While Wendelle was adjusting to her new life in Equestria, back on Earth, off the coast of California, another saga was unfolding. This is where I come into the story.

Hello, my name is Conner. Conner Dwight. I know that most of you have never heard of me, so I'll just go ahead and talk a little bit about myself. I stand 5'11, weigh 158lbs, have dirty blonde, almost brown hair, blue eyes, am 20 1/2 years old, and I hail from Idaho. I come from a town called Idaho City; a tiny little slip of a mountain town with a whopping population of 485 people as of 2010. Yeah, it's just huge, and there's SO MUCH to see and to that's not related to potatoes, the mountains, or skiing. HA! Right! Anyway, I'm also in the Navy. I joined when I graduated high school in 2012, and after earning my degree in military history, (it was a Bachelor's Degree) I was allowed to enroll in US Navy Officer School, which I graduated with the rank of Ensign.

After I graduated, I was assigned to my first post at the Ventura County Naval Base, located in Port Hueneme, California. This base is the home of the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division (NSWC PHD), a component of the Naval Sea Systems Command, (NAVSEA). Broken down into simple English, these guys develop and test naval missile technology, ship engineering components, missile guidance systems, naval logistics support, and underway replenishment, among other things. It all sounds pretty cool, unless you're not helping out with that, and are instead playing babysitter to an ex-US Navy ship that they're testing stuff on.

Yep, that's what I did. I was assigned to an engineering team (read: janitors and fix-it guys), attached to the ex-Paul F. Foster, Self-Defense Test Ship, (SDTS).

The ship's purpose was to defend herself against air and sea attacks, ranging from missiles, to torpedoes, and even bombs. Sometimes things would be fired in her general direction, and sometimes they would be fired at a weapons barge that she was towing a scant 150 feet behind her! Now of course, due to the EXTREME danger of such an operation, the ship's steering and propulsion controls were largely replaced with computers, thus enabling her to be remotely operated. In fact, she's most likely the largest remote-operated vehicle in the world, and still somewhat armed.

Of course, the ex-Paul F. Foster wasn't always the way that she was today. Once, she was the proud USS Paul F. Foster DD-964, the second of the US Navy's Spruance-Class Destroyers.

She was 563 feet long, had a beam of 55 feet, a draft of 29 feet, was powered by 4 General Electric gas turbines turning 2 propellers, and had a complement of 19 officers, and 315 enlisted men. She was also armed with 2 x 5in guns, 2 phalanx cannons, a number of Harpoon and Sea Sparrow missile launchers, a 61 tube Vertical-Launch System (VLS) for more missiles, and 2 x Mark 32 triple torpedo tubes. This is on top of her AN/LS Q-32 electronic warfare system, and her AN/LS Q-25 Nixie Torpedo Countermeasures, among other things. The Spruance-Class destroyers did their job well from the 1970's, until the late 90's, when the Navy decided that they wanted to start saving $28 million per year in maintenance and upgrade costs, so they started retiring the Spruances in favor of the then brand-new Arleigh Burke-Class destroyers. The last of them were out of service by 2005, and by decade's end, a few were scrapped, while the rest were all blown up as target ships, leaving only 1 survivor. Yes, our now ex-Paul F. Foster was the last of the Spruance-Class Destroyers. She was largely de-militarized, and turned into a Self-Defense Test Ship, a role that she would serve from 2005, all the way until May of 2015, and that's where our story REALLY begins!

Working with the Foster was one of the most boring jobs in the ENTIRE Navy. I was a part of a 12 man (well, 8 guys and 4 women!) engineering team, and all we had to do was keep her floating, evaluate her before she left her moorings for a weapons test, sail onboard her out to a test site, make sure that everything was secure with both the ship, and the weapons barge that she was towing, and then pile into 2 motor launches, and get the hell out of Dodge! None of the guys on the team that I was a part of were on board the Foster during any tests, due to the EXTREME dangers of being on a SDTS during a live-fire weapons test! Once we were safely on the mothership where the scientists and other naval personnel were stationed, we monitored the Foster's condition all throughout the test. Then, once it was all over, we'd get back onto the motor launches, sail back out to the Foster, evaluate her again, do what we had to do, and then sail onboard her back to port, where we'd do yet another set of evaluations, and then clean and repair the ship again. The job was SO boring, and the monotony was enough to drive ANYONE crazy! We'd all signed up to be ship's engineers, and here we were playing babysitter to a former destroyer-turned-SDTS.

"This is SO shitty! Why the hell did we EVER think that working with the Foster was going to be fun?!"

I shrugged. "I wanted to work with her because she's the last Spruance-Class Destroyer in all of existence, and I thought that helping out with the weapon's tests were going to be fun!"

"So did I! Instead, all we do is clean, fix, evaluate, monitor, and sail on the Foster, but even then, we don't control jack-shit!"

I knew what my fellow engineer was referring to. While we were technically "sailing" onboard the Foster, we weren't controlling anything. Everything was being operated remotely from the mothership, and all we had to do was stand there, don't touch anything, don't break anything, don't take pictures of anything, and monitor the ship's condition, as well as the condition of the weapons barge that we were towing. That was literally it until we reached the test site. Then we'd check everything again, and then leave for the mothership until they were done blasting the heck out of the weapons barge, or outright sunk it. Then we'd return to the Foster.

I sighed. "Yeah, but look at it this way guys. We're getting paid to stand there some of the time, not work very hard other times, and we get to see some REALLY cool explosions, as well as other weapons tests when the Foster defends herself. How many other people get to see that on a regular basis?"

