Equilibrium, Book 1: The First Human.

Temporal Rift Explorer.
March 22, 41XX.

Captain's Log,

"Temporal Distortion is getting heavier with each passing year." Aion looked out his ship's window to see a kaleidoscoping backdrop spotted with tiny pinpricks of luminescent fire streaking passed his view.

"The only true benefit of this whole mission is the peculiar effect I've had to endure in order to complete this task." Aion thoughts became fogged over as he reminisced about his own time. Back when he was a strong healthy stallion.

"All in all it will be worth it in the end." He thought about the world, the ponies, the other races. They were all counting on him to complete his mission.

"I have to find the source of this anomaly and erase it from existence." Aion horn glowed with soft white light as he ended his log and went to his sleeping quarters. His wings ruffled in agitation as he flopped down on his bed. Looking at the reflective ceiling did him little good. His own white coat was reflected back to him by his own crimson eye's. He let out a sigh as he rolled over and tried to get to sleep over the hum of the engine's propelling him through time and space.

Equestria.
September 22, 1000, C.E.

11:43 A.M

Fluttershy slept at John's bedside as the world around them continued to hustle and bustle as medical ponies went to and fro about the hospital tending to other patients. The soft rhythmic sound of the heart monitor they had strapped to John's chest was soothing to those in the room with him. Rarity had set up a small couch for them which at this point had been taken up by Pinky Pie, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash. AJ and Fluttershy had both pulled up chairs next to John's bed. The staff was at a loss seeing as they couldn't argue with the irate thestral that had tried to settle herself in John's bed but with all of the other ponies trying to stay as well the staff made an exception.

The midday sun streamed through the green hospital curtain's bringing with it the wind as the window lay open. The subtle wind blowing through the room was enough to wake the two pegasi in the room up from there slumber. With a yawn and a stretch Dash carefully extracted herself from her pile of friends that had all huddled up on Rarity's coach. Seeing movement out of the corner of her eye her head whipped around to see if John was awake. Her smiled faded a little as she saw that it was just Fluttershy.

"Hey, Shy." She said as she stretched once more feeling a satisfying pop in her left wing as she trotted over to John's bedside. Fluttershy gave her a weak smile as Dash trotted over to John's bed and hopped up on her back leg's resting her forehooves on the beds railing. She looked at John's calm face as he slept. Brushing a hoof over his shoulder she let out a sigh.

"I really wish he'd wake up." She said as Fluttershy grabbed John's limp hand and held it close to her face giving it a nuzzle.

"So do I." She said as she held her tears back. A stirring to the mare's left caught them off guard. They looked across the bed to see Applejack awake and giving them both a loving smile. The let out a chuckle as she gave Dash a smirk.

"Well, well, what have we here?" She giggled as they both gave her a confused look. She pointed to Fluttershy.

"I can understand why Fluttershy over here is broken up." She smiled as her eyes roamed over to Dash.

"But what's your story?" She smirked as Dash blushed profusely.

"What I can't feel bad for a friend and fellow running buddy?" She said trying to hide the pink tinge on her cheeks. Her normal ponytail was gone, replaced with a disheveled mess that looked like it had seen better days. AJ snickered as she loosened the handkerchief around her neck.

"Well I guess when you put it that way," She smiled as she gave her brother a soft pat on the head. "Can't really argue with that logic can I?" She gave Dash a wink. Dash just huffed as she stopped rubbing John's shoulder and got back on all four's.

"I'm going to go out for a bit. Get some fresh air that doesn't smell of disinfectant." She said as she took off through the open window. AJ chuckled as the other's all began to stir from there slumber. The door to the room opened as Spike waddled in with Hot Shot in tow. The guys gave the mares a smile as they wrestled with a cart full of food managing to not spill a single crumb as they shut the door when they finally got it inside.

"Next time we're taking the elevator," Spike said as he began to pass around the prepared plate's. Hot Shot smiled as he to passed out food.

"Oh and pass up a chance to impress the lovely mare's around here?" He said smirking as Spike blushed.

"Beside's I'm pretty sure I saw a mare or two who had their eye on you, little buddy." Spike got even redder as he gave a plate to Rarity. She took it but the smirk on her face didn't help matters.

"Oh, and who's wondering eye did our dear spikey catch?"

"I'm not little," Spike grumbled as he gave the last plate he had to Twilight who gave him a nod as he sat down with his own plate. Hot Shot laughed.

"Well, we were at the staircase lifting this thing up one step at a time when this mare came strolling down the hall-" Hot Shot was interrupted as Spike cleared his throat.

"So has anything happened since we left!?" He said butting in on Hot Shot's tale. Hot Shot let out a snicker as he looked over to John's bed.

"Yeah has the big guy stirred at all?" The whole room looked over to Fluttershy and AJ. They both shook their heads.

"Not a peep," AJ said as her gaze once more found itself on her brother lying there in the bed. She leaned down and gave his face a nuzzle.

