Jared looked away from where the ponies had been standing. He looked around the hangar before walking to the pile of things from the plane. He dug through it, pulling out a large steel mag light flashlight. He reached down, unzipping the deep pocket on his left calf, and dropping the flashlight, pommel first, into the pocket. It ran neatly along his calf, adding a lot of weight to his leg. Jared walked across the hangar to his flight bag, which he’d left on the toolbox. He unzipped it and pulled a notepad, number 2 pencil, and pen from it. He stuck the utensils into their slots on his left shoulder, moving the flight bag to the pile of stuff. He tossed the bag upon the heap. Bright orange engine and wing covers, log books, his survival bag, and an empty rifle case were comprising the pile.

Jared turned from the organized chaos and strolled to the toolbox. He opened the drawers on the far right, mid level. He pulled an air drill and a handful of drill bits from the box, setting them atop it. In the far left drawers, third from the bottom, he dug out a large hammer and a screwdriver chisel. He strolled across the hangar, through a door into the out building, and threw a switch on the wall. The air compressor chugged to life and he stepped out of the room. Jared shut the door behind him, and paused as his hand slipped off the handle.

“Wait.”

He stared at the door handle. It was a normal handle. He looked at the rolling stool near the plane. It was a normal shop stool. He slowly walked to the office and looked through the window. The desk had standard drawer pulls. He looked back at the tools on his bench, jogging back to the surface. Standard pistol-grip style of drill with a quick-chuck on it. He deflated. The toolbox had the usual, overhanging shape on the drawers, to grab the lip of it and slide it open. Built for fingers.

Jared slowly stepped back. His stereo changed songs to Cough Syrup as he gripped his hair in his hands, rotating slowly. He'd need answers whenever his "Friends" payed him a visit. He took a deep breath, and walked into the office. Jared grabbed his survival bag and walked into the bathroom with it. From inside he pulled a straight razor and a small tin of pomade. Survival in style, right?

He pulled a comb from his back pocket as he turned on the sink. He trimmed his hair, bangs, sides, sideburns, and back as best he could. He palm-stropped the razor and gently began trimming the short beard he’d acquired in the time he’d been unconscious. He used the water to lubricate as best he could without shaving soap. While a little uncomfortable, water and a bar of hand soap worked well enough. Jared felt his now bare face, closed the razor, and dunked his head under the running water. He turned the water off as he grabbed the hand towel to dry his hair. Shaking the water off, he opened the tin of pomade. Carefully, he scooped some out with his middle and ring finger, spreading the thick, waxy substance between his palms.

Gently, Jared spread the product through his hair, making sure to agitate and get it engrained through the layers of his hair. He then washed it off his hands, dried them, and grabbed his comb. Beginning by slicking his hair back, he used the thicker part of his comb to tease the front up, forward. After about ten minutes, he washed off the comb. Having finished his Elvis Presley-esque messy pompadour, he pocketed the comb and razor both.

By the time Jared re-entered the shop, the compressor had shut off, finally filling its tank. Jared sat down on the shop stool, rolling backwards across the hangar. He grabbed an air hose and unrolled it over to the beaver. He snatched the tools he’d previously set out and tossed them under the stool, rolling to where he needed to work. He grabbed the drill and connected it to the air. He tested it twice, revving the drill twice. It screamed with the force of the air whirring through its gearbox. Jared chucked up a drill bit and gently set the tip atop the center of a rivet. He drilled out the center of the head, moved the bit to the side, and pulled off the head. Jared lifted the drill, setting the bit on the next rivet.

He heard hooves on the concrete outside the hangar.

Jared quickly reached behind him for the biggest quick chuck bit he'd pulled out, putting it in the drill. He slowly stood, as the pony came into sight. His grip tightened on the handle of the drill.

“Why’d you leave so early?” Twilight asked. “Oh, you look... Different!”

“I said ten minutes, I stayed ten minutes.” Jared stated. He slowly raised his left arm. “I have a question for you.”

He pointed at her, almost aggressively with his left hand. His right hand clenched the drill with frustration.

She stopped, seeing his offensive stance and the drill.

“Explain. This.” He threw it on the wooden workbench. She slowly walked up to it, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s a drill.”

“THE GRIP.” She paused, looking it over. “THE DOORKNOBS. They’re on EVERY HOUSE in TOWN.”

She started to see what he was getting at.

“THE DRAWER PULLS, I COULD SEE PAST THE COUNTER IN THE CAFE. THAT KITCHEN HAD THEM TOO.”

“Jared-“

“Humans. Have been here. Before.” Jared stated.

“I don’t know what your talking about, unicorn royalty invented them. They’re tradition.”

“How the fuck do you expect hooves to open these?” He pointed at the toolbox. She opened a drawer with her magic, deadpanning at him.

“Not everybody is a unicorn, Twilight.” Jared stated. She walked up, equally frustrated at his outburst. She held up her hoof and grabbed the drawer. She promptly slid right off the surface.

“What the?!” She looked at her hoof, and then at the drawer. She tried again, this time skittering her hoof back and forth against the chrome, unable to grip anything. She looked at Jared bewildered.

“How many. How long have they been appearing.”

Twilight didn’t answer. She stood frozen. The room faded to black. Jared heard a deep, gravely sigh.

“I didn’t think you’d notice, honestly.” Came a voice. The tall, culmination of animals walked through the hangar door. Frozen in time.

“Discord... How many, how long. We got the show somewhere, I know that much.” Jared demanded.

The draconequus paused.

“You're a bright one. For the last 900 years, mankind has been appearing in Equestria. I’ve never known why, I’ve never known how. Even Celestia doesn’t understand it. A body will wash up on the beach. A servant will find a corpse in the garden. The last time we had a human show up was nearly twenty years ago. He was alive, but on his way out.”