"I see what you're trying to say Conner, and I appreciate it, but I signed up to be an engineer, NOT play babysitter to the world's biggest remote-controlled ship! I REALLY wish that something interesting would happen! Something to break the long, dull monotony of our everyday lives! Don't you guys agree?"

"Yeah, I kinda wish that too. However, you should ALWAYS be careful what you wish for. Sometimes what you want, isn't always what you get."

I looked over at the one who had spoken, Captain Robert "Bob" Mullens. He was the one in charge of the rest of us in the team assigned to the Foster, and we all looked up to him as a leader. "Well said Bob. Though I do agree, I wish that we could have a break from our routine, just one. Why does everything always have to be the same?"

The others agreed with me, but little did we know just how impactful our wishing was going to be. The same old monotony may be boring, but all it takes is it not being normal one time for lives to be lost. Oh how I wish that I'd known that sooner!

On May 11th, 2015, the 12 of us were getting the Foster ready to be taken out again. Our mission that day was to tow a decommissioned, and recently re-armored patrol craft 150 feet behind the ship out to the test site, and then monitor the ship during a test of a prototype of the next generation of Harpoon anti-ship missile. We knew that the test was going to be pretty interesting, but little did we suspect how much it was going to impact us. As we were doing our daily evaluations of the ship, getting her ready to go while the scientists and other Navy personnel were loading up onto the mothership, we kept getting interrupted. Flying close to the ship were a number of crows. They kept cawing, landing on the ship, and they wouldn't leave us be.

"Oh for the love of.......CAN SOMEBODY GET THESE F@#KING CROWS OUT OF HERE?!?!?!"

Bob looked up from his clipboard. "I dunno Chief. That's your guys's job."

I groaned a bit. Everyone had a nickname in the military, and mine was "Chief". How did I get this? Well, you know the expression "This ain't it Chief"? I didn't get it for that, but because I kept trying to give orders, even though I was just an Ensign. Bob was in charge, and under him were 4 other lieutenants. The unfortunate nickname stuck, and I couldn't change it.

"Well what else can we do without shooting them Bob?!"

Bob laughed a bit. "If only we weren't in California, or in port. Then we could shoot them, and say that they attacked first, and probably get away with doing so! Just keep them away from the ship's doors and hatches, and we should be ready to be underway soon. How's the checklist coming?"

I looked over my checklist on my clipboard. "Yeah, we should be Bob. We only have a few more things to check, and then we check in with the ones 'holding our leash' on the mothership, and then we tell them to get us moving so that we can get out to the test site."

Once we were done with that by 11:36am, those on the mothership were ready, and once we'd un-moored the ship from the pier she was attached to, we started up the Foster's engines, and once the power was on, and all instruments were functioning as normal, we checked in, and then the ones controlling the ship got the propellers spinning, and the Foster began to move out, towing the armored patrol craft behind her. Once we were underway, we continued to monitor the systems, but all the same, some of the crows were still on the ship when it pulled out. They wouldn't leave, and they wouldn't stop cawing. To some of us, the crows were an omen of bad things to come.

I wasn't one of them, but maybe I should have been. I was just annoyed with them, and was waiting for us to get away from the shore so that we could shoot the crows and be done with it! I was also eagerly awaiting the missile test ahead of us, so with the land, the armored patrol craft, and our mothership behind us, and nothing ahead of us but ocean, we pulled away from port, and out into the open ocean.

By 2:37pm, we finally reached the test site. Once we'd arrived, a few other ships began to set up a perimeter around the test site so that other ships would know to stay away. The Foster was eased into position, and once the engines were shut down, we began to go through our checklists once again, as well as recording some data from the ship's instruments, and relaying the information over to the mothership, in addition to writing it down. Some of us FINALLY got around to shooting the crows that wouldn't leave, and we ended up bagging 5 of them before the rest fled. We then left their corpses on the Foster's main deck to deal with after the test, and we got ready to begin our usual evacuations on the motor launches once we had the go ahead from the mothership. However, this is when things went horribly wrong.

At this same time on the mothership, the destroyer USS Decatur DDG-73, the sailors and weapons technicians were readying the missile for launch. Some saw it as a strange irony that a ship called "Decatur" was now training her weapons on the Foster, when the Foster herself displaced the last STDS, ex-Decatur, which was subsequently sold for scrap. Adding to this humor, someone painted "Decatur's ghostly revenge" on the missile's warhead just before it was loaded into a firing position, and then locked into place. Then, as the weapon technicians began to aim the weapon, our bosses on the Decatur told us on the Foster to begin our evacuation.

"We're on it Sir. Even though you guys are aiming at the patrol craft behind us, we don't want to be here when things go boom!"

"We copy Captain Mullens."

Bob then put down his radio, and after we all got back to the main deck, we all began to climb into the motor launches. Bob and 5 others got into their boat, which they then lowered down into the water, and began to sail back towards the Decatur, while the other 6, including myself, began to climb into our own launch, little knowing that we weren't gonna make it home that day.

At this same time on the Decatur, the missile's targeting system malfunctioned, and instead of targeting the patrol craft, it instead targeted the Foster. Now this shouldn't have been a problem............had there not been an inexplicable power surge caused by an electrical discharge that started up the missile's launching sequence! From this second onward, EVERYTHING happened at once, and in the span of less than 30 seconds.