"Come on bud." she smiled as she held her head next to his. "You gotta wake up." She began to shudder as tear's rolled down her snout.

"You can't just leave your family hanging like this." She reached a hoof over John's chest as she hugged her unique sibling.

12:24 A.M.

Rainbow flew back into the room to see most of the group had left. Fluttershy looked her way with a smile while Applejack gave her a smirk.

"Feeling any better there Dash?" She gave AJ a nod.

"Yep. Just needed to go clear my head you know." AJ nodded as well.

"Course I do. Wouldn't be the first time I've had to deal with something like this." She frowned.

"Back then I was too young to do anything." She let out a soft sigh as she looked back at John. Her frown now a determined grimace.

"I won't ever let my brother go the same way." She leaned over John's face.

"You hear me, little brother. I ain't going to let you go. Not without one hell of a fight." Once her little pep talk was done she leaned back in her chair and huffed.

"Faust above please let the Princess's get back to us with something that could help." Her prayers were answered as a shadow fell upon all of them. They all turned around to see Princess Luna entering the room. All at once they hopped off there chair's and bowed to the lunar goddess. She gave them all a soft smile and bowed as well.

"Please rise little ones." She eyed Fluttershy who merely smiled as she and the others all rose. Luna strolled into the room and conjured up a chair for herself as she sat down at John's bedside. Looking him over she sighed.

"What could ale one so that they end up stuck in a coma?" She pondered as she stopped her inspection of John's body her eyes glued to his face which showed only a small smile. She herself broke into a smile.

"Well, little ones I shall see if I can rouse him from his slumber." She looked to the two guards escorting her.

"You two guard the door and make sure none disturbed us." The two thestral's gave their queen a salute as they shuffled out of the room. Luna looked over to Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash.

"Now you three let us begin." She said as her horn began to glow a dark blue hue.

?????????

As the glow from Luna's horn dissipated the group looked around and saw a black expanse of nothingness. Rainbow raised a hoof.

"Uh, Princess were the hell are we?" She said as she looked around. Luna looked around in wonder.

"Wow. Our friend is in grave danger if this is where his mind has wandered off to." She looked around and then her horn lit up once more.

"Come along all of you. Stay close and don't wander off on your own." She said as they all nodded. Fluttershy's aura flared up as she let her thestral senses take over.

???????

"Hello?" John looked around his surroundings. A black void greeted him when he closed his eye's at the barn. Now here he was stuck in some kind of cosmic prison feeling lost and alone. As he sat there he couldn't help but hear something faint. As he listened to it he found it be a soft humming noise.

"Hello?" He called out once more scrambling to his feet as the sound got closer. He was soon blasted off his feet by a multi-colored shockwave that rippled throughout the void.

Elsewhere the group of rescue ponies was shaken up as a kaleidoscope of color blasted through the void. Luna threw up a shield as a shockwave passed through the void. AJ, Dash's, and Fluttershy's auras all flared to life as well. When the shaking stopped Luna dropped her shield and look on in horror.

"We have to hurry. This magic is not normal." She said as she and the other's all looked around. Fluttershy having had enough traipsing around the void yelled out.

"John!"

John had gotten to his feet was shaken up even more as he looked upon some kind of vessel that had materialized out of thin air with a roar and flash of lights and defining sound. He clutched his head and waited for the ringing to stop, scanning the vessel before him while he backed away from it. It looked like someone had taken a needle and blew it up to an enormous size and then made a big bulge in the middle of it just for fun. It didn't appear to have any landing gear either, instead, it opted to defy the laws of gravity and stay suspended in the air, floating ominously just a few feet off of the ground.

"Hello?" He called out as he stood there. Nothing happened much to John's relief. He'd seen enough alien movies to know where this could end up going and he was very eager to not end up on some kind of spaceship from hell.

"On second thought it might be a good idea to get the hell out of here." He said as he turned around and booked it in the opposite direction from the ship.

Aion looked outside of his ship with unbridled stupification.

"Where the hell am I?" He looked at his instruments and they were all going haywire. Looking from one to another he stopped when his eyes saw something was sure was an illusion at first. Standing there in front of his ship was none other than his target.

"You've got to be shitting me!" He bolted out the cockpit and into the interior of the ship grabbing his gear as he went. Once he was fully geared up he scrambled to the docking bay and hit the door release. The door opened painfully slow as Aion hooked up his hud to the ship's enhanced sensor array.

"Ok Kible what've you got for me?" He asked as the ships A.I. Sprang to life.

"I have the target on radar. Shifting full sensor array over to your hud now Sr." Aion's horn glowed as his suit adjusted to conform to his body, his armor shifting over his body becoming nothing more than a snug fitting full body suit. His helmet morphed into a stylish pair of glasses with a full head's up display with a full-blown augmented reality overlay.

"Ok let's go hunt ourselves an anomaly." He made sure his weapon's systems were all fully charged and functional. His h.u.d read green across the board.