob in little better light. Only a little, but still better. "I'm sorry. It's just... difficult to me, seeing a creature, like you." Princess Celestia said, scratching the back of her head with right foreleg. "Twilight, could you and your friends leave me and Mr.... Dragon..."

"Dracons." Jacob corrected her.

"Dracons, alone?" Celestia finished. Twilight responded with a nod and left the cottage with her friends. Princess Celestia and Pvt. Jacob were all alone.

"Can we sit? My legs aren't in the best condition right now." Jacob asked.

"Of course." Alicorn and human sat on sofa. Celestia was sitting more like a dog, than a human. "First, tell me something more about you." Celestia asked, still feeling uncomfortable.

"If you insist... My full name is Jacob Vincent Gregory Dracons. Biologically, I'm 22. I'm a soldier in M.S.T.F. (Mars Space Task Force), private, correctly. I have doctorate in engineering, bionics and bad humor."

"So, what brings you here?"

"I'm the member of the Project New Genesis. It's a special mission to find a colony for humanity. We've sent five spaceships to planets, what could be good for humanity. My ship, Athena, supposed to land here, on Terra-2. Or, how you call it, Equestria. But, we had a little... accident." Jacob showed Celestia his infected arm.

"King Sombra..." Celestia was sick of this dark unicorn. "What exactly happened?"

"We were just waking up from stasis pods. It's some kind of bed, what stops aging. First one, of course, woke up my brother, Colonel Raymond Dracons, captain on Athena. He woke me up in the second order, because one of our engines was damaged. I found the source of our damage. King Sombra's horn. This little piece of dead body cut me and... caused this." Jacob looked on his arm. "Since then, King Sombra tries to turn me into the Dark Side and keep speaking in my head. He managed to restore his physical form, activate Athena's self-destruction and possibly survive the explosion."

"So... Sombra is using the Dark Codex to turn you into his student?" Celestia deduced.

"Something, like that. He said, that my blood helped him return to the living world, or shit like this. Sorry for language."

"It doesn't matter. Can I see closer your arm?" Jacob nodded. Celestia's horn started to glow with golden light. Jacob's right arm also started to glow. Veins started to be normal again and the black mark disappeared. "This should stop the progress of the curse." Celestia assured. "But, not for long. Dark magic, concentrated inside you, has to be released, or else your body will die slow and painful death."

"So what? I will have to tell this demon, that I agree on his training, just to not die?" Jacob asked with anger.

"There's the other way." Celestia said.

"I'm listening..." Jacob said, interested.

"My sister, Luna, knows about Dark Magic more, than anypony else. She will help you."

Jacob sighed. "I guess, that I don't have much choice... But, promise me one thing, Princess."

"What is it?"

"Do you promise to find the rest of Athena's crew? I need to know, if they survived." Jacob asked. He really wanted to see his brother again. Even after this, what happened on Athena.

"I promise." Celestia said in official tone. "Now, come with me, Mr. Dracons."