Once the launch sequence was spotted, someone tried to abort it. At this same time, someone else informed a superior officer, while someone else got on the radio with both Bob, and anyone else on the Foster.

"GET AWAY FROM THE SHIP!!!! IT'S GONNA GET HIT!!!!!"

Bob instantly jerked his head around to look at the Foster, and he saw the rest of us getting into our motor launch. "BOYS GET OUT OF THERE!!!!" He screamed at us.

Seconds after this, the missile fired, and in less than 5 seconds, hit the Foster at approximately the 3/4 mark on the hull, right by the engine room, and where the ship's fuel stores were. Now, the ship did use a new form of biofuel, but unfortunately this fuel was still VERY flammable, and even though there was no ammunition on the ship, there was still a chance of the fuel exploding, which it did. The explosion tore through the engineering spaces, and then up through the various decks of the ship towards the stern. When the full force of the explosion tore through the deck, it buckled the hull upwards, and a geyser of flames was briefly seen, before the ship itself lifted up out of the water for a brief period, before landing hard in the water again. Thick black smoke began to pour from the ship, and there were still visible flames, not to mention water beginning to pour into the ship through the holes, cracks, and gouges in the hull caused by the missile's hit, and then the subsequent explosion of the fuel tanks. Everyone on the ships were watching in dumbfounded shock, but then everyone seemed to remember that there were still 6 guys still on the ship!

And what happened to those 6 guys still on the ship when the explosion happened? Well, we heard the warnings, and while 4 were in the motor launch, they tried to cut the boat loose, but they weren't fast enough. The initial explosion of the missile tore the boat free, but it was the subsequent fuel explosion that did the most damage. Once the deck blew, fragments of shrapnel were blown in all directions; namely up into the air, into the water, and of course, into the 6 unfortunate souls still on the Foster. It was so horrible. The screaming, the scorching flames, the blood; it was indescribable. Then, from deep within the ship itself, there was a HUGE tertiary explosion, (still to this day, no one knows what caused it, since the fuel had already all blown up, and there was no ammunition on the ship) and the Foster was blown in 2 just ahead of the 3/4 mark on the ship (281 feet from the tip of the bow), and a huge, roughly 75 foot chunk of the stern was sheered completely off from the force of the explosion, and this threw anything that remained on the deck, (RIP all 6 of us engineers!) into the water in a geyser of flames, shrapnel, and blood.

When I hit the water, I was in about a cajillion pieces. I couldn't feel anything below my waist, I seemed to only have one arm, not to mention only half of my face. I was then blown under the water, and I knew that I was doomed. In my final moments, I said a prayer to God to save me, and then, I saw a strange black mass surround me. Then, from the Foster above, I heard one final explosion, and then the black mass swallowed me whole. I was gone, and I wasn't going to be back for a LONG time!

Back on the surface, it was pretty clear that all 6 of us engineers still on the Foster were dead. However, to the shock and surprise of those who'd witnessed it, the Foster was gone! Everyone had seen her stern blow up, but then it was as if the ship had simply vanished from existence! The ships used their sonar to check the bottom of the ocean in that area, but aside from some metal debris that had sunk, no traces of the ship were ever found. Eventually, the bodies of 5 out of the 6 engineers were found, and were buried at sea. There was going to be a HUGE investigation because of this, and it was NOT going to be pretty. It was pretty clear that the Foster was gone, and she'd seemingly taken that armored patrol craft that she was attached to with her, as well as the body of one Ensign Conner Dwight, as neither of them were ever found either.

However, what no one knew was that I was still alive, and that myself, the Foster, and the patrol craft were taken away from this world, and blown into the next! It was a terrible loss for the Navy, but yet, it would serve a purpose in the long-run.

I had no idea what happened, or how long I'd been out for. One minute I was bleeding to death from my shrapnel wounds while also drowning, and then the next, I was gone. When I opened my eyes again, my head was still hurting, and my ears were still ringing a bit. My vision was a bit blurry, and I had no idea where I was, or what happened.

"Hmm.........huh.........wha.....?????" I muttered. Once my vision came into focus again, I realized that I was looking up at what appeared to be blue sky, with a few clouds in it. The air was warm, and I could also hear birds chirping. I also noticed that what I was seeing seemed to be a bit wonky, or maybe upside down a bit, and my back was hurting like it had been dragged on the ground, but I wasn't sure why. Not sure that is, until I tried to sit up. When I did, I found it hard to lift my head up. I then realized that I was lying on a bit of a slope, and I was lying on it upside down! I was lying on the slope face up, but my head was lying against a rock close to the bottom of the slope, while my legs were higher than the rest of me!

"Huh....????? How did I end up like this?" I was so confused.

Eventually, I was able to roll over onto my side, and after sliding for a second or 2, I reached the bottom of the slope, and all of my blood was no longer rushing to my head! I then sat up, and began to look at my surroundings. Instead of a beach like what I was expecting, I seemed to have landed at the base of the slope of a small hill. The hill seemed to be largely dirt, and I could see an impact zone maybe 10 feet higher than where I was lying, as well as a long skid-mark leading down to the rock that my head had been leaning up against. I then realized that I'd landed, before sliding down the slope a bit before coming to a stop with my head on that rock! I looked elsewhere, and I saw that the base of the hill was grass, there were a number of trees close by, I could hear the sounds of flowing water, and I could see that the sun was maybe starting to set.

"Huh. Now the question is, am I dead, or if not, then where the heck am I?"