“What do you mean..?”

“He was in some kind of metal contraption. A vehicle, I gather. A pipe was stuck through the front, and through him. An accident of some kind. Had his hair done a lot like that, real greasy. A package of those nasty cigarettes rolled up in his right sleeve. Didn't last long enough to do more than cough up blood and pass away.”

Jared’s heart skipped a beat. He unzipped the right zipper on his jumpsuit, reaching into his jeans he pulled out his wallet. He slid a picture out of the billfold, A worn polaroid of a woman in a cream sundress, a man in jeans and a white tee shirt. Hair slicked back like Marlon Brando, he had a pack of reds rolled up in his sleeve, a burnt out one saved for later behind his ear. They smiled happily, their two year old son sitting on the hood of the pickup between them. They leaned against a forest green 1977 Ford F250 Highboy. He flipped the picture around to Discord.

“Like.. Him....” Discord said from behind. “Oh... Poor kid..”

He put a paw on Jared’s shoulder. “Discord, I know you like fucking with people, are you serious?”

“Kid..” Discord said solemnly. Jared turned around, his eyes looked to be the eyes of age. Old, broken, hurt. “I wish I were joking. I don’t know how to send you back. There's not even a sliver of chaos magic involved. It just feels evil, archaic, yet almost natural. I dont know that we can.. You have to.. Try to be nice to them.. They’ve grown on me.. I've tried to wrap up loose ends each time. I don't know that even Celestia still knows. Nobody else realizes the importance these moments have had. A leftover piece of knowledge here and there... It's why we have the train, grease-able bearings for wagons, gunpowder, cannons, scientific equipment... It's why we have technology.”

“Wait...” Jared called out as the darkness began to brighten.

“Yes?”

“Where is he buried..?” Jared asked.

“Canterlot, with the rest of them.. The east gardens. That neat rows of flowers? It's a graveyard. He's the bush of Chrysanthemums."

"Dad was working as a carpenter. He had his pickup and a bunch of tools in it. Where's his truck?"

"The vehicle?" He asked. Jared nodded feverishly. "A shed in the Everfree. East of the ruins of the Old Equestrian Kingdom."

Discord walked back out of the hanger, as the room brightened. Twilight blinked gently and laid her ears flat as she backed up.

"I don't understand..." Twilight spoke quietly, scared.

"You wouldn't.." Jared paused, looking around slowly. He grabbed his shotgun off his toolbox and sprinted out the hangar doors. It wasn't far to the forest. He could see the ominous trees nearby. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, only stopping once he reached the edge. He stopped to catch his breath, realizing he had no idea where in the forest it would be. Twilight teleported in front of him.

"Are you mad?! That's the Everfree Forest!"

"You're gonna take me to the old kingdom ruins. The castle of the two sisters, whatever the fuck it's called. Now. I need to prove him right or wrong."

"What?!"

"Cmon, Twilight. Now. I need to find a shed just East of the ruins, wherever they are." Jared plead.

"Jared there's a lot of dangers in there.."

"I can handle myself and I can handle you too, cmon Twi.." Jared begged, still breathing heavily.

She hesitated. "Will it make you calm down, will you stop yelling..?"

"Yes, please for god's sake just.. Please."

She gave a big sigh. They disappeared in a white flash. Jared stumbled and fell backwards into the dirt, holding in the bile rising in his throat. Jared rolled on his side, trying to resist throwing up as he caught his breath. He slowly pushed himself up. On his feet again, he stood, wobbling back and forth. "East, due east."

"That way." She pointed into the woods. His vision stopped swirling and he examined the edge of the clearing. The foliage had a clear wear spot, what used to be a footpath. He knew a trail in the brush when he saw one. Jared slowly walked through it the gap in the shrubs, shouldering his shotgun. He followed the winding path, crunching through the underbrush. Strange birds sounded all around him, but that didn't concern him in the slightest. He was listening carefully, for other noises. For the birds to stop. In only about 300 feet, he spotted a metal shack. Rusted tin lined the walls and roof, no windows lined the walls. It seemed to be a solid mass with a shallowly peaked roof. He circled the shed once, finding a double-door latched shut with a large rusted padlock.

"Twi, help me out..?"

She enveloped the lock in her magic, the lock jiggled, then fell back on its hasp.

“Why would it be shielded..?” She muttered.

Jared sighed and smashed the steel buttplate of his trenchgun into the lock, the shackle popped open and fell to the ground. He kicked the brush out of the arch of the doors and with several jerking heaves, he opened the door wide. He breathed out and fell to his knees, the shotgun clattering to the dirt. His heart raced, completely overtaken by emotion. He barely remembered this pickup. He'd bought one similar just to feel closer to his dad he couldn't remember. His eyes welled with tears. A three inch round hole was in the drivers side windshield. Through the dust he could see red specks on the interior.

"Jared!" Twilight rushed to him, putting an arm over him. He scrambled through the doors and put his hands on the hood. He felt the chrome O and D, looking at the pickup.

"It's real, it's really real... Discord was right.. He didn't lie.."

Twilight froze as he slowly got back to his feet.

"What did you just say? You've been talking to Discord?!" Twilight looked violently angry.

"I need to talk to the princess, right now." Jared stated.

"I can't send messages out of the Everfree Forest, my magical messages can't escape the canopy." She stated. He gave her a 'what the fuck' look. He opened the gas cap on the cab. Pulling the maglight from his leg he looked to see it was 3/4 full of lacquered gasoline.

"Twilight.. If all that he said is true... Hundreds of humans have been here. We've got to talk to the princesses." Jared spoke softly. "Every man on my father's side has gone missing for some reason or another. We thought it was just coincidence. I think it's something bigger... I think we're fuckin' cursed."

Author's Note

Sorry for the delay