I then began to look down at myself, and it was then that I realized that something was VERY wrong, and it wasn't just my torn to shreds jumpsuit. My body seemed to be misshapen, but yet I wasn't really in any pain.

"This..............this is really weird. What's going on?"

I could see that I was still wearing my blue US Navy utility jumpsuit, but that it looked to have been pretty badly shredded, most likely from the shrapnel. However, I then reached out a hand to touch a damaged spot on the jumpsuit, only to realize that I didn't have hands anymore; I had hooves!

"WHAT?!?!?! WHY DO I HAVE HOOVES?!?!?!"

I had no idea what I was, but after getting up, I stood up, (on all fours; I was seemingly a quadruped now) and moved over to a nearby puddle. In the reflection of that puddle, I saw exactly what I now looked like, and what I'd become. I saw that I now seemed to be some sort of equine-like creature, and that I had slightly thick navy-blue fur, a dirty blonde mane and tail, (slightly lighter than it was before; more blonde than brown) dark blue cat-like eyes, furry equine ears with furry tips, blonde fetlocks covering my hooves, and to my further shock, I also had visible fangs, and even black bat-like wings! I flapped them a few times just to make sure that they were real, and sure enough, they were. On top of this, I could see several scars on the left side of my face and neck, and I was still wearing the remains of my jumpsuit, but it was torn to shreds by the shrapnel, and what was left didn't seem to fit me anymore. Oh, and it was also bloodstained!

"WHAT THE F@#K HAPPENED TO ME?!?!?!?!" I screamed. "I HAVE TO BE F@#KING DEAD!!!!! THERE'S NO WAY THAT THIS CAN BE REAL!!!!!"

Moments after this, I heard a noise to a left.

"Hey! Are you ok over there?"

I turned to my left, and I saw what appeared to be another equine creature. I could see that he was a well built stallion with dark white fur, white fetlocks, an amber colored mane and tail, and also had green eyes. I could also see the same dark-colored bat-like wings that I had, though his were the same color as his fur.

His eyes got VERY wide when he saw me. "Whoa! What in Equestria happened to you?! Were you attacked by a Werehyena?!"

I blinked a few times. "Honestly, I'm pretty sure that I'm dead, and am trapped somewhere between Heaven and Hell! I have no idea where I am, or what's going on! And who are you, if I may ask?"

Now it was his turn to blink a few times. "I......I have so many questions right now. I don't even know where to start!"

I thought about that. "Well, if you answer my questions, then I'll answer yours."

"Ok, that sounds fair enough. You can go first, I guess."

I nodded. "Ok. Well first of all, who are you?"

"My name is Golden Blade."

"Golden Blade, that's a nice name. And where are we right now? And after that, what are we exactly?"

He looked at me strangely. "Wow, you're not from around here, are you? In fact, you're not even from Equus at all."

I shook my head. "No, I'm not."

"Well, you're now on the planet Equus, in the nation of Equestria. We're on top of Sundale Mountain, which is home to Lunar-Nova, a colony of Bat-Ponies."

"Oh. And let me guess, that's what we are? Bat-Ponies?"

Golden nodded. "Yes, that's what we are. We're one of the 5 sub-species of Ponies, alongside Earth-Ponies, Unicorns, Pegasai, and Alicorns. And before we go any further in this conversation, can you please tell me your story? I need to know more about you."

"Yeah, that would probably be a good idea. Well, my name is Conner Dwight. I'm 20 1/2 years old, and I hail from Idaho City, Idaho, which is a part of the United States, on the planet Earth."

"Earth? Are you a Human-turned-Bat-Pony? And do you know of a place called 'Tennessee'?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I was a Human up until a few hours ago. And Tennessee? Yeah, that's halfway across the country from Idaho, but it's also a part of the US. How do you know about it, and Humans for that matter?"

"Because you're not the first Human to become a Bat-Pony, or to come here from the US, or America. Maybe 2 weeks ago, Wendelle came here from Tennessee."

I was surprised. "Wendell? Who's he?"

"Wendelle was a Human just like you, and she found her way to Equestria, though she got here because of a lightning strike. How did you get here? Is that why you look like a mess?"

I nodded. "Yeah. You might have a hard time swallowing what I'm about to tell you, but it's the absolute truth. I'm an Ensign in the US Navy, and I was stationed at Ventura County Naval Base, located in Port Hueneme, California. This base is the home of the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division (NSWC PHD) a component of the Naval Sea Systems Command, (NAVSEA). Broken down into simple English, these guys develop and test naval missile technology, ship engineering components, missile guidance systems, naval logistics support, and underway replenishment, among other things. I was assigned to the Self-Defense Test Ship (SDTS) ex-Paul F. Foster, and that's where things got REALLY interesting..........." I then went on to explain more about my job with the Foster, and I ended with the accidental discharge of the missile. "....And that's what got me. That missile blew the Foster up, blew me into a cajillion pieces, and blew me into the water before I seemingly drowned. I was then surrounded by a black mass of energy, before waking up here. That's why my jumpsuit's all torn up, and why I probably look like a mess."

Golden looked at me in shock and horror. Even though I'd spent my entire career in the Navy at a base, it was pretty clear that I'd been at death's door before I wound up in Equestria.

"I........I don't even know what to say to that Conner. I mean, I can clearly see that you're telling the truth......but I just don't.......I don't know what to say. Are you still hurt anywhere?"

"I honestly can't tell you Golden. I'd probably better take this jumpsuit's remains off and see though." I then began to try and remove the jumpsuit, though without hands, this was difficult, and Golden had to help me. Eventually, the 2 of us were able to get it off, and I began to look myself over with Golden's help.

To my dismay, I saw that although I had all of my limbs, the left side of my body, and part of my right side were covered in dark scars. They were on my chest, left foreleg, barrel, my waist, both of my back legs, and one more really big one across my back. I flapped my wings again, but I didn't feel any pain. I also noticed that on my flanks, I had what appeared to be the image of a gear, a gun, and a wrench, with the one on my left flank being a mirror image of the one on my right flank.

"Hey Golden? What's this on my flank?"

He looked. "Oh, that's your 'Cutie-Mark' Conner. It's what shows your special talent. I guess that since you were an engineer in the US Navy, your Cutie-Mark is a weapon, a wrench, and a gear." He then showed me his own Cutie-Mark, which was of three shooting stars. "Astronomy is my special talent."

"Oh, well that's interesting."

Golden then noticed for the first time that the area around where I landed seemed to be covered in debris. "Hey Conner? What's all that stuff over where you landed? Is any of that important?"

I turned to look, and sure enough, I saw what he was talking about. "Whoa! Yeah, a lot of that looks important!" I walked over to it. I then found my ruined satchel, blown into 3 big pieces with many smaller ones scattered all around. "Aww man! This was my good satchel! NOW what am I gonna put my stuff in?!"

"You could put it all in my saddlebags if you want. They're empty." He then removed a set of saddlebags from his own back that I hadn't noticed previously, and opened them for me.

"Yeah, that works. Thanks Golden."

"You're welcome Conner."

I then put the remains of my satchel in it, as well as the remains of my jumpsuit, my busted pair of utility boots that we found nearby, as well as my damaged radio, a clipboard with the daily orders on it, (it talked about what we were supposed to do with the Foster that day, and it mentioned the weapons test), 2 pencils, a pen, and I also found my wallet and car keys!

"Oh hey! My wallet and car keys survived intact!"

"Um, I know what a wallet is, but what are 'car keys'?"

"Oh, car keys are the keys that are used to start a car, which is the primary mode of long-distance transportation on Earth. Yes, we also have trains, but cars are used to. They run on combustible fuel, and are a bit of a pain, but they're pretty neat too. I had a rather unusual car that was made a long time ago by a company called Packard."

Golden nodded, but he really didn't seem to say anything. I could tell that he was trying to picture a car, but perhaps wasn't succeeding very well.

Eventually, we found the last of the items that seemingly came over with me, and we put them all in his saddlebags.

"Well, that looks like that's about it. I guess that I'd better start heading back to Lunar-Nova. Do you want to come with me?"

I cocked my head a bit. "What's Lunar-Nova?"

"Lunar-Nova is the town where I and other Bat-Ponies live. It's a Bat-Pony colony, and most of it's located in a cave beneath Sundale Mountain!"

I was stunned. "What?! It's located in a cave?!"

"Yeah. It's been around for a VERY long time, and it's home to maybe 1,200 Bat-Ponies. It's not very large, but how big was Idaho City?"

I laughed. "Idaho City is a tiny little slip of a mountain-town at the ass-end of nowhere! As of the 2010 census, which was maybe 5 years ago, the city, (if it can even be CALLED a city since it's barely even a town!) has a whopping population of 485 people!"

"485 people?! That's tiny!"

I agreed. "Yeah, it really is. It wasn't much, but it was home." I then seemed to think about something, but I just shook my head. "So how far away are we from Lunar-Nova?"

"Not very. Maybe a quarter-mile. I was just coming back from a quick walk after work when I heard you scream."

"Sorry about that. I just wasn't used to waking up as a Bat-Pony!"

Golden laughed. "Yeah, I can see that! And do you have anywhere to stay? If not, then you can stay with me if you want."

I nodded. "I don't have anywhere to stay, as my naval base is half a universe away, so I guess I could stay with you; if you don't mind that is."

He shook his head. "No, I don't mind at all. That's why I asked."

I agreed, and he then picked up his saddlebags, and began to lead the way back to Lunar-Nova.

On the way, we talked more about Equestria. I learned more about the area, including the Silver Shine River, and I also learned more about Celestia and Luna, the 2 Diarch Princesses, as well as Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire, and Princess Twilight of Ponyville. Golden also explained more about the Earth-Ponies, Pegasai, Unicorns, and Alicorns, as well as the Bat-Ponies.

"So you mean to tell me that I can fly, hang upside down for hours on end, see in total darkness, and even scree?"

He nodded. "Yeah, that's the gist of it. We're a very unique species. I heard from my parents that we supposedly came from a far-off land called Shadona, but don't quote me on that, as I don't know if that's accurate or not."

I thought about that. "Hmm. You all live in colonies, and you might have come from the land of Shadona? Well, it might not be true, but it certainly serves as a good explanation."

Golden then went on to ask my more about my time in the Navy.

"There's really not too much to tell, aside from the failed weapons test anyway. Most of my job, and the job of the rest of the team that I was with was to keep the Foster in service, and record data from her, and the tests. That's pretty much it. Day and and day out of that, with the only highlights being getting to watch weapons tests. If I'd known what the job was going to entail, I NEVER would have requested being a part of the Port Hueneme Division! Not that I really had a choice though. I was sent there, and I really had no say in the matter."

"At least your job wasn't dangerous, at least, not for the most part. You didn't have to see active combat, and weren't in any real danger, normally anyway. Your family must have been glad for that."

I nodded. "Yeah, they were. My family was nervous about me signing up for the Navy, but they were relieved when I was assigned to the Foster, and wouldn't be seeing any real combat. I can only imagine what happened when they heard about what happened earlier today. Now I'm 'dead', and I have no way to tell them otherwise. It's not a good situation Golden."

"I can imagine. Being taken away from Earth like that, being out of contact with your loved ones, it must have been really hard for you."

I sighed. "Golden, you have no idea."

Not too long after this, we reached an area that had a few trees, was covered in grass, a few flowers, and had a few small buildings on it.

"Um, Golden, if this is Lunar-Nova, how do all of the Bat-Ponies fit in here? I only see a few tiny buildings!"

"We're right above Lunar-Nova actually. These few buildings here are the tops of buildings that stick out above the ground. The rest of the building is underground, but the top 2 stories or so stick out."

I was a bit surprised. "Oh. Why do some buildings stick out?"

Golden shrugged. "I don't know. Some Ponies just wanted it that way."

"Oh, ok. And where's the main city entrance?"

"It's close by. The trail that we're on wraps around Sundale Mountain a bit further, and then we come to the entrance."

I nodded, and kept following Golden. Sure enough, a few minutes later, we came to a large cave entrance. I was surprised when I saw it. A number of Bat-Ponies were entering and leaving the colony, and then Golden and I walked through it. After walking through it, the path then began to slope downwards, and kept going deeper into the mountain. The walls of the cave were lined with both torches and some sort of crystals that provided light, and pretty soon, the path came out at the edge of what looked to be a small town, though all of it was located underground!

I was stunned. "Whoa! So this is Lunar-Nova?"

Golden nodded. "Yep, this is Lunar-Nova. The best Bat-Pony colony of them all!"

I was looking around in awe. I could see stores, restaurants, houses, a park, a large town square, and other businesses. Looking up, I could see some Bat-Ponies flying about, as well as a lot of stalactites, and a few cracks that let in natural sunlight. I could even see a few buildings that had their tops go up through the roof of the massive cave that Lunar-Nova resided within, and I then realized that these were the buildings that I'd seen above ground earlier.

"Are the buildings that go up through the cave ceiling the ones that we saw the tops of earlier?"

Golden nodded. "Yeah, that's them."

We continued to walk, and soon we reached the town. "This is an amazing little town. Who's in charge of it?"

"That would be Mayor Galaxy Cosmos. He's a Bat-Pony with midnight-blue fur with some white patches, as well as a black mane and tail, purple eyes, and his Cutie-Mark is a crescent moon with a white star on the inside. He's a very good mayor, and has been reelected several times now. Everypony here in Lunar-Nova loves him, though he may retire soon."

I was impressed. "Wow, he sounds like a nice stallion. I hope that I can meet him one day."

"You probably will soon. Once word gets around of your arrival, the rest of the Ponies here will probably throw you a 'Welcome to Lunar-Nova' party. They did so before for Wendelle, and they'll most likely do the same for you."

"Yeah, I hope that I can meet Wendell too. It would be nice to meet another Human-turned-Pony. I just hope that he's nice."

"Oh she is. I don't really know her too well, but Wendelle is a very nice Pony."

A minute or so after this, we reached the town square. It was here that I realized that the whole town square was covered by a HUGE glass dome!

"Whoa! What is this dome?"

"This is the Lunar Dome, and it dates back to when Lunar-Nova was first founded. The first residents of the colony built this dome to protect themselves against falling rocks and stalactites while they built the town. The dome was left in place even after construction work ceased, and it's been a prominent feature of Lunar-Nova ever since."

"I can imagine. I've never seen a dome like this. The way that the sun glints off of the glass; awe-inspiring to say the least. If they haven't already, somepony REALLY needs to make a postcard out of this view!"

"They already have Conner. But even so, it's still an amazing view."

"Yeah, it really is."

We then kept walking towards his house.

A few minutes after this, we finally reached Golden's house.

"Here we are. Home sweet home!"

I looked, and sure enough, we were standing outside of a small 2-story house. It was painted light gray, and while it was small, it seemed cozy. After Golden unlocked the door, he walked inside, and I followed him. Once we were both inside, he shut the door again, and I looked around. We were in a small entryway. I could see the living room to the right with a couch, a coffee table, a few chairs, a fireplace, and a strange fur rug. It kinda looked like a bear, but it wasn't.

"Hey Golden, what's that fur rug in your living room?"

"Hmm? Oh, that's a Yowie-fur rug. Yowies are these ape-like creatures with a lot of fur, and a REALLY nasty temper! One minute they're fine, and the next? BAM!!!! Total freakout! They're very dangerous, and thankfully only live in a few places on Equus. Lunar-Nova is thankfully not near any of them!"

"Yeah, I'm glad for that! They kinda sound like a similar creature from Earth's folklore. Those in the nation of Australia have a similar creature, same name and everything."

"Oh, well I guess that they have to deal with Yowies then!"

I nodded. "Yeah. Yowies, and pretty much everything else. EVERYTHING in Australia wants to kill you; I don't know why ANYONE would want to live there!"

Golden's eyes went wide. "Yeah, I have no idea!"

Just past the living room, I saw a medium-sized kitchen, and just past that was a small laundry room. There was a small bathroom just outside of the kitchen, and up a flight of stairs were 3 bedrooms, and another bathroom. One of the bedrooms belonged to Golden, and the other 2 were guest rooms.

Golden walked over to one of the guest rooms. "And this is where you'll be staying." He then opened the door.

I followed him inside, and I saw a bed, a dresser, a small desk, a chair, a night table with a lamp, a few shelves for books, and a few pictures on the wall.

"Wow, this is a really nice room Golden. It reminds me a bit of my old room back at my parents's house in Idaho City. I think that I'm really going to like staying here."

Golden smiled. "I'm glad that you like it Conner." He then began to help me put some of my things away in the dresser.

"Any ideas on where I might be able to get not only my satchel repaired, but also my jumpsuit?"

"Yeah, there's a clothing shop here in town, and close by there's also a store that sells saddlebags, though they also do repairs. I'm pretty sure that they might be able to help you, provided of course that your jumpsuit and bag even CAN be fixed!"

I sighed. "Yeah, that's the big 'if' right there. It was one hell of a nasty explosion."

Golden opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but then he just closed it again. He could tell that I was still in pain from what happened with the Foster, and from losing 5 of my comrades. He just shook his head, and we talked about a few other things for a while.

A few days after this, I presented my destroyed satchel and jumpsuit to the Ponies at the clothing store, and the saddlebag store. I learned that while my jumpsuit could be saved/restored, as well as resized to fit me, my satchel was good for little more than a source of material. I told them to do what they could for the satchel, and they told me that they could made saddlebags out of what was left, and add in more new material. I told them that this could work, and they told me that it would take 2 weeks to get the job done, which was close to the 2 1/2 weeks that it would take to fully restore and resize my jumpsuit.

Also around this time, I had to start looking for employment. I asked Golden if he knew of any job openings, and he told me that I could always work with him, as his company always needed help. I asked him what company that was, and he told me that it was called the "Sundale Mountain Mining Company". I then realized that he was a miner, and that the residents of Lunar-Nova mined Sundale Mountain, as well as the nearby areas.

"What do you guys mine Golden?"

"Copper and zinc mostly. A few thin veins of silver have been found in the past, but not much. Recently though we have found some iron ore, and the veins are pretty big. We might soon shift gears from a copper and zinc mine, to an iron mine."

"And they're on the lookout for new miners?"

"Yep. We'd be working together, and the pay is pretty good, not to mention the amazing healthcare. Are you interested?"

"Well, I do need a job, and one seems to be looking me right in the face, so I guess all that I need to ask is where do I sign up?"

Golden nodded, and he took me to the SMMC's main office, where I applied for a miner's position. To make a long story short I got the job, and now 5 days a week I put on protective coveralls, lit the carbide-powered lamp on my yellow miner's helmet, grabbed my tools, and joined Golden and many other Bat-Ponies down in the mines.

It was hard work, and I wasn't used to holding a pick and shovel with my teeth. I tried to use my hooves, but that was proving to be just as hard. Eventually though, I did get the hang of it, and the others stopped laughing at "Useless Chief", and started calling me just plain old "Chief". It felt a little bit weird to be called by my old Navy nickname again, but I quickly grew used to it. I spent long days in the mines, and I came out tired, dirty, and exhausted, but I was glad to be pulling my weight for the community that had welcomed me with open arms. It felt nice to be giving back to them, and I was really starting to get used to my new life.

Maybe 2 weeks after my arrival in Lunar Nova, once word had gotten around about my arrival in town, another "Welcome to Lunar-Nova" party was thrown in the town square. Mayor Galaxy Cosmos was there, and I got to shake his hoof, and most of the rest of the town was there too. Everypony who was able to was there to welcome me to town, though I kept on the lookout for Wendell. I knew that he had to be there somewhere, and I kept hoping to bump into him.

Eventually, after a lot of fruitless searching, I was standing by a punch bowl when a young Bat-Pony mare with violet fur, a blonde mane with red highlights, as well as a blonde equine tail with red highlights on the tip, violet wings, and blue cat-like eyes. I also noted that her Cutie-Mark was 2 pink hearts, and that she had a dark blue, almost black flower behind one of her ears.

"Hello." I said when she saw me.

"Hello. You must be the new arrival here."

I nodded. "Yep, that's me. Ensign Conner Dwight, US Navy, at your service." I then shook her hoof.

"Nice to meet you Conner. And you're with the Navy? What ship did you serve on?"

"The ex-Paul F. Foster, if that counts. I served at the Ventura County Naval Base, located in Port Hueneme, California. This base is the home of the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division (NSWC PHD) a component of the Naval Sea Systems Command, (NAVSEA). Broken down into simple English, these guys develop and test naval missile technology, ship engineering components, missile guidance systems, naval logistics support, and underway replenishment, among other things. It's all pretty cool, unless you're not helping out with that, and are instead playing babysitter to an ex-US Navy ship that they're testing stuff on. I was assigned to an engineering team, (read: janitors and fix-it guys) attached to the ex-Paul F. Foster, Self-Defense Test Ship, (SDTS). It was a REALLY boring job, but someone had to do it."

"Oh. I heard about your ship blowing up after a failed test, so I won't ask you about that, but...........is that where your scars came from?"

I nodded. "Yes. I was blown up, out and under, and then I wound up here. Oh, and I'm looking for the other Human-turned-Pony here in Lunar-Nova. Have you seen a stallion named Wendell? I heard that he's from Trimble, Tennessee, and I really wanted to meet him."

The mare looked at me curiously. "Um......you already did. My name is Wendelle Williams, and although I am from Tennessee, I'm NOT a stallion!"

I looked at her, and I instantly realized my mistake. From the very first time I heard the name "Wendelle", I thought that the name was “Wendell”, and that it belonged to a stallion. NOW I was finally learning otherwise!

"Oh, I'm SO SORRY Miss Wendelle. I didn't know!"

Wendelle smiled. "It's ok Conner. I can see that it was an honest mistake. Oh, and no 'Miss'. Just 'Wendelle' will do."

"Thanks for understanding Wendelle. And can you tell me a little bit about yourself?"

"Sure. Well, my name is Wendelle Williams, and I'm 18 years old. I was going to high school in my hometown of Trimble, Tennessee, population: 650! I was walking home from school one day when I found this unique crystal pendant, and after wishing that I was somewhere else, I was struck by lightning, and I suddenly found myself here on Sundale Mountain. I landed in a grove of Lunar Halo Flowers."

I cocked my head a bit. "Why did you wish that you were somewhere else? And is that what the flower behind your left ear is?"

Wendelle thought fast. "Uh......it's a long story. I don't want to bother you with it. But yes, this is a Lunar Halo Flower. Did you know that they can ONLY be found near Bat-Pony colonies, and that they can even grow underground?"

"What?! They can grow underground?! How is that possible?!"

"I'm still not fully sure, but they're really pretty, aren't they?"

I agreed. "Yes, they certainly are Wendelle. The one that you have behind your ear makes you look so pretty." I then stopped, praying that I hadn't offended her.

Wendelle just blushed a bit. "T-thanks, Conner."

A moment later though, I saw a slightly older Bat-Pony couple walk up to Wendelle. One was a mare with pink-colored fur, and a teal mane and tail, as well as orange cat-like eyes, bat-like wings, and a gold ribbon bow on her flank, and the other was a stallion with light red fur, a fire-yellow mane and tail, amber-colored cat-like eyes, bat-like wings, and a sword and shield mark on his flank.

The mare then spoke. "Oh, there you are Wendelle." She then saw me. "Oh, hello there. You must be Conner Dwight."

I nodded. "In the flesh, Ma'am."

The mare smiled. "So polite. My name is Moonlight Rose, and this is my husband, Red Dusk."

I then shook both of their hooves. "Nice to meet both of you. And how do you know Wendelle?"

"Oh, Red and I were the ones who found her when she first arrived here, and we invited her to live with us."

"Oh. They were the ones who found you Wendelle?"

She nodded. "Yeah, that's right Conner."

"And who found you when you first arrived here?" Red asked me.

"Oh, that would be Golden Blade. He found me about 2 weeks ago on a slope of Sundale Mountain."

Just as I finished saying this, Golden walked up behind me. "Yeah, I did!" He then shook hooves with Moonlight, Red, and Wendelle. "It's so nice to be able to meet all of you, and yes, I found Conner soon after he arrived here."

We all then talked for a little while longer, though eventually Wendelle, Moonlight and Red all had to start heading back home.

"It was nice to meet you Conner. Hopefully I'll be able to see you again sometime. You seem like a great guy."

I smiled. "Yeah, and it was nice to meet you too Wendelle. You're not so bad yourself. And I hope that I can see you again soon too." We both then hugged, (a bit awkwardly, since we were both still so used to hugging the way Humans would, though this got a few giggles out of Wendelle) and after waving one last time, Wendelle walked off with Moonlight and Red.

Once they were gone, Golden turned to me. "Wow, so now you can say that you met the other Human-turned-Pony. And she was so nice too."

I agreed. "Yeah, she really was." I then looked after Wendelle as she left. "She sure was something else."

Golden noticed my facial expression. "What's that look for Conner?"

"Hmm? Oh. Well.......when we were hugging, I somehow.......felt something. I felt........like Wendelle has an important role to play somehow..........like she was special. It's really hard to describe, as I really don't know how to put it into words. I felt......some kind of connection."

Golden looked at me in silence for a few moments. "I heard from Red that he and Moonlight felt something similar when they first met Wendelle. Maybe she is destined for something great."

"Yeah. Maybe she is. Or maybe........just maybe.........we're BOTH destined for something great............together........."

Now Golden looked at me like I was crazy. He didn't say anything, but I could tell what he was thinking. Wendelle and I together? It didn't seem too likely at the time. It made no sense, and I tried to dismiss it as just a feeling that was wrong. However, was it really wrong, or was the feeling right? Only time would tell.

Author's Note

And, that was Chapter 3.

I'm sorry that this took a bit longer than I thought that it was going to to get out, but there were a LOT of unforeseen circumstances, a bit of writer's block, and times where I couldn't write. Nevertheless, here it is now, and I really hope that you enjoyed it!

So now Conner has just made his debut, not to mention his fall into Equestria, and his adjusting to life in Lunar-Nova, to say nothing of his meeting Wendelle. So now Conner has met Wendelle, and he has a feeling about her. Will these feelings pan out? Are he and Wendelle truly destined to be together, or was it just a feeling that was wrong? And what about Wendelle's pregnancy? How will Conner react to that? And what did happen to the ex-Paul F. Foster? Did it blow up, or was it transported over to Equestria too? And if it was, where did it end up? Well, you all know the drill, stay tuned and I'll tell you!

In the meantime, as always, comments, feedback, questions, as well as spreading the word about this story are always appreciated, and I'll see you all again in Chapter 4!

ScarFox out for now!